Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cooperative robotic assistant with drill-by-wire end-effector for spinal fusion surgery

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present a surgical robot for spinal fusion and its control framework that provides higher operation accuracy, greater flexibility of robot position control, and improved ergonomics.Design/methodology/approach – A human‐guided robot for the spinal fusion surgery has been developed with a dexterous end‐effector that is capable of high‐speed drilling for cortical layer gimleting and tele‐operated insertion of screws into the vertebrae. The end‐effector is position‐controlled by a five degrees‐of‐freedom robot body that has a kinematically closed structure to withstand strong reaction force occurring in the surgery. The robot also allows the surgeon to control cooperatively the position and orientation of the end‐effector in order to provide maximum flexibility in exploiting his or her expertise. Also incorporated for improved safety is a “drill‐by‐wire” mechanism wherein a screw is tele‐drilled by the surgeon in a mechanically decoupled master/slave system. Finally, .
GEMINI/GMOS SEARCH FOR MASSIVE BINARIES IN THE IONIZING CLUSTER OF 30 DOR

If binaries are common among massive stars, it will have important consequences for the derivation of fundamental properties such as the cluster age, initial mass function, and dynamical mass. Making use of the multiplexing facilities of the Gemini Multi-Object Spectrograph, we were able to investigate the presence of binary stars within the ionizing cluster of 30 Doradus. From a seven-epoch observing campaign at Gemini South we detect a binary candidate rate of about 50%, which is consistent with an intrinsic 100% binary rate among massive stars. We find that single-epoch determinations of the velocity dispersion give values around 30 km s−1. After correcting the global velocity dispersion for the binary orbital motions, the “true” cluster velocity dispersion is 8.3 km s−1. This value implies a virial mass of about 4.5 × 105 M☉ or 8% of the mass calculated using the single-epoch value. The binary corrected virial mass estimate is consistent with photometric mass determinations, thus suggesting that NGC 2070 is a firm candidate for a future globular cluster.
Power Distance Belief and Impulsive Buying

The authors propose that power distance belief (PDB) (i.e., accepting and expecting power disparity) influences impulsive buying beyond other related cultural dimensions, such as individualism–collectivism. This research supports an associative account that links PDB and impulsive buying as a manifestation of self-control, such that those with high PDB display less impulsive buying. Furthermore, this effect manifests for vice products but not for virtue products. The authors also find that restraint from temptations can occur automatically for people who have repeated practice (i.e., chronically high PDBs). Taken together, these results imply that products should be differentially positioned as vice or virtue products in accordance with consumers’ PDBs.
Mapping Retinotopic Structure in Mouse Visual Cortex with Optical Imaging

We have used optical imaging of intrinsic signals to visualize the retinotopic organization of mouse visual cortex. The functionally determined position, size, and shape of area 17 corresponded precisely to the location of this area as seen in stained cortical sections. The retinotopic map, which was confirmed with electrophysiological recordings, exhibited very low inter-animal variability, thus allowing averaging of maps across animals. Patches of activity in area 17 were often encircled by regions in which the intrinsic signal dropped below baseline, suggesting the presence of strong surround inhibition. Single-unit recordings revealed that this decrease of the intrinsic signal indeed correlated with a drop of neuronal firing rate below baseline. The averaged maps also greatly facilitated the identification of extrastriate visual activity, pointing to at least four extrastriate visual areas in the mouse. We conclude that optical imaging is ideally suited to visualize retinotopic maps in mice, thus making this a powerful technique for the analysis of map structure in transgenic animals.
A Model of Crises in Emerging Markets

This paper presents a perfect foresight model of speculative attacks on emerging markets. Credit constrained governments are assumed to have two objectives: to accumulate liquid assets in order to self-insure against shocks to national consumption and to insure poorly regulated domestic financial markets. This policy regime generates endogenous fiscal deficits defined to include the growth of contingent liabilities. The model sets out a sequence of yield differentials consistent with capital inflows followed by anticipated speculative attacks. The model suggests that a common shock generated capital inflows to emerging markets in Asia and Latin America after 1989.
Total variation semi-blind deconvolution using shock filters

We present a Semi-Blind method for image deconvolution. This method uses a pre-processed image (via the shock filter) as an initial condition for total variation (TV) minimizing blind deconvolution. Using shock filter gives good information on location of the edges, and using variational functional such as Chan and Wong [T.F. Chan and C.K. Wong, Total variation blind deconvolution, IEEE Trans Image Process 7 (1998), 370-375] allows robust reconstructions of the image and the blur kernel. Comparison between using the L and L norms for the fidelity term is presented, as well as an analysis on the choice of the parameter for the kernel functional. Numerical results indicate the method is robust for both black and non-black background images while reducing the overall computational cost.
The effect of the north-east ice stream on the Greenland ice sheet in changing climates

