Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Characterizing Rainwater Harvesting Performance and Demonstrating Stormwater Management Benefits in the Humid Southeast USA

Rainwater harvesting (RWH) has traditionally been implemented in areas with (semi) arid climates or limited access to potable water supplies; however, recent droughts in the humid southeastern United States have led to increased implementation of RWH systems. The objectives of this study were twofold: (1) present usage characteristics and performance results for four RWH systems installed in humid North Carolina (NC) as compared with systems located in arid/semiarid regions and (2) identify system benefits and modifications that could help improve the performance of RWH systems installed in humid regions of the world. For this study four RWH systems were installed in NC. Their usage was monitored for at least one year and compared with similar studies. Results revealed that dedicated water uses and usage characteristics for RWH systems in NC differed from those previously reported in the literature. Two of the systems studied met 100 and 61% of the potable water demand with designated uses of animal kennel flushing and greenhouse irrigation, respectively. The designated uses yielding the greatest potable water replacement were often seasonal or periodic, thus necessitating the need for identifying and implementing secondary objectives for these systems, namely, stormwater management. Otherwise, the expense and effort required to implement RWH systems in humid areas will most likely preclude their use.
Coherent and random noise attenuation using the curvelet transform

This paper discusses an effective approach to attenuate random and coherent linear noise in a 3D data set from a carbonate environment. Figure 1 illustrates a seismic inline section from a noisy 3D seismic cube. Clearly, the section in Figure 1 is corrupted by undesirable random noise and coherent noise that are linear and vertically dipping in nature
Light at the ENDothelium-role of Sox17 and Runx1 in endothelial dysfunction and pulmonary arterial hypertension

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a progressive disease that is characterized by an obliterative vasculopathy of the distal pulmonary circulation. Despite significant progress in our understanding of the pathophysiology, currently approved medical therapies for PAH act primarily as pulmonary vasodilators and fail to address the underlying processes that lead to the development and progression of the disease. Endothelial dysregulation in response to stress, injury or physiologic stimuli followed by perivascular infiltration of immune cells plays a prominent role in the pulmonary vascular remodeling of PAH. Over the last few decades, our understanding of endothelial cell dysregulation has evolved and brought to light a number of transcription factors that play important roles in vascular homeostasis and angiogenesis. In this review, we examine two such factors, SOX17 and one of its downstream targets, RUNX1 and the emerging data that implicate their roles in the pathogenesis of PAH. We review their discovery and discuss their function in angiogenesis and lung vascular development including their roles in endothelial to hematopoietic transition (EHT) and their ability to drive progenitor stem cells toward an endothelial or myeloid fate. We also summarize the data from studies that link mutations in Sox17 with an increased risk of developing PAH and studies that implicate Sox17 and Runx1 in the pathogenesis of PAH. Finally, we review the results of recent studies from our lab demonstrating the efficacy of preventing and reversing pulmonary hypertension in animal models of PAH by deleting RUNX1 expression in endothelial or myeloid cells or by the use of RUNX1 inhibitors. By investigating PAH through the lens of SOX17 and RUNX1 we hope to shed light on the role of these transcription factors in vascular homeostasis and endothelial dysregulation, their contribution to pulmonary vascular remodeling in PAH, and their potential as novel therapeutic targets for treating this devastating disease.
More Discussions on the Differences between Haze and Fog in City

