Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the impact of microgrid energy managemen systems on power system dynamics

This paper compares the impact of microgrids on the transient response of the transmission system, and, more specifically, on its frequency variations, when different control strategies and different storage capacities are employed. Extensive Monte Carlo simulations are performed based on the IEEE 39-bus system, and show that the dynamic behavior of the transmission system is affected in a non-trivial way by the control strategy of the microgrids energy management system and their storage capacity.
Light Levels Affect Carbon Utilisation in Tropical Seagrass under Ocean Acidification

Under future ocean acidification (OA), increased availability of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in seawater may enhance seagrass productivity. However, the ability to utilise additional DIC could be regulated by light availability, often reduced through land runoff. To test this, two tropical seagrass species, Cymodocea serrulata and Halodule uninervis were exposed to two DIC concentrations (447 μatm and 1077 μatm pCO2), and three light treatments (35, 100, 380 μmol m-2 s-1) for two weeks. DIC uptake mechanisms were separately examined by measuring net photosynthetic rates while subjecting C. serrulata and H. uninervis to changes in light and addition of bicarbonate (HCO3-) use inhibitors (carbonic anhydrase inhibitor, acetazolamide) and TRIS buffer (pH 8.0). We observed a strong dependence on energy driven H+-HCO3- co-transport (TRIS, which disrupts H+ extrusion) in C. serrulata under all light levels, indicating greater CO2 dependence in low light. This was confirmed when, after two weeks exposure, DIC enrichment stimulated maximum photosynthetic rates (Pmax) and efficiency (α) more in C. serrulata grown under lower light levels (36–60% increase) than for those in high light (4% increase). However, C. serrulata growth increased with both DIC enrichment and light levels. Growth, NPP and photosynthetic responses in H. uninervis increased with higher light treatments and were independent of DIC availability. Furthermore, H. uninervis was found to be more flexible in HCO3- uptake pathways. Here, light availability influenced productivity responses to DIC enrichment, via both carbon fixation and acquisition processes, highlighting the role of water quality in future responses to OA.
Tracking Sustainability in Free Trade Agreements: Issues of Interest for the Commonwealth

The scale of the challenge posed by the recent universal adoption of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to the achievement of economic, social and environmental objectives is formidable. In order to achieve the trade-related targets included in the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, understanding the trade policy levers with the most potential to advance them remains critical for policy makers. This includes at the bilateral as well as regional level. In this paper, the inclusion of criteria related to sustainable development within free trade agreements (FTAs) is critically reviewed. Through this analysis, the demand for greater coherence amongst levels of trade policy becomes obvious in order to more effectively promote the 2030 Agenda. Finally, impact assessments and review mechanisms will also need to be bolstered.
Expected Stock Returns

Contrary to the standard practice of using past average realized returns when testing asset pricing models, this paper analyzes the factor structure and the cross-sectional variability of expected returns. We show that the first two principal components explain 99.5% of the variability of (lower bound) expected returns. Quality, funding illiquidity, default premium and market-wide variance risk premium explain most of the time-varying behavior of the first principal component. Market-wide illiquidity significantly explains the second principal component. The cross-sectional fit of several asset pricing models using expected returns is consistently better than the one with average realized returns. The factor loadings of the two principal components explain more than 90% of the cross-sectional variability of expected returns. The most successful model is a multi-factor model with the market, and the four aggregate factors that explain the first principal component. This model is able to explain more than 95% of the cross-sectional variability of expected excess returns, with a corrected R-square of 60%, which is (asymptotically) different from zero.
Economic crises and market performance—A machine learning approach

This note analyzes the relationship between economic crises and tourism performance in Spain during the period 1970–2013 using machine learning techniques. Specifically, a regression tree is estimated to confirm that, although the dynamics of Spanish tourism performance is influenced by the general variables established by the literature, the crisis periods disrupt the natural functioning of these dynamics, provoking disturbances that affect the tourism market position of destinations to a greater extent than expected. Conversely, to other econometric techniques, machine learning approach allows us to achieve greater flexibility and enriches the information, estimating the interrelations and thresholds operating in this context.
Transcriptional Target Prediction Using Qualitative Reasoning

