Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sliding Mode Control with Predictive PID Sliding Surface for Improved Performance

In this paper, a sliding mode control system with a predictive proportional-integral-derivative (PPID-SMC) sliding surface is proposed. A robust sliding mode controller is suggested to track the desired trajectory despite uncertainty, set point variations, and external disturbances. The proposed sliding mode controller is chosen to ensure the stability of overall dynamics during the reaching phase and sliding phase. The chattering problem is overcome using a hyperbolic tangent function for the sliding surface. Simulation example is given to illustrate the use of the proposed structure for better performance in terms of time domain specifications over some existing design methods.
Anti-Icing Superhydrophobic Surfaces: Controlling Entropic Molecular Interactions to Design Novel Icephobic Concrete

Tribology involves the study of friction, wear, lubrication, and adhesion, including biomimetic superhydrophobic and icephobic surfaces. The three aspects of icephobicity are the low ice adhesion, repulsion of incoming water droplets prior to freezing, and delayed frost formation. Although superhydrophobic surfaces are not always icephobic, the theoretical mechanisms behind icephobicity are similar to the entropically driven hydrophobic interactions. The growth of ice crystals in saturated vapor is partially governed by entropically driven diffusion of water molecules to definite locations similarly to hydrophobic interactions. The ice crystal formation can be compared to protein folding controlled by hydrophobic forces. Surface topography and surface energy can affect both the icephobicity and hydrophobicity. By controlling these properties, micro/nanostructured icephobic concrete was developed. The concrete showed ice adhesion strength one order of magnitude lower than regular concrete and could repel incoming water droplets at −5 °C. The icephobic performance of the concrete can be optimized by controlling the sand and polyvinyl alcohol fiber content.
Online Learning with Knowledge-Based SVMs

We propose a novel approach for incorporating prior knowledge into online learning algorithms. We focus on the supervised binary classification problem via SVMs in an online setting. Here, the learning algorithm receives data points sequentially rather that all at once (as in batch learning) and predicts the label (±1) at each round. After the prediction, the algorithm receives feedback indicating the correct label, using which the decision function may be updated. The goal is to successively update the decision function taking into account prior knowledge in the form of soft polyhedral advice so as to make increasingly accurate predictions on subsequent rounds. The advice helps speed up and bias learning so that better generalization can be obtained with less data. An existing advice-taking approach, when prior knowledge is in the form of polyhedral knowledge sets in the input space of data, is via knowledge-based support vector machines (KBSVMs) [2]. The knowledge sets typically characterize an area of input space as belonging to one of the two classes and can be interpreted as a generalization of training examples from points in feature space to regions. More concretely, if we introduce labels for advice: z = ±1, knowledge sets are specified as Dx ≤ d ⇒ z(w′x − γ) ≥ 1, where the implication means that every point in the polyhedron Dx ≤ d lies either above w′x = b + 1 (when label is specified as z = 1) or below w′x = b − 1 (when z = −1). The advice is in the form of a logical implication and cannot be added directly into the SVM formulation. We can use theorems of the alternative (see [3]) to derive the following constraints instead, where prior knowledge is characterized by the knowledge variables u:
Mutational Analysis of the Ve1 Immune Receptor That Mediates Verticillium Resistance in Tomato

Pathogenic Verticillium species are economically important plant pathogens that cause vascular wilt diseases in hundreds of plant species. The Ve1 gene of tomato confers resistance against race 1 strains of Verticillium dahliae and V. albo-atrum. Ve1 encodes an extracellular leucine-rich repeat (eLRR) receptor-like protein (RLP) that serves as a cell surface receptor for recognition of the recently identified secreted Verticillium effector Ave1. To investigate recognition of Ave1 by Ve1, alanine scanning was performed on the solvent exposed β-strand/β-turn residues across the eLRR domain of Ve1. In addition, alanine scanning was also employed to functionally characterize motifs that putatively mediate protein-protein interactions and endocytosis in the transmembrane domain and the cytoplasmic tail of the Ve1 protein. Functionality of the mutant proteins was assessed by screening for the occurrence of a hypersensitive response upon co-expression with Ave1 upon Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transient expression (agroinfiltration). In order to confirm the agroinfiltration results, constructs encoding Ve1 mutants were transformed into Arabidopsis and the transgenes were challenged with race 1 Verticillium. Our analyses identified several regions of the Ve1 protein that are required for functionality.
Investigating a Robot as a Therapy Partner for Children with Autism

