Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Path and sensing point planning for mobile robot navigation to minimize the risk of collision

A path planning algorithm for mobile robotics is proposed. When a mobile robot is navigating, the error in estimated position of the robot increases in proportion to the traveling distance. Because of this error, the robot has a greater risk of collision with objects in the environment. To reduce this error, a robot should obtain environmental information by using its environment sensors, and modify its estimated position accordingly. The authors propose a cost function for the mobile robot's path which minimizes the risk of collision and an algorithm to find the optimal path and sensing points. They have implemented the proposed algorithm on a real robot system and conducted several experiments to verify it.
Guns and guardians: Comparative cluster analysis and behavioral profiling in destiny

Behavioral profiling in digital games with persistent online worlds are vital for a variety of tasks ranging from understanding the player community to informing design and business decisions. In this paper behavioral profiles are developed for the online multiplayer shooter/role-playing game Destiny, the most expensive game to be launched to date and a unique hybrid incorporating designs from multiple traditional genres. The profiles are based on playstyle features covering a total of 41 features and over 4,800 randomly selected players at the highest level in the game. Four clustering models were applied (k-means, Gaussian mixture models, k-maxoids and Archetype Analysis) across the two primary game modes in Destiny: Player-versus-Player and Player-versus-Environment. The performance of each model is described and cross-model analysis is used to identify four to five distinct playstyles across each method, using a variety of similarity metrics. Discussion on which model to use in different circumstances is provided. The profiles are translated into design language and the insights they provide into the behavior of Destiny's player base described.
Acupuncture in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: Current Experimental and Clinical Evidence

This review describes the aetiology and pathogenesis of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and evaluates the use of acupuncture to prevent and reduce symptoms related with PCOS. PCOS is the most common female endocrine disorder and it is strongly associated with hyperandrogenism, ovulatory dysfunction and obesity. PCOS increases the risk for metabolic disturbances such as hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, hypertension and an increased likelihood of developing cardiovascular risk factors and impaired mental health later in life. Despite extensive research, little is known about the aetiology of PCOS. The syndrome is associated with peripheral and central factors that influence sympathetic nerve activity. Thus, the sympathetic nervous system may be an important factor in the development and maintenance of PCOS. Many women with PCOS require prolonged treatment. Current pharmacological approaches are effective but have adverse effects. Therefore, nonpharmacological treatment strategies need to be evaluated. Clearly, acupuncture can affect PCOS via modulation of endogenous regulatory systems, including the sympathetic nervous system, the endocrine and the neuroendocrine system. Experimental observations in rat models of steroid‐induced polycystic ovaries and clinical data from studies in women with PCOS suggest that acupuncture exert long‐lasting beneficial effects on metabolic and endocrine systems and ovulation.
Child Acquisition of Passive Sentences: Building Upon Animacy Assumptions from UG

HALLEY WILSON: Child Acquisition of Passive Sentences: Building upon animacy assumptions from UG (Under the direction of Misha Becker) Children's acquisition of passive sentences has been widely studied in an attempt to understand why children acquiring languages such as English appear to exhibit a delay in the acquisition of this structure. The present study examined semantic factors in English acquiring children's comprehension of passive sentences as a means of accounting for this delay. The results of the study indicated that animacy in the by-phrase may be the crucial factor required for passive comprehension. The process by which passive sentence structure is acquired is argued to be linked to inherent assumptions about animacy from UG which children may utilize to build the syntactic structures required to comprehend passives.
Evaluation of efficacy of restorative dental treatment provided under general anesthesia at hospitalized pediatric dental patients of Isfahan

Background: General anesthesia (GA) allows dental treatment to be rendered under optimal conditions, theoretically ensuring ideal outcomes. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of restorative dental procedures performed under GA. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional retrospective study, 305 pediatric patients who had been treated under GA 6 to 24 months before our survey at Isfahan's hospitalized dentistry center were examined. The examination was performed on dental chair with oral mirror and dental probe. The results were recorded in a special form for each patient for statistical analysis and evaluation of restorations to be successful or failed. Statistical analysis was performed by chi-square and fisher exact tests for comparison between success rates of restorations and Kendall's tau-b test for evaluating the effect of time on success rates of them (P < 0.05). Results: Stainless steel crown restorations had significantly better results vs class I and class II amalgam and class I and class II tooth color restorations. All types of posterior tooth color restorations had statistically same results with amalgam restorations. Anterior composite resin build-up represented significantly low success rates. The failure rates of stainless steel crown and anterior composite resin build-up restorations did not correlate with the time of follow-up (P = 0.344 and P = 0.091, respectively). Conclusion: Stainless steel crown restorations had significantly better results vs other posterior restorations. The failure rates of stainless steel crown and anterior composite resin build-up restorations did not correlate with the time of follow-up in comparison of other restorations.
Indexing correlated probabilistic databases

