Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power Quality Improvement in a Cascaded Multilevel Inverter Interfaced Grid Connected System Using a Modified Inductive–Capacitive–Inductive Filter with Reduced Power Loss and Improved Harmonic Attenuation

Recently, multilevel inverters are more researched due to the advantages they offer over conventional voltage source inverters in grid connected applications. Passive filters are connected at the output of these inverters to produce sinusoidal waveforms with reduced harmonics and to satisfy grid interconnection standard requirements. This work proposes a new passive filter topology for a pulse width modulated five-level cascaded inverter interfaced grid connected system. The proposed passive filter inserts an additional resistance-capacitance branch in parallel to the filter capacitor of the traditional inductive–capacitive–inductive filter in addition to a resistance in series with it to reduce damping power loss. It can attenuate the switching frequency harmonic current components much better than the traditional filter while maintaining the same overall inductance, reduced capacitance and resistance values. The basic parameter design procedure and an approach to discover the parameters of the proposed filter is introduced. Further, a novel methodology using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) is recommended to guarantee minimum damping loss while ensuring reduced peak during resonance. In addition, PSO algorithm is newly employed in this work to maximize harmonic attenuation in and around the switching frequency on the premise of allowable values of filter inductance and capacitance. A comparative discussion considering traditional passive filters and the proposed filter is presented and evaluated through experiments conducted on a 110 V, 1 kW five-level grid connected inverter. The modulation algorithm for the multilevel inverter is implemented using a SPARTAN 6-XC6SLX25 Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) processor. The analysis shows that the proposed filter not only provides decreased damping power loss but also is capable of providing considerable harmonic ripple reduction in the high frequency band, improved output waveforms and lesser Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) with improved power quality for the multilevel inverter based grid connected system.
Induced Temperature Gradients to Examine Groundwater Flowpaths in Open Boreholes

Techniques for characterizing the hydraulic properties and groundwater flow processes of aquifers are essential to design hydrogeologic conceptual models. In this study, rapid time series temperature profiles within open‐groundwater wells in fractured rock were measured using fiber optic distributed temperature sensing (FO‐DTS). To identify zones of active groundwater flow, two continuous electrical heating cables were installed alongside a FO‐DTS cable to heat the column of water within the well and to create a temperature difference between the ambient temperature of the groundwater in the aquifer and that within the well. Additional tests were performed to examine the effects of pumping on hydraulic fracture interconnectivity around the well and to identify zones of increased groundwater flow. High‐ and low‐resolution FO‐DTS cable configurations were examined to test the sensitivities of the technique and compared with downhole video footage and geophysical logging to confirm the zones of active groundwater flow. Two examples are presented to demonstrate the usefulness of this new technique for rapid characterization of fracture zones in open boreholes. The combination of the FO‐DTS and heating cable has excellent scope as a rapid appraisal tool for borehole construction design and improving hydrogeologic conceptual models.
Identification of Host-Chromosome Binding Sites and Candidate Gene Targets for Kaposi's Sarcoma-Associated Herpesvirus LANA

ABSTRACT LANA is essential for tethering the Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus (KSHV) genome to metaphase chromosomes and for modulating host-cell gene expression, but the binding sites in the host-chromosome remain unknown. Here, we use LANA-specific chromatin immunoprecipitation coupled with high-throughput sequencing (ChIP-Seq) to identify LANA binding sites in the viral and host-cell genomes of a latently infected pleural effusion lymphoma cell line BCBL1. LANA bound with high occupancy to the KSHV genome terminal repeats (TR) and to a few minor binding sites in the KSHV genome, including the LANA promoter region. We identified 256 putative LANA binding site peaks with P < 0.01 and overlap in two independent ChIP-Seq experiments. We validated several of the high-occupancy binding sites by conventional ChIP assays and quantitative PCR. Candidate cellular LANA binding motifs were identified and assayed for binding to purified recombinant LANA protein in vitro but bound with low affinity compared to the viral TR binding site. More than half of the LANA binding sites (170/256) could be mapped to within 2.5 kb of a cellular gene transcript. Pathways and Gene Ontogeny (GO) analysis revealed that LANA binds to genes within the p53 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) regulatory network. Further analysis revealed partial overlap of LANA and STAT1 binding sites in several gamma interferon (IFN-γ)-regulated genes. We show that ectopic expression of LANA can downmodulate IFN-γ-mediated activation of a subset of genes, including the TAP1 peptide transporter and proteasome subunit beta type 9 (PSMB9), both of which are required for class I antigen presentation. Our data provide a potential mechanism through which LANA may regulate several host cell pathways by direct binding to gene regulatory elements.
Blind Central-Symmetry-Based Feature Detection for Spatial Spectrum Sensing

