Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Decentralized adaptive consensus control of uncertain nonlinear systems under directed topologies

In this paper, a decentralized adaptive backstepping control strategy is presented to solve leaderless and leader-following consensus problems for the outputs of nonlinear multi-agent systems with arbitrary subsystem orders and parametric uncertainties. Suppose that the information exchange conditions among distinct subsystems in the entire group can be represented by a directed topology and the corresponding connectivity matrix is unknown to each subsystem. In contrast to most of the existing results, Lyapunov function is not defined directly based on local consensus errors in all subsystems with the output information of their neighbors involved. Thus the difficulties in treating coupled terms related to local consensus errors and other subsystems' parameter estimation errors, which are resulted from asymmetric property of directed graph, can be overcome. It is shown that with our proposed strategy, all the closed-loop signals are ensured uniformly ultimately bounded and asymptotical consensus can be achieved.
Bandwidth scheduling techniques in TDM-PON supporting inter-ONU communication with network coding for smart grid applications

In next-generation passive optical networks (PONs), the traffic exchanged among optical network units (ONUs) belonging to the same PON, i.e. inter-ONU traffic, will increase because of emerging applications and services such as the smart grid. Applying network coding (NC) techniques to the inter-ONU traffic will improve throughput, security and reliability. However, the implementation of NC causes additional queuing delay at the optical line terminal (OLT), and degrades the fairness among coded and uncoded inter-ONU flows in terms of latency. This paper proposes a novel bandwidth scheduling technique, i.e. a grouped random scheduling (GRS) algorithm, to reduce the additional queuing delay at the OLT. In addition, a priority index (PI) is defined to further reduce the latency of coded inter-ONU flows, and an adaptive priority scheduling (APS) algorithm is proposed to improve latency fairness among coded and uncoded inter-ONU flows. The proposed techniques are validated by numerical analyses and simulations.
The Diversity of Okun's Coefficient in the Regions of Poland

In the paper we calculate the Okun's coefficient in the regions of Poland. We compare the coefficients calculated for each region separately with the estimations from seemingly unrelated regressions (SUR) models. We argue that the second method gives a better estimate, because shocks in output are highly correlated across regions. Then we search in the Polish regions for the clubs consisting of regions with equal Okun's coefficients, what indicates the similarity in the macroeconomic structure and labor market. We find two such clubs: northwest of Poland and the eastern border. Finally, we draw some conclusions concerning economic policy in working against unemployment.
Sociodemographic and clinical correlates of migrant status in adults with psychotic disorders: data from the Australian Survey of High Impact Psychosis

Objective. The links between migrant status and psychosis have attracted considerable attention in recent decades. The aim of the study was to explore the demographic and clinical correlates of migrant v. Australia-born status in individuals with psychotic disorders using a large community-based sample. Method. Data were drawn from a population-based prevalence survey of adults with psychotic disorders. Known as the Survey of High Impact Psychosis (SHIP), it was conducted in seven Australian catchment areas in 2010. Logistic regression was used for the main analyses, examining associations of migrant status with sociodemographic and clinical variables. Results. Of the 1825 participants with psychotic disorders, 17.8% (n = 325) were migrants, of whom 55.7% (n = 181) were male. Compared to Australia-born individuals with psychosis, migrants were more likely to be currently married, to have completed a higher level at school, to have left school later, and to be employed with full-time jobs. Migrants with psychosis were either no different from or less impaired or disadvantaged compared to their Australian-born counterparts on a range of clinical and demographic variables. Conclusions. In a sample of individuals with psychotic disorders, there was no evidence to suggest that migrant status was associated with worse clinical or socio-economic outcomes compared to their native-born counterparts.
General Manager Staffing and Performance in Transitional Economy Subsidiaries

Drawing from institutional theory, we address the issues that headquarters of multinational corporations (MNCs) face when selecting local versus expatriate subsidiary general managers (GMs). Our analysis of 2,315 MNC subsidiaries in China shows that foreign direct investment (FDI) legitimacy is a reliable measure of institutional environment differences at the subnational level and that the commonly used country-level measures, including institutional distance and cultural distance, mask pertinent withincountry differences. MNCs that invest in Chinese provinces with lower FDI legitimacy use more local nationals as subsidiary GMs, compared to MNCs that invest in provinces with higher FDI legitimacy. In provinces with low FDI legitimacy, subsidiaries with local GMs perform relatively better than subsidiaries with expatriate GMs. This effect is particularly strong for wholly owned subsidiaries, as compared with joint ventures, and applies to all provinces except the most developed coastal regions. In provinces with higher levels of FDI legitimacy, these effects are reversed.
What happens to women who sell sex? Report of a unique occupational cohort

