Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flocking with fixed-wing UAVs for distributed sensing: A stochastic optimal control approach

This work focuses on enabling multiple UAVs to flock together in order to distribute and collectively perform a given sensing task. Flocking is performed in a leader-follower fashion, and the leader is assumed to already have an effective control policy for the particular task. The UAVs are small fixed-wing aircraft cruising at a constant speed and fixed altitude, but experience stochasticity in their dynamics. Accordingly, the control problem for each follower is addressed in the context of stochastic optimal control, wherein the cost is a function of distance and heading with respect to the leader. The problem is solved offline via dynamic programming to minimize the expected cost over a finite horizon and generate a receding horizon optimal control policy. This flocking algorithm was successfully applied in the field, where three camera-equipped UAVs flocked together to perform vision-based target tracking. The experimental results verify the efficacy of the approach and show the benefits of flocking with multiple UAVs to distribute sensing tasks, which include a dramatic reduction in overall sensing error and robustness to individual sensor faults.
Heavy Metal Concentration in Fishes from the Coastal Waters of Kapar and Mersing, Malaysia

Although fish is a significant source of protein, they are currently affected by rapid industrialization and mechanized agricultural activities, resulting in increased concentrations of heavy metals in fishes. Concentrations of heavy metals, namely, Cd, Cu, Mn, and Zn, were estimated in the muscle, liver, and gills of two commercially important marine fishes, namely, Arius thalassinus and Johnius belangeri. The fish samples were collected from Kapar and Mersing, which are the west and east coastal waters of Peninsular Malaysia, respectively. The results showed that the muscle had the lowest metal concentrations compared with the liver and gills. Among the estimated heavy metal concentrations, those of Zn and Cd were the highest and the lowest, respectively, for both species in muscle, liver and gills. Moreover, our results indicate that A. thalassinus has higher metal concentrations than J. belangeri in both areas. None of the values in the muscles exceeded the standard guideline values and hence would not pose any health hazard to consumers.
Extraction, purification and characterization of lipoxygenase from Pleurotus ostreatus.

Lipoxygenase was extracted from the cup of Pleurotus ostreatus ( Jaq : Fr ) oyster mushroom for the first time in Iraq, and purified homogeneously through precipitation with 40% saturation of (NH4)2SO4 as a partial purification then loaded on DEAE-Cellulose (Diethyl amino ethyl Cellulose) ion-exchange chromatography column and then the highly active elution parts have been passed through gel filtration column with Sephacryl S-300 as a final purification with 804 (U/mg protein) specific activity, 11.32 fold of purification and 36.54% yield . The molecular weight of the enzyme was estimated to 74 KDa by gel filtration Sephacryl S-300 column and the isoelectric point for enzyme was 5.3. The optimal pH for lipoxygenase activity and stability were 8 and 6-8.5 respectively, and the optimal temperature for the activity and stability of the enzyme were 30 and 10-45 respectively. Also the activation energy necessary for Lipoxygenase to convert lionleic acid to product and for enzyme denaturalization were calculated to 9.674 and 28.087 Kilo calorie/mole respectively. Keyword: Pleurotus ostreatus, Oyster mushroom, Purification, Lipoxygenase.
DRUG SOLUBILITY : IMPORTANCE AND ENHANCEMENT TECHNIQUES

1.INTRODUCTION The solubility of a compound depends on its structure and solution conditions. Structure determines the lipophilicity, hydrogen bonding, molecular volume, crystal energy and ionizability, which determine solubility. Solution conditions are affected by pH, cosolvents, additives, ionic strength, time and temperature. Poorly soluble compounds can dramatically reduce productivity in drug discovery and development.
Differential Inhibition of Rat and Human Na+-Dependent Taurocholate Cotransporting Polypeptide (NTCP/SLC10A1)by Bosentan: A Mechanism for Species Differences in Hepatotoxicity

