Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Correlation between in vitro sperm kinetic, oxidative stress assessments and field fertility of cryopreserved bull semen

This study assessed kinetic parameters and oxidative stress in bull sperm after post-thaw (PT) or after sperm selection by Percoll™ gradient, and thermo resistance test (SS + TRT) to identify useful indicators of field fertility. For the experiment, commercial doses of frozen semen were obtained from six Aberdeen Angus bulls. Three of the bulls were classified as high fertility and three as low fertility according to the IFert™ index provided by the international breeding company CRV Lagoa. Pooled semen samples were distributed between two treatment groups for analysis: post-thaw (PT) or sperm selection (SS) (Percoll™) and thermal resistance test (SS + TRT). The samples were evaluated using sperm kinetics (CASA) (motility %, progressive motility %, VCL µm/s, VSL µm/s, VAP µm/s, LIN %, STR % and WOB%), production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase (SOD) enzyme activity and total antioxidant capacity. Data were analyzed using Two-Way ANOVA, considering the fertility index, the treatment used in the samples as effects, and the interaction between these factors. When a significant effect was observed, the values were compared using the Bonferroni test. A Pearson Correlation analysis was performed between the fertility indices and the sperm parameters analyzed in vitro, to evaluate the relationship between sperm quality and the fecundity rate obtained by the bulls. Sperm kinetic parameters, including total motility, progressive motile, and beat cross-frequency, were higher in low fertility compared to high fertility bulls (P < 0.05). However, curvilinear velocity was greater in high fertility bulls followed by SS + TRT. Straight-line velocity, average path velocity, linearity, and beat cross-frequency beat were higher in high fertility bulls after SS + TRT. Reactive oxygen species was correlated with fertility after SS. In addition, there was a decrease in lipid peroxidation was observed only in high fertility bulls. However, lipid peroxidation and high fertility were correlated after PT and SS + TRT. The combination of in vitro sperm kinetic parameters predicted in vivo fertility more accurately than individual kinetic parameters. The lipid peroxidation of sperm is an important indicator of fertility in bulls. High fertility bulls appeared to be more susceptible to lipid peroxidation, which was only reduced in high fertility bulls, suggesting that their sperm can repair the damage induced by oxidative stress.
New Metal Complexes Derived from Azo Linked Schiff-Base ligand: Synthesis, Spectral Investigation and Biological Evaluation

A new azo-Schiff base ligand derived from a p-anisidine molecule, as well as its monomeric metal complexes, were synthesized and studied. The titled ligand, (1-((E)-((4-methoxy phenyl) imino) methyl)-3-((E)-(4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl) naphthalen-2-ol) (HL), was synthesized by a 1:1 mole ratio reaction of p-anisidine and ((E)-2-hydroxy-3-((4-nitrophenyl)diazenyl). In a mole ratio of 1:1 (L:M), the interaction of HL with chosen metal ions, including Cr(III), Mn(II), Co(II), Ni(II), and Cu(II), resulted in the creation of monomeric coordination compounds. The synthesized compounds were analyzed using a variety of analytical and spectroscopic techniques. Elemental microanalysis, 1H and 13C NMR, FT-IR, electronic and mass spectra, magnetic susceptibility, and conductance are among the techniques used. The synthesis of six and four-coordinate coordination molecules was confirmed by characterization data. Thermal stability (TGA) of HL and Co-complex is investigated. The antibacterial activity of the synthesized compounds was investigated against a variety of microorganisms (bacteria and fungus species). According to the data gathered, the ligand's antibacterial effectiveness improved after forming a complex.
Evidence of ancient sea surges at the mamallapuram coast of India and implications for previous Indian Ocean tsunami events

