Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Linearized Robust Counterparts of Two-Stage Robust Optimization Problems with Applications in Operations Management

In this article, we discuss an alternative method for deriving conservative approximation models for two-stage robust optimization problems. The method mainly relies on a linearization scheme employed in bilinear programming; therefore, we will say that it gives rise to the linearized robust counterpart models. We identify a close relation between this linearized robust counterpart model and the popular affinely adjustable robust counterpart model. We also describe methods of modifying both types of models to make these approximations less conservative. These methods are heavily inspired by the use of valid linear and conic inequalities in the linearization process for bilinear models. We finally demonstrate how to employ this new scheme in location-transportation and multi-item newsvendor problems to improve the numerical efficiency and performance guarantees of robust optimization.
Left atrial conduction along the coronary sinus during ectopic atrial tachy- cardia and atrial fibrillation — a study using correlation function analysis. Short title: Conduction along the coronary sinus

Introduction: Correlation function analysis was applied to endocardial electrograms to investigate conduction patterns along the coronary sinus (CS) during sinus rhythm (SR) and atrial tachycardias. Methods and Results: Eighteen recordings were obtained from 14 patients suffering from supraventricular tachycardias. Five atrial fibrillation (AF) recordings were compared to 10 SR recordings and 3 ectopic atrial tachycardia (EAT) recordings. The maximum correlation coefficient was used to assess similarity between signals, i.e., if they originate from the same wavefront. The cumulative time delay, calculated as pairwise summation of interelectrode time delays was used as an indicator of activation sequence along CS. Method validation using SR showed right to left conduction with high correlations in 8 of 10 recordings indicating one single wavefront. EAT recordings showed consistent left to right conduction with left atrial foci and right to left with right atrial focus and lower correlations than SR. All 5 AF recordings showed predominantly left to right conduction direction, also with correlations lower than SR. Conclusion: 1) Correlation function analysis can be used to assess agreement between signals and direction of activation spread. 2) Due to the position of CS, the results can be used to derive mechanisms of interatrial conduction. 3) Consistency in electrical activity propagation along CS is common in AF.
Cultivated Vaginal Microbiomes Alter HIV-1 Infection and Antiretroviral Efficacy in Colonized Epithelial Multilayer Cultures

There is a pressing need for modeling of the symbiotic and at times dysbiotic relationship established between bacterial microbiomes and human mucosal surfaces. In particular clinical studies have indicated that the complex vaginal microbiome (VMB) contributes to the protection against sexually-transmitted pathogens including the life-threatening human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1). The human microbiome project has substantially increased our understanding of the complex bacterial communities in the vagina however, as is the case for most microbiomes, very few of the community member species have been successfully cultivated in the laboratory limiting the types of studies that can be completed. A genetically controlled ex vivo model system is critically needed to study the complex interactions and associated molecular dialog. We present the first vaginal mucosal culture model that supports colonization by both healthy and dysbiotic VMB from vaginal swabs collected from routine gynecological patients. The immortalized vaginal epithelial cells used in the model and VMB cryopreservation methods provide the opportunity to reproducibly create replicates for lab-based evaluations of this important mucosal/bacterial community interface. The culture system also contains HIV-1 susceptible cells allowing us to study the impact of representative microbiomes on replication. Our results show that our culture system supports stable and reproducible colonization by VMB representing distinct community state types and that the selected representatives have significantly different effects on the replication of HIV-1. Further, we show the utility of the system to predict unwanted alterations in efficacy or bacterial community profiles following topical application of a front line antiretroviral.
Preparation of Chitosan Nanoparticles by Nano Spray Drying Technology

Spray drying is a fast, continuous process, leading to transform of a liquid feed into dry particles. This process is completed in three steps; the atomisation, the mixing of fine droplets with gas stream and the separation and collection of dried powder. Besides, nano-spray technology is a breakthrough innovation in order to obtain submicron particles from a solution. Particle size is a one of the indicator of product quality and performance. The main aim of this study was to determine critical process parameters of nano-spray dryer and to evaluate the effects of these parameters on particle characteristics and operation capacity. Nano-spray dryer B-90 was used. In terms of manufacturing process, orifice, spray capacity and polymer concentration were chosen as critical process parameters and their effects on product characteristics as particle size and polydispersity index and zeta potential were evaluated. Moreover, their effects on operation capacity as product yield and process yield were also evaluated. Process yield was calculated as sprayed sample volume per unit process time. Chitosan was chosen as a model polymer with the concentration of 10 and 20% (w/v). According to results of particle characteristics and operation capacity, smaller orifice leads smaller particle size for final product but lower operation capacity. On the other hand, the sprayed volume showed linear proportion with operational capacity but no effect on particle size. Increased polymer concentration improved the yield of dry powder and showed more positive zeta potentials as it exhibited decreased operation capacity.
Recombinant Adeno-Vaccine Expressing Enterovirus 71-Like Particles against Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease

Enterovirus 71 (EV71) and coxsackieviruses (CV) are the major causative agents of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD). There is not currently a vaccine available against HFMD, even though a newly developed formalin-inactivated EV71 (FI-EV71) vaccine has been tested in clinical trial and has shown efficacy against EV71. We have designed and genetically engineered a recombinant adenovirus Ad-EVVLP with the EV71 P1 and 3CD genes inserted into the E1/E3-deleted adenoviral genome. Ad-EVVLP were produced in HEK-293A cells. In addition to Ad-EVVLP particles, virus-like particles (VLPs) formed from the physical association of EV71 capsid proteins, VP0, VP1, and VP3 expressed from P1 gene products. They were digested by 3CD protease and confirmed to be produced by Ad-EVVLP-producing cells, as determined using transmission electron microscopy and western blotting. Mouse immunogenicity studies showed that Ad-EVVLP-immunized antisera neutralized the EV71 B4 and C2 genotypes. Activation of VLP-specific CD4+ and CD8+/IFN-γ T cells associated with Th1/Th2-balanced IFN-ɣ, IL-17, IL-4, and IL-13 was induced; in contrast, FI-EV71 induced only Th2-mediated neutralizing antibody against EV71 and low VLP-specific CD4+ and CD8+ T cell responses. The antiviral immunity against EV71 was clearly demonstrated in mice vaccinated with Ad-EVVLP in a hSCARB2 transgenic (hSCARB2-Tg) mouse challenge model. Ad-EVVLP-vaccinated mice were 100% protected and demonstrated reduced viral load in both the CNS and muscle tissues. Ad-EVVLP successfully induced anti-CVA16 immunities. Although antisera had no neutralizing activity against CVA16, the 3C-specific CD4+ and CD8+/IFN-γ T cells were identified, which could mediate protection against CVA16 challenge. FI-EV71 did not induce 3C-mediated immunity and had no efficacy against the CVA16 challenge. These results suggest that Ad-EVVLP can enhance neutralizing antibody and protective cellular immune responses to prevent EV71 infection and cellular immune responses against CV infection.
A comparison of nutrient losses to waters following pasture renewal by cultivation or direct-drilling

Agricultural soils enriched in phosphorus (P) have been linked to increases in P losses and declining water quality. Cultivation of pastures near sensitive waterways lowers surface soil P and therefore the concentration of P in surface runoff. However, such a practise can increase the mineralisation of organic nitrogen (N), negating this as a mitigation option for N sensitive catchments. A field trial was set up to compare pasture renewal using either direct-drilling or cultivation (which mixed the plough layer to 150 mm) on hydraulically-isolated runoff plots at Tussock Creek near Invercargill, Southland. The trial ran from March to December 2015. Soil P concentrations (0-150 mm depth) decreased in the cultivated plots by about 20%, 8 months after cultivation. Concentrations of nitrate-N in surface runoff and shallow drainage, and P in shallow drainage only, were not different between directdrilling and cultivation treatments. Cultivation reduced filterable reactive P (FRP) losses in surface runoff by 69% (P=0.047) compared to direct-drilled plots. This study showed that mixing P within the plough layer decreased P loss over the 10 months of measurement. Conventional tillage that inverts the plough layer may result in even larger decreases in soil P concentrations. Tillage can therefore be used as a strategy to decrease P loss in small areas where surface runoff is likely, with little risk of increasing catchment-scale N loss. This includes near stream areas, but care must be taken to leave an adequate buffer strip to prevent sediment (and P) loss via erosion of bare soil.
The Golden Ratio Predicted: Vision, Cognition And Locomotion As A Single Design In Nature

Shapes with length/height ratios (L/H) close to 3/2 are everywhere and give the impression that they are being ‘designed’ to match the golden ratio (Φ = 1.618). Here I show that these shapes emerge as part of an evolutionary phenomenon that facilitates the flow of information from the plane to the brain, in accordance with the constructal law of generation and evolution of design in nature. The time required by the eyes to scan a rectangular area L ! H is minimal when the shape is L/H = V L /V H , where V L and V H are the horizontal and vertical scanning speeds. This special shape is such that the time for scanning long and fast (L/V L ) is the same as the time for short and slow (H/V H ). I also show that V L /V H is approximately 3/2 and that consequently L/H ~ 3/2. This natural evolutionary design is an integral part of the universal constructal design that facilitates the flow of the biosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere on earth. Vision, cognition and locomotion are features of a single design for movement of animal mass with easier and easier access in time, all over the globe.
Construction of initial data for 3+1 numerical relativity

