Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robot learning from verbal interaction: A brief survey

This survey paper highlights some advances and challenges in robots that learn to carry out tasks from verbal interaction with humans, possibly combined with physical manipulation of their environment. We first describe what robots have learnt from verbal interaction, and how do they do it. We then enumerate a list of research limitations to motivate future work in this challenging and exciting multidisciplinary area. This brief survey points out the need of bringing robots out of the lab, into uncontrolled conditions, in order to investigate their usability and acceptance by end users.
Widespread presence in mammals and high binding specificity of a nuclear protein that recognises the single-stranded telomeric motif (CCCTAA)n.

We have recently identified a protein in HeLa nuclear extracts which recognises the single-stranded telomeric sequence (CCCTAA)n in vertebrates [Marsich, E. , Piccini, A. , Xodo, L. E. & Manzini, G. (1996) Nucleic Acids Res. 24, 4029-4033]. In this paper we provide further experimental evidence, using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, SDS/PAGE after ultraviolet cross-linking, and gel permeation chromatography techniques, that: (a) this protein displays remarkably stringent requirements for the telomeric motif sequence, as (CCCTAAA)n, (CCCCAA)n and (TCCCAA)n are tightly bound, but (CCTAA)n is not; (b) it requires at least four CCC-block repeats properly spaced to bind strongly to DNA, e.g. the polypurine stretch of the murine Ki-ras promoter d(CTCCCTCCCTCCCTCCTTCCCTCCCTCCC), the CarG-motif-containing sequence d(CCATTTCCTAATTAGGTAAAAG), and d(C)22 are not recognised by this protein; (c) it is present in nuclear extracts from several vertebrate sources including human, rat, pig, hamster and chicken; (d) its molecular mass is about 40 kDa, as determined by SDS/ PAGE and non-denaturing gel permeation chromatography, suggesting that this protein is monomeric under native conditions.
Structural and Functional Analysis of the Human Mitotic-specific Ubiquitin-conjugating Enzyme, UbcH10*

Cell cycle progression is controlled at several different junctures by the targeted destruction of cell cycle regulatory proteins. These carefully orchestrated events include the destruction of the securin protein to permit entry into anaphase, and the destruction of cyclin B to permit exit from mitosis. These destruction events are mediated by the ubiquitin/proteasome system. The human ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme, UbcH10, is an essential mediator of the mitotic destruction events. We report here the 1.95-Å crystal structure of a mutant UbcH10, in which the active site cysteine has been replaced with a serine. Functional analysis indicates that the mutant is active in accepting ubiquitin, although not as efficiently as wild-type. Examination of the crystal structure reveals that the NH2-terminal extension in UbcH10 is disordered and that a conserved 310-helix places a lysine residue near the active site. Analysis of relevant mutants demonstrates that for ubiquitin-adduct formation the presence or absence of the NH2-terminal extension has little effect, whereas the lysine residue near the active site has significant effect. The structure provides additional insight into UbcH10 function including possible sites of interaction with the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome and the disposition of a putative destruction box motif in the structure.
Early Chronic Inflammation and Subsequent Somatic Mutations Shift Phospho-Smad3 Signaling from Tumor- Suppression to Fibro-Carcinogenesis in Human Chronic Liver Diseases

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common cancer and the third leading cause of cancer death worldwide [1]. HCC is strongly associated with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, which are implicated in about 80% of HCCs in certain geographic area [2]. Risk of HCC is increased 5to 15-fold in chronic HBV carriers [1] and 11.5to 17-fold in HCV-infected patients [3]. In addition, epidemiological studies have shown that chronic inflammation of the liver predisposes individuals to HCC. Most HCCs are associated with severe fibrosis or cirrhosis caused by unresolved inflammation. Both HBV and HCV show a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations, ranging from a healthy carrier state to chronic hepatitis, cirrhosis and HCC. Notably, HCC occurs less often in chronic viral hepatitis with‐ out cirrhosis. As liver fibrosis progresses from chronic hepatitis to cirrhosis, HCC occurrence increases [4]. Thus, unresolved inflammation with long-term viral infection leads to HCC associated with cirrhosis. Approaches to understanding how human HCC develops in chronic inflammatory liver diseases should therefor focus on molecular mechanisms shared between liver fibrosis and carcinogenesis (fibro-carcinogenesis).
Autologous Chondrocyte Transplantation for the Treatment of Articular Defects of the Knee

