Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Impedance control for human-robot interaction with an adaptive fuzzy approach

In order to guarantee the safety of the human-robot interaction, an impedance control with adaptive fuzzy approach is proposed in this paper. First, by introducing a coordinate transformation, the control objective to track a desired impedance model is converted to the convergence of an error signal. Then a filter is used to set up the relationship between the error signal and the control input of the robot dynamics. By doing this, a control law is obtained with fuzzy logic systems to approximate unknown nonlinear dynamical functions, and adaptive laws are designed to guarantee the stability of the closed-loop system. The control law is concise in structure and clear in design process, by which the impedance error will converge to an arbitrarily small neighborhood of origin. Simulation studies are conducted to verify the validity of the proposed approach.
Isolation of a novel strain of Planomicrobium chinense from diesel contaminated soil of tropical environment

A novel bacterial strain (B6) degrading high concentration of diesel oil [up to 2.5% (v/v)] was isolated from a site contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbons in the state of Chhattisgarh, India. The strain demonstrated efficient degradation for diesel oil range alkanes (C14 to C36 i.e., mostly linear chain alkanes). It was identified to be 99% similar to Planomicrobium chinense on the basis of partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing and biochemical characteristics. The efficiency of degradation was optimized at pH 7.2 and temperature at 32 °C. GC analysis demonstrated complete mineralization of higher chain alkanes into lower chain alkanes within 96 h. The organism also displayed surface tension reduction by producing stable emulsification on the onset of stationary phase. A multidimensional characteristics of the strain to grow at a high temperature range, resistance to various heavy metals as well as tolerance to moderate concentration of NaCl makes it suitable for bioremediation of soil contaminated with diesel oil in tropical environment.
Patterns of parental care in Neotropical glassfrogs: fieldwork alters hypotheses of sex‐role evolution

Many animals provide parental care to offspring. Parental sex‐roles vary extensively across taxa, and such patterns are considered well documented. However, information on amphibians is lacking relative to other vertebrate groups. We combine natural history observations with functional and historical analyses to examine the evolution of egg care in glassfrogs (Centrolenidae). Parental care was considered rare and predominately provided by males. Our field observations of 40 species revealed that care occurs throughout the family, and the caregiving sex changes across lineages. We discovered that a brief period of maternal care is widespread and occurs in species previously thought to lack care. Using a combination of female‐removal experiments, prey‐choice tests with egg‐eating katydids, and parental disturbance‐tolerance assays, we confirm the adaptive benefits of short‐term maternal care in wild Cochranella granulosa and Teratohyla pulverata. To examine historical transitions between caregiving sexes, we assembled a molecular phylogeny and estimated ancestral care states using our data and the literature. We assessed patterns indicative of sex‐specific constraints by testing whether transitions between the sexes are associated with changes in care levels. Our analyses support that male‐only care evolved 2–3 times from female‐only care, and this change is associated with substantial increases in care levels – a pattern supporting the hypothesis that male‐only care evolved via constraints on maternal expenditure. Many groups of amphibians remain poorly studied, with emerging evidence indicating that care patterns are more diverse than currently appreciated. Natural history remains fundamental to uncovering this diversity and generating testable hypotheses of sex‐role evolution.
The Flood, the Channels and the Dykes: Managing Legal Information in a Globalized and Digital World

Information search and retrieval are part of daily routines of the legal profession. Lawyers, judges, prosecutors, and legal clerks usually access a number of electronic resources to browse, search, select, or update legal contents. Legal databases have currently become large digital libraries where the tasks related to information-seeking may sometimes be cumbersome. Adding semantics to support information search may provide significant results in terms of efficiency, efficacy, and user satisfaction. Semantic technologies may be able to improve legal information search in the judicial and lawyers' domains. However, legal professionals sometimes prefer following routines than changing their information search behavior. New trends in legal ontologies and Semantic Web technologies may help to improve both professional and laymen's skills.
Length of CTG.CAG repeats determines the influence of mismatch repair on genetic instability.

