Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effects of Unilateral Restriction of the Metatarsophalangeal Joints on Biped Robot Walking

The metatarsophalangeal (MTP) joints play critical roles in the push-off phase of human locomotion, but are usually absent in biped robots. Our previous research found that when the unilateral MTP joints were restricted, non-disabled subjects exerted a compensatory mechanism, that is, the intact limb was relied more than the restricted limb. This paper aims to study the effects of unilateral restrictions of the MTP joints on biped robot walking. Gait performance of a biped robot model was analyzed under two conditions, i.e., walking normally, and walking with the MTP joints of the right foot restricted. The results show that unilateral restrictions of the MTP joints lead to larger demands for driving torque and power on partial joints, more total energy consumption, and lower energy efficiency. These results can help understand the functions of the MTP joints in more depth, and offer some inspirations to the researches of biped robots.
A Dynamic Resource Allocation Strategy for NoC Based Multicore Systems with Permanent Faults

Integration of multiple processing elements on a single chip has lead to parallel execution of applications on the same multicore platform. For these applications, task mapping and scheduling have significant impact on their timing response and energy consumption. However, the on-chip entities executing these tasks of any given application might fail during run-time. Fault tolerance becomes challenging when real-time applications are hosted on such fault prone environment. The complexity of the problem is further magnified in dynamic scenarios when realtime applications can enter or leave the multicore platform at any time instant. In this work, we present a run-time solution to the unified problem of fault tolerant mapping and scheduling for real-time applications. Both the temporal property of the tasks and the timing information of the faults are considered while selecting a suitable fault tolerance strategy, which reduce the communication energy consumption and satisfies deadline for the tasks of executing applications. On comparing with other fault tolerant approaches, the proposed policy shows 23.4% average reduction in communication energy consumption of applications while achieving 32% improved deadline performance. Additionally, the proposed scheme shows reduced fault tolerance overhead in comparison with existing techniques reported in literature.
The Deconstructed Granuloma: A Complex High-Throughput Drug Screening Platform for the Discovery of Host-Directed Therapeutics Against Tuberculosis

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) continues to be a threat to Global Public Health, and its control will require an array of therapeutic strategies. It has been appreciated that high-throughput screens using cell-based assays to identify compounds targeting Mtb within macrophages represent a valuable tool for drug discovery. However, the host immune environment, in the form of lymphocytes and cytokines, is completely absent in a chemical screening platform based on infected macrophages alone. The absence of these players unnecessarily limits the breadth of novel host target pathways to be interrogated. In this study, we detail a new drug screening platform based on dissociated murine TB granulomas, named the Deconstructed Granuloma (DGr), that utilizes fluorescent Mtb reporter strains screened in the host immune environment of the infection site. The platform has been used to screen a collection of known drug candidates. Data from a representative 384-well plate containing known anti-bacterial compounds are shown, illustrating the robustness of the screening platform. The novel deconstructed granuloma platform represents an accessible, sensitive and robust high-throughput screen suitable for the inclusive interrogation of immune targets for Host-Directed Therapeutics.
Small room for compromise between oil palm cultivation and primate conservation in Africa

