Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Reflecting on ‘Directions’: growing with the times and future developments

This Editorial reflects on the ‘Directions’ section of the Journal of Geography in Higher Education over the last 25 years and highlights the new Co-Editors’ plans for the future of the section. We discuss how the section first emerged in the context of a heightened focus on skills development in higher education and follow this with a brief analysis of the 42 ‘Directions’ papers published to date. We reflect on how the nature of the published articles initially focused on enhancing undergraduate student assessment performance before expanding the discussion to consider broader aspects of the student experience and disciplinary learning. We recognise that while most of the articles have focused on undergraduates, many of them are also relevant to postgraduate geography students. Following a lull in submissions between 2008 and 2017, a revival of the section emerged through articles either co-authored by students and staff, or authored solely by geography students. We intend to develop this ‘students as partners’ approach with respect to future ‘Directions’ publications, by encouraging submissions co-authored by students and staff and ensuring that all articles are reviewed by both a current academic staff member and a student.
LTE system-level evaluation of directive compact antennas for small-cell networks

This paper presents the system-level evaluation of a new directive compact antenna devoted to small-cells. The parasitic antenna array gets a maximum directivity of 7.9 dBi with a compact size (inter element distance of 0.1λ), which makes it a very interesting candidate for integration in small-cell equipment. Such super-directivity is reached at the cost of a degraded antenna efficiency/gain. After the antenna properties being confirmed by laboratory test measurements, the evaluation is completed by simulating the expected performance in large small-cell outdoor deployments. Two studies are reported in this paper, based on slightly different scenarios and modeling. The proposed antenna is compared to basic omni-directional antennas, but also to a standardized beamforming scheme. Both studies show a significant improvement of downlink and uplink user throughputs, along with a valuable reduction of the electromagnetic field (EMF) exposure.
Screening for novel bacteria from the bioenergy feedstock switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.)

Switchgrass is considered as a good candidate for biofuel, especially ethanol production due to its huge biomass output and high cellulose content. In a search for novel microorganisms capable of using and degrading switchgrass to produce sugars and ethanol, enrichment experiments were established to screen for microorganisms from soil samples obtained at the University of Tennessee Agricultural Research Station, Jackson, Tennessee. Three enrichments were prepared and incubated at different pH and temperatures: (1) 30°C, pH 5, (2) 30°C, pH 8 and (3) 60°C, pH5. Bulk community DNA was directly extracted from the enrichments. Microbial community structures were determined by phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences retrieved from the enrichment cultures containing switchgrass as the carbon source. The mesophilic enrichments were dominated by Sarcina, Anaerobacter, and Clostrium, which were not found in the thermophilic enrichment. The thermophilic enrichment selected for two types of bacteria belonging to the class Bacilli (Geobacillus and Saccharococcus). The thermophilic enrichments were dominated by the Geobacillus spp. (Firmicutes, class Bacilli), and Saccharococcus (Firmicutes, class Bacilli); both containing thermophilic microorganisms with some cellulolytic members. Enzymatic assays detected the presence of enzymes involved in cellulose (β-glucosidase and cellobiohydrolase) and hemicellulose degradations (β-xylosidase); and the activity tends to be higher in the enrichments incubated at 30°C.
Mode change method of bi-directional DC/DC converter for electric vehicle

In this paper, a mode change method is proposed to charge and discharge a battery safely which is the main energy source of electric vehicle. To verify the proposed mode change method, a simulation is performed with a bi-directional converter of a multi-phase which is using vehicle system. The three phase interleaved bidirectional DC/DC converter performs average current control for each phase inductor current. And the proposed mode change method is applied for the operation from step-up(boost) to step-down(buck). The mode change method is proposed that can be limited overshoot current for transition and improving a dynamic current characteristic. To confirm the validity of the proposed method, its operation and performance are verified through a simulation and experiment with inverter for IPMSM.
Automatically assessing crashes from heap overflows