The aurora project is investigating the possibility of using a robotic platform as a therapy aid for--children with autism. Because of the nature of this disability, the robot could be beneficial in its ability--to present the children with a safe and comfortable environment and allow them to explore and learn--about the interaction space involved in social situations. The robotic platform is able to present--information along a limited number of channels and in a manner which the children are familiar with--from television and cartoons. Also, the robot is potentially able to adapt its behaviour and to allow the--children to develop at their own rates. Initial trial results are presented and discussed, along with the--rationale behind the project and its goals and motivations. The trial procedure and methodology are--explained and future work is highlighted.
Accelerating Deterministic Replay

Deterministic Record and Replay [5, 6, 4] addresses the nondeterministic nature of memory access interleavings in executions of parallel codes. The loss of determinism introduces complexities to common processes such as program analysis or debug of software. This is because two accesses to one location by two processors when at least one of them is writing is a data race. For example, consider a program which has a bug due to insufficient fencing on a TSO machine. Without a fence, the processor is allowed to relax the W → R ordering when advantageous. A common case is that, if the write results in a cache miss, the processor can issue a read before the write completes, i.e. retire from write buffer. This could be a problem, if for example, the write was to acquire a lock. In that situation reads may be issued that return stale data, causing the program to crash. Subsequent executions of the program may or may not exhibit this behavior because their lock write may hit in the cache, the read may not be reordered with the write, or the read may return consistent values when reordered with the write. Deterministic Replay for TSO machines was developed in a previous work by Gilles et al [5]. If a processor is able to record the global processor memory access ordering then a replay system can instrument the code to enforce those orderings. If the processor can capture the complete set of RAW, WAW, and WAR dependencies then it will capture this ordering. Once the orderings are known, then a Causal Precedence Graph (CPG) can be created. The CPG is a Directed Acyclic Graph where the nodes are chunks of a program execution and an edge (A,B) implies that chunk A must occur before chunk B. For our project we focussed on the work done by Gilles et al, as it reflects the state of the art with regards to RnR on TSO machines.
A Small Molecule with Anticancer and Antimetastatic Activities Induces Rapid Mitochondrial-Associated Necrosis in Breast Cancer

Therapy for treatment-resistant breast cancer provides limited options and the response rates are low. Therefore, the development of therapies with alternative chemotherapeutic strategies is necessary. AG311 (5-[(4-methylphenyl)thio]-9H-pyrimido[4,5-b]indole-2,4-diamine), a small molecule, is being investigated in preclinical and mechanistic studies for treatment of resistant breast cancer through necrosis, an alternative cell death mechanism. In vitro, AG311 induces rapid necrosis in numerous cancer cell lines as evidenced by loss of membrane integrity, ATP depletion, HMGB1 (high-mobility group protein B1) translocation, nuclear swelling, and stable membrane blebbing in breast cancer cells. Within minutes, exposure to AG311 also results in mitochondrial depolarization, superoxide production, and increased intracellular calcium levels. Additionally, upregulation of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation results in sensitization to AG311. This AG311-induced cell death can be partially prevented by treatment with the mitochondrial calcium uniporter inhibitor, Ru360 [(μ)[(HCO2)(NH3)4Ru]2OCl3], or an antioxidant, lipoic acid. Additionally, AG311 does not increase apoptotic markers such as cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase (PARP) or caspase-3 and -7 activity. Importantly, in vivo studies in two orthotopic breast cancer mouse models (xenograft and allograft) demonstrate that AG311 retards tumor growth and reduces lung metastases better than clinically used agents and has no gross or histopathological toxicity. Together, these data suggest that AG311 is a first-in-class antitumor and antimetastatic agent inducing necrosis in breast cancer tumors, likely through the mitochondria.
Characterization of the SigD Regulon of C. difficile and Its Positive Control of Toxin Production through the Regulation of tcdR

