Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
”Big Data” Initiative as an IT Solution for Improved Operation and Maintenance of Wind Turbines

“Big Data” (BD) problems require handling extremely large or complex datasets that would be difficult and expensive using traditional relational databases. Software solutions with distributed processing, weakened consistency requirements and well-designed data models help overcoming scalability issues. Wind energy systems produce extremely large datasets. Today’s wind farm operators either do not collect all available data in a central, easy to access database, or they delete valuable data, because of scalability issues of traditional databases. Emerging “Big Data” tools and algorithms enable collecting all of the most detailed data; moreover, data may not be deleted at all. This is a huge advantage for wind farm operators, because detailed information can be (re)used later for many purposes: e.g., building failure detection and prognosis models, ad-hoc analysis of the past becomes feasible. The paper shows how detailed operation data from a large number of wind farms can be collected and stored for further use. A Business Intelligence (BI) reporting prototype system for wind farm analytics is described, with describing typical cases of wind turbine operations where advantages of the “Big Data” initiative can be exploited. Performance tests for collecting and storing of SCADA data from many wind farms prove the advantages and applicability of the proposed method.
Crossmodal reorganization in the early deaf switches sensory, but not behavioral roles of auditory cortex

It is well known that early disruption of sensory input from one modality can induce crossmodal reorganization of a deprived cortical area, resulting in compensatory abilities in the remaining senses. Compensatory effects, however, occur in selected cortical regions and it is not known whether such compensatory phenomena have any relation to the original function of the reorganized area. In the cortex of hearing cats, the auditory field of the anterior ectosylvian sulcus (FAES) is largely responsive to acoustic stimulation and its unilateral deactivation results in profound contralateral acoustic orienting deficits. Given these functional and behavioral roles, the FAES was studied in early-deafened cats to examine its crossmodal sensory properties as well as to assess the behavioral role of that reorganization. Recordings in the FAES of early-deafened adults revealed robust responses to visual stimulation as well as receptive fields that collectively represented the contralateral visual field. A second group of early-deafened cats was trained to localize visual targets in a perimetry array. In these animals, cooling loops were surgically placed on the FAES to reversibly deactivate the region, which resulted in substantial contralateral visual orienting deficits. These results demonstrate that crossmodal plasticity can substitute one sensory modality for another while maintaining the functional repertoire of the reorganized region.
A Reexamination of Sex Differences in Sexuality

Recent evidence seems to call into question long-established findings of sex differences in sexuality, such as differences in mate preferences and desires for casual sex. In this article, we place new findings in a broader evidence-based context and show that they confirm previous perspectives on human mating. A wealth of evidence from real-world studies of actual mate choice and marital dynamics supports evolutionary mate-preference predictions. Converging evidence from patterns of extradyadic sex, mate poaching, sexual fantasies, pornography consumption, postcoital regret, sociosexual attitudes, and willingness to engage in casual sex supports the view that men and women have distinct short-term mating psychologies. This article highlights the fact that good science requires a constant re-evaluation of old truths and the proper placement of new studies in broad evidentiary contexts.
Cognitive components of social capital and mental health status among older adults: A population-based cross-sectional study

Aims: To determine the associations between the cognitive aspects of social capital and mental health status in older adults. Methods: Data on older people (65 years of age or older, n = 1,102) were retrieved from a general population mental health survey conducted in Finland in 2008. The response rate was 61%. The associations between self-reported depression (measured by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview Short Form, CIDI-SF) or psychological distress (measured by the General Health Questionnaire, GHQ-12) and perceived social support, sense of belonging, and trust were tested by logistic regression analyses. Results: For the cognitive social capital indicators, difficult access to help from neighbours showed a significant association with depression. Furthermore, not having people to count on, experiencing a lack of concern from other people, and feeling mistrust towards other people were all significantly associated with psychological distress. Conclusions: Links between mental health and cognitive social capital indicate that social support and trust may be important factors to consider when developing interventions to promote mental health and prevent mental disorders among older adults.
A CONTINGENCY MODEL FOR THE PREDICTION OF LEADER SHIP EFFECTIVENESS

Abstract : A model for the prediction of group performance is described which attempts an integration of the group effectiveness research conducted over the past twelve years with ASo and LPC scores on 21 different types of groups. The model is predicated on the assumption that the type of leader ship behavior required for good group performance is contingent upon favorableness of the group task situation for the leader. Given the group's classification, group performance can then be predicted on the basis of the leader's permissive, non-directive, considerate (High LPC) vs., controlling, managing, directive (Low LPC) leadership behavior. Previously obtained data are classified in accordance with three major dimensions, viz., affective leader-member relations, task structure, and leader-position power. A subsequent ordering of groups on the underlying dimension of the favorableness of the group-task situation for the leader can then be completed. Plotting leader attitudes and behaviors against the favorableness of the situation for the leader generates a U-shaped curve which indicates that controlling, managing, directive attitudes are required for conditions which are very favorable or very unfavorable to the leader, while permissive, non-directive, and considerate behavior is required for moderately unpleasant or unfavorable-task situations.
Blood flow dynamics in the vertebrobasilar system: correlation of a transparent elastic model and MR angiography.

