Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The influence of information quality on decision-making for networked infrastructure management

Abstract Operational decision processes for networked infrastructure management often occur as a multi-actor planning problem, implying these are partly based on negotiations between different stakeholders. The starting point for negation for each stakeholder is the available information about the structural condition of his infrastructure. In this respect, this leads to the question: ‘does more accurate data about actual structural condition lead to other or better decision-making? ’ A serious game is introduced, ‘Maintenance in Motion’, aiming at investigating the influence of information quality about structural condition on replacement decisions, for single and multi-actor decision-making. Players are challenged to balance their individual goal, cost-effectiveness, with their team utility, increasing overall infrastructure quality to minimise failure while minimising overall public costs. Results show that if players are presented with perfect instead of imperfect information, in a single player environment, they played more cost-effectively. The availability of perfect instead of imperfect information about object state hardly changes game outcome in terms of team utility. It means collaborative choices for team utility are primarily based on negotiations that lead to compromises, instead of analytical reasoning as a group. This indicates that efforts in improving decision-making by improving information quality are only partly effective.
Thermodynamic Analysis and Optimization of Distillation Column: A Guide to Improved Energy Utilization

Energy consumption no doubt contributes a lot to the cost of production. To maximize profit, energy loss due to lost work must be minimized during production. Thus in this research, thermodynamic analysis was used to determine the energy efficiency of a propane-propylene splitter. In addition, the thermodynamic analysis was used to identify scope for possible modification and to set target for the column modification. The result indicated that the thermodynamic efficiency of the system was increased by 2.2% and the lost work in the column was reduced by 21.7Kw/hr. This was achieved by sacrificing only 2Kw/hr increase in the column minimum work.
Optical Method For Monitoring Tool Control For Green Burnishing With Using Of Algorithms With Adaptive Settings

With regard to the complexity of the new technology and increase its reliability requirements laboriousness of control operations in industrial quality control systems increases significantly. The importance of quality management control due to the fact that its promotes the correct use of production conditions, the relevant requirements are required. Digital image processing allows to reach a new technological level of production (new technological way). The most complicated automated interpretation of information is the basis for decision-making in the management of production processes. In the case of surface analysis of tools used for processing with the using of metalworking fluids (MWF) it is more complicated. The authors suggest new algorithm for optical inspection of the wear of the cylinder tool for burnishing, which used in surface plastic deformation without using of MWF. The main advantage of proposed algorithm is the possibility of automatic recognition of images of burnisher tool with the subsequent allocation of its boundaries, finding a working surface and automatically allocating the defects and wear area. Software that implements the algorithm was developed by the authors in Matlab programming environment, but can be implemented using other programming languages.
of Birmingham A thumbnail-based hierarchical fuzzy clustering algorithm for SAR image segmentation

— This paper proposes a novel algorithm for segmentation of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image, our proposed algorithm (THFCM) is based on thumbnail image representations and a hierarchical fuzzy C-means (FCM) approach. THFCM firstly divides the image into pixel groups to extract local feature, and the major pixels of each pixel group are selected to construct a thumbnail. FCM is then used to segment each thumbnail, and hierarchical segmentation is then performed on the overall image data, based on the results of thumbnail clustering. The thumbnail approach leverages local image information, helping to overcome speckle noise, while the hierarchical approach improves computational efficiency. Experiments on simulated and real SAR images suggest that THFCM outperforms several other state-of-the-art algorithms in terms of both segmentation accuracy and running time.
Cdc42 controls progenitor cell differentiation and -catenin turnover in skin

Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Heisenberg Group “Regulation of Cytoskeletal Organization,” Department of Molecular Medicine, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; Georg August University Göttingen, Department of Histology, 37075 Göttingen, Germany; Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Department of Molecular Medicine, 82152 Martinsried, Germany; University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Department of Dermatology, University of Lübeck, 23538 Lübeck, Germany; Cell German Cancer Research Center, Department of Cell Biology, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
DOMAIN ORINTED ONTOLOGY BASED SEMANTIC WEB SERACH METHODOLOGY USING SPARQL QUERY

Semantic web facilitates the use of automated processing of descriptions on the web and exchange and representation of information is done in a meaningful way. But a conventional search engine, the context and semantics of the user query is not analyzed fully and the data is not well structured so it does not provide the relevant content needed by the user. Hence to overcome this problem, semantic web search has become an essential part in today‟s world. In this proposed method the user given query is analyzed semantically and the web data is stored in an ontology which is well structured and conventional search is performed using SPARQL query viewer plug-in. Finally, ranking algorithm is used to rank the extracted links for the given query. The results obtained are accurate enough to satisfy the request made by the user. The level of accuracy is enhanced since the ontology is made consistent and query is analyzed semantically to retrieve the correct result. The domain specific evaluation time obtained shows promising results.
Adaptive Voltage Management Enabling Energy Efficiency in Nanoscale Integrated Circuits

