Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Effect of Speed, Speed Differences, and Motion Type on Perceived Safety of Collaborative Robots

Collaborative robotics is one of the main drivers of the fourth industrial revolution, where humans and robots work in a shared workspace. The robot movement trajectory and speed significantly affect perceived safety which plays an essential role in successful collaboration. The study aimed to measure absolute and differential sensitivity for the perception and discrimination of a collaborative robot arm movement speed and to study how robots' speed and trajectory influence the perception of pleasure, arousal, perceived unsafety, and humans' intention to collaborate with the robot. The study was performed using the Universal Robots UR5e robotic arm. Participants were assessing the perceived safety of the robot's movement for eight different TCP speeds (0.3 m/s - 1 m/s) under three conditions: (i): standing, (ii) sitting, and (iii) standing on a podium (0.3 m high) in front of the robot. For measuring the differential threshold, the participants were presented with 18 speed pairs. Each pair had one of the reference speeds (0.25 m/s, 0.5 m/s, 0.75 m/s), and the participants were asked to report if they perceived a difference in two consecutive movements. Different combinations of movement speed (slow, fast) and movement trajectory (linear, random) were evaluated. The results showed that the absolute threshold for feeling unsafe when standing in front of the robot (and the robot was operating at chest level) was higher than the one in the sitting condition and lower than the absolute threshold in the podium condition. The results also showed that the differential threshold was higher for higher speeds, meaning that participants were more sensitive to differences at lower speeds. Movement trajectories had the most substantial effect on the perceived safety parameters. Participants reported a higher sense of pleasure with a linear movement and a lower sense of arousal and unsafety than they reported with the random movement. Fast robots' movements arouse more negative feelings in participants than slow robotic movements and safe tools.
Learning-Based Matching of 3D Submaps from Dense Stereo for Planetary-Like Environments

An autonomous robot typically requires a minimum capability of perceiving the surroundings and locating itself when it is deployed to an unknown environment. Such a task is generally known as Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM), for which pairwise submap matching is a common foundation for subsequent processes to construct a global map around the robot. While the task has been extensively studied and successfully accomplished with different advanced solutions, their applied domains are rather constrained within indoor or structured regions. In this paper, we enhance a seminal learning-based approach, 3DFeat-Net, with more sophisticated architectures, and evaluate them in extremely unorganized planetary-like environments. Our work demonstrates that the proposed enhancement performs better than classical feature-based algorithms, and therefore outlines a promising direction for future work.
WCD: A New Chinese Online Social Media Dataset for Clickbait Analysis and Detection

In online social medias, there is a large amount of clickbait using various tricks such as curious words and well-designed sentence structures, to attract users to click on hyperlinks for unknown benefits. Clickbait detection aims to detect these hyperlinks through automated algorithms. Most of the previous clickbait datasets are based on English online social media corpus. Detection models based on these datasets usually cannot be well generalized to Chinese social media scenarios. In this paper, we construct a WeChat based Chinese clickbait dataset, i.e., WCD. Based on the WCD, we conduct a detailed analysis of the clickbait features from three aspects: behavior features, headline text features, and content text features. Finally, we use popular methods for clickbait detection on our dataset. We also respectively propose a machine learning detection model using feature fusion and a deep learning detection model combining headline semantic and POS tag information, both of which achieve excellent detection performance. The results of clickbait analysis and detection show that the dataset we constructed is of high quality.
Forecasting Day-Ahead Electricity Price with Artificial Neural Networks: a Comparison of Architectures

The spot price prediction for the electric energy markets is a widely approached problem, used by many participants in the market. The ever-shifting rules and regulations, rising percentage of the electricity on the market being produced by solar and wind plants and many stochastic factors influencing it make the market price of electricity very volatile and hard to forecast. Many methods are used to tackle this problem, and their efficiency varies from dataset to dataset. In this work, we use the dataset of hourly day-ahead spot prices from the Hungarian HUPX market, and couple it with weather data for Hungary. We test various types of Dense, Recurrent and Convolutional neural network architectures and report on the results.
Bioinspired soft bendable peristaltic pump exploiting ballooning for high volume throughput

