Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of a Markov-Chain-Based Energy Storage Model for Power Supply Availability Assessment of Photovoltaic Generation Plants

A new Markov-chain-based energy storage model to evaluate power supply availability of photovoltaic generation is proposed. Since photovoltaic resources have high output variability subject to weather conditions, energy storage can be added in order to increase the availability of photovoltaic generation. Although adding energy storage is a promising strategy to improve the availability of photovoltaic generation, energy storage sizing to meet a certain availability must be taken into account in order to avoid over-sizing or under-sizing capacity, which are two undesirable conditions leading to increased system cost or inadequate availability, respectively. This paper proposes a new Markov-chain-based energy storage model to develop a power supply availability framework for photovoltaic generation. The proposed work models energy states in a photovoltaic-energy storage system in order to understand the nature of charge/discharge rates for energy storage that affect the system's power output. This developed Markov chain model may assist when planning both large and small-scale grid integrated photovoltaic generation because energy state's behavior of the photovoltaic-energy storage model can be used for forecasting expected power output. In addition, an example using lithium-ion batteries is given in order to explore the effects on availability of energy storage capacity degradation.
Gain Compensation for Fast i-Vector Extraction Over Short Duration

I-vector is widely described as a compact and effective representation of speech utterances for speaker recognition. Standard i-vector extraction could be an expensive task for applications where computing resource is limited, for instance, on handheld devices. Fast approximate inference of i-vector aims to reduce the computational cost required in i-vector extraction where run-time requirement is critical. Most fast approaches hinge on certain assumptions to approximate the i-vector inference formulae with little loss of accuracy. In this paper, we analyze the uniform assumption that we had proposed earlier. We show that the assumption generally hold for long utterances but inadequate for utterances of short duration. We then propose to compensate for the negative effects by applying a simple gain factor on the i-vectors estimated from short utterances. The assertion is confirmed through analysis and experiments conducted on NIST SRE’08 and SRE’10 datasets.
Creating a “Prosurvival Phenotype” Through Histone Deacetylase Inhibition: Past, Present, and Future

ABSTRACT Traumatic injuries and their sequelae represent a major source of mortality in the United States and globally. Initial treatment for shock, traumatic brain injury, and polytrauma is limited to resuscitation fluids to replace lost volume. To date, there are no treatments with inherent prosurvival properties. Our laboratory has investigated the use of histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACIs) as pharmacological agents to improve survival. This class of drugs acts through posttranslational protein modifications and is a direct regulator of chromatin structure and function, as well as the function of numerous cytoplasmic proteins. In models of hemorrhagic shock and polytrauma, administration of HDACIs offers a significant survival advantage, even in the absence of fluid resuscitation. Positive results have also been shown in two-hit models of hemorrhage and sepsis and in hemorrhagic shock combined with traumatic brain injury. Accumulating data generated by our group and others continue to support the use of HDACIs for the creation of a prosurvival phenotype. With further research and clinical trials, HDACIs have the potential to be an integral tool in the treatment of trauma, especially in the prehospital phase.
Image Coding by a Neural Net Classification Process

A self organizing neural network performing learning vector quantization (LVQ) to compress image data is proposed. By using unsupervised learning our LVQ neural model approximates optimal pattern clustering from training images through a memory adaptation process and builds a compression codebook in the synaptic weight matrix. The neural codebook trained by example pictures can be used as a codec to compress and decompress other pictures in a speedy fashion. Special image types such as fingerprints verify this property in our experi ments. Our approach is compared with other recently developed neural VQ models - neural gas growing cell structures and conscious competitive learning - and methodological prem ises are discussed. The performance of our model is also compared with JPEG and wavelet methods. Other advantages of our neural codec model are its low training time high utiliza tion of neurons robust clustering capability and simple computation. Further our model has some filtering effects through spe.
HIL test bench to test anti-swing fuzzy control of an overhead crane

This paper proposes an anti-swing fuzzy control system for an overhead crane. It focuses on industrial crane with the aim of minimizing load swinging to avoid safety problems. Both speed and position control scheme have been considered and two different solutions have been proposed. The results have been validated during an experimental phase using an innovative real time test bench.
Predicting Armed Conflict, 2010–2050

