Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A High-Efficiency and Long-Distance Power-Relay System with Equal Power Distribution

This paper proposes a wireless power repeater system for long-distance and multiple-load applications with equal power load at each repeater. Each repeater performs as a power relay that not only receives and transmits power, but also supplies power to its local load. The main contribution of this paper is to provide the design methodology of a distributed power relay system. First, it provides the mathematical model of the power distribution among the power relays, indicating that the inductances and resistances can affect the power distribution. Second, it provides the power transfer capability of a power relay system based on the quality factor and efficiency requirement, indicating the maximum achievable number of power relays in a system. Aiming at practical applications, this paper provides the guideline for the circuit parameter design to achieve equal power distribution. Two typical examples are proposed to realize equal power distribution. The identical Mn and different Rn example is selected for implementation. The coil size is 400mm×400mm, and the eight power relays achieve a transfer distance of 3.2m with total power of 760 W and efficiency of 70%. Experimental results validate that equal power distribution is achieved for the multiple loads across a long distance. Each power relay dissipates about 95W power in its local load with a power variation limited to ±2%.
Versatile and Finely Tuned Albumin Nanoplatform based on Click Chemistry

Albumin is one of the most attractive nanoplatforms for targeted imaging and drug delivery due to its biocompatibility and long circulation half-life. However, previously reported albumin-based nanoplatforms have shown inconsistent blood circulation half-life according to the modified methods, and the affecting factors were not well evaluated, which could hamper the clinical translation of albumin-based nanoplatforms. Herein, we developed a finely tuned click-chemistry based albumin nanoplatform (CAN) with a longer circulation half-life and an efficient tumor targeting ability. Methods: CAN was synthesized in two steps. First, albumin was conjugated with ADIBO-NHS (albumin-ADIBO) by reacting albumin with various molar ratios of ADIBO. The number of attached ADIBO moieties was determined using matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF). Second, the desired modalities including azide-functionalized chelator, a fluorescence dye, and folate were incorporated into albumin-ADIBO using strain-promoted alkyne-azide cycloaddition reaction (SPAAC reaction). The biodistribution and targeting efficiency of functionalized CANs were demonstrated in mice. Results: The degree of functionalization (DOF) and resulting in vivo biodistribution was controlled precisely using the click chemistry approach. Specifically, the numbers of attached azadibenzocyclooctyne (ADIBO) moieties on albumin, the DOF, were optimized by reacting albumin with varying molar ratios of ADIBO with a high reproducibility. Furthermore, we developed a simple and efficient method to estimate the DOF using UV-visible spectrophotometry (UV-vis), which was further validated by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time of flight (MALDI-TOF). The biodistribution of CAN could be controlled by DOF, and CAN with an optimized DOF showed a long circulation half-life (> 18 h). CAN was further functionalized using a simple click chemistry reaction with an azide functionalized chelator, a fluorescence dye, and folate. 64Cu- and folate-labeled CAN (64Cu-CAN-FA) showed effective and specific folate receptor targeting in vivo, with an over two-fold higher uptake than the liver at 24 h post-injection. Conclusions: Our development from the precisely controlled DOF demonstrates that an optimized CAN can be used as a multifunctional nanoplatform to obtain a longer half-life with radioisotopes and ligands, and provides an effective method for the development of albumin-based tumor theranostic agents.
Pilot study of optical coherence tomography measurement of retinal blood flow in retinal and optic nerve diseases.

