Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ambrosia artemisiifolia control in agricultural areas: effect of grassland seeding and herbivory by the exotic leaf beetle Ophraella communa

Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) is an invasive species native to North America and was accidentally introduced to Europe in the 19th century. Widespread in disturbed habitats, it is a major weed in spring-sown crops and it causes serious allergic rhinitis and asthma due to its allergenic pollen. The aim of this research was to analyse the effects of both competitive vegetation and herbivory by Ophraella communa to control A. artemisiifolia in an agricultural area of north-western Italy. Hayseed mixtures, both over-seeded over the resident plant community or after ploughing, when seeded before the winter season, were able to suppress the establishment of A. artemisiifolia as well as to reduce its growth in terms of plant height and inflorescence size. Defoliation of A. artemisiifolia by O. communa at the end of the growing season was conspicuous but most of the plants still produced flowers and seeds. However, significant O. communa attack was recorded for reproductive structures. As for non-target species, O. communa was mainly recorded on Asteraceae, with low density and low degree of damage. Reduction of inflorescence size due to competitive vegetation and damage to male flowers by O. communa may diminish the amount of available pollen. The results of this study may be useful for the implementation of management measures to control A. artemisiifolia in agricultural areas using mixtures of native species.
Exercise Intensities in MS - Comparison between the Physiological Threshold Values of a Cardiopulmonary Exercise Test and the Estimated Values by Training Formulas

Background: Quantification of training intensities via current formulas (e.g. 75% of the estimated maximum heart rate (HR-peak)) is practical and a time saving compromise. However misinterpretations of cardiorespiratory fitness in persons with MS (pwMS) may lead to stagnancy or loss of exercise capacity. Objectives: Feasibility of different training intensities of established training formulas in pwMS using a method comparison according to Bland-Altman. Methods: 83 pwMS were included and the thresholds were determined via breathing gas analysis of peak oxygen consumption (VO2) and carbondioxide (CO2). The sample was divided according to the expandend disability status scale (EDSS) in mildly (EDSS 1.0-4.0) and moderately impaired (EDSS 4.5 - 6.5). The formulas (210 age)*0.65, (210-age)*0.70, (210-age)*0.80, 180-age, 65% of the effective highest heart rate during CPET (HRPeak), 70%HR-peak, 75% HR-peak and 80% HR-peak were used for the estimation of the training heart rates. Method comparisons were performed using Passing-Bablok regression and Bland-Altman plots. All values are expressed as mean and 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: Passing-Bablok regression show that for mildly impaired pwMS 70% and 75% HR-peak show an agreement with the threshold values. For severely impaired pwMS 65% HR-peak showed by trend an agreement with the threshold values. Other formula values missed the criteria for agreement. Conclusion: This study indicates that 70% and 75% HR-peak for moderately impaired PwMS gave adequate training intensities comparable to the threshold values.
Radar: Reducing Tail Latencies for Batched Stream Processing with Blank Scheduling

Real time processing of stream data has become increasingly vital. Batched stream systems which discretize stream data into micro-batches and leverage batch system to process these micro-batch stream jobs have attracted wide attention from academia and industry. Such batched stream system always works on heterogeneous environments which have heterogeneous resources and heterogeneous tasks. Unfortunately, current batched stream system implementations designed and optimized for homogeneous environments perform poorly on heterogeneous environments. We attribute suboptimal performance in heterogeneous environments to schedule tasks according to data locality and free slots. On the one hand, data locality creates a barrier between large tasks of slow node and powerful capacity of fast node because slow nodes prefer local large tasks rather than remote small tasks. On another hand, due to scheduler's blind eye to task size, there is a very high probability that large tasks are scheduled in the last few waves. These two aspects hinder perfect load balancing, causing tail latencies of large tasks. To address these issues, we propose a blank scheduling framework called Radar. Being aware of node capacity and task size, Radar pre-steals large tasks from slow nodes and schedules tasks according to the principle of large task first. Then Radar fills the small free slots by choosing small tasks corresponding to node's capacity. We implement Radar in Spark-2.1. 1. Experimental results with benchmark show that Radar can reduce job completion time by 27.78% to 42.79% over Spark Streaming. Experimental results with real Tencent production application show that Radar can reduce response time by 28.57%.
Histologic Study in Adhesive Otitis Media

