Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wall Climbing Mechanisms Using Electrostatic Attraction Generated by Flexible Electrodes

Electrostatic adhesion is evaluated for robotic wall climbing. To realize electrostatic wall adhesion, flexible electrodes were fabricated using plastic film and conductive foil. The wall adhesion performances were measured for conductive and non-conductive surfaces. The measurement results for a conductive surface revealed that flexible electrodes can work as a suction cup, and that both air suction force and electrostatic force can contribute to wall adhesion. A prototype robot using the flexible electrodes was fabricated, which could successfully climb up on a conductive wall with 6.6 mm/s. For adhesion to non-conductive surfaces, two additional methods were applied to the flexible electrodes, which are surface pre-charging and use of comb electrodes. The second prototype robot using the proposed methods could successfully adhere to a glass surface and could climb up with an average speed of 1.75 mm/s.
Positioning During CT Gastrography in Patients with Gastric Cancer: the Effect on Gastric Distension and Lesion Conspicuity

Objective We wanted to prospectively evaluate the effect of various positions of the patient on gastric distension and lesion conspicuity during performance of CT gastrography (CTG). Materials and Methods One hundred thirteen consecutive patients with gastric cancer underwent CTG in the 30° left posterior oblique (LPO), supine, and prone positions. Two radiologists scored (a grade from 1-4) the degree of gastric distension and the lesion conspicuity according to the three scanning positions and the three gastric portions. Two- (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) images were used for analysis. Finally, these data were compared with the endoscopic findings and surgical results. Results The mean scores of gastric distension and lesion conspicuity for the LPO and supine positions were higher than those for the prone position (p < 0.001) in the gastric middle and lower portions. However, there was no significant difference between the LPO and supine positions (p ≥ 0.21). As for the gastric upper portion, the mean scores of gastric distension in the prone position were higher than those in the two other positions (p < 0.001). The prone position showed better lesion conspicuity than the two other positions for only one of two cases of gastric cancer in the upper portion of the stomach. Conclusion CTG performed in the LPO position or the supine position combined with CTG performed in the prone position is optimal for achieving good gastric distension and evaluating the lesion conspicuity of gastric cancer.
On the scaling law for compressive sensing and its applications

ℓ<inf>1</inf> minimization can be used to recover sufficiently sparse unknown signals from compressed linear measurements. In fact, exact thresholds on the sparsity (the size of the support set), under which with high probability a sparse signal can be recovered from i.i. d. Gaussian measurements, have been computed and are referred to as “weak thresholds” [4]. It was also known that there is a tradeoff between the sparsity and the ℓ<inf>1</inf> minimization recovery stability. In this paper, we give a closed-form characterization for this tradeoff which we call the scaling law for compressive sensing recovery stability. In a nutshell, we are able to show that as the sparsity backs off ϖ (0 &#60; ϖ &#60; 1) from the weak threshold of ℓ<inf>1</inf> recovery, the parameter for the recovery stability will scale as equation. Our result is based on a careful analysis through the Grassmann angle framework for the Gaussian measurement matrix. We will further discuss how this scaling law helps in analyzing the iterative reweighted ℓ<inf>1</inf> minimization algorithms. If the nonzero elements over the signal support follow a amplitude probability density function (pdf) ƒ(·) whose t-th derivative ƒ<sup>t</sup>(0) ≠ 0 for some integer t ≥ 0, then a certain iterative reweighted ℓ<inf>1</inf> minimization algorithm can be analytically shown to lift the phase transition thresholds (weak thresholds) of the plain ℓ<inf>1</inf> minimization algorithm.
Fluid flow control applications of ℋ2 optimal actuator and sensor placement

In the control of distributed parameter systems, the problem of effective actuator and sensor placement is not well understood, and the use of suboptimal placement methodology is common. We discuss a technique we recently proposed that iterates toward the optimal actuator and sensor placement for ℋ2 synthesis, minimizing the closed-loop ℋ2 norm from exogenous inputs to exogenous outputs. The iteration is based on an efficient computation of the ℋ2 norm's gradient with respect to actuator and sensor placements.We demonstrate the technique on the Orr-Sommerfeld/Squire model of fluid flow, and review previous results from the linearized Ginzburg-Landau model. Finally, we use these results to analyze the validity of previous placement approaches.
The Explanatory Power of Evolutionary Approaches to Human Behavior: The Case of Morality

