Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consistent decentralized cooperative localization for autonomous vehicles using LiDAR, GNSS, and HD maps

To navigate autonomously, a vehicle must be able to localize itself with respect to its driving environment and the vehicles with which it interacts. This study presents a decentralized cooperative localization method. It is based on the exchange of local dynamic maps (LDM), which are cyber‐physical representations of the physical driving environment containing poses and kinematic information about nearby vehicles. An LDM acts as an abstraction layer that makes the cooperation framework sensor‐agnostic, and it can even improve the localization of a sensorless communicating vehicle. With this goal in mind, this study focuses on the property of consistency in LDM estimates. Uncertainty in the estimates needs to be properly modeled, so that the estimation error can be statistically bounded for a given confidence level. To obtain a consistent system, we first introduce a decentralized fusion framework that can cope with LDMs whose errors have an unknown degree of correlation. Second, we present a consistent method for estimating the relative pose between vehicles, using a two‐dimensional LiDAR (light detection and ranging) with a point‐to‐line metric within an iterative‐closest‐point approach, combined with communicated polygonal shape models. Finally, we add a bias estimator to reduce position errors when nondifferential GNSS (global navigation satellite system) receivers are used, based on visual observations of features geo‐referenced in a high‐definition map. Real experiments were conducted, and the consistency of our approach was demonstrated on a platooning scenario using two experimental vehicles. The full experimental data set used in this study is publicly available.
Efficient Co-Utilization of Biomass-Derived Mixed Sugars for Lactic Acid Production by Bacillus coagulans Azu-10

Lignocellulosic and algal biomass are promising substrates for lactic acid (LA) production. However, lack of xylose utilization and/or sequential utilization of mixed-sugars (carbon catabolite repression, CCR) from biomass hydrolysates by most microorganisms limits achievable titers, yields, and productivities for economical industry-scale production. This study aimed to design lignocellulose-derived substrates for efficient LA production by a thermophilic, xylose-utilizing, and inhibitor-resistant Bacillus coagulans Azu-10. This strain produced 102.2 g/L of LA from 104 g/L xylose at a yield of 1.0 g/g and productivity of 3.18 g/L/h. The CCR effect and LA production were investigated using different mixtures of glucose (G), cellobiose (C), and/or xylose (X). Strain Azu-10 has efficiently co-utilized GX and CX mixture without CCR; however, total substrate concentration (>75 g/L) was the only limiting factor. The strain completely consumed GX and CX mixture and homoferemnatively produced LA up to 76.9 g/L. On the other hand, fermentation with GC mixture exhibited obvious CCR where both glucose concentration (>25 g/L) and total sugar concentration (>50 g/L) were the limiting factors. A maximum LA production of 50.3 g/L was produced from GC mixture with a yield of 0.93 g/g and productivity of 2.09 g/L/h. Batch fermentation of GCX mixture achieved a maximum LA concentration of 62.7 g/L at LA yield of 0.962 g/g and productivity of 1.3 g/L/h. Fermentation of GX and CX mixture was the best biomass for LA production. Fed-batch fermentation with GX mixture achieved LA production of 83.6 g/L at a yield of 0.895 g/g and productivity of 1.39 g/L/h.
Ambivalent influencers: Feeling rules and the affective practice of anxiety in social media influencer work

This article investigates the intimate cultures of Finnish influencer mothers. Through in-depth qualitative interviews with four Finnish influencer mothers and online observation of their social media accounts, the article asks how influencers negotiate the feeling rules that govern maternal femininity on social media and attempt to cope with the emotional weight of precarious social media work. The article argues for using the affective practice of anxiety as a theoretical concept to explore the influencers’ routinized emotional behaviour in their attempts to decrease the discrepancy between their emotions and cultural expectations. The article suggests that although anxiety can be considered a negative side effect of stressful social media work, sharing it on social media can also be understood as a tactic that plays a central role in the lifestyle influencer industry. Drawing on Loveday’s analysis of the ‘neurotic academic’, the article suggests that the construction of an entrepreneurial influencer self is underpinned by anxiety. This argument is formulated through the figure of the ‘neurotic influencer’ that is the embodiment of the ambivalent nature of gendered influencer work.
Evaluation of digital and optical refractometers for assessing failure of transfer of passive immunity in Chianina beef–suckler calves reared in Umbria

