Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Admissibility and state feedback admissibilization of discrete singular systems : An LMI approach

This paper deals with the problems of robust admissibility and state feedback admissibilization of uncertain discrete descriptor systems. We propose a new sufficient condition, which is necessary in terms of a strict linear matrix inequality (LMI) for a nominal discrete descriptor system to be admissible (stable, regular and impulse free). Based on this, the state feedback admissibility problem is solved and the solution is extended to the case of uncertain descriptor systems. Finally numerical examples are given to illustrate the results.
FUZZY MARKOV MODELING IN AUTOMATIC CONTROL OF COMPLEX DYNAMIC SYSTEMS

A novel modeling technique for automatic control purposes is discussed. A fuzzy Markov system is proposed to describe both determined and random behavior of complex dynamic plants. The main advantage is its high computational speed. Another benefit of this method is its flexibility and applicability to both linear and nonlinear systems. A controlled Markov chain represents a fuzzy system with a rectangular membership function. Its output is the probability distribution, not a variable value. This approach represents an attempt to overcome the primary difference between non-randomness of fuzzy sets and Markov chain theory, which deals with random phenomena.
Midgut expression of immune-related genes in Glossina palpalis gambiensis challenged with Trypanosoma brucei gambiense

Tsetse flies from the subspecies Glossina morsitans morsitans and Glossina palpalis gambiensis, respectively, transmit Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense and Trypanosoma brucei gambiense. The former causes the acute form of sleeping sickness, and the latter provokes the chronic form. Although several articles have reported G. m. morsitans gene expression following trypanosome infection, no comparable investigation has been performed for G. p. gambiensis. This report presents results on the differential expression of immune-related genes in G. p. gambiensis challenged with T. b. gambiense. The aim was to characterize transcriptomic events occurring in the tsetse gut during the parasite establishment step, which is the crucial first step in the parasite development cycle within its vector. The selected genes were chosen from those previously shown to be highly expressed in G. m. morsitans, to allow further comparison of gene expression in both Glossina species. Using quantitative PCR, genes were amplified from the dissected midguts of trypanosome-stimulated, infected, non-infected, and self-cleared flies at three sampling timepoints (3, 10, and 20 days) after a bloodmeal. At the 3-day sampling point, transferrin transcripts were significantly up-regulated in trypanosome-challenged flies versus flies fed on non-infected mice. In self-cleared flies, serpin-2 and thioredoxin peroxidase-3 transcripts were significantly up-regulated 10 days after trypanosome challenge, whereas nitric oxide synthase and chitin-binding protein transcripts were up-regulated after 20 days. Although the expression levels of the other genes were highly variable, the expression of immune-related genes in G. p. gambiensis appears to be a time-dependent process. The possible biological significance of these findings is discussed, and the results are compared with previous reports for G. m. morsitans.
In-Order Delivery Delay of Transport Layer Coding

A large number of streaming applications use reliable transport protocols such as TCP to deliver content over the Internet. However, head-of-line blocking due to packet loss recovery can often result in unwanted behavior and poor application layer performance. Transport layer coding can help mitigate this issue by helping to recover from lost packets without waiting for retransmissions. We consider the use of an on-line network code that inserts coded packets at strategic locations within the underlying packet stream. If retransmissions are necessary, additional coding packets are transmitted to ensure the receiver's ability to decode. An analysis of this scheme is provided that helps determine both the expected in-order packet delivery delay and its variance. Numerical results are then used to determine when and how many coded packets should be inserted into the packet stream, in addition to determining the trade-offs between reducing the in-order delay and the achievable rate. The analytical results are finally compared with experimental results to provide insight into how to minimize the delay of existing transport layer protocols.
O que os adolescentes preferem: os alimentos da escola ou os alimentos competitivos? What do the adolescents prefer: food from school or competitive foods?

