Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Adaptive output feedback consensus of networked robotic manipulators with uncertain parameters and communication delays

In this paper, we address the leaderless consensus problem of multiple robotic manipulators with communication delays. Taking dynamic uncertainties of the robotic agents into consideration, we perform the distributed adaptive output feedback control scheme design for strongly connected information topology, where the communication is subject to constant and bounded time delays. The novel distributed sliding observer is first proposed such that the joint velocities can be estimated online. Then, the distributed adaptive controller with dynamic parameter updating is constructed based on the observed information. The convergence of consensus errors is proved with Lyapunov stability analysis tool. Finally, simulations are performed on networked robotic manipulators to validate the effectiveness of the theoretical approach.
Draft Genome Sequences of Three Clinical Strains of Bacillus cereus Isolated from Human Patients in Japan

Bacillus cereus is a common etiological agent of hospital-acquired infections. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of three clinical isolates of B. cereus (GTC2903, GTC2926, and ach14) isolated from three human patients in different hospitals and in different years in Japan. ABSTRACT Bacillus cereus is a common etiological agent of hospital-acquired infections. Here, we report the draft genome sequences of three clinical isolates of B. cereus (GTC2903, GTC2926, and ach14) isolated from three human patients in different hospitals and in different years in Japan.
Overload Avoidance Model using Optimal Placement of Virtual Machines in Cloud Data Cetres

Cloud data centres improve CPU utilization of their servers (physical machines or PMs) through Virtualization (virtual machines or VMs). Over virtualised and under virtualized PMs suffer performance degradation and power dissipation respectively. This work presents a stochastic modular scheme for allocating VM requests to a PM by avoiding overloading of PM and keeping the global load characteristics under specified QoS goal. The proposed approach categorizes PMs into three groups (Under Load, Normal Load, Over Load) in a way that minimizes number of PMs in Under Load and Over Load groups and maximizes number of PMs in Normal Load group. We compute VM request rejection probability, response time, service time and number of PMs that are overload or under loaded for evaluating the performance of our model. The results show that these parameters do not degrade with increasing arrival rate. Thus the proposed model is simple yet efficient approach for VM placement problem.
Unpleasant meditation-related experiences in regular meditators: Prevalence, predictors, and conceptual considerations

So far, the large and expanding body of research on meditation has mostly focussed on the putative benefits of meditation on health and well-being. However, a growing number of reports indicate that psychologically unpleasant experiences can occur in the context of meditation practice. Very little is known about the prevalence and potential causes of these experiences. The aim of this study was to report the prevalence of particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences in a large international sample of regular meditators, and to explore the association of these experiences with demographic characteristics, meditation practice, repetitive negative thinking, mindfulness, and self-compassion. Using a cross-sectional online survey, 1,232 regular meditators with at least two months of meditation experience (mean age = 44.8 years ± 13.8, 53.6% female) responded to one question about particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences. A total of 315 participants (25.6%, 95% CI: 23.1 to 28.0) reported having had particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences, which they thought may have been caused by their meditation practice. Logistic regression models indicated that unpleasant meditation-related experiences were less likely to occur in female participants and religious participants. Participants with higher levels of repetitive negative thinking, those who only engaged in deconstructive types of meditation (e.g., vipassana/insight meditation), and those who had attended a meditation retreat at any point in their life were more likely to report unpleasant meditation-related experiences. The high prevalence of particularly unpleasant meditation-related experiences reported here points to the importance of expanding the scientific conception of meditation beyond that of a (mental) health-promoting and self-regulating technique. We propose that understanding when these experiences are constitutive elements of meditative practice rather than merely negative effects could advance the field and, to that end, we conclude with an overview of methodological and conceptual considerations that could be used to inform future research.
Application of WebGIS for Government Emergency Management Based on Web Service

This paper describes the design and implementation of a Web Geographical Information System (Web-GIS) for government comprehensive emergency management, which is based on advanced technologies such as Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), Web Service etc. and show how WebGIS could be used to support decision making and manage geospatial information in emergency risk management. This system is on the basis of unified geospatial framework, taking geospatial sharing and construction as the main clue, effectively integrate fundamental geographical information, social economy and population information with thematic resource information of all industries by the way of loose coupling. The emergency management system described in this paper as a practical example of WebGIS instantiation provides a tool to access spatial-related data for management as well as communication for emergency planners. This paper mainly introduces the design of system and service framework, analysis of business process and implementation of WebGIS system.
Dynamic offloading algorithm in intermittently connected mobile cloudlet systems

