Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fuzzy descriptor systems and nonlinear model following control

This paper defines a fuzzy descriptor system by extending the ordinary Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy model. Several kinds of stability conditions for the fuzzy descriptor system are derived and represented in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). We illustrate an example of defining the fuzzy descriptor system instead of the ordinary T-S fuzzy model. An LMI design approach is employed to find stable feedback gains and a common Lyapunov function. In addition, this paper presents a nonlinear model following control for the fuzzy descriptor system. A new parallel distributed compensation, the so-called "twin parallel distributed compensations" (TPDC) to realize the nonlinear model following control, is proposed. We present a design technique based on the TPDC. The proposed method is a unified approach to nonlinear model following control. It contains the regulation and servo control problems as special cases.
Characterization of the Binding Protein-Dependent Cellobiose and Cellotriose Transport System of the Cellulose Degrader Streptomyces reticuli

ABSTRACT Streptomyces reticuli has an inducible ATP-dependent uptake system specific for cellobiose and cellotriose. By reversed genetics a gene cluster encoding components of a binding protein-dependent cellobiose and cellotriose ABC transporter was cloned and sequenced. The deduced gene products comprise a regulatory protein (CebR), a cellobiose binding lipoprotein (CebE), two integral membrane proteins (CebF and CebG), and the NH2-terminal part of an intracellular β-glucosidase (BglC). The gene for the ATP binding protein MsiK is not linked to the ceb operon. We have shown earlier that MsiK is part of two different ABC transport systems, one for maltose and one for cellobiose and cellotriose, in S. reticuli and Streptomyces lividans. Transcription of polycistronic cebEFG and bglC mRNAs is induced by cellobiose, whereas the cebR gene is transcribed independently. Immunological experiments showed that CebE is synthesized during growth with cellobiose and that MsiK is produced in the presence of several sugars at high or moderate levels. The described ABC transporter is the first one of its kind and is the only specific cellobiose/cellotriose uptake system of S. reticuli, since insertional inactivation of the cebEgene prevents high-affinity uptake of cellobiose.
Searching for a Visible, Lazy Fugitive

Graph searching problems are described as games played on graphs, between a set of cops and a fugitive. Variants of the game restrict the abilities of the cops and the fugitive and the corresponding search numbers (the least number of cops that have a winning strategy) are related to several well-known parameters in graph theory. We study the case where the fugitive is visible (the cops' strategy can take into account his current position) and lazy (he moves only when the cops move to his position). Our results are stated and proven in a general setting where the fugitive's speed (i.e., the lengths of paths he can move along) can be unbounded or bounded by some constant. We give a min-max characterization of the corresponding parameters, which we show to be computable in polynomial time for fugitivess with unbounded speed and speed at most 3 and to be NP-complete for all other finite speeds. This is in contrast to the other standard versions of the game, where the parameters corresponding to fugitives with unbounded speed are NP-complete. Several consequences of our results are also discussed.
Edu-mining for Book Recommendation for Pupils

This paper proposes a novel method for recommending books to pupils based on a framework called Edu-mining. One of the properties of the proposed method is that it uses only loan histories (pupil ID, book ID, date of loan) whereas the conventional methods require additional information such as taste information from a great number of users which is costly to obtain. To achieve this, the proposed method solves the book recommendation problem as a problem of loan date prediction, relying solely on loan histories. Experiments show that the proposed method achieves an accuracy of 60% and outperforms the method (weighted slope open collaborative filtering) used for comparison. In addition to the performance, the proposed method has the following two advantages: (i) it is inexpensive compared to the conventional methods and (ii) reading level is adjustable.
The Krohn-Rhodes Theorem and Local Divisors

We give a new proof of the Krohn-Rhodes theorem using local divisors. The proof provides nearly as good a decomposition in terms of size as the holonomy decomposition of Eilenberg, avoids induction on the size of the state set, and works exclusively with monoids with the base case of the induction being that of a group.
Federated system-to-service authentication and authorization combining PUFs and tokens

