Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Extracting Material Properties of Objects from Haptic Exploration Using Multiple Robotic Grippers

In this thesis, three different robotic grippers (the OnRobot RG6, Robotiq 2F-85 and the qb SoftHand Research) are utilized for haptic exploration of material properties of various objects. The Robotiq FT 300 force/torque sensor is also used to extend the scope of the measurements and as a comparison to the grippers. The feedback of the grippers is accessed and material characteristics like stiffness and elasticity are investigated through controlled squeezing. Two datasets of total of 27 objects were created and measured. The first dataset contains 20 polyurethane foam blocks; the second consists of 4 dice and 3 cubes. For this, the feedback possibilities of the grippers were investigated and measuring routines in ROS were implemented. The data are processed and transformed into a relation of stress and strain. The Young modulus of the materials is computed. The results are presented in the form of graphs so the relation can be clearly observed and compared among the individual grippers. The sorted Young moduli for each set are included. From the relations of stress and strain, the material elasticity can be evaluated. The objects exhibit nonlinear properties but the relations generally correspond to the compression stress values stated by the manufacturer. However, it is problematic to determine the Young’s modulus accurately.
Identification of severe coronary stenosis by two-dimensional strain in acute coronary syndrome without ST segment elevation.

Background: The main objective of our study was to identify, by means of global longitudinal strain (GLS), territorial strain (TS), and postsystolic shortening (PSS) of left ventricle, which patients with acute coronary syndrome without ST elevation (NSTE-ACS) had ≥ 70% coronary stenosis. Methods: One hundred patients (PTS) with diagnosis of NSTE-ACS were stratified according to GRACE risk score, and underwent coronary angiography. GLS and TS were calculated. We also evaluated the strain curves in the 18 segments to identify the presence of the PSS and to calculate the post systolic index (PSI). Results: Mean age was 60 ± 11. 4, 62% was male. The majority were low and moderate cardiovascular risk. They were divided into group A (34 PTS) with coronary stenosis<70% and group B (66 PTS) with coronary stenosis ≥ 70%. Clinical score was higher in group B (GRACE=88. 7 ± 24. 18, p=0. 040) and 98. 5% was in low/moderate risk by GRACE score. GLS allowed the identification of PTS with coronary stenosis ≥ 70% in this group (AUC=0. 72, p=0. 001, sensitivity=58%, specificity=88%, positive predictive value=75. 1% and negative predictive value=74. 9%). Regarding the TS, the accuracy to determine coronary stenosis ≥ 70% was 0. 70 (p=0,001). The accuracy of the PSS in detecting coronary stenosis ≥ 70% was 69. 3%, with sensitivity estimated at 73. 3% and specificity at 60. 7%. Conclusion: The GLS, territorial strain, and PSS may improve the detection of severe coronary stenosis in patients with low/moderate risk by GRACE risk score. Thus, it can be an additional tool for a better stratification of such patients in the emergency unit.
The Sad Fate of Seychellois Men: Recent Trends in Mortality in the Seychelles

since 1975. The data on deaths by age and sex have been made available from 1975 to 1997, and are given in five-year age groups, as well as differentiating infant mortality. In addition to data for the respective reporting year, each annual issue of the Abstract features data covering the last five years. For example, the Abstract for 1982 contains data by sex and age, and by cause of death for 1978-82. However, the data on the distribution of deaths by age, sex and cause are compiledfor 1982 contains data by sex and age, and by cause of death for 1978-82. However, the data on the distribution of deaths by age, sex and cause are compiled only for the actual reporting year under the following age groups: under 1, 1-4, 5-14, 15-24, 25-44, 45-64 and 65 and above. Data on the cause of death by age have been systematically made available since 1976 following the recommendation of the investigation in mortality between 1971 and 1975 by Blacker and Hobcraft (1976). All the data on cause of death between 1934 and 1969 come from the Reports of the Medical and Health Department. It is worth noting that data on the returns of diseases and deaths at the Victoria hospital for most of the years between 1900 and 1934 were made available at the time of the study. However, as would be expected, these data are not complete in terms of cause of death data. The Reports also provide useful information regarding public health. With respect to the quality of the mortality data, the comments of Blacker and Hobcraft (1976) and d’Espaignet (1984) are worth noting. It has been remarked by
Reference Dependence and Attribution Bias: Evidence from Real-Effort Experiments

