Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-Time Monitoring and Economic Dispatch of Smart Distribution Grids: High Performance Algorithms for DMS Applications

Power distribution networks are changing its traditional operation paradigm, due to the introduction of the smart grid concept, which encompasses, among others, continuous demand variations, as well as continuous dispatch variations of the distributed generation units. The latter may be controllable or noncontrollable. This paradigm shift means to switch from a fixed radial operative topology network to a more dynamical configuration, which changes during the day and hour by hour. In this sense, the massive incorporation of new telecontrol and telecommunication technologies allows a dynamic operation in real-time (RT) of distribution networks. In order to achieve an optimal network operation, it is required a continuous RT monitoring, control and economic dispatch by means of a smart distribution management system (DMS). The named system must count on high performance algorithms and RT information systems. This paper presents three very efficient algorithms (in terms of speed, robustness and accuracy), which are: load estimation, ac power flow, and optimal reconfiguration for loss minimization. Furthermore, these algorithms have been tested in many real and large scale distribution networks for several utilities and have presented remarkable features for its implementation in a DMS for smart distribution grids (SDGs).
Molecular mechanisms of activation in CDK2

Cyclin-dependent kinases (CDKs) are enzymes involved in crucial cellular processes. Their biological activity is directly linked to their high conformational variability, which involves large protein conformational rearrangements. We present here the application of an enhancing sampling technique to the study of conformational transitions between the open and closed state of CDKs. The analysis of the conformational intermediates supports the idea that the process is regulated by two important protein regions, which sequentially rearrange in order to allow the protein to reach its final conformation. Furthermore, the two paths involve additional (minor) protein rearrangements which are specific to the paths. Our results show that our procedure can provide reasonable transition pathways between the two protein forms at a very reduced computational cost. The robustness and the simplicity of our approach make it of general application to describe virtually any macromolecular conformational transitions.
Scalable System Environment Caching and Sharing for Distributed Virtual Machines

Virtual machines have become very widely used in many software development communities. Developers can conveniently provision specific machine configurations using VMs, and those VMs can contain operating systems, libraries, and other applications required to build and execute their software under development. However, the size of full VM images and network bandwidth limitations makes large-scale reuse of VMs among distributed groups of developers extremely difficult. In this paper we address the problem of provisioning software configurations realized as virtual machine images rapidly and incrementally from a set of pristine VM states, by caching and sharing configuration fragments between developer groups. We first formally model the entire configuration space that might be cached and shared between groups, describe the design of our infrastructure to incrementally provision configurations from its fragments, and finally evaluate the performance of our approach with an example scenario common in software testing. Our experimental results show that our approach can help developers reduce the time and resource requirements for provisioning software configurations.
Exploring Explanations for Local Reductions in Teenage Pregnancy Rates in England: An Approach Using Qualitative Comparative Analysis

Teenage pregnancy rates in the UK are high compared with many other countries but there is marked variation across local areas, including those with high deprivation. This study uses the method of Qualitative Comparative Analysis to identify conditions associated with the presence or absence of a narrowing gap in teenage pregnancy rates as measured by the differences between deprived local authority areas and the national average. A higher proportion of black and minority ethnic groups in the local population is found to be a sufficient although not necessary condition for narrowing to have occurred. Surprisingly, a good assessment of commissioning practice – combined with other conditions – was associated with areas where the gap has not been narrowing.
5-Methoxyleoligin, a Lignan from Edelweiss, Stimulates CYP26B1-Dependent Angiogenesis In Vitro and Induces Arteriogenesis in Infarcted Rat Hearts In Vivo

Background Insufficient angiogenesis and arteriogenesis in cardiac tissue after myocardial infarction (MI) is a significant factor hampering the functional recovery of the heart. To overcome this problem we screened for compounds capable of stimulating angiogenesis, and herein investigate the most active molecule, 5-Methoxyleoligin (5ML), in detail. Methods and Results 5ML potently stimulated endothelial tube formation, angiogenic sprouting, and angiogenesis in a chicken chorioallantoic membrane assay. Further, microarray- and knock down- based analyses revealed that 5ML induces angiogenesis by upregulation of CYP26B1. In an in vivo rat MI model 5ML potently increased the number of arterioles in the peri-infarction and infarction area, reduced myocardial muscle loss, and led to a significant increase in LV function (plus 21% 28 days after MI). Conclusion The present study shows that 5ML induces CYP26B1-dependent angiogenesis in vitro, and arteriogenesis in vivo. Whether or not CYP26B1 is relevant for in vivo arteriogenesis is not clear at the moment. Importantly, 5ML-induced arteriogenesis in vivo makes the compound even more interesting for a post MI therapy. 5ML may constitute the first low molecular weight compound leading to an improvement of myocardial function after MI.
Ostreococcus tauri ADP-glucose Pyrophosphorylase Reveals Alternative Paths for the Evolution of Subunit Roles*

ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase controls starch synthesis in plants and is an interesting case to study the evolution and differentiation of roles in heteromeric enzymes. It includes two homologous subunits, small (S) and large (L), that originated from a common photosynthetic eukaryotic ancestor. In present day organisms, these subunits became complementary after loss of certain roles in a process described as subfunctionalization. For instance, the potato tuber enzyme has a noncatalytic L subunit that complements an S subunit with suboptimal allosteric properties. To understand the evolution of catalysis and regulation in this family, we artificially synthesized both subunit genes from the unicellular alga Ostreococcus tauri. This is among the most ancient species in the green lineage that diverged from the ancestor of all green plants and algae. After heterologous gene expression, we purified and characterized the proteins. The O. tauri enzyme was not redox-regulated, suggesting that redox regulation of ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylases appeared later in evolution. The S subunit had a typical low apparent affinity for the activator 3-phosphoglycerate, but it was atypically defective in the catalytic efficiency (Vmax/Km) for the substrate Glc-1-P. The L subunit needed the S subunit for soluble expression. In the presence of a mutated S subunit (to avoid interference), the L subunit had a high apparent affinity for 3-phosphoglycerate and substrates suggesting a leading role in catalysis. Therefore, the subfunctionalization of the O. tauri enzyme was different from previously described cases. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first biochemical description of a system with alternative subfunctionalization paths.
White Coat Hypertension Is More Risky Than Prehypertension: Important Role of Arterial Wave Reflections

Arterial aging may link cardiovascular risk to white coat hypertension (WCH). The aims of the present study were to investigate the role of arterial aging in the white coat effect, defined as the difference between office and 24-hour ambulatory systolic blood pressures, and to compare WCH with prehypertension (PH) with respect to target organ damage and long-term cardiovascular mortality. A total of 1257 never-been-treated volunteer subjects from a community-based survey were studied. WCH and PH were defined by office and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressures. Left ventricular mass index, carotid intima-media thickness, estimated glomerular filtration rate, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, carotid augmentation index, amplitude of the reflection pressure wave, and 15-year cardiovascular mortality were determined. Subjects with WCH were significantly older and had greater body mass index, blood pressure values, intima-media thickness, carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, augmentation index, amplitude of the backward pressure wave, and a lower estimated glomerular filtration rate than PH. Amplitude of the backward pressure wave was the most important independent correlate of the white coat effect in multivariate analysis (model r 2=0.451; partial r 2/model r 2=90.5%). WCH had significantly greater cardiovascular mortality than PH (hazard ratio, 2.94; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–7.91), after accounting for age, sex, body mass index, smoking, fasting plasma glucose, and total cholesterol/high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol ratio. Further adjustment of the model for amplitude of the backward pressure wave eliminated the statistical significance of the WCH effect. In conclusion, the white coat effect is mainly caused by arterial aging. WCH carries higher risk for cardiovascular mortality than PH, probably via enhanced wave reflections that accompany arterial aging.
Adaptive Indexed Divisible Load Theory for Wireless Sensor Network Workload Allocation

Energy depletion in wireless sensors is a major obstacle for a wireless sensor network (WSN) to operate over an extended period of time. This problem can be extenuated by minimizing the need for high-power transmission from sensors to the master processor. Sensors could be arranged in clusters, and their sensing workloads are properly determined for minimal energy consumption during the sensing and result reporting stages. The divisible load theory (DLT) is applied here to obtain optimal allocation of sensor workloads taking into account the balance of energy used such that the failure of the first sensor can be delayed. Since standard DLT assumes an ordered indexing of the sensors, its direct application in WSNs may result in unbalanced energy usage. Adaptive indexing schemes with the application of DLT, adaptive indexed divisible load theory (AIDLT), are thus proposed to redefine the indices of sensors in each sensing round while calculating the assigned workload portions. Furthermore, adaptations based on transmission distances, sensor residual energies, double ranking of distances with residual energies, and randomized sensor identifications are formulated and evaluated. Simulation results on a cluster of sensors have shown that adaptation based on residual energies outperforms the other indexing schemes while the randomization scheme is the simplest.
How to do a p-descent on an elliptic curve

