Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Optimal choice of DC-DC converter for enhancement of power tracking efficiency in photovoltaic system: Optimal choice of DC-DC converter for PV system

This paper analyses the performance of photovoltaic (PV) system in different climatic conditions and proposes an optimal topology to improve the tracking efficiency conditions. The maximum operating point is determined by the intersection point of its characteristic curves which is not always same due to losses in the system. DC-DC converters together with maximum power point tracking systems (MPPT) are used to avoid these losses. Different algorithms have been proposed for MPPT. The choice of the right DC-DC converter configuration has not been studied so widely. In this paper practical and theoretical analysis of Cuk converter with resistive load connected to PV modules with a modified Perturb and Observe (P&O) MPPT controller is done and influence of Cuk in the optimum performance of the PV system is proved.
Partial Logistic Artificial Neural Network for Competing Risks Regularized With Automatic Relevance Determination

Time-to-event analysis is important in a wide range of applications from clinical prognosis to risk modeling for credit scoring and insurance. In risk modeling, it is sometimes required to make a simultaneous assessment of the hazard arising from two or more mutually exclusive factors. This paper applies to an existing neural network model for competing risks (PLANNCR), a Bayesian regularization with the standard approximation of the evidence to implement automatic relevance determination (PLANNCR-ARD). The theoretical framework for the model is described and its application is illustrated with reference to local and distal recurrence of breast cancer, using the data set of Veronesi (1995).
Fault Tolerance Management in Cloud Computing: A System-Level Perspective

The increasing popularity of Cloud computing as an attractive alternative to classic information processing systems has increased the importance of its correct and continuous operation even in the presence of faulty components. In this paper, we introduce an innovative, system-level, modular perspective on creating and managing fault tolerance in Clouds. We propose a comprehensive high-level approach to shading the implementation details of the fault tolerance techniques to application developers and users by means of a dedicated service layer. In particular, the service layer allows the user to specify and apply the desired level of fault tolerance, and does not require knowledge about the fault tolerance techniques that are available in the envisioned Cloud and their implementations.
Current Methods and Future Directions Regarding Working Memory Training Research

Cognitive training is the process through which individuals perform a series of computerized tasks over a period of weeks for the purpose of improving a variety of cognitive abilities. Cognitive training is important in commercial, clinical, and educational fields alike, considering the possibilities of improving and sustaining cognitive abilities in both typically developing and cognitively deficient populations. The present review assesses cognitive training paradigms targeting working memory. Working memory is a predictor of academic achievement and is closely related to mechanisms of higher cognition. In particular, the present review focuses past studies which have investigated the effects working memory training on improved performance in fluid intelligence. At conclusion, future directions for cognitive training research are presented. METHODS AND DIRECTIONS REGARDING WM TRAINING 3 Table of
Representations of language learning : from talking about a school subject to talking about "authentic" contexts

In this article I examine how the ‘learning’ of modern languages (in this case mainly French, though also Russian) is constructed differently as, on one hand, a school subject, and, on the other hand, an integral element of interacting in ‘authentic’, or naturalistic, settings. Narrative analysis of participants’ life stories reveals how the two experiences of learning are constructed differently. Furthermore, I argue that defining authenticity only as communication in naturalistic settings can be simplistic given that authenticity denotes any experience which is motivated as genuine in a given context and valued for its own sake, including in the classroom. In the accounts discussed here, school learning is constructed as a pedagogic process dependent on being good at languages and having a good teacher whereas engaging in authentic settings is narrated as part of a wider life project of becoming cosmopolitan. The way the experience of language learning is reproduced through discourse has important implications on many levels: such an approach extends our understanding of the learning / acquisition distinction beyond blunt Krashenian terms to see that contexts of language learning are not static backdrops but are social networks which individuals reconfigure to make their own meaning. Individuals’ personal reflections on learning are shaped through narrative resources, and these can inform and enrich the types of intercultural work which encourage personal investment through links with others (such as peer correspondents) and discussion of cultural representations.
Crystal structure of the two N-terminal domains of g3p from filamentous phage fd at 1.9 A: evidence for conformational lability.

