Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Confluence of Active and Passive Control Mechanisms Enabling Autonomy and Terrain Adaptability for Robots in Variable Environments

We report the successful design and fabrication of an autonomous robot, dubbed the CASE/NPS Beach Whegstrade robot, capable of navigating the challenging terrain of the non-submersed surf-zone region based on abstracted biological inspiration. Abstracted biological inspiration attempts to distill salient biological principles and implement them using presently available technologies; its efficacy lies in the successful fusion of organic and inorganic architectures such that the proper level of influence of biology is established for optimum performance. The CASE/NPS Beach Whegstrade robot benefits from insect inspired mechanisms of locomotion for movement over challenging and different terrains. The robotpsilas mechanics are an integrated and essential part of its control system. It does not have, or need, sensors and control circuits to actively change its gait. Instead, its mechanics cause it to passively adapt its gait appropriately to very different terrains. Therefore, its motor control circuits are reduced to controlling broad directives of the robot. Its navigational system is a higher-level circuit that communicates desired speed and heading to the local control system. The confluence of active and passive control mechanisms in the robot have resulted in a system with the simplicity of a wheeled vehicle that nevertheless facilitates the mobility of a legged vehicle.
A sublinear algorithm for sparse reconstruction with ℓ2/ℓ2 recovery guarantees

Compressed Sensing aims to capture attributes of a sparse signal using very few measurements. Candès and Tao showed that sparse reconstruction is possible if the sensing matrix acts as a near isometry on all k-sparse signals. This property holds with overwhelming probability if the entries of the matrix are generated by an iid Gaussian or Bernoulli process. There has been significant recent interest in an alternative signal processing framework; exploiting deterministic sensing matrices that with overwhelming probability act as a near isometry on k-sparse vectors with uniformly random support, a geometric condition that is called the Statistical Restricted Isometry Property or StRIP. This paper considers a family of deterministic sensing matrices satisfying the StRIP that are based on Delsarte-Goethals Codes codes (binary chirps) and a k-sparse reconstruction algorithm with sublinear complexity. In the presence of stochastic noise in the data domain, this paper derives bounds on the ℓ<inf>2</inf> accuracy of approximation in terms of the ℓ<inf>2</inf> norm of the measurement noise and the accuracy of the best k-sparse approximation, also measured in the ℓ<inf>2</inf> norm. This type of ℓ<inf>2</inf>/ℓ<inf>2</inf> bound is tighter than the standard ℓ<inf>2</inf>/ℓ<inf>1</inf> or ℓ<inf>1</inf>/ℓ<inf>1</inf> bounds.
Men's and Women's Involvement in Sports: An Examination of the Gendered Aspects of Leisure Involvement

Although involvement has emerged as an important concept for understanding leisure behavior, the gendered nature of involvement has received scant attention. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the leisure involvement profiles of female and male participants in "conforming" (gender-appropriate) and "nonconforming" (gender-inappropriate) activities. Specifically, the study involved a survey of general sports involvement and specific activity involvement among adult recreational hockey players (51 men and 76 women) and figure skaters (24 men and 54 women). Multiple analysis of covariance was used to test for gender and sport-type differences with regard to overall involvement scores as well as scores for the three main facets of involvement (attraction, centrality, and self-expression). As hypothesized, male hockey players had higher centrality scores compared with the other groups. The results, however, also showed that the women had higher activity-attraction scores, the female figure ska.
On the correlation/constitution distinction problem (and other hard problems) in the scientific study of consciousness

Objective: In the past decade, much has been written about ‘the hard problem’ of consciousness in the philosophy of mind. However, a separate hard problem faces the scientific study of consciousness. The problem arises when distinguishing the neural correlates of consciousness (NCC) and the neural constitution of consciousness. Here, I explain this correlation/constitution distinction and the problem it poses for a science of phenomenal consciousness. I also discuss potential objections to the problem, outline further hard problems in the scientific study of phenomenal consciousness and consider the ontological implications of these epistemological issues. Methods: Scientific and philosophic analysis and discussion are presented. Results: The correlation/constitution distinction does indeed present a hard problem in the scientific study of phenomenal consciousness. Refinement of the ‘NCC’ acronym is proposed so that this distinction may at least be acknowledged in the literature. Furthermore, in addition to the problem posed by this distinction and to ‘the hard problem’, the scientific study of phenomenal consciousness also faces several other hard problems. Conclusion: In light of the multiple hard problems, it is concluded that scientists and philosophers of consciousness ought to (i) address, analyze and discuss the problems in the hope of discovering their solution or dissolution and (ii) consider the implications of some or all of them being intractable. With respect to the latter, it is argued that ultimate epistemic limits in the study of phenomenal consciousness pose no threat to physicalist or materialist ontologies but do inform our understanding of consciousness and its place in nature.
Transformational Leadership and Urban Renewal

