Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Estimating the Attraction Domain for the Boost Inverter

This work presents an approach for estimating the domain of attraction for polynomial systems with state and control‐signal constraints, including saturation. In many problems, it is possible to derive global stability properties for such systems, neglecting constraints. Consideration of the constraints usually makes the problem much more complicated. In this paper, the stability analysis performed for the unconstrained case is used for the problem as a whole. For application of the method, there are powerful computational tools that can be employed in cases of polynomial systems. The technique is not only valid for the analysis of equilibrium points, but also for other attractors, such as limit cycles.
Combination Therapy of Albumin-Bound Paclitaxel and Carboplatin as First Line Therapy in a Patient with Ovarian Cancer

Background. Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer among women and causes more deaths than any other type of female reproductive cancer. Albumin-bound paclitaxel is known to increase intratumoral concentration of the paclitaxel by a receptor-mediated transport process across the endothelial cell wall, thereby breaching the blood/tumor interface. We present below three cases in which nab-paclitaxel based chemotherapy has been used in different settings for patients with ovarian cancer. Case Presentation. In the first case nab-paclitaxel was used along with carboplatin in adjuvant setting, in the second case, nab-paclitaxel was used along with carboplatin and bevacizumab as second line chemotherapy in a relapsed ovarian cancer case, and the third case delineates the use of nab-paclitaxel along with cisplatin as third line chemotherapy. Conclusion. In all the three scenarios, patients tolerated the chemotherapy well, as well as responding well to nab-paclitaxel based chemotherapy. The patients are currently on long-term follow-up and have been having an uneventful postchemotherapy.
The influence of the Sustainable Seafood Movement in the US and UK capture fisheries supply chain and fisheries governance

Over the last decade, a diverse coalition of actors has come together to develop and promote sustainability initiatives ranging from seafood eco-labels, seafood guides, traceability schemes, and sourcing policies in Western seafood supply chains. Based on a literature review, we trace the development of the Sustainable Seafood Movement, which has been working to reform sustainability practices in the seafood supply chain. Focusing on the US and the UK capture fisheries, we explore the roles of key actors and analyze the dynamics within and between actor groups through a conceptual model derived from semi-structured interviews. We argue that the Sustainable Seafood Movement is different from previous social movements in that, in addition to actors advocating for government reform, it has motivated supply chain actors to participate in non-state market driven governance regime. The movement and its actors have leveraged their legitimacy and authority garnered within the supply chain to increase their legitimacy and authority in public governance processes. As the movement continues to evolve, it will need to address several emerging issues to maintain its position of legitimacy and authority in both the supply chain and public governance processes.
A study of autonomous data coherency protocol for mobile devices

An optimistic consistency scheme has been established with respect to data consistency and availability in distributed systems. Wireless networks are becoming popular in data communication and suitable for data sharing among users using multicast capability, but have hidden node problems. This paper proposes a simple data coherency protocol for mobile devices that has less data traffic in data collaboration using a multicast communication feature and is capable of automatic recovery from unpredictable disconnection, such as hidden node problems, by a data versioning scheme using a version vector and update log management. We evaluated the efficiency of data sharing over multicast communication and the recovery cost from failure caused by hidden nodes and confirmed the efficiency of the protocol.
Cancer burden in Africa and opportunities for prevention

Cancer is an emerging public health problem in Africa. About 715,000 new cancer cases and 542,000 cancer deaths occurred in 2008 on the continent, with these numbers expected to double in the next 20 years simply because of the aging and growth of the population. Furthermore, cancers such as lung, female breast, and prostate cancers are diagnosed at much higher frequencies than in the past because of changes in lifestyle factors and detection practices associated with urbanization and economic development. Breast cancer in women and prostate cancer in men have now become the most commonly diagnosed cancers in many Sub‐Saharan African countries, replacing cervical and liver cancers. In most African countries, cancer control programs and the provision of early detection and treatment services are limited despite this increasing burden. This paper reviews the current patterns of cancer in Africa and the opportunities for reducing the burden through the application of resource level interventions, including implementation of vaccinations for liver and cervical cancers, tobacco control policies for smoking‐related cancers, and low‐tech early detection methods for cervical cancer, as well as pain relief at the palliative stage of cancer. Cancer 2012. © 2012 American Cancer Society.
Performance budgeting : linking funding and results

