Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
GPS-Based Path Following Control for a Car-Like Wheeled Mobile Robot With Skidding and Slipping

Most wheeled mobile robot (WMR) controllers have been developed based on nonskidding and nonslipping assumptions. Unfortunately, wheel skidding and slipping are inevitable due to wheel tire-deformation; consequently, the stability and performance of these controllers are not guaranteed. This brief aims to develop a global positioning system (GPS)-based path following a controller for a car-like wheeled mobile robot in the presence of wheel skidding and slipping. The proposed control scheme uses real-time kinematic (RTK)-GPS and other aiding sensors to measure the WMR's posture, velocities, and perturbations due to wheel skidding and slipping. These measurements are applied to compensate the path following errors based on a backstepping controller. The reported experimental results validate the control scheme. With this solution, the WMR is able to maneuver with better precision in outdoor environments in the presence of wheel skidding and slipping.
STAT1 Pathway Mediates Amplification of Metastatic Potential and Resistance to Therapy

Background Traditionally IFN/STAT1 signaling is connected with an anti-viral response and pro-apoptotic tumor-suppressor functions. Emerging functions of a constitutively activated IFN/STAT1 pathway suggest an association with an aggressive tumor phenotype. We hypothesized that tumor clones that constitutively overexpress this pathway are preferentially selected by the host microenvironment due to a resistance to STAT1-dependent cytotoxicity and demonstrate increased metastatic ability combined with increased resistance to genotoxic stress. Methodology/Principal Findings Here we report that clones of B16F1 tumors grown in the lungs of syngeneic C57BL/6 mice demonstrate variable transcriptional levels of IFN/STAT1 pathway expression. Tumor cells that constitutively overexpress the IFN/STAT1 pathway (STAT1H genotype) are selected by the lung microenvironment. STAT1H tumor cells also demonstrate resistance to IFN-gamma (IFNγ), ionizing radiation (IR), and doxorubicin relative to parental B16F1 and low expressors of the IFN/STAT1 pathway (STAT1L genotype). Stable knockdown of STAT1 reversed the aggressive phenotype and decreased both lung colonization and resistance to genotoxic stress. Conclusions Our results identify a pathway activated by tumor-stromal interactions thereby selecting for pro-metastatic and therapy-resistant tumor clones. New therapies targeted against the IFN/STAT1 signaling pathway may provide an effective strategy to treat or sensitize aggressive tumor clones to conventional cancer therapies and potentially prevent distant organ colonization.
A Generalized Mixed-Radix Algorithm for Memory-Based FFT Processors

In this brief, a generalized mixed-radix (GMR) algorithm is proposed for memory-based fast Fourier transform (FFT) processors to support prime-sized and traditional 2n -point FFTs simultaneously. It transforms the index to a multidimensional vector for efficient computation. By controlling the index vector to satisfy the ¿vector reverse¿ behavior, the GMR algorithm can support not only in-place policy for both computation and I/O data for continuous data flow to minimize the memory size but also multibank memory structures to increase the maximum throughput without memory conflict. Finally, a low-complexity implementation of an index vector generator is also proposed for our algorithm.
MiR-196a2 and lung cancer in Chinese non-smoking females: a genetic association study and expression analysis

Background The common polymorphism rs11614913 in miR-196a2 might be associated with lung cancer risk for non-smoking females in northeast China. Methods The genotypes of rs11614913 in miR-196a2 were determined by a case-control study including 1003 patients with lung cancer and 1003 healthy controls. The tissues were detected to assess the miRNA expression. Secondary structures of miR-196a2 were predicted. Results There was a significant association between miR-196a2 rs11614913 and lung cancer risk in Chinese non-smoking females. Individuals carrying TC or CC genotype had increased risk of lung cancer compared with TT genotype (adjusted risks were 1.63 and 1.67). The C allele was associated with a higher risk of lung cancer with a significant risk of 1.27. The similar significant results were also found in lung adenocarcinoma. There was a significant association between miR-196a2 expression and lung cancer risk (t=2.594, P=0.012). The relative expression of miR-196a2 was significantly higher for CC genotype comparing with the CT or TT genotype in tumor tissues (P values were all 0.003). The optimal free energies were different for T allele and C allele. Conclusions The polymorphism rs11614913 in miR-196a2 may be associated with lung cancer risks in Chinese non-smoking females through affecting miR-196a2 expression and secondary structure.
Glutamate-Evoked Alterations of Glial and Neuronal Cell Morphology in the Guinea Pig Retina

