Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mixed-reality for quadruped-robotic guidance in SAR tasks

In recent years, exploration tasks in disaster environments, victim localization and primary assistance have been the main focuses of Search and Rescue (SAR) Robotics. Developing new technologies in Mixed Reality (M-R) and legged robotics has taken a big step in developing robust field applications in the Robotics field. This article presents MR-RAS (Mixed-Reality for Robotic Assistance), which aims to assist rescuers and protect their integrity when exploring post-disaster areas (against collapse, electrical, and toxic risks) by facilitating the robot’s gesture guidance and allowing them to manage interest visual information of the environment. Thus, ARTU-R (A1 Rescue Tasks UPM Robot) quadruped robot has been equipped with a sensory system (lidar, thermal and RGB-D cameras) to validate this proof of concept. On the other hand, Human-Robot interaction is executed by using the Hololens glasses. This work’s main contribution is the implementation and evaluation of a Mixed-Reality system based on a ROS-Unity solution, capable of managing at a high level the guidance of a complex legged robot through different interest zones (defined by a Neural Network and a vision system) of a post-disaster environment. The robot’s main tasks at each point visited involve detecting victims through thermal, RGB imaging and neural networks and assisting victims with medical equipment. Tests have been carried out in scenarios that recreate the conditions of post-disaster environments (debris, simulation of victims, etc.). An average efficiency improvement of 48% has been obtained when using the immersive interface and a time optimization of 21.4% compared to conventional interfaces. The proposed method has proven to improve rescuers’ immersive experience of controlling a complex robotic system.
• PARETO–MINIMAL SOLUTIONS FOR ROUGH CONTINUOUS STATIC GAMES

This paper studies a new framework to hybridize the rough set theory with the continuous static games called Rough Continuous Static Games (RCSGs). In Continuous static games, the decision possibilities need not be discrete, and the decisions and costs are related in a continuous rather than a discrete manner. The game is static in the sense that no time history is involved in relationship between cost and decisions. In this paper, Pareto–minimal solutions are presented to solve (RCSGs). Additionally, a numerical illustrative example is given to clarify the main results developed in the paper.
Preheating Influence on the Precipitation Microstructure, Mechanical and Corrosive Properties of Additively Built Al–Cu–Li Alloy Contrasted with Conventional (T83) Alloy

In this paper, the high strength and lightweight Al–Cu–Li alloy (AA2099) is considered in as-built and preheated conditions (440 °C, 460 °C, 480 °C, 500 °C, and 520 °C). The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of laser powder bed fusion (LPBF) in situ preheating on precipitation microstructure, mechanical and corrosive properties of LPBF-printed AA2099 alloy compared to the conventionally processed and heat-treated (T83) alloy. It is shown that precipitations evolve with increasing preheating temperatures from predominantly globular Cu-rich phases at lower temperatures (as-built, 440 °C) to more plate and rod-like precipitates (460 °C, 480 °C, 500 °C and 520 °C). Attendant increase with increasing preheating temperatures are the amount of low melting Cu-rich phases and precipitation-free zones (PFZ). Hardness of preheated LPBF samples peaks at 480 °C (93.6 HV0.1), and declines afterwards, although inferior to the T83 alloy (168.6 HV0.1). Preheated sample (500 °C) shows superior elongation (14.1%) compared to the T83 (11.3%) but falls short in tensile and yield strength properties. Potentiodynamic polarization results also show that increasing preheating temperature increases the corrosion current density (Icorr) and corrosion rate. Indicated by the lower oxide resistance (Rox), the Cu-rich phases compromise the integrity of the oxide layer.
LncRNA 220: A Novel Long Non-Coding RNA Regulates Autophagy and Apoptosis in Kupffer Cells via the miR-5101/PI3K/AKT/mTOR Axis in LPS-Induced Endotoxemic Liver Injury in Mice

