Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A two-tier map representation for compact-stereo-vision-based SLAM

SUMMARY Vision sensors are increasingly being used in the implementation of Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM). Even though the mathematical framework of SLAM is well understood, considerable issues remain to be resolved when a particular sensing modality is considered. For instance, the observation model of a small baseline stereo camera is known to be highly nonlinear. As a consequence, state estimations obtained from standard recursive estimators, such as the Extended Kalman Filter, tend to be inconsistent. Further, vision-based approaches are plagued with high feature densities, and the consequent requisite of maintaining large feature databases for loop closure and data association. This paper proposes a two-tier solution for resolving these issues, inspired by the mechanics of human navigation. The proposed two-tier solution addresses the consistency issue by formulating the SLAM problem as a nonlinear batch optimization and presents a novel method for feature management through a two-tier map representation. Simulations and experiments are carried out in an office-like environment to validate the performance of the algorithm.
A Comparative Study of Aggregate TCP Retransmission Rates

Abstract Segment retransmissions are an essential tool in assuring reliable end-to-end communication in the Internet. Their crucial role in Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) design and operation have been studied extensively, in particular with respect to identifying non-conformant, buggy, or underperforming behaviour. However, TCP segment retransmissions are often overlooked when examining and analysing large traffic traces. In fact, some have come to believe that retransmissions are a rare oddity, characteristically associated with faulty network paths, which, typically, tend to disappear as networking technology advances and link capacities grow. We find that this may be far from the reality experienced by TCP flows. We quantify aggregate TCP segment retransmission rates using publicly available network traces from six passive monitoring points attached to the egress gateways at large sites. In virtually half of the traces examined we observed aggregate TCP retransmission rates exceeding 1%, and of these, about half again had retransmission rates exceeding 2%. Even for sites with low utilization and high-capacity gateway links, retransmission rates of 1%, and sometimes higher, were not uncommon. Our results complement, extend, and bring up to date partial and incomplete results in previous work, and show that TCP retransmissions continue to constitute a non-negligible percentage of the overall traffic, despite significant advances across the board in telecommunications technologies and network protocols. The results presented are pertinent to end-to-end protocol designers and evaluators as they provide a range of “realistic” scenarios under which, and a “marker” against which, simulation studies can be configured and calibrated, and future protocols evaluated.
Quality-Aware Runtime Adaptation in Complex Event Processing

Complex event processing (CEP) is a fundamental paradigm for a software system to self-adapt to environmental changes. CEP provides efficient means to detect (complex) events corresponding to environmental changes by performing a real-time analysis on many, possibly heterogeneous, data sources. The way current CEP systems detect events is determined at design time without accounting for dynamic changes of the environment monitored by the CEP system. This can lead to situations where the performance, quality and reliability of event detection significantly drop (e.g., due to mobility) since initial assumptions of the environment are violated or stated too general. In this paper, we propose A DAPTIVE CEP, a CEP system that is able to self-adapt to detected changes in environmental conditions. We propose a CEP query language that allows specifying changes in the behavior of the CEP system and its mechanisms in detecting events dependent on environmental conditions. This way, A DAPTIVE CEP can select the best-suited configurations for given quality demands. In our evaluation, we show by means of a reference concept how the flexibility exposed by the query language helps to achieve significant performance gains.
Pitching Stability Simulation Of A Bionic Cownose Ray

Swimming stability is essential to a bionic robotic fish which is aiming to be applied to practical application. The stability can be controlled through two kinds of methods, the passive control method and the active control method. The latter one performs more flexibility. Forces of disturbance caused by movements of the bionic pectoral foils and the horizontal tail of a bionic fish imitating cownose ray propelled by oscillating paired pectoral foils are analyzed. Simulation model based on both PID method and fuzzy control method for the stability performance of the bionic fish in condition of compensating work by horizontal tail or not are built. Results show that the stability of the bionic fish can be obviously improved by actively control of the horizontal tail.
Evaluation of Prothrombin Time and Activated Partial Thromboplastin Time in Hypertensive Patients Attending a Tertiary Hospital in Calabar, Nigeria

Introduction. Several biomedical findings have established the effects of hypertension on haemostasis and roles of blood coagulation products in the clinical course of hypertension. Methods. This cross-sectional study aimed at determining effects of hypertension on prothrombin time (PT) and activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) in hypertensive patients in comparison with normotensive subjects attending a tertiary hospital in Calabar. Forty-two (42) hypertensive patients and thirty-nine (39) normotensive control subjects were investigated for PT and APTT using Quick one-stage methods. Results. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP) correlated positively with APTT (r = 0.3072, r = 0.4988; P < 0.05) in hypertensive patients. DBP, SBP, PT, and APTT were significantly higher in hypertensive patients when compared to normotensive subjects (P < 0.05). DBP correlated negatively with duration of illness (r = −0.3097; P < 0.05) in hypertensive patients and positively with age of normotensive subjects (r = 0.3523; P < 0.05). Conclusion. The results obtained indicated that measurements of PT and APTT may serve as indices for evaluating hemostatic abnormalities in hypertensive patients and guide for antihypertensive therapy. However, to have better understanding of hemostatic activities in hypertension, it is recommended to conduct D-dimer, platelet factors, and protein assays.
Analysis of nonlinear elastic behavior in miniature pneumatic artificial muscles

Pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) are well known for their excellent actuator characteristics, including high specific work, specific power, and power density. Recent research has focused on miniaturizing this pneumatic actuator technology in order to develop PAMs for use in small-scale mechanical systems, such as those found in robotic or aerospace applications. The first step in implementing these miniature PAMs was to design and characterize the actuator. To that end, this study presents the manufacturing process, experimental characterization, and analytical modeling of PAMs with millimeter-scale diameters. A fabrication method was developed to consistently produce low-cost, high performance, miniature PAMs using commercially available materials. The quasi-static behavior of these PAMs was determined through experimentation on a single actuator with an active length of 39.16 mm (1.54 in) and a diameter of 4.13 mm (0.1625 in). Testing revealed the PAM’s full evolution of force with displacement for operating pressures ranging from 207 to 552 kPa (30–80 psi in 10 psi increments), as well as the blocked force and free contraction at each pressure. Three key nonlinear phenomena were observed: nonlinear PAM stiffness, hysteresis of the force versus displacement response for a given pressure, and a pressure deadband. To address the analysis of the nonlinear response of these miniature PAMs, a nonlinear stress versus strain model, a hysteresis model, and a pressure bias are introduced into a previously developed force balance analysis. Parameters of these nonlinear model refinements are identified from the measured force versus displacement data. This improved nonlinear force balance model is shown to capture the full actuation behavior of the miniature PAMs at each operating pressure and reconstruct miniature PAM response with much more accuracy than previously possible.
Sequential Soil Transport and Its Influence on the Spatial Organisation of Collective Digging in Leaf-Cutting Ants

The Chaco leaf-cutting ant Atta vollenweideri (Forel) inhabits large and deep subterranean nests composed of a large number of fungus and refuse chambers. The ants dispose of the excavated soil by forming small pellets that are carried to the surface. For ants in general, the organisation of underground soil transport during nest building remains completely unknown. In the laboratory, we investigated how soil pellets are formed and transported, and whether their occurrence influences the spatial organisation of collective digging. Similar to leaf transport, we discovered size matching between soil pellet mass and carrier mass. Workers observed while digging excavated pellets at a rate of 26 per hour. Each excavator deposited its pellets in an individual cluster, independently of the preferred deposition sites of other excavators. Soil pellets were transported sequentially over 2 m, and the transport involved up to 12 workers belonging to three functionally distinct groups: excavators, several short-distance carriers that dropped the collected pellets after a few centimetres, and long-distance, last carriers that reached the final deposition site. When initiating a new excavation, the proportion of long-distance carriers increased from 18% to 45% within the first five hours, and remained unchanged over more than 20 hours. Accumulated, freshly-excavated pellets significantly influenced the workers' decision where to start digging in a choice experiment. Thus, pellets temporarily accumulated as a result of their sequential transport provide cues that spatially organise collective nest excavation.
Stimulation of Cholesterol Efflux by LXR Agonists in Cholesterol-Loaded Human Macrophages Is ABCA1-Dependent but ABCG1-Independent

Objective—Maintenance of cholesterol homeostasis in human macrophages is essential to prevent foam cell formation. We evaluated the relative contribution of the ABCA1 and ABCG1 transporters to cholesterol efflux from human macrophages, and of the capacity of LXR agonists to reduce foam cell formation by stimulating export of cellular cholesterol. Methods and Results—ABCG1 mRNA levels were strongly increased in acLDL-loaded THP-1 macrophages and in HMDM on stimulation with LXR agonists. However, silencing of ABCG1 expression using ABCG1-specific siRNA indicated that ABCG1 was not essential for cholesterol efflux to HDL in cholesterol-loaded human macrophages stimulated with LXR agonists. Indeed, ABCA1 was solely responsible for the stimulation of cholesterol efflux to HDL on LXR activation, as this effect was abolished in HMDM from Tangier patients. Furthermore, depletion of cellular ATP indicated that the LXR-induced export of cholesterol was an ATP-dependent transport mechanism in human macrophages. Finally, use of an anti–Cla-1 blocking antibody identified the Cla-1 receptor as a key component in cholesterol efflux to HDL from cholesterol-loaded human macrophages. Conclusion—Our data indicate that stimulation of cholesterol efflux to HDL by LXR agonists in human foam cells involves an ATP-dependent transport mechanism mediated by ABCA1 that it appears to be independent of ABCG1 expression.
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome: A 50-Year Experience at Baylor University Medical Center

