Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust stabilization of multiplicative/relative uncertain systems and networked feedback control

Stabilization of uncertain dynamic systems is investigated focusing on plant models that involve both multiplicative and relative uncertainties that are bounded by Hoo-norm. A new notion of stability margin is proposed to study the robustness of the feedback stability. It is shown that the largest possible stability margin is a two-disk problem. An upper and lower bounds are derived which differ by only a factor of λ/2. The results are then applied to networked feedback control systems where logarithmic quantization is employed at both the plant input and output. Our results show that the coarsest quantization density can be computed based on the robust stability margin for plant models involving Woo-norm bounded multiplicative and relative uncertainties.
Quenches in a quasidisordered integrable lattice system: Dynamics and statistical description of observables after relaxation

We study the dynamics and the resulting state after relaxation in a quasidisordered integrable lattice system after a sudden quench. Specifically, we consider hard-core bosons in an isolated one-dimensional geometry in the presence of a quasiperiodic potential whose strength is abruptly changed to take the system out of equilibrium. In the delocalized regime, we find that the relaxation dynamics of one-body observables, such as the density, the momentum distribution function, and the occupation of the natural orbitals, follow, to a good approximation, power laws. In that regime, we also show that the observables after relaxation can be described by the generalized Gibbs ensemble, while such a description fails for the momentum distribution and the natural orbital occupations in the presence of localization. At the critical point, the relaxation dynamics is found to be slower than in the delocalized phase.
The Bias Blind Spot: Perceptions of Bias in Self Versus Others

Three studies suggest that individuals see the existence and operation of cognitive and motivational biases much more in others than in themselves. Study 1 provides evidence from three surveys that people rate themselves as less subject to various biases than the “average American,” classmates in a seminar, and fellow airport travelers. Data from the third survey further suggest that such claims arise from the interplay among availability biases and self-enhancement motives. Participants in one follow-up study who showed the better-than-average bias insisted that their self-assessments were accurate and objective even after reading a description of how they could have been affected by the relevant bias. Participants in a final study reported their peer’s self-serving attributions regarding test performance to be biased but their own similarly self-serving attributions to be free of bias. The relevance of these phenomena to naïve realism and to conflict, misunderstanding, and dispute resolution is discussed.
Improved Security Mechanisam of text in Video by using Steganographic Technique: A Review

Steganography is an art of hiding the secret message in a cover object without leaving a remarkable track on the original message. It is used to increase the security of message sent over the internet. In contrast to cryptography, it is not used to scramble the data but it is used to conceal the data in digital media. This review paper will deal with video steganography, cryptography, hash-LSB and a new encryption algorithm. At the end, we will discuss the goal of this paper and what types of techniques worked on video steganography.
Recent Advances in Free Energy Calculations with a Combination of Molecular Mechanics and Continuum Models

Recently, the combination of state-of-the-art molecular mechanical force fields with continuum solvation models enables us to make relatively accurate predictions of both structures and free energies for macromolecules from molecular dynamics trajectories. The first part of this review is focused on the history and basic theory of free energy calculations based on physically effective energy functions. The second part illustrates the applications of free energy calculations on many biological systems, including proteins, DNA, RNA, protein-ligand, protein-protein, protein-nucleic acid complexes, etc. Finally, the prospective and possible strategies to improve the techniques of MM-PBSA and MM-GBSA is discussed. Molecular mechanics (MM), though its theoretical background is not as solid as quantum mechanics (QM), has broad applications in studying biological systems for its simplicity and efficiency. The harmonic function form (Equation 1), which is widely-used in many popular molecular mechanical force fields, describes molecular energy using bond stretching, bond angle bending, torsional angle twisting as well as non-bonded electrostatic and van der Waals interactions. It is well-known that most biological procedures take place in aqueous solutions. Therefore, solvation effect cannot be neglected in studying the structures and interactions of biological systems. There are two basic ways to take the solvent effect into account: with either an explicit water model or an implicit water model. For the first approach, a biological system is usually immersed in a periodical water box; the second approach does not apply water molecules explicitly. Instead, solvation energy and force due to the solvent effect are calculated using some formulas or by solving some equations numerically or analytically. The widely used implicit solvation models include the generalized Born surface area (GBSA) (1-5) and the Poisson-Bolzmann surface area (PBSA) (6-15).
The Petunia Ortholog of Arabidopsis SUPERMAN Plays a Distinct Role in Floral Organ Morphogenesis

Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) SUPERMAN (SUP) plays a role in establishing a boundary between whorls 3 and 4 of flowers and in ovule development. We characterized a Petunia hybrida (petunia) homolog of SUP, designated PhSUP1, to compare with SUP. Genomic DNA of the PhSUP1 partially restored the stamen number and ovule development phenotypes of the Arabidopsis sup mutant. Two P. hybrida lines of transposon (dTph1) insertion mutants of PhSUP1 exhibited increased stamen number at the cost of normal carpel development, and ovule development was defective owing to aberrant growth of the integument. Unlike Arabidopsis sup mutants, phsup1 mutants also showed extra tissues connecting stamens, a petal tube and an ovary, and aberrancies in the development of anther and placenta. PhSUP1 transcripts occurred in the basal region of wild-type flowers around developing organ primordia in whorls 2 and 3 as well as in the funiculus of the ovule, concave regions of the placenta, and interthecal regions of developing anthers. Overexpression of PhSUP1 in P. hybrida resulted in size reduction of petals, leaves, and inflorescence stems. The shortening of inflorescence stems and petal tubes was primarily attributable to suppression of cell elongation, whereas a decrease in cell number was mainly responsible for the size reduction of petal limbs.
A Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 Investigation of the Nuclear Morphology in the Toomre Sequence of Merging Galaxies

We report on the properties of nuclear regions in the Toomre sequence of merging galaxies, based on imaging data gathered with the Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 camera. We have imaged the 11 systems in the proposed evolutionary merger sequence in the F555W and F814W broadband filters, and in Hα+[N II] narrowband filters. The broadband morphology of the nuclear regions varies from nonnucleated starburst clumps through dust-covered nuclei to a nucleated morphology. There is no unambiguous trend in the morphology with merger stage. The emission-line morphology is extended beyond the nucleus in most cases, but centrally concentrated (within 1 kpc) emission-line gas can be seen in the four latest-stage merger systems. We have quantified the intrinsic luminosity densities and colors within the inner 100 pc and 1 kpc of each identified nucleus. We find little evidence for a clear trend in nuclear properties along the merger sequence other than a suggestive rise in the nuclear luminosity density in the most evolved members of the sequence. The lack of clear trends in nuclear properties is likely due both to the effects of obscuration and geometry, as well as the physical variety of galaxies included in the Toomre sequence.
Comparison of risk factors for cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to compare the cardiovascular risk factors that might be associated with inflammation, atherosclerosis and metabolic syndrome between hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients. METHODS: Fifty hemodialysis and 50 peritoneal dialysis patients who had been receiving dialysis therapy for at least one year were included in the study. Venous blood samples were taken after 12 hours of fasting, and serum glucose, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, C-reactive protein, fibrinogen and homocysteine levels were measured. The presence of atherosclerotic plaques in the carotid artery was evaluated by carotid Doppler ultrasound. These data were analyzed by Student's t test, the chi-square test and the Mann-Whitney U test, as appropriate. RESULTS: No difference was found between the hemodialysis (n=50) and peritoneal dialysis (n=50) patient groups regarding mean age, gender distribution, body mass index or dialysis duration (p=0.269, 0.683, 0.426, and 0.052, respectively). LDL-cholesterol, fibrinogen and homocysteine levels were significantly higher in peritoneal dialysis patients (p=0.006, 0.001, and 0.002, respectively). In patients with diabetes mellitus (n=17) who were undergoing renal replacement therapy, LDL-cholesterol and fibrinogen levels were significantly higher than in patients without diabetes mellitus who were undergoing renal replacement therapy (p=0.001 and 0.004, respectively). CONCLUSION: In our study, cardiovascular risk factors (especially LDL-cholesterol) were more frequent in peritoneal dialysis patients than in hemodialysis patients.
National trends in hospitalization of youth with intentional self-inflicted injuries.

