Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
PID control loop performance assessment and diagnosis based on DEA-related MCDA

Control loop performance assessment and diagnosis have been attracting more and more attention in the academia and industry. Both traditional performance assessment method and minimum variance method often require the process model and provide limited information, which is not particularly convenient for practical applications. Therefore, the method based on data envelopment analysis (DEA)-related multiple criteria decision analysis (MCDA) is developed for assessing and diagnosing PID control loop performance, which relies solely upon the collected process data during routine plant operation. The control loop performance is assessed and sorted by utilizing the self-evaluation DEA-related MCDA model. The operation priority of the control loop is ranked and determined by utilizing the cross-evaluation DEA-related MCDA model. The improving direction and quantitative space of control loop performance can be diagnosed by DEA-related MCDA model with slack variables and non-Archimedean infinitesimal ε. The correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method are confirmed and validated by simulation examples.
Metabolic Shift of Escherichia coli under Salt Stress in the Presence of Glycine Betaine

ABSTRACT An important area of food safety focuses on bacterial survival and growth in unfavorable environments. In order to understand how bacteria adapt to stresses other than nutrient limitation in batch cultures, we need to develop mechanistic models of intracellular regulation and metabolism under stress. We studied the growth of Escherichia coli in minimal medium with added salt and different osmoprotectants. To characterize the metabolic efficiency with a robust parameter, we identified the optical density (OD) values at the inflection points of measured “OD versus time” growth curves and described them as a function of glucose concentration. We found that the metabolic efficiency parameter did not necessarily follow the trend of decreasing specific growth rate as the salt concentration increased. In the absence of osmoprotectant, or in the presence of proline, the metabolic efficiency decreased with increasing NaCl concentration. However, in the presence of choline or glycine betaine, it increased between 2 and 4.5% NaCl before declining at 5% NaCl and above. Microarray analysis of the transcriptional network and proteomics analysis with glycine betaine in the medium indicated that between 4.5 and 5% NaCl, the metabolism switched from aerobic to fermentative pathways and that the response to osmotic stress is similar to that for oxidative stress. We conclude that, although the growth rate appeared to decrease smoothly with increasing NaCl, the metabolic strategy of cells changed abruptly at a threshold concentration of NaCl.
Synthesis and Pharmacological Properties of Silicon‐Containing GPR81 and GPR109A Agonists

The GPR81 and GPR109A receptors mediate antilipolytic effects and are potential drug targets for the treatment of metabolic disorders such as dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes. There is still a need to identify potent GPR81 agonists as pharmacological tools. A high‐throughput screen identified an acylurea‐based GPR81 agonist lead series, with activities at the GPR109A receptor as well. To expand the chemical scope and to explore the pharmacological and pharmacokinetic consequences, a series of structurally related organosilicon compounds with a 6‐sila‐4,5,6,7‐tetrahydrobenzo[d]thiazole skeleton was synthesized and studied for their physicochemical properties [octanol/water distribution coefficient (pH 7.4), solubility in HBSS buffer (pH 7.4)], agonistic potency at rat GPR81 and GPR109A receptors, and intrinsic clearance in human liver microsomes and rat hepatocytes. The straightforward synthesis of these organosilicon compounds offered a valuable expansion of the chemical scope in the above‐mentioned GPR81 agonist lead series, provided potency and efficacy SAR, and yielded compounds with sub‐micromolar GPR81 potency. This work supports the value of including silicon chemistry into the toolbox of medicinal chemistry.
Validation of the Hindi version of National Institute of Health Stroke Scale.

AIMS To determine the reliability and validity of the National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) with the Hindi and Indian adaptation of items 9 and 10. MATERIALS AND METHODS NIHSS items 9 and 10 were modified and culturally adapted at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the resulting version was termed as Hindi version (HV-NIHSS). HV-NIHSS was applied by two independent investigators on 107 patients with stroke. Inter-observer agreement and intra-class correlation coefficients were calculated. The predictive validity of the HV-NIHSS was calculated using functional outcome after three months in the form of modified Rankin Scale (mRS) and Barthel Index (BI). RESULTS The study included 107 patients of stroke recruited from a tertiary referral hospital at Delhi between November 1, 2009, and October 1, 2010; the mean age of these patients was 56.26±13.84 years and 65.4% of them had suffered ischemic stroke. Inter-rater reliability was high between the two examiners, with Pearson's r ranging from 0.72 to 0.99 for the 15 items on the Scale. Intra-class correlation coefficient for the total score was 0.995 (95% CI-0.993-0.997). Concurrent construct validity was established between HV-NIHSS and baseline Glasgow Coma Scale, with a high correlation (Spearman coefficient = -0.863, P<.001). Predictive validity was also established with BI at three months (Spearman's rho: -0.829, P<.001) and with mRS at three months (Spearman's rho: 0.851, P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS This study shows that a Hindi language version of the NIHSS developed at AIIMS appears reliable and valid when applied to a Hindi-speaking population.
Development of a Patient Needs Assessment Model for Pulmonary Rehabilitation

Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease are often referred to pulmonary rehabilitation programs to manage their symptoms and the consequences of the disease on their lives. Finding ways to target programs to a specific patient’s needs could help improve individual response to the program. The purpose of this study was to develop a conceptual model for the assessment of patients’ rehabilitation needs by using a grounded theory approach. Focus groups, consultations of medical charts, and a literature review helped us develop a conceptual model characterized by the following categories: need recognition, knowledge, motivation, expectations, goals, ability to fulfill needs, and the ability for personal adjustment. Based on a content matrix reflecting the conceptual model and disease consequences, items to be included in a prototype instrument were formulated and a preliminary validation phase was conducted.
Performance analysis for Enterprise Resource Planning systems

An enterprise resource planning (ERP) system is a complex network composed of various business processes. This paper proposes methods based on stochastic-flow network model to analysis the capacity sensitivity of persons with respect to the performance of an ERP system. The nodes in the network denote the persons responsible for the business tasks during the processes. The arcs between nodes denote the process precedence relationships in the ERP system. The performance of an ERP system is then related to the flow of the documents through the network. To analyze the person¿s impact against the system performance, the increasing-capacity contributivity analysis and the decreasing-capacity impairment analysis are conducted. Some interesting findings are obtained. For example, the strategy of increasing capacity will not promise to contribute performance. However, the strategy of decreasing capacity will also not always to impair performance. Numerical examples for these analyses are illustrated in this paper.
EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF INBREEDING ON FITNESS COMPONENTS IN MIMULUS GUTTATUS

Recent theoretical work has shown that there can be selection favoring the maintenance of sexual reproduction and the evolution of increased recombination when deleterious mutations at different loci interact synergistically, such that the logarithm of fitness declines at a greater than linear rate with the number of harmful mutations per genome. The purpose of this experimental study was to determine whether synergism exists for genes affecting fitness components in two partially selfing populations of the monkey flower Mimulus guttatus. For each wild population, a large randomly mated base population was constructed and many independent lines, inbred to differing degrees, were extracted from this base population. Lines with expected inbreeding coefficients of 0, 0.25, 0.5, and 0.75 were raised simultaneously in the greenhouse and were scored for germination, flowering, flower production, and pollen viability. All fitness traits except germination success declined with increased inbreeding, but in spite of the substantial inbreeding depression found in this study, relatively little evidence of synergistic epistasis was found. The only trait that showed evidence of synergism was pollen viability. These results indicate that synergism is not strong for the fitness components measured in this study. The evidence for synergism from other published studies is also reviewed.
A novel cell surface polysaccharide in Pseudomonas putida WCS358, which shares characteristics with Escherichia coli K antigens, is not involved in root colonization

Previously we have shown that flagella and the O-specific polysaccharide of lipopolysaccharide play a role in colonization of the potato root by plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas strains WCS374 and WCS358. In this paper, we describe a novel cell surface-exposed structure in Pseudomonas putida WCS358 examined with a specific monoclonal antibody. This cell surface structure appeared to be a polysaccharide, which was accessible to the monoclonal antibody at the outer cell surface. Further study revealed that it does not contain 2-keto-3-deoxyoctonate, heptose, or lipid A, indicating that it is not a second type of lipopolysaccharide. Instead, the polysaccharide shared some characteristics with K antigen described for Escherichia coli. From a series of 49 different soil bacteria tested, only one other potato plant growth-promoting Pseudomonas strain reacted positively with the monoclonal antibody. Mutant cells lacking the novel antigen were efficiently isolated by an enrichment method involving magnetic antibodies. Mutant strains defective in the novel antigen contained normal lipopolysaccharide. One of these mutants was affected in neither its ability to adhere to sterile potato root pieces nor its ability to colonize potato roots. We conclude that the bacterial cell surface of P. putida WCS358 contains at least two different polysaccharide structures. These are the O-specific polysaccharide of lipopolysaccharide, which is relevant for potato root colonization, and the novel polysaccharide, which is not involved in adhesion to or colonization of the potato root.
Latest findings about the interplay of auxin, ethylene and nitric oxide in the regulation of Fe deficiency responses by Strategy I plants

