Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Taylor–Kalman–Fourier Filters for Instantaneous Oscillating Phasor and Harmonic Estimates

Recently, the TaylorK Kalman filter was proposed for estimating instantaneous oscillating phasors. Its performance was examined through time-domain simulations using the benchmark test signals specified in the IEEE Standard for Synchrophasors for Power Systems. It was discovered that the estimation error level was abruptly reduced by a factor of ten from the second order, mainly because those filters were able to provide instantaneous phasor estimates. In this paper, the frequency response of the zeroth- and second-order filters is established and illustrated. They demonstrate that, for orders greater than or equal to two, the filters are able to form zero flat phase response about the operation frequency and then able to provide instantaneous estimates. By assessing the behavior of the estimates before signals with harmonics, or noise, not contemplated in the signal model, the frequency response method leads us to design more robust filters, referred to as TaylorK Kalman-Fourier, because they incorporate the whole set of harmonics in their multiharmonic signal model. It turns out that the bank of comb filters achieved with K = 0 is equivalent to that of the discrete Fourier transform, with a computational cost of one and a half products per harmonic estimate, which is lower than the FFT cost for more than eight components, and the bank of fence filters obtained with K = 2 is similar to that of the Taylor2 Fourier transform but with the advantage of providing estimates devoid of delay and needing only four products per harmonic set of estimates. Due to their instantaneous character, and computational simplicity, those estimates are certainly very useful for real-time harmonic analysis and power system control applications.
Three Dimensional Discrete Map for a Single Inductor Current Mode Controlled Dual Switching DC-DC Converter

A 3-dimensional discrete model of a single inductor switching dc-dc converter is obtained in order to explain bifurcations observed after the period 1 dynamics instability. Although a one dimensional model, using the inductor current as a state variable, predicts the first main bifurcation, the voltage of both positive and negative outputs cannot be assumed to be constant to give a more accurate prediction of the subsequent bifurcations, so two more state variables should be used.
A Brief Mental Health Outcome Scale

Background The Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) is a quick and simple measure of overall psychological disturbance. However, there is little research on the reliability and validity of this measure in severely mentally ill populations. Method Multidisciplinary keyworkers assessed 103 patients at monthly intervals over a 6-month period. Overall GAF scores were obtained, with additional separate ratings for symptoms and disability. These were compared with changes in antipsychotic medication and support needs over the same period. Results Satisfactory reliability was obtained for total GAF score and for symptom and disability measures, in spite of raters having only one brief training session. All GAF scores were associated with current support needs of patients. Symptom and disability scores were associated with changes in antipsychotic medication in the previous month. Only symptom score was associated with increases in antipsychotic medication at time of rating. Conclusion AF proved to be a reliable and, within the limits of the indicators used, a valid measure of psychiatric disturbance in our sample of the severely mentally ill. Differences in relationships between the three GAF scores and medication/support needs indicate the usefulness of obtaining all three scores for monitoring levels and type of psychiatric disturbance in this population.
Biological vs. Physical Mixing Effects on Benthic Food Web Dynamics

Biological particle mixing (bioturbation) and solute transfer (bio-irrigation) contribute extensively to ecosystem functioning in sediments where physical mixing is low. Macrobenthos transports oxygen and organic matter deeper into the sediment, thereby likely providing favourable niches to lower trophic levels (i.e., smaller benthic animals such as meiofauna and bacteria) and thus stimulating mineralisation. Whether this biological transport facilitates fresh organic matter assimilation by the metazoan lower part of the food web through niche establishment (i.e., ecosystem engineering) or rather deprives them from food sources, is so far unclear. We investigated the effects of the ecosystem engineers Lanice conchilega (bio-irrigator) and Abra alba (bioturbator) compared to abiotic physical mixing events on survival and food uptake of nematodes after a simulated phytoplankton bloom. The 13C labelled diatom Skeletonema costatum was added to 4 treatments: (1) microcosms containing the bioturbator, (2) microcosms containing the bio-irrigator, (3) control microcosms and (4) microcosms with abiotic manual surface mixing. Nematode survival and subsurface peaks in nematode density profiles were most pronounced in the bio-irrigator treatment. However, nematode specific uptake (Δδ13C) of the added diatoms was highest in the physical mixing treatment, where macrobenthos was absent and the diatom 13C was homogenised. Overall, nematodes fed preferentially on bulk sedimentary organic material rather than the added diatoms. The total C budget (µg C m−2), which included TO13C remaining in the sediment, respiration, nematode and macrobenthic uptake, highlighted the limited assimilation by the metazoan benthos and the major role of bacterial respiration. In summary, bioturbation and especially bio-irrigation facilitated the lower trophic levels mainly over the long-term through niche establishment. Since the freshly added diatoms represented only a limited food source for nematodes, the macrobenthic effect was more pronounced in niche establishment than the negative structuring effects such as competition.
Efficient Data Structures for Dynamic Graph Analysis