Sepsis is a severe medical condition distinguished by immune systematic dysfunction and multiple organic injury, or even failure, resulting from an acute systemic inflammatory response. Acute liver injury (ALI) could be considered as a notable inflammatory outcome of sepsis. Studies have demonstrated the essential roles played by long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in mediating the processes of various diseases, including their ability to engage in interactions with microRNAs (miRNAs) as complexes of competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) to modulate signaling pathways. In this study, a newly discovered lncRNA, named 220, was identified to function in regulating autophagy and apoptosis in Kupffer cells treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). This was achieved through sponging miR-5101 as a ceRNA complex, as identified via high-throughput sequencing. The expression of 220 was found to be significantly different in the hepatic tissues of endotoxemic mice that were treated with LPS for 8 h, ultimately modulating the ALI process. Our studies have collectively demonstrated that 220 is a novel regulator that acts on LPS-induced autophagy and apoptosis in Kupffer cells, thereby mediating the ALI process induced by LPS. Furthermore, the validation of our findings using clinical databases suggests that 220 could potentially serve as a molecular target of clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic significance in septic liver injury.
A Geographic Information System (GIS) based approach for drainage and morphometric characterization of Beki river basin, India

Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing, have proved to be efficient tools in delineation of drainage pattern and different geometric methodology of geomorphologic, watershed management even GIS has been widely used in several flood management, and environmental applications. The river Beki with an area of 19,354.35 sq.km2 originates at Himalayan glacier (Kula Kangri glacier in Bhutan) 26.18° N latitudes and 90.53° E longitudes and flows though the plains of Assam and finally to the mighty Brahmaputra at 26.48° N latitudes and 91.02° E longitudes has been selected for detailed morphometric analysis. Morphometric parameters via; Stream order, Stream length, Bifurcation ratio, Drainage density, Drainage frequency, Drainage texture, Form factor, Circularity ratio, Elongation ratio and Compactness ratio etc. were measured for prioritization and compound parameter values were calculated. This study will help the local people to utilize the resources in right manner for Sustainable Water Resource Development of the Basin area. Moreover, the study can also be referred as a benchmark for studies on temporal change in geomorphology due to climate change. Different Morphometric analysis provides the explanation of physical characteristics of the watershed which are useful for the areas of land use planning, soil conservation, terrain elevation and soil erosion.
Prediction of composite indicators using locally weighted quantile regression

Abstract. The main goal of this paper is to improve the existing methods and tools used for solving penalized quantile regression problems. We modified the quantile regression method by implementing the extreme learning machine (ELM) algorithm and features of locally weighted regression. Also, we used different penalty functions. A modified method was used for the onestep-ahead prediction of the composite indicator (CI) of the Lithuanian economy. Our analysis showed that the prediction error of the modified locally weighted quantile regression is smaller in comparison to the other quantile regression.
Secretogranin III Selectively Promotes Vascular Leakage in the Deep Vascular Plexus of Diabetic Retinopathy

Diabetic retinopathy (DR), a leading cause of vision loss in working-age adults, induces mosaic patterns of vasculopathy that may be associated with spatial heterogeneity of intraretinal endothelial cells. We recently reported that secretogranin III (Scg3), a neuron-derived angiogenic and vascular leakage factor, selectively binds retinal vessels of diabetic but not healthy mice. Here, we investigated endothelial heterogeneity of three retinal vascular plexuses in DR pathogenesis and the therapeutic implications. Our unique in vivo ligand binding assay detected a 22.7-fold increase in Scg3 binding to retinal vessels of diabetic mice relative to healthy mice. Functional immunohistochemistry revealed that Scg3 predominantly binds to the DR-stressed CD31− deep retinal vascular plexus but not to the relatively healthy CD31+ superficial and intermediate plexuses within the same diabetic retina. In contrast, VEGF bound to healthy and diabetic retinal vessels indiscriminately with low activity. FITC-dextran assays indicated that selectively increased retinal vascular leakage coincides with Scg3 binding in diabetic mice that was independent of VEGF, whereas VEGF-induced leakage did not distinguish between diabetic and healthy mice. Dose–response curves showed that the anti-Scg3 humanized antibody (hAb) and anti-VEGF aflibercept alleviated DR leakage with equivalent efficacies, and that the combination acted synergistically. These findings suggest: (i) the deep plexus is highly sensitive to DR; (ii) Scg3 binding to the DR deep plexus coincides with the loss of CD31 and compromised endothelial junctions; (iii) anti-Scg3 hAb alleviates vascular leakage by selectively targeting the DR-stressed deep plexus within the same diabetic retina; (iv) combined anti-Scg3 and anti-VEGF treatments synergistically ameliorate DR through distinct mechanisms.
A desigualdade econômica entre os municípios da região norte do Brasil

