Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Dynamic walking control of a biped robot along a potential energy conserving orbit

To reduce the complex walking dynamics of a biped, a particular class of trajectories of an ideal biped model where the center of gravity of the body moves horizontally and the horizontal motion of the center of gravity can be expressed by a simple linear differential equation is introduced. The authors coin the phrase 'potential energy conserving orbit' to describe this class of trajectories. Based on these properties, control laws were formulated for walk initiation, walk continuation, and walk termination. The walking motion is controlled by support leg exchange. Robust realization of the walking control is also considered. An experimental walking machine was designed as a nearly ideal biped model. To make the legs lighter, four DC motors were mounted in the body, and the legs are parallel link structures. The results of the experiment describe five steps of dynamic walking including walk initiation. >
The Sigma Viruses of Drosophila

The sigma virus of Drosophila melanogaster (DMelSV) was discovered accidentally over 70 years ago owing to it causing infected flies to become paralysed and die on exposure to CO2. Recently, five other species of Drosophila and a species of Muscidae fly have also been found to be infected with sigma viruses, and together these viruses form a major clade of rhabdoviruses that is a sister clade to the dimarhabdoviruses. In those cases where the transmission of these viruses has been investigated, sigma viruses are transmitted purely vertically through infected eggs or sperm. In natural populations of insects the spread of these viruses can be very rapid, and has led to flies evolving resistance to sigma viruses. Two resistance genes have been identified in D. melanogaster, one of which is involved in autophagy. Discovery of the sigma virus of Drosophila melanogaster (DMelSV) The sigma virus of Drosophila melanogaster (DMelSV) was discovered by chance in 1937, when French researchers found that some flies became paralysed and died when exposed to CO2 during routine anesthetization, rather than recovering as normal (L’Heritier and Teissier, 1937). They found that the trait was transmitted vertically from parent to offspring, but was independent of the host chromosomes. It could also be transferred by injecting haemolymph from flies that were sensitive to CO2 into non-sensitive flies, suggesting that the trait was caused by an infectious agent. The trait was later attributed to the presence of a virus-sized particle, which they named sigma (L’Heritier, 1948). The bullet-shaped morphology, antigenic profile and partial genome sequences subsequently identified DMelSV as a rhabdovirus (Berkalof et al., 1965; Teninges, 1968; Calisher et al., 1989; Teninges et al., 1993). The sigma virus clade D. melanogaster is not the only species to be infected with a sigma virus. By screening species for CO2 sensitivity, six additional species of flies were found to be infected with sigma viruses (Longdon et al., 2010, 2011c). These viruses infect five species of Drosophila – D. affinis, D. obscura, D. tristis, D. immigrans and D. ananassae – and one member of the Muscidae, Muscina stabulans. These viruses have been tentatively named as DAffSV, DObsSV, DTriSV, DImmSV, DAnaSV and MStaSV, respectively (using the standard Drosophila species name abbreviation and SV for sigma virus). As these new viruses have been only recently discovered we know very little about their biology, so the majority of this chapter describes the sigma virus of D. melanogaster (DMelSV). Together the sigma viruses form a clade of viruses that infect Diptera (flies), that are closely related to the dimarhabdoviruses (Bourhy et al., 2005); a clade containing the Ephemerovirus and Vesiculovirus clades of rhabdoviruses (Fig. 8.1 and Fig. 3.2) (Longdon et al., 2010, 2011c). The sigma virus clade contains a greater amount of genetic divergence between its members than seen in four out of the six accepted rhabdovirus genera, suggesting that they are a diverse and major group of
Handling terminology-intensive texts in Machine Translation

