Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Loss reduction and field testing for switched capacitor-based cell-level power balancing utilizing diffusion capacitance of photovoltaic cells

Partial shading on a photovoltaic (PV) module is known to trigger serious issues of significant reduction in power generation and occurrence of multiple power point maxima. Among various kinds of voltage equalizers that have been proposed to preclude the partial shading issues, switched capacitor converters (SCCs) are known as a simple and small solution. To achieve even smaller circuit at lower cost, the capacitor-less SCC equalizer that utilizes diffusion capacitances of PV cells has been proposed. The conventional capacitor-less equalizer, however, has to operate at high switching frequency even under no-shading conditions, hence inevitably generating losses. This paper proposes the novel capacitor-less SCC-based voltage equalizer. Although two additional elements of an inductor and capacitor are necessary, the issue of the conventional capacitor-less equalizer can be prevented. The detailed operation analysis was performed to prove the better efficiency performance of the proposed solution. The experimental verification tests were performed using real PV cells, and the efficacy of the proposed equalizer was successfully demonstrated.
Longitudinal analysis of reticular drusen associated with geographic atrophy in age-related macular degeneration.

PURPOSE To characterize longitudinal changes of reticular drusen (RDR) in subjects with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related macular degeneration in the multicenter, prospective natural history Geographic Atrophy Progression Study. METHODS Three-field confocal scanning laser ophthalmoscopy fundus autofluorescence (cSLO FAF, excitation [exc.] = 488 nm; emission [em.] 500-800 nm, Heidelberg Retina Angiograph/Spectralis) of 44 eyes of 22 patients with RDR (median age 77.6 years; range, 61-90 years) at baseline were identified in the study population and included for further analysis. Two independent readers determined the presence, topographic distribution, and pattern of RDR at baseline and at 18 months. Furthermore, the convex hull of the extent of RDR as the minimum polygon encompassing the entire area of RDR involvement was quantified. RESULTS RDR lesion boundaries were clearly detectable in all directions within three-field FAF composite images in 16 eyes of 10 patients at both baseline and final visits. Over time, RDR-affected retinal area and RDR density increased. Quantitative analysis showed a mean average RDR extent of 53.7 mm(2) (95% confidence interval [95% CI]; 40.7; 66.8) at baseline. The mean differences for intraobserver agreements were 2.4 mm(2) (95% CI; -0.1; 4.9) for reader 1 and -0.6 mm(2) (95% CI; -2.3; 1.1) for reader 2. The mean difference of interobserver agreement was 0.9 mm(2) (95% CI; -0.8; 2.7). A mean growth rate of the RDR extent within the three-field FAF composite image of 4.4 mm(2)/y (95% CI; 1.9; 6.9) was measured. CONCLUSIONS In vivo cSLO FAF imaging allows for both qualitative and quantitative mapping of longitudinal changes of RDR areas within a relatively short time period. Continuous enlargement of the affected retinal area indicates disease progression with regard to this phenotypic characteristic associated with GA in AMD. Systematic recordings of RDR progression appears warranted in future natural history and interventional studies in dry AMD. (ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT00599846.).
Transumblical single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy with a simple technique: Initial experience of 33 cases

Abstract Transumbilical single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy is a novel laparoscopic surgical technique for cholecystectomy utilizing only a transumbilical incision, which eliminates any visible abdominal scars and improves cosmesis. As the true single port laparoscopic technique, we presented an easy and feasible method for transumbilical laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A total of 33 patients were presented for transumbilical single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy. A 1.5 cm incision was made at the umbilicus. We used one sterile glove and designed a simple method for this procedure. All the operations were completed successfully. The operative time of the first case was 189 min, the average time of the following two cases was 90 min, and the mean of the latest ten cases was 50 min. Operative blood loss was <30 ml for all patients. No drainage tube was placed and no postoperative complications such as bleeding or biliary leakage occurred after three to six months of follow-up. All the patients were discharged 24h after the operation. There were no visible scars on the abdominal wall at the second weekend. Transumbilical single port laparoscopic cholecystectomy by our designed methods was technically simple, feasible and safe. Furthermore, development of newer instruments, accumulation of experience and enhancement of operative technique may facilitate this new operative approach.
Sense of coherence, lifestyle choices and mortality