We showed previously that mutations in methyl-directed mismatch repair of Escherichia coli reduced the occurrence of large deletions in (CTG.CAG)(175) repeats contained on plasmids. By contrast, other workers reported that mutations in mismatch repair increase the frequency of small-length changes in the shorter (CTG.CAG)(64). Using plasmids with a variety of lengths and purity of (CTG.CAG) repeats, we have resolved these apparently conflicting observations. We show that all lengths of (CTG.CAG) repeats are subject to small-length changes (eight repeats) in (CTG.CAG)(n) occur more readily in cells with active mismatch repair. The frequency of large deletions is proportional to the tract length; in our assays they become prominent in tracts greater than 100 repeats. Interruptions in repeat purity enhance the occurrence of large deletions. In addition, we observed a high level of incidence of deletions in (CTG.CAG) repeats for cultures passing repeatedly through stationary phase during long-term growth experiments of all strains (i.e. with active or inactive mismatch repair). These results agree with current theories on mismatch repair acting on DNA slippage events that occur in DNA triplet-repeats.
The Promoter of the Human Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen Gene Is Not Sufficient for Cell Cycle-dependent Regulation in Organotypic Cultures of Keratinocytes*

The proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is essential for DNA replication of mammalian cells and their small DNA tumor viruses. The mechanism of the cell cycle-dependent regulation of the human PCNApromoter is not clear despite extensive investigations. In this report, we employed organotypic cultures of primary human keratinocytes, which closely resemble native skin comprising both proliferating and postmitotic, differentiated cells, to examine the cell cycle-dependent regulation of the human PCNAgene (hPCNA) in the absence or presence of the human papillomavirus type 18 (HPV-18) E7 protein. HPV-18 E7 promotes S phase re-entry in post-mitotic differentiated keratinocytes by abrogating the transcription repression of E2F transcription factors by the retinoblastoma susceptibility protein, pRb. We demonstrated that E7 reactivated the transcription of the endogenous hPCNA in differentiated keratinocytes. In contrast, with or without E7, the expression of a transduced hPCNA promoter-driven reporter did not correlate with that of the endogenoushPCNA gene in either proliferating or differentiated cells. Moreover, in Chinese hamster ovary and L-cells, HPV E7 and the adenovirus E1A protein repressed the transduced hPCNApromoter, but both activated an extended promoter construct spanning the first intron. Mutations of two E2F sites in the intron reduced the basal activity and abolished the response to E7 or E1A. Promoter repression or activation required the CR2 domain of E7 and, to a lesser extent, CR1 as well. However, in organotypic cultures, this extended promoter construct failed to recapitulate the cell cycle-dependent regulation of the endogenoushPCNA gene. Only when a full-length Myc-taggedhPCNA spanning the 5′ promoter and all exons and introns was used was the native pattern of expression largely restored, indicative of the complexity of its regulation.
Inhibitory Effects of Progesterone on Plasma Membrane Fluidity and Tumorigenic Potential of Ovarian Epithelial Cancer Cells

The lethality of common (surface) epithelial ovarian cancer is contingent on its metastatic capacity. Dissemination of the neoplasia throughout the abdominal cavity has been associated with secretion of proteolytic enzymes from vesicles shed by ovarian cancer cells. We report that the lipophilic steroid hormone progesterone decreases the fluid dynamics of plasma membranes of human SKOV-3 adenocarcinoma cells. The decrease in membrane fluidity was related to an inhibition in vitro of exocytotic vesicle release, cellular invasiveness into Matrigel, and colony formation in three-dimensional collagen matrix. Tumorigenesis was suppressed by progesterone in immunocompromised nude mice inoculated intraperitoneally with SKOV-3 cells. Progestins could therefore be of benefit in the prevention and(or) treatment of early-stage ovarian carcinomatosis.
Physiotherapy in intensive care is safe: an observational study.

