Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Artificial intelligence techniques for designing switched discrete adaptive controllers for linear time invariant plants

This paper develops a representation of multimodel based controllers using artificial intelligence techniques. These techniques will be neural networks and genetic algorithms. Thus, the interpretation of multimodel controllers in an artificial intelligence frame will allow the application of each specific technique to the design of improved multimodel based controllers. The obtained artificial intelligence-based multimodel controllers are compared with classical single model based ones and with standard multimodel controllers. It is shown through simulation examples that a transient response improvement can be achieved using the proposed artificial intelligence based techniques. Furthermore, a method for synthesizing multimodel based neural network controllers from already designed single model based ones is presented, extending the applicability of this kind of techniques to a more general type of controllers including the case of nonlinear plants. Also, some applications of genetic algorithms to multimodel controller design are proposed. In this way, a method to select a controller with improved robustness properties inspired from the genetic mutation operator is presented. The so obtained scheme has revealed to be adequate to use in noisy environments.
Pattern of bone erosion and bone proliferation in psoriatic arthritis hands: a high-resolution computed tomography and radiography follow-up study during adalimumab therapy

Objectives: To investigate the pattern and development of bone erosion and proliferation in patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) during treatment with adalimumab, using high-resolution computed tomography (CT) and conventional radiography. Method: Forty-one biologic-naïve PsA patients were initiated with adalimumab 40 mg subcutaneously every other week. CT and radiography of the 2nd–5th metacarpophalangeal (MCP), proximal interphalangeal (PIP), and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints were conducted at baseline (n = 41) and after 24 weeks (n = 32). Changes in bone erosion and proliferation are described and the imaging modalities compared. Results: Ninety percent of bone erosions detected by CT were located in the metacarpal heads, and most frequently in the 2nd-3rd MCP joints. Radial (37%) and ulnar (31%) surfaces were more frequently eroded than dorsal (10%) and palmar (22%) sites. Using CT, bone proliferations were located primarily on the sides of the distal part of the DIP joints (43% of all proliferations), but also proximally in DIP (17%) and MCP joints (27%). For bone erosions and proliferations, respectively, radiography showed a low sensitivity (17% and 26%), but a high specificity (98% and 95%) and accuracy (93% and 87%), with CT as the gold standard reference. Neither CT nor radiography revealed statistically significant changes in bone erosion or proliferation scores between baseline and follow-up. Conclusions: Patterns of bone erosion and proliferation in PsA hands were revealed in more detail by CT than by radiography. No overall progression or repair could be detected during adalimumab treatment with either of the methods.
Amelioration of the premature ageing‐like features of Fgf‐23 knockout mice by genetically restoring the systemic actions of FGF‐23

Genetic ablation of fibroblast growth factor 23 from mice (Fgf‐23−/−) results in a short lifespan with numerous abnormal biochemical and morphological features. Such features include kyphosis, hypogonadism and associated infertility, osteopenia, pulmonary emphysema, severe vascular and soft tissue calcifications, and generalized atrophy of various tissues. To determine whether these widespread anomalies in Fgf‐23−/− mice can be ameliorated by genetically restoring the systemic actions of FGF‐23, we generated Fgf‐23−/− mice expressing the human FGF‐23 transgene in osteoblasts under the control of the 2.3 kb α1(I) collagen promoter (Fgf‐23−/− /hFGF‐23‐Tg double mutants). This novel mouse model is completely void of all endogenous Fgf‐23 activity, but produces human FGF‐23 in bone cells that is subsequently released into the circulation. Our results suggest that lack of Fgf‐23 activities results in extensive premature ageing‐like features and early mortality of Fgf‐23−/− mice, while restoring the systemic effects of FGF‐23 significantly ameliorates these phenotypes, with the resultant effect being improved growth, restored fertility, and significantly prolonged survival of double mutants. With regard to their serum biochemistry, double mutants reversed the severe hyperphosphataemia, hypercalcaemia, and hypervitaminosis D found in Fgf‐23−/− littermates; rather, double mutants show hypophosphataemia and normal serum 1,25‐dihydroxyvitamin D3 levels similar to pure FGF‐23 Tg mice. These changes were associated with reduced renal expression of NaPi2a and 1α‐hydroxylase, compared to Fgf‐23−/− mice. FGF‐23 acts to prevent widespread abnormal features by acting systemically to regulate phosphate homeostasis and vitamin D metabolism. This novel mouse model provides us with an in vivo tool to study the systemic effects of FGF‐23 in regulating mineral ion metabolism and preventing multiple abnormal phenotypes without the interference of native Fgf‐23. Copyright © 2008 Pathological Society of Great Britain and Ireland. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Symposium on ‘ Growing up with good nutrition : a focus on the first two decades ’ Charting the physical activity patterns of contemporary children and adolescents †