When post-editing the MT output of terminology-intensive documents, three problem sources were identified: i) Their terminology content ii) The structure of multi-word terms inside and across languages or terminology domains iii) The one-to-many translations of some terms To resolve the term boundary problem, we first tried an on-processing recognition based on syntactic analysis and the [+TERM] value of the lexical head. Although effective, the full scale application of this solution adds a considerable load to a heavy grammar, while the problem of identifying the boundary of not yet fixed terms remains unsolved. Alternatively, when a number of options are available in respect to recognizing parts of a linguistic string in the context of a term head as different terms, the system asks the user to mark his/her preference. The marked string is checked against the term DB and processing continues unambiguously. If no correspondence in the term DB is found the selected sting receives an index which identifies it as a term, a property curried to the translation object. To address the problem of one-to-many term translations/correspondences, we incorporated the option of user interaction in pre-processing for the case of single-word terms, so that selected correspondences be marked and saved for use before the actual linguistic analysis.
Natural Killer T Cells Restricted by the Monomorphic MHC Class 1b CD1d1 Molecules Behave Like Inflammatory Cells1

Murine Vα14invT cells (NKT cells), restricted by the CD1d1 MHC 1b molecules, are a distinctive subset of T cells endowed with pleiotropic functions. CD1d1-restricted NKT cells infiltrate the granulomas induced by the s.c. injection of mycobacterial phosphatidylinositoldimannoside (PIM2) but not of its deacylated derivative. NKT cells are detectable as early as 6 hours following the injection. Although the molecular structure of PIM2 meets the requirements for presentation by CD1d1, Ab blocking and adoptive transfer experiments of wild-type NKT cells into CD1d1−/− mice show that CD1d1 expression is not required for the early recruitment of NKT cells to the injection site. This conclusion was confirmed by the finding that IL-12Rβ−/− and CD40−/− mice were able to recruit NKT cells after PIM2 challenge. Moreover, the injection of α-galactosylceramide, an NKT cell ligand that is recognized in the context of CD1d1, promoted only a minor recruitment of NKT cells. By contrast, injection of β-galactosylceramide, a synthetic glycolipid that binds to CD1d1 but does not activate the CD1d/TCR pathway, resulted in the development of large granulomas rich in NKT cells. Finally, local injection of TNF-α mimics the effect of glycolipids. It is concluded that NKT cells migrate to and accumulate at inflammatory sites in the same way as other cells of the innate immune system and that migration to and accumulation at inflammatory sites are processes independent of the CD1d1 molecule.
Site‐directed mutagenesis of highly conserved amino acids in the first cytoplasmic loop of Drosophila Rh1 opsin blocks rhodopsin synthesis in the nascent state

The cytoplasmic surface of Drosophila melanogaster Rh1 rhodopsin (ninaE) harbours amino acids which are highly conserved among G‐protein‐coupled receptors. Site‐directed mutations which cause Leu81Gln or Asn86Ile amino acid substitutions in the first cytoplasmic loop of the Rh1 opsin protein, are shown to block rhodopsin synthesis in the nascent, glycosylated state from which the mutant opsin is degraded rapidly. In mutants Leu81Gln and Asn86Ile, only 20–30% and <2% respectively, of functional rhodopsins are synthesized and transported to the photoreceptive membrane. Thus, conserved amino acids in opsin's cytoplasmic surface are a critical factor in the interaction of opsin with proteins of the rhodopsin processing machinery. Photoreceptor cells expressing mutant rhodopsins undergo age‐dependent degeneration in a recessive manner.
Violencia y medios de comunicación

Este articulo propone algunos temas para ampliar el debate sobre la violencia en los medios; se atreve a plantear algunas acciones, no con el fin de establecer verdades, sino para aportar a la discusion en aras de encontrar salidas al problema. Reitera que acusar a los medios por presentar violencia es "buscar la calentura en las sabanas". El problema radica en los monopolios que quieren el maximo de ganancias con la minima inversion, la carencia de incentivos para la produccion local y nacional, la falta de acceso democratico a dichos medios, la existencia de patrones culturales que favorecen la violencia y la promocion que de estos hacen los mismos Estados.
A six-gene panel to label follicular adenoma, low- and high-risk follicular thyroid carcinoma

