Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An iterative learning control of robot manipulators

An iterative learning scheme comprising a unique feedforward learning controller and a linear feedback controller is presented. In the feedback loop, the fixed-gain PD controller provides a stable open neighborhood along a desired trajectory. In the feedforward path, on the other hand, a learning control strategy is exploited to predict the desired actuator torques. It is shown that the predicted actuator torque converges to the desired one as the iteration number increases. The convergence is established based on the Lyapunov stability theory. The proposed learning scheme is structurally simple and computationally efficient. Moreover, it possesses two major advantages: the ability to reject unknown deterministic disturbances and the ability to adapt itself to the unknown system parameters. >
Effect of moderately high dietary salt and lipoic acid on blood pressure in Wistar-Kyoto rats.

BACKGROUND Approximately one-half of hypertensive individuals are salt sensitive, and animal models of human hypertension also exhibit increased blood pressure when exposed to high-salt diets. Salt sensitivity is associated with insulin resistance, which results in altered glucose metabolism, increasing aldehydes. Previously, the authors have shown that a high-salt diet (8% NaCl) caused an increase in blood pressure, tissue aldehyde conjugates and cytosolic free calcium, with resulting adverse renal vascular changes, in Wistar-Kyoto rats. Treatment with lipoic acid (LA) prevented an increase in blood pressure and attenuated biochemical and histopathological changes. OBJECTIVES The objective of the present study was to investigate the effect of a moderately high-salt (MHS) diet (4% NaCl) on these same parameters, and the modulating effect of LA in Wistar-Kyoto rats. METHODS At seven weeks of age, animals were divided into three groups. The normal-salt group was given a diet containing 0.7% NaCl; the MHS group was given a diet containing 4% NaCl; and the MHS+LA group was given a diet containing 4% NaCl plus LA (500 mg/kg diet) for 10 weeks. RESULTS At the end of the study, animals in the MHS group did not show any increase in systolic blood pressure, platelet cytosolic free calcium and tissue aldehyde conjugates. Furthermore, there were no adverse effects in renal vascular morphology compared with the normal salt group. In the MHS+LA group, LA did not lower blood pressure or affect other biochemical and histopathological parameters. CONCLUSION The present study suggests that moderately high sodium intake, over a short period, may not have any adverse effect and that LA does not lower blood pressure in normotensive rats.
Inhibition of Complement and CD14 Attenuates the Escherichia coli-Induced Inflammatory Response in Porcine Whole Blood

ABSTRACT The innate immune response is a double-edged sword in systemic inflammation and sepsis. Uncontrolled or inappropriate activation can damage and be lethal to the host. Several studies have investigated inhibition of downstream mediators, including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-1β (IL-1β). Emerging evidence indicates that upstream inhibition is a better therapeutic approach for attenuating damaging immune activation. Therefore, we investigated inhibition of two central innate immune pathways, those of complement and CD14/Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4)/myeloid differentiation protein 2 (MD-2), in a porcine in vitro model of Escherichia coli-induced inflammation. Porcine whole blood anticoagulated with lepuridin, which did not interfere with the complement system, was incubated with E. coli lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or whole bacteria. Inhibitors of complement and CD14 and thus the LPS CD14/TLR4/MD-2 receptor complex were tested to investigate the effect on the inflammatory response. A broad range of inflammatory readouts were used to monitor the effect. Anti-CD14 was found to saturate the CD14 molecule on granulocytes and completely inhibited LPS-induced proinflammatory cytokines in a dose-dependent manner. Anti-CD14 significantly reduced the levels of the E. coli-induced proinflammatory cytokines TNF-α and IL-1β, but not IL-8, in a dose-dependent manner. No effect on bacterial clearance was seen. Vaccinia complement control protein and smallpox inhibitor of complement enzymes, two Orthopoxvirus-encoded complement inhibitors, completely inhibited complement activation. Furthermore, these agents almost completely inhibited the expression of wCD11R3, which is associated with CD18 as a β2 integrin, on porcine granulocytes and decreased IL-8 levels significantly in a dose-dependent manner. As expected, complement inhibition reduced bacterial clearance. We conclude that inhibition of complement and CD14 attenuates E. coli-induced inflammation and might be used as a therapeutic regimen in gram-negative sepsis along with appropriate treatment with antibiotics.
Technology Intervention for the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH)

