Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive network based fuzzy logic control of a rigid - flexible robot manipulator

In this study position and vibration control of a rigid-flexible robot manipulator is investigated. Initially dynamic model of the manipulator system is obtained by using Lagrange equations and assumed modes method. Two adaptive networks based fuzzy logic controllers (ANFLCs) are proposed for tracking control of the rigid link and the flexible link. The training and testing data of ANFLCs are obtained from the conventional PD control of the manipulator system. The performances of ANFLCs are tested for different type and different number of membership functions. Finally simulation results are obtained. Results demonstrate the remarkable performance of the proposed controllers.
Far-infrared pedestrians detection based on adaptive template matching and heterogeneous-feature-based classification

Robust and efficient far-infrared pedestrian detection is challenging for advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS). In order to address problems that the performance of existing detection methods often suffers from uncontrolled background objects, various pedestrian size and pose, a novel pedestrian detection method that integrates the improved template-matching and machine-learning techniques is proposed to address the above two problems. With the purpose of reducing the interference of uncontrolled background objects, we employ template matching technique to pre-classify candidates so that false alarms can be reduced. During this procedure, we create more templates and design a head location algorithm to adaptively select an optimal head template. To reduce the interference of various pedestrian size and pose, we propose a novel heterogeneous feature which concatenates several state-of-the-art features to enhance the pedestrian description ability, then the heterogeneous feature is fed to a machine learning classifier to validate pedestrians from the candidates. Experiments in public and additional datasets captured by ourselves indicate that, compared with three state-of-the-art methods, the proposed method can obtain higher detection accuracy.
Molecular Diversity of Terpene Synthases in the Liverwort Marchantia polymorpha[OPEN]

Marchantia polymorpha, like all liverworts, accumulates a large array of terpenes, and this process depends on a unique family of terpene synthases. Marchantia polymorpha is a basal terrestrial land plant, which like most liverworts accumulates structurally diverse terpenes believed to serve in deterring disease and herbivory. Previous studies have suggested that the mevalonate and methylerythritol phosphate pathways, present in evolutionarily diverged plants, are also operative in liverworts. However, the genes and enzymes responsible for the chemical diversity of terpenes have yet to be described. In this study, we resorted to a HMMER search tool to identify 17 putative terpene synthase genes from M. polymorpha transcriptomes. Functional characterization identified four diterpene synthase genes phylogenetically related to those found in diverged plants and nine rather unusual monoterpene and sesquiterpene synthase-like genes. The presence of separate monofunctional diterpene synthases for ent-copalyl diphosphate and ent-kaurene biosynthesis is similar to orthologs found in vascular plants, pushing the date of the underlying gene duplication and neofunctionalization of the ancestral diterpene synthase gene family to >400 million years ago. By contrast, the mono- and sesquiterpene synthases represent a distinct class of enzymes, not related to previously described plant terpene synthases and only distantly so to microbial-type terpene synthases. The absence of a Mg2+ binding, aspartate-rich, DDXXD motif places these enzymes in a noncanonical family of terpene synthases.
Dihydrotestosterone, stanozolol, androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate inhibit leptin secretion in female but not in male samples of omental adipose tissue in vitro: lack of effect of testosterone.

