Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Fuzzy Full-State and Output-Feedback Control for Uncertain Robots With Output Constraint

This article focuses on the tracking control issue of robotic systems with dynamic uncertainties. To enhance tracking accuracy in a robotic manipulator with uncertainties, an adaptive fuzzy full-state feedback control is proposed. In view of output-feedback control with unknown states, a high-gain observer is employed to estimate unknown states. Considering the particular requirement that output of systems should be constrained in some practical working fields, we further design adaptive fuzzy full-state and output-feedback control schemes with output constraint to ensure that output maintains in constrained regions. By applying the Lyapunov theory, it is guaranteed that closed-loop systems are semiglobally uniformly ultimately bounded (SGUUB). Tangent-type barrier Lyapunov function is used for the controller design with output constraint and ensure stability. Finally, the effectiveness of our proposed methods is shown through both simulation examples and experimental results, comparative experiments in Baxter robot are proposed for evaluating the practicability of our proposed methods in actual applications.
High‐Pressure Jet Cleaning of Polymeric Microfiltration Membranes

The cleaning effect of a high-pressure jet of water on a polymeric microfiltration membrane was investigated at different pressures, durations, and angles. The angle of 70 (cid:2) at a pressure of 130 bar and a cleaning duration of 10 s were found to be promising parameters. Throughput measurements show that this cleaning method can restore about 80 % of the initial throughput of the membrane. Analyses by capillary flow porometer and UV-vis spectrophotometer imply that an impact on the membrane was detectable after 1800 cleaning cycles at a pressure of 130 bar. Therefore, high-pressure jet cleaning is a promising method for mechanical cleaning of track-etched microfiltration membranes. This paper investigates the cleaning effect of the high-pres-sure jet at different pressures, cleaning durations, and angles, using polymeric microfiltration membranes. First, the effect of the high-pressure jet on the polymeric membranes is investigated. The pore size distribution of the membrane after 10 times of cleaning is analyzed in a capillary flow porometer and compared to the pore size distribution of a new membrane. This gives evidence of whether high-pressure cleaning changes the morphology of the membrane. the impact of and therefore the mechanical influence of high-pressure cleaning, on the membrane can be quantified.
Waxes used as structuring agents for food organogels: A Review

Lipids are key ingredients in the human diet. Because of the manipulation and modification of lipids in the food industry, the amount of trans and saturated fat has been substantially increasing in industrialized products. At the same time, the number of studies demonstrating the harmful effects of these foods on human health has increased. Organogels arise as a promising alternative for replacing trans and saturated fat in processed foods. Among the main challenges of preparing an organogel is the difficulty of finding compatible and viable structuring agents in the food industry. Waxes have been studied for this purpose and are one of the most promising organogelators. This article brings a bibliographical review on the recent studies regarding the use of waxes as structuring agents for edible vegetable oils.
Élaboration de supports pédagogiques les mieux adaptés à la formation des délégués médicaux

Les delegues medicaux apportent aux professionnels de sante une information de qualite afin d’assurer le bon usage des medicaments. Diplomes, les delegues medicaux suivent egalement des formations continues tout au long de leur carriere. Comme pour toute formation d’adulte, la formation des delegues medicaux implique leur motivation et leur engagement pour atteindre les objectifs. Le formateur doit capter l’attention des apprenants en variant les supports utilises (cours, jeux pedagogiques) et la facon de transmettre les notions (orale, ecrite). L’objectif de cette these est de mettre en lumiere les supports pedagogiques adaptes a la formation des delegues medicaux. Pour cela, la premiere partie presente les delegues medicaux, le choix et la conception des supports pedagogiques et les enjeux de l’apprentissage des adultes. La deuxieme partie, sous forme d’enquete, compare la satisfaction et la reussite de delegues medicaux formes en presentiel ou en e-learning.
Prevalence of Hemotropic Agents in the Experimental Station El Joque. Mérida-Venezuela. Short Communication

Prevalence of hemotropic agents in a highland livestock unit in Merida State (Experimental Station El Joque) was studied. This research was conducted through the observation of the ecoepidemiological conditions in the field, and analysis of blood samples carried out at the laboratory by direct microscopic parasitological and hematological techniques in orden to obtain a better understanding of the epidemiological behavior of these infections in the region. After the analysis, 12.8% of positive animals to hemotropic agents were obtained; the most prevalent agent was A. marginale (9.3%). It is recommended to maintain surveillance and to continue research since there is apparently enzootic instability.
Identification of the 5T‐12TG allele of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator gene in hypertrypsinaemic newborns

