Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Residual-based stiffness estimation in robots with flexible transmissions

We propose a novel approach for estimating the nonlinear stiffness of robot joints with flexible transmissions. Based on the definition of dynamic residual signals, we derive stiffness estimation methods that use only position and velocity measurements on the motor side and needs only the knowledge of the dynamic parameters of the motors. In particular, no extra force/torque sensing is needed. Two different strategies are considered, a model-based stiffness estimator and a black-box stiffness estimator. Both strategies consist of two stages. The first stage of the model-based estimator generates a residual signal that is a first-order filtered version of the flexibility torque of the transmission, while in the second stage a least squares fitting method is used to estimate the model parameters of the stiffness. The black-box estimator uses in the first stage a second-order residual that is directly a filtered version of the stiffness multiplied by the deformation rate of the transmission. In the second stage, a simple regressor provides the transmission stiffness in a singularity-robust way. Numerical results reported for the cases of constant, nonlinear, or variable stiffness transmissions demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach and the relative merits of the two estimation strategies.
Curbing Android Permission Creep

The Android platform has about 130 application level permissions that govern access to resources. The determination of which permissions to request is left solely to the application developer. Users are prompted to approve all application permissions at install time, and permissions are silently enforced at execution time. Although many applications make use of a wide range of permissions, we have observed that some applications request permissions that are not required for the application to execute, and that existing developer APIs make it difficult for developers to align their permission requests with application functionality. In this paper we describe a tool we developed to assist developers in utilizing least privilege.
Comparison of ChromID C. difficile agar and cycloserine-cefoxitin-fructose agar for the recovery of Clostridium difficile

Aim: The rapidly changing epidemiology of Clostridium difficile infection highlights the need for improved and continuing surveillance involving stool culturing to enable molecular tracking. Culture of C. difficile can be difficult and time consuming. In this report ChromID C. difficile agar (CDIF) was compared to cycloserine-cefoxitin-fructose-egg-yolk agar which contained 0.1% sodium taurocholate (TCCFA) as a germinant. Results: All ribotypes of C. difficile tested (n = 90) grew well on CDIF within 24 h and most gave characteristic small irregular black colonies with a raised umbonate profile. Counts from standard suspensions of C. difficile at 24 h (p < 0.005) and 48 h (p = 0.01) were significantly higher on CDIF than on TCCFA. Similar results were achieved after alcohol shock. When temperature shock was used to differentiate vegetative cells and spores, the total number of culturable and vegetative cells on CDIF was significantly higher than on TCCFA (culturable cells, p = 0.003 at 24 h and p = 0.002 at 48 h; vegetative cells, p = 0.0003 at 24 h and p = 0.0002 at 48 h). Conclusions: These data suggest that CDIF is a better medium for the recovery of vegetative C. difficile than TCCFA and equal to TCCFA for spore recovery.
Quality of life in health promotion and rehabilitation: Conceptual approaches, issues, and applications.

