Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Large-scale probabilistic aerial reconstruction

While much emphasis has been placed on large-scale 3D scene reconstruction from a single data source such as images or distance sensors, models that jointly utilize multiple data types remain largely unexplored. In this work, we will present a Bayesian formulation of scene reconstruction from multi-modal data as well as two critical components that enable large-scale reconstructions with adaptive resolution and high-level scene understanding with meaningful prior-probability distributions. Our first contribution is to formulate the 3D reconstruction problem within the Bayesian framework. We develop an integrated probabilistic model that allows us to naturally represent uncertainty and to fuse complementary information provided by different sensor modalities (imagery and LiDAR). Maximum-a-Posteriori inference within this model leverages GPGPUs for efficient likelihood evaluations. Our dense reconstructions (triangular mesh with texture information) are feasible with fewer observations of a given modality by relaying on others without sacrificing quality. Secondly, to enable large-scale reconstructions our formulation supports adaptive resolutions in both appearance and geometry. This change is motivated by the need for a representation that can adjust to a wide variability in data quality and availability. By coupling edge transformations within a reversible-jump MCMC framework, we allow changes in the number of triangles and mesh connectivity. We demonstrate that these data-driven updates lead to more accurate representations while reducing modeling assumptions and utilizing fewer triangles. Lastly, to enable high-level scene understanding, we include a categorization of reconstruction elements in our formulation. This scene-specific classification of triangles is estimated from semantic annotations (which are noisy and incomplete) and other scene features (e.g., geometry and appearance). The categorization provides a class-specific prior-probability distribution, thus helping to obtain more accurate and interpretable representations by regularizing the reconstruction. Collectively, these models enable complex reasoning about urban scenes by fusing all available data across modalities, a crucial necessity for future autonomous agents and large-scale augmented-reality applications.
New fast response in‐plane switching liquid crystal mode

This study aims to develop a novel in‐plane switching liquid crystal display with a fast response time, known as short‐range lurch control in‐plane switching (SLC‐IPS) mode. We found that the distance l, which is orthogonal to the liquid crystal layer thickness, affects the response properties of the liquid crystal display mode. The distance l was obtained using a simple electrode structure. The SLC‐IPS obtained by this structure exhibits a response that is approximately three times faster than that of a conventional IPS. We applied the SLC‐IPS to virtual reality head‐mounted displays and confirmed that its response properties satisfy the requirements for moving picture quality.
The Readiness Potential reflects internal source of actions, not decision uncertainty

Voluntary actions are preceded by the Readiness Potential (RP), a slow EEG component generated in supplementary motor area. The RP is usually thought to be specific to internally-driven decisions to act, and reflect post-decision motor preparation. Recent work suggests instead that it may reflect noise or conflict during the decision itself, with internally-driven decisions tending to be more random, more conflictual and thus more uncertain than externally-driven actions. To contrast accounts based on endogenicity with accounts based on uncertainty, we recorded EEG in a task where participants decided to act or withhold action to accept or reject gambles. We found no difference in an RP-related motor component when comparing actions driven by strong versus weak evidence, indicating that the RP does not reflect uncertainty. In contrast, the same RP-related component showed higher amplitudes actions performed without external evidence (guesses) than for those performed in response to equivocal, conflicting evidence. This supports the view that the RP reflects the internal generation of action, rather than decision uncertainty.
The complete chloroplast genome of Dendrobium harveyanum (Orchidaceae)

Abstract Dendrobium harveyanum is an endangered species of Orchidaceae. Here we report the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence and the cp genome features of D. harveyanum. The complete cp genome sequence of D. harveyanum is 157,292 bp in length and presented a typical quadripartite structure including one large single-copy region (LSC, 86,583 bp), one small single-copy region (SSC, 19,449 bp), and two inverted repeat regions (IRs, 25,630 bp each). The cp genome encoded 138 genes, of which 120 were unique genes. The phylogenetic relationships show that D. harveyanum is closely related to other species in Dendrobium.
Development of a New Analytical Method for Separation and Quantitative Determination of Synthetic Cathinones in Urine Using Gas Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry

This thesis is concerned with a new class of drugs known as synthetic cathinones which overruns the drug markets in recent years as “legal highs” drugs, under different commercial names such as bath salts. All synthetic cathinone derivatives consist of a chiral center and usually sold out as a racemic mixture. Usually, one of the two enantiomers will have stronger central nervous system (CNS) stimulatory activity and the other one may have no significant CNS activity or addictive properties. A new sensitive and selective analytical method was developed for the simultaneous determination of ten synthetic cathinones enantiomers in spiked urine samples by gas chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry GCNCI-MS/MS. Multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode was used for synthetic cathinones enantiomers identification and quantification in the presence of 3-MMC as an internal standard. The method adopted the indirect chiral separation of the synthetic cathinones enantiomers using menthylchloroformate (MCF) as the chiral derivatizing agent (CDA). Solid phase extraction (SPE) was used for urine samples clean up followed by derivatization step using MCF prior to gas chromatography analysis. The developed method was validated in terms of linearity, sensitivity, intraday and interday reproducibility, and recovery for all tested spiked urine samples. The method showed linearity and good correlation coefficient (R) values higher than 0.98 within the tested range of 0.5 to 50 ppm for all synthetic cathinones enantiomers spiked in urine. The limits of quantitation in urine was 0.012 – 9.536 ppm and for limits of detection was 0.004 – 3.147 ppm. For reproducibility, the mean value of coefficient of variance was below 12.3%. The mean recovery error was below 12%. The developed method can be used in forensic laboratories for separation and quantitative determination of synthetic cathinones enantiomers in urine samples. The separated and quantified enantiomers can provide information regarding the sources of these drugs and the raw materials used to create them to help law enforcement agencies with the drug tracking.
Effect of liming products on soil detachment resistance, measured with a cohesive strength meter

ABSTRACT Good soil structure is important for achieving high productivity of agricultural land and also affects the ability of soil to withstand erosive forces. Given the importance of soil structure, efforts are commonly made to improve it, usually by application of amendments of different kinds (e.g. lime, biochar, compost, manure etc.). However, little is known about the effect of these amendments on the soil resistance to detachment. This study assessed the resistance to detachment of soil cores treated with different liming products, using a cohesive strength meter (CSM) which measures the rate of soil detachment under the action of water jets at different pressures. The amount of soil removed by the water jets was taken as an indirect measure of soil resistance to detachment, under the assumption that more resistant soils will lose less material than more susceptible soils at a given water jet pressure. The results showed that all soil amendments studied reduced detachment of particles under the action of water jets compared with unamended soil (control).
Rearrangements of 7q11.23: disorders of the epigenome

Rearrangements of a 1.5 Mb region on chromosome 7q11.23 produce two distinct multisystem developmental disorders. Deletion of this region causes Williams-Beuren syndrome (WS; MIM 194050) and the reciprocal duplication causes 7q11.23 duplication syndrome (Dup7; MIM 609757). Individuals with WS and Dup7 show an array of contrasting and overlapping phenotypes, including variable intellectual disability, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, social disinhibition and anxiety. Rearrangements at 7q11.23 provide an excellent model for studying gene dosage sensitivity in neurodevelopment and the molecular mechanism of related neuropsychiatric disorders. Little is known about how rearrangements at 7q11.23 contribute to the manifestation of specific phenotypes in these disorders. Several genes at this locus have been associated with epigenetic mechanisms and parent-of-origin dependent expression of specific phenotypes have been noted. To understand the impact of rearrangements at 7q11.23 on the epigenome, I have studied parentof-origin dependent expression of individual genes at this locus, as well as genome-wide DNA
Effect of Suramin on Renal Proximal Tubular Cells Damage Induced by Cisplatin in Rats (Histological and Immunohistochemical Study)