Neste trabalho, entende-se por desigualdade econômica intermunicipal a participação desequilibrada dos municípios no Produto Interno Bruto (PIB) de determinada grande região. De forma geral, o objetivo é investigar acerca de como se deu a evolução da desigualdade econômica entre os municípios que compõem a região Norte do Brasil, no período de 2000 a 2010. Procura-se, especificamente, a) determinar o grau de desigualdade econômica na região Norte do Brasil, nos anos de 2000 a 2010; b) determinar o grau de desigualdade econômica nos estados que compõem a região Norte do Brasil, nos anos de 2000 a 2010 e c) verificar a evolução da desigualdade econômica na primeira década do século XXI ao nível da grande região e dos estados. Para mensurar o grau de desigualdade na década estudada, utiliza-se o cálculo do Coeficiente de Williamson (Vw), desenvolvido por Williamson (1965). O grau de desigualdade intermunicipal da região Norte passou de 0,83 no ano de 2000 para 0,93 no ano de 2010, apresentou crescimento de 13,47 no período. O grau de desigualdade decresceu nos estados de Rondônia, Acre, Amazonas e Amapá, e cresceu nos estados Tocantins, Pará e Roraima. Concluiu-se que na década analisada a desigualdade econômica intermunicipal no Norte do Brasil seguiu tendência de aumento.
Contributions to bias adjusted stepwise latent class modeling

Latent class (LC) analysis is a clustering method widely used in social science research.Usually the interest lies in relating the clustering to external variables. This can be done using a three-step approach, which proceeds as follows: the LC model is estimated (step 1), predictions for the class membership scores are obtained (step 2) and used to assess the relationship between class membership and other variables (step 3). Bolck, Croon, and Hagenaars (2004) showed that this approach leads to severely biased estimates of the third step estimates, and proposed correction methods, that were further developed by Vermunt (2010). In the current study, we extend these correction methods to situations where class membership is not predicted but used as an explanatory variable in the third step. A simulation study tests the performance of the proposed correction methods, and their practical use was illustrated with real data examples. The results show that the proposed correction methods perform well under conditions encountered in practice. This chapter is published as Bakk, Z. , Tekle, F.B. & Vermunt, J. K. (2013). Estimating the association between latent class membership and external variables using bias adjusted three-step approaches. Sociological Methodology, vol.43, 1 pp. 272-311
Variational analysis for the heat kernels of Chandrasekhar-type operators

In this paper, we study a class of degenerate elliptic operators with quadratic potentials by Hamiltonian formalism. Geodesics induced by the operators are explicitly characterized. With the help of a probabilistic ansatz, we generalize our kernel formulae for Ornstein–Uhlenbeck operator with quadratic potential and hence derive the heat kernel for our target operators in terms of integral representation.
Transcriptome Revealed the Effect of Shading on the Photosynthetic Pigment and Photosynthesis of Overwintering Tea Leaves

The physiological state of overwintering tea leaves is crucial for the growth and quality formation of spring tea shoots. Low temperatures in winter can easily cause damage to overwintering tea plants, leading to leaf chlorosis and abnormal physiological functions. Many pieces of research have shown that shading could promote chlorophyll (Chl) accumulation in tea leaves, but the impact on overwintering tea plants is not yet known. In this study, different shading rates (no-shading, S0%; 30% shading, S30%; 75% shading, S75%) were used to treat overwintering tea plants, which explored the effect of shading on the color and physiological functions of tea leaves. The results showed that Chl, carotenoid, and soluble sugar (SS) contents were S75% > S30% > S0%, and the net photosynthetic rate (Pn) was S75% > S30% > S0%. Transcriptome analysis showed that the genes involved in chlorophyll and carotenoid metabolism (such as protochlorophyllide reductase POR and zeaxanthin epoxidase ZEP) and photosynthesis (such as photosystem II P680 reaction center D2 protein PsbA and photosystem II CP47 chlorophyll apoprotein PsbB) were significantly up-regulated under shading. In addition, many differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched in “starch and sucrose metabolism (ko00500)” and “anthocyanin biosynthesis (ko00942)” pathways. In summary, this study provided a theoretical basis and technical support for maintaining green leaves and normal physiological functions of overwintering tea plants.
On the k-Jacobsthal Lucas numbers of arithmetic indexes

