Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Definition of a new static model of Parallel Kinematic Machines: Highlighting of overconstraint influence

This paper deals with static behaviour modelling of Parallel Kinematic Machines (PKMs). Due to their high dynamic abilities, PKMs are subjected to high inertial and cutting loads while machining. These loads generate structure deflection, and thus tool pose defects. The aim of this article is to present a predictable model of PKMs. This model could be useful to optimize part positioning in the workspace or adapt machining strategies in order to minimize the influence of structure deflections. The proposed model takes into account legs and joints compliances. Considering the geometry of most of parallel architectures, the legs are modelled as beams. The focus, here, is particularly on joint models. In the literature, when the compliance of joints is considered, it is always modelled with a constant stiffness. In this paper, a different approach is proposed, based on a technical analysis of the joints and non linear models are chosen. Models proposed are applied to an existing PKM: the Tricept. The parameters of this model (i.e. the stiffness of the joints) are then identified, thanks to experimental stiffness measurements done on a ABB 940 Tricept robot. Finally, a second architecture is studied. This machine is overconstrained even if it is very close to the Tricept architecture. The same modelling method is applied and the static behaviours of the two machines are compared. Thus, the effect of overconstraint on static behaviour is analysed.
Combining Data-Driven and User-Driven Evaluation Measures to Identify Interesting Rules

Association rule mining is a data mining task that is applied in several real problems. However, due to the huge number of association rules that can be generated, the knowledge post-processing phase becomes very complex and challenging. There are several evaluation measures that can be used in this phase to assist users in finding interesting rules. These measures, which can be divided into data-driven (or objective measures) and user-driven (or subjective measures), are first discussed and then analyzed for their pros and cons. A new methodology that combines them, aiming to use the advantages of each kind of measure and to make user’s participation easier, is presented. In this way, data-driven measures
Fault tolerant quickest detection for power quality events in smart grid AMI networks

The quickest detections of power quality (PQ) events have been a critical issues in smart grids due to the wide adoption of renewable energy sources and delicate power electronic devices. The Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), which consists of multiple smart meters/sensors, is adopted to quickly detect the PQ events. In AMI network, multiple meters will send their local decisions to a data collecter/fusion center. The fusion center will make the final decision. The bandwidth between each meter to the fusion center is constrained to be only 1 bit for reducing the cost of communications. Moreover, some of the meters may be faulty in the considered AMI network. We propose a new one-bit randomized grouping algorithm to detect the PQ events with fault tolerant capability. Our simulation results show that our proposed algorithm can efficiently combat faulty meters, and have superior performance with previous works.
Multi-Level Governance and European Integration

Chapter 1 Introduction Chapter 2 Multi-level Governance in the European Union Part 3 Part I: Sources of Multi-level Governance Chapter 4 A Historical Perspective Chapter 5 Multiple Identities Chapter 6 Why National Leaders Diffuse Authority Part 7 Part II: Multi-Level Governance with the Regions Chapter 8 Variations in Cohesion Policy Chapter 9 Cohesion Policy Under Threat Chapter 10 Channels to Europe Part 11 Part III:Contestation in a Multi-Level Polity Chapter 12 The Struggle over European Integration Chapter 13 Supranationalism Contested in the Commission Chapter 14 Political Parties Take a Stand Chapter 15 Bibliography Chapter 16 Index Chapter 17 Appendices
Increased Survival, Proliferation, and Migration in Metastatic Human Pancreatic Tumor Cells Expressing Functional CXCR4

In this study, we have evaluated 11 pancreatic tumor cell lines and tumor cells from surgical samples of patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma for expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4. Six of 11 cell lines expressed detectable mRNA of CXCR4, with three cell lines (AsPC1, Capan1, and Hs766T) having substantial amounts of transcripts. Expression was higher in lines derived from metastatic lesions compared with those derived from primary tumors. Different inflammatory cytokines did not modify expression, whereas IFN-γ down-regulated and hypoxia up-regulated CXCR4 transcripts. Transcript expression was associated with surface expression in pancreatic carcinoma cell lines. All surgical carcinoma samples tested expressed higher levels of CXCR4 than normal pancreatic ducts, which were used as reference tissue. The chemokine CXCL12 induced chemotaxis in CXCR4-positive pancreatic carcinoma cell lines, which was inhibited by anti-CXCR4 monoclonal antibody and by the antagonist AMD3100. Transendothelial migration, Matrigel invasion, and activation of matrix metalloproteases were also enhanced by CXCL12. In CXCR4-positive cell lines, CXCL12 stimulated cell proliferation. The cell line Hs766T produces high levels of CXCL12, and addition of the CXCR4 antagonist AMD3100 partially inhibited proliferation, indicating an autocrine loop. Moreover, the addition of exogenous CXCL12 inhibited apoptosis induced by serum starvation. These results indicate that the CXCR4 receptor is frequently expressed in metastatic pancreatic tumor cells. CXCR4 not only stimulates cell motility and invasion but also promotes survival and proliferation. Strategies to target CXCR4 expressed on tumor cells may be of benefit in patients with pancreatic cancer.
Whole body motion pattern generation for biped humanoid robots