Background: Renal toxicity is the most common complication of cispaltin therapy that has broad-spectrum antitumor activity against a variety of human solid tumor. Suramin, a Food and Drug Administration-approved old drug is a polysulfonated compound of napthylurea originally designed to treat trypanosomiasis. Aim: The current work aimed to investigate the possible protective effect of different doses of suramin against cisplatin-induced renal proximal tubular cells (RPTCs) damage. Material and Methods: Fifty adult male rats were used and divided into five equal groups. Group I served as a control, group II received suramin alone (10 mg/kg). Groups III, IV and V were administered cisplatin once (5 mg/kg, intraperitoneally) alone or combined with low dosage suramin (5 mg/kg) or high dosage suramin (10 mg/kg) once intravenously respectively. Results: Compared with control rats, cisplatin administration caused proximal tubules damage, RPTCs vacuolation with pyknotic nuclei, loss of brush border and widespread caspase-3 immunostaining. Cisplatin-induced RPTCs toxicity was further confirmed morphometrically (a significantly decreased proximal tubular epithelium height and increased mean number of caspase-3-immunopositive cells). These changes were accompanied by biochemical alteration manifested as a significant increase of blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine. Simultaneous administration of high-dose but not low-dose suramin to the cisplatin-treated rats improved the deleterious morphological and morphometrical effects on RPTCs and restored the aforementioned biochemical parameters to control values. Conclusion: In conclusion suramin in a dose dependant manner protects RPTCs from damage induced by cisplatin.
Whole-plant optimality predicts changes in leaf nitrogen under variable CO2 and nutrient availability

Vegetation nutrient limitation is essential for understanding ecosystem responses to global change. In particular, leaf nitrogen (N) is known to be plastic under changed nutrient limitation. However, models can often not capture these observed changes, leading to erroneous predictions of whole-ecosystem stocks and fluxes. We hypothesise that an optimality approach can improve representation of leaf N content compared to existing empirical approaches. Unlike previous optimality-based approaches, which adjust foliar N concentrations based on canopy carbon export, we use a maximisation criteria based on whole-plant growth and allow for a lagged response of foliar N to this maximisation criterion to account for the limited plasticity of this plant trait. We test these model variants at a range of Free-Air CO2 Enrichment (FACE) and N fertilisation experimental sites. We show a model solely based on canopy carbon export fails to reproduce observed patterns and predicts decreasing leaf N content with increased N availability. However, an optimal model which maximises total plant growth can correctly reproduce the observed patterns. The optimality model we present here is a whole-plant approach which reproduces biologically realistic changes in leaf N and can thereby improve ecosystem-level predictions under transient conditions.
Expendable 3D Printed Rescue Drone

Please take a moment to share how this work helps you through this survey. Your feedback will be important as we plan further development of our repository. Follow this and additional works at: https://ideaexchange.uakron. edu/honors_research_projects Part of the Acoustics, Dynamics, and Controls Commons, Aviation and Space Education Commons, Electro-Mechanical Systems Commons, and the Other Mechanical Engineering Commons
Exploring effects of betaine-homocysteine methyltransferase (BHMT) gene polymorphisms on fatty acid traits and cholesterol in sheep

This study was aimed to explore the effects of Betaine-Homocysteine Methyltransferase (BHMT) gene polymorphisms on fatty acid traits and cholesterol in lambs. This study used a total of 147 blood samples for genotyping including 19 Javanese Fat-Tailed (JFT), 16 Javanese Thin-Tailed (JTT), 41 Composite Garut (CG), 35 Compass Agrinak (CA) and 36 Barbados Black Belly Cross (BC). A total of 61 rams as representative from five breed of sheep were selected for association study. Identification of BHMT single nucleotide polymorphisms was analyzed by PCR-RFLP method. Association of BHMT genotypes with fatty acid traits and cholesterol was performed by T-TEST. BHMT genotyping resulted into three genotypes (CC, CT and TT). Gene frequency of BHMT (g. 9947372 C>T) was in Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium, excluding Javanese Fat-Tailed sheep. Association of BHMT genotypes with fatty acid traits resulted into a significant association (P<0.05) with C14:1, C17:1 and C18:0 fatty acids but not with cholesterol in sheep. SNP g. 9947372 (C>T) of BHMT gene might be a useful marker for selecting and producing sheep meat with desirable fatty acids.
Preliminary study on improving the extraction technology of the Swainsonine from Oxytropis kansuensis

