Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acceleration planning based anti-swing and position control for double-pendulum cranes

For a double-pendulum crane system with multi-state variables, strong coupling and under-actuated, the mathematical model is a nonlinear second order differential equations and the controller is a multi-input single-output system, leading to the challenge of controller design. Most of the existing good methods are based on advanced control theories or optimization theories, but it is difficult to put into practical application. In this paper, an anti-swing and position controller based on trapezoidal acceleration spline curve programming is designed to achieve the control requirements of effective anti-swing and precise position under constraints of the maximum acceleration, maximum velocity and maximum swing angle. The method has strong robustness which can adapt to the different length of the rope and the mass of the load, the most important thing is that it can be implemented in almost all controller devices and is suitable for engineering applications. The simulation results prove the effectiveness of the method.
Hardware accelerator for 3D method of moments based parasitic extraction

A Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) based hardware accelerator for multi-conductor parasitic capacitance extraction, using Method of Moments (MoM), is presented in this paper. Due to the prohibitive cost of solving a dense algebraic system formed by MoM, linear complexity fast solver algorithms have been developed in the past to expedite the matrix-vector product computation in a Krylov sub-space based iterative solver framework. However, as the number of conductors in a system increases leading to a corresponding increase in the number of right-hand-side (RHS) vectors, the computational cost for multiple matrix-vector products present a time bottleneck, especially for ill-conditioned system matrices. In this work, an FPGA based hardware implementation is proposed to parallelize the iterative matrix solution for multiple RHS vectors in a low-rank compression based fast solver scheme. The method is applied to accelerate electrostatic parasitic capacitance extraction of multiple conductors in a Ball Grid Array (BGA) package. Speed-ups up to 13× over equivalent software implementation on an Intel Core i5 processor for dense matrix-vector products and 12× for QR compressed matrix-vector products is achieved using a Virtex-6 XC6VLX240T FPGA on Xilinx's ML605 board.
Testing for racial/ethnic differences in the association between childhood socioeconomic position and adult adiposity.

OBJECTIVES We tested the association between 2 measures of childhood socioeconomic position (SEP) and adult body mass index (BMI), stratified by race and ethnicity. METHODS We used regression analyses to examine associations between adult BMI and 2 measures of childhood SEP (maternal education and whether the head of the child's household was working class), adjusted for a robust set of adult SEP measures, in a sample of 2068 adults from Los Angeles County, California. RESULTS Maternal educational attainment was associated with a lower median adult BMI among Whites (8% decrease for high school diploma and 9% decrease for a college degree, compared with no high school diploma). A maternal high school diploma was associated with a 6% decrease in median adult BMI among Hispanics and an 11% decrease among Blacks. Our measure of childhood working-class status was not correlated with adult BMI. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that childhood SEP is independently associated with adult BMI. However, our results also suggest that the effect may depend on which measures of SEP are used and that some aspects of childhood SEP may matter more for adult BMI than others.
Accumulation of Smooth Muscle 22&agr; Protein Accelerates Senescence of Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells via Stabilization of p53 In Vitro and In Vivo

Objective— Smooth muscle (SM) 22&agr;, an actin-binding protein, displays an upregulated expression as a marker during cellular senescence. However, the causal relationship between SM22&agr; and senescence is poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the role of SM22&agr; in angiotensin II (Ang II)–induced senescence of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Approach and Results— We prepared a model of VSMC senescence induced by Ang II and found that the expression of SM22&agr; in VSMCs was increased in response to chronic Ang II treatment. Overexpression of SM22&agr; promoted Ang II–induced VSMC senescence, whereas knockdown of SM22&agr; suppressed this process. Moreover, this effect of SM22&agr; was p53 dependent. Increased SM22&agr; protein obstructed ubiquitination and degradation of p53 and subsequently improved its stability. Furthermore, SM22&agr; inhibited phosphorylation of Mdm2 (mouse double minute 2 homolog), an E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase, accompanied by a decreased interaction between Mdm2 and p53. Using LY294002, a PI3K/Akt inhibitor, we found that PI3K/Akt-mediated Mdm2 phosphorylation and activation was inhibited in senescent or SM22&agr;-overexpressed VSMCs, in parallel with decreased p53 ubiquitination. We further found that SM22&agr; inhibited activation of PI3K/Akt/Mdm2 pathway via strengthening actin cytoskeleton. In the in vivo study, we showed that the disruption of SM22&agr; reduced the increase of blood pressure induced by Ang II, associated with decreased VSMC senescence through a mechanism similar to that in VSMCs in vitro. Conclusions— In conclusion, these findings suggest that the accumulation of SM22&agr; promotes Ang II–induced senescence via the suppression of Mdm2-mediated ubiquitination and degradation of p53 in VSMCs in vitro and in vivo.
LIBOR Convexity Adjustments for the Vasicek and Cox-Ingersoll-Ross Models

