Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
${\cal H}_{\infty}$ Pinning Synchronization of Directed Networks With Aperiodic Sampled-Data Communications

This paper addresses the global H∞ pinning synchronization problem for a class of directed networks with aperiodic sampled-data communications. Important yet challenging issues of how many and which nodes should be pinned for realizing global synchronization in a fixed directed network without external disturbances are first discussed. By using a combined tool from the input-delay approach and free-weighting matrices technique, some sufficient synchronizability conditions are then derived for such networks. Furthermore, a multi-step algorithm is designed to estimate the upper bound of the maximum allowable sampling intervals for achieving synchronization. Theoretical results are then extended to global H∞ pinning synchronization in fixed and switched directed networks with external disturbances, showing that a finite H∞ performance index can be guaranteed under some suitable conditions. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the analytical results.
Phylogenetic and Pathogenic Analyses of Avian Influenza A H5N1 Viruses Isolated from Poultry in Vietnam

Despite great efforts to control the infection of poultry with H5N1 viruses, these pathogens continue to evolve and spread in nature, threatening public health. Elucidating the characteristics of H5N1 avian influenza virus will benefit disease control and pandemic preparation. Here, we sequenced the genomes of 15 H5N1 avian influenza viruses isolated in Vietnam in 2006 and 2007 and performed phylogenetic analyses to compare these sequences with those of other viruses available in the public databases. Molecular characterization of the H5N1 viruses revealed that seven genetically distinct clades of H5N1 viruses have appeared in Vietnam. Clade 2.3. 4 viruses existed in Vietnam as early as 2005. Fifteen viruses isolated during 2006 and 2007 belonged to clade 1 and clade 2.3. 4, and were divided into five genotypes. Reassortants between the clade 1 and clade 2.3. 4 viruses were detected in both North and South Vietnam. We also assessed the replication and pathogenicity of these viruses in mice and found that these isolates replicated efficiently and exhibited distinct virulence in mice. Our results provide important information regarding the diversity of H5N1 viruses in nature.
A Method for an Accurate Early Prediction of Faults in Modified Classes

In this paper we suggest and evaluate a method for predicting fault densities in modified classes early in the development process, i.e., before the modifications are implemented. We start by establishing methods that according to literature are considered the best for predicting fault densities of modified classes. We find that these methods can not be used until the system is implemented. We suggest our own methods, which are based on the same concept as the methods suggested in the literature, with the difference that our methods are applicable before the coding has started. We evaluate our methods using three large telecommunication systems produced by Ericsson. We find that our methods provide predictions that are of similar quality to the predictions based on metrics available after the code is implemented. Our predictions are, however, available much earlier in the development process. Therefore, they enable better planning of efficient fault prevention and fault detection activities
G Protein-coupled pH-sensing Receptor OGR1 Is a Regulator of Intestinal Inflammation

Background:A novel family of proton-sensing G protein-coupled receptors, including OGR1, GPR4, and TDAG8, was identified to be important for physiological pH homeostasis and inflammation. Thus, we determined the function of proton-sensing OGR1 in the intestinal mucosa. Mtehods:OGR1 expression in colonic tissues was investigated in controls and patients with IBD. Expression of OGR1 upon cell activation was studied in the Mono Mac 6 (MM6) cell line and primary human and murine monocytes by real-time PCR. Ogr1 knockout mice were crossbred with Il-10 deficient mice and studied for more than 200 days. Microarray profiling was performed using Ogr1−/− and Ogr1+/+ (WT) residential peritoneal macrophages. Results:Patients with IBD expressed higher levels of OGR1 in the mucosa than non-IBD controls. Treatment of MM6 cells with TNF, led to significant upregulation of OGR1 expression, which could be reversed by the presence of NF-&kgr;B inhibitors. Kaplan–Meier survival analysis showed a significantly delayed onset and progression of rectal prolapse in female Ogr1−/−/Il-10−/− mice. These mice displayed significantly less rectal prolapses. Upregulation of gene expression, mediated by OGR1, in response to extracellular acidification in mouse macrophages was enriched for inflammation and immune response, actin cytoskeleton, and cell-adhesion gene pathways. Conclusions:OGR1 expression is induced in cells of human macrophage lineage and primary human monocytes by TNF. NF-&kgr;B inhibition reverses the induction of OGR1 expression by TNF. OGR1 deficiency protects from spontaneous inflammation in the Il-10 knockout model. Our data indicate a pathophysiological role for pH-sensing receptor OGR1 during the pathogenesis of mucosal inflammation.
A Centralized Energy Management System for Isolated Microgrids

