Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A 4-DOF haptic master using ER fluid for minimally invasive surgery system application

This paper presents a novel 4-degrees-of-freedom (4-DOF) haptic master using a electrorheological (ER) fluid which is applicable to minimally invasive surgery (MIS) systems. By adopting a controllable ER fluid, the master can easily generate 4-DOF repulsive forces with the advantages of a simple mechanism and continuous force control capability. The proposed master consists of two actuators: an ER spherical joint for 3-DOF rotational motion and an ER piston device for 1-DOF translational motion. The generated torque/force models are mathematically derived by analyzing the mechanism geometry and using the Bingham characteristics of an ER Fluid. The haptic master is optimally designed and manufactured based on the mathematical torque/force models. The repulsive torque/force responses are experimentally evaluated and expressed by the first-order and second-order dynamic equations for each motion. A sliding mode controller (SMC), which is known to be robust to uncertainties, is then designed and empirically implemented to achieve the desired torque/force trajectories. It is demonstrated by presenting torque/force tracking results of both rotational and translational motions that the proposed 4-DOF ER haptic master integrated with the SMC can provide an effective haptic control performance for MIS applications.
Ex vivo Digestion of Milk from Red Chittagong Cattle Focusing Proteolysis and Lipolysis

Ex vivo digestion of proteins and fat in Red Chittagong Cattle milk from Bangladesh was carried out using human gastrointestinal enzymes. This was done to investigate the protein digestion in this bovine breed’s milk with an especial focus on the degradation of the allergenic milk proteins; αs1-casein and β-lactoglobulin and also to record the generation of peptides. Lipolysis of the milk fat and release of fatty acids were also under consideration. After 40 min of gastric digestion, all the αs-caseins were digested completely while β-lactoglobulin remained intact. During 120 min of duodenal digestion β-lactoglobulin was reduced, however, still some intact β-lactoglobulin was observed. The highest number of peptides was identified from β-casein and almost all the peptides from κ-casein and β-lactoglobulin were identified from the gastric and duodenal samples, respectively. No lipolysis was observed in the gastric phase of digestion. After 120 min of duodenal digestion, milk fat showed 48% lipolysis. Medium (C10:0 to C16:0) and long (≥C17:0) chain fatty acids showed 6% to 19% less lipolysis than the short (C6:0 to C8:0) chain fatty acids. Among the unsaturated fatty acids C18:1∑others showed highest lipolysis (81%) which was more than three times of C18:2∑all and all other unsaturated fatty acids showed lipolysis ranging from 32% to 38%. The overall digestion of Bangladeshi Red Cattle milk was more or less similar to the digestion of Nordic bovine milk (Norwegian Red Cattle).
A Novel Algorithm for Estimating Vehicle Speed from Two Consecutive Images

In this paper, we present a new algorithm for estimating individual vehicle speed based on two consecutive images captured from a traffic safety camera system. Its principles are first, both images are transformed from the image plane to the 3D world coordinates based on the calibrated camera parameters. Second, the difference of the two transformed images is calculated, resulting in the background being eliminated and vehicles in the two images are mapped onto one image. Finally, a block feature of the vehicle closest to the ground is matched to estimate vehicle travel distance and speed. Experimental results show that the proposed method exhibits good and consistent performance. When compared with speed measurements obtained from speed radar, averaged estimation errors are 3.27% and 8.51% for day-time and night-time test examples respectively, which are better than other previously published results. The proposed algorithm can be easily extended to work on image sequences
Gallium lanthanum sulphide glasses for near-infrared photonic applications