Executive Summary Leadership is a concept that has generated increasing interest in this century. A current focus has been on Burns's theory of transformational leadership. Transformational leadership involves leaders and followers working together to develop mutual goals, to recognize and achieve higher order needs based on needs hierarchies postulated by developmental theorists, and to intend substantive change. Further, Burns postulated that transformational leadership is not the purview of a few, select individuals but occurs at all levels of organizations and in the routine tasks of everyday life. That is, anyone can be a transformational leader. Despite Burns's contention that transformational leadership can occur at all levels of organization and society, most of the discussion of transformational leadership has centered on persons in traditional, hierarchical power positions. This paper focuses on a social movement, urban renewal, which involves volunteer activity and persons not in hierarchical power positions. The urban renewal efforts of two southern California towns are highlighted, with examples from other towns' renewal efforts also cited. It is demonstrated that many renewal efforts utilize a transformational leadership approach. It is further shown that those efforts which employ a transformational leadership approach are often more successful than those that do not. It is concluded that transformational leadership does occur in voluntary, non-hierarchical groups and leads to substantive change. Further study is recommended to confirm these conclusions and advocate for broader recognition and encouragement of transformational leadership in various organizations.
Child Sexual Abuse Victims' Perception of Paternal Support as a Significant Predictor of Coping Style and Global Self-Worth

ABSTRACT One hundred eighty-eight female participants (44 victims and 144 non-victims of CAS) from a 4-year university were recruited. The first objective examined the difference between victims and non-victims on measures of perceived social support, coping strategies, and global self-worth. Victims were more likely to report lower maternal support than non-victims of CSA. Additionally, victims who were perpetrated by a family member were more likely to report lower maternal support than those who were perpetrated by a non-family member. The second objective investigated the impact of victimization and several mediating factors on global self-worth. Victimization indirectly related to global self-worth through paternal support. Additional analyses examining non-victims showed significant direct relations between paternal, friend, and campus support leading to global self-worth. For victims, paternal support indirectly related to global self-worth through emotion-focused coping. These results indicate that paternal support and coping strategies may be important for later psychological adjustment in victims of CSA.
A design for effective support of inquiry and collaboration

The Collaboratory Notebook is a shared hypermedia database designed to provide a scaffold for students as they learn to conduct collaborative, open-ended investigations. Through its structure, the software provides students with a genre for communication about scientific inquiry. In this paper, we examine the design goals for the Collaboratory Notebook in the context of an example of its use. We analyze Notebook use through student characteristics including gender, previous experience with technology, and attitudes and beliefs about science.
Redirecting Second Language Curricula: Paulo Freire's Contribution

Literature of the second language teaching profession recognizes a contemporary thrust for taking students and their environment seriously in the development of curricula. This article presents the philosophy of Paulo Freire as a foundation for such existential humanistic curricula. First, Freire's statements on the human person, consciousness, and the process of knowing, as well as his thought on institutionalized education, are summarized as a basis for determining the impact of his philosophy on curriculum design. The remainder of the article translates his philosophy into twenty curriculum design principles relating to the following elements: purpose, objectives, content definition, learning strategies, learning materials, planning, teacher role, student role, and evaluation. The principles are expanded into a sample second language curriculum design which provides a forum for exploring practical and theoretical implications of this Freirean-based existential humanistic approach to curriculum.
Biosynthesis of Crystalline Silver and Gold Nanoparticles by Extremophilic Yeasts

The biosynthesis of Ag and Au nanoparticles (NPs) was investigated using an extremophilic yeast strain isolated from acid mine drainage in Portugal. Three distinct studies were performed, namely, the growth of yeast strain in presence of metal ions, the use of yeast biomass for the metal nanoparticles synthesis, and of the supernatant obtained after 24-hour incubation of yeast biomass in water. The extremophilic strain under study was able to grow up to an Ag ion concentration of 1.5 mM whereas an increase of Au ion concentration over 0.09 mM caused a strong inhibitory effect. A successful route for the metal NPs synthesis was obtained using the yeast biomass. When the washed yeast cells were in contact with Ag or Au solutions, AgNPs smaller than 20 nm were produced, as for the AuNPs diameter ranged from 30 to 100 nm, as determined through transmission electron microscopy and confirmed by energy-dispersive X-ray spectra. The supernatant-based strategy provided evidence that proteins were released to the medium by the yeasts, which could be responsible for the formation and stabilisation of the Ag NPs, although the involvement of the cell wall seems fundamental for AuNPs synthesis.
Automatic Detection of Embryo Location in Medical Imaging Using Trigonometric Rotation for Noise Reduction

