Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Path planning to minimise distances and recharging instances for a small fleet of vehicles in an arable field

Autonomous small vehicles may be considered a promising option for collecting field information due to their onboard sensing elements and reduced size, which minimise the vehicles’ impact on crop and soil compaction. However, a small mobile unit has very poor energy autonomy for covering real crop fields with large extensions. A fleet of vehicles could be a solution for obtaining shorter distances. Nevertheless, because these small vehicles are usually electric, the distances to cover in a real field are too long and the vehicles will be forced to recharge their batteries several times during the inspection operation, even if a fleet of such vehicles is considered. Installing recharge points close to the field is a possible solution to address the lack of energy, but important questions arise, including how many recharge points are required and where the points should be established to minimise the distance travelled by the mobile units (and consequently the time) as well as the number of recharges needed. This problem can be stated as an optimisation problem with two main objectives to minimise: the number of recharge points and the distance travelled (and, by extension, the time that the task requires). In this paper, an NSGA-II (non-sorting genetic algorithm II) is used to perform this multi-objective optimisation. The results obtained show that the algorithm is able to find optimal solutions in terms of the cost of the mission (i.e. the combination of the distance travelled and the time spent by the vehicles) and the positions and number of recharge points to install next to the field.
Temporary Hemodialysis Catheters as a Long‐term Vascular Access in Chronic Hemodialysis Patients

Abstract: The objective was to review our experience with temporary, precurved, jugular catheters used for long‐term vascular access in chronic hemodialysis patients. Thirty chronic hemodialysis patients, 14 men and 16 women, with an average age of 65.3 ± 13.5 years (30–90 years), treated by dialysis for 1 month to 30 years (average ± SD, 6.3 ± 8.1 years), had single lumen, ‘temporary’ precurved non‐tunneled jugular catheters placed into the right jugular vein as permanent vascular access, with 4% trisodium citrate as a locking solution and mupirocin at the exit site. Hemodialysis catheters were used for vascular access on average for 9.1 ± 6.5 months, (1–22.7 months), and for a total of 271.7 months (8151 days). Average catheter functioning time was 3.1 ± 1.9 months (0.5–10 months). The total number of side‐effects was 55 (6.7/1000 catheter days), including 26 cases of thrombosis (3.2/1000 catheter days), 9 ruptures of the catheter (1.1/1000 catheter days), 15 catheter malfunctions (1.8/1000 catheter days), 2 exit site infections (0.2/1000 catheter days), 2 bacteremias (0.2/1000 catheter days), 1 avulsion of the catheter (0.1/1000 catheter days), and 2 catheters were removed because an AV fistula was successfully used. In 21 patients single‐needle hemodialysis was performed, mean blood flow 251 ± 16 mL/min (250–300), mean Kt/V 0.96 ± 0.16 (0.72–1.27) and in 9 patients double‐needle hemodialysis was performed (catheter and peripheral vein) with mean blood flow 252 ± 14 mL/min (200–300), mean Kt/V 1.63 ± 0.25 (1.21–1.96). ‘Temporary’ jugular single lumen non‐tunneled hemodialysis catheters, with 4% citrate as locking solution and mupirocin ointment at the exit site provided good long‐term vascular access with acceptable functioning time and low infection rate. The main reasons for catheter exchange or removal were malfunction and mechanical damage of the catheter.
The role of vascular mechanisms in the development of acute equine laminitis.

