Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The development of a power flow-based controller for micro-grid systems

This paper presents the analysis, development, and implementation of a new controller for micro-grid systems. The developed controller is structured to produce command values for the active and reactive powers (P<sub>C</sub> and Q<sub>C</sub>), and d-q-axis voltage components (v<sub>dC</sub> and v<sub>qC</sub>) for each bus in the micro-grid system at hand. Values for P<sub>C</sub>, Q<sub>C</sub>, v<sub>dC</sub>, and v<sub>qC</sub> are obtained using a power flow formulated in the d-q-axis frame. The d-q-axis power flow (DQPF) produces values for P<sub>C</sub>,Q<sub>C</sub>, v<sub>dC</sub>, and v<sub>qC</sub> that can meet load demands, respond to variations in power generation within the micro-grid, and accommodate the mode of operating the micro-grid (interconnected or stand-alone), while maintaining the voltage and frequency stability. The DQPF-based controller is implemented for performance evaluation using a 5-bus micro-grid system operated under various conditions, including changes in power generation, step changes in load demands, and changes in mode of operation. Test results demonstrate that the DQPF-based controller can offer simple implementation, accurate and fast responses, and negligible sensitivity to the mode of micro-grid operation.
A novel local search based on variable-focusing for random K-SAT

We introduce a new local search algorithm for satisfiability problems. Usual approaches focus uniformly on unsatisfied clauses. The new method works by picking uniformly random variables in unsatisfied clauses. A Variable-based Focused Metropolis Search (V-FMS) is then applied to random 3-SAT. We show that it is quite comparable in performance to the clause-based FMS. Consequences for algorithmic design are discussed.
Multi-view random walk framework for search task discovery from click-through log

Search engine users often have clear search tasks hidden behind their queries. Inspired by this, the modern search engines are providing an increasing number of services to help users simplify their key tasks. However, the problem of what are the major user search tasks with high traffic for which search engines should design special services is still underexplored. In this paper, we propose a novel Multi-view Random Walk (MRW) algorithm to measure the search task oriented similarity between queries, and then group search queries with similar tasks so that the major search tasks of users can be identified from search engine click-through log. The proposed MRW, which is a general framework to combine knowledge from different views in a random walk process, allows the random surfer to walk across different views to integrate information for search task discovery. Experimental results on click-through log of a commonly used commercial search engine show that our proposed MRW algorithm can effectively discover user search tasks.
Sex-Associated Hormones and Immunity to Protozoan Parasites

SUMMARY Numerous epidemiological and clinical studies have noted differences in the incidence and severity of parasitic diseases between males and females. Although in some instances this may be due to gender-associated differences in behavior, there is overwhelming evidence that sex-associated hormones can also modulate immune responses and consequently directly influence the outcome of parasitic infection. Animal models of disease can often recreate the gender-dependent differences observed in humans, and the role of sex-associated hormones can be confirmed by experimentally altering their levels. Under normal circumstances, levels of sex hormones not only differ between males and females but vary according to age. Furthermore, not only are females of reproductive age subject to the regular hormonal cycles which control ovulation, they are also exposed to dramatically altered levels during pregnancy. It is thus not surprising that the severity of many diseases, including those caused by parasites, has been shown to be affected by one or more of these circumstances. In addition, infection with many pathogens has been shown to have an adverse influence on pregnancy. In this article we review the impact of sex-associated hormones on the immune system and the development and maintenance of immunity to the intracellular protozoan parasites Toxoplasma gondii, Plasmodium spp. , and Leishmania spp.
Functional repeat-derived RNAs often originate from retrotransposon-propagated ncRNAs