Foreword - Ron Draper Introduction PART ONE: QUALITY OF LIFE IN HEALTH PROMOTION AND REHABILITATION The Centrality of Quality of Life in Health Promotion and Rehabilitation - Ivan Brown, Rebecca Renwick, and Mark Nagler Quality of Life and Health Promotion - John Raeburn and Irving Rootman Quality of Life and Rehabilitation - Rebecca Renwick and Sharon Friefeld PART TWO: CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO QUALITY OF LIFE Lessons from the Literature - Hy Day and Sharon Jankey Towards a Holistic Model of Quality of Life Exploring Current Conceptions of Quality of Life - David Felce and Jonathon Perry A Model for People with and without Disabilities Social Well-Being - Michael Bach and Marcia H Rioux A Framework for Quality of Life Research The Centre for Health Promotion Conceptual Approach to Quality of Life - Rebecca Renwick and Ivan Brown Being, Belonging, and Becoming PART THREE: QUALITY OF LIFE IN HEALTH PROMOTION AND REHABILITATION: SOME CRITICAL ISSUES The Utility of Quality of Life as a Construct for Social and Health Policy Development - Trevor R Parmenter Quality of Life and Quality Assurance - Robert L Schalock Overcoming the Social Construction of Inequality as a Prerequisite to Quality of Life - Marica H Rioux Measurement and Practice - Ronald Labonte Power Isseus in Quality of Life, Health Promotion, and Empowerment Defining Quality of Life - Dennis Raphael Eleven Debates Concerning its Measurement PART FOUR: APPLICATIONS OF QUALITY OF LIFE IN HEALTH PROMOTION AND REHABILITATION A. Current Social Issues Quality of Life Experienced by a Sample of Adults with HIV - Rebecca Renwick and Judith Friedland Quality of Life of People with Disabilities Who Have Experienced Sexual Abuse - Mark Nagler The Quality of Life of Marginal Citizens - Ivan Brown Homelessness B. Abilities and Disabilities Communication Disorders - Bernard M O'Keefe Just Minor Inconveniences? Quality of Life of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing People - David G Mason People with Developmental Disabilities - Roy I Brown Applying Quality of Life to Assessment and Intervention Quality of Life Assessment for Persons with Severe Developmental Disabilities - Helene Ouellette-Kuntz and Bruce McCreary Quality of Life in Families with a Member with Disabilites - Eva R McPhail A Parent's Perspective Quality of Life of Older Adults - Dennis Raphael Towards the Optimization of the Aging Process Quality of Life and Adolescent Health - Dennis Raphael C. Major Life Activities Work, Employment, and Mental Health - Martin Shain Implications for Quality of Life Leisure, Living, and Quality of Life - Aubrey H Fine PART FIVE: FUTURE DIRECTIONS Conceptualization, Research, and Applications - Rebecca Renwick et al Future Directions
Comparison of Minimally Invasive Total Hip Arthroplasty versus Conventional Hemiarthroplasty for Displaced Femoral Neck Fractures in Active Elderly Patients

Fractures of the femoral neck in elderly patients can be treated by internal fixation, hemiarthroplasty, or total hip arthroplasty (THA), and the treatment modality used should be determined on the basis of considerations of the degree of fracture displacement, age, functional demands, and the risk factors for surgery and anesthesia. We studied 85 active elderly patients who underwent minimally invasive two-incision THA or conventional bipolar hemiarthroplasty (BHA) within 2 weeks of injury for the treatment of acute displaced femoral neck fractures. Patients were followed up for a minimum of 24 months. The average operation times were 70 minutes in the THA group and 46 minutes in the BHA group (p=0.002), and average blood losses during the perioperative period were 921 cc and 892 cc, respectively (p=0.562). In the THA group, the average postoperative Harris hip score was 88.3 and the average Western Ontario and McMaster University score was 28.8, whereas in the BHA group the corresponding scores were 80.4 (p=0.006) and 32.5 (p=0.012), respectively. There were 2 cases of hip dislocation in the THA group, and 2 cases in the BHA group underwent conversion to THA. Our short-term follow-up results were better for minimally invasive two-incision THA than for conventional BHA for the treatment of acute displaced femoral neck fractures in active elderly patients.
Language Development Over the Lifespan

Introduction Kees de Bot & Robert Schrauf Section A: Theoretical Approaches to Language Development 1. First and Second Language Development from a UG Perspective Sharon Unsworth 2. First Language Development from an Emergentist Perspective Heike Behrens 3. First Language Development from a Dynamic Systems Perspective Paul van Geert Section B: Second Language Development 4. Second Language Development from a Socio-cultural Perspective Maria C. M. de Guerrero 5. Second Language Development from a Dynamic Systems Perspective Wander Lowie, Marjolijn Verspoor & Kees de Bot 6. Disorders in Bilingual Development Over the Lifespan Kathryn Kohnert 7. First Language Attrition Across the Lifespan Monika Schmid Section C: Non-verbal Aspects of Language Development 8. The Development of Gesture Marion Tellier 9. The Development of Sign Language Deborah Chen Pichler Section D: Methodological and Neuro-linguistic Aspects of Development 10. Longitudinal and Cross-Sectional Designs in Studies of Multilingualism Over the Lifespan Robert Schrauf 11. The Role of Working Memory in Language Development Over the Lifespan Susan Kemper 12. The Development of Neural Substrates of Language Over the Lifespan. Arturo Hernandez, Merrill Hiscock, and Elizabeth A. Bates
Drug Content Effects on the Dispersion Performance of Adhesive Mixtures for Inhalation

