Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Vivo Super-Resolution Cardiac Diffusion Tensor MRI: A Feasibility Study

A super-resolution (SR) technique is proposed for imaging myocardial fiber architecture with cardiac magnetic resonance. Images were acquired with a motion-compensated cardiac diffusion tensor imaging (cDTI) sequence. The heart left ventricle was covered with three stacks of thick slices, in short axis, horizontal and vertical long axes orientations, respectively. The three low-resolution stacks (2 × 2 × 8 mm3) were combined into an isotropic volume (2 × 2 × 2 mm3) by a super-resolution reconstruction. For in vivo measurements, each slice was acquired during a breath-hold period. Bulk motion was corrected by optimizing a similarity metric between intensity profiles from all intersecting slices in the dataset. The benefit of the proposed approach was evaluated using a numerical heart phantom, a physical helicoidal phantom with artificial fibers, and six healthy subjects. The SR technique showed improved results compared to the native scans, in terms of image quality and cDTI metrics. In particular, the myocardial helix angle (HA) was more accurately estimated in the physical phantom (HA = 41.5° ± 1.1°, with the ground truth being 42.0°). In vivo, it resulted in a sharper rate of change of HA across the myocardial wall (−0.993°/% ± 0.007°/% against −0.873°/% ± 0.010°/%).
Thin Circularly Polarized Slot Array Antenna for High-Band UWB Applications

This paper presents a thin 2 × 2 circularly polarized slot array antenna that operates in the high-band ultra-wideband (UWB) system. The proposed antenna is composed of three parts: a top metal part that consists of an L-shaped slot structure, a dielectric substrate, and a bottom floating metal layer. The design model and characteristics of the antenna element and array antenna are investigated through simulation and measurement. Experimental results show that the maximum gain of the prototype array antenna is 6.94 dBi at 9.02 GHz. The antenna size is 29.2 mm × 31.7 mm, and its thickness is 1.636 mm. By using a slot antenna structure, a thin circularly polarized antenna (thickness: 1.636 mm) with high gain was demonstrated. The antenna characteristics qualify the antenna to be used in high-band UWB applications.
Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production

Plant Factory: An Indoor Vertical Farming System for Efficient Quality Food Production provides information on a field that is helping to offset the threats that unusual weather and shortages of land and natural resources bring to the food supply. As alternative options are needed to ensure adequate and efficient production of food, this book represents the only available resource to take a practical approach to the planning, design, and implementation of plant factory (PF) practices to yield food crops. The PF systems described in this book are based on a plant production system with artificial (electric) lights and include case studies providing lessons learned and best practices from both industrial and crop specific programs. With insights into the economics as well as the science of PF programs, this book is ideal for those in academic as well as industrial settings. * Provides full-scope insight on plant farm, from economics and planning to life-cycle assessment* Presents state-of-the-art plant farm science, written by global leaders in plant farm advancements* Includes case-study examples to provide real-world insights
Cadmium Investigations in Lahore Soil and Other Regions of Pakistan

Cadmium (Cd) is toxic even in the very trace amounts and shows adverse effects on the human being and his environment. Current studies were performed to evaluate the Cd concentration in soil of Lahore (Pakistan) and the results were compared with those reported from other cities of Pakistan. The metal concentration evaluated by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS). Cd concen- tration was found to be 1.39-20.82 µg/L, 1.38-93.60 µg/L, 2.42-94.60 µg/L, 2.25-93.98 µg/L and 1.15-8.14 µg/L in GT road, Misri shah, river Ravi, fertilized land of Raiwind side and unfertilized land of Raiwind side, respectively. The higher Cd concentration (2.42-94.60 µg/L) at "River Ravi" as compared to the other investigated areas (1.15-93.98 µg/L) is owed to the dumping of untreated waste from all industrial, sewage, domestic and agricultural zones in "River Ravi". The fertilized land was found to possess higher amount of Cd as compared to the unfertilized land. The awareness in farmers and the periodic monitoring of soil are important to eradicate the sources of Cd poisoning.
Exposure to Olfactory Alcohol Cues During Non-rapid Eye Movement Sleep Did Not Decrease Craving in Patients With Alcohol Dependence

