Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Super under-actuated multi-fingered mechanical hand with modular self-adaptive gear-rack mechanism

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present recent work designing a mechanical robotic hand for self‐adaptive grasping, human‐like appearance, which can be used in a humanoid robot. Conventional robotic devices are relatively complex, large, cumbersome and difficult to be installed in a humanoid robot arm. Under‐actuated robot hands use less motors to drive more rotating joints, thus to simplify the mechanical structure, decrease the volume and weight and finally lower the difficulty of control and the cost.Design/methodology/approach – A novel under‐actuated finger mechanism is designed, which is based on a gear‐rack mechanism, spring constraint and an active sleeve middle phalanx. The principle analyses of its self‐adaptive grasp and end power grasping are given. A new multi‐fingered hand named as TH‐3R Hand is designed based on the finger.Findings – The design finger mechanism can be used in a robotic hand to make the hand obtain more degrees of freedom (DOF) with fewer actuators, and good graspi.
Bone Mineral and Body Composition Measurements: Cross‐Calibration of Pencil‐Beam and Fan‐Beam Dual‐Energy X‐Ray Absorptiometers

Pencil‐beam dual‐energy X‐ray absorptiometers (DXA) are being replaced with instruments that rely solely on fan‐beam technology. However, information has been lacking regarding the translation of bone mineral and body composition data between the two devices. We have compared total body scans using pencil‐beam (Hologic QDR‐2000W) and fan‐beam (Hologic QDR‐4500A) instruments for 33 children (ages 3–18 years) and 14 adults. Bone mineral content (BMC), bone mineral density (BMD), fat, lean, and body fatness (%fat) values were highly correlated (r2 = 0.984–0.998) between the two DXA instruments. The mean differences between the paired measurements were: ΔBMC = 7.5 ± 73.6 g, ΔBMD = 0.0074 ± 0.0252 g/cm2, Δlean = 1.05 ± 1.8 kg, Δfat = −0.77 ± 1.7 kg, and Δ%fat = −0.94% ± 2.5%. The BMC and BMD values were not statistically different, whereas the differences for the body composition values were significant (p < 0.02–0.005). Regression equations are provided for conversion of bone and body composition data between pencil‐beam and fan‐beam values for the whole body. To test the performance of these equations for a second group (23 subjects), predicted values were compared with the measured data obtained using the fan‐beam instrument. The mean differences were −1.0% to 1.4%, except for body fat mass, where the difference was 6.4%. For cross‐sectional studies, the two DXA technologies can be considered equivalent after using the translational equations provided. For longitudinal studies in which small changes in body composition for the individual are to be detected, we recommend that the same DXA instrument be used whenever possible. For example, transition from a pencil‐beam to a fan‐beam instrument could, in extreme cases, result in differences as large as 19% for the estimate of body fat mass.
Cancer therapy

In recent years a growing recognition that molecularly-targeted therapies face formidable obstacles has revived interest in more generic tumor cell phenotypes that could be exploited for therapy. Two recent reports demonstrate that cancer cell survival is critically dependent on the activity of MTH1, a nucleotide pyrophosphatase that converts the oxidized nucleotides 8-oxo-dGTP and 2-OH-dATP to the corresponding monophosphates, thus preventing their incorporation into genomic DNA. Tumor cells frequently overexpress MTH1, probably because malignant transformation creates oxidative stress that renders the nucleotide pool highly vulnerable to oxidation. As a result, MTH1 inhibition in cancer cells results in accumulation and incorporation of 8-oxo-dGTP and 2-OH-dATP into DNA, leading to DNA damage and cell death. This toxic effect is highly cancer cell-specific, as MTH1 is generally dispensable for the survival of normal, untransformed cells. Importantly, MTH1 proves to be a “druggable” enzyme that can be inhibited both by an existing protein kinase inhibitor drug, crizotinib, and by novel compounds identified through screening. Inhibition of MTH1 leading to toxic accumulation of oxidized nucleotides specifically in tumor cells therefore represents an example of a “non-personalised” approach to cancer therapy.
Fasting insulin and risk of cerebral infarction in a Japanese general population: The Jichi Medical School Cohort Study