Past critiques of evolutionary psychology from the perspective of developmental systems theory have accomplished little more than building straw men and knocking them down. For example, Lickliter and Honeycutt (2003) confused evolutionary psychology with behavior genetics and misattributed to evolutionary psychologists strong forms of genetic determinism that no one would endorse. The target article by Ploeger, van der Maas, and Raijmakers does a better job of getting the positions advanced by evolutionary psychologists right. Ploeger et al. advance two related claims: the negative claim that evolutionary psychology fails to supply an adequate metatheory for psychology, and the positive claim that developmental evolutionary biology (henceforth, evo-devo) can enhance the explanatory power of evolutionary psychology (and thus its status as a metatheory). With respect to the first claim, we would confer the status of a metatheory on the modern synthetic theory of evolution and view the field of evolutionary psychology as one application of this metatheory. We would view evo-devo as another application, concerned more with refining the metatheory of evolution than applying it to human behavior. Evo-devo may well be equipped to enhance our understanding of the role that developmental processes play in the production of traits, which may enhance our understanding of the relation between genotypes and phenotypes. It is, for example, intriguing to contemplate the power of regulatory genes that switch other genes on and off at various times during development and at various places in the body, producing quite different phenotypic characteristics (e.g., the long necks of giraffes vs. the short necks of other animals). However, we see little in the arguments and evidence advanced in the target article to warrant significant revisions in the framework that guides evolutionary psychologists.
Nouns are Vectors, Adjectives are Matrices: Representing Adjective-Noun Constructions in Semantic Space

We propose an approach to adjective-noun composition (AN) for corpus-based distributional semantics that, building on insights from theoretical linguistics, represents nouns as vectors and adjectives as data-induced (linear) functions (encoded as matrices) over nominal vectors. Our model significantly outperforms the rivals on the task of reconstructing AN vectors not seen in training. A small post-hoc analysis further suggests that, when the model-generated AN vector is not similar to the corpus-observed AN vector, this is due to anomalies in the latter. We show moreover that our approach provides two novel ways to represent adjective meanings, alternative to its representation via corpus-based co-occurrence vectors, both outperforming the latter in an adjective clustering task.
Efficacy and safety of Ginkgo biloba standardized extract in the treatment of vascular cognitive impairment: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

Objectives The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial was to determine the efficacy and safety of Ginkgo biloba extract in patients diagnosed with vascular cognitive impairment (VCI). Methods A total of 90 patients (aged 67.1±8.0 years; 59 women) were randomly allocated (1:1:1) to receive G. biloba 120 mg, G. biloba 60 mg, or placebo during a 6-month period. Assessment was made for efficacy indicators, including neuropsychological tests scores (Sandoz Clinical Assessment Geriatric Scale, Folstein Mini-Mental State Examination, Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, and Clinical Global Impression) and transcranial Doppler ultrasound findings. Safety indicators included laboratory findings, reported adverse reactions, and clinical examination. Results At the end of 6-month study period, G. biloba 120 and 60 mg showed a statistically significant positive effect in comparison with placebo only on the Clinical Global Impression score (2.6±0.8 vs 3.1±0.7 vs 2.8±0.7, respectively; P=0.038). The Clinical Global Impression score showed a significant deterioration from the baseline values in the placebo group (−0.3±0.5; P=0.021) as opposed to G. biloba groups. No significant differences were found in the transcranial Doppler ultrasound findings. Adverse reactions were significantly more common and serious in the placebo group (16 subjects) than in either of the two G. biloba extract groups (eight and nine subjects, respectively), whereas laboratory findings and clinical examinations revealed no differences between the groups receiving G. biloba extract and placebo. Conclusion According to our results, G. biloba seemed to slow down the cognitive deterioration in patients with VCI, but the effect was shown in only one of the four neuropsychological tests administered. However, because of this mild effect in combination with a few adverse reactions, we cannot say that it is ineffective or unsafe either. Further studies are still needed to provide unambiguous evidence on the efficacy and safety of G. biloba extract.
Design of multi-array controllers for electron beam stabilisation on synchrotrons