ACUTE LAMINITIS has long been attributed to factors or events that precede the onset of laminitis. Between 1759 and 1907 the overconsumption of grain, inflammation of the feet, suppression of perspiration (anhydrosis), excessive rest, excessive bleeding, road concussion, poor shoeing, unilateral weight bearing, sudden environmental temperature changes, prolonged standing (in the cold and aboard ships), diarrhea, and postpartum complications were all designated as causes. Today, commonly listed etiologic factors include ingestion of large amounts of grain, cold water, lush grass, or black walnut shavings, repeated concussion, endometritis or other severe infections, colic, exhaustion, stress, drug toxicities, and endocrine dysfunctions. At Texas A&M University (Table 1) the factors recorded as the cause presume a causal relationship between some preceding event and the acute laminitis. Logically, any event that precedes laminitis might be a cause, but etiologic validity depends on the definition of “cause” and the role that coincidence might have in the appearance of the disease.
Light as an information carrier underwater

Light is a source of both energy and information for the biota. The spatial, temporal and spectral variability of light experienced by marine phytoplankton differs significantly from that experienced by terrestrial plants, due to the selective attenuation of solar irradiance in the aquatic medium. In the present study we analysed such variability and focused, in particular, on those bands within the spectrum that may act as potential signals for physiological responses. Our results demonstrate that the spectral variation of the light field carries information on the time of day, the vertical position and the presence of very close neighbours, also underwater. This is consistent with the recent findings of a widespread occurrence of photoreceptors in marine algae. We show also that red photoreceptors, whose presence in marine algae was difficult to reconcile with the strong attenuation of long wavelengths by water, may be triggered at depth by the red light generated by transpectral processes.
The Strategic Role of Knowledge Management in Nonprofit Organisations

Australian nonprofit organisations (NFPs) operate in an increasingly competitive marketplace for funding staff and volunteers and donations. In this context, many NFPs are being driven to adopt more commercial practices in order to improve their strategic performance, particularly competitive positioning for donor appeal, staff retention and service strategy and delivery. Knowledge management (KM) is one commercial practice being explored and implemented by the NFP sector to support strategic performance and operations. Although the concept of knowledge management is basically understood, the implications and strategies to pursue this practice in a NFP context are under explored. This paper presents a KM implementation planning framework for discussion and further research in the NFP sector. Specifically, this paper proposes that NFP's unique missions, many and varied organisational structures and operational maturity requires a customised approach to knowledge management. Implications for competitive strategy and performance are discussed. © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Some Notes On Spectra Of Cographs

A cograph is a P4–free graph. We first give a short proof of the fact that 0 (−1) belongs to the spectrum of a connected cograph (with at least two vertices) if and only if it contains duplicate (resp. coduplicate) vertices. As a consequence, we next prove that the polynomial reconstruction of graphs whose vertex–deleted subgraphs have the second largest eigenvalue not exceeding √ 5−1 2 is unique. 1 MSC: 05C50. 2
Question & Answer. Lyme Disease: A Challenge and an Opportunity for Nurse Practitioners

Lyme disease is a zoonotic infection affecting humans. The infection is tick-borne, caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdoderi. The spirochete is transmitted to humans by the Zxodes genus of ticks, which is carried by a variety of animals and birds, especially the white-tailed deer and the white-footed mouse. Not all ticks carry disease, but as many as 90% in some areas of the United States are infected. Teaching patients preventive strategies and conducting a thorough history and physical examination are the most important tools in managing Lyme disease in this country.
T6SS: The bacterial "fight club" in the host gut

The mammalian gut is home to a densely populated community of microorganisms that not only provide their host with nutritional benefits but also offer protection against foreign pathogens [1]. Since the gut is an environment limited in both space and nutrients, these microbes have evolved multiple mechanisms and strategies to either coexist or compete with other organisms that share the same resources. While some species will switch their metabolism to utilize secondary nutrients, others opt to take a more direct approach and directly kill their competitors by releasing chemical compounds or by secreting effectors via specific secretion systems [2] such as the type VI secretion system (T6SS). T6SSs are contact-dependent secretion machineries capable of directly injecting toxins into other bacteria as well as eukaryotic cells [3]. Recent studies have highlighted the role of T6SSdependent antibacterial responses in interbacterial competition in the mammalian gut [4–8], suggesting that T6SSs may be important in not only shaping microbial community composition but also governing interactions between the microbiota and invading pathogens. In this short article, we discuss recent advances in our understanding of how commensal intestinal microbiota and enteric bacterial pathogens use T6SS-mediated antibacterial activity to influence host health and whether manipulating the T6SS could be used for potential therapies in the future.
Percutaneous US-guided radio-frequency tissue ablation of liver metastases: treatment and follow-up in 16 patients.

