Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observer-based backstepping control of an electro-pneumatic clutch

This paper presents a nonlinear model-based control design for an electro-pneumatic clutch for heavy trucks, which is required at start-up or during gear shifts to disconnect the combustion engine from the gear box. This automated actuator disburdens the driver and provides the necessary actuation force according to the large torque transmitted through the powertrain. The proposed cascaded control structure consists of a fast inner control loop for the internal pressure as well as an outer control loop for the clutch position, which is extended by a reduced-order observer. The design of the feedback part is based on backstepping techniques. A reduced-order disturbance observer estimates the internal pressure, which is usually not measured in truck applications. Thereby, high tracking accuracy is achievable for the piston position as controlled variable. The efficiency of the proposed control structure is demonstrated by experimental results from a dedicated test rig.
Performance of the new 2012 EULAR/ACR classification criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica: comparison with the previous criteria in a single-centre study

Objective To compare the performance of published classification/diagnostic criteria for polymyalgia rheumatica (PMR), including the new 2012 European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR)/American College of Rheumatology (ACR) criteria, in a single-centre study. Methods We studied all consecutive patients with new-onset PMR seen in our centre over 6 years, whose diagnosis was confirmed during a prospective 12-month follow-up period. Subjects were classified by each of the seven different criteria. Sensitivity and specificity were compared. Control population consisted of all consecutive patients aged ≥50 years seen in a 4-year period in our early arthritis clinic who had a 12-month confirmation of a diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or other inflammatory articular diseases. Results Data were collected from 136 cases and 149 controls, including 94 patients with RA. The most sensitive criteria were the new 2012 EULAR/ACR classification criteria (92.6%). Adding ultrasound (US) specificity increased from 81.5% to 91.3% in total cases and from 79.7% to 89.9% in RA. Bird criteria had a sensitivity of 89.2% but the lowest specificity (40.2% in total cases and 72.5% in RA). Jones and Nobunaga criteria were the most specific criteria (96.7% and 97.8% in total cases and 98.6% and 99.5% in RA) but the less sensitive (63.1% and 58.2%) ones. Overall, discriminatory ability, as reflected by the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, was better for the 2012 US EULAR/ACR criteria (0.920 in total cases and 0.910 in RA). Conclusions The new EULAR/ACR criteria in new-onset PMR patients perform best in discriminating PMR from RA and other inflammatory articular diseases. Ultrasound further increases the specificity of the criteria.
The Trimmacc Approach to Teaching in a Caribbean Classroom

The rapid technological changes in the world have caused universities to keep changing their approach to teaching by incorporating technology into teaching. In the universities in the Caribbean, technology is incorporated in the teaching in ways such as providing open and distant education or providing course management systems. This paper presents a different approach to an online course. This approach uses a blended approach to teaching, using a virtual classroom and a traditional classroom. The virtual classroom was used for teaching the students while the traditional classroom was used for tutorials. This blended approach was based upon eight 21st century teaching skills. The paper first presents the blended approach which is followed by discussing the results of this approach and ending with presenting a conclusion.
Efficient Receiver Scheme for LTE PUCCH

In 3rd. Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) incorporate Reference Signals (RSs) for eNodeB to perform channel estimation. However the RSs in PUCCH formats 2a/2b are related to the transmitted 10th symbol in UE. As a result, the receivers can not have a priori knowledge about the transmitted RSs and perform channel estimation aided by all of the RSs directly. In this work, an efficient low complexity receiver is proposed for PUCCH formats 2a/2b. What's more, it is also practical for other PUCCH formats with all priori-known RSs. As will be shown in our simulation results, remarkable performance gains are obtained for all PUCCH formats.
Impact of Individual Differences on User Experience with a Real-World Visualization Interface for Public Engagement

There is increasing evidence that the effectiveness of Information Visualization (Infovis) is affected by the user needs and abilities. For instance, cognitive abilities (e.g., perceptual speed, working memory) [e.g., 1-4] have been shown to impact users' performance and satisfaction with a given visualization. These findings suggest that it can be valuable to develop visualization systems that can provide personalized support targeting specific user characteristics. Furthermore, recent research [e.g., 3,5] has shown that eye tracking data can be leveraged to identify the elements of a visualization for which specific user differences hinder user experience or performance, thus providing concrete information on which specific personalized support could be helpful for different users (e.g., users with low perceptual speed may benefit from help in processing legends [1]). Though these findings are encouraging toward the design of user-adaptive or customized visualizations, they are generally related to either fictional tasks or research prototypes. So, it is unclear if existing results on the value of user-adaptive visualizations can transfer to real-world settings.
How Does the Consumers’ Attention Affect the Sale Volumes of New Energy Vehicles: Evidence From China’s Market

