Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Parallel RRT∗ architecture design for motion planning

A motion planning algorithm aims to calculate one obstacle-free trajectory which meets the dynamical constraints of a vehicle and leads the vehicle from the start state to the target state. RRT∗ (RRT star) is one sampling-based algorithm which is widely used in many applications because of its speed in quickly finding a trajectory. In contrast with basic RRT (Rapidly-exploring Random Trees) algorithm, RRT∗ improves trajectory optimality significantly by introducing the refinement step after setting up each tree node. This paper describes a new parallel version of the RRT∗ algorithm and its corresponding architecture on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Arrays). The refinement step is extracted and runs as a parallel process alongside a continuous tree-extending process. In order to avoid traversing all nodes in every iteration, tree nodes are stored in separate memory blocks and each block is assigned its own tree extending and refining pipelines to enhance the memory throughput. In the experimental evaluation, we take a 3-dimensional state spaces and implement the proposed architecture. The hardware implementation gives a 90 times speed improvement compared with an embedded software implementation, and a 30 times speedup compared to a desktop software implementation.
Measurement of talent in volleyball: 15-month follow-up of elite adolescent players.

AIM The purpose of this study was two-fold: first, to examine the contribution of a battery of physical and motor tests to early phases of talent detection and early development in volleyball, and second, to differentiate between and compare the motor ability of 16-year-old starter (S) and non-starter (NS) volleyball players. METHODS Fifteen male adolescent volleyball players underwent assessment of physical and motor ability 6 times during a 15-month training program; however, not all of them took part in each testing phase. The battery was composed of 8 physical and motor tests and 2 skill tests. The physical and motor tests included 2 speed tests, an agility run, 4 explosive power tests, and an endurance test. The skill tests evaluated service accuracy at rest and following effort. RESULTS All participants improved their results in all but 2 tests (endurance and skill tests) across testing phases. Comparisons between the S (n=8) and NS (n=7) revealed that only one physical explosive power test (vertical jump with approach), was found to be a good indicator for distinguishing between the 2 groups of players. CONCLUSION It was concluded that the volleyball battery of tests was not sensitive enough to distinguish between the ''good'' and ''very good'' players suggesting that physical and motor tests do not reflect open skill ability in volleyball.
Allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation for chronic myelogenous leukaemia in the era of imatinib: a retrospective multicentre study

Abstract: Objective: To analyse the results of allogeneic haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) in patients with advanced stages of Philadelphia chromosome‐positive chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML) who had previously been treated with imatinib mesylate (IM). Methods: We analysed the outcome of 61 patients with CML who had received allogeneic HCT from sibling (n = 18) or unrelated (n = 43) donors after having been treated with IM. Forty‐one patients had received IM because of accelerated or blast phase CML. Conditioning therapy contained standard doses of busulfan (n = 25) or total‐body irradiation (n = 20) in conjunction with cyclophosphamide in the majority of cases. Sixteen patients received dose‐reduced conditioning with fludarabine‐based regimens. Results: The incidence of grades II–IV and III–IV graft‐versus‐host disease was 66% and 38% respectively. The probability of overall survival (OS), disease‐free survival (DFS) and relapse at 18 months for the whole patient cohort were 37%, 33% and 24% respectively. The probability of non‐relapse mortality (NRM) at 100 d and 12 months was 30% and 46% respectively. Univariate analysis showed that fludarabine‐based conditioning therapy, age ≥40 yr and >12 months interval between diagnosis and transplantation were associated with a significantly lower OS and DFS and a higher NRM. Conclusion: These data suggest that although pretreatment with IM is not an independent negative prognostic factor, it cannot improve the dismal prognosis of CML patients at high risk for transplant‐related mortality.
Glucose and xylitol tolerance tests for ketotic and healthy dairy cows.

