Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust control by inverse optimal PID approach for flexible joint robot manipulator

This paper proposes a robust inverse-optimal control for flexible joint robot manipulator in order to cope with parameter uncertainties. In the first step, a virtual control input was designed as PED form with 2 gain tuning conditions. In the second and third steps, the other virtual input and actual control torque were made using the saturation-type nonlinear control based on the Lyapunov's second method. The controller does not need information of acceleration and jerk of motor side as well as link side. In addition, the one is able to apply to actual robot controller by reducing calculation time caused by nonlinear matrix inequality (NLMI) solving. The robustness was shown in the simulation result through 2-DOF robot manipulator which has flexible joint.
Logics for probabilistic programming (Extended Abstract)

This paper introduces a logic for probabilistic programming<supscrpt>+</supscrpt> PROB-DL (for <underline>prob</underline>abilistic <underline>d</underline>ynamic <underline>l</underline>ogic; see Section 2 for a formal definition). This logic has “dynamic” modal operators in which programs appear, as in Pratt's [1976] dynamic logic DL. However the programs of PROB-DL contain constructs for probabilistic branching and looping whereas DL is restricted to nondeterministic programs. The formula {a}<subscrpt>&sgr;</subscrpt>p of PROB-DL denotes “with measure ≥&sgr;, formula p holds after executing program a. ” In Section 3, we show that PROB-DL has a complete and consistent axiomatization, (using techniques derived from Parikh's [1978] completeness proof for the propositional dynamic logic). Section 4 presents a <underline>prob</underline>abilistic <underline>q</underline>uantified <underline>b</underline>oolean <underline>l</underline>ogic (PROB-QBF) which also has applications to probabilistic programming.
Financial Frictions, Propagation of Shocks, and Macroeconomic Volatility

ESSAYS ON FINANCIAL FRICTIONS, PROPAGATION OF SHOCKS AND MACROECONOMIC VOLATILITY Cristina Fuentes-Albero Frank Schorfheide, Professor of Economics I study the evolution of aggregate volatility in the US during the postwar period by assessing the relative role played by financial shocks, technological progress, and changes in the financial system. Balance-sheet variables of firms have been characterized by greater volatility since the early 1970s. This Financial Immoderation has coexisted with the so-called Great Moderation, which refers to the slowdown in volatility of real and nominal variables since the mid 1980s. In the second chapter, I study the moderation in real variables calibrating a real business cycle model with two technology shocks. I consider several statistical specifications for technological progress. A deterministic trend model outperforms in accounting for volatilities, but a stochastic trend model accounts better for the correlation structure of the data. In the third chapter, I account for the divergent patterns in volatility analyzing the role played by financial factors. To do so, I estimate a DSGE model including financial rigidities, allowing for structural breaks in a subset of parameters. I conclude that the Financial Immoderation is driven by larger financial shocks and that the estimated reduction in the size of the financial accelerator in the mid 1980s accounts for 30% of the decline in the volatilities of investment growth and the nominal interest rate. In the last chapter, I focus on analyzing financial shocks. Using the estimation output, I obtain that the contribution of financial shocks to the variance of investment is increasing over time, reducing the relative importance of the investment-specific technology shock. The estimated reduction in the level of financial rigidities has a significant impact on iv the model implied propagation dynamics. Given that the model implies a negative response upon impact of consumption in response to a positive business wealth shock, I empirically characterize the effects of such a financial shock on consumption using sign restrictions. I conclude that documenting the effects on consumption is not a trivial matter since the results vary significantly depending on the variables used to measure business wealth and the cost of external borrowing.
Is European democracy promotion on the wane? CEPS Working Document No. 292/May 2008.

The EU routinely asserts that the promotion of democracy and human rights is central to its international identity. However, while in some places the EU has a relatively strong record as a supporter of democratic values, it is failing to respond effectively to the emergence of a vastly more challenging environment for democracy promotion. This paper reveals serious limits across three strands of democracy policy – the magnitude of incentives offered in return for democratic change, the degree of critical pressure exerted for democratic reform and the scale of European democracy funding. Even where the EU is building on the initiatives it has pursued for the last two decades, the paper demonstrates that these policies fail to measure up to the challenges posed by the new international context.
DETC 2010-28978 KINEMATIC-, STATIC-AND WORKSPACE ANALYSIS OF A 6-PUS PARALLEL MANIPULATOR

