Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A combined transcriptional and dynamic roadmap of single human pancreatic endocrine progenitors reveals proliferative capacity and differentiation continuum

Basic helix-loop-helix genes, particularly proneural genes, are well-described triggers of cell differentiation, yet limited information exists on their dynamics, notably in human development. Here, we focus on Neurogenin 3 (NEUROG3), which is crucial for pancreatic endocrine lineage initiation. Using a double reporter to monitor endogenous NEUROG3 transcription and protein expression in single cells in 2D and 3D models of human pancreas development, we show peaks of expression for the RNA and protein at 22 and 11 hours respectively, approximately two-fold slower than in mice, and remarkable heterogeneity in peak expression levels all triggering differentiation. We also reveal that some human endocrine progenitors proliferate once, mainly at the onset of differentiation, rather than forming a subpopulation with sustained proliferation. Using reporter index-sorted single-cell RNA-seq data, we statistically map transcriptome to dynamic behaviors of cells in live imaging and uncover transcriptional states associated with variations in motility as NEUROG3 levels change, a method applicable to other contexts.
A study on a RF filter of IMT-2000 terminal using coupled rectangular microstrip loop resonators

In this paper, we analyzed RF filters of IMT-2000 terminal using coupled rectangular microstrip loop resonators and compared this with numerical analysis. The characteristic equations of the resonators are derived and the resonators analyzed with two-port networks. We confirmed that the resonance length varied according to substrate height, dielectric constant, line width, etc. in the rectangular loop resonator with and without a gap. Also we analysed the filters which are composed of coupled rectangular microstrip ring loop resonators. The coupling structure is the cross coupled rectangular resonator. The derived characteristics equation of the filters that is composed of a two port ABCD matrix. We obtained the coupling coefficient for the coupled resonators. In this papers, small size filter with low loss using microstrip loop resonators is presented.
The Synthesis and Optical Properties of Two BOPIMs Containing N,N-Dimethylaminophenyl Groups

The synthesis and nonlinear optical properties of two N, N-dimethylaminophenyl substituted BOPIMs, BOPIM-ma and BOPIM-dma, were investigated. A more significant solvatochromic shift is achieved in BOPIM-ma, which is more sensitive to solven. It is distinct that the energy gap between the HOMO and LUMO for BOPIM-ma, 2.503 ev, is larger than that of BOIM-dma, 2.449 ev, an indication of the functionalization of N,N-dimethylaminophenyl group.
Understanding the Thermal Time Constants of GaN HEMTs through Model Order Reduction Technique

This paper described a comparison between a numerical Finite Element Analysis (FEA) and an analytical approach in order to extract the thermal time constants and the thermal resistances of simple but realistic structures. Understanding the complex contribution of multidimensional thermal spreading, the effect of multiple layers, and the correlation with the heat source length is mandatory due to the severe mismatch of thermal expansion in different epitaxial layers and high operating temperatures. This is especially true on GaN HEMT (High Electron Mobility Transistor) with the continuous decrease of the gate length and the increase of the power density. Moreover, in this paper, we extracted the time constants with a Model Order Reduction (MOR) technique based on the Ritz vector approach with inputs coming from the FE matrices. It was found that the time constants obtained by an analytical solution and a model order extraction from FEA were exactly the same. This result validated the idea that our MOR technique provides the real time constants and resistances for our device structures and in this case unified the analytical world with the numerical one.
Investigation of wind and rain effects in a foliated tropical region for fixed wireless access

This paper investigates the effects of trees on fixed wireless access operating at 5.8 GHz frequency of the Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (UNII) band. Measurements are focused on the temporal scale of the received signal strength for a three different links (one line of sight (LOS) link and two non-line of sight (NLOS) link). The statistical characterisation of the combined effects of typical weather phenomena often experienced in a tropical region is presented. As expected, the LOS link is not affected even during heavy rain condition. However, the presence of trees in the vicinity of the transmission path can cause relevant signal deterioration in the case of NLOS link, where the fading of the received signal varies from 2 to 16 dB as the strength of wind and rain increases. Rician distribution can be used to characterise the temporal variation of these weather effects. The work reported in this paper enables the effects of wind, rain and humidity to be properly taken into consideration in the deployment of fixed wireless links in a foliated channel, allowing an optimisation of planning for the end users.
Automated identification of chicken distress vocalisations using deep learning models

