Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Consumption of vegetables, fruit and other plant foods in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) cohorts from 10 European countries

Abstract Objective: To describe and compare the consumption of the main groups and sub-groups of vegetables and fruits (V&F) in men and women from the centres participating in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). Design: Cross-sectional analysis. Dietary intake was assessed by means of a 24-hour dietary recall using computerised interview software and standardised procedures. Crude and adjusted means were computed for the main groups and sub-groups of V&F by centre, separately for men and women. Adjusted means by season, day of the week and age were estimated using weights and covariance analysis. Setting: Twenty-seven centres in 10 European countries participating in the EPIC project. Subjects: In total, 35 955 subjects (13 031 men and 22 924 women), aged 35–74 years, randomly selected from each EPIC cohort. Results: The centres from southern countries had the highest consumption of V&F, while the lowest intake was seen in The Netherlands and Scandinavia for both genders. These differences were more evident for fruits, particularly citrus. However, slightly different patterns arose for some sub-groups of vegetables, such as root vegetables and cabbage. Adjustment for body mass index, physical activity, smoking habits and education did not substantially modify the mean intakes of vegetables and fruits. Conclusions: Total vegetable and fruit intake follows a south–north gradient in both genders, whereas for several sub-groups of vegetables a different geographic distribution exists. Differences in mean intake of V&F by centre were not explained by lifestyle factors associated with V&F intake.
High-Performance Control Strategies for Electrical Drives: An Experimental Assessment

This paper presents a comparative study between field-oriented control (FOC) and Predictive Torque Control (PTC) applied to induction machines. Both strategies are implemented on the same experimental bench and similar tests are performed. Furthermore, they were previously adjusted to get an equivalent switching frequency at a specific operation point, achieving the fairest possible comparison at steady state. Experimental results verify that PTC can achieve results similar to FOC, possibly even improving performance in transient conditions.
Comparison of several kinds of feet for humanoid robot

This paper describes our research efforts aimed in the analysis of the humanoid robot feet role during walking gait. To improve the humanoid robot walking performances, a dynamic simulation using ADAMS software is carried out. To analyze the foot model effects virtual locomotion system has been built. Four foot models are compared through two criteria: the total energy consumption and the normal contact force component. These models are plate, flexible, active and hybrid flexible active feet parts. Simulation results show the relative effects of the flexibility and the introduction of the active joint at the toes level. The results prove the efficiency of the flexible active foot model
An inverse reinforcement learning algorithm for semi-Markov decision processes

In this paper, we study the inverse reinforcement learning (IRL) algorithm for semi-Markov decision processes (SMDPs) with average reward based on the performance sensitivity analysis. By analyzing the structural form of the performance difference formula between any two different policies, we utilize the expert policy to transform the IRL problems of SMDPs into convex optimization problems. Based on two different performance difference formulas, two IRL algorithms are proposed and the algorithms are verified on a grid maze with options. The feasibility and effectiveness of algorithms are illustrated in the simulation results.
Detection of world's shortest hot spots in silica and plastic optical fibers by slope-assisted brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry

Based on the “beyond-nominal-resolution” effect of slope-assisted Brillouin optical correlation-domain reflectometry, we demonstrate the detections of shortest-ever hot spots. A 2-mm-long strained section in a silica single-mode fiber and a 5-mm-long heated section in a plastic optical fiber are correctly detected in a distributed manner.
Notched anti-podal Vivaldi antenna for biomedical applications

Vivaldi antenna provides ultra-wideband (UWB) performance that makes it attractive for several applications. In this paper, a Vivaldi antenna is designed for use in hyperthermia treatment as well microwave imaging. The focus is related to treatment and imaging of tumors in the human brain. The structure is optimized to obtain suitable gain and bandwidth while minimizing the size. Several parameters are investigated including the return-loss and radiation patterns. The results demonstrate that this configuration has potential in some biomedical applications.
Gated factored 3-way RBM for image transformation

