Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Homing With a Single Range-Only Beacon

Homing behavior for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) is vital for autonomous docking and indispensable for recovery of vehicles in logistically difficult or hazardous conditions. Homing to a single acoustic beacon is a low-logistics solution to this engineering challenge. A homing application has been developed in C++ that applies a multilateration-based localization algorithm to estimate transponder location for homing. Mission oriented operating suite interval programming (MOOS-IvP) was implemented as a backseat driver on a Teledyne Gavia AUV to enhance the AUV with adaptive maneuvering capabilities; thus, enabling mission waypoints to be dynamically updated by the homing application (pHomeToBeacon) through the MOOS database and a developed iGavia crewmember. To demonstrate MOOS-IvP-GAVIA and homing capabilities using this first-principles approach to localization, field trials were undertaken in Kópavogur, Iceland, in June 2015 and proved consistent homing to a single beacon within 15 m accuracy. These trials were an industry-first of deploying a user-developed application on MOOS-IvP-GAVIA and of having a Gavia enhanced with adaptive maneuvering capabilities for homing. This new capability enables Gavia AUV to be used as a platform for future developer-led autonomy and applications. Ultimately, pHomeToBeacon will enable any AUV enhanced with MOOS-IvP to use acoustics to home to a surface vessel (stationary or underway) in preparation for autonomous subsea docking and recovery.
Developing Design Criteria for Safeguards Seals for Spent Fuel Transportation Casks - Final Report.

Current designs for spent fuel transportation casks cannot ensure a cask's integrity during shipment, nor is there any verifiable means of maintaining continuity of knowledge (CoK) on a cask's contents. Spent fuel destined for encapsulation plants or geological repositories requires additional containment and surveillance (C/S) measures during shipment. Following final safeguards accountancy measurements on spent fuel assemblies, the shipment of verified assemblies will require unprecedented reliance on maintaining CoK on the fuel inside transport casks. Such increased reliance is due to the lack of reverification of spent fuel following encapsulation into disposal canisters and by meeting the requirement of dual C/S measures during such fuel shipments according to recommendations made by the Application of Safeguards to Geological Repositories (ASTOR) International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) expert group. By designing spent fuel transportation casks with effective seals integrated into their design, CoK can be more effectively maintained than by ad hoc C/S measures because seal integration ensures that a cask has not been tampered with. Externally applied seals might not be able to provide such assurance for currently designed spent fuel transportation casks, although some combination of seals, detectors, and/or a technology that can verify canister integrity might provide this assurance. This paper examines the design criteria for integrating safeguards seals into transportation casks and provides recommendations for near-term applications.
Role of exclosure on woody species diversity in comparison to adjacent open grazing land: The case of wenago district, Southern Ethiopia

Abstract Ethiopia has suffered from degradation of forests and loss of biodiversity as a result of anthropogenic activities mainly for the purpose of expanding farm lands, construction materials, fuel wood and charcoal production. The objective of the study was to assess the status of exclosure comparing with adjacent open grazing land. In each area exclosure and open grazing land uses, a plot of 20 m x 20 m, 10 m x 10 m and 2 m x 2 m area size for trees, shrubs and herbs, respectively, was drawn using systematic method. A total of 66 plots in 10 hectare area were sampled along the transect line. Diameter at breast height (DBH) was measured using caliper, and tree height was measured using clinometer and Woody species data were analyzed through Shannon–Wiener diversity index (H1) and Sorensen similarity coefficient indices (Is) using SPSS version 20, excel software and the linear relationship between diversity mean value and land uses were compared using chi-square. A total of 35 plant species belonging to 25 families were identified and recorded. Shannon’s species diversity index (H') in exclosure and adjacent open grazing was 2.591 and 0.889, respectively. Exclosure had a significantly higher number of woody species diversity compared to adjacent open grazing land. Herbs were not influenced by both compared land uses. In order to keep the present progress and rehabilitation status of woody diversity, sustainable management of area exclosure is very necessary and planners, policy makers and stakeholders need coordination and participatory based plant species conservation strategies.
CMV Colitis: A Rare Complication of Azacitidine and Venetoclax Chemotherapy