In order to increase knowledge of the pathogenic effect of the 5T‐12TG allele of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) gene, we evaluated its presence in 24 hypertrypsinaemic newborns with borderline sweat tests. Among 20 CFTR‐identified alterations, the 5T‐12TG haplotype was the second most frequent mutation (14.6%) over F508del.
Climate Change Grounded on Empirical Evidence as Compared with the Perceptions of Smallholder Farmers in Vhembe District, South Africa

In South Africa, the smallholding-farming system is a dominant economic activity in rural communities. This study examines smallholder-farmers’ perceptions in regards to climate changes, in comparison with evidence from meteorological data from 1980–2015, across Vhembe District; data from a questionnaire and recorded meteorological were used. The results reveal that, farmers’ perceptions of climatic conditions are consistent with meteorological details on climatic change. In other words, the study, showed that, farmers’ perceptions using climate indicators, mirror meteorological data. It was concluded that it is imperative for farmers to understand issues such as, temperature and rainfall patterns in order to identify adaptive strategies to the negative impacts of climate.
Incorporating Sustainability Practices into Facility Management: A Study of IFM Ghana Limited, Airport Residential Area

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Refractive errors in age group seven to fifteen years: North-east India scenario

Background: The objectives of study were to find out the different types of refractive errors in children between seven to fifteen years age group and the cause of uncorrected defective vision. Methods: A prospective study was designed of two thousand children aged between seven to fifteen years, attending outpatient department. Study period was one year. Consent was obtained from their guardian. Inclusion criteria were children with refractive errors. Children presenting with organic defects of ocular structures, infections, corneal opacity, cataract, choroid and retinal disorders were excluded from study. Data were collected by history taking and comprehensive ocular examination, visual tests for both near and distant vision. Refractive error assessed by cycloplegic drug with one percent Homatropine eye drops, by streak retinoscopy. Objective refraction were carried out and documented. Subjective refraction was done after one week. Both BCVA and uncorrected refractive errors were ascertained and recorded. Results: Out of two thousand children examined, myopic = 34%, hypermetropic = 11%, and astigmatic = 55%. M: F = 900:1000. Study showed headache as the commonest symptom. 17% of the patients had positive family history. Correctable errors constitute 91% of the total cases. Conclusions: Myopic astigmatism was found to be the most frequent refractive error in children. Mass screening is required for early diagnosis of refractive error. Prescribing corrective glasses for children with refractive errors at an early age will prevent childhood morbidity.
Estimating risk in capital asset pricing for interval-valued data

This paper proposes and analyses an approach to estimate the systematic risk in capital asset pricing with interval-valued data, using as variables the high and low prices contained in the financial databases to explain the asset returns. The approach takes into account the information within the daily intervals of high and low asset prices instead the most popular opening or closing prices for estimate the regression equation of the model, for calculations involving these intervals, the basic operations on interval arithmetic were used. Also, we propose an interpretation for the estimated interval beta-parameter. The approximation capabilities of the proposed model are illustrated by means of its application the daily high and low prices on Microsoft and the S%P500 index from 1 November 2013 to 15 January 2015. Using the proposed model with interval-valued data improves financial valuation of capital assets as compared to that using the standard econometric parameters.
Parenting and the development of impulse control in youth with type 1 diabetes: the mediating role of negative affect

Abstract Parents are important for the development and maintenance of regulatory control. The current longitudinal study examined associations between parental coercion and autonomy support and impulse control in 117 youth (ages 8-16; Mage= 12.87, SD = 2.53; 44% male) with Type 1 diabetes and explored whether youth negative affect mediated these associations. Parental coercion (but not autonomy support) was concurrently associated with lower impulse control and higher negative affect within individuals. Increases in youth negative affect partially mediated the within-person association between parental coercion and impulse control. These findings suggest that parent-directed interventions to reduce parental coercion may be most beneficial for impulse control if combined with youth-directed interventions to help them regulate negative affect. Replication of the current findings in a larger sample of youth with and without a chronic illness is needed to address the theoretical and empirical importance of negative affect as a potential mechanism through which parental coercion impacts youth impulsivity.
Microbial Colonization in Marine Environments: Overview of Current Knowledge and Emerging Research Topics