Leptin, the product of the Ob gene, is a polypeptide hormone expressed in adipocytes which acts as a signalling factor from the adipose tissue to the central nervous system, regulating food intake and energy expenditure. It has been reported that circulating leptin levels are higher in women than in men, even after correction for body fat. This gender-based difference may be conditioned by differences in the levels of androgenic hormones. To explore this possibility, a systematic in vitro study with organ cultures from human omental adipose tissue, either stimulated or not with androgens (1 microM), was undertaken in samples obtained from surgery on 44 non-obese donors (21 women and 23 men). The assay was standardized in periods of 24 h, ending at 96 h, with no apparent tissue damage. Leptin results are expressed as the mean+/-s.e. m. of the integrated secretion into the medium, expressed as ng leptin/g tissue per 48 h. Spontaneous leptin secretion in samples from female donors (4149+/-301) was significantly higher (P<0.01) than that from male donors (2456+/-428). Testosterone did not exert any significant effect on in vitro leptin secretion in either gender (4856+/-366 in women, 3322+/-505 in men). Coincubation of adipose tissue with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) induced a significant (P<0.05) leptin decrease in samples taken from women (3119+/-322) but not in those taken from men (2042+/-430). Stanozolol, a non-aromatizable androgen, decreased (P<0.05) leptin secretion in female samples (2809+/-383) but not in male (1553+/-671). Dehydroepiandrosterone sulphate (DHEA-S) induced a significant (P<0.01) leptin decrease in female samples (2996+/-473), with no modifications in samples derived from males (1596+/-528). Exposure to androstenedione also resulted in a significant reduction (P<0.01) of leptin secretion in samples taken from women (2231+/-264), with no effect on male adipose tissue (1605+/-544). In conclusion, DHT, stanozolol, DHEA-S and androstenedione induced a significant inhibition of in vitro leptin secretion in samples from female donors, without affecting the secretion in samples from men. Testosterone was devoid of activity in either gender.
In vivo optical analysis of pancreatic cancer tissue in living model mice using fluorescence and Raman spectroscopic techniques

Living pancreatic cancer tissues grown subcutaneously in nude mice are studied by in vivo Raman spectroscopy and autofluorescence imaging. Comparing the same point spectra of alive pancreatic cancer tissue to that of the dead tissue, it is found that they are different each other. The results suggest that the spectral changes reflect the protein conformational changes in the tumor tissue with death of the host animal. From the result of autofluorescence study, in vivo autofluorescence imaging has potential as a method to assign the histological elements of the pancreatic cancer tissue without any staining. These results strongly suggest that combination of these techniques is very important to study biological tissue.
Antibacterial Activity of Polyethylenimine/Carrageenan Multilayer against Pathogenic Bacteria

The multilayer of polyethylenimine (PEI) and carrageenan (k, i, l) formed by layer-by-layer assembly was investigated for its antibacterial activity against Enterobacter cloaceae, Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus faecalis 29505 for potential use as coating on biomaterial surface. All the multilayers exhibited growth inhibition. PEI/Iota carrageenan multilayer was effective in inhibiting the growth of the E. cloaceae, S. aureus and E. faecalis while PEI/Lambda carrageenan was effective in inhibiting the growth of E. cloaceae. Results of the paper strip test for combined action of carrageenan and PEI showed synergism with regards to bacterial growth inhibition. The multilayers had also contact-killing effect with the test organisms. The multilayer was also characterized by atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and biomolecular interaction analysis.
Biased mutation operators for subgraph-selection problems

Many graph problems seek subgraphs of minimum weight that satisfy a set of constraints. Examples include the minimum spanning tree problem (MSTP), the degree-constrained minimum spanning tree problem (d-MSTP), and the traveling salesman problem (TSP). Low-weight edges predominate in optimum solutions to such problems, and the performance of evolutionary algorithms (EAs) is often improved by biasing variation operators to favor these edges. We investigate the impact of biased edge-exchange mutation. In a large-scale empirical investigation on Euclidean and uniform random instances, we describe the distributions of edges in optimum solutions of the MSTP, the d-MSTP, and the TSP in terms of the edges' weight-based ranks. We approximate these distributions by exponential functions and derive approximately optimal probabilities for selecting edges to be incorporated into candidate solutions during mutation. A theoretical analysis of the expected running time of a (1+1)-EA on nondegenerate instances of the MSTP shows that when using the derived probabilities for edge selection in mutation, the (1+1)-EA is asymptotically as fast as a classical implementation of Kruskal's minimum spanning tree algorithm. In experiments on the MSTP, d-MSTP, and the TSP, we compare the new edge-selection strategy to four alternative methods. The results of a (1+1)-EA on instances of the MSTP support the theory and indicate that the new strategy is superior to the other methods in practice. On instances of the d-MSTP, a more sophisticated EA with a larger population and unbiased recombination performs better with the new biased mutation than with alternate mutations. On the TSP, the advantages of weight-biased mutation are generally smaller, because the insertion of a specific new edge into a tour requires the insertion of a second dependent edge as well. Although we considered Euclidean and uniform random instances only, we conjecture that the same biasing toward low-weight edges also works well on other instance classes structured in different ways.
Shear Cell for In Situ WAXS, SAXS, and SANS Experiments on Polymer Melts Under Flow Fields

