Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
S-variable approach to robust stabilization state feedback synthesis for systems characterized by random polytopes

This paper is concerned with robust stabilization state feedback synthesis for discrete-time linear systems characterized by random polytopes. In particular, we develop what we call an S-variable approach to the synthesis. S-variables are also called auxiliary variables in some references, and known to be useful for reducing conservativeness in robustness analysis and synthesis. In this paper, we show a sort of stochastic version of the conventional (i.e., deterministic) robust stability condition with S-variables, and numerically illustrate that introducing S-variables is also effective in the synthesis for systems characterized by random polytopes.
Efficient face recognition method using RBF kernel and genetic algorithm

There area wider range of biometric authentication systems available; Face recognition system is one of them. It is an effective way for authentication and also considers many security aspects. Any face recognition system has to handle higher amount and dimension of image data. Whenever we consider this system at global level a large variety of problems frequently arrives. To overcome these problems this paper introduces a new model. This newly designed system uses radial basis function (RBF) kernel for management of small training sets of high dimension images with genetic algorithm based weight optimization technique. This system is effective for large datasets thus it uses genetic algorithm. Genetic algorithm provides fast learning and trains RBF neural network effectively, it reduces searching efforts and significantly reduces the time taken for recognition. This system is very effective at public places due to huge rush of public and provides fast and accurate recognition.
A CMOS-MEMS nano-Newton force sensor for biomedical applications

This paper reports the design and microfabrication of a CMOS-MEMS capacitive force sensor capable of nano-Newton out-of-plane force measurement. Sidewall and fringe capacitance formed by the multiple CMOS metal layers were utilized and fully differential sensing was enabled by common-centroid wiring of the sensing capacitors. Single-crystal silicon (SCS) is incorporated in the entire sensing element for robust structures and reliable sensor deployment in force measurement. A sensitivity of 0.02 fF/nN in a measurable force range 2 pN to 1 mN is predicted. The minimum detection force is 2.8 pN. The CMOS-MEMS force sensor features easy post-CMOS microfabrication in which directional SiO2 reactive ion etching (RIE) and silicon deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) are employed.
Opinion Recommendation Using A Neural Model

We present opinion recommendation, a novel task of jointly generating a review with a rating score that a certain user would give to a certain product which is unreviewed by the user, given existing reviews to the product by other users, and the reviews that the user has given to other products. A characteristic of opinion recommendation is the reliance of multiple data sources for multi-task joint learning. We use a single neural network to model users and products, generating customised product representations using a deep memory network, from which customised ratings and reviews are constructed jointly. Results show that our opinion recommendation system gives ratings that are closer to real user ratings on Yelp.com data compared with Yelp’s own ratings. our methods give better results compared to several pipelines baselines.
Leadership Best Practices and Employee Performance: A Phenomenological Telecommunication Industry Study

This phenomenological study explored leadership best practices among senior managers at a major telecommunications organization in to determine the perceived effects that such routines had on actual employee performance. The study took place in State of Georgia in the United States from January 16 to February 18, 2014 and involved ten selected managers who held the role of customer service manager for a minimum of 2 years and were identified as a top performer based on the ranking and rating reports from the organizationâ€™s data. The major themes that emerged centered around four major areas: (1) employeeoriented perspective of best leadership practices, (2) performance perspective of best leadership practices, (3) process perspective of best leadership practices, (4) learning and growth perspective of best leadership practices. It was determined that leaders should create a working environment where there is increased employee engagement and participation; communicate goals, gain employee understanding, and apply communication styles that fit the need of each employee at all levels; identify and plan opportunities of growth for employees through training and development; recognize the importance of personally engaging with their employees; and, understand the importance of having regular meetings to update employees about new products and services.
A novel low-leakage power-rail ESD clamp circuit with adjustable triggering voltage and superior false-triggering immunity for nanoscale applications