State-of-the-art sensing methods mostly detect the spectrum holes by exploring the feature in frequency, time, and geography dimensions. In this paper, we analyze the sensing problem from angle/space domain by using the angle of arrival (AoA) estimation technology. We show a property that the spatial spectrum of noise has the feature of central symmetry, which the arriving signal does not have in general. Hence, the existence of the central symmetry feature depends on the presence or absence of the primary user signal. Motivated by this, we introduce a novel spatial spectrum sensing framework and propose a blind central-symmetry-based feature detection (CSFD) method correspondingly. Different from conventional spectrum sensing, the designed sensing framework reduces the complexity of spatial spectrum sensing and is available for spectrum access. Taking advantage of the inherent central symmetry feature of noise spatial spectrum, the proposed CSFD can achieve higher probability of detection even at low signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) and offer AoA information. Theoretical performance analysis of the proposed CSFD method is also provided. Simulation results are presented to verify the efficiency of the proposed algorithm.
Predicting the performance and survival of Islamic Banks in Malaysia to achieve growth sustainability

In Malaysia, the growth of the Islamic financial industry has increased tremendously in line with the Government’s ambition to make Malaysia as an international hub for Islamic finance since 2010. With the increasing number of foreign players in this industry plus with the increasing demand from domestic and foreign customers would further enhance the possibility for Malaysia to achieve this ambition. Currently, according to the Economic Transformation Programme, 2012 Malaysia is the world’s third largest market for Shariah assets that cover Islamic banks, Takaful, and sukuk. Malaysia as one of the main contributors to the global Islamic financial assets with Islamic assets in Malaysia grew by 23.8% in 2011 from RM350.8bil to RM434.6bil. The issues of predicting the performance and the survival of Islamic Banks in Malaysia become amongst crucial issues in academic research. By employing multi – layer perceptron neural network and pooled regression, we found that total assets/ size of the Islamic banks (GROWTH) have high weightage and significantly influence in predicting the performance and the survival of Islamic banks in Malaysia. With the increasing number of Islamic banking institutions in Malaysia, this study can give insight on the sustainability of the Islamic banking system in Malaysia for the benefit of the investors, shareholder and depositors.
Chlorampehnicol and its sulfamoyl analogue. Report of reversible erythropoietic toxicity in healthy volunteers.

Two years after the introduction of chloramphenicol the first case of fatal aplastic anemia associated with its use was reported. 1 Subsequently, several similar cases were published. 2-12 In addition to reports of serious aplastic anemia, other observations of hematopoietic toxicity have been reported in man and animals. Volini et al. 13 in 1949 reported minimal marrow depression in man which remitted after removal of the drug. In 1951, Janbon and Bertrand 14 observed the development of anemia unaccompanied by any disturbance of leukocytes or thrombocytes. Smith 15 induced anemia without leukopenia in dogs by the administration of intramuscular chloramphenicol. Gruhzit et al. 16 could not reproduce these results when the drug was given orally. After the administration of chloramphenicol to ducks, Rigdon et al. 17 observed "degenerative changes in the erythroblasts within the bone marrow" and hypoplasia of this cell lineage, but these changes were not further defined. Krakoff
Attitudes of the new generation of Canadian obstetricians: how do they differ from their predecessors?

BACKGROUND Attitudes drive practice, perhaps more than evidence. The objective of this study was to determine if the new generation of Canadian obstetricians has attitudes differing from those of their predecessors. METHODS Employing a cross-sectional, Internet, and paper-based survey, we conducted an in-depth study of obstetricians responding to the Canadian National Maternity Care Attitudes Survey. RESULTS Of the 800 Canadian obstetricians providing intrapartum care, 549 (68.6%) responded. Participants were stratified by age less than or equal to 40 years compared with those over 40 years; 81 percent of those 40 years or younger were women versus 40 percent over 40 years of age. Younger obstetricians were significantly more likely to favor use of routine epidural analgesia and believed that it did not interfere with labor or lead to instrumentation; were more concerned and feared the perineal and pelvic floor consequences of vaginal birth compared with cesarean section; and were significantly less supportive of vaginal birth after prior cesarean section, home birth, birth plans, routine episiotomy, and routine electronic fetal monitoring as providing maternal or fetal benefits. They were less positive than the older generation about a range of approaches to reducing the cesarean section rate, the importance of maternal choice and role in their own birth, and peer review, and they were more likely to believe that women having a cesarean section were not missing an important experience. No significant generational differences were found for ambivalent attitudes to vaginal breech birth. CONCLUSIONS Younger obstetricians were more evidence-based for some issues and less for others. In general younger obstetricians were more supportive of the role of birth technology in normal birth, including routine epidural analgesia, and they were less appreciative of the role of women in their own birth. They saw cesarean section as a solution to many perceived labor and birth problems. Results suggest a need to examine how obstetricians acquire their favorable attitudes to birth technology in normal birth.
Vestibular System in Infants With Hereditary Nonsyndromic Deafness

