Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Controlling the focus of perceptual attention in embodied conversational agents

In this paper, we present a computational model of dynamic perceptual attention for virtual humans. The computational models of perceptual attention that we surveyed fell into one of two camps: top-down and bottom-up. Biologically inspired computational models [2] typically focus on the bottom-up aspects of attention, while most virtual humans [1,3,7] implement a top-down form of attention. Bottom-up attention models only consider the sensory information without taking into consideration the saliency based on tasks or goals. As a result, the outcome of a purely bottom-up model will not consistently match the behavior of real humans in certain situations. Modeling perceptual attention as a purely top-down process, however, is also not sufficient for implementing a virtual human. A purely top-down model does not take into account the fact that virtual humans need to react to perceptual stimuli vying for attention. Top-down systems typically handle this in an ad hoc manner by encoding special rules to catch certain conditions in the environment. The problem with this approach is that it does not provide a principled way of integrating the ever-present bottom-up perceptual stimuli with top-down control of attention. This model extends the prior model [7] with perceptual resolution based on psychological theories of human perception [4]. This model allows virtual humans to dynamically interact with objects and other individuals, balancing the demands of goal-directed behavior with those of attending to novel stimuli. This model has been implemented and tested with the MRE Project [5].
The near field of dipole antennas, part I: Theory

The theoretical and experimental evaluation of the electromagnetic fields in the immediate vicinity of resonant dipole antennas is presented. This type of antenna is widely used with portable and mobile radio transmitters. The work presented herein has been motivated by the concern that future Radio Frequency Protection Guides with respect to human exposure to nonionizing electromagnetic radiation might be expressed strictly in terms of the intensity squared of the electric or magnetic fields. It is shown in the results that it is possible to detect relatively high intensity electromagnetic (EM) fields in close proximity to resonant dipoles even for very low levels of radiated power (1 mW and less). The paper is divided into a theoretical section and an experimental section because its goals are twofold. First, the formulas for the correct evaluation of the EM fields in the close proximity to dipole antennas are established. Second, it is shown that such EM fields, which can be theoretically predicted and experimentally verified with satisfactory accuracy, are indeed strong enough to violate proposed Radio Frequency Protection Guides even for very low levels of radiated power. Thus portable radios are rendered virtually useless, although the same guides permit exposures to much higher levels of power in the far field. Part I of the paper is essentially theoretical and expresses the fields near dipole antennas in terms of cylindrical waves, which lend themselves to closed form integration. The asymptotic expressions of some components of the field are particularly simple for close distances (in terms of wavelength) from the antenna. The correctness of the solution is checked by evaluating how closely boundary conditions are satisfied. Results have shown that previously used formulas for evaluating field intensity very near dipole antennas can give incorrect values.
Cholestasis protects the liver from ischaemic injury and post-ischaemic inflammation in the mouse

Background and hypothesis: Cholestasis is associated with high morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing major liver surgery, but the mechanisms responsible remain elusive. Increased ischaemic liver injury and inflammation may contribute to the poor outcome. Methods: Common bile duct ligation (biliary obstruction with hyperbilirubinaemia) or selective ligation of the left hepatic duct (biliary obstruction without hyperbilirubinaemia) was performed in C57BL/6 mice before 1 h of hepatic ischaemia and 1, 4 or 24 h of reperfusion. Infection with the intracellular hepatic pathogen Listeria monocytogenes for 12 and 48 h was used to study ischaemia-independent hepatic inflammation. Results: Cholestatic mice showed considerable protection from ischaemic liver injury as determined by transaminase release, histological liver injury and neutrophil infiltration. In cholestatic mice, reduced injury correlated with a failure to activate nuclear factor κB (NFκB) and tumour necrosis factor α (TNFα) mRNA synthesis, two key mediators of post-ischaemic liver inflammation. After selective bile duct ligation, both the ligated and the non-ligated lobes showed blocked activation of NFκB as well as reduced induction of TNFα mRNA synthesis and neutrophil infiltration. By contrast, infection with L monocytogenes showed comparable activation of NFκB and hepatic recruitment of neutrophils 12 h after infection. Conclusion: Cholestasis does not increase but rather dramatically protects the liver from ischaemic injury and inflammation. This effect is mediated by a systemic factor, but not bilirubin, and is associated with a preserved capacity to trigger an inflammatory response to other stimuli such as a bacterial pathogen.
Automatic generation of high-performance multiple-input XOR/XNOR circuits and its application in Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)

