Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Exploring possibilities for real-time muscle dynamics state estimation from EMG signals

Real-time estimation of muscle state (activation, force and length) can be used for visualization of muscle function in neuromuscular rehabilitation and control of wearable assistive and augmenting devices. This paper proposes two formulations for developing linear state estimations of muscle dynamics in isometric contractions: the Luemberger observer and the Kalman filter. One of the main requirements of an estimator for such application is small lag, and a Finite Impulse Response (FIR) pre-filter was used to eliminate part of the high-frequency content of the EMG signal. A run test with human soleus EMG sample was performed. Both Luemberger observer and Kalman filter provided reasonably accurate estimations of the muscle state, compared to usual off-line EMG-driven analysis. In addition, the role of some Kalman filter parameters is analyzed.
A Realizable Cross-Layer Architecture for Wireless Mesh Networks

A wireless mesh network (WMN) is an emerging technology to provide open access to the Internet with high bandwidth and low cost while covering a wide area without wiring. Compared to ad-hoc networks, traditionally focusing on military and specialized civilian applications, WMNs can be thought as the generalized one for fulfilling the actual user requirements. Accordingly, WMNs have become one of the most prospective candidates for the Future Internet technology. In the landmark paper [3], Tassiulas and Ephremides introduced throughput optimal technique of backpressure routing and maximum weight link scheduling which was shown to yield network stability whenever input rates are within the network capacity region. Specifically, the dynamic backpressure policy activates the non-interfering links by assigning high priority to those with large differential backlogs. The well-known further work is to combine flow control with routing and scheduling problem [2]. However, the backpressure policy has some critical problems that make it difficult to implement in practice. The first is low scalability with the increasing number of flows. Due to per-flow queueing, it requires considerable complexity in a large-scale network. Secondly, the policy requires unconventional rate control at each source, which means that users in the mesh network need to change their transport protocol into totally new one instead of TCP. Finally, an optimal scheduling requires centralized computation and even might be NP-hard in the worst case. In this paper, we propose a realizable mesh router architecture using dynamic backpressure policy against the above problems. Specifically, for multi-hop link scheduling we consider the Greedy Maximal Scheduling (GMS) which is regarded as a well-known suboptimal scheduling [1]. But it has not been implemented in practice despite lots of mathematical works so far. As an alternative, our paper focuses on the issues related to implementing GMS. For flow control, we separate the mesh router architecture
Silk Spinning in Silkworms and Spiders

Spiders and silkworms spin silks that outcompete the toughness of all natural and manmade fibers. Herein, we compare and contrast the spinning of silk in silkworms and spiders, with the aim of identifying features that are important for fiber formation. Although spiders and silkworms are very distantly related, some features of spinning silk seem to be universal. Both spiders and silkworms produce large silk proteins that are highly repetitive and extremely soluble at high pH, likely due to the globular terminal domains that flank an intermediate repetitive region. The silk proteins are produced and stored at a very high concentration in glands, and then transported along a narrowing tube in which they change conformation in response primarily to a pH gradient generated by carbonic anhydrase and proton pumps, as well as to ions and shear forces. The silk proteins thereby convert from random coil and alpha helical soluble conformations to beta sheet fibers. We suggest that factors that need to be optimized for successful production of artificial silk proteins capable of forming tough fibers include protein solubility, pH sensitivity, and preservation of natively folded proteins throughout the purification and initial spinning processes.
Inflation, Capital Taxation, and Monetary Policy

This paper discusses the effects of the interaction between inflation and the taxation of capital income. The principal conclusions are: (1) Inflation substantially increases the total effective tax rate on the income from capital used in the nonfinancial corporate sector. The total effective tax rate has risen from less than 60 percent in the mid-1960's to more than 70 percent in the late 1970's. (2) The higher effective tax rate reduces the real net rate of return to those who provide investment capital. In the late 19701s, the real net rate of return averaged less than three percent. (3) The interact ion between inflation and existing tax rules contributed to the fall in the ratio of share prices to real pretax earnings, or, equivalently, to the rise in the real cost to the firm of equity capital. (4) By reducing the real net return to investors and by widening the gap between the firms' cost of funds and the maximum return that they can afford to pay, the interaction between tax rates and inflation has depressed the rate of net investment in business fixed capital. (5) The failure to consider correctly the effects of the fiscal structure has caused observers to underestimate the expansionary character of monetary policy in the past two decades. (6) The goal of increasing investment while maintaining price stability can be achieved with tight money, a high real interest rate, and tax incentives for investment. A high real net-of-tax interest rate could reduce residential investment and other forms of consumer spending while the tax incentives offset the monetary effect for investment in business capital.
Generalized Calabi-Yau manifolds

