Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recumbency as an Equine Welfare Indicator in Geriatric Horses and Horses with Chronic Orthopaedic Disease

Simple Summary Horses have to lie down to achieve rapid eye movement (REM) sleep. Horses that do not lie down for environmental reasons or pain suffer from an REM sleep deficiency that negatively affects their welfare and health. The present study aimed to assess the influence of chronic orthopedic disease and old age on the time horses lie down. Wearable automated sensor technology was used to monitor the time 83 old and young adult horses with or without chronic lameness spent lying down, moving, or standing. Interestingly, neither age nor lameness due to chronic orthopedic disease significantly influenced the time spent lying down. Horses showing symptoms of REM sleep deficiency had shorter lying times and reduced times spent moving, indicating a general compromise of their well-being. The study shows that wearable sensor technology can be used to identify horses with short recumbency times at risk for REM sleep deficiency. Furthermore, the technology can be used to assess and monitor equine welfare objectively and optimize husbandry conditions so that old horses and horses suffering from chronic orthopedic conditions can achieve lying-down times comparable to younger, healthy horses. Abstract Recumbency is a prerequisite for horses achieving rapid eye movement (REM) sleep and completing a full sleep cycle. An inability to lie down due to environmental insecurities or pain results in REM sleep deficiency, which can cause substantial impairment of welfare and health. Therefore, the present study used wearable automated sensor technology on 83 horses housed in an animal sanctuary to measure and compare the recumbency, locomotion, and standing time budgets of geriatric horses with and without chronic lameness to younger adult sound and lame horses. Recumbency times ranged from 0 to 319 min per day with an overall mean of 67.4 (±61.9) minutes; the time budget for locomotion was 19.1% (±11.2% s.d.) and for standing 75.6% (±13.1 s.d.). Interestingly, neither age nor lameness due to chronic orthopedic disease had a significant influence on recumbency times in this study. Eight horses showed symptoms of REM deficit. These horses had significantly shorter lying times (7.99 ± 11.4 min) and smaller locomotion time budgets than the other horses enrolled in this study (73.8 ± 61.8 min), indicating a general compromise of well-being. Thus, wearable sensor technology can be used to identify horses with low recumbency times at risk for REM sleep deficiency and to assess and monitor equine welfare objectively.
Sports, Executive Functions and Academic Performance: A Comparison between Martial Arts, Team Sports, and Sedentary Children

It is well known that curricular physical activity benefits children’s executive functions and academic performance. Therefore, this study aimed to determine whether there is an influence of extracurricular sports on executive functions and academic performance. However, it is less known which specific types of the sport better enhance executive functions in children; to investigate this issue, this study compared the performance on executive functions tasks and academic performance in one hundred and two boys and girls with an average age of 11.84 years recruited from Italian schools and gyms (N = 102), who participated in martial arts or team sports or were sedentary children. Executive functions were measured with the tests: Attenzione e Concentrazione, Digit Span test, Tower of London, IOWA Gambling task BVN 5-11, and BVN 12-18. Results demonstrated that children practicing martial arts showed better executive functioning and higher school marks than those involved in team sports or not involved in any sports. Furthermore, participants aged 12 to 15 years old outperformed in cool and hot executive functions tasks and had a better academic performance. Thus, the present findings supported the view that regular practice of extracurricular sports enhances executive functions development and consequently influences academic performance.
Hemispherical Resonator Gyro: an IRU for Cassini

