Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power quality improvement by means of AC/AC choppers

In this paper a solution to current unbalance is proposed. A three-phase grid feeds a single-phase load that causes current unbalance. This is a typical situation for AC railway substations. By employing AC-Choppers it is possible to obtain a variable Steinmetz Circuit, and define a control law able to compensate a variable current unbalance. At this effect, a theoretical analysis of load unbalance has been performed and a graphical analysis allows determining easily the constraint that the single-phase load has to respect. A circuit composed by interleaved AC-Choppers involves as variable impedance with good power-quality performances. A control law with a feedback action has been employed in order to have a dynamic compensation of unbalance. Numerical simulations validate the theoretical analysis.
Data stream dynamic clustering supported by Markov chain isomorphisms

Several research fields have described phenomena that produce endless sequences of samples, referred to as data streams. These phenomena are studied using data clustering models continuously obtained throughout the endless data gathering process, whose set of dynamical properties, i.e., behavior, evolves over time. In order to cope with data streams characteristics, researchers have developed clustering techniques with low time-complexity requirements. However, pre-defined and static parameters thresholds, number of clusters and learning rates commonly found in current techniques still limit the application of clustering to data streams. These limitations to adapt clustering process to behavior changes motivated this paper to propose an on-line and adaptive approach to detect changes and modify parameters. The proposed approach is based on the traditional k-means algorithm to update cluster prototypes and the statistical model of Markov chains to represent behavior. Behavior changes are detected by testing the isomorphism of Markov chains over time under the grounds of Dynamical Systems Theory. The results have confirmed the advantages of the approach when compared with current techniques.
Parenting Intervention at Age 11 and Cotinine Levels at Age 20 Among African American Youth

Participation in a family-centered parenting intervention at age 11 was associated with lower cotinine levels at age 20, with program-enhanced parenting responsible for the outcome. OBJECTIVES: This study was designed to test the hypothesis that African American preadolescents who participated in a family-centered parenting intervention at age 11 would show lower levels of cotinine, a biomarker for recent smoking, at age 20 than would similar participants in the control condition. The study was also designed to test the hypothesis that prevention-induced increases in supportive parenting would account for any prevention effects that emerged. METHODS: African American parents and their 11-year-old children in the rural southern United States were assigned randomly to the Strong African American Families program or to a control condition. Parents provided self-reported data on supportive parenting when the youth were 11 and 16 years of age. When the youth were 20 years of age, blood was drawn from which cotinine was assayed. RESULTS: Intervention program participants (M = 0.672, SD = 0.048) displayed significantly lower cotinine levels at age 20 years than did control participants (M = 0.824, SD = 0.059), P = . 046. Mediation analyses confirmed that increases in supportive parenting accounted for intervention effects on smoking. CONCLUSIONS: We have demonstrated in this study that a randomized trial of a prevention program designed to enhance supportive parenting reduced cotinine levels among young African American adults. The developmentally appropriate family-centered intervention buffered the risk of smoking 9 years after program participation.
Modeling CSFs of B2C E-commerce Systems Using the Enterprise Architecture Approach

This study is to investigate the Critical Success Factors (CSFs) of the Business to Customer (B2C) e-commerce system. These factors should be considered comprehensively and expanded to all parties concerned to create and provide the electronic service and ensure that the CSFs are satisfied. In order to give an organized and inclusive view of the CSFs, an enterprise architecture framework will be adopted to systemize this investigation.
Automatic Image Processing Algorithm to Detect Hard Exudates based on Mixture Models

Automatic detection of hard exudates from retinal images is clinically significant. Hard exudates are associated with diabetic retinopathy and have been found to be one of the most prevalent earliest clinical signs of retinopathy. In this study, an automatic method to detect hard exudates is proposed. The algorithm is based on mixture models to dynamically threshold the images in order to separate hard exudates from background. We prospectively assessed the algorithm performance using a database of 20 retinal images with variable color, brightness, and quality. The algorithm obtained a sensitivity of 90.23% and a predictive value of 82.5% using a lesion-based criterion. The image-based classification accuracy is also evaluated obtaining a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 90%
Unsupervised Spatial Pattern Classification of Electrical Failures in Semiconductor Manufacturing

In semiconductor manufacturing, the spatial pattern of failed devices in a wafer can give precious hints on which step of the process is responsible for the failures. In particular, the use of unsupervised learning is a promising strategy towards the development of fully automated classification tools. In the literature, Kohonen’s Self Organizing Feature Maps (SOFM) and Adaptive Resonance Theory 1 (ART1) architectures have been compared, concluding that the latter are to be preferred. However, both the simulated and the real data sets used for validation and comparison were very limited. In this paper, the use of ART1 and SOFM as wafer classifiers is re-assessed on much more extensive simulated and real data sets. We conclude that ART1 is not adequate, whereas, SOFM provide completely satisfactory results including visually effective representations of the spatial failure probabilities of the pattern classes.
GRIDLESS COMPRESSIVE SENSING Ashkan Panahi , Mats Viberg Depertement of Signals and Systems

