Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Simulation and Framework for the Humanoid Robot TigerBot

Simulation and Framework for the Humanoid Robot TigerBot Felisa Sze Supervising Professor: Dr. Ferat Sahin Walking humanoid robotics is a developing field. Different humanoid robots allow for different kinds of testing. TigerBot is a new full-scale humanoid robot with seven degrees-of-freedom legs and with its specifications, it can serve as a platform for humanoid robotics research. Currently TigerBot has encoders set up on each joint, allowing for position control, and its sensors and joints connect to Teensy microcontrollers and the ODroid XU4 single-board computer central control unit. The components’ communication system used the Robot Operating System (ROS). This allows the user to control TigerBot with ROS. It’s important to have a simulation setup so a user can test TigerBot’s capabilities on a model before using the real robot. A working walking gait in the simulation serves as a test of the simulator, proves TigerBot’s capability to walk, and opens further development on other walking gaits. A model of TigerBot was set up using the simulator Gazebo, which allowed testing different walking gaits with TigerBot. The gaits were generated by following the linear inverse pendulum model and the basic zero-moment point (ZMP) concept. The gaits consisted of center of mass trajectories converted to joint angles through inverse kinematics. In simulation while the robot follows the predetermined joint angles, a proportionalintegral controller keeps the model upright by modifying the flex joint angle of the ankles. The real robot can also run the gaits while suspended in the air. The model has shown the walking gait based off the ZMP concept to be stable, if slow, and the actual robot has been shown to air walk following the gait. The simulation and the framework on the robot can be used to continue work with this walking gait or they can be expanded on for different methods and applications such as navigation, computer vision, and walking on uneven terrain with disturbances.
Multi-class to Binary reduction of Large-scale classification Problems

Large-scale multi-class classification problems have gained increased popularity in recent time mainly because of the overwhelming growth of textual and visual data in the web. However, this is a challenging task for many reasons. The main challenges in Large-scale classification problems are: scalability, complexity of model and class imbalance problem. In this work, we present an algorithm for binary reduction of multi-class classification problems, which aims at addressing the above-mentioned challenges.
Tools for Visualising MARS Spectral CT Datasets

This thesis investigates the requirements and techniques for effective visualisation of MARS spectral CT datasets. It extends traditional CT data visualisation methods and develops novel tools and graphical user interfaces tailored to spectral CT data. These tools have been used to visualise and analyse a range of datasets acquired during pre-clinical research with the MARS molecular imaging system. The results demonstrate that they are capable of meeting the goals of current pre-clinical studies. Spectral computed tomography (spectral CT) is a novel medical imaging technology that measures several energy ranges (energy bins) of the x-ray spectrum to produce multiple CT datasets. The primary advantage of spectral CT over singleand dual-energy CT is improved material discrimination, which allows for precise targeting of multiple materials of interest in a single scan. The MARS molecular imaging system is a small specimen spectral CT scanner capable of acquiring up to eight energy bins simultaneously. Energy bin data can be processed to identify and quantify multiple materials. This thesis is the first work to study the visualisation of spectral CT material data in detail, as no prior research into the process or the tools for performing this task could be identified. This thesis examines the use of various visualisation techniques for displaying the results of pre-clinical research with the MARS molecular imaging system. These techniques include 2D slice visualisation, direct volume rendering, magic lenses, and threshold intensity projection. Particular attention is paid to the fusion of energy and material information during visualisation, and a novel transfer function editor is developed for working with both energy, and material data comprising a MARS spectral CT dataset. This thesis also describes a suite of tools for improving the visualisation of MARS spectral CT data. This includes tools for reducing the effects of occlusion during 3D rendering, for editing volume data during visualisation, and measurement functions tailored to spectral CT data analysis. Deputy Vice-Chancellor’s Office Postgraduate Office
The Effect of Vaginal Delivery Simulation on Medical Student Education