Bile acid accumulation in hepatocytes due to inhibition of the canalicular bile salt export pump (BSEP/ABCB11) has been proposed as a mechanism for bosentan-induced hepatotoxicity. The observation that bosentan does not induce hepatotoxicity in rats, although bosentan has been reported to inhibit rat Bsep and cause elevated serum bile acids, challenges this mechanism. The lack of hepatotoxicity could be explained if bosentan inhibited hepatocyte uptake as well as canalicular efflux of bile acids. In the current study, bosentan was found to be a more potent inhibitor of Na+-dependent taurocholate uptake in rat (IC50 5.4 μM) than human (IC50 30 μM) suspended hepatocytes. In addition, bosentan was a more potent inhibitor of taurocholate uptake by rat Na+-dependent taurocholate co-transporting polypeptide (Ntcp/Slc10a1) (IC50 0.71 μM) than human NTCP (SLC10A1) (IC50 24 μM) expressed in HEK293 cells. Thus, bosentan is a more potent inhibitor of Ntcp than NTCP, and this should result in less intrahepatocyte accumulation of bile acids in rats during bosentan treatment. To begin characterization of this species difference, two chimeric molecules were generated and expressed in HEK293 cells; NTCP1–140/Ntcp141–362 and Ntcp1–140/NTCP141–349. The mode of bosentan inhibition was noncompetitive for Ntcp, and competitive for NTCP (Ki 18 μM) and NTCP1–140/Ntcp141–362 (Ki 1.7 μM); bosentan affected both the Km and Vmax of Ntcp1–140/NTCP141–349 (Ki 7.0 μM). The carboxyl portions of NTCP and Ntcp were found to confer species differences in basal taurocholate transport Vmax. In conclusion, differential inhibition of Ntcp and NTCP may represent a novel mechanism for species differences in bosentan-induced hepatotoxicity.
Petrogenesis of High-MgO Lavas of the Lower Mull Plateau Group, Scotland: Insights from Melt Inclusions

Published data on Palaeogene flood basalts of the lower Mull Plateau Group (Scotland) show that the most primitive lavas (MgO48 wt %) have the greatest extent of crustal assimilation, inconsistent with a simple coupled assimilation^fractional crystallization (AFC) model.We present elemental data on rehomogenized olivine-hosted melt inclusions from four high-MgO flows to investigate the nature of crustal assimilation and melt aggregation processes during the initial stages of flood basalt magmatism on Mull. Whole-rock compositions have been variably modified by hydrothermal alteration associated with the nearby Central Complexes. Nd isotope compositions, which should be insensitive to this alteration, are lower than typical mantle values (eNd þ 2· 4t o� 5·7), indicating variable modification by crustal assimilation in all four samples. Melt inclusions are protected against alteration effects within their host olivine crystals, and provide more robust estimates of magmatic liquid compositions than whole-rocks, particularly for the alkali elements Na, K and Ba.The whole-rock samples show limited variations in Na2 O( 2·4^2·8 wt %) and K2 O( 0·23^0·29 wt %), despite a wide range in immobile elements (e.g. Zr 62^126 ppm). In contrast, the melt inclusions show far greater variability in Na2O (1 ·8^4· 0w t %) and K2 O( 0·02^0·35 wt %) and positive correlations between K and Na. Melt inclusions from different samples show systematic correlations between alkalis (K þNa) and incompatible element ratios (e.g. Zr/Y), indicating that the inclusions record magmatic values for the fluid-mobile elements. For the two most incompatible-element-enriched samples, the whole-rock analyses are similar to the melt inclusions except for lower Na and higher Ba that are related to alteration. Therefore, the crustal assimilation in these magmas must have taken place prior to growth of the olivines. For the two more depleted samples, the inclusions have less contaminated compositions than the whole-rocks, and show broad trends of increasing K/Ti with decreasing Fo% of the host olivine. For these samples, crustal assimilation must have taken place both during and after growth of the olivines and in an AFC style in which assimilation is linked to magmatic differentiation. Melt inclusions from single samples show limited variability in Zr/Y compared with K/ Ti, indicating that aggregation of melts from different parts of the melt column must have occurred at deeper levels prior to growth of the olivines in the samples. Although the whole-rock compositional variations capture the broad details of crustal assimilation and melting histories for the Mull lavas despite the variable effects of hydrothermal alteration, the melt inclusion data more clearly resolve significant details of these magmatic processes.The extent of assimilation and differentiation is linked to the depth of magma stalling: primitive, contaminated magmas in the lower crust vs. evolved, uncontaminated magmas at sub-Moho depths.
Communication between homologous chromosomes: genetic alterations at a nuclease‐hypersensitive site can alter mitotic chromatin structure at that site both in cis and in trans

