Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Review on Residential Area Demand Response Analysis in Smart Grid Era

Urbanization of the rural areas increases the residential area load demand of the globe. Again, integration of intermittent renewable energy generations and volatile habits of the domestic users make the household demand profile as unpredictable in nature. Therefore, control of the residential loads is highly required to manage the increasing demand efficiently and also to match the load variability with the available generation to get lowest electricity cost. Advancement in communication technology enables the chance of application of demand response (DR) strategies in the modern smart grid era. DR programs aims to diminish the overall peak consumption of the domestic customers while meeting the power balance constraint at each time interval. This study presents an overview of the articles dealing with the application of demand response analysis in the residential areas.
BLSTM harvesting of auxiliary NCHLT speech data

Since the release of the National Centre for Human Language Technology (NCHLT) Speech corpus, very few additional resources for automatic speech recognition (ASR) system development have been created for South Africa’s eleven official languages. The NCHLT corpus contained a curated but limited subset of the collected data. In this study the auxiliary data that was not included in the released corpus was processed with the aim to improve the acoustic modelling of the NCHLT data. Recent advances in ASR modelling that incorporate deep learning approaches require even more data than previous techniques. Sophisticated neural models seem to accommodate the variability between related acoustic units better and are capable of exploiting speech resources containing more training examples. Our results show that time delay neural networks (TDNN) combined with bi-directional long short-term memory (BLSTM) models are effective, significantly reducing error rates across all languages with just 56 hours of training data. In addition, a cross-corpus evaluation of an Afrikaans system trained on the original NCHLT data plus harvested auxiliary data shows further improvements on this baseline.
A two-way flexural rotation manipulator using opposing shape memory alloy wires

This paper presents the design, fabrication, and control of a two-way rotational manipulator using opposing shape memory alloy (SMA) wire actuated flexures. Monolithic flexure mechanisms have no friction/backlash and are capable of miniaturization. SMA exhibits large stroke, high energy density, and requires low driving voltage. Combining SMA as driver and flexure as force/motion transmitter makes them well-suited for tasks that required high precision and packed space. To explore flexure shapes beyond traditional notch hinges and leaf springs, we present a general design method to find the optimal flexure shapes for maximal rotation without yield. The advantages gained from shape variations are shown through a simulation example. By parallel connecting two flexure mechanisms with two opposing one-way SMA wires, the manipulator achieves two-way motion without sacrificing stroke. By actively contracting and extending, two-way manipulators are much faster than owe-way manipulators that rely passively on bias spring to extend. A feedback PID control algorithm with fuzzy-tuning gains is implemented to precisely control the response of the manipulator. We illustrate the two-way performance by several tracking response experiments. With the merits shown, we expect this type of manipulator can be utilized in meso to micro scale applications.
Hippocampus as unitary coherent particle filter

We present a mapping of the hippocampal formation onto a Temporal Restricted Boltzmann Machine [1] based architecture, running a deterministic version of Gibbs sampling, and extended with a lostness detection and recovery circuit modelled on subiculum and septal acetylcholine (ACh). The mapping approximates Bayesian filtering, which infers both auto-associative de-noised percepts and temporal sequences, the latter including sequences of places during navigation. Inference may be viewed as a neurally implemented particle filter with a single particle - as suggested previously [2] as a purely behavioural animal model.
Predictors of Tolerance of Sexual Harassment Among Male U.S. Army Soldiers

Tolerance of sexual harassment in the Army was examined in relation to three variables indicative of negative attitudes toward women among male soldiers. The first was a personality variable, negative masculinity, associated with narcissistic and aggressive characteristics; the second was a variable measuring hostility toward women; the third was a measure of acceptance of women as men's equals in the Army. In a MANOVA analysis, all three variables were significant predictors of tolerance of sexual harassment in the Army. Hostility toward women was the strongest predictor, followed by negative masculinity, and acceptance of women, which was negatively correlated with the other variables.
Synchronization waves in arrays of driven chaotic systems.

