Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear Optimal Control Techniques for Vibration Attenuation Using Magnetostrictive Actuators

This article addresses the development of a nonlinear control design for attenuating structural vibrations using magnetostrictive transducers operating in nonlinear and highly hysteretic operating regimes. We consider as a prototype a thin plate subjected to exogenous pressure waves and controlled via Terfenol-D transducers at the plate edges; however, the methodology is sufficiently general to encompass a wide range of structures and magnetic transducer designs. Hysteresis inherent to the transducer materials is quantified using a homogenized energy framework and the resulting nonlinear constitutive relations are used to construct a PDE representation and corresponding finite dimensional model of the structural system. We employ optimal control theory to construct nonlinear open loop control inputs which accommodate the hysteresis inherent to the transducers but are not robust with regard to unmodeled dynamics or disturbances. Robustness is incorporated by employing perturbation techniques to provide linear feedback laws acting on measured disturbances. As illustrated via numerical examples, the resulting hybrid control design provides excellent control authority and robustness for transducers operating in hysteretic and nonlinear regimes.
Origin and Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance: The Common Mechanisms of Emergence and Spread in Water Bodies

The environment, and especially freshwater, constitutes a reactor where the evolution and the rise of new resistances occur. In water bodies such as waste water effluents, lakes, and rivers or streams, bacteria from different sources, e.g., urban, industrial, and agricultural waste, probably selected by intensive antibiotic usage, are collected and mixed with environmental species. This may cause two effects on the development of antibiotic resistances: first, the contamination of water by antibiotics or other pollutants lead to the rise of resistances due to selection processes, for instance, of strains over-expressing broad range defensive mechanisms, such as efflux pumps. Second, since environmental species are provided with intrinsic antibiotic resistance mechanisms, the mixture with allochthonous species is likely to cause genetic exchange. In this context, the role of phages and integrons for the spread of resistance mechanisms appears significant. Allochthonous species could acquire new resistances from environmental donors and introduce the newly acquired resistance mechanisms into the clinics. This is illustrated by clinically relevant resistance mechanisms, such as the fluoroquinolones resistance genes qnr. Freshwater appears to play an important role in the emergence and in the spread of antibiotic resistances, highlighting the necessity for strategies of water quality improvement. We assume that further knowledge is needed to better understand the role of the environment as reservoir of antibiotic resistances and to elucidate the link between environmental pollution by anthropogenic pressures and emergence of antibiotic resistances. Only an integrated vision of these two aspects can provide elements to assess the risk of spread of antibiotic resistances via water bodies and suggest, in this context, solutions for this urgent health issue.
Effect of pravastatin on kidney function and urinary protein excretion in autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease

Objective. Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is progressive, resulting in end-stage kidney failure in most patients. Experimental and clinical studies have suggested that statins may slow the progression of chronic kidney disease in general and ADPKD specifically. Material and methods. This randomized open-label clinical trial was conducted to assess the effect of pravastatin 20 mg on kidney function and urinary protein excretion in patients with ADPKD. Sixty patients were initially recruited but 49 of these received either pravastatin 20 mg or no treatment for 2 years. Trial visits were conducted every 3 months, assessing kidney function by estimated glomerular filtration rate and 24 h urine creatinine clearance and urinary protein excretion. Results. There were no significant (p > 0.05) changes in markers of kidney function or urinary protein excretion between groups over the 2 years despite a significant fall in total serum cholesterol in pravastatin-treated patients (p = 0.029). Conclusion. This trial found that taking 20 mg pravastatin for 2 years had no significant effect on kidney function or urinary protein excretion in patients with ADPKD. The lack of statistical power limits the external validity of these findings. A larger, longer duration study using a higher dose of a more potent statin is required.
Origami and Geometric Constructions

1 Origami and Geometric Constructions1 By Robert J. Lang Copyright ©1996–2015. All rights reserved. Introduction . 3 Preliminaries and Definitions . 3 Binary Divisions . 5 Binary Folding Algorithm . 6 Binary Approximations . 9 Rational Fractions . 11 Crossing Diagonals . 12 Fujimoto’s Construction . 15 Noma’s Method . 18 Haga’s Construction . 20 Irrational Proportions . 22 Continued Fractions . 22 Quadratic Surds . 26 Angle Divisions . 31 Axiomatic Origami . 37 Preliminaries . 40 Folding . 42 Alignments . 43 Bringing a point to a point P↔ P . 43 Bringing a point onto a line ( P↔ L ) . 43 Bringing one line to another line ( L↔ L ) . 43 Alignments by folding . 44 Multiple Alignments . 45 Constructability . 45 Axiom 6 and Cubic Curves . 46
On the Robustness of the Microlensing Optical Depth as a Measure of MACHO Density