The effect of off-grid atoms has become the prominent problem in application of the Compressed Sensing (CS) techniques to the cases where there is an underlying continuous parametrization. In this work, we develop a generalizing CS framework which shows that sampling to a finite grid is not necessary toward compressive estimation. We propose an alternative procedure over infinite dictionaries, which we show to be theoretically consistent in many cases of interest and then propose a robust implementation. We illustrate the general properties of our technique in some difficult practical instances of frequency estimation.
The Uses and Misuses of Opportunity-to-Learn Standards.

Do OTL standards have the potential for helping to solve the problem of providing equality of educational opportunity to all students, or are OTL standards simply a strategy for derailing recent efforts to move educational accountability away from its old focus on inputs and processes and toward a new focus on accountability in terms of educational outcomes? Are OTL standards simply one more strategy by professional educators to get more federal, state, and local money pumped into the K-12 education system? Will OTL standards represent another step, along with such ideas as a national curriculum and a national student
Bacterial Community Succession in Pine-Wood Decomposition

Though bacteria and fungi are common inhabitants of decaying wood, little is known about the relationship between bacterial and fungal community dynamics during natural wood decay. Based on previous studies involving inoculated wood blocks, strong fungal selection on bacteria abundance and community composition was expected to occur during natural wood decay. Here, we focused on bacterial and fungal community compositions in pine wood samples collected from dead trees in different stages of decomposition. We showed that bacterial communities undergo less drastic changes than fungal communities during wood decay. Furthermore, we found that bacterial community assembly was a stochastic process at initial stage of wood decay and became more deterministic in later stages, likely due to environmental factors. Moreover, composition of bacterial communities did not respond to the changes in the major fungal species present in the wood but rather to the stage of decay reflected by the wood density. We concluded that the shifts in the bacterial communities were a result of the changes in wood properties during decomposition and largely independent of the composition of the wood-decaying fungal communities.
One-Time-Implantable Spinal Cord Stimulation System Prototype

A prototype of a one-time-implantable spinal cord stimulation (SCS) system using wireless power and data-transmission techniques is presented in this paper. The power of the implant is induced by wireless coil coupling, and duplex amplitude-shift keying-load-shift keying wireless communication is used so that digital packets can be transmitted by the same inductive link. The proposed novel ASK demodulator attains high demodulation performance and small area without using any resistors and capacitors. The proposed SCS system utilizes many power saving schemes to reduce power dissipation (e.g., dual supply voltages on-chip, high-voltage impulse generation using small current, etc.). Meanwhile, the excess energy induced by the coils is stored in a rechargeable battery to extend the implant's operation time so that the number of battery replacement surgeries will be reduced significantly. The system-on-chip (SOC) is physically implemented on silicon and integrated in the implant as the system controller. The fabricated SOC area is 1410 × 1710 μm2. Compared with existing commercial products, the proposed SCS system attains better flexibility and longer operation time.
Finite Element (FE) Human Head Models / Literature Review

Road accidents claim thousands lives of pedestrians in the world every year, so the subject of pedestrian protection at collision of the most important topics of interest to researchers and modern car designers, so the researchers began to design friendly cars by using FE simulation to perform the tests required for this design and build models for this purpose to reduce the expenses of these tests and get results more quickly and close to reality. This research aimed at a review the types of FE head models which is considered the most vulnerable part which exposed to the fatal injury and designed by companies, universities are used in the tests required to be achieved design of the front of vehicle.
Effect of genotype and environment on branching in weedy green millet (Setaria viridis) and domesticated foxtail millet (Setaria italica) (Poaceae)

Many domesticated crops are derived from species whose life history includes weedy characteristics, such as the ability to vary branching patterns in response to environmental conditions. However, domesticated crop plants are characterized by less variable plant architecture, as well as by a general reduction in vegetative branching compared to their progenitor species. Here we examine weedy green millet and its domesticate foxtail millet that differ in the number of tillers (basal branches) and axillary branches along each tiller. Branch number in F2:3 progeny of a cross between the two species varies with genotype, planting density, and other environmental variables, with significant genotype–environment interactions (GEI). This is shown by a complex pattern of reaction norms and by variation in the pattern of significant quantitative trait loci (QTL) amongst trials. Individual and joint analyses of high and low density trials indicate that most QTL have significant GEI. Dominance and epistasis also explain some variation in branching. Likely candidate genes underlying the QTL (based on map position and phenotypic effect) include teosinte branched1 and barren stalk1. Phytochrome B, which has been found to affect response to shading in other plants, explains little or no variation. Much variation in branching is explained by QTL that do not have obvious candidate genes from maize or rice.
Coexistence improvement of wearable body area network (WBAN) in medical environment

