Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An improved multimodal robotic fish modelled after Esox lucíus

This paper focuses on a further exploration of multimodal locomotion governed by bio-inspired central pattern generators (CPGs). To pursue a better swimming performance, an updated robotic fish is constructed. Besides the improved hardware devices involving higher torque servomotors and powerful processors, some innovative mechanical designs are taken into consideration. Specifically, a well-streamlined shape like Esox lucius and a yawing head joint contribute to reduce hydrodynamic drag and strengthen turning ability. A pair of flexible pectoral fins with four degrees of freedom is to enhance the capability of three-dimensional locomotion and to enrich multiple swimming motions. Further discussion on how characteristic parameters in CPGs including frequency, amplitude, and phase relationship impact the swimming performance is also presented. Finally, the robotic fish successfully gains more powerful capability of multimodal locomotion containing forward swimming, backward swimming, turning, diving, and ascending. The experimental results validate the effectiveness of mechanism design and adaptability of multimodal locomotion governed by CPGs.
Gelatin-Modified Biomimetic Apatite Coatings

Biomimetic coatings constituted of gelatin and nanocrystalline apatite were deposited on titanium substrates from a slightly supersaturated calcium phosphate (CaP) solution enriched with different amounts of gelatin. Although the biopolymer inhibits the crystallization of the inorganic phase, as shown by the reduction of the mean dimensions of the spherical aggregates and of the degree of crystallinity of the apatitic phase on increasing gelatin concentration, the deposition of a uniform layer of nanocrystalline apatite takes place in a few hours. Gelatin incorporation into the precipitate increases on increasing its concentration in solution, up to about 20 wt%. Osteoblast-like MG63 cells cultured on the coatings display good proliferation and increased values of the differentiation parameters with respect to the control. The presence of gelatin improves significantly the biological response to the biomimetic coatings, as shown by the higher values of proliferation, collagen type I and osteocalcin production, as well as alkaline phosphatase activity stimulation.
Fast Node Embeddings: Learning Ego-Centric Representations

Representation learning is one of the foundations of Deep Learning and allowed important improvements on several Machine Learning tasks, such as Neural Machine Translation, Question Answering and Speech Recognition. Recent works have proposed new methods for learning representations for nodes and edges in graphs. Several of these methods are based on the SkipGram algorithm, and they usually process a large number of multi-hop neighbors in order to produce the context from which node representations are learned. In this paper, we propose an effective and also efficient method for generating node embeddings in graphs that employs a restricted number of permutations over the immediate neighborhood of a node as context to generate its representation, thus ego-centric representations. We present a thorough evaluation showing that our method outperforms state-of-the-art methods in six different datasets related to the problems of link prediction and node classification, being one to three orders of magnitude faster than baselines when generating node embeddings for very large graphs.
A unified online Fault Detection scheme via checking of Stability Violation

In ultra-deep submicro technology, two of the paramount reliability concerns are soft errors and device aging. Although intensive studies have been done to face the two challenges, most take them separately so far, thereby failing to reach better performance-cost tradeoffs. To support a more efficient design tradeoff, we present a new fault model, Stability Violation, derived from analysis of signal behavior. Furthermore, we propose a unified fault detection scheme—Stability Violation based Fault Detection (SVFD), by which the soft errors (both Single Event Upset and Single Event Transient), aging delay, and delay faults can be uniformly handled. SVFD can greatly facilitate soft error-resistant and aging-aware designs. SVFD is validated by conducting a set of intensive Hspice simulations targeting 65nm CMOS technology. Experimental results show that SVFD has more robust capability for fault detection than previous schemes at comparable overhead in terms of area, power, and performance.
The topology of the IRAS Point Source Catalogue Redshift survey

We investigate the topology of the new Point Source Catalogue Redshift Survey (PSCz) of IRAS galaxies by means of the genus statistic. The survey maps the local Universe with approximately 15 000 galaxies over 84.1 per cent of the sky, and provides an unprecedented number of resolution elements for the topological analysis. For comparison with the PSCz data we also examine the genus of large N-body simulations of four variants of the cold dark matter (CDM) cosmogony. The simulations are part of the Virgo project to simulate the formation of structure in the Universe. We assume that the statistical properties of the galaxy distribution can be identified with those of the dark matter particles in the simulations. We extend the standard genus analysis by examining the influence of sampling noise on the genus curve and introducing a statistic able to quantify the amount of phase correlation present in the density field, the amplitude drop of the genus compared to a Gaussian field with identical power spectrum. The results for PSCz are consistent with the hypothesis of random-phase initial conditions. In particular, no strong phase correlation is detected on scales ranging from 10 to 32 h−1 Mpc, whereas there is a positive detection of phase correlation at smaller scales. Among the simulations, phase correlations are detected in all models at small scales, albeit with different strengths. When scaled to a common normalization, the amplitude drop depends primarily on the shape of the power spectrum. We find that the constant-bias standard CDM model can be ruled out at high significance, because the shape of its power spectrum is not consistent with PSCz. The other CDM models with more large-scale power all fit the PSCz data almost equally well, with a slight preference for a high-density τCDM model.
The Time Divide: Work, Family, and Gender Inequality