Abstract A small‐volume shear cell designed to perform in situ scattering experiments is presented. This device allows the in situ structural study of deformations in polymeric melts and their subsequent crystallization. It is designed specifically for scattering experiments where the rheometer must be held in a vertical position. Two examples are presented that probe the capabilities of this novel, small‐volume shear cell. First of all, real‐time wide‐angle X‐ray scattering (WAXS) is used to follow, in situ, the crystallization after shearing a polyethylene melt. Secondly, the shear‐induced development of aligned structures in a polypropylene/dibenzylidene sorbitol system is followed in real time by small‐angle neutron scattering (SANS).
Decimal Full Adders Specially Designed for Quantum-Dot Cellular Automata

New emerging technologies, with low area/ power/latency properties, are gaining momentum as replacements for CMOS. In particular, for quantum-dot cellular automata (QCA) realization, many arithmetic circuits have been redesigned. The basic QCA elements are a three-way majority gate and an inverter. The trivial mapping of logical circuits to their QCA equivalents via direct replacement of AND and OR gates with partially utilized majority (PUM) gates (i.e., with a “0” and “1” input, respectively) leads to exploitation of QCA basic components. Regarding the revitalized decimal arithmetic units in digital processors, researchers have begun to design decimal arithmetic circuits on QCA. For example, several QCA decimal full adders are trivially designed via the aforementioned direct mapping. However, only one proposition in the literature tries to make better use of majority gates, but yet replaces many AND and OR gates by PUMs. In this brief, we propose a QCA decimal full adder that is mostly composed of fully utilized majority gates (i.e., with no constant inputs), and rarely includes PUMs. The proposed circuit has been designed and tested by QCADesigner, and compared with relevant previous works, where the cell count, area, and delay, show 39%, 78%, 12% improvement, respectively.
Prioritized region of interest coding in JPEG2000

A method is proposed to encode multiple regions of interest in the JPEG2000 image-coding framework. The algorithm is based on the rearrangement of packets in the code-stream to place the regions of interest before the background coefficients. In order to improve the quality of the reconstructed image, partial background information is included with the regions of interest. The method makes use of a Gaussian priority distribution to assign different priority levels to background and region of interest packets. The priority level is in turn used to determine how much background information should be included with the regions of interest. The proposed technique is fully compatible with the current JPEG2000 standard and allows transmission of different regions of interest with different priorities. Experimental results demonstrating the validity of the proposed approach are presented and compared with existing region of interest coding techniques.
Independent slip systems in crystals

Abstract The slip systems observed in a number of crystal structures common amongst metals and simple ceramic materials are examined to see whether they allow the crystal to undergo an arbitrary strain without change of volume. For most materials, other than f.c. c. and b.c.c. metals, there are insufficient independent slip systems. The condition under which cross slip can give rise to extra independent systems is stated. The results explain in a natural way recent experimental findings on the ductility of polycrystals with the sodium chloride structure.
An online recursive autocalibration of triaxial accelerometer

