Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Roadkills as a Method to Monitor Raccoon Dog Populations

Simple Summary The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is a highly invasive species, therefore knowledge regarding the population size, trends and spatial distribution is important for species assessment and for the planning of control measures. In Lithuania, however, as such surveys would require the concerted action of many hunting clubs, raccoon dog surveys have not been carried out since 1997. In this study, we investigated whether roadkill data for the species could be used as a means for monitoring the population. For the period in which surveys were conducted, we found a strong correlation between the numbers surveyed and the numbers of animals hunted and between those hunted and the number of roadkills. Therefore, we consider that roadkill counts may be used as a proxy for a survey at the countrywide scale. Practical implementation of the method is proposed. Abstract The raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) is one of the most frequently killed species on Lithuanian roads. As an invasive species, up-to-date knowledge of population size, trends and spatial distribution is critically important both for species assessment and for the planning of control measures. In Lithuania, however, raccoon dog surveys have not been carried out since 1997. We investigated, therefore, whether roadkill counts on predefined routes could be used as a proxy for a survey. Our dataset includes survey numbers for the period 1956–1997, hunting bag sizes for 1965–2020 (including the spatial distribution of the hunting bag in 2018–2020) and roadkill data relating to 1551 individuals between 2002–2020. At the most local scale, that of the hunting areas of hunting clubs, correlations between the numbers of hunted and roadkilled individuals were negative and insignificant or absent. At the country scale, however, we found significant correlation both between the numbers surveyed and hunted in 1965–1997 (r = 0.88), and between those hunted and the number of roadkills in 2002–2020 (r = 0.56–0.69). Therefore, we consider that roadkill counts on predefined and stable routes may be used as a proxy for a survey at the country scale. Practical implementation of the method is proposed.
Remote Sensing of Tundra Ecosystems Using High Spectral Resolution Reflectance: Opportunities and Challenges

Observing the environment in the vast regions of Earth through remote sensing platforms provides the tools to measure ecological dynamics. The Arctic tundra biome, one of the largest inaccessible terrestrial biomes on Earth, requires remote sensing across multiple spatial and temporal scales, from towers to satellites, particularly those equipped for imaging spectroscopy (IS). We describe a rationale for using IS derived from advances in our understanding of Arctic tundra vegetation communities and their interaction with the environment. To best leverage ongoing and forthcoming IS resources, including National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Surface Biology and Geology mission, we identify a series of opportunities and challenges based on intrinsic spectral dimensionality analysis and a review of current data and literature that illustrates the unique attributes of the Arctic tundra biome. These opportunities and challenges include thematic vegetation mapping, complicated by low‐stature plants and very fine‐scale surface composition heterogeneity; development of scalable algorithms for retrieval of canopy and leaf traits; nuanced variation in vegetation growth and composition that complicates detection of long‐term trends; and rapid phenological changes across brief growing seasons that may go undetected due to low revisit frequency or be obscured by snow cover and clouds. We recommend improvements to future field campaigns and satellite missions, advocating for research that combines multi‐scale spectroscopy, from lab studies to satellites that enable frequent and continuous long‐term monitoring, to inform statistical and biophysical approaches to model vegetation dynamics.
Enhancing Student Engagement and Self-Evaluation Using Student Response Systems

Whilst previous studies are broadly in agreement on the effectiveness of student response systems (hereafter SRSs) in enhancing student engagement, there are gaps in the literature relating to study design and outcomes assessed. This study offers enhancements to study design. First, by collecting baseline data, engagement levels can be conditioned and changes in engagement attributable to the SRS detected. Second, it is one of the few studies that employs a comprehensive measure of student engagement. Third, analysis occurs at student level rather than class level. The study finds increased positive perceptions towards self-evaluation (both self and relative assessment) and ability to express opinion, in addition to strong student positivity towards the SRS.
Letter to Editor on “Acute Lagophthalmos Due to Bell’s Palsy Could Be a Sign of COVID-19” by Ibrahim Ozdemir et al.