Intravenous administration of 500 ml of 50% glucose solution to 10 nonketotic dairy cows increased the blood glucose and insulin concentrations 7-fold immediately following administration. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations of ketotic cows were about 6- and 3-fold higher, respectively, immediately following glucose administration. Administration of 1000 ml of 25% xylitol (xylo-pentane-1,2,3,4,5-pentol) in nonketotic cows increased blood glucose and insulin concentrations 2- and 9-fold, respectively. Ketotic cows treated with xylitol exhibited blood insulin concentration 12-fold higher following administration. This insulin increase might be explained by a decrease in insulin degradation because of the diffusion of xylitol, which is not dependent on insulin in peripheral tissues. For ketotic cows given xylitol, serum concentrations of free fatty acid decreased, and triglyceride concentrations and aspartic acid aminotransferase activity increased, but values were unchanged by xylitol administration to nonketotic cows. Thus, for ketotic cows, the responses of the blood glucose and insulin concentrations to xylitol administration were better than those responses to glucose administration. Improvements in clinical signs, i.e., disappearance of urinary ketone bodies and recovery to normal feed consumption, also suggested the usefulness of xylitol administration for the treatment of ketosis.
Distortion-optimized FEC for unequal error protection in MPEG-4 video delivery

In this work, we present a distortion-based erasure code for realizing unequal error protection in video delivery services. Prior to transmission, the resulting distortion caused by packet erasure is estimated for each of the video packets. This Information Is used to protect the video packets with higher distortion values strongly, whereas video packets with very low distortion values are not worth being protected. We present a local search algorithm that delivers near-optimal parity codes which minimize the expected overall distortion at the receiver. Furthermore, we suggest the deployment of our FEC erasure code at video proxies located at the edge to access networks with high packet erasure rates (e.g. mobile networks). This helps detecting and correcting packet losses efficiently, by tailoring the error protection code characteristics to the observed packet erasure rate of the receiver. Our erasure code is a parity code and relics solely on XOR-operations for encoding and decoding; hence, it shows very high efficiency compared to other more sophisticated codes. Simulation results show that our introduced erasure code outperforms the classical Reed-Solomon erasure codes in terms of perceived video quality, while running considerably faster.
Enhancing survey‐based investment forecasts

We investigate the accuracy of capital investment predictors from a national business survey of South African manufacturing. Based on data available to correspondents at the time of survey completion, we propose variables that might inform the confidence that can be attached to their predictions. Having calibrated the survey predictors' directional accuracy, we model the probability of a correct directional prediction using logistic regression with the proposed variables. For point forecasting, we compare the accuracy of rescaled survey forecasts with time series benchmarks and some survey/time series hybrid models. In addition, using the same set of variables, we model the magnitude of survey prediction errors. Directional forecast tests showed that three out of four survey predictors have value but are biased and inefficient. For shorter horizons we found that survey forecasts, enhanced by time series data, significantly improved point forecasting accuracy. For longer horizons the survey predictors were at least as accurate as alternatives. The usefulness of the more accurate of the predictors examined is enhanced by auxiliary information, namely the probability of directional accuracy and the estimated error magnitude.
Exploring Parity Anomaly for Dual Peak Infrared Photodetection

In this paper, we show a superlattice quantum well infrared photodetector (S-QWIP) grown by metal-organic vapor phase epitaxy with two narrow photocurrent peaks in the mid infrared range due to transitions between the ground state from a quantum well and two excited states localized in the continuum. The structure composed of InGaAs/InAlAs quantum-well lattice matched to InP with a central quantum well acting as an artificial defect. The potential profile is carefully chosen to explore the parity anomaly of the continuum localized states and also to reduce the thermoexcited electrons decreasing the dark current. The photocurrent spectrum shows two peaks with transition energies of 300 and 460 meV (Δλ/λ of 0.13 and 0.12) at 12 K. The peak detectivity is 1.23×1010 Jones at 30 K and +5 V. When compared with a regular multiquantum well sample designed to generate photocurrent at the same wavelength, the S-QWIP shows an increase of 15 K on its background-limited performance temperature and a lower dark current for temperatures above 200 K.
A proposal to evaluate drought characteristics using multiple climate models for multiple timescales.

