Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stability experiment of a biped walking robot with inverted pendulum

This paper is concerned with a balancing motion formulation and control of the ZMP (zero moment point) for a biped walking robot that has a balancing weight of an inverted pendulum. The original dynamic stability equation of a walking robot is nonlinear; because it's balancing weight is an inverted pendulum type. The stabilization equation of a biped walking robot is modeled as a linearized non-homogeneous second order differential equation with boundary conditions. With the FDM (finite difference method) solution of the linearized differential equation, a trajectory of balancing weight can be directly calculated. Furthermore, it makes that possible input the desired ZMP or ZMP trajectory for various gait, situation and complex motion. Also, it can be easily approximated that a balancing range or motion when some link parameters are changed; especially a balancing mass is changed. In this paper, the simulator with a balancing weight of an inverted pendulum is programmed to get and calculate the desired ZMP and the actual ZMP. The operating program is developed for a real biped walking robot IWRIII-IP. Walking of 6 steps will be simulated and experimented with a real biped walking robot. This balancing system will be applied to a biped humanoid robot, which consist legs and upper body, at future work.
[Correlation between parameters on the shape of body and dissatisfaction against it from parents among children and adolescents].

OBJECTIVE To analyze the correlation between children and adolescents' body shape parameters and parent's dissatisfaction on it. METHODS Stratified cluster sampling method was used to select students and their parents, and height, weight, waist circumference (WC), hip circumference (HC), skinfold thichness of the students were measured. Body image from parents was studied through the 'Ma body figural shape'. Correlation between body shape parameters and dissatisfaction towards them from the parents was analyzed under both simple- and multiple-level methods. RESULTS The overall prevalence of dissatisfaction on body-shapes from parents was 69.0%, including 28.6% of the parents expecting children to be fat (PEBF) while, 40.4% of the parents expecting their children to be thin (PEBT). In males, parameters as height, weight, WC, HC, skin fold thickness, BMI in PEBT were 1.9 cm, 11.9 kg, 13.2 cm, 8.8 cm, 32.3 mm, 4.7 kg/m² respectively, all higher than the satisfaction from the parents (PBIS) (all P < 0.05), and these parameters were 2.3 cm, 7.1 kg, 7.2 cm, 5.8 cm, 14.1 mm, 2.3 kg/m² higher in PBIS than that of PEBF, respectively (all P < 0.05). In females, parameters as weight, WC, HC, skinfold thickness, BMI in PEBT appeared to be 8.6 kg, 9.1 cm, 6.6 cm, 21.9 mm, 3.5 kg/m² higher than that of PBIS (all P < 0.01), and were 5.5 kg, 5.9 cm, 5.4 cm, 10.4 mm, 1.8 kg/m² higher in PBIS than that of PEBF, respectively, plus the difference of height was 3.6 cm more (P < 0.01). Differences of body shape on parameters between PEBT and PBIS were larger in primary school students than in middle school students. However, the differences of body shape parameters between PBIS and PEBF appeared higher in middle school students than in primary school male students, but were higher in female students in primary than in middle school students. CONCLUSION The prevalence of body dissatisfaction related to children and adolscents' body shape parameters from parents was high. Parents in the PEBT group seemed to have paid more attention to children's body shape parameters at low age. However, parents in PEBF group might have paid more attention to children's body shape parameters at high age in males or at low age in females.
Improvement in Perioperative Outcome After Hepatic Resection: Analysis of 1,803 Consecutive Cases Over the Past Decade