Significance Although oil palm cultivation represents an important source of income for many tropical countries, its future expansion is a primary threat to tropical forests and biodiversity. In this context, and especially in regions where industrial palm oil production is still emerging, identifying “areas of compromise,” that is, areas with high productivity and low biodiversity importance, could be a unique opportunity to reconcile conservation and economic growth. We applied this approach to Africa, by combining data on oil palm suitability with primate distribution, diversity, and vulnerability. We found that such areas of compromise are very rare throughout the continent (0.13 Mha), and that large-scale expansion of oil palm cultivation in Africa will have unavoidable, negative effects on primates. Despite growing awareness about its detrimental effects on tropical biodiversity, land conversion to oil palm continues to increase rapidly as a consequence of global demand, profitability, and the income opportunity it offers to producing countries. Although most industrial oil palm plantations are located in Southeast Asia, it is argued that much of their future expansion will occur in Africa. We assessed how this could affect the continent’s primates by combining information on oil palm suitability and current land use with primate distribution, diversity, and vulnerability. We also quantified the potential impact of large-scale oil palm cultivation on primates in terms of range loss under different expansion scenarios taking into account future demand, oil palm suitability, human accessibility, carbon stock, and primate vulnerability. We found a high overlap between areas of high oil palm suitability and areas of high conservation priority for primates. Overall, we found only a few small areas where oil palm could be cultivated in Africa with a low impact on primates (3.3 Mha, including all areas suitable for oil palm). These results warn that, consistent with the dramatic effects of palm oil cultivation on biodiversity in Southeast Asia, reconciling a large-scale development of oil palm in Africa with primate conservation will be a great challenge.
Cell Therapy in Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis†

Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis is a fatal disease with no effective or curative treatment options. In recent decades, cell-based therapies using stem cells or lung progenitor cells to regenerate lung tissue have experienced rapid growth in both preclinical animal models and translational clinical studies. In this review, the current knowledge of these cell therapies is summarized. Although further investigations are required, these studies indicate that cell therapies are a promising therapeutic approach for the treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
Optimizing MapReduce for energy efficiency

The efficient use of energy is essential to address concerns of cost and sustainability. Many data centers contain MapReduce clusters to process Big Data applications. A large number of machines and fault tolerance capabilities make MapReduce clusters energy inefficient. In this paper, we present a Configurator based on performance and energy models to improve the energy efficiency of MapReduce systems. Our solution is novel as it takes into account the dependence of the performance and energy consumption of a cluster on MapReduce parameters. While this dependence is known, we are the first to model it and design a Configurator to optimize these parameter settings for maximizing the energy efficiency of MapReduce systems. Our empirical evaluations show that the Configurator can result in up to 50% improvement in the energy efficiency of typical MapReduce applications in two architecturally different clusters.
Harnessing Emerging Technology for Compute-in-Memory Support

Compute-in-Memory (CiM) techniques focus on reducing data movement by integrating compute elements within or near the memory primitives. While there have been decades of research on various aspects of such logic and memory integration, the confluence of new technology changes and emerging workloads makes us revisit this design space. This work focuses on new functionality that can be embedded to SRAMs using emerging monolithic 3D integration. Properties of the new technology transform the costs of embedding such new functionality compared to prior efforts. This work also explores how compute functionality can be embedded into cross-point style non-volatile memory systems.
A ZTC-based 0.5V CMOS Voltage Reference

This paper presents a voltage reference circuit operational from a 0.5 V supply which is based on the zero-temperature coefficient (ZTC) operating point of a MOS transistor. The ZTC condition is reviewed and it is found that a MOSFET biased below its ZTC point with a PTAT current source can yield a temperature stable output at this low supply voltage. With this idea in mind, a circuit which does not rely on the availability of special devices like Shottky diodes is designed in 130 nm CMOS. Simulations show that this circuit generates an average reference voltage of 318 mV from a 0.5 V supply. The temperature coefficient is 154 ppm/K and the voltage reference has a power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) of 41 dB at DC.
IEEE 802.1Qbv Gate Control List Synthesis Using Array Theory Encoding

