Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Dynamic Modelling and Analysis of a 3-D Overhead Gantry Crane System with Payload Variation

Overhead cranes are widely used in industry for transportation of heavy loads. The natural sway of crane payloads is detrimental to safe and efficient operation. However, the crane acceleration, required for motion, always induces undesirable load swing. This paper presents dynamic modelling of a 3-D overhead gantry crane system based on closed-form equations of motion. The Lagrangian method is used to derive the dynamic model of the system. A dynamic model of the system incorporating payload is developed and the effects of payload on the response of the system are discussed. Extensive results that validate the theoretical derivation are presented in the time and frequency domains.
Occurrence and geochemistry of metamafic rocks from the Forquilha Eclogite Zone, central Ceará (NE Brazil): geodynamic implications

In the northern region of the Borborema Province, a 30 km‐long mafic/ultramafic belt of high pressure (HP) rocks called the Forquilha Eclogite Zone has been recently discovered in the Central Domain of Ceará State. The belt comprises three groups of rocks: (1) garnet amphibolites, (2) retrograded eclogites and (3) clinopyroxene–garnet amphibolites, all of them being hosted in garnet ± kyanite + sillimanite schists and orthogneisses which are often migmatized. The geochemical analyses of 30 representative samples confirm differences among the three groups that were initially classified by petrography. The garnet amphibolites are the most depleted rocks, with relatively flat rare earth element (REE)PM pattern and (SPIDER)PM pattern with negative Rb, Th, Nb, Sr and Zr anomalies. It is the most fractionated group, ranging from picrobasalts to andesites. Fractional crystallization and mineral accumulation are indicated by Eu and Sr anomalies. The data show geochemical affinities with island‐arc basalts. The retrograded eclogites display flat (REE)PM, but without Eu anomalies. Nb/La ratios are low and variable, as for slightly enriched MORB from ocean floor or intra‐oceanic back‐arc environments. However, a genetic link with the Group 1 rocks cannot be completely discarded. The clinopyroxene–garnet amphibolites are the most enriched group. (REE)PM and (SPIDER)PM patterns show many features of alkaline basalts. In the Nb/Yb versus Th/Yb diagram the data cluster near the E‐MORB standard. Several geochemical aspects of these rocks fit well those from the HP/UHP Pan‐African/Brasiliano Suture Zone in the Dahomeyides/Hoggar regions of West Africa. However, differences in their extent and lack of alignment preclude a direct correlation among these zones. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Estimation of relative risk and prevalence ratio

Relative risks (RRs) and prevalence ratios (PRs) are measures of association that are more intuitively interpretable than odds ratios (ORs). Many health science studies report OR estimates, however, even when their designs permit and study questions target RRs and/or PRs. This is, partially, attributable to the popularity and technical advantage (i.e. no restriction on the parameter space) of logistic regression for estimating ORs. To improve this practice, several biostatistical approaches for estimating RR/PR, adjusting for potential confounders, have been proposed. In this paper, we consider two RR/PR estimating methods: (1) the modification of log‐binomial regression with the COPY method; and (2) an inverse‐probability‐of‐treatment‐weighted (IPTW) log‐binomial regression we newly propose. For the COPY method, we rigorously establish the existence and uniqueness of the maximum‐likelihood estimator, provided certain degeneracies in the data do not occur. Moreover, the global maximum of the COPY‐modified likelihood is shown to occur at an interior point of the restricted parameter space. This result explains why the COPY method avoids convergence problems of log‐binomial models frequently. For the IPTW estimator, we show that its simple procedure results in standardized estimates of RR/PR, and discuss its potential challenges, extensions, and an improvement through propensity‐score‐based grouping of observations. Furthermore, we compare the performances of four RR/PR estimation methods, including the COPY method and IPTW log‐binomial regression, on simulated data. We demonstrate a lack of robustness of the COPY method against misspecification of the true relationship between binary outcome and explanatory variables, and show robustness of the IPTW approach in this regard. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Longitudinal Trends in Tobacco Availability, Tobacco Advertising, and Ownership Changes of Food Stores, Albany, New York, 2003–2015

