Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Stationary frame current regulation of Indirect Matrix Converter with power factor correction under distorted supply voltage

In recent years Indirect Matrix Converter (IMC) topologies have become popular in direct frequency conversion. An IMC possesses high quality performances, such as near sinusoidal input/output waveforms. Moreover, it has several other advantages over the conventional matrix converter, including easier and safer commutation, simple clamp circuit. However, due to off-line input current regulation of the converters, the input displacement factor varies with LC input filters and load conditions. This fact results in non-unity displacement factor and increased reactive power flow. This paper is describing the application of Multi Frequency proportional-resonant (MFPR) controller for an IMC current control. It is shown that the known shortcomings associated with PI controllers, the need for decoupling of three-phase system and input power factor correction can be alleviated. Additionally, selective harmonic compensation is also possible with MFPR controllers. Suggested control-diagrams are also presented. The feasibility of the proposed technique has been verified with simulation results.
Coplanar light sweep-surface supported uncalibrated photometric stereo

In lambertian uncalibrated photometric stereo (VPS), the object surface albedo and normals, the lighting directions and intensities are determined up to an arbitrary invertible matrix. In this paper, a novel method is proposed to reduce such an ambiguity. With the support of a coplanar light sweep-surface (CLSS), some key normals are determined relative to a fiducial normal which is estimated by the CLSS. Thus the arbitrary transformation is reduced to invertible matrix up to a rotation and a scale. The rotation can be solved by controlling the direction of camera, the resulting ambiguity transformation can be finally determined up to a global scale.
Toll-Like Receptor-9 Agonist Inhibits Airway Inflammation, Remodeling and Hyperreactivity in Mice Exposed to Chronic Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Allergen

Background: As passive environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in nonsmokers can increase both asthma symptoms and the frequency of asthma exacerbations, we utilized a mouse model, in which ovalbumin (OVA) + ETS induce significantly increased levels of eosinophilic airway inflammation and remodeling compared to either stimulus alone, to determine whether a Toll-like receptor-9 (TLR-9) agonist could reduce levels of airway inflammation, airway remodeling and airway hyperreactivity (AHR). Methods: Mice treated with or without a TLR-9 agonist were sensitized to OVA and challenged with OVA + ETS for 1 month. AHR to methacholine was assessed in intubated and ventilated mice. Lung Th2 cytokines and TGF-β1 were measured by ELISA. Lungs were processed for histology and immunohistology to quantify eosinophils, mucus, peribronchial fibrosis and smooth muscle changes using image analysis. Results: Administration of a TLR-9 agonist to mice coexposed to chronic ETS and chronic OVA allergen significantly reduced levels of eosinophilic airway inflammation, mucus production, peribronchial fibrosis, the thickness of the peribronchial smooth muscle layer, and AHR. The reduced airway remodeling in mice treated with the TLR-9 agonist was associated with significantly reduced numbers of peribronchial MBP+ and peribronchial TGF-β1+ cells, and with significantly reduced levels of lung Th2 cytokines [interleukin-5 and interleukin-13] and TGF-β1. Conclusion: These studies demonstrate that TLR-9-based therapies inhibit airway inflammation, remodeling and AHR in mice coexposed to ETS and allergen who exhibit enhanced airway inflammation and remodeling.
Is it time to become a blockchain developer? [Resources_Careers]

Blockchains-the cryptographically assured ledgers at the heart of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin-have been suggested as a platform for all kinds of financial instruments. But has the technology matured to the point where there's a significant market for developers who specialize in building on a blockchain? Signs suggest yes, based on what I saw and heard when hundreds of financiers, Wall Street analysts, and C-suite executives gathered in New York City in June. They were there to peer into the future of finance at the CB Insights' Future of Fintech conference, including what role blockchains might play.
Cloning of the Mouse Endothelial Selectins

