Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Active Learning for Constrained Document Clustering with Uncertainty Region

Constrained clustering is intended to improve accuracy and personalization based on the constraints expressed by an Oracle. In this paper, a new constrained clustering algorithm is proposed and some of the informative data pairs are selected during an iterative process. Then, they are presented to the Oracle and their relation is answered with “Must-link (ML) or Cannot-link (CL). ” In each iteration, first, the support vector machine (SVM) is utilized based on the label produced by the current clustering. According to the distance of each document from the hyperplane, the distance matrix is created. Also, based on cosine similarity of word2vector of each document, the similarity matrix is created. Two types of probability (similarity and degree of similarity) are calculated and they are smoothed for belonging to neighborhoods. Neighborhoods form the samples that are labeled by Oracle, to be in the same cluster. Finally, at the end of each iteration, the data with a greater level of uncertainty (in term of probability) is selected for questioning the oracle. In order to evaluate, the proposed method is compared with famous state-of-the-art methods based on two criteria and over a standard dataset. The result demonstrates an increased accuracy and stability of the obtained result with fewer questions.
Biomass Allocation and Light Partitioning Among Dominant and Subordinate Individuals in Xanthium canadense Stands

Patterns of above-ground biomass allocation and light capture by plants growing in dense stands or in isolation were studied in relation to their height. A canopy model was developed to calculate light absorption by individual plants. This model was combined with data on canopy structure and patterns of biomass allocation for solitary plants and for plants of different heights in dense mono-specific stands of the dicotyledonous annualXanthium canadenseMill. There were four stands, and stand height increased with age and nutrient availability. The allometric relationship between height and mass differed considerably between plants in stands and those growing in isolation and also between plants of different heights within stands. The proportion of shoot mass in leaf laminae (LMR) decreased with increasing plant height, but solitary plants had a higher LMR than competing plants of the same height. Thus, in contrast to previous assumptions, LMR of competing plants is not strictly determined by biomechanical constraints but results from a plastic shift in biomass allocation in response to competition. Average leaf area per unit leaf mass (SLA) decreased with increasing photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) independent of nutrient availability. Consequently, taller, more dominant plants in stands had a lower leaf area ratio (LAR: LAR=LMR×SLA) than shorter, more subordinate plants. Dominant plants absorbed more light both per unit leaf area (Φarea) and per unit mass (Φmass) than subordinate plants. Their greater Φareamore than compensated for a lower LAR (Φmass=Φarea×LAR). We conclude that the greater Φmassof dominant plants is quantitative evidence that success in competing for light is disproportionately related to the size of the shoot (i.e. asymmetric competition). We know of no other study which has demonstrated this with quantitative estimates of light acquisition in relation to plant size. This result is contrasted with previous studies on multi-specific stands in which Φmassof dominant and subordinate species is similar, and we discuss why light competition in mono-specific stands is asymmetric whereas it can be size-symmetric in multi-specific stands, with similar or greater LAI.
A Methodology of Hydrodynamic Complexity in Topologically Hyper‐Branched Polymers Undergoing Hierarchical Multiple Relaxations

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Effects of wheat pentosans on endogenous amino acid losses in chickens

The effects of wheat pentosans on protein digestibility and endogenous amino acid losses in precision-fed chickens was investigated using the homo-arginine marker technique. Addition of pentosans equivalent to 15 g and 35 g of wheat arabinoxylans per kg diet significantly depressed (P < 005) the overall digestibility of amino acids and increased (P < 0-05) endogenous losses of amino acids, but the inclusion of cellulose or polyethylene polymer (92 g per kg diet) had no measurable effects.
Blockage of apoplastic bypass‐flow of water in rice roots by insoluble salt precipitates analogous to a Pfeffer cell

Precipitates of insoluble inorganic salts were used to clog apoplastic pores in cell walls of the outer part of rice roots (OPR) in two rice cultivars (lowland cv. IR64 and upland cv. Azucena). Aerenchyma of two different root zones (20‐ 50 and 50‐100 mm from the apex) was perfused with 1 m M potassium ferrocyanide (K 4 [Fe(CN) 6 ]) while the whole root segments were bathed in 0.5 m M copper sulphate (CuSO 4 ) medium. In another experiment, salts were applied on opposite sides of the OPR. The copper-ferrocyanide precipitation technique resembles the famous osmotic experiments of the German botanist Wilhelm Pfeffer, in which he used them with clay diaphragms. Precipitates were observed on the side where ferrocyanide was applied, suggesting that Cu 2 + and SO 4 2‐ were passing the barrier including the Casparian bands of the exodermis much faster than ferrocyanide. There was a patchiness in the formation of precipitates, correlated with the maturation of the exodermis. The intensity of copper ferrocyanide staining decreased along developing rice roots. No precipitates were observed in mature parts beyond 70‐80 mm from the root apex, except for sites around the emergence of secondary roots, which were fairly leaky to both water and ions. Blockage of the apoplastic pores with precipitates caused a three- to four-fold reduction of hydraulic conductivity of the OPR ( Lp OPR ). The reflection coefficient of the OPR ( s sOPR ) increased in response to the blockage with precipitates. The osmotic versus diffusive water permeability ratios of the OPR ( P fOPR / P dOPR ) were around 600 for immature and 1200 for mature root segments. Treatment significantly affected the bulk rather than the diffusive water flow and caused a three- to five-fold reduction of the P fOPR / P dOPR ratios. Results indicated that despite the existence of an exodermis with Casparian bands, most of the water moved around cells rather than using the cell-to-cell passage.
Nutrient acquisition in four Mediterranean gorgonian species

