Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Elastic networks in reshaping human intentions by proactive social robot moves

This paper focuses on reshaping a previously detected human intention into a desired one, using contextual motions of mobile robots, which are in our applications, autonomous mobile 2-steps stairs and a chair. Our system first estimates the current intention based on human heading and trajectory depicted as orientation and location. Our previous reshaping applications have shown that the current human intention has to be deviated towards the new desired one in phases. In our novel approach, Elastic network generates way points of trajectories each of which acts as transient trajectories directed towards the desired intention's location. Our methodology aims at generating an “intention trajectory” towards the final goal. The initial way points possess destabilizing effects on the obstinance of the person intention making the “robot gain the curiosity and the trust of the person”. Each way point generated by the elastic network is executed by moves of an adequate robot (here mobile 2-steps or chair) in adequate directions (towards coffee table, PC, TV, library). After each robot moves, the resulting human intention is estimated and compared to the desired goal in the intention space. Intention trajectories are searched in two modes: the “confident mode” and the “suspicious mode” which are defining human body-mood detected relying on proxemics. This paper analyzes our novel approach of planning trajectories via elastic networks based on these two modes.
Information technology development methodologies

Information technology (IT) development methodologies may be described as another bastion of rationalist, positivist, functionalist hegemony. The paper historically reviews IT development methodologies of the past 30 years. The major methodologies of the Classical Systems Life Cycle, Structures Systems Development, Data Modeling and Object Oriented Analysis are briefly reviewed in terms of their ubiquitously quoted evolution and maturation and the benefits they purport to offer IT specialists and managers, general management and user groups. This paper argues that, while it has traditionally been the case that such methodologies be compared on a case‐by‐case basis, it is time to step back from the traditionally reductionist, positivist approaches of IT. IT methodological development is considered here from a critical, anti‐positivist perspective. It is suggested that qualitiative research methodologies be employed to assist in creating a new IT development epistemology to spare us from further IT implementation disasters.
Editorial

COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM December 2000/Vol. 43, No. 12 5 WE all have our own personal benchmarks when it comes to trusting technology. It’s that moment when we may hesitate, if not refuse, to perform a function electronically by weighing the convenience over the possible negative consequences. Sometimes the decision is based on simple fear of the unknown, sometimes on real, deep-rooted experience or concern. I refuse direct deposit of my paycheck—a laughable decision for many, but hey, that’s my personal comfort level. Others are understandably wary of shopping online. How often have you wondered if your mobile phone conversation was secure? Headlines remind us all too often that blind trust and online friendships can have serious consequences. Yet as we forge ahead ever carefully in this digital domain, privacy advocates caution we are kissing that constitutional right goodbye with pretty much every online move we make. Have I become my social security number? If so, should I dare enter it electronically and hope the system on the other end doesn’t abuse its new knowledge of me? It’s no wonder that the quality of trust, so intrinsically entwined in most business and social relationships, is eroding as more of these associations are established online. Still, to grow, prosper, and live in a digital environ, we must maintain, perhaps rebuild, a trusting relationship among businesses, consumers, and individuals. To do that, we must confront those barriers to trust and create tools, systems, and interfaces that will help restore our faith in the process. Our special section this month, spearheaded by Senior Editor Andy Rosenbloom, explores the fine line between risk and reward in online interactions. The authors here are some of the leading thinkers and creators of the tools and interfaces needed to enhance the level of trust we all should demand. We hope you find their ideas insightful and their solutions a comfort.
Kajian kes terhadap jenis tingkah laku metakognitif dalam penyelesaian masalah matematik

22152215Abstrak Kertas kerja ini menerangkan jenis tingkah laku metakognitif sampel semasa menyelesaikan masalah matematik. Suatu kajian kes dengan pendekatan kualitatif digunakan untuk memperolehi kefahaman terhadap tingkah laku metakognitif ini, iaitu dengan mengenalpasti dan menentukan jenis dan pola tingkah laku metakognitif, serta perkaitannya dengan pencapaian penyelesaian masalah semasa empat sampel pelajar Tingkatan Empat menyelesaikan 3 masalah matematik dengan menggunakan model penyelesaian masalah De Corte ( 2003 ) yang memberi fokus kepada aspek metakognitif. Di samping itu, masalah yang dihadapi oleh pelajar untuk menunjukkan tingkah laku metakognitif ketika menyelesaikan masalah juga telah dikenalpasti. Data telah didapati dengan menggunakan kaedah triangulasi yakni melalui cerapan dan protokol lisan (verbatim) serta pemikiran bersuara (thinking a/oud ) semasa menyelesaikan 3 masalah matematik. Dapatan kajian telah menunjukkan bahawa terdapat 6 jenis tingkah laku metakognitif yang hadir dengan mengikut frekuensi dan pola tertentu dalam 5 fasa yang terdapat di dalam model De Corte. Dapatan kajian juga telah menunjukkan terdapat perkaitan yang jelas antara jenis tingkah laku metakognitif dengan pencapaian proses penyelesaian masalah pelajar. Di samping itu, terdapat juga masalah yang telah mempengaruhi kehadiran tingkah laku metakognitif semasa pelajar menyelesaikan masalah.
Mixed-State Markov Random Fields for Motion Texture Modeling and Segmentation