Objective: Seventy percent of genetic deafness occurs without associated phenotypic characteristics and is termed nonsyndromic hereditary hearing impairment, analyzed by numerous genetic loci. Many forms of nonsyndromic hereditary hearing impairment are secondary to diverse cochleosaccular dysfunctions. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate vestibular function in a group of infants with hereditary nonsyndromic deafness using caloric tests and vestibular evoked myogenic potentials. Patients: Fifty-eight infants aged 3 months: 40 healthy controls and 18 infants with hereditary nonsyndromic deafness. Infants with other risk factors of inner ear damage were excluded. Intervention: Diagnostic. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials and auditory brainstem responses were recorded, and caloric tests were performed. Main Outcome Measures: The vestibular function was impaired in 14 patients. Results: The results of all the tests in the controls were normal. In the patients, no reaction to caloric stimulation was elicited from 12 examined ears, and no vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were recorded from 24 ears. Caloric responses elicited from 12 ears were weakened. Hearing thresholds were in the interval 40- to 80-dB hearing level in 20 ears and more than 80-dB hearing level in 16 ears. The presence of caloric responses correlated with the hearing threshold interval. Conclusion: In the group of infants with hereditary nonsyndromic deafness, the degree of the semicircular canal impairment is higher in individuals with profound hearing loss. Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials are more frequently absent than caloric responses. The vestibular organ should be routinely examined in infants with hereditary nonsyndromic deafness.
Diabetic Nephropathy: Role of Aldosterone and Benefits of Therapy with Aldosterone Receptor Blocker

ACE-inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) have been shown to reduce proteinuria and progression of renal dysfunction in both type 1 and type 2 diabetics (1-11). However, even with optimal use of ACE-Inhibitor or ARB, the progression of renal dysfunction is not completely stopped. Even in studies where ACEI or ARB therapy showed improved outcome, a very high percentage of patients still progress. This scenario is now highlighted in a recent study published in JAMA, which shows the incidence of diabetic nephropathy increasing in USA in excess of what can be accounted for by the increased incidence of type 2 DM in the population (12). The present treatment strategy is therefore not adequate and other additional effective treatment strategies are urgently needed.
Intestinal Nutrient Uptake Measurements and Tissue Damage: Validating the Everted Sleeves Method

The reliability of methods for nutrient uptake measurements across the intestinal epithelium relies on the integrity of the mucosal epithelium and the enterocytes. We tested effects of tissue handling during the “everted sleeves method” on the length of intestinal villi, the surface magnification, the circumference of the gut, and the thickness of the muscle layer in sunbirds (Nectarinia osea), chicken (Gallus gallus), and mice (Mus domesticus). The sunbird has thin and delicate intestinal villi that are greatly affected by the everted sleeves method. After eversion and incubation, villi lost 30% of their original length. The severe tissue damage coincides with uptake measurements for glucose that were an order of magnitude lower than in other nectar‐feeding (nectarivorous) birds of similar body size. Tissue handling during the everted sleeves method had significant effects on morphometric parameters of chicken and mouse intestines, but on a light‐microscopical level, the tissue integrity and the cytology of the enterocytes were not altered. Therefore, we think that the everted sleeves method renders reliable and reproducible measurements of nutrient uptake in those species. We conclude that a histological evaluation is necessary to assess the reliability of the method before it is applied to adults or to the developmental stage of any species.
Quantitative Determination of Milnacipran by Simple Colorimetric Methods

In the present study, two sensitive, precise and accurate spectrophotometric methods have been developed for the determination of milnacipran in bulk and capsule formulation. The first method is based on the reaction of milnacipran with ninhydrin in N,N'-dimethylformamide medium at 80°C temperature to form a colored Ruhemann's purple, which exhibits absorption maximum at 575nm. The second method is based on extraction of milnacipran into chloroform as ion-pair with bromothymol blue. The yellow colored ion-pair complex exhibits absorption maximum at 410nm. Beer’s law is obeyed in the concentration ranges 2.5-37. 5μg/mL and 2-12μg/mL of milnacipran for methods I and II, respectively. The effect of experimental variables were investigated and optimized. The validation parameters like linearity, sensitivity, accuracy, precision and robustness were checked by following the ICH guidelines. The proposed methods were applied for the analysis of milnacipran in capsule formulation with good results.
Leaky-wave slot array antenna fed by a dual reflector system