This paper considers the design of electron beam stabilisation control systems for synchrotrons that simultaneously determine the inputs to multiple arrays of actuators for regulating variations in the electron beam position. An approach based on determining the interaction of the controllable subspaces is used. This enables the control problem to be decomposed into a series of single-input, single-output; multiple-input, single output and multiple-input, multiple-output problems. An Internal Model Control structure is used to design the controllers for each case and mid-ranging control is proposed for the case where the control directions align. Results from a simulation study using machine data from the Booster synchrotron of the UK's national synchrotron facility, Diamond Light Source are presented.
Motivating and improving attitudes to reading in the final years of primary schooling in five New Zealand schools

Teachers are influential in motivating and improving attitudes towards reading. This article reports on an investigation of eight teachers of 10- to 12-year-old students from five New Zealand schools and the strategies they used to improve attitudes to reading. Each school had been identified as implementing effective reading programmes by a panel of literacy experts and supported by standardised tests demonstrating overall improvements in reading achievement. A reading culture developed by using sophisticated picture books and novels for discussion and debate along with ready access to age-related, high-interest appropriate books in the classroom and school library. Teachers worked with children on a whole class, group and individually and demonstrated explicit teaching using texts that engage the reader. The research suggests that children need support by their teachers to negotiate them away from potential points of discouragement in learning to read. Also, teachers need to be aware that reading may not be considered ‘cool’ at this time of early adolescence and initiate strategies to make reading fun.
Embodied Writing: A Tool for Teaching and Learning in Dance

ABSTRACT Writing can inform and help clarify our perception and comprehension of dance practices just as focusing on the first-person narrative of the kinesthetic experience can enliven and bring authenticity to dance writing. The introduction of an embodied writing practice, which I define as vividly descriptive writing inclusive of an array of sensory mechanisms such that a kinesthetic and visceral experience unfolds during the act of writing and a sympathetic response ensues for the reader, can enhance student learning and artistic growth. In this article, I share examples from a writing curriculum used in an introductory lecture course in cross-cultural dance practices. The curriculum provides opportunities for students to practice the components contained within embodied writing while bringing awareness to the brainstorming, assessment, and revision processes involved in both dance and writing composition. The curriculum and methodology employed are readily transferable to other educational settings, curricula, and age groups.
Flexible Life History Traits: Shifts by Scarlet Gilia in Response to Pollinator Abundance.

In response to reduced levels of pollinators and pollination, scarlet gilia, Ipomopsis aggregata, shift from their normal semelparous mode of reproduction to iteroparous reproduction. When pollinators were excluded, plants were 5.5 times as likely to produce an ancillary rosette as controls that received natural pollinator levels. Similarly, when flowers were removed to prevent fruit production, experimental plants were 7.8 times as likely to produce and ancillary rosette as unmanipulated controls exposed to natural levels of pollination. Although ancillary rosette production is correlated with both season and a decline in pollinators, when seasonality was experimentally eliminated as a variable, changes in pollinator abundance still resulted in a corresponding change in rosette formation. Results suggest that there is a threshold below which an individual can be expected to switch from semelparity to iteroparity; the threshold appears to be between 30 and 40% fruit set. Our experiments also demonstrate a trade-off between cloning and fruit production at the population level. Herbivory had no effect on these life history traits. Plants clipped to simulate natural herbivory by deer and elk showed no change in rosette formation relative to undamaged controls. These and other data demonstrate that pollinators are limiting and suggest that pollination is the primary factor involved in these life history trait shifts by scarlet gilia. Midseason shifts in life history traits permit plants to adjust to current lows in pollinator services by producing an ancillary rosette that can then flower in a subsequent year when pollinators may be less limiting.
Vaccination with heat shock protein–peptide complexes: from basic science to clinical applications