Clostridium difficile intestinal disease is mediated largely by the actions of toxins A (TcdA) and B (TcdB), whose production occurs after the initial steps of colonization involving different surface or flagellar proteins. In B. subtilis, the sigma factor SigD controls flagellar synthesis, motility, and vegetative autolysins. A homolog of SigD encoding gene is present in the C.difficile 630 genome. We constructed a sigD mutant in C. difficile 630 ∆erm to analyze the regulon of SigD using a global transcriptomic approach. A total of 103 genes were differentially expressed between the wild-type and the sigD mutant, including genes involved in motility, metabolism and regulation. In addition, the sigD mutant displayed decreased expression of genes involved in flagellar biosynthesis, and also of genes encoding TcdA and TcdB as well as TcdR, the positive regulator of the toxins. Genomic analysis and RACE-PCR experiments allowed us to characterize promoter sequences of direct target genes of SigD including tcdR and to identify the SigD consensus. We then established that SigD positively regulates toxin expression via direct control of tcdR transcription. Interestingly, the overexpression of FlgM, a putative anti-SigD factor, inhibited the positive regulation of motility and toxin synthesis by SigD. Thus, SigD appears to be the first positive regulator of the toxin synthesis in C. difficile.
Genetic Variations Involved in Vitamin E Status

Vitamin E (VE) is the generic term for four tocopherols and four tocotrienols that exhibit the biological activity of α-tocopherol. VE status, which is usually estimated by measuring fasting blood VE concentration, is affected by numerous factors, such as dietary VE intake, VE absorption efficiency, and VE catabolism. Several of these factors are in turn modulated by genetic variations in genes encoding proteins involved in these factors. To identify these genetic variations, two strategies have been used: genome-wide association studies and candidate gene association studies. Each of these strategies has its advantages and its drawbacks, nevertheless they have allowed us to identify a list of single nucleotide polymorphisms associated with fasting blood VE concentration and α-tocopherol bioavailability. However, much work remains to be done to identify, and to replicate in different populations, all the single nucleotide polymorphisms involved, to assess the possible involvement of other kind of genetic variations, e.g., copy number variants and epigenetic modifications, in order to establish a reliable list of genetic variations that will allow us to predict the VE status of an individual by knowing their genotype in these genetic variations. Yet, the potential usefulness of this area of research is exciting with regard to personalized nutrition and for future clinical trials dedicated to assessing the biological effects of the various isoforms of VE.
Calabi quasi-morphisms for some non-monotone symplectic manifolds

In this work we construct Calabi quasi-morphisms on the universal cover e Ham.M/ of the group of Hamiltonian diffeomorphisms for some non-monotone symplectic manifolds. This complements a result by Entov and Polterovich which applies in the monotone case. Moreover, in contrast to their work, we show that these quasimorphisms descend to non-trivial homomorphisms on the fundamental group of Ham.M/.
STAT2*C related genotypes and allele but not TLR4 and CD40 gene polymorphisms are associated with higher susceptibility for asthma

