Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stacked genetically modified soybean harboring herbicide resistance and insecticide rCry1Ac shows strong defense and redox homeostasis disturbance after glyphosate application

BackgroundWorld agricultural production of genetically modified (GM) products in particular, the combination of different traits/genes in the same plant has been intense over the last decade. The stacking of herbicide and insect-resistant transgenic genes can result in fitness costs that rely on the type and strength of the selection pressure exerted by the environment. Here we report the results of transcriptomic analysis comparing the effect of glyphosate on various biological processes, metabolic pathways, and main shikimic enzymes in stacked versus single soybean resistant varieties.ResultsGene expression data were grouped according to treatment, ie the herbicidal factor strongly influenced. Common physiological results between the single and established varieties were mainly in Redox metabolism, energy, and metabolism. Photosynthesis was only found negatively affected in the single variety. The defense components, although present in both varieties, show a more intense presence in staked pathways, that demonstrated pathways related to up-regulated secondary metabolites biosynthesis, a known response when plants are under various stress conditions. RT-PCR results confirmed that native EPSPS expression was up-regulated at the same level for single and stacked events. However, metabolic differences in expression were observed, suggesting a distinct cascade effect between simple and stacked, triggered by glyphosate application.ConclusionChanges in plant metabolism by glyphosate application have been observed in several pathways, particularly the shiquimate pathway, suggesting that event staking may promote a more intense defensive genetic response. Omics profiling techniques, such as transcriptome, can be considered tools to support risk assessment based on detecting unwanted effects, both on plant physiological changes and on the safety of foods and products from new genetic editing technologies.
The Role of HMGB1and KIM-1 Repair Genes in the Progression of Kidney Failure Disease

Renal Failure(RF) is a leading clinical characteristic of patients in nephrology , it represents significant concern and the main challenge for healthcare systems. The incidence rate of RF is rising globally , mainly as a result of increased aging population. The current study , was performed to identify the effect of HMGB1and KIM-1gene expression in renal failure disease focusing on it is role on the repair processes. This study comprises 100 patients diagnosed clinicaly and seriologicaly with renal failure )52 males and 48 females ) their age vary from (17 to 80 years) and 30 healthy individuals as a control group( 18 males and 12 females ). RNA extracted from blood samples and converted to cDNA which subjected to real-time PCR for detection gene expression . HMGB1 and KIM-1 have significantly overexpression (3.51 folds and 5.37 folds ) respectively in RF patients compared with healthy control subjects ( p <0.05). However , HMGB1 and KIM-1 gene folding elevated gradually with advance the severity of the RF disease.
Playing billard with an anthropomorphic robot arm

The intention of this work is to investigate the possibility of playing billiard with the DLR Light Weight Robot III (DLR-LWR III). Playing billiard with such a robot is due to the necessity to combine strategic planning capabilities, precise vision, and accurate robot control a challenging task to be performed. In contrast to existing approaches, where an active cue acceleration device is used to achieve the velocity for striking a ball, we directly generate this with the robot. For this purpose an experimental billiard table was set up. Furthermore, a set of randomly placed billiard balls are localized and identiﬁed with a computer vision system. In order to properly plan shots according to the particular situation, an artiﬁcial intelligence was developed, which is capable of analyzing a given table state and choose an appropriate shot. In order to accomplish this task, a custom made cue end effector was constructed. To show the systems abilities, experiments are performed, verifying the accuracy and success rate of the vision system and simulation results for performing the entire loop are presented.
Design of Power Optimized circuit of LC Voltage Controlled Oscillator for use in GSM Handsets

The recent performance requirements for mobile phones have been extending its area of interest. Handsets need to have high resolution graphics, pictures, and applications. Consequently, the requirement for a longer battery life has become a bare necessity. This makes optimization of power a critical issue. Along with this cell phones need to be thin and have light weight. A major portion of the power consumption of the handsets can be attributed to the LC oscillators used in the system. A Voltage Controlled Oscillator plays an important role in any communication system. It provides the frequency signal for down-conversion of input signals and also the carrier signals for the modulating signal. Proper amplitude and low phase noise are two important criteria to achieve suitable performance for a VCO in any transceiver system. The strong combination of low phase noise specifications with very low power consumption (battery operation) forces designers to use LC-VCOs. A great research effort has been done in the design of integrated voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs) using integrated or external resonators, but as their power consumption still cannot be unacceptable, today’s mobile phones commonly use external LC-VCO modules. Inductors used in these oscillators are usually bulky and have high power consumption. The low power LC oscillator increases the standby time, thus improving the battery life. Extended battery life provides processing power at lower clock speeds, enabling low leakage process that optimizes power consumption and increases battery time. Also provides integrated and sophisticated systems with improved power management. The main purpose of this project is to design a circuit for LC VCO to be used in GSM system with a tuning rage of 3-4GHz. Since the phase noise requirement for the system is less than 150dBc/Hz at 20 KHz offset. Also for a GSM system, the size of the inductor used in the oscillator is a major issue in determining its overall size, efforts will be made to optimize the size of the inductor as well.
Joint Subcarrier Assignment and Global Energy-Efficient Power Allocation for Energy-Harvesting Two-Tier Downlink NOMA Hetnets

