Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imaging in UWB Sensor Networks

Sensor networks consist of a number of spatially distributed nodes. These nodes perform measurements and collect information about their surrounding. They transfer data to neighboring nodes or to a data fusion center. Often measurements are performed in cooperation of several nodes. If the network consists of Ultra-Wideband (UWB) radar sensors, the network infrastructure can be used for a rough imaging of the surrounding. In this way bigger objects (walls, pillars, machines, furniture) can be detected and their position and shape can be estimated. These are valuable information for the autonomous orientation of robots and for the inspection of buildings, especially in case of dangerous environments (fire, smoke, dust, dangerous gases). Applications of UWB sensor networks are summarized in Thoma (2007). In this article basic aspects of imaging in UWB sensor networks are discussed. We start with a brief description of two types of UWB radar devices: impulse radar and Noise/M-sequence radar. Network imaging is based on principles of Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). Starting from SAR some special aspects of imaging in networks are explained in section 3. Sections 4 and 5 form the main part of the article. Here two different imaging approaches are described inmore detail. The firstmethod ismultistatic imaging, i.e. the measurements are performed in cooperation of several sensor nodes at fixed places and onemobile node. The second approach is imaging by an autonomous mobile sensor, equipped with one Tx and two Rx units. This sensor uses a network of fixed nodes for its own orientation. Part of the described methods have been practically realized in a laboratory environment. Hence, practical examples support the presentation. Conclusions and references complete the article.
Towards ergonomie control of human-robot co-manipulation and handover

In this paper, we propose a novel method for the control of human-robot eo-manipulation that takes into aeeount the ergonomie requirements for the human eo-worker. The robot uses a whole-body dynamic model of the human to optimise for the position of the eo-manipulation task in the workspace. In this configuration, the overloading joint torques, i.e. the effects of an external load in human body joints, are minimised. In addition, the optimisation process ineludes several constraints, sueh as human arm manipulability properties, to ensure that the human has a good manipulation eapaeity in the given eonfiguration. The main advantage of this approaeh is that the robot ean potentially help to reduee the work-related strain and increase the productivity of the human eo-worker. In addition, the on-line estimation of the overloading joint torques does not require an external foree plate or sensor insoles. We validated the proposed method with experiments in two eo-manipulation tasks: human using a device to polish an object that is delivered by the robot and a human-robot object handover. The results show that the proposed method is successful in achieving the ergonomie conditions for the human during the eollaboration.
Fostering Agriculture Environmental Awareness

Agriculture is important to any society, but its activity often has negative impact in the environment. We propose a game, implemented in the on-line virtual world platform Open-Simulator, that gives the opportunity to players to experience the potential effects of agriculture in the environment. The game was built with the purpose of promoting the awareness of agriculture issues, such as, the impact of fertilization in sources of fresh water, the problems related to deforestation and impact on the weather, and the importance of producing food with good quality. To make players care about these issues we explored the people's factor and created direct impact on a population of villagers that the player must satisfy in order to succeed in the game. A small pilot study was performed that showed signs of good acceptance by the players.
Pharmacological study of the possible ameliorative effect of derivative of isoflavones in a dietary rat model of established non-alcoholic steatohepatitis

Insulin resistance induces nonalcoholic fatty liver disease and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). W e used a high-fat, high-calorie solid diet (HFD) to create a model of insulin resistance and NASH in nongenetically modified rats and to stu dy the relationship between visceral adipose tissue and liver. Obesity and insulin resis tance occurred in HFD rats, accompanied by a marked reduction in visceral adipose tissue adiponectin-mRNA and deterioration of lipid profile . These modifications lead to hepatic steatosis acc ompanied by oxidative stress phenomena, necroinflammation, and hepatocyteballoon ing . Oral administration of ipriflavone (IP), to HF D-treated animals restored adipose tissue adiponectin expression, highly effective in decreasing the levels of serum total cholesterol (T C), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), alanine aminotrans ferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST). It could decrease lipid accumulation in the hepatocytes and ameliorated the egree of liver injury. Thus, our model mimics the most common features of NASH in humans and proved that ipriflavone had significant therapeutic benefits and could be explored as a pot ential promising candidate for the prevention of NASH.
Diplomat: Using Delegations to Protect Community Repositories

