Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Generic Formation Controller and State Observer for Multiple Unmanned Systems

In this paper, we present a novel decentralized controller to drive multiple unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) into a symmetric formation of regular polygon shape surrounding a mobile target. The proposed controller works for time-varying information exchange topologies among agents and preserves a network connectivity while steering UAVs into a formation. The proposed nonlinear controller is highly generalized and offers flexibility in achieving the control objective due to the freedom of choosing controller parameters from a range of values. By the virtue of additional tuning parameters, i.e. fractional powers on proportional and derivative difference terms, the nonlinear controller procures a family of UAV trajectories satisfying the same control objective. An appropriate adjustment of the parameters facilitates in generating smooth UAV trajectories without causing abrupt position jumps. The convergence of the closed-loop system is analyzed and established using the Lyapunov approach. Simulation results validate the effectiveness of the proposed controller which outperforms an existing formation controller by driving a team of UAVs elegantly in a target-centric formation. We also present a nonlinear observer to estimate vehicle velocities with the availability of position coordinates and heading angles. Simulation results show that the proposed nonlinear observer results in quick convergence of the estimates to its true values.
Optimal control of a class of hybrid systems

We develop a modeling framework for a class of hybrid systems which arise in many manufacturing environments and study the optimal control of such models. The framework uses a queueing network to describe the movement of jobs through a manufacturing facility. As jobs wait in queues and get processed in servers, their physical characteristics change according to differential equations. The state of each job has a temporal component whose evolution is described by discrete-event queueing dynamics, and a physical component whose evolution is described by time-driven dynamics. Calculus of variations techniques are used to derive optimal policies.
Efficient and accurate query evaluation on uncertain graphs via recursive stratified sampling

In this paper, we introduce two types of query evaluation problems on uncertain graphs: expectation query evaluation and threshold query evaluation. Since these two problems are #P-complete, most previous solutions for these problems are based on naive Monte-Carlo (NMC) sampling. However, NMC typically leads to a large variance, which significantly reduces its effectiveness. To overcome this problem, we propose two classes of estimators, called class-I and class-II estimators, based on the idea of stratified sampling. More specifically, we first propose two classes of basic stratified sampling estimators, named BSS-I and BSS-II, which partition the entire population into 2r and r+1 strata by picking r edges respectively. Second, to reduce the variance, we find that both BSS-I and BSS-II can be recursively performed in each stratum. Therefore, we propose two classes of recursive stratified sampling estimators called RSS-I and RSS-II respectively. Third, for a particular kind of problem, we propose two cut-set based stratified sampling estimators, named BCSS and RCSS, to further improve the accuracy of the class-I and class-II estimators. For all the proposed estimators, we prove that they are unbiased and their variances are significantly smaller than that of NMC. Moreover, the time complexity of all the proposed estimators are the same as the time complexity of NMC under a mild assumption. In addition, we also apply the proposed estimators to influence function evaluation and expected-reliable distance query problem, which are two instances of the query evaluation problems on uncertain graphs. Finally, we conduct extensive experiments to evaluate our estimators, and the results demonstrate the efficiency, accuracy, and scalability of the proposed estimators.
Structures of Zinc Finger Domains from Transcription Factor Sp1

The carboxyl terminus of transcription factor Sp1 contains three contiguous Cys2-His2 zinc finger domains with the consensus sequence Cys-X2-4-Cys-X12-His-X3-His. We have used standard homonuclear two-dimensional NMR techniques to solve the solution structures of synthetic peptides corresponding to the last two zinc finger domains (Sp1f2 and Sp1f3, respectively) of Sp1. Our studies indicate a classical Cys2-His2 type fold for both the domains differing from each other primarily in the conformation of Cys-X2-Cys (β-type I turn) and Cys-X4-Cys (β-type II turn) elements. There are, however, no significant differences in the metal binding properties between the Cys-X4-Cys (Sp1f2) and Cys-X2-Cys (Sp1f3) subclasses of zinc fingers. The free solution structures of Sp1f2 and Sp1f3 are very similar to those of the analogous fingers of Zif268 bound to DNA. There is NMR spectral evidence suggesting that the Arg-Asp buttressing interaction observed in the Zif-268·DNA complex is also preserved in unbound Sp1f2 and Sp1f3. Modeling Sp1-DNA complex by overlaying the Sp1f2 and Sp1f3 structures on Zif268 fingers 1 and 2, respectively, predicts the role of key amino acid residues, the interference/protection data, and supports the model of Sp1-DNA interaction proposed earlier.
Exercise and dietary weight loss in overweight and obese older adults with knee osteoarthritis: the Arthritis, Diet, and Activity Promotion Trial.

