Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Image Steganography Based on Dual Tree Discrete Wavelet Transform

Steganography gained importance in the past few yea rs due to the increasing need for providing secrecy in an open environment like the internet. With almost any one can observe the communicated data all around, s teganography attempts to hide the very existence of the message and make communication undetectable. The characteri stics of the Dual Tree Wavelet Transform that provides shift invarian ce and offers better directional selectivity makes it a better choice for data hiding over the classical discrete wavelet tra nsform. For achieving the security and robustness, the original message is first converted into binary cell array with the lp of self-synchronizing variable length codes, v iz. , T-codes before the embedding. The experimental results show that the d ual tree complex wavelet transform is better option han the Wavelet, Wavelet-like transform, i.e., Slantlet transform an d Double Density Dual Tree DWT for data hiding in t erms of visual quality and embedding capacity, though poor to exte rnal attacks such as Gaussian. In this paper, opti mize the two main requirements by proposing a novel technique for hid ing data in digital images by combining the use of adaptive hiding capacity function that hides secret data in the int ger wavelet coefficients of the cover image with t he optimum pixel adjustment (OPA) algorithm. The coefficients used a re selected according to a pseudorandom function ge nerator to increase the security of the hidden data.
Improving the Hydrogen Production Capacity of Rhodobacter Capsulatus by Genetically Modifying Redox Balancing Pathways

In Rhodobacter capsulatus, balancing the oxidation-reduction potential (redox-balance) is maintained via a number of inter-dependent regulatory mechanisms that enable these organisms to accommodate divergent growth modes. In order to maintain redox homeostasis, this bacterium possesses regulatory mechanisms functioning as electron sinks affecting the oxidation-reduction state of the ubiquinone pool. Under the photoheterotrophic growth conditions with reduced carbon sources, the excess reducing equivalents are primarily consumed via the reduction of CO2 through the Calvin–Benson–Bassham (CBB) pathway or by the reduction of protons into hydrogen with the use of dinitrogenase enzyme system. In this study, our aim was to develop strategies to funnel the excess reducing equivalents to nitrogenase-dependent hydrogen production by blocking the carbon-fixation pathway. To realize this purpose, CO2 fixation was blocked by inactivating the Phosphoribulokinase (PRK) of CBB pathway in wild type (MT1131), uptake-hydrogenase (YO3) and cyt cbb3 oxidase deficient (YO4) strains. The hydrogen production capacity of newly generated strains deficient in the Calvin-Benson-Bassham pathway were analyzed and compared with wild type strains. The results indicated that, the hydrogen production efficiency and capacity of R. capsulatus was further improved by directing the excess reducing equivalents to dinitrogenase-dependent hydrogen production.
HUMAN INTERACTIONS IN EXTRACURRICULAR ATHLETIC CLUBS IN RELATION TO SCHOOL ADJUSTMENT MEMBERS : The importance of self-assertion

The present study examined the adjustment to school by members of extracurricular athletic clubs in relation to their leaders. Subjects were 494 high school students currently active in clubs. The research was conducted by means of a questionnaire and the following significant results were obtained. Members, who could not assert themselves clearly (L-members), were not satisfied with either their leaders or club activities. In addition, members belonging to clubs whose leaders took an authoritative command (authoritarian club), were not satisfied either. Neither the L-members nor members of the authoritarian clubs were satisfied with their school in general either. Moreover, the L-members belonging to the authoritarian clubs could not pay as much attention to other personal interests as the L-members belonging to other kinds of clubs. The above results suggested that human interactions between members and leaders influenced members' adjustment to school. In order to improve human interactions, students should assert themselves clearly.
Applying decision tree models to SMEs: A statistics-based model for customer relationship management

