nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Distributed Optimization for Continuous Time Multi Agent Systems with External Disturbance and Discrete Time Communication

In this paper, distributed optimization problem for continuous time multi agent systems with external disturbance and discrete time communication is considered. A distributed algorithm is developed to achieve the exact optimal solution by completely rejecting the disturbance. An upper bound for the discrete time communication period is obtained to ensure the exponential convergence for this optimization problem. Finally, a numerical example is given to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Distributed event triggered optimization for multi agent systems with disturbance rejection
Venue: 2016 12th IEEE International Conference on Control and Automation (ICCA)

In this paper, distributed optimization problem is investigated for continuous time multi agent systems with external disturbance and discrete time communication. A distributed optimization algorithm with an event triggered strategy is designed, in order to reduce the communication cost. The proposed internal model based algorithm is proved to be effective and free of Zeno behavior with exponential convergence rate. Moreover, numerical simulation results also verify its effectiveness.
Characterization of GABAA receptor ligands with automated patch clamp using human neurons derived from pluripotent stem cells.
Venue: Journal of pharmacological and toxicological methods

Automated patch clamp is a recent but widely used technology to assess pre clinical drug safety. With the availability of human neurons derived from pluripotent stem cells, this technology can be extended to determine CNS effects of drug candidates, especially those acting on the GABAA receptor.  Neurons (Cellular Dynamics International, A Fujifilm Company) were cultured for ten days and analyzed by patch clamp in the presence of agonist GABA or in combination with positive allosteric GABAA receptor modulators. Both efficacy and affinity were determined. In addition, mRNA of GABAA receptor subunits were quantified by qRT PCR.  We have shown that iCell Neurons are compatible with the IonFlux microfluidic system of the automated patch clamp instrument. Resistance ranging from 15 to 25MO was achieved for each trap channel of patch clamped cells in a 96 well plate format. GABA induced a robust change of current with an EC50 of 0.43mM. Positive GABAA receptor modulators diazepam, HZ 166, and CW 04 020 exhibited EC50 values of 0.42mM, 1.56mM, and 0.23mM, respectively. The a2/a3/a5 selective compound HZ 166 induced the highest potentiation (efficacy) of 810% of the current induced by 100nM GABA. Quantification of GABAA receptor mRNA in iCell Neurons revealed high levels of a5 and b3 subunits and low levels of a1, which is similar to the configuration in human neonatal brain.  Neurons represent a new cellular model to characterize GABAergic compounds using automated patch clamp. These cells have excellent representation of cellular GABAA receptor distribution that enable determination of total small molecule efficacy and affinity as measured by cell membrane current change.
A review of health related quality of life patient reported outcome measures in cardiovascular nursing
Venue: European journal of cardiovascular nursing journal of the Working Group on Cardiovascular Nursing of the European Society of Cardiology

The traditional use of physically focused outcome measures fails to capture holistic, quality of life issues of importance to patients. The relatively recent, rapidly growing interest in patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) attests to this and clinicians are faced with difficult decisions regarding their choice and use.  The purpose of this review was to identify and synthesise the literature pertaining to the concept of quality of life and the main PROMs used to measure this in the cardiovascular field.  A review of the recent literature was undertaken on commonly used cardiovascular health related quality of life (HRQoL) PROMs.  Two types of HRQoL PROMs are available: disease specific and generic. Both have limitations, and in many instances there is merit in using a combination, depending on the medical condition and treatment. In addition to psychometric considerations such as reliability, validity and responsiveness, the choice of a PROM will depend on factors such as the patient/investigator burden its use may impose, resources, costs, intellectual property and copyright issues. A new 'hybrid' HRQoL PROM for use in patients across the main cardiovascular disease presentations angina, myocardial infarction and heart failure appears to show promise.  Cardiovascular HRQoL PROMs have a wide variety of uses and can help clinicians, researchers, managers and policy makers in decision making and provide indicators of clinical and institutional quality and outcomes. New HRQoL PROMs are emerging and their choice and use should be determined by a host of issues, including psychometric properties, acceptability, feasibility and cost.
Experience, age and exporting performance in UK SMEs