QUESTION How often do adverse events (including adverse physiological changes) occur during physiotherapy intervention in intensive care? DESIGN A multi-centre prospective observational study. PARTICIPANTS Five tertiary level university-affiliated intensive care units. OUTCOME MEASURES All physiotherapy intervention in five intensive care units over a three month period. When certain specified changes occurred during physiotherapy intervention, details were noted including diagnosis of patient, intervention, vital signs, radiological changes, co-morbidities, chemical pathology, and fluid balance. RESULTS 12 281 physiotherapy interventions were completed with 27 interventions resulting in adverse physiological changes (0.2%). This incidence was significantly lower than a previous study of adverse physiological changes (663 events in 247 patients over a 24-hour period); the incidence during physiotherapy intervention was lower than during general intensive care. Common factors in the patients who had an adverse physiological change were a deterioration in cardiovascular status (ie, decrease in blood pressure or arrhythmia) in patients on medium to high doses of inotropes/vasopressors, unstable baseline hemodynamic values, previous cardiac co-morbidities and intervention consisting of positive pressure or right side lying. CONCLUSION The incidence of adverse events during physiotherapy intervention in these five tertiary hospitals was low, demonstrating that physiotherapy intervention in intensive care is safe.
Regulation and the Financial Condition of the Electric Power Companies in the 1970's

Electricity accounts for about 25 percent of the total energy consumed in the United States and its share of total consumption has been increasing slowly. In an effort to decrease the vulnerability of the United States to foreign energy price increases and embargoes, Federal energy policy, particularly as formulated in the Federal Energy Administration Report for Project Independence, would accelerate this trend towards electricity. These policies call for the mandatory conversion of household and commercial heating to electricity and the conversion of oiland gas-burning plants to domestically available coal and uranium. Even without such mandatory controls, consumers may choose more electricity as a result of increases in fuel oil prices relative to electricity prices, or as a result of the shortage of natural gas, or because electricity supply seems more secure. Although Federal policies and consumer choice may shift demands towards electricity, there is no assurance that the additional quantities and mix of generating capacity desired will in fact be forthcoming. The nation's investor-owned utilities (providing over 90 percent of generating capacity) are not likely to be able to raise the required amounts of capital. Increases in construction costs, fuel costs, and interest charges have recently outstripped revenue growth, and expectations that this trend will continue have made utility investments unattractive. The suspicion is that regulatory procedures have recently caused price increases to lag behind cost increases, resulting in earned rates of return below the cost of capital. If this continues, capacity to meet increased demands-and Project Independence, in whatever form-will not be achieved. The purpose of this paper is to assess the financial prospects of the nation's electric utility industry, given existing regulatory institutions and continued high rates of growth of demand in the late 1970's. Shortages from regulation would indeed be a turn of events. Economists' analyses of regulatory effects in the 1960's deplored the behavior of commissions on the grounds that they did nothing to control prices (see G. J. Stigler and C. Friedland and R. Jackson). However, the turn of events would not be entirely surprising; using the behavioral approach in analyzing regulation leads one to suspect that commissions operate relatively independent of economic conditions (see Joskow, 1972). The well-established operating rules of the bureaucracies change only when the results of such procedures under inflation or depression become intolerable (see Joskow, 1974). What may have been ineffective regulation in the 1960's may be overzealous regulation for the late 1970's.
Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome: A Case Review

Hemolytic uremic syndrome is a complex disease that impacts multiple body systems. Knowledge gained from cases has increased understanding of etiologic factors, presenting symptoms, diagnostic laboratory findings, and the disease process. In rare cases, severe neurological symptoms are evident. This 20-year-old woman presented with bloody diarrhea that progressed quickly to respiratory distress requiring intubation and to the development of status epilepticus, controlled only by a barbiturate coma. Ongoing nursing care in the critical care unit was vital in preventing complications and promoting a positive outcome.
Speech enhancement using a remote wireless microphone

Noise reduction is an important problem in hands-free speech capture. This paper discusses the use of a remote wireless microphone to aid the reduction of practical non-stationary noise signals. Such a microphone can be placed close to a noise source to provide a reliable estimate of the undesired signal, which can be used by a noise reduction algorithm. The signal from the remote microphone, however, needs to be wirelessly transmitted to the primary device where the noise reduction is performed. As the remote and primary microphones are located on separate devices, their signals need not be synchronously sampled. Moreover, wireless transmission of data is power-intensive, requiring techniques to reduce the transmission bit-rate. This paper discusses transmission of the time domain signal and frequency domain parameters, analyzes their respective trade-offs between performance and robustness to synchronization errors, and presents methods to reduce the transmission bit-rate.
Realization of quantum dot Boolean logic gate for image processing applications

