Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Toward the sense of touch in snake modular robots for search and rescue operations

Snakes modular robots are good candidates for being used in Urban Search And Rescue (USAR) operations because of their flexibility, good adaptation to the terrain and small section. We propose to design and build snake robots that combine three capabilities: locomotion, climbing and grasping. The last one allows the robot to remove objects for clearing the path to the trapped people. The sense of touch is key to achieving these three capabilities. To implement it, our novel approach is based on the idea of touch rings and touch strips. In this paper some preliminary ideas are presented.
The Promoter of the Cereal VERNALIZATION1 Gene Is Sufficient for Transcriptional Induction by Prolonged Cold

The VERNALIZATION1 (VRN1) gene of temperate cereals is transcriptionally activated by prolonged cold during winter (vernalization) to promote flowering. To investigate the mechanisms controlling induction of VRN1 by prolonged cold, different regions of the VRN1 gene were fused to the GREEN FLUORESCENT PROTEIN (GFP) reporter and expression of the resulting gene constructs was assayed in transgenic barley (Hordeum vulgare). A 2 kb segment of the promoter of VRN1 was sufficient for GFP expression in the leaves and shoot apex of transgenic barley plants. Fluorescence increased at the shoot apex prior to inflorescence initiation and was subsequently maintained in the developing inflorescence. The promoter was also sufficient for low-temperature induction of GFP expression. A naturally occurring insertion in the proximal promoter, which is associated with elevated VRN1 expression and early flowering in some spring wheats, did not abolish induction of VRN1 transcription by prolonged cold, however. A translational fusion of the promoter and transcribed regions of VRN1 to GFP, VRN1::GFP, was localised to nuclei of cells at the shoot apex of transgenic barley plants. The distribution of VRN1::GFP at the shoot apex was similar to the expression pattern of the VRN1 promoter-GFP reporter gene. Fluorescence from the VRN1::GFP fusion protein increased in the developing leaves after prolonged cold treatment. These observations suggest that the promoter of VRN1 is targeted by mechanisms that trigger vernalization-induced flowering in economically important temperate cereal crops.
Pathway of binding of the intrinsically disordered mitochondrial inhibitor protein to F1-ATPase

Significance ATP, the fuel of biology, is produced by a molecular machine with a rotary action inside the mitochondria of living cells. Rotation is driven by a proton motive force (a voltage) across the inner membranes of the organelle generated from the controlled oxidation of sugars and fats in food-stuffs. If the cell were to encounter anoxic conditions, the rotary machine would use the energy stored in ATP and reverse its rotation. To prevent this wastage, reversal, but not forward rotation, is prevented by an intrinsically unfolded inhibitor protein, IF1, which inserts itself in the machine and stops reverse rotation. The article describes how this intrinsically disordered protein gains α-helical structure during the process of insertion into the machine. The hydrolysis of ATP by the ATP synthase in mitochondria is inhibited by a protein called IF1. Bovine IF1 has 84 amino acids, and its N-terminal inhibitory region is intrinsically disordered. In a known structure of bovine F1-ATPase inhibited with residues 1–60 of IF1, the inhibitory region from residues 1–50 is mainly α-helical and buried deeply at the αDPβDP-catalytic interface, where it forms extensive interactions with five of the nine subunits of F1-ATPase but mainly with the βDP-subunit. As described here, on the basis of two structures of inhibited complexes formed in the presence of large molar excesses of residues 1–60 of IF1 and of a version of IF1 with the mutation K39A, it appears that the intrinsically disordered inhibitory region interacts first with the αEβE-catalytic interface, the most open of the three catalytic interfaces, where the available interactions with the enzyme allow it to form an α-helix from residues 31–49. Then, in response to the hydrolysis of an ATP molecule and the associated partial closure of the interface to the αTPβTP state, the extent of the folded α-helical region of IF1 increases to residues 23–50 as more interactions with the enzyme become possible. Finally, in response to the hydrolysis of a second ATP molecule and a concomitant 120° rotation of the γ-subunit, the interface closes further to the αDPβDP-state, allowing more interactions to form between the enzyme and IF1. The structure of IF1 now extends to its maximally folded state found in the previously observed inhibited complex.
Activating, seeking, and creating common ground: a socio-cognitive approach