The north-east Greenland ice stream (NEGIS) was discovered as a large fast-flow feature of the Greenland ice sheet by synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaginary of the ERS-1 satellite. In this study, the NEGIS is implemented in the dynamic/thermodynamic, large-scale ice-sheet model SICOPOLIS (Simulation Code for POLythermal Ice Sheets). In the first step, we simulate the evolution of the ice sheet on a 10-km grid for the period from 250 ka ago until today, driven by a climatology reconstructed from a combination of present-day observations and GCM results for the past. We assume that the NEGIS area is characterized by enhanced basal sliding compared to the "normal", slowly-flowing areas of the ice sheet, and find that the misfit between simulated and observed ice thicknesses and surface velocities is minimized for a sliding enhancement by the factor three. In the second step, the consequences of the NEGIS, and also of surface-meltwater-induced acceleration of basal sliding, for the possible decay of the Greenland ice sheet in future warming climates are investigated. It is demonstrated that the ice sheet is generally very susceptible to global warming on time-scales of centuries and that surface-meltwater-induced acceleration of basal sliding can speed up the decay significantly, whereas the NEGIS is not likely to dynamically destabilize the ice sheet as a whole.
Effect of Homemade Dental Powder on Population of Streptococcus Mutans In vitro

Background: Dental caries is a very common disease, and this study was conductedto identify the optimum concentration of a homemade dental powder that could be used to prevent dental caries. The formulation for this dental powder was inspired from an ancient Indian powder which is still being used in remote areas where modern dentifrices are not available. The dental powder is homemade, with its four main constituents being alum, turmeric, cloves and salt all ground into a fine powder . Objective: The aim of the study was to study the effect of a homemade dental powder on a population of Streptococcus mutans. Study design: This was arandomized controlled laboratory study. Setting: The study was carried out in the histopathology laboratory, School of Dental Sciences, University of Nairobi. Materials and methods: Streptococcus mutans were cultured and the disc diffusion technique employed, where the discs had various concentrations of the dental powder, alum, turmeric, cloves and salt, which was made by titrating with distilled water so as to form a spectrum of concentrations. The diameters of the clear zones on the agar plates were then measured to assess the effect of the dental powder on the bacterial population. Results: At a concentration of 5 g/100 ml, the alum and salt showed clear zones of 5 mm which is equivalent to that of the negative control. The clear zone of the dental powder, turmeric and cloves was greater than that of distilled water, but less than that of the 2% chlorhexidine (14.6 mm). At 7.5 g/100 ml and 10 g/100 ml, salt still had a clear zone of 5 mm, and the rest of the ingredients had clear zones of greater than 5 mm, but less than 14.6 mm. At 12.5 g/100 ml, all ingredients had clear zones of greater than 5mm, and those of the dental powder and cloves were greater than 14.6 mm, while at 15 g/100 ml, in addition to cloves and powder, salt also had a clear zone of greater than 14.6 mm. Conclusion: The dental powder, alum, turmeric, cloves and salt all showed antimicrobial activity against Streptococcus mutans. The dental powder showed highest activity, followed by cloves, salt, alum and turmeric.
Therapy-related myeloid neoplasms following treatment with radioiodine

Background Few data are available on therapy-related myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia developing after radioiodine treatment. Design and Methods We retrospectively analyzed 39 patients with myeloid neoplasms following radioiodine treatment, whose data were reported to the Duesseldorf Myelodysplastic Syndromes Register (8 of 3814 patients) and five other German Myelodysplastic Syndromes centers (n=31) between 1982 and 2011. These data were compared with those from 165 patients from our Myelodysplastic Syndromes Register with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms following chemotherapy (n=90), radiation (n=30), or radiochemotherapy (n=45). Results With a median latency of 79 months, 18 patients developed therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia and 21 presented with therapy-related myelodysplastic syndromes (8 refractory anemia with excess blasts I/II, 6 refractory anemia with multilineage dysplasia, 3 myelodysplastic syndromes with del(5q), 1 refractory anemia, 1 refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts, 1 chronic myelomonocytic leukemia II, 1 myelodysplastic/myeloproliferative neoplasm unclassifiable). Risk assessment according to the International Prognostic Scoring System was low-risk in 23%, intermediate-1 in 29%, intermediate-2 in 35%, and high-risk in 13%. Karyotype was abnormal in 68%, with chromosomes 7 (30%), 5 (26%), 8 (26%) and 3 (17%) being most frequently affected. No differences in the distribution of gender, World Health Organization subtype, acute myeloid leukemia progression, International Prognostic Scoring System score, and cytogenetic risk were observed between patients with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms following radioiodine or other treatment modalities. Of 17 patients who received induction chemotherapy, 71% were refractory to this treatment or died from treatment-related toxicity. The median overall survival in the entire group was 21.7 months (95%-CI 10.5–33 months) and did not differ significantly in comparison to the survival of patients with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms following other cytotoxic treatments. Patients with therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia had significantly inferior overall survival (12.4 versus 28.7 months, P=0.002). Conclusions Patients developing a therapy-related myeloid neoplasm after radioiodine treatment usually present with biological characteristics similar to those seen in patients with therapy-related myeloid neoplasms following other cytotoxic treatment modalities, associated with a low response rate to induction chemotherapy and poor prognosis.
City and Building Designers, and Climate Adaptation

