Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A feedforward neural network controlling the movement of a 3-DOF finger

This paper describes the dynamic control of a 3 degree of freedom (DOF) ringer emulating a human finger for reaching a desired fingertip position in space. The control consists of a neural network (NN) which provides the necessary three torques to the phalanges granting a smooth "natural" speed profile of the fingertip motion. To obtain the results, we face these problems: 1) the elimination of the redundancy due to the third joint; 2) the mathematical description of a natural movement; 3) the calculation of the torques for executing movement; and 4) the optimization of the NN's structure. Assuming a "cognitive" approach well-established in the literature, the first and the second points are solved by adopting an extension of the minimum jerk theory. The classic Lagrange equations are applied to compute the three-motor torque. Finally, a multilayer perceptron (MLP) NN is trained to move the device in a natural manner. The generalization capabilities of the NN are checked on new never-seen movements, and different MLP architectures are compared on the basis of indexes representing the motor performance. The results suggest we should pursue this approach for multifinger hand in order to achieve a natural NN prosthetic/robotic dynamic control system.
A Markov Clustering Topic Model for mining behaviour in video

This paper addresses the problem of fully automated mining of public space video data. A novel Markov Clustering Topic Model (MCTM) is introduced which builds on existing Dynamic Bayesian Network models (e.g. HMMs) and Bayesian topic models (e.g. Latent Dirichlet Allocation), and overcomes their drawbacks on accuracy, robustness and computational efficiency. Specifically, our model profiles complex dynamic scenes by robustly clustering visual events into activities and these activities into global behaviours, and correlates behaviours over time. A collapsed Gibbs sampler is derived for offline learning with unlabeled training data, and significantly, a new approximation to online Bayesian inference is formulated to enable dynamic scene understanding and behaviour mining in new video data online in real-time. The strength of this model is demonstrated by unsupervised learning of dynamic scene models, mining behaviours and detecting salient events in three complex and crowded public scenes.
Shedding Light on the Impact Dimension of Information Systems Success: A Synthesis of the Literature

There is little consensus among researchers and practitioners on how best to measure IS impact and on what level to assess this impact. Although various dimensions of IS impact, such as individual impact and organizational impact, have been proposed, the number and type of IS impact's dimensions and how these dimensions can be measured remain unclear. This paper contributes to IS research by synthesizing and extending the knowledge on the evaluation of IS success. In particular, the goal of this research is to synthesize IS success literature in order to identify potential IS impact dimensions and measures suitable to operationalize them. Based on our observations from the literature, we propose a comprehensive IS Success Impact Framework (ISIF) that can serve as a conceptualization for both dimensions of IS impact and possible evaluation perspectives as well as a measurement instrument.
Speculative bubbles in agricultural commodity markets

Numerous factors have been proposed in the literature as explaining the recent commodity price movements. In this paper we focus on one of the most widely discussed factors, the impact of speculative bubbles. We investigate whether commodity prices during the spike of 2007–2008 might have deviated from their intrinsic values based on market fundamentals. To do this, we use a bootstrap methodology to compute the finite sample distributions of recently proposed tests. Monte-Carlo simulations show that the bootstrap methodology works well, and allows us to identify explosive processes and collapsing bubbles for wheat, corn and rough rice. There was less evidence of exuberance in soya bean prices. , Oxford University Press.
A new model of posterior capsule opacification in rodents.