Carbon and nitrogen isotope abundance values (δ 13 C and δ 15 N, respectively) were measured for the first time in the soft tissue, axial skeleton, and spicules of 4 Mediter- ranean gorgonians, 3 asymbiotic (Leptogorgia sarmentosa, Paramuricea clavata, and Eunicella verrucosa) and 1 symbiotic with autotrophic dinoflagellates (Eunicella singularis). The isotopic composition of their diet, i.e. zooplankton, particulate organic matter (POM), and sedimentary organic matter (SOM), was also measured to understand gorgonian feeding ecology. (1) Car- bon and nitrogen signatures of the symbiotic E. singularis tissue in summer differed signifi- cantly from the signatures of the other species; (2) carbon and nitrogen signatures of the axial skeleton were similar to those of the tissue, because the skeleton is primarily made of gorgonin secreted by the tissue; and (3) spicules had a high δ 13 C signature because they are made by a combination of 60 to 76% of respiratory CO2 and of external CO2, with a high δ 13 C signature. Comparison of the isotopic signatures of the gorgonian tissues and the food sources indicated that E. singularis and P. clavata had the same diet in both winter and summer, either zooplankton for E. singularis or POM and SOM for P. clavata. Conversely, L. sarmentosa and E. verrucosa shifted from zooplankton in winter to SOM in summer. These results bring insights into the feeding ecology of temperate gorgonians and explain their dis- tribution, abundance, and role in the flow of particulate matter between the water column and the benthos.
THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION, FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT AND ECONOMIC GROWTH: CASE OF BENIN

Using the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) bounds test with dummy variables and the Toda-Yamamoto approach; this paper investigated the relationship between electricity consumption, foreign direct investment and economic growth in Benin for the period of 1980-2014. Confirming the growth theory for Benin, the results show evidence of unidirectional causalities from electricity consumption to both economic development and foreign direct investment and a long run relationship with a speed of adjustment of 60.72%. These findings suggest that the government of Benin should target the implementation of new strategies to improve access to electricity in order to attract more foreign investment and achieve a rapid and sustainable economic growth.
Molecular marker incongruence in plant hybrid zones and phylogenetic trees

One of the striking observations from the young field of molecular evolutionary biology has been the high frequency of cases where taxon-specific markers are found to differ widely in both phylogenetic and geographic distribution. This pattern has been observed most frequently when cytoplasmic markers are compared with those of nuclear origin (Rieseberg & Soltis 1991), but similar observations are often made for comparisons among markers of nuclear origin only (Rieseberg & Ellstrand 1993). These observations are important to phylogenists because they provide ‘footprints’ of past evolutionary events, information that may be critical to elucidating true organismal phylogeny. Marker incongruence also is significant to the evolutionist because it may provide insights into the differences in the evolutionary biology of organellar versus nuclear genes (as well as differences among nuclear genes), the role of selection, linkage and recombination in controlling the frequency and spatial distribution of introgressed genes, and the effects of introgression on the maintenance of species differences.
A Privacy Preserving Distributed Optimization Algorithm for Economic Dispatch Over Time-Varying Directed Networks

The economic dispatch problem (EDP) plays a fundamental and significant role in smart grids. Its purpose is to decide the output power of every generator in smart grids for achieving the minimal generation cost. With advantages in flexibility, robustness, and scalability, it is desirable to apply distributed optimization methods to solve EDPs. In most existing distributed optimization approaches, all generators explicitly exchange their states with neighbors to obtain the optimal solution, which may result in disclosing the privacy information of generators. This problem becomes worse if there are some adversaries aimed at inferring privacy information from the communication network for nefarious purposes. For privacy preservation, a privacy preserving distributed optimization algorithm over time-varying directed communication networks is proposed in this article by adding conditional noises to the exchanged states. It is proved that this proposed algorithm is able to solve the EDP. Moreover, the convergence rate and privacy analysis of the proposed algorithm are also shown in this article. An example is provided to confirm the effectiveness of this proposed algorithm.
Efficient Multi-Channel Computation Offloading for Mobile Edge Computing: A Game-Theoretic Approach

