Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Trajectory Planning and Tracking Control of Underactuated AUVs

This paper addresses the combined problem of trajectory planning and tracking control for underactuated AUVs moving on the horizontal plane. A reference feasible trajectory for the position and orientation of the AUV is planned so that it is consistent with vehicle dynamics. Using these reference values the dynamics of the vehicle is transformed to the error one. Partial state-feedback linearization, backstepping and non-linear damping techniques are utilized to stabilize the above system and force the tracking error to a neighborhood about zero that can be made arbitrarily small. Simulation results that validate the proposed tracking methodology are presented and discussed.
Second Sialic Acid Binding Site in Newcastle Disease Virus Hemagglutinin-Neuraminidase: Implications for Fusion

ABSTRACT Paramyxoviruses are the leading cause of respiratory disease in children. Several paramyxoviruses possess a surface glycoprotein, the hemagglutinin-neuraminidase (HN), that is involved in attachment to sialic acid receptors, promotion of fusion, and removal of sialic acid from infected cells and progeny virions. Previously we showed that Newcastle disease virus (NDV) HN contained a pliable sialic acid recognition site that could take two states, a binding state and a catalytic state. Here we present evidence for a second sialic acid binding site at the dimer interface of HN and present a model for its involvement in cell fusion. Three different crystal forms of NDV HN now reveal identical tetrameric arrangements of HN monomers, perhaps indicative of the tetramer association found on the viral surface.
An Empirical Study of Errors in Translating Natural Language into Logic

Every teacher of logic knows that the ease with which a student can translate a natural language sentence into formal logic depends, amongst other things, on just how that natural language sentence is phrased. This paper reports findings from a pilot study of a large scale corpus in the area of formal logic education, where we used a very large dataset to provide empirical evidence for specific characteristics of natural language problem statements that frequently lead to students making mistakes. We developed a rich taxonomy of the types of errors that students make, and implemented tools for automatically classifying student errors into these categories. In this paper, we focus on three specific phenomena that were prevalent in our data: Students were found (a) to have particular difficulties with distinguishing the conditional from the biconditional, (b) to be sensitive to word-order effects during translation, and (c) to be sensitive to factors associated with the naming of constants. We conclude by considering the implications of this kind of large-scale empirical study for improving an automated assessment system specifically, and logic teaching more generally.
String theory and the classical stability of plane waves

The presence of fields with negative mass-squared typically leads to some form of instability in standard field theories. The observation that, at least in the light-cone gauge, strings propagating in plane wave spacetimes can have worldsheet scalars with such tachyon-like masses suggests that the supergravity background may itself be unstable. To address this issue, we perform a perturbative analysis around the type IIB vacuum plane wave, the solution which most obviously generates worldsheet scalars with negative mass-squared. We argue that this background is perturbatively stable.
Isolation and Characterization of Senescent Cryptococcus neoformans and Implications for Phenotypic Switching and Pathogenesis in Chronic Cryptococcosis

ABSTRACT Although several virulence factors and associated genes have been identified, the mechanisms that allow Cryptococcus neoformans to adapt during chronic infection and to persist in immunocompromised hosts remain poorly understood. Characterization of senescent cells of C. neoformans demonstrated that these cells exhibit a significantly enlarged cell body and capsule but still cross the blood-brain barrier. C. neoformans cells with advanced generational age are also more resistant to phagocytosis and killing by antifungals, which could promote their selection during chronic disease in humans. Senescent cells of RC-2, a C. neoformans strain that undergoes phenotypic switching, manifest switching rates up to 11-fold higher than those of younger cells. Infection experiments with labeled cells suggest that senescent yeast cells can potentially accumulate in vivo. Mathematical modeling incorporating different switching rates demonstrates how increased switching rates promote the emergence of hypervirulent mucoid variants during chronic infection. Our findings introduce the intriguing concept that senescence in eukaryotic pathogens could be a mechanism of microevolution that may promote pathoadaptation and facilitate evasion of an evolving immune response.
Detection and Attention: Diagnosing Pulmonary Lung Cancer from CT by Imitating Physicians