We read with enormous attention the paper by Ozdemir et al. highlighting the possibility of an association between severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) and lagophthalmos due to Bell’s palsy (BP). We are grateful for the views of the authors to encourage discussion on significant aspects of clinical manifestations of coronavirus infection (COVID-19). As a result, we wish to present some of our comments related to this valuable article. First of all, clinical symptoms and signs of central nervous system (CNS) and peripheral nervous system (PNS) involvement can be detected in up to 25% of coronavirus infected patients. Some researchers suggest the term ”Neuro-COVID syndrome” for presentations with pure CNS and PNS involvement at onset. Based on the iterature, there are more than 21 clinical manifestations of neurological disorders in these patients. Some authors believe that there is an association between COVID-19 and BP due to a neuro-immunological process involving microbial and nerve antigens. Moreover, you can find an association between COVID-19 immunisation and BP in the literature. Another important problem in the management of patients with BP is the role of immunosuppressants like glucocorticoids. Can these medications lead to a flare up of hidden COVID-19 activity in infected patients? On the other hand, the data show that broad suppression of immune reactions during acute severe COVID-19 can be beneficial in higher risk patients using glucocorticoids. The authors concluded that lagopthalmos due to BP could be a sign of COVID-19. As a result, how we can treat the patients with both COVID-19 and BP? These questions may be answered in the future. In the end, the nature of the study, the narrow inclusion and exclusion criteria and the small sample size can be limiting. We once again appreciate the authors for this research and hope that our explanation will help this valuable journal’s readership.
Nutritional cost reduction and increase profitability in commercial broiler production using phytase superdosing

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the reduction of calcium (Ca), crude protein (CP), metabolizable energy (ME), and available phosphorus (aP) in the nutritional matrix of Brazilian commercial broiler diets supplemented with both phytase superdosing (1500 FTU/kg) or conventional doses (500 FTU/kg) on the feed cost and profitability, performance, bone mineralization, and carcass yield of broiler from 1 to 42 d. A total 1200 one-day-old chicks (Cobb 500) were randomly distributed in a commercial feeding program composed of a positive control diet and three diets with reduction of Ca, aP, CP, and ME in the nutritional matrix supplemented with 500, 1000, and 1500 FTU/kg of phytase. The broilers subjected to diets with phytase superdosing presented similar performance, bone ash, and carcass yield, among the treatments. There was a linear effect in the total nutrition cost, gross margin, and estimated net margin per bird with the increase of dietary inclusion of phytase in all purposed scenarios. Thus, for each 500 FTU/kg of dietary phytase included in the diet with reduction of Ca, P, ME, and CP in the nutritional matrix, the total nutrition cost decreased R$ 0.072/bird, R$ 0.079/bird, and R$ 0.081/bird in scenarios of high, medium, and low prices of corn and soybean meal, respectively, that allowed an increase in the estimated net margin of R$ 0.20/bird, R$ 0.22/bird, and R$ 0.22/bird in the same scenarios.
High-Temperature Nanoindentation of an Advanced Nano-Crystalline W/Cu Composite

The applicability of nano-crystalline W/Cu composites is governed by their mechanical properties and microstructural stability at high temperatures. Therefore, mechanical and structural investigations of a high-pressure torsion deformed W/Cu nanocomposite were performed up to a temperature of 600 °C. Furthermore, the material was annealed at several temperatures for 1 h within a high-vacuum furnace to determine microstructural changes and surface effects. No significant increase of grain size, but distinct evaporation of the Cu phase accompanied by Cu pool and faceted Cu particle formation could be identified on the specimen′s surface. Additionally, high-temperature nanoindentation and strain rate jump tests were performed to investigate the materials mechanical response at elevated temperatures. Hardness and Young′s modulus decrease were noteworthy due to temperature-induced effects and slight grain growth. The strain rate sensitivity in dependent of the temperature remained constant for the investigated W/Cu composite material. Also, the activation volume of the nano-crystalline composite increased with temperature and behaved similar to coarse-grained W. The current study extends the understanding of the high-temperature behavior of nano-crystalline W/Cu composites within vacuum environments such as future fusion reactors.
Ionospheric Monitoring and Specification Utilizing Data From the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program

