Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Output Feedback Direct Adaptive Controller for a SMA Actuator With a Kalman Filter

In this brief, a direct adaptive controller (DAC) is proposed to control a shape memory alloy (SMA) actuator. The DAC, with its advantages in parameter tuning and noise robustness, was successfully applied to control an SMA actuator. The control signal in DAC was derived via a feedback linearization method. A radial basis function neural network (RBFNN) was then employed to approximate the control signal due to the system nonlinearity and parameter uncertainties. The weighting factors of the RBFNN are updated on the condition of system stability. Due to the system states requirement of the DAC and measurement noise, a Kalman filter was introduced in this work to eliminate the output measurement noise and estimate the system states. From the simulation and experimental results, it was verified that the DAC controller with the Kalman filter was successfully applied to a SMA actuator and the hysteresis phenomenon was almost compensated. The experimental control results were also compared with those of a conventional proportional-integral-derivative controller.
Guideline on the Use of Ipecac Syrup in the Out-of-Hospital Management of Ingested Poisons

The use of gastric emptying techniques, including ipecac-induced emesis, in the management of poisoned patients has declined significantly in recent years. Historically, poison centers used ipecac syrup in two ways. Ipecac syrup was administered to patients prior to referral to the emergency department in attempts to start the gastric emptying process as early as possible. Additionally, poison centers used ipecac syrup in attempts to keep patients from requiring referral to medical facilities. In these situations, ipecac syrup was administered in the home and poison center staff performed follow-up telephone calls to gauge progress and outcome. Studies to determine the effectiveness of ipecac syrup demonstrate that it induces vomiting in a high percentage of people to whom it is administered and that it decreases the gastrointestinal absorption of ingested substances in a time-dependent fashion. However, the effectiveness of ipecac syrup in affecting patient outcome has not been studied in adequate clinical trials. Its effectiveness in preventing drug absorption has only been documented for a limited number of substances and is substantially reduced if it is given more than 30–90 minutes following ingestion of the toxic material. There are potentially significant contraindications, adverse effects and related problems associated with the use of ipecac syrup. It is the consensus of the panel that the circumstances in which ipecac-induced emesis is the appropriate or desired method of gastric decontamination are rare. The panel concluded that the use of ipecac syrup might have an acceptable benefit-to-risk ratio in rare situations in which: there is no contraindication to the use of ipecac syrup; and there is substantial risk of serious toxicity to the victim; and there is no alternative therapy available or effective to decrease gastrointestinal absorption (e.g., activated charcoal); and there will be a delay of greater than 1 hour before the patient will arrive at an emergency medical facility and ipecac syrup can be administered within 30–90 minutes of the ingestion; and ipecac syrup administration will not adversely affect more definitive treatment that might be provided at a hospital. In such circumstances, the administration of ipecac syrup should occur only in response to a specific recommendation from a poison center, emergency department physician, or other qualified medical personnel. The panel decided not to address the issue of whether ipecac should remain a nonprescription, over-the-counter product. The panel does not support the routine stocking of ipecac in all households with young children but was unable to reach consensus on which households with young children might benefit from stocking ipecac. Instead, the panel concluded that individual practitioners and poison control centers are best able to determine the particular patient population, geographic and other variables that might influence the decision to recommend having ipecac on hand.
Investors Facing Opportunistic Governments: Is It Really Good to "Know the Market" before Investing?

When a government cannot commit to future policies, investors face the risk of opportunistic behavior in addition to uncertain market conditions. We show that although reducing market uncertainty is sometimes essential for investment, it may aggravate problems of opportunism. The better informed the investor is before investing, the more information the government can infer from observing that investment takes place, in turn enabling more efficient rent extraction. This signaling effect can dominate; if the investor receives "too accurate" information before investing, the only equilibrium is the one in which no investment occurs. Copyright 1999 by The editors of the Scandinavian Journal of Economics.
Senior Migration: Spatial Considerations of Amenity and Health Access Drivers

This paper extends the literature on amenity migration by focusing on healthcare access for later‐life migrants. Previous studies have strongly suggested that natural amenities are strong pull factors for later‐life migrants, but high natural amenity counties rarely possess the quality healthcare access optimal for elderly migrants. Utilizing a spatial Bayesian estimation strategy, we explicitly consider numerous drivers of later‐life migration to examine the extent to which health access is a driver in location decisions. We find healthcare access measures, including hospital expenditures, hospital beds, and number of doctors, are positively associated with later‐life migration decisions.
Interest Rates, the Markets, and the New Financial World.

