Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of a multi-DOF electromyography prosthetic system using the adaptive joint mechanism

This paper describes an electrically powered prosthetic system controlled by electromyography EMG signal detected from the skin surface of the human body. The research of electrically powered prosthetic systems is divided into two main subjects. One is the design of the joint mechanism. We propose the use of an adaptive joint mechanism based on the tendon-driven architecture. This mechanism includes mechanical torque--velocity converters and a mechanism to assist the proximal joint torque by distal actuators. The other subject is the recognition of the EMG signal. For the discrimination of many patterns and nonlinear properties of the EMG signal, we propose a controller based on a simple pattern recognition information process. The system also drives 12 servomotors to move the adaptive joint mechanism. In this paper, we show the proposed system and describe the mechanical design of the prosthetic hand. The experimental results show that the electrically powered devices can be controlled using the proposed method.
Teaching embedded systems engineering in a software-oriented computing degree

Traditional software-oriented computing degrees do not include courses on embedded systems design in their syllabus, since in the past embedded applications were seen as small-sized solutions developed without the need of engineering approaches. This reality has dramatically changed in the last decade and nowadays several embedded systems are quite complex. Embedded systems present several idiosyncrasies that make their development more difficult and complex than desktop solutions, namely when considering non-functional requirements, time-related deadlines, or the correctness of the solution. To be well prepared for their professions, students of software-oriented computing degrees must acquire skills and competencies in embedded systems engineering. Being able to master high-level programming languages and to develop solutions only for desktop computers means that the students cannot consider numerous opportunities, after graduation. This paper discusses which topics in embedded software design to include in a second cycle degree on software engineering that was structured to consider the Bologna declaration that is now being used in Europe to recast all university degrees. The syllabus of a 15-ECTS module dedicated to teach the fundamental concepts of embedded systems engineering and embedded software development is also described.
Effects of Mobility on Mean Packet Delay Over Integrated Services Wireless Networks

Next generation cellular networks are based on packet switching and has QoS support based on architectures such as integrated services. To calculate the QoS parameters such as packet delay will be very important. In order reach to this goal, in this paper we propose a model for an integrated services wireless access router. Our model describes the user mobility effect on the mean packet delay over such routers under two different CAC schemes. Besides, we apply this model to evaluate the mobility effect over two QoS support approaches, the standard IntServ and a new proposal for QoS support based on integrated services named IntServ6
Investigation of in vivo measurement of cerebral cytochrome-c-oxidase redox changes using near-infrared spectroscopy in patients with orthostatic hypotension

We have previously used a continuous four-wavelength near-infrared spectrometer to measure changes in the cerebral concentrations of oxy-haemoglobin (Δ[HbO2] and deoxy-haemoglobin (Δ[HHb]) during head-up tilt in patients with primary autonomic failure. The measured changes in light attenuation also allow calculation of changes in the concentration of oxidized cytochrome-c-oxidase (Δ[oxCCO]), and this paper analyses the Δ[oxCCO] during the severe episodes of orthostatic hypotension produced by this experimental protocol. We studied 12 patients during a passive change in position from supine to a 60° head-up tilt. The challenge caused a reduction in mean blood pressure of 59.93 (±26.12) mmHg (Mean (±SD), p < 0.0001), which was associated with a reduction in the total concentration of haemoglobin (Δ[HbT] = Δ[HbO2] + Δ[HHb]) of 5.02 (±3.81) µM (p < 0.0001) and a reduction in the haemoglobin difference concentration (Δ[Hbdiff] = Δ[HbO2] − Δ[HHb]) of 14.4 (±6.73) µM (p < 0.0001). We observed a wide range of responses in Δ[oxCCO]. Six patients demonstrated a drop in Δ[oxCCO] (0.17 ± 0.15 µM); four patients demonstrated no change (0.01 ± 0.12 µM) and two patients showed an increase in Δ[oxCCO] (0.21 ± 0.01 µM). Investigation of the association between the changes in concentrations of haemoglobin species and the Δ[oxCCO] for each patient show a range of relationships. This suggests that a simple mechanism for crosstalk, which might produce artefactual changes in [oxCCO], is not present between the haemoglobin and the oxCCO NIRS signals. Further investigation is required to determine the clinical significance of the changes in [oxCCO].
MINING PAGE FARMS AND ITS APPLICATION IN LINK SPAM DETECTION

