Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Precision timing in human-robot interaction: coordination of head movement and utterance

As research over the last several decades has shown that non-verbal actions such as face and head movement play a crucial role in human interaction, such resources are also likely to play an important role in human-robot interaction. In developing a robotic system that employs embodied resources such as face and head movement, we cannot simply program the robot to move at random but rather we need to consider the ways these actions may be timed to specific points in the talk. This paper discusses our work in developing a museum guide robot that moves its head at interactionally significant points during its explanation of an exhibit. In order to proceed, we first examined the coordination of verbal and non-verbal actions in human guide-visitor interaction. Based on this analysis, we developed a robot that moves its head at interactionally significant points in its talk. We then conducted several experiments to examine human participant non-verbal responses to the robot's head and gaze turns. Our results show that participants are likely to display non-verbal actions, and do so with precision timing, when the robot turns its head and gaze at interactionally significant points than when the robot turns its head at not interactionally significant points. Based on these findings, we propose several suggestions for the design of a guide robot.
Reversible light-induced magnetization change in an azobenzene-attached pyridylbenzimidazole complex of iron(II) at room temperature.

Reversible photomagnetic effects were demonstrated at room temperature by the use of a new iron(II) complex t100c0-[Fe()3](BF4)(2). 3H2O ( =phenyl(2-pyridin-2-yl-3H-benzoimidazol-5-yl)diazene), based on the strategy of the so-called "ligand-driven light-induced spin change" (LD-LISC) effect. The complex showed thermal spin crossover in both solid and solution states, showing a transition temperature T1/2=279(16) K in acetone. trans-cis Photoisomerization of azobenzene moieties using different energy lights afforded reversible photomagnetic effects, which were directly determined using the Evans 1H NMR method.
When Private Schools Take Public Dollars: What's the Place of Accountability in School Voucher Programs?.

The majority of experts agree that participating private schools should not face new regulation of their day-to-day affairs. They also see value in helping parents make informed choices by providing data about how well their own children are performing. However, experts are not of one mind when it comes to making academic results and financial audits transparent. Some would “let the market rule” and are averse to transparency or accountability around school-level results. Others would “treat private schools like charter schools” when it comes to testing, financial transparency, etc. Some would also like government (or its proxy) to intervene if individual schools aren’t performing adequately.
An Eecient Parallel Algorithm for Mesh Smoothing

Automatic mesh generation and adaptive reenement methods have proven to be very successful tools for the eecient solution of complex-nite element applications. A problem with these methods is that they can produce poorly shaped elements; such elements are undesirable because they introduce numerical diiculties in the solution process. However, the shape of the elements can be improved through the determination of new geometric locations for mesh vertices by using a mesh smoothing algorithm. In this paper we present a new parallel algorithm for mesh smoothing that has a fast parallel runtime both in theory and in practice. We present an eecient implementation of the algorithm that uses non-smooth optimization techniques to nd the new location of each vertex. Finally, we present experimental results obtained on the IBM SP system demonstrating the eeciency of this approach.
The Influence of Cloud and Surface Properties on the Arctic Ocean Shortwave Radiation Budget in Coupled Models

Abstract The impact of Arctic sea ice concentrations, surface albedo, cloud fraction, and cloud ice and liquid water paths on the surface shortwave (SW) radiation budget is analyzed in the twentieth-century simulations of three coupled models participating in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report. The models are the Goddard Institute for Space Studies Model E-R (GISS-ER), the Met Office Third Hadley Centre Coupled Ocean–Atmosphere GCM (UKMO HadCM3), and the National Center for Atmosphere Research Community Climate System Model, version 3 (NCAR CCSM3). In agreement with observations, the models all have high Arctic mean cloud fractions in summer; however, large differences are found in the cloud ice and liquid water contents. The simulated Arctic clouds of CCSM3 have the highest liquid water content, greatly exceeding the values observed during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic Ocean (SHEBA) campaign. Both GISS-ER and HadCM3 lack liquid water and have excessive ice amou.
3D Interaction with the Desktop Bat

Many applications now demand interaction with visualizations of 3D scenes and data sets. Current flat 2D displays are limited in their capacity to provide this not only by the display technology but the interaction metaphors and devices used. The Desktop Bat is a device that has 5 degrees of freedom whilst retaining the simplicity of use o fa mouse. To use it for general 3D interaction several metaphors were created for the tasks of navigation and cursor manipulation and a set of experiments were conducted to determine which metaphors were the most efficient in use. Of these metaphors, a velocity control metaphor was the best for navigation and a metaphor that applied rotations and translations relative to the eyepoint coordinate system was best for object control.
Oxygen Desaturation Index from Nocturnal Oximetry: A Sensitive and Specific Tool to Detect Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Surgical Patients