E-selectin (ELAM-1) and P-selectin (GMP-140, PADGEM, CD62) have both been described as human endothelial cell adhesion molecules for neutrophils and monocytes. Cell surface appearance of these two proteins on human umbilical vein endothelial cells can be regulated by different mechanisms: E-selectin is transcriptionally induced, within hours, by tumor necrosis factor a (TNF-a) while P-selectin is transported from storage granules to the plasma membrane within minutes upon induction by various stimulating agents. We have obtained cDNA clones covering the fulllength coding sequence of the homologous mouse proteins for both endothelial selectins. We show that synthesis of mouse P-selectin, like that of E-selectin, is transiently induced by TNF-a in several endothelioma cell lines derived from different mouse tissues. This induction was monitored on both the RNA as well as the protein level. The TNF induced, newly synthesized P-selectin protein was detected on the cell surface. Protein expression of P-selectin increased with a slightly lower rate than expression of E-selectin. In organ cultures of lung tissue from TNF-injected mice, the synthesis of P-selectin was clearly elevated compared to control mice. The bovine P-selectin homolog recognized by cross-reaction with anti-mouse P-selectin antibodies was also TNF-inducible in primary capillary endothelial cells from adrenal cortex and in aorta-derived endothelial cells. Thus, P-selectin can be regulated on two different levels. While the transport of stored P-selectin to the cell surface is controlled by regulated secretion of storage granules, the synthesis and surface expression can be induced by TNF-a similarly to that of E-selectin.
A 79dB SNDR, 10MHz BW, 675MS/s open-loop time-based ADC employing a 1.15ps SAR-TDC

This paper introduces a first-order noise-shaped time-domain ADC utilizing SAR-TDC as quantizer. The high resolution correlated double sampling SAR-TDC improves the quantization noise level of the ADC. The VCO non-linearity is resolved by employing a 1-bit folded VCO architecture. The ADC linearity is further improved using foreground digital calibration. Implemented in 65nm CMOS, the 675MS/s time-domain ADC achieves measured peak SNDR/SFDR of 79.5/86.4dB in 10MHz BW while consuming 11.65mW. The SAR-TDC achieves 1.15ps resolution with peak measured DNL/INL of 0.64/0.65LSB. The 1-bit folded VCO improves the VCO linearity from 12% to 0.17%.
High Mobility n-Channel Organic Field-Effect Transistor Based a Tetratetracontane Interfacial Layer on Gate Dielectrics

Field-effect mobility, especially for n-channel organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), is still the most challenging issue that should be overcome for realizing commercial application of organic electronics in the near future. In this letter, we demonstrate high mobility n-channel OFETs by inserting a tetratetracontane (TTC) interfacial layer between C60 and dielectrics. The surface morphologies of the TTC films have an important influence on the mobility of OFETs. As a result, a very high electron mobility of 13.6 cm2/Vs was achieved in the C60-based OFET with a TTC passivating polyvinyl alcohol gate dielectric, which is the highest value reported to date in the C60-based OFET devices.
Effects of Mediterranean diet supplemented with silybin–vitamin E–phospholipid complex in overweight patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

Background: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease is the most common liver disease worldwide. Aim: The aim of this study is to compare the metabolic effects of the Mediterranean diet versus the diet associated with silybin, phosphatidylcholine and vitamin E complex in overweight patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. Methods: Thirty Caucasian overweight patients were randomized into three groups of 10 (Groups A, B and C). A personalized Mediterranean diet was started in Group A and B patients. In association with the diet, Group B patients were given Realsil complex, daily, for 6 months. Group C patients refused any treatment. Results: We showed that the Mediterranean diet alone, or in association with the Realsil complex, led to the significant variation in BMI, waist circumference, total cholesterol and triglycerides. We also observed a statistically significant decrease in homeostasis model assessment technique in Group B patients.
Some Aspects of Statistical Volatility Analysis