This thesis investigates gallium lanthanum oxysulphide (GLS) glasses for potential fibre device applications. GLS glasses have low phonon energy and high rare earth solubility, which makes them candidates for rare earth-doped devices, and in particular for the 1.3 µm praseodymium-doped optical fibre amplifier. In addition, they have one of the highest nonlinear figures of merit among optical glasses, and therefore have potential for all-optical switching and other nonlinear devices. Practical applications, however, have been prevented by the impossibility, to date, of achieving single mode fibres with low attenuation. Previous efforts were concentrated on fabrication and especially tried to address the known issues of glass purity and thermal stability. The present work is focussed on assessing the fundamental glass transparency and on the mechanisms affecting the transmission loss of GLS glasses. The optical absorption at 1.55 and 1.7 µm was measured for the first time by laser absorption calorimetry using a tunable free electron laser source. To this end, a calorimeter was designed and commissioned and an improved model for the heat flow analysis of laser calorimetry was also developed. Our measurements identified optical absorption as the principal near-IR loss mechanism for GLS glasses. The extrinsic absorption due to transition metal ion impurities was also measured, and the presence of the weak absorption tail, due to absorption from gap states, was investigated. The occurrence of photoinduced effects and their impact on the material's transmission was also analysed. A thorough characterisation of the photodarkening and photoinduced absorption due to bandgap illumination, including its dependence on the excitation wavelength, and the kinetics of its formation, decay and reversibility, was achieved. Finally, the response of GLS glasses to high-intensity irradiation in the 1 µm wavelength region was studied and photoinduced darkening was observed to occur in low oxide undoped and Pr3+-doped GLS. All these topics are of great practical relevance. The present work clearly demonstrates that, in addition to the known fabrication challenges of monomode GLS fibres, careful consideration of the intrinsic transparency and photoinduced effects is essential for their successful application in fibre devices.
Fullerene C[60] : history, physics, nanobiology, nanotechnology

Part I: Science of Fullerene C60. 1. History of Fullerene C60. 2. The Icosahedron: Symmetry and Golden Mean Properties. 3. Symmetry of Electronic and Vibrational Structure of C60. 4. STM Images and Vibrational-Rotational Spectra of C60. Part II: From Nanobiology to Nanotechnology. 5. Bio-Fullerenes. 6. Intelligence within Cells - Bio-Fullerene Information Processing. 7. From Nanobiology to Nanotechnology - Basic Concept. Part III: Fullerene C60: Production, Technology, and Applications. 8. Fullerene Production. 9. Nanotechnology of C60 10. Electrochemistry of Fullerenes and its Applications. Figure Sources.
Point Scanning Microscope with Adaptive Illumination Beam Intensity

In this paper we describe a point scanning optical microscope where the illumination beam can be programmably controlled in real time using a liquid crystal spatial light modulator (LCSLM). With an appropriate pattern displayed on the LCSLM, the device can be made to act as a binary diffraction hologram. In the proposed microscope the illumination beam is in fact the +1 order beam diffracted from the binary hologram. By displaying a sequence of binary holograms it is possible to make a beam scanning, similar to a conventional scanning microscope. Here we use a computer generated holography technique to compute the binary holograms which facilitate complete control of the amplitude and phase profile of the illumination beam. In a number of microscopy applications using reflected light, the reflectivity of the sample plane may differ from region to region. Therefore if a single illumination beam intensity is used for the whole sample plane, then the regions with less reflectivity will be imaged with poor si.
Magnetic front-end with complex geometry for application of wireless sensor networks in water and liquids

The paper introduces an efficient procedure that allows the design of low cost magnetic antennas with arbitrary shape and extremely reduced dimensions. The technique does not need any optimization procedure and it can be applied to any antenna geometry, even very complex ones, e.g., with fractal shape. Simulations have been compared to measurements, proving a good agreement and an excellent performance in terms of radiation efficiency, not only in free space, but also when the antenna is collocated inside dissipative media. For this reason, the device can be efficiently proposed for the realization of the terminal unit in wireless sensor networks, especially when the node must be embedded inside lossy material.
Structure and Assembly of a T=1 Virus-Like Particle in BK Polyomavirus