We consider the determinants of SME exporting performance using a survey of internationally engaged UK SMEs. We first develop a model incorporating organisational and prior managerial learning effects. Our empirical analysis then allows us to identify separately the positive effects on exporting from the international experience of the firm and the negative effects of firm age. Positive exporting effects also result from grafted knowledge acquired by the recruitment of management with prior international experience. Innovation also has positive exporting effects with more radical new to the industry innovation most strongly linked to inter regional exports; new to the firm innovation is more strongly linked to intra regional trade. Early internationalisation is also linked positively to the number of countries to which firms export and the intensity of their export activity. We find no evidence, however, relating early internationalisation to extra regional exporting, suggesting that early exporting SMEs tend be 'born regional' rather than 'born global'
The development of China's solar photovoltaic industry: why industrial policy failed

This article studies China's central local government relations in the formation and implementation of an industry policy. In China, the central government is responsible for policy formation and the local governments are responsible for policy implementation, where local governments are allowed ample flexibility in the ways to achieve the policy mandate. This arrangement is conducive to local competition, but there is no built in mechanism in the system to regulate such competition. The system is defective in the execution of an industrial policy in that it fails to discipline the recipients of policy favours and to make efficient exit selections. Because local competition involves policy resources as well as economic resources, the outcome of competition is not necessarily consistent with the comparative advantage of the region. The more that policy is emphasised in industrial development, the more that competition tends to favour large and rich cities. After a certain period of hands off local competition, the timing of which is unpredictable but will come when the industry runs into troubles, the central government holds the ultimate power to determine the winners. The central government typically picks the 'large and strong' firms as the winners, which are crowned as a national team and became eligible for further policy support. This institutional set up produces a rapidly growing industry, which often results in over capacity but not necessarily a competitive industry. I use the case of China's solar photovoltaic industry to illustrate these points.
Analysis of the policy effects of downstream Feed In Tariff on China's solar photovoltaic industry

The Chinese government initiated the Feed In Tariff "FIT" policy for downstream power generation in August 2013. The effectiveness of the downstream FIT policy has attracted the attention of academia and government. Using the quarterly data of listed solar PV companies between 2009 and 2015, this paper provides an empirical analysis regarding the effects of the downstream FIT policy. We find that (1) the FIT policy has significantly enhanced the inventory turnover of listed PV firms and improved their profitability; (2) the FIT policy has significant effects on the inventory turnover of midstream companies and mixed industry chain companies mainly engaged in downstream operations; (3) FIT policy is more favorable towards increasing the inventory turnover of private enterprises. Our results indicate that the FIT policy can have substantial effects on the sustainable development of China's solar photovoltaic industry.
Stretchable, Skin Mountable, and Wearable Strain Sensors and Their Potential Applications: A Review

There is a growing demand for flexible and soft electronic devices. In particular, stretchable, skin mountable, and wearable strain sensors are needed for several potential applications including personalized health monitoring, human motion detection, human machine interfaces, soft robotics, and so forth. This Feature Article presents recent advancements in the development of flexible and stretchable strain sensors. The article shows that highly stretchable strain sensors are successfully being developed by new mechanisms such as disconnection between overlapped nanomaterials, crack propagation in thin films, and tunneling effect, different from traditional strain sensing mechanisms. Strain sensing performances of recently reported strain sensors are comprehensively studied and discussed, showing that appropriate choice of composite structures as well as suitable interaction between functional nanomaterials and polymers are essential for the high performance strain sensing. Next, simulation results of piezoresistivity of stretchable strain sensors by computational models are reported. Finally, potential applications of flexible strain sensors are described. This survey reveals that flexible, skin mountable, and wearable strain sensors have potential in diverse applications while several grand challenges have to be still overcome.
Assessment of methods for computing the closest point projection, penetration and gap functions in contact searching problems

In computational contact mechanics problems, local searching requires calculation of the closest point projection of a contactor point onto a given target segment. It is generally supposed that the contact boundary is locally described by a convex region. However, because this assumption is not valid for a general curved segment of a three dimensional quadratic serendipity element, an iterative numerical procedure may not converge to the nearest local minimum. To this end, several unconstrained optimization methods are tested: the Newton Raphson method, the least square projection, the sphere and torus approximation method, the steepest descent method, the Broyden method, the Broyden Fletcher Goldfarb Shanno method, and the simplex method. The effectiveness and robustness of these methods are tested by means of a proposed benchmark problem. It is concluded that the Newton Raphson method in conjunction with the simplex method significantly increases the robustness of the local contact search procedure of pure penalty contact methods, whereas the torus approximation method can be recommended for contact searching algorithms, which employ the Lagrange method or the augmented Lagrangian method.
Ce3+ ion induced visible light photocatalytic degradation and electrochemical activity of ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposite
Venue: Scientific reports