*Corresponding author: Professor Kenneth R. Fox, fax +44 117 954 6861, email K.R. Fox@bristol.ac. uk †The other papers presented at this meeting were published in Proceedings of the Nutrition Society (2000) 59 no. 2. CAB InternationalPNSProceedings of the Nutrition Society (2000)0029-6651© Nutrition Society 2000 594 PNS 00-055Growing up with good nutrition: first 20 yearsK. R. Fox and C. Riddoch497 504 8© Nutrition S ciety 2000 A joint meeting of the Irish Section of the Nutrition Society and the Reproduction and Development Group of the Nutrition Society was held at Dublin Institute of Technology, Dublin, Republic of Ireland on 1–3 September 1999
Comparison of Batch Normalization and Weight Normalization Algorithms for the Large-scale Image Classification

Batch normalization (BN) has become a de facto standard for training deep convolutional networks. However, BN accounts for a significant fraction of training run-time and is difficult to accelerate, since it is a memory-bandwidth bounded operation. Such a drawback of BN motivates us to explore recently proposed weight normalization algorithms (WN algorithms), i.e. weight normalization, normalization propagation and weight normalization with translated ReLU. These algorithms don't slow-down training iterations and were experimentally shown to outperform BN on relatively small networks and datasets. However, it is not clear if these algorithms could replace BN in practical, large-scale applications. We answer this question by providing a detailed comparison of BN and WN algorithms using ResNet-50 network trained on ImageNet. We found that although WN achieves better training accuracy, the final test accuracy is significantly lower ($\approx 6\%$) than that of BN. This result demonstrates the surprising strength of the BN regularization effect which we were unable to compensate for using standard regularization techniques like dropout and weight decay. We also found that training of deep networks with WN algorithms is significantly less stable compared to BN, limiting their practical applications.
Thermal Analysis of LED Lamps for Optimal Driver Integration

This paper studies the thermal influence of a light-emitting diode (LED) driver on a retrofit LED lamp, also reporting on a procedure for its thermal characterization and multiscale modeling. In this analysis, temperature is measured by infrared thermography and monitoring specific locations with thermocouples. Experimental results point out that temperature increases considerably in all lamp parts when the driver is installed in the lamp (up to 15% for LED board). The multiscale simulation approach is set with thermal parameters (thermal conductivity, emissivity, and LED board thermal resistance) measured from several parts of the lamp, reaching an agreement between experiment and simulation smaller than 10%. With this model, the driver temperature is investigated under operational conditions accounting for two alternative thermal designs. First, the driver is completely surrounded with a filling material (air completely removed, Case A), and, second, only the thermal contact between the board and the lamp is improved (air is kept, Case B). In both cases, the heat removal from the driver to the ambient by conduction is enhanced, observing that temperature decreases in its most heated components up to 10 °C in Case A, and up to 7 °C in Case B.
The C-terminal Domain (CTD) of Human DNA Glycosylase NEIL1 Is Required for Forming BERosome Repair Complex with DNA Replication Proteins at the Replicating Genome

