Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Magnetorheological suspensions based on modified carbonyl iron particles with an extremely thin poly(n-butyl acrylate) layer and their enhanced stability properties

This study is focused on the modification of magnetic carbonyl iron (CI) particles with a thin polymer shell utilizing the atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) technique, enabling control of the molecular weight and polydispersity of the final grafted polymer chains on the surface of CI particles and therefore also allowing tuning of the magnetorheological (MR) performance as well as stability properties (chemical, sedimentation). Hence, the bare CI particles were coated with a poly(butyl acrylate) (PBA) shell by the ATRP technique. The polymerization procedure of polymer grafting on the surface of the CI particles was characterized by gel permeation chromatography and nuclear magnetic resonance. The presence of the PBA chain on the CI particles was confirmed by Fourier infrared spectroscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. A saturation magnetization analysis using vibrating sample magnetometer proved that a thin polymer shell negligibly affects their magnetic properties, and data fit into the Jiles–Atherton model allowed the finite magnetization saturation for both bare CI and CI-PBA particles to be obtained. Furthermore, it was proved that a thin PBA coating provides sufficiently enhanced chemical and sedimentation stability properties for such a system, while the MR performance investigated using a rotational rheometer was affected negligibly. Finally it can be stated that a controllable coating performed via the ATRP technique is a useful tool to significantly improve stability properties, while the MR performance maintains values suitable for real-life applications.
Making the home consume less - putting energy effi ciency on the refurbishment agenda

Private home owners can reduce their energy use signifi cantly and move towards a low carbon lifestyle by retrofi tting their homes in an energy effi cient standard. Despite high awareness for energy effi ciency and rising energy prices, home owners only slowly take this opportunity to cut down their personal energy use and carbon emission signifi cantly. In many cases, maintenance and repair activities only result in incremental improvements of energy effi ciency. Th us, the dynamics of refurbishment seems to have a conservative bias. Against this background, we will present results from an empirical survey, focussing on home owners’ maintenance and refurbishment decisions. Drawing on approaches from social-psychology, lifestyle analysis and evolutionary economics, we will explore the impact of attitudes, lifestyle orientations, cognitive frameworks and social resources on refurbishment decision especially on energy effi cient ones and present a model integrating the most important driving factors.
Quantitative Analysis of Variability and Uncertainty in Environmental Data and Models. Volume 1. Theory and Methodology Based Upon Bootstrap Simulation

This is Volume 1 of a two-volume set of reports describing work conducted at North Carolina State University sponsored by Grant Number DE-FG05-95ER30250 by the U.S. Department of Energy. The title of the project is “Quantitative Analysis of Variability and Uncertainty in Acid Rain Assessments. ” The work conducted under sponsorship of this grant pertains primarily to two main topics: (1) development of new methods for quantitative analysis of variability and uncertainty applicable to any type of model; and (2) analysis of variability and uncertainty in the performance, emissions, and cost of electric power plant combustion-based NOx control technologies. These two main topics are reported separately in Volumes 1 and 2.
Passing Behavior on Two-Lane Roads in Real and Simulated Environments

Passing maneuvers allow faster drivers to continue driving at their desired speeds without being delayed behind impeding vehicles. On two-lane rural roads, such maneuvers require the passing driver to occupy the opposing lane; this condition has tremendous implications for the safety and operation of two-lane roads. Several studies have investigated the passing behavior of drivers, and some studies have used driving simulators to analyze drivers’ behavior during following and passing maneuvers. However, the validity of simulators has not been ensured, because their results have rarely been compared with real data. The objective of this study was to compare drivers’ passing behavior as observed in the field with passing behavior in a driving simulator. For this purpose, data on passing performance and passing gap acceptance decisions were required. The study carried out a comparative analysis of the most significant variables related to passing behavior. The results showed similarities between passing time and passing distance of completed maneuvers (during the occupation of the opposing lane). However, drivers passed faster in the driving simulator and maintained greater clearances. Gap acceptance decisions were found to be similar, as the distributions of accepted and rejected gaps were similar, although critical gaps were found to be lower in the driving simulator. This finding might be explained by the absence of objective risks. The applicability of driving simulation seems reasonable, although some improvements are still possible, to account for sight distance limitations, replicate age and gender distributions, and reproduce the opposing traffic flow.
Industrial x-ray inspection system with improved image characterization using blind deblurring based on compressed-sensing scheme