Herein, we present a case of cytomegalovirus (CMV) colitis that occurred after two cycles of azacitidine and venetoclax in a 64-year-old woman affected with acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) secondary to a previous diagnosis of a hypoplastic myelodysplastic syndrome (hypo-MDS). This patient never had detectable CMV viraemia, and there was no evidence of immune deficiency that could justify this opportunistic infection. Additionally, this is most likely the first report describing CMV colitis in a patient treated upfront with azacitidine and venetoclax.
Validation of an Open-Source CFD Tool to Support Efficient Design of Offshore Gravity-Based Structures Exposed to Extreme Waves

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) could be an inexpensive complement and even an alternative to physical modelling for investigating the interaction of ocean waves with offshore structures. CFD models however cannot be relied on unless they are well validated. We validated the OpenFOAM® CFD toolbox, a publically available open-source model, for modelling the interaction of extreme regular and irregular waves with offshore gravity-based structures. CFD results including water levels, pressures and forces generally compared well with results for a physical model test program previously conducted by the National Research Council Canada (NRC).
Multifilters-Based Unsupervised Method for Retinal Blood Vessel Segmentation

Fundus imaging is one of the crucial methods that help ophthalmologists for diagnosing the various eye diseases in modern medicine. An accurate vessel segmentation method can be a convenient tool to foresee and analyze fatal diseases, including hypertension or diabetes, which damage the retinal vessel’s appearance. This work suggests an unsupervised approach for vessels segmentation out of retinal images. The proposed method includes multiple steps. Firstly, from the colored retinal image, green channel is extracted and preprocessed utilizing Contrast Limited Histogram Equalization as well as Fuzzy Histogram Based Equalization for contrast enhancement. To expel geometrical articles (macula, optic disk) and noise, top-hat morphological operations are used. On the resulted enhanced image, matched filter and Gabor wavelet filter are applied, and the outputs from both is added to extract vessels pixels. The resulting image with the now noticeable blood vessel is binarized using human visual system (HVS). A final image of segmented blood vessel is obtained by applying post-processing. The suggested method is assessed on two public datasets (DRIVE and STARE) and showed comparable results with regard to sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. The results we achieved with respect to sensitivity, specificity together with accuracy on DRIVE database are 0.7271, 0.9798 and 0.9573, and on STARE database these are 0.7164, 0.9760, and 0.9560, respectively, in less than 3.17 s on average per image.
A novel hierarchical fuzzy inference system for supplier selection and performance improvement in the oil & gas industry

ABSTRACT Evaluation of suppliers is essential to increasing competitive power, customer satisfaction, and profitability. Oil and gas companies can use this research to evaluate suppliers and map the potential path forward for future collaborations. Six supply chain managers in Iran designed HFIS for the oil and gas industry. Shannon Entropy was used to determine the relative weights of suppliers concerning overall uncertainty because the Oil and Gas industry uses many unstructured Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Using Matlab Toolbox FIS, a future cooperation roadmap was developed. Experts suggested future collaboration with certain suppliers based on the HFIS results. The future cooperation strategy proposed by the framework is highly in line with their expectations. FIS results indicate that the proposed can help select the most appropriate suppliers for cooperation while providing a roadmap for weaker suppliers to improve their performance.
Potential Correlation Between Eczema and Hematological Malignancies Risk: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background Eczema characterized by itch, sleeplessness, and adverse effects on quality of life is associated with a risk of hematological malignancies. However, there is a controversy pertaining to whether this association implies a greater or lesser risk of hematological cancers. We aimed to explore the link between eczema and hematological malignancies risk. Methods We systematically searched PubMed and Embase databases from their inception to February 17, 2022. Two reviewers independently screened articles, extracted data and assessed study quality, respectively. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were pooled by using fixed or random-effects models. Results 29 studies involving 2,521,574 participants examined the contribution of eczema to hematological malignancies. We found that eczema significantly increased the risk of Hodgkin's lymphoma (1.44; 95% CI, 1.07–1.95), myeloma (1.15; 95% CI, 1.04–1.28), and significantly decreased the risk of lymphocytic leukemia (0.91; 95% CI, 0.84–0.99); however, it is not significantly associated with Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and myelocytic leukemia. Conclusion Eczema has been shown to be associated with the risk of hematological cancer, this association still needs to be verified in large randomized controlled trials. Systematic Review Registration https://inplasy.com/, INPLASY202260097.
Malnutrition and Poor Physical Function Are Associated With Higher Comorbidity Index in Hospitalized Older Adults