Mobile edge computing is emerging to provide cloud-computing capabilities to mobile users, so that they can offload computation intensive tasks to close proximity for execution. However, most existing works imply that a transmission-finished task still occupies the channel until all users on the same channel finish the transmission, leading to severe channel resource waste. To solve this problem, we propose an efficient computation offloading mechanism which releases the channel resources of transmission-finished tasks for transmission-unfinished tasks, and aims to minimize the response time and energy consumption for each user. Specifically, we formulate the computation offloading problem as a game, analyze its structural properties and show how it possesses a Nash equilibrium and admits the finite improvement property, in the cases of elastic cloud and non-elastic cloud respectively. We then propose a Distributed Multi-channel Computation Offloading (DMCO) algorithm, which can converge to a Nash equilibrium, and find the upper bound of the convergence time. We further evaluate the performance of DMCO using the price of anarchy. Numerical results show that DMCO scales well with the number of users, and outperforms existing works, for example, benefits 13.3 percent more users and reduces cost by 23.7 percent than CO, one of the best existing works.
Iron toxicity symptoms in yams (Dioscorea spp.) grown in water culture

Growth of varieties of Dioscorea alata and D. rotundata were stunted when they were grown in nutrient solutions containing 5 to 60 mg l−1 Fe. In D. alata variety TDa 95/00361, plants grown in 60 mg l−1 Fe solution exhibited reductions of 29–65% in plant height, leaf length and width, number of leaves, stems and roots, and root length compared to the control. The corresponding values for D. rotundata variety TDr 89/02565 were 34–59%. Tuber weight in D. rotundata variety TDr 89/02565 was increased by the iron treatments but the foliar symptoms of iron toxicity reported for other crops were not observed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
Design, Development and Evaluation of a New Hand Exoskeleton for Stroke Rehabilitation at Home

Rehabilitation at home is a growing need worldwide. Previous studies have suggested different devices in terms of motion and force transmission. In this study, we present design and development process of a novel hand exercise exoskeleton. The main advantages of our device that are portable, wearable, light weight (345 grams) and suitable for home use. The greatest feature of the device is the force transmitting mechanism. The spring mechanism manufactured by using commercial compression springs has some advantages in terms of size and weight. In design studies of the device, we have made use of the systematic approach. In this way, the best of three possible design solutions has been determined. Then the best design solution was selected. A few prototypes of the device were manufactured. The device has been tested clinically on both unimpaired individuals and hemiplegic hand patients for a short time. It was reported that the exoskeleton was suited to passive exercises. The result section gives an evaluation of the device in terms of exercises, ergonomics and the market. Additionally, a patent registration certificate was issued to our device for our country.
Designing polyethylene oxide and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose matrix tablets with comparable dissolution properties

PolyoxTM coagulant (molecular weight 5 × 106 Da) and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) K4M (USP substitution type 2208) were used to identify the composition variables that ensure the production of polyethylene oxide (PEO) matrix tablets with the same dissolution characteristics as those containing HPMC. Based on the dissolution results obtained using Apparatus 3, a 53% concentration of PEO polymer in the matrix tablet generates comparable drug release as matrix tablets containing 37% HPMC. During the dissolution test, several conditions simulating mechanical stresses in the gastrointestinal tract were investigated, in order to assess the robustness of the gel layer formed in selected PEO and HPMC matrix tablets. Increased mechanical stresses enhanced gel erosion from both matrix tablets evaluated and increased the drug release rate by approximately 10% regardless of the polymer type used. The HPMC gel layer formed was more resilient to mechanical stress and resulted in significantly slower drug release when compared to PEO matrix tablets with the same polymer concentration (37%). The research showed that gel robustness and the PEO polymer percolation threshold are dependent on the mechanical stresses applied. The percolation threshold changed from 30 to 37% when different mechanical stress was applied on Apparatus 2 and 3, respectively. The study revealed that the selection of in vitro dissolution method as well as polymer concentration is important for the evaluation of gel mechanical robustness. Key words: Polyethylene oxide (PEO), hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC), drug release, percolation threshold, matrix tablets.
Genetic variation within and among populations of Camelliajaponica (Theaceae) in Korea

The genetic diversity and structure of 17 Korean populations of Camelliajaponica L. , a broad-leaved evergreen tree, was examined. Although most populations are restricted to several islands near the southern and southwestern coast of the Korean Peninsula, they maintain higher levels of genetic variation within populations than do long-lived, woody angiosperms. For example, 13 of 16 loci examined were polymorphic in at least one population, the mean number of alleles per locus was 2.63, and mean expected heterozygosity was 0.265. These values were comparable with those for continuously distributed, mainland populations of C. japonica in Japan. However, a considerably high level of heterozygote deficiency was observed in Korean populations of C. japonica (mean FIS = 0.202). About 13% of the total genetic variation was found among populations (GST = 0.129). Indirect estimates of the number of migrants per generation (1.69, calculated from FST; 2.14, calculated from the mean frequency of eight private alleles.
Landscape pattern of seed banks and anthropogenic impacts in forested wetlands of the northern Mississippi River Alluvial Valley

