Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Handling Enhancement of Autonomous Emergency Steering for Reduced Road Friction Using Steering and Differential Braking

Steering has more potential than braking to prevent rear-end collisions at higher relative velocities. A path tracking controller based on multi-input multi-output (MIMO) model predictive control (MPC) is proposed to enhance the handling performance of autonomous emergency steering in this paper. A six-state MIMO bicycle model including actuator dynamics of steering and differential braking is used for model prediction. Two control inputs are front wheel steering angle and direct yaw moment. Two model outputs are lateral displacement and heading angle. According to the work load ratios at four wheels, control allocation is used to determine the optimal braking force distribution to prevent tire force saturation. The performance of a single-input single-output (SISO) MPC that uses only steering angle control to track the lateral displacement of the desired path is employed to benchmark the performance of the proposed algorithm. Simulation results show that both SISO MPC and MIMO MPC can track the path on nominal road surface with high road friction coefficient of 0.9. For a road surface with medium road friction coefficient of 0.7, the SISO MPC is unable to track the path and loses directional stability. However, the MIMO MPC can still track the path and demonstrate robust path tracking and handling enhancement against model uncertainty due to reduced road friction.
A State-of-the-Art Analysis of Obstacle Avoidance Methods from the Perspective of an Agricultural Sprayer UAV’s Operation Scenario

Over the last decade, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), also known as drones, have been broadly utilized in various agricultural fields, such as crop management, crop monitoring, seed sowing, and pesticide spraying. Nonetheless, autonomy is still a crucial limitation faced by the Internet of Things (IoT) UAV systems, especially when used as sprayer UAVs, where data needs to be captured and preprocessed for robust real-time obstacle detection and collision avoidance. Moreover, because of the objective and operational difference between general UAVs and sprayer UAVs, not every obstacle detection and collision avoidance method will be sufficient for sprayer UAVs. In this regard, this article seeks to review the most relevant developments on all correlated branches of the obstacle avoidance scenarios for agricultural sprayer UAVs, including a UAV sprayer’s structural details. Furthermore, the most relevant open challenges for current UAV sprayer solutions are enumerated, thus paving the way for future researchers to define a roadmap for devising new-generation, affordable autonomous sprayer UAV solutions. Agricultural UAV sprayers require data-intensive algorithms for the processing of the images acquired, and expertise in the field of autonomous flight is usually needed. The present study concludes that UAV sprayers are still facing obstacle detection challenges due to their dynamic operating and loading conditions.
Experimental study of rare-gases excimer VUV system and H2 Lyman-bands calibration

An electron impact rare gas excimer vacuum ultraviolet experimental system is custom-designed and tested using an argon and H 2 mixture. An electron flooding system, i.e. filament, is used as the hot electron source. A SiN x membrane is applied as the entrance foil separating the high vacuum chamber and the test gas chamber. A Custom-designed UV photon intensifier together with high-resolution CCD detector is used to increase the spectrum resolution up to three orders of magnitude higher than previous study. The experimental setting yields sufficiently highly resolved spectrum that could be analyzed in detail. H 2 Lyman-bands are used for the spectrum calibration. A Diatomic code is applied as a simulation reference which is proved to be insufficient for accurate calibration. A Comprehensive calibration using experimental spectrum, diatomic simulation and an H 2 Atlas is performed, and the result shows that the scaling of the spectrometer and detector is off by 0.08 nm, which is a reasonable number for low resolution spectrometer systems. iii Acknowledgements I am very much indebted to Professor Nick Glumac for many helpful remarks and supports during the course of this study. I would also like to show my gratitude to my beloved parents and friends.
Effect of Gender and Risk Factors in Complications of Type 2 Diabetic Mellitus among Patients Attending Diabetic Clinic in Mnazi Mmoja Hospital, Zanzibar