Background: DNA glycosylase NEIL1 initiates prereplicative repair of oxidized DNA. Results: NEIL1 forms a multiprotein complex with DNA replication proteins via its C-terminal domain (CTD), allowing recruitment at the replication fork. Isolated CTD inhibits this interaction and repair in vitro. Conclusion: The interactions of NEIL1 are necessary for prereplicative repair. Significance: The NEIL1 CTD could serve as a target for adjuvant cancer therapy. The human DNA glycosylase NEIL1 was recently demonstrated to initiate prereplicative base excision repair (BER) of oxidized bases in the replicating genome, thus preventing mutagenic replication. A significant fraction of NEIL1 in cells is present in large cellular complexes containing DNA replication and other repair proteins, as shown by gel filtration. However, how the interaction of NEIL1 affects its recruitment to the replication site for prereplicative repair was not investigated. Here, we show that NEIL1 binarily interacts with the proliferating cell nuclear antigen clamp loader replication factor C, DNA polymerase δ, and DNA ligase I in the absence of DNA via its non-conserved C-terminal domain (CTD); replication factor C interaction results in ∼8-fold stimulation of NEIL1 activity. Disruption of NEIL1 interactions within the BERosome complex, as observed for a NEIL1 deletion mutant (N311) lacking the CTD, not only inhibits complete BER in vitro but also prevents its chromatin association and reduced recruitment at replication foci in S phase cells. This suggests that the interaction of NEIL1 with replication and other BER proteins is required for efficient repair of the replicating genome. Consistently, the CTD polypeptide acts as a dominant negative inhibitor during in vitro repair, and its ectopic expression sensitizes human cells to reactive oxygen species. We conclude that multiple interactions among BER proteins lead to large complexes, which are critical for efficient BER in mammalian cells, and the CTD interaction could be targeted for enhancing drug/radiation sensitivity of tumor cells.
Safety and efficacy of bortezomib‐based regimens for multiple myeloma patients with renal impairment: a retrospective study of Italian Myeloma Network GIMEMA

Renal impairment (RI) is a severe complication throughout the course of multiple myeloma (MM). Bortezomib has been shown to be highly active in MM patients with RI. We designed this retrospective analysis to investigate the safety and efficacy of bortezomib‐based therapy in 117 MM patients with RI, 14 cases required dialysis. A total of 603 cycles of bortezomib were administered (median number, five cycles/patient). Ten patients required early discontinuation of bortezomib because of WHO grade IV toxicity. The rate of bortezomib discontinuation in cases with severe, moderate and mild RI was 11%, 5% and 0%, respectively (P = NS). Overall, 91 episodes of WHO grade III/IV toxicity were observed. At least a partial response was documented in 83/113 evaluable patients (73%), including complete response (19%) and near complete response (8%). The overall response rate was similar across RI subgroups. Reversal of RI was documented in 41% of patients after a median of 2.3 months (range 0.4–7.9). In three of 14 patients on dialysis, renal replacement therapy was discontinued after 1, 1 and 4 months. The 2‐yr estimate of response duration and overall survival was 70% and 51%, respectively. In conclusion, bortezomib‐based regimens are safe and effective and should be considered as appropriate treatment options for MM patients with any degree of RI.
Essays on bid rigging

Manipulating prices in auctions raises antitrust concerns. Collusion lowers the revenue of the auctioneer and creates information rents. Bid rigging is a prevalent phenomenon and the affected market is enormous. Public procurement amounts to between 10 and 25 percent of national GDP in industrialized countries. This doctoral thesis contributes to the literature by showing that the source of information asymmetry between cartel members has a profound effect on the feasibility and form of collusion. This point is not without policy relevance. Results of this thesis can contribute to our understanding on combating collusion and promoting allocative efficiency. Chapter 1 builds up a model showing public revelation of information by the auctioneer may foster cartel formation and decrease expected revenue, contradicting the Linkage Principle. Chapter 2 investigates the form of cartel mechanisms. A theoretical model shows why knockout auctions are the prevalent form of bid rigging. Full information revelation within cartel is generally not possible in equilibrium. Chapter 3 is an experimental study focusing on the effect of auction cartels on allocative efficiency. Robust estimates show that the effect is negative and significant.
Formation of Low-Resistivity Nickel Germanide Using Atomic Layer Deposited Nickel Thin Film

