Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A distributed multi-agent linear bi-objective algorithm for energy flow optimization in microgrids

A distributed linear bi-objective optimization algorithm for management of energy flow in a microgrid with individual agents is introduced. In contrast to widely used centralized approaches for energy management a distributed multi-agent scheme for optimization of energy flow within a microgrid consisting of local energy resources and storage capacities is presented which is based on the auction algorithm for assignment problems originally introduced by Bertsekas in 1979 [1]. It is shown that the topology of a microgrid can be represented as a bipartite graph and mathematically be described as a classical transportation problem. This allows applying an auction algorithm scheme in a distributed way where each energy supply system node is either a source or a sink and is represented by an individual acting agent. The single-objective approach is extended towards bi-objectivity to build a framework which gives each agent freedom and authority to intelligently influence the global decision making (optimization) with respect to its own individual objectives and therefore a distributed bi-objective optimization for the energy flow in the microgrid with individual agent objectives is achieved. In the introduced framework computational intelligent agents enhance the intelligence of the global decision making based on their individual agents intelligence.
Autobiographical memory and theory of mind: evidence of a relationship in schizophrenia

Background. It has been proposed that inferences about the mental states of others are drawn after a referral to autobiographical memory. This study explored the relationship between autobiographical memory retrieval and performance on tests of theory of mind in people with schizophrenia. Method. Fifty-nine people with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia and 44 healthy participants matched for age, sex and estimated IQ were given the Autobiographical Memory Interview (AMI), two measures of theory of mind (ToM) and a logical memory test. Results. There was clear evidence that the people with schizophrenia were under-performing on all tasks. Within the schizophrenia sample, robust relationships existed between the total scores achieved on the AMI and the ToM tasks. Furthermore, there was evidence that the participants with schizophrenia had a tendency to recollect odd or negative events when prompted by the standard questions of the AMI. Conclusions. The results of this study indicate that when people with schizophrenia attempt to think about the beliefs and intentions of others they use analogical reasoning. Whether this approach is also adopted by other clinical and normal adult groups is a question for future research.
Job Satisfaction of Nursing Assistants

Objective: This secondary data analysis explored factors influencing job satisfaction in a sample of nursing assistants employed in Maryland skilled nursing facilities. Background: Multiple factors have been shown to affect job satisfaction and turnover in nursing assistants (NAs), but the problem of turnover persists in skilled nursing facility environments affecting quality of care. Methods: An existing data set of 556 nursing assistants from 12 Maryland skilled nursing facilities was used. To explore factors found to influence job satisfaction from other studies, a multiple regression analysis was performed. Results: Nine dependent variables previously shown to affect job satisfaction were used. Of these variables, only years of experience (β = .230) and performance of restorative care (β = .095) were found to be positively associated with job satisfaction. Self-esteem (β = −.094) was found to be negatively associated with job satisfaction. Conclusion: Only length of experience and exemplary care as evidenced by the performance of restorative care were associated with job satisfaction. These results mirror results found in other studies. Self-esteem was negatively associated with job satisfaction in this population, a finding needing further study.
Functional Anatomy of the Null Hypothesis and of Tests of It

Abstract The author compared simulations of the “true” null hypothesis (z) test, in which ò was known and fixed, with the t test, in which s, an estimate of ò, was calculated from the sample because the t test was used to emulate the “true” test. The true null hypothesis test bears exclusively on calculating the probability that a sample distance (mean) is larger than a specified value. The results showed that the value of t was sensitive to sampling fluctuations in both distance and standard error. Large values of t reflect small standard errors when n is small. The value of t achieves sensitivity primarily to distance only when the sample sizes are large. One cannot make a definitive statement about the probability or “significance” of a distance solely on the basis of the value of t.
Folate Intake and Risk of Stroke Among Women