Corresponding author, Phone: (716)-645-1430, Fax: (716)-645-2883. ABSTRACT This paper examines the symbolic kinematic modeling of a general 6-P-U-S (prismatic-universal-spherical) parallel kinematic manipulator (PKM). The base location of actuators has been previously shown to lead to: (i) reduction of the (motor) weight carried by the legs; (ii) elimination of the actuation transmission requirement (through intermediary joints as in the case of the Stewart-Gough platform); and (iii) mostimportantly absorption of reaction-forces by the ground. We focus on using the symbolic equations to derive the conditions for type I and II singularities of this class of parallel manipulators. Based on these conditions, this system of equations is specialized to a specific configuration of the platform that has superior structural design and comparatively minimal singularities within its workspace. A series of studies were conducted to investigate the quality of workspace as well as estimate the actuation requirements for a unit payload carried over their workspace using the symbolic Jacobian model for this specialized configuration.
Collagen bundle morphometry in skin and scar tissue: a novel distance mapping method provides superior measurements compared to Fourier analysis

Histopathological evaluations of fibrotic processes require the characterization of collagen morphology in terms of geometrical features such as bundle orientation thickness and spacing. However, there are currently no reliable and valid techniques of measuring bundle thickness and spacing. Hence, two objective methods quantifying the collagen bundle thickness and spacing were tested for their reliability and validity: Fourier first‐order maximum analysis and Distance Mapping, with the latter constituting a newly developed morphometric technique. Histological slides were constructed and imaged from 50 scar and 50 healthy human skin biopsies and subsequently analyzed by two observers to determine the interobserver reliability via the intraclass correlation coefficient. An intraclass correlation coefficient larger than 0.7 is considered as representing good reliability. The interobserver reliability for the Fourier first‐order maximum and for the Distance Mapping algorithms, respectively, showed an intraclass correlation coefficient above 0.72 and 0.89. Additionally, we performed an assessment of validity in the form of responsiveness, in particular, demonstrating medium to excellent results via a calculation of the effect size, highlighting that both methods are sensitive enough to measure a treatment effect in clinical practice. In summary, two reliable and valid measurement methods were demonstrated for collagen bundle morphometry for the first time. Due to its superior reliability and more useful measures (bundle thickness and bundle spacing), Distance Mapping emerges as the preferred and more practical method. Nevertheless, in the future, both methods can be used for reliable and valid collagen morphometry of skin and scars, whereas further applications evaluating the quantitative microscopy of other fibrotic processes are anticipated.
PSO and GA Based Fixed Order Robust Controller Design : Comparison and Performance Analysis

Abstract—This article deals with a performance evaluation of particle swarm optimization (PSO) and genetic algorithms (GA) for fixed order controller design. The major objective of the work is to compare the ability, computational effectiveness and efficiency to solve the optimization problem for both algorithms (PSO and GA). All simulation has been performed using a software program developed in the Mat lab environment. As yet, overall results show that genetic algorithms generally can find better solutions compared to the PSO algorithm. The primary contribution of this paper is to evaluate the two algorithms in the tuning of PID-controllers and minimization of cost function and maximization of robust stability in the servo system which represents a complex system. Such comparative analysis is very important for identifying both the advantages and their possible disadvantages.
Plasma malondialdehyde is induced by smoking: a study with balanced antioxidant profiles

It has been reported that smokers have higher plasma malondialdehyde concentrations compared with non-smokers. However, smokers have also consistently been shown to have a lower intake of fruits and vegetables as well as lower plasma antioxidant concentrations. Since both the latter issues may well influence the malondialdehyde concentration, we wanted to investigate if the observed difference between smokers and non-smokers was a result of differences in antioxidant status or if a more direct effect of smoking could also be isolated. In the present study, the plasma malondialdehyde and antioxidant profiles of a cohort of smokers (n 48) and non-smokers (n 32) were compared. While there was no significant difference in the major plasma antioxidants measured, i.e. ascorbic acid, α- and γ-tocopherol and uric acid, we found a significant effect of smoking on plasma malondialdehyde (P=0·0003). Consequently, the present study suggests that lipid peroxidation as measured by plasma malondialdehyde is induced by smoking per se. While poor antioxidant status presumably also affects lipid peroxidation, it is only partly responsible for the increased level found in smokers in general.
RSkNN: kNN Search on Road Networks by Incorporating Social Influence

Although <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq1-2518692.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>NN search on a road network <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$G_r$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq2-2518692.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, i.e., finding <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq3-2518692.gif"/> </alternatives></inline-formula> nearest objects to a query user <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX"> $q$</tex-math><alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq4-2518692.gif"/></alternatives> </inline-formula> on <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$G_r$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq5-2518692.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>, has been extensively studied, existing works neglected the fact that the <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$q$</tex-math> <alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq6-2518692.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>'s social information can play an important role in this <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math> <alternatives><inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq7-2518692.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>NN query. Many real-world applications, such as location-based social networking services, require such a query. In this paper, we study a new problem: <inline-formula><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$</tex-math><alternatives> <inline-graphic xlink:type="simple" xlink:href="chen-ieq8-2518692.gif"/></alternatives></inline-formula>NN search on road networks by incorporating social influence (RS<italic>k</italic>NN). Specifically, the state-of-the-art <italic>Independent Cascade</italic> (IC) model in social network is applied to define social influence. One critical challenge of the problem is to speed up the computation of the social influence over large road and social networks. To address this challenge, we propose three efficient index-based search algorithms, i.e., road network-based (RN-based), social network-based (SN-based), and hybrid indexing algorithms. In the RN-based algorithm, we employ a filtering-and-verification framework for tackling the hard problem of computing social influence. In the SN-based algorithm, we embed social cuts into the index, so that we speed up the query. In the hybrid algorithm, we propose an index, summarizing the road and social networks, based on which we can obtain query answers efficiently. Finally, we use real road and social network data to empirically verify the efficiency and efficacy of our solutions.
Latency constrained protograph-based LDPC convolutional codes