Wireless body area network (WBAN) witness an upward interest in several domain. Mainly, the medical domain takes advantages from the health service facility, the high flexibility and the mobility. However, interferences from coexisting wireless networks may lose critical informations and greatly affect on network reliability. In this paper, we are conducting to improve coexistence between WBAN based IEEE 802.15. 4 protocol and WIFI. We adopt multi-hop routing to ensure reliability, connectivity and battery life. Then we investigate different effects of transmit power, transmission frequency and packet size on WBAN performances under heavy and real interferences circumstances. We propose a well suited model and simple adaptive algorithm which adjust dynamically its parameters with received performances indicators.
Heart rate reactivity and depression in African-American and white dementia caregivers: Reporting bias or positive coping?

Caring for a demented older relative is a chronic stressor with mental health implications, but with unclear physical health implications. Two potential explanations of positive responses to stress are compared: the faking good hypothesis and the coping style of positive reappraisal of the stressor. In this investigation, 110 white caregivers and 44 African-American caregivers are compared on cardiovascular reactivity to induced stress, self-reported depression and anxiety and on two measures of positive appraisal of stress: the motivational distortion scale from the 16PF and a measure of positive reappraisal. African-American caregivers used positive reappraisal more than whites. Both whites and African-Americans showed significant heart rate reactivity in response to mental arithmetic and to relating a caregiving story. No evidence was found for influence of motivational distortion on heart rate reactivity. Positive reappraisal and self-reported depression were positively related to heart rate reactivit.
Analysis of Nonuniform Transmission Lines With an Iterative and Adaptive Perturbation Technique

This paper presents an iterative and adaptive perturbation technique for the analysis of nonuniform transmission lines. Place-dependent variations of the per-unit-length parameters are interpreted as perturbations with respect to their average values along the line. This allows casting the governing equations for the corresponding perturbations of the voltages and currents as those of a uniform transmission line with distributed sources. Therefore, standard transmission line theory is used to calculate these perturbation terms. Specifically, perturbations of increasing order are computed iteratively starting from the solution of the unperturbed line. The accuracy is adaptively adjusted by setting a threshold on the convergence of the solution. The algorithm turns out to be simple to implement and very accurate, yet faster than traditional approaches based on the discretization of the line into uniform sections. The technique is validated through the analysis of several nonuniform transmission line structures of relevance in EMC applications, namely uniformly and nonuniformly twisted wire pairs as well as a cable bundle with lacing cords.
Hyperfine Structure and Isotope Shifts in Dy II

Using fast-ion-beam laser-fluorescence spectroscopy (FIBLAS), we have measured the hyperfine structure (hfs) of 14 levels and an additional four transitions in Dy II and the isotope shifts (IS) of 12 transitions in the wavelength range of 422–460 nm. These are the first precision measurements of this kind in Dy II. Along with hfs and IS, new undocumented transitions were discovered within 3 GHz of the targeted transitions. These atomic data are essential for astrophysical studies of chemical abundances, allowing correction for saturation and the effects of blended lines. Lanthanide abundances are important in diffusion modeling of stellar interiors, and in the mechanisms and history of nucleosynthesis in the universe. Hfs and IS also play an important role in the classification of energy levels, and provide a benchmark for theoretical atomic structure calculations.
Differences in EDNO contribution to arteriolar diameters at rest and during functional dilation in striated muscle.

This study was designed to determine the physiological role of endothelium-dependent nitric oxide (EDNO) in the control of arteriolar diameter during rest and muscle stimulation. Diameters of first-, second-, and third-order arterioles in the superfused hamster cremaster muscle were measured before and throughout 1 min of field stimulation before and after inhibition of EDNO release. ENDO inhibition by intravenous N omega-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME) significantly attenuated the arteriolar vasodilation in response to 1 microM acetylcholine. First-order arterioles averaged 65 +/- 5 microns at rest and dilated to 86 +/- 6 microns during muscle stimulation (n = 9), second-order arterioles averaged 45 +/- 6 microns and dilated to 72 +/- 3 microns during muscle stimulation (n = 6), with third-order arterioles averaging 29 +/- 2 microns, and dilating to 53 +/- 3 microns during muscle stimulation (n = 7). EDNO inhibition significantly decreased both the resting diameter of first-order arterioles (57 +/- 4 microns) and functional dilation (68 +/- 3 microns; P < 0.05). EDNO inhibition had no effect on the resting diameter of second-order arterioles (45 +/- 5 microns) yet significantly attenuated the functional dilation (64 +/- 4 microns; P < 0.05). EDNO inhibition had no effect on either the resting diameter of third-order arterioles (30 +/- 2 microns) or the functional dilation (49 +/- 2 microns). (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
A simulation tool to evaluate radio resource management algorithms for enhanced UMTS

