Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Food quality, security, and thermal refuge influence the use of microsites and patches by pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) across landscapes and seasons

Abstract How intensely animals use habitat features depends on their functional properties (i.e., how the feature influences fitness) and the spatial and temporal scale considered. For herbivores, habitat use is expected to reflect the competing risks of starvation, predation, and thermal stress, but the relative influence of each functional property is expected to vary in space and time. We examined how a dietary and habitat specialist, the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis), used these functional properties of its sagebrush habitat—food quality, security, and thermal refuge—at two hierarchical spatial scales (microsite and patch) across two seasons (winter and summer). At the microsite and patch scales, we determined which plant functional traits predicted the number of bites (i.e., foraging) by pygmy rabbits and the number of their fecal pellets (i.e., general habitat use). Pygmy rabbits used microsites and patches more intensely that had higher crude protein and aerial concealment cover and were closer to burrows. Food quality was more influential when rabbits used microsites within patches. Security was more influential in winter than summer, and more at Cedar Gulch than Camas. However, the influence of functional properties depended on phytochemical and structural properties of sagebrush and was not spatiotemporally consistent. These results show function‐dependent habitat use that varied according to specific activities by a central‐place browsing herbivore. Making spatially explicit predictions of the relative value of habitat features that influence different types of habitat use (i.e., foraging, hiding, and thermoregulating) will improve how we predict patterns of habitat use by herbivores and how we monitor and manage functional traits within habitats for wildlife.
Valorisation of Bovine Sweet Whey and Sunflower Press Cake Blend through Controlled Fermentation as Platform for Innovative Food Materials

The current environmental challenge is pushing food systems towards more sustainable models of production that require reorganizing of processes by re-using side products still containing nutrients. This work aimed at valorising a mix of bovine sweet whey and sunflower press cake, through targeted fermentation. After preliminary screening based on growth rate, final pH, lactose/galactose assimilation, phytase activity, six Lactic Acid Bacteria strains (Lacticaseibacillus casei, L. paracasei (2), Lactococcus lactis, Lentilactobacillus parakefiri and Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides) and three yeasts (Kluyveromyces lactis, K. marxianus and Torulaspora delbrueckii) were co-cultivated in pairs in microcosms (1-part ground press cake: 4-parts whey). All tested microorganisms were able to grow and acidify the blend: the LAB counts increased during the incubation (26 °C for 48 h) of +2.80 log CFU/g, whereas yeasts counts were of +1.98 log CFU/g, with significant differences among the different associations (p < 0.01). Mould counts were always <3 log CFU/g. Interestingly, the bacterial contaminants count significantly varied in samples with different pairs of strains (p < 0.001). Acidification level, acetic acid and ethanol contents were the limiting factors affecting the growth of spoilage micro-organisms. Best performances were attained in microcosms inoculated with L. lactis or L. paracasei and K. lactis or K. marxianus.
Design and Validation of a Scale of Knowledge of Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Lifestyle after Coronary Event

Background: It is important for health professionals to have tools available to assess patients’ knowledge of lifestyle and cardiovascular risk factors after they have suffered a coronary event and determine whether educational interventions are effective. This study aims to design and validate a scale to evaluate this knowledge. Methods: Four-phase instrument design: (A) Conceptual review. (B) Review by experts. (C) Pilot test–retest. (D) Psychometric validation of the final version of the questionnaire with 24 items. A panel of experts performed the content validity. The reliability of the scale was measured using Cronbach’s alpha score and criterion validity was evaluated by comparing the total scores for knowledge obtained by the participants among the three education level groups. The construct and dimensional structure validity were assessed using exploratory factor analysis. Results: A total of 143 people participated, 30 in the pilot study and 113 (68% male, 60.2 ± 9 years) in the psychometric validation of version 3 of the scale. A Cronbach’s alpha score of 0.887 was reached for this version. The factor analysis showed that the items were distributed into five factors that explained 57% of the variance. Significant differences were observed in the level of knowledge among the patients of the three levels of education (low, moderate and high) (99.20 ± 11.93, 105.92 ± 7.85, 109.78 ± 8.76 points, p = 0.003), as there was a negative correlation between age and knowledge level (r = −0.213, p = 0.024). Conclusions: The scale presents psychometric properties that are evidence of its reliability and validity. The relationship demonstrated between the level of knowledge and age, sex and level of education shows the importance of emphasizing educational interventions for elderly people and those with a lower level of education.
Propulsion Characteristics and Visual Servo Control of Scaled-up Helical Microswimmers