Objective: We investigated the relation between fasting insulin (FI) and risk of cerebral infarction in a Japanese general population. Methods: The subjects were 2,610 men and women without past history of stroke or myocardial infarction and under treatment for diabetes, examined between 1992 and 1995 as part of the Jichi Medical School Cohort Study. The FI level was measured once at the baseline. Subjects were divided into quintiles by FI levels, and Cox’s proportional hazard model was used to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for cerebral infarction. Results: During an average of 11.1 years of follow-up, 87 participants developed cerebral infarction. Crude incidence rates of FI quintiles 1-5 were 4.69, 2.35, 1.85, 2.77 and 3.30 per 1,000 person-years, respectively. The multivariate-adjusted HRs for cerebral infarction were 2.33 (95% CI, 1.10 – 4.96) in quintile 1 (Q1), 1.25 (95% CI, 0.55 – 2.84) in Q2, 1.68 (95% CI, 0.76 – 3.70) in Q4 and 2.06 (95% CI, 0.94 – 4.47) in Q5, using Q3 as the reference. Conclusions: The lowest FI level was associated with increased risk of cerebral infarction and the association between FI and risk of cerebral infarction appeared to be a U-shaped relationship.
Biased Signaling Pathways in β2-Adrenergic Receptor Characterized by 19F-NMR

Choosing a Path The β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) is a G protein–coupled receptor that recognizes diverse ligands to trigger signaling in the cell. Besides binding G proteins, activated β2AR can be phosphorylated and bind arrestin, which redirects signaling to other pathways. Some β2AR ligands are “biased” in that they differentially activate G protein or arrestin signaling. Liu et al. (p. 1106, published online 19 January; see the Perspective by Sprang and Chief Elk) used 19F-NMR spectroscopy to examine conformational changes associated with a range of ligands and discovered that biased ligands caused differential shifts in equilibrium between two conformational states—the G protein binding state and the arrestin binding state—and thus provide a basis for rational design of pharmacological ligands. Selective effects of different ligands provide insights into the structural plasticity of receptor signaling. Extracellular ligand binding to G protein–coupled receptors (GPCRs) modulates G protein and β-arrestin signaling by changing the conformational states of the cytoplasmic region of the receptor. Using site-specific 19F-NMR (fluorine-19 nuclear magnetic resonance) labels in the β2-adrenergic receptor (β2AR) in complexes with various ligands, we observed that the cytoplasmic ends of helices VI and VII adopt two major conformational states. Changes in the NMR signals reveal that agonist binding primarily shifts the equilibrium toward the G protein–specific active state of helix VI. In contrast, β-arrestin–biased ligands predominantly impact the conformational states of helix VII. The selective effects of different ligands on the conformational equilibria involving helices VI and VII provide insights into the long-range structural plasticity of β2AR in partial and biased agonist signaling.
GaN HEMT Lifetesting – Characterizing Diverse Mechanisms

We describe a conceptually simple technique for estimating the contributions of individual degradation mechanisms to the wearout of RF GaN HEMT. This is important because most “physics of failure” studies on such devices report several distinct mechanisms that operate simultaneously. As a result, the overall degradation rate for a given GaN HEMT technology does not have a well-defined thermal activation energy (i.e. the effective Ea varies with time), so it is not possible to extrapolate MTTF’s from elevated-temperature lifetests to application temperatures. Rather, it is necessary to quantify each mechanism separately. INTRODUCTION Because GaN HEMT is a relatively new technology, there is still a variety of distinct degradation mechanisms present in devices from most laboratories. Therefore, to qualify these devices, it is not sufficient to simply lifetest them till they fail – one must measure all the competing mechanisms, and determine their net overall effect at the end of the mission life. This contrasts markedly with the presentday situation for GaAs-based technologies, where the devices from a given laboratory usually wear out by only one well-characterized mechanism. In this paper, we illustrate why simple lifetesting is not sufficient, and briefly outline a technique (based on standard lifetest methods) that allows one to develop a picture of the various mechanisms, and their contributions at any time and temperature. THE PROBLEMS One problem is illustrated in Fig. 1: if one does an RF lifetest, one mechanism might dominate the observed changFig. 1. Hypothetical RF lifetest, illustrating possible effect when two mechanisms with different Ea’s are operating. This makes extrapolation to failure at a different temperature very difficult. In this example, one mechanism has been delayed, as sometimes occurs, to emphasize the effect. es initially, but another (with a different Ea) might take over later. The net δ Pout has contributions from both, so it is very difficult to extrapolate to different temperatures and times. If one does a DC lifetest instead, this problem may still be present, and there is the additional problem of relating the DC stress to the stress that is present during RF operation. Finally, lifetests can completely hide some mechanisms; this is illustrated for a hypothetical DC lifetest in Fig. 2. In the T e m p e ra tu re ( °C )
Competitive advantages created by market strategies and the economic cycle in commercial real estate investment

