Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Asymptotic Convergence Analysis of a New Class of Proximal Point Methods

Finite dimensional local convergence results for self-adaptive proximal point methods and nonlinear functions with multiple minimizers are generalized and extended to a Hilbert space setting. The principle assumption is a local error bound condition which relates the growth in the function to the distance to the set of minimizers. A local convergence result is established for almost exact iterates. Less restrictive acceptance criteria for the proximal iterates are also analyzed. These criteria are expressed in terms of a subdifferential of the proximal function and either a subdifferential of the original function or an iteration difference. If the proximal regularization parameter $\mu({\bf x})$ is sufficiently small and bounded away from zero and $f$ is sufficiently smooth, then there is local linear convergence to the set of minimizers. For a locally convex function, a convergence result similar to that for almost exact iterates is established. For a locally convex solution set and smooth functions, it is shown that if the proximal regularization parameter has the form $\mu({\bf x})=\beta\|f'[{\bf x}]\|^{\eta}$, where $\eta\in(0,2)$, then the convergence is at least superlinear if $\eta\in(0,1)$ and at least quadratic if $\eta\in[1,2)$.
Urban Sensing and Smart Home Energy Optimisations: A Machine Learning Approach

Energy efficiency for smart home applications is proposed using urban sensing data with machine learning techniques. We exploit Internet of Things (IoTs) enabled environmental and energy panel sensor data, smart home sensing data and opportunistic crowd-sourced data for energy efficient applications in a smart urban home. We present some applications where data from the IoT enabled sensors can be utilised using machine learning techniques. Prediction of small scale renewable energy using solar photovoltaic panels and environmental sensor data is used in energy management such as water heating system. Smart meter data and motion sensor data are used in household appliance monitoring applications with machine learning techniques towards energy savings. Further event detection from environmental and traffic sensor data is proposed in planning and optimising energy usage of smart electric vehicles for a smart urban home. Initial experimental results show the applicability of developing energy efficient applications using machine learning techniques with IoT enabled sensor data.
Coarse-grained classification of web sites by their structural properties

In this paper, we identify and analyze structural properties which reflect the functionality of a Web site. These structural properties consider the size, the organization, the composition of URLs, and the link structure of Web sites. Opposed to previous work, we perform a comprehensive measurement study to delve into the relation between the structure and the functionality of Web sites. Our study focuses on five of the most relevant functional classes, namely Academic, Blog, Corporate, Personal, and Shop. It is based upon more than 1,400 Web sites composed of 7 million crawled and 47 million known Web pages. We present a detailed statistical analysis which provides insight into how structural properties can be used to distinguish between Web sites from different functional classes. Building on these results, we introduce a content-independent approach for the automated coarse-grained classification of Web sites. A naïve Bayesian classifier with advanced density estimation yields a precision of 82% and recall of 80% for the classification of Web sites into the considered classes.
Broadband and high-efficiency metal-multilayer dielectric grating centered at 800 nm based on non-quarter wave coatings as reflective mirror

This article deals with designing broadband and high efficiency metal multi-layer dielectric grating (MMDG) used to compress and stretch ultra-short laser pulse. The diffraction characteristics of MMDG are analyzed with the method of rigorous coupled-wave analysis (RCWA). Taking the diffraction efficiency of the -1 order as the value of merit function, the parameters such as groove depth, residual thickness, duty cycle are optimized to obtain broadband and high diffraction efficiency. The optimized MMDG shows an ultra-broadband working spectrum with the average efficiency exceeding 97% over 135nm wavelength centered at 800nm and TE polarization. The optimized MMDG should be useful for chirped pulse amplification.
Adhesion and survival of electrogenic cells on gold nanopillar array electrodes

Cell-electrode interfaces play a critical role in extracellular recording. Enlarging the electrode surface area with nanostructures yields higher signal-to-noise-ratios due to lower interface impedance. Adhesion and viability of various cell types on large-scale gold nanopillar electrodes to improve cell-electrode coupling were investigated. Cardiac muscle and human embryonic kidney cells survived and adhered well on gold nanopillars. The muscle cells even protruded into inter-pillar cavities with diameters below 100 nm. However, an unexpectedly low viability and adhesion of primary rat neurons was observed on nanopillars. A cross-sectional analysis of the cell-nanopillar interface showed large distances between neuronal cell bodies and nanopillars, whereas the neurites adhered tightly. Furthermore, actin assembly within the neuronal growth cones was modified on nanopillars. In summary, the adhesion response of the investigated cell lines will be beneficial for improved extracellular signalling, whereas a better understanding of neuronal responses to nanotopographies is required to enhance the neuronal viability.
Analyzing users in parallel computing: A user-oriented study