Chaotic synchronization has been observed experimentally and numerically in arrays of Chua’s circuits, arranged in both linear and ring geometries, that are coupled by using the method recently introduced by Guemez and Matias @Phys. Rev. E 52, R2145 ~1995! #. For open linear geometries, the chaotic cells are seen to synchronize consecutively as a synchronization wave spreads through the array. Instead, for circular loops it is found that there is a critical number of cells above which the uniform synchronized state is not stable. @S1063-651X~96! 51210-9#
Inferring mental overload based on postural behavior and gestures

Humans rely on body gestures and posture when communicating. This topic has been covered in great detail by researchers from various fields. Within this work, approaches to transfer findings in psychology and behavioral studies regarding the relation between gestures and emotions to machine learning methods, will be investigated. Knowledge about the users emotional state is important to achieve human like, natural HCI in modern technical systems. The main focus lies on discriminating between mental overload and mental underload, when completing a given task, which for instance can be useful in an e-tutorial system. Mental underload is a new term used to describe the state a person is in when completing a dull or boring task. A suggestion how the affective states of overload and underload can be expressed using the established notation in the Valence, Arousal and Dominance (V,A,D) space will be given. In a further step it will be shown how to select suitable features, such as gestures, movement and postural behavior patterns. Based on the features selected, a classifier is designed and trained capable of deciding whether a person is experiencing mental overload or underload.
Perturbation of Endothelial Functions by Ionizing Irradiation: Effects on Prostaglandins, Chemoattractants and Mitogens

Numerous studies have shown that early radiation injury is characterized by vascular damage and that the initial site of damage appears to be the EC lining of the vessel wall. Chronic irreversible tissue reactions to radiation include thrombotic occlusion of capillaries, enhanced atherosclerosis in larger vessels, inflammatory changes, and late tissue fibrosis. These processes may be mediated by endothelial products released as a result of cellular injury. Using EC cultures, we show that ionizing irradiation affects one of the major vascular defense mechanisms against platelet activation, thrombosis, and atherosclerosis--the capacity to produce PGI2. Dose- and time-related damage to enzymes of the arachidonic acid cascade were demonstrated. Radiation damage is associated with oxidant stress and production of free radicals. The oxygen radical scavenger, vitamin C, was found to protect the capacity of irradiated ECs to produce PGI2. Radiation injury often induces an acute inflammatory response. We found that irradiated ECs release a chemotactic factor for neutrophils, which is a lipid product of the lipoxygenase pathway. Late radiation-induced tissue fibrosis and the capacity of radiation to enhance arteriosclerosis may involve participation of mitogens released from perturbed and damaged ECs. We show that conditioned medium of irradiated ECs contain larger amounts of newly synthesized mitogens capable of stimulating the proliferation of fibroblasts, SMCs, and ECs. Hence, it may be assumed that the mitogenic activity released by irradiated ECs includes both PDGF and FGF-like mitogens.
Complete DNA Sequence of a ColBM Plasmid from Avian Pathogenic Escherichia coli Suggests that It Evolved from Closely Related ColV Virulence Plasmids

