Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stereovision-Only Based Interactive Mobile Robot for Human-Robot Face-to-Face Interaction

In this paper, we present a stereovision-only based interactive mobile robot for supporting human-robot face-to-face interaction in the real world. A three-level architecture, which consists of sensor level, perception level and behavior level, is designed for the robot in order to perceive, understand and react to the human activity during interaction based only on visual information. A high performance stand-alone stereovision system (RGBD imager), developed in our lab, is applied to obtain the composite of color (RGB) images and dense disparity (D) maps at video rate. The RGBD imager allows the robot a human-like 3-D visual perception ability to (1) autonomously detect the human of interest whom the robot could interact with using the offline learning approaches, and (2) focus exclusively on the target human while both the human and the robot are moving during interaction using on-line learning approaches. We demonstrate and evaluate the performance of our interactive mobile robot in an office environment. The experimental results show that a reliable and dynamic face-to-face interaction is achieved, so that the target human face is always kept in the field of view and at a suitable social distance from the robot.
Cooperative interaction of GATA-2 and AP1 regulates transcription of the endothelin-1 gene

Endothelin-1 (ET-1) is a 21-amino-acid vasoactive peptide initially characterized as a product of endothelial cells. Reporter gene transfection experiments have indicated that a GATA site and an AP1 site are essential for ET-1 promoter function in endothelial cells, and GATA-2 appears to be the active GATA factor which regulates ET-1 expression. To look for interactions between AP1 and GATA-2, transactivation experiments were performed with expression vectors encoding c-Jun, c-Fos, and GATA-2. Cooperativity between the AP1 complex and GATA-2 was observed as a synergistic increase in transcriptional activity of the ET-1 reporter plasmid. In addition, AP1 was able to potentiate the action of GATA-2 on reporter constructs lacking a functional AP1 site. In a similar fashion, GATA-2 was able to potentiate the action of AP1 despite deletion of the GATA site. Experiments with GATA-1 and GATA-3 expression vectors provided evidence that this capacity to interact with AP1 may be a characteristic of all GATA family members. Biochemical evidence for AP1-GATA interaction was provided by immunoprecipitation experiments. A GATA-2-specific antiserum was shown to immunoprecipitate in vitro-synthesized Jun and Fos protein from reticulocyte lysate. Also, antisera directed against Jun and Fos were able to immunoprecipitate from nuclear extracts a GATA-binding protein, indicating the association of AP1 and GATA proteins in vivo.
Effects of beta-adrenergic stimulation with isoproterenol on glomerular hemodynamics.

To evaluate the contribution of beta 1-2-adrenergic receptor stimulation to the regulation of single-nephron glomerular filtration rate (SNGFR), we examined by micropuncture techniques the effects of systemic and intrarenal infusion of isoproterenol on glomerular hemodynamics in plasma volume-expanded Munich-Wistar rats. Isoproterenol infused systemically was consistently associated with an elevation in glomerular capillary hydrostatic pressure difference (delta P) from 44.2 +/- 1.2 to 50.1 +/- 1.3 mmHg, P less than 0.01, the consequence of a 5.9-mmHg fall in Bowman's space hydrostatic pressure, P less than 0.005. The potentially beneficial effect of increased delta P on SNGFR was overcome by a 40% reduction in the glomerular ultrafiltration coefficient (LpA) from 0.043 +/- 0.003 to 0.026 +/- 0.003 nl.s-1.mmHg-1.g kidney wt-1, P less than 0.005, with a net effect of a modest 13% decline in SNGFR, P less than 0.01. In contrast, the intrarenal infusion of isoproterenol did not modify glomerular hemodynamics. Suppression of angiotensin II activity eliminated the influences of systemic isoproterenol infusion on LpA and delta P, the latter was the consequence of lower efferent arteriolar resistance. The findings suggest that systemic infusion of a beta 1-2-adrenergic agonist results in a decrease in LpA via angiotensin II effects and exerts a vasodilatory action on postglomerular vessels during angiotensin II inhibition.
Cytogenetic analysis of human cells reveals specific patterns of DNA damage in replicative and oncogene‐induced senescence

