Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of the EKF-Based Estimation Architectures for Data Fusion in Mobile Robots

This paper presents evaluation of four different state estimation architectures exploiting the extended Kalman filter (EKF) for 6-DOF dead reckoning of a mobile robot. The EKF is a well proven and commonly used technique for fusion of inertial data and robot's odometry. However, different approaches to designing the architecture of the state estimator lead to different performance and computational demands. While seeking the best possible solution for the mobile robot, the nonlinear model and the error model are addressed, both with and without a complementary filter for attitude estimation. The performance is determined experimentally by means of precision of both indoor and outdoor navigation, including complex-structured environment such as stairs and rough terrain. According to the evaluation, the nonlinear model combined with the complementary filter is selected as a best candidate (reaching 0.8 m RMSE and average of 4% return position error (RPE) of distance driven) and implemented for real-time onboard processing during a rescue mission deployment.
Use of Street Methadone in Italian Heroin Addicts Presenting for Opioid Agonist Treatment

ABSTRACT It is commonly assumed that people who are addicted to certain substances would abuse any substance. This position has never been supported by validly collected and analyzed research data. In this study, the authors examine the use of street methadone by heroin addicts seeking their first agonist opioid treatment in a clinical setting. Fifty-four heroin addicts who resorted to street methadone use were compared by socio-demographic, current clinical, and disease-related variables to 251 peers who do not use street methadone. Heroin addicts who resort to street methadone use are more likely to be females and to have a higher degree of education, are less likely to engage in polyabuse (use of more than three substances), are less severely ill, have been addicted for a shorter period of time, and have been seeking treatment sooner in the course of their disease. Also, they suffer from a wider range of psychopathological distress symptoms. In Italy, resorting to street methadone does not seem to be a surrogate form of heroin addiction, but rather represents means of harm reduction, with treatment seeking occurring shortly after its initiation. This should be accounted for when deciding on take-home policies and issues of potential methadone diversion.
The Role of Avian Influenza, Newcastle Disease and Infectious Bronchitis Viruses During the Respiratory Disease Outbreak in Commercial Broiler Farms of Iran

Avian influenza, newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis viruses are pathogens with economical importance in poultry industry. To determine the role of three mentioned viruses in respiratory diseases outbreak in Iranian broiler farms, 160 serum samples from 8 broiler flocks with respiratory disease symptoms were examined by Hemagglutination Inhibition (HI) and ELISA tests. None of these flocks received any of influenza A, newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis viruses vaccines. The overall antibody titres and seroprevalence of AIV H9 subtype, newcastle disease and infectious bronchitis viruses in this study were 7.6, 5.34 log2, 1123.12 log10 and 31.2, 18.47, 82.43%, respectively. The results revealed the important role of infectious bronchitis virus in respiratory disease outbreak in commercial broiler farms of Iran. Therefore, for preventing the IBV infection in the broiler farms, serotype of the new IBV isolates must regularly be determined.
Evidence for inhomogeneous reionization in the local Universe from metal-poor globular cluster systems

Exploiting a fundamental characteristic of galaxy assembly in thecold dark matter paradigm, the observed spatial biasing and kinematics of metal-poor globular star clusters are used to constrain the local reionization epoch around individual galaxies. Selecting three galaxies lo- cated in different environments, the first attempt at constraining the environmental propagation of reionization in the local Universe is carried out. The joint constraint from the three galaxies (zreion = 10.5 +1.0 −0.9) agrees remarkably well with the latest Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe constraint on zreion for a simple instantaneous reionization model. More importantly, the range of zreion values found here is consistent with the global range of zreion estimates from other observations. We furthermore find a 1. 7σ indication that reionization completed in low-density environments before the intergalactic medium in high-density environments was reionized. This is consistent with certain theoretical models that predict that reionization was globally prolonged in duration, with neutral hydrogen pockets surviving in high-density environments, even after the surrounding regions were reionized. More generally, this work provides a useful constraint on the formation history of galaxy stellar haloes.
Antipsychotic medication is associated with selective alterations in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid Aβ 40 and tau in patients with intractable unipolar depression

Alterations in plasma and in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid amyloid‐B peptide (Aβ) levels have been reported in Alzheimer's disease. Studies have also suggested similar changes in depressed patients. No information is available on the impact of psychotropic drugs on this in patients with depression. We therefore quantified Aβ in ventricular cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in a population of patients with treatment‐resistant depression, with and without antipsychotic medication.
Evaluation of complementary effects of 9,10-anthraquinone and fumaric acid on methanogenesis and ruminal fermentation in vitro