The Indian Ocean may have a geologic history of tsunami events similar in size and source area comparable to that of the 26 December 2004 event. Searching for geological evidence for previous tsunamis in the near-source region is one way to constrain previous occurrence of such events. Since the 2004 tsunami proved devastating even far from its source, evidence for predecessors can be sought in remote locations, including the east and southwest coasts of India. Here we report observations from two trenches in the Mamallapuram (Mahabalipuram) beach, 55 km south of Chennai (Madras) on the east coast of India, an area also affected by the 2004 tsunami. We discuss the possibility that the sections in question may contain evidence to suggest two pre-2004 tsunami events occurring ∼ 1000 years and -1500 years ago respectively.
On Rapid Development of Reactive Wireless Sensor Systems

Abstract We present a software platform for designing and testing wireless networks of sensors and actuators (WSNs). The platform consists of three components: an operating system for small-footprint microcontrollers (dubbed PicOS), a software development kit (SDK) amounting to a C-based, event-oriented (reactive) programming language, and a virtual execution platform (VUE2) capable of emulating complete deployment environments for WSNs and thus facilitating their rapid development.1 Its most recent incarnation introduced in the present paper is a component of the WSN lab being currently set up at Vistula in collaboration with Olsonet Communications Corporation.2 We highlight the platform’s most interesting features within the context of a production WSN installed at independent-living facilities.
Non-Surgical Interventions for the Prevention of Clinically Relevant Postoperative Pancreatic Fistula—A Narrative Review

Simple Summary Clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) continues to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality after pancreatic surgery. Attempts to prevent the complication have recently expanded to involve non-surgical interventions to supplement surgical solutions and minimise the associated post-pancreatectomy acute pancreatitis. The following narrative review identified ten strategies reported in the literature, including neoadjuvant therapy, somatostatin and its analogues, antibiotics, analgesia, corticosteroids, protease inhibitors, miscellaneous interventions with few reports, combination strategies, nutrition, and fluids. As the reported efficacy of these strategies varied, further higher-powered studies are needed to determine if any of the preventative approaches can be recommended for routine CR-POPF prophylaxis. By reducing CR-POPF, patients may avoid morbid sequelae, experience shorter hospital stays, and ensure timely delivery of adjuvant therapy, overall aiding survival where prognosis, particularly in pancreatic cancer patients, is poor. Abstract Clinically relevant postoperative pancreatic fistula (CR-POPF) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality after pancreatic surgery. Post-pancreatectomy acute pancreatitis (PPAP) has been increasingly understood as a precursor and exacerbator of CR-POPF. No longer believed to be the consequence of surgical technique, the solution to preventing CR-POPF may lie instead in non-surgical, mainly pharmacological interventions. Five databases were searched, identifying eight pharmacological preventative strategies, including neoadjuvant therapy, somatostatin and its analogues, antibiotics, analgesia, corticosteroids, protease inhibitors, miscellaneous interventions with few reports, and combination strategies. Two further non-surgical interventions studied were nutrition and fluids. New potential interventions were also identified from related surgical and experimental contexts. Given the varied efficacy reported for these interventions, numerous opportunities for clarifying this heterogeneity remain. By reducing CR-POPF, patients may avoid morbid sequelae, experience shorter hospital stays, and ensure timely delivery of adjuvant therapy, overall aiding survival where prognosis, particularly in pancreatic cancer patients, is poor.
To be or not to be hallucinating: Implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders

