Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Output regulation of switched linear multi-agent systems: an agent-dependent average dwell time method

The output regulation problem of switched linear multi-agent systems with stabilisable and unstabilisable subsystems is investigated in this paper. A sufficient condition for the solvability of the problem is given. Owing to the characteristics of switched multi-agent systems, even if each agent has its own dwell time, the multi-agent systems, if viewed as an overall switched system, may not have a dwell time. To overcome this difficulty, we present a new approach, called an agent-dependent average dwell time method. Due to the limited information exchange between agents, a distributed dynamic observer network for agents is provided. Further, a distributed dynamic controller based on observer is designed. Finally, simulation results show the effectiveness of the proposed solutions.
Replication program of active and inactive multigene families in mammalian cells

In a comprehensive study, the temporal replication of tissue-specific genes and flanking sequences was compared in nine cell lines exhibiting different tissue-specific functions. Some of the rules we have determined for the replication of these tissue specific genes include the following. (i) Actively transcribed genes usually replicate during the first quarter of the S phase. (ii) Some immunoglobulin genes replicate during the first half of S phase even when no transcriptional activity is detected but appear to replicate even earlier in cell lines where they are transcribed. (iii) Nontranscribed genes can replicate during any interval of S phase. (iv) Multigene families arranged in clusters of 250 kilobases or less define a temporal compartment comprising approximately one-quarter of S phase. While these rules, and others that are discussed, apply to the tissue-specific genes studied here, all tissue-specific genes may not follow this pattern. In addition, housekeeping genes did not follow some of these rules. These results provide the first molecular evidence that the coordinate timing of replication of contiguous sequences within a multigene family is a general property of the mammalian genome. The relationship between replication very early during S phase and the transcriptional activity within a chromosomal domain is discussed.
Satisfiability-based method for reconfiguring power efficient VLSI array

: Fault-tolerant techniques are absolutely vital for large scale multiprocessor array as it su ﬀ ers from frequent hardware defects or soft faults. This paper presents a satis ﬁ ability (SAT)-Based method for the recon ﬁ guration of a two-dimensional degradable very-large-scale integration (VLSI) array with faulty processing elements (PEs). An SAT model of the target array is proposed such that the target array can be constructed by using the e ﬃ cient SAT solver. For minimizing the interconnection length of the target array, we present an incomplete algorithm, to search a target array with suitable interconnection length to meet the system requirement. Our evaluations show that the proposed incomplete algorithm is e ﬃ cient, which is compared with the state-of-the-art.
Is Swanson prosthesis better than Sutter prosthesis for metacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty? A meta-analysis

Abstract The aim of this meta-analysis is to compare the outcomes of the Swanson and Sutter prostheses (previously the Avanta prosthesis) used for metacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty, and provide a powerful and rational conclusion regarding the use of prosthesis in MCP joint surgery. The literature search was based on PubMed, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and the Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure. Data were evaluated using a generic evaluation tool designed by the Cochrane Bone, Joint, and Muscle Trauma Group and analysed using RevMan, version 5.0. Six randomised controlled trials were contained in this review, and five of them involving 143 patients were included in the meta-analysis. The results suggested that using the Sutter prosthesis could significantly decrease the rates of recurrence of drift when compared with the Swanson prosthesis for metacarpophalangeal joint arthroplasty (OR = 2.05, 95% Confidence interval (CI) = 1.31–3.20, p = 0.002). No significant difference in the outcomes of prosthesis fracture was found in two groups (OR = 1.07, 95% CI = 0.41–2.79, p = 0.88). Due to the limited data, the outcomes of range of motion, correction of ulnar deviation, pain, grip strength, and radiographic osteolytic changes could not be included in the meta-analyses. Theoretically, recurrence of drift was more common with Swanson prosthesis when compared with the Sutter prosthesis. No significant difference in the outcomes of prosthesis fracture was observed in two groups. More high-quality studies are required in long-term follow-up.
Detecting Main Body Size in Document Images

In this paper, two techniques are presented, appropriate to detect the text main body size in a document image. One measures it directly, while the other estimates the baselines first. Both are segmentation free. Experimental results are presented over a collection of handwritten text, as well as for a small collection of 10 printed document images, in order to give more objective results.
A 3D cubic puzzle in pCubee