Objective: Asthma is caused by a complex interaction between multiple genes and environmental factors. Herein we aimed to investigate whether signal transducer and activator of transcription (STAT2), toll-like receptors 4 (TLRs4) and CD40-related polymorphisms are associated with asthma susceptibility. Design: Children were divided: (1) asthma (n=117); (2) normal controls (n=60). The polymorphisms of STAT2, TLR4 and CD40 polymorphism were analyzed by PCR-RFLP genotyping. Genotypes, allelic frequencies and association of haplotypes in both groups were compared. Results: STAT2*C related genotypes, but not TLR4 and CD40 polymorphism, are associated with higher susceptibility for asthma. Distributions of STAT2*CC/CG/GG and C/G allele in both groups are: (1) 0/11.1/88.9 % and 5.6/94.4%; (2) 0/1.7/98.3% and 0.8/99.2% (p<0.05). Proportions of TLR4*rs10983755 AA/AG/GG and rs1927914 CC/CT/TT homozygote are: (1) 35.1/8.5/56.4% and 9.4/56.4/34.2%; (2) 35/8.3/56.7% and 16.7/48.3/35% (non-difference). Proportions of CD40*rs1883832 CC/CT/TT, rs3765459 AA/AG/GG, and rs4810485 TT/GT/GG are: (1) 29.9/53/17.1%, 6.8/47.9/45.3 and 18.8/62.4/18.8%; (2) 36.7/41.7/21.6%, 1.6/46.7/ 51.7 and 15/51.7/33.3% (non-difference). Haplotype analyses for TLR4 and CD40 genes revealed their non-association and non-additional effect upon asthma susceptibilities. Conclusion: STAT2*C related genotypes and alleles are associated with asthma susceptibilities and pathogenesis. There were non-association and non-additional effects of TLR4/CD40 gene polymorphisms and haplotypes upon asthma risk.
Malicious Spam Emails Developments and Authorship Attribution

The Internet is a decentralized structure that offers speedy communication, has a global reach and provides anonymity, a characteristic invaluable for committing illegal activities. In parallel with the spread of the Internet, cybercrime has rapidly evolved from a relatively low volume crime to a common high volume crime. A typical example of such a crime is the spreading of spam emails, where the content of the email tries to entice the recipient to click a URL linking to a malicious Web site or downloading a malicious attachment. Analysts attempting to provide intelligence on spam activities quickly find that the volume of spam circulating daily is overwhelming; therefore, any intelligence gathered is representative of only a small sample, not of the global picture. While past studies have looked at automating some of these analyses using topic-based models, i.e. separating email clusters into groups with similar topics, our preliminary research investigates the usefulness of applying authorship-based models for this purpose. In the first phase, we clustered a set of spam emails using an authorship-based clustering algorithm. In the second phase, we analysed those clusters using a set of linguistic, structural and syntactic features. These analyses reveal that emails within each cluster were likely written by the same author, but that it is unlikely we have managed to group together all spam produced by each group. This problem of high purity with low recall, has been faced in past authorship research. While it is also a limitation of our research, the clusters themselves are still useful for the purposes of automating analysis, because they reduce the work needing to be performed. Our second phase revealed useful information on the group that can be utilized in future research for further analysis of such groups, for example, identifying further linkages behind spam campaigns.
Transurethral Contact Ureterolithotripsy in Gas (СО2) Medium

Background Transurethral intracorporeal lithotripsy is the modality of choice for the endoscopic disintegration of large, long-standing, radiolucent or high-density stones. Despite several advantages and proven benefits of contact ureterolithotripsy/ureterolithoextraction (CULT), the application of irrigation carries significant risks of untoward perioperative events including retrograde stone migration and postoperative pyelonephritis. Methods We describe a new technique – endoscopic intracorporeal lithotripsy in the gas (СО2) medium. It is a prospective randomized, single blinded pilot study that included total of (n = 60) patients with urolithiasis who were allocated to either experimental or control group. Out of the total pool of patients, 30 underwent treatment with the new approach (experimental group) and other 30 (control group) had contact ureterolithotripsy in a standard of care 0.9% NaCL medium. We included patients >18 years old, with known symptomatic renal calculi disease who were eligible and scheduled for CULT and free from significant coexisting pathologies of urinary tract. Results No retrograde migration of the stone fragments into the kidney was reported in the experimental group [complications rate 0%, confidence interval (CI): 0-11.6%]. In the control group, complications were observed in eight cases (complications rate 26.7%, CI: 14.7-42.3%); retrograde migration was in five patients (16.6%), and acute pyelonephritis/exacerbation of chronic pyelonephritis was seen in three (10%) patients. There was not any acute pyelonephritis in the experimental group. Reliability of frequency differences – p = 0.0023 (χ2). Conclusions The novel method of contact ureterolithotripsy is a safe and promising alternative to the conventional contact ureterolithotripsy in a fluid medium in a carefully selected patient population.
Test Cost Optimization Using Tabu Search