Diabetes type 2 (T2D) had caused the loss of millions of lives all over the world. About 50% of the patients with T2D die because of cardiovascular disease (CVD), primarily myocardial infarction and stroke. Many of the leading risk factors for CVD coexist and act synergistically to increase cardiovascular events. The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to determine the prevalence, patterns, and certain predictive factors in the complications of T2D patients attending Original Research Article Okafor et al.; JPRI, 33(29B): 67-78, 2021; Article no.JPRI. 68498 68 diabetic clinics at Mnazi Mmoja hospital. A total of 138 respondents made up of 58 females and 80 males within the age brackets of 30-40, 41-50, 51 – 60, and 61 above were recruited for this study. Data were analysed and interpreted based on certain predictive factors and variables, including smoking, alcohol, excessive salt intake, lipid intake, sedentary lifestyle, family history of diabetes, and hypertension, on how they relate to the development of complications of type 2 diabetes. Pearson Chi-Square test was used to compare the levels of significances. Probability values of less or equal to 0.05 were accepted to be significant. The combination of salt intake, sedentary lifestyle, family history of diabetes, and lipid intake was the commonest risk factor for developing complications of T2D. However, alcohol and cigarette smoking had the most negligible impact on developing complications in T2D. The result also shows the patients between the age bracket of 30 and 40 have more risk factors for developing complications. The result showed no gender difference in the number of risk factors. There was a statistically significant association between some of the risk factors (smoking, alcohol, sedentary lifestyle, and salt intake) and the gender of respondents (p<0.05). Males smoked (43.8%) and consumed alcohol (32.5%) than females, while females were prone to a sedentary lifestyle (63.8%) and consume salt (82.8%) than males. On the other hand, this research showed that the significant complication for both males and females are numbness, pain sensation, and dry skin (diabetic neuropathy). Gender and certain predictive risk factors like salt intake, sedentary lifestyle, and family history of diabetes, and lipid intake are fundamental parameters to be tackled to reduce the complications of type 2 diabetes mellitus. There is a greater need now for awareness of the risk factors through effective health promotion in Zanzibar. Also, secondary prevention through regular screening, early detection, and appropriate treatment of chronic complications could reduce the morbidity and mortality caused by diabetes mellitus.
The persistence of a SIR disease in a metapopulation: Hendra virus epidemics in Australian black flying foxes (Pteropus alecto)

Abstract. Understanding how emerging viruses persist in bat populations is a fundamental step to understand the processes by which viruses are transmitted from reservoir hosts to spillover hosts. Hendra virus, which has caused fatal infections in horses and humans in eastern Australia since 1994, spills over from its natural reservoir hosts, Pteropus bats (colloquially known as flying foxes). It has been suggested that the Hendra virus maintenance mechanism in the bat populations might be implicated with their metapopulation structure. Here, we examine whether a metapopulation consisting of black flying fox (P. alecto) colonies that are smaller than the critical community size can maintain the Hendra virus. By using the Gillespie algorithm, stochastic mathematical models were used to simulate a cycle, in which viral extinction and recolonisation were repeated in a single colony within a metapopulation. Given estimated flying fox immigration rates, the simulation results showed that recolonisation occurred more frequently than extinction, which indicated that infection would not go extinct in the metapopulation. Consequently, this study suggests that a collection of transient epidemics of Hendra virus in numerous colonies of flying foxes in Australia can support the long-term persistence of the virus at the metapopulation level.
CZTSSe/Zn(O,S) heterojunction solar cells with 9.82% efficiency enabled via (NH4)2S treatment of absorber layer

