Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On equiform Stewart Gough platforms with self-motions

A STEWART GOUGH (SG) manipulator, where the platform is similar to the base, is called equiform SG manipulator. It is well known that these SG manipulators with planar platform and planar base only have selfmotions, if they are architecturally singular; i.e. the anchor points are located on a conic section. Therefore this study focuses on the non-planar case. We prove that an eq uiform SG manipulator has translational self-motions, if and only if it is a so-cal led reflection-congruent one. Moreover we give a necessary geometric property of non-plan ar equiform SG platforms for possessing non-translational self-motions by me ans of bond theory. We close the paper by discussing some non-planar equiform SG platfor ms with non-translational self-motions, where also a set of new examples is presented.
Participatory design strategies to enhance the creative contribution of children with special needs

In recent years there has been an increasing awareness about the importance of involving children with special needs in the process of designing technology. Starting from this perspective, the paper presents the participatory design process carried out with children with autistic spectrum disorder for the design of a Kinect motionbased game aimed at fostering social initiation skills. By describing the strategies used for the design of the activities, we will suggest possible approaches aimed toward widening the space for contributions of children and including them at a more creative level. Within that, major emphasis will be dedicated to discussing the "empowering dimension" of participatory design activities as an instrument to enhance benefits both for design results and for the children themselves. Finally, the balance between structure and freedom in the design of the activities will be discussed.
Combined Iron Chelator and Antioxidant Exerted Greater Efficacy on Cardioprotection Than Monotherapy in Iron-Overloaded Rats

Background Iron chelators are used to treat iron overload cardiomyopathy patients. However, a direct comparison of the benefits of three common iron chelators (deferoxamine (DFO), deferiprone (DFP) and deferasirox (DFX)) or an antioxidant (N-acetyl cysteine (NAC)) with a combined DFP and NAC treatments on left ventricular (LV) function with iron overload has not been investigated. Methods and Findings Male Wistar rats were fed with either a normal diet or a high iron diet (HFe group) for 4 months. After 2 months, the HFe-fed rats were divided into 6 groups to receive either: a vehicle, DFO (25 mg/kg/day), DFP (75 mg/kg/day), DFX (20 mg/kg/day), NAC (100 mg/kg/day) or the combined DFP and NAC for 2 months. Our results demonstrated that HFe rats had increased plasma non-transferrin bound iron (NTBI), malondialdehyde (MDA), cardiac iron and MDA levels and cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction, leading to LV dysfunction. Although DFO, DFP, DFX or NAC improved these parameters, leading to improved LV function, the combined DFP and NAC therapy caused greater improvement, leading to more extensively improved LV function. Conclusions The combined DFP and NAC treatment had greater efficacy than monotherapy in cardioprotection through the reduction of cardiac iron deposition and improved cardiac mitochondrial function in iron-overloaded rats.
Evaluating commercial spoken language translation software

While spoken language translation remains a research goal, a crude form of it is widely available commercially for Japanese–English as a pipeline concatenation of speech-to-text recognition (SR), text-to-text translation (MT) and text-to-speech synthesis (SS). This paper proposes and illustrates an evaluation methodology for this noisy channel which tries to quantify the relative amount of degradation in translation quality due to each of the contributing modules. A small pilot experiment involving word-accuracy rate for the SR, and a fidelity evaluation for the MT and SS modules is proposed in which subjects are asked to paraphrase translated and/or synthesised sentences from a tourist’s phrasebook. Results show (as expected) that MT is the “noisiest” channel, with SS contributing least noise. The concatenation of the three channels is worse than could be predicted from the performance of each as individual tasks.
Some Remarks on Rainbow Connectivity

