Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Robust adaptive neural control for a class of perturbed strict feedback nonlinear systems

This paper presents a robust adaptive neural control approach for a class of perturbed strict feedback nonlinear with both completely unknown virtual control coefficients and unknown nonlinearities. The unknown nonlinearities comprise two types of nonlinear functions: one naturally satisfies the "triangularity condition" and can be approximated by linearly parameterized neural networks; while the other is assumed to be partially known and consists of parametric uncertainties and known "bounding functions". It has been proven that the proposed robust adaptive scheme can guarantee the uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop system signals. Simulation studies show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Focus on emotion and adult development

In this timely volume, prestigious contributors incorporate new knowledge from general psychology into a more comprehensive and accessible view of emotion in adult development and aging. The first chapter sets the stage by providing an overview of emotion across the entire life-span. Subsequent chapters examine and consider thought-provoking themes including: how feelings are used in interpersonal communication across the years of adulthood; the linkage between stressful life events and the occurrence of disease; and the changes in emotional intensity and emotional understanding as we age. This volume is essential for general psychologists, gerontologists, researchers, and geriatric practitioners desiring to better their understanding of their older patients and clients.
Magnetic Potential Green's Dyadics of Multilayered Waveguide for Spatial Power Combining Applications

Integral equation formulation and magnetic potential Green’s dyadics for multilayered rectangular waveguide are presented for modeling interacting printed antenna arrays used in waveguidebased spatial power combiners. Dyadic Green’s functions are obtained as a partial eigenfunction expansion in the form of a double series over the complete system of eigenfunctions of transverse Laplacian operator. In this expansion, one-dimensional characteristic Green’s functions along a multilayered waveguide are derived in closed form as the solution of a Sturm-Liouville boundary value problem with appropriate boundary and continuity conditions. A method introduced here is based on the transmission matrix approach, wherein the amplitude coefficients of forward and backward traveling waves in the scattered Green’s function in different dielectric layers are obtained as a product of transmission matrices of corresponding layers. Convergence of Green’s function components in the source region is illustrated for a specific example of a two-layered, terminated rectangular waveguide.
Computing Power and Sample Size for Case-Control Association Studies with Copy Number Polymorphism: Application of Mixture-Based Likelihood Ratio Test

Recent studies suggest that copy number polymorphisms (CNPs) may play an important role in disease susceptibility and onset. Currently, the detection of CNPs mainly depends on microarray technology. For case-control studies, conventionally, subjects are assigned to a specific CNP category based on the continuous quantitative measure produced by microarray experiments, and cases and controls are then compared using a chi-square test of independence. The purpose of this work is to specify the likelihood ratio test statistic (LRTS) for case-control sampling design based on the underlying continuous quantitative measurement, and to assess its power and relative efficiency (as compared to the chi-square test of independence on CNP counts). The sample size and power formulas of both methods are given. For the latter, the CNPs are classified using the Bayesian classification rule. The LRTS is more powerful than this chi-square test for the alternatives considered, especially alternatives in which the at-risk CNP categories have low frequencies. An example of the application of the LRTS is given for a comparison of CNP distributions in individuals of Caucasian or Taiwanese ethnicity, where the LRTS appears to be more powerful than the chi-square test, possibly due to misclassification of the most common CNP category into a less common category.
Karl Marx's Individualistic Conception of the Good Life

