Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optical Myography: Detecting Finger Movements by Looking at the Forearm

One of the crucial problems found in the scientific community of assistive/rehabilitation robotics nowadays is that of automatically detecting what a disabled subject (for instance, a hand amputee) wants to do, exactly when she wants to do it, and strictly for the time she wants to do it. This problem, commonly called “intent detection,” has traditionally been tackled using surface electromyography, a technique which suffers from a number of drawbacks, including the changes in the signal induced by sweat and muscle fatigue. With the advent of realistic, physically plausible augmented- and virtual-reality environments for rehabilitation, this approach does not suffice anymore. In this paper, we explore a novel method to solve the problem, which we call Optical Myography (OMG). The idea is to visually inspect the human forearm (or stump) to reconstruct what fingers are moving and to what extent. In a psychophysical experiment involving ten intact subjects, we used visual fiducial markers (AprilTags) and a standard web camera to visualize the deformations of the surface of the forearm, which then were mapped to the intended finger motions. As ground truth, a visual stimulus was used, avoiding the need for finger sensors (force/position sensors, datagloves, etc.). Two machine-learning approaches, a linear and a non-linear one, were comparatively tested in settings of increasing realism. The results indicate an average error in the range of 0.05–0.22 (root mean square error normalized over the signal range), in line with similar results obtained with more mature techniques such as electromyography. If further successfully tested in the large, this approach could lead to vision-based intent detection of amputees, with the main application of letting such disabled persons dexterously and reliably interact in an augmented-/virtual-reality setup.
Series N ° 1441 Asset Prices with Temporary Shocks to Consumption

Most standard asset-pricing models assume that all shocks to consumption are permanent. We relax this assumption and allow also for temporary shocks. The implications of our model are dramatically different from those obtained in the prior literature. A canonical and parsimonious asset pricing model with CRRA preferences and temporary shocks can reproduce the equity premium, high return volatility and return predictability with a coefficient of relative risk aversion below ten. This finding suggests that temporary shocks can play an important role in explaining asset pricing puzzles.
Multiple UAV path planning using anytime algorithms

We address the problem of generating feasible paths from a given start location to a goal configuration for multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) operating in an obstacle rich environment that consist of static, pop-up and moving obstacles. The UAVs have limited sensor and communication ranges, when they detect a pop-up or a moving obstacle that is in the collision course with the UAV flight path, then it has to replan a new optimal path from its current location to the goal. Determining optimal paths with short time intervals is not feasible, hence we develop anytime algorithm using particle swarm optimization that yields paths whose quality increases with increase in available computation time. To track the given path by the anytime algorithm in 3D, we developed a new uav guidance law that is based on a combination of pursuit guidance law and line of sight guidance law from missile guidance literature. Simulations are carried out to show that the anytime algorithm produces good paths in a relatively short time interval and the guidance law allows the UAVs to track the generated path
Resolvin E1 promotes mucosal surface clearance of neutrophils: a new paradigm for inflammatory resolution

