Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The potential of video imagery from worldwide cabled observatory networks to provide information supporting fish-stock and biodiversity assessment

Seafloor multiparametric fibre-optic-cabled video observatories are emerging tools for standardized monitoring programmes, dedicated to the production of real-time fishery-independent stock assessment data. Here, we propose that a network of cabled cameras can be set up and optimized to ensure representative long-term monitoring of target commercial species and their surrounding habitats. We highlight the importance of adding the spatial dimension to fixed-point-cabled monitoring networks, and the need for close integration with Artificial Intelligence pipelines, that are necessary for fast and reliable biological data processing. We then describe two pilot studies, exemplary of using video imagery and environmental monitoring to derive robust data as a foundation for future ecosystem-based fish-stock and biodiversity management. The first example is from the NE Pacific Ocean where the deep-water sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) has been monitored since 2010 by the NEPTUNE cabled observatory operated by Ocean Networks Canada. The second example is from the NE Atlantic Ocean where the Norway lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) is being monitored using the SmartBay observatory developed for the European Multidisciplinary Seafloor and water column Observatories. Drawing from these two examples, we provide insights into the technological challenges and future steps required to develop full-scale fishery-independent stock assessments.
Is Improved Milk Production from Supplementation of Buffalo with Molasses Nutrient Blocks Containing 10% Urea, a Greenhouse Gas Emissions Mitigation Strategy?

Milk production from Asiatic swamp buffalo is a new enterprise in Laos. As yields are limited, provision of high-quality Cow-Calf molasses nutrient blocks containing 10% urea (UMNB10) may improve productivity. A trial in a recently established commercial buffalo dairy examined dietary supplementation of lactating buffalo cows with UMNB10, with 3 groups of 9 cows in mid-lactation randomly selected. Two groups received ad-libitum access to UMBs with the remaining group free of block supplements. All animals were daily fed fresh Napier grass (30kg), corn (750gm), rice bran (1.45kg), plus accessed fresh Mulatto grass. Daily milk production (DMP) and body condition score (BCS) were recorded for the 2 months of access to UMB. Average DMP for the 2 supplemented groups were 1.02 litres and 0.96 litres, compared to 0.78 litres for the control group, suggesting improved milk productivity of 31% and 24% from accessing UMB. Partial budget analysis identified a strong incentive for use of the molasses blocks, with a net profit of USD408 and USD295 over a 30-day period for the supplemented groups. Molasses nutrient blocks may be a simple motivator for smallholder farmers in developing countries to increase the efficiency of large ruminant production, improving rural livelihoods, food security and potentially, reducing GHG emissions.
Detailed characterization of bedroom ventilation during heating season in a naturally ventilated semi-detached house and a mechanically ventilated apartment

Bedroom ventilation is crucial for providing good indoor air quality, which may contribute to achieving undisturbed sleep. This study presents a detailed characterization of bedroom carbon dioxide (CO2) profiles and ventilation during the heating season in Denmark. The measurements were made in a naturally ventilated (NV) semi-detached house, equipped with trickle vents on the windows and doors (augmented if needed with exhaust fans), and a mechanically ventilated (MV) apartment. The location of sensors in and around the immediate breathing zone of a sleeping person had measurable effect on the absolute level of CO2 only in the NV bedroom and not in the MV bedroom. Using the decay of occupant-generated CO2, the estimated breathing zone air change rate (ACR) was around 0.4 h−1 and 0.6 h−1 for the NV and MV bedrooms respectively. This was adequate for an average breathing zone CO2 level of 1000 ppm for the MV bedroom but not for the NV bedroom. The CO2 emission rate of 7.9–10.9 L/h.person during sleep, obtained from bedroom CO2 measurements, was lower than the estimated values of 12.8–13.9 L/h.person, using currently proposed methods in standards. Thermal comfort parameters during all the experimental sessions in both bedrooms were well within recommended levels.
Synthesis of Sulfide Nanowire Arrays through Template-Assisted Electrodeposition

Sulfide nanowire arrays have been synthesized by DC electrodeposition from an electrolyte containing S in DMSO. The AAO membrane with the barrier layer has been directly used as template in electrodeposition. The as-synthesized products are characterized by SEM, TEM and resonance Raman spectroscopy. CdS and ZnS nanowires have been obtained, respectively.
Electrical Resistance‐Strain Characteristics of Thin Evaporated Metal Films

