Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning Topological Maps with Weak Local Odometric Information

Topological maps provide a useful abstraction for robotic navigation and planning. Although stochastic maps can theoretically be learned using the Baum-Welch algorithm, without strong prior constraint on the structure of the model it is slow to converge, requires a great deal of data, and is often stuck in local minima. In this paper, we consider a special case of hidden Markov models for robot-navigation environments, in which states are associated with points in a metric configuration space. We assume that the robot has some odometric ability to measure relative transformations between its configurations. Such odometry is typically not precise enough to suffice for building a global map, but it does give valuable local information about relations between adjacent states. We present an extension of the Baum-Welch algorithm that takes advantage of this local odometric information, yielding faster convergence to better solutions with less data.
Application of a Demineralized Cortical Bone Matrix and Bone Marrow–Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells in a Model of Chronic Rotator Cuff Degeneration

Background: The success of rotator cuff repair is primarily dependent on tendon-bone healing. Failure is common because weak scar tissue replaces the native enthesis, rendering it prone to reruptures. A demineralized bone matrix (DBM) consists of a network of collagen fibers that provide a sustained release of growth factors such as bone morphogenetic proteins. Previous studies have demonstrated that it can regenerate a fibrocartilaginous enthesis. Hypothesis: The use of a DBM and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) at the healing enthesis will result in a higher bone mineral density at the tendon insertion and will enhance the regeneration of a morphologically superior enthesis when compared with an acellular human dermal matrix. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Eighteen female Wistar rats underwent unilateral detachment of the supraspinatus tendon. Three weeks later, tendon repair was carried out in animals randomized into 3 groups: group 1 received augmentation of the repair with a cortical allogenic DBM (n = 6); group 2 received augmentation with a nonmeshed, ultrathick, acellular human dermal matrix (n = 6); and group 3 underwent tendon-bone repair without a scaffold (n = 6). All animals received 1 × 106 MSCs delivered in fibrin glue to the repair site. Specimens were retrieved at 6 weeks postoperatively for histological analysis and the evaluation of bone mineral density. Results: All groups demonstrated closure of the tendon-bone gap with a fibrocartilaginous enthesis. Although there were no significant differences in the enthesis maturation and modified Movin scores, repair augmented with a dermal matrix + MSCs exhibited a disorganized enthesis, abnormal collagen fiber arrangement, and greater cellularity compared with other MSC groups. Only repairs augmented with a DBM + MSCs reached a bone mineral density not significantly lower than nonoperated controls. Conclusion: A DBM enhanced with MSCs can augment rotator cuff healing at 6 weeks and restore bone mineral density at the enthesis to its preinjury levels. Clinical Relevance: Biological augmentation of rotator cuff repair with a DBM and MSCs may reduce the incidence of retears, although further studies are required to determine its effectiveness.
Multiple attention systems in perceptual categorization

There is growing consensus that the human attention system is subserved by separate subsystems, or at least by a broad anatomical network in which different subtasks are mediated by different brain areas (e.g., Buchel & Friston, 1997; Knight, 1997; LaBerge, 1997; Olshausen, Anderson, & Van Essen, 1993; Posner & Petersen, 1990; Rushworth, Nixon, Renowden, Wade, & Passingham, 1997). Although a number of different theories have been proposed, there is widespread agreement that visual perceptual attention is mediated by a posterior system that includes the visual cortex, much of the posterior parietal cortex, the pulvinar, and the superior colliculus (e.g., Desimone & Duncan, 1995; Olshausen et al., 1993; Posner & Petersen, 1990). In contrast, executive or decisional (i.e., conscious) attention is thought to be mediated by an anterior system that includes the anterior cingulate, the prefrontal cortex, and perhaps the basal ganglia and the pulvinar (Ashby, AlfonsoReese, Turken, & Waldron, 1998; Ashby, Isen, & Turken, 1999; Goldman-Rakic, 1995; LaBerge, 1997; Posner & Petersen, 1990). Although anatomically separate, the question of whether the systems are functionally separate has been only recently addressed in the attention literature. Empirical evidence for a functional independence of perceptual and decisional attention is growing (e.g., Johnston, McCann, & Remington, 1995; Pashler, 1989, 1991, 1993; Posner, 1993; Posner, Sandson, Dhawan, & Shulman, 1989). Johnston et al. (1995) provided some of the strongest evidence to date for the functional independence of perceptual and decisional attention by showing that perceptual and decisional attention systems operate at different temporal stages of processing during letter identification. Specifically, they showed that a critical reference stage of processing (letter identif ication in their task) operates after the stage of perceptual attention but prior to the stage of decisional attention. Within the perceptual categorization literature, there is widespread agreement that attentional processes play a prominent role during normal categorization (e.g., Ashby & Lee, 1991; Estes, 1994; Goldstone, 1994; Kruschke, 1992; Maddox, 2002; Maddox & Ashby, 1998; Nosofsky, 1986; Shepard, 1964). However, the question of whether separate perceptual and decisional attention systems operate during categorization has never been broached. One reason for the lack of data that speaks to this question is that no categorization studies have been conducted that have placed the goals of the two systems in direct competition. Rather, the goals of the perceptual and decisional attention systems are usually the same and so, empirically, the actions of the two systems are correlated.
Entrepreneurship and economic development in China: evidence from a time-varying parameters stochastic volatility vector autoregressive model