This paper describes a method of whole body motion pattern generation for biped humanoid robots. The walking pattern is generated on the basis of preview control and compensatory motion control. It enables the robot to walk with arm swings. According to the waist motion, hand motion, and foot motion, the angles of the whole body are calculated by inverse kinematics. In order to verify the effectiveness of the pattern generation method, the simulation of the whole body motion is conducted by using Adams and MATLAB/Simulink.
DISCOVERY OF VERY HIGH ENERGY γ-RAY EMISSION FROM CENTAURUS A WITH H.E.S.S.

We report the discovery of faint very high energy (VHE; E > 100 GeV) γ-ray emission from the radio galaxy Centaurus A in observations performed with the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) experiment, an imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescope array consisting of four telescopes located in Namibia. Centaurus A has been observed for more than 120 hr. A signal with a statistical significance of 5. 0σ is detected from the region including the radio core and the inner kpc jets. The integral flux above an energy threshold of ∼250 GeV is measured to be 0.8% of the flux of the Crab Nebula (apparent luminosity: L(>250 GeV) ≈2.6 × 1039 erg s−1, adopting a distance of 3.8 Mpc). The spectrum can be described by a power law with a photon index of 2.7 ± 0.5stat ± 0.2sys. No significant flux variability is detected in the data set. However, the low flux only allows detection of variability on the timescale of days to flux increments above a factor of ∼15–20 (3σ and 4σ, respectively). The discovery of VHE γ-ray emission from Centaurus A reveals particle acceleration in the source to >TeV energies and, together with M 87, establishes radio galaxies as a class of VHE emitters.
In Vitro & In Vivo Effect of Parathyroid Hormone Analogue (1-14) Containing α-amino-iso-butyric Acid Residue (Aib)1,3

Firstly, parathyroid hormone (1-14) [PTH (1-14)] analogue containing various α-amino-iso-butyric acid residue (Aib) was synthesized by exchanging the 1st and 3rd Ala residues of alpha carbon of PTH (1-14). This analogue revealed to have the quite tight and stable α-helical structure using the nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis. The biological activities of these analogues were examined using a cAMP-generating assay in LLC-PK1 cell lines stably transfected with the wild- type human PTH1 receptor. Only the PTH analogue substituted with methyl moiety without acetylation showed significant cAMP generating action with 15.0 ± 3.414 of EC50. Then, we used an ovariectomized rat model system to compare the in vivo effects of parathyroid hormone analogue with that of PTH (1-84). Daily subcutaneous administration of the unacetylated Aib1,3PTH (1-14) for 5 weeks in 30 nM/kg subcutaneously with positive control group receiving PTH (1-84) with 8 nM/kg were performed. However, there was no significant change in spinal or femoral bone mineral density assessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DXA) in the Aib1,3PTH (1-14) group where definite increase of these parameters shown in the PTH (1-84) group (p < 0.001). Assessment of bone strength was evaluated with no significant differences among all groups. It was quite disappointing to see the actual discrepancies between the result of significant pharmacokinetic potency and the in vivo clinical effect of the Aib1,3PTH (1-14). However, there are several limitations to mention, such as the short duration of treatment, matter of dosage, and insufficient effect of tight α-helical structures with absence of C-terminus. In conclusion, our findings suggest that unacetylated Aib1,3PTH (1-14) did not exhibit any anabolic effects at the bones of ovariectomized rats.
Democratic experiences for children in an urban primary school

This dissertation is an autoethnographic study recounting my experience of working in an urban primary school between 2008 and 2010. Over a two year period, during which time I was acting headteacher and then principal teacher, I recorded my experiences in a daily journal. My focus was on children, especially children living in areas of challenging socio-economic conditions. Starting with a concern that their school experiences and interactions with adults are undemocratic and unsatisfactory, my focus in this study was to question how democratic schools are for children. From the numerous themes available, I chose to focus on the experience of children through the interactions and relationships in school structures. I consider pressures on staff and the effects of policy on the profession and the impact of these on developing democracy for children. Over eight chapters, a number of themes permeate the dissertation, including relationships and an assessment of how children are viewed in school and in society generally. Children’s treatment in the school environment has barely changed over many decades. This is in direct contrast with freedoms they enjoy outside of school from, for example, their use of information communication technology. The dissertation looks to highlight the challenges that face the teaching profession and the ways in which the pressures associated with education currently conspire against developing democracy for children. I conclude by anticipating possible changes to the status quo that could, if implemented, increase democratic opportunities in schools. Prospects for change include a reassessment of leadership roles, further engagement with Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) and the adoption of a more radical educational approach.
Online superpage promotion revisited (poster session)

