Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fv-SVM-Based Wall-Thickness Error Decomposition for Adaptive Machining of Large Skin Parts

Large skin parts play an important role in the aerospace industry. The wall thickness of the machined pocket in the skin part needs to be strictly controlled to ensure the transport capacity and structural strength. The wall-thickness accuracy is generally decreased by various factors, such as the shaping error of the workpiece blank, fixing error, machine tool error, and deformation caused by cutting force or internal stress. These factors are usually inevitable and stochastic due to the extremely weak rigidity and easy-to-deflect characteristics of the large skin parts. To ensure the wall-thickness accuracy, a fuzzy v-support vector machine (Fv-SVM)-based wall-thickness error decomposition method is proposed. The wall-thickness errors, which are monitored in the cutting process, are decomposed into spatial-related errors and time-related errors. The Fv-SVM-based decomposition method with the principle of spatial statistical analysis is a data-driven approach for intelligent manufacturing. The data-driven method can consider all factors that affect the wall-thickness accuracy, while the model-driven method usually only considers one factor, such as the workpiece deformation or fixing error. After decomposition, the spatial-related wall-thickness error is offline compensated, and the time-related wall-thickness error is compensated by using a real-time strategy. The novel method can be applied to complex tool paths. The cutting experiment of rectangular pockets in a large skin panel was conducted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. The wall-thickness accuracy can be improved to 0.05 mm for the workpiece with only 2 mm thickness.
Peripherally expressed misfolded proteins remotely disrupt brain function and aggravate stroke-induced brain injury

Impaired proteostasis has been linked to various diseases, whereas little is known about the impact of peripherally misfolded proteins on the brain. We here studied the brain of mice with cardiomyocyte-restricted overexpression of a missense (R120G) mutant small heat shock protein, αB-crystallin (CryABR120G). At baseline, the CryABR120G mice showed impaired cognitive and motor functions, aberrant protein aggregates, neuroinflammation, impaired blood-brain barrier, and reduced proteasome activity in the brain compared with their non-transgenic (Ntg) littermates. Ischemic stroke dramatically exacerbated these pathological alterations and caused more severe brain dysfunction in CryABR120G mice than in the Ntg mice. Intravenously injecting the exosomes isolated from CryABR120G mouse blood into wild-type mice caused the similar phenotypes seen from CryABR120G mice. Importantly, the CryABR120G protein showed the prion-like properties. These results suggest that peripherally misfolded proteins in the heart remotely disrupt brain function through prion-like neuropathology, which may represent an underappreciated mechanism underlying heart-brain crosstalk.
Adaptive phenotypic plasticity in malaria parasites is not constrained by previous responses to environmental change

Abstract Background and objectives Phenotypic plasticity enables organisms to maximize fitness by matching trait values to different environments. Such adaptive phenotypic plasticity is exhibited by parasites, which experience frequent environmental changes during their life cycle, between individual hosts and also in within-host conditions experienced during infections. Life history theory predicts that the evolution of adaptive phenotypic plasticity is limited by costs and constraints, but tests of these concepts are scarce. Methodology Here, we induce phenotypic plasticity in malaria parasites to test whether mounting a plastic response to an environmental perturbation constrains subsequent plastic responses to further environmental change. Specifically, we perturb red blood cell resource availability to induce Plasmodium chabaudi to alter the trait values of several phenotypes underpinning within-host replication and between-host transmission. We then transfer parasites to unperturbed hosts to examine whether constraints govern the parasites’ ability to alter these phenotypes in response to their new in-host environment. Results Parasites alter trait values in response to the within-host environment they are exposed to. We do not detect negative consequences, for within-host replication or between-host transmission, of previously mounting a plastic response to a perturbed within-host environment. Conclusions and implications We suggest that malaria parasites are highly plastic and adapted to adjusting their phenotypes in response to the frequent changes in the within-host conditions they experience during infections. Our findings support the growing body of evidence that medical interventions, such as anti-parasite drugs, induce plastic responses that are adaptive and can facilitate the survival and potentially, drug resistance of parasites. Lay Summary Malaria parasites have evolved flexible strategies to cope with the changing conditions they experience during infections. We show that using such flexible strategies does not impact upon the parasites’ ability to grow (resulting in disease symptoms) or transmit (spreading the disease).
A Review of Deep Learning Based Speech Synthesis