The human genome is scattered with repetitive sequences, and the ENCODE project revealed that 60–70% of the genomic DNA is transcribed into RNA. As a consequence, the human transcriptome contains a large portion of repeat‐derived RNAs (repRNAs). Here, we present a hypothesis for the evolution of novel functional repeat‐derived RNAs from non‐coding RNAs (ncRNAs) by retrotransposition. Upon amplification, the ncRNAs can diversify in sequence and subsequently evolve new activities, which can result in novel functions. Non‐coding transcripts derived from highly repetitive regions can therefore serve as a reservoir for the evolution of novel functional RNAs. We base our hypothetical model on observations reported for short interspersed nuclear elements derived from 7SL RNA and tRNAs, α satellites derived from snoRNAs and SL RNAs derived from U1 small nuclear RNA. Furthermore, we present novel putative human repeat‐derived ncRNAs obtained by the comparison of the Dfam and Rfam databases, as well as several examples in other species. We hypothesize that novel functional ncRNAs can derive also from other repetitive regions and propose Genomic SELEX as a tool for their identification. WIREs RNA 2014, 5:591–600. doi: 10.1002/wrna.1243
Correlation of significant places with self-reported state of bipolar disorder patients

Capabilities of smartphones can be utilised to monitor a range of aspects of users' behaviour. This has potential to affect a number of areas where users' behaviour is considered relevant information. Most notably, healthcare in general and mental health in particular are excellent candidates to utilise capabilities of smartphones, since mental disorders typically have a strong behaviour component. This is especially true for bipolar disorder, where mobility and activity of the patients is considered an indicator of a bipolar episode (depressive or manic). In this work we report on results of using capabilities of smartphones to monitor mobility of the patients, monitored over the period of 12 weeks. Through the continuous discovery of Wi-Fi access points we have inferred significant places (where the patient spent majority of the time) for each patient and investigate correlation of these places with patients' self-reported state. The results show that for majority of patients there exists negative correlation between time spent in clinic and their self-assessment score, while there is a positive correlation between self-assessment scores and time spent outside the home or clinic.
Surface Emissivity of Arctic Sea Ice at AMSU Window Frequencies

A method to retrieve the surface emissivity of sea ice at the window channels of the Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit (AMSU) radiometers in the polar region is presented. The instruments are on the new-generation satellites of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA-15, NOAA-16, and NOAA-17). The method assumes hypothetical surfaces with emissivities zero and one and simulates brightness temperatures at the top of the atmosphere using profiles of atmospheric parameters, e.g., from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) model runs, as input for a radiative transfer model. The retrieval of surface emissivity is done by combining simulated brightness temperatures with the satellite-measured brightness temperature. The AMSU window channels differ in surface penetration depths and, thus, in the surface microphysical parameters that they depend on. Lowest layer air temperatures from ECMWF are used to infer temperatures of emitting layers at different frequencies of sea ice. A complete yearly cycle of monthly average emissivities in two selected regions (first- and multiyear ice) is giving insight into the variation of emissivities in various development stages of sea ice.
Linear-Time Complete Positivity Detection and Decomposition of Sparse Matrices

A matrix $X$ is called completely positive if it allows a factorization $X = \sum_{b\in \mathcal{B}} bb{^\mathsf{T}}$ with nonnegative vectors $b$. These matrices are of interest in optimization, as it has been found that several combinatorial and quadratic problems can be formulated over the cone of completely positive matrices. The difficulty is that checking complete positivity is $\mathcal{NP}$-hard. Finding a factorization of a general completely positive matrix is also hard. In this paper we study complete positivity of matrices whose underlying graph possesses a specific sparsity pattern, for example, being acyclic or circular, where the underlying graph of a symmetric matrix of order $n$ is defined to be a graph with $n$ vertices and an edge between two vertices if the corresponding entry in the matrix is nonzero. The types of matrices that we analyze include tridiagonal matrices as an example. We show that in these cases checking complete positivity can be done in linear-time. A factorization of .
Development and evaluation of a digital MEMS microphone array for spatial audio

