Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assessment of Groundwater Quality in the Mining Areas of Goa, India

Goa is a famous International tourist destination and attracts around 2 million tourists annually. Tourism is generally limited along the coastal belt of Goa, while mining is more focused in the midland of Goa. The groundwater in the State is mainly used for drinking and industrial purposes followed by agriculture to some extent. The open cast iron ore mining in Goa had induced significant changes in groundwater quality and quantity. The objective of the present study was to assess the impact of mining activities on the qualitative scenario of ground water in the study area. The monitoring of groundwater quality was done at fourty five groundwater sampling locations on a seasonal basis (i.e. post-monsoon, winter, summer, and monsoon) from October 2011 to September 2012. Assessment of Ground water quality status was done by using the Water Quality Index method, which is an effective tool to assess spatial and temporal changes in ground water quality. Based on the descriptive categories of WQI values observed, all (100%) the sampling locations in the study area were observed with very good category.
Esaim: Control, Optimisation and Calculus of Variations Quasi-static Evolution for Fatigue Debonding

The propagation of fractures in a solid undergoing cyclic loadings is known as the fatigue phenomenon. In this paper, we present a time continuous model for fatigue, in the special situation of the debonding of thin layers, coming from a time discretized version recently proposed by A. Jaubert and J.-J. Marigo [11]. Under very general assumptions on the surface energy density and on the applied displacement, we discuss the well-posedness of our problem and we give the main properties of the evolution process.
Physical map of the Myxococcus xanthus chromosome

The genome of Myxococcus xanthus, which is 9,454 kbp, is one of the largest bacterial genomes. The organization of the DNA and the distribution of genes encoding social and developmental behaviors were examined by using pulsed field gel electrophoresis. Intact genomic DNA was digested with AseI into 16 restriction fragments, which were separated by contour-clamped homogeneous electric field electrophoresis, purified, and radiolabeled. Each AseI fragment was hybridized to SpeI-digested DNA and to an M. xanthus genomic library contained in yeast artificial chromosomes. Some SpeI restriction fragments and yeast artificial chromosome clones contained AseI sites and hybridized with two different AseI restriction fragments, providing evidence for the juxtaposition of these AseI restriction fragments in the chromosome. The deduced AseI physical map is circular, suggesting that this bacterium contains a single, circular chromosome. Transposable elements shown by transduction to be in or near genes of interest were located on specific AseI restriction fragments by restriction analysis and Southern hybridization. Most AseI restriction fragments contained genes involved in social and developmental behaviors.
Lessons learned from the deployment of a long-term autonomous robot as companion in physical therapy for older adults with dementia a mixed methods study

The eldercare sector is a promising deployment area for robotics where robots can support staff and help to bridge the predicted staff-shortage. A requirement analysis showed that one field of robot-deployment could be supporting physical therapy of older adults with advanced dementia. To explore this possibility, a long-term autonomous robot was deployed as a walking group assistant at a care site for the first time. The robot accompanied two weekly walking groups for a month, offering visual and acoustic stimulation. Therapists' experience, the robot's influence on the dynamic of the group and the therapists' estimation of the robot's utility were assessed by a mixed methods design consisting of observations, interviews and rating scales. Findings suggest that a robot has the potential to enhance motivation, group coherence and also mood within the walking group. Furthermore, older adults show curiosity and openness towards the robot. However, robustness and reliability of the system must be high, otherwise technical problems quickly turn the robot from a useful assistant into a source of additional workload and exhaustion for therapists.
Integration of Stereopsis and Motion Shape Cues

A global shape judgement task was used to investigate the combination of stereopsis and kinetic depth. With botb cues present, there were no distortions of shape perception, even under conditions where either cue alone did show such distortions. We suggest that the addition of motion information overcomes the stereo distance scaling problem. However, when incongruent combinations of disparity and motion were used, the results did not match predictions of a number of combination theories. These data could be described by a model which used weighted linear combination afier correctly scaling disparities for viewing distance. When the motion cue was weakened by presenting only two frames of each motion sequence, stereo was weighted more heavily.
Systematic design of a 14-bit 150-MS/s CMOS current-steering D/A converter

This paper presents a D/A converter with a 14-bit intrinsic linearity in 0. 5µm CMOS technology, which has been designed using a systematic design methodology for current-steering D/A converters. A flexible architecture is proposed for which the design parameters are calculated using a performance-driven top-down design methodology. The layout of the regular structure typical for D/A converters is automatically generated. Measurement results are reported. Due to the systematic design methodology, the design was realized in less than one month total accumulated person effort.
Plant–pathogen interactions: leaf physiology alterations in poplars infected with rust (Melampsora medusae)