During the past 5 decades, the recognition and management of thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) have evolved. This article elucidates these changes and improvements in the diagnosis and management of TOS at Baylor University Medical Center. The most remarkable change over the past 50 years is the use of nerve conduction velocity to diagnose and monitor patients with nerve compression. Recognition that procedures such as breast implantation and median sternotomy may produce TOS has been revealing. Prompt thrombolysis followed by surgical venous decompression for Paget-Schroetter syndrome has markedly improved results compared with the conservative anticoagulation approach; thrombolysis and prompt first rib resection is the optimal treatment for most patients with Paget-Schroetter syndrome. Complete first rib extirpation at the initial procedure markedly reduces the incidence of recurrent neurologic symptoms or the need for a second procedure. Chest pain or pseudoangina can be caused by TOS. Dorsal sympathectomy is helpful for patients with sympathetic maintained pain syndrome or causalgia and patients with recurrent TOS symptoms who need a second procedure.
Effects of naringenin and its phase II metabolites on in vitro human macrophage gene expression

Abstract Naringenin, together with its glycosidic forms, is a flavanone abundant in grapefruit and orange. It has been detected in human plasma, following citrus juice intake, at sub-µmolar concentrations, and its main phase II conjugated metabolites (naringenin-7-O-glucuronide and narigenin-4′-O-glucuronide) have been identified in urine. Recent evidence suggests a potential active anti-inflammatory role of flavonoids on macrophages, cells actively involved in atherogenesis. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of naringenin and its phase II metabolites on the expression of specific genes in differently activated macrophages at concentrations coherent with dietary exposure. Results suggest that phase II metabolites, as well as the aglyconic form of naringenin, were able to perturb macrophage gene expression in directions that are not always consistent with anti-inflammatory effects. Moreover, the effects of metabolites were not always consistent with each other and with those of their aglycone, underlining the paramount importance of testing physiological forms of phytochemicals within in vitro experimental models. In vivo studies are needed to further explore these observations and investigate their practical consequences.
Virus factories: biogenesis and structural design

Replication and assembly of many viruses occur in specific intracellular compartments known as ‘virus factories’. Our knowledge of the biogenesis and architecture of these unique structures has increased considerably in the last 10 years, due to technical advances in cellular, molecular and structural biology. We now know that viruses build replication organelles, which recruit cell and viral components in a macrostructure in which viruses assemble and mature. Cell membranes and cytoskeleton participate in the biogenesis of these scaffolds and mitochondria are present in many factories, where they might supply energy and other essential factors. New inter‐organelle contacts have been visualized within virus factories, whose structure is very dynamic, as it changes over time. There is increasing interest in identifying the factors involved in their biogenesis and functional architecture, and new microscopy techniques are helping us to understand how these complex entities are built and work. In this review, we summarize recent findings on the cell biology, biogenesis and structure of virus factories.
The Good, the Bad, And the Ugly: Stepping on the Security Scale

Metrics are both fashionable and timely: many regulations that affect cybersecurity rely upon metrics - albeit, of the checklist variety in many cases - to ascertain compliance. However, there are far more effective uses of security metrics than external compliance exercises. The most effective use of security metrics is to manage better, which may include: • Make a business case for needed change • Focus scarce resource on most pressing problems (with the biggest payoff for resolution) • Help spot problems early - or successes early • Address “outside” concerns or criticisms fairly and objectively A successful security metric should: • Motivate good/correct behavior (not promote evasive tactics just to make the numbers look good) ? Prompt additional questions (? Why? How? ) to understand what is influencing the numbers ? Answer basic questions of goodness (e.g., “Are we doing better or worse? ”) • Be objective and measurable, even if correlation may not equal causality This paper explores the qualities of good security metrics and their application in security vulnerability handling as well as a software assurance program.
Accuracy of an Immunochromatographic Diagnostic Test (ICT Malaria Combo Cassette Test) Compared to Microscopy among under Five-Year-Old Children when Diagnosing Malaria in Equatorial Guinea

Conventional malaria diagnosis based on microscopy raises serious difficulties in weak health systems. Cost-effective and sensitive rapid diagnostic tests have been recently proposed as alternatives to microscopy. In Equatorial Guinea, a study was conducted to assess the reliability of a rapid diagnostic test compared to microscopy. The study was designed in accordance with the directives of the Standards for Reporting Diagnostic Accuracy Initiative (STARD). Peripheral thick and thin films for the microscopy diagnosis and a rapid immunochromatographic test (ICT Malaria Combo Cassette Test) were performed on under five-year-old children with malaria suspicion. The ICT test detected Plasmodium spp. infection with a sensitivity of 81.5% and a specificity of 81.9% while P. falciparum diagnosis occurred with a sensitivity of 69.7% and a specificity of 73.7%. The sensitivity of the ICT test increased with higher parasitemias. The general results showed little concordance between the ICT test and microscopy (kappa = 0.28, se: 0.04). In Equatorial Guinea, the ICT Malaria Combo Cassette Test has proven to be an acceptable test to detect high P. falciparum parasitemias. However, the decrease of sensitivity at medium and low parasitemias hampers that ICT can replace properly performed microscopy at present in the diagnosis of malaria in children.
Applying a Taxonomy of Formation Control in Developing a Robotic System