Helical microswimmers capable of propulsion at low Reynolds numbers have been proposed for numerous applications, ranging from in vitro tasks on lab-on-a-chip (e.g. transporting and sorting micro objects; mechanical components micro assembly.) to in vivo applications for minimally invasive medicine (e.g. targeted drug delivery; brachytherapy; hyperthermia.), due to their micro sizes and accessibility to tiny and clustered environments. Several kinds of magnetically actuated helical swimmers with di erent geometry parameters, head shapes, and magnetic positioning have been proposed in prior works. However, the in uence of the geometry parameters, the head shape and the magnetic positioning (head, coated tail.) has not been clearly studied. As far as we know, the existing helical microswimmers are primarily open-loop controlled, due to the complexity of the control of the magnetic eld actuating the helical propulsion, and the limited number of feedback options processing the required precision. This thesis aims to compare the swimming performances of helical swimmers with di erent designs to further improve their design and to characterize their swimming properties and realize a visual servo control of helical swimmers. Scaled-up helical microswimmers at the millimeter scale are designed and swim at low Reynolds numbers. The design of these scaled-up helical microswimmers can be a guideline for the micro-fabrication of helical microswimmers. A visual servo control of the scaled-up helical microswimmer orientation in the 3D space, and a path following on the horizontal plane have been realized. The control method will be applied on helical microswimmers in future works.
Knowledge diffusion of halal food research: a main path analysis

Purpose Halal food (HF) has received significant attention from scholars and practitioners. However, no studies have explored the distinct role played by HF literature as part of knowledge diffusion. Given the increasing number of scholarly outputs, this study aims to examine the HF development over the past decades comprehensively, including emerging topics and knowledge transmission paths and structure. Design/methodology/approach This study conducted a keyword co-occurrence network analysis and main path analysis (MPA). The MPA included four types of main paths to trace the historical formation of HF based on 253 articles extracted from the Web of Science database. Findings The findings show that: HF research revolves around several dimensions, including HF safety and trust, halal certification, HF supply chain management and attitudes towards HF purchasing, and the focus of HF research has shifted from the business perspective to the consumer perspective. In recent years, there has been a trend to explore how blockchains can benefit HF supply chains by improving traceability, transparency and consumer trust in HF. Originality/value This study addresses the need to examine the knowledge diffusion paths in the HF domain. This study offers a framework to investigate the knowledge dissemination and structure, helping researchers deal with hundreds of articles effectively and increasing their understanding of the past, present and future research trends in the HF domain.
Improved Vessel Trajectory Prediction Model Based on Stacked-BiGRUs

An intelligent maritime navigation system is expected to play an important role in the realm of Internet of Vessels (IoV). As a key technology in navigation systems, vessel trajectory prediction technology is critical to the IoV. Automatic identification system (AIS), an automated tracking system, is used extensively for vessel trajectory prediction. However, certain characteristics in the AIS data, such as the large number of anchored trajectories in the area, anomalous sharp turns of some trajectories, and the behavioral differences of vessels in different segments, limit the prediction accuracy. In this study, we propose a novel vessel trajectory prediction model for accurate prediction with the following characteristics: (1) an anchor trajectory elimination algorithm to eliminate anchor trajectories; (2) a statistical trajectory restoration algorithm to repair sharp turning; (3) a two-stage clustering algorithm (D-KMEANS) to distinguish vessel behavior; and (4) a deep bidirectional gate recurrent unit (Stacked-BiGRUs) model to predict vessel trajectory and compare the accuracy of the model before and after improvement. The results show that the mean square error and the mean absolute error of the improved model are reduced by 27% and 46%, respectively. This research shows good potential for maritime navigation early warning and safety.
Multiple aspects of the maternal reproductive investment in a polytocous species: What do mothers really control?

Abstract One of the factors facilitating the expansion and proliferation of wild boar Sus scrofa is the plasticity of its reproductive biology. Nevertheless, the real influence of maternal and environmental factors on number and sex of the offspring is still controversial. While the litter size was shown to be related with the maternal condition, the strength of this relation remains to be understood, together with the possible role played by environmental conditions. Analogously, it is unclear whether wild boar females can adjust their offspring sex. We investigated multiple aspects of wild boar maternal investment by means of a 10-year dataset of female reproductive traits and a set of biologically meaningful environmental variables. The maternal condition slightly affected the litter size but not the offspring sex, and environment did not affect the litter size or the offspring sex. Moreover, mothers did not cope with the higher costs entailed by producing sons by placing them in the most advantageous intrauterine position, nor by allocating less resources on daughters. Our set of results showed that the female reproductive investment is quite rigid in comparison with other aspects of wild boar reproductive biology. Wild boar females seem to adopt a typical r-strategy, producing constantly large litters and allocating resources on both sexes regardless of internal and external conditions. Such strategy may be adaptive to cope with environmental unpredictability and an intense human harvest, contributing to explain the extreme success of wild boar within human-dominated landscapes.
Thermomechanical analysis of the effect of contact forces in heat conduction of composite materials through multiscale contact finite element modeling

