Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Constrained Quadratic Programming and Neurodynamics-Based Solver for Energy Optimization of Biped Walking Robots

The application of biped robots is always trapped by their high energy consumption. This paper makes a contribution by optimizing the joint torques to decrease the energy consumption without changing the biped gaits. In this work, a constrained quadratic programming (QP) problem for energy optimization is formulated. A neurodynamics-based solver is presented to solve the QP problem. Differing from the existing literatures, the proposed neurodynamics-based energy optimization (NEO) strategy minimizes the energy consumption and guarantees the following three important constraints simultaneously: (i) the force-moment equilibrium equation of biped robots, (ii) frictions applied by each leg on the ground to hold the biped robot without slippage and tipping over, and (iii) physical limits of the motors. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed strategy is effective for energy-efficient biped walking.
Application of Polyurethane Materials in the Assembly of Micro-Components

The efficient assembly and manufacturing of micro-components are becoming ever more important with the technological industry becoming larger and the electronic components in this industry decreasing in size. This is why the efficient handling of micro-parts is becoming a great challenge, with micro-parts with dimensions less than 20 mm being handled during the assembly process. Mechanical and vacuum grippers currently utilized in this field pose a risk of the micro-parts being strained or broken during the handling process. Therefore, this paper presents a solution through using a single polyurethane gripper, actuated only by Van-der-Waals forces. This polyurethane gripper is more efficient than conventional micro-grippers, and can handle and assemble simultaneously up to 10 micro-parts without leaving residual stresses, charges and strains on the micro-components. Polyurethane micro-grippers do not require a power supply or pressurized air to be operated. A motoman robot coupled with different polyturethane grippers was utilized to perform the simultaneous pick-up, transfer and placement operations of up to 10 micro-elements of less than 20 mm dimensions in an assembly operation.
Magnetic cloud models with bent and oblate cross-section boundaries

Context. Magnetic clouds (MCs) are formed by magnetic flux ropes that are ejected from the Sun as coronal mass ejections. These structures generally have low plasma beta and travel through the interplanetary medium interacting with the surrounding solar wind. Thus, the dynamical evolution of the internal magnetic structure of a MC is a consequence of both the conditions of its environment and of its own dynamical laws, which are mainly dominated by magnetic forces. Aims. With in-situ observations the magnetic field is only measured along the trajectory of the spacecraft across the MC. Therefore, a magnetic model is needed to reconstruct the magnetic configuration of the encountered MC. The main aim of the present work is to extend the widely used cylindrical model to arbitrary cross-section shapes. Methods. The flux rope boundary is parametrized to account for a broad range of shapes. Then, the internal structure of the flux rope is computed by expressing the magnetic field as a series of modes of a linear force-free field. Results. We analyze the magnetic field profile along straight cuts through the flux rope, in order to simulate the spacecraft crossing through a MC. We find that the magnetic field orientation is only weakly affected by the shape of the MC boundary. Therefore, the MC axis can approximately be found by the typical methods previously used (e.g., minimum variance). The boundary shape affects the magnetic field strength most. The measurement of how much the field strength peaks along the crossing provides an estimation of the aspect ratio of the flux-rope cross-section. The asymmetry of the field strength between the front and the back of the MC, after correcting for the time evolution (i.e., its aging during the observation of the MC), provides an estimation of the cross-section global bending. A flat or/and bent cross-section requires a large anisotropy of the total pressure imposed at the MC boundary by the surrounding medium. Conclusions. The new theoretical model developed here relaxes the cylindrical symmetry hypothesis. It is designed to estimate the cross-section shape of the flux rope using the in-situ data of one spacecraft. This allows a more accurate determination of the global quantities, such as magnetic fluxes and helicity. These quantities are especially important for both linking an observed MC to its solar source and for understanding the corresponding evolution.
An Econometric Analysis of Inflation and Unemployment in Lebanon: A Vector Error Correction Model (VECM)

