Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Framework for Adaptive and Goal-Driven Behaviour Control of Multi-Robot Systems

©2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works. DOI: 10.1109/FAS-W.2016. 67 Abstract—Robot and multi-robot systems are leaving the friendly well-structured world of automation and are facing the challenges of a dynamic world. Such uncertain conditions call for a high degree of robustness and adaptivity for individual robots as well as for the organization of multi-robot systems. This corresponds to the concepts of self-adaptation and self-organization.
silicon on glass for optical MEMS

A newly developed fabrication method for fabrication of single crystalline Si (SCS) components on glass, utilizing Deep Reactive Ion Etching (DRIE) of a Silicon On Insulator (SOI) wafer is presented. The devices are packaged at wafer level in a glass-silicon-glass (GSG) stack by anodic bonding and a final sealing at the in-terconnects can be performed using a suitable polymer. Packaged MEMS on glass are advantageous within O p tical MEMS and for sensitive capacitive devices. We report on experiences with bonding SO1 to Pyrex. Uniform DRIE shallow and deep etching was achieved by a combination of an optimized device layout and an optimized process recipe. The behavior of the buried oxide membrane when used as an etch stop for the through-hole etch is described. No harmfyl buckling or fracture of the membrane is observed for an oxide thickness below lpm, but larger and more fragile released structures will need a thinner oxide in order to prevent damage.
Sequence, assembly and analysis of pX01 and pX02

Bacillus anthracis plasmids pX01 and pX02, harboured by the Sterne and Pasteur strains, respectively, have been sequenced by random ‘shotgun’ cloning and high throughout sequence analysis. These sequences have been assembled (Sequencher) to generate a circulate pX01 plasmid containing 181 656 bp and a single linear (gapped) pX02 contig containing at least 93·479 bp. Initial annotation suggests that the two plasmids combined contain at least 200 potential open reading frames (ORFs) with < 40% having significant similarity to sequences registered in open databases. Collectively, only 118 566 bp of the pX01 DNA (65%) represent predicted coding regions. This value is similar to published gene densities for other plasmids and is indicative of the larger intergenic spaces in plasmids vs those found in the chromosomes of the parental microbes (85–93% gene density). A 70 kbp region including the toxin genes (cya, lef and pag) is distinct from the remainder of the pX01 sequence: (1) it has a lower gene density (58 vs 70%) than the remaining 111 kbp; (2) it contains all but one of the co‐regulated transcriptional fusions identified by transposon mutagenesis ( Hoffmaster & Koehler 1997 ) and (3) it contains a significantly higher proportion of positive BLAST scores (62 vs 20%) for putative ORFs. These data suggest different origins for the two regions of pX01.
The Crystal Structure of the Streptococcal Collagen-like Protein 2 Globular Domain from Invasive M3-type Group A Streptococcus Shows Significant Similarity to Immunomodulatory HIV Protein gp41*

Background: Streptococcal collagen-like proteins play crucial roles in host adhesion, host cell entry, and immunomodulation of host defenses. Results: This study provides the first three-dimensional structural description of a streptococcal collagen-like protein. Conclusion: The crystal structure evidences a six-helical bundle fold, which is unusual in bacterial proteins and characteristic of viral fusion proteins. Significance: The high resolution structure provides a structural basis for the design of inhibitors of streptococcal invasion. The arsenal of virulence factors deployed by streptococci includes streptococcal collagen-like (Scl) proteins. These proteins, which are characterized by a globular domain and a collagen-like domain, play key roles in host adhesion, host immune defense evasion, and biofilm formation. In this work, we demonstrate that the Scl2.3 protein is expressed on the surface of invasive M3-type strain MGAS315 of Streptococcus pyogenes. We report the crystal structure of Scl2.3 globular domain, the first of any Scl. This structure shows a novel fold among collagen trimerization domains of either bacterial or human origin. Despite there being low sequence identity, we observed that Scl2.3 globular domain structurally resembles the gp41 subunit of the envelope glycoprotein from human immunodeficiency virus type 1, an essential subunit for viral fusion to human T cells. We combined crystallographic data with modeling and molecular dynamics techniques to gather information on the entire lollipop-like Scl2.3 structure. Molecular dynamics data evidence a high flexibility of Scl2.3 with remarkable interdomain motions that are likely instrumental to the protein biological function in mediating adhesive or immune-modulatory functions in host-pathogen interactions. Altogether, our results provide molecular tools for the understanding of Scl-mediated streptococcal pathogenesis and important structural insights for the future design of small molecular inhibitors of streptococcal invasion.
Identifying Barriers in Implementing Outcomes-Based Assessment Program Review: A Grounded Theory Analysis.