We present the design of a digital microphone array comprised of MEMS microphones and evaluate its potential for spatial audio capturing and direction-of-arrival (DOA) estimation which is an essential part of encoding the soundscape. The device is a cheaper and more compact alternative to analog microphone arrays which require external - and usually expensive - analog-to-digital converters and sound cards. However, the performance of such digital arrays for DOA estimation and spatial audio acquisition has not been investigated. In this work, the efficiency of the digital array for spatial audio is evaluated and compared to a typical analog microphone array of the same geometry. Our results indicate that our digital array achieves the same performance as its analog counterpart, thus offering a cheaper and easily deployable device, suitable for spatial audio applications.
Lung Tumor-Associated Dendritic Cell-Derived Amphiregulin Increased Cancer Progression

The interaction of cancer within a microenvironment is an important factor determining cancer development. This study analyzed the soluble factors secreted by tumor-associated dendritic cells (TADCs), which are responsible for increasing lung cancer growth, migration, invasion, and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition. Addition of amphiregulin, present in large amounts in TADC-conditioned medium (CM), mimicked the inductive effect of TADC-CM on lung cancer progression, supported by the enhancement of cell proliferation, migration, and invasion as well as osteolytic bone metastases phenotypes. In contrast, neutralization of amphiregulin from TADC-CM decreased the advanced malignancy-inductive properties of TADC-CM. Significant upregulation of amphiregulin has been seen in tumor-infiltrating CD11c+ DCs in human lung cancer samples and patients’ sera. The enhancement of amphiregulin in TADCs has also been noted in mice transplanted with lung cancer cells. Induction of lung cancer progression by TADC-derived amphiregulin is associated with increased STAT3 and AKT activation, which subsequently increases the expression of cyclin D, Twist, and Snail. Blocking AKT significantly decreases TADC-CM and amphiregulin-mediated migration by decreasing the upregulation of Snail, whereas inhibition of STAT3 reduced the modulation of TADC-derived amphiregulin on Twist and cyclin D expression, suggesting that cooperation of STAT3 and AKT plays a critical role in TADC-mediated cancer progression. Moreover, mice treated with anti-amphiregulin Abs showed decreased incidence of cancer development and increased survival rates. Our study suggests that inhibition of amphiregulin or amphiregulin-related signaling is an attractive therapeutic target in lung cancer patients.
Evaluation of effectiveness of a power-assisted wire suspension system compared to conventional machine

Our proposed power-assisted wire suspension system has three advantages. First, the structure is simple, and the cost is lower than that of other rigid systems, because the mechanism is based on an overhead crane. Second, it is easy to effect sequence control using this system because the sequence control is based on the velocity control. Finally, this system is expected to supply efficient conveyance by any operator, because operators can move heavy objects directly with two hands. In this study, we compared the effectiveness of the proposed power-assisted system that has sequence control with the conventional operation using buttons through experiments involving the measurement of the precision of the positioning and the work time needed to assemble objects.
Mayer Expansion for monomer-dimer system

Statistical mechanics is a branch of physics that applies probability theory, which contains mathematical tools for dealing with large populations, to the study of the thermodynamic behavior of systems composed of a large number of particles. A deep connection between probability theory and physics has been discovered in the research of statistical mechanics. The simplest model in statistical mechanics is the ideal gas, in which molecules have no interaction with each other. The ideal gas is the form used in physics for the Poisson firld in mathematics. Besides the concepts normally usde in this context in mathematics such as N(X) which is the random numbers of molecules in a set X, there is also a formule for the pressure p. Explicit calculation of Poisson Field derives the law for the ideal gas, for example, the Ideal Gas Law p|Λ| = T < N(X) >, where p, |Λ|, T and < N(X) > are pressure, volume, temperature and the expected value of number of molecules respectively. See [1] for more details. What if the molecules have an interaction between each other? Under this assumption, the ideal gas model is no longer correct. The Mayer expansion give a method to calculate the pressure of such system. In particular, the monomer-dimer system is a canonical ensemble that models problems involving a diatomic gas, like hydrogen or oxygen, whose molecules are composed only of two atoms. A monomer-dimer system is defined by a graph G = (E, V ) and a set of dimers (covering an edge with its two vertices) and monomers (covering one vertex) on G. The dimers and monomers have exclusion interaction and thus satisfy the condition of compatibility (which will be defined in section 2). The Mayer expansion give a expression about the pressure of the monomer-dimer system (in section 3). However, the expansion need the conditions of low density to be convergent. Our aim is to find method to extend the Mayer expansion to a larger
Analysis of Wireless CSMA/CA Network Using Single Station Superposition (SSS)

