Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Model-Free and Uncalibrated Eye-in-Hand Visual Servoing Approach for Concentric-Tube Robots

This article proposes a model-free and uncalibrated eye-in-hand visual servoing (EiH-VS) approach for controlling concentric-tube robots (CTRs) in minimally invasive surgery (MIS). Traditionally, a closed-loop EiH-VS controller requires an accurate robot kinematic model and hand–eye calibration. However, it is difficult to model CTR accurately when considering torsion, shear, friction, interactive force, and nonlinear constitutive behavior. In this article, we map image deviations to robot actuation variables with numerically calculated image Jacobian. The estimation of dynamic image Jacobian is based on a modified adaptive square-root unscented Kalman filter (MASR-UKF). A customized measurement matrix is constructed to describe the transformation between state and observation vectors. Moreover, an adaptive gain controller is designed to accelerate convergence. As a result, no prior knowledge of the CTR kinematic model and hand–eye calibration is needed in visual servoing tasks. Simulations and experiments have been conducted. The results validated the efficacy and efficiency of the proposed methods.
Intelligent System Using Deep Learning for Answering Learner Questions in a MOOC

Despite the great success of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), the success rate of learners remains very low. Therefore, a lot of research has been done to understand and solve this abandonment problem. This work is part of the same effort which aims to improve learning in MOOCs. We offer an intelligent system capable of assisting the learner by providing answers to all his questions on the subjects covered in the MOOC. The architecture of our system is based on new advances in artificial intelligence, in particular the applications of deep learning in the field of natural language processing (NLP). The results obtained are quite interesting and demonstrate the relevance of our solution.
Transplantation of Organs from Hepatitis C Virus-Positive Donors under Direct-Acting Antiviral Regimens

There is a discrepancy between the patients requiring organ transplants and the donors available to meet that demand. Many patients die every year while on the waiting list, and there is a need to bridge this gap. For many years, medical practitioners have been apprehensive of using donor organs from donors who have tested positive for the Hepatitis C virus (HCV), and with good reason. HCV has been proven to be among the leading causes of liver diseases requiring liver transplants. Over the years, studies have been carried out to find a treatment for Hepatitis C. The advent of direct-acting antivirals revolutionized the medical world. These medication regimens have been proven to treat Hepatitis C in transplant patients effectively. This systematic review will examine how DAA treatments affect transplants of different organs from HCV-positive donors to HCV-negative recipients.
Multi-level Crowding: Evidence from Global and Local Misreports

Crowding refers to the inability to recognize objects in clutter, setting a fundamental limit on object recognition. Here, we investigated the processing level at which crowding occurs by exploring the type of crowding errors (global, local, or both). Twenty-seven observers estimated the orientation of a target when presented alone or surrounded by flankers (local shapes). Flankers were aligned to create an illusory rectangle (enhanced global configuration) or misaligned (reduced global configuration). We analyzed the error distributions by fitting probabilistic mixture models. Results showed that often participants misreported the orientation of a flanker instead of that of the target. Interestingly, in some trials the orientation of the global configuration was misreported. These results suggest that crowding occurs simultaneously across multiple levels of visual processing and crucially depends on the spatial configuration of the stimulus. Thus, crowding might be characterized as a bottleneck of visual object identification at different levels of representation.
Analytical Study of Electron Mobility in Hemts Algan/Gan

The hetero junctions GaN based offer an excellent potential for power applications at high frequency. This is due to the important energy of the bandgap and high saturation velocity of electrons. The high mobility transistors (HEMT - High Electron Mobility Transistor) are based on the heterojunction AlGaN/GaN. Our work is the subject of an analytical study of the carrier mobility HEMTs AlGaN/GaN calculating Ionized impurities scattering, Residual impurities scattering, Interface roughness scattering, Alloy disorder scattering, dislocations scattering, Phonons and Dipoles taking into account the impact of technological parameters (doping, aluminium content) and geometric (thickness barrier, interface roughness). The results allowed us to take account of the variation of carrier density in the wells of 2D electronic gas.
EMULATION STUDY ON ACTIVE DISTURBANCE REJECTION CONTROLLER IN MAIN STEAM TEMPERATURE COTROL SYSTEM OF THERMAL POWER PLANT

