Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Tension optimization for cable-driven parallel manipulators using gradient projection

Cable-driven parallel manipulators (CDPMs) are a special class of parallel manipulators that are driven by cables instead of rigid links. Cables have unilateral driving properties so that redundant actuation is required to maintain positive cable tensions. Due to the actuation redundancy, there exists an infinite number of tension solutions for every CDPM's pose. In this paper, a gradient projection method is employed for tension optimization of CDPMs. This optimization process minimizes a performance criterion which is a function of the cable tensions and the tension limits. The steepest descent direction of the performance criterion is projected onto the null space of the structure matrix to provide the direction towards the local minimum. Global optimal tension solution is found by repeating this process. A factor is introduced to adjust the tension solution towards the upper or lower tension limits. Simulation results show that the algorithm produces tension solutions that are continuous and smooth.
Functional Observers for Motion Control Systems

This paper presents a novel functional observer for motion control systems to provide higher accuracy and less noise in comparison to existing observers. The observer uses the input current and position information along with the nominal parameters of the plant and can observe the velocity, acceleration and disturbance information of the system. The novelty of the observer is based on its functional structure that can intrinsically estimate and compensate the un-measured inputs (like disturbance acting on the system) using the measured input current. The experimental results of the proposed estimator verifies its success in estimating the velocity, acceleration and disturbance with better precision than other second order observers.
Harmonic broadcasting is optimal

Harmonic broadcasting was introduced by Juhn and Tseng as a way to reduce the bandwidth requirements required for video-on-demand broadcasting. In this paper, we note that harmonic broadcasting is actually a special case of the priority encoded transmission scheme introduced by Albanese et al. and prove---using an information theoretic argument---that it is impossible to achieve the design goals of harmonic broadcasting using a shorter encoding.
On the convergence of the fictitious domain method for wave equation problems

This paper deals with the convergence analysis of the fictitious domain method used for taking into account the Neumann boundary condition on the surface of a crack (or more generally an object) in the context of acoustic and elastic wave propagation. For both types of waves we consider the first order in time formulation of the problem known as mixed velocity-pressure formulation for acoustics and velocity-stress formulation for elastodynamics. The convergence analysis for the discrete problem depends on the mixed finite elements used. We consider here two families of mixed finite elements that are compatible with mass lumping. When using the first one which is less expensive and corresponds to the choice made in a previous paper, it is shown that the fictitious domain method does not always converge. For the second one a theoretical convergence analysis is presented in the acoustic case and numerical convergence is shown both for acoustic and elastic waves.
A fifty-percent rule to minimize the energy consumption of PCM-based storage systems

In recent years, phase-change memory (PCM) has drawn a lot of attention because of its byte-addressability and non-volatility. It has become a good alternative storage medium to reduce the performance gap between main memory and secondary storage, but its high energy consumption on writes is a challenging issue in the design of battery-powered mobile computing systems. By utilizing the byte-addressability and the asymmetric read-write energy/latency of PCM, we propose an energy-efficient update scheme with a fifty-percent rule for journaling file systems to reduce the energy consumption. This scheme only writes the modified data, instead of the whole updated block, to PCM-based storage devices with the guarantee of the sanity/integrity of file systems even if the system crashes or power failure occurs during the process of data updates. A series of experiments based on the implementation on the Linux system was conducted to evaluate the capability of the proposed scheme, and the results are very encouraging.
T cell surface I-J glycoprotein. Concerted action of chromosome-4 and - 17 genes forms an epitope dependent on alpha-D-mannosyl residues

