Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Super Ball Bot - Structures for Planetary Landing and Exploration, NIAC Phase 2 Final Report

Small, light-weight and low-cost missions will become increasingly important to NASA's exploration goals. Ideally teams of small, collapsible, light weight robots, will be conveniently packed during launch and would reliably separate and unpack at their destination. Such robots will allow rapid, reliable in-situ exploration of hazardous destination such as Titan, where imprecise terrain knowledge and unstable precipitation cycles make single-robot exploration problematic. Unfortunately landing lightweight conventional robots is difficult with current technology. Current robot designs are delicate, requiring a complex combination of devices such as parachutes, retrorockets and impact balloons to minimize impact forces and to place a robot in a proper orientation. Instead we are developing a radically different robot based on a "tensegrity" structure and built purely with tensile and compression elements. Such robots can be both a landing and a mobility platform allowing for dramatically simpler mission profile and reduced costs. These multi-purpose robots can be light-weight, compactly stored and deployed, absorb strong impacts, are redundant against single-point failures, can recover from different landing orientations and can provide surface mobility. These properties allow for unique mission profiles that can be carried out with low cost and high reliability and which minimizes the inefficient dependance on "use once and discard" mass associated with traditional landing systems. We believe tensegrity robot technology can play a critical role in future planetary exploration.
Applying Perceptual Distance to the Discrimination of Sounds

In sound compression and synthesis, it is valuable to have objective distance measures which can predict the perceived dissimilarity of two sounds. Furthermore it is desirable also to be able to estimate the extent of the dissimilarity or the quality difference between sounds. Since it is the perceived difference that needs to be quantified it can be expected that measures that are derived from models of hearing will provide the best predictions. An overview of the topic of auditory modelling is presented. An objective measure based on a distance metric applied to auditory excitation patterns is described. This perceptual measure is compared with a traditional spectral distortion measure in the prediction of the discrimination of spectral envelope distortions of vowel-like sounds. The results of a subjective experiment indicate that the perceptual measure is significantly superior.
Viscosity-Dependent Internal Variability in a Model of the North Pacific

Abstract A 2°-resolution isopycnal model of the North Pacific Ocean is shown to produce anomalies that propagate around the subtropical gyre on the decadal time scale that do not appear in a 1°-resolution version of the same model. A principal oscillation pattern (POP) analysis of the isopycnal interface anomaly is performed to examine the dynamics responsible for the anomaly generation. The POPs show a coherent oscillation around the entire subtropical gyre with two centers of action, one in the Central Mode Water (CMW) region, the other in the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC). Lead–lag covariances between the subduction rate in the CMW and the layer thickness along the oscillation path indicate that anomalous subduction events are not the driving mechanism for the oscillation. A linearized quasigeostrophic mode analysis shows that the anomalies are generated by flow instability in the region of the STCC. The instability disappears in the 1° model because of changes in the horizontal viscosity, which is.
ANALYSIS OF MIXED INTEGER PROGRAMMING FORMULATIONS FOR SINGLE MACHINE SCHEDULING PROBLEMS WITH SEQUENCE DEPENDENT SETUP TIMES AND RELEASE DATES

In this article, six different mixed integer programming (MIP) formulations are proposed and analyzed. These formulations are based on the knowledge of four different paradigms for single machine scheduling problems (SMSP) with sequence dependent setup times and release dates. Each formulation reflects a specific concept on how the variables and parameters are defined, requiring particular settings and definitions. A thorough historical overview of a variety of formulations for this family of problems is provided. All MIP formulations studied are implemented and tested, considering, as objective functions, the weighted completion time and the total weighted tardiness. For the Sousa and Wolsey based formulation, a set of constraints to improve its lower bound value is adapted and evaluated. Extensive computational experiments are performed considering a variety of instances to capture several aspects of practical situations. Based on the results, recommendations are made for the best adaptation of the MIP formulation paradigm for the considered problems.
Poor Illness Perceptions Are a Risk Factor for Depressive and Anxious Symptomatology in Fibromyalgia Syndrome: A Longitudinal Cohort Study