OBJECTIVE The authors examined national trends from 1990 to 2000 in the utilization of community hospital inpatient services by young people (5-20 years of age) with intentional self-inflicted injuries. METHOD Discharge abstracts from a nationally representative sample of community hospitals were analyzed, with a focus on youth discharges (N=10,831) with a diagnosis of intentional self-inflicted injury (ICD-9-CM: E950-E959). Census data were used to derive national population-based rates of self-inflicted injuries requiring inpatient treatment. Overall population-based trends in hospitalizations for self-inflicted injury were calculated and stratified by gender and age. Among youths hospitalized with a self-inflicted injury, trends were also calculated for length of stay, inpatient costs, method of injury, and associated mental disorder diagnoses. RESULTS The annual hospitalization rate of youths with self-inflicted injuries declined from 49.1 per 100,000 in 1990 to 44.9 per 100,000 in 2000, and the mean length of inpatient stay significantly declined from 3.6 days to 2.7 days. Among the hospitalized patients, there were increases in the rate of cutting (4.3% to 13.2%) and ingestion of acetaminophen (22.1% to 26.9%), antidepressants (10.0% to 14.0%), and opiates (2.3% to 3.3%) as a cause of injury, whereas there were decreases in the ingestion of salicylates (14.9% to 10.2%) and barbiturates (1.5% to 0.7%). There were significant increases in the proportion of subjects with primary mental disorder discharge diagnoses of depressive disorder (29.2% to 46.0%), bipolar disorder (1.3% to 8.2%), and substance use disorder (5.4% to 10.7%) and significant decreases in the rate of adjustment disorders (22.2% to 11.4%) and nonmental disorders (31.9% to 13.6%). After excluding cutting, which may be more closely related to self-mutilation than suicidal self-injury, the annual hospitalization rate of youths with self-inflicted injuries declined from 47.2 per 100,000 in 1990 to 39.4 per 100,000 in 2000. CONCLUSIONS Over the decade of study, young people admitted to community hospitals with self-inflicted injuries tended to have more severe psychiatric diagnoses and to be treated during shorter inpatient stays. These trends suggest that the role of youth inpatient care has narrowed, becoming focused on those with severe psychiatric disorders.
Optimal range segmentation parameters through genetic algorithms

A wide number of algorithms for surface segmentation in range images have been recently proposed characterized by different approaches (edge filling, region growing,.), different surface types (either for planar or curved surfaces) and different parameters involved. Optimization of the parameter set is a particularly critical task since the range of parameter variability is often quite large: parameter selection depends on surface type, sensors and the required speed which strongly of affect performance. A framework for parameter optimization is proposed based on genetic algorithms. Such algorithms allow a general approach that has been successfully applied on different state-of-the-art segmenters and different range image databases.
Problems with the Term and Concept of ‘Abuse’: Critical Reflections on the Scottish Adult Support and Protection Study

This paper critically reflects on the Scottish Adult Support and Protection study (the ASP study), a research project conducted at a time when " adult protection " was understood in Scottish policies to be the professional response to " abuse ". During the course of analysing the ASP study data, it became apparent that practitioners themselves did not necessarily construct " abuse " and " adult protection " concerns as coterminous categories. Some examples are recounted to illustrate the potentially more partial, less linear relationship between these categories in practice than in policy constructions. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research into professionals' constructions of " adult protection " concerns. It explains why such research would have continuing, if not greater, relevance in the context of recent Scottish policy moves to re-conceptualise adult protection as a response not to " abuse " but to " harm ". Subject categories: adult protection < social care services Word count: 6998 excluding abstract.
Electronic Communications of the EASST Volume 15 ( 2008 ) Proceedings of the 8 th International Workshop on OCL Concepts and Tools ( OCL 2008 ) at MoDELS 2008 How My Favorite Tool Supporting OCL Must Look Like