The amount of data that a typical translation lookaside bu er (TLB) can map has not kept pace with the growth in cache sizes and application footprints. As a result, the cost of handling TLB misses limits the performance of an increasing number of applications. The use of superpages, multiple adjacent virtual memory pages that can be mapped with a single TLB entry, extends a TLB's reach without signi cantly increasing its size or cost. Previous studies have shown that simple online policies that decide to create superpages dynamically can be e ective in reducing TLB penalties. We reevaluate online superpage policies in the context of the Impulse memory controller, which supports no-copy superpage construction [4]. Our results show that the presence of Impulse changes the tradeo s in choosing an appropriate policy, and that the most aggressive policy becomes desirable.
The putative protein methyltransferase LAE1 controls cellulase gene expression in Trichoderma reesei

Trichoderma reesei is an industrial producer of enzymes that degrade lignocellulosic polysaccharides to soluble monomers, which can be fermented to biofuels. Here we show that the expression of genes for lignocellulose degradation are controlled by the orthologous T. reesei protein methyltransferase LAE1. In a lae1 deletion mutant we observed a complete loss of expression of all seven cellulases, auxiliary factors for cellulose degradation, β‐glucosidases and xylanases were no longer expressed. Conversely, enhanced expression of lae1 resulted in significantly increased cellulase gene transcription. Lae1‐modulated cellulase gene expression was dependent on the function of the general cellulase regulator XYR1, but also xyr1 expression was LAE1‐dependent. LAE1 was also essential for conidiation of T. reesei. Chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by high‐throughput sequencing (‘ChIP‐seq’) showed that lae1 expression was not obviously correlated with H3K4 di‐ or trimethylation (indicative of active transcription) or H3K9 trimethylation (typical for heterochromatin regions) in CAZyme coding regions, suggesting that LAE1 does not affect CAZyme gene expression by directly modulating H3K4 or H3K9 methylation. Our data demonstrate that the putative protein methyltransferase LAE1 is essential for cellulase gene expression in T. reesei through mechanisms that remain to be identified.
Identifying Perspectives in Text and Video

Polarizing discussions about social controversies (e.g., abortion) and regional conflicts (e.g., the Palestinian-Israeli conflict) take place commonly in broadcast news, newspapers, and blogs. To facilitate mutual understanding between people holding different beliefs, everyone needs to become more aware of different viewpoints toward an issue. Can computers learn the elusive concept of ”perspective” to highlight the different perspectives in everyday communication? We propose to study how different perspectives are reflected in text and video. First, given two document collections, how do computers determine if they are written from different perspectives? Second, how do computers identify the perspective from which an individual document is written? Third, can computers highlight key paragraphs and sentences that reflect strongly a particular perspective so that computer prediction about a document perspective can be justified? Finally, can computers go beyond text? Can computers learn to identify the perspective from which broadcast news programs are produced? We approach the above research questions in a statistical learning framework. Experimental results show that by comparing the divergence between the statistical distributions of two document collection, we can successfully determine whether two document collections are written from different perspectives (e.g., Democratic and Republican candidates in presidential debates). We show that statistical learning methods can identify the perspective from which a document is written with high accuracy. Based on these results we propose to test if the statistical regularities hold for a variety of document collections. We propose to develop a joint model of topic and perspective to automatically uncover the latent structure of contrasting perspectives on a topic. Finally, we plan to conduct annotation study on sentence-level perspectives so that the predictions from our model can be directly evaluated.
Modeling a Neural Network Based Control for Autonomous Production Systems

The increasing complexity of production logistic systems has lead to an emergence of new decentralized control concepts. The Collaborative Research Center 637 (CRC 637) investigates the advantages and limitations of autonomous control as one of these concepts. This research mainly focuses on control strategies consisting of precise descriptions of decision-making processes. In addition, it is developing a modeling framework for autonomously controlled logistic systems called ALEM. As the derivation of precise behavioral descriptions from real world scenarios is difficult, artificial neural networks has come into focus. They provide a suitable method to imitate a system’s behavior without a formal definition. The architecture for adaptive relocation control (ARC) uses neural networks for control purposes on shop floors. This article proposes a concept of modeling to include ARC’s decentralised decision strategy into the ALEM modeling framework.
RETINAL STEM CELLS 61 Molecular signature of adult retinal stem cells