ABSTRACT In polyomaviruses the pentameric capsomers are interlinked by the long C-terminal arm of the structural protein VP1. The T=7 icosahedral structure of these viruses is possible due to an intriguing adaptability of this linker arm to the different local environments in the capsid. To explore the assembly process, we have compared the structure of two virus-like particles (VLPs) formed, as we found, in a calcium-dependent manner by the VP1 protein of human polyomavirus BK. The structures were determined using electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM), and the three-dimensional reconstructions were interpreted by atomic modeling. In the small VP1 particle, 26.4 nm in diameter, the pentameric capsomers form an icosahedral T=1 surface lattice with meeting densities at the threefold axes that interlinked three capsomers. In the larger particle, 50.6 nm in diameter, the capsomers form a T=7 icosahedral shell with three unique contacts. A folding model of the BKV VP1 protein was obtained by alignment with the VP1 protein of simian virus 40 (SV40). The model fitted well into the cryo-EM density of the T=7 particle. However, residues 297 to 362 of the C-terminal arm had to be remodeled to accommodate the higher curvature of the T=1 particle. The loops, before and after the C-terminal short helix, were shown to provide the hinges that allowed curvature variation in the particle shell. The meeting densities seen at the threefold axes in the T=1 particle were consistent with the triple-helix interlinking contact at the local threefold axes in the T=7 structure.
Extracellular SOD-Derived H2O2 Promotes VEGF Signaling in Caveolae/Lipid Rafts and Post-Ischemic Angiogenesis in Mice

Reactive oxygen species (ROS), in particular, H2O2, is essential for full activation of VEGF receptor2 (VEGFR2) signaling involved in endothelial cell (EC) proliferation and migration. Extracellular superoxide dismutase (ecSOD) is a major secreted extracellular enzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of superoxide to H2O2, and anchors to EC surface through heparin-binding domain (HBD). Mice lacking ecSOD show impaired postnatal angiogenesis. However, it is unknown whether ecSOD-derived H2O2 regulates VEGF signaling. Here we show that gene transfer of ecSOD, but not ecSOD lacking HBD (ecSOD-ΔHBD), increases H2O2 levels in adductor muscle of mice, and promotes angiogenesis after hindlimb ischemia. Mice lacking ecSOD show reduction of H2O2 in non-ischemic and ischemic limbs. In vitro, overexpression of ecSOD, but not ecSOD-ΔHBD, in cultured medium in ECs enhances VEGF-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of VEGFR2 (VEGFR2-pY), which is prevented by short-term pretreatment with catalase that scavenges extracellular H2O2. Either exogenous H2O2 (<500 µM), which is diffusible, or nitric oxide donor has no effect on VEGF-induced VEGFR2-pY. These suggest that ecSOD binding to ECs via HBD is required for localized generation of extracellular H2O2 to regulate VEGFR2-pY. Mechanistically, VEGF-induced VEGFR2-pY in caveolae/lipid rafts, but non-lipid rafts, is enhanced by ecSOD, which localizes at lipid rafts via HBD. One of the targets of ROS is protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs). ecSOD induces oxidation and inactivation of both PTP1B and DEP1, which negatively regulates VEGFR2-pY, in caveolae/lipid rafts, but not non-lipid rafts. Disruption of caveolae/lipid rafts, or PTPs inhibitor orthovanadate, or siRNAs for PTP1B and DEP1 enhances VEGF-induced VEGFR2-pY, which prevents ecSOD-induced effect. Functionally, ecSOD promotes VEGF-stimulated EC migration and proliferation. In summary, extracellular H2O2 generated by ecSOD localized at caveolae/lipid rafts via HBD promotes VEGFR2 signaling via oxidative inactivation of PTPs in these microdomains. Thus, ecSOD is a potential therapeutic target for angiogenesis-dependent cardiovascular diseases.
Partitioning Parallel Documents Using Binary Segmentation

In statistical machine translation, large numbers of parallel sentences are required to train the model parameters. However, plenty of the bilingual language resources available on web are aligned only at the document level. To exploit this data, we have to extract the bilingual sentences from these documents. The common method is to break the documents into segments using predefined anchor words, then these segments are aligned. This approach is not error free, incorrect alignments may decrease the translation quality. We present an alternative approach to extract the parallel sentences by partitioning a bilingual document into two pairs. This process is performed recursively until all the sub-pairs are short enough. In experiments on the Chinese-English FBIS data, our method was capable of producing translation results comparable to those of a state-of-the-art sentence aligner. Using a combination of the two approaches leads to better translation performance.
A lipidomic analysis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease

The spectrum of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) includes a nonalcoholic fatty liver (NAFL) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The specific types and amounts of lipids that accumulate in NAFLD are not fully defined. The free fatty acid (FFA), diacylglycerol (DAG), triacylglycerol (TAG), free cholesterol (FC), cholesterol ester, and phospholipid contents in normal livers were quantified and compared to those of NAFL and NASH, and the distribution of fatty acids within these classes was compared across these groups. Hepatic lipids were quantified by capillary gas chromatography. The mean (nmol/g of tissue) DAG (normal/NAFL/NASH: 1922 versus 4947 versus 3304) and TAG (13,609 versus 128,585 versus 104,036) increased significantly in NAFLD, but FFA remained unaltered (5533 versus 5929 versus 6115). There was a stepwise increase in the mean TAG/DAG ratio from normal livers to NAFL to NASH (7 versus 26 versus 31, P < 0.001). There was also a similar stepwise increment in hepatic FC (7539 versus 10,383 versus 12,863, P < 0.05 for NASH). The total phosphatidylcholine (PC) decreased in both NAFL and NASH. The FC/PC ratio increased progressively (0.34 versus 0.69 versus 0.71, P < 0.008 for both). Although the levels for linoleic acid (18:2n‐6) and α‐linolenic acid (18:3n‐3) remained unaltered, there was a decrease in arachidonic acid (20:4n‐6) in FFA, TAG, and PC (P < 0.05 for all) in NASH. Eicosapentanoic acid (20:5n‐3) and docosahexanoic acid (22:6n‐3) were decreased in TAG in NASH. The n‐6:n‐3 FFA ratio increased in NASH (P < 0.05). Conclusions: NAFLD is associated with numerous changes in the lipid composition of the liver. The potential implications are discussed. (HEPATOLOGY 2007.)
The F-Box Protein ZEITLUPE Confers Dosage-Dependent Control on the Circadian Clock, Photomorphogenesis, and Flowering Time Online version contains Web-only data.

As an F-box protein, ZEITLUPE (ZTL) is involved in targeting one or more substrates for ubiquitination and degradation via the proteasome. The initial characterization of ZTL suggested a function limited largely to the regulation of the circadian clock. Here, we show a considerably broader role for ZTL in the control of circadian period and photomorphogenesis. Using a ZTL-specific antibody, we quantitated and characterized a ZTL dosage series that ranges from a null mutation to a strong ZTL overexpressor. In the dark, ztl null mutations lengthen circadian period, and overexpression causes arrhythmicity, suggesting a more comprehensive role for this protein in the clock than previously suspected. In the light, circadian period becomes increasingly shorter at higher levels of ZTL, to the point of arrhythmicity. By contrast, hypocotyl length increases and flowering time is delayed in direct proportion to the level of ZTL. We propose a novel testable mechanism by which circadian period and amplitude may act together to gate phytochrome B–mediated suppression of hypocotyl. We also demonstrate that ZTL-dependent delay of flowering is mediated through decreases in CONSTANS and FLOWERING LOCUS T message levels, thus directly linking proteasome-dependent proteolysis to flowering.
J un 2 00 8 Large Volume Axionic Swiss-Cheese Inflation

Continuing with the ideas of (section 4 of)[1], after inclusion of perturbative and non-perturbative α corrections to the Kähler potential and (D1and D3-) instanton generated superpotential, we show the possibility of slow-roll axionic inflation in the large volume limit of Swiss-Cheese Calabi-Yau orientifold compactifications of type IIB string theory. We also include oneand two-loop corrections to the Kähler potential but find the same to be subdominant to the (perturbative and non-perturbative) α corrections. The NS-NS axions provide a flat direction for slow-roll inflation to proceed from a saddle point to the nearest dS minimum.
Decomposing the Impact of Credit Card Promotions on Consumer Behavior and Merchant Performance

Card-based partnerships between banks and retailers have created new opportunities for profit enhancement. We use public data, together with proprietary data from a financial institution to examine the impact of card-based promotions on consumer behavior and merchant performance. The results show that card promotions are associated with increasing customer traffic and transactions from the bank for its merchant partners. We also found significant variation among offer sizes, types, as well as merchant and consumer segments. Our research creates valuable insights and paves the way forward for decision support.
Effects of Humidity and Water Environment on Fatigue Crack Propagation in Magnesium Alloys

