Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust Trajectory Tracking Control for Continuous-Time Nonlinear Systems with State Constraints and Uncertain Disturbances

In this paper, a robust trajectory tracking control method with state constraints and uncertain disturbances on the ground of adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) is proposed for nonlinear systems. Firstly, the augmented system consists of the tracking error and the reference trajectory, and the tracking control problems with uncertain disturbances is described as the problem of robust control adjustment. In addition, considering the nominal system of the augmented system, the guaranteed cost tracking control problem is transformed into the optimal control problem by using the discount coefficient in the nominal system. A new safe Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman (HJB) equation is proposed by combining the cost function with the control barrier function (CBF), so that the behavior of violating the safety regulations for the system states will be punished. In order to solve the new safe HJB equation, a critic neural network (NN) is used to approximate the solution of the safe HJB equation. According to the Lyapunov stability theory, in the case of state constraints and uncertain disturbances, the system states and the parameters of the critic neural network are guaranteed to be uniformly ultimately bounded (UUB). At the end of this paper, the feasibility of the proposed method is verified by a simulation example.
Chapter High dose growth hormone treatment limited to the prepubertal period in young children with idiopathic short stature does not increase adult height

Objective: to assess the long-term effect of prepubertal high-dose growth hormone treatment on growth in children with idiopathic short stature (ISS). Design and methods: 40 children with no signs of puberty, age at start 4-8 years (girls) or 4-10 (boys) years, height SDS< − 2.0 SDS and birth length>-2.0 SDS, were randomly allocated to receive GH at a dose of 2 mg/m 2 /day (equivalent to 75 µg/kg/day at start and 64 µg/kg/day at stop) until the onset of puberty for at least 2 years (preceded by two 3-month periods of treatment with low or intermediate doses of GH separated by two washout periods of 3 months) or no treatment. In 28 cases adult height (AH) was assessed at a mean (SD) age of 20.4 (2.3) years. Results: GH-treated children (mean treatment period on high dose GH 2.3 yr (range 1.2-5.0 yr)) showed an increased mean height SDS at discontinuation of treatment compared with controls (-1.3 (0.8) SDS versus -2.6 (0.8) SDS, respectively). However, bone maturation was significantly accelerated in the GH-group compared with controls (1.6 (0.4) versus 1.0 (0.2) yr, respectively) and pubertal onset tended to advance. After an untreated interval of 3-12 yr, AH was -2.1 (0.7) and -1.9 (0.6) in the GH-treated and control group, respectively. Age was a positive predictor of adult height gain. Conclusion: High dose GH treatment restricted to the prepubertal period in young ISS children augments height gain during treatment, but accelerates bone maturation, resulting in a similar adult height compared to untreated controls. Age at baseline was a predictor for the treatment effect (GH x age start ) expressed as AH (B=0.4, CI=0.03-0.7, p=0.04) and AH–H start (B=0.4, CI=0.06-0.7, p=0.02), but not for the other outcome parameters, thus older children had a better response to treatment. Gender showed a negative interaction with treatment effect (GH × gender) for AH (B=-1.1, CI=-2.3-0.01, p=0.052), with boys showing a larger increase in AH SDS than girls. Height and bone age delay at start were no significant predictors for treatment effect in any of the outcome parameters. AH-PAH GH a towards negative interactions with treatment effect expressed as AH SDS CI=-1.0-(-0.1), p=0.09) and [AH-HforBA start ] SDS (B=-1.0, CI=-2.0-(-0.1), p=0.07), with higher changes in IGF-I SDS over 3 months of high dose GH treatment showing lower increases in AH SDS and [AH-HforBA start ] SDS. administered to young children (age range 2.9-13.5, mean 7.53), no bone age advance was observed is not necessarily in contradiction with our findings, as the dose range in that study was large, and the children who needed high GH doses to reach the aimed IGF-I level may have been more resistant to GH. The trend towards a worse response to treatment in females may reflect the relatively strong influence of estrogens on bone maturation.
DNA Demethylation Induces Tree Peony Flowering with a Low Deformity Rate Compared to Gibberellin by Inducing PsFT Expression under Forcing Culture Conditions