The distinction between follicular thyroid carcinomas (FTCs) and follicular-patterned benign lesions is almost impossible on fine-needle aspiration cytology. Furthermore, minimally invasive FTCs (MI-FTCs) with less than 4 vascular invasion foci generally have an excellent prognosis, but there are exceptions and, so far, no molecular marker appears able to identify them reliably. We aimed to distinguish benign lesions from low- and high-risk FTCs by a small-scale combination of genes. The expression analysis of 75 selected genes was performed on 18 follicular adenomas (FAs), 14 MI-FTCs and 6 widely invasive FTC (WI-FTCs). The mutational status of the RAS genes, TERT promoter and PAX8-PPARG rearrangements was also investigated. Seven samples were mutated, namely 3 MI-FTCs and 4 WI-FTCs. Twenty-five genes were differentially expressed (FDR <0.05) between FAs and WI-FTCs. Six of these (ECM1, RXRG, SDPR, SLC26A4, TIFF3, TIMP1) were also differently expressed among MI-FTCs and FAs or WI-FTCs and were considered to build a classification model, which was tested to classify samples according to their histological class. Hence, 31 out of 38 were correctly classified, and accuracy remained high after cross-validation (27/38). The 2 MI-FTCs incorrectly classified as WI-FTCs harbored both RAS and TERT promoter mutations. The capability of these six genes to stratify benign, low- and high-risk lesions appears to be promising in supporting the diagnosis of indeterminate thyroid nodules.
Clustering data stream under a belief function framework

Clustering is a crucial task for massive data that continuously arrive and evolve over time, generated as stream. However, data may be pervaded by uncertainty and imprecision, and techniques that achieve the unsupervised learning with imperfect data sets are unable to deal with such evolving environment. On the other hand, standard methods for clustering data streams are not adapted to an uncertain framework. Hence, in this paper, we propose a method for clustering data stream in an imperfect context, particularly using belief function theory in order to handle the belonging of objects to singletons and disjunctions of clusters.
Living Labs for Electric Vehicles in Flandres

In 2011 the Flemish government launched the Living Labs Electric Vehicles, consisting of 5 different platforms each differing in technology, scope, size and use patterns. For the build-up of these platforms, the Flemish government relies on private companies, local authorities and research institutes. These platforms serve as an environment in which platform members as well as other partners can carry out experimental research related to the roll-out of electric vehicles (EVs) and EV fleets. A total financial investment of ±30 million € was made, equally divided between the private sector and the government, and an introduction of 600 electric vehicles and 600 new electric charging points is aimed for. The addressed research topics within these living labs include the assessment of the driving range of the EVs, the assessment of the implemented drivetrain technologies and charging infrastructure, travel- and purchase behaviour, market potential analyses, the development of new business cases, the development of new services and products, total cost of ownership analyses, environmental impact analyses, and social acceptance. In addition, with respect to the charging infrastructure, standardization issues, interoperability of the charging systems, and billing and roaming procedures are studied. A wide variety of stakeholders related to electric mobility is involved in these living labs, ranging from knowledge centres, automotive manufacturers, electricity producers and distributors, service providers. public transport companies and local authorities, to fleet owners and end users. This paper gives an overview of the 5 launched platforms: EVA, iMOVE, Olympus, EV TecLab and Volt-Air.
Review of 20 Years of Research on Microwave and Millimeter-wave Lenses at "Instituto de Telecomunicaço˜es"

Starting from a challenge in the early 1990s to develop a highly shaped beam dielectric lens antenna for a pilot 150 Mb/s cellular mobile broadband system operating in the 60-GHz band, several new developments have been accomplished over more than 20 years at Instituto de Telecomunicações in the areas of millimeter-wave shaped dielectric lens antennas and planar metamaterial lenses. We review here a few representative examples with numerical and experimental results, covering applications in mobile broadband communications, radiometry, satellite communications, multigigabit short-range communications, and sublambda near-field target detection.
Progress in development of a 346GHz BWO

346GHz backward wave oscillations (BWOs) have been considered as a key device for fusion plasma diagnostics, whose development is a joint project under collaboration among Beijing Vacuum Electronics Research Institute (BVERI), University of California Davis (UC Davis) and Lancaster University. In this paper, we report on some progress being made in the development of a 346GHz BWO.
Spyware be gone!