Background Patients with widespread pain, such as in fibromyalgia, are vulnerable for depression and anxiety, which composes a relevant public health problem. Identifying risk factors for the onset of depression and anxiety is therefore warranted. Objective of this study was to determine whether severe pain, maladaptive coping, and poor illness perceptions are associated with depressive and anxious symptomatology in fibromyalgia. Method Consecutive patients referred to an outpatient clinic completed sets of physical and psychological questionnaires at baseline and at 18-month follow-up. A total of 452 patients with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) were eligible for inclusion, and subsequently, 280 patients returned the baseline questionnaire. Depressive and anxious symptomatology was measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. To measure pain severity, coping style, and illness perceptions, the Fibromyalgia Impact Questionnaire, Pain Coping Inventory, and the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) were used, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression analyses, bootstrapping and calibration, were performed to examine the association of pain severity, pain coping, and illness perception with depressive and anxiety symptoms at follow-up, adjusted for sociodemographic variables. Initial level of depressive and anxiety symptoms was selected as covariates. Results Mean age was 42.6 years and 95.4% were female. At 18-month follow-up, 68 (of the 195) patients were depressed and 80 (of the 197) were anxious. Only the IPQ-R subscale “emotional representations” showed a significant positive association with depressive symptoms at follow-up (OR = 1.10), next to the initial level of depressive symptoms (OR = 1.30). In case of anxiety, only the IPQ-R subscale “treatment control” showed a significant negative association with anxiety symptoms at follow-up (OR = 0.87), next to the initial level of anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.45). Conclusion Our data suggest that not pain severity or maladaptive coping, but poor illness perceptions are important in elevated depressive and anxious symptomatology. Patients with fibromyalgia who think their illness negatively affects their mental well-being are at increased risk for more depressive symptoms, and those who think treatment of their illness will not be effective are at increased risk for more anxiety symptoms. Strengthening illness beliefs and reducing catastrophic thinking, therefore, seem crucial factors in the treatment of patients with FMS.
A novel system for the automatic extraction of a patient problem summary

Clinical summarization means the collection and synthesis of a patient's significant data, undertaken in order to support health-care providers in the process of patient care. Considering that medical information comes from multiple sources, a system for the automatic generation of problem lists could prove to be very effective in terms of saving time in the analysis of large amounts of medical data. In this paper, we propose a system able to acquire and present relevant references to medical disorders from a patient's history, producing a subject-oriented summary. The implemented system relies on an NLP pipeline, for the extraction of relevant medical entities contained in narrative health records, and on several queries, necessary for the scanning of structured documents. The tool aggregates any medical problems, performed procedures, and prescribed medications, providing the healthcare practitioner with a visual summary of the patient's data.
Force meets chemistry: Analysis of mechanochemical conversion in focal adhesions using fluorescence recovery after photobleaching

Mechanotransduction—the process by which mechanical forces are converted into changes of intracellular biochemistry—is critical for normal cell and tissue function. Integrins facilitate mechanochemical conversion by transferring physical forces from the extracellular matrix, across the cell surface, and to cytoskeletal‐associated proteins within focal adhesions. It is likely that force alters biochemistry at these sites by altering molecular binding affinities of a subset of focal adhesion proteins, but this has been difficult to quantify within living cells. Here, we describe how the fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) technique can be adapted and used in conjunction with mathematical models to directly measure force‐dependent alterations in molecular binding and unbinding rate constants of individual focal adhesion proteins in situ. We review these recent findings, and discuss the strengths and limitations of this approach for analysis of mechanochemical signaling in focal adhesions and other cellular structures. The ability to quantify molecular binding rate constants in the physical context of the living cytoplasm should provide new insight into the molecular basis of cellular mechanotransduction. It also may facilitate future efforts to bridge biological experimentation and mathematical modeling in our quest for a systems biology level description of cell regulation. J. Cell. Biochem. 97: 1175–1183, 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Meat Traceability: Are U.S. Consumers Willing to Pay for It?

This article reports the results from a series of laboratory auction markets in which consumers bid on meat characteristics. The characteristics examined include meat traceability (i.e., the ability to trace the retail meat back to the farm or animal of origin), transparency (e.g., knowing the meat was produced without added growth hormones, or knowing the animal was humanely treated), and extra assurances (e.g., extra meat safety assurances). This laboratory study provides non-hypothetical bid data on consumer preferences for a sample of consumers in Logan, Utah, for traceability, transparency, and assurances (TTA) in red meat at a time when the United States currently lags other countries in development of TTA meat systems. Results suggest these consumers would be willing to pay for such TTA meat characteristics, and the magnitude of the consumer bids reveals that a profitable market for development of TTA systems in the United States might exist.
- 07-06 Ethnicity and Benefit Finding in HIV + MSM