Full-thickness cartilage defects are common and serious problems in today knee surgery. The limited ability of the cartilage to repair the injured surface is generally known. Clinical symptoms in cases with full thickness defects are severe and lead to premature development of osteoarthritis. Numerous techniques to treat chondral defects (abrasion, drilling, autografts, allografts and cell transplantation) have been developed. One of the new cartilage repair techniques is the autologous chondrocyte transplantation combined with tissue glue Tissucol (Baxter, Austria). This technique was developed in Traumatological Hospital Brno. The first patient was operated in 1998 and 25 patients underwent such procedure until December 2002. Group of 14 patients was prospectively evaluated after 1 year of follow-up. This technique provides stable short-term outcomes with high percentage of good to excellent results – 71 % of patients (according to the Lysholm knee score). Average Lysholm score in the studied group was 76.5 points 5 months after transplantation and 81.0 points 12 months after transplantation. Second-look arthroscopy in 4 patients certified good healing of defects. Cartilage surface was evaluated according to ICRS cartilage score with average value 8.0 points. Control biopsy documented formation of reparative tissue with hyaline-like cartilage and presence of typical chondrocytes and collagenous filaments.
Application of inverse PCR to site-selected mutagenesis of Drosophila.

Site-selected mutagenesis (SSM) is a means of identifying Drosophila lines with P element transposons inserted within or near to target genes (1-4; see Figure la). It involves PCR between a specific region of the target gene (defined by a gene-specific primer or GSP) and the newly inserted transposon (defined by a transposon-specific primer). Insertions are detected initially within a population of flies, and are then followed, as specific amplification products, while the population is subdivided. Detection at the molecular rather than the phenotypic level facilitates fast and efficient screening, and can be performed on heterozygous individuals. SSM can be extended to other Drosophila transposons (5), and to other organisms with transposon mutagenesis systems (e.g. C. elegans; 6,7). A form of SSM involving plasmid rescue of DNA flanking insertions of enhancer-trap elements has been described (8). SSM as described above requires separate PCR reactions and hybridisations for each target gene. Further, since the efficiency of PCR amplification falls off as the distance between primers increases, several gene-specific primers are required to detect all possible insertions in a target of more than minimal size. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, as well as to streamline a the we have proceeds
Stigma among patients with lung cancer: a patient‐reported measurement model

Although stigma may have negative psychosocial and behavioral outcomes for patients with lung cancer, its measurement has been limited. A conceptual model of lung cancer stigma and a patient‐reported outcome measure are needed to mitigate these sequelae. This study identified key stigma‐related themes to provide a blueprint for item development through a thematic analysis of semi‐structured interviews and focus groups with lung cancer patients.
A new efficient algorithm to compute the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform

An algorithm is presented for computation of the two-dimensional discrete Fourier transform (DFT). The algorithm is based on geometric properties of the integers and exhibits symmetry and simplicity of realization. Only one-dimensional transformation of the input data is required. The transformations are independent; hence, parallel processing is feasible. It is shown that the number of distinct N-point DFTs needed to calculate N*N-point two-dimensional DFTs is equal to the number of linear congruences spanning the N*N grid. Examples for N=3, N=4, and N=10 are presented. A short APL code illustrating the algorithm is given. >
Health Care for Older Persons in Switzerland: A Country Profile

Switzerland has the second‐most‐expensive healthcare system worldwide, with 11.5% of gross domestic product spent on health care in 2003. Switzerland has a healthcare system with universal insurance coverage and a social insurance system, ensuring an adequate financial situation for 96% of the 1.1 million older inhabitants.
Cutting the visual world into bigger slices for improved video concept detection. (Amélioration de la détection des concepts dans les vidéos en coupant de plus grandes tranches du monde visuel)

Visual material comprising images and videos is growing ever so rapidly over the internet and in our personal collections. This necessitates automatic understanding of the visual content which calls for the conception of intelligent methods to correctly index, search and retrieve images and videos. This thesis aims at improving the automatic detection of concepts in the internet videos by exploring all the available information and putting the most beneficial out of it to good use. Our contributions address various levels of the concept detection framework and can be divided into three main parts. The first part improves the Bag of Words (BOW) video representation model by proposing a novel BOW construction mechanism using concept labels and by including a refinement to the BOW signature based on the distribution of its elements. We then devise methods to incorporate knowledge from similar and dissimilar entities to build improved recognition models in the second part. Here we look at the potential information that the concepts share and build models for meta-concepts from which concept specific results are derived. This improves recognition for concepts lacking labeled examples. Lastly we contrive certain semi-supervised learning methods to get the best of the substantial amount of unlabeled data. We propose techniques to improve the semi-supervised cotraining algorithm with optimal view selection.
The 15 th International Symposium on District Heating and Coo ing Operational Demand Forecasting In District Heating Systems Using Ensembles Of Online Machine Learning Algorithms