In this paper we numerically implement some of the recent theoretical results concerning convexity adjustments derived within the affine term structure setup. The computation of the convexity adjustments in that setup is reduced to solving a system of ODES. Here we explore the Vasicek and Cox-Ingersoll-Ross models within LIBOR-in-arrears and investigate how the convexity adjustments change with the model parameters. The two models reproduce the same behavior with the convexity adjustment showing up as an additive constant for maturity times > 5 years.
Supratentorial neurenteric cyst mimicking hydatid cyst: A case report and literature review

Abstract Neurenteric (NE) cysts are uncommon congenital cysts of endodermal origin. These cysts are commonly encountered in the posterior fossa surrounding the brain stem structures. We present a case of pathologically proven supratentorial NE cyst that mimicked a hydatid cyst in its clinical presentation and imaging appearance. Including this pathology in the differential diagnosis of supratentorial cystic lesions is important due to the differences in medical and surgical management.
Lived Experience among Patients Newly Diagnosed with Lung Adenocarcinoma Stage IV within One Year.

BACKGROUND lung cancer (LC) is the fifth of the 10 leading causes of death in the world. LC is in first place for cancer-related mortality for both males and females in Taiwan. It is one of the most difficult cancers to treat and is often diagnosed at a late stage. Patients with stage IV are often unprepared for the diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS To explore lived experience among patients newly diagnosed with lung adenocarcinoma stage IV within one year. RESULTS Twelve participants were recruited in this study. Content analysis of the interviews revealed four themes: (1) emotional roller coaster, (2) trying to find out causes, (3) adjusting my lifestyle, and (4) cancer fighter. CONCLUSIONS This study provides new insight into the experiences of lung cancer patients y with newly diagnosed lung adenocarcinoma stage 4. These results will inform future supportive care service development and intervention research for patients with advanced stage cancer.
Estimation of power systems amplitudes, frequencies, and phase characteristics using Energy Operators

This paper presents an algorithm used to extract amplitude, frequency, and phase information of voltage and current waveforms common in power systems. It borrows heavily from the TEO (Teager Energy Operator) that has been successfully used in the analysis of speech signals. This technique can further be exploited to give both real and reactive power calculations in real time with minimum phase delay. Finally, it can be used for grid synchronization applications of Distributed Generation (DG) sources including grid impedance and anti-islanding detection.
Failure-Envelope Approach to Modeling Shock and Vibration Survivability of Electronic and MEMS Packaging

Product level assessment of drop and shock reliability relies heavily on experimental test methods. Prediction of drop and shock survivability is largely beyond the state-of-art. However, the use of experimental approach to test out every possible design variation, and identify the one that gives the maximum design margin is often not feasible because of product development cycle time and cost constraints. Presently, one of the primary methodologies for evaluating shock and vibration survivability of electronic packaging is the JEDEC drop test method, JESD22-B111 which tests board-level reliability of packaging. However, packages in electronic products may be subjected to a wide-array of boundary conditions beyond those targeted in the test method. In this paper, a failure-envelope approach based on wavelet transforms and damage proxies has been developed to model drop and shock survivability of electronic packaging. Data on damage progression under transient-shock and vibration in both 95.5Sn4. 0Ag0.5Cu and 63Sn37Pb ball-grid arrays (BGAs) has been presented. Component types examined include-flex-substrate and rigid substrate BGAs. Dynamic measurements like acceleration, strain and resistance are measured and analyzed using high-speed data acquisition system capable of capturing in-situ strain, continuity and acceleration data in excess of five million samples per second. High-speed video at 150000 fps per second has been used to capture the deformation kinematics. The concept of relative damage index has been used to both evaluate and predict damage progression during transient shock. The failure-envelope provides a fundamental basis for development of component integration guidelines to ensure survivability in shock and vibration environments at a user-specified confidence level. The approach is scalable to application at system-level. Explicit finite-element models have been developed for prediction of shock survivability based on the failure envelope. Model predictions have been correlated with experimental data for both leaded and leadfree BGAs.
Dexmedetomidine: pediatric pharmacology, clinical uses and safety

Importance of the field: Dexmedetomidine is an α2-adrenoceptor agonist with sedative, anxiolytic and analgesic properties. It is used off-label in pediatric patients due to its efficacy and lack of adverse respiratory effects. Dexmedetomidine may cause severe circulatory complications in adults. Despite its popularity, the safety of dexmedetomidine in the pediatric population has not been extensively studied. Areas covered in this review: This article reviews the current literature (up to 2010) focusing on applications and safety of dexmedetomidine administered to pediatric patients. What the reader will gain: Dexmedetomidine is a useful sedative and anxiolytic drug in the pediatric intensive care unit as well as during diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Deleterious effects of dexmedetomidine include hypotension and bradycardia. Additionally, hypertension may occur during the “loading dose” or with high infusion rates. Few studies have been performed to evaluate the safety of dexmedetomidine in pediatrics. The development of tolerance and withdrawal has not been studied in children. Take home message: Despite its favorable respiratory profile, dexmedetomidine may cause deleterious cardiovascular effects. Close monitoring of circulatory dynamics and judicious titration is recommended. Further studies are needed to better define adverse effects following long-term infusions as well as in special populations such as pre-term infants.
'Whom Do You Trust?' Investor-Advisor Relationships and Mutual Fund Flows