Background: Based on data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer, Norfolk (EPIC-Norfolk) study, we have previously shown a strong sense of coherence (SOC) to be associated with a reduced rate of all-cause mortality. Objectives: To investigate the extent to which the SOC mortality association can be explained by socioeconomic status and lifestyle choices. Design and setting: Prospective population-based cohort study. Participants: 18 287 study participants aged 41–80 years who reported no pre-existing chronic disease at baseline and who completed an assessment of SOC. Results: Based on 1599 deaths during a mean follow-up of 8.3 years, a strong SOC was associated with a 20% reduced risk of all-cause mortality. Measures of lifestyle choice (cigarette smoking, physical activity, dietary intakes of fruit, vegetables and fibre) and socioeconomic status (social class and education) explained 23% of this association. Conclusions: The SOC concept embraces multiple sets of chronic disease risk factors that include lifestyle choices and those associated with socioeconomic status, and is a potential aid in understanding differences in health outcomes in similar individuals.
Resolution of extensive severe bronchiectasis in an infant

Bronchiectasis is, by definition, an irreversible condition. Following recent reports of reversible bronchiectasis in children, it has been suggested that the definition be broadened to include pre‐bronchiectasis and transitional reversible states. We describe the case of a young infant who had extensive, severe bronchiectasis of unknown etiology that resolved following prolonged treatment with antibiotics and a tapering course of oral steroids. We suggest that the prolonged treatment may have played a role, perhaps by eradicating infection and thus enabling regeneration of bronchial anatomy. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2010; 45:717–720. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Transformation of Ramped Current Stress VBDto Constant Voltage Stress TDDB TBD

We have carried out an investigation for equivalence among three different stress methods: ramped voltage stress (RVS) method, ramped current stress (RCS) method, and constant voltage stress (CVS) method. Unlike the conventional RVS test with a constant ramp rate, we show the change of response voltage in RCS tests can be regarded as effectively a variable ramp rate. A data-analysis methodology along with a generalized Berman summation model [1] is presented to transform voltage-to-breakdown (VBD) of RCS to Time-to-breakdown (TBD) of CVS TDDB domain. We demonstrate the good agreement of directly TBD data and converted TBD data among three methods and thus establishes the fundamental equivalence of these different methods.
Bringing Tablets to Schools - Lessons Learned from High School Deployments in Germany

Tablet deployments at schools are becoming more and more popular. Research on how to effectively use tablets for teaching is unfortunately mostly missing. With this paper we share our experiences from various high school deployments in Germany. During these deployments we have developed a novel learning style designed for tablet-based teaching. We have evaluated our deployments through interviews with teachers and students. A quantitative survey compares the use of tablet devices with laptop computers.
Knowledge, attitude and practices of reproductive age females about tetanus toxoid vaccine: a pilot study.

Tetanus is a non-communicable infectious disease caused by bacterium Clostridium tetani. Maternal tetanus can occur during pregnancy or within 6 weeks after termination of pregnancy. Women are prone to tetanus while giving birth under unhygienic delivery conditions and low TT (tetanus toxoid) immunization. These conditions put their newborn babies at risk for neonatal tetanus (NNT) which is defined as tetanus occurring in the newborn within 28 days after birth. Pakistan is one of the five countries accounting for 90% of global NNT deaths. The percentage of women receiving two doses of TT vaccine in Pakistan was 56% in 2002 57% in 2003 and 45% in 2004. There is a need to discover reasons for low TT immunization coverage among females of Pakistan. One reason is demand failure as people do not demand or use immunization due to lack of knowledge about its benefits to them. There is little published data that reveals the knowledge of Pakistani females of reproductive age about the benefits of TT vaccine. This study aimed to estimate the knowledge attitude and practices of reproductive age females about TT vaccine and to find out means to improve TT vaccine outreach to them. (excerpt)
Isochannels and Blocking Modes of Voltage‐Dependent Sodium Channels a

Our results support the existence of three different Na-channel subtypes or isochannels. These isochannels can be readily distinguished as the predominant Na-channel types in mammalian brain, skeletal muscle, and cardiac muscle. The sensitivity to mu-conotoxin GIIIA and tetrodotoxin is sufficient to classify these channels. The skeletal muscle channel is very sensitive to both tetrodotoxin and mu-conotoxin, the brain channel is sensitive to tetrodotoxin but insensitive to mu-conotoxin, and the heart and denervated muscle channels are insensitive to both toxins. In addition to block at the external receptor site for guanidinium toxins, several other blocking modes can be generalized for batrachotoxin-activated Na channels. One mode is peculiar to certain hydrophobic molecules so far represented by our studies of benzocaine and procaine. These molecules induce discrete blocking events with dwell times that apparently increase with anesthetic concentration and a blocking frequency that increases with negative voltage. This mode is quite distinct from the fast internal block by charged organic molecules that increases with positive voltage. These results imply that it is not possible to ascribe the diverse effects of local anesthetics to a single site in the interior channel mouth, as previously proposed by Hille. Our observations thus support the conclusions of other workers who used mixtures of two local anesthetics to show that the dose-response behavior does not fit single-site behavior, but requires at least two distinct sites. Two additional blocking modes can be distinguished for the interactions of cations at the internal and external mouths of the channel. Organic molecules can apparently enter the electric field from the internal but not the external side of the channel. This result suggests a wide internal entry way to the field and an external constriction that prevents the entry of molecules with a single methyl group but permits entry of divalent inorganic cations such as Ca2+ and Co2+.
Impact of certification system on smallhold coffee farms’ income distribution in Vietnam