Background: In vegetatively growing diploid strains of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, homologous chromosomes appear to be paired via multiple interstitial interactions, likely as a regular feature of the diploid lifestyle. We have previously suggested that this pairing is guided by direct physical interactions between intact DNA duplexes in nuclease‐hypersensitive regions and that homology is sensed directly at the DNA level.
Cramer-rao lower bound for single target tracking accuracy with coordinated turn maneuvers using range and bearing measurements

This paper provides a Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) on range, cross range, speed and heading tracking accuracy for a class of maneuvering target trajectories using nonlinear noisy range and bearing measurements when both the target and the sensor platform are moving. It is assumed that there are no missing or false measurements. This analysis is valid only for single target two-dimensional tracking scenarios. The target trajectory is assumed to have a constant velocity with a single coordinated turn maneuver. Hence, the target trajectory has three legs where the first and last ones are straight and level trajectories. Therefore, these two legs are characterised by their initial target position and velocity. The second trajectory leg is assumed to be a constant velocity-coordinated turn (CV-CT) maneuver where maneuver start time, maneuver duration and turn rate are the unknown parameters. Hence, the overall target trajectory is characterised by the sufficient statistics which are the initial target position and velocity in the horizontal (x, y) plane, maneuver start time, maneuver duration and maneuver turn rate. First, the CRLB on the accuracy of the sufficient statistics is obtained by deriving Fisher information matrices (FIMs) from partial derivatives of range and bearing measurements with respect to sufficient statistics for different target trajectory legs. Then, the CRLB is derived for the tracking accuracy on parameters of interest, namely, target range, cross range, speed and heading by taking partial derivatives of these parameters with respect to the sufficient statistics. A single target tracking example is provided where the CRLB on tracking accuracy is illustrated with different radar measurement sampling periods. This example also provides the Cramer-Rao lower bound on estimation error on other parameters of interest, namely the maneuver start time and duration.
Body side-specific control of motor activity during turning in a walking animal

Animals and humans need to move deftly and flexibly to adapt to environmental demands. Despite a large body of work on the neural control of walking in invertebrates and vertebrates alike, the mechanisms underlying the motor flexibility that is needed to adjust the motor behavior remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated optomotor-induced turning and the neuronal mechanisms underlying the differences between the leg movements of the two body sides in the stick insect Carausius morosus. We present data to show that the generation of turning kinematics in an insect are the combined result of descending unilateral commands that change the leg motor output via task-specific modifications in the processing of local sensory feedback as well as modification of the activity of local central pattern generating networks in a body-side-specific way. To our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the specificity of such modifications in a defined motor task. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.7554/eLife.13799. 001
PTERYGOTUS ANGLICUS AGASSIZ (CHELICERATA: EURYPTERIDA) FROM ATHOLVILLE, LOWER DEVONIAN CAMPBELLTON FORMATION, NEW BRUNSWICK, CANADA