We document a form of attribution bias wherein people wrongly ascribe sensations of positive or negative surprise to the underlying disutility of a real-effort task. Participants in our experiments learned from experience about two unfamiliar tasks, one more onerous than the other. We manipulated expectations about which task they would face: some participants were assigned their task by chance, while others knew their assignment in advance. Hours later, we elicited willingness to work again on that same task. Participants assigned the less (more) onerous task by chance were more (less) willing to work than those who knew their assignment in advance. (JEL C91, D84, D91, M54)
Histological Detection of Aquatic Fungi by Uvitex 2B, a Fluorescent Dye

Conventional staining methods for fungal detection are time consuming, technically demanding, and instable dye-affinity in different fungal species, especially in aquatic fungi. In this study, Uvitex 2B [4, 4-BIS (2-di (2-hydroxyethyl) -amino-4 - (3-sulfophenylamino) -1, 3, 5-triazine-6-ylamino) -stilbene-2, 2'-disulfonic acid, sodium salt] was applied to detect fungal elements in paraffin sections of some aquatic animals. As a result, it was found that Uvitex 2B was superior to Gomori's methenamine-silver nitrate Grocott's variation, periodic acid-Schiff reaction and Schmorl's method for staining aquatic fungi in tissue sections. In addition, Uvitex 2B required much shorter time and less specialized skills in the staining procedure than Grocott. Although it has been known that oomycete fungi are difficult to be detected in histopahological sections because of their unstable stainabilities with other staining methods, Uvitex 2B provided excellent results to detect them in tissues of aquatic animals.
RECENT STATUS OF THE SUPERCONDUCTING CAVITIES FOR KEKB

The commissioning of the KEK B-factory storage rings started on December 1, 1998. Four superconducting damped cavities have been installed in High Energy Ring (HER) and operated since the beginning of the commissioning. During the commissioning, the b am current of HER reached 514mA and the SC cavities supplied the rf voltage of 4.8-8MV smoothly as occasion demands. The maximum rf power transferred to the beam reached 1.4MW, well above the planned value of 1MW. The maximum HOM power absorbed by the ferrite dampers was 2.5kW per module that was in agreement with the calculated one. The next four cavities are under fabrication and will be installed in the summer of 2000. Furthermore, the development of a superconducting crab cavity has been continued in order to suppress the beambeam interaction due to a finite crossing angle at the colliding point. A full size model cavity showed the sufficient surface field of 32MV/m. The superconducting crab cavities will be installed in KEKB in the future.
Optimization of Perturb and Observe Based Fuzzy Logic MPPT Controller for Independent PV Solar System

In this paper, a novel intelligent Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) based on Maximum Power Extracting (MPE) of photovoltaic standalone system is proposed, which can handle the uncertainties of the rules under high deviations in climate conditions. Traditional Perturbation and Observation (P&O), hillclimbing MPE structures are examined. The MPE used a boost converter controller. The novel MPPT controller develops enhanced P&O based on possible power extractor search technique by fuzzifying rules of such method and eliminates the conventional drawback. A new FLC based improved P&O offers a precise and quick convergence to MPE during changing climatic and steady-state conditions compared to existing P&O and hill climbing method. The development of the suggested MPE is confirmed in simulation MATLAB at dissimilar operating circumstances.
Asiatic skin color segmentation using an adaptive algorithm in changing luminance environment