In the era of social networks, gene sequencing, and big data, a new class of applications that analyze the properties of large graphs as they dynamically change over time has emerged. The performance of these applications is highly influenced by the data structures used to store and access the graph in memory. Depending on its size and structure, update frequency, and read accesses of the analysis, the use of different data structures can yield great performance variations. Even for expert programmers, it is not always obvious, which data structure is the best choice for a given scenario. In this paper, we present a framework for handling this issue automatically. It provides compile-time support for automatically selecting the most efficient data structures for a given graph analysis application assuming a consistent workload on the graph. We perform a measurement study to better understand the performance of five data structures and evaluate a prototype Java implementation of our framework. It achieves a speedup of up to 4.7× compared to basic data structure configurations for the analysis of real-world dynamic graphs.
Verification of Handwritten Signatures: an Overview

In the information and communication personal verification is a crucial aspect. Among the different means for personal verification, handwritten signature plays a fundamental role since signature is the most diffuse means for personal verification in our daily life. In this paper a brief overview of the field of handwritten signature verification is presented and some of the most relevant perspectives are highlighted.
Glycomic Analysis of Human Respiratory Tract Tissues and Correlation with Influenza Virus Infection

The first step in influenza infection of the human respiratory tract is binding of the virus to sialic (Sia) acid terminated receptors. The binding of different strains of virus for the receptor is determined by the α linkage of the sialic acid to galactose and the adjacent glycan structure. In this study the N- and O-glycan composition of the human lung, bronchus and nasopharynx was characterized by mass spectrometry. Analysis showed that there was a wide spectrum of both Sia α2-3 and α2-6 glycans in the lung and bronchus. This glycan structural data was then utilized in combination with binding data from 4 of the published glycan arrays to assess whether these current glycan arrays were able to predict replication of human, avian and swine viruses in human ex vivo respiratory tract tissues. The most comprehensive array from the Consortium for Functional Glycomics contained the greatest diversity of sialylated glycans, but was not predictive of productive replication in the bronchus and lung. Our findings indicate that more comprehensive but focused arrays need to be developed to investigate influenza virus binding in an assessment of newly emerging influenza viruses.
FARM LEVEL POTATO ( Solanum tuberosum L . ) CULTIVATION IN SOME SELECTED SITES OF BANGLADESH

The study was carried out in two intensive potato growing areas (Rangpur and Munshigonj) to estimate the technical efficiency of potato producers and to describe the level of variation in potato productivity due to differences in input use. Data were collected from 60 farmers (30 farmers from each district) using simple random sampling technique. Average technical efficiency was 86% implying that on average 14% inefficiency remained at producers’ level. The application of human labour, MoP, and weedicides would increase potato yield significantly. On the other hand, the coefficient of urea and pesticide cost was found negative and significant which advarsely effect the yield of potato. Moreover, the coefficient of operated land and extension linkage were found negative and significant implying that with further increase in operated land and extension linkage, technical efficiency would increase. Munshigonj was found to be more suitable area for potato production. The performance of selfproduced and stored potato seeds are poor compared to the seeds from BADC. Supply of quality seeds to the farmers should be ensured by strengthening seed production and distribution system both in public and private sectors.
Arguments and Results

If an object oriented program is a collection of communicating objects, then the objects' protocols de ne the languages the program speaks. Unfortunately, protocols are di cult to design in isolation, so many programs' protocols are not as well designed as they could be. This paper presents six patterns which describe how objects protocols can be designed or redesigned. By using these patterns, programs and designs can be made more simple, more general, and more easy to change.
Beneficial Effect of Recruitable Collaterals: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease Undergoing Quantitative Collateral Measurements