PURPOSE To describe a new model of posterior capsule opacification (PCO) in rodents METHODS An extracapsular lens extraction (ECLE), by continuous curvilinear capsulorrhexis and hydrodissection, was performed in 42 consecutive Brown Norway rats. Animals were killed at 0, 6, and 24 hours and 3, 7, and 14 days after surgery. Eyes were enucleated and processed for light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS In 34 (81%) of the animals the operated eye appeared well healed before death, with a clear cornea and a well-formed anterior chamber. In eight (19%) there was no view of anterior segment structures because of hyphema, fibrin, or corneal opacification. PCO was clinically evident 3 days after ECLE and was present in all animals at 2 weeks. Immediately after ECLE, lens epithelial cells (LECs) were present in the inner surface of the anterior capsule and lens bow. Twenty-four hours after surgery, LECs started to migrate toward the center of the posterior capsule. At 3 days, multilayered LECs, some spindle shaped, were present throughout the lens capsule. Capsular wrinkling was apparent. Lens fibers and Soemmering's ring were observed in all animals 14 days after surgery, indicating some degree of cellular differentiation. Activated macrophages were present in greater numbers at 3 and 14 days after surgery (P < 0.05), when proliferation and migration of LECs appeared to be greatest, and lens fiber differentiation was evident, respectively. CONCLUSIONS In rodents PCO occurs after ECLE and is associated with low-grade inflammation, mostly of mononuclear macrophages. Although no intraocular lens implantation was performed, this model appears to be valuable for studying the sequence of events that leads to PCO after cataract surgery and the extracellular matrix cues that promote lens fiber differentiation.
Resiliency enhancement : putting the strengths perspective into social work practice

A. Introduction1. The Strengths Perspective and Resiliency Enhancement: A Natural Partnership, by Elaine NormanB. Resiliency Enhancement and Specific Populations2. The Legacy of Caretaking Among African American Women: A Mixed Blessing, by Eunice Mathews3. Recognizing and Enhancing Natural Resiliency in Boys and Girls, by Sandra Turner4. Resilience in Older Persons: A Paradigm for Practice, by Irene Gutheil and Elaine CongressC. Resiliency Enhancement and Individual, Family, Couple and Group Practice5. A Case Study of Resiliency Enhancement Interventions with an African American Woman, by Carol P. Kaplan6. Women's Resilience at Midlife: What is it? How do you mobilize it? , by Sharon McQuaide7. Grasping Life: Five stories of Will-Filled Men, by Ray Fox8. Enhancing Couple Resiliency, by Howard Robinson9. Strength and Resiliency Themes in Social Work Practice with Groups, by Michael H. Phillips and Carol S. Cohen10. The Unitas Extended Family Circle: Developing Resiliency in Hispanic Youngsters, by Rosa Perez-KoenigD. Resiliency Enhancement in Administration, Training and Prevention11. The Workplace as Protective Environment: Management Strategies, by Sharyn J. Zunz and Roslyn H. Chernesky12. The African American Professional's Resiliency, by Laura Lee13. Introducing a Strengths/Resiliency Model in Mental Health Organizations, by Robert Chazin, Shari Kaplan and Stephen Terio14. Capitalizing on Strengths: A Resiliency Model for At-Risk Youth, by Mary Ann Forgey
PERSISTENCE AND BIOACTIVITY OF METSULFURON-METHYL IN THREE SOILS

The persistence of metsulfuron-methyl (methyl 2-[[(4-methoxy-6-methyl-1,3,5-triazin-2-yl)aminocarbonyl]aminosulfonyl]benzoate) in nonautoclaved and autoclaved Selangor, Lating, and Serdang series soils incubated at different temperatures and with different moisture contents was investigated under laboratory conditions using cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) as the bioassay species. Significant degradation of metsulfuron-methyl was observed in nonautoclaved soil compared with the autoclaved soil sample, indicating the importance of microorganisms in the breakdown process. At higher temperatures the degradation rate in nonautoclaved soil improved with increasing soil moisture content. In nonautoclaved Selangor, Lating and Serdang series soils, the half-life was reduced from 4.79 to 2.78 days, 4.9 to 3.5, and from 3.3 to 1.9 days, respectively, when the temperature was increased from 20° to 30°C at 80% field capacity. Similarly, in nonautoclaved soil, the half-life decreased with an increasing soil moisture from 20% to 80% at 30°C in the three soils studied. In the autoclaved soil, the half-life values were slightly higher than those obtained in the nonautoclaved soils, perhaps indicating that the compound may be broken down by nonbiological processes. The fresh weight of the bioassay species was reduced significantly in Serdang series soil treated with metsulfuron-methyl at 0.1 ppm. However, the reduction in fresh weight of the seedlings was least in Lating series soil, followed by Selangor series soil.
Central corneal thickness measurements in premature infants.

