Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
UVES observations of the Canis Major overdensity

We present the first detailed chemical abundances for three giant stars which are candidate members of the Canis Major overdensity, obtained by using FLAMES-UVES at VLT. The stars, in the background of the open cluster NGC 2477, have radial velocities compatible with a membership to this structure. However, due to Galactic disc contamination, radial velocity by itself is unable to firmly establish membership. The metallicities span the range -0.5 less than or similar to [Fe/H] less than or similar to +0.1. Assuming that at least one of the three stars is indeed a member of CMa implies that this structure has undergone a high level of chemical processing, comparable to that of the Galactic disc. The most metal-rich star of the sample, EIS 6631, displays several abundance ratios which are remarkably different from those of Galactic stars: [alpha/Fe] similar to -0.2, [Cu/Fe] similar to +0.25, [La/Fe] similar to +0.6, [Ce/Fe] similar to +0.8 and [Nd/Fe] similar to +0.6. These ratios make it likely that this star was formed in an external galaxy.
Titratable Acidity and Total Soluble Solid Content of Pediatric Antitussive Medicines

Adresa za dopisivanje Prof. dr. Alessandro Leite Cavalcanti Avenida Manoel Moraes, 471/802 Manaíra 58038-230 João Pessoa, PB, Brasil Tel: +55 83 3315-3326 dralessandro@ibest.com. br Sažetak Svrha: U ovoj su se eksperimentalnoj studiji in vitro procijenili endogeni pH, kiselost titracije i ukupan udjel čvrste topljive tvari (UUTČT) u pedijatrijskim antitusivnim lijekovima u obliku sirupa. Ispitanici i metode: sedam lijekova procijenjeno je u pokusu prema načelu slučajnog odabira i svaka je analiza bila ponovljena tri puta. Procjena pH-a obavljena je potenciometrijom, a ocijenjen je bio i puferski kapacitet nakon što se razrijedio svaki lijek. Inkrementi od 0,1 N KOH-a titrirani su dok nije dosegnuta neutralnost. Mjerenje UUTČT-a obavljeno je Brixovom refraktometrijom uz pomoć Abbéova refraktometra. Rezultati: vrijednosti pH-a kretale su se od 2,65 (Mucolin®) do 6,56 (Fluimucil®), a kod četiriju lijekova bile su niže od kritičnih 5,5. Vrijednosti titracijske kiselosti za te lijekove bile su od 0,061 (Fluimucil®) do 0,467 (Ambroxmel®). Fluimucil® je pokazao najnižu vrijednost UUTČT-a (4,33%), a Mucofan® je imao najveću (53,41%). Zaključak: mnogobrojni pedijatrijski antitusici imali su pH ispod kritične vrijednosti, visoke titracijske vrijednosti te veliku koncentraciju šećera, što može povećati njihov kariogeni i erozivni učinak u slučaju neodgovarajuće primjene kod djece. Ključne riječi farmaceutski pripravci; zaslađivači; primjena, oralna; erozija zuba; zubni karijes; antitusici 1 Zavod za dječju stomatologiju Stomatološkog fakulteta Sveučilišta Paraibe, Campina Grande, Brazil Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil 2 Zavod za dječju stomatologiju Stomatološkog fakulteta Sveučilišta Paraibe, Campina Grande, Brazil, student Undergraduate student, Department of Pediatric Dentistry, School of Dentistry, State University of Paraíba, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil 3 Zavod za analitičku kemiju, Kemijski fakultet Sveučilišta Paraibe, Campina Grande, Brazil Department of Analytical Chemistry, School of Chemistry, State University of Paraiba, Campina Grande, PB, Brazil
Towards More Rigorous Personality Trait–Outcome Research

