Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Navigation Method for Autonomous Robots in a Dynamic Indoor Environment

The present paper considers issues related to navigation by autonomous mobile robots in overcrowded dynamic indoor environments (e.g., shopping malls, exhibition halls or convention centers). For robots moving among potentially unaware bystanders, safety is a key issue. A navigation method based on mixed potential field path planning is proposed, in cooperation with active artificial landmarks-based localization, in particular the bearing of infrared beacons placed in known coordinates processed via particle filters. Simulation experiments and tests in unmodified real-world environments with the actual robot show the proposed navigation system allows the robot to successfully navigate safely among bystanders.
Evaluation of a statistical downscaling procedure for the estimation of climate change impacts on droughts

Abstract. Despite uncertainties in future climates, there is considerable evidence that there will be substantial impacts on the environment and human interests. Climate change will affect the hydrology of a region through changes in the timing, amount, and form of precipitation, evaporation and transpiration rates, and soil moisture, which in turn affect also the drought characteristics in a region. Droughts are long-term phenomena affecting large regions causing significant damages both in human lives and economic losses. The most widely used approach in regional climate impact studies is to combine the output of the General Circulation Models (GCMs) with an impact model. The outputs of Global Circulation Model CGCMa2 were applied for two socioeconomic scenarios, namely, SRES A2 and SRES B2 for the assessment of climate change impact on droughts. In this study, a statistical downscaling method has been applied for monthly precipitation. The methodology is based on multiple regression of GCM predictant variables with observed precipitation developed in an earlier paper (Loukas et al., 2008) and the application of a stochastic timeseries model for precipitation residuals simulation (white noise). The methodology was developed for historical period (1960–1990) and validated against observed monthly precipitation for period 1990–2002 in Lake Karla watershed, Thessaly, Greece. The validation indicated the accuracy of the methodology and the uncertainties propagated by the downscaling procedure in the estimation of a meteorological drought index the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at multiple timescales. Subsequently, monthly precipitation and SPI were estimated for two future periods 2020–2050 and 2070–2100. The results of the present study indicate the accuracy, reliability and uncertainty of the statistical downscaling method for the assessment of climate change on hydrological, agricultural and water resources droughts. Results show that climate change will have a major impact on droughts but the uncertainty introduced is quite large and is increasing as SPI timescale increases. Larger timescales of SPI, which, are used to monitor hydrological and water resources droughts, are more sensitive to climate change than smaller timescales, which, are used to monitor meteorological and agricultural droughts. Future drought predictions should be handled with caution and their uncertainty should always be evaluated as results demonstrate.
ENZYME ACTIVITY OF DIFFERENT CEREALS GROWN USING ORGANIC AND CONVENTIONAL AGRICULTURAL PRACTICES

Enzymes play an important role in cereal processing not only because in many instances they have an impact on processability, but also they add to final product quality. High activities of different hydrolytic en zymes could cause the losses of grain quality and lead to proce ssing problems and unsatisfactory end-products. However, the information on the impact of various cultural pract ices and conditions on the variation of enzymes act ivity levels in cereals is rather limited. The present study is therefore aimed to compare the activity levels of m ost important hydrolytic enzymes ( α-amylase, endoxylanase and protease) in wheat, bare ly, rye and oats grown by organic and conventional agricultural practices. To address thi s issue, different registered cultivars and up-and- coming lines of winter wheat (4 varieties), winter rye (3 variet ies), spring barley (6 varieties), and oats (3 vari eties) grown during 2009 harvest year were involved in the test: The α-amylase activity in organically and conventionally grown cereals varied from 224 till 1335 U (units) g -1 and from 814 till 1546 U g -1 , endoxylanase activity ‐ from 0.13 till 0.65 U g -1 and from 0.06 till 0.15 U g -1
Observations of lee waves and rotors downwind of the Pennines

