Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Feedforward control of vibrations in flexible and lightweight robots

Lightweight and flexible robots have a high potential in today tendency to use collaborative automation. Thanks to their reduced weight and increased compliance, such systems benefit from an intrinsic safety that reduce the risk of injury in case of unexpected collision. However, the controller of such system has to be carefully designed to deal properly with the flexible behavior of the links and joints. This work focuses on the control of the flexible behavior in general 3D robotic manipulators. In particular, an innovative feedforward control command is developed to reduce vibrations in the robot during its motion. First, a finite element model of the robot is built using rigid bodies, flexible beam elements and kinematic joints elements [1]. Based on it, the inverse dynamics is solved using so-called stable inversion techniques [2]. These methods can deal with the non-minimum phase nature, i.e. unstable nature, of such flexible and nonlinear systems. Here, a constrained optimization formulation, introduced in [3] for 2D systems and extended here to 3D systems, is used to solve the inverse dynamics problem. In future work, this method could be implemented on a robotic testbed with a flexible end-link to test its performances.
The effect of alkaloids on sugar receptors and the feeding behaviour of the blowfly

ABSTRACT. The deterrent effect of alkaloids on feeding by the black blowfly Phormia regina Meigen (Diptera: Calliphoridae) was tested by determining tarsal thresholds for mixtures of sucrose and alkaloids. The following alkaloids were used: atropine sulphate, berberine sulphate, quinine mono‐hydrochloride, caffeine, yohimbine sulphonic ester, pilocarpine hydrochloride, coniine hydrochloride and codeine. The same alkaloids were tested electrophysiologically on tarsal chemoreceptors (D hairs). Both behaviourally and electrophysiologically alkaloids reduced response to sucrose. Deterrence and peripheral inhibition could be blocked by increasing the concentration of sucrose. Application of kinetic analyses to the electrophysiological data ruled out competitive, non‐competitive, and uncompetitive inhibition at receptor sites. There is no correlation of thresholds with available data on lipid solubility or octanol/water partition coefficients. The diverse pharmacological properties of alkaloids suggest that there is no uniform limiting mechanism for this multiform array of compounds.
Development of a Modularity Index for Reliability Assessment of Isolation Valve Systems

Mechanical reliability refers to the assessment of the capacity of the water distribution network (WDN) to provide a correct service to the different type of costumers under abnormal operating conditions due to a failure of a system component. It depends on the effectiveness of the isolation valve system (IVS) and on the failure probability of components. Starting from the calculation of the actual customer demands during abnormal operating conditions of the hydraulic systems due to valve shutdowns and the failure probability of the separated segments, the work develops a metric for WDN reliability assessment. The finding is that the topologic part of WDN reliability assessment, relating to the IVS, is based on the risk of disconnection. Starting from it, the works develops a special modularity index for IVS reliability assessment.
Comparative analysis of spermiogenesis and sperm ultrastructure in Callichthyidae (Teleostei: Ostariophysi: Siluriformes)

In Corydoradinae, the presence of spermatids in the lumen of the testicular tubules together with spermatozoa suggests that spermatogenesis is of the semicystic type, whereas in Callichthyinae, sperm production occurs entirely within spermatocysts in the germinal epithelium, characterizing cystic spermatogenesis. Spermiogenesis in Callichthyinae is characterized by an initial lateral development of the flagellum, the presence of nuclear rotation to different degrees, an eccentric or medial formation of a nuclear fossa, formation of a cytoplasmic channel, and presence of centriolar migration, being more similar to type I spermiogenesis. In Corydoradinae, spermiogenesis is characterized by eccentric development of the flagellum, the absence of nuclear rotation, an eccentric nuclear fossa formation, formation of a cytoplasmic channel, and absence of centriolar migration, differing from the types previously described. The process of spermatogenesis and spermiogenesis in Corydoradinae and Callichthyinae revealed unique characters for each of these subfamilies, corroborating the hypotheses that they constitute monophyletic groups. In relation to sperm ultrastructure, the comparative analysis of the callichthyid species shows that the general characteristics found in the spermatozoa were similar, thus, reinforcing the hypothesis that the family is monophyletic.
Manifest contracts