In this paper, the k-Jacobsthal Lucas numbers of arithmetic indexes of the form an + r, where n is a natural number and r is less than a are investigated. A formula is proven for the sum of these numbers and by using this formula we deduced the sums of the first k-Jacobsthal Lucas numbers, even and odd kJacobsthal Lucas numbers. The same formula for the alternated kJacobsthal Lucas numbers are also found. Later, the generating function of these numbers are obtained. Finally, some relations between the kJacobsthal numbers and the kJacobsthal Lucas numbers are derived.
Microwave-Induced Behavior and Digestive Properties of the Lotus Seed Starch—Chlorogenic Acid Complex

The effect of chlorogenic acid (CA) on the dielectric response of lotus seed starch (LS) after microwave treatment, the behavior and digestive characteristics of the resulting starch/chlorogenic acid complex (LS-CA) at different degrees of gelatinization and the inhibition of α-amylase by chlorogenic acid were investigated. The variation in dielectric loss factor, ε″, and dielectric loss tangent, tanδε, of the microwave thermal conversion indicated that LS-CA had a more efficient microwave-energy-to-thermal-energy conversion efficiency than LS. This gelatinized LS-CA to a greater extent at any given temperature between 65 and 85 °C than LS, and it accelerated the degradation of the starch crystalline structure. The greater disruption of the crystal structure decreased the bound water content and increased the thermal stability of LS-CA compared to LS. The simulated in vitro digestion found that the presence of the LS-CA complex improved the slow-digestion property of lotus seed starch by increasing its content of resistant and slowly digested starch. In addition, the release of chlorogenic acid during α-amylase hydrolysis further slowed starch digestion by inhibiting α-amylase activity. These findings provide a foundation for understanding the correlation between the complex behavior and digestive properties of naturally polyphenol-rich, starch-based foods, such as LS, under microwave treatment, which will facilitate the development of starch-based foods with tailored digestion rates, lower final degrees of hydrolysis and glycemic indices.
Dynamic 3D shape measurement based on digital speckle projection and temporal sequence correlation

Based on digital speckle temporal sequence correlation and speckle projection, an experimental platform was developed to measure the dynamic 3D shape measurement in this paper. Speckle patterns generated by computer were projected onto the quartz clock surface by a white-light projector, and the deformed speckle patterns were acquired by a camera. Programming was written to implement the algorithm to reconstruct every motion of the running clock's pointers. Beyond that, a simple Newton's cradle was established, and the collision course between three steel balls was reconstructed. These experimental results show that the method can be used for dynamic 3D shape measurement, which has an effect on the reconstruction of objects with characteristics of steep variation, isolation and small details.
Quantitative and selective study of the effect of O radicals on polypropylene surface treatment