This paper presents the mathematical formulation of the microgrid's energy management problem and its implementation in a centralized Energy Management System (EMS) for isolated microgrids. Using the model predictive control technique, the optimal operation of the microgrid is determined using an extended horizon of evaluation and recourse, which allows a proper dispatch of the energy storage units. The energy management problem is decomposed into Unit Commitment (UC) and Optimal Power Flow (OPF) problems in order to avoid a mixed-integer non-linear formulation. The microgrid is modeled as a three-phase unbalanced system with presence of both dispatchable and non-dispatchable distributed generation. The proposed EMS is tested in an isolated microgrid based on a CIGRE medium-voltage benchmark system. Results justify the need for detailed three-phase models of the microgrid in order to properly account for voltage limits and procure reactive power support.
Comparisons of retinal vessel diameter and glaucomatous parameters between both eyes of subjects with clinically unilateral pseudoexfoliation syndrome

Purpose Pseudoexfoliation syndrome (PEX), the most common identifiable cause of open-angle glaucoma, might affect the retinal hemodynamics. To test this, we compared retinal vessel diameter and glaucoma-related parameters between eyes with pseudoexfoliation material (PE+) and fellow unaffected (PE-) eyes of patients with clinically unilateral PEX. Methods The medical records of 30 consecutive Japanese subjects were reviewed retrospectively. The retinal vessel diameters were measured and expressed as the central retinal arteriolar equivalent (CRAE) and central retinal venular equivalent (CRVE) using standardized software. During the chart review, we recorded glaucoma-related parameters including intraocular pressure (IOP), visual field mean deviation (MD) value, planimetrically measured vertical cup-to-disc (C/D) ratio, circumpapillary retinal nerve fiber layer thickness (cpRNFLT) and macular inner retinal thickness (mIRT) measured by spectral-domain optical coherence tomography, anterior chamber flare (ACF), corneal endothelial cell density (CECD), and number of antiglaucoma medications. Results Compared with PE- eyes, the CRAE, CRVE, MD, cpRNFLT and mIRT, and CECD were significantly lower in PE+ eyes; the IOP, vertical C/D ratio, number of antiglaucoma medications, and ACF were significantly higher in PE+ eyes (P<0.0001 for all comparisons). The CRAE, cpRNFLT, and MD were correlated positively with each other (ρ = 0.456–0.499, P<0.0001–0.0002) and negatively with the IOP (ρ = -0.562- —0.432, P<0.0001–0.0006). The vertical C/D ratio was correlated positively with the IOP (ρ = 0.483, P<0.0001) and negatively with the CRAE, cpRNFLT, and MD (ρ = -0.745–-0.479, P<0.0001–0.0001). Conclusions Deposition of PE can cause retinal vessel narrowing in arterioles and venules. The roles and mechanisms of retinal vessel narrowing in glaucoma pathogenesis need clarification.
Designing a multi-slate reading environment to support active reading activities

Despite predictions of the paperless office, most knowledge workers and students still rely heavily on paper in most of their document practices. Research has shown that paper's dominance can be attributed to the fact that it supports a broad range of these users' diverse reading requirements. Our analysis of the literature suggests that a new class of reading device consisting of an interconnected environment of thin and lightweight electronic slates could potentially unify the distinct advantages of e-books, PCs, and tabletop computers to offer an electronic reading solution providing functionality comparable to, or even exceeding, that of paper. This article presents the design and construction of such a system. In it, we explain how data can be mapped to slates, detail interactions for linking the slates, and describe tools that leverage the connectivity between slates. A preliminary study of the system indicates that such a system has the potential of being an electronic alternative to paper.
Specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs) inhibit human B‐cell IgE production

Specialized proresolving mediators (SPMs) constitute a recently recognized class of bioactive molecules thatpromote the resolution of inflammation. We recently reported that the SPMs resolvin D1 (RvD1) and 17‐hydroxydocosahexaenoic acid (17‐HDHA) promote the differentiation of IgG‐secreting B cells and enhance antibody‐mediated immune responses. However, there is an important knowledge gap regarding whether or not SPMs regulate human B‐cell IgE production, which is the key effector in diseases such as asthma and allergy. Therefore, we investigated whether a panel of diverse SPMs influences B‐cell IgE production. An important finding was that 17‐HDHA and RvD1 inhibit IgE production by human B cells and suppress the differentiation of naïve B cells into IgE‐secreting cells by specifically blocking epsilon germline transcript. This effect is specific to human IgE, as the SPMs do not inhibit production of IgM and IgG and did not suppress other IL‐4‐upregulated genes. 17‐HDHA and RvD1 act by stabilizing the transcriptional repressor B‐cell lymphoma 6, which competes with STAT6 for binding at the epsilon germline transcript promoter. Overall, these new findings demonstrate that certain SPMs inhibit the differentiation of IgE‐producing B cells, without being broadly immune suppressive, representing a novel class of potential therapeutics for IgE‐driven diseases such as asthma and allergy.
Sign Language Finger Alphabet Recognition from Gabor-PCA Representation of Hand Gestures

