Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Variable Stiffness Gripper with Antagonistic Magnetic Springs for Enhancing Manipulation

Robot grasping of objects based on variable stiffness actuation not only improves the safety and robustness of the grasp but also enhances dynamic manipulation. In this paper, we present the design aspects of a variable stiffness gripper and demonstrate how the controllable compliance of the fingers can improve the performance in dynamic manipulation tasks such as hammering/hitting. The proposed gripper consists of two parallel fingers and repulsive magnets are used as the nonlinear springs between gripper actuators and fingers. The position and force-stiffness characteristics of the fingers are adjusted simultaneously, by controlling the air-gaps between magnets. Finally, the application of the gripper in a nail hammering task is studied as an example of dynamic manipulation. For this purpose, an optimal stiffness control problem is solved to maximize the impact force of the hammering task through maximizing the kinetic energy of the grasped object at the hitting instance. Despite the simplicity of the design, experimental results indicate the effectiveness of the gripper for dynamic manipulation.
Isolation and Identification of Endophytic Bacteria with Plant Growth Promoting Activity and Biocontrol Potential from Wild Pistachio Trees

In this study, samples were collected from the leaves and stems of healthy wild Pistachio trees (Pistacia atlantica L.) from various locations of Baneh and Marivan regions, Iran. In total, 61 endophytic bacteria were isolated and grouped according to phenotypic properties. Ten selected isolates from each group were further identified by partial sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Based on the results, isolates were identified as bacteria belonging to Pseudomonas, Stenotrophomonas, Bacillus, Pantoea and Serratia genus. The ability of these isolates was evaluated to phytohormone production such as auxin and gibberellin, siderophore production, phosphate solubilization, atmospheric nitrogen fixation, protease and hydrogen cyanide production. All strains were able to produce the plant growth hormone auxin and gibberellin in different amounts. The majority of strains were able to solubilize phosphate. The results of atmospheric nitrogen fixation ability, protease and siderophore production were varied among strains. Only Ba66 could produce a low amount of hydrogen cyanide. The results of biocontrol assay showed that Pb78 and Sp15 strains had the highest and lowest inhibition effects on bacterial plant pathogens, Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae Pss20 and Pseudomonas tolaasii Pt18 under in vitro condition. Pb3, Pb24 and Pb71 strains significantly promote root formation on carrot slices. To our knowledge this is the first report of the isolation of endophytic bacterial strains belonging to Pantoea, Bacillus, Pseudomonas, Serratia and Stenotrophomonas genus from wild pistachio trees with plant growth promoting potential and biocontrol activity.
Descripteurs à divers niveaux de concepts pour la classification d ’ images multi-objets

We consider the problem of image classification with semantic features that are built from a set of base classifier outputs, each reflecting visual concepts. However, existing approaches consider visual concepts independently from each other whereas they are often linked together. When those relations are considered, existing models strongly rely on image low-level features, yielding in irrelevant relations when the low-level representation fails. On the contrary, the approach we propose, uses existing human knowledge, the application context itself and the human categorization mechanism to reflect complex relations between concepts. By nesting this ressources on the concept FIGURE 1 – Pour une image donnée (a) contenant plusieurs objets, les descripteurs sémantiques existants (b) renvoient les concepts illustrés en noir et ne parviennent pas à reconnaître certains concepts utiles, tels que personne et vélo. L’approche proposée (c) capture des concepts utiles pour la catégorisation de l’image, i.e. sur-ordonné (en marron), niveau-de-base (en gris) et sous-ordonnés (en bleu), rendant la représentation beaucoup plus pertinente. detection and selection processes, our final semantic feature captures the most useful information for an effective categorization. Thus, it enables to give good representation, even if some important concepts failed to be recognized. Experimental validation is conducted on three benchmarks of multi-object classification and leads to results that outperforms comparable approaches.
Relationship Between Psychological Well-Being and Perceived Wellness in Online Graduate Counselor Education Students

Counselor well-being is an important contributor to the effectiveness of the therapeutic relationship. This study examined the relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness in a sample (N = 100) of graduate students enrolled in two online counselor training programs. The issue of personal counseling was also addressed in this study. Multiple regression analysis revealed a significant relationship between psychological well-being and perceived wellness.
Inferior Alveolar Nerve Location to Determine Zone of Safety for Dental Implant Placement among Malaysian Population

