Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Questionnaire Study on Euthanasia in Farm-Raised Mink

ABSTRACT: A questionnaire was formulated to collect data on euthanasia procedures and routines in farmed mink. The principle aim was to clarify the extent and functionality of the main killing methods, i.e. filtered exhaust and cylinder CO (carbon monoxide) and cylinder CO 2 (carbon dioxide). The questionnaire was sent to 397 mink farms in Finland and to 143 in the Netherlands. The final response rates were 34.3% for Finland and 24.5% for the Netherlands. The farms in the Netherlands were typically larger than those in Finland. The preferred method of euthanasia in the Netherlands is cylinder CO, which has been shown to work well in that country's farming system. In Finland, the filtered exhaust CO killing method has a long history, and farmers have grown accustomed to using this special method. The results were as follows: 20.0% of farmers listened outside the killing box, and when there was no sound, they presumed the animals were dead; 20.0% of farmers checked the state of the animals through the inspection window of the box before opening it; 80.0% of farmers waited for 5 minutes or more after the last mink was put into the box before emptying it; 45.7% farmers inspected each individual mink when emptying the box, checking for breathing and movement; and 14.3% of farmers inspected the mink at the cooling site, checking for breathing and movement. The replies to our questionnaire study suggest that farmers consider that all three euthanasia methods, cylinder CO, cylinder CO 2 and filtered exhaust CO are effective and useful ways of killing mink in farming practice. KEY WORDS: Mustela vison, killing methods, social welfare, gas euthanasia, fur farming, and Finland and Netherlands’ farmers. About the Authors: Hannu T. Korhonen, Juhani Sepponen and Pekka Eskeli are Principal Research Scientists and Ph.D. Docents in Applied Zoology, Animal Production Research, MTT (Agrifood Research Finland) Silmajarventie 2, 69100 Kannus, Finland. The authors can be contacted via e-mail at: hannu.t. korhonen@mtt.fi How to cite this article? Korhonen, Hannu T. , Juhani Sepponen & Pekka Eskeli. (2013). “A Questionnaire Study on Euthanasia in Farm-Raised Mink” in EDUCARE: International Journal for Educational Studies , Vol.5(2) February, pp.241-250. Bandung, Indonesia: Minda Masagi Press owned by ASPENSI in Bandung, West Java; and FKIP UMP in Purwokerto, Central Java, ISSN 1979-7877. Chronicle of the article: Accepted (December 20, 2012); Revised (January 25, 2013); and Published (February 17, 2013).
Comparing PCR-generated artifacts of different polymerases for improved accuracy of DNA metabarcoding

Accuracy of PCR amplification is vital for obtaining reliable amplicon-sequencing results by metabarcoding. Here, we performed a comparative analysis of error profiles in the PCR products by 14 different PCR kits using a mock eukaryotic community DNA sample mimicking metabarcoding analysis. To prepare a mock eukaryotic community from the marine environment, equal amounts of plasmid DNA from 40 microalgal species were mixed and used for amplicon-sequencing by a high-throughput sequencing approach. To compare the differences in PCR kits used for this experiment, we focused on the following seven parameters: 1) Quality, 2) Chimera, 3) Blast top hit accuracy, 4) Deletion, 5) Insertion, 6) Base substitution and 7) Amplification bias amongst species. The results showed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) for all of the seven parameters depending on the PCR kits used. These differences may result from the different DNA polymerases included in each kit, although the result can also be influenced by PCR reaction conditions. Simultaneous analysis of several parameters suggested that kits containing KOD plus Neo (TOYOBO) and HotStart Taq DNA polymerase (BiONEER, CA, US) at the annealing temperature of 65 °C displayed better results in terms of parameters associated with chimeras, top hit similarity and deletions.
Using STAMP to understand recent increases in malicious software activity

My advisor, Professor Leveson has developed an accident modeling framework called STAMP (Systems Theoretic Accident Modeling and Processes.) Traditional accident models typically focus on component failure; in contrast, STAMP includes interactions between components as well as social, economic, and legal factors. My research extends Leveson's STAMP accident model and applies it to a security problem. I have chosen to investigate the threat posed by malicious computer software such as computer viruses. The problem is especially interesting because surrounding the technical aspects of malicious software is a rich socio-technical system. The first part of the thesis investigates two recent computer worm outbreaks and identifies the numerous ways in which the security system failed. For both outbreaks, there were multiple points of failure including the existence of un-patched workstations, software organizations that distributed insecure software, the lack of sufficient legal disincentives to dissuade hackers, as well as many others. The thesis goes on to examine why the system was operating in such an insecure manner. As is generally the case when modeling an accident, the explanation goes beyond any single factor. I argue that that lack of Internet security can be largely attributed to the fact that those providing critical parts of Internet security do not have sufficient incentives to make good security decisions; instead they often make decisions at odds with Internet security. The thesis concludes with a discussion of policy and technical recommendations for addressing computer security. Thesis Supervisor: Dr. Nancy G. Leveson Professor of Aeronautics and Astronautics Professor of Engineering Systems
RTL Regression Test Selection using Machine Learning