Adhesive otitis media (AOM) is a complication of secretuar otitis media, which is classified according to the tympan membrane (TM) movements. A O M was first described by Politzer in 1908. Research on this subject still continues. This study was done at Ankara Numune Research and Education Hospital, Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery and Ankara University Medical Faculty Department of Histology and Embryology. This study aims to elucidate the morphological differences in TM and middle ear mucosa between normal human and patients of chronic adhe­ sive otitis. Materials were obtained during the surgery of eleven ears and histologic examination was done to compare similarity and differences between the pathologic changes in adhesive otitis and normal human middle ear and T M . The cor­ relation between the pathologic TM and M E M (Middle Ear Mucosa) in A O M was also investigated. The biopsy material was fixed at 4°C for a period of 12 hours in 2.5% phosphate buffered gluteraldehyde solution and post fixed in 1% osmium tetroxide. After staining with Toluidin blueazur II, the semithin sections were examined with light microscope.
[Fe iii] EMISSION LINES IN THE PLANETARY NEBULA NGC 2392

NGC 2392 is a young double-shell planetary nebula (PN). Its intrinsic structure and shaping mechanism are still not fully understood. In this paper we present new spectroscopic observations of NGC 2392. The slits were placed at two different locations to obtain the spectra of the inner and outer regions. Several [Fe iii] lines are clearly detected in the inner region. We infer that NGC 2392 might have an intrinsic structure similar to the bipolar nebula Mz 3, which also exhibits a number of [Fe iii] lines arising from the central regions. In this scenario, the inner and outer regions of NGC 2392 correspond to the inner lobes and the outer outflows of Mz 3, respectively. We construct a three-dimensional morpho-kinematic model to examine our hypothesis. We also compare the physical conditions and chemical composition of the inner and outer regions, and discuss the implications on the formation of this type of PN.
The frictional resistance induced by bacterial based biofouling with in drainage pipelines

The aim of this study was to improve the current scientific understandin g of bacterial based biofouling within drainage pipelines. To this effect, biofilms were incubated with sy nthetic wastewater on a high density polyethylene pipe, within a purpose built pipeline facility for 2 0 days at three steady-state flo w regimes. The results presented within this study, with regards to th e influence of flow hydrodynamics on biofilm frictional development over time have gone beyond that previousl y documented. The study has confirmed that the presence of a biofilm can cause a significant increase in frictional resistance . The impact of biofouling on frictional resistance was further compounded by the fact that traditional frictional relationships and their derivatives are not applicable to biofouled surface s in their current forms. In particular, the von Kármán constant, which is an integral asp ect of the Colebrook-White equation, was found to be non-universal and dependent on Reynolds Nu mber for biofouled pipes.
Kinetic-inductance-limited reset time of superconducting nanowire photon counters

We investigate the recovery of superconducting NbN-nanowire photon counters after detection of an optical pulse at a wavelength of 1550nm, and present a model that quantitatively accounts for our observations. The reset time is found to be limited by the large kinetic inductance of these nanowires, which forces a tradeoff between counting rate and either detection efficiency or active area. Devices of usable size and high detection efficiency are found to have reset times orders of magnitude longer than their intrinsic photoresponse time.
The statistical properties of turbulent motions in massive galaxy clusters with high spatial resolution