Exclusive-OR (XOR) gate is one of the critical components in many applications such as cryptography. In this paper, we present an efficient multi-input XOR circuit design based on pass-transistor logic (PTL). A synthesis algorithm is developed to efficiently generate the PTL-based multi-input XOR circuits. Both pre-layout and post-layout simulation results show that our proposed multi-input XOR design outperforms static CMOS design. The multi-input XOR circuits are also used to design the transformations in the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES).
Real-Time Ocular Artifacts Suppression from EEG Signals Using an Unsupervised Adaptive Blind Source Separation

Independent component analysis (ICA) has been shown to be a powerful tool for artifactual suppression from electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. However, the real-time application of this method for artifact rejection has not been considered so far. This article presents a method based on an unsupervised, self-normalizing, adaptive learning algorithm for on-line blind source separation. Simulation results are provided to show the validity and effectiveness of the technique with different distributions. The results from real-data demonstrate that the proposed scheme removes perfectly eye blink and eye movement artifacts from the EEG signals and is suitable for use during on-line EEG monitoring such as EEG-based brain computer interface
Doing the Business: Variegation, Migration, and the Cultural Dimensions of Business Praxis – The Experiences of the French Highly-Skilled in London

French highly-skilled migration to London arguably constitutes the largest and most significant manifestation of such mobility within Europe. As such, they represent something of a test case for understanding the dynamics shaping intra-EU highly skilled migration, and beyond this, „elite mobility‟ more generally. Focussing on the working experiences of French highly-skilled professionals in London‟s financial and business sectors, this paper explores the meanings attributed to business praxis, in the capital, by a migrant group motivated in large part by career escalation and accumulation. The paper aims to contribute to our understanding of the nature and effects of ongoing variegation in the national expressions of capitalism (in particular, its manifestation in the cultural dimensions of business practices), and its salience for grasping the motivations and experiences of particular instances of highly-skilled migration. The variegation thesis argues that national expressions of capitalism will endure, despite the forces of globalisation, as the latter will continue to be mediated by nationally-framed ecological, institutional, processual, cultural and behavioural divergences. The ongoing variegated nature of European political economies remains a fundamental explanatory backdrop to understanding both the motivations for, and obstacles to, intra-EU migration for the highly-skilled. In line with such a thesis, the data (derived from one-off, in-depth, semi-structured interviews and a focus group), are indicative of the ongoing influence of nationally-framed, and culturally grounded, business practices, and of the equally nationally-framed manner in which these practices are signified by highly-skilled migrants. The data are also suggestive of the manner in which such variegation may challenge any seamless transferability of businessrelated social and cultural capital in contexts of inter-national migration. The paper explores the nature and signification of such variegation through an exploration of the cultural dimensions of business-related methodologies, language use, and communication praxis. Calling for a greater understanding of the particularities of specific instances of highly-skilled migration, this paper seeks to contribute to a fuller delineation of the specificities of French migratory motivations, experiences and meanings, as these pertain to their emplacement in London.
Effect of Trade Openness on Unemployment in Case of Labour and Capital Abundant Countries

