Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imitation learning of human grasping skills from motion and force data

Imitation learning, also known as Programming by Demonstration, allows a non-expert user to teach complex skills to a robot. While so far researchers focused on abstracting kinematic relations, only little attention has been paid to force information. In this work we study imitation learning of human grasping skills from motion and force data. For this purpose a teleoperation system is realized that allows a human to control a simulated robotic hand and to grasp objects in a virtual environment. Haptic rendering algorithms are implemented to calculate interaction forces that occur when touching the virtual object. While learning of fingertip interaction forces is shown to result in physical inconsistency compared to the demonstrations, we show that learning of internal tensions leads to stable reproductions of the demonstrated grasping skill. Obtained results further indicate an enlarged generalisation capability of grasping skills learnt on the basis of motion and force data compared to grasping skills that encode kinematic relations only.
Fungicidal effect of amphotericin B in urine: in vitro study to assess feasibility of bladder washout for localization of site of candiduria

An in vitro study was performed to determine the optimum amphotericin B concentration and exposure time required to kill various strains of Candida albicans in urine. This is a preliminary study to assess the feasibility of using amphotericin B bladder washout for localization of the site of candiduria. In broth kinetic killing studies, amphotericin B at a concentration of greater than 100 micrograms/ml produced almost complete killing of 5 x 10(5) CFU of C. albicans per ml within 1.5 to 2 h. In urine studies (with various pH values, osmolalities, and electrolyte concentrations), amphotericin B at a concentration of 200 micrograms/ml with a 2-h exposure time decreased fungal counts of 21 strains of C. albicans from 5 x 10(6) to less than 200 CFU/ml. Bladder washout with greater than or equal to 200 micrograms of amphotericin B per ml and a dwell time of 2 h can therefore sufficiently sterilize the bladder of yeasts and may be a useful localization test.
A Posteriori Existence in Numerical Computations

A typical a posteriori error analysis for numerical methods for differential equations consists of two elements: the stability of the continuous problem and an a posteriori computed residual estimate. If the problem is nonlinear, then this is possible only if it is strongly monotone. In this paper, we will estimate the stability constant a posteriori as well, in order to apply the inverse function theorem to derive the existence of solutions from the numerical computation, and thus obtain rigorous a posteriori error estimates for nonmonotone equations.
Performance of the Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Recall relative to a measure of true intakes and to an interviewer-administered 24-h recall.

BACKGROUND The Automated Self-Administered 24-hour Recall (ASA24), a freely available Web-based tool, was developed to enhance the feasibility of collecting high-quality dietary intake data from large samples. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess the criterion validity of ASA24 through a feeding study in which the true intake for 3 meals was known. DESIGN True intake and plate waste from 3 meals were ascertained for 81 adults by inconspicuously weighing foods and beverages offered at a buffet before and after each participant served him- or herself. Participants were randomly assigned to complete an ASA24 or an interviewer-administered Automated Multiple-Pass Method (AMPM) recall the following day. With the use of linear and Poisson regression analysis, we examined the associations between recall mode and 1) the proportions of items consumed for which a match was reported and that were excluded, 2) the number of intrusions (items reported but not consumed), and 3) differences between energy, nutrient, food group, and portion size estimates based on true and reported intakes. RESULTS Respondents completing ASA24 reported 80% of items truly consumed compared with 83% in AMPM (P = 0.07). For both ASA24 and AMPM, additions to or ingredients in multicomponent foods and drinks were more frequently omitted than were main foods or drinks. The number of intrusions was higher in ASA24 (P < 0.01). Little evidence of differences by recall mode was found in the gap between true and reported energy, nutrient, and food group intakes or portion sizes. CONCLUSIONS Although the interviewer-administered AMPM performed somewhat better relative to true intakes for matches, exclusions, and intrusions, ASA24 performed well. Given the substantial cost savings that ASA24 offers, it has the potential to make important contributions to research aimed at describing the diets of populations, assessing the effect of interventions on diet, and elucidating diet and health relations. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00978406.
Magnetic resonance imaging of mesenchymal stem cells homing to pulmonary metastases using biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles.

