Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sensor-Fusion and Tracking Method for Indoor Vehicles With Low-Density UHF-RFID Tags

This article presents a novel sensor-fusion method for indoor vehicle tracking. The phase of the signals backscattered by a set of Ultra High Frequency-Radio Frequency Identification (UHF-RFID) reference tags spread in the scenario is combined with the information acquired by on-board low-cost kinematic sensors. The RFID data are acquired by the on-board reader, during the relative motion of the vehicle with respect to the static reference tags, by resembling a synthetic-array approach, with an advantageous reduction of the reference-tag spatial density. In particular, such phase samples are combined with the kinematic data collected by odometers, through a sensor-fusion approach. The method capability is investigated through a numerical analysis that accounts for the main system parameters. Then, the tracking capability is demonstrated through a measurement campaign in a laboratory test set with a UHF-RFID robot prototype equipped with commercial encoders. Experimental results show an average localization error of centimeter order in the estimation of medium-length trajectories by employing only two reference tags in a relatively small area. The proposed method does not need for any calibration procedure and can be implemented by commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware.
Remote Sensing Image Spatiotemporal Fusion Using a Generative Adversarial Network

Due to technological limitations and budget constraints, spatiotemporal fusion is considered a promising way to deal with the tradeoff between the temporal and spatial resolutions of remote sensing images. Furthermore, the generative adversarial network (GAN) has shown its capability in a variety of applications. This article presents a remote sensing image spatiotemporal fusion method using a GAN (STFGAN), which adopts a two-stage framework with an end-to-end image fusion GAN (IFGAN) for each stage. The IFGAN contains a generator and a discriminator in competition with each other under the guidance of the optimization function. Considering the huge spatial resolution gap between the high-spatial, low-temporal (HSLT) resolution Landsat imagery and the corresponding low-spatial, high-temporal (LSHT) resolution MODIS imagery, a feature-level fusion strategy is adopted. Specifically, for the generator, we first super-resolve the MODIS images while also extracting the high-frequency features of the Landsat images. Finally, we integrate the features from the MODIS and Landsat images. STFGAN is able to learn an end-to-end mapping between the Landsat–MODIS image pairs and predicts the Landsat-like image for a prediction date by considering all the bands. STFGAN significantly improves the accuracy of phenological change and land-cover-type change prediction with the help of residual blocks and two prior Landsat–MODIS image pairs. To examine the performance of the proposed STFGAN method, experiments were conducted on three representative Landsat–MODIS data sets. The results clearly illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.
Sustainability Perceptions in Tourism and Hospitality: A Mixed-Method Bibliometric Approach

In the post-Covid-19 era, tourism impacts and the role played by sustainable planning on the long-term success of destinations have gained renewed importance. Understanding the image and perceptions tourists hold of a destination is vital for tourism planning, as they play a key role in tourists’ decisions. Considering the importance of these two key concepts (perceptions and sustainability), the present paper contributes to the advancement of knowledge on sustainable tourism by characterizing the state of the art of Sustainability Perceptions in Tourism and Hospitality (SPTH). To this end, the scientific literature on the topic was mapped through a combination of three bibliometric analysis techniques, namely: evaluative, relational, and systematic bibliometric analysis. These were based on productivity and impact indicators, including SciVal topic prominence. The results reveal that sustainability perceptions in SPTH focus on tourists’, stakeholders’, and residents’ perceptions. These findings highlight the need for involving local communities in the destination planning process to align the outcomes of tourism development with their expectations. Finally, this paper presents an original methodological contribution, as it is the first to apply the SciVal topic prominence analysis to SPTH.
Aerial Slung-Load Position Tracking Under Unknown Wind Forces

We propose a dynamic controller for position tracking of a point-mass load attached to an omnidirectional aerial vehicle by means of a cable. Both the load and the aerial vehicle are subject to unknown wind forces. We model the dynamics of the slung-load system and put it into canonical form, i.e., a form which is independent of the system's physical parameters. Following a backstepping strategy, we design a dynamic control law for the canonical system that contains four estimators, since each of the two wind disturbances has two separate effects: an effect on the linear acceleration and another on the angular acceleration. Loosely speaking, the difference between the wind forces is an input-additive disturbance, while the wind force on the load is not, which makes removing the wind force on the load nontrivial. We identify conditions on the desired position trajectory and on the wind on the load, which guarantee that a well-defined equilibrium trajectory exists. The designed controller guarantees simultaneously that the latter trajectory is asymptotically tracked and the cable remains taut, provided that the system is initialized in a suitable set. Simulations illustrate our results.
To Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Autologous Platelet Rich Fibrin Matrix in the Treatment of Non-Healing Ulcer of Various Aetiology