This study examined the impact of trade openness on unemployment in case of capital-abundant and labourabundant countries. Inflation rate, economic growth, population growth and political rights have been used as control variables in our empirical analysis. For this purpose, the study used the data for the period of 1990- 2012 for 75 labour-abundant countries and 44 capital-abundant countries. IPS panel unit root test is used to check the normality and stationarity of the variables of interest and Mean Group and Pooled Mean Group heterogeneous panel cointegration techniques have been used to check the long run relationships among the variables of our study and to find the long run and short run parameters. In case of labour-abundant countries, trade openness has a significantly negative impact on unemployment in the long run. The variables of inflation rate and institutional quality also have negative and significant impact on unemployment. On the other hand, population growth is positively and significantly related with unemployment in the labour-abundant countries. While in case of capital-abundant countries, trade openness has a significantly positive impact on unemployment in the long run. The inflation rate also has negative and significant impact on unemployment. The impact of Population growth on unemployment is positively and significant. The coefficient of institutional quality remains statistically insignificant in case of capital-abundant countries.
Omega-3 fatty acid supplements in women at high risk of breast cancer have dose-dependent effects on breast adipose tissue fatty acid composition.

BACKGROUND Preclinical evidence of the preventive benefits of omega-3 (n-3) polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in breast cancer continues to fuel interest in the potential role of dietary fat content in reducing breast cancer risk. The dose of fish-oil/omega-3 PUFAs needed to achieve maximal target tissue effects for breast cancer prevention remains undefined. OBJECTIVE To determine the dose effects of omega-3 fatty acids on breast adipose tissue fatty acid profiles, we conducted a study of 4 doses of omega-3 PUFAs in women at high risk of breast cancer. DESIGN In this 6-mo randomized open-label study, 48 women with increased breast cancer risk received 1, 3, 6, or 9 capsules/d of an omega-3 PUFA supplement that provided 0.84, 2.52, 5.04, and 7.56 g docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) + eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) daily, respectively. Subjects made monthly visits, at which time pill counts were made and fasting blood samples were collected to determine fatty acid profiles; anthropometric measurements were made, breast adipose tissue samples were collected, and laboratory tests of toxicity (alanine aminotransferase, LDL cholesterol, and platelet function) were made at baseline and at 3 and 6 mo. RESULTS All doses led to increased serum and breast adipose tissue EPA and DHA concentrations, but the response to 0.84 g DHA+EPA/d was less than the maximum possible response with > or = 2.52 g/d. Body mass index attenuated the dose response for serum tissue DHA and EPA (P = 0.015 and 0.027, respectively) and breast adipose tissue DHA (P = 0.0022) in all of the treatment groups. The incremental increase in DHA and EPA correlated inversely with baseline fat and serum values. Compliance over 6 mo was 92.9 +/- 9.2% and was unaffected by treatment arm. No severe or serious toxicities were reported. CONCLUSIONS Daily doses up to 7.56 g DHA+EPA were well tolerated with excellent compliance in this cohort at high risk of breast cancer. Body mass index and baseline fatty acid concentrations modulated the dose-response effects of omega-3 PUFA supplements on serum EPA and DHA and breast adipose tissue DHA.
Online selective harmonic minimization for cascaded Half-bridge multilevel inverter using artificial neural network

Selective harmonic elimination (SHE) is a widely used method to minimize the amount of total harmonic distortion (THD) in multilevel inverters. The main challenge associated with SHE method is to solve multiple variable high order nonlinear equations to obtain desired switching angles. To overcome this problem, a new online approach is provided in this paper which does not require solving complex nonlinear equations. In this method, artificial neural networks (ANNs) are used to determine the switching angles to minimize the THD amount of the ac side voltage of an 11-level cascaded Half-bridge (CHB) multilevel inverter. However, unlike offline methods, ANN is updated online, without using any data gained from solving SHE equations. Finally, Simulation results are illustrated and compared with other offline methods.
Managing technology development for safety-critical systems