This study attempts to investigate the impact of the working certification programs on the income of the coffee farms operated by the local smallholders at Dakha District, Kontum, Vietnam. Followed by the comparisons of the socio-demographic and economic characteristics between certified and non-certified farmers, the study adopts the Binary Probit model and linear regression model were applied to analyze the decision on farmers‟ attitude for participation on the available certification programs and their impacts. Propensity score matching (PSM) was applied to examine the average treatment effect of certification program on net coffee income per hectare to reduce the selection bias. Statistical results show that net coffee income per hectare is positively influenced by certification participation. Furthermore, education status the household head, number of members involved in coffee cultivation, distance from household to town center, and training availability effect significantly on net coffee income. Moreover, four matching algorithms of PSM highlighted that members of the certified cooperative achieve higher net coffee income per hectare compared to non-certified ones. Finally, how to introduce an organizational framework to assist local smallhold farmers and local coffee cooperatives become more effective and influential in domestic coffee value chain are suggested.
On the Use of Word Embeddings Alone to Represent Natural Language Sequences

To construct representations for natural language sequences, information from two main sources needs to be captured: (i) semantic meaning of individual words, and (ii) their compositionality. These two types of information are usually represented in the form of word embeddings and compositional functions, respectively. For the latter, Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) and Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) have been considered. There has not been a rigorous evaluation regarding the relative importance of each component to different text-representation-based tasks; i.e., how important is the modeling capacity of word embeddings alone, relative to the added value of a compositional function? In this paper, we conduct an extensive comparative study between Simple Word Embeddings-based Models (SWEMs), with no compositional parameters, relative to employing word embeddings within RNN/CNN-based models. Surprisingly, SWEMs exhibit comparable or even superior performance in the majority of cases considered. Moreover, in a new SWEM setup, we propose to employ a max-pooling operation over the learned word-embedding matrix of a given sentence. This approach is demonstrated to extract complementary features relative to the averaging operation standard to SWEMs, while endowing our model with better interpretability. To further validate our observations, we examine the information utilized by different models to make predictions, revealing interesting properties of word embeddings.
Novel nicotine delivery systems and public health: the rise of the "e-cigarette".

Inhalation of smoke from burning tobacco remains the most deadly risky behavior in the United States. For years, corporations have sought alternative methods to administer nicotine to the brain without the harms of combustion while retaining the immediate rewarding aspects of cigarettes that make them so profitable, pleasurable, and addictive. The latest attempt at reduced harm products is a heterogeneous collection of battery-driven inhalers termed by the World Health Organization (WHO) as electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS)1 or more popularly as electronic cigarettes or e-cigarettes. These devices pose significant challenges to the public health community because their distribution and use has become widespread in the United States while simultaneously evading most regulatory structures. Ultimately, these devices force a close consideration of how the health and regulatory system evaluates claims of safety and harm reduction in a dynamic, consumer driven environment to ensure the broad protection of public health.
Alteration of cell wall xylan acetylation triggers defense responses that counterbalance the immune deficiencies of plants impaired in the &bgr;‐subunit of the heterotrimeric G‐protein

Arabidopsis heterotrimeric G-protein complex modulates pathogen-associated molecular pattern-triggered immunity (PTI) and disease resistance responses to different types of pathogens. It also plays a role in plant cell wall integrity as mutants impaired in the Gβ- (agb1-2) or Gγ-subunits have an altered wall composition compared with wild-type plants. Here we performed a mutant screen to identify suppressors of agb1-2 (sgb) that restore susceptibility to pathogens to wild-type levels. Out of the four sgb mutants (sgb10-sgb13) identified, sgb11 is a new mutant allele of ESKIMO1 (ESK1), which encodes a plant-specific polysaccharide O-acetyltransferase involved in xylan acetylation. Null alleles (sgb11/esk1-7) of ESK1 restore to wild-type levels the enhanced susceptibility of agb1-2 to the necrotrophic fungus Plectosphaerella cucumerina BMM (PcBMM), but not to the bacterium Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato DC3000 or to the oomycete Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis. The enhanced resistance to PcBMM of the agb1-2 esk1-7 double mutant was not the result of the re-activation of deficient PTI responses in agb1-2. Alteration of cell wall xylan acetylation caused by ESK1 impairment was accompanied by an enhanced accumulation of abscisic acid, the constitutive expression of genes encoding antibiotic peptides and enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of tryptophan-derived metabolites, and the accumulation of disease resistance-related secondary metabolites and different osmolites. These esk1-mediated responses counterbalance the defective PTI and PcBMM susceptibility of agb1-2 plants, and explain the enhanced drought resistance of esk1 plants. These results suggest that a deficient PTI-mediated resistance is partially compensated by the activation of specific cell-wall-triggered immune responses.
Incidence and Recurrence of Disabling Low Back Pain and Neck-Shoulder Pain