Heap overflow is one of the most widely exploited vulnerabilities, with a large number of heap overflow instances reported every year. It is important to decide whether a crash caused by heap overflow can be turned into an exploit. Efficient and effective assessment of exploitability of crashes facilitates to identify severe vulnerabilities and thus prioritize resources. In this paper, we propose the first metrics to assess heap overflow crashes based on both the attack aspect and the feasibility aspect. We further present HCSIFTER, a novel solution to automatically assess the exploitability of heap overflow instances under our metrics. Given a heap-based crash, HCSIFTER accurately detects heap overflows through dynamic execution without any source code or debugging information. Then it uses several novel methods to extract program execution information needed to quantify the severity of the heap overflow using our metrics. We have implemented a prototype HCSIFTER and applied it to assess nine programs with heap overflow vulnerabilities. HCSIFTER successfully reports that five heap overflow vulnerabilities are highly exploitable and two overflow vulnerabilities are unlikely exploitable. It also gave quantitatively assessments for other two programs. On average, it only takes about two minutes to assess one heap overflow crash. The evaluation result demonstrates both effectiveness and efficiency of HC Sifter.
Medium for presumptive identification of Yersinia enterocolitica

A medium, lysine-arginine-iron agar, was developed for the presumptive identification of Yersinia enterocolitica isolates. This medium was a modification of lysine-iron agar and allowed for the testing of five biochemical characteristics in a single tube medium. The reactions of Y. enterocolitica on this medium were reliable and distinctive. The medium significantly simplified the identification of Y. enterocolitica isolates.
Four-Wheel Steering Vehicle Control using Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Models

This paper deals with the problem of vehicle active control. The focus is to improve the vehicle stability and handling. Vehicle dynamics is described by a 10-DOF (degree of freedom) model which include lateral, longitudinal, yaw and roll dynamics. Parametric variations (due to the variation of road conditions) and also, a variation of vehicle velocity are taken into account in the controller synthesis. The nonlinear vehicle model is approximated by a Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model with structured parametric uncertainties. State variables are not always available. Thus, fuzzy observer-based algorithm will be proposed to ensure control with performance specifications. Robust pole placement LMI (linear matrix inequalities) conditions are obtained using Lyapunov and Hinfin approach, which ensure desired performances of the closed loop system.
Testing the palindromic target site model for DNA transposon insertion using the Drosophila melanogaster P-element

Understanding the molecular mechanisms that influence transposable element target site preferences is a fundamental challenge in functional and evolutionary genomics. Large-scale transposon insertion projects provide excellent material to study target site preferences in the absence of confounding effects of post-insertion evolutionary change. Growing evidence from a wide variety of prokaryotes and eukaryotes indicates that DNA transposons recognize staggered-cut palindromic target site motifs (TSMs). Here, we use over 10 000 accurately mapped P-element insertions in the Drosophila melanogaster genome to test predictions of the staggered-cut palindromic target site model for DNA transposon insertion. We provide evidence that the P-element targets a 14-bp palindromic motif that can be identified at the primary sequence level, which predicts the local spacing, hotspots and strand orientation of P-element insertions. Intriguingly, we find that the although P-element destroys the complete 14-bp target site upon insertion, the terminal three nucleotides of the P-element inverted repeats complement and restore the original TSM, suggesting a mechanistic link between transposon target sites and their terminal inverted repeats. Finally, we discuss how the staggered-cut palindromic target site model can be used to assess the accuracy of genome mappings for annotated P-element insertions.
A prospective, split face, single‐blinded study looking at the use of an infrared device with contact cooling in the treatment of skin laxity in asians

Although monopolar radiofrequency treatment is effective in the improvement of skin laxity, the pain and cost that are associated with this method suggest the need for alternative treatment options. Recently, an infrared device with contact cooling has been shown to be effective in the treatment of skin laxity, with ultrastructural changes observed that are similar to those that are observed following treatment with a monopolar radiofrequency device. However, no control was included in previous studies.
Semantically Consistent Image Completion with Fine-grained Details

