Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Example-based Grasp Adaptation

Finding a way to provide intelligent humanoid robots with the ability to grasp objects has been a question of great interest. Most approaches, however, assume that objects are composed of primitive shapes such as box, sphere, and cylinder. In the thesis, we explore an efficient and robust method to decide grasps given new objects that are irregularly-shaped (3D polygon meshes). To solve the problem, we use an example-based approach. We first find grasps for objects geometrically similar to those the system has seen before. For example, if the system has been shown a cup being grasped by the handle, it should now be able to grasp any new cup. There are two problems to be solved in order to adapt example grasps to the new object. First, the system should be able to retrieve objects that are geometrically similar to the given object from the database storing previously seen objects. After collecting objects the system knows how to grasp, it needs to adapt example grasps to new object. Already, there are some working algorithms for the first problem (shape retrieval). Therefore, our main contribution is to present an algorithm that performs grasp adaptation. Before we adapt a grasp, we first find the geometric correspondence between a demo object and new object using probabilistic graphical model. Based on correlation information together with the demo grasp, we generate a grasp for the new object. To ensure that a robot can effectively grasp the object, we adjust the position of grasp contacts until the quality of the grasp is reasonably high. In test cases, the system successfully uses this method to find the correspondence between objects and adapt demo grasps. Thesis Supervisor: Tomas Lozano-Perez Title: TIBCO Founders Professor of Computer Science and Engineering
Plasma adiponectin in overweight, nondiabetic individuals with or without insulin resistance

Aim: Adiponectin is a protein produced exclusively by adipocytes with putative insulin‐sensitizing and anti‐atherogenic properties. This cross‐sectional study investigated the relationship between plasma adiponectin and a range of anthropometric, glycaemic, lipid and inflammatory parameters in overweight and obese subjects expressing characteristics of the metabolic syndrome.
CS Shannon and Renyi Entropy of Wavelets

This paper reports a new reading for wavelets, which is based on the classical ’De Broglie’ principle. The wave-particle duality principle is adapted to wavelets. Every continuous basic wavelet is associated with a proper probability density, allowing defining the Shannon entropy of a wavelet. Further entropy definitions are considered, such as Jumarie or Renyi entropy of wavelets. We proved that any wavelet of the same family {ψa,b(t)}a =0 has the same Shannon entropy of its mother wavelet. Finally, the Shannon entropy for a few standard wavelet families is determined. 1 Preliminaries and background Little has been made for analogue signals in the information theory scope as compared to the amazing coverage nowadays available for digital signals [1]. This paper is precisely focused on this rather unexplored field, taking advantage of a fresh and powerful tool: the wavelet analysis [2], [3] that evolved into a specialized branch of the modern-day signal processing. 90’s witnessed the emergence of wavelets, which rapidly reached in practice, thanks to their natural feature of concentrating energy in a few transform coefficients. This paper intends to introduce a new insight into wavelets, which is based on the
DUX 4 recruits p 300 / CBP through its C-terminus and induces global H 3 K 27 acetylation changes

Ectopic expression of the double homeodomain transcription factor DUX4 causes facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). Mechanisms of action of DUX4 are currently unknown. Using immortalized human myoblasts with a titratable DUX4 transgene, we identify by mass spectrometry an interaction between the DUX4 C-terminus and the histone acetyltransferases p300/CBP. Chromatin immunoprecipitation shows that DUX4 recruits p300 to its target gene, ZSCAN4, displaces histone H3 from the center of its binding site, and induces H3K27Ac in its vicinity, but C-terminal deleted DUX4 does not. We show that a DUX4 minigene, bearing only the homeodomains and C-terminus, is transcriptionally functional and cytotoxic, and that overexpression of a nuclear targeted C-terminus impairs the ability of WT DUX4 to interact with p300 and to regulate target genes. Genomic profiling of DUX4, histone H3, and H3 modifications reveals that DUX4 binds two classes of loci: DNase accessible H3K27Acrich chromatin and inaccessible H3K27Ac-depleted MaLR-enriched chromatin. At this latter class, it acts as a pioneer factor, recruiting H3K27 acetyltransferase activity and opening the locus for transcription. In concert with local increased H3K27Ac, the strong H3K27Ac peaks at distant sites are significantly depleted of H3K27Ac, thus DUX4 uses its Cterminus to induce a global reorganization of H3K27
Liver Disease Prediction Using Bayesian Classification

Data mining is an activity of extracting meaningful data from a large database, using any of its techniques. In this paper we use Bayesian classification technique, which is one of the major classification models. There are many liver disorders that require clinical care of the physician. Unlike the other disease prediction, here we predict three major Liver Diseases such as Liver cancer, Cirrhosis and Hepatitis with the help of distinct symptoms. The primary goal is to predict the class type from classes such as â€˜Liver Cancerâ€™, â€™Cirrhosisâ€™, â€˜Hepatitisâ€™ and â€˜No Diseaseâ€™.
econstor Make Your Publications Visible . A Service of zbw

