Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Animal Health Planning and Animal Health Plans - Concepts, principles and practicalities

In the United Kingdom it is mandatory for organic livestock farms to have an animal health plan as a document providing evidence of active management of disease and building positive health (Anon 2006). Many organisations, both organic and non organic, (e.g. BCVA, Defra Compendium of UK Organic Standards, Soil Association, RSPCA Freedom Food, NDFAS, FAWL) develop, describe and use animal health planning as a part of their strategy (see Box 1). Currently, it is the presence of a regularly updated health plan document that serves as evidence that this is in place. The benefits of health plans, including animal welfare improvement, financial gain and increased farm efficacy have all been highlighted in various publications (Sibley 2000, Gray & Hovi 2001, Dobbs 2005, Lovatt 2004). It has frequently been suggested that, through good stockmanship and appropriate use of veterinary medicinal products, health planning can improve the smooth running of a farm. An animal health plan should be an active tool for animal health and welfare planning. However, as organic certification and several farm assurance schemes require a health plan there is a danger that they become seen as something to be policed when in fact they should being used as a forum for advice. In order to fulfil this challenge a health plan must therefore be farm specific and relate to farm specific issues.
A Measurement Weighting Method for Tracking Military Objects

Abstract: Prior methods for tracking multiple military objects include various optimal and suboptimal two-dimensional assignment algorithms which make nearest-neighbour measurement-to-track association. This method works reasonably well in case of small number of targets and high signal to noise ratio. Another method is to assign a weight for each measurement and use a weighted centroid of those measurements to update the track. This method of weighting the measurements is known as all-neighbour and overcomes the disadvantages of the nearest-neighbour data association. Unfortunately, the computational complexity of an optimal all-neighbour data association technique limits its practical realization using even the fastest computers available. For this reason, many different tracking techniques have been developed which sacrifice optimal performance for the sake of computational feasibility. This paper proposes a new computationally feasible measurement weighting method to the problem of multiple targets tracking in a noisy environment. Computer simulation results indicate that the proposed weighting method successfully tracks multiple targets with a lower computational complexity and a little prior knowledge.
3D-HEVC Bipartition Modes Encoder and Decoder Design Targeting High-Resolution Videos

This paper presents hardware designs for the encoder and decoder of the 3D-High Efficiency Video Coding (3D-HEVC) bipartition modes targeting real-time processing of high-resolution videos. These hardware designs include the depth modeling modes 1 (DMM-1) and 4 (DMM-4). The encoder was designed using a simplification in the DMM-1 algorithm with the advantage of better using the hardware resources and without coding efficiency loss. The encoder architecture was designed in a scalable structure supporting different block sizes and reaching different throughputs according to the application requirements. The decoder was designed sharing resources between DMM-1 and DMM-4 execution and supporting all available block sizes. Both architectures were synthesized for 65- and 28-nm technologies, being capable of achieving real-time processing for ${1920}\times {1080}$ videos at 30 frames/s.
The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process for Prioritizing the Sustainable Tourism Attitude Scale

Tourism sector is popularly known as one of biggest contributors to economic. It could create jobs, drives exports, and generates prosperity across the world. However, there are also some negative effects on cultural and natural resources that could be brought by the tourism to local communities. The sustainable tourism approach is believed to change the tourism to be more sustainable since it concerns to environmental, socio-cultural, and economic aspects. The successful practice of sustainable tourism involves all relevant stakeholders, especially the residents. Their positive attitudes toward sustainable tourism are considered to have significant influences on tourism development policy. The sustainable tourism attitude scale (SUS-TAS) which comprises seven criteria, is regarded as an effective tool to measure attitudes toward sustainable tourism development. This research aims to prioritize those seven criteria by employing the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process. It is considered important since the scale is failed in evaluating the priority of improving the residents’ attitude. The logic behind this prioritizing is because each sustainable tourism is constrained by limited resources so that it has to be determined how those resources are best employed to achieve visitor satisfaction.
FPGA-based Embedded System Designed for the Deployment in the Compliant Robotic Leg CARL

The embedded system that is distributed within a bipedal robot is a key component of such a highly interwoven mechatronic system. Generally, it has to handle two competing main tasks – executing the embedded closed-loop control of the actuators and handling the communication with the higher-level control system. As the restrictions on physical size and energy consumption limit its computational resources, the design of the embedded nodes poses a potential bottleneck for the performance of the overall system. Hence, the following presents an approach to mitigate the conflicting requirements by deploying FPGA-based embedded nodes. It is illustrated how the additional flexibility at the logic level is used to implement the closed-loop force and impedance control of a series elastic actuator. Furthermore, it is shown how the consequent hardware/software co-design enables the deployment of a full featured robotic framework. To validate the concept, the properties of the implementation are characterized.
Measurement Techniques to Identify Soft Failure Sensitivity to ESD