PURPOSE To describe the flow patterns in a model of the vertebrobasilar artery and use these observations to explain the appearance of the flow on the MR images. METHODS We created an anatomically precise, transparent elastic model of the human vertebrobasilar artery containing a basilar tip aneurysm and perfused the model with non-Newtonian fluid which has similar rheologic properties to blood. Flow patterns in the vessels were directly observed. MR angiogram images were obtained with commercially available two-dimensional time-of-flight, three-dimensional time-of-flight, and 3-D phase-contrast MR angiographic pulse sequences, and they were correlated with the directly seen flow patterns. Quantitative flow velocity measurements were performed with 2-D cine phase-contrast MR angiography and correlated with the flow measured with an electromagnetic flow meter. RESULTS Visualization studies showed the dye stream patterns in the vertebrobasilar arteries to be extremely complex and variable. During the MR experiments we found that often the same segment of a vessel could appear very different depending on the pulse sequence. In some instances, the model experiments helped to explain the MR appearance of the vessels. Flow profiles measured with 2-D cine phase contrast were found to be consistent with those measured directly with an electromagnetic flow meter. CONCLUSION Clear elastic models can be used to duplicate the flow in human cranial vessels and thus provide a unique means to observe these flow patterns directly. The flow patterns helped to explain the variation in appearance of the vessels and the artifacts with different MR angiography pulse sequences. The artifacts depend on both the geometry of the vessel and the flow pattern within it. Two-dimensional cine phase-contrast MR provides temporal flow field information that is directly related to physiological information about flow volumes and velocity patterns.
Visualizing the Evolution of Module Workflows

Module workflows are used to generate custom applications with modular software frameworks. They describe data flow between the modular components and their execution under certain parameter configurations. In many cases, module workflows are modeled in a graphical way by the user. To come up with the final result or to explore multiple solutions, they often undergo many iterations of adaptation. Furthermore, existing workflows may be reused for new applications. We visualize the evolution of module workflows with a focus-and-context approach and visualization techniques for time-dependent data. Our approach provides insight into user behavior and the characteristics of the underlying systems. As our examples show, this can help identify usability issues and indicate options to improve the effectiveness of the system. We demonstrate our approach for module workflows in Vis Trails, a modular visualization system that allows building custom visualizations by combining different modules for processing and visualizing data.
Linear precoded cooperative transmission protocol for wireless broadcast channels

One of the main challenges in the wireless broadcast channels is the co-channel interference among multiple destinations. Practical linear precoding techniques such as zero-forcing beamforming (ZFBF) is used to avoid the co-channel interference. However, the achievable diversity order of the ZFBF is bounded by the number of transmitter antennas. In this paper, we introduce a spectral efficient cooperative broadcast channels transmission protocol in the MISO channels using linear precoding. We evaluate the performance of the proposed protocol using the diversity and multiplexing tradeoff. The proposed protocol can achieve the maximum diversity order expressed as a sum of the transmitter antennas and the number of participating relays. For a large number of relay candidates, the diversity and multiplexing tradeoff of the proposed protocol completely surpasses the performance of the comparable scheme. Simulations have also shown the outage probability of the proposed protocol outperforms the existing scheme.
Towards edible interfaces: designing interactions with food

Food provides humans with some of the most universal and rich sensory experiences possible. For a long time technology was unable to recreate such experiences but now new innovations are changing that. Using the novel manufacturing technology of 3D printed food, I am developing ‘Edible Interfaces’. My research uses a user-centered research approach to focus on food as material for interactive experience in HCI. This will lead to development of Edible Interfaces that are built on the understanding and application of the experiential affordances of food. Designing with food allows the creation of forms of experience not possible through traditional interfaces. My studies so far have explored the perceptions of 3D printed food and potentials for food to advance affective computing. This knowledge is broadening on-going work in the field of multi-sensory HCI and delivering a new perspective on how we design for experience.
The SNARE protein vti1a functions in dense‐core vesicle biogenesis

