Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Modelling Multi-Species Connectivity at the Kafue-Zambezi Interface: Implications for Transboundary Carnivore Conservation

Linking wildlife areas with corridors facilitating species dispersal between core habitats is a key intervention to reduce the deleterious effects of population isolation. Large heterogeneous networks of areas managed for wildlife protection present site- and species-scale complexity underpinning the scope and performance of proposed corridors. In Southern Africa, the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area seeks to link Kafue National Park to a cluster of wildlife areas centered in Namibia and Botswana. To assess and identify potential linkages on the Zambian side, we generated a high-resolution land cover map and combined empirical occurrence data for Lions (Panthera leo), Leopards (Panthera pardus) and Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) to build habitat suitability maps. We then developed four connectivity models to map potential single and multi-species corridors between Kafue and the Zambezi River border with Namibia. Single and multi-species connectivity models selected corridors follow broadly similar pathways narrowing significantly in central-southern areas of the Kafue-Zambezi interface, indicating a potential connectivity bottleneck. Capturing the full extent of human disturbance and barriers to connectivity remains challenging, suggesting increased risk to corridor integrity than modelled here. Notwithstanding model limitations, these data provide important results for land use planners at the Kafue-Zambezi Interface, removing much speculations from existing connectivity narratives. Failure to control human disturbance and secure corridors will leave Kafue National Park, Zambia’s majority component in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area, isolated.
Design of a parallel crank-rocker flapping mechanism for insect-inspired micro air vehicles

Abstract In the current paper, a novel micro air vehicle (MAV) flapping mechanism for replicating insect wing kinematics is presented. Insects flap their wings in a complex motion that enables them to generate several unsteady aerodynamic mechanisms, which are extremely beneficial for lift production. A flapping wing MAV that can reproduce these aerodynamic mechanisms in a controlled manner is likely to outperform alternative flight platforms such as rotary wing MAVs. A biomimetic design approach was undertaken to develop a novel flapping mechanism, the parallel crank-rocker (PCR). Unlike several existing flapping mechanisms (which are compared using an original classification method), the PCR mechanism has an integrated flapping and pitching output motion which is not constrained. This allows the wing angle of attack, a key kinematic parameter, to be adjusted and enables the MAV to enact manoeuvres and have flight stability. Testing of a near-MAV scale PCR prototype using a high-speed camera showed that the flapping angle and adjustable angle of attack both closely matched predicted values, proving the mechanism can replicate insect wing kinematics. A mean lift force of 3.35 g was measured with the prototype in a hovering orientation and flapping at 7.15 Hz.
Research in International new Product Development: Current Understanding and future imperatives

Successful new product and service development increasingly relies on the ability to adopt an international perspective, throughout the development process itself, and by targeting international or global markets, rather than simply serving domestic customers. Yet, although there exists an impressive body of research concerning the management of new product development, the evidence base with respect to international (or global) new product development practices and management is largely in its infancy, and is, at best, fragmented. This guest editorial provides a synopsis of the main research streams in the broad field of international new product development, highlighting major gaps in current knowledge and understanding. The special issue is a modest attempt at tapping current thoughts and research investigations in this critical area, seeking, also, to stimulate much‐needed debate and further research. One article examines whether international diversity is positively associated with new product development performance. Two articles tackle the role that national culture plays in influencing consumer acceptance of new products (technology) on the one hand, and firms’ global new product development approach on the other. A final article investigates technology transfer as a special case of new technology adoption in developing markets.
Recent advances in high temperature, high frequency SiC devices

Silicon carbide (SiC) is an emerging semiconductor which has proven to be well suited to high temperature power switching and high-frequency power generation. This paper examines recent advances in materials development and device performance. In boule growth, we have focused on increasing boule diameter and reducing defect counts. Two conductivity types have been developed: (1) undoped semi-insulating for MESFETs, and (2) nitrogen doped highly conducting boules for SITs and power switches. Very uniform planetary multiwafer epitaxial layer growth on these wafers is described, in which specular epitaxial layers have been obtained with growth rates of 3-5 /spl mu/m/hr, exhibiting unintentional n-type doping of /spl sim/1/spl times/10/sup 15/ cm/sup -3/, and associated room temperature Hall mobilities of /spl sim/1000 cm/sup 2//Vs. Controlled n-type doping between /spl sim/5/spl times/10/sup 15/ cm/sup -3/ and >1/spl times/10/sup 18/ cm/sup -3/ has also been demonstrated using nitrogen doping. SiC finds application in high temperature power switching devices and microwave power transistors. MOS turn-off thyristors (MTO/sup TM/) are being investigated as power switches because they offer ease of turn-off, 500/spl deg/C operation and reduced cooling requirements. In the fabrication of high power, high frequency transistors at UHF, L-band, S-band and X-band, SiC has been found superior to both silicon and GaAs. For example, a 4H-SiC UHF television module has demonstrated good signal fidelity at the 2000 W PEP level, S-band transistors have shown 300 W peak power for radar applications, and 6 W power output has been obtained at X-band.
Antidepressants and Circadian Rhythm: Exploring Their Bidirectional Interaction for the Treatment of Depression

