Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Task Focused Robotic Imitation Learning

For many years, successful applications of robotics were the domain of controlled environments, such as industrial assembly lines. Such environments are custom designed for the convenience of the robot and separated from human operators. In recent years, advances in artificial intelligence, in particular, deep learning and computer vision, allowed researchers to successfully demonstrate robots that operate in unstructured environments and directly interact with humans. One of the major applications of such robots is in assistive robotics. For instance, a wheelchair mounted robotic arm can help disabled users in the performance of activities of daily living (ADLs) such as feeding and personal grooming. Early systems relied entirely on the control of the human operator, something that is difficult to accomplish by a user with motor and/or cognitive disabilities. In this dissertation, we are describing research results that advance the field of assistive robotics. The overall goal is to improve the ability of the wheelchair / robotic arm assembly to help the user with the performance of the ADLs by requiring only high-level commands from the user. Let us consider an ADL involving the manipulation of an object in the user’s home. This task can be naturally decomposed into two components: the movement of the wheelchair in such a way that the manipulator can conveniently grasp the object and the movement of the manipulator itself. This dissertation we provide an approach for addressing the challenge of finding the position appropriate for the required manipulation. We introduce the ease-of-reach score (ERS), a metric that quantifies the preferences for the positioning of the base while taking into consideration the shape and position of obstacles and clutter in the environment. As the brute force computation of ERS is computationally expensive, we propose a machine learning approach to estimate the ERS based on features and characteristics of the obstacles. This dissertation addresses the second component as well, the ability of the robotic arm to manipiii ulate objects. Recent work in end-to-end learning of robotic manipulation had demonstrated that a deep learning-based controller of vision-enabled robotic arms can be thought to manipulate objects from a moderate number of demonstrations. However, the current state of the art systems are limited in robustness to physical and visual disturbances and do not generalize well to new objects. We describe new techniques based on task-focused attention that show significant improvement in the robustness of manipulation and performance in clutter.
Classic Chinese Acupuncture versus Different Types of Control Groups for the Treatment of Chronic Pain: Review of Randomized Controlled Trials (2000–2018)

Objective To review the effectiveness of classic Chinese acupuncture in the treatment of chronic pain by comparing treatment groups with different types of control groups in accordance with the newly published guidelines for systematic reviews. Methods We searched EMBASE, PubMed, and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials databases from 2000 to 2018. We included randomized controlled trials that included acupuncture as the sole treatment or as an adjunctive treatment for chronic pain. The outcome was pain intensity measured by the visual analogue scale (VAS), Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain subscale, 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS), and other tools. Two researchers conducted the study selection, data extraction, and quality assessment processes independently. Disagreements were solved by discussion and reanalysis of the data. The quality of all included studies was evaluated using the CBNG (the Cochrane Back and Neck Group) and the STRICTA (Standards for Reporting Interventions in Controlled Trials of Acupuncture) checklists. Results Sixty-one studies were fully analyzed and ranked based on the newest STRICTA and CBNG standards. We found good evidence that receiving acupuncture is better than not receiving treatment or being placed on a waiting list and reasonable evidence that it is better than conventional or usual care. Limited evidence was found regarding placebo treatments that involve the expectation of needling (real or fake). Conclusion Sham acupuncture may not be appropriate as a control intervention for assessing the effectiveness of acupuncture. Acupuncture effectiveness in controlling chronic pain is still limited due to the low quality of the studies published.
Position Paper: PIMS Migratable Threadlets

Problem statement: Emerging energy concerns dictate that the cost of data movement must be carefully weighed against the benefit, and that work must proceed with minimal movement to meet power constraints. Moreover, scientific applications are frequently dependent upon regular accesses and simple neighbor-based operations (stencil operations, jacobian, finite element relaxation, .) for both adaptive mesh and fixed-mesh distributed data. Finally, technology trends including 3D memory are suggesting new ways to deal with the memory wall, but thus far an execution model is lacking.
DFA-G: A Unified Programming Model for Vertex-centric Parallel Graph Processing

Many systems have been built for vertex-centric parallel graph processing. Based on the Bulk Synchronous Parallel (BSP) model, they execute user-defined operations at vertices iteratively and exchange information between vertices by messages. Even though the native BSP systems (e.g. Pregel and Giraph) execute the operations on vertices synchronously within an iteration, many other platforms (e.g. Grace, Blogel and GraphHP) have proposed asynchronous execution for improved efficiency. However, they also bring about an undesirable side effect: a program designed for synchronous platforms may not run properly on asynchronous platforms. In this demo, we present DFA-G (Deterministic Finite Automaton for Graph processing), a unified programming model for vertex-centric parallel graph processing. Built on DFA, DFAG expresses the computation at a vertex as a process of message-driven state transition. A program modeled after DFA-G can run properly on both synchronous and asynchronous platforms. We demonstrate how to build DFA-G models using a graphical user interface and also how to automatically translate them into BSP programs.
Child Centered Education: Criticisms

