Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A generalization of path following for mobile robots

Several authors have proposed some methods for applying path following in specific cases to mobile robots. When we try to extend the path following approach to the general problem several difficulties arise. We present a generalized technique to apply path following to a mobile robot with nonholonomic constraints. As an application example, we expose the case of mobile robots with a higher degree of manoeuvrability than the typical car-like robots. In particular we consider a robot that can turn around itself making a zero-radius turn; a case still not resolved as far as we know. Finally we propose a suitable control law for this example that ensures asymptotical convergence.
Tail-anchored Protein Insertion in Mammals

The GET (guided entry of tail-anchored proteins)/TRC (transmembrane recognition complex) pathway for tail-anchored protein targeting to the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) has been characterized in detail in yeast and is thought to function similarly in mammals, where the orthologue of the central ATPase, Get3, is known as TRC40 or Asna1. Get3/TRC40 function requires an ER receptor, which in yeast consists of the Get1/Get2 heterotetramer and in mammals of the WRB protein (tryptophan-rich basic protein), homologous to yeast Get1, in combination with CAML (calcium-modulating cyclophilin ligand), which is not homologous to Get2. To better characterize the mammalian receptor, we investigated the role of endogenous WRB and CAML in tail-anchored protein insertion as well as their association, concentration, and stoichiometry in rat liver microsomes and cultured cells. Functional proteoliposomes, reconstituted from a microsomal detergent extract, lost their activity when made with an extract depleted of TRC40-associated proteins or of CAML itself, whereas in vitro synthesized CAML and WRB together were sufficient to confer insertion competence to liposomes. CAML was found to be in ∼5-fold excess over WRB, and alteration of this ratio did not inhibit insertion. Depletion of each subunit affected the levels of the other one; in the case of CAML silencing, this effect was attributable to destabilization of the WRB transcript and not of WRB protein itself. These results reveal unanticipated complexity in the mutual regulation of the TRC40 receptor subunits and raise the question as to the role of the excess CAML in the mammalian ER.
Expression of serine proteinase inhibitor PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI decreases the invasive potential of human choriocarcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo.

OBJECTIVE PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI is a Kunitz-type serine proteinase inhibitor with broad inhibitory spectra, abundantly produced by placenta and detected in the blood of pregnant women. Expression of PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI is exclusively detected in syncytiotrophoblasts of placenta, but is barely detectable in choriocarcinoma cells, a trophoblast-derived malignant tumor. Chromosome 7, in which the PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI gene is localized, is frequently lost in various types of tumors. We attempted to elucidate the relation between PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI expression and the malignant properties of choriocarcinoma cells. METHODS Human choriocarcinoma cells, JAR, were transfected with either a human PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI expression vector or an empty vector, and stable clones were obtained. Messenger RNA expression, protein secretion/localization, growth rate, and plating efficiency were evaluated. In vitro migration and invasive activity were determined by transwell chamber experiments. In vivo tumor growth was evaluated by the subcutaneous injection of cells to nude mice and followed by histological examination. RESULTS Expression of mRNA and protein of PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI were confirmed, and a high producing clone and a low producing clone were chosen for further analysis. The majority of secreted PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI protein was revealed to associate with the extracellular matrix. Expression of PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI did not affect the growth and migration of the tumor cells, but enhanced their plating efficiency. Its expression significantly inhibited invasion through the Matrigel. Invasive growth into the subcutaneous muscle layer was not evident in the nude mouse tumors of the PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI-expressing cells. CONCLUSION PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI-expressing choriocarcinoma cells showed suppressed potential of invasion in vitro and in vivo. It is suggested that loss or suppression of PP5/TFPI-2/MSPI expression may result in the acquisition of invasiveness in choriocarcinoma cells.
Inter- and Intraobserver Reliability of Computed Tomography in Assessment of Thoracic Pedicle Screw Placement

