Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fixed-time consensus tracking of multi-agent systems under a directed communication topology

This paper considers the fixed-time consensus tracking problem for a class of first-order multi-agent systems with directed topology, where the agents may be subject to unknown disturbances. First, some consensus tracking protocols for the nominal multi-agent systems are designed to make the states of followers track those of the leader within fixed time. Then, a new class of consensus tracking protocols with augmented term is further designed to ensure fixed-time robust consensus tracking of multi-agent systems in the presence of disturbance. Finally, some simulations are performed to verify the theoretical results proposed in this paper.
RF-MEMS switchable inductors for tunable bandwidth BAW filters

This paper presents a method for reconfiguring the bandwidth of Bulk Acoustic Wave (BAW) ladder filters by adding switchable inductors to their shunt resonators. Inductance values are controlled by selecting the number of turn in spiral inductor using micro-electro-mechanical (MEMS) switches. For this purpose, a MEMS inductor has been designed, fabricated and characterized in terms of inductance value, quality factor, and resonance frequency. A measurement-based model of this inductor has been implemented in a circuit simulator to build a reconfigurable RF Ladder BAW filter intended for handset applications. The simulation results show that, using this switchable inductor, it is possible to increase the filter bandwidth by up to 25% with an improved out-of-band rejection and without degrading its selectivity.
A Generalized Krylov Subspace Method for ℓp-ℓq Minimization

This paper presents a new efficient approach for the solution of the $\ell_p$-$\ell_q$ minimization problem based on the application of successive orthogonal projections onto generalized Krylov subspaces of increasing dimension. The subspaces are generated according to the iteratively reweighted least-squares strategy for the approximation of $\ell_p$/$\ell_q$-norms by weighted $\ell_2$-norms. Computed image restoration examples illustrate that it suffices to carry out only a few iterations to achieve high-quality restorations. The combination of a low iteration count and a modest storage requirement makes the proposed method attractive.
Degas: a system for rule-based diphone speech synthesis

This paper describes DEGAS, a Diphone Editor and Generator for Animation and Speech. DEGAS is a simple to use, yet powerful computer program designed to give researchers the means to develop speech synthesis rulebases in a diphone framework. It is an open system , allowing an unlimited number of arbitrary symbols for phones, synthesizer parameters, and categories. An arbitrary number of rules can be formed by combining these symbols with boolean operators. Target values for every parameter are prescribed by the user to define postures for each phone. A transition profile, zero or more special event profiles, and duration rules are specified by the user to define the interpolation between the two sets of targets in a diphone pair. DEGAS provides immediate audio and visual feedback, as well as a means to create a complete diphone inventory.
Age-based double EWMA controller and its application to CMP processes

In the originally proposed run-by-run control scheme, the EWMA statistic is used as an estimate of the process deviation from its target. However, the controller based on the EWMA statistic is not sufficient for controlling a wearing out process. The PCC controller has been thus proposed to enhance the run-by-run controller capability. In this paper, we first reexamine the fundamentals of the PCC formulations and propose an adjustment that is advantageous in controlling processes subject to both random shifts and drifts. The adjusted PCC controller is then further refined to take into account the process age. This age-based double EWMA scheme is then applied to the CMP process, which is known in the semiconductor industry to be rather unstable.
Monetary Policy and the Rule of Law

The translation of legal independence into actual independence is primarily determined by the rule of law. Inspired by the economic growth literature, where the role of institutions already is incorporated, we introduce Institutional Quality Indicators that can be used as reasonable proxies for the rule of law in a country. This idea can be seen as an important extension of the existing empirical research about the relationship between inflation and the institutional design of monetary institutions. With the rule of law factor we will get a better expression of effective central bank independence. Transition economies like former socialist economies in Europe are interesting candidates for the examination of the relationship between the rate of inflation, central bank reforms and the transition process. Legal Transition Indicators will be used as proxy for the rule of law in these countries. The liberalization process seems to be an important condition for the effectiveness of legal central bank independence. With the Cumulative Liberalization Index we incorporate the liberalization process into our analysis.
Don't ask me what i'm like, just watch and listen