This lecture is devoted to the problem of computing initial data for the Cauchy problem of 3+1 general relativity. The main task is to solve the constraint equations. The conformal technique, introduced by Lichnerowicz and enhanced by York, is presented. Two standard methods, the conformal transverse-traceless one and the conformal thin sandwich, are discussed and illustrated by some simple examples. Finally a short review regarding initial data for binary systems (black holes and neutron stars) is given.
Phonotactic learning without a priori constraints : Arabic root cooccurrence restrictions revisited

1 Introduction Much work in generative linguistics is nativist in the sense that the fundamental mechanisms for computing linguistic processes are assumed to be innate. In Optimality Theory (OT), for example, the building blocks of grammar, well-formedness constraints, are universal and innate ((Prince & Smolensky 1993/2004), (McCarthy & Prince 1999)). Cross-linguistic differences are accounted for by reranking these fixed universal constraints. While it is fairly certain that some aspects of language are innate in humans, it is also far from clear which aspects are innate and which simply evolve in the natural course of language development. Results from a host of different research paradigms have shown that many language processes can be learned directly from the statistical structure of experience ((Elman et al. 1996), (Spencer et al. 2009)), including nontrivial ones like dependencies between nonadjacent elements ((Gomez 2002), (Newport & Aslin 2004)). Perhaps at least some of the constraints of OT grammars can be learned from experience too. In a sense, recent work in computational language learning in phonology anticipates this issue. Initial computational work in OT showed that, with a finite set of fixed constraints, complex linguistic systems can be learned within an OT 2009)), modify how constraint-based grammars predict output forms, but they retain the assumption that the constraints themselves are given in advance of learning. More recently, however, (Hayes & Wilson 2008) call into question this assumption. In their theory, constraints can be induced from the data by search heuristics that select a small number of highly predictive constraints from a quasi-infinite constraint set. While this approach is used more as an inductive baseline to motivate the introduction of more abstract structures, it is notable in that it makes learning the constraints themselves a nontrivial part of learning. We seek to continue this line of research by providing an additional mechanism of inducing constraints from data. In particular, we develop a connectionist architecture for learning phonotactic constraints. Below we motivate this cognitive architecture and apply it to the problem of learning root occurrence restrictions, or 'OCP effects', in Arabic. Arabic is chosen because large datasets exist, i.e., root lists and psycholinguistic experiments (Frisch et al.
Persistently Active Microbial Molecules Prolong Innate Immune Tolerance In Vivo

Measures that bolster the resolution phase of infectious diseases may offer new opportunities for improving outcome. Here we show that inactivation of microbial lipopolysaccharides (LPS) can be required for animals to recover from the innate immune tolerance that follows exposure to Gram-negative bacteria. When wildtype mice are exposed to small parenteral doses of LPS or Gram-negative bacteria, their macrophages become reprogrammed (tolerant) for a few days before they resume normal function. Mice that are unable to inactivate LPS, in contrast, remain tolerant for several months; during this time they respond sluggishly to Gram-negative bacterial challenge, with high mortality. We show here that prolonged macrophage reprogramming is maintained in vivo by the persistence of stimulatory LPS molecules within the cells' in vivo environment, where naïve cells can acquire LPS via cell-cell contact or from the extracellular fluid. The findings provide strong evidence that inactivation of a stimulatory microbial molecule can be required for animals to regain immune homeostasis following parenteral exposure to bacteria. Measures that disable microbial molecules might enhance resolution of tissue inflammation and help restore innate defenses in individuals recovering from many different infectious diseases.
Optimal Portfolio Selection in an Itô–Markov Additive Market

We study a portfolio selection problem in a continuous-time Itô–Markov additive market with prices of financial assets described by Markov additive processes that combine Lévy processes and regime switching models. Thus, the model takes into account two sources of risk: the jump diffusion risk and the regime switching risk. For this reason, the market is incomplete. We complete the market by enlarging it with the use of a set of Markovian jump securities, Markovian power-jump securities and impulse regime switching securities. Moreover, we give conditions under which the market is asymptotic-arbitrage-free. We solve the portfolio selection problem in the Itô–Markov additive market for the power utility and the logarithmic utility.
Stock Price Volatility in a Multiple Security Overlapping