Gibberellin (GA) is frequently used in tree peony forcing culture, but inappropriate application often causes flower deformity. Here, 5-azacytidine (5-azaC), an efficient DNA demethylating reagent, induced tree peony flowering with a low deformity rate by rapidly inducing PsFT expression, whereas GA treatment affected various flowering pathway genes with strong pleiotropy. The 5-azaC treatment, but not GA, significantly reduced the methylation level in the PsFT promoter with the demethylation of five CG contexts in a 369 bp CG-rich region, and eight light-responsive related cis-elements were also predicted in this region, accompanied by enhanced leaf photosynthetic efficiency. Through GO analysis, all methylation-closer differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were located in the thylakoid, the main site for photosynthesis, and were mainly involved in response to stimulus and single-organism process, whereas GA-closer DEGs had a wider distribution inside and outside of cells, associated with 12 categories of processes and regulations. We further mapped five candidate DEGs with potential flowering regulation, including three kinases (SnRK1, WAK2, and 5PTase7) and two bioactive enzymes (cytochrome P450 and SBH1). In summary, 5-azaC and GA may have individual roles in inducing tree peony flowering, and 5-azaC could be a preferable regulation approach; DNA demethylation is suggested to be more focused on flowering regulation with PsFT playing a core role through promoter demethylation. In addition, 5-azaC may partially undertake or replace the light-signal function, combined with other factors, such as SnRK1, in regulating flowering. This work provides new ideas for improving tree peony forcing culture technology.
Machine Learning Coronary Artery Disease Prediction Based on Imaging and Non-Imaging Data

The prediction of obstructive atherosclerotic disease has significant clinical meaning for the decision making. In this study, a machine learning predictive model based on gradient boosting classifier is presented, aiming to identify the patients of high CAD risk and those of low CAD risk. The machine learning methodology includes five steps: the preprocessing of the input data, the class imbalance handling applying the Easy Ensemble algorithm, the recursive feature elimination technique implementation, the implementation of gradient boosting classifier, and finally the model evaluation, while the fine tuning of the presented model was implemented through a randomized search optimization of the model’s hyper-parameters over an internal 3-fold cross-validation. In total, 187 participants with suspicion of CAD previously underwent CTCA during EVINCI and ARTreat clinical studies and were prospectively included to undergo follow-up CTCA. The predictive model was trained using imaging data (geometrical and blood flow based) and non-imaging data. The overall predictive accuracy of the model was 0.81, using both imaging and non-imaging data. The innovative aspect of the proposed study is the combination of imaging-based data with the typical CAD risk factors to provide an integrated CAD risk-predictive model.
Regulation of Phenolic Compound Production by Light Varying in Spectral Quality and Total Irradiance

Photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) is an important environmental cue inducing the production of many secondary metabolites involved in plant oxidative stress avoidance and tolerance. To examine the complex role of PAR irradiance and specific spectral components on the accumulation of phenolic compounds (PheCs), we acclimated spring barley (Hordeum vulgare) to different spectral qualities (white, blue, green, red) at three irradiances (100, 200, 400 µmol m−2 s−1). We confirmed that blue light irradiance is essential for the accumulation of PheCs in secondary barley leaves (in UV-lacking conditions), which underpins the importance of photoreceptor signals (especially cryptochrome). Increasing blue light irradiance most effectively induced the accumulation of B-dihydroxylated flavonoids, probably due to the significantly enhanced expression of the F3′H gene. These changes in PheC metabolism led to a steeper increase in antioxidant activity than epidermal UV-A shielding in leaf extracts containing PheCs. In addition, we examined the possible role of miRNAs in the complex regulation of gene expression related to PheC biosynthesis.
Identi�cation of lncRNA-associated competing endogenous RNA networks for occurrence and prognosis of gastric carcinoma

Background: Gastric cancer (GC) is one of the common digestive malignancies worldwide and causes a severe public health issue. So far, the underlying mechanisms of GC are largely unclear. Thus, our aim is to identify the long non-coding RNA (lncRNA) associated competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) specialized for occurrence and progression in GC. Methods: The comprehensive online dataset, TCGA, was downloaded and used for identi�cation of differentially expressed (DE) lncRNA, miRNA and mRNA screen with the value of logFC = 1 and FDR < 0.05, respectively. The interactions between lncRNA and miRNA as well mRNA and miRNA were predicted via multiple online databases, such as miRcode and Targetscan. Then the ceRNA network was constructed accompanied with gene set enrichment analysis and survival analysis. In addition, RT-qPCR and in vitro assay was carried out to validate the effect of the hub lncRNAs. Results: We identi�ed 1485 lncRNAs, 312 miRNAs and 4260 mRNAs were differentially expressed between GC and normal tissues, respectively. Then, we generated a ceRNA network with 909 edges and 253 nodes including 76 lncRNA, 18 miRNA and 159 mRNA. This ceRNA network was involved in MET activates PTK2 signalling, MET promotes cell motility and non-integrin membrane-ECM interactions. Next, by univariate and multivariate analysis, there were 9 hub lncRNAs emerged and were associated subnetwork involved in actin �lament binding and MAPK signaling pathway. The in vitro assay indicated lncRNA INHBA-AS1 and CCDC144NL-AS1 may positively related to the GC aggressive features, including proliferation, invasion and migration. Conclusion: In summary, we constructed a ceRNA network involved in the GC development. Moreover, we also identi�ed 9 hub lncRNA-associated network related to prognosis of GC and validated two out of them as promising oncogenes. This may provide potential biomarkers or therapeutic target for GC in future.
Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Altered Expression of Genes Involved in Hypoxia, Inflammation and Immune Regulation in Pdcd10-Depleted Mouse Endothelial Cells