A geometrical structure on even-dimensional manifolds is defined which generalizes the notion of a Calabi–Yau manifold and also a symplectic manifold. Such structures are of either odd or even type and can be transformed by the action both of diffeomorphisms and closed 2-forms. In the special case of six dimensions we characterize them as critical points of a natural variational problem on closed forms, and prove that a local moduli space is provided by an open set in either the odd or even cohomology. We introduce in this paper a geometrical structure on a manifold which generalizes both the concept of a Calabi–Yau manifold—a complex manifold with trivial canonical bundle—and that of a symplectic manifold. This is possibly a useful setting for the background geometry of recent developments in string theory; but this was not the original motivation for the author’s first encounter with this structure. It arose instead as part of a programme (following the papers [ 11, 12]) for characterizing special geometry in low dimensions by means of invariant functionals of differential forms. In this respect, the dimension six is particularly important. This paper has two aims, then: first to introduce the general concept, and then to look at the variational and moduli space problem in the special case of six dimensions. We begin with the definition in all dimensions of what we call generalized complex manifolds and generalized Calabi–Yau manifolds .
Editorial: At Risk for Neuropsychiatric Disorders: An Affective Neuroscience Approach to Understanding the Spectrum

Neuropsychiatric disorders constitute a large global burden of disease; yet the neural mechanisms of emotional and social cognitive disturbances in patients are not yet fully understood (Deco and Kringelbach, 2014). Here, we used an affective neuroscience approach to investigate the spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders from patients to those at risk, where stress plays a major role (Sousa, 2016). This Research Topic illuminates work by leading affective neuroscience researchers on how best to understand problems with the affective processing leading to increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders.
Computing with common knowledge

There are several situations in which common knowledge becomes important. Among them we have games, social behaviour, and natural language. In this paper we present a multi-agent framework in which the agent are able to use not only their own private knowledge bases bu also the common knowledge they share with other agents. This approach is based on Aumann structures and the language is a simplified version of full common knowledge. The restricted language retains enough expressive power as to be able to deal with the classical "muddy children" example while being relatively simple.
Comparative Analysis of Putative Orthologues of Mitochondrial Import Motor Subunit: Pam18 and Pam16 in Plants

Pam18/Tim14 and Pam16/Tim16, highly conserved proteins among eukaryotes, are two essential subunits of protein import motors localized in the inner mitochondrial membrane. The heterodimer formed by Pam18 and Pam16 via their J-type domains serves a regulatory function in protein translocation. Here, we report that thirty-one Pam18 and twenty-six Pam16 putative orthologues in twelve plant species were identified and analyzed through bioinformatics strategy. Results data revealed that Pam18 and Pam16 were also highly conserved among plants including their J-type domains within the hydrophilic region. Key amino acid residues and an HPD motif of Pam18 were identical among the orthologues except OsPam18L5. N-myristoylation sites of Pam18 and casein kinase II phosphorylation sites of Pam 16 were more abundant, which might be important functional sites. Some Pam18 and Pam16 proteins contained a transmembrane region at the N-terminal region. Sub-cellular prediction results indicated that many orthologues localized at mitochondria. Gene expression analyses revealed that Pam18 and Pam16 in Arabidopsis might play roles in senescence and abiotic stress responses. Our detailed study provides a better understanding of Pam18 and Pam16 in plant kingdom.
LTCC Course Variational and Computational Methods for PDEs Lecture Notes ∗

∆u = ∂2u ∂x1 + ∂2u ∂x2 where x = (x1, x2) ∈ R2 are Cartesian coordinates. Even though the Poisson equation looks very special it is an important model case representing several problems from physics and engineering, e.g. electrostatics, stationary heat transfer and other diffusion problems. Variations of the techniques we will study apply to a wide class of second order so-called elliptic problems. It is known that there are cases where no classical (i.e. twice continuously differentiable) solution of (1.1) exists. In order to deal with a uniquely solvable problem one therefore derives a weak formulation. It is convenient to write the Laplace operator in the following form:
The Rise of Agrarian Capitalism with Chinese Characteristics: Agricultural Modernization, Agribusiness and Collective Land Rights

In what forms are agribusinesses entering agriculture and interacting with farmers? How are land, labor and capital now controlled by corporate and individual actors, and then organized into agricultural production? How does such control and organization shape the relationships between the actors? In this article we argue that agrarian capitalism is expanding in China. The means of production, such as capital and land, are increasingly controlled by agribusiness, while direct producers increasingly sell their labor for a living. We document various forms in which agribusiness companies are conducting transactions with individual agricultural producers. We also argue that China's unique system of land rights featuring collective ownership but individualized usage rights has acted as a powerful force in shaping interactions between agribusiness and direct producers. It provides farmers with a source of economic income and political bargaining power, and restricts corporate actors from dispossessing farmers of their land. We find strong norms protecting farmers' collective land rights in the agricultural sector, contrary to the received wisdom about weak protection of land rights in China. In the rest of the paper, we first review the policy context in which this transformation has taken place. Next we introduce our method of data collection, summarize the five forms of agribusiness-farmer interaction found in our study, and analyze each of the five forms in depth. We conclude with a discussion of the causes and characteristics of the rise of agrarian capitalism, with a focus on the role of the land rights system.
In Pursuit of Frameworks for the Development of Growth Models of the Small Business