The Factored 3-way Restricted Boltzmann Machine has encoded the image transformation successfully. But when utilize the code to unknown image, the result was much affected by the feature of training samples. Based on the model, we separated the transformation feature out of the hidden representation and designed a new probabilistic model with gate for learning distributed representations of image transformations. Inference in the model consists extracting the transformation, find the mapping code, training filters to fit for the affine or more general transformations. We also provide experimental results to validate the performance of our model to a various tasks.
Relative fixed-width stopping rules for Markov chain Monte Carlo simulations

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulations are commonly employed for estimating features of a target distribution, particularly for Bayesian inference. A fundamental challenge is determining when these simulations should stop. We consider a sequential stopping rule that terminates the simulation when the width of a confidence interval is sufficiently small relative to the size of the target parameter. Specifically, we propose relative magnitude and relative standard deviation stopping rules in the context of MCMC. In each setting, we develop sufficient conditions for asymptotic validity, that is conditions to ensure the simulation will terminate with probability one and the resulting confidence intervals will have the proper coverage probability. Our results are applicable in a wide variety of MCMC estimation settings, such as expectation, quantile, or simultaneous multivariate estimation. Finally, we investigate the finite sample properties through a variety of examples and provide some recommendations to practitioners.
Memory-Efficient Sliding Window Progressive Meshes

Progressive mesh is a data structure that encodes a continuous spectrum of mesh approximations. Sliding window progressive meshes (SWPM) minimize data transfers between CPU and GPU by storing mesh data in static on-GPU memory buffers [For01]. The main disadvantages of the original SWPM algorithm are poor vertex cache usage efﬁciency, and big resulting datasets. Connectivity-based algorithm [KT04] achieves a good vertex cache coherence but it does not address the problem of high memory utilization. In this paper, we describe estimates for the size of memory buffers, and describe methods to reduce the index datasets. We achieve 20% reduction due to the use hierarchical data structures (clustered patches); further reduction (50% or more) is possible if one can optimize connectivity of input meshes, or is willing to decrease the number of mesh approximations stored in the progressive mesh.
Mimics , Miscalls , and Misses in Pancreatic Disease

The radiologist plays a pivotal role in the detection and characterization of pancreatic disorders. Unfortunately, the accuracy of rendered diagnoses is not infrequently plagued by a combination of “overcalls” of normal pancreatic anomalies and variants; “miscalls” of specific and sometimes pathognomonic pancreatic entities; and “misses” of subtle, uncommon, or inadequately imaged pancreatic abnormalities. Basic understanding of the normal and variant anatomy of the pancreas, knowledge of state-of-the-art pancreatic imaging techniques, and familiarity with the most commonly made misdiagnoses and misses in pancreatic imaging is mandatory to avoid this group of errors.
An Optimized SVPWM Strategy for Five-Level Active NPC (5L-ANPC) Converter

The five-level active neutral-point-clamped (5L-ANPC) converter has been widely studied for its excellent performance in high-power medium-voltage applications. This paper analyzes the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) strategy of the 5L-ANPC converter in the virtual coordinate, and presents an optimized control strategy which can balance the neutral point (NP) voltage and avoid the dead-time effects for the first time. In this strategy, on one hand, the 125 space vectors are combined by 96 triangles in the seven-segment vector synthesis method, then the triangles are divided into seven categories which have different characteristics of balancing the NP voltage, and every category has its own principles to choose the vector sequence and compute the vector durations. On the other hand, the dead-time effects of the 5L-ANPC converter are studied in detail and the transitions between different switching states are constrained in the optimized control strategy to avoid the dead-time effects that cannot be compensated by traditional pulse-based dead-time compensation methods. Finally, the optimized SVPWM strategy is experimentally verified in this paper.
Quantum phases of one-dimensional Hubbard models with three- and four-body couplings

