Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Programmable Pattern Generators

This paper explores the idea to create complex human-like arm movements from movement primitives based on nonlinear attractor dynamics. Each degree-offreedom of an arm is assumed to have two independent abilities to create movement, one through a discrete dynamic system, and one through a rhythmic system. The discrete system creates point-to-point movements based on internal or external target specifications. The rhythmic system can add an additional oscillatory movement relative to the current position of the discrete system. In the present study, we develop appropriate dynamic systems that can realize the above model, motivate the particular choice of the systems from a biological and engineering point of view, and present simulation results of the performance of such movement primitives. Implementation results on a Sarcos Dexterous Arm are discussed.
Executive function, memory, and gait speed decline in well-functioning older adults.

BACKGROUND In community-dwelling older adults, global cognitive function predicts longitudinal gait speed decline. Few prospective studies have evaluated whether specific executive cognitive deficits in aging may account for gait slowing over time. METHODS Multiple cognitive tasks were administered at baseline in 909 participants in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study Cognitive Vitality Substudy (mean age 75.2 ± 2.8 years, 50.6% women, 48.4% black). Usual gait speed (m/s) over 20 minutes was assessed at baseline and over a 5-year follow-up. RESULTS Poorer performance in each cognitive task was cross-sectionally associated with slower gait independent of demographic and health characteristics. In longitudinal analyses, each 1 SD poorer performance in global function, verbal memory, and executive function was associated with 0.003-0.004 m/s greater gait speed decline per year (p =.03-.05) after adjustment for baseline gait speed, demographic, and health characteristics. CONCLUSIONS In this well-functioning cohort, several cognitive tasks were associated with gait speed cross-sectionally and predicted longitudinal gait speed decline. These data are consistent with a shared pathology underlying cognitive and motor declines but do not suggest that specific executive cognitive deficits account for slowing of usual gait in aging.
Exploring athletic identity in elite-level English youth football: a cross-sectional approach

Abstract This study is the first empirical investigation that has explored levels of athletic identity in elite-level English professional football. The importance of understanding athletes’ psychological well-being within professional sport has been well documented. This is especially important within the professional football industry, given the high attrition rate (Anderson, G., & Miller, R. M. (2011). The academy system in English professional football: Business value or following the herd? University of Liverpool, Management School Research Paper Series. Retrieved from http://www.liv. ac.uk/managementschool/research/working%20papers/wp201143.pdf) and distinct occupational practices (Roderick, M. (2006). The work of professional football. A labour of love? London: Routledge). A total of 168 elite youth footballers from the English professional football leagues completed the Athletic Identity Measurement Scale (AIMS). Multilevel modelling was used to examine the effect of playing level, living arrangements and year of apprentice on the total AIMS score and its subscales (i.e., social identity, exclusivity and negative affectivity). Football club explained 30% of the variance in exclusivity among players (P = .022). Mean social identity was significantly higher for those players in the first year of their apprenticeship compared to the second year (P = .025). All other effects were not statistically significant (P > .05). The novel and unique findings have practical implications in the design and implementation of career support strategies with respect to social identity. This may facilitate the maintenance of motivation over a 2-year apprenticeship and positively impact on performance levels within the professional football environment.
Local effects of inbreeding on embryo number and consequences for genetic diversity in Kerguelen mouflon

A classical paradigm in population genetics is that homozygosity or inbreeding affects individual fitness through increased disease susceptibility and mortality, and diminished breeding success. Using data from an insular population of mouflon (Ovis aries) founded by a single pair of individuals, we compare embryo number of ewes with different levels of inbreeding. Contrary to expectations, ewes with the highest levels of homozygosity showed the largest number of embryos. Using two different statistical approaches, we showed that this relationship is probably caused by heterozygosity at specific genes. The genetics of embryo number coupled with cyclic dynamics could play a central role in promoting genetic variation in this population.
The Unique Contribution of Positive Orientation to Optimal Functioning

Literature documents that the judgments people hold about themselves, their life, and their future are important ingredients of their psychological functioning and well-being, and are commonly related to each other. In this paper, results from a large cross-sectional sample (N = 1,331, 48% males) are presented attesting to the hypothesis that evaluations about oneself, one’s life, and one’s future rest on a common mode of viewing experiences named “Positive Orientation. ” These results corroborate the utility of the new construct as a critical component of individuals’ well functioning.
State Estimation for Large Ensembles I Introduction