We propose a windowed decoding scheme for protograph-based LDPC convolutional codes (LDPC-CC) that allows us to efficiently trade-off decoding performance for gains in latency. We study the performance of regular LDPC-CC with the windowed decoding scheme. In particular, we show that the class of LDPC-CC proposed in the literature with good belief propagation performance is ill-suited for windowed decoding. Further, we establish properties of code ensembles with good windowed decoding performance over erasure channels with and without memory.
Diversity-Aware Top-k Publish/Subscribe for Text Stream

Massive amount of text data are being generated by a huge number of web users at an unprecedented scale. These data cover a wide range of topics. Users are interested in receiving a few up-to-date representative documents (e.g., tweets) that can provide them with a wide coverage of different aspects of their query topics. To address the problem, we consider the Diversity-Aware Top-k Subscription (DAS) query. Given a DAS query, we continuously maintain an up-to-date result set that contains k most recently returned documents over a text stream for the query. The DAS query takes into account text relevance, document recency, and result diversity. We propose a novel solution to efficiently processing a large number of DAS queries over a stream of documents. We demonstrate the efficiency of our approach on real-world dataset and the experimental results show that our solution is able to achieve a reduction of the processing time by 60--75% compared with two baselines. We also study the effectiveness of the DAS query.
Evaluation of combined Pareto multiobjective differential evolution on tuneable problems

Many optimization problems in engineering involve the satisfaction of multiple objectives within the limits of certain constraints. Methods of evolutionary multi-objective algorithms (EMOAs) have been proposed and applied to solve such problems. Recently, a combined Pareto multi-objective differential evolution (CPMDE) algorithm was proposed. The algorithm combines Pareto selection procedures for multi-objective differential evolution to implement a novel selection scheme. The ability of CPMDE in solving unconstrained, constrained and real optimization problems was demonstrated and competitive results obtained from the application of CPMDE suggest that it is a good alternative for solving multi-objective optimization problems. In this work, CPMDE is further tested using tuneable multi-objective test problems and applied to solve a real world engineering design problem. Results obtained herein further corroborate the efficacy of CPMDE in multi-objective optimization. (Received in July 2013, accepted in February 2014. This paper was with the authors 1 month for 1 revision.)
Examining the peer relationships and conflict experiences of adolescent girls and women on the autism spectrum

Despite a wealth of interest in, and research on, gender differences in the friendships and social relationships of neurotypical children and adults, there is a paucity of research on such differences in individuals on the autism spectrum. Only three published papers focus specifically on the friendships of autistic individuals in the same age range as the work of this PhD, and these have included predominantly male participants, who do not represent the range of female experiences. This PhD therefore sought to redress this imbalance by focussing on the peer relationship, friendships, and conflict experiences of adolescent girls, as well as women on the autism spectrum, in comparison to their autistic male and neurotypical female peers. Parental views on the relationships of autistic girls were also sought. In Chapter One, I review the literature investigating peer relationships amongst autistic adolescents, neurotypical adolescents, and autistic adults, focussing on their experiences of conflict within those relationships and their potential impact. Chapters Two and Three focus on data from adolescents. In Chapter Two, I present data from a mixed-methods study showing that autistic adolescents rate their best-friendships as like those of neurotypical adolescents, but that autistic adolescents experience far more peer conflict, and these experiences are qualitatively different for autistic girls compared to all other groups. In Chapter Three, I examine the factors that potentially underpin friendship strength and victimisation for male and female adolescents, following the results of Chapter Two and using data from the same participants. In Chapter Four, which focuses specifically on adult women, I report data from autistic and neurotypical adult women, examining similar constructs and questions to the adolescent study (Chapter Two). In Chapter Five, I directly compare the qualitative data from autistic girls, autistic women, and the girls’ parents. I take a developmental perspective, examining which factors might lead to the potential vulnerability described in Chapter Four, to understand which preventative measures might be used to support autistic girls as they grow up. In Chapter Six, I discuss the significance of these findings in the context of the extant literature on both autism in girls and women, and of the peer relationships of autistic adolescents. I conclude by suggesting that the relationships and social experiences of autistic girls and women are qualitatively different to those of both autistic boys and neurotypical girls and women. These findings suggest that autistic girls and women require specialised and targeted support to enable them to successfully and safely engage with their peers in adolescence and beyond.
A Novel Fuzzy Rule-Based Classification System Based on Classifier Selection Strategy

