Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Human-Like Arm Motion Generation: A Review

In the last decade, the objectives outlined by the needs of personal robotics have led to the rise of new biologically-inspired techniques for arm motion planning. This paper presents a literature review of the most recent research on the generation of human-like arm movements in humanoid and manipulation robotic systems. Search methods and inclusion criteria are described. The studies are analyzed taking into consideration the sources of publication, the experimental settings, the type of movements, the technical approach, and the human motor principles that have been used to inspire and assess human-likeness. Results show that there is a strong focus on the generation of single-arm reaching movements and biomimetic-based methods. However, there has been poor attention to manipulation, obstacle-avoidance mechanisms, and dual-arm motion generation. For these reasons, human-like arm motion generation may not fully respect human behavioral and neurological key features and may result restricted to specific tasks of human-robot interaction. Limitations and challenges are discussed to provide meaningful directions for future investigations.
Thermophysical properties of dilute acid slurries of cassava bagasse as a function of biomass loading, acid concentration, and temperature

For suitable design of equipment and process optimization, the determination of thermophysical properties of the raw materials is necessary. Therefore, this work was aimed at determining and modeling the density, specific heat, thermal diffusivity, and thermal conductivity of acid slurries of cassava bagasse used during its conversion into bioethanol. Experimental measurements were carried out in slurries with different mass fractions of cassava bagasse (0.00 to 0.10) and phosphoric acid (0.00 to 0.10) at temperatures from 278.13 to 318.13 K. Results obtained show that density varied from 986.5 to 1,029.3 kg∙m−3, specific heat from 3,830.0 to 4,142.6 J∙kg−1∙K−1, thermal diffusivity from 0.9624 × 10−7 to 1.5249 × 10−7 m2∙s−1 and thermal conductivity from 0.3825 to 0.6212 W∙m−1∙K−1. While density increased with increasing solids and acid content at decreasing temperature, the thermal properties decreased at higher solids and acid content and increased when heating the slurries. The values were well‐fitted to polynomial models with good accuracy (R2 > 0.921 and MRE < 1.75%), allowing the application of the models to obtain reliable and ready‐to‐use data for cassava bagasse processing. Thus, the data reported in this study can be used for designing and managing momentum, heat and mass transfer processes for enhancing bioethanol production from cassava bagasse.
A self-clocked binary-seaching digital low-dropout regulator with fast transient response

A self-clocked binary-searching (SCBS) digital low-dropout (DLDO) regulator with fast transient response is proposed. The SCBS controller employed in the DLDO achieves fast transient response and eliminates the need for an external high-speed clock. A transient enhancement unit (TEU) is proposed to reduce the undershoot of the output voltage. The proposed DLDO is simulated in a 40-nm CMOS process with an active area of 0.015 mm. The simulation results show that with a 15.5mA/2ns load step, it shows a setting time of 28 ns with a voltage undershoot of 93 mV, and it achieves a peak current efficiency of 99.87% by consuming a 19.4-μA quiescent current. Thus, the resulting FOM1 is 0.379 ps and FOM2 is 5 ps. key words: digital low-dropout (DLDO) regulator, fast transient response, self-clocked, binary-searching Classification: Integrated circuits
Effect of Calcium Stearyl Lactylate on Physicochemical Properties of Texturized Wheat Gluten

In order to improve the processing properties of texturized wheat gluten (TWG), we studied the effect of calcium stearyl lactylate (CSL) (0 _ 0.12%, w/w) on the physicochemical properties and structure of TWG using a twin screw extruder. Results showed that the hardness, adhesiveness, and chewiness of TWG significantly increased by 161.55%, 225.06% and 138.54%, respectively, with addition of 0.08% CSL during twin-screw extrusion processing. Moreover, Raman spectroscopy indicated that CSL encouraged new disulfide bond formation during extrusion treatment. Infrared spectroscopy and reducing electrophoresis demonstrated that CSL inhibited the Maillard reaction. Increasing the amount of CSL resulted in shifts from α-helix and β-turn structures into β-sheet and random coil structures, as evidenced by secondary structure analyses. Overall, features of TWG were modificated by CSL which made TWG a valuable material can be used for the development of fibrous meat alternatives, thus widening the application of wheat gluten products for meeting consumer requirements.
Contrasting Phase Changes of Precipitation Annual Cycle Between Land and Ocean Under Global Warming