ABSTRACT Avian pathogenic Escherichia coli (APEC), an extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli causing colibacillosis in birds, is responsible for significant economic losses for the poultry industry. Recently, we reported that the APEC pathotype was characterized by possession of a set of genes contained within a 94-kb cluster linked to a ColV plasmid, pAPEC-O2-ColV. These included sitABCD, genes of the aerobactin operon, hlyF, iss, genes of the salmochelin operon, and the 5′ end of cvaB of the ColV operon. However, the results of gene prevalence studies performed among APEC isolates revealed that these traits were not always linked to ColV plasmids. Here, we present the complete sequence of a 174-kb plasmid, pAPEC-O1-ColBM, which contains a putative virulence cluster similar to that of pAPEC-O2-ColV. These two F-type plasmids share remarkable similarity, except that they encode the production of different colicins; pAPEC-O2-ColV contains an intact ColV operon, and pAPEC-O1-ColBM encodes the colicins B and M. Interestingly, remnants of the ColV operon exist in pAPEC-O1-ColBM, hinting that ColBM-type plasmids may have evolved from ColV plasmids. Among APEC isolates, the prevalence of ColBM sequences helps account for the previously observed differences in prevalence between genes of the “conserved” portion of the putative virulence cluster of pAPEC-O2-ColV and those genes within its “variable” portion. These results, in conjunction with Southern blotting and probing of representative ColBM-positive strains, indicate that this “conserved” cluster of putative virulence genes is primarily linked to F-type virulence plasmids among the APEC isolates studied.
Mitochondrial localization of P-glycoprotein in the human breast cancer cell line MCF-7/ADM and its functional characterization.

The current view of multidrug resisitance is that overexpression of membrane P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is a major causative factor. However, the controversial presence of subcellular P-gp may also participate in the drug resistance. In this study, we sought to investigate the localization and functional characterization of P-gp in mitochondria isolated from MCF-7 and doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 (MCF-7/ADM) cells. Mitochondria were isolated and purified from the MCF-7 cell line and its resistant cells MCF-7/ADM. We used electron microscopy, western blot analysis and confocal microscopy to demonstrate the localization of P-gp in the mitochondria of MCF-7/ADM cells. Flow cytometry was used to evaluated the efflux function of mitochondrial P-gp in the presence or absence of the P-gp inhibitor cyclosporine A (CsA). Mitochondria were isolated and purified successfully and were analyzed by electron microscopy. Western blotting demonstrated the expression of P-gp in the cell membrane and purified mitochondria from MCF-7/ADM cells but not from sensitive MCF-7 cells. Immunofluorescence analysis using confocal microscopy demonstrated the localization of P-gp [labeled with green fluorescence (FITC)] to the mitochondria [labeled with red fluorescence (Mitotracker Deep red 633)] of MCF-7/ADM cells and that was absent in MCF-7 cells. Rho123 (a mitochondrial fluorescent probe) accumulation was largely reduced and efflux was strongly increased in the mitochondria of MCF-7/ADM cells compared to those of MCF-7 cells (P<0.01), and these were completely reversed in the presence of the P-gp inhibitor CsA (P<0.01). No significant changes were observed in the mitochondria of MCF-7 cells (P>0.05). P-gp is expressed in the mitochondria of doxorubicin-resistant MCF-7 cells and has an efflux function. It could be involved in multidrug resistance at the subcellular site by pumping out anticancer drugs from mitochondria to protect the function of mitochondria.
Activation of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase/Akt Pathway by Androgen through Interaction of p85α, Androgen Receptor, and Src*

Recent studies have demonstrated that the cell growth and antiapoptotic actions of androgen could be dissociated from the transcriptional activity of the receptor and were, instead, mediated by activation of a mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. This finding suggests an important cellular function of androgen receptor (AR) outside the nucleus. In this report, we demonstrate that androgen activates phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and Akt, including AKT1 and AKT2, in AR-positive cells. Androgen-induced cell growth and survival were inhibited by PI3K inhibitor and dominant-negative Akt. AR interacts with the p85α regulatory subunit of PI3K, and its binding affinity is increased after androgen stimulation. The sites of interaction on the two proteins were mapped to the C-terminal Src-homology 2 domain of p85α and N terminus of AR. Activation of PI3K/Akt by androgen was inhibited by dominant-negative Src. Neither N-terminaltruncated nor proline-rich region-deleted AR mutants, which are unable to bind to p85α and Src, respectively, was able to mediate androgen-induced PI3K/Akt activation. AR with deletion of C-terminal region including ligand binding domain, however, retains the ability to activate PI3K/Akt upon androgen stimulation, which supports the notion that nongenomic function of androgen is mediated by its interaction with membrane receptors (1, 3, 4). These findings indicate that a triple complex between AR, p85α, and Src is required for androgen-stimulated PI3K/Akt activation, and that the PI3K/Akt pathway, in addition to mitogen-activated protein kinase, mediates androgen-induced cell growth and cell survival.
Stabilizing motion tracking using retrieved motion priors