The appearance of haze has important indication meaning to air quality,while the fog or light fog has specific weather indication relating to particular weather systems.With the rapid development of economy and urbanization,haze or haze weather become increasingly severe,so that,to distinguish haze and fog becomes a very realistic problem that need to be solved imminently.At the meteorological stations of China,the criterion to distinguish the haze and fog is relatively confusing and uncomparable.The widely adopted criterion of relative humidity to distinguish the haze and fog in many southeast coastal provinces is generally on the low side,leading to many haze weather events being recorded as light fog or fog.In the near surface atmosphere there always exists haze,while fog droplet hardly exists.Only under the enough supersaturation can the haze nuclei grow into fog droplet through moisture absorption,and such process is not easy to happen.Under non-saturation condition,it is impossible for even the soluble haze nuclei to grow into fog droplet not to speak of the insoluble ones.The observational data show that the minimum relative humidity for fog to occur is 91%,and there is no fog when the relative humidity is lower than 90%. The most important physical process to form fog droplets is cooling, down to the saturation point.It is almost impossible for haze nuclei to grow into fog droplet only through the natural moisture absorption.There is no such a supplement regulation ever saying that the relative humidity 70% shall be used to distinguish light fog and haze at any level of meteorological departments.Many haze weather events being recorded as light fog is purely due to misunderstanding.So it is necessary to take into consideration the change of weather system and other the macro-characteristics when distinguishing fog and haze,and it is reasonable to use the threshold value of relative humidity 90% as an assistant criterion to distinguish fog and haze.
An SIW-Based Wideband Endfire Filtering Magneto-Electric Dipole Antenna for Millimeter-Wave Applications

A wideband endfire substrate-integrated waveguide (SIW) magneto-electric (ME) dipole antenna with a filtering function is investigated for millimeter-wave (mm-wave) applications. The antenna mainly consists of an open-ended SIW that works as a magnetic dipole, two pairs of electric dipoles, and two reflecting walls. Fed by a coaxial probe, the equivalent magnetic dipole and the electric dipoles can be excited simultaneously to provide a wide impedance passband; moreover, a radiation null can be naturally generated by the probe-fed SIW at the upper band edge, and the filtering effect is realized in the upper stopband. In order to suppress the lower-band radiation, a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR) is further etched around the feed probe. Consequently, a wideband endfire ME-dipole antenna with a quasi-elliptical bandpass filtering response is obtained. For validation, a prototype is fabricated and measured, and it shows a −10-dB impedance bandwidth of 46.3%, an in-band peak gain of 6 dBi, and a good out-of-band suppression level of about 25 dB; furthermore, due to the reflecting walls, the average front-to-back ratio (FTBR) can reach as high as 18 dB.
TransAttU-Net Deep Neural Network for Brain Tumor Segmentation in Magnetic Resonance Imaging

A brain tumor is a deformity in the tissue where cells divide promptly and uncontrollably. As a consequence, the tumor expands. It is hypothesized that a neural network can successfully identify and predict brain tumors, two of the most challenging medical problems now facing doctors. The abundance of information enhances the diagnostic potential of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which provides the anatomical features of brain tumors. To improve the efficiency of the semantic segmentation architecture, we introduce a novel transformer-based attention U-shaped network called TransAttU-Net, in which the multilevel guided attention and multiscale skip connection operate simultaneously and which is also used to extract the pixel on the tumor area. Initially, the input image data are altered and undergo further processing using various preprocessing techniques. Methods such as these can be used to resize or rescale features, data augmentation, reverse or flip data, and alter the orientation of data. These procedures are required before sending data to the TransAttU-Net deep learning (DL) model. The algorithm attained a degree of accuracy on the BraTS 2019, i.e., the dataset provided in multimodal brain tumor image segmentation challenge and BraTS 2020 dataset, indicating great performance on BraTS 2020 dataset. The performance metrics of the models are evaluated using and results are discussed in this article.
Deep Learning in EEG-Based BCIs: A Comprehensive Review of Transformer Models, Advantages, Challenges, and Applications