Abstract : Activities this year have been largely devoted to the adaptation of the ground software to accommodate the very low levels of solar activity, to continued examination of the robustness of the procedures to recover for single event upsets, and to the analysis and post-mortem associated with a malfunction of the ion drift meter on the F17 spacecraft. The low levels of solar activity have led to a significantly contracted ionosphere that resides predominantly below the satellite altitude. Such a condition leads to the dominance of H+ in regions where O+ might be expected to be the major ion. This condition has required the re-programming of some of the logic associated with ground software processing for the retarding potential analyzer (RPA) and the ion drift meter. Extensive analysis of the F17 drift meter data, and the physical configuration of the sensor, has been undertaken following a malfunction that rendered the instrument inoperable. During this reporting period, various failure modes were investigated and compared with the temporal history of the instrument performance. The most likely failure mode has been identified and a detailed analysis has been provided to AFRL.
Contact region fidelity, sensitivity, and control in roll-based soft lithography

Soft lithography is a printing process that uses small features on an elastomeric stamp to transfer micron and sub-micron patterns to a substrate. Translating this lab scale process to a roll-based manufacturing platform allows precise control of the stamp contact region and the potential for large area, high rate surface patterning. In this manner, emerging devices can be produced economically, including flexible displays, distributed sensor networks, transparent conductors, and bio-inspired surfaces. Achieving and maintaining collapse-free contact of the soft stamp features is a necessary condition for printing. In the first part of the thesis, stamp behavior is examined at two length scales. First, microfeature collapse is examined across a range of dimensionless aspect ratios and pattern ratios to determine the collapse mode and the feature stiffness. Second, behavior of roll-mounted stamps is investigated on the macroscopic scale. The results of these analyses, simulations, and experiments show that contact is prohibitively sensitive as the feature scale shrinks to single microns or below. In the second part of the thesis, methods are developed to reduce the contact sensitivity. A compliant stamp architecture is introduced to tune the mechanical response of the stamp. Next, a new process for manufacturing cylindrical stamps is developed that removes limitations of planar stamp templates. The third part of the thesis addresses process control. A parallel kinematic stage is designed to manipulate the height and pitch of a roll over a substrate with submicron precision. A hybrid state-space / classical feedback control approach is used to achieve high bandwidth servo control in the presence of coupling and unmodeled dynamics. Using optical instrumentation, the stamp contact pattern is monitored and can be controlled using camera images as a control variable. Ultimately, a practical method of impedance control is implemented that demonstrates excellent disturbance rejection. The results of this thesis provide models for stamp behavior at the local microscale and the roll-based macroscale. These results illustrate the high sensitivity of contact to displacement disturbances in roll-based lithography, but also provide valuable design insight towards designing stamps and processing machinery that are robust to 3 these inherent disturbances. Thesis Supervisor: David E. Hardt Title: Ralph E. and Eloise F. Cross Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Position rectification control for Mecanum wheeled omni-directional vehicles

In recent years, an omni-directional vehicle system using Mecanum wheels has been developed and used in wheel-chairs. It should be more widely utilized as a kind of robot for intelligent wheelchairs or vehicle robots for hazards by making the best use of its unique features. This paper presents a position rectification method during position and orientation control with multi-sampling periods. The control system is based on unique kinematics, which are under holonomic constraints. The idea for the proposed rectification method consisting of symptomatic rectification and preventive rectification has been borrowed from medical science.
The HP Way: How Bill Hewlett and I Built Our Company