Abstract Objective: To identify and justify adolescents’ food choices during recess at school and to get to know school staff vision about the students’ acceptance of the Brazilian School Meal Program. Material and Methods: It´s a cross-sectional study in a public school in Sao Paulo, based on the Theory of the So-cial Representations. Eighty-three adolescents were selected and asked to identify their food choices du -ring recess at school. Complementary to this survey, twelve school staff members answered an interview aimed at identifying their own view on the students’ acceptance of the Brazilian School Meal. Data analysis was done using the Discourse of Collective Subject technique, identifying the methodological figures – key-expressions and central ideas – for the construction of their discourse. Results: Although the adolescents don’t like the meals offered by the program, they adhere to it since it is the only alterna -tive they have at school. Nevertheless, it is common for them to buy food in establishments nearby or to bring it from home as a complement or a substitute for the school meal. In the school staff´s vision the adolescents like the school meal. However, they considered that some of the foods are not part of the adolescents’ eating habits or do not attract them due to their organoleptic characteristics.
Balancing Cognitive Demands: Control Adjustments in the Stop-signal Paradigm Stop-signal Paradigm Post-stop-signal Slowing

Cognitive control enables flexible interaction with a dynamic environment. In 2 experiments, the authors investigated control adjustments in the stop-signal paradigm, a procedure that requires balancing speed (going) and caution (stopping) in a dual-task environment. Focusing on the slowing of go reaction times after stop signals, the authors tested 5 competing hypotheses for post-stop-signal adjustments: goal priority, error detection, conflict monitoring, surprise, and memory. Reaction times increased after both successful and failed inhibition, consistent with the goal priority hypothesis and inconsistent with the error detection and conflict hypotheses. Post-stop-signal slowing was greater if the go task stimulus repeated on consecutive trials, suggesting a contribution of memory. We also found evidence for slowing based on more than the immediately preceding stop signal. Post-stop-signal slowing was greater when stop signals occurred more frequently (Experiment 1), inconsistent with the surprise hypothesis, and when inhibition failed more frequently (Experiment 2). This suggests that more global manipulations encompassing many trials affect post-stop-signal adjustments. Cognitive control, the ability to adapt mental processes to the demands of the task environment, is of central importance to goal-directed behavior (Logan, 1985; Miyake et al., 2000). Cog-nitive control often involves resolving competing demands. Many instances of control involve achieving a balance between going and stopping, speed and caution. For example, driving involves balancing when to accelerate and when to brake. In two experiments , we investigated the adjustments subjects made to balance speed and caution in the stop-signal paradigm (Logan & Cowan, 1984), which directly pits going against stopping. Previous research has shown that reaction time (RT) increases after both successful and failed inhibition (Rieger & Gauggel, 1999; Ver-bruggen, Logan, Liefooghe, & Vandierendonck, 2008). The first motivation for this research was to evaluate five competing hypotheses for these post-stop-signal adjustments: goal priority, error detection, response conflict, surprise, and memory. There is also evidence that subjects make adjustments proactively, increasing RT in anticipation of the need The second motivation for this research was to investigate whether proactive increases in RT can be explained by the accumulation of post-stop-signal slowing. The stop-signal paradigm is a common procedure for investi-In the stop-signal paradigm, subjects typically perform a choice RT task (the " go " task), and they are asked to withhold their response when a stop signal occurs on a random subset of trials. The delay between the presentation of the go stimulus and the stop signal (stop-signal delay, or SSD) is varied …
T helper phenotype and genetic susceptibility in experimental Lyme disease

Infection of inbred mice with Borrelia burgdorferi results in strain- specific variation in the severity of pathogen-induced arthritis: BALB/c mice develop only mild disease whereas C3H/HeJ mice develop severe arthritis. The immunologic basis for varying host susceptibility has yet to be defined. We modified experimental Lyme disease to facilitate measurement of antigen-specific cytokine production in resistant and susceptible mice. The analysis revealed highly polarized lymphokine patterns directly linked to differing disease outcomes. Among the inbred strains of mice challenged with B. burgdorferi, production of interleukin 4 (IL-4) correlated to resistance whereas production of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) correlated to susceptibility. We also demonstrate that production of IL-4 or IFN- gamma regulates the severity of arthritis after infection. Neutralization of IL-4 in resistant BALB/c mice resulted in more severe arthritis whereas neutralization of IFN-gamma in susceptible C3H/HeJ mice attenuated the severity of disease. These results suggest a primary relationship between T helper cell phenotype and the genetic basis for susceptibility to experimental Lyme borreliosis.
Leucovorin modulation of 5-iododeoxyuridine radiosensitization: a phase I study.