PURPOSE To investigate blood flow changes in retinal and optic nerve diseases with Doppler Fourier domain optical coherence tomography (OCT). METHODS Sixty-two participants were divided into five groups: normal, glaucoma, nonarteritic ischemic optic neuropathy (NAION), treated proliferative diabetic retinopathy (PDR), and branch retinal vein occlusion (BRVO). Doppler OCT was used to scan concentric circles of 3.4- and 3.75-mm diameters around the optic nerve head. Flow in retinal veins was calculated from the OCT velocity profiles. Arterial and venous diameters were measured from OCT Doppler and reflectance images. RESULTS Total retinal blood flow in normal subjects averaged 47.6 μL/min. The coefficient of variation of repeated measurements was 11% in normal eyes and 14% in diseased eyes. Eyes with glaucoma, NAION, treated PDR, and BRVO had significantly decreased retinal blood flow compared with normal eyes (P < 0.001). In glaucoma patients, the decrease in blood flow was highly correlated with the severity of visual field loss (P = 0.003). In NAION and BRVO patients, the hemisphere with more severe disease also had lower blood flow. CONCLUSIONS Doppler OCT retinal blood flow measurements showed good repeatability and excellent correlation with visual field and clinical presentations. This approach could enhance our understanding of retinal and optic nerve diseases and facilitate the development of new therapies.
Dynamic Autotuning of Algorithmic Skeletons Informatics Research Proposal

The rapid transition towards multicore hardware has left application programmers requiring higher-level abstractions for coping with the complexity of parallel programming. Algorithmic Skeletons provide such abstractions but, without extensive tuning, typically cannot compete with the performance of hand optimised code. This paper proposes developing a dynamic, “always-on” autotuner for SkelCL, an Algorithmic Skeleton library which enables high-level programming of multi-GPU systems. An online machine learning system will be used to create a feedback loop of constant testing and evaluation of skeleton parameters across the lifespan of programs. It will use dynamic features extracted from muscle functions and input data to maximise runtime performance. Such a system will extend the state of the art by enabling empirical optimisation without the huge offline training phases associated with iterative compilation.
A sensor kinase recognizing the cell–cell signal BDSF (cis‐2‐dodecenoic acid) regulates virulence in Burkholderia cenocepacia

Burkholderia cenocepacia is an opportunistic human pathogen that uses cis‐2‐dodecenoic acid (BDSF) as a quorum‐sensing signal to control expression of virulence factors. BDSF is a signal molecule of the diffusible signal factor (DSF) family that was first described in the plant pathogen Xanthomonas campestris. The mechanism of perception of this signal and the range of functions regulated in B. cenocepacia are, however, unknown. A screen for transposon mutants unable to respond to exogenous signal identified BCAM0227 as a potential BDSF sensor. BCAM0227 is a histidine sensor kinase with an input domain unrelated to that of RpfC, the DSF sensor found in xanthomonads. Transcriptome profiling established the scope of the BDSF regulon and demonstrated that the sensor controls expression of a subset of these genes. A chimeric sensor kinase in which the input domain of BCAM0227 replaced the input domain of RpfC was active in BDSF signal perception when expressed in X. campestris. Mutation of BCAM0227 gave rise to reduced cytotoxicity to Chinese hamster ovary cells and reduced virulence to Wax moth larvae and in the agar‐bead mouse model of pulmonary infection. The findings identify BCAM0227 as a novel BDSF sensor and a potential target for interference in virulence‐related signalling in B. cenocepacia.
Self-scaling Kinematic Hand Skeleton for Real-time 3D Hand-finger Pose Estimation

: Since low cost R GB - D sensors have become available, gesture detection has gained more and more interest in the ﬁeld of human computer and human robot interaction. It is possible to navigate through interactive menus by waving one’s hand and to conﬁrm menu items by pointing at them. Such applications require real-time body or hand-ﬁnger pose estimation algorithms. This paper presents a kinematic approach to estimate the full pose of the hand including the angles of the ﬁnger joints. A self-scaling kinematic hand skeleton model is presented and ﬁtted into the 3D data of the hand in real-time on standard hardware with up to 30 frames per second without using a G PU . This approach is based on the least-square minimization and an intelligent choice of the error function. The tracking accuracy is evaluated on the basis of a recorded dataset as well as simulated data. Qualitative results are presented to emphasize the tracking ability under hard conditions like full hand turning and self-occlusion.
The Increasing Prevalence of Gastroschisis: Associated Factors, Possible Mechanisms, and Potential Mitigative Interventions