Introduction Frequency of visiting convenience and corner grocery stores that sell tobacco is positively associated with the odds of ever smoking and the risk of smoking initiation among youth. We assessed 12-year trends of tobacco availability, tobacco advertising, and ownership changes in various food stores in Albany, New York. Methods Eligible stores were identified by multiple government lists and community canvassing in 2003 (n = 107), 2009 (n = 117), 2012 (n = 135), and 2015 (n = 137). Tobacco availability (all years) and advertising (2009, 2012, and 2015) were directly measured; electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) were included in 2015. Results Percentage of stores selling tobacco peaked at 83.8% in 2009 and declined to 74.5% in 2015 (P for trend = .11). E-cigarettes were sold by 63.7% of tobacco retailers. The largest decline in tobacco availability came from convenience stores that went out of business (n = 11), followed by pharmacies that dropped tobacco sales (n = 4). The gain of tobacco availability mostly came from new convenience stores (n = 24) and new dollar stores (n = 8). Significant declining trends (P < .01) were found in tobacco availability and any tobacco advertising in pharmacies and in low (<3 feet) tobacco advertising in convenience stores and stores overall. Only one-third of stores that sold tobacco in 2003 continued to sell tobacco with the same owner in 2015. Conclusion The observed subtle declines in tobacco availability and advertising were explained in part by local tobacco control efforts, the pharmacy industry’s self-regulation of tobacco sales, and an increase in the state’s tobacco retailer registration fee. Nonetheless, overall tobacco availability remained high (>16 retailers per 10,000 population) in this community. The high store ownership turnover rate suggests that a moratorium of new tobacco retailer registrations would be an integral part of a multi-prong policy strategy to reduce tobacco availability and advertising.
Capacitated vehicle routing: perturbing the landscape to fool an algorithm

Simple constructive heuristic techniques often product poor solutions when applied to the capacitated vehicle routing problem (CVRP). In this paper, we present a hybrid genetic algorithm that lightly perturbs the customer coordinate sets, and "fools" a simple Clarke and Wright heuristic (CW) into producing much better solutions than is the case when CW is applied to the original customer locations. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the new approach compares favorably with other state-of-the-art methods when tested on a set of instances derived from the literature.
OctaCoG alignment: A fast and reliable alternative to iterative alignment schemes

For metrology tasks in the context of industrial quality inspection and non-destructive testing, tactile measurements are more and more superseded by imaging techniques, such as optical scanning and Computed Tomography. Data fusion of such very differently acquired data plays a key role in combining their strengths and mitigating their weaknesses. This requires a highly accurate alignment of the provided data sets. Classical alignment schemes turn out to be prone to error for this task due to differences in resolution and contributing surfaces from these fundamentally different imaging techniques. Our approach reduces such errors for the special case of aligning complete representations of both types of acquisition. With OctaCoG, we present a multi-modality registration method for complete object representations. It operates on point clouds of the exterior surface and does not require user interaction for tie point identification. A combination of principal component analysis and barycenter computation provides a characteristic shape per data set. This shape consists of eight feature points, and allows for an alignment outperforming the accuracy of classical approaches and, as a positive side effect, surpassing their run time.
Developing a Geovisual Analytics Environment for Investigating Archaeological Events: Extending the Space–Time Cube

Over the past several decades, archaeologists have been developing and improving methods for collection, analysis, visualization, and modeling of site information. Despite the increasing capabilities of GIScience tools in recent years, archaeology is an application domain where these capabilities have not been fully utilized. This paper presents preliminary results on the development of geovisual analytics functions for archaeological investigation by extending Space–Time Cube (STC) software currently under development. Graph-theoretical techniques are implemented to uncover and visualize spatio-temporal relationships between artefacts from different historical periods excavated at different locations. These techniques are implemented and tested on a database of archaeological sites in Puerto Rico. The contribution of this research to visual analytics is the integration of space, time, and relationships within a single interactive environment. The extended STC facilitates insight into potential interactions or clashes among different cultures identified through archaeological digs. This is achieved through building linkages between database tuples based on attribute similarities which can be explicitly visualized and queried within the STC environment. The paper concludes with a summary of the effectiveness and potential of the prototype and its functionality.
A new level set equation and its numerical assessments

This paper is devoted to the further modification of the level set approach, introduced by Sussman et al. (1994). In this method, if the flow velocity in the transport level set equation is not constant, the gradient of the level set scalar may grow rapidly with time. This leads to a strong distortion of the level set function, with loss of accuracy in numerical integration. In level set methods, this problem is remedied by a re-initialization procedure, providing the satisfaction of Eikonal equation by iterations at each time step. In this paper, we modified the level set equation in such a way that the Eikonal equation is satisfied directly from the modified form of the equation. In various tests problems (interface deformation by vortex flow, advection of Zalesak’s rotating disk, oscillating circle test, interface subjected to strain and vorticity), this modification allowed to enhance significantly the numerical efficiency and even the numerical accuracy when the velocity field was functional of the level set function. This paper provides the comparative analyses of the interface location error, of the mean deviation from the signed distance property, and of errors of the interface curvature for standard and modified level set equation. The proposed modification of the level set equation is easy to implement into any level set approach.
Correctness of an STM Haskell implementation