There are currently over 150 medical centers worldwide enrolling patients in randomized, controlled Phase III clinical trials testing autologous cancer-derived heat-shock protein (HSP)–peptide complexes for the treatment of renal cell carcinoma and melanoma. In addition, autologous HSP–peptide complexes have been or are being tested in Phase I and II trials of chronic myelogenous leukemia, lymphoma and pancreatic, gastric and colorectal cancers. The door has more recently opened to clinical testing of off-the-shelf HSP-based treatments for infectious diseases. This review recounts the long history of basic research on HSPs in immune response. A keen understanding of how these ancient molecules orchestrate the immune response to cancer and infections has been gained, providing a clear rationale for translating this knowledge into clinical medicine.
Goal motivation, academic outcomes, and psychological distress of a group of Australian secondary students : scale refinement and an extension of the Ingledew, Wray, Markland, and Hardy (2005) model

Beliefs held about personal goals are termed goal dimensions. When applied to academic goals, goal dimensions represent a form of academic motivation. The purpose of this research was to examine if a model of goal dimensions developed by Ingledew, Wray, Markland, and Hardy (2005) in a business setting with adults could be applied to explain academic outcomes and psychological distress of two hundred and sixteen Australian final-year secondary students who were striving to gain a place at a university. Structural Regression (S-R) Analysis was used to examine the effect of the goal dimensions on psychological distress at Time 1 (April); psychological distress at Time 3 (September) while accounting for psychological distress at Time 1; and psychological distress at Time 3 as well as overall final academic performance, with consideration given to the effect of sense of goal progress and use of self-regulated learning strategies assessed at Time 2. Although not intended as a major part of the current research, several alternative models were developed for the scales that were used in the present study. Findings from the substantive analysis indicated that supportive beliefs about this personal goal were predictive of fewer symptoms of concurrently measured psychological distress. These findings were most clearly demonstrated when an S-R (of a substantially modified version of the Ingledew et al. model) rather than a Path Analysis was conducted. Supportive goal beliefs were also predictive of subsequent beliefs about goal progress and academic performance. The most supportive goal beliefs were greater expectations of attaining the goal, greater progress towards attaining the goal, as well as greater sense of control and less difficulty associated with goal pursuit. Use of self-regulated learning skills was greater when goal value was greater. Some important differences between males and females were noted for these findings. The
Transform-Limited, Injection Seeded, Q-Switched, Ring Cavity Fiber Laser

We report an Er-doped, actively Q-switched, fiber laser, generating transform-limited pulses based on single-frequency fiber laser seeded ring cavity. The output pulsewidth can be tuned from hundreds of nanoseconds to several microseconds by changing the repetition rate or the open time of the electrical pulse trigger. This injection-seeded, Q-switched ring cavity fiber laser can be operated over the whole C-band. In addition, a theoretical model is developed to numerically study the pulse characteristics by changing the acousto-optic modulator transmission as well as several cavity parameters, such as the cavity length and loss. The numerical results are in good agreement with the experimental results.
Moral Development in the Professions: Psychology and Applied Ethics

Contents: Preface. J.R. Rest, Background: Theory and Research. S.P. McNeel, College Teaching and Student Moral Development. L.J. Duckett, M.B. Ryden, Education for Ethical Nursing Practice. F-Y. Chang, School Teachers' Moral Reasoning. N.A. Sprinthall, Counseling and Social Role Taking: Promoting Moral and Ego Development. L.A. Ponemon, D.R. L. Gabhart, Ethical Reasoning Research in the Accounting and Auditing Professions. M.J. Bebeau, Influencing the Moral Dimensions of Dental Practice. D.J. Self, D.C. Baldwin, Jr., Moral Reasoning in Medicine. D.J. Self, M. Olivarez, D.C. Baldwin, Jr., Moral Reasoning in Veterinary Medicine. B.J.L. Bredemeier, D.L. L. Shields, Applied Ethics and Moral Reasoning in Sport. T. Westbrook, Tracking the Moral Development of Journalists: A Look at Them and Their Work. S. Thoma, Moral Judgments and Moral Action. J.R. Rest, D. Narvaez, Summary: What's Possible?
Exploring Problem Based Learning to Promote 21st Century Learning Skills in Full Day Kindergarten