Two genes acting in concert control murine T cell I-Jk expression. We determined I-Jk expression with I-Jk--specific monoclonal antibodies WF8 . C12.8 and five others produced in our laboratory in a cytotoxicity assay. Previous experiments established that an H-2k gene and a chromosome 4 gene, Jt , regulate I-Jk expression. We show here that B10. HTT and B10.S( 9R ) do not differ at the H-2k locus required for I- Jk expression. Rather B10. HTT , like B10.A(3R), lacks some important non--H-2 gene (possibly Jt ). The intra--H-2k I-J--controlling locus maps to the right of the I-A subregion. The I-Jk determinant involves a carbohydrate structure associated with protein; inhibiting either protein synthesis or glycosylation prevents T cell I-Jk reexpression after proteolytic removal. Treatment with alpha-mannosidase destroys I- Jk determinants, implicating terminal alpha-D-mannosyl residues in the I-Jk epitope. Models for H-2 and Jt control of I-J expression are discussed.
Congestion Control in Wireless Networks

The most important goal in networking is to achieve reliable (probably delay-bounded) transmission of data over the network infrastructure. In wired networks, traffic congestion on network nodes is the dominant source of packet loss and delay. Thus, protocols like TCP use mechanisms like adaptive window control to tackle this problem of congestion. In wireless networks, however, apart from the above problem of congestion, the time varying channel becomes another cause of unreliable data transmission and packet loss. The use of TCP in these cases (assuming all packet losses are due to congestion) can lead to very conservative designs if the congestion and fading time scales are different. A joint strategy to combat both congestion and fading must be used to increase throughput. This is the problem that we have worked on in this project.
Intelligent Tutoring Systems for Ill-Defined Domains : Assessment and Feedback in Ill-Defined Domains

Intelligent tutoring systems have increased student learning in many domains with well-structured tasks such as math and science. As these successes may be applicable to ill-defined domains, is important to investigate how to apply tutoring paradigms for tasks that are ill-defined. We focus on the domain of intercultural competence, where asynchronous online discussion is a typical instructional task. We explore two methods of assessing student contributions and delivering feedback: an adaptive support system that provides individual feedback, and a peer moderator from the class supported by adaptive assistance. We report on our initial experience in two pilots of these systems, where we found promise that students may benefit from each approach.
Journal of Development Economics

We conduct an adaptive randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a SMS-based information campaign on the adoption of social distancing and handwashing in rural Bihar, India, six months into the COVID-19 pandemic. We test 10 arms that vary in delivery timing and message framing, changing content to highlight gains or losses for either one’s own family or community. We identify the optimal treatment separately for each targeted behavior by adaptively allocating shares across arms over 10 experimental rounds using exploration sampling. Based on phone surveys with nearly 4,000 households and using several elicitation methods, we do not find evidence of impact on knowledge or adoption of preventive health behavior, and our confidence intervals cannot rule out positive effects as large as 5.5 percentage points, or 16%. Our results suggest that SMS-based information campaigns may have limited efficacy after the initial phase of a pandemic.
Icelandic. Masculine generics in current Icelandic

1.Introduction 2. Gender in the linguistic structure of Icelandic 2.1 Grammatical gender 2.2 Grammatical gender and personal reference 2.3 Masculine generics 2.4 Occupational titles for women 3. Language and gender in Iceland 4. The use of Icelandic occupational titles: a pilot study 5. Conclusion Notes References
Induction of Mitochondrial Changes Associated with Oxidative Stress on Very Long Chain Fatty Acids (C22:0, C24:0, or C26:0)-Treated Human Neuronal Cells (SK-NB-E)