Background: Zone of safety is a clinical method to assess a safe zone to insert posterior mandibular endosteal implant. Aim of this study is to determine the available bone height in different regions of posterior mandible among Malaysians to support the implants without fear of impingement on the inferior alveolar nerve. Materials and Methods: Five hundred and fifty Orthopantomographies (OPGs) were observed. Line A was drawn parallel to the posterior plane of occlusion, at the level of the residual crestal ridge. Line B was drawn at the most superior aspect of the mental foramen parallel to line A. Then, Line A and B are joined with a perpendicular line, which was named as Line C. The length of line C is the safe zone measurement to the mesial half of the first molar. Four lines were drawn tangent to line A at the position of mesial first molar, mid first molar, mesial second molar and mid second molar. The prevalence of the mandibular canal below the second line B was observed. Results: According to our inclusion and exclusion criteria, 364 OPGs were selected and 657 samples were collected, including left and/or right side of the mandible. In Zone 1, the percentage of mandibular canal found inferior to Line B in Chinese females and males were (n=112) 99.3% and (n=144) 100% respectively; in Malay females and males was 99.4% (n =174) and 100 % (n=123) respectively. While in Indian females (n=43) and males (n=61) were 100%. In Zone 2, the percentage in Chinese females was 99.3% and 99.1% in males; Malay females was 97.1% and Malay males was 98.4%; whereas in Indian females was 96.7% and males was 95.3%. In Zone 3, the percentages in Chinese females and males were 86.8% and 89.3% respectively; Malay females was 92.4% and males was 85.4%; Indian females was 91.6% and males was 93.0%. In Zone 4, the percentages in Indian population were 67.2% (females) and 69.8% (males). Malay females and males were 40.8% and 56.1% respectively; 54.9% in Chinese females and 55.4% in Chinese males. Conclusion: Overall, the percentage of mandibular canal below the safety zone was reducing from the region of mesial first molar to the distal second molar. There were no much variations in between the gender and races in relation to the position of the mandibular canal.
The alternative prey hypothesis revisited: Still valid for willow ptarmigan population dynamics

The alternative prey hypothesis predicts that the interaction between generalist predators and their main prey is a major driver of population dynamics of alternative prey species. In Fennoscandia, changes in climate and human land use are assumed to alter the dynamics of cyclic small rodents (main prey) and lead to increased densities and range expansion of an important generalist predator, the red fox Vulpes vulpes. In order to better understand the role of these potential changes in community structure on an alternative prey species, willow ptarmigan Lagopus lagopus, we analyzed nine years of population census data from SE Norway to investigate how community interactions affected their population dynamics. The ptarmigan populations showed no declining trend during the study period, and annual variations corresponded with marked periodic small rodent peaks and declines. Population growth and breeding success were highly correlated, and both demographic variables were influenced by an interaction between red fox and small rodents. Red foxes affected ptarmigan negatively only when small rodent abundance was low, which is in accordance with the alternative prey hypothesis. Our results confirm the important role of red fox predation in ptarmigan dynamics, and indicate that if small rodent cycles are disrupted, this may lead to decline in ptarmigan and other alternative prey species due to elevated predation pressure.
Discovery of digestive enzymes in carnivorous plants with focus on proteases

Background Carnivorous plants have been fascinating researchers with their unique characters and bioinspired applications. These include medicinal trait of some carnivorous plants with potentials for pharmaceutical industry. Methods This review will cover recent progress based on current studies on digestive enzymes secreted by different genera of carnivorous plants: Drosera (sundews), Dionaea (Venus flytrap), Nepenthes (tropical pitcher plants), Sarracenia (North American pitcher plants), Cephalotus (Australian pitcher plants), Genlisea (corkscrew plants), and Utricularia (bladderworts). Results Since the discovery of secreted protease nepenthesin in Nepenthes pitcher, digestive enzymes from carnivorous plants have been the focus of many studies. Recent genomics approaches have accelerated digestive enzyme discovery. Furthermore, the advancement in recombinant technology and protein purification helped in the identification and characterisation of enzymes in carnivorous plants. Discussion These different aspects will be described and discussed in this review with focus on the role of secreted plant proteases and their potential industrial applications.
Evidence of the Boyer Model of Scholarship in Counselor Education

This study delineated how the Boyer (1990) model of scholarship has been implemented in counselor education. The taxonomy of scholarship was delineated: Scholarship of Discovery, Scholarship of Teaching, Scholarship of Application, and Scholarship of Integration. The Journal of Counseling and Development and Counselor Education and Supervision were examined from 2000 to 2008. Examples of scholarship from each journal were identified. Evidence of the Boyer model in premier counseling journals suggests a consistency of approach between this model and scholarly activities in counselor education. An expanded view of scholarship may have positive implications for scholarly activity in graduate education and pretenured faculty. This article is available in The Journal of Counselor Preparation and Supervision: http://repository.wcsu. edu/jcps/vol2/iss1/2 Evidence of the Boyer Model of Scholarship in Counselor Education
Solvent-based delignification and decrystallization of wheat straw for efficient enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose and ethanol production with low cellulase loadings

