Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Approximate Diagonalization Using Bilateral Rank-Reducing Householder Transform with Application in Blind Source Separation ∗

This paper addresses the problem of Joint approximate diagonalization (JAD) of a set of given matrices and proposes a new efficient iterative algorithm for JAD that based on the rank-reducing structure of Householder transform. The proposed algorithm, named as HJD, completes the simultaneous diagonalization of the target matrices by successive Householder transform from the point of view of matrix power concentration. Generally, the power of the elements below diagonal element was concentrated to the diagonal element by the rank-reducing Householder transform. Such a particular structure of Householder transform at each iteration prevents the divergence of matrix power. The diagonalization matrix was calculated by the product of all Householder matrices. By applying our algorithm to blind source separation, we demonstrate the efficiency and improvement of the proposed algorithm in estimating the separation matrix.
The cardiac cell : its survival and performance

Cardiovascular disease is a broad term that describes a host of conditions affecting both the heart and the vasculature, ischemic heart disease being the most prevalent. Ischemic heart disease is often accompanied by a drastic change in myocardial energy metabolism that favors fatty acid oxidation at the expense of glucose oxidation. This form of energy production is both inefficient and detrimental to the myocardium. However, both the glucose and fatty acid oxidative pathways can be targeted to improve cardiac efficiency. In particular, decreasing fatty acid oxidation and increasing glucose metabolism can improve cardiac efficiency in the ischemic heart. Optimizing energy metabolism in the diseased heart is an exciting approach, with tremendous therapeutic potential. Although the concept of modulating cardiac metabolism has existed for decades, it has only recently gained momentum with the introduction of new and effective pharmacological agents targeting key components in the metabolic pathways. This review will examine the use of metabolic therapies in heart disease and provide an update on current research and potential new therapies. Heart Metab. 2010;46:5–10.
Self-assembled arrays of dendrimer-gold-nanoparticle hybrids for functional cell studies.

Engineered surfaces with nanoscale features of gold on silicon or glass have recently been used to improve the understanding of adhesion-mediated environmental sensing of cells. Often such surfaces present a cell-binding ligand, such as arginine–glycine–aspartic acid (RGD) peptide motifs, at controlled intramolecular distances on an inert background surface such as polyethylene glycol (PEG). The adhesion mechanism of macromolecular ligands in which direct interaction with cells is nonspecific is not known and the cell response is dictated by the type and the concentration of proteins adsorbed from solution. Dendrimers may increase the availability and multivalency of cell-interacting ligands as a consequence of their branched shape and inherently high concentration of end groups. It is therefore interesting to examine the eventual effect of the macromolecular architecture on the cell viability by the controlled reduction of ligands on a surface. Herein, we demonstrate the fabrication of selfassembledmacromolecular hybrid arrays in which the relative position of two anionic macromolecules of different architectures—a carboxy-functionalized dendrimer and a linear polymer—is straightforwardly controlled on a PEG surface. We also show how the interaction of primary human endothelial cells with these surfaces is modulated by the molecular spacing and how protein binding to the macromolecular arrays can be evaluated by using a standard surface plasmon resonance (SPR) technique. Self-assembled, short-range-ordered Au nanoparticle (NP) arrays were used as a versatile template to arrange polymeric entities at the nanometer scale (Figure 1a). This
Cell cycle protein suppression and p21 induction in differentiating Caco-2 cells.