Transcription target prediction from functional genomics data often involves incorporating a conjunction of complex prior biological knowledge to the analysis. Unfortunately, typical prior hypotheses are qualitative rather than quantitative in nature. But, many qualitative biological hypotheses can be decomposed into a set of logic statements on binary outcomes. Here, we present a new method to convert qualitative statements into a collection of binary statements that in turn generates a partial ordering of outcomes, which can be tested using a semi-parametric isotonic regression. This semi-parametric approach yields a flexible but principled way of testing biological hypotheses. We applied this method to a published Arabidopsis microarray dataset to identify organ specific transcriptional target genes, and tested predictions independently using the AtGenExpress dataset. Our new algorithm performed comparably to published approaches and allowed rapid analysis of complex, multiple gene selection criteria
Cardiovascular drugs and erectile dysfunction - a symmetry analysis.

AIM Erectile dysfunction is a common problem among patients with cardiovascular diseases and the influence of cardiovascular drugs is much debated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the short term potential for different cardiovascular drugs to affect the risk of being prescribed a drug against erectile dysfunction. METHODS We employed a symmetry analysis design and included all Danish male individuals born before 1950 who filled their first ever prescription for a cardiovascular drug and a 5-phosphodiesterase inhibitor within a 6 month interval during 2002-2012. If the cardiovascular drug induces erectile dysfunction, this would manifest as a non-symmetrical distribution of subjects being prescribed the cardiovascular drug first vs. persons following the opposite pattern. Furthermore, we calculated the number of patients needed to treat for one additional patient to be treated for erectile dysfunction (NNTH). RESULTS We identified 20 072 males with a median age of 64 years (IQR 60-70) who initiated a cardiovascular drug and a 5-phosphodiesterase inhibitor within a 6 month interval. Sequence ratios showed minor asymmetry in prescription orders after adjustment for trends in prescribing. This asymmetry was most profound for thiazides (1.28, 95% CI 1.20, 1.38), calcium channel blockers (1.29, 95% CI 1.21, 1.38) and ACE inhibitors (1.29, 95% CI 1.21, 1.37), suggesting a small liability of these drugs to provoke erectile dysfunction. NNTH values were generally large, in the range of 330-6400, corresponding to small absolute effects. CONCLUSION Our study does not suggest that cardiovascular drugs strongly affect the risk of being prescribed a drug against erectile dysfunction on a short term basis.
A new way to detect DDoS attacks within single router

Different from other research work focusing on network-wide traffic, the traffic we focus on for analysis is that of a traffic state viewed from a router¿s interior. In this paper, at first, a kind of Port-to-Port traffic in a router is introduced, which we call IF flow. IF flows can amplify the ratio of attack traffic to normal traffic. Then RLS (recursive least square) filter is used to predict IF flows. After that, a statistical method using residual filtered process is proposed to detect anomalies. Finally we respectively apply the method to three types of traffics: IF flows, input links and output links within a router, and compare the anomaly detection results using ROC curves. Results show that IF flows are more powerful than input links and output links in DDoS attacks detection.
Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin and carboplatin (C-PLD) versus paclitaxel and carboplatin (C-P) in platinum-sensitive ovarian cancer (OC) patients (pts): Treatment at recurrence and overall survival (OS) final analysis from CALYPSO phase III GCIG trial.