extraction [3] and transplant on the wound bed, epidermal grafting, etc. Recently, the focus has shifted on to growth factors which include therapies like recombinant growth factors and Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). Platelet Rich Fibrin Matrix (PRFM), a next generation PRP is the latest addition which is based on the premise of slow and sustained release of growth factors [4] mimicking the natural wound healing process. The concentration of platelets is higher in PRP but a study showed that, when incorporated into fibrin, the mean concentration of growth factors in the platelet concentrates was three times or more than that observed with conventional platelet-rich plasma. The membrane can be easily placed on the ulcer with minimal chances of displacement. Thus giving PRFM an edge over PRP in wound healing. Autologous PRFM is prepared from patients own blood thus being free from risk of communicable pathogens, is easy to prepare with long lasting as well as good clinical results. the Efficacy and Safety of Autologous Platelet Rich Fibrin Matrix in the Treatment of Non-Healing Ulcer of Various Abstract Rationale: Chronic Non-Healing Ulcers (NHU) is those which persists for more than 6 weeks and may be due to underlying factors like venous stasis, peripheral neuropathy, immobility, etc. Chronic ulcers are associated with decreased quality of life and also pose a financial burden on the patient as well as society. The failure of NHU to respond to the various modalities available lead to the search for growth factors requisite for wound healing resulting in the development of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP). Platelet Rich Fibrin Matrix (PRFM) is a next generation of PRP that has shown promising result in our study. Objectives: This study was done to evaluate the efficacy and safety of autologous platelet rich fibrin matrix in the treatment of non-healing ulcer of various aetiology. Results: All the ulcers responded to the treatment with decrease in pain and discharge beginning from first sitting. The mean time to ulcer healing was 6.43+2.33 weeks. There was 100% improvement in volume at the end of 8 weeks and 96% improvement in area at the end of 12 weeks. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that Autologous PRFM is a safe and efficacious method for the treatment of non-healing ulcer and at the same time simple and highly cost effective method.
Public Sector Corporate Governance: Zimbabwes Challenges of Strategic Management in the Wake of Sustainable Development

For sustainable development, the extent to which state-owned enterprises adhere to the fundamental values of good corporate governance is an important factor necessary to attract investment capital, encourage growth and economic stability. Zimbabwe has been saddled with the challenges of fashioning an environment which is investor-friendly, hence the need for public entities to be exemplary in good corporate governance. Highly publicized scandals that have shaken state-owned enterprises have been ascribed to deficits in corporate governance this study employs a qualitative approach through a descriptive-document philosophical analysis to examine the challenges in Zimbabwe’s strategic management for sustainable development. The corporate governance theories informing the study are the agency theory, stewardship theory, stakeholder theory and the transaction cost economics theory. The analysis is subdivided into themes which focus on the need for a human resources paradigm shift, management finesse and the continuum of culpability. The study reveals that the current corporate governance practice has not effectively improved the efficiency and effectiveness of the public entities. This is a result of corruption, inconsistencies, lack of commitment and absence of the rule of law and above all, excessive political interference. The study interrogates the ethical matters stemming out from such challenges to establish if the malpractices have been some form of complicity or an underestimation of the effect of good corporate governance in the public sector. Corruption has been institutionalized with cases of impunity on the rise. Issues of governance that countervail the sustainability and risk nexus are depicted. It is commendable that efforts are being made to entrench corporate governance in the public sector although positive results are yet to be realized. It is recommended that a rules-based approached should be adopted and that political interventions should be minimized. Human resources departments in state-owned entities and parastatals are encouraged to provide expert advice on good corporate governance and shy away from being complicit to bad governance.
Evaluating the effects of catch-and-release angling on Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi in a South African estuary

