Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mattie: a simple educational platform for children to realize their first robot prototype

The landscape of robotics platforms for education is broad and mainly focused on technical problem solving skills. The different application areas serve for adding some variety regarding skill sets and areas of interest, however design or product development skills are often neglected. Mattie is a simple robotic platform for children to realize their first robotic product ideas. The design is kept very simple. Materials are affordable and easily available. The aim is to guide children to build their first robot prototype from scratch by learning product development and scientific working. The concept around the Mattie robot incorporates different perspectives like product, behavior, marketing or design besides technology and engineering. This way, robotics can appeal to those children who are not interested in engineering or programming right away. We have successfully used the Mattie robot in classroom workshop settings with seven different classes (6th, 7th and 9th grades). The feedback from teachers and students aged 11-18 is very positive.
How does a combined preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation programme influence the outcome of ACL reconstruction 2 years after surgery? A comparison between patients in the Delaware-Oslo ACL Cohort and the Norwegian National Knee Ligament Registry

Background Preoperative knee function is associated with successful postoperative outcome after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). However, there are few longer term studies of patients who underwent progressive preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation compared to usual care. Objectives To compare preoperative and 2 year postoperative patient-reported outcomes (PROs) in patients undergoing progressive preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation at a sports medicine clinic compared with usual care. Methods We included patients aged 16–40 years undergoing primary unilateral ACLR. The preoperative and 2 year postoperative Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) of 84 patients undergoing progressive preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation at a sports medicine clinic (Norwegian Research Center for Active Rehabilitation (NAR) cohort) were compared with the scores of 2690 patients from the Norwegian National Knee Ligament Registry (NKLR). The analyses were adjusted for sex, age, months from injury to surgery and cartilage/meniscus injury at ACLR. Results The NAR cohort had significantly better preoperative KOOS in all subscales, with clinically relevant differences (>10 points) observed in KOOS Pain, activities of daily living (ADL), Sports and Quality of Life. At 2 years, the NAR cohort still had significantly better KOOS with clinically relevant differences in KOOS Symptoms, Sports and Quality of Life. At 2 years, 85.7–94% of the patients in the NAR cohort scored within the normative range of the different KOOS subscales, compared to 51.4–75.8% of the patients in the NKLR. Conclusions Patients in a prospective cohort who underwent progressive preoperative and postoperative rehabilitation at a sports medicine clinic showed superior patient-reported outcomes both preoperatively and 2 years postoperatively compared to patients in the NKLR who received usual care.
RR Lyrae‐based calibration of the Globular Cluster Luminosity Function

We test whether the peak absolute magnitude M v (TO) of the Globular Cluster Luminosity Function (GCLF) can be used for reliable extragalactic distance determination. Starting with the luminosity function of the Galactic Globular Clusters listed in Harris catalogue, we determine M v (TO) either using current calibrations of the absolute magnitude M v (RR) of RR Lyrae stars as a function of the cluster metal content [Fe/H] and adopting selected cluster samples. We show that the peak magnitude is slightly affected by the adopted M v (RR)-[Fe/H] relation, with the exception of that based on the revised Baade-Wesselink method, while it depends on the criteria to select the cluster sample. Moreover, grouping the Galactic Globular Clusters by metallicity, we find that the metal-poor (MP) ([Fe/H] -1.0, ( ∼ -0.6) one, in substantial agreement with the theoretical metallicity effect suggested by synthetic Globular Cluster populations with constant age and mass function. Moving outside the Milky Way, we show that the peak magnitude of the MP clusters in M31 appears to be consistent with that of Galactic clusters with similar metallicity, once the same M V (RR)-[Fe/H] relation is used for distance determination. As for the GCLFs in other external galaxies, using Surface Brightness Fluctuations (SBF) measurements we give evidence that the luminosity functions of the blue (MP) Globular Clusters peak at the same luminosity within ∼0.2 mag, whereas for the red (MR) samples the agreement is within ∼0.5 mag even accounting for the theoretical metallicity correction expected for clusters with similar ages and mass distributions. Then, using the SBF absolute magnitudes provided by a Cepheid distance scale calibrated on a fiducial distance to Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), we show that the M V (TO) value of the MP clusters in external galaxies is in excellent agreement with the value of both Galactic and M31 ones, as inferred by an RR Lyrae distance scale referenced to the same LMC fiducial distance. Eventually, adopting μ 0 (LMC) = 18.50 mag, we derive that the luminosity function of MP clusters in the Milky Way, M31, and external galaxies peak at M V (TO) = -7.66 ± 0.11, - 7.65 ± 0.19 and -7.67 ± 0.23 mag, respectively. This would suggest a value of -7.66 ± 0.09 mag (weighted mean), with any modification of the LMC distance modulus producing a similar variation of the GCLF peak luminosity.
A Fast and Accessible Methodology for Micro-Patterning Cells on Standard Culture Substrates Using Parafilm™ Inserts