This paper uses econometric modeling to test the nature of the relationship between unemployment and inflation in Lebanon throughout the period 1993-2014. It takes the Phillips curve relationship as a reference for the tests. Cointegration, Granger causality and VECM were used to test the relationship both in the short and in the long run. The study resulted in finding out that the Phillips curve relationship doesn’t hold in Lebanon in the short run and came to a conclusion that there is a one-way causality relationship in the long run from unemployment to inflation and not in the opposite direction.
Sceptridium atrovirens and S. microphyllum (Ophioglossaceae): First report in Korea and its phylogenetic position based on morphology

ABSTRACT: Two unrecorded species (Sceptridium atrovirens and S. microphyllum), previously known only inJapan, were found in a forest in Dosun-dong, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do for the first time in Korea. S. atrovirens wasdistinguished from other related species of the genus Sceptridium in Korea by having the thickest rhizome androot, irregularly crenulate or roughly serrate, and a shorter sporophore blade. The local name was newly given as‘Sup-go-sa-ri-sam’ for the species, denoting the habitat. S. microphyllum was distinguished by having the small-est plant height, compact sterile blades, and partly lateritious tropophyll in winter. The local name was newlygiven as ‘Aegi-go-sa-ri-sam’ for species, meaning of a small size. To reveal the interspecific relationships withinthe genus Sceptridium in Korea, cladistic analysis was performed for 27 morphological characteristics. The mor-phological characteristics and illustrations of the two taxa, as well as photographs at the habitat, are providedwith a taxonomic key to the species of Sceptridium in Korea.
Linear Distance: A Multi-Tiered Methodology in the Acquisition of Gender Agreement

This research investigates the influence of L1 properties and proficiency level on the acquisition of gender agreement addressing linear distance as a possible cause of errors. French and Englishspeaking learners of Spanish participated in the study. Subjects were divided into four different groups considering their L1 (French and English) and their proficiency level (intermediate and advanced). Subjects completed three different tasks: an untimed grammaticality judgment task (UGJT), an elicited oral imitation test (EOI), and an eye-tracking experiment. As for linear distance, each experimental item was distributed across three distance conditions: distance number 1 corresponds to an adjacent adjective pattern, distance number 2 separates the adjective using a copula, and distance number 3 included between three and four words interceding before the copula. Our results show no linear distance effect for either the explicit task or the implicit task.
Powering a Commercial Datalogger by Energy Harvesting from Generated Aeroacoustic Noise

This paper reports the experimental demonstration of a wireless sensor node only powered by an aeroacoustic energy harvesting device, meant to be installed on an aircraft outside skin. New results related to the physical characterization of the energy conversion process are presented. Optimized interface electronics has been designed, which allows demonstrating aeroacoustic power generation by supplying a commercial wireless datalogger in conditions representative of an actual flight.
Mechanical mastication and prescribed fire in conifer–hardwood chaparral: differing responses of ectomycorrhizae and truffles

Fire-prone hardwood-conifer chaparral comprises a significant component of vegetation in seasonally dry areas where prescribed burns of standing vegetation are limited by air-quality restrictions and narrow climatic opportunities for burning. Mechanical mastication is used by land managers to reduce aerial fuels. When burned, the dry masticated slash layer may result in prolonged soil heating, particularly of the upper soil layers, which contain ectomycorrhizal roots and seasonal truffles (hypogeous fungal sporocarps). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of mechanical mastication followed by prescribed fire on ectomycorrhizae and truffles. We treated blocks with mechanical mastication only, mechanical mastication followed by prescribed fire, prescribed fire only, and no treatment. Five years after the prescribed burn, soils with ectomycorrhizal roots were sampled at the canopy dripline of Pinus attenuata and Quercus kelloggii and surveyed for truffles. Ectomycorrhizae and truffles were described by morphologyandby DNAsequencesofthe internaltranscribedspacerregion.Ectomycorrhizalcommunitiesdidnot differ among treatments. However, burning reduced the abundance and species richness of truffles in both controls and masticated vegetation. We conclude that prescribed burning of mechanically masticated slash does not harm ectomy- corrhizal communities, but does inhibit fruiting of truffles. Additional keywords: brush mastication, fuels reduction, hypogeous fungi, oak-chaparral.
Antioxidant Activity and Toxicity of Puspa (Schima wallichii) Leaves Extract from Indonesia

