Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Performance evaluation of brain tumor detection using watershed Segmentation and thresholding

Abstract Brain tumors and cancers are life-threatening diseases to human beings and have been on the rise. If undetected, they are deadly. With the advent of advanced medical technology, it has become imperative to accurately spot and identify these tumors at the earliest. The manuscript aims at providing an accurate method to detect and segment brain tumors from MRI scans. This is achieved by implementing watershed segmentation and threshold algorithm paired with pre and post image processing techniques. Apart from detecting the tumor region, the proposed process also enhances image quality by noise removal techniques and image quality improvement. These results give promising values when verified using several evaluation parameters such as Structural Similarity Index Measure (SSIM), Feature Similarity Index Measure (FSIM) and Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR) and stand out among the other similar pre-existing algorithms that they are compared with in a comparative analysis.
Capturing users’ perceptions of valuable experience and meaning

Abstract In this article, we argue that more ‘fit-to-user’ products can be designed by understanding the underlying influential factors of user experience. Those factors go beyond the functional needs of the user, and thus, more ‘fit-to-user’ products can be designed. This is especially important as technology becomes more and more ubiquitous and its usage is only task- and work-related. Usability-related goals of design for devices to be used in leisure and fun activities are not enough to evoke positive emotions and satisfaction. The relevant literature is reviewed to gather an understanding of the notion of the user's impractical needs and aspirations, such as social, hedonistic, and emotional values and the meanings users attach to a product in a certain context. In addition, existing methods with similar aims are reviewed. This article reports a case study of the development of a tool to elicit user values and meanings. The tool is based on a projective psychological technique and it is recommended for use at the beginning of the design process to gather user data. Empirical experience of the usage of the tool is reported with implications for the design process.
Warming combined with experimental eutrophication intensifies lake phytoplankton blooms

Phytoplankton blooms are a global water quality issue, and successful management depends on understanding their responses to multiple and interacting drivers, including nutrient loading and climate change. Here, we examine a long‐term dataset from Lake 227, a site subject to a fertilization experiment (1969–present) with changing nitrogen:phosphorus (N:P) ratios. We applied a process‐oriented model, MyLake, and updated the model structure with nutrient uptake kinetics that incorporated shifting N:P and competition among phytoplankton functional groups. We also tested different temperature and P‐loading scenarios to examine the interacting effects of climate change and nutrient loading on phytoplankton blooms. The model successfully reproduced lake physics over 48 yr and the timing, overall magnitude, and shifting community structure (diazotrophs vs. non‐diazotrophs) of phytoplankton blooms. Intra‐ and interannual variability was captured more accurately for the P‐only fertilization period than for the high N:P and low N:P fertilization periods, highlighting the difficulty of modeling complex blooms even in well‐studied systems. A model scenario was also run which removed climate‐driven temperature trends, allowing us to disentangle concurrent drivers of blooms. Results showed that increases in water temperature in the spring led to earlier and larger phytoplankton blooms under climate change than under the effects of nutrient fertilization alone. These findings suggest that successful lake management efforts should incorporate the effects of climate change in addition to nutrient reductions, including intensifying and/or expanding monitoring periods and incorporating climate change into uncertainty estimates around future conditions.
Relay based gain and phase margins PI controller design

An iterative procedure for achieving gain and phase margin specifications for a PI controller is presented. The iteration scheme is based on the use of two relay tests applied to the closed loop system. The first relay test is standard and it is used here to obtain the gain margin of the closed loop system at each iteration step. The second one is applied to the closed loop system such that a limit cycle is developed at the loop gain crossover frequency. Under this condition it is possible to obtain an estimate of the phase margin of the loop transfer function. The procedure is applied to a PI controller tuning in a heat exchanger in laboratory scale using desired gain and phase margin specifications.
LOWER EXTREMITY JOINT VELOCITY COMPARISONS DURING THE HANG POWER CLEAN AND JUMP SHRUG AT VARIOUS LOADS

