Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed Optimal Power Flow Using ADMM

Distributed optimal power flow (OPF) is a challenging non-linear, non-convex problem of central importance to the future power grid. Although many approaches are currently available in the literature, these require some form of central coordination to properly work. In this paper a fully distributed and robust algorithm for OPF is proposed which does not require any form of central coordination. The algorithm is based upon the alternating direction multiplier method (ADMM) in a form recently proposed by the author, which, in turn, builds upon the work of Schizas The approach is customized as a region-based optimization procedure, and it is tested in meaningful scenarios.
The gyre-scale circulation of the North Atlantic and sea level at Brest

Abstract. The relationship between the gyre-scale circulation of the North Atlantic, represented by air pressure near to the centre of the sub-tropical gyre, and sea level measured at the eastern boundary of the ocean has been investigated using records commencing in the middle of the 18th century. These time series are twice as long as those employed in an earlier study of this relationship. Near-continuous values of annual mean sea level and mean high water from Brest, and air pressure fields for the eastern North Atlantic derived from terrestrial instrumental pressure records and ship logbook information, have been used to demonstrate that sea level on the eastern boundary does indeed appear to be related to air pressure at the centre of the gyre (subject to reservations concerning short sub-sections of data near to the ends of the records). These findings confirm the earlier conclusions but over much longer timescales. This relationship can explain at least part of the century timescale accelerations in European sea level records obtained from tide gauge and saltmarsh data. This finding has important implications for interpretation of the observed sea level rise and acceleration on the European Atlantic coast, suggesting that redistribution of water could play an important role instead of (or as well as) change in ocean volume.
New Claims for Wild Carrot (Daucus carota subsp. carota) Essential Oil

The essential oil of Daucus carota subsp. carota from Portugal, with high amounts of geranyl acetate (29.0%), α-pinene (27.2%), and 11αH-himachal-4-en-1β-ol (9.2%), was assessed for its biological potential. The antimicrobial activity was evaluated against several Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, yeasts, dermatophytes, and Aspergillus strains. The minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimal lethal concentration (MLC) were evaluated showing a significant activity towards Gram-positive bacteria (MIC = 0.32–0.64 μL/mL), Cryptococcus neoformans (0.16 μL/mL), and dermatophytes (0.32–0.64 μL/mL). The inhibition of the germ tube formation and the effect of the oil on Candida albicans biofilms were also unveiled. The oil inhibited more than 50% of filamentation at concentrations as low as 0.04 μL/mL (MIC/128) and decreased both biofilm mass and cell viability. The antioxidant capacity of the oil, as assessed by two in chemico methods, was not relevant. Still, it seems to exhibit some anti-inflammatory potential by decreasing nitric oxide production around 20% in LPS-stimulated macrophages, without decreasing macrophages viability. Moreover, the oils safety profile was assessed on keratinocytes, alveolar epithelial cells, macrophages, and hepatocytes. Overall, the oil demonstrated a safety profile at concentrations below 0.64 μL/mL. The present work highlights the bioactive potential of D. carota subsp. carota suggesting its industrial exploitation.
Common Genetic Contributions to Depressive Symptoms and Inflammatory Markers in Middle-Aged Men: The Twins Heart Study

