Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-Time Power Balancing in Electric Grids With Distributed Storage

Power balancing is crucial for the reliability of an electric power grid. In this paper, we consider an aggregator coordinating a group of distributed storage (DS) units to provide power balancing service to a power grid through charging or discharging. We present a real-time, distributed algorithm that enables the DS units to determine their own charging or discharging amounts. The algorithm accommodates a wide spectrum of vital system characteristics, including time-varying power imbalance amount and electricity price, finite battery size constraints, cost of using external energy sources, and battery degradation. We develop a modified Lyapunov optimization framework for real-time power balancing and provide a fast iterative method for distributed implementation. The two components interact through a novel cost cushion parameter that tunes the trade-off between system performance and convergence speed. We show analytically that the algorithm converges quickly and provides asymptotically optimal performance as the capacity of DS units increases. We further study through simulation the algorithm performance over a wide range of parameter values and demonstrate that it is highly competitive over a greedy alternative.
Bacteriophage 434 Hex Protein Prevents RecA-Mediated Repressor Autocleavage

In a λimm434 lysogen, two proteins are expressed from the integrated prophage. Both are encoded by the same mRNA whose transcription initiates at the PRM promoter. One protein is the 434 repressor, needed for the establishment and maintenance of lysogeny. The other is Hex which is translated from an open reading frame that apparently partially overlaps the 434 repressor coding region. In the wild type host, disruption of the gene encoding Hex destabilizes λimm434 lysogens. However, the hex mutation has no effect on lysogen stability in a recA− host. These observations suggest that Hex functions by modulating the ability of RecA to stimulate 434 repressor autocleavage. We tested this hypothesis by identifying and purifying Hex to determine if this protein inhibited RecA‑stimulated autocleavage of 434 repressor in vitro. Our results show that in vitro a fragment of Hex prevents RecA-stimulated autocleavage of 434 repressor, as well as the repressors of the closely related phage P22. Surprisingly, Hex does not prevent RecA‑stimulated autocleavage of phage lambda repressor, nor the E. coli LexA repressor.
Layer-Specific Intracortical Connectivity Revealed with Diffusion MRI

In this work, we show for the first time that the tangential diffusion component is orientationally coherent at the human cortical surface. Using diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI), we have succeeded in tracking intracortical fiber pathways running tangentially within the cortex. In contrast with histological methods, which reveal little regarding 3-dimensional organization in the human brain, dMRI delivers additional understanding of the layer dependence of the fiber orientation. A postmortem brain block was measured at very high angular and spatial resolution. The dMRI data had adequate resolution to allow analysis of the fiber orientation within 4 notional cortical laminae. We distinguished a lamina at the cortical surface where diffusion was tangential along the surface, a lamina below the surface where diffusion was mainly radial, an internal lamina covering the Stria of Gennari, where both strong radial and tangential diffusion could be observed, and a deep lamina near the white matter, which also showed mainly radial diffusion with a few tangential compartments. The measurement of the organization of the tangential diffusion component revealed a strong orientational coherence at the cortical surface.
Devising Loyalty Relationship Strategies in Technology-based Remote Services

Technology has become an integral part of the business today and has changed the way businesses are being run. Many new services have come up using technology-based remote services in addition to the existing physical channels. This study aimed at getting a clear idea about the underlying complex relationships between perceived value, satisfaction, trust, commitment and their effects on loyalty in technology-based ATM banking services. The study has used structural equation modeling to reveal the nature of relational influences of these constructs on loyalty. It has brought about a better understanding of the factors that govern the technology-based remote service process not only for academic purpose but for managers to devise strategies to attract customers, retain them for a longer period and make them loyal.
Growth Factors and Anticatabolic Substances for Prevention and Management of Intervertebral Disc Degeneration