This thesis provides an interpretation and critical examination of Karl Marx’s vision of the good life, a vision that is potent but also notoriously unspecified and opaque. It makes three major interpretive claims. First, it argues that at the heart of Marx’s vision is an uncompromising commitment to ethical individualism, the view that the ultimate value and goal of human societies is the self-realisation of individuals. This individualism is explored through an examination of Marx’s critique of the division of labour (Chapter 2) and hostility to social roles (Chapter 3). Second, it argues that Marx’s ideas about the good life are not of a piece but change in crucial respects throughout his lifetime. For instance, it is argued that Marx gives different arguments in different texts as to why community is necessary for self-realisation (Chapter 3), and different arguments, too, about whether labour or leisure constitutes the true realm of self-realisation under communism (Chapter 4). Third, while Marx’s views do indeed change in crucial respects throughout his lifetime, it argues that these changes cannot be understood in terms of a break between the ‘early’ and ‘late’ Marx, as is commonly claimed. Rather, it argues that Marx oscillated between different conceptions of the good life throughout his lifetime, never fully settling on one. On top of these interpretive claims, the thesis also addresses the question of which, if any, of Marx’s visions provides the most feasible and desirable foundation for a Marxist conception of the good life today. Here, it is argued that in the concluding paragraphs of the ‘Comments on James Mill’s Elements D’economie Politique’ (hereafter the Comments) Marx puts forward a richer and more plausible conception of the good life than that which he put forward in other texts.
Narrow-wall confined slotted waveguide structural antennas for small multi-rotor UAV

In preparation for a cross-discipline study of slotted waveguide antennas to be used as the load-bearing rods connecting the motor units to the central hub of a multi-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle, past work on carbon fiber reinforced plastic slotted waveguide is reviewed, and a novel narrow wall slot design is presented. The new slot is a distorted Z-shape which fits entirely within the narrow wall, and consequently does not require cutting of the corners of the rectangular tube which would significantly weaken the structure. The Z-slot was used in a 10-slot 15dBi antenna for 10 GHz, which was shown to have comparable gain and return loss performance to a conventional narrow wall slotted waveguide antenna.
Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems: Cold Outer Disks Associated with Sun-like Stars

We present the discovery of debris systems around three Sun-like stars based on observations performed with the Spitzer Space Telescope as part of a Legacy Science Program, "The Formation and Evolution of Planetary Systems" (FEPS). We also confirm the presence of debris around two other stars. All the stars exhibit infrared emission in excess of the expected photospheres in the 70 μm band but are consistent with photospheric emission at ≤33 μm. This restricts the maximum temperature of debris in equilibrium with the stellar radiation to T < 70 K. We find that these sources are relatively old in the FEPS sample, in the age range 0.7-3 Gyr. On the basis of models of the spectral energy distributions, we suggest that these debris systems represent materials generated by collisions of planetesimal belts. We speculate on the nature of these systems through comparisons to our own Kuiper Belt, and on the possible presence of planet(s) responsible for stirring the system and ultimately releasing dust through collisions. We further report observations of a nearby star HD 13974 (d = 11 pc) that are indistinguishable from a bare photosphere at both 24 and 70 μm. The observations place strong upper limits on the presence of any cold dust in this nearby system (LIR/L⋆ < 10-5.2).
Clinical Interventions in Aging Dovepress Can Short-term Residential Care for Stroke Rehabilitation Help to Reduce the Institutionalization of Stroke Survivors?

Background: Stroke survivors may not be receiving optimal rehabilitation as a result of a shortage of hospital resources, and many of them are institutionalized. A rehabilitation program provided in a short-term residential care setting may help to fill the service gap. Objectives: The primary objectives of this study were, first, to examine whether there were significant differences in terms of rehabilitation outcomes at 1 year after admission to the rehabilitation program (defined as baseline) between those using short-term residential care (intervention group) and those using usual geriatric day hospital care (control group), and, second, to investigate whether lower 1-year institutionalization rates were observed in the intervention group than in the control group. Participants: 155 stroke survivors who completed at least the first follow-up at 4 months after baseline. Intervention: The intervention group was stroke survivors using self-financed short-term residential care for stroke rehabilitation. The control group was stroke survivors using the usual care at a public geriatric day hospital. Measurements: Assessments were conducted by trained research assistants using structured questionnaires at baseline, 4 months, and 1 year after baseline. The primary outcome measures included Modified Barthel Index score, Mini-Mental Status Examination score, and the insti-tutionalization rate. Results: Cognitive status (as measured by Mini-Mental Status Examination score) of patients in both groups could be maintained from 4 months to 1 year, whereas functional status (as measured by Modified Barthel Index score) of the patients could be further improved after 4 months up to 1 year. Meanwhile, insignificant between-group difference in rehabilitation outcomes was observed. The intervention participants had a significantly lower 1-year institutionalization rate (15.8%) than the control group (25.8%). Conclusion: Short-term residential care for stroke rehabilitation promoted improvements in rehabilitation outcomes comparable with, if not better than, the usual care at geriatric day hospital. Furthermore, it had a significantly lower 1-year institutionalization rate. This type of service could be promoted to prevent institutionalization.
Steady-state current-voltage relationship of the Na/K pump in guinea pig ventricular myocytes