Speech synthesis, also known as text-to-speech (TTS), has attracted increasingly more attention. Recent advances on speech synthesis are overwhelmingly contributed by deep learning or even end-to-end techniques which have been utilized to enhance a wide range of application scenarios such as intelligent speech interaction, chatbot or conversational artificial intelligence (AI). For speech synthesis, deep learning based techniques can leverage a large scale of pairs to learn effective feature representations to bridge the gap between text and speech, thus better characterizing the properties of events. To better understand the research dynamics in the speech synthesis field, this paper firstly introduces the traditional speech synthesis methods and highlights the importance of the acoustic modeling from the composition of the statistical parametric speech synthesis (SPSS) system. It then gives an overview of the advances on deep learning based speech synthesis, including the end-to-end approaches which have achieved start-of-the-art performance in recent years. Finally, it discusses the problems of the deep learning methods for speech synthesis, and also points out some appealing research directions that can bring the speech synthesis research into a new frontier.
GENETIC VARIABILITY AND RELATIONSHIPS AMONG SUGARCANE VARIETIES BASED ON TRAP MARKERS OF STRESS TOLERANCE CANDIDATE GENES AND SOME AGRONOMIC TRAITS

The advantages of target region amplification polymorphism (TRAP) for identification of polymorphisms in coding regions obtained from EST library were used to determine the genetic variability and relationships among 10 sugarcane varieties. TRAP fixed primers based on CDPK and Aqua candidate genes involved in stress tolerance were paired with three arbitrary primers to produce 6 primer combinations.A total of 60 DNA fragments with an average of 10 bands per primer combination were generated from 10 sugarcane genotypes. The percentage of polymorphism was 55.17% and 54.84% in CDPK and Aqua loci, respectively. The largest number of amplified fragments was obtained with the Aqua + arbit.3 primer combination (14 bands), and the lowest (6 bands) with the Aqua + arbit.1. The highest number of TRAP markers was amplified from EI 24-3 OR 2 and G95-19, while the least number of bands was obtained from G.98-28, N.CO.310 and EH 16-9. The lowest similarity were obtained between N.CO.310 and G95-21 reflecting high diversity among them and suggested that crosses between these two genotypes would probably result in the highest variability for stress tolerance. The dendrogram classified the genotypes based on their pedigree in which varieties that have common parent were grouped together based on the polymorphism in CDPK and Aqua loci.The results indicated that the TRAP markers can provide a powerful technique for genetic diversity in sugarcane. The performance of the sugarcane varieties in stalk traits (height, diameter and number) and cane yield were studied in two seasons. Maximum genetic advance along with high heritability was observed for stalk height, reflecting the preponderance of additive gene action in determining such character, so reliable selection could be made for this trait on the basis of phenotypic expression. The other traits displayed high amount of heritability associated with low genetic advance indicating that nonadditive gene action governing these traits, which could be improved through hybridization and hybrid vigor.
A Robust Formulation Model for Multi-Period Failure Restoration Problems in Integrated Energy Systems

The risks faced by modern energy systems are increasing, primarily caused by natural disasters. As a new form of multi-level energy complimentary utilization, integrated energy systems are attracting more and more attention for their high-efficiency and low-cost. However, due to the deep coupling relationship between systems, they are more susceptible to natural disasters, resulting in a cascading failure. To enhance the resilience of the integrated electricity-gas system, this paper proposes a failure restoration strategy after a natural disaster occurs. First, the temporal constraints of the dispatching model are considered, and the failure restoration problem is molded into a multi-period mixed-integer linear programme, aiming to recover the interrupted loads as much as possible. Second, since the uncertain output of distributed generation sources (DGs) such as wind turbines and photovoltaic systems will threat the reliability of restoration results, the robust formulation model is incorporated to cope with this problem. Third, we propose a new modeling method for radial topology constraints towards failure restoration. Moreover, the Column and Constraints Generation (C&CG) decomposition method is utilized to solve the robust model. Then, the piecewise linearization technique and the linear DistFlow equations are utilized to eliminate the nonlinear terms, providing a model that could be easily solved by an off-shelf commercial solver. The obtained results include the sequence of line/pipeline switchgear actions, the time-series dispatching results of electricity storage system, gas storage system, and the coupling devices including the gas-fired turbine, power to gas equipment. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed restoration strategy is verified by numerical simulation on a 13-6 node integrated energy system.
Design and Preliminary Testing of a Continuum Assistive Robotic Manipulator

Background: The application of continuum manipulators as assistive robots is discussed and tested through the use of Bendy ARM, a simple manually teleoperated tendon driven continuum manipulator prototype. Methods: Two rounds of user testing were performed to evaluate the potential of this arm to aid people living with disabilities in completing activities of daily living. Results: In the first round of user testing, 14 able-bodied subjects successfully completed the prescribed task (pick-and-place) using multiple control schemes after being given a brief introduction and one minute of practice with each scheme. In the second round of user testing, subjects ( n = 3 ) demonstrated between 29.5 and 48.9 percent improvement in completion time across twelve trials of a peg-in-hole task, and between 8.4 and 33.8 percent improvement across six trials of a task involving opening and closing a drawer. Conclusion: Based on these results, it is posited that continuum manipulators merit further consideration as a safer and more cost-effective alternative to existing commercially available assistive robotic manipulators.
Unsupervised Blind Quality Estimation of NSS Images using Efficient Feature Extraction