The drug content in adhesive mixtures for inhalation is known to influence their dispersion performance, but the direction and magnitude of this influence depends on other variables. In the past decades several mechanisms have been postulated to explain this finding and a number of possible interacting variables have been identified. Still, the role of drug content in the formulation of adhesive mixtures for inhalation, which includes its significance as an interacting variable to other parameters, is poorly understood. Therefore, the results from a series of drug detachment experiments are presented in which the effect of drug content and its dependence on flow rate, the mixing time and the type of drug is studied. Furthermore, it is investigated whether the effect depends on the range within which the drug content is changed. Quantitative and qualitative multiple order interactions are observed between these variables, which may be explained by a shifting balance between three different mechanisms. The results therefore demonstrate that accounting for (multiple order) interactions between variables has to be part of quality by design activities and the rational design of future experiments.
The influence of sales force newcomers' met expectations on selected outcome variables: Development and testing of a model

Sales management researchers and practitioners give considerable attention to early employment expectations, attitudes, and behaviors primarily because of a desire to specify the cognition process leading to performance and retention of salespeople. While a massive body of literature exists concerning turnover of employees and determinants of employee performance, more empirical study specific to the sales force as a research population is needed to assess the nature of turnover and performance. Because the bulk of salesperson turnover occurs in early employment, particular attention needs to be devoted to the cognitive process of newcomers to the sales force. The present work examines expectation-based and perception-oriented models of performance and retention for sales force new hires. Interests of this investigation focus on the initial expectations of newly hired sales representatives and on how the degree of fulfillment of these expectations relates to subsequent performance and retention behavior. Extant research suggests that the degree to which expectations are met positively influences mediating variables such as job satisfaction and organizational commitment, and indirectly influences outcomes such as job performance and retention of newcomers. Alternatively, some researchers contend that these results are due to improper measurement of met expectations. A longitudinal research design and alternative measurement methods are employed here to better assess the role of met/unmet expectations. The proposed study is based on theoretical research from a variety of academic disciplines, and the results of the study will have multi-disciplinary implications. Contributions include: (a) replication and extension of theoretical research concerning processes leading to performance and retention of sales force newcomers, (b) a thorough examination of met expectations as a precursor to early sales force outcomes, and (c) methodological advances in the measurement of met expectations.
Environmental Perceptions and Behavioral Change of Hillside Farmers: The Case of Haiti

Land degradation is one of the most serious problems facing resource-poor tropical hillside farmers. Studies examining determinants of farmers’ decisions to invest in land improvement technologies have focused on economic and financial factors, neglecting individuals’ perceptions and awareness of the problems and how they affect land use and behavioral change that enhance environmental sustainability. This study examines Haitian peasants’ environmental behavior structure using a structural equation modeling approach. Specifically, the study examines the effects of perceived susceptibility, seriousness, benefits, and barriers to change on attitude, and the causal effect of attitude on behavior. The influence of the level of resources extracted from the land per capita on perceptions, attitude, and behavior is examined. Results show that Haitian peasants’ attitudes toward the environment are significantly affected by their perceived susceptibility and severity of land degradation. The path coefficients linking perceived susceptibility, severity, and benefits to attitude are 0.49 (t=5.43) and 0.21 (t=3.78), respectively. A positive attitude toward the environment seems to cause a greater inclination to behavioral change. The coefficient from attitude to behavior is 0.21 (t=3.81). The results indicate that agricultural productivity significantly shapes hillside farmers’ perceptions of susceptibility to and severity of land degradation. Per capita resource extraction significantly affects people’s perceptions of the benefits of good environmental quality and the barriers to behavioral change.
Using Feature Selection Metrics for Polarity Analysis in RepLab 2012

