Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fast NMPC: A reality-steered paradigm: Key properties of fast NMPC algorithms

In this paper, the paradigm of fast Nonlinear Model Predictive Control is recalled. Then a fundamental inequality that conditions the closed-loop stability is derived. Based on this inequality, it is shown that the comparison between different algorithms in the context of Fast NMPC must be based not only on the efficiency per iteration but also on the time needed to perform a single iteration. An illustrative example is used to assess the fact that under some circumstances, it is worth using less efficient algorithms (in conventional sense) that correspond to less amount of computation per iteration and this even when perfect model is used and in a disturbance-free context.
Combined Dynamic Arrays for Storing and Searching Semi-Ordered Tandem Mass Spectrometry Data

When performing bioinformatics analysis on tandem mass spectrometry data, there is a computational need to efficiently store and sort these semi-ordered datasets. To solve this problem, a new data structure based on dynamic arrays was designed and implemented in an algorithm that parses semi-ordered data made by Mascot, a separate software program that matches peptide tandem mass spectra to protein sequences in a database. By accommodating the special features of these large datasets, the combined dynamic array (CDA) provides efficient searching and insertion operations. The operations on real datasets using this new data structure are hundreds times faster than operations using binary tree and red-black tree structures. The difference becomes more significant when the dataset size grows. This data structure may be useful for improving the speed of other related types of protein assembling software or other types of software that operate on datasets with similar semi-ordered features.
Finite Volume Scheme for Double Convection-Diffusion Exchange of Solutes in Bicarbonate High-Flux Hollow-Fiber Dialyzer Therapy

The efficiency of a high-flux dialyzer in terms of buffering and toxic solute removal largely depends on the ability to use convection-diffusion mechanism inside the membrane. A two-dimensional transient convection-diffusion model coupled with acid-base correction term was developed. A finite volume technique was used to discretize the model and to numerically simulate it using MATLAB software tool. We observed that small solute concentration gradients peaked and were large enough to activate solute diffusion process in the membrane. While CO2 concentration gradients diminished from their maxima and shifted toward the end of the membrane, HCO3 − concentration gradients peaked at the same position. Also, CO2 concentration decreased rapidly within the first 47 minutes while optimal HCO3 − concentration was achieved within 30 minutes of the therapy. Abnormally high diffusion fluxes were observed near the blood-membrane interface that increased diffusion driving force and enhanced the overall diffusive process. While convective flux dominated total flux during the dialysis session, there was a continuous interference between convection and diffusion fluxes that call for the need to seek minimal interference between these two mechanisms. This is critical for the effective design and operation of high-flux dialyzers.
Methylation profile of the promoter CpG islands of 14 "drug-resistance" genes in hepatocellular carcinoma.

AIM To establish the DNA methylation patterns of the promoter CpG islands of 14 "drug-resistance" genes in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODS The methylation specific polymerase chain reaction in conjunction with sequencing verification was used to establish the methylation patterns of the 14 genes in the liver tissues of four healthy liver donors, as well as tumor and the paired non-cancerous tissues of 30 HCC patients. RESULTS While 11 genes (ATP-binding cassette, sub-family G (WHITE), member 2(ABCG2), activating transcription factor (ATF2), beta-2-microglobulin (B2M), deoxycytidine kinase (DCK), occludin (OCLN), v-raf-1 murine leukemia viral oncogene homolog (RAF1), ralA binding protein 1 (RALBP1), splicing factor (45 kD) (SPF45), S-phase kinase-associated protein 2 (p45) (SKP2), tumor protein p53 (Li-Fraumeni syndrome) (TP53) and topoisomerase (DNA) II beta (TOP2B)) maintained the unmethylated patterns, three genes displayed to various extents the hypermethylation state in tumor tissues in comparison with the normal counterparts. The catalase (CAT) was hypermethylated in tumor and the neighboring non-cancerous tissue of one case (3.3%). Both glutathione S-transferase pi (GSTpi) (80%, 24/30 in tumor and 56.7%, 17/30 in the paired non-cancerous tissues) and cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, ATP-binding cassette (sub-family C, member 7) (CFTR) (77%, 23/30 in tumor and 50%, 15/30 in the paired non-cancerous tissues) genes were prevalently hypermethylated in HCC as well as their neighboring non-cancerous tissues. No significant difference in the hypermethylation occurrence was observed between the HCC and its neighboring non-cancerous tissues. CONCLUSION Hypermethylation of promoter CpG islands of both CFTR and GSTpi genes occurs prevalently in HCC, which may correlate with the low expression of these two genes at the mRNA level and has the profound etiological and clinical implications. It is likely to be specific to the early phase of HCC carcinogenesis.
Testing Cosmological Models against the Abundance of Damped Lyman-Alpha Absorbers