PURPOSE To determine the potential efficacy of radio-frequency (RF) ablation of liver metastases during long-term follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS Sixteen patients with 31 hepatic metastases were treated with percutaneous, ultrasound-guided RF ablation. RF was applied to monopolar electrodes (2-3-cm tip exposure) either individually or within a multiprobe array (two to four probes) for 6 minutes at 90 degrees C over one to four treatment sessions per metastasis. RESULTS In only one of 75 sessions, a moderate complication, self-limited intraperitoneal hemorrhage, was observed. Four patients (four lesions) underwent surgical resection 15-60 days after RF treatment. Residual, viable tumor was seen in all of these patients. The remaining 12 patients were followed up for 9-29 months (mean, 18.1 months). In these patients, 18 of 27 lesions remained stable or decreased in size and showed no enhancement at computed tomography and/or magnetic resonance imaging for at least 9 months. Two patients died of disseminated disease at 13 months and one at 16 months. Disease-free survival was achieved in eight patients. CONCLUSIONS RF ablation appears to be a simple, safe, and potentially effective treatment for selected patients with liver metastases and may become a less invasive alternative to surgical therapy.
Factors underlying attitude formation towards online banking in Finland

The study explored the effect of different factors affecting attitude formation towards Internet banking (online banking) in Finland. The purpose of this paper is to determine those factors that influence the formation of attitude towards Internet banking on the one hand, and their relation to the use of online banking services, on the other. To attain these, a large survey (1,167 responses) was carried out during the summer of 2000 in Finland. Attitude formation was studied by the use of a structural equation model. The results are expected to provide both theoretical and practical contributions in the area of electronic retail banking and understanding of consumer behaviour in the turbulent financial services industry.
Principle Component Analysis in Image Processing

In this paper we address the Principle Component Analysis (PCA) and their application has been done in the area of image processing. Exploring basic theory of face recognition and mathematical procedure to transform a number of correlated variables in a number of uncorrelated variables and image processing toolbox written in open MATLAB have been studied. The Principle Components Analysis (PCA) ultimately reduces the number of effective variables used for classification which are compared with some statistical method.
Rapid and preferential activation of the c-jun gene during the mammalian UV response

Exposure of mammalian cells to DNA-damaging agents leads to activation of a genetic response known as the UV response. Because several previously identified UV-inducible genes contain AP-1 binding sites within their promoters, we investigated the induction of AP-1 activity by DNA-damaging agents. We found that expression of both c-jun and c-fos, which encode proteins that participate in formation of the AP-1 complex, is rapidly induced by two different DNA-damaging agents: UV and H2O2. Interestingly, the c-jun gene is far more responsive to UV than any other immediate-early gene that was examined, including c-fos. Other jun and fos genes were only marginally affected by UV or H2O2. Furthermore, UV is a much more efficient inducer of c-jun than phorbol esters, the standard inducers of c-jun expression. This preferential response of the c-jun gene is mediated by its 5' control region and requires the TPA response element, suggesting that this element also serves as an early target for the signal transduction pathway elicited by DNA damage. Both UV and H2O2 lead to a long-lasting increase in AP-1 binding activity, suggesting that AP-1 may mediate the induction of other damage-inducible genes such as human collagenase.
Spatial relationships of cultural amenities in rural areas.