The optical depth is widely used in Galactic microlensing studies as a means to determine the density contribution of MACHOs, since in theory this depends only upon their spatial distribution and is therefore less model-dependent than other microlensing observables. However, since the measured optical depth is restricted to that of events with measurable timescales, inferences of total MACHO contribution depend on the assumed timescale distribution. Using the 2 yr LMC results of the MACHO collaboration, we illustrate this point by showing how, for an assumed isothermal halo, the inferred MACHO halo fraction as determined from optical depth estimates depends on the MACHO mass. This analysis highlights the following conclusions: (1) The fractional contribution of MACHOs inferred from optical depth measurements depends not only on the spatial distribution of MACHOs but also on their velocity and mass distributions; (2) without extra information on the MACHO mass function, such as can be extracted from the observed timescale distribution, optical depth measurements can provide a lower but not an upper limit on the MACHO fraction for a given Galactic distribution function; (3) a comparison between the inferred total optical depth of different Galactic models, or between different components in a multicomponent Galactic model, requires knowledge of the underlying timescale distribution for each model or component. For our assumed Galactic halo model, we find excellent agreement between our model-dependent lower-limit halo fraction of f > 0.3 (84% confidence) or f > 0.15 (97.5% confidence), and the MACHO collaboration's own model-independent optical depth lower-limit estimate. The MACHO collaboration's optical depth upper limit is consistent with the minimum possible value of the upper limit derived for our assumed model, although it significantly underestimates the upper limit for lens masses m ≳ 0.5 M☉.
Parkinson's disease-linked mutations in VPS35 induce dopaminergic neurodegeneration

Mutations in the vacuolar protein sorting 35 homolog (VPS35) gene at the PARK17 locus, encoding a key component of the retromer complex, were recently identified as a new cause of late-onset, autosomal dominant Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we explore the pathogenic consequences of PD-associated mutations in VPS35 using a number of model systems. VPS35 exhibits a broad neuronal distribution throughout the rodent brain, including within the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway. In the human brain, VPS35 protein levels and distribution are similar in tissues from control and PD subjects, and VPS35 is not associated with Lewy body pathology. The common D620N missense mutation in VPS35 does not compromise its protein stability or localization to endosomal and lysosomal vesicles, or the vesicular sorting of the retromer cargo, sortilin, SorLA and cation-independent mannose 6-phosphate receptor, in rodent primary neurons or patient-derived human fibroblasts. In yeast we show that PD-linked VPS35 mutations are functional and can normally complement VPS35 null phenotypes suggesting that they do not result in a loss-of-function. In rat primary cortical cultures the overexpression of human VPS35 induces neuronal cell death and increases neuronal vulnerability to PD-relevant cellular stress. In a novel viral-mediated gene transfer rat model, the expression of D620N VPS35 induces the marked degeneration of substantia nigra dopaminergic neurons and axonal pathology, a cardinal pathological hallmark of PD. Collectively, these studies establish that dominant VPS35 mutations lead to neurodegeneration in PD consistent with a gain-of-function mechanism, and support a key role for VPS35 in the development of PD.
Financial Conditions and Economic Activity: A Statistical Approach

How do conditions in the financial sector affect the macroeconomy? We summarise the common variation in a large array of financial variables into a small set of statistical factors and examine the information content of these factors when forecasting GDP and inflation in four economies. We find that financial factors contain information that is independent of and complementary to that in real variables. This information accounts for a larger proportion of the movement in real and nominal GDP, but a smaller proportion of the variability of inflation.
Neural representations of compositional structures: representing and manipulating vector spaces with spiking neurons

This paper re-examines the question of localist vs. distributed neural representations using a biologically realistic framework based on the central notion of neurons having a preferred direction vector. A preferred direction vector captures the general observation that neurons fire most vigorously when the stimulus lies in a particular direction in a represented vector space. This framework has been successful in capturing a wide variety of detailed neural data, although here we focus on cognitive representation. In particular, we describe methods for constructing spiking networks that can represent and manipulate structured, symbol-like representations. In the context of such networks, neuron activities can seem both localist and distributed, depending on the space of inputs being considered. This analysis suggests that claims of a set of neurons being localist or distributed cannot be made sense of without specifying the particular stimulus set used to examine the neurons.
ErbB Family Signalling: A Paradigm for Oncogene Addiction and Personalized Oncology