Traditional (based on psychology) approaches for personality assessment of an individual require him/her to fill up a questionnaire. This paper presents a novel way of utilizing multimodal cues to automatically fill up the questionnaire. The contributions of this work are three-fold. (1) Novel psychology-based audio/visual/lexical features are proposed and shown to be effective in predicting answers to a personality questionnaire, Big-Five Inventory-10 (BFI- 10). (2) Extracted features are used to learn linear and kernel versions of a novel regression model, 'SLoT', to automatically predict BFI-10 answers. The model is based on Sparse and Low-rank Transformation (SLoT). (3) Predicted answers are used to compute personality scores using standard BFI-10 scoring scheme. We evaluated our approach on a dataset of 3907 clips (for 50 characters from movies of diverse genres) manually labeled with BFI-10 answers and personality scores as ground-truth. Experiments indicate that the proposed 'SLoT' model effectively automates the answering process by emulating human understanding. We also conclude that predicting personality scores through predicting answers first is better than directly predicting scores based on audio/visual features (as studied in state-of-the art methods).
The Efficacy of Supportive Peri-Implant Therapies in Preventing Peri-Implantitis and Implant Loss: a Systematic Review of the Literature

ABSTRACT Objectives To study the efficacy of supportive peri-implant therapies in preventing clinical and radiological signs of peri-implantitis and implant loss. Material and Methods Longitudinal human studies, published between January 1, 2006, and February 1, 2016, were included based on an electronic search using MEDLINE and EMBASE databases and complemented by a manual search. Articles were included only if 1) they comprised a group of patients involved in/adhering to regular supportive peri-implant therapies (SPTs) and a control group without such therapies or with poor adherence to them, 2) the protocol of the SPTs was clearly described and 3) the outcome was indicated by means of clinical/radiological changes or implant loss. Results After initially identifying a total of 710 titles and abstracts, 12 full text articles were selected for eligibility assessment. Seven studies, three prospective and four retrospective, fulfilled the inclusion criteria for this review. The frequency of recall visits varied between the studies from a minimum of one visit every three months to an individually tailored regimen. In all the studies a lack of SPTs or poor adherence to them resulted in significantly higher frequencies of sites with mucosal bleeding, deepened peri-implant pockets or alveolar bone loss. In line with the above, a lack of/poor adherence to SPTs was associated with higher implant loss. Conclusions To prevent peri-implantitis, an individually tailored supportive programme based on patient motivation and re-instruction in oral hygiene measures combined with professional implant cleaning seem to be crucial.
Bifurcation Analysis of Lasers with Delay

Lasers, especially semiconductor lasers, are known to exhibit an amazing range of dynamical behaviour when subjected to external influences. In practically all investigations of laser dynamics the question is: how does the dynamics of a given laser system depend on the control parameters? The approach in a typical experiment is to change one such parameter and record the dynamics, sweeping back and forth to catch possible hysteresis loops. A particular problem for semiconductor lasers is that their dynamics can generally only be recorded in the form of spectra. This is due to the fast time scales in such lasers. When a mathematical model is available, for example in the form of suitable rate equations, then it is possible to perform numerical simulations. The approach is essentially the same as in an experiment: one or more parameters are changed and the dynamics is recorded. The big advantage is that more information on the solution, and not just its spectrum, is now available, which can be used to interpret and explain the experimental results. Numerical simulation is relatively straightforward, but may be quite expensive in terms of run-time and data storage. A complimentary approach is that of bifurcation analysis. The idea is to find a parameter value where the laser’s dynamics changes qualitatively, for example, from stable output to periodic intensity variations. Such a qualitative change is called a bifurcation. It is now possible to follow or continue this bifurcation in several parameters with specialised software, called continuation software. In this way, one traces out the boundary between two regions of qualitatively different laser dynamics. The collection of bifurcation curves bounding regions of different dynamical behaviour is called a bifurcation diagram. Bifurcation analysis is an established tool that has been used with great success in many fields of application; see Refs. [29, 44, 55, 57] as general references and entry points
Diagnostic Utility of Biomarkers in COPD