The annual global production of chickens exceeds 25 billion birds, and they are often housed in very large groups, numbering thousands. Distress calling triggered by various sources of stress has been suggested as an “iceberg indicator” of chicken welfare. However, to date, the identification of distress calls largely relies on manual annotations, which is very labour-intensive and time-consuming. Thus, a novel light-VGG11 was developed to automatically identify chicken distress calls using recordings (3,363 distress calls and 1,973 natural barn sounds) collected on intensive chicken farms. The light-VGG11 was modified from VGG11 with a significantly smaller size in parameters (9.3 million vs 128 million) and 55.88% faster detection speed while displaying comparable performance, i.e., precision (94.58%), recall (94.89%), F1-score (94.73%), and accuracy (95.07%), therefore more useful for model deployment in practice. To further improve the light-VGG11’s performance, we investigated the impacts of different data augmentation techniques (i.e., time masking, frequency masking, mixed spectrograms of the same class, and Gaussian noise) and found that they could improve distress calls detection by up to 1.52%. In terms of precision livestock farming, our research opens new opportunities for developing technologies used to monitor the output of distress calls in large, commercial chicken flocks.
Terra 2008. The Tenth International Conference on the Study and Conservation of Earthen Architectural Heritage

The Tenth International Conference on the Study and Conservation of Earthen Architectural Heritage is the most recent in a series of conferences that refl ect the growth and development of approaches to this broad class of material. The last conference in the series, hosted in Iran in 2003 just weeks before the devastating earthquake that hit Bam, was often refl ected upon in Bamako: we can do our very best to study, understand and conserve our earthen architectural heritage but we are still largely unable to deal with the devastating and enormous consequences of natural (and in any number of instances human) disaster. Terra 2008 was a large conference, with over 450 delegates from 65 countries, and a signifi cant and important representation from all over Africa, including the host country, Mali. The arrival in Africa of the Terra conference series is signifi cant: from the Mediterranean to the South Atlantic the continent retains an immense and vast wealth of earthen archaeological sites, historic buildings and contemporary earth building practice and use. As life changes in the twenty-fi rst century the contemporary value and signifi cance of this earthen architectural heritage, alongside the intangible aspects of use and maintenance, are in fl ux.
Deep Leg Tracking by Detection and Gait Analysis in 2D Range Data for Intelligent Robotic Assistants

Online human leg tracking and gait analysis are crucial functionalities for mobility assistant robots, like intelligent walkers. Usually, such walkers are equipped with various sensors for the extraction of human-related features for adaptive human-robot interaction and assistance. We treat the gait detection problem jointly, presenting a novel method for detecting and recognizing gait features from 2D range data produced by a laser sensor mounted on a robotic walker. We propose an effective Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) as a powerful feature extractor for detecting the user’s leg centers in range data represented as occupancy grid maps. We couple the CNN with a Long Short Term Memory (LSTM) network for learning the legs’ motion temporal dynamics while walking, improving the prior detection, and providing better leg occlusion handling. Moreover, we perform gait analysis by recognizing gait phases over both legs by feeding the leg tracking output to a subsequent LSTM. Our proposed lightweight framework has been trained and tested on real patients-data. The presented experimental results show our method’s efficiency in providing accurate detections compared to state-of-the-art and application to an online system due to its high frequency, making it a competitive method for gait detection on robotic mobility assistants.
Personal Digital Assistants in the Middle School Classroom: Lessons in Hand

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), such as Palm Pilots, have the potential to revolutionize the middle school classroom. These small, inexpensive devices make it possible for middle school teachers to grade students' work in real time. Expectations for success on the part of teachers using these devices can be important factors in the implementation process. To a large extent, the effectiveness of PDAs as a teaching and learning tool is dependent upon how willing teachers are to use them and to overcome potential barriers such as time limitations. A qualitative collection of data gave a closer look at teachers' perceptions of PDA use and value.
Urea as a substitute for soybean meal in growing lambs fed diets containing buffel grass hay

ABSTRACT The aim was examine the effects of substituting the crude protein (CP) from soybean meal (SM) with the CP from urea on the intake, nutrient digestibility and feeding behaviour of feedlot lambs with buffel grass hay as the roughage source. Five uncastrated Dorper × Santa Inês mixed-breed lambs with an average initial weight of 17 ± 1.5 kg were evaluated in a 5 × 5 Latin square design. Treatments consisted of diets in which 0.0, 25.0%, 50.0%, 75.0% and 100% of the CP from SM were substituted by the CP from urea. Compared with diet without urea, dry matter (DM) intake and organic matter intake were similar to diet containing 25% of urea, whereas they were lower in the animals fed diets containing 50%, 75% and 100% of CP from urea. The digestibility coefficients, feeding behaviour, nitrogen (N) balance, N intake and N losses in faeces were not influenced. Urinary N losses differed, with the highest values in the animals fed diets in which 75% and 100% of SM was replaced. Up to 25% of the CP, which corresponds to 3.16% of DM from SM can be substituted by CP from urea in diets containing buffel grass hay for feedlot lambs.
Bi-objective facility expansion and relayout considering monuments