The JPL Inertial Reference Unit (IRU) is the single most sophisticated assembly on the Cassini spacecraft. At the core of the IRU is the state-of-the-art, Litton Hemispherical Resonator Gyro (HRG). Launched in October 1997, Cassini's trajectory utilizes gravity assist maneuvers around Venus (two), Earth, and Jupiter over a seven year period, arriving at Saturn in June 2004. Its tour of the Saturnian system will last an additional four years. Although the Stellar Reference Unit (SRU) provides the ultimate reference for the spacecraft Attitude and Articulation Control System (AACS) and can be used to control the spacecraft under benign conditions, the Cassini IRU is essential during maneuvers and fault recovery operations, and for precision attitude stabilization during science data acquisition. Therefore, IRU reliability over the long Cassini mission is a critical concern. Following an extensive evaluation of possible alternatives, the Hemispherical Resonator Gyro (HRG) based IRU developed by Litton Guidance and Control Systems, was chosen for the Cassini mission. The HRG is an attitude rate sensor that has no physical wear-out mechanisms. Based on a principle first described by G. H. Bryan (1890) in his paper, 'On Beats in the Vibrations of a Revolving Cylinder or Bell', the HRG is created by vibrating a quartz resonator. This paper discusses the theory and modifications required to the design of the standard Space Inertial Reference Unit to adapt it to meet the requirements of the Cassini mission and the AACS interface. The Cassini mission is the first use of an IRU for a deep space planetary mission that does not use a spun-mass sensor.
In Vivo Healthy Benefits of Galacto-Oligosaccharides from Lupinus albus (LA-GOS) in Butyrate Production through Intestinal Microbiota

Animal digestive systems host microorganism ecosystems, including integrated bacteria, viruses, fungi, and others, that produce a variety of compounds from different substrates with healthy properties. Among these substrates, α-galacto-oligosaccharides (GOS) are considered prebiotics that promote the grow of gut microbiota with a metabolic output of Short Chain Fatty Acids (SCFAs). In this regard, we evaluated Lupinus albus GOS (LA-GOS) as a natural prebiotic using different animal models. Therefore, the aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of LA-GOS on the gut microbiota, SCFA production, and intestinal health in healthy and induced dysbiosis conditions (an ulcerative colitis (UC) model). Twenty C57BL/6 mice were randomly allocated in four groups (n = 5/group): untreated and treated non-induced animals, and two groups induced with 2% dextran sulfate sodium to UC with and without LA-GOS administration (2.5 g/kg bw). We found that the UC treated group showed a higher goblet cell number, lower disease activity index, and reduced histopathological damage in comparison to the UC untreated group. In addition, the abundance of positive bacteria to butyryl-CoA transferase in gut microbiota was significantly increased by LA-GOS treatment, in healthy conditions. We measured the SCFA production with significant differences in the butyrate concentration between treated and untreated healthy groups. Finally, the pH level in cecum feces was reduced after LA-GOS treatment. Overall, we point out the in vivo health benefits of LA-GOS administration on the preservation of the intestinal ecosystem and the promotion of SCFA production.
Demonstration of Multi-layered Macaroni Filler for Back-Biasing-Assisted Erasing Configuration in 3D V-NAND

—Controlling the erase speed of a NAND flash is one of the challenges in memory technology. As the planar NAND flash has evolved to the vertically integrated gate-all-around (GAA), the number of stacks of word-lines (WL) was increased for better packing density. However, potential transfer through the silicon substrate or metal bit-line (BL) is insufficient with the increased number of stacks. Hence, we propose a novel V-NAND structure including multi-layered macaroni filler. The proposed macaroni filler is composed of a dielectric outer layer and a metallic core layer. The metallic core layer makes back-biasing is possible in V-NAND. As a result, erase speed can be improved without large modification of fabrication process or device layout.
The Escherichia coli Outer Membrane β-Barrel Assembly Machinery (BAM) Crosstalks with the Divisome

The BAM is a macromolecular machine responsible for the folding and the insertion of integral proteins into the outer membrane of diderm Gram-negative bacteria. In Escherichia coli, it consists of a transmembrane β-barrel subunit, BamA, and four outer membrane lipoproteins (BamB-E). Using BAM-specific antibodies, in E. coli cells, the complex is shown to localize in the lateral wall in foci. The machinery was shown to be enriched at midcell with specific cell cycle timing. The inhibition of septation by aztreonam did not alter the BAM midcell localization substantially. Furthermore, the absence of late cell division proteins at midcell did not impact BAM timing or localization. These results imply that the BAM enrichment at the site of constriction does not require an active cell division machinery. Expression of the Tre1 toxin, which impairs the FtsZ filamentation and therefore midcell localization, resulted in the complete loss of BAM midcell enrichment. A similar effect was observed for YidC, which is involved in the membrane insertion of cell division proteins in the inner membrane. The presence of the Z-ring is needed for preseptal peptidoglycan (PG) synthesis. As BAM was shown to be embedded in the PG layer, it is possible that BAM is inserted preferentially simultaneously with de novo PG synthesis to facilitate the insertion of OMPs in the newly synthesized outer membrane.
Design and Analysis of Interior Permanent Magnet Motor for Electric Vehicle Application Considering Irreversible Demagnetization