A field experiment was conducted in the Pennines, UK, between November 2003 and April 2005. The aims of the experiment were to study lee waves and rotors forming downwind of the Pennines in order to better understand and predict turbulence and flow variability associated with these types of flow. This is of particular importance due to the high density of airfields and associated air traffic in the area. Measurements of the near-surface flow and pressure perturbations upand downstream allowed the effects of the pressure field associated with lee waves to be observed. Vosper et al., in an accompanying talk, and journal article (2006), discuss idealised 2-D simulations in which the normalised pressure perturbation amplitude, ∆p/u∗, controls the fractional deceleration, ∆s, beneath a wave crest. A value of ∆s less than -1 indicates reversal of the near-surface flow resulting in the formation of a rotor. The quantity ∆p/u∗ represents the trade off between the size of the adverse pressure gradient induced by the waves, and the velocity scale of the background flow near the surface. The measurements discussed here allow the illumination of how real flows respond to the lee-wave induced pressure field.
The Effect of Exogenous Estrogens on Primordial Follicle Assembly in Vivo

During embryogenesis in the mouse, primordial germ cells develop, move to the genital ridge of the embryo, and form germline cysts as the ovary develops. The cells in these cysts are linked by intercellular bridges. The cysts then undergo a breakdown process which ultimately results in primordial follicles, each of which consists of a single oocyte surrounded by somatic cells called granulosa cells. During this cyst breakdown process, approximately one-third of the original oocytes become enclosed in primordial follicles, the amount of which is representative of the number of eggs a female will have available to her during her reproductive life, while the other oocytes die. It has already been evidenced that introducing environmental estrogens into the female mouse during one of three critical time periods in development can alter oocyte development, thus limiting the female’s number of primordial follicles that can be used to reproduce. Because the cyst breakdown mechanism is conserved in other mammals; the mouse can be used as a model for studying germ cell development in humans, thus providing valuable insight into female reproductive disorders that may be caused by follicle depletion, such as primary amenhorrea and premature ovarian insufficiency. My area of research is to determine whether exogenous estrogens have an effect on cyst breakdown during the perinatal period. In order to accomplish this, neonatal mice were injected subcutaneously with two concentrations of three different estrogenic compounds on post-natal days 1-4 (PND1-4). These mice were dissected for their ovaries on PND5. After dissection, the ovaries were fixed, stained with an oocyte marker, and observed using a laser-scanning confocal microscope. The images were analyzed to characterize and quantify the follicles within the ovaries, and the results were compared to see if there was a difference between the amount of cyst breakdown and the progression of follicle development between the experimental groups and the control group. Additionally, materials that were used to prepare the injections of exogenous estrogens were separately tested on mice in order to test the effectiveness of the injection materials.
Alzheimer's Disease and Diabetes: Diffusion Tensor Imaging as a Probable Diagnostic Measure

The main neuropathological features of Alzheimer’s disease, a chronic neurodegenerative condition, are amyloid plaques (extracellular lesions) and neurofibrillary tangles (intercellular lesions) agglomeration in brain tissue. Some studies illustrate that Diabetes Mellitus type II might facilitate accumulation of amyloid-beta in brain tissue; can dispose patients to Alzheimer’s disease. In brain, water molecules mainly diffuse in the same directions as the neural pathways; amyloid-beta depositions as obstacles alter the normal directions of water motion in brain tissue ergo presenting as abnormalities in images taken by Diffusion Tensor Imaging that can be utilized for early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease.
Nutritional treatment in severe acute pancreatitis

Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the results of nutritional treatment in patients with severe acute pancreatitis. Material and methods: We analyzed the clinical course, duration of parenteral or enteral nutrition, period of hospitalization and complications. We analyzed the material of 32 patients treated for severe acute pancreatitis which required nutritional support. Results: All patients were qualified for nutritional treatment. In 4 patients enteral treatment was possible to introduce from the beginning of the disease. The remaining 28 patients required parenteral nutrition. Average time of nutritional intervention was 15.75 days (12-21 days) in the enteral vs. 16.23 days in the parenteral nutrition group. Average energy supplied in the enteral nutrition group was 18.3 kcal/kg body weight vs. 22.4 kcal/kg body weight in the parenteral nutrition group. Overall mortality rate was 9.6%. Average length of hospitalization was 21.3 days in the enteral nutrition group vs. 23.5 days in the parenteral nutrition group. Ten patients (31.2%) had complications that could have been side effects of nutritional treatment. Conclusions: In some cases of severe acute pancreatitis, parenteral nutrition remains the only way of feeding due to the serious condition of the patient and impossibility of introducing enteral feeding from the beginning of the disease. In some patients qualified as cases of severe acute pancreatitis it is possible to apply enteral nutrition, but under the condition that there is good access to the alimentary tract and that there are no disorders in the intestinal passage.
Muscle torque of the hip joint flexors and extensors in physically active and inactive amputees

Summary Study aim: The aim of this study was to assess proportion and symmetry between torque in muscles that affect the hip joint in the non-amputated and the amputated limb in persons both engaged in and not engaged in sports. Material and methods: Study participants comprised 12 persons with above-knee leg amputation. The group of participants was divided into two subgroups: persons engaged in sports and physically inactive persons. The strength and the speed capacity of hip joint flexors and hip joint extensors were measured using a Biodex System 4 dynamometer. The measurement was conducted at two angular velocities (60°/s and 120°/s) and during isometric activity of the non-amputated and the amputated limb. Results: Maximal torque of hip joint flexors in the amputated limb of physically active persons constituted 65.3% of the corresponding value in persons without amputation and was higher than in physically inactive persons (55.9%). Similar values were obtained for extensors. The time to reach maximal muscle torque in the amputated limb during the extension of the hip joint at 60°/s equalled 400 ms in physically active persons and 900 ms in physically inactive persons and during flexion, equalled 400 ms and 600 ms, respectively. Conclusions: Physically active persons showed greater dynamics in generating maximal muscle torque, especially during the extension of the hip joint. Physical activity benefits the strength and speed capacity of muscles that affect the hip joint in persons with above-knee amputation, thus decreasing asymmetry and disproportion between limbs.
GENERAL FEATURES OF PHOTOPROTECTION BY ENERGY DISSIPATION IN PLANKTONIC DIATOMS (BACILLARIOPHYCEAE) 1

Planktonic diatoms (Bacillariophyceae) have to cope with large fluctuations of light intensity and periodic exposure to high light. After a shift to high light, photoprotective dissipation of excess energy characterized by the nonphotochemical quenching of fluorescence (NPQ) and the concomitant deepoxidation of diadinoxanthin to diatoxanthin (DT) were measured in four different planktonic marine diatoms (Bacillariophyceae): Skeletonema costatum (Greville) Cleve, Cylindrotheca fusiformis Reimann et Lewin, Thalassiosira weissflogii (Grunow) Fryxell et Hasle, and Ditylum brightwellii (West) Grunow in comparison to the model organism Phaeodactylum tricornutum Böhlin. Upon a sudden increase of light intensity, deepoxidation was rapid and de novo synthesis of DT also occurred. In all species, NPQ was linearly related to the amount of DT formed during high light. In this report, we focused on the role of DT in the dissipation of energy that takes place in the light‐harvesting complex. In S. costatum for the same amount of DT, less NPQ was formed than in P. tricornutum and as a consequence the photoprotection of PSII was less efficient. The general features of photoprotection by harmless dissipation of excess energy in planktonic diatoms described here partly explain why diatoms are well adapted to light intensity fluctuations.
Gestational Trophoblastic Diseases: Alternatives to Biological Monitoring in Under-resourced Settings (Two clinical observations)

Gestational Trophoblastic Disease (GTD) includes a broad spectrum of pathologies ranging from benign precancerous lesions (complete or partial hydatidiform mole) to malignant lesions (invasive mole, gestational choriocarcinoma and tumor of the placental implantation site) [1]. The above mentioned malignant lesions are also known as gestational trophoblastic tumors (GTT); these can metastasize and be fatal if untreated [2,3]. All these forms of GTD have one common denominator, which is a hypersecretion of hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). Hence, careful monitoring is essential in the treatment of GTD and requires regular monitoring of HCG to detect abnormal changes. HCG is the main marker in diagnosing and monitoring the evolution of GTD [4]. This work aims to propose alternatives to monitoring the evolution of GTD in under-equipped environments where the quantitative dosage is inaccessible.
Rapid Change in Song Structure in Introduced Japanese Bush-Warblers (Cettia diphone) in Hawai‘i1