Battery powered devices emphasize energy efficiency in modern sub-22 nm CMOS microprocessors rendering classic power reduction solutions not sufficient. Classical solutions that reduce power consumption in high performance integrated circuits are superseded with novel and enhanced power reduction techniques to enable the greater energy efficiency desired in modern microprocessors and emerging mobile platforms. Dynamic power consumption is reduced by operating over a wide range of supply voltages. This region of operation is enabled by a high speed and power efficient level shifter which translates low voltage digital signals to higher voltages (and vice versa), a key component that enables communication among circuits operating at different voltage levels. Additionally, optimizing the wide supply voltage range of signals propagating across long interconnect enables greater energy savings. A closed-form delay model supporting wide voltage range is developed to enable this capability. The model supports an ultra-wide voltage range from nominal voltages to subthreshold
SUPPORT FOR OFFSHORE MONOPILE INSTALLATION THROUGH THE TRENCH CUTTER TECHNOLOGY

Europe is currently facing an energetic revolution. Several offshore wind farm projects are currently under construction or under planning in North and Baltic Sea. Typical foundation structures for offshore wind farms are steel open-ended monopiles with large diameters up to 6 m. Currently, the monopiles are installed by driving with large impact hammers. However, there are many situations where pile refusal is reached, due to hard soil layers or erratic blocks. Driving and drilling technique is therefore applied. This manuscript briefly describes the trench cutter technology normally used for foundation works on land. Three case histories onshore and one offshore project are discussed and the evolution of the trench cutter technology for supporting the installation of offshore monopile is described.
Abnormal Obesity Phenotype Is Associated with Reduced eGFR among Diabetes Mellitus and Hypertensive Patients in a Peri-Urban Community in Ghana

Background Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic disease characterized by hyperglycemia due to obesity and defects in insulin action. Significant complications of DM include kidney disease due to its association with hypertension and obesity. Thus, the contribution of the various obesity phenotypes to the kidney impairment observed among hypertensive and diabetes mellitus patients is of major concern. Aim The study assessed the association between obesity phenotypes and reduced glomerular filtration rate among diabetes mellitus and hypertensive patients. Methods Three hundred and ten (310) adult patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, or both who attended the Presbyterian Hospital, Dormaa Ahenkro, from October 2016 to March 2017 were recruited for the study. Blood samples were collected to analyze biochemical parameters (fasting blood glucose (FBG), lipid profile, and creatinine). Questionnaires were used to collect sociodemographic information, and anthropometrics were appropriately measured. The estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was calculated using the CKD-EPI equation, and reduced eGFR was defined as eGFR <90 ml/min/1.73 m2. Results The prevalence of metabolically healthy nonobese (MHNO), metabolically healthy obese (MHO), metabolically abnormal nonobese (MANO), and metabolically abnormal obese (MAO) phenotypes among the study participants was 30.65%, 4.50%, 52.90%, and 11.94%, respectively. The highest prevalence of reduced eGFR (29/37 (78.38%)) was seen among the MAO group. This was followed by the MANO, MHO, and MHNO with a reduced eGFR prevalence of 62.20%, 57.64%, and 37.89%, respectively. After normalization with MHNO, the reduced eGFR was 1.51, 1.64, and 2.06 times expressed in MHO, MANO, and MAO. For the total samples, when MHNO was maintained as a reference, reduced eGFR was significantly associated with MANO (aOR = 3.07 (95% CI = 1.76–5.35), P < 0.001) and MAO (aOR = 5.67 (95% CI = 2.66–17.27), P < 0.001) even after adjusting for age, gender, smoking, and alcohol intake. This association was maintained among the female study participants when stratified by gender, and in addition, among the female participants, reduced eGFR was also associated with MHO (aOR = 4.19 (95% CI = 1.06–16.53), P=0.041). Conclusion There is a high prevalence of abnormal metabolic phenotypes among diabetes mellitus patients, and these were significantly associated with reduced eGFR among our study participants.
Prognostic Role of Systemic Inflammatory Markers in Patients Undergoing Surgical Resection for Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background: A high platelet–lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is a marker of systemic inflammation and, together with the neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR), is associated with poor outcomes in several cancers. We investigated the prognostic value of PLR and other systemic inflammatory markers, such as NLR, systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), and systemic inflammation response index (SIRI), in oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients undergoing surgical resection. Methods: We derived PLR, NLR, SII, and SIRI from a retrospective chart review of 269 consecutive OSCC patients. The complete blood count examined in the immediate preoperative period was used to compute PLR, NLR, SII, and SIRI. We analyzed the relationship between these systemic inflammatory markers and the clinicopathologic characteristics, disease-specific survival (DSS), and progression-free survival (PFS) of patients. Results: In the univariate analysis, high PLR and SII were significantly associated with worse DSS and PFS (all p < 0.05). In the multivariate analysis, PLR (HR 2.36, 95% CI 1.28–4.36 for DSS; HR 1.80, 95% CI 1.06–3.06 for PFS) was an independent predictor of survival outcomes. When PLR was analyzed as a continuous variable, the relationship between the outcome and preoperative PLR was not monotonically linear. In the subgroup analysis, PLR was more strongly associated with DSS and PFS in patients who were male, had stage III/IV OSCC, or had lymph node metastasis. Conclusion: Our data suggest that in OSCC patients, the pretreatment PLR is an independent predictor of DSS and PFS. The PLR is a readily available biomarker that will improve prognostication and risk stratification in OSCC.
Developing Predictive Models of Driver Behaviour for the Design of Advanced Driving Assistance Systems