Different application domains are challenging the still immature access control mechanisms currently used to authenticate and to authorize system-on-chip architectures to services deployed locally or in the cloud. These domains include Internet of Things, Smart Places or Industry 4.0 where different kinds of devices and objects, often poorly physically protected, low-cost and energy-constrained, interact with different kinds of services through lightweight communication protocols. These protocols usually guarantee basic data confidentiality and integrity, securing communication channels using cryptography, but there are still important challenges related to authentication and authorization. This work proposes a new system-to-service authentication and authorization mechanism based on the combination of a Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) and two tokens (one devoted to authentication and the other devoted to authorization), capable of working over HTTP or COAP relying on federated schemes and adapted to the specific requirements of this kind of environments. The new mechanism is validated and its efficiency and security are evaluated using a real healthcare case study.
Effects of an implementation intention-based intervention on fruit consumption

Implementation intentions represent a potentially powerful means to increase fruit consumption, yet no studies have demonstrated their effects in this domain. The aim of the present study was to test the effectiveness of an implementation intention intervention to increase fruit consumption and to control for some possible demand characteristics by measuring cognition and behaviour immediately following the manipulation. A total of 120 participants were recruited and randomly allocated to a questionnaire-only control condition or an implementation intention-plus-questionnaire experimental condition. Findings revealed significant increases in fruit consumption in the experimental condition, but not in the control condition, F(1, 80) = 4.47, p < 0.05, = 0.06. These effects were independent of motivation and two possible demand characteristics. The findings provide further support for Gollwitzer's model of action phases and demonstrate that successful behaviour change interventions should target both motivation and volition.
Delivery rates for preventive services in 44 midwestern clinics.

OBJECTIVE To determine the rates at which private primary-care clinics are recommending blood pressure and cholesterol measurement, smoking cessation, clinical breast examination, screening mammography, Papanicolaou testing, and influenza and pneumococcus immunizations. MATERIAL AND METHODS We conducted a mail survey of 7,997 randomly selected patients from 44 primary-care clinics in and around Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, of whom 6,830 (85.4%) completed the questionnaire on preventive services delivery rates. The responses were analyzed statistically, including stratification by reason for the clinic visit. RESULTS On the average, about two-thirds of the patients in each clinic reported being up-to-date on preventive services before their clinic visit; an exception was pneumococcus immunization (mean rate, 33%). Except for blood pressure and smoking cessation advice, less than 30% of patients who were not up-to-date on a preventive service were offered it if the clinic visit was for a reason other than a checkup or physical examination. For patients who said that they saw their physician for a checkup or physical examination, the rate was more than 50% only for Papanicolaou smear. In contrast, nearly all responding practitioners agreed that each of the eight preventive services was very important or important. CONCLUSION Preventive services consensus goals are not being met, even for patients who report that their clinic visit was for a checkup or physical examination. This finding suggests that it may be necessary to develop clinical systems that support and enable the delivery of preventive services.
A game-theoretic perspective on self-organizing optimization for cognitive small cells

In this article, we investigate self-organizing optimization for cognitive small cells (CSCs), which have the ability to sense the environment, learn from historical information, make intelligent decisions, and adjust their operational parameters. By exploring the inherent features, some fundamental challenges for self-organizing optimization in CSCs are presented and discussed. Specifically, the dense and random deployment of CSCs brings about some new challenges in terms of scalability and adaptation; furthermore, the uncertain, dynamic, and incomplete information constraints also impose some new challenges in terms of convergence and robustness. For providing better service to users and improving resource utilization, four requirements for self-organizing optimization in CSCs are presented and discussed. Following the attractive fact that the decisions in game-theoretic models are exactly coincident with those in self-organizing optimization (i.e., distributed and autonomous), we establish a framework of gametheoretic solutions for self-organizing optimization in CSCs and propose some featured game models. Specifically, their basic models are presented, some examples are discussed, and future research directions are given.
Average-case complexity versus approximate simulation of commuting quantum computations