t research described in this issue of the Journal is to develop a better understanding of the factors influencing the growth of the small business. None of the papers in this issue produce a comprehensive theoretical model: indeed, the authors of this introductory paper have some scepticism as to whether this is possible. However, there is some pressure in this respect for a key characteristic of much of the current
Keck High Resolution Spectroscopy of PKS 0123+257: Intrinsic Absorption in a Radio-Loud Quasar

We present results from Keck I high resolution spectroscopy of the radio loud quasar PKS 0123+257 ($z_e$=2.364, V=17.5). In this object we detect Ly$\alpha$, N V 1238,1242, Si IV 1393,1402, and C IV 1548,1550 in an absorption system at a redshift of 2.369. The Ly$\alpha$ line has a square- bottomed profile suggesting a high column density of gas, yet the line does not reach zero intensity. The resolved C IV doublet ratio also clearly demonstrates that the absorbing clouds at this redshift do not fully occult the background light source along our line-of-sight. The absorption lines are positioned near the centers of the broad emission- lines and the coverage fraction of the strongest absorption lines varies inversely proportionally with the strength of the corresponding emission lines. This implies that although the absorption-line region may obscure the continuum source, it does not completely occult the broad emission-line region. This effect suggests that the lines are formed close to the QSO central region. A model is proposed in which the apparent coverage fraction derived for the weaker absorption lines may vary with the column density of the lines. Broad absorption-lines (which are known to be intrinsic) are found nearly exclusively in radio-quiet objects. Intrinsic narrow absorption lines have previously been found in radio quiet QSOs; it is therefore significant that an intrinsic absorption system has been verified in a radio loud quasar.
Glycan Masking of Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein for Probing Protein Binding Function and Vaccine Development

Glycan masking is an emerging vaccine design strategy to focus antibody responses to specific epitopes, but it has mostly been evaluated on the already heavily glycosylated HIV gp120 envelope glycoprotein. Here this approach was used to investigate the binding interaction of Plasmodium vivax Duffy Binding Protein (PvDBP) and the Duffy Antigen Receptor for Chemokines (DARC) and to evaluate if glycan-masked PvDBPII immunogens would focus the antibody response on key interaction surfaces. Four variants of PVDBPII were generated and probed for function and immunogenicity. Whereas two PvDBPII glycosylation variants with increased glycan surface coverage distant from predicted interaction sites had equivalent binding activity to wild-type protein, one of them elicited slightly better DARC-binding-inhibitory activity than wild-type immunogen. Conversely, the addition of an N-glycosylation site adjacent to a predicted PvDBP interaction site both abolished its interaction with DARC and resulted in weaker inhibitory antibody responses. PvDBP is composed of three subdomains and is thought to function as a dimer; a meta-analysis of published PvDBP mutants and the new DBPII glycosylation variants indicates that critical DARC binding residues are concentrated at the dimer interface and along a relatively flat surface spanning portions of two subdomains. Our findings suggest that DARC-binding-inhibitory antibody epitope(s) lie close to the predicted DARC interaction site, and that addition of N-glycan sites distant from this site may augment inhibitory antibodies. Thus, glycan resurfacing is an attractive and feasible tool to investigate protein structure-function, and glycan-masked PvDBPII immunogens might contribute to P. vivax vaccine development.
Continuous haemodiafiltration compared with intermittent haemodialysis in the treatment of methanol poisoning.

Methanol (MeOH) is a toxic alcohol present in many solvents and antifreeze solutions. Ingested MeOH undergoes enzymatic oxidation to toxic formic acid, resulting in acidosis, neurotoxicity and death in severe poisoning. Treatment relies on antidote administration (fomepizole or ethanol) to antagonize MeOH oxidation, folic acid to facilitate the catabolism of formic acid, correction of acidosis and dialysis to accelerate MeOHelimination [1]. Intermittent haemodialysis (HD) is used conventionally [1]. Continuous veno-venous haemodiafiltration (CVVHDF) has not been formally evaluated against this standard. Here we compare the relative efficiencies of HD and CVVHDF in accelerating MeOH elimination and correcting metabolic abnormalities in three severely poisoned patients, seen simultaneously in two tertiary referral hospitals. At that time, only CVVHDF was available in the Intensive Care Department of the hospital that treated two patients. The third patient received HD. Toxicokinetics and clinical outcomes of CVVHDF and HD treated patients were compared.
Digital games and the communication of health problems. A review of games against the concept of procedural rhetoric