In this paper, we proposed a novel method for autocalibration of triaxial Micro-Electro-Mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometer that does not require any sophisticated laboratory facilities. In particular, this method is an online calibration method which can be conveniently implemented with the accuracy of MEMS accelerometer being significantly improved. The procedure exploits the fact that the output vector of the accelerometer must match the local gravity in static state condition. To achieve online calibration, the model as well as the cost function are linearized at the beginning, and an online recursive method is then utilized to identify the unknown parameters and remove the bias caused by linearization. This online recursive method is based on damped recursive least square estimation (DRLS), which can significantly reduce the calculation complexity comparing to nonlinear optimization method. In addition, the unknown parameters can be solved in a short time and the estimated parameters can remain stable during calibration. Experimentally, this method was tested by comparing the output results before and after calibration in different condition. It showed that the output, after calibrated by the proposed method, is more accurate with respect to raw output using default factory parameters.
Alcohol Consumption and HIV Disease Progression

Objective:To assess the relation between alcohol consumption and laboratory markers of HIV disease progression. Methods:We prospectively assessed CD4 cell counts, HIV RNA levels, and alcohol consumption for up to 7 years in 595 HIV-infected persons with alcohol problems recruited between 1997 and 2003. We investigated the relation of these markers of HIV disease progression to alcohol consumption using longitudinal regression models controlling for known prognostic factors, including adherence and depressive symptoms, and stratified by antiretroviral therapy (ART) use. Results:Among subjects who were not on ART, heavy alcohol consumption was associated with a lower CD4 cell count (adjusted mean decrease of 48.6 cells/μL compared with abstinence; P = 0.03) but not with higher log10 HIV RNA. Among subjects who were on ART, heavy alcohol consumption was not associated with a lower CD4 cell count or higher log10 HIV RNA. Conclusions:Heavy alcohol consumption has a negative impact on the CD4 cell count in HIV-infected persons not receiving ART. In addition to the known deleterious effects of alcohol on ART adherence, these findings suggest that avoiding heavy alcohol consumption in patients not on ART may have a beneficial effect on HIV disease progression.
Global Burden of Leptospirosis: Estimated in Terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years

Background Leptospirosis, a spirochaetal zoonosis, occurs in diverse epidemiological settings and affects vulnerable populations, such as rural subsistence farmers and urban slum dwellers. Although leptospirosis can cause life-threatening disease, there is no global burden of disease estimate in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) available. Methodology/Principal Findings We utilised the results of a parallel publication that reported global estimates of morbidity and mortality due to leptospirosis. We estimated Years of Life Lost (YLLs) from age and gender stratified mortality rates. Years of Life with Disability (YLDs) were developed from a simple disease model indicating likely sequelae. DALYs were estimated from the sum of YLLs and YLDs. The study suggested that globally approximately 2·90 million DALYs are lost per annum (UIs 1·25–4·54 million) from the approximately annual 1·03 million cases reported previously. Males are predominantly affected with an estimated 2·33 million DALYs (UIs 0·98–3·69) or approximately 80% of the total burden. For comparison, this is over 70% of the global burden of cholera estimated by GBD 2010. Tropical regions of South and South-east Asia, Western Pacific, Central and South America, and Africa had the highest estimated leptospirosis disease burden. Conclusions/Significance Leptospirosis imparts a significant health burden worldwide, which approach or exceed those encountered for a number of other zoonotic and neglected tropical diseases. The study findings indicate that highest burden estimates occur in resource-poor tropical countries, which include regions of Africa where the burden of leptospirosis has been under-appreciated and possibly misallocated to other febrile illnesses such as malaria.
The fading number and degrees of freedom in non-coherent MIMO fading channels: a peace pipe