The objective of the present study was to investigate the hypothesis that 9,10-anthraquinone (AQ) in combination with fumaric acid (FMA) may provide complementary effects to inhibit methanogens and enhance rumen's capacity for better utilisation of FMA towards propionate production. Three levels of AQ and four levels of FMA were tested in a 3 × 4 factorial design using in vitro gas production technique. AQ reduced the total gas and methane production significantly. The combination of 4 ppm AQ with FMA had additive effect on concentration of propionate. Supplementation of AQ alone resulted in hydrogen accumulation (p < 0.001), whereas presence of FMA (up to 6.5 mM) along with AQ declined hydrogen concentration (p < 0.001). The level of 4 ppm AQ did not affect in vitro digestibility, however, a reduction of organic matter digestibility was caused by 8 ppm AQ (p < 0.001), which was partially compensated by the addition of FMA (p = 0.06). The optimum FMA level depended on the AQ concentration. At 4 ppm AQ, a FMA level of 3.5 mM had best possible effect on partitioning factor and microbial biomass production (p < 0.001), though, at 8 ppm AQ the higher level of FMA (6.5 mM) responded better. Overall, FMA in combination with AQ provided an alternative hydrogen sink and might be introduced as a novel strategy for mitigation of enteric methane emission. Nevertheless, the result should be proved by in vivo experiments.
Bacterial Vegetative Insecticidal Proteins (Vip) from Entomopathogenic Bacteria

SUMMARY Entomopathogenic bacteria produce insecticidal proteins that accumulate in inclusion bodies or parasporal crystals (such as the Cry and Cyt proteins) as well as insecticidal proteins that are secreted into the culture medium. Among the latter are the Vip proteins, which are divided into four families according to their amino acid identity. The Vip1 and Vip2 proteins act as binary toxins and are toxic to some members of the Coleoptera and Hemiptera. The Vip1 component is thought to bind to receptors in the membrane of the insect midgut, and the Vip2 component enters the cell, where it displays its ADP-ribosyltransferase activity against actin, preventing microfilament formation. Vip3 has no sequence similarity to Vip1 or Vip2 and is toxic to a wide variety of members of the Lepidoptera. Its mode of action has been shown to resemble that of the Cry proteins in terms of proteolytic activation, binding to the midgut epithelial membrane, and pore formation, although Vip3A proteins do not share binding sites with Cry proteins. The latter property makes them good candidates to be combined with Cry proteins in transgenic plants (Bacillus thuringiensis-treated crops [Bt crops]) to prevent or delay insect resistance and to broaden the insecticidal spectrum. There are commercially grown varieties of Bt cotton and Bt maize that express the Vip3Aa protein in combination with Cry proteins. For the most recently reported Vip4 family, no target insects have been found yet.
Brivanib versus sorafenib as first-line therapy in patients with unresectable, advanced hepatocellular carcinoma: results from the randomized phase III BRISK-FL study.

PURPOSE Brivanib is a dual inhibitor of vascular-endothelial growth factor and fibroblast growth factor receptors that are implicated in the pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Our multinational, randomized, double-blind, phase III trial compared brivanib with sorafenib as first-line treatment for HCC. PATIENTS AND METHODS Advanced HCC patients who had no prior systemic therapy were randomly assigned (ratio, 1:1) to receive sorafenib 400 mg twice daily orally (n = 578) or brivanib 800 mg once daily orally (n = 577). Primary end point was overall survival (OS). Secondary end points included time to progression (TTP), objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR) based on modified Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors (mRECIST), and safety. RESULTS The primary end point of OS noninferiority for brivanib versus sorafenib in the per-protocol population (n = 1,150) was not met (hazard ratio [HR], 1.06; 95.8% CI, 0.93 to 1.22), based on the prespecified margin (upper CI limit for HR ≤ 1.08). Median OS was 9.9 months for sorafenib and 9.5 months for brivanib. TTP, ORR, and DCR were similar between the study arms. Most frequent grade 3/4 adverse events for sorafenib and brivanib were hyponatremia (9% and 23%, respectively), AST elevation (17% and 14%), fatigue (7% and 15%), hand-foot-skin reaction (15% and 2%), and hypertension (5% and 13%). Discontinuation as a result of adverse events was 33% for sorafenib and 43% for brivanib; rates for dose reduction were 50% and 49%, respectively. CONCLUSION Our study did not meet its primary end point of OS noninferiority for brivanib versus sorafenib. However, both agents had similar antitumor activity, based on secondary efficacy end points. Brivanib had an acceptable safety profile, but was less well-tolerated than sorafenib.
Millimeter wave contactless microstrip-gap waveguide transition suitable for integration of RF MMIC with gap waveguide array antenna