Background: Gastroschisis has increased globally over recent decades and this increase is not explained by demographic changes in maternal age. Implicated risk factors for this increase include lifestyle behaviors, environmental exposures, low-er socioeconomic status, lower body mass index, poor nutrition, smoking tobacco, using illicit drugs, alcohol, or analgesics and genitourinary infections. Methods: Selective review of the literature. Results: Present hypotheses would only suggest avoidance of suspect exposures as protective interventions. To identify safe and efficacious protective therapies, new cellular/molecular modes-of-action need to be considered. Plausible develop-mental modes-of-action include a) changes in epigenetic programming of relevant stem or progenitor cells; b) mechanical forces (cellular mechanosensitivity and mechanotransduction) signaling; and c) ephrin–Eph receptor multimodal signali-ng. These developmental modes-of-action present plausible options for “druggable” molecules that could be developed into protective or mitigative therapeutic agents for gastroschisis. Conclusion: Possible interventions for modifiable factors in gastroschisis include 1) Delay childbearing. 2) Improve nutri-tion for younger gravidas. 3) Pre-conceptional counseling to reduce embryonic exposures to the range of implicated lifest-yle, environmental and medical factors. 4) Urge research colleagues to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying gastroschisis and to translate those insights into one or more safe and efficacious preventive or mitigative thera-pies.
Investing in agriculture when it is worth it. Evidence from rural Uganda

One of the reasons for the persistent low agricultural productivity in Sub-Saharan Africa is the lack of adoption of pro table agricultural technologies. Yet, what is pro table in a controlled experimental setting may not be pro table in a real-world setting. Estimating the returns to a single input is, in fact, challenging as farmers may respond to adoption by re-optimizing the use of other inputs. This paper explores farmers behavioral response to a positive random shock on future productivity by disentangling inputs returns from farmers' response. Using a unique household panel dataset collected in rural Uganda, I proxy a future productivity shock with the birth of a female calf against that of a male calf. Calves have no technical returns, but female calves will become cows producing milk, providing a stable source of income, while bulls and oxen are of little use in this context. The main OLS and di erence-in-di erences results show the existence of a crowd-in e ect. Farmers react to the birth of a female calf by increasing inputs' expenditures. They invest more on their cattle's health, increase hired labor and are more willing to pay for cattle-related investments but not for other activities. This increase in investments leads to an increase in milk production and revenues that lasts over time. Further results show that economies of scale associated with the number of female animals seem to explain this behavioral response.
Discrimination of Two Tetragonula ( Apidae : Meliponini ) Species in Thailand using Geometric Morphometric Analysis of Wing Venation

Geometric morphometrics is a novel powerful tool for the identification of bee species and subspecies. An application of this method is presented to discriminate two stingless bee species, Tetragonula pagdeni Schwarz, 1939 and Tetragonula fuscobalteata Cameron, 1908, in Thailand based on forewing venation. Nine landmarks were measured from the digitized right forewing of 200 workers (10 bees per colony). Eleven colonies of T. pagdeni and nine colonies of T. fuscobalteata collected from several locations in Thailand were determined. The positions of the groups in the principal component analysis plots revealed that the species are clearly distinct. Multivariate analysis of variance (α = 0.01) showed a significant difference between the bees of the sibling species, producing a high degree of accuracy (96.50%) in the identification of any individual bee of either species. Therefore, it is proposed that geometric morphometric analysis of single wings might be an appropriate first step in the analysis and identification of stingless bees and other insects.
Gender Bias and Credit Access

