Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robustly Stable Haptic Interaction Control using an Energy-bounding Algorithm

Stability is a challenging issue when controlling haptic interaction systems because unstable behavior may injure human operators or deteriorate the realism of the provided cues. Based on the passivity condition for sampled-data haptic systems, we propose a novel energy-bounding algorithm to ensure robustly stable haptic interactions. The proposed algorithm limits the energy generated by a sample-and-hold operator within the energy consumable by the effective damping elements in the haptic system. The algorithm also ensures that the VE and controller are passive. This guarantees robustly stable haptic interactions, regardless of the sampling frequency and its variations, but compromises the displayable impedance range of the VE. Simulations and experiments using a commercial haptic device are used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Modeling Defibrillation of the Heart: Approaches and Insights

Cardiac defibrillation, as accomplished nowadays by automatic, implantable devices (ICDs), constitutes the most important means of combating sudden cardiac death. While ICD therapy has proved to be efficient and reliable, defibrillation is a traumatic experience. Thus, research on defibrillation mechanisms, particularly aimed at lowering defibrillation voltage, remains an important topic. Advancing our understanding towards a full appreciation of the mechanisms by which a shock interacts with the heart is the most promising approach to achieve this goal. The aim of this paper is to assess the current state-of-the-art in ventricular defibrillation modeling, focusing on both numerical modeling approaches and major insights that have been obtained using defibrillation models, primarily those of realistic ventricular geometry. The paper showcases the contributions that modeling and simulation have made to our understanding of the defibrillation process. The review thus provides an example of biophysically based computational modeling of the heart (i.e., cardiac defibrillation) that has advanced the understanding of cardiac electrophysiological interaction at the organ level and has the potential to contribute to the betterment of the clinical practice of defibrillation.
Gas Pressure Sensing Based on MEMS Resonators

MEMS resonators bear great potential for applications as RF sensors, filters and oscillators, e.g., in life sciences or information technology. Resonant AlN and SiC beams with operation frequencies between 0.01 and 3.4 MHz have been prepared using a semiconductor fabrication process. The metallized beams were actuated in a permanent magnetic field of about 0.5 T by the Lorentz force. The resonant response was detected in the frequency domain. Resonator geometry and material were varied to attain a generalized understanding of the RF performance in dependence of the ambient pressure. In particular the quality factor shows a high sensitivity on pressure, allowing potential application as absolute pressure sensor. Theoretical models have been applied that match well to the measurement.
A fuzzy detection approach toward different speed port scan attacks based on Dempster-Shafer evidence theory

Port scan detection is one of the important topics in network security and has received lots of attention by researchers; however a slow port scan attack can deceive most of the existing IDS. Besides, it is unreasonable in typical detection to decide whether it is a probe based on the precise threshold especially when the feature values are around the threshold without taking the uncertainty into consideration. To address these problems, a novel approach was proposed by collecting traffic statistics information called access port set APS for each IP address in time windows; several traffic features are extracted from APS which are considered as multiple evidences to indicate a probe. For each evidence, three probabilities are concerned to evaluate the likelihood of the probe occurring which include the probabilities of support, nonsupport and uncertainty. The comprehensive evidence can be obtained from the combination of multiple evidences to evaluate the probe threaten. Several experiments were performed to evaluate the approach with DARPA/MIT datasets and our own generated attack datasets; the experimental results show the feasibility of our approach in terms of detection accuracy and effectiveness. The mechanism can be applied not only in port scan detection but also other precise threshold based situations such as traffic abnormal analysis and intrusion detection. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
GaN-Based heterojunction structures for ultraviolet/infrared dual-band detection

Ultraviolet and infrared (UV/IR) dual-band photodetectors based on GaN/AlGaN heterojunction structures are presented. Since the UV/IR dual-band detectors do not respond to solar radiation or another artificial visible lighting, these detectors are highly applicable for tracking and surveillance of targets. A dual-band detector which simultaneously detects UV in the 250 – 360 nm and IR in the 3–14 µm regions, showing a near zero spectral crosstalk between the two spectral bands, is discussed. A UV/IR detector design to further improve the detection capabilities is also reported.
Latent and lytic HHV‐8 mRNA expression in PBMCs and Kaposi's sarcoma skin biopsies of AIDS Kaposi's sarcoma patients