In this paper, the problem of joint subcarrier assignment and global energy-efficient power allocation (J-SA-GEE-PA) for energy-harvesting (EH) two-tier downlink non-orthogonal multiple-access (NOMA) heterogeneous networks (HetNets) is considered. Particularly, the HetNet consists of a macro base-station (MBS) and a number of small base-stations (SBSs), which are solely powered via renewable-energy sources. The aim is to solve the J-SA-GEE-PA maximization problem subject to quality-of-service (QoS) per user as well as other practical constraints. However, the formulated J-SA-GEE-PA problem happens to be non-convex and NP-hard, and thus is computationally-prohibitive. In turn, problem J-SA-GEE-PA is split into two sub-problems: (1) subcarrier assignment via many-to-many matching, and (2) GEE-maximizing power allocation. In the first sub-problem, the subcarriers are assigned to users via the Gale-Shapley deferred acceptance mechanism. As for the second sub-problem, the GEE-PA problem is solved optimally via a low-complexity algorithm. After that, a two-stage solution procedure is devised to efficiently solve the J-SA-GEE-PA problem, while ensuring stability. Simulation results are presented to validate the proposed solution procedure, where it is shown to efficiently yield comparable network global energy-efficiency to the J-SA-GEE-PA scheme, and superior to that of OFDMA; however, with lower computational-complexity. The algorithmic designs presented in this work constitute a step towards filling the gap for computationally-efficient and effective resource allocation solutions to guarantee a fully autonomous and grid-independent operation of EH two-tier downlink NOMA HetNets.
Irrigation Termination Effects on Cotton Yield and Fiber Quality

Field experiments were conducted in 2004 and 2005 at the University of Arizona Maricopa Agricultural Center (1,175ft. elevation) to evaluate the effects of five irrigation termination (IT1, IT2, IT3, IT4, and IT5) dates on yield and fiber micronaire of eleven Upland cotton varieties and one Pima variety. In addition, the economic relationships of IT treatments were also evaluated. The experimental design was a split plot in a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main treatments included the five IT dates and the subunits consisted of 11 Upland varieties and a Pima variety. The first two IT treatments (IT1 and IT2) were imposed with the intention of terminating irrigations very early and pre-maturely at peak bloom. Based upon current UA recommendations for IT to complete a single cycle fruit set, the more optimal date of IT would have included one or two additional irrigations (beyond IT1 and IT2). In this experiment, IT2 was structured to provide an additional (one) irrigation just past peak bloom. For the IT3 plots, the intention was to attempt to time termination in advance of cutout. The 2004 and 2005 IT4 and IT5 were imposed to attempt to complete the primary fruiting cycle development and produce a second cycle fruit set that require irrigations until late August and late September, respectively. In general, lint yield and micronaire results revealed significant differences among the IT treatments and varieties. In a similar fashion to a previous set of IT experiments (2000-2002), lint yield and micronaire values consistently increased with later IT dates. The best combined lint yield and micronaire results were achieved with IT4 date, which received 12 and 18 in. less irrigation water than IT5 in 2004 and 2005, respectively. In 2004 and 2005, the 12 and 18 in. water saved equate to approximately 20% and 30% less water used under the conventional practice, respectively. The average marginal value of water for all eleven Upland varieties in going from IT1 to IT2, IT2 to IT3, IT3 to IT4, and IT4 to IT5 for November 2004 prices and low carrying costs is calculated at $320.07, $150.15, $100.54, and -$28.16 per acre-foot of water. If steeper mike discounts (November 1999), a lower base lint price (45¢/lb.), and higher costs (i.e., more costly insecticide and chemical costs) are imputed to extend the crop, the marginal value of an acre-foot of water for all Upland varieties and replications in going from IT1 to IT2, IT2 to IT3, IT3 to IT4, and IT4 to IT5 is estimated at $164.04, $48.15, $12.97, and -$94.79. Profitability and the value of water for extending the season varies quite markedly between different varieties and termination dates.
Managing engineeering design

Part I The Context Ways of thinking about engineering design The project context Part II Task, Team and Tools Profiling the project Managing the design team Part III The Project Project proposal - getting the job Design specification - clarification of the task Feasible concept - conceptual design Developed concept - embodiment design Final design - detail design for manufacture Users and customers - design feedback Standards and codes Summary Bibliography Index
Heart Rate Sharing at the Workplace