Intervertebral disc (IVD) degeneration is frequent, appearing from the second decade of life and progressing with age. Conservative management often fails, and patients with IVD degeneration may need surgical intervention. Several treatment strategies have been proposed, although only surgical discectomy and arthrodesis have been proved to be predictably effective. Biological strategies aim to prevent and manage IVD degeneration, improving the function and anabolic and reparative capabilities of the nucleus pulposus and annulus fibrosus cells and inhibiting matrix degradation. At present, clinical applications are still in their infancy. Further studies are required to clarify the role of growth factors and anticatabolic substances for prevention and management of intervertebral disc degeneration.
Overexpression of calreticulin increases the Ca2+ capacity of rapidly exchanging Ca2+ stores and reveals aspects of their lumenal microenvironment and function

A molecularly tagged form of calreticulin (CR), a low affinity-high capacity Ca2+ binding protein that resides in the ER lumen, was transiently transfected into HeLa cells to specifically modify the Ca2+ buffering capacity of the intracellular Ca2+ stores. Fluorescence and confocal microscope immunocytochemistry revealed the tagged protein to be expressed by over 40% of the cells and to overlap in its distribution the endogenous CR yielding a delicate cytoplasmic network, i.e., the typical pattern of ER. In contrast, no signal was observed associated with the plasmalemma (marked by ConA) and within the nucleus. One- and two-dimensional Western blots revealed the transfected to exceed the endogenous CR of approximately 3.5-fold and to maintain its Ca2+ binding ability, whereas the expression of other ER proteins was unchanged. Ca2+ homeostasis in the transfected cells was investigated by three parallel approaches: (a) 45Ca equilibrium loading of cell populations; (b) [Ca2+]c measurement with fura-2 followed by quantitative immunocytochemistry of single cells and iii) [Ca2+]c measurement of cell population upon cotransfection with the Ca(2+)-sensitive photoprotein, aequorin. The three approaches revealed different aspects of Ca2+ homeostasis, yielding results which were largely complementary. In particular, the following conclusions were established: (a) both endogenous and transfected CR participate in Ca2+ buffering within the IP3-sensitive, rapidly exchanging, Ca2+ stores; the other pools of the cells were in contrast unaffected by CR transfection; (b) the Ca2+ capacity of the stores is not the main limiting factor of individual IP3-mediated Ca2+ release responses triggered by receptor agonists; (c) in control cells, the contribution of CR to Ca2+ buffering within the IP3-sensitive stores accounts for approximately 45% of the total, the rest being probably contributed by the other lumenal (and also membrane) Ca2+ binding proteins; (d) the free [Ca2+] within the lumen of the IP3-sensitive stores, revealed by the degree of Ca2+ binding to the transfected CR protein, amounts to values in (or approaching) the millimolar range; and (e) Ca2+ influx across the plasmalemma activated by depletion of the stores is directly dependent on the lumenal [Ca2+].
Repolarization Changes Induced by Air Pollution in Ischemic Heart Disease Patients

Epidemiologic studies report associations between particulate air pollution and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms are still unclear. We tested the hypothesis that patients with preexisting coronary heart disease experience changes in the repolarization parameters in association with rising concentrations of air pollution. A prospective panel study was conducted in Erfurt, East Germany, with 12 repeated electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings in 56 males with ischemic heart disease. Hourly particulate and gaseous air pollution and meteorologic data were acquired. The following ECG parameters reflecting myocardial substrate and vulnerability were measured: QT duration, T-wave amplitude, T-wave complexity, and variability of T-wave complexity. Fixed effect regression analysis was used adjusting for subject, trend, weekday, and meteorology. The analysis showed a significant increase in QT duration in response to exposure to organic carbon; a significant decrease in T-wave amplitude with exposure to ultrafine, accumulation mode, and PM2.5 particles (particles < 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter); and a corresponding significant increase of T-wave complexity in association with PM2.5 particles for the 24 hr before ECG recordings. Variability of T-wave complexity showed a significant increase with organic and elemental carbon in the same time interval. This study provides evidence suggesting an immediate effect of air pollution on repolarization duration, morphology, and variability representing myocardial substrate and vulnerability, key factors in the mechanisms of cardiac death.
Interareal coupling reduces encoding variability in multi-area models of spatial working memory