At this time, to decide on which tool supporting OCL to use, is a difficult task. This is influenced by a number of objective factors, including: the user’s needs, knowledge of existing tools, knowledge of the Object Constraint Language and of the various possibilities of using it. Today, each tool maker states about implementing new features compared with the existent tools; moreover, different tools return different results when evaluating identical OCL specifications in the same context. A reason of this state of facts is due to the concepts which are incomplete or ambiguous specified in the standard. Therefore, before describing the criteria proposed for assessing tools supporting OCL, the following topics are examined: features that distinguish OCL within the modeling languages family, some aspects incomplet or ambiguous described in the OCL specification, main functionalities that a tool supporting OCL should implement, the universe of tools supporting OCL. In the end, five representative tools are characterized with respect to the functionalities proposed to be implemented by an ideal tool.
The Cusp/Core Problem in Galactic Halos: Long-Slit Spectra for a Large Dwarf Galaxy Sample

We derive inner dark matter halo density profiles for a sample of 165 low-mass galaxies using rotation curves obtained from high-quality, long-slit optical spectra assuming minimal disks and spherical symmetry. For ρ(r) ∼ r-α near the galaxy center, we measure median inner slopes ranging from αm = 0.22 ± 0.08 to 0.28 ± 0.06 for various subsamples of the data. This is similar to values found by other authors and in stark contrast to the intrinsic cusps (αint ∼ 1) predicted by simulations of halo assembly in cold dark matter (CDM) cosmologies. To elucidate the relationship between αm and αint in our data, we simulate long-slit observations of model galaxies with halo shapes broadly consistent with the CDM paradigm. Simulations with αint = 1/2 and 1 recover both the observed distribution of αm and correlations between αm and primary observational parameters such as distance and disk inclination, whereas those with αint = 5/4 are marginally consistent with the data. Conversely, the hypothesis that low-mass galaxies have αint = 3/2 is rejected. While the simulations do not imply that the data favor intrinsic cusps over cores, they demonstrate that the discrepancy between αm and αint ∼ 1 for our sample does not necessarily imply a genuine conflict between our results and CDM predictions; rather, the apparent cusp/core problem may be reconciled by considering the impact of observing and data-processing techniques on rotation curves derived from long-slit spectra.
Development of a chitosan based double layer-coated tablet as a platform for colon-specific drug delivery

A double layer-coated colon-specific drug delivery system (DL-CDDS) was developed, which consisted of chitosan (CTN) based polymeric subcoating of the core tablet containing citric acid for microclimate acidification, followed by an enteric coating. The polymeric composition ratio of Eudragit E100 and ethyl cellulose and amount of subcoating were optimized using a two-level factorial design method. Drug-release characteristics in terms of dissolution efficiency and controlled-release duration were evaluated in various dissolution media, such as simulated colonic fluid in the presence or absence of CTNase. Microflora activation and a stepwise mechanism for drug release were postulated. Consequently, the optimized DL-CDDS showed drug release in a controlled manner by inhibiting drug release in the stomach and intestine, but releasing the drug gradually in the colon (approximately 40% at 10 hours and 92% at 24 hours in CTNase-supplemented simulated colonic fluid), indicating its feasibility as a novel platform for CDD.
Persistence of PCR-positive tissue in benznidazole-treated mice with negative blood parasitological and serological tests in dual infections with Trypanosoma cruzi stocks from different genotypes.

