Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design of a Human-Inspired Sensorized and Adaptive Foot That Enhances Stability Through Tensegrity (Hi-SAFEST)

Although the evolution of mammalian feet has been extensively studied, the development of robotic feet has been slow. However, as legged robots developed, the development of adaptive and highly functional feet became important. This study introduces the Human-inspired Sensorized and Adaptive Foot that Enhances Stability through Tensegrity (Hi-SAFEST), which has high adaptability and functionality. Hi-SAFEST is consisted of artificial tendons inspired by human tendons to sense proprioception of the foot and simultaneously form a tensegrity structure mimicking the human foot structure for adaptability. Hi-SAFEST showed low moment applied to the ankle and low potential energy on various ground inclination angles and obstacles in both the simulations and experiments, which are indicating high adaptability to the surrounding environments. Functionalities were also assessed by experiments; Hi-SAFEST successfully estimated the ground inclination angle and ground reaction force using bio-inspired artificial proprioceptive tendons. In addition, Hi-SAFEST exhibited high slip resistance than conventional passive feet on both flat and rough surfaces.
State-of-the-Art Differentiation Protocols for Patient-Derived Cardiac Pacemaker Cells

Human-induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived cardiomyocytes raise the possibility of generating pluripotent stem cells from a wide range of human diseases. In the cardiology field, hiPSCs have been used to address the mechanistic bases of primary arrhythmias and in investigations of drug safety. These studies have been focused primarily on atrial and ventricular pathologies. Consequently, many hiPSC-based cardiac differentiation protocols have been developed to differentiate between atrial- or ventricular-like cardiomyocytes. Few protocols have successfully proposed ways to obtain hiPSC-derived cardiac pacemaker cells, despite the very limited availability of human tissues from the sinoatrial node. Providing an in vitro source of pacemaker-like cells would be of paramount importance in terms of furthering our understanding of the mechanisms underlying sinoatrial node pathophysiology and testing innovative clinical strategies against sinoatrial node dysfunction (i.e., biological pacemakers and genetic- and pharmacological- based therapy). Here, we summarize and detail the currently available protocols used to obtain patient-derived pacemaker-like cells.
QoS-Based Web Service Composition by GA Using Consumer Decision-Making Function

There are various approaches for QoS-based web service composition using GA (Genetic Algorithm). Most of them use the sum of the values of QoS properties times their weights as the fitness function of GA, to evaluate the QoS of service compositions. However, by using this function, the service composition calculated by GA has shortcomings. For example, response time of the produced service composition is low, good for QoS, and availability is also low, bad for QoS sometimes. It influences users’ QoS experiences. The problem is the function just considers overall QoS while ignoring the equilibrium of QoS properties’ contributions to overall QoS. To deal with this problem, referring to the theory of customer behavior, we use the Cobb-Douglas function indicating users’ decision-making behavior as the fitness function in GA. In this way, the service composition not only has high overall QoS, but each QoS property’ contribution to overall QoS is more balanced. Keywordsweb service composition, QoS, GA, Cobb-Douglas function
On the Formal Verification of Conflict Detection Algorithms

Safety assessment of new air traffic management systems is a main issue for civil aviation authorities. Standard techniques such as testing and simulation have serious limitations in new systems that are significantly more autonomous than the older ones. In this paper, we present an innovative approach, based on formal verification, for establishing the correctness of conflict detection systems. Fundamental to our approach is the concept of trajectory, which is a continuous path in the x-y plane constrained by physical laws and operational requirements. From the Model of trajectories, we extract, and formally prove, high level properties that can serve as a framework to analyze conflict scenarios. We use the AILS alerting algorithm as a case study of our approach.
Program Actions as Actual Causes: A Building Block for Accountability

Protocols for tasks such as authentication, electronic voting, and secure multiparty computation ensure desirable security properties if agents follow their prescribed programs. However, if some agents deviate from their prescribed programs and a security property is violated, it is important to hold agents accountable by determining which deviations actually caused the violation. Motivated by these applications, we initiate a formal study of program actions as actual causes. Specifically, we define in an interacting program model what it means for a set of program actions to be an actual cause of a violation. We present a sound technique for establishing program actions as actual causes. We demonstrate the value of this formalism in two ways. First, we prove that violations of a specific class of safety properties always have an actual cause. Thus, our definition applies to relevant security properties. Second, we provide a cause analysis of a representative protocol designed to address weaknesses in the current public key certification infrastructure.
A New Approach to Conformant Planning Using CNF*

