Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and control of an intelligent walking-aid robot

An intelligent walking-aid robot is presented for walking assistance, training and rehabilitation of the elderly. The robot is intended to provide physical support and mobility aid for the old people during their walking based on recognizing their motion intentions online. A force measuring system comprised of force sensing resisters (FSRs) is designed to obtain the interaction forces between the user and the robot. The user's motion intention is then estimated by analyzing the relationship between the measured interaction forces and human intention force/torque. Further the estimated intention is used to guide the admittance based motion control of robot. To ensure a safe walking, a laser range finder (LRF) is used to detect the distance between the robot and the user's legs. A distance restraint control is also designed and taken into action when the distance is found beyond a safe threshold. Experiments were conducted and the results verified the effectiveness of the developed robot system and control methods.
St John's wort

The leaves and flowering tops of the plant are used medicinally. Evidence suggests that St John's wort is an effective treatment for mild to moderate depression. Hyperforin may play a major role in the plant's activity. In general the herb is well tolerated but serotonergic reactions from its use alone or in combination are reported. (author abstract)
Antibodies reactive with the mouse mammary tumor virus in sera of breast cancer patients

IgG binding to purified mouse mammary tumor virus (MuMTV) was quantitated by an enzyme‐linked immunoassay (ELISA) using sera from patients with breast cancer or benign breast disease, or from healthy agematched controls. Significantly greater binding (p<0.01) was found in breast‐cancer‐derived sera than in the other categories. In addition to IgG reactivity, three breast cancer sera also possessed IgA and IgM reactive with MuMTV by the ELISA assay. Only IgG was reactive in the majority of sera while two sera possessed MuMTV binding activity only in the IgM fraction. Both IgG binding and virolysis of MuMTV were greatly reduced by preincubation of sera with MuMTV. The specificity for MuMTV was further explored with IgG of serum from one breast cancer patient. Human antibody reactive with MuMTV was progressively diminished by preincubating the human serum with increasing concentrations of MuMTV but not by incubation with the type‐C AKR murine leukemia virus. Preincubation of MuMTV with a breast cancer serum partially blocked the reactivity of gp52 antiserum with the virus. The results suggest that an antigen related to an MuMTV envelope component is expressed in breast cancer.
Clinical Holistic Medicine: Tools for a Medical Science Based on Consciousness

Biomedicine focuses on the biochemistry of the body, while consciousness-based medicine — holistic medicine — focuses on the individual's experiences and conscious whole (Greek: holos, whole). Biomedicine perceives diseases as mechanical errors at the micro level, while consciousness-based medicine perceives diseases as disturbances in attitudes, perceptions, and experiences at the macro level — in the organism as a whole. Thus, consciousness-based medicine is based on the whole individual, while biomedicine is based on its smallest parts, the molecules. These two completely different points of departure make the two forms of medicine very different; they represent two different mind sets and two different frames of reference or medical paradigms. This paper explains the basic tools of clinical holistic medicine based on the life mission theory and holistic process theory, with examples of holistic healing from the holistic medical clinic.
A Polymorphisms of the Serotonin 2 A Receptor Gene in Etiology and Course of ADHD

