Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cooperative Motion Planning for Multiple Autonomous Marine Vehicles

Abstract There is widespread interest in the deployment of fleets of marine robots with the potential to roam the oceans freely and collect data at an unprecedented scale. This calls for the development of efficient algorithms for multiple vehicle motion planning that can take directly into account the capabilities of each vehicle and environmental conditions and lend themselves to seamless integration with control and navigation systems. The paper describes advances towards the development of a new breed of motion planning systems that address explicitly inter-vehicle collision avoidance, together with a number of criteria that may include simultaneous times of arrival at assigned target points, energy minimization, and acoustic communication constraints. The theoretical framework adopted is rooted in the so-called Projection Operator Approach that borrows from optimization and dynamical systems theory. Simulations with full dynamic vehicle models illustrate the potential of the methods developed.
Statistics, not experts.

The legal system should rely much more than it now does on statistical evidence. It should be cautious about the judgments of experts, who make predictable cognitive errors. Like everyone else, experts have a tendency to blunder about risk, a point that has been shown to hold for doctors, whose predictions significantly err in the direction of optimism. We present new evidence that individual doctors' judgments about the ordinary standard of care are incorrect and excessively optimistic. We also show how this evidence bears on legal determinations of negligence, by doctors and others.
Variable efficacy of repeated annual influenza vaccination.

Conclusions have differed in studies that have compared vaccine efficacy in groups receiving influenza vaccine for the first time to efficacy in groups vaccinated more than once. For example, the Hoskins study [Hoskins, T. W. , Davis, J. R. , Smith, A. J., Miller, C. L. & Allchin, A. (1979) Lancet i, 33-35] concluded that repeat vaccination was not protective in the long term, whereas the Keitel study [Keitel, W. A. , Cate, T. R. , Couch, R. B. , Huggins, L. L. & Hess, K. R. (1997) Vaccine 15, 1114-1122] concluded that repeat vaccination provided continual protection. We propose an explanation, the antigenic distance hypothesis, and test it by analyzing seven influenza outbreaks that occurred during the Hoskins and Keitel studies. The hypothesis is that variation in repeat vaccine efficacy is due to differences in antigenic distances among vaccine strains and between the vaccine strains and the epidemic strain in each outbreak. To test the hypothesis, antigenic distances were calculated from historical hemagglutination inhibition assay tables, and a computer model of the immune response was used to predict the vaccine efficacy of individuals given different vaccinations. The model accurately predicted the observed vaccine efficacies in repeat vaccinees relative to the efficacy in first-time vaccinees (correlation 0.87). Thus, the antigenic distance hypothesis offers a parsimonious explanation of the differences between and within the Hoskins and Keitel studies. These results have implications for the selection of influenza vaccine strains, and also for vaccination strategies for other antigenically variable pathogens that might require repeated vaccination.
The Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Tulsi in Humans: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Tulsi, also known as holy basil, is indigenous to the Indian continent and highly revered for its medicinal uses within the Ayurvedic and Siddha medical systems. Many in vitro, animal and human studies attest to tulsi having multiple therapeutic actions including adaptogenic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cardioprotective, and immunomodulatory effects, yet to date there are no systematic reviews of human research on tulsi's clinical efficacy and safety. We conducted a comprehensive literature review of human studies that reported on a clinical outcome after ingestion of tulsi. We searched for studies published in books, theses, conference proceedings, and electronic databases including Cochrane Library, Google Scholar, Embase, Medline, PubMed, Science Direct, and Indian Medical databases. A total of 24 studies were identified that reported therapeutic effects on metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, immunity, and neurocognition. All studies reported favourable clinical outcomes with no studies reporting any significant adverse events. The reviewed studies reinforce traditional uses and suggest tulsi is an effective treatment for lifestyle-related chronic diseases including diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and psychological stress. Further studies are required to explore mechanisms of action, clarify the dosage and dose form, and determine the populations most likely to benefit from tulsi's therapeutic effects.
INTERACCIÓN ENTRE LA SIMPLIFICACIÓN MORFOLÓGICA Y SINTÁCTICA, Y LA COMPRENSIÓN EN LA ADQUISICIÓN DEL SUBJUNTIVO

This paper aims to study the relationship between the verbal inflec- tion and the listening comprehension skill of Taiwanese learners who take Spanish as a foreign language besides English, by analyzing complex sentences with nominal clau- ses preceded by impersonal constructions, as well as by evaluating the influence of the morphological and syntactical simplification in the learning process. As there exists a long distance between the linguistic system of the native language and the target lan- guage, we will verify whether the conclusions drawn by Lee (1987, 1998) can be applied to the listening comprehension skills in our Taiwanese experience. The results obtained show that the simplification that of the verbal forms does not affect signifi- cantly the listening comprehension of identification, nor translation from Spanish to Chinese. Furthermore, this research confirms that the verbal simplification does not play a role in the learning of the subjunctive for Taiwanese students, and going one step further, we have investigated the interaction between different methods of evaluation.
Allopurinol and global left myocardial function in heart failure patients