Directing against the features of large delay,great inertia,and uncertainty of dynamic behavior along with the variation of operating condtions in main steam control system of thermal power plant,an active disturbance rejection controller(ADRC)has been designed,and a parameter setting scheme for the said controller being given.On the power station STAR-90 emulation platform,tests of load up,plus 10% disturbance,and rapid run back of the steam temperature control system have been carried out for two control systems,i.e. ADRC and PID,respectively.The results show that the control effectiveness of ADRC,especially the ability of disturbance rejection,is remarkably superior to that of the PID controller.
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP, POLITICAL SKILL, ORGANIZATIONAL CULTURE, AND EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE: A CASE FROM TOURISM COMPANY IN INDONESIA

Tourism industry has occupied a strategic position in the country's economic growth. The factors that trigger the high performance of companies engaged in this industry are very crucial. The purpose of this study is to test the correlation of transformational leadership (TL), political skill (PS), organizational culture (OC), and employee performance (EP), and to investigate the role of OC as a mediation variable. The samples consisted of 110 respondents from Tourism Company in Indonesia. The sample was determined by Slovin formula. The data were collected through questionnaire instruments. The current study employed quantitative method. To test the hypotheses, PLS (Partial Least Square) was applied in analyzing the data. This study found that TL and OC, PS and OC and EP were positive and significance. The mediation test also justified that OC could mediate TL on EP and PS on EP. However, it is also indicated that TL did not affect EP. This study has the important implications for managers such as encouraging high EP in the tourism sector by strengthening OC (such as adaptive, collaborative, flexible, and team oriented), by enhancing the PS (such as understanding others, having high social skill, and increasing an ability to influence others). These findings confirmed and contrasted to the previous studies conducted.
Perovskite Solar Cells with Carbon‐Based Electrodes – Quantification of Losses and Strategies to Overcome Them

Carbon‐based electrodes represent a promising approach to improve stability and up‐scalability of perovskite photovoltaics. The temperature at which these contacts are processed defines the absorber grain size of the perovskite solar cell: in cells with low‐temperature carbon‐based electrodes (L‐CPSCs), layer‐by‐layer deposition is possible, allowing perovskite crystals to be large (>100 nm), while in cells with high‐temperature carbon‐based contacts (H‐CPSCs), crystals are constrained to 10–20 nm in size. To enhance the power conversion efficiency of these devices, the main loss mechanisms are identified for both systems. Measurements of charge carrier lifetime, quasi‐Fermi level splitting (QFLS) and light‐intensity‐dependent behavior, supported by numerical simulations, clearly demonstrate that H‐CPSCs strongly suffer from non‐radiative losses in the perovskite absorber, primarily due to numerous grain boundaries. In contrast, large crystals of L‐CPSCs provide a long carrier lifetime (1.8 µs) and exceptionally high QFLS of 1.21 eV for an absorber bandgap of 1.6 eV. These favorable characteristics explain the remarkable open‐circuit voltage of over 1.1 V in hole‐selective layer‐free L‐CPSCs. However, the low photon absorption and poor charge transport in these cells limit their potential. Finally, effective strategies are provided to reduce non‐radiative losses in H‐CPSCs, transport losses in L‐CPSCs, and to improve photon management in both cell types.
A Novel Mean-Shift Algorithm for Data Clustering

We propose a novel Mean-Shift method for data clustering, called Robust Mean-Shift (RMS). A new update equation for point iterates is proposed, mixing the ones of the standard Mean-Shift (MS) and the Blurring Mean-Shift (BMS). Despite its simplicity, the proposed method has not been studied so far. RMS can be set up in both a kernel-based and a nearest-neighbor (NN)-based fashion. Since the update rule of RMS is closer to BMS, the convergence of point iterates is conjectured based on the Chen’s BMS convergence theorem. Experimental results on synthetic and real datasets show that RMS in several cases outperforms MS and BMS in the clustering task. In addition, RMS exhibits larger attraction basins than MS and BMS for identical parametrization; consequently, its kernel variant requires a lower aperture of the kernel function, and its NN variant a lower number of nearest neighbors compared to MS or BMS, to achieve optimal clustering results. In addition, the NN version of RMS does not need to specify a convergence threshold to stop the iterations, contrarily to the NN-BMS algorithm.
Energy Saving with On-board Supercapacitors in MRT Purple Line, Bangkok