of a thesis at the University of Miami. Thesis supervised by Professor Michael H. Antoni. No. of pages in text (68) HIV+ men who have sex with men (MSM) in ethnic minority groups have significantly poorer psychosocial and health-related outcomes as compared with HIV+ individuals in majority groups (e.g. white, heterosexual). The current study seeks to examine a positive psychological pattern found in previous studies comparing ethnic minority and white patients with chronic disease; specifically, that ethnic minorities tend to exhibit higher levels of benefit finding in response to chronic disease. Understanding the factors that may uniquely contribute to benefit finding in minority HIV+ MSM may aid in the development of interventions designed to improve psychosocial and healthrelated outcomes for this group in particular. Based on the findings of previous work, it was hypothesized that benefit finding would be significantly greater in minority MSM than in white MSM. It was also hypothesized that both the relationship between perceived stress and benefit finding and the relationship between social support and benefit finding would differ as a function of ethnicity. Finally, it was hypothesized that religious coping would mediate the relationship between ethnicity and benefit finding. The current study utilized baseline and 3-month follow-up (T2) data drawn from a previous trial of Cognitive Behavioral Stress Management (CBSM) intervention in HIV+ MSM. Participants were 94 HIV+ MSM; 56% were white and 44% belonged to minority ethnic groups (African-American, AfroCarribean-American, Hispanic). Analyses revealed that benefit finding was greater in minority MSM at baseline; however, this difference became non-significant when age, education level, and HAART adherence were added to the model. Ethnicity was not a significant predictor of T2 benefit finding. There were no significant interactions found between social support and ethnicity in predicting either T1 or T2 benefit finding. Moderated regression analyses revealed a significant interaction between T1 perceived stress and ethnicity in predicting T2 benefit finding, such that higher levels of T1 perceived stress predicted lower levels of T2 benefit finding in minority MSM only. Mediated regression and bootstrapping analyses revealed religious coping to be a provisional intermediary variable in the relationship between ethnicity and T1 benefit finding in a model which was not adjusted for covariates. The current study’s results highlight potential differences in the association between stress and benefit finding processes between white and minority MSM.
Lost in knowledge translation: Time for a map?

&NA; There is confusion and misunderstanding about the concepts of knowledge translation, knowledge transfer, knowledge exchange, research utilization, implementation, diffusion, and dissemination. We review the terms and definitions used to describe the concept of moving knowledge into action. We also offer a conceptual framework for thinking about the process and integrate the roles of knowledge creation and knowledge application. The implications of knowledge translation for continuing education in the health professions include the need to base continuing education on the best available knowledge, the use of educational and other transfer strategies that are known to be effective, and the value of learning about planned‐action theories to be better able to understand and influence change in practice settings.
Position Control of the Induction Motor Using an Adaptive Sliding-Mode Controller and Observers

An adaptive robust position control for real-time high-performance applications of induction motors is developed in this work. The proposed sliding-mode controller provides a global asymptotic position tracking in the presence of model uncertainties and load torque variations. The proposed control scheme incorporates an adaptation law for the switching gain, so that the controller can calculate the switching gain value that is necessary to overcome the existing system uncertainties. The design also incorporates a sliding-mode-based load torque and rotor flux observers in order to improve the control performance without using sensors that increase cost and reduce reliability. The proposed design does not present a high computational cost and, therefore, can be easily implemented in real-time applications. Simulated and experimental results show that this scheme provide high-performance dynamic characteristics, and that it is robust with respect to plant parameter variations and external load disturbances.
Telemedical consultation: task characteristics

Three telemedical projeets were studied that used ISDN video to link primary care medical centres to hospitals. Specifically, a doctor or nurse practitioner with the patient was able to consult a remote specialist about treatment or diagnosis. Five task characteristics for this particular form of telemedical consultation are identified. These characteristics make clear the need for high quality multi-party sound communication and multiple-view slow-scan video but suggest that full motion video may not be necessary to support this kind of work. Some issues in analysing technologically-mediated collaborative work are briefly discussed.
Republic of Croatia

This 2019 Article IV Consultation with the Republic of Croatia discusses that it experienced its fifth consecutive year of solid economic growth, once again driven largely by private consumption and tourism. Employment gains have been robust, wages have continued to rise, while import prices have helped to keep inflation muted. Increased absorption of European Union funds is likely to raise public investment in the coming years. In conjunction with continued strong consumption, the current account surplus is expected to decline, and turn into a moderate deficit, while economic growth moderates. Both public and external indebtedness are expected to continue their declining trajectories. The pace of fiscal consolidation in 2019 continued to slow, with the budget estimated to be close to balance. Contingent liabilities could also pressure budget balances in the coming years.
Genetic diversity of 15 autosomal STR loci in a Moroccan population

Allelic distribution of 15 STR loci (D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, D13S317, vWA, FGA, TH01, TPOX, CSF1PO, D16S539, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D19S433, and D2S1338) were analyzed in 80 unrelated Moroccan men from two regions using AmpF/STR Identifiler kit. The combined power of exclusion (PE) was 0.999993525 and the combined power of discrimination (PD) was >0.999999999. Comparisons with other published population data are also presented.
Teaching of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness strategy in undergraduate nursing programs.