Background and Aim: Increased xanthine oxidase (XO) activity may contribute to heart failure pathophysiology. This study evaluated whether a XO inhibitor, allopurinol produces clinical and functional benefits in patients with New York Heart Association functional class III to IV heart failure due to systolic dysfunction receiving optimal medical therapy as estimated by global left myocardial function. Patients and Methods: Fifty-nine patients with a diagnosis of chronic heart failure due to coronary heart disease or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy and 20 healthy controls who attended the outpatient clinic of cardiology were subjected to full echocardiographic study including left ventricular diastolic and systolic function, and the combined index of myocardial performance [Tei index: isovolumetric relaxation time (IRT) + isovolumetric contraction time (ICT)/ejection time (ET)]. Patients were randomized to allopurinol (300 mg/day) or placebo. Improvement at 36 weeks was assessed using a composite end point comprising global left cardiac function as well as heart failure morbidity and mortality. Results: The percentage of patients characterized as improved, unchanged, or worsened did not differ between those receiving allopurinol or placebo. Allopurinol reduced serum uric acid (SUA) by 1.5 mg/dL (P = 0.001). In a subgroup analysis, patients with elevated SUA (more than 7mg/ dL) responded favorably to allopurinol whereas those with SUA less than 7mg/dL exhibited a trend toward no change. In addition, SUA reduction to allopurinol correlated with favorable clinical and functional response. Within the entire allopurinol patient cohort, those characterized as either improved or unchanged had significantly greater reductions in SUA compared with patients who did not change (P = 0.0007). In placebo patients, lower baseline SUA, but not change in SUA, correlated with improved clinical outcome. Conclusions: Allopurinol did not produce significant clinical and functional improvement in unselected patients with moderate-to-severe heart failure. However, it is suggested that it is useful in patients with elevated SUA in a manner according to degree of SUA reduction. SUA may serve as a valuable biomarker to target heart failure therapy.
Academic stress, coping mechanisms, and outcome measures among college students of today

The aim of this study was to explore the predictive ability of sources of stress and a range of coping behaviours and outcome measures on student satisfaction and motivation. Most research exploring sources of stress and coping in students defines stress as psychological distress, with little attempt to consider positive experiences of stress. A questionnaire was administered to 140 students from two universities. Questions were asked which measured sources of stress when rated as likely to contribute to distress and likely to help one achieve. Support, control, self esteem, self-efficacy, academic results, general health and coping style were also measured, along with their potential affect on course satisfaction, motivation and feeling part of a learning society. Teaching quality, effective support and work-life balance are essential to student satisfaction and motivation. How educators interact with their students and the opportunities they create in and outside the class to promote peer support are likely to enhance satisfaction and motivation. Analysis of the data showed that self-efficacy, dispositional control and general support were the strongest predictors, and time management as a hassle, and teaching quality as an uplift were important predictors in general health, academic results, and self esteem.
Decreased Brain Dopamine Synthesis Rate and Increased [3H]Spiroperidol Binding in Streptozotocin‐Diabetic Rats

Abstract: The rate of accumulation of 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine following decarboxylase inhibition and of homovanillic acid following probenecid treatment were significantly decreased in streptozotocin‐diabetic rats. These changes were observed in both the striatum and limbic forebrain. The Bmax for [3H]spiroperidol receptor binding was significantly increased in both brain regions. All of these neurochemical changes were reversed by insulin replacement therapy. Whether these neurochemical changes are attributable to chronic hyperglycemia or some other aspect of the diabetic state is not known.
Statistical Mechanics of Anharmonic Lattices

Dedicated to Lawrence E. Thomas on the occasion of his 60th birthdayAbstract. We discuss various aspects of a series of recent works on the non-equilibrium stationary states of anharmonic crystals coupled to heat reservoirs(see also [7]). We expose some of the main ideas and techniques and alsopresent some open problems.
Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis Shows High Genetic Diversity and Ecological Niche Specificity among Haplotypes in the Maya Mountains of Belize