ABSTRACT An industrial x-ray inspection system has recently established by our group to examine large and dense objects available in industry. It consists of an industrial x-ray generator having a tube voltage of 450 kV and a focal spot size of 1 mm, a flat-panel detector having a pixel size of 200 µm and a pixel dimension of 2048 × 2048, and a mechanical support for object’s installation. For improving the image characteristics of the system, an effective blind deblurring method based on compressed-sensing scheme is reported. Blind deblurring is the image restoration by estimating the original image and the degradation mechanism using partial information on both. Compressed-sensing is a relatively new mathematical theory for solving the inverse problems. Systematic measurements were performed and the image characteristics of the restored images were quantitatively evaluated using several image-quality indicators. The results demonstrate that the deblurring method is effective for industrial x-ray inspection systems.
Land Cover Classification Using a KOMPSAT-3A Multi-Spectral Satellite Image

New sets of satellite sensors are frequently being added to the constellation of remote sensing satellites. These new sets offer improved specification to collect imagery on-demand over specific locations and for specific purposes. The Korea Multi-Purpose Satellite (KOMPSAT) series of satellites is a multi-purposed satellite system developed by Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI). The recent satellite of the KOMPSAT series, KOMPSAT-3A, demonstrates high resolution multi-spectral imagery with infrared and high resolution electro-optical bands for geographical information systems applications in environmental, agricultural and oceanographic sciences as well as natural disasters. In this study, land cover classification of multispectral data was performed using four supervised classification methods: Mahalanobis Distance (MahD), Minimum Distance (MinD), Maximum Likelihood (ML) and Support Vector Machine (SVM), using a KOMPSAT-3A multi-spectral imagery with 2.2 m spatial resolution. The study area for this study was selected from southwestern region of South Korea, around Buan city. The training data for supervised classification was carefully selected by visual interpretation of KOMPSAT-3A imagery and field investigation. After classification, the results were then analyzed for the validation of classification accuracy by comparison with those of field investigation. For the validation, we calculated the User’s Accuracy (UA), Producer’s Accuracy (PA), Overall Accuracy (OA) and Kappa statistics from the error matrix to check the classification accuracy for each class obtained individually from different methods. Finally, the comparative analysis was done for the study area for various results of land cover classification using a KOMPSAT-3A multi-spectral imagery.
Effectiveness of Teflon as roller material for a prototype rice processing machine

The main aim of this research was to assess the effectiveness of using Teflon material in search of locally available quality/effective roller material for a prototype rice roller dehusking /destoning machine developed in Nigeria making use of four locally cultivated rice varieties. This required determination of the effectiveness of Teflon material as roller for the developed prototype dehusker/destoner. Microsoft Excel 2007 and Minitab 16were used for the analysis of variance of the two main factors (paddy varieties; Faro 35, 44, 55 and Ofada and moisture content levels; 12.00%-13.99%, 14.00%-15.99%, 16.00%-17.99%, 18.00%-19.99% and 20.00%-21.99%). The dehusker cleaning efficiency was found to be 94.73%, coefficient of dehusking was 0.63, coefficient of wholeness was 0.85, dehusking efficiency was 50.54%, dehusking capacity was 10.56 kg/h respectively. The effect of moisture content and test paddy on coefficient of wholeness and dehusking efficiency were significant at p ≤ 0.05,while only moisture content effect was significant on cleaning efficiency.
Look & Turn: One-handed and Expressive Menu Interaction by Gaze and Arm Turns in VR

A user’s free hands provide an intuitive platform to position and design virtual menu interfaces. We explore how the hands and eyes can be integrated in the design of hand-attached menus. We synthesise past work from the literature and derive a design space that crosses properties of menu systems with an hand and eye input vocabulary. From this, we devise three menu systems that are based on the novel concept of Look & Turn: gaze indicates menu selection, and rotational turn of the wrist navigates menu and manipulates continuous parameters. Each technique allows users to interact with the hand-attached menu using the same hand, while keeping the other hand free for drawing. Based on a VR prototype that combines eye-tracking and glove-based finger tracking, we discuss first insights on technical and human factors of the promising interaction concept.
Spatial detection and hierarchy analysis of large-scale particle clusters in wall-bounded turbulence

