Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Two-Stage Coordinated Operational Strategy for Distributed Energy Resources Considering Wind Power Curtailment Penalty Cost

The concept of virtual power plant (VPP) has been proposed to facilitate the integration of distributed renewable energy. VPP behaves similar to a single entity that aggregates a collection of distributed energy resources (DERs) such as distributed generators, storage devices, flexible loads, etc., so that the aggregated power outputs can be flexibly dispatched and traded in electricity markets. This paper presents an optimal scheduling model for VPP participating in day-ahead (DA) and real-time (RT) markets. In the DA market, VPP aims to maximize the expected profit and reduce the risk in relation to uncertainties. The risk is measured by a risk factor based on the mean-variance Markowitz theory. In the RT market, VPP aims to minimize the imbalance cost and wind power curtailment by adjusting the scheduling of DERs in its portfolio. In case studies, the benefits (e.g., surplus profit and reduced wind power curtailment) of aggregated VPP operation are assessed. Moreover, we have investigated how these benefits are affected by different risk-aversion levels and uncertainty levels. According to the simulation results, the aggregated VPP scheduling approach can effectively help the integration of wind power, mitigate the impact of uncertainties, and reduce the cost of risk-aversion.
Assessing Transport of PM Pollution from Europe to the Arctic

Arctic pollution is a topic of high priority on the global agenda, especially due to its connection with the rapid warming the Arctic is experiencing. During recent decades, the Arctic has warmed about 1 degree Celsius per decade, which is almost double the global average warming rate. Part of the warming is due to the deposition of black carbon to the ice, which decreases the surface albedo and thus leads to melting of the ice. This study investigates the European origins of Arctic primary fine particulate matter (PPM2.5) and black carbon aerosol (BC). Five years of monthly averaged output from the EMEP Chemical Transport Model are analyzed to calculate the source-receptor relationships of PPM2.5 from European countries to the Arctic. These source-receptor relationships are then applied to BC emissions inventories in order to investigate the relevance of different source regions of Arctic BC both for the present and for future scenarios. Russia (European part) and Norway are identified as the largest European contributors to Arctic PPM2.5 and BC, together accounting for more than 50 percent of the European PPM2.5 input to the Arctic. The relative importance of these two countries for future contributions to Arctic BC depends on the emissions scenario used. As a rather unexpected result, ship emissions from the north-east Atlantic Ocean are among the largest contributors to Arctic PPM and BC, and are predicted to rank third by 2030. On a sectoral basis, emissions from the household sector dominate over industrial and other emissions. In addition to the emissions already accounted for in the EMEP model runs, vegetation fires are shown to play a significant role. Furthermore, the variability of Arctic PPM2.5 levels, transfer coefficients, and contributions is investigated. Large annual cycles of sectoral contributions can be observed, which are partly due to annual cycles of emissions and partly to meteorological variability. The North Atlantic Oscillation is shown to influence Arctic PPM2.5 concentrations in the sense that under highly positive NAO conditions, Arctic PPM levels are significantly enhanced by up to factors of 20 and more, as compared to highly negative NAO conditions.
The Importance of Brain Return in the Brain Drain-Brain Gain Debate