Preface T.Ter-Minassian Performance Budgeting Models and Mechanisms M.Robinson PART I: THE PERFORMANCE INFORMATION FOUNDATIONS Informing Performance Budgeting M.Robinson Results Information M.Robinson Cost Information M.Robinson Program Classification M.Robinson & H.van Eden Performance Auditing and Performance Budgeting D.Shand PART II: LINKING BUDGETS TO PERFORMANCE Making Performance Budgeting Work M.Robinson Experience of OECD Countries with Performance Budgeting T.Curristine Improving Allocative Efficiency J.Brumby U.S. Program Assessment Rating Tool D.Fantone Performance in the New French Budget System B.Lannaud Performance Budgeting in England: Public Service Agreements P.Smith Chile M.Guzman Results and Services Plans and Budget Reform in New South Wales J.Pierce & M.Di Francesco Formula Funding and Performance Budgeting P.Smith Purchaser-Provider Systems M.Robinson Three Decades of Reforms in Spain J.R-H.Carbonell, E.Z. Goni, J.L. Fernandez & T.T. Iturriaga Performance Budgeting, Motivation and Incentives M.Robinson & E.Paul PART III: IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY AND SEQUENCING Challenges to Implementation J.Diamond Public Management Reform in France B.Chevauchez Russia: A Case Study E.Belyanova, O.Hovland & A.Lavrov The Experience of Bogota I.Fainboim Performance and Budgeting under the Separation of Powers P.Joyce Formula Funding in Ethiopian Higher Education K.Ashcroft Wage Spending Flexibility in Low-Income Countries M.Davies, M.Verhoeven & V.Gunnarsson Glossary About the Authors
Combining local features for gender classification

In this work, we present a new approach for gender classification problem by combining two different types of local features extracted from face images. Given one input image, a Elliptical Local Binary Patterns (ELBP) operator and a Local Phase Quantization (LPQ) operator are applied to generate two pattern images. Then, each pattern image is divided into disjoint rectangular sub-regions to compute their histograms. Finally, all the histograms are concatenated to construct a global representation referred to as Combined Local Patterns (CLP) vector that contains both ELBP and LPQ patterns. In the classification stage, the binary SVM classifier is used to determine the genders of the test images. Experiments carried out upon two public databases, AR and FERET, show that our method achieves good results when dealing with gender recognition problem under facial expressions, illumination, occlusion and time-lapse variations.
SCHIFI: Scalable and flexible high performance FPGA-based fault injector

One of the consequence of the scaling down of latest technologies, is that digital circuits are more prone to be affected by faults caused by physical manufacturing defects, environmental perturbations (e.g., radiations, electromagnetic interference), or aging-related phenomena. Understanding the behavior of the whole system in the presence of faults affecting digital circuits is crucial for designing and validating fault tolerance techniques. Fault injection is a well-known and widely used approach for estimating the behavior of a system in the presence of errors. Among the different techniques, FPGA-based fault injection is one of the most popular since it allows a low-cost, rapid and accurate approach compared to simulation- and hardware based fault injectors. In this paper we present a flexible FPGA fault injector able to inject in the memory hierarchy of a given system.
Privacy Preserving Support Vector Machine Using Non-linear Kernels on Hadoop Mahout

Four main challenges (volume, velocity, variety, veracity) have confronted computation algorithm designers in big data mining. Homomorphic cryptosystem with secured multi-party computation of matrix operations has been shown to yield high privacy preserving while data miners perform information retrieval from big data. This research concerns with the computation complexity of the big data with specific focus on computational load reduction while preserving data privacy. We propose a Teo-Han-Lee (THL) algorithm with various matrix operations to reduce the cryptographic cost significantly by cutting off at least one-third or more total computational operations. In THL, a pre-generated random key technique that we propose to apply here can decrease the computational time in which the random keys can be retrieved from memory without being generated on the fly. We further develop a collusion-resistant secure sum product protocol (CRSSPP) which is integrated in THL algorithm over arbitrary partitioned data. Experimental results demonstrated that THL-CRSSPP algorithm is more efficient than Vaidya et al SVM method [2] (state-of-the-art SVM method) and hence would be more applicable to the cloud-based big data mining. The THL-CRSSPP algorithm can also be integrated into Hadoop Mahout with a minimal effort.
XPnUE – Defining and Teaching a Fusion of eXtreme Programming & Usability Engineering

Software engineering and usability engineering are two disciplines sharing the aim of improving the customer experience in software development. However, and although practitioners of both disciplines need to collaborate in practice, sketches for development processes often rely on a singular perspective. In this paper, we report some of the experiences we made when designing a course on a combination of extreme programming and usability engineering, based on a blend of perspectives on equal terms.
Collaboration in Multiple Access Channels Requires Synchronization

Classical multiple access channel (MAC) coding schemes assume independent transmitted signals, because the given messages are assumed to be independent and the remote transmitters cannot cooperate. However, when the messages are correlated, or in the extreme case of fully cooperative transmitters, a better performance may be achieved. We explore the performance gain of this collaboration and its connection to transmission synchronization. For totally asynchronous transmitters, we prove that transmitters' collaboration has no performance gain. This result is shown for finite-alphabet memoryless MACs and for the additive white Gaussian noise MAC.
Towards the Intelligent Partnership a Reflection on the past Role of Technology