In this paper, we develop a heuristic, progression based conformant planner, called CNF, which represents belief states by a special type of CNF formulae, called CNF CNF-state. We define a transition function φCNF for computing the successor belief state resulting from the execution of an action in a belief state and prove that it is sound and complete with respect to the complete semantics defined in the literature for conformant planning. We evaluate the performance of CNF against other state-of-the-art conformant planners and identify the classes of problems where CNF is comparable with other state-of-the-art planners or scales up better than other planners. We also develop a technique called oneof relaxation which helps boost the performance of CNF. We characterize the domains where this technique can be applied and validate this idea by proposing a new set of benchmarks that is really difficult for other planners yet easy for CNF.
A Robust ISFET pH-Measuring Front-End for Chemical Reaction Monitoring

This paper presents a robust, low-power and compact ion-sensitive field-effect transistor (ISFET) sensing front-end for pH reaction monitoring using unmodified CMOS. Robustness is achieved by overcoming problems of DC offset due to trapped charge and transcoductance reduction due to capacitive division, which commonly exist with implementation of ISFETs in CMOS. Through direct feedback to the floating gate and a low-leakage switching scheme, all the unwanted factors are eliminated while the output is capable of tracking a pH reaction which occurs at the sensing surface. This is confirmed through measured results of multiple devices of different sensing areas, achieving a mean amplification of 1.28 over all fabricated devices and pH sensitivity of 42.1 mV/pH. The front-end is also capable of compensating for accumulated drift using the designed switching scheme by resetting the floating gate voltage. The circuit has been implemented in a commercially-available 0.35 μm CMOS technology achieving a combined chemical and electrical output RMS noise of 3.1 mV at a power consumption of 848.1 nW which is capable of detecting pH changes as small as 0.06 pH.
Determination of cosmology and evolution from K -band magnitude-redshift and number count observations

An attempt to construct a traditional Hubble diagram using objects other than supernovae, namely the infra-red (K-band) magnitudes of 3CR radio galaxies, assuming that these are giant ellipticals undergoing passive stellar evolution with respect to luminosity. Such an approach is degenerate with respect to choice of cosmological and evolutionary parameters. Uses the K-band Hubble diagram in combination with K-band differential number counts. The latter are similarly degenerate but in a different fashion; together the two data sets remove the degeneracy. MNRAS is a leading international journal, impact factor 5.057.
The Impact of Lens Opacity on SD-OCT Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer and Bruch's Membrane Opening Measurements Using the Anatomical Positioning System (APS).

Purpose To evaluate the impact of lens opacity on retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (RNFLT) and Bruch's membrane opening (BMO) measurements. Methods Fifty-nine randomly selected patients without any other relevant ocular pathology undergoing elective routine cataract surgery in two specialized eye clinics were enrolled. RNFLT, BMO area, and BMO minimum rim width (BMO-MRW) were assessed with the Heidelberg Engineering Spectralis OCT using the anatomical positioning system (APS) prior to and 1 day after cataract surgery using a ring scan at different eccentricities of the disc (3.5, 4.1 and 4.7 mm). Lens opacity was quantified using densitometry based on Scheimpflug images (Oculus Pentacam AXL). Results RNFLT, BMO area, and BMO-MRW were virtually identical before and following removal of the cataractous lens. This held when assessed overall, within the six sectors for the 3.5-mm scan, or at any other eccentricity. Baseline RNFLT was not associated with lens opacity. Conclusions Using the APS, RNFLT remained unchanged following cataract surgery, contrary to results reported by previous studies. Our results imply that the APS may have contributed to more precise spectral-domain optical coherence measurements, minimizing the influence of cataract on RNFLT and BMO assessments in our cohort.
Ly49H signaling through DAP10 is essential for optimal natural killer cell responses to mouse cytomegalovirus infection

The activating natural killer (NK) cell receptor Ly49H recognizes the mouse cytomegalovirus (MCMV) m157 glycoprotein expressed on the surface of infected cells and is required for protection against MCMV. Although Ly49H has previously been shown to signal via DAP12, we now show that Ly49H must also associate with and signal via DAP10 for optimal function. In the absence of DAP12, DAP10 enables Ly49H-mediated killing of m157-bearing target cells, proliferation in response to MCMV infection, and partial protection against MCMV. DAP10-deficient Ly49H+ NK cells, expressing only Ly49H–DAP12 receptor complexes, are partially impaired in their ability to proliferate during MCMV infection, display diminished ERK1/2 activation, produce less IFN-γ upon Ly49H engagement, and demonstrate reduced control of MCMV infection. Deletion of both DAP10 and DAP12 completely abrogates Ly49H surface expression and control of MCMV infection. Thus, optimal NK cell–mediated immunity to MCMV depends on Ly49H signaling through both DAP10 and DAP12.
Nutri-Score of Meat, Fish, and Dairy Alternatives: A Comparison between the Old and New Algorithm