Recent theoretical and empirical studies have emphasized the fact that the perspective of international migration increases the expected returns to skills in poor countries, linking the possibility of migrating (brain drain) with incentives to higher education (brain gain). If emigration is uncertain and some of the higly educated remain such channel may, at least in in part, counterbalance the negative e ﬀ ects of brain drain. Moreover recent empirical evidence seems to show that temporary migration is widespread among highly skilled migrants (such as Eastern Europeans in Western Europe and Asians in the US). This paper develops a simple tractable overlapping generations model that provides a rationale for return migration and predicts who will migrate and who returns among agents with heterogeneous abilities. We use parameter values from the literature and the data on return migration to calibrate our model and simulate and quantify the e ﬀ ects of increased openness on human capital and wages of the sending countries. We ﬁ nd that, for plausible values of the parameters, the return migration channel is very important and combined with the incentive channel reverses the brain drain into signi ﬁ cant brain gain for the sending country. migration to have the positive incentive e ﬀ ects. In particular if there is a wage and productivity premium for returnees, who can exploit, for instance, entrepreneurial abilities and skills acquired abroad, migration and return stimulate education even more than permanent migration. Second, the return of workers with international experience enhances the average human capital of the sending country. We simulate our model using parameter values and data that mirror the di ﬀ erences between Eastern European and Western European economies. We ﬁ nd that it is plausible to expect positive e ﬀ ect on the average human capital of Eastern European countries for looser migration polices, in the long run. We also show that 25% to 50% of the human capital and wage gains from freer migration accrue to the Eastern European countries through the return channel relative to the pure incentive channel studied by the literature so far. For reasonable share of return migrants (20 to 30% of those who emigrated) our model reveals that their role can be critical in evaluating the bene ﬁ ts of labor mobility to the sending country. Temporary migration with a ”productivity premium” for returnees is the scenario that mostly bene ﬁ t the sending country.
Processor-Based Built-in Self-Optimizer for 90nm Diode-Switch PRAM

A PRAM includes 8 b embedded RISC to generate the optimized internal timing and voltage parameters to control the variations of the cell resistances. The PRAM blocks with small margin window of cell resistances are detected, analyzed and controlled by processor-based built-in self-optimizer (BISO). A 4 Mb test PRAM is fabricated in a 90 nm 3-metal diode-switch PRAM cell technology. Measured margin increases by up to 221%.
Cross‐cultural development and psychometric evaluation of a patient‐reported health‐related quality of life questionnaire for adults with haemophilia

Summary. Co‐morbidities of haemophilia, such as arthropathy and blood‐borne infections, can adversely affect the quality of life of adult patients with haemophilia. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a haemophilia‐specific health‐related quality of life questionnaire for adults (HAEMO‐QoL‐A). Subjects with varying severities of haemophilia completed the HAEMO‐QoL‐A at baseline and 4 weeks. Other assessments included the SF‐36 and Health Assessment Questionnaire – Functional Disability Index (HAQ‐FDI). Two‐hundred and twenty‐one participants completed the 41‐item HAEMO‐QoL‐A covering six domains (Physical Functioning, Role Functioning, Worry, Consequences of Bleeding, Emotional Impact and Treatment Concerns) and four independent items. Internal consistency was good‐to‐excellent (Cronbach’s α‐range: 0.75–0.95). Test–retest reproducibility was good, with intraclass correlation coefficients >0.80 except for the Emotional Impact domain (0.79). Concurrent validity between the HAEMO‐QoL‐A total and subscale scores and all SF‐36 subscale scores were generally good (correlations range: 0.13–0.87). Significant correlations between the HAEMO‐QoL‐A and the HAQ‐FDI ranged from −0.14 to −0.69. There were non‐significant correlations with the Treatment Concerns subscale and with the Worry subscale. The HAEMO‐QoL‐A discriminated significantly between adults with haemophilia by severity and HIV status. The Physical Functioning subscale discriminated between patients receiving prophylactic or on‐demand therapy. The HAEMO‐QoL‐A is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing quality of life in haemophilia patients.
On the selection of unidirectional error detecting codes for self-checking circuits area overhead and performance optimization