Community repositories, such as Docker Hub, PyPI, and RubyGems, are bustling marketplaces that distribute software. Even though these repositories use common software signing techniques (e.g., GPG and TLS), attackers can still publish malicious packages after a server compromise. This is mainly because a community repository must have immediate access to signing keys in order to certify the large number of new projects that are registered each day. This work demonstrates that community repositories can offer compromise-resilience and real-time project registration by employing mechanisms that disambiguate trust delegations. This is done through two delegation mechanisms that provide flexibility in the amount of trust assigned to different keys. Using this idea we implement Diplomat, a software update framework that supports security models with different security / usability tradeoffs. By leveraging Diplomat, a community repository can achieve near-perfect compromise-resilience while allowing real-time project registration. For example, when Diplomat is deployed and configured to maximize security on Python's community repository, less than 1% of users will be at risk even if an attacker controls the repository and is undetected for a month. Diplomat is being integrated by Ruby, CoreOS, Haskell, OCaml, and Python, and has already been deployed by Flynn, LEAP, and Docker.
Modeling Service Level Agreements with Linked USDL Agreement

Nowadays, service trading over the Web is gaining momentum. In this highly dynamic scenario, both providers and consumers need to formalize their contractual and legal relationship, creating service level agreements. Although there exist some proposals that provide models to describe that relationship, they usually only cover technical aspects, not providing explicit semantics to the agreement terms. Furthermore, these models cannot be effectively shared on the Web, since they do not actually follow Web principles. These drawbacks hamper take-up and automatic analysis. In this article, we introduce Linked USDL Agreement, a semantic model to specify, manage and share service level agreement descriptions on the Web. This model is part of the Linked USDL family of ontologies that can describe not only technical but also business related aspects of services, incorporating Web principles. We validate our proposal by describing agreements in computational and non-computational scenarios, namely cloud computing and business process outsourcing services. Moreover, we evaluate the actual coverage and expressiveness of Linked USDL Agreement comparing it with existing models. In order to foster its adoption and effectively manage the service level agreement lifecycle, we present an implemented tool that supports creation, automatic analysis, and publication on the Web of agreement descriptions.
PR-HMPSoC: A versatile partially reconfigurable heterogeneous Multiprocessor System-on-Chip for dynamic FPGA-based embedded systems

FPGA-based heterogeneous Multiprocessor Systems-on-Chip (HMPSoCs) are becoming quite popular for high performance embedded systems because of their powerful computational ability and relatively flexible architecture to adapt to unexpected system requirement changes. However, with the insatiable demands of supporting an extensive range of applications beyond the limited resources of FPGA chip and shorter time-to-market, many research works on partially reconfigurable (PR) FPGA architectures have been conducted to fulfill the needs. Those have yet to fully provide a versatile framework to exploit the flexibility of PR such as hardware/software task migration and bitstream relocation; more importantly, the on-chip debug features to access all processors currently loaded in the system are compromised because of the lack of native-support from vendor tools. In this paper, a novel PR-HMPSoC architecture for dynamic FPGA-based embedded system is proposed to provide solutions for all of the above issues. The results from the experimental system consisting of one static Microblaze and three PR Microblaze/hardware accelerators connected by a Network-on-Chip show that the architecture is very promising with just 8% reduction in operating frequency.
Elevated sodium leads to the increased expression of HSP60 and induces apoptosis in HUVECs

Atherosclerosis is the leading cause of death in the world. We have previously shown that expression of heat shock protein 60 (HSP60) on the surface of endothelial cells is the main cause of initiating the disease as it acts as a T cell auto-antigen and can be triggered by classical atherosclerosis risk factors, such as infection (e.g. Chlamydia pneumoniae), chemical stress (smoking, oxygen radicals, drugs), physical insult (heat, shear blood flow) and inflammation (inflammatory cytokines, lipopolysaccharide, oxidized low density lipoprotein, advanced glycation end products). In the present study, we show that increasing levels of sodium chloride can also induce an increase in intracellular and surface expression of HSP60 protein in human umbilical vein endothelial cells. In addition, we found that elevated sodium induces apoptosis.
A major locus for fasting insulin concentrations and insulin resistance on chromosome 6q with strong pleiotropic effects on obesity-related phenotypes in nondiabetic Mexican Americans.

Insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia are strong correlates of obesity and type 2 diabetes, but little is known about their genetic determinants. Using data on nondiabetics from Mexican American families and a multipoint linkage approach, we scanned the genome and identified a major locus near marker D6S403 for fasting "true" insulin levels (LOD score 4.1, empirical P<.0001), which do not crossreact with insulin precursors. Insulin resistance, as assessed by the homeostasis model using fasting glucose and specific insulin (FSI) values, was also strongly linked (LOD score 3.5, empirical P<.0001) with this region. Two other regions across the genome were found to be suggestively linked to FSI: a location on chromosome 2q, near marker D2S141, and another location on chromosome 6q, near marker D6S264. Since several insulin-resistance syndrome (IRS)-related phenotypes were mapped independently to the regions on chromosome 6q, we conducted bivariate multipoint linkage analyses to map the correlated IRS phenotypes. These analyses implicated the same chromosomal region near marker D6S403 (6q22-q23) as harboring a major gene with strong pleiotropic effects on obesity and on lipid measures, including leptin concentrations (e.g., LOD(eq) for traits-specific insulin and leptin was 4.7). A positional candidate gene for insulin resistance in this chromosomal region is the plasma cell-membrane glycoprotein PC-1 (6q22-q23). The genetic location on chromosome 6q, near marker D6S264 (6q25.2-q26), was also identified by the bivariate analysis as exerting significant pleiotropic influences on IRS-related phenotypes (e.g., LOD(eq) for traits-specific insulin and leptin was 4.1). This chromosomal region harbors positional candidate genes, such as the insulin-like growth factor 2 receptor (IGF2R, 6q26) and acetyl-CoA acetyltransferase 2 (ACAT2, 6q25.3-q26). In sum, we found substantial evidence for susceptibility loci on chromosome 6q that influence insulin concentrations and other IRS-related phenotypes in Mexican Americans.
Trust in wikipedia: how users trust information from an unknown source

The use of Wikipedia as an information source is becoming increasingly popular. Several studies have shown that its information quality is high. Normally, when considering information trust, the source of information is an important factor. However, because of the open-source nature of Wikipedia articles, their sources remain mostly unknown. This means that other features need to be used to assess the trustworthiness of the articles. We describe article features - such as images and references - which lay Wikipedia readers use to estimate trustworthiness. The quality and the topics of the articles are manipulated in an experiment to reproduce the varying quality on Wikipedia and the familiarity of the readers with the topics. We show that the three most important features are textual features, references and images.
Ties that blind? How strong ties affect small business owner-managers’ perceived trustworthiness of their advisors

This research investigates how a strong personal relationship (strong tie) between a small business owner-manager and his professional or informal advisor affects the relationship between the advisor's recent performance and the owner-manager's perceptions of the advisor's trustworthiness in terms of ability, benevolence and integrity. A negative moderating effect could point to a ‘tie that blinds’: the owner-manager may be less critical in evaluating the advisor's perceived trustworthiness in light of their recent performance, because of the existing personal relationship. A conceptual model is constructed and examined with survey data comprising 153 young Finnish businesses. The results show that strong ties increase the owner-manager's perception of the advisor's integrity, disregarding their recent performance. For professional advisors, strong ties reduce the impact of recent performance in the owner-manager's evaluation of their ability. For informal advisors, a strong tie makes it more likely that their benevolence will be evaluated highly in light of their recent performance. While the results show that ‘ties can blind’ under certain circumstances, the limitations of the study raise the need for further research to specify these contextual factors and examine the causal link between the choice of advisor and business performance.
Difference in F-Actin Depolymerization Induced by Toxin B from the Clostridium difficile Strain VPI 10463 and Toxin B from the Variant Clostridium difficile Serotype F Strain 1470

