Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed Containment Control for Human-in-the-Loop MASs With Unknown Time-Varying Parameters

This paper considers the distributed containment control problem for human-in-the-loop (HiTL) multiagent systems (MASs) subject to unknown time-varying parameters and input saturation. A smooth function containing positive integrable time-varying function is embedded in the controller to compensate for the negative effects of unknown time-varying parameters and uncertain disturbances. Meanwhile, an auxiliary system with the same order as the considered system is skillfully introduced into the backstepping control method to overcome the problem of input saturation. By constructing an adaptive command filter with error compensation mechanism, the problems of the computation burden and filtering errors are solved simultaneously. Moreover, the output signals of followers can converge into the convex hull spanned by multiple dynamic leaders which are controlled by a human operator. Based on the Lyapunov stability theory, it is shown that the containment errors can asymptotically converge into the prescribed bounds. Finally, two simulation examples evaluate the effectiveness of the presented control scheme.
High-Resolution Conformational Analysis of RGDechi-Derived Peptides Based on a Combination of NMR Spectroscopy and MD Simulations

The crucial role of integrin in pathological processes such as tumor progression and metastasis formation has inspired intense efforts to design novel pharmaceutical agents modulating integrin functions in order to provide new tools for potential therapies. In the past decade, we have investigated the biological proprieties of the chimeric peptide RGDechi, containing a cyclic RGD motif linked to an echistatin C-terminal fragment, able to specifically recognize αvβ3 without cross reacting with αvβ5 and αIIbβ3 integrin. Additionally, we have demonstrated using two RGDechi-derived peptides, called RGDechi1-14 and ψRGDechi, that chemical modifications introduced in the C-terminal part of the peptide alter or abolish the binding to the αvβ3 integrin. Here, to shed light on the structural and dynamical determinants involved in the integrin recognition mechanism, we investigate the effects of the chemical modifications by exploring the conformational space sampled by RGDechi1-14 and ψRGDechi using an integrated natural-abundance NMR/MD approach. Our data demonstrate that the flexibility of the RGD-containing cycle is driven by the echistatin C-terminal region of the RGDechi peptide through a coupling mechanism between the N- and C-terminal regions.
Nephrolithiasis: A Red Flag for Cardiovascular Risk

Epidemiological evidence shows that nephrolithiasis is associated with cardiovascular (CV) morbidities. The association between nephrolithiasis and CV disease is not surprising because both diseases share conditions that facilitate their development. Metabolic conditions, encompassed in the definition of metabolic syndrome (MS), and habits that promote nephrolithiasis by altering urine composition also promote clinical manifestations of CV disease. By inducing oxidative stress, these conditions cause endothelial dysfunction and increased arterial stiffness, which are both well-known predictors of CV disease. Furthermore, the subtle systemic metabolic acidosis observed in stone formers with CV disease may have a pathogenic role by increasing bone turnover and leading to reduced mineral content and osteoporosis/osteopenia. Heart valves and/or coronary artery and aortic calcifications are frequently associated with reduced mineral density. This is known as the ‘calcification paradox’ in osteoporosis and has also been observed in subjects with calcium nephrolithiasis. Evidence supports the hypothesis that osteoporosis/osteopenia is an independent risk factor for the development of CV calcifications. In the long term, episodes of renal stones may occur from the onset of metabolic derangements/MS to arterial stiffness/atherosclerosis and CV morbidities. These episodes should be considered a warning sign of an ongoing and silent atherosclerotic process. The evaluation of cardiometabolic risk factors and MS components should be routine in the assessment of renal stone formers. This would allow for treatment and prevention of the development of CV complications, which are much more severe for the patient and for public health.
Approximation in eigenvalue problems for holomorphic fredholm operator functions Ii (Convergence Rate)