Nutri-Score is a front-of-pack label that visualizes the nutritional quality of food products from most healthy (A, dark green) to least healthy (E, red). However, concerns have been raised about discrepancies between Nutri-Score labels and dietary recommendations. Therefore, the Nutri-Score algorithm has recently been adapted. To investigate the effect of the new algorithm, the Nutri-Score of plant-based meat, fish, and dairy alternatives (n = 916) was calculated with the old and new algorithms. In addition, the nutritional values of meat and milk alternatives with Nutri-Score labels A and B were compared under the old and new conditions and subsequently assessed for alignment with the criteria of Dutch dietary guidelines. The new algorithm resulted in a reduction in the number of products with labels A and B, ranging from 5% (cold cuts alternatives) to 55% (milk alternatives). The nutritional composition of products with labels A and B improved for meat alternatives (lower energy and saturated fatty acid contents; higher protein content) and milk alternatives (lower energy, salt, and sugar contents; higher protein and fiber contents). Overall, the new Nutri-Score algorithm is more in line with the Dutch dietary guidelines for plant-based meat and dairy alternatives, though challenges remain with respect to micronutrient (iron, calcium, vitamin B12), salt, and protein contents.
The Geneva convention on the treatment of object aliasing

Aliasing has been a problem in both formal verification and practical programming for a number of years. To the formalist, it can be annoyingly difficult to prove the simple Hoare formula {x = true} y := false {x = true}. If x and y refer to the same boolean variable, i.e., x and y are aliased, then the formula will not be valid, and proving that aliasing cannot occur is not always straightforward. To the practicing programmer, aliases can result in mysterious bugs as variables change their values seemingly on their own. A classic example is the matrix multiply routine mult(left, right, result) which puts the product of its first two parameters into the third. This works perfectly well until the day some unsuspecting programmer writes the very reasonable statement mult(a, b, a). If the implementor of the routine did not consider the possibility that an argument may be aliased with the result, disaster is inevitable.
Identification of contrast and its emphatic realization in HMM based speech synthesis

The work presented in this paper proposes to identify contrast in the form of contrastive word pairs and prosodically signal it with emphatic accents in a Text-to-Speech (TTS) application using a Hidden-Markov-Model (HMM) based speech synthesis system. We first describe a novel method to automatically detect contrastive word pairs using textual features only and report its performance on a corpus of spontaneous conversations in English. Subsequently we describe the set of features selected to train a HMM-based speech synthesis system and attempting to properly control prosodic prominence (including emphasis). Results from a large scale perceptual test show that in the majority of cases listeners judge emphatic contrastive word pairs as acceptable as their non-emphatic counterpart, while emphasis on non-contrastive pairs is almost never acceptable. Index Terms: prosody, contrast, hmm speech synthesis
Genetic history of Latin America : fine-scale population structure, sub-continental ancestry and phenotypic diversity

The history of Latin America involved extensive genetic admixture, particularly between Native Americans, Europeans and Africans. Although these conti-nental contributions to the genetic make-up of the region have been explored previously with genetic data, more precise information about sub-continental contributions has proven elusive. Applying new haplotype-based approaches to ~600,000 SNPs in ~7,000 Latin Americans from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru, this PhD thesis provides a comprehensive analysis of the sub-continental ancestry and demographic history of Latin America at a resolu-tion not previously achieved. Furthermore, using measurements on sampled individuals' physical appearances, I explore the impact of this fine-scale genet-ic structure on phenotypic variation across Latin America. To achieve these aims, I use a novel haplotype-based statistical technique that I compare to previously published haplotype-based and allele-frequency-based methods, using real data and simulations mimicking Latin American admixture. I show that this new approach provides a substantial increase in accuracy, al-lowing more precise inference about ancestral components at both regional and individual levels. Strikingly, Native American ancestry across Latin Ameri-ca mirrors the geographic locations of present-day Native groups. Furthermore, non-Native ancestries match to precise areas within the Iberian Peninsula and elsewhere, consistent with historical records detailing migrations and highlight-ing previously unseen ancestry sources. For the first time in single-sampled individuals, I date the timings of these non-Native Post-Columbian genetic contributions, including newly identified recent contributions related to East Asia. Finally, I show how this sub-continental ancestral reconstruction corre-lates with variation in pigmentation and facial features in Latin Americans, un-earthing new associations that could not be found with available techniques. Overall, I demonstrate how increasing the robustness and accuracy of fine-scale genetic structure analysis allows a comprehensive picture of the histori-cal and biological diversity of Latin America, highlighting the impact of regional genetic variation on human phenotypic diversity.
Modelling of gasification of poultry litter