Designing cooperative multi-robot systems (MRS) requires expert knowledge both in control and artificial intelligence. Formation control is an important research within the research field of MRS. Since many researchers use different ways in approaching formation control, we try to give a taxonomy in order to help researchers design formation systems in a systematical way. We can analyze formation structures in two categories: control abstraction and robot distinguishability. The control abstraction can be divided into three layers: formation shape, reference type, and robotic control. Furthermore, robots can be classified as anonymous robots or identification robots depending on whether robots are distinguishable according to their inner states. We use this taxonomy to analyze some ground-based formation systems and to state current challenges of formation control. Such information becomes the design know-how in developing a formation system, and a case study of designing a multi-team formation system is introduced to demonstrate the usefulness of the taxonomy
Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor is a novel biomarker predicting acute exacerbation in COPD

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a chronic inflammatory condition, and progresses with acute exacerbations. (AE). During AE, levels of acute phase reactants such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and inflammatory cells in the circulation increase. Soluble urokinase-type plasminogen activator receptor (suPAR) levels increase in acute viral and bacterial infections and in diseases involving chronic inflammation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of suPAR in predicting diagnosis of AE of COPD (AE-COPD) and response to treatment. Methods The study population consisted of 43 patients diagnosed with AE-COPD and 30 healthy controls. suPAR, CRP, and fibrinogen levels were measured on the first day of hospitalization and on the seventh day of treatment. Results We found that fibrinogen (P<0.001), CRP (P<0.001), and suPAR (P<0.001) were significantly higher in patients with AE-COPD than in healthy controls. Fibrinogen (P<0.001), CRP (P=0.001), and suPAR (P<0.001) were significantly decreased by the seventh day of treatment. However, the area under receiver operator characteristic curve showed that suPAR is superior to CRP and fibrinogen in distinguishing AE-COPD. There was a correlation between fibrinogen, CRP, and suPAR. However, only fibrinogen was a powerful predictor of suPAR in multiple linear regression. In multiple logistic regression, only suPAR and fibrinogen were strong predictors of AE-COPD (P=0.002 and P=0.014, respectively). Serum suPAR was negatively correlated with forced expiratory volume in 1 second (r=−478, P=0.001). Conclusion suPAR is a marker of acute inflammation. It is well correlated with such inflammation markers as CRP and fibrinogen. suPAR can be used as a predictor of AE-COPD and in monitoring response to treatment.
Effect of Gender on the Social and Psychological Adjustment of Cancer Patients

Abstract The purpose of this article is to examine gender differences in social and psychological adjustment among cancer patients. The social adjustment and psychological distress of 49 patients (34 women and 15 men) undergoing active medical care (chemotherapy and radiation) were assessed. Socio-demographic and medical parameters were also examined to account for differences in adjustment. Three questionnaires were used: A personal information questionnaire; a Psychosocial Adjustment to Illness Scale (PAIS-SR) (Derogatis & Lopez, 1983); and a psychological distress one (BSI) (Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). Significant differences were found between men and women patients in several dimensions of the social adjustment, psychological distress and medical variables. Possible explanations, recommendations for further research and clinical intervention are suggested.
Isolating Failure-Inducing Combinations in Combinatorial Testing Using Test Augmentation and Classification

Combinatorial Testing (CT) is a systematic way of sampling input parameters of the software under test (SUT). A t-way combinatorial test set can exercise all behaviors of the SUT caused by interactions between t input parameters or less. Although combinatorial testing can provide fault detection capability, it is often desirable to isolate the input combinations that cause failures. Isolating these failure-inducing combinations aids developers in understanding the causes of failures. Previous work directly uses classification tree analysis on the results of combinatorial testing to model the failure inducing combinations. But in many scenarios, the effectiveness of classification depends upon whether the analyzed test set is sufficient for classification. In addition, generating combinatorial tests for more-than-6-way combination is generally expensive. To address these issues, we propose an approach that uses existing combinatorial testing results to generate additional tests that enhance the effectiveness of classification. In addition, our approach also includes a technique to reduce the complexity of the resulting classification tree so that developers can understand the nature of failure-inducing combinations. We present the preliminary results of our approach applied on the TCAS benchmark.