Rust produced by Melampsora sp. is considered one of the most relevant diseases in poplar plantations. Growth reduction in poplar plantations takes place because rust, like other pathogens, alters leaf physiology. There is not a complete evaluation of several of the physiological traits that can be affected by rust at leaf level. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate, in an integrative way and in the same pathosystem, which physiological processes are affected when Populus deltoides Bartr. ex Marsh. leaves are infected by rust (Melampsora medusae Thümen). Leaves of two clones with different susceptibility to rust were analyzed. Field and pot experiments were performed, and several physiological traits were measured in healthy and infected leaves. We conclude that rust affects leaf mesophyll integrity, and so water movement in the leaf in liquid phase is affected. As a consequence, gas exchange is reduced, affecting both carbon fixation and transpiration. However, there is an increase in respiration rate, probably due to plant and fungal respiration. The increase in respiration rate is important in the reduction of net photosynthetic rate, but also some damage in the photosynthetic apparatus limits leaf capacity to fix carbon. The decrease in chlorophyll content would start later and seems not to explain the reduction in net photosynthetic rate. Both clones, although they have different susceptibility to rust, are affected in the same physiological mechanisms.
On the eddy-Kuroshio interaction: Evolution of the mesoscale eddy

[1] Presented are results from a numerical study of the interaction of a mesoscale eddy and the Kuroshio using a high-resolution regional general circulation model (GCM). The distinct evolution of the mesoscale eddies is not new in the literature, but most of the previous studies were conducted with simpler model configurations. To our knowledge the present study is the first to use a high-resolution GCM, proven to replicate a realistic ocean circulation. An anticyclonic eddy was injected to the south of Kuroshio (140°E, 30°N) by means of sequential data assimilation of TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data of October 1992 for 30 days. The strength of the assimilation was varied to produce five eddies (Rossby number ϵ ∼ 0.012–0.014) comparable in scale to those observed in this region. The two results (ϵ = 0.0131, 0.0141) resemble the observed onset of short-term meandering events in 1993 and 1998. The westward propagating anticyclonic eddy collides with the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu, propagates downstream, and triggers the short-term Kuroshio meander (occurring between the Kii Peninsula and Izu ridge with duration of half a year). The sequence resembles the scenario hypothesized on the basis of altimeter observations and other in situ measurements during Tokyo Ogasawara Line Experiment. The description of these cases is important, but we focus here on the differentiation between the strong eddy cases (ϵ = 0.0131, 0.0141) and the weak eddy cases (ϵ = 0.0118, 0.0124, 0.0125) classified on the basis of their subsequent evolutions: the strong geddy (meandering case) propagates west as it elongates zonally and barotropic tripolar vortices form, and the weak eddy (nonmeandering case) makes an abrupt southward migration while the eddy core splits as a result of advection by lower layer geostrophic motions. Such distinct evolutions are conjectured a result of a competition of the effects of nonlinearity, dispersion, and barotropicity of which their relative importance varied among the simulated eddies. Because the scale variation of the injected eddies are natural, we expect that even the weak-eddy case exists in nature; in fact, such a case was observed in 1994.
Botulinum toxin as an adjunct to motor learning therapy and surgery for obstetrical brachial plexus injury

Following obstetrical brachial plexus injury, infants are unable to learn specific patterns of movement due to the disruption of neural pathways. Even with successful reinnervation (spontaneously or post surgical reconstruction), function can be suboptimal due to overactivity in antagonist muscles preventing movement of reinnervated muscles. Botulinum toxin type A (BTX‐A) was used to temporarily weaken antagonistic muscles early in the reinnervation process following brachial plexus injury, with the aim of facilitating functional improvement. A case series of eight children (five females, three males; mean age 12.5mo [SD 6.43]; range 5–22mo) with significant muscle imbalances but evidence of reinnervation were given BTX‐A injections into the triceps, pectoralis major, and/or latissimus dorsi muscles. After a single injection, all parents reported improvement in function. Active Movement Scale total score changed significantly between pre BTX‐A and 1 month (p=0.014), and 4 months (p=0.022) post BTX‐A injection. It is proposed that BTX‐A facilitated motor learning through improved voluntary relaxation of antagonist muscles while allowing increased activity in reinnervated muscles.
Factors Enhancing the Host-Cell Penetration of Toxoplasma gondii

