Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sliding mode control of shape memory alloy actuated structure for vibration control

This paper presents the design and experimental evaluation of sliding mode controller to minimise structural vibration of a cantilever beam using shape memory alloy (SMA) wires as control actuators and piezoceramics as sensor and disturbance actuator. Linear dynamic models of the smart cantilever beam are obtained using online recursive least square parameter estimation. A digital control system that consists of Simulink™ modelling software and dSPACE DS1104 controller board is used for identification and control. The effectiveness of the controller is shown through simulation and experimentation by exciting the structure at resonance.
Classification of EEG signals using the Spatio-temporal feature selection via the elastic net

Effective classification of motor imagery electroencephalograph (EEG) data is an important challenge. Spatial filtering such as Common Spatial Pattern (CSP) and its variants are commonly used for this task. However, CSP effectiveness depends on the subject-specific frequency band. Even by optimally selecting a subject-specific frequency band, this method still fails for some subjects. On the other hand, some studies suggest that temporal features may discriminate classes more efficiently. This work proposes a hybrid method based on elastic net and Least Absolute Shrinkage and Selector Operator (LASSO) to optimally select between spatial and temporal features. This algorithm uses joint spatial and temporal features followed by an optimal combined feature selection scheme for each subject. Results show significant improvement for subjects whose spatial features failed to produce acceptable results and overall improvement over the combined data.
Investigation of robust color model for edge detection on text extraction from scenery images

This paper discusses a robust method to detect the edges of text in natural scenes, which is against the effects caused by shadow or highlight. Many color models are tested to find the robust ones under arbitrary image conditions. Moreover, some new color models, which are invariant to shadow or highlight, are proposed. By effectively utilizing color information, a simple edge threshold decision scheme is presented. After that a combined scheme is introduced by virtue of the invariant characteristics of each color model in it, which could get almost intact edge information for text region. It shows good performance for the text extraction against shadow and highlight. Based on above, a simple and robust method for edge detection is achieved, which is useful for text extraction and recognition tasks.
Involvement of Sulfated Proteoglycans in Embryonic Brain Expansion at Earliest Stages of Development in Rat Embryos

The expansive force generated by the positive pressure of the neural tube fluid confined inside the brain vesicles has been shown to be a key factor during the earliest stages of brain morphogenesis and development of chick embryos. In a previous study, we demonstrated the existence of an intracavity extracellular matrix rich in condroitin sulfate in this species, which could be involved in the regulation of the expansive process. In this report, scanning electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry show that, after neurulation, a similar extracellular matrix rich in chondroitin sulfate is present inside the brain vesicles of rat embryos during early enlargement of the brain anlage. In vitro treatment of rat embryos with β-D-xyloside (a chemical compound which disrupts chondroitin sulfate synthesis) shows that changes in intralumen chondroitin sulfate concentration are accompanied by significant changes in brain anlage growth. These results support the hypothesis that intracerebral chondroitin sulfate plays a relevant role in the regulation of the expansive process of the brain anlage of rat embryos, and could represent a general mechanism in the early brain development of avian and mammalian embryos.
Analysis of paired Likert data: how to evaluate change and preference questions.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Likert scale data present unique analysis concerns that are often not recognized by nonstatistical researchers. Mean responses to a single question are frequently compared among two or more groups of moderate sample size using normal theory methods (t test, ANOVA). These tests are designed for continuous normally distributed data, but Likert responses are categorical, ordinal, and not normally distributed. The problems are further complicated when the paired nature of pre/post- or preference questioning is ignored. METHODS Simulated data for a single five-point Likert scale question was used to illustrate the differing conclusions that may arise from single-question Likert scale data depending on whether pairing is modeled appropriately and which statistical procedure was applied (two sample: t test or Wilcoxon rank sum; paired samples; t test, Wilcoxon signed rank, or sign test). RESULTS Cases are shown for which the paired responses are significantly different (indicated by the sign test), although the group mean responses to the two questions are identical (leading to nonsignificance with both paired t and signed rank tests). The sign test is shown to be appropriate and simple to apply in typical pre/post- or preference situations. CONCLUSIONS Correctly identifying the question of interest is critical to selecting the appropriate statistical methodology.
Explaining Speculative Expansions