The performance evaluation of parallel computing environments is crucial for the design of parallel job schedulers, as well as policy definitions. The analysis of user behavior is fundamental to unveil individual behaviors and reactions to different system performances (e.g., scarce resources, low throughput, etc.). In this paper, we present an analysis of parallel computing users based on responses to the Questionnaire for User Habits of Computer Clusters (QUHCC). The survey is composed of 7 measures and 53 items, and was answered by 23 users of computer clusters at TU Dortmund University. We investigate several influences on working behavior, including the influence of slow responses on working times, strategies to cope with high contention and poor performance, user's experience, and user satisfaction. Analysis results reveal that user satisfaction is negatively correlated to the application slowdown; users tend to work after hours to improve their efficiency; informal agreements between users are established to coordinate executions and reduce the system load; and scientific experiments may include several clusters, thus the user submission behavior should be seen from a multi-dimensional perspective. We then compare and discuss the analysis results with conclusions obtained from statistical trace analysis to reveal unknown and hidden correlations and feedbacks between system characteristics and the subsequent job submissions. Our findings indicate that the user characteristics together with the historical information (traces) are crucial to build a concise understanding of feedback effects between the user satisfaction, their job submission behavior, and the system performance. Additionally, this paper also provides a first overview of which user reactions may be the most relevant for dynamic performance evaluation.
The simulation design of LED-based close-range underwater optical communication system

In this thesis, a kind of high-speed, close range, low power underwater optical communication system is designed based on LED. The system adopts transmitter system based on high power blue LEDs and receiver system based on photo-multiplier tube(PMT), in order to achieve the goal of transmitting data at rates of 1 Mbps over distances of at least 10 meters.
Genetic characterization of aggregation-defective developmental mutants of Myxococcus xanthus

The transposon Tn5 was used to map temperature-sensitive mutants of Myxococcus xanthus defective in aggregation (C. E. Morrison and D. R. Zusman, J. Bacteriol. 140:1036-1042, 1979). Seven of the eight mutants showing a similar terminal phenotype (rough) were found to be tightly linked. These mapped in a group of loci which we have designated aggR1, aggR2, aggR3, and aggR4. Temperature-sensitive mutants having a different terminal phenotype were not liked to aggR. A search through a group of nonconditional rough mutants indicated that a much lower proportion of these (1 of 35) mapped in aggR. Thus, aggR is probably only one of many sites which can lead to the rough phenotype when mutated. Localized mutagenesis was used to isolate nine additional aggR mutants. All mapped within aggR1, aggR2, or aggR3, and none was found outside this region. Thus, we have characterized a cluster of developmental genes which are needed for aggregation in M. xanthus. The localization of a Tn5 insert adjacent to this region makes possible further manipulation of these genes.
Uncoiling Mechanics of Escherichia coli Type I Fimbriae Are Optimized for Catch Bonds

We determined whether the molecular structures through which force is applied to receptor–ligand pairs are tuned to optimize cell adhesion under flow. The adhesive tethers of our model system, Escherichia coli, are type I fimbriae, which are anchored to the outer membrane of most E. coli strains. They consist of a fimbrial rod (0.3–1.5 μm in length) built from a helically coiled structural subunit, FimA, and an adhesive subunit, FimH, incorporated at the fimbrial tip. Previously reported data suggest that FimH binds to mannosylated ligands on the surfaces of host cells via catch bonds that are enhanced by the shear-originated tensile force. To understand whether the mechanical properties of the fimbrial rod regulate the stability of the FimH–mannose bond, we pulled the fimbriae via a mannosylated tip of an atomic force microscope. Individual fimbriae rapidly elongate for up to 10 μm at forces above 60 pN and rapidly contract again at forces below 25 pN. At intermediate forces, fimbriae change length more slowly, and discrete 5.0 ± 0.3–nm changes in length can be observed, consistent with uncoiling and coiling of the helical quaternary structure of one FimA subunit at a time. The force range at which fimbriae are relatively stable in length is the same as the optimal force range at which FimH–mannose bonds are longest lived. Higher or lower forces, which cause shorter bond lifetimes, cause rapid length changes in the fimbria that help maintain force at the optimal range for sustaining the FimH–mannose interaction. The modulation of force and the rate at which it is transmitted from the bacterial cell to the adhesive catch bond present a novel physiological role for the fimbrial rod in bacterial host cell adhesion. This suggests that the mechanical properties of the fimbrial shaft have codeveloped to optimize the stability of the terminal adhesive under flow.
Paraconsistent Description Logics Revisited

Inconsistency handling is of growing importance in Knowl- edge Representation since inconsistencies may frequently occur in an open world. Paraconsistent (or inconsistency-tolerant) description logics have been studied by several researchers to cope with such inconsis- tencies. In this paper, a new paraconsistent description logic, PALC, is obtained from the description logic ALC by adding a paraconsistent negation. Some theorems for embedding PALC into ACL are proved, and PALC is shown to be decidable. A tableau calculus for PALC is introduced, and the completeness theorem for this calculus is proved.
User Manual for SparsePOP : a Sparse Semidefinite Programming Relaxation of P polynomial O ptimization P roblems