Exploring Problem Based Learning to Promote 21 Century Learning Skills in Full Day Kindergarten by Jillian M. Tsoukalas M.A., Olivet Nazarene University, 2007 B.S., Saint Xavier University, 2003 Doctoral Study Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of
A European survey of antimicrobial susceptibility among zoonotic and commensal bacteria isolated from food-producing animals.

OBJECTIVE To study antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic bacteria isolated from food animals in different countries using uniform methodology. METHODS Samples were taken at slaughter from chickens, pigs and cattle in four EU countries per host. Escherichia coli (indicator organism; n = 2118), Salmonella spp. (n = 271) and Campylobacter spp. (n = 1325) were isolated in national laboratories and MICs tested in a central laboratory against, where appropriate, ampicillin, cefepime, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, nalidixic acid, streptomycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole. RESULTS Isolation rates were high for E. coli, low for Salmonella and intermediate for Campylobacter. MIC results showed resistance prevalence varied among compounds, hosts and countries. For E. coli and Salmonella, resistance to newer compounds (cefepime, cefotaxime, ciprofloxacin) was absent or low, but to older compounds (except gentamicin), resistance was variable and higher. E. coli isolates from Sweden showed low resistance, whereas among isolates from Spain (pigs), resistance to ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, tetracycline and trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole was higher; the UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Denmark were intermediate. For Campylobacter spp. isolates from chickens, nalidixic acid and ciprofloxacin resistance was >30% in France and the Netherlands, >6% in the UK and zero in Sweden. Nalidixic acid resistance was high in cattle (20%-64%), whereas ciprofloxacin resistance was markedly lower in cattle, variable in pigs (3%-21%) and highest in Sweden. Generally, Campylobacter coli was more resistant than Campylobacter jejuni. CONCLUSION Antimicrobial resistance among enteric organisms in food animals varied among countries, particularly for older antimicrobials, but resistance to newer compounds used to treat disease in humans was generally low.
Initiation of epileptiform activity by excitatory amino acid receptors in the disinhibited rat neocortex.

1. Intracellular recordings were obtained from neurons in layer II-III of rat frontal cortex maintained in vitro. The role of excitatory amino acid receptors in generation of picrotoxin (PTX)-induced epileptiform activity was investigated with the use of D-2-amino-5-phosphonovaleric acid (D-APV) and 6-cyano-7-nitroquinoxaline-2,3-dione (CNQX) as selective antagonists of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and non-NMDA receptors, respectively. 2. Bath application of PTX resulted in a decrease in evoked inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) in neocortical neurons and a concomitant increase in a polysynaptic late excitatory postsynaptic potential (IEPSP). Epileptiform burst responses, termed paroxysmal depolarizing shifts (PDSs), subsequently developed. Based on response duration, two types of PDSs were identified. Long PDSs were greater than 100 ms in duration, whereas short PDSs lasted less than 50 ms. An early depolarizing potential preceded both types of epileptiform burst response. 3. The NMDA receptor antagonist D-APV reduced the peak amplitude and duration of the PDS. D-APV-insensitive portions of the PDS were greatly attenuated or abolished by CNQX. The non-NMDA antagonist also increased the latency to PDS onset and reduced its duration without affecting peak amplitude. CNQX-insensitive components of the PDS, when present, were abolished by D-APV. 4. Short-duration PDSs could be blocked by CNQX. In these neurons, increasing the stimulation strength produced epileptiform responses of reduced amplitude. 5. Under control conditions, PDS amplitude was a linear function of membrane potential, increasing with hyperpolarization and diminishing on depolarization. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)