Abstract The boundaries between waking and sleeping—when falling asleep (hypnagogic) or waking up (hypnopompic)—can be challenging for our ability to monitor and interpret reality. Without proper understanding, bizarre but relatively normal hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences can be misinterpreted as psychotic hallucinations (occurring, by definition, in the fully awake state), potentially leading to stigma and misdiagnosis in clinical contexts and to misconception and bias in research contexts. This Perspective proposes that conceptual and practical understanding for differentiating hallucinations from hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences may be offered by lucid dreaming, the state in which one is aware of dreaming while sleeping. I first introduce a possible systematization of the phenomenological range of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences that can occur in the transition from awake to REM dreaming (including hypnagogic perceptions, transition symptoms, sleep paralysis, false awakenings, and out-of-body experiences). I then outline how metacognitive strategies used by lucid dreamers to gain/confirm oneiric lucidity could be tested for better differentiating hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences from hallucinations. The relevance of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming is analyzed for schizophrenia and narcolepsy, and discussed for neurodegenerative diseases, particularly Lewy-body disorders (i.e. Parkinson's disease, Parkinson's disease dementia, and dementia with Lewy bodies), offering testable hypotheses for empirical investigation. Finally, emotionally positive lucid dreams triggered or enhanced by training/induction strategies or by a pathological process may have intrinsic therapeutic value if properly recognized and guided. The overall intention is to raise awareness and foster further research about the possible diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications of hypnagogic/hypnopompic experiences and lucid dreaming for brain disorders.
Challenge Level Contributes to the Efficacy of Treadmill Interventions after Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Intervention parameters such as the challenge, amount, and dosage (challenge × amount) have the potential to alter the efficacy of rehabilitation interventions after stroke. This systematic review investigated the effect of intervention parameters of challenge, amount, and dosage on improvements in walking outcomes following treadmill training (TT) and comparison interventions in people with stroke. Randomized controlled trials were included if they: (i) investigated interventions of TT or bodyweight-supported TT (BWSTT); (ii) made comparisons with other physiotherapy interventions, other types of TT, or no intervention; (iii) studied people with stroke; (iv) reported sufficient data on challenge and amount parameters; and (v) measured walking speed or endurance. Completeness of reporting was evaluated using the TIDieR-Rehab checklist and risk of bias was assessed using the revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool. The review included 26 studies; 15 studies compared TT or BWSTT with other physiotherapy interventions and 11 studies compared different types of TT. Meta-analyses provided evidence with low to moderate certainty that greater differences in challenge and dosage between treadmill and comparison physiotherapy interventions produced greater effects on walking endurance (p < 0.01). However, challenge and dosage did not influence walking speed outcomes. The analysis of intervention amount was limited by the lack of studies that manipulated the amount of intervention. Overall, the findings indicate that, after stroke, some of the efficacy of TT on walking endurance can be explained by the challenge level during training. This supports the implementation of TT at higher challenge levels in stroke rehabilitation practice.
Design of Unmaned Surfaces Vehicle System Based on Coordinates and Internet of Things for Semi Automatic Shrimp Feeding

This research develops an automatic feeder vessel for catfish farming. The aim is to increase the efficiency of feeding. In trials, the ship produced 113 grams of feed in 10 seconds and 716 grams in 60 seconds. Ship speed and radius affect GPS accuracy. The implementation of automatic feeding vessels in ponds worked well, following routes, providing feed according to the program, and transmitting data via IoT. This research contributes to overcoming the problem of equal distribution of feed in catfish farming with automatic feeders to increase the efficiency and productivity of aquaculture.
The Cultural Politics of 'Community' and Citizenship in the District Six Museum, Cape Town Forthcoming in Anthropologica Special Issue: Citizenship, Politics and Locality: Anthropological Perspectives, ed. Catherine Neveu, Vol 50 (2) 2008. (Comments welcome)

This paper examines the representation ofcommunity' in the District Six Museum, and its deployment in citizenship struggles in District Six and Cape Town. It discusses the connection between the Museum's participatory project of memorialization, and its positioning in relation to the land restitution and redevelopment process in District Six, as well as in urban reconstruction in Cape Town more broadly.
Environmental Change and Chronic Famine in Manbhum, Bengal District, 1860-1910