Eiffel popularized design by contract, a software design philosophy where programmers specify the requirements and guarantees of functions via executable pre- and post-conditions written in code. Findler and Felleisen brought contracts to higher-order programming, inspiring the PLT Racket implementation of contracts. Existing approaches for runtime checking lack reasoning principles and stop short of their full potential—most Racket contracts check only simple types. Moreover, the standard algorithm for higher-order contract checking can lead to unbounded space consumption and can destroy tail recursion. In this dissertation, I develop so-called manifest contract systems which integrate more coherently in the type system, and relate them to Findler-and-Felleisen-style latent contracts. I extend a manifest system with type abstraction and relational parametricity, and also show how to integrate dynamic types and contracts in a space efficient way, i.e., in a way that doesn't destroy tail recursion. I put manifest contracts on a firm type-theoretic footing, showing that they support extensions necessary for real programming. Developing these principles is the first step in designing and implementing higher-order languages with contracts and refinement types.
The effects of soil type on the early growth of lettuce

SUMMARY Large and consistent differences in growth rate of lettuce on different soils were recorded in two consecutive experiments in which lettuce cv. Avondefiance was grown for about 4 weeks in miniplots of 13 different soils. The miniplots were 20 cm in diameter and 20 cm deep and were buried flush with the soil surface at a single site. Each soil received the recommended amount of fertilizer and only seedlings emerging on a particular day were allowed to grow on. The relative performance of the different soils was very similar in each of the experiments with the plants in the best soil being 2·2–3·3 times heavier than those on the worst soil by the end of the experiments. The relative growth rates (RGR) of the plants were positively correlated with % P in the plants (accounting for 44–68% of the variation in RGR) and in turn with the availability of P in the soil. There was also a negative effect of soil organic matter on RGR, acting independently of % P, so that a multiple regression with % P and organic matter accounted for 65% of the variance of RGR in Expt 1 and 75% in Expt 2. Soil solution phosphorus appeared to be a useful measure for assessing phosphorus availability as plant growth was reduced only when concentrations fell below about 1 μg/ml.
Human Trajectory Recovery via Mobile Network Data

For human mobility studies across many disciplines, mobile network data serves as a primary source of human footprints with geo-referenced and time-stamped records of human communication activities. Nevertheless, the quality of mobility information provided by mobile network data is usually not satisfactory on many users. Due to the nature of human communications, individual trajectories inferred from mobile network data are often substantially incomplete , and the pattern of missing locations is not uniform over time but is highly related to communication activities. In this paper, we propose a novel hierarchical approach based on tensor factorization to reconstruct such incomplete individual trajectories. The data-driven simulation shows that, with ground-truth locations in precision of 200 meters, our approach can recover a trajectory from 10% of its known locations with a distance error below 750 meters, which outperforms the existing proposals in the literature.
TRAVELING WAVE SOLUTIONS OF THE SINE-GORDON AND THE COUPLED SINE-GORDON EQUATIONS USING THE HOMOTOPY-PERTURBATION METHOD

In this research, the Homotopy-Perturbation Method (HPM) has been used for solving sineGordon and coupled sine-Gordon equations, which have a wide range of applications in physics. HPM deforms a di cult problem into a simple one which can be easily solved. The results obtained by HPM are then compared with those of the Adomian Decomposition Method (ADM). The method has been shown to e ectively, easily and accurately solve a large class of nonlinear problems with approximations converging rapidly to accurate solutions.
Semiparametric likelihood-ratio-based biometric score-level fusion via parametric copula

