Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Task Allocation for a robotic swarm based on an Adaptive Response Threshold Model

Biological systems are often composed of many well-organized elements, for instance the flock of birds or social insect communities such as bees or ants. However, developing a swarm robotic system with similar functions, which could be flexible and adapt to environmental changes is undoubtedly complex. In order to achieve such high goal, a good task allocation method, which can regulate and achieve an efficient labor division is crucial. In this paper we propose an optimized version of the simple Response Threshold Model [8] using a discretized version of the Attractor Selection paradigm, in order to dynamically change the threshold parameter (θ). Simulation experiments are carried out in order to study the effects of these optimization measures on the performance of a foraging mission. Simulation experiments verified that the resultant optimized model can improve the adaptation capabilities of previous systems, making a swarm of robots able to adapt more efficiently to dynamical situations.
Imitators of Severe Preeclampsia

There are several obstetric, medical, and surgical disorders that share many of the clinical and laboratory findings of patients with severe preeclampsia–hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets syndrome. Imitators of severe preeclampsia–hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelets syndrome are life-threatening emergencies that can develop during pregnancy or in the postpartum period. These conditions are associated with high maternal mortality, and survivors may face long-term sequelae. Perinatal mortality and morbidity also remain high in many of these conditions. The pathophysiologic abnormalities in many of these disorders include thrombotic microangiopathy, thrombocytopenia, and hemolytic anemia. Some of these disorders include acute fatty liver of pregnancy, thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura, hemolytic uremic syndrome, and acute exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus. Because of the rarity of these conditions during pregnancy and postpartum, the available literature includes only case reports and case series describing these syndromes. Consequently, there are no systematic reviews or randomized trials on these subjects. Differential diagnosis may be difficult due to the overlap of several clinical and laboratory findings of these syndromes. It is important that the clinician make the accurate diagnosis when possible because the management and complications from these syndromes may be different. For example, severe preeclampsia and acute fatty liver of pregnancy are treated by delivery, whereas it is possible to continue pregnancy in those with thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura–hemolytic uremic syndrome and exacerbation of systemic lupus erythematosus. This review focuses on diagnosis, management, and counseling of women who develop these syndromes based on results of recent studies.
Reduction of source/drain series resistance and its impact on device performance for PMOS transistors with raised Si/sub 1-x/Gex source/drain

P-channel MOS transistors with raised Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ and Si source/drain (S/D) structure selectively grown by ultra high vacuum chemical vapor deposition (UHVCVD) were fabricated for the first time. The impact of Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ and Si epitaxial S/D layers on S/D series resistance and drain current of p-channel transistors were studied. Our results show that devices with the raised Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ S/D layer display only half the value of the specific contact resistivity and S/D series resistance (R/sub SD/), compared with those with a Si raised S/D layer. The improvement is even more dramatic when comparing with conventional devices without any raised S/D layer, i.e., R/sub SD/ of devices with Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ raised S/D is only about one fourth that of conventional devices. Moreover, the raised SiGe S/D structure produces a 29% improvement in transconductance (g/sub m/) at an effective channel length of 0.16 /spl mu/m. These performance improvements, together with several inherent advantages, such as self-aligned selective epitaxial growth (SEG) and the resultant T-shaped gate structure, make the new device with raised Si/sub 1-x/Ge/sub x/ S/D structure very attractive for future sub-0.1 /spl mu/m p-channel MOS transistors.
Author Manuscript, Published in "first International Workshop on Architectures and Technologies for Smart Cities, Dubai : United Arab Distributed Semantic Discovery for Web-of-things Enabled Smart Buildings

—Nowadays, our surrounding environment is more and more scattered with various types of sensors. Due to their intrinsic properties and representation formats, they form small islands isolated from each other. In order to increase interoper-ability and release their full capabilities, we propose to represent devices descriptions including data and service invocation with a common model allowing to compose mashups of heterogeneous sensors. Pushing this paradigm further, we also propose to augment service descriptions with a discovery protocol easing automatic assimilation of knowledge. In this work, we describe the architecture supporting what can be called a Semantic Sensor Web-of-Things. As proof of concept, we apply our proposal to the domain of smart buildings, composing a novel ontology covering heterogeneous sensing, actuation and service invocation. Our architecture also emphasizes on the energetic aspect and is optimized for constrained environments.
On optimal size and shape of supernode transformations