Ten years have now passed since the discovery of quiescent neural stem cells within the mammalian retina. Beside the fascinating aspect of stem cell biology in basic science, these cells have also offered hope for the treatment of incurable retinal diseases. The field has thus rapidly evolved, fluctuating between major advances and recurring doubts. In this review, we will retrace the efforts of scientists during this last decade to characterize these cells and to use them in regenerative medicine. We will also highlight advances made in animal models capable of stem cellmediated retinal regeneration.
AN ENZYMATIC LOCUS PARTICIPATING IN CELLULAR DIVISION OF A YEAST

Growing cells of a filamentous mutant of a yeast, Candida albicans, were found to accumulate and reduce tetrazolium dyes whereas cells of the parent strain, growing as a normally budding yeast, accumulated the dye but did not reduce it. In older cultures, in which rapidly metabolizable carbohydrate has been depleted, the parent strain characteristically produces filaments. These cells, growing in the absence of cellular division, also exhibit tetrazolium reduction. The filamentous mutant synthesizes cell mass at a rate almost equal to that of the parent strain and is not distinguished therefrom in fermentation ability, nutritional requirements for growth, rate of endogenous respiration, or polysaccharide composition. These facts, in conjunction with the striking differences in tetrazolium reduction, lead to the conclusion that the morphological mutant has an impairment to a cellular oxidation mechanism at a flavoprotein locus. This locus is, then, the site at which a reaction essential for cellular division, is coupled via an oxidation-reduction to cellular metabolism. Preliminary evidence is presented providing good indication that uncoupling of cellular division (by genetic block) in the mutant or in the parent (by substrate exhaustion) results from impairment to a dissociable metal chelate mechanism which normally couples a reaction essential to cellular division to flavoprotein oxidation.
Singapore's Unique Monetary Policy: How Does it Work?

The Monetary Authority of Singapore, instead of relying on short-term interest rates or monetary aggregates as its monetary policy instrument, conducts policy by managing the trade-weighted exchange rate index (TWI). This paper investigates how this operating procedure actually works. For empirical purposes, it assumes the authorities follow a reaction function that aims the TWI at stabilizing expected inflation and maintaining output at potential. A partial adjustment mechanism is included to dampen the actual changes in the exchange rate. The estimates confirm that the major focus of monetary policy in Singapore is controlling inflation. The estimated changes in the TWI track the actual change relatively well, and the estimated parameters are as expected. Accordingly, they support the hypothesis that monetary policy in Singapore can be described by a forward-looking policy rule that reacts to both inflation and output volatility. The results suggest that Singapore`s monetary policy has mainly reacted to large deviations in the target variables, which is consistent with monetary policy`s medium-term orientation.
ACOUSTIC RESEARCH FOR PORT PROTECTION AT THE STEVENS MARITIME SECURITY LABORATORY

Stevens Institute of Technology has established a Maritime Security Laboratory (MSL) as a national laboratory resource for government, industry, and universities to advance technologies for the protection of USN maritime infrastructure. Experiment instrumentation includes research vessels, a multiplicity of hydrophones and emitters, stand alone acoustic buoys, diver acoustic simulators, unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), and precision instrumentation placement capabilities. The in-river experiments are controlled remotely from a Visualization Centre on campus. Acoustic research is supported by sound speed profile measurements, integrated video and acoustic tracking of surface events, and global positioning system tracking of live divers. Recent results include determination of parameters defining the detection distance of a threat: source level, transmission loss, and ambient noise. The combination of acoustic noise with video data for different kinds of ships in the Hudson River enables estimation of sound attenuation in a wide frequency band. The establishment of a library of various estuarine signatures, including divers, boats, ships, UUVs, construction equipment, and so forth, is underway. This knowledge can be used in a variety of intruder detection scenarios and for optimal methods of threat detection.
A Language Modeling Framework for Selective Query Expansion

Abstract : Query expansion is a well-known technique that has been shown to improve average retrieval performance. This technique has not been used in many operational systems because of the fact that it can greatly degrade the performance of some individual queries. We show how comparison between language models of the unexpanded and expanded retrieval results can be used to predict when the expanded retrieval has strayed from the original sense of the query. In these cases, the unexpanded results are used while the expanded results are used in the remaining cases (where such straying is not detected). We evaluate this method and others on a wide variety of TREC collections and show how to automatically compute a decision threshold for a collection. We demonstrate the ability of the method to enhance the effectiveness and reliability of the query expansion technique in information retrieval.
Defcon Capture the Flag: defending vulnerable code from intense attack

Defcon's Capture the Flag (CtF) game is the largest open computer security hacking game. This year's CtF had rules that made it particularly difficult to be a successful defender. We entered an Immunix server, comprised of five years of IA and S, OASIS, FTN, and CHATS technologies, to see whether this system could survive sustained attack from determined experts. We describe our experience surviving Defcon CtF.