This study presents a method to investigate meteorological drought characteristics using multiple climate models for multiple timescales under two representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, during 2021–2050. The methods of delta change factor, unequal weights, standardized precipitation index, Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope are proposed and applied with the main purpose of reducing uncertainty in climate projections and detection of the projection trends in meteorological drought. Climate simulations of three regional climate models driven by four global climate models are used to estimate weights for each run on the basic of rank sum. The reliability is then assessed by comparing a weighted ensemble climate output with observations during 1989–2008. Timescales of 1, 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 months are considered to calculate the standardized precipitation index, taking the Vu Gia-Thu Bon (VG-TB) as a pilot basin. The results show efficient precipitation simulations using unequal weights. In the same timescales, the occurrence of moderately wet events is smaller than that of moderately dry events under the RCP4.5 scenario during 2021–2050. Events classified as “extremely wet”, “extremely dry”, “very wet” and “severely dry” are expected to rarely occur under the RCP8.5 scenario.
Persistence of seeds from crops of conventional and herbicide tolerant oilseed rape (Brassica napus)

A series of rotation experiments at five sites over four years has explored the environmental and agronomic implications of growing herbicide tolerant oilseed rape and sugar beet. This paper reports on the population dynamics of volunteer rape (Brassica napus). The experiments compared four winter oilseed rape (WOSR) cultivars: a conventional cultivar (Apex) and three developmental cultivars either genetically modified (GM) to be tolerant to glyphosate or glufosinate, or conventionally bred to be tolerant to herbicides of the imidazolinone group. Seed losses at harvest averaged 3575 seeds m−2 but ranged from less than 2000 up to more than 10 000 seeds m−2. There was a rapid decline in seed numbers during the first few months after harvest, resulting in a mean loss of seeds of 60%. In subsequent seasons, the seedbank declined much more slowly at four of the five sites (ca 20% per year) and the models predicted 95% seed loss after approximately 9 years. Seed decline was much faster at the fifth site. There were no clear differences between the four cultivars in either the numbers of seeds shed at harvest or in their subsequent persistence. The importance of the persistence of GM rape seeds, in the context of the coexistence of GM and non-GM crops and the role of good management practices that minimize seed persistence, are discussed.
Quantitative assessment of orthodontic mini-implant displacement: the effect of initial force application.

OBJECTIVE Primary stability and micromovement of orthodontic mini-implants depends on a number of factors and influences clinical success or failure. The purpose of this study was to assess the behavior of orthodontic mini-implants upon initial load application. METHOD AND MATERIALS Orthodontic mini-implants (n = 39) were inserted in the alveolar process of maxillary human cadaver specimens (n = 10). Increasing horizontal forces (up to 2.5 N) were applied, and triggered images were taken in 0.5-N load intervals. Additionally, peri-implant parameters based on micro-CT volume data were recorded. Data were subjected to a two-sided nonparametric Wilcoxon signed rank test, and between-group comparisons were assessed with a Mann-Whitney test (alpha = .05). RESULTS Initial load application led to displacement beyond elastic recovery of the surrounding bone after force release (P < .001). Cortical thickness and insertion depth, despite numeric differences, did not reveal any statistical differences, while displacement of mini-implants was significantly affected by contact to neighboring teeth (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Insertion technique and initial load application on orthodontic mini-implants may be regarded as two crucial factors for success, while repeated application of orthodontic force does not seem to increase screw mobility.
Zoledronic acid effectively prevents aromatase inhibitor-associated bone loss in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer receiving adjuvant letrozole: Z-FAST study 36-month follow-up results.