Regression testing is a technique to ensure that micro-electronic circuit design functionality is correct under iterative changes during the design process. This incurs significant costs in the hardware design and verification cycle in terms of productivity, machine and simulation software costs, and time - sometimes as much as 70% of the hardware design costs. We propose a machine learning approach to select a subset of tests from the set of all RTL regression tests for the design. Ideally, the selected subset should detect all failures that the full set of tests would have detected. Our approach learns characteristics of both RTL code and tests during the verification process to estimate the likelihood that a test will expose a bug introduced by an incremental design modification. This paper describes our approach to the problem and its implementation. We also present experiments on several real-world designs of various types with different types of test-suites that demonstrate significant time and resource savings while maintaining validation quality.
Determination of Drugs in Clinical Trials: Current Status and Outlook

All pharmaceutical drugs, vaccines, cosmetic products, and many medical breakthroughs must first be approved through clinical research and trials before advancing to standard practice or entering the marketplace. Clinical trials are sets of tests that are required to determine the safety and efficacy of pharmaceutical compounds, drugs, and treatments. There is one pre-phase and four main clinical phase requirements that every drug must pass to obtain final approval. Analytical techniques play a unique role in clinical trials for measuring the concentrations of pharmaceutical compounds in biological matrices and monitoring the conditions of patients (or volunteers) during various clinical phases. This review focuses on recent analytical methods that are employed to determine the concentrations of drugs and medications in biological matrices, including whole blood, plasma, urine, and breast milk. Four primary analytical techniques (extraction, spectroscopy, chromatography, and electrochemical) are discussed, and their advantages and limitations are assessed. Subsequent to a survey of evidence and results, it is clear that microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based electrochemical sensor and biosensor technologies exhibit several notable advantages over other analytical methods, and their future prospects are discussed.
Nonlinear Aeroelastic Response of the Flexible Wing in Trim

The nonlinear aeroelastic response of a wing constrained by tri m conditions is examined using the method of numerical continuation. A formulation for a wing model ed as a cantilevered beam is used to analyze motion about all axes, including in-plane motion. T he kinematic nonlinearities due to curvature and inertia are retained in their ex act form. An aerodynamic stall nonlinearity is included using a quasi-steady approach. Trim state, stability, and associated bifurcation characteristics are rapidly determined as design pa rameters are varied. Limit cycle oscillations are investigated and are characterized in terms of amplitude of response. The effect of variation of design parameters such as stiffness ratio, aspec t ratio and root angle of attack is studied. Both subcritical and supercritical bifurcation branches are de tected, and the presence is dependent upon design parameters. In particular, the authors examine the importance of the inplane degree of freedom on the stability characteristics of the wing in tri m.
An Exploration of Nutritional Education within the Holiday Activities and Food Programme in England

Nutritional education is a recent, mandatory inclusion within the quality standards framework for the Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme in England; funded by the Department for Education (DfE). Whilst research has been conducted regarding nutritional education in other contexts, such as schools and community organisations, to the authors’ knowledge, no published research has yet explored nutritional education within HAF. The current study therefore aimed to explore the implementation, delivery, and perceived facilitators, barriers and impacts of nutritional education across a number of Local Authorities delivering HAF in England. Purposive sampling (n = 11) was used to recruit HAF leads involved in nutritional education, to participate in semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis showed that nutritional education is currently delivered through a variety of modes including face-to-face, online, and take-home methods, all of which require a range of considerations in terms of implementation, delivery, and associated impacts, with some holiday clubs offering no nutritional education. According to participating HAF leads, nutritional education was used as a mechanism to enhance children’s and parents’ cooking confidence and competence, to improve dietary intake, and to increase understanding of issues such as food sustainability, environmental impacts, and food provenance. Although there are many examples of innovative practice, the findings suggested that COVID guidelines proved challenging for providers to include nutritional education within HAF delivery during 2021. Further, whilst the quality standards framework for nutritional education provides flexibility in terms of implementation and delivery, specific guidance, and monitoring of provision is required to ensure quality assurance and consistency across the HAF programme.
A comprehensive electrical model of the human auditory periphery for otoacoustic emissions study

Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Science Master of Engineering by Tshegofatso Thejane This dissertation presents a comprehensive electrical model of the human auditory periphery. The model focuses on the generation and transmission of otoacoustic emissions (OAEs) under biometric conditions. The auditory system model was divided and studied in three sections, namely the outer, middle and inner ear sections. Existing models were used and improved for the study. The outer ear model was derived using electroacoustic analogies. The middle ear model was derived empirically. The inner ear model was derived by relating the mechanical properties of the inner ear to electrical principles. The outer ear model includes an analog diffraction circuit and a linear transmission line representation of the auditory canal and the concha. The variation of the radius of the auditory canal along its length was incorporated when computing the model of the outer ear. A pair of second order polynomials were used to create a new radius-length function which approximates the relationship between the radius of the auditory canal and its length. The frequency response of the outer ear model obtained using the radius-length function gave a wide frequency range representation of the outer ear characteristics. The middle ear is modelled using an analog network. Only the linear operation region of the middle ear was considered, thus excluding its reflex nonlinear mechanisms, namely; the stapedius muscle action and the stapes clipping displacement. The influence of the middle ear on the transmission of OAEs was evaluated by considering both the forward and reverse transmission characteristics/path of the middle ear. The middle ear response demonstrated great sensitivity to changes in the terminal loads connected to the middle ear as well as the transformer ratio. The inner ear behavior is represented by means of a nonlinear transmission line model. The nonlinear mechanism of the outer hair cells, which are taken as the primary sources of OAEs, are modelled using nonlinear voltage sources. The inner ear model was evaluated for conditions of both the active and inactive outer hair cells voltage sources. Due to limitations in the simulation software, a reduced active inner ear model was computed. The influence of the number of segments of the inner ear was explored. A reduced inner ear model having 40 segments was found to be sufficient in representing the frequency characteristics of the inner ear, whilst preserving the frequency-latency relationship of OAEs. The study not only improved the model of the auditory periphery, but also suggested several factors that can be incorporated in future research in order to better design signal acquisition and processing methods for OAE biometric applications.
Classifying the Acquisition Sequence for Brain MRIs Using Neural Networks on Single Slices

Background Neural networks for analyzing MRIs are oftentimes trained on particular combinations of perspectives and acquisition sequences. Since real-world data are less structured and do not follow a standard denomination of acquisition sequences, this impedes the transition from deep learning research to clinical application. The purpose of this study is therefore to assess the feasibility of classifying the acquisition sequence from a single MRI slice using convolutional neural networks. Methods A total of 113 MRI slices from 52 patients were used in a transfer learning approach to train three convolutional neural networks of different complexities to predict the acquisition sequence, while 27 slices were used for internal validation. The model then underwent external validation on 600 slices from 273 patients belonging to one of four classes (T1-weighted without contrast enhancement, T1-weighted with contrast enhancement, T2-weighted, and diffusion-weighted). Categorical accuracy was noted, and the results of the predictions for the validation set are provided with confusion matrices. Results The neural networks achieved a categorical accuracy of 0.79, 0.81, and 0.84 on the external validation data. The implementation of Grad-CAM showed no clear pattern of focus except for T2-weighted slices, where the network focused on areas containing cerebrospinal fluid. Conclusion Automatically classifying the acquisition sequence using neural networks seems feasible and could be used to facilitate the automatic labelling of MRI data.
Harmonic Measurement & Analysis at Vishay Components India Pvt Ltd. Pune

Growing use of non-linear loads give rise to power pollution in the three-phase four-wire distribution system. This has already become an alarming situation in an industries where quality power is an essential requirement to ensure quality power it is necessary that a harmonic study is carried out to identify the details of pollution that is polluting sources, the parameters or quantities they pollute in each instance. The paper includes a harmonic survey in VISHAY components India pvt. Ltd pune, where various non-linear devices are used every day. The level and type of the harmonics present in the system are identified. According to the measurement and analysis, the effect of most prominent harmonics are found out that could cause problem in the power quality. The harmonic survey is performed to improve the power quality.
Estimation and Sharpening of Blur in Degraded Images Captured by a Camera on a Moving Object