This paper investigates the impact of entrepreneurship on economic development in China for the period 1999–2013 using a time-varying parameters stochastic volatility vector autoregressive model. Our results suggest a positive relation between entrepreneurship and subsequent growth of industrial output and employment. Furthermore, the positive effect of entrepreneurship shock peaks in a lag of 5 quarters on industrial output and in a lag of 10 quarters in employment.
Assessment of the technical condition of welds from Al alloy grade en an 5754 using the computed tomography method

Abstract The article presents selected results of tests conducted using the X-ray method with the application of a computed tomography device with a panel detector. The tests embraced samples of butt welds using aluminium alloy grade EN AN 5754, classified as an alloy for plastic processing with very good welding properties. The welds were executed using the TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) method – arc welding using a non-consumable electrode in shielding gas. As a result of modernising the current welding process, it was possible to obtain better results of the welds’ technical condition assessed according to the number of welding defects.
SDN-based vs. software-only EPC gateways: A cost analysis

Technologies like software defined networking and cloud computing allow for new approaches in mobile network design. A key driver for bringing mobile networks into the cloud is the expected cost reduction resulting from economies of scale: all software run on commercial off-the-shelf server which can be accumulated in one or more datacenters with all of those having a similar setup, minimizing the administrative costs. Deploying mobile core control functions as applications in datacenters already proved to be viable and economic. However, the evolved packet core (EPC), which mostly comprises gateways, holds a special challenge, since there is a strong interaction between forwarding plane and control functions. Having those functions as application software running on servers in datacenters induces the risk that cost reductions from virtualization are offset by costs of additional transport and processing. This paper analyzes the total cost of ownership of several variants of virtualized EPC gateways for a country-scale mobile network covering Japan. The cost model presented can serve as guideline to understand the economic aspects of future virtual network function deployments.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Acute and Chronic Kidney Diseases: Present Status

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of normal and diseased kidneys shows great promise because of the combined value of anatomical and functional information provided, as well as of specific contrast patterns that can be observed non-invasively. Multicontrast MRI is able to show infiltrative kidney disorders. Diffusion-weighted imaging can assess alterations in renal function and can suggest obstruction or inflammation when present. Due to the low nephrotoxicity, contrast-enhanced MR studies using serial dynamic enhancement with non-specific gadolinium chelates are able to provide information on glomerular filtration. Furthermore, contrast agents such as ultrasmall particles of iron oxide, specific of inflammation, should be used in the near future to detect active from quiescent involvement, both in native kidneys and renal allografts. Early results should indicate that these compounds might differentiate acute tubular necrosis from other acute nephropathies, as well as active proliferative nephropathies from chronic ones. Ongoing studies will obviously demonstrate the value of the combination of these various MRI sequences in the diagnosis of acute renal failure and chronic kidney disease.
Evaluating Web Search Engines Using Clickthrough Data

The web is a highly dynamic environment: documents disappear or become outdated, new documents appear, the query distribution changes. In order to keep up, search algorithms must be continuously tuned and re-tuned. Each iteratively tuned algorithm needs to be evaluated against the current web corpus. But since the web is so frequently changing, relevance judgments acquired at one point in time may not be accurate later. New relevance judgments must be made on a regular basis. Since these require human assessors to read and judge documents, they can be quite expensive to obtain. We propose a model that leverages the millions of clicks web search engines receive each day to predict document relevance. After an initial training phase using a set of relevence judgments paired with click data, our model can predict the relevance of documents that have not been judged. These predictions can be used to evaluate the performance of a search engine. When no relevance judgments are available, we can identify the better of two ranked lists up to 85% of the time, and with only two relevance judgments for each query, we can identify the better ranking 80%–94% of the time.
Vitamin D Status and Bone Mineral Density in African American Children With Crohn Disease