The assessment of embryos in vitro is an important tool both in In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment and for research purposes. Traditionally, such assessment has been done manually and demands extensive training and expertise. Interobserver variability limits the use of evaluation, and the manual labor increases the cost of treatment and research. To this end, feature extraction and automatic annotation using computer aided tools would both improve objectivity and save time. Due to the sensitivity of embryos, any evaluation must be performed using non-invasive imaging techniques, which sets a limit for the ability to artificially enhance image contrast, and computer aided assessment of microscopic images under clinical conditions also poses a number of difficulties due to the high level of noise and the unpredictable imaging environment. To overcome this, we propose a framework using a Hough Transform (HT) for the extraction of circular shapes in microscopic embryo images, and also use the algorithm for successful automatic profiling of the pronuclear breakdown (PNB) at syngami and detection of its timing. The best results are achieved when using a HT for embryo outline detection in combination with image variance of the embryo interior. Using our method, we achieve an overall accuracy of 95.0% detecting the position of the embryo outline, and 83.0% detecting the timing of the PNB.
Income Inequality, Equality of Opportunity, and Intergenerational Mobility

Families, labor markets, and public policies all structure a child’s opportunities and determine the extent to which adult earnings are related to family background. Cross-country comparisons and the underlying trends suggest that these drivers will most likely lower the degree of intergenerational earnings mobility for the next generation of Americans coming of age in a more polarized labor market, while the substantial rise in the income shares of the top 1 percent, their access to sources of high-quality human capital investment for their children, and the intergenerational transmission of employers and wealth will imply a much higher rate of transmission of economic advantage at the very top.
A new method for multiclass support vector machines

In this paper we present a new method for solving multiclass problems with a support vector machine. Our method compares favorably with other proposals, appeared so far in the literature, both in terms of computational needs for the feedforward phase and of classification accuracy. The main result, however, is the mapping of the multiclass problem to a biclass one, which allows us to suggest a method for estimating the generalization error by using data-dependent error bounds.
Maspin Is Physically Associated with ␤1 Integrin Regulating Cell Adhesion in Mammary Epithelial Cells

Maspin is a tumor-suppressor serpin (serine protease inhibitor), which inhibits cell invasion and migration. Here, we analyzed maspin function in cell adhesion in nontransformed mammary epithelial cells and investigated the underlying mechanism involved in this process. We report that maspin acts in the early steps in the cell adhesion process. Addition of recombinant maspin rapidly increased MCF-10A cell adhesion to the endogenously deposited matrix, and conversely both an antimaspin antibody (Ab) and maspin knockdown by RNA interference resulted in decreased cell adhesion. Mutation analyses revealed that a region of 86 amino acids located between aa 139 and aa 225 was responsible for maspin effect on adhesion. In addition, we show that maspin is associated with detergent-insoluble cortical cytoskeleton elements. Collectively, these results suggest that maspin is part of the supramolecular structure of the adhesion plaque and it modulates cell adhesion via a ␤1 integrin-dependent mechanism. physically and functionally associated with ␤1 integrin regulating cell adhesion in mammary epithelial cells. Tumor cells need to recognize and invade the surrounding extracellular matrix (ECM) in order to undergo metastatic growth in distant sites, a process intrinsically dependent on cell adhesion to the ECM. Maspin (SERPINB5) is a tumor-suppressor gene belonging to the family of serpins (serine protease inhib-itors). Maspin is expressed in many tissues such as the mammary gland, prostate, skin, stomach, and uterus (1) and is down-regulated in carcinoma cells (2). Maspin has distinct biological effects, including inhibition of tumor growth, cell migration, and invasion (3) and inhibition of angiogenesis (4, 5). Maspin's tumor-suppressing effect appears to depend in part on its ability to increase cell adhesion to ECM (6, 7). The molecular mechanisms underlying maspin's diverse activities are under intense investigation. While the inhibition of the pericellular urokinase-type plasmino-gen activator (uPA) system by maspin has been reported in prostate tumor cells (8, 9), biochemical analyses under several different biological contexts have not detected any inhibitory activity on several different proteases (10, 11). These differences may reflect different cell models and/or experimental approaches. Alternatively, it could indicate that maspin has a different mechanism of action other than pro-tease inhibition. We have shown that transgenic animals expressing maspin in the mammary gland have smaller and fewer alveolar structures, lack functional differentiation, and could not nurse their young (12). No increase in protease inhibitory activity was detected in the mammary gland extracts of transgenic mice, indicating that another mechanism underlies maspin's function in this …
Interleukin (IL)-4-independent immunoglobulin class switch to immunoglobulin (Ig)E in the mouse