The aim of this study was to compare the kinematic profile between the hang power clean (HPC) and jump shrug (JS). Eighteen college students performed repetitions of the HPC and JS at 40, 60, and 80% of their 1RM HPC. Two trials at each load for each exercise were completed and the peak joint velocity of the hip, knee, and ankle joints were compared using a series of 2 x 3 repeated measures ANOVA. The peak joint velocity of the hip, knee, and ankle during the JS was statistically greater than the HPC at all loads. Statistically significant differences in hip joint velocity existed between repetitions at 40 and 80% 1RM HPC as well as between 60 and 80% 1RM HPC. Joint velocity during the JS was superior to the HPC at all loads examined. Differences in technique between exercises and loads may alter lower extremity joint velocity.
Stock Return Predictability and Market Efficiency in Pakistan; A Role of Asian Growing Economies of India and Malaysia

The purpose of this study is to determine the predictability of the Pakistani stock market's one-day forward returns by utilizing lagged daily returns for Pakistan, India, and Malaysia from 2006 to 2016. The findings indicate that lagged Pakistani market returns significantly predict Pakistani one-day ahead market returns. However, the other two growing stock markets, India and Malaysia, show no association with one-day ahead market returns. Mostly, stock market behavior in the pre-2008 and post-2008 eras was the same, although industry return behaviour was different due to the economic crisis of 2008. However, the Pakistani stock market one-day ahead returns predict the own Pakistani lag returns due to an inefficient market and prices do not follow a random walk. As a result, investors and financial analysts can foresee and generate anomalous returns by using previous data and information. Key words: Stock Market Returns Predictability, Stock Market crash, Market efficiency
Rapid fabrication of tooling for microfluidic devices via laser micromachining and hot embossing

This paper presents a new method for rapid fabrication of polymeric micromold masters for the manufacture of polymer microfluidic devices. The manufacturing method involves laser micromachining of the desired structure of microfluidic channels in a thin metallic sheet and then hot embossing the channel structure onto poly(methyl methacrylate) PMMA substrate to form the mold master. The channeled layer of the microfluidic device is then produced by pouring the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) elastomer over the mold and curing it. The method is referred to as LHEM (laser micromachining, hot embossing and molding). Polymers like PDMS are preferred over silicon as the material for building microfluidic devices because of their biocompatibility properties as well as because of their lower cost. The proposed manufacturing method involves fewer processing steps than the conventional soft lithography process and enables manufacture of non-rectangular channels in microfluidic devices. To test the method, a mold for a micro capillary electrophoresis microfluidic chip was fabricated. The experimental results confirmed that high quality (Ra 10 to 100 nm) molds can be fabricated quickly and inexpensively. Advantages and limitations of the proposed method are discussed in the concluding section of the paper.
Current strategies to induce liver remnant hypertrophy before major liver resection

Hepatic resection is the gold standard for patients affected by primary or metastatic liver tumors but is hampered by the risk of post-hepatectomy liver failure. Despite recent improvements, liver surgery still requires excellent clinical judgement in selecting patients for surgery and, above all, efficient pre-operative strategies to provide adequate future liver remnant. The aim of this article is to review the literature on the rational, the preliminary assessment, the advantages as well as the limits of each existing technique for preparing the liver for major hepatectomy.
Accurate specification of water availability shows its importance for global crop production