Senescence is thought to be triggered by DNA damage, usually indirectly assessed as activation of the DNA damage response (DDR), but direct surveys of genetic damage are lacking. Here, we mitotically reactivate senescent human fibroblasts to evaluate their cytogenetic damage. We show that replicative senescence is generally characterized by telomeric fusions. However, both telomeric and extratelomeric aberrations are prevented by hTERT, indicating that even non‐telomeric damage descends from the lack of telomerase. Compared with replicative senescent cells, oncogene‐induced senescent fibroblasts display significantly higher levels of DNA damage, depicting how oncogene activation can catalyze the generation of further, potentially tumorigenic, genetic damage.
Access to 4-Year Public Colleges and Degree Completion

Does access to 4-year colleges affect degree completion for students who would otherwise attend 2-year colleges? Admission to Georgia’s 4-year public sector requires minimum SAT scores. Regression discontinuity estimates show that access to this sector increases 4-year college enrollment and college quality, largely by diverting students from 2-year colleges. Access substantially increases bachelor’s degree completion rates for these relatively low-skilled students. SAT-retaking behavior suggests students value access to 4-year public colleges, though perhaps less than they should. Our results imply that absolute college quality matters more than match quality, and they suggest potential unintended consequences of free community college proposals.
Job shop scheduling with stochastic processing time through genetic algorithm

This paper deals with job shop scheduling with stochastic processing time in normal distribution. The extended Giffler-Thompson procedure in the stochastic context is first presented and some operations on the stochastic processing time are defined. A new permutation-based representation method is then proposed, in which the substring related to each machine is a permutation. The conflict among the competing operations is eliminated by giving priority to the operation with the minimum gene value in the same permutation. An efficient genetic algorithm is proposed to minimize the maximum completion time of jobs. The proposed algorithm is tested on a set of benchmark problems and compared when it is endowed with different crossover and mutation. The computational results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed genetic algorithm.
Dynamic Resource Allocation in High Speed Mobile OFDMA System

A novel dynamic resource allocation algorithm is proposed for matching the OFDMA system in high speed mobile environment, which suffers from high inter-carrier interference and large dynamic range of mobile speed for versatile users. With the non-linear optimization, the objective function of the transmission power can be directly mapped with the variables, such as the mobile speed of users, channel state information, modulation and coding schemes etc. Compared with the hitherto resource allocation algorithms in IEEE 802.16e, the proposed scheme has even more comprehensive capability depicting the features for high speed mobile and better performance in BER and QoS guarantee, especially in case the speed is more than 300 km/h.
Diffusion-weighted MRI of the testes in patients with varicocele: a preliminary study.

OBJECTIVE This preliminary study aimed to evaluate changes in apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) values of the testes in patients presenting with varicocele. SUBJECTS AND METHODS This cross-sectional study included 25 consecutively recruited patients with varicocele and 25 healthy control volunteers. The ADC values were measured in all participants. Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests were used to test the normality of the data distributions, and the data were expressed as arithmetic means and SDs. A one-way analysis of variance with a post hoc Bonferroni test was used to analyze normally distributed continuous data. Independent sample Student t tests were used to compare continuous variables between two groups. Furthermore, a Pearson correlation coefficient analysis was used to examine the association of venous diameters with mean ADC values in patients with varicocele. A two-sided p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Sensitivities, specificities, and areas under the curve were calculated for the ADC values. RESULTS The ADC values associated with the ipsilateral testicular parenchyma of patients with varicocele were found to be lower than those of healthy volunteers. Moreover, the ADC values of the contralateral testicular parenchyma in patients with varicocele were also lower than those of healthy volunteers. The sensitivity and specificity of ADC values were 90% and 96%, respectively, for patients with varicocele and 89.5% and 96% for healthy volunteers. The mean ADC values were significantly negatively correlated with venous diameter. CONCLUSION The measurement of testicular ADC values may be used as a diagnostic indicator in the detection of testicular fibrosis.
Variability and Expression of Ankyrin Domain Genes in Wolbachia Variants Infecting the Mosquito Culex pipiens

