Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Experimental investigation of spectral global irradiance measurement errors due to a non ideal cosine response

Due to limitations in the diffusers used for global irradiance measurements, the method usually applied to correct global irradiance measurements is investigated. Based on sky radiance measurements, the assumption of a homogeneous sky radiance distribution generally used to calculate the diffuse part of the global cosine error is accurate to within ±1.5% in the UVB for varying atmospheric and geographic conditions. At longer wavelengths, the assumption of a homogeneous sky radiance distribution should not be used for global cosine corrections since it underestimates the true diffuse cosine error by up to 10% at 500 nm. The accuracy of diffuse irradiance measurements using shading disks is investigated and its dependence on different aerosol amounts is shown. The cosine correction of global irradiance measurements is shown to be insensitive to errors in the determination of the fraction of direct to global irradiance. The uncertainty in the cosine correction of global irradiance measurements is therefore less than ±2% in the UVB.
The water balance of Lake Victoria

The sharp rise in the level of Lake Victoria between 1961 and 1964 has been found difficult to explain in terms of the components of the water balance. After reviewing lake inflows and the method of calculating lake rainfall from lakeside gauges, the historic lake water balance has been reproduced. The rise in lake level can be explained through rainfall and resulting tributary inflows, which would allow projections of possible future levels to be made by analysis of rainfall series.
Sulfur and phosphorus in the Earth's core: The Fe‐P‐S system at 23 GPa

Phosphorus is an important element believed to be present in the Earth's core. As a non‐metal, its solubility in iron is limited, leading to the precipitation of phosphides at high concentrations. Here we present experimental results for the iron‐rich portions of the Fe‐P and Fe‐P‐S systems at 23 GPa. We find a Fe‐P eutectic point occurring at 9 wt% P and 1275°C at 23 GPa. Up to 4 wt% P is soluble in the Fe‐rich solid coexisting with the eutectic liquid at these conditions. The ternary Fe‐P‐S system displays a simple cotectic between the Fe‐P and Fe‐S binary eutectics with minimum melting temperature on the S‐side at 1075°C. At subsolidus conditions there is complete solid solution between Fe3P and Fe3S. The high solubility of phosphorus in iron along with its miscibility in Fe3S and iron‐sulfur liquids at high pressures, combined with expectation of only minor concentrations in planetary cores, indicate phosphorus will not form a distinct phase within terrestrial planet cores.
Clinical Utility of Ultrasound Imaging for Measuring Anterior Thigh Thickness after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury in an Individual Patient to Assess Postsurgery Outcome

The present study investigated the clinical utility of ultrasound imaging (USI) for assessing changes in an individual's quadriceps muscle and subcutaneous fat (SF) thickness of the anterior thigh and their relative proportions. A patient was studied prior to and after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) surgery and during rehabilitation. This case study involved an 18-year-old female recreational athlete with a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Tissue thickness (SF and quadriceps muscle) was measured from transverse USI of the anterior thigh before surgery, at weekly intervals during 12 weeks of postsurgery, and then every 2 weeks for the following 12 weeks (total of 21 measurement sets). Statistically significant differences presurgery to postrehabilitation were found for muscle thickness (p = 0.04) and SF tissue thickness (p = 0.04) measurements. There was no difference in muscle to fat ratio (p = 0.08). Changes in measurements greater than the reported minimal detectable change (MDC) demonstrate the sensitivity of the USI technique as an objective tool to assess clinically useful changes in an individual's anterior thigh muscle thickness post-ACLR surgery and during rehabilitation.
Quantifying grain size distribution of pedogenic magnetic particles in Chinese loess and its significance for pedogenesis