It is well established that warming temperatures damage the yields of many crops across the globe. Yet the influence of water supply on global agricultural yield and its relation to water demand and direct temperature stress is unclear. A number of global studies found a minor influence for precipitation, whereas some regional analyses suggest a more prominent role for water availability. Here, we use satellite-based measurements to quantify how soil moisture and temperature jointly influence the global productivity of maize, soybeans, millet, and sorghum. Relative to empirical models using precipitation as a proxy for water availability, models using soil moisture better separate water supply stress from correlated heat stress, leading to a 30 to 120% increase in explained variance of inter-annual yield anomalies across crops. Historic yield anomalies are equally determined by temperature and soil moisture, whereas projected damages associated with climate change are substantially larger for temperature. Globally, yield damages of -9% to -32% are predicted across crops under SSP5-8.5 between 2015-2035 and 2080-2100. Projections using temperature and precipitation, instead of soil moisture, overestimate the magnitude of damages to agricultural productivity because they confound heat stress and dryness stress, and because dryness associated with historically hot days is proportionately more severe than that expected for global warming. These findings indicate that use of remotely sensed measurements of soil moisture improve the representation of water supply in empirical crop models and document the importance of accurately measuring and modelling the influence of water supply to predict historic and future changes in global agricultural productivity.
Generating human-like movements on an anthropomorphic robot using an interior point method

In previous work we have presented a model for generating human-like arm and hand movements on an anthropomorphic robot involved in human-robot collaboration tasks. This model was inspired by the Posture-Based Motion-Planning Model of human movements. Numerical results and simulations for reach-to-grasp movements with two different grip types have been presented previously. In this paper we extend our model in order to address the generation of more complex movement sequences which are challenged by scenarios cluttered with obstacles. The numerical results were obtained using the IPOPT solver, which was integrated in our MATLAB simulator of an anthropomorphic robot.
Coevolutionary genetic adaptation - a new paradigm for distributed multidisciplinary design optimization

This paper introduces a new paradigm for distributed multidisciplinary design optimization (MDO) of complex coupled systems. It is inspired by the phenomena of coevolutionary adaptation occurring in ecological systems. The focus of the paper is to develop flexible design architectures for addressing the organizational and computational challenges involved in application of formal optimization techniques to large-scale multidisciplinary systems. The distinguishing advanatages offered by the proposed MDO architectures include retainment of disciplinary autonomy and decentralized decision making, massive parallelism, reduced software integration and inter disciplinary communication overheads, accommodation of variable-complexity design parameterization with a mix of discrete and continuous variables, and robustness in nonconvex design spaces. The niche for coevolutionary adaptation based search strategies in the spectrum of MDO methodologies is discussed. problems from the domain of structural optimization via substructuring are used to illustrate MDO methods based on the coevolutionary genetic adaptation paradigm.
An EMI suppression MOSFET driver

The MOSFFTs dV/sub drain//dt during turn off is sensed by the EMI suppression driver circuit, which selectively adjust the Vgs transition time at a voltage near the MOSFFT's threshold voltage. This technique controls the dV/sub drain//dt and reduces the EMI noise produced by a hard switching power MOSFET while keep its power loss at a minimum.
An assessment of maintenance management initiatives in the Indian manufacturing industry

Traditionally, maintenance has been viewed as a support function of a business. Managing equipment performance has not been a top priority until the recent years in the manufacturing industry. The inadequacies of the maintenance practices in the past have adversely affected organisational competitiveness. The challenging contemporary manufacturing scenario calls for developing a keen understanding of the intricate dynamics of the production facility to remain competitive in the highly challenging business climate. These challenges are forcing manufacturing organisations globally to foster high reliability, availability and maintainability in the manufacturing systems. The present research is aimed at developing an insight into the prevalent maintenance practices adopted in the contemporary Indian manufacturing industry for realising the sustainable growth and development of the industrial sector. The study highlights the endeavour of Indian manufacturing organisations in making significant organisational transformation, from breakdown or reaction maintenance regimes to proactive Total Productive Maintenance (TPM) initiatives for affecting organisational performance improvements.
The Commodity Prices Shocks on Economic Activity in the Presence of a Trading Relationship: a Global Var Analysis

