Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In Quest of Significance: Identifying Types of Twitter Sentiment Events that Predict Spikes in Sales

We study the power of Twitter events to predict consumer sales events by analysing sales for 75 companies from the retail sector and over 150 million tweets mentioning those companies along with their sentiment. We suggest an approach for events identification on Twitter extending existing methodologies of event study. We also propose a robust method for clustering Twitter events into different types based on their shape, which captures the varying dynamics of information propagation through the social network. We provide empirical evidence that through events differentiation based on their shape we can clearly identify types of Twitter events that have a more significant power to predict spikes in sales than the aggregated Twitter signal.
Use of computed tomography perfusion for acute stroke in routine clinical practice: Complex scenarios, mimics, and artifacts

Background Computed tomography perfusion is becoming widely accepted and used in acute stroke treatment. Computed tomography perfusion provides pathophysiological information needed in the acute decision making. Moreover, computed tomography perfusion shows excellent correlation with diffusion-weighted imaging and perfusion-weighted sequences to evaluate core and penumbra volumes. Multimodal computed tomography perfusion has practical advantages over magnetic resonance imaging, including availability, accessibility, and speed. Nevertheless, it bears some limitations, as the limited accuracy for small ischemic lesions or brainstem ischemia. Interpretation of the computed tomography perfusion maps can sometimes be difficult. The stroke neurologist faces complex or atypical cases of cerebral ischemia and stroke mimics, and needs to decide whether the “lesions” on computed tomography perfusion are real or artifact. Aims The purpose of this review is, based on clinical cases from a comprehensive stroke center, to describe the added value that computed tomography perfusion can provide to the stroke physician in the acute phase before a treatment decision is made.
An optimized affine projection algorithm for acoustic echo cancellation

The overall performance of the affine projection algorithm (APA) is highly influenced by two important parameters, i.e., the step-size and regularization terms. In this paper, we follow a joint-optimization problem on both these parameters, in the context of a state variable model, which fits very well for acoustic echo cancellation (AEC). Thus, the proposed optimized APA achieves a proper compromise between the performance criteria, i.e., fast convergence/tracking and low misadjustment. Simulations performed in the context of AEC indicate that the proposed algorithm could be an attractive choice for this important application.
Silver Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Wild Mushroom Show Potential Antimicrobial Activities against Food Borne Pathogens

The present study demonstrates an economical and eco-friendly method for the synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) using the wild mushroom Ganoderma sessiliforme. The synthesis of AgNPs was confirmed and the products characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy, dynamic light scattering spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction analysis. Furthermore, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) analysis was performed to identify the viable biomolecules involved in the capping and active stabilization of AgNPs. Moreover, the average sizes and morphologies of AgNPs were analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The potential impacts of AgNPs on food safety and control were evaluated by the antimicrobial activity of the synthesized AgNPs against common food-borne bacteria, namely, Escherichia coli, Bacillus subtilis, Streptococcus faecalis, Listeria innocua and Micrococcus luteus. The results of this study revealed that the synthesized AgNPs can be used to control the growth of food-borne pathogens and have potential application in the food packaging industry. Moreover, the AgNPs were evaluated for antioxidant activity (DPPH), for biocompatibility (L-929, normal fibroblast cells), and for cytotoxic effects on human breast adenosarcoma cells (MCF-7 & MDA-MB231) to highlight their potential for use in a variety of bio-applications.
Clinical Disorders in a Post War British Cohort Reaching Retirement: Evidence from the First National Birth Cohort Study

Background The medical needs of older people are growing because the proportion of the older population is increasing and disease boundaries are widening. This study describes the distribution and clustering of 15 common clinical disorders requiring medical treatment or supervision in a representative British cohort approaching retirement, and how health tracked across adulthood. Methods and Findings The data come from a cohort of 2661 men and women, 84% of the target sample, followed since birth in England, Scotland and Wales in 1946, and assessed at 60–64 years for: cardio and cerebro-vascular disease, hypertension, raised cholesterol, renal impairment, diabetes, obesity, hypothyroidism, hyperthyroidism, anaemia, respiratory disease, liver disease, psychiatric problems, cancers, atrial fibrillation on ECG and osteoporosis. We calculated the proportions disorder-free, with one or more disorders, and the level of undiagnosed disorders; and how these disorders cluster into latent classes and relate to health assessed at 36 years. Participants had, on average, two disorders (range 0–9); only 15% were disorder-free. The commonest disorders were hypertension (54.3%, 95% CI 51.8%–56.7%), obesity (31.1%, 28.8%–33.5%), raised cholesterol (25.6%, 23.1–28.26%), and diabetes or impaired fasting glucose (25.0%, 22.6–27.5%). A cluster of one in five individuals had a high probability of cardio-metabolic disorders and were twice as likely than others to have been in the poorest health at 36 years. The main limitations are that the native born sample is entirely white, and a combination of clinical assessments and self reports were used. Conclusions Most British people reaching retirement already have clinical disorders requiring medical supervision. Widening disease definitions and the move from a disease-based to a risk-based medical model will increase pressure on health services. The promotion of healthy ageing should start earlier in life and consider the individual's ability to adapt to and self manage changes in health.
MPPT controllers for PV array panel connected to Grid

