Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bayesian Joint Matrix Decomposition for Data Integration with Heterogeneous Noise

Matrix decomposition is a popular and fundamental approach in machine learning and data mining. It has been successfully applied into various fields. Most matrix decomposition methods focus on decomposing a data matrix from one single source. However, it is common that data are from different sources with heterogeneous noise. A few of the matrix decomposition methods have been extended for such multi-view data integration and pattern discovery while only a few methods were designed to consider the heterogeneity of noise in such multi-view data for data integration explicitly. To this end, in this article, we propose a joint matrix decomposition framework (BJMD), which models the heterogeneity of noise by the Gaussian distribution in a Bayesian framework. We develop two algorithms to solve this model: one is a variational Bayesian inference algorithm, which makes full use of the posterior distribution; and another is a maximum a posterior algorithm, which is more scalable and can be easily paralleled. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-world datasets demonstrate that BJMD is superior or competitive to the state-of-the-art methods.
Ignorance is bliss : observability-based dynamic epistemic logics and their applications. (Le bonheur est dans l'ignorance : logiques épistémiques dynamiques basées sur l'observabilité et leurs applications)

In epistemic logic, knowledge is usually modelled by a graph of possible worlds, representing the alternatives to the current state of the world. So edges between worlds stand for indistinguishability. To know a proposition means that that proposition is true in all possible alternatives. Theoretical computer scientists however noticed that this led to several issues, both intuitively and technically: the more an agent is ignorant, the more alternatives she must consider; models may then become too big for system verification. They recently investigated how knowledge could be reduced to the notion of visibility. Intuitively, the basic idea is that when an agent sees something, then she knows its truth value. The other way round, any combination of truth values of the non-observable variables is possible for the agent. Such observability information allows us to reconstruct the standard semantics of knowledge: two worlds are indistinguishable for an agent if and only if every variable observed by her has the same value in both worlds. We aim to demonstrate that visibility-based epistemic logics provide a suitable tool for several important applications in the field of artificial intelligence. In the current settings of these logics of visibility, every agent has a set of propositional variables that she can observe; these visibilities are constant across the model. This comes with a strong assumption: visibilities are known to everyone, and are even common knowledge. Moreover, constructing knowledge from visibility brings about counter-intuitive validities, the most important being that the knowledge operator distributes over disjunction of literals: if an agent knows that p or q is true, then she knows that p is true or that q is true because she can see them. In this thesis, we propose solutions to these two problems and illustrate them on various applications such as epistemic planning or epistemic boolean games, and on more specific examples such as the muddy children problem or the gossip problem. We moreover study formal properties of the logics we design, providing axiomatizations and complexity results.
Factors influencing e-tax filing adoption intention by business users in China

The Chinese government has heavily invested in materials and human resources to transition towards e-government. However, extant studies show that an overwhelming majority of China's e-government initiatives suffered from low public participation. There are few studies focusing on factors that affect public participation, particularly business users, in e-government and most of them lack a strong theoretical foundation. This study seeks to better understand the factors influencing adoption intention of e-tax filing, an important component of e-government, by business users in China. On the basis of the technology-organisation-environment (TOE) framework, a research model, including nine factors in technological, organisational and environmental categories, was developed. The results show that four of the nine factors, as well as the ownership of a business and business size, significantly influence their e-tax filing adoption intentions. The study concludes by making recommendations for promoting and increasing adoption intention of e-tax filing by business users.
Deceased Donor Hyperglycemia and Liver Graft Dysfunction

Context Hyperglycemia is common in deceased donors, and provokes numerous adverse events in hepatocytic mitochondria. Objective To determine whether hyperglycemia in deceased donors is associated with graft dysfunction after orthotopic liver transplant. Methods Charts on 572 liver transplants performed at the Cleveland Clinic between January 2005 and October 2010 were reviewed. The primary measure was time-weighted averages of donors' glucose measurements. Liver graft dysfunction was defined as (1) primary nonfunction as indicated by death or retransplant or (2) liver graft dysfunction as indicated by an aspartate amino transferase level greater than 2000 U/L or prothrombin time greater than 16 seconds during the first postoperative week. The relationship of interest was estimated by using a multivariable logistic regression. Results The incidence of graft dysfunction was 25%. No significant relationship was found between the range of donor glucose measurements and liver graft dysfunction after donor characteristics were adjusted for (P = .14, Wald test, adjusted odds ratio [95% CI] for liver graft dysfunction corresponding to a relative doubling in time-weighted average for donor glucose of 1.43 [0.89–2.30]). The results thus do not suggest that strict glucose control in donors is likely to improve graft quality.
Power System Stabilizer Design Using an Online Adaptive Neurofuzzy Controller With Adaptive Input Link Weights

