Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Investigation of human-robot interaction stability using Lyapunov theory

For human-robot cooperation in the context of human-augmentation tasks, the stability of the control model is of great concern due to the risk for the human safety represented by a powerful robot. This paper investigates stability conditions for impedance control in this cooperative context and where touch is used as the sense of interaction. The proposed analysis takes into account human arm and robot physical characteristics, which are first investigated. Then, a global system model including noise filtering and impedance control is defined in a state-space representation. From this representation, a Lyapunov function candidate has been successfully discovered. In addition to providing conclusions on the global asymptotic stability of the system, the relative simplicity of the resulting equation allows the derivation of general expressions for the critical values of impedance parameters. Such knowledge is of great interest in the context of design of new adaptive control laws or simply to serve as design guidelines for conventional impedance control. The accuracy of these results were verified in a user study involving 7 human subjects and a 3-dof parallel robot. In this experiment, the real effective stability frontier was defined for each subject and compared with values predicted using the Lyapunov function.
Global Optogenetic Activation of Inhibitory Interneurons during Epileptiform Activity

Optogenetic techniques provide powerful tools for bidirectional control of neuronal activity and investigating alterations occurring in excitability disorders, such as epilepsy. In particular, the possibility to specifically activate by light-determined interneuron populations expressing channelrhodopsin-2 provides an unprecedented opportunity of exploring their contribution to physiological and pathological network activity. There are several subclasses of interneurons in cortical areas with different functional connectivity to the principal neurons (e.g., targeting their perisomatic or dendritic compartments). Therefore, one could optogenetically activate specific or a mixed population of interneurons and dissect their selective or concerted inhibitory action on principal cells. We chose to explore a conceptually novel strategy involving simultaneous activation of mixed populations of interneurons by optogenetics and study their impact on ongoing epileptiform activity in mouse acute hippocampal slices. Here we demonstrate that such approach results in a brief initial action potential discharge in CA3 pyramidal neurons, followed by prolonged suppression of ongoing epileptiform activity during light exposure. Such sequence of events was caused by massive light-induced release of GABA from ChR2-expressing interneurons. The inhibition of epileptiform activity was less pronounced if only parvalbumin- or somatostatin-expressing interneurons were activated by light. Our data suggest that global optogenetic activation of mixed interneuron populations is a more effective approach for development of novel therapeutic strategies for epilepsy, but the initial action potential generation in principal neurons needs to be taken in consideration.
Optimal control based approach for autonomous driving

In this paper based on vehicle single track model an optimal control strategy for autonomous driving is developed. The reference control values which lead the vehicle alongside a calculated optimal path by satisfying optimization objective criteria such as comfort and safety are generated by real-time path optimization level. In this level to avoid any collision and obstacle, one dimensional potential field obstacle avoiding approach based on the distance between vehicle and obstacle is used. In a prior level, which is called path planning the initial solution of the system which is the input of path optimization level is found. In this paper each level and the effect of initial solution on path optimization level is explained.
Joint Effect of Multiple Common SNPs Predicts Melanoma Susceptibility

Single genetic variants discovered so far have been only weakly associated with melanoma. This study aims to use multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) jointly to obtain a larger genetic effect and to improve the predictive value of a conventional phenotypic model. We analyzed 11 SNPs that were associated with melanoma risk in previous studies and were genotyped in MD Anderson Cancer Center (MDACC) and Harvard Medical School investigations. Participants with ≥15 risk alleles were 5-fold more likely to have melanoma compared to those carrying ≤6. Compared to a model using the most significant single variant rs12913832, the increase in predictive value for the model using a polygenic risk score (PRS) comprised of 11 SNPs was 0.07(95% CI, 0.05-0.07). The overall predictive value of the PRS together with conventional phenotypic factors in the MDACC population was 0.69 (95% CI, 0.64-0.69). PRS significantly improved the risk prediction and reclassification in melanoma as compared with the conventional model. Our study suggests that a polygenic profile can improve the predictive value of an individual gene polymorphism and may be able to significantly improve the predictive value beyond conventional phenotypic melanoma risk factors.
Toward a progress indicator for database queries

Many modern software systems provide progress indicators for long-running tasks. These progress indicators make systems more user-friendly by helping the user quickly estimate how much of the task has been completed and when the task will finish. However, none of the existing commercial RDBMSs provides a non-trival progress indicator for long-running queries. In this paper, we consider the problem of supporting such progress indicators. After discussing the goals and challenges inherent in this problem, we present a set of techniques sufficient for implementing a simple yet useful progress indicator for a large subset of RDBMS queries. We report an initial implementation of these techniques in PostgreSQL.
Activation of ABA Receptors Gene GhPYL9-11A Is Positively Correlated with Cotton Drought Tolerance in Transgenic Arabidopsis