There have been quite a lot of concerns and arguments over the appropriateness of CCE for developing countries where the social and cultural values, educational traditions, and available resources are so different from the West. Most of the educationists argue for the teacher-centered formalistic approach, which is believed to be more suitable for contexts where resources are sufficient, and teacher professional capability is very high. Issues related to CCE in developing countries have been the focus of discussion from the 1980s and particularly the 1990s. The primary intention of the present study to explore the significant criticisms related to child-centered education. Eleven serious objections: danger of centeredness; absenting knowledge; learner centeredness: scientifically validated? ; freedom versus discipline; practicality of learner-centered teaching; individual and society; the absence of authentic social relationships; teacher’s roles; natural Sequence of development; the powerless female teacher and child; and the free and individual child: an illusionary and decontextualized construct have been discussed in the present article.
Nonnegative Matrix Factorization Under Adversarial Noise

Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) is a popular tool to estimate the missing entries of a dataset under the assumption that the true data has a low-dimensional factorization. One example of such a matrix is found in movie recommendation settings, where NMF corresponds to predicting how a user would rate a movie. Traditional NMF algorithms assume the input data is generated from the underlying representation plus mean-zero independent Gaussian noise. However, this simplistic assumption does not hold in real-world settings that contain more complex or adversarial noise. We provide a new NMF algorithm that is more robust towards these nonstandard noise patterns. Our algorithm outperforms existing algorithms on movie rating datasets, where adversarial noise corresponds to a group of adversarial users attempting to review-bomb a movie.
Use of radiomic features and support vector machine to distinguish Parkinson's disease cases from normal controls.

Background Parkinson's disease (PD) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disease. The diagnosis of PD based on neuroimaging is usually with low-level or deep learning features, which results in difficulties in achieving precision classification or interpreting the clinical significance. Herein, we aimed to extract high-order features by using radiomics approach and achieve acceptable diagnosis accuracy in PD. Methods In this retrospective multicohort study, we collected 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (18F-FDG PET) images and clinical scale [the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) and Hoehn & Yahr scale (H&Y)] from two cohorts. One cohort from Huashan Hospital had 91 normal controls (NC) and 91 PD patients (UPDRS: 22.7±11.7, H&Y: 1.8±0.8), and the other cohort from Wuxi 904 Hospital had 26 NC and 22 PD patients (UPDRS: 20.9±11.6, H&Y: 1.7±0.9). The Huashan cohort was used as the training and test sets by 5-fold cross-validation and the Wuxi cohort was used as another separate test set. After identifying regions of interests (ROIs) based on the atlas-based method, radiomic features were extracted and selected by using autocorrelation and fisher score algorithm. A support vector machine (SVM) was trained to classify PD and NC based on selected radiomic features. In the comparative experiment, we compared our method with the traditional voxel values method. To guarantee the robustness, above processes were repeated in 500 times. Results Twenty-six brain ROIs were identified. Six thousand one hundred and ten radiomic features were extracted in total. Among them 30 features were remained after feature selection. The accuracies of the proposed method achieved 90.97%±4.66% and 88.08%±5.27% in Huashan and Wuxi test sets, respectively. Conclusions This study showed that radiomic features and SVM could be used to distinguish between PD and NC based on 18F-FDG PET images.
Evaluation of the proteomic profiles of ejaculated spermatozoa from Saanen bucks ( Capra hircus )

Abstract The Saanen goat breed has been widely explored in breeding programmes; however, there are few reports about the breed’s genetic and molecular composition. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the proteomic profile of spermatozoa from Saanen breeding goats. Five breeding animals with proven fertility were selected, the spermatozoa were collected, and the protein was extracted. Subsequently, the proteins were separated and analysed by two-dimensional electrophoresis and mass spectrometry; the proteins were then identified with the SwissProt database. A total of 31 proteins involved in reproduction were identified, including binding proteins on spermatozoa for fusion with the egg, acrosomal membrane proteins, metabolic enzymes, heat shock proteins, cytoskeletal proteins and spermatozoa motility proteins. The characterization of such proteins clarifies the molecular mechanisms of spermatogenesis and the modifications that ensure the success of fertilization.
A multi-isotope (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) approach to establishing migratory con- nectivity in Palearctic-Afrotropical migrants: An example using Wood Warblers Phylloscopus sibilatrix

