Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Capacitive Emulation for LCL-Filtered Grid-Connected Converters

This paper proposes an effective capacitive emulation (CE) technique to reduce the grid current distortion when the converter currents are controlled (converter current feedback (CCF)) in grid-connected converters with an LCL filter. Although the CCF scheme is preferable to the grid current feedback (GCF) scheme in terms of stability and inherent current limitation of the power semiconductors, the former presents a problem of additional grid-current harmonic distortion due to the LCL capacitor, which generates a distorted current by line voltage differentiation. To solve this problem, the distorting capacitive current is reproduced on the converter output, so that both cancel out each other on the grid. That is, the converter emulates a negative capacitance while delivering the active and reactive power at the fundamental frequency. This is achieved by adding an estimation of the distorting capacitive current to the converter current reference. Moreover, an effective CE technique requires a current control capable of tracking all harmonics added to the current reference and compensating for any control delay. To compensate this delay, the paper proposes a buffer-based method to advance and filter the current reference. The effectiveness of the CE method has been tested on a 10-kVA transformerless inverter with CCF and a simple proportional-integral (PI) control with grid-voltage feedforward cancellation. Experimental results prove that the proposed solution reduces the line current THD (total harmonic distortion) compared with the GCF strategy with proportional-resonant (PR) control.
An Iterative Approach to Word Sense Disambiguation

In this paper, we present an iterative algorithm for Word Sense Disambiguation. It combines two sources of information: Word_Net and a semantic tagged corpus, for the purpose of identifying the correct sense of the words in a given text. It differs from other standard approaches in that the disambiguation process is performed in an iterative manner: starting from free text, a set of disambiguated words is built, using various methods; new words are sense tagged based on their relation to the already disambiguated words, and then added to the set. This iterative process allows us to identify, in the original text, a set of words which can be disambiguated with high precision; 55% of the verbs and nouns are disambiguated with an accuracy of 92%.
I Ching philosophy inspired optimization

I Ching (Chinese characters: $$$) philosophy, stemming from ancient Chinese culture, is Chinese view of empiricism, world outlook and dialectics. Over thousands of years of evolving and interpretation, its cosmological wisdom has broad and profound influences not only on Chinese prevailing philosophy, but also on westerns. I Ching concentrates on the virtue of being moderate and appropriate, representing the balance by which it is contended that power/destiny can be well generated/controlled. Among the whole 64 hexagrams in I Ching, is the QIAN hexagram which is ranked in the first place, standing for the strong action and the everlasting desire for success. Behind I Ching philosophy lie the thinking and action models of optimization, specifically, identification from changing states, embracing vision, and optimal action obeying the balance of moderateness and appropriateness. I Ching philosophy could act as the driving force to establish and develop new optimization scheme. In this regard, enlightened by I Ching philosophy, particularly the QIAN hexagram, we propose I Ching philosophy inspired optimization, labeled as ICO for continuous optimization problems. Characterized by population-based, stochastic, iterative, and empiricism inspired features, the ICO evolves the population of solutions by multiple searching operators derived from underlying mechanism of the QIAN hexagram, as expected that the balance between global exploration and local exploitation can be well achieved. Specifically, the whole population is divided into four subpopulations, each of which corresponds to one solid line (state in the QIAN hexagram), then five search operators are developed to perform the learning, emerging, controlling, chasing and stabilizing operations on each subpopulation. The performances of the proposed ICO are investigated on well-known testing benchmarks and digital IIR filter designing problem which is crucial in control field. Comparisons with several state-of-the-art algorithms show the efficacy of the proposed ICO algorithm.
Coordinate initiation of chromosome and minichromosome replication in Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli minichromosomes harboring as little as 327 base pairs of DNA from the chromosomal origin of replication (oriC) were found to replicate in a discrete burst during the division cycle of cells growing with generation times between 25 and 60 min at 37 degrees C. The mean cell age at minichromosome replication coincided with the mean age at initiation of chromosome replication at all growth rates, and furthermore, the age distributions of the two events were indistinguishable. It is concluded that initiation of replication from oriC is controlled in the same manner on minichromosomes and chromosomes over the entire range of growth rates and that the timing mechanism acts within the minimal oriC nucleotide sequence required for replication.
On the diversity order of space-time trellis codes with receive antenna selection over fast fading channels