The aim of this study was to investigate the -1438A>G and T102C polymorphisms of serotonin 2A (5-HT2A) receptor gene frequencies in patients with ADHD compared with a healthy control group, and to determine the effects of these polymorphisms on the course and outcome of ADHD. Fifty adolescents and young adults diagnosed with ADHD in childhood (between 1994 and 2001) were included in this study. The patients were followed in the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Department of Gazi University Medical Faculty for 7–14 years, and they completed this follow-up period. The control group consisted of 50 adolescents and young adults who were healthy both physically and mentally. In adolescence and adulthood, a diagnosis was reached after a semistructured interview based on the DSM-IV criteria. A genetic evaluation was carried out using the Polymerase Chain Reaction method. 50 adolescents and young adults (39 males, 11 females; age range 16-25 years) who were diagnosed with ADHD during childhood (age range at the time of diagnosis 6–10 years) and 50 healthy adolescents and young adults (33 males, 17 females; age range 16-25 years) were evaluated. In adolescence and adulthood, the diagnosis of ADHD remained in 44 (88%) of the cases, whereas six (12%) were in remission after the 7–14-year follow-up. * No significant difference in the frequency of CC, CT and TT genotypes of T102C polymorphism (2=1.629, p=0.44) and AA, AG and GG genotypes of -1438A>G polymorphism (2= 0.065, p=0.96) was found between the ADHD and control groups. No significant difference was found between ADHD patients with CC, CT, or TT genotypes in terms of the outcome of the illness (2=0.114, p=0.94). Similarly, there was no difference between ADHD patients with AA, AG, and GG genotypes in terms of the outcome (2=0.530, p=0.76). No significant association between -1438A>G and T102C polymorphisms of the 5-HT2A receptor gene and ADHD was found in the present study. No significant effect of these two polymorphisms on the outcome of ADHD in adolescence was detected. The results of this study do not support a role for the serotonergic system in the development and course of ADHD.
Is there a characteristic lipid profile in Alzheimer's disease?

OBJECTIVE To characterize the lipid profile in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and to determine whether it differs from the cardiac risk profile. BACKGROUND Links between hypercholesterolemia and AD development continue to grow. Presently, limited information exists about the lipid profile characteristics in AD. METHODS We examined the lipid profiles (total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein (HDL), lower-density lipoprotein (LDL), TC/HDL ratio, and triglyceride (TG) levels) of 153 subjects with probable/possible AD (mean age 77.2 +/- 8.6 years, mean MMSE 19.9 +/- 5.6) and 25 non-demented subjects with atherosclerotic heart disease (ASHD) (mean age 73.8 +/- 7.2 years); neither on lipid lowering therapy. RESULTS Subjects with TC > 200 mg/dl composed 69% of AD and 72% of ASHD groups. Mean TC was 218.9 +/- 38.9 mg/dl and 218.5 +/- 9.2 mg/dl for AD and ASHD subjects respectively. AD subjects exhibited significantly higher HDL and lower TG and TC/HDL ratios. MMSE did not correlate with any lipid parameters in AD. DISCUSSION Elevated TC, LDL and TG with normal HDL and TC/HDL ratio characterize the lipid profile in AD, which somewhat overlaps with but may be distinct from the cardiac risk profile. MMSE does not correlate with lipid parameters suggesting no interaction between cholesterol and cognition in AD.
Amino Acid Assimilation and Electron Transport System Activity in Attached and Free-Living Marine Bacteria

Amino acid assimilation and electron transport system activity of a marine Pseudomonas sp. was evaluated to determine whether the activity of bacteria attached to solid surfaces differed from that of free-living bacteria or bacteria which had been attached but subsequently desorbed from the substratum (detached bacteria). Bacteria were allowed to attach to glass and to a range of plastic surfaces (Thermanox, polyvinylidene fluoride, polyethylene, polytetrafluoroethylene). Microautoradiography and staining with a tetrazolium salt to demonstrate electron transport system activity were used to compare the activity of these organisms with that of free-living or detached cells. The water-wettability of the surfaces was evaluated by measuring the advancing contact angle (θA) of water on each surface, to determine whether there was a relationship between activity and substratum hydrophilicity. There was an increase in the proportion of leucine-assimilating attached bacteria and in the proportion of attached cells demonstrating electron transport system activity with an increase in substratum θA, but the relationship between activity of attached and free-living cells depended on the substratum. Activity appeared to promote firm attachment, and detached bacteria assimilated fewer amino acids than did attached cells. There was no general effect of surfaces on attached bacterial activity, and attached cells may be more, or less, active than free-living cells, depending on the amino acid, its concentration, and substratum properties.
Switching fuzzy observers for periodic TS systems Zs