Summary In this paper we introduce an analytical model to calculate the performance of the wireless LAN MAC protocol – known as Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Avoidance (CSMA/CA) – taking into consideration the random exponential back off algorithm. The effects of changing the arrival rates and the number of users on normalized throughput and packet delay are demonstrated Furthermore, the effects of varying the back-off algorithm parameters – such as the number of retrials on a packet transmission before discarding it – on the throughput and delay are investigated.
Low-calorie cranberry juice supplementation reduces plasma oxidized LDL and cell adhesion molecule concentrations in men

Elevated circulating concentrations of oxidized LDL (OxLDL) and cell adhesion molecules are considered to be relevant markers of oxidative stress and endothelial activation which are implicated in the development of CVD. On the other hand, it has been suggested that dietary flavonoid consumption may be cardioprotective through possible favourable impacts on LDL particle oxidation and endothelial activation. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of the daily consumption of low-calorie cranberry juice cocktail on plasma OxLDL, intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and E-selectin concentrations in men. Thirty men (mean age 51 (sd 10) years) were recruited and asked to consume increasing daily doses of cranberry juice cocktail (125, 250 and 500 ml/d) over three successive periods of 4 weeks. Plasma OxLDL and adhesion molecule concentrations were measured by ELISA before and after each phase. We noted a significant decrease in plasma OxLDL concentrations following the intervention (P < 0·0001). We also found that plasma ICAM-1 (P < 0·0001) and VCAM-1 (P < 0·05) concentrations decreased significantly during the course of the study. In summary, the present results show that daily cranberry juice cocktail consumption is associated with decreases in plasma OxLDL, ICAM-1 and VCAM-1 concentrations in men.
Network Worm Containment Using Markov Chain Approach

— In recent years, computer worms have emerged as one of the most potent threat to the security of many networked computing communities. The need for more reliable and efficient systems for worm containment has continued to be on the rise. Different systems for worm containment have been developed by different authors with attending strengths and weaknesses. Vigilante is a host based Intrusion Detection System (IDS) that detect worms by instrumenting vulnerable programs to analyse infection attempts. In this work, an improved Vigilante system that generates Self-Certifying Alerts (SCAs) using Markov Chain algorithm was developed. The algorithm is formulated such that upon detection, host generates Self-Certifying Alerts, which can be verified by any vulnerable host. Hosts receiving an SCA protect themselves by generating filters that block worm attack. The developed mechanism is implemented in Windows Vista environment using Visual Basic.Net programming language. Experimental results on different worms in the selected network demonstrate the system’s ability to successfully detect and contain worms that are invoked into the network. A comparison of the results obtained with results of some other algorithms shows an overall good performance.
On the Role of Cannabinoid CB1- and μ-Opioid Receptors in Motor Impulsivity