The promotion of new energy vehicles is a grand plan across countries to achieve carbon neutrality and air purification. The sale volume of new energy vehicles is affected by many factors, yet it is the attitude of consumers themselves that has the final decisive role. We use four representative Baidu search indexes as the variables representing the attention of consumers and take variables of economic, population, and income as control variables for regression analysis from the national and sub-economic regional perspectives respectively. Results show that search indexes of “new energy vehiclek. ” “new energy vehicles battery”, and ‘charging pile’ all have significant positive impacts on the sales of new energy vehicles to varying degrees while the index of ‘automobile spontaneous combustion’ has a significant negative impact on the sale volume. This study, therefore, verifies that the consumer attention represented by search indexes is an important yet uncovered factor affecting the sale volume of new energy vehicles. Besides, due to people’s prejudice against spontaneous combustion accidents of new energy vehicles, consumers have a cognitive bias about the spontaneous combustion rate of new energy vehicles especially in less developed areas of China.
Contrarian Trades and Disposition Effect: Evidence from Online Trade Data

Using the data accounting for 793 retail investors’ online trading actions (i.e., buy and sell) targeting 3,420 Japanese stocks measured in virtually every second from April 2013 to March 2016, we identify the association of those precisely measured trading actions with the daily and intraday returns of those stocks. The results obtained from our estimation show that, on average, the individual investors make contrarian trades and are disposition investors with respect to intraday return. We also confirm that the intraday returns explain investment actions to much larger extent than the daily-level return does for frequent traders, large-cap stocks, female investors, and those who are in relatively wealthy households. These results suggest that the determinants of investment actions crucially depend on the heterogeneity of individuals and stocks.
Puzzling evidence on voter turnout

In this empirical analysis of voting patterns in five countries on days when one or more national referenda were held, voter turnout appears to decline in the number of concurrent referenda, in contrast to standard theories’ predictions and regardless of method used to hold constant the quality of the referenda. Multiple concurrent referenda imply ‘quantity discounts’ as one may vote on more ballots in one visit to the polling station. They should also draw more voters due to the wider range of interests attracted when more issues are up for vote. Yet, none of this seems to happen in the data. More recent developments, such as rule utilitarian and information-based theories of voting, fare similarly poorly in light of the evidence presented in this article; a social theory of voting does better.
The full-length transcript of a caulimovirus is a polycistronic mRNA whose genes are trans activated by the product of gene VI

Gene expression of figwort mosaic virus (FMV), a caulimovirus, was investigated by electroporation of Nicotiana edwardsonii cell suspension protoplasts with cloned viral constructs in which a reporter gene was inserted at various positions on the genome. The results showed that the genome of FMV contains two promoters; one is used for the production of a full-length RNA and another initiates synthesis of a separate monocistronic RNA for gene VI. Evidence is provided that the full-length transcript, the probable template for reverse transcription, can serve as a polycistronic mRNA for translation of genes I through V and perhaps also gene VI. Expression of all the genes on the polycistronic mRNA is trans activated by the gene VI protein. Reporter gene expression appears most efficient when its start codon is in close proximity to the stop codon of the preceding gene, as for the native genes of caulimoviruses. We propose that the gene VI product enables expression of the polycistronic mRNA by promoting reinitiation of ribosomes to give translational coupling of individual genes.
Can soil microbial diversity influence plant metabolites and life history traits of a rhizophagous insect? A demonstration in oilseed rape

Interactions between plants and phytophagous insects play an important part in shaping the biochemical composition of plants. Reciprocally plant metabolites can influence major life history traits in these insects and largely contribute to their fitness. Plant rhizospheric microorganisms are an important biotic factor modulating plant metabolites and adaptation to stress. While plant–insects or plant–microorganisms interactions and their consequences on the plant metabolite signature are well‐documented, the impact of soil microbial communities on plant defenses against phytophagous insects remains poorly known. In this study, we used oilseed rape (Brassica napus) and the cabbage root fly (Delia radicum) as biological models to tackle this question. Even though D. radicum is a belowground herbivore as a larva, its adult life history traits depend on aboveground signals. We therefore tested whether soil microbial diversity influenced emergence rate and fitness but also fly oviposition behavior, and tried to link possible effects to modifications in leaf and root metabolites. Through a removal‐recolonization experiment, 3 soil microbial modalities (“high,” “medium,” “low”) were established and assessed through amplicon sequencing of 16S and 18S ribosomal RNA genes. The “medium” modality in the rhizosphere significantly improved insect development traits. Plant–microorganism interactions were marginally associated to modulations of root metabolites profiles, which could partly explain these results. We highlighted the potential role of plant–microbial interaction in plant defenses against Delia radicum. Rhizospheric microbial communities must be taken into account when analyzing plant defenses against herbivores, being either below or aboveground.
Differential Variation in Non-structural Carbohydrates in Root Branch Orders of Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr. Seedlings Across Different Drought Intensities and Soil Substrates