Gaining a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms underlying plasma-polymer surface treatments using atmospheric pressure plasmas can guide their industrial applications. To this end, a novel vacuum ultraviolet photodissociation reactive species supply (VUV PRS) method, which can quantitatively supply the desired type of reactive species to polymer surfaces, was developed in our previous study. In this study, the innovative approach is used to quantitatively study the effects of O radicals on polypropylene (PP) surface treatment. Specifically, water contact angle (WCA), attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy, and atomic force microscopy (AFM) are used to characterize the surface modification. The results show that the surface treatment is dominated by O radicals under the present experimental conditions. The surface modification rate, characterized by the WCA decline rate, is linearly correlated with the concentration of O radicals, that is (surface modification rate) = (8.1 ± 0.4)[Os] + (0.13 ± 0.02) degrees s−1, where [Os] indicates the density of O radicals at PP surface (in ppm). The ATR-FTIR spectra shows that –OH and C=O functional groups are introduced onto the PP surface after the treatment, which results in a decrease in the WCA of the surface. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) analysis shows that the surface morphology of the treated PP remains almost unchanged. Low molecular weight oxidized materials (LMWOMs) on PP surface are generated when the O radical dose that arrives at the PP surface exceeds a certain threshold. More than 60% of the oxygen-containing functional groups exist as LMWOMs when the WCA saturates. The results presented in this paper indicate that the VUV PRS method has the potential to drive the understanding of plasma-polymer surface interactions at the atomic and molecular levels. Moreover, the measured roles of the O radicals on the polymer surface at atmospheric pressure can guide the industrial application of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment.
Toxicity of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances to Nematodes

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are a class of compounds that persist in the environment globally. Besides being transported to the soil and sediments, which act as their sinks, PFASs can be transferred to several species of higher organisms directly or via bacteria, eliciting a wide range of adverse effects. Caenorhabditis elegans has been widely used in toxicological studies and life science research owing to its numerous advantages over traditional vertebrate models; notably, C. elegans has 65% conserved human-disease-associated genes and does not require ethical approvals for experimental use. This review covers a range of topics, from reported accumulation characteristics and lethal concentrations of PFAS in C. elegans to the mechanisms underlying the toxicity of PFAS at different levels, including reproductive, developmental, cellular, neurologic, oxidative, metabolic, immune, and endocrine toxicities. Additionally, the toxicity levels of some PFAS substitutes are summarized. Lastly, we discuss the toxicological mechanisms of these PFAS substitutes and the importance and promising potential of nematodes as in vivo models for life science research, epidemiological studies (obesity, aging, and Alzheimer’s disease research), and toxicological investigations of PFASs and other emerging pollutants compared with other soil animals or model organisms.
Impact of income diversification on rural household food security in Ethiopia

Using primary data collected from 462 farm households, this paper aims to examine the impact of income diversification on rural household food security in Ethiopia. A propensity score matching model was employed to analyze the impact of participation in both agriculture and non-agriculture activities on household food security. The results indicate that age, education level, household size, number of contacts with extension agents, and numbers of livestock in tropical livestock units have a significant effect on household participation in both agriculture and non-agriculture sources of income generation. The propensity score matching result suggested that participation in both agriculture and non-agriculture would increase the rural household food security status by 10.6% to 19.5%, mainly due to a positive effect of additional sources of income generation from non-agriculture activities as witnessed in present and past studies. Therefore, to make considerable improvement on the food security situation, there is need to promote and scale-up on-farm, off-farm and non-farm income-generating activities in rural areas to diversify income sources so as to improve food security status of the rural households in Ethiopia.
On the CET-Map Ill-Posed Inversion Problem: Theory and Application to GaN HEMTs

Ideally, de-trapping transients in semiconductors originate from discrete energy levels, and the emission profile follows a pure exponential decay; however, it has been widely shown that this rarely happens in real devices, for which capture and emission processes have a strongly stretched exponential shape. Conventional methodologies for capture/emission time constants mapping (CET maps) are based on the double derivative (DD) or bivariate Gaussian (BG) approximation, which may lead to inaccuracies in the presence of complex defect distributions. In this article, we introduce a new methodology, based on the double inverse Laplace transform, to extract the accurate capture-emission time (CET) map of these defects. The proposed approach is compared with the conventional approximated solutions, thus giving insight into whether the error introduced by the simplified approaches can be considered negligible or not. First, to ensure full control of the input parameters, the analysis is carried out on custom-generated functions with different stretching parameters. Then, the developed methodology is used to extract, for the first time, the full capture/emission time map from a power GaN high-electron mobility transistor (HEMT) subjected to positive bias instability (PBI) test. The proposed approach is universal and can be adopted by a wide variety of electronic devices in the presence of charge-trapping processes.