Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and evaluation of a Skill Based Architecture for applied industrial robotics

This paper presents and evaluates a Skill Based Architecture with the aim of increasing flexibility of dual-arm robot programming. The proposed architecture allows absolute control of the execution, easing coordination of the arms if necessary. This work try to quantify the advantages of the proposed paradigm based in different indicators. A pilot station is under development at Airbus Operations plant in Puerto Real, Spain. A real operation, drilling deburring of composite parts, has been selected as use case for evaluation.
Expression of the Cdx1 and Cdx2 Homeotic Genes Leads to Reduced Malignancy in Colon Cancer-derived Cells*

We have previously described an inverse relationship between Cdx1 and Cdx2 mRNA levels and the extent of dysplasia and severity of clinical outcome in colorectal carcinoma, suggesting that altered expression of these genes was associated with colorectal carcinogenesis or tumor progression. To investigate further their involvement in the physiopathology of colorectal cancer, HT29 colon carcinoma cells that show very lowCdx expression were transfected with Cdx1and/or Cdx2 cDNA to elicit their overexpression. Growth rate, tumorigenicity, resistance to apoptosis, and migration potential of the corresponding cells were analyzed. Growth rate of cells overexpressing Cdx2 decreased by half, whereas overexpression of Cdx1 had no effect. However, cells overexpressing both Cdxs had a growth rate reduced to 20% of control. In cells overexpressing Cdx1 orCdx2, tumorigenicity and resistance to apoptosis induced by serum starvation, ceramide, or staurosporine were not changed compared with control cells; yet phorbol ester-stimulated cell migration was decreased by 50%. In cells overexpressing both Cdx1 andCdx2, tumorigenicity was decreased by 50%, resistance to apoptosis was significantly lowered, and stimulated cell migration was further decreased to 15% of control compared with cells expressingCdx1 or Cdx2. Finally, cells overexpressing both Cdxs showed strongly decreased Bcl-2 expression, which could account for their increased sensitivity to apoptosis. These findings show that, in HT29 cells, both Cdx1 andCdx2 genes must be expressed to reduce tumorigenic potential, to increase sensitivity to apoptosis, and to reduce cell migration, suggesting that the two genes control the normal phenotype by independent pathways. This may explain why loss of Cdx1or Cdx2 expression is associated with tumor development and invasiveness in colorectal tumors.
A Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm for Outlier Removal

Quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) or quantitative structure property relationship (QSPR) models are developed to correlate activities for sets of compounds with their structure-derived descriptors by means of mathematical models. The presence of outliers, namely, compounds that differ in some respect from the rest of the data set, compromise the ability of statistical methods to derive QSAR models with good prediction statistics. Hence, outliers should be removed from data sets prior to model derivation. Here we present a new multi-objective genetic algorithm for the identification and removal of outliers based on the k nearest neighbors (kNN) method. The algorithm was used to remove outliers from three different data sets of pharmaceutical interest (logBBB, factor 7 inhibitors, and dihydrofolate reductase inhibitors), and its performances were compared with those of five other methods for outlier removal. The results suggest that the new algorithm provides filtered data sets that (1) better maintain the internal diversity of the parent data sets and (2) give rise to QSAR models with much better prediction statistics. Equally good filtered data sets in terms of these metrics were obtained when another objective function was added to the algorithm (termed "preservation"), forcing it to remove certain compounds with low probability only. This option is highly useful when specific compounds should be preferably kept in the final data set either because they have favorable activities or because they represent interesting molecular scaffolds. We expect this new algorithm to be useful in future QSAR applications.
Method of digital filtering of sine/cosine incremental position encoder signals for elimination of DC offset impact

This paper deals with the method of elimination of the DC offset impact on the speed estimation system which uses sine/cosine incremental position encoder. The impact of the DC offset in the input signals to the PLL-based speed estimation is shown. The problem can be solved by means of the highpass filter which should be implemented in the angle domain instead of time domain. The simulation and experimental results are presented. The operation of the filter is correct in the wide range of operation speeds of the drive including zero speed.
Effects of kappa-agonist on the antinociception and locomotor enhancing action induced by morphine in mice.