Abstract The present study proposes a thermomechanical surface contact finite element formulation for studying interfacial heat conductance in correlation to micromechanical contact forces. The proposed methodology is applied for modeling heat surface conductivity of Carbon Nanotubes (CNT). The atomic lattice of CNTs is initially modeled using the molecular structural mechanics approach and reduced to an equivalent 2D continuum element. The equivalent 2D continuum element is used as a robust and efficient surrogate model for the construction of full length CNTs in contact. Coupled structural and heat pde’s have been used to describe the corresponding thermomechanical problem which are discretized using 2D quadrilateral finite elements, along with surface contact elements based on the Node to Node and Node to Segment formulations. The problem has been treated as a nonlinear steady state problem and solved in the frame of a Newton-Raphson incremental-iterative scheme. Extensive sensitivity analysis was performed with respect to several influencing parameters, such as initial contact angle, boundary conditions and CNT overlapping. Based on this analysis, the effect of overlapping and approaching angle on the total heat exchange was quantified. It has been demonstrated that in most cases, increasing the total contact force can produce an almost linear increase in heat exchange. However, in cases of small approaching angles between CNTs an extensive contact force could heavily deform the contacting geometries producing a non-linear heat exchange mechanism.
Assessment And Evaluation Of Engineering Technology Program Outcomes Using Direct Measures

In order to ensure the quality of a program on an ongoing basis, it is essential that a program has a sound and viable Continuous Improvement Plan. The two key elements of the plan are assessment and evaluation. The term “assessment” means one or more processes that identify, collect, use and prepare data that can be used to evaluate achievement of program outcomes and educational objectives. The term “evaluation” characterizes one or more processes for interpretation of the data and evidence accumulated through assessment practices that (a) determine the extent to which program outcomes or educational objectives are being achieved; or (b) result in decisions and actions taken to improve the program. Multiple constituencies are to be involved in the process, as the TAC/ABET Technology Criteria 2000 (TC2K) stipulate use of multiple assessment tools and measures for (a) the program outcomes, i.e., knowledge and capabilities of students at the time of graduation and (b) the program objectives, i.e., the expected accomplishments of graduates during the first few years after graduation. Effective assessment tools provide the information needed to measure outcomes and objectives, so necessary improvements can be implemented. The focus of this paper is on assessment of program outcomes. The primary assessment of program outcomes is based on direct measures, i.e., student work, such as assignments, exams and student portfolios related to coursework. Some such measures, which have been used by the civil engineering technology program at this institution for two specific courses, are discussed in this paper. Various templates (rubrics) used in the process are also included. An evaluation of assessment data through comparison with established benchmarks is presented to determine the extent to which program outcomes pertaining to the two courses are being achieved. Follow-up actions warranted to implement the results of program evaluation, and thus “to close the loop,” are also discussed.
Development of the Questionnaire on Non-Driving Related Tasks (QNDRT) in automated driving: revealing age and gender differences

ABSTRACT Automated vehicles (AVs) enable driver-passengers to perform non-driving related tasks (NDRTs). However, it remains unclear if and how they would engage with NDRTs. Therefore, we developed a questionnaire on NDRTs, the QNDRT, for SAE Level 3 (L3) and 5 (L5) driving automation. It comprises 24 items with a general NDRT Work subscale querying general aspects of working while driving in an AV (8 items; L3: 4 items, L5: 4) and a specific NDRT Communication subscale assessing different communication modalities (16 items; L3: 8, L5: 8). Hence, we carried out a cross-sectional questionnaire study and queried 725 participants (351 female, 374 male) from 18 to 96 years. We applied factor analyses and extracted a stable unidimensional factor structure for both NDRT subscales with good psychometric properties (e.g. high and clear factor loadings; satisfactory communalities, item discrimination, and internal consistency). The initial findings revealed that significantly smaller values were assigned to both subscale factors by participants older than 55 years in contrast to younger ones and by women when compared to men. The QNDRT can be used in future (quasi-)experimental L3 and L5 studies and in population surveys to obtain more insight into working and communicating while driving in an AV.
A Search Methodology Based on Industrial Ontology and Machine Learning to Analyze Georeferenced Italian Districts