Neuronal activity is accompanied by transmembranous ion fluxes that cause cell volume changes. In whole mounts of the guinea pig retina, application of glutamate resulted in fast swelling of neuronal cell bodies in the ganglion cell layer (GCL) and the inner nuclear layer (INL) (by ∼40%) and a concomitant decrease of the thickness of glial cell processes in the inner plexiform layer (IPL) (by ∼40%) that was accompanied by an elongation of the glial cells, by a thickening of the whole retinal tissue, and by a shrinkage of the extracellular space (by ∼18%). The half-maximal effect of glutamate was observed at ∼250 μm, after ∼4 min. The swelling was caused predominantly by AMPA-kainate receptor-mediated influx of Na+ into retinal neurons. Similar but transient morphological alterations were induced by high K+ and dopamine, which caused release of endogenous glutamate and subsequent activation of AMPA-kainate receptors. Apparently, retinal glutamatergic transmission is accompanied by neuronal cell swelling that causes compensatory morphological alterations of glial cells. The effect of dopamine was elicitable only during light adaptation but not in the dark, and glutamate and high K+ induced strong ereffects in the dark than in the light. This suggests that not only the endogenous release of dopamine but also the responsiveness of glutamatergic neurons to dopamine is regulated by light-dark adaptation. Similar morphological alterations (neuronal swelling and decreased glial process thickness) were observed in whole mounts isolated immediately after experimental retinal ischemia, suggesting an involvement of AMPA-kainate receptor activation in putative neurotoxic cell swelling in the postischemic retina.
Reconstructing summer upper-level flow in the northern Rocky Mountains using an alpine larch tree-ring chronology

Mid-latitude mesoscale weather in the climatological summer is heavily influenced by fluctuations in synoptic-scale circulation patterns. Previous research has linked Arctic amplification to alterations in summer synoptic climatology, leading to more extreme weather events in the mid-latitudes. In this study we reconstruct seasonal (JJA) upper-level (500 hPa) atmospheric flow for four geographic locations in the mid-latitudes using an alpine larch (Larix lyallii Parl.) tree-ring chronology derived from western Montana. Our goal is to assess the long-term (400+ year) stability of upper-level flow to place the observed trends in a historical context. Spatial pattern correlations indicate that tree growth increases when meridional flow and zonal flow are strong west (r = 0.504, p = 0.001, n = 37) and north (r = 0.642, p < 0.001, n = 37) of the study site, respectively. Tree growth declines when meridional flow and zonal flow are strong east (r = -0.497, p = 0.001, n = 37) and south (r = -0.584, p < 0.001, n = 37) of the study site, respectively. Our 444-year climate reconstructions of 500 hPa flow show that ridging is becoming more intense in recent decades while troughs are declining in intensity.
Evolution of Field Early-Type Galaxies: The View from GOODS CDFS

We explore the evolution of field early-type galaxies in a sample extracted from the ACS images of the southern GOODS field. The galaxies are selected by means of a nonparametric analysis, followed by visual inspection of the candidates with a concentrated surface brightness distribution. We furthermore exclude from the final sample those galaxies that are not consistent with an evolution into the Kormendy relation between surface brightness and size that is observed for z = 0 ellipticals. The final set, which comprises 249 galaxies with a median redshift zm = 0.71, represents a sample of early-type systems not selected with respect to color, with similar scaling relations as those of bona fide elliptical galaxies. The distribution of number counts versus apparent magnitude rejects a constant number density with cosmic time and suggests a substantial decrease with redshift: n ∝ (1 + z)-2.5. The majority of the galaxies (78%) feature passively evolving old stellar populations. One-third of those in the upper half of the redshift distribution have blue colors, in contrast to only 10% in the lower redshift subsample. An adaptive binning of the color maps using an optimal Voronoi tessellation is performed to explore the internal color distribution. We find that the red and blue early-type galaxies in our sample have distinct behavior with respect to the color gradients, so that most blue galaxies feature blue cores whereas most of the red early-types are passively evolving stellar populations with red cores, i.e., similar systems to local early-type galaxies. Furthermore, the color gradients and scatter do not evolve with redshift and are compatible with the observations at z = 0, assuming a radial dependence of the metallicity within each galaxy. Significant gradients in the stellar age are readily ruled out. This work emphasizes the need for a careful sample selection, as we found that most of those galaxies that were visually classified as candidate early types—but then rejected based on the Kormendy relation—feature blue colors characteristic of recent star formation.
Hyperbolicity and Chordality of a Graph

Let $G$ be a connected graph with the usual shortest-path metric $d$. The graph $G$ is $\delta$-hyperbolic provided for any vertices $x,y,u,v$ in it, the two larger of the three sums $d(u,v)+d(x,y),d(u,x)+d(v,y)$ and $d(u,y)+d(v,x)$ differ by at most $2\delta. $ The graph $G$ is $k$-chordal provided it has no induced cycle of length greater than $k. $ Brinkmann, Koolen and Moulton find that every $3$-chordal graph is $1$-hyperbolic and that graph is not $\frac{1}{2}$-hyperbolic if and only if it contains one of two special graphs as an isometric subgraph. For every $k\geq 4,$ we show that a $k$-chordal graph must be $\frac{\lfloor\frac{k}{2}\rfloor}{2}$-hyperbolic and there does exist a $k$-chordal graph which is not $\frac{\lfloor \frac{k-2}{2}\rfloor}{2}$-hyperbolic. Moreover, we prove that a $5$-chordal graph is $\frac{1}{2}$-hyperbolic if and only if it does not contain any of a list of five special graphs as an isometric subgraph.
NanoFabrics: spatial computing using molecular electronics