The experimental advances in cold atomic and molecular gases stimulate the investigation of lattice correlated systems beyond the conventional on-site Hubbard approximation, by possibly including multiparticle processes. We study fermionic extended Hubbard models in a one-dimensional lattice with different types of particle couplings, including also three- and four-body interactions up to nearest neighboring sites. By using the bosonization technique, we investigate the low-energy regime and determine the conditions for the appearance of ordered phases, for arbitrary particle filling. We find that three- and four-body couplings may significantly modify the phase diagram. In particular, diagonal three-body terms that directly couple the local particle densities have qualitatively different effects from off-diagonal three-body couplings originating from correlated hopping, and favor the appearance of a Luther-Emery phase even when two-body terms are repulsive. Furthermore, the four-body coupling gives rise to a rich phase diagram and may lead to the realization of the Haldane insulator phase at half-filling
Evidence that solar wind fluctuations substantially affect global convection and substorm occurrence

[1] We have used examples of Poker Flat and Sondrestrom incoherent-scatter radar observations of flows within the ionospheric mapping of the nightside plasma sheet and of Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) spacecraft observations within the nightside plasma sheet to investigate whether the features found in the companion paper by Kim et al. (2009) within the dayside polar cap are also seen within the nightside plasma sheet. We find evidence that this is indeed the case: intensified interplanetary ULF fluctuations substantially enhance nightside convection flows and the fluctuations are reflected in the fluctuation power of the nightside flows. Additionally, our observations show evidence for an enhancement of earthward convection within the inner plasma sheet and an increase in plasma pressure within the plasma sheet in association with enhanced interplanetary ULF fluctuations. We have also found evidence that the enhancement in convection and plasma sheet pressure associated with strong interplanetary fluctuations may lead to a dramatic increase in substorm occurrence under northward interplanetary magnetic field conditions. More detailed testing of the above results is needed. However, if corroborated, it would indicate that interplanetary ULF fluctuations have a substantial effect on global convection and are an important contributor to the large-scale transfer of solar wind energy to the magnetosphere-ionosphere system, to plasma sheet structure and dynamics, and to the occurrence of disturbances such as substorms.
LHX 2 is a direct NF-{ kappa } B target gene that promotes primary hair follicle placode down-growth

In the epidermis of mice lacking transcription factor nuclear factorkappa B (NF-κB) activity, primary hair follicle (HF) pre-placode formation is initiated without progression to proper placodes. NF-κB modulates WNT and SHH signaling at early stages of HF development, but this does not fully account for the phenotypes observed upon NF-κB inhibition. To identify additional NF-κB target genes, we developed a novel method to isolate and transcriptionally profile primary HF placodes with active NF-κB signaling. In parallel, we compared gene expression at the same developmental stage in NF-κB-deficient embryos and controls. This uncovered novel NF-κB target genes with potential roles in priming HF placodes for downgrowth. Importantly, we identify Lhx2 (encoding a LIM/homeobox transcription factor) as a direct NF-κB target gene, loss of which replicates a subset of phenotypes seen in NF-κB-deficient embryos. Lhx2 and Tgfb2 knockout embryos exhibit very similar abnormalities in HF development, including failure of the E-cadherin suppression required for follicle down-growth. We show that TGFβ2 signaling is impaired in NF-κB-deficient and Lhx2 knockout embryos and that exogenous TGFβ2 rescues the HF phenotypes in Lhx2 knockout skin explants, indicating that it operates downstream of LHX2. These findings identify a novel NF-κB/LHX2/TGFβ2 signaling axis that is crucial for primary HF morphogenesis, which may also function more broadly in development and disease.
Parametric modeling of millimeter-wave passive components using combined neural networks and transfer functions

This paper propose to develop the combined neural networks and transfer functions (neuro-TF) for parametric modeling of millimeter-wave passive components. Artificial neural networks (ANN) techniques are recognized as a powerful tool for modeling the EM behavior of microwave components. In this paper, we train the ANN to map geometrical variables onto coefficients of transfer functions. The model obtained using our proposed technique can achieve good accuracy, and can be further used in the high-level design. Two millimeter-wave examples are used to demonstrate the validity of this technique.
Capillary forces in tapping mode atomic force microscopy