In this workings notes paper for RepLab 2012, we describe our method of using feature selection metrics for polarity analysis. We use the correlation coefficient, a one-sided metric, to assign polarity scores to relevant words within a tweet; we then use aggregate of these scores to determine polarity of the tweet. Our results show a reasonable level of performance compared to other methods.
Hepatitis B and C virus infection and the risk of biliary tract cancer: A population‐based study in China

Emerging data suggest that chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) and hepatitis C virus (HCV) infections may also play a role in extrahepatic bile duct cancers. To test the HBV hypothesis, we examined the relationship of HBV/HCV infection with risks of biliary tract cancer and biliary stones in a population‐based case‐control study conducted in Shanghai, China. Standard assays were used to detect HBV surface antigen (HBsAg) and antibodies against HBV core antigen (anti‐HBc) and hepatitis C virus (anti‐HCV) in sera from 417 patients with biliary tract cancers, 517 with biliary stones, and 762 healthy controls randomly selected from the population. Unconditional logistic regression was used to calculate the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for each disease type. HBsAg seroprevalence was 7.3% among population controls and 14.2% among patients with extrahepatic bile duct cancer, resulting in a 2.4‐fold risk of extrahepatic bile duct cancer (95% CI 1.2–4.5). No association was found for cancers of the gallbladder (prevalence 8.2%) or the ampulla of Vater (6.1%), or for stones in the gallbladder (10.1%) or bile duct (9.3%). Further adjustment for education, smoking, body mass index, diabetes and gallstones did not materially change the results. Prevalence of HCV infection in this population was low (2%), limiting our ability to detect an association with biliary diseases. In Shanghai, an HBV endemic area, chronic HBV infection was associated with a 2.4‐fold risk of extrahepatic bile duct cancer. These results should be confirmed in other populations with varying risks of HBV and HCV infection. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Eribulin mesylate reduces tumor microenvironment abnormality by vascular remodeling in preclinical human breast cancer models

Eribulin mesylate is a synthetic macrocyclic ketone analog of the marine sponge natural product halichondrin B and an inhibitor of microtubule dynamics. Some tubulin‐binding drugs are known to have antivascular (antiangiogenesis or vascular‐disrupting) activities that can target abnormal tumor vessels. Using dynamic contrast‐enhanced MRI analyses, here we show that eribulin induces remodeling of tumor vasculature through a novel antivascular activity in MX‐1 and MDA‐MB‐231 human breast cancer xenograft models. Vascular remodeling associated with improved perfusion was shown by Hoechst 33342 staining and by increased microvessel density together with decreased mean vascular areas and fewer branched vessels in tumor tissues, as determined by immunohistochemical staining for endothelial marker CD31. Quantitative RT‐PCR analysis of normal host cells in the stroma of xenograft tumors showed that eribulin altered the expression of mouse (host) genes in angiogenesis signaling pathways controlling endothelial cell–pericyte interactions, and in the epithelial–mesenchymal transition pathway in the context of the tumor microenvironment. Eribulin also decreased hypoxia‐associated protein expression of mouse (host) vascular endothelial growth factor by ELISA and human CA9 by immunohistochemical analysis. Prior treatment with eribulin enhanced the anti‐tumor activity of capecitabine in the MDA‐MB‐231 xenograft model. These findings suggest that eribulin‐induced remodeling of abnormal tumor vasculature leads to a more functional microenvironment that may reduce the aggressiveness of tumors due to elimination of inner tumor hypoxia. Because abnormal tumor microenvironments enhance both drug resistance and metastasis, the apparent ability of eribulin to reverse these aggressive characteristics may contribute to its clinical benefits.
Information Feedback in a Dynamic Tournament

This paper studies the problem of information revelation in a multi-stage tournament where the agents' effort in each stage gives rise to a stochastic performance signal privately observed by the principal. The principal controls the agents' effort incentive through the use of a feedback policy, which transforms his private information into a public announcement. The optimal feedback policy is one that maximizes the agents' expected effort. The paper identifies when the principal should use the no-feedback policy that reveals no information, or the full-feedback policy that reveals all his information.
The political brain: The role of emotion in deciding the fate of the nation.