A two-dimensional (2D) periodic array of gallium ars- enide GaAs quantum dots, embedded on the surface of a GaAs resonant tunneling diode (RTD), is investigated as a system for im- age processing. The embedded dot structures have been developed as a high-speed parallel processing device. The image processing task by QDs can be done through the realization of QD Boolean logic gates. It is shown that if the image data are introduced as initial conditions to these QD logic gates, the response of the system re- alizes a morphological image processing task similar to image dila- tion and erosion. © 2007 SPIE and IS&T. DOI: 10.1117/1.2723770
Limitações ao Processo de Autofinanciamento do Capital de Giro em Cooperativas Agropecuárias Aplicações do Modelo Dinâmico de Análise Financeira

A evolucao da economia mundial tem se caracterizado pela gradual abertura das economias nacionais ao comercio internacional. Esse processo, que hoje se denomina “globalizacao”, consiste na exposicao crescente dos agentes economicos domesticos a concorrencia mundial. Este novo ambiente de negocios conduz os dirigentes cooperativistas a um momento de reflexao, se por um lado apresentam-se desafios e oportunidades, por outro, o estimulo a cultura da competicao nas sociedades contemporâneas representa uma ameaca ao modelo atual de gestao cooperativista. Dentre as principais questoes que estao sendo debatidas atualmente no movimento cooperativista, a mais importante, conflitiva e controvertida e a relativa ao financiamento das cooperativas agropecuarias. Diante desta contextualizacao, este artigo identifica como as cooperativas agropecuarias paranaenses financiam suas necessidades liquidas de capital de giro, utilizando-se os conceitos apresentados pelo modelo desenvolvido por Michel Fleuriet (1980).
Efectos de la globalización financieraen la administración y regulación deriesgos bancarios en México

EN ESTE ARTICULO INVESTIGAMOS LOS EFECTOS DE LA GLOBALIZACION FINANCIERA EN LA ADMINISTRACION BANCARIA EN MEXICO. ASI, EVALUAMOS COMO CAMBIARON LAS PRACTICAS DE ADMINISTRACION BANCARIA TRAS LA COMPRA DE BANCOS MEXICANOS POR LA BANCA INTERNACIONAL Y TRAS LA ADOPCION DE ESTANDARES CONTABLES INTERNACIONALES Y LOS DE BASILEA II. LOS HALLAZGOS DE ESTA INVESTIGACION SUGIEREN QUE ES DIFICIL EVALUAR A PRIORI LOS EFECTOS DE LA GLOBALIZACION FINANCIERA EN LA ADMINISTRACION BANCARIA CON BASE EN LA TEORIA Y EVIDENCIA INTERNACIONAL DISPONIBLES. EMPIRICAMENTE, MOSTRAMOS QUE LA GLOBALIZACION TRAJO BENEFICIOS Y COSTOS CONCRETOS EN MEXICO. ENTRE LOS BENEFICIOS DESTACAN LA MAYOR ESTABILIDAD SISTEMICA, LA MAYOR RENTABILIDAD Y EFICIENCIA EN LOS BANCOS Y POSIBLEMENTE MEJORES PRACTICAS DE AUTORIZACION Y COBRO DE CREDITOS. ENTRE LOS COSTOS ENCONTRAMOS LA CONCENTRACION DE LOS BANCOS Y LA DISMINUCION DEL CREDITO PRIVADO PARA LA VIVIENDA Y EL COMERCIO. ADEMAS, MOSTRAMOS COMO LA INTERNACIONALIZACION DE LOS BANCOS SE REFORZO COMO CONSECUENCIA DE LOS CAMBIOS EN LA NORMATIVIDAD. FINALMENTE, SUGERIMOS COMO PODRIA EVOLUCIONAR EL SISTEMA BANCARIO MEXICANO EN EL CORTO PLAZO Y SENALAMOS ALGUNOS RETOS QUE DEBERA AFRONTAR EN LA GLOBALIZACION FINANCIERA.
[Glutamate in brain: transmitter and poison].