A concurrent implementation of software transactional memory in Concurrent Haskell using a call-by-need functional language with processes and futures is given. The description of the small-step operational semantics is precise and explicit, and employs an early abort of conflicting transactions. A proof of correctness of the implementation is given for a contextual semantics with may- and should-convergence. This implies that our implementation is a correct evaluator for an abstract specification equipped with a big-step semantics.
Acroban the humanoid: Compliance for stabilization and human interaction

This video presents the humanoid robot Acroban which is to our knowledge the first humanoid robot which is able to: 1) demonstrate playful, compliant and intuitive physical interaction with children; 2) at the same time move and walk dynamically while keeping its equilibrium even if unpredicted physical interactions are initiated by humans.
Security of multithreaded programs by compilation

End-to-End security of mobile code requires that the code neither intentionally nor accidentally propagates sensitive information to an adversary. Although mobile code is commonly multithreaded low-level code, there lack enforcement mechanisms that ensure information security for such programs. The modularity is three-fold: we give modular extensions of sequential semantics, sequential security typing, and sequential security-type preserving compilation that allow us enforcing security for multithreaded programs. Thanks to the modularity, there are no more restrictions on multithreaded source programs than on sequential ones, and yet we guarantee that their compilations are provably secure for a wide class of schedulers.
Magnetic ionization fronts – II. Jump conditions for oblique magnetization

We present the jump conditions for ionization fronts with oblique magnetic fields. The standard nomenclature of R- and D-type fronts can still be applied, but in the case of oblique magnetization there are fronts of each type about each of the fast- and slow-mode speeds. As an ionization front slows, it will drive first a fast- and then a slow-mode shock into the surrounding medium. Even for rather weak upstream magnetic fields, the effect of magnetization on ionization front evolution can be important.
Attachment, spreading and locomotion of avian neural crest cells are mediated by multiple adhesion sites on fibronectin molecules.

Cellular adhesion to fibronectin (FN) can be mediated by several sequences located in different portions of the molecule. In human FN, these are: (i) the bipartite RGDS domain containing the RGDS cell‐binding sequence functioning in synergy for full cellular adhesion with a second site (termed here the synergistic adhesion site) and (ii) the recently characterized CS1 and REDV adhesion sites within the alternatively‐spliced type III homology‐connecting segment. Using specific adhesive ligands and inhibitory probes, we have examined the role of each of these domains in the adhesion, spreading, and motility of avian neural crest cells in vitro. Both the RGDS domain and the CS1 adhesion site were found to promote attachment of neural crest cells, but only the RGDS domain supported their spreading. However, the RGDS sequence could mediate both attachment and spreading efficiently only when it was associated with the synergistic adhesion site. In migratory assays, it was found that both the RGDS domain and the CS1 site are required in association, each with functional specificity, to permit effective locomotion of neural crest cells. The REDV adhesion site was apparently not recognized by avian neural crest cells, presumably because this sequence is absent from chicken FN. Finally, it was found that recognition of both the RGDS domain and CS1 binding site by neural crest cells involved receptors belonging to the integrin family. From these results, we conclude that neural crest cells can interact with several binding sites of FN molecules, and use them for distinct functions. Our results also suggest the possibility of an instructive role for FN in the control of adhesive and migratory events during embryonic development.
CDKN 2 A Mutation and Deletion Status in Thin and Thick Primary Melanoma 1

Human melanoma cell lines and tumor tissue from familial and sporadic melanomas have frequent, nonrandom chromosomal breaks and deletions on chromosome 9p21, a region that includes the tumor suppressor geneCDKN2A/ p16 . Germ-line mutations within this gene have been observed in some familial melanoma kindreds, but somatic mutation in sporadic primary melanoma is infrequent. Thirty-nine archival, paraffin-embedded, sporadic, primary cutaneous malignant melanomas (20>3-mm-thick and 19 <0.75-mm-thick cases) were examined for mutations of the CDKN2A gene using single-strand conformational polymorphism analysis and direct sequencing. No mutations were detected. Loss of heterozygosity for the 9p21 microsatellite marker D9S942was detected in 6 of 17 informative thick lesions (35%) but 0 of 18 thin lesions ( P 5 0.006). These results support other studies indicating that intragenic mutation is an infrequent mechanism ofCDKN2A inactivation in primary melanoma. The finding of loss of heterozygosity for the 9p21 microsatellite D9S942 in thick but not thin primary melanoma suggests that deletion or inactivation of CDKN2A or other tumor suppressor gene(s) at this locus is involved in the progression rather than initiation of sporadic malignant melanoma.
Automatic Patching Based on Social Computing in P2P Network