Human herpes virus 8 (HHV‐8) is associated with all clinical forms of Kaposi's sarcoma. HHV‐8 DNA is present in Kaposi's sarcoma biopsies and is observed regularly in saliva and less consistently in blood of Kaposi's sarcoma patients. The expression pattern of latent (ORF 73) and lytic (vGCR, vBcl‐2, and vIL‐6) HHV‐8 mRNA was studied in peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples and Kaposi's sarcoma skin biopsies from 11 AIDS Kaposi's sarcoma patients with four different nucleic acid sequence‐based amplification (NASBA) assays. Patients were divided into groups according to the clinical stage of Kaposi's sarcoma (stage I–IV). All biopsies were positive for two or more of the mRNA measured. No clear difference could be seen in the expression pattern in the lesions of the different clinical stages. In the corresponding PBMC samples, very little or no mRNA was measurable in the patients with Kaposi's sarcoma stage I or II, whereas patients with more advanced Kaposi's sarcoma (stage III or IV) had more detectable mRNA in the PBMCs. Thus, the HHV‐8 DNA load in the PBMCs increases in more advanced Kaposi's sarcoma, as does the frequency of mRNA detection in PBMCs. J. Med. Virol. 70:624–627, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Understanding the clinical pharmacokinetics of a GABAA partial agonist by application of in vitro tools

4-Oxo-4,5,6,7-tetrahydro-1H-indole-3-carboxylic acid (4-methylaminomethyl-phenyl)-amide (1), developed for general anxiety disorder, was discontinued from clinical development due to unsuitable oral pharmacokinetics. In humans, (1) demonstrated an unacceptable high apparent oral clearance (Clp/F) that also demonstrated a supraproportional dose-exposure relationship. Secondary peaks in the plasma concentration-time profile suggested possible enterohepatic recirculation of (1). A combination of in vitro mechanistic tools was applied to better understand the processes underlying these complex clinical pharmacokinetic profiles of (1). In metabolism experiments, (1) was shown to be a substrate of monoamine oxidase A (MAO-A) as well as being metabolized by cytochrome P450. The former appeared to be a high KM process with a high capacity, while the latter showed saturation between 1 and 10 μM, consistent with the supraproportional dose-exposure relationship. In a sandwich-cultured hepatocyte model, (1) was shown to be a substrate for both uptake and efflux into the canicular space, which is consistent with the observation of pharmacokinetics suggestive of enterohepatic recirculation. Finally, in human epithelial colon adenocarcinoma cell line (Caco-2) and Madin-Darby canine kidney cells transwell flux experiments, (1) was shown to have relatively low permeability and a basolateral-to-apical flux ratio consistent with the activity of P-glycoprotein. In combination, a compounding of the contributions of MAO-A, hepatic uptake and efflux transporters, and P-glycoprotein to the disposition of (1) may underlie the low oral exposure, saturable clearance, and aberrant concentration versus time profiles observed for this compound in humans.
Assembly of 1D Granular Structures from Sulfonated Polystyrene Microparticles

Being able to systematically modify the electric properties of nano- and microparticles opens up new possibilities for the bottom-up fabrication of advanced materials such as the fabrication of one-dimensional (1D) colloidal and granular materials. Fabricating 1D structures from individual particles offers plenty of applications ranging from electronic sensors and photovoltaics to artificial flagella for hydrodynamic propulsion. In this work, we demonstrate the assembly of 1D structures composed of individual microparticles with modified electric properties, pulled out of a liquid environment into air. Polystyrene particles were modified by sulfonation for different reaction times and characterized by dielectric spectroscopy and dipolar force measurements. We found that by increasing the sulfonation time, the values of both electrical conductivity and dielectric constant of the particles increase, and that the relaxation frequency of particle electric polarization changes, causing the measured dielectric loss of the particles to shift towards higher frequencies. We attributed these results to water adsorbed at the surface of the particles. With sulfonated polystyrene particles exhibiting a range of electric properties, we showed how the electric properties of individual particles influence the formation of 1D structures. By tuning applied voltage and frequency, we were able to control the formation and dynamics of 1D structures, including chain bending and oscillation.
Fuzzy Based Approaches For Multi Period Financial Performance Evaluation of Turkish Retail Sector

This study presents a hybrid fuzzy multi criteria decision making approach to evaluate multi period financial performance of Turkish retail sector. Financial performance criteria of companies have basically been used to evaluate the company’s financial situation and performance. This study evaluates financial performance of Turkish retail companies with respect to seven years by using multi criteria decision making approaches. Fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (FAHP) is utilized for determining the importance weights of the financial performance criteria. Then rankings of the retail companies are evaluated by three different multi-criteria decision making methods; Vise Kritaerijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR), Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluation (PROMETHEE) and Elimination Et Choix Traduisant la Realité (ELECTRE) approaches.
Change detection for thematic mapping by means of airborne multitemporal polarimetric SAR imagery