Image completion has achieved significant progress due to advances in generative adversarial networks (GANs). Albeit natural-looking, the synthesized contents still lack details, especially for scenes with complex structures or images with large holes. This is because there exists a gap between low-level reconstruction loss and high-level adversarial loss. To address this issue, we introduce a perceptual network to provide mid-level guidance, which measures the semantical similarity between the synthesized and original contents in a similarity-enhanced space. We conduct a detailed analysis on the effects of different losses and different levels of perceptual features in image completion, showing that there exist complementarity between adversarial training and perceptual features. By combining them together, our model can achieve nearly seamless fusion results in an end-to-end manner. Moreover, we design an effective lightweight generator architecture, which can achieve effective image inpainting with far less parameters. Evaluated on CelebA Face and Paris StreetView dataset, our proposed method significantly outperforms existing methods.
VEGF and Angiopoietin‐1 Stimulate Different Angiogenic Phenotypes That Combine to Enhance Functional Neovascularization in Adult Tissue

Objective: Therapeutic angiogenesis requires an understanding of how growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and angiopoietin‐1 (Ang‐1) result in physiological neovascularization. This study determined the physiological mechanism by which adenoviral delivery of growth factor combinations alter vascular phenotype and functionality.
Chromofungin Ameliorates the Progression of Colitis by Regulating Alternatively Activated Macrophages

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by a functional dysregulation of alternatively activated macrophage (AAM) and intestinal epithelial cells (IECs) homeostasis. Chromogranin-A (CHGA) secreted by neuroendocrine cells is implicated in intestinal inflammation and immune dysregulation. CHGA undergoes proteolytic processing to generate CHGA-derived peptides. Chromofungin (CHR: CHGA47–66) is a short CHGA-derived peptide encoded by CHGA Exon-IV and is involved in innate immune regulation, but the basis is poorly investigated. We investigated the expression of CHR in colonic tissue of patients with active UC and assessed the effects of the CHR in dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) colitis in mice and on macrophages and human colonic epithelial cells. We found that mRNA expression of CHR correlated positively with mRNA levels of AAM markers and gene expression of tight junction (TJ) proteins and negatively with mRNA levels of interleukin (IL)-8, IL-18, and collagen in patients with active UC. Moreover, AAM markers correlated positively with gene expression of TJ proteins and negatively with IL-8, IL-18, and collagen gene expression. Experimentally, intracolonic administration of CHR protected against DSS-induced colitis by priming macrophages into AAM, reducing colonic collagen deposition, and maintaining IECs homeostasis. This effect was associated with a significant increase of AAM markers, reduction of colonic IL-18 release and conservation of gene expression of TJ proteins. In vitro, CHR enhanced AAM polarization and increased the production of anti-inflammatory mediators. CHR-treated AAM conditioned medium increased Caco-2 cell migration, viability, proliferation, and mRNA levels of TJ proteins, and decreased oxidative stress-induced apoptosis and proinflammatory cytokines release. Direct CHR treatments had the same effect. In conclusion, CHR treatment reduces the severity of colitis and the inflammatory process via enhancing AAM functions and maintaining IECs homeostasis. CHR is involved in the pathogenesis of inflammation in experimental colitis. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms of colonic inflammation and could lead to new therapeutic strategies for UC.
Linearly polarized near field focused slot-array waveguide

A 2-D slot array structure to achieve near-field beam focusing, with a linear polarization, is proposed and demonstrated using full-wave simulations. The proposed structure has a negligible cross-polarization and its far-field gain is lower by 10 dB compared to the non-focus case, indicating a good focusing in the near-field of the structure.
The effects of rigid collar placement on intracranial and cerebral perfusion pressures