The 3D cubic puzzle is implemented in a head-coupled cubic display, pCubee[6], that allows users to view a 3D scene from different sides. The display is compact and light enough to be held in one hand by an average adult user. By coupling the display with a 3D stylus, pCubee supports the bimanual Kinetic Chain (KC) model [4] for the cubic puzzle task. Users can hold pCubee in their nondominant hand and the stylus in the dominant hand to manipulate the puzzle pieces. Doing the puzzle in pCubee allows us to explore the bimanual stylus interaction scheme the display affords. Figure 1 shows the setup of our system.
Mean shift kalman object tracking for video surveillance

In this paper we propose the mean shift Kalman object tracking algorithm for video surveillance which is based on the mean shift algorithm and the Kalman filter. The classical mean shift algorithm for tracking in perfectly maintained conditions constitutes a good tracking method. This was based on color to predict the location of the object in the video frame. However in a real cluttered environment this fails, especially under the presence of noise or occlusions. In order to deal with these problems this method employs a Kalman filter to the classical mean shift algorithm to enhance the chance of tracking accuracy especially when the object disappears from the scene, the algorithm can still track the object after it comes out. The experimental results verifies the ability of the mean shift Kalman object tracking algorithm which can locate the target object correctly even in difficult situations when the target is occluded.
The benefits of a quality tool in a Student Branch: Implementing the 5S methodology to create a new culture

This paper aims to explain the implementation of the 5S methodology into the workplace of IEEE UFABC Student Branch as a new culture and the benefits and changes after it. Also, explain each one of the 5 stages that compose the 5S organization method and how it was applied, along with its complications, solutions, benefits and community feedback.
Studying Ideation in Engineering Design Education : Application to Highly Mobile Robots

Dr. John J. Wood is currently an Associate Professor of Engineering Mechanics at the United States Air Force Academy. Dr. Wood completed his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Colorado State University in the design and empirical analysis of compliant systems. He received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering at Wright State University and his B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1984. Dr. Wood joined the faculty at the United States Air Force Academy in 1994 while serving on active duty in the U.S. Air Force. After completing his Ph.D. in 2002, he returned to the Air Force Academy where he has been on the faculty ever since. The current focus of Dr. Wood’s research is the continued development of empirical testing methods using similitude-based approaches. This approach provides significant potential for increasing the efficiency of the design process through a reduction in required full-scale testing and an expansion of the projected performance profiles using empirically-based prediction techniques. Dr. Wood’s research also includes the development of micro air vehicle systems using innovative conceptual design techniques for current technology implementations, as well as futuristic projections, applied in the framework of a senior capstone design course.
A Context-Awareness Personalized Tourist Attraction Recommendation Algorithm

Abstract With the rapid development of social networks, location based social network gradually rises. In order to retrieve user’s most preferred attractions from a large number of tourism information, personalized recommendation algorithm based on the geographic location has been widely concerned in academic and industry. Aiming at the problem of low accuracy in personalized tourism recommendation system, this paper presents a personalized algorithm for tourist attraction recommendation – RecUFG Algorithm, which combines user collaborative filtering technology with friends trust relationships and geographic context. This algorithm fully exploits social relations and trust friendship between users, and by means of the geographic information between user and attraction location, recommends users most interesting attractions. Experimental results on real data sets demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the algorithm. Compared with the existing recommendation algorithm, it has a higher prediction accuracy and customer satisfaction.
Catechol-O-Methyltransferase and Monoamine Oxidase B Genes and Susceptibility to Sporadic Parkinson’s Disease in a Polish Population

Recent reports have proved that genetic factors play a role in the pathogenesis of sporadic Parkinson’s disease (PD). It has been suggested that polymorphisms in monoamine oxidase B (MAOB) and catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) might increase the risk of PD. A total of 210 Polish patients with sporadic PD and 152 healthy controls were studied. The MAOB and COMT polymorphisms were identified using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The MAOB allele and genotype frequencies in PD patients did not differ significantly from the controls. A statistically lower frequency of the COMTLL genotype in patients with parkinsonism was found. The combined haplotype of the MAOB G (G/G) and COMTHL genotype showed a fourfold increase (p < 0.05) in the risk of PD in female patients in this Polish population.
A Simple Performance Approximation for Multi-Hop Decode-and-Forward Relaying over Rayleigh Fading Channels

This letter provides a study on the end-to-end performance of multi-hop wireless communication systems equipped with re-generative (decode-and-forward) relays over Rayleigh fading channels. More specifically, the probability density function (pdf) of the tightly approximated end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of the systems is derived. Using this approximation allows us to avoid considering all possible combinations of correct and erroneous decisions at the relays for which the end-to-end transmission is error-free. The proposed analysis offers a simple and unifying approach as well as reduces computation burden in evaluating important multi-hop system's performance metrics. Simulations are performed to verify the accuracy and to show the tightness of the theoretical analysis.
An independent-domain natural language interface for relational database: Case Arabic language