The continuation of the remarkable exponential increases in processing power over the recent past faces imminent challenges due in part to the physics of deep-submicron CMOS devices and the costs of both chip masks and future fabrication plants. A promising solution to these problems is offered by an alternative to CMOS-based computing, chemically assembled electronic nanotechnology (CAEN). In this paper we outline how CAEN-based computing can become a reality. We briefly describe recent work in CAEN and how CAEN will affect computer architecture. We show how the inherently reconfigurable nature of CAEN devices can be exploited to provide high-density chips with defect tolerance at significantly reduced manufacturing costs. We develop a layered abstract architecture for CAEN-based computing devices and we present preliminary results which indicate that such devices will be competitive with CMOS circuits.
Understanding the determinants of information technology adoption: evidence from Italian manufacturing firms

Our empirical study aims at identifying the determinants of Information Technology (IT) adoption by small and medium sized Italian manufacturing firms. An ordered probit analysis is conducted on a sample of about 17 000 firms surveyed by the Italian Statistical Institute, using as a dependent variable an index of IT adoption. Our results show that firm size, geographical location, functional composition of the workforce, R&D activity, subcontracting, exports and collaboration between firms are all highly significant determinants of IT adoption. Such results are consistent with most of the predictions advanced in the few studies existing on this topic.
Posture Monitoring System for Context Awareness in Mobile Computing

The posture of a user is one of the contextual information that can be used for mobile applications and the treatment of idiopathic scoliosis. This paper describes a method for monitoring the posture of a user during operation of a mobile device in three activities such as sitting, standing, and walking. The user posture monitoring system (UPMS) proposed in this paper is based on two major technologies. The first involves a tilt-angle measurement algorithm (TAMA) using an accelerometer. Unlike most previous studies, it is based on a relative computation using the dot product from the time-series acceleration data. Because TAMA does not require a physical calibration by a user, it is more robust and accurate compared to other methods that rely on absolute computations. The second technology is an effective signal-processing method that eliminates the motion acceleration component of the accelerometer signal using a second-order Butterworth low-pass filter (SLPF). Because the posture of a user is only related to the gravity acceleration component, the motion acceleration components should be removed. The TAMA and UPMS are implemented on a personal digital assistant (PDA). They are evaluated to verify the possibility of application to a mobile device. Additionally, a posture-based intelligent control interface in context-aware computing that reacts to the posture of a PDA user is implemented on the PDA to complement the poor user interface (UI) of the mobile device, and its results are presented.
Chaotic system reconstruction from noisy time series measurements using improved least squares genetic programming

The problem of chaotic system reconstruction in the presence of measurement noise is not only an important one from the viewpoint of communication systems and radar signal processing, but also a challenging one if one has no a priori knowledge of the system structure. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm based on genetic programming to reconstruct not only the structure of the underlying chaotic dynamical system but also the optimal parameters of the dynamical system using time series measurements that are corrupted by additive Gaussian noise. We show via computer simulations that the proposed algorithm called improved least squares genetic program (ILS-GP) is able to reconstruct different kinds of chaotic systems from their noisy time series measurements even at low SNRs. We finally show the improved ability of the ILS-GP algorithm by applying it to predict the time series of airborne radar sea clutter.
On the Properties of System-Wide Responsive Behavior

High contention of flows is associated with unstable network behavior and unmanageable resource administration, i.e., convergence to equilibrium becomes a difficult task. In this paper, we propose a new approach to control congestion. In this context, we present an algorithm for active queue management, to notify simultaneously all competing flows about incipient congestion. Typically, AQM schemes notify only a small portion of participating flows about congestion events. Our notification scheme, called global notifier (GN), allows for an immediate and less aggressive adjustment of transmission windows with three consequent properties: (i) fairness is improved, (ii) smoothness of responsive flows is improved and (iii) system utilization is better regulated between the knee and the cliff. We detail our algorithm and the corresponding responsive behavior of participating flows, and we highlight significant performance results gathered by simulations.
Field and observer perspectives in autobiographical memory