We examine the association between auditor choice and the accruals patterns of Chinese listed firms that cross-list in Hong Kong. Our evidence suggests that the clients of Big 4 auditors report lower unsigned discretionary accruals relative to the clients of non-Big 4 auditors. Further, we find that cross-listed firms with non-Big 4 auditors are more likely to understate their earnings and experience larger reversals of accruals in the future than cross-listed firms with Big 4 auditors. These findings suggest that Big 4 auditors play a meaningful role in improving earnings quality for cross-listed firms, which helps to explain why crosslisted firms have higher earnings quality than their domestic counterparts, as documented in the previous literature. 2011 China Journal of Accounting Research. Founded by Sun Yat-sen University and City University of Hong Kong. Production and hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. hina Journal of Accounting Research. Founded by Sun Yat-sen University and City hosting by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. qing University, 174 Shazheng Street, Shapingba, Chongqing, China. Tel. : +86 23
ErrorDetectionandCorrection inSwitchedLinear ControllersviaPeriodic andNon-ConcurrentChecks !

Control systems that utilize switched linear controllers have proven to be useful (and, in some cases, essential) for accomplishing certain control objectives in particular classes of plants. These controllers are often digital in nature and, as such, are subject to internal hardware malfunctions (faults). In this paper, we present a systematic methodology for constructing embeddings to protect switched linear controllers against hardware faults that corrupt their internal state. Our methodology is based on embedding the original controller into a redundant (higher dimensional) controller that preserves the functionality of the original controller while enabling error detection and correction. More importantly, this methodology allows an external mechanism to detect and identify transient state-transition faults through non-concurrent (e.g., periodic) parity checks. The resulting error detection and correction procedures can then be performed periodically, thereby relaxing the reliability requirements and overhead associated with the checking mechanism.
First-principles study of resistance switching in rutile TiO2 with oxygen vacancy

The electronic properties of defective rutile TiO2 with oxygen vacancy were studied by ab initio methods to understand resistance switching mechanism for non-volatile memory applications. Density functional theory calculations employing the Hubbard-U on-site correction to the local density approximation (LDA) were performed to determine the structural and electronic modifications introduced by oxygen vacancy formation in bulk TiO2. It has been found that introducing on-site Coulomb interaction between 2p electrons (Up) in addition to on-site Coulomb interaction between 3d electrons (Ud), a corrected description of the band gap state induced by the oxygen vacancy is obtained. The calculated band gap energy within the LDA+Ud+p method is in excellent agreement with the experimental value of 3.0 eV. We find that the oxygen vacancy produces a defect state within the band gap. This state is occupied by two electrons that are highly localized on Ti 3d orbitals of the nearest Ti atoms to the vacancy. The defect state is not a shallow donor, but a deep level at ~0.7 eV below the conduction band edge, indicating that the electron doping at room temperature is not favorable. The atomic relaxation effects are mainly on the Ti and O atoms in the immediate vicinity of the vacancy, however the induced displacements are rather small. The electrons localize on Ti after vacancy creation, and therefore a spatial electronic charge redistribution is observed. This change in electronic density around the vacancy increases the possibility of electron hopping in multi-vacancy systems that align to form a conductive path and ultimately lead to the low resistance state.
Do family practitioners in Lithuania inform their patients about adverse effects of common medications?

Objectives: (1) To investigate the extent to which family physicians (GPs) in Lithuania inform their patients about possible side-effects when a common treatment is proposed. (2) To examine the relation between physicians’ estimation of the severity and frequency of these side-effects and their willingness to inform patients. (3) To identify the reasons for informing or not informing the patients. Methods: A questionnaire, presenting three hypothetical cases involving decisions about ordinary medical treatments and a series of general questions about information about side-effects, was distributed to 500 Lithuanian GPs. The response rate was 42%. Results: The respondents differed considerably with regard to their willingness to inform patients about side-effects, but they informed their patients significantly more if the side effect was considered to be common and serious, than in cases when it was considered to be rare and trivial. The majority of the respondents informed their patients primarily to enable them to react appropriately to the side-effects in question. The major reason for not informing was that the side-effects were considered too rare to be relevant to the patient’s decision-making. Conclusion: Information, given to patients about side-effects by Lithuanian GPs, is not in accordance with the principle of respect for patients’ autonomy and requirements of Lithuanian legislation.
Two Walking Robot Simulators