Fuzzy systems have been used as a mechanism to build classifiers which are called fuzzy rule based classification systems (FRBCSs). In this paper, a new method for improving this kind of classifiers, based on ensemble strategy, is proposed. Here instead of building a classifier or a fusion of a group of them, we build some base classifiers and select one for every test pattern. A number of UCI datasets are used to assess the performance of the proposed method in comparison with reward and punishment and another method. Simulation results show our method's performance is a notch above these schemas.
Mycophenolate mofetil is effective in the treatment of atopic dermatitis.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate whether mycophenolate mofetil, a new immunosuppressive agent, is effective for treating moderate-severe atopic dermatitis (AD). DESIGN In an open-label pilot study, mycophenolate mofetil, 1 g, was given orally twice daily for 4 weeks. At week 5, the dosage was reduced to 500 mg twice daily until study end (week 8). Patients were followed up for 20 weeks. SETTING University hospital dermatology department. PATIENTS Ten consecutive patients with moderate-severe AD nonresponsive to standard therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Severity of AD as measured using the subjective SCORAD [SCORing Atopic Dermatitis] index. RESULTS Clinical efficacy was measured every 2 weeks using the subjective SCORAD index. Treatment with mycophenolate notably reduced the severity of AD within 4 weeks in all patients (P<.05), and after 8 weeks the mean +/- SD SCORAD index dropped from the pretreatment value of 49.2 +/- 13.8 to 21.9 +/- 26.5 (P<.01). One patient had to discontinue mycophenolate therapy after 4 weeks because of the development of herpes retinitis. Except for this event, mycophenolate was tolerated well in all patients. Six of 7 patients who had responded to mycophenolate monotherapy had no relapse of disease during 20-week follow-up. In the 7 patients who finished the study, the SCORAD index was reduced by 74%, from 44.0 +/- 7.8 before treatment to 11.4 +/- 5.9 at 20-week follow-up. CONCLUSIONS Mycophenolate is a highly effective drug for treating moderate-severe AD, with no serious adverse effects occurring in any patients. Thus, mycophenolate might develop into a promising alternative in the therapy of moderate-severe AD.
Insulin influences the nitric oxide cyclic nucleotide pathway in cultured human smooth muscle cells from corpus cavernosum by rapidly activating a constitutive nitric oxide synthase.

AIMS We have evaluated, in cultured human cavernosal smooth muscle cells, the expression and activity of calcium-dependent constitutive nitric oxide synthase (cNOS) and the ability of insulin to induce nitric oxide (NO) production and to increase intracellular cyclic nucleotides guanosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cGMP) and adenosine 3',5'-cyclic monophosphate (cAMP). METHODS cNOS mRNA was detected by RT-PCR amplification, cNOS protein by immunofluorescence, cNOS activity as l-[3H]-citrulline production from l-[3H]-arginine and cyclic nucleotides by radioimmunoassay. RESULTS cNOS mRNA and cNOS protein were found in cultured cells; cNOS activity was increased by 5-min exposure to 1 micro mol/l calcium ionophore ionomycin (from 0.1094+/-0.0229 to 0.2685+/-0.0560 pmol/min per mg cell protein, P=0.011) and to 2 nmol/l insulin (from 0.1214+/-0.0149 to 0.2045+/-0.0290 pmol/min per mg cell protein, P=0.041). Insulin increased both cGMP and cAMP in a dose- and time-dependent manner (i.e. with 2 nmol/l insulin, cGMP rose from 2.71+/-0.10 to 6.80+/-0.40 pmol/10(6) cells at 30 min, P=0.0001; cAMP from 1.26+/-0.06 to 3.02+/-0.30 pmol/10(6) cells at 60 min, P=0.0001). NOS inhibitor N(G)-monomethyl-l-arginine and phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI 3-kinase) inhibitors wortmannin and LY 294002 blunted these effects of insulin. The action of insulin on cyclic nucleotides persisted in the presence of phosphodiesterase inhibition, guanylate cyclase activation by NO donors and adenylate cyclase activation by Iloprost or forskolin. CONCLUSION Human cavernosal smooth muscle cells, by expressing cNOS activity, are a source of NO and not only its target; in these cells, insulin rapidly activates cNOS through a PI 3-kinase pathway, with a consequent increase of both cyclic nucleotides, thus directly influencing the mechanisms involved in penile vascular tone and interplaying with classical haemodynamic mediators.