Abstract There are few published data on the accurate on-farm diagnosis of failure of transfer of passive immunity (FTPI) in beef–suckler calves. This observational study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance and differences among four types of refractometers for assessing FTPI in Chianina beef–suckler calves. Blood samples were collected from 85 Chianina calves aged 2–7 days. The serum immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentration was measured using radial immunodiffusion (RID), digital and optical serum total protein (STP) refractometers, and digital and optical serum refractometers. The diagnostic performance of the refractometers was determined based on the serum IgG threshold of 16 g/L (measured by RID). A receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve was used to identify the optimal cutoff values for all refractometers. The RID IgG concentration was positively correlated with all four refractometers (correlation coefficient: 0.75–0.84). ROC analysis yielded optimal cutoff values for predicting FTPI of 51 g/L (sensitivity (Se)=0.63 and specificity (Sp)=0.96) and 52 g/L (Se = 0.69 and Sp = 0.90) for the digital and optical STP refractometers, respectively. At the threshold of 8.3% Brix, the Se and Sp were 0.66 and 0.92 for the optical Brix and 0.77 and 0.92 for the digital Brix refractometer, respectively. All four refractometers were useful for assessing FTPI in Chianina calves. However, the digital Brix had the highest combined diagnostic accuracy for FTPI. The on-farm use of refractometers to assess FTPI can become part of routine monitoring of the colostrum management program in beef–suckler calf herds. Highlights The cutoff values were 51 and 52 g/L for the digital and optical serum total protein refractometers, respectively. The digital Brix refractometer was the most accurate for the detection of calves with inadequate transfer of passive immunity.
Harmine Hydrochloride Induced G2/M Phase Cell Cycle Arrest, Autophagy and Apoptosis in Human Leukemia K562 Cells through Modulation of the MAPK Pathway

Background Previous studies have indicated that harmine hydrochloride (HAR-HC) has anti-tumor characteristics. However, its potential impact on human leukemia cells is unknown. In this study, we explored the potential mechanism of HAR-HC effects on human leukemia cells in vitro. Methods MTT assay was used to detect cell viability; A flow cytometer was used to analyze the cell cycle; Anexinn V-FITC/PI was used to detect cell apoptosis; Western blotting assay was used to analyze the expression of related proteins. Results The result of flow cytometry suggested G2/M phage arrest in K562 cells induced by HAR-HC. The expression levels of Cyclin E2, Cyclin D1, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Mcl-1, pro-caspase-3, and PARP decreased and the expression levels of Cyclin A2, Cyclin B1, p21, Myt-1, p-cdc2 (Tyr15), cleaved -caspase-3 and cleaved-PARP increased. Moreover, the expression of p-JNK and p-ERK1/2 increased and autophagy was induced in the HAR-HC treatment group. Additionally, HAR-HC facilitated autophagy by activating the ERK1/2 pathway. Conclusion HAR-HC induced G2/M phase cell cycle arrest, autophagy and apoptosis by activating the JNK, and ERK1/2 pathways in the human leukemia K562 cells.
An Analysis of Computed Tomography-Related Radiation Exposure in Pediatric Trauma Patients

Objective To compare radiation doses used for pediatric computed tomography (CT) scans at community-based referring facilities (RF) to those at a designated pediatric trauma center (PTC) to assess the consistency of radiation exposure. Methods In this retrospective study, patients 0 to 18 years of age with CT imaging performed either at a RF or at a PTC from January 1, 2015, to January 5, 2016, were identified. Data about patients, CT radiation dose, and characteristics of the RFs were compared. Results We identified 502 patients (156 RF, 346 PTC) with 281 head CTs (79 RF, 202 PTC) and 86 abdominal/pelvis CTs (28 RF, 58 PTC). The radiation dose (measured in mean dose-length product [DLP] ± 1 standard deviation) was significantly higher for RF scans compared with PTC scans (head, RF DLP = 545 ± 334 vs PTC DLP = 438 ± 186 (P < 0.001); abdomen/pelvis, RF DLP = 279 ± 160 vs PTC DLP = 181 ± 201 [P = 0.027]). There was a nonsignificant trend toward lower head CT radiation dosages at RFs with a dedicated pediatric emergency department compared with RFs without a pediatric emergency department. Conclusions Our data suggest that CT scans performed at RFs expose pediatric patients to significantly higher doses of radiation when compared with a PTC. These data support further study to identify factors associated with increased radiation and educational outreach to RFs.
Evidence for radial anisotropy in the lower crust of the Apennines from Bayesian ambient noise tomography in Europe