This report is an overview of two simulators: One for a simple bipedal model of walking, and one for the Cornell Ranger [2]. The simple biped model is based on three point masses, connected by force actuators. Ranger is well modeled as a planar biped with four rigid bodies, connected by three torque motors. I developed walking control algorithms for both robots, loosely inspired by the SIMBICON [6] locomotion controller.
State Estimation of a Walking Humanoid Robot Xinjilefu and

This paper compares two approaches to designing Kalman Filters for walking systems. The first design uses Linear Inverted Pendulum Model (LIPM) dynamics, and the other design uses a more complete Planar dynamics. The filter based on the simpler LIPM design is more robust to modeling error. The more complex design estimates center of mass height and joint velocities, and tracks horizontal center of mass translation more accurately. We also investigate different ways of handling contact states and using force sensing in state estimation. In the LIPM filter, force sensing is used to determine contact states and tune filter parameters. In the Planar filter, force sensing is used to select the proper measurement equation.
Evidence for increased motor cortical facilitation and decreased inhibition in atypical depression

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a clinically heterogeneous condition. However, the role of cortical glutamate and gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptor‐mediated activity, implicated in MDD pathophysiology, has not been explored in different MDD subtypes. Our aim was to assess the atypical and melancholic depression subtypes regarding potential differences in GABA and glutamate receptor‐mediated activity through established transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) neurophysiological measures from the motor cortex.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) The DBMS-your Big Data

When addressing the problem of “big” data volume, preparation costs are one of the key challenges: the high costs for loading, aggregating and indexing data leads to a long data-toinsight time. In addition to being a nuisance to the end-user, this latency prevents real-time analytics on “big” data. Fortunately, data often comes in semantic chunks such as files that contain data items that share some characteristics such as acquisition time or location. A data management system that exploits this trait can significantly lower the data preparation costs and the associated data-to-insight time by only investing in the preparation of the relevant chunks. In this paper, we develop such a system as an extension of an existing relational DBMS (MonetDB). To this end, we develop a query processing paradigm and data storage model that are partial-loading aware. The result is a system that can make a 1.2 TB dataset (consisting of 4000 chunks) ready for querying in less than 3 minutes on a single server-class machine while maintaining good query processing performance.
DIURNAL VARIATIONS OF THE BASIC PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF A SMALL URBAN RIVER – THE SOKOŁÓWKA IN ŁÓDŹ – A CASE STUDY

The main purpose of the paper was to identify diurnal variations of the selected physico-chemical water characteristics (discharge, specific electrical conductance, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen) of a small urban river that had been heavily transformed by human activity (Sokołówka river catchment with the area of 7.71 km2). The data came from measurements conducted in the period between 4 October 2011 and 3 October 2012, using the YSI 6920 V2 (multi-parameter sensor) and ISCO 2150 (automatic current meter), in 15and 10-minute intervals, respectively. The research has proven the existence of rhythms of diurnal and seasonal variability to the selected water characteristics. The variability of the hourly values of the tested characteristics in particular days depends to a large extent on the value of the analysed parameter itself. The variability coefficients of discharge and conductivity increase with the increase in the values thereof. For dissolved oxygen, pH, and water temperature, the variability coefficients decrease with the increase in the values thereof. In the case of water pH, its specific electrical conductance, and temperature, the correlations between the given parameter and its variability observed at different times of day are not linear, but they run along loops of varying curvature. The average diurnal variability of SEC and pH parameters in the Sokołówka river was significantly changed as a result of human impact. The maximum readings of the conductivity and the pH shifted to the morning hours, with no change to the minimum readings.
Anti-tat Hutat 2 : Fc mediated protection against tat-induced neurotoxicity and HIV-1 replication in human monocyte-derived macrophages

