Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A semantic common model for product data in the water industry

The issue of interoperability in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry represents a challenge on a scale that spans across the project life cycle. This is predominant in the infrastructure sector that usually comprises a more versatile Operations and Maintenance (O&M) phase in comparison with the buildings sector. To this end, an important stage in the information life cycle is the asset information capture and validation during product procurement at the O&M phase. The water industry in the United Kingdom relies on Product Data Templates (PDTs) to fulfil such task, which is usually an error prone manual process. This paper presents an ongoing research, which investigates the application of Semantic Web Technologies (SWT) for improving product data exchange during product procurement at the O&M phase for the water industry in the United Kingdom (UK). Therefore, focus group sessions with industry experts were held to discuss current inefficiencies and solution requirements. Based on these results, a semantic common model named Asset Specification Ontology (ASO) was developed to capture and validate asset information during product procurement at the O&M phase. The common model (ontology) is based on available technologies, namely Web Ontology Language (OWL) and Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL). This gives the advantage of semantically rich data which can be linked and queried in a meaningful way to facilitate the exchange and validation of water industry assets’ data. The uniqueness of this paper is manifested in the issue it tackles, as efficient product procurement, and hence, data exchange in the water industry is an industrial challenge that is seldom researched. Results from the focus group sessions showed that information exchange within the UK water industry is impeded due to the lack of structured and semantic data. However, for a robust semantic interoperability, there needs to be a robust semantic data infrastructure, which would require semantic mappings from standards to product properties, from standards to other standards, and from standards to dictionaries. These conclusions were further supported by the common model, which was created from existing schemas, standards, and dictionaries. Generally, this paper recommends a common model/product library for phase-specific product data exchange in the water industry.
Measurements of the Radar Cross Section of a nano-drone at K-band

Nano-drones, are insect-like sized drones with a threat capability of intrusion to provide intelligence and potentially violate secure establishments and public privacy rights. They are an existing technology which is becoming increasingly more available, portable, affordable and easy to operate. As such, they represent a plausible defence and security threat. In this paper, a setup is presented that is used to measure the 3-dimensional Radar Cross Section (RCS) of a nano-drone for three elevation planes with a 5-degree resolution step in azimuth and elevation. The results presented in this paper are unique because there has been very little work, if any, in the existing literature attempting to measure the RCS of such small drones. They are also key to inform further work investigating the development of nano-drone detection radar systems as well as nano-drone detection and classification signal processing solutions.
Impacts of Great Cormorant and Cattle Egret Nesting on Other Waterbirds in a Shared Breeding Site in Piedmont (NW Italy)

Abstract. Some waterbird species are believed to have an impact on other waterbird species as they are able to usurp a limited habitat and destroy vegetation. In this study, we have analysed the nesting dynamics of five waterbird species: Grey Heron Ardea cinerea, Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo, Little Egret Egretta garzetta, Black-crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax and Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis, that had settled in a colony in the Royal Castle Park of Racconigi (Cuneo, NW Italy) over a 17-year period (2000 to 2017). The Great Cormorant and the Cattle Egret settled in the colony in 2008 and 2012, respectively. We analysed the relationships between the number of breeding pairs of the five species. In addition, we used the time series forecasting method to study the nesting dynamics and the impact of the new settlements on the pre-existing colony. The number of nests of the Great Cormorant and the Cattle Egret increased annually, and these species significantly affected the nesting trends of the other pre-existing species: Grey Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron and Little Egret. The Grey Heron mainly suffered from the occupation of its old nests by the Great Cormorant from 2008 to 2013. However, since 2014, the Grey Heron has been able to react, by displacing its breeding site to the tops of trees adjacent to the old heronry, and this has resulted in an even greater number of nests than before 2008. The Black-crowned Night Heron and the Little Egret suffered more from the settlement of the new species than the Grey Heron did, and started to suddenly or gradually abandon the breeding site. The colony has been modified profoundly by the settlement of the Great Cormorant and the Cattle Egret, and it is still subject to dynamics that could transform it in the coming years.
Diet Variation of a Generalist Predator, the American Kestrel Falco sparverius, in a Gradient of Agricultural Intensification in Central Argentina