The antinociception of intracerebroventricular injection (i.c.v.) of morphine was markedly abolished by pretreatment with naloxonazine (micro 1-antagonist), s.c. ; beta-funaltrexamine (micro 1/micro 2-antagonist), i.c. v. ; DSP-4 (noradrenaline neurotoxin), s.c. ; or p-chlorophenylalanine (serotonin synthesis inhibitor), s.c. in the mouse 55 degrees C hot-plate assay. Pretreatment with nor-binaltorphimine (kappa-antagonist), i.c. v. or PCPA, s.c. drastically blocked the kappa-agonist U-50,488H-induced supraspinal antinociception. These findings indicate either noradrenergic or serotonergic involvement in the mediation of the antinociceptio of i.c. v. -morphine through mu-receptors. On the contrary, the antinociception of i.c. v. - U-50,488H through kappa-receptors appears to depend on the serotonergic but not noradrenergic systems. The antinociceptive interaction between the i.c. v. -morphine and -U-50,488H was an additive effect. On the other hand, i.c. v. -morphine dose-dependently increased the locomotion in mice, and this hyperlocomotion of morphine was drastically blocked by pretreatment with either beta-funaltrexamine, i.c. v. or 6-hydroxydopamine (dopamine depletor), i.c. v. I.c. v. -U-50,488H dose-dependently reduced the increasing locomotion of i.c. v. -morphine, but not that of s.c. -apomorphine (dopamine receptor agonist), and this effect of U-50,488H was completely reversed by pretreatment with nor-binaltorphimine, i.c. v. These results suggest that coadministration of kappa-agonists can suppress the dopamine-related hyperlocomotion of mu-agonists without decreasing the anti-nociception of mu-agonists in mice.
Freeze‐fracture cytochemistry: a simplified guide and update on developments

A wide variety of methods by which cytochemistry and freeze‐fracture can be successfully combined have recently become available. All these techniques are designed to provide information on the chemical nature of structural components revealed by freeze‐fracture, but differ in how this is achieved, in precisely what type of information is obtained, and in which types of specimen can be studied. Colloidal gold labelling is the most widely used cytochemical technique in freeze‐fracture cytochemistry, and for many of the methods it is indispensable. In principle, there are four points in which the cytochemical labelling step may be integrated into the standard freeze‐fracture procedure: (i) before the specimen has been frozen, (ii) after it has been fractured and thawed, (iii) after platinum shadowing or (iv) after completion of the full replication sequence. Retention of the gold label so that it can be viewed with replicas can be achieved by depositing platinum and/or carbon upon the labelled surface, thereby partially entrapping the marker particles within the replica, or by retaining, attached to the replica, fragments of fractured membrane (or other cellular components) that would normally have been lost during the replica cleaning step. Another approach to visualizing the label is to use sections, either with portions of a replica included face‐on, or for examining the fracture path through the sample (without replica). Recent developments have centred on the use of replicas to stabilize half‐membrane leaflets; not only may these and associated attached components be retained for labelling just before mounting, but they provide a means for manipulating the specimen— specifically, turning it over during processing—so that additional structural information can be obtained.
Double transfer UV-curing nanoimprint lithography

A challenge in the fabrication of nanostructures into non-planar substrates is to form a thin, uniform resist film on non-planar surfaces. This is critical to the fabrication of nanostructures via a lithographic technique due to the subsequent pattern transfer process. Here we report a new double transfer UV-curing nanoimprint technique that can create a nanopatterned thin film with a uniform residual layer not only on flat substrates but also on highly curved surfaces. Surface relief gratings with pitches down to 200 nm are successfully imprinted on the cylindrical surface of optical fibers, and further transferred into a SiO2 matrix using reactive ion etching (RIE), demonstrating that our technique is applicable for fabricating high-resolution nanostructures on non-planar substrates.
Investigational therapies for the pharmacological treatment of alcoholism

Introduction: Alcohol dependence is one of the most important psychiatric disorders leading to enormous harm in individuals and indeed within society. Yet, although alcohol dependence is a disease of significant importance, the availability of efficacious pharmacological treatment is still limited. Areas covered: The current review focuses on neurobiological pathways that are the rationale for recent preclinical and clinical studies testing novel compounds that could be used as treatments for alcohol dependence. These neurobiological mechanisms include the: glutamatergic, dopaminergic and GABA mediated pathways as well as neuroendocrine systems. There is also an interest in the approaches for influencing chromatin structure. Expert opinion: There are several compounds in Phase I and Phase II clinical studies that have produced potentially useful results for the treating alcoholism. Further evaluation is still necessary, and the implementation of Phase III studies will help to elucidate the usefulness of these compounds. It is important that personalized approaches (e.g., pharmacogenomics) are investigated in these later studies, as the efficacy of different compounds may vary substantially between subgroups of patients.
Endoplasmic reticulum aminopeptidase 1 and rheumatic disease: functional variation

