Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time input-constrained MPC using fast gradient methods

Linear quadratic model predictive control (MPC) with input constraints leads to an optimization problem that has to be solved at every instant in time. Although there exists computational complexity analysis for current online optimization methods dedicated to MPC, the worst case complexity bound is either hard to compute or far off from the practically observed bound. In this paper we introduce fast gradient methods that allow one to compute a priori the worst case bound required to find a solution with pre-specified accuracy. Both warm- and cold-starting techniques are analyzed and an illustrative example confirms that small, practical bounds can be obtained that together with the algorithmic and numerical simplicity of fast gradient methods allow online optimization at high rates.
High-resolution CO observations towards the bright eastern knot of the SNR Puppis A

Aims. This paper reports molecular observations towards the bright eastern knot (BEK) in the SNR Puppis A, a feature where radio and X-ray studies suggest that the shock front is interacting with a dense molecular clump. Methods. We performed high-resolution millimetric observations towards the BEK of Puppis A using the SEST telescope in the 12 CO J = 1-0 and 2-1 lines (beams of 45" and 23", respectively). More extended, lower angular resolution 12 CO J = 1-0 observations taken from NANTEN archival data were also analyzed to obtain a complete picture. Results. In the velocity range near 16 km s -1 , which is the Puppis A systemic velocity, our study revealed two important properties: (i) no dense molecular gas is detected immediately adjacent to the eastern border of the BEK and (ii) the molecular clump detected very close to the radiocontinuum maximum is probably located in the foreground along the line of sight and has not yet been reached by the SNR shock front. We propose two possible scenarios for explaining the absence of molecular emission eastwards of the BEK border of Puppis A. Either the shock front has completely engulfed and destroyed a molecular clump or the shock front is interacting with part of a larger cloud, and we do not detect CO emission immediately beyond it because the molecules have been dissociated by photodissociation and by reactions with photoionized material due to the radiative precursor.
Robust MSE-Based Transceiver Optimization in MISO Downlink Cognitive Radio Network

The concurrent transmission of cognitive radios (CRs) and primary users (PUs) can achieve high spectral efficiency, provided that the interference power to each PU is limited below a certain threshold. Joint optimization of the precoding and the equalization is widely used to exploit the spatial diversity to mitigate the interference. However, its performance is sensitive to the inevitable imperfect channel state information (CSI). This paper studies the robust transceiver optimization in multiple-input and single-output downlink CR network, aiming at minimizing the worst-case per-user mean square error. The channel uncertainty model is assumed to be ellipsoidal bounded for both channel matrices and short-term channel covariance matrices. Under the uncertainty models for both cases of CSI, we first derive the strict upper bound or equivalent conditions for the constraints, then reformulate the original optimization problem into the semi-definite programming problems which can be efficiently solved. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed schemes effectively mitigates the performance degradation due to the imperfect CSI. Their robustness with respect to the interference constraint is also validated, which is regarded as the critical part in the design of CR network.
WorkWeb System | Multi-Work(cid:13)ow Management with a Multi-Agent System

Current o(cid:14)ce systems independently manage work(cid:13)ows and personal schedules. However, they cannot be managed independently, because of resource constraints. The \WorkWeb System" is an expanded work(cid:13)ow system that is able to manage and control o(cid:14)ce resources. The \BPT agent" in the system autonomously manages each work(cid:13)ow process instance, trying to acquire the necessary resources to complete it in time. The Work-Web System also provides visual interfaces to manage and control o(cid:14)ce goals and several work(cid:13)ow re-planning algorithms to handle exceptional cases. This paper illustrates how the resource management and work(cid:13)ow dynamic scheduling are performed, and discusses issues involved with this system.
Superposition Coding Strategies: Design and Experimental Evaluation