This work presents a novel power-rail electrostatic discharge (ESD) clamp circuit for nanoscale applications. By skillfully incorporating transient and static ESD detection mechanisms into its detection circuit, the proposed circuit achieves a wide range of adjustable triggering voltage (Ft1) while maintaining low standby leakage current (Ileak). Besides, the proposed circuit achieves significantly-improved false-triggering immunity compared with the transient-triggered circuit. All investigated circuits are fabricated in a 65-nm CMOS process. Simulation and test results have both confirmed the superiority of the proposed circuit. In addition, the proposed circuit achieves similar triggering behaviors in both transmission line pulsing (TLP) and very fast TLP (VF-TLP) tests.
The impact of company-specific and external factors on corporate risk taking: the case of Egyptian insurance companies

Using a two-way panel regression analysis with fixed and random effects and the generalized method of moment(GMM), we investigate the impact of both firm-specific and external factors on the risk taking of Egyptian insurance companies. We use hand-collected data of Egyptian insurance companies over the period from 2006 to 2011 to estimate the relationship between total and systematic risks as risk measures and the independent variables. Following Eling and Mark (2011) the extent of risk taking is quantified through variations in stock prices and these are explained by firm-specific and external factors. We find that differences in company size, interest rate level and economic development affect variations in stock prices. The analysis also highlights differences between the life and non-life insurers, with the non-life insurers exhibiting a higher level of risk (market and premium) and board independence. The pattern of results are qualitatively the same for non-life insurers but different for life insurers when we use GMM method.
Miniaturized dual-band bandstop filter using defected microstrip structure and defected ground structure

A miniaturized dual-band bandstop filter (DBBSF) is proposed by using T-shaped defected microstrip structure (DMS) and U-shaped defected ground structure (DGS). To verify the design concept, the DBBSF is simulated and fabricated. Compared with other published filters, the proposed DBBSF occupies the minimal normalized area. Moreover, the center frequency of the first stopband and the second stopband can be controlled separately due to the negligible mutual coupling between the T-shaped DMS and U-shaped DGS. A two-stage DBBSF is also presented and simulated, which shows maximum stopband rejection up to 49 dB.
Proteomic analysis of optic nerve lipid rafts reveals new paranodal proteins

Neuron–glia interactions at paranodal junctions play important roles in action potential propagation. Among their many functions, they contribute to the passive electrical properties of myelinated nerve fibers and actively regulate the polarized distribution of ion channels along axons. Despite their importance, relatively little is known about the molecules responsible for paranode formation and function. Paranodal junction formation apparently depends on interactions among three cell adhesion molecules: caspr and contactin on the axon and neurofascin 155 (NF‐155) on the glial membrane. Using Caspr‐null paranodal mutant mice, we demonstrate that loss of paranodal junctions causes failure of NF‐155 to partition into lipid rafts, indicating that proteins located at paranodal junctions have biochemical characteristics of lipid raft‐associated proteins. Based on this property of paranodal junctions, mass spectrometry of lipid rafts isolated from a pure white matter tract (optic nerve) was used to search for new paranodal proteins. Because we used a relatively crude biochemical preparation, we identified several hundred different proteins. Among these, we found all previously described paranodal proteins. Further analysis based on antibody staining of central and peripheral nerves revealed β‐adducin, septin 2, and sh3p8 as putative paranodal proteins. We describe the localization of these proteins in relation to other markers of nodes, paranodes, and juxtaparanodes in adult and developing nerve fibers. Finally, we describe their distribution in dysmyelinating TremblerJ mice, a model for the peripheral neuropathy Charcot‐Marie‐Tooth disease. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Instrumental variables and interactions in the causal analysis of a complex clinical trial

We consider the application of instrumental variable techniques in a longitudinal clinical trial in paediatric HIV/AIDS, with a substantial degree of non‐compliance to randomized treatment (Nelfinavir versus placebo) and with left censoring of the outcome variable (HIV RNA concentration). We consider in detail the assumptions and implications behind the inclusion and exclusion of interactions between randomized arm and baseline covariates in modelling actual treatment received, and between treatment and baseline covariates in modelling outcome. Estimated treatment effects were sensitive to inclusion of interactions, and we show how such sensitivity can be explored and explained. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The study of transmission performances for integrated TFRC and ARQ over WLANs