Understanding the general relations of Web pages and their environments is important with a few interesting applications such as Web spam detection. In this thesis, we study the novel problem of page farm mining and its application in link spam detection. A page farm is the set of Web pages contributing to (a major portion of) the PageRank score of a target page. We show that extracting page farms is computationally expensive, and propose heuristic methods. We propose the concept of link spamicity based on page farms to evaluate the degree of a Web page being link spam. Using a real sample of more than 3 million Web pages, we analyze the statistics of page farms. We examine the effectiveness of our spamicity-based link spam detection methods using a newly available real data set of spam pages. The empirical study results strongly indicate that our methods are effective.
Role of Cerebellar Interpositus Nucleus in the Genesis and Control of Reflex and Conditioned Eyelid Responses

The role of cerebellar circuits in the acquisition of new motor abilities is still a matter of intensive debate. To establish the contribution of posterior interpositus nucleus (PIN) to the performance and/or acquisition of reflex and classically conditioned responses (CRs) of the eyelid, the effects of microstimulation and/or pharmacological inhibition by muscimol of the nucleus were investigated in conscious cats. Microstimulation of the PIN in naive animals evoked ramp-like eyelid responses with a wavy appearance, without producing any noticeable plastic functional change in the cerebellar and brainstem circuits involved. Muscimol microinjections decreased the amplitude of reflex eyeblinks evoked by air puffs, both when presented alone or when paired with a tone as conditioned stimulus (CS). In half-conditioned animals, muscimol injections also decreased the amplitude and damped the typical wavy profile of CRs, whereas microstimulation of the same sites increased both parameters. However, neither muscimol injections nor microstimulation modified the expected percentage of CRs, suggesting a major role of the PIN in the performance of eyelid responses rather than in the learning process. Moreover, the simultaneous presentation of CS and microstimulation in well trained animals evoked CRs similar in amplitude to the added value of those evoked by the two stimuli presented separately. In contrast, muscimol-injected animals developed CRs to paired CS and microstimulation presentations, larger than those evoked by the two stimuli when presented alone. It is concluded that the PIN contributes to the enhancement of both reflex and conditioned eyelid responses and to the damping of resonant properties of neuromuscular elements controlling eyelid kinematics.
In silico Analysis of HIV-1 Env-gp120 Reveals Structural Bases for Viral Adaptation in Growth-Restrictive Cells

Variable V1/V2 and V3 loops on human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) envelope-gp120 core play key roles in modulating viral competence to recognize two infection receptors, CD4 and chemokine-receptors. However, molecular bases for the modulation largely remain unclear. To address these issues, we constructed structural models for a full-length gp120 in CD4-free and -bound states. The models showed topologies of gp120 surface loop that agree with those in reported structural data. Molecular dynamics simulation showed that in the unliganded state, V1/V2 loop settled into a thermodynamically stable arrangement near V3 loop for conformational masking of V3 tip, a potent neutralization epitope. In the CD4-bound state, however, V1/V2 loop was rearranged near the bound CD4 to support CD4 binding. In parallel, cell-based adaptation in the absence of anti-viral antibody pressures led to the identification of amino acid substitutions that individually enhance viral entry and growth efficiencies in association with reduced sensitivity to CCR5 antagonist TAK-779. Notably, all these substitutions were positioned on the receptors binding surfaces in V1/V2 or V3 loop. In silico structural studies predicted some physical changes of gp120 by substitutions with alterations in viral replication phenotypes. These data suggest that V1/V2 loop is critical for creating a gp120 structure that masks co-receptor binding site compatible with maintenance of viral infectivity, and for tuning a functional balance of gp120 between immune escape ability and infectivity to optimize HIV-1 replication fitness.
Binaphthyl-anchored antibacterial tripeptide derivatives with hydrophobic C-terminal amino acid variations

