Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Guaranteed cost robust discrete repetitive control based on two-dimension model

For a class of discrete-time linear systems with uncertainties, a method of designing a guaranteed cost robust discrete repetitive controller based on two-dimensional model is proposed. By analyzing of the control and learning processes independently, a two-dimensional model for the discrete repetitive controller systems is established. As a result, a guaranteed cost robust repetitive control law based on linear matrix inequalities is developed for given quadratic performance function. The control and learning actions can be adjusted independently by tuning the weighting matrices in the performance function. Finally, the validity of the method is verified by a numerical example.
Efficient Heuristics for Clustering and Power Allocation in Small Cell Networks

Heterogeneous and small cell networks (HetSNets) have emerged as a promising mean to significantly improve coverage and performance of next generation cellular networks. However, the high density of base stations in such networks accentuates the harmful impact of interference on network performance. This paper considers a network of multiple small cells where the base stations seek to maximize a common objective by forming clusters and allocating power to their users. We formulate the joint clustering and power allocation problem as a mixed integer optimization problem. We show that such problems can be optimally solved only by performing an exhaustive search over all the possible clustering decisions. Furthermore, it is shown that even if the clustering is established the power allocation problem remains NP-hard. Due to the high computational complexity of the optimal solution, we propose three heuristic algorithms which perform greedy clustering and iterative power allocation. Simulations show that the proposed algorithms, and especially the neighboring links first heuristic, provide a good computational complexity/performance tradeoff.
Genistein, a Phytoestrogen, Attenuates Monocrotaline-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension

Background: Pulmonary hypertension is characterized by high pulmonary blood pressure, vascular remodeling, and right ventricular hypertrophy. Although recent studies suggest that an imbalance between endothelial mediators on pulmonary vasculature may contribute to the development of pulmonary hypertension, the pathogenesis is not fully understood and the treatment of pulmonary hypertension is still unresolved. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether genistein, a phytoestrogen derived from soybean, would prevent the development of monocrotaline (MCT)-induced pulmonary hypertension in rats. Hemodynamic parameters of catheterized rats and morphological feature of lungs were evaluated among MCT-treated rats receiving or not receiving genistein. Furthermore, examination of expression in endothelial nitric oxide synthase and endothelin-1 peptide level was performed. Methods: Daily supplementation with either genistein (0.2 mg/kg) or vehicle was started 2 days prior to a single-dose injection of MCT (60 mg/kg). On day 28, rats underwent catheterization, and right ventricular hypertrophy and morphological features were assessed. Furthermore, endothelial nitric oxide synthase and endothelin-1 were examined by Western blot analysis and radioimmunoassay, respectively, in homogenated lungs. Results: In rats that received daily supplementation of genistein, mean pulmonary arterial pressure was significantly reduced, whereas mean systemic arterial pressure and heart rate were unaltered compared with MCT control rats on day 28 after MCT injection. Right ventricular hypertrophy, medial wall thickness of pulmonary arteries corresponding to the terminal bronchioles, and the degree of neomuscularization of more distal arteries were less severe in genistein-treated rats. Genistein supplementation improved MCT-induced downregulation of expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase in the lungs. However, endothelin-1 peptide levels did not differ among all groups of lungs. Conclusions: We conclude that daily supplementation of genistein potently attenuates MCT-induced pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary vascular remodeling in rats. The underlying mechanism responsible for this effect may be partly related to the restoration of a decreased expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.
Speech activity detection using deep neural networks

In this paper, we introduce a new dataset for SAD and evaluate certain common methods such as GMM, DNN, and RNN on it. We have collected our dataset in a semi-supervised approach, using subtitled movies, with a labeling accuracy of 95%. This semi-automatic method can help us collect huge amounts of labeled audio data with very high diversity in language, speaker, and channel. We model the problem of SAD as a classification task to two classes of speech and non-speech. When using GMM for this problem, we use two separate mixtures to model speech and non-speech. In the case of neural networks, we use a softmax layer at the end of the network, with two neurons which represent speech and non-speech, and train the network using stochastic gradient descent to minimize cross-entropy loss. The input to our models is the extracted MFCC and PLP features (concatenated to each other) from audio frames. We also investigate the effect of context by taking into account past and future frames. Our results show that, adding context improves the performance both for GMMs, and DNNs. Through different experiments, we finally achieved an accuracy of 81.61% using GMMs, and 85.18% using DNNs.
The Effect of Ketosis Induced by Medium Chain Triglycerides on Intracellular pH of Mouse Brain