With technology advances in current wireless network and broadband Internet, multimedia communications over wireless network are dramatically boosted. During the delivery process, a robust transmission rate control scheme plays the key role to the received picture quality. However, a wireless network with many non-congestion losses may bring huge performance reduction to convenient TFRC rate control mechanisms. This paper first proposes a Loss Differentiation Algorithm (LDA) for TFRC in WLAN environment. LDA can effectively avoid treating wireless bit errors as congestive leading to unnecessary rate reduction and poor delivery performance. Moreover, this study further evaluates influences of Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ) operations to the performance of TFRC. Simulation results show that, the received data rate of WLAN using LDA is obviously higher than that without LDA. Moreover, when the ARQ is activated, this work finds that the congestion loss rate and delay time of video packets can be effectively reduced if the TFRC mechanism properly includes the packet loss due to wireless bit error in the determination of available network bandwidth.
Laser‐assisted laparoscopic excision of liver cyst

17. Leonidas JC, Hall RT. Neonatal pneumatosis coli: a mild form of neonatal necrotising enterocolitis. J Pediatr 1976; 89: 456-9. 18. Freeman RB, Lloyd DJ, Miller SS, Duffty P . Surgical treatment 21. Jackman S, Brereton RJ, Wright VM. Results of surgical treatment of neonatal necrotising enterocolitis. Br J Surg 1990; 77: 146-8. O’Neill JA, Holcomb GW. Surgical experience with neonatal necrotising enterocolitis. Ann Surg 1979; 189: 612-19.
Spacecraft power system fault diagnosis based on DNN

Currently, most machine learning methods applied in spacecraft fault diagnosis are supervised learning methods, which have obvious shortcomings in representing complex functions under limited samples and cells. Moreover, the generalization ability of these methods is restricted. This article proposes a deep machine learning based method on satellite power system fault diagnosis, which combines the characteristics of satellite power system data with the advantages of deep learning. The method uses Denosing Autoencoder (DAE) as unsupervised algorithm in preliminary training stage, and back propagation (BP) algorithm as supervised algorithm in fine-tuning stage. Tested by the practical satellite power system, the method takes full advantages of deep learning, and achieves organic combination of supervised and unsupervised learning. It extracts fault features based on big data, and identifies fault states, which overcomes the disadvantages of traditional methods. In addition, the proposed method is more suitable for characterization of hidden complex features of equipment data, which enables more accurate recognition of equipment health state under complex monitoring tasks.
Uniform elimination pattern for glibenclamide in healthy Caucasian males.

It has been shown, that the elimination rate of intravenously administered tolbutamide shows considerable interindividual variation, due to strong genetic influence. These pharmacogenetic differences in the metabolic clearance rate of tolbutamide may result in drug failure in fast-eliminators, and it may cause an increased incidence of side effects in slow-eliminators. It is not known whether different "pharmacogenetics" exist for other sulfonylurea drugs. Therefore, we have injected glibenclamide (0.02 mg/kg body weight) intravenously in 52 male, normal weight, healthy volunteers. Serum glibenclamide levels were followed for up to 24 h. The terminal phase half-life of glibenclamide was 2.46 +/- 0.67 h (mean +/- SD), total drug clearance was 48.7 +/- 11.0 ml.min-1 and the slow disposition phase rate constant was 0.30 +/- 0.08 h-1. From the individual data of each subject frequency histograms were developed for these and other kinetic parameters and tested with a Kolmogoroff-Smirnoff-test for unimodal normal distribution. There was no significant (p greater than 0.05) deviation from the unimodal normal distribution for these parameters. In contrast to the pharmacogenetics of tolbutamide metabolism the present data indicate that glibenclamide follows an uniform elimination pattern in healthy caucasian males.
Dairy Cattle Insurance Will Change Dairy Farmers' Anti-risk Inputs?