Micropatterning techniques provide direct control over the spatial organization of cells at the sub-mm scale. Regulation of these spatial parameters is important for controlling cell fate and cell function. While micropatterning has proved a powerful technique for understanding the impact of cell organization on cell behaviour, current methods for micropatterning cells require complex, specialized equipment that is not readily accessible in most biological and bioengineering laboratories. In addition, currently available methods require significant protocol optimization to ensure reliable and reproducible patterning. The inaccessibility of current methods has severely limited the widespread use of micropatterning as a tool in both biology and tissue engineering laboratories. Here we present a simple, cheap, and fast method to micropattern mammalian cells into stripes and circular patterns using Parafilm™, a common material found in most biology and bioengineering laboratories. Our method does not require any specialized equipment and does not require significant method optimization to ensure reproducible patterning. Although our method is limited to simple patterns, these geometries are sufficient for addressing a wide range of biological problems. Specifically, we demonstrate i) that using our Parafilm™ insert method we can pattern and co-pattern ARPE-19 and MDCK epithelial cells into circular and stripe micropatterns in tissue culture polystyrene (TCPS) wells and on glass slides, ii) that we can contain cells in the desired patterns for more than one month and iii) that upon removal of the Parafilm™ insert we can release the cells from the containment pattern and allow cell migration outward from the original pattern. We also demonstrate that we can exploit this confinement release feature to conduct an epithelial cell wound healing assay. This novel micropatterning method provides a reliable and accessible tool with the flexibility to address a wide range of biological and engineering problems that require control over the spatial and temporal organization of cells.
Sub-Problem Selection for Acoustic Code-Breaking

We have developed lattice rescoring procedures which apply specialized acoustic and language models, e.g. discriminatively trained HMMs and Support Vector Machines, to improve the transcription performance of general purpose ASR systems. Initial investigations showed that large gains in small vocabulary tasks are possible, but that large improvements in large vocabulary recognition are harder to achieve. In this paper we analyze the feasibility of the entire approach. We find that sub-problems be identified r eliably, and that the approach has potential, but that the selection of sub-problems for solution should consider additional factors, such as the availability of training data. This report analyzes a particular previously developed decoding framework [1, 2, 3] designed to identify possible recognition errors in a first-pass recognition hypothesis; Support Vector Machines were then used to improve the original ASR hypotheses. Here we analyze the improvements obtained to better understand the decoding framework. We also present methods for selecting a larger number of sub-problems in large vocabulary tasks that offer scope for additional improvement. The work reported here was performed at The Johns Hopkins University Center for Language and Speech Processing with support from the NSF (U.S.A) under the Information Technology Research (ITR) program, NSF IIS Award No. 0122466. This report is based on a submission to Interspeech 2005.
Exploiting prosody for PCFGs with latent annotations

We propose novel methods for integrating prosody in syntax using generative models. By adopting a grammar whose constituents have latent annotations, the influence of prosody on syntax can be learned from data. In one method, prosody is utilized to seed the latent annotations of a grammar which is then refined using EM iterations. In an orthogonal approach, we integrate prosody into grammar more explicitly using a model that jointly observes words and associated prosody. We evaluate the two methods by parsing speech data from the Switchboard corpus. The results are compared against baseline results from a model that does not use prosody. The experiments show that prosody improves a grammar in terms of accuracy as well as the parsimonious use of parameters.
Associations Among Friendship Jealousy, Peer Status, and Relational Aggression in Early Adolescence

This study investigated the associations among peer status, friendship jealousy, and relational aggression in early adolescence, with a focus on peer status as a moderator of the association between relational aggression and friendship jealousy. Three hundred eighteen sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students completed a sociometric assessment of relational aggression, popularity, and peer preference, and a self-report friendship jealousy measure. Relational aggression was negatively correlated with peer preference, but positively correlated with popularity for boys and girls. Regression analyses showed that peer status moderated the association between friendship jealousy and relational aggression for girls and boys. At low levels of peer preference, high friendship jealousy was positively associated with relational aggression for girls, but negatively associated with relational aggression for boys. Findings are discussed in light of friendship and social status maintenance processes.
The Prevalence and Characteristics of Depression in Work-related Musculoskeletal Disease