This article uses the global vector autoregression (GVAR) approach to investigate commodity price shocks and monetary shocks. The study’s focus is on commodity price shocks that affect both the total price level and variables related to monetary policy, such as short-term interest rates. In this paper, we address this issue using a framework comprising of 26 country/region-specific models, estimated over the period 1979Q2-2016Q4, with the Euro area considered as a single economy. We contribute to the energy-macroeconomics literature by using exogenous variations in energy and non-fuel commodity prices events over time and its effects on different regions to causally identify the effects of energy and non-fuel commodity prices shocks (directly and total) on key macro-economic variables such as growth, inflation, and significant macroeconomic variables. It is seen that there are significant heterogeneities in the reactions of different countries against energy prices shocks. Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom face a short-term drop-in economic activity in response to the UK oil price shock, while it has a growth-enhancing effect for other countries (including Turkey, the United States and the Euro zone). The results show that commodity price shocks such as oil and metal have a huge impact on the real economy, with metal prices having a greater quantitative impact on output compared to oil prices. Given these findings, macroeconomic policies should take into account the changes and effects of energy and non-fuel commodity prices.
Role of the Andean uplift as an asymmetrical barrier to gene flow in the neotropical leaf‐cutting ant Atta cephalotes

Neotropical diversification by the Andean uplift is typically addressed on a large evolutionary scale (e.g., speciation), even though many species are still distributed in both sides of the mountains. The three parallel mountain ranges in the northern Andes (Colombia) impose a major geographical barrier to species’ migration from South to Central America. How important these barriers are for conspecific diversification of cross‐Andean species such as the leaf‐cutting ants remains largely unknown. To answer this question, we studied the mtCOI gene of Atta cephalotes, the most widely distributed leaf‐cutting ant species. Our hierarchical analyses evidenced substantial genetic structure among regions and populations, suggesting a more complex biogeographical history of Andean populations than previously thought. These mountains seem to isolate Central American and Western Colombian populations from the rest of A. cephalotes in South America. Population and migration modeling are consistent with the origin of this species in South America and a major role of the Eastern cordillera as a geographical barrier to historical gene flow, restricting dispersion from north to south. These findings provide insights into the role of the Andean uplift as barrier to gene flow in species of leaf‐cutting ants.
Comparison of two RFID antennas based on FR4-Cu and Kapton-Ag

he antennas presented in this paper are designed to work with the RFID reader designed in-house by our company, but also with the new transponder that will be produced. The reader and transponder are compatible with all 13.56 MHz RFID know standards: ISO10536 (close coupling, 0…1 cm), ISO14443 (proximity coupling, 0…10 cm), ISO15693 (vicinity coupling, 0…1 m) and the other standards patented by the companies that developed them (e.g. FeliCaTM by Sony) [1]. Similar methodology, as the one described in the presented paper, can be used for design/ development of wireless chargers antennas and their frontends [6].
Enhancing Secretion of Endoglucanase in Zymomonas mobilis by Disturbing Peptidoglycan Synthesis