We study the properties of chaotic motions in the intra cluster medium using a set of 20 galaxy clusters simulated with large dynamical range, using the adaptive mesh refinement code ENZO. The adopted setup allows us to study the spectral and spatial properties of turbulent motions in galaxy clusters with unprecedented detail, achieving an maximum available Reynolds number of the order of Re ∼ 500−1000 for the largest eddies. We investigated the correlations between the energy of these motions in the intra cluster medium and the dynamical state of the host systems. We find that the statistical properties of turbulent motions and their evolution with time imply that major merger events are responsible for the injection of the bulk of turbulent kinetic energy into the cluster. Turbulence is found to account for ∼20−30 per cent of the thermal energy in merging clusters, and ∼5 per cent in relaxed clusters. We compare the energies of turbulence and motions in our simulated clusters with upper-limits for real nearby clusters derived from XMM-Newton data. When turbulent motions are compared on the same spatial scales, the data from simulations are well within the range presently allowed by observations. Finally, we comment on the possibility that turbulence may accelerate relativistic particles leading to the formation of giant radio halos in turbulent (merging) clusters. On the basis of our simulations, we confirm the conclusions of previous semi-analytical studies that the fraction of turbulent clusters appears to be consistent with that of clusters hosting radio halos.
Mechanisms of Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Nucleation, Growth and Chirality-Control: Insights from QM/MD Simulations

The experimental characterisations of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) (Iijima, 1991) and in particular single-walled CNTs (SWNTs) (Iijima & Ichihashi, 1993) in the early 1990s were landmark moments in 20th century science. The potential uses of these remarkable nanostructures are now becoming realised, as their synthesis is now routinely performed on the industrial scale. The initial successes in this respect were generally experimental techniques that were previously well established in other fields. This is particularly true of the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and arc-discharge processes. The original experimental characterisation of SWNTs was in fact accomplished using nanotubes synthesised with the former method (Iijima & Ichihashi, 1993). The understanding of the way in which CNTs nucleate and grow was therefore synergic with the evolution and refinement of these synthetic methods. Indeed, the original mechanisms of CNT nucleation and growth were conceived from experimental observations. The most prevalent of these today is the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) mechanism (Saito, 1995). According to this mechanism, SWNT nucleation growth is postulated to consist of three distinct stages. The first of these features a mixed carbon/catalyst vapor phase, from which co-condensation yields liquid catalyst-carbide nanoparticles. Typical catalysts in the growth of SWNTs are traditionally transition metals such as Fe, Ni, Co, Mo, and alloys thereof (see (Journet et al., 1997; Moisala et al., 2003; Harris, 2007), and references therein). The precipitation of atomic carbon from this liquid carbide phase takes place once the carbide phase is saturated with carbon. This precipitation yields the formation of solid phase CNTs. Due to the inherent limits in spatial and temporal resolutions that are furnished by experimental techniques and instrumentation, there inevitably remain questions regarding the VLS mechanism and CNT growth that, for now, cannot be answered from an experimental standpoint. There are several infamous examples in this respect. For instance, the mechanism of so-called ‘catalyst-free’ SWNT nucleation growth remains unknown, following the recent
Synthesis, Characterization and Drug Release Capability of New Cost Effective Mesoporous Silica Nano Particle for Ibuprofen Drug Delivery

New mesoporous silica nanoparticle (MSNs) with high surface area and pore volume has been synthesized successfully using TritonX-100 as main and Tween 60 as co-template (at various concentrations). Ibuprofen a water insoluble model drug was loaded into the synthesized silica nanoparticle and studied for sustained release capability. All the as synthesized and drug loaded nanoparticle were characterized using physicochemical techniques such as FTIR, Difuse reflectance UV spectroscopy(UV-DRS), Brunauer Emmett Teller (BET) technique, Differential Scanning Calorimetri ( DSC ),Thermo gravimetric analysis(TGA), powder XRD and scanning electron microscopy( SEM) for the morphology and drug loading. From the results it was noted that all the silica nanoparticle synthesized by sol-gel method were mesoporous with high surface area and pore volume (1024.3, 1056.2 and 1083.6 m 2 g -1 and 0.9229, 0.9904 and 0.8468 for TW6-1rt, TW6-2rt and TW6-3rt respectively) and have the capability of up taking 32 % ibuprofen model drug further they shows initial burst release for 50h followed by sustained maintenance of dose even after 150h.
Macroeconomic synchronization between g3 countries

