Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Cooperative Multi-Robot Monocular-SLAM Using Salient Landmarks

In this paper we propose an algorithm to multi-robot cooperative Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) with monocular camera mounted on each robot. The map consists of a sparse set of features, and the feature is prominent in the environment that robots explored, we call it salient landmark. The scene of exploration is typical office environment. Vertical lines and doorplates of environment are considered as visual landmarks to implement single-robot localization and multi-robot cooperation. An approach based on duplicate landmarks and rendezvous is also presented to improve the accuracy and reliability of SLAM. Our system was evaluated by an indoor two robot team, the results of this test showed that our approach is valid.
Emergency department utilization and success rates for intraosseous infusion in pediatric resuscitations.

OBJECTIVE To determine the frequency of use and the success rates of intraosseous (IO) vascular access in the emergency department. DESIGN A retrospective chart review. SETTING A tertiary pediatric emergency department (ED) in a large urban centre. METHODS ED resuscitations (ICD-9 code 996) occurring between Oct. 1, 1989, and Sept. 30, 1995, were identified by searching the ED database, inpatient database, ICU admission log and provincial medical examiner's database. From these, all cases involving IO access were selected and comprised the study sample. Demographics, diagnosis, number of IO attempts, success or failure of IO placement, relevant times and patient outcomes were recorded on standard data forms. Frequency of use, success rates and performance times were reported. RESULTS IO access was successful in 36 of 42 (86%) patients. In total, there were 68 attempts, or 1.6 attempts per child. All but one child were less than 3 years of age. The median time to successful IO placement was 8 minutes. Two complications, both fractures, occurred in one patient, a 10-day-old neonate. CONCLUSIONS IO success rates were high despite infrequent use.
Spectral Enhancement of Sounds by the Stellate Microcircuit of the Ventral Cochlear Nucleus

T Stellate (TS) cells in the auditory cochlear nucleus have been shown experimentally to accurately encode sound over a range of input sound pressure levels (SPL) in the presence of significant noise. One function postulated for the stellate cell circuit is to increase the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the incoming signal, more accurately highlighting significant frequencies. A network model utilising leaky integrate-and-fire neurons, wide-band lateral inhibition, and selective processing of inputs is developed to reproduce the stellate microcircuit function. Model simulation demonstrates enhancement of peak identification and dynamic range with tone and vowel stimuli.
Evolving neural networks using a genetic algorithm for heartbeat classification

This study investigates the effectiveness of a genetic algorithm (GA) evolved neural network (NN) classifier and its application to the classification of premature ventricular contraction (PVC) beats. As there is no standard procedure to determine the network structure for complicated cases, generally the design of the NN would be dependent on the user's experience. To prevent this problem, we propose a neural classifier that uses a GA for the determination of optimal connections between neurons for better recognition. The MIT-BIH arrhythmia database is employed to evaluate its accuracy. First, the topology of the NN was determined using the trial and error method. Second, the genetic operators were carefully designed to optimize the neural network structure. Performance and accuracy of the two techniques are presented and compared.
Structure and biology of Shigella flexneri O antigens.

The species Shigellajiexneri comprises a serolog-ically heterogeneous group of dysentery bacilli whose 0 antigens are polysaccharide-lipid A-polypeptide-lipid B complexes strictly comparable in their gross structural and biological properties to the analogous antigens present in all gram-negative bacilli of the family Enterobacteriaceae (Simmons, 1971a). As shown in fig. 1, the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) component of these antigens comprises two distinct regions-a common basal structure shared by all S. JIexneri serotypes (except serotype 6) and 0-specific side-chains that determine the serologi-cal specificity and cross-reactivity of the whole antigen (Simmons, 1966). The common basal sugars 2-keto-3-deoxy-octonate, L-glycero-D-manno-hep-tose phosphate, D-glucose, D-galactose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine are incorporated into the growing basal structure in that order and defects in the genes controlling this biosynthetic pathway result in an incomplete basal structure of rough (R) specificity (Johnston et al., 1967). The 0-specific side-chains (each consisting of six to eight repeating pentasaccharide units) may be further subdivided into two regions-a primary unbranched chain of L-rhamnose and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine identical to the variant Y antigen, and secondary side-chains of aD -glucosyl and 0-acetyl residues which are substituted on the primary chain in a position that is unique for each serotype (Simmons, 1969). The specificity of the linkage of the glucose secondary side-chain is governed by specific UDP-glucose transferases that are phage-dependent and map near the lac locus (Manson et al., 1970). Loss of the phage attachment site in recombination experiments with Escherichia coli HfrC (lac+) strains usually leads to loss of the glucose secondary side-chains and, thus, to the production of lactose-fermenting hybrids of variant Y-type specificity (Manson et al., 1970). However, hybrids with other specificities have also been described (Roma-In an earlier review (Simmons, 197 la), structural and genetic aspects of the biosynthesis of the S. JIexneri 0 antigens were considered in detail. The conclusions drawn at that time about the structural changes involved in smooth to rough (S-+R) mutation, in the production of X and Y variants, and in the modification of type-specificity by lysogenic conversion remain valid today. However, some of the structures themselves require to be revised, largely as a result of methylation studies performed during the past decade by Lindberg and his colleagues (Lindberg et al., 1973; Kenne et al., 1977a and b ; Kenne et al., 1978). This review summarises the evidence for these currently accepted structures and indicates how these studies have elucidated the biology of the S. J-lexneri 0 antigens. Structure of the basal …
Disaggregation of appliances energy profile in households and data visualization of abnormal behavior