The article predicts changes in global and regional incidences of armed conflict for the 2010–2050 period. The predictions are based on a dynamic multinomial logit model estimation on a 1970–2009 cross-sectional data set of changes between no armed conflict, minor conflict, and major conflict. Core exogenous predictors are population size, infant mortality rates, demographic composition, education levels, oil dependence, ethnic cleavages, and neighborhood characteristics. Predictions are obtained through simulating the behavior of the conflict variable implied by the estimates from this model. We use projections for the 2011–2050 period for the predictors from the UN World Population Prospects and the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis. We treat conflicts, recent conflict history, and neighboring conflicts as endogenous variables. Out-of-sample validation of predictions for 2007–2009 (based on estimates for the 1970–2000 period) indicates that the model predicts well, with an area under the receiver operator curve of 0.937. Using a p > . 30 threshold for positive prediction, the true positive rate 7–9 years into the future is 0.79 and the False Positive Rate 0.085. We predict a continued decline in the proportion of the world's countries that have internal armed conflict, from about 15% in 2009 to 7% in 2050. The decline is particularly strong in the Western Asia and North Africa region and less clear in Africa south of Sahara. The remaining conflict countries will increasingly be concentrated in East, Central, and Southern Africa and in East and South Asia.
Extrachromosomal circular DNA of tandemly repeated genomic sequences in Drosophila.

One characteristic of genomic plasticity is the presence of extrachromosomal circular DNA (eccDNA). This DNA is found in various eukaryotes from yeast to humans, and its levels are elevated by exposure to carcinogens. eccDNA is heterogeneous in size and composed of chromosomal sequences. In this study we used two-dimensional gel electrophoresis to detect and characterize eccDNA in Drosophila. We found eccDNA throughout the fly's life cycle. These molecules comprise up to 10% of the total repetitive DNA content, and their size ranges from <1 kb to >20 kb. The eccDNA population contains circular multimers of tandemly repeated genes such as histones, rDNA, Stellate, and the Suppressor of Stellate. Multimers of centromeric heterochromatin sequences are included in eccDNA as well. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that intramolecular homologous recombination between direct tandem repeats is a favorite mechanism for eccDNA formation. The level of eccDNA increased following MMS treatment of wild-type larvae, consistent with phenomena observed in cultured mammalian cells. This shows mutagen-induced eccDNA formation in the context of the whole organism for the first time. Mutations in the genes okra, mus309, and mei41 did not affect eccDNA under normal conditions or following mutagen treatment, implying that eccDNA formation is different from known pathways of DNA repair.
Osteonecrosis in the Foot

Abstract Osteonecrosis, also referred to as avascular necrosis, refers to the death of cells within bone caused by a lack of circulation. It has been documented in bones throughout the body. In the foot, osteonecrosis is most commonly seen in the talus, the first and second metatarsals, and the navicular. Although uncommon, osteonecrosis has been documented in almost every bone of the foot and therefore should be considered in the differential diagnosis when evaluating both adult and pediatric foot pain. Osteonecrosis is associated with many foot problems, including fractures of the talar neck and navicular as well as Kohler's disease and Freiberg's disease. Orthopaedists who manage foot disorders will at some point likely be faced with the challenges associated with patients with osteonecrosis of the foot. Because this disease can masquerade as many other pathologies, physicians should be aware of the etiology, presentation, and treatment options for osteonecrosis in the foot.
Breastfeeding practices in mothers of high-respiratory-risk NICU infants: impact of depressive symptoms and smoking

Abstract Aim: Mothers of infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) have very low breastfeeding rates and these high-respiratory-risk (HRR) NICU infants may benefit from breastfeeding through decreased risk for respiratory illnesses. This population’s increased risk for maternal depression and high rates (22%) of maternal smoking may negatively affect breastfeeding. Objective: This exploratory study investigated associations of breastfeeding with depressive symptoms and maternal smoking in mothers of HRR NICU infants (i.e. presence of one household smoker and birth weight <1500 g or mechanical ventilation ≥12 h). Methods: Breastfeeding, depression and smoking data were collected from 104 mothers in the NICU following delivery. Results: Fifty-five (52.9%) mothers reported breastfeeding, 39 (37.5%) had a Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) score (≥16) suggestive of depression, and 36 (34.6%) reported smoking. Mothers with CES-D scores ≥16 were less likely to breastfeed compared to those with scores <16 (38.5% versus 61.5%; p = 0.02). Breastfeeding and smoking were not significantly associated (p < 0.10). Mothers of HRR infants with significant depressive symptoms who smoke have significantly lower breastfeeding rates (21%) than mothers who are not depressed and do not smoke (65%). Conclusions: Interventions to improve breastfeeding initiation and continuation that target depression and smoking are necessary.
Structural and relational data mining for systems biology applications