This paper argues that current pragmatic theories fail to describe common ground in its complexity because they usually retain a communication-as-transfer-between-minds view of language, and disregard the fact that disagreement and egocentrism of speaker-hearers are as fundamental parts of communication as agreement and cooperation. On the other hand, current cognitive research has overestimated the egocentric behavior of the dyads and argued for the dynamic emergent property of common ground while devaluing the overall significance of cooperation in the process of verbal communication. The paper attempts to eliminate this conflict and proposes to combine the two views into an integrated concept of common ground, in which both core common ground (assumed shared knowledge, a priori mental representation) and emergent common ground (emergent participant resource, a post facto emergence through use) converge to construct a dialectical socio-cultural background for communication. Both cognitive and pragmatic considerations are central to this issue. While attention (through salience, which is the cause for interlocutors’ egocentrism) explains why emergent property unfolds, intention (through relevance, which is expressed in cooperation) explains why presumed shared knowledge is needed. Based on this, common ground is perceived as an effort to converge the mental representation of shared knowledge present as memory that we can activate, shared knowledge that we can seek, and rapport, as well as knowledge that we can create in the communicative process. The socio-cognitive approach emphasizes that common ground is a dynamic construct that is mutually constructed by interlocutors throughout the communicative process. The core and emergent components join in the construction of common ground in all stages, although they may contribute to the construction process in different ways, to different extents, and in different phases of the communicative process.
Race, Ethnicity, John Henryism, and Depressive Symptoms: The National Survey of American Life Adult Reinterview

We used data from the adult reinterview portion of the National Survey of American Life (Jackson, Torres, et al., 2004) to investigate the relationships of John Henryism Active Coping Scale (James, Hartnett, & Kalsbeek, 1983), Social Dominance, and Stratification Beliefs to depressive symptoms as measured by the Center for Epi-demiologic Studies Depression Scale (Radloff, 1977). Social Dominance and Stratification Beliefs (American Values) were identified from a factor analysis. The results indicate significant interaction effects for John Henryism and American Values for White Americans and Caribbean Blacks but not for African Americans. We found a strong positive effect between John Henryism and depressive symptoms for Whites with high levels of Stratification Beliefs. For Whites with low Stratification Beliefs, depressive symptoms remained constant as John Henryism increased. Among Caribbean Blacks, John Henryism showed a significant interaction with Social Dominance. Among Caribbean Blacks, there was a linear positive relationship between John Henryism and depressive symptoms for all levels of Social Dominance except for those with the highest endorsement for which there was no linear relationship. We discuss the findings within the context of psychosocial risk and protective factors and the need for more research on cultural processes, acculturation, and mental health.
Predictors of Early Community Involvement: Advancing the Self and Caring for Others

Recent research on community involvement points to the importance of both agentic (advancing the self) and communal motives (serving others) as key predictors, though few studies have examined both simultaneously. At the same time, research has identified generativity, defined as concern for future generations as a legacy of the self, as particularly relevant for community involvement. Moreover, generativity involves both agentic and communal motives, meaning that advancing personal goals and caring for others are integrated in this construct. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine how individual differences in attributes pertaining to self and to others-specifically, self-esteem, initiative, and empathy-related to both generativity and community involvement. A sample of adolescents (N = 160; 64% female, Mage = 17) and a sample of young adults (N = 237; 84% female, Mage = 20) completed a survey including measures of community involvement and generativity. Generative concern fully mediated the associations between individual differences (self-esteem, initiative, and empathy) and community involvement, suggesting that the early generativity has a role in fostering capacities and contribution in youth. These developmental indicators pertaining to self and others link to actions that benefit the community through a desire to benefit future generations.
High-temperature growth of anatase on kaolinite substrate