Cerebral cavernous malformations (CCM) are capillary malformations affecting the central nervous system and commonly present with headaches, epilepsy and stroke. Treatment of CCM is symptomatic, and its prevention is limited. CCM are often sporadic but sometimes may be multifocal and/or affect multiple family members. Heterozygous pathogenic variants in PDCD10 cause the rarest and apparently most severe genetic variant of familial CCM. We carried out an RNA-Seq and a Q-PCR validation analysis in Pdcd10-silenced and wild-type mouse endothelial cells in order to better elucidate CCM molecular pathogenesis. Ninety-four differentially expressed genes presented an FDR-corrected p-value < 0.05. A functionally clustered dendrogram showed that differentially expressed genes cluster in cell proliferation, oxidative stress, vascular processes and immune response gene-ontology functions. Among differentially expressed genes, the major cluster fell in signaling related to inflammation and pathogen recognition, including HIF1α and Nos2 signaling and immune regulation. Validation analysis performed on wild-type, Pdcd10-null and Pdcd10-null reconstituted cell lines was consistent with RNA-Seq data. This work confirmed previous mouse transcriptomic data in endothelial cells, which are recognized as a critical tissue for CCM formation and expands the potential molecular signatures of PDCD10-related familial CCM to alterations in inflammation and pathogen recognition pathways.
Supply Chain Issues in Medium Scale Auto Component Manufacturers: Case Study Approach

: This research paper gives an insight about the supply chain issues occurring in medium scale enterprises (MSE). The medium scale industries are the intermediate industries between small scale industries and tier-1 companies. Their role is most important by managing small scale industry suppliers without compromising quality and also satisfying tier-1 companies to sustain in the present vibrant market. In this context the conceptual model is designed considering supplier issues, production issues, financial issues, logistics issues and human resource issues as independent variables and financial performance, technical performance as dependant variable. The supply chain management (SCM) and supply chain risk management (SCRM) are partially practised without a dedicated team of employees. The authors of this paper are suggesting practising SCM and SCRM from the beginning of the product life cycle and are suggesting as moderating variables. This conceptual model is validated based on the responses obtained from top officials of three auto component manufacturing medium scale industry (MSE) located near Chennai.
Tissue-Resident Innate Immune Cell-Based Therapy: A Cornerstone of Immunotherapy Strategies for Cancer Treatment

Cancer immunotherapy has led to impressive advances in cancer treatment. Unfortunately, in a high percentage of patients is difficult to consistently restore immune responses to eradicate established tumors. It is well accepted that adaptive immune cells, such as B lymphocytes, CD4+ helper T lymphocytes, and CD8+ cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTLs), are the most effective cells able to eliminate tumors. However, it has been recently reported that innate immune cells, including natural killer cells (NK), dendritic cells (DC), macrophages, myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), and innate lymphoid cells (ILCs), represent important contributors to modulating the tumor microenvironment and shaping the adaptive tumor response. In fact, their role as a bridge to adaptive immunity, make them an attractive therapeutic target for cancer treatment. Here, we provide a comprehensive overview of the pleiotropic role of tissue-resident innate immune cells in different tumor contexts. In addition, we discuss how current and future therapeutic approaches targeting innate immune cells sustain the adaptive immune system in order to improve the efficacy of current tumor immunotherapies.
Intelligent Machines for Autonomous Robotics and Manipulation: Combining Soft Robotics, Deep Learning and Human Inspiration

HE execution of reliable and stable grasping with artiﬁ-cial hands is a main challenge in the robotics ﬁeld, due to its practical relevance and theoretical complexity. The classic approach used to grasp with rigid robotic hands generally favored object-centric analytical solutions. More speciﬁcally, a set of available contact points is hypothesized, while their position and contact forces are evaluated from the object knowledge [1]. Although very elegant and theoretically sound, this approach has not yet produced the desired outcomes in practice. To address these limitations, in soft artiﬁcial hands part of the control intelligence has been directly embedded in their mechanism
Microelectronics Reliability Impact of the substrate and bu ﬀ er design on the performance of GaN on Si power HEMTs