New non-asymptotic upper bounds on the capacity of non-coherent multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Gaussian fading channels with memory are proposed. These upper bounds are used to derive upper bounds on the fading number of regular Gaussian fading channels and on the pre-log of nonregular ones. The resulting bounds are tight in the multiple-input single-output (MISO) spatially independent Gaussian case when the entries in the fading vector are either zero-mean or possess the same spectral distribution function. A new approach is proposed for the derivation of lower bounds on the fading number of MIMO channels. This approach is applied to derive a lower bound on the fading number of spatially IID zero-mean Gaussian fading channels. The new upper and lower bounds on the fading number demonstrate that when the number of receive antennas does not exceed the number of transmit antennas, the fading number of zero-mean spatially IID slowly varying Gaussian MIMO channels is proportional to the number of degrees of freedom, i.e., to the minimum of the number of transmit and receive antennas. We conjecture that the same is true also when the number of receive antennas exceeds the number of transmit antennas. The single-input multiple-output case that was recently solved by Lapidoth & Moser supports this conjecture
Human Papilloma Viruses and Breast Cancer – Assessment of Causality

High risk human papilloma viruses (HPVs) may have a causal role in some breast cancers. Case–control studies, conducted in many different countries, consistently indicate that HPVs are more frequently present in breast cancers as compared to benign breast and normal breast controls (odds ratio 4.02). The assessment of causality of HPVs in breast cancer is difficult because (i) the HPV viral load is extremely low, (ii) HPV infections are common but HPV associated breast cancers are uncommon, and (iii) HPV infections may precede the development of breast and other cancers by years or even decades. Further, HPV oncogenesis can be indirect. Despite these difficulties, the emergence of new evidence has made the assessment of HPV causality, in breast cancer, a practical proposition. With one exception, the evidence meets all the conventional criteria for a causal role of HPVs in breast cancer. The exception is “specificity. ” HPVs are ubiquitous, which is the exact opposite of specificity. An additional reservation is that the prevalence of breast cancer is not increased in immunocompromised patients as is the case with respect to HPV-associated cervical cancer. This indicates that HPVs may have an indirect causal influence in breast cancer. Based on the overall evidence, high-risk HPVs may have a causal role in some breast cancers.
Asymptomatic infection with American cutaneous leishmaniasis: epidemiological and immunological studies

American cutaneous leishmaniasis (ACL) is a major public health problem caused by vector-borne protozoan intracellular parasites from the genus Leishmania, subgenera Viannia and Leishmania. Asymptomatic infection is the most common outcome after Leishmania inoculation. There is incomplete knowledge of the biological processes explaining the absence of signs or symptoms in most cases while other cases present a variety of clinical findings. Most studies of asymptomatic infection have been conducted in areas of endemic visceral leishmaniasis. In contrast, asymptomatic ACL infection has been neglected. This review is focused on the following: (1) epidemiological studies supporting the existence of asymptomatic ACL infection and (2) immunological studies conducted to understand the mechanisms responsible for controlling the parasite and avoiding tissue damage.
Potency enhancement of a GnRH agonist: GnRH-receptor microaggregation stimulates gonadotropin release.

Binding of gonadotropin releasing hormone (GnRH, pyro-Glu1-His2-Trp3-Ser4-Tyr5-Gly6-Leu7-Arg8-Pro9-Gly-NH210) to its plasma membrane receptor is the first step leading to pituitary luteinizing hormone (LH) release. In the present study, we have prepared the ethylene glycol bis(succinimidyl succinate) (EGS) dimer of a GnRH agonist, D-Lys6-GnRH; that is, (D-Lys6-GnRH)-EGS-(D-Lys6-GnRH). The bridge length of the EGS is about 15A. This dimer stimulates LH release from pituitary cultures with full efficacy but slightly less potency than D-Lys6-GnRH indicating that the dimerization merely restricts the action of each molecule of D-Lys6-GnRH with respect to the other. When a concentration of the dimer, which alone is too low to evoke substantial LH release, is incubated with pituitary cell cultures in the presence of antibody (AB) against D-Lys6-GnRH, considerable potency enhancement occurs. LH release in response to the AB-dimer conjugate requires extracellular Ca2+ and is blocked by Pimozide. The monovalent form (i.e. reduced pepsin fragment) of AB is ineffective in stimulating release. The addition of antibody to the dimer appears to confer the ability to cross-link receptors and indicates that receptor microaggregation as such is sufficient to activate the effector system in these cells and evoke release.