We report a land‐ocean contrast in the phase change of precipitation annual cycle in multimodel ensemble simulations as climate warms, with a robust delay over land (0–40°N/S) versus an advance (0–40°N/S) or no clear (0–25°N/S) phase changes over ocean. The robust delay over land is caused by the increased effective atmospheric heat capacity CA. Over ocean, the increased CA favors a phase delay, while the land‐ocean precipitation contrast during the peak rainy season favors a phase advance. The latter overwhelms the former and causes a seasonal advance over 0–40°N/S, while the two factors cancel out and result in no phase changes over 0–25°N/S. Under the atmospheric energetic constraint, the land‐ocean precipitation contrast in the peak rainy season is related to their opposite amplitude changes of surface temperature annual cycle: Seasonally different wind changes enhance the amplitude over ocean, while increased CA and surface cooling feedback reduce the amplitude over land.
Non-Strategic Capacity Withholding from Distributed Energy Storage within Microgrids Providing Energy and Reserve Services

Microgrids have the potential to provide security and flexibility to power systems through the integration of a wide range of resources, including distributed energy storage, usually in the form of batteries. An aggregation of microgrids can enable the participation of these resources in the main system’s energy and ancillary services market. The traditional minimum-cost operation, however, can undermine microgrid’s ability to hold reserve capacity for operation in islanded mode and can rapidly degrade distributed batteries. This paper studies the impacts of various operational strategies from distributed energy storage plants on their revenues and on market prices, considering an array of microgrids that act in a synchronized fashion. The operational model minimizes the entire electric power system cost, considering transmission-connected and distributed energy resources, and capturing capacity degradation of batteries as part of the cost function. Additionally, microgrid-based, distributed batteries can provide energy arbitrage and both system-level and microgrid-level security services. Through several case studies, we demonstrate the economic impacts of distributed energy storage providing these services, including also capacity degradation. We also demonstrate the benefits of providing reserve services in terms of extra revenue and battery lifespan. Finally, we conclude that limitations in the provision of system-level services from distributed batteries due to degradation considerations and higher microgrid-level security requirements may, counterintuitively, increase system-level revenues for storage owners, if such degradation considerations and microgrid-level security requirements are adopted, at once, by a large number of microgrids, leading to unintended, non-strategic capacity withholding by distributed storage owners.
Cytogenetic responses of Allium cepa L. after exposure to contaminated pond waters

Biomarkers may refer to certain changes in living cells induced by environmental contaminants. To assess these, plants act as excellent systems for genetic tests as they are sensitive to pollutants. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate a coastal pond (Brazil) used for fishing and recreation, but also affected by several environmental impacts. Three sampling stations were established around the pond to collect water during the rainy and a post-rainy period. The A. cepa test was conducted using seeds exposed to water samples and controls. Slides of root meristems were prepared using the Feulgen method and analyzed to calculate the mitotic index, the rate of chromosomal aberrations and the frequency of micronuclei. Statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA followed by the Tukey or Bonferroni test (p <0.05). The results showed significant changes in the mitotic index, chromosomal aberrations and frequency of micronuclei when compared to the negative control. Among the aberrations observed, C-metaphase, chromosomal breaks, nuclear buds and chromosomal losses showed significant values. In addition, it was observed that the rate of chromosomal aberrations during the rainy period was superior to that in the post-rainy period. These results may be associated with the presence of potentially toxic compounds such as aluminum and cadmium, although the pond presents a good water quality index. Therefore, we suggest a combination of more sensitive methods, such as the Allium cepa test, with traditional systems of surveillance and monitoring of aquatic environments.
Genetic analysis of yield and yield contributing traits in okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench).