We design and implement a software-radio system for Superposition Coding (SC), a multiuser transmission scheme that deliberately introduces interference among user signals at the transmitter, using a library of off-the-shelf point-to-point channel codes. We experimentally determine the set of rate-pairs achieved by this transmission scheme under a packet-error constraint. Our results suggest that SC can provide substantial gains in spectral efficiencies over those achieved by orthogonal schemes such as Time Division Multiplexing. Our findings also question the practical utility of the Gaussian approximation for the inter-user interference in Superposition-Coded systems.
The Phase Transition to Slow-roll Eternal Inflation

For slow-roll inflation we study the phase transition to the eternal regime. Starting from a finite inflationary volume, we consider the volume of the universe at reheating as order parameter. We show that there exists a critical value for the classical inflaton speed, φ̇2/H4 = 3/(2π2), where the probability distribution for the reheating volume undergoes a sharp transition. In particular, for sub-critical inflaton speeds all distribution moments become infinite. We show that at the same transition point the system develops a nonvanishing probability of having a strictly infinite reheating volume, while retaining a finite probability for finite values. Our analysis represents the exact quantum treatment of the system at lowest order in the slow-roll parameters and H2/M2 Pl.
Adverse Effects of Subchronic Dose of Aspirin on Reproductive Profile of Male Rats

Aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) is widely used for cardiovascular prophylaxis and as anti-inflammatory pharmaceutical. An investigation was carried out to evaluate the influence of subchronic dose of aspirin on reproductive profile of male rats, if any. Experimental animals were divided into three groups: control and aspirin subchronic dose of 12.5 mg/kg for 30 days and 60 days, respectively, while alterations in sperm dynamics, testicular histopathological and planimetric investigations, body and organs weights, lipid profiles, and hematology were performed as per aimed objectives. Subchronic dose of aspirin reduced sperm density, count, and mobility in cauda epididymis and testis; histopathology and developing primary spermatogonial cells (primary spermatogonia, secondary spermatogonia, and mature spermatocyte) count were also significantly decreased in rats. Hematological investigations revealed hemopoietic abnormalities in 60-day-treated animals along with dysfunctions in hepatic and renal functions. The findings of the present study revealed that administration with subchronic dose of aspirin to male rats resulted in altered reproductive profiles and serum biochemistry.
Music genre classification using the temporal structure of songs

This paper evaluates the capabilities of model-based distances between time series to identify the musical genre of songs. In contrast with standard approaches, this kind of metrics can take into account the structure of the songs by modeling the dynamics of the parameter sequences. We tackle the problem from a non-supervised and from a supervised perspective, in order to point out the usefulness of dynamic-based distances. Experiments on a real-world dataset containing genres with different degrees of a priori overlapping give insights about the discriminant capabilities of these distances.
Title Locus of orthographic facilitation effect in spoken wordproduction : Evidence from Cantonese Chinese

Previous research of picture naming in a picture-word interference paradigm has demonstrated independent facilitative effects of orthographic and phonological similarity in Chinese, as homophonous characters can be visually dissimilar. This study investigated the locus of orthographic priming in Chinese and assessed the hypothesis that the effect can be in part semantically based, through manipulating the extent of orthographic and semantic relatedness between target-distractor characters. Our findings replicated previous results of independent orthographic facilitation and semantic interference, as well as different time courses of these effects. More importantly, we observed longer naming latencies when the distractor was both semantically and orthographically related to the target compared with orthographically similar distractors, and an interaction between semantic and orthographic similarity. These findings suggest that orthographic facilitation on picture naming in Chinese is located at the semantic or the lemma level.
Optimization Strategies for Data Warehouse Maintenance in Distributed Environments