Background and Purpose— Few studies have examined the association between folate intake and risk of stroke, although numerous studies have suggested that high levels of homocysteine are positively related to stroke. We aim to assess the relation between folate intake and stroke incidence among women participating in the Nurses' Health Study. Methods— 83 272 female nurses aged 34 to 59 years in 1980 and residing in 11 US states were followed-up for 18 years. Follow-up questionnaires were sent biennially to update information on diet and to identify newly diagnosed cases of stroke and other illnesses. Results— During 1 379 614 person-years of follow-up from 1980 to 1998, we identified 1140 incident cases of stroke. Using age-adjusted and multivariable-adjusted models, no appreciable association between the intake of folate and total incidence of stroke was observed [relative risk in the multivariable-adjusted model for the highest quintile of folate intake (median=696 μg/d) compared with the lowest quintile (median=158 μg/d) was 1.01 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.79 to 1.29), P for trend=0.8]. Similar null results were found in secondary analyses on stroke subtypes (ischemic, thrombotic, embolic, subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraparenchymal hemorrhage) and in analyses that separately assessed dietary folate (excluding supplement users) and folate supplement intake. Conclusions— Folate intake was not associated with incident stroke among women participating in the Nurses' Health Study.
Low‐calorie diet induced weight loss may alter regulatory hormones and contribute to rebound visceral adiposity in obese persons with a family history of type‐2 diabetes

Purpose: To examine potential detrimental long‐term effects of acute diet‐induced weight loss on visceral adiposity, insulin resistance, cortisol, and adipokines in obese individuals at risk for type‐2 diabetes. Data sources: Anthropometric measures (height, weight, waist circumference), self‐report instruments, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan, and blood samples (glucose, insulin, interleukin‐6, leptin, adiponectin) were obtained from a convenience sample of 20 participants at baseline, after a 28‐day low‐calorie diet (800 kcal/day) intervention, and again 6 months later. Conclusions: Fifteen of 20 participants completed the 28‐day diet intervention and had a mean weight loss of 15 pounds. Comparison between baseline, postdiet, and 6‐month data, demonstrated that although participants had significant improvements after the diet, they regained fat mass, particularly in the visceral area. Implications for practice: Clinicians may need to revise recommendations for using low‐calorie diets to achieve weight loss. Diet‐induced weight cycling may contribute to dysregulation of metabolism and have long‐term detrimental consequences for accumulation of visceral adipose tissue. The likelihood of success is low, with high dropout rates, and those patients who achieve weight loss are very likely to regain it. Thus, the perceived short‐term benefits of calorie‐restricted diets in this population likely do not outweigh the potential long‐term detrimental effects.
Unsupervised Multi-Domain Image Translation with Domain-Specific Encoders/Decoders

Unsupervised Image-to-Image Translation achieves spectacularly advanced developments nowadays. However, recent approaches mainly focus on one model with two domains, which may face heavy burdens with the large cost of training time and the huge model parameters, under such a requirement that $n\ (n > 2)$ domains are freely transferred to each other in a general setting. To address this problem, we propose a novel and unified framework named Domain-Bank, which consists of a globally shared auto-encoder and $n$ domain-specific encoders/decoders, assuming that there is a universal shared-latent space can be projected. Thus, we not only reduce the parameters of the model but also have a huge reduction of the time budgets. Besides the high efficiency, we show the comparable (or even better) image translation results over state-of-the-arts on various challenging unsupervised image translation tasks, including face image translation and painting style translation. We also apply the proposed framework to the domain adaptation task and achieve state-of-the-art performance on digit benchmark datasets.
Towards Validation of E-Services Composition: Transforming eFlow to Petri-Nets

Web services composition is the ability to integrate existing services to have value added services. Workflow-based services composition is one of the approaches proposed. eFlow is one of the Workflow-based service composition approaches. The approach is strong in providing a platform for adaptive and dynamic web services composition. However, it neglects the validation of the Quality of Services (QoS). This paper proposes an initial work to validate the QoS of web services composition. We propose an approach to transform eFlow to PetriNet. We also extend existing Petri-Net by introducing a new component with new firing rule. Our preliminary result is to show that formal validation techniques like Petri-Net are useful towards validating the QoS of e-services composition.
Evaluating the impact of the signalling delay on the control channel