Interest in bioinspired peristaltic pumps has grown in popularity among the scientific community in the last decade thanks to their extreme flexibility and their intrinsic compliance. In this paper, we propose a soft peristaltic pump exploiting ballooning. Our aim is to promote and propel forward the ballooned region by controlling the air pressure between the balloon and an external flexible containment tube. Thanks to this mechanism, it is possible to achieve a peristaltic pumping motion with a simple design and using only one control signal. In this paper, we describe the implementation of the pump and the inlet-pump-outlet system, provide an analytical model to predict the pump performance, and experimentally test the device. Finally, the proposed pump is directly compared with the state-of-the-art. We show that it is possible to achieve high flow rates, up to $4.5 \frac{mL}{s}$, with only a single control signal and relying on a much simpler design, paving the way for more flexible and easy to manufacture peristaltic pumps.
Time for mentally healthy engineering students

Mental health issues related to academic stress are experienced amongst undergraduates from different disciplines, with key factors being workload, study skills, resource access and socioeconomic conditions. The status of mental health and well-being of engineering students, globally, has become of increasing concern, but is relatively poorly researched. This paper presents the findings of a faculty initiative at a research-intensive institution in South Africa to determine engineering students' experience of academic stress. Drawing on a holistic educational model, quantitative and qualitative survey results are presented. Key systemic factors are the volume, intensity and distribution of workload, as well as the experience of “information overload” during the Covid-19 pandemic. On the affective front, students provide detailed accounts of the negative emotional impact, which, in turn, contributes to loss of productivity and confidence. The cohort-comparison analysis reveals clear trends across years of study, as well as problem- versus emotion-focused coping strategies. This faculty case study on engineering student experience of academic-related stresses hopes to demonstrate the synergistic relationship between the systemic, affective and, ultimately, cognitive educational support domains for which engineering faculties are responsible. Suggestions are included for ways in which to facilitate improved mental health in our engineering students.
Underwater Wireless High-Efficiency Energy Transmission Method Based on the Ultrasonic Transducer Array

According to the theory of acoustic-electric conversion channel of the underwater ultrasonic wireless energy transmission system, the characteristics of ultrasonic waves are analyzed, such as strong penetration characteristics, intense focus, high transmission energy, no electromagnetic interference, and the features of sound field energy being concentrated by speaker array. The three-dimensional acoustic and electric conversion channels of an underwater wireless energy transmission system based on an ultrasonic transducer array are constructed using finite element simulation software. On this basis, an effective method of array amplitude weighting algorithm is proposed to achieve efficient underwater wireless energy transmission.
Electronic Differential Control for Distributed Electric Vehicles Based on Optimum Ackermann Steering Model

The electronic differential control strategy for distributed electric vehicle (DEV) was proposed based on the optimum Ackermann steering model. To improve the stability and tracking accuracy of DEV when steering, as well as its adaptability to different working conditions, the ideal Ackermann steering model was optimized by introducing the tire slip angle correction coefficient. Electronic differential steering model was designed based on the optimum Ackerman steering. Speed controller based on PID was optimized by particle swarm optimization of BP network. The controller can achieve vehicle differential steering accurately and adaptive adjustment of PID control parameters online. Simulation results indicate that the proposed control strategy can achieve the stable differential steering under the condition of high speed and low adhesion conditions. The vehicle tracking accuracy can be improved and the influence of tire side angle on vehicle steering can be reduced under medium speed steering and high speed steering conditions.
Reconfigurable Liquid Metal-Based SIW Phase Shifter