OBJECTIVE To describe and analyze the teaching of the Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI) strategy on Brazilian undergraduate nursing programs. METHOD Integrating an international multicentric study, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted between May and October 2010 with 571 undergraduate nursing programs in Brazil RESULTS Responses were received from 142 programs, 75% private and 25% public. 64% of them included the IMCI strategy in the theoretical content, and 50% of the programs included IMCI as part of the students' practical experience. The locations most used for practical teaching were primary health care units. The 'treatment' module was taught by the fewest number of programs, and few programs had access to the IMCI instructional manuals. All programs used exams for evaluation, and private institutions were more likely to include class participation as part of the evaluation. Teaching staff in public institutions were more likely to have received training in teaching IMCI. CONCLUSION In spite of the relevance of the IMCI strategy in care of the child, its content is not addressed in all undergraduate programs in Brazil, and many programs do not have access to the IMCI teaching manuals and have not provide training in IMCI to their teaching staff.
Slow Integral Manifolds and Control Problems in Critical and Twice Critical Cases

We consider singularly perturbed differential systems in cases where the standard theory to establish a slow integral manifold existence does not work. The theory has traditionally dealt only with perturbation problems near normally hyperbolic manifold of singularities and this manifold is supposed to isolated. Applying transformations we reduce the original singularly perturbed problem to a regularized one such that the existence of slow integral manifolds can be established by means of the standard theory. We illustrate our approach by several examples.
HOW TO IMPROVE INNOVATIVENESS OF SMALL AND MEDIUM ENTERPRISES

In current economic conditions, one of the primary aims of strategic management in organizations is to improve their performance. This is especially applicable for Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) which need continuous innovation in order to survive and further develop. In that frame is of crucial importance innovativeness of SMEs. Innovativeness of SMEs and their members is dependent upon synergic set of factors, whereas most fundamental and/or underlying are personal values of SMEs members. First step in the process of improving innovativeness of SMEs is therefore holistical understanding of innovativenes s and/or preferences of SMEs members towards innovativeness. In that frame this contribution discusses two theses: 1) Personal values of SMEs members are fundamental in/for understanding innovative thinking, and 2) SMEs members’ must innovate their values in order to retain/improve SMEs innovativeness. The paper presents a possible framework for innovating personal values of SMEs members in order to improve innovativeness of SMEs. Paper also lays and important ground work for further research of impact of personal values on SMEs members’ innovativeness.
Distinct Posttranscriptional Mechanisms Regulate the Activity of the Zn Finger Transcription Factor Lame duck during Drosophila Myogenesis

ABSTRACT Skeletal muscle formation in Drosophila melanogaster requires two types of myoblasts, muscle founders and fusion-competent myoblasts. Lame duck (Lmd), a member of the Gli superfamily of transcription factors, is essential for the specification and differentiation of fusion-competent myoblasts. We report herein that appropriate levels of active Lmd protein are attained by a combination of posttranscriptional mechanisms. We provide evidence that two different regions of the Lmd protein are critical for modulating the balance between its nuclear translocation and its retention within the cytoplasm. Activation of the Lmd protein is also tempered by posttranslational modifications of the protein that do not detectably change its subcellular localization. We further show that overexpression of Lmd protein derivatives that are constitutively nuclear or hyperactive results in severe muscle defects. These findings underscore the importance of regulated Lmd protein activity in maintaining proper activation of downstream target genes, such as Mef2, within fusion-competent myoblasts.
A survey of rodent-borne pathogens carried by wild Rattus spp. in Northern Vietnam

SUMMARY To examine the prevalence of human pathogens carried by rats in urban areas in Hanoi and Hai Phong, Vietnam, we live-trapped 100 rats in January 2011 and screened them for a panel of bacteria and viruses. Antibodies against Leptospira interrogans (22·0%), Seoul virus (14·0%) and rat hepatitis E virus (23·0%) were detected in rats, but antibodies against Yersinia pestis were not detected. Antibodies against L. interrogans and Seoul virus were found only in adult rats. In contrast, antibodies to rat hepatitis E virus were also found in juvenile and sub-adult rats, indicating that the transmission mode of rat hepatitis E virus is different from that of L. interrogans and Seoul virus. Moreover, phylogenetic analyses of the S and M segments of Seoul viruses found in Rattus norvegicus showed that Seoul viruses from Hai Phong and Hanoi formed different clades. Human exposure to these pathogens has become a significant public health concern.