Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Preliminary Usability and Universal Design Evaluation of a Television App User Interface

This paper details a two-part evaluation of the Apple TV user interface. A Heuristic Evaluation and an evaluation using the seven universal design principles were carried out. The overall results showed that the Apple TV user interface has various failings in the design for users of diverse kinds. Suggestions for ways forward include designers using more rigorously the ISO standards and well established user interface design guidelines.
Upregulation of TLR4 mRNA Expression Levels in Broiler Chickens Under Acute Heat Stress

ABSTRACT Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are well-characterized in mice and rats, but little is known on their role in broiler chickens during acute heat stress (AHS). The aim of the present study was to estimate the change in TLR4 mRNA expression in the liver, kidney’s pleen, heart, and small intestine of broiler chickens under AHS. A total of 240 healthy Arbor Acres (AA) broiler chickens were randomly divided into four groups: control group (22±1°C; 0h), HS2, HS5 and HS10 (38±1°C; 2h, 5h and 10h of heat stress, respectively). As AHS duration increased, TLR4 mRNA expression slightly decreased at HS2 and HS5, but was dramatically elevated in HS10 (p<0.001) compared with the control group in the small intestine, as well as in the spleen at HS2 (p=0.001) and HS10 (p<0.001). The mRNA expression levels of TLR4 significantly increased in the liver, heart, and kidneys (p<0.001) at HS10, and in the kidneys at HS5 (p=0.003). It is found that TLR4 mRNA expression at HS10 in different organs was significantly higher (p<0.001) compared with HS2 and HS5. The results of the present study suggest that AHS may modulate the functional responses of the liver, kidney, spleen, heart, and small intestine of broilers by regulating TLR4 mRNA expression.
Design Model of Null-Flux Coil Electrodynamic Suspension for the Hyperloop

The Hyperloop has been developed using various technologies to reach a maximum speed of 1200 km/h. Such technologies include magnetic levitation technologies that are suitable for subsonic driving. In the Hyperloop, the null-flux electrodynamic suspension (EDS) system and superconducting magnets (SCMs) can perform stable levitation without control during high-speed driving. Although an EDS device can be accurately analyzed using numerical analysis methods, such as the 3D finite element method (FEM) or dynamic circuitry theory, its 3D configurations make it difficult to use in various design analyses. This paper presents a new design model that fast analyzes and compares many designs of null-flux EDS devices for the Hyperloop system. For a fast and effective evaluation of various levitation coil shapes and arrangements, the computational process of the induced electromotive force and the coupling effect were simplified using a 2D rectangular coil loop, and the induced current and force equations were written as closed-form solutions using the Fourier analysis. Also, levitation coils were designed, and their characteristics were analyzed and compared with each other. To validate the proposed model, the analyzed force responses for various driving conditions and the changed performance trend by design variables were compared with analyzed FEM results.
Graphical user interface editor for Octave applications

The use of calculation software for pedagogical purposes in degree courses is a central tool for addressing disciplinary knowledge in engineering careers. Particularly, open source and free license tools generally have lower associated costs than their propriety equivalents while offering a similarly rich set of functionalities. This document presents a software tool called guiEditor designed to create script applications based on graphical interfaces for GNU Octave. guiEditor is a visual editor, which incorporates different functionalities aimed at allowing the development of graphical applications based on basic programming knowledge. Within the development environment it incorporates, in addition to the typical controls of the graphical interfaces, new controls that extend the script language used. In addition, as an example of the development environment potential, two applications created with guiEditor are presented. The assessment made by the students about a third application, called ltitool, which has been used in degree courses to address Process Control topics, is also presented.
Evolution of Two Genomes: Impact of Sequence Divergence on Mitochondrial Function

of a dissertation at the University of Miami. Dissertation supervised by Professor Marjorie Oleksiak. No. of pages in text. (135) The oxidative phosphorylation pathway (OxPhos) is the only pathway where proteins are encoded by both the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. It is also responsible for creating the majority of ATP used by animal cells. The critical role this pathway plays in animal cells, and it’s reliance on two genomes makes it a perfect system to study the coevolution of the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes. Using Fundulus heteroclitus, an ectotherm inhabiting a steep thermal cline along the eastern coast of the United States, I explore the effect of temperature on the evolution of this important pathway, as well as the associations between nuclear genes and specific mitochondrial haplotypes present in different populations.
Slower, Fewer Hippocampal Ripples in Loss-of-Function Model of Dravet Syndrome

