Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evolving an effective robot tour guide

Guiding visitors through an exhibit space such as a museum is an important, early application for mobile robots, and commercial robots designed for this purpose have become available. We consider the problem of using a single mobile robot to simultaneously direct multiple groups of visitors through a museum or exhibition, and formulate an objective function for this task. We show that an evolutionary robotics approach using a simple, low-fidelity simulator and genetic programming can automatically generate robot controllers which can perform this task better than hand-coded controllers as well as humans in both simulation and on a real robot.
Potentials of Biosorption and Bioaccumulation Processes for Heavy Metal Removal

Biosorption and bioaccumulation can be applied to remedy environments contaminated with heavy metals as complementary methods to currently used physical and chemical methods. The overall goal of this work was to analyze potentials of biosorption and bioaccumulation for removal of heavy metals from the contaminated environment. The most frequently used methods for removal of heavy metals from water and wastewater were presented. Select biosorbents applied in the process of removal of heavy metals from contaminated environment were characterized. Factors that influence biosorption were analyzed. Also, methods for improving the efficiency of removal of heavy metals with biosorbents through biomass modification and immobilization were presented. Types of reactors applied in the processes of biosorption and bioaccumulation were described. It was found that removal of heavy metals from the environment with biotechnological methods should consider a number of physicochemical factors such as temperature, pH, contact time of biomass, and a solution containing metals, concentration and age of biomass, and toxicity when living microorganisms are applied. Improving the efficiency of removal of metals can be performed through physical and chemical modifications and immobilization of biomass. The most frequently applied reactors include: stirred tank reactors, fixed-bed, reactors and fluidized-bed reactors.
Der Einfluß schuldrechtlicher Gesellschaftervereinbarungen auf die Rechtsbeziehungen in der Kapitalgesellschaft

I. Kurze Typologie der schuldrechtlichen „Nebenabreden" 442 II. Rechtsprechung des BGH zur Anfechtung von Gesellschafterbeschlüssen wegen. Verletzung schuldrechtlicher Nebenabreden 446 III. Bedeutung der Konsortialabsprachen für den konzernrechtlichen Status der Gesellschaft 451 IV. Bindung der Gesellschaftsorgane an konsortiale Festlegungen 452 1. Festlegungen zum Geschäftsgegenstand und zur Geschäftspolitik 452 2. Festlegungen zur Auswahl von Organmitgliedern 459 3. Festlegungen zum Gesellschafterkreis 460 V. Bedeutung der Konsortialabsprachen bei der Ausschließung eines Gesellschafters und der Einziehung seiner Geschäftsanteile 461 1. Einziehungsgrund 461 2. Einziehungsvergütung 462
Fine-tuning Deep Architectures for Surgical Tool Detection

Understanding surgical workflow has been a key concern of the medical research community. One of the main advantages of surgical workflow detection is real time operating room (OR) scheduling. For hospitals, each minute of OR time is important in order to reduce cost and increase patient throughput. A logical step in understanding surgical workflow is the real-time detection of what tools are being used and the current phase of the surgery. This is of special concern in laparoscopic surgeries since tool usage data is not readily available. In the medical field researchers have addressed the problem of surgical tool detection for laparoscopic surgeries using video data. Traditional approaches in this field generally tackle the video analysis using hand crafted video features to facilitate the tool detection. Recently, Twinanda et al [1] presented a CNN architecture EndoNet which outperformed previous methods for both surgical tool detection and surgical phase detection. Given the recent success of these networks, we present a study of various architectures coupled with a submission to the M2CAI Surgical Tool Detection challenge. Upon completion of the challenge a complete paper submission to Arxiv will be made available as an extension to this technical report.
Sex steroid binding protein exerts a negative control on estradiol action in MCF-7 cells (human breast cancer) through cyclic adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate and protein kinase A.

