Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tree Diversity has Limited Effects on Beech Bark Disease Incidence in American Beech Population of Mont St-Hilaire

Background: American beech trees (Fagus gandifolia) exist in many areas in northeastern North America. Beech bark disease (BBD) is caused by a scale insect and bark-killing fungus (Cryptococcus fagisuga and Nectria spp.). We aim to study the correlation between diversity and the presence of BBD, and predict that tree diversity in Gault’s Nature Reserve in Mont St-Hilaire (MSH), Québec decreases the presence of BBD and that F. grandifolia density would increase the presence of this disease. Methods: We randomly chose 15 sites for sampling of individual tree species. F. grandifolia trees were identified as “healthy” or “infected”. Simple regressions, ANOVA, two and three-way interaction, linear mix effect model, and paired t-test were performed using R and Excel. Results: Our results show no significant correlation of infected individuals and total number of either A. saccharum or A. pensylvanica, unless analyzed with a linear mixed effect model (p=0.0256). However, there was a strong, positive correlation between the number of infected trees and the density of F. grandifolia (R2=0.6712), and this relationship was stronger in disturbed areas compared to undisturbed areas in the reserve (t=2.0492, p=0.047, tcritical=2.0211). Conclusion: We found beech tree density and habitat disturbance, but not community diversity, to have a significant positive effect on Beech Bark Disease infection rates.
Do Customers Respond to Real-Time Usage Feedback ? Evidence from Singapore

This paper studies the impact of providing a household with real-time usage feedback on its monthly energy consumption. The Singapore Energy Market Authority (EMA) implemented an Intelligent Energy System Pilot in which households were provided with in-home display (IHD) units that provided information on each household’s real-time electricity consumption. To assess the impact of the real-time feedback provided by the IHDs, the monthly consumption of these households is compared to a control group of households that were not provided with these devices before and after this intervention. This data is used to estimate the average treatment effect associated with a randomly selected household having an IHD. We find that having a IHD unit leads to a reduction in electricity consumption of about 4% relative to the control group. This saving is equivalent to about 180 KWh annually for the average household in the sample which translates into roughly 50 Singapore dollars at the relevant retail electricity price. These results support more widespread deployment of real-time customer feedback technologies as a cost effective strategy for meeting Singapore’s residential electricity demand. ∗This paper does not represent the views of the Energy Market Authority (EMA) of Singapore.
Synthesis and Processing of Polymers for Biomedical Applications by Xiaoshu Dai

A series of poly(ethylene glycol)-co-poly(lactate) diacrylate macromers was synthesized with variable PEG molecular weight (10 and 20 kDa) and lactate content (0-6 lactate per endgroup). These macromers were polymerized to form hydrogels by free radical polymerization using either redox or photochemical initiators. The extent of polymerization was monitored by compressive modulus of the resulting hydrogels and a quantitative determination of unreacted acrylate after exhaustive hydrolysis of the gel. Polymerization efficiency was found to depend on the lactate content of the macromer, with higher lactate macromers giving more efficient polymerization. For redox-initiated polymerization using ferrous gluconate/t-butyl hydroperoxide initiator, macromers containing approximately six lactate repeats per endgroup required lower concentrations of initiator to reach high conversion than lactate-free macromers. Photochemical polymerization with α, α-dimethoxy-α-phenylacetophenone (Irgacure 651®) was found to be less efficient than redox, requiring the addition of N-vinyl-2pyrrolidone (NVP) as a co-monomer to achieve conversions comparable to redox polymerization. When conditions were
Wavelet OFDM for Power Line Communication