Impairment of Sharp-Wave Ripples in a Murine Model of Dravet Syndrome Cheah CS, Lundstrom BN, Catterall WA, Oakley JC. J Neurosci. 2019;39(46):9251-9260. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0890-19 Dravet syndrome (DS) is a severe early-onset epilepsy associated with heterozygous loss-of-function mutations in SCN1A. Animal models of DS with global Scn1a haploinsufficiency recapitulate the DS phenotype, including seizures, premature death, and impaired spatial memory performance. Spatial memory requires hippocampal sharp-wave ripples (SPW-Rs), which consist of high-frequency field potential oscillations (ripples, 100-260 Hz) superimposed on a slower SPW. Published in vitro electrophysiologic recordings in DS mice demonstrate reduced firing of GABAergic inhibitory neurons, which are essential for the formation of SPW-R complexes. Here, in vivo electrophysiologic recordings of hippocampal local field potential in both male and female mice demonstrate that Scn1a haploinsufficiency slows intrinsic ripple frequency and reduces the rate of SPW-R occurrence. In DS mice, peak ripple-band power is shifted to lower frequencies, average intertrough intervals of individually detected ripples are slower, and the rate of SPW-R generation is reduced, while SPW amplitude remains unaffected. These alterations in SPW-R properties, in combination with published reductions in interneuron function in DS, suggest a direct link between reduced inhibitory neuron excitability and impaired SPW-R function. A simple interconnected, conductance-based in silico interneuron network model was used to determine whether reduced sodium conductance is sufficient to slow ripple frequency, and stimulation with a modeled SPW demonstrates that reduced sodium conductance alone is sufficient to slow oscillatory frequencies. These findings forge a potential mechanistic link between impaired SPW-R generation and Scn1a mutation in DS mice, expanding the set of disorders in which SPW-R dysfunction contributes to impaired memory.
Chemical exposure and flammability risks of upholstered furniture

Upholstered furniture remains a consumer fire hazard. Flame retardant technologies are necessary but may present a health risk from chemical exposure. This study developed methodologies for measuring exposure to flame retardants and flammability performance, comparing the effectiveness of differing flammability reduction strategies on upholstered chairs with and without added flame retardants and the use of a barrier material. The chemical analysis focused on volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and flame retardants. Open flame tests were conducted on chair assemblies, and smolder resistance tests were conducted on chair materials. Results showed that VOC inhalation exposure during consumer use was low for all chair types. However, VOCs were significantly elevated during the chair burns. The organophosphorus flame retardant used in this study was found in air, settled dust and dermal transfer samples. The chairs with a barrier material demonstrated significantly lower flammability hazards when compared to the other chair types. All assembled chairs did not meet the criteria for smolder testing, suggesting a lack of correlation with open‐flame performance. This study demonstrated that combined human health and flammability advantages may be achieved for upholstered chairs constructed with an effective fire barrier material without any added flame retardants.
Evaluation of the Objectives and Concerns of Farmers to Apply Different Agricultural Managements in Olive Groves: The Case of Estepa Region (Southern, Spain)

Olive groves are representative of the landscape and culture of Spain. They occupy 2.5 M ha (1.5 M ha in Andalusia) and are characterised by their multifunctionality. In recent years, socio-economic and environmental factors (i.e., erosion) have compromised their sustainability, leading farmers to abandon their farms or intensify their management. The main objective/purpose of this research was to study the drivers and concerns that condition farmers’ choice of a given olive grove management model. Taking the Estepa region as a case study (Andalusia, Spain), surveys were conducted among farmers with integrated and organic managed olive groves. The socio-economic aspects were the main objectives and concerns of the farmers with integrated olive groves. In the case of farmers with organic management, conservation objectives prevailed, and their concerns were oriented to environmental threats. The education level was a key factor in the adoption of given farm management, as it increased the level of environmental awareness. In the context of multifunctional agriculture, it would be desirable to increase this awareness of the environmental threats against olive groves, in order to provide incentives for the implementation of agri-environmental practices that would enhance the sustainability of these systems.
A Hybrid Method for Ultrashort-Term Wind Power Prediction considering Meteorological Features and Seasonal Information

High-precision wind power prediction is important for the planning, economics, and security maintenance of a power grid. Meteorological features and seasonal information are strongly related to wind power prediction. This paper proposes a hybrid method for ultrashort-term wind power prediction considering meteorological features (wind direction, wind speed, temperature, atmospheric pressure, and humidity) and seasonal information. The wind power data are decomposed into stationary subsequences using the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD). The principal component analysis (PCA) is used to reduce the redundant meteorological features and the algorithm complexity. With the stationary subsequences and extracted meteorological features data as inputs, the long short-term memory (LSTM) network is used to complete the wind power prediction. Finally, the seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average (SARIMA) is innovatively used to fit seasonal features (quarterly and monthly) of wind power and reconstruct the prediction results of LSTM. The proposed method is used to predict 15-minute wind power. In this study, three datasets were collected from a windfarm in Laizhou to validate the prediction performance of the proposed method. The experimental results showed that the prediction accuracy was significantly improved when meteorological features were considered and further improved with seasonal correction.
An Inference Hardware Accelerator for EEG-Based Emotion Detection