AIM To evaluate the central corneal thickness (CCT) measurements of premature infants. METHODS The premature infants who were born between 25-34wk of gestational age (GA) were retrieved for the study. All CCT measurements were performed within the first 2d of their life under topical anesthesia by using an ultrasonic pachymeter. RESULTS The mean CCT of 200 eyes was 647.79±63.94 µm. The mean CCT of the right and left eyes were similar (647.30±64.72 µm and 648.29±63.47 µm consecutively). The mean CCT of the girls was 642.08±54.89 µm and the boys was 653.07±71.14 µm, with no statistically significant difference (P>0.05). But there was a negative correlation of the CCT with GA and birth weight (BW) (P<0.01). CONCLUSION The CCT values of premature babies were negatively correlated with GA and BW.
Early Catheter Ablation for Unstable Ventricular Tachycardia: Still Too Early to Tell.

In this issue of Circulation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology , Kuck et al1 report the results of the SMS (Substrate Modification Study), in which patients presenting with coronary artery disease and ventricular fibrillation, ventricular tachycardia (VT) with hemodynamic instability, or syncope and inducible hemodynamically unstable VT were randomly assigned to receive either catheter ablation of VT or no specific therapy in addition to insertion of an implantable cardioverter–defibrillator (ICD). This trial is a welcome addition to the small number of randomized controlled multicenter trials of catheter ablation of VT and provides a natural complement to the VTACH trial (Catheter Ablation of Stable Ventricular Tachycardia Before Defibrillator Implantation in Patients With Coronary Heart Disease),2 which was similar in design, but enrolled only patients with hemodynamically tolerated VT. The observations in the trial provide a contrast with the 2 most directly comparable studies, the VTACH study2 and the SMASH-VT trial (Prophylactic Catheter Ablation for the Prevention of Defibrillator Therapy). 3 See Article by Kuck et al Reducing the burden of recurrent ventricular arrhythmias for patients with implantable defibrillators and ischemic cardiomyopathy is highly important—recurrent VT and consequent ICD therapy is associated with adverse quality of life4 and adverse prognosis.5 Our options for accomplishing this include optimization of ICD programming6 to avoid unnecessary therapy (especially unnecessary shocks) and utilization of therapies to reduce recurrent arrhythmias.7 Unfortunately, treatments to reduce recurrent arrhythmias are limited; both catheter ablation and antiarrhythmic drugs have only …
Hindbrain serotonin and the rapid induction of sodium appetite.

Both systemically administered furosemide and isoproterenol produce water intake (i.e., thirst). Curiously, however, in light of the endocrine and hemodynamic effects produced by these treatments, they are remarkably ineffective in eliciting intake of hypertonic saline solutions (i.e., operationally defined as sodium appetite). Recent work indicates that bilateral injections of the serotonin receptor antagonist methysergide into the lateral parabrachial nuclei (LPBN) markedly enhance a preexisting sodium appetite. The present studies establish that a de novo sodium appetite can be induced with LPBN-methysergide treatment under experimental conditions in which only water is typically ingested. The effects of bilateral LPBN injections of methysergide were studied on the intake of water and 0. 3 M NaCl following acute (beginning 1 h after treatment) diuretic (furosemide)-induced sodium and water depletion and following subcutaneous isoproterenol treatment. With vehicle injected into the LPBN, furosemide treatment and isoproterenol injection both caused water drinking but essentially no intake of hypertonic saline. In contrast, bilateral treatment of the LPBN with methysergide induced the intake of 0.3 M NaCl after subcutaneous furosemide and isoproterenol. Water intake induced by subcutaneous furosemide or isoproterenol was not changed by LPBN-methysergide injections. The results indicate that blockade of LPBN-serotonin receptors produces a marked intake of hypertonic NaCl (i.e., a de novo sodium appetite) after furosemide treatment as well as subcutaneous isoproterenol.
ER Dysfunction and Protein Folding Stress in ALS