Background: Vitamin D deficiency and low bone mineral density (BMD) are complications of inflammatory bowel disease. Vitamin D deficiency is more prevalent among African Americans compared with whites. There are little data comparing differences in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) concentrations and BMD between African American and white children with Crohn disease (CD). Methods: We compared serum 25OHD concentrations of African American children with CD (n = 52) to white children with CD (n = 64) and healthy African American controls (n = 40). We also analyzed BMD using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry results from our pediatric CD population. Results: African American children with CD had lower serum 25OHD concentrations (16.1 [95% confidence interval, CI 14.5–17.9] ng/mL) than whites with CD (22.3 [95% CI 20.2–24.6] ng/mL; P < 0.001). African Americans with CD and controls exhibited similar serum 25OHD concentration (16.1 [95% CI 14.5–17.9] vs 16.3 [95% CI 14.4–18.4] ng/mL; NS). African Americans with CD exhibited no difference in serum 25OHD concentration when controlling for seasonality, disease severity, and surgical history, although serum 25OHD concentration was significantly decreased in overweight children (body mass index ≥85%, P = 0.003). Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that obese African American girls with CD had the lowest serum 25OHD concentrations (9.6 [95% CI 6.8–13.5] ng/mL). BMD was comparable between African American and white children with CD (z score −0.4 ± 0.9 vs −0.7 ± 1.2; NS). Conclusions: African American children with CD are more likely to have vitamin D deficiency compared with white children with CD, but have similar BMD. CD disease severity and history of surgery do not affect serum 25OHD concentrations among African American children with CD. African American children have low serum 25OHD concentrations, independent of CD, compared with white children. Future research should focus on how race affects vitamin D status and BMD in children with CD.
Research on the dynamic reconfiguration of Web application using two-phase compatibility verification

Implemented by dynamic service composition and integration, Web application has significantly affected our daily life, such as e-commerce and e-government. However, the open and ever-changing environment makes Web users more vulnerable to the usability problem, i.e. unreachable pages and reduced responsiveness. Accordingly, there is a need to deliver reliable Web application with attributes that cover the correctness and reliability. For the efficient handling of failures, the compatibility verification of dynamic reconfiguration strategies is attached great importance since it can guarantee the robustness and high quality of Web-based software. This paper extends the classical finite state machine (FSM) to formalize the behaviour of Web application, namely the extended FSM for Web applications (EFSM4WA) model. This model is also suitable to formally describe the interaction behaviours of dynamic reconfiguration when Web application encountered failure. Then, the compatibility verification of dynamic reconfiguration is carried out in two phases. During the first phase, it adopts the trace projection approach to check the compatibility against the synchronized product model in a qualitative way, which will select a set of candidate Web applications. During the second phase, it takes performance into consideration to choose a high-reliability Web application in a quantitative way. Finally, a case study is demonstrated to show the applicability of our approach.
Moisture Sorption Characteristics of Banana Shrikhand

Moisture desorption and adsorption phenomenon in banana Shirkhand were investigated at 100C, 250C and 400C. The isotherm plots obtained exhibited sigmoid shape at all the three temperatures and are classified as type-II. The equilibrium moisture content rose gradually at the lower water activities followed by a steep rise at the higher water activities. The effect of temperature was more pronounced on the desorption isotherm than an adsorption isotherm. Between the three models (GAB, BET and Caurie) tested for predicting the sorption data, GAB gave the best fit at all the three temperatures as indicated by % RMS and R2 values. Properties of sorbed water viz; number of adsorbed monolayers, density of sorbed water, bound or non-freezable water and surface area of sorption were calculated for adsorption and desorption process from Caurie equation. The isosteric heat of sorption was calculated using the Clausius-Clapyron equation. Sorption isosters for each moisture contents are also been reported.
Study of macroscopic and microscopic homogeneity of DEPFET X-ray detectors

For the X-ray astronomy project Advanced Telescope for High ENergy Astrophysics (Athena) wafer-scale DEpleted P-channel Field E ect Transistor (DEPFET) detectors are proposed as Focal Plane Array (FPA) for the Wide Field Imager (WFI). Prototype structures with di erent pixel layouts, each consisting of 64 x 64 pixels, were fabricated to study four di erent DEPFET designs. This thesis reports on the results of the electrical and spectroscopic characterization of the di erent DEPFET designs. With the electrical quali cation measurements the transistor properties of the DEPFET structures are investigated in order to determine whether the design intentions are re ected in the transistor characteristics. In addition, yield and homogeneity of the prototypes can be studied on die, wafer and batch level for further improvement of the production technology with regard to wafer-scale devices. These electrical characterization measurements prove to be a reliable tool to preselect the best detector dies for further integration into full detector systems. The spectroscopic measurements test the dynamic behavior of the designs as well as their spectroscopic performance. In addition, it is revealed how the transistor behavior translates into the detector performance. This thesis, as the rst systematic study of di erent DEPFET designs on die and detector level, shows the limitations of the current DEPFET assessment methods. Thus, it suggests a new concise characterization procedure for DEPFET detectors as well as guidelines for expanded testing in order to increase the general knowledge of the DEPFET. With this study of four di erent DEPFET variants not only designs suitable for Athena mission have been found but also improvement impulses for the starting wafer-scale device production are provided.
. EFFECTIVE PREDICTION OF WEB-USER ACCESSES: A DATA MINING APPROACH