The penetration into HeLa cells of Toxoplasma gondii was studied with a cell culture technique. The influence on the rate of penetration and the number of penetrating Toxoplasma parasites was tested by use of preparations of disintegrated parasites mixed with test parasites. These preparations were found to contain factors enhancing the penetrating rate of the parasites. This effect was demonstrable by use of untreated parasites as well as parasites lacking active motility owing to a previous exposure to Formalin. The preparations of disintegrated parasites contained, in addition, components inhibitory to the penetration-enhancing factors. These inhibitory components were able to reduce the penetrating capacity of normal Toxoplasma parasites, suggesting that the studied enhancing factors may play a role in the natural process of penetration. The efficacy of various techniques for disintegration of Toxoplasma parasites was investigated for release of penetration-enhancing factors from Toxoplasma parasites. The methods used resemble those used for liberation of lysosomal enzymes. Reduced osmotic pressure was obviously not adequate for release of enhancing factors, whereas the freezing and thawing procedure, sonic treatment, and irradiation produced high yields. It was difficult to evaluate the effect of incubation at acid pH on release of enhancing activity, because the penetration-promoting factors seemed unstable on both the acid and the alkaline sides of pH 7.6.
Multiscale Probabilistic Dithering for Suppressing Contour Artifacts in Digital Images

A method is proposed for reducing the visibility of ldquocontour artifacts,rdquo i.e., false contours resulting from color quantization in digital images. The method performs a multiscale analysis on the neighborhood of each pixel, determines the presence and scale of contour artifacts, and probabilistically dithers (perturbs) the color of the pixel. The overall effect is to ldquobreak downrdquo the false contours, making them less visible. The proposed method may be used to reduce contour artifacts at the same bit depth as the input image or at higher bit depths. The contour artifact detection mechanism ensures that artifact-free regions remain unaffected during the process.
Oral tolerance originates in the intestinal immune system and relies on antigen carriage by dendritic cells

Oral tolerance induction is a key feature of intestinal immunity, generating systemic nonresponsiveness to ingested antigens. In this study, we report that orally applied soluble antigens are exclusively recognized in the intestinal immune system, particularly in the mesenteric lymph nodes. Consequently, the initiation of oral tolerance is impeded by mesenteric lymphadenectomy. Small bowel transplantation reveals that mesenteric lymph nodes require afferent lymph to accomplish the recognition of orally applied antigens. Finally, oral tolerance cannot be induced in CCR7-deficient mice that display impaired migration of dendritic cells from the intestine to the mesenteric lymph nodes, suggesting that immunologically relevant antigen is transported in a cell-bound fashion. These results demonstrate that antigen transport via afferent lymphatics into the draining mesenteric lymph nodes is obligatory for oral tolerance induction, inspiring new therapeutic strategies to exploit oral tolerance induction for the prevention and treatment of autoimmune diseases.
Lovastatin Biosynthesis by Aspergillus terreus in a Chemically Defined Medium

ABSTRACT Lovastatin is a secondary metabolite produced by Aspergillus terreus. A chemically defined medium was developed in order to investigate the influence of carbon and nitrogen sources on lovastatin biosynthesis. Among several organic and inorganic defined nitrogen sources metabolized by A. terreus, glutamate and histidine gave the highest lovastatin biosynthesis level. For cultures on glucose and glutamate, lovastatin synthesis initiated when glucose consumption levelled off. When A. terreus was grown on lactose, lovastatin production initiated in the presence of residual lactose. Experimental results showed that carbon source starvation is required in addition to relief of glucose repression, while glutamate did not repress biosynthesis. A threefold-higher specific productivity was found with the defined medium on glucose and glutamate, compared to growth on complex medium with glucose, peptonized milk, and yeast extract.
Random dyadic tilings of the unit square

A “dyadic rectangle” is a set of the form R = [a2−s, (a + 1)2−s] × [b2−t, (b + 1)2−t], where s and t are nonnegative integers. A dyadic tiling is a tiling of the unit square with dyadic rectangles. In this paper we study n‐tilings, which consist of 2n nonoverlapping dyadic rectangles, each of area 2−n, whose union is the unit square. We discuss some of the underlying combinatorial structures, provide some efficient methods for uniformly sampling from the set of n‐tilings, and study some limiting properties of random tilings. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 21: 225–251, 2002
Nondivergent Planetary Oscillations in Midlatitude Ocean Basins with Continental Shelves

Abstract Free oscillations in square, midlatitude basins with continental shelves and planetary vorticity gradients are numerically computed using the nondivergent shallow-water equations. The topography may rend a planetary mode into a family of basinwide modes, each comparable to the flat-bottom counterpart in frequency and midbasin structure. This phenomenon can be interpreted in terms of coupled planetary wave-shelf wave oscillations. The mechanism provides an alternative to strong dissipation in explaining broadbanded planetary-wave signals signals observed in tide guage records.
January-february Tropospheric Climate for the Northern Hemisphere and the 11-year Solar Cycle, the QBO and the Southern Oscillation