In this study, pure ZnO, CeO2 and ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposites were synthesized using a thermal decomposition method and subsequently characterized using different standard techniques. High resolution X ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements confirmed the oxidation states and presence of Zn2+ Ce4+ Ce3+ and different bonded oxygen species in the nanocomposites. The prepared pure ZnO and CeO2 as well as the ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposites with various proportions of ZnO and CeO2 were tested for photocatalytic degradation of methyl orange, methylene blue and phenol under visible light irradiation. The optimized and highly efficient ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite exhibited enhanced photocatalytic degradation performance for the degradation of methyl orange, methylene blue, and phenol as well as industrial textile effluent compared to ZnO, CeO2 and the other investigated nanocomposites. Moreover, the recycling results demonstrate that the ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite exhibited good stability and long term durability. Furthermore, the prepared ZnO/CeO2 nanocomposites were used for the electrochemical detection of uric acid and ascorbic acid. The ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite also demonstrated the best detection, sensitivity and performance among the investigated materials in this application. These findings suggest that the synthesized ZnO/CeO2 (90:10) nanocomposite could be effectively used in various applications.
Transformative service research and service dominant logic: Quo Vaditis?

This paper takes a closer look at the emerging topic of transformative service research (TSR) and compares its facets with the more established concept of the service dominant logic (SDL) The paper thus contributes to both theory development and practical application. This work highlights the conceptual parallels in the two approaches, for example, their holistic approach, their systems thinking, addressing entities or actors within such system(s) inclusion of the wider environment, and their focus on the co creative and interactive nature of well being generation and value co creation. The paper also reveals some differences, for example TSR's focus on eudaimonic and hedonic well being outcomes vs. SDL's value co creation. The paper concludes that both perspectives have merits, but could benefit from being used integratively. By comparing the areas of theory focus, practical application, value co creation and co destruction, intentionality, well being and value concepts, and TSR and SDL's "logic" the paper provides suggestions for future research.
Studying Academic Indicators within Virtual Learning Environment Using Educational Data Mining
Venue: ArXiv

Our main goal is to discover the main factors influencing students' academic trajectory and students' academic evolution within such environment. Our results indicate strong correlation in this virtual learning environment between student average and some factors like: student's English level (despite the fact that Arabic language is the teaching language) student's age, student's gender, student's over stay and student's place of residence (inside or outside Syria) Our results indicate also a need to modify the academic trajectory of students by changing the prerequisites of few courses delivered as a part of BIT diploma like Advanced DBA II, Data Security. In this research, the results also highlight the effect of the Syrian Crisis on students. Finally, we've suggested some future recommendations based on our observations and results to develop the current information system in SVU in order to help us to deduce some indicators more easily.
Influence of gold nanoparticles on Eu3+ doped GeO2 Bi2O3 glasses covered Silicon solar cell
Venue: 2016 31st Symposium on Microelectronics Technology and Devices (SBMicro)

Efficiency of Silicon commercial solar cells covered with germanate glasses doped with Eu3+ ions, with and without gold nanoparticles, was measured. Enhancement of the efficiency was observed in the presence of gold nanoparticles when compared to germanate glasses without gold nanoparticle. The results were attributed to the plasmonic enhancement around Eu3+ ions due to the presence of gold nanoparticles and the energy transfer from excited nanoparticles to the Eu3+ ions.
Site Reliability Engineering: How Google Runs Production Systems

The overwhelming majority of a software systems lifespan is spent in use, not in design or implementation. So, why does conventional wisdom insist that software engineers focus primarily on the design and development of large scale computing systems? In this collection of essays and articles, key members of Googles Site Reliability Team explain how and why their commitment to the entire lifecycle has enabled the company to successfully build, deploy, monitor, and maintain some of the largest software systems in the world. Youll learn the principles and practices that enable Google engineers to make systems more scalable, reliable, and efficientlessons directly applicable to your organization. This book is divided into four sections:  Learn what site reliability engineering is and why it differs from conventional IT industry practices Principles Examine the patterns, behaviors, and areas of concern that influence the work of a site reliability engineer (SRE) Practices Understand the theory and practice of an SREs day to day work: building and operating large distributed computing systems Management Explore Google's best practices for training, communication, and meetings that your organization can use
Fundamentals of electrical drives