Clostridium difficile toxin A (TcdA) and toxin B (TcdB) are the causative agent of the C. difficile-associated diarrhea (CDAD) and its severe form, the pseudomembranous colitis (PMC). TcdB from the C. difficile strain VPI10463 mono-glucosylates (thereby inactivates) the small GTPases Rho, Rac, and Cdc42, while Toxin B from the variant C. difficile strain serotype F 1470 (TcdBF) specifically mono-glucosylates Rac but not Rho(A/B/C). TcdBF is related to lethal toxin from C. sordellii (TcsL) that glucosylates Rac1 but not Rho(A/B/C). In this study, the effects of Rho-inactivating toxins on the concentrations of cellular F-actin were investigated using the rhodamine-phalloidin-based F-actin ELISA. TcdB induces F-actin depolymerization comparable to the RhoA-inactivating exoenzyme C3 from C. limosum (C3-lim). In contrast, the Rac-glucosylating toxins TcdBF and TcsL did not cause F-actin depolymerization. These observations led to the conclusion that F-actin depolymerization depends on the toxin’s capability of glucosylating RhoA. Furthermore, the integrity of focal adhesions (FAs) was analyzed using paxillin and p21-activated kinase (PAK) as FA marker proteins. Paxillin dephosphorylation was observed upon treatment of cells with TcdB, TcdBF, or C3-lim. In conclusion, the Rho-inactivating toxins induce loss of cell shape by either F-actin depolymerization (upon RhoA inactivation) or the disassembly of FAs (upon Rac1 inactivation).
Modeling and Verifying Combinatorial Interactions to Test Data Intensive Systems: Experience at the Norwegian Customs Directorate

Data-intensive systems in e-governance collect and process data to ensure conformance to a set of business rules. Testers meticulously verify data in test databases, extracted from different steps of a live production stream , for correct application of business rules. We simplify the process by allowing testers to model a test domain on a relational database and automatically generate test cases representing data interactions satisfying combinatorial interaction coverage criteria. This paper also introduces test cases with self-referential interactions, which is a necessity in real-world databases. We verify these test cases using our human-in-the-loop tool, Depict. Depict, with expert assistance, generates complex SQL queries for test cases and produces a visual report of test case satisfaction. We apply the approach to two scenarios: 1) simplify and optimize a periodic archiving operation and 2) verify fault codes within the testing environment of the Custom directorate's TVINN system.
OUR REMEMBERED SELVES: ORAL HISTORY AND FEMINIST MEMORY

In retrospective accounts of the women’s movement, personal memories of feminists have taken on a public and collective significance. What has come to count as an official memory and what has been forgotten is invariably contested. Oral history interviews with Australian feminists looking back on the women’s movement challenge sanctioned accounts of second wave feminism and raise important questions about memory and oral history. This article explores some of the creative possibilities of interlinking memory theory, oral history and feminist reminiscence. In examining oral testimonies about mid-twentieth century feminism, a more multifaceted and ambivalent dialogue about the women’s movement emerges than that found in memoir and autobiography. Oral reminiscences resist some of the pressures to conform to dominant representational frameworks.
Elaboration of separation and investigation methods of lipoprotein macromolecules for radiopharmaceutical applications

