Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Verifying and validating multirobot missions

We have developed an approach that can be used by mission designers to determine whether or not a performance guarantee for their mission software, when carried out under the uncertain conditions of a real-world environment, will hold within a threshold probability. In this paper we demonstrate its utility for verifying multirobot missions, in particular a bounding overwatch mission.
COI barcode versus morphological identification of Culex ( Culex ) (Diptera: Culicidae) species: a case study using samples from Argentina and Brazil

Sequences of the cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) mitochondrial gene from adults of 22 Culex ( Culex ) species from Argentina and Brazil were employed to assess species identification and to test the usefulness of COI for barcoding using the best close match (BCM) algorithm. A pairwise Kimura two-parameter distance matrix including the mean intra and interspecific distances for 71 COI barcode sequences was constructed. Of the 12 COI lineages recovered in the Neighbour-joining topology, five confirmed recognised morphological species ( Cx. acharistus , Cx. chidesteri , Cx. dolosus , Cx. lygrus and Cx. saltanensis ) with intraspecific divergences lower than 1.75%. Cx. bilineatus is formally resurrected from the synonymy of Cx. dolosus . Cx. maxi , Cx. surinamensis and the Coronator group species included were clustered into an unresolved lineage. The intraspecific distance of Cx. pipiens (3%) was almost twice the interspecific between it and Cx. quinquefasciatus (1.6%). Regarding the BCM criteria, the COI barcode successfully identified 69% of all species. The rest of the sequences, approximately 10%, 18% and 3%, remained as ambiguously, mis and unidentified, respectively. The COI barcode does not contain enough information to distinguish Culex ( Cux. ) species.
Rapid Active Zone Remodeling during Synaptic Plasticity

How can synapses change the amount of neurotransmitter released during synaptic plasticity? Although release in general is intensely investigated, its determinants during plasticity are still poorly understood. As a model for plastic strengthening of synaptic release, we here use the well-established presynaptic homeostatic compensation during interference with postsynaptic glutamate receptors at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction. Combining short-term plasticity analysis, cumulative EPSC analysis, fluctuation analysis, and quantal short-term plasticity modeling, we found an increase in the number of release-ready vesicles during presynaptic strengthening. High-resolution light microscopy revealed an increase in the amount of the active zone protein Bruchpilot and an enlargement of the presynaptic cytomatrix structure. Furthermore, these functional and structural alterations of the active zone were not only observed after lifelong but already after minutes of presynaptic strengthening. Our results demonstrate that presynaptic plasticity can induce active zone remodeling, which regulates the number of release-ready vesicles within minutes.
Surgical and obstetrical outcomes after laparoscopic radical trachelectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy for early cervical cancer

Objective The aim of this study was to evaluate the surgical and obstetrical outcomes of patients with early cervical cancer who underwent laparoscopic radical trachelectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy. Methods We analyzed data from women who underwent laparoscopic radical trachelectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy between July 2000 and October 2014. Results Of a total of 12 patients, 91.7% were FIGO (International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics) stages IA2 and IB1. Seven patients (58.3%) had squamous cell carcinoma. The median tumor size was 1.87 cm (range, focal to 4.6 cm) and two patients (16.7%) had a tumor lager than 2 cm. Lymphovascular space invasion in the tumor lesion was reported in six patients (50%). The following surgical complications were observed: neurogenic bladder (one patient), hemoperitoneum (one patient), and infection (one patient). A total of 33.3% had attempted to conceive, resulting in two pregnancies and two healthy babies. All pregnancies were achieved by in vitro fertilization and embryo transfer. Each woman underwent cesarean delivery because of premature pre-labor rupture of membranes at gestational weeks 27.3 and 33.3. After a median follow-up time of 4.4 years (range, 1 to 8 years), there were no recurrences or deaths. Conclusion Laparoscopic radical trachelectomy and pelvic lymphadenectomy should be offered as an alternative treatment for women with early stage cervical cancer who want to preserve their fertility.
MANET Performance Estimation Using Manhattan Distance Approach

Wireless communications is a demand of the current technological era. Various number of routing protocols are available in Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) out of which table driven and on demand routing protocols are widely used. AODV is a on demand type of protocol specifically designed for mobile wireless nodes interconnection in an ad-hoc manner, to find routes as on requirement basis with minimal route acquisition potential and control overhead. In general it is working on Euclidean distance. In this paper we propose a new approach to replace Euclidean distance with Manhattan distance and destination IP is also incorporated into main AODV header to improve its performance and reduced amount of data loss. Network Simulator (NS-2) is used as a simulation tool, and wireless environment created by MAC 802.11 protocol. Proposed routing protocol performance evaluated in terms of PDR, E2E packet delay, dropped packet and dropped data bytes. It is also compared with the performance of normal AODV.
CORRELATION OF PSEUDARTHROSIS AND RECURRENT CERVICAL MONORADICULOPATHY AFTER ONE LEVEL OF ANTERIOR CERVICAL DISCECTOMY (ACD) AND FIXATION USING METHYLMETHACRYLATE (MMA)