Microbial biofilms are biological structures composed of surface-attached microbial communities embedded in an extracellular polymeric matrix. In aquatic environments, the microbial colonization of submerged surfaces is a complex process involving several factors, related to both environmental conditions and to the physical-chemical nature of the substrates. Several studies have addressed this issue; however, more research is still needed on microbial biofilms in marine ecosystems. After a brief report on environmental drivers of biofilm formation, this study reviews current knowledge of microbial community attached to artificial substrates, as obtained by experiments performed on several material types deployed in temperate and extreme polar marine ecosystems. Depending on the substrate, different microbial communities were found, sometimes highlighting the occurrence of species-specificity. Future research challenges and concluding remarks are also considered. Emphasis is given to future perspectives in biofilm studies and their potential applications, related to biofouling prevention (such as cell-to-cell communication by quorum sensing or improved knowledge of drivers/signals affecting biological settlement) as well as to the potential use of microbial biofilms as sentinels of environmental changes and new candidates for bioremediation purposes.
Monitoring system of land cover quality using segmentation and content base image retrieval methods

This paper tries to explore level and accuracy Content Based Image Retrieval method on Landsat imaginary. The images include an areal photography and land satellite photoraphy or Landsat which widely used and recognize for spatial information analysis. The analysis uses mapping of situation or state of earth’s surface, particularly the land surface. Landsat can be used to create topographic map, determining of attitude or height model of a certain place in the earth. Aerial photographs are used to detect changes of earth surface, in this work the changes by using Content Based Image retrieval or CBIR. The accuracy changes measurement calculates using precision and recall parameters. In this paper, Landsat images also used to detect the appear and dis appear of vegetation and other objects on the earth. More than 100 Landsat images used in this work, and around 15 images were use d as queries. The results show that accuracy of image retrieval is a quite good, which more than 75 %.
Radiological Dependence in Diagnosis of Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Introduction : Diagnosis of tuberculosis under the National Tuberculosis Control Program (NTCP) is based on microscopic examination of sputum. The main objective of this study was to assess the perception of physicians and patients regarding the importance of chest X-ray in diagnosing pulmonary tuberculosis with a view to suggest corrective measures. Materials & Methods: One hundred and eighty three consecutive patients reporting at the Nikopoor Tuberculosis Center under the National Tuberculosis Control Program were questioned in detail through a specially designed semi-structured questionnaire. Results : Of all patients, 145 (79.23%) had already taken a chest X-ray before attending the Center, either for medical advice or on own initiative, but only 37 (19.66%) had been sputum examined. Apart from these 145 patients, another 38 (15.63%) had to have their chest X-ray taken at the Center according to NTCP. Thus, 100%, in all, had to be examined radiologically. Conclusion : Physician’s belief that chest X-ray is the most important initial investigation of pulmonary tuberculosis needs a change or else the NTCP’s curtailing of radiological examination will become meaningless.
Review of 113 cases of autoimmune disorders in pregnancy

Background: Autoimmune disorders are chronic multisystem disorders affecting women of their reproductive age. Pregnancy among these women is complicated by the disease itself. Flaring up of disease, uteroplacental insufficiency due to vasculitis and drugs used for treatment are main reason for unfavourable pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this study was to analyze the pregnancy complications and outcome among 113 cases of autoimmune disorders.Methods: This study is a retrospective analysis of case records of pregnant women with autoimmune disorders. This study was conducted at PSG IMSR and Hospital, Coimbatore, and Tamil Nadu from July 2012 to June 2018. The case sheets were retrieved from medical record department and the details such as type of disease, maternal age, parity, status of disease at conception, treatment taken during pregnancy, maternal complications and fetal complications were collected and analyzed.Results: During 6-year period there were 113 pregnant women with autoimmune disorders, and they were studied of their previous and present pregnancy outcome. The disease incidence was 7.01% per 1000 deliveries. 40.7% were less than 25 years age group and 71.6% were multigravidae. We had forty-one patients (36%) who were positive for APLA syndrome which were the maximum number of patients with auto immune disorder in pregnancy and 37 patients (32.7) with SLE. We had significant numbers of maternal and fetal complications for common disorders. Most of the rare auto immune disorders were diagnosed before pregnancy and these pregnancies were managed by multi-disciplinary approach, and continued on immunomodulators throughout pregnancy, hence maternal and fetal complications were less for them.Conclusions: Adequate pre-conceptional counseling, vigilant monitoring during pregnancy and post-partum will avoid pregnancy related complications and have favorable outcomes.
When Schools Choose: Evaluation and Educational Inequality

ABSTRACT Educators evaluate students for admission in many oversubscribed and selective public schools. Yet, previous studies have focused on families as school choosers. Little is known about the role that educators play in determining whether students are admitted to sought-after schools in stratified education systems. Through an ethnography of the admissions process, this study examines the evaluation of applicants at an oversubscribed school. The admissions process results in the sorting of students into schools that vary on important measures, including graduation and college enrollment rates. The study reveals that school-level educators treated the evaluation process as an opportunity to increase the status of the school. They did this, in part, by selecting students who activated dominant cultural capital. The school district endeavored to make selective schools more widely accessible; however, a lack of district oversight allowed the school to instead pursue its own status-oriented goals.
L’implication du CD154 résistant au clivage enzymatique dans l’activité anti-tumorale