Volatility is the key of the option price in the stock market. Changes in volatility will dramatically lead to changes of the option price. One of the most important volatilities is historical volatility (HV ). The HV is essentially the annualized standard deviation of the first order difference of logarithm of the asset price. Therefore, changes in HV in finance may be detected by the variance change detection methods in statistics. We propose a weighted sum of powers of variances method to detect single change in HV . It is noted that this method only examines if there is one single change-point in the data sequence. In the second part of the dissertation, we propose the empirical Bayesian information criterion (emBIC) method to detect multiple change-points simultaneously. The empirical BIC method can not only detect change-points in HV , but also in mean, and meanand-variance. Simulation study shows that both of the above methods perform very well. We also apply these methods to detect changes in HV by using real stock data. Another important volatility is the implied volatility (IV ). IV is the volatility of asset implied by the market option price based on Black-Sholes model [Black and Scholes, 1973]. The long term IV and HV have totally different behaviours. We find the optimal time range by using the emBIC method aforementioned above. We explain the long term IV behaviour by interest rate risk and capital charge in the last part of the dissertation.
Large-scale network simulation over heterogeneous computing architecture. (Simulation des réseaux à grande échelle sur les architectures de calculs hétérogènes)

La simulation est une etape primordiale dans l'evolution des systemes en reseaux. L’evolutivite et l’efficacite des outils de simulation est une clef principale de l’objectivite des resultats obtenue, etant donne la complexite croissante des nouveaux des reseaux sans-fils. La simulation a evenement discret est parfaitement adequate au passage a l'echelle, cependant les architectures logiciel existantes ne profitent pas des avancees recente du materiel informatique comme les processeurs parallele et les coprocesseurs graphique. Dans ce contexte, l'objectif de cette these est de proposer des mecanismes d'optimisation qui permettent de surpasser les limitations des approches actuelles en combinant l’utilisation des ressources de calcules heterogene. Pour repondre a la problematique de l’efficacite, nous proposons de changer la representation d'evenement, d'une representation bijective (evenement-descripteur) a une representation injective (groupe d'evenements-descripteur). Cette approche permet de reduire la complexite de l'ordonnancement d'une part et de maximiser la capacite d'executer massivement des evenements en parallele d'autre part. Dans ce sens, nous proposons une approche d'ordonnancement d'evenements hybride qui se base sur un enrichissement du descripteur pour maximiser le degre de parallelisme en combinons la capacite de calcule du CPU et du GPU dans une meme simulation. Les resultats comparatives montre un gain en terme de temps de simulation de l’ordre de 100x en comparaison avec une execution equivalente sur CPU uniquement. Pour repondre a la problematique d’evolutivite du systeme, nous proposons une nouvelle architecture distribuee basee sur trois acteurs.
Network Structure-Aware Ant-Based Routing in Large-Scale Wireless Sensor Networks

Routing algorithms for large-scale sensor networks should be capable of finding energy efficient paths to prolong the lifetime of the networks in a decentralized manner. With this respect, Ant System has several proper characteristics for routing algorithm in large-scale wireless sensor networks. First, its distributed mechanism enables routing algorithm to find a solution with only local information and be robust for uncertainties in wireless sensor networks. Second, the framework of the Ant System is proper to solve dynamic problems such as routing problem. Transition probability in Ant System can be used to estimate how good a given routing path is. Capturing these features, this work proposes two Ant Systems based routing algorithms, which are AS-RWSNs (Ant System for Routing in Wireless Sensor Networks) and SAAS-RWSN (Structure-Aware AS-RWSN). The AS-RWSN applies the original Ant System to routing algorithm for wireless sensor network and SAAS-RSN upgrades AS-RWSN with considering properties of network structure such as degree of node. In SAAS-RSN, sensors with high node degree have high data traffic since they have more routing paths. Consequently, SAAS-RSN achieves an energy balance over sensor network through this routing scheme. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms by comparing three existing routing algorithms.
Missing data in the exposure of interest and marginal structural models: A simulation study based on the Framingham Heart Study