Multi-channel wireless communication techniques have positioned wireless access networks as strong candidates for the next generation networks. They promise to offer high capacity and better network performance. Unfortunately, multi-channel schemes come with a number of challenges. They operate under some hardware constraints, such as transmit-receive and channel switching delay. A transceiver can listen on one channel and can switch to other channels incurring a channel switching cost which degrades the performance of the network. The paper investigates the impact of the channel switching penalty on performance and it then discusses briefly our proposed model. The performance of the control channel is analyzed and its impact on performance is evaluated. Simulations and network queuing models are employed. The effect of channel switching delay is evaluated in different network sizes. The results show that the performance of the network can be improved by improving the capacity of the control channel and reducing signalling delays.
Complex analysis of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms as putative risk factors of tooth agenesis in the Hungarian population

Abstract Objectives. The role was studied of multiple single nucleotide polymorphisms in tooth agenesis in the Hungarian population using a complex approach. Methods. Eight SNPs, PAX9 -912 C/T, PAX9 -1031 A/G, MSX1 3755 A/G, FGFR1 T/C rs881301, IRF6 T/C rs764093, AXIN2-8150 A/G, AXIN2-8434 A/G and AXIN2-30224 C/T, were studied in 192 hypodontia and 17 oligodontia cases and in 260 healthy volunteers. Case-control analysis was performed to test both allelic and genotypic associations as well as associations at the level of haplotypes. Multivariate exploratory Bayesian network-based multi-level analysis of relevance (BN-BMLA) as well as logistic regression analysis were performed. Results. Conventional statistics showed that PAX9 SNP -912 C/T and the MSX1 SNP changed the incidence of hypodontia, although after Bonferroni correction for multiple hypothesis testing, the effects were only borderline tendencies. Using a statistical analysis better suited for handling multiple hypotheses, the BN-BMLA, PAX9 SNPs clearly showed a synergistic effect. This was confirmed by other multivariate analyses and it remained significant after corrections for multiple hypothesis testing (p < 0.0025). The PAX9-1031-A-PAX9-912-T haplotype was the most relevant combination causing hypodontia. Interaction was weaker between PAX9 and MSX1, while other SNPs had no joint effect on hypodontia. Conclusion. This complex analysis shows the important role of PAX9 and MSX1 SNPs and of their interactions in tooth agenesis, while IRF6, FGFR1 and AXIN2 SNPs had no detectable role in the Hungarian population. These results also reveal that risk factors in hypodontia need to be identified in various populations, since there is considerable variability among them.
Donation After Circulatory Determination of Death Lung Transplantation for Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension: Passing the Toughest Test

Lung transplantation (LTx) is a therapeutic option for severe pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) patients failing optimal medical therapy. The use of donation after circulatory determination of death (DCDD) donor lungs for PAH LTx has rarely been reported, primarily reflecting concerns that DCDD lungs represent extended criteria donors, at risk of morbidity and mortality. A retrospective study of all Alfred Hospital DCDD and DNDD (donation after neurologic determination of death) PAH LTx was undertaken. Protocolized fluid/inotrope/ventilator and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) strategies were utilized. Since our first DCDD LTx in 2006, 512 LTx have been performed. Of 31 PAH recipients, 11 received DCDD lungs (11% of DCDD LTx) and 20 received DNDD lungs (5% of DNDD LTx) (p = 0.04). Only one PAH patient died on the LTx waiting list. Peri‐LTx ECMO was utilized in 3/11 (27%) DCDD and 6/20 (30%) DNDD PAH LTx (p = 0.68). Primary graft dysfunction, intensive care, and overall stay were the same in both groups. Survival at 1 and 8 years was 100% and 80% for DCDD versus 100% and 70% for DNDD LTx (p = 0.88), respectively. In conclusion, excellent results can be achieved for PAH LTx. DCDD donor lungs are not extended lungs per se having passed the toughest test.
Predictors and Consequences of Aggressive-Withdrawn Problem Profiles in Early Grade School