The Time Divide: Work, Family, and Gender Inequality. Jerry A. Jacobs and Kathleen Gerson. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. 2004. 272 pp. ISBN 0-674-01153-8. $45.00 (cloth). Work-family research is a growth industry. As this research proliferates, so too, have claims about the significance of time in people's lives. Do people have more time than ever or not enough? Are we spending our time in ways that make us happier and more fulfilled, or is our time being consumed by tasks we resent? Has being busy become a new status symbol in our fast-paced world? These questions are at the center of Jacobs and Gerson's new book, The Time Divide. The authors have spent the past several years exploring numerous aspects of work-family relations, starting from the premise that matters of time are critical to understanding these issues. The Time Divide represents the culmination of these efforts, providing readers with a comprehensive, carefully argued discussion of some of their most important findings. The book is divided into three sections. The first takes up the question of work hours. Are Americans working longer hours than in the past, as Juliet Schor contends, or have we instead witnessed an increase in leisure? Jacobs and Gerson suggest that, although both claims may be partly true, a close reading of the evidence suggests that the real story is somewhat more complicated. Highly educated professionals and managers, in particular, are putting in longer hours than in the past, at the same time as other workers struggle to work enough hours to pay the bills. More important, debates about work hours have been misleading because they tend to focus on individual workers, not working families. Shifting the focus to couples and families is necessary because it enables us to see how people's experience of time has been affected by the reshaping of gender and family over the past few decades. While the first section of the book engages the debate surrounding The Overworked American, the second part addresses the issues raised by Arlie Hochschild in The Time Bind. In these chapters, Jacobs and Gerson turn their attention from trends in actual work hours to people's feelings and aspirations about their work and home time. The authors' analyses reveal a bifurcation in people's preferences that parallels other lines of division among working families. People employed in high-demand jobs, where advancement and opportunity flow to those putting in the longest hours, report that they would like to work less. …
The dynamics of emotions in online interaction

We study the changes in emotional states induced by reading and participating in online discussions, empirically testing a computational model of online emotional interaction. Using principles of dynamical systems, we quantify changes in valence and arousal through subjective reports, as recorded in three independent studies including 207 participants (110 female). In the context of online discussions, the dynamics of valence and arousal is composed of two forces: an internal relaxation towards baseline values independent of the emotional charge of the discussion and a driving force of emotional states that depends on the content of the discussion. The dynamics of valence show the existence of positive and negative tendencies, while arousal increases when reading emotional content regardless of its polarity. The tendency of participants to take part in the discussion increases with positive arousal. When participating in an online discussion, the content of participants' expression depends on their valence, and their arousal significantly decreases afterwards as a regulation mechanism. We illustrate how these results allow the design of agent-based models to reproduce and analyse emotions in online communities. Our work empirically validates the microdynamics of a model of online collective emotions, bridging online data analysis with research in the laboratory.
Blocks to Robots: Learning with Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom

Research shows that attitudes about science, math, and technology start to form during the early schooling years. This pioneering book shows how to successfully use technology in the early childhood classroom. Grounded in a constructivist approach to teaching and learning, the author focuses on robotic manipulatives that allow children to explore complex concepts in a concrete and fun way. At the same time, she examines how this technology engages sensorimotor and socioemotional skills, which are fundamental for the healthy development of young children.
High‐Performance Biodegradable/Transient Electronics on Biodegradable Polymers

Dr. S. -W. Hwang, J.-K. Song, Dr. X. Huang, Dr. S. -K. Kang, Dr. B. H. Kim, J.-H. Kim Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL 61801 , USA H. Cheng, Prof. Y. Huang Department of Mechanical Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Center for Engineering and Health and Skin Disease Research Center Northwestern University, Evanston IL 60208 , USA S. Yu Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL 61801 , USA Prof. J. A. Rogers Department of Materials Sicience and Engineering Chemistry, Mechanical Science and Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology and Frederick Seitz Materials research Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana IL 61801 , USA E-mail: jrogers@illinois.edu
Setting the stage for effective teams: a meta-analysis of team design variables and team effectiveness