Due to the enormous accumulation of experimental data and the increasing need for combining heterogeneous data sources, the field of systems biology yields novel and very interesting problems in data analysis. The development of high-throughput technologies has opened the possibility to study the behavior of many cellular components simultaneously. Therefore, there is an increasing interest and effort in not only understanding the functions of single isolated components, but also revealing the interactions and functional relationships between different components. Often, the outcome of large-scale measurements is conveniently represented in a structured form; prominent examples are proteinprotein interaction networks, coexpression networks for genes, and bipartite graphs of associations between experimental conditions and regulated genes. This thesis presents different methods that aim at finding interesting patterns in such data. The main contributions are as follows. First, an exact enumerative approach to dense cluster detection is proposed. Given a weighted interaction network and a default weight for missing edges, the density of a node set is defined as the average pairwise interaction weight. The described method finds all patterns that satisfy a user-defined minimum density threshold. Conceptually, this task is a generalization of clique search; however, the standard techniques to solve that problem are not appropriate for the generalized question. Fortunately, an efficient enumeration strategy can be achieved by adopting the reverse search paradigm. Remarkably, the same algorithmic framework is applicable to discover cluster patterns in other types of structured data, like asymmetric binary relations and multipartite graphs, as well as hypergraphs, n-ary relations, and tensors. Second, our approach integrates additional constraints in order to focus the search on clusters that are relevant for the specific application at hand. For example, if each node in a network has an annotation profile attached to it, we can identify dense clusters where the nodes share a common subprofile. The principal idea is that the user provides the datasets of interest and defines desired properties of
β Galactosidases and their potential applications: a review

β Galactosidases have been obtained from microorganisms such as fungi, bacteria and yeasts; plants, animals cells, and from recombinant sources. The enzyme has two main applications; the removal of lactose from milk products for lactose intolerant people and the production of galactosylated products. In order to increase their stability, reusability, and use in continuous reactors, these enzymes have been immobilized on both organic and inorganic support via adsorption, covalent attachment, chemical aggregation, microencapsulation, and entrapment. Free and immobilized preparations of β galactosidases have been exploited in various applications such as industrial, biotechnological, medical, analytical, and in different other applications. β galactosidase is widely used in food industry to improve sweetness, solubility, flavor, and digestibility of dairy products. Immobilized β galactosidases are employed for the continuous hydrolysis of lactose from whey and milk in a number of reactors such as hollow fiber reactors, tapered column reactors, packed bed reactors, fluidized bed reactors etc.
Iron Stimulates Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Expression and Activates NF-kappa B in Human Prostate Cancer Cells

Abstract: Urokinase-type plasminogen activator (uPA) on prostate cancer cell surfaces mediates pericellular proteolysis and destruction of extracellular matrix barriers to tumor invasion and metastasis. Increased expression of tumor-associated uPA leads to enhanced tumor dissemination and poor cancer outcomes in men with prostate cancer. Expression of uPA is regulated in part by the oxidant-sensitive transcription factor, NF-kappa B (NF-κB), which is activated by intracellular reactive oxygen intermediates (ROI). This study examined the effect of iron on the production of ROI, activation of NF-κB and expression of uPA in the human prostate cancer cell line, PC-3. Treatment of PC-3 cells with iron in the form of ferric nitrilotriacetate (FeNTA) in the absence of added transferrin resulted in a dose-dependent increase in cellular ferritin content in both the presence and absence of neutralizing antibody to the transferrin receptor. Cellular uptake of iron resulted in stimulation of intracellular ROI production, and increases in uPA mRNA, antigen, and activity. Concurrent treatment with the iron chelator, desferrioxamine (DFO) abrogated these effects, and treatment with DFO alone inhibited constitutive uPA production. Finally, we observed nuclear translocation, and therefore activation of NF-κB in response to iron exposure. We conclude that iron enters PC-3 cells via a non-transferrin dependent pathway and increases uPA expression. Our data indicate that one mechanism by which iron may stimulate uPA production is through the generation of intracellular ROI and activation of NF-κB-mediated signaling pathways.
Design and simulation of exhaust gas waste heat recovery system of gasoline engine based on Stirling cycle

A Stirling cycle engine is very suitable for the recovery of exhaust heat downstream turbine, as it has many favorable characteristics, such as high efficiency, less pollution, silent operation, high reliability, simple configuration and multi-fuel capability. Firstly, the 1.5T gasoline engine exhaust temperature testing experiment is presented, and the downstream turbine exhaust temperature is analyzed. Secondly, according to the range of the exhaust temperature and energy losses of the gasoline engine, the basic structure and operating parameters of the Stirling cycle engine are designed. Finally, a mathematical model of the Stirling cycle engine considering the heat losses and friction losses of the heat exchanger is developed, which is used to simulate the exhaust heat recovery system of gasoline engine. The simulated results are appropriate to evaluate the performance of designed Stirling engine. So it is feasible to recycle the exhaust heat of gasoline engine using a Stirling cycle engine.
Help-seeking for child psychopathology: pathways to informal and professional services in the Netherlands.