A neurofuzzy controller (NFC) with adaptive input link weights (ILWs) and working as an adaptive power system stabilizer is presented. The control structure of the proposed adaptive neurofuzzy power system stabilizers (ANFPSSs) consists of a neuroidentifier to track the dynamic behavior of the plant and an NFC to damp the low-frequency power system oscillations. Usually, the input membership functions (IMFs) and consequent parameters (CPs) are adapted in order to enhance the performance of the NFC. However, the adjustment of IMFs can be realized indirectly by the tuning of ILWs introduced here, which is simpler due to the small number of parameters involved. Therefore, in this paper, ILWs and CPs are updated online by the gradient descent method. Simulation studies over a range of operating conditions and disturbances in a single machine-infinite bus system and a multimachine power system demonstrate the improvement in the dynamic performance of the system with the proposed ANFPSS.
Technical Report: On the dynamics of the Furuta pendulum

The Furuta pendulum, or rotational inverted pendulum, is a system found in many control labs. It provides a compact yet impressive platform for control demonstrations and draws the attention of the control community as a platform for the development of non-linear control laws. Despite the popularity of the platform there are very few papers which employ the correct dynamics and only one that derives the full system dynamics. In this paper the full dynamics of the Furuta pendulum are derived using two methods; a Lagrangian formulation and an iterative Newton-Euler formulation. Approximations are made to the full dynamics which converge to the more commonly presented expressions. The system dynamics are then linearised using a Jacobian. To illustrate the influence the commonly neglected inertia terms have on the system dynamics, a brief example is offered.
Synchronous-Reference-Frame-Based Control of Switched Boost Inverter for Standalone DC Nanogrid Applications

Switched boost inverter (SBI) is a single-stage power converter derived from Inverse Watkins Johnson topology. Unlike the traditional buck-type voltage source inverter (VSI), the SBI can produce an ac output voltage that is either greater or less than the available dc input voltage. Also, the SBI exhibits better electromagnetic interference noise immunity when compared to the VSI, which enables compact design of the power converter. Another advantage of SBI is that it can supply both dc and ac loads simultaneously from a single dc input. These features make the SBI suitable for dc nanogrid applications. In this paper, the SBI is proposed as a power electronic interface in dc nanogrid. The structure and advantages of the proposed SBI-based nanogrid are discussed in detail. This paper also presents a dq synchronous-reference-frame-based controller for SBI, which regulates both dc and ac bus voltages of the nanogrid to their respective reference values under steady state as well as under dynamic load variation in the nanogrid. The control system of SBI has been experimentally validated using a 0.5-kW laboratory prototype of the SBI supplying both dc and ac loads simultaneously, and the relevant experimental results are given in this paper. The low cross regulation and the dynamic performance of the control system have also been verified experimentally for a 20% step change in either dc or ac load of SBI. These experimental results confirm the suitability of the SBI and its closed-loop control strategy for dc nanogrid applications.
Magnetic Nanoparticle-Guided Blind Focusing in Microwave Hyperthermia of Neck Tumors

This paper aims to assess a recently proposed approach for microwave hyperthermia, exploiting magnetic nanoparticles as modulable contrast agents in order to blindly focus on the tumor the electric field radiated by an antenna array. The approach has been improved and numerically assessed in the realistic and clinically relevant case of the treatment of neck tumors. To this end, a realistic system, whose layout is inspired to an existing one, currently under clinical testing, has been considered. The Zubal phantom has been exploited to carry out the simulations. The numerical results show that the proposed blind focusing approach works properly even in realistic and complex situations like the one considered in this paper. Moreover, the results compare very well with those obtained through not-blind focusing approaches, based on the knowledge of geometry, positioning, and electric properties of the irradiated tissues. The robustness of approach against the measurement noise has been also analyzed, in order to identify the requirements that the measurement apparatuses must satisfy and the minimum amount of magnetic nanoparticles to be administered to the patient in order to make the approach feasible. The performed thermal analysis confirmed the ability of the approach to selectively heat the tumor. The proposed approach could be a valid alternative to achieve an effective field focusing without any a priori information on the electric and geometrical properties of the anatomical region to be treated. Moreover, it could be employed in combination with magnetic hyperthermia to improve the effectiveness of the therapy.
Antigen detection in the diagnosis and management of a patient with probable cerebral aspergillosis treated with voriconazole