The emergence of mobile cloud computing enables mobile users to dynamically offload applications to nearby mobile resource-rich devices (i.e., cloudlets) to reduce energy consumption and improve execution efficiency. However, due to mobility, the connections between a mobile user and mobile cloudlets can be intermittent. As a result, offloading actions taken by a mobile user may fail (e.g., the user moves out of transmission range of cloudlets). In this paper, we model and develop an optimal offloading algorithm for the mobile user, considering the users' local load and availability of cloudlets. We formulate and solve a Markov decision process (MDP) model to obtain an optimal policy for the mobile user with an objective to minimize the computation and offloading cost. The numerical results show that the proposed dynamic offloading algorithm outperforms conventional baseline schemes.
Mediastinal Pancreatic Pseudocysts

Mediastinal pseudocysts are a rare complication of acute pancreatitis. Lack of uniform treatment standards makes the management of this condition a clinical challenge. We report the case of a 43-year-old patient who presented with a left pleural effusion. Pleural fluid revealed a high amylase concentration consistent with a pancreaticopleural fistula. Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) revealed a disruption of the pancreatic duct with free outflow of contrast medium into the thoracic cavity. A pancreatic stent was placed. The second day after the ERCP, the patient developed septic shock and was admitted to the intensive care unit. Computed tomography (CT) revealed mediastinal pseudocysts and bilateral pleural effusions. After bilateral drainage of the pleural cavities, the patient improved clinically, and a follow-up CT scan showed that the fluid collection and pseudocysts had resolved. We discuss the optimal strategies for diagnosing and treating patients with pancreatic thoracic pseudocysts and fistulas, as well as review the management of these conditions.
Total threshold cytotoxicity of therapeutic antibodies for selective destruction of pathogenic memory T cells: implications for immunotherapy of autoimmune and allergenic disorders

ABSTRACT Introduction: Pathogenic memory CD4+ T cells are the mainspring of autoimmune and allergic disorders, suggesting that effective pathogenetic immunotherapy should be primarily directed onto their direct inactivation without affecting normal cells. Areas covered: A novel immunotherapeutic concept is proposed that applies suboptimal doses of several cytotoxic antibodies (Abs) against membrane antigens (Ags) (such as CD4, СD45RO, СD69, CD103, CD27, CD38, DR, etc.) with a view to achieve a threshold density of immune complexes on pathogenic memory CD4+ T cells for their selective elimination. During disease exacerbations, a complex Ab formulation could be applied to combine Abs against CD4, СD45RO, and СD69 to selectively destroy both activated memory CD4+ T cells located in lymphoid tissues and resident memory CD4+ T cells present in local inflammatory sites in situ. In contrast, normal T cells are spared from destruction as being recognized only by some Abs leading to Ab-Ag complexes below cytolytic threshold levels. Inactivation of pathogenic CD4+ T cells will also withdraw T helper support to pathogenic memory B cells and memory CD8+ T cells, thus effectively diminishing their activity. Expert opinion: The described approach benefits from universality and potential availability of a vast library of monoclonal Abs with relevant specificity. GraphicalAbstract
A Host Transcriptional Signature for Presymptomatic Detection of Infection in Humans Exposed to Influenza H1N1 or H3N2

There is great potential for host-based gene expression analysis to impact the early diagnosis of infectious diseases. In particular, the influenza pandemic of 2009 highlighted the challenges and limitations of traditional pathogen-based testing for suspected upper respiratory viral infection. We inoculated human volunteers with either influenza A (A/Brisbane/59/2007 (H1N1) or A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2)), and assayed the peripheral blood transcriptome every 8 hours for 7 days. Of 41 inoculated volunteers, 18 (44%) developed symptomatic infection. Using unbiased sparse latent factor regression analysis, we generated a gene signature (or factor) for symptomatic influenza capable of detecting 94% of infected cases. This gene signature is detectable as early as 29 hours post-exposure and achieves maximal accuracy on average 43 hours (p = 0.003, H1N1) and 38 hours (p-value = 0.005, H3N2) before peak clinical symptoms. In order to test the relevance of these findings in naturally acquired disease, a composite influenza A signature built from these challenge studies was applied to Emergency Department patients where it discriminates between swine-origin influenza A/H1N1 (2009) infected and non-infected individuals with 92% accuracy. The host genomic response to Influenza infection is robust and may provide the means for detection before typical clinical symptoms are apparent.
Thrombopoietin receptor agonists: ten years later