This paper proposes a novel and efficient method to build a Computer-Aided Diagnoses (CAD) system for lung nodule detection based on Computed Tomography (CT). This task was treated as an Object Detection on Video (VID) problem by imitating how a radiologist reads CT scans. A lung nodule detector was trained to automatically learn nodule features from still images to detect lung nodule candidates with both high recall and accuracy. Unlike previous work which used 3-dimensional information around the nodule to reduce false positives, we propose two simple but efficient methods, Multi-slice propagation (MSP) and Motionless-guide suppression (MLGS), which analyze sequence information of CT scans to reduce false negatives and suppress false positives. We evaluated our method in open-source LUNA16 dataset which contains 888 CT scans, and obtained state-of-the-art result (Free-Response Receiver Operating Characteristic score of 0.892) with detection speed (end to end within 20 seconds per patient on a single NVidia GTX 1080) much higher than existing methods.
Precise pointer reasoning for dynamic test generation

Dynamic test generation consists of executing a program while gathering symbolic constraints on inputs from predicates encountered in branch statements, and of using a constraint solver to infer new program inputs from previous constraints in order to steer next executions towards new program paths. Variants of this technique have recently been adopted in several bug detection tools, including our whitebox fuzzer SAGE, which has found dozens of new expensive security-related bugs in many Windows applications and is now routinely used in various Microsoft groups. In this paper, we discuss how to perform precise symbolic pointer reasoning in the context of dynamic test generation. We present a new memory model for representing arbitrary symbolic pointer dereferences to memory regions accessible by a program during its execution, and show that this memory model is the most precise one can hope for in our context, under some realistic assumptions. We also describe how the symbolic constraints generated by our model can be solved using modern SMT solvers, which provide powerful constructs for reasoning about bit-vectors and arrays. This new memory model has been implemented in SAGE, and we present results of experiments with several large Windows applications showing that an increase in precision can often be obtained at a reasonable cost. Better precision in symbolic pointer reasoning means more relevant constraints and fewer imprecise ones, hence better test coverage, more bugs found and fewer redundant test cases.
CRAYSE: design and implementation of efficient text search algorithm in a web crawler

CRAYSE1 is a SEarch WHIle CRAwl application, intended to perform fast searching of text in web pages. A Web crawler is a computer program that browses the World Wide Web in a methodical, automated manner. This process is also called spidering. Search engines, use spidering as a means of providing up-to-date data. Most of the existing web-crawlers archive the contents of the web starting from the input URL. Search engines index the results of web-crawlers and then perform searching when queried. As such, the searching is not performed while crawling. Hence such softwares can not be used for general use by web browsers. Also, the existing search mechanism in web browsers, search only on the current page and not recursively through all the links present in that page. In order to overcome such disadvantages, we propose in this paper to implement a web crawler that searches for a pattern efficiently and recursively through all the links including pdf links while crawling. CRAYSE can be used as a general purpose open source software by web browsers. It can also be used for offine searching. Further, the applications that require selective archival of web pages (based on the presence of a key word), can deploy CRAYSE for efficient search operations. This paper focusses on the design and implementation of CRAYSE and its demonstration through web applications.
In Search of the Federal Spirit: New Comparative Empirical and Theoretical Perspectives

In Search of the Federal Spirit examines federal theory in the context of the new federal models that have sprung into existence since the end of the Cold War. It utilises the federal spirit as a conceptual lens through which to explore the revival of federalism in the post-Cold War era - especially in the 1990s - and it seeks to place the emergence of these new models in the theoretical context of federal state formation. By examining the approaches of five major contributors to the nature and meaning of federalism - Kenneth Wheare, William Livingston, William Riker, Carl Friedrich, and Daniel Elazar - the book identifies several different expressions of the federal spirit that together constitute its basic political values and principles rooted in liberal democracy.
Learning invariant responses to the natural transformations of objects