Evidence for clinically significant radiosensitization by the halogenated pyrimidine 5-iododeoxyuridine (IdUrd) continues to accumulate. In vitro radiosensitization has been demonstrated in human colon tumor cell lines following exposure to 1-10 micrometer. Coadministration of leucovorin (LV) increases radiosensitization, which correlates directly with increased IdUrd DNA incorporation. Clinical data regarding proliferation rates and thymidine kinase levels in tumors versus normal tissues suggest selective incorporation of IdUrd into gastrointestinal tumors may occur. The objectives of this Phase I study were: (a) to assess the feasibility of LV modulation of IdUrd radiosensitization by determining the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of IdUrd plus LV; and (b) to perform correlative laboratory studies to investigate the potential of IdUrd plus LV to increase radiosensitization in vivo. Seventeen patients with unresectable or recurrent gastrointestinal adenocarcinomas received a 14-day course of continuous i.v. infusion of IdUrd prior to initiation of radiotherapy. Two additional 14-day infusions of IdUrd with LV were given during the course of radiotherapy (60 Gy in 6 weeks). The initial dose of IdUrd was 250 mg/m2/day and was escalated in subsequent patients to 400 and 600 mg/m2/day. The LV dose remained fixed at 250 mg/m2/day. Leukopenia was the dose-limiting toxicity, and 400 mg/m2/day was the MTD for this trial. At the MTD, the mean +/- SD steady-state plasma concentration of IdUrd during the infusion, measured by high-performance liquid chromatography, was 0.66 +/- 0.23 micrometer. There was no significant influence of LV on IdUrd DNA incorporation in peripheral blood granulocytes as measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Based on toxicity data and correlative laboratory studies, a meaningful increase in radiosensitization would not be achieved with the IdUrd infusion schedule and dose of LV investigated compared with IdUrd alone.
Cryptographic protocol for secure dissemination of notification messages

The publish-subscribe communication paradigm fits perfectly in scalability for Internet-scale distributed systems. This model enables the dissemination of the information from the publishers to the subscribers, using a subscription mechanism. In an Internet-scale system the publish-subscribe service must handle multiple dissemination of information across distinct domains and across dynamic population of publishers and subscribers. The security is an essential issue in this type of model. This paper proposes a protocol for securing the communication through the brokers of the system, and achieves not only the confidentiality of the information, but the authentication of the publisher. The security of the protocol is achieved using the public key cryptography and the commutative cryptography.
Bacterial Neuraminidase Rescues Influenza Virus Replication from Inhibition by a Neuraminidase Inhibitor

Influenza virus neuraminidase (NA) cleaves terminal sialic acid residues on oligosaccharide chains that are receptors for virus binding, thus playing an important role in the release of virions from infected cells to promote the spread of cell-to-cell infection. In addition, NA plays a role at the initial stage of viral infection in the respiratory tract by degrading hemagglutination inhibitors in body fluid which competitively inhibit receptor binding of the virus. Current first line anti-influenza drugs are viral NA-specific inhibitors, which do not inhibit bacterial neuraminidases. Since neuraminidase producing bacteria have been isolated from oral and upper respiratory commensal bacterial flora, we posited that bacterial neuraminidases could decrease the antiviral effectiveness of NA inhibitor drugs in respiratory organs when viral NA is inhibited. Using in vitro models of infection, we aimed to clarify the effects of bacterial neuraminidases on influenza virus infection in the presence of the NA inhibitor drug zanamivir. We found that zanamivir reduced progeny virus yield to less than 2% of that in its absence, however the yield was restored almost entirely by the exogenous addition of bacterial neuraminidase from Streptococcus pneumoniae. Furthermore, cell-to-cell infection was severely inhibited by zanamivir but restored by the addition of bacterial neuraminidase. Next we examined the effects of bacterial neuraminidase on hemagglutination inhibition and infectivity neutralization activities of human saliva in the presence of zanamivir. We found that the drug enhanced both inhibitory activities of saliva, while the addition of bacterial neuraminidase diminished this enhancement. Altogether, our results showed that bacterial neuraminidases functioned as the predominant NA when viral NA was inhibited to promote the spread of infection and to inactivate the neutralization activity of saliva. We propose that neuraminidase from bacterial flora in patients may reduce the efficacy of NA inhibitor drugs during influenza virus infection. (295 words).
Metabolic profiling reveals key metabolic features of renal cell carcinoma