Article history: Received February 5, 2016 Received in revised format April 15, 2016 Accepted May 7, 2016 Available online May 9, 2016 Customer Relationship Management (CRM) has been an important part of enterprise decisionmaking and management. In this regard, Decision Tree (DT) models are the most common tools for investigating CRM and providing an appropriate support for the implementation of CRM systems. Yet, this method does not yield any estimate of the degree of separation of different subgroups involved in analysis. In this research, we compute three decision-making models in SMEs, analyzing different decision tree methods (C&RT, C4.5 and ID3). The methods are then used to compute ME and VoE for the models and they were then used to calculate the Mean Errors (ME) and Variance of Errors (VoE) estimates to investigate the predictive power of these methods. These decision tree methods were used to analyze smalland medium-sized enterprises (SME’s) datasets. The paper proposes a powerful technical support for better directing market tends and mining in CRM. According to the findings, C&RT shows a better degree of separation. As a result, we recommend using decision tree methods together with ME and VoE to determine CRM factors. © 2016 Growing Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Evaluation of specimen preservatives for DNA analyses of bees

Large-scale insect collecting efforts that are facilitated by the use of pan traps result in large numbers of specimens being collected. Storage of these specimens can be problematic if space and equipment are limited. In this study, we investigated the effects of various preservatives (alcohol solutions and DMSO) on the amount and quality of DNA extracted from bees (specifically Halictidae, Apidae, and Andrenidae). In addition, we examined the amount and quality of DNA obtained from bee specimens killed and stored at 280uC and from specimens stored for up to 24 years in ethanol. DNA quality was measured in terms of how well it could be PCR-amplified using a set of mitochondrial primers that are commonly used in insect molecular systematics. Overall the best methods of preservation were ultra-cold freezing and dimethyl sulfoxide, but these are both expensive and in the case of ultra-cold freezing, somewhat impractical for field entomologists. Additionally, dimethyl sulfoxide was shown to have adverse effects on morphological characters that are typically used for identification to the level of species. We therefore recommend that the best alternative is 95% ethanol, as it preserves bee specimens well for both morphological and molecular studies.
Assessment of Left Ventricular Diastolic Function in Children Undegoing Hemodialysis Using Various Doppler Techniques

Assessment of cardiac function is the leading parameter when evaluating the state of the cardiovascular system of patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis. The aim of the paper: to assess the state of the cardiovascular system of these patients using new sensitive echocardiography and Doppler techniques and thus advance the prevention of cardiovascular disease. Method: Twenty children with end-stage renal insufficiency on chronic hemodialysis and twenty healthy controls underwent echocardiographic monitoring using standard Doppler and tissue Doppler imaging. Structural and functional changes in the left ventricle were evaluated. Results: Patients on hemodialysis had significantly greater left ventricular mass indices compared to the controls (p < 0.001). The patients on hemodialysis had preserved systolic function—their fractional shortening, ejection fraction and Sm (systolic myocardial velocity) did not differ significantly compared to the controls (p > 0.05). Early diastolic function in children on hemodialysis was also preserved: the E/A and Em/Am ratio did not differ significantly from the control group (p > 0.05). Children on hemodialysis exhibited impaired late diastolic function (compliance index), that is, considerably higher E/Em compared to controls (p < 0.00). Myocardial Performance Index values showed statistically significant elevation in children on hemodialysis compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Tissue Doppler in tandem with conventional Pulsed Doppler can provide additional information on left ventricular filling pressures (E/Em) in children on hemodialysis. It is therefore recommended to perform routine measuring of Em waves and the E/Em ratio, not only in order to evaluate myocardial relaxation and ventricular filling pressures, but primarily to stratify risk and provide a prognosis.
Psychological Distress in Australian Case Managers Working with the Unemployed.

This study reports levels of psychological distress found in a sample of Australian case managers who work with the unemployed. Using a longitudinal survey methodology, 86 case managers employed throughout Australia completed the 12-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ–12; D. P. Goldberg, 1978) on 2 occasions during 1999. In comparison with other studies investigating psychological wellbeing of both employed and unemployed individuals, case manager respondents in this study reported significantly higher levels of psychological morbidity than levels reported for employed Australians and similar morbidity levels to those reported by unemployed Australians. Skills training seemed to moderate psychological distress levels reported by female case managers. This research was conducted following a time of great change in the way employment services were delivered in Australia. Historically, publicly funded employment services in this country have been delivered directly by the Australian Federal Government through a national employment agency, the Commonwealth Employment Service. In response to high unemployment rates and the prevailing mood of economic rationalization of public expenditures, successive Australian Federal Governments during the 1990s have progressively privatized the delivery of services to the unemployed. The resulting national employment service is known as the Job Network, a term that encompasses a diverse range of welfare, community, and private sector organizations now competing with each other to assist the unemployed in finding employment. Within the Job Network framework, employment services are delivered to the long-term unemployed, that is, to those individuals who have been continuously unemployed for 12 months or more, through an individually focused service-delivery strategy referred to as intensive assistance. It is the well-being of the personnel delivering intensive assistance to the long-term unemployed that is the focus of this study. The
Lake Vechten, Schleinsee and Buchensee as examples of west central european holomictic lakes containing phototrophic bacteria