ErbB family members represent important biomarkers and drug targets for modern precision therapy. They have gained considerable importance as paradigms for oncoprotein addiction and personalized medicine. This review summarizes the current understanding of ErbB proteins in cell signalling and cancer and describes the molecular rationale of prominent cases of ErbB oncoprotein addiction in different cancer types. In addition, we have highlighted experimental technologies for the development of innovative cancer cell models that accurately predicted clinical ErbB drug efficacies. In the future, such cancer models might facilitate the identification and validation of physiologically relevant novel forms of oncoprotein and non-oncoprotein addiction or synthetic lethality. The identification of genotype-drug response relationships will further advance personalized oncology and improve drug efficacy in the clinic. Finally, we review the most important drugs targeting ErbB family members that are under investigation in clinical trials or that made their way already into clinical routine. Taken together, the functional characterization of ErbB oncoproteins have significantly increased our knowledge on predictive biomarkers, oncoprotein addiction and patient stratification and treatment.
On routes and multicast trees in the Internet

Multicasting has an increasing importance for network applications such as groupware or videoconferencing. Several multicast routing protocols have been defined. However they cannot be used directly in the Internet since most inter-domain routers do no implement multicasting. Thus these protocols are mainly tested either on a small scale inside a domain, or through the Mbon&eacute;, whose topology is not really the same as Internet topology. The purpose of this paper is to construct a graph using actual routes of the Internet, and then to use this graph to compare some parameters - delays, scaling in term of state or traffic concentration - of multicast routing trees constructed by different algorithms - source shortest path trees and shared trees.
Evaluation of screening methods for identification of patients with chronic rheumatological disease requiring tuberculosis chemoprophylaxis prior to commencement of TNF-α antagonist therapy

Background Patients undergoing tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α antagonist therapy are at increased risk of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) reactivation. The aim of this study was to determine the optimum available screening strategy for identifying patients for tuberculosis (TB) chemoprophylaxis. Methods We conducted a prospective observational study of consecutive adults with chronic rheumatological disease referred for LTBI screening prior to commencement of TNF-α antagonist therapy. All patients included had calculation of TB risk according to age, ethnicity and year of UK entry, as described in the 2005 British Thoracic Society (BTS) guidelines and measurement of tuberculin skin test (TST) and T.Spot. TB. Results There were 187 patients included in the study, with 157 patients (84%) taking immunosuppressants. 137 patients would require further risk stratification according to the BTS algorithm, with 110 (80.3%) classified as being at low risk of having LTBI. There were 39 patients (35.5%) who were categorised as low risk but were either TST and/or T.Spot positive and would not have received chemoprophylaxis according to the BTS algorithm. Combination of all three methods (risk stratification and/or positive T.Spot and/or positive TST) identified 66 patients out of 137 who would potentially be offered chemoprophylaxis, which was greater than any single test or two-test combination. Conclusion Performing both a TST and T.Spot in patients on immunosuppressants prior to commencement of TNF-α antagonist therapy gives an additional yield of potential LTBI compared with use of risk stratification tables alone. Our results suggest that use of all three screening modalities gives the highest yield of patients potentially requiring chemoprophylaxis.
Adolescent personality: associations with Basal, awakening, and stress-induced cortisol responses.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the associations between personality facets and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis functioning. Previous studies have mainly focussed on stress-induced HPA-axis activation. We hypothesized that other characteristics of HPA-axis functioning would have a stronger association with personality based on the neuroendocrine literature. Data (n = 343) were used from the TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS), a large prospective cohort study of Dutch adolescents. We studied the association between facets of Neuroticism, Extraversion, and Conscientiousness and basal cortisol, the cortisol awakening response (CAR), and four measures of stress-induced HPA-axis activity. Basal cortisol levels were related to facets of all three personality traits. The CAR and stress-induced cortisol were not related to personality. Possibly due to its more trait-like nature, basal cortisol seems more informative than stress-induced cortisol when investigating trait-like characteristics such as personality facets.
A comparison of type 2 diabetes outcomes among persons with and without severe mental illnesses.

OBJECTIVE Type 2 diabetes is an important comorbid medical condition associated with schizophrenia. The objective of this study was to compare glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) levels of patients who had type 2 diabetes and schizophrenia with those of patients who had type 2 diabetes and major mood disorders and those who had type 2 diabetes but who did not have severe mental illness. METHODS A sample of 300 patients with type 2 diabetes was recruited from community mental health centers in the greater Baltimore region and nearby primary care clinics. Of these, 100 had schizophrenia, 101 had a major mood disorder, and 99 had no identified severe mental illness. HbA(1c), the main outcome measure, was compared between the group with schizophrenia and the other two groups. RESULTS All three groups had HbA(1c) values above recommended levels. HbA(1c) levels were significantly lower among patients with schizophrenia than among patients who did not have severe mental illness but were not significantly different from those of patients who had major mood disorders. Patients for whom olanzapine was prescribed had higher HbA(1c) levels than those for whom other antipsychotic agents were prescribed. CONCLUSIONS All three groups of patients require improved diabetes treatment to achieve acceptable HbA(1c) levels. There may be previously unrecognized benefits for diabetes management among persons with severe mental illnesses who are receiving regular mental heath care, but these individuals may also have risk factors that can influence diabetes outcomes and HbA(1c) levels.
Simulation-based education improves quality of care during cardiac arrest team responses at an academic teaching hospital: a case-control study.