Time Sensitive Networks (TSN) emerge as the set of sub-standards incorporating real-time support as an extension of standard Ethernet. In particular, IEEE 802.1Qbv defines a time-triggered communication paradigm with the addition of a time-aware shaper governing the selection of frames at the egress queues according to a predefined schedule, encoded in so-called Gate Control Lists (GCL). Nonetheless, the design of compositional systems with real-time demands requires a proper configuration of these mechanisms to truly achieve the temporal isolation of communication streams with end-to-end timeliness guarantees. In this paper we address how the synthesis of communication schedules for GCLs defined in IEEE 802.1Qbv can be formalized as a system of constraints expressed via first-order theory of arrays (T_A). We formulate the necessary constraints showing the suitability of the theory of arrays and discuss optimization opportunities arising from the underlying scheduling problem. Our evaluation using general-purpose SMT/OMT solvers proves the validity of the approach, scaling well for small-to medium-networks, and exposing trade-offs for the time needed to synthesize a schedule. Furthermore, we conduct a comparison against previous work and conclude the appropriateness of the method as the basis for future TSN scheduling tools.
Optimal Operation of Multimicrogrids via Cooperative Energy and Reserve Scheduling

Microgrid (MG) represents one of the major drives of adopting Internet of Things for smart cities, as it effectively integrates various distributed energy resources. Indeed, MGs can be connected with each other and presented as a system of multimicrogrid (MMG). This paper proposes the optimal operation of MMGs by a cooperative energy and reserve scheduling model, in which energy and reserve can be cooperatively utilized among MMGs. In addition, values of Shapely are introduced to allocate economic benefits of the cooperative operation. Finally, a case study based on a system of MMGs is conducted, and simulation results verify the effectiveness of the proposed cooperative scheduling model.
Safety and Efficacy of Fludrocortisone in the Treatment of Cerebral Salt Wasting in Patients With Tuberculous Meningitis: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Importance Tuberculous meningitis is associated with high frequency of cerebral salt wasting. There is a paucity of objective information regarding the best method of treatment of this condition. Objective To evaluate the efficacy and safety of fludrocortisone in the treatment of cerebral salt wasting in patients with tuberculous meningitis. Design, Setting, and Participants This is a single-center, open-label, randomized clinical trial conducted from October 2015 to April 2017 in India. Patients were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to arms receiving saline only or saline plus fludrocortisone, in addition to a standard treatment of 4 antitubercular drugs, prednisolone, and aspirin. The 2 arms were matched for demographic, clinical, and magnetic resonance imaging findings. The patients were followed up for at least 6 months. Interventions Patients were randomized to a 0.9% solution of intravenous saline with 5 to 12 g per day of oral salt supplementation, with or without the addition of 0.1 to 0.4 mg of fludrocortisone per day. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary end point was the time needed to correct serum sodium levels; secondary end points were in-hospital deaths, disability at 3 months, disability at 6 months, occurence of stroke, and serious adverse reactions. Results Ninety-three patients with suspected tuberculous meningitis were recruited; 12 did not meet the inclusion criteria, including 4 with alternate diagnoses. A total of 37 patients with cerebral salt wasting were eligible for the study. One refused to participate, and therefore 36 patients were included, with 18 randomized to each group. The median (range) age was 30 (20-46) years, and 19 were male (52.8%). Those receiving fludrocortisone regained normal serum sodium levels after 4 days, significantly earlier than those receiving saline only (15 days; P = .004). In an intention-to-treat analysis, hospital mortality, disability at 3 months, and disability at 6 months did not differ significantly, but fewer infarcts occurred in the deep border zone in the group receiving fludrocortisone (1 of 18 [6%]) vs those in the control arm (6 of 18 [33%]; P = .04). Fludrocortisone was associated with severe hypokalemia and hypertension in 2 patients each, and pulmonary edema occurred in 1 patient. These adverse reactions necessitated discontinuation of fludrocortisone in 2 patients. Conclusions and Relevance Fludrocortisone results in earlier normalization of serum sodium levels, but did not affect outcomes at 6 months. Fludrocortisone had to be withdrawn in 2 patients because of severe adverse effects. This study provides class II evidence on the role of fludrocortisone in treatment of hyponatremia associated with cerebral salt wasting in patients with tuberculous meningitis. Trial Registration Clinical Trials Registry of India (ctri.nic.in) Identifier: CTRI/2017/10/010255
Magnetic and energetic properties of transition metal doped alumina