During recent years a large number of computer aided applications have been developed to help the disabled people. This has improved the communication between the able and the hearing impaired community. An intelligent signed alphabet recognizer can work as an aiding agent to translate the signs to words (and also sentences) and vice versa. To achieve this goal few steps to be followed, among which the first complicated task is to recognize the sign-language alphabets from hand gesture images. In this paper, we propose a system that is able to recognize American Sign Language (ASL) alphabets from hand gesture with average 93.23% accuracy. The classification is performed with fuzzy-c-mean clustering on a lower dimensional data which is acquired from the Principle Component Analysis (PCA) of Gabor representation of hand gesture images. Out of the top 20 Principle Components (PCs) the best combination of PCs is determined by finding the best fuzzy cluster for the corresponding PCs of the training data. The best result is obtained from the combination of the fourth to seventh principle components.
Cold Dust in Kepler’s Supernova Remnant

The timescales to replenish dust from the cool winds of asymptotic giant branch stars are believed to be greater than the timescales for dust destruction. In high-redshift galaxies, this problem is further compounded as the stars take longer than the age of the universe to evolve into the dust production stages. To explain these discrepancies, dust formation in supernovae (SNe) is required to be an important process, but until recently dust in supernova remnants (SNRs) has only been detected in very small quantities. We present the first submillimeter observations of cold dust in Kepler's SNR using the Submillimeter Common-User Bolometric Array. A two-component dust temperature model is required to fit the spectral energy distribution with Twarm ~ 102 K and Tcold ~ 17 K. The total mass of dust implied for Kepler is ~1 M☉—1000 times greater than previous estimates. Thus SNe, or their progenitors, may be important dust formation sites.
Considering maturation status and relative age in the longitudinal evaluation of junior rugby league players

This study longitudinally evaluated whether maturation and relative age interact with time during adolescence to differentially affect the development of anthropometric and fitness characteristics in junior rugby league players. Anthropometric and fitness characteristics of 81 junior players selected into the UK Rugby Football League's talent identification and development process were assessed over three consecutive occasions (i.e., under‐13s, ‐14s, ‐15s). Players were grouped and compared in relation to maturational status (i.e., early, average, late) and relative age quartile (i.e., quartile 1). Repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance identified significant (P < 0.001) overall main effects for maturation group, relative age quartile and importantly a maturation group by time interaction. Findings showed that the early‐maturing group had the greatest anthropometric characteristics and medicine ball throw across the three occasions. However, the late‐maturing group increased their height (early = 5.0 cm, late = 10.3 cm), medicine ball throw and 60‐m sprint (early = −0.46 s, late = −0.85 s) the most throughout the 2‐year period. Early (de)selection policies currently applied in talent identification and development programs are questionable when performance‐related variables are tracked longitudinally. During adolescence, maturation status alongside relative age should be considered and controlled for when assessing athlete potential for future progression.
The effective bandwidth estimation of the AWE method and its application to microwave parameter extraction

In this paper, a technique to estimate the effective bandwidth of the asymptotic waveform evaluation (AWE) method is presented, which guarantee the reliable application of the AWE technique. Firstly, we worked out the coefficients of the AWE model through the normal AWE process. Then, with these coefficients, we got an analytical expression of the model error, and constructed the inequation between the model error and required accuracy. Finally, by solving the inequation we obtained the bandwidth of the AWE method. Numerical results of an example of the parameter extraction of the microwave structures show the validity of the proposed technique.
Global Protein Conjugation by Ubiquitin-Like-Modifiers during Ischemic Stress Is Regulated by MicroRNAs and Confers Robust Tolerance to Ischemia