Global Environment 6 (2011): 68–94 The present paper examines the chronic occurrence of famine in Manbhum after the 1860s due to environmental degradation. Colonial intervention from the late 18th century onwards led to a process of transformation of the area. Ecological intervention was the prime factor behind this transformation. The agrarian conquest of Manbhum in the 19th century not only changed the local land use pattern, it transformed the agrarian structure and led to deforestation. The increase in commodity production and the expansion of monoculture badly shook the ecological balance of the area. Environmental change ultimately led to water and nutritional crises. The denudation of forests deprived people of alternative food sources during scarcity. Though the British idea of progress was based on agricultural advancement, this was carried out at the expense of the forest and was quite unsuited to the characteristics of the area. In general, monocultures of short-lived annual plants, a typical agricultural strategy in temperate zones, are inappropriate for tropical regions. The sustainable economy of the local adivasis (aboriginals) was permanently destabilised, and the district made vulnerable to famine. In the late 19th century the area faced several harsh famines. The adivasis tried to survive on the products of what was left of the jungle as their paddy crops failed. They not only collected starchy root tubers such as pan alu, a wild variety of ole (Amophophallus campanulatus [Araceae]), and others, and the flowers of the mahua (Madhuca indica, Gmelin [Combretaceae]) as a primary food source from forests, and tamarind leaves (Tamarindus indica L., Family Leguminosae) as spice, but also cultivated indigenous low-cost cereals such as eri, gundlu, marua, sama, and others for survival. These cereals, although their yields were low, could be cultivated even under drought conditions because of their low water requirements (jowar, bazra and ragi were also used for the same purpose).
Robust modelling of the impacts of climate change on the habitat suitability of forest tree species

In Europe, forests play a strategic multifunctional role, serving economic, social and environmental purposes. However, forests are among the most complex systems and their interaction with the ongoing climate change – and the multifaceted chain of potential cascading consequences for European biodiversity, environment, society and economy – is not yet well understood. The JRC PESETA project series proposes a consistent multi-sectoral assessment of the impacts of climate change in Europe. Within the PESETA II project, a robust methodology is introduced for modelling the habitat suitability of forest tree species (2071-2100 time horizon). Abies alba (the silver fir) is selected as a case study: a main European tree species often distributed in bioclimatically complex areas, spanning over various forest types and with multiple populations adapted to different conditions. The modular modelling architecture is based on relative distance similarity (RDS) estimates which link field observations with bioclimatic patterns, projecting their change under climate scenarios into the expected potential change of suitable habitat for tree species. Robust management of uncertainty is also examined. Both technical and interpretation core aspects are presented in an integrated overview. The semantics of the array of quantities under focus and the uneven sources of uncertainty at the continental scale are discussed (following the semantic array programming paradigm), with an effort to offer some minimal guidance on terminology, meaning and methodological limitations not only of the proposed approach, but also of the broad available literature – whose heterogeneity and partial ambiguity might potentially reverberate at the science-policy interface. ► How to cite: ◄ de Rigo, D. , Caudullo, G. , San-Miguel-Ayanz, J, Barredo, J.I. , 2017. Robust modelling of the impacts of climate change on the habitat suitability of forest tree species. Publication Office of the European Union, Luxembourg. 58 pp. ISBN:978-92-79-66704-6 , https://doi.org/10.2760/296501
An Exact Aspect Alignment Technique in Near-Field Radar Imagery

In this paper, a triple-laser goniometer (TLG) is designed which can be used for exact aspect alignment of an object under test in near-field radar imagery. The TLG adopts three displacement laser sensors to measure the azimuth and elevation angles through two measurements. A measurement geometry based angular calibration method is proposed to reduce the aspect alignment error. Experimental results are presented with the aspect angle errors being improved within 0.2°, demonstrating the usefulness of the proposed technique.
The Influence Of A STEM/STEAM Education Based High School on Students of The Ivoti Institute

The aim of this paper is to determine the difference between the STEM/STEAM education High School model and the Traditional Basic General education High School Model. Another important objective is to explain the benefits of the STEM/STEAM High School format being implemented in the Ivoti Institute, in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. I start by giving the definition of STEM/STEAM education, and then talk about the New High School format that is being used in the Ivoti Institute. I explain all the benefits and opportunities that this educational setting brings to the students, and how it has affected my life, personally. STEM/STEAM education is the future of education, and will be extremely effective in the development of critical and autonomous individuals.
Task-Specific Low-Power Beamforming MIMO Receiver Using 2-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converters