Previous studies using a rat 5-choice serial reaction time task have established a critical role for dopamine D2 receptors in regulating increments in motor impulsivity induced by acute administration of the psychostimulant drugs amphetamine and nicotine. Here we investigated whether cannabinoid CB1 and/or μ-opioid receptors are involved in nicotine-induced impulsivity, given recent findings indicating that both receptor systems mediate amphetamine-induced motor impulsivity. Results showed that the cannabinoid CB1 receptor antagonist SR141716A, but not the opioid receptor antagonist naloxone, reduced nicotine-induced premature responding, indicating that nicotine-induced motor impulsivity is cannabinoid, but not opioid receptor-dependent. In contrast, SR141716A did not affect impulsivity following a challenge with the dopamine transporter inhibitor GBR 12909, a form of drug-induced impulsivity that was previously found to be dependent on μ-opioid receptor activation. Together, these data are consistent with the idea that the endogenous cannabinoid, dopamine, and opioid systems each play important, but distinct roles in regulating (drug-induced) motor impulsivity. The rather complex interplay between these neurotransmitter systems modulating impulsivity will be discussed in terms of the differential involvement of mesocortical and mesolimbic neurocircuitry.
Requirement Verification and Dependency Tracing During Simulation in Modelica

Requirement verification is an important part of the development process, and the increasing system complexity has exacerbated the need for integrating this step into a formalized model driven development process, providing a dedicated methodology as well as tool support. In this paper the authors propose an extension for Modelica, an equation-based language for system modeling, that will allow to represent system requirements in the same formalism as the design model, thus reducing the need for transformations between different specialized formalisms, lowering maintenance and modification costs, and benefitting from the expression and simulation capabilities, as well as extensive tool support of Modelica. The object-oriented nature of the approach provides the advantages of modular design and hierarchical structuring of the requirement model. This paper also illustrates, with the help of an example, how requirement verification can be used alongside the simulation process to trace the components responsible for requirement violations. To this end, we introduce a formalism for expressing relationships between components and requirements, as well as a tracing algorithm.
TPC-W: Benchmarking An Ecommerce Solution

How does one determine server performance and price/performance for an Internet commerce, Ecommerce, environment? The most notable benchmarks, (SPECWeb and TPC-C), have been referenced by many vendors promoting the performance of their Ecommerce servers. However these benchmarks do not come close to representing the complex environment of an Ecommerce workload. In Feb 2000, the Transaction Performance Council, TPC, introduced the TPC-W benchmark targeted at the Ecommerce environment. TPC-W specifies an Ecommerce workload that simulates customers browsing and buying products from a website. The solution for this workload is a number of servers, (Web Servers, Web Caches, Image Servers & Database Server), working in concert to provide an Ecommerce solution. It is very similar to how an actual Ecommerce site would operate. On first glance at a TPC-W publication, there is the immediate reaction to ask what is it benchmarking? Whereas previous benchmarks target one specific server, TPC-W benchmark results contain a host of servers performing different functions. However, unlike other TPC benchmarks, TPC-W requires the test sponsor to report performance data for the various servers involved. Thus by peeling back the covers of TPC-W, one can obtain information of how each of the servers perform in a complex Ecommerce environment. TPC-W’s strength is that one can determine the performance characteristics of specific Ecommerce servers in a simulated Ecommerce workload.
Design and Analysis of an Ultra-Wideband Automatic Self-Calibrating Upconverter in 65-nm CMOS

In this paper, an ultra-wideband (UWB) upconverter is proposed that has automatic self-calibrating circuits for the in-phase/quadrature mismatch correction and the local (LO) leakage suppression. The proposed self-calibrating circuits have been devised to have UWB functionality without help of the baseband processor. In addition, calibrating circuits do not need any additional analog-to-digital converter or sample-and-hold capacitors that are used to store and update the minimum power because the proposed calibrators find the solution from informations in current state. To verify the performance, the upconverter was applied to an UWB transmitter (Tx), operating from 3.1 to 4.8 GHz and from 6.3 to 9 GHz in 65-nm CMOS. The measured data shows UWB performance for the sideband rejection up to 9 GHz and the LO leakage suppression up to 5 GHz, respectively. The automatically calibrated Tx has error vector magnitude of lower than -20 dB, output 1-dB compression point of -6 dBm, LO leakage of lower than -43 dBm, and sideband suppression ratio of higher than 45 dBc with current consumption of 175 mA from a 1.2-V power supply for all supporting bands and time frequency codes defined in WiMedia UWB specifications.