SparesPOP is a MATLAB implementation of a sparse semidefinite programming (SDP) relaxation method for approximating a global optimal solution of a polynomial optimization problem (POP) proposed by Waki et al. The sparse SDP relaxation exploits a sparse structure of polynomials in POPs when applying “a hierarchy of LMI relaxations of increasing dimensions” by Lasserre. The efficiency of SparsePOP to approximate optimal solutions of POPs is thus increased, and larger scale POPs can be handled. The software package SparesPOP, this manual, and a test set of POPs from the literature are available at http://www.is. titech.ac. jp/∼kojima/SparsePOP.
Angiogenin cleaves tRNA and promotes stress-induced translational repression

Stress-induced phosphorylation of eIF2α inhibits global protein synthesis to conserve energy for repair of stress-induced damage. Stress-induced translational arrest is observed in cells expressing a nonphosphorylatable eIF2α mutant (S51A), which indicates the existence of an alternative pathway of translational control. In this paper, we show that arsenite, heat shock, or ultraviolet irradiation promotes transfer RNA (tRNA) cleavage and accumulation of tRNA-derived, stress-induced small RNAs (tiRNAs). We show that angiogenin, a secreted ribonuclease, is required for stress-induced production of tiRNAs. Knockdown of angiogenin, but not related ribonucleases, inhibits arsenite-induced tiRNA production and translational arrest. In contrast, knockdown of the angiogenin inhibitor RNH1 enhances tiRNA production and promotes arsenite-induced translational arrest. Moreover, recombinant angiogenin, but not RNase 4 or RNase A, induces tiRNA production and inhibits protein synthesis in the absence of exogenous stress. Finally, transfection of angiogenin-induced tiRNAs promotes phospho-eIF2α–independent translational arrest. Our results introduce angiogenin and tiRNAs as components of a phospho-eIF2α–independent stress response program.
City Research Online

Purpose: Individuals with autism spectrum disorder have demonstrated faster reaction times when searching for objects in a visual scene. One possible explanation for this observation is that the inﬂuence of crowding may not be as strong within this group compared to typically developing individuals. Subjects and methods: We recruited 16 participants with and without a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in the age range of 20–58 years. The main experiments focused on determining the critical spacing for the correct identiﬁcation of an ellipse’s orientation in the periphery when ﬂanked by two circles with 81% correctly identiﬁed. The second experiment was an attempt to replicate previous studies that had demonstrated superior visual search in autism using reaction time, set-size slopes and intercepts as measures of search efﬁciency and pre-attentive processes. Results: There were no signiﬁcant group differences in the critical spacings for the crowded ellipses in the periphery ( P = 0.358) or in the elliptical discrimination thresholds ( P = 0.477). In addition there were no signiﬁcant differences between groups in reaction times ( P = 0.083), accuracy ( P = 0.658) and set-size slopes ( P = 0.976), however the intercept for the set-size slope function was signiﬁcantly lower for the comparison group ( P = 0.016). Conclusions: The individuals we tested demonstrated neither immunity to crowding nor any advantage in the visual search task. Therefore, we failed to conﬁrm that enhanced discrimination underlies superiority in visual search in adults with high functioning autism spectrum disorder. This ﬁnding may be associated with the older age group investigated compared to previous studies and suggests that the underlying mechanism of superior visual search may not be a persistent feature of autism spectrum disorder.
Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 regulates mouse oocyte homologue segregation

Intracellular regulation of oocyte meiosis is not completely understood. However, reversible phosphorylation, which involves serine/threonine protein kinases and phosphatases (PP), is an important mediator. Glycogen synthase kinase‐3 (GSK‐3) is a highly conserved serine/threonine protein kinase. Currently no reports exist on presence or function of GSK‐3 in mammalian oocytes. The aim of this study was to determine GSK‐3 presence/absence, transcript and protein expression, intracellular protein distribution, and to investigate the functional importance of GSK‐3 in mouse oocyte meiosis. Germinal vesicle‐intact (GVI) oocytes contained both GSK‐3 transcript and protein. Although GSK‐3 β‐isoform is the only transcript identifiable in GVI oocytes, both α‐ and β‐isoforms were recognized by Western blot analysis. In growing, meiotic‐incompetent oocytes GSK‐3 was present, diffusely located throughout the cytoplasm and absent in the nucleus, whereas in meiotic‐competent oocytes this cytoplasmic GSK‐3 displays a predominant peri‐oolemma staining. Treatment of mouse GVI oocytes with lithium chloride (LiCl), which inhibits both inositol monophosphatase (IMPase) and GSK‐3, had no significant influence on oocyte viability, morphology, or development to metaphase II (MII). However, LiCl caused abnormal spindle formation and significantly increased incidence of abnormal homologue segregation during the first meiotic division. L690,330, which is a specific IMPase inhibitor, had no significant effect on oocyte viability, morphology, MII development, or homologue segregation. This is the first report of GSK‐3 in mammalian oocytes. LiCl inhibition of mouse oocyte GSK‐3 modified organization of microtubules and/or function of meiotic spindles thus compromising segregation of condensed bivalent chromosomes. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 64: 96–105, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Horn Extended Feature Structures: Fast Unification With Negation and Limited Disjunction