Wood Warblers Phylloscopus sibilatrix have declined considerably throughout most of their north and western breeding range in Europe but the causes of this decline are unknown. Declines may be related to factors on the breeding grounds, stopover sites and/or wintering grounds. We used multi-isotope (δ2H, δ13C, δ15N) measurements of winter-grown feathers of 314 individuals breeding in the Białowieża Forest (E Poland) to infer where they wintered in sub Saharan Africa over a 4-year period from 2009–2012. We used both aspatial and spatially specific assignment techniques involving a previously developed clustering algorithm related to long-term patterns of precipitation (δ2H) and theoretical plant-based isoscapes (δ13C, δ15N) for Africa. We determined that our breeding population was consistently assigned to the forested region of the Congo basin. Males were more depleted in 13C and 2H and more enriched in 15N than females suggesting potential sexual habitat segregation on the wintering grounds. We then similarly examined less extensive samples from Wood Warblers breeding in England, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and Karelia (NW Russia), and found a similar assignment to the Congo basin. For all sites, males were isotopically distinct from females suggesting sex-specific habitat segregation on the wintering grounds. Our geospatial assignment model now provides a protocol for testing the hypothesis that declining populations winter more in heavily fragmented forests of west Africa compared to the Congo basin. We encourage this approach for the investigation of migratory connectivity in other sub Saharan Afrotropical migrants.
Identification and Functional Characterization of Arabidopsis icl Mutant Under Trehalose Feeding in Light and Dark Conditions

Trehalose is a non-reducing sugar that plays an important role in plant growth and development. To study the role of trehalose on lipid metabolism and gluconeogenesis, Arabidopsis thaliana wild type (WT) and TreF (a line expressing trehalase) were grown on ½ MS medium with or without 100 mM sucrose and or trehalose in light or continuous darkness. In dark, trehalose leads skotomorphogenesis in WT seedlings and inhibits hypocotyl elongation without altering root growth. Then, a knock out mutant of icl (defective in isocitrate lyase/ICL) was identified in the SALK T-DNA insertion line, yet plants of this line were not altered with regard to growth on MS medium supplemented with or without trehalose in light condition, compared to WT. But the hypocotyl length of icl seedling was shorter than WT when grown on trehalose in darkness. The current data revealed that trehalose feeding altered seedling establishment in both WT and icl mutant. ICL enzyme activity measurement showed that the patterns of changes were similar in all treatments. Meanwhile, trehalose feeding reduced icl gene expression and enzyme activity. Trehalose fed seedlings demonstrated a high accumulation of total lipids in darkness. Also fatty acids level was higher in seedlings grown in darkness, compared with the light condition. Therefore, trehalose may inhibit lipid utilization by suppressing icl gene expression and enzyme activity and thus restrict the supply of carbon sources to the growing seedling. These observations confirm that trehalose regulates plant metabolism in both light and dark.
An evaluation of the OMI satellite instrument ’ s ability to observe boundary layer ozone pollution across China : application to 2005-2017 ozone trends

Nadir-viewing satellite observations of tropospheric ozone in the UV have been shown to have some sensitivity to boundary layer ozone pollution episodes but no quantitative evaluation of this ability has been done so far. Here we use 2013-2017 surface ozone data from the new China Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) network of ~1000 sites, together with vertical profiles from ozonesondes and aircraft, to quantify the ability of tropospheric ozone retrievals from the OMI satellite instrument and to detect boundary layer ozone pollution in China. We focus on summer when ozone pollution 15 in China is most severe and when OMI has the strongest sensitivity. After subtracting the Pacific background, we find that the 2013-2017 mean OMI ozone enhancements over eastern China have strong spatial correlation with the corresponding multiyear means in the surface afternoon observations (R = 0.73), and that OMI can estimate these multiyear means in summer afternoon surface ozone with a precision of 8 ppb. The OMI data show significantly higher values on observed surface ozone episode days (>82 ppb) than on non-episode days. Day-to-day correlations with surface ozone are much 20 weaker due to OMI instrument noise, and are stronger for sites in southern China (<34N; R = 0.3-0.6) than in northern China (R = 0.1-0.3) because of weaker retrieval sensitivity and larger upper tropospheric variability in the north. Ozonesonde data show that much of the variability of OMI ozone over southern China in summer is driven by the boundary layer. Comparison of 2005-2009 and 2013-2017 OMI data indicates that mean summer afternoon surface ozone in southern China (including urban and rural regions) has increased by 3.5±3.0 ppb over the 8-year period and that the number of episode days 25 per summer has increased by 2.2±0.4 (as diagnosed by an extreme value model), generally consistent with the few long-term surface records. Ozone increases have been particularly large in the Yangtze River Delta and in the Hubei, Guangxi, and Hainan provinces.
A chemical investigation of two species of Euphorbiaceae from Swaziland and an evaluation of countercurrent chromatography in the fractionation of natural products

• Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.
The Structural Model of Future Employees ̕ Personal and Professional Self-Development

Introduction: the main purpose of this paper is to present the theoretical and practical aspects of professional and personal self-development of future professionals, the construction of the structural model and the determination of levels of self-development. The study of personal and professional self-development attributes of future professionals is of special interest to modern researchers, as well as for practicing psychologists studying the problem of self-realization and self-improvement in their professional fields. This article discusses the theoretical approaches to the study of the model and structure of personal and professional self-development. It analyses the results of the comparative empirical study of the features of students self-development with various levels of formation of motivational-semantic sphere. The authors carried out the detailed theoretical analysis of the problem of personal and professional self-development. They offer the structural model of the process, including the set of interrelated value-semantic, reflexive and regulatory components. The study revealed that the personal and professional self-development is a comprehensive system based on the active personal transformation being carried out in the course of behavior and activities self-regulation of their behavior, designed to achieve personal and professional goals. Materials and Methods: diagnostic methods were used to identify the level of self-development and personal qualities of students. Processing of the data was carried out by means of correlation, factor and cluster analysis. Results: this article considers the results of the empirical study conducted with the help of psycho-diagnostic methods aimed at identifying the level of self-development of future professionals, its structure and features. The scientifically valid results are obtained, allowing to identify the levels of self-development of students as well as to identify factors affecting the process of self-development of future social sphere specialists. Discussion and Conclusions: the structural model of the personal-professional self-development includes a set of interconnected components: value-semantic, reflexive and regulative. The main factor influencing the process of personal and professional self-development of future professionals is the indicator of the meaningfulness of life, which is significantly associated with readiness to self-knowledge and selfdevelopment and affect the level of self-development. The desire for self-development can be considered as one of the personal and professional values, which give future professionals the opportunity to feel the meaningfulness of life, satisfaction with the process and its results, and achieve their personal and professional goals. The results of this study have several important implication for practicing psychologists who can broaden the scope of research of self-development and self-identity processes and determine the basic ways of self-realization of the young people potential in their professional career.
Nurses’ Perception of Causes of 2015 Strikes at Federal Medical Centre Owerri: Implication for Preventive Strategies

“Get the nurses to go back to work” was the directive, after two years of intermittent labour strikes and consequent shutdown of the Federal Medical Centre, Owerri, South Eastern Nigeria. It was assumed that, since nurses constituted the largest percentage of health workers, their resumption would frustrate and end the strike. However, studies have shown that the use of force rarely worked. This study examined the nurses’ perception of causes of the strikes and the government interventions. The WHO healthy workplace framework was adapted in recommending strategies to prevent reoccurrence. Exploratory research design with mixed method sequential exploratory data collection strategy was utilized. Findings from focus group discussions in first phase were used to develop Likert scale self-administered questionnaire at second quantitative phase. One hundred and thirty-nine and 461 nurses participated in the qualitative and quantitative phases respectively. Epi Info statistical package was used for data entry and analysis of the quantitative data. Frequencies and percentages were calculated for all the items, and Chi-square was calculated between the senior and junior nurses’ responses. The responses of the senior and junior nurses were similar on the items. All sixteen causes of the strike identified by participants were within Psychosocial Work Environment of the WHO framework. Disparity in salary was highest (443(96.1%), followed by highhandedness of the chief executive (436(94.58%). Participants opined that insincerity of the investigation panel (369(80%) and seriousness of the crisis led to the shutdown (341(73.97%) of the facility. Suggested fifteen preventive strategies against strikes covered two of the WHO’s workplace environments. They included, the psychosocial environment: effective communication (450(97.61%), promotion of nurses as and when due (447(96.96%), harmonization of salaries (445(96.53%), change of chief executive (442(95.87%); and the physical environment: provision of materials to work with in the hospital (406(88%). Accurate reports by panels of enquiry (448(97.18%), appropriate prompt attention to the causes (447(96.96%), and avoidance of sentiments (446(96.75%) could prevent repeat shutdown of the facility. Chi-square showed no significant difference in the responses of the senior and junior nurses. According to the WHO healthy work place intervention model, elimination, substitution and modification of contents and processes in the workplace may be required. Stakeholders should avoid factors that hinder appropriate interventions; and uphold values that protect workers and the benefitting communities.