An edge (vertex) colored graph is rainbow‐connected if there is a rainbow path between any two vertices, i.e. a path all of whose edges (internal vertices) carry distinct colors. Rainbow edge (vertex) connectivity of a graph G is the smallest number of colors needed for a rainbow edge (vertex) coloring of G. In this article, we propose a very simple approach to studying rainbow connectivity in graphs. Using this idea, we give a unified proof of several known results, as well as some new ones.
Measuring Efficiency of Vietnamese Commercial Banks : An Application of Data Envelopment Analysis ( DEA )

In this paper, we focus on the efficiency performan ce of the Vietnamese commercial banks in terms of their efficiency change, producti vity growth, and technological change during the period 2001–2003. We use a data e nvelopment analysis (DEA) model for this purpose. Productivity is measured us ing the Malmquist total factor productivity index. The panel data of 13 commercial banks in Vietnam are used for the empirical research. It is found that the averag e cost efficiency of the sampled banks was about 60.6 percent, and the average annua l growth of the Malmquist index was negative 2.2 percent over the study perio d. Conversely, the total factor productivity (TFP) increased by 5.7 percent in 2003 relative to 2001 (the base year), and the TFP of 2003 was 15.1 percent higher t an that of 2002. This TFP improvement was achieved primarily by greater techn ical efficiency and, to some extent, by technological advancement. These empiric al results might benefit Vietnamese policy makers, who are interested in exa mining the effects of deregulation on productivity of the Vietnamese comm ercial banks, so as to improve the overall efficiency of the banking industry.
Neutrinos and the Phenomenology of CPT Violation

In this talk I review briefly theoretical models and ideas on quantum gravity approaches entailing CPT violation. Then, I discuss various phenomenological tests of CPT violation using neutrinos, arguing in favour of their superior sensitivity as compared to that of tests using other particles, such as neutral mesons, or nuclear and atomic physics experiments. I stress the fact that there is no single figure of merit for CPT violation, and that the conclusions on phenomenological sensitivities drawn so far are highly quantum-gravity-model dependent.
A Comparative Study of Gaussian Mixture Model and Radial Basis Function for Voice Recognition

A comparative study of the application of Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM) and Radial Basis Function (RBF) in biometric recognition of voice has been carried out and presented. The application of machine learning techniques to biometric authentication and recognition problems has gained a widespread acceptance. In this research, a GMM model was trained, using Expectation Maximization (EM) algorithm, on a dataset containing 10 classes of vowels and the model was used to predict the appropriate classes using a validation dataset. For experimental validity, the model was compared to the performance of two different versions of RBF model using the same learning and validation datasets. The results showed very close recognition accuracy between the GMM and the standard RBF model, but with GMM performing better than the standard RBF by less than 1% and the two models outperformed similar models reported in literature. The DTREG version of RBF outperformed the other two models by producing 94.8% recognition accuracy. In terms of recognition time, the standard RBF was found to be the fastest among the three models.
Serotonin Transporter Gene (SLC6A4) Variations Are Associated with Poor Survival in Colorectal Cancer Patients

Prognosis in colorectal cancer patients is quite variable, even after adjustment for clinical parameters such as disease stage and microsatellite instability status. It is possible that the psychological distress experienced by patients, including anxiety and depression, may be correlated with poor prognosis. In the present study, we hypothesize that genetic variations within three genes biologically linked to the stress response, namely serotonin transporter (SLC6A4), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and arginine vasopressin receptor (AVPR1B) genes are associated with prognosis in colorectal cancer patients. We used a population-based cohort of 280 patients who were followed for up to 12.5 years after diagnosis. Our multivariate analysis showed that a tagSNP in the SLC6A4 gene (rs12150214) was a predictor of shorter overall survival (HR: 1.572, 95%CI: 1.142–2.164, p = 0.005) independent of stage, age, grade and MSI status. Additionally, a multivariate analysis using the combined genotypes of three polymorphisms in this gene demonstrated that the presence of any of the minor alleles at these polymorphic loci was an independent predictor of both shorter overall survival (HR: 1.631, 95%CI: 1.190–2.236, p = 0.002) and shorter disease specific survival (HR: 1.691, 95%CI: 1.138–2.512, p = 0.009). The 5-HTT protein coded by the SLC6A4 gene has also been implicated in inflammation. While our results remain to be replicated in other patient cohorts, we suggest that the genetic variations in the SLC6A4 gene contribute to poor survival in colorectal cancer patients.
Critical Successful Factors Contributing to E-Commerce Adoption among Iranian SMEs