Much of personality research attempts to identify causal links between personality traits and various types of outcomes. I argue that causal interpretations require traits to be seen as existentially and holistically real and the associations to be independent of specific ways of operationalizing the traits. Among other things, this means that, to the extents that causality is to be ascribed to such holistic traits, items and facets of those traits should be similarly associated with specific outcomes, except for variability in the degrees to which they reflect the traits (i.e. factor loadings). I argue that, before drawing causal inferences about personality trait–outcome associations, the presence of this condition should be routinely tested by, for example, systematically comparing the outcome associations of individual items or facets, or sampling different indicators for measuring the same purported traits. Existing evidence suggests that observed associations between personality traits and outcomes at least sometimes depend on which particular items or facets have been included in trait operationalizations, calling trait–level causal interpretations into question. However, this has rarely been considered in the literature. I argue that when outcome associations are specific to facets, they should not be generalized to traits. Furthermore, when the associations are specific to particular items, they should not even be generalized to facets. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology
Selection of Obstacle Avoidance Behaviors Based on Visual and Ultrasonic Sensors for Quadruped Robots

Robots are indispensable today to improve process efficiencies and labor savings in the industry and service sector. The importance of robots has also been recognized for work in critical environment, such as, space, ocean bottom, power plants, as well as, in the fields of clinical medicine, hazard prevention, etc. For this, a large number of robots have been developed, and researchers continue to design robots with greater capabilities to perform more challenging and comprehensive tasks (Hirose et al., 1986; Ooka et al., 1986; Cruse et al., 1994; Chen et al., 2002a; Habib, 2003a). There are many ways for a robot to move across a solid surface in which wheels, crawlers, and legs were common options for the available robots. The application fields of such robots are naturally restricted, depending on the condition of the ground. Wheeled mobile robots are mechanically simple, easy to construct, easy to implement a controller, dynamically stable in general, and they are ideal for operation on level and hard surfaces. When the surface is rough and has projections and depressions with dimensions that are greater than the diameter of the wheel or when the surface is soft, resistance to the movement increases drastically and their function as transport machines is almost lost, which leads to poor performance. The crawler type locomotion mechanisms have traverse ability higher than that of the wheel, but its control is hard and the dead-reckoning is difficult to realize, though it is possible to move on different terrains. In order to have good mobility over uneven and rough terrain a legged robot seems to be a good solution because legged locomotion is mechanically superior to wheeled or tracked locomotion over a variety of soil conditions and certainly superior for crossing obstacles. The path of the legged machine can be (partially) decoupled from the sequence of footholds, allowing a higher degree of mobility. This can be especially useful in narrow surroundings or terrain with discrete footholds (Raibert, 1986; Hirose, 2001). However, creating and controlling a legged machine that is powerful enough, but still light enough is very difficult. Legged robots are usually slower and have a lower load/power ratio with respect to wheeled robot. Autonomous legged robots have distinct control issues that must be addressed. These problems are amplified when the robot is small with an onboard controller that is purposely simple to accommodate weight and expense restrictions. The kinematics and dynamics of legged robots are nonlinear, while robot parameters, such as center of mass position, amount of payload, etc. are not known exactly and might also O pe n A cc es s D at ab as e w w w . ite ch on lin e. co m
AN OFF-LINE SIMULATION PACKAGE FOR ROBOTICS EDUCATION AND INDUSTRIAL PURPOSES

In this paper, a novel off-line robot simulation package is developed for the industrial robot manipulators. The package allows interactive simulation of fundamental robot manipulators classified by Huang and Milenkovic (1). The new package using Matlab Graphical User Interface (GUI) commands provides an interactive environment for serial-link robot manipulators. In the new package, there are several graphical user interfaces and robotics analysis including forward kinematics, inverse kinematics, matrix transformation operations and trajectory planning. One spherical robot manipulator is given as an example to show the features of the simulation package.
Self-Gravitating Gas Spheres in a Box and Relativistic Clusters: Relation between Dynamical and Thermodynamical Stability

We derive a variational principle for the dynamical stability of a cluster as a gas sphere in a box. Newtonian clusters are always dynamically stable, and for relativistic clusters, the relation between dynamical and thermodynamical instabilities is analyzed. The boundaries between dynamically and thermodynamically stable and unstable models are found numerically for relativistic stellar systems with different cutoff parameters. A criterion based on the binding energy curve is used for determination of the boundary of dynamical stability.
MMP-9 Responsive PEG Cleavable Nanovesicles for Efficient Delivery of Chemotherapeutics to Pancreatic Cancer