The paper addresses the detection of changes in multitemporal polarimetric radar images, focusing on small objects and narrow linear features. The images were acquired at C- and L-band by the airborne EMISAR system. It is found that the radar intensities are better suited for change detection than the correlation coefficient and the phase difference between the co-polarized channels. In the case of linear features, there is no obvious difference between the C- and L-bands , and slight variations of the flight tracks are acceptable at look angles larger than 35 degrees. Theoretical detection thresholds are evaluated from the statistical distribution of the intensity ratio due to speckle. For the linear features and for urban environments, the observed thresholds are larger than the theoretical predictions. This is interpreted as an effect of radar intensity variations on length scales smaller than the spatial image resolution. The signature of urban areas is very sensitive to deviations between the flight tracks, and the sensitivity is larger at C-band than at L-band. On the other hand, the intensity contrast between buildings and the urban background is smaller at L-band and larger at C-band. For change detection, thresholds may have to be chosen separately for each object class because the intensity ratios of different object classes vary differently as a function of time.
Prevalence of Dementia in Elderly Clients of a Private Health Care Plan: A Study of the FIBRA-RJ, Brazil

Aims: To describe the overall prevalence of dementia syndrome and its major subtypes among elderly clients of a private health care plan and to ascertain the association between this syndrome and socioeconomic characteristics. Methods: A survey was organized in two stages: screening for cognitive impairment and diagnostic evaluation. The study population comprised 683 elderly subjects (aged >67 years), an expanded sample of 7,486 individuals, of the database of the FIBRA-RJ, which evaluated clients of a private health care plan residing in northern districts of the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The diagnosis of dementia was obtained according to DSM-IV criteria. Results: A total of 115 individuals were diagnosed with dementia, resulting in a prevalence of 16.9% (95% CI = 14.4–19.8). The association was strongest among older age groups, i.e. 85–89 years old (prevalence ratio = 8.85; 95% CI = 2.11–37.11) and 90 or more years old (prevalence ratio = 8.85; 95% CI = 2.11–37.11), and among illiterate people (prevalence ratio = 2.77; 95% CI = 1.07–7.19). Sex, personal income and marital status displayed no association with dementia. Conclusion: The prevalence of dementia was higher than found by population-based studies. These findings point to a possibility of a high demand for specialized services among older adults served by the private health care sector.
Hidden Markov model for Mandarin lexical tone recognition

A case of lexical tone recognition for Mandarin speech is discussed using a combination of vector quantization and hidden Markov modelling techniques. The observation sequence was a sequence of vectorized parameters consisting of a logarithmic pitch interval and its first derivative. The vector quantization was applied to convert the observation sequence into a symbol sequence for Hidden Markov modeling. The speech database was provided by seven male and seven female college students, with each pronouncing 72 isolated monosyllabic utterances. A probabilistic model for each of the four tones was generated. A series of tonal recognition tests were then conducted to evaluate the effects of pitch reference base, codebook size, and tonal model topology. Future consideration of Mandarin speech recognition is also discussed. >
Pricing the Internet: The One-Component versus Two-Component Pricing Mechanism - An Evaluation

This paper investigates the efficiency of one-component pricing mechanisms versus twocomponent pricing mechanisms. The paper deals with four pricing mechanisms used in the Internet, namely, flat rate pricing, usage-based pricing, transaction-based pricing and version-based pricing for the analysis. The objective of the paper is to evaluate and analyse the ways in which the usage-based pricing mechanism is more efficient than one-component-based pricing and this evaluation has been made in accordance with the four examples cited. The paper observes the efficiency of the two-component pricing mechanism structure from both the sellers' and buyers' perspective and clears the way for further research in this area.
Influence of rotor pole number on electromagnetic performance of novel variable flux reluctance machine with DC-field coil in stator

This paper investigates the influence of rotor pole number on the electromagnetic performance of variable flux reluctance machine, which employs a doubly salient structure but with a DC-field coil identically located for each phase. The flux-linkage, back-EMF, torque capability, unbalanced magnetic force and the capability of adjusting air-gap flux density are investigated and compared in the 6-stator pole machines with optimized 4-, 5-, 7- and 8-rotor poles. As one of non-magnet machines, this type of machine has the benefit of low cost and robust structure. It shows that sinusoidal back-EMF and flux linkage waveform are achieved in 5- and 7-rotor pole machines. However, in 4- and 8-rotor pole machines the back-EMF is similar to the conventional DC-excited or PM doubly salient machine, in which high even order harmonics can be observed in the back-EMF. The significant high order harmonics can result in higher torque ripple in the 4- and 8-rotor pole machine. In terms of torque density, the 5-rotor pole machine exhibits the highest owing to the short flux path, and the 8- rotor pole machines produces the lowest torque. In addition, both 5- and 7-rotor pole machines exhibit unbalanced magnetic force due to the odd rotor pole number, which can lead to high vibration and noise, although it can be avoided by doubling the stator and rotor pole numbers, e.g. 12-stator poles, 10- and 14-rotor poles.
Species sensitivity weighted distribution for ecological risk assessment of engineered nanomaterials: The n‐TiO2 case study