Scientific evidence that circadian rhythms affect pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics has highlighted the importance of drug dosing-time. Circadian oscillations alter drug absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME) as well as intracellular signaling systems, target molecules (e.g., receptors, transporters, and enzymes), and gene transcription. Although several antidepressant drugs are clinically available, less than 50% of depressed patients respond to first-line pharmacological treatments. Chronotherapeutic approaches to enhance the effectiveness of antidepressants are not completely known. Even so, experimental results found until this day suggest a positive influence of drug dosing-time on the efficacy of depression therapy. On the other hand, antidepressants have also demonstrated to modulate circadian rhythmicity and sleep–wake cycles. This review aims to evidence the potential of chronotherapy to improve the efficacy and/or safety of antidepressants. It includes pre-clinical and clinical studies that demonstrate the relevance of determining the most appropriate time of administration for antidepressant drugs. In parallel, their positive influence on the resynchronization of disrupted circadian rhythms is also herein discussed. It is expected that this review will promote the investigation of chronotherapy for the treatment of depression, contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between antidepressants and circadian rhythms, and consequently promote the development of new therapeutics.
Study of Influence of Crossed Slot Geometry on Main Beam Direction

This paper is devoted to investigate dependence of the radiation pattern on crossed slot antenna geometry. The considered slot, fed by a coplanar waveguide, consists of two rectangular parts positioned at angle α to each other. This study has a primary aim to reveal the optimal angle α to provide the maximum gain of considered antenna as well as of its linear arrays. The simulated radiation properties are discussed in the paper.
Constraints in Adoption of Livestock Development Interventions among Livestock Farmers in Davanagere District

Livestock sector plays a crucial role in socio-economic development of farmers in rural areas, which in turn improves the national economy. For better productivity the rural farmers need different types of information and knowledge related to different scientific managemental practices and different interventions for different problems. In this regard, the study was undertaken to assess the constraints in adoption of livestock development interventions among livestock farmers in Davanagere district. An ex-post facto research design was employed for the study. The study was conducted in ten villages of two taluks of Davanagere district and total of 100 beneficiaries were randomly selected which included 36 beneficiaries in establishment of fodder nursery, 30 beneficiaries in establishment of rural hatchery unit. Whereas, all the 100 respondents were involved in prevention and control of Sub clinical mastitis (SCM). The data was collected from the respondents through interview schedule. The collected data was coded, tabulated and analysed using suitable statistical tools. The study revealed that, majority of beneficiaries reported increased annual income and employment generation. Non-availability of fertilizers, non-availability of improved desi chicks at nearest place and high cost of veterinary medicine were the major constraints in establishment of fodder nursery, establishment of rural hatchery unit and prevention and control of SCM respectively. Thus, Sujala III project had a great scope for improving productivity; profitability and facilitated an accelerated and sustainable transformation of animal husbandry activities.
Nasopharyngeal Swabs vs. Nasal Aspirates for Respiratory Virus Detection: A Systematic Review

Nasal pathogen detection sensitivities can be as low as 70% despite advances in molecular diagnostics. This may be linked to the choice of sampling method. A diagnostic test accuracy review for sensitivity was undertaken to compare sensitivity of swabbing to the nasopharynx and extracting nasal aspirates, using the PRISMA protocol, Cochrane rapid review methodology, and QUADAS-2 risk of bias tools, with meta-analysis of included studies. Sensitivities were calculated by a consensus standard of positivity by either method as the ‘gold standard. ’ Insufficient sampling methodology, cross sectional study designs, and studies pooling samples across anatomical sites were excluded. Of 13 subsequently eligible studies, 8 had ‘high’ risk of bias, and 5 had ‘high’ applicability concerns. There were no statistical differences in overall sensitivities between collection methods for eight different viruses, and this did not differ with use of PCR, immunofluorescence, or culture. In one study alone, Influenza H1N1(2009) favored nasopharyngeal swabs, with aspirates having 93.3% of the sensitivity of swabs (p > 0.001). Similarly equivocal sensitivities were noted in reports detecting bacteria. The chain of sampling, from anatomical site to laboratory results, features different potential foci along which sensitivity may be lost. A fair body of evidence exists that use of a different sampling method will not yield more respiratory pathogens.
ApproxBioWear: Approximating Additions for Efficient Biomedical Wearable Computing at the Edge