Despite intensive efforts, the exact cellular mechanisms leading to gut differentiation and development remain largely undefined. The cyclins, the cyclin-dependent kinases (Cdks), and the Cdk inhibitors (e.g., p21 and p27) are proteins that are important for cell cycle progression, subsequent growth inhibition, and differentiation of various cell types. The purpose of our study was to better define the role of these cell cycle proteins in gut differentiation using the Caco-2 human cell line, which spontaneously differentiates to a small bowel phenotype, as demonstrated by induction of sucrase-isomaltase (SI) gene expression. We found that protein levels of the cyclins (both D- and E-type) and the Cdks (both Cdk2 and Cdk4) progressively decreased in postconfluent Caco-2 cells. Moreover, cyclin E-associated histone H1 kinase activity decreased in an analogous fashion as the cyclins and Cdks. In contrast, induction of the Cdk inhibitor p21 occurred by 3 days postconfluency, which was before the increase in SI mRNA levels. These changes in the cell cycle proteins, which include a progressive decrease of the cyclins and Cdks and a concomitant induction of p21, suggest an important role for these proteins in Caco-2 cell differentiation. Identifying the cell cycle mechanisms responsible for intestinal cell differentiation will be important to our understanding of both normal gut development as well as gut neoplasia, which involves aberrant regulation of cell cycle arrest.
Feature Selection using Clustering Approach for Big Data

Feature selection has been a productive field of research and development in data mining, machine learning and statistical pattern recognition, and is widely applied to many fields such as, image retrieval, genomic analysis and text categorization. Feature selection includes selecting the most useful features from the given data set. The feature selection involves removing irrelevant and redundant features form the data set. The feature selection can be efficient and effective using clustering approach. Based on the criteria of efficiency in terms of time complexity and effectiveness in terms of quality of data, useful features from the big data can be selected. Feature selection reduces the computational complexity of learning and prediction algorithms and saves on the cost of measuring non selected features. The feature selection can be done using the graph clustering approach based on theoretic graph. The most relevant features are selected from the cluster for the relevant target class. The features in every cluster are different and independent of the other.
Using Temporal Bayesian Networks to Model user Profile Evolution

Modeling the user profile can be the first step towards personalization of information search. The user profile refers to his/her interests built across his/her interactions with the information retrieval system. It could be inferred from the recent search history limited to a single search session, during a short period of time to model short term user interests. On the other hand, from the whole search history, to model long term ones stable for a long time. In this paper, we present a personalized information retrieval approach for building and updating the user profile, based on Temporal Bayesian network. The theoretical framework provided by these networks allows better capturing and exploiting the change of user interests over time. Experiments carried out on TREC-1 ad hoc and TREC 2011 session Track collections show that our approach achieves significant improvements over a personalized search approach described in the state of the art and also to a baseline search information process that do not consider the user profile. Subject Categories and Descriptors [H.3. 1 Content Analysis and Indexing] [H.3. 3 Information Search and Retrieval] [H.3. 4 Systems and Software]; User profiles and alert services General Terms: Bayesian Networks, Information Processing, User Profile
SEISMIC RISK MANAGEMENT OF AN INTERNATIONAL PORTFOLIO OF BUILDINGS

The British Council operates in 110 countries worldwide and needs to manage the earthquake risk in the buildings it works in. Accordingly, it commissioned a desk study intended to create a shortlist of buildings that required detailed on-site seismic inspections. 85 buildings in 60 countries were chosen for the desk study, in areas where the seismic hazard exceeded a rock PGA of 10%g for a 475 year return period. Information on the structure of the buildings was obtained by means of a specially prepared questionnaire, designed to be completed by the (non-specialist) local managers of the buildings. The seismic hazard at the sites was reevaluated, based on a variety of readily available sources, to account for local soil and seismological influences on ground motions, and a 475 year return period intensity value was calculated at the site of each building. The structural and intensity data were then used to evaluate the risk of collapse and risk of death, based on databases of building damage and human casualties in earthquakes prepared by CAR Ltd. For buildings where these risks exceeded defined thresholds, an on-site assessment by a suitably qualified seismic engineer was recommended. The study enabled British Council to understand better the risk that earthquakes posed to staff and other users of its buildings, and to compare it to other risks such as fire. It also proved to be a cost effective way of identifying potentially high seismic risk buildings which needed an on-site inspection to determine possible seismic retrofitting measures.
Presoaking Seed Treatment of 24-epiBL Modulates Cr Stress in Brassica juncea L .