INTRODUCTION: Many medical students feel anxious and unprepared for their first vaginal delivery. Simulation of the procedure can do much to boost learner confidence and build the necessary skills before a student's first real-life delivery. Although simulation is now used to aid in the training of obstetric emergencies such as shoulder dystocia and obstetrical hemorrhage, its use in training of uncomplicated vaginal delivery is underexplored. METHODS: Beginning in April 2013, third-year students participated in a 90-minute vaginal delivery simulation session using the Noelle Simulator at the beginning of a 4-week obstetrics–gynecology clerkship. They were surveyed using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire (1=inferior, 5=superior) at the completion of the clerkship to assess self-perceived training adequacy and clinical preparedness. Fourth-year students who completed a 4-week clerkship before the introduction of simulation were also surveyed. Scores between third- and fourth-year students were compared with a Mann-Whitney U test. RESULTS: Third-year students (n=38) who received simulation training gave their training in vaginal deliveries an average rating of 4.0 compared with 2.6 for fourth-year medical students (n=47) who did not receive simulation training (P<.001). Self-perceived preparedness to perform a vaginal delivery was 3.9 in third-year medical students compared with 2.9 in the fourth-year medical students (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Simulation dramatically improved the medical student's self-assessment of their training adequacy and readiness to perform a real-life vaginal delivery. Further study is required to determine how much simulation training improves clinical proficiency in this group of learners.
Bone Mineral Density and Factors influencing Bone Mineral Density in College Women.

PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to identify the levels of bone mineral density (BMD) and to explain the factors influencing BMD among female college students in Korea. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted with 144 college women. Lifestyle factors were determined by self-report questionnaire. Body composition was measured by body composition analyzer and bone mineral density was measured by ultrasound bone densitometry. Data were analyzed using SPSS for windows, version 19.0. RESULTS The mean BMD at calcaneus site was 0.56 g/cm2 (mean T-score=-0.22). The incidence of osteopenia was 21.5%. Factors predicting BMD were menarche age (r=-.22, p=.009) and height (r=-.18, p=.030) with 7% of explained variance. CONCLUSION These results suggest that health care professionals need to provide young women with program that is intended to affect their intention toward osteoporosis preventive behavior change.
Evaluation of 15 Years Practice of Coelioscopic Treatment of Ectopic Pregnancy in the Surgery Department “A” at the University Hospital Point G

Aim: To evaluate 15 years practice of coelioscopic Treatment of ectopicpregnancy in the Surgery Department “A” at the University Hospital Point G. Material and Methods: We conducted a descriptive retrospective study at the Surgery Department “A” at the University Hospital Point G from January 2001 to August 2015. Inclusion criteria were all pregnant women with ectopic pregnancy treated with coelioscopy. Sociodemographic, clinical, paracclinical and therapeutic aspects were recorded. Results: In 15 years, 42 cases of ectopic pregnancy out of 3840 gynecologic coelioscopies (1.04%) were collected. The average age was 28.5 years old with the extremes of 16 and 41 years old. Metrorragia was associated to pain in 83.3% (35/42); amenorrhea was found in 66.7% (28/41). Physical exam revealed pain with abdominal defense in 59.5% (25/42), adnexal mass in 31% (13/42), and pelvic contracture in 9.5% (4/42). In pre-operative, ectopic pregnancy was diagnosed complicated in 71.4% (30/42) and uncomplicated in 28.6% (12/42). Patients underwent salpingectomy in 85.7% (36/42), delivery from the fallopian tube in 9.8% (4/42), and hemostatic salpingectomy in 4.4% (2/42). The average duration of hospital stay was 1.88 day with the extremes of 1 and 7 days. The postoperative evolution was favorable in 97.6% (41/42), infection at the site of surgery was reported in 2.4% (1/42). Not a single death was registered. Conclusion: Treatment of ectopic pregnancy is of routine at the surgery department “A” in Point G. Fertility is preserved in the future.
Correlation Analysis of Thyroid Function and Autoantibody in Healthy Population Living in the Area of Water-Source-Originated High Level Iodine