When a fine fraction of kaolinite (less than 2 μm) is mixed with titanyl sulphate (weight ratio approx. 1:7), hydrolysed, washed, dried and heated to temperatures between 750 and 900°C, it transforms into metakaolin, and titania crystallizes as anatase with a small particle size (approx. 20–30 nm). In parallel experiments with plain titania (without kaolinite), rutile is the sole product phase at 850 and 900°C and the dominant phase in a mixture with anatase at 750°C. The particle sizes are much larger (approx. 400–1100 nm). It appears that kaolinite is instrumental in preserving titania in the anatase form and with a small particle size even at fairly high temperatures and hindering its transformation to rutile. However, this anatase exhibits poor photocatalytic activity.
Algorithms for Implementing Fair Wireless Power Allocations

We describe algorithms for fairly allocating power among wireless devices sharing a multiple access channel. This problem can be formulated as one of finding a representation of a point in a contra-polymatroid as a convex combination of a small number of its extreme points. We show that this problem is solvable in polynomial time and then describe a fast algorithms based on the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition. We also describe a faster algorithm when rates are clustered which combines the Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition with a greedy algorithm. (We note that this greedy algorithm solves an interesting covering problem with balls in the L metric.) We also present new algorithms for computing several fair allocations.
Two-layer heterogeneous breast phantom for photoacoustic imaging

Abstract. Photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is emerging as a potentially important aid for breast cancer detection. Well-validated tissue-simulating phantoms are needed for objective, quantitative, and physically realistic testing for system development. Prior reported PAT phantoms with homogenous structures do not incorporate the irregular layered structure of breast tissue. To assess the impact of this simplification, we design and construct two-layer breast phantoms incorporating vessel-simulating inclusions and realistic undulations at the fat/fibroglandular tissue interface. The phantoms are composed of custom poly(vinyl chloride) plastisol formulations mimicking the acoustic properties of two breast tissue types and tissue-relevant similar optical properties. Resulting PAT images demonstrate that in tissue with acoustic heterogeneity, lateral size of imaging targets is sensitive to the choice of sound speed in image reconstruction. The undulating boundary can further degrade a target’s lateral size due to sound speed variation in tissue and refraction of sound waves at the interface. The extent of this degradation is also influenced by the geometric relationship between an absorber and the boundary. Results indicate that homogeneous phantom matrixes may underestimate the degradation of PAT image quality in breast tissue, whereas heterogeneous phantoms can provide more realistic testing through improved reproduction of spatial variations in physical properties.
DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF CLOUD SECURITY

Cloud computing is a recent trend in IT that moves computing and data away from desktop and portable PCs into large data centers. It refers to applications delivered as services over the Internet as well as to the actual cloud infrastructure — namely, the hardware and systems software in data centers that provide these services. Organizations use cloud computing as a service infrastructure; critically like to examine the security and confidentiality issues for their business critical insensitive applications. Yet, guaranteeing the security of corporate data in the "cloud" is difficult, if not impossible, as they provide different services like Software as a service (SaaS), Platform as a service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a service (IaaS). Each service has their own security issues. This paper presents different aspects of security issues related with cloud computing, and its possible solution. Keywordscloud computing, w-s security, cloud computing security, virtualization.
Psychological Predictors Of The Propensity To Omit Short-Response Items On A High-Stakes Achievement Test

This article presents the findings of a study of the psychological variables that discriminate between high and low omitters on a high-stakes achievement test using a short-response format. Data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to a random sample (N = 1,908) of students prior to sitting the 1997 Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test (N = 29,273). Fourteen psychological variables were measured including test anxiety (four subscales), emotional stability, achievement motivation, self-esteem, academic self-concept, self-estimate of ability, locus of control (three subscales), and approaches to learning (two subscales). The results were analyzed using descriptive discriminant analysis and suggested that the psychological predictors of the propensity to omit short-response items include test-irrelevant thinking and academic self-concept, with sex of candidate being a mediating variable.
Can we teach children with autism to understand emotions, belief, or pretence?

