Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Assembly Mode Changing in Parallel Mechanisms

Parallel mechanisms usually have several direct kinematic solutions that are attributed to different assembly modes (AMs) or postures. The present investigation deals with AM changing, and shows that beside the known cusp points, it is possible to change AM by moving on a path like a ramp, while encircling an alpha-curve in the joint space. For micromechanisms, where clearances at the mechanism joints are relatively large, AM changing may also occur when approaching a direct kinematic singularity.
The Japanese Translation Task: Lexical and Structural Perspectives

This paper describes two distinct attempts at the SENSEVAL-2 Japanese translation task. The first implementation is based on lexical similarity and builds on the results of Baldwin (2001b; 2001a), whereas the second is based on structural similarity via the medium of parse trees and includes a basic model of conceptual similarity. Despite its simplistic nature, the lexical method was found to perform the better of the two, at 49.1% accuracy, as compared to 41.2% for the structural method and 36.8% for the baseline.
Pressure micro-sensor based on Radio-Frequency transducer

A new type of pressure micro-sensors is reported in this communication. It is based on the use of a Radio-Frequency transducer. The pressure to be measured is applied on a silicon membrane located in the close vicinity of a coplanar millimeter-wave resonator: when varying the applied pressure, the distance between the membrane and the planar resonator is modified and consequently, the resonant frequency of the cavity changes. From the measurement of the resonant frequency the applied pressure is derived. Coplanar technology has been chosen because, on the one hand, it confers a better sensitivity to the pressure cell compared to the microstrip technology and, on the other hand, it does not require backside technological processing. In the millimeter frequency range, HFSS simulation results predict a good sensitivity of the resonant frequency to the applied pressure. Very first prototypes of the original pressure micro-sensor based on Radio-Frequency transducer were micro-machined and the obtained measured performances are presented here. Experimental results confirm the expected sensitivity of this new type of pressure micro-sensors.
The application of resilience concepts in palaeoecology

The concept of resilience has become increasingly important in ecological and socio-ecological literature. With its focus on the temporal behaviour of ecosystems, palaeoecology has an important role to play in developing a scientific understanding of ecological resilience. We provide a critical review of the ways in which resilience is being addressed by palaeoecologists. We review ~180 papers, identifying the definitions or conceptualisations of ‘resilience’ that they use, and analysing the ways in which palaeoecology is contributing to our understanding of ecological resilience. We identify three key areas for further development. First, the term ‘resilience’ is frequently defined too broadly to be meaningful without further qualification. In particular, palaeoecologists need to distinguish between ‘press’ vs ‘pulse’ disturbances, and ‘ecological’ vs ‘engineering’ resilience. Palaeoecologists are well placed to critically assess the extent to which these dichotomies apply in real (rather than theoretical) ecosystems, where climate and other environmental parameters are constantly changing. Second, defining a formal ‘response model’ – a statement of the anticipated relationships between proxies, disturbances and resilience properties – can help to clarify arguments, especially inferred causal links, since the difficulty of proving causation is a fundamental limitation of palaeoecology for understanding ecosystem drivers and responses. Third, there is a need for critical analysis of the role of scale in ecosystem resilience. Different palaeoenvironmental proxies are differently able to address the various temporal and spatial scales of ecological change, and these limitations, as well as methodological constraints on inherently noisy proxy data, need to be explored and addressed.
Functionality versus Practicality: Employing Existing Tools for Recovering Structural Design Patterns

The object-oriented design community has recently begun to collect so-called software design patterns : descriptions of proven solutions common software design problems, packaged in a description that includes a problem, a context, a solution, and its properties. Design pattern information can improve the maintainability of software, but is often absent in program documentation. We present a system called Pat for localizing instances of structural design patterns in existing C++ software. It relies extensively on a commercial CASE tool and a PROLOG interpreter, resulting in a simple and robust architecture that cannot solve the problem completely, but is industrial-strength; it avoids the brittleness that many reverse engineering tools exhibit when applied to realistic software. To evaluate Pat, we quantify its performance in terms of precision and recall. We examine four applications, including the popular class libraries zApp and LEDA. Within Pat's restrictions all pattern instances are found, the precision is about 40 percent, and manual ltering of the false positives is relatively easy. Therefore, we consider Pat a good compromise: modest functionality, but high practical stability for recovering design information. CR classi cation: D2.2 CASE, D.2. 6, D.2. 7 documentation, D.2. 10 representation, I.5. 5 General terms: Algorithms, Design, Measurement.
Antimagicness of some families of generalized graphs