This article presents the first substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) phase shifter that can be reconfigured using liquid metal (LM). This digital phase shifter exhibits low insertion loss and is reciprocal and bidirectional. It incorporates a series of holes which can be filled or emptied of liquid metal, enabling us to add or remove via connections dynamically, on-the-fly. Using a collection of such holes, it is possible to create a wall along the E-plane or H-plane of the waveguide. When the wall is in place, it blocks the passage of energy. When the wall is absent, energy is able to flow. In this way, it is possible to guide the electromagnetic (EM) waves through one of three paths, having different electrical lengths. The result is a digital switched-line phase shifter that achieves coarse steps of phase change, from 0° up to 180°, in steps of 60°. By filling or emptying individual holes, it is possible to introduce reactive loading into each path. In this way, it is possible to achieve fine phase control in steps of 10°. Using both forms of reconfiguration in unison, the proposed phase shifter is able to deliver a phase shift of up to 180°, in steps of 10°. The proposed phase shifter operates at 10 GHz and exhibits an insertion loss of less than 2.3 dB over its entire operating band. Furthermore, the underlying concept of the proposed phase shifter can be readily scaled for operation in the millimeter-wave (mm-wave) band. The existing phase shifters operating in that band exhibit significant insertion losses. MM-wave phase shifters are expected to find application in 5G mobile access points.
Ten Years of Pediatric Lung Ultrasound: A Narrative Review

Lung diseases are the most common conditions in newborns, infants, and children and are also the primary cause of death in children younger than 5 years old. Traditionally, the lung was not thought to be a target for an ultrasound due to its inability to penetrate the gas-filled anatomical structures. With the deepening of knowledge on ultrasound in recent years, it is now known that the affected lung produces ultrasound artifacts resulting from the abnormal tissue/gas/tissue interface when ultrasound sound waves penetrate lung tissue. Over the years, the application of lung ultrasound (LUS) has changed and its main indications in the pediatric population have expanded. This review analyzed the studies on lung ultrasound in pediatrics, published from 2010 to 2020, with the aim of highlighting the usefulness of LUS in pediatrics. It also described the normal and abnormal appearances of the pediatric lung on ultrasound as well as the benefits, limitations, and possible future challenges of this modality.
BMT for Myelodysplastic Syndrome: When and Where and How

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a diverse group of hematological malignancies distinguished by a combination of dysplasia in the bone marrow, cytopenias and the risk of leukemic transformation. The hallmark of MDS is bone marrow failure which occurs due to selective growth of somatically mutated clonal hematopoietic stem cells. Multiple prognostic models have been developed to help predict survival and leukemic transformation, including the international prognostic scoring system (IPSS), revised international prognostic scoring system (IPSS-R), WHO prognostic scoring system (WPSS) and MD Anderson prognostic scoring system (MDAPSS). This risk stratification informs management as low risk (LR)-MDS treatment focuses on improving quality of life and cytopenias, while the treatment of high risk (HR)-MDS focuses on delaying disease progression and improving survival. While therapies such as erythropoiesis stimulating agents (ESAs), erythroid maturation agents (EMAs), immunomodulatory imide drugs (IMIDs), and hypomethylating agents (HMAs) may provide benefit, allogeneic blood or marrow transplant (alloBMT) is the only treatment that can offer cure for MDS. However, this therapy is marred, historically, by high rates of toxicity and transplant related mortality (TRM). Because of this, alloBMT is considered in a minority of MDS patients. With modern techniques, alloBMT has become a suitable option even for patients of advanced age or with significant comorbidities, many of whom who would not have been considered for transplant in prior years. Hence, a formal transplant evaluation to weigh the complex balance of patient and disease related factors and determine the potential benefit of transplant should be considered early in the disease course for most MDS patients. Once alloBMT is recommended, timing is a crucial consideration since delaying transplant can lead to disease progression and development of other comorbidities that may preclude transplant. Despite the success of alloBMT, relapse remains a major barrier to success and novel approaches are necessary to mitigate this risk and improve long term cure rates. This review describes various factors that should be considered when choosing patients with MDS who should pursue transplant, approaches and timing of transplant, and future directions of the field.
Measurements and Spatial Distribution Simulation of Impact Pile Driving Underwater Noise Generated During the Construction of Offshore Wind Power Plant Off the Southwest Coast of Korea

