Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design, modeling and open-loop control of a BCF mode bio-mimetic Robotic Fish

This paper deals with the design of a bio-inspired fish like underwater vehicle. As the applications of underwater robots grow, finding an efficient propulsion technique is of the utmost importance. The current research has focused on the use of biomimetic propulsion, which simulates the undulation of fish tail, i.e. the sinusoidal oscillation. The objective is to mimic the propulsion technique of the BCF mode carangiform swimming style to swim efficiently over large distances at impressive speeds. Beginning from the CAD construction in Solidworks, 3D motion simulations in Matlab VRML and open-loop simulation and experimental results are provided to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology.
SATISFAÇÃO DOS USUÁRIOS DO METRÔ DO RIO DE JANEIRO

A satisfacao do cliente e de fundamental importância para garantir fluxo estavel e crescente de consumidores, por meio da lealdade dos existentes e da comunicacao oral positiva, atraindo novos clientes. O presente trabalho objetivou estudar a satisfacao dos usuarios de transporte publico metroviario na cidade do Rio de Janeiro com os servicos prestados pelo MetroRio. Na coleta de dados, empregou-se a pesquisa de survey, com utilizacao de questionario estruturado. Posteriormente, os dados foram tratados por meio da Modelagem de Equacoes Estruturais (MEE), com base em Minimos Quadrados Parciais (MQP). Os resultados confirmaram que a satisfacao do usuario sofre impacto estatisticamente significativo da qualidade do servico, das expectativas e do valor percebido.
eNOS Activation Induced by a Polyphenol-Rich Grape Skin Extract in Porcine Coronary Arteries

Background/Aims: Drinking red wine is associated with a decreased mortality from coronary heart diseases. This study examined whether polyphenols contained in a grape skin extract (GSE) triggered the endothelial formation of nitric oxide (NO) and investigated the underlying mechanism. Methods: Vascular reactivity was assessed in organ chambers using porcine coronary artery rings in the presence of indomethacin (a cyclooxygenase inhibitor) and charybdotoxin plus apamin (inhibitors of endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated responses). The phosphorylation level of Src, Akt and endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) were assessed by Western blot analysis, and the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was investigated using dihydroethidine and dichlorodihydrofluorescein. Results: GSE-induced endothelium-dependent relaxations were abolished by NG-nitro-L-arginine (an eNOS inhibitor) and ODQ (a soluble guanylyl cyclase inhibitor), and they were reduced by MnTMPyP, polyethyleneglycol catalase, PP2 (an inhibitor of Src kinase) and wortmannin (an inhibitor of phosphoinositide 3-kinase). GSE caused phosphorylation of Src, which was prevented by MnTMPyP. It also caused phosphorylation of Akt and eNOS, which were prevented by MnTMPyP, polyethyleneglycol catalase, PP2, wortmannin and LY294002. GSE elicited the formation of ROS in native and cultured endothelial cells, which was prevented by MnTMPyP. Conclusions: GSE causes endothelium-dependent NO-mediated relaxations of coronary arteries. This effect involves the intracellular formation of ROS in endothelial cells leading to the Src kinase/phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt-dependent phosphorylation of eNOS.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Implanted Deep Brain Stimulators: Experience in a Large Series

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a commonly used and important imaging modality to evaluate lead location and rule out complications after deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery. Recent safety concerns have prompted new safety recommendations for the use of MRI in these patients, including a new recommendation to limit the specific absorption rate (SAR) of the MRI sequences used to less than 0.1 W/kg. Following SAR recommendations in real-world situations is problematic for a variety of reasons. We review our experience scanning patients with implanted DBS systems over a 7-year period using a variety of scanning techniques and four scanning platforms. 405 patients with 746 implanted DBS systems were imaged using 1.5-tesla MRI with an SAR of up to 3 W/kg. Many of the DBS systems were imaged multiple times, for a total of 1,071 MRI events in this group of patients with no adverse events. This series strongly suggests that the 0.1 W/kg recommendation for SAR may be unnecessarily low for the prevention of MRI-related adverse events.
Toward ubiquitous VR: When VR Meets ubiComp