The facile synthesis of seven new dicationic tripeptide benzyl ester derivatives, with hydrophobic group variations in the C-terminal amino acid component, is described. Moderate to good activity was seen against Gram-positive bacteria in vitro. One cyclohexyl-substituted compound 2c was tested more widely and showed good potency (MIC values ranging from 2–4 μg/mL) against antibiotic-resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococci (VRE, VSE), and against Staphylococcus epidermidis.
Amelioration of oxidative damage by Methyl gallate in different in vitro models

The present study aims to evaluate the antioxidant potential of methyl gallate - an ester of gallic acid in different in vitro assays. The antioxidant capacity was assessed using Molybdate ion reduction, DPPH, ABTS radical cation scavenging, deoxyribose degradation (site specific and non-site specific), reducing power, lipid peroxidation, superoxide anion scavenging, chelating power and DNA nicking assays and the results were compared with known antioxidant i.e. gallic acid. From the results obtained, it was found that methyl gallate exhibited potent antioxidant activities in different in vitro models and the activity was related to its chemical structure. The reduction ability of methyl gallate was found to be 99.58mg AAE /100mg dry weight of pure compound. The IC50 value of methyl gallate in DPPH, ABTS . + scavenging, deoxyribose degradation (site specific and non-site specific), reducing power, lipid peroxidation, superoxide anion scavenging, chelating power was found to be 21.679, 8.689, 19.884 and 20.086, 91.169, 15.825, 32.699 and 4990.2 µg/ml respectively. The methyl gallate also has tendency to conserve the supercoiled DNA (pBR 322) from the . OH radicals mediated damage in DNA nicking assay. However, it has been found that hydrogen donation, free radical scavenging potential of methyl gallate was lower than standard antioxidant compound i.e. gallic acid and the lower effect was related to substitution of –OH group by –CH3 group.
Classical Stability of Black Branes

Classical stability behaviors of various static black brane backgrounds under small perturbations have been summarized briefly. They include cases of black strings in AdS$_5$ space, charged black $p$-brane solutions in the type II supergravity, and the BTZ black string in four-dimensions. The relationship between dynamical stability and local thermodynamic stability - the so-called Gubser-Mitra conjecture - has also been checked for those cases.
Cleavage of the IPS-1/Cardif/MAVS/VISA does not inhibit T cell-mediated elimination of hepatitis C virus non-structural 3/4A-expressing hepatocytes

Background: Hepatitis C virus (HCV) effectively establishes persistent infection in human livers. The non-structural (NS) 3/4A complex participates in this process by cleavage of interferon β (IFNβ) promoter stimulator-1 (IPS-1; also termed Cardif/MAVS/VISA), which inhibits responses to double stranded (ds) RNA. However, it is not known whether this effect extends beyond innate responses. Aims: To test if HCV NS3/4A affects innate and adaptive immune responses in vivo. Methods: NS3 levels were semi-quantified in human liver biopsies, transfected cells, and in transgenic (Tg) mouse livers by western blot. The effect of NS3/4A on dsRNA-mediated signalling and on the integrity of IPS-1 was analysed using in vitro translation, transfected cells and Tg mice. Cytotoxic T cell (CTL)-mediated clearance of transient firefly luciferase (FLuc)- and/or NS3/4A-Tg hepatocytes was determined using in vivo imaging and western blot. Results: NS3 protein levels were in a comparable range (0.1–49 μg/g tissue) in infected human livers and Tg mouse livers. Importantly, these levels of NS3/4A reduced murine innate responses to synthetic dsRNA in vivo, supporting the possibility that this occurs also in infected humans. The likely explanation for this was the NS3/4A-mediated cleavage of mouse IPS-1, albeit less efficiently than human IPS-1. Despite this, FLuc- and/or NS3/4A-expressing murine hepatocytes were effectively eliminated by hepatic CTLs, utilising the classical molecules for virus-infected cell lysis, including CD8, IFNγ, perforin and FasL. Conclusions: Although HCV NS3/4A inhibits the innate immunity, this does not prevent CTL-mediated clearance of NS3/4A-expressing hepatocytes in vivo. Thus, other HCV proteins are most likely responsible for interfering with the adaptive immunity.
A Mobile System for Annotation of Home Energy Data

