Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive Work Instructions for People with Disabilities in the Context of Human Robot Collaboration

The progressive development of human-robotcollaboration (HRC) during the last decade, and latest in the context of the fourth industrial revolution (Industrie 4.0), opens up a wide range of possibilities for integrating people with disabilities and elderly people in complex production processes. In order to support these user groups by compensating individual limitations, it is necessary to develop new multimodal interaction strategies as well as task allocation and orchestration concepts with special attention to ergonomics, personalization, and adaptability. Our research targets on transforming general work instructions of a HRC work process to individual and useroriented instructions and presenting them using accessible multimodal user interfaces, such that users with disabilities can participate in the process and, in cooperation with the robot, perform value-adding production processes. This publication describes a system approach to meet these requirements, illustrates a possible architecture and validates its suitability for use by presenting an implementation of a proof-of-concept prototype.
Oscillation-based Test for Measuring 1dB Gain Compression Point of Power Amplifiers

This paper describes a new method to measure the 1dB gain compression point (PldB) for a 5.8GHz power amplifier (PA). The proposed method is based on oscillation built-in self-test (OBIST) method. The circuit is designed in 180nm CMOS technology. The PA is transformed into an oscillator and growing PA input amplitude is produced without an external signal generator. This technique offers a proper growth rate of the PA input voltage amplitude with a proper operating frequency. Using this method, PldB occurs when the voltage input amplitude is 460.5mV. Finally, the new quasi OBIST method can measure the voltage input amplitude where the PldB occur with approximately 2% error.
Analysis and Design of a High Gain CMOS Low Noise Amplifier for UWB Communication in 180 nm and 90 nm CMOS Processes

In this paper, a low power high gain ultra-wideband (UWB) CMOS low Noise amplifier (LNA) is proposed. The new structure adopts a two-stage common-source (CS) amplifier. The first stage is based on an inverter-biased amplifier with resistive feedback to provide wideband input matching and low noise figure (NF). The second stage enhances power gain and achieves output matching. The LNA is simulated using both TSMC 180 nm and 90 nm CMOS processes. Simulated results in a 180 nm show that the NF is less than 2.6 dB, the power gain is 11.2-13.8 dB, and the input return loss is better than −11.7 dB in the range of 3 to 10 GHz. Simulated results in a 90 nm exhibit that the NF is less than 3.4 dB, the power gain is 10.85-11.85 dB, and the input return loss is better than −10.54 dB over 3 to 10 GHz. The LNA consumes 13.19 mW from a 1.8-V supply voltage and only 5 mW from a 1-V supply voltage in 180 nm and 90 nm technologies, respectively.
Regional Differences in Human Intestinal Drug Metabolism

The intestines are key for the absorption of nutrients and water as well as drug metabolism, and it is well known that there are clear differences in the expression profile of drug metabolism enzymes along the intestinal tract. Yet only a few studies have thoroughly investigated regional differences in human intestinal drug metabolism. In this study, we evaluated phase I and phase II metabolism in matched human ileum and colon precision-cut intestinal slices (PCIS). To this end, human PCIS were incubated for 3 hours with testosterone and 7-hydroxycoumarin (7-HC) to examine phase I and phase II metabolism, respectively. Metabolite formation was assessed by high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. Our results demonstrated that androstenedione, 6β-hydroxytestosterone, 2β-hydroxytestosterone, and 7-HC sulfate were predominantly formed in the ileum, while 15α-hydroxytestosterone and 7-HC glucuronide were mainly produced in the colon. Moreover, we also observed sex differences in phase II metabolite formation, which appeared to be higher in men compared with women. Taken together, we demonstrated that phase I metabolism predominantly occurs in ileum PCIS, while phase II metabolism mostly takes place in colon PCIS. Moreover, we revealed that human PCIS can be used to study both regional and sex differences in intestinal metabolism.
A Framework for Hierarchical Big Image Data

