Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Real-time load estimation for distribution feeders

This paper proposes a Real Time Load Estimator (RTLE) for the obtaining of accurate information on the real-time operating state of Distribution Systems (DSs) feeders. The RTLE is based on off-line information (customers consumption and typical load curves); a computationally efficient load-flow algorithm that uses a data structure named Node-Depth Encoding, and available real-time measurements. Using only off-line information, the proposed RTLE enables the off-line estimation of the loads of distribution transformers (aggregated load curves) and provides a measure of uncertainty of the estimation. It also refines the off-line estimates by processing the available real-time measurements via a computationally efficient load flow algorithm. Aspects of interest as impact of type and accuracy of measurements and the presence of measurements with gross errors are analyzed. The simulation results show the efficiency of the proposed RTLE in a test feeder.
Categorizations of Product-related Requirements in Practice: Observations and Improvements

There is a significant discussion on categorizing requirements in academia. Most commonly, requirements are categorized into functional requirements (FRs) and non-functional requirements (NFRs). However, as pointed out by Glinz and Broy, there is a terminological confusion about the underlying terms. This disagreement over categorizing requirements is not only prevalent in research, but it also influences how requirements are elicited, documented, and validated in practice. As a matter of fact, up until now, there does not exist a commonly accepted approach for the NFR-specific elicitation, documentation, and analysis; so-called NFRs are usually described vaguely, remain often not quantified, and as a result remain difficult to analyze and test. Furthermore, so-called NFRs are often retrofitted in the development process or pursued in parallel with, but separately from functional requirements and, thus, are implicitly managed with little or no consequence analysis. This limited focus on so-called NFRs can result in the long run in high maintenance costs. Although the importance of so-called NFRs for software and systems development is widely accepted, the discourse in academia is still dominated by how to categorize requirements. One point of view is that a categorization should be grounded in methodological reasons and we should rather base a requirements categorization on a system model. The underlying argument is that if we base a categorization on a system model, we can precisely specify requirements in terms of properties of systems, where properties are represented by logical predicates. The goal of the dissertation is to address the following two major questions: First, is a requirements categorization based on a system model adequate for requirements found in practice? With adequate, we mean that the categorization is applicable for industrial requirements and supports subsequent development activities. Second, how can a requirements categorization based on a system model be operationalized for subsequent development activities? To this end, we contribute a detailed analysis how practitioners handle and categorize requirements, elaborate the reasons for and resulting consequences on the overall development process, analyze the adequacy of a categorization based on a system model, analyze problems with requirements categorizations in practice, and present and evaluate an approach that embeds such a categorization for requirements in subsequent development activities.
New architectures of an image-processing pipeline based on nonlinear image decomposition

This paper presents two new architectures of an image-processing (IP) pipeline for a digital color camera, which are referred to as a prior-decomposition approach and a posterior-decomposition approach. The prior-decomposition approach firstly decomposes each primary color channel of mosaicked raw color data as a product of its two components, a structure component and a texture component, with a proper multiplicative monochrome-image decomposition method such as the BV-G variational decomposition method. Each component is then demosaicked with its proper color-interpolation method. Next, white balancing, color enhancement and inverse gamma correction are applied to only the structure component. Finally, the two components are combined. On the other hand, the posteriordecomposition approach firstly interpolates mosaicked raw color data with a proper demosaicing method, and decomposes its demosaicked color image with our proposed multiplicative color-image decomposition method utilizing inter-channel color cross-correlations. The subsequent processing is performed in the same manner as in the priordecomposition approach. Our proposed two architectures produce a high-quality output full-color image, but somewhat differ in performance. We experimentally compare their performance, and discuss the merits and the demerits of them.
Geometrical Analysis of Two Sets of 3D Correspondence Data Patterns for the Registration of Free-Form Shapes

The iterative closest point (ICP) algorithm represents an efficient method to establish an initial set of possible correspondences between two overlapping range images. An inherent limitation of the algorithm is the introduction of false matches, a problem that has been tackled by a variety of schemes mainly based on local invariants described in a single coordinate frame. In this paper we propose using global rigid motion constraints to deal with false matches. Such constraints are derived from geometric properties of correspondence vectors bridging the points described in different coordinate frames before and after a rigid motion. In order to accurately and efficiently estimate the parameters of interest, the Monte Carlo resampling technique is used and motion parameter candidates are then synthesised by a median filter. The proposed algorithm is validated based on both synthetic data and real range images. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm has advantages over existing registration methods concerning robustness, accuracy, and efficiency.
Treatment of children with high grade glioma with nimotuzumab: A 5-y institutional experience

Brain tumors are a major cause of cancer-related mortality in children. Overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is detected in pediatric brain tumors and receptor density appears to increase with tumor grading. Nimotuzumab is an IgG1 antibody that targets EGFR. Twenty-three children with high-grade glioma (HGG) were enrolled in an expanded access program in which nimotuzumab was administered alone or with radio-chemotherapy. The mean number of doses was 39. Nimotuzumab was well-tolerated and treatment with the antibody yielded a survival benefit: median survival time was 32.66 mo and the 2-y survival rate was 54.2%. This study demonstrated the feasibility of prolonged administration of nimotuzumab and showed preliminary evidence of clinical benefit in HGG patients with poor prognosis.
Glutathione-S-transferase (GSTM1, GSTT1) and the risk of gastrointestinal cancer in a Korean population.