Objective To reveal the relationship between depression and WMSD. Method Five physiatrists participated in the workplace musculoskeletal survey and diagnosed 724 office workers with WMSD by performing detailed history taking and physical examination. All subjects were asked to answer the Korean version of the Beck depressive inventory (K-BDI), and to express their pain according to the visual analogue scale (VAS) score. We categorized the subjects into 4 groups, myofascial pain syndrome (MPS), herniated intervertebral disk (HIVD), tenosynovitis, and others, and investigated the prevalence of depression in desk workers and relationship between WMSD and depression, and we compared pain intensity between the depression and non-depression groups. Correlation analysis was carried out between K-BDI and VAS scores in each group. Results The mean K-BDI score were 8.7±6.68. The prevalence of depression was higher in females than in male, and there was no relationship between age and depression. There was a significant connection between HIVD and depression (p<0.05). However, the other groups did not have significant connection to depression. The VAS score (5.02) of the depression group was significantly higher than that (4.10) of the non-depression group. In addition, there was a significant difference of VAS scores between the depression group and non-depression group in each disease group. Conclusion The mean VAS score of the depression group in WMSD was significantly higher than in the non-depression group. The correlation between BDI and VAS scores in the subjects was present, and the highest was in the HIVD group.
OCARI: Optimization of communication for Ad hoc reliable industrial networks

In this paper we present an industrial development of a wireless sensors network technology called OCARItrade. It targets applications in harsh environments in power plants and in warships. OCARI is a radio communication technology that supports mesh topology and power-aware ad hoc routing protocol aiming at maximizing the network lifetime. It is based on IEEE 802.15. 4 PITY layer with full deterministic MAC layer for time-constrained communication. During the non time constrained communication period, its ad hoc routing strategy uses an energy-aware OLSR proactive protocol. OCARI application layer is based on ZigBee APS and APL primitives and profiles to provide a maximum compatibility with ZigBee applications. To fully assess this technology, extensive tests will be done in industrial facility at EDIT R&D as well as at DCNS. Our objective is then to promote this specification as an open standard of industrial wireless technology.
Boundness of a Neural Network Weights Using the Notion of a Limit of a Sequence

feed forward neural network with backpropagation learning algorithm is considered as a black box learning classifier since there is no certain interpretation or anticipation of the behavior of a neural network weights. The weights of a neural network are considered as the learning tool of the classifier, and the learning task is performed by the repetition modification of those weights. This modification is performed using the delta rule which is mainly used in the gradient descent technique. In this article a proof is provided that helps to understand and explain the behavior of the weights in a feed forward neural network with backpropagation learning algorithm. Also, it illustrates why a feed forward neural network is not always guaranteed to converge in a global minimum. Moreover, the proof shows that the weights in the neural network are upper bounded (i.e. they do not approach infinity).
Simulated annealing: comparison of vector and parallel implementations

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Diagnostic Value of Software-Based Image Fusion of Computed Tomography and F18-FDG PET Scans in Patients with Malignant Lymphoma

Aim. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18]fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET), computed tomography (CT), and software-based image fusion of both modalities in the imaging of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) and Hodgkin's disease (HD). Methods. 77 patients with NHL (n = 58) or HD (n = 19) underwent a FDG PET scan, a contrast-enhanced CT, and a subsequent digital image fusion during initial staging or followup. 109 examinations of each modality were evaluated and compared to each other. Conventional staging procedures, other imaging techniques, laboratory screening, and follow-up data constituted the reference standard for comparison with image fusion. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for CT and PET separately. Results. Sensitivity and specificity for detecting malignant lymphoma were 90% and 76% for CT and 94% and 91% for PET, respectively. A lymph node region-based analysis (comprising 14 defined anatomical regions) revealed a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 97% for CT and 96% and 99% for FDG PET, respectively. Only three of 109 image fusion findings needed further evaluation (false positive). Conclusion. Digital fusion of PET and CT improves the accuracy of staging, restaging, and therapy monitoring in patients with malignant lymphoma and may reduce the need for invasive diagnostic procedures.
Reciprocal Transcriptional Regulation of Pou5f1 and Sox2 via the Oct4/Sox2 Complex in Embryonic Stem Cells