Whole-cell currents were recorded in guinea pig ventricular myocytes at approximately 36 degrees C before, during, and after exposure to maximally effective concentrations of strophanthidin, a cardiotonic steroid and specific inhibitor of the Na/K pump. Wide-tipped pipettes, in combination with a device for exchanging the solution inside the pipette, afforded reasonable control of the ionic composition of the intracellular solution and of the membrane potential. Internal and external solutions were designed to minimize channel currents and Na/Ca exchange current while sustaining vigorous forward Na/K transport, monitored as strophanthidin-sensitive current. 100-ms voltage pulses from the -40 mV holding potential were used to determine steady-state levels of membrane current between -140 and +60 mV. Control experiments demonstrated that if the Na/K pump cycle were first arrested, e.g., by withdrawal of external K, or of both internal and external Na, then neither strophanthidin nor its vehicle, dimethylsulfoxide, had any discernible effect on steady-state membrane current. Further controls showed that, with the Na/K pump inhibited by strophanthidin, membrane current was insensitive to changes of external [K] between 5.4 and 0 mM and was little altered by changing the pipette [Na] from 0 to 50 mM. Strophanthidin-sensitive current therefore closely approximated Na/K pump current, and was virtually free of contamination by current components altered by the changes in extracellular [K] and intracellular [Na] expected to accompany pump inhibition. The steady- state Na/K pump current-voltage (I-V) relationship, with the pump strongly activated by 5.4 mM external K and 50 mM internal Na (and 10 mM ATP), was sigmoid in shape with a steep positive slope between about 0 and -100 mV, a less steep slope at more negative potentials, and an extremely shallow slope at positive potentials; no region of negative slope was found. That shape of I-V relationship can be generated by a two-state cycle with one pair of voltage-sensitive rate constants and one pair of voltage-insensitive rate constants: such a two-state scheme is a valid steady-state representation of a multi-state cycle that includes only a single voltage-sensitive step.
Longitudinal Assessment of Histology Surrogate Markers (FibroTest–ActiTest) During Lamivudine Therapy in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis B Infection

OBJECTIVES:The noninvasive serum markers, FibroTest–ActiTest (FT–AT), are an alternative to liver biopsy in patients with chronic hepatitis C and B. The aim was to use these markers in a prospective study of patients treated with lamivudine in order to assess the impact of treatment, as well as the factors associated with fibrosis progression.METHODS:Two hundred and ninety-eight patients were included in a prospective longitudinal study in 50 hospitals across France. FT–AT were measured at baseline, and then after 6, 12, and 24 months of lamivudine 100-mg treatment. Epidemiological, clinical, and virologic characteristics were analyzed by univariate and multivariate analysis.RESULTS:Two hundred and eighty-three patients were included for analysis. The accuracy of FT–AT versus biopsy was validated with the area under the ROC curve, 0.77 (SE = 0.03) for bridging fibrosis and 0.75 (SE = 0.06) for severe activity (A3). At baseline, bridging fibrosis (METAVIR stages F2–F3–F4) was highly associated (p < 0.001) in multivariate analysis with male gender and age and marginally associated with anti-HBe presence (p= 0.05) and non-Asian ethnic origin (p= 0.046). Lamivudine treatment had a very significant impact overall. FT decreased significantly from 0.51 at baseline to 0.37 at 24 months (p < 0.001), and 85% of patients had improvement at 24 months. AT also decreased significantly from 0.56 to 0.13 (p < 0.0001), and 91% of patients had improvement at 24 months. A three-phase kinetics was observed for both fibrosis and activity; there was a marked improvement during the first 6 months, followed by a plateau between 6 and 12 months, and another improvement between 12 and 24 months. The occurrence of a YMDD variant does not entirely explain these three-phase variations. The first phase impact on fibrosis rates was higher in Asian patients (p= 0.01) and in patients younger than 40 yr (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS:In patients with chronic hepatitis B, a 24-month course of lamivudine treatment leads to a significant decrease in necroinflammatory grades and fibrosis stages as assessed by noninvasive markers, with the occurrence of a three-phase kinetics. FT–AT should be useful in the noninvasive follow-up of lamivudine treatment.
Selecting Out: Implications of Deprivation and Need for Curriculum Planning