Electrostatic discharge (ESD)-induced soft failures are a critical issue for electronic systems as the failures are mostly found after the hardware design is completed. Any changes applied to the hardware may delay the project. Diagnostic tools capable of identifying soft failure-induced malfunctions in an early stage of product design help to reduce the risk of late stage ESD-induced project delays. In many cases, soft failures can be directly observed by the user interface, system crash, or other obvious indicators. However, in an early product design stage the operation system may be marginal and applications may not be available. To improve the ability to detect soft failure critical design choices, this paper presents several methods to identify ESD-induced changes which may not be observable via direct observation. These methods include the observation of ac or dc currents, monitoring dc voltages, capturing near fields and processing them via short-term fast fourier transform (FFT), wavelet transformation, down mixing to audible range, and monitoring for latch-up via thermal imaging. The paper introduces the basis of each method, shows examples, and compares them for their detection ability.
Mathematical model of photovoltaic systems for distributed maximum power point tracking

This paper presents a model of photovoltaic generation systems oriented to evaluate the performance of distributed maximum power point tracking algorithms. The model considers the series connection of n module-converter sets, which can be dimensioned depending on the particular application. This model is composed of an equation set that can be implemented in any mathematical analysis software or programming language that allows to solve this kind of equations. The proposed model also includes the static behavior of the photovoltaic module, described by one equation that estimates the current-voltage relation. Additionally, it includes a model of the Boost power electronic converter with inductor lost, which allows an approximation to realistic applications. The final model is validated using simulations, and it is compared with a traditional electronic simulation software
Food and environment as predictors of obesity in rural West Virginia

Objective. The objective of this study was to determine the best predictors of childhood obesity in rural West Virginia. This investigation was inspired by the fact that the rate of obesity occurrence in West Virginia is relatively higher than that in the entire nation. ;Method. Subjects used were Head Start children participating in food and nutrition program (FNP) in Mercer and McDowell counties in rural West Virginia. The average age was 52 months both Caucasians and African Americans. Study was conducted using USDA validated questionnaires that focused on the diet, feeding attitudes, beliefs and practices. Children's weights and heights were measured on site. Parents' information was by self reporting. ;Results. Results indicated that the girls had a higher body mass index (BMI) than boys (p<0.01) and there was no difference between ethnicities. Mother's BMI was correlated to both boys (p= 0.0205) and girls (p= 0.034). Father's BMI was only associated with girls weight (p= 0.021). Father's influence was more profound in the lifestyle, the kind of food consumed and the overall weight of the children. Father's education was significantly correlated to the weight of the children (p= 0.024), but no significant correlation was observed in mothers' education. ;Other significant correlations observed were, presence of TV in the room and weight perception, presence of TV in the room and high fat food consumed, food quality and food control exerted by parents. Fathers' education, presence of TV in the room and nutrition knowledge were good predictors of obesity in this population. Parental perception was found to be the strongest and the only significant predictor (beta= -0.489, p< 0.0001). ;Conclusion. From this study it can be concluded that, for intervention to be successful, parents need to have the right perception of their children weights and understand the health dangers that overweight and obesity poses to the children.
Hierarchy or List?: Comparing Menu Navigation by Emergent Users

With rapid penetration of mobile devices in India, it has become important to understand how well can emergent users navigate menus. Literature shows somewhat inconsistent result in their performances with menu elements organized in a deep hierarchy, in a shallow hierarchy, and in a list. The current study investigates the performance of emergent users on a navigation task using two different menus (5-level deep hierarchy vs. 5-page list). Prototypes were made with 3 separate interfaces; namely graphical user interface (GUI), audio only interface (AOI) and audio-visual interface (AVI). A total of 24 emergent users carried out 6 test-tasks each (GUI-deep, GUI-list, AOI-deep, AOI-list, AVI-deep, AVI-list). Results show that participants navigate faster-using list menu on GUI and AVI, whereas they perform faster-using hierarchical navigation on AOI. Modalities with visual elements (GUI, AVI) performed faster than the audio (AOI). We discuss the implications of our findings for designing interactive devices for emergent users and possibilities for future research.
Performance Improvement of Model Predictive Current Control of Fault-Tolerant Five-Phase Flux-Switching Permanent Magnet Motor Drive