We use the class of commuting quantum computations known as IQP (instantaneous quantum polynomial time) to strengthen the conjecture that quantum computers are hard to simulate classically. We show that, if either of two plausible average-case hardness conjectures holds, then IQP computations are hard to simulate classically up to constant additive error. One conjecture relates to the hardness of estimating the complex-temperature partition function for random instances of the Ising model; the other concerns approximating the number of zeroes of random low-degree polynomials. We observe that both conjectures can be shown to be valid in the setting of worst-case complexity. We arrive at these conjectures by deriving spin-based generalizations of the boson sampling problem that avoid the so-called permanent anticoncentration conjecture.
Role of 5-HT6 receptor in conditioned learning and memory

The recently discovered 5-HT6 receptor has generated interest due to increasing evidence for its role in feeding, obesity, anxiety, depression and cognition. Initial studies utilising selective 5-HT6 receptor antagonists found pro-cognitive effects in various cognitive paradigms. In the last three years selective 5-HT6 receptor agonists have been developed and initial reports suggested they impaired cognition as predicted, but more recent reports have found paradoxical pro-cognitive effects in learning and memory tasks. The main aim of the current thesis was to determine the role of the 5-HT6 receptor in a conditioned emotion response (CER) task in rats. Both the effects of 5-HT6 receptor antagonists and agonists given alone, and their abilities to reverse a cholinergic- or glutamatergic-induced memory impairment were analysed. Secondly, to analyse the intracellular mechanisms involved in the behavioural effects exerted following treatment with 5-HT6 receptor ligands by examining changes in hippocampal protein expression. Pre-treatment with either the muscarinic receptor antagonist, scopolamine, or the NMDA receptor antagonist, MK-801, induced memory impairment in the 24 hour retention trial. Post-training administration of 5-HT6 receptor antagonist, SB-271046, and agonists, EMD 386088 and E-6801, had little effect on CER-induced behaviour when given alone, but both reversed the cholinergic- and glutamatergic-induced deficits. Western blot analysis revealed no significant difference between hippocampal BDNF and 5-HT6 receptor protein levels following any drug or shock treatment, but some interesting trends were observed. CER slightly increased BDNF expression, this was reduced by scopolamine and MK-801 which in turn was reversed with SB-271046 and EMD 386088. CER decreased 5-HT6 receptor expression, scopolamine caused further reduction, SB-271046 and EMD 386088 increased the expression following scopolamine. MK-801 increased 5-HT6 receptor expression, whilst SB-271046 further enhanced this expression, EMD 386088 reduced it. No significant results were observed in the proteomic studies. These findings provide further evidence for the exciting potential therapeutic use of 5-HT6 receptor compounds in the treatment of cognitive dysfunction.
Performance of nasal prongs in sleep studies : spectrum of flow-related events.

OBJECTIVES The use of nasal prongs connected to a pressure transducer is a noninvasive, sensitive method to detect respiratory events, and can be easily implemented in routine sleep studies. Moreover, its good time response allows the detection of several flow-related phenomena of high interest, in addition to apnea and hypopnea. The aims of the study were to examine the quality and performance of the nasal prong flow signal, and to describe other flow-related events during full-night polysomnography studies. METHODS Twenty-seven subjects were studied (16 male subjects; mean +/- SD age, 49 +/- 14 years; mean body mass index, 27 +/- 4 kg/m(2)): 15 subjects recruited from the general population and 12 consecutive patients with suspected sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (SAHS). RESULTS A blind analysis of the respiratory events detected both by nasal prongs and thermistor was done. The quality of the nasal prong signal recordings was considered optimal for scoring purposes in 78% of cases, and no recording was considered uninterpretable. The nasal prong signal detected additional flow-related events not observed by the thermistor: (1) short and long (> 2 min) periods of inspiratory flow limitation morphology without decrease in the amplitude of the signal; (2) periods of mouth expiration; and (3) snoring. The apnea/hypopnea index was significantly higher with the nasal prong scoring (18 vs 11 [p < 0.05] in the general population and 37 vs 27 [p < 0.001] in the group with suspected SAHS). CONCLUSIONS The incorporation of nasal prongs in routine full-night studies is an attainable technical option that provides adequate recordings in most cases. Additionally, relevant information not scored by thermistors is obtained on flow-related respiratory events, thus increasing diagnostic accuracy.
Dorid Nudibranch Elaborates Its Own Chemical Defense