The design of permanent magnet motors for the battery-powered electric vehicle has different aspects. In this study, the conceptual design process of an electric machine for Sedan Low car is presented. Based on the vehicle requirements, an interior permanent magnet motor with a maximum power of 120 kW with different slot/pole combinations is designed. To obtain the best slot/pole combination, The New European Driving Cycle in terms of crucial performance characteristics is compared. Given the importance of irreversible demagnetization phenomenon to an electric vehicle application, an accurate approach to determine the irreversible demagnetization rate is first introduced. Design tips are then proposed to reduce the probability of the irreversible demagnetization. Finally, fault-tolerant design in case of irreversible demagnetization withstand capability is carried out using a two-level Taguchi optimization approach. The results obtained from this study indicated that the proposed approach is effective in the fault-tolerant design of the permanent magnet machine for electric vehicle applications.
Diamond and Other Exotic Mineral-Bearing Ophiolites on the Globe: A Key to Understand the Discovery of New Minerals and Formation of Ophiolitic Podiform Chromitite

Ophiolite-hosted diamond from peridotites and podiform chromitites significantly differs from those of kimberlitic diamond and ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphic diamond in terms of occurrence, mineral inclusion, as well as carbon and nitrogen isotopic composition. In this review, we briefly summarize the global distribution of twenty-five diamond-bearing ophiolites in different suture zones and outline the bulk-rock compositions, mineral and particular Re-Os isotopic systematics of these ophiolitic chromitites and host peridotites. These data indicate that the subcontinental lithospheric mantle is likely involved in the formation of podiform chromitite. We also provide an overview of the UHP textures and unusual mineral assemblages, including diamonds, other UHP minerals (e.g., moissanite, coesite) and crustal minerals, which robustly offer evidence of crustal recycling in the deep mantle along the suprasubduction zone (SSZ) and then being transported to shallow mantle depths by asthenospheric mantle upwelling in mid-ocean-ridge and SSZ settings. A systematic comparison between four main genetic models provides insights into our understanding of the origin of ophiolite-hosted diamond and the formation of podiform chromitite. Diamond-bearing peridotites and chromitites in ophiolites are important objects to discover new minerals from the deep earth and provide clues on the chemical composition and the physical condition of the deep mantle.
Racket Control for a Table Tennis Robot to Return a Ball

This paper mainly proposes a racket control method for returning a table tennis ball to a desired position with a desired rotational velocity. The method determines the racket’s state, i.e., the racket’s striking posture and translational velocity by using two physical models: the racket rebound model and the aerodynamics model. The algorithm of determining the racket’s state is derived by solving nonlinear equations and solving a two-point boundary value problem of a differential equation. But this is not suitable for a real-time process because of large computing time. The paper proposed a modified algorithm which could be used for a real-time process by introducing a simple aerodynamics model. Numerical simulations and experimental results show effectiveness of the proposed methods.
GoldBricks: an improved cloning strategy that combines features of Golden Gate and BioBricks for better efficiency and usability