INTRODUCTION: It is impractical to perform polysomnography (PSG) in all surgical patients suspected of having sleep disordered breathing (SDB). We investigated the role of nocturnal oximetry in diagnosing SDB in surgical patients. METHOD: All patients 18 years and older who visited the preoperative clinics for scheduled inpatient surgery were approached for study participation. Patients expected to have abnormal electroencephalographic findings were excluded. All patients underwent an overnight PSG at home with a portable device and a pulse oximeter. The PSG recordings were scored by a certified sleep technologist. The oximetry recordings were processed electronically. RESULT: Four hundred seventy-five patients completed the study: 217 males and 258 females, aged 60 ± 11 years, and body mass index 31 ± 7 kg/m2. The apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), the average number of episodes of apnea and hypopnea per hour of sleep, was 9.1 (2.8 to 21.4) [median (interquartile range)] and 64% patients had AHI >5. There was a significant correlation between oxygen desaturation index (ODI, hourly average number of desaturation episodes) and cumulative time percentage with SpO2 <90% (CT90) from nocturnal oximetry, with the parameters measuring sleep breathing disorders from PSG. Compared to CT90, ODI had a stronger correlation and was a better predictor for AHI. The area under receiver operator characteristics curve for ODI to predict AHI >5, AHI >15, and AHI >30 was 0.908 (CI: 0.880 to 0.936), 0.931 (CI: 0.090 to 0.952), and 0.958 (CI: 0.937 to 0.979), respectively. The cutoff value based on the maximal accuracy for ODI to predict AHI >5, AHI >15, and AHI >30 was ODI >5, ODI >15, and ODI >30. The accuracy was 86% (CI: 83%–88%), 86% (CI: 83%–89%), and 94% (CI: 92%–96%), respectively. The ODI >10 demonstrated a sensitivity of 93% and a specificity of 75% to detect moderate and severe SDB. CONCLUSIONS: ODI from a high-resolution nocturnal oximeter is a sensitive and specific tool to detect undiagnosed SDB in surgical patients.
Single phase PFC control with Lyapunov method

In this paper a current control method based on Lyapunov function for single phase active power factor correction (PFC) is presented. Lyapunov functions can be used for defining control law for either linear or nonlinear systems. The control is designed with cascade structure, where a voltage controller feeds the current amplitude reference to the current controller. The operation and performance are demonstrated with measurements from 3 kW power supply which uses power factor correction. The designed controller is shown to track the mains voltage with close to unity power factor.
Toward a Fully Cloudified Mobile Network Infrastructure

Cloud computing enables the on-demand delivery of resources for a multitude of services and gives the opportunity for small agile companies to compete with large industries. In the telco world, cloud computing is currently mostly used by mobile network operators (MNO) for hosting non-critical support services and selling cloud services such as applications and data storage. MNOs are investigating the use of cloud computing to deliver key telecommunication services in the access and core networks. Without this, MNOs lose the opportunities of both combining this with over-the-top (OTT) and value-added services to their fundamental service offerings and leveraging cost-effective commodity hardware. Being able to leverage cloud computing technology effectively for the telco world is the focus of mobile cloud networking (MCN). This paper presents the key results of MCN integrated project that includes its architecture advancements, prototype implementation, and evaluation. Results show the efficiency and the simplicity that a MNO can deploy and manage the complete service lifecycle of fully cloudified, composed services that combine OTT/IT- and mobile-network-based services running on commodity hardware. The extensive performance evaluation of MCN using two key proof-of-concept scenarios that compose together many services to deliver novel converged elastic, on-demand mobile-based but innovative OTT services proves the feasibility of such fully virtualized deployments. Results show that it is beneficial to extend cloud computing to telco usage and run fully cloudified mobile-network-based systems with clear advantages and new service opportunities for MNOs and end-users.
Contributions of Diverse Excitatory and Inhibitory Neurons to Recurrent Network Activity in Cerebral Cortex

The recurrent synaptic architecture of neocortex allows for self-generated network activity. One form of such activity is the Up state, in which neurons transiently receive barrages of excitatory and inhibitory synaptic inputs that depolarize many neurons to spike threshold before returning to a relatively quiescent Down state. The extent to which different cell types participate in Up states is still unclear. Inhibitory interneurons have particularly diverse intrinsic properties and synaptic connections with the local network, suggesting that different interneurons might play different roles in activated network states. We have studied the firing, subthreshold behavior, and synaptic conductances of identified cell types during Up and Down states in layers 5 and 2/3 in mouse barrel cortex in vitro. We recorded from pyramidal cells and interneurons expressing parvalbumin (PV), somatostatin (SOM), vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), or neuropeptide Y. PV cells were the most active interneuron subtype during the Up state, yet the other subtypes also received substantial synaptic conductances and often generated spikes. In all cell types except PV cells, the beginning of the Up state was dominated by synaptic inhibition, which decreased thereafter; excitation was more persistent, suggesting that inhibition is not the dominant force in terminating Up states. Compared with barrel cortex, SOM and VIP cells were much less active in entorhinal cortex during Up states. Our results provide a measure of functional connectivity of various neuron types in barrel cortex and suggest differential roles for interneuron types in the generation and control of persistent network activity.
Membership Models and the Design of Authentication Protocols for MANETs