Wearables in the biomedical domain have been of extensive use in the current era. Given the importance of wearable computing, it has become necessary to innovate on enhancing hardware efficiency. The domain of approximate computing offers a conclusive method to lower area, power and delay in hardware in addition to a marginal loss in accuracy. In this paper, we investigate ApproxBioWear, a technique which enables the use of approximate computing for efficient biomedical wearable computing at the edge. The methodology involves approximating additions during the functional stages of an error-resilient biomedical signal processing algorithm and determining the application accuracy. Upon evaluating the Pan-Tompkins algorithm, which is used to detect QRS peaks in ECG signals, it is observed that the ApproxBioWear approach reduces the power consumption and chip area by 19.27% and 19.71% respectively on an average with a marginal loss in accuracy.
PREDICATIVE ANALYSIS OF DIABETICS PATIENTS BY USING RECOMMENDER SYSTEM IN DATA MINING APPROACH – A SURVEY

The field of mining in healthcare is inevitable in each and every field of analytical survey and to find the predication for precautions. In order to ensemble the data mining methods, also known as committee methods or model or recommender systems combiners are machine learning methods that leverage the power of multiple models to achieve better prediction accuracy than any of the individual models could on their own. The objective of this method comprising two major aspects: an expert for domain specific knowledge and the advisor to provide the source of information. The paper focusing on the simulation study for these two factors synthesizer in data mining aspect in order to analyse the reasons of diabetic patients history and provides the panel of advises to reduce the ratio
Simulating the impact of noise on gait features extracted from smartphone sensor-data for the remote assessment of movement disorders

Signs and symptoms of movement disorders can be remotely measured at home through sensor-based assessment of gait. However, sensor noise may impact the robustness of such assessments, in particular in a Bring-Your-Own-Device setting where the quality of sensors might vary. Here, we propose a framework to study the impact of inertial measurement unit noise on sensor-based gait features. This framework includes synthesizing realistic acceleration signals from the lower back during a gait cycle in OpenSim, estimating the magnitude of sensor noise from five smartphone models, perturbing the synthesized acceleration signal with the estimated noise in a Monte Carlo simulation, and computing gait features. In addition, we show that realistic levels of sensor noise have only a negligible impact on step power, a measure of gait.
Racial and Socioeconomic Disparities in the Relationship Between Children’s Early Literacy Skills and Third-Grade Outcomes: Lessons From a Kindergarten Readiness Assessment

Federal accountability policy mandates that states administer standardized tests beginning in third grade. In turn, third-grade test scores are often viewed as a key indicator in policy and practice. Yet literacy struggles begin well before third grade, as do racial and socioeconomic disparities in children’s literacy skills. Kindergarten readiness assessments provide a unique opportunity to better understand the emergence of literacy disparities. We use unique kindergarten literacy data from nearly every school division in Virginia to document the relationship between children’s early literacy skills and their later reading proficiency. When comparing children with similar literacy skills at kindergarten entry, we find significant racial and socioeconomic differences in the likelihood that a child will be proficient on their third-grade reading assessment.
EVALUATION OF CLOVER AND CORN STALKS STRAW AS ALTERNATIVE LITTER MATERIALS TO WHEAT STRAW FOR RAISING LOCAL TURKEY

SUMMARY A total number of one hundred and eighty birds aged 8 weeks were randomly assigned into three equal groups to investigate the effect of using clover and corn stalks straw as alternative litter materials on growth performance, carcass characteristics, leg problems, breast blisters, airborne and litter conditions of local turkey. Birds in the first group were raised on wheat straw litter and were considered the control (C). While the second, and third groups (T1 and T2) were raised on clover and corn stalks straw, respectively. All experimental birds were raised under similar environmental and managerial conditions. Body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion, carcass weights, airborne dust particulates, litter pH and bacterial count were not different between treatments. However, the incidence of leg problems and breast blisters were decreased with clover litter. Otherwise, corn stalks chips decreased litter moisture percentage, caking score and ammonia concentrations inside the poultry house, which positively reflected on the health condition of the birds. From these results and economical efficiency, it could be concluded that, using clover and corn stalks straw as economical alternative litter materials for local turkey is highly recommended.
The Architecture of Plant Crowns