Antioxidant and toxicity of Puspa ( Schima wallichii ) were studied. The plant extracts were prepared for bio-logical screening. Antioxidant activity of extracts was analysed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) as stable free radical, while toxicity of extracts was analysed by Brine Shrimp Lethality Test (BSLT) method. The result showed that ethyl acetate, methanol and butanol extracts were very active as antioxidant, as indicated by IC50 value of 11.44, 17.97 and 12.55 µg/mL for DPPH inhibition, respectively. Whilst n-hexane extract was not active as antioxidant indicated by IC50 value of 257.91 µg/mL, but aquadest extract was less active as antioxi-dant indicated by IC50 value of 171.94 µg/mL. The toxicity test result showed that all extracts were active against Artemia salina Leach with LC50 value of 107.35 – 902 µg/mL. Furthermore, isolation of individual bio-active compound of ethyl acetate extract that most active as antioxidant was carried out using column chroma-tography followed by preparative Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). The active isolate was then identified using TLC, Fourier Transform Infra-Red (FTIR) and Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectroscopy (LCMS). The identification result showed that the major compound contained a putative compound known as theanine with MS 174.26 g/mol. The isolate was very active as antioxidant with IC50 value of 48.04 µg/mL, although it was less active than the extract. The isolate was also toxic with LC50 value of 27.71 µg/mL so that puspa leaf potentially to be developed as a natural antioxidant and anticancer agent for preventing of human diseases.
Analysis and Characterization of Expressed Sequence Tag (EST) and Simple Sequence Repeats (SSR) from Red Sea Bream, Chrysophrys major, and Gilthead Sea Bream, Sparus aurata

A total of 101 and 119 simple sequence repeats (SSR) were obtained from expressed sequence tags (EST) of the red sea bream (Chrysophrys major) and gilthead sea bream (Sparus aurata), respectively. Dimeric repeats were the most abundant class of SSR in both red (70.30%) and gilthead (51.26%) sea bream. Trimeric, tetrameric, and pentameric repeats occurred in decreasing proportions, i.e., 21.36%, 6.8%, and 0.97% in red sea bream and 45.38%, 3.36%, and 0 in gilthead. There were no hexameric repeats in EST of either species. The frequency of every class of SSR (dimeric, trimeric, tetrameric, and pentameric) decreased with increasing repeat length. In cross-species amplification of 20 existing microsatellite loci from gilthead sea bream in 20 red sea bream specimens, twelve loci showed positive amplification and four loci showed polymorphic amplification with two or three alleles.
Functional MRI of Lipreading in Normal Hearing and Deaf Subjects

Participants in this IRB approved study were right-handed young adults with normal hearing or with profound hearing impairments, all with English as their first language and betterthan-average lipreading relative to their normative group. In the lipreading experiment, a sequence of silently mouthed monosyllabic words (stimulus ‘on’) was contrasted with a sequence of colored-shapes overlayed on a still frame of the same talker’s face (control condition). The subjects pressed a button when two lipread words in sequence were the same during the stimulus ‘on’ condition, and when the color and shape of the pattern in sequence were the same in the control condition. The control condition therefore involved the same motor response, the same type of discrimination judgment, the same duration of stimulus tokens, and the same face. In another experiment with normal hearing subjects only, a 1 kHz tone repeating at 5Hz was contrasted with a silent control condition to locate the primary auditory cortex. Possible contributions from the gradient sound, which was present equally during both conditions, were ignored. A GE 1.5T EPI Signa Horizon MRI system with its standard quadrature head-coil was used to conduct the fMRI studies. A total of 500 images were acquired from four 1Omm thick contiguous transaxial or coronal slices (125 images per slice) covering the auditory regions with TR=4s, effective TE=45ms, 90 deg flip angle, 64x128 acquisition matrix, 20x40cm2 field-of-view and NEX=l. The first five images per slice were ignored to establish equilibrium and starting at image 6, the task (e.g., lipreading or a 1 kHz tone) and the corresponding control condition were presented in an alternating sequence with 15 images acquired during the task and 15 during the control condition for a total of 4 cycles. The time-series of images was registered using the method described in [2] and analyzed by SPM99b [3] using a box-car reference function delayed by one image to match the hemodynamic response time. Pixels whose z-score was above a threshold (p
Consumer willingness to pay for rice fragrance: Evidence from Senegal