Several solvents and ionic liquids, namely formic acid (Formiline process), concentrated phosphoric acid (CPA), N-methylmorpholine-N-oxide (NMMO) and 1-allyl-3-methylimidazolium chloride ([AMIM]Cl), were used to pretreat wheat straw in order to increase cellulose digestibility for ethanol production. When being directly used to pretreat the raw wheat straw under corresponding optimized conditions, the improvement of cellulose hydrolyzability followed the order of CPA > Formiline > NMMO > [AMIM]Cl. However, when Formiline pretreated (delignified) substrates were further post-treated by the above cellulose solvents, the cellulose digestibility was significantly improved particularly with low cellulase loadings. Cellulose solvent post-treatment resulted in deconstruction of hydrogen-bond networking, alteration of cellulose polymorphs, decrease in crystallinity, depolymerization of cellulose chain with dramatic reduction in particle size, thus greatly increasing cellulose accessible surface area. CPA post-treatment showed the best efficacy. Semi-simultaneous scarification and fermentation (sSSF) of a CPA post-treated substrate obtained an ethanol concentration of 41.6 g L−1 with 91.2% of yield at a relatively low cellulase loading (5 FPU per g solid) within 24 h incubation. A biorefining process was proposed based on Formiline pretreatment coupled with CPA post-treatment to achieve a co-production of ethanol, furfural and high-purity lignin, which greatly increases the potential revenue of the process.
Shaping a Person-Centric eHealth System for an Age-Friendly Community. A Case Study

Continuously global ageing of population puts higher pressure on social and health systems, so it is compulsory to develop improved services and technologies able to address chronic conditions associated with old age. eHealth provides facilities for helping elderly people to continue to live in their own homes for longer, new services that support some treatments or rehabilitation. In this context, the paper gives information about ProActive Ageing project which aims to build up an integrated platform for online services that support the active and independent living of ageing people. The case study presents the ”Centre for Active Ageing” module that implements innovative methods of personal development, knowledge sharing and learning, adapted to the needs, diversity, and understanding of ageing persons. Its implementation solution based on the WordPress content management system and specific integration issues at the ProActive Aging platform level are addressed. Finally an explored solution for identity management using the blockchain technology is put forward.
Treatment of dairy wastewater by graphene oxide nanoadsorbent and sludge separation, using In Situ Sludge Magnetic Impregnation (ISSMI)

The present research investigates the ability of graphene oxide nanosheets for treatment of dairy wastewater, using In Situ Sludge Magnetic Impregnation” (ISSMI) to separate sludge after adsorption process. To increase the interaction between magnetic nanoparticles and graphene oxide, the former has been functionalized, using 3-Aminopropyl triethoxysilane, with the synthesized graphene oxide and magnetic nanoparticles being characterized by FT-IR, SEM, and NCHS analysis. The experiments have been conducted on the effluent of Pegah factory. The batch adsorption experiments have been carried out to investigate the effect of adsorbent dose, contact time, and pH on the removal of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, COD, and turbidity. At adsorbent dose of 320 mg L-1, the removal efficiencies of 90, 80, 84, and 94% have been observed for TN, TP, COD, and turbidity, respectively. The adsorbent data has been modeled by Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms, giving results that are compatible with Freundlich isotherm. TN, TP, and COD are mostly particulate materials in dairy wastewaters; therefore, when nanosheets aggregate, particulate materials are trapped between GO nanosheets; as a result, pollutants are distributed heterogeneously on the adsorbent's surface. Consequently, adsorption does not occur as monolayer on the surface of GO; for this reason, adsorption follows Freundlich model. Maximum absorption capacity of the adsorbent turns out to be 730 mg g-1 for total nitrogen, 600 mg g-1 for total phosphorus, 26000 mg g-1 for COD, and 5500 mg g-1 for turbidity. Adsorption kinetic has been studied with the first and second order equation, giving results that are compatible with second order equation.
Eco-Friendly Pest Control in Cucumber (Cucumis sativa L.) Field with Botanical Pesticides