Power Line Communication (PLC) system offers cheaper mode of signal communication facilities. In fast Fourier transform (FFT) based multicarrier PLC system, a cyclic prefix (CP) of the same length of the channel impulse response is added to each symbol in order to transmit data. As a result, there is always an inherent wastage of bandwidth and resources. This research presents a wavelet transform based orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (WTOFDM) approach that eliminates the need for these cyclic prefix and improves the efficiency of the PLC transmission. The presented PLC model is designed for faster and efficient transmission over the power line. The obtained results indicate that the proposed approach enhances the transmission throughput; provides better performance for impulsive noise, and increases the efficiency of the PLC system as a whole. In the end a performance comparison of different wavelet techniques have also been incorporated.
Airborne contaminant source estimation using a finite-volume forward solver coupled with a Bayesian inversion approach

We consider the problem of estimating emissions of particulate matter from point sources. Dispersion of the particulates is modelled by the 3D advection-diffusion equation with delta-distribution source terms, as well as height-dependent advection speed and diffusion coefficients. We construct a finite volume scheme to solve this equation and apply our algorithm to an actual industrial scenario involving emissions of airborne particulates from a zinc smelter using actual wind measurements. We also address various practical considerations such as choosing appropriate methods for regularizing noisy wind data and quantifying sensitivity of the model to parameter uncertainty. Afterwards, we use the algorithm within a Bayesian framework for estimating emission rates of zinc from multiple sources over the industrial site. We compare our finite volume solver with a Gaussian plume solver within the Bayesian framework and demonstrate that the finite volume solver results in tighter uncertainty bounds on the estimated emission rates.
Modeling , Analysis , andControl ofMechanical Systems underPowerConstraints

Significant improvements have been achieved in motion control systems with the availability of high speed power switches and microcomputers on the market. Even though motor drivers are able to provide high torque control bandwidth under nominal conditions, they suffer from various physical constraints which degrade both output amplitude and bandwidth of torque control loop. In this context, peak power limit of a power source, as one of those constraints, has not been fully explored from the control perspective so far. A conventional and practical way of considering peak power limit in control systems is to model it as a trivial torque saturation derived from the allowable torque at maximum speed satisfying the constraint. However, this model is overly conservative leading to poor closed loop performance when actuators operate below their maximum speed. In this paper, novel ways of incorporating peak power limits into both classical and optimal controllers are presented upon a theoretical analysis revealing its effects on stability and performance.
Making the Grade : Assessing Group Work in the Design Studio

In recent years, there has been increased interest in expanding the use of collaborative techniques in the education of architecture and interior design students. Acknowledging that, while significant value is found in individualistic models of training, design students are often being prepared in a manner that is contrary to the highly collaborative nature of the design practice they will enter. “Students are supposedly being prepared for practice, but they are usually led to think of themselves as independent designers, which is a rare condition in real life.The larger, team-oriented form of practice is often poorly understood and sometimes denigrated, although it is now the dominant and most vital structure in the profession” [1]. In examining the inhibitors to collaborative education [2, 3] the authors discovered that difficulties associated with student evaluation in the group context were strong deterrents for employing collaborative techniques in the design studio. This research outlines the specific difficulties inherent in the evaluation of group work and explores techniques, including corresponding rubrics, which have been developed in response to the challenge.
Implementation of Vibration Suppression on an Aircraft Wing Using Velocity Feedback Controller

Active vibration control had been presented as an effective tool for vibration suppression of an aerobatic aircraft wing (CH650). In this work both numerical and experimental tests were performed for tested wing. Total wing was modeled in finite element software (ANSYS V.15) in which velocity feedback controlling method was integrated. Two materials were tested to compare the effectiveness of controller for each material. Scaled model was fabricated in laboratory with two different spars' materials which were [0/90] composite and aluminum foam. In experimental part piezoelectric transducers were used as actuators and sensors to perform controlling action with totally integrated controller circuit within (LABVIEW 2015). Results showed that using of velocity feedback controlling method can add more stability to the tested wing where 83% of wing's settling time was eliminated with using aluminum foam as a manufacturing material for wing's spars.
Factors Affecting Liver Regeneration in Donors' Grafts in Living Donor Liver Transplant (LDLT) a Center Experience