In this paper, the unequal area facility expansion and relayout problem is studied. The facility relayout problem is important since both manufacturing and service entities must modify their layouts over time when their operational characteristics change. A bi-objective approach is proposed to solve the relayout problem for cases of both a fixed facility area and an expanded facility area. Material handling costs and relayout costs are minimized using a tabu search meta-heuristic optimizer. This heuristic randomly alternates the objective function between the two objectives of the problem in each step and, by doing so, eliminates the difficulty of weighting and scaling the two objectives. The approach is flexible in handling various aspects of the problem such as stationary portions of departments (i.e., monuments), addition of new departments, and changes in existing department and facility areas. Computational experiments show that the bi-objective tabu search approach is effective and tractable. The use of the Pareto front of designs is demonstrated by showing a few approaches to analyzing the trade-offs between initial costs (relayout cost) and ongoing expenses (material handling costs).
Antecedents of privacy concern: the examination of “self” and “others” on Facebook

ABSTRACT As privacy concern is proven to be a pivotal thought that determines online self-disclosure, the current study examined the simultaneous influence of the antecedents of privacy concern. Specifically, this study focused on the nature of information (i.e., personal involvement) and the diversity of recipients (i.e., audience representation) in influencing individuals’ cognitive processes pertinent to privacy concerns on Facebook. We conducted an experiment and a total of 241 young adults participated in the study. The results suggested that information that was highly involved with oneself would trigger extended thought elaboration related to privacy. However, surprisingly, influence from audience representation in the network was revealed to be minimal. The study underscores the self-serving purpose of privacy concern online, such that users would primarily focus on considerations surrounding themselves. The results of the current study highlight the importance of self-concerns when users are making sense of their decisions pertinent to self-disclosure on SNSs. Future directions are discussed.
Data—Driven Approach for Wind Turbine Actuator and Sensor Fault Detection and Isolation

Abstract In order to improve reliability of wind turbines, it is important to detect and isolate faults as fast as possible, and handle them in an optimal way. An important component in modern wind turbines is the converter, which for a wind turbine control point–of–view normally provides the torque acting on the wind turbine generator, as well as measurement of this torque. In this work, a diagnosis strategy based on fuzzy prototypes is presented, in order to detect these faults in the converter, and isolate them either to be an actuator or a sensor fault. The fuzzy system is used since the model under investigation is nonlinear, whilst the wind speed measurement is highly noisy, due to the turbulence around the rotor plane. The fuzzy system consists of a set of piecewise affine Takagi–Sugeno models, which are identified from the noisy measurements acquired from the simulated wind turbine. The fault detection and isolation strategy is thus designed based on these fuzzy models. The wind turbine simulator is finally used to validate the achieved performances of the suggested fault detection and isolation scheme.
Designing and Deploying a Mobile UVC Disinfection Robot

This paper presents a mobile UVC disinfection robot designed to mitigate the threat of airborne and surface pathogens. Our system comprises a mobile robot base, a custom UVC lamp assembly, and algorithms for autonomous navigation and path planning. We present a model of UVC disinfection and dosage of UVC light delivered by the mobile robot. We also discuss challenges and prototyping decisions for rapid deployment of the robot during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experimental results summarize a long-term deployment at The Greater Boston Food Bank, where the robot delivers (nightly) UVC dosages of at least 10 mJ/cm2 to a 4000 ft2 area in under 30 minutes. These dosages are capable of neutralizing 99% of coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2, on surfaces and in airborne particles. Further simulations present how this mobile UVC disinfection robot may be extended to classic problems in robotic path planning and adaptive multi-robot coverage control.
Conservation and Welfare Effects of Information in a Time-Of-Day Pricing Experiment (The)

A recurring concern in TOD pricing studies has been that short term experimental TOD rates may not stimulate as much conservation as would occur if TOD rates were implemented on a permanent basis. That is, how accurately do experimental TOD pricing results extend to nonexperimental settings? The present paper provides information relevant to this adjustment question. We examine a little analyzed component of the TOD pricing experiment conducted by the Southern California Edison (SCE) Company, wherein a subset of the TOD treatment households had a continuous-display, electricity use monitoring device installed mid- way through the experiment. The SCE experiment was one of 14 TOD pricing studies initiated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). Most analyses of TOD pricing have been based on DOE-initiated studies, but this experiment was the only such study to include the monitoring component.
AN INNOVATIVE NEURAL NETWORK BASED ON THE TOAD'S VISUAL SYSTEM