Making information stored in database accessible for non expert users, has become one of the problems of great interest for the research community of database querying system. Hence for overriding the complexity of using database language such as Structured Query Language (SQL), the using of natural language can be a very important and simple method. But without helps computer cannot understand this language. For that its necessary to develop an interface able to translate natural language query into database query language. In this paper we present the architecture of generic interface for querying database using Arabic language. This interface functions independently of database domain and has the capacity to improve through experience its knowledge base.
Secretin receptor‐knockout mice are resistant to high‐fat diet‐induced obesity and exhibit impaired intestinal lipid absorption

Secretin, a classical gastrointestinal hormone released from S cells in response to acid and dietary lipid, regulates pleiotropic physiological functions, such as exocrine pancreatic secretion and gastric motility. Subsequent to recently proposed revisit on secretin's metabolic effects, we have confirmed lipolytic actions of secretin during starvation and discovered a hormone‐sensitive lipase‐mediated mechanistic pathway behind. In this study, a 12 wk high‐fat diet (HFD) feeding to secretin receptor‐knockout (SCTRT–/–) mice and their wild‐type (SCTR+/+) littermates revealed that, despite similar food intake, SCTR–/– mice gained significantly less weight (SCTR+/+ : 49.6±0.9 g; SCTRT–/– : 44.7±1.4 g; P<0.05) and exhibited lower body fat content. These SCTR–/– mice have corresponding alleviated HFD‐associated hyperleptinemia and improved glucose/insulin tolerance. Further analyses indicate that SCTR–/– have impaired intestinal fatty acid absorption while having similar energy expenditure and locomotor activity. Reduced fat absorption in the intestine is further supported by lowered postprandial triglyceride concentrations in circulation in SCTR–/– mice. In jejunal cells, transcript and protein levels of a key fat absorption regulator, cluster of differentiation 36 (CD36), was reduced in knockout mice, while transcript of Cd36 and fatty‐acid uptake in isolated enterocytes was stimulated by secretin. Based on our findings, a novel positive feedback pathway involving secretin and CD36 to enhance intestinal lipid absorption is being proposed. —Sekar, R. , Chow, B. K. C. Secretin receptor‐knockout mice are resistant to high‐fat diet‐induced obesity and exhibit impaired intestinal lipid absorption. FASEB J. 28, 3494–3505 (2014). www.fasebj. org
Inductance characteristics of PMSMs and their impact on saliency-based sensorless control

Advantages of operating a Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine (PMSM) without a position sensor are many and are well known. This paper presents a study of the effects of space harmonics in the incremental inductances and their impact on the machine saliency. The effects of space harmonics exclusively due to the machine (i.e., the saturation saliency distribution) are given particular consideration. The results are illustrated through inductance analysis and measurement of inductance profiles of two similar PMSM machines. The space harmonics in the inductance profiles are correlated with the position estimate distortions through a Matlab/Simulink embedding finite element (FE) machine simulation. Significant differences in sensorless operation of the two machines are found which correlate to the inductance profiles. This illustrates that inductance profiling can inform upon machine design in order to improve sensorless capabilities.
Visibility-Culling-Based Geometric Rendering of Large-Scale Particle Data

A visibility-culling-based geometric rendering algorithm is proposed in this paper so as to visualize large-scale particle data efficiently. In the algorithm, the particles are culled based on their visibility at two granularities. All data patches beyond the OpenGL view frustum are firstly thrown away as a coarse culling. And then, the remaining particles will be judged their visibility based on a nine spheres occluding rule. All invisible particles will be further thrown away. Subsequently, if a particle sphere is actually rendered, it will be discretized adaptively with a proper resolution according to its projection width on the screen. The experiments demonstrate that the proposed algorithm can effectively cull the occluded particles and efficiently render large-scale particle data on distributed-memory parallel computers.
Vif of Feline Immunodeficiency Virus from Domestic Cats Protects against APOBEC3 Restriction Factors from Many Felids