The aim of this work is to model the apparent motion in image sequences depicting natural dynamic scenes. We adopt the mixed-state Markov random fields (MRF) models recently introduced to represent so-called motion textures. The approach consists in describing the spatial distribution of some motion measurements which exhibit mixed-state nature: a discrete component related to the absence of motion and a continuous part for measurements different from zero. We propose several significative extensions to this model. We define an original motion texture segmentation method which does not assume conditional independence of the observations for each texture and normalizing factors are properly handled. Results on real examples demonstrate the accuracy and efficiency of our method.
Renal function in 153 manic‐depressive patients treated with lithium for more than five years

ABSTRACT Renal function was examined in 153 manic‐depressive patients treated with lithium for more than 5 years, mean 10 years. No significant change was detectable in plasma creatinine. Giomerular filtration rate (GFR) decreased slightly, but significantly, and not until afier 17 years of treatment did the regression line reach the lower confidence limit in the reference material. GFR was generally only moderately decreased. Renal concentrating capacity was significantly reduced during the whole investigation period and did not change with time. GFR was independent of the dosage pattern. The diuresis did not differ markedly in patients given one or three daily doses. In a two‐dose group predominantly treated with slow‐release tablets, the diuresis was somewhat higher in 75 % of the patients but much higher for the rest of the group. Since the prophylactic effect of lithium was the same in the one‐dose group (mean dosage 21 mmol/day) as in the two‐dose and three‐dose groups (mean dosage 27–28 mmol/day), our data indicate that generally employed lithium doses may be reduced somewhat without loss of prophylactic efficacy.
Poodle: a course-management system for mobile phones

Japanese mobile phones contain small but standard Web browsers and email programs, and so can replace desktop computers for a variety of educational tasks. Mobile phones have the advantage of being easily usable at any time and any place, even in large lecture halls without desktop computers, and offer the possibility of exploiting time otherwise wasted in commuting. We believe that mobile phones offer our best chance at normalization: making (miniature) networked computers a standard part of every educational activity, rather than being offered only for certain activities in isolated, dedicated computer labs. A number of research projects have indeed shown the efficacy of educational applications of mobile phones, but creating such materials is still difficult. This paper proposes poodle, a course-management system designed to facilitate deploying educational materials to mobile phones. After reviewing moodle, and technologies for display on small screens, this paper presents our experience with poodle, showing how it supports ubiquitous polls, quizzes, wikis, forums, and flash cards. We believe poodle is an important step towards the normalization of mobile phones in education.
Practically adaptive output tracking control of inherently nonlinear systems preceded by unknown hysteresis

Control of nonlinear systems preceded by unknown hysteresis nonlinearities is usually difficult and challenging due to the nonsmooth and memory characteristics of hysteresis. Focusing on a class of inherently nonlinear systems and with use of available mathematical models of hysteresis nonlinearities, this paper addresses the challenge on how to fuse available hysteresis models with those results for the inherently nonlinear systems to achieve practically adaptive output tracking control. We will show such a possibility by combining the recently developed framework of immersion and invariance (I&I) tools, adding a power integrator technique, and Prandtl-Ishlinshii hysteresis model. The proposed approach has the following two features. First, in order to mitigate the effects of the unknown hysteresis, the proposed approach does not necessarily need to construct a hysteresis inverse; secondly, the adaptive mechanism does not have to satisfy the certainty equivalence principle. It is shown that the developed controller ensures all signals of closed-loop systems are bounded while practically keeping the output tracking error to an arbitrary small neighborhood of the origin.
Variable switching frequency algorithm for optimal tradeoff between switching losses and total demand distortion in grid-tied three-phase voltage-source inverters

The switching frequency at which the inverter operates is an important parameter that significantly affects the operation of the inverter. In this paper, a new variable switching frequency algorithm is proposed in which the switching frequency is varied in response to the variation in the operating conditions. The proposed algorithm is based on multi-objective optimization problem formulation such that a weighted sum of the switching losses in the inverter and the Total Demand Distortion (TDD) in the inverter's output current is to be minimized. A behavioral model for the switching devices and a TDD model based on the time-domain ripple analysis are adopted. This made the formulation of the problem to be very clear and easy to be implemented in the digital controller. Therefore, the optimal switching frequency can be determined online. The proposed algorithm can increase the efficiency of the inverter without deteriorating the harmonic performance. Moreover, the lifetime of the inverter can be increased due to the narrower junction temperature profile that can be achieved by this algorithm when compared to the fixed switching frequency counterpart. The effect of the ambient temperature is taken into account and the switching frequency is varied accordingly. The algorithm is implemented on the Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) platform. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm has been verified experimentally.
Cloning and Characterization of 5′ Flanking Regulatory Sequences of AhLEC1B Gene from Arachis Hypogaea L.