We consider the problem of estimating the state of a large but nite number N of identical quantum systems. As N becomes large the problem simpliies dramatically. The only relevant measure of the quality of estimation becomes the mean quadratic error matrix. Here we present a bound on this quantity: a new quantum Cram er-Rao inequality. The new bound expresses succinctly how in the quantum case one can trade information about one parameter for information about another. The bound holds for arbitrary measurements on pure states, but only for separable measurements on mixed states|a striking example of non-locality without entan-glement for mixed but not for pure states. Cram er-Rao bounds are generally only derived for unbiased estimators. Here we give a version of our bound for biased estimators, and a simple asymptotic version for large N. Finally we prove that when the unknown state belongs to a two dimensional Hilbert space our quantum Cram er-Rao bound can always be attained and we provide an explicit measurement strategy that attains it. Thus we have a complete solution to the problem of estimating as eeciently as possible the unknown state of a large ensemble of qubits in the same pure state. The same is true for qubits in the same mixed state if one restricts oneself to separable measurements, but non-separable measurements allow dramatic increase of eeciency. Exactly how much increase is possible is a major open problem. One of the central problems of quantum measurement theory is the estimation of an unknown quantum state. Originally only of theoretical interest, this problem is becoming of increasing practical importance. Indeed there are now several beautiful experimental realizations of quantum state reconstruction in such diverse systems as quantum opticss1], molecular statess2], trapped ionss3] and atoms in motionn4]. The theoretical work which is the basis for these experiments is concerned with devising measurement strategies that are simple to realize experimentally and which allow an unambiguous reconstruction of the quantum state. The best known such technique is quantum state tomographyy5], adapted in 6] for the case of nite dimensional Hilbert spaces. However other techniques are also available, see 7] for a recent discussion in the case of nite dimensional Hilbert spaces. However, all these works suppose that the measurements are perfect and that any operator can be measured with innnite precision. But in general the quality of the reconstruction will be limited by experimental errorr8] or …
Variations in Pain, Sleep, and Activity During Hospitalization in Children With Cancer

This study examines the pain experiences of children with cancer during hospitalization. A descriptive design with repeated measures was used to describe the location, intensity, and quality of pain, pain medications, amount of pain relief, and perceptions of sleep and activity during hospitalization. Data were collected once daily from the day of admission for up to a maximum of 5 consecutive days during hospitalization. Results show that more than half of the patients (27 of 49 patients) indicated they were having pain. Eleven patients (22.4%) had mild pain (mean = 2.3 ± 0.9 SD; range, 0.3-3.6), 10 (20.4%) had moderate pain (mean = 5.3 ± 0.2 SD; range, 5.0-5.5), and 6 (12.2%) had severe pain (mean = 7.6 ± 1.3 SD; range, 6.5-10.0). The highest pain intensity ratings occurred on day 1. Overall, most patients reported good relief after pain medications during hospitalization. Consistent assessment and implementation of pain interventions within the 24 hours of admission is recommended, with particular attention to persistent pain after painful procedures.
A Portable and Efficient Communication Library for High-Performance Cluster Computing

This paper introduces Madeleine II, a new adaptive and portable multi-protoco- l communication library. Madeleine II has the ability to control multiple network protocols (BIP, SISCI, VIA) and multiple network adapters (Ethernet, Myrinet, SCI) within the same application session. Moreover, it includes advanced mechanisms to dynamically select the most appropriate transfer method for a given network protocol according to various parameters such as data size or responsiveness user requirements. We report on performance measurements obtained using BIP and SCI and we present preliminary results about our Nexus/Madeleine II and MPICH/Madeleine II ports.
Developing Energy Literacy in US Middle-Level Students Using the Geospatial Curriculum Approach

This quantitative study examined the effectiveness of a geospatial curriculum approach to promote energy literacy in an urban school district and examined factors that may account for energy content knowledge achievement. An energy literacy measure was administered to 1,044 eighth-grade students (ages 13–15) in an urban school district in Pennsylvania, USA. One group of students received instruction with a geospatial curriculum approach (geospatial technologies (GT)) and another group of students received ‘business as usual’ (BAU) curriculum instruction. For the GT students, findings revealed statistically significant gains from pretest to posttest (p < 0.001) on knowledge of energy resource acquisition, energy generation, storage and transport, and energy consumption and conservation. The GT students had year-end energy content knowledge scores significantly higher than those who learned with the BAU curriculum (p < 0.001; effect size being large). A multiple regression found that prior energy content knowledge was the only significant predictor to the year-end energy content knowledge achievement for the GT students (p < 0.001). The findings support that the implementation of a geospatial curriculum approach that employs learning activities that focus on the spatial nature of energy resources can improve the energy literacy of urban middle-level education students.
Characterization of Leucine Auxotrophs of the White Rot Basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium

Six leucine auxotrophic strains of the white rot basidiomycete Phanerochaete chrysosporium were characterized genetically and biochemically. Complementation studies involving the use of heterokaryons identified three leucine complementation groups. Since all of the leucine auxotrophs grew on minimal medium supplemented with α-ketoisocaproate as well as with leucine, the transaminase catalyzing the last step in the leucine pathway was apparently normal in all strains. Therefore, the wild-type, auxotrophic, and several heterokaryotic strains were assayed for the activities of the other enzymes specific to leucine biosynthesis. Leu2 and Leu4 strains (complementation group I) lacked only α-isopropylmalate synthase activity; Leu3 and Leu6 strains (group III) lacked isopropylmalate isomerase activity; and Leu1 and Leu5 strains (group II) lacked β-isopropylmalate dehydrogenase. Heterokaryons formed from leucine auxotrophs of different complementation groups had levels of activity for all three enzymes similar to those found in the wild-type strain.
Using design methodology to enhance interaction for a robotic receptionist

It is believe that developing a robot without considering users feedback on appearance, functions and behavior will cause a share in the failure of research and evaluation of human robot interaction. This paper researched and solicited feedback from targeted users on their expectations and views of a robot, which will be used as a receptionist in a Singapore research centre. Based on design inputs from BMW Group DesignworksUSA, an experiment with 36 participants was conducted. The study covered areas such as perceptions of a robot, concerns of developing a robotic receptionist, expectations for a robotic receptionist, and preference in terms of overall appearance and functionalities of the intended robotic receptionist. The approach to the robotic development was based on a design methodology that took into consideration elements that would improve human robot interaction. The robotic receptionist was designed with a strong emphasis on the robot's appearance, behavior and functions that would impact the end users. The intent was to create a pleasurable experience for the end users during their encounter with the robot. This study finally led to conceptual designs based on response and selection from the participants. The robotic receptionist design had been selected and the first prototype, Olivia 2.0 has been developed for further human robot interaction studies.
International Journal of Video& Image Processing and Network Security Logo Matching Technique Based on Principle Component Analysis

Of the problem areas, the domain of matching complex objects has received, by far, the most attention. This research work is concerned with the specific class of complicated objects, i.e. logo. The progress, particularly in this field, is still at extensive research work level, due to infinite varieties of shapes and classes which are used. Essentially, the algorithm proposed is based on Principle Component Analysis (PCA) approach. In this technique, the PCA is used to extract the features, kept inherent in the normalized pattern for later matching process. In the matching process, the extracted features of unknown pattern are mapped onto formulated feature spaces, and the distance between the source symbol and modeled symbols is used as a decision making tool. The true matching rate of 100% has been achieved for hundreds tested logos. 1. INTRODUCTION The work described in this research work is concerned with the specific area pattern recognition, i.e. logo identification. In this case, the input is the image of logo and the output is descriptive information used for their matching problem. A registered logo is unique to a company or institution and is a legal symbol used for example, for the identification of a company's products. Many people and organizations deal with logos, either in business or in mass communication. A logo is a complicated object. By complicated object, one means an object which consists of a number of separated components, inner holes, or a combination of both. That is, a complicated object can be represented as a collective set of self-closed contours each of which contains a large number of critical points. Critical points are positions in high curvature regions that are eligible to be distorted by the blurring and under sampling effects of the scaling. Thus, if a change in size is involved, the number of contours can be significantly changed and most of the critical points will eventually disappear. It is particularly a complex problem of great interest in image understanding. This problem is made difficult by the seemingly infinite varieties of shapes and classes which are used. The difficulties are related to absolute shape measurement, given the impossibility of directly mapping shapes, as such, into a feature space. However, shape differences (or similarities), i.e. relative shape measurements,
Gender Differences in Campaign Messages: The Political Advertisements of Men and Women Candidates for U.S. Senate

In order to see whether men and women emphasize different messages in their campaigns, I examine the televised political advertisements of 38 candidates for the U.S. Senate between 1984 and 1986. In addition, I look at patterns of campaign coverage to determine whether the press distinguish between male and female candidates. Since a candidate's message will be most persuasive if that message is echoed by the press, gender differences in press treatment can have electoral consequences. The results of this study show that male and female senatorial candidates adopt campaign strategies that are similar on certain dimensions and strikingly different on others. Male and female candidates both prefer to focus on policy matters in their candidate-oriented appeals, although they rarely take specific stands on issues. Yet there are important gender differences in the advertisements of male and female candidates and these differences correspond to the candidates' stereotypical strengths. Men tend to concentrate on economic issues, while women are much more likely to discuss social issues such as education and health policy. These differences (and others), although evident in their own campaign communications, are not represented in media coverage of the candidates' campaigns.
Expression of Myelin Basic Protein Genes in Several Dysmyelinating Mouse Mutants During Early Postnatal Brain Development