of master's thesis Author Valtteri Bragge Title of thesis Competitive Advantages Created by Market Strategies and the Economic Cycle in Commercial Real Estate Investment Degree programme Real Estate Economics Major/minor Real Estate Investment and Finance Code of professorship Maa-20 Thesis supervisor Assistant professor Heidi Falkenbach Thesis advisor(s) Assistant professor Heidi Falkenbach Date 6.2. 2015 Number of pages 86 Language English
Force distribution on implants supporting overdentures: the effect of distal bar extensions. A 3-D in vivo study.

Force distribution on mandibular implants supporting overdentures was registered in vivo by means of piezo-electric transducers that allow for simultaneous force measurements in 3 dimensions. The anchorage device for connecting the overdenture to the implants was a U-shaped bar to which distal extensions were soldered bilaterally. Force patterns were analyzed under different test conditions such as maximum force when biting in centric occlusion, maximum biting with the unilateral use of a bite plate, parafunction and chewing bread. Maximum force measured in centric occlusion and on the ipsilateral implant with the use of bite plate was increased in the vertical dimension, compared to transverse dimensions. On the contralateral implant, equally low values were found, in all 3 dimensions. Transverse force components reached 5 to 35% of the vertical magnitudes. With the use of the bite plate on the ipsilateral implant, force magnitudes in the vertical direction and in the backward-forward direction were significantly higher (P < 0.01, P < 0.00) compared to measurements in centric occlusion. Chewing and grinding resulted in lower vertical forces compared to maximum biting, while transverse forces in the backward forward direction reached force magnitudes that resembled the vertical component (50 to 100%). The prevalent (> 95%) or exclusive force direction in the vertical dimension, registered on both implants was downward. However, with the unilateral use of the bite plate, upward directions were found on the contralateral implant as an effect of distal bar extensions. This was in contrast to previous results where upward force directions were not found. In transverse dimensions, the specific influence of bar extensions was recognised in backward directions on the contralateral implant. In comparison with previous results, it was concluded that, in vivo, the effect of distal bar extensions was of much lesser influence regarding force magnitudes and force directions than was expected.
FEM modeling of skin and proximity effects for coreless transformers

This paper addresses the evaluation of the high frequency effects for coreless transformers using PCB coils. Especially it is crucial to calculate accurately the resistances of the coils as they are responsible for the Joule losses and therefore have a great influence on the heat generation and the efficiency. First, a numerical model is implemented with a FEM software. The method used to compute the resistance is presented. Measurements are then realized on PCB coils and the results are compared to those of the model.
Deep Neural Network Bottleneck Features for Acoustic Event Recognition

Bottleneck features have been shown to be effective in improving the accuracy of speaker recognition, language identification and automatic speech recognition. However, few works have focused on bottleneck features for acoustic event recognition. This paper proposes a novel acoustic event recognition framework using bottleneck features derived from a Deep Neural Network (DNN). In addition to conventional features (MFCC, Mel-spectrum, etc.), this paper employs rhythm, timbre, and spectrum-statistics features for effectively extracting acoustic characteristics from audio signals. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on a database of real life recordings via experiments, and its robust performance is verified by comparing to conventional methods.
Chain elongation of aromatic amino acids: the role of 2-benzylmalic acid in the biosynthesis of a C6C4 amino acid and a C6C3 mustard oil glucoside.