In this paper we address the issue of optimizing the area overhead and performance of self-checking circuits using all unidirectional error detecting codes (AUEDCs), with no impact on system's reliability. In particular, we propose an error detecting code selection approach that, starting from the consideration of the functional circuit topology, allows us to identify whether or not all output bits can be simultaneously erroneous, thus actually mandating the adoption of an AUEDC. We show that, differently from common expectations, this may frequently be not the case (for approximately the 50% of the considered benchmarks) for all possible internal node stuck-ats, transistor stuck-ons, transistor stuck-opens and resistive bridgings. We then propose a tool that, starting from the (combinational or sequential) circuit high level description, allows us to identify whether or not this is the case and, in particular, which is the maximal number (t) of possibly simultaneously erroneous output bits. Based on this information, a lower redundancy error detecting code (e.g., a t-UEDC) is adopted, rather than an AUEDC, thus generally allowing reducing area overhead and impact on system's performance. Such a code is automatically implemented by our developed tool, whose effectiveness has been verified for benchmark circuits and for a FPGA implemented prototype.
Manufacturability and testability oriented synthesis

This paper presents a case for new generation synthesis tools that incorporate manufacturability and testability as optimization factors in addition to traditional factors such as timing, die-area, and power. A suitable approach for manufacturability oriented synthesis is the interconnect field model, which estimates yield as a function of netlist attributes. Testability oriented synthesis encompasses various design-for-test (DFT), synthesis for testability, (SFT) and the high-level test synthesis (HLTS) techniques during the synthesis process.
ROBUST OPTICAL DESIGN OF ANGLED MULTILAYER DIELECTRIC MIRRORS OPTIMIZED FOR RUBIDIUM VAPOR CELL RETURN REFLECTION

This paper reports on the design and implementation of thin film multilayer dielectric to form Bragg reflectors on the sidewalls of micromachined atomic cells. Due to deposition shadowing, significant variations in the thicknesses of the thin films are encountered when the layers are deposited using PECVD. These gradients in thickness may limit optical performance of the reflector in atomic cells. An optimized design procedure is described to maximize the performance of the reflector at a wavelength of 795 nm under the variations in material thickness. In addition, an optical design based on two shifted quarter wave Bragg reflectors in series is used to form a reflector with extended optical bandwidth for added robustness. The extended reflectance range maintains high reflection at the D1 absorption wavelength of 87 Rb despite variations in uniformity greater than 70 %. The developed reflector technology is ideally suited for use in miniature rubidium vapor cells. We demonstrate less than 1.5 dB of return loss with circular polarization ellipticity maintained to ±2 ◦ is demonstrated, as
MIMO-OFDM Iterative Time - Frequency Synchronization

This paper addresses an iterative expectation-maximization (EM) time-frequency synchronization algorithm joint with channel estimation for MIMO-OFDM systems in frequency selective fading channels. The receivers iterates between detection and estimation. For each iteration, we calculate first the expectation of ODFM symbols by using a posteriori probabilities provided by MAP decoder and second we maximise a proposed metric to obtain both frequency offset and then symbol-timing. The channel can be identified by means of these estimates. This algorithm can work in transmission mode and thus can be used to estimate the residual errors or track the change of the parameters. The performance of the proposed synchronization approach, in terms bit error rate and mean square error of the estimated frequency offset, is shown.
An extreme learning machine approach for training Time Variant Neural Networks

A remarkable attention has been paid in the recent past on the employment of suitable neural architectures able to work properly in non-stationary environments: the Time Variant Neural Networks (TV-NN) represent a relevant example in the field. Such kind of NNs have time variant weights, each being a linear combination of a certain set of basis functions. This inevitably increases the number of free parameters w.r. t. common feedforward architectures, resulting in an augmented complexity of the learning procedure. In this paper an Extreme Learning Machine (ELM) approach is developed with the aim of accelerating the training procedure for TV-NN, by extending the ELM approach already available for time-invariant neural structures. Some computer simulations have been carried out and related results seem to confirm the effectiveness of the idea, showing that learning time can be significantly reduced without affecting the NN performances in the testing phase.
Similarity-Based Ontology Alignment in OWL-Lite