Events of the personal past may be remembered from two points of view. One is from a first-person or field perspective, such that people relive the events through their own eyes, as if they were looking outward, experiencing the events now much like they did before. Alternatively, rememberers may adopt a third-person or observer perspective, so that they " see " themselves as actors in the memory image. As is true of psychology itself, the distinction between field (F) and observer (O) perspectives has a long past but a short history. Freud (1899/1959), for instance, maintained that it had important psychodynamic implications for understanding memory (also see Henri & Henri, 1897). He believed that early childhood memories of anxiety-provoking preoedipal experiences were reconstructions that masked deeper emotional conflicts, and that one way to accomplish this masking was to take an observer perspective while recollecting. Nonetheless, experimental analysis of the F/O distinction is a relatively recent enterprise. The first experiments were reported in the early 1980s and of the 70-odd studies that have appeared since then, more than 70% were published in the last decade (Rice & Rubin, 2009). This increase in the size of the literature is matched by a broadening of its scope, as an increasingly diverse group of researchers-specialists in emotion, neuroimaging, autobiographical memory, individual differences, self-awareness, post-traumatic stress, and other areas-have taken an interest in field and observer modes of remembering. Thus, the concept of multiple memory perspectives can itself be viewed from Autobiographical Memory Perspectives/3 multiple research perspectives. To illustrate this point, we begin with a review of cognitive and social aspects of the field/observer distinction. Next we discuss a recent study in which fMRI, recall narratives, and subjective ratings were combined with a view to identifying the neural networks engaged by field vs. observer perspectives. Attention will then shift to the clinical significance of the memory perspectives, before settling at the end on promising directions for future research. For students of cognitive or social psychology, the distinction between field and observer modes of remembering is significant in several respects, as discussed below. Malleability of Memory In the first place, the fact that personal episodes or events can be perceived from a first-person perspective, but remembered from a third-person vantage point, attests to both the malleability of human memory-a topic of enormous theoretical and applied interest-and to the dynamic, reconstructive nature of autobiographical recall (Conway & …
Control of Proliferation and Cancer Growth by the Hippo Signaling Pathway

The control of cell division is essential for normal development and the maintenance of cellular homeostasis. Abnormal cell proliferation is associated with multiple pathological states, including cancer. Although the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway was initially thought to control organ size and growth, increasing evidence indicates that this pathway also plays a major role in the control of proliferation independent of organ size control. In particular, accumulating evidence indicates that the Hippo/YAP signaling pathway functionally interacts with multiple other cellular pathways and serves as a central node in the regulation of cell division, especially in cancer cells. Here, recent observations are highlighted that connect Hippo/YAP signaling to transcription, the basic cell-cycle machinery, and the control of cell division. Furthermore, the oncogenic and tumor-suppressive attributes of YAP/TAZ are reviewed, which emphasizes the relevance of the Hippo pathway in cancer. Mol Cancer Res; 14(2); 127–40. ©2015 AACR.
Strategies of division of labour for improving task efficiency in multi-robot systems

This paper addresses the issue of allocating tasks in multi-robot systems and evaluates the strategies that various ant colonies display in carrying out tasks and proposes four different task allocation strategies within the realms of multi-robot systems. The paper also introduces the concept of cost-benefit ratio as a measure of performance index for the task allocation strategies identified. Experimental results show that uniformly distributed specialised workers are better than generalised workers in carrying out tasks. The paper then improves the performance of the strategies by incorporating a long term memory to carry out tasks. The proposed model for task allocation is highly efficient, accurate and consistent with the biological counterparts. The model offers benefits in designing efficient multi-robot systems that can carry out more than one task.
Endocannabinoids are Involved in Male Vertebrate Reproduction: Regulatory Mechanisms at Central and Gonadal Level

Endocannabinoids (eCBs) are natural lipids regulating a large array of physiological functions and behaviors in vertebrates. The eCB system is highly conserved in evolution and comprises several specific receptors (type-1 and type-2 cannabinoid receptors), their endogenous ligands (e.g., anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol), and a number of biosynthetic and degradative enzymes. In the last few years, eCBs have been described as critical signals in the control of male and female reproduction at multiple levels: centrally, by targeting hypothalamic gonadotropin-releasing-hormone-secreting neurons and pituitary, and locally, with direct effects on the gonads. These functions are supported by the extensive localization of cannabinoid receptors and eCB metabolic enzymes at different levels of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis in mammals, as well as bonyfish and amphibians. In vivo and in vitro studies indicate that eCBs centrally regulate gonadal functions by modulating the gonadotropin-releasing hormone–gonadotropin–steroid network through direct and indirect mechanisms. Several proofs of local eCB regulation have been found in the testis and male genital tracts, since eCBs control Sertoli and Leydig cells activity, germ cell progression, as well as the acquisition of sperm functions. A comparative approach usually is a key step in the study of physiological events leading to the building of a general model. Thus, in this review, we summarize the action of eCBs at different levels of the male reproductive axis, with special emphasis, where appropriate, on data from non-mammalian vertebrates.