Abstract With increasing complexity of expression studies and the repertoire of characterized sequences, combinatorial cloning has become a common necessity. Techniques like BioBricks and Golden Gate aim to standardize and speed up the process of cloning large constructs while enabling sharing of resources. The BioBricks format provides a simplified and flexible approach to endless assembly with a compact library and useful intermediates but is a slow process, joining only two parts in a cycle. Golden Gate improves upon the speed with use of Type IIS enzymes and joins several parts in a cycle but requires a larger library of parts and logistical inefficiencies scale up significantly in the multigene format. We present here a method that provides improvement over these techniques by combining their features. By using Type IIS enzymes in a format like BioBricks, we have enabled a faster and efficient assembly with reduced scarring, which performs at a similarly fast pace as Golden Gate, but significantly reduces library size and user input. Additionally, this method enables faster assembly of operon-style constructs, a feature requiring extensive workaround in Golden Gate. Our format allows such inclusions resulting in faster and more efficient assembly.
Raman amplifier based long-distance, remote FBG strain sensor with EDF broadband source recycling residual Raman pump

A novel and simple Raman amplifier based long-distance fibre Bragg grating (FBG) sensing system without any additional broadband light source is demonstrated. With the simplified system configuration recycling residual Raman pump power for generation of amplified spontaneous emission in an erbium-doped fibre (EDF), the high quality of remote strain sensing operation at a location of 50 km is achieved.
Delayed Adult Gastric Perforation Following Insertion of a Feeding Nasogastric Tube

Although complications of a nasogastric tube (NGT) are identified and managed in daily clinical practice, gastric perforation following NGT insertion is a serious and rarely reported condition in adults. We present a case of a 71-year-old male who was brought to the hospital after having a cardiac arrest. Following stabilisation and receiving an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI), he was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), where he required NGT for feeding purposes. A few days later, abdominal distension was noted, and chest imaging was requested mainly for worsening respiratory parameters. A computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed gastric perforation and a misplaced NGT. Being a high-risk patient and in the absence of peritonism and frank sepsis, conservative management was adopted and included proton pump inhibitors (PPI), total parenteral nutrition (TPN), stomach aspiration via a Ryle tube and consideration of imaging-guided drainage. No risk factor for gastric perforation was identified in this presented case. The stable course of follow-up suggested sealed perforation; however, he died due to an extensive intracardiac thrombus. Though this incidence did not contribute directly to the patient’s death, it definitely added to the overall morbidity and negatively influenced the management of the other medical conditions. For complement, we also report a review of the ten similar cases in the literature, highlighting the associated risk factors, relevant clinical challenges, lines of management executed. The main aim of this case report is to enhance doctors' awareness of this serious complication, especially in patients with risk factors, and its diagnostic dilemmas. Early recognition and prompt intervention are recommended for a better outcome.
Neurohypophysial Hormones Associated with Osmotic Challenges in the Brain and Pituitary of the Euryhaline Black Porgy, Acanthopagrus schlegelii

Our study showed differential expression of the arginine vasotocin (avt)/isotocin (it) in the brain and pituitary gland of the euryhaline black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii) during osmotic stress. A decrease in serum osmolality and increased cortisol levels were observed after acute transfer from seawater (SW) to freshwater (FW). The increased expressions of avt, avt receptor (avtr: v1a), and isotocin receptor (itr: itr1) transcripts on day 1 and it and itr transcripts on days 7 and 30 were found in the brains and pituitary glands of FW fish. Increased levels of avt mRNA in the diencephalon and avtr mRNA in the pituitary together with serum cortisol on day 1 of FW exposure indicated activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–interrenal (HPI) axis. The expression levels of avtr and itr after FW transfer were increased in the pituitary on days 7 and 30. Furthermore, in situ hybridization demonstrated spatially differential expression of avt and itr transcripts in nucleus preopticus parvocellularis of pars gigantocellularis (PMgc), magnocellularis (PMmc), and parvocellularis (PMpc) of the preoptic area (POA). Positive signals for avt and it were highly abundant in PMpc after FW exposure. The data suggest involvement of neurohypophysial hormones in the brain (telencephalon and diencephalon) and pituitary for osmotic stress.
Conjoint-Analyse und Marktsegmentierung