espanolEl presente trabajo ha sido realizado en tres lagos holomicticos del oeste y.centro de Europa. En el mismo, se les ha caracterizado fisico-quimica y biologicamente. El objetivo central del estudio ha sido analizar la ecologia microbiana de las poblaciones de bacterias fototroficas presentes en el hipolimnion de los mencionados lagos. A partir de aqui, se han establecido relaciones entre la fisico-quimica del lago y los grupos de bacterias fototroficas presentes a fin de aiustar al maximo un modelo. Este es un modelo de prediccion de la aparicion de determinadas especies o grupos de bacterias fototroficas en funcion, principalmente, de parametros como la luz, la concentracion de sulfhidrico, tipos de pigmentos y presencia de vacuolas de gas. catalaEl present treball ha estat realitzat a tres llacs holomictics de I'oest i del centre d'Europa en els quals han estat caracteritzats fisico-quimicament i biologicament. L'objectiu central de I'estudi ha estat analitzar I'ecologia microbiana de les pobiacions de bacteris fototrofics presents a I'hipolimnion dels esmentats llacs. A partir d'aqui, s'han establert relacions entre la fisico-quimica del llac i els grups de bacteris fototrofics presents per tal d'ajustar el maxim un model. Aquest es un model de prediccio de I'aparicio de determinades especies o grups de bacteris fototrofics en funcio, principalment, de parametres com la llum o la concentracio de sulfhidric, el tipus de pigments i la presencia de vacuoles de gas. EnglishThe present work has been done in three west central european holomictic lakes. They have been physico-chemically and biologically characterized. The central objective of this paper has been analyze the microbial ecology of the phototrophic bacteria popula- tions that develop in the hypolimnion of these lakes. The relationship between different physico-chemical conditions and the main group of phototrophic bacteria that develops in each one has been checked in order to adjust a model. This model allows to predict the occurrence of determined species or groups of phototrophic bacteria as a function of, mainly, light and sulfide concentration, pigments and presence of gas vacuoles.
DNA barcoding of some Indian species of hawk moths based on COI gene (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae)

In the current study, we analysed a partial sequence of 580 bp (approx) of COI gene for seven species belonging to family sphingidae. The study was conducted in the northern India mainly in the districts of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Uttarakhand during the period of April, 2015 to December, 2016 the studied sequences have been added to the current database at GenBank NCBI. The database analysis showed mean K2P divergence of 0.59% at intraspecific level, 6.3% at interspecific and 12.2% at intergeneric level. A range of 0.0% to 2.7% was observed during the intraspecific study alongwith the range of 3.6% to 8.2% in the interspecific study, thereby indicating a hierarchal increase in K2P mean divergence across different taxonomic levels.
Isolation of functional total RNA from Argemone mexicana tissues

RNA extraction from recalcitrant plant tissues is frequently complicated by the presence of secondary metabolites, polysaccharides and polyphenols. These compounds may co precipitate with RNA, often rendering it unsuitable for either cDNA synthesis or hybridization in northern blot analyses and therefore, interfering with the gene analysis expression in such tissues. We have developed an efficient RNA extraction method from A. mexicana tissues. The procedure includes the use of polyvinylpolypyrrolidone (PVPP), to remove secondary metabolites, proteins and polyphenols, and a two-step precipitation with LiCl, to eliminate polysaccharides, and thus increasing RNA yield. The quality of the resulting RNA was evaluated spectrophotometrically and by agarose gel electrophoresis. Moreover, the RNA obtained by this method, could be used directly for both RT-PCR and northern blot analysis, without any further purification. Argemone mexicana (Papaveraceae), commonly known as prickly poppy is used in rural areas of Mexico as a medicinal plant. The occurrence of diverse alkaloids, flavonoids and fatty acids in its tissues may explain these properties (Shaukat et al. 2002; Chang et al. 2003). In fact, berberine and sanguinarine, two of the main alkaloids isolated from Argemone tisues , display significant
Fabrication of Ceramic Nanofibers Using Atrane Precursor