A number of empirical studies have reached the conclusion that stock price volatility cannot be fully explained within the standard dividend discount model. This paper proposes a resolution based upon a model that contains both a random supply of risky assets and finitely lived agents who trade in a multiple security environment. As the analysis shows there exist 2^K equilibria when K securities trade. The low volatility equilibria have properties analogous to those found in the infinitely lived agent models of Campbell and Kyle (1991) and Wang (1993, 1994). In contrast, the high volatility equilibria have very different characteristics. Within the high volatility equilibria very large price variances can be generated with very small supply shocks. Adding securities to the economy further reduces the required supply shocks. Using previously established empirical results the model can reconcile the data with supply shocks that are less than 10% as large as observed return shocks. These results are shown to hold even when the dividend process is mean reverting.
Estimating Potential Output in Chile: A Multivariate Filter for Mining and Non-Mining Sectors

Using a multivariate filter, we estimate potential growth rates in Chile’s mining and non-mining sectors. Estimates for the mining sector incorporate information on copper prices, whereas estimates for non-mining reflect information on inflation and unemployment rates. To better understand the drivers of potential growth, we decompose estimates into capital, labor (adjusted for human-capital and hours worked), and total-factor productivity using a production-function. Our estimates of potential output in Chile suggest that an important part of the recent growth slowdown has been structural, with potential-output growth slowing to 2½ percent in recent years, although it plausibly could be higher in the medium-term.
Overview of the TREC 2009 Entity Track

Abstract : The goal of the entity track is to perform entity-oriented search tasks on the World Wide Web. Many user information needs would be better answered by specific entities instead of just any type of documents. The track defines entities as "typed search results," "things," represented by their homepages on the web. Searching for entities thus corresponds to ranking these homepages. The track thereby investigates a problem quite similar to the QA list task. In this pilot year, we limited the track's scope to searches for instances of the organizations, people, and product entity types.
Measurement of the residual stresses in a stainless steel pipe girth weld containing long and short repairs

A series of residual measurements were made to obtain the through-thickness residual stress profiles in an as-welded and repair welded stainless steel pipe. Long and short length repairs were manufactured after initial measurements in the original girth weld. Measurements were made using neutron diffraction, deep hole and surface hole techniques. The various measurement methods were found to complement each other well. All the measurements revealed a characteristic profile for the through-thickness distribution of the residual stresses in the heat-affected zone. The residual stresses at mid-length of the heat affected zone of the short repair were found to be higher than in the long repair. q 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Effect of the compaction speed on the compressional behaviour of binary mixtures containing microcrystalline cellulose and starch

Effect of the compaction speed on the compressional behaviour of binary mixtures containing microcrystalline cellulose and starch Oppiaine /Läroämne – Subject Industrial pharmacy Työn laji/Arbetets art – Level Master's thesis Aika/Datum – Month and year May 2016 Sivumäärä/ Sidoantal – Number of pages 57 Tiivistelmä/Referat – Abstract The main goal of this thesis was to examine the effect of the compaction speed on the compressional behaviour of two excipients, microcrystalline cellulose and starch, using an eccentric and rotary presses. First, the average weights of the tablets have changed due to the increasing speed, as the volume of die kept constant. They were grown, for eccentric press, or were reduced, for rotary press. Second, Compression force, needed to obtain tablets with similar strength, was increased during both tableting methods. The eccentric compaction was more stable regarding to the speed increase. Tablets were formed from all of the blends, with more or less success. Additionally, as a result of force increase, resulted tablets were denser and less porous because of speed expansions during eccentric press. However, the blends containing 80% or more starch were not able to form tablets during the rotary press, because of the very poor die filling. Furthermore, blend containing 60% starch has shown very poor tabletability at speeds over 34 rounds per minute. The elastic recovery of tablets was very sensitive to the speed rises and to the concentrations of excipients during the eccentric press. Tablets have demonstrated an increase in their elastic recovery values in all cases. However, the tablets with a higher concentrations of starch were significantly more sensitive to the increasing compaction velocity. According to these results, it can be concluded that the starch exhibit more elasticity than microcrystalline cellulose. The effect of magnesium stearate on tablets' properties, such as the weight and the porosity, and compaction parameters, such as ejection force have also examined. As it expected from boundary lubricants, magnesium stearate has significantly reduced the ejection force values, required for removing the tablet from the die, compared with unlubricated tablets. Additionally, tablets with lubricants were heavier and more porous. The compression force was adjusted according to the crushing strength values in rotary press. This was due to the fracture variations of such tablets during diametrical compression, which would give unreliable values of tensile strength. Moreover, elastic recovery, porosity, density values were not calculated for scored tablet, due to either the lack of punch …