Abstract: Song birds that have been artificially introduced to isolated areas are fruitful material for investigating changeability of songs within a limited period of time. I studied songs of Japanese Bush-warblers, Cettia diphone, which were introduced from Japan to the island of O‘ahu (Hawaiian Islands) ca. 80 yr ago. These warblers on O‘ahu sang acoustically simpler songs at lower frequencies than the warblers on Honshu, the main island of Japan. Previous studies found similar tendencies on small peripheral Japanese islands. Morphological characteristics indicated that the warblers on the Hawaiian Islands did not originate from insular subspecies in Japan. Therefore, the acoustic structure of their songs may have changed during their 80 yr on O‘ahu. Possible factors driving this rapid change are relaxed sexual selection and/or the sound transmission properties of the island habitat.
Detection of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus with Data Mining Approach Using Support Vector Machine

Diabetes is a chronic disease and a major problem of morbidity and mortality in developing countries. The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) estimates that 285 million people around the world have diabetes. This total is expected to rise to438 million within 20 years. Type 2 diabetes (TTD) is the most common type of diabetes and accounts for 90-95 percent of all diabetes. Detection of TTD from various factors or symptoms became an issue which was not free from false presumptions accompanied by unpredictable effects. According to this context, data mining could be used as an alternative way, help us in knowledge discovery from data. This paper utilize support vector machine (SVM) in the data mining process to acquire information from historical data of patient medical records. It offers a decision-making support through early detection of TTD for physicians and others.
Does ion limitation select for pelvic reduction in threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus)

Background: Resident freshwater threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) populations exhibit reduced bony armour structures (including the pelvis) that are always maintained in their marine or anadromous ancestors. Environmental ion and calcium limitation may select for armour reduction in freshwater habitats by increasing the energetic costs of importing ions from dilute fresh water. Armour reduction may allow increased somatic growth and reproductive effort. Hypothesis: Gasterosteus aculeatus with reduced pelvic skeletons grow faster than those with robust pelvises in water with low total ion or calcium concentration. Methods: We estimated growth rate (age-adjusted size) of field-caught G. aculeatus from four freshwater populations. Each of these populations is highly variable for the magnitude of pelvic expression, so we could tease apart the effects of pelvic phenotype and population statistically. We also estimated growth (size at 138 days post-fertilization) of specimens with large and small pelvic structures raised in the laboratory under contrasting total ion and calcium concentration regimes. Results: Growth rates of field-caught G. aculeatus did not differ among individuals with small and large pelvic phenotypes within samples from each of four freshwater populations. Similarly, growth of laboratory-reared specimens from two of these populations did not differ among pelvic phenotypes at low total ion or low calcium concentration. Our comparisons provide no evidence that development and maintenance of a larger pelvis reduces growth under conditions of low ion availability either in nature or in the laboratory.
Antonymy in Persian Language: a Cognitive Approach

In this paper the author is concerned with the role of cognitive and mental abilities of humans in the formation of antonymy sense relation at the level of words of Persian language. The findings are as follows: The speakers of Persian language cause the formation of antonymy sense relation at level of words by using their mental and cognitive abilities, and mainly the experience they get from the environment. The speakers of Persian language make construals by the use of analytic-cognitive factors which consist of perspective, profile, and scanning for the formation of antonymy. The data collected from Persian, involving antonymy sense relation, can be analyzed on the basis of layered schemas program, and the contextual meaning interpretation of words has a very important role in the formation of antonymy sense relation at word level.
ROLE OF ETHYLENE ON VARIOUS RIPENING PATHWAYS AND ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SENSORY QUALITY OF CHARENTAIS CANTALOUPE MELONS