OBJECTIVE The Arthritis, Diet, and Activity Promotion Trial (ADAPT) was a randomized, single-blind clinical trial lasting 18 months that was designed to determine whether long-term exercise and dietary weight loss are more effective, either separately or in combination, than usual care in improving physical function, pain, and mobility in older overweight and obese adults with knee osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS Three hundred sixteen community-dwelling overweight and obese adults ages 60 years and older, with a body mass index of > or =28 kg/m(2), knee pain, radiographic evidence of knee OA, and self-reported physical disability, were randomized into healthy lifestyle (control), diet only, exercise only, and diet plus exercise groups. The primary outcome was self-reported physical function as measured with the Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC). Secondary outcomes included weight loss, 6-minute walk distance, stair-climb time, WOMAC pain and stiffness scores, and joint space width. RESULTS Of the 316 randomized participants, 252 (80%) completed the study. Adherence was as follows: for healthy lifestyle, 73%; for diet only, 72%; for exercise only, 60%; and for diet plus exercise, 64%. In the diet plus exercise group, significant improvements in self-reported physical function (P < 0.05), 6-minute walk distance (P < 0.05), stair-climb time (P < 0.05), and knee pain (P < 0.05) relative to the healthy lifestyle group were observed. In the exercise group, a significant improvement in the 6-minute walk distance (P < 0.05) was observed. The diet-only group was not significantly different from the healthy lifestyle group for any of the functional or mobility measures. The weight-loss groups lost significantly (P < 0.05) more body weight (for diet, 4.9%; for diet plus exercise, 5.7%) than did the healthy lifestyle group (1.2%). Finally, changes in joint space width were not different between the groups. CONCLUSION The combination of modest weight loss plus moderate exercise provides better overall improvements in self-reported measures of function and pain and in performance measures of mobility in older overweight and obese adults with knee OA compared with either intervention alone.
Purification and Partial Characterization of β-Glucosidase in Chayote (Sechium edule)

β-Glucosidase (EC 3.2.1.21) is a prominent member of the GH1 family of glycoside hydrolases. The properties of this β-glucosidase appear to include resistance to temperature, urea, and iodoacetamide, and it is activated by 2-ME, similar to other members. β-Glucosidase from chayote (Sechium edule) was purified by ionic-interchange chromatography and molecular exclusion chromatography. Peptides detected by LC-ESI-MS/MS were compared with other β-glucosidases using the BLAST program. This enzyme is a 116 kDa protein composed of two sub-units of 58 kDa and shows homology with Cucumis sativus β-glucosidase (NCBI reference sequence XP_004154617.1), in which seven peptides were found with relative masses ranging from 874.3643 to 1587.8297. The stability of β-glucosidase depends on an initial concentration of 0.2 mg/mL of protein at pH 5.0 which decreases by 33% in a period of 30 h, and then stabilizes and is active for the next 5 days (pH 4.0 gives similar results). One hundred μg/mL β-d-glucose inhibited β-glucosidase activity by more than 50%. The enzyme had a Km of 4.88 mM with p-NPG and a Kcat of 10,000 min−1. The optimal conditions for the enzyme require a pH of 4.0 and a temperature of 50 °C.
The polysaccharide fucoidan inhibits microvascular thrombus formation independently from P‐ and l‐selectin function in vivo

