Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robots meet Humans-interaction in public spaces

This paper presents experiences from Robotics, a long-term project at the Swiss National Exposition Expo.02, where mobile robots served as tour guides. It includes a description of the design and implementation of the robot and addresses reliability and safety aspects, which are important when operating robots in public spaces. It also presents an assessment of human-robot interaction during the exhibition. In order to understand the objectives of interaction, the exhibition itself is described. This includes details of how the human-robot interaction capabilities of the robots have evolved over a 5-month period. Requirements for the robotic system are explained, and it is shown how the design goals of reliability and safe operability, and effective interaction, were achieved through appropriate choice of hardware and software, and the inclusion of redundant features. The modalities of the robot system with interactive functions are presented in detail. Perceptive elements (motion detection, face tracking, speech recognition, buttons) are distinguished from expressive ones (robotic face, speech synthesis, colored button lights). An approach for combining stage-play and reactive scenarios is presented. The authors also explain how an emotional state machine was used to create convincing robot expressions. Experimental results, both technical and those based on a visitor survey, as well as a qualitative discussion, give a detailed report on the authors' experiences in this project.
Event-based walking control — From neurobiology to biped robots

In this paper we describe an event-based walking control system for biped robots. Classically, the control of biped robots has been separated into walking pattern generation and stabilizing control. While this is an effective strategy in well-known environments, walking in rough, unmodelled terrain can easily destabilize the system. Findings from neurobiology suggest that gait generation in animals and humans is strongly linked to sensory signals indicating certain events in the gait cycle. We therefore propose an event-based controller that triggers phase transitions based on the sensed walking state instead of only relying on time-based reference trajectories. We have implemented the proposed approach on our humanoid robot Lola. We present simulations and experimental results demonstrating the effectiveness of the approach when walking over unknown obstacles.
Efficient Implementation of a Proxy-based Protocol for Data Sharing on the Cloud

In this paper, we provide a secure and efficient outsourcing scheme for multi-owner data sharing on the cloud. More in detail we consider the scenario where multiple data owners outsource their data to an untrusted cloud provider, and allow authorized users to query the resulting database, composed of the encrypted data contributed by the different owners. The scheme relies on a proxy re-encryption technique that is implemented using an El-Gamal Elliptic Curve(ECC) crypto-system. We experimentally assess the efficiency of the implementation in terms of computation time, including the key translation process, data encryption and re-encryption modules, and show that it improves over previous proposals.
Experimental study of the protein folding landscape: unfolding reactions in cytochrome c.

Hydrogen exchange results for cytochrome c have been interpreted in terms of transient hydrogen bond-breaking reactions that include large unfolding reactions and small fluctuational distortions. The differential sensitivity of these opening reactions to denaturant, temperature, and protein stability makes it possible to distinguish the different opening reactions and to characterize their structural and thermodynamic parameters. The partially unfolded forms (PUFs) observed are few and discrete, evidently because they are produced by the reversible unfolding of the protein's several intrinsically cooperative secondary structural elements. The PUFs are robust, evidently because the structural elements do not change over a wide range of conditions. The discrete nature of the PUFs and their small number is as expected for classical folding intermediates but not for theoretically derived folding models apparently because the simplified non-protein models usually analyzed in theoretical studies encompass only a single cooperative unit rather than multiple separable units.
The Determinants of Sovereign Bond Spreads: Theory and Facts from Latin America

This paper aims to identify the macroeconomic determinants of sovereign bond spreads in Argentina, Brazil and Mexico and discusses the economic policies underlying the divergent fortunes experienced by these countries over 1993-2001. Those determinants, namely real GDP growth, gross capital inflows and debt service burden (as a percentage of GDP), are derived from a consistent theoretical framework and empirically tested. The econometric analysis suggests that a permanent change in these determinants has a more significant and robust impact on spreads than transitory shocks. It also points out that financial contagion or risk-aversion variables have a meaningful role in explaining sovereign spreads across Latin American countries.
Analytically Solvable Model of Spreading Dynamics with Non-Poissonian Processes

Non-Poissonian bursty processes are ubiquitous in natural and social phenomena, yet little is known about their effects on the large-scale spreading dynamics. In order to characterize these effects, we devise an analytically solvable model of susceptible-infected spreading dynamics in infinite systems for arbitrary inter-event time distributions and for the whole time range. Our model is stationary from the beginning, and the role of the lower bound of inter-event times is explicitly considered. The exact solution shows that for early and intermediate times, the burstiness accelerates the spreading as compared to a Poisson-like process with the same mean and same lower bound of inter-event times. Such behavior is opposite for late-time dynamics in finite systems, where the power-law distribution of inter-event times results in a slower and algebraic convergence to a fully infected state in contrast to the exponential decay of the Poisson-like process. We also provide an intuitive argument for the exponent characterizing algebraic convergence.
Serum 99 th Percentile Reference Cutoffs for Seven Cardiac Troponin Assays

for ovarian cancer testing. We will continue to post all raw data, the exact methods, and the results of the blinded trial(s) for public scrutiny. These are very important times for biomarker discovery and validation. In keeping with the National Cancer Institute Director’s 2015 challenge, effective biomarkers for early detection, risk stratification, and monitoring can save lives and reduce suffering.
Territory Tenure Increases with Repertoire Size in Brownish-Flanked Bush Warbler