Purpose of reviewTo review the recent developments in our understanding of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) aminopeptidase 1 (ERAP1) function in relation to its role in major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I peptide presentation and human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I-associated diseases. Recent findingsERAP1 polymorphisms exhibiting loss-of-function have been associated with protection from AS. The aminopeptidase function of ERAP1 optimizes peptides for binding and presentation by MHC class I. Most of the studies have revealed reduced MHC class I expression in situations of reduced ERAP1 function. Under these circumstances, the presented peptides are often N-terminally extended, and cell surface complexes are unstable and fall apart more readily. In contrast, peptides presented by HLA-B*27 : 05 when ERAP1 is silenced are frequently extended on the C-terminus. Recent work has emphasized on the importance of assessing the function of allotypes encoded by ERAP1 haplotypes, rather than effects of single amino acid substitutions. The allotypes found in a series of AS patients were poorer at restoring HLA-B27 expression than allotypes found in unaffected controls, which may seem contrary to the genetic data linking loss-of-function to protection. SummaryMore work is needed to understand how ERAP1 variants associated with risk and protection influence the quality and quantity of peptides available for binding to HLA class I molecules in the ER. Moreover, we need to determine allele-specific effects of ERAP1 variants in the context of HLA-B*51 and HLA-Cw*6, which are associated with Behçet's disease and psoriasis, respectively.
EEG event-related potentials in preparation, planning and execution of arm isometric exertions, localized by surface Laplacian

Noninvasive electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings have been successfully used to study motor-related brain activity in humans. We recently used an instruction delay paradigm to investigate the EEG signatures associated with preparation, planning and execution of arm isometric exertions. Subjects (n=8), prepared, planned and exerted force with their right arm in horizontal plane, according to visual cues. Here we show that surface Laplacian, as a simple spatial filter can provide useful knowledge about the involved brain regions in different stages of the task. The results show that there is a negative peak at FCz in response to the preparation cue. The planning cue causes positive peaks at FCz and Pz followed by a sustained negativity at FCz. The GO cue leads to a a negative peak at FCz and a positive peak at Pz which is followed by a sustained positivity at C1. The results suggest that there is considerable involvement of pre-motor and parietal areas in different stages of motor preparation, planning and execution of isometric tasks. The results provide considerably local information on brain activity compared to ear-lobe referenced event-related potentials and favor the applicability of non-invasive EEG recordings and techniques to study motor neurophysiology when appropriately used in complex experimental setups. This can be of interest for different diagnostic and clinical applications and for linking the signatures of brain activity in different neuro-imaging modalities e.g. EEG and fMRI.
Cognitive and Affective Empathy, Personal Belief in a Just World, and Bullying Among Offenders

Bullying extracts a heavy toll on offenders and prison staff alike. Studying what factors may affect bullying is extremely important as this may help to minimize bullying in prison. Although there is research on the relationship between lack of empathy and positive attitude toward bullying, previous research has overlooked that age may influence this relationship. In fact, previous research has shown that there are changes in empathy across the life span. Therefore, we examined whether having a positive attitude toward bullying in offenders was predicted by age, mediated by cognitive/affective empathy. Another important factor in the prediction of positive attitudes toward bullying may be the belief in a just world, as having a weak belief is related to more aggressive outbursts. Given that there is scarce research in the topic, we examined the relationship between having a positive attitude toward bullying and personal belief in a just world. To that aim, 123 sentenced adult male prisoners, selected from a Category C prison in the United Kingdom completed different questionnaires to assess their levels of cognitive and affective empathy, positive attitude toward bullying, and personal belief in a just world. As expected, age predicted a positive attitude toward bullying, mediated by affective empathy. However, we did not find a positive relationship between a positive attitude toward bullying and a personal belief in a just world. The results are discussed in terms of their application in possible intervention programs.
Intra-arterial Third-generation Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (Reteplase) for Acute Ischemic Stroke

