Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Battery energy storage capacity fading and control strategies for deterministic and stochastic power profiles

As manufacturing costs keep decreasing, battery energy storage systems (BESS) are expected to play a key role in modern grids. However, due to their energy constraints and internal losses, the restoration of the state of charge (SoC) to a reference range is of vital importance to fulfil their tasks. In this paper, we propose SoC control schemes based on existing ones, and then we evaluate their behavior in predictable and stochastic power system applications. The modifications include parameter tuning based on the actual BESS state, as well as alternating the control scheme according to forecasts of the application signal. Furthermore, we extend a Lithium-Ion battery model in order to quantify capacity degradation and hence, investigate the impact of the various SoC restoration strategies. Results show that potentials to increase the lifetime are application-dependent, based on the degree of flexibility allowed by a service. Overall, the calendar aging dominates the cycling aging and thus, there is limited space for improvement with different SoC control schemes. On the other hand, by incorporating forecast information, we can reduce the amount of energy needed for the SoC restoration and hence, decrease additional energy costs.
Synthetic scaffolds with full pore interconnectivity for bone regeneration prepared by supercritical foaming using advanced biofunctional plasticizers

Supercritical foaming allows for the solvent-free processing of synthetic scaffolds for bone regeneration. However, the control on the pore interconnectivity and throat pore size with this technique still needs to be improved. The use of plasticizers may help overcome these limitations. Eugenol, a GRAS natural compound extracted from plants, is proposed in this work as an advanced plasticizer with bioactive properties. Eugenol-containing poly(ε-caprolactone) (PCL) scaffolds were obtained by supercritical foaming (20.0 MPa, 45 °C, 17 h) followed by a one or a two-step depressurization profile. The effects of the eugenol content and the depressurization profile on the porous structure of the material and the physicochemical properties of the scaffold were evaluated. The combination of both processing parameters was successful to simultaneously tune the pore interconnectivity and throat sizes to allow mesenchymal stem cells infiltration. Scaffolds with eugenol were cytocompatible, presented antimicrobial activity preventing the attachment of Gram positive (S. aureus, S. epidermidis) bacteria and showed good tissue integration.
Micromachining on copper and nickel by electrochemical wet stamping

The fabrication of microstructures on copper and nickel has been achieved by an approach named electrochemical wet stamping (E-WETS). The E-WETS process allows the direct imprinting of microscopic reliefs on an agarose stamp into nickel and copper through a selective anodic dissolution process. The pre-patterned agarose with a high gel strength that has been soaked in a desired etching solution is employed as a stamp. It can direct and supply the solution preferentially on the contact area owing to the constant supply of electrolyte from the agarose stamp to the interface and then the electrochemical reaction is limited only to the contact area. Simultaneously, the product can be removed from the gel/substrate interface. On the basis of the electrochemical behavior of the copper electrode in contact with the agarose full of 0.1 M HClO4, the potential for the electrochemical micromachining was chosen to be a relatively low value, 0.4 V versus SCE, to prevent the generation of cuprous oxide. A voltage pulse was applied to the electrochemical machining of nickel. The pulse amplitude was set to 8 V versus SCE to take the electrode into the transpassivation region rather than the passivation region in the pulse duration. Furthermore, the different electrochemical mechanisms involved in the etching process have been discussed in detail.
A novel smart resistive-capacitive position sensor

A novel smart resistive-capacitive angular position sensor is presented. The main advantages of this low-cost system are its simplicity, high stability and high reliability. A very linear oscillator is used in the processing circuit to convert the position quantity to a period-modulated signal which can be read out directly by a microcontroller. The system does not need an A/D converter. The nonlinearity of the smart angular position sensor system is less than /spl plusmn/0.3% (/spl plusmn/0.9/spl deg/) over the range of 270. >
Finding shortest non-trivial cycles in directed graphs on surfaces