Persistent activity observed during delayed-response tasks for spatial working memory (Funahashi et al., 1989) has commonly been modeled by recurrent networks whose dynamics is described as a bump attractor (Compte et al., 2000). We examine the effects of interareal architecture on the dynamics of bump attractors in stochastic neural fields. Lateral inhibitory synaptic structure in each area sustains stationary bumps in the absence of noise. Introducing noise causes bumps in individual areas to wander as a Brownian walk. However, coupling multiple areas together can help reduce the variability of the bump's position in each area. To examine this quantitatively, we approximate the position of the bump in each area using a small noise expansion that also assumes weak amplitude interareal projections. Our asymptotic results show the motion of the bumps in each area can be approximated as a multivariate Ornstein–Uhlenbeck process. This shows reciprocal coupling between areas can always reduce variability, if sufficiently strong, even if one area contains much more noise than the other. However, when noise is correlated between areas, the variability-reducing effect of interareal coupling is diminished. Our results suggest that distributing spatial working memory representations across multiple, reciprocally-coupled brain areas can lead to noise cancelation that ultimately improves encoding.
rTMS of the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex Modulates Dopamine Release in the Ipsilateral Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Orbitofrontal Cortex

Background Brain dopamine is implicated in the regulation of movement, attention, reward and learning and plays an important role in Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and drug addiction. Animal experiments have demonstrated that brain stimulation is able to induce significant dopaminergic changes in extrastriatal areas. Given the up-growing interest of non-invasive brain stimulation as potential tool for treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders, it would be critical to investigate dopaminergic functional interactions in the prefrontal cortex and more in particular the effect of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) (areas 9/46) stimulation on prefrontal dopamine (DA). Methodology/Principal Findings Healthy volunteers were studied with a high-affinity DA D2-receptor radioligand, [11C]FLB 457-PET following 10 Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left and right DLPFC. rTMS on the left DLPFC induced a significant reduction in [11C]FLB 457 binding potential (BP) in the ipsilateral subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) (BA 25/12), pregenual ACC (BA 32) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (BA 11). There were no significant changes in [11C]FLB 457 BP following right DLPFC rTMS. Conclusions/Significance To our knowledge, this is the first study to provide evidence of extrastriatal DA modulation following acute rTMS of DLPFC with its effect limited to the specific areas of medial prefrontal cortex. [11C]FLB 457-PET combined with rTMS may allow to explore the neurochemical functions of specific cortical neural networks and help to identify the neurobiological effects of TMS for the treatment of different neurological and psychiatric diseases.
A novel limited feedback mechanism based on mixed reciprocity and codebook in large scale 3D-MIMO systems

3D-MIMO, using two dimensional antenna array at base station, demonstrates promising throughput gain over conventional antenna system during recent academic and industry studies. To realize the performance gain, accurate channel state information (CSI) feedback is one essential aspect. However, traditional feedback method, either codebook based or reciprocity based, suffers from overhead and partial reciprocity issues, respectively. In this paper, a novel mixed feedback mechanism is proposed, in which reciprocity based feedback is complemented with minimal codebook based feedback, to enable full rank MIMO transmission but with minimal reference signal and CSI reporting overhead. The mechanism is optimized for the case with cross-polarized antenna at base station and two receive/one transmit antenna at UE, which is the most practical LTE cellular system configuration. Numerical evaluations verify that the mixed feedback mechanism can realize 3D-MIMO performance with minimal reference signal overhead, CSI reporting overhead and UE complexity.
Objective assessments of longitudinal outcome in Gilles de la Tourette’s syndrome