We calculate the number of damped Lyα absorbers expected in various popular cosmological models as a function of redshift and compare our predictions with observed abundances. The Press-Schechter formalism is used to obtain the distribution of halos with circular velocity in different cosmologies, and we calibrate the relation between circular velocity and absorption cross section using detailed gasdynamical simulations of a standard cold dark matter (CDM) model. Because of this calibration, our approach makes more realistic assumptions about the absorption properties of collapsed objects than previous, analytic calculations of the damped Lyα abundance. CDM models with Ω0 = 1, H0 = 50 km s-1 Mpc-1, baryon density Ωb = 0.05, and scale-invariant primeval fluctuations reproduce the observed incidence and redshift evolution of damped Lyα absorption to within observational uncertainty, for both COBE normalization (σ8 = 1.2) and a lower normalization (σ8 = 0.7) that better matches the observed cluster abundance at z = 0. A tilted (n = 0.8, σ8 = 0.7) CDM model tends to underproduce absorption, especially at z = 4. With COBE normalization, a CDM model with Ω0 = 0.4, ΩΛ = 0.6 gives an acceptable fit to the observed absorption; an open CDM model is marginally acceptable if Ω0 ≥ 0.4 and is strongly inconsistent with the z = 4 data if Ω0 = 0.3. Mixed dark matter models tend not to produce sufficient absorption, being roughly comparable to tilted CDM models if Ων = 0.2 and failing drastically if Ων = 0.3.
Form, performance and trade-offs in swimming and stability of armed larvae

Diverse larval forms swim and feed with ciliary bands on arms or analogous structures. Armed morphologies are varied: numbers, lengths, and orientations of arms differ among species, change through development, and can be plastic in response to physiological or environmental conditions. A hydromechanical model of idealized equal-armed larvae was used to examine functional consequences of these varied arm arrangements for larval swimming performance. With effects of overall size, ciliary tip speed, and viscosity factored out, the model suggested trade-offs between morphological traits conferring high swimming speed and weight-carrying ability in still water (generally few arms and low arm elevations), and morphologies conferring high stability to external disturbances such as shear flows (generally many arms and high arm elevations). In vertical shear, larvae that were passively stabilized by a center of buoyancy anterior to the center of gravity tilted toward and consequently swam into downwelling flows. Thus, paradoxically, upward swimming by passively stable swimmers in vertical shear resulted in enhanced downward transport. This shear-dependent vertical transport could affect diverse passively stable swimmers, not just armed larvae. Published descriptions of larvae and metamorphosis of 13 ophiuroids suggest that most ophioplutei fall into two groups: those approximating modeled forms with two arms at low elevations, predicted to enhance speed and weight capacity, and those approximating modeled forms with more numerous arms of equal length at high elevations, predicted to enhance stability in shear.
Literacy as a determining factor for brain organization: from Lecours’ contribution to the present day

This review aimed to discuss the influence of literacy and formal education on human brain organization, based on evidence drawn from three sources: (1) results and limitations of a project coordinated by André Roch Lecours on the influence of illiteracy on brain organization and of studies on aphasia in illiterate populations; (2) data on the impact of schooling on the neuropsychological assessment of healthy and brain-damaged individuals, and (3) studies on the effect of schooling on dementia. These findings suggest that schooling and literacy processes influence cerebral organization of healthy individuals, as well as of brain-lesion individuals and those with dementia. Concerning illiteracy, the systematic pioneering studies developed by Lecours and the continuity of his investigations were essential to alert the scientific and clinical communities to take into account the role of educational experience on cognitive processing and its brain substrates.
Coordination in Portuguese An HPSG Account of Closest Conjunct Agreement in NP