The primate visual system builds representations of objects which are invariant with respect to transforms such as translation, size, and eventually view, in a series of hierarchical cortical areas. To clarify how such a system might learn to recognise 'naturally' transformed objects, we are investigating a model of cortical visual processing which incorporates a, number of features of the primate visual system. The model has a series of layers with convergence from a limited region of the preceding layer, and mutual inhibition over a short range within a layer. The feedforward connections between layers provide the inputs to competitive networks, each utilising a modified Hebb-like learning rule which incorporates a temporal trace of the preceding neuronal activity. The trace learning rule is aimed at enabling the neurons to learn transform invariant responses via experience of the real world, with its inherent spatio-temporal constraints. We show that the model can learn to produce translation-invariant responses.
Perceptions of Creativity by Turkish Student Teachers

The purpose of this study is to determine whether Turkish student teachers have implicit opinions regarding creativity. For this purpose, whether the student teachers’ genders, backgrounds, and socioeconomic levels created significant differences on the formation of their implicit opinions regarding creativity was examined. First, the What Do You Think of Creativity Scale was translated into the Turkish language. Next, the validity and reliability of the scale were analyzed. The scale was subsequently applied to 1,274 student teachers. At the end of the study, the scale's health and youth dimensions showed that male student teachers are more strict-minded than female student teachers. Moreover, the study found that student teachers who grew up in rural areas were more strict-minded in the scale's birth order dimension. In addition, regarding the scale's race and intelligence dimensions, student teachers associated with high socioeconomic levels were more strict-minded than the student teachers associated with low and middle socioeconomic levels.
Analysis of fMRI Time-Series Revisited—Again

Friston et al. (1995, NeuroImage 2:45-53) presented a method for detecting activations in fMRI time-series based on the general linear model and a heuristic analysis of the effective degrees of freedom. In this communication we present corrected results that replace those of the previous paper and solve the same problem without recourse to heuristic arguments. Specifically we introduce a proper and unbiased estimator for the error terms and provide a more generally correct expression for the effective degrees of freedom. The previous estimates of error variance were biased and, in some instances, could have led to a 10-20% overestimate of Z values. Although the previous results are almost correct for the random regressors chosen for validation, the present theoretical results are exact for any covariate or waveform. We comment on some aspects of experimental design and data analysis, in the light of the theoretical framework discussed here.
Comparison methods for fitting data using Johnson translation distributions

The Johnson translation family of distributions provides a variety of distributional shapes for the modelling of empirical data that are readily used in simulation models. We compare a number of methods for estimating the parameters of these distributions, including moment matching (MM), least squares (ordinary- (OLS), weighted- (WLS) and diagonally weighted- (DWLS) least squares), and maximum likelihood (MLE). A sampling study is made to determine the properties of the fitted parameters and estimates based on the fitted parameters, such as the quantiles of the distribution. We restrict attention to the case that the analyst knows the correct distribution when fitting the parameters.
PML absorbing boundary conditions for the characterization of open microwave circuit components using multiresolution time-domain techniques (MRTD)

The multiresolution time domain technique (MRTD) is applied to the modeling of open microwave circuit problems. Open boundaries are simulated by the use of a novel formulation of the perfect matching layer (PML) absorber. The PML is modeled both in split and nonsplit forms and can be brought right on the surface of the planar components. The applicability of the MRTD technique to complex geometries with high efficiency and accuracy in computing the fields at discontinuities is demonstrated through extensive comparisons to conventional finite difference time domain (FDTD). In addition, the numerical reflectivity of the PML absorber is investigated for a variety of cell sizes, some of which are very close to the Nyquist limit (/spl lambda//2).
Exposure to hog barn dust alters airway epithelial ciliary beating