Background: Liver regeneration for donors' graft in living donor liver transplantation (LDLT), is an example for liver regeneration in normal liver. In this study we spotted the light on liver regeneration in donors after LDLT, focusing on factors affecting it. Aim: To study the impact of different factors on liver regeneration in donors of living donor liver transplantation. Patients and methods: Between May 2013 and June 2019, 80 living donor liver transplants were performed in the liver transplant unit in EL-Maadi Armed Forces Hospital. All donors who provided liver grafts underwent volumetric spiral computed tomography (CT) scans preoperatively and postoperatively at time intervals of 1 week and 1, 3 and 6 months. Patients’ demographics, surgical data, and postoperative outcomes were correlated with liver regeneration data. 63 patients were males and 17 patients were females, with mean age 27.97yrs ± 5.3. They provided {72} right lobe (RL) grafts and 8 right posterior sector (RP) grafts. Results: No donor operation was aborted and surgical morbidity rate was {33.75%}, mostly biliary. All RP donors achieved complete liver regeneration after 3 months; only four RL donors achieved complete liver regeneration at 6 months. Conclusion: In this study, it was found that there were factors affecting regeneration like age, gender of the patient and graft size. But no effect was found with many factors as peri-operative liver function tests, steatosis, BMI, operative time, blood loss, blood transfusion and postoperative complications.
16S microbial phylogeny of multifunctional plant-growth-promoting rhizobacteria from the rhizosphere of maize (Zea mays L.) for agricultural soil fortification

Soil microbial diversity plays an important role among the factors that affect plant growth. The present study was conducted with a focus on the isolation and characterization of native microbial strains from maize rhizosphere and the determination of their abilities for promoting plant growth and biocontrol in the for the fortification of agricultural soil. We isolated 156 microbial strains and qualitatively assayed their ability to synthesize ammonia, phosphate, indole acetic acid (IAA), and siderophores. Moreover, we tested their biocontrol traits, such as the synthesis of hydrolytic enzymes and antagonistic potential toward the fungal pathogen Fusarium moniliforme. Of the strains tested, 106 produced ammonia, 55 solubilized phosphate, 71 synthesized indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 33 were positive for siderophores, 83 were able to hydrolyze cellulose, 84 were pectinase producers, and 44 strains were antagonistic to Fusarium moniliforme, a pathogen of maize. The potential strains were selected and phylogenetically characterized using 16S rRNA sequencing to study their evolutionary relatedness. Phylogenetic studies have revealed organisms of the genera Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, and Acinetobacter, which were previously found to be associated with the rhizosphere of maize and have varied diversity at the species level. The retrieved sequences were then submitted to the GenBank database. We found that a majority of the tested strains possessed at least one or more plant-growth-promoting features, indicating their role as potential plant-growthpromoting rhizobacteria (PGPRs). An application of these microorganisms in the field as PGPRs or biocontrol agents should be beneficial for sustainable agriculture.
CHAPTER 10 Visceral Circuits and Cingulate-Mediated Autonomic Functions

Chapter contents Goals of This Chapter 220 Electrically Evoked Autonomic Activity 221 Visceral Sensory Afferents 221 Baroreceptor afferents 221 Mechanical and chemical afferents 222 Taste 223 Nociceptive visceral afferents 224 Visceral nociceptive circuitry 225 Efferent Cingulate Projections Regulate Autonomic Output 226 Micturition 228 Circuit model 228 Clinical intervention with biofeedback 228 Visceral Response Paradox #1: ACC “versus” MCC 228 Visceral Response Paradox #2: ACC “versus” PCC 230 Body orientation to visceral activity and pain 230 A thalamic mechanism 231 Multiple Roles of Cingulate Cortex in Visceral Integration 231 Acknowledgements 232 References 232
Cyber-Physical System Intelligence Knowledge-Based Mobile Robot Autonomy in an Industrial Scenario