Background and Objectives Cue exposure therapy (CET) has been used to reduce alcohol use, but the effect of CET during sleep on alcohol dependence (AD) is unclear. The present study examined the effect of repeated exposure to an olfactory stimulus during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep on cue reactivity and craving in patients with AD. Methods Thirty-five patients with AD were enrolled according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-IV (DSM-IV). All the subjects were randomly assigned to the experimental or control group. The experimental group was exposed to alcohol odor for 10 min during NREM sleep. The other group (controls) was exposed to water [control stimulus (CtrS)] for 10 min during NREM sleep. Demographic, alcohol-related, and clinical characteristics were collected at baseline. A cue-reactivity test was conducted before and after exposure to evaluate the effect of memory manipulation on acute response to an alcohol stimulus. Results There were no significant time × group interactions according to the visual analog scale (VAS) score of craving intensity, skin conductance response (SCR), systolic blood pressure (SBP), and diastolic blood pressure (DBP; all p > 0.05). Two-way ANOVA showed significant main effects of time on SCR [F(1,33) = 4.453, p = 0.043], SBP [F(1,33) = 14.532, p = 0.001], DBP [F(1,33) = 8.327, p = 0.007], Craving-VAS [F(1,33) = 1.997, p = 0.167] in two groups. Conclusion Exposure to olfactory alcohol cues during NREM sleep had no significant effect on alcohol craving in subjects with AD during hospitalization.
Unequally Spaced Antenna Array Synthesis Using Accelerating Gaussian Mutated Cat Swarm Optimization

|Low peak sidelobe level (PSLL) and antenna arrays with high directivity are needed nowadays for reliable wireless communication systems. Controlling the PSLL is a major issue in designing e(cid:11)ective antenna array systems. In this paper, a nature inspired technique, namely accelerating Gaussian mutated cat swarm optimization (AGMCSO) that attributes global search abilities, is proposed to control PSLL in the radiation pattern. In AGM-SCO, Gaussian mutation with an acceleration parameter is used in the position-updated equation, which allows the algorithm to search in a systematic way to prevent premature convergence and to enhance the speed of convergence. Experiments concerning several benchmark multimodal problems have been conducted and the obtained results illustrate that AGMCSO shows excellent performance concerning evolutionary speed and accuracy. To validate the overall e(cid:14)cacy of the algorithm, a sensitivity analysis was performed for di(cid:11)erent AGMCSO parameters. AGMCSO was researched on numerous linear, unequally spaced antenna arrays and the results show that in terms of generating low PSLL with a narrow (cid:12)rst null beamwidth (FNBW), AGMCSO out-performs conventional algorithms.
Biogenesis, Functions, Interactions, and Resources of Non-Coding RNAs in Plants

Plant transcriptomes encompass a large number of functional non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), only some of which have protein-coding capacity. Since their initial discovery, ncRNAs have been classified into two broad categories based on their biogenesis and mechanisms of action, housekeeping ncRNAs and regulatory ncRNAs. With advances in RNA sequencing technology and computational methods, bioinformatics resources continue to emerge and update rapidly, including workflow for in silico ncRNA analysis, up-to-date platforms, databases, and tools dedicated to ncRNA identification and functional annotation. In this review, we aim to describe the biogenesis, biological functions, and interactions with DNA, RNA, protein, and microorganism of five major regulatory ncRNAs (miRNA, siRNA, tsRNA, circRNA, lncRNA) in plants. Then, we systematically summarize tools for analysis and prediction of plant ncRNAs, as well as databases. Furthermore, we discuss the silico analysis process of these ncRNAs and present a protocol for step-by-step computational analysis of ncRNAs. In general, this review will help researchers better understand the world of ncRNAs at multiple levels.
Coping in the Emergency Medical Services: Associations With the Personnel’s Stress, Self-Efficacy, Job Satisfaction, and Health