Migration of neutrophils (PMN) across epithelia is a pathological hallmark of numerous muco‐sal diseases. Whereas lesions at mucosal surfaces are generally self‐limiting, endogenous mechanisms of resolution are incompletely understood. Previous studies revealed that resolvins directly act on PMN to attenuate transendothelial migration, less is known about the influence of resolvins on PMN‐epithelial interactions and whether they act on epithelia. We studied the dynamics of resolvin E1 (RvE1) actions on leukocyte transepithelial migration. PMN exposure to RvE1 or chemerin (peptide agonist of ChemR23) reduced trans‐epithelial migration in a concentration‐dependent manner. Conversely, activation of epithelial ChemR23 promoted apical clearance of PMN. A nonbiased screen of known PMN ligands expressed on epithelial cells in response to RvE1 revealed selective induction of CD55, an apically expressed antiadhesive molecule. CD55 promoter analysis demonstrated that both RvE1 and chemerin activate the CD55 promoter. Inhibition of CD55 by neutralizing antibody prevented RvE1‐depen‐dent augmentation of apical PMN clearance. Taken together these findings implicate a “two‐hit” model of inflammatory resolution, whereby activation of the PMN RvE1 receptor attenuates transepithelial migration and subsequent actions on the epithelium promote CD55‐dependent clearance of PMN across the epithelial cell surface promoting active inflammatory resolution. —Campbell, E. L. , Louis, N. A. , Tomassetti, S. E. , Canny, G. O. , Arita, M. , Serhan, C. N. , Colgan, S. P. Resolvin E1 promotes mucosal surface clearance of neutrophils: a new paradigm for inflammatory resolution. FASEB J. 21, 3162–3170 (2007)
Functional Integration of Electrically Active Cardiac Derivatives From Genetically Engineered Human Embryonic Stem Cells With Quiescent Recipient Ventricular Cardiomyocytes: Insights Into the Development of Cell-Based Pacemakers

Background—Human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) derived from blastocysts can propagate indefinitely in culture while maintaining pluripotency, including the ability to differentiate into cardiomyocytes (CMs); therefore, hESCs may provide an unlimited source of human CMs for cell-based therapies. Although CMs can be derived from hESCs ex vivo, it remains uncertain whether a functional syncytium can be formed between donor and recipient cells after engraftment. Methods and Results—Using a combination of electrophysiological and imaging techniques, here we demonstrate that electrically active, donor CMs derived from hESCs that had been stably genetically engineered by a recombinant lentivirus can functionally integrate with otherwise-quiescent, recipient, ventricular CMs to induce rhythmic electrical and contractile activities in vitro. The integrated syncytium was responsive to the &bgr;-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol as well as to other pharmacological agents such as lidocaine and ZD7288. Similarly, a functional hESC-derived pacemaker could be implanted in the left ventricle in vivo. Detailed optical mapping of the epicardial surface of guinea pig hearts transplanted with hESC-derived CMs confirmed the successful spread of membrane depolarization from the site of injection to the surrounding myocardium. Conclusions—We conclude that electrically active, hESC-derived CMs are capable of actively pacing quiescent, recipient, ventricular CMs in vitro and ventricular myocardium in vivo. Our results may lead to an alternative or a supplemental method for correcting defects in cardiac impulse generation, such as cell-based pacemakers.
Improvement of mechanical properties of concrete canvas by anhydrite-modified calcium sulfoaluminate cement

A carefully designed formulation of dry cement powder for concrete canvas, which is expected to have both high mechanical strengths and short setting times, is obtained by partially replacing calcium sulfoaluminate cement (CSA) with anhydrite at four levels (0%, 10%, 20% and 30% by mass of CSA cement). The influence of anhydrite fineness on the mechanical properties of concrete canvas and its mechanical anisotropy are both investigated. X-ray diffraction analysis and isothermal calorimetry are used to investigate the underlying mechanism. Results reveal that increasing anhydrite content or fineness improve the mechanical strengths of concrete canvas and shortened its setting times. However, a slight decrease of mechanical strength occurs at the later age when the replacement level was 30 wt%. A large amount of unhydrated particles is found in hardened specimens. The concrete canvas shows higher mechanical strengths in the warp direction than in the weft direction, and it exhibits the lowest compressive strength in the through-the-thickness direction.
Docetaxel, Cisplatin, and 5‐Fluorouracil as perioperative chemotherapy compared with surgery alone for resectable gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma

Docetaxel, cisplatin, and 5‐fluorouracil (DCF) significantly improved overall survival in metastatic gastroesophageal adenocarcinoma (GEA). The aim of this study was to assess efficacy of DCF regimen as perioperative chemotherapy compared with surgery alone in patients with resectable GEA. We identified 789 patients who underwent surgery alone and 62 patients who received at least one cycle of DCF regimen consisting of docetaxel (75 mg/m2 on day 1), cisplatin (75 mg/m2 on day 1), and 5‐fluorouracil (750 mg/m2/day on continuous perfusion on days 1 to 5), every 3 weeks. Overall survival was compared using Cox proportional hazards regression model with adjustments for confounding factors provided by two propensity score methods: inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) and matched‐pair analysis. In Cox multivariate analysis weighted by IPTW, DCF group was associated with favorable overall survival (OS) compared with the surgery group (HR = 0.59; 95% CI, 0.45–0.78; P = 0.0003). For the matched‐pair analysis (comparing 41 patients for each group with the same baseline characteristics), median OS was 22 months and 57 months for the surgery group and DCF group, respectively (log‐rank P = 0.0011). In Cox multivariate analysis, DCF group was associated with favorable OS compared with the surgery group (HR = 0.29; 95% IC, 0.14–0.64; P = 0.0019). In the matched‐pair population, major complications (Dindo‐Clavien grade 3–5) arose in six patients (14.63%) in the DCF group and seven patients (17.07%) in the surgery group (P = 1). Perioperative DCF chemotherapy is superior to surgery alone in terms of OS. A randomized phase III trial should compare DCF to standard perioperative regimens.
Phenotypic and Genetic Characterization of Circulating Tumor Cells by Combining Immunomagnetic Selection and FICTION Techniques

The presence of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in breast cancer patients has been proven to have clinical relevance. Cytogenetic characterization of these cells could have crucial relevance for targeted cancer therapies. We developed a method that combines an immunomagnetic selection of CTCs from peripheral blood with the fluorescence immunophenotyping and interphase cytogenetics as a tool for investigation of neoplasm (FICTION) technique. Briefly, peripheral blood (10 ml) from healthy donors was spiked with a predetermined number of human breast cancer cells. Nucleated cells were separated by double density gradient centrifugation of blood samples. Tumor cells (TCs) were immunomagnetically isolated with an anti-cytokeratin antibody and placed onto slides for FICTION analysis. For immunophenotyping and genetic characterization of TCs, a mixture of primary monoclonal anti-pancytokeratin antibodies was used, followed by fluorescent secondary antibodies, and finally hybridized with a TOP2A/HER-2/CEP17 multicolor probe. Our results show that TCs can be efficiently isolated from peripheral blood and characterized by FICTION. Because genetic amplification of TOP2A and ErbB2 (HER-2) in breast cancer correlates with response to anthracyclines and herceptin therapies, respectively, this novel methodology could be useful for a better classification of patients according to the genetic alterations of CTCs and for the application of targeted therapies.
Inlier-Based Outlier Detection via Direct Density Ratio Estimation

We propose a new statistical approach to the problem of inlier-based outlier detection, i.e.,finding outliers in the test set based on the training set consisting only of inliers. Our key idea is to use the ratio of training and test data densities as an outlier score; we estimate the ratio directly in a semi-parametric fashion without going through density estimation. Thus our approach is expected to have better performance in high-dimensional problems. Furthermore, the applied algorithm for density ratio estimation is equipped with a natural cross-validation procedure, allowing us to objectively optimize the value of tuning parameters such as the regularization parameter and the kernel width. The algorithm offers a closed-form solution as well as a closed-form formula for the leave-one-out error. Thanks to this, the proposed outlier detection method is computationally very efficient and is scalable to massive datasets. Simulations with benchmark and real-world datasets illustrate the usefulness of the proposed approach.
Transcriptional regulation of drought response: a tortuous network of transcriptional factors