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have undergone significant advancements in recent years. The integration of deep learning techniques, specifically transformers, has shown promising development in research and application domains. Transformers, which were originally designed for natural language processing, have now made notable inroads into BCIs, offering a unique self-attention mechanism that adeptly handles the temporal dynamics of brain signals. This comprehensive survey delves into the application of transformers in BCIs, providing readers with a lucid understanding of their foundational principles, inherent advantages, potential challenges, and diverse applications. In addition to discussing the benefits of transformers, we also address their limitations, such as computational overhead, interpretability concerns, and the data-intensive nature of these models, providing a well-rounded analysis. Furthermore, the paper sheds light on the myriad of BCI applications that have benefited from the incorporation of transformers. These applications span from motor imagery decoding, emotion recognition, and sleep stage analysis to novel ventures such as speech reconstruction. This review serves as a holistic guide for researchers and practitioners, offering a panoramic view of the transformative potential of transformers in the BCI landscape. With the inclusion of examples and references, readers will gain a deeper understanding of the topic and its significance in the field.
The ties linking rock and fossil records and why they are important for palaeobiodiversity studies

Abstract A correlation exists between the quality of the rock record and the diversity of fossils recorded from that rock record but what drives that correlation, and how consistent that correlation is across different environments, remain to be determined. Palaeontologists wishing to investigate past diversity patterns need to first address issues of geological bias in their data.
Using Gut Microbiome as A Tool in Dietary Intervention for Prevention and Management of Obesity

The gut microbiome has trillions of bacteria which play an important role in human health and disease. Several animal and human studies have shown that dysbiosis, microbial imbalance as the causative factor in obesity and metabolic syndrome. Significant research evidence demonstrates that changes in the proportion of Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes has been associated with obesity, but this has been recently challenged. Similar studies were carried out in several populations, however, there are no such studies, to date, among Asian Indians. We aimed to examine the usefulness of gut microbiome testing in developing personalized diet for managing obesity. In this study, we selected individuals, generally healthy, free- living adults, both men and women with BMI 25- 40 kg/m2 and with previous history of failures at weight loss who visited a Weight Loss Clinic, based in Coimbatore, India & were offered a gut microbiome test. We included 54 individuals in the intervention group who received personalized dietary advice for weight loss based on the gut microbiome test and another set of 52 individuals visiting the same clinic were included in the comparison group based on their age, height, weight and BMI who received generic diet. A statistically significant increase in the Bacteroidetes genus was observed in the personalized nutrition group (p = .04). The change (delta) values in gut microbiome composition in personalized nutrition group were significantly higher at the end of 120 days. Gut microbiome-based personalized microbiome modulation through diet significantly improves gut microbiome profiles among obese individuals. We would further need studies with larger sample size to validate these study findings and long-term follow-up are needed.
A Technical Report on the Potential Effects of Heat Stress on Antioxidant Enzymes Activities, Performance and Small Intestinal Morphology in Broiler Chickens Administered Probiotic and Ascorbic Acid during the Hot Summer Season

Simple Summary Thermal stress is an environmental factor that negatively affects poultry production globally. It elicits behavioural and physiological changes in broiler chickens, hence the need to find ways of ameliorating its detrimental effects which are mainly expressed as oxidative stress. This study was designed as an intervention on the effect of heat stress during the hot summer season in broiler chickens’ production using probiotic and ascorbic acid as anti-stress agents. From the results, probiotic and/or ascorbic acid were effective in enhancing the antioxidant enzyme activities and performance of the broiler chickens. This study stands as a basis for application in animal production trials with a larger sample size. Abstract Oxidative stress negatively affects the welfare of broiler chickens leading to poor productivity and even death. This study examined the negative effect of heat stress on antioxidant enzyme activities, small intestinal morphology and performance in broiler chickens administered probiotic and ascorbic acid during the hot summer season, under otherwise controlled conditions. The study made use of 56 broiler chickens; which were divided into control; probiotic (1 g/kg); ascorbic acid (200 mg/kg) and probiotic + ascorbic acid (1 g/kg and 200 mg/kg, respectively). All administrations were given via feed from D1 to D35 of this study. Superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase and catalase activities were highly significant (p < 0.0001) in the treatment groups compared to the control. Performance indicators (water intake and body weight gain) were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in the probiotic and probiotic + ascorbic acid group. The height of duodenal, jejunal and ileal villi, and goblet cell counts of broiler chickens were significantly different in the treatment groups. In conclusion, the study showed that heat stress negatively affects the levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes, performance and the morphology of small intestinal epithelium, while the antioxidants were efficacious in ameliorating these adverse effects.
Development and Validation of the Adolescent Triangulation Scale