This paper studies the causal effect of gender bias on access to bank credit. We extract an exogenous measure of gender bias from survey responses by descendants of US immigrants on questions about the role of women in society. We then use data on 6,000 small business firms from 17 countries and find that in countries with higher gender bias, female-owned firms are more frequently discouraged from applying for bank credit and more likely to rely on informal finance. At the same time, loan rejection rates and terms on granted loans do not vary between male and female firm owners. These results are not driven by credit risk differences between female- and male-owned firms or by any idiosyncrasies in the set of countries in our sample. Overall, the evidence suggests that in high-gender bias countries, female entrepreneurs are more likely to opt out of the loan application process, even though banks do not appear to discriminate against females that apply for credit. JEL Classification: G21, J16, N32, Z13
Kriging Models for Global Approximation in Simulation-Based Multidisciplinary Design Optimization

Response surface methods have been used for a variety of applications in aerospace engineering, particularly in multidisciplinary design optimization. We investigate the use of kriging models as alternatives to traditional second-order polynomial response surfaces for constructing global approximations for use in a real aerospace engineering application, namely, the design of an aerospike nozzle. Our objective is to examine the difeculties in building and using kriging models to create accurate global approximations to facilitate multidisciplinary design optimization. Error analysis of the response surface and kriging models is performed, along with a graphical comparison of the approximations. Four optimization problems are also formulated and solved using both sets of approximation models to gain insight into their use for multidisciplinary design optimization. We end that the kriging models, which use only a constant “global” model and a Gaussian correlation function, yield global approximations that are slightly more accurate than the response surface models.
Trends in Extreme Value Indices

Abstract We consider extreme value analysis for independent but nonidentically distributed observations. In particular, the observations do not share the same extreme value index. Assuming continuously changing extreme value indices, we provide a nonparametric estimate for the functional extreme value index. Besides estimating the extreme value index locally, we also provide a global estimator for the trend and its joint asymptotic theory. The asymptotic theory for the global estimator can be used for testing a prespecified parametric trend in the extreme value indices. In particular, it can be applied to test whether the extreme value index remains at a constant level across all observations.
Mononuclear ReI complexes derived from pyrazolyl-piridazine : Structure and photophysical properties

Rhenium(I) diimine tricarbonyl complexes have attracted the researchers attention during the last deades because of their useful photophysical properties, well-behaved synthesis and stability. 1 This includes light capture for reactions, anion sensing, biolabeling and therapy, carbon dioxide photo-reduction, among others. Its complexes with chelating di-imines characteristically exhibit light absorption with moderate values of molar extinction coefficient in the visible to near UV region, which corresponds to metal to ligand charge transfer (MLCT) transition. Simple imines like pyrazolyl-pyridazine derivatives are appealing candidates to be explored, owing to their planarity and limited conformational flexibility; diminishes non-radiative deactivation paths. They are also relatively easy to be prepared and modified as request. Examples of complexes of pyrazolyl-piridazine coordinating to metals belonging to any of the transition series have been described. 2 Although this situation, coordination to ReI(CO)3X (X = Cl or Br) fragments are limited. In the present paper we present the present the synthesis and structure of a series of monometallic ReI complexes based on the pyrazol-pyridazine moiety with different substituents in order to explore the tuning of the photophysical properties and its potential use as ligands to a second metal site.
Interleukin-1 (IL-1)-induced TAK1-dependent Versus MEKK3-dependent NFκB Activation Pathways Bifurcate at IL-1 Receptor-associated Kinase Modification*

Interleukin-1 (IL-1) receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) is phosphorylated after it is recruited to the receptor, subsequently ubiquitinated, and eventually degraded upon IL-1 stimulation. Although a point mutation changing lysine 134 to arginine (K134R) in IRAK abolished IL-1-induced IRAK ubiquitination and degradation, mutations of serines and threonines adjacent to lysine 134 to alanines ((S/T)A (131–144)) reduced IL-1-induced IRAK phosphorylation and abolished IRAK ubiquitination. Through the study of these IRAK modification mutants, we uncovered two parallel IL-1-mediated signaling pathways for NFκB activation, TAK1-dependent and MEKK3-dependent, respectively. These two pathways bifurcate at the level of IRAK modification. The TAK1-dependent pathway leads to IKKα/β phosphorylation and IKKβ activation, resulting in classical NFκB activation through IκBα phosphorylation and degradation. The TAK1-independent MEKK3-dependent pathway involves IKKγ phosphorylation and IKKα activation, resulting in NFκB activation through IκBα phosphorylation and subsequent dissociation from NFκB but without IκBα degradation. These results provide significant insight to our further understanding of NFκB activation pathways.
Time for Tea Now Discounting for Money and Consumption without the Utility Confound∗