The problem of predicting web-user accesses has recently attracted significant attention. Several algorithms have been proposed, which find important applications, like user profiling, recommender systems, web prefetching, design of adaptive web sites, etc. In all these applications the core issue is the developement of an effective prediction algorithm. In this paper, we focus on web-prefetching, because of its importance in reducing user perceived latency present in every Web-based application. The proposed method can be easily extended to the other aforementioned applications. Prefetching refers to the mechanism of deducing forthcoming page accesses of a client, based on access log information. We examine a method that is based on a new type of association patterns, which differently from existing approaches, considers all the specific characteristics of the Web-user navigation. Experimental results indicate its superiority over existing methods. Index Terms — Prediction, Web Log Mining, Prefetching, Association Rules, Data Mining.
West Syndrome: Response to Valproate

Management of West syndrome is unsatisfactory. In our clinic we observed that a significant proportion of patients respond to usual dose of valproate. Objective: To prospectively assess the efficacy of valproate in controlling infantile spasms in West syndrome. Methods: Consecutive patients presenting with West syndrome to the Pediatric Neurology Clinic or general outpatient department (OPD) were enrolled for study. Those who were not on any treatment were given valproate in a dose of 30 mg/kg/day while awaiting investigations. Patients were followed up every 2 weeks. Predefined criteria for definition of West syndrome and response were used. Those showing partial/poor response or relapse on valproate were given hormonal therapy. Results: One hundred children with West syndrome were enrolled. Ninety one children were started on valproate. Of these 36 (39.5%) showed a good response, but seven later relapsed while on same dose of valproate and three were lost to follow up. Later age at onset and typical hypsarrhythmia on EEG were associated with good sustained response to valproate while a history of delayed cry at birth was associated with partial or poor response. Sixty two patients who responded poorly to or relapsed on valproate were put on hormonal treatment in addition. Of these 36 (58.1%) had a good response but 11 later relapsed after stopping treatment and two were lost to follow up. Conclusion: Valproate may have a role in treatment of West syndrome in a selected group of patients.
Grid metadata catalog service-based OGC web registry service

Grid is a promising e-Science infrastructure that promotes and facilitates the sharing and collaboration in the use of distributed heterogeneous resources through Virtual Organization (VO). A critical factor to the overall utility of Grid is a scalable, flexible and robust registry mechanism. Although it provides some mechanisms to store and access metadata for publishing and discovering resources, such as MCS (Metadata Catalog Service), the Grid registry is inadequate for dealing with domain-specific resources. To enhance the earth science Grid systems, this paper presents a geospatial registry approach in which the OGC (Open GIS Consortium) WRS (Web Registry Service), a <i>de facto</i> standard that supports the publishing of and run-time access to geospatial resources, as a wrapper is used to extend the capabilities of the conventional Grid MCS to the processing of geospatial queries against multiple heterogeneous spatial data sources and services. The approach presented not only focuses on the specifics of descriptive information about spatial data, services, and relevant information objects, but also emphasizes using ontology to infer the semantic relationships between vocabularies for integrating different information models. The implementation of presented approach used in NASA Grid Data Service environment is also illustrated in this paper.
An Interactive Fire Animation on a Mobile Environment

In computer graphics, fluid-like motion is an important and challenging problem with many applications. Currently, the graphical performance and resolution of the mobile phone is highly improved; therefore, mobile 3D games are more and more popular items in the field of mobile services. Yet interactive physically-based fluid simulation is still challenging for mobile platforms. Stable and fast fluid simulation methods are well developed in PC and console games, but fluid simulation and interactive fluid models still have many problems in the mobile environment. We studied and implemented physically- based models for fluids like fire and smoke effects on a Mobile 3D environment.
Prenatal findings of omphalocele–exstrophy of the bladder–imperforate anus–spinal defects (OEIS) complex

Omphalocele–exstrophy of the bladder (cloaca)–imperforate anus–spinal defects (OEIS) complex describes a rare grouping of more commonly occurring component malformations. We report two cases of OEIS complex diagnosed prenatally by ultrasound and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In both cases, OEIS complex was suspected by conventional sonography in the second trimester, and fetal MRI was performed at 27 and 32 weeks of gestation. Conventional sonography revealed low abdominal wall mass, spina bifida, absent bladder and ambiguous genitalia, but those findings were inconclusive. Using fetal MRI, we were able to detect omphalocele, imfraumbilical mass connected to gut tract, absent bladder, ambiguous external genitalia and spinal defect. Our findings suggest that fetal MRI is a useful tool for prenatal diagnosis of OEIS complex. MRI helps prenatal counseling and planning of postnatal early treatment strategy.