Cell wall peptidoglycan has the function to maintain cell robustness and acts as the barrier to secret recombinant proteins from the cytoplasm to extracellular space in Z. mobilis and other bacteria. Herein, we perturbed the peptidoglycan synthesis network via knocking out PBPs (ZMO0197, ZMO0959, ZMO1089) to enhance recombinant endoglycanase extracellular secretion in Z. mobilis S912. ABSTRACT Zymomonas mobilis (Z. mobilis) is a potential candidate strain for consolidated bioprocessing (CBP) in lignocellulosic biorefinery. However, the low-level secretion of cellulases limits this CBP process, and the mechanism of protein secretion that is affected by cell wall peptidoglycan is also not well understood. Here, we constructed several penicillin-binding protein (PBP)-deficient strains derived from Z. mobilis S192 to perturb the cell wall peptidoglycan network and then investigated the effects of peptidoglycan on the endoglucanase secretion. The results showed that extracellular recombinant endoglucanase production was significantly enhanced in PBP mutant strains, notably, Δ1089/0959 (4.09-fold) and Δ0959 (5.76-fold) in comparison to parent strains. For PBP-deficient strains, the growth performance was not significantly inhibited, but cell morphology was altered. In addition, enhanced antibiotic sensitivity and reduced inhibitor tolerance were also detected in our study. The concentration of intracellular soluble peptidoglycan was increased, especially for single-gene deletion. Outer membrane permeability of PBP-deficient strains was also improved, notably, Δ1089/0959 (1.14-fold) and Δ0959 (1.07-fold), which might explain the increased endoglucanase extracellular secretion. Our findings indicated that PBP-deficient Z. mobilis was capable of increasing endoglucanase extracellular secretion via cell wall peptidoglycan disturbance, and it will provide a foundation for the development of CBP technology in Z. mobilis in the future. IMPORTANCE Cell wall peptidoglycan has the function to maintain cell robustness and acts as the barrier to secret recombinant proteins from the cytoplasm to extracellular space in Z. mobilis and other bacteria. Herein, we perturbed the peptidoglycan synthesis network via knocking out PBPs (ZMO0197, ZMO0959, ZMO1089) to enhance recombinant endoglycanase extracellular secretion in Z. mobilis S912. This study could lay the foundation for understanding the regulatory network of cell wall synthesis and guide the construction of CBP strains in Z. mobilis.
Full waveform inversion for bore reconstruction of woodwind-like instruments

The internal geometry of a wind instrument can be estimated from acoustic measurements. For woodwind instruments, this involves characterizing the inner shape (bore) but also the side holes (dimensions and location). In this study, the geometric parameters are recovered by a gradient-based optimization process, which minimizes the deviation between simulated and measured linear acoustic responses of the resonator for several fingerings through an observable function. The acoustic fields are computed by solving a linear system resulting from the 1D spectral finite elements spatial discretization of the wave propagation equations (including thermo-viscous effects, radiation and side holes). The “full waveform inversion” (FWI) technique exploits the fact that the gradient of the cost function can be computed by solving the same linear system as that of the direct problem but with a different source term. The gradient is computed with better accuracy and less additional cost than with finite-difference. The dependence of the cost function on the choice of the observed quantity, the frequency range and the fingerings used, is first analyzed. Then, the FWI is used to reconstruct, from measured impedances, an elementary instrument with 14 design variables. The results, obtained in about 1 minute on a laptop, are in excellent agreement with the direct geometric measurements.
The Pamir Frontal Thrust Fault: Holocene Full‐Segment Ruptures and Implications for Complex Segment Interactions in a Continental Collision Zone

The Pamir Frontal Thrust (PFT) of the Trans‐Alai Range in Central Asia is the principal active fault of the intracontinental convergence zone between the Pamir and Tien Shan. Its northward propagation is reflected by frequent seismic activity and ongoing crustal shortening. Recent and historic earthquakes exhibit complex rupture patterns within and across seismotectonic segments bounding the Trans Alai, challenging our understanding of fault interaction and seismogenic potential. We provide paleoseismic data from five trenches along the central PFT segment (cPFT) and interpret five and possibly six paleoearthquakes that have ruptured since ∼7 ka and 16 ka, respectively. Our results indicate that at least three major earthquakes ruptured the full‐segment length and possibly crossed segment boundaries with a recurrence interval of ∼1.9 kyr and potential magnitudes of up to Mw 7.4. We did not find evidence for great (i.e., Mw ≥8) earthquakes. However, discrepancies between slip and rupture extent during apparent partial segment ruptures in the western half of the cPFT, combined with significantly higher scarp offsets, indicate a more mature fault section with potential for future fault linkage. We estimate an average rate of horizontal motion for the cPFT of 4.1 ± 1.5 mm/yr during the past ∼5 kyr, which does not fully match the GNSS‐derived present‐day shortening rate of ∼10 mm/yr. This suggests a complex distribution of strain accumulation and potential slip partitioning between the cPFT and additional faults and folds within the Pamir that may be associated with a partially locked regional décollement.