Identified first-grade children who exhibited 4 different behavior problem profiles from an initial sample of 754: aggressive-withdrawn (n = 63, 8%) aggressive only (n = 165, 22%), withdrawn only (n = 94, 12%), and nonproblem (n = 432, 57%). Group comparisons revealed that children who became aggressive-withdrawn in first grade exhibited deficits in attention and social skills in kindergarten. Furthermore, these kindergarten deficits contributed to the emergence of their aggressive-withdrawn behavior problems in first grade, after accounting for kindergarten levels of aggressive and withdrawn behaviors. In later grades, aggressive-withdrawn first-grade children were more likely than children in any other group to demonstrate poor peer relations and poor academic performance. In addition, kindergarten skill deficits added to first-grade aggressive and withdrawn behavior problems to predict third-grade social and academic adjustment difficulties. The results document the key role of early inattention and social skill deficits in the prediction of aggressive-withdrawn problem profiles, validate the significance of this problem profile at school entry, and identify potential developmental mechanisms that have implications for preventive interventions.
Different Single Receptor Domains Determine the Distinct G Protein Coupling Profiles of Members of the Vasopressin Receptor Family (*)

The vasopressin receptor family is unique among all classes of peptide receptors in that its individual members couple to different subsets of G proteins. The V vasopressin receptor, for example, is preferentially linked to G proteins of the G class (biochemical response: stimulation of phosphatidylinositol hydrolysis), whereas the V vasopressin receptor is selectively coupled to G (biochemical response: stimulation of adenylyl cyclase). To elucidate the structural basis underlying this functional heterogeneity, we have systematically exchanged different intracellular domains between the V and V receptors. Transient expression of the resulting hybrid receptors in COS-7 cells showed that all mutant receptors containing V receptor sequence in the second intracellular loop were able to activate the phosphatidylinositol pathway with high efficiency. On the other hand, only those hybrid receptors containing V receptor sequence in the third intracellular loop were capable of efficiently stimulating cAMP production. These findings suggest that the differential G protein coupling profiles of individual members of a structurally closely related receptor subfamily can be determined by different single intracellular receptor domains.
Indicators of clinical significance among women in the community with binge‐eating disorder symptoms: Delineating the roles of binge frequency, body mass index, and overvaluation

OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the relative contributions of binge eating, body image disturbance, and body mass index (BMI) to distress and disability in binge-eating disorder (BED). METHOD A community sample of 174 women with BED-type symptomatology provided demographic, weight, and height information, and completed measures of overvaluation of weight/shape and binge eating, general psychological distress and impairment in role functioning. Correlation and regression analyses examined the associations between predictors (binge eating, overvaluation, BMI), and outcomes (distress, functional impairment). RESULTS Binge eating and overvaluation were moderately to strongly correlated with distress and functional impairment, whereas BMI was not correlated with distress and only weakly correlated with functional impairment. Regression analysis indicated that both overvaluation and binge eating were strong and unique predictors of both distress and impairment, the contribution of overvaluation to variance in functional impairment being particularly strong, whereas BMI did not uniquely predict functional impairment or distress. DISCUSSION The findings support the inclusion of overvaluation as a diagnostic criterion or specifier in BED and the need to focus on body image disturbance in treatment and public health efforts in order to reduce the individual and community health burden of this condition.
Effects of sympathicolytic and sympathomimetic drugs on pineal ultrastructure in the domestic pig

Lewczuk B, Przybylska‐Gornowicz B. Effects of sympathicolytic and sympathicomimetic drugs on pineal ultrastructure in the domestic pig. J. Pineal Res. 1997; 23:198–208. © Munksgaard, Copenhagen
A dinucleotide motif in oligonucleotides shows potent immunomodulatory activity and overrides species-specific recognition observed with CpG motif

