Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Scalable power grid transient analysis via MOR-assisted time-domain simulations

Time domain power grid simulations provide accurate estimations of power supply noises for design verifications. Despite extensive researches, it remains a very challenging problem to perform the simulations efficiently - the large power grid sizes demand tremendous computational resources and the causality between consecutive time steps hinders parallel implementations. Frequency domain and model order reduction (MOR) techniques promise scalability, though the solution accuracy may become a concern without trading off running time. In this paper, we present a framework for power grid transient analysis where time domain simulations are assisted by MOR techniques for scalability without losing much of the solution accuracy. Utilizing a direct sparse matrix solver and the multinode moment matching technique, we are able to achieve more than 5X speed-up using 16 processor cores distributed over two servers when simulating 1000 time steps for all the six IBM power grid simulation benchmarks, in comparison to the time domain simulations using only the direct solver.
Loss-Calibrated Monte Carlo Action Selection

Bayesian decision-theory underpins robust decision-making in applications ranging from plant control to robotics where hedging action selection against state uncertainty is critical for minimizing low probability but potentially catastrophic outcomes (e.g, uncontrollable plant conditions or robots falling into stairwells). Unfortunately, belief state distributions in such settings are often complex and/or high dimensional, thus prohibiting the efficient application of analytical techniques for expected utility computation when real-time control is required. This leaves Monte Carlo evaluation as one of the few viable (and hence frequently used) techniques for online action selection. However, loss-insensitive Monte Carlo methods may require large numbers of samples to identify optimal actions with high certainty since they may sample from highprobability regions that do not disambiguate action utilities. In this paper we remedy this problem by deriving an optimal proposal distribution for a loss-calibrated Monte Carlo importance sampler that bounds the regret of using an estimated optimal action. Empirically, we show that using our loss-calibrated Monte Carlo method yields high-accuracy optimal action selections in a fraction of the number of samples required by conventional loss-insensitive samplers.
Fuel-conserving environmental control strategies for small Islanded microgrids

In this thesis I designed and deployed a control system that subjects Environmental Control Units (ECUs) at U.S. Army Forward Operating Bases (FOBs) to centralized control, and demonstrated how intelligent operation of the ECU load can result in considerable fuel savings. I also developed a detailed simulation environment to simulate the operation of the FOB under a variety of operating conditions, and used it to investigate other potential solutions for the efficiency problems caused by ECUs. Finally, I formulate a concept for the autonomous and network-free coordination of ECU loads based on microgrid state inferences from local voltage measurements.
Permeability and toxicity characteristics of L-cysteine and 2-methyl-thiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid in Caco-2 cells

Acetaldehyde is a known mutagenic substance and has been classified as a group-one carcinogen by the WHO. It is possible to bind acetaldehyde locally in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract with the semi-essential amino acid l-cysteine, which reacts covalently with acetaldehyde and forms compound 2-methyl-thiozolidine-4-carboxylic acid (MTCA). The Caco-2 cell line was used to determine the permeation of l-cysteine and MTCA, as well as the possible cell toxicity of both substances. Neither of the substances permeated through the Caco-2 cells at the concentrations used in this study, and only the highest concentration of MTCA affected the viability of the cells in the MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) test. These results showed that when l-cysteine is administered in formulations releasing it locally in the lower parts of GI tract, it is not absorbed but can react with acetaldehyde, and that neither l-cysteine nor MTCA is harmful to the cells when present locally in the upper parts of GI tract. This study also shows that MTCA is sensitive at a lower pH of 5.5. Since stable MTCA is desired in different parts of the GI tract, this observation raises concern over the influence of lower pH on l-cysteine-containing product ability to bind and eliminate carcinogenic acetaldehyde.
Design of Biometric Authentication System using Three Basic Human Traits

: Todays the single biometrics feature is not sufficient to provide secure authentication. Most of the multi-modal techniques are lacking in security aspect. Biometric system utilize in various system for the identification or authentication approval. Biometric authentication system utilizes various biometric traits for the matching between various biometric traits. These feature values that have been computed by using various approaches for biometric traits like face, finger and iris. These feature value has been stored in database for matching purpose using distance classifier. After fusion these values has been computed for all the images present in the database and then test images has been selected and undergoes matching process on the basis of distance classifier. Min distance computed represents the maximum matching of the feature of different biometric traits. Parameter selected for the performance evolution of proposed system are FAR (False Acceptance Rate), FRR (False Rejection Rate) and ACCURACY.
Immunoinformatics Comes of Age