This paper considers the design of observers for periodic Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy models. The observer employed is also a periodic one. To develop the design conditions, a switching Lyapunov function defined at the time instants when the subsystems switch is used. Using the developed conditions we are able to design observers for TS models where the local models or even the subsystems are unstable. The application of the conditions is illustrated on numerical examples.
Surface Urban Heat Island Analysis of Shanghai (China) Based on the Change of Land Use and Land Cover

In this paper, we present surface urban heat island (SUHI) analysis of Shanghai (China) based on the change in land use and land cover using satellite Landsat images from 2002 to 2013. With the rapid development of urbanization, urban ecological and environmental issues have aroused widespread concern. The urban heat island (UHI) effect is a crucial problem, as its generation and evolution are closely related to social and economic activities. Land-use and land-cover change (LUCC) is the key in analyzing the UHI effect. Shanghai, one of China’s major economic, financial and commercial centers, has experienced high development density for several decades. A tremendous amount of farmland and vegetation coverage has been replaced by an urban impervious surface, leading to an intensive SUHI effect, especially in the city’s center. Luckily, the SUHI trend has slowed due to reasonable urban planning and relevant green policies since the 2010 Expo. Data analyses demonstrate that an impervious surface (IS) has a positive correlation with land surface temperature (LST) but a negative correlation with vegetation and water. Among the three factors, impervious surface is the most relevant. Therefore, the policy implications of land use and control of impervious surfaces should pay attention to the relief of the current SUHI effect in Shanghai.
HDAC4 and PCAF Bind to Cardiac Sarcomeres and Play a Role in Regulating Myofilament Contractile Activity*

Reversible acetylation of lysine residues within a protein is considered a biologically relevant modification that rivals phosphorylation ( Kouzarides, T. (2000) EMBO J. 19, 1176-1179 ). The enzymes responsible for such protein modification are called histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and deacetylases (HDACs). A role of protein phosphorylation in regulating muscle contraction is well established ( Solaro, R. J., Moir, A. J., and Perry, S. V. (1976) Nature 262, 615-617 ). Here we show that reversible protein acetylation carried out by HATs and HDACs also plays a role in regulating the myofilament contractile activity. We found that a Class II HDAC, HDAC4, and an HAT, PCAF, associate with cardiac myofilaments. Primary cultures of cardiomyocytes as well as mouse heart sections examined by immunohistochemical and electron microscopic analyses revealed that both HDAC4 and PCAF associate with the Z-disc and I- and A-bands of cardiac sacromeres. Increased acetylation of sarcomeric proteins by HDAC inhibition (using class I and II HDAC inhibitors or anti-HDAC4 antibody) enhanced the myofilament calcium sensitivity. We identified the Z-disc-associated protein, MLP, a sensor of cardiac mechanical stretch, as an acetylated target of PCAF and HDAC4. We also show that trichostatin-A, a class I and II HDAC inhibitor, increases myofilament calcium sensitivity of wild-type, but not of MLP knock-out mice, thus demonstrating a role of MLP in acetylation-dependent increased contractile activity of myofilaments. These studies provide the first evidence that HATs and HDACs play a role in regulation of muscle contraction.
THE DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND POLICY