The two thrombopoietin receptor agonists (TPO-RA), eltrombopag and romiplostim, were licensed in the US for treatment of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) in 2008 and, since then, their use has progressively increased around the world; they are currently used in more than 100 countries. The six largest randomized controlled trials conducted in ITP have used one of these two agents. All studies have demonstrated a platelet response rate between 50-90%, depending on the criteria used, with good safety and tolerability. TPO-RA were shown to be effective in reducing bleeding and the need for concomitant or rescue medication. Many other investigations of their mechanism of effect, prospective and retrospective trials, and studies focusing on toxicity have been performed widening our knowledge of these two agents. Initial concerns on issues such as myelofibrosis have not been confirmed. Only a small number of patients develop moderate-severe reticulin fibrosis and/or collagen fibrosis; however, these are usually reversed after discontinuation of TPO-RA. Studies indicate, however, that TPO-RA may increase the risk of venous thromboembolism. Both TPO-RA are currently approved in patients with chronic ITP aged >1-year who are refractory to at least one other treatment. Eltrombopag has acquired two additional indications: severe aplastic anemia refractory to first-line treatment and hepatitis C patients undergoing treatment with interferon-ribavirin. Despite these wide-ranging studies, important questions still need to be answered. This summary review on TPO-RA will summarize what is known regarding efficacy in ITP, evaluate safety concerns in more depth, and focus on the questions that remain.
Hopf bifurcation of an age-structured HIV infection model with logistic target-cell growth

Abstract In this paper, we investigate an age-structured HIV infection model with logistic growth for target cell. We rewrite the model as an abstract non-densely defined Cauchy problem and obtain the condition which guarantees the existence of the unique positive steady state. By linearizing the model at steady state and analysing the associated characteristic transcendental equations, we study the local asymptotic stability of the steady state. Furthermore, by using Hopf bifurcation theorem in Liu et al., we show that Hopf bifurcation occurs at the positive steady state when bifurcating parameter crosses some critical values. Finally, we perform some numerical simulations to illustrate our results.
Exploring loneliness and connectedness amongst service users in acute adult mental health inpatient care

This thesis concerns exploring and understanding loneliness and connectedness amongst service users in acute adult mental health inpatient care, through a qualitative study using grounded theory. The empirical study used a constructivist grounded theory approach to explore the subjective experiences of loneliness and connectedness for service users both immediately before and during an admission to an acute adult mental health inpatient unit. Six service users with a diverse array of psychiatric symptoms were interviewed. Their constructions of how they experienced loneliness and social connectedness were coded with a focus upon identifying actions and processes. Three major categories emerged: (1) factors changing connectedness,(2) responses to changing connectedness and emerging processes, and (3) responding to inpatient care. The small sample size limits the generalisability of these findings. These categories may help identify valuable social processes to consider in acute care, and support further investigations in this area. A narrative literature review evaluated the state of research regarding the subjective experience of loneliness and an area relevant to acute care, the onset of psychosis. The review identified that research has begun to explore whether loneliness may directly or indirectly influence the onset of psychosis, but is currently limited both by the cross-sectional nature of studies, and a lack of understanding of how the construct of loneliness might be different for people with psychosis. A need for further research across more diverse populations is highlighted in a third paper, along with other research and clinical implications.
Magnon like solutions for strings in I-brane background

We study the solutions for fundamental string rotating in a background generated by a 1+1 dimensional intersection of two orthogonal stacks of fivebranes in type IIB string theory. We show the existence of magnon like solutions for the string moving simultaneously in the two spheres in this background and find the relevant dispersion relation among the various conserved charges.
T Cell recruitment to the heart: friendly guests or unwelcome visitors?

Myocardial inflammation can lead to lethal acute or chronic heart failure (HF). T lymphocytes (T cells), have been reported in the inflamed heart in different etiologies of HF, and more recent studies support that different T cell subsets play distinct roles in the heart depending on the inflammation triggering event. T cells follow sequential steps to extravasate into tissues, but their specific recruitment to the heart is determined by several factors. These include differences in T cell responsiveness to specific chemokines in the heart environment, as well as differences in the expression of adhesion molecules in response to distinct stimuli, which regulate T cell recruitment to the heart and have consequences in cardiac remodeling and function. This review focuses on recent advances in our understanding of the role T cells play in the heart, including its critical role for host defense to virus and myocardial healing post ischemia, and its pathogenic role in chronic ischemic and non-ischemic HF. We discuss a variety of mechanisms that contribute to the inflammatory damage to the heart, as well as regulatory mechanisms that limit the magnitude of T cell mediated inflammation. We also highlight areas in which further research is needed to understand the role T cells play in the heart and distinguish the findings reported in experimental animal models and how they may translate to clinical observations in the human heart.
Wound Complications in Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas After Anti–PD‐1 Therapy