Objective: To examine the extent to which a common genetic pathway is also involved in the relationship between depressive symptoms, in the absence of major depressive disorder (MDD), and inflammation. Recent data suggested that MDD and inflammation share common genes. Methods: We recruited 188 male twins from the Vietnam Era Twin Registry who were free of symptomatic coronary artery disease and MDD, with mean ± standard deviation (SD) age of 55 ± 2.75 years, including 54 monozygotic and 40 dizygotic twin pairs. These pairs were assessed for two inflammatory markers, interleukin (IL)-6 and C-reactive protein (CRP). Current depressive symptoms were measured with the Beck Depression Inventory-II. Generalized estimating equations were used to examine the phenotypic association between depression and inflammatory markers. Biometrical genetic modeling was performed to estimate the genetic and environmental contributions to this association. Results: An association was observed between severity of current depressive symptoms and increased levels of inflammatory markers (p < .001 for IL-6 and p = .005 for CRP). After adjustment for other factors, the association was slightly attenuated but remained statistically significant for IL-6 (p = .002). The heritability of IL-6, CRP, and depressive symptoms were estimated as 0.37, 0.65, and 0.48, respectively. Genetic modeling found a significant genetic correlation between IL-6 and depressive symptoms (rG = 0.22, p = .046), indicating that about 66% of the covariance between them can be explained by shared genetic influences. Conclusions: Current depressive symptoms are significantly correlated with inflammatory markers. This covariation is due, in large part, to genes that are common to depressive symptoms and inflammation. CAD = coronary artery disease; MDD = major depressive disorder; IL-6 = interleukin-6; CRP = C-reactive protein; THS = Twins Heart Study; VET = Vietnam Era Twin; MZ = monozygotic; DZ = dizygotic; HDL-C = high-density lipoprotein cholesterol; LDL-C = low-density lipoprotein cholesterol; WHR = waist-hip ratio; BDI-II = Beck Depression Inventory-II; GEE = generalized estimating equation; AIC = Akaike's information criterion; CRH = corticotrophin-releasing hormone; HPA = hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal; SD = standard deviation; Ln = logarithm transformation; CI = Confidence Interval; −2LL = −2×Log (Likelihood).
Dynamic idle mode procedures for femtocells

The concept of a user-deployed femtocell that operates in licensed spectrum and provides cellular coverage in the home has attracted much interest in the wireless industry and an extensive deployment of femtocells is expected in the future. However, several issues arise when femtocells become more widely deployed. One concern is the additional energy consumption caused by femtocells due to their continuous receiver processing and signal transmissions, which can be significant with a large number of femtocells. Secondly, the increase in the number of active cells can result in a high increase in core networks signaling for mobility procedures. Finally, the continuous pilot transmissions can cause interference, particularly in dense urban areas. In this paper all these issues are addressed by a novel idle mode procedure which allows the femtocell transmissions and associated processing to be switched off completely at all times when the femtocell does not need to support an active call.
Fixed-Order Controller Design for Polytopic Systems Using Rank Deficiency in a Sylvester Matrix

Abstract Fixed-order controller design for LTI-SISO polytopic systems is investigated using rank deficiency constraint on the controller Sylvester resultant matrix. It is shown that the non-convexity of fixed-order controller design problem can be contracted in a rank deficiency constraint on Sylvester resultant matrix of the controller. Then, an improved convex approximation of the rank deficiency constraint is used that leads to a convex fixed-order controller design problem represented via LMIs. The effectiveness of the proposed method is shown by applying it to an experimental system.
Java implementation of policy‐based bandwidth management

We describe a Java implementation of a policy based bandwidth management system using the standard policy protocols and an interface to the Linux Diffserv implementation. The useful features, such as extensibility and object orientation, of the Java implementation is illustrated by directly referring to the relevant programming codes. Through two practical experiments, we demonstrate the capability of our implementation in supporting policy‐based dynamic resource allocations in enterprise networks. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley &Sons, Ltd.
Protein secondary structure prediction with a hybrid RNN/HMM system

In this paper, we propose a hybrid RNN/HMM system for protein secondary structure prediction, where each secondary structure segment is approximated by a second-order recurrent neural network embedded in the state of a segmental hidden Markov model. We evaluate the hybrid system on the RS126 and CB396 sets and obtain promising results.
Carboplatin and paclitaxol ( Taxol ) as an induction regimen for patients with biopsy-proven stage IIIA N 2 non-small cell lung cancer : an EORTC phase II study ( EORTC 08958 ) §