Background/objectives: Sex work has been seen as both a health and a social problem. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the longer term impact on health. We explored the health and career paths over a period of 15 years among women who have worked in the sex industry. Design: A longitudinal study of sex workers recruited between 1986 and 1993 and followed for 15 years. Outcome data were obtained through interview, clinic records, or third parties. Setting: Clinic and community settings in London. Participants: We obtained outcome data on 130 (37%) of the original cohort of 354 women, with a combined follow up of 1247 years. Main outcome measures: Vital status, most recent occupation, duration of sex work, sexually transmitted infections (STI), major health problems. Results: The majority (73/124, 59%) were still in the sex industry and had sold sex for a mean of 13.6 years. There were six deaths, a mortality of 4.8 per 1000 person years. Surviving women had a high cumulative risk (110 of 118, 93%) of STI. Past gonorrhoea was associated with pelvic inflammatory disease (RR 2.28, 95% CI 1.12 to 4.66) and infertility (RR 10.9, 95% CI 1.5 to 77.3). Other outcomes included mental health problems (38 of 97, 40%) and addiction (46 of 72, 64%). There were no significant differences in health outcomes between women who were still in the sex industry and those who had stopped. There was a high level of occupational mobility, and 31 women (of 84, 37%) had completed vocational or higher education, including eight to postgraduate level. Conclusions: Sex work is associated with excess mortality and morbidity including the sequelae of STI, mental health problems, and substance misuse. The relation between these health problems and sex work is complex.
Recurrent Highway Networks with Attention Mechanism for Scene Text Recognition

Scene Text Recognition is an extremely useful but challenging task and has drawn much attention in recent years. The best of previous model is CNN-LSTM model with attention mechanism, and it can recognize the whole text without character-level segmentation and recognition. Compared with LSTM, Recurrent Highway Networks (RHN), as a popular architecture because of its capability of training deep structure, can preform excellently in plenty of situations and has least parameters. Thus, we employ RHN as decoder and combine attention mechanism with it. Moreover, we integrate feature extraction, feature attention and sequence recognition into an end- to-end framework which can be jointly trained. Our proposed method is conducted on challenging public datasets, such as Street View Text and ICDAR 2003, and outperform the results of the best model in some datasets. Nevertheless, our model only contains 6.3 million parameters that is the minimal size of model for this problem.
Agraphia in Alzheimer’s Disease

Writing disorders are an early manifestation of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), often more severe than language difficulties. AD patients produce shorter and less informative written descriptions of a complex picture than controls. These abbreviated texts also include many intrusions, semantic substitutions, and misspellings. Syntactic difficulties are characterized by a reduction of subordinate clauses rather than by the occurrence of grammatical errors. Lexical spelling is systematically more impaired and affected earlier than phonological spelling. With disease progression, the deficits of central writing processes extend to graphic difficulties and alteration of handwriting spatial organization. In the context of a semiotic hierarchy, an inverse relationship is suggested between writing acquisition during childhood and subsequent writing degradation in AD. The writing disturbance in AD is evidently related to a disruption in the anatomicofunctional cerebral network designed for writing processes, mainly in the parietal regions.
Effects of pulp mill effluent on benthic assemblages in mesocosms along the Saint John River, Canada

We used mesocosms toexamine the impact of different concentrations of pulp mill effluent (PME) on structural and functional endpoints of a benthic assemblage in the Saint John River (NB, Canada) during 1999 and 2000. Previous studies on this effluent's effects produced conflicting results, with field surveys suggesting a pattern of mild nutrient enrichment, while laboratory toxicity tests linked effluent exposure to moderate contaminant effects. Experimental treatments included three concentrations of sulfite pulp mill effluent (0, 5, 10% v/v PME). Endpoints for the assessment included algal biomass and taxonomic composition, benthic invertebrate abundance and composition, and insect emergence. Low concentrations of PME increased periphyton biomass and caused changes in community structure within the diatom‐dominated community. Pulp mill effluent addition had little effect on several structural endpoints measured for benthic invertebrates, including abundance and taxonomic richness, but significantly changed community composition. For both periphyton and benthic invertebrates, community composition endpoints were more sensitive indicators of PME exposure. Insect emergence was a highly relevant functional endpoint. When benthic and emerged insects were combined, total abundance increased with PME addition. Results from two trophic levels, which provided multiple lines of evidence, indicated that the main impact of these PME concentrations is nutrient enrichment rather than effluent toxicity. Our findings also suggest that benthic invertebrate and periphyton assemblages, algal biomass production, and insect emergence are sensitive response measures. Future studies may confirm this observation. The consideration of both functional and structural endpoints at different trophic levels can greatly improve our understanding the effects of discharges to rivers. Such an understanding could not have been obtained using standard assessment techniques and illustrates the value of mesocosms and the benthic community assemblage approach in environmental assessment.
Predicting Missing Values in a Home Care Database Using an Adaptive Uncertainty Rule Method