To improve the fault-tolerant performance of a five-phase flux-switching permanent magnet (FSPM) motor drive under open-circuit fault (OCF) condition, a model predictive current control (MPCC) with pre-selective method and duty ratio control (DRC) technology is proposed and investigated in this paper. First, on the principle of minimizing harmonic voltages in x–y subspace, two zero switching states and the switching state, which generates a larger voltage vector in α–β subspace are pre-selected. Second, voltage vector references in α–β subspace and x–y subspace are predicted to further select active voltage vector candidates. Consequently, the number of current predictions has been significantly reduced, resulting in the alleviation of the computational complexity and the increase of sampling frequency. Third, the DRC approach is applied in conjunction with the pre-selection-based MPCC to improve the steady-state performance. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed MPCC method for the OCF tolerant five-phase FSPM motor drive is validated by comparative experiments.
A Novel Method for Identifying Competitors Using a Financial Transaction Network

Identifying competitors is an essential first step in creating a competitive advantage to generate superior business performance. Diverse methods for competitor identification have been introduced in the literature, but financial transactions are overlooked in these models even though such transactions among firms, as the basic economic unit of interfirm business activities, contain critical information. This article proposes a novel method for the identification of firm-level competitors using a network constructed from financial transactions among firms. To identify competitors by the intensity of interfirm competition, the proposed method is based on two dimensions of pairs of firms, resource similarity and market commonality, which are represented in a data-driven approach using a transaction network. We propose network-theoretic similarity measures to quantify the resource similarity and market commonality between firms by considering both direct and indirect transactions in a transaction network. Then, based on the two dimensions, three types of competitors are identified with respect to a focal firm: direct, potential, and indirect competitors. The proposed method is applied to toy network data and a real-world case that includes the financial transactions of firms in Korea in 2014.
Designing Future Precision Agriculture: Detection of Seeds Germination Using Artificial Intelligence on a Low-Power Embedded System

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been recently applied to a number of sensing scenarios for realizing the prediction, control and/or recognition tasks. However, its integration to embedded systems is still limited. We propose a low-power sensing system with the AI on board with a special focus on the application in agriculture. For this reason we designed a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) which achieves 83% of average Intersection over Union (IoU) score on the test dataset and 97% of seeds recognition accuracy on the validation dataset. The proposed solution is able to perform the seeds recognition, and germination detection through the images processing. For training the CNN we collect a dataset of images of seed germination process at different stages. The entire system is assessed in an industrial facility. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system opens up wide vista for smart applications in the context of Internet of Things requiring the intelligent and autonomous operation from ‘things’.
Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis: From Clinic to Eugenic Fears and Disability Concerns

ii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables and Figures viii List of Abbreviations ix Introduction 10 CHAPTER 1 – SCIENCE BEHIND PGD 11 1.1 PGD – History and development 12 1.2 Current uses of PGD 15 1.2. 1 Dependence upon IVF 16 1.3 Preimplantation genetic screening 17 1.4 Uses of PGD 17 1.4. 1 PGD for monogenic disorders 17 1.4. 2 PGD for HLA-typing 19 1.4. 3 PGD for Huntington’s disease 20 1.4. 4 PGD for cancer predisposition 21 1.5 The technique of PGD 22 1.5. 1 Oocyte retrieval 22 1.5. 2 Oocyte fertilisation 22 1.5. 3 Embryo biopsy 23 1.6 Genetic testing 29 1.7 Embryo transfer 31 1.8 Further scientific issues 32
Variability and tendencies in the consumption of methylphenidate in Spain. An estimation of the prevalence of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

INTRODUCTION: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most frequently occurring behavioural disorders in childhood; its prevalence in Spain is estimated to be around 3-6%. Methylphenidate (MPH) is the only medication available on the Spanish market. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The prevalence of ADHD was estimated by calculating the daily doses of MPH defined per 1000 inhabitants per day (Therapeutic group N06B A04), over the period 1992-2001, for each of the provinces in Spain. Figures for the number of prescriptions made out were obtained from the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs. The odds ratio and the 95% confidence interval were calculated, as was the linear tendency c2. RESULTS: A minimum prevalence of ADHD was estimated to be 0.63 per 1000 inhabitants per day for the overall Spanish population. MPH use and consumption does, however, vary with a north-south slope, and higher prevalence in Catalonia than in Andalusia. Taken as a whole, the consumption of MPH has undergone a uniform 8% increase annually since 1992, with a rising variation in the OR from 0.19 up to the year 2001 (OR = 1), and every year it has been statistically significant (c 2 = 78.246; p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The consumption of MPH enables us to estimate the distribution of ADHD in Spain. The figures obtained do not yet allow us to offer an accurate estimate of the prevalence of the disease, despite the increase in consumption. Nevertheless, they do enable us to establish the variations that exist in medical practice regarding this disease.
Some Results for FO-definable Constraint Satisfaction Problems Described by Digraph Homomorphisms