Part 1 Introduction: from Wenings to Wall Street. Part 2 Financial markets: financial markets yesterday and today - interest-rate differences, the institutional credit structure, volatility and monetarism, the budget deficit dangers in the rapid growth of debt - rapid debt growth, danger signals, forces that encourage credit expansion, policy proposals the integrity of credit - credit without a guardian, the proper role of financial institutions, the role of government a disregard for capital - manifestations of the desregard for capital, social claims, defenders of capital ferment in financial institutions - regulation deregulation, financial innovation, financial institutions are unique, managing risk international financial problems - laissez faire, official intervention, international cooperation, fixed versus floating exchange rates banking in changing world credit markets - banking growth, growth of euromarkets, banking linkages and innovations, the freeing of markets the equity market over the long term - growth of the equity market, the emerging global equity market, the growth of proxy instruments, the expanding role of the institutional investor, a more demanding role for securities dealers, new challenges for investment decision makers fallen financial dogmas and beliefs - high real interest rates encourage substantial increases in savings, high real interest rates discourage economic recovery, financial deregulation lowers the general level of interest rates, credit quality is constant in our financial system, the growth of debt is closely linked to growth in nominal gross national product, a nation's large trade deficit weakens its currency in foreign exchange markets, fiscal policy can be a flexible anticyclical tool and, combined with monetary, can prolong economic expansion and limit economic and financial excesses. Part 3 Interest rates: secular and cyclical trends in interest rates - secular trends, cyclical trends, extremes in quality yields, interest rates and economic activity, conventional wisdoms the many faces of the yield curve - theories, four major yield curves, the optimum long opportunity, prospects changing techniques in forecasting interest rates - anticipation and realization, the effects of deregulation, international credit flows, other benefits from credit flow analysis new interest-rate precepts - the perception of high and low interest rates does not remain constant, substantial interest-rate volatility is here to stay and should be incorporated into portfolio and financing decision making, bonds are bought more for their price appreciation potential than for their income protection, (part contents).
Social and Economic Welfare in the European Context

In the globalization era that we are witnessing, the social problems of welfare and development have become key points on the agendas of European countries and not only. The present economic and political context has proved once more that social welfare represents an essential objective of any society.As the core objective of any economy is to create goods and services in order to satisfy needs on the one hand and social discontent occurs in societies characterized by obvious inequalities on the other hand, it will be natural that any nation will try to achieve a system producing social-economic welfare or, in other words a welfare economy. The role of the state in this field will consist in the creation of tools and methods which should lead to the redistribution of incomes, as economic welfare in a consumption society is deeply connected to the welfare of individuals, families, groups; consequently the standard of living becomes the most important indicator measuring the level of economic welfare.The present article is a comparative study of different types of welfare states as well as a comparative presentation of the situation of the welfare states for different European countries.
Changes in the regulation of overtime under different collective bargaining regimes: A comparison of Irish, Norwegian and Swedish banking

This article examines overtime regulations in the banking sector in Ireland, Norway and Sweden since 1980, to assess whether different modes of decentralized bargaining produce different outcomes. Ireland can be considered a case of unorganized decentralization, while Norway and Sweden represent slightly different modes of organized decentralization. A key finding is that overtime regulations generally remain stable and that the social partners at company level in all three systems have the necessary scope to adjust overtime regulations to meet specific challenges. Overtime remains the most important source of flexibility in regulated working time, although we believed that banking was likely to adopt new ways of structuring working time. In practice, however, performance policies are linked to unpaid overtime and the abuse of time off in lieu, in a way that undermines collectively negotiated overtime regulations. This seems to be a sectoral characteristic that overrides institutional differences.
Configural Advantage in Global Markets

Achieving a sustainable competitive advantage in global markets depends on the geographic scope and diversity of the firm's operations and their interlinkage, as well as on the extent of market integration and interdependence. The spatial configuration of the firm's assets, capabilities, and resources and the ability to manage and use these resources effectively are crucial elements of the firm's global strategy. The authors examine the nature of a firm's configural advantage in global markets in terms of its key components, capabilities, and management issues.
Sustained hydrogen photoproduction by Chlamydomonas reinhardtii: Effects of culture parameters.