In Alzheimer's disease, lipid alterations point towards peroxisomal dysfunctions. Indeed, a cortical accumulation of saturated very long chain fatty acids (VLCFAs: C22:0, C24:0, C26:0), substrates for peroxisomal β-oxidation, has been found in Alzheimer patients. This study was realized to investigate the effects of VLCFAs at the mitochondrial level since mitochondrial dysfunctions play crucial roles in neurodegeneration. On human neuronal SK-NB-E cells treated with C22:0, C24:0, or C26:0 (0.1–20 μM; 48 h), an inhibition of cell growth and mitochondrial dysfunctions were observed by cell counting with trypan blue, MTT assay, and measurement of mitochondrial transmembrane potential (Δψ m) with DiOC6(3). A stimulation of oxidative stress was observed with DHE and MitoSOX used to quantify superoxide anion production on whole cells and at the mitochondrial level, respectively. With C24:0 and C26:0, by Western blotting, lower levels of mitochondrial complexes III and IV were detected. After staining with MitoTracker and by transmission electron microscopy used to study mitochondrial topography, mass and morphology, major changes were detected in VLCFAs treated-cells: modification of the cytoplasmic distribution of mitochondria, presence of large mitochondria, enhancement of the mitochondrial mass. Thus, VLCFAs can be potential risk factors contributing to neurodegeneration by inducing neuronal damages via mitochondrial dysfunctions.
Attractor Dynamics with Synaptic Depression

Neuronal connection weights exhibit short-term depression (STD). The present study investigates the impact of STD on the dynamics of a continuous attractor neural network (CANN) and its potential roles in neural information processing. We find that the network with STD can generate both static and traveling bumps, and STD enhances the performance of the network in tracking external inputs. In particular, we find that STD endows the network with slow-decaying plateau behaviors, namely, the network being initially stimulated to an active state will decay to silence very slowly in the time scale of STD rather than that of neural signaling. We argue that this provides a mechanism for neural systems to hold short-term memory easily and shut off persistent activities naturally.
Explaining the Negative Spillover Effect in Target Marketing: Automatic Social Comparisons That Threaten Collective Self-Esteem

Keller, Kevin Lane (1993), “Conceptualizing, Measuring, and Managing Customer-Based Brand Equity,” Journal of Marketing, 57 (January), 1-22. (1998), Strategic Brand Management: Building, Measuring, and Managing Brand Equity, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. Klink, Richard R. (2003), “Creating Meaningful Brands: The Relationship between Brand Name and Brand Mark,” Marketing Letters, 14 (3), 143-57. Zhang, Shi and Sanjay Sood (2002), “”Deep” and “Surface” Cues: Brand Extension Evaluations by Children and Adults,” Journal of Consumer Research, 29 (June), 129-41.
Selective Discrimination Learning Impairments in Mice Expressing the Human Huntington's Disease Mutation

Cognitive decline is apparent in the early stages of Huntington's disease and progressively worsens throughout the course of the disease. Expression of the human Huntington's disease mutation in mice (R6/2 line) causes a progressive neurological phenotype with motor symptoms resembling those seen in Huntington's disease. Here we describe the cognitive performance of R6/2 mice using four different tests (Morris water maze, visual cliff avoidance, two-choice swim tank, and T-maze). Behavioral testing was performed on R6/2 transgenic mice and their wild-type littermates between 3 and 14.5 weeks of age, using separate groups of mice for each test. R6/2 mice did not show an overt motor phenotype until ∼8 weeks of age. However, between 3.5 and 8 weeks of age, R6/2 mice displayed progressive deterioration in specific aspects of learning in the Morris water maze, visual cliff, two-choice swim tank, and T-maze tasks. The age of onset and progression of the deficits in the individual tasks differed depending on the particular task demands. Thus, as seen in humans with Huntington's disease, R6/2 mice develop progressive learning impairments on cognitive tasks sensitive to frontostriatal and hippocampal function. We suggest that R6/2 mice provide not only a model for studying cognitive and motor changes in trinucleotide repeat disorders, but also a framework within which the functional efficacy of therapeutic strategies aimed at treating such diseases can be tested.
Hamiltonian Streamline Guided Feature Extraction with Applications to Face Detection

We propose a new feature extraction method based on two dynamical systems induced by intensity landscape: the negative gradient system and the Hamiltonian system. We build features based on the Hamiltonian streamlines. These features contain nice global topological information about the intensity landscape, and can be used for object detection. We show that for training images of same size, our feature space is much smaller than that generated by Haar-like features. The training time is extremely short, and detection speed and accuracy is similar to Haar-like feature based classifiers.
Hotspot of glyoxal over the Pearl River delta seen from the OMI satellite instrument: implications for emissions of aromatic hydrocarbons