The SNARE protein vti1a is proposed to drive fusion of intracellular organelles, but recent data also implicated vti1a in exocytosis. Here we show that vti1a is absent from mature secretory vesicles in adrenal chromaffin cells, but localizes to a compartment near the trans‐Golgi network, partially overlapping with syntaxin‐6. Exocytosis is impaired in vti1a null cells, partly due to fewer Ca2+‐channels at the plasma membrane, partly due to fewer vesicles of reduced size and synaptobrevin‐2 content. In contrast, release kinetics and Ca2+‐sensitivity remain unchanged, indicating that the final fusion reaction leading to transmitter release is unperturbed. Additional deletion of the closest related SNARE, vti1b, does not exacerbate the vti1a phenotype, and vti1b null cells show no secretion defects, indicating that vti1b does not participate in exocytosis. Long‐term re‐expression of vti1a (days) was necessary for restoration of secretory capacity, whereas strong short‐term expression (hours) was ineffective, consistent with vti1a involvement in an upstream step related to vesicle generation, rather than in fusion. We conclude that vti1a functions in vesicle generation and Ca2+‐channel trafficking, but is dispensable for transmitter release.
Toward a Multi-Robot Coordination Formalism

Abstract : Coordination is an essential characteristic of any system, either natural or artificial, that is composed of multiple interacting agents. The mechanism by which the coordination is achieved determines such properties as how robust the system is to environmental perturbations, how efficient it is in performing a given task, and, more generally, what types of coordinated tasks can be achieved. A formal understanding of these issues will permit more focused analysis of coordinated natural systems and more effective approaches to the design of coordinated artificial systems. Toward this end, we are systematically investigating coordination in the context of multi-robot systems. We present a formal framework for multi-robot system (MRS) coordination and use it to discuss and reason about coordination. Using this principled foundation, we are developing a suite of general methods by which to automatically synthesize controllers for robots constituting a MRS such that a given task is performed in a coordinated fashion. This paper presents a method for the automatic synthesis of a specific type of controller, one that retains some internal state (e.g., memory of past occurrences) but is not capable of communication. Understanding the capabilities and limitations of a coordinated system composed of individual agents with such properties contributes to the understanding of when memory alone is sufficient to achieve the desired coordination and when other capabilities, such as communication, may be necessary. We validate our formal approach to the study of coordination in a multi-robot construction task domain through the use of both physically-realistic simulations and real-robot demonstrations.
Further constructions of strict Lyapunov functions for time-varying systems

We announce new methods for explicitly constructing strict input-to-state stable (ISS) Lyapunov functions for time-varying nonlinear systems. Our constructions are expressed in terms of nonstrict ISS Lyapunov functions which we assume are given. The nonstrict Lyapunov functions can in turn he constructed by known methods for many systems of interest. We also provide a new method for explicitly constructing input-to-output stable (IOS) Lyapunov functions for time-varying systems with outputs. We illustrate our results using a tracking problem for a rotating rigid body.
From Requirements to Continuous Re-prioritization of Hypotheses

Typically, customer feedback collected in the pre-study, and during the early stages of software development, determines what new features to develop. However, once the decision to develop a new feature is taken, companies stop validating if this feature adds value to its intended customers. Instead, focus is shifted towards developing and implementing the feature. As a result, re-prioritization of feature content is rare, and companies find it difficult to continuously assess and validate feature value. In this paper, we explore the data collection practices in five software development companies. We introduce a model that allows continuous re-prioritization of features. Our model advocates a development approach in which requirements are viewed as hypotheses that need to be continuously validated, and where customer feedback is used to continuously re-prioritize feature content. We identify how the model helps companies transition from early specification of requirements towards continuous re-prioritization of hypotheses.
Diabetes Limits Stem Cell Mobilization Following G-CSF but Not Plerixafor

Previous studies suggest that diabetes impairs hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) mobilization in response to granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). In this study, we tested whether the CXCR4 antagonist plerixafor, differently from G-CSF, is effective in mobilizing HSCs in patients with diabetes. In a prospective study, individuals with and without diabetes (n = 10/group) were administered plerixafor to compare CD34+ HSC mobilization; plerixafor was equally able to mobilize CD34+ HSCs in the two groups, whereas in historical data, G-CSF was less effective in patients with diabetes. In a retrospective autologous transplantation study conducted on 706 patients, diabetes was associated with poorer mobilization in patients who received G-CSF with/without chemotherapy, whereas it was not in patients who received G-CSF plus plerixafor. Similarly in an allogeneic transplantation study (n = 335), diabetes was associated with poorer mobilization in patients who received G-CSF. Patients with diabetes who received G-CSF without plerixafor had a lower probability of reaching >50/μL CD34+ HSCs, independent from confounding variables. In conclusion, diabetes negatively impacted HSC mobilization after G-CSF with or without chemotherapy but had no effect on mobilization induced by G-CSF with plerixafor. This finding has major implications for the care of patients with diabetes undergoing stem cell mobilization and transplantation and for the vascular regenerative potential of bone marrow stem cells.
Is older adult care mediated by caregivers’ cultural stereotypes? The role of competence and warmth attribution