This paper presents an extensive analysis of the impact of substrate and bu ﬀ er properties on the performance and breakdown voltage of E-mode power HEMTs. We investigated the impact of bu ﬀ er thickness, substrate resistivity and substrate miscut angle, by characterizing several wafers by means of DC and pulsed measurement. The results demonstrate that: (i) the resistivity of the silicon substrate strongly impacts on the breakdown voltage and vertical leakage current. In fact, highly resistive substrates may partly deplete under high vertical bias, thus limiting the total potential drop on the epitaxial layers. As a consequence, the vertical I e V plots show a “ plateau ” , that limits the vertical leakage. (ii) the depletion of the substrate may worsen the dynamic perfor- mance of the devices, due to an enhancement of bu ﬀ er trapping. (iii) Larger bu ﬀ er thickness results in an increased robustness of the vertical stack, due to the thicker insulating region. (iv) the miscut angle (0°, 0.5°, and 1°) can signi ﬁ cantly impact on both threshold voltage and the 2DEG density; devices with miscut substrate have higher current density. On the other hand, the dynamic on-resistance variation is comparable in the three cases.
Itinerary Recommendation Algorithm in the Age of MEC

—To provide fully immersive mobile experiences, next-generation touristic services will rely on the high bandwidth and low latency provided by the 5G networks and the Multi-access Edge Computing (MEC) paradigm. Recommendation algorithms, being integral part of travel planning systems, devise personalized tour itineraries for a user considering the popularity of the Points of Interest (POIs) of a city as well as the tourist preferences and constraints. However, in the context of next-generation touristic services, recommendation algorithms should also consider the applications (e.g., augmented reality) the tourist will consume in the POIs and the quality in which such applications will be delivered by the MEC infrastructure. In this paper, we address the joint problem of recommending personalized tour itineraries for tourists and efﬁciently allocating MEC resources for advanced touristic applications. We formulate an optimization problem that maximizes the itinerary score of individual tourists, while optimizing the resource allocation at the network edge. We then propose an exact algorithm that quickly solves the problem optimally considering instances of realistic size. Finally, we evaluate our algorithm using a real dataset extracted from Flickr. Results demonstrate gains up to 100% in the resource allocation and user experience in comparison with a state-of-the-art solution.
WAP, HTTP and HTML5 Web Socket Architecture Analysis in Contemporary Mobile App Development

: Accessing current and accurate information anywhere and at anytime is becoming a growing interest nowadays. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an application protocol that creates an opportunity to access information of any interest from WAP servers using mobile phones. WAP is an enabling technology based on the Internet client server architecture model, for developing client application for handheld devices or other wireless terminal which usually have less powerful CPU’s, less memory, very restricted power consumption, smaller and variant displays, phone keypads etc. This paper analyses the features of WAP in relation to the well established HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) technology, the web socket API innovations introduced in HTML5, the recent improvements in mobile devices processing capacity by connecting to cloud services and how application can be developed on them using modern tools. The features that are more adapted to client development of micro-devices are used for the technology application test.
Examining delays in diagnosis for slipped capital femoral epiphysis from a health disparities perspective

Slipped Capital Femoral Epiphysis (SCFE) is a skeletal pathology affecting adolescents which requires timely surgery to prevent progression. Delays in diagnosis and treatment of SCFE can negatively affect patient prognosis, and few studies have examined how health disparities and barriers to care may influence these delays. In particular, only a handful of studies have included a Hispanic patient sample, despite this ethnic group’s increased risk for the disease and unique barriers to care. A retrospective chart review was conducted for 124 patients surgically treated for idiopathic SCFE from January 2010 to September 2017. Patient data included age, facility and date of diagnosis, sex, BMI, race and ethnicity, Southwick slip angle, and insurance type. Results indicated that patients with private insurance were more likely to present with a mild slip than patients who were insured by Medicaid or uninsured, while patients without insurance were more likely to have severe slips. Patients without insurance also had a significantly higher mean slip than patients with insurance. The relationship between insurance status and slip angle degree was significant independent of race, even though Hispanic individuals were significantly more likely to have Medicaid or be uninsured. All patients without insurance, and a majority of those with Medicaid, were diagnosed in the emergency department. Time to diagnosis and slip angle were positively correlated, which suggests that longer delays led to increase of the slip angle, consistent with previous findings. Time to diagnosis and BMI were also correlated, which may be tied to socioeconomic factors, but the possibility of weight bias should not be dismissed. These results suggest that socioeconomic status and other factors may have contributed to barriers to care which led to delays in diagnosis and thus more severe slips. Future SCFE research should include health disparities variables to better inform treatment and prognosis.
Effect of Automated Telephone Infectious Disease Consultations to Nonacademic Hospitals on 30-Day Mortality Among Patients With Staphylococcus aureus Bacteremia

Key Points Question Do unsolicited telephone infectious disease consultations for nonacademic hospitals improve 30-day all-cause mortality in patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia? Findings In this cluster randomized crossover clinical trial of 386 participants in 21 centers in Thuringia, Germany, no effect was found from the telephone consultations on 30-day all-cause mortality. Further explorative analyses revealed potential, modest improvements in quality-of-care indicators. Meaning This trial found that telephone consultations did not have an effect on survival despite improvements in some quality-of-care indicators, suggesting that bedside consultations should remain the stand of care.