The wearability of emotion classifiers is a must if they are to significantly improve the social integration of patients suffering from neurological disorders. Such wearability requires the use of low-power hardware accelerators that would enable near real-time classification and extended periods of operations. In this paper, we architect, design, implement, and test a handcrafted, hardware Convolutional Neural Network, named BioCNN, optimized for EEG-based emotion detection and other similar bio-medical applications. The architecture of BioCNN is based on aggressive pipelining and hardware parallelism that maximizes resource re-use and minimizes memory footprint. The FEXD and DEAP datasets are used to test the BioCNN prototype that is implemented using the Digilent Atlys Board with a low-cost Spartan-6 FPGA. The experimental results show that BioCNN has a competitive energy efficiency of 11GOps/W, a throughput of 1.65GOps that is in line with the real-time specification of a wearable device, and a latency of less than 1ms, which is much smaller than the 150ms required for human interaction times. Its emotion inference accuracy is competitive with the top software-based emotion detectors.
Neural correlates of spontaneous language production in two patients with right hemispheric language dominance

ABSTRACT Background It is not conclusively explored what kind of reorganisation processes are set off after a stroke with resulting aphasia. Since the development of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), linguistic processes and their neural representation have been researched, especially in aphasic patients after left hemispheric insult. The situation differs in aphasic patients with crossed aphasia or aphasia after a right hemispheric lesion, for which only few studies have been carried out. In order to close this gap, the present study deals with the localisation of language functions in the brain of patients with crossed aphasia and right hemispheric language dominance. Aim The objective of the current study was to provide insights into the neural correlates of continuous aphasic language production of patients with right hemispheric language dominance. Based on the current state of research, a mirror image representation was expected. Methods & Procedures Two patients with fluent aphasia due to right hemisphere lesions, one presenting with crossed aphasia, described complex pictures. The continuous language output was transcribed and categorised into events. Lexical search (i.e. the difference between unimpaired speaking and word-finding difficulties) was analysed using fMRI. The neural activation clusters were compared with the corresponding areas of a control group consisting of 12 patients with left hemispheric aphasia. Outcomes & Results The analysis of the behavioural data revealed word-finding difficulties as one of the most limiting factors in the spontaneous language output of the patients. The neural correlates of lexical search (unimpaired minus impaired) were observed in four activation clusters both patients had in common. Each cluster was predominantly localised in the contra-lesional hemisphere. Compared to the corresponding areas of the control group, in general, a mirrored image representation could be confirmed. Conclusions The combination of detailed linguistic analysis and fMRI confirmed the assumption of mirrored language organisation for anomia in continuous language production. Moreover, the study might add to a more general understanding of the contribution of the contra-lesional hemisphere to language recovery in aphasia after left or right hemisphere damage.
PENERAPAN METODE STANDARDIZED PRECIPITATION INDEX (SPI) DAN EFFECTIVE DROUGHT INDEX (EDI) UNTUK MENGESTIMASI KEKERINGAN DI DAS REJOSO KABUPATEN PASURUAN

Terdapat 19 desa di 5 (lima) kecamatan yang termasuk daerah rawan kekeringan di Kabupaten Pasuruan pada tahun 2018. Perlu adanya pemetaan sebaran kekeringan guna mengetahui wilayah mana saja yang menjadi prioritas dalam penanganan mitigasi dan adaptasi bencana kekeringan untuk instansi terkait. Kekeringan dianalisis dengan indeks kekeringan meteorologi metode Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) dan Effective Drought Index (EDI). Hasil indeks kekeringan meteorologi dibandingkan dengan indeks kekeringan hidrologi utuk mengatahui hubungan kesesuaian terkuat di antara indeks SPI dan EDI. Kejadian kering terparah menggunakan metode SPI terjadi sebanyak 141 kejadian dan bulan terjadinya kekeringan terparah adalah bulan Januari dan April. Kejadian kering terparah menggunakan metode EDI terjadi sebanyak 237 kejadian dan bulan terjadinya kekeringan terparah adalah bulan Januari dan Februari. Setelah dilakukan analisis hubungan kesesuaian indeks SPI dan EDI terhadap indeks kekeringan hidrologi, ditemukan korelasi negatif dan persentase kesesuaian bersifat lemah. Kemudian, diambil opsi membandingkan indeks SPI dan EDI terhadap data curah hujan bulanan. Indeks EDI memiliki hubungan terkuat terhadap data curah hujannya, yaitu sebesar 65,69%. Hasil sebaran kekeringan di DAS Rejoso Kabupaten Pasuruan menggunakan metode interpolasi spasial IDW dengan kategori Amat Sangat Kering terjadi di 30 desa. There are 19 villages in 5 (five) sub districts that are classified as drought prone areas at Pasuruan Regency in 2018. A drought mapping is needed to understand which areas are priority in handling drought mitigation and adaptation for related institution. Drought is analyzed by the meteorological drought index methods which are Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Effective Drought Index (EDI). The results of the meteorological drought indexes are compared with the hydrological drought indexes to find out the strongest correspondence relationship between the SPI and EDI. A total of 141 cases of worst drought using SPI were occurred and the worst drought cases were happened in January and April. A total of 237 cases of worst drought using EDI were occurred and the worst drought cases were happened in January and Februari. After analyzing the relationship between the suitability of the SPI index and EDI to the hydrological drought indexes, it was found a negative correlation and the percentage of suitability was weak. And then, it is needed to take another option for comparing the SPI and EDI by using monthly rainfall data. The EDI index has the strongest correspondence relationship with rainfall data which is 65.69%. The result of the spatial drought distribution in the Rejoso Watershed Pasuruan Regency using IDW interpolation method with Extremly Dry category is occurred in 30 villages.
Detection of vegetation trends in highly variable environments after grazing exclusion in Mongolia