This paper presents the initial outcomes of a key scoping study undertaken to explore the role of augmented reality and motion detecting technologies in the context of Intangible Cultural Heritage ICH for museums related environments. Initial prototypes are in the form of an interactive infrared camera based application for children to engage with an Aboriginal puppet. This scoping study is unique, as it tries to combine two extremes: the curation of historical intangible artifacts and their preservation through digital intervention. Heritage related intangible content is always restricted because of its non-physical nature and can never be fully embed in an environment like museums and related exhibitions. This paper explores alternative opportunities for knowledge transfer of ICH content that manifest with playfulness in order to elicit a deeper understanding of such intangible cultural artifacts. This study is complementary to multiple disciplines including heritage preservation, museum technologies and emerging interaction design.
Isolation and Characterization of a Ds-tagged liguleless Mutant in Rice ( Oryza sativa . L )

A liguleless mutant, which showed complete loss of lamina joint region at the junction between leaf blade and leaf sheath, was isolated from a Ds insertional mutants derived from the source cultivar, Dongjin. This mutant could not affect other developmental patterns like phyllotaxis. Southern blot analysis, using GUS as a probe, revealed that the liguleless mutant contained three Ds copies transposed in the rice genome. Among the four genomic sequences flanking the Ds, one was mapped in the intergenic region (31661640 31661759), and the other two predicted a protein kinase domain (12098980 12098667) as an original insertion site within a starter line used for massive production of Ds insertional mutant lines. Another predicted and inserted in first exon of liguleless 1 protein (OsLG1) that was mapped in coding region (LOC_Os04g56170) of chromosome 4. RT-PCR revealed that the OsLG1 gene was not expressed liguleless mutants. Structure analysis of OsLG1 protein revealed that it predicted transcription factor with a highly conserved SBP domain consisting of 79 amino acids that overlapped a nuclear localization signal (NLS). RT-PCR revealed that OsLG1 is mainly expressed in vegetative organs.
A Compensatory Packet Dropping Routine for Proportional Loss Rate Differentiation

Service differentiation is one of the key issues in the current Internet. In this paper, we focus on a recent proposal for proportional loss rate differentiation which employs a single FIFO queue, an AQM algorithm for computing the packet drop probability, and a counter-based packet dropping routine for achieving the intended proportional loss rate differentiation among classes. It is first shown that, when the target dropping probability of a class is large, the counter-based packet dropping routine may yield a significant amount of error between the target and measured drop probabilities for the class, and subsequently, fails to maintain the loss rate ratios between classes as intended. To avoid this problem, a new compensatory packet dropping routine is developed in this paper. Then, a series of simulation experiments are conducted using the ns-2 simulator to assess the performances of the two dropping routines under various congestion conditions and quality spacings between classes. The simulation results show that, unlike the counter-based dropping routine, the proposed compensatory dropping routine is effective in keeping the loss rate ratios between classes closely on target regardless of the degree of congestion and quality spacing between classes, while the two dropping routines perform similarly in terms of throughput and queueing delay in the bottleneck link. In addition, such robustness of the proposed routine is achieved without any additional control parameter or computational effort compared to the counter-based routine.
Immunomodulation by Filarial Parasites

 Abstract — Approximately 200 million people are infected with the major forms of filarial parasites causing the diseases - lymphatic filariasis, onchocerciasis, and loiasis. Even though infections by these pathogens are generally not fatal, they are associated with high rates of morbidity, and disability. Helminths are master regulators of host immune responses, developing complex mechanisms to dampen host protective Th2-type responses and favour long- term persistence. In order to chronically infect their hosts, filarial nematodes have produced a range of approaches to evade and down-modulate the host's immune system. Evasion mechanisms ensure mutual survival of both the parasite and the host. In this review we discuss recent findings on the cells that are targeted by helminths and the molecules and mechanisms that are induced during infection and also examine recent findings on helminth-derived molecules that can be used as tools to identify the underlying mechanisms of immune regulation or to determine new anti-inflammatory therapeutics.
Succinate dehydrogenase activities of fibers in the rat extensor digitorum longus, soleus, and cardiac muscles.

Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) activities and cross-sectional areas (CSAs) of different types of fibers in the superficial (EDLs) and deep (EDLd) regions of the extensor digitorum longus and soleus (SOL) muscles and the left ventricular muscle of the heart (HEART) of 10-week-old male rats were determined using quantitative histochemistry and a computer-assisted image processing system. The fibers were classified as type I, type IIA, type IIB, or type IIC according to their histochemically assessed adenosine triphosphatase activities. The mean SDH activity was higher and the mean CSA was smaller in type IIA fibers than in type IIB fibers in both the EDLs and EDLd. The mean SDH activity of type IIA fibers in the SOL was higher than that of type I fibers. Fibers in the HEART showed the highest mean SDH activity and the smallest mean CSA among all fiber types in the muscles examined. There was an inverse correlation between CSA and SDH activity for the different fiber types in different muscles. These data suggest that the SDH activity of fibers in muscle is fiber type- and size-specific, and that the highest SDH activity of fibers in the left ventricular muscle of the heart contributes to their functional properties, i.e., high fatigue resistance.
The Bcr Kinase Downregulates Ras Signaling by Phosphorylating AF-6 and Binding to Its PDZ Domain

ABSTRACT The protein kinase Bcr is a negative regulator of cell proliferation and oncogenic transformation. We identified Bcr as a ligand for the PDZ domain of the cell junction and Ras-interacting protein AF-6. The Bcr kinase phosphorylates AF-6, which subsequently allows efficient binding of Bcr to AF-6, showing that the Bcr kinase is a regulator of the PDZ domain-ligand interaction. Bcr and AF-6 colocalize in epithelial cells at the plasma membrane. In addition, Bcr, AF-6, and Ras form a trimeric complex. Bcr increases the affinity of AF-6 to Ras, and a mutant of AF-6 that lacks a specific phosphorylation site for Bcr shows a reduced binding to Ras. Wild-type Bcr, but not Bcr mutants defective in binding to AF-6, interferes with the Ras-dependent stimulation of the Raf/MEK/ERK pathway. Since AF-6 binds to Bcr via its PDZ domain and to Ras via its Ras-binding domain, we propose that AF-6 functions as a scaffold-like protein that links Bcr and Ras to cellular junctions. We suggest that this trimeric complex is involved in downregulation of Ras-mediated signaling at sites of cell-cell contact to maintain cells in a nonproliferating state.
Why Swiss-Germans dislike Germans On negative attitudes towards a culturally and socially similar group

This paper proposes to question two common assumptions and consistent empirical findings in the literature on xenophobia, namely that xenophobic attitudes can mainly be found among badly educated people of the host society and mostly concern immigrants from low social classes and from geographically and culturally far countries. These arguments will be discussed in the context of German migration to Switzerland that has increased immensely in the last few years and led to major controversies. A survey conducted in the town of Zurich has shown that Germans are considered less likable than other Western Europeans. Two ar- guments are tested: According to the first argument, boundaries between groups that are cul- turally very close are not necessarily less fragile. The sometimes evoked inferiority complex of Swiss-Germans towards Germans might lead to perceive German immigration as a cultural threat. According to the second argument it might be that well-educated people in high posi- tions feel threatened by the new arrivals who are well-educated, too. This corresponds to the classic argument that working class people are xenophobic as they fear that immigrants take their jobs. For both arguments this study finds empirical support.
Emerging drugs for head and neck cancer

