Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loose coupling visual-lidar odometry by combining VISO2 and LOAM

Odometry is a very popular research direction in recent decades and plays a very critical role in the autonomous navigation system. VISO2, as a relatively robust and mature visual odometry algorithm, becomes unreliable when distinct visual features are insufficiently or when the texture of the environment is repetitive. Even if not in such a challenging environment, the drift is still a big problem for the practical application. LOAM, a lidar odometry algorithm, has been leading the way for the performance on KITTI data set. In fact, it also has limitations in shape features not prominent environment, like a highway with few buildings around. Considering that the current mobile unmanned platforms (e.g., unmanned vehicles) are almost equipped with both lidar and cameras, this paper proposes a loose coupling visual-lidar odometry by combining VISO2 and LOAM to achieve the advantages of both camera and lidar and reduce the number of restricted scenarios. The algorithm proposed in this paper is tested on the raw data set of KITTI. The average translation error is about 1.37% on 10 sequences, and the accuracy is improved with respect to LOAM with the same parameters. With the help of VISO2, the algorithm also performs well in shape features not prominent environment (e.g., highway), and from the experiment results, we confirmed the efficient strategy to combine VISO2 and LOAM to adapt to challenging environment and to keep the accuracy of the algorithm.
Effect on ventilation of papaverine administered to the brain stem of the anaesthetized cat.

1. To investigate whether cerebral vasodilatation by itself contributes to the decrease in ventilation as found during brain stem hypoxia the role of cerebral vasodilatation on minute ventilation was investigated in twelve cats anaesthetized with alpha‐chloralose‐urethane. 2. Cerebral vasodilatation in the medulla oblongata was produced by adding papaverine to the blood perfusing the brain stem. 3. Papaverine at concentrations of 10‐35 micrograms per millilitre of blood had an appreciable depressant effect on ventilation. At a concentration of 14.3 micrograms ml‐1 the depression in ventilation averaged 0.7 +/‐ 0.1 l min‐1. 4. The ventilatory response to stepwise changes in papaverine concentration could be adequately described with a single exponential function with a time delay. 5. The time constant of the ventilatory response following a step increase in papaverine concentration (134 +/‐ 15 s) was longer than that of the step decrease (105 +/‐ 10 s) in concentration (P = 0.034). The time delays of the ventilatory response (88 +/‐ 21 s and 53 +/‐ 8 s respectively) were not significantly different (P = 0.126). 6. The ventilatory response to stimulation of the peripheral chemoreceptors by hypoxia and of the central chemoreceptors by hypercapnia was not impaired by papaverine. 7. The results support the hypothesis that cerebral vasodilatation by itself contributes to the decrease in ventilation by brain stem hypoxia.
The Evolution of Warning Signals as Reliable Indicators of Prey Defense

It is widely argued that defended prey have tended to evolve conspicuous traits because predators more readily learn to avoid defended prey when they are conspicuous. However, a rival theory proposes that defended prey have evolved such characters because it allows them to be distinguished from undefended prey. Here we investigated how the attributes of defended (unprofitable) and undefended (profitable) computer‐generated prey species tended to evolve when they were subject to selection by foraging humans. When cryptic forms of defended and undefended species were similar in appearance but their conspicuous forms were not, defended prey became conspicuous while undefended prey remained cryptic. Indeed, in all of our experiments, defended prey invariably evolved any trait that enabled them to be distinguished from undefended prey, even if such traits were cryptic. When conspicuous mutants of defended prey were extremely rare, they frequently overcame their initial disadvantage by chance. When Batesian mimicry of defended species was possible, defended prey evolved unique traits or characteristics that would make undefended prey vulnerable. Overall, our work supports the contention that warning signals are selected for their reliability as indicators of defense rather than to capitalize on any inherent educational biases of predators.
Using transposition to improve consonant discrimination and detection for listeners with severe high-frequency hearing loss