Home energy management is increasingly important. Though there are a plethora of tools for aiding home energy management, few provide concrete suggestions for helping users to manage energy demand. A key component in developing automated energy management schemes is drawing a connection between energy usage and a user’s context. Existing approaches either rely on users to annotate data after the fact, or rely on intrusive and costly sensing systems deployed in the home. This work presents a system for collecting in situ annotations using a mobile application coupled with an existing home energy measurement infrastructure. We use a novel power profiling approach to determine when appliances transition from an idle to active state and aggressively prompt users to provide annotations of their current context. In a five-week study, we were able to collect an average of over 2 annotations per day and users provided a wide range of annotations, however the overall response rate was lower than expected leading to a sparse data set. We conclude by examining the utility of sparse energy data annotations. We first demonstrate that our data set confirms that end user annotation is necessary—a completely automated activity inferencing scheme is implausible. We further demonstrate that sparse annotation data can be used to predict a user’s activity with an accuracy of more than 50% in hours where our data set contains an annotation from the user. We finally consider the feasibility of using annotations to predict a user’s energy needs.
Sub-arcsecond imaging of the radio continuum and neutral hydrogen in the Medusa merger

We present sub-arcsecond, Multi-Element Radio Linked Interferometer (MERLIN) observations of the decimetre radio continuum structure and neutral hydrogen (Hi) absorption from the nuclear region of the starburst galaxy NGC 4194 (the Medusa Merger). The continuum structure of the central kiloparsec of the Medusa has been imaged, revealing a pair of compact radio components surrounded by more diffuse, weak radio emission. Using the constraints provided by these observations and those within the literature we conclude that the majority of this radio emission is related to the ongoing star-formation in this merger system. With these observations we also trace deep Hi absorption across the detected radio continuum structure. The absorbing Hi gas structure exhibits large variations in column densities. The largest column densities are found toward the south of the nuclear radio continuum, co-spatial with both a nuclear dust lane and peaks in 12 CO ($1\rightarrow 0$) emission. The dynamics of the Hi absorption, which are consistent with lower resolution 12 CO emission observations, trace a shallow north-south velocity gradient of ~320 km s -1 kpc -1 . This gradient is interpreted as part of a rotating gas structure within the nuclear region. The Hi and CO velocity structure, in conjunction with the observed gas column densities and distribution, is further discussed in the context of the fuelling and gas physics of the ongoing starburst within the centre of this merger.
Massively Parallel Haplotyping on Microscopic Beads for the High-Throughput Phase Analysis of Single Molecules

In spite of the many advances in haplotyping methods, it is still very difficult to characterize rare haplotypes in tissues and different environmental samples or to accurately assess the haplotype diversity in large mixtures. This would require a haplotyping method capable of analyzing the phase of single molecules with an unprecedented throughput. Here we describe such a haplotyping method capable of analyzing in parallel hundreds of thousands single molecules in one experiment. In this method, multiple PCR reactions amplify different polymorphic regions of a single DNA molecule on a magnetic bead compartmentalized in an emulsion drop. The allelic states of the amplified polymorphisms are identified with fluorescently labeled probes that are then decoded from images taken of the arrayed beads by a microscope. This method can evaluate the phase of up to 3 polymorphisms separated by up to 5 kilobases in hundreds of thousands single molecules. We tested the sensitivity of the method by measuring the number of mutant haplotypes synthesized by four different commercially available enzymes: Phusion, Platinum Taq, Titanium Taq, and Phire. The digital nature of the method makes it highly sensitive to detecting haplotype ratios of less than 1∶10,000. We also accurately quantified chimera formation during the exponential phase of PCR by different DNA polymerases.
Integration Of Automatic Processes Into Semi-Automatic Building Extraction

