Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sparse control and compressed sensing in networked switched systems

In this study, the authors study the problems of sparse control and data transmission for network switched control systems. First, the networked control system is modelled as switched control systems. The new stability criterion and stabilisation criterion are presented based on a sparse control design methodology and the Lyapunov stability theory. Then, according to the structure of the systems, data transmission through the unreliable network from sensors to the controller becomes unavoidable. In the transmission, real-time compressed sensing (CS) is effectively employed, which can reduce the size of transfer data and increase the reliability of data transmission. The controller design method and the CS approach are very effective, which have been explained and verified via simulation studies.
Facilitation of frog neuromuscular transmission by sodium fluoride

1 The effects of sodium fluoride (NaF, 5 mm) alone or in combination with theophylline (1.5 mm) or imidazole (1.5 mm) on the amplitude of the endplate potential (e.p.p.), frequency of the miniature endplate potential (m.e.p.p.), and the quantal content of the e.p.p. of bullfrog muscle were investigated. The effects of forskolin (1 μm) and papaverine (1 μm) on the m.e.p.p. frequency were also studied. 2 NaF caused an increase of 22% in the amplitude of the e.p.p. This NaF‐induced increase was enhanced by theophylline (to 51%) and reduced by imidazole (to 10%). 3 Papaverine (0.1–3 μm) increased the frequency of m.e.p.ps. Forskolin at 1 μm raised the m.e.p.p. frequency by 13%. The effect was increased to 31% by 1 μm papaverine. NaF also raised the m.e.p.p. frequency by 90%. This action too was increased by theophylline (2.6 fold) and by papaverine (2.1 fold); however, it was reduced by imidazole (1.3 fold). 4 NaF increased the quantal content of the e.p.p. by 28%. This effect was enhanced by theophylline to 44%, while it was diminished by imidazole. 5 These results suggest that an increase in the transmitter release via an elevation of cyclic AMP may be involved in the facilitation of neuromuscular transmission by NaF.
Evidence for the Presence of a Ganglioside Transfer Protein in Brain

Abstract: An extract from rat brain has been shown to catalyze the transfer of ganglioside GM1 from sonicated vesicles to erythrocyte ghosts. It also enhanced the transfer of GM1 to a crude neuronal membrane preparation, whereas myelin took up only a very limited amount. The transfer activity was heat‐labile. Similar transfer activities were found in extracts from bovine gray and white matter, that of the former being comparable to rat brain whereas the latter was greater per milligram protein.
Analysis of Finite-Width Interdigital Transducer Excitation Profiles

Abstruct-In virtually all work on interdigital transducers, it is assumed that the excitation profiie across the width of the transducer is constant. This is a reasonable first approximation to make and in many cases provides acceptable predictions of experimental results Experimentally, the condition is approximated by keeping the interdigital transducer wide. However, as constraints on device size are applied to surface acoustic wave filters, the widths of interdigital transducers are being forced into a range where the transverse electrostatic end effects must be accounted for in describing device performance. As a step toward improved filter synthesis, the three-dimensional electrostatic field of a double electrode interdigital transducer has been found. Variations in the electrode charge distribution have been studied as a function of the distance between the electrode ends and the bonding pads and as a function of substrate anisotropy. Numerical results are provided for end gaps of fh, l h , 2h, and 3h on an isotropic substrate and for a $h end-gap transducer on (YZ) LiNbO,.
GPU accelerated Realtime 3D Modelling with Microsoft Kinect

Realtime 3D modelling of the environment and objects in it using a freehand Microsoft Kinect has recently been demonstrated. The Simultaneous Localisation and Mapping (SLAM) technique employed was possible in realtime due to almost the entire computational pipeline for the system being executed by GPGPU. Such modelling systems are of wide interest in Computer Vision, Robotics and Augmented Reality research but also have more practical applications such as 3D scanning. The Point Cloud Library (PCL) , is a wide ranging open source software project for 2D/3D image and point cloud processing which is developing a Kinect & GPU based 3D scanning system named KinFu. This MSc. dissertation has evaluated the compute performance of the existing KinFu implementation and investigated possible performance improvements both on its existing CUDA platform implementation and via prototype porting to OpenCL for access to a wider range of hardware vendors and architectures. A 30% increase in the overall performance of the CUDA KinFu app was achieved by the removal of an unnecessary type conversion which is a particularly expensive operation on the Kepler generation of NVidia GPUs The most computationally expensive kernel of KinFu was successfully ported to OpenCL and tested on an AMD GPU.
Handedness and Mortality: A Follow-Up Study of Danish Twins Born between 1900 and 1910