OBJECTIVES To assess different methodologies to better define an early post-therapeutic cure criterion after benznidazole treatment in BALB/c mice following mixed infection with dual Trypanosoma cruzi genotypes. METHODS According to the classical cure criteria, animals were classified as treated not cured (TNC = 76.4%), treated cured (TC = 12.5%) and dissociated (DIS = 11.1%) using parasitological [fresh blood examination (FBE), blood culture (BC) and blood PCR] and serological methods [conventional serology (CS-ELISA) and non-conventional serology (NCS-FC-ALTA)]. Tissues were also evaluated by PCR. RESULTS FBE was able to detect patent parasitaemia in only 18.1% of TNC and therapeutic failure was detected in 79.1% and 97.2% of TNC by BC and blood PCR, respectively. CS-ELISA should not be used before 3 months after treatment since it may lead to false-negative results. At 3 months after treatment with benznidazole, NCS-FC-ALTA was more efficient for categorizing the groups of treated mice. In the TNC group, although a decreased frequency of PCR-positive tissue was observed in several host tissues, increased positivity was also observed, despite the T. cruzi genotype combination. All TC animals presented at least two positive tissue-PCR results. CONCLUSIONS Our results confirm that NSC-FC-ALTA and blood PCR are the most suitable methods to early detect therapeutic failure in acute murine T. cruzi infection. Additionally, our data show that BC positivity is highly dependent upon the T. cruzi genotype combination. Moreover, our findings demonstrated that PCR tests performed on tissues from animals considered cured after benznidazole treatment still detected T. cruzi DNA, most probably indicating residual infection.
Identifying language comprehension impairment in preschool children.

PURPOSE This study examined the validity of 3 discourse comprehension measures for preschool children and the ability of a combination of them to classify children with and without language impairment. METHOD Thirty-seven children with typical language and 12 children with language impairment completed 3 measures of oral story comprehension: the Joint Story Retell task, the Expectancy Violation Detection task, and comprehension questions. RESULTS Discriminant analyses revealed that each measure successfully classified pre-identified groups. The clinical combination of all 3 measures resulted in 96% accurate identification of the language status of this cohort. CONCLUSION Results support these procedures as valid measures of discourse comprehension and monitoring and provide preliminary evidence that their combination can be validly employed for identifying young children with language comprehension impairment.
Flutter: Scheduling tasks closer to data across geo-distributed datacenters

Typically called big data processing, processing large volumes of data from geographically distributed regions with machine learning algorithms has emerged as an important analytical tool for governments and multinational corporations. The traditional wisdom calls for the collection of all the data across the world to a central datacenter location, to be processed using data-parallel applications. This is neither efficient nor practical as the volume of data grows exponentially. Rather than transferring data, we believe that computation tasks should be scheduled where the data is, while data should be processed with a minimum amount of transfers across datacenters. In this paper, we design and implement Flutter, a new task scheduling algorithm that improves the completion times of big data processing jobs across geographically distributed datacenters. To cater to the specific characteristics of data-parallel applications, we first formulate our problem as a lexicographical min-max integer linear programming (ILP) problem, and then transform it into a nonlinear program with a separable convex objective function and a totally unimodular constraint matrix, which can be solved using a standard linear programming solver efficiently in an online fashion. Our implementation of Flutter is based on Apache Spark, a modern framework popular for big data processing. Our experimental results have shown that we can reduce the job completion time by up to 25%, and the amount of traffic transferred among datacenters by up to 75%.
A bag of notes approach to writer identification in old handwritten musical scores

Determining the authorship of a document, namely writer identification, can be an important source of information for document categorization. Contrary to text documents, the identification of the writer of graphical documents is still a challenge. In this paper we present a robust approach for writer identification in a particular kind of graphical documents, old music scores. This approach adapts the bag of visual terms method for coping with graphic documents. The identification is performed only using the graphical music notation. For this purpose, we generate a graphic vocabulary without recognizing any music symbols, and consequently, avoiding the difficulties in the recognition of hand-drawn symbols in old and degraded documents. The proposed method has been tested on a database of old music scores from the 17th to 19th centuries, achieving very high identification rates.