Interoperability of heterogeneous systems on the Web will be admittedly achieved through an agreement between the underlying ontologies. However, the richer the ontology description language, the more complex the agreement process, and hence the more sophisticated the required tools. Among current ontology alignment paradigms, similarity-based approaches are both powerful and flexible enough for aligning ontologies expressed in languages like OWL. We define a universal measure for comparing the entities of two ontologies that is based on a simple and homogeneous comparison principle: Similarity depends on the type of entity and involves all the features that make its definition (such as superclasses, properties, instances, etc.). One-to-many relationships and circularity in entity descriptions constitute the key difficulties in this context: These are dealt with through local matching of entity sets and iterative computation of recursively dependent similarities, respectively.
The New Normal

Total factor productivity growth was stagnant or slowing in many advanced countries even prior to the crisis. This paper documents sector-level productivity patterns across advanced economies prior to the crisis and examines the role of product and labor market rigidities as well as innovation and investments in information technology and human capital in driving productivity differences across sectors and countries. Since productivity payoffs of reforms evolve over time, we also focus on large changes in the structural indicators examine their dynamic impact on productivity, employment, and output. Our results suggest that reform priorities depend on country-specific settings, including the scale of specific policy distortions and the distance from the technology frontier. Productivity gains from reforms are large and materialize predominantly in the medium term, with some important variations across industries and countries.
Dipole induced anomalous S-shape I-V curves in polymer solar cells

A kink is sometimes seen in the I-V curves for organic solar cells. In literature charge blocking has been speculated to be responsible for such kind of anomalous features. In this manuscript, we use poly(3-hexylthiophene):[6, 6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester as our model polymer system and investigate different device structures using ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy as our primary tool to investigate the reason for this S-shaped kink. We attribute this anomalous feature to the presence of strong interface dipoles. We further propose a model based on the standard set of Poisson equation, continuity equation, and current density equations including both drift and diffusion components.
On demand check pointing for grid application reliability using communicating process model

The objective of the work is to propose an on-demand asynchronous check pointing technique for the fault recovery of a grid application in communicating process approach. The formal modelling of processes using LOTOS is done wherein the process features are declared in terms of possibilities of rollback and replicas permitted to accept the assigned tasks as decided by the scheduler. If any process is tending to be faulty in run time that will be detected by check pointing mechanism through the Task Dependency Graph (TDG) and their respective worst case execution time and dead line parameters are used to decide the schedulability. The Asynchronous Check Pointing On Demand (ACP-OD) approach is used to enhance the grid application reliability through the needed fault tolerant services. The scheduling of concurrent tasks can be done using the proposed Concurrent Task Scheduling Algorithm (CTSA) algorithm to recover from the faulty states using replication or rollback techniques. The check pointing and replication mechanisms have been used in which the synchronization between communicating processes is needed to enhance the efficiency of check pointing mechanism. The model is tested with a number of rollback variables treating the application as a Stochastic Activity Network (SAN) using Mobius.
Multiple roles of adrenomedullin revealed by animal models

The newly identified adrenomedullin (AM) gene codes for a potent, highly conserved vasodilator that is expressed in many tissues. Many biological functions have been ascribed to AM based on its broad expression pattern and numerous in vitro studies, and it is currently viewed as a multifunctional peptide hormone. Recent advances in gene manipulation have permitted the development of experimental animal systems to help distinguish between gene causes and effects in the context of otherwise normal physiology, and so the normal biological function of the AM gene can be studied within the intact physiological milieu of a whole animal. In this review article, we summarize the recent findings from three different types of genetic experiments involving the AM gene. Microsc. Res. Tech. 57:55–59, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Central and peripheral fatigue kinetics during exhaustive constant‐load cycling