Data warehousing is becoming an increasingly important technology for information integration and data analysis. Given the dynamic nature of modern distributed environments, both source data updates and schema changes are likely to occur autonomously and even concurrently in different data sources. Current approaches [31, 5] to maintain a data warehouse in such dynamic environments sequentially schedule maintenance processes to occur in isolation. Furthermore, each maintenance process is handling the maintenance of one single source update. This limits the performance of current data warehouse maintenance systems in a distributed environment where the maintenance of source updates endures the overhead of network delay as well as IO costs for each maintenance query. In this thesis work, we propose two different optimization strategies which can greatly improve data warehouse maintenance performance for a set of source updates in such dynamic environments. Both strategies are able to support source data updates and schema changes. The first strategy, the parallel data warehouse maintainer, schedules multiple maintenance processes concurrently. Based on the DWMS Transaction model, we formalize the constraints that exist in maintaining data and schema changes concurrently and propose several parallel maintenance process schedulers. The second strategy, the batch data warehouse maintainer, groups multiple source updates and then maintains them within one maintenance process. We propose a technique for compacting the initial sequence of updates, and then for generating delta changes for each source. We also propose an algorithm to adapt/maintain the data warehouse extent using these delta changes. A further optimization of the algorithm also is applied using shared queries in the maintenance process. We have designed and implemented both optimization strategies and incorporated them into the existing DyDa/TxnWrap system. We have conducted extensive experiments on both the parallel as well as the batch processing of a set of source updates to study the performance achievable under various system settings. Our findings include that our parallel maintenance gains around 40 ∼ 50% performance improvement compared to sequential processing in environments that use single-CPU machines and little network delay, i.e, without requiring any additional hardware resources. While for batch processing, an improvement of 400 ∼ 500% improvement compared with sequential maintenance is achieved, however at the cost of less frequent refreshes of the data warehouse content.
Social marketing theory measurement precision: a theory of planned behaviour illustration

Purpose In response to calls for theory use and a more reflexive turn in social marketing, this paper aims to draw on previously executed studies. In line with dominant social marketing downstream-focussed practice, the explanatory power of a commonly used theory, namely, the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), was empirically examined across three different contexts and critically assessed to guide future research practice. Design/methodology/approach TPB measures were drawn from prior studies, and inconsistent item use across contexts was observed. Quantitative studies involving from 876 to 3,191 respondents underpin this study. Each study focussed on a different behaviour, namely, walking to and from school, binge drinking and packing fruits and vegetables into lunchboxes. Hierarchical multiple linear regressions were used for data analysis. Findings Item use was mixed, construct reliability was not consistent and consequent findings indicated that TPB explained walking to and from school and binge drinking, but it did not explain packing fruits and vegetables into lunchboxes. Originality/value Theory use is recommended to enhance intervention outcomes. However, theory application remains scarce in social marketing. Moreover, when theory is used, consistent measures are not used; items are removed from constructs to obtain model fit and constructs used within the theory differ. The current study draws from three studies, all of which applied TPB to explain behaviours. Mixed outcomes were observed when the same analytical process was applied using the available measures and constructs. Close investigation of the measures used across the three studies highlights one explanation for mixed findings. In the absence of consistent application of the theory, drawing definitive conclusions about a theory’s effectiveness is premature. Precise application of theoretical constructs is needed to deliver theoretically derived understanding.
Levels and location are crucial in determining the effect of ROS on lifespan

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) cause molecular damage that accumulates with age and have been proposed to be one of the primary causes of aging. However, recent work indicates that ROS have beneficial roles in an organism and that the relationship between ROS and aging is complex. We have shown that increasing ROS levels or oxidative damage does not necessarily lead to decreased lifespan. We have also shown that in some cases increasing ROS can promote longevity. Further investigation of the factors that determine the effect of ROS on lifespan demonstrate that both the levels and location of ROS are important in predicting the impact of ROS on longevity. Increasing superoxide levels in the cytoplasm results in decreased lifespan, while increasing superoxide levels in the mitochondria leads to increased lifespan. Within the mitochondria, mild elevation of superoxide levels promote longevity, while high levels of superoxide are toxic. Thus, a new paradigm is emerging in which ROS are neither good nor bad but levels and location makes it so.
Orbital Volumetry in Graves' Orbitopathy: Muscle and Fat Involvement in relation to Dysthyroid Optic Neuropathy