The pace of technological change is so great that any attempt to focus our attention on a particular technology and its potential impact on the teaching and learning of a particular topic in mathematics is likely to be of transitional value only. Everyday a new and even more sophisticated version of the current technology emerges to take its place. How do we make progress in such a volatile situation? One way is to try and put the problem in a broader perspective by recognizing that we have always used some sort of technology to support mathematical activity in the classroom and to understand what this meant in the past and what are the implications for the future.
Reinforcement Learning in Multidimensional Environments Relies on Attention Mechanisms

In recent years, ideas from the computational field of reinforcement learning have revolutionized the study of learning in the brain, famously providing new, precise theories of how dopamine affects learning in the basal ganglia. However, reinforcement learning algorithms are notorious for not scaling well to multidimensional environments, as is required for real-world learning. We hypothesized that the brain naturally reduces the dimensionality of real-world problems to only those dimensions that are relevant to predicting reward, and conducted an experiment to assess by what algorithms and with what neural mechanisms this “representation learning” process is realized in humans. Our results suggest that a bilateral attentional control network comprising the intraparietal sulcus, precuneus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is involved in selecting what dimensions are relevant to the task at hand, effectively updating the task representation through trial and error. In this way, cortical attention mechanisms interact with learning in the basal ganglia to solve the “curse of dimensionality” in reinforcement learning.
Skewed RAPD markers in linkage maps of Citrus

The objective of this work was to analyze the effects of RAPD markers with skewed segregation on genetic linkage maps. Segregation data for 123 Citrus sinensis (L.) Osbeck cv. Pera markers and 53 C. reticulata Blanco cv. Cravo markers in F1 progeny composed of 94 hybrids were used. Genetic linkage maps of the two varieties were constructed with non-skewed markers (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01) using the program MAPMAKER 3.0 and a pseudo-testcross strategy. The maps were compared to those constructed with all markers. Alterations in the genetic distances were observed based on the location of the skewed markers within the linkage groups. Generally, the skewed markers were located at the end of the linkage groups, sometimes forming entire linkage groups, without causing significant distance modifications. However, skewed markers located between non-skewed markers caused significant distance modifications and, in some cases, altered the order of the markers. Most of the skewed markers can be included in linkage maps, but in each case the degree of distance modification caused by each marker needs to be assessed.
Treball Final De Grau Etherification of Furfuryl Alcohol to Butyl Levulinate Using Ion- Exchange Resins Eterificació De L'alcohol Furfurílic a Levulinat De Butil Utilitzant Resines D'intercanvi Iònic

Aquesta obra esta subjecta a la llicència de: Reconeixement–NoComercial-SenseObraDerivada Si tú no trabajas por tus sueños, alguien te contratará para que trabajes por los suyos. REPORT Etherification of furfuryl alcohol to butyl levulinate using ion-exchange resins
Photoplethysmography analysis of artery properties in patients presenting with established erectile dysfunction

This study examines the variation of photoplethysmogram (PPG) morphology based on a sample by recording PPG finger tips from erectile dysfunction (ED) patients. Nine PPG indexes are calculated along with carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) for all patients. The measured parameters are statistically analyzed and their association is shown in results section. These results show that PPG can be used to analyze cardiovascular disorders and supplement existing methods of analyzing arterial conditions.
Lessons from building and using EUROMOD

By the mid 1990s the potential and usefulness of microsimulation models for researching tax benefit systems had found widespread acceptance. Nevertheless models were not widely available for independent or academic research in all countries of the European Union (EU). Even more important, carrying out consistent comparative tax-benefit microsimulation analysis was still an apparently impossible task. The time seemed ready for a European-Union-wide tax-benefit microsimulation model. This paper is devoted to explaining the reasons for building EUROMOD, its added value compared to existing models, the trade-offs faced by its builders and lessons that have been learnt from developing such an integrated model. Moreover, it aims to provide an insight into the wide range of possible applications of EUROMOD, underlined by summarising some indicative findings of studies, which have used the model. JEL Classification: C8, I3
Comparison of the SAWNUC model with CLOUD measurements of sulphuric acid‐water nucleation