Abstract In this paper we use a modified neoclassical business cycle model to test two competing explanations of the expansion of the 1990s. The model can have indeterminate, multiple equilibria that give rise to expectation-driven business cycles. We fit into the model series of estimated speculative and productivity shocks and compare its predictions with empirical data. Our results suggest that the speculation hypothesis has more explanatory power than the productivity hypothesis in terms of matching the data. Speculative behavior of investors, therefore, may have contributed to the investment boom, the prolonged expansion, and the subsequent recession of the period 1991-2001.
Effect of intrathecal and intravenous administration of oxytocin on amplitude of the reflex-evoked muscle action potential after electrical stimulation of the tooth pulp in anesthetized dogs.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether intrathecal (IT) or IV administration of oxytocin will diminish amplitude of the reflex-evoked muscle action potential (REMP) in the digastricus muscle during electrical stimulation of the tooth pulp in anesthetized dogs, thus suggesting an analgesic effect for oxytocin. ANIMALS 6 male Beagles that were 2 to 6 years old. PROCEDURE Dogs were used in a crossover design with at least a 5-day washout period between treatments. Each dog received morphine, saline (0.9% NaCl) solution, and oxytocin by both the IT and IV routes of administration. Noninvasive dental dolorimetry was used to assess changes in pain threshold following administration of treatments. Effectiveness of analgesia was determined on the basis of change in REMP amplitude in the digastricus muscle. RESULTS Morphine administered IV significantly inhibited REMP amplitude, compared with IV administration of saline solution or oxytocin. There was not a significant change in REMP amplitude between saline solution and oxytocin administered IV. Intrathecal administration of morphine significantly inhibited REMP amplitude, compared with IT administration of saline solution or oxytocin. Intrathecal administration of oxytocin significantly increased REMP amplitude, compared with IT administration of saline solution or morphine. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Although IV administration of oxytocin did not have an effect on REMP amplitude, compared with IV administration of saline solution, IT administration of oxytocin had the opposite effect of morphine and increased REMP amplitude of the digastricus muscle. These data do not support the use of oxytocin as an analgesic agent in dogs.
Regulation of microglia development and homeostasis

Microglia represent the resident macrophages of the central nervous system (CNS) and account for 10% of the adult glial cell population in the normal brain. Although microglial cells are thought to contribute to most pathological conditions including CNS infections, neuroinflammatory lesions, brain tumors, and neurodegenerative diseases, their exact role in CNS development, homeostasis, and disease remains poorly understood. In contrast to most macrophage populations, microglia survive high‐dose ionizing radiation and maintain themselves locally and independently of circulating precursors in the steady state. However, controversies remain on the origin of microglia in the brain and whether they could potentially be repopulated by circulating myeloid precursors after brain injury. Microglia‐targeted therapies through the use of genetically modified circulating hematopoietic cells proved to be a promising therapeutic strategy for the treatment of brain diseases. It is thus of great importance to understand the contribution and developmental cues of circulating myeloid cells as potential microglia progenitors to the adult pool of microglia in the steady state and under inflammatory conditions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The role of the stomach wall in the exogenous development of Plasmodium gallinaceum as studies by means of haemocoel injections of susceptible and refractory mosquitoes.

