Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Solubilizing poorly soluble antimy cotic agents by emulsification via a solvenent-free process

The purpose of this study was to formulate itraconazole and ketoconazole as oil/water emulsions for parenteral delivery by using a solvent-free homogenization process, namely SolEmuls (solubilization by emulsification) technology. The drugs were incorporated in the commercial emulsion Lipofundin MCT 20%, composed of a medium-chain triglyceride/long-chain triglyceride (MCT/LCT) oil phase (1∶1) and stabilized with 1.2% lecithin. Different parameters such as drug-loading capacity, long-term physical stability, and completeness of drug dissolution were investigated. Up to 10.0 mg/mL complete drug dissolution was achieved with itraconazole; at 20 mg/mL hybrid dispersion was obtained. Itraconazole-loaded emulsions were physically stable for 9 months (data up to now). Ketoconazole showed physical instability in the Lipofundin emulsion, which was stabilized with only 1.2% lecithin. Stabilization of ketoconazole-loaded emulsions was achieved using additionally Tween 80 as steric stabilizer. Higher concentrations of ketoconazole (ie, 10.0 mg/mL concentrated ketoconazole emulsions) were also produced with additional 2.0% Tween 80. Ketoconazole-loaded emulsions, 1 mg/mL, which were stabilized with 2.0% Tween 80, were stable for a period of 6 months. It can be concluded, after formulating amphotericin B and carbamazepine with SolEmuls technology, that SolEmuls was also applicable to the antimycotic agents itraconazole and ketoconazole, yielding IV-applicable emulsions with cost-effective production technologies.
A Path-Following Approach to Stable Bipedal Walking and Zero Moment Point Regulation

Consider a biped evolving in the sagittal plane. The unexpected rotation of the supporting foot can be avoided by controlling the zero moment point or ZMP. The objective of this study is to propose and analyze a control strategy for simultaneously regulating the position of the ZMP and the joints of the robot. If the tracking requirements were posed in the time domain, the problem would be underactuated in the sense that the number of inputs would be less than the number of outputs. To get around this issue, the proposed controller is based on a path-following control strategy previously developed for dealing with the underactuation present in planar robots without actuated ankles. In particular, the control law is defined in such a way that only the kinematic evolution of the robot's state is regulated, but not its temporal evolution. The asymptotic temporal evolution of the robot is completely defined through a one degree of freedom subsystem of the closed-loop model. Simple analytical conditions, which guarantee the existence of a periodic motion and the convergence towards this motion, are deduced.
Representational and Advisory Guidance for Learning: Alternate Roles for AI.

Although applications of artificial intelligence to education have traditionally focused on teachercentered approaches such as Intelligent Tutoring Systems, artificial intelligence can also contribute to studentcentered approaches to learning by providing representational and interactive support for collaborative learning. Specifically, AI can inform the design of representational systems that constrain and guide learner’s activities, and enable dynamic generation of guidance based on representational artifacts that learners construct in these systems. The paper exemplifies such contributions with an educational software package, known as “Belvedere” that supports students collaboratively solving ill-structured problems in science as they develop critical inquiry skills.
Probabilistic Semi-Canonical Correlation Analysis

anonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) requires paired multimodal data to ascertain the relation between two variables. However, it is generally difficult to collect a sufficient amount of paired data of two variables as training samples. This fact leads individual samples of unpaired variables to be additional resources for learning CCA, which are not only able to increase the number of training samples; they are also effective to remove the learning bias caused by the variables' missing patterns. As described in this paper, we propose a novel model of probabilistic CCA by considering the mechanism of data missing. Our method enables widespread applications such as semi-supervised learning via partially labeled training samples and analysis of sensory data which are lacking under certain circumstances. We demonstrate the superior performance of parameter estimation as well as an application of image annotation, compared with existing methods.
VisitSense: Sensing Place Visit Patterns from Ambient Radio on Smartphones for Targeted Mobile Ads in Shopping Malls

In this paper, we introduce a novel smartphone framework called VisitSense that automatically detects and predicts a smartphone user’s place visits from ambient radio to enable behavioral targeting for mobile ads in large shopping malls. VisitSense enables mobile app developers to adopt visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising for shopping mall visitors in their apps. It also benefits mobile users by allowing them to receive highly relevant mobile ads that are aware of their place visit patterns in shopping malls. To achieve the goal, VisitSense employs accurate visit detection and prediction methods. For accurate visit detection, we develop a change-based detection method to take into consideration the stability change of ambient radio and the mobility change of users. It performs well in large shopping malls where ambient radio is quite noisy and causes existing algorithms to easily fail. In addition, we proposed a causality-based visit prediction model to capture the causality in the sequential visit patterns for effective prediction. We have developed a VisitSense prototype system, and a visit-pattern-aware mobile advertising application that is based on it. Furthermore, we deploy the system in the COEX Mall, one of the largest shopping malls in Korea, and conduct diverse experiments to show the effectiveness of VisitSense.
Subjective Evaluation of Mobile Speech Input : Experiences from Two Case Studies