CD154, also known as CD40 ligand (CD40L) or gp39, is a type II glycoprotein, belonging to the tumor necrosis factors (TNF) with a molecular weight of 33-39 KDa. The CD154 is expressed in a transitory way on different cell types such as activated T cells, activated platelets, monocytes, dendritic cells, basophils, eosinophils, and also on non-hematopoietic cells such as fibroblasts, vascular endothelial cells and smooth muscle cells. Like other members of the TNF superfamily, the CD154 forms a non-covalently linked homotrimer. This trimer becomes soluble after a proteolytic cleavage, requiring the implication of the metalloproteinases ADAM-10 and ADAM-17. The binding of the CD154 with its classical receptor, CD40, is the basis of the TB cell interaction and it is crucial for B proliferation, differentiation and isotype switching. In addition to CD40, CD154 was shown to bind to three additional receptors, belonging to the integrin family, αIIbβ3, α5β1 and αMβ2. Binding of CD154 to the αIIbβ3 plays an important role in platelet thrombus stabilization. The interaction with the inactive form of the α5β1 leads to the activation of MAPK/ERK1/2 and IL-8 production. The active form of the αMβ2 interacts with the CD154 and induces cellular activation, adhesion and migration of inflammatory cells. Recent studies of our laboratory have revealed that the interaction of CD154 with its different receptors induces bidirectional activation. However, its cleavage remains a property to CD40. The presented work shows the generation of monoclonal antibody (mAb) capable of inhibiting the cleavage of the CD154 as well as the generation of CD154 mutant protein resistant to cleavage. This will allow us to study the biological role of the inhibition of the CD154 cleavage in vitro and evaluate the efficiency of our blocking mAbs in a cancer model in vivo. Our results show that inhibition of cleavage induced tumor regression in C57BL/6 mice, following the administration of the mAb in vivo.
REFRACTIVE SURGERY : FROM LASER TO INTRAOCULAR LENSES ( C STARR , SECTION EDITOR ) Intracorneal Inlays for Presbyopia

Purpose of Review The purpose of this review is to summarize recent literature and provide clinical pearls for the use of intracorneal inlays for surgical treatment of presbyopia. Recent Findings A preoperative manifest refraction spherical equivalent (MRSE) in the appropriate range for a KAMRA or Raindrop inlay aids with optimization of postoperative visual results. An eye with MRSE of −0.75 is ideal for consideration of KAMRA inlay, whereas plano to +0.50 MRSE tends to have better visual results with Raindrop. Summary Both KAMRA and Raindrop corneal inlays are effective surgical treatment options for presbyopia. Patient selection, preoperative counseling, surgical implantation that is centered, optimized corneal depth, and appropriate postoperative management are vital to patient and surgeon success with the technology.
A Critical Discourse Analysis of the Power Relationships in Institutional Talks

As a special form of conversation, the institutional talk has been described as characteristically asymmetrical in contrast to the ordinary conversational interaction between participants of equal status. On the basis of Fairclough’s three-dimensional CDA analytical model, the present study concentrates on the complex and invisible power relationships between the participants by probing into the grammatical features and the interactional conventions in institutional talks. Findings show that there are unequal power relationships between the participants in the talks. This study concludes by discussing the implications of the findings and proposing the suggestions for future research. Keywords—institutional talk; power relationship; critical discourse analysis
A High-Power LED Driver Based on Single Inductor-Multiple Output DC–DC Converter With High Dimming Frequency and Wide Dimming Range

This article proposes an LED driver circuit which is wide-range continuous dimmable for high power lighting application. The proposed LED driver is based on single-inductor–multiple-output (SIMO) dc–dc converter. A pulsewidth modulation (PWM) control strategy is applied on the LED driver to control the brightness of LEDs flexibly and precisely, with which the dimming frequency can be increased significantly, and the dimming ratio for all branches can be adjusted separately. PWM dimming would cause the inductor current overshooting when dimming switch alters from off to on, which makes the LED current varying. To suppress the inductor current overshooting, a sampling–holding circuit is adopted in the feedback loop of the proposed LED driver. A prototype of the proposed LED driver is fabricated and tested. The measurement results show that the dimming frequency can be increased to 10 kHz, the dimming ratio can be set from 5% to 100% with a minimum pulsewidth of 5 $\mu$s, and the inductor current overshooting is suppressed from 150% to approximately 0%. The proposed LED driver can output more than 80 W and achieve a conversion efficiency of 97%.