This paper proposes a grid-connected Photovoltaic energy system through a three-phases DC-AC converter. For this purpose, the characterization of the PV system, integrating the maximum power point strategy (MPPT) based on Fractional Open-Circuit Voltage (FOV) and Fractional Short-Circuit Current (FSC) methods, is developed and treated under the software MATLAB / Simulink. Thereafter, the proposed design of three phases grid-connected inverter system has been simulated.
On the Physical Layer Security Analysis of Hybrid Millimeter Wave Networks

To cope up with the explosive growth of mobile data demand, the fifth-generation mobile network intents to exploit the available spectrum in millimeter-wave (mmWave) band to boost the communication capacity. However, for a potential mmWave communication to happen, challenges, as propagation losses and blockages, have to be dealt with. Abundant literature illustrating techniques to circumvent these challenges and increase the cellular capacity can be found. Among the approaches used to overcome the challenges in mmWave networks, optimal transmit precoding design, spatial reuse of mmWave base stations (BSs), and mmWave-overlaid microwave ( $\mu$ Wave) cellular networks are employed. This paper focuses on the performance analysis of mmWave-overlaid microwave cellular networks, from security perspective. We particularly developed a mathematical framework to analyze the connection outage probability, the secrecy outage probability, and the achievable average secrecy rate of the hybrid mmWave network, while taking fading and the impact of blockages into consideration. Moreover, based on the received signal strength, we formulated a scheme for a generic mobile user to be associated with either the mmWave or $\mu$ Wave network. The exact average secrecy rate of mmWave networks is also formulated using moment generating and Laplace functions as a tool. The derived analytic expressions are validated via simulation results; for different antenna gain, eavesdropper density, BS, and blockage density.
Trajectory planning of automated vehicles in tube-like road segments

This paper presents a method based on linear programming for trajectory planning of automated vehicles, combining obstacle avoidance, time scheduling for the reaching of waypoints, and time-optimal traversal of tube-like road segments. System modeling is conducted entirely spatial-based. Kinematic vehicle dynamics as well as time are expressed in a road-aligned coordinate frame with path along the road centerline serving as the dependent variable. We elaborate on control rate constraints in the spatial domain. A vehicle dimension constraint heuristic is proposed to constrain vehicle dimensions inside road boundaries. It is outlined how friction constraints are accounted for. The discussion is extended to dynamic vehicle models. The benefits of the proposed method are illustrated by a comparison to a time-based method.
Predictors of asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease from a tertiary care center in India

Background: There is dearth of literature on asthma-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease overlap syndrome (ACOS) in India. The aim was to compare clinical characteristics between patients with ACOS and non-ACOS COPD and to identify clinical predictors of ACOS in patients with COPD. Methods: We conducted a retrospective study by reviewing data collected from patients performing spirometry at our hospital. Those with postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC <70% were included in the study. Among them, those with significant reversibility (change in FEV1or FVC by 12% and 200 ml postbronchodilator) were diagnosed with ACOS and the rest were considered to have non-ACOS COPD. Data on the 2 groups were compared and statistical analysis was performed. Results: Out of a total of 324 patients, 100 of them had postbronchodilator FEV1/FVC <70%. Of them, 45 and 55 were diagnosed with ACOS and non-ACOS COPD, respectively. Patients with ACOS had significantly higher postbronchodilator FVC volumes and FVC % predicted values (P < 0.05), had higher reported wheeze (P = 0.02) and ankle edema (P < 0.05), were more likely to be smokers (P = 0.01) with lower smoking index (P = 0.03), and had frequent (≥2) ER visits (P = 0.04). However, very frequent (≥3 per year) hospital admissions (P < 0.01) with higher rates of invasive mechanical ventilation (P = 0.02), and pulmonary hypertension diagnosed by two-dimensional echocardiography (P < 0.01) were significantly higher in the non-ACOS group. The two groups did not differ with respect to history of atopy, family history of wheeze, compliance to inhaler therapy, or blood absolute eosinophil counts. Conclusion: Our study highlights how the ACOS phenotype may clinically differ from their counterparts elsewhere, making it a clinical challenge to identify them in India.
Detection method of wide-area incident with massive probe vehicle data