BACKGROUND Simulation technology is widely used in medical education. Linking educational outcomes achieved in a controlled environment to patient care improvement is a constant challenge. METHODS This was a retrospective case-control study of cardiac arrest team responses from January to June 2004 at a university-affiliated internal medicine residency program. Medical records of advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) events were reviewed to assess adherence to ACLS response quality indicators based on American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines. All residents received traditional ACLS education. Second-year residents (simulator-trained group) also attended an educational program featuring the deliberate practice of ACLS scenarios using a human patient simulator. Third-year residents (traditionally trained group) were not trained on the simulator. During the study period, both simulator-trained and traditionally trained residents responded to ACLS events. We evaluated the effects of simulation training on the quality of the ACLS care provided. RESULTS Simulator-trained residents showed significantly higher adherence to AHA standards (mean correct responses, 68%; SD, 20%) vs traditionally trained residents (mean correct responses, 44%; SD, 20%; p = 0.001). The odds ratio for an adherent ACLS response was 7.1 (95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 28.6) for simulator-trained residents compared to traditionally trained residents after controlling for patient age, ventilator, and telemetry status. CONCLUSIONS A simulation-based educational program significantly improved the quality of care provided by residents during actual ACLS events. There is a growing body of evidence indicating that simulation can be a useful adjunct to traditional methods of procedural training.
Incidence of Self-Reported Interpersonal Violence Related Physical Injury in Iran

Background: Violence is the cause of death for 1.5 million people in a year. Objectives: Our study aimed to estimate the incidence rate of self-reported interpersonal violence related physical injury (VRPI) and its associated factors in Iran. Patients and Methods: The sample included people ranged from 15 to 64 years old who were residing in Iran. A total of 1525 clusters were selected from the whole country. Six families were selected from each cluster via a systematic random sampling method. Then, the residential units were identified and the interviewers contacted the inhabitants. In the next step, one of the family members was selected by using Kish grid method. The instrument was a researcher-made questionnaire and consisted of two sections; demographics and project related data. Face validity and content validity of our questionnaire were investigated based on expert opinions and the reliability was confirmed by a pilot study, as well. The inclusion criteria were considered for choosing the interviewers. An interviewer was assigned for each 42 participants (7 clusters). An educational seminar was held for the administrative managers (54 persons) and interviewers (230 persons) for a week. The field work was distributed among all 46 Medical Sciences universities in Iran. In each university, administrative issues were related to an executive director. Mann-Whitney U test and odds ratio were used to analyze the data with 95% confidence interval. α value was considered less than 5%. Results: The frequency of VRPI among 7886 participants was 24 during the last three months. The incidence rate of interpersonal VRPI was estimated at 3.04 per 1000 population (95% CI: 2.66-3.42) during a three-month interval in Iran. The incidence was 4.72 per 1000 population (95% CI: 4.01-5.43) for males and 1.78 per 1000 population (95% CI: 1.39-2.17) for females during a three-month interval. The mean (SD) of age of the participants with and without a history of VRPI were 26.5 (7.21) and 33.05 (12.05) years, respectively (P = 0.008). Considering the participants’ gender, 66.7% were males (OR = 2.66, 95% CI: 1.14-6.23). Khuzestan Province had the most VRPIs (25% of all VRPIs). Streets and roads were the places with the highest frequency of injury (50%). The most frequent injured organ was the upper limb (54.17%). The most prevalent type of injury was a superficial wound (50%). Finally, the most common place of treatment was home (45.83%). Conclusions: We determined the incidence rate of self-reported interpersonal VRPI for the first time in Iran based on a national survey. The injuries were more common among young men. We suggest consecutive national surveys with different data gathering methods and more sample sizes.
Finding the Role of Time Lags in Radio Frequency Identification Investment

Radio Frequency Identification RFID is a highly beneficial technological advancement which could eventually change the way of doing business. However, the difficulty in assessing the potential benefits of RFID has been delayed RFID related investment decisions within organizations. Especially, time lag, or payback time from RFID investment, has been one of key barriers in RFID investment. This study provides a conceptual framework for time lags in RFID to enhance the understanding of RFID pay-offs. Time lags are determined by IT type and a firm's IT capability. Therefore, it takes longer for firms to realize the value of RFID since it requires more efforts and changes to implement and utilize. Also the expected time lags of RFID may be modified by the level of IT capability of each firm. The stronger IT capability the firm has, the shorter time lags the firm experiences.