1.5 kg Oxytropis kansuensis powder was disposed with 40 kHz ultrasound in water to substitute the traditional soxhlet extraction technology or the extraction in cold solvent.After concentration and removal of the impurity,n-butanol extracted by sparse acid was employed.The concentrated acid liquid was extracted with ammoniated chloroform,which was then concentrated to residue.The residue was sublimed in 100 ℃ olefin and 24 mg white crystal,which was preliminary determined as swainsonine was collected.This method simplified the extraction and the extraction rate reached 16 mg/kg.
The inflammatory activity of purified-ferulic acid from Tetragonia tetragonioides

In this study, an evaluation of the anti-inflammatory effect of ferulic acid isolated from Tetragonia tetragonioides in lipopolysaccharide (LPS) simulated RAW 264.7 cells was made. The chemical structure of the active compound was elucidated by H-NMR, C-NMR, and FAB-MS, and was confirmed to be ferulic acid. Ferulic acid was purified via open column chromatography with Sephadex LH-20 and MCI gel CHP-20. To test the antiinflammatory effect of ferulic acid, LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells were treated in subsequent experiments with different concentrations of ferulic acid (5, 10, and 25 μg/mL) and the levels of inflammatory cytokines and enzymes were also measured by the 3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Cell viability was above 95% at acid concentrations ranging from 5-25 μg/mL. The results showed that 30% of the production of nitric oxide and 66% of prostaglandin E2 were inhibited by 25 μg/mL of ferulic acid, it also inhibited the protein expression of both inducible nitric oxide synthase and cyclooxygenase-2 by 70%. Additionally, it inhibited the production of the pro-inflammatory cytokines, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-6, and interleukin1β by 40, 75, and 77%, respectively. According to these results, the anti-inflammatory activity of ferulic acid was demonstrated via his implication in the inhibition of the expression and secretion of inflammatory substances in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. Therefore, we concluded that ferulic acid can be used as a functional additive having anti-inflammatory activity.
Population genetic analysis of the domestic Bactrian camel in China by RAD‐seq

Abstract Restriction site‐associated DNA sequencing (RAD‐seq) is one of the most effective high‐throughput sequencing technologies for SNP development and utilization and has been applied to studying the origin and evolution of various species. The domestic Bactrian camels play an important role in economic trade and cultural construction. They are precious species resources and indispensable animals in China's agricultural production. Recently, the rapid development of modern transportation and agriculture, and the deterioration of the environment have led to a sharp decline in the number of camels. Although there have been some reports on the evolution history of the domestic Bactrian camel in China, the origin, evolutionary relationship, and genetic diversity of the camels are unclear due to the limitations of sample size and sequencing technology. Therefore, 47 samples of seven domestic Bactrian camel species from four regions (Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Qinghai, and Xinjiang) were prepared for RAD‐seq analysis to study the evolutionary relationship and genetic diversity. In addition, seven domestic Bactrian camel species are located in different ecological zones, forming different characteristics and having potential development value. A total of 6,487,849 SNPs were genotyped. On the one hand, the filtered SNP information was used to conduct polymorphism mapping construction, LD attenuation analysis, and nucleotide diversity analysis. The results showed that the number of SNPs in Dongjiang camel was the highest, the LD coefficient decayed the fastest, and the nucleotide diversity was the highest. It indicates that Dongjiang camel has the highest genetic diversity. On the other hand, the filtered SNPs information was used to construct the phylogenetic tree, and F ST analysis, inbreeding coefficient analysis, principal component analysis, and population structure analysis were carried out. The results showed that Nanjiang camel and Beijiang camels grouped together, and the other five Bactrian camel populations gathered into another branch. It may be because the mountains in the northern part of Xinjiang and the desert in the middle isolate the two groups from the other five groups.
Ocean Renewable Energy Potential, Technology, and Deployments: A Case Study of Brazil