Drought is one of the leading factors responsible for the reduction in crop yield worldwide. Due to climate change, in future, more areas are going to be affected by drought and for prolonged periods. Therefore, understanding the mechanisms underlying the drought response is one of the major scientific concerns for improving crop yield. Plants deploy diverse strategies and mechanisms to respond and tolerate drought stress. Expression of numerous genes is modulated in different plants under drought stress that help them to optimize their growth and development. Plant hormone abscisic acid (ABA) plays a major role in plant response and tolerance by regulating the expression of many genes under drought stress. Transcription factors being the major regulator of gene expression play a crucial role in stress response. ABA regulates the expression of most of the target genes through ABA-responsive element (ABRE) binding protein/ABRE binding factor (AREB/ABF) transcription factors. Genes regulated by AREB/ABFs constitute a regulon termed as AREB/ABF regulon. In addition to this, drought responsive genes are also regulated by ABA-independent mechanisms. In ABA-independent regulation, dehydration-responsive element binding protein (DREB), NAM, ATAF, and CUC regulons play an important role by regulating many drought-responsive genes. Apart from these major regulons, MYB/MYC, WRKY, and nuclear factor-Y (NF-Y) transcription factors are also involved in drought response and tolerance. Our understanding about transcriptional regulation of drought is still evolving. Recent reports have suggested the existence of crosstalk between different transcription factors operating under drought stress. In this article, we have reviewed various regulons working under drought stress and their crosstalk with each other.
Hybrid Power Saving Mechanism for VoIP Services with Silence Suppression in IEEE 802.16e Systems

Current power saving mechanisms in the IEEE 802.16e standard are not designed to take into account silent periods in VoIP traffic. Therefore, we propose a hybrid power saving mechanism (HPSM) suitable for VoIP services with silence suppression, which basically follows the power saving class (PSC) II during talk-spurt periods, but uses the mechanism of PSC I during silent periods. The analysis and simulation results show that the proposed HPSM reduces energy consumption during silent periods while satisfying constraints on the packet drop probability imposed by VoIP services
Leishmania-Induced IRAK-1 Inactivation Is Mediated by SHP-1 Interacting with an Evolutionarily Conserved KTIM Motif

Parasites of the Leishmania genus can rapidly alter several macrophage (MØ) signalling pathways in order to tame down the innate immune response and inflammation, therefore favouring their survival and propagation within their mammalian host. Having recently reported that Leishmania and bacterial LPS generate a significantly stronger inflammatory response in animals and phagocytes functionally deficient for the Src homology 2 domain-containing protein tyrosine phosphatase (SHP-1), we hypothesized that Leishmania could exploit SHP-1 to inactivate key kinases involved in Toll-like receptor (TLR) signalling and innate immunity such as IL-1 receptor-associated kinase 1 (IRAK-1). Here we show that upon infection, SHP-1 rapidly binds to IRAK-1, completely inactivating its intrinsic kinase activity and any further LPS-mediated activation as well as MØ functions. We also demonstrate that the SHP-1/IRAK-1 interaction occurs via an evolutionarily conserved ITIM-like motif found in the kinase domain of IRAK-1, which we named KTIM (Kinase Tyrosyl-based Inhibitory Motif). This regulatory motif appeared in early vertebrates and is not found in any other IRAK family member. Our study additionally reveals that several other kinases (e.g. Erk1/2, IKKα/β) involved in downstream TLR signalling also bear KTIMs in their kinase domains and interact with SHP-1. We thus provide the first demonstration that a pathogen can exploit a host protein tyrosine phosphatase, namely SHP-1, to directly inactivate IRAK-1 through a generally conserved KTIM motif.
Removal of Methylene Blue from aqueous solutions using as biosorbent Sargassum muticum: an invasive macroalga in Europe