This paper presents a model that determines the optimal budget allocation strategy for the development of new technologies, for safety-critical systems, over multiple decision periods. The case of the development of a hypersonic passenger airplane is used as an illustration. The model takes into account both the probability of technology development success as a function of the allocated budget and the probability of operational performance of the final system. It assumes that the strategy is to consider (and possibly fund) several approaches to the development of each technology to maximize the probability of development success. The model, thus, decomposes the system's development process into multiple technology development modules (one for each technology needed), each involving a number of alternative projects. There is a tradeoff between development speed and operational reliability when the budget must be allocated among alternative technology projects with different probabilities of development success and operational reliability (e.g., an easily and quickly developed technology may have little robustness). The probabilities of development and operational failures are balanced by a risk analysis approach, which allows the decision maker to optimize the budget allocation among different projects in the development program, at the beginning of each budget period. The model indicates that by considering reliability in the R&D management process, the decision maker can make better decisions, optimizing the balance between development time, cost, and robustness of safety-critical systems.
Stabilization in the Sample-and-Hold Sense of Nonlinear Retarded Systems

In this paper, the problem of the stabilization in the sample-and-hold sense for fully nonlinear systems with an arbitrary number of arbitrary discrete as well as of distributed time delays is studied. It is shown that steepest descent feedbacks, continuous or not, induced by Lyapunov--Krasovskii functionals in a suitable (large) class, are stabilizers in the sample-and-hold sense. The fact that discontinuities are overcome by the sampling and holding process enlarges greatly the possibility of finding successful controllers for retarded nonlinear systems, by means of control Lyapunov--Krasovskii functionals.
A Closed Queueing Network Approach to the Analysis of Patient Flow in Health Care Systems

Summary Objectives: To model patient flow in health care systems with bed capacity constraints in order to provide a useful decision aid for health service managers. Methods: We model the patient flow of health care systems using a closed queueing network framework with the assumption that the system is always full. Key performance measures of the health care system are also derived. Results: Using parameters taken from a study of a geriatric department in the UK, we show that the model is useful in helping service managers to gain better understanding of the behaviour of the system. In addition, we demonstrate that the model could help improving decision-making by allowing managers to explore different options and evaluate their impacts on performance. Our findings highlight the importance of policy makers taking into account the interactions between different phases of care. Conclusions: We have developed a novel approach to modelling the flow of patients through health care systems with constrained bed capacity.
A modified capacitor voltage control algorithm for suppressing the effect of measurement noise on grid-connected Z-source inverters controllers

Inverters are considered the orbit of research objectives for safe and reliable grid interface. Amongst the conventional inverters known as suitable candidates for gird connection in the last two decades, Z-source inverter (ZSI) emerged with buck/boost voltage capabilities compared to the counterpart voltage source inverter (VSI) and current source inverter (CSI). Therefore, ZSI introduces the merit of single stage grid interfacing of DG especially with renewable energy sources. Proper control of key parameters in single stage grid interface is essential. In the ZSI operation, the capacitor voltage is the most vital key parameter which can be controlled throughout the boosting factor. In this paper, the conventional capacitor voltage control is modified to enhance the performance of grid-connected ZSI and increase its immunity against the measurement noise. The proposed modification is verified throughout simulation. Furthermore, the experimental results obtained from a grid-connected ZSI prototype substantiate the proposed improvement.
STUDIES ON ULTRASTRUCTURE AND THREE‐GENE PHYLOGENY OF THE GENUS MALLOMONAS (SYNUROPHYCEAE) 1