Nickel germanide (NiGe) was formed from atomic layer deposition (ALD) Ni on Ge and a subequent annealing process; the Ni film with low resistivity (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$34~\mu \Omega \cdot \text {cm}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) at 15 nm was obtained by N<sub>2</sub> + H<sub>2</sub> plasma treatment after Ni precursor injection. The formed NiGe film showed low specific contact resistivity (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\rho _{c})$ </tex-math></inline-formula> values of 9.01 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \Omega \cdot \text {cm}^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for an NiGe/n<sup>+</sup>Ge contact and 3.61 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \Omega \cdot \text {cm}^{2}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> for an NiGe/p<sup>+</sup>Ge contact. These values were comparable to those obtained using sputtered Ni. In addition, the ALD process-based NiGe showed excellent thermal/electrical stability up to 600 °C.
Screening for Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Low‐Incidence Areas

We thank Fernández-Ruiz et al (1) for their interest in our article (2). We agreewith the authors that the effectiveness and safety of the current recommendations to prevent active tuberculosis (TB) in solid organ transplant recipients should be further studied in different settings. The assumption that in low-incidence areas a more accurate risk stratification would be obtained if the screening for latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) is targeted to patients with other risk factors is very plausible. In fact, this approach has been recommended in the TBNET consensus statement (3), but its performance remains to be tested in a large-scale study. In the illustrative example presented in their letter to the editor, it is likely that the risk for posttransplant TB was strongly overestimated. It is surprising that 51% of liver transplant recipients in a lowincidence area were classified as at high-risk for TB while in the study of de Lemos et al (2), carried out in an endemic area, only 26% of the patients who were appropriately screened were defined as such. It is not clear whether universal screening for LTBI was the main source of risk overestimation in that setting. Although the distribution of risk factors among the 82 liver transplant recipients were not presented, the analysis of the published data from the original cohort of 153 transplant candidates (4) shows that only 10 (6.5%) patients would be defined as at high-risk for TB-based solely on a positive result of an interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA). Apparently, a more important source of risk overestimationmight have been the fact that 33%of the transplant candidates were considered to be at highrisk, because they came from a country with TB prevalence >10 cases/100 000 inhabitants (4), regardless of the results of LTBI screening tests. This criterion is probably associated with a low positive predictive value. According to it, for example, LTBI treatment would be indicated for all transplant recipients in Brazil. In the study of de Lemos et al (2), the use of a simple set of predictive rules (which included the result of a tuberculin skin test), in a group of transplant recipients that lived in a Brazilian city with high incidence of TB, allowed targeting LTBI treatment to a subset of subjects who were at a significantly higher risk of developing posttransplant TB. Therefore, we think that this might be a better preventive approach for transplant patients coming from endemic areas. Finally, because of the study protocol (4), another potential source of risk overestimation to be considered is that transplant candidates were screened with both tuberculin skin test and IGRA and considered to have LTBI if one of these tests were positive. This double test approach is not routinely recommended (5), especially in low-incidence areas where there is a concern that discordant results in the screening testsmay further reduce the positive predictive value of the diagnosis of LTBI.
Regulation of Follicular B Cell Differentiation by the Related E26 Transformation-Specific Transcription Factors PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C