The ability of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) to specifically home to tumors has suggested their potential use as a delivery vehicle for cancer therapeutics. MSC integration into tumors has been shown in animal models using histopathologic techniques after animal sacrifice. Tracking the delivery and engraftment of MSCs into human tumors will need in vivo imaging techniques. We hypothesized that labeling MSCs with iron oxide nanoparticles would enable in vivo tracking with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Human MSCs were labeled in vitro with superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, with no effect on differentiation potential, proliferation, survival, or migration of the cells. In initial experiments, we showed that as few as 1,000 MSCs carrying iron oxide nanoparticles can be detected by MRI one month after their coinjection with breast cancer cells that formed subcutaneous tumors. Subsequently, we show that i.v. - injected iron-labeled MSCs could be tracked in vivo to multiple lung metastases using MRI, observations that were confirmed histologically. This is the first study to use MRI to track MSCs to lung metastases in vivo. This technique has the potential to show MSC integration into human tumors, allowing early-phase clinical studies examining MSC homing in patients with metastatic tumors.
Direct Design of T-Beams for Combined Load of Bending and Torsion

Tests were conducted on five reinforced concrete T-beams subjected to combined load of bending and torsion. Elastic stress field in conjunction with Nielsen's 2D yield criterion for reinforced concrete subjected to in-plane forces were used in the Direct Design Method for the design of reinforcement. The beam dimensions were: flange width = 600mm, flange thickness = 150mm, web width = 200mm, total depth = 600mm and beam length = 5.2m. Required reinforcement calculated using the Direct Design Method was compared with the ACI and BSI codes. It was found that the Direct Design Method requires longitudinal reinforcement similar to the ACI code but less than the BSI code. In the transverse direction, the Direct Design Method requires much less reinforcement than both codes. The main variable studied was the ratio of the maximum twisting moment to the bending moment which was varied between 0.6 and 1.5. Good agreement was found between the design and experimental failure loads. Most of the longitudinal and transverse steel yielded or reached near yield stress when the design load was approached. All beams failed near the design loads and undergone ductile behaviour until failure. The results indicate that the Direct Design Method can be successfully used to design reinforced concrete T-beams for the combined effect of bending and torsion loads.
Effective Optimization Algorithms for Fragment-Assembly Based protein Structure Prediction

Despite recent developments in protein structure prediction, an accurate new fold prediction algorithm remains elusive. One of the challenges facing current techniques is the size and complexity of the space containing possible structures for a query sequence. Traditionally, to explore this space fragment assembly approaches to new fold prediction have used stochastic optimization techniques. Here, we examine deterministic algorithms for optimizing scoring functions in protein structure prediction. Two previously unused techniques are applied to the problem, called the Greedy algorithm and the Hill-climbing (HC) algorithm. The main difference between the two is that the latter implements a technique to overcome local minima. Experiments on a diverse set of 276 proteins show that the HC algorithms consistently outperform existing approaches based on Simulated Annealing optimization (a traditional stochastic technique) in optimizing the root mean squared deviation between native and working structures.
An Analysis of an Optimal Selection Process for Characteristics and Technical Performance of Baseball Pitchers

Selection of a qualified pitcher has relied previously on qualitative indices; here, both quantitative and qualitative indices including pitching statistics, defense, mental skills, experience, and managers' recognition were collected, and an analytic hierarchy process was used to rank baseball pitchers. The participants were 8 experts who ranked characteristics and statistics of 15 baseball pitchers who comprised the first round of potential representatives for the Chinese Taipei National Baseball team. The results indicated a selection rate that was 91% consistent with the official national team roster, as 11 pitchers with the highest scores who were recommended as optimal choices to be official members of the Chinese Taipei National Baseball team actually participated in the 2009 Baseball World Cup. An analytic hierarchy can aid in selection of qualified pitchers, depending on situational and practical needs; the method could be extended to other sports and team-selection situations.
Read-once functions and query evaluation in probabilistic databases

Probabilistic databases hold promise of being a viable means for large-scale uncertainty management, increasingly needed in a number of real world applications domains. However, query evaluation in probabilistic databases remains a computational challenge. Prior work on efficient exact query evaluation in probabilistic databases has largely concentrated on query-centric formulations (e.g., safe plans, hierarchical queries), in that, they only consider characteristics of the query and not the data in the database. It is easy to construct examples where a supposedly hard query run on an appropriate database gives rise to a tractable query evaluation problem. In this paper, we develop efficient query evaluation techniques that leverage characteristics of both the query and the data in the database. We focus on tuple-independent databases where the query evaluation problem is equivalent to computing marginal probabilities of Boolean formulas associated with the result tuples. This latter task is easy if the Boolean formulas can be factorized into a form that has every variable appearing at most once (called read-once). However, a naive approach that directly uses previously developed Boolean formula factorization algorithms is inefficient, because those algorithms require the input formulas to be in the disjunctive normal form (DNF). We instead develop novel, more efficient factorization algorithms that directly construct the read-once expression for a result tuple Boolean formula (if one exists), for a large subclass of queries (specifically, conjunctive queries without self-joins). We empirically demonstrate that (1) our proposed techniques are orders of magnitude faster than generic inference algorithms for queries where the result Boolean formulas can be factorized into read-once expressions, and (2) for the special case of hierarchical queries, they rival the efficiency of prior techniques specifically designed to handle such queries.
Small-time asymptotics of stopped Lévy bridges and simulation schemes with controlled bias