Fisheries managers are increasingly promoting catch-and-release (C&R) to manage recreationally angled fish stocks. Despite this, there is a scarcity of information on the effects of C&R on estuarine-dependent species. Cape stumpnose Rhabdosargus holubi dominates the recreational fisheries catch and provides an important source of food for subsistence fishers in some temperate South African estuaries. The health and survival of R. holubi exposed to a C&R event was investigated by examining their physiological stress response (blood glucose and lactate), reflex impairment (reflex action mortality predictors [RAMP]) and short-term (12-hour) survival. Fish were captured and exposed to one of three air-exposure treatments: 0 s, 30 s or 90 s. Stress and health were measured either immediately (immediate) or one hour after (delayed) the C&R event. There was no significant difference in blood glucose between air-exposure treatments, but there was a significant difference between the mean immediate and delayed glucose levels within each treatment (F(2,143) = 81.8, p < 0.01). In contrast, blood lactate level was significantly higher in the 90-s treatment (p < 0.05). Immediate blood lactate levels were significantly lower than the delayed samples for each treatment (F = 4.29, p = 0.02; n = 169). Although all fish exhibited at least one reflex impairment, the RAMP score was significantly higher in the 90-s air-exposure treatment (H(2,86) = 9.73, p = 0.007). Also, RAMP scores were significantly lower in the delayed samples (p < 0.01). Although short-term mortality was relatively low (2.3%) for this species, it was highest in the 90-s treatment (7%). These results suggest that physiological stress is higher when R. holubi are exposed to longer periods of air exposure and that the physiological stress of fish subject to a C&R event is best measured after a delay.
A Modularized Bidirectional Charge Equalizer for Series-Connected Cell Strings

In this article, a modularized charge equalizer is proposed. In the proposed topology, N series cells are divided into K modules and each module consists of J series cells and its multiplexer switches. A multioutput transformer is used as temporary energy storage. Each of the transformer outputs is connected to one of the K modules and targets the cells in its module. In this way, at the same time K cells are targeted simultaneously and the speed of balancing has increased. In the proposed circuit, energy can be transferred by string to cell, cell to string, and cell to cell methods. In addition, it can be transferred between modules and equalize them. Therefore, the proposed topology is very flexible and can circumvent the limitations of each method and use the appropriate method in the right place. Also, a step-by-step method for command the multiplex switches is proposed. To illustrate the correctness of the circuit operation, a prototype is implemented to balance the charge of four lithium-ion battery cells. The experimental results confirm the correctness of the proposed circuit operation.
Enhanced Stray-Load Loss Measurements Through a Zigzag Variable Load Test Approach

This article proposes an enhanced procedure for executing the standard variable load test that allows obtaining high correlation factors for indirectly measured stray-load loss during efficiency tests of induction motors. This helps to achieve the minimum values required by the international standards to consider the variable load test well executed, avoiding unwelcome test repetitions and leading to significant amount of time saved. With the machine at steady-state temperature, the enhanced procedure consists of alternatively applying load levels higher and lower than the rated load, so that the stator winding temperature zigzags around the rated value. Hence, multiple readings can be performed for each load point, having the machine in isothermal conditions. This allows averaging many measurements of the same load point to mitigate the impact of instrumentation and reading errors. The article includes load tests conducted on different induction motor sizes and pole counts, applying both the standard variable load test procedure and the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the proposed technique allows achieving higher correlation factors on the stray-load losses than the standard procedure.
Sequencing the Ant fauna of a Small Island: Can Metagenomic Analysis Enable Faster Identification for Routine Ant Surveys?

All known ant species from a small Western Australian island were subjected to DNA barcoding of the CO1 gene, with a view to using the database to identify ants by Next Generation Sequencing in subsequent, routine surveys. A further aim was to evaluate whether the data could be used to see if any new species had arrived on the island since the total fauna had been inventoried. Of the 125 unique ant species then known from the island, 72 were successfully barcoded. Those that were refractory to amplification were largely the result of sample age and/or contamination. Following this base-line barcoding, ants were sampled from 14 regular sampling sites and ant sequences were obtained from the bulked ‘metagenomic soup’. Prior to doing this, a parataxonomist had identified all ant species in the samples and returned them to the ‘soup’. Successful identification for each site varied from 38% (Sites 12 and 27) to 100% of species (Site 10). Comparison of the number of species recovered with the number of sequences obtained from each sample showed a positive correlation between the two variables. When a site had >1,000 sequences, the average recovery rate was 79%, which is in contrast to the lowest four recovery rates (Site samples 12, 22, 26 and 27), which had fewer than 440 amplicon sequences. The ability to detect individuals that occur at low frequencies is also important. We analysed each site individually to determine if a species was detected and how that related to the proportion of individuals in the pooled sample. Where a species was present at <4% of the total sample, it was only detected 10% of the time, indicating that adequate sequencing depth is critical to species recovery. We conclude that this technique was only partially successful in replacing conventional taxonomy and that it could have limited ability to detect incursions unless the new arrival is abundant. Current barcoding is no longer limited to the CO1 gene and other genes are characterised for identification of intractable groups where CO1 does not provide appropriate levels of resolution.
Negative Pressure Pulmonary Edema Occurring While Snorkeling