Charentais melons (Cucumis melo L., var cantalupensis Naud.) in which ethylene biosynthesis has been suppressed by an antisense ACC oxidase gene have been used to better understand the role of ethylene in the regulation of the ripening process of climacteric fruit and on the development of sensory qualities. We have shown that a number of biochemical and molecular processes associated with the ripening of climacteric fruit are ethylene-independent. In some cases, such as softening of the flesh, the same pathway comprises both ethylene-dependent and -independent components. The various ethylene-dependent events exhibit differential sensitivity to ethylene. The threshold level for degreening of the rind is 1 ppm, while 2.5 ppm are required to trigger the ethylene-dependent component of the softening process. The saturating level of ethylene for all these events is less than 5 ppm, which is by far lower than the internal ethylene concentrations found in the fruit at the climacteric peak (around 100 ppm). Detachment of the fruit influences the development of respiratory climacteric. Fruit remaining attached to the vine, although producing higher levels of ethylene, exhibit a reduced climacteric rise in respiration as compared to detached fruit. The response of antisense ACO fruit to exogenous ethylene in terms of respiration is higher in detached than in attached fruit. Ethylene-suppressed melons show a severe reduction of aroma volatiles production, particularly in ester production. In the biosynthetic pathway of aliphatic esters, the dehydrogenation of fatty acids and aldehydes appears to be ethylene-dependent. In contrast, alcohol acetylation comprises ethylene-dependent and ethylene-independent components, probably corresponding to differentially regulated alcohol acetyl transferases. In terms of sensory quality, these data show that the extension of shelf-life through the inhibition of ethylene production has some beneficial effects on texture and sugar accumulation but is detrimental for the generation of aroma.
Absorption Enhancement in Si Solar Cells by Incorporation of Metallic Nanoparticles: Improved COMSOL Numerical Study Including Quantum Corrections

One of the crucial parameters affecting the solar cell efficiency is the absorption rate versus solar spectrum. Metallic nanoparticles deposited on the cell surface can mediate this process. Main mechanisms of absorption enhancement due to metallic nanoparticle plasmons were proposed: (1) the scattering of incident solar light causing increase of the optical path length inside active layer and local enhancement of the electric field; (2) near field coupling between plasmon and semiconductor and the direct generation of electron–hole pairs in the semiconductor. The field concentration effect can be described by classical electrodynamic theory, the coupling between metallic nanoparticle plasmons and band electrons in semiconductor substrate must be captured upon quantum mechanics. In this paper we took the challenge to develop fast and reliable method for calculation of device optical properties by application of COMSOL system appropriately configured to take into account these quantum effects, via the quantum modification of the dielectric function of semiconductor substrate and metallic components. The presented results indicate that the efficiency of energy transfer due to near field coupling of metallic nanoparticle plasmons with semiconductor substrate is much more effective than the absorption increase due to metallic nanoparticle plasmons scattering only.
Bacterial diversity in bovine rumen by metagenomic 16S rDNA sequencing and scanning electron microscopy

The bacterial diversity by 16S rDNA partial sequencing and scanning electron microscope (SEM) of the rumen microbiome was characterized. Three Nellore bovines, cannulated at the rumen, were utilized. Liquid and solid fractions from the rumen content were processed for the extraction of metagenomic DNA and later 16S rDNA amplicons were utilized to construct the WGA library for further clone sequencing. Data were analyzed by MEGA and MOTUR (University of Michigan) softwares. Approximately 97.96% of operation taxonomic units (OTUs) were related to Bacteriodetes phylum and 2.04% of sequences were affiliated to Firmicutes phylum. In the case of Bacteriodetes, the great part of sequences (47.96%) was attributed to Prevotella genus. Bacteroidetes phylum was predominant in rumen content and the Prevotella genus was the most abundant, including diverse species related to this taxon. The bacterial morphological diversity associated to plant fibers was detected by SEM and showed its role in plant biomass deconstruction beyond the detection of microbiological interactions that involved protozoa.