The amphibian pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has been implicated in amphibian declines around the globe. Although it has been found in most countries in Central America, its presence has never been assessed in Belize. We set out to determine the range, prevalence, and diversity of Bd using quantitative PCR (qPCR) and sequencing of a portion of the 5.8 s and ITS1-2 regions. Swabs were collected from 524 amphibians of at least 26 species in the protected areas of the Maya Mountains of Belize. We sequenced a subset of 72 samples that had tested positive for Bd by qPCR at least once; 30 samples were verified as Bd. Eight unique Bd haplotypes were identified in the Maya Mountains, five of which were previously undescribed. We identified unique ecological niches for the two most broadly distributed haplotypes. Combined with data showing differing virulence shown in different strains in other studies, the 5.8 s - ITS1-2 region diversity found in this study suggests that there may be substantial differences among populations or haplotypes. Future work should focus on whether specific haplotypes for other genomic regions and possibly pathogenicity can be associated with haplotypes at this locus, as well as the integration of molecular tools with other ecological tools to elucidate the ecology and pathogenicity of Bd.
Parental Influences on the Mathematics Self-Concept of High-Achieving Adolescent Girls. AEL Minigrant Report No. 20.

Previous studies have documented that girls with proven mathematical ability often have poor self-concepts regarding their ability to do math. Adolescent girls who do well in math tend to attribute their performance to effort instead of ability (Parsons, Adler, & Kaczala, 1982). Research also indicates that their parents share that belief. Furthermore, studies show that these parents have lower expectations for daughters than sons when it pertains to mathematics performance (Parsons, Adler, & Kaczala, 1982). Thus, the hypothesis has evolved that parent attitudes may adversely affect their daughters' conceptions of their mathematics ability, although the mechanism of this influence is not clear. The current study examined parental influence on the math selfconcept of 165 high-achieving adolescent girls and their parents. This research assessed the impact of parent attitudes about their own math abilities, parent expectations for their daughters, and degree of parentchild identification on the girls' own math self-concepts. A series of path analyses revealed that parent expectations have a significant impact on adolescent girls' beliefs about their own mathematical ability, regardless of parent-child identification. Parent math self-concept has little direct effect on daughter math self-concept, although it has a modest effect on parent expectations for daughters. These results suggest that teachers, school psychologists, and guidance counselors need to involve parents in efforts to help adolescent girls improve their attitudes toward math.
GADTs meet their match: pattern-matching warnings that account for GADTs, guards, and laziness

For ML and Haskell, accurate warnings when a function definition has redundant or missing patterns are mission critical. But today's compilers generate bogus warnings when the programmer uses guards (even simple ones), GADTs, pattern guards, or view patterns. We give the first algorithm that handles all these cases in a single, uniform framework, together with an implementation in GHC, and evidence of its utility in practice.
Separating Surface Order and Syntactic Relations in a Dependency Grammar

This paper proposes decoupling the dependency tree from word order, such that surface ordering is not determined by traversing the dependency tree. We develop the notion of a word order domain structure, which is linked but structurally dissimilar to the syntactic dependency tree. The proposal results in a lexicalized, declarative, and formally precise description of word order; features which lack previous proposals for dependency grammars. Contrary to other lexicalized approaches to word order, our proposal does not require lexical ambiguities for ordering alternatives.
Corticolimbic Interactions Associated with Performance on a Short-Term Memory Task Are Modified by Age

Aging has been associated with a decline in memory abilities dependent on hippocampal processing. We investigated whether the functional interactions between the hippocampus and related cortical areas were modified by age. Young and old subjects' brain activity was measured using positron emission tomography (PET) while they performed a short-term memory task (delayed visual discrimination) in which they determined which of two successively presented sine-wave gratings had the highest spatial frequency. Behavioral performance was equal for the two groups. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis of PET images identified a hippocampal voxel whose activity was similarly correlated with performance across groups. Using this voxel as a seed, a second PLS analysis identified cortical regions functionally connected to the hippocampus. Quantification of the neural interactions with structural equation modeling suggested that a different hippocampal network supported performance in the elderly. Unlike the neural network engaged by the young, which included prefrontal cortex Brodmann's area (BA) 10, fusiform gyrus, and posterior cingulate gyrus, the network recruited by the old included more anterior areas, i.e., dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (BA 9/46), middle cingulate gyrus, and caudate nucleus. Recruitment of a distinct corticolimbic network for visual memory in the elderly suggests that age-related neurobiological deterioration not only results in focal changes but also in the modification of large-scale network operations.
Reimplementing the Cedar file system using logging and group commit

The workstation file system for the Cedar programming environment was modified to improve its robustness and performance. Previously, the file system used hardware-provided labels on disk blocks to increase robustness against hardware and software errors. The new system does not require hardware disk labels, yet is more robust than the old system. Recovery is rapid after a crash. The performance of operations on file system metadata, e.g., file creation or open, is greatly improved. The new file system has two features that make it atypical. The system uses a log, as do most database systems, to recover metadata about the file system. To gain performance, it uses group commit, a concept derived from high performance database systems. The design of the system used a simple, yet detailed and accurate, analytical model to choose between several design alternatives in order to provide good disk performance.
Expression and clinical association of programmed cell death-1, programmed death-ligand-1 and CD8+ lymphocytes in primary sarcomas is subtype dependent