In this paper, we study the performance of space-time trellis codes (STTCs) with receive antenna selection over fast fading channels. Specifically, we derive upper bounds on the pairwise-error probability (PEP) with antenna selection. In performing the selection, we adopt a criterion that is based on using L out of the available M receive antennas that result in maximizing the instantaneous signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at the receiver, where L les M. We show that the diversity order resulting from antenna selection deteriorates significantly and is actually dictated by the number of selected antennas. The implication of this result is that adding more receive antennas, while maintaining the same number of selected ones, will have no impact on the diversity order, but it does, however, provide some additional coding gain. This is unlike the case for quasi-static fading channels in which the diversity order is always preserved with antenna selection when the underlying STTC is full-rank. We present numerical examples that support our analysis
A workload characterization of elliptic curve cryptography methods in embedded environments

Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC) is emerging as an attractive public-key system for constrained environments, because of the small key sizes and computational efficiency, while preserving the same security level as the standard methodsWe have developed a set of benchmarks to compare standard and corresponding elliptic curve public-key methods. An embedded device based on the Intel XScale architecture, which utilizes an ARM processor core was modeled and used for studying the benchmark performance. Different possible variations for the memory hierarchy of such basic architecture were considered. We compared our benchmarks with MiBench/Security, another widely accepted benchmark set, to provide a reference for our evaluation.We studied operations and impact on memory of Diffie-Hellman key exchange, digital signature algorithm, ElGamal, and RSA public-key cryptosystems. Elliptic curve cryptosystems are more efficient in terms of execution time, but their impact on memory subsystem has to be taken into account when designing embedded devices in order to achieve better performance.
Hidden activity in high-redshift spheroidal galaxies from mid-infrared and X-ray observations in the GOODS-North field

We exploit very deep mid-infrared (MIR) and X-ray observations by Spitzer and Chandra in the GOODS-North field to identify signs of hidden [either starburst or active galactic nucleus (AGN)] activity in spheroidal galaxies between z≃ 0.3 and 1. Our reference is a complete sample of 168 morphologically classified spheroidal (elliptical/lenticular) galaxies with zAB < 22.5 selected from GOODS Advanced Camera for Surveys imaging. Of these 19 have 24-μm detections in the GOODS catalogue, half of which have an X-ray counterpart in the 2-Ms Chandra catalogue (six detected in the 2–10 keV X-rays hard band), while about 25 per cent have 1.4-GHz fluxes larger than 40 μJy. Traces of hidden activity in the spheroidal population are also searched for in the deep X-ray images and 14 additional galaxies are detected in X-rays only. The nature of the observed MIR emissions is investigated by modelling their spectral energy distributions based on the available multiwavelength photometry, including X-ray, ultraviolet, optical, near-infrared, MIR and radio fluxes, and optical spectroscopy. The amount of dust derived from the infrared emission observed by Spitzer appears in excess of that expected by mass loss from evolved stars. When the available independent diagnostics are compared, in general, they provide consistent classifications about the nature of the activity in our spheroidal population. Given that, in principle, none of these diagnostics alone can be considered as conclusive, only trough a panchromatic comparison of them, we can reach an accurate comprehension of the underlying physical processes. In particular, our multiwavelength analysis of the X-ray and MIR properties leads us to conclude that at least eight of the 19 24-μm bright sources should hide an obscured AGN, while the X-ray undetected sources are more likely dominated by star formation. We conclude that ∼30 objects (∼20 per cent) of the original flux-limited sample of 168 spheroidal galaxies in the GOODS-North are detected during phases of prominent activity, of both stellar and quasar origin. Due to the short expected lifetimes of the infrared and X-ray emissions, this fraction might imply a significant level of activity in this class of galaxies during the relatively recent cosmic epochs –z∼ 0.3–1– under investigation.
A short form of the Maximization Scale: Factor structure, reliability and validity studies

We conducted an analysis of the 13-item Maximization Scale (Schwartz et al., 2002) with the goal of establishing its factor structure, reliability and validity. We also investigated the psychometric properties of several proposed refined versions of the scale. Four sets of analyses are reported. The first analysis confirms the 3-part factor structure of the scale and assesses its reliability. The second analysis identifies those items that do not perform well on the basis of internal, external, and judgmental criteria, and develops three shorter versions of the scale. In the third analysis, the three refined versions of the scale are cross-validated to confirm dimensionality, reliability, and validity. The fourth analysis uses an experiment in an investment decision making context to assess the reliability and nomological validity of the refined scales. These analyses lead us to conclude that a shorter, 6-item Maximization Scale performs best and should be used by future researchers. It is hoped that clarification of the conceptual underpinnings of the maximization construct and development of a refined scale will enhance its use among researchers across several of the social science disciplines.
Shape Estimation Using Polarization and Shading from Two Views