Under Fe deficiency, Strategy I (non-graminaceous) plants up-regulate the expression of many Fe acquisition genes and develop morphological changes in their roots. The regulation of these responses is not completely known, but since the 1980’s different results suggest a role for auxin, ethylene and, more recently, nitric oxide. The up-regulation of the Fe acquisition genes does not depend solely on these hormones, that would act as activators, but also on some other signals, probably phloem Fe, that would act as an inhibitor. It is not known which of the hormones considered is the last activator of the Fe acquisition genes, but some results suggest that auxin acts upstream of ethylene and NO and that, perhaps, ethylene is the last activator.
Body Composition and Performance: Influence of Sport and Gender Among Adolescents

Abstract Högström, GM, Pietilä, T, Nordström, P, and Nordström, A. Body composition and performance: influence of sport and gender among adolescents. J Strength Cond Res 26(7): 1799–1804, 2012—Body composition is well known to be associated with endurance performance among adult skiers; however, the association among adolescent crosscountry and alpine skiers is inadequately explored. The study sample comprised 145 male and female adolescent subjects (aged 15–17 years), including 48 crosscountry skiers, 33 alpine skiers, and 68 control subjects. Body composition (%body fat [BF], %lean mass [LM], bone mineral density [grams per centimeter squared]) was measured with a dual-emission x-ray absorptiometer, and pulse and oxygen uptake was measured at 3 break points during incremental performance tests to determine physical fitness levels. Female crosscountry and alpine skiers were found to have significantly higher %LM (mean difference = 7.7%, p < 0.001) and lower %BF (mean difference = 8.1%, p < 0.001) than did female control subjects. Male crosscountry skiers were found to have lower %BF (mean difference = 3.2%, p < 0.05) and higher %LM (mean difference = 3.3%, p < 0.01) than did male alpine skiers and higher %LM (mean difference = 3.7%, p < 0.05) and %BF (mean difference = 3.2%, p < 0.05) than did controls. This study found strong associations between %LM and the onset of blood lactate accumulation and V[Combining Dot Above]O2max weight adjusted thresholds among both genders of the crosscountry skiing cohort (r = 0.47–0.67, p < 0.05) and the female alpine-skiing cohort (r = 0.77–0.79, p < 0.001 for all). This study suggests that body composition is associated with physical performance amongst adolescents.
Lipid membrane modulation and pigmentation: A cryoprotection mechanism in Arctic pigmented bacteria

The present study aims to address the effect of gradual change in temperature (15–4 °C) followed by freeze–thaw on pigmented bacterial strains – Leeuwenhoekiella aequorea, Pseudomonas pelagia, Halomonas boliviensis, Rhodococcus yunnanensis, and Algoriphagus ratkwoskyi, isolated from Kongsfjorden (an Arctic fjord) to understand their survival in present climate change scenario. The total cell count and retrievability of the isolates were not affected despite the variation in temperature. In all the isolates, the saturated fatty acids, particularly stearic and palmitic acid were predominant at higher temperature, while at 4 °C, the unsaturated fatty acids, primarily cis‐10‐pentadecenoic, palmitoleic, and oleic acid, were major constituents, confirming homeoviscous adaptation. Even after freeze–thaw, the unsaturated fatty acid composition was retained in all the isolates except A. ratkwoskyi. The increase in unsaturated fatty acids was at the expense of their saturated analogs, probably by desaturase activity. The major pigment in the isolates resembled Zeaxanthin, whose concentration was found to be 26–65% higher after freeze–thaw, suggesting its vital role as a cryoprotective agent in regulating membrane fluidity. Such experimental simulations related to freeze–thaw in polar bacterial isolates are helpful in understanding the physiological plasticity adaptations, which could be critical for survival in harsh and rapidly changing polar environments.
Ancestral Divergence, Genome Diversification, and Phylogeographic Variation in Subpopulations of Sorbitol-Negative, β-Glucuronidase-Negative Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157

ABSTRACT The O157:H7 lineage of enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli is a geographically disseminated complex of highly related genotypes that share common ancestry. The common clone that is found worldwide carries several markers of events in its evolution, including markers for acquisition of virulence genes and loss of physiological characteristics, such as sorbitol fermentation ability and β-glucuronidase production. Populations of variants that are distinct with respect to motility and the sorbitol and β-glucuronidase markers appear to have diverged at several points along the inferred evolutionary pathway. In addition to these variants, distinct subpopulations of the contemporary non-sorbitol-fermenting, β-glucuronidase-negative O157:H7 clone were recently detected among bovine and human clinical isolates in the United Stares by using high-resolution genome comparison. In order to determine if these recently described subpopulations were derived from a regional or ancestral divergence event, we used octamer-based genome scanning, marker sorting, and DNA sequence analysis to examine their phylogenetic relationship to populations of non-sorbitol-fermenting, β-glucuronidase negative O157:H7 and O157:H− strains from Australia. The inferred phylogeny is consistent with the hypothesis that subpopulations on each continent resulted from geographic spread of an ancestral divergence event and subsequent expansion of distinct subpopulations. Marker sorting and DNA sequence analyses identified sets of monophyletic markers consistent with the pattern of divergence and demonstrated that phylogeographic variation occurred through emergence of regional subclones and concentration of regional polymorphisms among distinct subpopulations. DNA sequence analysis of representative polyphyletic markers showed that genome diversity accrued through random drift and bacteriophage-mediated events.
A finite state based residential demand generator for scarce statistical data scenarios