Introduction 101 Plant Design 103 Basic Architecture of Terrestrial Plants 103 Modular Nature of Plants 103 Scaling Up and Down 104 Ecology of Branch Autonomy 104 Modularity versus Integrity 105 Plant Biomechanics: Coping with Gravity and Wind 105 Development of a Crown Shape 107 Crown Architecture and Models of Growth 107 Branching: The Framework of a Crown 108 Arrangement of Leaves 110 Classifying Crown Architectures 113 Functional Insights into Architectural Classifications 113 Real Crowns: Imperfect Architectures or Controlled Variability? 114 Structural Determinants of Light Capture 115 Shaping the Foliage: The Single-Crown Level 115 Crown Size and Shape 116 Geometry of Foliage Arrangement within the Crown 118 Changing Geometries: Leaf Movements and Rolling 125 Crown Architecture in Extreme Light Environments 126 When Light is Scarce 126 When Light is Excessive 129 Occupying Space and Casting Shade: The Community Level 131 Plasticity, Stress, and Evolution 137 Acknowledgments 139 References 139
Analysis of Class I Genes and Patterning Genes in D. Melanogaster

In D. melanogaster, the DNA-binding protein Zelda is a master transcriptional activator that is required for the maternal-to-zygotic transition and promotes timely and robust transcriptional activation of embryogenesis. The aim of this paper is to analyse the differences and similarities between patterning genes and class I genes in terms of their zld regulated expression on genetic and physiological levels in Drosophila.
A qualifications trap in the German construction industry: changing the production model and the consequences for the training system in the German construction industry

German construction companies traditionally rely on qualified workers. This has influenced both their production model (work organization on site) and their policy towards training and education. Due to the massive inflow of workers from countries with low labour costs, firms may fundamentally change this model to a new one which is distinguished by the combination of less qualified workers with a larger number of managers for instruction, supervision and control. This change is initially likely to have a considerable knock-on effect on the training system. However, what is even worse is that the new model is not likely to work in the long run. To date the construction industry has acquired its site managers and supervisors directly from the pool of qualified workers. By reducing training it produces a shortage of the very resource inevitably needed to be able to reduce training. The industry will fall into a qualifications trap. What is more significant is that this trap is shown as a first step towards lowering corporate image, quality of human resources, productivity and, in the end, competitiveness.
On-Site Information Systems Design for Emergency First Responders

This paper explores the design specification of on-site emergency response information systems. In particular how emerging technologies such as wireless sensor networks, RFID, and wireless communication technologies, might enable on-site dynamic information to be retrieved, shared, and presented to the first responders. The information needed for an emergency response is discussed and end-user requirements are identified through extensive interviews with fire fighters together with observation made of fire emergency response training simulations. These requirements are considered in relation to the identified responsibilities of the core members in the first responder hierarchy. On-site dynamic information collection is discussed in terms of wireless sensor networks and radio frequency identification technologies, and information sharing among the first responders is implemented based on a local wireless communication network. The on-site dynamic information required by emergency personnel is presented at three situation awareness levels in order to meet the various requirements of the first responders. Finally, a prototype information system for fire and rescue services is discussed to illustrate and evaluate the methods proposed in this paper. This work outlines the basic design principles and practice of on-site information systems for emergency first responders and shows that such an information system could greatly improve their performance as well as reducing the risks they face, once the emerging technologies are in place to implement them. Although our focus was on structural fire and fire fighters, the on-site emergency response system proposed here is applicable to other emergency response as well, due to the existence of common training methods and standard operating procedures.
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THERMOACOUSTIC GAS OSCILLATIONS IN A PIPE WITH TOROIDAL HEAT EXCHANGE ELEMENTS

The paper simulates the modes of a gas flow in a pipe closed at one end and open to the atmosphere at the other end; for this purpose, a numerical solution of the system of Navier – Stokes equations in a two-dimensional axisymmetric formulation has been used. The excitation of oscillations of gasdynamic functions is caused by the temperature gradient in the pipe section resulting from the contact of the gas with differently heated toroidal elements inside the pipe, their temperature being maintained constant. When the specified gradient reaches the threshold value, a stable thermoacoustic oscillation of the gas column is observed in the pipe. The time dependences of the pressure and the axial component of the gas velocity, as well as the heat flows in the heat exchange unit of the resonator, were calculated. The obtained results were in good agreement with the experimental data.
Emotional charactristics of personality, cognitive problems, emotional regulation strategies and marital adjustment: a comparative study in women with high and low fear of infidility

Research Paper Emotional charactristics of personality, cognitive problems, emotional regulation strategies and marital adjustment: a comparative study in women with high and low fear of infidility Seyed Saeid Purnaghash Tehrani, Somayeh Ghasemi Morodi, Seyed MohammadReza Rezazadeh 1. Associate Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. 2. M.A in Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran. 3. Assistant Professor, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.