Background The Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) is the most widely used method to measure comorbidity and predict mortality. There is no evidence whether malnutrition and/or poor physical function are associated with higher CCI in hospitalized patients. Therefore, this study aimed to (i) analyze the association between the CCI with nutritional status and with physical function of hospitalized older adults and (ii) examine the individual and combined associations of nutritional status and physical function of older inpatients with comorbidity risk. Methods A total of 597 hospitalized older adults (84.3 ± 6.8 years, 50.3% women) were assessed for CCI, nutritional status (the Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form [MNA-SF]), and physical function (handgrip strength and the Short Physical Performance Battery [SPPB]). Results Better nutritional status (p < 0.05) and performance with handgrip strength and the SPPB were significantly associated with lower CCI scores among both men (p < 0.005) and women (p < 0.001). Patients with malnutrition or risk of malnutrition (OR: 2.165, 95% CI: 1.408–3.331, p < 0.001) as well as frailty (OR: 3.918, 95% CI: 2.326–6.600, p < 0.001) had significantly increased the risk for being at severe risk of comorbidity. Patients at risk of malnutrition or that are malnourished had higher CCI scores regardless of being fit or unfit according to handgrip strength (p for trend < 0.05), and patients classified as frail had higher CCI despite their nutritional status (p for trend < 0.001). Conclusions The current study reinforces the use of the MNA-SF and the SPPB in geriatric hospital patients as they might help to predict poor clinical outcomes and thus indirectly predict post-discharge mortality risk.
The fossil record of sabre-tooth characins (Teleostei: Characiformes: Cynodontinae), their phylogenetic relationships and palaeobiogeographical implications

The family Cynodontidae is composed of freshwater fishes inhabiting drainages east of the Andes in South America. Its fossil record is mostly represented by isolated teeth that are difficult to identify. Here we describe fossil cranial remains of the extant species Hydrolycus scomberoides as well as isolated teeth that were identified as Hydrolycus and cf. Rhaphiodon in sediments of the late Pliocene Ware Formation in the Guajira Peninsula, west of the Andes. Novel, phylogenetically informative characters were found including the number of symphysial teeth, the plane of insertion of the leading teeth onto the dentary, the presence of accessory posterior dentigerous patches, and depressions and outline of the dentary. We performed a phylogenetic analysis combining morphological and molecular characters including both extant and extinct specimens, producing a well-resolved topology that recovers a novel sister-group relationship between the genera Hydrolycus and Cynodon, while the genus Rhaphiodon falls to the base of this clade. This contradicts earlier studies recovering Hydrolycus and Rhaphiodon as sister taxa. The phylogenetic position of Hydrolycus wallacei was found to be unstable. The occurrence of H. scomberoides in the late Pliocene of Guajira is a puzzle that could be explained by different mechanisms, including a persistent drainage connection across the Andes during the late Pliocene, and/or the result of severe drying and subsequent extinction.
IL-37 promotes cell apoptosis in cervical cancer involving Bim upregulation