Study Design. A prospective cohort study with 1-year follow-up. Objectives. To assess incidence and recurrence of disabling low back (LBP) and neck-shoulder pain (NSP) in an industrial population, and to investigate the association with sex and job title during follow-up. Summary of Background Data. Epidemiologic data of LBP and NSP are sparse from developing countries. Methods. All employees (18,031) in an Iranian industry were invited to participate in a baseline survey and followed for 1 year regarding new episodes of sickness absence due to LBP or NSP (disabling pain). Results. The 1-year incidence of disabling LBP was 2.1% and of NSP 0.1%. Although the prevalence of LBP in females was higher than in males, the incidence disabling LBP were higher in males. Both prevalence and incidence of disabling LBP were high in unskilled workers. For NSP, managers had the highest reported prevalence, but incident cases happened only among office workers and unskilled workers. Conclusions. The incidence, especially for NSP, is much lower than from developed countries. To study prevalence, incidence and recurrence of LBP and NSP simultaneously leads to a better understanding of the natural pattern and distribution of LBP and NSP in a working population.
Origin of Renewed Spinal Ganglia during Tail Regeneration in Urodeles

The source of the cells which form the spinal ganglia within the regenerating urodele tail is not yet indisputably known. Classical and modern experimental approaches trace the spinal cord as the most probable source. The aim of the present study was to further investigate this item by conventional histology, counting of mitotic figures, and estimating the labeling index. The main results can be summarized as follows: (a) The regenerated part of the tail contained only two bilaterally asymmetrical pairs of ganglia, with respect to the rostrocaudal (anterior-posterior) axis. (b) The anterior ganglia were slightly differentiated and appropriately localized; therefore, analysis was performed mainly in the posterior, still developing ganglia. (c) An anatomical continuation between the ventrolateral side of the regenerated spinal cord and the laterally forming spinal ganglion was noticed. There was some indication that many cells migrated out from the spinal cord towards the spinal ganglion, through the ventral root. (d) The mitotic and the labeling index along the regenerated spinal cord exhibited individual peaks near the level of each developing ganglion. The last two observations corroborate and reinforce the prevailing view that the progenitors of the spinal ganglion cells which are formed in the regenerating tail are of spinal cord origin.
A millennium update on pediatric diarrheal illness in the developing world.

More than one billion diarrhea episodes occur every year among children younger than 5 years of age in socioeconomically developing countries causing 2 to 2.5 million deaths. More than twenty viral, bacterial, and parasitic enteropathogens are currently associated with acute diarrhea. Rotavirus and diarrheagenic Escherichia coli are the most common pathogens responsible for acute diarrhea episodes in children; Shigella spp. , Salmonella spp, Campylobacter jejuni/coli, Vibrio cholerae, Aeromonas spp, and Plesiomonas spp. occur more commonly in poorer areas and infections caused by protozoa and helminthes occur mainly in areas where environmental sanitation is significantly deteriorated. Initial clinical assessment of a child with diarrhea should focus on obtaining an accurate evaluation of hydration and nutritional status. Assessment of stool characteristics (e.g., liquid non-bloody stools vs. dysenteric or bloody stools) is a key feature in determining potential pathogens causing an acute diarrhea episode. Diagnostic guidelines are discussed in the article. The major therapeutic intervention for all individuals with diarrhea consists of fluid and electrolyte therapy. When antimicrobial therapy is appropriate, selection of a specific agent should be made based upon susceptibility patterns of the pathogen or information on local susceptibility patterns. Current guidelines for administering appropriate antimicrobial treatment are provided in the article. Preventive measures include careful personal hygiene, especially promotion of hand washing. Immunizations currently or soon to be available for Salmonella serotype Typhi, cholera prevention, and rotavirus are discussed.