The present work was undertaken to study the effects of 24-epibrassinolide on growth, protein content and antioxidative enzymes [guaiacol peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.7), catalase (EC 1.11.1.6), glutathione reductase (EC 1.6.4.2), ascorbate peroxidase (EC 1.11.1.11), superoxide dismutase (EC 1.15.1.1), monodehydroascorbate reductase (EC 1.1.5.4) and dehydroascorbate reductase (EC 1.8.5.1)] activities in leaves of 30 days-old Brassica juncea L. plants treated with different concentrations of chromium (Cr). Different concentrations of Cr alone decreased the enzyme activities and protein concentration of plants. However, pre-sowing treatments of 24-epibrassinolide improved the growth and enhanced the activities of antioxidative enzymes and protein content in leaves of B. juncea plants. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Commutative Algebras of Monogenic Functions associated with Classic Equations of Mathematical Physics

The idea of an algebraic-analytic approach to equations of mathematical physics means finding commutative Banach algebras such that monogenic functions defined on them form an algebra and have components satisfying previously given equations with partial derivatives. We obtain constructive descriptions of monogenic functions taking values in commutative algebras associated with the two-dimensional biharmonic equation and the threedimensional Laplace equation by means of analytic functions of the complex variable.
The validity and reliability of a clinical performance rating scale.

Rating scales are standard tools for evaluating clinical performance in medicine; however, in dentistry they appear to be used solely to evaluate technical skills. A pretest of three performance scales did not reveal the superiority of any one scale, though faculty clearly preferred a 20-item, six-point Likert scale that rated personal, interpersonal, and professional qualities. Directors and co-directors of six group clinics subsequently rated performance of two classes of seniors and one class of juniors. Interrater reliabilities, ranging from . 62 to . 83 across rater pairs, were superior to reliabilities reported in medical education studies. Although technique grades, preclinical GPA, and performance ratings differentiated students who completed clinical requirements on time (n = 302) from those who did not (n = 83), performance ratings added information about competence that was not reflected in GPA and technique grades. The usefulness of a rating scale appears to be in its potential for giving students feedback and for evaluating program effectiveness.
False contour reduction using neural networks and adaptive bi-directional smoothing

The larger display devices, the more noticeable artifacts such as false contours, block artifacts, and other types of noises. This paper proposes a false contour reduction algorithm using neural networks (NNs) and adaptive bidirectional smoothing. The proposed algorithm consists of two parts: false contour detection and reduction parts. In the false contour detection part, false contour candidate pixels are detected using the directional contrast features. The false contour reduction part is composed of two steps: NN processing and bi-directional filtering. In the first step, false contours are reduced by pixelwise processing using NNs. In the second step, bi-directional smoothing is applied to a neighboring region of the false contour. Computer simulations with several test images show the effectiveness of the proposed false contour reduction algorithm in terms of the visual quality of result images, edge maps detected by Sobel masks, the peak signal-to-noise ratio, the structural similarity, and the computation time.
Towards Intelligent Aircraft Through Deep Reinforcement Learning

Deep reinforcement learning has achieved recent successes in solving games and learning robotics tasks from scratch, and has shown early promise for the guidance, navigation, and control of MAVs. Though MAV control is well-established, many complex tasks still require human oversight, and techniques for reducing the level of human involvement are still nascent. In this paper, we present ongoing work in applying continuous-action deep reinforcement learning to autonomous aircraft in simulation, in order to learn such complex tasks autonomously. We provide a brief overview of our simulation environment and tasks of interest, and present preliminary results using model-free methods to learn simple flight tasks. We conclude with remarks on potential directions of research that we believe will have an impact on the future of unmanned systems.
Hybrid CMOS detectors for the Lynx x-ray surveyor high definition x-ray imager