Infection of Escherichia coli by filamentous bacteriophages is mediated by the minor phage coat protein g3p and involves two distinct cellular receptors, the F' pilus and the periplasmic protein TolA. Recently we have shown that the two receptors are contacted in a sequential manner, such that binding of TolA by the N-terminal domain g3p-D1 is conditional on a primary interaction of the second g3p domain D2 with the F' pilus. In order to better understand this process, we have solved the crystal structure of the g3p-D1D2 fragment (residues 2-217) from filamentous phage fd to 1.9 A resolution and compared it to the recently published structure of the same fragment from the related Ff phage M13. While the structure of individual domains D1 and D2 of the two phages are very similar (rms<0.7 A), there is comparatively poor agreement for the overall D1D2 structure (rms>1.2 A). This is due to an apparent movement of domain D2 with respect to D1, which results in a widening of the inter-domain groove compared to the structure of the homologous M13 protein. The movement of D2 can be described as a rigid-body rotation around a hinge located at the end of a short anti-parallel beta-sheet connecting domains D1 and D2. Structural flexibility of at least parts of the D1D2 structure was also suggested by studying the thermal unfolding of g3p: the TolA binding site on D1, while fully blocked by D2 at 37 degrees C, becomes accessible after incubation at temperatures as low as 45 degrees C. Our results support a model for the early steps of phage infection whereby exposure of the coreceptor binding site on D1 is facilitated by a conformational change in the D1D2 structure, which in vivo is induced by binding to the F' pilus on the host cell and which can be mimicked in vitro by thermal unfolding.
Biocidal Activity of Three Wood Essential Oils Against Ixodes scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae), Xenopsylla cheopis (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae), and Aedes aegypti (Diptera: Culicidae)

Abstract The biocidal activity of three steam distilled wood essential oils—incense cedar, Calocedrus decurrens (Torr.) Florin; Port-Orford-cedar, Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (A. Murr.) Parl. ; and western juniper, Juniperus occidentalis (Hook)—were evaluated against adult Aedes aegypti (L.) (Diptera: Culicidae) and Xenopsylla cheopis (Rothchild) (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae) and nymphal Ixodes scapularis Say (Acari: Ixodidae). In vitro laboratory bioassays were conducted to establish baseline dose–mortality data through 24 h. Incense cedar heartwood was the most toxic to all three vector species followed in order of activity by western juniper and Port-Orford-cedar based on LC50 and LC90 values. Ae. aegypti were substantially more susceptible to the oils than either I. scapularis or X. cheopis.
Csw»0-j -iih- Working Paper Alfred P. Sloan School of Management System Dynamics: Portraying Bounded Rationality Portraying Bounded Rationality System Dynamics: Portraying Bounded Rationality

This paper examines the linkages between system dynamics and the Carnegie school in their treatment of human decision making. It is argued that the structure of system dynamics models implicitly assumes bounded rationality in decision making and that recognition of this assumption would aid system dynaraicists in model construction and in communication to other social science disciplines. The paper begins by examining Simon's "Principle of Bounded Rationality" which draws attention to the cognitive limitations on the information gathering and processing powers of human decision makers. Forrester's "Market Growth Model" is used to illustrate the central theme that system dynamics models are portrayals of bounded rationality. Close examination of the model formulation reveals decision functions involving simple rules of thumb and limited information content. In the final part of the paper there is a discussion of the implications of Carnegie philosophy for system dynamics, as it affects communication, model structuring, model analysis, and future research.
A Practical Approach to Variable Selection — A Comparison of Various Techniques

Selecting a useful list of variables for consideration in a predictive model is a critical step in the modeling process and can result in better models. Sifting through and selecting from a long list of candidate variables can be onerous and ineffective, particularly with the increasingly wide variety of external factors now available from third-party providers. This paper explores a variety of variable selection techniques, applied to frequency and severity models of homeowner insurance claims, developed on a dataset with over 350 initial candidate variables. The techniques are evaluated using multiple criteria, including the predictive power of a resulting model (measured using out-of-sample data) and ease of use. A method based on Elastic Net performs well. Random selections perform as well as some more sophisticated methods, for sufficiently long shortlists.
Valuing Cultural Diversity: the academic adjustment experiences of undergraduate Chinese international Business students at Victoria University

International students have diverse needs when undertaking education in Australian universities. It is in the interest of both international students and the host institution to ensure these students achieve success in their studies. This study builds on previous research and explores, from the students' perspective, the academic adjustment experiences of undergraduate international Business students from Chinese Confucian heritage cultural backgrounds at Victoria University, Australia. A qualitative methodology, using principles of grounded theory, was used for the study. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection. The transcribed data was analysed under focus questions and themes identified in the literature review using open and fixed grids. The dissertation documents the academic experiences of the cohort of students studied, focusing on the significant cultural factors which impinged on their adjustment; and discusses the emerging patterns, processes of the adjustment, strategies for future students to adjust well, and implications for curriculum development and delivery. The results of this study have suggested that cultural and educational backgrounds play a significant role in students' adjustment. The systematic building by academics and administrators of formal and informal mechanisms in Australian universities, which value students' cultural diversity and develop inclusive curricula, is to enrich the learning experiences of all students.
Synergistic effect of 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin on hepatic porphyrin levels in the rat.