This framework displays a convincing getting ready framework assigned ICP (Image Cloud Processing) to effectively adjusting to the data impact in picture preparing field. While most past specialists focus on propelling the picture handling calculations to increment more prominent capability, this work centres around giving a general structure to those calculations that can be executed in parallel keeping in mind the end goal to accomplish the objective. The ICP framework contains two components, i.e. SICP (Static ICP) and DICP (Dynamic ICP). Specifically, SICP is away to handle the huge picture data pre-secured from the scattered system and DICP is proposed for dynamic data. To complete SICP, two data depictions, for example, P-Image and Big-Image are planned to organize with Map Reduce to achieve further developed setup and more noteworthy benefit. DICP is executed by means of a parallel preparing procedure working with the ordinary taking care of strategy of the appropriated structure.
Deep Quality-Value (DQV) Learning

We introduce a novel Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) algorithm called Deep Quality-Value (DQV) Learning. DQV uses temporal-difference learning to train a Value neural network and uses this network for training a second Quality-value network that learns to estimate state-action values. We first test DQV's update rules with Multilayer Perceptrons as function approximators on two classic RL problems, and then extend DQV with the use of Deep Convolutional Neural Networks, `Experience Replay' and `Target Neural Networks' for tackling four games of the Atari Arcade Learning environment. Our results show that DQV learns significantly faster and better than Deep Q-Learning and Double Deep Q-Learning, suggesting that our algorithm can potentially be a better performing synchronous temporal difference algorithm than what is currently present in DRL.
Upregulation of the alternative splicing factor NOVA2 in colorectal cancer vasculature

Background Tumor-specific isoforms generated by alternative splicing (AS) are demonstrated to contribute to tumor progression and can represent potential biomarkers. NOVA2 is an AS factor that in physiological conditions regulates endothelial cells’ (ECs) polarity and vessel lumen maturation, likely by mediating AS of apical–basal polarity regulators. However, NOVA2 expression in tumor ECs and its regulation have never been investigated. Methods To elucidate this, 40 colorectal cancer patients were enrolled and NOVA2 expression was investigated by immunohistochemistry in samples bearing both the normal mucosa and the tumor tissue. Results NOVA2 was found expressed in ECs of tumor vasculature and, importantly, it was upregulated in tumor ECs with respect to normal mucosa ECs in all cases (P<0.001). The same samples analyzed by immunohistochemistry for the expression HIF1α, a marker of hypoxia, showed a positive and significant association with NOVA2 levels (P=0.045). Of note, NOVA2 was upregulated by hypoxia also in an in vitro ECs model. Conclusion Our results provide, for the first time, evidence of NOVA2 expression and upregulation in tumor ECs and highlight hypoxia as a potential regulatory factor. These findings open a completely new perspective to study tumor vasculature and to uncover NOVA2 as a potential source of biomarkers and therapeutic targets based on AS isoforms.
Bioactive lipids and pathological retinal angiogenesis

Angiogenesis, disruption of the retinal barrier, leukocyte‐adhesion and oedema are cardinal signs of proliferative retinopathies that are associated with vision loss. Therefore, identifying factors that regulate these vascular dysfunctions is critical to target pathological angiogenesis. Given the conflicting role of bioactive lipids reported in the current literature, the goal of this review is to provide the reader a clear road map of what has been accomplished so far in the field with specific focus on the role of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs)‐derived metabolites in proliferative retinopathies. This necessarily entails a description of the different retina cells, blood retina barriers and the role of (PUFAs)‐derived metabolites in diabetic retinopathy, retinopathy of prematurity and age‐related macular degeneration as the most common types of proliferative retinopathies.
Complete Waveform Characterization of Mid-Infrared Ultrashort Pulses