Offshore wind power plants are under construction worldwide, and concerns about the adverse effects of underwater noise generated during their construction on the marine environment are increasing. As part of an environmental impact assessment, underwater noise generated by impact pile driving was measured during the construction of an offshore wind farm off the southwest coast of Korea. The sound exposure levels of impact pile driving noise were estimated as a function of distance and compared with those predicted by a damped cylindrical spreading model and broadband parabolic equation simulation. Source level at 1 m was estimated to be in a range of 183–184 dB re 1μPa2s in the sound exposure level based on the model predictions and it tended to decrease by 21log⁡r as the distance increased. Finally, the spatial distribution of impact pile driving noise was predicted. This result, if combined with noise-induced damage thresholds for marine life, may be used to assess the effects of wind farm construction on marine ecosystems.
High-Density Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms Genetic Map Construction and Quantitative Trait Locus Mapping of Color-Related Traits of Purple Sweet Potato [Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.]

Flesh color (FC), skin color (SC), and anthocyanin content (AC) are three important traits being used for commodity evaluation in purple-fleshed sweet potato. However, to date, only a few reports are available on the inheritance of these traits. In this study, we used a biparental mapping population of 274 F1 progeny generated from a cross between a dark purple-fleshed (Xuzishu8) and white-fleshed (Meiguohong) sweet potato variety for genetic analyses. Correlation analysis showed a significant positive correlation among AC, SC, and FC. Medium-to-high heritability was observed for these traits. We detected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) by specific length amplified fragment sequencing (SLAF-seq) with the average sequencing depth of 51.72 and 25.76 for parents and progeny, respectively. Then we constructed an integrated genetic map consisting of 15 linkage groups (LGS) of sweet potato spanning on 2,233.66 cm with an average map distance of 0.71 cm between adjacent markers. Based on the linkage map, ten major quantitative trait loci (QTLs) associated to FC, SC, and AC were identified on LG12 between 0 and 64.97 cm distance, such as one QTL for SC and FC, respectively, which explained 36.3 and 45.9% of phenotypic variation; eight QTLs for AC, which explained 10.5–28.5% of the variation. These major QTLs were highly consistent and co-localized on LG12. Positive correlation, high heritability, and co-localization of QTLs on the same LG group confirm the significance of this study to establish a marker-assisted breeding program for sweet potato improvement.
Multiple Molecular Pathways Are Influenced by Progranulin in a Neuronal Cell Model–A Parallel Omics Approach

Progranulin (PGRN) is critical in supporting a healthy CNS. Its haploinsufficiency results in frontotemporal dementia, while in experimental models of age-related neurodegenerative diseases, the targeted expression of PGRN greatly slows the onset of disease phenotypes. Nevertheless, much remains unclear about how PGRN affects its target cells. In previous studies we found that PGRN showed a remarkable ability to support the survival of NSC-34 motor neuron cells under conditions that would otherwise lead to their apoptosis. Here we used the same model to investigate other phenotypes of PGRN expression in NSC-34 cells. PGRN significantly influenced morphological differentiation, resulting in cells with enlarged cell bodies and extended projections. At a molecular level this correlated with pathways associated with the cytoskeleton and synaptic differentiation. Depletion of PGRN led to increased expression of several neurotrophic receptors, which may represent a homeostatic mechanism to compensate for loss of neurotrophic support from PGRN. The exception was RET, a neurotrophic tyrosine receptor kinase, which, when PGRN levels are high, shows increased expression and enhanced tyrosine phosphorylation. Other receptor tyrosine kinases also showed higher tyrosine phosphorylation when PGRN was elevated, suggesting a generalized enhancement of receptor activity. PGRN was found to bind to multiple plasma membrane proteins, including RET, as well as proteins in the ER/Golgi apparatus/lysosome pathway. Understanding how these various pathways contribute to PGRN action may provide routes toward improving neuroprotective therapies.
Effects of Non-intubated Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery on Patients With Pulmonary Dysfunction