♦ Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery, Dept of Neurosurgery, Hahnemann University Hospital, Drexel College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA ◊ University Neurosurgical Pain Clinic, Philadelphia, PA, USA ________________________________________________________________________ OBJECTIVE: This study was performed to determine the prevalence of pseudarthrosis, at the level of the MMA two years or longer after the one-level ACD, and to understand the correlation of the pseudarthrosis with recurrent monoradiculopathy. The literature has been vague about relevancy of pseudarthrosis and recurrent monoradiculopathy.
Coordinated, Long-Range, Solid Substrate Movement of the Purple Photosynthetic Bacterium Rhodobacter capsulatus

The long-range movement of Rhodobacter capsulatus cells in the glass-agar interstitial region of borosilicate Petri plates was found to be due to a subset of the cells inoculated into plates. The macroscopic appearance of plates indicated that a small group of cells moved in a coordinated manner to form a visible satellite cluster of cells. Satellite clusters were initially separated from the point of inoculation by the absence of visible cell density, but after 20 to 24 hours this space was colonized by cells apparently shed from a group of cells moving away from the point of inoculation. Cell movements consisted of flagellum-independent and flagellum-dependent motility contributions. Flagellum-independent movement occurred at an early stage, such that satellite clusters formed after 12 to 24 hours. Subsequently, after 24 to 32 hours, a flagellum-dependent dispersal of cells became visible, extending laterally outward from a line of flagellum-independent motility. These modes of taxis were found in several environmental isolates and in a variety of mutants, including a strain deficient in the production of the R. capsulatus acyl-homoserine lactone quorum-sensing signal. Although there was great variability in the direction of movement in illuminated plates, cells were predisposed to move toward broad spectrum white light. This predisposition was increased by the use of square plates, and a statistical analysis indicated that R. capsulatus is capable of genuine phototaxis. Therefore, the variability in the direction of cell movement was attributed to optical effects on light waves passing through the plate material and agar medium.
Deterministic CCA-Based Algorithms for Blind Equalization of FIR-MIMO Channels

In this paper, a new deterministic technique for blind equalization of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) channels is presented. The proposed method relies on the channel order diversity of the finite impulse response-MIMO channel, and it does not make any assumption about the spectra or the finite alphabet property of the sources. Assuming that the lengths of the single-input multiple-output channels are known or estimated a priori, it is able to extract the sources up to a scale and rotation matrix ambiguity, which only affects to those sources associated to single-input multiple-output (SIMO) channels with equal lengths. Unlike previously proposed techniques, the method described in this paper obtains the equalizers and the best linear combination of their outputs in a single step and, thus, optimally. The reformulation of the proposed method as a set of nested canonical correlation analysis problems is exploited to obtain efficient batch and adaptive equalization algorithms. Finally, the performance of the proposed algorithms is evaluated by means of some simulation examples.
Global Currency Hedging

Over the period 1975 to 2005, the US dollar (particularly in relation to the Canadian dollar) and the euro and Swiss franc (particularly in the second half of the period) have moved against world equity markets. Thus these currencies should be attractive to risk-minimizing global equity investors despite their low average returns. The risk-minimizing currency strategy for a global bond investor is close to a full currency hedge, with a modest long position in the US dollar. There is little evidence that risk-minimizing investors should adjust their currency positions in response to movements in interest differentials.
An Upper-Limb Power-Assist Exoskeleton Using Proportional Myoelectric Control

We developed an upper-limb power-assist exoskeleton actuated by pneumatic muscles. The exoskeleton included two metal links: a nylon joint, four size-adjustable carbon fiber bracers, a potentiometer and two pneumatic muscles. The proportional myoelectric control method was proposed to control the exoskeleton according to the user's motion intention in real time. With the feature extraction procedure and the classification (back-propagation neural network), an electromyogram (EMG)-angle model was constructed to be used for pattern recognition. Six healthy subjects performed elbow flexion-extension movements under four experimental conditions: (1) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation and for different periods (2-s, 4-s and 8-s periods); (2) holding a 1-kg load, without wearing the exoskeleton, for a fixed period; (3) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton, but with no actuation, for a fixed period; (4) holding a 1-kg load, wearing the exoskeleton under proportional myoelectric control, for a fixed period. The EMG signals of the biceps brachii, the brachioradialis, the triceps brachii and the anconeus and the angle of the elbow were collected. The control scheme's reliability and power-assist effectiveness were evaluated in the experiments. The results indicated that the exoskeleton could be controlled by the user's motion intention in real time and that it was useful for augmenting arm performance with neurological signal control, which could be applied to assist in elbow rehabilitation after neurological injury.
Game Theoretical Analysis of Cooperative Sourcing Scenarios