ABSTRACT Agricultural development on floodplains contributes to hydrologic alteration and forest fragmentation, which may alter landscape-level processes. These changes may be related to shifts in the seed bank composition of floodplain wetlands. We examined the patterns of seed bank composition across a floodplain watershed by looking at the number of seeds germinating per m2 by species in 60 farmed and intact forested wetlands along the Cache River watershed in Illinois. The seed bank composition was compared above and below a water diversion (position), which artificially subdivides the watershed. Position of these wetlands represented the most variability of Axis 1 in a Nonmetric Multidimensional Scaling (NMS) analysis of site environmental variables and their relationship to seed bank composition (coefficient of determination for Axis 1: r2 = 0.376; Pearson correlation of position to Axis 1: r = 0.223). The 3 primary axes were also represented by other site environmental variables, including farming status (farmed or unfarmed), distance from the mouth of the river, latitude, and longitude. Spatial analysis based on Mantel correlograms showed that both water-dispersed and wind/water-dispersed seed assemblages had strong spatial structure in the upper Cache (above the water diversion), but the spatial structure of water-dispersed seed assemblage was diminished in the lower Cache (below the water diversion), which lost floodpulsing. Bearing analysis also suggested that water-dispersal process had a stronger influence on the overall spatial pattern of seed assemblage in the upper Cache, while wind/water-dispersal process had a stronger influence in the lower Cache. An analysis of the landscapes along the river showed that the mid–lower Cache (below the water diversion) had undergone greater land cover changes associated with agriculture than did the upper Cache watershed. Thus, the combination of forest fragmentation and hydrologic changes in the surrounding landscape may have had an influence on the seed bank composition and spatial distribution of the seed banks of the Cache River watershed. Our study suggests that the spatial pattern of seed bank composition may be influenced by landscape-level factors and processes. Nomenclature: USDA, 2005.
Ações de prevenção e combate aos incêndios florestais nas unidades de conservação estaduais do Espírito Santo

In this study, we evaluated the conditions for preventing and fighting forest fires in the Conservation Units (CU) of Espirito Santo state, Brazil. We visited the 16 existing CUs in the state. During these visits, we analyzed documents, reports and management plans and conducted interviews with the managers. The fires were characterized by main groups of causes and arranged according to size class: I (0-0.009 ha), II (0.1-4.0 ha), III (4.1-40.0 ha), IV (40.1-200.0 ha), and V (>200 ha). The Sustainable Use Units showed the lowest deficits of personnel and operating equipment; however, the management effectiveness of the Integral Protection Units is greater, presenting good infrastructure and permanent action of personnel. The major cause of fire was debris burning (20%) and the most common size classes were II and III (25%). Despite the limitations in personnel and operational equipment, the CUs hold the minimum conditions required for actions of prevention and combat to forest fires.
Ileal and Caecal Microbial Populations in Broilers Given Specific Essential Oil Blends and Probiotics in two Consecutive Grow-Outs

Specific essential oil (EO) blends and probiotics used as feed additives have been shown to promote healthy digestive microbials resulting in improved poultry production. Two consecutive experiments were conducted with broilers fed cornsoybean meal diets to determine comparative effects of feed additives on ileal and caecal microbial populations (MP). Ross 708 broilers were placed in 84 pens with previously used litter and treatments maintained in the same pens for both experiments. Eight treatment groups were fed diets containing: Bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD) as positive control (PC); no additives as negative control (NC); three probiotics: BC-30; BioPlus 2B (B2B); and Calsporin; and the essential oil blends Crina Poultry Plus (CPP) at 300 or 150 ppm in the first experiment; and CPP at 300 ppm and Crina Poultry AF at 100 ppm in experiment 2. Starter and grower diets contained the ionophore (Coban). Ileal and caecal samples were collected at 43 days of age from male broilers. The DNA of microbial populations was isolated from digesta samples and analysed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to generate percentage similarity coefficients (%SC) from band pattern dendrograms. Differences were observed in ileal and caecal populations depending on treatment, respectively, and especially between experiments. Broilers fed diets with probiotics had very similar MP. The EO CPP at 300 ppm resulted in ileal MP similar to those observed in chickens fed probiotics. We concluded that antibiotic treatment affected ileal, but no caecal MP. More pronounced changes in ileal and caecal MP were seen in broilers at 43 days of age following probiotic and essential oil treatments.