T he function of the public school values that the child has learned; (b) today is not only to teach children to the environment—in school and out— think; it is also to provide those basic in which the child has lived; and (c) educational experiences indispensable the personality of the child himself for social and personal fulfillment and through which he integrates his not obtainable elsewhere in the normal personal needs, social values, and his course of events. Although the humane perceptions of the environment around and human nature of such fulfillment him. Of these, the integrative mech does not change, the societal education anism is perhaps most fundamental, that the "normal course of events" provides clearly does. The Basics Institutions are born, disappear, are transformed. Among them, the insti- Baslc to a11 curriculum planning is tutionalized role of structured and the caPaclty of the child to learn planned teaching was born and has wlthm the institutional organization. been adapted from parent surrogate If he cannot' the sch°o1 must accePl or craftsman teacher. While some of the responsibility for doing what can the functions of other institutions in be done to define his failure and to
Computer vision based assessment of hand-eye coordination in young gamers: A baseline approach

Given the critical importance of hand-eye coordination among psycho-motor skills, it is desirable to diagnose related developmental delays and disorders sooner rather than later. We argue that the assessment of hand-eye coordination skills and the monitoring of their progress can be performed by using a predefined set of video games as an assessment tool. Cameras can gather information on the player's motor performance with respect to visual stimuli presented by the game. The proposed computer vision algorithm detects the arm motions triggered by the game stimuli and computes the reaction time to every stimulus. We argue that the simplicity of the proposed algorithm is one of its strengths, as the algorithm can be embedded with minimal development effort in any game console or smart display. Moreover, the proposed approach is intended to become a baseline algorithm for monitoring the motor coordination of arm movements during game play.
Playing with pedagogy : a case study of contextual teaching and learning for the natural resources classroom

approved: ______________________________________________________ Joanne F. Tynon This thesis investigates Contextual Teaching and Learning (CTL) as a method of instruction for natural resources education. The research follows the adoption of CTL in the K-12 classrooms of six teachers focusing on natural resources education at two rural schools in Western Oregon. CTL is being investigated because it connects academic material to real world scenarios. CTL approaches result in increased student retention of academic materials, and increased engagement in learning. Data was collected through teaching observations with and without a CTL approach to determine differences in teaching styles. Interviews were conducted with each teacher to determine his or her experience with the new method of instruction. All teachers were then surveyed about their perceived effectiveness of CTL approaches in the classroom and future intentions to use CTL approaches. Results discuss the experiences of teachers when using CTL. Participants acknowledged that CTL approaches are indeed effective, but that they should be paired with more traditional, lecture based styles in order to best reach all learners. Participants placed value on whether or not a teaching method engages their students. This case study adds to the body of research concerning teaching methods in natural resources education and CTL implementation.
Slew-rate effects in first order sigma-delta ADC's