Objective: To define the long-term outcome in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) using objective rating measures. Background: Previous historical studies suggest spontaneous improvement of tic symptoms after adolescence, but objective longitudinal data are limited. Methods: The authors reviewed all videotapes in their database (1978 through 1991) of children with GTS (ages 8 to 14) who were seen in their tertiary care movement disorder center and underwent a standardized 5-minute filming protocol (n = 56). Through multiple contact methods, they successfully located 36 of these patients, who are now adults (age >20 years), and recruited 31 (28 men and 3 women) to volunteer for a second videotape and in-person assessment. A blinded rater evaluated the 62 tapes and rated five tic domains: body areas involved, motor and phonic tic frequency, and motor and phonic tic severity. Using standardized GTS videotape rating scale and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests with Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons, the authors compared the two videotapes for each tic domain as well as the composite tic disability score. Results: Ninety percent of adult patients still had tics. Adult patients who considered themselves tic-free were often inaccurate in their self-assessment: 50% had objective evidence of tics. Mean objective tic disability diminished in comparison to childhood (mean composite tic disability score childhood 9.58 vs adulthood 7.52, p = 0.014). All domains improved by adulthood, and significant improvements occurred in motor tic severity (p = 0.008). The improvements in tic disability did not relate to medication use, as only 13% of adults received medications for tics, compared with 81% of children. Conclusions: In GTS syndrome, tics objectively improve over time but most adults have persistent tics.
Simulation and analysis of induction machines with rotor asymmetries

The need for detection of rotor faults at an earlier stage, so that maintenance can be planned ahead, has pushed the development of monitoring methods with increasing sensitivity and noise immunity. An important issue in such an effort is the modeling of the induction machine including rotor bar and end-ring faults, with a minimum of computational complexity. A new and simpler method is employed in the simulation and analysis of an induction motor with rotor asymmetries. Simulation, finite-element analysis, and experimental results are presented to support the proposed approach.
Antileukemia effects of xanthohumol in Bcr/Abl-transformed cells involve nuclear factor-κB and p53 modulation

The oncogenic Bcr-Abl tyrosine kinase activates various signaling pathways including phosphoinositide 3-kinase/Akt and nuclear factor-κB that mediate proliferation, transformation, and apoptosis resistance in Bcr-Abl(+) myeloid leukemia cells. The hop flavonoid xanthohumol inhibits tumor growth by targeting the nuclear factor-κB and Akt pathways and angiogenesis. Here, we show that xanthohumol has in vitro activity against Bcr-Abl(+) cells and clinical samples and retained its cytotoxicity when imatinib mesylate–resistant K562 cells were examined. Xanthohumol inhibition of K562 cell viability was associated with induction of apoptosis, increased p21 and p53 expression, and decreased survivin levels. We show that xanthohumol strongly inhibited Bcr-Abl expression at both mRNA and protein levels and show that xanthohumol caused elevation of intracellular reactive oxygen species and that the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine blunted xanthohumol-induced events. Further, we observed that xanthohumol inhibits leukemia cell invasion, metalloprotease production, and adhesion to endothelial cells, potentially preventing in vivo life-threatening complications of leukostasis and tissue infiltration by leukemic cells. As structural mutations and/or gene amplification in Bcr-Abl can circumvent an otherwise potent anticancer drug such as imatinib, targeting Bcr-Abl expression as well as its kinase activity could be a novel additional therapeutic approach for the treatment of Bcr-Abl(+) myeloid leukemia. [Mol Cancer Ther 2008;7(9):2692–702]
S3PAS: A Scalable Shoulder-Surfing Resistant Textual-Graphical Password Authentication Scheme

The vulnerabilities of the textual password have been well known. Users tend to pick short passwords or passwords that are easy to remember, which makes the passwords vulnerable for attackers to break. Furthermore, textual password is vulnerable to shoulder-surfing, hidden-camera and spyware attacks. Graphical password schemes have been proposed as a possible alternative to text-based scheme. However, they are mostly vulnerable to shoulder-surfing. In this paper, we propose a Scalable Shoulder-Surfing Resistant Textual-Graphical Password Authentication Scheme (S3PAS). S3PAS seamlessly integrates both graphical and textual password schemes and provides nearly perfect resistant to shoulder-surfing, hidden-camera and spyware attacks. It can replace or coexist with conventional textual password systems without changing existing user password profiles. Moreover, it is immune to brute-force attacks through dynamic and volatile session passwords. S3PAS shows significant potential bridging the gap between conventional textual password and graphical password. Further enhancements of S3PAS scheme are proposed and briefly discussed. Theoretical analysis of the security level using S3PAS is also investigated.
Target evaluation for high accuracy 80 GHz FMCW radar distance measurements