Song repertoire size is often cited as a classic example of a secondary sexual trait in birds. Models of sexual selection and empirical tests of their predictions have often related secondary sexual traits to longevity. However, the relationship between repertoire size and longevity is unclear. Using capture-mark-recapture studies in two populations of the brownish-flanked bush warbler Cettia fortipes, we found that males with a repertoire size of three maintained territory tenure for a longer duration than did males with a repertoire size of two. These results provide evidence that even a minimal difference in repertoire size can serve as a potential signal of territory tenure capability.
The Resurgence of Nativism in California? The Case of Proposition 187 and Illegal Immigration

Theory: We argue that support among California voters for Proposition 187 in 1994 was an example of cyclical nativism. This nativism was provoked primarily by California's economic downturn during the early 1990s. Hypotheses: We develop four specific hypotheses to explain how poor economic conditions in California and the consequent nativistic sentiments would result in support for Proposition 187: 1. voters who believe that California's economic condition is poor will be more likely to support Proposition 187; 2. voters who perceive themselves as being economically threatened by illegal immigrants will be more likely to support Proposition 187; 3. voters with lower levels of education are more economically vulnerable and will be more likely to support Proposition 187; 4. voters in Southern California feel more directly affected by illegal immigration and will be more likely to support Proposition 187. Methods: To test these hypotheses, we analyze voter exit poll data from the 1994 California election. We utilize a two-stage probit model to allow for the endogeneity which results from the politicization of illegal immigration during this election. Results: We find support for our hypotheses in the data. These findings cause us to conclude that nativism, fueled by economic conditions, was a salient factor leading many Californians to support Proposition 187.
Tax-Benefit Systems in Europe and the US: Between Equity and Efficiency

Whether observed differences in redistributive policies across countries are the result of differences in social preferences or efficiency constraints is an important question that paves the debate about the optimality of welfare regimes. To shed new light on this question, we estimate labor supply elasticities on microdata and adopt an inverted optimal tax approach to characterize the redistributive preferences embodied in the welfare systems of 17 EU countries and the US. Implicit social welfare functions are broadly compatible with the fiction of an optimizing Paretian social planner. Some exceptions due to generous demogrant transfers are consistent with the ignorance of behavioral responses by some European governments and are partly corrected by recent policy developments. Heterogeneity in leisure-consumption preferences somewhat affect the international comparison in degrees of revealed inequality aversion, but differences in social preferences are significant only between broad groups of countries.
Immucillins ImmA and ImmH Are Effective and Non-toxic in the Treatment of Experimental Visceral Leishmaniasis

Background Immucillins ImmA (IA), ImmH (IH) and SerMe-ImmH (SMIH) are synthetic deazapurine nucleoside analogues that inhibit Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi and Leishmania (L.) amazonensis multiplication in vitro without macrophage toxicity. Immucillins are compared to the Glucantime standard drug in the chemotherapy of Leishmania (L.) infantum chagasi infection in mice and hamsters. These agents are tested for toxicity and immune system response. Methodology/Principal Findings BALB/c mice were infected with 107 amastigotes, treated with IA, IH, SMIH or Glucantime (2.5mg/kg/day) and monitored for clinical variables, parasite load, antibody levels and splenocyte IFN-γ, TNF-α, and IL-10 expression. Cytokines and CD4+, CD8+ and CD19+ lymphocyte frequencies were assessed in uninfected controls and in response to immucillins. Urea, creatinine, GOT and GPT levels were monitored in sera. Anti-Leishmania-specific IgG1 antibodies (anti-NH36) increased in untreated animals. IgG2a response, high levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and lower levels of IL-10 were detected in mice treated with the immucillins and Glucantime. Immucillins permitted normal weight gain, prevented hepato-splenomegaly and cleared the parasite infection (85–89%) without renal and hepatic toxicity. Immucillins promoted 35% lower secretion of IFN-γ in uninfected controls than in infected mice. IA and IH increased the CD4+ T and CD19+ B cell frequencies. SMIH increased only the proportion of CD-19 B cells. IA and IH also cured infected hamsters with lower toxicity than Glucantime. Conclusions/Significance Immucillins IA, IH and SMIH were effective in treating leishmaniasis in mice. In hamsters, IA and IH were also effective. The highest therapeutic efficacy was obtained with IA, possibly due to its induction of a TH1 immune response. Low immucillin doses were required and showed no toxicity. Our results disclose the potential use of IA and IH in the therapy of visceral leishmaniasis.
Inactive mutants of human pyridoxine 5′‐phosphate oxidase: a possible role for a noncatalytic pyridoxal 5′‐phosphate tight binding site

