Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Form finding in elastic gridshells

Significance Elastic gridshells arise from the buckling of an initially planar grid of rods. The interaction of elasticity and geometric constraints makes their actuated shapes difficult to predict using classical methods. However, recent progress in extreme mechanics reveals the benefits of structures that buckle by design, when exploiting underlying geometry. Here, we demonstrate the geometry-driven nature of elastic gridshells. We use a geometric model, originally for woven fabric, to rationalize their actuated shapes and describe their nonlocal response to loading. Validation is provided with precision experiments and rod-based simulations. The prominence of geometry in elastic gridshells that we identify should allow for our results to transfer across length scales from architectural structures to micro/nano–1-df mechanical actuators and self-assembly systems. Elastic gridshells comprise an initially planar network of elastic rods that are actuated into a shell-like structure by loading their extremities. The resulting actuated form derives from the elastic buckling of the rods subjected to inextensibility. We study elastic gridshells with a focus on the rational design of the final shapes. Our precision desktop experiments exhibit complex geometries, even from seemingly simple initial configurations and actuation processes. The numerical simulations capture this nonintuitive behavior with excellent quantitative agreement, allowing for an exploration of parameter space that reveals multistable states. We then turn to the theory of smooth Chebyshev nets to address the inverse design of hemispherical elastic gridshells. The results suggest that rod inextensibility, not elastic response, dictates the zeroth-order shape of an actuated elastic gridshell. As it turns out, this is the shape of a common household strainer. Therefore, the geometry of Chebyshev nets can be further used to understand elastic gridshells. In particular, we introduce a way to quantify the intrinsic shape of the empty, but enclosed regions, which we then use to rationalize the nonlocal deformation of elastic gridshells to point loading. This justifies the observed difficulty in form finding. Nevertheless, we close with an exploration of concatenating multiple elastic gridshell building blocks.
Multi‐layer Depth Peeling by Single‐Pass Rasterisation for Faster Isosurface Raytracing on GPUs

Empty‐space skipping is an essential acceleration technique for volume rendering. Image‐order empty‐space skipping is not well suited to GPU implementation, since it must perform checks on, essentially, a per‐sample basis, as in kd‐tree traversal, which can lead to a great deal of divergent branching at runtime, which is very expensive in a modern GPU pipeline. In contrast, object‐order empty‐space skipping is extremely fast on a GPU and has negligible overheads compared with approaches without empty‐space skipping, since it employs the hardware unit for rasterisation. However, previous object‐order algorithms have been able to skip only exterior empty space and not the interior empty space that lies inside or between volume objects.
Relational paraphrase acquisition from Wikipedia: The WRPA method and corpus†

Abstract Paraphrase corpora are an essential but scarce resource in Natural Language Processing. In this paper, we present the Wikipedia-based Relational Paraphrase Acquisition (WRPA) method, which extracts relational paraphrases from Wikipedia, and the derived WRPA paraphrase corpus. The WRPA corpus currently covers person-related and authorship relations in English and Spanish, respectively, suggesting that, given adequate Wikipedia coverage, our method is independent of the language and the relation addressed. WRPA extracts entity pairs from structured information in Wikipedia applying distant learning and, based on the distributional hypothesis, uses them as anchor points for candidate paraphrase extraction from the free text in the body of Wikipedia articles. Focussing on relational paraphrasing and taking advantage of Wikipedia-structured information allows for an automatic and consistent evaluation of the results. The WRPA corpus characteristics distinguish it from other types of corpora that rely on string similarity or transformation operations. WRPA relies on distributional similarity and is the result of the free use of language outside any reformulation framework. Validation results show a high precision for the corpus.
Miniature Neutron‐Alpha Activation Spectrometer

We are developing a miniature neutron‐alpha activation spectrometer for in‐situ analysis of chem‐bio samples, including rocks, fines, ices, and drill cores, suitable for a lander or Rover platform for Mars or outer‐planet missions. In the neutron‐activation mode, penetrating analysis will be performed of the whole sample using a γ spectrometer and in the α‐activation mode, the sample surface will be analyzed using Rutherford‐backscatter and x‐ray spectrometers. Novel in our approach is the development of a switchable radioactive neutron source and a small high‐resolution γ detector. The detectors and electronics will benefit from remote unattended operation capabilities resulting from our NEAR XGRS heritage and recent development of a Ge γ detector for MESSENGER. Much of the technology used in this instrument can be adapted to portable or unattended terrestrial applications for detection of explosives, chemical toxins, nuclear weapons, and contraband.
Neural networks adaptive control for bilateral teleoperation system with uncertain dynamics and kinematics