Examined here is a recently discovered association between the 11-year solar cycle and the atmosphere that is most easily detectable when the two phases of the Quasi-biennial Oscillation (QBO) are considered individually rather than pooled. The influence of the Southern Oscillation (SO) for either of the two QBO phases is then combined with that of the solar cycle in the form of two-predictor multiple regression. The strong and well-defined relationship between the 11-year 10.7 cm solar flux cycle and the lower troposphere Northern Hemisphere January-February climate for QBO phase-stratified samples (van Loon and Labitzke 1988, Barnston and Livezey 1989) failed for the west QBO phase in 1989. Here, the opposing 1989 event is explained, at least in part, on the basis of the phase of the SO (the cold tropical Pacific SST event of 1988 to 1989). It is demonstrated that both the SO and the solar flux have moderate and quasi-independent correlations with the climate over certain regions, and where there is strong overlap they can work either in harmony or in opposition. In 1989 in North America the influences of the SO and the flux conflicted to an unprecedented extent, and the SO was the controlling influence in most regions of the continent (western Canada being one exception). The 1989 event draws attention to the smallness of the QBO phase-stratified samples and the still more serious holes in the two-dimensional sample space of flux and SO when both factors are viewed as predictors within one QBO phase.
Computational Modeling of Auxin: A Foundation for Plant Engineering

Since the development of agriculture, humans have relied on the cultivation of plants to satisfy our increasing demand for food, natural products, and other raw materials. As we understand more about plant development, we can better manipulate plants to fulfill our particular needs. Auxins are a class of simple metabolites that coordinate many developmental activities like growth and the appearance of functional structures in plants. Computational modeling of auxin has proven to be an excellent tool in elucidating many mechanisms that underlie these developmental events. Due to the complexity of these mechanisms, current modeling efforts are concerned only with single phenomena focused on narrow spatial and developmental contexts; but a general model of plant development could be assembled by integrating the insights from all of them. In this perspective, we summarize the current collection of auxin-driven computational models, focusing on how they could come together into a single model for plant development. A model of this nature would allow researchers to test hypotheses in silico and yield accurate predictions about the behavior of a plant under a given set of physical and biochemical constraints. It would also provide a solid foundation toward the establishment of plant engineering, a proposed discipline intended to enable the design and production of plants that exhibit an arbitrarily defined set of features.
Low cost calibration of stereo line scan camera systems

We present a new calibration method for 3d measurement systems consisting of two co-planar aligned line scan cameras. As appliance we use a calibration target whose geometric 2d and 3d parameters are only approximately known. As our input data we take from that target a sufficient number of single captured image lies in different geometric positions. Then we calculate 2d points within the joint viewing plane of the cameras both by triangulation of corresponding image points and by intersection with the lines on the target surface. The distances between the triangulation points and the related intersection points are minimized by linearizing and least squares adjustment. In the result we obtain all relevant parameters of the inner and outer orientation as well as the 2d and 3d geometry parameters of the calibration target with high accuracy.
Feature weighting techniques for CBR in software effort estimation studies: a review and empirical evaluation

Context: Software effort estimation is one of the most important activities in the software development process. Unfortunately, estimates are often substantially wrong. Numerous estimation methods have been proposed including Case-based Reasoning (CBR). In order to improve CBR estimation accuracy, many researchers have proposed feature weighting techniques (FWT). Objective: Our purpose is to systematically review the empirical evidence to determine whether FWT leads to improved predictions. In addition we evaluate these techniques from the perspectives of (i) approach (ii) strengths and weaknesses (iii) performance and (iv) experimental evaluation approach including the data sets used. Method: We conducted a systematic literature review of published, refereed primary studies on FWT (2000--2014). Results: We identified 19 relevant primary studies. These reported a range of different techniques. 17 out of 19 make benchmark comparisons with standard CBR and 16 out of 17 studies report improved accuracy. Using a one-sample sign test this positive impact is significant (p = 0.0003). Conclusion: The actionable conclusion from this study is that our review of all relevant empirical evidence supports the use of FWTs and we recommend that researchers and practitioners give serious consideration to their adoption.
ACCURACY ANALYSIS OF DIFFERENTIAL DISTANCE CORRECTION USING BLUETOOTH LOW ENERGY TECHNOLOGY ON INDOOR POSITIONING SYSTEM

With the development of wireless technologies, Bluetooth has developed to a new version 4.0 in 2010. The major innovation is called Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE). Its characteristics of low cost, low energy consumption, and interoperability bring about a suitable tool for indoor positioning. Beacon, which is the application of BLEbased technology, is capable of transmitting information and one of them is called Received Signal Strength Index (RSSI) which can be converted to distance depending on the model of signal strength. This research utilizes beacon in indoor positioning system. The distance between transmitter and receiver can be estimated through RSSI distance model. The unknown position is subsequently calculated by trilateration. However, the signal strength of BLE will be influenced by the surrounding environments, i.e. multipath effect. To improve the performance of the positioning method, this research proposes a novel method, which corrects the distance derived from the model. The proposed differential distance correction is based on the differential method which is similar to the principle used in Global Positioning System (GPS) or Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS). The experimental results show that the positions after differential distance correction are closer to real position in terms of overall accuracy.