Probing seismic anisotropy of the lithosphere provides valuable clues on the fabric of rocks. We present a 3-D probabilistic model of shear wave velocity and radial anisotropy of the crust and uppermost mantle of Europe, focusing on the mountain belts of the Alps and Apennines. The model is built from Love and Rayleigh dispersion curves in the period range 5–149 s. Data are extracted from seismic ambient noise recorded at 1521 broad-band stations, including the AlpArray network. The dispersion curves are first combined in a linearized least squares inversion to obtain 2-D maps of group velocity at each period. Love and Rayleigh maps are then jointly inverted at depth for shear wave velocity and radial anisotropy using a Bayesian Monte Carlo scheme that accounts for the trade-off between radial anisotropy and horizontal layering. The isotropic part of our model is consistent with previous studies. However, our anisotropy maps differ from previous large scale studies that suggested the presence of significant radial anisotropy everywhere in the European crust and shallow upper mantle. We observe instead that radial anisotropy is mostly localized beneath the Apennines while most of the remaining European crust and shallow upper mantle is isotropic. We attribute this difference to trade-offs between radial anisotropy and thin (hectometric) layering in previous studies based on least-squares inversions and long period data (>30 s). In contrast, our approach involves a massive data set of short period measurements and a Bayesian inversion that accounts for thin layering. The positive radial anisotropy (VSH > VSV) observed in the lower crust of the Apennines cannot result from thin layering. We rather attribute it to ductile horizontal flow in response to the recent and present-day extension in the region.
Solubility and mechanisms of precipitation of calcium oxalate in D (chlorine dioxide stage) filtrates

La solubilite apparente de l'oxalate de calcium dans les filtrats D de l'atelier de blanchiment et dans des solutions sans aucun filtrat (solutions sans substances organiques sauf les ions oxalate) s'est accrue lorsque le pH s'est abaisse sous 4, lorsque la temperature etait elevee, et lorsque la resistance ionique et la concentration en ions magnesium se sont accrues. La solubilite apparente etait toutefois plus importante dans les filtrats D que dans les solutions sans aucun filtrat, en raison d'une difference dans la composition des precipites formes. L'oxalate de calcium des filtrats D consistait en un melange de monohydrate et de dihydrate d'oxalate de calcium, tandis que le precipite forme a partir d'une solution sans aucun filtrat ne comprenait que du monohydrate. La formation du dihydrate aux depens du monohydrate etait probablement le resultat d'un effet inhibiteur sur la croissance des cristaux de monohydrate de certains composes organiques dans les filtrats D.
Internship Experiences Among College Students Attending an HBC: A Longitudinal Grounded Theory Exploration

Internships are a form of experiential learning whereby students can apply and practice their skills in a professional setting while gaining career and life experience. This study explored internship experiences among students attending an Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in the Southeastern region of the U.S. Using Grounded Theory, 18 students participated in in-person small group interviews at Time 1 and 11 participated in follow-up individual phone interviews 1 year later at Time 2. The grounded theory that emerged from the data depicts the process by which students engaged with, and made meaning from, the internship process. Participants are unique individuals with individual and contextual factors that impact the values and beliefs they bring to the internship process. The internship application process is complex, and support from important others, limitations to internship opportunities, and financial considerations impact students’ experiences. These experiences shape perceptions regarding the value of internships, which informs students’ future projections. In combination, the internship process is a process that unfolds over time and in which students’ experiences mutually influence and inform one another. Implications for internship employers and higher education institutions, applications to career theory, and future directions for research are discussed.
Factors Affecting Postemergence Control of Sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia) with Imazaquin and DPX-F6025: Spray Volume, Growth Stage, and Soil-Applied Alachlor and Vernolate