In this paper we prove some asymptotic error estimations for the difference of eigenvalues of a holomorphic operator function and its approximations. We assume the discrete approximation scheme of F. Stummel [12] for spaces and the regular approximation scheme for operator functions. To get error estimations two approaches are used in this paper. In Sections 2.1 and 2.2 the problem is reduced to the case of matrix functions by the construction, presented in [11]. Here we follow the approach of [4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10]. Some notations and results of [11] are briefly recalled in Paragraph 1. In Section 2.3, the estimation is derived by transforming of an appropriately chosen identity. Here we follow [15, 16].
SOME LIMIT PROPERTIES OF RANDOM TRANSITION PROBABILITY FOR SECOND-ORDER NONHOMOGENEOUS MARKOV CHAINS ON GENERALIZED GAMBLING SYSTEM INDEXED BY A DOUBLE ROOTED TREE

In this paper, we study some limit properties of the harmonic mean of random transition probability for a second-order nonhomogeneous Markov chain on the generalized gambling system indexed by a tree by constructing a nonnegative martingale. As corollary, we obtain the property of the harmonic mean and the arithmetic mean of random transition probability for a second-order nonhomogeneous Markov chain indexed by a double root tree.
Cell-free methylation of RASSF1 and CDKN2AIP genes in the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma associated with hepatitis B virus cirrhosis

Background and Aim Chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is a major cause of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) methylation of tumor suppressor genes are emerging potential biomarkers in HCC. We aimed to evaluate the cfDNA methylation status of RASSF1 and CDKN2AIP genes in patients with liver cirrhosis (LC) with or without HCC caused by HBV. Materials and Methods A total of 47 patients with HBV cirrhosis were included in the study. Patients were divided into two groups: HCC and LC (HCC+LC, n=22) and HBV cirrhosis only (LC, n=25). cfDNA was isolated from the plasma samples of the patients. Methylation analysis was performed for RASSF1 and CDKN2AIP genes. Results Mean methylation percentage of CDKN2AIP gene was 0.001±0.004% in the HCC+LC group and 0.008±0.004 % in the LC only group. The mean methylation percentage of RASSF1 gene was 5.1±16.1% in the HCC+LC group and 9.7±25.9% in the LC only group. The methylation rate of CDKN2AIP was significantly lower in the HCC+LC group (p=0.027). A positive correlation was found with the absence of cfDNA methylation of CDKN2AIP gene in the presence of HCC (R=0.667, p=0.018). Conclusion cfDNA methylation of CDKN2AIP and RASSF1 genes may provide important diagnostic information regarding the development of HCC in the setting of HBV cirrhosis.
Reading literature about disabled children and adolescents: a window into pre-service teachers’ emerging understanding of disability

ABSTRACT Teachers play a key role in fostering a positive view of disabilities by facilitating classroom conversations that promote awareness, understanding, and acceptance of human differences. However, research has indicated that many teachers are reluctant to talk about disabilities with their students because they are unsure of what to say or fear offending disabled students. Embedding disability studies in education perspectives into teacher preparation coursework can encourage future educators to critically analyse issues related to disability as well as to become more conversant in issues surrounding disability. This qualitative study of pre-service teachers (PSTs) in the United States characterises PSTs’ emerging understanding of disability by analysing an assignment in which PSTs read and critically analyse fiction about a disabled character. This study provides insight into areas of PST growth as well as areas where continued development is necessary.
Work-life Balance and Compensation on Performance with Job Satisfaction as an Intervening Variable for Millennial Generation Banking Employees