One-dimensional (1D) ceramic nanostructures, such as nanofibers, nanotubes, nanorods, nanowires, nanorings, nanobelts, and nanowhiskers, have been a very exciting and promising research topic in the last decades. This interest has been aroused by their unique properties and a wide variety of potential applications in future nanoelectronics and functional nanodevices, such as optoelectronics, photonics, cosmetics, health, bioengineering, gas and humidity sensors, mechanics, and catalysis (Xia et al., 2003; Wang, 2004; Carotta et al., 2007; Kumar & Ramaprabhu, 2007; Luo et al., 2007). A large number of techniques are available to prepare these materials, including vapour-phase method (Pan et al., 2001; Zhang et al., 2002), vapour–liquid–solid method (Morales & Lieber, 1998; Duan & Lieber, 2000), solution–liquid–solid method (Trentler et al., 1995; Markowitz et al., 2001), template-assisted method (Martin, 1994; Han et al., 1997; Zach et al., 2000; Barbic et al., 2002), solvothermal method (Heath & LeGoues, 1993; Wang & Li, 2002), arc discharge (Iijima, 1991), pulsed laser ablation (Sasaki et al., 2004), and precursor thermal decomposition (Wang et al., 2002a). Nevertheless, developing simpler and versatile approaches to the synthesis of one-dimensional ceramic nanostructures still remains a challenge. Among various approaches, electrostatic spinning (electrospinning) seems to be the simplest and most versatile technique capable of fabricating one-dimensional nanostructures including polymer, ceramic and composite nanofibers (Huang et al., 2003, Shao et al., 2003, Ksapabutr et al., 2005a ; Ksapabutr et al., 2005b; Li et al., 2006; Sigmund et al., 2006; Panapoy et al., 2008a; Panapoy et al., 2008b). Like a number of conventional spinning processes, electrospinning involves the ejection of a viscous solution (or melt) from an orifice and the subsequent drawing and solidification of the jet to form thin fibers. Unlike the conventional spinning processes, the exclusive driving force for the formation of ultrafine fiber in the electrospinning process is the electrostatic interaction. The fundamental principle of electrospinning is that a Taylor cone is formed by applying an electrical field to the viscous solution or melt hanging from a capillary tip, which causes jets of an electrically charged solution to be emitted when the applied electrostatic force exceeds the surface tension of the solution. A liquid jet shoots away from the capillary tip towards an oppositely charged electrode and solidifies with evaporation of solvent to form a mat on the grounded
Harnack estimates for weak supersolutions to nonlinear degenerate parabolic equations

In this work we prove both local and global Harnack estimates for weak supersolutions to second order nonlinear degenerate parabolic partial differential equations in divergence form. We reduce the proof to an analysis of so-called hot and cold alternatives, and use the expansion of positivity together with a parabolic type of covering argument. Our proof uses only the properties of weak supersolutions. In particular, no comparison to weak solutions is needed.
Variability in Freshwater, Estuarine, and Marine Residence of Sockeye Salmon Oncorhynchus nerka within the Copper and Bering River Deltas, Alaska