Amenity resources are relevant to rural economic development, population migration, income distribution, and tourism development. For this reason, many government officials have adopted these amenities as regional planning and development strategies. Because government officials use spatial characteristics when they establish rural policies, this study analyzes the spatial distribution of amenity resources using GIS (geographic information systems) and analyzes their spatial autocorrelation using related tools. The study chooses seventeen amenities based on the official amenity database and finds that most cultural amenities are not clustered spatially and that, according to the global spatial autocorrelation index (Moran's I), they have few positive correlations. Finally, an analysis of LISA (local indicator of spatial association) shows some “hot spots” in the spatial distribution of the cultural amenities, but additional research is needed to determine whether these amenities affect regional economies.
Matrix metalloproteinases, their tissue inhibitors and colorectal cancer staging

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and their tissue inhibitors (TIMPs) are important in tumour invasion and metastasis. The levels of MMPs, TIMPs and total MMP activity were compared in paired colorectal tumour (n = 50) and normal tissue (n = 49) samples and correlated with clinical and pathological staging.
An Exploratory Study of Total Quality Management Practices in Service Industries

Total Quality Management (TQM) is an approach for continuously improving the quality of goods and services delivered through the participation at all levels and function of the organization. TQM also requires continuous improvement not only in products or services but also at all operational and managerial levels for creating wide quality culture. It affirms an integrated management approach based on a set of techniques to achieve this objective. But organizations find it difficult to implement these techniques in a satisfactory and efficient way. This makes a general opinion among the managers of the organization that TQM may not work in many cases and TQM initiatives declared failed. Therefore, there is an immediate need to focus on which management practices support “service quality” so that implementation of TQM can be made effectively and smoothly.The purpose of this paper is to identify those management practices that support service quality and are most critical for the management of quality to different types of service industries. To achieve this objective, an extensive literature review was carried out to understand the range of managerial practices which supports service quality in the service sector. The study identifies 17 major TQM practices which support service quality in service industries. The findings are reported in the conclusions.
Serous Papillary Carcinomas Arising from the Peritoneum and Ovaries. A Clinicopathologic and Immunohistochemical Comparison

Primary papillary serous carcinoma arising from the peritoneal surface (serous surface papillary carcinoma; SSPC) is a distinctive neoplasm with a histomorphologic resemblance to serous ovarian papillary carcinoma (SOPC). To determine if these tumors are similar antigenically, we studied 13 examples of SSPC and 31 of SOPC immunohistochemically. Antibodies to several determinants known to occur in the Mullerian epithelium were employed. Both neoplasms were uniformly positive for cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen (EMA); in addition, SSPC and SOPC were similar in quantitative and qualitative reactivity for B72.3 antigen, carcinoembryonic antigen, Leu Ml, CA-125 antigen, LN1, LN2, MB2, S100 protein, placental alkaline phosphatase, and amylase. Residual nonneoplastic mesothelium failed to express any of these antigens except for cytokeratin, EMA, and CA-125. The clinical behavior of SSPC was similar to that of high-stage SOPC; all patients with adequate follow-up died of their tumors. These results suggest that SSPC and SOPC are analogous lesions, with respect to their cellular differentiation. Moreover, it would appear that both neoplasms display only a limited immu-nophenotypic homology to the mesothelium.
The Distribution of Firm Sizes from Occupational Choice: Theory and Empirical Implications

This paper models the distribution of firm sizes as the market equilibrium from occupational choices made by rational individuals with different entrepreneurial skills. The model is calibrated to match Spanish data on the size of occupational groups (employees, employers, solo self-employed) and firms. Our results show how the distribution of skills, the production technology, and the internal organization of firms jointly determine the distribution of firm sizes and the operating efficiency of the whole economy. The analysis predicts a link between the truncated upper tail of the distribution of entrepreneurial skills in the population, and the observed skewed distribution of firm sizes, and explains the “missing middle” as a direct consequence of how firms’ class sizes are usually defined. Finally, the paper provides an explanation of the observed heterogeneity in the TFP of firms, arising from the heterogeneity of the skills of their respective entrepreneurs.
Importance of Servicescape in Services Industries