Cyber-physical systems are ever more common in manufacturing industries. Increasing their autonomy has been declared an explicit goal, for example, as part of the Industry 4.0 vision. To achieve this system intelligence, principled and software-driven methods are required to analyze sensing data, make goal-directed decisions, and eventually execute and monitor chosen tasks. In this chapter, we present a number of knowledge-based approaches to these problems and case studies with in-depth evaluation results of several different implementations for groups of autonomous mobile robots performing in-house logistics in a smart factory. We focus on knowledge-based systems because besides providing expressive languages and capable reasoning techniques, they also allow for explaining how a particular sequence of actions came about, for example, in the case of a failure.
The Functional Roles of the Amygdala and Prefrontal Cortex in Processing Uncertainty

Decisions under uncertainty distinguish between those made under risk (known probabilities) and those made under ambiguity (unknown probabilities). Despite widespread interest in decisions under uncertainty and the successful documentation that these distinct psychological constructs profoundly—and differentially—impact behavior, research has not been able to systematically converge on which brain regions are functionally involved in processing risk and ambiguity. We merge a lesion approach with computational modeling and simultaneous measurement of the arousal response to investigate the impact the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), lateral prefrontal cortex (lPFC), and amygdala have on decisions under uncertainty. Results reveal that the lPFC acts as a unitary system for processing uncertainty: Lesions to this region disrupted the relationship between arousal and choice, broadly increasing both risk and ambiguity seeking. In contrast, the mPFC and amygdala appeared to play no role in processing risk, and the mPFC only had a tenuous relationship with ambiguous uncertainty. Together, these findings reveal that only the lPFC plays a global role in processing the highly aversive nature of uncertainty.
The association between personality, coping, and depression in patients with chronic pain

Background As a rising concern in the medical and mental health fields, this study aims to examine predictors of depressive symptoms in a sample of Egyptian patients with chronic pain in terms of coping styles and personality traits. Patients with chronic pain are believed to experience different stressors, which include, but are not limited to, pain, disability, reduced productivity, and financial difficulties. Such factors, in addition to various psychosocial factors, constitute the disease burden of chronic pain. Objective This study examines the degree to which coping styles and personality traits can influence the disease outcome in terms of comorbid depressive symptoms. Patients and methods A total of 98 (50 patients with fibromyalgia and 48 patients with rheumatoid arthritis) patients were interviewed and were assessed in terms of their coping styles, personality profile, and severity of depressive symptoms. Results Findings show a high prevalence of depressive symptoms and suggest passive coping, high neuroticism, low extraversion, unmarried status, and more years of education to be moderate predictors of the severity of chronic pain. Conclusion Conclusion Findings of this study shed light on the significance of the psychological aspects of chronic pain conditions and may help in designing liaison interventions for the management of secondary and comorbid depressive symptoms.
GlideScope versus D-blade for tracheal intubation in cervical spine patients: A randomised controlled trial

Background and Aims: Airway management in patients with cervical spine pathology is challenging. The aim of the study was to evaluate GlideScope (GVL) and D blade of C-MAC (CMAC-D) using manual inline axial stabilisation (MIAS) for tracheal intubation in patients with cervical spine injury/pathology. Methods: This is a randomised, single-blind, hospital-based study. After obtaining informed consent, 54 patients with cervical spine pathology/injury were grouped into GVL group or CMAC-D group, (n = 27 each) based on computer-generated random number table. Preoperative airway difficulty score (ADS) was calculated. The primary outcome of the study was intubation difficulty score (IDS) and the secondary outcomes included total time taken to secure airway, failure to intubate, haemodynamic parameters and adverse events. Data was represented in the form of number (%) or mean and standard deviation and median and interquartile range as appropriate. Chi square test was used for analysing IDS. Results: The mean ± SD of IDS of the CMAC-D and GVL groups were 0.04 ± 0.2 (0.04–0.11) and 0.19 ± 0.40 (0.03–0.34), respectively, (P value = 0.096). The number (%) of patients with IDS > 0 was 1 (3.7) in CMAC-D and 5 (18.5) in GVL group, (P value = 0.192). Demographic data, ADS, Cormack–Lehane grading, success rate, time of tracheal intubation, type of surgeries, haemodynamic parameters and post-operative complications were similar in both the groups. Conclusion: Both GVL and CMAC-D with MIAS are equally efficacious in tracheal intubation in cervical spine injury/pathology patients without other difficult airway management criteria.
Relationship between psychological well-being and social capital and resilience among cancer patients