Abstract Previous studies have revealed a “theory of mind” impairment in children with autism. The aim of this study was to assess whether it is possible to intervene by teaching children with autism to understand the mental states of emotion, belief, or pretence. Results showed that it is possible to teach children with autism to pass tasks that assess emotion and belief understanding. Introducing unfamiliar materials in structurally similar tasks did not adversely influence teaching effects, either immediately after teaching, or 2 months later. However, teaching effects did not generalize to tasks in domains where children received no teaching. In addition, no significant progress in spontaneous pretend play resulted from teaching. These results indicate that children may be passing tasks using rules rather than any genuine understanding of the concepts involved.
Designing Adaptive Control Based on Bacteria Foraging Optimization

This paper presents a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) based on bacteria foraging optimization algorithm (BFOA) to control maglev model CE152 which is unstable nonlinear system. An adaptive controller is designed to keep the magnetic ball suspended in the air counteracting the weight of the object. A MRAC based on BFOA to control of this system is designed and simulated using Matlab/Simulink. The results are compared with Fuzzy Logic (FL) control, and Fuzzy Logic based Genetic Algorithm (GA) control. The proposed approach outperformed all other approaches in terms of overshoot, rise and settling time and steady state error.
Las emociones en el aprendizaje online

Este articulo presenta parte de los resultados de una innovacion educativa en el nivel universitario, cuyo proposito es elaborar y experimentar un modelo pedagogico para el aprendizaje online. Con este estudio pretendemos reconocer y valorar las emociones implicadas en el aprendizaje online mediante un metodo descriptivo de tipo encuesta. Los resultados indican mayor nivel de bienestar emocional que de malestar, identificandose las emociones asociadas a estos estados emocionales presentes en el aprendizaje online. Tambien presentamos las caracteristicas de los discursos virtuales del profesorado y del alumnado en funcion de tipos de interaccion y emociones asociadas a determinados contextos de actividad.
Towards Feature-Based Building Reconstruction from Images

This paper presents a feature-based approach to piecewise planar modeling of architectural scenes from an oriented image sequence. An improved line detection algorithm is presented, which uses vanishing points to detect lines in the images and reconstruct them in 3D. Subsequently an extension of the 3D Hough transform is presented which allows ecient and robust detection of planes in a set of 3D lines. The detected planes and a dense point-set are used to reconstruct a piecewise planar building model. The presented techniques are demonstrated on a real-world dataset.
Human intraocular penetration pharmacokinetics of moxifloxacin 0.5% via topical and collagen shield routes of administration.

PURPOSE To determine penetration of moxifloxacin 0.5% into human aqueous and vitreous via topical and collagen shield routes of administration. METHODS Moxifloxacin 0.5% was administered prior to vitrectomy surgery through one of three routes: topical drops every 2 hours for 3 days, versus topical drops every 6 hours for 3 days, versus delivery using a 24-hour dissolvable cross-linked corneal collagen shield. Aqueous and vitreous moxifloxacin concentrations were assayed using high-performance liquid chromatography. RESULTS Mean moxifloxacin concentrations in the every-2-hour group for aqueous (n = 9) and vitreous (n = 10) were 2.28 +/- 1.23 microg/mL and 0.11 +/- 0.05 microg/mL, respectively. Mean moxifloxacin concentrations in the every-6-hour group for aqueous (n = 10) and vitreous (n = 9) were 0.88 +/- 0.88 microg/mL and 0.06 +/- 0.06 microg/mL, respectively. Levels of minimum inhibitory concentration at which 90% of isolates are inhibited (MIC90) were far exceeded in the aqueous for a wide spectrum of pathogens that most commonly cause postoperative endophthalmitis. Moxifloxacin concentration in the vitreous did not exceed the MIC90 for several key organisms. Delivery of moxifloxacin via a collagen shield revealed a mean aqueous concentration of 0.30 +/- 0.17 microg/mL 4 hours after placement (n = 5). Vitreous levels at 4 hours, as well as aqueous and vitreous levels at 24 hours, were negligible using this route of administration. CONCLUSIONS The findings of this investigation reveal that topically administered moxifloxacin 0.5% can achieve relatively high aqueous concentrations. Although aqueous moxifloxacin levels achieved through the use of a collagen shield delivery device are lower, there are several advantages to this route of delivery that make it appealing in the immediate postoperative period. Future studies will be needed to precisely define the role of fourth-generation fluoroquinolones and presoaked collagen shields in the prophylaxis or management of intraocular infections.
Ontology of General Concept for Semantic Searching