Quaternary glacial/interglacial cycles have been imprinted on the Chinese loess/paleosol sequences through pedogenesis. In order to accurately decode the paleoclimatic signals carried by these pedogenic particles it is essential to quantify the pedogenically produced magnetic particles in terms of mineralogy as well as grain size distribution (GSD). To date, the GSD has not been accurately determined because of the dearth of available means for analyzing extremely fine grained (nanometer-scale) pedogenic magnetic particles. Using low-temperature techniques, we systematically investigated the temperature dependency of χ fd (defined as χ1Hz − χ10Hz, where χ1Hz and χ10Hz are AC magnetic susceptibility measured at 1 and 10 Hz, respectively) from two characteristic loess profiles, one located at the western Chinese Loess Plateau and the other in the central plateau. On the basis of Neel theory for a shape anisotropy dominant grain and experimental analysis at low temperatures, a quantitative GSD for pedogenic particles in Chinese loess/paleosols was constructed. We found that the dominant magnetic grain size lies just above the superparamagnetic/single-domain threshold (∼20–25 nm) and that the GSD is almost independent of the degree of pedogenesis. This observation agrees well with other constraints from previous studies. This new GSD model improves our understanding of the pedogenic processes in Chinese loess, enabling further explicit linkage of environmental magnetism to paleoclimate changes.
Performance Evaluation for Grant-Free NOMA System Using Hybrid SCMA-OFDM

Grant-free non-orthogonal multiple access (GF-NOMA) technology shows promise in serving massive machine-type communication (mMTC) Internet-of-Thing (IoT) users, thanks to its low signaling and transmission overhead. Nonetheless, GF-NOMA technology suffers from severe collisions due to the absence of grants, leading to incorrect decoding and transmission inefficiency. To reduce collisions in the GF-NOMA system, we propose a hybrid framework that incorporates Sparse Code Multiple Access (SCMA) in the power domain non-orthogonal multiple access (PD-NOMA) system. This framework classifies users into two different groups based on their power levels. One group of users employs SCMA, distinguishing themselves from each other using their respective codebooks. The other group consists of traditional users utilizing orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). By adopting this approach, we can utilize the same amount of spectrum resources as in traditional PD-NOMA while increasing the number of contention transmission units (CTUs) to reduce the probability of collisions. Simulation results indicate that our proposed framework achieves a higher decoding success rate compared to traditional PD-NOMA.
TOOL FOR INTERACTIVE VISUAL ANALYSIS OF LARGE HIERARCHICAL DATA STRUCTURES

In the Big Data era data visualization and exploration systems, as means for data perception and manipulation are facing major challenges. One of the challenges for modern visualization systems is to ensure adequate visual presentation and interaction. Therefore, within this paper, we present a tool for interactive visualization of data with a hierarchical structure. It is a general-purpose tool that uses a graph-based approach. However, its main focus is on the visual analysis of concept lattices generated as the output of the Formal Concept Analysis algorithm. As the data grow, concept lattice can become complex and hard for visualization and analysis. In order to address this issue, functionalities important for the exploration of the large concept lattices are applied within this tool. The usage of the tool is presented in the example of visualization of concept lattices generated based on the available data on the Canadas open data portal and can be used for exploring the usage of tags within datasets.
Recalling, reacting but not so much regretting: How young adults describe their sexual and romantic infidelity experiences

Abstract:Infidelity is reported at high rates despite strong societal prohibitions against it, leading to questions about whether outcomes support the motives driving infidelity. Little is known about whether motives behind infidelity correspond to perceived outcomes, including regret, but such information might help to explain the paradox of the high rates. Participants were recruited from a large prospective study on monogamy. Analyses were conducted on surveys from the 94 individuals who engaged in infidelity over the year. Using structured and open-ended measures, the authors examined how infidelity evolved, patterns among motives and outcomes, and regret. Infidelity typically began at work or online, lasted about one year, and involved sex as well as feelings of infatuation or love. Most (63.4%) reported not regretting their infidelity. Motives (anger, neglect, dissatisfaction, sex) were compared with outcomes (fulfilled needs, sexual satisfaction, distress) to assess concordance. Being motivated by feelings of neglect or relationship dissatisfaction was associated with needs fulfilled by infidelity; sex as a motive was associated with sexual satisfaction as an outcome. However, concordance in motives and outcomes was unrelated to regret.
A Comprehensive Review of Solving Selective Harmonic Elimination Problem With Algebraic Algorithms