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine, from the stereotype content model (SCM) perspective, the role of the competence and warmth stereotypes of older adults held by professional caregivers. Methods A quasi-experimental design, ex post facto with observational analyses, was used in this study. The cultural view on competence and warmth was assessed in 100 caregivers working in a set of six residential geriatric care units (three of them organized following a person-centered care approach and the other three providing standard geriatric care). In order to assess caregivers’ cultural stereotypical views, the SCM questionnaire was administered. To evaluate the role of caregivers’ cultural stereotypes in their professional performance as well as in older adult functioning, two observational scales from the Sistema de Evaluación de Residencias de Ancianos (assessment system for older adults residences)-RS (staff functioning and residents’ functioning) were applied. Results Caregivers’ cultural views of older adults (compared to young people) are characterized by low competence and high warmth, replicating the data obtained elsewhere from the SCM. Most importantly, the person-centered units predict better staff performance and better resident functioning than standard units. Moreover, cultural stereotyping of older adult competence moderates the effects of staff performance on resident functioning, in line with the findings of previous research. Conclusion Our results underline the influence of caregivers’ cultural stereotypes on the type of care, as well as on their professional behaviors and on older adult functioning. Caregivers’ cultural stereotypes could be considered as a central issue in older adult care since they mediate the triangle of care: caregivers/older adults/type of care; therefore, much more attention should be paid to this psychosocial care component.
Vibrio Pathogenicity Island and Cholera Toxin Genetic Element-Associated Virulence Genes and Their Expression in Non-O1 Non-O139 Strains of Vibrio cholerae

ABSTRACT A non-O1 non-O139 Vibrio cholerae strain, 10259, belonging to the serogroup O53 was shown to harbor genes related to the vibrio pathogenicity island (VPI) and a cholera toxin (CT) genetic element called CTX. While the nucleotide sequence of the strain 10259 tcpA gene differed significantly (26 and 28%) from those of O1 classical and El Tor biotype strains, respectively, partial sequence analysis data of certain other VPI-associated genes (aldA, tagA, tcpP/H, toxT, acfB/C, and int) and intergenic regions (tcpF to toxT and tcpH to tcpA) of the strain showed only minor variations (0.4 to 4.8%) from corresponding sequences in O1 strains. Strain 10259 also contained CTX element-associated toxin genes with sequences almost identical to those of O1 strains. Growth of the organism in Luria broth (LB) under ToxR inducing conditions (30°C and pH 6.5) led to transcriptional activation of tcpP/H, toxR, toxT, and tcpA genes, but not of ctxA, as determined by reverse transcription-PCR (RT-PCR). Subsequent analysis revealed that strain 10259 possessed only two copies (instead of three or more copies found in epidemic-causing O1 or O139 strains) of the heptanucleotide (TTTTGAT) repeats in the intergenic region upstream of ctxAB. Therefore, a strain 10259 mutant was generated by replacement of this region with a homologous region (1.4 kb) derived from a V. cholerae O1 classical biotype strain (O395) that contained seven such repeats. The resultant recombinant strain (10259R) was found to be capable of coordinately regulated expression of toxT, ctxA, and tcpA when grown under the ToxR inducing conditions. Serological studies also demonstrated that the recombinant strain produced TcpA and a significantly (∼1,000-fold) higher level of CT in vitro compared to that of the parent strain. Virulence gene expression in two other non-O1 non-O139 strains (serogroup O37) containing VPI and the CTX element was studied by RT-PCR and serological assay. One strain (S7, which was involved in an epidemic in Sudan in 1968) showed coordinately regulated expression of virulence genes leading to the production of both CT and TcpA in LB medium. However, the other strain, V2, produced RT-PCR-detectable transcripts of toxT, ctxA, or tcpA genes in the early phase (6 h), but not in the late phase (16 h) of growth in LB medium. These results are consistent with the low levels of production of CT and TcpA by the strain that were serologically detectable. The significance of these results is discussed in relation to the role of virulence genes and their expression to the pathogenic potential of V. cholerae strains belonging to non-O1 serogroups.
Projective reconstruction for robot vision system

Intelligent robot control systems usually require the knowledge about the surrounding environment in order to achieve difficult, high level tasks, such as path planning or collision avoidance. Usually visual information provided by uncalibrated cameras is used to reconstruct the scene. This paper proposes two new resection-intersection type methods that can be used to recover 3D projective structure and camera matrices from multiple images taken about the scene. The only inputs of the algorithm are 2D feature sets (points, lines) extracted from raw camera images