The kinetics of central and peripheral fatigue development during an intensive constant‐load cycling exercise was evaluated to better understand the mechanisms of task failure. Thirteen males cycled to exhaustion at 80% of maximal power output in intermittent bouts of 6 min of exercise with 4‐min break between bouts to assess quadriceps fatigue with maximal voluntary contractions and single (1 Hz), paired (10 and 100 Hz) potentiated and interpolated magnetic stimulations of the femoral nerve (TwQ). Surface electromyographic signals (EMG) of the quadriceps muscles were recorded during stimulations and cycling. Total cycling duration (TCD) was 27 min 38 s±7 min 48 s. The mechanical response evoked by magnetic stimulation decreased mostly during the first half of TCD (TwQ1 Hz reduction: −34.4±12.2% at 40% TCD and −44.8±9.2% at exhaustion; P<0.001), while a reduction in maximum voluntary activation was present toward the end of exercise only (−5.4±4.8% and −6.4±5.6% at 80% TCD and exhaustion, respectively; P<0.01). The increase in quadriceps EMG during cycling was significantly correlated to the TwQ reduction for the rectus femoris (r2=0.20 at 1 Hz, r2=0.47 at 100 Hz, all P≤0.001). We conclude that peripheral fatigue develops early during constant‐load intense cycling and is compensated by additional motor drive, while central fatigue appears to be associated with task failure.
Divide-and-Conquer: A Proportional, Minimal-Envy Cake-Cutting Algorithm

We analyze a class of proportional cake-cutting algorithms that use a minimal number of cuts (n-1 if there are n players) to divide a cake that the players value along one dimension. While these algorithms may not produce an envy-free or efficient allocation--as these terms are used in the fair-division literature--one, divide-and-conquer (D&C), minimizes the maximum number of players that any single player can envy. It works by asking n ≥ 2 players successively to place marks on a cake--valued along a line--that divide it into equal halves (when n is even) or nearly equal halves (when n is odd), then halves of these halves, and so on. Among other properties, D&C ensures players of at least 1/n shares, as they each value the cake, if and only if they are truthful. However, D&C may not allow players to obtain proportional, connected pieces if they have unequal entitlements. Possible applications of D&C to land division are briefly discussed.
A Minimax SDP Method for Energy Based Source Localization With Unknown Transmit Power

Energy based source localization methods have received great interest due to their low cost and simple implementation. The problem of source localization based on received signal strength difference (RSSD) measurements with unknown transmit power is considered in this letter. An efficient two stage estimator is presented. First, a minimax optimization problem is developed to minimize the mean square error of the proposed RSSD based model. Then, semidefinite relaxation is employed to transform this nonconvex and nonlinear problem into a convex optimization problem. This can be efficiently solved to obtain the optimal solution of the corresponding semidefinite programming problem. Performance results are presented, which confirm the efficiency of the proposed method that achieves the Cramér-Rao lower bound for sufficiently large signal to noise ratios.
Detection of Heat-Labile Escherichia coli Enterotoxin with the Use of Adrenal Cells in Tissue Culture

Cell-free culture filtrates of heat-labile enterotoxin-producing strains of Escherichia coli are capable of inducing morphological changes and steroidogenesis in monolayer cultures of adrenal cells. These tissue culture changes are simiar to those induced by cholera enterotoxin and cannot be effected by culture filtrates of other enterotoxigenic or enteropathogenic types of bacteria. The results of the tissue culture studies correlated well with those done in the standard intestinal-loop systems and suggest that this tissue culture system could be used to significantly aid epidemiological and molecular studies with heat-labile Escherichia coli enterotoxin.
Topical Treatment with Diclofenac, Calcipotriol (Vitamin-D3 Analog) and Difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) Does Not Prevent Nonmelanoma Skin Cancer in Mice

Nonmelanoma skin cancer is a common cancer type with increasing incidence. The purpose of this study was to evaluate topical application of diclofenac, calcipotriol, and difluoromethylornithine as chemoprevention in a mouse model of ultraviolet light-induced skin tumors, since these agents have been reported to have tumor inhibiting properties. One hundred twenty eight mice were treated with UVB radiation followed by chemoprevention or placebo. There were no significant effects of the treatments with respect to presence of skin tumors, number of tumors, tumor size, or survival. The investigated drugs were ineffective as chemoprevention in the dose regimens used in this study.