This paper discusses the NP-internal agreement strategies observed in an empirical (corpus based) study of Portuguese, and proposes an analysis which is formalized in the framework of Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG). The empirical study suggests that what were previously thought to be rare or non-existent strategies occur with surprising frequency. Capturing these strategies poses problems for many standard approaches to agreement. The formalization shows how they can be captured with a relatively conservative extension of the existing HPSG theory of agreement.
BOUNDS ON THE GROWTH OF HIGH SOBOLEV NORMS OF SOLUTIONS TO THE 2 D DEFOCUSING PERIODIC DEFOCUSING CUBIC NLS

Remark 1.2. Let us observe that, when s is an integer, or when Φ is smooth, essentially the same bound as in Theorem 1.1 was proved by using different techniques in the work of Zhong [50]. The reason why one uses the fact that s is an integer is because one wants to use exact formulae for the (Fractional) Leibniz Rule for D. By using an exact Leibniz Rule, one sees that certain terms which are difficult to estimate are in fact equal to zero.
PSDBoost: Matrix-Generation Linear Programming for Positive Semidefinite Matrices Learning

In this work, we consider the problem of learning a positive semidefinite matrix. The critical issue is how to preserve positive semidefiniteness during the course of learning. Our algorithm is mainly inspired by LPBoost [1] and the general greedy convex optimization framework of Zhang [2]. We demonstrate the essence of the algorithm, termed PSDBoost (positive semidefinite Boosting), by focusing on a few different applications in machine learning. The proposed PSDBoost algorithm extends traditional Boosting algorithms in that its parameter is a positive semidefinite matrix with trace being one instead of a classifier. PSDBoost is based on the observation that any trace-one positive semidefinite matrix can be decomposed into linear convex combinations of trace-one rank-one matrices, which serve as base learners of PSDBoost. Numerical experiments are presented.
EIGENVALUE STATISTICS FOR CMV MATRICES: FROM POISSON TO CLOCK VIA CβE

Abstract. We study CMV matrices (a discrete one-dimensional Dirac-type operator) with random decaying coefficients. Under mild assumptions we identify the local eigenvalue statistics in the natural scaling limit. For rapidly decreasing coefficients, the eigenvalues have rigid spacing (like the numerals on a clock); in the case of slow decrease, the eigenvalues are distributed according to a Poisson process. For a certain critical rate of decay we obtain the circular beta ensembles of random matrix theory. The temperature β appears as the square of the coupling constant.
Solitary-Active Play Behavior: A Marker Variable for Maladjustment in the Preschool?

Abstract This study explored the construct of solitary-active play as a behavioral marker for maladjustment in the preschool. One hundred fifty-three children were observed during free play in preschool over a two-week period. Additional measures included parental ratings of child temperament and attitude towards school, teacher ratings of behavior problems, and child interview assessments of vocabulary and academic achievement. Results indicated that, as compared to their peers, children who frequently engaged in solitary-active behaviors were temperamentally less attentive, more difficult to soothe, behaved more shyly, displayed more externalizing problems, performed more poorly on assessments of early academic skills, and had a less positive attitude towards school. Results are discussed in terms of the potential of solitary-active behavior to act as a marker variable for various forms of social and academic maladjustment in the preschool.
Technology, Monopoly, and the Decline of the Viatical Settlements Industry