In this paper, we describe an algorithm that reduces the computation of the (full) p-Selmer group of an elliptic curve E over a number field to standard number field computations such as determining the (p-torsion of) the S-class group and a basis of the S-units modulo pth powers for a suitable set S of primes. In particular, we give a result reducing this set S of 'bad primes' to a very small set, which in many cases only contains the primes above p. As of today, this provides a feasible algorithm for performing a full 3-descent on an elliptic curve over Q, but the range of our algorithm will certainly be enlarged by future improvements in computational algebraic number theory. When the Galois module structure of E[p] is favorable, simplifications are possible and p-descents for larger p are accessible even today. To demonstrate how the method works, several worked examples are included.
Life after eruption – III . Orbital periods of the old novae V 3 65 Car

We present time-series photometric and spectroscopic data for seven old novae. They are used to derive the orbital period for the systems V365 Car (5.35 h) , AR Cir (5.14 h), V972 Oph (6.75 h), HS Pup (6.41 h), V373 Sct (3.69 h), V909 Sgr (3.43 h) a nd CN Vel (5.29 h). Their addition increases the number of orbital periods for novae b y ∼10 per cent. The eclipsing nature of V909 Sgr is confirmed, and in three other cases (V365 Car, Ar Cir and V373 Sct) we detect significant photometric orbital variability with amplitudes>0.2 mag inR. The resulting period distribution is briefly discussed. We furthe more provide new measurements for the previously ambiguous coordinates for AR Cir and CN Vel an d the identification of a new probable W UMa variable in the field of V909 Sgr. The spectrum o f V972 Oph presents an emission feature redward of H α which we tentatively identify with the C II λλ6578/6583 doublet. It is shown that this line originates in the binary and n ot i a shell, and to our knowledge this is the first time that it has been detected in such quality in a cataclysmic variable (CV). We argue that this line could be more common in CVs, but that it can be easily masked by the broad Hα emission that is typical for these systems. A closer inspect ion of the line profiles of the other novae indeed reveals an extended red wing in V365 Car, CN Vel and AR Cir. In the latter system additionally an absorption counterpart b lueward of Hα is detected and thus in this case a bipolar outflow appears as a more likely scenari o r ther than CII emission.
A Roadmap for Requirements Elicitation of Knowledge Management Systems: A Delphi Study

The discipline of Knowledge Management (KM) has been around for quite some time. However, it has yet to find a successful formula of assimilation to benefit organizations today. Organisations are not able to leverage on its past successes, experiences and lessons learnt without an effective mode to capture tacit requirements. Knowledge Management bridges this gap. An organization’s continued maturity is assessed not only for its financial strength but from its ability to leverage and build upon mainly its tacit and at times explicit nature of its intellectual capital whilst enabling co-creation of values (Lee & Choi, 2003). To manage both tacit and explicit knowledge in an organisation, it is imperative that a Knowledge Management System (KMS) be deployed.
HCoM: Item-Based Similarity Model for Heterogeneous Implicit Feedback

Popularization of mobile devices promotes the development of E-commerce in which users produce plenty of implicit feedbacks (e.g., click, adding to wish list, purchase). Generally, the implicit feedback can be divided into the certain implicit feedback like purchase and the uncertain implicit feedback like click. However, certain implicit feedback is sparse while uncertain implicit feedback like click is more common. In recommender systems, most conventional methods only use certain implicit feedback, suffering from the sparsity problem. In this paper, we propose an improved item-based similarity model named HCoM(Heterogeneous-COnstraint Model) which utilizes heterogeneous implicit feedbacks to handle the sparsity problem of certain implicit feedback. In our model, the item similarity is learned using a structural equation modeling approach with a heterogeneous-constraint(HC) involved in regularization terms. As a result, the sparsity problem is alleviated and a higher accuracy is obtained. We conduct a set of experiments on authentic users-commodities mobile behavior datasets with different scales and sparsities to compare HCoM with state-of-the-art top-N recommendation methods. Experimental results show that HCoM achieves remarkable improvements in recommendation quality versus all methods compared.
Knowledge Creation as a Square Dance on the Hilbert Cube

This paper presents a micro-model of knowledge creation and transfer in a small group of people. Our model incorporates two key aspects of the cooperative process of knowledge creation: (i) heterogeneity of people in their state of knowledge is essential for successful cooperation in the joint creation of new ideas, while (ii) the very process of cooperative knowledge creation aects the heterogeneity of people through the accumulation of knowledge in common. The model features myopic agents in a pure externality model of interaction. Surprisingly, in the general case for a large set of initial conditions we …nd that the equilibrium process of knowledge creation may converge to the most productive state, where the population splits into smaller groups of optimal size; close interaction takes place within each group only. This optimal size is larger as the heterogeneity of knowledge is more important in the knowledge production process. Equilibrium paths are found analytically, and they are a discontinuous function of initial heterogeneity. JEL Classi…cation Numbers: D83, O31, R11
Case study: auditory brain responses in a minimally verbal child with autism and cerebral palsy