Authentication protocols are very much essential for secure communication in mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs). A number of authentication protocols for MANETs have been proposed in the literature which provide the basic authentication service while trying to optimize their performance and resource consumption parameters. A problem with most of these protocols is that the underlying networking environment on which they are applicable have been left unspecified. As a result, lack of specifications about the networking environments applicable to an authentication protocol for MANETs can mislead about the performance and the applicability of the protocol. In this paper, we first characterize networking environment for a MANET as its 'Membership Model' which is defined as a set of specifications related to the 'Membership Granting Server' (MGS) and the 'Membership Set Pattern' (MSP) of the MANET. We then identify various types of possible membership models for a MANET. In order to illustrate that while designing an authentication protocol for a MANET, it is very much necessary to consider the underlying membership model of the MANET, we study a set of six representative authentication protocols, and analyze their applicability for the membership models as enumerated in this paper. The analysis shows that the same protocol may not perform equally well in all membership models. In addition, there may be membership models which are important from the point of view of users, but for which no authentication protocol is available.
A distributed approach for virtual network discovery

The ever-increasing requirements for performance, flexibility, and robustness are imposing a severe strain on the Internet's stagnated architecture. Network virtualization arises as a potential solution for improving the current situation by letting multiple networks with different requirements, architectures and protocols to coexist and share the same infrastructure in an independent way. These advantages are of great interest for network operators. This paper presents a virtualization platform that enables the creation, discovery, monitoring and management of virtual networks. It then concentrates on the proposal of a distributed discovery algorithm that is able to discover both physical and virtual network topologies. This algorithm uses the concepts of level 2 multicast and spanning tree to decrease the overhead related to the exchange of discovery messages between the nodes. The simulation results show that, when compared to gossip based discovery algorithms, the performance of our approach is significantly increased, up to an improvement in exchanged messages of three orders of magnitude, when considering physical networks with 500 nodes. Experimental results have shown that distributed approaches also introduce significant improvements when compared with centralized approaches.
Capture of Field Stars by Globular Clusters in Dense Bulge Regions

The recent detection of a double red giant branch (RGB) in the optical color-magnitude diagram of the bulge globular cluster HP 1—a more populated, metal-poor, steep giant branch corresponding to the cluster itself and another that is metal rich and curved—led us to explore in the present Letter the possibility that field stars are captured by a globular cluster orbiting in dense bulge regions over several gigayears. Analytical arguments, as well as N-body calculations for a cluster model of 105 M☉ in a bulgelike environment, suggest that a significant fraction of cluster stars may consist of captures. Metal-poor globular clusters in the inner bulge, like HP 1, contrasting in Δ[Fe/H] by at least 1.0 dex with respect to the surrounding metal-rich stars, are ideal probes to further test the capture scenario. In turn, if this scenario is confirmed, the double RGB of HP 1 could provide direct estimates of blanketing amounts, which is fundamental for the photometric calibration of metal-rich stellar populations.
CMD: classification-based memory deduplication through page access characteristics

Limited main memory size is considered as one of the major bottlenecks in virtualization environments. Content-Based Page Sharing (CBPS) is an efficient memory deduplication technique to reduce server memory requirements, in which pages with same content are detected and shared into a single copy. As the widely used implementation of CBPS, Kernel Samepage Merging (KSM) maintains the whole memory pages into two global comparison trees (a stable tree and an unstable tree). To detect page sharing opportunities, each tracked page needs to be compared with pages already in these two large global trees. However since the vast majority of compared pages have different content with it, that will induce massive futility comparisons and thus heavy overhead. In this paper, we propose a lightweight page Classification-based Memory Deduplication approach named CMD to reduce futile page comparison overhead meanwhile to detect page sharing opportunities efficiently. The main innovation of CMD is that pages are grouped into different classifications based on page access characteristics. Pages with similar access characteristics are suggested to have higher possibility with same content, thus they are grouped into the same classification. In CMD, the large global comparison trees are divided into multiple small trees with dedicated local ones in each page classification. Page comparisons are performed just in the same classification, and pages from different classifications are never compared (since they probably result in futile comparisons). The experimental results show that CMD can efficiently reduce page comparisons (by about 68.5%) meanwhile detect nearly the same (by more than 98%) or even more page sharing opportunities.
Towards a model for egocentric interaction with physical and virtual objects