This paper presents a new system level simulator that has been developed to evaluate radio resource management (RRM) techniques in UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunication Systems) and enhanced-UMTS networks. The simulator includes new implementations for the user equipment, node B, radio network controller nodes and can evaluate parameters associated with UMTS or enhanced-UMTS performance, related to the introduction of RRM functions. The RRM functions implemented deal with admission control, packet scheduling, handover control, load control, and power control. The evaluation of RRM mechanisms is supported by the provision of appropriate radio propagation, traffic generation, and mobility models.
[Management of patients with the cardinal symptom dizziness or vertigo].

BACKGROUND Vertigo and dizziness are common symptoms leading patients to consult a physician. The nationally representative "2003 Health Survey" depicts the epidemiology of the symptoms vertigo and dizziness across all of Germany. A breakdown of the data by region is not available. METHODS Routine data of the Bavarian Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians accounting centre ("Kassenärztliche Vereinigung Bayerns", KVB) from 2008 were analysed using multilevel models to investigate individual and regional factors and the relevance of nonspecific regional heterogeneity. RESULTS Altogether, 866,086 of 9,269,729 (9.34%) inhabitants received an ambulatory diagnosis of vertigo or dizziness, including 1.77 times as many women as men. Visits to the doctor because of vertigo or dizziness increased with age. After adjustments for age and sex, a North-South divide and a higher prevalence in the urban centres were apparent within Bavaria. The majority of patients were seen by their GP and nearby doctors. This held especially true for women. Also older patients were less likely to go to specialists further afield. CONCLUSION This analysis of the KVB data of patients with vertigo or dizziness underlines the central role that is played by GPs in diagnosis and treatment. In order to correctly diagnose the underlying causes, treat patients or send them to specialists effectively, all doctors need to be trained about this relevant clinical symptom. The insufficient representation of clinically established vertigo disorders by the ICD-10 was problematic. The most frequently coded diagnosis was N95.1 "postmenopausal dizziness".
I2AM: a Semi-Automatic System for Data Interpretation in Petroleum Geology

The natural complexities of petroleum reservoir systems continue to provide a challenge to geoscientists. In petroleum geology, exploration and production wells are often analysed using image logs and the use of all the available borehole data to completely characterize the reservoir potentials and performance is an important task. The development of reliable interpretation methods is of prime importance regarding the reservoir understanding and data integration is a crucial step in order to create useful description models and to reduce the amount of time necessary for each study. Artificial intelligence, data mining techniques and statistical methods are widely used in reservoir modelling, for instance in prediction of sedimentary facies. The aim of our work was to define and implement a suite of tools for interpretation of image logs and large datasets of subsurface data coming from geological exploration. This led to the development of IAM (Intelligent Image Analysis and Mapping), a semi-automatic system that exploits image processing algorithms and artificial intelligence techniques to analyse and classify borehole data. More in detail, the objectives of the IAM approach are: (1) to automatically extract rock properties information from all the different types of data recorded/measured in the wells, and visual features from image logs in particular; (2) to identify clusters along the wells that have similar characteristics; (3) to predict class distribution over new wells in the same area. The main benefits of this approach are the ability to manage and use a large amount of subsurface data simultaneously. Moreover, the automatic identification of similar portions of wells by hierarchical clustering saves a lot of time for the geologist (since he analyses only the previously identified clusters). The interpretation time reduces from days to hours and subjectivity errors are avoided. Moreover, chosen clusters are the input for supervised learning methods which learn a classification that can be applied to new wells.
Evaluation of Swabs, Transport Media, and Specimen Transport Conditions for Optimal Detection of Viruses by PCR

ABSTRACT Depletion of swabs and viral transport medium during epidemics may prompt the use of unvalidated alternatives. Swabs collected and transported dry or in saline were compared to commercially available swab/medium combinations for PCR detection of influenza, enterovirus, herpes simplex virus, and adenovirus. Each was detected at an ambient temperature (22°C) and 4°C for 7 days. Detection of influenza on dry or saline swabs is important because of its capacity to cause outbreaks involving large numbers of cases.