An estimated 30% of individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) remain minimally verbal into late childhood, but research on cognition and brain function in ASD focuses almost exclusively on those with good or only moderately impaired language. Here we present a case study investigating auditory processing of GM, a nonverbal child with ASD and cerebral palsy. At the age of 8 years, GM was tested using magnetoencephalography (MEG) whilst passively listening to speech sounds and complex tones. Where typically developing children and verbal autistic children all demonstrated similar brain responses to speech and nonspeech sounds, GM produced much stronger responses to nonspeech than speech, particularly in the 65–165 ms (M50/M100) time window post-stimulus onset. GM was retested aged 10 years using electroencephalography (EEG) whilst passively listening to pure tone stimuli. Consistent with her MEG response to complex tones, GM showed an unusually early and strong response to pure tones in her EEG responses. The consistency of the MEG and EEG data in this single case study demonstrate both the potential and the feasibility of these methods in the study of minimally verbal children with ASD. Further research is required to determine whether GM's atypical auditory responses are characteristic of other minimally verbal children with ASD or of other individuals with cerebral palsy.
Interactions between Plant Metabolites Affect Herbivores: A Study with Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids and Chlorogenic Acid

The high structural diversity of plant metabolites suggests that interactions among them should be common. We investigated the effects of single metabolites and combinations of plant metabolites on insect herbivores. In particular we studied the interacting effects of pyrrolizidine alkaloid (PAs), and chlorogenic acid (CGA), on a generalist herbivore, Frankliniella occidentalis. We studied both the predominantly occurring PA N-oxides and the less frequent PA free bases. We found antagonistic effects between CGA and PA free bases on thrips mortality. In contrast PA N-oxides showed synergistic interactions with CGA. PA free bases caused a higher thrips mortality than PA N-oxides while the reverse was through for PAs in combination with CGA. Our results provide an explanation for the predominate storage of PA N-oxides in plants. We propose that antagonistic interactions represent a constraint on the accumulation of plant metabolites, as we found here for Jacobaea vulgaris. The results show that the bioactivity of a given metabolite is not merely dependent upon the amount and chemical structure of that metabolite, but also on the co-occurrence metabolites in, e.g., plant cells, tissues and organs. The significance of this study is beyond the concerns of the two specific groups tested here. The current study is one of the few studies so far that experimentally support the general conception that the interactions among plant metabolites are of great importance to plant-environment interactions.
Analytic Calculation of the DC-Link Capacitor Current for Pulsed Three-Phase Inverters

For pulsed three-phase inverters with symmetrical load the capacitor current in the dc-link circuit is analytically calculated. These calculations can be applied for a constant dcvoltage as well as for sinusoidal modulated voltages and sinusoidal currents at the output. The additional load of the dc-link capacitor caused by harmonic currents of the filter circuit or by switching transitions of semiconductors is examined, too. At last, the calculations are examined by practical measurements.
Design and Analysis of Parallel-Coupled Line Bandpass Filter

Abstract A compact microwave parallel coupled line resonator seventh order bandpass filter (BPF) is presented in this paper, consist a 8-parallel coupled line pairs designed for a maximally flat response or Butterworth response at a center frequency of 2.44175 GHz and with a fractional bandwidth, ∆= 0.035. The filter was implemented in a microstrip platform with a permittivity of the substrate Er=4.4 and a substrate height h=1.5mm. The physical parameters of the parallel coupled line filter sections were optimized using the Microwave Office software to provide the closest values of the bandpass filter prototype values and electrical lengths for a given set of filter specifications. The simulation of direct calculation, show the attenuation S11 response was observed at 2.44175 GHz with a value of -25 dB and the corresponding Insertion Loss S21 is 1.8dB while the optimized design S11 response at the centre frequency with a value of -113 dB and the corresponding Insertion Loss S21 is -2.2dB.
Min-entropy sources for Bell tests

Device independent protocols rely on the violation of Bell inequalities to certify properties of the resources available. The violation of the inequalities are meaningless without a few well-known assumptions. One of these is measurement independence, the property that the source of the states measured in an inequality is uncorrelated from the measurements selected. Since this assumption cannot be confirmed, we consider the consequences of relaxing it and find that the definition chosen is critically important to the observed behavior. Considering a definition that is a bound on the minentropy of the measurement settings, we find lower bounds on the min-entropy of the source used to choose the inputs required to deduce any quantum or non-local behavior from a Bell inequality violation. These bounds are significantly more restrictive than the ones obtained by endowing the measurement-input source with the further structure of a Santha-Vazirani source. We also outline a procedure for finding tight bounds and study the set of probabilities that can result from relaxing measurement dependence.