Skin color of Asiatic people is a unique color. Therefore, Asiatic skin color segmentation is not trivial, particularly in non-static background. This paper proposes a novel algorithm to segment an area of Asiatic skin color effectively. By using the on-line adaptation of color probabilities, the algorithm proposes two main benefits: it can cope with luminance changes very well
CONFRONTATION OF SELF -ORGANIZING MAPS AND SPIKING NEURAL NET WORKS FOR EMBODIED BRAIN-INSPIRED COMPUTING

Cortical plasticity is one of the main features that enable our capability to learn and adapt in our environment. Indeed, the cerebral cortex has the ability to self-organize itself through two distinct forms of plasticity: the structural plasticity and the synaptic plasticity. These mechanisms are very likely at the basis of an extremely interesting characteristic of the human brain development: the multimodal association. The brain uses spatio-temporal correlations between several modalities to structure the data and create sense from observations. Moreover, biological observations show that one modality can activate the internal representation of another modality when both are correlated. To model such a behavior, Edelman and Damasio proposed respectively the Reentry and the Convergence Divergence Zone frameworks where bi-directional neural communications can lead to both multimodal fusion (convergence) and inter-modal activation (divergence). Nevertheless, these frameworks do not provide a computational model at the neuron level, and only few works tackle this issue of bio-inspired multimodal association which is yet necessary for a complete representation of the environment especially when targeting autonomous and embedded intelligent systems.
Securing File Transferring System by Implementing AES Algorithm

: In a small area location such as a house, office or in a classroom, there is a small network called a Local Area Network (LAN). This project aims to transfer a file peer-to-peer from one computer to another computer using JAVA application in the same LAN. It provides the necessary authentication for file transferring in the network transmission. By implementing the Server-Client technology, we can use a File Transfer Protocol mechanism and through socket programming, the end user is able to send and receive the encrypted and decrypted file in the LAN. An additional aim of this project is to transfer a file between computers securely in LANs. Elements of security are needed in this project because securing the files is an important task, which ensures files are not captured or altered by anyone on the same network. Whenever you transmit files over a network, there is a good chance your data will be encrypted by encryption technique. In this project, an AES algorithm is used to encrypt the file that needs to transfer to another computer. The encrypted file is then sent to a receiver computer and will need to be decrypted before the user can open the file. This research makes use of an AES algorithm because it is fast and secure for transferring a file. The file is expected to be transferred securely and without being modified.
A Body Condition Score for Crocodilians

Abstract. Body condition (BC) has been used extensively to evaluate fitness in animals. In traditional studies of crocodiles, the paradigm of evaluating BC with the Fulton index and interpreting the results with quartiles is predominant. However, the wide variety of indices available provides a diversity of tools with which BC can be interpreted in multiple ways. In this study, three indices based on the function of length and weight were evaluated: the Fulton index (K), relative condition index (Kn), and scaled mass index (SMI). The body condition score (BCS) index was also adapted. This was performed as a clinical evaluation of specific morpho-anatomical points. The Fulton index presented a strong relationship with corporal size that generates poor interpretation, scoring low BC in small individuals and high BC in large individuals. This problem does not occur in Kn, SMI nor BCS. SMI and Kn are difficult to interpret, but this is normally conducted by quartiles, generating ambiguous and potentially misleading explanations. The use of BCS avoids these complications because its direct and simple evaluation acts to convert the abstract numbers of the indices to a clinical reality.
Factors Influencing School Counselors’ Time Spent on Career Planning With High School Students

Using a multinomial regression and a nationally representative sample of school counselors, we examined the factors influencing the percentage of time school counselors spend on career planning. Findings indicate that the school locale, school type, percentage of non-White students, and the number of full-time counselors were significant predictors of the percentage of hours spent on career planning with students. We discuss implications for practice, training, and future research.
The first complete mitochondrial genome of Cheyletus malaccensis (Acari: Cheyletidae): gene rearrangement