Abstract Large-scale inertial particle clustering in a turbulent boundary layer (TBL) was investigated experimentally by two-colour particle-image velocimetry and particle-tracking velocimetry measurements in the wall-parallel plane of the log layer. The particle clusters were detected by Voronoi tessellation and a new application of a technique based on the spatial wavelet transform. Anisotropic wavelets spanning the range of measurable, large-scale particle clusters were applied to experimentally measured particle fields, and significance testing was used to identify hierarchies of particle clusters. Unlike the Voronoi tessellation, which primarily identified small-scale clusters, the wavelet technique also found a significant amount of anisotropic, large-scale clusters on the scale of the large-scale motions (LSMs) of the momentum field. The large-scale clusters were shown to be composed of a hierarchy of smaller clusters of varying degrees of isotropy. In addition to the cluster size distribution, the particle velocities within the clusters were studied as a function of cluster size. Larger clusters exhibited faster particle convection speeds, consistent with observations of the convection speeds of LSMs, thus providing additional evidence for the hypothesis that particles in the TBL accumulate on and are transported by large-scale, attached coherent structures.
Toward automated prediction of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Abstract Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a devastating yet overlooked complication of epilepsy. The rare and complex nature of SUDEP makes it challenging to study. No prediction or prevention of SUDEP is currently available in a clinical setting. In the past decade, significant advances have been made in our knowledge of the pathophysiologic cascades that lead to SUDEP. In particular, studies of brain, heart, and respiratory functions in both human patients at the epilepsy monitoring unit and animal models during fatal seizures provide critical information to integrate computational tools for SUDEP prediction. The rapid advances in automated seizure detection and prediction algorithms provide a fundamental framework for their adaption in predicting SUDEP. If a SUDEP can be predicted, then there will be a potential for medical intervention to be administered, either by their caregivers or via an implanted device automatically delivering electrical stimulation or medication, and finally save lives from fatal seizures. This article presents recent developments of SUDEP studies focusing on the pathophysiologic basis of SUDEP and computational implications of machine learning techniques that can be adapted and extended for SUDEP prediction. This article also discusses some novel ideas for SUDEP prediction and rescue including principal component analysis and closed-loop intervention.
Use of Social Networking Data to Explore Activity and Destination Choice Behavior in Two Metropolitan Areas

On the basis of data from online location-based social networks, the spatiality of destinations in the context of social networks and the influence of social networks on travelers’ destination choices are explored through check-in behavior. Analysis results show that social relationships play a role in travelers’ destination choices and that distance plays a strong role in social networks and in location choice. Comparison of check-in behavior of travelers in two social networks identified in two metropolitan areas (Chicago, Illinois, and New York City) and examination of interactions in the largest communities in each social network indicate that the denser a social network is, the greater the likelihood that travelers will be influenced by their friends in their choice of destination. However, travelers’ own experiences appear to exert greater influence on their decision making than do friendships.
Fabrication of self-assembly CNT flexible film and its piezoresistive sensing behaviors

Abstract Strain sensors are essential for health monitoring of complex-shaped structures. Here, carbon nanotube thin films (CNTFS) with different double-layers were fabricated on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate using layer-by-layer self-assembly technique, and their resistance behaviors and piezoresistive sensing performances were comprehensively conducted. Results show that the assembled layers of CNTFS are evenly and compactly deposited with about 7–15 μm, and the resistance decreases with the increase in the assembly layer number. The piezoresistive sensing behavior increases first and then decreases with the increase in the number of assembly layers along with compression or tension cyclic loading; the nine-double-layer CNTFS shows the best linearity, sensitivity, hysterics, and repeatability of 3.22%, 0.12684/mm, 2.16%, and 3.06%, respectively.
Evaluating the Growth Assessment Protocol for stillbirth prevention: progress and challenges

Abstract Many stillbirths are associated with fetal growth restriction, and are hence potentially avoidable. The Growth Assessment Protocol (GAP) is a multidisciplinary program with an evidence based care pathway, training in risk assessment, fetal growth surveillance with customised charts and rolling audit. Antenatal detection of small for gestational age (SGA) has become an indicator of quality of care. Evaluation is essential to understand the impact of such a prevention program. Randomised trials will not be effective if they cannot ensure proper implementation before assessment. Observational studies have allowed realistic evaluation in practice, with other factors excluded that may have influenced the outcome. An award winning 10 year study of stillbirth data in England has been able to assess the effect of GAP in isolation, and found a strong, causal association with improved antenatal detection of SGA babies, and the sustained decline in national stillbirth rates. The challenge now is to apply this program more widely in low and middle income settings where the main global burden of stillbirth is, and to adapt it to local needs and resources.
Phytochemical profiling, antibacterial and antioxidant properties of Crocus sativus flower: A comparison between tepals and stigmas