BACKGROUND Postmenopausal women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant aromatase inhibitors (AIs) are at risk for accelerated bone loss and subsequent fractures. The ongoing Zometa-Femara Adjuvant Synergy Trial (Z-FAST) is evaluating the efficacy and safety of zoledronic acid in preventing such bone loss. PATIENTS AND METHODS In this multicenter study, postmenopausal women with early hormone receptor-positive breast cancer receiving adjuvant letrozole were randomized to receive up-front or delayed-start zoledronic acid (ZA; 4 mg intravenously every 6 months) for 5 years. Delayed-start ZA was administered if the lumbar spine (LS) or total hip (TH) T score fell below -2.0 or a nontraumatic fracture occurred. The primary endpoint was to compare the change from baseline in LS bone mineral density (BMD) between groups at month 12; secondary endpoints, measured at other predetermined timepoints, included comparing changes in TH BMD, LS BMD, and markers of bone turnover, fracture incidence, and time to disease recurrence. Herein, we report the results of the 36-month interim analysis. RESULTS Overall, 301 patients were randomized to each group. At month 36, the absolute difference in mean LS and TH BMDs between the up-front and delayed groups was 6.7% and 5.2%, respectively (P < .0001 for both). Although this study was not designed to show antifracture efficacy, the incidence of fractures was slightly higher in the delayed group (up-front, 17 [5.7%] vs. delayed, 19 [6.3%]) but not statistically significant (P = .8638). Pyrexia (27 [9%] vs. 6 [2%]; P = .0002) and bone pain (39 [13%] vs. 20 [6.7%]; P = .01) were more common in up-front patients; cough (13 [4.3%] vs. 27 [9%]; P = .03) was more common in delayed patients. No severe renal dysfunction or confirmed cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw were reported. Disease recurrence was reported in 9 up-front (3.0%) and 16 delayed (5.3%) patients (Kaplan-Meier analysis, P = .127), with an absolute decrease of 2.3%. CONCLUSION Up-front ZA more effectively prevents AI-associated bone loss in postmenopausal women with early breast cancer than delaying therapy until substantial bone loss or fracture occurs.
Corporate governance evaluation of Chinese listed companies

Purpose In recent years, the quality and environment of global corporate governance have drawn attention from researchers and practitioners. Based on the public information of Chinese listed companies (CLCs), the Evaluation Research Group of China Academy of Corporate Governance at Nankai University developed the first corporate governance index system that includes six dimensions to evaluate the status of the governance of CLCs. Design/methodology/approach This paper reports the findings of the annual evaluation in 2017. Findings The authors found that five of the six dimensions of CLC governance index increased, except for shareholder governance index. Management-level governance and information disclosure index increased most significantly. Originality/value Through the evaluation, the authors discovered some governance problems of CLCs and proposed some corresponding suggestions to improve the effectiveness of corporate governance of these companies.
Workload dependent reliability timing analysis flow

Silicon measurements indicate a change in frequency limiting path rankings as per aging and also as a function of workload. This paper proposes a simulation flow that leads to the identification of workload specific aged critical paths. Gate-level models are a means to estimate aging of the critical paths by taking into consideration the stress experienced by corresponding standard cells for a given digital circuit workload during circuit operational lifetime. We thus estimate the workload based aging margins for a particular design using this simulation flow.
Kinetic identification of a hydrogen bonding pair in the glucoamylase-maltose transition state complex.

Molecular recognition and site-directed mutagenesis are used in combination to identify kinetically, transition state interactions between glucoamylase (GA) and the substrate maltose. Earlier studies of mutant Glu180----Gln GA had indicated a role in substrate binding for Glu180 (Sierks, M.R., Ford, C., Reilly, P.J. and Svensson, B. (1990) Protein Engng, 3, 193-198). Here, changes in activation energies calculated from measured kcat/Km values for a series of deoxygenated maltose analogues indicate hydrogen bonding between the mutant enzyme and the 3-OH group of the reducing end sugar ring. Using the same substrate analogues and determining activation energies with wild-type GA an additional hydrogen bond with the 2-OH group of maltose is attributed to an interaction with the carboxylate Glu180. This novel combination of molecular recognition and site-directed mutagenesis enables an enzyme substrate transition state contact to be identified and characterized even without access to the three dimensional structure of the enzyme. Given the distant structural relationships between glucoamylases and several starch hydrolases (Svensson,B. (1988) FEBS Lett. , 230, 72-76), such identified contacts may ultimately guide tailoring of the activity of these related enzymes.
Genomic imprinting, growth control and the allocation of nutritional resources: consequences for postnatal life.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW Genes subject to genomic imprinting are predominantly expressed from one of the two parental chromosomes, are often clustered in the genome, and their activity and repression are epigenetically regulated. The role of imprinted genes in growth control has been apparent since the discovery of imprinting in the early 1980s. RECENT FINDINGS Drawing from studies in the mouse, we propose three distinct classes of imprinted genes - those expressed, imprinted and acting predominantly within the placenta, those with no associated foetal growth effects that act postnatally to regulate metabolic processes, and those expressed in the embryo and placenta that programme the development of organs participating in metabolic processes. Members of this latter class may interact in functional networks regulating the interaction between the mother and the foetus, affecting generalized foetal well-being, growth and organ development; they may also coordinately regulate the development of particular organ systems. SUMMARY The mono-allelic behaviour and sensitivity to changes in regional epigenetic states renders imprinted genes adaptable and vulnerable; in all cases, their perturbed dosage can compromise prenatal and/or postnatal control of nutritional resources. This finding has implications for understanding the relationships between prenatal events and diseases later in life.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Generated Without Viral Integration