Augmenting online interpersonal communication with biosignals, often in the form of heart rate sharing, has shown promise in increasing affiliation, feelings of closeness, and intimacy. Increasing empathetic awareness in the professional domain and in the customer interface could benefit both customer and employee satisfaction, but heart rate sharing in this context needs to consider issues around physiological monitoring of employees, appropriate level of intimacy, as well as the productivity outlook. In this study, we explore heart rate sharing at the workplace and study its effects on task performance. Altogether, 124 participants completed a collaborative visual guidance task using a chat box with heart rate visualization. Participants’ feedback about heart rate sharing reveal themes such as a stronger sense of human contact and increased self-reflection, but also raise concerns around unnecessity, intimacy, privacy and negative interpretations. Live heart rate was always measured, but to investigate the effect of heart rate sharing on task performance, half of the customers were told that they were seeing a recording, and half were told that they were seeing the advisor’s live heart beat. We found a negative link between awareness and task performance. We also found that higher ratings of usefulness of the heart rate visualization were associated with increased feelings of closeness. These results reveal that intimacy and privacy issues are particularly important for heart rate sharing in professional contexts, that preference modulates the effects of heart rate sharing on social closeness, and that heart rate sharing may have a negative effect on performance.
maximum power point tracking in photovoltaic systems using model reference adaptive control

This thesis proposes adaptive control architecture for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) in photovoltaic systems. Photovoltaic systems provide promising ways to generate clean electric power. MPPT technologies have been used in photovoltaic systems to deliver the maximum power output to the load under changes of solar insolation and solar panel's temperature. To improve the performance of MPPT, this thesis proposes a two-layer adaptive control architecture that can effectively handle the uncertainties and perturbations in the photovoltaic systems and the environment. The first layer of control is ripple correlation control (RCC), and the second layer is model reference adaptive control (MRAC). By decoupling these two control algorithms, the control system achieves the maximum power point tracking with shorter time constants and overall system stability. To track the maximum power point as the solar insolation changes, the RCC algorithm computes the corresponding duty cycle, which serves as the input to the MRAC layer. Then the MRAC algorithm compensates the under-damped characteristics of the power conversion system: the original transfer function of the power conversion system has time-varying parameters, and its step response contains oscillatory transients that vanish slowly. Using the Lyapunov approach, an adaption law of the controller is derived for the MRAC system to eliminate the under-damped modes in power conversion.
Multi-Spectral Shock-Layer Radiance Flight Experiment Plan

Abstract : The Dual-mode Experiment on Bow-shock Interactions (DEBI) project is designed to contribute further understanding toward the aerothermochemistry associated with hypersonic flight for interceptor applications within the Earth's atmosphere. Such detailed understanding is required to accurately model the optical radiation from high temperature flows. A main component of an interceptor target acquisition and tracking system suite is the optical sensor(s). Future missile interceptors are projected to fly at hypersonic velocities and will be expected to acquire and track the threat while traveling within the atmosphere. An interceptor traveling through the atmosphere at hypersonic Mach numbers will cause a bow shock and experience aerodynamic heat loading that increases temperatures on external surfaces; including optical windows. Further, thermal excitation of species occurs in the flow-field around the interceptor. Emissions from hot optics and/or excited constituents in the sensor's field of regard can lead to sensor blinding in some regions of the spectrum. It is necessary to acquire dual-mode (ultraviolet and infrared) data during the this flight experiment to improve and/or validate state-of-art models developed under Ballistic Missile Defense Organization's (BMDO) Innovative Science and Technology Program. This paper summarizes the flight experiment, the innovative solutions, and our 'lessons learned' during the design and development of the DEBI instrumentation suite. Problems addressed were: (1) how to best detect and transport signals predicted in the short wave and mid wave infrared spectrum; (2) what detectors and wavelengths are best suited to optics constraints; (3) what new materials were necessary to improve signal to noise for a sensible acquisition system; and (4) how to design an optical payload that can perform as required in a harsh environment.
MEEGA+: Um Modelo para a Avaliação de Jogos Educacionais para o ensino de Computação