MIMO communication systems deliver higher data capacity and wide-area coverage. However, they traditionally apply brute-force data acquisition with spatial signal processing using high-resolution ADCs and costly analog pre-processing circuits, leading to high power consumption and hardware complexity. This work presents the first integrated task-specific MIMO receiver (TSMRx) with beamforming using low-bit ADCs and achieving spatial blocker rejection implemented in 65nm CMOS technology, leveraging the recently proposed task-specific digital signal processing techniques [1]–[2]. We co-design analog pre-processing circuits and task-specific digital signal processing to achieve RF front-end power savings while maintaining an accurate task (signal of interest) recovery. The analog pre-processing front end utilizes highly-reconfigurable Noise-Cancelling Constant-Gm Vector Modulators (VMs) that perform current-domain processing with embedded beamforming while exploiting sparsity and variable (coarse or fine) VM resolution. The TSMRx system achieves successful task recovery using low-resolution (2-bit) ADCs with coarse-quantized (4-point) VMs and a 25%-sparse analog combiner while consuming only 75–115 mW from a 1.3 V supply for 0.5-3 GHz, the lowest reported among the works [3]–[6] in a similar technology node and frequency range.
Dialogue Agents with Literary Character Personality Traits

To enhance the engagement of chatbots, we need to imbue them with unique personalities and speech patterns. However, creating a high-quality conversational training dataset for this task can be time-consuming and labor-intensive. To address this, we propose an automated system that uses character dialogues from literary works. We used the Chinese classic, (Dream of the Red Chamber), as our data source. Our system efficiently extracts dialogues and personality traits from the book, creates a personality map for each character, and generates responses that reflect these traits. It allows us to utilize the distinct linguistic styles that authors assign to characters with different personalities in classic books, making chatbots more human-like. Our evaluations demonstrate the efficacy of our system, with chatbots possessing personality traits proving more engaging than those lacking them. For transparency, we have made all our datasets and models available11Project Repository: https://github.com/SuperEDG/Hongloumeng_Project.
Polystyrene Waste Recycling Process as an Alternative Antistatic Packaging Raw Material

Composite synthesis from styrofoam (polystyrene-based) was carried out by solvent blending method in which the solvent used was gasoline. The carbon black (CB) was used as filler comes from coconut shells. The samples were given a variation of filler composition: 0, 1, 3, and 5% of the total weight of the composite to be formed. In this method, stirring was carried out for at least 120 minutes (200 rpm in atmospheric conditions). The stirring process is carried out until the mixture becomes homogeneous, as indicated by the slurry formation. After that, the process continues to the printing stage using glass mold and drying in a windy room that is sufficiently exposed to sunlight for 3 days. The sample obtained is a composite measuring 8 cm x 8 cm. The tests carried out were the ATR-FTIR, SEM, conductivity, and mechanical tests. From the results of the ATR-FTIR test, there was no visible difference between the styrofoam before being treated with the composites, thus proving that the solvent had evaporated. The results of the SEM test show that there are lumps in the sample with higher filler concentrations, so it is possible to need additional time or stirring speed to distributed the filler evenly. Meanwhile, the conductivity test proved that the addition of carbon-based filler could increase the conductivity of the composites.
A 1290 MHZ profiler with RASS for monitoring wind and temperature in the boundary layer

A boundary layer wind profiler with RASS is described operating at 1290 MHz in a quasi-operational mode at the Meteorological Observatory Lindenberg of the German Weather Service (DWD). It provides vertical profiles of wind and temperature from the lower atmosphere with a height resolution of 50m to 400 m and a time resolution of about 1 to 60 minutes. For an estimation of the system reliability, the availability of the measurements for all different height levels is analyzed. With regard to the data quality, a comparison of wind profiler/RASS and rawinsonde data is presented based on 856 wind and 451 temperature profiles. It reveals reasonable conformity of both sounding systems. Finally, case studies are shown, demonstrating the system ability to analyze some characteristic phenomena in the lower troposphere, which are unresolved temporally and spatially by the routine rawinsonde network.