ABSTRACT Wolbachia strains are maternally inherited endosymbiotic bacteria that infect many arthropod species and have evolved several different ways of manipulating their hosts, the most frequent way being cytoplasmic incompatibility (CI). CI leads to embryo death in crosses between infected males and uninfected females as well as in crosses between individuals infected by incompatible Wolbachia strains. The mosquito Culex pipiens exhibits the highest crossing type variability reported so far. Our crossing data support the notion that CI might be driven by at least two distinct genetic units that control the CI functions independently in males and females. Although the molecular basis of CI remains unknown, proteins with ankyrin (ANK) domains represent promising candidates since they might interact with a wide range of host proteins. Here we searched for sequence variability in the 58 ANK genes carried in the genomes of Wolbachia variants infecting Culex pipiens. Only five ANK genes were polymorphic in the genomes of incompatible Wolbachia variants, and none correlated with the CI pattern obtained with 15 mosquito strains (representing 14 Wolbachia variants). Further analysis of ANK gene expression evidenced host- and sex-dependent variations, which did not improve the correlation. Taken together, these data do not support the direct implication of ANK genes in CI determinism.
Second operation after the failure of previous resection for epilepsy.

We present our surgical experience with second operations in 15 patients with recurrent intractable partial seizures after resection for epilepsy. The interval from the first operation until the first recurrence of seizures ranged from 1 day to 7 months (mean, 62 days). The interval between the first and second operations ranged from 3 months to 12 years (mean, 38 months). Detailed video-electroencephalographic interictal and ictal recording was performed in all patients (invasive electrodes were used in 11 patients). Ictal onset was shown to be remote from the zone of previous resection in 3 of 15 cases (all 3 extratemporal and in the ipsilateral hemisphere). Recurrent seizures arose from the area of previous extratemporal resection in 2 of 15 patients, and from the area of previous temporal resection in 10 of 15 patients. Both cases of extratemporal recurrences and 3 of the 10 cases of temporal lobe recurrences in the area of previous resection were associated with residual unresected structural lesion. Of the 10 patients with local temporal recurrence, 6 had proven epileptogenicity in the residual mesial structures, and 4 had residual epileptogenicity in the unresected lateral temporal lobe. The patients have been monitored for 8 to 82 months (mean, 18 months) after the second operation: 7 patients (47%) have remained seizure-free and another 5 (33%) have achieved a reduction in seizure frequency of more than 90%. There was no mortality or significant morbidity in this series. We conclude that the extent and distribution of residual epileptogenicity after failed epilepsy surgery are highly variable. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Cell type–dependent effects of Polo-like kinase 1 inhibition compared with targeted polo box interference in cancer cell lines

Multiple critical roles within mitosis have been assigned to Polo-like kinase 1 (Plk1), making it an attractive candidate for mitotic targeting of cancer cells. Plk1 contains two domains amenable for targeted interference: a kinase domain responsible for the enzymatic function and a polo box domain necessary for substrate recognition and subcellular localization. Here, we compare two approaches for targeted interference with Plk1 function, either by a Plk1 small-molecule enzyme inhibitor or by inducible overexpression of the polo box in human cancer cell lines. Inducible expression of the Plk1 polo box resulted in growth inhibition of RKOp27 human colon adenocarcinoma cells without obvious signs of mitotic abnormalities. A Plk1 kinase inhibitor in the same cell line arrested cells in mitosis with subsequent onset of apoptosis. Similarly, PC-3 human prostate cancer cells were growth inhibited on expression of the polo box. Prolonged expression of the polo box in these cells resulted in the occurrence of binucleated or multinucleated cells. In contrast, U2OS human osteosarcoma cells responded to overexpression of the polo box with a massive mitotic accumulation coinciding with the onset of apoptosis. Comparison of spindle formation revealed very similar mitotic abnormalities in polo box–overexpressing U2OS cells compared with U2OS cells treated with the Plk1 kinase inhibitor. We conclude that interference with polo box function and inhibition of Plk1 kinase activity can exert very similar phenotypic effects in certain cell lines but highly contrasting effects in others. This may point to subtle differences in the molecular machinery of mitosis regulation in cancer cells. [Mol Cancer Ther 2007;6(12):3189–97]
Genotyping-by-sequencing markers facilitate the identification of quantitative trait loci controlling resistance to Penicillium expansum in Malus sieversii