ABSTRACT To get more insight into the role of APOBEC3 (A3) cytidine deaminases in the species-specific restriction of feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) of the domestic cat, we tested the A3 proteins present in big cats (puma, lion, tiger, and lynx). These A3 proteins were analyzed for expression and sensitivity to the Vif protein of FIV. While A3Z3s and A3Z2-Z3s inhibited Δvif FIV, felid A3Z2s did not show any antiviral activity against Δvif FIV or wild-type (wt) FIV. All felid A3Z3s and A3Z2-Z3s were sensitive to Vif of the domestic cat FIV. Vif also induced depletion of felid A3Z2s. Tiger A3s showed a moderate degree of resistance against the Vif-mediated counter defense. These findings may imply that the A3 restriction system does not play a major role to prevent domestic cat FIV transmission to other Felidae. In contrast to the sensitive felid A3s, many nonfelid A3s actively restricted wt FIV replication. To test whether VifFIV can protect also the distantly related human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), a chimeric HIV-1.VifFIV was constructed. This HIV-1.VifFIV was replication competent in nonpermissive feline cells expressing human CD4/CCR5 that did not support the replication of wt HIV-1. We conclude that the replication of HIV-1 in some feline cells is inhibited only by feline A3 restriction factors and the absence of the appropriate receptor or coreceptor.
Implementing neoadjuvant endocrine strategies in ER-positive, HER2-negative breast cancer

ABSTRACT Introduction: Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy has been widely adopted as it increases breast conservation rates, permits the in vivo testing of the activity of chemotherapeutics and offers the opportunity to conduct translational research based on longitudinal assessments of tumor tissue, neoadjuvant endocrine therapy has been met with skepticism owing to slow regression rates and a low chance for pathologic remission. Areas covered: Herein, the results of clinical trials comparing different endocrine agents as neoadjuvant treatment, endocrine therapy with chemotherapy, treatment duration, novel combinations and putative biomarkers are reviewed, with the aim to better understand the current and future role of this modality in clinical practice. Expert commentary: Available evidence clearly indicates that, in properly selected patients, short-term outcomes do not differ compared to chemotherapy. In addition, the realization that its effects at the cellular level occur shortly after its initiation and have important prognostic implications, could serve as a tool for the early identification of non-responders. Ongoing trials which integrate novel agents in addition to endocrine therapies will help guide treatment decisions and may establish neoadjuvant endocrine therapy as a standard of care for well-defined patient subgroups.
Knowledge management in three organizations: An exploratory study

A major professional concern for people undertaking knowledge management initiatives is interpreting the field for managers and others in their organization. This exploratory research sought to investigate the dynamics of knowledge in organizations: how (if at all) it was perceived, interpreted, utilized, and integrated into the functions, processes, and outputs of the organization. Three organizations with differing functions and outputs were studied: a law firm, an educational institution, and a suburban local council, each being between 100 and 200 employees in size. Semistructured interviews (both individual and small group) were carried out with people at all levels to gather perceptions of the dynamics of knowledge in that organization. It was found that knowledge structures and cultures differed substantially between organizations, and were heavily influenced by the commercial environment and the governing structures. People at all levels had substantial awareness of the nature of knowledge within the organization, and there were a significant number of initiatives targeted at improving the way that knowledge was used. The concept of knowledge itself was quite unproblematic, although it was considerably more complex and nuanced than most definitions allow for. Information services had an important, although not a central role in knowledge dynamics. These findings raise a number of questions about the suitability of much knowledge management theory.
Multisite reproducibility of colorimetric broth microdilution method for antifungal susceptibility testing of yeast isolates

MICs of fluconazole and amphotericin B were determined independently for 100 coded yeast isolates by each of six laboratories to determine reproducibility of results by using a colorimetric oxidation-reduction-based broth microdilution test. In addition, each site tested five quality control isolates on at least four different occasions during the study. Results agreed within a three-dilution range (mode +/- 1 log2 dilution) for 96.2% of fluconazole tests and 92.7% of amphotericin B tests. Agreement among tests with the quality control isolates was 99.4% with fluconazole and 98.6% with amphotericin B. These results indicate that the colorimetric microdilution method is reproducible among laboratories.
Antenna selection for multi-user MIMO at millimeter-wave spectrum with lens antenna arrays

The recent concept of beamspace multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) enables the millimeter-wave (mmWave) MIMO system to reduce the radio-frequency chains by utilising beam selection and yet achieve near-optimal sum-rate performance. In this work, we study the lens antenna array as the transmit antenna at the base station for mmWave multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) system. Due to the direction-based energy focusing property of the array, the beam selection is able to reduce to antenna selection without significant performance degradation as that using traditional antenna selection. For this mmWave MU-MIMO system, direction-based antenna selection method is proposed, where the inter-user interference, resulting from the case that the same antenna is selected for different users with high probability, is considered and solved by a re-selection based on minimization of sum-rate loss. Simulation results show that spectral and energy effectiveness of the proposed antenna selection method for the mmWave MU-MIMO using lens antenna array.