Methylene Blue adsorption on Sargassum muticum, an invasive macroalga in Europe, has been investigated using visible absorption spectroscopy. Different pre-treatments, protonation and chemical cross-linking with CaCl2 or H2CO, have been tested in order to improve the stability as well as the adsorption capacity of the algal biomass. The equilibrium binding has been described in terms of Langmuir or Freundlich isotherms depending on the algal pre-treatment; from the maximum adsorption capacity values, an estimation of the algal specific surface area was made. Moreover, it has been found that adsorption kinetics can be described according to the first order Lagergren model, from which the rate constant and the adsorption capacity were determined. Finally, simple empirical equations were obtained to evaluate the amount of Methylene Blue removed at any initial concentration and reaction time. The results obtained have shown that this type of material has a high adsorption capacity for Methylene Blue dye, this feature together with the short times needed to reach the equilibrium suggest that Sargassum muticum can be used as a low-cost biosorbent in wastewater treatments. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry
Identification of Conditional Interventional Distributions

The subject of this paper is the elucidation of effects of actions from causal assumptions represented as a directed graph, and statistical knowledge given as a probability distribution. In particular, we are interested in predicting distributions on post-action outcomes given a set of measurements. We provide a necessary and sufficient graphical condition for the cases where such distributions can be uniquely computed from the available information, as well as an algorithm which performs this computation whenever the condition holds. Furthermore, we use our results to prove completeness of do-calculus [Pearl, 1995] for the same identification problem, and show applications to sequential decision making.
Experiments on flow focusing in soluble porous media, with applications to melt extraction from the mantle

We demonstrate finite structures formed as a consequence of the “reactive infiltration instability” (Chadam et al., 1986) in a series of laboratory and numerical experiments with growth of solution channels parallel to the fluid flow direction. Regions with initially high porosity have high ratios of fluid volume to soluble solid surface area and exhibit more rapid fluid flow at constant pressure, so that dissolution reactions in these regions produce a relatively rapid increase in porosity. As channels grow, large ones entrain flow laterally inward and extend rapidly. As a result, small channels are starved and disappear. The growth of large channels is an exponential function of time, as predicted by linear stability analysis for growth of infinitesimal perturbations in porosity. Our experiments demonstrate channel growth in the presence of an initial solution front and without an initial solution front where there is a gradient in the solubility of the solid matrix. In the gradient case, diffuse flow is unstable everywhere, channels can form and grow at any point, and channels may extend over the length scale of the gradient. As a consequence of the gradient results, we suggest that the reactive infiltration instability is important in the Earth's mantle, where partial melts in the mantle ascend adiabatically. Mantle peridotite becomes increasingly soluble as the melts decompress. Dissolution reactions between melts and peridotite will produce an increase in liquid mass and lead to formation of porous channels composed of dunite (>95% olivine). Replacive dunite is commonly observed in the mantle section of ophiolites. Focused flow of poly baric partial melts of ascending peridotite within dunite channels may explain the observed chemical disequilibrium between shallow, oceanic mantle peridotites and mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORB). This hypothesis represents an important alternative to MORB extraction in fractures, since fractures may not form in weak, viscously deforming asthenospheric mantle. We also briefly consider the effects of crystallization, rather than dissolution reactions, on the morphology of porous flow via a second set of experiments where fluid becomes supersaturated in a solid phase. Formation of short-lived conduits parallel to the flow direction occurs rapidly, and then each conduit is eventually choked by interior crystallization; fluid flow then passes through the most permeable portion of the walls to form a new conduit. On long time scales and length scales, transient formation and destruction of conduits will result in random and diffuse flow. Where liquid cools as it rises through mantle tectosphere on a conductive geotherm, it will become saturated in pyroxene as well as olivine and decrease in mass. This process may produce a series of walled conduits, as in our experiments. Development of a low-porosity cap overlying high porosity conduits may create hydrostatic overpressure sufficient to cause fracture and magma transport to the surface in dikes.
Comments on “Calpain Mediates the Dioxin-Induced Activation and Down-Regulation of the Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor”

Dale and Eltom ([2006][1]) suggest that activation of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR)-signal transduction pathway is initiated after proteolytic processing of the AHR by calpain proteases. The authors propose that the calpains are activated by an increase in intracellular calcium that is