Development of ultrafast mid-infrared (MIR) pulse lasers has been in rapid progress over the past decade. Since a number of molecular vibrations have resonance in the MIR region, the ultrafast MIR pulse lasers are very useful for advanced molecular spectroscopies, such as frequency comb spectroscopy for the molecular fingerprint region, pump-probe spectroscopy to trace ultrafast structural dynamics, and control of photodissociation by selective excitation of vibrational states. The development of such a light source is also attracting more attention in the high field laser physics. The cutoff extension of high harmonic generation (HHG) driven by a long wavelength few-cycle pulse has been carried out, and generation of shorter attosecond pulses is predicted. Since it is a process within the single optical cycle of the driver electric field, it is very important to have a few-, single-, or sub-cycle pulse with a precisely controlled field oscillation, namely the phase control of the laser field within at least a few tenth of the oscillation period. In such an experiment, field-revolved detection of the ultrashort MIR pulses is essential since the cutoff of high harmonic generation is sensitive to the field strength of the driver laser pulse.
Multimodal Representation of Advertisements Using Segment-level Autoencoders

Automatic analysis of advertisements (ads) poses an interesting problem for learning multimodal representations. A promising direction of research is the development of deep neural network autoencoders to obtain inter-modal and intra-modal representations. In this work, we propose a system to obtain segment-level unimodal and joint representations. These features are concatenated, and then averaged across the duration of an ad to obtain a single multimodal representation. The autoencoders are trained using segments generated by time-aligning frames between the audio and video modalities with forward and backward context. In order to assess the multimodal representations, we consider the tasks of classifying an ad as funny or exciting in a publicly available dataset of 2,720 ads. For this purpose we train the segment-level autoencoders on a larger, unlabeled dataset of 9,740 ads, agnostic of the test set. Our experiments show that: 1) the multimodal representations outperform joint and unimodal representations, 2) the different representations we learn are complementary to each other, and 3) the segment-level multimodal representations perform better than classical autoencoders and cross-modal representations -- within the context of the two classification tasks. We obtain an improvement of about 5% in classification accuracy compared to a competitive baseline.
Micro-Doppler Feature Extraction of Inverse Synthetic Aperture Imaging Laser Radar Using Singular-Spectrum Analysis

Different from microwave radar, laser radar could be more sensitive to the micro-Doppler (m-D) effect due to its wave length. This limits the application of conventional methods, such as time–frequency based approach, since the processing needs a receiver with much higher sampling frequency than microwave radar. In this paper, a micro-Doppler feature extraction algorithm is proposed for the inverse synthetic aperture imaging laser radar (ISAIL). Singular-spectrum analysis (SSA) is employed for separation and reconstruction of the micro-Doppler and rigid body signal. Clear ISAIL image is obtained by minimum entropy criteria after echo signal decomposition. After theoretical derivation, the computation efficiency and ability of the proposed method is proved by the results of simulation and real data of An-26.
Genome Wide Interaction Studies Identify Sex-Specific Risk Alleles for Nonsyndromic Orofacial Clefts

Nonsyndromic cleft lip with or without cleft palate (NSCL/P) is the most common craniofacial birth defect in humans and is notable for its apparent sexual dimorphism where approximately twice as many males are affected as females. The sources of this disparity are largely unknown, but interactions between genetic and sex effects are likely contributors. We examined gene-by-sex (G x S) interactions in a worldwide sample of 2,142 NSCL/P cases and 1,700 controls recruited from 13 countries. First, we performed genome-wide joint tests of the genetic (G) and G x S effects genome-wide using logistic regression assuming an additive genetic model and adjusting for 18 principal components of ancestry. We further interrogated loci with suggestive results from the joint test (p < 1.00 × 10−5) by examining the G x S effects from the same model. Out of the 133 loci with suggestive results (p < 1.00 × 10−5) for the joint test, we observed one genome-wide significant G x S effect in the 10q21 locus (rs72804706; p = 6.69 × 10−9; OR = 2.62 [1.89, 3.62]) and 16 suggestive G x S effects. At the intergenic 10q21 locus, the risk of NSCL/P is estimated to increase with additional copies of the minor allele for females, but the opposite effect for males. Our observation that the impact of genetic variants on NSCL/P risk differs for males and females may further our understanding of the genetic architecture of NSCL/P and the sex differences underlying clefts and other birth defects.
Crustal evolution and mantle dynamics through Earth history