Malicious codes can propagate rapidly by exploiting software vulnerabilities. In order to prevent the explosion of malicious codes in P2P networks, an automatic patching mechanism based on social computing is proposed. The security server generates automatic patches, and then selects the vulnerable nodes to push automatic patches. Automatic patches propagate rapidly along social network, so that the peers in P2P network covered by social network can be patched, which will improve the security of the whole P2P network. Experiments show this mechanism is more efficient than other patching mechanisms in P2P networks.
Obtaining consistent good/bad plan set in the presence of faults

In a cooperative network, we need a mechanism that allows all correct processors to reach a common agreement. Hence, more and more attention has been drawn on the agreement related problems (Byzantine Agreement (BA) problem and Consensus problem). In previous results, the goal of BA and Consensus is obtaining a common value no matter this value is good or bad. To address this problem, Correia, Bessani and Veríssimo proposed the Byzantine Generals with Alternative Plans (BGAP) protocol that requires the common value come from the good plan set. BGAP is a graceful and practical protocol. They also pointed out that the BA problem with alternative plans is unsolvable if correct processors have different good plans and bad plans. In this paper, we propose the Plan_Consensus Protocol (PCP) to ensure that all correct processors obtain a consistent good plan set and a consistent bad plan set in the network.
Non-instructional linguistic communication with virtual actors

We explore a new paradigm for natural language communication with autonomous agents. While the dominant paradigm is to use natural language instructions from which the agent behaviour is generated, we investigate how natural language input can influence a pre-existing plan-based behaviour, by interfering with the various types of sub-goals in such a plan. Using as a testbed a fully implemented interactive storytelling application based on virtual actors, we identify various forms of communicative actions and how these can influence actors behaviours. We report early results from the use of a speech processing system used within the storytelling application to influence the behaviour of the artificial actors.
A physical explanation for the positioning of the depth to the top of overpressure in shale‐dominated sequences in the Gulf Coast basin, United States

A one-dimensional model of fluid pressure and porosity evolution is used to investigate the physical processes that control the development and maintenance of overpressure in a compacting sedimentary basin. We show that for shale-dominated sequences the variation of the hydraulic diffusivity in both space and time is such that it produces a minimum between 2 and 4 km depth, consistent with observations from the Gulf Coast basin. This minimum inhibits the upward flow of fluid by acting as a “bottleneck” and thus determines the shallowest position of the depth to the top of overpressure. Above this region of bottleneck, overpressure does not develop because the porosity is sufficiently large to maintain high values of hydraulic diffusivity that are conducive to the rapid dissipation of excess fluid pressure. Within the overpressured shales, compaction propagates downward through the section, releasing fluids from the upper part of the section while continuing to restrain the upward flow of fluids from deeper within the section. As such, overpressures are predicted to be maintained within the deeper regions of a basin for tens to hundreds of millions of years. Further, fluid viscosity plays an important role in defining the depth behavior of hydraulic diffusivity as a function of time. Assuming a temperature-dependent fluid viscosity guarantees that the hydraulic diffusivity minimum will always exist during the development of the basin. On the basis of our results, we find that the depth at which the porosity equals 14±4% correlates with the depth to the local hydraulic diffusivity minimum and thus the depth to the top of overpressure. Moreover, we interpret that the 14±4% represents the threshold porosity for which a shale actually begins to act as a seal. Within the Gulf Coast basin, the gross sediment facies consists of lower massive shales across which deltaic systems have prograded allowing the deposition of an alternating series of sandstones and shales that grade vertically into massive sandstones. The massive sandstones are highly permeable and are connected hydrologically to the surface. We conclude that these sandstones play little role in the development of overpressure because of their high permeability except to the extent that the base of the massive sandstones marks the minimum depth possible for the top of overpressure. In contrast, overpressuring is observed to develop within either the shale-dominated sequence or the region of interspersed/interfingering sands and clays. The clay-encompassed sands play only a passive role in the development and maintenance of overpressure because it is the low-permeability clays that control the movement of fluids into and out of the sands.
Spatial variability of soil properties and 2,4-D sorption in a hummocky field as affected by landscape position and soil depth

Since pesticide fate and leaching models increasingly incorporate spatial variability, the objective of this study was to quantify the variability of soil properties and 2,4-D sorption within a hummocky field as affected by landscape position and soil depth. Seventy-two soil cores collected at 5-m intervals along a transect were segmented by soil horizon (A, B and C) and landscape position (upper, mid, lower and depression). As expected, soil organic carbon content significantly decreased, and soil pH and soil carbonate content significantly increased with soil depth, while clay content was significantly greater in the B horizon than the A and C horizon. Soils from the depressional area generally had higher soil organic carbon content, soil carbonate content, clay content and soil pH than soil samples from other slope positions. The sorption of 2,4-D by soil was positively correlated with soil organic matter content and negatively correlated with soil carbonate content. These soil properties and herbicide.