With the spread of the internet and the availability of computing resources, the use of digital games technologies has grown considerably in areas other than pure pastime (Hainey et al., 2011). Serious games in particular are games designed for primary purposes other than pure entertainment (Susi et al., 2007). In this paper, we focus on the potential as well as the limitations of serious digital games as a medium for communication in the area of public health. The idea for writing this essay came from a meeting one of the authors had with the communication manager of the Public Health Body (PHB) of one Italian region. According to this manager, the PHB is looking for new and innovative media and languages for communication with teenagers, especially because of the clear limits of other media traditionally used by the PHB, such as paper leaflets or posters. The manager, however, did not mention specific directions or desirable solutions to bridge the communicative gap between the PHB and teenagers in relation to health issues. Our idea is that games in general, and digital games in particular, can be used as effective forms of communication with young people. Digital games can therefore provide a solution for the PHB. In fact, digital games are already an important part of young people’s pastimes. They can communicate messages to teenagers in ways that are entertaining and fun. Moreover, the use of digital games has already been recognized as a powerful medium for supporting young people’s learning (Kirriemuir & McFarlane, 2004) and as educational tool for healthcare (Papastergiou, 2009).
Automating Test Oracles for Systems with Complex Outputs

In Software Testing, systems with complex outputs (GUIs, web applications, and Text-to-speech (TTS) systems) make the test automation a difficult job and may require from the tester a large amount of time to determine whether the current output is correct. Even so, there is still no known general method to define test oracles for such systems. Regarding TTS systems, in which audio files are given as output, the literature describes several techniques useful for measure their quality, but they mostly involve opinion scores, informal interpretations and human intervention. This Ph.D. Research aim to use test oracles to deal with this problem, extending the framework O-FIm that uses CBIR concepts to automate test oracles. Using feature extractors implemented specifically for systems with complex outputs (image and audio), this research provides an effective automated test oracle technique, supporting the quality assessment of such systems. We expect this new approach to reduce the human efforts of testing systems with complex outputs.
On the existence and optimality of equilibria in lobbying economies

Suppose that members of a society are accorded status as both economic and political agents. If the polity responds to the same actors for whom economic policy matters, a simultaneity of political and economic determination is introduced. The first goal of the research presented here concerns the microeconomic question, How does an agent choose economic and political behavior simultaneously when his or her political activity has an explicit effect on the economic environment? The second is to determine conditions under which an equilibrium will exist in a generic strategic lobbying situation. The third is to discover the effect of lobbying behavior on society's welfare position. The model of the thesis begins with an exchange economy in which agents are asked to make economic and political decisions simultaneously. A government mechanism sets relative prices by law in response to donations by political interests whose stakes in the price level are diametrically opposed, trading with a larger world economy to clear the distorted domestic markets. The first result is the demonstration that under certain conditions on the economy, the model possesses a lobbying equilibrium. The welfare properties of this equilibrium are evaluated by comparing agents' utility levels at the lobbying outcome with those which would obtain in corresponding competitive economies. Both agents may be worse off with lobbying than without it, but one agent is sometimes better off with the lobbying program. Using cooperative game theoretic techniques, the potential for agents to gain by forming a coalititon and overturning the intervention policy is studied. The potential for the government to achieve an analagous improvement by implementing a tax/transfer scheme is also evaluated. It is shown that cases in which agents could help themselves by cooperating coincide precisely with cases in which the government could help them by replacing the price policy of the model with a tax/transfer policy. In order to investigate these welfare properties, and to draw conclusions about the relationships between agents' characteristics and the pricing rule, numerical experiments are carried out in which equilibrium outcomes are calculated for example economies.
Towards a Characterization of Constant-Factor Approximable Min CSPs

We study the approximability of Minimum Constraint Satisfaction Problems (Min CSPs) with a fixed finite constraint language Γ on an arbitrary finite domain. The goal in such a problem is to minimize the number of unsatisfied constraints in a given instance of CSP(Γ). A recent result of Ene et al. says that, under the mild technical condition that Γ contains the equality relation, the basic LP relaxation is optimal for constant-factor approximation for Min CSP(Γ) unless the Unique Games Conjecture fails. Using the algebraic approach to the CSP, we introduce a new natural algebraic condition, stable probability distributions on symmetric polymorphisms of a constraint language, and show that the presence of such distributions on polymorphisms of each arity is necessary and sufficient for the finiteness of the integrality gap for the basic LP relaxation of Min CSP(Γ). We also show how stable distributions on symmetric polymorphisms can in principle be used to round solutions of the basic LP relaxation, and how, for several examples that cover all previously known cases, this leads to efficient constant-factor approximation algorithms for Min CSP(Γ). Finally, we show that the absence of another condition, which is implied by stable distributions, leads to NP-hardness of constant-factor approximation.