Immune checkpoint inhibitors have demonstrated activity in recurrent/metastatic head and neck squamous cell cancer, but less is known regarding their long‐term sequelae. We describe four patients who, after complete responses to anti–PD‐1 therapy, developed complications requiring surgical intervention. Patient 1 is a 57‐year‐old female whose marked tumor regression exposed some mandibular hardware. Patient 2 is a 39‐year‐old male who developed an ulcerated buccal lesion with exposed mandible. Patient 3 is a 66‐year‐old male with craniofacial osteoradionecrosis. Patient 4 is a 71‐year‐old male who developed an exposed and fractured mandible. All patients successfully underwent surgical intervention and remain disease free. Laryngoscope, 129:E428–E433, 2019
The implications of condensed tannins on the nutritive value of temperate forages fed to ruminants

New methodology for measuring forage condensed tannin (CT) content is described and the effects of CT upon forage feeding and nutritive value for ruminant animals are reviewed. CT react with forage proteins in a pH-reversible manner, with reactivity determined by the concentration, structure and molecular mass of the CT. Increasing concentrations of CT in Lotus corniculatus and Lotus pedunculatus reduce the rates of solubilization and degradation of fraction 1 leaf protein in the rumen and increase duodenal non-NH3 N flow. Action of medium concentrations of total CT in Lotus corniculatus (30-40 g/kg DM) increased the absorption of essential amino acids from the small intestine and increased wool growth, milk secretion and reproductive rate in grazing sheep without affecting voluntary feed intake, thus improving the efficiency of food conversion. High concentrations of CT in Lotus pedunculatus (75-100 g/kg DM) depressed voluntary feed intake and rumen carbohydrate digestion and depressed rates of body and wool growth in grazing sheep. The minimum concentration of CT to prevent rumen frothy bloat in cattle is defined as 5 g/kg DM and sheep grazing CT-containing legumes were shown to better tolerate internal parasite infections than sheep grazing non CT-containing forages. It was concluded that defined concentrations of forage CT can be used to increase the efficiencies of protein digestion and animal productivity in forage-fed ruminants and to develop more ecologically sustainable systems of controlling some diseases under grazing.
Heart-like fair queuing algorithms (HLFQA)

We propose a new family of fair, work conserving traffic scheduling mechanisms that imitate the behavior of the human heart in the cardiovascular system. The algorithms have MAX (where MAX is the maximum packet size) fairness and O(log N) complexity and thus compare favorably with existing algorithms. The algorithms are simple enough to be implemented in hardware
Multiresolution Support Applied to Image Filtering and Restoration

The notion of a multiresolution support is introduced. This is a sequence of Boolean images related to significant pixels at each of a number of resolution levels. The multiresolution support is then used for noise suppression, in the context of image filtering, or iterative image restoration. Algorithmic details, and a range of practical examples, illustrate this approach.
Genetics of type 1A diabetes.

Type 1A diabetes is an autoimmune disease with genetic and environmental factors contributing to its etiology. Twin studies, family studies, and animal models have helped to elucidate the genetics of autoimmune diabetes. Most of the genetic susceptibility is accounted for by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles. The most-common susceptibility haplotypes are DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 and DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201. Less-common haplotypes such as DQA1*0401-DQB1*0402 and DQA1*0101-DQB1*0501 are associated with high risk for diabetes; however, large study populations are needed to analyze their effect. The DQA1*0102-DQB1*0602 haplotype is associated with diabetes resistance. DR molecules, such as DRB1*1401, confer protection from diabetes. Monozygotic twins of patients with type 1A diabetes have a diabetes risk higher than that for HLA-identical ordinary siblings, suggesting that non-HLA genes contribute to diabetes risk. Polymorphisms in the regulatory region of the insulin gene (designated IDDM2), polymorphisms in cytotoxic T lymphocyte antigen-4 (CTLA-4) gene (IDDM12), and other genes are likely to contribute to diabetes risk and susceptibility in some individuals. In selected families, major diabetogenes (e.g., IDDM17, autoimmune regulator gene (AIRE)) are likely to be of importance. Other factors--either noninherited genes (i.e., somatic mutations and T-cell receptor or immunoglobulin rearrangements) or environment--may have a role in progression to diabetes. This is suggested by the finding that the risk for monozygotic twins of patients with type 1A diabetes is not 100 percent. Studying the genetics of type 1A diabetes will allow us to better define this disease, to improve our ability to identify individuals at risk, and to predict the risk of associated disorders.