In this paper, we introduce a novel iterative motion tracking framework that combines 3D tracking techniques with motion retrieval for stabilizing markerless human motion capturing. The basic idea is to start human tracking without prior knowledge about the performed actions. The resulting 3D motion sequences, which may be corrupted due to tracking errors, are locally classified according to available motion categories. Depending on the classification result, a retrieval system supplies suitable motion priors, which are then used to regularize and stabilize the tracking in the next iteration step. Experiments with the HumanEVA-II benchmark show that tracking and classification are remarkably improved after few iterations.
Statistical shape modeling of cam femoroacetabular impingement

Statistical shape modeling (SSM) was used to quantify 3D variation and morphologic differences between femurs with and without cam femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). 3D surfaces were generated from CT scans of femurs from 41 controls and 30 cam FAI patients. SSM correspondence particles were optimally positioned on each surface using a gradient descent energy function. Mean shapes for groups were defined. Morphological differences between group mean shapes and between the control mean and individual patients were calculated. Principal component analysis described anatomical variation. Among all femurs, the first six modes (or principal components) captured significant variations, which comprised 84% of cumulative variation. The first two modes, which described trochanteric height and femoral neck width, were significantly different between groups. The mean cam femur shape protruded above the control mean by a maximum of 3.3 mm with sustained protrusions of 2.5–3.0 mm along the anterolateral head‐neck junction/distal anterior neck. SSM described variations in femoral morphology that corresponded well with areas prone to damage. Shape variation described by the first two modes may facilitate objective characterization of cam FAI deformities; variation beyond may be inherent population variance. SSM could characterize disease severity and guide surgical resection of bone. © 2013 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Orthop Res 31:1620–1626, 2013
Personalizing learning materials for students with multiple disabilities in virtual learning environments

Current efforts towards including students with disabilities in web-based higher education are well established. However, existing learning environments are not fully inclusive, particularly for those with multiple disabilities. Most learning environments built for students with disabilities limit themselves to meeting the needs of specific disabilities and do not attempt to scale up to the difficulties of designing for those with multiple disabilities. This paper seeks to address how virtual learning environments (VLEs) can be designed to include the needs of learners with multiple disabilities. Specifically, it employs AI to show how specific learning materials from a huge repository of learning materials can be recommended to learners with various disabilities. This is made possible through employing semantic web technology to model the learner and their needs. Three techniques are discussed to combine requirements. Simple logical operators, knowledge based rules, and machine learning based rule induction are combined in this integrated approach. It is hoped that developers of e-learning systems will be encouraged from this approach to design fully inclusive virtual learning environments.
Different Worldviews Explain Perceived Effectiveness of Different Employment Tests

A representative sample of (n = 439) adults in the United States responded to questions about the usefulness of tests of cognitive ability and conscientiousness, along with questions about their beliefs in free will and (scientific) determinism. As hypothesized, belief in scientific determinism predicted perceived usefulness of a cognitive ability test and belief in free will predicted the perceived usefulness of a test of conscientiousness. In a subsequent experiment (n = 337), people watched TED‐style talks emphasizing either the importance of talent or the importance of hard work for success. People who watched the talk emphasizing talent scored higher on scientific determinism. Those who watched the talk emphasizing hard work scored both higher on free will and lower on scientific determinism.
Bicycle helmet efficacy using Hybrid III and magnesium headforms