Transposition of high-frequency information to lower frequencies may help people with high-frequency hearing loss associated with a ‘dead region’ (DR) to detect and identify certain consonants, such as ‘s’. Conventional high-frequency amplification is often not beneficial in such cases. We designed and evaluated a new transposition algorithm which was adapted to each subject's high-frequency DR. Frequency components from well within the DR were transposed to just within the DR without applying frequency compression. Low-frequency components were amplified, but unaffected by transposition. Transposition only occurred if there was significant high-frequency energy, preventing high-frequency background noise of moderate level from being transposed. Consonant discrimination was tested using vowel-consonant-vowel (VCV) stimuli, and the detection of word-final ‘s’ and ‘z’ was assessed using word pairs. Seven subjects with high-frequency DRs were tested in quiet using a transposed and a control condition. Following transposition, two subjects improved significantly and none performed significantly worse on the VCV-test overall. The perception of affricates was consistently improved. Averaged across subjects, the detection of word-final ‘s’ and ‘z’ was significantly improved, with five subjects improving significantly individually.
Identification and Characterization of a β Proteasome Subunit Cluster in the Japanese Pufferfish (Fugu rubripes)1

The low molecular mass polypeptide (LMP2, LMP7, and MECL-1) genes code for β-type subunits of the proteasome, a multimeric complex that degrades proteins into peptides as part of the MHC class I-mediated Ag-presenting pathway. These gene products are up-regulated in response to infection by IFN-γ and replace the corresponding constitutively expressed subunits (X, Y, and Z) during the immune response. In humans, the LMP2 and LMP7 genes both reside within the class II region of the MHC (6p21.3), while MECL-1 is located at 16q22.1. In the present study, we have identified all three IFN-γ-regulated β-type proteasome subunits in Fugu, which are present as a cluster within the Fugu MHC class I region. We show that in this species, LMP7, LMP2, and MECL-1 are linked. Also within this cluster is an LMP2-like subunit (which seems specific to all teleosts tested to date) and a closely linked LMP7 pseudogene, indicating that within Fugu and potentially other teleosts, there has been an additional regional duplication involving these genes.
[French-Canadian validation of the MOS Social Support Survey].

BACKGROUND The MOS Social Support Survey was developed for patients who participated in the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS), a two-year study on persons who suffered from chronic illness. There are a number of advantages to using the MOS Social Support Survey, especially with those persons who suffer from chronic illness: it is easy to understand, is relatively short, is multidimensional, can be completed by the patient without assistance and has good psychometric properties. OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to establish a French-Canadian version of the MOS Social Support Survey and to verify its psychometric properties following the cross-cultural translation and validation procedures proposed by Vallerand. METHODS A first draft of the MOS Social Support Survey was achieved by following the back-to-back translation technique. Next, a committee of four bilingual people reviewed and evaluated the preliminary versions of the questionnaire (English and French) to establish a French experimental version. A pre-test was done with 10 francophone persons. The Haccoun method was used to evaluate the construct validity and test-retest reliability, as well as the internal consistency of the questionnaire. The test-retest was performed with 20 students from the School of Languages from Laval University, Sainte-Foy, Quebec. The present research was approved by the ethics committee of the institution. RESULTS The results showed acceptable internal consistency and good reliability. The psychometric properties were found to be acceptable and comparable with those obtained by Sherbourne and Stewart with the English version. CONCLUSION The French-Canadian version of the MOS Social Support Survey should be useful in evaluating social support among patients to allow medical staff to plan rehabilitation programs that would include the necessary consultations and interventions needed to establish a better quality of life for the patient.
Numerical analysis of complex internal and external viscous flows with a second-order pressure-based method

A third-order Total Variation Diminishing (TVD) scheme has been implemented in a pressurebased Navier-Stokes solver for the analysis of complex viscous flow problems. The ChakravmthyOsher third-order TVD flux limiter was employed and reformulated for the convection terms of the governing equations. Together with the capabilities of time accuracy for all-speed range, general and robust turbulence models (Le. two-equation turbulence model with compressibility corrections), efficient finite-rate chemistry solution methods, multiple-zone general coordinates mesh system, and realistic two-phase flow models for spray combustion, embedded in the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code, many complex flow problems can be analyzed. Results of this study show that with the third-order TVD scheme provides better resolutions for flow variables with spatial discontinuities. 'v
Culture of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) with defined flesh quality for prevention of cardiovascular diseases using finishing feeding strategy.