A chemical synthesis of specifically 14C-labelled 2-benzylmalic acid, hitherto unknown, was developed. 4-Phenylacetoacetate obtained by condensation of phenylacetyl chloride-1-14C with ethyl acetoacetate yielded 2-benzylmalic acid-2-14C after cyanohydrin reaction and hydrolysis.2-Benzylmalic acid-2-14C, administered to shoots of Nasturtium officinale and Barbarea vulgaris, was shown to be an efficient precursor of the aglucone moiety of the mustard oil glucoside gluconasturtiin. The incorporation of radioactivity agreed well with the values reported for incorporation of 3-benzylmalic acid, but was considerably higher than that obtained after application of L-phenylalanine-U-14C. A conversion of 2-benzylmalic acid into 3-benzylmalic acid and 2-amino-4-phenylbutyric acid could also be demonstrated. These findings provide the final evidence for a chain-lengthening mechanism leading to homologous amino acids as proposed by Underbill and Wetter in 1966.
La notion de belt dans la géographie scolaire française des États-Unis

Le terme de belt apparait en 1911 dans la geographie scolaire francaise des Etats-Unis. Si les grands belts agricoles ont disparu sur le terrain, la notion de belt s’est maintenue dans l’enseignement secondaire et fait partie des incontournables de la geographie scolaire des Etats-Unis. En retracant l’histoire des belts dans la geographie scolaire francaise, nous montrerons que leur persistance tout au long d’un grand xxe siecle est liee a l’aspect generalisateur de cette discipline qui utilise des modeles et au fait que peu de geographes firent office de passeurs entre geographie universitaire des Etats-Unis et geographie scolaire.
Research of Spatial Domain Image Digital Watermarking Payload

Watermarking payload is a topic in which the watermarking researchers have a great interest at present. Based on the constraint of “perceptual invisibility,” this paper makes a study of the maximum watermarking payload of spatial domain image, which is related to not only embedding intensity, but also to factors such as the size of image, image roughness and visual sensitivity, and so forth. The correlation among the maximum payload and the embedding intensity and size of an image is theoretically deduced through the objective estimation indicator of the peak signal to the noise rate (PSNR) while the relationshipmodel among watermarking payload and image roughness and visual sensitivity is deduced through effective experiments designed on the basis of subjective estimation indicators. Finally, taking all these relationship models into account, this paper proposes a watermarking payload estimation method and verifies its effectiveness through experiments.
Audiologic Assessment and Management for Infants with Hearing Loss and Other Disabilities : Science , Clinical Practice and Creativity

Audiologists play a crucial role in early detection, diagnosis and intervention in infants and children with hearing deficits. A primary goal of their work is to maximize the use of the child’s residual auditory capacity through the fitting of amplification in order to facilitate the development of spoken language. This, in turn, can have a profound effect on the development of various aspects of children’s knowledge and abilities to interact with others in a meaningful way. To accomplish this goal, audiologists have the responsibility to use current technologies and to apply best practice throughout the diagnostic and amplification fitting process. The need to provide a comprehensive and valid assessment of infants who have hearing loss is critical. In developing clinical assessment protocols, it is important to account for the fact that many infants and young children who are found to have hearing loss will have other coexisting conditions. For example, roughly one in every eight babies is born prematurely. These infants are at high risk of having hearing loss as well as other disabilities. Additional factors, such as the child’s health, cognitive status and functional needs will influence the approach taken in both audiologic assessment and intervention. Consequently, professionals have the responsibility to determine the type, degree and configuration of hearing loss of these infants in an accurate way, so that appropriate counseling with the parents, planning, fitting of hearing instruments, and communication development programming, can proceed in a timely manner. The following case study is presented to
RelayPursuit of aManeuveringTargetUsingDynamic VoronoiDiagrams ⋆

This paper addresses the problem of the pursuit of a maneuvering target by a group of pursuers distributed in the plane. This pursuit problem is solved by associating it with a Voronoi-like partitioning problem that characterizes the set of initial positions from which the target can be intercepted by a given pursuer faster than any other pursuer from the same group. In the formulation of this partitioning problem, the target does not necessarily travel along prescribed trajectories, as it is typically assumed in the literature, but, instead, it can apply an “evading” strategy in an effort to delay or, if possible, escape capture. We characterize an approximate solution to this problem by associating it with a standard Voronoi partitioning problem. Subsequently, we propose a relay pursuit strategy, that is, a special group pursuit scheme such that, at each instant of time, only one pursuer is assigned the task of capturing the maneuvering target. During the course of the relay pursuit, the pursuertarget assignment changes dynamically with time based on the (time varying) proximity relations between the pursuers and the target. This proximity information is encoded in the solution of the Voronoi-like partitioning problem. Simulation results are presented to highlight the theoretical developments.
Le recours à l’Aide complémentaire santé: les enseignements d’une expérimentation sociale à Lille