Thorough understanding of subjective and objective measurements of speech-based interaction, especially of its user experience, is vital for practical application development. We present findings from two case studies where multimodal applications containing speech input were evaluated using a subjective evaluation methodology. Responses were investigated using both correlation analysis and exploratory factor analysis. The results from the correlation analysis suggest that previous experience with multimodal technologies does not overall significantly influence expectations or perceptions of actual use. Results from the factor analysis process aided us in characterizing the nature of user experience and serve as a starting point for further analyses. Finally, our results suggest that there is little correlation between subjective and objective metrics.
Improved Synthesis Strategy for Peptide Nucleic Acids (PNA) appropriate for Cell-specific Fluorescence Imaging

Progress in genomics and proteomics attended to the door for better understanding the recent rapid expanding complex research field of metabolomics. This trend in biomedical research increasingly focuses to the development of patient-specific therapeutic approaches with higher efficiency and sustainability. Simultaneously undesired adverse reactions are avoided. In parallel, the development of molecules for molecular imaging is required not only for the imaging of morphological structures but also for the imaging of metabolic processes like the aberrant expression of the cysteine protease cathepsin B (CtsB) gene and the activity of the resulting product associated with metastasis and invasiveness of malign tumors. Finally the objective is to merge imaging and therapy at the same level. The design of molecules which fulfil these responsibilities is pivotal and requires proper chemical methodologies. In this context our modified solid phase peptide chemistry using temperature shifts during synthesis is considered as an appropriate technology. We generated highly variable conjugates which consist of molecules useful as diagnostically and therapeutically active molecules. As an example the modular PNA products with the complementary sequence to the CtsB mRNA and additionally with a cathepsin B cleavage site had been prepared as functional modules for distinction of cell lines with different CtsB gene expression. After ligation to the modular peptide-based BioShuttle carrier, which was utilized to facilitate the delivery of the functional modules into the cells' cytoplasm, the modules were scrutinized.
Determination of the charge of the plasma proteins and consequent Donnan equilibrium across the capillary barriers in the rat microvasculature

Aim: Due to the negatively charged proteins in plasma, a Donnan equilibrium will be formed between plasma and interstitium or, as in the glomerulus, between glomerular plasma and Bowman’s space. The phenomenon is of great physiological significance in the sense that the electro‐osmotic pressure offered by the small ions attracted to the proteins may account for an important part of the total colloid osmotic pressure and also as the electric potential consequent to the Donnan distribution will affect the transcapillary transport of all charged molecular compounds. The present study aimed at estimating the protein charge in rat plasma in order to validate its importance for colloid osmotic pressure and potential.
Transient analysis of DC distribution grids

This paper presents a transient analysis of various configurations of DC distribution systems. A combination of theoretical and practical methods were used to investigate the behavior of the system's variables after the occurrence of faults and the protection operation. A number of networks of varying complexity were built with detailed cable models using the EMTP/ATP software package in order to simulate a multitude of faults and assess each network's response at various positions and most crucially, the effectiveness of the protection scheme in reducing the impact of the transients after the fault. The travel speed of the transients was also investigated. At the same time, a set of measurements was conducted on a DC street lighting network to study the transient behavior of a real system. Another model was built to resemble the measured system, in order to compare between the simulation and measurement results. Finally, the evaluation of the measurement and simulation results leads to conclusions that will contribute to the creation of better, safer and more versatile DC distribution grids.
Automotive Blind-Zones: A Review of Legislation and the Use of Close-Range Camera Systems

development of vehicular electronic vision systems for the automotive market is a growing field, driven in partic- ular by customer demand to increase the safety of vehicles both for drivers, and for other road users, including Vulner- able Road Users (VRUs), such as pedestrians. Close-range automotive camera systems are designed to display the ar- eas in the close vicinity of the vehicle to the driver, typically covering the blind-zones of the vehicle. Customer demand is matched by legislative developments in a number of key automotive markets; for example Europe, Japan and the United States are in the process of introducing legislation to aid in the prevention of fatalities to vulnerable road users, with emphasis on the use of vision systems. In this paper we discuss some of the factors that have promoted the in- troduction of this legislation. We show also that, by the use of wide-angle camera systems, these legislative requirements can be met.
Lower complexity bounds for lifted inference