Binary nucleation of sulphuric acid‐water particles is expected to be an important process in the free troposphere at low temperatures. SAWNUC (Sulphuric Acid Water Nucleation) is a model of binary nucleation that is based on laboratory measurements of the binding energies of sulphuric acid and water in charged and neutral clusters. Predictions of SAWNUC are compared for the first time comprehensively with experimental binary nucleation data from the CLOUD chamber at European Organization for Nuclear Research. The experimental measurements span a temperature range of 208–292 K, sulphuric acid concentrations from 1·106 to 1·109 cm−3, and distinguish between ion‐induced and neutral nucleation. Good agreement, within a factor of 5, is found between the experimental and modeled formation rates for ion‐induced nucleation at 278 K and below and for neutral nucleation at 208 and 223 K. Differences at warm temperatures are attributed to ammonia contamination which was indicated by the presence of ammonia‐sulphuric acid clusters, detected by an Atmospheric Pressure Interface Time of Flight (APi‐TOF) mass spectrometer. APi‐TOF measurements of the sulphuric acid ion cluster distributions ( (H2SO4)i·HSO4− with i = 0, 1, . , 10) show qualitative agreement with the SAWNUC ion cluster distributions. Remaining differences between the measured and modeled distributions are most likely due to fragmentation in the APi‐TOF. The CLOUD results are in good agreement with previously measured cluster binding energies and show the SAWNUC model to be a good representation of ion‐induced and neutral binary nucleation of sulphuric acid‐water clusters in the middle and upper troposphere.
The Specificity of Output from Medial Entorhinal Cortex

The hippocampal formation(HF) and the parahippocampal region (PHR) have been implicated in learning and memory functions. These regions and their subregions form a highly interconnected and complex microcircuitry, where the entorhinal cortex consitutes the nodal point between the hippocampal formation and the cortex. The entorhinal cortex conssists of ywo functionally distinct subregions. It had been suggested that this diffrence in functional output results from differences in microcircuitry, and input and output characteristics whithin the regions. Therefore, in order to understand the function of the entorhinal cortex and how it contributes to the rest of the HF-PHR network, it is necessary to understand the microcircuity whitin the region.This study investigates the specificity of output from cell populations located in superficial layers of the medial entorhinal cortex. Fluorescent retrograde traces were injected into dorsal dentate gyrus(DG)and the dorsal medial enthorhinal cortex(MEC). Additional immunohistochemistry was performed in order to investigate the chemical markers for the retrogradely labelled cell populations. Labelled cells and possible colocalization of markers were analysedwith fluorescent microscopy. The results indicate the presence of a least three separate cell populations in superficial layers of MEC with different projection patterns and chemical markers. It remains to be seen how the cell populations described here relate to the functionally defined cell populations found in MEC.
N Naive Physics

Naive physics is that branch of artificial intelligence research which seeks to fix our everyday, commonsensical knowledge of the external world in a form that is capable of being conveyed to and utilized by a computer. Research in naive phy~ics ori~nated. in reflection of the computational d1fficult1es associated with the use of standard physics as a basis for programming in robotics. The theories of standard physics seem not to address cuts through reality of the right sorts and dimensions to assist in the negotiation of obstacles of the sort we encounter in our (and the robot's) everyday experience. Different variant forms of the discipline have been advanced. Thus for example there is the work of J. R. Hobbs et al. (1987) on the use of common-sense knowledge in the understanding of texts about mechanical devices and their failures, work that is centred on the development of what is explicitly referred to as a 'common-sense metaphysics', amounting to a theory of those core concepts (such as granularity, scales,· time, space, causality, etc.) which figure in virtually every. domain of enquiry. There is the 'qualitative physics' of J. D. de Kleer and J. S. Brown (1984). This seeks to provide qualitative algorithms for predicting the behaviour of complex devices from the generic behaviours of their respective components. The latter prove capable of being. reduced to a relatively small number of basic types enjoying different realizations in highly disparate fields. Conduits, for example, may be used to convey air, water, electric current, information, and so on. The algorithms themselves rest on the use of a qualitative differential calculus which in some respects recalls the morphological ideas of Rene Thom. The term 'nai:ve physics' itself, however, is associated above all with the work of Patrick Hayes (1985). Hayes envisages a programme of massively large-scale formalization of common-sense knowledge to be expressed in terms of a first-order axiomatic theory NAIVE PHYSICS embracing of the order of 10 4 to 10 5 predicates. Such predicates may be divided into various sub-clusters, representing tentatively and provisionally distinguishable branches of the discipline of nai:ve physics taken as a whole. Thus in particular Hayes distinguishes sub-clusters of predicates relating to:-places and positions-spaces and objects-qualities and quantities ·-change and time-energy, effect and motion-composites and pieces of stuff. so on. No one of these notions as realized in naive physics will be capable of being reduced to any of the others. …
AI-BASED QOS PROFILING FOR NGN USER TERMINALS

This paper addresses the identification of NGN (Next Generation Networks) user terminals experiencing similar QoS (Quality of Service) conditions. This information is useful regarding the identification of adequate QoS monitoring points in order to provide a resource-saving QoS monitoring approach. An ART 2 neural network has been evaluated for the comparison and classification of sequences of consecutive jitter (delay variation) values experienced by packets of simultaneous multimedia over IP data streams. A test bed has been set up, and test results are presented within this paper.