A new simple transition from a microstrip to gap waveguides has been proposed in this paper. The transition has been implemented for ridge gap waveguide and a groove gap waveguide. The cavity coupling is used to couple the waves between the microstrip and the gap waveguides. This cavity acts as a backshort in the transition region and the microstrip lies inside the waveguide, which provides a solution to integration of RF MMIC circuits with the feed-network of the gap waveguide array antenna. Roger 3010 (εr = 10.2) was used as the microstrip substrate for these transitions. The optimised back-to-back Ridge Gap Waveguide (RGW)-microstrip transition shows relative bandwidth of 21% for S11 < −20 dB and Groove Gap Waveguide (GGW)-microstrip transition shows relative bandwidth of 20% for S11 < −17 dB. The insertion losses are better than 0.5 dB in the designed frequency bands for both the RGW and GGW transitions.
A replica analysis of the travelling salesman problem

We propose and analyse a replica symmetric solution for random link travelling salesman problems. This gives reasonable analytical estimates for thermodynamic quantities such as the length of the shortest path Proposition et analyse d'une solution symetrique dans les repliques pour les problemes de voyageurs de commerce a liens independants. Estimations analytiques raisonnables pour les quantites thermodynamiques comme la longueur du chemin le plus court dans le cadre de l'etude des verres de spin
Cell types, lineage, and architecture of the germinal zone in the adult dentate gyrus

New neurons continue to be born in the subgranular zone (SGZ) of the dentate gyrus in the hippocampus of adult mammals, including humans. Previous work has shown that astrocytes function as the progenitors of these new neurons through immature intermediate D cells. In the first part of the present study, we determined the structure of each of these progenitors and how they are organized in three dimensions. Serial‐section reconstructions of the SGZ, using confocal and electron microscopy demonstrate that SGZ astrocytes form baskets that hold clusters of D cells, largely insulating them from the hilus. Two types of glial fibrillary acidic protein–expressing astrocytes (radial and horizontal) and three classes of doublecortin and PSA‐NCAM–positive D cells (D1, D2, D3) were observed. Radial astrocytes appear to interact closely with clusters of D cells forming radial proliferative units. In the second part of this study, we show that retrovirally labeled radial astrocytes give rise to granule neurons. We also used bromodeoxyuridine and [3H]thymidine labeling to study the sequence of appearance of the different D cells after a 7‐day treatment with anti‐mitotics. This analysis, together with retroviral labeling data, suggest that radial astrocytes divide to generate D1 cells, which in turn divide once to form postmitotic D2 cells. D2 cells mature through a D3 stage to form new granule neurons. These observations provide a model of how the germinal zone of the adult hippocampus is organized and suggest a sequence of cellular stages in the generation of new granule neurons. J. Comp. Neurol. 478:359–378, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Asymmetric Design and Simulation of Ring-Defect Photonic Crystal Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

In this letter, the optical modes of a ring-defect photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser are calculated by the fully numerical solution of the scalar Helmholtz equation. We explain the experimentally observed higher order mode emission on the basis of optical loss discrimination. Special photonic crystal patterns that favor even higher order optical modes are designed and simulated. These modes are beyond the scope of previous simplified analysis.
A 3-D finite element formulation for calculating Meissner currents in superconductors

A three-dimensional (3-D) finite element formulation for calculating Meissner currents in superconductors is presented. The authors have chosen a magnetic vector potential formulation, which also enables them to simulate ferromagnetic shielding. The equations are written so that the problem can be solved by the use of a conjugate gradient algorithm without preconditioning. Numerical results on normal-superconductor junctions and on superconducting lines are compared with analytical solutions.
Animal learning and cognition: An introduction, 3rd ed.

Description Animal Learning and Cognition: An Introduction provides an up-to-date review of the principal findings from more than a century of research into animal intelligence. This new edition has been expanded to take account of the many exciting developments that have occurred over the last ten years. The book opens with a historical survey of the methods that have been used to study animal intelligence, and follows by summarizing the contribution made by learning processes to intelligent behavior. Topics include Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning, discrimination learning, and categorization. The remainder of the book focuses on animal cognition and covers such topics as memory, navigation, social learning, language and communication, and knowledge representation. Expanded areas include extinction (to which an entire chapter is now devoted), navigation in insects, episodic memory in birds, imitation in birds and primates, and the debate about whether primates are aware of mental states in themselves and others. Issues raised throughout the book are reviewed in a concluding chapter that examines how intelligence is distributed throughout the animal kingdom. The broad spectrum of topics covered in this book ensures that it will be of interest to students of psychology, biology, zoology, and neuroscience. Since very little background knowledge is required, the book will be of equal value to anyone simply interested in either animal intelligence, or the animal origins of human intelligence. This textbook is accompanied by online instructor resources which are free of charge to departments who adopt this book as their text. They include chapter-by-chapter lecture slides, an interactive chapter-by-chapter multiple-choice question test bank, and multiple-choice questions in paper and pen format.
A study of postpartum depression and maternal risk factors in Qatar