Hibernation torpor provides an excellent model of natural tolerance to ischemia. We have previously shown that massive global SUMOylation occurs during hibernation torpor in ground squirrels. We have also shown that overexpression of Ubc9, SUMO-1, or SUMO-2/3 provides protection against ischemic damage in cell lines and cortical neurons exposed to oxygen/glucose deprivation, and in mice exposed to middle cerebral artery occlusion. We have now extended our study to other Ubiquitin-Like- Modifiers (ULMs), which have multiple cellular functions during stress, in order to assess the possibility that they also have roles in tolerance to ischemia. We found that not only SUMO conjugation, but also global protein conjugation by other ULMs including NEDD8, ISG15, UFM1 and FUB1 were significantly increased in the brains of hibernating ground squirrels during torpor. By means of miRNA microarrays of ground squirrel brain samples (from active and torpor phase) we found that the miR-200 family (miR-200a,b,c/miR-141/miR-429) and the miR-182 family (miR-182/miR-183/miR-96) were among the most consistently depressed miRNAs in the brain during the torpor phase as compared to active animals. In addition, we showed that these miRNAs are involved in the expression of various ULM proteins and their global conjugation to proteins. We observed that inhibition of the miR-200 family and/or miR-182 family miRNA activities in SHSY5Y cells increases global protein conjugation by the above ULMs and makes these cells more tolerant to OGD-induced cell death. This is the first report to describe that the natural tolerance to brain ischemia in hibernators is linked to regulation by microRNAs of a broad range of ubiquitin-like modifiers.
Joint topic modeling for event summarization across news and social media streams

Social media streams such as Twitter are regarded as faster first-hand sources of information generated by massive users. The content diffused through this channel, although noisy, provides important complement and sometimes even a substitute to the traditional news media reporting. In this paper, we propose a novel unsupervised approach based on topic modeling to summarize trending subjects by jointly discovering the representative and complementary information from news and tweets. Our method captures the content that enriches the subject matter by reinforcing the identification of complementary sentence-tweet pairs. To valuate the complementarity of a pair, we leverage topic modeling formalism by combining a two-dimensional topic-aspect model and a cross-collection approach in the multi-document summarization literature. The final summaries are generated by co-ranking the news sentences and tweets in both sides simultaneously. Experiments give promising results as compared to state-of-the-art baselines.
Correlation Adaptive Subspace Segmentation by Trace Lasso

This paper studies the subspace segmentation problem. Given a set of data points drawn from a union of subspaces, the goal is to partition them into their underlying subspaces they were drawn from. The spectral clustering method is used as the framework. It requires to find an affinity matrix which is close to block diagonal, with nonzero entries corresponding to the data point pairs from the same subspace. In this work, we argue that both sparsity and the grouping effect are important for subspace segmentation. A sparse affinity matrix tends to be block diagonal, with less connections between data points from different subspaces. The grouping effect ensures that the highly corrected data which are usually from the same subspace can be grouped together. Sparse Subspace Clustering (SSC), by using ℓ1-minimization, encourages sparsity for data selection, but it lacks of the grouping effect. On the contrary, Low-Rank Representation (LRR), by rank minimization, and Least Squares Regression (LSR), by ℓ2-regularization, exhibit strong grouping effect, but they are short in subset selection. Thus the obtained affinity matrix is usually very sparse by SSC, yet very dense by LRR and LSR. In this work, we propose the Correlation Adaptive Subspace Segmentation (CASS) method by using trace Lasso. CASS is a data correlation dependent method which simultaneously performs automatic data selection and groups correlated data together. It can be regarded as a method which adaptively balances SSC and LSR. Both theoretical and experimental results show the effectiveness of CASS.
Feature Normalization Using Structured Full Transforms for Robust Speech Recognition

Classical mean and variance normalization (MVN) uses a diagonal transform and a bias vector to normalize the mean and variance of noisy features to reference values. As MVN uses diagonal transform, it ignores correlation between feature dimensions. Although full transform is able to make use of feature correlation, its large amount of parameters may not be estimated reliably from a short observation, e.g. 1 utterance. We propose a novel structured full transform that has the same amount of free parameters as diagonal transform while being able to capture correlation between feature dimensions. The proposed structured transform can be estimated reliably from one utterance by maximizing the likelihood of the normalized features on a reference Gaussian mixture model. Experimental results on Aurora4 task show that the structured transform produces consistently better speech recognition results than diagonal transform and also outperforms advanced frontend (AFE) feature extractor.
Construction of probabilistic inferences by constraint satisfaction

It has been shown that in decision making evaluations of evidence and attributes are modified. In three studies it was investigated if this finding of coherence shifts generalizes to real-world probabilistic inference decisions which are made from given probabilistic cues. Using a within-subjects design, cue validities were measured before, after (Exp. 1) and during decision making (Exp. 2 & 3). It was found that even in environments with considerable realworld cue knowledge (weather forecasts) and in decisions for which the application of fastand-frugal heuristics has been claimed (city-size decisions) the validity of cues was systematically modified. These shifts indicate that subjective cue validities are not fixed parameters, but that they are changed to form coherent representations of the decision situation. The findings conflict with the basic assumption of complex decision models and the fast-and-frugal heuristics approach, which claim that probabilistic inferences are made in a unidirectional manner. They corroborate the parallel constraint satisfaction approach to decision making.