The notion of a Horn extended feature structure (HoXF) is introduced, which is a feature structure constrained so that its only allowable extensions are those satisfying some set of Horn clauses in feature-term logic. HoXF's greatly generalize ordinary feature structures in admitting explicit representation of negative and implicational constraints. In contradistinction to the general case in which arbitrary logical constraints are allowed (for which the best known algorithms are exponential), there is a highly tractable algorithm for the unification of HoXF's.
Characterization of fibroblasts responsible for cartilage destruction in arthritis

In the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), synovial fibroblasts (SF) play a key role as they secrete distinct patterns of cytokines and express variable levels of costimulatory and adhesion molecules. The murine fibroblast cell line LS48 has been shown to be invasive in the cartilage destruction models in vivo and in vitro. The purpose of this study was to examine in detail the LS48 phenotype, to obtain a better understanding of the SF‐mediated cartilage destruction in RA. The destructive fibroblasts line LS48 and the nondestructive 3T3 cells were cultured and characterized with slide‐based and flow cytometry, using antibodies against several adhesion molecules, immunological acting molecules, and marker proteins. The invasive LS48 fibroblasts are characterized by significantly higher expression of adhesion molecules such as CD47 (IAP), CD51 (integrin αV), CD61 (GPIIIa), and CD147 (EMMPRIN), and immunological acting molecules such as CD40 (Bp50), CD55 (DAF), and TLR‐2. The results from the slide‐based and flow cytometry analyses were exactly the same, except for the selected CD147 and TLR‐2. This study demonstrated that the destructive fibroblast cell line LS48 has the characteristics of RA SFs. The high expression of specific costimulatory and adhesion molecules underlines the aberrant phenotype of these cells when compared with noninvasive fibroblasts. Furthermore, slide‐based and flow cytometry complement each other in fibroblast phenotyping. Overall, this study shows that LS48 is an excellent tool to gain a deeper understanding of SF in RA. © 2008 International Society for Analytical Cytology
Aerobic Exercise and Endurance

Clinicians who understand how the body responds to exercise, how aerobic training improves cardiovascular fitness, and the benefits and principles of prescribing aerobic exercise can effectively encourage patients to become active and optimize programs for those already active. Patients who are active at an early age and who continue to enjoy active lifestyles as adults will attenuate the normal losses in cardiovascular endurance, strength, and flexibility that accompany aging and sedentary living, thereby maintaining greater independence throughout their life spans.
Studies on Ag‐Al2O3 Nano‐layer Composite Produced by the Thermionic Vacuum Arc Method (TVA)

Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) is a new type plasma source and generates pure, gas and macroparticle‐free plasma. We generated silver and alumina TVA discharges and we investigated their emission properties. The deposited Ag and Al2O3 layers were imaged using Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and analyzed using Energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy (EDX).
DMF effects on frozen gander semen

Abstract 1. The objective of the present study was to determine if the age of semen donors affects the susceptibility of spermatozoa to freezing and whether DMF (dimethyl formamide) inseminated with freeze-thawed gander semen decreases fertility. 2. Semen was collected 3 times a week by dorsal-abdominal massage from two groups of White Italian ganders: 3 and 2 years-old. Both samples were diluted, mixed with DMF to a final concentration of 6% (v/v), pre-frozen and transferred into LN 2 . 3. Twice a week, the freeze-thawed semen was used for insemination of two groups of geese at a dose of 4 to 16 million live morphologically normal spermatozoa. One group was inseminated immediately after thawing, the 2nd with semen from which the DMF was removed. 4. Donor age had no effect on the spermatozoa's aptitude for freezing. The differences in quality and quantity of fresh and freeze-thawed semen produced by 3 or 2 year-old ganders were not significant. 5. The presence of DMF in the inseminated freeze-thawed semen did not affect the reproductive efficiency of spermatozoa. The fertility rate obtained with semen inseminated either with or without the cryoprotectant averaged 92.9% and 87.2% respectively. The hatchability of set eggs was 81.1% and 79.9% and, the hatchability of fertile eggs amounted to 87.3% and 89.4%.