The replacement of CdS buffer layer is desirable for the development of nontoxic, environmentally friendly kesterite thin‐film solar cells (TFSCs). Recently, several ternary compound semiconductors have been extensively investigated as an alternative buffer layer for Cd‐free TFSCs. Herein, the effectiveness of (NH4)2S treatment on the surface properties of the absorber, as well as the device performance of atomic layer deposited (ALD) Zn(O,S) buffer‐based CZTSSe solar cells, has been investigated. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results showed that the elemental compositions of CZTSSe surface were significantly influenced by (NH4)2S treatment, whereas the surface morphologies of the CZTSSe‐absorber layers remained unaffected. The XPS results further suggested that the (NH4)2S solution treatment substantially removed the native oxide layer from the CTZSSe absorber surface. The fabricated CZTSSe/Zn(O,S) device without (NH4)2S treatment displayed an initial cell efficiency of 7.46%. The energy conversion efficiency increased significantly to 9.82% after the (NH4)2S treatment of absorber layers for an optimum duration of 1 min; to the best of our knowledge, this is the highest efficiency achieved to date for Zn(O,S) buffer‐based kesterite solar cells. The improved device performance is predominantly attributed to the pronounced increase in the fill factor (FF) of TFSCs resulting from the removal of oxides/hydroxides from the CZTSSe surface and passivation of absorber surface with sulfur species. However, increasing the treatment duration to 3 or 5 min resulted in the deterioration of cell efficiency, primarily due to the progressive degradation in the FF of the device. This study demonstrates a plausible route to improve the performance of Zn(O,S) buffer layer‐based kesterite solar cells through a simple surface treatment of the absorber layers using (NH4)2S solution.
Gene variants and serum levels of synaptic vesicle and presynaptic plasma membrane proteins in alcohol dependence and their relationship with impulsivity and temperament

ABSTRACT Background: Exocytosis-related gene variants have been suggested to be associated with externalizing behaviors. Objective: This study aimed to examine VAMP2 26 bp Ins\Del, synaptotagmin XI (Syt11) rs3820594 and 33-bp promoter, Syntaxin 1A (Syn-1A) rs1569061 and SNAP-25 rs1051312 and rs3746544 polymorphisms, their serum levels and their relationship with impulsivity, temperament in individuals with alcohol dependence (AD) and healthy controls (HC). Methods: The study included 107 individuals with AD and 104 HCs. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were studied with polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method and serum levels with ELISA. Michigan Alcohol Screening Test (MAST), Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11) and Temperament Evaluation of Memphis, Pisa, Paris and San Diego Autoquestionnaire (TEMPS-A) were applied. Results: Syn-1A rs1569061 C allele polymorphism was significantly higher in AD group. Syn-1A rs1569061 C allele was associated with 1.5 times increased risk of AD. All serum levels were significantly higher in the HC group. There was a relationship between Syn-1A rs1569061 polymorphism and BIS-11 motor impulsiveness in the AD group; Syt11 rs3820594 polymorphism and BIS-11 total, TEMPS-A depressive, hyperthymia in the HC group. Discussion: In our study, gene variants and serum levels of synaptic vesicle and presynaptic plasma membrane proteins were related to AD, impulsivity and temperament.
Adaptation without Specialization Early in a Host Shift

Students of speciation debate the role of performance trade-offs across different environments early in speciation. We tested for early performance trade-offs with a host shift experiment using a member of the Enchenopa binotata species complex of treehoppers (Hemiptera: Membracidae). In this clade of plant-feeding insects, different species live on different host plants and exhibit strong behavioral and physiological host specialization. After five generations, the experimental host shifts resulted either in no adaptation or in adaptation without specialization. The latter result was more likely in sympatry; in allopatry, populations on novel host plants were more likely to become extinct. We conclude that in the early stages of speciation, adaptation to novel host plants does not necessarily bring about performance trade-offs on ancestral environments. Adaptation may be facilitated rather than hindered by gene flow, which prevents extinction. Additional causes of specialization and assortative mating may be required if colonization of novel environments is to result in speciation.
The Effects of Competence and Warmth Appeals on Luxury and Sustainable Brand Advertising: The Moderating Role of Construal Level