This report describes the diagnosis and management of a 16‐year‐old boy who developed neurological signs and symptoms suggestive of cerebral aspergillosis following a haploidentical bone marrow transplant. A new sandwich enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for the detection of Aspergillus galactomannan circulating antigens (Platelia Aspergillus, Sanofi Diagnostic Pasteur, France) was used on serum and cerebrospinal fluid to obtain a presumptive diagnosis and to monitor the course of the disease. Having failed conventional therapy with amphotericin B, the patient received compassionate treatment with voriconazole for a period of 37 days. High levels of voriconazole were observed in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), with a trend toward accumulation. After 7 days a marked improvement in the patient’s neurological symptoms was noted, and ELISA data indicated a corresponding decrease in Aspergillus galactomannan levels in both serum and CSF. Voriconazole was well tolerated, with only transient increases in ALT/AST recorded during therapy. Although the patient survived the acute Aspergillus infection, he subsequently died of an unrelated infection.
An Adaptive Slope Compensation for the Single-Stage Inverter With Peak Current-Mode Control

This letter develops a mathematical model of the slope compensation for a single-stage inverter with peak current-mode control. The model proves that the single-stage inverter with peak current-mode control will be unconditionally stable only if a slope compensation equal or greater than half the slope rate of the inductor current downslope is applied. Thus, the slope compensation requirements for a conventional dc-dc converter and a single-stage inverter with peak current-mode control are the same. A simulation model has been developed to prove this mathematical model is valid. A frequency-domain analysis of the single-stage inverter shows that the unified slope compensation will degrade the loop gain at lower input voltages. An adaptive slope compensation is proposed to keep the loop gain of the single-stage inverter nearly constant at all the duty cycles. A practical design is also proposed.
Beta‐lactamase‐producing Escherichia coli in Bangladesh: Their phenotypic and molecular characteristics

The emergence and rapid dissemination of beta-lactamase-producing E. coli is now a worldwide problem. A total of 45 E. coli obtained from clinical specimens from a medical service centre in Dhaka were selected for this study. Test E. coli exhibited variable resistance to 3rd (71.7 - 97.8%, n = 48) and 4th (78%, n = 48) generation beta-lactam antibiotics, with 72% sensitivity to Carbapenem. Analysis of co-resistance indicated that 33.3% of E. coli (n = 48) were co-resistant to beta-lactams and ciprofloxacin. ESBL producers were predominant comprising of 84.7% E. coli. Among them, 22.7% contained blaTEM, 24.2% contained blaCTX-M, 4.3% contained blaSHV and 9.1% contained blaOXA-1 genes. A total of 25.75% isolates were metallo beta-lactamase producers. Of these, 1.5% of E. coli strains contained New Delhi metallo beta-lactamase gene and 6% contained AmpC gene. Multiple beta-lactamase genes were detected in some test isolates; 6.7% isolates contained 4, 20% contained 3 and 73.3% contained 2 beta lactamase genes. Fifty per cent of the E. coli contained plasmids of variable sizes. In addition, a total of 39% of the E. coli contained Class 1 integron. The increasing trend in beta-lactam resistance is of public health concern as it limits treatment regime and indicates to the need of continuous monitoring of resistance pattern. Dhaka Univ. J. Biol. Sci. 28(1): 71-81, 2019 (January)
Oxime Cross‐Linked Injectable Hydrogels for Catheter Delivery

Catheter delivery of therapeutic materials is important for developing minimally invasive treatment approaches. However, the majority of injectable materials gel rapidly upon mixing and/or heating to body temperature. The application of an oxime cross-linked hydrogel system is demonstrated. The system has a broad range of tunable gelation rates, is capable of injection through a catheter, and exhibits rapid gelation upon injection into tissue.
Voltage tolerance testing of three-phase voltage source converters

This paper proposes a protocol for testing the immunity of three-phase self-commutated converters to voltage dips. An overview of voltage dips due to short circuits and earth faults that may affect a converter is given and their effect on the converter is demonstrated through simulation. Results confirm that the existing standard protocol given in IEC 61000-4-11 is not complete. An extended testing protocol is therefore proposed, which is compatible with IEC 61000-4-11.
Generic and standard database constraint meta-models

Many software engineering activities entail dealing with legacy information systems. When these systems become too costly to maintain, or when new technologies need to be incorporated, they need to be replaced or somehow reengineered. This can be done with significantly reduced amount of effort and cost if the conceptual models of these systems are available. Reverse engineering is the process of analyzing a subject system to create representations of the system at a higher level of abstraction. Relational databases are a common source of reverse engineering. Starting from a physical database schema, that is recorded into relational database schema data repository, the conceptual database schema or logical database schema could be extracted. The extraction process may be seen as a chain of model-to-model transformations that trace model elements from a model at the lower level of abstraction to a model at the higher level of abstraction, achieved through meta-modeling. In the paper we present generic and standard database constraint meta-models, focusing on multi-relational database constraints captured in a legacy database. These meta-models are aimed at support of model transformations to create conceptual models, as a useful source for the system reengineering process. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. Grant III-44010: Intelligent Systems for Software Product Development and Business Support based on Models]
Debt financing structure, ownership concentration and firm performance: a comparison of the listed state-owned and non-state-owned CMNEs