Missing data are common in longitudinal studies and can occur in the exposure interest. There has been little work assessing the impact of missing data in marginal structural models (MSMs), which are used to estimate the effect of an exposure history on an outcome when time‐dependent confounding is present. We design a series of simulations based on the Framingham Heart Study data set to investigate the impact of missing data in the primary exposure of interest in a complex, realistic setting. We use a standard application of MSMs to estimate the causal odds ratio of a specific activity history on outcome. We report and discuss the results of four missing data methods, under seven possible missing data structures, including scenarios in which an unmeasured variable predicts missing information.
Decision Support in Social Media and Cloud Computing

This cumulative dissertation examines applications of decision support in the field of social media and cloud computing. By the advent of Social Media, Big Data Analytics and Cloud Computing, new opportunities opening up in the field of decision support due to availability and ability to process new types of data sets. In this context, this dissertation introduces systems for the use of social media data for decisions and an approach for decision support in choosing a cloud computing provider. In this dissertation, the benefits of different Facebook profile data for use in product recommender systems will be analyzed. Two experiments are carried out, in which the recommendation quality is determined by user survey. In another part of this dissertation, structured stock recommendations of an online community are used to automatically derive and update a stock portfolio. So investment decisions in the stock market are supported by a regular recalculation of the community rating for individual stocks. An succeeding article on this topic develops a formalized model for the description of investment strategies to enable a portfolio management system that automatically follows a strategy parameterized by an investor. Finally, a cloud broker model is presented which offers price / performance-based decision support in identifying an appropriate IaaS provider on the market for public cloud services. In a fundamental part of the thesis an IT architecture design is proposed which allows the parallel use and evaluation of different solution approaches in an operative IT system. Statistical tests are used to identify the best performing approach(es) and prefer them quickly while in operation. Overall, this cumulative dissertation consists of an introduction and five published articles.
Probabilistic model-building genetic algorithms

Probabilistic model-building algorithms (PMBGAs) replace traditional variation of genetic and evolutionary algorithms by (1) building a probabilistic model of promising solutions and (2) sampling the built model to generate new candidate solutions. PMBGAs are also known as estimation of distribution algorithms (EDAs) and iterated density-estimation algorithms (IDEAs). Replacing traditional crossover and mutation operators by building and sampling a probabilistic model of promising solutions enables the use of machine learning techniques for automatic discovery of problem regularities and exploitation of these regularities for effective exploration of the search space. Using machine learning in optimization enables the design of optimization techniques that can automatically adapt to the given problem. There are many successful applications of PMBGAs, for example, Ising spin glasses in 2D and 3D, graph partitioning, MAXSAT, feature subset selection, forest management, groundwater remediation design, telecommunication network design, antenna design, and scheduling. The tutorial Probabilistic Model-Building GAs will provide a gentle introduction to PMBGAs with an overview of major research directions in this area. Strengths and weaknesses of different PMBGAs will be discussed and suggestions will be provided to help practitioners to choose the best PMBGA for their problem.
Biochemical and Histological Studies of Aqueous Extract of Bidens pilosa Leaves from Ugandan Rift Valley in Rats

Bidens pilosa, a member of the Asteraceae family, is one of the dominant medicinal plant species worldwide including Uganda. This study aimed at assessing both acute and sub-chronic toxicities of Bidens pilosa Leaves Extract (BPLE). Phytochemical tests were done on BPLE to detect the presence of secondary metabolites. In acute toxicity test, a single oral dose of BPLE (500-10,000 mg/kg) was used on each group of Wistar rats. For sub-chronic toxicity study, BPLE (200-800 mg/kg) and distilled water were orally administered daily for 28 days. Signs of toxicity were observed and rats sacrificed, blood and organs collected for biochemical and histological studies. The BPLE was found to contain tannins, flavonoids, phlobatannins, terpenoids and cardiac glycosides. No mortality was recorded during the studies in rats. There was a general reduction in mean percentage body weight gain of test rats compared with control; statistically significant (p<0.05) between 400 mg/kg and control and between 400 and 800 mg/kg. Significant increments in mean relative organ weight of the heart occurred between control and 400 mg/kg groups. There were significant (p<0.05) increases in the serum levels of Alanine aminotransferase (ALT), Aspartate aminotransferase (AST), Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase (GGT) enzymes at dose of 800 mg/kg and of cardiac Creatine Kinase (CK- MB) at all three doses when compared with the control. Light micrograph of the liver, kidney and heart tissues at 400 magnifications appeared normal with no changes. It can be concluded that BPLE from the Rift Valley Region of Western Uganda contains secondary metabolites and has high index of safety.
Evolution of Sex Determination in the Conchostracan Shrimp Eulimnadia texana