As an emerging trend in outsourcing, cooperative sourcing is the merging of similar processes of several firms when, for example, several banks merge their payments processing and the underlying IT to jointly realize economies of scale. However, what are conditions of stable outsourcing coalitions? How to allocate costs within the outsourcing value web? We present a micro economic model for analyzing cooperative sourcing decisions. Using game-theory equilibrium analysis, distribution rules of cooperative sourcing benefits are evaluated and necessary conditions for stable sourcing coalitions are identified. We formally prove that a proportional allocation of costs will lead to stable coalitions, while the equal distribution of benefits or the Shapley value will not. Still, a small game theoretic experiment indicates that deciders not knowing about the theoretical results tend to choose inefficient allocations leading to instable sourcing networks.
Chemoattractant‐mediated transient activation and membrane localization of Akt/PKB is required for efficient chemotaxis to cAMP in Dictyostelium

Chemotaxis‐competent cells respond to a variety of ligands by activating second messenger pathways leading to changes in the actin/myosin cytoskeleton and directed cell movement. We demonstrate that Dictyostelium Akt/PKB, a homologue of mammalian Akt/PKB, is very rapidly and transiently activated by the chemoattractant cAMP. This activation takes place through G protein‐coupled chemoattractant receptors via a pathway that requires homologues of mammalian p110 phosphoinositide‐3 kinase. pkbA null cells exhibit aggregation‐stage defects that include aberrant chemotaxis, a failure to polarize properly in a chemoattractant gradient and aggregation at low densities. Mechanistically, we demonstrate that the PH domain of Akt/PKB fused to GFP transiently translocates to the plasma membrane in response to cAMP with kinetics similar to those of Akt/PKB kinase activation and is localized to the leading edge of chemotaxing cells in vivo. Our results indicate Akt/PKB is part of the regulatory network required for sensing and responding to the chemoattractant gradient that mediates chemotaxis and aggregation.
Parameterized Streaming: Maximal Matching and Vertex Cover

As graphs continue to grow in size, we seek ways to effectively process such data at scale. The model of streaming graph processing, in which a compact summary is maintained as each edge insertion/deletion is observed, is an attractive one. However, few results are known for optimization problems over such dynamic graph streams. In this paper, we introduce a new approach to handling graph streams, by instead seeking solutions for the parameterized versions of these problems. Here, we are given a parameter k and the objective is to decide whether there is a solution bounded by k. By combining kernelization techniques with randomized sketch structures, we obtain the first streaming algorithms for the parameterized versions of Maximal Matching and Vertex Cover. We consider various models for a graph stream on n nodes: the insertion-only model where the edges can only be added, and the dynamic model where edges can be both inserted and deleted. More formally, we show the following results: • In the insertion only model, there is a one-pass deterministic algorithm for the parameterized Vertex Cover problem which computes a sketch using O(k2) space such that at each timestamp in time O(2k) it can either extract a solution of size at most k for the current instance, or report that no such solution exists. We also show a tight lower bound of Ω(k2) for the space complexity of any (randomized) streaming algorithms for the parameterized Vertex Cover, even in the insertion-only model. • In the dynamic model, and under the promise that at each timestamp there is a maximal matching of size at most k, there is a one-pass O(k2)-space (sketch-based) dynamic algorithm that maintains a maximal matching with worst-case update time O(k2). This algorithm partially solves Open Problem 64 from [1]. An application of this dynamic matching algorithm is a one-pass O(k2)-space streaming algorithm for the parameterized Vertex Cover problem that in time O(2k) extracts a solution for the final instance with probability 1 − δ/nO(1), where δ < 1. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first graph streaming algorithm that combines linear sketching with sequential operations that depend on the graph at the current time. • In the dynamic model without any promise, there is a one-pass randomized algorithm for the parameterized Vertex Cover problem which computes a sketch using O(nk) space such that in time O(nk + 2k) it can either extract a solution of size at most k for the final instance, or report that no such solution exists.
Recent highlights on bone stem cells: a report from Bone Stem Cells 2009, and not only…

• Introduction • Sources of stem cells for bone regeneration • Markers for the identification of adult bone stem cells • Molecular aspects of bone stem cells • Signaling pathways of osteoblast differentiation • Control of bone remodelling by the nervous system • In vivo models • Orthopaedic applications of bone stem cell technology • Conclusions
Homeobox genes, fossils, and the origin of species