Question Environmental variability (e.g., in precipitation) has a large effect on vegetation dynamics, and this often makes it difficult to assess the recovery of vegetation after a disturbance. In this study, we assessed vegetation recovery trends in response to grazing exclusion while considering for the annual environmental variability. Location Two regions with highly variable precipitation: a steppe near Mandalgobi (45°46′N, 106°16′E), in Mongolia's Central Gobi province, and a desert steppe near Bulgan (43°54′N, 103°31′E), in Mongolia's South Gobi province. Changes in vegetation were observed along grazing gradients at these two sites, and vegetation thresholds were identified. Methods We established reference plots in pre-threshold areas along the grazing gradients. We removed the impact of livestock grazing at various locations along the grazing gradients by establishing exclosures, and investigated vegetation from 2005 through 2013. We developed a smoothed hierarchical model within a Bayesian framework, and examined the effect of grazing exclusion on vegetation, focusing especially on the extent of grass cover recovery. In addition, we compared soil nutrient conditions in the reference plots and inside and outside each exclosure along the grazing gradients. Results Temporal trends in the cover of perennial grass in each plot inside and outside of the exclosures largely coincided, irrespective of grazing intensity, and exclosure had no effect (Bulgan) or a negative effect (Mandalgobi) on vegetation recovery. Soil nutrient content was not significantly affected by exclosure at a given distance from the grazing source, but decreased significantly with decreasing grazing intensity. Thus, recovery of the land from a post-threshold state may not be apparent even after 9 years of grazing exclusion in environments with highly variable precipitation. Conclusion The effect of exclosure duration on perennial grass cover was limited, even after controlling for environmental variability. Once a vegetation threshold has been crossed, merely removing livestock from the landscape may not be sufficient for that area to recover. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Social media management in the traveller's customer journey: an analysis of the hospitality sector

ABSTRACT In hospitality, consumers rely on social media during the purchase decision process, e.g. to search for information, compare alternative destinations and share media content of their travel experiences. While previous research has mainly analyzed the consumer-side, the aim of this paper is to examine how hospitality firms manage social media within their marketing strategies considering the phases of the traveller's customer journey. To achieve our research objective, we conducted a multiple-case study by interviewing key informants from two hospitality companies. Results discuss the main touchpoints activated and their respective objectives, highlighting the growing usage of social media in all the phases of the traveller's consumer journey. The paper also presents managerial implications for the social media marketing strategies of hospitality companies.
A New Self-Balancing Assembly Line Based on Collaborative Ant Behavior

In most mass-production assembly lines, workers perform a set of tasks repetitively predefined by assembly line balancing techniques. The static task assignment often leads to low productivity when the assembly system faces disruptions or uncertainties such as machine breakdown and uneven worker capabilities. The idea of bucket brigades (BB) has been introduced to address the static assignment problems where cooperative behavior of ants is applied to flow line control. This paper examines possible efficiency losses associated with the existing BB-based assembly cell and presents an improved version for assembly cells under uncertain environments. The new system attempts to enhance productivity by assigning assembly tasks to workers dynamically and possibly adding buffers for decoupling consecutive workers. The proposed assembly system is evaluated through simulation experiments under various manufacturing environments. The experimental results show that the new system provides higher productivity than the naïve BB-based assembly cell as well as traditional assembly cells, especially for uncertain assembly environments.