In order to know about the correlation between thyroid function and autoantibody of urban residents in Cangzhou, the author chose 3218 health examinations as the respondents from Cangzhou to do a research. First of all, fasting venous blood was taken from elbow in the morning. Secondly, serum was separated by centrifugation. Moreover, the positive rates of TSH, FT3, FT4, TPOAb and TgAb in serum were tested by use of Germany Roche chemiluminescence immune detection system. It finally turns out that thyroid dysfunction and positive rate of autoantibody are 7.71% and 16.19%, respectively, which have been increasing sharply along with the growth of the age, and the positive rate of female is higher than that of the male (P <0.001). Besides, the prevalence rates of hyperthyroidism, subclinical hyperthyroidism, hypothyroidism, and subclinical hypothyroidism are 0.81%, 0.68%, 1.83% and 4.38%, respectively. The prevalence rate of subclinical thyroid disease (5.07%) is significantly higher than that of clinical thyroid disease (2.64%), and the prevalence rate of clinical hypothyroidism is the highest, accounting for 56.9% of thyroid dysfunction. Positive rates of TPOAb and TgAb are 14.57% and 12.74%, respectively, while the simultaneous positive detection rate of TPOAb and TgAb is 11.12%. Through the analysis of test data, the author comes to the conclusion that thyroid dysfunction and positive rate of autoantibody have been increasing year by year, which has a great relationship with gender and age. As a result, it is important to put the determination of thyroid function and autoantibody into the routine testing and it is necessary for normal thyroid function and positive autoantibody to conduct a dynamic monitoring, follow-up or intervention in time, which is beneficial to early diagnosis, differential diagnosis and prophylaxis and treatment.
Venous Obstruction Following Pacemaker or Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Implantation, Mini Review

Venous obstruction is relatively frequent following permanent pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation. However, most of them are asymptomatic. Although the exact risk factor for this complication is not known, number of leads, heart failure and infection may prone the patient to this complication. The goal standard for detection of vein stenosis is venography; however, ultrasound sonography has an acceptable accuracy. Anticoagulant therapy may be considered for symptomatic patients. For device upgrading, non-functional leads removal, venoplasty and rarely surgical treatment may be indicated.
CHLORHEXIDINE: A CATIONIC BISBIGUANIDE, MEMBRANE ACTIVE DRUG IN PERIODONTAL MEDICINE, STRUCTURE- ADVANTAGES AND ASSOCIATED ADVERSE EFFECTS, A BRIEF COMMUNICATION

Chlorhexidine (CHX) is an antibacterial used for numerous applications. It is a cationic polybiguanide (bisbiguanide) used primarily as its salts, dihydrochloride, diacetate, and digluconate. Chlorhexidine is one of those drugs which are enlisted/included in the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, a list of the most important drugs needed in a basic health care. At physiologic pH, chlorhexidine salts dissociate and release the positively charged chlorhexidine cation. The bactericidal effect is a result of the binding of this cation to the negatively charged bacterial cell walls. At low concentrations of chlorhexidine, this results in a bacteriostatic effect; however, at relatively higher concentrations, membrane disruption results in cell death. Chlorhexidine is active against Gram-positive and Gram-negative organisms, facultative anaerobes, aerobes, and yeasts. Chlorhexidine is often used as an active ingredient in various mouthrinses in periodontal medicine as one of the most efficient antiplaque agent. It has been shown to have an immediate bactericidal action and a prolonged bacteriostatic action due to adsorption onto the pellicle
Perinatal Complications of Twin Deliveries at Jimma University Specialized Hospital, Southwest Ethiopia: A Facility-based Cohort Study

Twin pregnancy carries higher foetal and neonatal complications. This situation is worse in Sub-Saharan Africa due to lack of well-equipped facilities. Studies on twin pregnancy and its perinatal complications are limited in Ethiopia. Thus, this study aimed to fill this gap. A hospital-based cohort study was conducted in Jimma University Specialized Hospital on 144 twin deliveries and 288 singleton deliveries from December 2012 to November 2013 in obstetrics ward of Jimma university specialized hospital. Data were collected through face-to- face interview by using structured-questionnaire and analyzed by SPSS V.20. 0. The relative risks of twin deliveries were higher for the occurrence of low birth weight, need for neonatal intensive care unit admissions, early neonatal deaths and preterm births as compared with singleton deliveries. Unique foetal complications like both twin deaths, co-twin deaths, discordant twin and gross congenital malformation were common in twin deliveries. In conclusion, women with twin pregnancy were at a higher risk of ante-partum and intrapartum foetal and neonatal complications. Therefore, care providers should give special attention for the mother during pregnancy, labour and delivery, and both for the mother and her new born during postpartum period.
Genetic and Phenotypic Parameters of First Lactation and Life Time Traitsin Sahiwal Cows