Variability in the duration of freshwater and marine residence of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka has been recognized for some time and is the basis for separating the species into different life history strategies. We analyzed the results of annual age-composition surveys of spawning sockeye salmon conducted by Alaska Department of Fish and Game in the Copper River Delta and Bering River regions of southcentral Alaska from 1990 to 2004 to quantify the variability in freshwater and marine residence time. Significant variation among years and among locations was detected by multivariate analysis of similarity. The two most common life history forms were sockeye salmon that spent one winter in freshwater after emergence followed by either 2 or 3 years in marine waters before returning to spawn (1.2 or 1.3 European age notation). Sockeye salmon exhibiting these two strategies accounted for 36% and 46%, respectively, of all sockeye salmon aged over the 14 year surveys (n = 93,936). Sockeye salmon spending less than 1 year in freshwater following emergence (0.1, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4) accounted for 14% of all adult sockeye salmon surveyed compared to 82% that spent 1 year in freshwater (1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4) and 4% that spent 2 years (2.1, 2.2, 2.3). Only one fish was aged that spent 3 years in freshwater. Large interannual and among site variability in the proportion of fishes that spend 0 years in freshwater was apparent. The magnitude of 0-type sockeye salmon was best correlated with site locations (sloughs had a higher proportion than lake sites). Despite the low average contribution of 0-type sockeye salmon to the adult spawning population, large numbers of sockeye salmon leave freshwater as age-0 fry and parr. These sockeye salmon can be found in the estuarine waters near the outflow of major sloughs and rivers for a 45-d period coinciding with peak out-migration from freshwater areas. All juvenile stages of sockeye salmon seem to have similar residence time in the estuary, suggesting that for sockeye salmon out-migration at an early age does not lead to longer nearshore residence time for sockeye salmon.
Usefulness of Awake Craniotomy for Low-grade Gliomas in Eloquent Areas

Aim To determine the association of Diopsys® NOVA-LX amplitude and latency abnormality scores with perimetric staging of chronic glaucoma, and to explore potential single-visit short-duration transient visual evoked potential (SD-tVEP) trend detection ability utilizing Humphrey 30-2 field progression data. Materials and methods Setting: Glaucoma subspecialty clinic. Participants: Treated adult chronic glaucoma patients undergoing SD-tVEP evaluation. Main outcome measures: (1) Proportion of eyes designated as suspect or abnormal by the NOVA-LX multifactorial algorithm were determined as a function of glaucoma severity using the most recent Humphrey visual field analyzer (HVFA) 30-2 field. (2) Association between long-term HVFA-guided progression analysis (GPA) annual slopes and SD-tVEP abnormality was assessed to determine whether a single VEP test might help to identify eyes more prone to progressive visual field (VF) loss. Results One hundred and thirty-three eyes of 84 patients (mean age 68 years) were analyzed. The SD-tVEP abnormality increased proportionately with severity of VF loss under high-contrast (Hc) test conditions for both latency (p = 0.001) and amplitude (p 0.7 dB/year (n = 29) had single-visit VEP latency abnormalities. Fewer than half (46.7%) of the remainder (n = 62) showed latency abnormality. Mean progression for eyes with abnormal vs normal VEP latency was -0.87 ± 0.3 dB/year vs -0.32 ± 0.4 dB/year. Conclusion Diopsys NOVA-LX Hc latency abnormality shows strong association with VF loss among a diverse population of clinical patients undergoing active treatment for chronic glaucoma, and appears likely to afford clinically useful trend-detecting test. Clinical significance The SD-tVEP has the potential to serve as a single-visit clinical indicator to identify glaucoma patients at high risk for VF progression.How to cite this article: Trevino R, Sponsel WE, Majcher CE, Allen J, Rabin J. Association of Diopsys® Short-duration Transient Visual Evoked Potential Latency with Visual Field Progression in Chronic Glaucoma. J Curr Glaucoma Pract 2018;12(1):29-35.
Managerial Multitasking in the Mutual Fund Industry

Abstract Managerial multitasking has become a common practice in the mutual fund industry. Although multitasking may have certain benefits for fund companies and portfolio managers, these arrangements have significant drawbacks for fund investors. We find that multitasking is associated with worse fund performance. Moreover, we find significant performance deterioration when a single-tasking manager switches to multitasking. We further demonstrate evidence that suggests that multitasking reduces the attention or limits the investment options a manager can allocate to their funds. Our study prescribes caution when assigning a portfolio manager a greater workload, as doing so adversely affects fund performance and, at some point, the ability of the fund family to attract capital.