The viatical settlement industry provides an opportunity for terminally-ill consumers, typically HIV patients, to exploit a previously untapped source of equity in existing life insurance contracts to finance consumption and medical expenses. The 1996 introduction and dissemination of effecive anti-HIV medication reduced AIDS mortality, but also reduced viatical settlement prices, even holding fixed changes in life expectancy. Using Freedom of Information Act requests to state insurance regulatory agencies, we have assembled a unique dataset of over twelve thousand viatical transactions from firms licensed in states that regulate viatical settlement markets. We distinguish two explanations for falling prices---an increase in market power, and a change in market expectations about the likelihood of further improvements in HIV care. We find that both explanations have contributed to diminishing settlement prices over the last decade, but increased market power has been the more important driver in the most recent years. Our estimates imply that the increase in market power of firms reduced the value of life insurance holdings of HIV persons by about $1.0 billion.
Conditionally Gaussian Hypermodels for Cerebral Source Localization

Bayesian modeling and analysis of the magnetoencephalography and electroencephalography modalities provide a flexible framework for introducing prior information complementary to the measured data. This prior information is often qualitative in nature, making the translation of the available information into a computational model a challenging task. We propose a generalized gamma family of hyperpriors which allows the impressed currents to be focal and we advocate a fast and efficient iterative algorithm, the iterative alternating sequential algorithm for computing maximum a posteriori (MAP) estimates. Furthermore, we show that for particular choices of the scalar parameters specifying the hyperprior, the algorithm effectively approximates popular regularization strategies such as the minimum current estimate and the minimum support estimate. The connection between priorconditioning and adaptive regularization methods is also pointed out. The posterior densities are explored by means of a Markov chain Monte Carlo strategy suitable for this family of hypermodels. The computed experiments suggest that the known preference of regularization methods for superficial sources over deep sources is a property of the MAP estimators only, and that estimation of the posterior mean in the hierarchical model is better adapted for localizing deep sources.
Red Blood Cell Phosphate Concentration and Osmotic Resistance During Dietary Phosphate Depletion in Dairy Cows

Background Hypophosphatemia in early lactating dairy cows has been implicated as primary cause for postparturient hemoglobinuria in cattle. Decreased availability of phosphorus has been proposed to reduce adenosine triphosphate synthesis of erythrocytes and thereby reduce osmotic resistance of these cells. Hypothesis/Objectives To study the effect of phosphorus depletion on the phosphate concentration ([Pi]) in plasma and erythrocytes and the osmotic resistance of erythrocytes and to determine the association between plasma [Pi] and erythrocyte [Pi]. Animals Ten healthy midlactating dairy cows in their 3rd to 5th lactation. Methods Prospective study. Dietary phosphorus depletion for 5 weeks followed by phosphorus supplementation. Plasma and erythrocyte [Pi] and erythrocyte osmotic resistance were measured. Four cows underwent continuous dextrose infusion at the end of phosphate depletion to exacerbate hypophosphatemia. Results Dietary P depletion resulted in a marked decline of the plasma [Pi] from 4.1 ± 1.0 mg/dL to a nadir of 1.7 ± 0,5 mg/dL, but did not alter erythrocyte [Pi] or osmotic resistance. Similarly, dextrose infusion induced a decline of the plasma [Pi] from 2.4 ± 0.5 mg/dL to 1.5 ± 0.5 mg/dL, but had no effect on erythrocyte [Pi] or osmotic resistance. Conclusions and Clinical Importance In cattle, marked hypophosphatemia induced by dietary P depletion was neither associated with a decline in erythrocyte [Pi] nor with decreased osmotic resistance of erythrocytes. Phosphorus depletion alone is therefore unlikely to cause intravascular hemolysis and the plasma [Pi] is an unreliable index for the intracellular [Pi] of erythrocytes.
Who commercialises research at Swedish universities and why?