We characterize the small-time asymptotic behavior of the exit probability of a L\'evy process out of a two-sided interval and of the law of its overshoot, conditionally on the terminal value of the process. The asymptotic expansions are given in the form of a first-order term and a precise computable error bound. As an important application of these formulas, we develop a novel adaptive discretization scheme for the Monte Carlo computation of functionals of killed L\'evy processes with controlled bias. The considered functionals appear in several domains of mathematical finance (e.g., structural credit risk models, pricing of barrier options, and contingent convertible bonds) as well as in natural sciences. The proposed algorithm works by adding discretization points sampled from the L\'evy bridge density to the skeleton of the process until the overall error for a given trajectory becomes smaller than the maximum tolerance given by the user.
Chromatin loops are responsible for higher counts of small DNA fragments induced by high-LET radiation, while chromosomal domains do not affect the fragment sizes

Purpose: To apply a polymer model of DNA damage induced by high-LET (linear energy transfer) radiation and determine the influence of chromosomal domains and loops on fragment length distribution. Materials and methods: The yields of DSB (double-strand breaks) induced by high-LET radiation were calculated using a track structure model along with a polymer model of DNA packed in the cell nucleus. The cell nucleus was constructed to include the chromosomal domains and chromatin loops. The latter were generated by the random walk method. Results and conclusions: We present data for DSB yields per track per cell, DNA fragment sizes, the radial distribution of DSB with respect to the track center, and the distribution of 0, 1, 2, and more DSB from a single particle. Calculations were carried out for a range of particles including He (40 keV/μm), N (225 keV/μm), and Fe ions (150 keV/μm). Situations relevant to PFGE (pulsed-field gel electrophoresis) and microbeam experiments with direct irradiation of the cell nucleus were simulated to demonstrate the applicability of the model. Data show that chromosomal domains do not have a significant influence on fragment-size distribution, while the presence of DNA loops increases the frequencies of smaller fragments by nearly 30% for fragment sizes in the range from 2 kbp (bp = base pair) to 20 kbp.
Prescription of benzodiazepines for adults and older adults from a mental health clinic

The aim of this study was to compare benzodiazepine (bzd) prescriptions for adults and older adults regarding appropriate use indicator. It is a cross-sectional study for collecting data on patients treated at the City’s Mental Health Clinic in Sorocaba/SP, between March and December 2013. Appropriate use indicators were used: appropriate drug, with adequate posology and period of use; as well as the use of a single bzd, as anxiolytic for less than 3 months in depression treatment with antidepressants, use for less than 2 months if associated to an antidepressant and no use of long-acting bzd in older adults. From the 330 participants, most were women, with a family history of mental disorders and bzd use, without monitoring of a psychologist and using other psychotropic and polypharmacy (p>0.05). The minority of prescriptions had indication for the use of bzd (37.5% for older adults and 32.4% for adults) (p>0.05). Only 5.8% of the prescriptions for older adults and 1.9 for adults were rational (p>0.05). The chronic use was observed in all adults and older adults with depressive and anxiety disorders (p>0.05). A minority of prescriptions for adults and older adults was appropriate.
Application of Statistical Signal Processing Techniques to Ultrasound Signals for Automatic Microstructural Characterization and Classification

During the gas tungsten arc welding of nickel based superalloys, the secondary phases such as Laves and carbides are formed in final stage of solidification. But, other phases such as 紘′′ and 絞 phases can precipitate in the microstructure, during aging a t high temperatures. However, it is possible to minimize the formation of th e Nb-rich Laves phases and therefore reduce the possibility of solidification cracking by adopting the appropriate welding con diti s. This paper aims at the automatic microstructurally characterizing the kinetics of phase transformations on a Nb-base alloy, thermally aged at 650 °C for 10, 100 and 200 h, through backscattered ultrasound signals at frequen cy of 4 MHz. For this, a decision support system was designed using statistical signal processing techniques. Indeed, three dime nsionality reduction methods; Principal Component Analysis (PCA), Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and Independen t Component Analysis (ICA) were independently applied on the Discrete Cosine Transform (DCT) coefficients. These dimension ality reduced features were fed to the k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN) and Decision Tree (DT) classifiers to automatic microstructure haracterization. DCT coupled with ICA and k-NN yielded the highest average accuracy of 95.5%. Thus, the pro posed decision support system provides high reliability to be used for microstructure characterization through ultrasound signals.
Towards designing speech technology based assistive interfaces for children's speech therapy