Swine confinement workers are at increased risk of airway diseases, including mucus membrane irritation syndrome, chronic rhinosinusitis and chronic bronchitis. Dust extracts from swine confinement facilities stimulate the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in bronchial epithelial cells, including interleukin (IL)-8. As IL-8 is capable of blocking β-agonist-stimulated increases in cilia beating, which impacts on mucociliary clearance, it was hypothesised that hog barn-dust exposure might alter cilia responses to stimulation. To test this hypothesis, ciliated bovine bronchial epithelial cell cultures were exposed to hog barn-dust extract (HDE) and ciliary beat frequency (CBF) was assayed. An elevation in baseline CBF was observed. This effect appeared to be independent of endotoxin but dependent upon nitric oxide. HDE also stimulated nitric oxide production in bronchial epithelial cells; however, stimulation of cilia beating by a β-agonist did not occur in cells pre-exposed to HDE. These data demonstrate that hog barn dust can alter normal stimulation of cilia, suggesting a mechanism for the abrogation of stimulated increases in mucociliary clearance in response to inhaled dust exposure.
Modélisation de surfaces océaniques à l'aide de groupes de vagues. (Wave group based modelling of ocean surfaces)

L’ etude men ee dans ce m emoire propose une repr esentation originale d’un champ de vague al eatoire afin de respecter les contraintes statistiques sur la fonction caract eristique en un point (variance, coefficients d’asym etrie skewness et d’aplatissement kurtosis), mais egalement en deux points (spectre, pente). La mod elisation propos ee consid`ere l’ el evation de la surface oc eanique comme une superposition de fonctions spatiales al eatoires, et d’amplitudes al eatoires, regroup ees en un certain nombre de nappes en fonction du vecteur d’onde. Cette d emarche aboutit ` a la construction de deux mod`eles nomm es “Groupy Wave Model” (gwm) et “Groupy Chopy Wave Model” (gcwm). Le premier permet le contrˆole du spectre, skewness (des hauteurs et des pentes) et kurtosis (des hauteurs ou des pentes). Le dernier prend en compte les mouvements orbitaux des particules d’eau. Le mod`ele gcwm est vu comme un changement de coordonn ees horizontales de la surface du mod`ele gwm pour le peuplement d’une surface. Cette transformation habille le spectre des hauteurs et fait apparaˆitre des points de rebroussement. Une m ethode permettant de “d eshabiller” le spectre afin d’obtenir une surface avec un spectre voulu, ainsi qu’une proposition pour tenir compte des points de rebroussement sont aussi introduites. Les r esultats obtenus soulignent un large eventail de diff erentes structures de l’ etat de mer, tout en respectant les mˆemes contraintes statistiques.
Providing Ride-Through Capability to a Doubly Fed Induction Generator Under Unbalanced Voltage Dips

This paper analyzes the effect of unbalanced voltage over doubly fed induction generators (DFIGs) and presents a novel control strategy, named dynamic programming power control plus (DPPC+), based on dynamic programming control. The high penetration of wind energy in the electrical grids demands for new requirements for the operation of wind energy conversion systems (WECSs). DFIG is the most employed WECS, and the DPPC+ guarantees their operation under unbalance conditions achieving the required objectives. Although the technique can be implemented to control both rotor and grid converters, we hereby expound the former, which regulates stator active and reactive power. The validation of the results obtained with DPPC+ has been performed through the use of experimental tests on a 20-kW test bench, consisting of a DFIG and induction motor drive. The obtained results show that the DPPC+ is suitable for achieving a good dynamic response while controlling current distortion and power and/or torque oscillations for both steady-state conditions and unbalanced voltage dips, showing the low-voltage ride-through capability.
Crystal structure and DFT study of (E)-N-[2-(1H-indol-3-yl)ethyl]-1-(anthracen-9-yl)methanimine

In the title compound, the indole ring system makes a dihedral angle of 63.56 (8)° with the plane of the anthracene ring. The conformation about the C=N bond of the –CH2–CH2–N=CH– bridge linking the two units is E. In the crystal, the indole H atom is involved in an intermolecular N—H⋯π interaction with the benzene ring of the indole group, leading to the formation of chains along [010].
Score informed audio source separation using constrained nonnegative matrix factorization and score synthesis