Background— The prognostic relevance of the collateral circulation is still controversial. The goal of this study was to assess the impact on survival of quantitatively obtained, recruitable coronary collateral flow in patients with stable coronary artery disease during 10 years of follow-up. Methods and Results— Eight-hundred forty-five individuals (age, 62±11 years), 106 patients without coronary artery disease and 739 patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease, underwent a total of 1053 quantitative, coronary pressure–derived collateral measurements between March 1996 and April 2006. All patients were prospectively included in a collateral flow index (CFI) database containing information on recruitable collateral flow parameters obtained during a 1-minute coronary balloon occlusion. CFI was calculated as follows: where Poccl is mean coronary occlusive pressure, Pao is mean aortic pressure, and CVP is central venous pressure. Patients were divided into groups with poorly developed (CFI <0.25) or well-grown collateral vessels (CFI ≥0.25). Follow-up information on the occurrence of all-cause mortality and major adverse cardiac events after study inclusion was collected. Cumulative 10-year survival rates in relation to all-cause deaths and cardiac deaths were 71% and 88%, respectively, in patients with low CFI and 89% and 97% in the group with high CFI (P=0.0395, P=0.0109). Through the use of Cox proportional hazards analysis, the following variables independently predicted elevated cardiac mortality: age, low CFI (as a continuous variable), and current smoking. Conclusions— A well-functioning coronary collateral circulation saves lives in patients with chronic stable coronary artery disease. Depending on the exact amount of collateral flow recruitable during a brief coronary occlusion, long-term cardiac mortality is reduced to one fourth compared with the situation without collateral supply.
Multiple whole genome alignments and novel biomedical applications at the VISTA portal

The VISTA portal for comparative genomics is designed to give biomedical scientists a unified set of tools to lead them from the raw DNA sequences through the alignment and annotation to the visualization of the results. The VISTA portal also hosts the alignments of a number of genomes computed by our group, allowing users to study the regions of their interest without having to manually download the individual sequences. Here we describe various algorithmic and functional improvements implemented in the VISTA portal over the last 2 years. The VISTA Portal is accessible at http://genome.lbl. gov/vista.
Prospective study of postmenopausal hormone use and newly diagnosed asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

BACKGROUND Female reproductive hormones appear to influence asthma, although data are conflicting, and may modulate development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Therefore, in a prospective cohort study, we evaluated whether postmenopausal hormone use was associated with an increased rate of newly diagnosed asthma and, separately, newly diagnosed COPD. METHODS Postmenopausal hormone use was assessed by questionnaire biennially from 1976 onward. New physician diagnoses of asthma or COPD were reported on questionnaires from 1988 to 1996 and confirmed in 1998 using supplementary questionnaires. Grades of diagnostic certainty were established from reports of medication use and pulmonary function using validated definitions. RESULTS During 546259 person-years of follow-up, current use of estrogen alone was associated with an increased rate of asthma (multivariate rate ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.59-3.29) compared with those who never used hormones. Current users of estrogen plus progestin had a similarly increased rate of newly diagnosed asthma. Rate ratios increased with certainty of diagnosis of asthma. In contrast, rates of newly diagnosed COPD were the same among hormone users and nonusers (multivariate rate ratio, 1.05; 95% CI, 0.80-1.37). CONCLUSIONS Postmenopausal hormone use was associated with an increased rate of newly diagnosed asthma but not newly diagnosed COPD. Female reproductive hormones may contribute to the onset of asthma among adult women, but do not appear to hasten the development of COPD.
Dichloroacetate enhances performance and reduces blood lactate during maximal cycle exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

RATIONALE Impaired skeletal muscle function contributes to exercise limitation in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). This is characterized by reduced mitochondrial adenosine triphosphate generation, and greater reliance on nonmitochondrial energy production. Dichloroacetate (DCA) infusion activates muscle pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC) at rest, reducing inertia in mitochondrial energy delivery at the onset of exercise and diminishing anaerobic energy production. OBJECTIVES This study aimed to determine whether DCA infusion enhanced mitochondrial energy delivery during symptom-limited maximal exercise, thereby reducing exercise-induced lactate and ammonia accumulation and, consequently, improving exercise performance in patients with COPD. METHODS A randomized, double-blind crossover design was used. Eighteen subjects with COPD performed maximal cycle exercise after an intravenous infusion of DCA (50 mg/kg body mass) or saline (control). Exercise work output was determined, and blood lactate and ammonia concentrations were measured at rest, 1 and 2 minutes of exercise, peak exercise, and 2 minutes postexercise. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS DCA infusion reduced peak blood lactate concentration by 20% (mean [SE]; difference, 0.48 [0.11] mmol/L, P < 0.001) and peak blood ammonia concentration by 15% (mean [SE]; difference, 14.2 [2.9] mumol/L, P < 0.001] compared with control. After DCA, peak exercise workload improved significantly by a mean (SE) of 8 (1) W (P < 0.001) and peak oxygen consumption by 1.2 (0.5) ml/kg/minute (P = 0.03) compared with control. CONCLUSIONS We have shown that a pharmacologic intervention known to activate muscle PDC can reduce blood lactate and ammonia accumulation during exercise and improve maximal exercise performance in subjects with COPD. Skeletal muscle PDC activation may be a target for pharmacologic intervention in the management of exercise intolerance in COPD.
Parametric Test Metrics Estimation Using Non-gaussian Copulas