Study Design. Reliability study of computed tomography imaging in 12 cadaver specimens instrumented with titanium or stainless steel thoracic pedicle screws. Objective. To evaluate inter- and intraobserver reliability of computed tomography scan in determining the accuracy of thoracic pedicle screw placement and to identify the differences in observers’ agreement when viewing stainless steel versus titanium screws. Summary of Background Data. Computed tomography is often used to assess the accuracy of pedicle screw placement. Accuracy of screw placement is important in the thoracic spine where pedicle morphometry increases the difficulty of screw placement (vital structures are at increased risk). The current literature lacks a critical evaluation of computed tomography reliability among observers. Methods. Twelve adult cadavers were instrumented with thoracic pedicle screws. Nine cadavers were instrumented with titanium screws and three with stainless steel screws. The spines were imaged with computed tomography. Three observers used a grading scale to score the extent of pedicle violation and independently scored the placement of each pedicle screw on three separate occasions. Interobserver and intraobserver agreement were determined by using the kappa statistic. Results. The mean kappa score for interobserver agreement for all 12 specimens (including titanium and stainless steel screws) was 0.51, which correlates with a moderate degree of agreement. Although the interobserver kappa statistics for titanium (&kgr; = 0.53) and stainless screws (&kgr; = 0.44) showed a moderate degree of agreement, the intraobserver reliability was substantial (&kgr; = 0.63). The mean intraobserver kappa for titanium screws was 0.63 and for stainless steel screws was 0.62. Conclusions. Our data show that interobserver agreement is moderate and intraobserver agreement is substantial when computed tomography is used to assess placement of thoracic pedicle screws. We conclude that computed tomography is reliable for evaluating thoracic pedicle screw placement throughout the thoracic spine.
Cytologic results of fine‐needle aspiration biopsies of the central nervous system

The cytologic results of 34 fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) biopsies of the central nervous system (CNS) are reported. There were 31 intraoperative biopsies performed at the time of craniotomy All the cases were diagnosed using direct smear preparations stained with Papanicolaou and Diff‐Quik (Harleco, NJ) stains. The sensitivity of the procedure was 90.7%, specificity 100%, positive predictive value 100%, and efficiency of the test of 91%. There were no false‐positive diagnoses and three false‐negative diagnoses. This study attests to the diagnostic accuracy of FNA cytologic examination of the central nervous system. Statistical analysis of the few previous FNA biopsy series of the CNS are presented. Review of the indications, advantages and complications of CNS needle biopsy are discussed. This report supports the role of fine‐needle aspiration cytology in the evaluation of CNS lesions. With recent developments in radiologic imaging, especially ultrasound and computed tomography (CT) using stereotactic guidance, specimens can be obtained for cytologic diagnosis using thinner needles. Excellent diagnostic accuracy can be obtained, as pathologists gain greater familiarity with interpreting FNA biopsy material. Other advantages of FNA biopsy of the central nervous system include the low morbidity and mortality of the procedure and the ability to perform the biopsy through a burr hole under local anesthesia and thereby decrease hospitalization time and cost. Cancer 58:1117‐1121, 1986.
SOPC-Based Parallel Genetic Algorithm

The ever-growing complexity of the modern chips is forcing fundamental changes in the way systems are designed. System-on-a-programmable-chip (SOPC) concept is bringing a major revolution in the design of integrated circuits, due to the fact that it makes unprecedented levels of in-field integration possible. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is a powerful function optimizer that is used successfully to solve problems in many different disciplines. A major drawback of GA is that it needs huge computation time for sequential execution on PCs. Therefore, the hardware implementation of GA has been the focus of some recent studies. Parallel GA (PGA) is particularly important for efficient hardware implementation and promise substantial gains in performance and results. In this paper, a SOPC-based PGA framework is proposed. Our proposed framework can be used in real-time applications. We have implemented our proposed system on an Alterareg Stratix Development Kit and we compare its performance with the corresponding software simulation. The results obtained indicate a speedup of up to 50 times in the elapsed computation time.
Working with Open Argument Corpora

AIFdb Corpora provides a facility to group Argument Interchange Format (AIF) argument maps and search for maps that are related to each other (for example, analyses of related texts.) Users can create and share corpora containing any number of argument maps from within AIFdb. By integrating with the OVA+ analysis tool, AIFdb Corpora allows for the creation of corpora compliant with both AIF and Inference Anchoring Theory, a philosophically and linguistically grounded counterpart to AIF.
Measuring ordinal association in situations that contain tied scores.