Abstract. Agricultural expansion at the expense of natural habitats and the intensification processes in agricultural production are globally among the main causes of biodiversity and ecosystem services loss at large scale. This process can completely alter food provision for birds and have negative consequences for their diet and breeding performance. Under the hypothesis that changes in land use limit food resources for raptors, our aim was to analyze variation in nestling diet between natural areas and areas with different degrees of agricultural intensification (natural forest, traditional farmland, intensive farmland) in a population of American Kestrel Falco sparverius breeding in nest boxes and cavities. Through the analysis of pellets and prey remains collected during the reproductive season of 2012–2013 we found no differences in diet diversity among areas and the diet in the three areas was monopolized by arthropods. However, the diet did change in composition between areas. Numerically, Orthoptera dominated the diet in the three areas, although with a higher percentage in the forest area. The frequency of vertebrate consumption was affected positively by the area occupied by natural forest and stubble, while the soybean cover affected the consumption in a negative way. In both agricultural areas, the diet was complemented with different groups of arthropods suggesting that changes in land use generate a functional response in the American Kestrel that is able to take advantage of available resources in each sampling area. Long-term analysis of diet variation within the framework of agricultural intensification and its relation with demographic parameters and individual performance will allow to evaluate the impact of this variation in the diet on kestrels.
Formation of Macro- and Microrefugia Explains Morphological Divergence of the Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius in the Japanese Archipelago

Abstract. The Eurasian Jay Garrulus glandarius is a highly polytypic bird species composed of 34–36 subspecies. The contribution of formation of glacial refugia to the evolutionary process that generated its tremendous diversity has not been studied. We investigated the contribution of microrefugia to the subspeciation process of the Eurasian Jay in the Japanese archipelago. By assessing genetic diversity and reconstructing a mitochondrial phylogenetic tree, we asked whether divergence of a subspecies on a peripheral island (Sado Island) from the subspecies on the mainland of the Japanese archipelago (Honshu and Kyushu, hereafter mainland) occurred via formation of a microrefugium outside the mainland macrorefugia. We also assessed morphological differences between the Sado Island and mainland jay populations. We tested whether the observed morphological differences can be explained by adaptation of the Sado Island population to a species-poor microrefugium. Genetic analyses inferred that the Sado Island population survived in a refugium outside the mainland macrorefugia from around the late Middle to Late Pleistocene. The morphology of the Sado Island jay population was characterized by greater trait variance, larger body size, and a disproportionately large bill when compared with the mainland population. These results are consistent with the expected patterns of morphological evolution in microrefugia with reduced species diversity. We suggest the importance of ecological release in a microrefugium on Sado Island for the evolution of geographical variation of the Eurasian Jay in the Japanese archipelago. This is the first study to assess the significance of microrefugia for the diversification of the Eurasian Jay.
Distant Bird Detection for Safe Drone Flight and Its Dataset

For the safe flight of drones, they must avoid the attacks of aggressive birds. These birds move very fast and must be detected far enough away. In recent years, deep learning has made it possible to detect small distant objects in RGB camera images. Since these methods are learning-based, they require a large amount of training images, but there are no publicly-available datasets for bird detection taken from drones. In this work, we propose a new dataset captured by a drone camera. Our dataset consists of 34,467 bird instances in 21,837 images that were captured in various locations and conditions. Our experimental results show that, even with the SOTA detection model, our dataset is sufficiently challenging. We also demonstrated that (1) several standard techniques for improving detection methods (e.g., data augmentation) are inappropriate for our challenging dataset, and (2) carefully-selected techniques can improve the detection performance.
On Change Detection for Polsar Image Time Series: A New Clustering Approach