With large amounts of correlated probabilistic data being generated in a wide range of application domains including sensor networks, information extraction, event detection etc., effectively managing and querying them has become an important research direction. While there is an exhaustive body of literature on querying independent probabilistic data, supporting efficient queries over large-scale, correlated databases remains a challenge. In this paper, we develop efficient data structures and indexes for supporting inference and decision support queries over such databases. Our proposed hierarchical data structure is suitable both for in-memory and disk-resident databases. We represent the correlations in the probabilistic database using a junction tree over the tuple-existence or attribute-value random variables, and use tree partitioning techniques to build an index structure over it. We show how to efficiently answer inference and aggregation queries using such an index, resulting in orders of magnitude performance benefits in most cases. In addition, we develop novel algorithms for efficiently keeping the index structure up-to-date as changes (inserts, updates) are made to the probabilistic database. We present a comprehensive experimental study illustrating the benefits of our approach to query processing in probabilistic databases.
Middleware Architecture for the Interconnection of Distributed and Parallel Systems

Grid computing is a fast evolving technology, bringing more computing power to its users. Two main directions are observable: creating dedicated supercomputers for scientific and commercial tasks and creating distributed commodity-based systems. The first ones are usually much expensive, but have the advantage of performance, better control and uniformity in platforms. The second one is more aordable but lacks in flexibility and easy maintenance. The computing necessities that often require supplementary computing power for certain time periods are better satisfied by interconnecting available resources than buying new, expensive ones. But interconnecting platforms ‐ sometimes radically dierent ‐ can be a dicult task. The proliferation of hybrid parallel computing systems can be even more complicated because it puts in contact systems with various operating flows at the parallelism level. In this frame, the present article proposes a new middleware architecture that can connect multiple parallel or distributed resources, of dierent types, allowing unitary resource utilization and reservation for the user’s jobs. The new architecture is described functionally and structurally.
Effect of preventive primary care outreach on health related quality of life among older adults at risk of functional decline: randomised controlled trial

Objective To evaluate the impact of a provider initiated primary care outreach intervention compared with usual care among older adults at risk of functional decline. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Patients enrolled with 35 family physicians in five primary care networks in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Participants Patients were eligible if they were 75 years of age or older and were not receiving home care services. Of 3166 potentially eligible patients, 2662 (84%) completed the validated postal questionnaire used to determine risk of functional decline. Of 1724 patients who met the risk criteria, 769 (45%) agreed to participate and 719 were randomised. Intervention The 12 month intervention, provided by experienced home care nurses in 2004-6, consisted of a comprehensive initial assessment using the resident assessment instrument for home care; collaborative care planning with patients, their families, and family physicians; health promotion; and referral to community health and social support services. Main outcome measures Quality adjusted life years (QALYs), use and costs of health and social services, functional status, self rated health, and mortality. Results The mean difference in QALYs between intervention and control patients during the study period was not statistically significant (0.017, 95% confidence interval −0.022 to 0.056; P=0.388). The mean difference in overall cost of prescription drugs and services between the intervention and control groups was not statistically significant, (−$C165 (£107; €118; $162), 95% confidence interval −$C16 545 to $C16 214; P=0.984). Changes over 12 months in functional status and self rated health were not significantly different between the intervention and control groups. Ten patients died in each group. Conclusions The results of this study do not support adoption of this preventive primary care intervention for this target population of high risk older adults. Trial registration Clinical trials NCT00134836.
Principles of designing interpretable optogenetic behavior experiments

Over the last decade, there has been much excitement about the use of optogenetic tools to test whether specific cells, regions, and projection pathways are necessary or sufficient for initiating, sustaining, or altering behavior. However, the use of such tools can result in side effects that can complicate experimental design or interpretation. The presence of optogenetic proteins in cells, the effects of heat and light, and the activity of specific ions conducted by optogenetic proteins can result in cellular side effects. At the network level, activation or silencing of defined neural populations can alter the physiology of local or distant circuits, sometimes in undesired ways. We discuss how, in order to design interpretable behavioral experiments using optogenetics, one can understand, and control for, these potential confounds.
MAOA‐uVNTR polymorphism in a Brazilian sample: Further support for the association with impulsive behaviors and alcohol dependence

The enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAO A) plays an important role in the metabolism of neurotransmitters. The MAOA gene presents several polymorphisms, including a 30‐bp VNTR in the promoter region (MAOA‐uVNTR). Alleles with 3.5 and 4 repeats are 2–10 times more efficient than the 3‐repeat allele. Several studies have shown an association between the 3‐repeat allele and a cluster of externalizing behaviors including alcoholism, antisocial personality, and impulsivity. The objective of the present study is to replicate in a different culture the associations between the MAOA‐uVNTR with alcoholism and other phenotypes. The sample comprises 125 Brazilian alcoholics of European descent and 235 controls. The results suggest that the 3‐repeat allele is associated to: (1) alcohol dependence (P < 0.05); (2) an earlier onset of alcoholism (P < 0.01); (3) comorbid drug abuse among alcoholics (P < 0.05); and (4) a higher number of antisocial symptoms (P < 0.02). Our results confirmed previous reports showing an association of the low activity 3‐repeat allele of MAOA‐uVNTR polymorphism with substance dependence and impulsive/antisocial behaviors. These findings in a different culture further support the influence of the MAOA‐uVNTR in psychiatric disorders. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Photofunctionalization Enhances Bone-Implant Contact, Dynamics of Interfacial Osteogenesis, Marginal Bone Seal, and Removal Torque Value of Implants: A Dog Jawbone Study

Objective: Ultraviolet (UV) light treatment of titanium, ie, photofunctionalization, has been extensively reported to enhance the osteoconductivity of titanium in animal and in vitro studies. This is the first study to examine whether photofunctionalization is effective on commercial dental implants in vivo. Materials and Methods: Dental implants with a microroughened surface were placed into dog jawbones. Photofunctionalization was performed by treating implants with UV light for 15 minutes using a photo device immediately before placement. Four weeks after placement, bone-implant integration was evaluated using a removable torque test and static and dynamic histology. Results: Implant surfaces were converted from hydrophobic to super-hydrophilic after photofunctionalization. Removable torque for photofunctionalized implants was significantly higher by 50% than that for untreated implants. Bone-implant contact (BIC) was significantly higher for photofunctionalized implants in all zones examined: marginal, cortical, and bone marrow zones. An intensive mineralized layer was exclusively present in marginal bone at photofunctionalized interface. Dynamic histology identified early-onset, long-lasting robust bone deposition at photofunctionalized interface. Conclusions: Photofunctionalization enhanced the morphology, quality, and behavior of periimplant osteogenesis, including the increased BIC, expedited robust interfacial bone deposition, and improved marginal bone seal and support.
A socratic ask system: helping educators provide a socratic tutor for learners

An important role an educator can play in a learning environment is making learners aware of issues, nuances, and problems through Socratic questioning. Prior research has shown the potential of Socratic dialogue for increasing reflection and learning. Providing sufficient Socratic mentoring is a challenge in courses with large enrollments. To address that problem, I designed and studied a mentoring system called Socratic ASK (Sask). Experienced educators design Web-based mentors, called Sask Mentors, with a provided Web-based authoring tool. Mentors are designed to augment educators' mentoring by providing more access and exposure to their Socratic dialogue. The Mentor interface is designed to facilitate a Socratic conversation with learners, including encouraging them to reflect on their learning task and express their own hypotheses. Educators can also link Mentor utterances to display any Web content, including video clips or simulations. Data from a quasi-experimental study in a Biomedical Engineering laboratory course show that increasing the amount of available Socratic mentors in a learning activity by using a Sask Mentor called the Dialysis Mentor fostered observed problematization and Task-Situated Reflection from students (in stages of the lesson the software was designed to handle). Dialysis Mentor usage had no significant effect on a delayed assessment of learning except for students who scored above the median on a pre-test. However, Dialysis Mentor usage had a large negative effect on an immediate assessment of learning. Qualitative analysis of students' and mentors' dialogue revealed both the Dialysis Mentor's and the Sask System architecture's educationally beneficial features and opportunities for improvement, including the possible need for dynamic cognitive modeling found in Intelligent Tutoring Systems without making the authoring process too burdensome or resource intensive for educators. This work has important implications for the usefulness of simple Socratic software mentors. It provides a basic theoretical framework for fostering problematization and Task-Situated Reflection through Socratic dialogue as well as software that can be used to refine the framework.
Further genetic characterization of the two Trypanosoma cruzi Berenice strains ( Be-62 and Be-78 ) isolated from the first human case of Chagas disease ( Chagas , 1909 )

a Núcleo de Pesquisas em Ciências Biológicas (NUPEB), Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Biológicas (ICEB), UFOP, Brazil b Departamento de Bioquı́mica e Imunologia, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas (ICB), Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais (UFMG), Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil c Génétique des Maladies infectieuses, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)/Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD) no 9926, IRD, BP 64501, 34394 Montpellier Cedex 05, France d Departamento de Parasitologia, ICB, UFMG, Brazil e Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, ICEB, UFOP, Brazil f Departamento de Análises Clı́nicas, Escola de Farmácia, Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Rua Costa Sena, 171, CEP 35 400-000 Ouro Preto, MG, Brazil
Genotyping of HBV and tracking of resistance mutations in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B