LEAFY COTYLEDON1 (LEC1) is a B subunit of Nuclear Factor Y (NF-YB) transcription factor that mainly accumulates during embryo development. We cloned the 5′ flanking regulatory sequence of AhLEC1B gene, a homolog of Arabidopsis LEC1, and analyzed its regulatory elements using online software. To identify the crucial regulatory region, we generated a series of GUS expression frameworks driven by different length promoters with 5′ terminal and/or 3′ terminal deletion. We further characterized the GUS expression patterns in the transgenic Arabidopsis lines. Our results show that both the 65bp proximal promoter region and the 52bp 5′ UTR of AhLEC1B contain the key motifs required for the essential promoting activity. Moreover, AhLEC1B is preferentially expressed in the embryo and is co-regulated by binding of its upstream genes with both positive and negative corresponding cis-regulatory elements.
Ameliorative effects of glycyrrhizin on streptozotocin‐induced diabetes in rats

Objectives Glycyrrhizin is the main water‐soluble constituent of the root of liquorice (Glycyrrhiza glabra). The study investigates the effect of glycyrrhizin on streptozotocin (STZ)‐induced diabetic changes and associated oxidative stress, including haemoglobin‐induced free iron‐mediated oxidative reactions.
Lossless Compression of Wind Plant Data

Substantial quantities of wind plant data are being accumulated as interest and investment in renewable energy grows. These data sets can approach tens of terabytes in size, making their management, storage, manipulation, and transmission burdensome. Lossless compression of the data sets can mitigate these challenges without sacrificing accuracy. This paper develops and analyzes lossless compression algorithms that can be applied to data used in integration studies and data used in wind plant monitoring and operation. The algorithms exploit wind speed-to-wind power relationships, and the temporal and spatial correlations in the data. The Shannon entropy of wind power and speed data is computed to gain insight on the uncertainty of wind power and speed and to benchmark performance of the compression algorithms. The algorithms are applied to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Western and Eastern Data Sets and to actual wind turbine data. The resulting compression ratios are up to 50% higher than those obtained by direct application of off-the-shelf lossless compression methods.
One-unit Learning Rules for Independent Component Analysis

Neural one-unit learning rules for the problem of Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and blind source separation are introduced. In these new algorithms, every ICA neuron develops into a separator that finds one of the independent components. The learning rules use very simple constrained Hebbian/anti-Hebbian learning in which decorrelating feedback may be added. To speed up the convergence of these stochastic gradient descent rules, a novel computationally efficient fixed-point algorithm is introduced.
Nucleus basalis (Ch4) and cortical cholinergic innervation in the human brain: Observations based on the distribution of acetylcholinesterase and choline acetyltransferase

The nucleus basalis (NB) of the human brain is a large, complex, and highly differentiated structure. Many of its neurons are magnocellular, hyperchromic, isodendritic, acetylcholinesterase‐rich, and choline‐acetyltransferase‐positive. Concurrent histochemical and immunological staining demonstrated that all choline‐acetyltransferase‐positive NB neurons in the human brain also contain acetylcholinesterase enzyme activity. Only a small minority of acetylcholinesterase‐rich magnocellular cell bodies in the NB failed to show choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity. Sections that were counterstained for Nissl substance showed that 80‐90% of all magnocellular neurons in the NB were choline‐acetyltransferase‐positive and therefore cholinergic. These characteristics, which are very similar to those of the NB in the monkey brain, justified the designation of these cholinergic neurons in the human brain as the Ch4 (or NB‐Ch4) complex. On morphological grounds, the compact parts of the human NB‐Ch4 complex were divided into distinct sectors which appeared to show a greater level of differentiation than in the monkey brain. In addition to the compact sectors, interstitial elements of NB‐Ch4 were embedded within adjacent fiber bundles.
Comparing cultures : dimensions of culture in a comparative perspective