AIM To evaluate the association of glutathione S-transferase mu (GSTM1) and glutathione S-transferase theta (GSTT1) null genotypes with the risk of gastric cancer (GC) and colorectal cancer (CRC) in a South Korean population. METHODS We conducted a population-based, large-scale case-control study including 2213 GCs, 1829 CRCs, and 1699 controls. Null and non-null genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were determined using real-time PCR. RESULTS The null genotypes of GSTM1 and GSTT1 were not significantly associated with elevated risk of gastric (OR = 1.070, 95% CI = 0.935-1.224; OR = 1.101, 95% CI = 0.963-1.259, respectively) or colorectal cancer (OR = 1.065, 95% CI = 0.923-1.228; OR = 1.041, 95% CI = 0.903-1.200, respectively). The frequency of the combined null GST genotype was not different between the two cancer groups and controls. Moreover, smoking, drinking, and age did not modify the association between these genotypes and the risk of gastric or colorectal cancer. CONCLUSION GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes were not associated with increased risk of GC or CRC in Koreans.
Children and adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus - family dynamics and health-related quality of life after diabetes onset

Aim: The main aim of this thesis was to explore different aspects of family dynamics and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) after the onset of T1DM in children and adolescents. A second aim was to evaluate the effects of a two-year prospective family intervention randomized controlled trial (RCT) with additional psychological support after the onset of T1DM, focusing on facilitating communication skills within the family in the initial and ongoing diabetes care. Methods: In Paper I, children and parents completed the Swedish versions of the PedsQL 4.0 and PedsQL 3.0 questionnaires measuring generic and diabetes-specific HRQOL, respectively. In Paper II, 30 parents and eight siblings participated in focus group discussions and individual interviews about their preconceptions about diabetes, their reactions to the child’s diagnosis of T1DM, and its impact on family relationships. Papers III and IV examined different aspects of the two-year family intervention study in which children aged 3–15 years, recently diagnosed with T1DM, participated with their parents. In this RCT, two different treatment regimens at T1DM diagnosis were compared. The treatment-as-usual regimen provided support from the whole diabetes team except for the specific support of a family psychologist-psychotherapist with special training in diabetes. Families in the intervention group were also provided with therapy focusing on improving communication. Results: In Paper I, the Total Score of the PedsQL 4.0 Generic Core Scales and the PedsQL 3.0 Diabetes Module exceeded the criterion for satisfactory internal consistency, for both child self-reports and parent proxy reports (α-values >0.88). In Paper II, fathers showed more uniform emotional and behavioral patterns than mothers did. Among mothers, more distinct differences appeared, depending on the age of the child with T1DM and the civil status of the mother. Siblings reported increased demands on them in terms of greater responsibility and maturity. Reactions such as competition and jealousy occurred at younger ages, whereas older siblings were more caring but also carried an increased burden of worry. In Paper III, a higher education level in the father was associated with a lower HbA1c level in the child. Furthermore, in Paper IV, at 24 months the children and their fathers in the intervention group rated the child’s diabetes-specific HRQOL as significantly better and the child’s worry as lower compared to the control group. Communication skills improved significantly over time in the intervention group. Conclusion: The two-year prospective family intervention study showed promising results. The children in the intervention group showed several indications of improved generic and diabetes-specific HRQOL. Actively involving both parents, not only immediately after T1DM onset but also during two years of ongoing care, had a positive impact on the children’s and adolescents’ HRQOL.
On the iterative decoding of binary product codes over the binary erasure channel