Rigid collars are routinely used to immobilise the cervical spine during early management of trauma victims until spinal injury is excluded. Spinal injuries commonly coexist in patients with severe head injury, and there is still uncertainty as to whether application of a rigid collar may adversely affect intracranial pressure. The aim of this study was to examine this effect by applying rigid collars to patients with traumatic head injury. The results showed a significant rise from the baseline intracranial pressure when the collars were applied (mean rise = 4.6 mmHg, p < 0.0001). The mean rise in intracranial pressure was greater in those patients with a baseline intracranial pressure > 15 mmHg compared to those with a baseline intracranial pressure < 15 mmHg (p < 0.05). Since there was no significant change in cardiorespiratory parameters during this time, venous compression in the neck seems a likely explanation for the effect observed. These findings suggest that in head‐injured patients, rigid collars should be removed as soon as cervical spine injury has been excluded or, if this is delayed, an alternative method of spinal stabilisation considered.
Chapter 5 Grapevine Xylem Development , Architecture , and Function

The genus Vitis (Vitaceae) has been thoroughly studied, in part because of commercial and agricultural interests in grapevine. This has led to myriad studies on many aspects of grapevine biology, including efforts to understand grapevine molecular, physiological, structural, and development biology. Early efforts to sequence entire genomes of model plant species such as Arabidopsis, poplar, and rice also included efforts to sequence Vitis. This resulted in the early sequencing of the entire genome of V. vinifera “Pinot Noir” (Jaillon et al. 2007; Velasco et al. 2007). Additional molecular research has also been conducted on the Vitis chloroplast genome (Jansen et al. 2006) and on the use of other molecular techniques to compare across the genus Vitis (Myles et al. 2010). In addition to ongoing molecular and genetic studies, many physiological studies have examined grapevine functional biology, including water relations and hydraulics (Zufferey et al. 2000; Schultz 2003; Domec and Johnson 2012). These studies have included xylem responses to pathogens and infection (Chatelet et al. 2006; Thorne et al. 2006; Sun et al. 2013) and to drought (Schultz and Matthews 1988; Lovisolo and Schubert 1998; Lovisolo and Schubert 1998; Lovisolo et al. 2010). Additionally, active processes that occur within the xylem have been examined, including the formation of tyloses and gels following infection, wounding, and embolism (Sun et al. 2007, 2008; Pérez-Donoso et al. 2007; Jacobsen and Pratt 2012).
Treatment of Woodwaste Leachate in Surface Flow Mesocosm Wetlands

Woodwaste leachate is usually acidic, of high oxygen demand, and toxic. To prevent potential adverse impacts of the raw leachate on heterotrophic bacteria and aquatic plants, woodwaste leachate was diluted before discharge to constructed wetlands. This study compared treatment performance among four vegetated surface flow mesocosm wetlands fed with different dilutions of woodwaste leachate over a period of 12 weeks. During another period of 13 weeks, the effluent of a vegetated wetland fed with the raw leachate was further treated in a vegetated wetland and an open wetland. The highest reduction rates for chemical oxygen demand as well as tannin and lignin were achieved in the wetland fed with the raw leachate. The most diluted (6x) woodwaste leachate yielded the lowest reduction rates and highest reduction efficiencies. Up to 47 mg L -1 volatile fatty acids in influent were depleted through wetlands with a hydraulic retention time of 13 d. Vegetation made insignificant performance differences for treatment of woodwaste leachate. Chemical oxygen demand as well as tannin and lignin were further removed through the wetlands in series, though at lower reduction rates. Wetland performance for treatment of woodwaste leachate was likely regulated by dissolved oxygen concentration and availability of bacterial substrates.
Sliding mode observer for robust estimation of state and fault for linear uncertain systems