Adhesion molecules of the selectin family (mainly P‐ and L‐selectin) have been suggested to mediate interactions between platelets, leukocytes and endothelial cells in thrombus formation. The polysaccharide fucoidan has anticoagulative properties, but is also able to bind and block the function of the selectins. Here, we investigated in vivo (i) if fucoidan can prevent microvascular thrombus formation, and (ii) whether this is potentially mediated by the inhibition of P‐and/or L‐selectin.
Neuron-Enriched Gene Expression Patterns are Regionally Anti-Correlated with Oligodendrocyte-Enriched Patterns in the Adult Mouse and Human Brain

An important goal in neuroscience is to understand gene expression patterns in the brain. The recent availability of comprehensive and detailed expression atlases for mouse and human creates opportunities to discover global patterns and perform cross-species comparisons. Recently we reported that the major source of variation in gene transcript expression in the adult normal mouse brain can be parsimoniously explained as reflecting regional variation in glia to neuron ratios, and is correlated with degree of connectivity and location in the brain along the anterior-posterior axis. Here we extend this investigation to two gene expression assays of adult normal human brains that consisted of over 300 brain region samples, and perform comparative analyses of brain-wide expression patterns to the mouse. We performed principal components analysis (PCA) on the regional gene expression of the adult human brain to identify the expression pattern that has the largest variance. As in the mouse, we observed that the first principal component is composed of two anti-correlated patterns enriched in oligodendrocyte and neuron markers respectively. However, we also observed interesting discordant patterns between the two species. For example, a few mouse neuron markers show expression patterns that are more correlated with the human oligodendrocyte-enriched pattern and vice-versa. In conclusion, our work provides insights into human brain function and evolution by probing global relationships between regional cell type marker expression patterns in the human and mouse brain.
Trishear kinematic model of fault-propagation folding and sequential development of minor structures; the Oupia Anticline (NE Pyrenees, France) case study

The Oupia anticline is a fault-propagation fold located at the northeastern tip of the Pyrenees. We show that this structure is suitably modelled using the trishear kinematic model rather than the self-similar kink-band model. In particular, the trishear model accounts well for the change in forelimb dip along strike as well as for sequential overall thickening and then thinning of the forelimb deduced from microtectonic analysis.
Diversity and End User Context in Smartphone Usage Sessions

Mobile end user context has gained increasing attention in the mobile services industry. Context information is seen as an important component in developing new, more personalized, mobile services and applications. This paper studies the effect of end user context on smart phone usage sessions. Smart phone usage sessions are used to depict user behavior and usage habits of smart phone users on a high level. We have detected end user contexts, and extracted smart phone usage session information from handset-based data of 140 smart phone users. We first examine and describe usage sessions as such, and then in different end user contexts. According to our usage session analysis, smart phone usage is highly diversified across users. For example, the average number of sessions per day ranges from 3 to 46. Characteristics of smart phone usage sessions differ in different end user contexts. For example, an average session is 37 % longer in the Home-context than in the Office-context, but Office has 56 % more sessions per time unit than Home. The results imply that mobile services and applications need to adapt to user behavior in order to be personalized enough, and that context awareness is indeed a worthwhile step towards this.
Selective Endothelin-A Receptor Antagonism Reduces Proteinuria, Blood Pressure, and Arterial Stiffness in Chronic Proteinuric Kidney Disease