Recent evidence suggests that metabolic changes play a pivotal role in the biology of cancer and in particular renal cell carcinoma (RCC). Here, a global metabolite profiling approach was applied to characterize the metabolite pool of RCC and normal renal tissue. Advanced decision tree models were applied to characterize the metabolic signature of RCC and to explore features of metastasized tumours. The findings were validated in a second independent dataset. Vitamin E derivates and metabolites of glucose, fatty acid, and inositol phosphate metabolism determined the metabolic profile of RCC. α‐tocopherol, hippuric acid, myoinositol, fructose‐1‐phosphate and glucose‐1‐phosphate contributed most to the tumour/normal discrimination and all showed pronounced concentration changes in RCC. The identified metabolic profile was characterized by a low recognition error of only 5% for tumour versus normal samples. Data on metastasized tumours suggested a key role for metabolic pathways involving arachidonic acid, free fatty acids, proline, uracil and the tricarboxylic acid cycle. These results illustrate the potential of mass spectroscopy based metabolomics in conjunction with sophisticated data analysis methods to uncover the metabolic phenotype of cancer. Differentially regulated metabolites, such as vitamin E compounds, hippuric acid and myoinositol, provide leads for the characterization of novel pathways in RCC.
Alcohol Dehydrogenase Restricts the Ability of the Pathogen Candida albicans To Form a Biofilm on Catheter Surfaces through an Ethanol-Based Mechanism

ABSTRACT Candida biofilms formed on indwelling medical devices are increasingly associated with severe infections. In this study, we used proteomics and Western and Northern blotting analyses to demonstrate that alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) is downregulated in Candida biofilms. Disruption of ADH1 significantly (P = 0.0046) enhanced the ability of Candida albicans to form biofilm. Confocal scanning laser microscopy showed that the adh1 mutant formed thicker biofilm than the parent strain (210 μm and 140 μm, respectively). These observations were extended to an engineered human oral mucosa and an in vivo rat model of catheter-associated biofilm. Inhibition of Candida ADH enzyme using disulfiram and 4-methylpyrazole resulted in thicker biofilm (P < 0.05). Moreover, biofilms formed by the adh1 mutant strain produced significantly smaller amounts of ethanol, but larger amounts of acetaldehyde, than biofilms formed by the parent and revertant strains (P < 0.0001), demonstrating that the effect of Adh1p on biofilm formation is mediated by its enzymatic activity. Furthermore, we found that 10% ethanol significantly inhibited biofilm formation in vitro, with complete inhibition of biofilm formation at ethanol concentrations of ≥20%. Similarly, using a clinically relevant rabbit model of catheter-associated biofilm, we found that ethanol treatment inhibited biofilm formation by C. albicans in vivo (P < 0.05) but not by Staphylococcus spp. (P > 0.05), indicating that ethanol specifically inhibits Candida biofilm formation. Taken together, our studies revealed that Adh1p contributes to the ability of C. albicans to form biofilms in vitro and in vivo and that the protein restricts biofilm formation through an ethanol-dependent mechanism. These results are clinically relevant and may suggest novel antibiofilm treatment strategies.
The study and implementation of micro-blog search engine based on nutch