Background Emergency Medical Services personnel (EMSP) are recurrently exposed to chronic and traumatic stressors in their occupation. Effective coping with occupational stressors plays a key role in enabling their health and overall well-being. In this study, we examined the habitual use of coping strategies in EMSP and analyzed associations of coping with the personnel’s health and well-being. Method A total of N = 106 German Red Cross EMSP participated in a cross-sectional survey involving standardized questionnaires to report habitual use of different coping strategies (using the Brief-COPE), their work-related stress, work-related self-efficacy, job satisfaction, as well as mental and physical stress symptoms. Results A confirmatory factor analysis corroborated seven coping factors which have been identified in a previous study among Italian emergency workers. Correlation analyses indicated the coping factor “self-criticism” is associated with more work-related stress, lower job satisfaction, and higher depressive, posttraumatic, and physical stress symptoms. Although commonly viewed as adaptive coping, the coping factors “support/venting”, “active coping/planning”, “humor”, “religion”, and “positive reappraisal” were not related to health and well-being in EMSP. Exploratory correlation analyses suggested that only “acceptance” was linked to better well-being and self-efficacy in EMSP. Conclusion Our results emphasize the need for in-depth investigation of adaptive coping in EMSP to advance occupation-specific prevention measures.
Computational models of exploration and exploitation characterise onset and efficacy of treatment in methamphetamine use disorder

People with Methamphetamine Use Disorder (PwMUD) spend substantial time and resources on substance use, which hinders their ability to explore alternate reinforcers. Gold‐standard behavioural treatments attempt to remedy this by encouraging action towards non‐drug reinforcers, but substance use often persists. We aimed to unravel the mechanistic drivers of this behaviour by applying a computational model of explore/exploit behaviour to decision‐making data (Iowa Gambling Task) from 106 PwMUD and 48 controls. We then examined the longitudinal link between explore/exploit mechanisms and changes in methamphetamine use 6 weeks later. Exploitation parameters included reinforcement sensitivity and inverse decay (i.e., number of past outcomes used to guide choices). Exploration parameters included maximum directed exploration value (i.e., value of trying novel actions). The Timeline Follow Back measured changes in methamphetamine use. Compared to controls, PwMUD showed deficits in exploitative decision‐making, characterised by reduced reinforcement sensitivity, U = 3065, p = 0.009, and less use of previous choice outcomes, U = 3062, p = 0.010. This was accompanied by a behavioural pattern of frequent shifting between choices, which appeared consistent with random exploration. Furthermore, PwMUD with greater reductions of methamphetamine use at 6 weeks had increased directed exploration (β = 0.22, p = 0.045); greater use of past choice outcomes (β = −0.39, p = 0.002) and greater choice consistency (β = −0.39, p = 0.002). Therefore, limited computational exploitation and increased behavioural exploration characterise PwMUD's presentation to treatment, while increased directed exploration, use of past choice outcomes and choice consistency predict greater reductions of methamphetamine use.
A Method of IoT Information Compression

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a modern paradigm that consists of heterogeneous intercommunicated devices that send and receive messages in various formats through different protocols. Thanks to the smart things mainstream, it is becoming common to collect large quantities of data generated by resource-constrained, distributed devices at one or more servers. However, the wireless transmitting of data is very expensive. For example, in IoT, Bluetooth Low Energy using costs tens of millijoules per connection, while computing at full energy costs only tens of micrjoules, and sitting idle costs close to 1 microjoules per second for STM processors. We need compression of data on smart devices. We introduce an IoT compression method based on the concurrent Cosine and Chebyshev Discrete Transforms. For performance increasing, the modification of Transforms algorithms is proposed. This method is suitable not only for IoT devices collecting data but also for the big servers.
Machine vision-based conveyor belt tear detection in a harsh environment