Supernode transformation has been proposed to reduce the communication startup cost by grouping a number of iterations in a perfectly nested loop with uniform dependencies as a supernode which is assigned to a processor as a single unit. A supernode transformation is specified by n families of hyperplanes which slice the iteration space into parallelepiped supernodes, the grain size of a supernode, and the relative side lengths of the parallelepiped supernode. The total running time is affected by the three factors. The paper considers the problem of finding an optimal grain size and an optimal relative side length vector, with the goal of minimizing total running time. The results show that the optimal grain size is proportional to the ratio of the communication startup cost and the computation speed of the processor, and that the optimal supernode shape is similar to the shape of the index space, in the case of hypercube index spaces and supernodes.
Application of Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) for assessing biogenic silica sample purity in geochemical analyses and palaeoenvironmental research

Abstract. The development of a rapid and non-destructive method to assess purity levels in samples of biogenic silica prior to geochemical/isotope analysis remains a key objective in improving both the quality and use of such data in environmental and palaeoclimatic research. Here a Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) mass-balance method is demonstrated for calculating levels of contamination in cleaned sediment core diatom samples from Lake Baikal, Russia. Following the selection of end-members representative of diatoms and contaminants in the analysed samples, a mass-balance model is generated to simulate the expected FTIR spectra for a given level of contamination. By fitting the sample FTIR spectra to the modelled FTIR spectra and calculating the residual spectra, the optimum best-fit model and level of contamination is obtained. When compared to X-ray Fluorescence (XRF) the FTIR method portrays the main changes in sample contamination through the core sequence, permitting its use in instances where other, destructive, techniques are not appropriate. The ability to analyse samples of
Wireless Sensor System for Industrial Applications Powered by Thermoelectric Generator

The industrial environment of a manufacturing plant is a suitable field of application for a variety of measuring tasks for process monitoring on the use of thermoelectric generators (TEG) for the power supply of wireless sensor modules. This paper describes the various aspects of the development of a self-sustaining system using the example of coolant monitoring and control. Subject is a continuous pressure and temperature measurement at each mold of a cooling system. Furthermore, wireless transmission of data to a central base station is required, wherein more than 50 sensor modules have to share one radio channel. The energy for operation of the sensor module is provided by a TEG using the temperature difference between the coolant tube and the "warm" environment. To attain a stable energy supply, various TEG and construction practices with controlled heat flow have been evaluated and optimized. In combination with a specific power management a robust, industry-compliant solution has been realized.
A model-learner pattern for bayesian reasoning

A Bayesian model is based on a pair of probability distributions, known as the prior and sampling distributions. A wide range of fundamental machine learning tasks, including regression, classification, clustering, and many others, can all be seen as Bayesian models. We propose a new probabilistic programming abstraction, a typed Bayesian model, which is based on a pair of probabilistic expressions for the prior and sampling distributions. A sampler for a model is an algorithm to compute synthetic data from its sampling distribution, while a learner for a model is an algorithm for probabilistic inference on the model. Models, samplers, and learners form a generic programming pattern for model-based inference. They support the uniform expression of common tasks including model testing, and generic compositions such as mixture models, evidence-based model averaging, and mixtures of experts. A formal semantics supports reasoning about model equivalence and implementation correctness. By developing a series of examples and three learner implementations based on exact inference, factor graphs, and Markov chain Monte Carlo, we demonstrate the broad applicability of this new programming pattern.
The Surface Free Energy of Oral Streptococci after being Coated with Saliva and its Relation to Adhesion in the Mouth

Contact angle measurements on layers of bacteria were used to determine the bacterial surface free energy (γb) of a variety of oral streptococcal strains, both without and after being coated with human whole saliva. At least four isolates of each species, either freshly isolated or laboratory strains, were used. The species Streptococcus mutans, S. sanguis, and S. salivarius were homogeneous, having high surface free energies, and were not affected by saliva treatment (γb = 106 ± 12 and 107 ± 10 erg·cm-2 in the absence and presence of saliva coating, respectively; n = 20). S. mitis had a very low surface free energy (46 ± 15; n = 5), which was significantly increased after salivary adsorption (71 ± 14 erg·cm-2; p<0.002). The species S. milleri contained strains with both high and low γ b. Calculation of the interfacial free energy of adhesion (ΔF adh) for bacteria from a saliva suspension to solid surfaces with various arbitrary surface free energies (γs) showed that, theoretically, most strains will encounter thermodynamically favorable conditions for adhesion to surfaces with a γs above 62 erg·cm-2. However, S. mitis strains not coated with saliva would only be able to adhere to surfaces with γs lower than this value. Saliva-coating reverses the calculated relationship with γs for these strains. The results indicate that an enamel surface with a low γs value would be thermodynamically unfavorable for adhesion of most oral streptococci.
Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae Induces Sustained Lung Oxidative Stress and Protease Expression

Nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) is a prevalent bacterium found in a variety of chronic respiratory diseases. The role of this bacterium in the pathogenesis of lung inflammation is not well defined. In this study we examined the effect of NTHi on two important lung inflammatory processes 1), oxidative stress and 2), protease expression. Bronchoalveolar macrophages were obtained from 121 human subjects, blood neutrophils from 15 subjects, and human-lung fibroblast and epithelial cell lines from 16 subjects. Cells were stimulated with NTHi to measure the effect on reactive oxygen species (ROS) production and extracellular trap formation. We also measured the production of the oxidant, 3-nitrotyrosine (3-NT) in the lungs of mice infected with this bacterium. NTHi induced widespread production of 3-NT in mouse lungs. This bacterium induced significantly increased ROS production in human fibroblasts, epithelial cells, macrophages and neutrophils; with the highest levels in the phagocytic cells. In human macrophages NTHi caused a sustained, extracellular production of ROS that increased over time. The production of ROS was associated with the formation of macrophage extracellular trap-like structures which co-expressed the protease metalloproteinase-12. The formation of the macrophage extracellular trap-like structures was markedly inhibited by the addition of DNase. In this study we have demonstrated that NTHi induces lung oxidative stress with macrophage extracellular trap formation and associated protease expression. DNase inhibited the formation of extracellular traps.
Production of Succinic Acid from Citric Acid and Related Acids by Lactobacillus Strains

A number of Lactobacillus strains produced succinic acid in de Man-Rogosa-Sharpe broth to various extents. Among 86 fresh isolates from fermented cane molasses in Thailand, 30 strains (35%) produced succinic acid; namely, 23 of 39 Lactobacillus reuteri strains, 6 of 18 L. cellobiosus strains, and 1 of 6 unidentified strains. All of 10 L. casei subsp. casei strains, 5 L. casei subsp. rhamnosus strains, 6 L. mali strains, and 2 L. buchneri strains did not produce succinic acid. Among 58 known strains including 48 type strains of different Lactobacillus species, the strains of L. acidophilus, L. crispatus, L. jensenii, and L. parvus produced succinic acid to the same extent as the most active fresh isolates, and those of L. alimentarius, L. collinoides, L. farciminis, L. fructivorans (1 of 2 strains tested), L. malefermentans, and L. reuteri were also positive, to lesser extents. Diammonium citrate in de Man-Rogosa-Sharpe broth was determined as a precursor of the succinic acid produced. Production rates were about 70% on a molar basis with two fresh strains tested. Succinic acid was also produced from fumaric and malic acids but not from dl-isocitric, α-ketoglutaric, and pyruvic acids. The present study is considered to provide the first evidence on the production of succinic acid, an important flavoring substance in dairy products and fermented beverages, from citrate by lactobacilli.
Filling the Gap in Argentina's Inflation Data

The official consumer price index (CPI) of Argentina became widely discredited after January 2007 and the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses of Argentina (INDEC) ceased its production in December 2015, leaving the country with no official measure of inflation after this date. This gap in official data poses a major problem for researchers and policymakers who need access to longer time series. In this paper, we provide a consumer price index that uses official CPI data from 1943 to 2007 and chain it to an online price index which spans from 2007 to the present. The chained index will be updated regularly on a monthly basis until a new official CPI is released.
Choosing good distance metrics and local planners for probabilistic roadmap methods

This paper presents a comparative evaluation of different distance metrics and local planners within the content of probabilistic roadmap methods for motion planning. Both C-space and workspace distance metrics and local planners are considered. The study concentrates on cluttered 3D workspaces, typical of mechanical designs. Our results include recommendations for selecting appropriate combinations of distance metrics and local planners for use in motion planning methods, particularly probabilistic roadmap methods. We find that each local planner makes some connections than none of the others do ndicating that better connected roadmaps will be constructed using multiple local planners. We propose a new local planning method, we call rotate-at-s, that outperforms the common straight-line in C-space method in crowded environments.
Dialysis-associated acquired cystic kidney disease imitating autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease in a patient receiving long-term peritoneal dialysis.