Abstract This research examines how warmth and competence advertising can be effectively utilized in luxury and sustainable brand advertising. Across four experimental studies, this research shows diametrically opposite “match-up” effects between advertising appeals and construal levels for luxury and sustainable brands. For a luxury brand, consumers show favorable evaluations when a warmth (competence) appeal is combined with a high (low) construal level. In contrast, for a sustainable brand, consumers show favorable evaluations when a competence (warmth) appeal is combined with a high (low) construal level. Further, these match-up effects are mediated by two distinct mechanisms: brand admiration (a high construal level) and processing fluency (a low construal level). Theoretical and managerial implications from these findings are discussed.
Silver Fir Decline in Pure and Mixed Stands at Western Edge of Spread in Croatian Dinarides Depends on Some Stand Structure and Climate Factors

Silver fir is one of the most threatened conifer species in Croatia, especially at the western edge of its spread in Croatian Dinarides, where the decline in fir trees has resulted in significant ecological and economic issues. The aim of this study was to determine, over an 18-year monitoring period, the relationships of silver fir crown defoliation with climatic factors and structural attributes. We further analyzed the tree retention time in a given defoliation class and transition dynamics between defoliation classes, as well as the survival/mortality of trees. Data on silver fir defoliation were analyzed in two different forest types: in pure silver fir and in mixed silver fir and common beech stands. The climatic factors, primarily vegetation period air temperature, potential evapotranspiration, and dry season water deficit, were correlated with crown defoliation. Regarding the structural attributes, in the mixed stand with predominantly smaller trees, crown defoliation increased with reduced diameter at breast height, crown diameter, social class, and crown illumination. In the pure fir stand, crown defoliation increased with reduced crown diameter, greater crown asymmetry, greater crown illumination, and on trees with a stork’s nest crown. The retention time in defoliation classes differed for research sites. Transition dynamics were different only for trees in the highest defoliation class (dead trees). At the end of the study period, silver fir mortality was higher in the pure fir stand. Increased silver fir defoliation and mortality can be expected in the future, particularly in overmature stands under prolonged drought stress. Permanent forest monitoring could ensure the high-quality data needed for adaptive management of fir stands that could positively influence the structure of these stands and, thus, improve their health status.
Earthquake Evacuation Choice and Management in a Developing Archipelagic Country—A Case Study of Surigao City, Philippines

The Philippines is a developing archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. The country is susceptible to multiple natural disasters, specifically earthquakes. This implies the significance of understanding earthquake evacuation choice in order to design effective planning and management of evacuation to minimize chaos, damage cost, and the loss of lives. This study investigated the determinants of earthquake evacuation and proposed earthquake evacuation planning and management in the Philippines, featuring the case study of Surigao City. The study used the primary dataset of 1055 observations gathered in 2019 and applied the nested logit model (NLM) to investigate the potential factors of earthquake evacuation decisions. We considered three output variables: evacuation choice, evacuation duration, and travel mode choice. We found that residents were more likely to evacuate their homes upon receiving an earthquake warning and move to a public shelter or open space. Additionally, respondents were more inclined to leave their homes when their houses suffered from moderate to severe/complete damage or when electricity and water supply were cut-off. Respondents were most likely to walk to evacuation centers as the majority of residents initially moved to the nearest open space immediately after an earthquake and stayed in an open space for less than 6 hours. No correlation was found between personal and household income factors with evacuation choice and travel mode choice. Furthermore, the study used the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to determine areas suitable for earthquake evacuation using insights from local government officials and planners. The areas identified for earthquake evacuation were developed to support evacuation planning and management.
Progress in the sustainable recycling of spent lithium‐ion batteries

Lithium‐ion batteries (LIBs) are booming in multiple fields due to a rapid development in the last decade. However, limited by operational lifespans, a growing number of spent LIBs reaching the end of their lives are consequently faced with serious accumulation and descended to hazardous waste. Without proper disposal, the spent LIBs will inevitably cause negative influence on the ecology and undermine the sustainable manufacture of LIBs. The initial research of recycling strategies mainly focused on the optimization of metallurgical processes. Recently, the sustainability of the recycling process has attracted much more attention and become an important factor. Here, we summarize the recent progress of the spent LIBs recycling from a sustainable perspective, especially discussing the green innovations in recycling strategies for spent LIBs. Through this article, we expect to reveal the challenges and developing tendency of the recycling strategies and provide a guideline for future researches on processing spent LIBs and beyond, like the recycling of the solid‐state lithium metal batteries.
Dynamic Modeling and Control of a Parallel Mechanism Used in the Propulsion System of a Biomimetic Underwater Vehicle