Iterative decoding in two dimensions over the binary erasure channel is investigated when identical linear binary cyclic codes are employed in each dimension. Decoding of the overall code is simplified by employing iterative decoding with cyclic permutations for the component code in each dimension. Decoding complexity versus performance can be traded as a function mainly of the number of minimum weight codewords selected from the dual of each component code. Using results from computer simulations, a comparative analysis is presented of various iterative decoding algorithms in two dimensions applied to simple codes, specifically the product codes (961,676,9), (225,49,25) and (961,256,49).
Management of septic arthritis: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the existing evidence on the diagnosis and management of septic arthritis in native joints. DESIGN Systematic review. DATA SOURCES Cochrane Library, Medline, Embase, National Electronic Library for Health, reference lists, national experts. REVIEW METHODS Systematic review of the literature with evaluation of the methodological quality of the selected papers using defined criteria set out by the Clinical Effectiveness and Evaluation Unit of the Royal College of Physicians. RESULTS 3291 citations were initially identified. Of these, 189 full text articles were identified for potential selection. Following review of these full text articles, 80 articles were found to fulfil the inclusion criteria and were included in the final list. CONCLUSIONS were drawn on the diagnosis, investigation and management of septic arthritis. DISCUSSION Little good quality evidence exists to guide the diagnosis and management of septic arthritis. Overall, no investigation is more reliable in the diagnosis of septic arthritis than the opinion of an experienced doctor. Aspiration and culture of synovial fluid is crucial to the diagnosis, but measurement of cell count is unhelpful. Antibiotics are clearly required for a prolonged period, but there are no data to indicate by which route or for how long. Key unanswered questions remain surrounding the medical and surgical management of the infected joint.
A coordination model using fuzzy reinforcement learning for multi-agent system

It is important for multi-agent system that the functionally independent agents apply negotiation, coordination and cooperation to perform some set of tasks or to satisfy some set of goals. In this paper, we propose a two-layer architecture coordination model based on fuzzy reinforcement learning for multi-agent system. Agents make use of fuzzy inference system to choose the optimal behavior locally and confer the intentions and actions of others according to their state information. Then coordination layer harmonizes sub-goals among agents and assigns rational task to each agent while learning the strategies of agents using fuzzy reinforcement learning. As a result, agents choose and execute proper action to accomplish the desired task together in action layer. The simulation results showed that the performance of attacking is obviously improved in the RoboCup soccer simulation game.
Consensus of switched multi-agent systems under quantised measurements

ABSTRACT This paper deals with the quantised consensus problem for switched multi-agent system which is composed of continuous-time and discrete-time subsystems. We adopt the distributed consensus protocols based on the quantised relative state measurements of agents. By using the properties of Laplacian matrix, it is shown that the switched multi-agent system can reach consensus exponentially with logarithmic quantiser under arbitrary switching. It is also proved that the distance between the states of any pair of neighbouring agents just converges to a bounded set when uniform quantisers are utilised. Simulation examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the theoretical results.
Apparent monomer activity of saturated fatty acids im micellar bile salt solutions measured by a polyethylene partitioning system.

Partitioning of saturated fatty acids between discs of polyethylene film and aqueous buffer has been characterized and subsequently used to measure monomer activities of fatty acids in micellar solutions of bile salt. Partitioning of fatty acids between polyethylene and buffer achieved equilibrium in about 24-48 hr. Partition coefficients for fatty acids 10:0 and 16:0 were essentially independent of concentration, as expected for true partitioning. Experiments with various pH buffers showed that only the protonated form of fatty acids 12:0 and 16:0 participated in partitioning, and the midpoints of the partition coefficients vs. pH curves were 4.5-5.0 and 6.5-7.0, respectively. Experimentally determined partition coefficients at pH 7.4 ranged from 2.03 +/- 0.09 for 9:0 to 56,100 +/- 13,850 for 17:0. The addition of each methylene group increased the partition coefficient by a factor of about 3.75, corresponding to an incremental free energy change for each methylene group of -3433 J.mole(-1) (-820 cal.mole(-1)). Monomer activities of solutions of 14:0 and 16:0 dissolved in 20 mM taurodeoxycholate were linearly dependent on the total fatty acid concentration. 1 mM 14:0 and 16:0 in 20 mM taurodeoxycholate had monomer activities of 1.3 x 10(-5) M and 5.6 x 10(-7) M, respectively. Solutions prepared with a constant concentration ratio of fatty acid to taurodeoxycholate had essentially constant monomer activities between 8 and 20 mM taurodeoxycholate. These studies support the hypothesis that fatty acid interaction with bile acid micelles is similar to a phase distribution system, so that some measurable monomer activity of fatty acid exists in equilibrium with the mass of fatty acid contained in the micelle.
Analysis of an Equal-Cost Multi-Path Algorithm

Equal-cost multi-path (ECMP) is a routing technique for routing packets along multiple paths of equal cost. The forwarding engine identifies paths by next-hop. When forwarding a packet the router must decide which next-hop (path) to use. This document gives an analysis of one method for making that decision. The analysis includes the performance of the algorithm and the disruption caused by changes to the set of next-hops.
Relativistic treatment of light quarks in D and B mesons and W-exchange weak decays.