Selective harmonic elimination pulsewidth modulation (SHEPWM) is an effective way to eliminate low-order harmonics in high-power applications. However, one of the biggest challenges of SHEPWM is to solve the selective harmonic elimination (SHE) equations, which are composed of some nonlinear transcendental equations. Over the past few decades, algebraic algorithms have shown a considerable ability to solve SHE equations, specifically for obtaining all exact solutions. Much research has been published about algebraic algorithms, struggling to solve more switching angles, solving different mathematic models of SHEPWM, and so on. This article comprehensively reviews existing algebraic algorithms, including elementary symmetric polynomials, power sums, Newton's identities, resultant elimination method, Wu's method, Gröbner-basis-based method, Chudnovsky algorithm, polynomial homotopy continuation algorithm, and real-time implementation by algebraic algorithms. The principle operation of these methods is summarized, and their performance is analyzed in terms of execution time, solving ability, and applicability for different mathematical models.
Establishment of reference intervals for ultrasonographically derived caudal vena cava parameters from 110 healthy, lightly sedated cats

Objectives The present study aimed to establish reference intervals (RIs) for ultrasonographically derived caudal vena cava (CVC) parameters in healthy cats. Methods A prospective, observational, experimental single-centre study involving 110 cats was conducted. Two trained operators scanned all cats in a randomised order. Two sets of cine loops per cat were conducted by each operator from the subxiphoid view with cats in lateral recumbency. Two blinded raters measured the narrowest inspiratory (CVCinsp) and widest expiratory (CVCexp) diameter over two separate respiratory cycles for each operator (four measurements in total for each rater) at the point the CVC crosses the diaphragm. The CVC collapsibility index (CVCCI) was calculated. Reference intervals and limits were calculated for CVC parameters with outliers removed to include the central 95% of CVC values and the non-parametric 90% confidence intervals (90% CIs). The CVCCI interval included the central 95th (2.5th and 97.5th) centiles bounded by the 90% CI. Intra- and inter-rater and intra- and inter-operator reliabilities were calculated for each parameter using a two-way random-effects model. A Bland–Altman plot was used to visualise the CVCCI between the two raters. Results In total, 880 measurements were included for each diameter and 440 CVCCI values were calculated. The CVC diameters were normally distributed, whereas the CVCCI was not. The calculated RIs were 1.4–6.1 mm for CVCinsp and 2.2–6.7 mm for CVCexp. The median (range) CVCCI was 23% (11–36%) with 2.5th and 97.5th centiles of 2% and 67%, respectively. There was a moderate to good intra-rater and intra-operator reliability for CVC diameter. The intra-rater reliability for the CVCCI was moderate. The inter-rater and inter-operator reliabilities for the CVCCI were poor. Conclusions and relevance The CVC RIs determined from the subxiphoid site in cats appear to be wider than those reported in dogs, and rater and operator variability is present. Whether precise measurements of CVC parameters are suitable to guide clinical decisions remains to be determined.
Implementation of an Adaptive Control Algorithm on a Six DOF Robot Manipulator

Adaptive control is an appealing approach for the control of the robot manipulators due to presence of disturbances and uncertainties in the dynamic model of the robot. Several studies in the literature provided the derivation of globally convergent adaptive controllers. However, these studies generally presented in the absence of experimental work on complex systems such as six-DOF robot manipulator. This paper presents the implementation of an adaptive control algorithm that is proposed by an earlier study in the literature for motion control of a six-DOF robot manipulator. An integral term is also added to the original control law to reduce steady-state errors. Experimental results show that in general sensitivity of the position error to varying payload is less for the adaptive control compared to non-adaptive approaches such as computed torque control. (Abstract)
3D-Printed Medical-Grade Polycaprolactone (mPCL) Scaffold for the Surgical Treatment of Vaginal Prolapse and Abdominal Hernias