The authors present a mathematical framework for modelling dependence between biometric comparison scores in likelihood-based fusion by copula models. The pseudo-maximum likelihood estimator for the copula parameters and its asymptotic performance are studied. For a given objective performance measure in a realistic scenario, a resampling method for choosing the best copula pair is proposed. Finally, the proposed method is tested on some public biometric databases from fingerprint, face, speaker, and video-based gait recognitions under some common objective performance measures: maximising acceptance rate at fixed false acceptance rate, minimising half total error rate, and minimising discrimination loss.
Enable Advanced QoS-Aware Network Slicing in 5G Networks for Slice-Based Media Use Cases

Media use cases for emergency services require mission-critical levels of reliability for the delivery of media-rich services, such as video streaming. With the upcoming deployment of the fifth generation (5G) networks, a wide variety of applications and services with heterogeneous performance requirements are expected to be supported, and any migration of mission-critical services to 5G networks presents significant challenges in the quality of service (QoS), for emergency service operators. This paper presents a novel SliceNet framework, based on advanced and customizable network slicing to address some of the highlighted challenges in migrating eHealth telemedicine services to 5G networks. An overview of the framework outlines the technical approaches in beyond the state-of-the-art network slicing. Subsequently, this paper emphasizes the design and prototyping of a media-centric eHealth use case, focusing on a set of innovative enablers toward achieving end-to-end QoS-aware network slicing capabilities, required by this demanding use case. Experimental results empirically validate the prototyped enablers and demonstrate the applicability of the proposed framework in such media-rich use cases.
Effect of low dose UV-C radiation on the germination rate and fungal contamination of tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea schreb.) seeds

The effects of UV-C radiation on the germination rate and fungal contamination of tall fescue seeds were investigated. Samples from the same seed lot were irradiated in two different ways in two consecutive years. The seeds were irradiated with a Hg vapour lamp using different doses. In the first trial one side of the seeds was irradiated, while in the second trial a mirror was used to irradiate the whole seed surface. The results showed that various doses of UV-C irradiation had an effect on the germination rate, but there were no significant differences in germination percentage between the treatments. Differences in fungal contamination rates were observed when the seeds were irradiated on all sides. The presence of 21 fungal genera was identified on the seeds, the saprotrophic fungi Alternaria, Rhizopus and Penicillium being dominant.
Informal Payments and Health System Governance in Serbia: A Pilot Study

Few studies address Serbian providers’ perceptions of informal payments and the association between these perceptions and health system governance. The aim was to investigate civil servants’ perceptions on informal payments of the health care system in Serbia and to link these results with available evidence on informal payments in other Western Balkan countries. A literature review on informal payments in Western Balkan and in-depth interviews of civil servants working with Serbian health care were conducted. Informal payments were mostly taking place in inpatient care and were based on low salaries of doctors, poor resources, a desire to receive better or faster service, fear of being denied treatment, and an expression of gratitude through gifts. Policy measures had limited effect and vulnerable groups were more likely to pay informally. There is a need for further research to highlight how health system governance and prevailing policies affect informal payments in Western Balkan.
Seismic Reflection Imaging in Urban Settings

Multi-stacked (MSF) seismic reflection data can be used in an urban environment for imaging the subsurface, since MSF data are not plagued by noise from an active city. The MSF method consists of a source and receiver, akin to a spot or jump correlation survey common in the 1930’s. Walk-away tests document that ground roll is eliminated from the near-source receiver. Two MSF seismic reflection profiles from 2 active urban sites in the southwestern portion of the USA show excellent resolution.
Management of Hepatitis-B Virus Infection in Immunocompromised Children. A Single Center Experience.