A relativistic bound-state equation is applied to formulate the nonspectator (or W-exchange) decay rates of D, D/sub s/, and B mesons, and their leptonic decay constants. The nonspectator decay rates are also calculated here in the Dirac-equation limit. In this limit we show that up to a logarithm the nonspectator rate grows with heavy-quark mass like m/sup 6/, faster than the spectator rate of m/sup 5/. Including an analysis of experimental D/sup +- /, D/sup 0/, and D/sub s/ decay rates shows that the enhancement of D/sup 0/ decays from the nonspectator diagram is about a quarter of the contribution from the spectator diagram. The relativistically calculated weak decay constant f/sub B/ is in the 260--300-MeV range. Predictions are also made for nonspectator B, B/sub s/, and B/sub c/ decay rates including the ratio tau/sub B//sub
ROBUST HYBRID CONTROL OF UNCERTAIN CONSTRAINED MECHANICAL SYSTEMS

Abstract Robust hybrid controller design is presented in this paper for motion/force control of mechanical systems subjected to a set of holonomic or classical nonholonomic constraints and in the presence of uncertainties about plant parameters. A unified and systematic procedure is employed to derive the controllers for both holonomic and nonholonomic constrained mechanical systems, respectively. The proposed controllers can guarantee the system motion asymptotically converges to the desired manifold, and the force tracking errors to be bounded. Numerical simulation has been done to show the effectiveness of the proposed controllers.
Neural regulation of inflammation: no neural connection from the vagus to splenic sympathetic neurons

The ‘inflammatory reflex’ acts through efferent neural connections from the central nervous system to lymphoid organs, particularly the spleen, that suppress the production of inflammatory cytokines. Stimulation of the efferent vagus has been shown to suppress inflammation in a manner dependent on the spleen and splenic nerves. The vagus does not innervate the spleen, so a synaptic connection from vagal preganglionic neurons to splenic sympathetic postganglionic neurons was suggested. We tested this idea in rats. In a preparatory operation, the anterograde tracer DiI was injected bilaterally into the dorsal motor nucleus of vagus and the retrograde tracer Fast Blue was injected into the spleen. On histological analysis 7–9 weeks later, 883 neurons were retrogradely labelled from the spleen with Fast Blue as follows: 89% in the suprarenal ganglia (65% left, 24% right); 11% in the left coeliac ganglion; but none in the right coeliac or either of the superior mesenteric ganglia. Vagal terminals anterogradely labelled with DiI were common in the coeliac but sparse in the suprarenal ganglia, and confocal analysis revealed no putative synaptic connection with any Fast Blue‐labelled cell in either ganglion. Electrophysiological experiments in anaesthetized rats revealed no effect of vagal efferent stimulation on splenic nerve activity or on that of 15 single splenic‐projecting neurons recorded in the suprarenal ganglion. Together, these findings indicate that vagal efferent neurons in the rat neither synapse with splenic sympathetic neurons nor drive their ongoing activity.
Optical spectra simulation for terahertz quantum cascade lasers based on a circuit-level model

In this paper, a novel equivalent circuit model of terahertz quantum cascade lasers (THz QCLs) is introduced by virtue of revised three level multi-mode rate equations. This model accounts for influence of multi-mode on steady and optical spectra characteristics of THz QCLs. Both the photon gain coefficient and the spontaneous emission coupling coefficient depend on the wavelength in this model. The nonradiative scattering times, radiative spontaneous relaxation time and electron escape time are obtained by a self-consistent scheme. The model enables the analysis of the steady and optical spectra characteristics of THz QCL using general circuit analysis software, which overcomes the shortcomings of complex and long simulation time of numerical analysis method. Based on this novel model, the optical spectra characteristics as well as the optical power and bias voltage versus input current curves of a 2.4THz device with lattice temperature at 5K and 78K are investigated by using a circuit simulator (PSPICE). Results indicate that the model is practical and accurate for THz QCL simulation studying.
Influence of design parameters on output torque of flux-switching permanent magnet machines

The influence of design parameters of a flux-switching PM (FSPM) machine for maximum output torque has been investigated by finite element analyses and validated by measurements made on a prototype FSPM motor. These parameters include the split ratio of the inner diameter to outer diameter of the stator, the stator tooth width, the stator magnet thickness, the stator back-iron thickness, the stator lamination bridge, the rotor tooth width and height, and the rotor back-iron thickness. In addition, the influence of the shape of the magnets and the rotor teeth has been investigated. It shows that the FSPM machine having equal stator tooth width, stator magnet thickness and slot opening produces the maximum output torque. The torque can be increased if the stator back-iron thickness is reduced to ~70% of the stator tooth width to increase the slot area. The output torque can be increased by ~8% if the rotor tooth width is increased by 40%~60%. The optimal split ratio for maximum output torque is ~0.55-0.6 when the copper loss is fixed to 50 W and increases with an increase in the copper loss. The influence of other design parameters is found to be less significant for an appropriately designed motor.