This paper describes a method for designing sliding mode observer for robust estimation of state and fault in a class of linear systems with uncertainty. A constrained Lyapunov equation must be met guaranteeing a stable sliding motion on the switching manifold that is insensitive to matched uncertainties and faults. This equation is solved by using Linear Matrix Inequalities (LMIs) techniques. A fault estimation approach is presented using output error injection where the estimation error is dependent on the bounds on the uncertainty and state observation error. This approach is able to estimate the shape and amplitude of fault, which is useful for fault accommodation purposes. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the design framework proposed in this paper.
Draft Genome Sequence of Sphingomonas sp. WG, a Welan Gum-Producing Strain

ABSTRACT We report the draft genome sequence of Sphingomonas sp. WG, a high welan gum-producing strain with a yield of 33 g/L. The core of wel cluster for welan gum biosynthesis contained 24 coding sequences in the genome, which will provide the genetic information on welan gum production.
Extracting respiratory signals from thoracic cone beam CT projections

The patient respiratory signal associated with the cone beam CT (CBCT) projections is important for lung cancer radiotherapy. In contrast to monitoring an external surrogate of respiration, such a signal can be extracted directly from the CBCT projections. In this paper, we propose a novel local principal component analysis (LPCA) method to extract the respiratory signal by distinguishing the respiration motion-induced content change from the gantry rotation-induced content change in the CBCT projections. The LPCA method is evaluated by comparing with three state-of-the-art projection-based methods, namely the Amsterdam Shroud method, the intensity analysis method and the Fourier-transform-based phase analysis method. The clinical CBCT projection data of eight patients, acquired under various clinical scenarios, were used to investigate the performance of each method. We found that the proposed LPCA method has demonstrated the best overall performance for cases tested and thus is a promising technique for extracting a respiratory signal. We also identified the applicability of each existing method.
Evolving toxicity models using multigene symbolic regression and multiple objectives

In this contribution a multi-objective genetic programming algorithm (MOGP) is used to perform symbolic regression. The genetic programming (GP) algorithm used is specifically designed to evolve mathematical models of predictor response data that are "multigene" in nature, i.e. linear combinations of low order non-linear transformations of the input variables. The MOGP algorithm simultaneously optimizes the dual (and competing) objectives of maximization of 'goodness-of-fit' to data and minimization of model complexity in order to develop parsimonious data based symbolic models. The functionality of the multigene MOGP algorithm is demonstrated by using it to generate an accurate, compact QSAR (quantitative structure activity relationship) model of existing toxicity data in order to predict the toxicity of chemical compounds.
The use of the Pain Assessment Checklist for Seniors with Limited Ability to Communicate (PACSLAC) by caregivers in dementia care.

AIM Pain is often under-detected and under-treated in nonverbal patients with severe dementia. PACSLAC is a behavioural assessment tool designed to improve the detection of pain in severe dementia. Previous studies on PACSLAC were primarily with qualified nurses in Canada and The Netherlands. This pilot study is aimed to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the PACSLAC when it is administrated by caregiver staff. METHOD 50 patients from four dementia care facilities were included. For each patient, a PACSLAC rating was completed independently by a medical undergraduate researcher and a caregiver following the caregiver attended the patient's usual personal care with the researcher observing in close proximity. RESULTS 36 (72%) were female and 14 (28%) were male. The mean age was 82.9 years (SD=7.2) and the mean MMSE score was 7.5 (SD=7.9). A total of 12 caregivers participated in the study. The total PACSLAC scores ranged from 1 to 22 with a mean of 5.7 (SD=4.0). The average percentage of agreement was 0.89 and the Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.83 (p<0.01) for the total PASCLAC scores rated by the researcher and the caregivers. CONCLUSION This pilot study demonstrated PACSLAC has good inter-rater reliability when it is used by caregivers. We believe a baseline PACSLAC could be performed for each patient at the time of admission to a dementia care facility and re-administered on regular intervals to detect pain-related behaviour and to prompt earlier pain management. Future studies with larger samples and collaboration between different centres will be useful in providing normative PACSLAC values in New Zealand.