In the paper we present the importance of the general semantic concepts & action for semantic searching. The amount of knowledge is increasing endlessly. And the existing Web pages where knowledge is conveniently taken to people are increasing as it. Ontology-based search engines, supplying semantic search, provide one solution to meet the semantically rich requirements demanded by users. To organize the semantic concepts & action is the basement to set up the semantic search. To reason semantic concepts & action between inquiry and existing web pages is the key to facilitate semantic searches. The representation of the general semantic concepts & action is fundamental behind all this.
Adult Judgments and Fine-Grained Analysis of Infant Facial Expressions: Testing the Validity of A Priori Coding Formulas.

Three studies tested whether infant facial expressions selected to fit Max formulas (Izard, 1983) for discrete emotions are recognizable signals of those emotions. Forced-choice emotion judgments (Study 1) and emotion ratings (Study 2) by naive Ss fit Max predictions for slides of infant joy, interest, surprise, and distress. But Max fear, anger, sadness, and disgust expressions in infants were judged as distress or as emotion blends in both studies. Ratings of adult facial expressions (Study 2 only) fit a priori classifications. In Study 3, we coded the facial muscle components of faces shown in Studies 1 and 2 with the Facial Action Coding System (FACS; Ekman & Friesen, 1978) and Baby FACS (Oster & Rosenstein, in press). Only 3 of the 19 Max-specified expressions of discrete negative emotions in infants fit adult prototypes
Jeju Island , Korea TRACKING PEOPLE IN CROWDED SCENES ACROSS MULTIPLE CAMERAS

We present a novel approach for continuous detection and tracking of moving objects observed by multiple stationary cameras. We address the tracking problem by simultaneously modeling motion and appearance of the moving objects. The objects appearance is represented using color distribution model invariant to 2D rigid and scale transformation. It provides an efficient blob similarity measure for tracking. The motion models are obtained using a Kalman Filter process, which predicts the position of the moving object in both 2D and 3D. The tracking is performed by the maximization of a joint probability model reflecting objects motion and appearance. The novelty of our approach consists in integrating multiple cues and multiple views in a Joint Probability Data Association Filter for tracking a large number of moving people with partial and total occlusions. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed method on a soccer game captured by two stationary cameras.
Dynamics Simulation and Controller Interfacing for Legged Robots

Dynamics simulation can play a critical role in the engineering of robotic control code, and there exist a variety of strategies both for building physical models and for interacting with these models. This paper presents an approach to dynamics simulation and controller interfacing for legged robots, and contrasts it to existing approaches. We describe dynamics algorithms and contact-resolution strategies for multibody articulated mobile robots based on the decoupled tree-structure approach, and present a novel scripting language that provides a unified framework for control-code interfacing, userinterface design, and data analysis. Special emphasis is placed on facilitating the rapid integration of control algorithms written in a standard object-oriented language (C++), the production of modular, distributed, reusable controllers, and the use of parameterized signal-transmission properties such as delay, sampling rate, and noise.