A doped non-diamagnetic alumina (Al2O3) would enable the usage of cutting edge technology, such as magnetoforming, to create advanced systems that take advantage of the high chemical and physical resilience of alumina. This study elucidates the magnetic properties of Cr, Fe, Ni, and Cu doped α- and ϑ-alumina. Density functional theory was used to predict the structural, electronic, and magnetic properties of doped alumina, as well as its stability. The results indicate that the dopant species and coordination environment are the most important factors in determining the spin density distribution and net magnetic moment, which will strongly direct the ability of the doped alumina to couple with an external field. Similar coordination environments in different phases produce similar spin densities and magnetic moments, indicating that the results presented in this work may be generalizable to the other five or more phases of alumina not studied here.
A Fusion Model for Road Detection based on Deep Learning and Fully Connected CRF

This paper presents a road detection model based on deep learning and fully connected condition random field to fuse image and point cloud data. Firstly, a convolutional neural network is trained to extract multi-scale features of the image. And a point-based deep neural network is trained to extract the multi-scale features of the point cloud. Secondly, the point cloud data is projected to the image plane. The probability maps of image and point cloud in the image plane are obtained by their corresponding multi-scale features, respectively. Thirdly, a Markov-based up-sampling method is used to get a dense height image from a sparse one which is from the point cloud data. A fully connected condition random field model based on the outputs of the two networks and the height image is constructed on the image plane. Finally, the fusion model is effectively solved by the mean-field approximate algorithm. Experiments on KITTI Road dataset show that the proposed model can effectively fuse the image and the point cloud data. Furthermore, the fusion model can also exclude the shadows, road curbs and other interferences in complex scenes.
Linking cognition with fitness in a wild primate: fitness correlates of problem-solving performance and spatial learning ability

Linking the cognitive performance of wild animals with fitness consequences is crucial for understanding evolutionary processes that shape individual variation in cognition. However, the few studies that have examined these links revealed differing relationships between various cognitive performance measures and fitness proxies. To contribute additional comparative data to this body of research, we linked individual performance during repeated problem-solving and spatial learning ability in a maze with body condition and survival in wild grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus). All four variables exhibited substantial inter-individual variation. Solving efficiency in the problem-solving task, but not spatial learning performance, predicted the magnitude of change in body condition after the harsh dry season, indicating that the ability to quickly apply a newly discovered motor technique might also facilitate exploitation of new, natural food resources. Survival was not linked with performance in both tasks, however, suggesting that mouse lemurs' survival might not depend on the cognitive performances addressed here. Our study is the first linking cognition with fitness proxies in a wild primate species, and our discussion highlights the importance and challenges of accounting for a species’ life history and ecology in choosing meaningful cognitive and fitness variables for a study in the wild. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Causes and consequences of individual differences in cognitive abilities’.
HoloSensor for smart home, health, entertainment

The HoloSensor project aims to enhance the visualisation and visual analytics data sourced from various sensors through use of Augmented Reality (AR) technology, allowing users to anchor information throughout various locations inside a building. The output of the project is an application, that connects networked sensors (Arduino with temperature, humidity, light sensors) communicating its data though a Python-based server. Users are able to interact with this data on holograms in real-time through the Microsoft HoloLens. This integration of the immersive AR technology with Internet of Things (IoT) shows its versatile usage in all three areas of human experience: health, home and entertainment.
adidas TAPE: 3-d footwear concept design

3-D tools have been successfully established in several areas of the footwear design process. Yet, 3-D tools often find little adoption during initial concept creation for various reasons. These tools are often slow, difficult to use and limit creativity in ways unacceptable to most designers. The lack of 3-D content creation in the beginning makes it inherently difficult to implement ideal production pipelines that enrich and reuse assets during all steps of the content creation. At adidas, we have successfully established a simple, sketch based 3-D tool which feeds into our 3D design pipeline and finds astonishing acceptance within the design community. Our team presented a digital 3-D footwear design process and pipeline at Siggraph 2017 [Suessmuth et al. 2017]. Tape, the first tool in this pipeline, allows our designers to create meaningful 3-D assets in the early stages of design. In this talk, we explain the origin of Tape and walk the audience through all key features, their purpose in terms of footwear design and their implementation.
Differentiation in Theta and Beta Electrocortical Activity between Visual and Physical Perturbations to Walking and Standing Balance