Recent advances in information and communication technologies enable us to collect large spatio-temporal data of road traffic and to provide continuous, specific, historical, and wide-area datasets. Probe vehicle data are one of the most widely used passive datasets that can potentially observe wide ranges in the network, as they do not require fixed sensors. Such datasets potentially observe various phenomena which are caused by various reasons. However, it is not easy to detect significant incidents from such phenomenon due to the multi-dimensional form of the dataset and the large size required to scan the entire dataset. Incident detection is one of the significant approaches for monitoring of traffic flow and data cleansing to acquire “typical traffic situation” for analysis of measures and calibrations of models. Several previous studies have attempted to determine the local changes in the traffic flow. However, a few studies investigated a method to explore the significant incidents influencing wide-ranges of the spatio-temporal dimension which are possibly caused by the changes on either or both the service and demand side. This study proposes a data mining method to detect unusual situations in large-scale road network from a large volume of probe vehicle dataset. The method employs a nonparametric probabilistic function and the Markov random field to consider the spatio-temporal correlations in the probe vehicle dataset. The method is applied to an actual dataset provided by 40000 commercial vehicles all over Japan.
Ferroelectric composites for pyro-and piezoelectric applications

Composites made by dispersing a ferroelectric ceramic powder in a polymer host have been fabricated and evaluated for their pyroelectric and piezoelectric properties. Lead zirconate titanate (PZT5A), calcium modified lead titanate (PTCa) and lanthanum doped lead zirconate titanate (PLZT) have been used as the electroactive dispersoid while the polymer polyvinylidene fluoride PVDF and its copolymer with trifluorethylene P(VDF/TrFE), have been used as hosts. It has been found that the electro-active properties were highest in the composite using PTCa powder obtained through a quenching process dispersed in P(VDF/TrFE). The pyroelectric coefficient p, in this composite was 1301.1C/m 2K, while its Figure Of Merit pie, where E is the permittivity, had a value around 2 pE/m2K the latter value being comparable to that of the pure ceramic. The piezoelectric constant d33 in the same composite had a value of 48 pC/N, the thickness mode electromechanical coupling factor kt was 0.24 and the acoustic impedance was equal to 16 MRayl. These piezo-properties are not so attractive for an ultrasonic transducer because PZT5A has better characteristics for an emitter while P(VDF/TrFE) on its own performs better as a receiver. In this work a measurement technique has been developed which has been applied successfully to the measurement of the polarization hysteresis in composites. A value of 0.15 C/m 2 for the remnant polarization has been found for the composite mentioned above, while its coercive field was 18 MV/m. A model, so-called mixed connectivity cube, has also been described which attempts to predict the properties of the composites based on the properties of the constituent materials with an emphasis on their connectivity.
Psychosocial interventions for internalizing disorders in youth and adults with ASD

Abstract Internalizing disorders are common in individuals with ASD. Psychosocial interventions targeting these disorders in the ASD population have burgeoned in the last decade. Cognitive-behavioural therapy, modified for ASD, is the most frequently investigated model, although other interventions, including behaviour therapy, third-wave interventions, models targeting transdiagnostic constructs, and alternative interventions and treatment delivery methods are now emerging. This review provides a summary of the efficacy of these interventions in treating internalizing disorders in youth and adults with ASD. The barriers to accessing these treatments, which are experienced by many individuals with ASD and their families, as well as future research directions, are also discussed.
Lung organoids: current uses and future promise

ABSTRACT Lungs are composed of a system of highly branched tubes that bring air into the alveoli, where gas exchange takes place. The proximal and distal regions of the lung contain epithelial cells specialized for different functions: basal, secretory and ciliated cells in the conducting airways and type II and type I cells lining the alveoli. Basal, secretory and type II cells can be grown in three-dimensional culture, with or without supporting stromal cells, and under these conditions they give rise to self-organizing structures known as organoids. This Review summarizes the different methods for generating organoids from cells isolated from human and mouse lungs, and compares their final structure and cellular composition with that of the airways or alveoli of the adult lung. We also discuss the potential and limitations of organoids for addressing outstanding questions in lung biology and for developing new drugs for disorders such as cystic fibrosis and asthma. Summary: This Review article explores the latest advances in both adult and embryonic stem cell-derived lung organoid culture, and discusses how these systems can be used to understand homeostasis and regeneration.
Towards tactical behaviour planning under uncertainties for automated vehicles in urban scenarios