Purpose. We wanted to investigate the relative significance of fat and muscle enlargement in the development of dysthyroid optic neuropathy (DON) in Graves' orbitopathy (GO). Methods. Preoperative coronal CT scans of 13 patients with and without DON who subsequently underwent orbital decompression were retrospectively analyzed. Thirteen patients imaged for unilateral orbital fractures served as controls. Results. The retrobulbar muscle volume was 2.1 ± 0.5 cm3 (mean ± SD) in controls, 4.3 ± 1.5 cm3 in GO without DON, and 4.7 ± 1.7 cm3 in GO with DON. The retrobulbar fat volume was 5.4 ± 1.6 cm3 in controls, 8.7 ± 8.0 cm3 in GO without DON, and 9.4 ± 3.1 cm3 in GO with DON. The muscle and fat volumes were higher in patients with GO than in controls (P < 0.001), but the volumes in orbits with and without DON were not significantly different. The volume of the optic nerve were similar in the 3 groups. The number of apical, coronal 2 mm thick slices with no fat was 2.9 ± 0.9 in normal orbits, it was 4.1 ± 1.0 in GO orbits without DON and 5.3 ± 0.8 in GO orbits with DON (P = 0.007). Conclusion. Apical muscle enlargement may be more important than orbital fat enlargement in the development of DON. However, the fact that apical crowding and muscle enlargement also occur in orbits without DON suggests that other factors also play a role in the development of DON.
Traffic-Aware QoS Provisioning and Admission Control in OFDMA Hybrid Small Cells

Recent problems in wireless cellular networks, such as network capacity and indoor coverage, have been addressed by the orthogonal frequency-division multiple-access (OFDMA) small-cell deployments of next-generation Long-Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-A) cellular systems. In this new paradigm, the deployment of hybrid-access small cells can be seen as an optimal solution since they serve both the registered indoor users and unregistered neighboring users in the small-cell coverage area. However, effective quality-of-service (QoS) provisioning and fair admission control pop up as two crucial challenges in these hybrid accesses. Motivated by these challenges, in this paper, we propose a traffic-aware OFDMA hybrid small-cell deployment for QoS provisioning and an optimal admission control strategy for next-generation cellular systems. The traffic awareness in the proposed framework is provided by deriving a novel traffic-aware utility function, which differentiates the user QoS levels with the user's priority indexes, channel conditions, and traffic characteristics. An optimization procedure is formulated, and a novel heuristic is also developed to solve the traffic-aware scheduling problem under transmitted power constraints. To further enhance the proposed scheme, an admission control algorithm based on the utility function is also proposed. The proposed QoS awareness and admission control mechanism are evaluated by thorough simulations, and we show that our proposed framework achieves an optimum QoS performance in terms of total throughput and traffic delay.
High quality clustering of big data and solving empty-clustering problem with an evolutionary hybrid algorithm

Achieving high quality clustering is one of the most well-known problems in data mining. k-means is by far the most commonly used clustering algorithm. It converges fairly quickly, but achieving a good solution is not guaranteed. The clustering quality is highly dependent on the selection of the initial centroid selections. Moreover, when the number of clusters increases, it starts to suffer from "empty clustering". The motivation in this study is two-fold. We not only aim at improving the k-means clustering quality, but at the same time not being effected by the empty cluster issue. For achieving this purpose, we developed a hybrid model, H(EC)2S, Hybrid Evolutionary Clustering with Empty Clustering Solution. Firstly, it selects representative points to eliminate Empty Clustering problem. Then, the hybrid algorithm uses only these points during centroid selection. The proposed model combines Fireworks and Cuckoo-search based evolutionary algorithm with some centroid-calculation heuristics. The model is implemented using a Hadoop Mapreduce algorithm for achieving scalability when faced with a Big Data clustering problem. The advantages of the developed model is particularly attractive when the amount, dimensionality and number of cluster parameters tend to increase. The results indicate that considerable clustering quality performance improvement is achieved using the proposed model.
Testing Literacy Educational Software to Develop Design Guidelines for Children with Autism