Summary Objectives: Contemporary literature illustrates an abundance of adaptive algorithms for mining association rules. However, most literature is unable to deal with the peculiarities, such as missing values and dynamic data creation, that are frequently encountered in fields like medicine. This paper proposes an uncertainty rule method that uses an adaptive threshold for filling missing values in newly added records. A new approach for mining uncertainty rules and filling missing values is proposed, which is in turn particularly suitable for dynamic databases, like the ones used in home care systems. Methods: In this study, a new data mining method named FiMV (Filling Missing Values) is illustrated based on the mined uncertainty rules. Uncertainty rules have quite a similar structure to association rules and are extracted by an algorithm proposed in previous work, namely AURG (Adaptive Uncertainty Rule Generation). The main target was to implement an appropriate method for recovering missing values in a dynamic database, where new records are continuously added, without needing to specify any kind of thresholds beforehand. Results: The method was applied to a home care monitoring system database. Randomly, multiple missing values for each record’s attributes (rate 5-20% by 5% increments) were introduced in the initial dataset. FiMV demonstrated 100% completion rates with over 90% success in each case, while usual approaches, where all records with missing values are ignored or thresholds are required, experienced significantly reduced completion and success rates. Conclusions: It is concluded that the proposed method is appropriate for the data-cleaning step of the Knowledge Discovery process in databases. The latter, containing much significance for the output efficiency of any data mining technique, can improve the quality of the mined information.
Large-scale synthesis of copper nanoparticles by chemically controlled reduction for applications of inkjet-printed electronics

Copper nanoparticles are being given considerable attention as of late due to their interesting properties and potential applications in many areas of industry. One such exploitable use is as the major constituent of conductive inks and pastes used for printing various electronic components. In this study, copper nanoparticles were synthesized through a relatively large-scale (5 l), high-throughput (0.2 M) process. This facile method occurs through the chemical reduction of copper sulfate with sodium hypophosphite in ethylene glycol within the presence of a polymer surfactant (PVP), which was included to prevent aggregation and give dispersion stability to the resulting colloidal nanoparticles. Reaction yields were determined to be quantitative while particle dispersion yields were between 68 and 73%. The size of the copper nanoparticles could be controlled between 30 and 65 nm by varying the reaction time, reaction temperature, and relative ratio of copper sulfate to the surfactant. Field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images of the particles revealed a spherical shape within the reported size regime, and x-ray analysis confirmed the formation of face-centered cubic (FCC) metallic copper. Furthermore, inkjet printing nanocopper inks prepared from the polymer-stabilized copper nanoparticles onto polyimide substrates resulted in metallic copper traces with low electrical resistivities (≥3.6 µΩ cm, or ≥2.2 times the resistivity of bulk copper) after a relatively low-temperature sintering process (200 °C for up to 60 min).
The position of cyproterone acetate (CPA), a steroidal anti‐androgen, in the treatment of prostate cancer

Cyproterone acetate is a steroidal anti‐androgen that blocks the androgen‐receptor interaction and reduces serum testosterone through its weak anti‐gonadotropic action. It can be regarded as the only anti‐hormone that causes complete androgen blockade as monotherapy. Many animal experiments and several clinical phase II and phase III trials have demonstrated that it deserves a place in the endocrine therapy of advanced prostate cancer, particularly for those patients who find orchidectomy unacceptable and who do not have known cardiovascular risks. Additionally, cyproterone acetate can be used safely to prevent disease flare when a luteinizing hormone releasing hormone analog is the drug of choice and to suppress hot flashes in response to LHRH agonists or after orchidectomy.
A study on optical and SAR data fusion for extracting flooded area

Figure 1. Images for data fusion acquired on 31 May 2001 and Radarsat Extended High 6 beam mode (Eh6) acquired on 11 December 2004 will be used for the purpose of data fusion. The Landsat ETM data will basically provide the information of landform and background information which includes the normal water extent. The Radarsat data however was taken during flood will provide information mainly on water body extent and flooded area.
Testing with fragrance mix