This paper is aimed at the uncertain dynamics and kinematics of the master-slave manipulators for nonlinear bilateral teleoperation system in the presence of constant time delays and external disturbances in the task space. On the basis of neural networks adaptive control methods, we propose an integral-type neural networks adaptive sliding-mode controller to solve the problem of dynamic uncertainties. Moreover, an adaptive approach about Jacobian matrix deals with the estimate of the unknown kinematic parameters for the manipulators' endeffectors. By applying the integral-type Lyapunov functions, it proves that the position and velocity tracking errors between the master and the slave tend to zero asymptotically. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed approaches is shown by performing simulations.
Response of forest plant species to land‐use change: a life‐history trait‐based approach

1 Classifying species by shared functional characteristics is important if common functional response groups are to be identified among different taxa. 2 We investigated plant traits that determine the response of forest plant species to land use changes using literature data. Sources from eight European countries and four North‐eastern American states, comprising 20 field studies yielded information on 216 forest plant species. For these species, data on 13 life history traits were collected. 3 Trait correlation structure was similar in the European and American data‐sets and corresponded well to those described in the literature. The European and American herbs and the European graminoids were clustered into distinct emergent groups based on their plant traits. The profiles of the European and American emergent groups were similar. 4 Herb species belonging to emergent groups characterized by low dispersability (i.e. large seeds, low fecundity, unassisted dispersal) were relatively slow colonizers. Dispersability (and not recruitment) seems to be a key factor limiting the colonization of some forest plant species. The relationship between dispersability and colonizing capacity was less clear for graminoids. 5 A life history trait‐based approach offers good opportunities to gain insight into the mechanisms behind species response to land‐use change.
ABNORMAL MACULAR PIGMENT DISTRIBUTION IN TYPE 2 IDIOPATHIC MACULAR TELANGIECTASIA

Purpose: To determine the distribution of macular pigment in type 2 idiopathic macular telangiectasia (IMT). Methods: Twenty-two eyes of 12 patients with type 2 IMT were examined by means of best-corrected visual acuity testing, fundus biomicroscopy, fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, and optical coherence tomography. Macular pigment optical density (MPOD) was assessed using a modified confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscope whereby MPOD was calculated from fundus autofluorescence images acquired at two different excitation wavelengths (488 and 514 nm). The results were verified with a method that provides density maps after digital subtraction of log fundus reflectance maps (four patients) and by means of heterochromatic flicker photometry (four patients). Results: MOPD distribution showed an abnormal pattern for all patients with type 2 IMT. In correspondence to the late-phase hyperfluorescent areas shown by fluorescein angiography, MPOD was reduced in the macular area, while there was preserved MPOD at 5° to 7° eccentricity. Conclusions: The central depletion of macular pigment represents a novel phenotypic characteristic of type 2 IMT. Recording of macular pigment distribution may prove useful in the diagnosis of type 2 IMT and implicates an impaired trafficking or storage of lutein and zeaxanthin in the disease process.
Sandwich-cultured hepatocytes: utility for in vitro exploration of hepatobiliary drug disposition and drug-induced hepatotoxicity

Introduction: The sandwich-cultured hepatocyte (SCH) model has become an invaluable in vitro tool for studying hepatic drug transport, metabolism, biliary excretion and toxicity. The relevant expression of many hepatocyte-specific functions together with the in vivo-like morphology favor SCHs over other preclinical models for evaluating hepatobiliary drug disposition and drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Areas covered: In this review, the authors highlight recommended procedures required for reproducibly culturing hepatocytes in sandwich configuration. It also provides an overview of the SCH model characteristics as a function of culture time. Lastly, the article presents a summary of the most prominent applications of the SCH model, including hepatic drug clearance prediction, drug–drug interaction potential and drug-induced hepatotoxicity. Expert opinion: When human (cryopreserved) hepatocytes are used to establish sandwich cultures, the model appears particularly valuable to quantitatively investigate clinically relevant mechanisms related to in vivo hepatobiliary drug disposition and hepatotoxicity. Nonetheless, the SCH model would largely benefit from better insight into the fundamental cell signaling mechanisms that are critical for long-term in vitro maintenance of the hepatocytic phenotype. Studies systematically exploring improved cell culture conditions (e.g., co-cultures or extracellular matrix modifications), as well as in vitro work identifying key transcription factors involved in hepatocyte differentiation are currently emerging.
On the selection of optimal flip angles for T/sub 1/ mapping of breast tumors with dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging

We present a method for selecting optimal flip angles for both precontrast and postcontrast T/sub 1/ mapping of breast tumors using dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging; and with the aim of improving accuracy in the estimation of contrast medium concentration. The proposed method can appropriately account for the different ranges of pre-contrast and postcontrast T/sub 1/ values by the use of weighting functions, which also allow the flexibility to enhance the accuracy of certain T/sub 1/ values, corresponding to the tissues of interest. Results of Monte Carlo simulations show that the proposed method could yield significantly lower errors in the estimation of contrast concentration, as compared with an existing approach.
Enabling high availability over multiple optical networks

Carriers are gradually adopting a network model that consists of MPLS-capable routers and OXCs interconnected by high bandwidth WDM links for transporting IP and Ethernet traffic. A control plane can be used to deliver dynamic circuit provisioning in the transport layer, as well as bandwidth provisioning and traffic engineering in higher layers. Globalization drives the quest for end-to-end QoS guarantees over different carrier networks. Recovery mechanisms are crucial to reach the high availability requirements of critical services. In this article, we share our vision on how to enable high availability services, spanning multiple networks using failure protection techniques while complying with administrative constraints.
Novedades en el diseño de la prensa digital española (2000-2008)

Documento sin titulo A pesar de su todavia corta vida, el diseno de los principales ciberdiarios espanoles muestra ya un notable nivel de evolucion respecto a su periodo inicial. Entre los anos 2000 y 2008 han ido desapareciendo algunos elementos visuales de su primera etapa (botones de navegacion, iconos, menus de salto, etc.), a la vez que han ido surgiendo nuevos recursos como los blogs y el RSS. Elementos como la fotografia siguen sin lograr una plena integracion en la web. Por otro lado, la publicidad en los cibermedios ha conocido un desarrollo mas cuantitativo que cualitativo. Este articulo esta basado en un proyecto de investigacion financiado por la Universidad del Pais Vasco, titulado “Diez anos de diarios digitales en Espana: consolidacion de contenidos, diseno, publicidad y estrategias comerciales especificas”.
USING MULTISCALE EDGE DETECTION FOR LOW BIT-RATE SUBBAND VIDEO CODING

This paper introduces a video compression system for very low bit-rate video-conferencing and tele-monitoring applications. The video codec first performs a three-dimensional subband decomposition on a group of video frames, and then encode the subbands with different quantization methods. By using a cubic spline wavelet, the spatial filter bank acts as a multiscale edge detector. This property is used for efficient selection and coding of high frequency subbands with geometric vector quantization. For lowest tempo-spatial subband, a DPCM coding with an entropy coder was used. Results at several low bit rates (16, 32, 64, 128 Kbps) are reported and compared with H.263, the standard for low bit rate video coding.
Scienza, genere e società. Prospettive di genere in una società che si evolve

In un mondo della ricerca scientifica in profonda trasformazione al suo interno e nei suoi rapporti con la societa, la prospettiva di genere e un aspetto fondamentale. Il testo ne focalizza alcune questioni cruciali: Dove sta andando la ricerca scientifica? Come sono cambiati i rapporti tra scienza e societa e quale ruolo riveste la comunicazione della scienza in questa interconnessione? Come sono cambiate le politiche europee rispetto al genere? Quali cambiamenti strutturali sono cogenti? Come stanno reagendo le istituzioni scientifiche alle sfide proposte dalle nuove politiche della ricerca?
A particle swarm optimization approach for handling network social balance problem

Social balance property is an eminent feature of social networks. Many creative efforts concerning social balance have been done. This paper presents an optimization idea to solve the social balance of complex social networks. A single objective optimization model integrating the network balance and the community properties is proposed towards the social balance problem. A discrete particle swarm optimization algorithm is introduced to solve the proposed optimization model. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-world signed networks demonstrate that the proposed model does make sense and the introduced optimization algorithm is promissing for solving the social balance problem.
The inappropriate use of carotid endarterectomy