The sensitivity to abscisic acid (ABA) by its receptors, pyrabactin resistance-like proteins (PYLs), is considered a most important factor in activating the ABA signal pathway in response to abiotic stress. However, it is still unknown which PYL is the crucial ABA receptor mediating response to drought stress in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.). Here, we reported the identification and characterization of highly induced ABA receptor GhPYL9-11A in response to drought in cotton. It is observed that GhPYL9-11A was highly induced by ABA treatment. GhPYL9-11A binds to protein phosphatase 2Cs (PP2Cs) in an ABA-independent manner. Moreover, the GhPYL-11A-PP2C interactions are partially disrupted by mutations, proline (P84) and histidine (H111), in the gate-latch region. Transgenic Arabidopsis overexpressing GhPYL9-11A plants were hypersensitive to ABA during seed germination and early seedling stage. Further, the increased in root growth and up regulation of drought stress-related genes in transgenic Arabidopsis as compared to wild type confirmed the potential role of GhPYL9-11A in abiotic stress tolerance. Consistently, the expression level of GhPYL9-11A is on average higher in drought-tolerant cotton cultivars than in drought-sensitive cottons under drought treatment. In conclusion, the manipulation of GhPYL9-11A expression could be a useful strategy for developing drought-tolerant cotton cultivars.
Analytic evaluation of shared-memory systems with ILP processors

This paper develops and validates an analytical model for evaluating various types of architectural alternatives for shared-memory systems with processors that aggressively exploit instruction-level parallelism. Compared to simulation, the analytical model is many orders of magnitude faster to solve, yielding highly accurate system-performance estimates in seconds. The model input parameters characterize the ability of an application to exploit instruction-level parallelism as well as the interaction between the application and the memory system architecture. A trace-driven simulation methodology is developed that allows these parameters to be generated over 100 times faster than with a detailed execution-driven simulator. Finally, this paper shows that the analytical model can be used to gain insights into application performance and to evaluate architectural design trade-offs.
Inter-Annual Variation of the Annual New Production of Phytoplankton in the Southwestern East/Japan Sea Estimated from Satellite-Derived Surface Nitrate Concentration

ABSTRACT Joo, H. ; Lee, D. ; Kang, J.J.; Lee, J.H. ; Jeong, J.-Y. ; Son, S. -H. ; Kwon, J.-I. , and Lee, S.H. , 2018. Inter-annual variation of the annual new production of phytoplankton in the southwestern East/Japan Sea estimated from satellite-derived surface nitrate concentration. In: Shim, J.-S. ; Chun, I. , and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 336–340. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The new production of phytoplankton based on nitrate is very important to understand how much portion of primary production passes on to higher trophic levels and sinks into deeper ocean. In this study, the inter-annual variation of the annual new production estimated from MODIS-aqua satellite-derived sea surface nitrate (SSN) concentration was analyzed in the southwestern East/Japan Sea from 2003 to 2015. Climatological SSN concentrations averaged in this study period ranged from 0.47 μM (± 0.16 μM) to 6.95 μM (± 0.20 μM) during the study period. The annual new production based on the estimated SSN ranged from 41.7 g C m−2 yr−1 to 62.8 g C m−2 yr−1. Overall, the average annual new production was 55.8 g C m−2 yr−1 (S.D = ± 11.8 g C m−2 yr−1) in the southwestern East/Japan Sea for 13 years from 2003 to 2015. This value is comparable to those from previous studies but considerably lower than that based on nitrogen stable isotope measurements in the southwestern East/Japan Sea. We found a strong relationship between the annual new production and the sea surface temperature (SST) on February during the study period (y = −11.461 × + 180.52, r2 = 0.8796, p < 0.01, n = 13). This result has a very significant ecological meaning in an ocean surface warming scenario since a warming SST could lead a lower annual new production and thus cause significant effects on upper trophic levels in the southwestern East/Japan Sea.
Increase Economic Valuation of Marine Ecotourism Spots In Small Islands

Ecotourism is one of the fast-growing sectors especially in the developing country as a source of revenue. To get a sustainable development of ecotourism, it needs broad and comprehensive effort from central government and local government, perfect example in that regards in Indonesia is Bali and Lombok. For another area in Indonesia like Kei Islands which located in two administrative governments have a major problem to build a sustainable nature-based tourism because of the location of this area to the major cities in the country makes the travel cost is high. This situation makes the role of local community as the backbone of the growth and development of nature-based tourism is critical. By using structural equation modeling (SEM), we constructed a model to enhance local community perception on economic valuation of ecotourism spots in the area. Results showed that perceived quality as the mediation driven by the intensity of appearance on national television and the internet could increase community attachment to increase willingness to pay from the local community on ecotourism in Kei islands. Also, the result also indicated that WTP value for the local community on ecotourism in Kei Islands was $10.81 per trip, with average trip per month was 1 to 4 times.
Erratum to “New Optical Methods for Liveness Detection on Fingers”