In many countries detailed mappings of various related issues such as appliance time of use, usage patterns, and human occupancy are not available making the process of generating residential demand profiles for demand management purposes very challenging. In this paper an abstracted residential demand generator (ARDG) based on behaviour finite state diagrams is introduced. The generator takes into consideration seasonal variations and also the effects of socio-economic factors on the emulated demand. The resulting residential demand is abstracted because it is both appliance and appliance-mode independent and owing to a relatively high temporal granularity mimics residential demand with good accuracy without generating a huge volume of superfluous data. The generated demand is used to verify demand side management strategies.
[The prognostic value of angiogenic activity evaluation with contrast enhanced power doppler imaging in axillary-node-negative breast carcinoma].

OBJECTIVE To determine the value of contrast ultrasound on evaluating tumor angiogenic activity and its prognostic value in axillary-node-negative breast carcinoma (ANNBC). METHODS Power doppler imaging (PDI) was used to observe intratumoral vascularization before and post contrast agents injection. Intratumoral blood flow signals were measured and intratumoral vessel positive total areas (VPTA) were analyzed with computer-assisted quantitative assessment. Sections of malignant tumors were analyzed for the intratumoral microvessel density (MVD) by immunohistochemistry using monoclonal antibody to factor VIII-related antigen. The relationships within VPTA, MVD and prognosis were the main outcome measures. RESULTS There was no significant correlation between VPTA and MVD before contrast agents used while there was a positive correlation between them after that. However, VPTA and MVD had significant correlation with histology grade and tumor recurrence and metastasis while had no correlation with the general clinic pathologic factors. VPTA and MVD were significantly higher in postoperative cases with recurrence or metastasis than those in cases with tumor-free. Total survival rate and tumor-free survival rate of high-VPTA or high-MVD group were significantly lower than those of low-VPTA or low-MVD group. CONCLUSIONS The value of VPTA by contrast enhanced PDI was a beneficial prognostic indicator. High VPTA in ANNBC patients may has worse prognosis and antiangiogenic therapy is strongly suggested on them.
Posture in Parkinson's disease: Impairment of reflexes and programming

The leg muscle electromyographic responses induced during stance by impulsive displacements of a treadmill belt (directed forward or backward and at different rates) were studied in a group of patients with Parkinson's disease and a group of age‐matched healthy subjects. Young normal subjects were also studied both before and after intake of a dopamine antagonist (haloperidol). Compensatory gastrocnemius electromyographic responses resulting from backward‐directed displacements were significantly smaller in both the patients and the young normal subjects following intake of haloperidol. The reduced sensitivity of the gastrocnemius muscle to stretch correlated with an inability to compensate for the perturbations. In the patients, the gastrocnemius response was followed by enhanced activation of the tibialis anterior muscle. This was not the case in the normal subjects after intake of dopamine antagonist and is probably not, therefore, the consequence of acute dopamine deficiency. In the patients the angular rotation at the ankle joint induced during faster backward‐directed displacements was slower than that in normal subjects, despite identical amounts of gastrocnemius electromyographic activity. This supports earlier findings of changes in intrinsic muscle stiffness in Parkinson's disease. None of these differences were seen when the tibialis anterior muscle was stretched. This differential behavior of the antagonist leg muscles can best be explained by the different function fulfilled by these muscles in regulation of stance and gait.
Neuromuscular manifestations of critical illness

Critical illness, more precisely defined as the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), occurs in 20%–50% of patients who have been on mechanical ventilation for more than 1 week in an intensive care unit. Critical illness polyneuropathy (CIP) and myopathy (CIM), singly or in combination, occur commonly in these patients and present as limb weakness and difficulty in weaning from the ventilator. Critical illness myopathy can be subdivided into thick‐filament (myosin) loss, cachectic myopathy, acute rhabdomyolysis, and acute necrotizing myopathy of intensive care. SIRS is the predominant underlying factor in CIP and is likely a factor in CIM even though the effects of neuromuscular blocking agents and steroids predominate in CIM. Identification and characterization of the polyneuropathy and myopathy depend upon neurological examination, electrophysiological studies, measurement of serum creatine kinase, and, if features suggest a myopathy, muscle biopsy. The information is valuable in deciding treatment and prognosis. Muscle Nerve, 2005