Abstract: Specimens of the large eurypterid Pterygotus from the Early Devonian Campbellton Formation outcropping at Atholville, New Brunswick, are identified as Pterygotus anglicus Agassiz. The locality, in the Atholville beds near the western end of the Campbellton Formation exposure, is best known for its vertebrate fauna of ostracoderms, arthrodires, acanthodians and chondrichthyans, first described in 1881. Although a significant series of pterygotid fossils was acquired by the Natural History Museum, London, in 1892, it received little attention. A few small specimens from the Geological Survey of Canada collections were named Pterygotus atlanticus by Clarke and Ruedemann, considered here to be an invalid taxon. They suggested that P. atlanticus might turn out to be a small specimen of P. anglicus. The new material described here, including one relatively complete individual, confirms their suspicions and provides evidence of Pterygotus anglicus in the Lower Devonian of North America.
Inorganic Nutrients Increase Humification Efficiency and C-Sequestration in an Annually Cropped Soil

Removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and storing the carbon (C) in resistant soil organic matter (SOM) is a global priority to restore soil fertility and help mitigate climate change. Although it is widely assumed that retaining rather than removing or burning crop residues will increase SOM levels, many studies have failed to demonstrate this. We hypothesised that the microbial nature of resistant SOM provides a predictable nutrient stoichiometry (C:nitrogen, C:phosphorus and C:sulphur–C:N:P:S) to target using supplementary nutrients when incorporating C-rich crop residues into soil. An improvement in the humification efficiency of the soil microbiome as a whole, and thereby C-sequestration, was predicted. In a field study over 5 years, soil organic-C (SOC) stocks to 1.6 m soil depth were increased by 5.5 t C ha-1 where supplementary nutrients were applied with incorporated crop residues, but were reduced by 3.2 t C ha-1 without nutrient addition, with 2.9 t C ha-1 being lost from the 0–10 cm layer. A net difference of 8.7 t C ha-1 was thus achieved in a cropping soil over a 5 year period, despite the same level of C addition. Despite shallow incorporation (0.15 m), more than 50% of the SOC increase occurred below 0.3 m, and as predicted by the stoichiometry, increases in resistant SOC were accompanied by increases in soil NPS at all depths. Interestingly the C:N, C:P and C:S ratios decreased significantly with depth possibly as a consequence of differences in fungi to bacteria ratio. Our results demonstrate that irrespective of the C-input, it is essential to balance the nutrient stoichiometry of added C to better match that of resistant SOM to increase SOC sequestration. This has implications for global practices and policies aimed at increasing SOC sequestration and specifically highlight the need to consider the hidden cost and availability of associated nutrients in building soil-C.
Meta-optimization method for wavelet-based damage identification in composite structures

The damage identification problem is one of crucial problems during operation of machines' elements made of polymeric composites. Therefore the appropriate non-destructive techniques should be developed in order to detect and identify the damages with the best possible accuracy. Moreover, such methods should be applicable in various testing conditions. One of the intensively developed directions in non-destructive damage assessment is a class of methods based on wavelet analysis of modal shapes of vibration applied for a tested structure. The effectiveness of an algorithm is strongly dependent on the type of applied wavelet and its parameters. The proposed approach uses a combination of the wavelet-based damage identification algorithm with multi-objective meta-optimization in order to select optimal parameters of applied wavelets and determine a front of optimal non-dominated solutions. Based on these solutions the operator can choose the desired accuracy of damage identification with respect to the suitable computation time.
Conception of efficiency of heat electromechanical complex as hybrid system

Developed concept of efficiency of heat electromechanical polyfunctional complex on the basis of the electromechanical converter and the heat source with a combustion chamber, which performs the process steps of drying, torrefication, dispersion, electromagnetic treatment, the screw compression biomass or industrial waste. The structure of high-performance heat electromechanical complex, which includes not only the elements that perform the basic functions of energy conversion of one species into another and provide biomass processing by fractional, formative and humidity parameters, but also implements a number of related physical and chemical effects to give new properties of biomass and increase the commercial value of the product.
How much will precipitation increase with global warming