Let D be a weighted directed graph cellularly embedded in a surface of genus g, orientable or not, possibly with boundary. We describe algorithms to compute a shortest non-contractible and a shortest surface non-separating cycle in D. This generalizes previous results that only dealt with undirected graphs. Our first algorithm computes such cycles in O(n2 log n) time, where n is the total number of vertices and edges of D, thus matching the complexity of the best known algorithm in the undirected case. It revisits and extends Thomassen's 3-path condition; the technique applies to other families of cycles as well. We also give an algorithm with subquadratic complexity in the complexity of the input graph, if g is fixed. Specifically, we can solve the problem in O(√g n3/2 log n) time, using a divide-and-conquer technique that simplifies the graph while preserving the topological properties of its cycles. A variant runs in O(ng log g + n log2 n) for graphs of bounded treewidth.
Compressed sensing with interleaving slow-time pulses and hybrid sparse image reconstruction

This paper explores a type of hybrid sparse reconstruction technique for modern multifunction task scheduling radars and on following range-Doppler plots. A compressed sensing (CS) framework is devised to emit and then receive interleaved radar pulses in a scarce manner within a coherent processing interval. Sparse reconstruction methods are subsequently employed to regenerate full resolution range-Doppler images. Hybrid reconstructed solutions are finally formed by merging acquired data with sparsely recovered solutions. We show that this is essential for obtaining robust results in the presence of noisy environments and to measure outcomes on equal terms. Real data obtained from an experimental radar observing a Boeing 737 aircraft is employed to demonstrate the practical effectiveness of CS and hybrid sparse reconstruction.
Insights into the Genome of Large Sulfur Bacteria Revealed by Analysis of Single Filaments

Marine sediments are frequently covered by mats of the filamentous Beggiatoa and other large nitrate-storing bacteria that oxidize hydrogen sulfide using either oxygen or nitrate, which they store in intracellular vacuoles. Despite their conspicuous metabolic properties and their biogeochemical importance, little is known about their genetic repertoire because of the lack of pure cultures. Here, we present a unique approach to access the genome of single filaments of Beggiatoa by combining whole genome amplification, pyrosequencing, and optical genome mapping. Sequence assemblies were incomplete and yielded average contig sizes of approximately 1 kb. Pathways for sulfur oxidation, nitrate and oxygen respiration, and CO2 fixation confirm the chemolithoautotrophic physiology of Beggiatoa. In addition, Beggiatoa potentially utilize inorganic sulfur compounds and dimethyl sulfoxide as electron acceptors. We propose a mechanism of vacuolar nitrate accumulation that is linked to proton translocation by vacuolar-type ATPases. Comparative genomics indicates substantial horizontal gene transfer of storage, metabolic, and gliding capabilities between Beggiatoa and cyanobacteria. These capabilities enable Beggiatoa to overcome non-overlapping availabilities of electron donors and acceptors while gliding between oxic and sulfidic zones. The first look into the genome of these filamentous sulfur-oxidizing bacteria substantially deepens the understanding of their evolution and their contribution to sulfur and nitrogen cycling in marine sediments.
An Appropriate Financial Perspective for a Balanced Scorecard

The balanced scorecard has proved itself as a valuable strategic tool in measuring, not only the financial performance, but also the customer focus, internal business processes and the learning and growth of a company. To date, very little has been done to incorporate new breakthroughs in financial management in the financial perspective of the balanced scorecard. In this study, new trends in financial management research are recognized in suggesting a ‘balanced financial scorecard’ consisting of only five specifically selected measures of financial performance. The statistical technique, principal component analysis, is used to test the ability of these five measures to predict the market value added (MVA) of a company, compared to the predictive power of a range of accounting ratios. The results show that over the long term, the five measures suggested actually out-perform the traditional accounting ratios, thus lending support to the contention that the five measures suggested represents the drivers of shareholder value better than the traditional accounting ratios do. The search for a balanced financial perspective is an ongoing process, but the measures suggested could make a constructive contribution in taking this process forward.
Cardiac Biometric Identification using Phonocardiogram Signals by Binary Decision Tree based SVM