The subject of the proposed study is a method implementable for a search engine able to provide supply chain information, gaining the company’s knowledge base. The method is based on the construction of specific supply chain ontologies to enrich Machine Learning (ML) algorithm results able to filter and refine the searching process. The search engine is structured into two main search levels. The first one provides a preliminary filter of supply chain attributes based on the hierarchical clustering approach. The second one improves and refines the research by means of an ML classification and web scraping. The goal of the searching method is to identify a georeferenced supply chain district, finalized to optimize production and planning production strategies. Different technologies are proposed as candidates for the implementation of each part of the search engine. A preliminary prototype with limited functions is realized by means of Graphical User Interfaces (GUIs). Finally, a case study of the ice cream supply chain is discussed to explain how the proposed method can be applied to construct a basic ontology model. The results are performed within the framework of the project “Smart District 4.0”.
Molecular Dynamics Study of Melting Behavior of Planar Stacked Ti–Al Core–Shell Nanoparticles

: Selective laser sintering (SLS) is one of the most commonly used methods in additive manufacturing, due to its high prototyping speed and applicability to various materials. In the present work, molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to study the thermodynamic behaviors of the planar stacked nanoparticles (NPs) model and explore the potential capability of the SLS process with nano-sized metal powders in the zero-gravity space environment. A multi-particle model of titanium–aluminum (Ti–Al) core–shell NP with a particle radius of 50 Å was constructed to investigate the characteristics of the melted pattern during sintering. Two patterns with different spatial densities were considered to study the inﬂuence of particle stacking on the melting process. Various core volume fractions and heating rates were examined to investigate their effects on the quality of the ﬁnal sintered product. The stacked-NPs models with core volume fractions (CVFs) of 3%, 12%, and 30% were linearly heated up to 1100 K from room temperature (298 K) with heating rates of 0.04, 0.2, 0.5, and 1.0 K ps − 1 . The initial fusion temperature and ﬁnal sintering temperature for each stacking pattern were obtained via the validation from the radial distribution function, mean squared displacement, and the radius of the gyration analysis. The 30% CVF yields the largest neck size before the melting point, while beyond the melting point, a larger core helps delay the formation of the fully-melted products. It is observed that using the close-packed stacked-NPs model under a slow heating rate (long melting duration) would help form a stable, completely sintered product with a relatively low ﬁnal sintering temperature. ity. The MD simulation results suggest that the C-type stacked-NPs model with a slower heating rate and a longer melting duration would help to fabricate a stable, fully sintered product at a relatively low ﬁnal sintering temperature. Author Contributions: Conceptualization, S.J.; data curation, investigation, H.Z. ; methodology,
A COMPARISON OF STRUCTURED LIGHT SCANNING AND PHOTOGRAMMETRY FOR THE DIGITISATION OF PHYSICAL PROTOTYPES

Physical prototyping during early stage design typically represents an iterative process. Commonly, a single prototype will be used throughout the process, with its form being modified as the design evolves. If the form of the prototype is not captured as each iteration occurs understanding how specific design changes impact upon the satisfaction of requirements is challenging, particularly retrospectively. In this paper two different systems for digitising physical artefacts, structured light scanning (SLS) and photogrammetry (PG), are investigated as means for capturing iterations of physical prototypes. First, a series of test artefacts are presented and procedures for operating each system are developed. Next, artefacts are digitised using both SLS and PG and resulting models are compared against a master model of each artefact. Results indicate that both systems are able to reconstruct the majority of each artefact’s geometry within 0.1mm of the master, however, overall SLS demonstrated superior performance, both in terms of completion time and model quality. Additionally, the quality of PG models was far more influenced by the effort and expertise of the user compared to SLS.
A Red Oak Data Bank for Computer Simulations of Secondary Processing

An extensive data bank for red oak lumber that is compatible with most secondary manufacturing computer simulator tools is now available. Currently, the data bank contains 10,718 board feet in 1,578 boards. The National Hardwood Lumber Association's (NHLA) Special Kiln Dried Rule was used to grade the boards. The percentage of a board's surface measure contained in clear-face cuttings of required sizes can vary considerably depending on whether the board is graded by a computer or a person. Both computer-generated minimum percentages and human-generated optimum clear-face percentages are included in the data bank. The availability of this data bank should provide users confidence that differences between their findings and those of others are attributable to differences in the processes being simulated; the use of this data bank should minimize interstudy sample bias.