District heating networks are commonly addressed in the literature as one of the most effective solutions for decreasing the greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector. These systems require high investments which are returned through the heat sales. Due to the changed climate conditions and building renovation policies, heat demand in the future could decrease, prolonging the investment return period. The main scope of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using the heat demand – outdoor temperature function for heat demand forecast. The district of Alvalade, located in Lisbon (Portugal), was used as a case study. The district is consisted of 665 buildings that vary in both construction period and typology. Three weather scenarios (low, medium, high) and three district renovation scenarios were developed (shallow, intermediate, deep). To estimate the error, obtained heat demand values were compared with results from a dynamic heat demand model, previously developed and validated by the authors. The results showed that when only weather change is considered, the margin of error could be acceptable for some applications (the error in annual demand was lower than 20% for all weather scenarios considered). However, after introducing renovation scenarios, the error value increased up to 59.5% (depending on the weather and renovation scenarios combination considered). The value of slope coefficient increased on average within the range of 3.8% up to 8% per decade, that corresponds to the decrease in the number of heating hours of 22-139h during the heating season (depending on the combination of weather and renovation scenarios considered). On the other hand, function intercept increased for 7.8-12.7% per decade (depending on the coupled scenarios). The values suggested could be used to modify the function parameters for the scenarios considered, and improve the accuracy of heat demand estimations. © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Peer-review under responsibility of the Scientific Committee of The 15th International Symposium on District Heating and Cooling.
A Time-of-Flight Image Sensor with Sub-mm Resolution Using Draining-Only Modulation Pixels

This paper describes new TOF measurement techIlique for high range resolution of the order of sub −mm or several tens of um . For the distance caliculation , impulse response of photocurrent by means of very short light pulse is used . A draining −only modulation pb (el provides high response and loss−free electron integration . Tlle test chip fabricated in G.11 um CIS technology demonstra七es modulation contrast is measured to be 85%. The average range resolution is measured to be 210 um at measurable range of 50 mm . Keyword Time −of −Flight , Range lmaging , Time−resolved , Draining Oniy Modulation , CMOS image sensor 1 は じめに Time −of−Flight(TOF )距離イメ ージセ ン サは ,小型,計 算 コ ス トの低さか ら活発に 研究されてお り,特に空間分解 能を高め る上 で有利な間接 丁OF 法の報告が多数な さ れ て い る [1,2,4, 3]. ただし , それらの多くは数メ ー タの範囲 を数セ ン チメ ー タの 分解能で取得するもの であり,分解能 は高い もの で も数 ミ リメータに留まっ て い る. 一 方 で , 3 次元プリン タの 出現によ っ て入力装置である 3 次元 ス キ ャ ナ に も注目が集 まっ て い る. 現在は光切断法が 一般的であ る が , こ れを TOF 法 で 実現できれば小型ヘ ッ ドの 3D ス キ ャ ナが実現 で きる. しか しなが ら,従来手法で 3D ス キ ャ ナを実現できるよ うな距離分解能を有する もの は な い 、 間接 TOF 法は,光源の 変調方式に よ っ て Continuous Wave (CW )方式 [1,2}と Pulsed Wave (PW )方式 [4,3】の 2 つ に 大別される. こ れ らの 距離分解能 は,信号強度ま た は飽和電子数 と変調周波数も し くは パ ル ス幅に依存す る 。 CW 方式の場合に は ,変調周波数が高ければ高い ほ ど,高 い 分解能が得られ る が,100um 以下 の分解能を実現 し よ う とした とき,106 電子 の場合で も 350MHz 以上の変調周波 数が必要であ る. 復調パ ル ス を画素に供給する こ とを考え ると , 100MHz を超 え る変調の 実現 は難しい ,他方, PW 方式 の 場合には,パ ル ス 幅が短ければ短い ほ ど高分解能と なるが,111s以下の パ ル ス幅で 正確な矩形波の 光源の実現 は 困難 で あ る . 本稿で は,短パ ル ス 光源 と光電流応答を利用 し た 新 た な 変調方式を提案する. 光電流応答に比 べ てパ ル ス 幅が十 分に 短ければイ ン パ ルス 応答とみなす こ とができるため, 一13一 Copyright ◎ 2013 by ITE 工工 一leotronio ibra y The Institute of Image Information and Television Engineers NII-Electronic Library Service he sti ute f age formation nd elevision ngineers PW 方式で問題 とな っ てい た光源 の 歪みを無視する こ とが で きる,提案方式に おい て は,光電流の応答が速い ほ ど高 分解能を実現する こ とが で きる. 高速な電流応答を実現す るために,検出部に排出制御型電荷変調 (Draining −Only Moduiation :DOM )素子 [5, 6]を用い る. 2 提案するイ ンパ ルス 駆動方式 図 1 に提案方式 の 原理を示す. 光源には 100ps以下 の短 パ ル ス レ ーザーを用 い て お り, こ れがタ ー ゲ ッ トに 照射 さ れてセ ン サ に 返 っ て くる まで の 時間 tTOF を計測する. 反 射光 によ っ て,フ ォ トダイオードで光電流 Iphが発生し, こ の ときの 光電流 の 応答を 1 次で近似し た 場合 に は , 次式 で 表 す こ とが で きる. ・ ph ‘{諏 _ , i雛無 . t、) こ こ で,IM は光電流 の ピーク値, To は光電流の応答時間 (立上 りも し くは 立下 り)で ある, 図 1 の Tl は 距離計測範囲 の 初期値を決める値 である. T1 − To 〈 td ≦ T1 の範囲 で考え た場合,時間窓 TW (1), TW (2), TW (3)で そ れ ぞれ 蓄積さ れ る電子数を N1 , N2 , N3 とした場合に は次式で与え られる. 駈 一 が 陥 詆・
ITPase Activity Modulates the Severity of Anaemia in HCV-Related Cirrhosis Treated with Ribavirin-Containing Interferon-Free Regimens