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is the most frequent paralytic disease in adults. Most ALS cases are considered sporadic with no clear genetic component. The disruption of protein homeostasis due to chronic stress responses at the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and the accumulation of abnormal protein inclusions are extensively described in ALS mouse models and patient-derived tissue. Recent studies using pharmacological and genetic manipulation of the unfolded protein response (UPR), an adaptive reaction against ER stress, have demonstrated a complex involvement of the pathway in experimental models of ALS. In addition, quantitative changes in ER stress-responsive chaperones in body fluids have been proposed as possible biomarkers to monitor the disease progression. Here we review most recent advances attributing a causal role of ER stress in ALS.
Concentration‐dependent kinetics of pollutant desorption from soils

Sorption‐desorption kinetics play a major role in transport and bioavailability of pollutants in soils. Contaminant concentration is a potentially important factor controlling kinetics. A previous paper dealt with the effect of solute concentration on fractional uptake rates of phenanthrene and pyrene from a finite aqueous source. In this study we determined the effect of initial phenanthrene sorbed concentration (q0) on the fractional mass desorption rates from each of six soils to a zero‐concentration solution, approximated by including a polymer adsorbent (Tenax™) as a third‐phase sink. The soils were preequilibrated with phenanthrene for 180 d. Consistent with theory, the fractional desorption rates determined by empirical curve fitting increased with q0 provided the isotherm was nonlinear. After 500 to 600 d of desorption at the steepest possible concentration gradient, all soils retained a highly resistant fraction, which ranged from 4 to 31% of q0, except for one soil at a high q0. The highly resistant fraction decreased with increasing q0 for nonlinear isotherm cases, but increased with q0 for linear or nearly linear isotherm cases. Application of a nonlinear diffusion model, the dual‐mode diffusion model (DMDM), to the nonresistant fraction gave reasonably good fits. The DMDM attributes the increase with concentration of the apparent diffusivity to a decrease in the proportion of sorbate occupying immobile sites (holes) in soil organic matter. The concentration‐dependent term in the expression for the apparent diffusivity correlated with either of two indices that reflect the linearity of the sorption isotherm. Bunker C oil present in one soil acted as a partition domain. The findings of this study are consistent with heterogeneous models of soil organic matter, and indicate that concentration effects should be taken into account whenever desorption rate is important.
SCAPER, a novel cyclin A–interacting protein that regulates cell cycle progression

Cyclin A/Cdk2 plays an important role during S and G2/M phases of the eukaryotic cell cycle, but the mechanisms by which it regulates cell cycle events are not fully understood. We have biochemically purified and identified SCAPER, a novel protein that specifically interacts with cyclin A/Cdk2 in vivo. Its expression is cell cycle independent, and it associates with cyclin A/Cdk2 at multiple phases of the cell cycle. SCAPER localizes primarily to the endoplasmic reticulum. Ectopic expression of SCAPER sequesters cyclin A from the nucleus and results specifically in an accumulation of cells in M phase of the cell cycle. RNAi-mediated depletion of SCAPER decreases the cytoplasmic pool of cyclin A and delays the G1/S phase transition upon cell cycle re-entry from quiescence. We propose that SCAPER represents a novel cyclin A/Cdk2 regulatory protein that transiently maintains this kinase in the cytoplasm. SCAPER could play a role in distinguishing S phase– from M phase–specific functions of cyclin A/Cdk2.
The influence of dietary phosphorus intake on the rate of bone metabolism in sheep

1. A combination of balance and isotope techniques was used to determine the influence of phosphorus depletion on the size of the exchangeable calcium pool and on the rates of Ca deposition in and removal from the whole skeleton of sheep. 2. The exchangeable Ca pool was reduced in size in the depleted sheep to approximately 50% of that in the controls. 3. The rates of Ca deposition in and removal from bone were reduced by P depletion and the rate of Ca transfer from the pool was reduced slightly. 4. The turnover rates of the exchangeable Ca pool and bone Ca in sheep appear to be similar to values published for man.
Relationship of Personal Growth Initiative with Self-Efficacy among University Postgraduate Students