Bacterial and synthetic DNAs containing CpG dinucleotides in specific sequence contexts activate the vertebrate immune system through Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9). In the present study, we used a synthetic nucleoside with a bicyclic heterobase [1-(2′-deoxy-β-d-ribofuranosyl)-2-oxo-7-deaza-8-methyl-purine; R] to replace the C in CpG, resulting in an RpG dinucleotide. The RpG dinucleotide was incorporated in mouse- and human-specific motifs in oligodeoxynucleotides (oligos) and 3′-3-linked oligos, referred to as immunomers. Oligos containing the RpG motif induced cytokine secretion in mouse spleen-cell cultures. Immunomers containing RpG dinucleotides showed activity in transfected-HEK293 cells stably expressing mouse TLR9, suggesting direct involvement of TLR9 in the recognition of RpG motif. In J774 macrophages, RpG motifs activated NF-κB and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathways. Immunomers containing the RpG dinucleotide induced high levels of IL-12 and IFN-γ, but lower IL-6 in time- and concentration-dependent fashion in mouse spleen-cell cultures costimulated with IL-2. Importantly, immunomers containing GTRGTT and GARGTT motifs were recognized to a similar extent by both mouse and human immune systems. Additionally, both mouse- and human-specific RpG immunomers potently stimulated proliferation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells obtained from diverse vertebrate species, including monkey, pig, horse, sheep, goat, rat, and chicken. An immunomer containing GTRGTT motif prevented conalbumin-induced and ragweed allergen-induced allergic inflammation in mice. We show that a synthetic bicyclic nucleotide is recognized in the C position of a CpG dinucleotide by immune cells from diverse vertebrate species without bias for flanking sequences, suggesting a divergent nucleotide motif recognition pattern of TLR9.
Antigenic Relationships among Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus and Transmissible Gastroenteritis Virus Strains

ABSTRACT Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) and transmissible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) are economically important swine enteropathogenic coronaviruses. These two viruses belong to two distinct species of the Alphacoronavirus genus within Coronaviridae and induce similar clinical signs and pathological lesions in newborn piglets, but they are presumed to be antigenically distinct. In the present study, two-way antigenic cross-reactivity examinations between the prototype PEDV CV777 strain, three distinct U.S. PEDV strains (the original highly virulent PC22A, S indel Iowa106, and S 197del PC177), and two representative U.S. TGEV strains (Miller and Purdue) were conducted by cell culture immunofluorescent (CCIF) and viral neutralization (VN) assays. None of the pig TGEV antisera neutralized PEDV and vice versa. One-way cross-reactions were observed by CCIF between TGEV Miller hyperimmune pig antisera and all PEDV strains. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays, immunoblotting using monoclonal antibodies and Escherichia coli-expressed recombinant PEDV and TGEV nucleocapsid (N) proteins, and sequence analysis suggested at least one epitope on the N-terminal region of PEDV/TGEV N protein that contributed to this cross-reactivity. Biologically, PEDV strain CV777 induced greater cell fusion in Vero cells than did U.S. PEDV strains. Consistent with the reported genetic differences, the results of CCIF and VN assays also revealed higher antigenic variation between PEDV CV777 and U.S. strains. IMPORTANCE Evidence of antigenic cross-reactivity between porcine enteric coronaviruses, PEDV and TGEV, in CCIF assays supports the idea that these two species are evolutionarily related, but they are distinct species defined by VN assays. Identification of PEDV- or TGEV-specific antigenic regions allows the development of more specific immunoassays for each virus. Antigenic and biologic variations between the prototype and current PEDV strains could explain, at least partially, the recurrence of PEDV epidemics. Information on the conserved antigenicity among PEDV strains is important for the development of PEDV vaccines to protect swine from current highly virulent PEDV infections.