Pyridoxal 5′‐phosphate (PLP) is a cofactor for many vitamin B6‐requiring enzymes that are important for the synthesis of neurotransmitters. Pyridoxine 5′‐phosphate oxidase (PNPO) is one of two enzymes that produce PLP. Some 16 known mutations in human PNPO (hPNPO), including R95C and R229W, lead to deficiency of PLP in the cell and have been shown to cause neonatal epileptic encephalopathy (NEE). This disorder has no effective treatment, and is often fatal unless treated with PLP. In this study, we show that R95C hPNPO exhibits a 15‐fold reduction in affinity for the FMN cofactor, a 71‐fold decrease in affinity for the substrate PNP, a 4.9‐fold decrease in specific activity, and a 343‐fold reduction in catalytic activity, compared to the wild‐type enzyme. We have reported similar findings for R229W hPNPO. This report also shows that wild‐type, R95C and R229W hPNPO bind PLP tightly at a noncatalytic site and transfer it to activate an apo‐B6 enzyme into the catalytically active holo‐form. We also show for the first time that hPNPO forms specific interactions with several B6 enzymes with dissociation constants ranging from 0.3 to 12.3 μm. Our results suggest a possible in vivo role for the tight binding of PLP in hPNPO, whether wild‐type or variant, by protecting the very reactive PLP, and transferring this PLP directly to activate apo‐B6 enzymes.
Synaptopodin Regulates Plasticity of Dendritic Spines in Hippocampal Neurons

The spine apparatus is an essential component of dendritic spines of cortical and hippocampal neurons, yet its functions are still enigmatic. Synaptopodin (SP), an actin-binding protein, is tightly associated with the spine apparatus and it may play a role in synaptic plasticity, but it has not yet been linked mechanistically to synaptic functions. We studied endogenous and transfected SP in dendritic spines of cultured hippocampal neurons and found that spines containing SP generate larger responses to flash photolysis of caged glutamate than SP-negative ones. An NMDA-receptor-mediated chemical long-term potentiation caused the accumulation of GFP-GluR1 in spine heads of control but not of shRNA-transfected, SP-deficient neurons. SP is linked to calcium stores, because their pharmacological blockade eliminated SP-related enhancement of glutamate responses, and release of calcium from stores produced an SP-dependent increase of GluR1 in spines. Thus, SP plays a crucial role in the calcium store-associated ability of neurons to undergo long-term plasticity.
Impacts of teacher induction: A longitudinal cross-case comparison of beginning teachers in a content-specific program

This paper explores the impacts of an induction program on three beginning secondary science teachers. These teachers participated in a beginning teacher support program, the goal of which was to help bridge the gap between preservice experiences and traditional in-service education opportunities. The goal of the program was to provide needed support, encourage the implementation of inquiry-based methodologies, and dispose teachers to reflect upon their teaching experiences. The study describes these beginning teachers' belief about teaching and learning and explores how these conceptions, along with instructional practices, developed during the induction period. Descriptions of each teachers' development were enriched through attention to individual personal backgrounds and professional contexts. Descriptive case studies were based on a fi-amework established by the data collection, which then guided comparison of individual experiences and contexts across cases. There were several conclusions. First, development of beliefs about teaching and learning varied across cases over the span of the induction period. Second, the differing degree of inquiry-based implementation can be attributed to the context in which each teacher worked. Finally, the differing degree of impact of tlie program from one individual to the next can be explained in part by the beliefs about teaching and learning that participants brought to the program, as well as the context in which each participant worked.
One-dimensional processing for efficient optimal post-process/in-loop filtering in video coding

In this paper, efficient optimal post-process/inloop filtering in video coding is presented by applying two separate one-dimensional filters to significantly decrease the computational load of the optimal filtering process at the expense of only a slight quality loss. Furthermore, the compression of filter coefficients is evaluated using a Golomb-Rice (GR) coding approach together with differential encoding. Experimental results show that the proposed one dimensional processing approach reduces the computational complexity by at least 4 times compared to the formerly proposed two-dimensional optimal filtering case and enables real-time implementation. It is furthermore shown that, the filter coefficients can be compressed by up to 40% if GR coding is used together with differential encoding.
Opposing Effects of Omega-3 and Omega-6 Long Chain Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids on the Expression of Lipogenic Genes in Omental and Retroperitoneal Adipose Depots in the Rat