OBJECTIVES Fish is the major source of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFA) which are well known to have positive effects in prevention of cardiovascular diseases. This study investigated the possibility to produce common carp with defined flesh quality using finishing feeding strategy and predict changes of fillet FA by a dilution model. METHODS During the 110-day experiment, fish were fed diets with two different vegetable oils (rapeseed/linseed blend, VO; olive oil, OO) only, or with a subsequent fish oil (FO) finishing treatment for 30 or 60 days. Fillet FA composition was measured and data were compared to the ones predicted by the dilution model. RESULTS The FO finishing treatment resulted in the higher percentage of SFA (from 19.1% to 23.6%; p<0.001), MUFA (from 46.8% to 51.9%; p<0.001), n-3 PUFA (from 3.6% to 7.4%; p<0.001) and lower n-6 PUFA (from 30.5% to 16.9%; p<0.001) and n-6/n-3 ratio (from 8.7 to 2.3; p<0.001) in groups previously fed the VO diet and in lower MUFA percentage (from 67% to 63%; p<0.001) and n-6/n-3 ratio (from 8.2 to 2.8; p<0.001) and higher n-3 PUFA percentage (from 1.5% to 4.5%; p<0.001) in group previously fed the OO diet. The dilution model gave a good prediction for fillet FA changes (slope of the regression line 0.97-1.00; R2 value of 0.992-0.996). CONCLUSION The finishing feeding strategy is suggested for production of common carp with a required flesh FA composition for purposes of special nutritional needs, especially for primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular disease.
DC-link stability control for dual-source electric vehicles using an extended kalman filter

In this paper, an innovative control method for a hybrid source electric vehicle (EV) is presented. Since the usual and practical way to measure currents consists in using sensors based on Hall effect, we present a technique to significantly reduce the noise generated by these sensors. Firstly, the model to build such controller and the variables involved is discussed. Then, to have a stable system and a controller easy to setup, a method to solve the control problem using a linear-quadratic regulator (LQR) is proposed. An Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) that uses the sensors and the converter model is exploited to obtain almost noise-free currents. The LQR and the EKF are validated separately, using an overall model implemented in Matlab/Simulink. The results obtained reveal a good behaviour by the controllers and an almost noise-free environment after the addition of the EKF. Further, the global performance is also validated using a standard driving cycle.
Linking development and determinacy with organic acid efflux from proteoid roots of white lupin grown with low phosphorus and ambient or elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration

White lupin (Lupinus albus L.) was grown in hydroponic culture with 1 &mgr;M phosphorus to enable the development of proteoid roots to be observed in conjunction with organic acid exudation. Discrete regions of closely spaced, determinate secondary laterals (proteoid rootlets) emerged in near synchrony on the same plant. One day after reaching their final length (4 mm), citrate exudation occurred over a 3-d pulse. The rate of exudation varied diurnally, with maximal rates during the photoperiod. At the onset of citrate efflux, rootlets had exhausted their apical meristems and had differentiated root hairs and vascular tissues along their lengths. Neither in vitro phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase nor citrate synthase activity was correlated with the rate of citrate exudation. We suggest that an unidentified transport process, presumably at the plasma membrane, regulates citrate efflux. Growth with elevated (700 &mgr;L L-1) atmospheric [CO2] promoted earlier onset of rootlet determinacy by 1 d, resulting in shorter rootlets and citrate export beginning 1 d earlier as a 2-d diurnal pulse. Citrate was the dominant organic acid exported, and neither the rate of exudation per unit length of root nor the composition of exudate was altered by atmospheric [CO2].
Surface-grating-induced zone folding and hybridization of surface acoustic modes.