The purpose of this grounded theory study was to identify the typical barriers encountered by faculty and administrators when implementing outcomes-based assessment program review. An analysis of interviews with faculty and administrators at nine institutions revealed a theory that faculty and administrators’ promotion, tenure (if applicable), and/or renewal of contracts are often not dependent on whether they use results from outcomes-based assessment program review to improve their students’ learning and development.
SIK2 Is Critical in the Regulation of Lipid Homeostasis and Adipogenesis In Vivo

Cyclic AMP promotes chronic expression of target genes mainly by protein kinase A–dependent activation of CREB transcription factor machineries in the metabolic tissues. Here, we wanted to elaborate whether CREB-regulated transcription factor (CRTC)2 and its negative regulator salt-inducible kinase (SIK)2 are involved in the transcriptional control of the metabolic pathway in adipocytes. SIK2 knockout (SIK2 KO) mice exhibited higher blood glucose levels that were associated with impaired glucose and insulin tolerance. Hypertriglyceridemia was apparent in SIK2 KO mice, mainly due to the increased lipolysis from white adipocytes and the decreased fatty acid uptake in the peripheral tissues. Investigation of white adipocytes revealed the increases in fat cell size and macrophage infiltration, which could be linked to the metabolic anomaly that is associated in these mice. Interestingly, SIK2 KO promoted the enhancement in the CRTC2-CREB transcriptional pathway in white adipocytes. SIK2 KO mice displayed increased expression of activating transcription factor (ATF)3 and subsequent downregulation of GLUT4 expression and reduction in high–molecular weight adiponectin levels in the plasma, leading to the reduced glucose uptake in the muscle and white adipocytes. The effect of SIK2-dependent regulation of adipocyte metabolism was further confirmed by in vitro cell cultures of 3T3 L1 adipocytes and the differentiated preadipocytes from the SIK2 or CRTC2 KO mice. Collectively, these data suggest that SIK2 is critical in regulating whole-body glucose metabolism primarily by controlling the CRTC2-CREB function of the white adipocytes.
Differential power processing for efficiency and performance leaps in utility-scale photovoltaics

This paper describes a class of power electronics architecture for scalable photovoltaic power processing. The proposed power processing technique can provide extreme improvements in power conversion density. The architecture enhances energy delivery and system reliability compared to conventional methods. The strategy leverages the best attributes of conventional methods with a fundamentally different approach that also overcomes their major drawbacks. This differential power processing approach converts power only once, using small local converters to process the limited mismatch between adjacent solar elements. When a grid tie is desired, a simplified large inverter provides this interface. The method supports local protection and diagnostics, while optimizing power production.
Identification of predicted human outer dynein arm genes: candidates for primary ciliary dyskinesia genes

Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) is a severe inherited disorder characterised by chronic respiratory disease, male infertility, and, in ∼50% of affected individuals, a left-right asymmetry defect called situs inversus. PCD is caused by defects in substructures of the ciliary and flagellar axoneme, most commonly loss of the outer dynein arms. Although PCD is believed to involve mutations in many genes, only three have been identified. Methods: To facilitate discovery of new PCD genes, we have used database searching and analysis to systematically identify the human homologues of proteins associated with the Chlamydomonas reinhardtii outer dynein arm, the best characterised outer arm of any species. Results: We find that 12 out of 14 known Chlamydomonas outer arm subunits have one or more likely orthologues in humans. The results predict a total of 24 human genes likely to encode outer dynein arm subunits and associated proteins possibly necessary for outer arm assembly, plus 12 additional closely related human genes likely to encode inner dynein arm subunits. Conclusion: These genes, which have been located on the human chromosomes for easy comparison with known or suspected PCD loci, are excellent candidates for screening for disease-causing mutations in PCD patients with outer and/or inner dynein arm defects.
Identification of time-delay chaotic system with outliers: Fuzzy neural networks using hybrid learning algorithm

A hybrid learning algorithm is proposed to train fuzzy neural networks (FNNs) for identifying a time-delay chaotic system with outliers. In the proposed algorithm, integrating support vector regression (SVR) and annealing robust time-varying learning algorithm (ARTVLA) to optimize FNNs. In the evolutionary procedure, first, SVR is adopted to determine the number of hidden layer nodes and the initial structure of the FNNs. After initialization, ARTVLA with nonlinear time-varying learning rate is then applied to train FNNs. In ARTVLA, the determination of the learning rate would be an important work for the trade-off between stability and speed of convergence. A computationally efficient optimization method, particle swarm optimization (PSO) method, is adopted to simultaneously find optimal learning rates. Due to the advantages of SVR and ARTVLA (SVR-ARTVLA), the proposed FNNs (SVR-ARTVLA-FNNs) have good performance for identifying a time-delay chaotic system: Mackey Glass system with outliers. Simulation results are illustrated the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed SVR-ARTVLA-FNNs.
A Charge-Pump-Based Current Feedback Method for AMOLED Displays