OBJECTIVEWe prospectively evaluated the safety and recanalization efficacy of intra-arterially administered reteplase, a third-generation recombinant tissue plasminogen activator, for treating ischemic stroke in patients considered poor candidates for intravenously administered alteplase therapy. METHODSPatients were considered poor candidates for intravenously administered therapy because of severity of neurological deficits, interval from onset of symptoms to presentation of 3 hours or more, or recent major surgery. We administered a maximum total dose of 8 U of reteplase intra-arterially in 1-U increments via superselective catheterization. Adjunctive angioplasty of the occluded artery was performed in seven patients. Angiographic evidence of perfusion and thrombus was graded by use of modified Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction (TIMI) criteria. Neurological examinations were performed before and 24 hours and 7 to 10 days after treatment. RESULTSSixteen consecutive patients were treated (mean age, 64.1 ± 16.4 yr; seven were men). Initial National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale scores ranged from 10 to 26. Time from onset of symptoms to treatment ranged from 2 to 9 hours. Occlusion sites were the cervical internal carotid artery (n = 4), intracranial internal carotid artery (n = 4), middle cerebral artery (n = 6), and vertebrobasilar artery (n = 2). Complete or near-complete perfusion (TIMI Grade 3 or 4) was achieved in the arteries in 14 patients (88%), with partial recanalization (TIMI Grade 2) or minimal response (TIMI Grade 1) in the arteries in one patient each. Neurological improvement (defined as decrease of four or more points in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score) was observed in 7 (44%) of the 16 patients at 24 hours. Symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage occurred in one patient; three other patients experienced intracerebral hemorrhages that did not result in neurological worsening. The overall mortality during hospitalization was 56%, related to massive ischemic stroke (n = 7), withdrawal of care at the family’s request after the development of aspiration pneumonia and renal failure (n = 1), and a combination of intracerebral hemorrhage and massive ischemic stroke (n = 1). CONCLUSIONIn this study, intra-arterially administered reteplase in doses up to 8 U with or without angioplasty resulted in a high rate of recanalization. This strategy should be considered in treating patients considered poor candidates for intravenous thrombolysis.
An Efficient Object Recognition Method Based On Pyramid Match Kernel Using Shape Contexts

In object recognition problems, we may face the situation in which two similar objects with very different angles are mistaken to be two different objects. Here we present a novel approach to solve this kind of problem by emphasizing the shape recognition. In our framework, the measurement of similarity is preceded by (1) solving correspondences between points on the two shapes, (2) using the correspondences to estimate an aligning transform, (3) after transformation, we use the PMK to estimate the similarity of the two shapes. In order to solve the correspondence problem, we attach a descriptor, the shape context, to each point. The shape context at a reference point captures the distribution of the remaining points related to it, thus offering a globally discriminative characterization. Corresponding points on two similar shapes will have similar shape contexts, which enables us to solve correspondences as an optimal assignment problem. Given the point correspondences, we estimate the transformation which best aligns the two shapes; then we use kernel-based classification method--pyramid match kernel to estimate the similarity between two shapes.
Diplexed dual-polarization proximity coupled patch antenna

A dual-frequency dual-polarization microstrip patch antenna is presented in this paper. These antennas can be realized by feeding two orthogonal modes. Electromagnetic Bandgap Structures (EBG) can be used to reduce the coupling between ports. This concept was originally proposed using a uniplanar compact PBG (UC-PBG) to design a self-diplexing microstrip patch antenna. Another example, is the use of several defected ground structures (DGS) for the feeding lines approaching isolation levels of 60 dB at the nominal frequency. In this work we describe a method to enhance the isolation between two ports in a dual-frequency proximity coupled patch antenna. In our case two filtering lines, based on periodic structure, will be designed to have stopband behavior in the other frequency port. These EBG filters have been realized by introducing mushroom type resonators underneath the antenna feeding lines. Proximity coupled represents one interesting possibility due to spurious radiation reduction. Additionally this multilayer configuration provides choices between two different dielectric substrates in order to achieve a compact design.
Evaluation of a method for projection-based tissue-activity estimation within small volumes of interest

A new method of compensating for tissue-fraction and count-spillover effects, which require tissue segmentation only within a small volume surrounding the primary lesion of interest, was evaluated for SPECT imaging. Tissue-activity concentration estimates are obtained by fitting the measured projection data to a statistical model of the segmented tissue projections. Multiple realizations of two simulated human-torso phantoms, each containing 20 spherical ‘tumours’, 1.6 cm in diameter, with tumour-to-background ratios of 8:1 and 4:1, were simulated. Estimates of tumour- and background-activity concentration values for homogeneous as well as inhomogeneous tissue activities were compared to the standard uptake value (SUV) metrics on the basis of accuracy and precision. For perfectly registered, high-contrast, superficial lesions in a homogeneous background without scatter, the method yielded accurate (<0.4% bias) and precise (<6.1%) recovery of the simulated activity values, significantly outperforming the SUV metrics. Tissue inhomogeneities, greater tumour depth and lower contrast ratios degraded precision (up to 11.7%), but the estimates remained almost unbiased. The method was comparable in accuracy but more precise than a well-established matrix inversion approach, even when errors in tumour size and position were introduced to simulate moderate inaccuracies in segmentation and image registration. Photon scatter in the object did not significantly affect the accuracy or precision of the estimates.