Abstract One of the big challenges in the development of probabilistic relational (or probabilistic logical) modeling and learning frameworks is the design of inference techniques that operate on the level of the abstract model representation language, rather than on the level of ground, propositional instances of the model. Numerous approaches for such “lifted inference” techniques have been proposed. While it has been demonstrated that these techniques will lead to significantly more efficient inference on some specific models, there are only very recent and still quite restricted results that show the feasibility of lifted inference on certain syntactically defined classes of models. Lower complexity bounds that imply some limitations for the feasibility of lifted inference on more expressive model classes were established earlier in Jaeger (2000; Jaeger, M. 2000. On the complexity of inference about probabilistic relational models. Artificial Intelligence 117, 297–308). However, it is not immediate that these results also apply to the type of modeling languages that currently receive the most attention, i.e., weighted, quantifier-free formulas. In this paper we extend these earlier results, and show that under the assumption that NETIME≠ETIME, there is no polynomial lifted inference algorithm for knowledge bases of weighted, quantifier-, and function-free formulas. Further strengthening earlier results, this is also shown to hold for approximate inference and for knowledge bases not containing the equality predicate.
An intelligent actuator controller for wireless sensor/actuator networks

Wireless sensor/actuator network (WSAN) is a new generation of sensor network. It comprises of a number of distributed sensors and actuators that communicate through wireless links. By serving as the backbone of control systems, WSANs offers advantages in terms of cost and flexibility, and enables an unprecedented degree of distributed control. Compared with wireless sensor network (WSN), WSAN is not only able to sense the physical environment, but also to perform actions to change the physical world in response to the sensed events. To take this advantage, intelligent actuators needed to be developed to support event detection and actuator behavior coordination. However, so far, less effort was made in addressing this work. In this paper, we intend to provide a new intelligent actuator solution for home/industrial automation applications using WSANs. First, the design requirements and concepts of WISA's actuators are introduced, the software /hardware architecture are proposed, and then, a new intelligent motor controller that is able to access the WSAN and act as an integral part of the network to perform actions interacting with the physical world is implemented. Finally, the conclusion and future work are given.
Cognitive Function and the Risk of Death in Chronic Kidney Disease

Background and Aims: Cognitive impairment is a risk factor for death in dialysis patients and the general population. We sought to determine if cognitive impairment is associated with death in people with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD), and if so, whether this relationship is greater in the CKD population compared to the general population. Methods: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey-III participants older than 60 years were asked to subtract 3 from 20 five times and to perform immediate and delayed recall of three items. A cognitive score of 0–11 was assigned based on the number of correct responses. Participants were categorized according to cognitive score (11, 9–10, 6–9, and 0–5) and CKD status. Survival analyses were conducted using Cox models. Results: Within the CKD subpopulation, those in the lowest cognitive score group had a twofold increased hazard of death compared to those with maximum score. Within the non-CKD subpopulation, those in the lowest cognitive score group had a 46% increased hazard of death compared to those with maximum score. However, the difference in the hazards of death in the CKD and non-CKD subpopulations with the lowest cognitive score was not significant (p = 0.99). Conclusions: Low cognitive score is associated with an increased risk of death in elderly individuals with and without CKD; however, there was no interaction of CKD and low cognitive score in this analysis.
Micro-RNA Profiling in Human Serum Reveals Compartment-Specific Roles of miR-571 and miR-652 in Liver Cirrhosis

Background and Aims Micro-RNAs (miRNAs) have recently emerged as crucial modulators of molecular processes involved in chronic liver diseases. The few miRNAs with previously proposed roles in liver cirrhosis were identified in screening approaches on liver parenchyma, mostly in rodent models. Therefore, in the present study we performed a systematic screening approach in order to identify miRNAs with altered levels in the serum of patients with chronic liver disease and liver cirrhosis. Methods We performed a systematic, array-based miRNA expression analysis on serum samples from patients with liver cirrhosis. In functional experiments we evaluated the relationship between alterations of miRNA serum levels and their role in distinct cellular compartments involved in hepatic cirrhosis. Results The array analysis and the subsequent confirmation by qPCR in a larger patient cohort identified significant alterations in serum levels of miR-513-3p, miR-571 and miR-652, three previously uncharacterized miRNAs, in patients with alcoholic or hepatitis C induced liver cirrhosis. Of these, miR-571 serum levels closely correlated with disease stages, thus revealing potential as a novel biomarker for hepatic cirrhosis. Further analysis revealed that up-regulation of miR-571 in serum reflected a concordant regulation in cirrhotic liver tissue. In isolated primary human liver cells, miR-571 was up-regulated in human hepatocytes and hepatic stellate cells in response to the pro-fibrogenic cytokine TGF-β. In contrast, alterations in serum levels of miR-652 were stage-independent, reflecting a concordant down-regulation of this miRNA in circulating monocytes of patients with liver cirrhosis, which was inducible by proinflammatory stimuli like bacterial lipopolysaccharide. Conclusion Alterations of miR571 and miR-652 serum levels in patients with chronic liver disease reflect their putative roles in the mediation of fibrogenic and inflammatory processes in distinct cellular compartments involved in the pathogenesis of liver cirrhosis.
The Influence of Decomposition and Slagging of Limestone to Temperature in Convertor