The aim of this study was to document the activity and toxicity of paclitaxel (Taxol)/carboplatin when used as induction chemotherapy in patients with stage IIIA N2 non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) prior to definitive local treatment within a large, ongoing comparative study (EORTC 08941). 52 eligible, consenting, chemotherapy-naı̈ve patients with NSCLC, median age of 60 years, stage IIIA N2 disease and the ability to tolerate a pneumonectomy received paclitaxel 200 mg/m as a 3-h infusion followed by carboplatin at an area under the concentration curve (AUC) of 6 every 3 weeks for three courses. Most patients received three courses. No grade 3/4 anaemia or thrombocytopenia was documented. Over all of the cycles, 6% (3 patients) experienced grade 3 leucopenia while 63% (32/51 patients) experienced grade 3-4 neutropenia. There was 1 patient (2%) with febrile neutropenia, no early or toxic deaths and no hypersensitivity reactions. Severe non-haematological toxicity was uncommon, with the exception of grade 3 alopecia in 39%, lethargy in 8% and myalgia in 6%. Of the eligible patients (n=52), there was one complete response (CR) and 32 partial responses (PR), resulting in a response rate of 64% (95% Confidence Interval (CI) 49%–76%). Of the 15 eligible patients randomised to surgery after induction chemotherapy, 3 patients did not receive surgery and 2 patients (n=12) had no tumour in the mediastinal nodes (17%). Resections were considered complete in 2 of the 12. Median survival for all eligible patients (n=52) was 20.5 months (95% CI 16.1–31.2), with an estimated 1-year survival rate of 68.5% (95% CI 55.2–81.7). In patients with N2 stage IIIA NSCLC, paclitaxel/carboplatin is an active and very well-tolerated induction regimen. # 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Corporate Greening Through ISO 14001: A Rational Myth?

The process used by organizations to integrate the ISO 14001 standard has not yet been the subject of extensive research in environmental management despite the rapid development of this standard, particularly in industrial companies. The results of a case study conducted among nine ISO 14001 certified Canadian organizations showed that adopting this standard tends to lead to a ceremonial behaviour intended to superficially show that the certified organizations conformed to the standard. Although rigorous compliance with the standard often resulted in real improvements, these improvements were primarily technical and administrative in nature. However, in most of the cases studied, daily practices remained somewhat decoupled from the prescriptions of the ISO 14001 system, of which employees generally had only a vague understanding. The organizations studied adopted different strategies to reconcile external pressures in favour of adopting this standard and internal constraints associated with a management system whose support varied from one case to the next. While the standard often appeared to be some sort of “rational myth” (Meyer and Rowan 1977) to which organizations superficially committed themselves, the adaptation to institutional pressures was not necessarily straightforward. Using the example of the ISO 14001 standard, our study helps to show how this myth can be integrated, transformed, and even created through rhetoric by organizations to resolve certain contradictions. This research also illustrates how adopting the ISO 14001 system can have an ambiguous effect on environmental management practices and performances.
THE SUSTAINABILITY OF STATE BUDGET IN DEBT REPAYMENT

This paper is designed to analyze the sustainability of the central government budget in the case of Indonesia over the period of 1999-2009. First, we explore the theoretical background of the fiscal sustainability. Second, we develop a model to capture some factors determining the fiscal sustainability. Unlike the previous studies, we use both domestic debt and foreign debt to assess the fiscal solvency. Finally, we estimate it empirically. Based on the quarterly data analysis, we concluded that the government budget is unsustainable. This is associated with domestic debt rather than foreign debt. They imply that the central government should manage the debts carefully including re-profile, re-schedule, and re-structure them in order to spread the excess burden in the future. Also, the fiscal risks should be calculated comprehensively in order to maintain solvency. Keywords : Domestic debt, Foreign debt, Fiscal sustainability, Primary balance JEL Clasbsification: E62, H63
Trends in Technologies for HDDs, ODDs, and SSDs, and Toshiba's Approach