This work presents a new external driving scheme that uses the current feedback method with a 3T1C pixel circuit. The proposed circuit provides a stable OLED driving current by compensating for the threshold voltage shift of amorphous-silicon thin-film transistors (a-Si TFTs). For fabricated a-Si TFTs and the 0.35 μm CMOS process associated with the proposed driving scheme, measurements reveal that the normalized OLED current degradation is less than 5% after 60 hours of operation at 60°C. Moreover, for a data line load of 1.69 K Ω/110 pF, the relative error rates between data currents and OLED currents are less than 4% within a settling time of 19 μs.
Vote Buying, Village Elections, and Authoritarian Rule in Rural China: A Game-Theoretic Analysis

Village elections are a democratic institution in one of the most resilient authoritarian regimes in the world. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has promoted village elections over the past twenty years, but not elections at higher levels. I present a game-theoretic model in which candidates would engage in vote buying when competing in a small electorate but not when competing in a larger electorate. The model's equilibrium outcome implies that the logic of China's introduction of village elections inherently limits this democratic reform to the grassroots level. Elections for higher levels of government would be dangerous to the regime because they would lead candidates to create substantive policy platforms and political organizations. Thus, rather than being an experiment that has failed to lead to further reforms, village democracy is self-limiting by design.
cDNA Microarray Analysis of Rice Anther Genes under Chilling Stress at the Microsporogenesis Stage Revealed Two Genes with DNA Transposon Castaway in the 5′-Flanking Region

Rice is most chilling sensitive at the onset of microspore release. Chilling treatment at this stage causes male sterility. The gene expression profile during the microspore development process under chilling stress was revealed using a microarray that included 8,987 rice cDNAs. As many as 160 cDNAs were up- or down-regulated by chilling during the microspore release stage. RT-PCR analysis of 5 genes confirmed the microarray results. We identified 3 novel genes whose expression levels were remarkably changed by chilling in rice anther. A new cis element that includes a DNA transposon Castaway sequence was found in the 5′ upstream region of two genes which were conspicuously down-regulated by chilling temperatures in rice anther.
Visual Creation of Virtual Design Environments and Virtual Worlds Research at ISS

Developing virtual worlds using toolkits and conventional programming-based approaches is a tedious, time-consuming, and often frustrating task. Too much learning of the toolkits and the basic development technology is necessary before the development can start. Even after that, it takes a long time to develop, test, and modify virtual worlds. At ISS, we are following a highly interactive and visual approach to virtual world construction, which allows virtual world designers to work with high-level concepts. This approach facilitates exploration in design and rapid prototyping. To achieve our goal, we are focusing on the following four base technologies: Bricks, a toolkit to support the development of virtual worlds; WorldNet, a toolkit to support the development of network-based virtual worlds; VizNet, a system that helps visualize a large collection of objects; and the Virtual Workbench, a crafting environment that uses virtual reality to build and manage objects.
Molecular genetic studies of Anopheles stephensi in Pakistan

Abstract Anopheles stephensi Liston s.l. (Diptera: Culicidae) is one of the major vectors of malaria in Pakistan, India, Iran and Afghanistan. In parts of its range this species has shown increases in both relative and absolute abundance in what is hypothesized to be a response to human‐mediated environmental change resulting from extensive irrigation. We attempted to detect the molecular genetic signatures of this population instability based on three samples obtained from two villages (149/6R and 111/6R) within an irrigation zone in Punjab Province and from one village (Azakhel) outside the irrigation scheme in Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan, using seven microsatellite loci and 682 basepairs of the mitochondrial CO1 gene. For microsatellite loci, high levels of genetic diversity were observed within populations (mean alleles per locus 10.71–11.57; mean heterozygosity 0.703–0.733). Deviation from Hardy–Weinberg expectations was observed for only two microsatellite loci in 21 tests. No genetic differentiation was observed between populations and average pairwise FST values did not differ significantly from zero for any population pair or either marker system. Tests of population expansion for both mitochondrial and microsatellite loci were inconclusive.
Profiles of electrophoretic alleles in natural populations.