Le dispositif de l’Aide complementaire sante (ACS) a ete mis en place au 1er janvier 2005 afin d’inciter les menages dont le niveau de vie se situe juste au dessus du plafond CMU-C a acquerir une couverture complementaire sante (CS). Meme si le nombre de beneficiaires a lentement progresse depuis son introduction, le recours a l’ACS reste faible. Deux hypotheses peuvent etre formulees pour expliquer cet etat de fait : (1) Le defaut d’information sur l’existence du dispositif, son fonctionnement et sur les demarches a entreprendre pour en beneficier. (2) Le montant de l’aide est insuffisant, une CS resterait trop chere meme apres deduction de l’aide. Cet article cherche a tester la validite de ces deux hypotheses dans le cadre d’une experimentation controlee au niveau d’une Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie (CPAM) (a Lille). Trois groupes d’assures ont ete aleatoirement constitues ; le premier groupe (groupe temoin) s’est vu proposer le montant d’ACS en vigueur, le deuxieme groupe (groupe traite 1) a recu une proposition d’aide majoree et le troisieme groupe (groupe traite 2) a recu en plus d’une proposition d’aide majoree, une invitation a une reunion d’information sur le dispositif. L’analyse des taux de dossiers de demande retournes par groupe ainsi que le nombre d’ACS accordees rend compte des conclusions suivantes :(1) La majoration du «cheque sante» a un effet faible mais significatif sur le recours a l’ACS. (2) De maniere inattendue, l’invitation a la reunion d’information annule l’effet de la majoration du cheque. (3) Assister a la reunion augmente cependant de maniere significative la probabilite de retourner un dossier de demande. Cette etude confirme ainsi que l’ACS est un dispositif complique qui touche difficilement sa cible. Par ailleurs, les beneficiaires d’une CS ne repondent pas de maniere significativement differente aux non beneficiaires ce qui laisse a penser que la question centrale du non recours a l’ACS n’est pas celle du cout de la CS mais plus certainement celle de l’acces a l’information et celle du cout et de la difficulte des demarches, l’incertitude pesant sur l’eligibilite etant un facteur aggravant.
Infections and Coinfections of Questing Ixodes ricinus Ticks by Emerging Zoonotic Pathogens in Western Switzerland

ABSTRACT In Europe, Ixodes ricinus is the vector of many pathogens of medical and veterinary relevance, among them Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and tick-borne encephalitis virus, which have been the subject of numerous investigations. Less is known about the occurrence of emerging tick-borne pathogens like Rickettsia spp. , Babesia spp. , “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis,” and Anaplasma phagocytophilum in questing ticks. In this study, questing nymph and adult I. ricinus ticks were collected at 11 sites located in Western Switzerland. A total of 1,476 ticks were analyzed individually for the simultaneous presence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, Rickettsia spp. , Babesia spp. , “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis,” and A. phagocytophilum. B. burgdorferi sensu lato, Rickettsia spp. , and “Candidatus Neoehrlichia mikurensis” were detected in ticks at all sites with global prevalences of 22.5%, 10.2%, and 6.4%, respectively. Babesia- and A. phagocytophilum-infected ticks showed a more restricted geographic distribution, and their prevalences were lower (1.9% and 1.5%, respectively). Species rarely reported in Switzerland, like Borrelia spielmanii, Borrelia lusitaniae, and Rickettsia monacensis, were identified. Infections with more than one pathogenic species, involving mostly Borrelia spp. and Rickettsia helvetica, were detected in 19.6% of infected ticks. Globally, 34.2% of ticks were infected with at least one pathogen. The diversity of tick-borne pathogens detected in I. ricinus in this study and the frequency of coinfections underline the need to take them seriously into consideration when evaluating the risks of infection following a tick bite.