The times they are a-changing: White is the new black. Thirty is the new 20. And spyware is the new spam---with a dash of virus mixed in for good measure. (Of course, we still have plenty of original-flavor spam and viruses hanging around, too). What the old-school intruders have going for them is that they are relatively straightforward to define. Spyware, in its broadest sense, is harder to pin down. Yet many feel, as the late Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart once said, "I know it when I see it. "
Identification of fingernail markings in manual strangulation

A clever solution to the problem of identifying fingernail markings was accomplished by means of forensic pathology and odontology. This approach was required to develop techniques for constructing the impression of the fingernail used in strangulation of a victim. The illustrations show how this rare type of evidence was processed so as to match the fingernails of the suspect to the marks on the skin of the victim's neck
Dual-Band Uniplanar CPW-Fed Monopole/EBG Combination With Bandwidth Enhancement

A novel low-profile uniplanar dual band coplanar waveguide (CPW)-fed monopole antenna/electromagnetic band-gap (EBG) combination, exhibiting bandwidth enhancement, is presented. Prototypes of the monopole antenna alone and combined with the EBG in the same layer are manufactured using laser micromachining. The characterization results of the manufactured prototypes in terms of return loss and radiation pattern measurements in an anechoic chamber are shown for comparison.
Human dignity and autonomy in the care for patients with dementia: differences among formal caretakers from various cultural backgrounds

ABSTRACT Objectives: To explore whether gaps exist between caretakers from different ethno-cultural groups (Israeli-born Jews [Sabras], Israeli Arabs [Arabs], and migrants from Russia [Russians]) regarding their perceptions of autonomy and human dignity of patients with dementia. Design: A mixed-methods research scheme was used, comprised of qualitative and quantitative methods, utilizing semi-structured interviews and self-reported questionnaires. Twenty formal caretakers participated in the qualitative portion, and approximately 200 caretakers were included in the quantitative portion. All participants were recruited from three nursing homes and one hospital in the Galilee region (Israel). Results: The qualitative portion of the study yielded eight themes encapsulated in the concept of autonomy and ten themes entailed within human dignity, in the context of care for patients with dementia. By utilizing these themes in the quantitative portion, substantial differences in nursing homes were found in the attitudes to autonomy and dignity of patients with dementia between Russian and Arab as well as Sabra caretakers (index score for autonomy: 2.97, 4.07, and 4, respectively; index score for dignity: 3.17, 4.1, and 4.07). A multi-variable regression, focusing on caretakers from nursing homes, showed the most significant influencing variables on the indexes of autonomy and dignity were ethno-culture Arab/Russian (0.84, 0.62) and the patient’s family (0.29, 0.30). Regarding the autonomy index, being a female caretaker also had a significant influence (0.24). In the hospital, no influence emerged for the ethno-culture variables, and neither type of institution showed any influence of religion or religiousness as well as societal or community norms. Conclusions: Contrary to past research, in nursing homes, significant differences were found between certain ethno-cultural groups (Arabs and Russians) regarding their stance toward the dignity and autonomy of patients with dementia. Arab caretakers’ fostering of more encompassing conceptions of dignity and autonomy, irrespective of institutional setting, provides better grounds for person-centered care.
The Development of Functional CD8 T Cell Memory after Listeria monocytogenes Infection Is Not Dependent on CD401