The advent of meteorological satellites during the 1970s made possible the observation of the seasonally shifting patterns of global precipitation. It was not until recently, however, that the record could be considered long enough to investigate longer-term trends and the relationship between global precipitation and global warming. Using data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) instrument, Wentz et al. [2007] reported that global mean precipitation increased at a rate of 7.4±2.6% per °C between 1987 and 2006. Meanwhile, general circulation models (GCMs) used to predict climate change simulate twentieth- and 21st-century mean precipitation increases of about 13% per °C [Held and Soden, 2006]. This difference seems surprising because some GCMs can adequately reproduce the much longer twentieth- century surface-based land-mean precipitation record [Lambert et al., 2005]. Global precipitation changes are tied to the surface energy budget through evaporation and to the tropospheric energy budget through condensation. Thus, if GCMs do underestimate global precipitation changes, the simulation of other climate variables will be affected.
Comparison of Three Electrochemical Energy Buffers Applied to a Hybrid Bus Powertrain With Simultaneous Optimal Sizing and Energy Management

This paper comparatively examines three different electrochemical energy storage systems (ESSs), i.e., a Li-ion battery pack, a supercapacitor pack, and a dual buffer, for a hybrid bus powertrain operated in Gothenburg, Sweden. Existing studies focus on comparing these ESSs, in terms of either general attributes (e.g., energy density and power density) or their implications to the fuel economy of hybrid vehicles with a heuristic/nonoptimal ESS size and power management strategy. This paper adds four original contributions to the related literature. First, the three ESSs are compared in a framework of simultaneous optimal ESS sizing and energy management, where the ESSs can serve the powertrain in the most cost-effective manner. Second, convex optimization is used to implement the framework, which allows the hybrid powertrain designers/integrators to rapidly and optimally perform integrated ESS selection, sizing, and power management. Third, both hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and plug-in HEV (PHEV) scenarios for the powertrain are considered, in order to systematically examine how different the ESS requirements are for HEV and PHEV applications. Finally, a sensitivity analysis is carried out to evaluate how price variations of the onboard energy carriers affect the results and conclusions.
Mesozoic granitoid magmatism in southeast British Columbia: Implications for the origin of granitoid belts in the North American Cordillera

The trace element and isotopic compositions of Mesozoic granitoids in southeast British Columbia constrain the timing and mechanisms for granitoid production in the western North American Cordillera. The granitoids were emplaced in Middle Jurassic and mid-Cretaceous pulses into Paleozoic-Mesozoic accreted terranes, Paleozoic metasediments, and Proterozoic metasediments of the Purcell-Windermere Group. Middle Jurassic compositions range from quartz diorite to tonalite to granite, with high Ba and low Rb and Nb abundances similar to those in granitoids found within Mesozoic arc complexes of western North America. Isotopic compositions range for eSrT from −27 to +33 and eNdT from 0 to −7 with initial 206Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, and 207Pb/204Pb lying in an array between upper and lower crust reservoirs. These compositions can be produced by addition of 5–25% of Precambrian crust to basalt. The Mid-Jurassic granitoids formed as part of an arc magmatic complex during subduction of ocean crust and as accretion of outboard terranes occurred west of the North American continent. In contrast, mid-Cretaceous batholiths are composed of weakly peraluminous hornblende-biotite granitoids and strongly peraluminous two-mica granites. These granitoids have lower eNdT, and eSrT, 206Pb/204Pb, 208Pb/204Pb, and 207Pb/204Pb ratios extending to more radiogenic compositions than the Middle Jurassic granitoids and have complete overlap with isotopic compositions of southeast British Columbia Precambrian crust. Their trace element and isotopic compositions are consistent with a model in which crustal anatexis of Precambrian basement gneisses produced the hornblende-biotite granitoids and anatexis of Proterozoic metapelites produced the two-mica granites as a melt zone migrated up through the crust. Collision and accretion of exotic terranes resulted in a maximum in crustal thickening in the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (∼150–130 Ma) in the Canadian Cordillera, 20–40 m.y. prior to mid-Cretaceous (∼110 Ma) granitoid magmatism. The timing of these events are consistent with anatexis being a response to crustal thickening.