Die Marktsegmentierung zahlt neben der Neuproduktplanung und Preisgestaltung zu den wesentlichen Einsatzgebieten der Conjoint-Analyse. Neben traditionell eingesetzten zweistufigen Vorgehensweisen, bei denen Conjoint-Analyse und Segmentierung in zwei getrennten Schritten erfolgen, stehen heute mit Methoden wie der Clusterwise Regression oder Mixture-Modellen neuere Entwicklungen, die eine simultane Segmentierung und Praferenzschatzung ermoglichen, zur Verfugung. Der Beitrag gibt einen Uberblick uber die vorliegenden methodischen Ansatze zur Verknupfung von Conjoint-Analyse und Marktsegmentierung und zeigt die Vorzuge simultaner Conjointsegmentierungsmethoden gegenuber den in der Unternehmenspraxis noch immer weit verbreiteten zweistufigen Verfahren auf. Along with new product/concept identification and pricing, market segmentation ranks among the primary purposes in commercial conjoint applications. Traditionally, this conjoint segmentation has been accomplished by a two-step procedure, (1) either by first segmenting markets and subsequently estimating conjoint models at the segment level or (2) by first conducting conjoint analysis at the individual level and then clustering individual level part-worths. However, in recent years, some powerful techniques for simultaneously performing market segmentation and calibrating segment-level part-worths such as clusterwise regression procedures and mixture models have been proposed. This article provides an overview of existing conjoint segmentation methods and particularly focuses on the newer simultaneous approaches which offer substantial advantages compared to the traditional two-step procedures.
Direction of arrival estimation of broadband signal using single antenna

In this paper, we propose a novel technique using a single antenna for direction of arrival (DOA) estimation of broadband microwave signals. We designed and fabricated a microstrip-leaky-wave receiving antenna, which has good matching and reasonable radiation efficiency in the frequency range of interest: 2 3.5 GHz. Because the frequency response of the antenna is strongly incident-angle dependent, by using the spectral information at the antenna, we are able to estimate the DOA of a broadband microwave signal with a high degree of accuracy. Simulations and experiments show that the proposed technique enables good DOA estimation performance within a 90 range.
Local adaptive slicing

This paper presents a new approach to adaptive slicing that significantly reduces fabrication times. The new approach first identifies the individual parts and features that comprise each layer in a given build, and then slices each independently of one another. This technique improves upon existing adaptive slicing algorithms by eliminating most of the slices that do not effectively enhance the overall part surface quality. Conventional adaptive slicing methods produce unnecessary layers that contribute to increased fabrication times without improving the overall quality of the part surfaces. These unnecessary layers result from fabricating all of the parts and features within the build volume at a given height using a single build layer thickness. Each thickness is commonly derived from the one part or feature existing at that height whose surface geometry requires the thinnest layer to meet a tolerance criterion. The new approach has been implemented on an FDM 1600 rapid prototyping system, and has demonstrated a 17‐37 per cent reduction in fabrication times compared to that of conventional adaptive slicing methods.
The influence of training on employeeâ€™s work commitment and performance

Training helped people to learn how to be more effective at work by modifying knowledge, skills or attitudes through learning experience to achieve effective performance. Human resource theory supports the significance of training in which it is considered as one of the processes in achieving organizational goals by attracting and maintaining employees, and also managing them effectively. Prior studies suggested that training is a significant predictor of employeesâ€™ work commitment and performance. Results of prior empirical studies also suggested that training comprised four dimensions namely training commitment, training needs assessment, training contents and delivery approaches, and training evaluation. This research attempted to contribute additional empirical evidence on the influence of training on employeeâ€™s work commitment and performance. In particular, this study examined the role of training in determining the employeeâ€™s work commitment and performance in Malaysia. One hundred and eighty two employees in Malaysia were surveyed for this purpose. The results of this study revealed that training commitment, training needs assessment, training contents and delivery approaches, and training evaluation positively and significantly influence the employeeâ€™s work commitment and performance. Training commitment and training evaluation were found to be more important dimensions of training in affecting employeeâ€™s work commitment and performance. Keywords: training, work commitment, employeeâ€™s performance