Blue mold caused by Penicillium expansum is the most important postharvest disease of apple worldwide and results in significant financial losses. There are no defined sources of resistance to blue mold in domesticated apple. However, resistance has been described in wild Malus sieversii accessions, including plant introduction (PI)613981. The objective of the present study was to identify the genetic loci controlling resistance to blue mold in this accession. We describe the first quantitative trait loci (QTL) reported in the Rosaceae tribe Maleae conditioning resistance to P. expansum on genetic linkage group 3 (qM-Pe3.1) and linkage group 10 (qM-Pe10.1). These loci were identified in a M. × domestica ‘Royal Gala’ X M. sieversii PI613981 family (GMAL4593) based on blue mold lesion diameter seven days post-inoculation in mature, wounded apple fruit inoculated with P. expansum. Phenotypic analyses were conducted in 169 progeny over a four year period. PI613981 was the source of the resistance allele for qM-Pe3.1, a QTL with a major effect on blue mold resistance, accounting for 27.5% of the experimental variability. The QTL mapped from 67.3 to 74 cM on linkage group 3 of the GMAL4593 genetic linkage map. qM-Pe10.1 mapped from 73.6 to 81.8 cM on linkage group 10. It had less of an effect on resistance, accounting for 14% of the experimental variation. ‘Royal Gala’ was the primary contributor to the resistance effect of this QTL. However, resistance-associated alleles in both parents appeared to contribute to the least square mean blue mold lesion diameter in an additive manner at qM-Pe10.1. A GMAL4593 genetic linkage map composed of simple sequence repeats and ‘Golden Delicious’ single nucleotide polymorphism markers was able to detect qM-Pe10.1, but failed to detect qM-Pe3.1. The subsequent addition of genotyping-by-sequencing markers to the linkage map provided better coverage of the PI613981 genome on linkage group 3 and facilitated discovery of qM-Pe3.1. A DNA test for qM-Pe3.1 has been developed and is currently being evaluated for its ability to predict blue mold resistance in progeny segregating for qM-Pe3.1. Due to the long juvenility of apple, the availability of a DNA test to screen for the presence of qM-Pe3.1 at the seedling stage will greatly improve efficiency of breeding apple for blue mold resistance.
Design of a Bi-access Tri-band PIFA patch slot antenna for opportunistic radio system using equivalent cavity modal analysis

The opportunistic radio approach is fundamentally assumed as a flexible system, aware of its immediate environment through sensing operating modes and dynamic reconfiguration properties [1]. A new concept of multi-access antenna is investigated in order to provide greater flexibility to RF and digital interface. Indeed, enriched data information can be considered by exploiting multi-incoming signals for both transmission/reception modes. In the context of multi- access antenna, the idea is to exploit simultaneously the different signals received on each antenna access port, once the performances of the propagation channels and antenna characteristics are properly defined or evaluated. Note that in classical MIMO context there is Multi-antenna with one port but in our context we have one antenna with multi-port. The intrinsic performances of the antenna directly affect the SDR (Software Defined Radio) performances and one challenge lies on the achievement of infinite isolation values between the antenna access ports in different frequency bands (or on the same frequency (band)) for properly exploiting incident data diversity. This can be achieved through convenient design and optimization of the radiating structure (shape, excitation, etc…). In this article, we present a solution of multi-access antenna with two ports, with operating frequency bands centered approximately on DCS and UMTS/Wi-Fi standards. These two ports are isolated by using an original design method based on cavity approach. The innovation of the structure is from one hand, in its application in terms of flexibility, reconfigurability, portability for the future development of a unique system that allows cross services where telephony joined multimedia and online services. On the other hand, in the design method, i.e. the complete modal analysis of the antenna structure assumed as a cavity is exploited for designing such multi-access antenna. It is specifically extended here to different antenna topologies (considering either slots or short circuited configurations). The design method and the performances are validated through comparisons between simulations and measurements.
Sensitivity of tissue properties derived from MRgFUS temperature data to input errors and data inclusion criteria: ex vivo study in porcine muscle