Cycling is popular for transportation and leisure. Bike helmets are used to mitigate the risk of head injury in collisions or falls. According to NH TSA, 52,000 cyclists were injured in the US in 2010. Head injuries accounted for two thirds of hos pital admissions, among cyclists. Despite strong epidemiological evidence of efficacy, some r esearchers and many lay people argue that bicycle helmets do not lower the head injury risk i n b cycle crashes and falls. One definitive data set that would contribute to this debate is largely missing and that is biomechanical tests of helmeted vs. unhelmeted head impacts. This is becau s bicycle helmet standards specify magnesium headforms and unhelmeted impacts are not possible with these headforms. Therefore it was our objective to establish the Hybrid III he adform as a valid device for evaluating bicycle helmet effectiveness by comparing it to a magnesium headform in impacts with contemporary bicycle helmets. The HIII head was also used in hel meted and unhelmeted tests to investigate overall bicycle helmet efficacy. A monorail drop to wer was used to create drops from 0.5 m to 3.0 m in 0.5 m increments. Eight drops were perform ed using a helmeted magnesium headform and 16 were performed using a HIII headform (8 helm eted/8 unhelmeted). Linear head acceleration, Head Injury Criterion (HIC) and Injur y Assessment Reference Values (IARV) for AIS 4+ brain injury were used to compare helmeted t o unhelmeted head impacts. The magnesium headform peak head accelerations and HIC values were 5% and 9% higher than HIII respectively. The average of the peak head acc elerations for helmeted impacts was 4.2 times lower with HIC values 6.8 times lower than the unhe lmeted impacts. The HIII headform was found to reproduce the magnesium headform’s time-do main response within an acceptable margin. Bicycle helmets were highly effective at mi tigating and preventing injury in these tests.
The Effects of Differential Parenting on Sibling Differences in Self-Control and Delinquency Among Brother–Sister Pairs

Gottfredson and Hirschi acknowledge that there are sex differences in levels of self-control, with males exhibiting lower levels of self-control compared to females. There remains a gap in the empirical literature, however, as to whether differential parental treatment can explain differences in levels of self-control across the sexes. Using siblings of opposite sex from the Add Health study (N = 356, brother–sister pairs) and following a within-family research design, the current study examines whether differences in parenting behaviors within the home are associated with sex differences in self-control between siblings and whether these differences in self-control explained sex differences in delinquency. The results revealed that differential maternal attachment and differential maternal rejection were significantly related to sex differences in self-control. Sex differences in self-control, in turn, were significantly associated with sex differences in delinquency. The findings also showed that sex differences in self-control mediated the association between differential maternal rejection and delinquency, but that differential maternal attachment was indirectly associated with higher levels of delinquency for boys via lower levels of self-control. The impact of nonshared environmental factors on behavioral differences in opposite-sex siblings within the home is discussed.
CaMKK-CaMK1a, a New Post-Traumatic Signalling Pathway Induced in Mouse Somatosensory Neurons

Neurons innervating peripheral tissues display complex responses to peripheral nerve injury. These include the activation and suppression of a variety of signalling pathways that together influence regenerative growth and result in more or less successful functional recovery. However, these responses can be offset by pathological consequences including neuropathic pain. Calcium signalling plays a major role in the different steps occurring after nerve damage. As part of our studies to unravel the roles of injury-induced molecular changes in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) neurons during their regeneration, we show that the calcium calmodulin kinase CaMK1a is markedly induced in mouse DRG neurons in several models of mechanical peripheral nerve injury, but not by inflammation. Intrathecal injection of NRTN or GDNF significantly prevents the post-traumatic induction of CaMK1a suggesting that interruption of target derived factors might be a starter signal in this de novo induction. Inhibition of CaMK signalling in injured DRG neurons by pharmacological means or treatment with CaMK1a siRNA resulted in decreased velocity of neurite growth in vitro. Altogether, the results suggest that CaMK1a induction is part of the intrinsic regenerative response of DRG neurons to peripheral nerve injury, and is thus a potential target for therapeutic intervention to improve peripheral nerve regeneration.