In order to deliver a complete reliable software product, testing is performed. As testing phase carries on, cost of testing process increases and it directly affects the overall project cost. Many a times it happens that the actual cost becomes more than the estimated cost. Cost is considered as the most important parameter with respect to software testing, in software industry. In recent year’s researchers have done a variety of work in the area of Cost optimization by using various concepts like Genetic Algorithm, simulated annealing and Automation in generation of test data etc. This paper proposes an efficient cost effective approach for optimizing the cost of testing using Tabu Search (TS), which will provide maximum code coverage along with the concepts of Dijkstra’s Algorithm which will be implemented in Aspiration criteria of Tabu Search in order to optimize the cost and generate a minimum cost path with maximum coverage.
Artificial Multimers of the Type III Antifreeze Protein

A variant of antifreeze protein (AFP) named RD3 from antarctic eel pout (Lycodichthys dearborni) comprises the type III AFP intramolecular dimer, which is known to exhibit a significant enhancement of thermal hysteresis when compared with the type III AFP monomer (Miura, K., Ohgiya, S., Hoshino, T, Nemoto, N., Suetake, T., Miura, A, Spyracopoulos, L., Kondo, H., and Tsuda, S. (2001) J. Biol. Chem. 276, 1304–1310). Here we genetically synthesized intramolecular dimer, trimer, and tetramer of the type III AFP, for which we utilize the genes encoding the primary sequences of the N-domain, the C-domain, and the 9-residue linker of RD3, and we examined the AFP multimerization effects on thermal hysteresis and ice crystal morphology. Significantly, (i) the thermal hysteresis increases in proportion with the size of the multimers, (ii) a larger size of the multimer exerts the maximum activity at lower concentration, (iii) every multimer changes the morphology of a single ice crystal into a unique shape that is similar but not identical to the ordinary hexagonal bipyramid, and (iv) the size of ice crystal becomes dramatically small with increasing the concentration of the multimer. The thermal hysteresis enhancement of the multimer was detected in both molar and domain bases. These results suggest that a molecule comprising the multiple AFP domains connected in tandem acquires an enhanced affinity for the ice binding.
Context and Time in Causal Learning: Contingency and Mood Dependent Effects

Defining cues for instrumental causality are the temporal, spatial and contingency relationships between actions and their effects. In this study, we carried out a series of causal learning experiments that systematically manipulated time and context in positive and negative contingency conditions. In addition, we tested participants categorized as non-dysphoric and mildly dysphoric because depressed mood has been shown to affect the processing of all these causal cues. Findings showed that causal judgements made by non-dysphoric participants were contextualized at baseline and were affected by the temporal spacing of actions and effects only with generative, but not preventative, contingency relationships. Participants categorized as dysphoric made less contextualized causal ratings at baseline but were more sensitive than others to temporal manipulations across the contingencies. These effects were consistent with depression affecting causal learning through the effects of slowed time experience on accrued exposure to the context in which causal events took place. Taken together, these findings are consistent with associative approaches to causal judgement.
Moving beyond the Longitudinal Approach to Understand Prenatal Mechanisms

Accumulating evidence shows that the prenatal period lays an important fundament under the future prospective of a child. The studies presented in the article “How the First Nine Months Shape the Rest of Our Lives” fit well into this field of research, in which the scope of the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) researchers has broadened their interest towards mental health. Other lines of research preceded or paralleled this interest in the child's prenatal programming, as evidenced by numerous published review papers. Nonetheless, we still lack knowledge on the potential underlying mechanisms that link either general prenatal adverse environmental factors or more specific exposures to a hampered child development. To further this field of research, we suggest that studies should go beyond the longitudinal and epidemiological approach, and include intervention studies to test for causality of prenatal risk factors. Several promising interventions targeting prenatal maternal stress are currently studied to examine their effectiveness in reducing maternal stress and thereby reducing risk for the foetus and the child. Finally, we need to realise that the postnatal environment may be able to compensate for less‐than‐optimal prenatal circumstances. In that perspective, prenatal factors may be less programming than several authors suggest.