Demand for data storage devices has been exponentially increasing with the widespread dissemination of the Internet and cloud computing. In response to this situation, Toshiba has been developing and supplying all of the main types of storage devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs), optical disc drives (ODDs), and solid-state drives (SSDs) using NAND flash memories. With the ongoing diversification of storage device market needs ranging from personal use to data centers, we are making efforts to accelerate several new technical innovations to meet a wide variety of storage requirements.
Effect of dielectric losses on the propagation characteristics of the substrate integrated waveguide

Substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) is a recently introduced waveguide structure with promising features. In this paper, a rigorous computational method for the analysis of periodic structures is applied to the calculation of dispersion characteristics of the SIW. The method reduces Maxwell's equations to a system of telegraph equations which can be analyzed by means of the circuit theory for multi-conductor transmission lines. By using this method, the effect of dielectric losses and that of conductor losses of the vias on propagation characteristics of the SIW is investigated.
Performance enhancement by the In/sub 0.65/Ga/sub 0.35/As pseudomorphic channel on the In/sub 0.5/Al/sub 0.5/As metamorphic buffer Layer

We have developed the 1-/spl mu/m gate-length devices of In/sub 0.65/Ga/sub 0.65/As pseudomorphic channel (PC) on the In/sub 0.5/Al/sub 0.5/As metamorphic buffer layer to improve the device performance, as compared with the In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As lattice matched ones. The dc maximum drain-to-source current and transconductance enhances from 340 to 490 mA/mm and from 450 to 670 mS/mm. The RF current gain cut-off frequency and maximum oscillation frequency increases from 22 to 31 GHz and from 42 to 58 GHz, respectively. The extrinsic total delay times are quantitatively investigated, and the effective velocity of electrons improves from 1.8/spl times/10/sup 7/ cm/s to 2.3/spl times/10/sup 7/ cm/s by this In/sub 0.65/Ga/sub 0.35/As PC.
Altered vasoreactivity to angiotensin II in experimental diabetic neuropathy: Role of nitric oxide

We evaluated the effects of angiotensin II and an angiotensin‐converting enzyme inhibitor (cilazapril) on nerve blood flow (NBF) and electrophysiology in control and diabetic rats. When applied locally to the sciatic nerve, the dose–response curve of angiotensin II was more potent in experimental diabetic neuropathy (EDN) than control rats. No difference existed in plasma angiotensin II levels between EDN and controls. The rats were given typical rat pellets or pellets treated with 10 mg/kg per day cilazapril for 4 weeks. Diabetes caused a significant reduction in NBF, nerve conduction velocity, and compound muscle action potential (CMAP) amplitudes. NBF was significantly increased in diabetic rats supplemented with cilazapril diet, and nerve conduction velocity and amplitudes of the CMAP were also improved after 4 weeks on this diet. Direct application 10−3 mol/L cilazapril on sciatic nerve did not increase NBF in normal and EDN rats. We topically applied the nitric oxide synthase (NOS) inhibitor, NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine, on sciatic nerve and observed reduced inhibition of NBF in EDN, which was correctable with a cilazapril diet. These results suggest that diabetic neuropathy may have an increasing vasopressor action with angiotensin II and this is likely to be the mechanism of NOS inhibition. Angiotensin II‐converting enzyme inhibitors may have potential in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Muscle Nerve 22: 920–925, 1999
"Whole cell"--matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry, an emerging technique for efficient screening of biocombinatorial libraries of natural compounds-present state of research.