OBJECTIVES To expand the pediatric experience on Hepatitis-B Virus (HBV) reactivation, a known complication in patients with hematologic malignancies or on immunosuppression. METHODS Retrospective appraisal of HBV therapy/prophylaxis in immunocompromised children, studied from April/2006 to March/2020. RESULTS 18 HBV-positive patients, 5 girls, median age 11.1 (4.1-17.9) years were included. 17/18 were immunosuppressed at HBV-infection diagnosis. 17 were at high risk of reactivation, one at moderate risk. 5/18 had acute hepatitis B as first infection or reactivation, 6 had HBeAg-positive infection, 1 an HBeAg-negative infection and 6 HBsAg-negative infection. Median follow-up was 2.7 (0.7-12.5) years. No HBV-related mortality was observed. Prophylaxis had to be repeated in one. Lamivudine was used in 6/12 viremic patients and HBV-DNA negativization obtained in 2/6 (33%). Tenofovir-DF was used in 2/12 and entecavir in 4/12: 100% attained HBV-DNA negativization. Therapy had to be switched from tenofovir-DF to entecavir in one patient, due to renal impairment. Virological breakthroughs were observed in one lamivudine-treated patient, leading to a hepatitis flare; one patient on entecavir had a hepatitis flare at immunoreconstitution. Mortality was 33% in the HBsAg-positive-group.Seven prophylactic treatments were administered to 6 patients with HBsAg-negative infection: tenofovir-DF in two HBV-DNA-positive, lamivudine in 5 HBV-DNA-negative, without reverse HBsAg seroconversion, morbidity or mortality. CONCLUSIONS There is a residual risk of acute hepatitis B in immunocompromised children, mortality rate was substantial, potentially related to the delays in commencing chemotherapy caused by liver dysfunction. Tenofovir-DF or entecavir are the drugs of choice for HBV treatment in immunocompromised children.
No effect of body condition at weaning on survival and reproduction in prairie voles

The physiological state of an animal may have a significant impact on its reproductive success because individuals in good body condition are generally considered to be competitively superior to individuals in poor body condition. In this study, we tested if body condition at weaning affected survival and reproduction of prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster (Wagner, 1842)) living under ecologically relevant conditions at two different initial population densities. We detected no evidence that better body condition at weaning was associated with either enhanced survival or reproduction. Moreover, genetic analysis of parentage found that mating between males and females was random with respect to body condition. Results of this study indicate body condition at weaning was not a reliable predictor of future survival or reproduction in prairie voles. This may be because body condition at weaning does not accurately forecast the energetic state of prairie voles at later ages, or because other factors have a gre.
Evidence suggesting preadaptation to domestication throughout the small Felidae

One obstacle in the development of a coherent theoretical framework for the process of animal domestication is the rarity of domestication events in human history. It is unclear whether: (1) many species are suitable for domestication, the limiting factor being the requirement of people for new domestic animals; or (2) very few species are preadapted for domestication. Comparisons between 16 species and subspecies of small cats (Felidae) kept in zoos indicated that affiliative behaviour towards people, an important preadaptation to domestication, is widely, if patchily, distributed throughout this taxon, and is not concentrated in species closely related to the domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus. The highest proportion of individuals showing affiliative behaviour was found in the ocelot lineage, which is estimated to have diverged from the rest of the Felidae between 5 and 13 Mya. The domestication of F silvestris alone among felids is therefore likely to have been the result of a specific set of human cultural events and requirements in the Egyptian New Kingdom, rather than the consequence of a unique tendency to tameness in this subspecies.
Spacecraft Attitude Tracking and Maneuver Using Combined Magnetic Actuators

The accuracy of spacecraft attitude control using magnetic actuators only is low and on the order of 0.4-5 degrees. The key reason is that the magnetic torque is two-dimensional and it is only in the plane perpendicular to the magnetic field vector. In this paper novel attitude control algorithms using the combination of magnetic actuators with Reaction Wheel Assembles (RWAs) or other types of actuators, such as thrusters, are presented. The combination of magnetic actuators with one or two RWAs aligned with different body axis expands the two-dimensional control torque to three-dimensional. The algorithms can guarantee the spacecraft attitude and rates to track the commanded attitude precisely. A design example is presented for Nadir pointing, pitch and yaw maneuvers. The results show that precise attitude tracking can be reached and the attitude control accuracy is comparable with RWAs based attitude control. The algorithms are also useful for the RWAs based attitude control. When there are only one or two workable RWAs due to RWA failures, the attitude control system can switch to the control algorithms for the combined magnetic actuators with the RWAs without going to the safe mode and the control accuracy can be maintained.
Multiple shoots formation of an important tropical medicinal plant, Eurycoma longifolia Jack