The generation mean analysis involving six generations (P1, P2, F1, F2, B1 and B2) was carried out to study the nature and magnitude of gene effects for eleven characters in okra. The study was conducted at Departmental Farm of Department of Agricultural Botany, College of Agriculture, Dr. B.S.K.K. V. , Dapoli during Kharif-12 season. The Mather’s individual scaling tests and Cavalli’s joint scaling tests were used to detect the presence or absence of the epistatic interactions. The results obtained showed the importance of additive, dominant and all three types of epistatic interactions for most of the crosses and characters viz., nodal position for first flowering, days to first flowering, days to first picking, plant height, number of branches per plant fruit length, fruit weight, number of fruiting nodes per plant, number of fruits per plant, internodal length and yield per plant. For majority of crosses duplicate epistasis was observed while for fruit weight complementary epistasis was observed.
Gravity Wave Activity in the Atmosphere of Mars During the 2018 Global Dust Storm: Simulations With a High‐Resolution Model

Gravity wave (GW) activity in the lower and middle atmosphere of Mars during the global dust storm of 2018 has been studied for the first time using a high‐resolution (GW‐resolving) general circulation model. Dust storm simulations were compared with those utilizing the climatological distribution of dust in the absence of storms. Both scenarios are based on observations of the dust optical depth by the Mars Climate Sounder instrument on board the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The modeling reveals a reduction of the wave activity by a factor of 2 or more in the lower atmosphere, which qualitatively agrees with recent observations. It is associated with a decline of GW generation due to baroclinic and convective stabilization of the Martian troposphere induced by the increased amount of airborne aerosols during the storm. Contrary to the decrease of GW activity in the lower atmosphere, wave energy and momentum fluxes in the middle atmosphere increase by approximately the same factor. This enhancement of GW activity is caused by the changes in the large‐scale circulation, most importantly in the mean zonal wind, which facilitate vertical wave propagation by allowing for a greater portion of GW harmonics originated in the lower atmosphere to avoid filtering on their way to upper layers.
Cross-Border Entrepreneurship: A Preliminary Study On Informal Entrepreneurs In Sebatik Island

Cross-border entrepreneurship contributes a positive spill-over effect to socio-economic growth in border regions through employment opportunities, wealth creation, better infrastructure, thus improving the standard of living in the border communities. Nevertheless, economic activities in a small border rural area tends to be less formal, which have been contended by many researchers due to several diplomatic issues, such as unclear demarcation of international borders and unequal pace of democratic development between neighbouring countries. Therefore, the study aims to explore the entrepreneurial activities in Sebatik Island, through preliminary site visits and informal conversations with local communities in two of the island’s borderline villages, i.e. Kampung Sungai Melayu and Kampung Aji Kuning by employing Rapid Ethnographic (RE) approach. The site visits provide interesting remarks about the prospects for cross-border entrepreneurship on the island. The study presents the current state of entrepreneurial activities in Sebatik Island and several emerging issues in relation to economic potential, such as the rise of informal business activities, business infrastructure, and government initiatives to support cross-border entrepreneurship on the island. This study provides valuable insights to relevant agencies responsible for rural entrepreneurial development, thus suitable measures or programs can be implemented in promoting formal cross-border entrepreneurship on the island.
Hepatic 5α-reduced glucocorticoids : modulators of glucocorticoid receptor activation in obesity