—We propose a novel concept of Ubiquitous Virtual Reality (U-VR) and promising approaches for realization of U-VR. Currently, Virtual Reality (VR) is still not pervasive in our daily lives despite the development of many computing devices, and people have few chances to use VR systems since there is no indispensable application area. On the other hand, extensive researches on Ubiquitous Computing (ubiComp) have been accomplished to enable applications to adopt to users and environments based on various kinds of contexts obtained from distributed yet invisible computing resources. In this regard, we consider how to revive VR in an infrastructure, i.e. ubiComp environments. Thus, we present a concept of U-VR that is realized through Collaborative Wearable MAR (Mediated Attentive Reality). In addition, we investigate five challenges that are significant factors in establishing U-VR environments. Finally, the proposed approach for each raised issue is illustrated. The usefulness of the presented concept is proved by demonstrating some applications.
Government Intervention in SMEs E-Commerce Adoption: An Institutional Approach

Institutional involvement has been determinant in the diffusion of technological innovations, however little attention has been given to institutional intervention in the adoption and diffusion of e -commerce in SMEs. This study investigates the role of government in the adoption and diffusion of e -commerce in small and medium size enterprises. King et al. (1994) framework of institutional factors in information technology innovation is used to analyze the wishes expressed by SMEs regarding intervention to foster the adoption and diffusion of e -commerce among small businesses. The findings show that the government could mostly influence adoption and diffusion through knowledge deployment, subsidies and mobilization.
On Generating *-Sound Nets with Substitution

We present a method for hierarchically generating sound work flow nets by substitution of nets with multiple inputs and outputs. We show that our method is correct and generalizes the class of nets generated by other hierarchical approaches. We identify a notion of soundness that is preserved by such substitutions and correct a small omission in an earlier similar method.
Mechanical Ventilation–Induced Intrathoracic Pressure Distribution and Heart-Lung Interactions*

Objective:Mechanical ventilation causes cyclic changes in the heart’s preload and afterload, thereby influencing the circulation. However, our understanding of the exact physiology of this cardiopulmonary interaction is limited. We aimed to thoroughly determine airway pressure distribution, how this is influenced by tidal volume and chest compliance, and its interaction with the circulation in humans during mechanical ventilation. Design:Intervention study. Setting:ICU of a university hospital. Patients:Twenty mechanically ventilated patients following coronary artery bypass grafting surgery. Intervention:Patients were monitored during controlled mechanical ventilation at tidal volumes of 4, 6, 8, and 10 mL/kg with normal and decreased chest compliance (by elastic binding of the thorax). Measurements and Main Results:Central venous pressure, airway pressure, pericardial pressure, and pleural pressure; pulse pressure variations, systolic pressure variations, and stroke volume variations; and cardiac output were obtained during controlled mechanical ventilation at tidal volume of 4, 6, 8, and 10 mL/kg with normal and decreased chest compliance. With increasing tidal volume (4, 6, 8, and 10 mL/kg), the change in intrathoracic pressures increased linearly with 0.9 ± 0.2, 0.5 ± 0.3, 0.3 ± 0.1, and 0.3 ± 0.1 mm Hg/mL/kg for airway pressure, pleural pressure, pericardial pressure, and central venous pressure, respectively. At 8 mL/kg, a decrease in chest compliance (from 0.12 ± 0.07 to 0.09 ± 0.03 L/cm H2O) resulted in an increase in change in airway pressure, change in pleural pressure, change in pericardial pressure, and change in central venous pressure of 1.1 ± 0.7, 1.1 ± 0.8, 0.7 ± 0.4, and 0.8 ± 0.4 mm Hg, respectively. Furthermore, increased tidal volume and decreased chest compliance decreased stroke volume and increased arterial pressure variations. Transmural pressure of the superior vena cava decreased during inspiration, whereas the transmural pressure of the right atrium did not change. Conclusions:Increased tidal volume and decreased chest wall compliance both increase the change in intrathoracic pressures and the value of the dynamic indices during mechanical ventilation. Additionally, the transmural pressure of the vena cava is decreased, whereas the transmural pressure of the right atrium is not changed.
FAST, OPTIMAL ENTROPY CODER *