The immunologic requirements for generating long-lived protective CD8 T cell memory remain unclear. Memory CD8 populations generated in the absence of CD4 Th cells reportedly have functional defects, and at least a subset of CD8 T cells transiently express CD40 after activation, suggesting that direct CD4-CD8 T cell interactions through CD40 may influence the magnitude and functional quality of memory CD8 populations. To ascertain the role of CD40 in such direct T cell interactions, we investigated CD8 T cell responses in CD40−/− mice after infection with Listeria monocytogenes, an intracellular bacterium that induces APC activation and thus priming of CD8 T cells independently of CD4 Th cell help through CD40. In this study we show that memory CD8 T cells generated in CD40-deficient mice show in vivo cytotoxicity and cytokine production equivalent to CD8 memory T cells from wild-type mice. Upon secondary Listeria infection, CD40−/− memory CD8 T cells expand to greater numbers than seen in wild-type mice. These results indicate that CD40 ligation on CD8 T cells, although reportedly a part of CD8 T cell memory development in an H-Y-directed response, is not needed for the development of functional memory CD8 T cell populations after Listeria infection.
A Review of the Investigational Antiarrhythmic Agent Dronedarone

Arrhythmias are a major cause of morbidity and mortality, and atrial fibrillation is the most widespread disorder of cardiac rhythm. Amiodarone is an effective antiarrhythmic agent that has been in clinical use for about 20 years. It is effective for multiple types of arrhythmias, including atrial fibrillation, and has a low incidence of cardiac adverse events, including Torsade de Pointes. It has many noncardiac adverse effects that are serious and limit its long-term use. Dronedarone is an investigational antiarrhythmic agent that is designed to have similar cardiac effects to amiodarone but with fewer adverse effects. This review presents some of the animal and human studies that evaluate the effects of dronedarone.
Research-intervention for the development of organizational competence in a sociosanitary service for adults with disability and their familiy members

The paper reports a research-intervention realized within a Complex Operative Unit (COU) of an Italian Local Health Authority realizing services for adult with disability and their family members. After the recognition by the managment and the operators of problems in the relationship with the service users and the absence of shared working criteria, the Local Culture of the COU has been analyzed to develop its organizational competence. Posed as a premise the crysis faced by the sociosanitary services in relation to the collusive failures of both the sanitary and the assistive paradigm, the intervention is reported starting from the committment meetings. Therefore the authors presents the results of the research in which 26 interviews to the sociosanitary personnel have been realized and analyzed with the Emotional Text Analysis. The research shows the crysis of a self-referred organizational model, the difficulty in being client oriented and in defining problems to treat. This crysis seems associated to the medicalization and to the infantilization of the adult with disability, as to the feeling of being obligated to respond to all the requests of the families. In the final part of the paper the authors report the research data restitution and the products of the intervention.
Overview of the TREC 2003 Web Track

The TREC 2003 web track consisted of both a non-interactive stream and an interactive stream. Both streams worked with the . GOV test collection. The non-interactive stream continued an investigation into the importance of homepages in Web ranking, via both a Topic Distillation task and a Navigational task. In the topic distillation task, systems were expected to return a list of the homepages of sites relevant to each of a series of broad queries. This differs from previous homepage experiments in that queries may have multiple correct answers. The navigational task required systems to return a particular desired web page as early as possible in the ranking in response to queries. In half of the queries, the target answer was the homepage of a site and the query was derived from the name of the site (Homepage finding) while in the other half, the target answers were not homepages and the queries were derived from the name of the page (Named page finding). The two types of query were arbitrarily mixed and not identified. The interactive stream focused on human participation in a topic distillation task over the . GOV collection. Studies conducted by the two participating groups compared a search engine using automatic topic distillation features with the same engine with those features disabled in order to determine whether the automatic topic distillation features assisted the users in the performance of their tasks and whether humans could achieve better results than the automatic system.
Evaluating Perception, Expectation of Students/Pre-service Teachers and Service Quality Gap in Greek Tertiary Education

The main plan of the present article is to explore the inter-relationships of foremost constructs related to students/pre-service teachers as Customer Satisfaction regarding ASPETE services. The aim of the article is to assess the ASPETE service quality in a period of financial crisis and unemployment. The article examines the relationship or the gap between perceived and expected quality of service in terms of all its dimensions such as tangibility, reliability, assurance, responsiveness, empathy and accessibility. Keywords: students/pre-service teachers, satisfaction, ASPETE, quality, services