The electrical resistance‐strain coefficients of thin evaporated films of aluminum, gold, cobalt, nickel, palladium, platinum, antimony, and tellurium have been measured. The coefficients (strain‐sensitivity coefficient or ``gauge‐factor'' γ) depend on the specific resistance Rs of the films. For relatively thick films (small Rs), γ tends to approach the bulk value γb; for relatively thin films (large Rs), γ may be many times greater than γb; for films of intermediate thickness γ has a minimum value. The resistance change was found to be proportional to strain for all the above films except those of Ni and Sb. Some possible mechanisms for the observed behavior are discussed; it is suggested that free‐path effects are predominant in films of intermediate thickness, and that the tunneling conduction mechanism plays an important role in producing the high strain sensitivity of very thin (high Rs) films of separated particles.
The methodology and results of determination of inorganic arsenic species in mobile fractions of tsunami deposits by a hyphenated technique of HPLC-HG-AAS

A method of extraction has been proposed for the determination of inorganic species of As(III) and As(V) in the exchangeable fraction of sediments left by the 2004 tsunami. The method combines the fractionation of solid samples with speciation analysis by high performance liquid chromatography with hydride generation and atomic absorption spectrometry (HPLC-HG-AAS). The proposed extraction liquid is a phosphate buffer of Na2HPO4 and KH2PO4, with different concentrations of phosphate ranging from 5 to 50 mmol L−1. This method has been tested for different masses of samples as well as for different times of extraction, pH, temperature, and the presence or absence of mixing. The optimum conditions of extraction have been obtained by the use of buffer (50 mmol L−1 under pH from 5.8 to 6.2) at 80°C. The new technique was applied for the analysis of tsunami deposits left on land and sampled shortly after the tsunami (2005) and after the first (2006) and second rainy seasons (2007). The obtained results show that the exchangeable fraction of tsunami deposits was enriched in arsenic in comparison to reference soil samples. The major changes after the rainy seasons were not in the total concentration of inorganic As species, but in the ratio of As(III) to As(V). More toxic As(III) was removed from the deposits or oxidised, and after two years was hardly detectable in the tsunami deposits.
Transient precursor amorphous phases in biomineralization.In the footsteps of Heinz A. Lowenstam

Abstract Heinz A. Lowenstam’s discovery in 1967, together with Ken Towe that the magnetite mineral in mature chiton teeth forms from a disordered transient precursor phase, ferrihydrite, remained an isolated curiosity for 30 years. During the last 15 years, many more examples were found in both invertebrates and vertebrates, where the mature crystalline mineral phase is formed through a transient amorphous precursor phase. Here we review this widespread phenomenon, and also describe the details of the transformation process in the formation of the calcitic spicules of the sea urchin larva. We identify many open questions.
Suspended sediment modelling with hydrological and climate input data

Measured records of suspended sediment concentrations are vital information to support water management activities. However, these measured time series are often incomplete and, as such, are not suitable for some analyses. This paper sets out the options for modelling suspended sediment concentrations to determine them in periods when measurements were not performed. The Danube River profile in Bratislava was selected as the case study. Regression using least absolute selection and shrinkage operator, support vector regression and deep learning neural network are compared in the paper to solve this task using various data sources. The results obtained show a significant increase in the precision of modelling suspended sediment concentrations over the standard method, which is a rating curve. Several variables were used to establish the suspended sediment concentration, because the same data as in this study may not be available everywhere. In particular, the use of climatic (precipitation and temperature) and hydrological inputs (flows) is assessed in order to promote the more general benefit of work. In the article, the authors propose an original method of modification of input climate data, which significantly increases the accuracy of modelling. The authors demonstrate that when using proposed methodology, the use of climate data, which are usually better available than hydrological data, resulted in a comparable degree of precision to standard modelling based on river flow data.
Optical and Bioelectrochemical Characterization of Water‐Miscible Ionic Liquids Based Composites of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotubes

Acidic treated multiwalled carbon nanotubes (AMWNTs) were ground with water-miscible room temperature ionic liquids, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate ([bmim]BF4), and resulted in AMWNTs-[bmim]BF4 composite. Its electrical-ionic conductivity and optical properties were compared with the other two types of carbon materials-[bmim]BF4 composites: pyrolytic graphite powder (PGP), pristine multiwalled carbon nanotubes (PMWNTs), through the ac impedance technology and Raman spectroscopy. The impedance data show that AMWNTs-[bmim]BF4 composite exhibits the highest conductivity. Raman spectra study exhibits that the [bmim]BF4 can form gel with PMWNTs and AMWNTs but only form a viscous liquid with PGP. AMWNTs-[bmim]BF4 gel modified GC electrode was applied in direct electrochemistry of heme proteins (Hb and HRP) and it catalysis to the reduction of H2O2 was investigated.
The Implications of Polymer Selection in Regenerative Medicine: A Comparison of Amorphous and Semi‐Crystalline Polymer for Tissue Regeneration