An edge labeling of a graph G = (V,E) is a bijection from the set of edges to the set of integers {1, 2, . , |E|}. The weight of a vertex v is the sum of the labels of all the edges incident with v. If the vertex weights are all distinct then we say that the labeling is vertex-antimagic, or simply, antimagic. A graph that admits an antimagic labeling is called an antimagic graph. In this paper, we present a new general method of constructing families of graphs with antimagic labelings. In particular, our method allows us to prove that generalized web graphs and generalized flower graphs are antimagic.
Counting and Enumerating Crossing-free Geometric Graphs

We describe a framework for counting and enumerating various types of crossing-free geometric graphs on a planar point set. The framework generalizes ideas of Alvarez and Seidel, who used them to count triangulations in time O(2nn2) where n is the number of points. The main idea is to reduce the problem of counting geometric graphs to counting source-sink paths in a directed acyclic graph. The following new results will emerge more or less directly. The number of all crossing-free geometric graphs can be computed in time O(cnn4) for some c < 2.839. The number of crossing-free convex partitions can be computed in time O(2nn4). The number of crossing-free perfect matchings can be computed in time O(2nn4). The number of convex subdivisions can be computed in time O(2nn4). The number of crossing-free spanning trees can be computed in time O(cnn4) for some c < 7.125. The number of crossing-free spanning cycles can be computed in time O(cnn4) for some c < 5.619. In all cases we achieve an exponential speed-up in the worst-case over any methods in the literature. With the same bounds on the running time we can construct data structures which allow fast enumeration of the respective classes. For example, after O(2nn4) time of preprocessing we can enumerate the set of all crossing-free perfect matchings using polynomial time per enumerated object. For crossing-free perfect matchings and convex partitions we even get enumeration algorithms where the time delay for each (in particular, the first) output is bounded by a polynomial in n. Efficient enumeration algorithms for these two classes have not been known to exist so far.
Drought Rhizogenesis in Arabidopsis thaliana (Differential Responses of Hormonal Mutants)

Drought rhizogenesis is an adaptive strategy that occurs during progressive drought stress and is characterized in the Brassicaceae and related families by the formation of short, tuberized, hairless roots. These roots are capable of withstanding a prolonged drought period and give rise to a new functional root system upon rehydration. The kinetics of drought rhizogenesis during progressive water shortage was analyzed in the Arabidopsis thaliana wild-type ecotypes Landsberg erecta and Columbia. In both genotypes, this response started from a similar threshold of soil humidity (about 2%). The intensity of drought rhizogenesis was compared in various A. thaliana hormonal mutants. The wild-type lines and most of the mutants achieved a similiar drought rhizogenetic index (DRI), defined as the maximum number of short roots produced per mg of root biomass, after progressive drought stress. However, this DRI was dramatically reduced in the abscisic acid (ABA)-deficient aba, ABA-insensitive abi1-1, and auxin-resistant axr1-3 mutants. These data indicate that endogenous ABA and auxin play a promotive role in drought rhizogenesis. The DRI was highly increased in the gibberellin (GA) biosynthetic mutant ga5, suggesting that some GAs might also participate in this process. The possible role and identity of the GA species involved is discussed in view of the unaltered DRI values of the ga2, ga3, and ga4 mutants. The present analysis also allowed further discrimination among the various ABA-insensitive (abi1 versus abi2 and abi3) and auxin-resistant (axr1 versus aux1) mutants tested. In particular, drought rhizogenesis is the first physiological response shown to be differentially affected by the abi1-1 and abi2-1 mutations.
Cancellation of second-order intermodulation distortion and enhancement of IIP2 in common-source and common-emitter RF transconductors

In this paper, a biasing technique for cancelling second-order intermodulation (IM2) distortion and enhancing second-order intercept point (IIP2) in common-source and common-emitter RF transconductors is presented. The proposed circuit can be utilized as an RF input transconductor in double-balanced downconversion mixers. By applying the presented technique, the achievable IIP2 of the mixer is limited by the linearity of the switching devices, component mismatches, and offsets. The proposed circuit has properties similar to the conventional differential pair transconductor in that it ideally displays no IM2 distortion. However, the presented circuit is more suitable for operation at low supply voltages because it has only one device stacked between the transconductor input and output. In the conventional differential pair, two devices consume the voltage headroom. The noise performance of the proposed transconductor is similar to the noise performance of the traditional common-source (emitter) and differential pair transconductors at given bias and device dimensions. On the other hand, the third-order intercept point (IIP3) of the presented transconductor is slightly higher than the IIP3 of the differential pair transconductor at given bias. Finally, the proposed circuit can also be employed as a current mirror, the ratio of which is very insensitive to the voltage swings at the gate or base of the current mirrored transistor.
EliXa: A Modular and Flexible ABSA Platform