BACKGROUND: COPD will become the third leading cause of death by 2020. There are many situations in which spirometry, the primary tool for diagnosis of COPD, cannot be performed, and thus, the staging and status of these patients cannot be determined. To date, there is no known biochemical marker used for diagnosing COPD. This study aimed to explore the utility of biomarkers for diagnosis of COPD. METHODS: This was an observational study composed of 96 stable subjects with COPD and 96 subjects with normal lung function. Each group contained an equal number of smokers and nonsmokers. Serum levels of superoxide dismutase 3, glutathione peroxidase, catalase, ceruloplasmin ferroxidase activity, C-reactive protein, and surfactant protein D (SPD) were estimated. Ferroxidase activity was estimated by a kinetic method, whereas the other analytes were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The cutoff value, sensitivity and specificity at the cutoff value, and area under the curve for each analyte were determined from receiver operating characteristic curve. RESULTS: Significantly decreased superoxide dismutase 3 and increased ferroxidase activity, SPD, glutathione peroxidase, and C-reactive protein levels were found in subjects with COPD. For all subjects and nonsmoking subjects with COPD, the area under the curve was highest for ferroxidase activity, followed by glutathione peroxidase, SPD, and C-reactive protein, with a sensitivity and specificity of > 73%. For smoking subjects with COPD, the area under the curve was highest for SPD, followed by glutathione peroxidase, ferroxidase activity, and C-reactive protein, with a sensitivity and specificity > 67%. Some combinations of markers were found to give either a sensitivity or specificity of > 95%, which can be utilized to rule in and rule out COPD. CONCLUSIONS: Biomarkers can be reliably utilized in the diagnosis of COPD. Of all the markers, SPD appears to be the most promising in smokers, whereas ferroxidase activity shows promise in nonsmokers. To rule out COPD, ferroxidase activity or glutathione peroxidase can be potentially useful, whereas to rule in COPD, ferroxidase activity and glutathione peroxidase appear to be the most promising combination in both nonsmoking and smoking subjects.
Blockade of Rostral Ventrolateral Medulla (RVLM) Bombesin Receptor Type 1 Decreases Blood Pressure and Sympathetic Activity in Anesthetized Spontaneously Hypertensive Rats

Intrathecal injection of bombesin (BBS) promoted hypertensive and sympathoexcitatory effects in normotensive (NT) rats. However, the involvement of rostral ventrolateral medulla (RVLM) in these responses is still unclear. In the present study, we investigated: (1) the effects of BBS injected bilaterally into RVLM on cardiorespiratory and sympathetic activity in NT and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHR); (2) the contribution of RVLM BBS type 1 receptors (BB1) to the maintenance of hypertension in SHR. Urethane-anesthetized rats (1.2 g · kg−1, i.v.) were instrumented to record mean arterial pressure (MAP), diaphragm (DIA) motor, and renal sympathetic nerve activity (RSNA). In NT rats and SHR, BBS (0.3 mM) nanoinjected into RVLM increased MAP (33.9 ± 6.6 and 37.1 ± 4.5 mmHg, respectively; p < 0.05) and RSNA (97.8 ± 12.9 and 84.5 ± 18.1%, respectively; p < 0.05). In SHR, BBS also increased DIA burst amplitude (115.3 ± 22.7%; p < 0.05). BB1 receptors antagonist (BIM-23127; 3 mM) reduced MAP (–19.9 ± 4.4 mmHg; p < 0.05) and RSNA (−17.7 ± 3.8%; p < 0.05) in SHR, but not in NT rats (−2.5 ± 2.8 mmHg; −2.7 ± 5.6%, respectively). These results show that BBS can evoke sympathoexcitatory and pressor responses by activating RVLM BB1 receptors. This pathway might be involved in the maintenance of high levels of arterial blood pressure in SHR.
Caffeinated coffee, decaffeinated coffee, and caffeine in relation to plasma C-peptide levels, a marker of insulin secretion, in U.S. women.