We investigated the influence of the relative humidity on amplitude and phase of the cantilever oscillation while operating an atomic force microscope (AFM) in the tapping mode. If the free oscillation amplitude A0 exceeds a certain critical amplitude Ac, the amplitude- and phase-distance curves show a transition from a regime with a net attractive force between tip and sample to a net repulsive regime. For hydrophilic tip and sample this critical amplitude Ac is found to increase with increasing relative humidity. In contrast, no such dependence was found for hydrophobic samples. Numerical simulations show that this behavior can be explained by assuming the intermittent formation and rupture of a capillary neck in each oscillation cycle of the AFM cantilever.
An improved ring amplifier with process- and supply voltage-insensitive dead-zone

Conventional ring amplifier suffers from stability problem, the problem is exacerbated when process, voltage and temperature (PVT) variations are taken into considerations. Prior works are mainly focused on stability problem, the influence of PVT on transient response were barely discussed. In this paper the influence of process variations on stability and transient response is analyzed, a process- and supply voltage-robust ring amplifier is presented. The mechanism of the proposed process- and voltage-insensitive dead-zone (DZ) is analyzed. Simulations showed that the proposed ring amplifier stays stable and maintains good transient performance over different process corners, the stability with supply voltage variations is also improved.
Human Polyomavirus Type 1 (BK Virus) Agnoprotein Is Abundantly Expressed but Immunologically Ignored

ABSTRACT Impaired BK virus (BKV)-specific immunity is a key risk factor of polyomavirus-associated nephropathy. We hypothesized that BKV agnoprotein might constitute an important immune target, as it is highly expressed after infection in vitro. We demonstrate abundant expression of BKV agnoprotein in vivo by immunostaining of kidney transplant (KT) biopsy specimens. Antibody responses to the recombinant affinity-purified BKV agnoprotein, large tumor (LT), and VP1 antigens in 146 sera from 38 KT patients and in 19 sera from 16 healthy donors (HD) were compared by enzyme immunoassay. In HD, low titers of anti-agnoprotein immunoglobulin G (IgG) were found in 15% of sera, compared to 41% for anti-LT antigen and 63% for anti-VP1. No anti-BKV IgM was detectable. In KT patients, anti-agnoprotein IgG and IgM were found in 8% and 3.6% of sera, compared to 63% and 18% for anti-LT IgG and IgM and 80% and 41% for anti-VP1 IgG and IgM, respectively. Anti-LT antigen and anti-VP1, but not anti-agnoprotein, activities increased during and after BKV viremia in KT patients. To investigate specific cellular immune responses, we compared levels of gamma interferon production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) of 10 HD and 30 KT patients by enzyme-linked immunospot assay. In HD, the median numbers of gamma interferon spot-forming units per million PBMC for the agnoprotein, LT antigen, and VP1 peptides were 1, 23, and 25, respectively, whereas the responses in KT patients were 2, 24, and 99, respectively. We conclude that BKV agnoprotein, though abundantly expressed in vivo, is poorly recognized immunologically.
The KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS) : the origin of disc turbulence in z ≈ 1 star-forming galaxies.

We analyse the velocity dispersion properties of 472 z~0.9 star-forming galaxies observed as part of the KMOS Redshift One Spectroscopic Survey (KROSS). The majority of this sample is rotationally dominated (83 +/- 5% with v_C/sigma_0 > 1) but also dynamically hot and highly turbulent. After correcting for beam smearing effects, the median intrinsic velocity dispersion for the final sample is sigma_0 = 43.2 +/- 0.8 km/s with a rotational velocity to dispersion ratio of v_C/sigma_0 = 2.6 +/- 0.1. To explore the relationship between velocity dispersion, stellar mass, star formation rate and redshift we combine KROSS with data from the SAMI survey (z~0.05) and an intermediate redshift MUSE sample (z~0.5). While there is, at most, a weak trend between velocity dispersion and stellar mass, at fixed mass there is a strong increase with redshift. At all redshifts, galaxies appear to follow the same weak trend of increasing velocity dispersion with star formation rate. Our results are consistent with an evolution of galaxy dynamics driven by disks that are more gas rich, and increasingly gravitationally unstable, as a function of increasing redshift. Finally, we test two analytic models that predict turbulence is driven by either gravitational instabilities or stellar feedback. Both provide an adequate description of the data, and further observations are required to rule out either model.
Lyapunov Optimization Framework for 5G Mobile Nodes With Multi-Homing