Ketosis was induced in mice in acute and chronic regimens with the use of medium chain triglycerides (MCT). Plasma levels of y3‐hydroxybutyrate and acetoace‐tate were measured. Intracellular pH (pHj) of brain was calculated from the distribution of 5,5‐dimethyl‐2,4‐oxazolidinedione‐,4C (DMO‐,4C). When mice fed a normal diet and starved overnight were given a large dose of MCT by stomach tube, plasma levels of the ketone bodies rose and blood pH and brain pHs fell significantly. Chronic ketosis was produced by feeding ad libitum a diet high in MCT and supplementing it with two daily intragastric doses of MCT. Although elevated levels of ketone bodies were maintained throughout the day, only for short periods after the supplemental doses of MCT were blood pH and brain pHj significantly lowered. This gives evidence, consonant with the work of others, of a compensatory mechanism opposing change of brain pHj that can in effect pump hydrogen ions out of the cell when acid has entered. It is suggested that the antiepileptic effect of ketosis may depend not so much on an actual lowering of brain pHi as on the imposition of an additional demand on the proton‐pumping mechanism maintaining pHj.
User Innovation as a Basis of Innovation Network Between Universities and Business

The paper aims at building a conceptual framework on how user innovation concept may be employed for the idea of creating innovation network between universities and business. Such innovation network would serve different purposes that are currently qualified as barriers for innovation management in business organizations as lack of easy access to lead-user innovators; difficulties in building minimal viable products; problems in validating innovation in its pre-market phase, etc. On the other hand, such innovation network would also satisfy some identified problems in innovation management education like reducing the gap between theory and business; teaching students through real live projects, etc. The approach for designing the conceptual framework steps on the user innovation theory. A literature analysis on user innovation identifies the utility of utilizing users in innovation development. Based on these, a focus group with 15 innovation managers qualitatively validates whether the identified 26 user activities in innovation development from prior researches would be beneficial if students take the role of user innovators (educated user innovators). The conceptual framework is built as a result from the respondents’ answers by designing where students may participate in innovation development as user innovators and how beneficial it is expected to be that cooperation. The assessment aims also at define the best place where the proposed activities may take place within the innovation development process. The finding of the study may play the role of a roadmap for user utilization in innovation development.
Long-term follow-up and predictors of clinical outcome in obsessive-compulsive patients treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors and behavioral therapy.

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to examine the long-term course of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in patients treated with serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SRIs) and behavioral therapy and to identify predictors of clinical outcome. METHOD Sixty outpatients meeting DSM-II-R or DSM-IV criteria for OCD were followed up for 1 to 5 years (mean = 2.5 years). All of them received prolonged pharmacologic therapy with an SRI. RESULTS Thirty-seven patients (61.7%) completed an adequate behavioral treatment. At long-term assessment, 22 patients (36.7%) exhibited a global Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS) score greater than 16 or a final reduction in Y-BOCS global score of less than 35% and were considered nonresponders. Patients who completed behavioral therapy showed a significant decrease in Y-BOCS compulsions subscale score (p = .01), whereas no significant differences in either Y-BOCS global or obsessions subscale scores between those who did and those who did not undergo behavioral therapy were detected. Obsessions of sexual/religious content were the unique factor related to a poorer long-term outcome. CONCLUSION A substantial number of OCD patients showed persistent disabling symptoms at the long-term follow-up in spite of combined pharmacologic and behavioral treatment. Major benefits from behavioral therapy appeared to be the improvement of ritualistic behaviors. Sexual/religious obsessions predicted poorer long-term outcome, whereas short-term response to SRI treatment failed to achieve predictive value in the long-term course of OCD.
Robustness to noise in gene expression evolves despite epistatic constraints in a model of gene networks

Stochastic noise in gene expression causes variation in the development of phenotypes, making such noise a potential target of stabilizing selection. Here, we develop a new simulation model of gene networks to study the adaptive landscape underlying the evolution of robustness to noise. We find that epistatic interactions between the determinants of the expression of a gene and its downstream effect impose significant constraints on evolution, but these interactions do allow the gradual evolution of increased robustness. Despite strong sign epistasis, adaptation rarely proceeds via deleterious intermediate steps, but instead occurs primarily through small beneficial mutations. A simple mathematical model captures the relevant features of the single‐gene fitness landscape and explains counterintuitive patterns, such as a correlation between the mean and standard deviation of phenotypes. In more complex networks, mutations in regulatory regions provide evolutionary pathways to increased robustness. These results chart the constraints and possibilities of adaptation to reduce expression noise and demonstrate the potential of a novel modeling framework for gene networks.
Antigen Presentation and T Cell Development in H2-M-Deficient Mice