This paper presents an on-board energy storage for reducing energy distribution from the substations and reducing energy loss in the conductor transmission lines of the mass rapid transit system by using supercapacitors as energy storage devices. The power distribution and the train movement of the MRT purple line in Bangkok, Thailand, which has 16 passenger stations, 10 substations feeding by 750 V DC power supplies through its third rail, and a total round distance of 20.94 km, are simulated and calculated in MATLAB. The total energy consumption of the MRT purple line services is 75.432 MWh per day. For this study, installing the on-board supercapacitors can effectively reduce the energy distribution by 22.10% and energy loss in multi-conductors by 73.91%.
Data-Driven Assistance Functions for Industrial Automation Systems

The increasing amount of data in industrial automation systems overburdens the user in process control and diagnosis tasks. One possibility to cope with these challenges consists of using smart assistance systems that automatically monitor and optimize processes. This article deals with aspects of data-driven assistance systems such as assistance functions, process models and data acquisition. The paper describes novel approaches for self-diagnosis and self-optimization, and shows how these assistance functions can be integrated in different industrial environments. The considered assistance functions are based on process models that are automatically learned from process data. Fault detection and isolation is based on the comparison of observations of the real system with predictions obtained by application of the process models. The process models are further employed for energy efficiency optimization of industrial processes. Experimental results are presented for fault detection and energy efficiency optimization of a drive system.
Coastal ecosystem engineers and their impact on sediment dynamics: Eelgrass–bivalve interactions under wave exposure

Habitat forming ecosystem engineers play critical roles in structuring coastal seascapes. Many ecosystem engineers, such as seagrasses and epifaunal bivalves, are known to have positive effects on sediment stability and increase coastal protection and ecosystem resilience. Others, such as bioturbating infaunal bivalves, may instead destabilize sediment. However, despite the common co‐occurrence of seagrasses and bivalves in coastal seascapes, little is known of their combined effects on sediment dynamics. Here, we used wave flumes to compare sediment dynamics in monospecific and multispecific treatments of eelgrass, Zostera marina, and associated bivalves (infaunal Limecola balthica, infaunal Cerastoderma edule, epifaunal Magellana gigas) under a range of wave exposures. Eelgrass reduced bedload erosion rates by 25–50%, with digital elevation models indicating that eelgrass affected the sediment micro‐bathymetry by decreasing surface roughness and ripple sizes. Effects of bivalves on sediment mobilization were species‐specific; L. balthica reduced erosion by 25%, C. edule increased erosion by 40%, while M. gigas had little effect. Importantly, eelgrass modified the impacts of bivalves: the destabilizing effects of C. edule vanished in the presence of eelgrass, while we found positive additive effects of eelgrass and L. balthica on sediment stabilization and potential for mutual anchoring. Such interspecific interactions are likely relevant for habitat patch emergence and resilience to extreme wave conditions. In light of future climate scenarios where increasing storm frequency and wave exposure threaten coastal ecosystems, our results add a mechanistic understanding of sediment dynamics and interactions between ecosystem engineers, with relevance for management and conservation.
Coda (de)voicing across morpheme boundaries in Rural Jordanian Arabic

ABSTRACT Much work on phonetic assimilation in Arabic has focused on the assimilation of the definite article. However, assimilation across morpheme boundaries has been less of a target of study. Our research, based on word-list data comprising 57 words uttered by 12 native speakers of RJA, revealed that F1 and vowel duration were robust acoustic correlates in discriminating voiced from voiceless consonants. Results further showed that morpheme boundaries are important loci of assimilation: /t/ undergoes voicing assimilation when followed by a voiced obstruent at a morpheme boundary, whereas voiced obstruents devoice before /h/ at the morpheme boundary as compared to the word boundary. This morpheme-boundary voicing assimilation is notably different from assimilation across word boundaries.
Effects of Perioperative Oral Nutrition Supplementation in Malaysian Patients Undergoing Elective Surgery for Breast and Colorectal Cancers—A Randomised Controlled Trial