Analyzing Phonocardiogram signals for Automatic Identification system by Binary Decision Tree based Support Vector Machine is a new approach in the research and this paper examines the applicability of the biometric properties of the Heart Sounds. It is a highly reliable method as it cannot be forged and difficult to disguise. This reduces falsification with highly accurate results. Multi-pass Moving Average Filters (MAF) smoothes the up-sampled DWT coefficients and the peaks are detected by Averaging the Neighbors. Spectral Features are extracted and clustered by HSOM. Rough sets Theory (RST) select the best features for classification. Binary Decision Tree based Support Vector Machine is used as a classifier for recognition and Identification.
Milk Proteins, Peptides, and Oligosaccharides: Effects against the 21st Century Disorders

Milk is the most complete food for mammals, as it supplies all the energy and nutrients needed for the proper growth and development of the neonate. Milk is a source of many bioactive components, which not only help meeting the nutritional requirements of the consumers, but also play a relevant role in preventing various disorders. Milk-derived proteins and peptides have the potential to act as coadjuvants in conventional therapies, addressing cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, intestinal health, and chemopreventive properties. In addition to being a source of proteins and peptides, milk contains complex oligosaccharides that possess important functions related to the newborn's development and health. Some of the health benefits attributed to milk oligosaccharides include prebiotic probifidogenic effects, antiadherence of pathogenic bacteria, and immunomodulation. This review focuses on recent findings demonstrating the biological activities of milk peptides, proteins, and oligosaccharides towards the prevention of diseases of the 21st century. Processing challenges hindering large-scale production and commercialization of those bioactive compounds have been also addressed.
Illumination invariant face recognition using convolutional neural networks

Face is one of the most widely used biometric in security systems. Despite its wide usage, face recognition is not a fully solved problem due to the challenges associated with varying illumination conditions and pose. In this paper, we address the problem of face recognition under non-uniform illumination using deep convolutional neural networks (CNN). The ability of a CNN to learn local patterns from data is used for facial recognition. The symmetry of facial information is exploited to improve the performance of the system by considering the horizontal reflections of the facial images. Experiments conducted on Yale facial image dataset demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach.
Changing the Face of High-Performance Fortran Code A White Paper

There is a huge amount of Fortran code that is too valuable to throw away, but very expensive to maintain. Refactoring tools have had a great impact on the productivity of object-oriented developers and the quality of code. However, highperformance languages such as C and Fortran do not have these tools. Moreover, refactorings specific to high-performance and parallel computing have not yet been adequately examined. This paper describes Photran, an integrated development environment for Fortran that will support automated refactoring and how a tool like this can be used to reduce the cost of maintenance and development of systems implemented in Fortran.
Design and implementation of the improved MPPT method with rapidly tracking feature

This paper proposes an improved method to track the maximum power point (MPP) of photovoltaic arrays through the combination of the linear approximation (LA) method and the perturbation-and-observation (P&O) method. The LA method rapidly takes operation point to within a range close to the actual MPP, and then the P&O method continuously tracks the exact MPP with fine perturbation steps. Therefore, the fluctuations in steady-state can be minimized. The proposed maximum power point tracking (MPPT) method has the advantages of faster tracking, fewer fluctuations, and higher accuracy over the conventional MPPT methods. The experimental results of an illustrative example are obtained to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed MPPT algorithm.
Regulation of circulating soluble leptin receptor levels by gender, adiposity, sex steroids, and leptin: observational and interventional studies in humans.