Immunoglobulin (Ig) class switching in B cells is regulated by stimuli transduced by cytokines and cell-cell contact. Among these stimuli, interleukin (IL)-4 has been considered an absolute prerequisite for class switching to IgE in the mouse. Here we report that IL-4-deficient (IL-4-/-) and wildtype mice had comparably elevated serum IgE levels during the course of a murine retrovirus-induced immunodeficiency syndrome, MAIDS. IgE switching in IL-4-/- mice was also induced by injection of anti-IgD antibody. Treatment with anti-IgD induced germline epsilon (g epsilon) transcripts with comparable efficiency in IL-4-/- mice and controls, but the levels of productive epsilon transcripts (p epsilon) were lower by a factor of 200 and serum IgE levels were lower by a factor of 300 in IL-4-/- mice as compared with controls. Induction of g epsilon after anti-IgD treatment of IL-4-/- mice was unaffected by simultaneous treatment with monoclonal antibodies to IL-4 and IL-4 receptor alpha chain. Infection of IL-4-/- mice with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, a potent stimulus for IgE production, resulted in induction of g epsilon transcripts; however, p epsilon transcripts were barely detectable and serum IgE was not detected. These findings establish a novel IL-4-independent pathway for IgE switching in the mouse that is strongly activated in retroviral infection but weakly in nematode infection. This pathway appears to be dependent on distinct factors that separately control induction of g epsilon transcription and switch recombination to p epsilon.
Volunteering, religiosity and well-being: interrelationships among Australian churchgoers

Existing research has mostly found positive, but sometimes inconclusive and contradictory, results about the relationships between volunteering and well-being, as well as between church attendance and volunteering. This paper aims to clarify how volunteering and religious beliefs and practices are related to well-being among Christian churchgoers. Utilising data from the 2011 Australian National Church Life Survey, volunteering was found to partially mediate the positive relationship between religiosity and well-being (life satisfaction), but only for some denominational groupings. Part of the reason why church attenders with high religiosity have higher well-being is because they are more likely to volunteer. The implications of these findings are discussed within the context of economic, managerial, public health and religious parameters.
Social and cultural meanings of legal responses to homicide among men: Masculine honour, sexual advances and accidents

This paper discusses Australian controversies over defences and excuses to homicide that serve partly to normalise violence in fatal conflicts between men. The ‘homosexual advance defence’ (HAD), describes a specific use of the provocation plea to seek a reduction of murder charges to a finding of manslaughter in cases of alleged male on male sexual advance. Successful uses of HAD to support claims of provocation have reflected legal acceptance of the alleged affront to masculine honour that such an advance can comprise. Likewise, the excuse of ‘accident’ has become a matter of growing debate when used to counter homicide charges arising from petty disputes or unprovoked assaults between men. The ineffective outcome of debate and the extent of this violence mirrors official resignation about this phenomenon and casts doubt on the progression of ‘civilising’ trends against social brutality. Anti-violence activists and reformers have mobilised against the use of HAD and the excuse of accident with mixed success. Reform of provocation law to abolish HAD is still incomplete, and the accident excuse continues to impact on cases involving alcohol-related violence among men. Anti-homosexual attacks and other fatal male on male conflicts have been viewed as unrelated forms of crime, yet there is a symmetry between HAD-related and ‘accidental’ killings that arise in social scenarios where sudden rage in reply to insults to male honour is a common social expectation.
Reduced Order Models for Double-Cage Induction Motors

By neglecting the fast transients due to the starting cage, the conventional seventh-order model for a double-cage induction motor can be readily reduced to a fifth-order model with a structure which is different from the regular fifth-order model structure for a single-cage motor. To obtain stability in its digital simulation, however, winding flux-linkages rather than currents are used for the state variables. For studies where decaying alternating components of almost the line frequency in the active and reactive power flows are not relevant, the fifth-order model can be further simplified tQ a third-order one by neglecting the stator transients. The different reduced order models are validated by comparing their simulated responses with that of the full-order model for a full-voltage start-up as well as for the case when the motor is exposed to a temporary symmetrical fault at its terminals.