Change detection for radar image time series is an important task that can help to monitor deforestation and global warming consequences. We present a method to detect changes in time for Polarimetric SAR images based on a clustering approach. The first step provides a segmentation for each image and then one detects changes by monitoring the resulting labels. This work is based on a robust clustering algorithm that increases the flexibility in the segmentation stage. We report the outcome of our method when it is tested on simulated and real Polarimetric SAR data. The change detection results are promising when comparing our performance to that of other standard methods.
Key Factors During the Milling Stage of the Seed‐assisted and Solvent‐free Synthesis of MFI and Catalytic Behavior in the Alkylation of Phenol with Tert‐butyl Alcohol

The mechanochemical synthesis of zeolites reduces the generation of liquid residues and gaseous pollutants. Herein, MFI zeolites were synthesized by a seed‐assisted mechanochemical pathway. The effect of different synthesis variables, the Na2O/SiO2 and H2O/SiO2 molar ratios and the milling time and speed, and their interactions on physicochemical properties and catalytic performance on alkylation of phenol with tert‐butyl alcohol were studied. Results showed that the Na2O/SiO2 molar ratio may direct the synthesis to the preferential production of MOR instead of MFI. Also, the milling time and speed and their interaction, i. e. , (milling time)×(milling speed), impacted the texture of MFI. Meanwhile, the triple interaction, (milling time)×(milling speed)×(H2O/SiO2 molar ratio), changed the concentration of Lewis acid sites. These effects were rationalized by considering that sodium can act as a structure directing agent during the mechanochemical synthesis of MFI while also promoting the incorporation of aluminum to its structure. Meanwhile, milling time and speed were non‐linearly correlated to the milling energy required for forming the aluminosilicate precursor that crystallizes during the hydrothermal stage of the process. Overall, all the mechanochemically synthesized zeolites were less crystalline than both the seed and a sol‐gel synthesized MFI. The catalytic behavior of the mechanochemical MFI was positively correlated with both the density of acid sites and with the concentration of Brønsted sites.
A Novel Azaphilone Muyophilone A From the Endophytic Fungus Muyocopron laterale 0307-2

Two known azaphilone derivatives, 4,6-dimethylcurvulinic acid (1) and austdiol (2), and their novel heterotrimer, muyophilone A (3), were isolated and identified from an endophytic fungus, Muyocopron laterale 0307-2. Their structures and stereochemistry were established by extensive spectroscopic analyses including HRMS, NMR spectroscopy, electronic circular dichroism (ECD) and vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectroscopic methods, as well as single crystal X-ray diffraction. In the structure of 3, two compound 2-derived azaphilone units were connected through an unprecedented five-membered carbon bridge which was proposed to be originated from compound 1. Compound 3 represents the first example of azaphilone heterotrimers.
Species Diversity and Chemotypes of Fusarium Species Associated With Maize Stalk Rot in Yunnan Province of Southwest China

Maize stalk rot caused by Fusarium species is one of the most important fungal diseases of maize throughout the world. The disease is responsible for considerable yield losses and has also been associated with mycotoxin contamination of the crop. In this study, a survey of maize stalk rot was performed in seven locations of Yunnan Province in China during the cropping season of 2015 and 2016. Based on morphological and molecular characteristics, 204 isolates belonging to 12 Fusarium spp. from symptomatic stalks of maize were identified. Among the isolated strains, 83 were identified as Fusarium meridionale (40.5%), 46 as Fusarium boothii (22.5%), 34 as Fusarium temperatum (16.5%), 12 as Fusarium equiseti (5.9%), 10 as Fusarium asiaticum (4.9%), six as Fusarium proliferatum (3.0%), four as Fusarium verticillioides (2.0%), four as Fusarium incarnatum (2.0%), two as Fusarium avenaceum (1.0%), one as Fusarium cerealis (0.5%), one as Fusarium graminearum (0.5%), and one as Fusarium cortaderiae (0.5%). Fusarium cortaderiae was the first report on the causal agent of maize stalk rot disease in China. These isolates were divided into five chemotypes: nivalenol (NIV), deoxynivalenol (DON), beauvericin (BEA), zearalenone (ZEN), and fumonisin (FUM). Phylogenetic analysis based on partial sequences of the translation elongation factor 1α (TEF1-α) showed a high degree of interspecific polymorphisms among the isolates. Pathogenicity analysis on maize stalks indicated that all the 12 species of Fusarium were able to cause the disease symptoms with different aggressiveness. This study on population, pathogenicity, and toxigenic chemotypes of Fusarium species associated with maize stalk rot in Yunnan Province of southwest China, will help design an effective integrated control strategy for this disease.
Identification of Gut Microbiome Signatures in Patients With Post-stroke Cognitive Impairment and Affective Disorder