Context: Research revealed resilience can decrease the effects of stress and improve quality of life among cancer patients. The role of positive factors such as psychological well-being and social capital is separately studied in cancer. Aims: The aim of the present study was to determine the relationship between the psychological well-being and social capital with resilience among cancer patients. Setting and Design: This descriptive correlational study conducted on 163 cancer patients were selected patients referring to Touba Specialized Clinic in Sari from May to December 2018. Materials and Methods: The data collection tools included Demographics Questionnaire, Riff's Psychological Well-being Scale (-2002), Onyx-Bullen's Social Capital Questionnaire (2000), and Connor-Davidson's Resilience Scale (2003). Statistical Analysis Used: SPPS 20 and descriptive and inferential statistical methods (Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis and linear regression, Spearman correlation coefficient,) were employed. P < 0.05 was considered as the level of significance. Results: The results revealed that the mean (standard deviation) of the psychological well-being, social capital, and resilience were 69.71 ± 5.49, 118.60 ± 8.51, and 78.48 ± 8.68, respectively. The study showed a positive and significant correlation between psychological well-being and resilience (r = 0.797; P = 0.001), and between social capital and resilience (r = 0.716, P = 0.001). The findings revealed that psychological well-being and social capital explained 70% of the resilience variation. Conclusion: The results showed that psychological well-being and social capital have high relationship with cancer patients' resilience and it suggested through developing appropriate interventions on psychological well-being and social capital, it is possible to improve the cancer patients' resilience.
Expression of androgen, estrogen, and progesterone hormone receptors in the penile tissues of children with different types of hypospadias

OBJECTIVE: Androgen (AR), Estrogen (ER) and Progesterone (PR) hormones play an important role in the prenatal and postnatal development of urogenital tract and especially the penis. The expressions of AR, ER and PR receptors in penile tissues in children with hypospadiases had also been shown previously. In this leading study, to demonstrate of the sex hormone receptor expression in cases with different types of hypospadias were aimed. METHODS: This study was designed in children operated due to hypospadiases without DSD. Biopsy samples of 3 mm’s were obtained from three different sytes as the lateral parameatal tissue and the anterior corner of the prepuce, and inner layer of posterior prepuce. The presence of AR, ER and PR receptors was investigated immunehistochemically. RESULTS: Mean age was 5.4 years in 18 children with hypospadiases; in totally 33 specimens were taken in 5 subcoronal as 5 specimens, and 7 penile as 15 specimens, and 6 penoscrotal as 13 specimens. According to sytes of samples; 13 samples were from lateral para-meatal tissues, and 13 were from anterior corners of prepuces, and 7 were from inner layers of posterior prepuces. In regard to receptor expression; ER and AR receptors were positive in 29 (87.8%) and 12 (36.4%) respectively; PR receptors were negative. CONCLUSION: This study emphasized the dominant expression of estrogen receptors in penile tissues of children with hypospadias. Although there was not a manifest correlation of androgen receptors absence in regard to the severity of hypospadias patients, there was a marked estrogen receptors presence in penile tissues. These findings suggest that the disrupted androgen and estrogen receptor interaction and/or balance could play a role during the development of external genitalia in hypospadias patients. Progesterone receptor was not present and therefore the active role in the postnatal development of hypospadias is still debatable.