Background To investigate the association between inosine triphosphatase (ITPase) activity and the degree of anaemia occurring during direct-acting antiviral (DAA)/ribavirin (RBV)-based therapy in patients with cirrhosis. Methods In a multicentre, prospective study 227 patients with HCV-related cirrhosis treated with DAA and RBV were enrolled. All patients were screened for the rs1127354 and rs7270101 ITPA single nucleotide polymorphisms using direct sequencing. Results 150 (66.1%) patients had normal (100%) ITPase activity, 48 (21.1%) had moderate (60%) activity and 29 (12.8%) minimal (≤30%) activity. The ITPase activity significantly influenced the haemoglobin concentration: at day 15 it was -1.248 (sd ±0.978) in the 150 patients with an ITPase activity of 100% and -0.616 (±0.862) in the 77 patients with an ITPase activity less than 100% (P <0.000), and at day 30 it was -1.941 ±1.218 versus -1.11 ±1.218 (P <0.000). The 63 patients with a severe (at least 3/dl) haemoglobin decline, compared to those without, more frequently had an ITPase activity of 100% (82.1% versus 62.8%; P=0.021), were older (mean age ±sd: 66.7 ±8.2 versus 61.4 ±9.7 years; P=0.004) and were treated with a higher ribavirin dose (13.7 ±2.1 versus 12.8 ±2.5 mg/ kg/day; P=0.008). At multivariate logistic regression analysis, the ITPase activity of 100% (OR: 2.83; 95% CI: 1.12, 7.10), male gender (OR: 3.22; 95% CI: 1.35, 7.66), body mass index (OR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.03, 1.34) and dose of ribavirin (OR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.06, 1.47) were independent predictors of a severe decline in haemoglobin (P<0.0001). Conclusions This study suggests that the polymorphisms in the ITPA gene influence the severity of anaemia during the first month of a DAA/RBV-based treatment in HCV-related cirrhosis.
Antithrombin III prevents blood pressure elevation and proteinuria induced by high salt intake in pregnant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats.