Abstract The predatory mite Cheyletus malaccensis (Acari: Cheyletidae), commonly occurring in stores of various food commodities, is an important natural enemy of stored product pests. Disentangling the mt genome sequence of C. malaccensis at molecular level can decrease uncertainties during morphological identification and is useful in reconstructing the phylogeny of Acariformes group. In this study, the complete mitogenome of C. malaccensis was sequenced by the next-generation sequencing. After assembly and annotation, we found the circular 14,732 bp mitogenome of C. malaccensis, containing 13 protein coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes and 22 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes. Compared with the ancestral mitogenome organization of arthropods, most of tRNA were truncated without D-arm or/and TψC-arm. Rearrangement was found in 12 mitogenome genes. Phylogenetic analyses based on the mitogenome data from other 29 mite species were inferred by Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods, which strongly supported the closer relationship between C. malaccensis and Tetranychidae than other mites. The obtained results represent the first complete mitochondrial genome record for Cheyletidae group. It may help improve molecular phylogenetic relationship and population genetics of the Cheyletidae.
Local binary patterns based on α-cutting approach

Abstract. Local binary patterns (LBP) are well documented in the literature as descriptors of local image texture, and their histograms have been shown to be well-performing texture features. A method for texture description that is based on the α-cutting approach is presented. The presented approach combines basic definitions from the fuzzy set theory with the main concept of LBP descriptors, which resulted in powerful texture features. The general method is introduced and defined and its binary, ternary, and quinary versions evaluated in tests produced excellent results in texture classification. The performance of our method is presented by an extensive evaluation on four datasets—KTH-TIPS2b, UIUC, Virus, and Brodatz. The introduced descriptors are compared with some of the classical approaches—LBP, improved LBP, local ternary pattern, including one very promising LBP variant—median robust extended LBP (MRELBP), as well as with three non-LBP methods, based on deep convolutional neural networks approaches—ScatNet, FV-AlexNet, and fisher vector based very deep VGG. Our method effectively deals with many classification challenges and exceeds most of the other approaches. It outperforms the classical approaches on all datasets, even in its simplest binary version. It outperforms the MRELBP descriptor on the UIUC, KTH-TIPS2b, and Brodatz datasets and reaches a better classification performance than two out of the three deep learning approaches on the KTH-TIPS2b dataset.
Disinfection of Bacteria in Water by Capacitive Deionization

Clean water is one of the primary UN sustainable development goals for 2,030 and sustainable water deionization and disinfection is the backbone of that goal. Capacitive deionization (CDI) is an upcoming technique for water deionization and has shown substantial promise for large scale commercialization. In this study, activated carbon cloth (ACC) electrode based CDI devices are used to study the removal of ionic contaminants in water and the effect of ion concentrations on the electrosorption and disinfection functions of the CDI device for mixed microbial communities in groundwater and a model bacterial strain Escherichia coli. Up to 75 % of microbial cells could be removed in a single pass through the CDI unit for both synthetic and groundwater, while maintaining the salt removal activity. Mortality of the microbial cells were also observed during the CDI cell regeneration and correlated with the chloride ion concentrations. The power consumption and salt removal capacity in the presence and absence of salt were mapped and shown to be as low as 0.1 kWh m−3 and 9.5 mg g−1, respectively. The results indicate that CDI could be a viable option for single step deionization and microbial disinfection of brackish water.
Sphere estimation network: three-dimensional nuclei detection of fluorescence microscopy images