Estradiol is considered to be a critical factor in the growth induction of some breast cancer cells, like MCF-7 cell line. Among other compounds involved in the control of neoplastic mammary cell growth, cAMP has been suggested, on the other hand, to exert an antiproliferative effect. Sex steroid binding protein (SBP) sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), the plasma carrier for both androgens and estradiol, recognizes a specific receptor located on membranes of estrogen- and androgen-sensitive tissue and cultured cells (e.g. MCF-7 cell). The interaction of estradiol with the receptor-bound SBP has been reported to induce a significant accumulation of cAMP in MCF-7 cells; in addition, a negative modulation of estradiol induced proliferation of these cells has been described after treatment with SBP. We report here a more detailed observation about the effect of SBP on MCF-7 cell estradiol-induced growth as well as the possible linkage between SBP and its membrane receptor and protein kinase A activity. MCF-7 cell growth was induced by estradiol, but the effect of estradiol was completely abolished by cell treatment with both SBP and estradiol. The inhibitory effect of SBP was highly specific. Because it was suggested that SBP might act through cAMP, we investigated the effect of SBP and estradiol in cells treated with protein kinase A inhibitor peptide (6-22) amide, a specific inhibitor of the cAMP target protein kinase A. The blockade of PKA had no effect on estradiol action on cell growth but masked completely the effect of SBP because MCF-7 increased growth sustained by estradiol was fully detectable also in the presence of SBP. We also observed that MCF-7 cells treated with increasing doses of 8Br-cAMP, cAMP analog and PKA activator, showed a progressive reduction of their growth. 8Br-cAMP was also able to inhibit estradiol promotion of MCF-7 cell growth. The inhibitory effect of 8Br-cAMP on estradiol-induced proliferation was already detectable at analog concentration of 100 nM, which has been reported to be the level reached by cAMP in MCF-7 cells treated with SBP and estradiol. In conclusion, the present study strongly confirms our previous observation that SBP inhibits the estradiol induction of MCF-7 cell growth, appropriately suggesting that this SBP action, a consequence of the interaction with the receptor, is likely to be mediated by cAMP and PKA. In addition, the study implies a significant role of cAMP in the control of breast cancer cell growth.
Serum levels of phytanic acid are associated with prostate cancer risk

Recent findings of over‐expression of the AMACR gene in prostate cancer and association between sequence variants in the AMACR gene and prostate cancer risk, along with the well established findings of association between prostate cancer risk and over‐consumption of dairy products and red meat, indirectly suggest that phytanic acid, which primarily comes from dietary intake of dairy and red meat and requires the AMACR enzyme for its metabolism, may be associated with prostate cancer risk. In this small case‐control study, we assessed the association between phytanic acid levels and prostate cancer risk.
Absence of p53 delays apoptotic photoreceptor cell death in the rds mouse.

PURPOSE This study was aimed at determining whether or not apoptotic photoreceptor cell death in a mouse model of inherited retinal degeneration is p53 dependent. METHODS A colony of p53-deficient rds mice were obtained by crossing homozygous rds mice with animals homozygous for a targeted disruption of the p53 gene and genotyping the offspring of the F1 cross. Both parental strains were on a BALB/c background. Age matched p53-deficient rds mice and controls (p53-deficient, rds and BALB/c mice), were sacrificed from day 1 to day 58 after birth. Eyes were paraffin-embedded and a modified terminal dUTP nick-end labeling (TUNEL) technique was used to detect the number of cells displaying DNA fragmentation within the sectioned retina. Eyes were also resin-embedded for semi-thin and ultra-thin sectioning. RESULTS The peak in photoreceptor apoptosis, which occurs at 16 days in the rds mouse, was delayed by 3 days in p53-deficient rds mice. In addition, there was also a delay in the loss of photoreceptor cells between 16 and 26 days. However, absence of p53 did not prevent retinal degeneration in the rds mouse. The number of photoreceptor cells in p53-deficient rds mice at 35 days was very similar to that in the controls. CONCLUSIONS We have demonstrated that absence of p53 delays but does not prevent photoreceptor cell loss in the rds mouse. Our results provide evidence for plasticity in the mechanism by which apoptosis proceeds in retinal degeneration.
Ant colony system based PI maximum power point tracking for stand alone photovoltaic system

This paper introduces a social inspired optimization based control method for the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) of a photovoltaic (PV) system. In particular, a well known proportional plus Integral (PI) controller is fine tuned using ant colony system algorithm and tested on a simulated stand alone PV array with battery load. The proposed ant colony based PI-MPPT controller is enhanced by the fractional open circuit voltage technique to rapidly and accurately track the maximum power point (MPP). The design algorithm of this controller is presented together with its simulation results. Satisfactory dynamic and steady state performance of the simulated PV system even under variable irradiance levels reflects the superiority of the proposed control technique over the traditional control methods.
Heated Distributed Temperature Sensing for Field Scale Soil Moisture Monitoring

Characterizing both spatial and temporal soil moisture (θ) dynamics at site scales is difficult with existing technologies. To address this shortcoming, we developed a distributed soil moisture sensing system that employs a distributed temperature sensing system to monitor thermal response at 2 m intervals along the length of a buried cable which is subjected to heat pulses. The cable temperature response to heating, which is strongly dependent on soil moisture, was empirically related to colocated, dielectric‐based θ measurements at three locations. Spatially distributed, and temporally continuous estimates of θ were obtained in dry conditions (θ≤ 0.31) using this technology (root mean square error [RMSE] = 0.016), but insensitivity of the instrument response curve adversely affected accuracy under wet conditions (RMSE = 0.050).
Protozoa inhibition by different salts: Osmotic stress or ionic stress?