In this paper we present a new method for musical audio source separation, using the information from the musical score to supervise the decomposition process. An original framework using nonnegative matrix factorization (NMF) is presented, where the components are initially learnt on synthetic signals with temporal and harmonic constraints. A new dataset of multitrack recordings with manually aligned MIDI scores is created (TRIOS), and we compare our separation results with other methods from the literature using the BSS EVAL and PEASS evaluation toolboxes. The results show a general improvement of the BSS EVAL metrics for the various instrumental configurations used.
Menstrual cycle‐related changes in amygdala morphology are associated with changes in stress sensitivity

Premenstrual increases in negative mood are thought to arise from changes in gonadal hormone levels, presumably by influencing mood regulation and stress sensitivity. The amygdala plays a major role in this context, and animal studies suggest that gonadal hormones influence its morphology. Here, we investigated whether amygdala morphology changes over the menstrual cycle and whether this change explains differences in stress sensitivity. Twenty‐eight young healthy women were investigated once during the premenstrual phase and once during the late follicular phase. T1‐weighted anatomical images of the brain were acquired using magnetic resonance imaging and analyzed with optimized voxel‐based morphometry. To measure mood regulation and stress sensitivity, negative affect was assessed after viewing strongly aversive as well as neutral movie clips. Our results show increased gray matter volume in the dorsal part of the left amygdala during the premenstrual phase when compared with the late follicular phase. This volume increase was positively correlated with the premenstrual increase in stress‐induced negative affect. This is the first study showing structural plasticity of the amygdala in humans at the macroscopic level that is associated with both endogenous gonadal hormone fluctuations and stress sensitivity. These results correspond with animal findings of gonadal hormone‐mediated neural plasticity in the amygdala and have implications for understanding the pathogenesis of specific mood disorders associated with hormonal fluctuations. Hum Brain Mapp, 2013. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Enhancing informal learning recognition through TRAILER project

Conde, M. A. , Garcia-Penalvo, F. J., Zangrando, V. , Garcia-Holgado, A. , Seoane-Pardo, A. M. , Alier, M. , Galanis, N. , Griffiths, D. , Johnson, M. , Janssen, J., Brouns, F. , Vogten, H. , Finders, A. , Sloep, P. B. , Marques, M. A. , Viegas, M. C. , Alves, G. R. , Waszkiewicz, E. , Mykowska, A. , Minovic, M. , & Milovanovic, M. (2013). Enhancing informal learning recognition through TRAILER project. In F. J. Garcia-Penalvo, M. A. Conde, & D. Griffiths (Eds.), Proceedings of the Workshop on Solutions that Enhance Informal Learning Recognition (WEILER 2013) (pp. 21-30). September, 18, 2013, Paphos, Cyprus. http://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1039/
Modeling and rendering methods of clouds

Recently, simulation of natural phenomena, such as water, smokes, fire, clouds, have been attempted in computer graphics. Clouds play an important role when generating images of outdoor scenes, the earth viewed from outer space and the visualization of weather information. This paper describes the modeling methods of clouds, and an efficient calculation method for light scattering due to clouds taking into account both multiple scattering and sky light. The methods discussed here are also useful for displaying snow.
Promoting Computational Thinking in K-12 students by applying unplugged methods and robotics

Nowadays students live in the digital age and they do not only should learn to speak, write or develop specific skills. Students needs to be successful in their context and a possible way to achieve this is by developing the computational thinking. In the last few years there are several initiatives to promote computational thinking and to define approaches and methods to support it. One of this is the unplugged methods, in which students develop computational thinking skills without using the technology. This paper presents an experiment to promote computational thinking by using unplugged methods and employing robots as teachers as an engagement factor for the students. During the experiment, they have been distributed in two groups. One has carried out unplugged activities to develop computational thinking while the other did not. From the experiment, it is possible to see that results are better for those students that have completed unplugged activities and there are differences depending on age.