This paper is devoted to new optical methods, which are supposed to be used for liveness detection on fingers. First we describe the basics about fake finger use in fingerprint recognition process and the possibilities of liveness detection. Then we continue with introducing three new liveness detection methods, which we developed and tested in the scope of our research activities--the first one is based on measurement of the pulse, the second one on variations of optical characteristics caused by pressure change, and the last one is based on reaction of skin to illumination with different wavelengths. The last part deals with the influence of skin diseases on fingerprint recognition, especially on liveness detection.
Linear zero-knowledge—a note on efficient zero-knowledge proofs and arguments

We present a zero-knowledge proof system [19] for any NP language L, which allows showing that x ∈ L with error probability less than 2−k using communication corresponding to O(|x|) + k bit commitments, where c is a constant depending only on L. The proof can be based on any bit commitment scheme with a particular set of properties. We suggest an efficient implementation based on factoring. We also present a 4-move perfect zero-knowledge interactive argument for any NPlanguage L. On input x ∈ L, the communication complexity is O(|x|c) · max(k, l) bits, where l is the security parameter for the prover 1. Again, the protocol can be based on any bit commitment scheme with a particular set of properties. We suggest efficient implementations based on discrete logarithms or factoring. We present an application of our techniques to multiparty computations, allowing for example t committed oblivious transfers with error probability 2−k to be done simultaneously using O(t+k) commitments. Results for general computations follow from this. As a function of the security parameters, our protocols have the smallest known asymptotic communication complexity among general proofs or arguments for NP. Moreover, the constants involved are small enough for the protocols to be practical in a realistic situation: both protocols are based on a Boolean formula Φ containing and, orand not-operators which verifies an NP-witness of membership in L. Let n be the number of times this formula reads an input variable. Then the communication complexity of the protocols when using our concrete commitment schemes can be more precisely stated as at most 4n + k + 1 commitments for the interactive proof and at most 5nl+ 5l bits for the argument (assuming k ≤ l). Thus, if we use k = n, the number of commitments required for the proof is linear in n. Both protocols are also proofs of knowledge of an NP-witness of membership in the language involved. ∗Basic Research in Computer Science, Centre of the Danish National Research Foundation. 1The meaning of l is that if the prover is unable to solve an instance of a hard problem of size l before the protocol is finished, he can cheat with probability at most 2−k
Distributed On-Chip Switched-Capacitor DC–DC Converters Supporting DVFS in Multicore Systems

Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS) is a powerful technique to reduce power consumption in a chip multiprocessor. To support DVFS in the multicore power delivery network, we integrate on-chip switched-capacitor (SC) dc-dc converters that can work with multiple conversion ratios to provide varying levels of Vdd supplies. We study the application of such SC converters in multicore chips by simulation. Our results show that distributed SC converters can significantly reduce the voltage droop seen by the local core loads by providing better localized power regulation. Considering the fact that the current distribution in a multicore chip is unbalanced, we further develop computer-aided design techniques to automate the design (size) and distribution (number and location) of these SC converters, using the efficiency of the whole power delivery system as the optimization metric. This is a major concern, but has not been addressed at the system level in prior research. We develop models for the power loss of such a system as a function of size and distribution of the SC converters, then propose an approach to optimize the SC converters to maximize the efficiency of the system, while considering all the possible conversion ratios an SC converter can work with. We verify the accuracy of our models for the power loss in the power delivery system, and demonstrate the efficiency of our techniques to optimize the SC converters on both homogenous and heterogenous multicore chips.
Effects of Ectodomain Sequences between HR1 and HR2 of F1 Protein on the Specific Membrane Fusion in Paramyxoviruses

Objectives: To explore the effects of ectodomain sequences between HR1 and HR2 of F1 protein on the specific interaction with its homologous hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN) in paramyxoviruses. Methods: Site-directed mutagenesis was used to obtain mutants containing new enzyme sites on the F genes of Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and human parainfluenza virus (hPIV), and four DNA segments located between the HR1 and HR2 (NDV F-1, hPIV F-1, NDV F-2 and hPIV F-2) were obtained by cutting mutant F genes with specific endonucleases. Gene recombination was used to get chimeric F proteins NDV-C1 and hPIV-C1 by exchanging NDV F-1 and hPIV F-1 each other, and NDV-C2 and hPIV-C2 were also obtained by the same way. All the mutants and chimeric F proteins were co-expressed with their homologous or heterologous HN proteins in eukaryocytes. The fusion functions were assayed with Giemsa staining and reporter gene method for qualitative and quantitative analyses, respectively. The cell surface expression of F proteins was assayed with fluorescence-activated cell sorter (FACS) for quantitative analysis. Results: All the mutants of F proteins had the same functions as their relevant wild types. Chimeric F proteins NDV-C1 and hPIV-C1 had 76.34 and 65.82% of fusion activities, and NDV-C2 and hPIV-C2 had 96.25 and 93.78% of fusion activities, respectively, as compared with their relevant wild types. The analysis of FACS indicated that all the mutants and chimeric F proteins had almost the same expression efficiencies as their relevant wild types. Conclusions: The segments of NDV F-1 and hPIV F-1 were important for their specific membrane fusion, but NDV F-2 and hPIV F-2 were not.
Very Slow Search and Reach: Failure to Maximize Expected Gain in an Eye-Hand Coordination Task