Abstract. X-ray hybrid CMOS detectors (HCDs) are a promising candidate for future x-ray missions requiring high throughput and fine angular resolution along with large field-of-view, such as the high-definition x-ray imager (HDXI) instrument on the Lynx x-ray surveyor mission concept. These devices offer fast readout capability, low power consumption, and radiation hardness while maintaining high detection efficiency from 0.2 to 10 keV. In addition, x-ray hybrid CMOS sensors may be fabricated with small pixel sizes to accommodate high-resolution optics and have shown great improvements in recent years in noise and spectral resolution performance. In particular, 12.5-μm pitch prototype devices that include in-pixel correlated double sampling capability and crosstalk eliminating capacitive transimpedance amplifiers, have been fabricated and tested. These detectors have achieved read noise as low as 5.4 e − , and we measure the best energy resolution to be 148 eV (2.5%) at 5.9 keV and 78 eV (14.9%) at 0.53 keV. We will describe the characterization of these prototype small-pixel x-ray HCDs, and we will discuss their applicability to the HDXI instrument on Lynx.
An Evaluation of Road Pricing Policy Considering both Road and Railway Network Congestion 2002

In this study, we build multi-modal urban travel model system which considers travelers mode choice, route choice and multi-modal network equilibrium for the evaluation of road pricing policy in Tokyo Area. We have some interesting results presented in quantitative way with this evaluation. Although road traffic and environmental situation will improve greatly after the policy, the railway congestion get worsen in the peak periods. The road pricing policy reduces almost all the users’ utility, but there are some users who benefits after the policy. The results imply the careful treatment of use of pricing revenue is needed to recover the loss of user benefits.
PERFORMANCE OF BUILDINGS OVER LIQUEFIABLE GROUND IN ADAPAZARI , TURKEY

A large number of structures collapsed and were damaged due to strong ground shaking during the August 17, 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. Many buildings were also affected by ground failure due to liquefaction of shallow silt deposits. Ground failure was indicated by relative vertical displacement of the building into the ground, tilt, and lateral translation over the ground. The occurrence of structural damage was found to be related to the occurrence of ground failure. This paper describes the different types of foundation failures observed in Adapazari, and through the presentation of available building survey data, shows the interdependence of structural damage and ground failure. Measurements of vertical displacement relative to the surrounding ground are correlated to variables that are commonly known to affect foundation settlement, such as the applied building contact pressure. Additionally, the mechanisms that might have led to the observed building performance are described.
Generalized Multi-Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) Architecture

Future data and transmission networks will consist of elements such as routers, switches, Dense Wavelength Division Multiplexing (DWDM) systems, Add-Drop Multiplexors (ADMs), photonic cross-connects (PXCs), optical cross-connects (OXCs), etc. that will use Generalized Multi- Protocol Label Switching (GMPLS) to dynamically provision resources and to provide network survivability using protection and restoration techniques. This document describes the architecture of GMPLS. GMPLS extends MPLS to encompass time-division (e.g., SONET/SDH, PDH, G.709), wavelength (lambdas), and spatial switching (e.g., incoming port or fiber to outgoing port or fiber). The focus of GMPLS is on the control plane of these various layers since each of them can use physically diverse data or forwarding planes. The intention is to cover both the signaling and the routing part of that control plane. [STANDARDS- TRACK]
HEAT TRANSFER OF SIMPLIFIED PHAN-THIEN—TANNER FLUIDS IN PIPES AND CHANNELS

The rheology of some concentrated solutions of polymers and polymer melts is predicted adequately by the Phan-Thien—Tanner (PTT) constitutive equation (Larson, 1988, Quinzani et al, 1995). Such model fluids are frequently used to simulate real fluids encountered in industry, in processes involving high temperatures and heat transfer operations, and are also useful to assess the performance of numerical codes. For the simplified version of the PTT fluid model, an exact solution is derived for thermal and hydrodynamic fully-developed pipe and channel flows. The analysis considers a constant wall heat flux boundary condition and shows that fluid elasticity is responsible for an enhancement in heat transfer of at most 15.8% for the pipe flow and of 11.1% for the channel flow.
Psychodynamic Focal Group Treatment for Psychosomatic Inpatients–with an Emphasis on Work-Related Conflicts