Iran’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) have been widely introduced in the market these days. In the emerging trend of electronic data interchange, Iran’s political, economical and social issues have been diverted to a more aggressive approach to the world of e-commerce, that despite the shadowing issues of the past, Iran already internalized the promising craft of e-commerce through various IT adoption techniques and skills. In line with this, this study is aimed to the growing emergence on Iran’s SMEs and how e-commerce contributes to the success of IT adoption. (Ajdari, 2007). This paper would further identify the ways and reasons how Iran thrived to its current status as a raising e-commerce country (Powers and Carvar, 1990) It’s the main responsibility of governmental forces to enable organizational and national forces to gain dynamic control over resources and markets for a better e-Commerce take off (Moor & Benbasat, I996). Also, we will investigate fifty SMEs and surveys along with personal interviews will be conducted to locate findings, reasons, causes and effects in this regard. Study will focus on three main areas of SMEs including organizational, environmental and technological aspects. Results indicate the significant perceived value of government support in SMEs development in Iran (Dearing, 1990).
Retrospective of the 1988 European seal epizootic

The disease that killed more than 18 000 harbour seals Phoca vitulina and a small number of grey seals Halichoerus grypus in the North Sea, the Kattegat-Skagerrak and the southern Baltic in 1988 has now been well described for all afflicted areas, and the pathological and virological findings are In good concordance from all seal groups studied. The descriptions vary in detail but render l~ttle doubt that the disease had identical characteristics, and that a newly recognised virus, phoclne distemper virus (PDV), of the genus A4orbillivirus, was the primary cause of the disease. A number of viral and bacterial agents as well as parasites were identified in the dead seals, but none of them seem to be of primary importance for the development of the disease syndrome. The high mortality can probably b e explained by the fact that a highly pathogenic vlrus was introduced into a n a v e population with no specific immunity to the infectious agent. It is also possible that factors such as organochlorine pollution or crowding of seals a t haul-out sites may have exacerbated the impact of the disease in some areas. However, there are currently insufficient data to determine the potential role of these other factors in the severity of the outbreak. Antibodies to infections by canine distemper virus (CDV)-like viruses are present in both North Atlantic and Antarctic pinnipeds, but the immunological response is usually distinct from that to PDV. The pathogenicity of these infections is unknown, but likely less than for the virus that infected North Sea harbour seals in 1988. However, harp seals Phoca groenlandica a r e frequently infected by PDV and they have recently invaded the North Sea where they have been observed in the vicinity of harbour seal haul-out sites. Hence, migrating harp seals are a plausible vector of the virus. PDV has been transmitted to terrestrial carnivores causing distemper outbreaks in Danish farmed mink Mustela vison in 1989, and an epizootiological link cannot be excluded. There a r e no ep~zoot~ological links between the seal epizootic in North Western Europe In 1988-89 and the disease outbreaks in Baikal seals Phoca sibirica and high Arctic sled dogs in 1987-88.
Carcinoma of the Anal Canal