World-wide injuries in vehicle accidents have been on the rise in recent years, mainly due to driver error. The main objective of this research is to develop a predictive system for driving maneuvers by analyzing the cognitive behavior (cephalo-ocular) and the driving behavior of the driver (how the vehicle is being driven). Advanced Driving Assistance Systems (ADAS) include different driving functions, such as vehicle parking, lane departure warning, blind spot detection, and so on. While much research has been performed on developing automated co-driver systems, little attention has been paid to the fact that the driver plays an important role in driving events. Therefore, it is crucial to monitor events and factors that directly concern the driver. As a goal, we perform a quantitative and qualitative analysis of driver behavior to find its relationship with driver intentionality and driving-related actions. We have designed and developed an instrumented vehicle (RoadLAB) that is able to record several synchronized streams of data, including the surrounding environment of the driver, vehicle functions and driver cephalo-ocular behavior, such as gaze/head information. We subsequently analyze and study the behavior of several drivers to find out if there is a meaningful relation between driver behavior and the next driving maneuver.
Direct Rub Inoculation of Fungal Flora Changes Fatty Acid Composition and Volatile Flavors in Dry-Aged Beef: A Preliminary Study

Simple Summary Dry-aged beef naturally develops a crust of desirable fungi and bacteria over the aging process. However, this natural growth process is expensive and time-consuming. The process of direct fungal adhesion may accelerate aging and improve the flavor and fatty acid profile of dry-aged beef. We compared the fungal growth and meat quality of dry-aged beef inoculated by natural fungal adherence and dry-aged beef inoculated by direct application of fungi (direct adhesion) to assess the differences in appearance, volatile flavors, and fatty acid composition. After 26 days of aging, dry-aged beef that received direct fungal application exhibited increased surface mold, volatile compound intensity, and oleic acid composition compared with the dry-aged beef that did not receive direct inoculation. Thus, we report an improved method of manufacturing dry-aged beef with high quality that has the potential to enhance the “melt-in-the-mouth” feeling and flavors. Abstract Here, we established a method to produce dry-aged beef (DAB) by rub inoculation with fungal flora on the prepared DAB surface. Portions of Holstein steers’ rumps were prepared by direct rub inoculation of fungal flora or without treatment (conventional DAB) and dry-aged for 26 days in an aging room at 2.9 °C and 90% relative humidity. We compared the fungal covering and meat quality, including fatty acid composition and volatile aromatic compounds, of fungal-inoculated DAB with those of the conventional DAB. The fungal-inoculated DAB was almost entirely covered with white mold, in contrast to the conventional DAB. Moreover, the proportion of oleic acid and the concentration of nine volatile compounds significantly increased in the raw meat of fungal-inoculated DAB compared with those in the conventional DAB (p < 0.05). These results suggested that direct rub inoculation of fungal flora from prepared DAB may accelerate DAB production and efficiently enhance the “melt-in-the-mouth” feeling and flavors of DAB.
Drainage Ditch Cleaning Has No Impact on the Carbon and Greenhouse Gas Balances in a Recent Forest Clear-Cut in Boreal Sweden