The influences of converter temperature on decomposition and slagging of limestone were discussed by industrial tests and numerical calculation. The results showed that heat transfers quickly in the internal of limestone because heat energy is sufficient and surface of limestone is constantly updated in convertor, which makes the temperature of the centre of spherical limestone particle higher than the decomposition temperature, but the decomposition reaction has not arrived at the centre. Consequently, it is deduced that heat transfer is not the restrictive step of limestone decomposition in convertor steelmaking process.
Stackelberg vs. Nash in Security Games: An Extended Investigation of Interchangeability, Equivalence, and Uniqueness

There has been significant recent interest in game-theoretic approaches to security, with much of the recent research focused on utilizing the leader-follower Stackelberg game model. Among the major applications are the ARMOR program deployed at LAX Airport and the IRIS program in use by the US Federal Air Marshals (FAMS). The foundational assumption for using Stackelberg games is that security forces (leaders), acting first, commit to a randomized strategy; while their adversaries (followers) choose their best response after surveillance of this randomized strategy. Yet, in many situations, a leader may face uncertainty about the follower's surveillance capability. Previous work fails to address how a leader should compute her strategy given such uncertainty. We provide five contributions in the context of a general class of security games. First, we show that the Nash equilibria in security games are interchangeable, thus alleviating the equilibrium selection problem. Second, under a natural restriction on security games, any Stackelberg strategy is also a Nash equilibrium strategy; and furthermore, the solution is unique in a class of security games of which ARMOR is a key exemplar. Third, when faced with a follower that can attack multiple targets, many of these properties no longer hold. Fourth, we show experimentally that in most (but not all) games where the restriction does not hold, the Stackelberg strategy is still a Nash equilibrium strategy, but this is no longer true when the attacker can attack multiple targets. Finally, as a possible direction for future research, we propose an extensive-form game model that makes the defender's uncertainty about the attacker's ability to observe explicit.
A NOVEL PREFERENCE FOR AN INVASIVE PLANT AS A MECHANISM FOR ANIMAL HYBRID SPECIATION

Abstract Homoploid hybrid speciation—speciation via hybridization without a change in chromosome number—is rarely documented and poorly understood in animals. In particular, the mechanisms by which animal homoploid hybrid species become ecologically and reproductively isolated from their parents are hypothetical and remain largely untested by experiments. For the many host-specific parasites that mate on their host, choosing the right host is the most important ecological and reproductive barrier between these species. One example of a host-specific parasite is the Lonicera fly, a population of tephritid fruit flies that evolved within the last 250 years likely by hybridization between two native Rhagoletis species following a host shift to invasive honeysuckle. We studied the host preference of the Lonicera fly and its putative parent species in laboratory experiments. The Lonicera fly prefers its new host, introduced honeysuckle, over the hosts of both parental species, demonstrating the rapid acquisition of preference for a new host as a means of behavioral isolation from the parent species. The parent taxa discriminate against each other's native hosts, but both accept honeysuckle fruit, leaving the potential for asymmetric gene flow from the parent species. Importantly, this pattern allows us to formulate hypotheses about the initial formation of the Lonicera fly. As mating partners from the two parent taxa are more likely to meet on invasive honeysuckle than on their respective native hosts, independent acceptance of honeysuckle by both parents likely preceded hybridization. We propose that invasive honeysuckle served as a catalyst for the local breakdown of reproductive isolation between the native parent species, a novel consequence of the introduction of an exotic weed. We describe behavioral mechanisms that explain the initial hybridization and subsequent reproductive isolation of the hybrid Lonicera fly. These results provide experimental support for a combination of host shift and hybridization as a model for hybrid speciation in parasitic animals.
Exponential Gain and Saturation of a Self-Amplified Spontaneous Emission Free-Electron Laser

Self-amplified spontaneous emission in a free-electron laser has been proposed for the generation of very high brightness coherent x-rays. This process involves passing a high-energy, high-charge, short-pulse, low-energy-spread, and low-emittance electron beam through the periodic magnetic field of a long series of high-quality undulator magnets. The radiation produced grows exponentially in intensity until it reaches a saturation point. We report on the demonstration of self-amplified spontaneous emission gain, exponential growth, and saturation at visible (530 nanometers) and ultraviolet (385 nanometers) wavelengths. Good agreement between theory and simulation indicates that scaling to much shorter wavelengths may be possible. These results confirm the physics behind the self-amplified spontaneous emission process and forward the development of an operational x-ray free-electron laser.