This study evaluates the sensitivity of two magnetic resonance-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) thermal property estimation methods to errors in required inputs and different data inclusion criteria. Using ex vivo pork muscle MRgFUS data, sensitivities to required inputs are determined by introducing errors to ultrasound beam locations (rerror = −2 to 2 mm) and time vectors (terror = −2.2 to 2.2 s). In addition, the sensitivity to user-defined data inclusion criteria is evaluated by choosing different spatial (rfit = 1–10 mm) and temporal (tfit = 8.8–61.6 s) regions for fitting. Beam location errors resulted in up to 50% change in property estimates with local minima occurring at rerror = 0 and estimate errors less than 10% when rerror < 0.5 mm. Errors in the time vector led to property estimate errors up to 40% and without local minimum, indicating the need to trigger ultrasound sonications with the MR image acquisition. Regarding the selection of data inclusion criteria, property estimates reached stable values (less than 5% change) when rfit > 2.5 × FWHM, and were most accurate with the least variability for longer tfit. Guidelines provided by this study highlight the importance of identifying required inputs and choosing appropriate data inclusion criteria for robust and accurate thermal property estimation. Applying these guidelines will prevent the introduction of biases and avoidable errors when utilizing these property estimation techniques for MRgFUS thermal modeling applications.
p19Ink4d and p18Ink4c cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitors in the male reproductive axis

The loss of the cyclin‐dependent kinase inhibitors (CKIs) p18Ink4c and p19Ink4d leads to male reproductive defects (Franklin et al., 1998 . Genes Dev 12: 2899–2911; Zindy et al., 2000 . Mol Cell Biol 20: 372–378; Zindy et al., 2001 . Mol Cell Biol 21: 3244–3255). In order to assess whether these inhibitors directly or indirectly affect male germ cell differentiation, we examined the expression of p18Ink4c and p19Ink4d in spermatogenic and supporting cells in the testis and in pituitary gonadotropes. Both p18Ink4c and p19Ink4d are most abundant in the testis after 18 days of age and are expressed in purified populations of spermatogenic and testicular somatic cells. Different p18Ink4c mRNAs are expressed in isolated spermatogenic and Leydig cells. Spermatogenic cells also express a novel p19Ink4d transcript that is distinct from the smaller transcript expressed in Sertoli cells, Leydig cells and in other tissues. Immunohistochemistry detected significant levels of p19Ink4d in preleptotene spermatocytes, pachytene spermatocytes, condensing spermatids, and Sertoli cells. Immunoprecipitation‐Western analysis detected both CKI proteins in isolated pachytene spermatocytes and round spermatids. CDK4/6‐CKI complexes were detected in germ cells by co‐immunoprecipitation, although the composition differed by cell type. p19Ink4d was also identified in FSH+ gonadotrophs, suggesting that this CKI may be independently required in the pituitary. Possible cell autonomous and paracrine mechanisms for the spermatogenic defects in mice lacking p18Ink4c or p19Ink4d are supported by expression of these CKIs in spermatogenic cells and in somatic cells of the testis and pituitary. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 74: 997–1007, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.