From the Publisher: In the fall of 1930, David Packard left his hometown of Pueblo, Colorado, to enroll at Stanford University. There, he befriended another freshman, Bill Hewlett. After graduation from college, Hewlett and Packard decided to throw their lots in together. They tossed a coin to decide whose name should go first on the notice of incorporation, then cast about in search of products to sell. Today, the one-car garage in Palo Alto that housed their first workshop is a California historic landmark: the birthplace of Silicon Valley. And Hewlett-Packard has produced thousands of innovative products for millions of customers throughout the world. Their little company employs 98,400 people and boasts constantly increasing sales that reached $25 billion in 1994. While there are many successful companies, there is only one Hewlett-Packard. Because from the very beginning, Bill and Dave had a way of doing things that was contrary to the prevailing management strategies. In defining the objectives for their company, Packard and Hewlett wanted more than profits, revenue growth, and a constant stream of new, happy customers.
Brand Digital Marketing under Intranet Security Control Based on the Machine Learning Classification Algorithm

With the advent of the information age, digital marketing models have begun to receive attention and to have applications in many industries. Although the digital marketing model has thus become a hot spot in the sales world, there is still not enough research on digital marketing. In order to optimize brand digital marketing under internal and external security control based on the machine learning classification algorithm, this paper uses fuzzy system theory to perform fuzzy analysis on various experimental data studied, convert it into a fuzzy set, obtain the fuzzy solution of the related function, establish related models of machine learning classification algorithms, and identify and collect relevant experimental data in an intelligent way, saving time for data collection. This paper collects the customer characteristics, customer sensitivity, brand promotion, and brand revenue of a brand within seven days; then uses the classification algorithm and collected data to predict and analyze the future data results; and uses the machine learning classification algorithm model formula to solve the correlation function. The final experimental results show that, in the digital marketing mode, network marketing brings 75% of the benefits to the brand, which is the highest among the four digital marketing models, and it has the best brand publicity level, 45%. At the same time, customers’ sensitivity to the brand reaches 50% under the network marketing model.
Error Correction Applied to Microsensors in a Navigation Application

The inertial microsensors might be an interesting complement in automotive land navigation. However, they have low accuracy and the principle of inertial navigation make the sen- sor's errors to accumulate, leading to unacceptable results. In this work, we are interested in the de- sign of a strong signal processing system for error correction. We work on a strapdown configu- ration with low-cost off-the-shelf sensors, for which we define the navigation process. The signal processing is based on Kalman filters which is well suited for navigation applications. We propose a design which allows to take account of the bias as well as sensitivity variations. Usually, these calibration parameters are assumed to be fixed. We discuss the benefit of this approach and present the improvements.
Modulation by Ozone of Glucocorticoid-Regulating Factors in the Lungs in Relation to Stress Axis Reactivity

Exposure to air pollutants increases levels of circulating glucocorticoid stress hormones that exert profound effects relevant to health and disease. However, the nature and magnitude of tissue-level effects are modulated by factors that regulate local glucocorticoid activity; accordingly, inter-individual differences could contribute to susceptibility. In the present study, we characterized effects of ozone (O3) inhalation on glucocorticoid-regulating factors in the lungs of rat strains with contrasting hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal stress axis responses. Hyper-responsive Fischer (F344) and less responsive Lewis (LEW) rats were exposed to air or 0.8 ppm O3 for 4 h by nose-only inhalation. Levels of the high-specificity and -affinity corticosteroid-binding globulin protein increased in the lungs of both strains proportional to the rise in corticosterone levels following O3 exposure. Ozone reduced the ratio of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (HSDB1)/HSDB2 mRNA in the lungs of F344 but not LEW, indicating strain-specific transcriptional regulation of the major glucocorticoid metabolism factors that control tissue-level action. Intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM)-1 and total elastase activity were increased by O3 in both strains, consistent with extravasation and tissue remodeling processes following injury. However, mRNA levels of inflammatory markers were significantly higher in the lungs of O3-exposed LEW compared to F344. The data show that strain differences in the glucocorticoid response to O3 are accompanied by corresponding changes in regulatory factors, and that these effects are collectively associated with a differential inflammatory response to O3. Innate differences in glucocorticoid regulatory factors may modulate the pulmonary effects of inhaled pollutants, thereby contributing to differential susceptibility.
Spontaneous Brillouin Scattering Quench Diagnostics for Large Superconducting Magnets