ObjectiveTo assess the nature of changes in the field of hepatic resectional surgery and their impact on perioperative outcome. MethodsDemographics, extent of resection, concomitant major procedures, operative and transfusion data, complications, and hospital stay were analyzed for 1,803 consecutive patients undergoing hepatic resection from December 1991 to September 2001 at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Factors associated with morbidity and mortality and trends in operative and perioperative variables over the period of study were analyzed. ResultsMalignant disease was the most common diagnosis (1,642 patients, 91%); of these cases, metastatic colorectal cancer accounted for 62% (n = 1,021). Three hundred seventy-five resections (21%) were performed for primary hepatic or biliary cancers and 161 (9%) for benign disease. Anatomical resections were performed in 1,568 patients (87%) and included 544 extended hepatectomies, 483 hepatectomies, and 526 segmental resections. Sixty-two percent of patients had three or more segments resected, 42% had bilobar resections, and 37% had concomitant additional major procedures. The median blood loss was 600 mL and 49% of patients were transfused at any time during the index admission. Median hospital stay was 8 days, morbidity was 45%, and operative mortality was 3.1%. Over the study period, there was a significant increase in the use of parenchymal-sparing segmental resections and a decrease in the number of hepatic segments resected. In parallel with this, there was a significant decline in blood loss, the use of blood products, and hospital stay. Despite an increase in concomitant major procedures, operative mortality decreased from approximately 4% in the first 5 years of the study to 1.3% in the last 2 years, with 0 operative deaths in the last 184 consecutive cases. On multivariate analysis, the number of hepatic segments resected and operative blood loss were the only independent predictors of both perioperative morbidity and mortality. ConclusionsOver the past decade, the use of parenchymal-sparing segmental resections has increased significantly. The number of hepatic segments resected and operative blood loss were the only predictors of both perioperative morbidity and mortality, and reductions in both are largely responsible for the decrease in perioperative mortality, which has occurred despite an increase in concomitant major procedures.
Fertilization and early embryology: Oscillations in intracellular free calcium induced by spermatozoa in human oocytes at fertilization

: Calcium has an important role in the events of egg activation and early preimplantation development. We investigated changes in intracellular calcium concentration in human oocytes at fertilization using the calcium-sensitive photoprotein aequorin. Oocytes were donated for research by patients undergoing in-vitro fertilization treatment in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. Cumulus cells, and in some cases zonae pellucidae, were removed by appropriate enzyme treatment. Single oocytes were micro-injected with aequorin and incubated in a chamber perfused with pre-equilibrated culture medium in a photomultiplier system. Eleven zona-intact and 15 zona-free oocytes were incubated with sperm, and oocytes from each group were incubated without sperm as controls. Dramatic transient increases in intracellular free calcium concentration were recorded in three zona-intact and seven zona-free oocytes, thought to be the first direct measurements of intracellular changes in human oocytes at fertilization. The amplitude (up to 2.5 microM), duration (120 s) and frequency (every 10-35 min) of these transients were similar in zona-intact and zona-free oocytes. They resemble those recorded in mouse oocytes, which may therefore be a suitable model for biochemical events at human fertilization.
Adaptive nested terminal sliding mode control for a hypersonic vehicle with mismatched uncertainties

This paper tackles the tracking control of flexible hypersonic vehicle (FHV) with mismatched uncertainties by utilizing the adaptive nested terminal sliding mode control method. The controllers of velocity loop and altitude loop are designed separately based on the control-oriented model which is obtained by simplification of the FHV model. It's noted that the previous sliding mode control is sensitive to mismatched uncertainties, which weakens the use of sliding mode strategy. Therefore, the nested terminal sliding mode control is applied in FHV, to provide a virtual control in every step until the real control law is obtained, which can deal with the mismatched uncertainties problem and achieve finite-time stability. What's more, the lumped uncertainties including the derivative of virtual control law are estimated by adaptive algorithm, which can solve the problem of “explosion of complex” and the upper bounds of uncertainties are not required to be known in advance. Simulation results show that the proposed control method can guarantee the accurate tracking of velocity and altitude effectively.
Novel retroviral vector transferring a suicide gene and a selectable marker gene with enhanced gene expression by using a tetracycline-responsive expression system