The green alga, Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, is capable of sustained H(2) photoproduction when grown under sulfur-deprived conditions. This phenomenon is a result of the partial deactivation of photosynthetic O(2)-evolution activity in response to sulfur deprivation. At these reduced rates of water-oxidation, oxidative respiration under continuous illumination can establish an anaerobic environment in the culture. After 10-15 hours of anaerobiosis, sulfur-deprived algal cells induce a reversible hydrogenase and start to evolve H(2) gas in the light. Using a computer-monitored photobioreactor system, we investigated the behavior of sulfur-deprived algae and found that: (1) the cultures transition through five consecutive phases: an aerobic phase, an O(2)-consumption phase, an anaerobic phase, a H(2)-production phase and a termination phase; (2) synchronization of cell division during pre-growth with 14:10 h light:dark cycles leads to earlier establishment of anaerobiosis in the cultures and to earlier onset of the H(2)-production phase; (3) re-addition of small quantities of sulfate (12.5-50 microM MgSO(4), final concentration) to either synchronized or unsynchronized cell suspensions results in an initial increase in culture density, a higher initial specific rate of H(2) production, an increase in the length of the H(2)-production phase, and an increase in the total amount of H(2) produced; and (4) increases in the culture optical density in the presence of 50 microM sulfate result in a decrease in the initial specific rates of H(2) production and in an earlier start of the H(2)-production phase with unsynchronized cells. We suggest that the effects of sulfur re-addition on H(2) production, up to an optimal concentration, are due to an increase in the residual water-oxidation activity of the algal cells. We also demonstrate that, in principle, cells synchronized by growth under light:dark cycles can be used in an outdoor H(2)-production system without loss of efficiency compared to cultures that up until now have been pre-grown under continuous light conditions.
Characterization of binding equilibrium data by a variety of fitted isotherms.

Experimental binding equilibrium data, resulting from measurement of ligand binding to macromolecular carriers, are usually described by fitting of binding constants. These constants are often highly variable, as illustrated in the present paper by two examples, binding of salicylate to human serum albumin and of oxygen to hemoglobin. In order to avoid over-interpretation of binding constants it is pointed out that the best-fit solution, obtained by least-squares fitting, may be supplemented by several, e.g. thirty, acceptable solutions. It is further shown how the 30 sets of acceptable binding constants, plotted as Klotz' affinity profiles, can serve for evaluation of cooperative effects.
Antibiotic therapy in murine filariasis (Litomosoides sigmodontis): comparative effects of doxycycline and rifampicin on Wolbachia and filarial viability

The symbiosis of filarial nematodes and rickettsial Wolbachia endobacteria has been exploited as a target for antibiotic therapy of filariasis. Depletion of Wolbachia after tetracycline treatment results in filarial sterility because of interruption of embryogenesis and inhibits larval development and adult worm viability. The aim of this study was to investigate if antibiotic intervention of BALB/c mice infected with the rodent filaria Litomosoides sigmodontis with rifampicin or the combination of rifampicin and doxycycline can be used to shorten the treatment period. Both regimens, when given over a period of 14 days initiated with infection, were sufficient to deplete Wolbachia as evidenced by immunohistology and semiquantitative PCR. Worm development and filarial load were significantly reduced in experiments followed up until 63 days p.i. The therapy inhibited embryogenesis and led to filarial sterility. In contrast, treatment with doxycycline alone for 21 days led only to a modest reduction of Wolbachia, filarial growth retardation, worm viability and fertility. In conclusion, the combination of antirickettsial drugs could be used as a suitable tool to explore the minimum duration of therapy required for the depletion of Wolbachia in parasitized hosts subsequent to the onset of patency in human and animal filariasis and the prevention of adverse reactions in human infections.
Changes of the Swedish Bordetella pertussis population in incidence peaks during an acellular pertussis vaccine period between 1997 and 2004

In a surveillance programme undertaken from 1997 through 2004, Bordetella pertussis isolates and clinical information were collected after introduction of acellular pertussis vaccines (Pa) in 1996. Changes in the B. pertussis population were studied in three incidence peaks: 1999–2000, 2002 and 2004. Available isolates from 158 fully vaccinated children representing all of Sweden, plus 37 from the Gothenburg area 2003–2004, were analysed by pulsed‐field gel electrophoresis (PFGE), serotyping and sequencing of the virulence factor genes pertussis toxin subunits 1 and 3 (ptxA, ptxC), pertactin (prn), tracheal colonisation factor (tcfA) and fimbria3 (fim3). Allele ptxA1 was found in all isolates. There was a statistically significant increasing trend in three out of five studied genes, ptxC, prn and tcfA, and for a fourth, Fim3, if Gothenburg strains were included. The PFGE profile BpSR11 appearing in the 1999–2000 peak dominated by ≥23% during the entire period, bringing with it the allele combination 1/2/2/2/B (ptxA1/ptxC2/prn2/tcfA2/fim3B). Other BpSR11‐related profiles with the same allele combination and more than 82% similarity—BpSR5 in the 2002 peak and BpSR12 in the 2004 peak—appeared with an increasing trend. Although vaccination with Pa has reduced disease, new variants have emerged representing clones surviving in the immunized population.
On Renegotiation-Proof Equilibrium under Imperfect Monitoring

Abstract Van Damme ( J. Econ. Theory 47 (1989), 206-217) shows that in the Green-Porter imperfect monitoring model the only weakly renegotiation-proof equilibrium (WRPE) is to play the stage game Cournot equilibrium at all stages. We first find a restriction that a WRPE will impose on the stage game actions. Then using this restriction we construct an example to show that van Damme′s conclusion is not necessarily correct. We explain why van Damme′s argument cannot apply. Finally, we show that despite this fact, the monopolistic profit cannot be attained by a WRPE. Journal of Economic Literature Classification Numbers: C72, D82.
Consumption Externalities, Coordination, and Advertising