Proteinuria is associated with adverse cardiovascular and renal outcomes that are not prevented by current treatments. Endothelin 1 promotes the development and progression of chronic kidney disease and associated cardiovascular disease. We, therefore, studied the effects of selective endothelin-A receptor antagonism in proteinuric chronic kidney disease patients, assessing proteinuria, blood pressure (BP), and arterial stiffness, key independent, surrogate markers of chronic kidney disease progression and cardiovascular disease risk. In a randomized, double-blind, 3-way crossover study, 27 subjects on recommended renoprotective treatment received 6 weeks of placebo, 100 mg once daily of sitaxsentan, and 30 mg once daily of nifedipine long acting. Twenty-four–hour proteinuria, protein:creatinine ratio, 24-hour ambulatory BP, and pulse wave velocity (as a measure of arterial stiffness) were measured at baseline and week 6 of each treatment. In 13 subjects, renal blood flow and glomerular filtration rate were assessed at baseline and week 6 of each period. Compared with placebo, sitaxsentan reduced 24-hour proteinuria (−0.56±0.20 g/d; P=0.0069), protein:creatinine ratio (−38±15 mg/mmol; P=0.0102), BP (−3.4±1.2 mm Hg; P=0.0069), and pulse wave velocity (−0.64±0.24 m/s; P=0.0052). Nifedipine matched the BP and pulse wave velocity reductions seen with sitaxsentan but did not reduce proteinuria. Sitaxsentan alone reduced both glomerular filtration rate and filtration fraction. It caused no clinically significant adverse effects. Endothelin-A receptor antagonism may provide additional cardiovascular and renal protection by reducing proteinuria, BP, and arterial stiffness in optimally treated chronic kidney disease subjects. The antiproteinuric effects of sitaxsentan likely relate to changes in BP and renal hemodynamics.
Nanometer‐scale characterization of microscopic pores in shale kerogen by image analysis and pore‐scale modeling

Nanometer‐scale scanning electron microscopy was applied in visualizing the microscopic pores within shale kerogen. Geometrical information of all individual pores was extracted by image analysis. Image segmentation and separation showed that most of the intrakerogen pores are discrete and isolated from each other, having relatively spherical morphology. These isolated intrakerogen pores result in huge challenges in gas production, because they are not effectively connected to natural and hydraulic fractures. Statistical results showed that nanopores, which have diameters smaller than 100 nm, make up 92.7% of the total pore number, while they make up only 4.5% of the total pore volume. Intrakerogen porosity and specific surface area are 29.9% and 14.0 m2/g, respectively. Accurate visualization and measurement of intrakerogen pores are critical for evaluation of gas storage and optimization of hydraulic fracturing. By lattice Boltzmann simulations, permeabilities and tortuosities were simulated in the three principal directions. Long tails were observed in breakthrough curves, resulting from diffusion of solute particles from low‐flow‐velocity pores to larger conduits at late times. The long‐tailing phenomena at the pore scale are qualitatively consistent with those observed in real productions. Understanding the pore‐scale transport processes between microscopic pores within kerogen and large fracture systems is of great importance in predicting hydrocarbon production. Upscaling methods are needed to investigate larger‐scale processes and properties in shale reservoirs.
A theoretical model of minor constituent distributions in the stratosphere including diurnal variations

A technique of modeling vertical distributions of various neutral minor constituents in the stratosphere is briefly discussed. A steady state solution is first calculated for the solar zenith angle x fixed at the daytime average. Effects of NOx (NO and NO2) and HOx (OH and HO2) on the ozone density have been investigated by using different rate constants for the reactions of O3 with HOx. If larger rate constants, as were observed in recent laboratory measurements, are assumed, the loss rate of [O3] by these reactions could be comparable with the loss rate by the NOx chemistry in the lower stratosphere below ∼20 km. The NO3 chemistry becomes even more important in the very low stratosphere. Possibilities of explaining the low [NO] observed in the lower stratosphere by the chemiluminescence technique have been examined. It seems to be hard to reconcile this low [NO] and the larger [NO2] observed by infrared solar spectral techniques. The diurnal variations are calculated by starting from the steady state solution. The preliminary result indicates that the steady state solution calculated for the daytime-averaged x does not represent the diurnal average for most constituents; the difference is particularly large for N2O5, whose chemical time constant is of the order of a day.
Birational transformations in 4-space and 5-space

The purpose of this paper is to describe certain Cremona transformations in 4-space and S-space, especially the former. The transformations in question are interesting on account of analogies with transformations in ordinary space, because they can be simply expressed and effectively studied by the use of equations, as well as synthetically, and because of the classic nature of the loci involved. A rational quartic curve in Si and a Veronese surface in 5B are of special importance.
Infection with Chlamydia pneumoniae but not Helicobacter pylori is related to elevated apolipoprotein B levels