Quantized Indexing ‡ (QI) is a fast and space-efficient form of enumerative coding 1 , the most “desirable” 12,30 among asymptotically optimal universal source coding algorithms. The present advance in enumerative coding is similar to that made by arithmetic coding with respect to its unlimited precision predecessor, Elias coding. The arithmetic precision, execution time, table sizes and coding delay are all reduced by a factor ≈ n/g at a redundancy below log(e)/2 g-1 bits/symbol (for n input symbols and precision g ~ log(n)). Due to its tighter enumeration, QI output redundancy is below that of arithmetic coding (which can be derived as a reduced accuracy approximation of QI). The relative compression gain vanishes in large n and in high entropy limits and increases for shorter outputs and for less predictable data. QI is significantly faster than the fastest arithmetic coders, from factor 6 in high entropy limit to over 200 in low entropy limit (‘typically’ 10-15 times faster). These speedups are result of using only 3 adds, 1 shift and 2 simple array lookups (all in 32 bit precision; α=2) per less probable symbol and no coding operations for the most probable symbol § . Further, the exact enumeration algorithm is sharpened and its lattice walks formulation is generalized. A new numeric type with a broader applicability, sliding window integer, is introduced.
The Effect of Founder Identity Work on the Perception and Management of Sustainability

Founders of new sustainable ventures have to balance economic, social, and ecological goals simultaneously. To investigate why those founders perceive sustainability tensions in fundamentally different ways, and how they handle inherent sustainability trade-offs, we conduct an explorative qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and secondary data of eight founders. First insights reveal that founders differ with regard to how much they self-identify with their venture and how they subsequently manage their identity. Three different categories of founders have been found: (1) the compartmentalizer, who clearly separates his founder role from his self-concept, (2) the coupler, who takes on the founder role to his self-concept in a differentiated manner, and (3) the merger, who does not distinguish between his founder role and the overall self- concept. Such identity work strategies are linked to different approaches towards sustainability, i.e. rational prioritization, positive alignment, and per.
An Application Based on Fuzzy Access Model in Pervasive Environment

On the basis of the trust model, proposed a trustworthiness based fuzzy access model for control(TBFAMC). And achieved the appraisal of dynamic trust degree of subject, automaticly work out the correlation with respect to the requested authority according to the composition of the trustworthiness of subject. Established interval-valued fuzzy policy rule for authority and achieve the effective control of authority through the fuzzy reasoning of subject related context. In the end demonstrate the effectiveness of TBFAMC with a living example and provide technology for solving the problem of dynamic access control in pervasive computing environment.
Genome-Wide Footprints of Pig Domestication and Selection Revealed through Massive Parallel Sequencing of Pooled DNA

Background Artificial selection has caused rapid evolution in domesticated species. The identification of selection footprints across domesticated genomes can contribute to uncover the genetic basis of phenotypic diversity. Methodology/Main Findings Genome wide footprints of pig domestication and selection were identified using massive parallel sequencing of pooled reduced representation libraries (RRL) representing ∼2% of the genome from wild boar and four domestic pig breeds (Large White, Landrace, Duroc and Pietrain) which have been under strong selection for muscle development, growth, behavior and coat color. Using specifically developed statistical methods that account for DNA pooling, low mean sequencing depth, and sequencing errors, we provide genome-wide estimates of nucleotide diversity and genetic differentiation in pig. Widespread signals suggestive of positive and balancing selection were found and the strongest signals were observed in Pietrain, one of the breeds most intensively selected for muscle development. Most signals were population-specific but affected genomic regions which harbored genes for common biological categories including coat color, brain development, muscle development, growth, metabolism, olfaction and immunity. Genetic differentiation in regions harboring genes related to muscle development and growth was higher between breeds than between a given breed and the wild boar. Conclusions/Significance These results, suggest that although domesticated breeds have experienced similar selective pressures, selection has acted upon different genes. This might reflect the multiple domestication events of European breeds or could be the result of subsequent introgression of Asian alleles. Overall, it was estimated that approximately 7% of the porcine genome has been affected by selection events. This study illustrates that the massive parallel sequencing of genomic pools is a cost-effective approach to identify footprints of selection.
An Efficient Approach to Construct Object Model of Static Textual Structure with Dynamic Behavior Based on Q-learning