In recent years, automated driving has gained the public spotlight as more prototypes are tested amongst human drivers. Since driving is a social behavior, automated vehicles (AVs) have to cooperate with other road users in shared driving spaces. Therefore tactical behaviour planning with respect to the intentions of the surrounding road users is an essential functionality at the maneuver level. Moreover, the incorporation of uncertainty in road users intentions and sensor measurements is of high importance, especially in urban scenarios. This paper presents a generalized approach towards high level decision making for automated vehicles encountering by formulating the problem as a continuous Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) by combining the advantage of two state of the art solvers — MCVI and SARSOP. Furthermore, the uncertainties in intention estimation model of the road users are incorporated using a discrete bayesian network. Validation has been done for longitudinal behavior planning in varied unsignalized intersection-based scenarios using the simulation software IPG CarMaker.
A new method in wheel hub surface defect detection: Object detection algorithm based on deep learning

In wheel hub surface defect detection, a unified image background is required. However, it is a challenging task because of the various categories of wheel hubs, and the complicated image background of the defect areas caused by the collection of the images with the defect areas in a narrow field of vision. Compared to the traditional method, the deep learning algorithm is more robust, which doesn't need the unified image background. We use Faster-RCNN with ResNet-101 as the object detection algorithm. And our related experiments show that our deep learning method is able to detect the scratches and points on the wheel hub in an image with a complicated background, as shown in Figure5. Furthermore, the model can detect defects on any part of the wheel hub of various types, and obtain the position and the class of the defective area. Particularly, the method achieves 86.3% mAP on our own data set.
Computing the Minimum Distance of Nonbinary LDPC Codes

Finding the minimum distance of low-density-parity-check (LDPC) codes is an NP-hard problem. Different from all existing works that focus on binary LDPC codes, we in this paper aim to compute the minimum distance of nonbinary LDPC codes, motivated by the fact that operating in a large Galois field provides one important degree of freedom to achieve both good waterfall and error-floor performance. Our method is based on the existing nearest nonzero codeword search (NNCS) method, but several modifications are incorporated for nonbinary LDPC codes, including the modified error impulse pattern, the dithering method, and the nonbinary decoder. Numerical results on the estimated minimum distances show that a code's minimum distance can be increased by careful selection of nonzero elements of the parity check matrix, or by increasing the mean column weight, or by increasing the size of the Galois field. These results support observations that have been made based on simulated performance in the literature. Finally, we provide an upper bound on the minimum distance for nonbinary quasi-cyclic LDPC codes.
Bearing Rigidity Theory and Its Applications for Control and Estimation of Network Systems: Life Beyond Distance Rigidity

Distributed control and location estimation of multiagent systems have received tremendous research attention in recent years because of their potential across many application domains [1], [2]. The term agent can represent a sensor, autonomous vehicle, or any general dynamical system. Multiagent systems are attractive because of their robustness against system failure, ability to adapt to dynamic and uncertain environments, and economic advantages compared to the implementation of more expensive monolithic systems.
Crocin exerts anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects on type II collagen-induced arthritis in rats

Abstract Context: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a common systemic auto-immune disease, which is characterized by chronic and symmetry synovial inflammation. Crocin has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory effects in animal models. Objective: This study investigates the anti-inflammatory and anti-arthritic effects of crocin on type II collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) in Wistar rats. Materials and methods: The CIA rat model was established and randomly divided into five groups with or without crocin treatment (10, 20 or 40 mg/kg), which was started on day 21 after arthritis induction and persisted for 36 days. The symptoms and molecular mechanisms of CIA and crocin-treated CIA rats were compared and investigated. Results: CIA rats presented severe RA symptoms, including high arthritis score, paw swelling, joint inflammation, bone erosion, chondrocyte death, cartilage destruction, enhanced expressions of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) and pro-inflammatory cytokines. However, crocin could mitigate these symptoms. Crocin (40 mg/kg) exhibited the most efficient therapeutic function on CIA rats: the histological scores of joint inflammation, bone erosion, chondrocyte death, cartilage surface erosion, and bone erosion of CIA rats receiving 40 mg/kg crocin treatment were comparable to the normal rats. MMP-1, -3 and -13 protein expression levels of CIA rats with 40 mg/kg crocin treatment were decreased to levels similar to normal rats. Moreover, crocin could also inhibit the expression of TNF-α, IL-17, IL-6 and CXCL8 in serum and ankle tissues of CIA rats. Conclusions: In summary, crocin exhibits therapeutic potential for RA, by mitigating the symptoms and inhibiting the pro-inflammatory factor expression.