A major problem facing dairy farmers is production risk, and dairy cattle insurance is one alternative for reducing this risk. The primary objective of this paper is to test the effects of dairy cattle insurance on farmers’ anti-risk inputs. Based on the survey data of dairy farmers in 2015, this paper selects the main area of dairy farming in China-the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region as the study area, using treatment-effects model for empirical test and analysis. The findings indicates that the existing dairy cattle insurance policies in China do not have a significant effect on farmers’ anti-risk inputs. Due to the low insurance payments and the narrow insurance coverage for the death of dairy cattle, the farmers who participate in dairy cattle insurance, will not weaken their health management measures for dairy cattle, and they do not have negative anti-risk behaviors in the process of dairy production.
SustDataED: A Public Dataset for Electric Energy Disaggregation Research

In this paper we present the SustDataED (SustData for Energy Disaggregation) dataset. The dataset is an extension to the original SustData dataset [1], and consists of electric energy consumption and room occupancy measurements taken from a single-family residence in Portugal composed of four householders. Current and voltage waveforms were sampled from the mains at 12.8 kHz for the duration of 10 days. The dataset also contains the individual consumption for 17 individual loads, measured at 0.5 Hz complemented with individual labels for the state transitions of those loads. Lastly, the dataset was enriched with household occupancy information at the room level that was collected using the Estimote Beacon platform. With this dataset we aim to motivate the development and evaluation of novel energy disaggregation algorithms, not only at the individual appliance level but also of household activities (e.g., doing the laundry or preparing breakfast).
Brain Natriuretic Peptide: Structure, Action and Role in the Diagnosis and Prognosis of Heart Failure

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a peptide hormone secreted by cardiomyocytes in response to atrial or ventricular wall stretch. It promotes a number of systemic effects, including vasodilatation, increase in urinary output and sodium excretion as well as inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system and the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. Plasma BNP levels have been reported to be elevated in patients with left ventricular hypertrophy, congestive heart failure, acute coronary syndromes, atrial fibrillation and impaired renal function. Moreover, elevated BNP levels have been shown to be a strong predictor of morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure. Interestingly, it has also been found that the N-terminal peptide of BNP is slightly superior to BNP for predicting death or re-hospitalization for heart failure. Presumably, it is the longer half-life of NT-pro-BNP that may promote it as a more accurate index of ventricular stress and therefore a better predictor of prognosis.
Comparative Expression Analysis of Putative Cancer Stem Cell Markers CD44 and ALDH1A1 in Various Skin Cancer Subtypes

Introduction Skin cancers, particularly melanoma, are initiated and maintained by a subpopulation of tumor cells expressing stemness markers that are called cancer stem cells (CSCs). This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels and clinicopathological significance of the putative CSC markers CD44 and ALDH1A1 in patients with skin cancer. Methods The expression levels of CD44 and ALDH1A1 were investigated in 107 skin cancer specimens including 58 (54%) basal cell carcinomas (BCC), 37 (35%) squamous cell carcinomas (SCC), and 12 (11%) melanomas using the tissue microarray (TMA) technique. The correlation of the expression levels of these markers and clinicopathological parameters was then analyzed. Results The expression levels of CD44 and ALDH1A1 were significantly higher in melanoma patients than patients with SCC or BCC (p<0.001 and p = 0.002, respectively). A higher level of CD44 expression was more often found in melanoma tumor cells with a higher rate of recurrence (p = 0.029) and in SCC cases with ulceration (p = 0.01), while there was no significant correlation between ALDH1A1 expression and other clinicopathological parameters. Similarly, coexpression of CD44 and ALDH1A1 (CD44high/ALDH1A1high) was significantly observed in melanoma samples (p<0.001). Conclusions These findings suggest that a CD44high/ALDH1A1high phenotype in melanoma and a CD44high phenotype in SCC can be considered candidates for targeted therapy of skin cancers aiming at CSCs.
Symptom reporting and self-rated health among women in mid-life: The role of work characteristics and family responsibilities