Jogos educacionais estão sendo usados como uma estratégia instrucional inovadora para o ensino e aprendizagem em diversas áreas de conhecimento. No entanto, é essencial avaliar sistematicamente esses jogos a fim de obter evidências de sua qualidade. Atualmente, existem poucos modelos/métodos que forneçam um suporte sistemático para a avaliação de jogos educacionais. Neste contexto, um modelo que têm se destacado é o MEEGA (Model for the Evaluation of Educational GAmes). Porém, resultados de uma análise de sua versão inicial apontam limitações em termos de sua validade. Assim, o objetivo deste artigo é apresentar o modelo MEEGA+, evoluindo a versão inicial do modelo MEEGA. O modelo MEEGA+ é sistematicamente desenvolvido por meio da decomposição de um objetivo de avaliação em medidas e definindo um instrumento de medição para avaliar a qualidade de jogos educacionais. A análise da confiabilidade e validade, com base em dados coletados em 48 estudos de caso envolvendo uma população de 843 alunos, avaliando 18 diferentes jogos para o ensino de computação, indica que o instrumento de medição do modelo MEEGA+ é confiável (alfa de Cronbach α=,928). Os resultados de uma análise fatorial exploratória indicam que a qualidade de jogos educacionais é avaliada por meio de dois fatores de qualidade (experiência do jogador e usabilidade). Os resultados também demonstram validade convergente por meio de um grau de correlação satisfatório encontrado entre a maioria dos itens do instrumento de medição. Assim, o modelo MEEGA+ fornece um instrumento de medição confiável e válido para desenvolvedores de jogos, instrutores e pesquisadores, a fim de avaliar a qualidade de jogos educacionais como base para sua melhoria e adoção na prática.
COMPUTER ANALYSIS OF ORIGIN-DESTINATION TRAFFIC SURVEYS . 15TH ARRB CONFERENCE, DARWIN, NORTHERN TERRITORY, 26-31 AUGUST 1990; PROCEEDINGS PARTS 1 TO 7

The number plate technique is currently the most popular method used to collect origin-destination (o-d) data in Victoria and other Australian states. Unfortunately, o-d surveys are expensive and prone to a number of different types of errors that can seriously affect the accuracy of results. Errors can be minimised by good survey practice and their impact may be taken into account in the analysis of survey results. This paper provides a review of the 'state-of-the-art' of o-d surveys in the areas of data analysis and error handling. It describes the development and application of a new PC-based computer program (OD) for number plate analysis. The OD program has a large number of desirable features for the analysis of number plate data. It allows correction for the various errors inherent in o-d surveys, it has flexibility in the extent of analyses of the data, and it is easy to use. A case study is presented that involves the use of a real data set and compares the results found using OD with those from an alternative analysis program. The program is designed for use in local area traffic management studies, but could be readily used for regional traffic studies or parking studies undertaken using a cordon technique. (Author/TRRL)
Performance Characterization of a Three-Axis Hall Effect Thruster

Abstract : The research presented here represents the first efforts to operate and quantify the performance of a three-axis Hall effect thruster. This thruster is based on the Busek BHT-200 and used a novel construction with three orthogonal faces and a common magnetic core to reduce size and weight. Operating procedures for the thruster were developed and thrust and current density measurements were performed and compared with the baseline BHT-200. The three-axis thruster was successfully operated in single, double and triple face configurations. Distinct jet plume and ball plume modes were observed. Inverted pendulum thrust stand readings in the single face mode indicated that the three-axis thruster produced considerably lower thrust, specific impulse and thrust efficiencies than the BHT-200. Beam current density measurements conducted using a guarded Faraday probe showed significant differences in plume divergence angle, total beam current and current density distributions between the different faces and different operating modes. Results showed three-axis thruster efficiency and stability improved with more operating faces. Improvements to the three-axis thruster design and thrust stand configuration for use with the thruster were enumerated. Suggestions for refinement to experimental methodologies to optimize testing with the three-axis thruster were made and additional diagnostic techniques were described.
Highway Construction Related Business Impacts: Phase I Report

Business owners are typically quite concerned when a highway construction project is proposed near their businesses. Even though construction projects are only temporary situations, many business owners worry about the level of impact and the length and magnitude of the recovery period. Currently little information that quantifies the estimated business impacts exists nationwide and none that is specific to Wyoming. The intent of this study is to investigate the business-related impacts due to highway construction projects in Wyoming. The findings from this research effort, Phase I and Phase II, will result in tools to address the concerns of business owners and response to unsupported statements of business owners on future projects. Quantified estimates of both the perceived and actual business impacts from previous projects will be included as well as mitigation techniques for future projects to minimize the construction impact and to foster better relationships with adjacent business owners. Phase I concentrates on evaluating impacts of past construction projects and Phase II concentrates on current and future projects. This Phase I report is composed of seven chapters including the introduction. Chapter 2 is a literature review on construction impacts and mitigation techniques. Chapter 3 includes the Wyoming Department of Transportation survey including methodology and results. Chapter 4 introduces the Phase I projects. Chapter 5 gives details about the collected data, such as business categorization based on SIC codes; customer base; traffic volumes before, during and after construction; tax revenue before, during and after construction; and the general economic trends occurring in the area. Chapter 6 contains data analysis on each of the following: traffic volumes, tax revenues, commercial property, business survey, summary of impact level, and perceived versus actual impacts. Chapter 7 contains the conclusions and recommendations and includes a section on the Phase II study.