This paper presents the effects of environment on fatigue crack propagation (FCP) in two magnesium alloys, rolled AZ31 and extruded AZ61. FCP tests have been performed using electro-hydraulic fatigue testing machine operating at a frequency of 1Hz at a stress ratio, R, of 0.05 in distilled water and in dry air. The dew point of dry air was −60°C. The obtained results were compared with those already established in laboratory air, and the effects of humidity and water environment were discussed on the basis of fractographic analysis of fracture surfaces. The effect of cyclic frequency was also studied. Both alloys exhibited basically the same FCP behaviour regardless of environment. FCP rates were nearly the same in laboratory air and in distilled water, while approximately an order of magnitude slower in dry air than in those environments. After allowing for crack closure, the effect of environment still existed, where FCP rates were the fastest in laboratory air, then in distilled water, in dry air in decreasing order. Fractographic analysis revealed that fracture surfaces were extensively brittle in laboratory air, while entirely covered with corrosion products in distilled water. It was believed, therefore, that different FCP mechanisms operated in laboratory air and in distilled water, possibly hydrogen embrittlement and anodic dissolution, respectively. The frequency dependence of FCP rate was not recognized in dry air and less remarkable in laboratory air over a wide range of frequencies of 0.01Hz to 10Hz, while FCP rates became faster with decreasing frequency in distilled water.
Flexible displays for smart clothing: Part I—Overview

This overview describes different technologies and developments over the past few decades that have been used in the production of textile-based flexible displays and screens. The paper covers textile displays based on optical fibres for the use in communicative clothing, fashion or medical applications; large flexible screens based on flexible ribbons and LEDs to make or to create communicative clothing; and low cost, washable ‘textronics’ produced by combining SMD components with textile materials for the production of light-producing multilayered OLED flexible structures. For each technology covered in the review, the examples from the commercial products or from the products under research have been considered to illustrate the concept and its potential applications.
Railway platform monitoring system using stereo vision algorithm for passenger's safety

In this paper, we propose a vision based monitoring system for passenger's safety in railway platform. The detection algorithm of the proposed system exploits stereo vision algorithm to improve system detection performance because railway platform has various illumination conditions due to train arrival and departure in the scene. The vision based monitoring system detects possible accidents, such as a fallen passenger on the track, getting stuck between the train doors, and so on, and informs operators about the accident with alarm in order to promptly make a deal with the emergency. In the paper, the system configuration, detection process and test result of detection performance are presented.
Smolyak's algorithm: a simple and accurate framework for the analysis of correlated log-normal power-sums

The accurate analysis of log-normal power-sums requires the computation of multidimensional integrals with unknown closed-form. Typical approaches to numerically compute them are based on the full tensor-product formula, whose complexity raises exponentially with the number of summands. In this letter, we propose a different method which is called Smolyak's algorithm. It belongs to the family of numerical integration techniques on sparse grids, and can be used in conjunction with several approximation methods for log-normal power-sums. Numerical results will show a complexity reduction greater than 99% without numerical accuracy degradation.
Medical Use of Bismuth: the Two Sides of the Coin

Inorganic bismuth derivatives have good antibacterial properties and are considered to be only slightly toxic to humans because of their low uptake into human cells. Compounds containing bismuth are therefore widely used in medical applications. Bismuth-containing pharmaceuticals, partially in synergy with antibiotics, are already used or are being considered in the treatment of infections caused by certain bacteria, especially to eradicate Helicobacter pylori, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia multivorans and B. cenocepacia. However, careless use of bismuth containing pharmaceuticals can result in encephalopathy, renal failure and other adverse effects. Microbial methylation of bismuth by the human gut microbiota has recently been reported. As the lipophilicity and thus the membrane permeability of bismuth are increased by these methylation processes, the toxic effects on human cells and on members of the beneficial “physiological” gut microbiota must be considered in medical application of bismuth-containing drugs.