With the burgeoning immunological data in the scientific literature, scientists must increasingly rely on Internet resources to inform and enhance their work. Here we provide a brief overview of the adaptive immune response and summaries of immunoinformatics resources, emphasizing those with Web interfaces. These resources include searchable databases of epitopes and immune-related molecules, and analysis tools for T cell and B cell epitope prediction, vaccine design, and protein structure comparisons. There is an agreeable synergy between the growing collections in immune-related databases and the growing sophistication of analysis software; the databases provide the foundation for developing predictive computational tools, which in turn enable more rapid identification of immune responses to populate the databases. Collectively, these resources contribute to improved understanding of immune responses and escape, and evolution of pathogens under immune pressure. The public health implications are vast, including designing vaccines, understanding autoimmune diseases, and defining the correlates of immune protection.
Dither is Better than Dropout for Regularising Deep Neural Networks

Regularisation of deep neural networks (DNN) during training is critical to performance. By far the most popular method is known as dropout. Here, cast through the prism of signal processing theory, we compare and contrast the regularisation effects of dropout with those of dither. We illustrate some serious inherent limitations of dropout and demonstrate that dither provides a more effective regulariser.
Active contours using a constraint-based implicit representation

We present a new constraint-based implicit active contour, which shares desirable properties of both parametric and implicit active contours. Like parametric approaches, their representation is compact and can be manipulated interactively. Like other implicit approaches, they can naturally adapt to nonsimple topologies. Unlike implicit approaches using level-set methods, representation of the contour does not require a dense mesh. Instead, it is based on specified on-curve and off-curve constraints, which are interpolated using radial basis functions. These constraints are evolved according to specified forces drawn from the relevant literature of both parametric and implicit approaches. This new type of active contour is demonstrated through synthetic images, photographs, and medical images with both simple and nonsimple topologies. For complex input, this approach produces results comparable to those of level set or parameterized finite-element active models, but with a compact analytic representation. As with other active contours they can also be used for tracking, especially for multiple objects that split or merge.
Mpp10p, a U3 small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein component required for pre-18S rRNA processing in yeast

We have isolated and characterized Mpp10p, a novel protein component of the U3 small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein (snoRNP) from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The MPP10 protein was first identified in human cells by its reactivity with an antibody that recognizes specific sites of mitotic phosphorylation. To study the functional role of MPP10 in pre-rRNA processing, we identified the yeast protein by performing a GenBank search. The yeast Mpp10p homolog is 30% identical to the human protein over its length. Antibodies to the purified yeast protein recognize a 110-kDa polypeptide in yeast extracts and immunoprecipitate the U3 snoRNA, indicating that Mpp10p is a specific protein component of the U3 snoRNP in yeast. As a first step in the genetic analysis of Mpp10p function, diploid S. cerevisiae cells were transformed with a null allele. Sporulation and tetrad analysis indicate that MPP10 is an essential gene. A strain was constructed where Mpp10p is expressed from a galactose-inducible, glucose- repressible promoter. After depletion of Mpp10p by growth in glucose, cell growth is arrested and levels of 18S and its 20S precursor are reduced or absent while the 23S and 35S precursors accumulate. This pattern of accumulation of rRNA precursors suggests that Mpp10p is required for cleavage at sites A0, A1, and A2. Pulse-chase analysis of newly synthesized pre-rRNAs in Mpp10p-depleted yeast confirms that little mature 18S rRNA formed. These results reveal a novel protein essential for ribosome biogenesis and further elucidate the composition of the U3 snoRNP.
Capturing propagation of infected program states

Coverage-based fault-localization techniques find the fault-related positions in programs by comparing the execution statistics of passed executions and failed executions. They assess the fault suspiciousness of individual program entities and rank the statements in descending order of their suspiciousness scores to help identify faults in programs. However, many such techniques focus on assessing the suspiciousness of individual program entities but ignore the propagation of infected program states among them. In this paper, we use edge profiles to represent passed executions and failed executions, contrast them to model how each basic block contributes to failures by abstractly propagating infected program states to its adjacent basic blocks through control flow edges. We assess the suspiciousness of the infected program states propagated through each edge, associate basic blocks with edges via such propagation of infected program states, calculate suspiciousness scores for each basic block, and finally synthesize a ranked list of statements to facilitate the identification of program faults. We conduct a controlled experiment to compare the effectiveness of existing representative techniques with ours using standard bench-marks. The results are promising.
Bifurcations of Optimal Vector Fields

We study the structure of the solution set of a class of infinite-horizon dynamic programming problems with one-dimensional state spaces, as well as their bifurcations, as problem parameters are varied. The solutions are represented as the integral curves of a multivalued optimal vector field on state space. Generically, there are three types of integral curves: stable points, open intervals that are forward asymptotic to a stable point and backward asymptotic to an unstable point, and half-open intervals that are forward asymptotic to a stable point and backward asymptotic to an indifference point; the latter are initial states to multiple optimal trajectories. We characterize all bifurcations that occur generically in one-and two-parameter families. Most of these are related to global dynamical bifurcations of the state-costate system of the problem.
Pharyngeal transit in patients with chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia

Abstract Purpose: A common presentation of mitochondrial myopathies is chronic progressive external ophthalmoplegia (CPEO). Dysphagia is a complaint in about 50% of cases. Method: This investigation evaluated pharyngeal transit in patients with CPEO. Videofluoroscopic swallowing evaluation was performed with paste, liquid and solid boluses in 14 patients with CPEO and in 16 normal volunteers. Result: There was no difference between patients and volunteers in the duration of pharyngeal swallowing events with the liquid bolus. Compared to control participants, patients with CPEO had significantly shorter duration of pharyngeal transit for paste and solid boluses, of pharyngeal clearance for paste bolus, and of upper oesophageal sphincter transit for paste and solid boluses. Spontaneous multiple swallows and effortful swallows were performed by patients but not by the volunteers. Conclusion: It was concluded that patients with CPEO have shorter pharyngeal transit duration of paste and solid boluses than normal volunteers, which may be a consequence of a spontaneous smaller bolus volume in each swallow and/or effortful swallows.
Antioxidant Response to NaCl Stress in a Control and an NaCl-Tolerant Cotton Cell Line Grown in the Presence of Paraquat, Buthionine Sulfoximine, and Exogenous Glutathione

A cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) control and NaCl-tolerant cell line (cv Coker 312) were grown on media with or without NaCl in the presence or absence of paraquat, buthionine sulfoximine, and oxidized glutathione. On medium with 150 mM NaCl the NaCl-tolerant cell line exhibited no reduction in growth, whereas a 96% reduction was observed in the control line. The NaCl-tolerant cell line that was grown on 150 mM NaCl exhibited significantly greater catalase (341%), peroxidase (319%), glutathione reductase (287%), ascorbate peroxidase (450%), [gamma]-glutamylcysteine synthetase (224%), and glutathione S-transferase (500%) activities than the intolerant control. The NaCl-tolerant cell line had a significantly lower dehydroascorbic acid/ascorbic acid ratio. Paraquat reduced growth by 20 and 53.7%, respectively, in the NaCl-tolerant and control cell line. The NaCl-tolerant cell line also showed a slight tolerance to buthionine sulfoximine. In the buthionine sulfoximine experiments reduced glutathione restored growth in both cell lines, whereas oxidized glutathione restored growth only in the NaCl-tolerant cell line. These data indicate that the NaCl-tolerant cell line exhibited a cross-tolerance to a variety of stress variables and had a more active ascorbate-glutathione cycle.
An improved control method to suppress DC injection to the grid for grid-connected single-phase PV inverter with less harmonic distortion

The transformer-less Photovoltaic (PV) power inverters are mostly well-liked and exceedingly recommended for grid-connected PV power systems because of low cost, small size and high efficiency. Nevertheless, the injection of Direct Current (DC) is effectively involved in grid-connected PV inverters without isolating transformers. An improved and efficient control method is presented in the paper, which is mainly based on the scheme of putting an additional PI controller into feedback closed-loop control of grid-connected inverter's system, and the integrator is used to achieve zero steady-state error in the controller for suppressing the DC injection into the grid for grid-connected single-phase PV inverter with less total harmonic distortion. A simulation test is suitably designed and the results verify the feasibility, enhanced performance and improved efficiency of the proposed control method.
RFX2 Is a Major Transcriptional Regulator of Spermiogenesis

Spermatogenesis consists broadly of three phases: proliferation of diploid germ cells, meiosis, and finally extensive differentiation of the haploid cells into effective delivery vehicles for the paternal genome. Despite detailed characterization of many haploid developmental steps leading to sperm, only fragmentary information exists on the control of gene expression underlying these processes. Here we report that the RFX2 transcription factor is a master regulator of genes required for the haploid phase. A targeted mutation of Rfx2 was created in mice. Rfx2-/- mice are perfectly viable but show complete male sterility. Spermatogenesis appears to progress unperturbed through meiosis. However, haploid cells undergo a complete arrest in spermatid development just prior to spermatid elongation. Arrested cells show altered Golgi apparatus organization, leading to a deficit in the generation of a spreading acrosomal cap from proacrosomal vesicles. Arrested cells ultimately merge to form giant multinucleated cells released to the epididymis. Spermatids also completely fail to form the flagellar axoneme. RNA-Seq analysis and ChIP-Seq analysis identified 139 genes directly controlled by RFX2 during spermiogenesis. Gene ontology analysis revealed that genes required for cilium function are specifically enriched in down- and upregulated genes showing that RFX2 allows precise temporal expression of ciliary genes. Several genes required for cell adhesion and cytoskeleton remodeling are also downregulated. Comparison of RFX2-regulated genes with those controlled by other major transcriptional regulators of spermiogenesis showed that each controls independent gene sets. Altogether, these observations show that RFX2 plays a major and specific function in spermiogenesis.
Selection and Peer-review under Responsibility of Daaam International Vienna Sciencedirect 24th Daaam International Symposium on Intelligent Manufacturing and Automation, 2013 from Patent Data to Business Intelligence – Psalm Case Studies