In response to increasing urban consumer demand for fragrant rice, rice breeders have developed local, fragrant rice varieties in Senegal. We assess the drivers of demand for rice fragrance by eliciting urban consumers’ willingness to upgrade non-fragrant to fragrant rice and willingness to pay (WTP) for domestic versus imported fragrant rice. We conducted experimental auctions with 120 urban consumers in Dakar and analyzed WTP for rice fragrance through a double hurdle model. The results indicate that variables such as ethnicity, household size, and awareness of fragrance and local fragrant rice significantly affect consumers’ willingness to upgrade non-fragrant to fragrant rice. Urban consumers with positive buying intentions towards domestic fragrant rice are very likely to buy it and pay price premiums of 64 FCFA/kg. However local fragrant rice is slightly discounted compared to imported fragrant Thai Hom Mali rice. Our findings suggest that there is an important market for domestic fragrant rice in Dakar and that local rice is competitive with imported rice on that urban market.
Use of hyperspectral imaging for the prediction of moisture content and chromaticity of raw and pretreated apple slices during convection drying

ABSTRACT The feasibility of using spectral reflectance information in the visible—near infrared (400–1,000 nm) region to estimate moisture content (gW/gDM) and chromaticity (CIELAB) of apple slices was investigated during convection drying. Apple slices were pretreated with hot water blanching (50 and 70°C), acid application (citric and ascorbic), and combinations thereof before drying at 50 and 70°C. Prediction models for the space-averaged spectral reflectance curves were built using the partial least square regression method. A three-component partial least square regression (PLSR) model satisfied the minimal root mean square error (RMSE) criterion for predicting moisture content (avg. RMSEP = 0.13, r2 = 0.99); importantly, the critical wavelengths remained the same across all pretreatments (540, 817, 977 nm). Similarly, PLSR modeling showed that the optimal set of wavelengths (in terms of RMSE) were invariant across pretreatment for CIELAB a* prediction (543, 966 nm) and CIELAB b* prediction (510, 664, 714, 914, 969 nm). The stability of the information content of these wavelengths across pretreatments indicates their independence of color changes. Additionally, the spatial information in the hyperspectral images was exploited to visualize the performance of the predictive models by pseudo-coloring their values for each pixel in a single apple slice across different drying times. This visualization of spatial distribution of predicted moisture content and chromaticity changes shows significant potential for use in online monitoring of the drying process.
THE GENETIC ANALYSIS OF AQUATIC CYANOPHAGE COMMUNITIES

Viruses are abundant in the marine environment and are important in terms of carbon and nutrient cycling. Through the specific lysis of host organisms, they play a role in structuring host communities of phytoplankton and bacteria. Phage, viruses that infect bacteria, are the most abundant virus-like particles in seawater, but relatively little is known about their biology, phylogeny and diversity. Previously, sequence analysis revealed a region of similarity among the genomes of three cyanophages belonging to the family Myoviridae and the capsid assembly gene (g20) of coliphage T4. These sequences were used to design two sets of putative cyanophagespecific P C R primers (CPS4GC/CPS5 and CPS4GC/CPS9) . In the first part of the study, natural viral communities were collected from 6 depths in each of 3 inlets in British Columbia, Canada. Cyanophage-specific primers C P S 4 G C and CPS 5 were used to amplify -205 bp (including 40 bp GC-clamp) g20 gene fragments from the samples, and denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was used to fingerprint the natural cyanophage communities. The results showed that the cyanophage communities differed the most within inlets in which temperature and salinity changed the most with depth. Differences in cyanophage communities sometimes occurred in association with high chlorophyll fluorescence and/or high abundances of infectious cyanophage and Synechococcus cells. In order to obtain more sequence for phylogenetic analysis, a new primer (CPS9) was designed and used with C P S 4 G C to amplify a 595 base pair region of the g20 gene. These primers were used to amplify gene fragments from lakes in British Columbia and Germany, a catfish production pond in Louisiana, a cyanobacterial mat from a high arctic pond, as well as samples from both polar oceans, the Gul f of Mexico, northeast Pacific inlets and the coastal southeast Pacific. D G G E was used to separate the fragments, which were subsequently excised, re-amplified, cloned and sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis demonstrated high variability in the g20 gene sequences and revealed four previously unknown groups of phage, two of which consisted of sequences found only in freshwater. Sequences that were >99% identical in terms of pairwise nucleotide similarity were recovered from both freshwater and marine environments, suggesting that genetically similar phage are globally distributed. M y research has demonstrated that P C R combined with denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis can be used to compare marine cyanophage communities. I have shown that these communities can differ on spatial scales as small as metres and that this is influenced by the physical structure of the water column. A s well , by P C R amplifying the g20 gene from geographically distinct environments, I have shown that this group of phage is global in distribution. I have demonstrated the genetic richness of this group and have potentially identified new groups of freshwater phage.
Glycated haemoglobin, lipids and drug adherence in Type 2 diabetes mellitus: experience in high income group