This work proposes a recognition method to improve the visual detection rate of longitudinal conveyor belt tears related to fog pollution and uneven illumination. It integrates the Haar feature with a modified dark channel defogging algorithm. Firstly, the dark channel algorithm was used to eliminate fog interference with belt images, and the processing time was reduced from 14.5 ms to 5 ms by calculating a single necessary image channel. The Haar feature was used to replace the traditional geometric features due to its high-efficiency feature expression and illumination robustness; this provided a strong feature basis for the learning and training of the classifiers. Next, the classifiers were trained and strengthened by the AdaBoost algorithm, and the strengthened classifiers were cascaded by the Cascade algorithm to improve the recognition ability. Finally, experiments were carried out under mixed fog pollution and uneven illumination. The results show that the average accuracy, recall, precision and false positive rate of the proposed method are approximately 98.4%, 96.9%, 99.9% and 0.1%, respectively, while the recognition period was only 52.3 ms. This shows strong adaptability and robustness to a harsh environment and demonstrates that the proposed method has important application value.
Media Diets of Vegetarians. How News Consumption, Social Media Use and Communicating with One’s Social Environment are Associated with a Vegetarian Diet

ABSTRACT Traditionally, dietary choices are formed through socialization, social norms and the social environment, while news media seemed to have little impact on people’s diets. This article explores whether today’s news media consumption and in particular consuming and sharing information about food on social media are associated with following a vegetarian or vegan diet. The data come from a tailor-made survey carried out in Hamburg, Germany, in 2018 (N = 1,214). Making use of probit regression with multiple equations, we analyse the associations between vegetarianism and individual news consumption, having vegetarians in the social environment, and communicating about food, controlling for individual and family characteristics. We find that both regular news consumption via social media and having vegetarian friends or family members is associated with pursuing a vegetarian diet. Moreover, news consumption via social media comes with increased communication about food, suggesting high relevance of social media for pursuing a vegetarian diet.
Autofocus algorithms for lensless on-chip microscopy validated on synthetic targets for microfluidic applications and particle tracking

Lensless on-chip microscopy comprises a simple and compact setup in which the sample is placed close to the imaging sensor and illuminated by a coherent light source. The acquired in-line hologram carries information about the amplitude and phase image of the sample, which can be numerically reconstructed. Contrary to conventional microscopy, the reconstructed images can be numerically refocused at desired focus planes effectively providing three-dimensional information. For reliable object reconstruction, a proper focus plane must be selected, which can be done automatically using an autofocusing algorithm. The autofocusing algorithms are commonly evaluated on synthetic or experimentally acquired in-line holograms. First are usually simulated with the same numerical propagation method as used for reconstruction and are not able to simulate holograms of truly three-dimensional objects, while experimentally acquired holograms can be affected by measurement noise and model mismatch artefacts. In this paper, we propose an objective evaluation of autofocusing algorithms on in-line holograms simulated by Mie theory and T-matrix method which can simulate holograms of truly three-dimensional spherical objects distributed in various spatial positions. We evaluate and compare different autofocusing algorithms in terms of the accuracy of the estimated focus plane and computational efficiency. Finally, we present a proof-of-concept real-time implementation of the autofocusing algorithm based on the open-source PyOpenCL framework. We found that the implemented autofocusing algorithms provided the best average accuracy of 1.75 μm and required 330 μs per evaluation cycle resulting in around 20 frames per second for autofocusing a 1024×1024 hologram.
Weed management in conservation agriculture in India

Conservation agriculture (CA) involves minimum soil disturbance, permanent soil cover through crop residues or cover crops, and crop rotations for achieving higher productivity. Even though the adoption of CA in India is still in an early stage, it has been successfully used in the irrigated rice-wheat cropping systems of the Indo Gangetic Plains (IGP) and recently been demonstrated in parts of central India. Increased weed problems during the ‘transition period ’tends to be the most common hurdle in adoption of CA by farmers. Research has shown that cover crops could play an important role in weed management in CA systems; however, their level of adoption at present is fairly low. Changes in patterns of tillage, planting systems, and other management strategies can alter the soil environment and lead to a major change in weed flora. Herbicide use has been an extremely important component of weed management in CA systems but greater effort is needed to integrate non-chemical weed control tactics with herbicides. Farmer-participatory model of research has proved highly effective in developing CA in rice-wheat system in the IGP. Efforts are required to increase the rate of adoption of direct seeded rice and zero-till wheat throughout the IGP. At present, residue retention on farmer fields tends to be low. Greater awareness of the benefits of residue retention for improved soil health is worthy of an extension campaign in particular and in India in general. Research effort needs to be enhanced to develop CA and promote its adoption in non-rice-wheat cropping systems in India.
Investigation of the effectiveness of tomato pulp on the in vitro fermentation of working horse diets