We studied the effect of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) on hepatic porphyrin accumulation in female Sprague-Dawley rats by feeding them diets containing 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 153), 2,3,3',4,4',5-hexachlorobiphenyl (PCB 156), 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 126), or combinations of the single PCB congeners with TCDD for 13 weeks. A dose-dependent increase in hepatic porphyrin accumulation occurred after TCDD, PCB 126, or PCB 156 administration, reaching maximal levels of about twice control values. The lowest dose levels for which a significant increase in hepatic porphyrin accumulation was found were 0.7 microgram TCDD/kg diet, 50 micrograms PCB 126/kg diet, or 6 mg PCB 156/kg diet. These doses are equivalent to 47 ng TCDD/kg/day, 3.2 micrograms PCB 126/kg/day, and 365 micrograms PCB 156/kg/day. Relative potencies for hepatic porphyrin accumulation, using TCDD as a reference, ranged from 0.015 to 0.06 for PCB 126 and from 0.0001 to 0.0003 for PCB 156. CYP1A2 activities significantly correlated with hepatic porphyrin levels, with coefficients of 0.629, 0.483, or 0.808 for TCDD, PCB 126, or PCB 156, respectively. Administration of PCB 153 alone did not result in hepatic porphyrin accumulation. Co-administration of PCB 153 and TCDD revealed a strong synergistic effect on porphyrin accumulation (about 800 times control levels). This synergistic effect was significant in rats fed diets containing any combination of PCB 153 with TCDD. Uroporphyrin III and heptacarboxylic porphyrin were accumulated in porphyrinogenic livers. These results suggest that TCDD induction of CYP1A2 may be involved, leading to oxidation of uroporphyrinogen III to uroporphyrin III, in combination with an increase in delta-aminolevulinic acid synthetase induced by PCB 153. Under porphyrinogenic conditions, an inhibitor of CYP1A2 activity may also be formed. The interactive effects on porphyrin accumulation after co-administration of dioxinlike and non-dioxinlike compounds may have significant implications for the risk assessment of these chemicals. ImagesFigure 1.Figure 1.Figure 1.Figure 2.
On the small sample performance of Boosted classifiers

Boosting algorithms have been widely applied in the machine vision systems. Two fundamental issues that have to be solved in these systems are how much training data and how many Boosting rounds are needed to achieve a desired performance. We view the Boosting algorithm as a nonlinear estimation scheme that estimates a strong classifier from a given training sample set (that is generated by sampling a true unknown distribution), the weak classifiers, and the number of Boosting rounds T. The performance characterization of this estimator involves the derivation of the classification error statistics of the trained strong classifier as a function of the training set and the collection of the weak classifiers. Although the convergence and the error bounds for the training error and generalization error of the algorithms have been studied for several years, the estimated bounds are still loose bounds that are only meaningful for large training sets. With no effective tools for determining the error bounds, users are now collecting training samples with as much data as they can afford, with no good way to know if they are sufficient. In this paper, we characterize the classification error statistics of the trained strong classifier as a function of the true distributions of classes, the collection of the weak classifiers, and the size of the training set. We show that the statistics can be numerically computed and the results are more accurate than previous bounds in the literature. Theoretical results are verified through the simulations. Face detection is used as a case study to illustrate the application of the theory on real data.
The Selective SGLT2 Inhibitor Ipragliflozin Has a Therapeutic Effect on Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis in Mice

Background & Aims In recent years, nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has become a considerable healthcare burden worldwide. Pathogenesis of NASH is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and insulin resistance. However, a specific drug to treat NASH is lacking. We investigated the effect of the selective sodium glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2I) ipragliflozin on NASH in mice. Methods We used the Amylin liver NASH model (AMLN), which is a diet-induced model of NASH that results in obesity and T2DM. AMLN mice were fed an AMLN diet for 20 weeks. SGLT2I mice were fed an AMLN diet for 12 weeks and an AMLN diet with 40 mg ipragliflozin/kg for 8 weeks. Results AMLN mice showed steatosis, inflammation, and fibrosis in the liver as well as obesity and insulin resistance, features that are recognized in human NASH. Ipragliflozin improved insulin resistance and liver injury. Ipragliflozin decreased serum levels of free fatty acids, hepatic lipid content, the number of apoptotic cells, and areas of fibrosis; it also increased lipid outflow from the liver. Conclusions Ipragliflozin improved the pathogenesis of NASH by reducing insulin resistance and lipotoxicity in NASH-model mice. Our results suggest that ipragliflozin has a therapeutic effect on NASH with T2DM.
A Shift of Phloem Unloading from Symplasmic to Apoplasmic Pathway Is Involved in Developmental Onset of Ripening in Grape Berry1