Visual Abstract Human balance is a complex process in healthy adults, requiring precisely timed coordination among sensory information, cognitive processing, and motor control. It has been difficult to quantify brain dynamics during human balance control due to limitations in brain-imaging modalities. The goal of this study was to determine whether by using high-density electroencephalography (EEG) and independent component analysis, we can identify common cortical responses to visual and physical balance perturbations during walking and standing. We studied the responses of 30 healthy young adults to sensorimotor perturbations that challenged their balance. Subjects performed four 10 min trials of beam walking and tandem stance while either being mediolaterally pulled at the waist or viewing brief 20° field-of-view rotations in virtual reality. We recorded high-density EEG, motion capture, lower leg electromyography (EMG), and neck EMG. We hypothesized that both physical pull and visual rotation perturbations would elicit time–frequency fluctuations in theta (4–8 Hz) and beta (13–30 Hz) bands, with increased occipito-parietal activity during visual rotations compared with pull perturbations. Our results confirmed this hypothesis. For both perturbations, we found early theta synchronization and late alpha–beta (8–30 Hz) desynchronization following perturbation onset. This pattern was strongest in occipito-parietal areas during visual perturbations and strongest in sensorimotor areas during pull perturbations. These results suggest a similar time–frequency electrocortical pattern when humans respond to sensorimotor conflict, but with substantive differences in the brain areas involved for visual versus physical perturbations. Our findings may have important implications for assessing and training balance in individuals with and without motor disabilities.
Leucine Metabolites Do Not Enhance Training-induced Performance or Muscle Thickness

Leucine metabolites, &agr;-hydroxyisocaproic acid (&agr;-HICA) and &bgr;-hydroxy-&bgr;-methylbutyrate (calcium, HMB-Ca and free acid, HMB-FA), have been proposed to augment resistance training-induced changes in body composition and performance. Purpose We aimed to conduct a double-blind randomized controlled pragmatic trial to evaluate the effects of off-the-shelf leucine metabolite supplements of &agr;-HICA, HMB-FA, and HMB-Ca on resistance training-induced changes in muscle thickness and performance. Methods Forty men were randomly assigned to receive &agr;-HICA (n = 10, fat-free mass [FFM] = 62.0 ± 7.1 kg), HMB-FA (n = 11, FFM = 62.7 ± 10.5 kg), HMB-Ca (n = 9, FFM = 65.6 ± 10.1 kg), or placebo (PLA; n = 10, FFM = 64.2 ± 5.7 kg). The training program consisted of whole body thrice weekly resistance training for 8 wk (seven exercises per session, three to four sets per session, at 70%–80% one repetition maximum). Skeletal muscle thickness by ultrasound, performance measures, and blood measures (creatine kinase, insulin-like growth factor 1, growth hormone, cortisol, and total testosterone) were evaluated at baseline and at the end of weeks 4 and 8. Results Time-dependent changes were observed for muscle thickness (P < 0.001), one repetition maximum bench press and squat (P < 0.001), Wingate peak power (P = 0.02), countermovement jump height (P = 0.03), power (P = 0.006), creatine kinase, insulin-like growth factor-1, growth hormone, and cortisol (all P < 0.001). No significant between-group or time–group interactions were observed. Conclusions No leucine metabolite resulted in any ergogenic effects on any outcome variable. Supplementation with leucine metabolites—&agr;-HICA, HMB-FA, or HMB-Ca—is not a supplementation strategy that improves muscle growth and strength development in young adult men.