From 1975 to 1990 65 patients with carcinoma of the anal canal received radiation therapy alone or in conjunction with other modalities. Follow-up ranged from 12 to 171 months (mean: 59 months; median: 44 months). Actuarial disease-free survival (including salvage surgery) for T1–3 NO lesions was 88% ± 7% at 10 years. This was independent of T stage (91% for T1, 88% for T2, and 100% for T3). Disease-free survival was significantly worse for Tl-3 N+ lesions (52% ± 23% disease-free at 10 years, P = .025) and T4 lesions (O/8 disease free by 21 months, P < .001). Of the 57 patients with T1–3 lesions, 46 received low to moderate doses of radiation (≤5,000 cGy) in conjunction with infusional 5FU based chemotherapy. These were reviewed for treatment related factors. Among patients treated with low to moderate dose chemoradiotherapy the local control (including salvage surgery) was excellent: 100% for Tl lesions and 88% ± 6% for T2,3 lesions. There was a suggestion that increasing the dose of radiation to the tumor may reduce the need for surgery for T2,3 lesions. For T2,3 lesions the local control excluding surgery was 63% ± 12% with 3,000 cGy plus chemotherapy, as opposed to 77% ± 11% with 4,000–5,000 Gy (mean 4,600 cGy) plus chemotherapy. The most important factor for posttreatment toxicity was the addition of pelvic surgery to chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Eighteen patients who received chemoradiotherapy either had a history of prior pelvic surgery (five cases) or underwent APR following chemoradiotherapy (13 cases). There were a total of nine grade 3 or 4 complications (including all five cases of small bowel obstruction) in this group. There was a significantly lower (P = .04) incidence of complications in the remaining patients: 2/47 (4%). It should be noted that no patient required a colostomy for management of treatment sequelae, the interventions taken were all successful in managing complications, and no complication was fatal. Nonetheless these results suggest that, for some T3 and T2 lesions, measures which reduce the need for salvage surgery might improve overall quality of life by reducing complications, although it may prove difficult to demonstrate an improvement in the excellent disease- free survival. In addition, measures should be taken to reduce the volume of irradiated bowel if a patient has a history of prior pelvic surgery.
Combining activated carbon adsorption with heterogeneous photocatalytic oxidation: Lack of synergy for biologically treated greywater and tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether

The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the addition of activated carbon in the photocatalytic oxidation of biologically pretreated greywater and of a polar aliphatic compound gives synergy, as previously demonstrated with phenol. Photocatalytic oxidation kinetics were recorded with fivefold concentrated biologically pretreated greywater and with aqueous tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether solutions using a UV lamp and the photocatalyst TiO2 P25 in the presence and the absence of powdered activated carbon. The synergy factor, SF, was quantified as the ratio of photocatalytic oxidation rate constant in the presence of powdered activated carbon to the rate constant without activated carbon. No synergy was observed for the greywater concentrate (SF≈ 1). For the aliphatic compound, tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether, addition of activated carbon actually had an inhibiting effect on photocatalysis (SF<1), while synergy was confirmed in reference experiments using aqueous phenol solutions. The absence of synergy for the greywater concentrate can be explained by low adsorbability of its organic constituents by activated carbon. Inhibition of the photocatalytic oxidation of tetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether by addition of powdered activated carbon was attributed to shading of the photocatalyst by the activated carbon particles. It was assumed that synergy in the hybrid process was limited to aromatic organics. Regardless of the lack of synergy in the case of biologically pretreated greywater, the addition of powdered activated carbon is advantageous since, due to additional adsorptive removal of organics, photocatalytic oxidation resulted in a 60% lower organic concentration when activated carbon was present after the same UV irradiation time.
The Multiple Middle: Managing in Healthcare