Ever since Darwin there has been a history of debate on the tempo and mode of evolution. Is speciation a gradual process involving the accumulation of minute variations extant within a species, or is it rapid, the result of major organismal reorganization? Does one define a species on the basis of genes, morphology, or geographic or reproductive isolation? In this communication I present a model of evolutionary change that is based on the Mendelian inheritance of mutations in regulatory genes and the fact that most nonlethal mutations arise in the recessive state. Since the new recessive allele will spread through many generations without expression until there is a critical mass of heterozygotes capable of producing homozygotes for the mutation, the novel feature thus produced will appear abruptly in the population and in more than one individual. This picture of punctuation is consistent with the fossil record, which typically fails to provide evidence of smoothly transitional states of morphological change. Given that the first of their kind in the fossil record are organisms in which their novel characteristics are often more fully expressed or complex than in their descendants, it would seem that, after the mutation involving a regulatory gene is introduced, the general tendency is for its effects to become diminished. Among the implications for speciation is that this process does not depend on either reproductive isolation or genetic incompatibility. Rather, barring effects on reproductive organs or behavior, homozygotes for a novelty should be able to breed with heterozygotes and homozygotes for the wild state of the original population. This, in turn, suggests that the species barrier between individuals is probably a matter of mate recognition. Anat Rec (New Anat): 257:15–31, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Random Heegaard splittings

Consider a random walk on the mapping class group, and let wn be the location of the random walk at time n. A random Heegaard splitting M(wn) is a 3‐manifold obtained by using wn as the gluing map between two handlebodies. We show that the joint distribution of (wn, wn−1) is asymptotically independent, and converges to the product of the harmonic and reflected harmonic measures defined by the random walk. We use this to show that the translation length of wn acting on the curve complex, and the distance between the disk sets of M(wn) in the curve complex, grows linearly in n. In particular, this implies that a random Heegaard splitting is hyperbolic with asymptotic probability 1.
Static detection of cross-site scripting vulnerabilities

Web applications support many of our daily activities, but they often have security problems, and their accessibility makes them easy to exploit. In cross-site scripting (XSS), an attacker exploits the trust a Web client (browser) has for a trusted server and executes injected script on the browser with the server's privileges. In 2006, XSS constituted the largest class of newly reported vulnerabilities making it the most prevalent class of attacks today. Web applications have XSS vulnerabilities because the validation they perform on untrusted input does not suffice to prevent that input from invoking a browser's JavaScript interpreter, and this validation is particularly difficult to get right if it must admit some HTML mark-up. Most existing approaches to finding XSS vulnerabilities are taint-based and assume input validation functions to be adequate, so they either miss real vulnerabilities or report many false positives. This paper presents a static analysis for finding XSS vulnerabilities that directly addresses weak or absent input validation. Our approach combines work on tainted information flow with string analysis. Proper input validation is difficult largely because of the many ways to invoke the JavaScript interpreter; we face the same obstacle checking for vulnerabilities statically, and we address it by formalizing a policy based on the W3C recommendation, the Firefox source code, and online tutorials about closed-source browsers. We provide effective checking algorithms based on our policy. We implement our approach and provide an extensive evaluation that finds both known and unknown vulnerabilities in real-world web applications.
An Unsupervised Snippet-Based Sentiment Classification Method for Chinese Unknown Phrases without Using Reference Word Pairs

This work presents an unsupervised snippet-based sentiment classification method for Chinese unknown sentiment phrases, which is also applicable to other languages theoretically. Unlike existing Semantic Orientation (SO) methods, our proposed method does not require any Reference Word Pairs (RWPs) for predicting the sentiments of phrases. The results of preliminary experiments show that our proposed method is highly effective and achieves over 80% accuracy and F-measures with relatively fewer queries. An experiment of opinion extraction using a public Chinese UGC corpus also shows promising results.
A modular compactification of the general linear group

We define a certain compactifiction of the general linear group and give a modular description for its points with values in arbitrary schemes. This is a first step in the construction of a higher rank generalization of Gieseker's degeneration of moduli spaces of vector bundles over a curve. We show that our compactification has similar properties as the ``wonderful compactification'' of algebraic groups of adjoint type as studied by de Concini and Procesi. As a byproduct we obtain a modular description of the points of the wonderful compactification of $\text{PGl}_n$.
Performance comparison of various adaptive filter algorithms for ECG signal enhancement and baseline wander removal

In this paper various adaptive filter based algorithms that can be applied to ECG signal in order to remove various artifacts from them are presented. The goal of the paper is to show the comparison based on signal to noise ratio of all adaptive filter algorithms used for the analysis of ECG signals with Baseline wander noise. Simulation studies shows that the proposed novel algorithms like NLMS, SRLMS and DNLMS based on adaptive systems present better performances compared to existing realizations LMS, DLMS and NSRLMS based procedures in terms of signal to noise ratio.