Although in the absence of all market imperfections Modigliani-Miller’s theory about dividend irrelevance is binding, in the «real world», dividend payments are influenced by factors related to asymmetric information, agency costs, personal tax, bargaining position and transaction costs. This paper presents a model of dividend policy relevance. It uses two complementary frames of reference to analyze dividend policy. First, it describes the factors that affect dividend payment. Second, it considers the specific situation inside the company, mainly the legal and FCF characteristics of the sector, and the ownership structure. For each type of external factor, a brief overview is given and the way it relates to the individual company is discussed. The unique position of dividend policy is defined by a bundle of unique internal factors and the way they relate to the external factors. Possible trade-offs between these factors in the course of optimizing dividend policy are also presented. The task for financial managers is to adjust and renew the relationships between these factors as time goes by and changes erode their relative importance. According to this perspective, a firm’s value depends not only on it’s having an optimal business strategy and a good implementation of that strategy, but also on its ability to communicate its optimizing attitude through dividend payment. For the firm in pursuit of excellence, production and marketing that production, on the one hand, and communicating about it to investors, on the other, are two sides of the same coin. The approach to dividend policy presented in this paper focuses on specific attributes of the firm as sources of value expression through dividend payment. It differs not only with regard to the fundamental objective of dividend policy (which is to maximize firm value, rather than simply being the best way of giving investors a return on their investment), but also as regards the means that dividend policy makes available to the firm in order to realize this objective. THE DETERMINANTS OF DIVIDEND POLICY The objective of this paper is to address the basic question of the relevance of dividend policy for the value of the firm. Understanding the sources of value creation has always been core issue in finance. Going back to the definition, the value of the firm, which is the sum of equity, debt and corporate taxes1, could be defined as:
Apparent independency of an aggregation system with injection.

We investigate the spatial correlation of a model of aggregation system with injection. This system is characterized by a single point on the f-\ensuremath{\alpha} diagram (f=1,\ensuremath{\alpha}=3) which is identical to the case of independent power-law distributions. The R/S analysis also shows no dependency. However, theoretically there exists a higher-order correlation which is difficult to detect but strong eneough to modify the exponent of mass distribution.
Patient flow variability and unplanned readmissions to an intensive care unit*

Objective:To determine whether high patient inflow volumes to an intensive care unit are associated with unplanned readmissions to the unit. Design:Retrospective comparative analysis. Setting:The setting is a large urban tertiary care academic medical center. Patients:Patients (n = 3233) discharged from an adult neurosciences critical care unit to a lower level of care from January 1, 2006 through November 30, 2007. Interventions:None. Measurements and Main Results:The main outcome variable is unplanned patient readmission to the neurosciences critical care unit within 72 hrs of discharge to a lower level of care. The odds of one or more discharges becoming an unplanned readmission within 72 hrs were nearly two and a half times higher on days when ≥9 patients were admitted to the neurosciences critical care unit (odds ratio, 2.43; 95% confidence interval, 1.39–4.26) compared with days with ≤8 admissions. The odds of readmission were nearly five times higher on days when ≥10 patients were admitted (odds ratio, 4.99; 95% confidence interval, 2.45–10.17) compared with days with ≤9 admissions. Adjusting for patient complexity, the odds of an unplanned readmission were 2.34 times higher for patients discharged to a lower level of care on days with ≥10 admissions to the neurosciences critical care unit (odds ratio, 2.34; 95% confidence interval, 1.27–4.34) compared with similar patients discharged on days of ≤9 admissions. Conclusions:Days of high patient inflow volumes to the unit were associated significantly with subsequent unplanned readmissions to the unit. Furthermore, the data indicate a possible dose-response relationship between intensive care unit inflow and patient outcomes. Further research is needed to understand how to defend against this risk for readmission.
A chromatic contour detector based on abrupt change techniques

A method for segmenting colored images based on contour detection is described. It involves the use of techniques based on abrupt change detection used in signal processing and control systems. This work is based on a theoretical framework: differential geometry, tensors, Neyman-Pearson's optimal decision. Good results are obtained with Gaussian and exponential noises. This method also provides a very good location of contours.
Statistical Analysis of SAR Sea Clutter for Classification Purposes

Statistical analysis of radar clutter has always been one of the topics, where more effort has been put in the last few decades. These studies were usually focused on finding the statistical models that better fitted the clutter distribution; however, the goal of this work is not the modeling of the clutter, but the study of the suitability of the statistical parameters to carry out a sea state classification. In order to achieve this objective and provide some relevance to this study, an important set of maritime and coastal Synthetic Aperture Radar data is considered. Due to the nature of the acquisition of data by SAR sensors, speckle noise is inherent to these data, and a specific study of how this noise affects the clutter distribution is also performed in this work. In pursuit of a sense of wholeness, a thorough study of the most suitable statistical parameters, as well as the most adequate classifier is carried out, achieving excellent results in terms of classification success rates. These concluding results confirm that a sea state classification is not only viable, but also successful using statistical parameters different from those of the best modeling distribution and applying a speckle filter, which allows a better characterization of the parameters used to distinguish between different sea states.
Global path planning of mobile robot based on improved ant colony algorithm