Significant differences in biochemical parameters between normal and tumor tissues offer an opportunity to chemically design drug carriers which respond to these changes and deliver the drugs at the desired site. For example, overexpression of the matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) enzyme in the extracellular matrix of tumor tissues can act as a trigger to chemically modulate the drug delivery from the carriers. In this study, we have synthesized an MMP-9-cleavable, collagen mimetic lipopeptide which forms nanosized vesicles with the POPC, POPE-SS-PEG, and cholesteryl-hemisuccinate lipids. The lipopeptide retains the triple-helical conformation when incorporated into these nanovesicles. The PEG groups shield the substrate lipopeptides from hydrolysis by MMP-9. However, in the presence of elevated glutathione levels, the PEG groups are reductively removed, exposing the lipopeptides to MMP-9. The resultant peptide-bond cleavage disturbs the vesicles’ lipid bilayer, leading to the release of encapsulated contents. These PEGylated nanovesicles are capable of encapsulating the anticancer drug gemcitabine with 50% efficiency. They were stable in physiological conditions and in human serum. Effective drug release was demonstrated using the pancreatic ductal carcinoma cells (PANC-1 and MIAPaCa-2) in two-dimensional and three-dimensional “tumor-like” spheroid cultures. A reduction in tumor growth was observed after intravenous administration of the gemcitabine-encapsulated nanovesicles in the xenograft model of athymic, female nude mice.
Leadership development in the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) scheme in Thailand

This study explored the leadership development of OTOP leaders. This study applied a qualitative research design using a case study as the research strategy. Purposive sampling was used to select the cases, which were threecommunity producer groups who were awarded the OTOP Product Champion ( OPC ) status in 2010 for their five-star high quality durian crisps in the Eastern region of Thailand. A total of 19 participants were interviewed and observations were made in their villages. Analyses were carried out from multiple source of data. A coding process was employed to answer the research questions. Ten categories emerged from the qualitative data analysis: leadership competency, development method, learning source of leadership, group member administration, quality of work operation, financial management of the OTOP group, welfare system for OTOP group members, activities for supporting group relationship, relationship between leader’s business and group’s business, and a good relationship with the public sector. The findings of this study are useful in at least in at three ways: (1) to make a contribution to knowledge in the field of HRD in which leadership has been found to be a vital factor for the local OTOP schemes; (2) to be used as a guideline for KRD professionals both practically and academically in other local communities; and (3) to provide the local government authorities with a clear vision at the national level of the OTOP processes in successful cases.
Constraints on Parameters of Radiatively Decaying Dark Matter from the Galaxy Cluster 1E 0657–56

We derived constraints on parameters of a radiatively decaying warm dark matter particle, e.g., the mass and mixing angle for a sterile neutrino, using Chandra X-ray spectra of galaxy cluster 1E 0657–56 (the “bullet” cluster). The constraints are based on nondetection of the sterile neutrino decay emission line. This cluster exhibits spatial separation between the hot intergalactic gas and the dark matter, which helps to disentangle their X-ray signals. It also has a very long X-ray observation and a total mass measured via gravitational lensing. This makes the resulting constraints on a sterile neutrino complementary to earlier results that used different cluster mass estimates. Our limits are comparable to the existing cluster constraints (although they are weaker than the best constraints derived from M31 and the Milky Way halo).
Why school students choose and reject science: a study of the factors that students consider when selecting subjects

ABSTRACT Student study of science at school has been linked to the need to provide a scientifically capable workforce and a scientifically literate society. Educators, scientists, and policymakers are concerned that too few students are choosing science for study in their final years of school. How and why students choose and reject certain subjects, including science, at this time is unclear. A Best–Worst Scaling (BWS) survey was completed by 333 Year 10 (age 14–17) students to investigate the relative importance of 21 factors thought to impact students’ subject-selection decisions. Students ranked enjoyment, interest and ability in a subject, and its perceived need in their future study or career plans as the most important factors in both choosing and rejecting subjects. They considered advice from teachers, parents or peers as relatively less important. These findings indicate that enhancing students’ enjoyment, interest, and perceptions of their ability in science, as well as increasing student perceptions of its value in a future career, may result in more students studying science at school.
An empirical exploration of data quality in DNA-based population inventories