Stroke (ST), endangering human health due to its high incidence and high mortality, is a global public health problem. There is increasing evidence that there is a link between the gut microbiota (GM) and neuropsychiatric diseases. We aimed to find the GM of ST, post-ST cognitive impairment (PSCI), and post-ST affective disorder (PSTD). GM composition was analyzed, followed by GM identification. Alpha diversity estimation showed microbiota diversity in ST patients. Beta diversity analysis showed that the bacterial community structure segregated differently between different groups. At the genus level, ST patients had a significantly higher proportion of Enterococcus and lower content of Bacteroides, Escherichia-Shigella, and Megamonas. PSCI patients had a significantly higher content of Enterococcus, Bacteroides, and Escherichia-Shigella and a lower proportion of Faecalibacterium compared with patients with ST. Patients with PSTD had a significantly higher content of Bacteroides and Escherichia-Shigella and lower content of Enterococcus and Faecalibacterium. Parabacteroides and Lachnospiraceae were associated with Montreal cognitive assessment score of ST patients. Our study indicated that the characteristic GM, especially Bacteroidetes, could be used as clinical biomarkers of PSCI and PSTD.
Development of tools and technologies for the characterisation of novel drug delivery systems

Biological macromolecules such as peptides have a great potential to act as therapeutic agents to cure disease. However, they are unable to translocate biological membranes and require drug delivery systems (DDSs) for intracellular delivery. In order to evaluate the ability of novel DDSs to deliver peptide cargo, it is crucial that we are able to assess the functional delivery of the peptide to its intracellular target. In this study a technique based on split green fluorescent protein (GFP) has been developed to address this. Split GFP consists of two non-fluorescent fragments, GFP1-10 and a small peptide fragment called M3. In the presented assay, GFP1-10 acts as a cytosolic target protein expressed in HeLa cells and M3 mimics the peptide cargo that is delivered by a DDS. Upon functional delivery of the M3 peptide by a DDS to the cytosol, M3 and GFP1-10 complement to form full length GFP and GFP fluorescence is rescued. In this thesis, the development of this split GFP based method is described. Furthermore, a stable cell line expressing GFP1-10 was generated and we were able to show that our model DDS, the cell penetrating peptide octaarginine (R8), functionally delivers M3 to its cytosolic GFP1-10 target in a concentration dependent manner. The addition of two Phenylalanine residues to R8-M3 (FFR8-M3) significantly increases M3 delivery. Furthermore it is shown that M3 delivery can be investigated in real time using a widefield microscope. Moreover, the split GFP complementation assay not only shows if and when the M3 peptide cargo is delivered to its intracellular target but also where it localises in the cell. It is demonstrated that the subcellular localisation of complemented GFP is dependent on the DDS utilised to deliver M3. A second system has been developed within this project where the fluorescent protein mCherry acts as an expression marker of GFP1-10 expression. This system has the potential to correlate complemented GFP fluorescence with the amount of expressed GFP1-10 in order to gain information how much M3 peptide has been delivered to the cytosol.
Antimicrobial Activities of Some Marine Macroalgae Species from Iskenderun Bay