This work reports the integration of a small scale gasification unit with a gas turbine for on-site power generation. This eliminates the need for the transportation of biomass to centralised plants. The poultry industry in Europe is vast and proper waste management is required in order to comply with environmental regulations. Therefore, poultry litter represents a potential fuel candidate since it is an available source. A process simulation was developed for six levels of integration. The model was applied to evaluate integration schemes involving atmospheric gasification, pressurised gasification and recuperation of energy from the gas turbine exhaust gases. The recuperation of residual heat to preheat air and produced gases was performed with the aim of achieving the highest electrical efficiency. The energy integration system showed more significant effects on process efficiency, cold gasification efficiency, carbon conversion and LHV than the gasifier operating pressure. The proposed solution of the small scale process delivered an electrical efficiency comparable to large scale options.
Multiple motion segmentation through a highly robust estimator

This paper addresses optical flow estimation and motion segmentation through a highly robust estimator vbQMDPE [Wang, H. , and Suter, D. , Oct. 2003]. A coarse-to-fine model based optical flow estimation technique through the robust local regression is first presented. Then, the estimated optical flow is further optimised in each hierarchical level based on piecewise spatial coherence constraint using a robust M-estimator [Black, M. J. and Anandan, P., Jan. 1996]. This technique can produce an accurate optical flow estimate for image sequence containing multiple motion and large motion. In the motion segmentation, we present a model-based motion segmentation technique through the mean shift based robust estimator vbQMDPE. The experimental results have demonstrated that our approach achieved good performance in most synthetic and real video sequences.
Assessing dietary intake: Who, what and why of under-reporting

Abstract Under-reporting of food intake is one of the fundamental obstacles preventing the collection of accurate habitual dietary intake data. The prevalence of under-reporting in large nutritional surveys ranges from 18 to 54% of the whole sample, but can be as high as 70% in particular subgroups. This wide variation between studies is partly due to different criteria used to identify under-reporters and also to non-uniformity of under-reporting across populations. The most consistent differences found are between men and women and between groups differing in body mass index. Women are more likely to under-report than men, and under-reporting is more common among overweight and obese individuals. Other associated characteristics, for which there is less consistent evidence, include age, smoking habits, level of education, social class, physical activity and dietary restraint. Determining whether under-reporting is specific to macronutrients or food is problematic, as most methods identify only low energy intakes. Studies that have attempted to measure under-reporting specific to macronutrients express nutrients as percentage of energy and have tended to find carbohydrate under-reported and protein over-reported. However, care must be taken when interpreting these results, especially when data are expressed as percentages. A logical conclusion is that food items with a negative health image (e.g. cakes, sweets, confectionery) are more likely to be under-reported, whereas those with a positive health image are more likely to be over-reported (e.g. fruits and vegetables). This also suggests that dietary fat is likely to be under-reported. However, it is necessary to distinguish between under-reporting and genuine under-eating for the duration of data collection. The key to understanding this problem, but one that has been widely neglected, concerns the processes that cause people to under-report their food intakes. The little work that has been done has simply confirmed the complexity of this issue. The importance of obtaining accurate estimates of habitual dietary intakes so as to assess health correlates of food consumption can be contrasted with the poor quality of data collected. This phenomenon should be considered a priority research area. Moreover, misreporting is not simply a nutritionist's problem, but requires a multidisciplinary approach (including psychology, sociology and physiology) to advance the understanding of under-reporting in dietary intake studies.
Buoyant Asthenosphere Beneath Cascadia Influences Megathrust Segmentation

Great megathrust earthquakes (magnitude 8+) do not typically rupture an entire convergent margin but rather are limited to one or more along‐strike segments. A fundamental question of subduction zone dynamics and hazard assessment is what physical properties or dynamic processes govern megathrust segmentation. Here we use onshore‐offshore teleseismic delay time data to tomographically image the upper mantle seismic structure of the Cascadia subduction zone. Our results reveal along‐strike segmentation in the oceanic asthenosphere beneath the subducting plate with pronounced low‐velocity anomalies below regions of increased plate locking and greater occurrence of episodic tremor and slip. We attribute the anomalous asthenospheric velocities to independent mantle upwellings associated with hot spot‐derived material in northern Cascadia and fragmentation processes at a diffuse plate boundary in southern Cascadia. Based on these relations, we hypothesize that subslab buoyancy modulates the plate coupling force at the thrust interface, thereby contributing to the localization of subduction zone segmentation.
Diameter-dependent bending dynamics of single-walled carbon nanotubes in liquids

By relating nanotechnology to soft condensed matter, understanding the mechanics and dynamics of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in fluids is crucial for both fundamental and applied science. Here, we study the Brownian bending dynamics of individual chirality-assigned SWCNTs in water by fluorescence microscopy. The bending stiffness scales as the cube of the nanotube diameter and the shape relaxation times agree with the semiflexible chain model. This suggests that SWCNTs may be the archetypal semiflexible filaments, highly suited to act as nanoprobes in complex fluids or biological systems.