The letter presents a novel framework for 5G nodes with vertical multi-homing capabilities by using radio access technology aggregation on the network protocol layer and using Lyapunov optimization. The proposed 5G node framework leads to high performance utility networks with QoS provisioning for any given service, high average throughput, and multi-RAT capabilities (part of 5G trends), while at the same time achieving stochastic queuing network stability. The proposed framework uses the Lyapunov drift-plus-penalty theorem, which provides a methodology for designing an algorithm to maximize the average throughput and stabilize the queuing. The proposed algorithm, implemented within the mobile nodes and proxy node on the mobile network side, is able to handle simultaneously multiple multimedia flows via multiple wireless and mobile interfaces. The performance of the proposed framework for 5G nodes is evaluated with simulation and analytical results. The results show that the given framework achieves maximal aggregated throughput subject to average power constraints on the node interfaces, and at the same time minimizes average queue backlogs subject to minimal network delay.
Identifying Tensions around Gender-responsive Curriculum Practices in Science Teacher Education in Zimbabwe: An Activity Theory Analysis

The physical sciences, mathematics and technology subjects in Zimbabwe, like in most other African countries, are still male dominated. This is despite numerous efforts over the years directed towards gender equality in these disciplines. Many studies point at teacher education as not doing enough to assist future teachers in these disciplines with knowledge, skills, attitudes and values required for gender-responsive curriculum practices. This article focuses on science, mathematics and technical subjects in a pre-service teacher education college in Zimbabwe. The aim was to generate insight about surfacing tensions that may constrain the implementation of gender-responsive curriculum practices in the department. Cultural Historical Activity Theory provided a theoretical lens to generate and analyse data. The department was heuristically the activity system, hypothetically taking gender-responsive curriculum practices as the object. A total of 36 lecturers participated in the study through six in-depth individual interviews, four with purposively sampled middle managers and two with lecturers to represent academic (science and mathematics) and practical (technical) subjects. Two focus group discussions were held with 30 lecturers who were sampled in a stratified manner. Findings revealed that habitus as defined by Bourdieu and produced by patriarchal social conditioning plays a very important role in teacher educators' identities and this influences their curriculum practices, constraining implementation of gender-responsive curriculum practices in science, mathematics and technical subjects in this teacher education college. Instrumentalist views of science on the part of teacher educators were also identified as having regulatory properties impacting negatively on gender-responsive curriculum practices in the activity system. This is despite numerous gender-related policies available with the potential to transform the curriculum. The study recommends a curriculum transformation exercise in teacher education that goes beyond policy formulation, but engages with intended policy implementers such as teacher educators in a manner that will help them to reflect on cultural norms and values in relation to gender and curriculum practice.
Threshold Voltage model for mesa-isolated small geometry fully depleted SOI MOSFETs based on analytical solution of 3-D Poisson's equation

A threshold voltage model for mesa-isolated fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) MOSFETs, based on the analytical solution of three-dimensional (3-D) Poisson's equation is presented for the first time in this paper. The separation of variables technique is used to solve the 3-D Poisson's equation analytically with appropriate boundary conditions. Simple and accurate analytical expressions for the threshold voltage of the front and the back gate are derived. The model is able to predict short channel as well as narrow width effects in mesa-isolated FDSOI MOSFETs. The model is validated by comparing with the experimental results as well as with the numerical results available in the literature.