In present-day date, public work more with images than with textual content. Often, the image which is transmitted over the internet or in wireless network demand a quality analysis to be done before accepting the same at the user’s end. A great quantity of work has been done in recent past to develop an unbiased image quality objective value that relate well with perceived quality measurement. In-spite of the tremendous effort, the success achieved is less in this direction. Through this paper, we discuss about the method, EBUQA, an objective analysis method by which the perceptual quality of Natural Scene Statistic image can be found. This method measures the amount of distortion and is quantized as a numeric parameter. Performance analysis and testing done on the method conforms well with the human observation.
Spatiotemporal patterns of neocortical activity around hippocampal sharp-wave ripples

A prevalent model is that sharp-wave ripples (SWR) arise ‘spontaneously’ in CA3 and propagate recent memory traces outward to the neocortex to facilitate memory consolidation there. Using voltage and extracellular glutamate transient recording over widespread regions of mice dorsal neocortex in relation to CA1 multiunit activity (MUA) and SWR, we find that the largest SWR-related modulation occurs in retrosplenial cortex; however, contrary to the unidirectional hypothesis, neocortical activation exhibited a continuum of activation timings relative to SWRs, varying from leading to lagging. Thus, contrary to the model in which SWRs arise ‘spontaneously’ in the hippocampus, neocortical activation often precedes SWRs and may thus constitute a trigger event in which neocortical information seeds associative reactivation of hippocampal ‘indices’. This timing continuum is consistent with a dynamics in which older, more consolidated memories may in fact initiate the hippocampal-neocortical dialog, whereas reactivation of newer memories may be initiated predominantly in the hippocampus.
Male mate choice for large gravid spots in a livebearing fish

Abstract Male mate choice occurs in a wide range of species, and males can increase their reproductive success by distinguishing between females based on their fecundity (e.g., large body size) or their expected sperm competition risk (e.g., virgins). However, patterns of male mate choice could be mitigated by variation in female physiological receptivity, as males can benefit by directing their mating efforts toward females that are at a point in their reproductive cycle when fertilization probability is highest. Here, we perform three experiments to assess whether male mate choice is influenced by cues of female physiological receptivity, fecundity, or sperm competition risk in the pygmy halfbeak (Dermogenys collettei), a small livebearing fish. Female halfbeaks possess a “gravid spot”—an orange abdominal marking that is caused by pigmentation of the females’ skin and variation in embryo development and pigmentation during pregnancy. We show that gravid spot size increases toward parturition and is largest right before giving birth, independent of abdominal width or body size. Males consistently chose females with large gravid spots over females with small gravid spots. In contrast, males did not prefer larger females over smaller females or virgin females over mated females. As female halfbeaks store sperm prior to fertilizations, we suggest that males use the size of the gravid spot as a cue to direct their mating efforts to those females where the chance of fertilization is highest.
Role of plant cell in host-pathogen interactions: Lactuca spp.-Bremia lactucae

Reactions of Lactuca spp. genotypes with different mechanisms of compatibility/incompatibility to B. lactucae race NL16 were examined. Microscopical study revealed significance of initial stages of infection for establishment of the host-pathogen relation. Incompatibility to the pathogen race is mostly expressed as hypersensitive reaction (HR). Rearrangement of cytoskeleton can participate in blocking of fungus penetration in resistant genotypes as well as support development of fungal infection structures in susceptible ones. During infection process peroxidase is activated, H2O2 released and phenolic compounds deposited. These defence processes well correspond with the expression of resistance. On the other hand, formation of callose attending pathogenesis is not directly related to incompatibility.
Teacher facilitation support in ubiquitous learning environments

ABSTRACT Teacher support for students in ubiquitous learning environments is challenging owing to physical distance and a lack of reliable real-time multimedia-rich communication. This is further complicated because the learning process is dynamic and problems need quick resolution. Given these challenges, this study proposes an architecture for a teacher facilitation support system. The system was implemented in the form of an interactive teacher dashboard. The interface also generates possible solutions to learning challenges while leaving the ultimate decision up to the teacher. The system feasibility was tested by work-through scenarios designed and validated by two experts. The system usability was evaluated using the System Usability Scale by 40 potential users. The ﬁndings revealed that the dashboard has good feasibility and usability for providing teachers relevant information about their students’ learning progress in ubiquitous learning environments. It also enabled opportunity for pedagogical intervention when needed.
Complete chloroplast genome of an endangered endemic tree, handeliodendron bodinieri (levl.) rehder (sapindaceae) from karst forests of southwest China