I present data from 21 population inventory studies — 20 of them on bears — that relied on the noninvasive collection of hair, and review the methods that were used to prevent genetic errors in these studies. These methods were designed to simultaneously minimize errors (which can bias estimates of abundance) and per-sample analysis effort (which can reduce the precision of estimates by limiting sample size). A variety of approaches were used to probe the reliability of the empirical data, producing a mean, per-study estimate of no more than one undetected error in either direction (too few or too many individuals identified in the laboratory). For the type of samples considered here (plucked hair samples), the gain or loss of individuals in the laboratory can be reduced to a level that is inconsequential relative to the more universal sources of bias and imprecision that can affect mark–recapture studies, assuming that marker systems are selected according to stated guidelines, marginal samples are excluded at an early stage, similar pairs of genotypes are scrutinized, and laboratory work is performed with skill and care.
Comparison of Two New Mouse Models of Polygenic Type 2 Diabetes at the Jackson Laboratory, NONcNZO10Lt/J and TALLYHO/JngJ

This review compares two novel polygenic mouse models of type 2 diabetes (T2D), TALLYHO/JngJ and NONcNZO10/LtJ, and contrasts both with the well-known C57BLKS/J-Leprdb (db/db) monogenic diabesity model. We posit that the new polygenic models are more representative of the “garden variety” obesity underlying human T2D in terms of their polygenetic rather than monogenic etiology. Moreover, the clinical phenotypes in these new models are less extreme, for example, more moderated development of obesity coupled with less extreme endocrine disturbances. The more progressive development of obesity produces a maturity-onset development of hyperglycemia in contrast to the juvenile-onset diabetes observed in the morbidly obese db/db model. Unlike the leptin receptor-deficient db/db models with central leptin resistance, the new models develop a progressive peripheral leptin resistance and are able to maintain reproductive function. Although the T2D pathophysiology in both TALLYHO/JngJ and NONcNZO10/LtJ is remarkably similar, their genetic etiologies are clearly different, underscoring the genetic heterogeneity underlying T2D in humans.
On the Stability of Three-Dimensional Boundary Layers. Pt. 2; Secondary Instability

The secondary instability of three-dimensional incompressible boundary layers is studied using Floquet theory. Starting from the equilibrium solutions that we obtained from the PSE computations documented in Part 1, we investigate the region where a purely stationary crossflow disturbance saturates for its secondary instability characteristics utilizing developed global and local eigenvalue solvers that are based on the Implicitly Restarted Arnoldi Method, and a Newton-Raphson technique, respectively. The main focuses of this study are on the existence of multiple roots in the eigenvalue spectrum that could explain experimental observations of time-dependent occurrences of an explosive growth of traveling disturbances, on the routes by which high-frequency disturbances enter the boundary layer, as well as on gaining more information about threshold amplitudes for the growth of secondary disturbances.
Psychometric Properties of a Chinese Version of the Moral Attentiveness Scale

This study focuses on the reliability and validation of the Chinese version of the Moral Attentiveness Scale. Factor analysis confirmed that the scale includes two factors: perceptual moral attentiveness and reflective moral attentiveness. Moral attentiveness is negatively correlated with normlessness and positively associated with internalization and symbolization, moral identity, and other academic dishonesty behaviors. Reflective moral attentiveness moderated the relationship between formalism and unethical decision making. All results showed that the Chinese version of the Moral Attentiveness Scale has satisfactory psychometric properties and is a valid and reliable measurement of moral attentiveness in the Chinese population.
Finger-based manipulation in immersive spaces and the real world