Research aims: The research aims to determine the effect of work-life balance and compensation on performance with job satisfaction as a variable intervening of millennial generation banking employees in Semarang City.Design/Methodology/Approach: This research design is quantitative. This study’s primary data was obtained by distributing questionnaires to millennial-generation banking employees. The study was conducted for one month. Hypothesis testing in this study used the SEM-STATA method.Research findings: With the object of research being the millennial generation working in the banking industry in Semarang City, compensation and work-life balance positively correlated with employee performance. The results also confirmed the role of the intervening variable, job satisfaction, in the relationship between work-life balance and compensation on employee performance. Theoretical contribution/Originality: The findings supported the existing theories (Spillover Theory, Enrichment Theory, and Equity Theory). Practitioner/Policy implication: For banking companies to pay attention to employee well-being because compensation will satisfy and motivate employees and improve work performance. It is also reasonable for the company to provide job satisfaction to employees to improve employee performance. To enhance the performance of banking employees for the millennial generation in the future through increasing programs that support employees to harmonize their personal lives and work activities to have a relationship with employees’ job satisfaction.Research limitation/Implication: The subject is limited to Millennial Generation and does not capture other generations, such as Baby Boomer and Generation X. It would be better if future researchers could analyze the different characteristics and personalities in the workplace. This paper also only tested the model by Millennial Generation who work in the banking industry in the Semarang City area. It cannot be generalized to other sectors and regions.
Analytic Hyperbolic Geometry and Albert Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity

Gyrogroups Gyrocommutative Gyrogroups Gyrogroup Extension Gyrovectors and Cogyrovectors Gyrovector Spaces Rudiments of Differential Geometry Gyrotrigonometry Bloch Gyrovector of Quantum Information and Computation Special Theory of Relativity: The Analytic Hyperbolic Geometric Viewpoint Relativistic Gyrotrigonometry Stellar and Particle Aberration.
A Pragmatic Comparison Between Aerobic Exercise and Suryanamaskar in Stress Management in Medical Professionals: A Quasi-experimental Study

Background Stress is an episodic process in an individual’s life that depends upon the circumstances that elicit this process, later jeopardizing an individual’s mental balance and leading to depression and anxiety. Yoga is a traditional component of physical activity that contains three main domains, namely, maintaining the correct posture (asanas), control over one’s breath (pranayama) and meditation with complete concentration (dhyana), which are proven to be effective in enhancing the psychological, physical, and spiritual wellbeing of an individual along with mindfulness. The purpose of the present study was to compare aerobic exercise (AE) and Suryanamaskar (SN) in terms of the best intervention in lowering the level of stress in medical professionals (MPs). Methods A quasi-experimental study including a pragmatic comparison was conducted involving 30 participants who were divided into two groups A and B. The participants in group A did treadmill walking and the participants in group B were made to perform the complete cycle of SN with all the 12 asanas for four weeks. Results The outcomes demonstrated that both AE and SN had significant statistical values in terms of pre- and post-intervention Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) scores, resting heart rate, and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. Also, when post-intervention mean values of both the groups were compared for all the parameters, only mean PSS values were found to be statistically significant. Conclusion The current study concluded that both AE and SN were beneficial in decreasing the level of stress in MPs with SN being statistically more significant in reducing stress levels than AE. Both interventions are safe to perform.
Identification of prognostic biomarkers of invasive ductal carcinoma by an integrated bioinformatics approach

Background: Invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) is the most common breast cancer worldwide. Nowadays, due to IDC heterogeneity and its high capacity for metastasis, it is necessary to discover novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers. Thus, this study aimed to identify new prognostic genes of IDC using an integrated bioinformatics approach. Methods: Using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, we downloaded publicly available data of the whole-genome mRNA expression profile from the first three stages of IDC in two expression profiling datasets, GSE29044 and GSE32291; intra-group data repeatability tests were conducted using Pearson’s correlation test, and the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using the online tool GEO2R, followed by the construction of a protein‑protein interaction network (PPI-net) with the common DEGs identified in the three analyzed stages using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes (STRING) database and Cytoscape software, from these PPI-net we identify the hub genes (prognostic genes). Results: We found seven genes [WW domain-containing E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase 1 (WWP1), STIP1 homology and U-box containing protein 1 (STUB1), F-box and WD repeat domain containing 7 (FBXW7), kelch like family member 13 (KLHL13), ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme E2 Q1 (UBE2Q1), tripartite motif-containing 11 (TRIM11), and the beta-transducin repeat containing E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase (BTRC)] as potential candidates for IDC prognostic biomarkers, which were mainly enriched in the Ubiquitin-specific protease activity, cytoskeletal protein binding, and ligase activity. The role of these genes in the pathophysiology of IDC is not yet well characterized, representing a way to improve our understanding of the process of tumorigenesis and the underlying molecular events of IDC. Conclusions: Genes identified may lead to the discovery of new prognostic targets and precise therapeutics for IDC.
Complete Genome and Molecular Characterization of a New Cyprinid Herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) SH-01 Strain Isolated from Cultured Crucian Carp

Cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2) is a causative factor of herpesviral hematopoietic necrosis (HVHN) in farmed crucian carp (Carassius carassius) and goldfish (Carassius auratus). In this study, we analyzed the genomic characteristics of a new strain, CyHV-2 SH-01, isolated during outbreaks in crucian carp at a local fish farm near Shanghai, China. CyHV-2 SH-01 exhibited a high sensitivity to goldfish and crucian carp in our previous research. The complete genome of SH-01 is 290,428 bp with 154 potential open reading frames (ORFs) and terminal repeat (TR) regions at both ends. Compared to the sequenced genomes of other CyHVs, Carassius auratus herpesvirus (CaHV) and Anguillid herpesvirus 1 (AngHV-1), several variations were found in SH-01, including nucleotide mutations, deletions, and insertions, as well as gene duplications, rearrangements, and horizontal transfers. Overall, the genome of SH-01 shares 99.60% of its identity with that of ST-J1. Genomic collinearity analysis showed that SH-01 has a high degree of collinearity with another three CyHV-2 isolates, and it is generally closely related to CaHV, CyHV-1, and CyHV-3, although it contains many differences in locally collinear blocks (LCBs). The lowest degree of collinearity was found with AngHV-1, despite some homologous LCBs, indicating that they are evolutionarily the most distantly related. The results provide new clues to better understand the CyHV-2 genome through sequencing and sequence mining.
General optimal stopping theorems for semi-Markov processes

In this paper, optimal stopping problems for semi-Markov processes are studied in a fairly general setting. In such a process transitions are made from state to state in accordance with a Markov chain, but the amount of time spent in each state is random. The times spent in each state follow a general renewal process. They may depend on the present state as well as on the state into which the next transition is made. Our goal is to maximize the expected net return, which is given as a function of the state at time t minus some cost function. Discounting may or may not be considered. The main theorems (Theorems 3.5 and 3.11) are expressions for the optimal stopping time in the undiscounted and discounted case. These theorems generalize results of Zuckerman [16] and Boshuizen and Gouweleeuw [3]. Applications are given in various special cases. The results developed in this paper can also be applied to semi-Markov shock models, as considered in Taylor [13], Feldman [6] and Zuckerman [15].
Biochemical and Anthropometric Nutritional Assessment in Children Infected with COVID-19: A Cross-sectional Study

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome has led to a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Malnutrition either biochemically or anthropometrically is a well-known risk factor for COVID-19 and may be the vice versa Objectives : To investigate the prevalence of malnutrition in children infected with COVID-19 through evaluating the nutritional biomarkers such as serum electrolytes, serum albumin and hemoglobin together with the anthropometric assessment. Methods: A cross sectional study that was conducted at ElMatria Teaching Hospital for all children admitted with confirmed COVID-19 over a period of 6 months from 1st February 2021 to the end of July, 2021. Nutritional biochemical evaluation included serum electrolytes particularly the potassium and other nutritional biomarkers such as serum albumin and hemoglobin. Nutritional anthropometric evaluation depended on BMI (body mass index), the height/length, weight for length and weight for height.The prevalence of malnutrition esp. hypokalemia was the main outcome. Results: Hypokalemia was present in 21.8% of the study participants . Other nutritional biomarkers were found as hyponatremia, hypocalcemia , hypophosphatemia, hypomagnesemia were detected in 49.1% , 38.2%,21.8% and 34.5% of the study subjects respectively. Anthropometric malnutrition was present in most of the enrolled children with COVID-19 in the study (65.5 % (n= 36) )through which overweight and obese children occupied a greater percentage. Conclusion: Malnutrition either biochemically or anthropometrically could be linked to COVID-19 in children. COVID-19 could have negative outcomes on the nutritional status such as electrolytes disturbances. Both malnutrition and COVID-19 are considered synergistic associations Keywords: Malnutrition. COVID-19. Children. Hypokalemia. Obesity
Inertia effects in falling liquid films: Part I: Modelling and Regularization - Part II: Secondary Insatbility and 3D waves