Abstract: Northern blot and “dot” blot analyses using a myelin basic protein (MBP) specific cDNA probe and in vitro translation techniques were utilized to estimate the relative levels of myelin basic protein messenger RNA (mRNA) in the brains of C57BL/6J control mice, three dysmyelinating mutants (qk/qk, jp/Y, and shi/shi), and three heterozygote controls (qkl+, jpl+, and shi+) during early postnatal development. In general, the MBP mRNA levels measured directly by Northern blot and “dot” blot analyses correlated well with the indirect in vitro translation measurements. The Northern blots indicated that the size of MBP mRNAs in quaking and jimpy brain polysomes appeared to be similar to controls. Very low levels of MBP mRNAs were observed in shi/shi brain polyribosomes throughout early postnatal development. Compared to C57BL/6J controls, accumulation of MBP mRNAs in qk/qk and qk/+ brain polyribosomes was delayed by several days. That is, whereas MBP mRNA levels were below normal between 12 and 18 days, normal levels of message had accumulated in both qk/qk and qk/+ brain polyribosomes by 21 days. Furthermore, normal levels of MBP mRNAs were observed to be maintained until at least 27 days. MBP mRNA levels remained well below control levels in jp/Y brain polyribosomes throughout early postnatal development. The levels did, however, fluctuate slightly and peaked at 15 days in both jp/Y and jp/+ brains, 3 days earlier than in normal mice. Thus, it appears that jimpy and quaking mice exhibit developmental patterns of MBP expression different from each other and from C57BL/6J control mice.
Toward emotion indexing of multimedia excerpts

Multimedia indexing is about developing techniques allowing people to effectively find media. Content-based methods become necessary when dealing with large databases. Current technology allows exploring the emotional space which is known to carry very interesting semantic information. In this paper we state the need for an integrated method which extracts reliable affective information and attaches this semantic information to the medium itself. We describe SAMMI [1], a framework explicitly designed to fulfill this need and we present a list of possible applications pointing out the advantages that the emotional information can bring about. Finally, different scenarios are considered for the recognition of the emotions which involve different modalities, feature sets, fusion algorithms, and result optimization methods such as temporal averaging or thresholding.
The subidentificational meanings of English some and Swedish någon: a comparative analysis of polysemy

English some and Swedish någon have a number of ‘subidentificational’ meanings, as in English some general (or other) has been shot; it was some shooting (or something). This paper reviews those meanings and attempts to determine how many context-invariant meanings are needed in order to account for their full range of meanings in context. By explicitly setting out processes of inference generation within a Gricean framework, it is found that for a large number, only one underlying (i.e. coded) meaning is required, which in context generates inferences such as lack of speaker knowledge, recall or interest in the NP referent, regarding either its type or which entity it is. Nevertheless, not all meanings can be handled in this way and additional coded meanings are required. Two diachronic pathways are discussed via which one coded meaning might extend to another. Some conclusions relevant for future work on indefinites are drawn.
Expression of abrB310 and sinR, and Effects of Decreased abrB310 Expression on the Transition from Acidogenesis to Solventogenesis, in Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824

ABSTRACT The transcription factors sinR and abrB are involved in the control of sporulation initiation in Bacillus subtilis. We identified a single homologue to sinR and three highly similar homologues to abrB, designated abrB310, abrB1941, and abrB3647, in Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Using reporter vectors, we showed that the promoters of abrB1941 and abrB3647 were not active under the growth conditions tested. The abrB310 promoter was strongly active throughout growth and exhibited a transient elevation of expression at the onset of solventogenesis. Primer extension assays showed that two transcripts of abrB310 and a single, extremely weak transcript for sinR are expressed. Potential −35 and −10 consensus motifs are readily identifiable surrounding the transcription start sites of abrB310 and sinR, with a single putative 0A box present within the promoter of abrB310. In strains of C. acetobutylicum transformed with plasmids to elevate sinR expression or decrease sinR expression, no significant differences in growth or in acid or solvent production were observed compared to the control strains. In C. acetobutylicum strain 824(pAS310), which expressed an antisense RNA construct targeted against abrB310, the acids acetate and butyrate accumulated to approximately twice the normal concentration. This accumulation corresponded to a delay and decrease in acetone and butanol production. It was also found that sporulation in strain 824(pAS310) was delayed but that the morphology of sporulating cells and spores was normal. Based upon these observations, we propose that abrB310 may act as a regulator at the transition between acidogenic and solventogenic growth.