A retroviral vector for the enhanced expression of the herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase (HSV tk) gene was developed by using a tetracycline-responsive expression system (TRES). The two components of the TRES, the chimeric transactivator (tTA) and the corresponding tTA-binding cis element (tetO), were both incorporated into a retroviral vector and resulted in high levels of tk gene expression from tetO in target cells. Amphotropic virus supernatants from stable producer cells, generated by the retroviral vector containing the TRES, gave titers of 10(4) to 10(5) G418-resistant CFU/ml on murine NIH 3T3 cells. The retroviral vector (G1tTA-[tetOTkINa]R), in which tetO was used in the opposite orientation relative to viral transcription, was capable of transducing tk and neo genes into murine NIH 3T3 cells to yield a high level of tk gene expression. TK enzyme activity in NIH 3T3 cells transduced by this vector was 417-fold higher than in control cells. This increased TK activity was returned to basal levels in the presence of tetracycline. The level of tk gene expression driven by tetO from G1tTA-[tetOTkINa]R vector in NIH 3T3 cells was fourfold higher at both the mRNA level and the TK enzyme level than that produced by the long terminal repeat of G1Tk1SvNa, the vector being used in the ongoing brain tumor gene therapy trial. Retroviral vectors containing the TRES may be useful therefore in achieving higher levels of tk gene expression, which should facilitate gene therapy approaches in the treatment of cancer.
In vitro screening of lactobacilli isolated from chicken excreta to control Salmonella Enteritidis and Typhimurium

1. The aim of this work was to select lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains from chicks and hens of egg-laying strains for potential use to control Salmonellae. 2. Nineteen LAB strains obtained from culture collections, and 24 strains isolated from excreta of laying hens and chicks, were evaluated for inhibitory capacities against two Salmonella serotypes using a “Spot-the-lawn” technique and other in vitro properties that could be predictive of antimicrobial activity. 3. The size of the inhibition zone differed slightly between Salmonella serotypes, however, the mean size of the Salmonella inhibition zone differed greatly among the LAB strains. Lactobacillus salivarius, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus and L. reuteri exhibited powerful inhibitory effects to each Salmonella strain. 4. The result of the acid tolerance test showed that all L. salivarius, L. kitasatonis strains and each of L. ingluviei cannot survive in a low pH environment. In the bile acid tolerance assay, growth was inhibited in all strains, except L. kitasatonis HE4, and a large inhibition was observed in most of the L. salivarius and L. crispatus strains. 5. The results demonstrate that some LAB of poultry origin were able to inhibit the growth of Salmonella and survive simulated passage through the gastrointestinal tract. The selected LAB could act in the lower gastrointestinal tract to prevent salmonellosis in poultry.
Achieving Uplink/Downlink Fairness in WLANs via Multiple Backoff Timers

The IEEE 802.11 Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) scheme suffers from a well-known uplink/downlink throughput imbalance problem when operating in the infrastructure mode. A common existing approach is to assign higher priority to the access point by properly tuning the backoff parameters (e.g., the contention windows size and the inter frame space) of each station so that the access point obtains a larger share of network bandwidth. However, it is quite difficult to map and adjust these parameters to accurately offset arbitrary uplink/downlink throughput imbalance. Recently, the IEEE 802.11e standard additionally provides several parameters that can be properly adjusted to effectively offset the imbalance problem. However, this simple solution also takes away some of the IEEE 802.11e capacity to support flexible prioritized services. In this work, we propose a new simple and effective technique to solve the uplink/downlink throughput imbalance problem in an infrastructure WLAN. The idea is to have the access point employ multiple independent backoff timers, each of which is associated with the downlink traffic flows for each client station. The proposed solution requires minimal changes in the access point firmware, but no change in the client device is necessary. Simulation results show that the proposed mechanism efficiently and effectively solves the uplink/downlink throughput imbalance problem in an infrastructure WLAN.
Outcomes of Management Innovation: An Empirical Analysis in the Services Industry

The purpose of this paper is to advance the knowledge in the under‐developed literature on management innovation in the services sector. Management innovation entails new internal organizational methods in which managers are closely and directly involved. Therefore, its introduction can be a powerful tool in managers' hands to promote their firms' success. Data obtained from 109 firms were analysed using structural equations modelling, in order to evaluate the influence of management innovation on different organizational outcomes. The results show that management innovation activities favour the introduction of learning capability and product innovation. Moreover, it indirectly affects the achievement of financial performance through its effect on product innovation.
Live Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Vaccine Correlate of Protection: Local Antibody Production and Concentration on the Path of Virus Entry