For cities, climate change is a major concern due to its severe impacts and its inherent complexity. City and building designers could be pivotal actors, but have yet to fully take on this role. Research can support adaptation action through greater collaboration with practitioners and a better understanding of their knowledge and practices. This paper presents results from a research project undertaken in Toulouse (France) last year. Urban practitioners were consulted through an online survey and observed in action during two design workshops. The findings highlight: (i) the hidden knowledge within design practice; (ii) the importance of providing designers with solution-focused and form-giving data; and (iii) the potential offered by design constraints to trigger changes in the practices of professionals.
A Mass-Conserving Algorithm for Dynamical Lubrication Problems With Cavitation

A numerical algorithm for fully dynamical lubrication problems based on the Elrod― Adams formulation of the Reynolds equation with mass-conserving boundary conditions is described. A simple but effective relaxation scheme is used to update the solution maintaining the complementarity conditions on the variables that represent the pressure and fluid fraction. The equations of motion are discretized in time using Newmark's scheme, and the dynamical variables are updated within the same relaxation process just mentioned. The good behavior of the proposed algorithm is illustrated in two examples: an oscillatory squeeze flow (for which the exact solution is available) and a dynamically loaded journal bearing. This article is accompanied by the ready-to-compile source code with the implementation of the proposed algorithm.
A Trans-Niagara Tale of Informed Traders § “ Paul ”

This research documents the impact of differential private information on relative asset pricing across borders by studying the probability of informed trading (pin) for Canadian shares traded on exchanges separated by Niagara Falls. Relative to the New York Stock Exchange (nyse), the Toronto Stock Exchange (tsx) has more informed trades and accounts for a larger information share, indicating that informed traders contribute to cross-border price discovery. The information imbalance across the two markets is associated with small but positive price premiums for New York trades. The dynamics of these premiums depends on trade informedness. Lastly, the pin of a tsx-listed share typically rises upon crosslisting on the nyse, which is consistent with negative event-study returns of the original listing.
Internet protocol traffic analysis with applications for ATM switch design

Knowledge of data traffic behavior is fundamental to the efficient design and implementation of a virtual circuit packet switch and its supporting policies and mechanisms. In this paper, we examine the behavior of local and wide area Internet Protocol (IP) networks, study connection and connectionless protocols, and use our results to estimate the behavior of a virtual circuit network replacement for these networks.
Understanding and engineering beneficial plant–microbe interactions: plant growth promotion in energy crops

Plant production systems globally must be optimized to produce stable high yields from limited land under changing and variable climates. Demands for food, animal feed, and feedstocks for bioenergy and biorefining applications, are increasing with population growth, urbanization and affluence. Low-input, sustainable, alternatives to petrochemical-derived fertilizers and pesticides are required to reduce input costs and maintain or increase yields, with potential biological solutions having an important role to play. In contrast to crops that have been bred for food, many bioenergy crops are largely undomesticated, and so there is an opportunity to harness beneficial plant–microbe relationships which may have been inadvertently lost through intensive crop breeding. Plant–microbe interactions span a wide range of relationships in which one or both of the organisms may have a beneficial, neutral or negative effect on the other partner. A relatively small number of beneficial plant–microbe interactions are well understood and already exploited; however, others remain understudied and represent an untapped reservoir for optimizing plant production. There may be near-term applications for bacterial strains as microbial biopesticides and biofertilizers to increase biomass yield from energy crops grown on land unsuitable for food production. Longer term aims involve the design of synthetic genetic circuits within and between the host and microbes to optimize plant production. A highly exciting prospect is that endosymbionts comprise a unique resource of reduced complexity microbial genomes with adaptive traits of great interest for a wide variety of applications.
Toward optimal feature selection using ranking methods and classification algorithms

We presented a comparison between several feature ranking methods used on two real datasets. We considered six ranking methods that can be divided into two broad categories: statistical and entropy-based. Four supervised learning algorithms are adopted to build models, namely, IB1, Naive Bayes, C4.5 decision tree and the RBF network. We showed that the selection of ranking methods could be important for classification accuracy. In our experiments, ranking methods with different supervised learning algorithms give quite different results for balanced accuracy. Our cases confirm that, in order to be sure that a subset of features giving the highest accuracy has been selected, the use of many different indices is recommended.
The effects of different thermal treatments and organic acid levels in feed on microbial composition and activity in gastrointestinal tract of broilers.