Head and neck cancer is a challenging disease. The treatment is quite complex and significant toxicity is seen with the combination of chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. The present standard of care is chemoradiotherapy for most sites in the head and neck area for patients with locally advanced, unresectable disease and in patients treated for organ preservation. The recent approval of cetuximab, an EGF receptor inhibitor, for head and neck cancer in combination with radiotherapy represent an opportunity to improve the outcome for these patients, and the inclusion of this antibody within the chemoradiotherapy approaches will be studied in Phase III trials. In addition, a significant shift is occurring with the inclusion of more aggressive chemotherapy upfront, prior to chemoradiotherapy. This approach, known as sequential chemoradiotherapy, is the basis of many recently completed Phase III trials. Docetaxel, cisplatin and 5-fluorouracil appears to be the most effective induction chemotherapy regimen and is the new induction ‘standard’ that is being used by many cancer centres and intergroups going forward. It is also a new platform that will be used to add new targeted agents to induction chemotherapy.
The T9000 transputer

Some of the issues arising in the design of the T9000 transputer, which integrates a complete computer in a single VLSI chip of over two million transistors, are discussed. High performance has been achieved by extensive use of caching and a novel processor implementation. The processor uses a fat pipeline and dispatches several dependent instructions into the pipeline each cycle. The resulting processor is able to saturate a 25-MFLOP floating-point unit. The processor is supported by a communications system that supports communications at high speed and low latency. <<ETX>>
Possible Trimethoprim–Sulfamethoxazole-Induced Hemolytic Anemia: A Case Report

Objective: To report a case of hemolytic anemia in a patient who received trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (TMP-SMX) for a urinary tract infection (UTI). Summary: A 47-year-old woman recently diagnosed with uncomplicated UTI received 3 doses of TMP-SMX. She developed yellowing of the skin and eyes, lethargy, mild abdominal pain, and dry mucous membranes. Laboratory testing demonstrated significant anemia with red blood cells (RBCs) of 1.99, hemoglobin (Hgb) of 6.3 g/dL, and hematocrit (Hct) of 18.1%. TMP-SMX was immediately discontinued. The patient was given methylprednisolone 60 mg intravenously (IV) followed by oral steroids and infused with 3 units of packed RBCs over the course of a 10-day inpatient admission. On discharge, the patient continued oral steroids. Outpatient follow-up indicated Hgb of 11.0 g/dL and Hct of 32.7%, 41 days after hospital discharge. Utilizing the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale, there is a probable association between the patient’s hemolytic anemia and TMP-SMX. Conclusion: We report a case of hemolytic anemia resulting from the use of TMP-SMX. Although this is a rare adverse effect, clinicians should be aware of the signs and symptoms of hemolytic anemia, and so appropriate treatment can be administered should it occur.
Infection of Primary Cultures of Human Kupffer Cells by Dengue Virus: No Viral Progeny Synthesis, but Cytokine Production Is Evident

ABSTRACT We investigated the ability of dengue virus to invade human primary Kupffer cells and to complete its life cycle. The virus effectively penetrated Kupffer cells, but the infection did not result in any viral progeny. Dengue virus-replicating Kupffer cells underwent apoptosis and were cleared by phagocytosis. Infected Kupffer cells produced soluble mediators that could intervene in dengue virus pathogenesis.
Characterization of capacitive MEMS resonators via nonlinear open-loop frequency responses

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate robust parameter extraction from the frequency response of MEMS devices exhibiting pronounced nonlinearities. We describe a general methodology, based on parameter extraction from nonlinear large-signal frequency response, whose accuracy appears to be limited in practice only by noise and by the mathematical model of the structure under consideration. We illustrate this by two complete case studies of capacitive MEMS resonators driven to large-amplitude regimes. Theoretical analysis, simulations and experimental measurements strongly support our conclusions.
Clique-decomposition revisited