This study, firstly, provides an up-to-date global review of the potential, technologies, prototypes, installed capacities, and projects related to ocean renewable energy including wave, tidal, and thermal, and salinity gradient sources. Secondly, as a case study, we present a preliminary assessment of the wave, ocean current, and thermal gradient sources along the Brazilian coastline. The global status of the technological maturity of the projects, their different stages of development, and the current global installed capacity for different sources indicate the most promising technologies considering the trend of global interest. In Brazil, despite the extensive coastline and the fact that almost 82% of the Brazilian electricity matrix is renewable, ocean renewable energy resources are still unexplored. The results, using oceanographic fields produced by numerical models, show the significant potential of ocean thermal and wave energy sources in the northern and southern regions of the Brazilian coast, which could contribute as complementary supply sources in the national electricity matrix.
Parental care in a sexually monomorphic, ground-nesting passerine, the Pink-billed Lark Spizocorys conirostris (Alaudidae)

Within the family Alaudidae, most monomorphic species exhibit some degree of biparental care, but direct paternal care in most species is confined to food provisioning to offspring during the nestling period. Uniquely, the genus Spizocorys is the only sexually monomorphic lark genus in which the majority of species exhibit biparental care in all stages of the breeding cycle, including incubation. Video observations were used to determine parental nest attentiveness, incubation and brooding duty partitioning, and food provision through the breeding stages of Pink-billed Lark Spizocorys conirostris. In this study we found that Pink-billed Larks exhibit biparental care in all stages of breeding, although the parental contributions differed subtly. Incubation nest attentiveness was on the lower limit for passerines with biparental care. Both male and female nest attentiveness were also well below the reported averages for biparental care in birds. There was no significant difference between the male and female incubation attentiveness, although the males had significantly longer recess-bouts. The results suggest that females are primarily responsible for incubation and brooding, with males fulfilling a supplementary role. Males, however, share the responsibility for food delivery and preferentially deliver invertebrate prey rich in proteins and calories. There is also a change in diet from predominantly insectivorous to a greater emphasis on granivory with progression of the nestling period.
Understanding accessibility problems of blind users on the web

The web is an eminently visual medium. However, not everyone accesses web content visually. Research shows that using the web is challenging for blind users. To create a good user experience for blind users on the web, we need a comprehensive understanding of the users’ problems. Currently, there is little knowledge about the problem differences between blind and sighted users, which makes it difficult to suggest and test design solutions that address these problems. This research aims to provide a further understanding of the problems blind users have on the web by comparing and contrasting problems between blind and sighted users and testing how design solutions to prevalent problems benefit blind users’ experience. The first study draws together the research literature into a common unified definition of web accessibility that was used to operationalise studies. The second study compared which verbal protocol (concurrent or retrospective) is better in user-based studies. The results showed that retrospective verbal protocol is a better option for eliciting problems on the web for blind and sighted users. Then, an empirical study compared the problems between blind and sighted users on the web. The results showed that the problems the two user groups encounter largely differ. There are specific problem types distinct to blind users, but also the characteristics of the problem types that had instances by both user groups were very different. Moreover, many problems blind users encounter were in relation to the search and browse features of the websites. A further investigation by two studies with blind users of how specific design solutions to prevalent problems users had (poor page structure, lack of feedback and excessive effort) in this specific design aspect showed that simple design solutions improve specific aspects of users’ experience. Although, for major improvements in the overall user experience a combination of design solutions is needed.