5052 Background: CALYPSO is a large international randomized phase III trial comparing C-PLD and C-P in pts with OC in late relapse. Results of the progression-free survival (PFS), the primary endpoint, suggest a benefit in pts treated with C-PLD with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.82 (P =.005). Overall severe non-hematologic toxicity (36.8% v 28.4%; P < .01) - including alopecia, neurotoxicity and carboplatin hypersensitivity leading to early discontinuation (15% v 6%; P < .001) - occurred more frequently in the C-P arm. METHODS From 04/05 to 10/07, 976 eligible pts were randomized to either C-P (carboplatin AUC 5 iv d1 + paclitaxel [P] 175 mg/m2 3h iv d1, q3w) or C-PLD (Carboplatin + PLD 30 mg/m2 iv d1 q4w) for at least 6 cycles. It was explored whether the treatment effect on PFS recently observed in CALYPSO was maintained after further treatment. OS of pts was analysed. RESULTS Median follow-up is 40 months (mo). 832 pts (86%) have progressed after CALYPSO treatment (C-PLD or C-P). At time of first progression following CALYPSO, median platinum-free interval (C-PLD:5.2, C-P: 5.5 mo) and percentage of pts receiving platinum-based treatment (C-PLD: 27% , C-P: 26%) were similar in both arms. Pts initially treated with C-PLD had significantly less risk of 2nd treatment failure compared with those initially receiving C-P, with a HR of 0.83 (95% CI: 0.73,0.96, p=0.01). There was a significant imbalance in the cross-over rate of PLD and paclitaxel between both arms (from C-PLD to P: 34%, from C-P to PLD: 57%). Median OS of the global population (n=621 events) was 31.5 mo with a HR of 0.987 (P = 0.87) for C-PLD compared to C-P. CONCLUSIONS In pts with OC in late relapse, the benefit in disease control of C-PLD over C-P was maintained at 1st treatment following CALYPSO relapse. OS was similar in both arms while cross-over treatment rate was superior in the C-P arm.
Identifying Unconventional Monetary Policy Shocks

This paper proposes a novel method for identifying unconventional monetary policy shocks. The method incorporates the movement of two unconventional monetary policy indicators, namely, the size and composition of the central bank’s balance sheet, after the bank makes policy decisions. Under some restrictions imposed in the vector autoregressive model, we identify two unconventional policy shocks, quantitative and qualitative shocks, as news shocks that best portend the current and future paths of the unconventional policy indicators in response to the policy shocks. The qualitative easing shocks have expansionary effects on the real economy, while the quantitative easing shocks have contractionary effects.
Extraintestinal Pathogenic Escherichia Coli-Induced Pneumonia in Three Kittens and Fecal Prevalence in a Clinically Healthy Cohort Population

Three kittens, ages 5, 9, and 17 weeks, were found dead by separate caregivers and were submitted for necropsy. At gross necropsy, each kitten had hemorrhagic or bloody fibrinoserous thoracic fluid and differing distributions of pulmonary consolidation. On histologic examination, the pulmonary lesion in each kitten was similar and was characterized by acute necrotizing and hemorrhagic pneumonia and pleuritis, with numerous intralesional small Gram-negative rods. A pure culture of a distinct serotype of Escherichia coli was identified in lung tissue from each kitten (O4:H5, O6:H7, O6:H5). Lung isolates, genotyped by polymerase chain reaction, carried genes that are characteristic of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), including cnf-1, papG allele I, papA, papC, sfa, fim, hlyD, malX, iroN, fyuA, kpsMII, and ompT. Escherichia coli isolates from the intestines of 2 of the kittens were 100% related to the respective lung isolate, as determined by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis. Cultures of fecal samples collected from a clinically healthy cohort population of kittens revealed 16 of 19 tested kittens (84%) to be shedding hemolytic E. coli. Ten different serotypes were identified from 43 hemolytic E. coli fecal isolates from the cohort population, each of which had a genetic profile consistent with that typical of ExPEC. To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first report to describe a cluster of isolated cases of pneumonia in kittens caused by distinct serotypes of ExPEC and to evaluate the prevalence of hemolytic E. coli carrying ExPEC-associated genes in the feces of a cohort population of kittens.
The Social Structure of Tagging Internet Video on del.icio.us

The ability to tag resources with uncontrolled metadata or "folksonomies" is often characterized as one of the central features of "Web 2.0" applications. Folksonomies are said to support emergent classification, where the semantic value of the tags and their relation to one another is worked out through a negotiated process of users applying their selected tags and seeing what others have tagged the same way. Few studies exist to show how folksonomic tagging is actually done, and to what extent users share each other's tagging patterns. In this paper, we present the results of a social network analysis of two months worth of tagging Internet video on the social bookmarking system del.icio. us. The analysis reveals that specific videos are tagged in fairly coherent ways by a relatively tight group of users. However, contrary to our expectations, there does not appear to be much re-use of tags across different content, or even very many users tagging more than a few similar items. Overwhelmingly, specific clusters of tags and users are associated with individual video links. This result suggests that tagging bookmarks is highly local, and the overall collection of tags is unlikely to result in a coherent globally navigable classification system
Wet microcontact printing (µCP) for micro-reservoir drug delivery systems