OBJECTIVE To devise and test a model describing the process of help-seeking for child psychopathology in professional and informal service settings. METHOD Using structural equation modeling, associations between several help-seeking stages, and the influence of child, family, and context characteristics on these stages were investigated in 246 Dutch children (4-11 years old) between April 2000 and July 2002. Children were selected for having emotional or behavioral problems from a representative general practice sample; 68% of the selected children participated. RESULTS School personnel played an important role in the process of help-seeking for child psychopathology, in both detecting service need and the provision of and the referral for help. Although Dutch general practitioners are supposed to be gatekeepers of mental health care, their role in help-seeking for child psychopathology was limited. Various family characteristics were shown to influence service need and informal or professional help-seeking. The influence of child characteristics on the help-seeking process was limited. CONCLUSIONS Educating parents about child psychopathology and the availability and accessibility of care, improving general practitioners' skills in detecting child psychopathology, and direct contact of mental health professionals with general practitioners and schools may enhance access to care for children in need.
Mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in a sample of adults in the city of Bogotá

ABSTRACT The low prevalence of dementia described in communities is likely due to the low sensitivity of screening tests and an absence of evaluation by specialists. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia in adults older than 50 years. METHODS: A two-phase, cross-sectional study was conducted by specialists to evaluate cognition and associated demographic risk factors in 1,235 independent community-dwelling adults from Bogotá. In Phase I, screening was performed using the MMSE and MoCA tests. In Phase II, after application of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery with neurologic and psychiatric evaluations, a cognitive diagnosis was established by consensus. RESULTS: The prevalence found for MCI was 34% and for dementia was 23%. MCI was associated with incomplete high school, OR=1.74 (95%CI=1.23-2.45), and with an age of 70-79 years, OR=1.93 (95%CI=1.47-2.53). A total of 73% of MCI cases were amnestic. Dementia was associated with incomplete primary education, OR=8.98 (95%CI=5.56-14.54), complete primary education, OR=6.23 (95%CI=3.70-10.47), and age older than eighty years, OR=3.49 (95%CI=2.23-5.44). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dementia found was greater than the rates reported in previous studies. Low educational level was the main risk factor for cognitive impairment and should be considered in strategic planning for the local health system.
The bond strength of endodontic sealers to root dentine exposed to different gutta-percha solvents.

AIM To evaluate the effects of various gutta-percha solvents on the push-out bond strength of several root canal sealers on root dentine. METHODOLOGY The root canals of 210 single-rooted human teeth were prepared with the ProTaper System (Dentsply Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) up to a master apical file size of F4, and the following variables evaluated for bond strength: solvent type (chloroform, eucalyptol and orange oil), time (2 and 5 min), sealer type (AH Plus, MTA Fillapex and Sealapex) and root thirds (coronal, middle and apical). After canal filling, three 1-mm-thick slices were obtained from each root sample, and the bond strength of the test materials was measured using a push-out test set-up at a cross-head speed of 1 mm min(-1) . The data were analysed using four-way factorial anova (P = 0.05). RESULTS Bond strength was significantly affected by solvent type and time (P < 0.001). The use of chloroform for 5 min in the root canal decreased bond strength of all sealers (P < 0.001). Eucalyptol and orange oil did not affect the bond strength of the sealers (P > 0.05). In all conditions, the push-out bond strength was highest for AH Plus and lowest for MTA Fillapex (P < 0.001). Bond strength values decreased in a corono-apical direction in all groups (P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Chloroform used for 5 min during retreatment decreased the bond strength of AH Plus, Sealapex and MTA Fillapex to root dentine.
The Clavicle Trial: A Multicenter Randomized Controlled Trial Comparing Operative with Nonoperative Treatment of Displaced Midshaft Clavicle Fractures

Background: The treatment of displaced midshaft clavicle fractures remains controversial. Methods: We undertook a multicenter randomized controlled trial to compare effectiveness and safety between nonoperative management and ORIF (open reduction and internal fixation) for displaced midshaft clavicle fractures in adults. Three hundred and one eligible adult patients were randomized to 1 of the 2 treatment groups and followed at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 9 months after recruitment. The primary outcome was the rate of radiographically evident nonunion at 3 months following treatment. Secondary outcomes were the rate of radiographically evident nonunion at 9 months, limb function measured using the Constant-Murley Score and DASH (Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand) score, and patient satisfaction. Results: There was no difference in the proportion of patients with radiographic evidence of nonunion at 3 months between the operative (28%) and nonoperative (27%) groups, whereas at 9 months the proportion with nonunion was significantly lower (p < 0.001) in the operative group (0.8%) than in the nonoperative group (11%). The DASH and Constant-Murley scores and patient satisfaction were all significantly better in the operative group than in the nonoperative group at 6 weeks and 3 months. Conclusions: Although at 3 months there was no evidence that surgery had reduced the rate of nonunion of displaced midshaft clavicle fractures, at 9 months nonoperative treatment had led to a significantly higher nonunion rate (11% compared with <1%). The rate of secondary surgical intervention during the trial period was 12 (11%) of the 147 patients in the nonoperative group. ORIF is a safe and reliable intervention with superior early functional outcomes and should be considered for patients who sustain this common injury. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level I. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.