The enzyme steroid 5a-reductase catalyses the reduction of A4"5 double bonds in a variety of steroid substrates. Preliminary evidence has suggested that 5a-reduction of glucocorticoids is increased in obesity, consistent with the observation that in the face of an enhanced Cortisol secretion rate, plasma Cortisol levels are not consistently elevated in obesity. The implications of enhanced 5a-reduction of glucocorticoids for glucocorticoid receptor activation are unclear. 5a-Reduced metabolites of other steroids e.g. testosterone and aldosterone have significant affinity for the parent hormone receptor, therefore we hypothesised that 5a-reduced glucocorticoids are glucocorticoid agonists. In obese versus lean Zucker rats, hepatic 5a-reductase type 1 mRNA expression and protein levels were increased. They also had increased activity of hepatic 5(3reductase activity. By contrast, 3oc-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase mRNA expression was unchanged in obesity. Greater inactivation of corticosterone by A-ring reductases in liver may decrease local corticosterone concentrations in these sites, and increase the metabolic clearance rate of glucocorticoids, thus increasing drive to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). To investigate whether 5a-reduced metabolites of corticosterone are glucocorticoid receptor agonists, competition binding studies were carried out. In displacing tritiated dexamethasone from binding sites in hepatocytes from male lean Zucker rats, corticosterone and 5a-tetrahydrocorticosterone (5aTHB) had similar affinities which were greater than 5a-dihydrocorticosterone (5ctDHB) and 5(3-reduced metabolites. Binding of corticosterone and 5aDHB binding was impaired in obesity whereas 5aTHB binding was unaltered suggesting that 5aTHB may modulate GR activation in obesity. Activation of glucocorticoid receptors was assessed following transient transfection into HeLa cells with an MMTV-luciferase reporter. By comparison with
Multisystemic Increment of Cortical Thickness in Congenital Blind Children

Abstract It has been shown that the total or partial lack of visual experience is associated with a plastic reorganization at the brain level, more prominent in congenital blind. Cortical thickness (CT) studies, to date involving only adult subjects, showed that only congenital blind have a thicker cortex than age-matched sighted population while late blind do not. This was explained as a deviation from the physiological mechanism of initial neural growth followed by a pruning mechanism that, in congenital blind children, might be reduced by their visual deprivation, thus determining a thicker cortex. Since those studies involved only adults, it is unknown when these changes may appear and whether they are related to impairment degree. To address this question, we compared the CT among 28 children, from 2 to 12 years, with congenital visual impairments of different degree and an age-matched sighted population. Vertex-wise analysis showed that blind children, but not low vision one, had a thicker cortical surface in few clusters located in occipital, superior parietal, anterior-cingular, orbito-frontal, and mesial precentral regions. Our data suggest that the effect of visual impairment on determining thicker cortex is an early phenomenon, is multisystemic, and occurs only when blindness is almost complete.
Calcium improves gerbera (Gerbera hybrida) vase life

The vase life of Gerbera hybrida cut flowers is about two weeks. To prevent wilting, hypochlorite is widely used in vase water to control micro-organisms that may block xylem cells and restrict water uptake. In this study, three levels of calcium chloride (0, 12 and and 24 meq L−1), two levels of calcium hypochlorite (0 and 25 mg L−1) and two levels of hydrochloric acid (0 and 2 meq L−1) were factorially arranged, using three replicates in a completely randomised design. A single gerbera flower with a 450 mm stem in a glass bottle with 500 mL treated water was used as experimental unit. The trial was ended after 17 d in a room at 25 °C. The general appearance index of the stemmed flowers was significantly (p < 0.0001) correlated (r 0.81) with its mass-retention percentage. Calcium hypochlorite significantly improved water uptake as well as the mass-retention percentage. The highest CaCl2 level of 24 meq L−1 significantly improved the mass-retention percentage without significantly improved water uptake, an indication that cell walls of the xylem tubes could have been hardened, producing stronger flower stems. Indications of a positive effect with application of hydrochloric acid (HCl), only in the presence of optimum levels of hypochlorite and calcium, needs further investigation.
Clinical Risk Prediction Scores in Coronavirus Disease 2019: Beware of Low Validity and Clinical Utility

Several risk stratification tools were developed to predict disease progression in coronavirus disease 2019, with no external validation to date. We attempted to validate three previously published risk-stratification tools in a multicenter study. Primary outcome was a composite outcome of development of severe coronavirus disease 2019 disease leading to ICU admission or death censored at hospital discharge or 30 days. We collected data from 169 patients. Patients were 73 years old (59–82 yr old), 66 of 169 (39.1%) were female, 57 (33.7%) had one comorbidity, and 80 (47.3%) had two or more comorbidities. Area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (95% CI) for the COVID-GRAM score was 0.636 (0.550–0.722), for the CALL score 0.500 (0.411–0.589), and for the nomogram 0.628 (0.543–0.714).
Preliminary re-examination of genus-level taxonomy of the pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