The data for the present study was collected on first lactation milk and life time performance traits of 1367 Sahiwal cows born to 112 sires spread over a period of 71 years from 1944-2014 maintained at Government Livestock Farm, Chakganjaria, Lucknow. The overall least squares mean of first lactation traits viz. first lactation milk yield, life time lactation length, life time milk yield and average daily milk yield were estimated to be 1941.16 ± 27.66 kg, 1534.28 ± 36.84 days, 9262.50 ± 272.92 kg and 5.94 ± 0.10 kg respectively. Season effect was non-significant on all the traits. The periods of calving were found to have significant influence on first lactation milk yield and average daily milk yield, the sire effect was found significant on all the traits. The heritability estimates of different first lactation and life time traits were observed low to medium. The genetic and phenotypic correlations among all the traits were observed very low to high.
Synchrony and Precise Timing in Complex Neural Networks

Raoul-Martin Memmesheimer and Marc Timme Network Dynamics Group, Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization (MPI DS) Bunsenstr. 10, 37073 Gttingen, Germany Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Gttingen Bunsenstr. 10, 37073 Gttingen, Germany Center for Brain Science, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Harvard University Northwest Lab Building, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA02138 USA
Cooperative Localization by Fusing Pose Estimates from Static Environmental and Mobile Fiducial Features

In this paper, we propose a novel, purely vision-based cooperative localization approach for the multi-robot system to collaboratively improve the localization robustness and accuracy by fusing absolute pose estimates from static environment features with relative pose estimates from known mobile fiducial features. The fusion algorithm is formulated as an optimization problem combining two different objectives for two different feature sources based on the same error measure, namely the reprojection error. The optimization is solved at an on-line frame-by-frame rate to produce optimal positioning results during the robots' movement. The fiducial markers are attached to the mobile robots, thus no marker intervention is needed to add into the environment. A comparison between our cooperative localization approach and state-of-the-art localization algorithms for different configurations concerning various testing environments is given validating the improvements on both robustness and accuracy.
Adolescents’ Needs Towards School-Based Nutrition Interventions

Abstract Background and Aims: This study aimed to identify adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes towards healthy eating and their needs and preferences towards school-based nutrition interventions, thus investigating the “must have” components on school-based nutrition interventions than can improve adolescents’ dietary patterns. Material and Methods: To reach the proposed aims, we used a qualitative strategy of inquiry, by conducting semi-structured focus groups. We collected data in two urban schools from Cluj-Napoca, Romania. 32 adolescents aged 11 to 14 years old attended focus group discussions. Focus group discussions were audio-taped, transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: A viable strategy to deliver effective nutrition interventions for adolescents needs to address adolescents' interests and concerns, use visuals and stories to present nutrition related information, increase adolescents' self-efficacy in choosing healthy foods, train adolescents in having a balanced diet, promote healthy eating as acceptable for peers, and involve parents in nutrition interventions through home-based activities. Conclusions: Improving adolescents' nutrition related knowledge and behavior and creating supportive environments is not sufficient in improving adolescents' dietary patterns. Practitioners should aim at designing school-based nutrition interventions addressing adolescents' specific needs and rely on the needs assessment process as a major component of the design.
Cracking and Hardening Hidden SSID Mechanism in 802.11 using PYTHON