Eurycoma longifolia Jack is well known among the communities in Southeast Asia because of its aphrodisiac properties and its effectiveness as the cytotoxic, anti-malarial, anti-ulcer, anti-tumor promoting and anti-parasitic agent. Micropropagation through direct plant regeneration from in vivo shoot tip explants was carried out. The highest regeneration percentage (90%) and multiple shoots formation were obtained with the basal Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 5.0 mg l-1 kinetin. Roots were induced after 14 days of culture in the basal MS medium supplemented with 0.5 mg l -1 of indole-3-butyric acid. Plantlets regenerated from shoot tip explants survived well with no morphological differences from parent plants after two months of transplantation to soil. Copyright © 2005 The Japanese Society for Plant Cell and Molecular Biology.
A guide for incorporating AdH modeling data into ArcGIS® using a netCDF : a case study for the Sacramento River

PURPOSE: Expanding technology and the growing number of modeling applications has increased the need for modeling output to be easily accessible and transferable to multiple applications in a common data format. It is beneficial, therefore, for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) research scientists to leverage application tools and information available in various software packages to improve data analysis and expand research options. The primary objective of this technical note is to provide a tutorial for the conversion, visualization, and application of Adaptive Hydraulics (AdH) modeling data in the network Common Data Format (netCDF) for use in ArcGIS. This guide will demonstrate the suitability and use of netCDF as a standard for packaging modeling data for distribution to USACE districts and project stakeholders.
Parámetros genéticos para la persistencia de la lactación en vacas Siboney usando modelos de regresión aleatoria

Genetic parameters and genetic correlations, were estimated for five persistency of lactation measures, using a random regression model with Legendre polynomials. Data consisted of test-day yields (PDC) for 17,034 first lactations of 2,086 Siboney cows (5/8 Holstein 3/8 Cuban Zebu) for calvings from 1995 through 2003 in 50 dairy herds.
Gradual efficiency improvement through a sequence of targets

Abstract The goal in efficiency analysis is not only to evaluate a decision-making unit (DMU) performance, but also to find an efficient target which provides information on inputs reduction and outputs increment values that are necessary to remove inefficiencies for each inefficient DMU. In data envelopment analysis (DEA), the target unit is located on the efficient frontier and possibly far from the unit under assessment. Therefore, in practice performance improvement seems to be disappointing or even impossible to achieve in only one step for some inefficient DMUs. In this regard, finding intermediate targets is of great importance in benchmarking literature. In this article, we find a sequence of targets instead of a single target for each inefficient unit. In our method, the intermediate target at each step has three properties: (I) the intermediate targets and the unit under evaluation are all similar in size; (II) efficiency scores are ascending through the sequence of targets; (III) the target unit at each step is close to the special part of the efficient frontier as much as possible. These properties lead to finding a target that is more achievable in real applications.
Candidates for the one-phonon mixed-symmetry state in Xe130

Low-spin states of {sup 130}Xe have been populated by a fusion evaporation reaction followed by {beta}-decay {sup 126}Te({sub 3}{sup 7}Li,3n){sup 130}CsEC{yields}{sup 130}Xe. Two candidates for 2{sub 1,ms}{sup +}-states could be found, by measuring the E2/M1 mixing ratio of the transitions of the 2{sub 3}{sup +} and 2{sub 4}{sup +}, at 2150 keV and 2296 keV, to the first excited 2{sup +} state. The experimental results are supported by a shell model calculation and are in a good agreement with interacting boson model-2 (IBM-2) calculations. The mixing of the 2{sub 1,ms}{sup +} with a symmetric 2{sup +}-state and its fragmentation into the 2{sub 3}{sup +} and 2{sub 4}{sup +} states are discussed.