Resolving the modes of mantle convection through Earth history, i.e. when plate tectonics started and what kind of mantle dynamics reigned before, is essential to the understanding of the evolution of the whole Earth system, because plate tectonics influences almost all aspects of modern geological processes. This is a challenging problem because plate tectonics continuously rejuvenates Earth's surface on a time scale of about 100 Myr, destroying evidence for its past operation. It thus becomes essential to exploit indirect evidence preserved in the buoyant continental crust, part of which has survived over billions of years. This contribution starts with an in-depth review of existing models for continental growth. Growth models proposed so far can be categorized into three types: crust-based, mantle-based and other less direct inferences, and the first two types are particularly important as their difference reflects the extent of crustal recycling, which can be related to subduction. Then, a theoretical basis for a change in the mode of mantle convection in the Precambrian is reviewed, along with a critical appraisal of some popular notions for early Earth dynamics. By combining available geological and geochemical observations with geodynamical considerations, a tentative hypothesis is presented for the evolution of mantle dynamics and its relation to surface environment; the early onset of plate tectonics and gradual mantle hydration are responsible not only for the formation of continental crust but also for its preservation as well as its emergence above sea level. Our current understanding of various material properties and elementary processes is still too premature to build a testable, quantitative model for this hypothesis, but such modelling efforts could potentially transform the nature of the data-starved early Earth research by quantifying the extent of preservation bias. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue ‘Earth dynamics and the development of plate tectonics’.
Closed Incision Negative Pressure Therapy in Oncological Breast Surgery: Comparison with Standard Care Dressings

Background: Negative pressure wound therapy was developed for treating wounds associated with unfavorable healing factors. The principles of the negative pressure wound therapy applied on clean and closed surgical incision originate the closed incision negative pressure therapy (ciNPT). We evaluated the use of ciNPT in the setting of oncological breast surgery. Methods: From January 1, 2015, to June 31, 2015, we prospectively selected 37 patients undergoing oncological breast surgery with a minimum of 4 risk factors. Seventeen patients (25 surgeries) voluntary tested ciNPT (ciNPT sample), whereas the remaining 20 (22 surgeries) chose conventional postsurgery dressing (Standard Care sample). Follow-up controls to evaluate postsurgical complications were performed on days 7, 14, 30, and 90. At 12 months, the quality of life, scar, and overall aesthetic outcomes were evaluated with specific questionnaires filled in by surgeon and patient. The Standard Care sample was investigated on risk factors associated with poor healing. Results: The ciNPT sample showed a significant prevalence of high risk factors, especially extensive undermining and bilateral surgeries, and a predominance of women under 65 years; only 1/25 (4%) surgical procedures was followed by complications. In the Standard Care sample, 10 of 22 surgeries (45%) were followed by complications. The difference in complication rate between the 2 samples was significant. The BIS (Body Image Scale) scores suggested that most patients were satisfied with their body image regardless of the type of dressing. All other questionnaire scores clearly vouched for a significant superiority of the ciNPT. Previous surgery ⩽ 30 days emerged as the surgery-related high risk factor most frequently associated with postsurgery complications. Conclusion: The results of our study support the use of ciNPT in oncological breast surgery: it showed to be a well-tolerated, adaptable, and reliable dressing capable of reducing postsurgical complications and improving scar outcomes in patients presenting with high risk factors.
Improved Monitoring of the Hyperglycemic State in Type 1 Diabetes Patients by Use of the Glycoalbumin/HbA1c Ratio.

AIM Generally, the level of glycoalbumin (GA) is approximately 3 times higher than that of HbA1c. However, in type 1 diabetic patients, we often find an even higher GA/HbA1c ratio of nearly 3.5. Therefore, this study was performed to examine the significance of a higher GA/HbA1c ratio. METHODS 17 type 1 diabetic patients were enrolled in part 1 of the study and divided into two groups, one with a higher and the other with a lower GA/HbA1c ratio. In both groups, the correlation between GA or HbA1c level and each "4-point" capillary glucose level was analyzed. 80 type 1 diabetic patients were enrolled in part 2 of the study and the relationship between mean GA/HbA1c ratio in the past year and degree of diabetic retinopathy was analyzed. RESULTS In part 1 of the study, we found positive correlations between GA and bedtime capillary glucose levels and between HbA1c and bedtime capillary glucose levels in the higher GA/HbA1c group (r = 0.86, p = 0.023; r = 0.95, p = 0.012, respectively), but not in the lower GA/HbA1c group. In part 2 of the study, a significant positive correlation between GA/HbA1c ratio and severity of retinopathy could be observed (r = 0.269, p = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS A higher GA/HbA1c ratio may reflect a postprandial hyperglycemic state and simultaneous monitoring of GA and HbA1c may improve the management of diabetic patients.
Impact of Inter-Core Crosstalk on Performance of Spectrally- Spatially Flexible Optical Networks with B2B Regeneration