The aim of this Paper is to demonstrate that advertising can have an important function in markets with consumption externalities, apart from its persuasive and informative roles. We show that advertising may function as a device to coordinate consumer expectations of the purchasing decisions of other consumers in markets with consumption externalities. The implications of advertising as a coordinating device are examined in the pricing and advertising decisions of firms interacting strategically. While, at times, the one period advertising expense can exceed the one period monopoly profit, in equilibrium consumers will pay a premium for the more heavily advertised brand.
Access devices for 3 D crosspoint memorya )

The emergence of new nonvolatile memory (NVM) technologies—such as phase change memory, resistive, and spin-torque-transfer magnetic RAM—has been motivated by exciting applications such as storage class memory, embedded nonvolatile memory, enhanced solid-state disks, and neuromorphic computing. Many of these applications call for such NVM devices to be packed densely in vast “crosspoint” arrays offering many gigabytes if not terabytes of solid-state storage. In such arrays, access to any small subset of the array for accurate reading or low-power writing requires a strong nonlinearity in the IV characteristics, so that the currents passing through the selected devices greatly exceed the residual leakage through the nonselected devices. This nonlinearity can either be included explicitly, by adding a discrete access device at each crosspoint, or implicitly with an NVM device which also exhibits a highly nonlinear IV characteristic. This article reviews progress made toward implementing such access device functionality, focusing on the need to stack such crosspoint arrays vertically above the surface of a silicon wafer for increased effective areal density. The authors start with a brief overview of circuit-level considerations for crosspoint memory arrays, and discuss the role of the access device in minimizing leakage through the many nonselected cells, while delivering the right voltages and currents to the selected cell. The authors then summarize the criteria that an access device must fulfill in order to enable crosspoint memory. The authors review current research on various discrete access device options, ranging from conventional silicon-based semiconductor devices, to oxide semiconductors, threshold switch devices, oxide tunnel barriers, and devices based on mixedionic-electronic-conduction. Finally, the authors discuss various approaches for self-selected nonvolatile memories based on Resistive RAM. VC 2014 American Vacuum Society. [http://dx.doi. org/10.1116/1.4889999]
Detection and characterization of ZnT8 autoantibodies could help to screen latent autoimmune diabetes in adult-onset patients with type 2 phenotype

Autoantibodies to zinc transporter 8 (ZnT8A) constitute an additional marker of autoimmune diabetes, complementing those already used in diagnosis support. ZnT8A could also be found in latent autoimmune diabetes of adults (LADA). The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of ZnT8A in adult-onset diabetic patients in Argentinian population. A total of 271 patients diagnosed for diabetes at mean age 53.4 ± 10.9, body mass index ≤ 30, without insulin treatment for the first year of disease, and initially classified as type 2 diabetic patients were tested for ZnT8A using cDNA plasmids encoding the C-terminal domains (aa 268–369) carrying 325Arg, 325Trp, and a dimeric cDNA construct carrying both 325Arg and 325Trp (ZnT8 Arg–Trp325). We also analyzed proinsulin autoantibodies (PAA), glutamic acid decarboxylase autoantibodies (GADA), and protein tyrosine phosphatase IA-2 autoantibodies (IA-2A). A subset of 101 patients was followed during 6 years in order to analyze insulin requirement. Out of the 271 patients, 22.1% presented at least one humoral marker, 2.6% were PAA+, 12.5% were GADA+, 3.3% were IA-2A+, and 10.7% were ZnT8A+. Among the latter, 7.0% were ZnT8A–Arg325, 51.7% were ZnT8A–Trp325, and 62.1% were ZnT8A–Arg–Trp325. Furthermore, the prevalence of autoantibodies in the group of patients treated with insulin (n = 18) was 55.6%. These results demonstrated that a significant proportion of autoimmune adult-onset diabetic patients presented ZnT8A as the only humoral marker. Between them, the higher prevalence was for ZnT8A–Trp325. We suggest that screening for LADA patients, best performed with a minimal set of marker determination, must include at least the screening of GADA and ZnT8A–Arg–Trp325.
Production without Empowerment: Work reorganization from the perspective of motor vehicle workers

This paper examines the relationship between new forms of work organization and worker empowerment from the perspective of workers. The data is drawn from a survey of 5,635 Canadian automobile workers. Workers were asked questions about their work-load, health and safety conditions, empowerment, and relations with management. It examines what it is like to work in plants organized according to the principles of lean production and compares empowerment in lean plants and traditionally organized plants.