This study investigated how socioeconomic factors and psychosocial conditions are related to self-reported health among 43-year-old women representing the general Swedish population (N = 569). Odds ratios and multiple logistic regression analyses were used for associations and effect modification, adjusted for symptom reporting in adolescence. Poor self-reported health was predicted by low income, financial worries, and job strain, as well as combined exposure to a high level of unpaid household work and job strain (double burden). In conclusion, poor psychosocial conditions related to working life, as well as to the combined impact of paid and unpaid work were revealed to be risk factors for poor self-reported health among middle-aged women. These results highlight the need for improving women’s work conditions, as well as designing family policies that promote a better sharing of unpaid household tasks and responsibilities between spouses.
Prevalence of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease in an adult population in a rural community of Haryana, India

Background: Though nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is increasingly becoming prevalent in the Indian population, knowledge regarding the burden and risk factors of NAFLD is limited, more so from rural areas. This study was thus conducted to estimate the prevalence of NAFLD among adults in a rural community of Haryana, India and to measure the association of diet, physical activity, and other selected risk factors with NAFLD. Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in a rural community of Haryana, India among resident adults ≥35 years of age. Eight out of 28 villages were selected by probability proportion to size sampling. The number of eligible and consenting participants randomly selected from each village was 27. Out of 216 participants thus recruited, 184 participants reported for undergoing ultrasonography (USG) of the liver, anthropometry, blood pressure recording, and blood sample collection. Finally, 176 participants were analyzed. Results: Prevalence of NAFLD was 30.7%. There was no significant difference in the calorie intake and average total physical activity between participants with and without NAFLD. On multivariate analysis, hypertension [adjusted odds ratio (OR): 2.3, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.1-5.0, P 0.03] and an increased waist circumference (adjusted OR: 4.9, 95% CI: 1.5-7.0, P < 0.001) were independently associated with NAFLD. A normal high-density lipoprotein (HDL) level was protective against NAFLD (adjusted OR: 0.4, 95% CI: 0.2-0.8, P 0.001). Conclusions: The high prevalence of NAFLD is already a public health problem, even in the rural parts of India. Urgent public health interventions are required to prevent its development by controlling the cardiometabolic risk factors associated with it.
Behind the front line stressors and coping in Border Services Officers

Eighty one Border Services Officers (BSOs) completed a survey package to explore BSOs’ levels of occupational stress using the Police Stress Questionnaire-Organization (PSQ-Org) and Police Stress Questionnaire – Operational (PSQ-Op). Data analysis explored gender differences, years of service, armed versus unarmed officers and coping styles. Officers reported moderate levels of stress on the PSQ-Org and PSQ-Op across all variables examined. A correlation matrix determined relationships between coping strategies and the PSQ-Org and PSQ-Op. The PSQ-Org was significantly correlated with disengagement coping r = . 26, p = < . 05 while the PSQ-Op was correlated to both engagement coping r = . 28, p = < . 05 and disengagement coping r = . 35, p = <. 01. Gender differences in coping were found as female officers had a significant correlation between engagement coping and the PSQ-Org r = . 41, p = < . 05 and the PSQ-Op r = . 53, p = < . 01. Significant correlations between engagement coping and social support coping were also found for female officers r = . 67, p = < . 01. Male officers reported using disengagement coping which was significantly correlated with all three stress measures PSQ-Org r = . 32, p = < . 05, PSQ-Op r = . 43, p = < . 01, and weekly stress r = . 32, p = < . 05. Qualitative data suggested that BSOs may have experienced role conflict, role ambiguity, and role overload associated with organizational stressors comprised of management style and short staffing. Impact of current study on proactive interventions in the workplace is discussed.