Non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs) facilitate plant adaptation to drought stress, characterize tree growth and survival ability, and buffer against external disturbances. Previous studies have focused on the distribution and dynamics of NSCs among different plant organs under drought conditions. However, discussion about the NSC levels of fine roots in different root branch orders is limited, especially the relationship between fine root trait variation and NSC content. The objective of the study was to shed light on the synergistic variation in fine root traits and NSC content in different root branch orders under different drought and soil substrate conditions. The 2-year-old Fraxinus mandshurica Rupr. potted seedlings were planted in three different soil substrates (humus, loam, and sandy–loam soil) and subjected to four drought intensities (CK, mild drought, moderate drought, and severe drought) for 2 months. With increasing drought intensity, the biomass of fine roots decreased significantly. Under the same drought intensity, seedlings in sandy–loam soil had higher root biomass, and the coefficient of variation of 5th-order roots (37.4, 44.5, and 53% in humus, loam, and sandy–loam soil, respectively) was higher than that of lower-order roots. All branch order roots of seedlings in humus soil had the largest specific root length (SRL) and specific root surface area (SRA), in addition to the lowest diameter. With increasing drought intensity, the SRL and average diameter (AD) of all root branch orders increased and decreased, respectively. The fine roots in humus soil had a higher soluble sugar (SS) content and lower starch (ST) content compared to the loam and sandy–loam soil. Additionally, the SS and ST contents of fine roots showed decreasing and increasing tendencies with increasing drought intensities, respectively. SS and ST explained the highest degree of the total variation in fine root traits, which were 32 and 32.1%, respectively. With increasing root order, the explanation of the variation in root traits by ST decreased (only 6.8% for 5th-order roots). The observed response in terms of morphological traits of different fine root branch orders of F. mandshurica seedlings to resource fluctuations ensures the maintenance of a low cost-benefit ratio in the root system development.
International and Temporal Diversifications: The Best of Both Worlds?

Modern portfolio theory advises investors to diversify their assets to reduce risk. Diversification encompasses two major concepts: international and temporal diversifications. While international diversification tells investors how many and what type of assets they should put in their portfolios to diversify them, temporal diversification tells them how long they should hold the assets in their portfolios. To investigate these questions simultaneously, we propose an alternative approach based on two recent methodologies: wavelets and copulas. We focus on seven stock market indexes in different geographical areas. Our main findings are the following. First, we confirm the usual benefits of international diversification. Second, the results of nonparametric copulas show that the shape of the copula varies across the long or short term of the relationship. Third, this methodology shows some structural differences in dependencies across different timescales. We then highlight the existence of potential holding periods that allow investors to improve their diversification processes and identify risks.
An explorative investigation of referee abuse in English rugby league

This article explored the experiences of 89 rugby league referees in England who undertook a mixed methods online survey from the January 9 to March 31, 2017. The results of the survey produced rich data from the open responses, and the quantitative measures are used to support these open responses. Findings identified an established culture of abuse towards referees, a refereeing workforce requiring greater support, better communication with the governing body and, therefore, revisions to existing policy and training. Conclusions identified specific recommendations and policy implications to improve the operational environment and working conditions and increased support for referees. Subscribe to JASM
On the reliability of quantitative clinical magnetic resonance spectroscopy of the human brain

The reliability of a single‐voxel, localized proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy protocol suitable for clinical studies was investigated by means of in vitro, single‐subject in vivo and multi‐subject in vivo examinations of healthy adults aged from 19 to 67 years. The study was performed at 1.5 T using a standard quadrature head coil and a single voxel PRESS sequence (in vitro TR/TE = 1500/30 ms, in vivo TR/TE=2000/35 ms). Eighty‐four in vitro and 30 single‐subject examinations were statistically evaluated after quantification, including the calculation of the coefficients of variations (CV) for choline (Cho), creatine (Cr), myo‐inositol (mI), lactate (Lac), N‐acetyl‐aspartate (NAA) and unresolved glutamine, glutamate and GABA (Glx). The CVs for absolute concentrations of the main metabolites Cho, Cr and NAA, ranged from 3.3% (3.8) to 4.0% (6.4%) (the in vivo results are given in brackets). Multi‐subject CVs of absolute concentrations for Cho, Cr and NAA ranged from 7.6% to 15.0%. CVs of relative in vivo concentrations were found to be higher than CVs of absolute concentrations. Due to the better reproducibility of intra‐individual absolute in vivo concentrations, cross‐over studies using institutional units are recommended. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Impact of Tourism Development on Greenwich Community in the Post-Olympic Games Era