This paper presents a novel method for 3D surface reconstruction that uses polarization and shading information from two views. The method relies on the polarization data acquired using a standard digital camera and a linear polarizer. Fresnel theory is used to process the raw images and to obtain initial estimates of surface normals, assuming that the reflection type is diffuse. Based on this idea, the paper presents two novel contributions to the problem of surface reconstruction. The first is a technique to enhance the surface normal estimates by incorporating shading information into the method. This is done using robust statistics to estimate how the measured pixel brightnesses depend on the surface orientation. This gives an estimate of the object material reflectance function, which is used to refine the estimates of the surface normals. The second contribution is to use the refined estimates to establish correspondence between two views of an object. To do this, surface patches are extracted from each view, which are then aligned by minimising an energy functional based on the surface normal estimates and local topographic properties. The optimum alignment parameters for different patch pairs are then used to establish stereo correspondence. This process results in an unambiguous field of surface normals, which can be integrated to recover the surface depth. Our technique is most suited to smooth nonmetallic surfaces. It complements existing stereo algorithms since it does not require salient surface features to obtain correspondences. An extensive set of experiments, yielding reconstructed objects and reflectance functions, are presented and compared to ground truth.
Spelling it out: Real-time ASL fingerspelling recognition

This article presents an interactive hand shape recognition user interface for American Sign Language (ASL) finger-spelling. The system makes use of a Microsoft Kinect device to collect appearance and depth images, and of the OpenNI+NITE framework for hand detection and tracking. Hand-shapes corresponding to letters of the alphabet are characterized using appearance and depth images and classified using random forests. We compare classification using appearance and depth images, and show a combination of both lead to best results, and validate on a dataset of four different users. This hand shape detection works in real-time and is integrated in an interactive user interface allowing the signer to select between ambiguous detections and integrated with an English dictionary for efficient writing.
Identification and characterization of the aspartate chemosensory receptor of Campylobacter jejuni

Campylobacter jejuni is a highly motile bacterium that responds via chemotaxis to environmental stimuli to migrate towards favourable conditions. Previous in silico analysis of the C. jejuni strain NCTC11168 genome sequence identified 10 open reading frames, tlp1‐10, that encode putative chemosensory receptors. We describe the characterization of the role and specificity of the Tlp1 chemoreceptor (Cj1506c). In vitro and in vivo models were used to determine if Tlp1 had a role in host colonization. The tlp1‐ isogenic mutant was more adherent in cell culture, however, showed reduced colonization ability in chickens. Specific interactions between the purified sensory domain of Tlp1 and l‐aspartate were identified using an amino acid array and saturation transfer difference nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Chemotaxis assays showed differences between migration of wild‐type C. jejuni cells and that of a tlp1‐ isogenic mutant, specifically towards aspartate. Furthermore, using yeast two‐hybrid and three‐hybrid systems for analysis of protein–protein interactions, the cytoplasmic signalling domain of Tlp1 was found to preferentially interact with CheV, rather than the CheW homologue of the chemotaxis signalling pathway; this interaction was confirmed using immune precipitation assays. This is the first identification of an aspartate receptor in bacteria other than Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Gastrointestinal consequences of bariatric surgery

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Moir&#201; Minimization Condition in Three-Dimensional Image Displays

A moirÉ minimization condition is found analytically for the contact-type three-dimensional (3-D) imaging systems by approximating 3-D displays as four superposed sine gratings. Finding maximization conditions for two-dimensional (2-D) waves in this structure provides minimization of moirÉs. The global extremum was found at a certain angle which does not depend on the period. Experiments confirm the analytical findings. Practical advantage of using that angle is in its wide areas of applications: 3-D displays can be made to have almost invisible moirÉs with using this angle without regards to other specific parameters like pixel size and pitch of the screen.
The Validity of a Response-to-Instruction Paradigm to Identify Reading Disabilities: A Longitudinal Analysis of Individual Differences and Contextual Factors

Abstract Using a mixed-methodology, longitudinal design, individual differences and contextual factors related to differential response to general education instruction were examined. We tested a response-to-instruction model reflecting the first three phases of a model proposed by Fuchs and Fuchs (1998). We classified first-and second-grade children at-risk for reading problems into one of three responsiveness groups and compared groups on reading, phonological processing, behavioral, and instructional context measures. Further, we examined qualitatively the interaction of individual differences and instructional context. The most persistently nonresponsive group scored significantly lower on all individual difference measures, but did not experience poorer instructional settings. Further, this group demonstrated greater difficulty learning in the general education setting. The response—to-instruction model demonstrated construct and social validity with implications for an improved prereferral system.
Effectiveness of Reminder Systems on Appointment Adherence Rates