We conduct a large-scale field experiment in India comparing inter-temporal discount rates for money and the consumption of tea. We apply a novel method that allows to directly access the discount function under discounted expected utility using one simple-to-obtain indifference, while avoiding the utility confound that has bedeviled most previous studies. We find significantly more discounting for tea than for money. The analysis of the data in a Bayesian framework suggests to accept the null hypothesis of hyperbolic discounting.
Dual-energy Computed Tomography: Concepts, Performance, and Thoracic Applications

Advances in multidetector technology have made dual-energy computed tomography (CT) imaging possible. Dual-energy CT imaging enables tissue characterization in addition to morphologic evaluation of imaged regions. This article reviews current and potential CT technology, technical and workflow considerations when performing dual-energy CT, and clinical applications in the thorax, with an emphasis on the knowledge gained so far.
Biopolymer/montmorillonite nanocomposite: preparation, drug-controlled release property and cytotoxicity

In order to combine the advantages of a biopolymer with clay in a drug delivery system, the hot intercalation technique was used to prepare quaternized chitosan/montmorillonite (HTCC/MMT) nanocomposites. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) results revealed that HTCC chains entered into the interlayer of MMT, and the interaction between them has taken place. This is the basis of the advantage combination. Then the HTCC/MMT nanocomposites were modified to prepare the nanoparticles, whose drug-controlled release behaviours were evaluated. The results suggested that, compared to pure HTCC nanoparticles, certain montmorillonite loadings on quaternized chitosan enhanced the drug encapsulation efficiency of the nanoparticles and slowed the drug release from the nanocomposites. Finally, a study of 3-(4, 5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) indicated that the nanocomposites are not cytotoxic. Therefore, the HTCC/MMT nanocomposites are of great potential in the biomedical field.
Extraction of Semantic Information from Events

Behavior understanding from events can be considered as a typical classification problem using predefined classes. In our research presented in this thesis, the main idea is to deal with this classification problem using motion analysis for behavior recognition. We describe our research work from its first steps to the final accomplishments. Novel methods are introduced including a methodology whereby frame information is coded in graphs (called Optical Flow Proximity Graphs OFPGs), using only optical flow to form the feature vector. A symbolic method including two levels of graph representation is also proposed dealing with the same recognition problem. OFPGs are also proposed for video indexing. Furthermore, a bottom-up approach for anomaly detection using a multi camera system is proposed. In the framework of this system, we present the use of one class continuous Hidden Markov Models (cHMMs) for the task of human behavior recognition. An approximation algorithm, called Observation Log Probability Approximation (OLPA), is proposed to overcome numerical stability problems in the calculation of probability of emission for very long observations.
LESS CONSERVATIVE RESULTS FOR UNCERTAIN LINEAR SYSTEMS USING RELAXED PIECEWISE LYAPUNOV FUNCTIONS

This paper presents a less conservative strategy in the stability analysis of continuous-time uncertain linear systems using a minimum type piecewise Lyapunov function. The advantages in the use of this technique are the increase of function’s relaxation scalars and the use of bilinear matrix inequalities (BMIs), where the bilinear terms are in the product of the relaxation scalars and relaxation variable matrices. This class of BMIs has been solved by the path-following method, which has shown effective results in the literature. The less conservative results using the path-following method are illustrated with an example. Keywords— Robust Control, Bilinear Matrix Inequalities (BMIs), Time-Varying Uncertainties.