Abstract Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the association between maternal complications and postpartum depression (PPD) among postpartum women in Qatar by using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) as well as a structured questionnaire. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of PPD of 1379 postpartum women within 6 months of delivery attending the primary healthcare centers of the State of Qatar. Results: The prevalence of PPD was 17.6% in the studied mothers. The results of the logistic regression analysis showed that the risk factors for PPD included various socio-demographic risk factors such as education, occupation, consanguinity and access to transportation. Amongst the maternal factors studied, history of unplanned pregnancy and infertility and other medical complications such as gestational diabetes, heart disease, threatened abortion and cesarean section were found to be risk factors for PPD. Amongst the postpartum women with maternal complications, items related to feeling scared and panicky and feeling sad and miserable were the most frequently reported symptoms of depression. These women were also more likely to be experiencing sleep difficulty (p = 0.029) compared to women without maternal complications. Conclusion: While socio-demographic risk factors are well studied in the PPD literature, there is much less information on the impact of maternal complications on the psychological status of postpartum women. Postpartum women, especially those with maternal complications, need close screening and have quick access to mental healthcare within integrated reproductive health services.
CHAPTER 3 CARDIAC ELECTROMECHANICS IN THE HEALTHY HEART

In this chapter, cardiac function is discussed in the context of the healthy heart as part of a system. Anatomy and physiology will be described for each scale, starting with the organ level, and continuing to tissue and cell scales. For each scale, we will have a closer look at both electrical and mechanical functions. Electrical function in the heart is intimately linked to mechanical function: muscle contraction is generated at the cellular level, and triggered by electrical activity via the flux of calcium ions. Furthermore, cell electrophysiology is modified by feedback from mechanical alterations (mechano-electric feedback or MEF). From a clinical standpoint, understanding these electromechanical interactions is becoming increasingly important because, for example, of regional wall remodeling induced by chronic pacing and the rapidly growing interest in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). As electrophysiology and mechanics in the heart are virtually inseparable, so are experiment and mathematical models of cardiac bioengineering. Through iterative interactions between experiment and simulation, insight in cardiac physiology is growing. Hence, in this chapter we will refer to examples of bioengineering experiments and simulations that helped in understanding normal cardiac function. The role of mechanics in cardiac disease can be found in Chapter 4.
Variability in surface‐subsurface hydrologic interactions and implications for nutrient retention in an arid‐land stream

subsystems and their implications for stream biogeochemistry. We injected bromide (Br � ) into a 400-m reach of Sycamore Creek, a losing stream in central Arizona, for 15 d and monitored changes in concentration in three subsystems: surface, parafluvial, and riparian zones. Additionally, we collected water samples from these subsystems for nutrient analyses. Water flowed from surface to subsurface zones as expected in this losing stream, but a significant amount of subsurface water (17% of surface discharge in the reach) returned to the surface. Within the parafluvial subsystem, median transport time (Tmed )i n two gravel bars differed substantially (from 2 to 30 h and from 6 to >300 h, respectively, for upper and lower bars), and varied significantly with depth in the lower bar (mean (±se) Tmed = 190 ± 20 h at 30 cm compared to 101 ± 18 h at 110 cm). Flow paths from the surface to parafluvial and riparian zones, and subsequently back to the surface stream, differ from patterns in mesic areas, where water moves laterally and vertically towards the surface stream. Estimates of nutrient retention for the stream reach varied four fold in response to simulated changes in lateral subsurface connections and the configuration of subsystems. Thus at this scale, accurate nutrient budgets require an understanding of surface-subsurface connections and hydrologic parameters.
Design and Simulation of a Linear Prolate Filter for a Baseband Receiver

Digital signals transmitted over a communication channel are mostly affected by noise. To reduce the detrimental effects of noise, a band-limited filter is used at the receiver, which results a phenomenon known as Inter-Symbol Interference. To avoid Inter-Symbol Interference, filters with greater bandwidth can be used. However, this causes high frequency noise to interfere with the transmitted information signal. This paper illustrates an innovative way to reduce Inter-Symbol Interference in the received baseband signal. This is achieved by making use of the processing bandwidth of a special filter designed by using Linear Prolate Functions. The result of the signal reconstruction capabilities of a prolate filter are compared with those of an ideal low pass filter in this paper.