The declining prevalence of left-handed individuals with increasing age has led to two main avenues of hypotheses; the association is due either (1) to a birth cohort effect and/or an age effect caused by a switch to right-handedness with advancing age or (2) to mortality selection that reduces survival in left-handed individuals, or both. It is uncertain whether a cohort or age effect can explain the decline in age-related prevalence, and conflicting evidence exists in favor of the mortality hypothesis. We compared mortality in a subgroup of 118 opposite-handed twin pairs by counting in how many instances the right-handed twin died first. There was no evidence of differential survival between right-handed and non-right-handed individuals in the entire 1900–1910 cohort. With respect to the number of right-handed twins who died first, there was no material disadvantage among those who were not right-handed. In 60% (95% confidence interval = 49.0–71.5%) of dizygotic pairs, the right-handed twins died first. In 50% of monozygotic pairs, right-handed twins died first. The prevalence of not being right-handed was higher among males (9.2%) than females (6.5%); there was a similar frequency of non-right-handedness in monozygotic (8.0%) and dizygotic (7.8%) twins. We did not find evidence of excess mortality among non-right-handed adult twins in this follow-up study.
Fast Mobility Model Prototyping in Network Simulations Using Game Engine

Mobility modeling is an important aspect of network simulation. At the same time, there are currently no efficient approaches for this task. We propose a fast prototyping solution of mobility models for network simulation. Our implementation consists of three parts: the steps to build macro and micro mobility models using game engine, a middle ware to integrate mobility modeling application with network simulators, and two experimental mobility models using Point of Interests. Both qualitative feedback and quantitative evaluation results show effectiveness and efficiency of our solution.
Can We Interpret Irrational Behavior

According to some theories of interpretation, it is difficult to explain and predict irrational behavior in intentional terms because irrational behavior does not support the ascription of intentional states with determinate content. In this paper I challenge this claim by offering a general diagnosis of those cases in which behavior, rational or not, resists interpretation. I argue that indeterminacy of ascription and paralysis of interpretation ensue when the interpreter lacks relevant information about the system to be interpreted and about the environment in which the system is embedded. Moreover, the heuristics of interpretation that guide the ascription of beliefs can be limited in scope. In the end I suggest that by giving up the idea of a necessary rationality constraint on the ascription of intentional states we can develop a new framework for a more psychologically realistic account of interpretation.
Dynamic characteristics of three-phase Z-source-based photovoltaic inverter with asymmetric impedance network

Three-phase Z-source inverter (ZSI) is a relatively new buck-boost-type inverter topology, which in photovoltaic (PV) applications offers more efficient power point tracking than traditional VSI-type inverter in a single power processing stage. This paper presents an accurate small-signal model for the impedance network present in three-phase grid-connected ZSI, which can be used to e.g. design its control system and predict its impedance characteristics. In this paper, the developed small-signal model is used to study the effect of the asymmetric impedance network to the behavior of the network. It is shown, that asymmetric impedance network will affect to the dynamic characteristics of the inverter, but does not significantly decrease its electrical performance or compromise its stability.
How Do Trainees Rate the Impact of a Short Cognitive Behavioural Training Programme on their Knowledge and Skills?

Background: A strong evidence base for cognitive behavioural therapy has led to CBT models becoming available within mainstream mental health services. As the concept of stepped care develops, new less intensive mental health interventions such as guided self-help are emerging, delivered by staff not trained to the level of accredited Cognitive Behavioural Therapists. Aim: The aim of this study was to determine how mental health staff evaluated the usefulness of a short training programme in CBT concepts, models and techniques for routine clinical practice. Method: A cohort of mental health staff (n = 102) completed pre- and posttraining self-report questionnaires measuring trainee perceptions of the impact of a short training programme on knowledge and skills. Mentors and managers were also asked to comment on perceived impact of the training. Results: Trainees and mentors reported perceived gains in knowledge and skills posttraining and at 1-year follow-up. Managers and trainees reported perceived improvements in skills and practice. Conclusion: A short Cognitive Behavioural skills programme can enable mental health staff to integrate basic CB knowledge and skills into routine clinical practice.
Power optimised channel coding in wireless sensor networks using low-density parity-check codes

Energy consumption of low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes in different implementations is evaluated. Decoder's complexity is reduced by finite precision representation of messages, that is, quantised LDPC decoder, and replacement of function blocks with look-up tables. It is shown that the decoder's energy consumption increases exponentially with the number of quantisation bits. For the sake of low-power consumption, 3-bit magnitude and 1-sign bit representation for messages are used in the decoder. It is concluded that high-rate Gallager codes are as energy efficient as the Reed-Solomon codes, which till now have been the first choice for wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Finally, it is shown that using LDPC codes in WSNs can be justified even more by applying the idea of trading the transmitter power with the decoder energy consumption. By exploiting the trade-off inherent in iterative decoding, the network lifetime is increased up to four times with the 3-6 regular LDPC code. Hence, it is inferred that the LDPC codes are more efficient than the block and the convolutional codes.
A Flow-Cytometric Gram-Staining Technique for Milk-Associated Bacteria