Background: Growing evidence has indicated that interleukin-37 (IL-37) is a potential anticancer molecule that mainly plays an inhibiting role in different kinds of cancers, but data for the role of IL-37 on cell apoptosis in cancers remains rare. The present study aimed to explore the role of IL-37 in cell apoptosis in cervical cancer, and the involved apoptosis-related molecules. Methods: IL-37 was overexpressed by transfecting the pIRES2-EGFP-IL-37 plasmid in HeLa and C33A cells. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was performed to detect the mRNA expression of IL-37, Bcl-2, Bax and Bim. Western blotting was performed to detect the protein expression of IL-37 and Bim. Cell apoptosis was detected by ﬂ ow cytometry. Results: IL-37 upregulated the mRNA expression levels of Bim by 138.40% for HeLa ( P <0.05) and 58.95% for C33A ( P <0.05), and increased the protein expression levels of BimL by 69.10% ( P <0.05) and 56.66% ( P <0.05) in HeLa and C33A, respectively. Overexpression of IL-37 increased the apoptosis rates by 152.86% for HeLa ( P <0.01) and 25.4% for C33A ( P <0.05). Knockdown of Bim by speci ﬁ c siRNA interference fragments (SiBim) reduced the apoptosis rates by 36.00% for HeLa ( P <0.05) and 14.66% for C33A ( P <0.05). Compared with the IL-37 overexpression group, the apoptosis rate in cotransfect-ing the IL-37 overexpression plasmid and SiBim group decreased by approximately 31% ( P <0.05) and 24.35% ( P <0.05) in HeLa and C33A, respectively. Conclusion: IL-37 upregulated Bim in cervical cancer cells. Furthermore, IL-37 can promote cervical cancer cell apoptosis, but Bim knockdown decreased this promotion through IL-37. Thus, IL-37 can promote cervical cancer cell apoptosis, which involve the upregulation of Bim.
Reduced Cytokine Tumour Necrosis Factor by Pharmacological Intervention in a Preclinical Study

Recent preclinical studies in our laboratory have shown that the bile acid profile is altered during diabetes development and such alteration has been linked to the diabetes-associated inflammatory profile. Hence, this study aimed to investigate if the first-line antidiabetic drug metformin will alter the bile acid profile and diabetes-associated inflammation in a murine model of pre-type 2 diabetes. C57 mice were randomly allocated into three equal groups of eight. Group One was given a low-fat diet (LFD), Group Two was given a high-fat diet (HFD), and Group Three was given an HFD and, upon prediabetes confirmation, daily oral metformin for one month. Blood glucose, glycated haemoglobin, drug concentrations in tissues and faeces, and the inflammatory and bile acid profiles were measured. Metformin showed wide tissue distribution and was also present in faeces. The bile acid profile showed significant alteration due to prediabetes, and although metformin did not completely normalize it, it did exert significant effects on both the bile acid and the inflammatory profiles, suggesting a direct and, to some extent, positive impact, particularly on the diabetes-associated inflammatory profile.
Development of a Ground Truth Localization System for Wheeled Mobile Robots in Indoor Environments based on Laser Range-finder for Low-cost Systems

The localization systems are becoming more and more required in the actual flexible manufacturing systems based on mobile robots. There are several approaches to localize a mobile robot such as laser scanners reflective beacons, image mapping, lightning based systems, Ultra-wideband time-of-flight trilateration, odometry and fusion sensor data algorithms. During the development phase of a localization methodology, it is necessary to evaluate the proposed system: it is used a ground truth system. Ground truth systems are precise (usually based on reflective beacons) but expensive. This paper presents a low-cost ground truth system based on a standard low-cost laser scanner that, coupled with the presented algorithm, allows to localize the robot in the field and thus evaluate other localization systems. Results of the precision of the developed system are presented and validates the approach.
IDENTIFYING FACTORS AFFECTING DESTINATION CHOICE OF MEDICAL TOURISTS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Objective: Overseas travels in which improved health is the main component, “medical tourism”, has emerged as a new source of competitive advantage all over the world. The present study seeks to identify the factors that affect destination choice of medical tourists. Methods: We systematically searched relevant databases including Pub Med, Embase, Science Direct, Web of Science and Medline databases using terms “medical tourism” OR “health tourism”. Studies were identified and screened in accordance with the preferred Reporting Items for Systematic and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) published in English or Farsi, determining factors that develo country’s ability to become a preferred destination for outbound patients seeking healthcare services in foreign countries. Results The search retrieved (1374) citation of which 18 studies were eligible.Across the eligible articles, 13 overarching themes including 75 that encourage medical tourists to choose a specific destination sub-themesemerged. Conclusions Results of this study offer evidence for a comprehensive approach to strategic outreach and market expansion for medical tourism decision makers for attracting more medical tourists to their countries.
Active vibration suppression of elastic blade structure: Using a novel magnetorheological layer patch