Main goal of this paper is a system created for the purpose of disaggregation appliances from the energy profile in the households and the evaluation of unusual activities carried out in a smart home appliances with the help of self-organizing maps (SOM), or individual model views for educational purpose. The paper focuses on the analysis of existing methods and techniques of the problem. The core of the paper is the study of the various methods of disaggregation and describes the uses of the disaggregation of existing systems. After the deep investigation of issue, the next step is to select two different methods of disaggregation, which will be implemented to achieve the objectives of the paper. Second part of this paper is evaluation of activities can be achieved by calculation which is dependent on the models views, or by SOM, which is learned from standard activities. Evaluated by this unusual activity appliance. The system is controlled through a simple graphical user interface. This paper was created as learning model for using describe method to programming in various language.
Price Pressure Around Mergers

This paper examines the trading behavior of professional investors around 2,130 mergers announced between 1994 and 2000. We find considerable support for the existence of price pressure around mergers caused by uninformed shifts in excess demand, but that these effects are short-lived, consistent with the notion that short-run demand curves for stocks are not perfectly elastic. We estimate that nearly half of the negative announcement period stock price reaction for acquirers in stock-financed mergers reflects downward price pressure caused by merger arbitrage short selling, suggesting that previous estimates of merger wealth effects are biased downward. Copyright 2004 by The American Finance Association.
Increased fitness of transgenic insecticidal rapeseed under insect selection pressure

Rapeseed Brassica napus L. transgenic for a Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) transgene was developed and was shown to be insecticidal towards certain caterpillars including the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella L. and the corn earworm Helicoverpa zea Boddie. To simulate an escape of the transgenics from cultivation, a field experiment was performed in which transgenic and nontransgenic rapeseed plants were planted in natural vegetation and cultivated plots and subjected to various selection pressures in the form of herbivory from insects. Only two plants, both transgenic, survived the winter to reproduce in the natural‐vegetation plots which were dominated by grasses such as crabgrass. However, in plots that were initially cultivated then allowed to naturalize, medium to high levels of defoliation decreased survivorship of nontransgenic plants relative to Bt‐transgenic plants and increased differential reproduction in favour of Bt plants. Thus, where suitable habitat is readily available, there is a likelihood of enhanced ecological risk associated with the release of certain transgene/crop combinations such as insecticidal rapeseed. This is the first report of a field study demonstrating the effect of a fitness‐increasing transgene in plants.
Sleep and Student Success: The Role of Regularity vs. Duration

Recent correlational studies and media reports have suggested that sleep regularity - the variation in the amount of sleep one gets across days - is a stronger determinant of student success than sleep duration - the total amount of sleep one receives. We identify the causal impacts of sleep regularity and sleep duration on student success by leveraging over 165,000 student-classroom observations from a large university in Vietnam where incoming freshmen were randomly assigned into course schedules. These schedules varied significantly: some had the same daily start time across the week, while others experienced extreme shifts. Across a multitude of specifications and samples, we precisely estimate no discernible differences in achievement between students with highly varying start times versus students with consistent schedules. Moreover, we find much smaller gains to delayed school start times compared to previous studies.
Diyanet as a Turkish Foreign Policy Tool: Evidence from the Netherlands and Bulgaria