This paper describes PSALM, a recently developed software tool for business intelligence and its functionality through several case studies. Patent Search and Analysis for Landscaping and Management (PSALM) tool assembles patent data from publicly available data bases, collects and analyses bibliographic parameters of patents but also does text mining. High-dimensional data contained in the patent documents are transformed into much lower dimensionality space (2D or 3D), clustered and visualized. The PSALM functionality and usability is demonstrated through three case studies of analyzing, comparing and evaluating strengths and weaknesses of different patent portfolios.
Melange: Components for Cross-Lingual Retrieval

We present the finalized version of our cross-lingual search engine Melange, and results obtained by running it on WebCLEF topics in an attempt to solve Mixed Monolingual and Multilingual tasks. We concentrate on certain features of the system which are relevant to the CLIR field and which can be developed further independently. These are our data extraction and indexing methods, our language detection module (with an accuracy of 88% on WebCLEF query strings), PageRank ranking scheme and query translation.
Endothelial PFKFB3 Plays a Critical Role in Angiogenesis

Objective—Vascular cells, particularly endothelial cells, adopt aerobic glycolysis to generate energy to support cellular functions. The effect of endothelial glycolysis on angiogenesis remains unclear. 6-Phosphofructo-2-kinase/fructose-2, 6-bisphosphatase, isoform 3 (PFKFB3) is a critical enzyme for endothelial glycolysis. By blocking or deleting PFKFB3 in endothelial cells, we investigated the influence of endothelial glycolysis on angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. Approach and Results—Under hypoxic conditions or after treatment with angiogenic factors, endothelial PFKFB3 was upregulated both in vitro and in vivo. The knockdown or overexpression of PFKFB3 suppressed or accelerated endothelial proliferation and migration in vitro, respectively. Neonatal mice from a model of oxygen-induced retinopathy showed suppressed neovascular growth in the retina when endothelial PFKFB3 was genetically deleted or when the mice were treated with a PFKFB3 inhibitor. In addition, tumors implanted in mice deficient in endothelial PFKFB3 grew more slowly and were provided with less blood flow. A lower level of phosphorylated protein kinase B was observed in PFKFB3-knockdown endothelial cells, which was accompanied by a decrease in intracellular lactate. The addition of lactate to PFKFB3-knockdown cells rescued the suppression of endothelial proliferation and migration. Conclusions—The blockade or deletion of endothelial PFKFB3 decreases angiogenesis both in vitro and in vivo. Thus, PFKFB3 is a promising target for the reduction of endothelial glycolysis and its related pathological angiogenesis.
Impact of rice cultivation on evapotranspiration in small seasonal wetlands of north-central Namibia

This paper aims to evaluate the effect of mixed-cropping of rice and upland crops on evapotranspiration (ET) in a small seasonal wetland in the north-central Namibia. Meteorological observations were conducted in the experimental sloped field, which simulated the cultivation of both rice in a wetland environment and upland crops in the surrounding rain-fed area, and included a reference wetland with natural vegetation. During cultivation, ET from the rice field was similar to that from the wetland. However, during the dry period ET was remarkably reduced in the post-harvest field, while continuous ET occurred in the natural wetland even after surface water had dried up. The response of surface conductance to meteorological variables was investigated by means of the Jarvis–Stewart conductance model. During cultivation, surface conductance of the rice field and the wetland had a distinct stress response compared with that of the rain–fed crop field. During the dry period, surface conductance of the wetland site, in which the surface water dried–up, still responded to the meteorological conditions in contrast to those of the post-harvest field with plowed bare soil.
Large scale vision-based navigation without an accurate global reconstruction

Autonomous cars will likely play an important role in the future. A vision system designed to support outdoor navigation for such vehicles has to deal with large dynamic environments, changing imaging conditions, and temporary occlusions by other moving objects. This paper presents a novel appearance-based navigation framework relying on a single perspective vision sensor, which is aimed towards resolving of the above issues. The solution is based on a hierarchical environment representation created during a teaching stage, when the robot is controlled by a human operator. At the top level, the representation contains a graph of key-images with extracted 2D features enabling a robust navigation by visual servoing. The information stored at the bottom level enables to efficiently predict the locations of the features which are currently not visible, and eventually (re-)start their tracking. The outstanding property of the proposed framework is that it enables robust and scalable navigation without requiring a globally consistent map, even in interconnected environments. This result has been confirmed by realistic off-line experiments and successful real-time navigation trials in public urban areas.