The genus Mallomonas, a common and often abundant member of the planktic community in many freshwater habitats worldwide, consists of 180 species divided into 19 sections and 23 series. Classification of species is based largely on ultrastructural characteristics of the siliceous scales and bristles that collectively form a highly organized covering over the cell. However, the relative importance of the different siliceous features of the scales, such as the dome, V rib, and secondary structures, as well as the different types of scales, in understanding the evolution and phylogeny of the genus is little known. In this study, we investigated the scale and bristle ultrastructure, along with sequences of three genes, for 19 isolates (18 species) of Mallomonas (18 isolates were from Korean habitats). The isolates represented nine of the 19 sections. Sequences for both the nuclear SSU and LSU rDNA and plastid LSU of RUBISCO (rbcL) genes for each of the 19 Mallomonas isolates and four outgroups were determined. Bayesian and maximum‐likelihood (ML) analyses of the data revealed that Mallomonas consists of two strongly supported clades. Mallomonas bangladeshica (E. Takah. et T. Hayak.) Siver et A. P. Wolfe was at the base of the first clade that included taxa from the sections Planae and Heterospinae, both of which lack a V rib on the shield of the scales. Our results indicated that the sections Planae and Heterospinae should be combined. The second clade, with Mallomonas insignis Penard and Mallomonas punctifera Korshikov at the base, contained taxa from the sections Mallomonas, Striatae, Akrokomae, Annulatae, Torquatae, Punctiferae, and Insignes, all of which have V ribs or well‐developed marginal ribs on the scales. Sister relationships between Mallomonas and Striatae were strongly supported, but interrelations among the remaining sections were not resolved, probably due to inclusion of too few species. Our results suggest that the current classification of the genus Mallomonas at the section level will require some revision. Additional species will need to be added in future analyses.
CONTINUOUS HOMOGENEOUS CATALYSIS IN ENZYME ENGINEERING

Continuous homogeneous catalysis with enzymes in membrane reactors was already suggested in 1968. ’ Ultrafiltration membranes are powerful tools to separate enzymes from low molecular weight reactants. Membranes for ultrafiltration are shown in FIGURE. 1 (see appendix for nomenclature). Symmetric and asymmetric membranes are available in flat sheet or hollow fiber design. The pressure drop across an asymmetric membrane is less than that across a symmetric membrane, so that now more and more asymmetric types are used. For enzyme membrane reactors the average pore diameter is in the range of 1.5 to 15 nm. Most of the enzymes are retained by membranes with pores of such size. Low molecular substrates are normally less than 0.5 nm in diameter so that an effective separation is possible. In FIGURE 2 the principle of an enzyme membrane reactor is shown. Substrate is delivered by means of a dosing pump. The reactor itself consists mainly of a recycle loop with an effective recirculating pump. Product (and nonconverted substrate) leave the reactor through an enforced flow across the ultrafiltration membrane. Plug flow can be approximated by using two or three such systems in series. In spite of a homogeneous performance concentration, polarization with respect to the enzyme occurs because of the enforced flow across the membranes. Therefore it is essential to establish turbulent conditions as near to the membrane as possible. * This paper is only concerned with enforced flow across the membrane. In the literature diffusive systems are also called membrane reactors. There the substrate has to pass the membrane before it reaches the catalyst, afterwards the resulting product has to pass the membrane once more. In such systems, there are similar mass transport limitations as in the field of carrier-fixed enzymes. In enzyme membrane reactors with enforced flow and sufficient turbulence, the activity per unit weight of protein may reach the value of the free native enzyme.
Investigation of Porous Silicon-Based Edge Termination for Planar-Type TRIAC

This paper aims to investigate a porous silicon (PS)-based edge termination for planar type ac switch. TRIAC device prototypes, specifically dedicated to evaluate blocking performances, are fabricated by integrating electrochemical etching in device processing. A mixed porous morphology containing micro-, meso-, and macropores is obtained in a p-Type through-wafer-diffused via after anodization. The fabricated prototypes show PS-dependent blocking capabilities. The possible impacts of the anodization conditions and the physical features of PS on the electrical characteristics are discussed in detail. Low leakage currents ( $<10~\mu \text{A}$ ) have been demonstrated up to several hundred voltages for both bias polarities. The forward blocking voltage decreases with increasing PS thickness, while an opposite trend is observed for the reverse blocking voltage. This paper confirms the interest of PS as a potential insulating material for power device manufacture.