Incorporation of parallel mechanisms inside propulsion systems in biomimetic autonomous underwater vehicles (BAUVs) is a novel approach for motion generation. The vehicle to which the studied propulsion system is implemented presents thunniform locomotion, and its thrust depends mainly on the oscillation from its caudal fin. This paper describes the kinematic and dynamic modeling of a 3-DOF spherical 3UCU-1S parallel robotic system to which the caudal fin of a BAUV is attached. Lagrange formalism was employed for inverse dynamic modeling, and its derivation is detailed throughout this paper. Additionally, the implementation of control strategies to compute forces required to actuate limbs to change platform’s flapping frequencies was developed. Four controllers: classic PD, a feedforward plus feedback PD, an adaptive Fuzzy-PD, and a feedforward plus Fuzzy-PD were compared in different simulations. Results showed that augmenting oscillating frequencies (from 0.5 to 5 Hz) increased the complexity of the path tracking task, where the classic control strategy (i.e., PD) was not sufficient, reaching percentage errors above 9%. Control strategies using feedforward terms combined with adaptive feedback techniques reduced tracking error below 2% even during the presence of external disturbances.
Roles of a hydrogen bond donor and a hydrogen bond acceptor in the extraction of toluene from n-heptane using deep eutectic solvents

As analogues of ionic liquids, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) have attracted considerable attention in the field of separating aromatics from aromatics/aliphatics mixtures. In this work, the performance of a series of DESs was evaluated for their selective extraction of toluene from toluene/n-heptane mixtures. The results showed that the extraction ability for toluene using DESs was greatly influenced by hydrogen bond acceptors (HBAs) and hydrogen bond donors (HBDs) which formed the DESs. The selectivity of toluene was distinctly enhanced by short side chains, a small central atom of the cation and a large anion of the HBA, together with a suitable position for an alkyl chain and appropriate functional group of the HBD. It was also found that an increase of extraction temperature at the studied range could enhance the selectivity for toluene. This work makes the roles of HBAs and HBDs clear in the extraction of aromatics, providing information for designing more effective DESs for aromatics extraction.
Emotional regulation strategies (ER) used by trainees to overcome negative emotions.

OBJECTIVE To identify the use of different emotion regulation strategies by medical trainees, and to determine the frequency and the predominant pattern of emotional response in emotion-triggering situations. METHODS The descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at 2 public and 1 private medical college in Lahore, Pakistan, from March to September 2019, and comprised postgraduate medical trainees of either gender from all clinical disciplines from years 1-4. Data was collected using a questionnaire based on the Gross theory of emotional regulation and the Situational model of emotion. Emotion regulation strategies included situation selection, situation modification, cognitive change, attention deployment, and response modulation. Data was analysed using SPSS 25. RESULTS Of the 377 trainees approached, 308(81.69%) participated; 206(67%) females and 102(33%) males. The overall mean age was 27.8 ± 2.91 years. The majority of the trainees were from the Obstetrics and Gynaecology department 133(43.2%) and were in the first year of their training 116(37.7%). The most frequent emotiontriggering situation identified was prolonged working hours 292(95%), and the major emotional response was quietness in 5 out of ten situations (50%). The trainees used greater emotion regulation strategies in sad situations 3.49±1.79 (p<0.01). Trainees managed sad emotions by keeping themselves involved in other activities 152 (49%); in anger, they blamed others 124(40.3%); in fear, they opted for suppression of emotions 71(22.7%); in disgust, they preferred avoidance 90(29.2%); and in shock, acceptance was a common strategy 21(12.7%). CONCLUSIONS Postgraduate medical trainees struggled to manage emotions and used maladaptive strategies.