The purpose of this study is to analyze the impact from tourism development on the Greenwich community in the Post-Olympic Games era, as such the social, environmental and economic impact on local community in the Post-Olympic Games era. The paper was developed first review pre-existing literature on tourism, Olympic tourism, mega-event tourism, sustainable tourism and past academic research on the impacts from tourism. By using convenient and judgmental sampling technique, the data was collected from 100 respondents and analyzed using descriptive statisctics. Importantly, the results revealed that stakeholders would like to see more inward investment from the private sector to capitalize on the modernization and infrastructure improvements that have taken place in the area. Local businesses would like more foreign tourists to visit Greenwich in particular, rather than Central London. The local community remains supportive of tourism development, but do urgently seek a strategy implementation that can improve their standards of living and make the most of the Olympic infrastructure for the forthcoming.
Cloning of Schistosoma mansoni Sporocysts In Vitro and Detection of Genetic Heterogeneity Among Individuals Within Clones

The establishment of in vitro cultivation techniques to maintain larval and adult stages of the trematode Schistosoma mansoni has facilitated research on diverse aspects of the biology of this parasite. Because of the difficulty in obtaining defined intramolluscan stages of this parasite, one aim of this study was to develop an in vitro technique for the generation of defined clonal daughter sporocyst (DSp) generations that originate from a single mother sporocyst. Sporocysts died when cultured singly; however, when single sporocysts were cultured in inserts within wells with about 1,000 others, the single individuals produced daughters asexually. In recent years, evidence has been accumulating for variability among, and within, schistosome populations. Such variability has been seen in both larval and adult stages. Even within clonal cercariae, genomic and biochemical heterogeneity has been observed, indicating the existence of a yet unknown mechanism that generates variability during larval development. Therefore, another aim of this study was to examine clonal DSps generated in vitro for diversity regarding the presence or absence of a specific repetitive DNA element (W1). Such sporocysts were found by molecular analysis to be heterogeneous with respect to the occurrence of W1. This phenomenon had previously been observed in clonal schistosome populations and described as genomic instability. In this study, we provide the first molecular evidence that variability can be generated within sporocyst generations, supporting the hypothesis of mitotic recombination events during the asexual life stage of schistosomes.
Assessing the Pathogenic Ability of Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum (Ralstonia solanacearum Phylotype I) from Ornamental Rosa spp. Plants

Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum (Ralstonia solanacearum phylotype I) isolates found in stunted, yellowing, and wilted ornamental rose (Rosa spp.) were assessed for their pathogenic ability in two rose cultivars (cv. “Armando” and cv. “Red Naomi”) and in four solanaceous crops: tomato (Solanum lycopersicum cv. “Money Maker”), tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum cv. “White Burley”), eggplant (Solanum melongena cv. “Black Beauty”) and sweet pepper (Capsicum annum cv. “Yolo Wonder”). Significant differences were observed in susceptibility between the two rose cultivars as well as between the two modes of inoculation performed. The cultivar “Armando” was significantly more susceptible than cultivar “Red Naomi,” exhibiting higher disease severity and incidence. Similarly, stem inoculation after wounding was found to be significantly more effective than soil drenching, resulting in higher disease severity. Additionally, a temperature dependency in susceptibility was observed for both cultivars irrespective of the mode of inoculation, however, this was significantly more pronounced upon soil drenching. The solanaceous crops all showed to be susceptible to the R. pseudosolanacearum isolates originated from the Rosa spp. plants. Furthermore, both rose cultivars were able to harbor symptomless infections with other R. pseudosolanacearum and R. solanacearum isolates than those isolated from rose. Our results clearly demonstrated that latent infections in a rose cultivar such as cv. “Red Naomi” do occur even at temperatures as low as 20°C. This latency poses high risks for the entire floricultural industry as latently infected Rosa spp. plants are propagated and distributed over various continents, including areas where climatic conditions are optimal for the pathogen.