markdownabstract__Abstract__ The future of the middle manager is a much debated topic; not only in healthcare but also in other sectors. The middle manager is either viewed as an important change agent or as a relict of the past. Despite these opposing views, the underlying definition of middle management is one and the same: middle management is defined as a place somewhere ‘in the middle’ of the work floor and higher management. This spatial definition of middle management is foregrounding management activities in ‘upward’ (higher management) and ‘downward’ directions (work floor), while backgrounding other management activities. As a consequence, we only have a partial and limited view of what middle management entails. The central aim of this thesis is to open up the middle by researching the multiplicity of the middle in healthcare, thereby gaining new insights in day-to-day work of middle management and important transitions in this work. This thesis foregrounds alternative middles that so far have received little attention in literature: the middle in-between 1) conflicting values of good care; 2) different justifications used towards stakeholders; 3) professional and managerial discourses; and 4) organizational boundaries between care, welfare and housing. The empirical analysis does not only sheds light on the type of work that is conducted in these middles, but also reveals how this work is reconfigured and partially distributed to clients and professionals. Moreover, the analysis provides an answer to the main question: ‘How is the daily work of middle management enacted and reconfigured in the Dutch care sector? ’ This thesis focuses particularly on care organizations for people with physical and mental limitations and neighbourhood-based care projects. These organizational settings are suitable for investigating changing responsibilities in the current care sector and welfare state. Ethnographic research methods are used to explore mundane routines and embedded perceptions of actors. By shadowing middle managers during their daily work, a clear picture was developed of what the activity of middle managing entails in practice. To deepen the empirical analysis, ethnographic observations were triangulated with semi-structured interviews and document analysis. During data collection and analysis, various sensitizing concepts from literature were used to focus on specific aspects of work, such as ‘values’, ‘justifications’ and ‘boundaries’. The result is an ethnography of managerial work that is both theory-based and inductively developed.
Protective Effect of Yinhua Miyanling Tablet on Lipopolysaccharide-Induced Inflammation through Suppression of NLRP3/Caspase-1 Inflammasome in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells

Yinhua Miyanling Tablet (YMT), the Chinese formula, has long been administrated in clinical practice for the treatment of acute pyelonephritis and acute urocystitis. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effect of YMT in vitro and to evaluate the association between anti-inflammation and innate immune response. Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were isolated using Ficoll density gradient centrifugation and then were stimulated by Lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The differential gene expression of inflammation-related genes after drug administration was assessed using PCR array, and the protein levels of differential genes were measured by ELISA and Western blot. The result showed that YMT significantly inhibited the expression of NLRP3, Caspase-1, and the downstream cytokine IL-1β and suppressed the production of inflammatory mediators TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and MCP-1 in a dose-dependent manner compared to the LPS group (P < 0.01). The finding indicated that YMT exhibited anti-inflammatory effect in vitro by suppressing the NLRP3/Caspase-1 inflammasome, and that may have therapeutic potential for the treatment of inflammatory diseases.
Petro Rents, Political Institutions, and Hidden Wealth: Evidence from Bank Deposits in Tax Havens

Do political institutions limit rent-seeking by politicians? To address this question, we study the transformation of petroleum rents into hidden wealth using unique data on bank deposits in tax havens. We find that petroleum rents are associated with increases in hidden wealth, but only when political institutions are very weak. We also discern an interesting interaction with political risk: events such as elections and domestic conflict are preceded by increases in hidden wealth when political institutions are weak, which is consistent with a view of autocratic rulers as forward-looking rent-seekers whose behavior is constrained by political checks and balances.
The Design of Simple Bacterial Microarrays: Development towards Immobilizing Single Living Bacteria on Predefined Micro-Sized Spots on Patterned Surfaces

In this paper we demonstrate a procedure for preparing bacterial arrays that is fast, easy, and applicable in a standard molecular biology laboratory. Microcontact printing is used to deposit chemicals promoting bacterial adherence in predefined positions on glass surfaces coated with polymers known for their resistance to bacterial adhesion. Highly ordered arrays of immobilized bacteria were obtained using microcontact printed islands of polydopamine (PD) on glass surfaces coated with the antiadhesive polymer polyethylene glycol (PEG). On such PEG-coated glass surfaces, bacteria were attached to 97 to 100% of the PD islands, 21 to 62% of which were occupied by a single bacterium. A viability test revealed that 99% of the bacteria were alive following immobilization onto patterned surfaces. Time series imaging of bacteria on such arrays revealed that the attached bacteria both divided and expressed green fluorescent protein, both of which indicates that this method of patterning of bacteria is a suitable method for single-cell analysis.