This paper studies the existence of a world business cycle by examining quarterly and annual comovements in production, prices, and interest rates in the three main world economies: Germany, Japan and the U.S. In accordance with earlier studies, contemporaneous relationships clearly dominate short-term dynamics. The evidence indicates that, in the last four decades, these comovements are clearly significant in all the variables, with the possible exception of short-term interest rates, and they are stronger for long-term interest rates; nevertheless, they are rather unstable over time.
Thai Youths and Global Warming: Media Information, Awareness, and Lifestyle Activities

This study examines the exposure of Thai youths to media information on global warming, the relationship between exposure to global warming information and awareness of global warming, and the relationship between that awareness and lifestyle activities that contribute to global warming. A focus group of eight Thai youths provided information that was used to construct a questionnaire, which was administered to 2,500 Thai youths. In-depth interviews with academics and mass communication experts were also conducted. The study took place from early 2008 to mid-2009 in various parts of Thailand. Analysis of the questionnaire responses indicate that most of the Thai youths in the study obtained information about global warming primarily from television; often, however, they do not understand the information.
Do Social Relations Affect Economic Welfare? A Microeconomic Empirical Analysis

Over the last few years, many studies have shown that social networks affect the socioeconomic development. This paper presents evidence, through the Italian microdata representative of the entire Italian population, that the quality and quantity of interpersonal relations of agents can increase their economic welfare. Two proxies of interpersonal relations at an individual level are considered: a proxy for the density and one for the quality of network structure of personal contacts. Both seem to have a positive effect on the level of household economic welfare of agents. This result proves robust to the inclusion of a variety of control variables and to the use of different econometric methods.
A review of astrophysics experiments on intense lasers

Astrophysics traditionally has been the domain of large astronomical observatories and theorists' computers, the former producing images from deep space, and the latter constructing intricate models to explain the observations. A component often missing has been the ability to quantitatively test the theories and models in an experimental setting where the initial and final states are well characterized. In a new development, intense lasers are being used to recreate aspects of astrophysical phenomena in the laboratory, allowing the creation of experimental testbeds where theory and modeling can be quantitatively compared with data. We summarize here several areas of astrophysics: supernovae, supernova remnants, gamma-ray bursts, and giant planets. In each of these areas, experiments are under development at intense laser facilities to test and refine our understanding of these phenomena.
A Framework for Automated Pavement Condition Monitoring

Pavement condition monitoring is mainly performed manually. Inspectors are driving or walking the road network bare-eyed to look for irregularities. Moreover, processing the collected data for understanding the road condition is also a manual task. In this paper, a framework that automates the process is presented. Video data collected from the car’s parking camera is utilized to detect defects in frames. Simultaneously, elevation signals collected from accelerometers attached to the car are processed to reconstruct the profile of the road and detect defects associated with its z-axis, such as bumps. A global positioning system (GPS) device is synchronized with the other sensors to acquire the data’s geolocation. Detected defects are then classified according to their type and their severity is assessed. All information is then transferred via 4G network to a central server, where the Road Condition Index of road segments necessary to classify roads is calculated. Finally, everything is saved in a Pavement Management System. Preliminary results on the processing of video data demonstrate the frameworks’ promising application. The initial identification of frames including defects produces an accuracy of 96% and approximately 97% precision. Further experiments on such frames, aiming at the detection of potholes, patches and three different types of cracks result in over 84% overall accuracy and over 85% precision.
Transparent and Shaped Stiffness Reflection for Telesurgery