Background and aims Resistance mutation analogs to nucleos(t)ides have been described in treatment-naïve patients with chronic hepatitis B (CHB), with clinical implications. The aim of this study was to investigate primary resistance mutations and genotypes circulating in patients naïve to chronic hepatitis B, in the Northern and Northeastern regions of Brazil. Methods We conducted a study of resistance mutations and genotypic characterization of hepatitis B virus (HBV) in 189 treatment-naïve patients chronically infected with HBV. Results Drug resistance-associated mutations located in the RT domain of the P gene (rtHBV) were found in 6% of the treatment-naïve patients from the Northeastern Region. The mutations were rtA194T, rtL180M + rtM204V, rtS202I, rtM204I, and rtA181S. No patient in the Northern Region had the resistance mutation. In the gene S region, the frequency of vaccine escape mutations was 2.4% in the Northeastern Region and 8.6% in the Northern Region. Conclusion This information before the start of treatment may contribute to clinical decision making, reducing treatment failure and the risk of progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma for CHB.
Vampires Suck

This article uses content and discourse analysis to identify parallel narratives in the HBO series True Blood and American society, then applies Young's politics of difference to identify counternarratives suggesting that knowledge, culture, and customs are not universal. The three primary characteristics of the politics of difference—democratic cultural pluralism, equality, and postmodernism—provide a lens to explore the identified narratives. It is argued that American discourse, like True Blood, is embedded with strategies of Othering that shape policy design and implementation in such a way as to benefit those deemed advantaged.
An investigation of polymorphisms in the 4q13.3-21.1 CXC chemokine gene cluster for association with multiple sclerosis in Australians

Susceptibility to multiple sclerosis (MS) is believed to result from the complex interaction of a number of genes, each with modest effect. Vital to the migration of cells to sites of inflammation, including the central nervous system, are chemokines, many of which are implicated in MS pathogenesis. Most of the CXC chemokine genes are encoded in a cluster on chromosome 4q13.3-21.1, which has been identified in several genome-wide screens as being potentially associated with MS. We conducted a two-stage analysis to investigate the chemokine gene cluster for association with MS. Initially, we sequenced the chemokine genes in several DNA pools to identify common polymorphisms, and then genotyped selected SNPs in 373 Australian MS trio families. We found no evidence that the CXC chemokine gene cluster is genetically associated with MS. However, the existence of common variants conferring small risk factors or rare variants with significant risk cannot be excluded.
Ensemble model for Twitter sentiment analysis

Sentiment mining from sources like Twitter which contain informal texts is needed as there is prominent information and vast amount of data to be analyzed, understood and experimented. There has been a lot of research in this area to get the semantic information from this domain and to create better prediction in terms of Sentiment classification. We present a novel approach which provides an ensemble model for Classification taking SVM as base learner and Adaboost as the Ensemble Boosting algorithm. We show the Precision, Recall and F1 score by comparing it with the baseline SVM algorithm.
The length of a lantibiotic hinge region has profound influence on antimicrobial activity and host specificity

Lantibiotics are ribosomally synthesized (methyl)lanthionine containing peptides which can efficiently inhibit the growth of Gram-positive bacteria. As lantibiotics kill bacteria efficiently and resistance to them is difficult to be obtained, they have the potential to be used in many applications, e.g., in pharmaceutical industry or food industry. Nisin can inhibit the growth of Gram-positive bacteria by binding to lipid II and by making pores in their membrane. The C-terminal part of nisin is known to play an important role during translocation over the membrane and forming pore complexes. However, as the thickness of bacterial membranes varies between different species and environmental conditions, this property could have an influence on the pore forming activity of nisin. To investigate this, the so-called “hinge region” of nisin (residues NMK) was engineered to vary from one to six amino acid residues and specific activity against different indicators was compared. Antimicrobial activity in liquid culture assays showed that wild type nisin is most active, while truncation of the hinge region dramatically reduced the activity of the peptide. However, one or two amino acids extensions showed only slightly reduced activity against most indicator strains. Notably, some variants (+2, +1, −1, −2) exhibited higher antimicrobial activity than nisin in agar well diffusion assays against Lactococcus lactis MG1363, Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis VE14089, Bacillus sporothermodurans IC4 and Bacillus cereus 4153 at certain temperatures.