Abstract. The Pearl River delta (PRD) is a densely populated hub of industrial activity located in southern China. OMI (Ozone Monitoring Instrument) satellite observations reveal a large hotspot of glyoxal (CHOCHO) over the PRD that is almost twice as large as any other in Asia. Formaldehyde (HCHO) and NO2 observed by OMI are also high in the PRD but no more than in other urban/industrial areas of China. The CHOCHO hotspot over the PRD can be explained by industrial paint and solvent emissions of aromatic volatile organic compounds (VOCs), with toluene being a dominant contributor. By contrast, HCHO in the PRD originates mostly from VOCs emitted by combustion (principally vehicles). By applying a plume transport model to wind-segregated OMI data, we show that the CHOCHO and HCHO enhancements over the PRD observed by OMI are consistent with current VOC emission inventories. Prior work using CHOCHO retrievals from the SCIAMACHY satellite instrument suggested that emission inventories for aromatic VOCs in the PRD were too low by a factor of 10–20; we attribute this result in part to bias in the SCIAMACHY data and in part to underestimated CHOCHO yields from oxidation of aromatics. Our work points to the importance of better understanding CHOCHO yields from the oxidation of aromatics in order to interpret space-based CHOCHO observations in polluted environments.
Prevention of Internet addiction: A systematic review

Background and aims Out of a large number of studies on Internet addiction, only a few have been published on the prevention of Internet addiction. The aim of this study is provide a systematic review of scientific articles regarding the prevention of Internet addiction and to identify the relevant topics published in this area of interest. Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were adopted. The EBSCO, ProQuest Central, and PubMed databases were searched for texts published in English and Spanish between January 1995 and April 2016. A total of 179 original texts were obtained. After de-duplication and topic-relevance review, 108 texts were systematically classified and subjected to descriptive analysis and subsequent content analysis. Results The results of the content analysis yielded the following thematic areas: (a) target groups, (b) the improvement of specific skills, (c) program characteristics, and (d) environmental interventions. Discussion and conclusion Literature on the prevention of Internet addiction is scarce. There is an urgent need to introduce and implement new interventions for different at-risk populations, conduct well-designed research, and publish data on the effectiveness of these interventions. Developing prevention interventions should primarily target children and adolescents at risk of Internet addiction but also parents, teachers, peers, and others who are part of the formative environment of children and adolescents at risk of Internet addiction. Newly designed interventions focused on Internet addiction should be rigorously evaluated and the results published.
A needs assessment study of hospital pharmacy residency preceptors.

BACKGROUND Canadian pharmacy residency programs rely on preceptors to support the growing demand of graduates wishing to pursue hospital residencies. Understanding the educational needs of these preceptors is important to ensure that they are well prepared to deliver successful programs. OBJECTIVE To determine what new and experienced residency preceptors self-identify as learning needs in order to become more effective preceptors for pharmacy residents. METHODS A needs assessment of preceptors from the 31 accredited Canadian general hospital pharmacy residency programs was conducted. The study had 4 key components: interviews and focus group discussions with key informants, a pilot study, an online survey, and member checking (seeking clarification and further explanation from study participants). The residency coordinators and a convenience sample of 5 preceptors from each program were invited to participate in the survey component. RESULTS Of a possible 186 participants, 132 (71%) responded to the survey. Of these, 128 (97%) were confident that they met the 2010 standards of the Canadian Hospital Pharmacy Residency Board (CHPRB). Preceptors ranked communication skills, giving effective feedback, and clinical knowledge as the most important elements of being an effective preceptor. Managing workload, performing evaluations, and dealing with difficult residents were commonly reported challenges. Preceptors expressed a preference for interactive workshops and mentorship programs with experienced colleagues when first becoming preceptors, followed by 1-day training sessions or online learning modules every other year for ongoing educational support. The most beneficial support topics selected were providing constructive feedback, practical assessment strategies, small-group teaching strategies, effective communication skills, and setting goals and objectives. CONCLUSIONS This study identified several learning needs of hospital residency preceptors and showed that preceptors would appreciate educational support. Utilization of these results by residency program administrators, the CHPRB, and faculties of pharmacy could be beneficial for residency programs across Canada.
STEM: a spatio-temporal miner for bursty activity