Brillouin light scattering measurements of surface acoustic modes propagating in an ion-milled holographic grating on a Si(001) wafer have revealed clear evidence of hybridization between the Rayleigh wave and the longitudinal resonance which leads to an unexpected gap. Other new acoustic features include the folding of the Rayleigh wave about the first two zone boundaries associated with the grating, band gaps which increase with zone number, and different propagation velocities parallel and perpendicular to the grating
Recommended method for measuring changes in thickness of the bovine teat with spring-loaded calipers

Several types of caliper device have been used to evaluate changes in teat thickness that occur during milking (Woolford & Phillips, 1978 ; Le Du & Benmederbel, 1984 ; Hamann, 1985 ; Hamann et al. 1988). Reports indicate that the mean pressure applied to the teat by these devices ranged from 2.5 kPa (Hamann & Mein, 1990) up to ∼ 30 kPa (Le Du & Benmederbel, 1984). 'Teat thickness' has been defined as the distance (mm) between the spring-loaded caliper jaws for a given applied pressure and predetermined time interval sufficient to allow the jaws to reach a steady state position on the teat. Using a mean jaw pressure of 10-15 kPa, the difference in the measured teat thickness before and after milking largely reflects changes in the mass of tissue and fluid in the teat (Hamann & Mein, 1990). The most widely used device is an instrument known as a 'cutimeter' (Hamann, 1985). Results obtained with a modified cutimeter indicated that small changes in thickness of the teat apex could be measured with a high degree of accuracy (±2%) and repeatability (r = 0.99 ; Hamann & Mein, 1988). Because changes in thickness of the teat have been linked with a higher risk of infection (Hamann, 1989), a higher incidence of clinical mastitis (Ronningen & Reitan, 1990) and increased colonization of the teat duct (Zecconi et al. 1992), we have suggested that this type of instrument could be used to provide a simple dynamic test of the effects of machine milking on the teat (Hamann & Mein, 1995). A limit of ±5% for machine-induced changes in thickness of the teat apex could be a suitable guideline for the effectiveness of a milking system. The purpose of this paper is to describe suitable equipment and techniques for making accurate ; repeatable measurements of machine-induced changes in teat thickness. These recommendations for using a simple spring-loaded caliper device are based on the authors' experimental results and field experience obtained over the past 10 years.
Derivation and characterization of an extra-axial chordoma cell line (EACH-1) from a scapular tumor.

BACKGROUND Extra-axial chordomas are rare low-grade malignant tumors thought to arise from notochordal remnants in the extra-axial skeleton. Few studies have been done on this neoplasm because of its rarity. In addition, there is a lack of a good in vitro model on which to perform more characterization. METHODS We describe a twenty-eight-year-old man with a mass in the right scapula. Cytomorphology and immunohistochemistry, including brachyury staining, were used to formulate the final diagnosis. A fragment of the tumor was placed in culture, and cells obtained were injected subcutaneously in an immunocompromised mouse. From the tumor developed in mice, a cell line has been derived and characterized by fluorescence-activated cell-sorting analysis, karyotyping, clonogenicity, and cell and tumor growth curves. RESULTS Cytomorphology on the tumor showed nests of round cells with vacuoles and also physaliferous-like cells with uniform nuclei. Immunochemistry revealed a tumor positive for vimentin, moderately positive for S-100 and cytokeratin AE1/AE3, weakly positive for epithelial membrane antigen, and negative for p63 and cytokeratin (CK)-7. Further analysis revealed the tumor was diffusely and strongly positive for brachyury. The cell line derived from the tumor showed rapid doubling-time, a strong expression of mesenchymal cell surface markers, a karyotype of diploid or hypotetraploid clones with numerous chromosomal aberrations, and the ability to form colonies without attachment and to form tumors in immunocompromised mice. CONCLUSIONS The diagnosis of the extra-axial chordoma is difficult but can be resolved by the detection of a strong brachyury expression. In addition, the derivation of a human extra-axial chordoma cell line could be a useful tool for the basic research of this rare neoplasm.
Robust feature extraction from spectrum estimated using bispectrum for Isolated Word Recognition