This paper considers the development of an artificial neural network based on the visual response of toads to robotics applications. The network structure combines elements of both modular and fully connected networks. The network is remarkable at analyzing the ‘What’ and ‘Where’ aspects of a visual scene. This results in ability to process individual segments of information in a complex visual environment. These attributes make the network particularly suitable for obstacle avoidance in robotics. Results are presented which show these qualities of the network in simplified circumstances. The network used is trained using a genetic algorithm and reinforcement based reward scheme.
Computational Electromagnetics: A Miscellany

The paper presents a miscellany of unorthodox and, in some cases, paradoxical or controversial items related to computational and applied electromagnetics. The topics include a definition of the magnetic source field via a line integral, losses in electric power transmission vs. losses in photonics, homogenization of periodic electromagnetic structures, spurious modes, models of plasmonic media, and more. It is hoped that this assortment of subjects will be of interest to a broad audience of scientists and engineers.
Application of the wavelet transform to heart rate variability (HRV)

This paper presents a brief introduction of the wavelet transform and an application to heart rate variability studies. It is an attempt to reveal some underlying features to readers who are not yet familiar with the wavelet transform on what makes the wavelet one of the most useful tools for research today. Topics introduced include the wavelet transform and an application for HRV studies.
Effects of Different Types of Carbohydrates on Arterial Stiffness: A Comparison of Isomaltulose and Sucrose

Increased arterial stiffness during acute hyperglycemia is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease, but the type of carbohydrate that inhibits it is unknown. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy of low-glycemic-index isomaltulose on arterial stiffness during hyperglycemia in middle-aged and older adults. Ten healthy middle-aged and older adult subjects orally ingested a solution containing 25 g of isomaltulose (ISI trial) and sucrose (SSI trial) in a crossover study. In the SSI trial, the brachial–ankle (ba) pulse wave velocity (PWV) increased 30, 60, and 90 min after ingestion compared with that before ingestion (p < 0.01); however, in the ISI trial, the baPWV did not change after ingestion compared with that before ingestion. Blood glucose levels 30 min after intake were lower in the ISI trial than in the SSI trial (p < 0.01). The baPWV and systolic blood pressure were positively correlated 90 min after isomaltulose and sucrose ingestion (r = 0.640, p < 0.05). These results indicate that isomaltulose intake inhibits an acute increase in arterial stiffness. The results of the present study may have significant clinical implications on the implementation of dietary programs for middle-aged and elderly patients.
Covenant action to facilitate integrated river basin management

This paper outlines elements of best practice integrated river basin management and explores a procedure to implement IRBM. The procedure identifies a 'road map' for improved governance based on a best practice approach, with initial trialling in a UNESCO HELP basin in North America showing some application. But even with best practices understood, action is often only minimal and flexible, adaptable institutions are needed to underpin basin management. The covenant concept is one such institution, based on the idea of harnessing mutual trust and obligation between stakeholders. A covenant is 'signed' as a social contract and the idea of covenant described in this paper results from observations of intractable water sharing problems. This paper also outlines the components of a covenant, the factors which require consideration for implementation and ways forward.
Isolation and determination of Vibrio spp. pathogen from hemorrhagic disease in Sciaenops ocellatus in cage culture

In this study, 18 strains of Vibrio bacteria were identified from 27 samples of Red drum fish (Sciaenops ocellatus) suffering from the haemorrhagic disease from cage culture in Vietnam. The bacterial strains were identified with the 16S rRNA sequencing method and checked for morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics by using the API 20E KIT. Twelve strains of V. alginolyticus, three strains of V. fluvialis, and three strains of V. orientalis were recorded. All Vibrio strains have gene similarities with those on the gene bank ranging from 98 to 100%. The biochemical characteristics of these 18 isolates were similar. These bacteria are susceptible to tetracycline and doxycycline and entirely resistant to ampicillin, amoxicillin, and erythromycin.
Micropositioning control of smart shape‐memory alloy‐based actuators

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to focus on the use of a nickel‐titanium (nitinol) shape memory alloy (SMA) wire (capable of showing strains of up to 8 per cent) as the active element that drives a flexible and lightweight micropositioning actuator. The purpose of this paper is to finely control the wire contraction, and as a result, the deflection of the actuator, with micrometric accuracies.Design/methodology/approach – Different experimental platforms are built, all of them using the same nitinol wire as the active element. In all cases a current is applied to the wire to heat it up using the Joule effect, and in doing so cause the wire to transform from the martensite into the austenite. This phase transition has a non‐linear and hysteretic nature, so, finely controling wire's position requires a non trivial control strategy. A neural network used to compensate the hysteretic behaviour of the wire combined with proportional‐integral with antiwindup control strategy is implemented. Control exper.