Abstract. Purpose: Fluorescence microscopy visualizes three-dimensional subcellular structures in tissue with two-photon microscopy achieving deeper penetration into tissue. Nuclei detection, which is essential for analyzing tissue for clinical and research purposes, remains a challenging problem due to the spatial variability of nuclei. Recent advancements in deep learning techniques have enabled the analysis of fluorescence microscopy data to localize and segment nuclei. However, these localization or segmentation techniques would require additional steps to extract characteristics of nuclei. We develop a 3D convolutional neural network, called Sphere Estimation Network (SphEsNet), to extract characteristics of nuclei without any postprocessing steps. Approach: To simultaneously estimate the center locations of nuclei and their sizes, SphEsNet is composed of two branches to localize nuclei center coordinates and to estimate their radii. Synthetic microscopy volumes automatically generated using a spatially constrained cycle-consistent adversarial network are used for training the network because manually generating 3D real ground truth volumes would be extremely tedious. Results: Three SphEsNet models based on the size of nuclei were trained and tested on five real fluorescence microscopy data sets from rat kidney and mouse intestine. Our method can successfully detect nuclei in multiple locations with various sizes. In addition, our method was compared with other techniques and outperformed them based on object-level precision, recall, and F1 score. Our model achieved 89.90% for F1 score. Conclusions: SphEsNet can simultaneously localize nuclei and estimate their size without additional steps. SphEsNet can be potentially used to extract more information from nuclei in fluorescence microscopy images.
Developmental Prosopagnosia and Elastic Versus Static Face Recognition in an Incidental Learning Task

Previous research on the beneficial effect of motion has postulated that learning a face in motion provides additional cues to recognition. Surprisingly, however, few studies have examined the beneficial effect of motion in an incidental learning task and developmental prosopagnosia (DP) even though such studies could provide more valuable information about everyday face recognition compared to the perception of static faces. In the current study, 18 young adults (Experiment 1) and five DPs and 10 age-matched controls (Experiment 2) participated in an incidental learning task during which both static and elastically moving unfamiliar faces were sequentially presented and were to be recognized in a delayed visual search task during which the faces could either keep their original presentation or switch (from static to elastically moving or vice versa). In Experiment 1, performance in the elastic-elastic condition reached a significant improvement relative to the elastic-static and static-elastic condition, however, no significant difference could be detected relative to the static-static condition. Except for higher scores in the elastic-elastic compared to the static-elastic condition in the age-matched group, no other significant differences were detected between conditions for both the DPs and the age-matched controls. The current study could not provide compelling evidence for a general beneficial effect of motion. Age-matched controls performed generally worse than DPs, which may potentially be explained by their higher rates of false alarms. Factors that could have influenced the results are discussed.
Comparison of Gut Microbiota Diversity and Predicted Functions Between Healthy and Diseased Captive Rana dybowskii

The gut microbiota plays a key role in host health, and disruptions to gut bacterial homeostasis can cause disease. However, the effect of disease on gut microbiota assembly remains unclear and gut microbiota-based predictions of health status is a promising yet poorly established field. Using Illumina high-throughput sequencing technology, we compared the gut microbiota between healthy (HA and HB) and diarrhoeic (DS) Rana dybowskii groups and analyzed the functional profiles through a phylogenetic investigation of communities by reconstruction of unobserved states (PICRUSt) analysis. In addition, we estimated the correlation between gut microbiota structures and predicted the functional compositions. The results showed significant differences in the phylogenetic diversity (Pd), Shannon, and observed richness (Sobs) indices between the DS and HB groups, with significant differences observed in the gut microbiota composition between the DS group and the HA and HB groups. Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) effect size (LEfSe) results revealed that Proteobacteria were significantly enriched in the DS group; Bacteroidetes were significantly enriched in the HA and HB groups; and Aeromonas, Citrobacter, Enterococcus, Hafnia-Obesumbacterium, Morganella, Lactococcus, Providencia, Vagococcus, and Staphylococcus were significantly enriched in the DS group. Venn diagrams revealed that there were many more unique genera in the DS group than the HA and HB groups. Among 102 sensitive species selected using the indicator method, 33 indicated a healthy status and 69 (e.g., Acinetobacter, Aeromonas, Legionella, Morganella, Proteus, Providencia, Staphylococcus, and Vagococcus) indicated a diseased status. There was a significant and positive association between the composition and functional composition of the gut microbiota, thus indicating low functional redundancy of the frog gut bacterial community. Rana dybowskii disease was associated with changes in the gut microbiota, which subsequently disrupted bacterial-mediated functions. The results of this study can aid in revealing the effect of the R. dybowskii gut microbiota on host health and provide a basis for elucidating the mechanism of the occurrence of R. dybowskii disease.