The construal of ties is critical for assessing the association between two variables. Ties should be excluded when the investigator's data-collection procedure forces ties to occur (e.g., a J-place rating scale is used to rate K items, with J < K; a criterion variable contains fewer than K possible outcomes per item). Four measures arising from excluding or including ties on 2 ordinal variables are Goodman & Kruskal's G, Somer's dyx, Kim's dyx, and Wilson's e. In contrast to measures having variance-accounted-for interpretations, probabilistic interpretations developed here can be applied meaningfully both to ordinal-scaled variables and to stronger scales. Recommendations are offered for which measure to use in various situations.
Enumeration of Salmonella Bacteria in Food and Feed Samples by Real-Time PCR for Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment

Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is an important approach for food safety in which risk and factors that influence food safety are identified. The goal is to provide an estimate of the level of illness that a pathogen can cause in a given population ([13][1]). For QMRA, there is a need
Prevalence, antimicrobial resistance, and molecular characterization of Campylobacter spp. in bulk tank milk and milk filters from US dairies.

Campylobacter spp. are frequently isolated from dairy cows as commensal organisms. Sporadic Campylobacter infections in humans in the United States are generally attributed to poultry, but outbreaks are also commonly associated with dairy products, particularly unpasteurized or raw milk. Bulk tank milk samples and milk filters from US dairy operations were collected during the National Animal Health Monitoring System Dairy 2014 study and analyzed using real-time PCR and traditional culture techniques for the presence of thermophilic Campylobacter species. The weighted prevalence of operations from which we detected Campylobacter spp. in either bulk tank milk or milk filters was 24.9%. We detected Campylobacter spp. in a higher percentage of operations with 100-499 cows (42.8%) and 500 or more cows (47.5%) than in operations with 30-99 cows (6.5%). Campylobacter spp. were also more frequently detected in operations in the west than the east (45.9 and 22.6%, respectively). We isolated Campylobacter spp. from approximately half of PCR-positive samples, representing 12.5% (weighted prevalence) of operations. The majority (91.8%) of isolates were C. jejuni, but C. lari and C. coli were also isolated. We detected resistance to tetracycline in 68.4% of C. jejuni isolates, and resistance to ciprofloxacin and nalidixic acid in 13.2% of C. jejuni isolates. Based on pulsed-field gel electrophoresis, we found that dairy-associated C. jejuni were genotypically diverse, although clonal strains were isolated from different geographic regions. These results suggest that bulk tank milk can be contaminated with pathogenic Campylobacter spp. , and that the consumption of unpasteurized or raw milk presents a potential human health risk.
Location decisions of family physicians in Saskatchewan: What really matters?

INTRODUCTION Residents of Saskatchewan, particularly those in rural communities, have less access to family physician services than people in other parts of the country. This is partly due to the difficulty of attracting and retaining physicians. The objective of this study was to understand the major factors that influence the location decisions of family physicians in Saskatchewan. METHODS We employed a mixed-methods approach, including a questionnaire survey of family physicians and interviews with individuals from stakeholder health agencies. We used interpretive description to analyze interview responses. RESULTS Neither family physicians nor interviewees from health agencies named compensation as the most influential factor in location decisions. More important factors were family influences, work-life balance and community influences. CONCLUSION We recommend that recruitment of family physicians be regarded as a matching process, in which family physicians and communities are strategically matched. Compensating incentives should be targeted at communities that cannot meet the requirements of family physicians.
ASSESSING THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PROJECT SUCCESS , AND SYSTEM ENGINEERING PROCESSES