The pollen beetle subfamily Meligethinae C. G. Thomson, 1859 (Nitidulidae), is distributed throughout the Holarctic, Afrotropical, Oriental, and Australasian Regions. Previously, the subfamily included fi fteen genera and approximately seven hundred species, most of which were attributed to the widespread and paraphyletic genus Meligethes Stephens, 1830, and to a lesser extent the primarily Afrotropical genus Pria Stephens, 1830. Herein, twenty-two additional genera are described as new from Europe, Africa, North America and Asia; including the following: Afrogethes, Aristogethes, Asterogethes, Bolbocerogethes, Boragogethes, Brassicogethes, Fabogethes, Genistogethes, Indogethes, Jelinekigethes, Lamiogethes, Lucanopria, Neolariopsis, Odontholariopsis, Paleogethes, Rubiogethes, Sagittogethes, Stachygethes, Tarchonanthogethes, Thymogethes, Xenostrongylogethes, and Xerogethes, all Audisio & Cline, gen. nov. Six previously recognized and/or described subgenera of Meligethes are elevated to generic rank; including Acanthogethes Reitter, 1871, Clypeogethes Scholz, 1932, Idiogethes Kirejtshuk, 1977, Chromogethes Kirejtshuk, 1989, Lariopsis Kirejtshuk, 1989, and Astylogethes Kirejtshuk, 1992 stat. nov. The new combinations for all transferred species are established. The type species of all recognized genera are fi xed and/or indicated, a preliminary check list of inclusive described species * For our late friend and colleague Marco Corti. AUDISIO et al.: Genus-level taxonomy of Meligethinae (Nitidulidae) 342 attributed to each of the resulting 43 Meligethinae genera is provided, and a new genus/species is described from Rwanda, i.e. Lucanopria wagneri Audisio & Cline, gen. nov. and sp. nov. One new synonymy is proposed: Meligethes albens Audisio & De Biase, 2004, = Chromogethes formosus (Kirejtshuk, 1989) syn. nov. A preliminary phylogenetic scenario of Meligethinae is discussed, based on selected morphological characters and evidence from partially published molecular data (i.e. COI, ITS2, and PEPCK genes) representing most Meligethinae genera. Also, the available bionomical data and larval host-plant associations of inclusive genera are summarized.
Biodegradable mulch as microclimate modification effort for improving the growth of horenso; Spinacia oleracea L.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Increasing global temperature imposes large risks to food security globally and regionally. Besides, adaptation effort on cultivation practices, such as mulching, is urgent to overcome environmental problem due to certain material used, commonly plastic that is not biodegradable. Biodegradable mulch is a mulch that could be degraded by microorganism and made from renewable organic materials. It plays a role in carbon sequestration and will contribute carbon and nutrients to the soil after being degraded. This current research aimed at investigating soil microclimate under various biodegradable mulch compositions and optimizing the compositions of biodegradable mulch that can be used to support the growth of short-cycle crops i.e. horenso (Spinacia olearecea L.). METHODS: This study was carried out using a simple randomized complete block design with one control (without mulch) and five treatments (biodegradable mulch compositions), namely the percentage of water hyacinth (40-80%) and coconut coir (20-60%). FINDINGS: All tested biodegradable mulch compositions could modify microclimate by decreasing 1-2°C of soil temperature and maintaining the soil moisture within the range of 63-84%. Although there was no significant difference in the growth and yield of horenso among the differing biodegradable mulch compositions, the biodegradable mulch composition treatments resulted in signficantly higher value than the control (without mulch). The biodegradable mulch composition treatments could increase fresh shoot weight around 38-55%, fresh root weight for about 55-94%, and dry shoot weight approximately by 1.6-2.8 times compared to the control (without mulch). CONCLUSION: This finding has emphasized that all tested biodegradable mulch compositions are potentially used as mulch for horenso (Spinacia oleracea L.) cultivation. This study provide information in the formulation of biodegradable mulch to adapt the compositions on other short-cycle crops and other horticulture crops. ==========================================================================================COPYRIGHTS©2021 The author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, as long as the original authors and source are cited. No permission is required from the authors or the publishers. ==========================================================================================