Developing information technology led to raise the intricacy of information systems intensive, hence techniques with effectiveness and efficiency are required. These techniques are used to support users in using the information for rapid and correct decision-making. Conventional text mining and managing systems mainly use the presence or absence of keywords to discover and analyze useful information from textual documents. However, simple word counting and frequency distributions of term appearances do not capture the meaning behind the words, which results in limiting the ability to mine the texts. This paper has been primarily concerned with constructing text representation model and exploiting that in mining and managing operations such as gathering, searching, filtering, retrieving, extracting, clustering, classifying, and summarizing. This representation model is based on semantic notions to represent text in documents, to infer unknown dependencies and relationships among concepts in a text, to measure the relatedness between text documents, and to apply mining processes using the representation and the relatedness measure. This model reflects the existing relations among concepts and facilitates accurate relatedness measurements that result in better mining performance. The experimental evaluations were carried out on real datasets from various domains, showing the importance of the proposed model.
The function of GADD34 is a recovery from a shutoff of protein synthesis induced by ER stress—elucidation by GADD34‐deficient mice

GADD34 is a protein that is induced by stresses such as DNA damage. The function of mammalian GADD34 has been proposed by in vitro transfection, but its function in vivo has not yet been elucidated. Here we generated and analyzed GADD34 knockout mice. Despite their embryonic stage‐ and tissue‐specific expressions, GADD34 knockout mice showed no abnormalities at fetal development and in early adult life. However, in GADD34−/− mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEFs), recovery from a shutoff of protein synthesis was delayed when MEFs were exposed to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress. The phosphorylation of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 α (eIF2α) at Ser51 induced by thapsigargin or DTT was prolonged in GADD34−/− MEF, although following treatment with tunicamycin, the eIF2α phosphorylation level did not change in either GADD34+/+ or GADD34−/− cells. ER stress stimuli induced expressions of Bip (binding Ig protein) and CHOP (C/EBP homologous protein) in MEF of wild‐type mice. These expressions were strongly reduced in GADD34−/− MEF, which suggests that GADD34 up‐regulates Bip and CHOP. These results indicate that GADD34 works as a sensor of ER stress stimuli and recovers cells from shutoff of protein synthesis.
Miniaturization (0.2 g) and evaluation of attachment techniques of telemetry transmitters

SUMMARY We have developed a miniaturized very high frequency (VHF) transmitter design for radio-tagging small animals. The average mass of the circuitry is 0.084 g (range 0.081-0.087), hence, with the smallest power cell, complete tags weigh 0.2 g and have a life of 18-22 days. We further demonstrate that with such small tags the technique of attaching the device to the animal's body strongly affects the effective radiated power, and thus transmission ranges. Ideally the attachment couples the electronics to the animal's body as a ground plane for improved radiation. The transmitter allows the application of radio-tracking to be expanded to new taxa whose spatial behaviour and population dynamics are largely unknown, for example arthropods, reptiles or amphibians. The new design is also suitable for miniature implants and signal modulation with sensors.
Performance evaluation for cooperative ADF relaying V2I communications with burst transmission and PSA-CE schemes over quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels

In this paper, we propose the analytical approach for adaptive decode-and-forward (ADF) relaying vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) schemes consisting of ND-symbol burst data transmission based on pilot symbol assisted-channel estimation (PSA-CE) methods over quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels. At first, we focus on the error-event at relaying on board equipments (OBEs) for ND-symbol burst data transmission, whereas previous researches considered one data symbol transmission so that they showed the best performance bounds. By considering ND-symbol burst for ADF relaying schemes, we derive an exact bit error rate (BER) expression which can be the performance of practical systems. Moreover, the practical channel estimation (CE) process is considered by pilot symbols transmission. Then, we investigate the effects of both a CE error and an estimated noise variance, which can be obtained by pilot symbol assisted (PSA)-CE methods, on the received signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and BER. Furthermore, the average BER is derived in approximated closed-form expression for an arbitrary link SNR. The derived analytical approach is verified based on the number of relaying OBEs, pilots, and data symbols. Its accuracy is confirmed by comparison with simulation results.
Oil-pressboard interface charges under combined AC/DC electric field: Their characteristics and influence on surface flashover voltage

Under AC/DC combined electric field, the oil-pressboard insulation of the converter transformer accumulates space charges to generate a partially distorted non-uniform field and thus affects the electric strength distribution of the insulation system. The present research uses the needle-plate electrode to simulate the distorted non-uniform electric field fostered by the space charges and adopts the electrostatic capacitive probe method to record the changing patterns of the interface charges in the AC/DC combined electric field, and studies the impact of interface charges on flashover voltage, aiming at providing concrete references for the design of converter transformer. The research results indicate that, under AC/DC combined electric field where the ratios between AC voltage equivalent value and the DC voltage are recorded as 1∶1 and 1∶5, the interface charges accumulated at the upper layer of the pressboard in the non-uniform electric field possess the same polarity as that of the DC proportion in the applied voltage complex. The charge density under the combined electric field superimposed by AC on negative DC voltage appears larger than that in the context of the positive DC voltage. The interface charge density increases with the duration of voltage application and also fluctuates with the AC instantaneous field in the similar manner as power frequency voltage. The larger the DC proportion in the combined electric field, the less the fluctuation appears. Due to the reverse effect of the homopolar charges to the electric field, the surface flashover voltage in the combined electric field superimposed by AC voltage on the negative DC voltage is 1.3 times greater than that in the scenario of positive DC voltage.
Breast cancer in first-degree relatives and risk of lung cancer: assessment of the existence of gene sex interactions.

BACKGROUND Previous studies have shown the sex differences in lung cancer and the associations between estrogen-related genes and non-small cell lung cancer. In the present study, we assumed the existence of shared candidate genes that are common in lung and breast cancers, and examined whether women with a family history of breast cancer are at increased risk of lung cancer compared with men, especially adenocarcinoma, in a case-only study. METHODS This case-only study was conducted based on the Lung Cancer Database Project at the National Cancer Center Hospital East. A total of 1566 patients with newly diagnosed primary lung cancer were consecutively recruited between 1999 and 2003. Information on their family history of cancer and smoking habit was obtained from a self-administered questionnaire. To assess an interactions between two factors, odds ratios for interaction (ORis) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated by case-only contingency table. RESULTS A statistically significant ORi was observed between a family history of breast cancer in first-degree relatives (parent and siblings, not including children) and the sex of a patient (ORi: 2.22, 95% CI: 1.02-4.81). A stratified analysis by histologic subtypes showed a statistically significant ORi only for adenocarcinoma (ORi: 3.27, 95% CI: 1.19-8.98). No other family history of cancer, such as stomach, colon and lung cancer, showed a statistically significant ORi. CONCLUSION This study suggests the possibility of gene-sex interaction in lung cancer.
Trends in wide area IP traffic patterns - A view from Ames Internet Exchange

We report results from a longitudinal analysis of the IP traffic workload seen at a single measurement site inside a major Internet traffic exchange point. Using data collected by the NLANR/MOAT Network Analysis Infrastructure (NAI) project [NAI] and analysis software from CAIDA’s CoralReef project [CoralReef], we present trends in application usage seen at the NASA Ames Internet Exchange over 10 months, from May 1999 through March 2000. We show changes in the fraction of traffic from streaming media and online gaming, as well as an increase in traffic from new applications such as Napster and IPSEC tunneling. We also show that our data does not indicate any overall change in the TCP/UDP traffic ratio at the Ames Internet Exchange during this period, or significant differences from the analyses by MCI Worldcom and CAIDA in 1998.