The expected outcome after a scaffold augmented hernia repair is the regeneration of a tissue composition strong enough to sustain biomechanical function over long periods. It is hypothesised that melt electrowriting (MEW) medical-grade polycaprolactone (mPCL) scaffolds loaded with platelet-rich plasma (PRP) will enhance soft tissue regeneration in fascial defects in abdominal and vaginal sheep models. A pre-clinical evaluation of vaginal and abdominal hernia reconstruction using mPCL mesh scaffolds and polypropylene (PP) meshes was undertaken using an ovine model. Each sheep was implanted with both a PP mesh (control group), and a mPCL mesh loaded with PRP (experimental group) in both abdominal and vaginal sites. Mechanical properties of the tissue-mesh complexes were assessed with plunger tests. Tissue responses to the implanted meshes were evaluated via histology, immunohistochemistry and histomorphometry. At 6 months post-surgery, the mPCL mesh was less stiff than the PP mesh, but stiffer than the native tissue, while showing equitable collagen and vascular ingrowth when compared to PP mesh. The results of this pilot study were supportive of mPCL as a safe and effective biodegradable scaffold for hernia and vaginal prolapse repair, hence a full-scale long-term study (over 24–36 months) with an adequate sample size is recommended.
A Graph-Optimized SLAM with Improved Levenberg-Marquardt Algorithm

The current nonlinear optimization of visual SLAM back-end has disadvantages such as slow optimization speed and poor optimization effect. To overcome these problems, this paper improves the traditional Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm (L-M) based on a framework of Bundle Adjustment (BA) nonlinear optimization. Firstly, the radius and expansion multiplier of the trust region are formulated and a threshold value is set; secondly, the trust region after each iteration is restricted with the pre-defined range for the purpose of improving nonlinear optimization; finally, a comparative analysis is conducted by setting up a comparison experiment with the traditional L-M algorithm, and It is concluded that the improved L-M algorithm can reduce the number of iterations by 16 times and time performance was reduced by an average of 62.30%, which shorens the optimization time, improves the optimization efficiency and has better robustness.
Therapeutic Approaches in Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension with Beneficial Effects on Right Ventricular Function—Preclinical Studies

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a progressive condition that affects the pulmonary vessels, but its main prognostic factor is the right ventricle (RV) function. Many mice/rat models are used for research in PAH, but results fail to translate to clinical trials. This study reviews studies that test interventions on pulmonary artery banding (PAB), a model of isolated RV disfunction, and PH models. Multiple tested drugs both improved pulmonary vascular hemodynamics in PH models and improved RV structure and function in PAB animals. PH models and PAB animals frequently exhibited similar results (73.1% concordance). Macitentan, sildenafil, and tadalafil improved most tested pathophysiological parameters in PH models, but almost none in PAB animals. Results are frequently not consistent with other studies, possibly due to the methodology, which greatly varied. Some research groups start treating the animals immediately, and others wait up to 4 weeks from model induction. Treatment duration and choice of anaesthetic are other important differences. This review shows that many drugs currently under research for PAH have a cardioprotective effect on animals that may translate to humans. However, a uniformization of methods may increase comparability between studies and, thus, improve translation to clinical trials.
Risk mitigation strategies and policy implications for carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission in organically- amended soils in Nigeria