Thermal treatments of feed and organic acids are known to affect the gastrointestinal microbiota in chickens. The present study evaluated the effect of different thermal processes including pelleting (P), long-term conditioning at 85°C for 3 min (L), expanding at 110°C (E110), and 130°C for 3 to 5 s (E130) as well as organic acid (63.75% formic acid, 25.00% propionic acid, and 11.25% water) inclusion levels (0, 0.75, and 1.5%) on gastrointestinal microbiota in broilers. In total, 960 one-day-old chicks were randomly assigned to 8 replicates using a 3 × 4 factorial arrangement. At d 35, bacterial cell numbers in the crop, ileum, and cecum, and bacterial metabolites in the crop, gizzard, ileum, and cecum were determined. The inclusion of 1.5% organic acids increased cell numbers of all clostridial clusters in the crop. The organic acid supplementation increased the propionic acid concentration in the crop and gizzard and there was a decrease in lactic acid concentration. In the ileum, the 0% organic acid group had the highest numbers of Lactobacillus spp. and enterobacteria. Inclusion of 1.5% organic acids increased ileal acetate concentration. Increasing the feed processing temperature led to an increase of lactobacilli in the crop and ileum, whereas clostridia and enterobacteria seemed unaffected. Similarly, lactate concentrations increased in the ileum, but short-chain fatty acids remained identical. In the crop, an increase for acetate was found for the E130 group compared with all other thermal treatments. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that thermal treatments and organic acid supplementation to broiler diets more markedly influenced the bacterial status of the crop compared with the downstream segments and their effects decreased along the length of gastrointestinal tract. Whereas organic acids markedly modified bacterial composition and activity in the crop, expansion increased lactobacilli and lactate in the crop and ileum.
On the beamforming design for efficient interference alignment

An efficient interference alignment (IA) scheme is developed for k-user single-input single-output frequency selective fading interference channels. The main idea is to steer the transmit beamforming matrices such that at each receiver the subspace dimensions occupied by interference-free desired streams are asymptotically the same as those occupied by all interferences. Our proposed scheme achieves a higher multiplexing gain at any given number of channel realizations in comparison with the original IA scheme, which is known to achieve the optimal multiplexing gain asymptotically.
The influence of host social system on host-parasite evolutionary dynamics

To investigate the potential for host-parasite coadaptation between bats and their wing mites, we developed microsatellite loci for two species of Spinturnix mites. For Spinturnix myoti, parasite of Myotis myotis, we were able to develop nine polymorphic loci and screened them in 100 mites from five bat colonies. For S. bechsteini, parasite of M. bechsteinii, we developed five polymorphic loci, which were also screened in 100 mites from five bat colonies. In both species, all markers were highly polymorphic (22-46 and 6-23 alleles per locus respectively). The majority of markers for both species exhibited departure from Hardy-Weinberg proportions (8 of 9 and 3 of 5, respectively). One marker pair in S. myoti showed evidence for linkage disequilibrium. As the observed departures from Hardy-Weinberg proportions are most likely a consequence of the biology of the mites, the described microsatellite loci should be useful in studying population genetics and hostparasite dynamics of Spinturnix myoti and Spinturnix bechsteini in relation to their bat hosts.
Demonstrating practical provably secure multi-node communication

We demonstrate a practical and provably-secure multi-node communication scheme in the presence of a passive eavesdropper. The scheme is based on a random scheduling approach that hides the identity of the transmitter from the eavesdropper. This random scheduling leads to ambiguity at the eavesdropper with regard to the origin of the transmitted frame. We demonstrate the internal details of the technique and quantify the secrecy-overhead tradeoff. Our implementation is based on Crossbow Telosb motes, equipped with CC2420 radio chips. The demo will allow the attendees to see the scheme in action and how the scheme can achieve significant secrecy gains with vanishing outage probability. The demo also compared the proposed scheme to other direct extensions the two node case.
An EDA framework for large scale hybrid neuromorphic computing systems

In implementations of neuromorphic computing systems (NCS), memristor and its crossbar topology have been widely used to realize fully connected neural networks. However, many neural networks utilized in real applications often have a sparse connectivity, which is hard to be efficiently mapped to a crossbar structure. Moreover, the scale of the neural networks is normally much larger than that can be offered by the latest integration technology of memristor crossbars. In this work, we propose AutoNCS - an EDA framework that can automate the NCS designs that combine memristor crossbars and discrete synapse modules. The connections of the neural networks are clustered to improve the utilization of the memristor elements in crossbar structures by taking into account the physical design cost of the NCS. Our results show that AutoNCS can substantially enhance the utilization efficiency of memristor crossbars while reducing the wirelength, area and delay of the physical designs of the NCS.