Background: HIV-1 Tat is essential for HIV replication and is also a well-known neurotoxic factor causing HIV-associated neurocognitive disorder (HAND). Currently, combined antiretroviral therapy targeting HIV reverse transcriptase or protease cannot prevent the production of early viral proteins, especially Tat, once HIV infection has been established. HIV-infected macrophages and glial cells in the brain still release Tat into the extracellular space where it can exert direct and indirect neurotoxicity. Therefore, stable production of anti-Tat antibodies in the brain would neutralize HIV-1 Tat and thus provide an effective approach to protect neurons. Methods: We constructed a humanized anti-Tat Hutat2:Fc fusion protein with the goal of antagonizing HIV-1 Tat and delivered the gene into cell lines and primary human monocyte-derived macrophages (hMDM) by an HIV-based lentiviral vector. The function of the anti-Tat Hutat2:Fc fusion protein and the potential side effects of lentiviral vector-mediated gene transfer were evaluated in vitro. Results: Our study demonstrated that HIV-1-based lentiviral vector-mediated gene transduction resulted in a high-level, stable expression of anti-HIV-1 Tat Hutat2:Fc in human neuronal and monocytic cell lines, as well as in primary hMDM. Hutat2:Fc was detectable in both cells and supernatants and continued to accumulate to high levels within the supernatant. Hutat2:Fc protected mouse cortical neurons against HIV-1 Tat86-induced neurotoxicity. In addition, both secreted Hutat2:Fc and transduced hMDM led to reducing HIV-1BaL viral replication in human macrophages. Moreover, lentiviral vector-based gene introduction did not result in any significant changes in cytomorphology and cell viability. Although the expression of IL8, STAT1, and IDO1 genes was up-regulated in transduced hMDM, such alternation in gene expression did not affect the neuroprotective effect of Hutat2:Fc. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated that lentivirus-mediated gene transfer could efficiently deliver the Hutat2:Fc gene into primary hMDM and does not lead to any significant changes in hMDM immune-activation. The neuroprotective and HIV-1 suppressive effects produced by Hutat2:Fc were comparable to that of a full-length anti-Tat antibody. This study provides the foundation and insights for future research on the potential use of Hutat2:Fc as a novel gene therapy approach for HAND through utilizing monocytes/macrophages, which naturally cross the blood-brain barrier, for gene delivery.
Running Head : ACCURACY AND REASONING OF TEACHER JUDGMENTS 1 University Teacher Judgments in Problem-Based Learning in Higher Education : Their Accuracy and Reasoning

This study investigated the accuracy of 14 university teacher’s judgments. Early in the first year, university teachers rated the chance each university student in their group would successfully complete their first year as well as the entire bachelor’s program. Results show that university teachers’ chance ratings were predictive of actual academic success. However, they were more accurate in predicting success than failure. Moreover, results revealed that university teachers mostly built upon their observations of university students’ engagement and motivation, instead of students’ cognitive ability in their judgments. Unsuccessful university students received relatively more negatively framed statements than successful students did.
Distinct and shared cerebral activations in processing innocuous versus noxious contact heat revealed by functional magnetic resonance imaging

Whether innocuous heat (IH)‐exclusive brain regions exist and whether patterns of cerebral responses to IH and noxious heat (NH) stimulations are similar remain elusive. We hypothesized that distinct and shared cerebral networks were evoked by each type of stimulus. Twelve normal subjects participated in a functional MRI study with rapidly ramped IH (38°C) and NH (44°C) applied to the foot. Group activation maps demonstrated three patterns of cerebral activation: (1) IH‐responsive only in the inferior parietal lobule (IPL); (2) NH‐responsive only in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1), secondary somatosensory cortex (S2), posterior insular cortex (IC), and premotor area (PMA); and (3) both IH‐ and NH‐responsive in the middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), anterior IC, cerebellum, superior frontal gyrus, supplementary motor area, thalamus, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), lentiform nucleus (LN), and midbrain. According to the temporal analysis of regions of interest, the IPL exclusively responded to IH, and the S2, posterior IC, and PMA were exclusively activated by NH throughout the entire period of stimulation. The IFG, thalamus, ACC, and LN responded differently during different phases of IH versus NH stimulation, and the NH‐responsive‐only S1 responded transiently during the early phase of IH stimulation. BOLD signals in bilateral IPLs were specifically correlated with the ratings of IH sensation, while responses in the contralateral S1 and S2 were correlated with pain intensity. These results suggest that distinct and shared spatial and temporal patterns of cerebral networks are responsible for the perception of IH and NH. Hum Brain Mapp, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Big Five personality stability , change , and co-development across adolescence and early adulthood

Using data from two large and overlapping cohorts of Dutch adolescents, containing up to seven waves of longitudinal data each (N = 2,230), the present study examined Big Five personality trait stability, change, and codevelopment in friendship and sibling dyads from age 12 to 22. Four findings stand out. First, the one-year rank-order stability of personality traits was already substantial at age 12, increased strongly from early through middle adolescence, and remained rather stable during late adolescence and early adulthood. Second, we found linear mean-level increases in girls’ conscientiousness, in both genders’ agreeableness, and in boys’ openness. We also found temporal dips (i.e., U-shaped mean-level change) in boys’ conscientiousness and in girls’ emotional stability and extraversion. We did not find a meanlevel change in boys’ emotional stability and extraversion, and we found an increase followed by a decrease in girls’ openness. Third, adolescents showed substantial individual differences in the degree and direction of personality trait changes, especially with respect to conscientiousness, extraversion, and emotional stability. Fourth, we found no evidence for personality trait convergence, for correlated change, or for time-lagged partner effects in dyadic friendship and sibling relationships. This lack of evidence for dyadic codevelopment suggests that adolescent friends and siblings tend to change independently from each other and that their shared experiences do not have uniform influences on their personality traits.