Designers of mobile context-aware systems are struggling with the problem of conceptually incorporating the real world into the system design. We present a body-centric modeling framework (as opposed to device-centric) that incorporates physical and virtual objects of interest on the basis of proximity and human perception, framed in the context of an emerging "egocentric" interaction paradigm.
Dysfunction of Heterotrimeric Kinesin-2 in Rod Photoreceptor Cells and the Role of Opsin Mislocalization in Rapid Cell Death

Loss of kinesin-2 function causes rapid death of rod photoreceptors. The cell death is dependent on the expression of opsin, which first accumulates along the route to the outer segment, but not on signaling by opsin-arrestin complexes or by light activation; the key element appears to be the accumulation of excessive protein in the wrong place.
Systems Toxicology and the Chemical Effects in Biological Systems (CEBS) Knowledge Base

The National Center for Toxicogenomics is developing the first public toxicogenomics knowledge base that combines molecular expression data sets from transcriptomics, proteomics, metabonomics, and conventional toxicology with metabolic, toxicologcal pathway, and gene regulatory network information relevant to environmental toxicology and human disease. It is called the Chemical Effects in Biological Systems (CEBS) knowledge base and is designed to meet the information needs of "systems toxicology," involving the study of perturbation by chemicals and stressors, monitoring changes in molecular expression and conventional toxicological parameters, and iteratively integrating biological response data to describe the functioning organism. Based upon functional genomics approaches used successfully in analyzing yeast gene expression data sets, relational and descriptive compendia will be assembled for toxicologically important genes, groups of genes, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), and mutant and knockout phenotypes. CEBS data sets will be fully documented in the experimental protocol and therefore searchable by compound, structure, toxicity end point, pathology and point, gene, gene group, SNP, pathway, and network as a function of dose, time, and the phenotype of the target tissue. A knowledge base is being developed by assimilating toxicological, biological, and chemical information from multiple public domain databases and by progressively refining that information about gene, protein, and metabolite expression for classes of chemicals and their biological effects in various species. By analogy to the GenBank database for genome sequences, researchers will globally query (or BLAST) CEBS using a transcriptome of a tissue of interest (or a list of outliers) to have the knowledge base return information on genes, groups of genes, metabolic and toxicological pathways, and contextually associated phenotypic information for compounds that display similar response profiles. With high-quality data content, CEBS will ultimately become a resource to support hypothesis-driven and discovery research that contributes effectively to drug safety and the improvement of risk assessments for chemicals in the environment. The CEBS development effort will span a decade or more.
Detection of an ultrabright submillimetre galaxy in the Subaru/XMM-Newton Deep Field using AzTEC/ASTE

We report on the detection of an extremely bright (∼37 mJy at 1100 μm and ∼91 mJy at 880 μm) submillimetre galaxy (SMG), AzTEC-ASTE-SXDF1100.001 (hereafter referred to as SXDF1100.001 or Orochi), discovered in the 1100 μm observations of the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Field using AzTEC on ASTE. Subsequent CARMA 1300-μm and SMA 880-μm observations successfully pinpoint the location of Orochi and suggest that it has two components, one extended [full width at half-maximum (FWHM) of ∼4 arcsec] and one compact (unresolved). Z-Spec on CSO has also been used to obtain a wide-band spectrum from 190 to 308 GHz, although no significant emission/absorption lines were found. The derived upper limit to the line-to-continuum flux ratio is 0.1–0.3 (2σ) across the Z-Spec band. Based on the analysis of the derived spectral energy distribution from optical to radio wavelengths of possible counterparts near the SMA/CARMA peak position, we suggest that Orochi is a lensed, optically dark SMG lying at z ∼ 3.4 behind a foreground, optically visible (but red) galaxy at z ∼ 1.4. The deduced apparent (i.e., no correction for magnification) infrared luminosity (L_(IR)) and star formation rate (SFR) are 6 × 10^(13) L_⊙ and 11 000 M_⊙ yr^(−1), respectively, assuming that the L_(IR) is dominated by star formation. These values suggest that Orochi will consume its gas reservoir within a short time-scale (3 × 10^7 yr), which is indeed comparable to those in extreme starbursts like the centres of local ultraluminous infrared galaxies (ULIRGs).
Agricultural Trade Flows among Developing Countries: Do Regional Preferential Trade Agreements make a Difference?

Regional integration through trade is recognized as one way to foster economic growth and poverty reduction. This paper uses the gravity model and 11-year panel data (1996-2006) on Southern African Development Community (SADC) member countries to study Zambia’s regional agricultural trade flows and the impact of the SADC Trade Protocol (SADC-TP). Zambia’s volume of trade is significantly related to most of the standard gravity variables. The results indicate that Zambia has been largely trading below potential, especially with respect to exports. There have been improvements in Zambia’s trade flows during the SADC-TP period but only with a few countries. Further improvements will require re-examining protocol implementation and individual countries’ production and marketing costs.