In pregnant stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats, salt-loading causes symptoms similar to those of human preeclampsia, such as hypertension and proteinuria. To seek evidence of the therapeutic potential in preeclampsia of antithrombin III (AT III), which is a serine protease inhibitor active on various enzymes of the coagulation cascade, we examined the effect of consecutive treatment with AT III on hypertension and proteinuria in this animal model. Salt-loading (2% NaCl diet) caused a significant elevation of systolic blood pressure on day 15-17 and of urinary protein excretion on day 17-19 of gestation, as compared with animals fed a normal diet. AT III, administered i.v. at a dose of 60 or 300 U/kg/d for 10 d from day 9-11 to 18-20, attenuated these pathological changes in a dose-dependent manner. Histological examination of the kidney revealed that AT III prevented the occurrence of arteriosclerosis and thickening of the capillary basement membrane. However, the pathological changes induced by salt-loading were not attributable to activation of the blood coagulation system. These results demonstrate that AT III has preventive action against salt-induced hypertension and proteinuria in pregnancy through a mechanism largely independent of its anticoagulant action. AT III may thus be beneficial for the treatment of clinical symptoms of preeclampsia.
Exploring the performance impact of web-based direct procurement systems: from the perspective of process integration

In addressing the issue of value derived from Web-enabled direct procurement, this study attempts to investigate the impact of Web-based direct procurement systems on intra-and inter-organizational process integration capabilities and organizational performance. A sample of 131 manufacturing firms with experience participating in government-subsidized e-business development projects is surveyed, with resulting data subject to partial least squares analysis to investigate the performance impacts of Web-based direct procurement systems. The results reveal that implementing Web-based direct procurement systems enables firms to improve their intra-and inter-organizational process integration capabilities which, in turn, yield sustained gains in organizational performance.
Wnt6 Is Expressed in Granulomatous Lesions of Mycobacterium tuberculosis–Infected Mice and Is Involved in Macrophage Differentiation and Proliferation

The Wnt signaling network, an ancient signaling system governing ontogeny and homeostatic processes, has recently been identified to exert immunoregulatory functions in a variety of inflammatory and infectious disease settings including tuberculosis. In this study, we show that Wnt6 is expressed in granulomatous lesions in the lung of Mycobacterium tuberculosis–infected mice. We identified foamy macrophage-like cells as the primary source of Wnt6 in the infected lung and uncovered a TLR–MyD88–NF-κB–dependent mode of induction in bone marrow–derived macrophages. Analysis of Wnt6-induced signal transduction revealed a pertussis toxin–sensitive, ERK-mediated, but β-catenin–independent induction of c-Myc, a master regulator of cell proliferation. Increased Ki-67 mRNA expression levels and enhanced thymidine incorporation in Wnt6-treated macrophage cultures demonstrate a proliferation-promoting effect on murine macrophages. Further functional studies in M. tuberculosis–infected macrophages using Wnt6 conditioned medium and Wnt6-deficient macrophages uncovered a Wnt6-dependent induction of macrophage Arginase-1 and downregulation of TNF-α. This identifies Wnt6 as a novel factor driving macrophage polarization toward an M2-like phenotype. Taken together, these findings point to an unexpected role for Wnt6 in macrophage differentiation in the M. tuberculosis–infected lung.
Test-bed interferometer to develop active optics techniques for space interferometers in mid-IR and far-IR astronomy missions

In this paper, we have constructed a laser test-bed experiment for the purpose of testing hardware for far-IR interferometry on space missions using LISA Pathfinder interferometer. The emphasis is on prototyping possible space-rated devices and optical layouts for active-optics systems, including the laser sources, mechanisms, cryogenic IR optics, beam recombination, and detectors.
Development of a new detection device using a glass clip emitting infrared fluorescence for laparoscopic surgery of gastric cancer

In conventional method, to identify location of the tumor intraperitoneally for extirpation of the gastric cancer, charcoal ink is injected around the primary tumor. However, in the time of laparoscopic operation, it is difficult to estimate specific site of primary tumor. In this study we developed a glass phosphors was realized with Yb3+, Nd3+ doped to Bi2O3-B2O3 based glasses, which have central emission wavelength of 1020 nm and 100 nm of FWHM. Using this glass phosphor, we developed a fluorescent clip and the laparoscopic fluorescent detection system for clip-derived near-infrared light. To evaluated clinical performance of a fluorescent clip and the laparoscopic detection system, we used resected stomach from the patients. Fluorescent clip was fixed on the gastric mucosa, and an excitation light (wavelength: 808nm) was irradiated from outside of stomach for detection of fluorescent through stomach wall. As a result, fluorescent emission from the clip was successfully detected. These results indicate that the glass fluorescent clip in combination with laparoscopic detection system is a very useful method to identify the exact location of the primary gastric cancer.