This book presents a groundbreaking and surprising scientific investigation into how the mind works, how the brain works and what this means for why candidates win and lose elections. Since the 18th century, the idea of mind that has captured the imagination of philosophers, cognitive scientists, economists and political scientists is of a dispassionate mind that makes decisions by weighing evidence and reasoning to make the most valid conclusions. It bears no relation to how the mind and brain actually work. In this landmark book, Professor Drew Westen - a scientist and psychologist who has led a pioneering investigation into how the brain processes political information - shows through a whirlwind tour of American political leaders how electorates vote not with their heads, but with their hearts. He finds that Americans are a nation of passionate voters, not cool political spectators - they love (or hate) Bill Clinton and George W Bush. No-one else will do. The book, which examines data across several Presidential elections from the 1950s to the present day, is a serious and groundbreaking investigation into the role of emotion in driving voting behaviour.
Two immunochemical assays to measure advanced glycation end-products in serum from dialysis patients

Abstract Advanced glycation end-products are uremic toxins that accumulate in the serum and tissues of patients with chronic renal failure. Here, we established two enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for N ε-carboxymethyllysine and imidazolone to analyze advanced glycation end-products in human serum. Both ELISAs detected advanced glycation end-products bound to human serum albumin in a dose-dependent way. Whereas the formation of imida-zolone was independent of the presence of oxygen, concentrations of N ε-carboxymethyllysine epitopes increased 20-fold under oxidative conditions. The N ε-carboxymethyllysine ELISA showed a similar response to free, peptide-bound and protein-bound N ε-carboxymethyllysine, whereas the imidazolone antibody showed slightly higher affinity toward peptide-bound compared to protein-bound imidazolone. In human serum, linear dilution ranges from 1:10 to 1:40 (N ε-carboxymethyllysine ELISA) and from 1:2 to 1:8 (imidazolone ELISA) were found. The recovery of N ε-carboxymethyllysine from serum was 101±10% and 94±12%, respectively, and 93±15% and 97±12% for imidazolone. The coefficients of variation for intra-assay variability were 0.26–2.7% (N ε-carboxymethyllysine) and 0.1–2.4% (imidazolone), and 8.3–13.4% (N ε-carboxymethyllysine) and 7.8–12.5% (imidazolone) for inter-assay variability. In serum samples from hemodialysis patients (n=20) and controls (n=20), an approximately two-fold increase was detected in the patient group (p<0.001). The combination of the N ε-carboxymethyllysine and imidazolone ELISAs is a valuable tool to measure serum concentrations of advanced glycation end-products for clinical studies.
The Stock Selection and Performance of Buy-Side Analysts

Prior research on equity analysts focuses almost exclusively on those employed by sell-side investment banks and brokerage houses. Yet investment firms undertake their own buy-side research, and their analysts face different stock selection and recommendation incentives than their sell-side peers. We examine the selection and performance of stocks recommended by analysts at a large investment firm relative to those of sell-side analysts from mid-1997 to 2004. We find that the buy-side firm’s analysts issue less optimistic recommendations for stocks with larger market capitalizations and lower return volatility than their sell-side peers, consistent with their facing fewer conflicts of interest and having a preference for liquid stocks. Tests with no controls for these effects indicate that annualized buy-side strong buy/buy recommendations underperform those for sell-side peers by 5.9% using market-adjusted returns and by 3.8% using four-factor model abnormal returns. However, these findings are driven by differences in the stocks recommended and their market capitalization. After controlling for these selection effects, we find no difference in the performance of the buy- and sell-side analysts’ strong buy/buy recommendations.