Ditch cleaning (DC) is increasingly applied to facilitate forest regeneration following clear-cutting in Fennoscandinavia. However, its impact on the ecosystem carbon and greenhouse gas (GHG) balances is poorly understood. We conducted chamber measurements to assess the initial DC effects on carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) fluxes in a recent forest clear-cut on wet mineral soil in boreal Sweden. Measurements were conducted in two adjacent areas over two pre-treatments (2018/19) and two years (2020/21) after conducting DC in one area. We further assessed the spatial variation of fluxes at three distances (4, 20, 40 m) from ditches. We found that DC lowered the water table level by 12 ± 2 cm (mean ± standard error) and topsoil moisture by 0.12 ± 0.01 m3 m−3. DC had a limited initial effect on the net CO2 exchange and its component fluxes. CH4 emissions were low during the dry pre-treatment years but increased particularly in the control area during the wet years of 2020/21. Distance to ditch had no consistent effects on CO2 and CH4 fluxes. Model extrapolations suggest that annual carbon emissions decreased over the four years from 6.7 ± 1.4 to 1.6 ± 1.6 t-C ha−1 year−1, without treatment differences. Annual CH4 emissions contributed <2.5% to the carbon balance but constituted 39% of the GHG balance in the control area during 2021. Overall, our study suggests that DC modified the internal carbon cycling but without significant impact on the carbon and GHG balances.
De Novo Development of Mitochondria-Targeted Molecular Probes Targeting Pink1

Mitochondria play central roles in maintaining cellular metabolic homeostasis, cell survival and cell death, and generate most of the cell’s energy. Mitochondria maintain their homeostasis by dynamic (fission and fusion) and quality control mechanisms, including mitophagy, the removal of damaged mitochondria that is mediated mainly by the Pink1/Parkin pathway. Pink1 is a serine/threonine kinase which regulates mitochondrial function, hitherto many molecular mechanisms underlying Pink1 activity in mitochondrial homeostasis and cell fate remain unknown. Peptides are vital biological mediators that demonstrate remarkable potency, selectivity, and low toxicity, yet they have two major limitations, low oral bioavailability and poor stability. Herein, we rationally designed a linear peptide that targets Pink1 and, using straightforward chemistry, we developed molecular probes with drug-like properties to further characterize Pink1. Initially, we conjugated a cell-penetrating peptide and a cross-linker to map Pink1’s 3D structure and its interaction sites. Next, we conjugated a fluorescent dye for cell-imaging. Finally, we developed cyclic peptides with improved stability and binding affinity. Overall, we present a facile approach to converting a non-permeable linear peptide into a research tool possessing important properties for therapeutics. This is a general approach using straightforward chemistry that can be tailored for various applications by numerous laboratories.
Meroterpenoids Possibly Produced by a Bacterial Endosymbiont of the Tropical Basidiomycete Echinochaete brachypora

A mycelial culture of the African basidiomycete Echinochaete cf. brachypora was studied for biologically active secondary metabolites, and four compounds were isolated from its crude extract derived from shake flask fermentations, using preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The pure metabolites were identified using extensive nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry (HR-MS). Aside from the new metabolites 1-methoxyneomarinone (1) and (E)-3-methyl-5-(-12,13,14-trimethylcyclohex-10-en-6-yl)pent-2-enoic acid (4), the known metabolites neomarinone (2) and fumaquinone (4) were obtained. Such compounds had previously only been reported from Actinobacteria but were never isolated from the cultures of a fungus. This observation prompted us to evaluate whether the above metabolites may actually have been produced by an endosymbiontic bacterium that is associated with the basidiomycete. We have indeed been able to characterize bacterial 16S rDNA in the fungal mycelia, and the production of the metabolites stopped when the fungus was sub-cultured on a medium containing antibacterial antibiotics. Therefore, we have found strong evidence that compounds 1–4 are not of fungal origin. However, the endofungal bacterium was shown to belong to the genus Ralstonia, which has never been reported to produce similar metabolites to 1–4. Moreover, we failed to obtain the bacterial strain in pure culture to provide final proof for its identity. In any case, the current report is the first to document that polyporoid Basidiomycota are associated with endosymbionts and constitutes the first report on secondary metabolites from the genus Echinochaete.
Theoretical and Experimental Comparison of Revolving Vane Compressors and Rolling Piston Compressors

• This paper focuses on different rotary compressor design. • The two designs were compared with each other theoretically and experimentally. • The advantages and disadvantages of two compressor designs are evaluated. Abstract Rotary compressors have some advantages such as lower noise, vibration, lower cost and few parts. For this reason, it is preferred more than its substitutes such as piston, screw and sliding compressors in cooling and air-conditioning systems. In this study, two different designs, rolling piston and revolving vane, were made to increase the performance of the double-stage, rotary compressor with a volume of 22.6 cc. When the test results are examined, it is seen that the rolling piston compressor consumes 1.3 times less power than the electric motor for 2700 rpm and 3 bar pressure, due to the lower inertia forces compared to the revolving vane compressor.