Through introducing and analyzing the new form of media called micro-blog, we have concluded the characteristics of micro-blog and website structure features. Then we gave concrete realization of the search engine based on nutch technology, and transformed the existing Chinese word segmentation system. Finally the search engine was built completely. After the analysis of the collected data, we found micro-blog site features. What is more, we found that five-depth was the best depth for micro-blog.
MAC protocol for Opportunistic Spectrum Access in Cognitive Radio system

Opportunistic Spectrum Access (OSA) brings new research challenges in MAC protocol design. It allows unlicensed users to share licensed spectrum in space and time with no or little interference to Primary Users (PUs). When designing an OSA MAC protocol, one of the most difficult but important problem is how the unlicensed users decide when and which channel they should sense and access without conflicting the communications among PUs. To solve this problem, the unlicensed users should have the ability of adaptively and dynamically seeking and exploiting opportunities in both licensed and unlicensed spectrum and along both the time and the frequency dimensions. Secondary Users (SUs) as unlicensed users are required to sense radio frequency band, and when PU are detected, they must vacate the channel immediately within certain amount of time. Due to hardware and energy constraints, full spectrum availability cannot be sensed as well as they do not monitor when there is no data to be transmitted. In this paper, we study MAC protocol design for OSA in Cognitive Radio (CR) ad hoc network under Partially Observable Markov Decision Process (POMDP) algorithm that maximizes achievable throughput for SUs with sufficient protection to PUs. Furthermore, we study tractable greedy algorithm to reduce the complexity of POMDP calculation. The derivation of greedy approach proves that sensing problem can be solved either optimally or approximate the optimal solution. Computer simulation is used to evaluate the performances both of optimal and sub optimal strategy.
Agriculture, health, and nutrition: toward conceptualizing the linkages.

Strengthening the policy and programmatic links between agriculture and health and nutrition requires a means of seeing how their myriad links fit together. This brief sketches a framework that elucidates the channels through which agriculture affects health and nutrition and vice versa. While this framework can be applied at the global or national level, here it is focused on households and individuals, given that improving individual welfare is the ultimate goal of public policy.
Reuters News Reports versus Official Interventions: A Cautionary Warning

Reuters reports have become an accepted tool for empirical studies analyzing informationa l asymmetries in exchange rate markets. This paper tests the accuracy of the Reuters announcements for Swiss interventions. The evidence finds that the Reuters announcements are not concentrated just after the first intervention transaction as is assumed in empirical studies. The variance of the prediction error is measured in hours and not in minutes. A further assumption that the Reuters announcement always falls after the first actual transaction is found to be violated. At a minimum, the new empirical results question the accuracy of Reuters reports for small countries.
An anonymized method for classification with weighted attributes

K-anonymity is an effective method to protect individual's privacy for microdata publishing. However, the existing anonymity methods do not consider how to mask data for a specific application. This paper proposes an anonymity method for classification with weighted attributes. The method first evaluates the weight of each attribute for classification, then proposes an attribute weighted Bottom-Up k-anonymity algorithm which generalizes large weighted attributes as weakly as possible. The experiment results show that the method can get higher quality anonymous data for classification mining.
Shape-driving effects in the triaxial nucleus, $^128$Xe

An extended decay scheme for Xe-128 has been constructed by using data from the Sn-124(Be-9, 5n)Xe-128 reaction at a beam energy of 58 MeV. Bands have been identified as being built on several intrinsic states, including a proposed 9/2(-)[514] circle times 1/2(+)[400] two-quasineutron configuration that forms the K-pi=5(-) intrinsic state at 2228 keV, and on a previously assigned K-pi=8(-) intrinsic state at 2786 keV. A half-life of 73(3) ns has been measured for the latter. Theoretical calculations have been performed by using the configuration-constrained blocking method based on a nonaxial Woods-Saxon potential. Large gamma deformation and gamma softness are predicted for the ground state and the K-pi=5(-) intrinsic state, whereas a nearly axially symmetric shape is predicted for the K-pi=8(-) two-quasiparticle configuration. The low value of the hindrance factor for the E1 transition depopulating the K-pi=8(-) intrinsic state is discussed in the context of analogous transitions in neighbouring N=74 isotones.