Abstract Conflicts arising from the work setting have remained a neglected issue in psychotherapy. To address this, the present study investigated the effectiveness of a manualized focal group treatment for psychotherapeutic inpatients suffering from vocational strains and conflicts and identified predictors of outcome. Cohorts of patients were assigned either to a treatment (N = 144) or control condition (N = 135). The group therapy intervention was found to be highly accepted by participants who were also more optimistic about returning to work and more favorable in their evaluations of treatment than patients in the treatment–as–usual condition. Group climate was found to be a predictor of favorable outcome. The findings suggest that a group therapy intervention with a strong emphasis on motivations and attitudes about work may be particularly suitable to deal with vocational conflicts and strains.
Cover-Up of Vehicle Defects: The Role of Regulator Investigation Announcements

Automakers, including Toyota and General Motors, were recently caught by the U.S. regulator for deliberately hiding product defects in an attempt to avoid massive recalls. Interestingly, regulators in the United States and United Kingdom employ different policies in informing consumers about potential defects: the U.S. regulator publicly announces all ongoing investigations of potential defects to provide consumers with early information, whereas the UK regulator does not. To understand how these different announcement policies may affect cover-up decisions of automakers, we model the strategic interaction between a manufacturer and a regulator. We find that, under both countries’ policies, the manufacturer has an incentive to cover up a potential defect when there is a high chance that the defect indeed exists and it may inflict only moderate harm. However, if there is only a moderate chance that the defect exists, only under the U.S. policy does the manufacturer have an incentive to cover up a potential defect with significant harm. We show that the U.S. policy generates higher social welfare only for very serious issues for which both the expected harm and recall cost are very high and the defect is likely to exist. We make four policy recommendations that could help mitigate manufacturers’ cover-ups, including a hybrid policy in which the regulator conducts a confidential investigation of a potential defect only when it may inflict significant harm. This paper was accepted by Vishal Gaur, operations management.
VOLUME-PRESERVING DIFFEOMORPHISMS ON VARIETIES AND AΩ-EQUIVALENCE OF MAPS

We describe a cohomological criterion for a pair of diffeomorphic variety-germs to be volume-preserving diffeomorphic. And we show that for the class of varieties that are quasi-homogeneous with respect to a smooth submanifold this cohomology vanishes, so that volume-preserving diffeomorphic is equivalent to diffeomorphic (over C) or orientation-preserving diffeomorphic (over R). Likewise, we give a criterion for a pair of left-right equivalent mapgerms to be AΩ-equivalent (i.e. left-right equivalent by volume-preserving diffeomorphisms on the left). And we show that for the class of weakly quasihomogeneous map-germs each left-right orbit corresponds to one AΩ-orbit (over C) or to one or two AΩ-orbits (over R).
Regional large-scale science instruments configuration efficiency evaluation method based on multi-objective optimization and fuzzy decision-making model

This paper concentrates on the problem of regional large-scale science instruments configuration efficiency evaluation, which is a typical multi-objective optimization problem. As large-scale science instruments have not been utilized with high efficiency, it is of great importance to promote the efficiency of large-scale science instruments configuration. Firstly, the multi-objective particle swarm optimization model is proposed, in which three objectives are considered (such as Economic benefits, Utilization rate of equipment, and Social benefits). Exploiting the proposed multi-objective particle swarm optimization model, Pareto optimal solutions can be obtained. Secondly, a fuzzy decision-making model is provided to choose an optimal solution from the set of Pareto optimal solutions by implementing the intersection of all fuzzy criteria and the related constrains. Thirdly, to make performance evaluation, we collect the data from statistical yearbooks of ten provinces in China to construct dataset. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can effectively evaluate regional large-scale science instruments configuration efficiency.