The evaluation of parametric test metrics for analog/RF test techniques requires an accurate multivariate statistical model of output parameters of the device under test, namely performances and test measurements. In this paper, we will use Copulas theory for deriving such a model. A copulas-based model separates the dependencies between these output parameters from their marginal distributions, providing a complete and scale-free description of dependence that is more suitable to be modeled using well known multivariate parametric laws. Previous works have used Gaussian copulas for modeling the dependencies between the output parameters for some types of devices (e.g RF LNA). This paper will illustrate the use of Archimedean copulas for modeling non-Gaussian dependencies. In particular, a Clayton copula will be used to model the dependencies between the output parameters of a case-study test technique for CMOS imagers. Parametric test metrics such as pixel false acceptance and false rejection will be estimated using the derived model.
Optimum operation of asymmetrical-cells-based linear Doherty power Amplifiers-uneven power drive and power matching

We developed a Doherty amplifier with uneven input drive and optimized individual matching for the carrier and peaking cells. In the proposed amplifier, higher input power is delivered to the peaking cell rather than the carrier cell for optimized linear power operation, especially for appropriate load modulation. Both cells are matched differently to further optimize the performance. We analyzed the efficiency of the proposed amplifier as a function of the input drive ratio for the two cells. To interpret the linearity related to the load modulation and harmonic cancellation mechanisms, we simulated the third-order intermodulation amplitude and phase of each cell of the proposed amplifier. For verification, we implemented the asymmetric power amplifier with uneven drive and optimized power matching using Motorola's MRF281SR1 LDMOSFET with a 4-W peak envelope power. For a 2.14-GHz forward-link wireless code-division multiple-access signal, the measured drain efficiency of the amplifier is 40%, and the measured average output power is 33 dBm at an adjacent channel leakage ratio (ACLR) of -35 dBc, while those of the comparable class-AB amplifier are 21% and 30.6 dBm at the same ACLR level, respectively.
Community structure identification

We review and compare recent approaches to community structure identification. Definitions of communities are revisited, as well as the recently proposed modularity measure. We then classify the various methods into link removal methods, agglomerative methods, methods based on optimising the modularity measure, spectral methods and others. Finally, the performance of the methods, as applied to ad-hoc networks with known community structre, is compared. The work is intended as an overview and introduction into community structure identification in complex networks.
CLASSIFICATION OF DIGITAL CAMERAS BASED ON DEMOSAICING ARTIFACTS

In this paper, we consider using traces of demosaicing operation in digital cameras to identify the source digital camera-model of an image. For this purpose, we employ two methods and define a set of image characteristic. The first method detects simple forms of demosaicing based on extracting periodicity features, and the second method tries to estimate the demosaicing parameters assuming a linear model. The features obtained from the two methods are used to design classifiers to distinguish digital cameras. To determine the reliability of the designated image features in differentiating the source camera-model, we consider both images taken under similar settings at fixed sceneries and images taken under independent conditions. We provide experimental results and show reasonable accuracy on identifying source among two, three, four and five camera models.
PCR for the Diagnosis of Abdominal Angiostrongyliasis in Formalin-Fixed Paraffin-Embedded Human Tissue

To date the diagnosis of abdominal angiostrongyliasis (AA) depends on the histological identification of Angiostrongylus costaricensis (AC) in surgical specimens. However, microscopic evaluation is time consuming and often fails in identifying the parasite. We tested whether PCR might help in the diagnosis of AA by identifying parasite DNA in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissue. We used primers based on DNA from Angiostrongilus cantonensis. Four groups of FFPE intestinal tissue were tested: (1) confirmed cases (n = 20), in which AC structures were present in the target tissue; (2) presumptive cases (n = 20), containing changes secondary to AC infection in the absence of AC structures; (3) negative controls (n = 3), consisting of normal colonic tissue; and (4) tissue affected by other parasitoses (n = 7), including strongyloidiasis, ascaridiasis, schistosomiasis, and enterobiasis. Most lesions of confirmed cases were located in small and/or large bowel (90%), as compared with presumptive cases, in which 70% of lesions were in appendix (P = 0.0002). When confronted with cases of other parasitoses, PCR showed sensitivity of 55%, specificity of 100% and positive predictive value of 100%. In presumptive cases PCR was positive in 4 (20%). All specimens from negative controls and other parasitoses were negative. In conclusion, the PCR technique showed intermediate sensitivity and optimal specificity, being clinically relevant when positive for abdominal angiostrongyliasis. It allowed a 20% gain in diagnosis of presumptive cases. PCR might help in the diagnosis of abdominal angiostrongyliasis, particularly when the pathologists are not experienced with such disease.