FOR THE FIRST 30 YEARS AFTER CAROTID ENDARTERECTOMY WAS FIRST DEVELOPED, anecdotal evidence was used to identify patients with internal carotid artery disease for whom this procedure would be appropriate. More recently, the appropriateness of carotid endarterectomy for symptomatic patients and asymptomatic subjects has emerged from 7 randomized trials. Risk of stroke and benefit from the procedure are greatest for symptomatic patients with at least 70% stenosis of the internal carotid artery. Within this group, carotid endarterectomy is most beneficial for the following patients: otherwise healthy elderly patients, those with hemispheric transient ischemic attack, those with tandem extracranial and intracranial lesions and those without evidence of collateral vessels. Risk of perioperative stroke and death is higher in the following groups, although they still benefit: patients with widespread leukoaraiosis, those with occlusion of the contralateral internal carotid artery and those with intraluminal thrombus. Patients with 50% to 69% stenosis experience lesser benefit, and some other groups may even be harmed by carotid endarterectomy, including women and patients with transient monocular blindness only. The procedure is indicated for patients presenting with lacunar stroke and for those with a nearly occluded internal carotid artery, but the benefit is muted. Patients with less than 50% stenosis do not benefit. In the largest randomized trial of asymptomatic subjects, the perioperative risk of stroke and death was very low (1.5%), but the results indicated that a prohibitively high number of subjects (83) must be treated to prevent one stroke in 2 years. The subsequent literature reported higher perioperative risks (2.8% to 5.6%). In asymptomatic individuals nearly half of the strokes that occur may be due to heart and small-vessel disease. These limitations counter any potential benefit. Another trial is in progress and may identify subgroups of asymptomatic subjects who would benefit. Meanwhile, most individuals without symptoms fare better with medical care.
An enhanced PSO-based algorithm for multiobjective flexible job shop scheduling problems(FJSSPs)

In this paper, we aim to overcome the difficulty of parameter tuning present in all metaheuristics by proposing an adaptive algorithm for multiobjective flexible job shop scheduling problems (MFSSPs). The adaptive algorithm named TRIBES is a parameter-free PSO that does not require any parameter tuning (swarm size, sociometry.). TRIBES like PSO, is a computational method that mimics the behavior of flying birds and their means of information exchange. The candidate solutions communicate and cooperate with each other, whereas individuals in an evolutionary algorithm compete for survival. Numerical results highlight the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm and show that TRIBES is very competitive to the state-of-the-art methods in the literature since it is able to find the optimal and best-known solutions on the instances studied. The following sections are devoted to the description of our problem, the description of TRIBES, the most important issues in designing the algorithm and the performance results.
Emergence of Business Value from Complementary Interactions between Informational and Transactional IT systems

Different IT asset classes generate business value consistent with the strategic goal of that asset class. While transactional IT systems contribute to process efficiencies, informational IT systems generate insights and contribute to informational benefits. We argue that the complementary interactions between these two classes of IT systems can support both informed and efficient processes and lead to greater business value. We use systems theory to develop a research model, which includes the complementary interactions between transactional and informational IT systems and the emergence of higher-order IT-enabled business systems. The two IT systems interact and augment other business systems to create higher-order emergent IT-enabled business systems. Emergent IT-enabled business systems lead to transactional, informational and strategic benefits. The paper concludes by calling for empirical studies that focus on the complementary relations between transactional and informational IT systems and their impact on business value.
Release Kinetics of Anti-inflammatory Drug, and Characterization and Bioactivity of SiO2+PCL Hybrid Material Synthesized by Sol-gel Processing

Background Controlled and local drug delivery systems of anti-inflammatory agents are drawing increasing attention thanks to their possible pharmaceutical and biomedical applications. These systems have extended therapeutic effects and reduced side effects. Methods A single-step sol-gel process was used to prepare organic-inorganic hybrid materials based on silica (SiO2) and poly-ε-caprolactone, containing ketoprofen for controlled drug delivery applications. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analysis proved formation of H-bonds among the carbonyl groups of the polymer chains and Si-OH group of the inorganic matrix. X-ray diffraction analysis highlighted the amorphous nature of the synthesized materials. Scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscope topography showed their homogeneous morphology and nanostructure nature. Results The bioactivity of the synthesized hybrid materials was shown by the formation of a layer of hydroxyapatite on the surface of samples soaked in a simulated body fluid (SBF). Conclusion Release kinetics in SBF were subsequently investigated by means of UV-VIS spectroscopy. A large amount of drug release occurred during the first few hours, then a slower drug release supplied a maintenance dose until the end of the experiment.
An iterative segmentation algorithm of SAR image based on support vector machine

In this paper, an iterative algorithm, which is based on support vector machine (SVM), is proposed for synthetic aperture radar (SAR) image segmentation. The proposed method considers the SAR image segmentation as the pixel classification. The pixels of the previous segmented image are regarded as the training samples for SVM, which is used to re-segment the image. These iterations are repeated until the convergence, which is determined by checking the relative change of the entropy between two consecutive segmented images. Experimental results show that compared with, the proposed algorithm can achieve much better segmented results than the Markov random field (MRF) algorithm, and the proposed method dramatically reduces the influence of initial segmentation on the final result.