Leptin is an adipocyte-secreted hormone important in energy homeostasis and diverse physiological processes. A circulating soluble form of the leptin receptor [soluble leptin receptor (sOB-R)] is the main leptin-binding protein and determinant of free leptin index (FLI), the presumed biologically active form of leptin. We performed observational and interventional studies to elucidate the regulation of sOB-R and FLI in humans. In a cross-sectional study (n = 118), leptin, gender, and adiposity were significant determinants of sOB-R. By multivariate analysis, estradiol (E2) and testosterone predict sOB-R, whereas insulin predicts leptin and FLI. In a frequent-sampling study (n = 6), sOB-R followed a significant circadian rhythm inverse to that of leptin, suggesting that leptin's biological activity may have an even more pronounced diurnal variation than originally thought. A 72-h fast in eight men decreased leptin levels by 80% and increased lymphocyte expression of leptin receptor mRNA and serum sOB-R levels by 100%. Physiological and pharmacological doses of recombinant-methionyl human leptin (rhLeptin) administered to fasted men prevented the fasting-induced increase of sOB-R levels, and pharmacological doses resulted in a decrease in sOB-R levels. These studies provide evidence that sOB-R is regulated by gender, adiposity, hormones, and rhLeptin administration. This may have important implications for the biological activity of leptin in disease states associated with abnormal leptin levels (e.g., obesity and anorexia nervosa).
Space-efficient scheduling of parallelism with synchronization variables

Recent work on scheduling algorithms has resulted in provable bounds on the space taken by parallel computations in relation to the space taken by sequential computations. The results for online versions of these algorithms, however, have been limited to computations in which threads can only synchronize with ancestor or sibling threads. Such computations do not include Ianguages with futures or user-specified synchronize ation const mints. Here we extend the results to languages with synchronization variables. Such languages include languages with futures, such as Multilisp and Cool, as well as other languages such as ID. The main result is an ordine scheduling algorithm which, given a computation with w work (total operations), u synchronizations, a’depth (critical path) and SI sequential space, WiIl run in O(w/P + a log@i)/p + d log(pd)) time and SI + O(pd Iog(pd)) space, on a p-processor CRCW PRAM with a fetch-and-add primitive. This includes all time and space costs for both the computation and the scheduler. The scheduler is non-preemptive in the sense that it will only move a thread if the thread suspends on a synchronization, forks a new thread, or exceeds a threshold when allocating space. For the special case where the computation is a planar graph with left-to-right synchronization edges, the scheduling algorithm can be implemented in 0( w/P+~ log p) time and SI + O(pd log p) space. These are the first nontrivial space bounds described for such languages.
Reduction of blood oxygen levels enhances postprandial cardiac hypertrophy in Burmese python (Python bivittatus)

Physiological cardiac hypertrophy is characterized by reversible enlargement of cardiomyocytes and changes in chamber architecture, which increase stroke volume and via augmented convective oxygen transport. Cardiac hypertrophy is known to occur in response to repeated elevations of O2 demand and/or reduced O2 supply in several species of vertebrate ectotherms, including postprandial Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus). Recent data suggest postprandial cardiac hypertrophy in P. bivittatus is a facultative rather than obligatory response to digestion, though the triggers of this response are unknown. Here, we hypothesized that an O2 supply–demand mismatch stimulates postprandial cardiac enlargement in Burmese pythons. To test this hypothesis, we rendered animals anemic prior to feeding, essentially halving blood oxygen content during the postprandial period. Fed anemic animals had heart rates 126% higher than those of fasted controls, which, coupled with a 71% increase in mean arterial pressure, suggests fed anemic animals were experiencing significantly elevated cardiac work. We found significant cardiac hypertrophy in fed anemic animals, which exhibited ventricles 39% larger than those of fasted controls and 28% larger than in fed controls. These findings support our hypothesis that those animals with a greater magnitude of O2 supply–demand mismatch exhibit the largest hearts. The ‘low O2 signal’ stimulating postprandial cardiac hypertrophy is likely mediated by elevated ventricular wall stress associated with postprandial hemodynamics.
Diagnostic Ionizing Radiation Exposure in a Population-Based Cohort of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