For services operations, favorable experience at customers’ end evolves when an organization designed and constructed alluring locale. Physical surroundings of service environment often referred as servicescape, firstly introduced by Bitner in 1992, that highly influenced the consumers’ perceptions towards an organization. Servicescape considered as commercial exchanges, embedded cues in consumers’ experiences and are created by taking communicative staging into considerations. Recent literature pointed out significant impact of servicescape in terms of atmosphere, environment, facilities and equipment on satisfaction, intentions to repurchase and word-of-mouth communication. Hitherto, studies did not highlight the importance of servicescape in services industries properly. Hence, the purpose of this research is to explain servicescape, its various dimensions, roles in marketing mix, relationship with service quality, customer experiences and suggested further exploration in servicescape domain.
Two-stage approach to keyword spotting in handwritten documents

Separation of keywords from non-keywords is the main problem in keyword spotting systems which has traditionally been approached by simplistic methods, such as thresholding of recognition scores. In this paper, we analyze this problem from a machine learning perspective, and we study several standard machine learning algorithms specifically in the context of non-keyword rejection. We propose a two-stage approach to keyword spotting and provide a theoretical analysis of the performance of the system which gives insights on how to design the classifier in order to maximize the overall performance in terms of F-measure.
A Consideration of Probability Estimates Provided by Respondents

~-very likely, likely, unlikely, very unlikely? '' Other times, the measurement bears the trappings of greater precision. For example, a scale of 0 to 100 may be offered with the request, "Indicate on the following scale how likely you are to take action A. " The 0 point may be labeled "very unlikely" and the 100 point may be labeled "certain. " Verbal labels may also be attached to several of the intermediate points. Poincare described the inevitability of such judgments. "Predictions," he wrote, "can only be probable. However solidly founded a prediction may appear to us, we are never absolutely sure that experience will not refute it. [The calculus of probability rests on an] . obscure instinct, which one cannot
From generalized Tamari intervals to non-separable planar maps

Let $v$ be an arbitrary path made of north and east steps. The lattice $\rm{T{\scriptsize AM}}(v)$, based on all paths weakly above the path $v$ sharing the same endpoints as $v$, was introduced by Pr\'eville-Ratelle and Viennot (2014) and corresponds to the usual Tamari lattice in the case $v=(NE)^n$. They showed that $\rm{T{\scriptsize AM}}(v)$ is isomorphic to the dual of $\rm{T{\scriptsize AM}}(\overleftarrow{v})$, where $\overleftarrow{v}$ is the reverse of $v$ with $N$ and $E$ exchanged. Our main contribution is a bijection from intervals in $\rm{T{\small AM}}(v)$ to non-separable planar maps. It follows that the number of intervals in $\rm{T{\scriptsize AM}}(v)$ over all $v$ of length $n$ is $\frac{2 (3n+3)! }{(n+2)! (2n+3)! }$. This formula was first obtained by Tutte(1963) for non-separable planar maps. We also show that the isomorphism between $\rm{T{\scriptsize AM}}(v)$ and the dual of $\rm{T{\scriptsize AM}}(\overleftarrow{v})$ is equivalent to map duality under our bijection.
Comprehension of affective prosody in multiple sclerosis

Deficits in cognition have been repeatedly documented in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), but their ability to comprehend emotional information has received little study. Forty-seven patients with MS and 19 demographic controls received the comprehension portion of the A prosodia Battery, which is known to be sensitive to the impairments of patients with strokes and other neurological conditions. Patients also received tests of hearing, verbal comprehension and naming, a short cognitive battery, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Patients with MS were impaired in identifying emotional states from prosodic cues. The magnitude of the deficits was greatest for patients with severe physical disability and under test conditions of limited prosodic information. Correlational analyses suggested that the patients’ difficulties in comprehending affective prosodic information were not secondary to hearing loss, aphasic deficits, cognitive impairment, or depression. For some patients with MS, deficits in comprehending emotional information may contribute to their difficulties in maintaining effective social interactions.