The charge state model of Ohta & Kimura (1973) for the number of electrophoretically detectable alleles in a finite population, is extended to include mutations of both one and two charge changes. The effective number of alleles (n e ) is increased only slightly by this extension. Electrophoretic profiles of neutral variants are shown on average to be leptokurtic and have their odd central moments equal to zero. The expected frequency distribution of pairs of gametes which differ by 1,2,3,. charge units can be obtained as the sum of the appropriate terms from two geometric series.
Effect of hydrogen peroxide and dithiothreitol on contractile function of single skeletal muscle fibres from the mouse

1 We used intact single fibres from a mouse foot muscle to study the role of oxidation‐reduction in the modulation of contractile function. 2 The oxidant hydrogen peroxide (H2O2, 100‐300 μM) for brief periods did not change myoplasmic Ca2+ concentrations ([Ca2+]i) during submaximal tetani. However, force increased by 27 % during the same contractions. 3 The effects of H2O2 were time dependent. Prolonged exposures resulted in increased resting and tetanic [Ca2+]i, while force was significantly diminished. The force decline was mainly due to reduced myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity. There was also evidence of altered sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) function: passive Ca2+ leak was increased and Ca2+ uptake was decreased. 4 The reductant dithiothreitol (DTT, 0.5‐1 mM) did not change tetanic [Ca2+]i, but decreased force by over 40 %. This was completely reversed by subsequent incubations with H2O2. The force decline induced by prolonged exposure to H2O2 was reversed by subsequent exposure to DTT. 5 These results show that the elements of the contractile machinery are differentially responsive to changes in the oxidation‐reduction balance of the muscle fibres. Myofibrillar Ca2+ sensitivity appears to be especially susceptible, while the SR functions (Ca2+ leak and uptake) are less so.
A Recursive Bayesian Approach to Estimation of Prevalence of High Blood Pressure Among Different Age Groups

High blood pressure (or hypertension) is a major public health issue affecting old aged adults in many countries and is a major risk factor in the development of stroke, cardiovascular and chronic kidney disease. High blood pressure of recent is becoming an important area of research due to its high prevalence among lower aged groups (i.e. below 30 years old). Many studies have been conducted on prevalence of high blood pressures amongst adults at local and national levels, and at urban or rural areas and all pointing to the fact that there has been increasing prevalence of hypertension across the globe. Since blood pressure tends to rise with age, there is the need to investigate the prevalence of high blood pressures at different age groups in order to describe the process which generates a particular signal or set of observations. In this study, staff data from the University of Lagos medical Centre were used for the research. A recursive Bayesian approach to dynamic state space estimation was developed to model the prevalence of high blood pressure together with the use of analytic solutions based on the Kalman filter. Based on model diagnostic criteria adopted, the result generated a best fit autoregressive model for the number patients with hypertension. The Kalman filter provided an optimal estimate of the linear state space approach to modelling dynamic system. The state space approach to modelling dynamic system in this study focused on discrete time formulation by using difference equations to model the evolution of the system with time, and measurements assumed to be available at discrete time. It provided a generic and flexible framework for modelling the prevalence of high blood pressure.
Monocular visual SLAM for tactical situational awareness

Tactical situational awareness for military applications should be based on infrastructure-free systems and should be able to form knowledge of the previously unknown environment. Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) is a key technology for providing an accurate and reliable infrastructure-free solution for indoor situational awareness. However, indoor environments and the requirements , especially the size and weight limits of the system, make the implementation of SLAM using existing algorithms challenging. In particular, we aim to implement SLAM using a monocular camera, due to size limitations, whereas most existing algorithms use stereo images. The two major obstacles to be overcome are the unknown scale of translation observed using a monocular camera and the shortage of features indoors, complicating visual perception. Herein, a Kalman filter based SLAM solution is discussed, utilizing a concept called visual odometry that provides absolute translation information with a reduced number of features. The results show that our solution is feasible for performing SLAM indoors using a monocular camera.
Stress and neurocognitive efficiency in managerial contexts

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the potential of an innovative technology-mediated mental training protocol for the empowerment of stress management and neurocognitive efficiency in highly stressful professional contexts, with people who occupy top management positions. The innovative protocol specifically combines mindfulness practice and a wearable neurofeedback system managed via smartphone. Design/methodology/approach The longitudinal research included pre- and post-training assessment steps in order to test training effects with respect to subjective level and physiological markers of stress, anxiety and mood profiles, cognitive abilities and markers of neurocognitive efficiency. Findings Results showed decreased stress, anxiety, anger and mental fatigue; increased participants’ information-processing efficiency; increased electrophysiological markers concerning the balance and reactivity of the mind-brain system; and improved physiological markers of vagal tone. Research limitations/implications Though further investigation and replication with larger samples would strengthen present findings, the authors suggest that observed outcomes, together with the limited duration of the overall protocol and of daily practices, make the training a potentially valuable tool especially for people whose professional position imposes time limitations and elevated job duties, thus increasing the risk of drop-out from traditional stress management programs. Originality/value The combination of mindfulness-based mental training with the advantages offered by a novel brain-sensing wearable technology allows for overcoming the weak points of traditional approaches (e.g. notable time expense) and optimizing training opportunities and outcomes. Furthermore, this is, to the authors’ best knowledge, the first systematic report of the application of such methodology in an organization and with top management professionals.