A biosynthetic experiment with mevalonic acid labeled with carbon-14 showed that the nudibranch Dendrodoris limbata elaborates polygodial, a sesquiterpenoid dialdehyde stored in the mantle, which constitutes its chemical defense against predators. Previously described nudibranchs drew defensive chemicals from their preys.
Improving Context-aware Applications for the Well-being Domain - Model-driven Design Guided by Medical Knowledge

Computing applications for among others well-being and health become increasingly advanced as a result of their sensor-based awareness of the context in which they are used. Context-aware applications have the potential of providing enriched services to their users, i.e. services that are appropriate for the context at hand. A challenge for the design of context-aware applications is to identify and develop service enrichments which are effective and useful while not being overly complex and costly. It is hard to imagine, both for the designer and end-user, all possible relevant contexts and best possible corresponding enriched services. An enriched service which is not appropriate for the context at hand can irritate or even harm the user, and (eventually) leads to avoiding the use of the service. This paper discusses a model-driven approach that incorporates domain knowledge concerning the causal relationship between context factors and human conditions. We believe that such an approach facilitates the identification and development of appropriate sensor-based context-aware services. We focus on context-aware applications for the well-being domain.
Teachers in North Carolina's Environmental Education Certification Program

This article describes the North Carolina Environmental Education (EE) Certification Program, which was established in 1997, and examines the certification experiences of the kindergarten through 12th grade teachers who have completed the program. Because this program is central to describing and assessing the status of K—12 environmental education in North Carolina, the authors make some policy suggestions to encourage a more focused, more intense, more aligned approach to education for the environment.
New Design of High Performance 2 : 1 Multiplexer

Recently low power circuits have become a top priority in modern VLSI design. This paper presents post layout simulations of a new improved 2:1 multiplexer design. The proposed design demonstrates its superiority against existing 2:1 multiplexer design in terms of power–delay product (PDP), temperature sustainability, noise immunity and frequency. All the post-layout simulations have been performed at 45nm technology on Tanner EDA tool version 13.0
Improvement of Modified Charcoal-Cefoperazone-Deoxycholate Agar by Supplementation with a High Concentration of Polymyxin B for Detection of Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli in Chicken Carcass Rinses

ABSTRACT Modified charcoal-cefoperazone-deoxycholate agar (mCCDA) was improved by supplementation with a high concentration of polymyxin B. The ability of the supplemented medium to isolate Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli from chicken carcass rinses was compared to that of Campy-Cefex agar and mCCDA. Modification of mCCDA with increased polymyxin B yielded a significantly (P < 0.05) higher isolation rate and greater selectivity than those achieved using Campy-Cefex agar and mCCDA.
Stereoscopic egocentric distance perception: the impact of eye height and display devices