ABSTRACT This paper examines the impact of debt financing and ownership concentration on internationalization performance by using a sample of 217 Chinese multinational enterprises (CMNEs) from 2009 to 2016. Through fixed-effect regression and dynamic threshold analysis, this paper finds that increasing short-term debts is positively associated with the internationalization performance of non-state-owned CMNEs, while increasing short-term debts by state-owned CMNEs will harm their performance. Ownership concentration affects CMNEs’ risk preference and thus affecting their internationalization performance in different degrees. This paper finds that the threshold for the impact of CMNEs’ largest shareholder’s ownership concentration on its internationalization performance is 0.18, the thresholds for the impact of CMNEs’ top 10 shareholders’ ownership concentration on its internationalization performance are 0.346 and 0.433. When state-owned CMNEs’ top 10 shareholders’ ownership concentration exceeds 0.337 and 0.347, their internationalization performance will have significant positive changes. Overall, this study is expected to contribute to the literature of internationalization of emerging market companies.
Joint Bidding in the Name-Your-Own-Price Channel: A Strategic Analysis

In this paper, we study the name-your-own-price (NYOP) channel. We examine theoretically and empirically whether asking consumers to place a joint bid for multiple items, rather than bid one item at a time as practiced today, can increase NYOP retailers' profits. Relatedly, we also examine whether allowing consumers to self-select whether to place a joint bid or itemwise bids increases retailers' profits and consumers' surplus. We construct a dynamic model that incorporates both demand uncertainty and supply uncertainty to address these issues. Our theoretical analysis identifies the conditions under which joint bidding can increase both NYOP retailers' profits and consumers' surplus. We find that some consumers might bid more for the very same items when they place joint bids. The increase in bid amount is related to the fact that joint bidding reduces the chance of mismatch between NYOP retailers' costs and consumer bids. We conducted a laboratory study to assess the descriptive validity of some of the model predictions, because there are no field data on joint bidding in the NYOP channel. The results of the study are directionally consistent with our theory.
Drug Effects on Cerebral Blood Flow in the Baboon Model - Acetazolamide and Nimodipine

Summary The sensitivity of the baboon model under anaesthesia for single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) of the brain with 99mTc-HMPAO, as recently developed by us to study cerebral blood flow patterns, was investigated using drugs that are known to increase cerebral blood flow, e.g. acetazolamide, the carbonic anhydrase inhibitor and nimodipine, the calcium channel blocker. Increases in cerebral blood flow for both acetazolamide and nimodipine were observed that correspond well with other studies. Statistically significant regional specificity was noted for acetazolamide and nimodipine. Interestingly a combination of these drugs did not enhance cerebral blood flow but rather decreased it in comparison with the individual drug responses. The results were correlated with arterial blood pressure, heart rate, pCO2 and pO2. A blood pressure decrease was noted for both drugs, while acetazolamide had a marked influence on pO2. The results indicate that the baboon model is sensitive for evaluation of drug effects on cerebral blood flow. Zusammenfassung Die Empfindlichkeit eines generell narkotisierten Pavian-Modells bei der Untersuchung mit SPECT mit 99mTc-HMPAO, einer kürzlich von uns entwickelten Methode zur Untersuchung der Hirndurchblutung (CBF), wird hier untersucht unter Verwendung von Pharmaka (Acetazolamid, Karboanhydrase- Inhibitor; Nimodipin, Kalziumkanalblocker), von denen bekannt ist, daß sie den humanen CBF steigern. Eine Steigerung des zerebralen Blutflusses wurde sowohl für Acetazolamid als auch für Nimodipin beobachtet, was mit den Ergebnissen anderer Studien gut übereinstimmt. Regionale Spezifität von statistischer Signifikanz wurde für Acetazolamid und Nimodipin festgestellt. Interessanterweise wurde der zerebrale Blutfluß durch eine Kombination der beiden Medikamente nicht verstärkt, sondern, verglichen mit der Wirkung des individuell gegebenen Medikaments, sogar verringert. Die Ergebnisse wurden mit arteriellem Blutdruck, Herzfrequenz, pCO2 und pO2 korreliert. Beide Mittel verringerten den Blutdruck, während Acetazolamid einen deutlichen Einfluß auf pO2 zeigte. Die Ergebnisse machen deutlich, daß das Pavian-Modell unter Narkose empfindlich genug ist, um die Wirksamkeit eines Pharmakons auf den zerebralen Blutfluß zu bewerten.