European universities have been increasingly pressured since the late 1990s to make a more visible contribution to economic development. This policy interest has produced an increasing focus on knowledge transfer generally, and more specifically on measures to promote a research culture which values patenting and firm formation. This paper presents results from an interview study of academic faculty views on knowledge transfer and commercialisation at five public universities in Sweden. Our results show that, despite the retention of inventor ownership at Swedish universities, there is a high degree of knowledge transfer of all kinds. The overriding driver of entrepreneurial behaviour among faculty appears to be the low level of direct funding for research in universities. We find that attitudes to firm formation vary from positive to ambivalent, and that faculty from the humanities and social sciences engage in a higher level of entrepreneurial and policy adaptive behaviour than they report. We conclude that faculty at Swedish universities perceive the role of public servant and entrepreneurial academic as conflicting. This perceived conflict may be one reason for reluctance to report instances of commercialisation of research.
A Critique of the “Outcome Test” in Racial Profiling Research

In racial profiling research, four different research perspectives—legalistic, criminological, economic, and normative—have emerged. The analytical techniques of two of these perspectives, the legalistic and criminological, have been thoroughly detailed in prior research. More recently, the economic perspective has presented an alternative analytical strategy (i.e., the outcome test), to determine racial and ethnic discrimination by police. When applied to police searches, the outcome test is a statistical comparison of search success rates across racial and ethnic groups. The outcome test, however, is based on a number of underlying assumptions regarding police and citizen behaviors that do not coincide with what is known about decision‐making during police–citizen encounters. These underlying assumptions are described and the conclusions based on the use of the outcome test are critiqued. The implications for the use of the outcome test and other analytical techniques for the future of racial profiling research are discussed.
Roles of Hedgehog pathway components and retinoic acid signalling in specifying zebrafish ventral spinal cord neurons

In mouse, Hedgehog (Hh) signalling is required for most ventral spinal neurons to form. Here, we analyse the spinal cord phenotype of zebrafish maternal-zygotic smoothened (MZsmo) mutants that completely lack Hh signalling. We find that most V3 domain cells and motoneurons are lost, whereas medial floorplate still develops normally and V2, V1 and V0v cells form in normal numbers. This phenotype resembles that of mice that lack both Hh signalling and Gli repressor activity. Ventral spinal cord progenitor domain transcription factors are not expressed at 24 hpf in zebrafish MZsmo mutants. However, pMN, p2 and p1 domain markers are expressed at early somitogenesis stages in these mutants. This suggests that Gli repressor activity does not extend into zebrafish ventral spinal cord at these stages, even in the absence of Hh signalling. Consistent with this, ectopic expression of Gli3R represses ventral progenitor domain expression at these early stages and knocking down Gli repressor activity rescues later expression. We investigated whether retinoic acid (RA) signalling specifies ventral spinal neurons in the absence of Hh signalling. The results suggest that RA is required for the correct number of many different spinal neurons to form. This is probably mediated, in part, by an effect on cell proliferation. However, V0v, V1 and V2 cells are still present, even in the absence of both Hh and RA signalling. We demonstrate that Gli1 has a Hh-independent role in specifying most of the remaining motoneurons and V3 domain cells in embryos that lack Hh signalling, but removal of Gli1 activity does not affect more dorsal neurons.
Dynamics of quasiparticles in graphene under intense circularly polarized light

A monolayer of graphene irradiated with circularly polarized light suggests a unique platform for surface electromagnetic wave (plasmon-polariton) manipulation. In fact, the time periodicity of the Hamiltonian leads to a geometric Aharonov-Anandan phase and results in a photovoltaic Hall effect in graphene, creating off-diagonal components of the conductivity tensor. The latter drastically changes the dispersion relation of surface plasmon-polaritons, leading to hybrid wave generation. In this paper we present a systematic and self-contained analysis of the hybrid surface waves obtained from Maxwell equations based on a microscopic formula for the conductivity. We consider a practical example of graphene sandwiched between two dielectric media and show that in the one-photon approximation there is formation of propagating hybrid surface waves. From this analysis emerges the possibility of a reliable experimental realization to study Zitterbewegung of charge carriers of graphene.
Multiple family weight pathology and outcome in anorexia nervosa: A longitudinal case study

A prospective family case study was conducted whilst one member, a 14-year-old girl, underwent individual outpatient treatment for anorexia nervosa. Despite her being a twin within a family with multiple weight and other pathologies, substantial recovery was achieved and continued at two-year follow-up. Evidence of decompensation in other family members was suggested by clinical interview data but not by concurrent self-report measures of eating disorder or neurotic symptomatology.