One of the most promising fibers for spatial division multiplexing (SDM) is weakly-coupled multi-core fiber (MCF). Despite significant capacity increase, MCFs suffer from physical layer impairments due to inter-core crosstalk (XT), which is the amount of signal leaking from adjacent cores. In this work, we focus on the impact of worst-case XT of MCFs on network performance in a dynamic traffic scenario in translucent spectrally-spatially flexible optical networks (SS-FON) operating with MCFs and realizing spectral super-channel transmission. Signal regeneration is achieved with transceivers operating in back-to-back (B2B) configuration, assuming limited spectrum and transceiver resources. Moreover, we apply a realistic transmission reach model that accounts for XT-related and other signal impairments. We perform extensive experiments on two representative network topologies, assuming different amounts of available resources and MCF characteristics.
Analyzing the Influence of Imaging Parameters on Cardiac T1 Estimation Accuracy Using MOLLI

It has been shown that quantitative imaging has potential to be used for diagnosis and these maps may provide better diagnostic results compared to qualitative images. In particular, T1 map has been used as a biomarker for diagnosis in some cardiac diseases. Accuracy in estimation of T1 is important in this approach and, therefore, it is necessary to identify and minimize error sources in these maps. MOLLI sequence, as a well-known method for cardiac T1 mapping, has been simulated in this study in order to analyze the influence of TR, TI, flip-angle and off-resonance on T1 estimation in MOLLI. We have shown that in order to minimize the T1 estimation error in MOLLI, TR should be in the range of 1.5 to 2ms also Inversion Time (TI) should be set to TI=150ms. In order to minimize the error using flip angle, small flip angles in the range of α=200 to 30° are desired. Also we have shown that off-resonance causes error on T1 estimation even in pass-band region of SSFP profile. Therefore this source of error should be considered and off-resonance must be as low as possible when MOLLI is used for T1 estimation.
INFLUÊNCIA DE SISTEMAS DE PREPARO NA MANUTENÇÃO DA PALHADA E RESISTÊNCIA DO SOLO À PENETRAÇÃO

O preparo do solo favorece o desenvolvimento do sistema radicular e cria condições adequadas para o desenvolvimento das plantas. Todavia, o intenso uso de máquinas e implementos pode afetar a resistência do solo à penetração (RP) e a manutenção da cobertura vegetal morta na superfície do solo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a influência dos sistemas de preparo convencional e reduzido sobre a RP e a cobertura vegetal morta em um Latossolo vermelho de textura muito argilosa, em condições de baixa umidade, além de comparar três métodos na estimativa da palhada. A RP foi avaliada por meio do uso de um penetrômetro de impacto modelo IAA/Planalsucar – Stolf na profundidade de 0,0-0,6m e a cobertura vegetal morta por meio da captura e análise de imagens. Houve diferença significativa entre os tratamentos nas profundidades de 0,15-0,20 m, 0,45-0,50 m e 0,50-0,55 m do solo. Ambos os sistemas de preparo fizeram com que o solo apresentasse de baixa a muito alta RP nas profundidades avaliadas. Verificou-se que os métodos para estimar a cobertura morta do solo não diferiram significativamente entre si e que, no momento anterior ao preparo, havia mais de 91% do solo coberto com palhada. Após as operações mecanizadas, houve maior redução de palha quando foi empregado o sistema de preparo convencional.