Immersive environments that approximate natural interaction with physical 3D objects are designed to increase the user's sense of presence and improve performance by allowing users to transfer existing skills and expertise from real to virtual environments. However, limitations of current Virtual Reality technologies, e.g., low-fidelity real-time physics simulations and tracking problems, make it difficult to ascertain the full potential of finger-based 3D manipulation techniques. This paper decomposes 3D object manipulation into the component movements, taking into account both physical constraints and mechanics. We fabricate five physical devices that simulate these movements in a measurable way under experimental conditions. We then implement the devices in an immersive environment and conduct an experiment to evaluate direct finger-based against ray-based object manipulation. The key contribution of this work is the careful design and creation of physical and virtual devices to study physics-based 3D object manipulation in a rigorous manner in both real and virtual setups.
Evaluating Creative Language Generation: The Case of Rap Lyric Ghostwriting

Language generation tasks that seek to mimic human ability to use language creatively are difficult to evaluate, since one must consider creativity, style, and other non-trivial aspects of the generated text. The goal of this paper is to develop evaluations methods for one such task, ghostwriting of rap lyrics, and to provide an explicit, quantifiable foundation for the goals and future directions for this task. Ghostwriting must produce text that is similar in style to the emulated artist, yet distinct in content. We develop a novel evaluation methodology that addresses several complementary aspects of this task, and illustrate how such evaluation can be used to meaning fully analyze system performance. We provide a corpus of lyrics for 13 rap artists, annotated for stylistic similarity, which allows us to assess the feasibility of manual evaluation for generated verse.
Fast camera motion estimation in MPEG compressed domain

In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for fast estimation of camera motion directly in MPEG compressed domain, which starts from an existing and commonly used camera motion model to characterize the relationship between corresponding points of the neighboring frames, and then exploits the MPEG motion estimation and compensation techniques to derive closed-form estimation of all the three camera motion parameters, including pan, tilt, and zoom. The proposed algorithm features in extremely low computing cost and high processing speed with 50% improvement over the representative existing algorithms. It is suitable for implementation on hardware, such as Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) video camera. Furthermore, the three separated processing units (pan, tilt, and zoom) can be integrated into one simplified Fast PTZ Processing Unit. Comparative experiments also reveal that the proposed algorithm achieves similar estimation precision for all the three camera motion parameters.
Corpus-based Induction of an LFG Syntax-Semantics Interface for Frame Semantic Processing

We present a method for corpus-based induction of an LFG syntax-semantics interface for frame semantic processing in a computational LFG parsing architecture. We show how to model frame semantic annotations in an LFG projection architecture, including special phenomena that involve non-isomorphic mappings between levels. Frame semantic annotations are ported from a manually annotated corpus to a “parallel” LFG corpus. We extract functional descriptions from the frame-annotated LFG corpus, to derive general frame assignment rules that can be applied to new sentences. We evaluate the results by applying the induced frame assignment rules to LFG parser output. 1
TUD-MM at MediaEval 2011 Genre Tagging Task: Video search reranking for genre tagging

In this paper, we investigate the possibility of using visual information to improve the text based ranking. Both a structure based representation (using the similarity matrix of the frames of one video) as well as a key-frame based representation (using visual words) is evaluated. It appears that only in some queries the visual information can improve the performance by reranking. The presented experiments on reranking show the limitations and also the potential, for these structural and visual representations
Mote Runner: A Multi-language Virtual Machine for Small Embedded Devices

This paper introduces a new virtual machine for sensor networks and small embedded devices which has been designed with efficient resource usage and an event-driven programming model in mind. The virtual machine runs on 8, 16, and 32-bit micro-controllers with as little as 4KBof volatile and 32 KB of non-volatile memory. Our virtual machine is not bound to a single high-level programming language, but targets all strictly-typed programming languages.In conjunction with the virtual machine, we also present our development tool chain for Java and C#, and discuss the effects of our virtual machine design on these high-level languages. We also present a compact load-file format which allows applications to be stream-linked in a way that minimizes memory usage and bandwidth. All presented components are part of the IBM Mote Runner, a run-time environment for wireless sensor networks.