This work presents the effect of slew rate on first order, switched capacitor, sigma-delta (SD) analog-to-digital converters (ADC). The slew-rate can be a significant for SD ADC's. Thus it should be related to the input signal for accurate estimation of the error produced by the slewing amplifier. In this work, the effects of the signal histogram and its frequency spectrum have been analyzed. Different cases have been presented in order to illustrate the effect. Also, a model for estimating the error caused by the slew-rate has been proposed.
A simplified theory of multiple vehicle-type macroscopic kinematic waves based on the cumulative flow

A multi-class dynamic traffic network flow model with heterogeneous vehicles is presented. Single type kinematics wave method is extended to multiple type kinematics wave method. There assume only two flow conditions on link, one is queue condition, various vehicles can not overtake, and the speeds of various type vehicles are same. The other is free flow condition; each type of vehicles can run according to the each type of free-flow velocity. This problem is partly solved in using and extending the cumulative flow model by presented by Newell (1993). The simulation results show the model can demonstrate the multiple vehicle type dynamic traffic flow on a link.
Multi-view vehicle detection and tracking in crossroads

Multi-view vehicle detection and tracking in crossroads is of fundamental importance in traffic surveillance yet still remains a very challenging task. The view changes of different vehicles and their occlusions in crossroads are two main difficulties that often fail many existing methods. To handle these difficulties, we propose a new method for multi-view vehicle detection and tracking that innovates mainly on two aspects: the two-stage view selection and the dual-layer occlusion handling. For the two-stage view selection, a Multi-Modal Particle Filter (MMPF) is proposed to track vehicles in explicit view, i.e. frontal (rear) view or side view. In the second stage, for the vehicles in inexplicit views, i.e. intermediate views between frontal and side view, spatial-temporal analysis is employed to further decide their views so as to maintain the consistence of view transition. For the dual-layer occlusion handling, a cluster based dedicated vehicle model for partial occlusion and a backward retracking procedure for full occlusion are integrated complementarily to deal with occlusion problems. The two-stage view selection is efficient for fusing multiple detectors, while the dual-layer occlusion handling improves tracking performance effectively. Extensive experiments under different weather conditions, including snowy, sunny and cloudy, demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our method.
Specifying event reference in verb learning

To identify the meaning of a verb, young language learners benefit from the linguistic context in which it appears. For example, verb argument structure (i.e., the structural relations between a verb and its arguments, and more specifically the NPs or DPs appearing with it) can be a powerful cue to meaning, even for very young children, allowing them to discern a verb’s broad semantic category (e.g., Arunachalam & Waxman, 2010; Arunachalam et al., 2013; Fisher, 1996, 2002; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 1996; Landau & Gleitman, 1988; Naigles, 1990; Naigles & Kako, 1993; Noble, Rowland, & Pine, 2011; Yuan & Fisher, 2009). In a now well-established paradigm, Naigles (1990) and Naigles & Kako (1993) presented children with novel verbs (e.g., gorp) in either a Transitive frame (e.g., John is gorping Mary), Intransitive frame (e.g., John and Mary are gorping), or a Frameless condition (Naigles & Kako only) (Look! Gorping! ), accompanied by a scene in which two event participants simultaneously interacted with each other (for example, one forces the other to bend over), and also engaged in an individual event (each makes arm gestures). During the test phase, participants were presented with a forced choice between the two previously-conflated events: a scene representing a Causative event (participant 1 forcing participant 2 to bend over) and a Synchronous event (participant and participant 2 both making arm gestures), and asked to Find gorping! These studies demonstrated that the transitive frame exerts a special influence on children’s mapping of verb form to meaning – pulling children’s attention towards a causative scene – and more generally that young children use syntactic information to constrain verb meaning. This pattern in turn reveals that young children are aware of the semantics associated with syntactic structures: specifically, that the transitive frame corresponds to a causative scene, because the noun (or DP) preceding the verb in subject position should be mapped to an agentive role (the participant performing the causative action), and the noun