We sought design principles for a vaccine to prevent HIV transmission to women by identifying correlates of protection conferred by a highly effective live attenuated SIV vaccine in the rhesus macaque animal model. We show that SIVmac239Δnef vaccination recruits plasma cells and induces ectopic lymphoid follicle formation beneath the mucosal epithelium in the rhesus macaque female reproductive tract. The plasma cells and ectopic follicles produce IgG Abs reactive with viral envelope glycoprotein gp41 trimers, and these Abs are concentrated on the path of virus entry by the neonatal FcR in cervical reserve epithelium and in vaginal epithelium. This local Ab production and delivery system correlated spatially and temporally with the maturation of local protection against high-dose pathogenic SIV vaginal challenge. Thus, designing vaccines to elicit production and concentration of Abs at mucosal frontlines could aid in the development of an effective vaccine to protect women against HIV-1.
Matsucoccus macrocicatrices (Hemiptera: Matsucoccidae): First Report, Distribution, and Association With Symptomatic Eastern White Pine in the Southeastern United States

ABSTRACT We provide the first report of Matsucoccus macrocicatrices Richards (Hemiptera: Mat-sucoccidae) feeding and reproducing on eastern white pine, Pinus strobus L. , in the southeastern United States. Until now, M. macrocicatrices had been reported only from the Canadian Atlantic Maritimes, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. Entomological holdings of 27 major museums in eastern North America have no historical records for M. macrocicatrices from the southeastern region. However, our field surveys and molecular analyses (DNA barcoding) have resulted in the collection and positive identification of M. macrocicatrices in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. In addition to the new geographic range, M. macrocicatrices is also being associated with dieback and mortality of all diameter classes of P. strobus leading to concern about a potential shift from its historically nonpestiferous presence on the host tree. On P. strobus, M. macrocicatrices was found embedded in cankers or present on top of the bark with necrotic tissue under their feeding area, indicating that they may be creating wounds for opportunistic pathogenic fungi to infest. Further, we found M. macrocicatrices living outside of the epiphytic mats of its symbiotic fungus, Septobasidium pinicola Snell. This study shows that M. macrocicatrices is now widespread in the southeastern United States, with implications for the future survival and regeneration of P. strobus in eastern North America.
The Effects of O- and N-Linked Glycosylation on the Secretion and Bile Salt-Stimulation of Pancreatic Carboxyl Ester Lipase Activity

Abstract Pancreatic carboxyl ester lipase is a glycoprotein that requires millimolar concentrations of trihydroxy bile salts, such as cholate, for maximal catalytic activity against cholesteryl esters and triglycerides. Binding of cholate, with subsequent activation, has been proposed to occur in the carboxy-terminal region of carboxyl ester lipase, which contains multiple sites for O-linked glycosylation (1). To investigate the role of O- and N-linked glycosylation in the secretion of carboxyl ester lipase by cells and its activation by cholate, rat carboxyl ester lipase cDNA was transfected into the mutant chinese hamster ovary cell line, IdID, and the ability of the cells to modify the expressed carboxyl ester lipase by N- and O-linked glycosylation was modulated by using various incubation conditions and metabolic inhibitors. The results showed that, similar to other lipases, maximal secretion of carboxyl ester lipase activity required N-linked glycosylation. In contrast, O-linked glycosylation did not affect the secretion of carboxyl ester lipase activity. In addition, the cholate stimulation of hydrolysis was also independent of O-linked glycosylation.
Alcohol and smoking and subsequent risk of prostate cancer in Japanese men: The Japan Public Health Center‐based prospective study