When micro-reservoir-type drug delivery systems are fabricated, loading solid drugs in drug reservoirs at microscale is often a non-trivial task. This paper presents a simple and effective solution to load a small amount of drug solution at microscale using ‘wet’ microcontact printing (µCP). In this wet µCP, a liquid solution containing drug molecules (methylene blue and tetracycline HCl) dissolved in a carrier solvent was transferred to a target surface (drug reservoir) by contact printing process. In particular, we have investigated the dependence of the quantity and morphology of transferred drug molecules on the stamp size, concentration, printing times, solvent types and surfactant concentration. It was also found that the repetition of printing using a non-volatile solvent such as polyethylene glycol (PEG) as a drug carrier material actually increased the transferred amount of drug molecules in proportion to the printing times based on asymmetric liquid bridge formation. Utilizing this wet µCP, drug delivery devices containing different quantity of drugs in micro-reservoirs were fabricated and their performance as controlled drug delivery devices was demonstrated.
Designing user interfaces for multi-touch and surface-gesture devices

Initially Designers only had a keyboard and lines of text to design. Then, the mouse enabled a richer design ecosystem with two dimensional plains of UI. Now the Design and Research communities have access to multi-touch and gestural interfaces which have been released on a mass market scale. This allows them to design and develop new, unique, and richer design patterns and approaches. These methods are no longer confined to research projects or innovation labs, but are now offered on a large scale to millions of consumers. With these new interface behaviors, in combination with multiple types of hardware devices that can affect the interface, there are new problems and patterns that have increased the complexity of designing interfaces. The aim of this SIG is to provide a forum for Designers, Researchers, and Usability Professionals to discuss this new and emerging technology trends for multi-touch and gesture interfaces, as well as discuss current design patterns within these interfaces. Our goal is to cross pollinate ideas and current solutions from practitioners and researchers across communities to help drive awareness of this new field for those interested in, just starting in, or currently involved in the design of these systems.
Phonovibrography: Mapping High-Speed Movies of Vocal Fold Vibrations Into 2-D Diagrams for Visualizing and Analyzing the Underlying Laryngeal Dynamics

Endoscopic high-speed laryngoscopy in combination with image analysis strategies is the most promising approach to investigate the interrelation between vocal fold vibrations and voice disorders. So far, due to the lack of an objective and standardized analysis procedure a unique characterization of vocal fold vibrations has not been achieved yet. We present a visualization and analysis strategy which transforms the segmented edges of vibrating vocal folds into a single 2-D image, denoted Phonovibrogram (PVG). Within a PVG the individual type of vocal fold vibration becomes uniquely characterized by specific geometric patterns. The PVG geometries give an intuitive access on the type and degree of the laryngeal asymmetry and can be quantified using an image segmentation approach. The PVG analysis was applied to 14 representative recordings derived from a high-speed database comprising normal and pathological voices. We demonstrate that PVGs are capable to differentiate and quantify different types of normal and pathological vocal fold vibrations. The objective and precise quantification of the PVG geometry may have the potential to realize a novel classification of vocal fold vibrations.
Assessment of the reproducibility of baseline and hyperemic myocardial blood flow measurements with 15O-labeled water and PET.