Splenic B-2 cells can be divided into two major subsets: follicular (FO) and marginal zone (MZ) B cells. FO and MZ B cells are generated from immature transitional B cells. Few transcription factors have been identified that regulate FO B cell differentiation. The highly related proteins PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C are transcription factors of the E26-transformation-specific family and are important for B cell differentiation and function. To determine whether these proteins play a role in the differentiation of FO B cells, we performed a detailed analysis of splenic B cells in mice with inactivating mutations in the genes encoding PU.1 (Sfpi1) or Spi-B (Spib). Sfpi1+/− Spib−/− (PUB) mice had a 9-fold reduction in the frequency of CD23+ FO B cells compared with that of wild-type mice. In contrast, PUB mice had a 2-fold increase in the frequency of MZ B cells that was confirmed by immunofluorescence staining. Expression of Spi-C in Eμ-Spi-C transgenic PUB mice partially rescued frequencies of CD23+ B cells. Gene expression analysis, in vitro reporter assays, and chromatin immunoprecipitation experiments showed that transcription of the Fcer2a gene encoding CD23 is activated by PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C. These results demonstrate that FO B cell differentiation is regulated by the E26-transformation-specific transcription factors PU.1, Spi-B, and Spi-C.
Inflation Dynamics in Uganda: The role of disequilibria in the money and traded goods markets

This paper models inflation dynamics in Uganda using a error correction model. The long-run equilibrium relationships in the money market and external sector are estimated, and the two error-correction terms integrated into a short-run single equation error correction model. Consistent with the predictions of a small open economy model, money supply, exchange rate, foreign inflation, terms of trade and real output have a cointegrating relationship with inflation. In the short- run, inflation is driven by changes in real output, monetary aggregates, the exchange rate, and foreign prices. The disequilibria in the money and traded goods markets is significant but the adjustment process is slow. The significance of the interest rate differential in the money-demand equation implies some degree of monetary policy effectiveness in influencing aggregate demand.JEL Classification: E5; E31; F41; O55Keywords: Inflation dynamics; Money market disequilibrium; Traded goods market disequilibrium; Cointegration; Error correction model; Uganda
Autoregressive-based outlier algorithm to detect money laundering activities

Due to the large-size, non-uniform transactions per day, the money laundering detection (MLD) is a time-consuming and difficult process. The major purpose of the proposed auto-regressive (AR) outlier-based MLD (AROMLD) is to reduce the time consumption for handling large-sized non-uniform transactions. ,The AR-based outlier design produces consistent asymptotic distributed results that enhance the demand-forecasting abilities. Besides, the inter-quartile range (IQR) formulations proposed in this paper support the detailed analysis of time-series data pairs. ,The prediction of high-dimensionality and the difficulties in the relationship/difference between the data pairs makes the time-series mining as a complex task. The presence of domain invariance in time-series mining initiates the regressive formulation for outlier detection. The deep analysis of time-varying process and the demand of forecasting combine the AR and the IQR formulations for an effective outlier detection. ,The present research focuses on the detection of an outlier in the previous financial transaction, by using the AR model. Prediction of the possibility of an outlier in future transactions remains a major issue. ,The lack of prior segmentation of ML detection suffers from dimensionality. Besides, the absence of boundary to isolate the normal and suspicious transactions induces the limitations. The lack of deep analysis and the time consumption are overwhelmed by using the regression formulation.
Three‐dimensional structure of lung elastin demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy/stereo‐pair images

The aim of this study was to expose the inflated 3‐D structure of lung elastin. Formic acid digestion followed by freeze‐drying unveiled the lamellar framework. The 3‐D structure of elastin was well preserved within the alveolar septa and ducts, as demonstrated by scanning electron microscopy/stereo‐pair photography. Elastin fibers are seen in the alveolar septa, which are continuous with the lamellae. The removal of collagen fibers and cells by formic acid was visualised as a function of time: The optimum was 48 hours. Transverse sections still retained some collagen fibrils and partially digested cells in addition to elastin as shown by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Forme acid digestion followed by critical point drying caused damage to the lamellar structures and they appeared to collapse. Sodium hydroxide digestion combined with freeze‐drying did not preserve the 3‐D lamellar structure of elastin, but converted it into flat ribbonlike bands. The main structures remaining following alkali treatment were identified by TEM as collagen fibrils well preserved in their original locations. © 1994 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.