A field experiment on eco-friendly pest control in cucumber (Cucumis sativa L.) field was conducted at Rajshahi University during April, 2011 to June, 2011 with eight botanical pesticides prepared from the leaves and seeds of Bangladeshi plants. These botanicals are mahogany seeds, (Swietenia mahagoni), chirata leaves (Swertia chirata), jute seeds (Corchorus olitorius L.), garlic (Allium sativum L.), marigold leaves (Tagetes erecta) and carrot leaves (Daucus carota). One control treatment without botanicals was maintained during this experiment where only water was sprayed. Out of these botanicals, a less number of insect attacks on cucumber leaves (1.33 ± 0.19) were found in combined treatment of mahogany and chirata whereas a high number of insect attacks were observed in combined treatment of garlic and jute seed (5.89 ± 0.40) and control (4.66 ± 0.33). Individual application of chirata extract also showed good protection of cucumber leaves (1.67 ± 0.19) from insect attack. A smaller number of leaves perforations were found in the combined treatment of mahogany and chirata (3.44 ± 0.29) compared to control (14.22 ± 1.05). Chirata extract also showed good performance (4.00 ± 0.19) against leaves perforation of insect. Besides the pest control, botanical pesticides also have enormous effect on plant growth. The tallest cucumber plant was observed in the combined treatment of mahogany and chirata (469.00 ± 63.51 cm) and shortest in garlic treatment (84.56 ± 15.24 cm). The cucumber production was also high in combined treatment of mahogany and chirata (1863.33 ± 196.32 g) compared to control (1260.00 ± 501.63 g). From this study, it is found that combined application of mahogany and chirata extract not only showed good protection of cucumber plant from insect attack but also increased the cucumber production. Therefore, we conclude that farmers should use botanical pesticides from mahogany seeds and chirata leaves instead of toxic chemical insecticides for controlling pest in cucumber field.
Panorama Based Point Cloud Reduction

To reconstruct environments 3D point clouds acquired by laser scanners are registered. This is an important but also time consuming part of any mapping system for mobile robots. The time needed for mapping is drastically reduced when the size of the input data is reduced. This paper examines different ways of reducing the size of point clouds without losing vital information for the matching process. We present novel point cloud reduction methods on the basis of panorama images. It is shown that the reduced point clouds are ideally suited for feature based registration on panorama images. We evaluate the presented reduction methods based on their effect on the performance of the registration algorithm.
Organic acids as feed additives for young pigs: Nutritional and gastrointestinal effects

Experimental data show that a significant improvement of growth rate and feed conversion rate of weanling pigs can be achieved by the inclusion of organic acids in the diet. These ergotropic effects have been mainly observed with formic, lactic, sorbic, fumaric, citric and malic acid as well as with different salts of formic acid. The lowering of dietary pH alone, with inorganic acids (o-phosphoric acid, HC1), however failed to show any nutritive efficacy. Studies on the mode of action of organic acids indicate that they cause a higher protein and energy digestibility and retention, an alteration of bacterial populations and metabolites in the gastrointestinal tract and possibly an effect on metabolism. It seems likely that the antimicrobial properties of organic acids and of their salts are of great importance for their beneficial effects in weanling pigs.
Estimating the per‐capita contribution of habitats and pathways in a migratory network: a modelling approach

Every year, migratory species undertake seasonal movements along different pathways between discrete regions and habitats. The ability to assess the relative demographic contributions of these different habitats and pathways to the species’ overall population dynamics is critical for understanding the ecology of migratory species, and also has practical applications to management and conservation. Metrics for assessing habitat contributions have been well-developed for metapopulations, but an equivalent metric is not currently available for migratory populations. Here, we develop a framework for estimating the demographic contributions of the discrete habitats and pathways used by migratory species throughout the annual cycle by estimating the per capita contribution of cohorts using these locations. Our framework accounts for seasonal movements between multiple breeding and nonbreeding habitats and for both resident and migratory cohorts. We illustrate our framework using a hypothetical migratory network of four habitats, which allows us to better understand how variations in habitat quality affect per capita contributions. Results indicate that per capita contributions for any habitat or pathway are dependent on habitat-specific survival probabilities in all other areas used as part of the migratory circuit, and that contribution metrics are spatially linked (e.g. reduced survival in one habitat also decreases the contribution metric for other habitats). Our framework expands existing theory on the dynamics of spatiotemporally structured populations by developing a generalized approach to estimate the habitat- and pathway-specific contributions of species migrating between multiple breeding and multiple non-breeding habitats for a range of life histories or migratory strategies. Most importantly, it provides a means of prioritizing conservation efforts towards those migratory pathways and habitats that are most critical for the population viability of migratory species. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Efficient Protection of Android Applications through User Authentication Using Peripheral Devices

Android applications store large amounts of sensitive information that may be exposed and exploited. To prevent this security risk, some applications such as Syrup and KakaoTalk use physical device values to authenticate or encrypt application data. However, by manipulating these physical device values, an attacker can circumvent the authentication by executing a Same Identifier Attack and obtain the same application privileges as the user. In our work, WhatsApp, KakaoTalk, Facebook, Amazon, and Syrup were subjected to the Same Identifier Attack, and it was found that an attacker could gain the same privileges as the user, in all five applications. To solve such a problem, we propose a technical scheme—User Authentication using Peripheral Devices. We applied the proposed scheme to a Nexus 5X smartphone running Android version 7.1 and confirmed that the average execution time was 0.005 s, which does not affect the other applications’ execution significantly. We also describe the security aspects of the proposed scheme and its compatibility with the Android platform and other applications. The proposed scheme is practical and efficient in terms of resource usage; therefore, it will be useful for Android users to improve Android application security.