Cell density and morphology changes were tested to examine the effects of salts including NaHCO3, NaCl, KHCO3, and KCl at 160 mM on protozoa. It was demonstrated that ionic stress rather than osmotic stress led to protozoa cell death and NaHCO3 was shown to be the most effective inhibitor. Deformation of cells and cell shrinkage were observed when protozoan cells were exposed to polyethylene glycol (PEG) or any of the salts. However, while PEG treated cells could fully recover in both number and size, only a small portion of the salt‐treated cells survive and cell size was 36–58% smaller than the regular. The disappearance of salt‐treated protozoa cells was hypothetically attributed to disruption of the cytoplasmic membrane of these cells. It is further hypothesized that the PEG‐treated protozoan cells carried out regulatory volume increase (RVI) after the osmotic shock but the RVI of salt‐treated protozoa was hurdled to varied extents. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Biotechnol. Prog. , 33:1418–1424, 2017
Treatment of Primary Writing Tremor With Botulinum Toxin Type A Injections: Report of a Case Series

Primary writing tremor is a rare motor disorder in which tremor occurs primarily during writing and is not accompanied by other neurological symptoms and/or signs. Its etiopathogenesis is unknown, and treatment approaches remain largely empirical. Based on the effectiveness of botulinum toxin injections in writing dysfunction, we effectively used botulinum toxin type A for the treatment of primary writing tremor in a series of patients seen over a period of 5 years. Of the 5 patients, four received injections and reported significant and sustained treatment benefit for a period of at least 1 year. One patient declined botulinum toxin injections and responded moderately when treated with trihexyphenidyl.
Role of different classes of mammalian cell surface molecules in adherence of coagulase positive and coagulase negative staphylococci

In the present study the role of different mammalian cell receptors in adherence of the coagulase positive pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus and some coagulase negative staphylococci, namely Staphylococcus epidermidis and Staphylococcus saprophyticus was investigated. Upon testing the adherence to Vero and Hep‐2 cells, S. aureus isolates showed an adherence to both cell lines while S. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus isolates adhered to Vero cells only. According to the obtained results, both O‐linked and N‐linked mammalian cell surface glycoproteins are involved in the adherence of S. aureus isolates to Vero and Hep‐2 cells, whereas only the O‐linked ones serve as receptors for adherence of S. epidermidis and S. saprophyticus isolates to Vero cells. Of the O‐linked glycoproteins, GAG‐like receptors are involved in adherence of all tested isolates to Vero cells. The coagulase positive staphylococci preferred to adhere to the highly sulphated GAGs (Heparin and chondroitin sulphate B) while the coagulase negative isolates showed higher affinity to the less sulphated ones (Chondroitin sulphate A and C). Mucin like receptors appeared to be important for the adherence of all tested staphylococci. The role exhibited by fibronectin‐ and fibrinogen‐like receptors was detected with S. aureus and S. epidermidis but not with S. saprophyticus isolates. While, collagen and gelatin were found to contribute to the adherence of S. aureus isolates only. Neither carbohydrate moieties of the glycoconjugates nor lipid molecules on the mammalian cell surface played a role in the adherence of the tested staphylococcal isolates. Taken together, the results revealed that both coagulase negative and coagulase positive staphylococcal tested isolates adhere to the same classes of mammalian cell surface receptors such as mucin‐like, fibrinogen‐like, fibronectin‐like and GAG‐like receptors. However, the tested isolates exhibited different degrees of affinities to such receptors. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Cloning and Characterization of the Acetylcholinesterase1 Gene of Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Acari: Tetranychidae)

ABSTRACT The carmine spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus (Boisduval), is a major agriculture pest. It can be found worldwide, has an extensive host plant range, and has shown resistance to pesticides. Organophosphate and carbamate insecticides account for more than one-third of all insecticide sales. Insecticide resistance and the toxicity of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides to mammals have become a growing concern. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) is the major targeted enzyme of organophosphate and carbamate insecticides. In this study, we fully cloned, sequenced and characterized the ace1 gene of T. cinnabarinus, and identified the differences between T. cinnabarinus AChE1, Tetranychus urticae Koch AChE1, and human AChE1. Resistance-associated target-site mutations were displayed by comparing the AChE amino acid sequences and their AChE three-dimensional (3D) structures of the insecticide-susceptible strains of T. cinnabarinus and T. urticae to that of a T. urticae-resistant strain. We identified variation in the active-site gorge and the sites interacting with gorge residues by comparing AChE1 3D structures of T. cinnabarinus, T. urticae, and humans, though their 3D structures were similar. Furthermore, the expression profile of T. cinnabarinus AChE, at the different developmental stages, was determined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction; the transcript levels of AChE were higher in the larvae stage than in other stages. The changes in AChE expression between different developmental stages may be related to their growth habits and metabolism characteristics. This study may offer new insights into the problems of insecticide resistance and insecticide toxicity of nontarget species.
D CMM strain-gauge triggering probe error characteristics modeling using fuzzy logic