Acquired cystic kidney disease (ACKD) is frequently observed in patients with end-stage renal failure or who are on long-term dialysis, independent of the cause of the renal failure w1x. Criteria for the diagnosis of ACKD are: (i) the presence of at least one to five kidney cysts confirmed by means of ultrasound or computer tomography (CT); and (ii) pathologically, an extension of cysts involving )25% of the renal parenchyma w2x. Usually the end-stage kidneys are of a small to normal size and the renal cysts are -0.5 cm in diameter w3x. These findings differ fundamentally from the morphology of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) w2x. Nevertheless, in some cases the differential diagnosis is clinically difficult due to an uncommon macroscopic presentation. Here we present a 36-year-old male patient, who had end-stage renal failure from IgA-nephropathy and had developed a large, completely cystic, transformed, ADPKD imitating kidney after 6 years on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD).
Usability Tests in Medicine: A Cost-Benefit Analysis for Hospitals Before Acquiring Medical Devices for Theatre

Purpose: The use of active medical devices in clinical routine should be as safe and efficient as possible. Usability tests (UTs) help improve these aspects of medical devices during their development, but UTs can be of use for hospitals even after a product has been launched. The present pilot study examines the costs and possible benefits of UT for hospitals before buying new medical devices for theatre. Methods: Two active medical devices with different complexity were tested in a standardized UT and a cost-benefit analysis was carried out assuming a different device bought at the same price with a higher usability could increase the efficiency of task solving and due to that save valuable theatre time. Results: The cost of the UT amounted up to €19.400. Hospitals could benefit from UTs before buying new devices for theatre by reducing time-consuming operator errors and thereby increase productivity and patient safety. The possible benefits amounted from €23.300 to €1.570. 000 (median = €797.000). Conclusion: Not only hospitals could benefit economically from investing in a UT before deciding to buy a medical device, but especially patients would profit from a higher usability by reducing possible operator errors and increase safety and performance of use.
New dynamic multimode model for external cavity semiconductor lasers

A new, dynamic, time-domain, numerical model for external cavity lasers, based on the transmission-line laser model (TLLM), is introduced. This is able to show the evolution of spectra from large-signal modulated devices, even when the modulation pulsewidth is less than the external cavity round-trip delay. The model is demonstrated using short and long dispersionless cavities. Results in the time and spectral domains are in agreement with those of previous theoretical and experimental work.
POPS: a fast algorithm for solvent accessible surface areas at atomic and residue level

POPS (Parameter OPtimsed Surfaces) is a new method to calculate solvent accessible surface areas, which is based on an empirically parameterisable analytical formula and fast to compute. Atomic and residue areas (the latter represented by a single sphere centered on the C(alpha) atom of amino acids and at the P atom of nucleotides) have been optimised versus accurate all-atom methods. The parameterisation has been derived from a selected dataset of proteins and nucleic acids of different sizes and topologies. The residue based approach POPS-R, has been devised as a useful tool for the analysis of large macromolecular assemblies like the ribosome and it is specially suited for the refinement of low resolution structures. POPS-R also allows for estimates of the loss of free energy of solvation upon complex formation, which should be particularly useful for the design of new protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid complexes. The program POPS is available at http://mathbio.nimr. mrc.ac. uk/~ffranca/POPS and at the mirror site http://www.cs. vu.nl/~ibivu/programs/popswww.
PARENT TRAUMA HISTORY AND PARENTING STYLE: RELATION TO CHILD TRAUMA AND CHILD PSYCHOPATHOLOGY

The purpose of the current study was to further explore the relations between parent trauma, parenting behavior, child trauma, and child adjustment. The sample included 358 children (191 boys and 167 girls) and their primary caregiver (48 fathers and 310 mothers). The childrenâ s ages ranged from 10 to 17 with an average age of 13. Parent trauma was not found to be related to child trauma through parenting behaviors. Child trauma was found to mediate the relations between parenting and child adjustment. There was some evidence of parenting mediating the relation between parent trauma and child adjustment. This research underscores the importance of understanding the risk and protective factors associated with parent trauma and its influences on child trauma and adjustment as well as the importance of good parenting as a protective factor. Further, this study supports past research which highlights those pathways which lead to resilience.
Error Containment in the Presence of Metastability

Error containment is an important concept in fault tolerant system design, and techniques like voting are applied to mask erroneous outputs, thus preventing their propagation. In this presentation we will use the example of DARTS, a fault-tolerant distributed clock generation scheme in hardware, to demonstrate that metastability is a substantial threat to error containment. We will illustrate how metastability can originate and propagate such that a single fault may upset the system. The main conclusion is that modeling efforts on all design levels are definitely required in order to mitigate and quantify the deteriorating effect of metastability on system dependability.
Twenty Years of Strategic Distribution System Design: An Evolutionary Perspective

Using optimization to design distribution systems became technically feasible a little more than two decades ago, and developments have occurred at a rapid rate ever since. These developments can be understood in terms of six evolutionary processes. Four are core: evolution of algorithms, data development tools, model features and software capabilities, and how companies actually use software for designing distribution systems. The other two are environmental: evolution of logistics as a corporate function and of computer and communications technology.