Stereoscopic displays can simulate the perception of depth information, potentially increasing human distance perception in remote viewing scenarios such as those involved in robotic tele-operation. However, distance perception is a complex perceptual task that is not yet fully understood. Two current research issues are how different stereoscopic displays and viewing heights affect egocentric distance perception. This paper describes an experiment conducted to investigate these issues. It compared distance perception in a real environment with that in identical visual scenes observed through an HMD and 3D Stereo Display. Other parameters, notably field of view, were tightly controlled. Motivated by fact that many tele-operation scenarios involve near ground viewing positions (due to the fact that many robots are small), the study also explored the impact of viewing height (at 20 cm and 110 cm) on distance perception. Results indicated substantial under-estimation of distance across all conditions. Interesting, low eye-height led to a significant reduction in the level of underestimation in the HMD and 3D Stereo Display, a variation that may be due to changes in the perceived height of the horizon in the real world 20 cm viewing height condition, compared to the fixed height of the perceived horizon in the videos shown on the HMD and 3D Stereo Display.
Outbreak of hepatitis B virus in recent arrivals to the Brazilian Amazon

An outbreak of acute hepatitis cases in a small community took place 6 months after the community's arrival to the Brazilian Amazon. An epidemiological investigation was performed and included residents aged more than two years. Study subjects were interviewed and bled to test for hepatitis markers by enzyme immunoassays. Around 80% of the village population was surveyed. The overall prevalence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) markers was 75.1% (281/374). The surface antigen of HBV (HBsAg) and the IgM class antibody against hepatitis B core antigen (IgM anti‐HBc) were present in 10.4% and 9.6%, respectively. Evidence of HBV–HDV (Delta virus) coinfection or hepatitis C infection was not found. IgM class antibody against hepatitis A virus was uncommon (3.7%). Follow‐up evaluation 6 and 12 months later were carried out to identify new HBV infections. An incidence rate of 7.2 new infections per 100 exposed subjects per month was found. Average individual risk for HBV infection among susceptible inhabitants of the village between June 1995 and June 1996 can be estimated at 57.6%. The predominant HBsAg subtype found (ayw3) suggests that immigrants may have carried HBV from the original area. Time living in the study region was significantly associated with HBV markers in analysis for linear trend and logistic regression analysis. Environmentally related factors may have facilitated HBV transmission. J. Med. Virol. 56:4–9, 1998. © 1998 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Aldosterone and Epithelial Na Channels Aldosterone and TGF-1 synergistically increase PAI-1 and decrease matrix degradation in rat renal mesangial and fibroblast cells

Huang W, Xu C, Kahng KW, Noble NA, Border WA, Huang Y. Aldosterone and TGF1 synergistically increase PAI-1 and decrease matrix degradation in rat renal mesangial and fibroblast cells. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol 294: F1287–F1295, 2008. First published March 26, 2008; doi:10.1152/ajprenal.00017. 2008. —Aldosterone is thought to modulate renal fibrosis, in part, through increasing plasminogen activator inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1), a major inhibitor of ECM degradation. The present study investigated aldosterone effects on PAI-1 and transforming growth factor (TGF)1 and asked whether PAI-1 effects were TGFmediated and whether aldosterone and TGF1 acted synergistically to increase PAI-1 and decrease ECM degradation. Rat mesangial cells (MCs) and fibroblast cells [normal rat kidney (NRK)-49F] were used. H-labeled ECM was produced by MCs. The effect of aldosterone and TGFon ECM degradation by newly plated MCs or NRK-49F was measured by the release of H into medium. Aldosterone markedly increased PAI-1 mRNA and protein in both cell types, increases completely blocked by spironolactone and partially blocked by TGFneutralizing antibody. Adding both aldosterone and TGF1 produced PAI-1 mRNA and protein increases higher than the sum of increases seen with either compound alone. Aldosterone or TGF1 alone inhibited matrix degradation by 39 and 49% in MCs and 21 and 23% in NRK-49F, respectively. When both compounds were added, matrix degradation was further decreased by 93% in MCs and 61% in NRK-49F. The results indicate that aldosterone-induced PAI-1 increases are partially mediated by TGF1 and lead to decreased ECM degradation. While aldosterone alone induced TGF1 weakly, aldosterone and TGF1 added together produced dramatic synergistic effects on PAI-1 production and subsequent ECM accumulation. Thus the elevated aldosterone induced by renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system activation may amplify renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system profibrotic actions.