In order to explore the potential of immune checkpoint blockade in sarcoma, we investigated expression and clinical relevance of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1), programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and CD8 in tumors of 208 sarcoma patients. Primary untreated osteosarcoma (n = 46), Ewing sarcoma (n = 32), alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 20), embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma (n = 77), synovial sarcoma (n = 22) and desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT) (n = 11) were examined immunohistochemically. PD-L1 expression was predominantly detected in alveolar and embryonal rhabdomyosarcomas (15% and 16%, respectively). In the alveolar subtype PD-L1 expression was associated with better overall, event-free and metastases-free survival. PD-1 expression on lymphocytes was predominantly seen in synovial sarcomas (18%). High levels of CD8+ lymphocytes were predominantly detected in osteosarcomas (35%) and associated with worse event-free survival in synovial sarcomas. Ewing sarcoma and DSRCTs showed PD-1 on tumor cells instead of on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes. Overall, expression and clinical associations were found to be subtype dependent. For the first time PD-1 expression on Ewing sarcoma (19%) and DSRCT (82%) tumor cells was described.
No Biological Evidence of XMRV Infection in Cervical Smears from HIV/ HPV Positive and Negative Kenyan Women

Background XMRV (xenotropic murine leukaemia virus-related virus) is a gammaretrovirus first discovered in human prostate carcinomas and later linked to chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Emerging conflicting data and lack of reproducibility of results within the scientific community has now led to the association of XMRV with CFS being discounted. Indeed the case for an involvement with any human disease has been questioned with the suggestion that XMRV is a laboratory generated recombinant virus. The fact that not all published positive findings can be easily explained as contamination artefacts coupled with the observation that XMRV may have a sexually transmitted mode of infectivity and can be infectious for primates, where it preferential resides in cells of the reproductive tract, prompted us to look for evidence of XMRV in the cervical cells of a cohort of Kenyan women both with and without pre-existing HIV/HPV infections. Results Using a highly sensitive and selective triplex PCR approach we analysed DNA from the liquid based cytology (LBC) cervical smears of 224 Kenyan women. There was no evidence of XMRV expression in any of the sample population irrespective of HPV and/or HIV status. Conclusions The data presented show no indication of XMRV infection in any of the cervical samples screened in this study. Approximately 50% of the women were HIV positive but this did not influence the findings signifying that XMRV does not act as an opportunistic infection in this cohort nor is it related to HPV status. Our results therefore support the findings that XMRV is confined to the laboratory and does not currently represent an infectious agent for humans, with a cautionary adage that such potential zoonotic viruses should be carefully monitored in the future.
Aspects of continuity and change in mate-selection among the Igbo west of the River Niger.

Using participant observation and the results of an interview of 250 women repeated in two other [Nigerian] surveys the attitudes of Western Igbo women to the variables parental and self-selection of mates arranged marriages the payment of bridewealth polygyny woman to woman marriage levirate marriage father to daughter marriage (Idegbe) pre-marital chastity and the influence of religion education and age on these variables are explored. It is found that certain aspects of the Western Igbo marriage system and practice have been modified by Western practice while others are now disapproved of and can be assumed to be in decline. The central core of the marriage system and practice has however proved stable and remained virtually unchanged and great stock is still laid on affinal relationship. (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA) (EXCERPT)
The Origin of Minus-end Directionality and Mechanochemistry of Ncd Motors

Adaptation of molecular structure to the ligand chemistry and interaction with the cytoskeletal filament are key to understanding the mechanochemistry of molecular motors. Despite the striking structural similarity with kinesin-1, which moves towards plus-end, Ncd motors exhibit minus-end directionality on microtubules (MTs). Here, by employing a structure-based model of protein folding, we show that a simple repositioning of the neck-helix makes the dynamics of Ncd non-processive and minus-end directed as opposed to kinesin-1. Our computational model shows that Ncd in solution can have both symmetric and asymmetric conformations with disparate ADP binding affinity, also revealing that there is a strong correlation between distortion of motor head and decrease in ADP binding affinity in the asymmetric state. The nucleotide (NT) free-ADP (φ-ADP) state bound to MTs favors the symmetric conformation whose coiled-coil stalk points to the plus-end. Upon ATP binding, an enhanced flexibility near the head-neck junction region, which we have identified as the important structural element for directional motility, leads to reorienting the coiled-coil stalk towards the minus-end by stabilizing the asymmetric conformation. The minus-end directionality of the Ncd motor is a remarkable example that demonstrates how motor proteins in the kinesin superfamily diversify their functions by simply rearranging the structural elements peripheral to the catalytic motor head domain.