In field and greenhouse experiments, sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia L. # CASOB) control with postemergence application of imazaquin {ammonium salt of 2-[4,5-dihydro-4-methyl-4-(1-methylethyl)-5-oxo-1H-imidazol-2-yl]-3-quinolinecarboxylic acid} was similar with spray volumes of 50, 185, and 360 L/ha. Application of DPX-F6025 {ethyl ester of 2-[[[[(4-chloro-6-methoxypyrimidin-2-yl) amino] carbonyl] amino] sulfonyl] benzoate} in 50 L/ha resulted in greater control than application in 185 or 360 L/ha in the greenhouse, but no effect of spray volume was noted in field studies. In the greenhouse, control was 25 and 63% less with imazaquin applied to three- and five-leaf plants, respectively, compared to one-leaf plants; control was 40 and 62% less with DPX-F6025 applied to three- and five-leaf plants, respectively, compared to one-leaf plants. In the field, initial control was greater with imazaquin and DPX-F6025 applied to one-leaf plants than to three- or five-leaf plants. Following cultivation, control was similar regardless of plant size at time of application. In the field, postemergence applications of imazaquin and DPX-F6025 were equally phytotoxic following preplant-incorporated application of vernolate (S-propyl dipropylcarbamothioate) or preemergence application of alachlor [2-chloro-N-(2,6-diethylphenyl)-N-(methoxymethyl)acetamide]. A synergistic interaction was observed in the greenhouse with imazaquin applied postemergence to sicklepod grown in vernolate- or alachlor-treated soil and with DPX-F6025 applied to sicklepod grown in alachlor-treated soil. Antagonism was observed with DPX-F6025 applied postemergence to sicklepod grown in vernolate-treated soil.
Business Group-Affiliation and Corporate Social Responsibility: Evidence from Listed Companies in China

Business groups have played a vital role in the development of emerging markets. However, we share very limited understanding in the role of business group that act on affiliated firms’ CSR performance. Using manually sorted data on A-share listed companies and business groups in China from 2010–2017, we examine whether a company’s business group-affiliation affects its corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance and the mediating mechanisms of this association. Our empirical models show that group companies bear a higher level of social responsibility compared to independent companies. This positive relationship between group-affiliation and social responsibility relies on resource allocation through internal capital markets, rent-seeking initiatives, and consideration of corporate reputation. Moreover, group affiliation benefits the firm’s CSR performance in employee’s responsibilities, consumers’ responsibilities and environmental responsibilities, while significantly lower the shareholders’ responsibilities. Our empirical valuation of group companies’ CSR levels can serve as a benchmark for emerging market companies implementing social responsibility policies.
Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications

1.The heat engine, the prime movers and the modern closed energy conversion systems. - 2.The thermodynamic properties of the working fluids. - 3.The Organic Rankine Cycle. - 4.The real gas closed cycles. - 5.The binary cycles. - App A.The fluid machines and the balance equations. - App B.The Exergy or the Available Energy function. - App C.Irreversibilities in the thermodynamic cycles and in the thermal machines.
Do hotel employees really care for corporate social responsibility (CSR): a happiness approach to employee innovativeness

ABSTRACT This study explores hotel employees’ perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) within the proposed conceptual model under the umbrella of self-determination and needs satisfaction theory. The model examines dichotomous perceived CSR relationships – instrumental and volunteer CSR – with employees’ basic needs satisfaction, self-esteem, hedonic and eudemonic happiness, and innovativeness. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied to examines the assumed hypotheses. The results established that hotel employees perceived instrumental CSR has a significant positive influence on the satisfaction of their basic needs, and perceived volunteer CSR impact employees’ self-esteem. Employees’ basic needs satisfaction demonstrated a significant positive influence on their hedonic happiness and self-esteem on eudemonic happiness. Both hedonic and eudemonic happiness contribute significantly to employee innovativeness, where, eudemonic happiness contribution is higher than hedonic happiness. The findings expand the literature on CSR by providing a better understanding of the core mechanism through which CSR can influence hotel employees’ happiness, where, a happy employee is a key to innovativeness, competitiveness, and better organizational performance.
The Effects of Inductive Electric Field on the Spatial and Temporal Evolution of the Inner Magnetospheric Ring Current