Adherence to drug regimen in diabetes mellitus has been observed to have contributed significantly to poor management in many populations. This study was designed to assess the relationship of HbA1c to Morisky score in type II diabetes in high income group. Sixty subjects consisting of 30 type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. age range (38-60 years) and 30 age and sex marched non -diabetes controls (40-59 years) were selected for this study. Anthropometric and biochemical parameters were determined using standard procedures. Results showed significant increases in plasma glucose and glycated haemoglobin (HbAIc %) (p<0.001), triglyceride (p<0.01) and decrease in plasma high density lipoprotein cholesterol (p<0.05) in type 2 diabetic patients when compared with the corresponding control. Morisky score was significantly correlated with fasting plasma glucose (r=0.633 p<0.05) and HbAIc %( r=0.549, p<0.05). An association between FPG and HbAIc% and medication adherence rate of 66.7% was obtained for type II DM. Adherence to medication regimens showed a correlation with glycemic control (p<0.05). Self-reported Morisky medication adherence score could be used to predict the degree of haemoglobin glycation (HbA1c %) and therefore the risk of developing diabetic complications.
Assessing the value of annual and perennial forage mixtures for bumblebees by direct observation and pollen analysis

The value of introduced seed mixtures in providing forage for bumblebees on farmland was assessed by direct observation of individuals and analysis of pollen loads. Two mixtures of perennial grasses and wildflowers were compared with an annual mix of mostly seed-bearing crops over three years. Foraging bees showed contrasting patterns of visitation depending on species. Longer-tongued Bombus species preferred the perennial mixtures in which Trifolium pratense was dominant, whilst shorter-tongued Bombus and honeybees, Apis mellifera, visited mainly Borago officinalis in the annual mix. These patterns were supported by analysis of pollen loads from B. pascuorum and B. terrestris, both species showing a high degree of flower constancy to sown species. The relative specialisation of different bee species towards certain plant families, and the flowering phenology of seed mix components, must be considered in the design of agri-environment measures to conserve these and other pollinators.
Evidence of interseismic coupling variations along the Bhutan Himalayan arc from new GPS data

Although the first‐order pattern of present‐day deformation is relatively well resolved across the Himalayas, irregular data coverage limits detailed analyses of spatial variations of interseismic coupling. We provide the first GPS velocity field for the Bhutan Himalaya. Combined with published data, these observations show strong east‐west variations in coupling between central and eastern Bhutan. In contrast with previous estimations of first‐order uniform interseismic coupling along the Himalayan arc, we identify significant lateral variations: In western and central Bhutan, the fully coupled segment is 135–155 km wide with an abrupt downdip transition, whereas in eastern Bhutan the fully coupled segment is 100–120 km wide and is limited updip and downdip by partially creeping segments. This is the first observation of decoupling on the upper ramp along the Himalayan arc, with important implications for large earthquake surface rupture and seismic hazard.