ABSTRACT The aim of this study is to determine the effectiveness of dried tomato pulp, as a soluble dietary fibre source, using [0 (control group), 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, and 20.0% (experimental groups) as dry matter-DM] in horse total mixed ration (TMR) on the in vitro fermentation parameters. The in vitro total gas production (TGP), methane emission, gas yield (GY24), metabolic energy (ME), in vitro true dry matter disappearance (T-DMd), short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) molarities, partial factor (PF24), microbial crude protein production (MCP), and pH value at 24 h of fermentation in horse TMR’s were determined. In the study, in vitro TGP, GY24, PF24, ME, MCP, SCFA, and methane emission of horse TMR’s were not changed by 2.5 and 5.0% tomato pulp supplementation (P > 0.05). The in vitro TGP (73.6 vs. 85.6 and 105.9 mL/g DM), GY24 (189.4 vs. 210.8 and 286.3 mL for g T-DMd), PF24 (5.9 vs. 5.2 and 4.2 mg/mL for GY24) ME (5.3 vs. 5.6 and 6.1 MJ/kg DM), MCP (270.1 vs. 258.2 and 215.1 mg/g DM), SCFA (0.32 vs. 0.37 and 0.46 mmol/0.2 g), and methane emission (0.28 vs. 0.33 and 0.48 ml/g DM) of horse TMR’s positively affected by 10 and 20% tomato pulp supplementation (P < 0.05). The in vitro T-DMd values of TMRs and pH value of in vitro digestion fluid were similar for both control and experimental groups (P > 0.05). As a result, it was demonstrated that tomato pulp, which uses as dietary fibre and CP source, did not affect negatively the digestion values of the working horse diet. However, it has been considered that tomato pulp using at 10 and 20% ratios increased the in vitro digestion values of the working horse diet. Determining the in vitro digestion levels of tomato pulp, which is a source of soluble dietary fibre, for horses will guide future in vitro and in vivo studies.
Analysis of the effect of daily stress on the skin and search for genetic loci involved in the perceived stress of an individual

Abstract Background Stress may have various effects on our bodies. In particular, the skin may be readily influenced by stress. In addition, there are individual differences in the way we feel stress, suggesting the involvement of genetic factors in such individual differences. Objectives In this study, we analysed the influence of stress on skin condition and ageing involving Japanese females, and investigated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) that influence perceived stress of an individual. Methods We collected genotype data from 1200 Japanese females. At the same time, a questionnaire was conducted on the degree of stress that each subject feels on a daily basis and the current skin condition. We analysed the effects of stress on skin condition and searched for SNPs related to individual stress susceptibility by genome‐wide association studies. Results Our data suggested that stress influences skin condition and ageing, as previously reported. And, we found rs74548608 as a SNP that affects perceived stress of an individual. This SNP is located on the upstream of Patched‐1, which is a gene that functions as a sonic hedgehog receptor. Conclusions Our study has identified new genetic factors for perceived stress of an individual in the Japanese female. The SNP found in this study may be a candidate factor important for understanding the perceived stress of an individual of Japanese.
An Immediate Evaluation Method OfEarthquake Damage Of Dams By UtilizingReal-time Earthquake Information

Recently, the magnitude of earthquakes and the location of epicenters have come to be estimated urgently in 3–4 seconds based on the observed data of a P-wave. Urgently estimated earthquake information is termed the real-time earthquake information. Furthermore, an arrival time and an intensity of the S-wave can be estimated and people informed before the arrival of the main shock. Such earthquake information before the arrival of the main shock is defined as the early earthquake warning. In this study, we have developed an immediate evaluation method for earthquake damage of dams by combining the early earthquake warning and a 3-D dynamic analysis. As a result, the earthquake damage of dams can be evaluated by the method proposed within one second. This method is useful to mitigate not only human disaster but also physical damage by earthquakes.