Triangulation is conceptualized as the involvement of a third person in a dyadic relationship in order to balance excessive conflicts, intimacy, and distance and provide stability within the system. A self-report scale to measure adolescents' triangulation into inter-parental conflicts was developed, and psychometric properties of the scale were established. The study was conducted in a three-phase format. Data was collected from adolescents (10-19 years) of different schools and colleges in Pakistan. In Phase I, items were generated through a literature review and focused group discussion. In Phase II, four latent factors (Pushed out, pulled in, mediator, balanced) were extracted through EFA (N=493). Phase III comprised a test of dimensionality, reliability, and validity. The dimensionality of the Adolescent Triangulation Scale was established through CFA (N=494). Reliability of the scale was established through Cronbach alpha (α= .87-.90) and composite reliability (CR= .88-.92). Furthermore, the validity of the scale was assessed through Average Variance Extracted (AVE= .55-.69), Maximum Variance Shared (MVS= .88-.93), Fornell and Lacker criterion and Hetro-trait-Mono-trait Criterion. Results showed that the Adolescent Triangulation Scale appears to have good psychometric properties and contributes to the literature on family systems theory by allowing for a more nuanced measurement of triangulation than was previously available.
An assessment of western North Pacific ozone photochemistry based on springtime observations from NASA's PEM‐West B (1994) and TRACE‐P (2001) field studies

[1] The current study provides a comparison of the photochemical environments for two NASA field studies focused on the western North Pacific (PEM-West-B (PWB) and TRACE-P (TP)). These two studies were separated in calendar time by approximately 7 years. Both studies were carried out under springtime conditions, with PWB being launched in 1994 and TP being deployed in 2001 (i.e., 23 February–15 March 1994 and 10 March–15 April 2001, respectively). Because of the 7-year time separation, these two studies presented a unique scientific opportunity to assess whether evidence could be found to support the Department of Energy's projections in 1997 that increases in anthropogenic emissions from East Asia could reach 5%/yr. Such projections would lead one to the conclusion that a significant shift in the atmospheric photochemical properties of the western North Pacific would occur. To the contrary, the findings from this study support the most recent emission inventory data [Streets et al., 2003] in that they show no significant systematic trend involving increases in any O3 precursor species and no evidence for a significant shift in the level of photochemical activity over the western North Pacific. This conclusion was reached in spite of there being real differences in the concentration levels of some species as well as differences in photochemical activity between PWB and TP. However, nearly all of these differences were shown to be a result of a near 3-week shift in TP's sampling window relative to PWB, thus placing it later in the spring season. The photochemical enhancements seen during TP were most noticeable for latitudes in the range of 25–45°N. Most important among these were increases in J(O1D), OH, and HO2 and values for photochemical ozone formation and destruction, all of which were typically two times larger than those calculated for PWB. A comparison of these airborne results with ozonesonde data from four Japanese stations provided further evidence showing that the 3-week shift in the respective sampling windows of PWB and TP was a likely cause for the differences seen in O3 levels and in photochemical activity between the two airborne studies.
Råutfodring till hund