Societal concerns about the environmental risks of engineered nanomaterials (ENMs) have recently increased, but nano‐ecological risk assessments are constrained by significant gaps in basic information on long‐term effects and exposures, for example. An approach to the ecological risk assessment of ENMs is proposed that can operate in the context of high uncertainty. This approach further develops species sensitivity weighted distribution (SSWD) by including 3 weighting criteria (species relevance, trophic level abundance, and nanotoxicity data quality) to address nano‐specific needs (n‐SSWD). The application of n‐SSWD is illustrated for nanoscale titanium dioxide (n‐TiO2), which is available in different crystal forms; it was selected because of its widespread use in consumer products (e.g., cosmetics) and the ample availability of data from ecotoxicological studies in the literature (including endpoints for algae, invertebrates, bacteria, and vertebrates in freshwater, saltwater, and terrestrial compartments). The n‐SSWD application resulted in estimation of environmental quality criteria (hazard concentration affecting 5% and 50% of the species) and ecological risk (potentially affected fraction of species), which were then compared with similar results obtained by applying the traditional species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach to the same dataset. The n‐SSWDs were also built for specific trophic levels (e.g., primary producers) and taxonomic groups (e.g., algae), which helped to identify the most sensitive organisms. These results showd that n‐SSWD is a valuable risk tool, although further testing is suggested. Environ Toxicol Chem 2015;34:2644–2659. © 2015 SETAC
An investigation into the adjuvanticity and immunogenicity of zein microspheres being researched as drug and vaccine carriers

We have determined whether zein microspheres could act as vaccine adjuvants i.e. increase the immune responses to co‐administered immunogens. Ovalbumin (model antigen)‐loaded zein micro‐spheres, blank zein microspheres and ovalbumin solution were intramuscularly administered to mice and the sera antibody levels were determined by ELISA. Another group of mice was orally dosed with blank zein microspheres, and serum and faecal antibody levels were determined. As expected, negligible antibody titres were obtained with the ovalbumin solution. Surprisingly, intramuscular administrations of blank zein microspheres elicited high levels of serum IgG which bound to the ovalbumin antigen coated on ELISA microtitre plates. This indicated that anti‐zein antibodies had been elicited by blank zein microspheres and that these antibodies were cross‐reacting with ovalbumin antigen coated onto ELISA plates. Such cross‐reactivity inhibited the determination of the adjuvant activity of zein microspheres, if any. Additional ELISA assays, where zein was used as the coating antigen, confirmed the generation of anti‐zein antibodies by blank zein microspheres i.e. zein microspheres were immunogenic following intramuscular administration. Upon oral administration of blank zein microspheres, serum IgG levels remained low but intestinal IgA levels increased following booster doses i.e. systemic tolerance, but not mucosal tolerance, to oral zein particles was achieved. Zein microspheres were immunogenic when administered intramuscularly and orally.
Association of Shoulder Sonographic Findings With Subsequent Surgical Treatment for Rotator Cuff Injury

Objective. To identify any clinical and radiologic findings of rotator cuff injury that predict whether patients will undergo shoulder surgery. Methods. We retrospectively studied all shoulder sonograms obtained at a single institution over 12 months. Possible predictors of surgical treatment were documented, including patient age and sex, duration and types of symptoms, and the location and severity of tendon damage on sonography. One hundred twenty‐eight patients underwent shoulder sonography; 34 patients eventually underwent shoulder surgery. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify clinical and sonographic factors associated with the use of surgical therapy. Results. The only statistically significant predictor of surgical intervention was the finding of full‐thickness tears (with or without tendon retraction) on sonography (P = .03). Patients with full‐thickness tears were 4.3 times more likely to undergo surgery than those with no tears (odds ratio, 4.3). Conclusions. The sonographic diagnosis of full‐thickness rotator cuff tears is the only finding statistically associated with the use of surgical treatment. No single clinical variable was consistently associated with subsequent surgery. Partial‐thickness tears on sonography also do not show any statistical association with the eventual use of surgery for rotator cuff symptoms.
Amino Acid Composition of Roe from Wild and Farmed Beluga Sturgeon (Huso huso)

Caviar is one of the valuable and most popular fish products all over the world that are obtained from sturgeons. Nowadays, the wild resources of these fishes are diminished, therefore, to meet the demand for the product, farming sturgeons has been considered. The chemical composition and the amino acids profiles of the wild and farmed roe obtained from beluga ( Huso huso ) were compared and the results have indicated that the amount of glutamine, serine, alanine, methionine, and lysine in the wild roe were higher than the farmed one (P 0.05). The protein efficiency ratio (PER) and chemical score in farmed and wild roe were also similar (P> 0.05). The results showed that the farmed roe was similar to the wild one based on chemical composition, chemical score, PER, EAAs/TAAs and EAAs/N-EAAs. According to the results, farmed roe can be a good substitution for wild beluga roe ( Huso huso ).