Received : 13/01/2021 Accepted : 21/02/2021 In the present study, the seaweeds belong to Phaeophyaceae (Halopteris scoparia (Linnaeus) Sauvageau 1904, Cystoseria mediterranea Sauvageau 1912), Rhodophaceae (Liagora viscida (Forsskål) C.Agardh 1822, Laurencia nidifica J.Agardh 1852) and Chlorophyceae (Enteromorpha multiramosa Bliding, nom. inval. 1960) collected from nearby Iskenderun-Turkey of Mediterranean Sea were detected for their antimicrobial activities against seven bacterial (Escherichia coli ATCC 35218, Bacillus cereus NRRL B-371, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 27853, Klebsiella pneumoniae ATCC 13883, Salmonella typhimurium ATCC 14028, Proteus vulgaris RSKK 96029) and three fungal strains (Candida albicans ATCC 10231, C. krusei ATCC 6258, C. tropicalis Y-12968). The antimicrobial activities were expressed as minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs), minimum bacterial concentrations (MBCs) and minimum fungicidal concentrations (MFCs) were determined. According to the results obtained from MIC values of the extracts on pathogenic microorganisms were between 50 and <0.39 mg / mL, while MBCs/MFCs values were ranged from > 50 and <0.39 mg / mL. These results suggest that brown, red, green algae secondary metabolites are important sources that could be used as broad spectrum of biological activities.
Self Efficacy, Self Esteem and Intrinsic Motivation to Learn: A Perspective of Malaysian Business Students

Intrinsic motivation is driven by internal rewards that are satisfying to the individuals. In the context of learning, intrinsic motivation is imperative as the outcome of the learning process was found to be more sustainable and high quality. Since intrinsic motivation comes from within individual, thus it is interesting to explore self-concept variables that lead to intrinsic motivation. Thus, the aims of the study are firstly, to determine the relationship between selfefficacy and instrinsic motivation to learn; secondly, to determine the relationship between self-efficacy and instrinsic motivation to learn. Data were collected using questionnaire survey to 200 bachelor degree program students in a public university in Malaysia. Data were then analyzed using SPSS Statistics. Findings of the study indicate that out of the two independent variables, only self-efficacy was found to influence intrinsic motivation to learn among students. This study is imperative to the educators and higher learning institutions in identifying self-concepts variables that are significant in motivating students intrinsically. This study also provides insights in designing relevant policies, programs and workshops for the students in increasing self-efficacy among students.
Attribute Framing Effect as a Function of Selective Auditory Frequency Amplification

A set of cognitive biases that have been associated with functional asymmetry of the brain’s hemispheres are framing effects. The attribute framing effect is when valenced descriptive messages – “frames” – influence judgements towards the topic of the message consistent with the valence of the frame. Evidence suggests that information processing in the right hemisphere contributes to framing effects. Double Filtering by Frequency (DFF) theory asserts that the hemispheres are biased to process sensory information based upon relative frequencies, with the right hemisphere dominantly responding to stimuli containing relatively lower frequencies. Previous work links differential processing by the right hemisphere, through exposure to relatively lower frequency stimuli, as a method of strengthening framing effects. Specifically, a method in which the lower range of audio frequencies in the voice of a spoken message are selectively amplified relative to the higher frequencies, has been shown to increase the effect of attribute framing. The present study aimed to extend this research on the attribute framing effect through the usage of selective auditory frequency amplification (SAFA). Utilizing a taskirrelevant mode of presenting the auditory stimulus, it was hypothesized that music containing a selectively amplified relatively lower range of frequencies would activate the right hemisphere relative to the left. Because the right hemisphere may be more responsive to effects of framing, presentation of relatively lower frequencies was expected to enhance the framing effect via right hemisphere activation. The current work does not find support for the usage of task-irrelevant SAFA to increase the effect of attribute framing. Potential reasons for the findings are discussed.