Glutamate is a key excitatory neurotransmitter in the central nervous system (CNS). In addition, glutamate has a key role during the brain development, e.g., in synaptogenesis and in adult CNS, glutamate has an important role in learning and memory processes. Glutamate achieves its role through a variety of receptors, ionotropic (NMDA and AMPA) and metabotropic. Large number of glutaminergic synapses combined with wide distribution through the brain makes CNS particularly vulnerable towards uncontrolled release of glutamate such as observed during ischemia and postischemia. It is glutamate--its excitotoxic action--that is often considered as a key player in postichemic brain damage. However, despite the significant role of the neurotransmitter in pathogenesis of ischemic brain damage (in particular in focal brain ischemia), a complexity of metabolic events occuring during and after ischemia must be taken into account, glutamatenot being the solely culprit for the nerovus tissue damage.
The influence of clients on valuations

The literature on appraisal smoothing and valuer behaviour contains frequent references to the “political pressures” faced by valuers. However, the vast majority of these are either unsubstantiated or based on anecdotal evidence or media reports. Recent research focusing on the issue of pressure similarly suffers from either a lack of formal evidence that particular sources of pressure (e.g. client) actually exist or preconceptions concerning the effect of such pressures. This paper reports on the results of a study which seeks to redress these shortcomings by identifying the non‐methodological factors that affect the values reported to, and ultimately accepted by, clients. The study consists of a series of individual in‐depth interviews with senior New Zealand Registered Valuers addressing the topic of “non‐methodological factors affecting reported values to clients”. Our results indicate that the primary factors affecting the degree to which clients influence valuations, are the type of client, the characteristics of valuers and valuation firms, the purpose of a valuation and the information endowments of clients and valuers.
Fiscal Policy and the Maastricht Solvency Criteria

This paper examines the implications of fiscal policy and growing debt stocks for the economy. The authors construct an extended Mundell-Fleming model, along the lines of W. H. Buiter and M. Miller (1981), that allows them to investigate the effects of fiscal policy and debt accumulation on an open economy. In order to analyze the implications of fiscal restrictions such as the Maastricht convergence criteria, they undertake some policy analyses on their estimated model NiGEM. This model closely resembles the theoretical construct in its long-run structure but allows for crucial differences in the speed of dynamic responses in a number of markets. The authors find that, although in the long term the level of activity is unaffected, the fiscal restrictions will reduce output and raise unemployment in the short to medium term. Copyright 1997 by Blackwell Publishers Ltd and The Victoria University of Manchester
Substrate specificity of sinusoidal bile acid and organic anion uptake systems in rat and human liver

The Na+‐dependent bile salt uptake systems Ntcp (rodents) and NTCP (human), and the Na+‐independent organic anion transporters oatpl (rat) and OATP (human) mediate sinusoidal uptake of a variety of amphipathic organic compounds into hepatocytes. Their properties indicate that an overall hepatic clearance of albumin‐bound compounds is mediated by a limited number of multispecific transporters with partially overlapping substrate specificities.
Effect of Temperature on the Dental Implant Osseointegration Development in Low-Density Bone: An In Vivo Histological Evaluation

Objectives:To make an in vivo evaluation of the effects of 2 different bone temperatures, on the development of implant osseointegration, in low-density bone. Materials and Methods:Fifteen implant osteotomic sites were prepared in the iliac crests of sheep. Before the implant insertion, 5 sites were heated to 50°C for 1 minute, 5 sites to 60°C for 1 minute, and 5 sites were not overheated. Fifteen titanium dental implants (Cortex, Israel) were inserted. After a healing period of 2 months, the histomorphometric parameters calculated for each implant were the Bone–Implant Contact percentage (%BIC) and the infrabony pocket depth. Unpaired t test was applied to find statistical differences between groups. Results:No implants failed. Statistical significant differences in %BIC and periimplant bone loss were found between the 60°C group and control group. No significant differences were found between the 50°C group and control group, although bone suffering signs were present. Conclusion:An osteotomic site overheating up to 60°C for 1 minute in low-density bone, before implant insertion, did not lead to implant failure, but it induced significant crestal bone loss during healing and lower %BIC.