In this research, we aim to propose an image sharpening method to make it easy to identify concrete cracks from blurred images captured by a moving camera. This study is expected to help realize social infrastructure maintenance using a wide range of robotic technologies, and to solve the future labor shortage and shortage of engineers. In this paper, a method to estimate parameters of motion blur for Point Spread Function (PSF) is mainly discussed, where we assume that there are two main degradation factors caused by the camera, out-of-focus blur and motion blur. A major contribution of this paper is that the parameters can properly be estimated from a sub-image of the object under inspection if the sub-image contains uniform speckled texture. Here, the cepstrum of the sub-image is fully utilized. Then, a filter convoluted PSF which consists of convolution with PSF (motion blur) and PSF (out-of focus blur) can be utilized for deconvolution of the blurred image for sharpening with significant effect. PSF (out-of-focus blur) is a constant function unique to each camera and lens, and can be confirmed before or after shooting. PSF (motion blur), on the other hand, needs to be estimated on a case-by-case basis since the amount and direction of camera movement varies depending on the time of shooting. Previous research papers have sometimes encountered difficulties in estimating the parameters of motion blur because of the emphasis on generality. In this paper, the main object is made of concrete, and on the surface of it there are speckled textures. We hypothesized that we can narrow down the candidates of parameters of motion blur by using these speckled patterns. To verify this hypothesis, we conducted experiments to confirm and examine the following two points using a general-purpose camera used in actual bridge inspections: 1. Influence on the cepstrum when the isolated point-like texture unique to concrete structures is used as a feature point. 2. Selection method of multiple images to narrow down the candidate minima of the cepstrum. It is novel that the parameters of motion blur can be well estimated by using the unique speckled pattern on the surface of the object.
Dynamic Real-time Scheduling of Terminal Traffic

This paper presents dynamic strategies for the integrated scheduling and runway assignment of both arrival and departure traffic over an airport. While a static scheduling scheme handles traffic over a specified planning horizon simultaneously, sequential dynamic schedulers divide the planning horizon into a series of smaller scheduling windows and apply a static scheduling scheme sequentially over each window. Dynamic scheduling strategies are desirable for obtaining real-time solutions of continual traffic streams and for taking advantage of updated traffic information. In this paper, a multiple-point scheduling framework is used in which scheduling locations include runway thresholds as well as fixes over the terminal airspace and gates on the airport surface. Integrated static scheduling of both arrival and departure traffic is formulated as mixed-integerlinear programming (MILP). Solution variables include scheduled times of arrival (STA) at the multiple scheduling locations and aircraft sequences at merge points. In addition, aircraft route assignments for both ground and airborne traffic are included as discrete solution variables, from which optimal runway assignments can be determined. Then, different dynamic strategies with either overlapping or non-overlapping scheduling windows are developed and compared. Induced constraints for ensuring sufficient separations among traffic in neighboring windows are discussed. Real traffic data from the JFK airport is used in extensive numerical solutions to evaluate the computational speeds and scheduling performances of different dynamic strategies.
Can Preschoolers Learn Computational Thinking and Coding Skills with ScratchJr? A Systematic Literature Review

Computational Thinking (CT) and the understanding of how programs are being executed is internationally acknowledging as a necessity for today's students and citizens of tomorrow. Despite the multifaceted nature of CT, the introduction of CT and associate concepts such as coding is regarded as developmental acceptable for preschool and kindergarten children. For a decade, there has been a focus on educational reform in the form of educational apps. For young children, an influx of mobile apps offering various interfaces and styles promote themselves as having educational value to introduce children aged 5–7 to essential CT, coding, and problem-solving skills. On the contrary, little is known about the educational value of these apps. The fast pace at which developers produce these apps and the breadth of the available apps have gone beyond what it is reasonable for researchers and experts in the domain to evaluate. This article presents a literature review on how the ScratchJr app affects young children's CT, coding, and general literacy skills. The literature review includes 18 studies. The main conclusion is that although ScratchJr is not a panacea, it seems to be a helpful app that positively affects children's CT and coding skills.
Simulation Implementation of Fossil Power Plant Condensate Pumps' Rotation Operation Logic Using MATLAB/Simulink

The simulators for pump operation developed by domestic or overseas research have been developed for dynamic analysis or operator training purposes. However, previous developed simulators focused on the operators so they are unsuitable for logic designers or commissioning engineers who need to change the operation conditions or logics arbitrarily. In addition, the simulator for two or more condensate pumps' operation, which can be used easily by plant designers or operators, has not been developed. Accordingly, this paper suggests a simulation method that can be used easily for plant designers or operators using MATLAB Simulink. This suggestion helps users who can use MATLAB to implement ANSI/ISA S5.2, which is applied mainly for DCS (Distributed Control System). In addition, to implement the logics specified in the CODE, Sub-Systems were created for the block and evaluated to determine if they can be used in the simulator. In the working level stage using the suggested method, all error possibilities that might occur during the three pumps' rotation operation could be verified with the suggested simulator during the design stage or before operation.
Electromagnetic interference shielding based on highly flexible and conductive graphene laminate

The potential of highly flexible and conductive graphene laminate is extended to the application of electromagnetic interference shielding. Graphene nanoflake-based conductive ink is printed on paper, and compressed to form a graphene laminate with a conductivity of 0.43 × 105 S/m. The shielding effectiveness is experimentally measured to be above 32 dB between 12 and 18 GHz, even though the thickness of the graphene laminate is only 7.7 µm. It is demonstrated that graphene has great potential in offering lightweight, low-cost, flexible and environmentally-friendly shielding materials.