I provide a measure for the value that investors place on trust and relationships in asset management by examining mutual fund flows around announced changes in the ownership of fund management companies. I find a decline in flows of around 7% of fund assets in the year following the announcement date, resulting primarily from fund outflows. Retail investors and investors in funds with higher expense ratios are most responsive to ownership changes, providing evidence that such investors appear to place a significant value on trust and are more likely to respond to a relationship disruption by withdrawing their assets. Received September 13, 2013; accepted August 10, 2015 by Editor Laura Starks.
PPARα and Sirt1 Mediate Erythropoietin Action in Increasing Metabolic Activity and Browning of White Adipocytes to Protect Against Obesity and Metabolic Disorders

Erythropoietin (EPO) has shown beneficial effects in the regulation of obesity and metabolic syndrome; however, the detailed mechanism is still largely unknown. Here, we created mice with adipocyte-specific deletion of EPO receptor. These mice exhibited obesity and decreased glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity, especially when fed a high-fat diet. Moreover, EPO increased oxidative metabolism, fatty acid oxidation, and key metabolic genes in adipocytes and in white adipose tissue from diet-induced obese wild-type mice. Increased metabolic activity by EPO is associated with induction of brown fat–like features in white adipocytes, as demonstrated by increases in brown fat gene expression, mitochondrial content, and uncoupled respiration. Peroxisome proliferator–activated receptor (PPAR)α was found to mediate EPO activity because a PPARα antagonist impaired EPO-mediated induction of brown fat–like gene expression and uncoupled respiration. PPARα also cooperates with Sirt1 activated by EPO through modulating the NAD+ level to regulate metabolic activity. PPARα targets, including PPARγ coactivator 1α, uncoupling protein 1, and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1α, were increased by EPO but impaired by Sirt1 knockdown. Sirt1 knockdown also attenuated adipose response to EPO. Collectively, EPO, as a novel regulator of adipose energy homeostasis via these metabolism coregulators, provides a potential therapeutic strategy to protect against obesity and metabolic disorders.
A Cognitive Behavioral Therapy-Based Text Messaging Intervention for Methamphetamine Dependence

Abstract Psychosocial treatments for methamphetamine dependence are of limited effectiveness. Thus, a significant need exists for add-on therapy for this substance user disorder. The aim of this study was to develop and test a novel text messaging intervention for use as an adjunct to cognitive behavioral group therapy for methamphetamine users. Text messaging has the potential to support patients in real-time, around the clock. We convened two meetings of an expert panel, held three focus groups in current and former users, and conducted 15 semi-structured interviews with in-treatment users in order to develop a fully automated, cognitive behavioral therapy-based text messaging intervention. We then conducted a randomized, crossover pre-test in five users seeking treatment. Participants’ ratings of ease of use and functionality of the system were high. During the pre-test, we performed real-time assessments via text messaging on daily methamphetamine use, craving levels, and the perceived usefulness of messages; 79% of scheduled assessments were collected. The odds of messages being rated as “very” or “extremely” useful were 6.6 times (95% CI: 2.2, 19.4) higher in the active vs. placebo periods. The intervention is now ready for testing in randomized clinical trials.
Military Spending and Growth: The Role of Institutions

Recent literature on whether military spending affects economic growth argues that the relationship may be a conditional one. We add to this literature by considering the role that ‘good institutions’ play in the effect of military spending on growth. Using data from a sample of over 100 countries from 1988 to 2010, our analysis suggests that the effect of military spending on growth is generally negative or zero at best, and this effect is mitigated in the presence of good economic and political institutions.
ANALISA AKUNTABILITAS DAN TRANSPARANSI TENTANG IMPLEMENTASI KEBIJAKAN PENGELOLAAN BOS

This research was conducted with the aim to analyse the implementation of the accountability and transparency financial management which the source stemming from government. The approach used is a case study of indepth interview from financial manager, head master, and stakeholders. The results of this research show that first appeared as constraints and not regulated and obligations of private schools in terms of taxation. Second, the scale of priority importance of accountability between the financial manager and head master has different values so as conflicts of interest. Third, the implementation of transparency development from the publication such as via the website, call center, facebook. The fourth, the Government has n ot set a standard policy to use of the grant allocations.
Lifelong engagement with music : learning through the lives of Portuguese music educators