Abstract How does Turkey's Presidency of Religious Affairs (Diyanet) act as an instrument of foreign policy (FP)? What are the factors that allow such an instrumentalization of Islam in Turkish FP? In addressing these questions, this paper uses semi-structured expert interviews from Bulgaria and the Netherlands. Although both countries host a sizeable Muslim minority, these populations differ in their characteristics and historical ties with Turkey. Comparing Diyanet’s role in the Netherlands with its recent Turkish-Muslim diaspora, and in Bulgaria with its centuries-old Muslim minority allows us to reveal variation in the practical engagement strategies that Diyanet adopts in different country contexts. Thus, this paper advances two main claims; first, Diyanet serves as a primary FP tool of Turkey in countries with a significant Turkish-Muslim minority. Secondly, this instrumentalization destabilizes secularization projects both at home and abroad.
The Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cell Count Is Associated With Bone Health in Elderly Men

AbstractThe peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) count is a routinely used and meaningful index for infection and blood diseases. PBMCs may be closely related to osteoclasts and include osteoclast precursors; we examined the association between the PBMC count and bone health. This research included 2806 community men aged ≥50 years who underwent full health examinations from October 2007 through December 2011 in four medical centers. The PBMC count was significantly high among subjects with “at least osteopenia” compared with controls. In analysis of covariance adjusted for potential confounders, the bone mineral density (BMD) value and T-score had a significant decreasing trend across the quartiles of PBMC count. In univariate analysis, the PBMC count had a strong association with “at least osteopenia” (odds ratio [OR] = 2.520, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.397–4.547). After adjustment for confounding factors (multivariate analysis) from Model 1 to 4, PBMC count remained as an independent risk factor for “at least osteopenia” (OR = 2.481, 95% CI: 1.176–5.236). Moreover, after adjusting for all confounding variables, participants had a significantly high OR in the body mass index (BMI) <25 group (OR = 2.798, CI: 1.122–6.973; P = 0.027) and systolic blood pressure (SBP) <140 group (OR = 2.519, CI: 1.059–5.993; P = 0.037). In conclusion, the PBMC count is significantly associated with bone loss in elderly men and the exact mechanism requires further clarification.
Family Functioning of Addicted and Non-Addicted Individuals: A Comparative Study

Background Family functioning is considered to have a significant impact on the beginnings and maintenance of substance use. Objectives The main purpose of this study was to examine and compare the dimensions of family functioning among addicted and non-addicted individuals. Patients and Methods In this cross-sectional study, the study sample consisted of 228 individuals, including 118 addicted and 110 non-addicted subjects. The addicted persons were recruited from patients who attended the Baharan Psychiatric Outpatient Clinic for treatment of substance dependence disorders and 110 non-addicted (normal) individuals who were selected from normal populations (students, staff of the hospital and people accompanying patients without a history of substance use) through convenience sampling. The Family Assessment Device (FAD) was used to assess six dimensions of family functioning. The data were analyzed using descriptive indexes (ie, frequency, mean and standard deviation) and t test. Results The results showed significant differences in the mean scores of family functioning dimensions including; problem solving, communication, roles, affective responsiveness, affective involvement, behavioral control and overall family performance (P < 0.01). Conclusions Results of this study confirmed the lower functioning levels of substance dependent clients’ families on all subscales of the FAD, than in families of non-addicted individuals. It is therefore concluded, that providing interventional strategies for the prevention and treatment of substance use that focus on and involve families in the delivery of health care services is a necessity.
Modelling Software Organisations

We view software construction as a social process embedded within organisational and cultural structures. To increase our understanding of the process of software construction we attempt to model not just individuals or teams but organisational wide processes. How can we begin to model such complex dynamic entitles composed of many interacting individuals? We outline our initial steps towards such an enterprise (employing multi-agent based simulation) and argue that this is a worthwhile endeavour if we are to increase our understanding of software production in the real world.
Nonparametric methods for inference in the presence of instrumental variables

We suggest two nonparametric approaches, based on kernel methods and orthogonal series, respectively, to estimating regression functions in the presence of instrumental variables. For the first time in this class of problems we derive optimal convergence rates, and show that they are attained by particular estimators. In the presence of instrumental variables the relation that identifies the regression function also defines an ill-posed inverse problem, the "difficulty" of which depends on eigenvalues of a certain integral operator which is determined by the joint density of endogenous and instrumental variables. We delineate the role played by problem difficulty in determining both the optimal convergence rate and the appropriate choice of smoothing parameter.
BEHAVIOR : IMPLICATIONS FOR THE DESIGN OF IMAGE RETRIEVAL SYSTEMS