A global path planning approach of mobile robot based on improved ant colony algorithm is proposed to solve the problem of trapping into local minimum, in which, a grid map is used to model the environment. The pheromone threshold is limited to avoid the local optimum, and the parameters are adjusted dynamically in this improved ant colony algorithm. Based on the improved algorithm, the path generated by the elitist ant is checked to find the reason of local minima. And then, by embedding a sub-ant colony algorithm into the route choice model, some local routes can be optimized and updated. Simulation Results indicate that this approach can solve the U-shaped groove problem, and reduce the probability of trapping into the local minimum. Compared with several path planning approaches based on ant colony algorithm, the proposed one could generate a shorter path which is global optimal and have the capability of searching path in complicated environments.
Hearing and Sjögren's Syndrome

Immune sensorineural hearing loss is manifested in several systemic immune diseases.1,2 Although hearing loss has been previously documented in patients with Sjögren's syndrome (SS),3 the effect of SS on hearing is unclear. This prospective study was designed to assess the presence of hearing loss in 14 patients with SS and, if sensorineural hearing loss was present, to determine if the hearing loss was immune-mediated. Patients were evaluated with basic audiologic tests as well as for cellular immune inner ear reactivity as measured by the lymphocyte transformation test (LTT). 4 Three patients had evidence of sensorineural hearing loss. Two patients had a positive LTT without evidence of sensorineural hearing loss. This preliminary study suggests that SS may not directly cause sensorineural hearing loss, immune-mediated or otherwise.
Canine Monocytic Ehrlichiosis - From Pathology to Clinical Manifestations

Canine monocytic ehrlichiosis (CME) caused by Ehrlichia canis is a multisystemic tick-borne disease. The ubiquity of the rickettsia throughout the body organs leads to its involvement in the pathology of organs. The induced profound lymphoplasmacytosis of all parenchymal organs and the bleeding tendencies in all body systems, results in a great variety of clinical signs. This review sets out to present the pathological changes associated with CME, and in so doing attempts to correlate them with clinical manifestations and broaden their scope for the awareness and benefit of the practicing veterinarian. Understanding of this concept may result in an increased inclusion of CME in the differential diagnoses of many organ related problems. This approach may result in the improvement of the diagnosis of CME and consequently the initiation of a specific treatment at an early stage with an improved prospect of cure.
Using lead vehicle response to generate preview functions for active suspension of convoy vehicles

Improving ride quality and active safety systems of convoy vehicles (vehicles traveling with close following distances on a specified path) can reduce fatigue and injury in military vehicle deployments and intelligent vehicle highway systems. A form of preview-active suspension control to improve convoy vehicle ride quality is proposed, wherein dynamic response of the lead vehicle is used to generate feed forward preview control gains in addition to feedback control gains for the follower vehicle suspensions. In contrast to conventional preview control with look-ahead sensors that can be expensive and unreliable, the tire deflection of the lead vehicle is estimated with a Kalman filter and used to generate road profile information for the preview controller of the followers. A virtual convoy, composed of a lead vehicle with active suspension system, and a follower vehicle with preview-controlled active suspension, is developed in MATLAB and SIMULINK. The results show improved ride comfort and road holding of the follower vehicle with the novel preview approach compared to the lead vehicle with conventional active suspension. Moreover, the power demand for the follower vehicle suspension is much less than for the lead vehicle. The road holding metric (tire deflection) was more sensitive to measurement noise than was ride quality (sprung mass acceleration); however, meaningful improvements were achieved for reasonable sensor noise levels.