Global food security has been a challenge, especially in Africa. This has attracted the adoption of strategies to improve soil productivity and crop yield. One of such strategies is the use of solid wastes as soil organic matter amendments. An investigation of the effects of soil amendment using poultry manure, sawdust and their mixtures on carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emission, maize ( Zea mays L.) growth and dry matter yield were assessed under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. Top soil obtained from unfertilized plots at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching and Research farm, Ile-Ife, Nigeria was used for the experiments. The organic amendments were added at the rate of 10 g/kg, treatments were in triplicates and treatment means were separated using Duncan’s Multiple Range Test at 95% level of significance. Results obtained revealed that CO 2 emission decreased while maize heights and dry matter yields significantly (P > 0.05) increased with increasing ratios of poultry manure in the poultry manure-sawdust mixtures. The CO 2 emission from poultry manure amended soil was about 61% that from sawdust amended soil while the mean height and dry matter yield in sawdust-amended soils were 84% and 52% respectively those obtained in poultry manure amended soil. This paper concludes that it is essential to design and implement policies that will guide and encourage the use of organic amendments at ratios that can enhance crop yield and mitigate CO 2 emission to the environment. Key words: Food security, solid waste, carbon dioxide emission, organic amendments, environment and policy.
Random noise attenuation by f-x empirical mode decomposition predictive filtering

ABSTRACTRandom noise attenuation always played an important role in seismic data processing. One of the most widely used methods for suppressing random noise was f‐x predictive filtering. When the subsurface structure becomes complex, this method suffered from higher prediction errors owing to the large number of different dip components that need to be predicted. We developed a novel denoising method termed f‐x empirical-mode decomposition (EMD) predictive filtering. This new scheme solved the problem that makes f‐x EMD ineffective with complex seismic data. Also, by making the prediction more precise, the new scheme removed the limitation of conventional f‐x predictive filtering when dealing with multidip seismic profiles. In this new method, we first applied EMD to each frequency slice in the f‐x domain and obtained several intrinsic mode functions (IMFs). Then, an autoregressive model was applied to the sum of the first few IMFs, which contained the high-dip-angle components, to predict the useful ste.
Role of UAVs and HAPS for IoT-based Monitoring in Emergency Scenarios

Emergency communication scenarios require telecommunication systems to reach remote areas without ground connectivity. In this context, an aerial multi-layer system provided by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and High-Altitude Platform Stations (HAPS) can support ad hoc coverage and assure backhaul connectivity. This paper surveys the role of UAVs and HAPS in emergency scenarios with particular reference to IoT applications (Internet of Emergency Service, IoES). We investigate NB-IoT and LoRa/LoRaWAN as today's major alternatives for IoES. Finally, an analytical approach is provided to compare the random-access schemes of these radio technologies, considering efficient access as a key for collecting ground IoT data in the emergency context.
A Bounded e-Modification Applied to Adaptive Control of Servo Systems

This work proposes an adaptive controller applied to servo systems. Its salient features are the use of the acceleration and the velocity of the desired trajectory for building the regressor vector, which is employed in a update law endowed with the classic e-modification, and the proposal of a new smooth bounding technique for limiting the values of the parameter estimates produced by the update law. The performance of the proposed adaptive controller is evaluated through experiments on a low-cost laboratory prototype. In addition, the experiments allow concluding that the proposed parameter bounding technique combined with the use of noise-free signals in the update law produce good closed-loop performance.
Implementing Mission-Critical UAV Swarm Coordination Through the Integration of LoRa and ROS Frameworks

The operation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) has emerged as a promising enabling technology in many mission-critical operations. The ability of UAVs to communicate is essential for receiving and transmitting commands, telemetry data, and other payload information. This work proposes a wireless communication system using an integrated LoRa-ROS (long range communication - robot operating system) implementation of the two popular protocols for communication and coordination, respectively. The system is designed for UAV-to-X (UAV/GCS - ground control station) applications. The LoRa protocol, with its long-range and low-power features, is well-suited for UAV-to-X communication, especially in remote or rural areas, or during disasters, where the traditional cellular/WiFi networks are unavailable or unreliable. At the same time, ROS provides the necessary software framework to orchestrate the behavior of the UAVs and ensure seamless multi-agent coordination. The developed prototype system is implemented and empirically tested on a number of UAVs and ground control stations, and the results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed solution.