Abstract Several studies have demonstrated that stigmas of Crocus sativus contain several bioactive compounds with potential health-promoting properties. However, during the processing of stigmas, large amounts of floral bio-residues are normally discarded as by-products. In this study, using untargeted metabolomics, the comprehensive phytochemical composition of C. sativus stigma and tepals was investigated. Moreover, the antibacterial and anti-biofilm properties of the extracts of C. sativus stigmas and tepals were compared. The study was carried out using two methicillin-resistant staphylococcal reference strains (i.e., Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 and Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 35984), representing important Gram-positive biofilm-forming human pathogens. The antibacterial properties were correlated with total polyphenol content, total terpenoid content, and in vitro antioxidant properties of tepals and stigmas. The results demonstrated that stigma and tepal extracts, at the sub-toxic concentrations, were able to interfere with biofilm formation by ATCC 43300 and ATCC 35984. Besides, the higher antibacterial activity of tepals than stigmas was associated with higher levels of phycompounds. Therefore, our results demonstrated that C. sativus stigmas and bio-residues, such as tepals, are potential antioxidant sources and good candidates as antibacterial agents to prevent biofilm formation. Taken together, these findings showed that C. sativus could be used as functional ingredient by the food and pharmaceutical industries. Graphical abstract
Electromyography of the Multifidus Muscle in Horses Trotting During Therapeutic Exercises

Thoracolumbar pain has been identified in both human and equine patients. Rehabilitation and conditioning programs have focused specifically on improving trunk and abdominal muscle function (1–5). Equine exercise programs routinely incorporate ground poles and training devices for the similar goals of increasing spinal and core stability and strength (6–8). The multifidus muscle has been an area of focus due to atrophy associated with disease (9). To date, there have been no reports on the activity of the multifidus muscle in horses in relation to therapeutic exercises. Our objectives were to use electromyography to determine the average work performed and peak muscle activity of the multifidus in horses trotting, trotting over ground poles, trotting while wearing a resistance band-based training device and trotting while wearing the training device over ground poles. We hypothesized that ground poles and the training device would each increase average work performed and peak multifidus muscle activity. Right and left cranial thoracic locations showed significant increased muscle work and peak activation when horses were trotted over ground poles versus without. The peak activation was significantly greater in horses trotting over poles in both lumbar regions, but there was no significant change in peak activation in either location due to the training device. When the influence of the training device was investigated without ground poles, left caudal thoracic muscle work and peak activity, and right lumbar muscle work were significantly lower when using the training device, as compared to without. When the training device was combined with trotting over ground poles, both left and right caudal thoracic regions showed significantly lower muscle work and peak activity when the device was used. There was no significant difference between with and without the device in either left or right lumbar muscle work. In conclusion, implementing ground poles can be an effective strategy to increase the activation of the multifidus muscle, however, caution should be taken when incorporating the use of a resistance band training device as muscle work and peak activation were significantly reduced in most locations. Further study should be performed in regards to the training device to determine its effects on epaxial musculature.
Connexin 43 Hemichannels Regulate Osteoblast to Osteocyte Differentiation

Connexin 43 (Cx43) is the predominant connexin subtype expressed in osteocytes. Osteocytes, accounting for 90%–95% of total bone cells, function as orchestrators coordinating balanced activity between bone-resorbing osteoclasts and bone-forming osteoblasts. In this study, two newly developed osteocytic cell lines, OCY454 and IDG-SW3, were used to determine the role of Cx43 gap junctions and hemichannels (HCs) in the regulation of osteoblast to osteocyte differentiation. We found that the Cx43 level was substantially increased during the differentiation of IDG-SW3 cells and is also much higher than that of OCY454 cells. We knocked down Cx43 expression using the lentiviral CRISPR/Cas9 approach and inhibition of Cx43 HCs using Cx43 (E2) antibody in IDG-SW3 cells. Cx43 knockdown (KD) or Cx43 HC inhibition decreased gene expression for osteoblast and osteocyte markers, including alkaline phosphatase, type I collagen, dentin matrix protein 1, sclerostin, and fibroblast growth factor 23, whereas increasing the osteoclastogenesis indicator and the receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL)/osteoprotegerin (OPG) ratio at early and late differentiation stages. Moreover, mineralization was remarkably attenuated in differentiated Cx43-deficient IDG-SW3 cells compared to ROSA26 control. The conditioned medium collected from fully differentiated IDG-SW3 cells with Cx43 KD promoted osteoclastogenesis of RAW264.7 osteoclast precursors. Our results demonstrated that Cx43 HCs play critical roles in osteoblast to osteocyte differentiation process and regulate osteoclast differentiation via secreted factors.