Constraint satisfaction problems, or CSPs, are a naturally occurring class of problems which involve assigning values to variables while respecting a set of constraints. When studying the computational and descriptive complexity of such problems it is convenient to use the equivalent formulation, introduced by Feder and Vardi, that CSPs are homomorphism problems. In this context we ask if there exists a homomorphism to some target structure. Using this view many tools and ideas have been introduced in combinatorics, logic and algebra for studying the complexity of CSPs. In this thesis we concentrate on combinatorics and give characterization results based on digraph properties. Where previous studies focused on CSPs defined by a single digraph with lists we extend our relational structures to consist of many binary relations which each individually describe a distinct digraph on the structures universe. A majority of our results are obtained by using an algorithm introduced by Larose, Loten and Tardif which determines whether a structure defines a CSP whose homomorphism problem can be represented by first order logic. Using this tool we begin by completely classifying which of these structures are FO-definable when each of the relations defines a transitive tournament. We then generalize a characterization theorem, first given by Lemaitre, to include structures containing any finite number of digraph relations and lists. We conclude with examples of obstructions and properties that can determine if a particular relational structure has a CSP which is FO-definable and how to construct such structures.
LMI-Based Synthesis of String-Stable Controller for Cooperative Adaptive Cruise Control

Controller synthesis is a challenging problem in cooperative adaptive cruise control (CACC). Especially the requirement of string stability makes it even harder to choose appropriate control parameters. This paper applies a time-domain definition to string stability and converts the problem to the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {H}_{\infty }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> control of a time-delay system. Based on the proposed control structure, the <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathcal {H}_{\infty }$ </tex-math></inline-formula> norm and stability criteria of CACC are satisfied by a set of constraints in terms of a Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional candidate. These constraints are further reduced to linear matrix inequalities so that feasible solutions can be easily and efficiently computed. Simulations on an identified model validate the performance of our method in both frequency and time domains.
EMG-triggered electrical muscle stimulation in the treatment of central hemiparesis after a stroke

This study is designed to answer the question of whether adjuvant EMG-triggered electrical muscle stimulation can improve the outcome of conventional rehabilitation following a stroke. In addition to the general rehabilitation program, group I (n = 14, study group) received EMG-triggered electrical muscle stimulation of the paretic hand and upper arm extensors, the ankle extensors and the knee flexors 5 times a week for 4 weeks. The randomly selected group II (n = 14, control group) received the general rehabilitation program alone. Pre- and post-treatment evaluation of all patients consisted of clinical examinations of their spasticity score and active range of motion, of pendulum tests of the motility of their elbow- and knee joints, and of classifying their independence in their daily acitities by Barthel Index. Both therapeutic modalities resulted in significant improvements (p < 0.05) except for the control group's spasticity score in the upper limb. The results of the study group were significantly better regarding range of motion of hand and ankle extensors (p = 0.0097; p = 0.0108). The study group's results in evaluated spasticity scores, motility parameters, and Barthel Index were superior to those of the control group, but the difference was not significant. Neurophysiologically, it is assumed that frequent repetition of movements that are voluntarily initiated and completed with the support of electrical muscle stimulation may support mechanisms for the plastic reorganisation of the brain. Further investigations are needed to optimize the therapeutic potential of this adjuvant treatment procedure.
PARADA: Control Support System for Parades

The parade of “Festas in honor of Nossa Senhora D’Agonia”, which is celebrated every year in the city of Viana do Castelo, it is one of the highlights of the traditional festival, that gathers hundreds of people in one giant parade throughout the city streets, this event attracts thousands of spectators. Due to its big dimension, it presents some difficulties regarding its organization. The lack of cohesion of the parade during its course is one of the issues observed that originates several and large empty spaces, which end up to discredit the parade. This paper presents the study the issue related with the Parade’s organization/planning, by proposing a solution based on low-cost technologies. In this work we intend to study the problem of empty spaces, proposing a solution based on low cost technologies and evaluating the performance of this solution with its potential users. In this way, a process of collect information was initiated through the observation of the Parade, an interview with the organization and an inquiry of the collaborators and another one for the drivers. Based on the collected information, it is proposed a solution that uses smartphones to interconnect through a mobile application and also a web management application, in order to monitor the Parade and help in suppressing empty spaces. The proposal was evaluated to its potential users through a functional prototype. Usability and User Experience tests were performed and the results were promising. It is intended to validate the proposed solution in the field and extend the proposal to other Parade.