OBJECTIVE:For diagnosis, assessing disease activity, complications and extraintestinal manifestations, and monitoring response to therapy, patients with inflammatory bowel disease undergo many radiological studies employing ionizing radiation. However, the extent of radiation exposure in these patients is unknown.METHODS:A population-based inception cohort of 215 patients with inflammatory bowel disease from Olmsted County, Minnesota, diagnosed between 1990 and 2001, was identified. The total effective dose of diagnostic ionizing radiation was estimated for each patient. Linear regression was used to assess the median total effective dose since symptom onset.RESULTS:The number of patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis was 103 and 112, with a mean age at diagnosis of 38.6 and 39.4 yr, respectively. Mean follow-up was 8.9 yr for Crohn's disease and 9.0 yr for ulcerative colitis. Median total effective dose for Crohn's disease was 26.6 millisieverts (mSv) (range, 0–279) versus 10.5 mSv (range, 0–251) for ulcerative colitis (P < 0.001). Computed tomography accounted for 51% and 40% of total effective dose, respectively. Patients with Crohn's disease had 2.46 times higher total effective dose than ulcerative colitis patients (P= 0.001), adjusting for duration of disease.CONCLUSIONS:Annualizing our data, the radiation exposure in the inflammatory bowel disease population was equivalent to the average annual background radiation dose from naturally occurring sources in the U.S. (3.0 mSv). However, a subset of patients had substantially higher doses. The development of imaging management guidelines to minimize radiation dose, dose-reduction techniques in computed tomography, and faster, more robust magnetic resonance techniques are warranted.
Combining Unsupervised and Supervised Alignments for MT: An Empirical Study

Word alignment plays a central role in statistical MT (SMT) since almost all SMT systems extract translation rules from word aligned parallel training data. While most SMT systems use unsupervised algorithms (e.g. GIZA++) for training word alignment, supervised methods, which exploit a small amount of human-aligned data, have become increasingly popular recently. This work empirically studies the performance of these two classes of alignment algorithms and explores strategies to combine them to improve overall system performance. We used two unsupervised aligners, GIZA++ and HMM, and one supervised aligner, ITG, in this study. To avoid language and genre specific conclusions, we ran experiments on test sets consisting of two language pairs (Chinese-to-English and Arabic-to-English) and two genres (newswire and weblog). Results show that the two classes of algorithms achieve the same level of MT performance. Modest improvements were achieved by taking the union of the translation grammars extracted from different alignments. Significant improvements (around 1.0 in BLEU) were achieved by combining outputs of different systems trained with different alignments. The improvements are consistent across languages and genres.
ADP ribosylation factor is an essential protein in Saccharomyces cerevisiae and is encoded by two genes

ADP ribosylation factor (ARF) is a ubiquitous 21-kDa GTP-binding protein in eucaryotes. ARF was first identified in animal cells as the protein factor required for the efficient ADP-ribosylation of the mammalian G protein Gs by cholera toxin in vitro. A gene (ARF1) encoding a protein homologous to mammalian ARF was recently cloned from Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Sewell and Kahn, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 85:4620-4624, 1988). We have found a second gene encoding ARF in S. cerevisiae, ARF2. The two ARF genes are within 28 centimorgans of each other on chromosome IV, and the proteins encoded by them are 96% identical. Disruption of ARF1 causes slow growth, cold sensitivity, and sensitivity to normally sublethal concentrations of fluoride ion in the medium. Disruption of ARF2 causes no detectable phenotype. Disruption of both genes is lethal; thus, ARF is essential for mitotic growth. The ARF1 and ARF2 proteins are functionally homologous, and the phenotypic differences between mutations in the two genes can be accounted for by the level of expression; ARF1 produces approximately 90% of total ARF. Among revertants of the fluoride sensitivity of an arf1 null mutation were ARF1-ARF2 fusion genes created by a gene conversion event in which the deleted ARF1 sequences were repaired by recombination with ARF2.