Whole Cell-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS) is an emerging sensitive technique for rapid typing of microorganisms, efficient screening of biocombinatorial libraries of natural compounds and the analysis of complex biological samples, as whole cells, subcellular particles, cell extracts and culture filtrates. It is unique to detect metabolites in-situ without the need to isolate and purify the investigated compounds. In favourite cases it enables in-situ structure analysis on the basis of the fragment pattern generated by postsource MALDI-TOF-mass spectrometry. The state of research of this methodology which has mainly been obtained by investigation of lipopeptides from bacilli and the large spectrum of bioactive peptides produced by cyanobacteria is reviewed. The potential of this innovative technique is demonstrated for the lipopeptides produced by various Bacillus subtilis strains.
Hyperemesis gravidarum and its relation with maternal body fat composition

The objective of this study was to determine if maternal body fat composition and body mass index were associated with hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) in the first trimester of pregnancy. Healthy pregnant women (n = 30) without nausea and vomiting (control group) and women with HG (n = 54; study group), all with singleton pregnancy at 6–14 weeks gestational age, were included. Body mass index was measured before and during pregnancy. Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) and subcutaneous fat thickness were measured during pregnancy. Comparison of the groups revealed that VAT and pre-pregnancy body mass index but not subcutaneous fat thickness were significantly higher in the HG group versus controls. VAT and pre-pregnancy body mass index predicted 83.8% and 67.1% of HG cases, respectively. VAT and pre-pregnancy body mass index were correlated with the development of hyperemesis gravidrum and hence could be considered as predictive markers for HG.
Structure Analysis of Beijing Opera Arias

Music has been playing an important role in the society. With the wide spread of digital and mobile devices, the consumption of music has been increasing significantly. Therefore, the demand for automatic processing and analyzing music with computational technologies has also been pushed to a new ground. It has opened up opportunities for a variety of applications which were not possible before. Structure, being a fundamental entity of music, is being used in a lot of those applications to help people organize, navigate, and understand music. It is also of great importance for the academic areas such as Computational Musicology and Music Information Research (MIR). However, such application and research are mostly focused on western music, while there is increasing demand for non-western music as well. Beijing opera, being one of the most famous traditional operas in China, has influence all over the world. But few efforts have been made in the study of Beijing opera music with a computational perspective. In this work, we propose computational tools for the structure analysis of Beijing opera arias. Literature review of state of the art research on related topics are performed. Methodologies, data, and challenges of these topics are analyzed. Then we proceed to the specific tasks chosen for the structure analysis of Beijing opera arias on different levels. The first task is the segmentation of singing, percussion and instrumental sections. Features have been chosen to reflect the nature of the sound in these sections. An Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier is built using these features. Experiments on a 34 aria dataset have shown the effectiveness of this method. The influence of features have also been analyzed. The second task is lyrics-to-audio alignment. For this task, two datasets of a capella singing have been created, with human annotations on the phoneme level. The study of the datasets have been performed and have shown interesting characteristics of the lyrics of Beijing opera singing. An approach based on Duration-aware Hidden Markov Model (DHMM) has been proposed to address the challenge of long syllable durations in Beijing opera arias. The evaluation results demonstrate the ability of the proposed method to tackle the task of lyrics-to-audio alignment in the case of Beijing opera arias. The thesis is concluded with main conclusions and a summary of the contributions of this work.
Mapping Membrane Topology Label Free and Corrected for Changes in the Refractive Index of the Membrane on a Nanometer Scale

The plasma membrane is the outer limit of the animal cell. As such, it is both a border separating inside from outside and a signaling platform for interactions with the surroundings. Among these interactions are extracellular matrix contacts and adhesion sites. The membrane and its contact sites together with the underlying cytoskeleton undergo constant remodeling, which leads to changes of the cell shape. In addition to spatial information micro-topographical maps provide, information about the z-dimension and describe the position of the plasma membrane with respect to the distance to a given substrate. Here we address how to measure height differences in the plasma membrane and how to create topographical maps of the plasma membrane with nanometer resolution. We address the currently used methodologies along with their advantages and drawbacks. Moreover, we delineate a label-free method to obtain topographic maps of the plasma membrane that are corrected for differences in the refractive index of the membrane utilizing an interferometric approach with multiple wavelengths and a normalization procedure to account for changes in the refractive index in the membrane.