Although alcohol and smoking have not been established as risk factors for prostate cancer, they are important risk factors for other human cancers and potentially major avoidable factors. Alcohol drinkers and smokers might be less likely to get screening, which might lead to attenuation of the positive association. Here, we investigated the association of alcohol drinking and smoking and prostate cancer according to stage, as well as prostate cancer detected by subjective symptoms, in a large prospective study among Japanese men. The Japan Public Health Center‐based prospective study (JPHC study) was established in 1990 for Cohort I and in 1993 for Cohort II. Subjects were 48,218 men aged 40–69 years who completed a questionnaire, which included their alcohol and smoking habits at baseline, and who were followed until the end of 2010. During 16 years of follow‐up, 913 men were newly diagnosed with prostate cancer; of whom 248 had advanced cases, 635 were organ‐localized and 30 were of an undetermined stage. Alcohol consumption was dose‐dependently associated with advanced prostate cancer [nondrinkers: reference, 0–150 g/week: hazard ratio (HR) = 1.23, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.83–1.82; 150–300 g/week: HR = 1.51, 95% CI = 1.04–2.19; ≥300 g/week: HR = 1.41, 95% CI = 0.97–2.05, p for trend = 0.02]. The positive association was not substantially changed among cancers detected by subjective symptoms. Smoking was inversely associated with prostate cancer among total subjects, but tended to increase the risk of advanced prostate cancer detected by subjective symptoms. In conclusion, abstinence from alcohol and prohibition of smoking might be important factors in the prevention of advanced prostate cancer.
Recommendation system for Facebook public events based on probabilistic classification and re-ranking

The evolution of Facebook social network with event feature helps improve the quality of interaction among users in real life. Different from other objects such as movies and books, recommendation problem for events is inherently cold-start and affected by the natures of each social network platform (Facebook, Meetup, etc). In this paper, we discuss the character of Facebook social network and how the event recommendation problem in this case is different to others. We argue that rather than just trying to place as many as possible the most suitable events (often based on similarity measurement) on top recommendations, it's better to remove the unsuitable ones and reorder the remaining in a way that improves the user experience. From that, we propose a new method for event recommendation divided into two consecutive stages - classification and re-ranking. For the first phase, we use a blending model of probabilistic classifiers to predict positive and negative probabilities for each user-event pair, then evaluate on those results to eliminate all bad cases before passing the rest to the next phase. We also propose a new optimization procedure in this evaluation process. For the second phase, we treat the positive probability as a measurement of similarity and make some comparisons across several reranking techniques to choose the best based on the objective of improving quality of recommended lists. Experimental results on crawled Facebook public events show the effectiveness of the proposed method.
A Curriculum Analysis of Online Master of Education in Curriculum and Instructional Technology Program

Starting in the summer of 2004, the department of Curriculum and Instruction at Iowa State University began offering an online Master of Education (M.Ed.) with a specialization in Curriculum and Instructional Technology degree program. All of the required courses were delivered at a distance using a variety of technologies. However, students traveled to campus for a face-to-face session at least once per semester. The purpose of this paper was to provide a detailed curriculum analysis of this degree program using Posner’s (2004) curriculum analysis questions: curriculum documentation, curriculum proper, and curriculum in use. We employed a document analysis method, and examined an article published by the curriculum designers, course syllabi, the program website, and recruitment brochures; and interviewed key participants in the development of the program. Based on our analysis, suggestions were made to improve the curriculum and overcome potential weaknesses such as offering students a more diverse and dynamic program of study based on student interests, and providing instructors with training and resources necessary to create successful online learning environments. Descriptors: Online Education, Curriculum Analysis
Highly Effective In Vivo Gene Transfection by Blocked Star Vector

Nano-structured four branched, blocked star vector (BSV) was molecularly designed by iniferter-based photo-living radical copolymerization method of N,N-dimethylaminopropylacrylamide and then N,N-dimethylacrylamide from four dithiocarbamate-derivatized benzene for a novel gene delivery non-viral vector. The conjugated pDNA complexes were satisfactorily stable in the condition of the electrophoresis. Under the charge ratio of 5/1 (vector/pDNA), complexes of BSV and pDNA (BSV-pDNA) demonstrated satisfied transfection efficiency into COS-1 cells with a little cytotoxicity. Mice injected with BSV-pDNA polyplexes showed a higher level of gene expression in either liver, kidney or spleen using the optimal charge ratio as determined in in vitro. These results suggest the potential use of BSV as a non-viral vector in clinic