Extraction of robust features from noisy speech signals is one of the challenging problems in Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR). For Gaussian process, its bispectrum and all higher order spectra are identically zero, which means that bispectrum removes the additive white Gaussian noise while preserving the magnitude and phase information of original signal. Using this bispectrum property, spectrum of original signal can be recovered from its noisy version. Robust Mel Frequency Cepstral Coefficients (MFCC) are extracted from the estimated spectral magnitude (denoted as Bispectral-MFCC (BMFCC)). The effectiveness of BMFCC has been tested on TI-46 isolated word database in noisy (additive white Gaussian) environment. The experimental results show the superiority of the proposed technique over conventional methods for Isolated Word Recognition (IWR).
Multiple lab ware manipulation in life science laboratories using mobile robots

Mobile robots are widely used in different fields of automation such as material handling, domestic services, and objects transportation. This work presents a manipulation system for multiple labware in life science laboratories using the H20 mobile robots. In service robot applications, the recognition and pose estimation of the desired objects are very essential for manipulation tasks. The H20 robot has dual arms where each arm consists of 6 revolute joints with 6-DOF and 2-DOF grippers. The H20 robot is equipped with the Kinect V2 sensor to identify and estimate the position of the required labware on the workbench. The local features recognition based on SURF algorithm (Speeded-Up Robust Features) is used. The recognition process is performed for the labware to be grasped and for the workbench holder. A placing strategy is proposed to find the required holder and to check its emptiness. Different grippers and labware containers are designed to manipulate different weights of labware and to realize a safe transportation.
A comparative study of three methods for the ultrastructural demonstration of glycogen in thin sections.

In order to evaluate 3 staining methods for demonstration of glycogen in thin sections, 2 tissues containing an abundance of this carbohydrate in β-particle form were studied. Tissues were aldehyde-fixed, postfixed in osmium tetroxide, embedded in Araldite and sectioned in the usual manner without special precautions. The first method for staining thin sections employed a sequential combination of periodic acid, thiosemicarbazide and osmium tetroxide vapour, while in the second procedure a silver protein solution was substituted for the osmium tetroxide vapour. The third technique utilized periodic acid, sodium chlorite and uranyl acetate, also in sequential combination. Each method yielded glycogen particles of greater electron density than were seen in sections stained by the usual uranyl acetate-lead citrate procedure. Under high magnification, considerable method-dependent variation in the appearance of the glycogen granules was noted. Particulate substructure, only faintly visible in routinely stained sections, was easily resolved with the periodic acid-thiosemicarbazide-silver protein technique. Conversely, periodic acid-thiosemicarbazide-osmium tetroxide completely obscured this substructure. With periodic acid-sodium chlorite-uranyl acetate, glycogen particles appeared larger, more confluent, and of a less regular outline than with the other methods. Sections were also stained by incubation in periodic acid prior to treatment with lead citrate. The alteration in appearance of the glycogen granules produced by this modification was so great that high-resolution analysis of particle size and substructure could not be undertaken. The usefulness of the procedures investigated here resides in their ability to stain glycogen in thin sections in an intense and selective manner.
Effects of motivational psychology characteristics factors on teachers ’ classroom action research performance

The purposes of this study were 1) to validate the developed Classroom Action Research Performance Model (the CARP Model), in which motivational psychology characteristics (MPC) factors as predictors of teachers’ classroom action research performance (CARP), 2) to investigate effects among MPC, and their effect on CARP, and 3) to investigate the level of MPC and CARP of teachers. The participants were 678 teachers in 37 RDL project schools selected by stratified random sampling method. The results revealed that: 1) the validation of CARP model was supported by empirical data, 2) personal agency belief has the highest effect on goal commitment, which in turn affects mental effort, but had no effects on CAR performance, and 3) teachers’ MPC were high but CAR performances were moderate.