Independent studies by the UK government in 2016 observed that speech sound disorders are the most prevalent condition amongst children. Lack of opportunities for individual practice and increasing caseload on speech therapists affect therapy outcomes. Assistive technological aids that process children’s speech and provide appropriate feedback can support therapy efficiency. Design of such aids are particularly demanding because they require speech recognition at phoneme level with high fidelity coupled with child friendly interfaces. Through this doctoral research we aim to design a mobile application using speech and touch as input modalities and thereby explore the technical challenges in adopting such tools in therapy. The design approach of this study is informed from the empirical field work on user requirements from children’s speech therapists. A stable, non-deviant phoneme recognition accuracy combined with the modeling of progress assessment used in actual clinical practices can feed into the design of a feedback based mobile game to be used to practice therapy exercises.
Nerve growth factor: Structure/function relationships

Nerve growth factor (NGF), which has a tertiary structure based on a cluster of 3 cystine disulfides and 2 very extended, but distorted β‐hairpins, is the prototype of a larger family of neurotrophins. Prior to the availability of cloning techniques, the mouse submandibular gland was the richest source of NGF and provided sufficient material to enable its biochemical characterization. It binds as a dimer to at least 2 cell‐surface receptor types expressed in a variety of neuronal and non‐neuronal cells. Residues involved in these interactions and in the maintenance of tertiary and quaternary structure have been identified by chemical modification and site‐directed mutagenesis, and this information can be related to their location in the 3‐dimensional structure. For example, interactions between aromatic residues contribute to the stability of the NGF dimer, and specific surface lysine residues participate in receptor contacts. The conclusion from these studies is that receptor interactions involve broad surface regions, which may be composed of residues from both protomers in the dimer.
Flow-level multipath load balancing in MPLS network

The packet-level traffic characteristics in the Internet are so complex that it is natural to do traffic engineering (TE) and control at the flow level. The emerging multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) has introduced an attractive solution to TE in IP networks. The main objective of this paper is to balance traffic at the flow level among the parallel label switched paths (LSPs) in MPLS networks. We first introduce a multipath load-balancing model at the flow level. In this model, each LSP is modeled as an M/G/1 processor-sharing queue. Based on the analysis of the model, we propose a heuristic but efficient mechanism that is implemented only at the ingress label switched routers (LSRs) and egress LSRs in the network. Extensive simulations using NS2 are performed with MPLS modules. The simulation results show that the load through the network is well balanced so that the network throughput is improved and the delay is decreased significantly.
Delay Tolerant Network for Space

Delay /Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN) is an emerging architecture for internetworking with regional networks of different characteristics as a single entity. The first part of the paper briefs terrestrial and space applications of DTN, different implementations available, real world projects already deployed, the open problems, and the research activities in the area. The paper discusses CCSDS (Consultative Committee for Space Data System) effort to define DTN for interplanetary networking and next generation space internet. The paper also reviews the loose ends in the bundle protocol which is the underlying protocol of DTN architecture and the solutions for the issues. The second part of the paper brings out the need for a test bed to be used for performance evaluation and protocol validation of DTN before its deployment. The authors have developed a test bed and evaluated DTN2 reference implementation for its operation on three nodes network. On the test bed, a three node (ground, orbiter and rover) intermittently connected network was simulated and proved the concept of telecommand/telemetry operation from ground to rover through an orbiter as a relay. A contact graph based static routing was established at all nodes indicating contact time and duration for the operation. As part of initial study on DTN, a three node network was also simulated on NS2 for assessing the advantage of DTN over TCP for large latency satellite links. The results were promising in favour of DTN and are presented. Paper concludes by suggesting more simulation study on the test bed for various configurations for evaluation and experimentation in space towards making DTN operational.
High gain planar antenna using TM13 mode of circular disc

A novel high gain circular disc antenna configuration is proposed. The antenna is a stacked configuration of two circular discs, designed to operate in TM<sub>11</sub> and TM<sub>13</sub> modes. The working principle is based upon the radiated field superposition of TM<sub>11</sub> and TM<sub>13</sub> modes. The antenna has a broadside gain of 13.86dB with a SLL of -13dB. Effect of ground plane size on sidelobelevel is presented.