UNLABELLED PET with 15O-labeled water allows noninvasive quantification of myocardial blood flow (MBF) at baseline and during pharmacologically induced hyperemia to assess the coronary vasodilator reserve (CVR = hyperemic/baseline MBF). Despite widespread use of PET, its reproducibility during one study session has not been tested. Intravenous adenosine (Ado), a powerful coronary vasodilator with a very short decay time, is commonly used for the induction of hyperemia. However, it is not known whether Ado can induce tachyphylaxis after short-term repetitive administration. In this study, we aimed to test the reproducibility of PET assessment of CVR during Ado-induced hyperemia. METHODS In 21 healthy volunteer men, baseline and Ado MBF were measured twice using PET with 15O-labeled water to obtain two CVR assessments within 1 h. RESULTS There was no significant difference between the two baselines (0.89 +/- 0.14 versus 0.99 +/- 0.15 mL/min/g, mean difference 13% +/- 11%) or between the two hyperemic MBFs (3.51 +/- 0.45 versus 3.83 +/- 0.49 mL/min/g, mean difference 10% +/- 14%), resulting in comparable values of CVR (4.05 +/- 0.75 versus 3.93 +/- 0.72, mean difference 2% +/- 15%). The repeatability coefficient for MBF was 0.17 mL/min/g at baseline and 0.94 mL/min/g during hyperemia. The repeatability coefficient of the rate pressure product (RPP) was lower at baseline (1,304 mm Hg x beat/min) than during hyperemia (3,448 mm Hg x beat/min). CONCLUSION Repeated measurements of MBF and CVR during the same study session were not significantly different, demonstrating the validity of the technique. The larger variability of hyperemic flow, as indicated by the larger repeatability coefficient, was paralleled by a greater variability of the RPP. This could mean that the greater variability of MBF during stress is more likely due to a variable response to Ado rather than to a measurement error.
Outcomes following use of a modified Duran ring tricuspid valve reconstruction procedure for secondary tricuspid regurgitation.

BACKGROUND Tricuspid valve (TV) repair using ring annuloplasty is reportedly to be superior to suture annuloplasty for treating tricuspid regurgitation (TR). The Duran ring TV annuloplasty technique was modified in order to reduce the risk of complete atrioventricular block and aortic valve injury and the outcomes are reported here. The modification involved not suturing half of the septal annulus. METHODS AND RESULTS Between January 1998 and July 2007, 219 patients diagnosed with secondary TR underwent TV repair using a modified Duran ring procedure. The mean patient age was 54.2+/-12.7 years, and 65 (29.7%) patients were male. The median follow-up duration was 35.8 months (range, 0.03-122.6 months). The mean ring size was 27.4+/-2.0 mm. The prevalence of 3+ or 4+ regurgitation was 9.5% (21/218) at 1 week postoperatively, and 9.4% at more than 2 years postoperatively (mean, 57 months; 96 patients assessed). The in-hospital mortality rate was 1.4% (3/219). The overall survival rate was 95+/-1.5% at 1 year, 86.2+/-3.0% at 5 years, and 79.9+/-4.2% at 8 years. Multivariate analysis showed that atrial fibrillation at the last follow-up (P<0.001) and cardiopulmonary bypass time (P=0.016) were risk factors for recurrent or persistent significant TR. CONCLUSIONS The modified Duran ring TV repair procedure for secondary TR patients was safe and durable. Notably, postoperative atrial fibrillation was found to be a significant risk factor for recurrent TR.
Circulating levels of osteopontin, osteoprotegerin, total soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kappa B ligand, and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis randomized to etanercept alone or in combination with methotrexate

Objective: To determine whether circulating levels of osteopontin (OPN), osteoprotegerin (OPG), total soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor‐kappa B ligand (total sRANKL), and high‐sensitivity C‐reactive protein (hsCRP) change in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) during immunosuppressive therapy. Methods: Twenty‐five active RA patients were randomized to treatment with either etanercept alone or in combination with methotrexate (MTX). The treatment response after 16 weeks was assessed using the European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria. Blood samples were taken before the start of and every fourth week during the study. OPN, OPG, and total sRANKL were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) and hsCRP by highly sensitive turbidometry. Results: At baseline, OPN and hsCRP were significantly (p<0.001) elevated compared to healthy persons. Compared to baseline only hsCRP levels decreased significantly (p<0.05 to p<0.001) in the EULAR responders through the study. OPN remained significantly (p<0.05) elevated at 16 weeks in patients with a low disease activity score (DAS⩽3.2). Total sRANKL increased significantly (p<0.05) from baseline to week 12. No statistically significant changes were observed in the non‐responders. Conclusion: Active RA patients showed increased circulating levels of hsCRP and OPN, but only hsCRP decreased during etanercept therapy. Our findings suggest that OPN, OPG, total sRANKL, and hsCRP reflect different aspects of the inflammatory process in RA.