This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of preoperative and an extended 90-days postoperative use of ONS among patients undergoing elective surgery for breast and colorectal cancers. Ninety-one patients were randomised into (i) Group SS received ONS up to 14 days preoperatively and postoperatively up to discharge, (ii) Group SS-E received ONS up to 14 days preoperatively, postoperatively up to discharge and for an extended 90-days after discharge and (iii) Group DS received ONS postoperatively up to discharge. Preoperatively, SS had significantly higher body weight (66.1 ± 15.3 kg vs. 62.5 ± 12.0 kg, p = 0.010) and BMI (26.8 ± 6.8 kg/m2 vs. 26.1 ± 6.7 kg/m2, p = 0.022) than DS when adjusted for baseline values. Postoperatively, SS-E had significantly higher handgrip strength (26 ± 9 kgF vs. 24 ± 6 kgF, p = 0.044) than DS at 90-days post-discharge after adjusted for preoperative values. At 90-days post-discharge, the proportions of patients in SS with albumin < 35 g/d, CAR ≥ 0.1, mPINI ≥ 0.4, mGPS score 1 or 2 were significantly reduced while in SS-E, the reduction in proportions of patients with high hsCRP and mPINI ≥ 0.4 was significant compared to upon discharge. Preoperative ONS had modest benefits in attenuating weight loss whilst postoperative supplementation up to 90-days post-discharge improved handgrip strength and inflammatory prognostic markers.
Sebaran Mineral Feromagnetik di Perairan Delta Sungai Bodri, Kendal

Mineral feromagnetik atau biasa disebut pasir hitam merupakan salah satu mineral berat yang berasal dari aktivitas vulkanik. Pemanfaatan mineral ini memegang peranan cukup penting dalam kehidupan sehari-hari, mulai dari aspek industri, elektronik, rumah tangga, otomotif, hingga digunakan sebagai bahan pengobatan kanker dalam bidang kedokteran. Delta sungai Bodri yang alirannya bersumber dari gunung Ungaran serta laju sedimentasi yang cukup tinggi menjadi wilayah yang tepat untuk dilakukan penelitian ini. Penelitian ini dilakukan untuk mengetahui seberapa besar kandungan, pola sebaran serta faktor-faktor apa saja yang berpengaruh terhadap kandungan mineral feromagnetik yang terdapat pada sedimen dasar di delta sungai Bodri. Untuk mengetahui kandungan mineral feromagnetik, digunakan teknik analisa sederhana terhadap sampel sedimen menggunakan magnet dan mikroskop di laboratorium. Arus sejajar pantai diperhitungkan untuk diketahui pengaruhnya terhadap sebaran mineral feromagnetik. Hasil analisa ini menunjukkan kandungan sedimen yang tersebar secara terpola dari dalam sungai, muara, hingga sisi delta dengan kandungan tertinggi pada sungai sebesar 35,04 %. Pada depan muara sungai mineral ini tidak terdeteksi, kemudian terdeteksi kembali pada sisi-sisi delta, baik pada bagian barat maupun bagian timur yang kadarnya bervariasi sekitar 2-5%. Hal ini menjelaskan adanya hubungan arus sejajar pantai terhadap sebaran mineral feromagnetik di wilayah delta sungai Bodri. Ferromagnetic minerals or known as black sand is one of the heavy minerals which is derived from volcanic activity. This mineral utilization plays an important role in everyday life, ranging from aspects of industry, electronics, household, automotive, even used as a treatment of cancer in the field of medicine. The Bodri River Delta, which sourced from Ungaran Mountain and a high sedimentation rate, is the right area for this research. This research was conducted to find out how big the content, the pattern of distribution and any factors that affect the ferromagnetic mineral content found in the basic sediment in the Bodri river delta. To know the mineral content of ferromagnetic, used simple analysis technique to sediment sample using magnet and microscope in laboratory. Longshore currents are taken into account to determine its effect on the distribution of the mineral ferromagnetic. The results of this analysis show that the sediment content is scattered patterned from the river, estuary, to the delta side with the highest content in the river of 35.04%. In front of the river mouth, this mineral is undetectable. Then detect again on the sides of the delta, both on the western and eastern parts which levels vary about 2-5%. This explains the existence of a longshore current linkage to the ferromagnetic mineral distribution in the Bodri river delta region.
Safety of oil from Schizochytrium sp. (strain ATCC 20889) for use in infant and follow‐on formula as a novel food pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283