It remains unclear whether the phloem unloading pathway alters to adapt to developmental transition in fleshy fruits that accumulate high level of soluble sugars. Using a combination of electron microscopy, transport of the phloem-mobile symplasmic tracer carboxyfluorescein, movement of the companion cell-expressed and the green fluorescent protein-tagged viral movement protein, and assays of the sucrose cleavage enzymes, the pathway of phloem unloading was studied in the berries of a hybrid grape (Vitis vinifera × Vitis labrusca). Structural investigations showed that the sieve element-companion cell complex is apparently symplasmically connected through plasmodesmata with surrounding parenchyma cells throughout fruit development, though a small portion of plasmodesmata are apparently blocked in the ripening stage. Both carboxyfluorescein and the green fluorescent protein-tagged viral movement protein were released from the functional phloem strands during the early and middle stages of fruit development, whereas the two symplasmic tracers were confined to the phloem strands during the late stage. This reveals a shift of phloem unloading from symplasmic to apoplasmic pathway during fruit development. The turning point of the phloem unloading pathways was further shown to be at or just before onset of ripening, an important developmental checkpoint of grape berry. In addition, the levels of both the expression and activities of cell wall acid invertase increased around the onset of ripening and reached a high level in the late stage, providing further evidence for an operation of the apoplasmic unloading pathway after onset of ripening. These data demonstrate clearly the occurrence of an adaptive shift of phloem unloading pathway to developmental transition from growing phase to ripening in grape berry.
.879-approximation algorithms for MAX CUT and MAX 2SAT

We present randomized approximation algorithms for the MAX CUT and MAX 2SAT problems that always deliver solutions of expected value at least . 87856 times the optimal value. These algorithms use a simple and elegant technique that randomly rounds the solution to a nonlinear programming relaxation. This relaxation can be interpreted both as a semidefinite program and as an eigenvalue minimization problem. We then show how to derandomize the algorithm to obtain approximation algorithms with the same performance guarantee of . 87856. The previous best-known approximation algorithms for these problems had performance guarantees of ~ for MAX CUT and ~ for MAX 2SAT. A slight extension of our analysis leads to a . 79607-approximation algorithm for the maximum directed cut problem, where a & approximation algorithm was the previous best-known algorithm. Our algorithm gives the first substantial progress in approximating MAX CUT in nearly twenty years, and, to the best of our knowledge, represents the first use of semidefinite programming in the design of approximation algorithms. *Address: Dept. of Mathematics, Room 2-372, M. I. T. , Cambridge, MA 02139. Email: goemans@nath. mit. edu. Research supported in part by NSF contract 9302476-CCR, Air Force contract F49620-92-J-0125 and DARPA contract NOOO14-92-J1799. tAddress: School of Operations Research and Industrial En~ineering, 237 ETC 13uildin~, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853. Email: dpw@cs. cornell. edu. Research supported by an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship. This research was conducted while the author was visiting MIT. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association of Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. David P. Williamson Cornell University
Force and trajectory control of industrial robots in stiff contact

Position-based force control is presented, incorporating compliance in the robot joints and possibly in a force- / torque-sensor and/or the environment. First, the total compliance is identified. Then, in the control phase, the desired pose of the tool center point is computed from the force control error. Thus standard position control may be applied. This leads to an inherently stable control scheme, even with a low sampling rate of the sensor interface and unknown environmental compliance. The method is designed for applications of industrial robots, e.g. assembly tasks. Parallel control considers the existence of a reference trajectory which allows feedforward in force controlled directions. The paper further examines couplings between forces and torques, which are important for partially constrained configurations. A possible impact force is considered when colliding with an unexpected object.
WEST NILE VIRUS ANTIBODY DECAY RATE IN FREE-RANGING BIRDS

Abstract Antibody duration, following a humoral immune response to West Nile virus (WNV) infection, is poorly understood in free-ranging avian hosts. Quantifying antibody decay rate is important for interpreting serologic results and for understanding the potential for birds to serorevert and become susceptible again. We sampled free-ranging birds in Chicago, Illinois, US, from 2005 to 2011 and Atlanta, Georgia, US, from 2010 to 2012 to examine the dynamics of antibody decay following natural WNV infection. Using serial dilutions in a blocking enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we quantified WNV antibody titer in repeated blood samples from individual birds over time. We quantified a rate of antibody decay for 23 Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) of 0.198 natural log units per month and 24 individuals of other bird species of 0.178 natural log units per month. Our results suggest that juveniles had a higher rate of antibody decay than adults, which is consistent with nonlinear antibody decay at different times postexposure. Overall, most birds had undetectable titers 2 yr postexposure. Nonuniform WNV antibody decay rates in free-ranging birds underscore the need for cautious interpretation of avian serology results in the context of arbovirus surveillance and epidemiology.