Abstract Multimedia computer programmes have been found to facilitate learning in children with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD). However, the effectiveness of these resources is limited due to poor design or a lack of consideration of the ASD cognitive profile, particularly at the lower functioning end of the spectrum. This article attempts to tackle the problem of the lack of design guidelines, with the aim of facilitating the development of effective educational programmes for children with severe ASD. The case study reported here evaluated two literacy educational computer programmes, by observing five low-functioning children with ASD, compared to five neurotypical children (control cases). The two types of reading-support software contrasted in the study presented different characteristics. The children’s data analysed here concern observations of child–software interactive sessions based on video recordings and coded for attention deployment to each programme, including motivation and engagement indicators.
The Impact of Self-Regulatory Strategies on the Essay Writing of EFL Students with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

The complexity of self-regulatory strategies has been challenging to educational researchers who seek to find proper interventions that benefit students and teachers. This study has employed the Self-Regulatory Strategy Development (SRSD) model of instruction to help students monitor, evaluate and revise their writing. SRSD would be beneficial for adult students with learning disabilities in the procedure of essay writing. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as a cognitive-behavioral dysregulation is a consequence of deficits in self-regulatory process. Many students with learning disorders such as ADHD have trouble in the mechanics and process of writing. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of SRSD on the essay writing of EFL undergraduate students. This study tried to evaluate the effects of SRSD intervention on the essay writing of ADHD and NON-ADHD students. To fulfill the mentioned objectives, 126 EFL undergraduate students who enrolled in essay writing course at Tehran Azad University participated in this study. The results indicated that SRSD instruction had a significant effect on the essay writing of the EFL undergraduate students. Likewise, ADHD students could achieve a significant improvement after receiving SRSD intervention. چکیده: پیچیدگی روش های خود تنظیمی برای محققین حوزه آموزش معمولا چالش برانگیز بوده است و آنها همیشه سعی در یافتن روش مناسبی برای دانشجویان و اساتید در این زمینه داشته اند. این تحقیق از روش "استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی" برای کمک به دانشجویان در زمینه های مشاهده، ارزیابی و تجدیدنظر بهره برده است. "استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی" برای دانشجویانی که در زمینه نگارش مشکل دارند مفید خواهد بود. "اختلال بیش فعالی کمبود توجه" به عنوان یک نابهنجاری شناختی- رفتاری، که درنتیجه اختلال درفرایند خود تنظیمی بوجود می آید، مورد بررسی قرار گرفت. بسیاری از دانشجویان که در یادگیری دچار مشکل هستند برای مثال آنهایی که "اختلال بیش فعالی کمبود توجه" دارند در روند و مراحل مقاله نویس با مشکلاتی روبرو هستند. هدف این تحقیق بررسی تاثیرات "استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی" بر توانایی نگارش دانشجویان کارشناسی زبان انگلیسی (زبان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان بیگانه) بوده است. این تحقیق به منظور ارزیابی تاثیرات بکارگیری روش "استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی" بر نگارش دانشجویانی که مشکل "اختلال بیش فعالی کمبود توجه" داشتند و دانشجویانی که این مشکل را نداشتند انجام شد. به این منظور 126 دانشجوی کارشناسی زبان انگلیسی (زبان انگلیسی به عنوان زبان بیگانه) که درس مقاله نویسی را در دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی میگذراندند در این تحقیق شرکت کردند. نتایج نشان داد که روش آموزشی "استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی" بر توانایی مقاله نویسی دانشجویان تاثیر قابل توجهی داشت. همچنین دانشجویانی که مشکل "اختلال بیش فعالی کمبود توجه" را داشتند بعد از بکارگیری "استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی" پیشرفت قابل ملاحظه ای داشتند. کلید واژه ها: اختلال بیش فعالی کمبود توجه – خود تنظیمی – استراتژی های ایجاد خود تنظیمی – مقاله نویسی.