ABTRACT Handeliodendron bodinieri (Sapindaceae) is an endangered monotypic species endemic to the karst forests in southwest China whose populations are now fragmented and the total number of individuals evidently decreased. In this research, we characterized the chloroplast (cp) genome of H. bodinieri using genome skimming. The whole cp genome was 155,291 bp long and comprised 137 genes, including 8 unique rRNAs, 40 tRNAs, and 89 protein-coding genes. The overall guanine-cytosine content of H. bodinieri cp genome was 37.8%. The phylogenetic analysis suggested that H. bodinieri is closely related to the genus Mangifera. This study will be useful for future studies on conservation genetics of this economically important endemic plant.
Accelerated Aging as a Vigor Test in Encholirium spectabile Seeds

The objective was to verify how differences in the accelerated aging test, traditional method (water) or saturated NaCl solution influence the differentiation of the physiological potential of Encholirium spectabile seeds from two geographic regions of Brazil (Graça-CE and Serra Talhada-PE). The experimental design was completely randomized in a 2 × 2 × 5 factorial scheme, in which two methods (water and saturated NaCl solution), seeds from two geographic regions and five aging periods (0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h and 96 h) were evaluated. Results indicated that seeds from Graça-CE were less vigorous than those from Serra Talhada-PE. However, both aging methods (water and saturated NaCl solution) increased the physiological potential of seeds harvested from Graça-CE. E. spectabile seeds presented different levels of physiological potential by the accelerated aging test.
Study of Stress Wave Propagation with NHDMOC

MOC (method of cell) is a new method of investigating wave propagating in material with periodic microstructure, and can reflect the effect of microstructure. Wave propagation in periodically laminated medium consisting of linearly elastic layers can be treated as a special application of this method. In this paper, it was used to simulate the dynamic response of carbon-phenolic to impulsive loading under certain boundary conditions. From the comparison between the results obtained from this method and the exact results based on propagator matrix theory, excellent agreement is achieved. Conclusion can be made that the oscillation periodicity is decided by the thickness of sub-cells. In the end, the NHDMOC method, which permits studying stress wave propagation with one dimensional strain, was applied to study the one-dimensional stress wave propagation. In this paper, the ZWT nonlinear visco-elastic constitutive relationship with 7 parameters, NHDMOC, and corresponding equations were deduced. The equations were verified, comparing the elastic stress wave propagation in SHPB with, respectively, the elastic and the visco-elastic bar. Finally the dispersion and attenuation of stress wave in SHPB with visco-elastic bar was studied. Keywords—MOC, NHDMOC, visco-elastic, wave propagation
Toward Personalized Adaptive Gamification: A Machine Learning Model for Predicting Performance

Personalized adaptive gamification has the potential to improve individuals’ motivation and performance. Current methods aim to predict the perceived affective state (i.e., emotion) of an individual in order to improve their motivation and performance by tailoring an application. However, existing methods may struggle to predict the state of an individual that it has not been trained for. Moreover, the affective state that correlates to good performance may vary based on individuals and task characteristics. Given these limitations, this paper presents a machine learning method that uses task information and an individual's facial expression data to predict his/her performance on a gamified task. The training data used to generate the adaptive-individual-task model is updated every time new data from an individual is acquired. This approach helps to improve the model's prediction accuracy and account for variations in facial expressions across individuals. A case study is presented that demonstrates the feasibility and performance of the model. The results indicate that the model is able to predict the performance of individuals, before completing a task, with an accuracy of 0.768. The findings support the use of adaptive models that dynamically update their training data set and consider task information and individuals’ facial expression data.
The RNA helicase DDX3 induces neural crest by promoting AKT activity

ABSTRACT Mutations in the RNA helicase DDX3 have emerged as a frequent cause of intellectual disability in humans. Because many individuals carrying DDX3 mutations have additional defects in craniofacial structures and other tissues containing neural crest (NC)-derived cells, we hypothesized that DDX3 is also important for NC development. Using Xenopus tropicalis as a model, we show that DDX3 is required for normal NC induction and craniofacial morphogenesis by regulating AKT kinase activity. Depletion of DDX3 decreases AKT activity and AKT-dependent inhibitory phosphorylation of GSK3β, leading to reduced levels of β-catenin and Snai1: two GSK3β substrates that are crucial for NC induction. DDX3 function in regulating these downstream signaling events during NC induction is likely mediated by RAC1, a small GTPase whose translation depends on the RNA helicase activity of DDX3. These results suggest an evolutionarily conserved role of DDX3 in NC development by promoting AKT activity, and provide a potential mechanism for the NC-related birth defects displayed by individuals harboring mutations in DDX3 and its downstream effectors in this signaling cascade. Summary: To model human birth defects caused by DDX3X mutations, we show that Xenopus DDX3 induces neural crest via the AKT-GSK3β axis, which promotes Wnt signaling and Snai1 stability.