Setting the Stage for Effective Teams: A Meta–Analysis of Team Design Variables and Team Effectiveness. (August 2004) Suzanne Tamara Bell, B.A., Olivet Nazarene University; M.S., Texas A&M University Chair of Advisory Committee: Dr. Winfred Arthur, Jr. Teams are pervasive in organizations and provide an important contribution to organizational productivity. Since Hackman's (1987) seminal work, the team research focus has shifted from describing teams to outlining how researchers might use points of leverage, such as team design, to increase team effectiveness. There has been a wealth of research on team design variables that relate to team effectiveness. However, more than 15 years later, the team design literature remains fragmented and is inconsistent, and conclusions regarding optimal team design are difficult to make. The present study sought to unify the team design research by proposing a conceptual model and testing hypothesized relationships between specified design variables and team effectiveness using meta–analytic techniques. Specifically, the objectives of this study were to: (a) identify team design variables over which researchers and practitioners have some degree of control, (b) summarize the literature related to each of these variables, (c) hypothesize how each of the design variables are related to team effectiveness, (d) assess the relationship between these variables and team effectiveness using meta–analysis, (e) assess the influence of specified moderator variables (e.g., study setting, team tenure) on
Outcomes in Melanoma Patients Treated with BRAF/MEK-Directed Therapy or Immune Checkpoint Inhibition Stratified by Clinical Trial versus Standard of Care

Objectives: Since 2011, metastatic melanoma treatment has evolved with commercial approval of BRAF- and MEK-targeted therapy and CTLA-4- and PD-1-blocking antibodies (immune checkpoint inhibitors, ICI). While novel therapies have demonstrated improved prognosis in clinical trials, few studies have examined the evolution of prognosis and toxicity of these drugs among an unselected population. We assess whether survival and toxicity reported in trials, which typically exclude most patients with brain metastases and poor performance status, are recapitulated within a commercial access population. Methods: 182 patients diagnosed with stage IV melanoma from July 2006 to December 2013 and treated with BRAF- and/or MEK-targeted therapy or ICI were prospectively studied. Outcomes and clinicopathologic differences between trial and commercial cohorts were assessed. Results: Patients receiving commercial therapy (vs. on trial) had poorer prognostic features (i.e., brain metastases) and lower median overall survival (mOS) when assessed across all treatments (9.2 vs. 17.5 months, p = 0.0027). While toxicity within trial and commercial cohorts did not differ, patients who experienced toxicity had increased mOS (p < 0.001), irrespective of stratification by trial status or therapy. Conclusion: Metastatic melanoma patients receiving commercial treatment may represent a different clinical population with poor prognostic features compared to trial patients. Toxicity may prognosticate treatment benefit.
The Perception of Space and Form Recognition in a Simulated Environment: The Case of Minimalist Sensory-Substitution Devices

Whenever we explore a simulated environment, the sensorimotor interactions that underlie our perception of space may be modified. We investigated the conditions under which it is possible to acquire the mastery of new sensorimotor laws and thereby to infer new perceptual spaces. A computer interface, based on the principles of minimalist sensory-substitution devices, was designed to enable different possible links between a user's actions (manipulation of a mouse and/or keys of a keyboard) and the resulting pattern of sensory stimulation (visual or auditory) to be established. The interface generated an all-or-none stimulus whose activation varied as a function of the participant's exploration of a hidden form. In this study we addressed the following questions: What are the conditions necessary for participants to understand their actions as constituting a displacement in a simulated space? What are the conditions required for participants to conceive of sensations as originating from the encounter with an object situated in this space? Finally, what are the conditions required for participants to recognise forms within this space? The results of the two experiments reported here show that, under certain conditions, participants can interpret the new sensorimotor laws as movements in a new perceptual space and can recognise simple geometric forms, and that this occurs no matter whether the sensory stimulation is presented in the visual or auditory modality.
Voltage‐gated potassium currents in stratum oriens‐alveus inhibitory neurones of the rat CA1 hippocampus.

1. Voltage‐activated K+ currents were recorded from visually identified inhibitory interneurones of the CA1 stratum oriens‐alveus region in neonatal rat hippocampal slices using outside‐out patch and whole‐cell voltage clamp techniques. 2. Outward currents comprised both a transient and a sustained component when elicited from a holding potential of ‐90 mV. Tail current analysis of current reversal potentials showed that outward currents were carried by potassium ions. 3. The transient current, IA, was activated with a time to peak within 5 ms, inactivated with a time constant of approximately 15 ms at 0 mV and possessed half‐activation at ‐14 mV. Half‐inactivation of the transient current occurred at ‐71 mV. At ‐90 mV, the transient current recovered from inactivation with a time constant of 142 ms. 4. Activation of currents from a holding potential of ‐50 mV permitted isolation of the sustained current, IK. In Ca(2+)‐free conditions the sustained current showed rapid activation, reaching about 80% of its maximum within 1.5 ms, and showed little inactivation during 1 s depolarizing steps. The majority of sustained outward currents showed no voltage‐dependent inactivation. In approximately 20% of cells, a slow time‐dependent inactivation of the sustained current was observed, suggesting the presence of a second type of sustained current in these cells. 5. A Ca(2+)‐dependent K+ current comprised a significant portion of the total sustained current; this current was activated at voltages positive to ‐30 mV and showed no time‐dependent inactivation over a 1 s depolarizing step. This current component was removed in Ca(2+)‐free conditions or by iberiotoxin. 6. Low concentrations of 4‐AP (50 microM) attenuated both the transient and sustained current components recorded in a Ca(2+)‐free solution. Higher concentrations of 4‐AP (< 10 mM) were without further effect on the sustained current but completely blocked the transient current with an IC50 of 1.8 mM. TEA blocked the sustained current with an IC50 of 7.9 mM without significantly reducing the transient current. Both current components were resistant to dendrotoxin (500 nM).
Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia in non-HIV-infected patients: new risks and diagnostic tools