ABSTRACT A Gram-staining technique combining staining with two fluorescent stains, Oregon Green-conjugated wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) and hexidium iodide (HI) followed by flow-cytometric detection is described. WGA stains gram-positive bacteria while HI binds to the DNA of all bacteria after permeabilization by EDTA and incubation at 50°C for 15 min. For WGA to bind to gram-positive bacteria, a 3 M potassium chloride solution was found to give the highest fluorescence intensity. A total of 12 strains representing some of the predominant bacterial species in bulk tank milk and mixtures of these were stained and analyzed by flow cytometry. Overall, the staining method showed a clear differentiation between gram-positive and gram-negative bacterial populations. For stationary-stage cultures of seven gram-positive bacteria and five gram-negative bacteria, an average of 99% of the cells were correctly interpreted. The method was only slightly influenced by the growth phase of the bacteria or conditions such as freezing at −18°C for 24 h. For any of these conditions, an average of at least 95% of the cells were correctly interpreted. When stationary-stage cultures were stored at 5°C for 14 days, an average of 86% of the cells were correctly interpreted. The Gram-staining technique was applied to the flow cytometry analysis of bulk tank milk inoculated with Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. These results demonstrate that the technique is suitable for analyzing milk samples without precultivation.
Straight road edge detection from high-resolution remote sensing images based on the ridgelet transform with the revised parallel-beam Radon transform

Roads are important basic geographical phenomena and the automatic recognition and extraction of road features from remote sensing images has many applications. However, automated road extraction from high-resolution remote sensing imagery is problematic. In recent years, many approaches have been explored for automatic road extraction, particularly involving road edge detection. Traditional edge detection operators such as the Canny or the Sobel operator are used frequently but there are serious problems of over- or underdetection, and time-consuming and complicated post-processing work is often required. In this paper, a new revised parallel-beam Radon transform (RPRT) approach is proposed. The traditional PRT can have problems with step values, resulting in false edge detection. To overcome these problems we introduced the RPRT, using the harmonic average of the pixel value in every strip of the Radon slice. An algorithm suitable for straight edge detection of roads in high-resolution remote sensing imagery was designed based on the ridgelet transform with the RPRT. The experimental results show that our algorithm can detect straight road edges efficiently and accurately, and avoid cumbersome and complicated post-processing work.
Adoption of Falsified Medical Products in a Low-Income Country: Empirical Evidence for Suriname

Based on detailed shipping figures for Suriname’s main harbour in Paramaribo, we estimate the total shipments (in kilograms) of original and falsified medical products for 1996–2008 across five product categories. Using various time series techniques and diffusion models, we document that total cumulative shipments of falsified products make about 40% of total shipments. We observe that there are apparently two distinct sets of consumers for original and for falsified products. Subsequently, we survey more than 300 citizens of Suriname from various demographics and ask questions about their potential adoption of falsified medicines. We find that income, age, and family size have no correlation, while the way people are insured does. Hence, the two sets of consumers can roughly be identified and clear-cut policy suggestions are presented. “The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that up to 1% of medicines available in the developed world is likely to be counterfeited. This figure rises to 10% globally, although in some developing countries they estimate one third of medicines are counterfeit” (Various internet sites consulted January 2010 and the best estimate we have).
Image Deblurring via Adaptive Proximal Conjugate Gradient Method

It is not easy to reconstruct the geometrical characteristics of the distorted images captured by the devices. One of the most popular optimization methods is fast iterative shrinkage/ thresholding algorithm. In this paper, to deal with its approximation error and the turbulence of the decrease process, an adaptive proximal conjugate gradient (APCG) framework is proposed. It contains three stages. At first stage, a series of adaptive penalty matrices are generated iterate-to-iterate. Second, to trade off the reconstruction accuracy and the computational complexity of the resulting sub-problem, a practical solution is presented, which is characterized by solving the variable ellipsoidal-norm based sub-problem through exploiting the structure of the problem. Third, a correction step is introduced to improve the estimated accuracy. The numerical experiments of the proposed algorithm, in comparison to the favorable state-of-the-art methods, demonstrate the advantages of the proposed method and its potential.
Stress and Health Habits in College Students