The decomposition of graphs by clique-minimal separators is a common algorithmic tool, first introduced by Tarjan. Since it allows to cut a graph into smaller pieces, it can be applied to pre-process the graphs in the computation of many optimization problems. However, the best known clique-decomposition algorithms have respective O(nm)-time and O(n 2.69)-time complexity, that is prohibitive for large graphs. Here we prove that for every graph G, the decomposition can be computed in O T (G) + min{n 2.3729 , ω 2 n}-time with T (G) and ω being respectively the time needed to compute a minimal triangulation of G and the clique-number of G. In particular, it implies that every graph can be clique-decomposed in O(n 2.3729)-time. Based on prior work from Kratsch et al., we prove in addition that computing the clique-decomposition is at least as hard as triangle detection. Therefore, the existence of any o(n 2.3729)-time clique-decomposition algorithm would be a significant breakthrough in the field of algorithmic. Finally, our main result implies that planar graphs, bounded-treewidth graphs and bounded-degree graphs can be clique-decomposed in linear or quasi-linear time.
Ziconotide, an Intrathecally Administered N‐Type Calcium Channel Antagonist for the Treatment of Chronic Pain

Ziconotide is a novel peptide that blocks the entry of calcium into neuronal N‐type voltage‐sensitive calcium channels, preventing the conduction of nerve signals. N‐type calcium channels are present in the superficial laminae of the dorsal horn of the spinal cord. In various animal models of pain, intrathecal administration of ziconotide blocked nerve transmission and nociception. The United States Food and Drug Administration recently approved ziconotide intrathecal infusion for the management of severe chronic pain in patients who require intrathecal therapy and who are intolerant of or refractory to other treatment, such as systemic analgesics, adjunctive therapies, or intrathecal morphine. The drug has a narrow therapeutic window and a lag time for the onset and offset of analgesia and adverse events. In early clinical trials, frequent and severe psychiatric and central nervous system adverse effects were associated with rapid intrathecal infusion (0.4 μg/hr) and frequent up‐titration (every 12 hrs). Therefore, patients with psychiatric symptoms are not candidates for this drug. Drug trials of external intrathecal catheters and microinfusion devices demonstrated a 3% risk of meningitis. A low initial infusion rate of 0.1 μg/hour and limiting infusion rate increases to 2–3 times/week are now recommended. Patients responsive to intrathecal ziconotide require an implanted infusion system to receive long‐term therapy.
Mental health practice and attitudes of family physicians can be changed!

OBJECTIVES An adult mental health module was developed in British Columbia to increase the use of evidence-based screening and cognitive behavioral self-management tools as well as medications that fit within busy family physician time constraints and payment systems. Aims were to enhance family physician skills, comfort, and confidence in diagnosing and treating mental health patients using the lens of depression; to improve patient experience and partnership; to increase use of action or care plans; and to increase mental health literacy and comfort of medical office assistants. METHODS The British Columbia Practice Support Program delivered the module using the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle for learning improvement. Family physicians were trained in adult mental health, and medical office assistants were trained in mental health first aid. Following initial testing, the adult mental health module was implemented across the province. RESULTS More than 1400 of the province's 3300 full-service family physicians have completed or started training. Family physicians reported high to very high success implementing self-management tools into their practices and the overall positive impact this approach had on patients. These measures were sustained or improved at 3 to 6 months after completion of the module. An Opening Minds Survey for health care professionals showed a decrease in stigmatizing attitudes of family physicians. CONCLUSIONS The adult mental health module is changing the way participants practice. Office-based primary mental health care can be improved through reimbursed training and support for physicians to implement practical, time-efficient tools that conform to payment schemes. The module provided behavior-changing tools that seem to be changing stigmatizing attitudes towards this patient population. This unexpected discovery has piqued the interest of stigma experts at the Mental Health Commission of Canada.
A real-arithmetic implementation of the constant modulus algorithm

An earlier paper [1] presented the Constant Modulus Algorithm, an adaptive filtering algorithm which can be employed to remove interference and equalize propagation anomolies that impair communications via constant envelope signals, such as FM and QPSK. The technique presented in that paper employs complex waveforms and a FIR adaptive filter with complex coefficients so that signal properties such as the instantaneous amplitude (modulus) can be measured. Even so many practical applications of such equalization or interference reduction involve real signals and adaptive filters implemented with real rather than complex arithmetic. This paper presents a version of the constant modulus algorithm (CMA) which employs real signals and real arithemtic. The algorithm is developed in an evolutionary form from the version based on complex arithmetic. A key technical result is that certain error terms can be highly simplified due to the smoothing intrinsic to a gradient search algorithm.