This research study proposes a new active control structure to suppress vibrations of a small-scale wind turbine blade with attached magnetorheological fluid patch actuated by an electromagnet. The blade structure is manufactured by an aluminum extrusion machine considering the airfoil data of SH3055 which is designed for use on a small wind turbine. An interaction model between the magnetorheological patch and the electromagnetic actuator is derived and a force characterization is realized. A norm-based multiobjective H2/H∞ controller is designed using the state-space model of the elastic blade element. The H2/H∞ controller is experimentally implemented under the steady-state aerodynamic load conditions. The results of experiments show that the magnetorheological layer patch is effective for suppressing vibrations of the blade structure and robust against parametric uncertainty.
Newborn Screening for Cystic Fibrosis: A Qualitative Study of Successes and Challenges from Universal Screening in the United States

Cystic fibrosis (CF) newborn screening (NBS) was universally adopted in 2009 in the United States. Variations in NBS practices between states may impact the timing of diagnosis and intervention. Quantitative metrics can provide insight into NBS programs (NBSP), but the nuances cannot be elucidated without additional feedback from programs. This study was designed to determine facilitators and barriers to timely diagnosis and intervention following NBS for CF. The median age at the first CF event for infants with CF within each state was used to define early and late states (n = 15 per group); multiple CF centers were invited in states with more than two CF centers. Thirty states were eligible, and 61 NBSP and CF centers were invited to participate in structured interviews to determine facilitators and barriers. Once saturation of themes was reached, no other interviews were conducted. Forty-five interviews were conducted (n = 16 early CF center, n = 12 late CF center, n = 11 early NBSP, and n = 6 late NBSP). Most interviewees reported good communication between CF centers and NBSP. Communication between primary care providers (PCPs) and families was identified as a challenge, leading to delays in referral and subsequent diagnosis. The misperception of low clinical risk in infants from racial and ethnic minority groups was a barrier to early diagnostic evaluation for all groups. NBSP and CF centers have strong relationships. Early diagnosis may be facilitated through more engagement with PCPs. Quality improvement initiatives should focus on continuing strong partnerships between CF centers and NBS programs, improving education, communication strategies, and partnerships with PCPs, and improving CF NBS timeliness and accuracy.
Evaluation of dynamic passing gap acceptance on two-lane highways using field data

Gap availability is an important element of safe passing on two-lane highways. Time gaps are used to determine passing behaviour based on human factors. In this paper, the decision whether to accept or reject an available passing gap is modelled using logistic regression technique that included driver characteristics (age and experience) and the gap size. Field studies were conducted to collect experimental data regarding passing driver behaviour. The data were collected using Dual Camera Car DVRs and a GPS data logger device that records the instantaneous speed and position of the three vehicles involved in the passing maneuver: passing vehicle, impeding vehicle, and opposing vehicle. Regression models that include driver age and gender (required as input to the gap acceptance model) were established for initial passing time, starting gap, ending gap, and time to collision. The gap acceptance model was implemented in SIMULINK and the results revealed that driver characteristics significantly affect gap a.
A design of HDPE flexible spline of harmonics gear

In a design of a small robot, selecting a servo-motor is the most important method in designing process. Common miniature servo motors for small robots normally use conventional gear train set or planetary gear set. Gear train and planetary gear give very low gear ratio whereas its weight is too heavy. On the other hand, Harmonic gear system, which is developed from strain wave drive gearing, gives better the highest gear ratio per weight than those two gear systems. In this paper, a plastic flexible spline gear is presented in order to replace a thin metal spline. The plastic flexible spline gear is designed under gear physical requirement and servo-motor properties. The spline thicknesses are varied in a range of 1 to 4 millimetre and simulations on strength, fatigue, and torque requirement are made to verify the designs.