Wireless Protocol has become a very important part of modern life. From cell phone to laptops everyone uses Wireless for one purpose or another. Wireless Protocol is commonly known as IEEE 802.11 Cliendard. It Uses Several Frames, Header for its operation. Unfortunately none of these are encrypted and hence can be sniffed and analyzed for exploiting. Due to this plaintext nature of 802.11 packets several protection mechanisms provided by 802.11 become useless such as hidden ssid Mac filtering etc. In this paper, such protection mechanisms are analyzed thoroughly and it is explained how python can be used to defeat this protection schema, it is also shown how python can also be used for hardening these security measures. General Terms Python, Scapy, Security, Attacker, Packet
Vocabulary Acquisition for ELs

Researchers have shown a gap in the vocabulary development of children based on socioeconomic status, as well as an increase in the number of students in American public schools that qualify as English Learners (ELs). Based on previous studies showing that vocabulary acquisition is related to increased reading comprehension and academic success, the aim of the present study was to determine for the most effective strategies for vocabulary acquisition using an interactive read aloud routine. Using Vygotsky’s social constructivism as the theoretical framework, we examined the effectiveness of these strategies in an action research project with seven second grade ELs, using explicit vocabulary instruction of targeted words, practice applying word-solving strategies, and multiple opportunities to interact with targeted words through conversation and collaborative writing. Results pointed to the benefits of both explicit and implicit instruction in vocabulary and the benefit of interactive read aloud across a text set. By incorporating an interactive read aloud routine into daily practice, students increased oral language and demonstrated greater understanding of academic and domain-specific vocabulary through contextualized application, as evidenced through their ability to explain newly-acquired terminology.
Robust near-optimal output feedback control of nonlinear systems

This work proposes a robust near-optimal nonlinear output feedback controller design for a broad class of nonlinear systems with time-varying uncertain variables. Through combination of a high-gain observer with a robust optimal state feedback controller, a dynamic robust output feedback controller is constructed that enforces exponential stability and robust asymptotic output tracking with arbitrary degree of attenuation of the effect of uncertainty on the output of the closed-loop system, for initial conditions and uncertainty in arbitrarily large compact sets, provided that the observer gain is sufficiently large. Utilizing the inverse optimal control approach and singular perturbation techniques, the controller is shown to be near-optimal in the sense that its performance can be made arbitrarily close to the optimal performance of the robust optimal state feedback controller on the infinite time-interval by selecting the observer gain to be sufficiently large.
Evaluation of arterial stiffness in patients with coronary atherosclerosis, cardiac syndrome X and systemic lupus erythematosus

Objectives: Arterial stiffness manifested by high pulse wave velocity (PWV) consists a risk factor of atherosclerosis and cardio-vascular complications. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a generalized autoimmune disease in which patients’ prognosis depends contemporarily, in the corticosteroid era, mainly on the progression of premature atherosclerosis. The aim of the study was to assess arterial stiffness in patients with coronary atherosclerosis (CA), cardiac syndrome X (CSX) and SLE. Materials and methods: 44 CSX patients (28 females and 16 males; mean age 55,7; arterial hypertension in 32), 44 CA patients (19 females and 25 males; mean age 61,3; arterial hypertension in 41), 29 SLE patients (25 females and 4 males; mean age 37,4; arterial hypertension in 7), 29 control group (CG) patients. PWV was measured with use of SphygmoCor in all patients. Results: Patients with CSX had significantly lower PWV (9,63±1,69 m/s) as compared to CA patients (11,53±2,19 m/s) and significantly higher as compared to CG (8,07±1,03m/s) patients. The results of PWV in CSX and SLE patients (8,87±2,1 m/s) were similar. PWV increased with age and blood pressure in all groups. Diabetes mellitus and smoking caused PWV increase only in CA patients. Inflammatory markers didn’t influence PWV among patients with CA, CSX and SLE. Conclusions: Patients with CA have the highest arterial stiffness and significantly higher peripheral and central blood pressure. In SLE patients arterial stiffness is higher as compared to control group and similar as compared to the older CSX group. Diabetes mellitus and smoking increase arterial stiffness among CA patients. The prognostic value of PWV decrease in SLE patients should be addressed in large prospective clinical trials. JRCD 2015; 2 (2): 9–17