A fuzzy logic approach to reliable real-time recognition of facial emotions

Multimedia Tools and Applications - This paper represents our newly developed software for emotion recognition from facial expressions. Besides allowing emotion recognition from image files and...     

Pseudospectral method for assessing stability robustness for linear time-periodic delayed dynamical systems

The article presents a pseudospectral approach to assess the stability robustness of linear time-periodic delay systems, where periodic functions potentially present discontinuities and the delays may also periodically vary in time. The considered systems are subject to linear real-valued time-periodic uncertainties affecting the coefficient matrices, and the presented method is able to fully exploit structure and potential interdependencies among the uncertainties. The assessment of robustness relies on the computation of the pseudospectral radius of the monodromy operator, namely, the largest Floquet multiplier that the system can attain within a given range of perturbations. Instrumental to the adopted novel approach, a solver for the computation of Floquet multipliers is introduced, which results into the solution of a generalized eigenvalue problem which is linear w.r.t. (samples of) the original system matrices. We provide numerical simulations for popular applications modeled by time-periodic delay systems, such as the inverted pendulum subject to an act-and-wait controller, a single-degree-of-freedom milling model and a turning operation with spindle speed variation.     

Simplified Monopalmitoyl Toll-like Receptor 2 Ligand Mini-UPam for Self-Adjuvanting Neoantigen-Based Synthetic Cancer Vaccines

Synthetic vaccines, based on antigenic peptides that comprise MHC−I and MHC-II T-cell epitopes expressed by tumors, show great promise for the immunotherapy of cancer. For optimal immunogenicity, the synthetic peptides (SPs) should be adjuvanted with suitable immunostimulatory additives. Previously, we have shown that improved immunogenicity in vivo is obtained with vaccine modalities in which an SP is covalently connected to an adjuvanting moiety, typically a ligand to Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2). SPs were covalently attached to UPam, which is a derivative of the classic TLR2 ligand Pam₃CysSK₄. A disadvantage of the triply palmitoylated UPam is its high lipophilicity, which precludes universal adoption of this adjuvant for covalent modification of various antigenic peptides as it renders the synthetic vaccine insoluble in several cases. Here, we report a novel conjugatable TLR2 ligand, mini-UPam, which contains only one palmitoyl chain, rather than three, and therefore has less impact on the solubility and other physicochemical properties of a synthetic peptide. In this study, we used SPs that contain the clinically relevant neoepitopes identified in a melanoma patient who completely recovered after T-cell therapy. Homogeneous mini-UPam-SP conjugates have been prepared in good yields by stepwise solid-phase synthesis that employed a mini-UPam building block pre-prepared in solution and the standard set of Fmoc-amino acids. The immunogenicity of the novel mini-UPam-SP conjugates was demonstrated by using the cancer patient's T-cells.     

The Protective Effects of the Autophagic and Lysosomal Machinery in Vascular and Valvular Calcification: A Systematic Review

Background: Autophagy is a highly conserved catabolic homeostatic process, crucial for cell survival. It has been shown that autophagy can modulate different cardiovascular pathologies, including vascular calcification (VCN). Objective: To assess how modulation of autophagy, either through induction or inhibition, affects vascular and valvular calcification and to determine the therapeutic applicability of inducing autophagy. Data sources: A systematic review of English language articles using MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science (WoS) and the Cochrane library. The search terms included autophagy, autolysosome, mitophagy, endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-phagy, lysosomal, calcification and calcinosis. Study characteristics: Thirty-seven articles were selected based on pre-defined eligibility criteria. Thirty-three studies (89%) studied vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) calcification of which 27 (82%) studies investigated autophagy and six (18%) studies lysosomal function in VCN. Four studies (11%) studied aortic valve calcification (AVCN). Thirty-four studies were published in the time period 2015–2020 (92%). Conclusion: There is compelling evidence that both autophagy and lysosomal function are critical regulators of VCN, which opens new perspectives for treatment strategies. However, there are still challenges to overcome, such as the development of more selective pharmacological agents and standardization of methods to measure autophagic flux.     

Effect of rotor–tower interaction,tilt angle,and yaw misalignment on the aeroelasticity of a large horizontal axis wind turbine with composite blades

This paper presents a detailed analysis of the rotor–tower interaction and the effects of the rotor's tilt angle and yaw misalignment on a large horizontal axis wind turbine. A high‐fidelity aeroelastic model is employed, coupling computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and structural mechanics (CSM). The wind velocity stratification induced by the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) is modeled. On the CSM side, the complex composite structure of each blade is accurately modeled using shell elements. The rotor–tower interaction is analyzed by comparing results of a rotor‐only simulation and a full‐machine simulation, observing a sudden drop in loads, deformations, and power production of each blade, when passing in front of the tower. Subsequently, a tilt angle is introduced on the rotor, and its effect on blade displacements, loads, and performance is studied, representing a novelty with respect to the available literature. The tilt angle leads to a different contribution of gravity to the blade deformations, sensibly affecting the stresses in the composite material. Lastly, a yaw misalignment is introduced with respect to the incoming wind, and the resulting changes in the blade solicitations are analyzed. In particular, a reduction of the blade axial displacement amplitude during each revolution is observed.     

Multi-dimensional regional inequality as an alternative allocation mechanism For EU Structural Funds remittances: The case of Spain and Hungary

We propose a multidimensional approach to regional inequality as an alternative allocation mechanism for EU Structural Funds remittances based on per capita GDP, particularly after EU enlargement. The indicators of regional inequality are combined to a composite index by means of Maasoumi's aggregator function. We propose Partial Common Principal Component Aanalysis as the estimator of the weights for the aggregator function. Application of the multidimensional approach to Spain shows that there are substantial differences between the rankings of the regions obtained by means of the multidimensional approach and the traditional approach based on per capita GDP. For Hungary, which is less developed than Spain, the rankings differ less.     

城市空间重构：大学在城市共治中的作用

本文首先对共治理论的相关要素进行了概述，并且提供了两个案例研究，旨在说明共治理论如何有助于理解大学的作用，以及这些案例如何反映了当前的理论拓展。本文对于为什么大学会日益广泛地从事房地产开发进行了剖析。