Biodegradable polymeric scaffolds are being investigated as scaffolding materials for use in regenerative medicine. While the in vivo evaluation of various three‐dimensional (3D), porous, biodegradable polymeric scaffolds has been reported, most studies are ≤3 months in duration, which is typically prior to bulk polymer degradation, a critical event that may initiate an inflammatory response and inhibit tissue formation. Here, a 6 month in vitro degradation and corresponding in vivo studies that characterized scaffold changes during complete degradation of an amorphous, 3D poly(lactide‐co‐glycolide)(3D‐PLAGA) scaffold and near‐complete degradation of a semi‐crystalline3D‐PLAGA scaffold are reported. Using sintered microsphere matrix technology, constructs were fabricated in a tubular shape, with the longitudinal axis void and a median pore size that mimicked the architecture of native bone. Long‐term quantitative measurements of molecular weight, mechanical properties, and porosity provided a basis for theorization of the scaffold degradation process. Following implantation in a critical size ulnar defect model, histological analysis and quantitative microCT indicated early solubilization of the semi‐crystalline polymer created an acidic microenvironment that inhibited mineralized tissue formation. Thus, the use of amorphous over semi‐crystalline PLAGA materials is advocated for applications in regenerative medicine.
Three‐dimensional thermal analysis of high density triple‐level interconnection structures in very large scale integrated circuits

A three‐dimensional thermal model of generic multilevel interconnection systems in very large scale integrated (VLSI) circuits is presented. The temperature distributions are quantitatively studied using the transmission‐line matrix modeling method. The temperature increase of a triple‐level parallel and crossing interconnection‐line scheme is found to be several times higher than that of a single‐level parallel line structure if the same magnitude of current density in the 106 A/cm2 range is maintained. More than 50% of the temperature rise occurs across the Si substrate; the treatment of which as a perfect heat sink in many previous thermal analyses of metallization structures is, therefore, inadequate. The large thermal gradients within the SiO2 insulators between different metallization levels can be eliminated and the temperature rise can be significantly reduced if the SiO2 interlevel and passivation dielectrics are replaced by a material with much higher thermal conductivity. Lower temperatures wou.
Autonomous Vehicle Maneuvering at the Limit of Friction

Without a driver to fall back on, a fully self-driving car needs to be able to handle any situation it can encounter. With the perspective of future safety systems, this research studies autonomous maneuvering at the tire– road friction limit. In these situations, the dynamics is highly nonlinear, and the tire–road parameters are uncertain. To gain insights into the optimal behavior of autonomous safetycritical maneuvers, they are analyzed using optimal control. Since analytical solutions of the studied optimal control problems are intractable, they are solved numerically. An optimization formulation reveals how the optimal behavior is influenced by the total amount of braking. By studying how the optimal trajectory relates to the attainable forces throughout a maneuver, it is found that maximizing the force in a certain direction is important. This is like the analytical solutions obtained for frictionlimited particle models in earlier research, and it is shown to result in vehicle behavior close to the optimal also for a more complex model. Based on the insights gained from the optimal behavior, controllers for autonomous safety maneuvers are developed. These controllers are based on using acceleration-vector references obtained from friction-limited particle models. Exploiting that the individual tire forces tend to be close to their friction limits, the desired tire slip angles are determined for a given acceleration-vector reference. This results in controllers capable of operating at the limit of friction at a low computational cost and reduces the number of vehicle parameters used. For straight-line braking, ABS can intervene to reduce the braking distance without prior information about the road friction. Inspired by this, a controller that uses the available actuation according to the least friction necessary to avoid a collision is developed, resulting in autonomous collision avoidance without any estimation of the tire–road friction. Investigating time-optimal lane changes, it is found that a simple friction-limited particle model is insufficient to determine the desired acceleration vector, but including a jerk limit to account for the yaw dynamics is sufficient. To enable a tradeoff between braking and avoidance with a more general obstacle representation, the acceleration-vector reference is computed in a receding-horizon framework. The controllers developed in this thesis show great promise with low computational cost and performance not far from that obtained offline by using numerical optimization when evaluated in high-fidelity simulation.
TREATMENT OF PROBLEMATIC SKIN WOUNDS BASED ON THE PLATELET-RICH PLASMA METHOD. OUR OWN ALGORITHMS FOR APPLICATION

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to present the application of our own algorithms for prevention and treatment of problematic skin wounds (PSW) by using the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) based on the first study on PRP application carried out in Bulgaria. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was carried out at the Clinic of Orthopedics and Traumatology, UMBAL Kanev Ruse, for a period of 84 months - from February 2009 to September 2016. A total of 83 patients with PSW have been treated with platelet-rich plasma. Scores introduced by Cancela AM are used for the assessment of the respective wound. Each of these scores is used for assessing specific wound parameters. RESULTS: Our own algorithms for prevention and treatment of PSW by PRP increase the percentage of successfully cured wounds. Prevention algorithm of applying PRP ensures that a high percentage of acute skin wounds will not turn into PSW. The proposed algorithms for prevention and treatment of PSW by applying PRP are an effective and safe way to reduce the uncured complicated skin wounds and ensure the subsequent normal life of patients. They also ensure more predictable skin healing. CONCLUSION: Our own algorithms for prevention and treatment of PSW by PRP increase the percentage of successfully cured wounds. The proposed algorithms for prevention and treatment of PSW by applying PRP are an effective and safe way to reduce the uncured complicated skin wounds and ensure the subsequent normal life of patients.
Thermal stability of confined flip-chip laminated ω-functionalized monolayers