Large superconducting magnets used in fusion reactors, as well as other applications, need a diagnostic that can non-invasively measure the temperature and strain throughout the magnet in real-time. A new fiber optic sensor has been developed for these long-length superconducting magnets that simultaneously measures the temperature and strain based on spontaneous Brillouin scattering in an optical fiber. Using an extremely narrow (200 Hz) linewidth Brillouin laser with very low noise as a frequency shifted local oscillator, the frequency shift of spontaneous Brillouin scattered light was measured using heterodyne detection. A pulsed laser was used to probe the fiber using Optical Time Domain Reflectometry (OTDR) to define the spatial resolution. The spontaneous Brillouin frequency shift and linewidth as a function of temperature agree well with previous literature of stimulated Brillouin data from room temperature down to 4 K. Analyzing the frequency spectrum of the scattered light after an FFT gives the Brillouin frequency shift, linewidth, and intensity. For the first time, these parameters as a function of strain have been calibrated down to 4 K. Measuring these three parameters allow for simultaneously determining the temperature and strain in real-time throughout a fiber with a spatial resolution on the order of several meters. The accuracy of the temperature and strain measurements vary over temperature-strain space, but an accuracy of better than ± 2 K and ± 100 με are possible throughout most of the calibrated temperature-strain space (4-298 K and 0-3500 με). In the area of interest for low-temperature superconducting magnets (4-25 K), the temperature accuracy is better than ± 1 degree. This temperature accuracy, along with the sub-second measurement time, allows this system to be used not only as a quench detection system, but also as a quench propagation diagnostic. The sensing fiber can also simultaneously provide the first ever spatially resolved strain measurement in an operating magnet. Thesis Supervisor: Joseph V. Minervini Title: Division Head and Senior Research Engineer
Around the Circle

Gallery will present a hallmark survey exhibition on the work of American and Vietnamese artist Dinh Q. Lê (b. 1968). This exhibition of 18 photo-weavings, two white-on-white embroideries, two videos, and an installation draws from museum and private collections across the nation and spans the artist's oeuvre since 1995. Physically dislocated and culturally displaced from his homeland, Lê has sought to negotiate his Vietnamese background within the prevailing philosophical, aesthetic, and cultural values of the West. A Tapestry of Memories: The Art of Dinh Q. Lê is organized by Bellevue Arts Museum and made possible in part by the generosity of The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation. Americans. Immigrants are drawn home again by a " connection that [they] cannot see. " Vietnam encompasses disparate notions– beauty and pain, complex history and uncertain future, fact and fiction—that make it mysterious and captivating. Lê feels that painting and sculpture are " somebody else's medium " and his use of photo-weaving " was a conscious decision to use a technique that is universal and was also part of my culture, a medium that was not coming from the West. " The artist uses a traditional Vietnamese grass mat technique to weave together strips of film stills, photo-journalistic images, and anonymous vintage Vietnamese photos " to present my point of view because I feel that information out there doesn't speak to and of my experience.the weaving brings together and yet it's disrupting.you can still see the iconic image, but at the same time it's breaking up and there's this new image merging and This article summarizes an interview between the artist and Stefano Catalani, exhibition curator from the catalogue A Tapestry of Memories: Dinh Q. Lê. All quotes in this article are by Dinh Q. Lê. The " Myth of Vietnam " The chilling history of the Vietnam War and the allure of an exotic and stunningly beautiful country fascinate