Research has demonstrated that college students experience stress from sources such as poor self-care habits, educational demands, daily hassles, and perceived control over situations. The present study examined perceived stress, health habits, and daily hassles and uplifts among 135 college freshmen. We hypothesized that students with lower stress levels would be male, would have better self-care health habits, would experience fewer minor medical health issues, would have higher academic performance, and would experience fewer daily hassles and more daily uplifts than students who experienced high perceived stress. Strong support was obtained for the hypothesis that students with low perceived stress had better health habits. Students with low perceived stress also experienced significantly fewer hassles and more uplifts per month. There were no significant effects of perceived stress on grade point average or minor medical issues, and there were no significant gender differences in levels of stress. The results could help college freshmen adjust to challenges of college by helping them understand some of the effects of stress and benefits of reducing that stress.
[Factors associated with dental caries and periodontal diseases in Latin American indigenous peoples: a systematic review].

OBJECTIVE To identify the factors associated with dental caries and periodontal diseases in indigenous populations in Latin America. METHODS The search was conducted between January and February 2012 in the following databases: MEDLINE/PubMed, SCOPUS, SciELO, and LILACS. The references of the identified articles were also searched. The initial search retrieved 74 articles, 33 of which were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The methodological quality of the studies was evaluated according to STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology) recommendations. RESULTS Most of the populations studied were Brazilian, with the highest percentage of studies focusing on the Xingu and Xavante communities (31.6%). Most studies were cross-sectional. One of the studies showed a positive association between tooth loss and increasing age among the Guaraní population in Brazil, with the largest proportion of gingival bleeding among adolescent males and females showing a higher number of sextants excluded for tooth loss. Two Brazilian longitudinal studies with Xavante communities showed significant differences in the incidence of caries for age and sex. CONCLUSIONS Increasing age and differences between sexes are possible factors associated with an increase in dental caries and periodontal diseases in the Guaraní and Xavante people in Brazil. The lack of studies with an appropriate methodology renders Latin American indigenous peoples epidemiologically invisible, hindering the production of knowledge on oral health status and on the development of strategies for oral disease prevention and health promotion in these populations.
Hemostatic Efficacy of Nanofibrous Matrix in Rat Liver Injury Model

This present study examined the hemostatic efficacy of nanofibrous matrix in a rat liver model. The nanofibrous matrix comprising gelatin and polycaprolactone was prepared by electrospinning method. Twelve animals underwent surgery and were followed-up for a month. Time taken to cease bleeding, activated partial thromboplastin time, prothrombin time, and fibrinogen concentration were measured. Histopathological examination of liver was also done of treated and control animals. All test animals showed very rapid hemostasis after application of electrospun sheet. Histopathological study showed quick recovery of liver wound in the test group as compared to the control group. The nanofibrous matrix has proven to be not only safe and effective as hemostat but has also shown its potential for liver regeneration.
Oral glutamine protects against acute doxorubicin-induced cardiotoxicity of tumor-bearing rats.

Doxorubicin (DOX), a widely used anticancer drug, has a dose-dependent cardiotoxicity, attributed mainly to free radical formation. The cardiomyocyte oxidative stress occurs rapidly after DOX treatment, resulting in harmful modifications to proteins, lipids, and DNA. Previous data showed that oral l-glutamine (Gln) prevented cardiac lipid peroxidation and maintained normal cardiac glutathione (GSH) levels in DOX-treated rats. Our aim in this study was to examine the effect of Gln on DOX-induced cardiac oxidative stress in a tumor-bearing host. Female Fisher344 rats with implanted MatBIII mammary tumors were randomized into 2 groups: a Gln group that received l-Gln (1 g.kg(-1). d(-1)) (n = 10) via a Gln-enriched diet and/or gavage with 50% Gln suspension during the whole experiment and a control group that was fed the same diet formulation without Gln and/or were gavaged with water. All rats received a single injection of 12 mg/kg DOX and were killed 3 d later. GSH levels of hearts, livers, tumors, and blood, as well as cardiac histological alterations, lipid peroxidation, peroxinitrite levels, and caspase-3 activation were determined. Cardiac physiologic alterations were assessed by ultrasound imaging before and 3 d after DOX administration. The Gln supplementation resulted in lower cardiac lipid peroxidation and peroxintrite levels and elevated cardiac catalase enzyme activity and GSH compared with the controls, without affecting those of the tumors. DOX-induced alterations of the echocardiographic parameters were significantly reduced in the Gln-supplemented rats. These data indicate that Gln is able to reduce the oxidative damage of cardiomyocytes that occurs soon after DOX administration and thus protects the heart of a tumor-bearing host from DOX-induced cardiomyopathy.