OBJECTIVE Coffee consumption is associated with reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, but the mechanism is not clearly understood. Elevated C-peptide, as a marker of insulin secretion, has been linked to insulin-resistant type 2 diabetes. In this study, we examined consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and total caffeine in relation to concentrations of plasma C-peptide. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Plasma C-peptide concentrations were measured in a cross-sectional setting among 2,112 healthy women from the Nurses' Health Study I who provided blood samples in 1989-1990. Consumption of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and total caffeine was assessed using a semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire in 1990. RESULTS Intakes of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee and caffeine in 1990 were each inversely associated with C-peptide concentration in age-adjusted, BMI-adjusted, and multivariable-adjusted analyses. In multivariable analysis, concentrations of C-peptide were 16% less in women who drank >4 cups/day of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee compared with nondrinkers (P < 0.005 for each). Women in the highest quintile compared with the lowest quintile of caffeine intake had 10% lower C-peptide levels (P = 0.02). We did not find any association between tea and C-peptide. The inverse association between caffeinated coffee and C-peptide was considerably stronger in obese (27% reduction) and overweight women (20% reduction) than in normal weight women (11% reduction) (P = 0.005). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest a potential reduction of insulin secretion by coffee in women. This reduction may be related to other components in coffee rather than caffeine.
A Family Health App: Engaging Children to Manage Wellness of Adults

The pandemic of lifestyle-related chronic diseases has led to an advent of personal health informatics, often using mobiles and gamification to persuade individuals to adopt healthful lifestyles. However, this approach can constrain benefits to younger, more technically literate beneficiaries, despite the higher need for PHI in older populations. In prior work, we proposed that children in the household aid in reaching beneficiaries, targeting intermediated use. This study compares the use of two versions of a nutrition and exercise monitoring app in 14 households. One supported logging and occasional SMS reminders while the other added gamification elements. We measure self-determination with respect to each version using pre- and post-tests, also drawing on observation and interview data. Our findings suggest that virtual rewards can enhance use of such systems through intermediaries, via benefits such as increased perceived competence. We highlight the challenges and design implications involved in fostering engagement in our system.
Evidence Inconsistent with a Negative Influence of T Helper 2 Cells on Protection Afforded by a Dominant T Helper 1 Response against Mycobacterium tuberculosis Lung Infection in Mice

ABSTRACT Mice incapable of generating an efficient Th2 response because of functional deletion of the genes for signal transducer and activation of transcription 6 (Stat6), interleukin-4 receptor alpha chain (IL-4Rα), or IL-4 plus IL-13 (IL-4/IL-13) were no more resistant than wild-type (WT) mice to airborne infection with virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. WT mice were able to control infection and hold it at a stationary level following 20 days of log linear M. tuberculosis growth. Likewise, infection was kept under control and was held at the same stationary level in IL-4/IL-13−/− mice but progressed to a slightly higher level in Stat6−/− and IL-4Rα−/− mice. The onset of stationary-level infection in WT mice was associated with the expression of Th1-mediated immunity, as evidenced by an approximately 100- to 1,000-fold increase in the lungs in the synthesis of mRNA for IL-12, gamma interferon (IFN-γ), and inducible nitric oxide synthase (NOS2) that was sustained for at least 100 days. IL-12 is essential for the induction of Th1 immunity, IFN-γ is a key Th1 cytokine involved in mediation of immunity, and NOS2 is an inducible enzyme of macrophages and is needed by these cells to express immunity. In response to infection, the lungs of Stat6−/− mice showed increases in synthesis of mRNA for IL-12, IFN-γ, and NOS2 similar to that seen in WT mice. In IL-4/IL-13−/− mice, however, synthesis of mRNA for IFN-γ and NOS2 reached higher levels than in WT mice. These results argue against the notion that a Th2 response is partly or wholly responsible for the inability of Th1-mediated immunity to resolve infection with a virulent strain of M. tuberculosis.
Cytokine profiles in polymyositis and dermatomyositis complicated by rapidly progressive or chronic interstitial lung disease.