After the discovery by Ross (1898) of the role played by mosquitoes in the transmission of plasmodia, the details of the life cycles of malaria parasites in both the vertebrate and invertebrate hosts have become so widely accepted that the literature now gives the tacit impression that the parasite can not deviate from the routine pattern. The stomach wall in mosquitoes has been given a role of prime importance in the development or the inhibition of the parasite in its exogenous cycle. In such a role it became the most important determining factor in the susceptibility of mosquitoes. In the experiments reported here, which were designed to study the innate immunity or susceptibility of certain mosquitoes to malaria, it has been shown that, although the prescribed route may be necessary in natural infections, the parasite is able to deviate from this cycle. The barrier of the stomach wall was by-passed by inoculating the exogenous stages, from gametocytes to sporozoites, into the
Reexamination of the π‐bond strengths within H2C=XHn systems: A theoretical study

The accurate determination of π‐bond energies, Dπ, in doubly‐bonded species has been an important issue in theoretical chemistry. The procedure using the divalent state stabilization energy defined by Walsh has been suggested, and the procedure seems to be conceptually reasonable and applicable to all kinds of doubly‐bonded species. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether the procedure could be a reliable methodology for estimating the Dπ values for a variety of H2C=XHn species. To achieve a higher accuracy, the Dπ values were estimated at QCISD(T)/6‐311++G(3df,2p) level of theory combined with isogyric correction. The Dπ values estimated in this work were in excellent agreement with the extant literature values. On the other hand, in determining accurate Dπ values for doubly bonded species, especially in species with lone‐pair electrons such as H2C=O, it has been found that consideration of highly sophisticated electron correlation effects could be important. However, sufficiently accurate Dπ values have been obtainable at QCISD(T) or CCSD(T) levels with a 6‐311++G(3df,2p) basis set on geometries at relatively inferior correlated levels such as MP2 and B3LYP levels with a 6‐31+G(d) basis set. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem, 2011
Standard Business Reporting in Australia: Past, Present, and Future

Standard Business Reporting (SBR) is an Australian government initiative aimed at enhancing business productivity by reducing compliance costs. This initiative commenced in 2010 and is based on an international business language, eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL). To date, general awareness or knowledge of the program is limited and the adoption rate by businesses is far below the government’s expectations. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, it describes in detail the different components of SBR and provides a clear overview of how the components work together. Second, it examines the issue of SBR adoption in Australia using the diffusion of innovation (DOI) model and the technology, organization, and environment (TOE) framework. Results show that the most relevant factor in the DOI model is relative advantage. Compatibility does not appear to be a problem to businesses but complexity potentially is an issue. Moreover, enhancing trialability and observability can help promote SBR. In the context of the technological perspective in the TOE framework, perceived costs is an obstacle to SBR adoption as insufficient information is available. The quality of SBR reports has hardly been mentioned or discussed but it is an important factor for the long term success of the SBR. The most salient issue in the organizational perspective is the lack of awareness and expertise on SBR and XBRL among business managers and accountants. In the environmental perspective, there is an increasing pressure for SBR adoption but the external support to help businesses appears to be insufficient. The discussions in this paper provide useful information to managers and accountants on how the SBR components work together. The findings also provide specific recommendations to the government agency in charge of SBR to help the further development and adoption of the program.
An RNA Mapping DataBase for curating RNA structure mapping experiments

SUMMARY We have established an RNA mapping database (RMDB) to enable structural, thermodynamic and kinetic comparisons across single-nucleotide-resolution RNA structure mapping experiments. The volume of structure mapping data has greatly increased since the development of high-throughput sequencing techniques, accelerated software pipelines and large-scale mutagenesis. For scientists wishing to infer relationships between RNA sequence/structure and these mapping data, there is a need for a database that is curated, tagged with error estimates and interfaced with tools for sharing, visualization, search and meta-analysis. Through its on-line front-end, the RMDB allows users to explore single-nucleotide-resolution mapping data in heat-map, bar-graph and colored secondary structure graphics; to leverage these data to generate secondary structure hypotheses; and to download the data in standardized and computer-friendly files, including the RDAT and community-consensus SNRNASM formats. At the time of writing, the database houses 53 entries, describing more than 2848 experiments of 1098 RNA constructs in several solution conditions and is growing rapidly. AVAILABILITY Freely available on the web at http://rmdb.stanford.edu. CONTACT rhiju@stanford.edu. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics Online.
Outcomes after emergency department discharge with a primary diagnosis of heart failure.