Our story begins on a tropical island, in which infectious disease physician Dr. John Guilfoose spent his vacation to partake in underwater photography and snorkeling. Dr. Guilfoose describes the story that began when he saw a large sea turtle as he was snorkeling in the bay. Puerto Rico has two major islands, Culebra, which is known for wealth-- very touristy. And then there’s Vieques, which I think was originally a bombing strip for American military. But it turns out it has an incredibly redeemed component from a tourist perspective of bioluminescent bays. So, I just got there, checked into the hotel, and wanted to go snorkeling. Did not bring any of my own stuff. And so, I went out and just rented some cheapy snorkel. Do not know if this is pertinent, but it could be. I hyper- hydrated right before going snorkeling. So, I drank like five big glasses of water. It might have something to do with the expansion of positive volume right before I went into the water.
Dielectric Spectroscopy of Fluids and Polymers for Microwave Microfluidic Circuits and Antennas

The permittivity response from 0.5 to 40 GHz of ethyl acetate (C<sub>4</sub>H<sub>8</sub>O<sub>2</sub>), ethylene glycol (CH<sub>2</sub>OH)<sub>2</sub>, castor oil (C<sub>57</sub>H<sub>104</sub>O<sub>9</sub>), liquid paraffin, and other fluids commonly used for microwave microfluidic antennas and circuits is reported. The response of selected polymer solids, such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), acrylic, nylon, and others, used in microfluidics and 3-D printing of microwave structures was also studied from 0.5 to 20 GHz. Permittivity measurements were taken with a coaxial probe. Using a nonlinear least-squares fitting routine, the Cole–Cole dielectric relaxation model parameters are found for each material under test, thereby providing an analytic expression for their permittivity response.
A Review on ZigBee Based WSNs: Concepts, Infrastructure, Applications, and Challenges

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are one of the most important technical fields that have gained a wide interest by various developers and leading industrial companies to use them in various applications, especially in the applications of monitoring electric power consumption as well as military and medical applications. The quick developments in these networks promise to revolutionize the way people live and thus help to overcome management and control issues as well as reduction of service costs. Although one of the essential features of WSN is its capability to work in a wide area network, the communication in such area could be noisy and present a challenge for the robustness of such systems. In this review paper, the concepts of WSNs are presented and discussed as well as discussing the most popular data transmission technologies used in WSN. The paper focuses on power monitoring applications in building environment and summarizes the recent studies in this field and the enhancements achieved and present the most important challenges faced in such applications. Finally, some conclusions and suggestions are drawn at the end of this paper. 
The systematic value of pollen morphology in Operculina (Convolvulaceae)

Abstract Operculina is a pantropical genus of 14 species, perhaps one of the most stable in taxonomic delimitation in Convolvulaceae. Its operculate-capsular fruit is distinctive and unique in the family, and shared by all species it comprises, despite great variation in other macromorphological traits. Recent molecular phylogenetic results have demonstrated Operculina is monophyletic with high support, re-enforcing the generic concept. However, revisionary studies of its taxonomy and morphology are limited, and information about its species is mostly scattered in regional works. Particularly in palynology, there are few studies that have included this genus, and usually only the most common species O. turpethum. Here, we provide an overview of the palynological diversity in 12 Operculina species and discuss the evolution and taxonomic relevance of aperture heteromorphism in this genus.
Evidence for a geographical gradient selection in the distribution of breeding Podicipedidae and Rallidae in the south-western Mediterranean

ABSTRACT Knowledge of factors influencing waterbird distribution is a crucial step that would help wetland managers to target their conservation efforts. In this work, we used a 2-year survey in 25 wetlands distributed throughout Morocco to model Podicipedidae and Rallidae spatial distribution and to assess the relevance of a set of environmental and anthropogenic factors in predicting site occupancy, by means of generalised linear mixed models (GLMM). In Podicipedidae, little grebes and great crested grebes were the most commonly detected species, while in Rallidae the most common species was the common moorhen. Geographical location (measured mainly as distance to the coastline and elevation) was the major predictor of the occurrence probability of breeding Podicipedidae and Rallidae species in Morocco. Statistical analyses also provide evidence that there exists a geographical selection gradient in wetland occupancy. Indeed, Podicipedidae species (great crested grebes and black-necked grebes) tend to use continental mountain wetlands, while Rallidae (purple swamphens and Eurasian coots) tend instead to use coastal wetlands. However, none of the considered environmental and anthropogenic factors explained the distribution patterns of the red-knobbed coot. The pursuit of the investigations, while considering other explanatory factors such as water quality (limnological data), diet, predation and conservation status, is of great importance for understanding basic, large-scale geographical distribution patterns of Moroccan waterbird populations.