We examined an eye-hand coordination task where optimal visual search and hand movement strategies were inter-related. Observers were asked to find and touch a target among five distractors on a touch screen. Their reward for touching the target was reduced by an amount proportional to how long they took to locate and reach to it. Coordinating the eye and the hand appropriately would markedly reduce the search-reach time. Using statistical decision theory we derived the sequence of interrelated eye and hand movements that would maximize expected gain and we predicted how hand movements should change as the eye gathered further information about target location. We recorded human observers' eye movements and hand movements and compared them with the optimal strategy that would have maximized expected gain. We found that most observers failed to adopt the optimal search-reach strategy. We analyze and describe the strategies they did adopt.
Asymmetric degrees of freedom of the full-duplex MIMO 3-way channel

In this paper, we characterize the asymmetric total degrees of freedom (DoF) of a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) 3-way channel. Each node has a separate-antenna full-duplex MIMO transceiver with a different number of antennas, where each antenna can be configured for either signal transmission or reception. Each node has two unicast messages to be delivered to the two other nodes. We first derive upper bounds on the total DoF of the system. Cut-set bounds in conjunction with genie-aided bounds are derived to characterize the achievable total DoF. Afterwards, we analytically derive the optimal number of transmit and receive antennas at each node to maximize the total DoF of the system, subject to the total number of antennas at each node. Finally, the achievable schemes are constructed. The proposed schemes are mainly based on zero-forcing and null-space transmit beamforming.
Characterization of two distinct liver progenitor cell subpopulations of hematopoietic and hepatic origins

Despite extensive studies, the hematopoietic versus hepatic origin of liver progenitor oval cells remains controversial. The aim of this study was to determine the origin of such cells after liver injury and to establish an oval cell line. Rat liver injury was induced by subcutaneous insertion of 2-AAF pellets for 7 days with subsequent injection of CCl 4 . Livers were removed 9 to 13 days post-CCl 4 treatment. Immunohistochemistry was performed using anti-c- kit , OV6, Thy1, CK19, AFP, vWF and Rab3b. Isolated non-parenchymal cells were grown on mouse embryonic fibroblast, and their gene expression profile was characterized by RT-PCR. We identified a subpopulation of OV6/CK19/Rab3b-expressing cells that was activated in the periportal region of traumatized livers. We also characterized a second subpopulation that expressed the HSCs marker c- kit but not Thy1. Although we successfully isolated both cell types, OV6/CK19/Rab3b + cells fail to propagate while c- kit + -HSCs appeared to proliferate for up to 7 weeks. Cells formed clusters which expressed c- kit , Thy1 and albumin. Our results indicate that a bona fide oval progenitor cell population resides within the liver and is distinct from c- kit + -HSCs. Oval cells require the hepatic niche to proliferate, while cells mobilized from the circulation proliferate and transdifferentiate into hepatocytes without evidence of cell fusion.
Frame design for 5G multicarrier modulations

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) transmission technique has been considered for the 4G LTE-Advanced system because of its high performance and low complexity. In the new 5G scenario this type of modulation is not properly suited because of the additional requirements for very high spectral efficiency, low latency and low out-of-band (OOB) emissions. Thus, new waveforms have been chosen to replace it and effectively deal with these problems. Particularly, recently proposed multicarrier techniques as the Generalized Frequency Division Multiplexing (GFDM) and the Filter Bank Multicarrier (FBMC) modulations are two of the main candidates techniques for the new 5G standard. As for classical OFDM technique, the channel estimation is a crucial functionality for the all multicarrier approaches. In this paper we generalize a recently proposed method for the computation of the MSE on the time-frequency domain for pilot based channel estimation techniques in multicarrier system. This method permits to determine the most suitable channel estimation algorithm for a given wireless channel as well as to define the suitable pilot density in order to afford a target MSE value for a given SNR level. Hence, in this paper a general design tool for multicarrier systems is proposed.