The authors present the results of an IR study of the effect of temperature on the formation of Au-monolayer-Si molecular junctions by using a flip-chip lamination approach. Carboxylic acid-terminated alkanethiols self-assembled on an ultrasmooth gold substrate have been laminated to H–Si(111) at 0.8MPa as a function of temperature. p-polarized-back-side reflection absorption infrared spectroscopy of the alkanoic acids within the molecular junction indicates increasing disorder, likely near the carboxylic acid (–COOH) terminus, of the all-trans chain up to 60°C, followed by a propagation of these defects down the molecular length. The low frequency region of the IR spectra as a function of temperature indicates that the –COOH group is interacting with the H–Si(111) surface. The IR spectra indicate that the reaction is largely due to the availability of the COOH groups to react. Flip-chip lamination is an effective approach to form molecular junctions. Unlike direct metal evaporation, it ensures the format.
Edge‐based blockchain enabled anomaly detection for insider attack prevention in Internet of Things

Internet of Things (IoT) platforms are responsible for overall data processing in the IoT System. This ranges from analytics and big data processing to gathering all sensor data over time to analyze and produce long‐term trends. However, this comes with prohibitively high demand for resources such as memory, computing power and bandwidth, which the highly resource constrained IoT devices lack to send data to the platforms to achieve efficient operations. This results in poor availability and risk of data loss due to single point of failure should the cloud platforms suffer attacks. The integrity of the data can also be compromised by an insider, such as a malicious system administrator, without leaving traces of their actions. To address these issues, we propose in this work an edge‐based blockchain enabled anomaly detection technique to prevent insider attacks in IoT. The technique first employs the power of edge computing to reduce the latency and bandwidth requirements by taking processing closer to the IoT nodes, hence improving availability, and avoiding single point of failure. It then leverages some aspect of sequence‐based anomaly detection, while integrating distributed edge with blockchain that offers smart contracts to perform detection and correction of abnormalities in incoming sensor data. Evaluation of our technique using real IoT system datasets showed that the technique remarkably achieved the intended purpose, while ensuring integrity and availability of the data which is critical to IoT success.
MetLigDB: a web-based database for the identification of chemical groups to design metalloprotein inhibitors

MetLigDB (http://silver.sejong.ac.kr/MetLigDB) is a publicly accessible web-based database through which the interactions between a variety of chelating groups and various central metal ions in the active site of metalloproteins can be explored in detail. Additional information can also be retrieved, including protein and inhibitor names, the amino acid residues coordinated to the central metal ion, and the binding affinity of the inhibitor for the target metalloprotein. Although many metalloproteins have been considered promising targets for drug discovery, it is difficult to discover new inhibitors because of the difficulty in designing a suitable chelating moiety to impair the catalytic activity of the central metal ion. Because both common and specific chelating groups can be identified for varying metal ions and the associated coordination environments, MetLigDB is expected to give users insight into designing new inhibitors of metalloproteins for drug discovery.
Inclusivity of on-farm demonstration: gender, age, and geographic location

ABSTRACT Purpose To assess the inclusivity of on-farm demonstration across Europe, in relation to age, gender, and geographical location of participants. Methodology The paper is based on a survey of 1162 on-farm demonstrators (farmers and organisations) and three supra-regional workshops. Findings Overall, on farm-demonstrations were found to be engaging young(er) farmers who are at a career stage of being able to implement long-term innovations. However, across Europe demonstrations were primarily attended by men. On-farm demonstrations were most common in Northern Europe, where advisory services brought together multiple AKIS actors. There were fewer on-farm demonstrations in Southern Europe, where demonstrations were more likely to be led by research institutes or individual farmers. Eastern Europe is notable for greater diversity in terms of gender and age of demonstration participants. Within countries, on-farm demonstrations occurred more frequently in regions of high agricultural profitability; more remotely located farmers had fewer opportunities to participate. Practical implications Demonstrations led by public and privately funded advisory services appear to attract primarily male farmers, thus reinforcing gendered patterns of participation in European agriculture. The location of advisory services and research institutes in high profitability locales disproportionately privileges farmers located there. More targeted efforts are required to ensure the participation of farmers who are female, older and located in less productive regions. Theoretical implications The paper draws attention to the lack of inclusivity of on-farm demonstration, developing a conceptual framework based on Lukes’ three faces of power. Originality The paper utilises the first European-wide inventory of on-farm demonstration to assess inclusivity.