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of reminder systems on appointment nonadherence rates in an low-income inner-city clinic population. A total of 2,304 consenting patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) automated telephone reminder, (2) postcard reminder, or (3) no reminder. In contrast with research on other populations, the results of this study demonstrated no significant difference in appointment adherence rates among the three groups. To aid in the development of more effective interventions in the future, individuals not attending their scheduled appointments were interviewed by telephone to determine reason for nonadherence.
Intensive chemotherapy, azacitidine, or supportive care in older acute myeloid leukemia patients: An analysis from a regional healthcare network

We assessed in a French regional healthcare network the distribution of treatments, prognostic factors, and outcome of 334 newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia patients aged 60 years or older over a 4‐year period of time (2007–2010). Patients were selected in daily practice for intensive chemotherapy (n = 115), azacitidine (n = 95), or best supportive care (n = 124). In these three groups, median overall survival was 18.9, 11.3, and 1.8 months, respectively. In the azacitidine group, multivariate analysis showed that overall survival was negatively impacted by higher age (P = 0.010 for one unit increase), unfavorable cytogenetics (P = 0.001), lymphocyte count <0.5 G/L (P = 0.015), and higher lactate dehydrogenase level (P = 0.005 for one unit increase). We compared the survival of patients treated by azacitidine versus intensive chemotherapy and best supportive care using time‐dependent analysis and propensity score matching. Patients treated by intensive chemotherapy had a better overall survival compared with those treated by azacitidine from 6 months after diagnosis, whereas patients treated by azacitidine had a better overall survival compared with those treated by best supportive care from 1 day after diagnosis. This study of “real life” practice shows that there is a room for low intensive therapies such as azacitidine in selected elderly acute myeloid leukemia patients. Am. J. Hematol. 89:E244–E252, 2014. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Heritable L1 retrotransposition in the mouse primordial germline and early embryo

LINE-1 (L1) retrotransposons are a noted source of genetic diversity and disease in mammals. To expand its genomic footprint, L1 must mobilize in cells that will contribute their genetic material to subsequent generations. Heritable L1 insertions may therefore arise in germ cells and in pluripotent embryonic cells, prior to germline specification, yet the frequency and predominant developmental timing of such events remain unclear. Here, we applied mouse retrotransposon capture sequencing (mRC-seq) and whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to pedigrees of C57BL/6J animals, and uncovered an L1 insertion rate of ≥1 event per eight births. We traced heritable L1 insertions to pluripotent embryonic cells and, strikingly, to early primordial germ cells (PGCs). New L1 insertions bore structural hallmarks of target-site primed reverse transcription (TPRT) and mobilized efficiently in a cultured cell retrotransposition assay. Together, our results highlight the rate and evolutionary impact of heritable L1 retrotransposition and reveal retrotransposition-mediated genomic diversification as a fundamental property of pluripotent embryonic cells in vivo.
Investigation on cyclodextrin production with cyclodextrin glucanotransferase from Bacillus megaterium.

The process of producing cyclodextrins from starch with cyclodextrin glucanotransferase from Bacillus megaterium has been studied. The effect of starch and enzyme concentrations was evaluated using optimal composite designs and the response surface methodology. Mathematical models describing the process in two overlapping areas of variation of the independent variables were developed. The models were used to determine the optimal values of the variables. The increase in starch concentration resulted in an increase in the amount of b-cyclodextrin formed, but lowered the yield. The optimal starch concentration was considered to be 50.0 mg/mL. The critical cyclodextrin glucanotransferase concentration necessary for maximum b-cyclodextrin production was 2.0 U/g. Factors that limit the complete conversion of starch to cyclodextrins were established. The enzyme activity was strongly inhibited by the reaction products. The coupling activity of cyclodextrin glucanotransferase was proved. The enzyme was able to degrade high concentrations of b-cyclodextrin and to transform different types of cyclodextrins one into another. Cyclodextrin glucanotransferase formed a-, band g-cyclodextrins in different ratios, depending on the duration of the process.
A Classwide Peer-Assisted Self-Management Program: Adaptations, Implications, and a Step-by-Step Guide for Rural Educators

Nationwide, teachers and administrators alike note that classroom management is one of their top rated concerns and a key reason for their reluctance to include students with disabilities in their classrooms (Schumm & Vaughn, 1995). In rural states this problem is exacerbated by shortages of trained personnel (Helge, 1992) resulting in students with special needs having little or no access to trained special educators or being served by a succession of untrained teachers and aides (Ludlow, 1998). Teachers legitimately question how they can cover the content necessary to meet state testing standards when faced with frequent disturbances in the classroom by disruptive and off-task behavior, defiance, and non-compliance. This paper describes a practical classwide self-management program that shifts the responsibility for managing behavior back to the student and allows the teacher to focus on instruction. Step-by-step instructions on how to implement the program and tips for troubleshooting are provided.