Burst identification has been extensively studied in the context of document streams, where a burst is generally exhibited when an unusually high frequency is observed for a term t. Previous works have focused exclusively on either temporal or spatial burstiness patterns. The former represents bursty timeframes within a single stream, while the latter characterizes sets of streams that simultaneously exhibited a bursty behavior for a user-specified timeframe. Our previous work was the first to study the spatiotemporal burstiness of terms. In this context, a burstiness pattern consists of both a timeframe and a set of streams, both of which need to be identified automatically. In this paper we describe STEM (Spatio-TEmporal Miner), a system for finding spatiotemporal burstiness patterns in a collection of spatially distributed frequency streams. STEM implements the full functionality required to mine spatiotemporal burstiness patterns from virtually any collection of geostamped streams. Examples of such collections include document streams (e.g. online newspapers), geo-aware microblogging platforms (e.g. Twitter). This paper describes the STEM system and discusses how its features can be accessed via a user-friendly interface.
Comparison of systolic and diastolic blood pressure with pulse pressure and mean arterial pressure for prediction of type 2 diabetes: the Isfahan Diabetes Prevention Study.

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to compare the ability of the systolic and diastolic blood pressure (BP), pulse pressure (PP), fraction PP (PPF) and mean arterial pressure (MAP) to predict progression to diabetes in non-diabetic first-degree relatives (FDRs) of patients with type 2 diabetes. MATERIAL AND METHODS A total of 701 non-diabetic FDRs aged 20-70 in 2003 to 2005 were followed through to 2008 for the occurrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus. At baseline and through follow-ups, participants underwent a standard 75 g 2-h oral glucose tolerance test. Prediction of progression to type 2 diabetes was assessed using area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves based upon measurement of PP, MAP, PPF, systolic and diastolic BP. RESULTS Diabetes developed in 72 participants (10.3%) during the follow-up period. The incidence of type 2 diabetes was 3.4 per 100 person years in men and 4.9 in women. Systolic and diastolic BP and MAP were related to diabetes, but PP and PPF were not. Systolic and diastolic BP and MAP have similar associations with incident diabetes. Areas under the ROC curves were 0.582 for systolic, 0.589 for diastolic, 0.589 for MAP, 0.520 for PP, and 0.468 for PPF. CONCLUSION These results indicate that systolic and diastolic BP are as strong as MAP in predicting progression to diabetes. Increased BP may help identify FDRs of patients with type 2 diabetes at high risk for diabetes who are candidates for BP control.
Silhouette labeling and tracking in calibrated omnidirectional video sequences

In this paper, we present a methodology for labeling and tracking human silhouettes in indoor videos acquired by omnidirectional (fish-eye) cameras. The proposed methodology is based on a fisheye camera model that employs a spherical optical element and central projection, which has been calibrated to allow extraction of 3D geometry clues as described in [11]. The proposed algorithm requires input from a video segmentation algorithm, generating segmented human silhouettes. The history of a person's real position, as well as his appearance in the form of R, G, B color values are utilized in the described methodology. According to initial experimentation, the proposed algorithm is able to track efficiently multiple silhouettes with prolonged partial or full occlusions and it can calculate the trajectory of each silhouette. The algorithm can operate in the presence of imperfect segmentation, with the persons moving in any direction with respect to the camera, thus producing radically different shapes and color appearances.