Pluripotent stem cells have been generated from mouse and human somatic cells by viral expression of the transcription factors Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. A major limitation of this technology is the use of potentially harmful genome-integrating viruses. We generated mouse induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from fibroblasts and liver cells by using nonintegrating adenoviruses transiently expressing Oct4, Sox2, Klf4, and c-Myc. These adenoviral iPS (adeno-iPS) cells show DNA demethylation characteristic of reprogrammed cells, express endogenous pluripotency genes, form teratomas, and contribute to multiple tissues, including the germ line, in chimeric mice. Our results provide strong evidence that insertional mutagenesis is not required for in vitro reprogramming. Adenoviral reprogramming may provide an improved method for generating and studying patient-specific stem cells and for comparing embryonic stem cells and iPS cells.
Transient expression of 3,5,3′‐triiodothyronine nuclear receptors in rat oligodendrocytes: In vivo and in vitro immunocytochemical studies

It is generally accepted that the action of thyroid hormones is mediated through specific nuclear receptors. Recent studies have demonstrated the homology of the thyroid receptor with the cellular product of the oncogen v‐erbA. So far, two genes have been identified and classified as α and β subtypes. In this study, the expression of nuclear triiodothyronine (T3) receptors (NT3RS) was examined in secondary cultures containing 85–90% oligodendrocytes (OL) prepared from newborn rat brain primary cultures enriched in OL. These cultures, which are able to produce myelin membranes, were examined by double immunolabelling with a monoclonal antibody (2B3) raised against purified rat liver NT3Rs and with antibodies against two maturation markers of OL: an early marker, galactocerebroside (GC), and myelin basic protein (MBP), which is expressed later than GC. 2B3 recognized three nuclear proteins with the same molecular weights as β, α1, and α2 sybtypes with different capacities for binding T3. In 5‐day ‐old OL secondary cultures (25 days, total time in culture), 2B3‐NT3R immunoreactivity was located in 77% of morphologically immature OL (GC)+ cells, whereas only 44% of morphologically mature OL were immunoreactive. Only 35% of the MBP+ cells co‐expressed NT3Rs. In the corpus callosum of devloping rat brain, at all ages studied from 7–60 days postnatal, the total absence of NT3Rs in dark OL (morphologically mature), confirmed by ultrastructural immunocytochemistry, indicates an even more dramatic decrease during maturation. Furthermore, the percentage of medium OL (less mature) stained by 2B3 is reduced by approximately half in 60‐ compared to 20‐day‐old rat brain. It is of interest to note that the in vitro observation with maturation markers mirrors the in vivo decrease of NT3R expression during development. It is intersting that NT3Rs are absent in vivo before the critical period of active myelination. These data indicate the presence of a nuclear T3 binding protein in the nuclei of OL at the time of myelination both in vitro and in vivo. The transient expression of these NT3Rs during active myelination argues in favour of a direct effect of thyroid hormones on OL. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.