Hunden ar ett av vara vanligaste sallskapsdjur och de flesta hundagare stravar efter att forse sin hund med basta mojliga skotsel och omsorg. Att rautfodra hundar anses av dietens foresprakare framja optimal halsa och intresset for rautfodring okar allt mer. Trots detta saknas adekvat forskning inom amnet och att forhalla sig till utfodringsregimen utifran tillganglig information kan vara svart. Syftet med denna uppsats ar att belysa vetenskapligt dokumenterade risker och fordelar med rautfodring for att oka forstaelsen for de konsekvenser utfodringsregimen innebar. Att utfodra hundar med BARF (Biologiskt Anpassad Ra Foda) grundas i att hunden, liksom vargen, ar en karnivor anpassad till en kost bestaende av ratt kott, organ, tarmar (med innehallande vegetabilier) och ben. Hunden har dock, till skillnad fran sin vilda forfader, utvecklat formaga att bryta ner starkelse och en skillnad i hundens och vargens instinktiva fordelning av makronaringsamnen i kosten har visats. Ett antal risker associerade med utfodring och hantering av ratt kott och animaliska biprodukter har dokumenterats. Dessa innefattar kontaminering med mikrobiologiska agens vilka kan fororsaka sjukdom hos bade djur och manniskor, naringsmassiga defekter som kan leda till bristsjukdomar hos de utfodrade hundarna och direkt mekaniska skador relaterade till konsumtion av ben. Dokumenterade fordelar med rautfodring inkluderar forbattrad tandhalsa, vilken emellertid inte kan anses bero pa att fodret ar ratt, utan snarare ar en effekt av fodrets utformning och textur. Den hygieniska kvaliten hos raa fodermedel kan anses lagre an hos varmebehandlat foder. Vart att belysa ar dock att forekomsten av mikrobiologiska och kemikaliska kontaminanter i svenska livs- och fodermedel ar betydligt lagre an i motsvarande produkter fran de flesta andra lander. Av denna anledning maste utfodring med raa, animaliska produkter anses sakrare i Sverige jamfort med i de flesta andra lander. Rautfodring till hund kan i dagslaget anses vara en fullt acceptabel utfodringsregim. Jamfort med kommersiellt foder stalls dock hogre krav pa djuragarens kunskaper om saval naringslara som hygien. For att sakert kunna uppskatta rautfodringens potentiella fordelar kravs dock ytterligare forskning.
High-Speed Stereo Visual SLAM for Low-Powered Computing Devices

We present an accurate and GPU-accelerated Stereo Visual SLAM design called Jetson-SLAM. It exhibits frame-processing rates above <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {60}$</tex-math></inline-formula>FPS on NVIDIA's low-powered <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {10}$</tex-math></inline-formula>W Jetson-NX embedded computer and above <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {200}$</tex-math></inline-formula>FPS on desktop-grade <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mathbf {200}$</tex-math></inline-formula>W GPUs, even in stereo configuration and in the multiscale setting. Our contributions are threefold: (<italic>i</italic>) a Bounded Rectification technique to prevent tagging many non-corner points as a corner in FAST detection, improving SLAM accuracy. (<italic>ii</italic>) A novel Pyramidal Culling and Aggregation (<monospace>PyCA</monospace>) technique that yields robust features while suppressing redundant ones at high speeds by harnessing a GPU device. <monospace>PyCA</monospace> uses our new Multi-Location Per Thread culling strategy (<monospace>MLPT</monospace>) and Thread-Efficient Warp-Allocation (<monospace>TEWA</monospace>) scheme for GPU to enable Jetson-SLAM achieving high accuracy and speed on embedded devices. (<italic>iii</italic>) Jetson-SLAM library achieves resource efficiency by having a data-sharing mechanism. Our experiments on three challenging datasets: KITTI, EuRoC, and KAIST-VIO, and two highly accurate SLAM backends: Full-BA and ICE-BA show that Jetson-SLAM is the fastest available accurate and GPU-accelerated SLAM system (Fig. 1). <fig id="fig1" position="float" orientation="portrait"> <label>Fig. 1. </label> <caption><p>(a) Output of Jetson-SLAM's GPU-accelerated and resource-efficient Frontend–Middle-end design, (b) the output trajectory, (c) Frames-Per-Second benchmarking on Jetson-NX embedded computer, and (d) SLAM performance on a KITTI sequence. </p></caption> <graphic position="float" orientation="portrait" xlink:href="kumar1-3329621.eps"/></fig>