NASA’s Procedural Requirements for systems engineering NPR 7123.1A NASA Systems Engineering Processes and Requirements was released to provide the agency with a standard system engineering model to support the continued development of manned and unmanned space flight systems. The NPR draws on both industry best practices and NASA experience to identify a core set of system engineering processes. The NPR is comprehensive, however, managers are still faced with the competing demands of balancing cost, schedule and technical requirements on ever more complex system development projects. Additional guidance on effective tailoring of system engineering to meet individual project needs may be of help. This paper reports on an initial study into the relationship between the system engineering processes identified in NPR 7123.1 and the technical, schedule and budget success of past and currently NASA space flight hardware projects. The results do show correlations; however not all the processes identified had the same effects on success. The unique characteristics of individual projects do influence which system engineering processes should be focused on.
Design of a 2.4 GHz CMOS LNA using two-stage forward body bias technique for WSN application

In this paper, a 2.4 GHz CMOS low noise amplifier (LNA) for wireless sensor network (WSN) application using CMOS 0.13-μm Silterra technology is presented. The proposed design employed two-stage forward body bias technique with cascode configuration in order to obtain ultra-low power LNA design with high gain. The simulation results show that the total power consumed is only 0.49 mW at low supply voltage of 0.55 V. A gain of 19.71 dB, noise figure (NF) of 5.56 dB and input third order intercept point (IIP3) of -2 dBm are achieved. The input return loss (S11) and the output return loss (S22) is -20.56 dB and -14.3 dB, respectively. Meanwhile, the calculated figure of merit (FOM) is 7.6 (1/mW).
QUEST hierarchy for hyperspectral face recognition

A face recognition methodology employing an efficient fusion hierarchy for hyperspectral imagery (HSI) is presented. A Matlab-based graphical user interface (GUI) is developed to aid processing, track performance and to display results. The incorporation of adaptive feedback loops enhance performance through the reduction of candidate subjects in the gallery as well as the injection of additional probe images during the matching process. Algorithmic results and performance improvements are presented as spatial, spectral, and temporal effects are utilized in this Qualia Exploitation of Sensor Technology (QUEST) motivated methodology.
Down-Conversion From Blue to Near Infrared in Tm<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{3+}$</tex></formula>–Yb<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$^{3+}$</tex></formula> Codoped Y<formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$_{2}$</tex></formula>O<formula formulatype

Down-conversion from blue to near infrared (NIR) has been demonstrated in Tm<sup>3+</sup>-Yb<sup>3+</sup> codoped Y<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> transparent ceramics. Upon the 464-nm excitation, the energy transfer (ET) mechanisms consisted of the Tm<sup>3+</sup> : <sup>1</sup>G<sub>4</sub> → 2Yb<sup>3+</sup> : <sup>2</sup>F<sub>5/2</sub> cooperative down-conversion and the phonon assisted Tm<sup>3+</sup> : <sup>1</sup>G<sub>4</sub> + Yb<sup>3+</sup> : <sup>2</sup>F<sub>7/2</sub> → Tm<sup>3+</sup> : <sup>3</sup>H<sub>5</sub> + Yb<sup>3+</sup> : <sup>2</sup>F<sub>5/2</sub> cross relaxation. The low quantum yield of the latter process, together with the low absorption cross section of Tm<sup>3+</sup> at 464 nm and the low quenching concentration of Yb<sup>3+</sup> in the Y<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> host, made the Yb<sup>3+</sup> 1030-nm NIR emission too weak for practical application.
Novel half-duplex relay strategy: An LTE implementation