ABBREVIATIONS Apo apolipoprotein ACAT acyl-cholesterol acyltransferase CAD coronary artery disease CHD coronary heart disease CM chylomicron CETP cholesteryl ester transfer protein Da Dalton ECM extracellular matrix EDTA ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid FFA free fatty acid FC free cholesterol HC hypercholesterolemia HDL high-density lipoprotein HL hepatic lipase HLP hyperlipoproteinemia HTG hypertriglyceridemia HMG-CoA 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A HNE 4-hydroxynonenal IDL intermediate-density lipoprotein LCAT lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase LDL low density lipoprotein LPL lipoprotein lipase LPO lipid peroxidation MDA malondialdehyde MMPs metalloproteinases NC normocholesterolemic Ox-LDL oxidized low-density lipoprotein PBS phosphate buffered saline PEG polyethyleneglycol PL phospholipids PLTP phospholipid transfer protein PUFA polyunsaturated fatty acids RLP receptor related protein ROS reactive oxygen species SD standard deviation S f Svedberg flotation unit SMC smooth muscle cell SOD superoxide dismutase SR scavenger receptor TBARS thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances TC total cholesterol TG triglyceride TRL triglyceride rich lipoprotein VLDL very low density lipoprotein WHHL watanabe heritable hyperlipidemic rabbits 4 Ph.D. Thesis
International Journal of Innovative Research in Electrical, Electronics, Instrumentation and Control Engineering Investigation of Half-bridge Llc Resonant Dc- Dc Converter for Photovoltaic Applications

This paper deals with the analysis and design of LLC resonant converter suited for photovoltaic applications. The proposed converter maximizes battery life without penalizing the volume of the charger. Theoretical values of turns ratio, resonant inductor, resonant capacitor, magnetizing inductor are calculated using design equations. Switching losses and voltage ripple are calculated. Also performance parameters such as efficiency and voltage gain are calculated and compared with LCC Resonant converters. Simulation studies are carried out using MATLAB / SIMULINK. A prototype of the proposed LLC resonant converter is built to validate the simulation results. I. INTRODUCTION LLC resonant converter is gaining attention because of its ability to achieve higher frequencies and low switching losses . It consists of two inductors and one capacitor and the converter can regulate the output voltage against line and load variation over a wide range. Soft switching can be achieved over the entire operating range compared with LCC[1-3]. The resonant tank of LLC and LCC Resonant Converter is shown in Fig.1.
Aberrantly segregating centromeres activate the spindle assembly checkpoint in budding yeast

The spindle assembly checkpoint is the mechanism or set of mechanisms that prevents cells with defects in chromosome alignment or spindle assembly from passing through mitosis. We have investigated the effects of mini-chromosomes on this checkpoint in budding yeast by performing pedigree analysis. This method allowed us to observe the frequency and duration of cell cycle delays in individual cells. Short, centromeric linear mini-chromosomes, which have a low fidelity of segregation, cause frequent delays in mitosis. Their circular counterparts and longer linear mini-chromosomes, which segregate more efficiently, show a much lower frequency of mitotic delays, but these delays occur much more frequently in divisions where the mini-chromosome segregates to only one of the two daughter cells. Using a conditional centromere to increase the copy number of a circular mini-chromosome greatly increases the frequency of delayed divisions. In all cases the division delays are completely abolished by the mad mutants that inactivate the spindle assembly checkpoint, demonstrating that the Mad gene products are required to detect the subtle defects in chromosome behavior that have been observed to arrest higher eukaryotic cells in mitosis.
Disability, advocacy and coping : an autoethnography on non-visible disability

DISABILITY, ADVOCACY, AND COPING: AN AUTOETHNOGRAPHY ON NONVISIBLE DISABILITY BY DANA MORELLA This thesis explores the notion of non-visible disability in academic settings. Students with non-visible disabilities, such as learning disabilities, mental health conditions, and chronic pain, often require accommodations to learning environments in order to thrive. This study explores how non-visibly disabled students perceive and respond to times when they do not receive accommodations or when they feel failed by their own and others' advocacy. Through autoethnographic exploration and in-depth participant interviews, this study reveals coping methods used by non-visibly disabled students. The findings contain useful information that will help researchers, teachers, and non-visibly disabled students to enter into dialogue with one another and resolve perceived threatening or dangerous situations for both students, teachers, and school officials.
Regulation of ER-phagy by a Ypt/Rab GTPase module

Ypt1 GTPase, in the context of an autophagy-specific module, regulates ER-phagy. Because Ypt1 is a known regulator of ER-to-Golgi transport, this means that a single Ypt/Rab can regulate two alternative transport steps from one compartment, the ER, to two different destinations, the Golgi and the autophagy pathway.