In the last decade, Image Retrieval (IR) has received substantial attention and experienced a rapid growth. While most research has investigated the actual retrieval algorithms, much less is known about the UI design of IR systems. In this paper we present the results of an observational user study, in which we observed the users’ natural behavior in image searching and tagging. Based on both quantitative and qualitative analysis, we derive implications for the design of IR systems: Concerning the evaluation of IR systems, besides traditional quantitative evaluation parameters such as recall and precision, other qualitative evaluation strategies focusing on the user’s perspective should be integrated to provide a more user-centered evaluation. IR systems should offer more advanced options such as for sorting, filtering or grouping. Beyond simple text extraction, an adaptive understanding of the semantics of the query is also required. Because of the instability, Content-Based Image Retrieval (CBIR) was mainly perceived useful as an inspiration or for discovering unexpected new results. Tags are a strong alternative to content analysis, but in hybrid IR systems both of them could be combined to achieve a better performance. There might be a remarkable tagging gap between the indexer and searcher, and we propose some tagging principles which might help to narrow this gap.
Design for usability

Making the information society accessible to all requires both physical accessibility and cognitive accessibility (Bevan 1999c). Just as physical accessibility means providing the right physical interface, so cognitive accessibility means matching the functionality, terminology, information and interface to the needs of the individual user. The emphasis in systems design has traditionally been on building systems that meet specific functional requirements, without a sufficiently detailed understanding of the cognitive and physical capabilities and expectations of the intended users, or a clear view of the context in which the system will be used.
PERSONALIZED ANNOTATION AND INFORMATION SHARING IN PROTEIN SCIENCE WITH INFORMATION-SLIPS

In this paper, we describe a software tool called Information-slips (i-slips) that provides a convenient and customizable mechanism for remote collaboration and data sharing in protein science. I-slips are small 3D objects that coexist with and augment the host 3D objects (in our application, protein models). Our i-slip design makes two main contributions. Firstly, i-slip goes beyond simple passive annotation to also provide active interactivity. It can embed an action to perform a user-defined operation on-demand. The condition to perform the action is event-driven. So i-slips can monitor the environment and automatically handle some predefined events without the user intervention. Secondly, i-slip is a highly versatile and adaptable information container. The user can tailor i-slip templates for new domain-specific objects, and develop new actions to embed domain-dependent algorithms. Furthermore, the storage and transportation of i-slips use XML for the sake of interoperability. Two key implementation techniques about visualization and customization are discussed here. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first protein visualization tool that supports user-contributed information and embeddable actions/activities.
Sprouting Seeds of Connectedness: Associations between Gardening and Cooking Skills and Youth Connections to Peers, Adults, and Community

Abstract:This study assessed cross-sectional relationships between cooking and gardening skills and young people's connectedness to their peers, adults in their lives, and their community. Racially/ethnically diverse youth (n=106; ages 7–14, 51 percent female) participated in a summer gardening and cooking Youth Farm program and completed surveys at the end of the program on gardening skills, cooking skills, and connectedness to peers, adults and community. Using descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses, the study assessed associations between cooking and gardening skills with and without adjustment for potential confounding variables. Youth reported high average levels of cooking and gardening skills; skill levels were higher for those who had participated in more summers of Youth Farm programming. Cooking skills were associated with connectedness, but relationships between gardening skills and connectedness measures were less statistically robust. In light of positive outcomes from previous research and associations with connectedness yielded by the present research, multicomponent cooking and gardening programs show great promise for promoting healthy development for diverse, urban youth.
Promotion of disfluency in syntactic parallelism

The development of a disfluency-robust speech parser requires some insight into where disfluencies occur in spontaneous spoken language. This corpus study deals with one syntactic variable which is predictive of disfluency location: syntactic parallelism. A formal definition of syntactic parallelism is used to show that syntactic parallelism is indeed predictive of disfluency.
Novel Design Method of Tri-Band Power Divider

A novel method is presented for the design of a multiband power divider. The method employs network theory and even-odd-mode analysis to derive the equivalent input and output port admittances of a three-port junction, which is based on the conditions of reciprocity, isolation, and matching. If an impedance transformer that transforms the equivalent admittance to normalized unit conductance at multiple frequencies is found, then the multiband power divider can be constructed by attaching the transformer to each port of the junction. To verify the proposed design method, three different tri-band power dividers are designed and simulated, of which one is fabricated and measured. The measured results are in good agreement with the simulations. The return loss and isolation are better than 15 dB, simultaneously, the measured bandwidths of three operating bands are over 100 MHz, and the passband ripple is 0.2 dB.