Comprehensive, user friendly, color illustrated introductory text for electrical drive systems that simplifies the understanding of electrical machine principles Updated edition covers innovations in machine design, power semi conductors, digital signal processors and simulation software Presents dynamic generic models which cover all major electrical machine types and modulation/control components of a drive Covers dynamic and steady state analysis of transformers and electrical machines Interactive learning process provided online, using 'build and play' simulation tutorials to help the reader visualize the physical processes that take place in the drive This book helps students and engineers appreciate and understand the fundamental concepts of the modern electrical drives used in thousands of applications, from robotics and household appliances to wind turbines and hybrid vehicles. Updates to this second edition cover innovations in machine design, power semi conductors, digital signal processors and simulation software. An interactive learning approach is taken in this text: theory and calculations are augmented by generic models which are transposed to a simulation platform. This 'build and play' method visualizes the dynamic operation of a comprehensive set of modules ranging from an inductance to a novel 'ideal rotating transformer' (IRTF) This module is at the center of the generic models used to explore the dynamic and steady state operation of grid and converter fed induction, synchronous and DC machines. The section on modulation and control emphasizes the role of power electronics and digital signal processors in drives. All figures in this text are included in the downloadable files in order to help with the preparation of customized Power Point type lecture material. Fundamentals of Electrical Drives is perfect for readers with basic engineering knowledge who have a need or desire to comprehend and apply the theory and simulation methods utilized by drive specialists throughout the world.
Development and characterization of high suppression and high etendue narrowband spectral filters.
Venue: Applied optics

The present work addresses critical issues in constructing high suppression, narrowband spectral filters in rare earth ion doped crystals, mainly targeting the application of ultrasound optical tomography but is also applicable for areas such as quantum memories, self filtering of laser frequencies, and other applications relying on high absorption in rare earth ion doped crystals. The polarization of light transmitted through a highly absorbing crystal is experimentally analyzed. Additionally, an existing wave propagation method is used to simulate beam propagation through a spectral hole to study the high etendue requirements of ultrasound optical tomography.
Real time Multi class Moving Target Tracking and Recognition

The existing tracking and recognition methods concentrate mainly on single class targets; however, systems for traffic management or intelligent transport often require multi class target tracking and recognition in real time. This study proposes an effective multi class moving target recognition method that is based on Gaussian mixture part based model, which accurately locates objects of interest and recognises their corresponding categories. The method is multi threaded and combines soft clustering approach with multiple mixture part based models to provide stable multi class target tracking and recognition in video sequences. The highlight of the method is its ability to recognise multi class moving targets and to count their numbers in the video sequence captured by a stationary camera with fixed focal length. Another contribution of this study is that an extended part based model is developed for object recognition in real world environments, which can improve the overall system performance, lower time costs, and better meet the actual demand of a video system. Experimental results show that the proposed method is viable in real time multi class moving target tracking and recognition.
Hidden caring, hidden carers? Exploring the experience of carers for people with long term conditions
Venue: Health social care in the community

Informal carers make a significant contribution to illness management in communities, but many struggle to access support and remain 'hidden carers' We aimed to explore how carers of people with common long term conditions (LTCs, such as coronary heart disease or kidney disease) conceptualised their caring, and whether they struggled to identify themselves with the term 'carer' or access for support. We conducted semi structured interviews with 19 informal carers of people with LTCs recruited from local support groups. Topic guides were designed to encourage participants to provide their retrospective accounts of identifying as a carer or struggling to do so. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method. The study was designed collaboratively with a patient and public involvement (PPI) partner, and we consulted with a PPI steering group of people with lived experience of caring during the study. Results showed how participants drew on comparisons with those caring for more dependent relatives in explaining their reluctance to define themselves as a carer, and resisted adopting the label due to concerns that it would threaten the identity of the cared for person. The data were interpreted in terms of types of 'work' undertaken to manage LTCs, and revealed that carers of patients with LTCs appear to primarily engage in biographical and emotional support, which may be more difficult to conceptualise as legitimate caring 'work' Participants indicated that health professionals may be in a unique position to validate their role as carers and encourage support seeking. The study suggests how the greater focus on self management of LTCs in the community must be complemented by recognition of this group as potentially 'hidden carers' who support the patient to minimise the impact the illness has on their lives and consequently may minimise their own caring role, with negative implications for support seeking.