This report presents a practical implementation of a novel two-phase, three-message strategy for half-duplex relaying, which consists of superposition coding and interference-aware cancellation decoding. As opposed to past works, the channel model has a direct link between the source and the destination, through which the source continuously sends information to the destination at a rate close to the capacity of that link. At the same time the source leverages the relay to convey extra information to the destination. With the aim to bridge the gap between theory and practice, this study derives the block error rate with finite block-length and discrete constellation signaling and compares it to the theoretical performance of Gaussian codes with asymptotically large block-lengths. The performance evaluation is carried out on an LTE physical layer compliant simulation test bench. The model assumes a single-antenna source and relay, and multi-antenna destination. During each phase of the transmission, the modulation and coding scheme is adapted to the channel link qualities and selected among those defined by the 3GPP LTE standard. First the non-fading/static Gaussian additive noise channel is considered. For the case of all single-antenna nodes, the maximum spectral efficiency gap between theory and the proposed practical implementation is of 0.36 bits/dim when the strengths of the source-destination and relay-destination links are the same, and of 0.88 bits/dim when the relay-destination link is 5 dB stronger than the source-destination link. The performance of the proposed strategy is also compared to a baseline scheme, where there is no physical cooperation between the source and the relay. When the source-destination and relaydestination links are of the same quality, the improvement over the baseline scheme is of 3.45 bits/dim for the single-antenna destination case, and of 3.39 bits/dim for the two-antenna destination case. The fading case is then considered and performance gaps computed as for the static case. These results confirm once again that physical-layer cooperation and the use of multiple antennas are of critical importance for performance enhancement in broadband wireless systems. More importantly, they show that (i) a practical implementation of high-performing half-duplex relay techniques
Mycobacterium tuberculosis Chaperonin 10 Heptamers Self-Associate through Their Biologically Active Loops

ABSTRACT The crystal structure of Mycobacterium tuberculosis chaperonin 10 (cpn10Mt) has been determined to a resolution of 2.8 Å. Two dome-shaped cpn10Mt heptamers complex through loops at their bases to form a tetradecamer with 72 symmetry and a spherical cage-like structure. The hollow interior enclosed by the tetradecamer is lined with hydrophilic residues and has dimensions of 30 Å perpendicular to and 60 Å along the sevenfold axis. Tetradecameric cpn10Mt has also been observed in solution by dynamic light scattering. Through its base loop sequence cpn10Mt is known to be the agent in the bacterium responsible for bone resorption and for the contribution towards its strong T-cell immunogenicity. Superimposition of the cpn10Mt sequences 26 to 32 and 66 to 72 and E. coli GroES 25 to 31 associated with bone resorption activity shows them to have similar conformations and structural features, suggesting that there may be a common receptor for the bone resorption sequences. The base loops of cpn10s in general also attach to the corresponding chaperonin 60 (cpn60) to enclose unfolded protein and to facilitate its correct folding in vivo. Electron density corresponding to a partially disordered protein subunit appears encapsulated within the interior dome cavity of each heptamer. This suggests that the binding of substrates to cpn10 is possible in the absence of cpn60.
Online clustering for trajectory data stream of moving objects

Trajectory data streams contain huge amounts of data pertaining to the time and position of moving objects. It is crucial to extract useful information from this peculiar kind of data in many application scenarios, such as vehicle traffic management, large-scale tracking management and video surveillance. This paper proposes a density-based clustering algorithm for trajectory data stream called CTraStream. It contains two stages: trajectory line segment stream clustering and online trajectory cluster updating. CTraStream handles the trajectory data of moving objects as an incremental line segment stream. For line segment stream clustering, we present a distance measurement approach between line segments. Incremental line segments are processed quickly based on previous line clusters in order to achieve clustering line segment stream online, and line-segment-clusters in a time interval are obtained on the fly. For online trajectory cluster updating, TC-Tree, an index structure, which stores all closed trajectory clusters, is designed. According to the linesegment-cluster set, the current closed trajectory clusters are updated online based on TC-Tree by performing proposed update rules. The algorithm has exhibited many advantages, such as high scalability to process incremental trajectory data streams and the ability to discover trajectory clusters in data streams in real time. Our performance evaluation experiments conducted on a number of real and synthetic trajectory datasets illustrate the effectiveness, efficiency, and scalability of the algorithm.