Contributors Acknowledgements Prologue Culture's consequences revisited, Pieter J.D. Drenth 1. Cultures and dimensions. Classic perspectives and new opportunities in 'dimensionalist' cross-cultural studies, Henk Vinken, Joseph Soeters & Peter Ester 2. Dimensions of culture beyond Hofstede, Harry C. Triandis 3. Mapping and interpreting cultural differences around the world, Shalom H. Schwartz 4. Individualism, autonomy, self-expression, and human development, Ronald Inglehart & Daphna Oyserman 5. Methodological problems of value research, Wolfgang Jagodzinski 6. The structural roots of values. An anthropological interpretation of Hofstede's value dimensions Hans-Peter Muller & Patrick Ziltener 7. Cultural nationalism in Japan. A starting point for comparing cultures, Kazufumi Manabe, Henk Vinken & Joseph Soeters 8. Dimensions of culture in intra-cultural comparisons. Individualism/collectivism and family-related values in three generations, Gisela Trommsdorff, Boris Mayer & Isabelle Albert 9. A cross-cultural analysis of immigrant and host values and acculturation orientations, Karen Phalet & Marc Swyngedouw 10. Making maternity care work. The consequences of culture for health care systems, Raymond De Vries, Sirpa Wrede, Edwin Van Teijlingen, Cecilia Benoit & Eugene Declerq 11. The cultural relativity of employee empowerment. A comparative study in the European hotel industry, Antonios K. Klidas 12. Integrating the Hofstede dimensions and twelve aspects of negotiating behavior. A six country comparison, Lynn Metcalf & Allan Bird Epi-dialogue, Geert Hofstede References
Implementing audit in palliative care: an action research approach.

AIM To investigate the factors that influence the successful implementation of audit in a palliative care setting. BACKGROUND Quality assurance is a necessary component of contemporary health care. In the past, palliative care has not generally been subject to systems of audit and quality management. However in recent years the need for all health care organizations to have clear policies and procedures for maintaining quality has become more pressing. METHOD An action research project was conducted to investigate the implementation of audit in a palliative care setting, which involved the application and modification of the Support Team Assessment Scale (STAS). FINDINGS A collaborative approach was adopted and this facilitated the identification of factors vital to successful introduction of the audit methodology into the unit. These included effective teamwork, the input of an external facilitator, good relationships with management and prompt and relevant feedback on progress. The use of STAS was fully integrated into the work of the unit and a robust programme of audit has been established. CONCLUSIONS Combining the cyclical nature of action research methodology and the audit process with Lewin's change theory provided a clear conceptual framework for the research. This approach would be applicable in a range of health care settings to bring about improvements in quality management.
c-Dominating Sets for Families of Graphs

The topic of domination in graphs has a rich history, beginning with chess enthusiasts in the 1850s determining how many queens are necessary to dominate an entire chessboard and continuing to current problems involving computer communication networks, social network theory, and other similar problems. We define a dominating set of a graph G to be a set of vertices of G such that every vertex of G is either in the set or adjacent to a vertex in the set. The domination number for a graph G is the size of a minimum dominating set. Determining the domination number of graphs can prove highly useful in solving many types of problems, and recent studies of dominating sets reflect this. We focus on describing various families of graphs in terms of bounds on the domination number. Although the computation of dominating sets for arbitrary graphs is an NP-complete problem, it is possible to compute certain bounds on the domination number for certain families of graphs. We examine families of graphs, specifically the family of grids, and determine the bounds on domination number for these families. We compare the domination numbers for the various classes of grids with other common families of graphs.
Electrochemical ‘Lab on a chip’ for Toxicity Detection in Water

An electrochemical 'Lab-on-a-chip' for water toxicity detection is presented. This miniaturized device containing an array of nano liter electrochemical cells, which integrates bacteria and can emulate physiological reactions in response to different chemicals. Bacteria, which have been genetically engineered to respond to environmental stress, act as a sensor element and trigger a sequence of processes, which leads to generation of electrical current. The silicon chip contains an array of nano-volume electrochemical cells that house the bacteria, connected to a sensing and data analysis unit. Each of the electrochemical cells in the array can be monitored independently and simultaneously with the others. A measurable current signal, well above the noise level, was produced within less than 10 minutes of exposure to representative toxicants. This miniature device provides high throughput rapid and sensitive real-time detection of acute toxicity in water.
On Goal-Directed Proofs in Multiple-Conclusioned Intuitionistic Logic

A key property in the definition of logic programming languages is the completeness of goaldirected proofs. This concept originated in the study of logic programming languages for intuitionistic logic in the (single-conclusioned) sequent calculus LJ, but has subsequently been adapted to multiple-conclusioned systems such as those for linear logic. Given these developments, it seems interesting to investigate the notion of goal-directed proofs for a multipleconclusioned sequent calculus for intuitionistic logic, in that this is a logic for which there are both single-conclusioned and multiple-conclusioned systems (although the latter are less well known than the former). In this paper we show that the language obtained for the multiple-conclusioned system differs from that for the single-conclusioned case, and discuss the consequences of this result.