Background: Non-intubated video-assisted thoracic surgery (NIVATS) can be safely performed in lung volume reduction surgery for patients with severe pulmonary dysfunction. However, there is still no cohort observation on the effects of NIVATS on patients with pulmonary dysfunction undergoing different types of thoracic procedures. This retrospective study aimed to observe the effects of NIVATS for this kind of patients. Methods: Three hundred and twenty-eight patients with moderate to severe obstructive pulmonary dysfunction, who underwent video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS), were retrospectively collected from June 1st, 2017 to September 30th, 2019. Patients in NIVATS were case-matched with those in intubated video-assisted thoracic surgery (IVATS) by a propensity score-matched analysis. The primary outcome was the comparison of perioperative values, the secondary outcome was the risk factors for postoperative clinical complications (PCP) which were identified by binary logistic regression analysis. Results: After being matched, there were no differences in demographics and preoperative values of pulmonary function between NIVATS and IVATS groups. The duration of surgery and anesthesia had no difference (P = 0.091 and P = 0.467). As for the postoperative recovery, except for the mean intensive care unit (ICU) stay was longer in the IVATS group than in the NIVATS group (P = 0.015), the chest tube removal time and the postoperative hospital stay had no difference (P = 0.394 and P = 0.453), and the incidence of PCP also had no difference (P = 0.121). The binary logistic regression analysis revealed that the history of pulmonary disease, anesthesia method, and surgical location were risk factors of PCP. Conclusion: For patients with pulmonary dysfunction when undergoing different types of thoracic procedures, the NIVATS can be performed as effectively and safely as the IVATS, and can reduce the ICU stay.
The Prevalence of Impulse Control Disorders and Behavioral Addictions in Eating Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Aim: Individuals with eating disorders (EDs) may present with impulse control disorders (ICDs) and behavioral addictions (BAs), which may result in additional suffering and treatment resistance. However, the prevalence of ICDs and BAs in EDs has not been systematically examined. Therefore, this systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to assess the prevalence of ICDs and BAs in ED samples. Methods: A comprehensive electronic database search of the peer-reviewed literature was conducted in the following online databases: MEDLINE, PsycINFO, Embase, and CINAHL from their inception to May 2021. We restricted review eligibility to research studies reporting prevalence for ICDs or BAs in individuals with diagnosed EDs. The outcome for this review was the prevalence of ICDs or BAs in individuals with EDs. A series of random-effects meta-analyses were performed on eligible studies to estimate the pooled proportions and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: Thirty-five studies met the inclusion criteria, including a total of 9,646 individuals identified as having an ED, 18 of these studies specifically examined ICDs/BAs in AN, BN, and BED. Random-effects pooled estimates demonstrated that the comorbid prevalence of any ICD was 22%. The prevalence of comorbid pathological/compulsive buying was highest (19%), followed by kleptomania (18%), pathological internet use (12%), intermittent explosive disorder (4%), trichotillomania (3%), and gambling disorder (2%). In addition, the prevalence of stealing/shoplifting behaviors was 30% in those with EDs. Conclusion: This is the first meta-analysis on the comorbid prevalence of EDs and ICDs/BAs. We found a moderate prevalence for these comorbid conditions, with approximately one out of five individuals with an ED also displaying a comorbid ICD/BA. Although causal inferences cannot be drawn, the numbers strongly suggest that clinical screening/monitoring of ICDs/BAs should be part of the clinical routine in cohorts with EDs. ED settings need either the capacity to manage these disorders or adequate access to relevant services. Further investigations are needed to reveal common underlying pathomechanisms. Systematic Review Registration: https://www.crd. york.ac. uk/prospero/, identifier: CRD42020202044.