OBJECTIVE PM and DM are often complicated by interstitial lung disease (ILD). In this study we aimed to evaluate various serum cytokines in patients with PM/DM with ILD so as to clarify the differences in pathophysiology between anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody-associated ILD (anti-MDA5-ILD) and anti-aminoacyl tRNA synthetase antibody-associated ILD (anti-ARS-ILD). METHODS We evaluated the serum cytokine profiles of 38 patients with PM/DM and compared the cytokine profiles of the non-ILD and ILD subsets as well as the anti-MDA5-ILD and anti-ARS-ILD subsets. RESULTS The myositis intention-to-treat activity index score, which indicates whole disease activity, significantly correlated with serum IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and IP-10. These cytokine levels were significantly higher in the ILD subset than the non-ILD subset and were lower in the ILD subset following treatment. By multivariate analysis, TNF-α was the most significant cytokine [P = 0.0006, odds ratio (OR) 1.4, CI 1.1, 2.2] associated with PM/DM with ILD. IL-8 levels were significantly higher in anti-MDA5-ILD than in anti-ARS-ILD, although IL-6, TNF-α and IP-10 levels were high in both subsets. IL-8 was the most significant cytokine (P = 0.0006, OR 1.5, CI 1.1, 3.0) associated with anti-MDA5-ILD by multivariate analysis. Moreover, the ratio of IL-4 to IFN-γ was lower in anti-MDA5-ILD than in anti-ARS-ILD. CONCLUSION IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and IP-10 are associated with global disease activity in PM/DM. These cytokine levels were high, especially in the ILD subset. Serum IL-8 levels and the balance between IL-4 and IFN-γ may contribute to the differences in pathophysiology between anti-ARS-ILD and anti-MDA5-ILD.
Shallow embedding of DSLs via online partial evaluation

This paper investigates shallow embedding of DSLs by means of online partial evaluation. To this end, we present a novel online partial evaluator for continuation-passing style languages. We argue that it has, in contrast to prior work, a predictable termination policy that works well in practice. We present our approach formally using a continuation-passing variant of PCF and prove its termination properties. We evaluate our technique experimentally in the field of visual and high-performance computing and show that our evaluator produces highly specialized and efficient code for CPUs as well as GPUs that matches the performance of hand-tuned expert code.
Radio Halo Formation through Magnetoturbulent Particle Acceleration in Clusters of Galaxies

We develop a magnetoturbulent model for the cosmic-ray (CR) electrons seen in the radio halo clusters of galaxies. Steady-state momentum distribution functions of the CR electrons are calculated for given spectra of the turbulent Alfvén waves. The radio spectrum produced by the obtained CR electron distribution is compared to the observed radio spectrum of the Coma radio halo. We find that the observed radio spectrum of the Coma Cluster is well reproduced when the spectral index of the turbulent Alfvén waves is ~2.8. The obtained energy spectrum of the turbulent Alfvén waves is steeper than that expected from the turbulence theory, suggesting back-reaction of the particle acceleration. The fitting procedure constraints the amplitude of the turbulent Alfvén waves as well as the spectral index. Then we estimate the dissipation of the turbulent Alfvén waves, which is found to be less than the cooling rate by X-ray radiation. We suggest that the turbulence that is sufficient for particle acceleration is developed in the clusters containing the radio halo. It is most likely that cluster mergers create the turbulence and seed relativistic electrons.