Charged particles are observed to be injected into the inner magnetosphere from the plasma sheet and energized up to high energies over short distance and time, during both geomagnetic storms and substorms. Numerous studies suggest that it is the short‐duration and high‐speed plasma flows, which are closely associated with the global effects of magnetic reconnection and inductive effects, rather than the slow and steady convection that control the earthward transport of plasma and magnetic flux from the magnetotail, especially during geomagnetic activities. In order to include the effect of the inductive electric field produced by the temporal change of magnetic field on the dynamics of ring current, we implemented both theoretical and numerical modifications to an inner magnetosphere kinetic model—Hot Electron‐Ion Drift Integrator. New drift terms associated with the inductive electric field are incorporated into the calculation of bounce‐averaged coefficients for the distribution function, and their numerical implementations and the associated effects on total drift and energization rate are discussed. Numerical simulations show that the local particle drifts are significantly altered by the presence of inductive electric fields, in addition to the changing magnetic gradient‐curvature drift due to the distortion of magnetic field, and at certain locations, the inductive drift dominates both the potential and the magnetic gradient‐curvature drift. The presence of a self‐consistent inductive electric field alters the overall particle trajectories, energization, and pitch angle, resulting in significant changes in the topology and the strength of the ring current.
The persistent pay gap between Easterners and Westerners in Germany: A quarter‐century after reunification

A quarter of a century after Germany's reunification, Eastern Germans still earn substantially less than Western Germans. This paper revisits the German wage differential and isolates the effect of differing returns to human capital endowments, the possibility of a location effect, and human capital depreciation on the regional wage gap. While the endowment effect, location effect, and human capital depreciation jointly account for the wage differential between Easterners and Westerners living in the West, the same does not hold true for individuals settled in the East, where part of the wage gap remains unexplained.
Placemaking as Unmaking: Settler Colonialism, Gentrification, and the Myth of “Revitalized” Urban Spaces

Abstract Leisure scholarship that operates within traditional frames celebrates placemaking as an inherently good, participatory, and emancipatory process. In doing so, the bulk of leisure scholarship fails to account for the ways that placemaking is complicit in the historic and pervasive violences of systemic racism, settler colonialism, gentrification, and socioeconomic elitism. Working through the case of Goudies Lane, a recently place-made space in so-called Kitchener, Ontario, we demonstrate how humanist approaches to placemaking predicate erasures and perpetuations of these violences. We argue that thinking differently may allow for a more engaged, equitable scholarship that accounts for the reality that every placemaking is always already an unmaking of something, and that these unmakings perpetuate racialized and socioeconomic injustices under the guise of a collaborative, participatory process of “revitalization” and “progress. ”
Concentrations of Endotoxins in Waters Around the Island of Montreal, and Treatment Options

Endotoxins are a component of most Gram negative bacteria, and some cyanobacteria. They may be toxic to humans when inhaled or injected, but the effects are unclear when they are ingested. In fact, low concentrations may protect children against certain allergies. Data for endotoxins in Quebec waters are unavailable, hence this study mapped levels in the waters around Montreal, using two commercial test methods. The recently developed factor C method had a greater linear range and was more convenient to use than the widely used Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) method. Although the methods gave endotoxin values of the same order, a consistent relationship between the two could not be established. Endotoxin concentrations in the untreated waters varied from 32 to 1,188 EU/mL, comparable in the literature from pristine waters to wastewaters. Values were generally lower in the summer. Filtration is known to be partially effective at removing endotoxins, but the effects of disinfection are not well established. Accordingly, chlorination, ozonation, and ultraviolet light were tested for the destruction of endotoxins in water, at doses found during drinking water disinfection. While chlorine and ultraviolet light had minimal effects on endotoxin levels, ozone could achieve up to 60% reductions at Ct values (concentration x contact time) as low as 2.5 mg·min/L.