This paper presents a supervised Aspect Based Sentiment Analysis (ABSA) system. Our aim is to develop a modular platform which allows to easily conduct experiments by replacing the modules or adding new features. We obtain the best result in the Opinion Target Extraction (OTE) task (slot 2) using an off-the-shelf sequence labeler. The target polarity classification (slot 3) is addressed by means of a multiclass SVM algorithm which includes lexical based features such as the polarity values obtained from domain and open polarity lexicons. The system obtains accuracies of 0.70 and 0.73 for the restaurant and laptop domain respectively, and performs second best in the out-of-domain hotel, achieving an accuracy of 0.80.
Vapor phase SERS sensor for explosives detection

In the present work, we employ “nanometal-on-semiconductor” SERS substrates to detect various explosives including TNT, PETN, RDX, and TNB in vapor phase at concentrations on the order of few ppb. The SERS substrates were prepared by a novel process, where a monolayer of surfactant-free Ag nanoparticles was reduced on a Si thin film. Our work also targets a clear understanding of the factors, which so far have limited vapor phase SERS of the explosives. In addition to low vapor pressure of explosives at room temperature, we identify other challenges on the basis of our kinetics study: 1) weak adsorption of the explosives on silver nanostructures that accounts for easy desorption even under low laser excitation; 2) photochemical decomposition of the explosives under the Raman laser; 3) multiple chemisorption configurations of an explosive molecule on the nanoparticle surface that complicate the SERS spectrum. Although SERS signals of the explosives show transients, reproducible fingerprint spectra can be obtained in the first 10 s.
High‐throughput cell mechanical phenotyping for label‐free titration assays of cytoskeletal modifications

The mechanical fingerprint of cells is inherently linked to the structure of the cytoskeleton and can serve as a label‐free marker for cell homeostasis or pathologic states. How cytoskeletal composition affects the physical response of cells to external loads has been intensively studied with a spectrum of techniques, yet quantitative and statistically powerful investigations in the form of titration assays are hampered by the low throughput of most available methods. In this study, we employ real‐time deformability cytometry (RT‐DC), a novel microfluidic tool to examine the effects of biochemically modified F‐actin and microtubule stability and nuclear chromatin structure on cell deformation in a human leukemia cell line (HL60). The high throughput of our method facilitates extensive titration assays that allow for significance assessment of the observed effects and extraction of half‐maximal concentrations for most of the applied reagents. We quantitatively show that integrity of the F‐actin cortex and microtubule network dominate cell deformation on millisecond timescales probed with RT‐DC. Drug‐induced alterations in the nuclear chromatin structure were not found to consistently affect cell deformation. The sensitivity of the high‐throughput cell mechanical measurements to the cytoskeletal modifications we present in this study opens up new possibilities for label‐free dose‐response assays of cytoskeletal modifications.
PREVALENCE OF OBESITY AND THE BODY FAT TOPOGRAPHY IN CHILDREN AND TEENAGERS WITH DOWN SYNDROME

Objetivo : Avaliar a prevalencia de obesidade e topografia da gordura corporal em criancas eadolescentes com idade entre 6 e 19 anos de idade de ambos os sexos com sindrome de Down nomunicipio de Campinas, Sao Paulo. Metodo : Foram realizadas nove medidas antropometricas,incluindo peso, estatura, dobras cutâneas tricipital, bicipital, subescapular, supra-iliaca, abdominal,coxa e perna. Para determinacao do percentual de gordura foram utilizadas as equacoes de predicaode Slaughter et al. O tratamento estatistico foi realizado atraves do pacote computadorizado RCommander 1.6-3, sendo utilizada estatistica descritiva (mediana e percentis 25 e 75), teste deMann-Whitney e teste t para comparacao entre grupos etarios, ao nivel de 5% (p d” 0,05). Resultados : A maioria dos individuos apresentou excesso de gordura corporal, sendo encontradosvalores superiores no sexo feminino. A obesidade entre os meninos nao foi uma caracteristicaproeminente, diferentemente dos demais grupos etarios que apresentaram quadros elevados deobesidade. Quanto a topografia da gordura, a maioria apresentou maior concentracao de gordura nacoxa e menor deposito na regiao do biceps. Na transicao entre a infância e a adolescencia, foipossivel verificar que meninos e rapazes diferem quanto as quantidades de tecido adiposo. Comrelacao as meninas e mocas, nao foram observadas diferencas significativas. Conclusao : A avaliacaoda prevalencia de obesidade e topografia da gordura subcutânea sao recursos importantes parasubsidiar pesquisadores e profissionais que atuam diretamente na melhora da qualidade de vida decriancas e adolescentes com sindrome de Down.
Activation of RhoA and Inhibition of Myosin Phosphatase as Important Components in Hypertension in Vascular Smooth Muscle