The error values of CMMs depends on the probing direction; hence its spatial variation is a key part of the probe inaccuracy. This paper presents genetically-generated fuzzy knowledge bases (FKBs) to model the spatial error characteristics of a CMM module-changing probe. Two automatically generated FKBs based on two optimization paradigms are used for the reconstruction of the directiondependent probe error w. The angles β and γ are used as input variables of the FKBs; they describe the spatial direction of probe triggering. The learning algorithm used to generate the FKBs is a real/ binary like coded genetic algorithm developed by the authors. The influence of the optimization criteria on the precision of the genetically-generated FKBs is presented.
The fast response double buck DC-DC converter (FRDB): operation and output filter influence

The fast response double buck (FRDB) dc-dc converter was presented like a low output voltage dc-dc converter with fast transient response, in order to feed devices such as microprocessors and digital signal processors (DSPs). The topology of the FRDB is composed of two buck converters connected in parallel, each one of them with different features and aims, and controlled by means of the novel linear-non-linear (LnL) control. In this paper, the topology, the control strategy and the operation principle are shown. Finally, experimental results in different prototypes are presented to show both, the transient response and the recovery time when these prototypes are subjected to load current steps, and the influence of the output filter on these parameters.
International Study of Wheezing in Infants (EISL): validation of written questionnaire for children aged below 3 years.

BACKGROUND The multicenter International Study of Wheezing in Infants (EISL) was developed to study the prevalence of recurrent wheezing and related risk factors in infants during the first year of life using a written questionnaire (EISL-WQ). OBJECTIVES To constructively validate a modified, shortened version of the EISL-WQ in children up to 36 months of age in São Paulo, Brazil, and to verify its usefulness in diagnosing probable asthma in these children. METHODS The parents of 170 infants aged 12 to 36 months answered the shortened EISL-WQ in an emergency room and were asked if their child was currently wheezing before a diagnosis was made by a physician. The consistency between parent perception and the physician's diagnosis was then evaluated. A second group (n = 55) participated in the validation of the short-term repeatability of the shortened questionnaire by completing it twice (mean interval, 23 days). RESULTS There was good agreement between parent perception of wheezing and the physician's diagnosis following auscultation (Kappa statistic = 0.7; odds ratio = 38.33; 95% confidence interval, 15.8 to 92.8; P < .001); sensitivity (82.8%), specificity (85.0%), positive predictive value (81.5%), and negative predictive value (86.0%) were all high.The short-term repeatability of the shortened version of the EISL-WQ was also high (kappa > 0.75). Questions added to the shortened EISL-WQ improved the internal consistency of the original questionnaire (Cronbach alpha = 0.823, P < .001) and a high Youden index was found for patients defined as probable asthmatics. CONCLUSIONS The shortened version of the EISL-WQ translated into Portuguese has high internal consistency, and is a valid, reliable, and reproducible instrument for obtaining data on wheezing in children below 36 months of age and for identifying those with probable asthma.
High Physiological Levels of LMP1 Result in Phosphorylation of eIF2α in Epstein-Barr Virus-Infected Cells

ABSTRACT LMP1 is an Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)-encoded membrane protein essential for the proliferation of EBV-infected lymphoblasts (E. Kilger, A. Kieser, M. Baumann, and W. Hammerschmidt, EMBO J. 17:1700-1709, 1998). LMP1 also inhibits gene expression and induces cytostasis in transfected cells when it is expressed at levels as little as twofold higher than the average for EBV-positive lymphoblasts (M. Sandberg, A. Kaykas, and B. Sugden, J. Virol. 74:9755-9761, 2000; A. Kaykas and B. Sugden, Oncogene 19:1400-1410, 2000). We have found that in three different clones of EBV-infected lymphoblasts the levels of expression of LMP1 in individual cells in each clone ranged over 100-fold. This difference is due to a difference in levels of the LMP1 transcript. In these clones, cells expressing high levels of LMP1 incorporated less BrdU. We also found that induction of expression of LMP1 or of a derivative of LMP1 with its transmembrane domain fused to green fluorescent protein instead of its carboxy-terminal signaling domain resulted in phosphorylation of eIF2α in EBV-negative Burkitt's lymphoma cells. This induction of phosphorylation of eIF2α was also detected in EBV-infected lymphoblasts, in which high levels of LMP1 correlated with high levels of phosphorylation of eIF2α. Our results indicate that inhibition of gene expression and of cell proliferation by LMP1 occurs normally in EBV-infected cells.
A long tour from theory to practice

In this paper, we describe the research lines in logic programming, carried out in Cosenza over a period of more than twenty years, which have recently produced promising industrial exploitation follow-ups. The research lines have changed over the time but they have kept the initial interest on combining logic programming with databases techniques, that has been continuously renewed to cope with new challenges, in our attempt to use theory to solve practical problems.