Purpose of review Non-HIV-infected populations are increasingly identified as being at risk for developing Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). These patients typically present with severe disease and poorly tolerate invasive diagnostic procedures. This review examines recently reported risks for PJP in non-HIV populations and summarizes new diagnostic techniques. Recent findings PJP is associated with immunomodulatory drug therapies, including monoclonal antibody therapies such as tumour necrosis factor &agr; antagonists, and calcineurin inhibitors. Underlying disease states include solid-organ transplantation, connective tissue and rheumatologic disorders, inflammatory bowel disease, haematological malignancies, and solid tumours. Modern diagnostic techniques [conventional PCR, quantitative PCR, (1→3)-&bgr;-D-glucan assays, and PET] are reviewed with respect to predictive value and clinical utility. In particular, current literature regarding validation and specificity of molecular diagnostic techniques is summarized, including application to minimally invasive specimens. Summary HIV-negative populations at risk for PJP can be identified. Conventional PCR increases diagnostic sensitivity but may detect asymptomatic colonization. Quantitative PCR demonstrates potential for distinguishing colonization from infection, but clinical validation is required. Serum (1→3)-&bgr;-D-glucan may be elevated in PJP, although standardized cut-off values for clinical infection have not been determined. Further validation of serum markers and molecular diagnostic methods is necessary for early and accurate diagnosis in non-HIV populations.
Relativistic current line Green's function in the presence of a moving planar dielectric-magnetic medium

The present contribution is concerned with obtaining the relativistic 2D (3D in relativity jargon) Green's function of a time-harmonic line current that is embedded in a moving dielectric-magnetic medium with a planar discontinuity. By applying a plane-wave spectral representation for the relativistic electromagnetic Green's function of a dielectric-magnetic medium that is moving in a uniform velocity, the exact incident and reflected fields are obtained in the form of a spectral integral over plane-waves in the so-called comoving frames. We investigate these spectral representations as well as their asymptotic evaluations and discuss the associated relativistic wave phenomena of direct reflected rays and relativistic head-waves.
Chapter 8 – Biomarkers of Individual Susceptibility 8.1 Introduction to Genotypes and Biomarkers of Susceptibility 8.2 Techniques for Determining Genotypes

The biological basis for differences in individual susceptibility to diseases and responses to particular drugs has long been associated with biochemical variations of the same enzyme between individuals [1]. This phenomenon is known as polymorphic variation, and research over the past 60 years has directly linked the sequence and biochemical behavior of variant enzymes to the sequence of the genes encoding them. Such variations in the coding sequences of genes are the essence of individuality. Most of these variations are “neutral,” occurring naturally in different populations without detriment to survival and good health. However, certain variations in individual genes or sets of genes can endow individuals with either susceptibility or resistance to disease or to other stressors.
Modeling and analyzing performance for highly optimized propagation steps of the lattice Boltzmann method on sparse lattices

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) requires a vast amount of compute cycles on contemporary large-scale parallel computers. Hence, performance optimization is a pivotal activity in this field of computational science. Not only does it reduce the time to solution, but it also allows to minimize the energy consumption. In this work we study performance optimizations for an MPI-parallel lattice Boltzmann-based flow solver that uses a sparse lattice representation with indirect addressing. First we describe how this indirect addressing can be minimized in order to increase the single-core and chip-level performance. Second, the communication overhead is reduced via appropriate partitioning, but maintaining the single core performance improvements. Both optimizations allow to run the solver at an operating point with minimal energy consumption.
N,N′-Dibenzyl-N,N′-dimethyl-N′′-(4-nitrobenzoyl)phosphoric triamide

The P atom in the title compound, C23H25N4O4P, is in a slightly distorted tetrahedral coordination environment and the N atoms show sp 2 character. The phosphoryl group and the NH unit are syn with respect to each other. In the crystal, pairs of intermolecular N—H⋯O(P) hydrogen bonds form centrosymmetric dimers.