HLA-DM (DM) facilitates peptide loading of major histocompatibility complex class II molecules in human cell lines. Mice lacking functional H2-M, the mouse equivalent of DM, have normal amounts of class II molecules at the cell surface, but most of these are associated with invariant chain-derived CLIP peptides. These mice contain large numbers of CD4+ T cells, which is indicative of positive selection in the thymus. Their CD4+ cells were unresponsive to self H2-M-deficient antigen-presenting cells (APCs) but were hyperreactive to wild-type APCs. H2-M-deficient APCs failed to elicit proliferative responses from wild-type T cells.
Pacific Asia Conference on Information Systems ( PACIS ) July 2008 THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN IS STRATEGIC PLANNING AND ENTERPRISE ARCHITECTURAL PRACTICE : CASE STUDIES IN NEW ZEALAND ENTERPRISES

Modern businesses face increased levels of competitive pressure, and the IT sector is going through a period of rapid change. The past two decades have seen a steady evolution of approaches to planning and managing IT services. Two approaches that have emerged in different eras are IS Strategic Planning (ISSP) and Enterprise Architectural Practice (EAP). Despite the apparent similarities between these two approaches, neither IS researchers, nor practitioners, have explored the relationship in any depth. This paper investigates the relationship between ISSP and EAP, utilising results from case studies conducted in New Zealand (NZ) enterprises. It concludes that there is a significant overlap between these two activities, and suggests a framework for combining them. The paper also investigates some collateral findings relating to the low incidence of IS strategic planning in small/medium enterprises (SMEs).
Mediating Land Use Disputes in the United States: Pros and Cons

Land use planning both causes and sometimes helps to resolve land use disputes. While land use planning in North America initially focused on finding the most technically efficient method of segregating land uses, its emphasis has shifted toward a concern for fairness in the allocation of public resources. This shift has led to an increased demand for stakeholder participation in decision making, thereby stimulating some conflicts but also offering a basis for the effective resolution of land use disputes. Consensus building, or mediation, as a method of resolving land use disputes offers a strategy for balancing technical considerations, broader political concerns about fairness, and conflicting stakeholder interests. Based on the results of a study of efforts to mediate land use disputes in 100 communities around the United States, this article reviews the historical context in which land use decisions have traditionally been made as well as the relevant literature produced by supporters and opponents of consensus building techniques like mediation. It is hoped that this proves instructive to those who have to make decisions about how best to handle land use disputes.
Accelerometer‐measured physical activity among older adults in urban India: Results of a study on global AGEing and adult health substudy

Accelerometry provides researchers with a powerful tool to measure physical activity in population‐based studies, yet this technology has been underutilized in cross‐cultural studies of older adults. The present study was conducted among older adults in an urban setting in India with the following three objectives: (1) to compare average activity levels obtained through different durations of monitoring (1, 3, and 7 days); (2) to document differences in physical activity patterns by sex and age; and (3) to evaluate links between measures of physical activity and anthropometrics, as well as between activity parameters and measures of household size, work status, and social cohesion.
Alternative Policy Responses to Increased Use of Formula Pricing

Abstract This article determines the potential effects of policies to address concerns about lower producer prices due to increased use of marketing agreements. Policies considered are banning alternative marketing agreements, compensating producers who sell on the cash market, and restricting the quantity of marketing agreements. We use an agent-based model in a common-value auction framework to analyze these policies. The common-value auction framework is used because it closely resembles how livestock are actually purchased. The agent-based model is used to find the common-value auction equilibrium. A ban on marketing agreements reduces social welfare and the other policy interventions have little effect on prices. Past theoretical studies predict marketing agreements will cause large reductions in prices paid to producers. Conversely, empirical studies show slight effects. This article offers an alternative theory that more closely matches livestock markets and our results reduce the gap between theoretical and empirical research. The common-value auction model predicts negative effects on producer prices close to those found in past empirical research.
Efficacy of Combined Photoablative-Photodynamic Diode Laser Therapy Adjunctive to Scaling and Root Planing in Periodontitis: Randomized Split-Mouth Trial with 4-Year Follow-Up.