Sassaman and Weeks (1993) describe the unusual mixed mating system of the clam shrimp Eulimnadia texana (Packard), in which both selfing and outcrossing occurs. There are three mating types in the system: ss males, Ss hermaphrodites, and SS hermaphrodites, in which the s and S factors are inherited as alternative genetic elements, with s recessive to S in determining sex. Both types of hermaphrodites are capable of selfing and outcrossing with males, but neither are able to fertilize the eggs of other hermaphrodites. Thus, the hermaphrodites only function as females when outcrossing. In the absence of males, Ss hermaphrodites (amphigenics) can, through selfing, produce all three types of offspring (in the approximate ratios of 1/4 ss: 1/2 Ss: 1/4 SS) including male offspring, whereas the SS hermaphrodites (monogenics) breed true. Such a system is analogous to recessive androdioecy with hermaphrodites unable to fertilize one another (Ross and Weir 1976; Gregorius et al. 1983). In this note we develop a population-genetics model of this breeding system. We derive recursive quations to describe the dynamics at the mating locus under sex-ratio selection, sex-specific viability selection, and inbreeding depression. In this model, only two equilibria re possible: fixation on homozygous hermaphrodites (outcrossing absent) and a polymorphism containing all three mating types. The conditions under which the polymorphism is stable therefore determine the conditions under which we expect to find males in the population. There will be a cost of outcrossing (generally known as the cost of sex) incurred by such a population that produces males as well as hermaphrodites (Williams 1975; Maynard Smith 1978), which must be balanced by some cost of selfing, such as inbreeding depression (Charlesworth 1980; Uyenoyama nd Waller 1991a, 1991b, 1991c), in order to account for the continued presence of males. Thus, this system provides a framework in which to study the relative costs of outcrossing and of selfing.
On the effective visualisation of dynamic attribute cascades

Cascades appear in many applications, including biological graphs and social media analysis. In a cascade, a dynamic attribute propagates through a graph, following its edges. We present the results of a formal user study that tests the effectiveness of different types of cascade visualisations on node-link diagrams for the task of judging cascade spread. Overall, we found that a small multiples presentation was significantly faster than animation with no significant difference in terms of error rate. Participants generally preferred animation over small multiples and a hierarchical layout to a force-directed layout. Considering each presentation method separately, when comparing force-directed layouts to hierarchical layouts, hierarchical layouts were found to be significantly faster for both presentation methods and significantly more accurate for animation. Representing the history of the cascade had no significant effect. Thus, for our task, this experiment supports the use of a small multiples interface with hierarchically drawn graphs for the visualisation of cascades. This work is important because without these empirical results, designers of dynamic multivariate visualisations (in many applications) would base their design decisions on intuition with little empirical support as to whether these decisions enhance usability.
Wireless Sensor Networks in Ambient Intelligence

The Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) is a necessary technology for the development of the concept of Ambient Intelligence where users are provided of services depending on their context. The WSNs provide the dynamic and flexible structure for the transmission of data acquired from the environment by the sensors. This data is the base for the development of ambient intelligent services adapted with the information acquired from the sensors. In addition, the same WSN makes possible the communication with actuators with possibilities of performing physical changes in the environment.