BACKGROUND Patients with decompensated chronic heart failure (CHF) are frequently evaluated in emergency departments (ED). The outcomes of such patients after discharge to the outpatient setting from the ED are not well known. Risk factors for return ED visits or subsequent hospital admission after ED discharge for CHF also are not known. METHODS Charts were reviewed from all 112 patients discharged from the Parkland Memorial Hospital ED with a primary diagnosis of CHF from October to December 1998. A composite end point ("failure of outpatient therapy") was prespecified to be a recurrent ED visit for CHF, hospitalization for CHF, or death at 3 months after the index ED discharge. RESULTS Within 3 months of the index ED visit, 61% of the study population met the composite end point. The median time to failure of outpatient therapy was 30 days. Univariate analysis of 27 clinical and demographic variables demonstrated the respiratory rate at presentation as the only predictor of failure of outpatient therapy (P =.02). Multivariate analysis of a model with 8 prespecified variables also demonstrated respiratory rate to be the only variable independently associated with an increased risk for the composite end point (odds ratio 1.6, 95% confidence interval 1.1-2.6, for each increase of 5 breaths/min). CONCLUSION There is a high rate of failure of outpatient therapy (61%) in patients discharged with a primary diagnosis of CHF from an urban county hospital ED. Increased respiratory rate on presentation to the ED may be associated with adverse outcomes after ED discharge for CHF.
Morphological Characterization of Spermatozoa of the Night Monkey

Abstract The morphology, sizes and abnormality rates of spermatozoa in the night monkey were revealed in the present paper. Motile spermatozoa of three males, 7, 8 and 12–13 years old, were squeezed from the ducts of the cauda epididymis after cutting the ducts in cryopreservation media. The morphology of the spermatozoa and abnormalities in them were observed, and the sizes of the spermatozoa were measured in smear samples. The spermatozoa of the night monkey had heads with rounded and thick shapes. Measurement of the spermatozoa revealed that the average widths and lengths of the heads, average lengths of the middle pieces, and average total lengths from the head to tail tip were 4.7 ± 0.8, µm and 2.8 ± 0.4 µm, 6.6 ± 2.2, µm and 55.1 ± 6.2 µm, respectively (average ± SD). The total rates of abnormal spermatozoa were different among the 7-, 8- and 12–13- year-old night monkeys, 41.8%, 24.0% and 36.5%, respectively. Freezing of semen was also attempted using the procedure contained in a commercial kit for the mouse. Although the motility of the spermatozoa from the night monkeys was poor in fresh samples, the motility of their spermatozoa frozen-thawed with the commercial kit was similar to that before freezing.
Widely Tunable MEMS-Based Fabry–Perot Filter

This paper describes the use of strain stiffening in fixed-fixed beam actuators to extend the tuning range of microelectromechanical-systems-based Fabry-Perot filters. The measured wavelength tuning range of 1.615-2.425 mum is the largest reported for such a filter. Curvature in the movable mirror was corrected using a low-power oxygen plasma to controllably alter the stress gradient in the mirror. After curvature correction, the linewidth of a filter was 52 nm, close to the theoretical minimum for our mirror design. As a proof of concept, a filter was bonded to a broadband infrared detector, realizing a wavelength-tunable infrared detector. All measured data have been compared to theoretical models of the optics and mechanics of the filters, with excellent agreement between theory and measurement demonstrated in all cases. Finally, the Young's modulus and stress of the actuator materials were extracted directly from the measured voltage-displacement curves, demonstrating a novel technique for material property measurement.
Conformal invariance, the central charge, and universal finite-size amplitudes at criticality.