ABSTRACT Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent cells that can either self-renew or differentiate into many cell types. Oct4 and Sox2 are transcription factors essential to the pluripotent and self-renewing phenotypes of ESCs. Both factors are upstream in the hierarchy of the transcription regulatory network and are partners in regulating several ESC-specific genes. In ESCs, Sox2 is transcriptionally regulated by an enhancer containing a composite sox-oct element that Oct4 and Sox2 bind in a combinatorial interaction. It has previously been shown that Pou5f1, the Oct4 gene, contains a distal enhancer imparting specific expression in both ESCs and preimplantation embryos. Here, we identify a composite sox-oct element within this enhancer and show that it is involved in Pou5f1 transcriptional activity in ESCs. In vitro experiments with ESC nuclear extracts demonstrate that Oct4 and Sox2 interact specifically with this regulatory element. More importantly, by chromatin immunoprecipitation assay, we establish that both Oct4 and Sox2 bind directly to the composite sox-oct elements in both Pou5f1 and Sox2 in living mouse and human ESCs. Specific knockdown of either Oct4 or Sox2 by RNA interference leads to the reduction of both genes' enhancer activities and endogenous expression levels in addition to ESC differentiation. Our data uncover a positive and potentially self-reinforcing regulatory loop that maintains Pou5f1 and Sox2 expression via the Oct4/Sox2 complex in pluripotent cells.
Response of Norwegian Sea temperature to solar forcing since 1000 A.D.

Abstract: We report on a 1000 year long oxygen isotope record in sediments of the eastern Norwegian Sea which, we argue, represents the temperature and transport of warm Atlantic waters entering the Nordic Sea basin via the North Atlantic Drift and the large-scale Meridional Overturning Circulation. The single-sample resolution of the record is 2.5-10 years and age control is provided by Pb-210 and Cs-137 dating, identification of historic tephra, and a C-14 "wiggle-match" dating method in which the surface reservoir 14C age in the past is constrained rather than assumed, thereby eliminating a large source of chronological uncertainty. The oxygen isotope results indicate decade- to century-scale temperature variations of 1-2 degrees C in the shallow (similar to 50 m deep) subsurface which we find to be strongly correlated with various proxies of past solar activity. The correlations are synchronous to within the timescale uncertainties of the ocean and solar proxy records, which vary among the records and in time with a range of about 5-30 years. The observed ocean temperature response is larger than expected based on simple thermodynamic considerations, indicating that there is dynamical response of the high-latitude ocean to the Sun. Correlations of our results with a gridded temperature reconstruction for Europe are greater in central Europe than in coastal regions, suggesting that the temperature and transport of warm Atlantic waters entering the Nordic Basin and the pattern of temperature variability over Europe are both the proximate responses to a change in the atmospheric circulation, consistent with a forced shift in the primary modes of high-latitude atmospheric variability. (Less)
Journal of Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone System Journal of Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone System Neutral Endopeptidase Expression in Mesangial Cells Journal of Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone System Additional Services and Information for Journal of the Renin- Angiotensin- Aldosterone System Neutral En

In the kidney, neutral endopeptidase (NEP) is implicated in the metabolism of several peptides involved in blood pressure and sodium homeostasis control, such as the atrial natriuretic peptide, bradykinin and angiotensin I. Due to its physiological importance in the modulation of pressor responses, the presence of NEP in mouse mesangial cells has been investigated, since these cells control glomerular function and are able to synthesise components of the renin-angiotensin system. A NEP-like activity (NEP-like) that cleaves the fluorogenic substrates Abz-BKQ-EDDnp and Abz-DRRL-EDDnp was purified from mesangial cell lysate by ion-exchange, followed by gel filtration chromatography. The enzyme was able to hydrolyse bradykinin at the G 4-F 5 peptide bond and was inhibited by thiorphan. A pH study established that enzyme activity was maximal at pH 7.5 and the determined K m was 4.86 µM using Abz-DRRL-EDDnp as substrate. NEP-like was recognised by monoclonal anti-NEP and had a molecular mass of 95 kDa. The purified enzyme was sequenced and showed similarity with human, rat, mouse and rabbit NEPs. We isolated, for the first time, NEP-like from mesangial cells. This enzyme could have an important role in the renal physiology by its action upon different peptides that are able to alter renal haemodynamics. Introduction Neutral endopeptidase (NEP, neprilysin, EC 3.4.24.11) is a 94-kDa zinc metalloendopeptidase located on the cell surface which functions as an ectoenzyme, catalysing peptide hydrolysis at the extracellular face of the plasma membrane. 1 The enzyme was first isolated from the brush-border membranes of the kidney 2,3 and was subsequently found in a wide range of tissues, including the central nervous system. 4-6 NEP is present in human urine 7,8 and is one of the major kininases found in rat urine. 9 The first relevant physiological sub-strates revealed for NEP were the enkephalins and substance P, 4,5 focusing on its role in turning off neuropeptide signals in the brain. A variety of other physiological substrates has subsequently been revealed for NEP, including the vasodilator atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), 10-12 and bradykinin (BK: R