The purpose of this study is to verify the relationship between Personal Growth Initiative (PGI) and Self-Efficacy. Personal growth initiative is active and intentional engagement in the process of self-change. Self-efficacy is a person’s belief in his/her ability to succeed in a particular situation. In the present paper, relationship of personal growth initiative with self-efficacy was found and PGI was predicted on the basis of self-efficacy. Descriptive Survey Method with Ex-Post Facto design was used. Personal Growth Initiative was measures by using PGIS-II by Robitschek et al (2009) and Self-Efficacy was assessed by using Turkish Version of GSES by Yildrim and Ilhan(2010). Both the scales were adapted in Indian condition. The Cronbach Alphas for the PGIS-II and GSES were 0.741 and 0.714 respectively. Results of the study revealed the positive relationship between PGI and Self-Efficacy. It was also investigated that Self-Efficacy has significant impact on total PGI as well as its dimensions. The implications of the study are discussed in this paper later on. Keywords: Personal growth initiative, Self-efficacy and University postgraduate students
Automatically Creating Datasets for Measures of Semantic Relatedness

Semantic relatedness is a special form of linguistic distance between words. Evaluating semantic relatedness measures is usually performed by comparison with human judgments. Previous test datasets had been created analytically and were limited in size. We propose a corpus-based system for automatically creating test datasets. Experiments with human subjects show that the resulting datasets cover all degrees of relatedness. As a result of the corpus-based approach, test datasets cover all types of lexical-semantic relations and contain domain-specific words naturally occurring in texts.
A Review of Research on Modeling in Music Teaching and Learning.

Conducting is an imitative form of communication utilizing patterns of movement that have evolved into a series of conventionally understood gestures. In order to communicate musical ideas through the nonverbal language of conducting, there should be a tangible [isomorphic] relationship between these gestures and the musical score (Poch, 1982). A teacher-conductor's gestural communication thus consists of conventional beat patterns reflecting the score in concert with those learned nonverbal behaviors that accompany all normal human verbal interaction (e.g., a smile showing approval, eyes showing expectation, a posture showing strength).
Speech, Language and Communicative Ability in School-Aged Children with Cerebral Palsy and Speech Impairment

The overall aim of this thesis was to explore and describe speech, language and communicative ability in school-aged children with cerebral palsy (CP) and speech impairment. The medical records of a populationbased cohort of 129 children with CP born 1999–2002 in western Sweden were reviewed. Type of CP, motor functions and neuroimaging findings were analysed. Twenty-seven (21%) of the 129 children had speech impairment. Twenty-two (82%) of the 27 children took part in an assessment of speech, language, and communication skills. Oral consonant production, dysarthria, hypernasality and narratives were assessed. The children’s, the parents’, the teachers’ and the SLP’s opinions about the children’s communicative ability were also analysed. More than half of the children had severe problems with articulation of oral consonants. Speech production and non-verbal cognitive level correlated significantly and severe retelling ability problems occurred. Language ability and auditory memory correlated significantly with retelling ability. The children were mostly positive about their own communication. Parents and teachers rated them with marked general communicative impairments. The parents’ and SLP’s ratings correlated significantly, whereas the parents and the teachers ratings did not. A comprehensive speech, language and communication test battery including standardised tests is suggested. The children’s own opinions and those of key persons in their environment are also important to consider when planning intervention.
Quality assessment for a perceptual video encryption system

Perceptual video encryption, in which a user can still obtain some visible video contents (but at a very annoying quality) even without knowing the encryption key, is becoming more and more interesting in video applications such as video-on-demand (VoD) and pay-TV. Since not all visual information is corrupted, the quality assessment methods that are used in a total video encryption system (completely confidential) may not be suitable in this case. In this paper, we study the performance evaluation for a perceptual video encryption system we developed recently by using alternative transforms [1]. To this end, we consider both visual quality based assessments and quantitative assessments. Two quantitative metrics, namely PSNR and SSIM, are used to evaluate our perceptual encryption system quantitatively, while the SSIM-based one is found to be very consistent with the visual quality assessment.
Raman spectroscopy of silicon nanowires

We measure the effects of phonon confinement on the Raman spectra of silicon nanowires. We show how previous spectra were inconsistent with phonon confinement, but were due to intense local heating caused by the laser. This is peculiar to nanostructures, and would require orders of magnitude more power in bulk Si. By working at very low laser powers, we identify the contribution of pure confinement typical of quantum wires.