This thesis adds to the growing body of knowledge of lifelong engagement with music but with a new emphasis on Portuguese music educators’ lives. This investigation places its focus on the importance of Portuguese music educators’ narratives in understanding the experiences of music education and its lifelong impact. This is a qualitative study, based on 64 questionnaires used for recruitment purposes and contextualization, and 26 life-history interviews. The aims of this research are: to analyse early musical experiences in the lives of music educators (in various settings such as philharmonic bands and specialised music institutions); to provide an in-depth, up to date analysis of their experiences in formal music education and how these affect their lifelong engagement with music; to identify the reasons that led them to choose music teaching as a career and to analyse their attitudes towards music education and how those were shaped by their previous experiences. The interviews each provided one to four hours of recorded verbal data and have been analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis approach. The findings indicate that these participants’ experiences as music students showed great impact in their musical engagement, their career decisions and their attitudes towards music education. This thesis reports on participants’ experiences within the Portuguese music education system and argues that it places its focus on performance leaving aside other possible selves in music. Furthermore, these findings suggest that music educators’ attitudes towards music education are constantly evolving rather than bound to previous attitudes and experiences. The importance and originality of this study are that it explores Portuguese music educators’ life stories for the first time and offers important insights into the role of music education in lifelong engagement with music and in music teaching careers. Key-words: life stories; music education; Portugal; music educators; possible selves.
Review of How to Construct a Fully Homomorphic Encryption Scheme

Fully homomorphic encryption (FHE) allows one to perform arbitrary computation on encrypted data. From the cloud computing perspective, a FHE scheme can be used to outsource a computation to a remote cloud server without revealing the computed data to the server. This is a very attractive cryptographic primitive. Existing methods used to construct FHE schemes are complicated, and often these methods are difficult to understand except by experts in the field. This paper aims to explain how to construct a FHE scheme in an easily understandable way. We first present a general overview of FHE scheme construction. We then take the van Dijk et al FHE scheme as an example and explain how a FHE scheme is obtained from a simple integer-based encryption scheme. Our explanation gives details of the noise bound, how noise growth can be controlled and how the vanDijk scheme is implemented.
Clinical and neurocognitive profiles of subjects at high risk for psychosis with and without obsessive–compulsive symptoms

Objective: Obsessive–compulsive symptoms (OCS), which are common in psychotic-spectrum illnesses, are of clinical interest because of their association with poor prognosis or cognitive dysfunction. However, few studies on the clinical and neurocognitive implications of OCS in individuals at ultra-high risk for psychosis (UHR) have been conducted. Method: Sixty-five UHR subjects [24 with OCS (UHR+OCS), 41 without OCS (UHR−OCS)], and 40 healthy controls were assessed using clinical scales and neurocognitive tests. Results: Those with UHR+OCS showed more severe clinical symptoms and poorer global functioning as compared to both healthy controls and the UHR−OCS group, according to the results of the Global Assessment of Functioning, the Comprehensive Assessment of At-Risk Mental States, and the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (total, negative, and general scores). In the neurocognitive domain, those in the UHR−OCS group showed notably greater latency in the Stroop task and more confabulation errors in immediate recall in the Rey–Osterrieth Complex Figure Test compared with those in UHR+OCS group, whose performance levels were similar to those of the healthy control group. Conclusions: The OCS manifested in UHR individuals was associated with a more severe clinical symptomatic presentation, including lower global functioning and more psychotic symptoms. On the other hand, those with UHR−OCS performed more poorly on some cognitive tests. The features that distinguish the groups can be used for developing prognoses and intervention strategies for the heterogeneous UHR group.
Congenital arthrogryposis-hydranencephaly syndrome caused by Akabane virus in newborn calves of Basrah Governorate, Iraq

Aim: The study was conducted in Basrah, Iraq, to diagnose congenital arthrogryposis-hydranencephaly syndrome caused by Akabane virus (AKAV) in calves. Materials and Methods: Affected animals (42 calves) are about 2-27 days old from both sexes show signs of arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly. Eight clinically healthy newborn calves were considered as controls. Diagnosis of AKAV was confirmed using a competition enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay test. Results: Results show that all affected calves were found seropositive. Furthermore, a significant increase in total leukocyte count in diseased calves due to a significant increase in the absolute lymphocyte number indicated in affected calves than in controls. Moreover, a significant increase in sedimentation rate of erythrocytes was also encountered in diseased calves than in controls. In addition, a significant increase in haptoglobin level and fibrinogen was also detected. Conclusion: Diagnosis of AKAV infection of Basrah Governorate, Iraq, will provide useful epidemiological information for cattle and other domesticated animals. Therefore, abortion could be prevented and controlled.