Distance sensing tasks in micromachine tools need to be performed with micrometer accuracy. For such tasks, FMCW radars with a combination of frequency and phase evaluations are a good choice. However, the accuracy cannot be freely increased as there are constraints on the target size and placement imposed by the limited space inside micromachines. This paper investigates the influence of target geometry and position on the accuracy of its range estimation using a W-band FMCW radar. A relation between target geometry and accuracy is established through Cramér Rao Lower Bound (CRLB). Based on the measurements of different targets, an optimal shape and size is proposed which provides an average accuracy in the single digit micrometer range. In addition, antenna field regions are analyzed for suitable target placements.
Statistical Inference for Probabilistic Constraint Logic Programming

Most approaches to probabilistic logic programming deal with deduction systems and xpoint semantics for programming systems with user-speci ed weights attached to the formulae of the language, i.e, the aim is to connect logical inference and probabilistic inference. However, such a user-speci c determination of weights is not reusable and often complex. In various applications, automatic methods to estimate weights from empirical data are desirable. This leads to a completely di erent approach to probabilistic logic programming, where the central problem is a speci cation of a probability distribution over the answers of the system and the use of statistical methods to estimate the probabilistic parameters from data. In this paper we present a probabilistic model for constraint logic programming, coupled with an algorithm for statistical inference about the parameters of such probabilistic models from incomplete data. The probability model we use is a powerful log-linear probability distribution over the proof trees that a program yields for a sample of queries. The statistical parameter estimation method we present is an extension of the improved iterative scaling algorithm of Della Pietra, Della Pietra, and La erty (1997) to incomplete data. This extension obviates the need to rely on large samples of analyses of the system for training. In addition, we provide an algorithm for search for most probable proof trees based upon the method of Viterbi (1967). This enables to nd the most probable answer of a query e ciently.
Social Problem Solving, Personality Disorder, and Substance Abuse.

Empirical support for the interrelation between substance abuse, personality disorders, and criminal activity is well summarized in the literature (Brooner, Kidorf, King, & Stoller, 1998; Cottler, Compton, Ridenour, Abdallah, & Gallagher, 1998; Crowley, Mikulich, MacDonald, Young, & Zerbe, 1998; Friedman, 1998; Hernandez-Avila et al., 2000; Kaye, Darke, & Finlay-Jones, 1998; McMurran, Blair, & Egan, 2002; van den Bree, Svikis, & Pickens, 1998). Foremost, substance abuse and personality disorders are highly comorbid, particularly when Antisocial Personality Disorder (APD) is considered (Abram, 1989; Armstrong & Costello, 2002; Carey & Carey, 1990; Kessler et al., 1996; Longato-Stadler, vonKnorring, & Hallman, 2002; Lynam, Leukefeld, & Clayton, 2003; Messina, Wish, Hoffman, & Nemes, 2002; Woody, McLellan, Luborsky, & O’Brien, 1985). The estimated frequency of substance abuse co-occurring with personality disorders ranges from 57–91% across personality disorders (Nace, Davis, & Gaspari, 1991). Furthermore, research suggests that coexisting APD and substance abuse decreases success rates for many different forms of substance abuse treatment (Alterman, Rutherford, Cacciola, McKay, & Boardman, 1998; Goldstein et al., 1999; Rutherford, Alterman, & Cacciola, 2000). These findings are somewhat disheartening given that dual-diagnosis patients have been poorly conceptualized and underserved by traditional mental health (Carey & Carey, 1990). Substance abuse and personality disorders are pervasive and developmentally comorbid. Numerous studies have found that these variables consistently cooccur during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood (Anderson, Mahoney, Wennberg, Kuehlhorn, & Magnusson, 1999; Crowley et al., 1998;