Abstract Following a request from the European Commission, the EFSA Panel on Nutrition, Novel Foods and Food Allergens (NDA) was asked to deliver an opinion on the safety of Schizochytrium sp. oil as a novel food (NF) pursuant to Regulation (EU) 2015/2283. The NF which is the subject of the application is an oil rich in docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) that is produced by the microalgae Schizochytrium sp. (strain ATCC‐20889). The applicant proposed to add the NF in infant formulae (IF) and follow‐on formulae (FOF) at use levels in accordance with Regulation (EU) No 609/2013. The evidence provided by the applicant does not demonstrate to which species the strain Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20889 belongs. As the source organism of the NF is not characterised at species level, no assessment for inclusion in the Qualified Presumption of Safety (QPS) list can be performed by EFSA. Marine biotoxins (including cyanotoxins) in the NF were below their limits of quantification. However, since it is unknown to which species the strain Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20889 belongs, the concern that this strain has the potential to produce other toxins remains. No toxicological studies with the NF were provided by the applicant. Toxicological studies are available with DHA‐rich algal oils produced from other strains of Schizochytrium sp. However, the Panel considers that those toxicological studies cannot be used to establish the safety of the oil produced by the strain which is under assessment in this application (Schizochytrium sp. ATCC 20889). Therefore, based on the information provided by the applicant, the Panel concludes that the safety of the NF has not been established.
Pervasive Security Intelligence with Smart Home Robotics Guard for Personal and Property Environments

With the ever increasing security demand from a broad range of demographics that need close monitoring beyond the geographic distance barrier, such as senior people, patients, and those who have high tendencies to have medical emergencies, like stroke, seizure, heart attack etc., the requires of an efficient and economical solution is highly desirable. This type of pervasive security demand also has extended to the properties, such as the needs of monitoring & protection of a household that has a living location, and even the extensions of a fixed location, like a family vehicle. This paper presents the design of a comprehensive personal & home security tele-robotics guard system to provide pervasive security intelligence for personal and property protection. It is able to keep the owner informed in real-time with the latest tele-control & video communication technology. Our team has designed and developed three different functional prototypes to evaluate the design, and has deployed the latest prototype in a senior house facility in Houston, Texas in United States for the extensive testing, eliciting real-life data and further requirements. The preliminary experiment shows a promising result.
Effects of a New York Medicaid Care Management Program on Substance Use Disorder Treatment Services and Medicaid Spending: Implications for Defining the Target Population

Aims: We examined the effects of a statewide New York (NY) care management (CM) program for substance use disorder (SUD), Managed Addiction Treatment Services (MATS), on SUD treatment services’ utilization and spending among patients with a recent history of high Medicaid spending and among those for whom a predictive algorithm indicates a higher probability of outlier spending in the following year. Methods: We applied difference-in-difference analyses with propensity score matching using NY Medicaid claims data and a state registry of SUD-treatment episodes from 2006 to 2009. A total of 1263 CM enrollees with high SUD treatment spending (>$10K) in the prior year and a matched comparison group were included in the analysis. Crisis care utilization for SUD (detoxification and hospitalizations), outpatient SUD treatment, and Medicaid spending were examined over 12 months among both groups. CM effects among predicted high-future-spending patients (HFS) were also analyzed. Results: CM increased outpatient SUD treatment visits by approximately 10.5 days (95% CI = 0.9, 20.0). CM crisis care and spending outcomes were not statistically different from comparison since both conditions had comparable pre-post declines. Conversely, CM significantly reduced SUD treatment spending by approximately $955 (95% CI = −1518, −391) and reduced days of detox utilization by about 1.0 days (95% CI = −1.9, −0.1) among HFS. Conclusion: Findings suggest that CM can reduce SUD treatment spending and utilization when targeted at patients with a greater likelihood of high future spending, indicating the potential value of predictive models to select CM patients.