We show that for conformally invariant two-dimensional systems, the amplitude of the finite-size corrections to the free energy of an infinitely long strip of width L at criticality is linearly related to the conformal anomaly number c , for various boundary conditions. The result is confirmed by renormalization-group arguments and numerical calculations. It is also related to the magnitude of the Casimir effect in an interacting one-dimensional field theory, and to the low-temperature specific heat in quantum chains. PACS numbers: 64.60. Fr, 05.70. Jk, 68.55. –a, 75.40. –s
Differential control of neonatal tolerance by antigen dose versus extended exposure and adjuvant.

Ig-PLP1, an immunoglobulin (Ig) chimera carrying the encephalitogenic proteolipid protein (PLP) sequence 139-151 (PLP1), induces neonatal tolerance in mice and confers resistance to experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) without the need for incomplete Freund's adjuvant (IFA). The mechanism underlying such tolerance involves organ-specific T cell regulation characterized by lymph node deviation and an unusual IFNgamma-dependent splenic anergy. This form of T cell modulation may prove useful for prevention of autoimmunity. However, since the neonatal period is susceptible to regulation, further investigations are necessary to define parameters required to establish regimens suitable for optimal protection against disease. Therefore, studies were carried out to investigate the effect that IFA, the dose of Ig-PLP1, and the number of Ig-PLP1 injections might have on Ig-PLP1-mediated neonatal tolerance and protection against disease. Herein it is reported that as little as 1 microg of Ig-PLP1 supported IFNgamma-dependent splenic anergy but lymph node deviation and protection against disease strengthened as the dose of tolerogen increased. However, when a two-injection regimen was applied, resistance to disease was observed but the mechanism manifested proliferative and cytokine unresponsiveness in both lymphoid organs. Furthermore, the use of IFA along with Ig-PLP1 yielded a suppressive mechanism similar to that of the two-injection regimen. Therefore, the dose of Ig-PLP1 displays a quantitative influence, while the number of injections of Ig-PLP1 and the presence of IFA rather drive qualitative influences on such tolerance.
Spanish Adaptation of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale

The Collett-Lester Fear of Death Scale (CL-FODS) consists of 4 subscales: Death of Self, Dying of Self, Death of Others, and Dying of Others. The aim of this study was to develop a Spanish version of the CL-FODS and to explore its psychometric properties. The revised version of the scale was translated into Spanish from English. Then, the back translation technique was carried out. A sample of 281 Spanish nursing students and professionals responded to the Spanish CL-FODS, along with 2 instruments assessing death anxiety and general anxiety. Good internal consistency and satisfactory test–retest reliability of the 4 subscales of the Spanish CL-FODS were achieved. Its correlations with death anxiety were higher than that with general anxiety, supporting its discriminant validity. The principal component analysis forced to 4 components provided a distribution of loadings that is more coherent with the theoretical formulation of the 4 components than those obtained in previous studies. These results justify the use of the CL-FODS in Spanish-speaking health care professionals for the purpose of assessing attitudes toward death and dying in self and others.
Comparative Analysis of Monocyte Subsets in the Pig

Human and mouse monocyte can be divided into two different subpopulations based on surface marker expression: CD14/16 and Ly6C/CX3CR1, respectively. Monocyte subpopulations in the pig were identified based on reciprocal expression of CD14 and the scavenger receptor CD163. The two populations, CD14hi-CD163low and CD14low-CD163hi, show approximately equal abundance in the steady-state. Culture of pig PBMCs in CSF1 indicates that the two populations are a maturation series controlled by this growth factor. Gene expression in pig monocyte subpopulations was profiled using the newly developed and annotated pig whole genome snowball microarray. Previous studies have suggested a functional equivalence between human and mouse subsets, but certain genes such as CD36, CLEC4E, or TREM-1 showed human-specific expression. The same genes were expressed selectively in pig monocyte subsets. However, the profiles suggest that the pig CD14low-CD163high cells are actually equivalent to intermediate human monocytes, and there is no CD14− CD16+ “nonclassical” population. The results are discussed in terms of the relevance of the pig as a model for understanding human monocyte function.