OBJECTIVE We previously showed that photoablative laser therapy followed by multiple photodynamic cycles (PAPD) after scaling/root planing (SRP) improved healing of periodontitis patients as compared with conventional SRP after 1-year follow-up. This study reports the favorable results of PAPD plus SRP in patients with chronic periodontitis at a 4-year follow-up. MATERIALS AND METHODS Twenty-four patients were studied. Maxillary left or right quadrants were randomly assigned to PAPD laser treatment or sham-treatment and SRP. PAPD consisted of: (1) photoablative intra/extrapocket de-epithelization with diode laser (λ 810 nm, 1 W), and (2) photodynamic treatments (4-10 weekly) with diode laser (λ 635 nm, 100 mW) and 0.3% methylene blue as photoactive antiseptic, performed after SRP. Sham treatment was performed with switched- off laser. Probing depth (PD), clinical attachment level (CAL), and bleeding-on-probing (BOP) were evaluated. Additional disease markers, namely polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN), erythrocytes (RBC), damaged epithelial cells (DEC), and bacteria were assayed by cytofluorescence on gingival exfoliative samples. RESULTS At 4-year follow-up, PAPD plus SRP significantly improved PD, CAL, and BOP, as well as bacterial contamination and PMN-RBC shedding in the exfoliative samples, compared with sham treatment plus SRP. This effect was greater than that observed at 1-year follow-up. CONCLUSIONS PAPD plus SRP provided significant, durable improvement of chronic periodontitis over sham treatment plus SRP alone.
Urban water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa: historical and emerging policies and institutional arrangements

Abstract This article synthesizes the literature on historical and emerging institutional arrangements for urban water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa to highlight successes, drawbacks, and opportunities for improving future water access. It traces the influence of decades-long global water initiatives on urban water-policy reforms in the region and reviews evidence on emerging community self-help and partnership models. Finally, it discusses the merits, targets and potential of Sustainable Development Goal 6 to improve urban water access in the region. The findings suggest that improving urban water supply in Sub-Saharan Africa requires innovative governance and institutional arrangements that blend the strengths of public, private and community-based water supply models.
Development of a scale to measure the psychosocial impact of assistive devices: lessons learned and the road ahead

Purpose : In this paper the history of the development and validation of the PIADS is reviewed. Assistive devices (ADs) are extremely prevalent forms of health care intervention for persons who have a disability. There is a consensus that the AD field needs a reliable and valid measure of how users perceive the impact of ADs on their quality of life (QoL) and sense of well-being. The Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS) is a 26 item self-rating scale designed to fill this measurement gap. The challenges that we encountered are described in attempting to adequately conceptualize QOL impact, and operationalize it in a measure suitable for use with virtually all forms of AD. Current efforts to extend the validation of the PIADS are summarized. Conclusions : The study concludes by suggesting directions for future research and development of the scale. They include a richer examination of its conceptual relationships to other health care and rehabilitation outcome measures, and further investigation of its clinical utility. The PIADS is a reliable and valid tool that appears to have very significant power to predict AD abandonment and retention. It can and should be used both deductively and inductively to build, discover and test theory about the psychosocial impact of assistive technology.
The role of dairy products and non alcoholic beverages in bone fractures among schoolage children

In order to assess consumption of the calcium rich dairy products, intake of non alcoholic beverages and physical activity as risk factors for bone fractures among schoolage children, a case control study was undertaken in Athens, Greece. During 1995 one hundred children 7 to 14 years old (74 boys and 26 girls) with single uncomplicated fractures of the upper and lower extremities and no evidence of coexisting metabolic condition affecting bone fragility were compared with 100 age-and gender-matched controls. The analysis was undertaken by modeling the data through conditional logistic regression. Several indicators point to an increased risk of fractures among physically active children, although none of the individual variables was statistically significant. Somatometrc factors were not related to fractures, although children with more advanced stage of development at Tanner's scale were apparently at increased risk. Intake of dairy products and of carbonated non cola beverages was not related to the occurrence of fractures. By contrast, intake of non carbonated beverages, mainly fruit juices, and of cola beverages were significantly associated with elevated risks of fractures [for an increase of one-half can per day, the odds ratios and associated 95% confidence intervals were 1.6 (1.2 to 2.3) and 1.7 (1.2 to 2.6) respectively]. In the absence of other common elements between cola and non carbonated beverages the positive associations of these beverages, with bone fractures probably reflect the increased rehydration needs of active children who are also at high risk for injuries.