The modeling of three-dimensional objects is a current topic in digital photogrammetric research. The modeling of buildings in digital imagery or digital surface models involving automation processes has reached a level where it can compete with classical photogrammetric stereo measurements. There are many different ways on how to integrate automation. We describe our system and its automated features that support the operator in the adaption of parametric models to multiple overlapping images. There do exist tools to automate the measurement of heights, to automate the estimation of the form parameters or for the handling of building aggregates. With such tools we can reach about 20 seconds for the modeling of a volumetric primitive which is fully comparable to the currently used photogrammetric methods.
Estimates of net CO2 flux by application of equilibrium boundary layer concepts to CO2 and water vapor measurements from a tall tower

fluxes that affects the CO2 and water vapor mixing ratios. We apply quasi-equilibrium concepts for the terrestrial ABL to measurements of CO2 and water vapor made within the ABL from a tall tower (396 m) in Wisconsin. We suppose that CO2 and water vapor mixing ratios in the ABL approach an equilibrium on timescales longer than a day: a balance between the surface fluxes and the exchange with the free troposphere above. By using monthly averaged ABL-to-free-tropospheric water vapor differences and surface water vapor flux, realistic estimates of vertical velocity exchange with the free troposphere can be obtained. We then estimated the net surface flux of CO2 on a monthly basis for the year of 2000, using ABL-to-free-tropospheric CO2 differences, and our flux difference estimate of the vertical exchange. These ABL-scale estimates of net CO2 flux gave close agreement with eddy covariance measurements. Considering the large surface area which affects scalars in the ABL over synoptic timescales, the flux difference approach presented here could potentially provide regional-scale estimates of net CO2 flux. INDEX TERMS: 1615 Global Change: Biogeochemical processes (4805); 1818 Hydrology: Evapotranspiration; 3307 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Boundary layer processes; 3322 Meteorology and Atmospheric Dynamics: Land/atmosphere interactions; KEYWORDS: boundary layer, CO2 exchange, evapotranspiration
Object-oriented design for parallel processing of massive remote sensing data

When remote sensing data of earth observation reach the P level, distributed processing of global remote sensing data and improvement of digital image processing speed have become a research focus. In this article, a system of object-oriented metadata definition is developed for describing parameter inversion model and dependency of the remote sensing data. Based on the system, a space-time partitioning multi-granularity model is established and then applied to partitioning massive remote sensing data for parallel processing. Our results show that the model can provide data-based parallel processing and improve the capabilities of the massive remote sensing data processing.
Anal Intercourse and HIV Risk Among Low-Income Heterosexual Women: Findings from Chicago HIV Behavioral Surveillance

Background: Anal intercourse (AI) is a highly efficient route for HIV transmission and has not been well elucidated among heterosexual (HET) women. Heterosexual women living in impoverished urban areas in the US are at increased risk for HIV acquisition. We aim to describe rates of AI and characteristics associated with AI among heterosexual women at increased risk for HIV acquisition living in Chicago. Methods: The Chicago Department of Public Health conducted a survey of HET during 2007 as part of the National HIV Behavioral Surveillance System. Venue-based, time-location sampling was used to select participants from venues in high-risk areas (census tracts with concurrently high rates of heterosexual AIDS and household poverty). Eligible participants were interviewed anonymously and offered a HIV test. Results: In total, 407 heterosexual women were interviewed. Seventy-one (17%) women reported having AI in the past 12 months, with 61 of the 71 (86%) reporting unprotected AI. In multivariate analysis, women who engaged in AI were more than three times as likely to have three or more sex partners in the past 12 months (OR=3.27, 95% CI 1.53-6.99). AI was also independently associated with STI diagnosis in the past 12 months (2.13, 95% CI 1.06-4.26), and having sexual intercourse for the first time before the age of 15 years (2.23, 95% CI 1.28-3.89). Conclusion: AI was associated with multiple high risk behaviors including a greater number of sexual partners, STI diagnosis, and earlier age at first sex. The combination of risk factors found to be associated with AI call for new HIV prevention services tailored to the needs of women and young girls living in poverty.