The motivation behind the work presented in this chapter is minimal access telesurgery with reliable haptic feedback. Minimal access surgery (MAS) is performed via small incisions in the body, through which long rigid instruments are inserted along with a camera. Telesurgery refers to surgical operations performed by robotic instruments, the slave, commanded by a surgeon through one or more complex robotic joysticks, the master. Nowadays, the only commercially available master-slave system for minimal access surgery is the Da Vinci Surgical System, which is frequently used for MAS (Hockstein et al., 2007). The benefits of telesurgical laparoscopy over conventional laparoscopy include increased number of degrees of freedom, elimination of tremor, 3D visualization, possible motion scaling and an ergonomic position for the surgeon (Corcione et al., 2005; Nguan et al., 2008). Moreover, the master-slave concept enables the surgeon to be outside the direct environment of the patient. In 2001 e.g., the first transatlantic surgical operation, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, was performed on a patient in Strasbourg, France by a surgeon situated in New York, United States (Marescaux et al., 2001). Unfortunately, current telesurgical systems do not provide haptic feedback, which means that the surgeon loses his/her sense of touch. This decreases the efficiency of the surgeon and can result in collateral tissue damage (Bethea et al., 2004; De et al., 2007; Famaey et al., 2009). Several studies have shown that haptic feedback would be able to increase the precision of telesurgery and lower the interaction forces with the tissue (Deml et al., 2005; Tholey et al., 2005; Wagner et al., 2002). However, achieving a system with haptic feedback that accurately represents the feeling of soft tissue, while maintaining stability under all circumstances, is nontrivial and remains a big challenge. A first issue, which is not discussed in this chapter, concerns the design of a robust accurate force-measurement system that integrates well in the surgical environment (Peirs et al., 2004; Seibold et al., 2005; Willaert et al., 2009a; Zemiti et al., 2006). A second issue concerns the control itself of such a master-slave system. During MAS, the environment of interest consists mainly of soft tissue although also interactions with hard contacts can occur (i.e. contact with bone or another instrument). Based on the raw data acquired by Walraevens et al. (2008) (cardiovascular tissue) and by Rosen et al. (2008) (abdominal organs) one can estimate that the maximum stiffness is in the order of 1500 N/m when interacting with soft tissue. When contacting bone, the stiffness can be 13
Real-time display of pitch-time diagram as an e-learning tool for acquisition of Mandarin tones

Mandarin tones are the changes in the fundamental frequency in the spoken words. With modern day personal computers it is possible to extract the fundamental frequency in a straight forward manner as pitch-time diagram. Real-time extraction of pitch-time diagrams can be used as visual feedback to assist the learner in identifying and correcting the learner’s tone errors. In this paper we describe the design and use of a pitch-time visualisation software as an e-learning tool for the acquisition of Mandarin tones. Initial experience shows that the visual comparison of students’ tone patterns against that of a reference pronunciation is very effective for a learner to self-evaluate and correct errors in his/her Mandarin tones.
INTEGRATION OF VIDEO IMAGES AND CAD WIREFRAMES FOR 3D OBJECT LOCALIZATION

The tracking of moving objects from single images has received widespread attention in photogrammetric computer vision and considered to be at a state of maturity. This paper presents a model-driven solution for localizing moving objects detected from monocular, rotating and zooming video images in a 3D reference frame. To realize such a system, the recovery of 2D to 3D projection parameters is essential. Automatic estimation of these parameters is critical, particularly for pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) surveillance cameras where parameters change spontaneously upon camera motion. In this work, an algorithm for automated parameter retrieval is proposed. This is achieved by matching linear features between incoming images from video sequences and simple geometric 3D CAD wireframe models of man-made structures. The feature matching schema uses a hypothesis-verify optimization framework referred to as LR-RANSAC. This novel method improves the computational efficiency of the matching process in comparison to the standard RANSAC robust estimator. To demonstrate the applicability and performance of the method, experiments have been performed on indoor and outdoor image sequences under varying conditions with lighting changes and occlusions. Reliability of the matching algorithm has been analyzed by comparing the automatically determined camera parameters with ground truth (GT). Dependability of the retrieved parameters for 3D localization has also been assessed by comparing the difference between 3D positions of moving image objects estimated using the LR-RANSAC-derived parameters and those computed using GT parameters.