Previous attempts at the modeling of film flows down an inclined plane are reviewed, focusing on the limit of each formulation. A Padé approximant technique has been applied to derive a regularized model formulated in terms of two coupled evolution equations for the film thickness h and the flow rate q. This model accounts for inertia effects due to the deviations of the velocity profile from the parabolic shape, and closely sticks to the asymptotic long-wave expansion in the appropriate limit. The regularized model is next extended to include spanwise dependence. The stability of two-dimensional traveling waves against three-dimensional perturbations is investigated. The secondary instability is found to be not really selective which explains the widespread presence of the synchronous instability observed in the experiments by Liu et al. (1995), though theory predicts in most cases a subharmonic scenario. Three-dimensional wave patterns are next computed assuming periodic boundary conditions. Transition from 2D to 3D flows is shown to be strongly dependent on initial conditions. The herringbone patterns, the synchronously deformed fronts and the three-dimensional solitary waves observed in experiments (Liu et al., 1995; Park & Nosoko, 2003; Alekseenko et al., 1994) are recovered using our three-equation regularized model, which is found to be an excellent compromise between the complete model, which has seven equations, and the simplified model, which does not include the second-order inertia corrections. Those corrections were found to be decisive in capturing the nature of the secondary instability as well as the spanwise wavelength of the emerging pattern.
A Review of Contemporary Governance Challenges in Oman: Can Blockchain Technology Be Part of Sustainable Solutions?

Oman is considering adopting the latest e-governance technology, including blockchain. While much research was conducted into the benefits and risks of blockchain in information systems and finance fields, fewer researchers investigated the opportunities and risks associated with adopting blockchain frameworks for governance and public administration, especially in highly bureaucratic, centralized rentier states, such as Oman. As the first phase of an exploratory sequential mixed-methods study, our purpose was to identify key governance problems in contemporary Oman and analyze each problem against evidence drawn from the relevant parts of the blockchain and e-governance literature to evaluate the potential utility, risks and limitations associated with adopting block-chained e-governance solutions in the Sultanate. Our initial results indicate that there are advantages for states, such as Oman, from being an early mover into block-chained e-governance systems, including greater cost efficiency, drastically improved accuracy and reliability of information systems, transparency and accountability of public services, and an upgrade in the overall level of legitimacy and public trust in the institutions of governance. However, more research into the risks related to reconciling block-chained systems with the dynamics of labor, tax reforms and centralized authority in a rentier social contract is required.
UAV Formation Control Under Communication Constraints Based on Distributed Model Predictive Control

In this paper, an anti-disturbance control for UAVs formations in a three-dimensional environment using relative information is proposed. To accurately describe the UAV cluster motion error in a three-dimensional environment, an error estimation model based on the UAV model is established to realize the UAV state estimation based on relative information. The control law to achieve the stability of the UAV formation under bounded perturbation is also derived using the backstepping control strategy. Next, to realize that the UAV formation can achieve optimal control under performance constraints, an algorithm based on model predictive control is proposed, and an ant colony algorithm is used to accelerate the solution process. Then, the stability of the UAV formation under the action of this algorithm is investigated. Finally, the superiority and effectiveness of the algorithm compared with the traditional backstepping control method are verified through comparative simulations.