Objective — Results of many studies show that apolipoprotein B (apo B) is a better marker of risk of vascular disease than other lipid markers including LDL and HDL-cholesterol and triglycerides. We investigated the association between two infectious agents: C. pneumoniae and H. pylori, known to have an atherogenic effect, and apo B, to evaluate the effects of chronic infections on apo B levels. Methods and results — The study group consisted of 257 patients in whom diagnostic coronary angiography was performed. C. pneumoniae IgG and IgM and H. pylori IgG and IgA antibodies were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and apo B levels were measured by the nephelometry method. Established risk factors of atherosclerosis were recorded.Of 257 patients recruited, 104 had normal vessels, 88 had 3 or more vessels obstructed and 65 had ectatic vessels without atherosclerosis. Mean apo B concentration was significantly higher in C. pneumoniae IgG and IgM positive healthy subjects compared with C. pneumoniae negatives (0.954 vs. 0.722 and 0.973 vs. 0.851, p < 0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively). Apo B levels were significantly higher in severe atherosclerotic patients (0.985 ± 0.234 g/l) compared with control subjects (0.892 ± 0.244 g/l) (p = 0.008), but the difference was not significant in ectatic subjects (0.946 ± 0.272 g/l) when compared with controls (p = 0.18). Apo B levels were higher but not statistically significant in H. pylori antibody positive cases when compared with negatives. Conclusions — Apo B levels increased with C. pneumoniae infection. This finding supports the hypothesis that lipid profiles change to atherogenic lipid profile in chronic infections.
A Prognostic Model of Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Based on miR-27b-3p and Node Status

Objective Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive but heterogeneous subtype of breast cancer. This study aimed to identify and validate a prognostic signature for TNBC patients to improve prognostic capability and to guide individualized treatment. Methods We retrospectively analyzed the prognostic performance of clinicopathological characteristics and miRNAs in a training set of 58 patients with invasive ductal TNBC diagnosed between 2002 and 2012. A prediction model was developed based on independent clinicopathological and miRNA covariates. The prognostic value of the model was further validated in a separate set of 41 TNBC patients diagnosed between 2007 and 2008. Results Only lymph node status was marginally significantly associated with poor prognosis of TNBC (P = 0.054), whereas other clinicopathological factors, including age, tumor size, histological grade, lymphovascular invasion, P53 status, Ki-67 index, and type of surgery, were not. The expression levels of miR-27b-3p, miR-107, and miR-103a-3p were significantly elevated in the metastatic group compared with the disease-free group (P value: 0.008, 0.005, and 0.050, respectively). The Cox proportional hazards regression analysis revealed that lymph node status and miR-27b-3p were independent predictors of poor prognosis (P value: 0.012 and 0.027, respectively). A logistic regression model was developed based on these two independent covariates, and the prognostic value of the model was subsequently confirmed in a separate validation set. The two different risk groups, which were stratified according to the model, showed significant differences in the rates of distant metastasis and breast cancer-related death not only in the training set (P value: 0.001 and 0.040, respectively) but also in the validation set (P value: 0.013 and 0.012, respectively). Conclusion This model based on miRNA and node status covariates may be used to stratify TNBC patients into different prognostic subgroups for potentially individualized therapy.
Satellite Ozone Retrieval Under Broken Cloud Conditions: An Error Analysis Based on Monte Carlo Simulations

This paper investigates the influence of horizontally inhomogeneous clouds on the accuracy of total ozone column retrievals from space. The focus here is on retrievals based on backscattered ultraviolet light measurements in Huggins bands in the range of 315-340 nm. It is found that simplifying the description of cloud properties in the ozone-retrieval algorithm studied can produce errors of up to 6%, depending on the error in the assumed cloud parameters. Yet another finding is the fact that independent pixel approximation suffices for ozone-retrieval algorithms. This was found using three-dimensional Monte Carlo radiative transfer calculations in the Huggins bands