Abstract— Two mechanisms are proposed to account for the inhibition of myosin phosphatase (MP) involved in Ca2+ sensitization of vascular muscle, ie, phosphorylation of either MYPT1, a target subunit of MP or CPI-17, an inhibitory phosphoprotein. In cultured vascular aorta smooth muscle cells (VSMCs), stimulation with angiotensin II activated RhoA, and this was blocked by pretreatment with 8-bromo-cGMP. VSMCs stimulated by angiotensin II, endothelin-1, or U-46619 significantly increased the phosphorylation levels of both MYPT1 (at Thr696) and CPI-17 (at Thr38). The angiotensin II-induced phosphorylation of MYPT1 was completely blocked by 8-bromo-cGMP or Y-27632 (a Rho-kinase inhibitor), but not by GF109203X (a PKC inhibitor). In contrast, phosphorylation of CPI-17 was inhibited only by GF109203X. Y-27632 dramatically corrected the hypertension in N&ohgr;-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME)-treated rats, and this hypertension also was sensitive to isosorbide mononitrate. The level of the active form of RhoA was significantly higher in aortas from L-NAME-treated rats. Expression of RhoA, Rho-kinase, MYPT1, CPI-17, and myosin light chain kinase were not significantly different in aortas from L-NAME-treated and control rats. Activation of RhoA without changes in levels of other signaling molecules were observed in three other rat models of hypertension, ie, stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rats, renal hypertensive rats, and DOCA-salt rats. These results suggest that independent of the cause of hypertension, a common point in downstream signaling and a critical component of hypertension is activation of RhoA and subsequent activation of Rho-kinase.
Temperature and Redox Effect on Mineral Colonization in Juan de Fuca Ridge Flank Subsurface Crustal Fluids

To examine microbe-mineral interactions in subsurface oceanic crust, we evaluated microbial colonization on crustal minerals that were incubated in borehole fluids for 1 year at the seafloor wellhead of a crustal borehole observatory (IODP Hole U1301A, Juan de Fuca Ridge flank) as compared to an experiment that was not exposed to subsurface crustal fluids (at nearby IODP Hole U1301B). In comparison to previous studies at these same sites, this approach allowed assessment of the effects of temperature, fluid chemistry, and/or mineralogy on colonization patterns of different mineral substrates, and an opportunity to verify the approach of deploying colonization experiments at an observatory wellhead at the seafloor instead of within the borehole. The Hole U1301B deployment did not have biofilm growth, based on microscopy and DNA extraction, thereby confirming the integrity of the colonization design against bottom seawater intrusion. In contrast, the Hole U1301A deployment supported biofilms dominated by Epsilonproteobacteria (43.5% of 370 16S rRNA gene clone sequences) and Gammaproteobacteria (29.3%). Sequence analysis revealed overlap in microbial communities between different minerals incubated at the Hole U1301A wellhead, indicating that mineralogy did not separate biofilm structure within the 1-year colonization experiment. Differences in the Hole U1301A wellhead biofilm community composition relative to previous studies from within the borehole using similar mineral substrates suggest that temperature and the diffusion of dissolved oxygen through plastic components influenced the mineral colonization experiments positioned at the wellhead. This highlights the capacity of low abundance crustal fluid taxa to rapidly establish communities on diverse mineral substrates under changing environmental conditions such as from temperature and oxygen.
Integrating Imperfect Automated Aids into a Multi-task Situations by Angela Marie Colcombe

Automated aids are typically designed to help people monitor for particular events or situations during complex tasks. Automated aids can be useful by taking over a function once performed by the human thereby freeing up the person to do other tasks. However, automated aids may also introduce costs to task performance that are not readily apparent. In four experiments, we examined the impact of interruptions by an alarm embedded within a Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) on two types of concurrent tasks; a compensatory tracking task and a working memory task. In addition, we examined how three important alarm characteristics; the informativeness (three vs. two stage alerts), the modality, and the threshold of the alert, affected both conflict detection and concurrent task performance. Automated aids with higher false alarm rates resulted in poorer concurrent task performance, as evidenced by higher tracking error and reduced working memory accuracy. Likelihood alerts did not mitigate costs associated with performance decrements due to the reduced alert threshold. Finally, auditory alerts tended to produce an auditory preemption effect, driving attention quickly to the alerted domain at the expense of concurrent task performance.