In a multicentre study, the value of adding sorbitan sesquioleate (SSO) to the constituents of the 8% fragrance mix (FM) was investigated. In 7 centres, 709 consecutive patients were tested with 2 types of FM from different sources, its 8 constituents with 1% SSO, its 8 constituents without SSO, and 20% SSO. 5 patients (0.71%) reacted to the emulsifier SSO itself, read as definitely allergic on day 3/4. 53 patients reacted to either one of the mixes with an allergic type of reaction. When tested with the constituents without SSO, 41.5% showed an allergic reaction versus 54.7% with SSO. If both types of reactions were considered (allergic and irritant) 38.3% of 73 patients showed a positive “breakdown” result without SSO, versus 54.8% with SSO. The differences were statistically significant. Reactivity to FM constituents was changed in a specific pattern by addition of SSO‐irritant reactions increased, particularly for cinnamic alcohol, eugenol, geraniol, oak moss and hydroxycitronellal, whereas others showed only a slight change. Allergic reactions were also increased by SSO, but the rank order of the top 3 sensitizers (isoeugenol, oak moss and eugenol) did not change. Cinnamic alcohol was the only constituent with decreased reactivity after addition of SSO. A positive history of fragrance sensitivity (HFS) was clearly associated with a positive allergic reaction to either the mix or 1 of its constituents (51% versus 28.6% with a negative HFS). Irritant reactions were linked to a negative HFS in a high proportion (64.3%). In 17 patients, a repeated open application test (ROAT) was performed with a total of 43 patch‐test‐positive materials. The ROAT was positive in 20/31 (64.5%) tests in 11 patients with a positive HFS, but negative in all 6 patients with a negative HFS (0/12 tests). In conclusion, addition of SSO to the constituents of FM increases both irritant and allergic reactions, though the difference from the results obtained without SSO is not as high as previously reported. The ROAT is a valuable tool in validating such patch test results.
The exemplary social emotion guilt: Not so relationship-oriented when another person repairs for you

Guilt is considered by many researchers to be the hallmark social emotion. Guilt theories perceive guilt to be a negative emotion with positive interpersonal consequences, and empirical research has shown guilt to motivate prosocial behaviours aimed at restoring the relationship with one's victims. The current research questions the relationship-oriented nature of this emotion. Five experiments reveal that when a person repairs the transgressor's damage caused to a victim, the transgressor's guilt feelings, reparative intentions, and prosocial behaviour decrease. These findings suggest that it is not the relationship with the victim that is important in the regulation of guilt feelings, but rather the reparative actions that have been undertaken. Implications for theory and behavioural research on guilt are discussed.
Therapeutic Efficacy and Clinical Acceptability of Fusafungine* in Follicular Pharyngitis

Summary Eighty-one patients suffering from follicular pharyngitis were treated for 7 days in a double-blind, multicentre controlled study of fusafungine versus placebo. Evaluations were performed at inclusion, after 7 days of treatment, and 3 weeks after the end of the treatment. The effects of the pharyngitis on day-to-day life, changes in symptoms, morphological changes of lesions, and general changes observed by the investigator and expressed by the patient were the parameters evaluated at each visit. Results confirmed the efficacy of fusafungine in the treatment of local and symptomatic manifestations of follicular pharyngitis. Effects of follicular pharyngitis on day-to-day life decreased after 7 days of treatment and the differences between the treatment group and the placebo group was close to significance in favour of fusafungine. For the majority of symptoms, the percentage of patients who did nnot display the symptoms at D7 was greater in the fusafungine group. Postnasal drip decreased significantly in the fusafungine group. The investigators' and patients' judgement was also in favour of the fusafungine treatment. These improvements were confirmed at least 3 weeks after the end of the treatment.
The Impact of Regulation and Competition on the Migration from Old to New Communications Infrastructure: Recent Evidence from EU27 Member States

Fibre-deployment of next-generation communications networks is currently a major challenge for investing firms as well as for national regulators and is also subject to hot debates at EU level. This work examines the role of regulatory policies and competition controlling for relevant supply and demand side factors. Our econometric model employs dynamic panel data methods that take into account potential endogeneity due to omitted heterogeneity, reverse causality and the dynamic investment specification. Our results indicate that relevant forms of previous broadband access regulations have had a negative impact on investment in new infrastructure. Furthermore, infrastructure-based competition from mobile operators and the replacement effect stemming from the incumbents' existing infrastructure exert a negative impact on ex ante investment incentives. As regards the dynamics of the adjustment process, we find that there are both short-term and long-term effects towards the desired infrastructure level.
Falls event detection using triaxial accelerometry and barometric pressure measurement

A falls detection system, employing a Bluetooth-based wearable device, containing a triaxial accelerometer and a barometric pressure sensor, is described. The aim of this study is to evaluate the use of barometric pressure measurement, as a surrogate measure of altitude, to augment previously reported accelerometry-based falls detection algorithms. The accelerometry and barometric pressure signals obtained from the waist-mounted device are analyzed by a signal processing and classification algorithm to discriminate falls from activities of daily living. This falls detection algorithm has been compared to two existing algorithms which utilize accelerometry signals alone. A set of laboratory-based simulated falls, along with other tasks associated with activities of daily living (16 tests) were performed by 15 healthy volunteers (9 male and 6 female; age: 23.7 ± 2.9 years; height: 1.74 ± 0.11 m). The algorithm incorporating pressure information detected falls with the highest sensitivity (97.8%) and the highest specificity (96.7%).