This study aimed to determine the effect of varying dietary intake of the major n-3 PUFA in human diets, α-linolenic acid (ALA; 18 : 3n-3), on expression of lipogenic genes in adipose tissue. Rats were fed diets containing from 0.095%en to 6.3%en ALA and a constant n-6 PUFA level for 3 weeks. Samples from distinct adipose depots (omental and retroperitoneal) were collected and mRNA expression of the pro-lipogenic transcription factors Sterol-Retinoid-Element-Binding-Protein1c (SREBP1c) and Peroxisome Proliferator Activated Receptor-γ (PPARγ), lipogenic enzymes Sterol-coenzyme Desaturase1 (SCD-1), Fatty Acid Synthase (FAS), lipoprotein lipase (LPL) and glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (G3PDH) and adipokines leptin and adiponectin determined by qRT-PCR. Increasing dietary ALA content resulted in altered expression of SREBP1c, FAS and G3PDH mRNA in both adipose depots. SREBP1c mRNA expression was related directly to n-6 PUFA concentrations (omental, r 2 = .71; P < .001; Retroperitoneal, r 2 = .20; P < .002), and inversely to n-3 PUFA concentrations (omental, r 2 = .59; P < .001; Retroperitoneal, r 2 = .19; P < .005) independent of diet. The relationship between total n-6 PUFA and SREBP1c mRNA expression persisted when the effects of n-3 PUFA were controlled for. Altering red blood cell concentrations of n-3 PUFA is thus associated with altered expression of lipogenic genes in a depot-specific manner and this effect is modulated by prevailing n-6 PUFA concentrations.
Detecting Code Smells in Software Product Lines -- An Exploratory Study

Code smells are symptoms that something is wrong in the source code. They have been catalogued and investigated in several programming techniques. These techniques can be used to develop Software Product Lines (SPL). However, feature-oriented programming (FOP) is a specific technique to deal with the modularization of features in SPL. One of the most popular FOP languages is AHEAD and, as far as we are concerned, we still lack systematic studies on the categorization and detection of code smells in AHEADFOP languages-based SPL. To fill this gap, this paper extends the definitions of three traditional code smells, namely God Method, God Class, and Shotgun Surgery, to take into account FOP abstractions. We then proposed 8 new FOP measures to quantify specific characteristics of compositional approaches like AHEAD. Finally, we combine the proposed and existing measures to define 3 detection strategies for identifying the investigated code smells. To evaluate the detection strategies, we performed an exploratory study involving 26 participants. The study participants rely on metrics to identify code smells in 8 AHEAD systems. Our results show that the proposed detection strategies can be used as code smell predictor since statistical tests indicate agreement among them and the study participants.
Improving the stability of algebraic curves for applications

An algebraic curve is defined as the zero set of a polynomial in two variables. Algebraic curves are practical for modeling shapes much more complicated than conics or superquadrics. The main drawback in representing shapes by algebraic curves has been the lack of repeatability in fitting algebraic curves to data. Usually, arguments against using algebraic curves involve references to mathematicians Wilkinson (and Runge). The first goal of this article is to understand the stability issue of algebraic curve fitting. Then a fitting method based on ridge regression and restricting the representation to well behaved subsets of polynomials is proposed, and its properties are investigated. The fitting algorithm is of sufficient stability for very fast position-invariant shape recognition, position estimation, and shape tracking, based on invariants and new representations. Among appropriate applications are shape-based indexing into image databases.
Higher‐order Balmer line indices in α/Fe‐enhanced stellar population models

We have computed the higher-order Balmer absorption line indices Hγ and Hδ for stellar population models with variable element ratios. The response of these indices to abundance ratio variations is taken from detailed line formation and model atmosphere calculations. We find that Hγ and Hδ, unlike Hβ, are very sensitive to α/Fe ratio changes at super-solar metallicities. Both line indices increase significantly with increasing α/Fe ratio. This effect cannot be neglected when these line indices are used to derive the ages of metal-rich, unresolved stellar populations such as early-type galaxies. We re-analyze the elliptical galaxy sample of Kuntschner, and show that consistent age estimates from Hβ and Hγ are obtained only if the effect of α/Fe enhancement on Hγ is taken into account in the models. This result rectifies a problem currently present in the literature, namely that Hγ and Hδ have up to now led to significantly younger ages for early-type galaxies than Hβ. Our work particularly impacts on the interpretation of intermediate- to high-redshift data, for which only the higher-order Balmer lines are accessible observationally.