A dual offset Gregorian system leaky-wave antenna realized in PCB technology has been presented. An antenna prototype has been manufactured and tested. The measured radiation patterns as a function of the frequency have been presented. A pins-made feed, that uses EBG concepts, PCB extension of the one presented in [4] has been used to efficiently feed the dual reflector system. However it has not been discussed here for the sake of brevity. Good performance of the antenna has been observed. The planar dual reflector system could be used in future planar imaging system applications, to achieve antennas with independent beams in the azimuth and elevation planes, resorting to frequency reuse and multiple focal plane feeds. The scanning of the pointing angle with the frequency is observed. In particular since the final user of these antenna is a radar system whose beam is scanned as a function of the frequency, the frequency squint that was observed in Fig. 3 should not be considered a disadvantage.
Molecular study of worldwide distribution and diversity of soil animals

The global distribution of soil animals and the relationship of below-ground biodiversity to above-ground biodiversity are not well understood. We examined 17,516 environmental 18S rRNA gene sequences representing 20 phyla of soil animals sampled from 11 locations covering a range of biomes and latitudes around the world. No globally cosmopolitan taxa were found and only 14 of 2,259 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) found were common to four or more locations. Half of those were circumpolar and may reflect higher connectivity among circumpolar locations compared with other locations in the study. Even when OTU assembly criteria were relaxed to approximate the family taxonomic level, only 34 OTUs were common to four or more locations. A comparison of our diversity and community structure data to environmental factors suggests that below-ground animal diversity may be inversely related to above-ground biodiversity. Our data suggest that greater soil inorganic N and lower pH could explain the low below-ground biodiversity found at locations of high above-ground biodiversity. Our locations could also be characterized as being dominated by microarthropods or dominated by nematodes. Locations dominated by arthropods were primarily forests with lower soil pH, root biomass, mean annual temperature, low soil inorganic N and higher C:N, litter and moisture compared with nematode-dominated locations, which were mostly grasslands. Overall, our data indicate that small soil animals have distinct biogeographical distributions and provide unique evidence of the link between above-ground and below-ground biodiversity at a global scale.
Image quality assessment in digital mammography: part I. Technical characterization of the systems

In many European countries, image quality for digital x-ray systems used in screening mammography is currently specified using a threshold-detail detectability method. This is a two-part study that proposes an alternative method based on calculated detectability for a model observer: the first part of the work presents a characterization of the systems. Eleven digital mammography systems were included in the study; four computed radiography (CR) systems, and a group of seven digital radiography (DR) detectors, composed of three amorphous selenium-based detectors, three caesium iodide scintillator systems and a silicon wafer-based photon counting system. The technical parameters assessed included the system response curve, detector uniformity error, pre-sampling modulation transfer function (MTF), normalized noise power spectrum (NNPS) and detective quantum efficiency (DQE). Approximate quantum noise limited exposure range was examined using a separation of noise sources based upon standard deviation. Noise separation showed that electronic noise was the dominant noise at low detector air kerma for three systems; the remaining systems showed quantum noise limited behaviour between 12.5 and 380 µGy. Greater variation in detector MTF was found for the DR group compared to the CR systems; MTF at 5 mm−1 varied from 0.08 to 0.23 for the CR detectors against a range of 0.16–0.64 for the DR units. The needle CR detector had a higher MTF, lower NNPS and higher DQE at 5 mm−1 than the powder CR phosphors. DQE at 5 mm−1 ranged from 0.02 to 0.20 for the CR systems, while DQE at 5 mm−1 for the DR group ranged from 0.04 to 0.41, indicating higher DQE for the DR detectors and needle CR system than for the powder CR phosphor systems. The technical evaluation section of the study showed that the digital mammography systems were well set up and exhibiting typical performance for the detector technology employed in the respective systems.
NOD 1 expression is increased in the adipose tissue of women with gestational diabetes

Maternal peripheral insulin resistance and increased inflammation are two features of pregnancies, complicated by gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). The nucleotide-binding oligomerisation domain (NOD) intracellular molecules recognise a wide range of microbial products, aswell as other intracellular danger signals, thereby initiating inflammation through activation of nuclear factor kB (NFkB). The aim of this studywas to determinewhether levels of NOD1 and NOD2 are increased in adipose tissue of womenwith GDM. The effect of NOD1 and NOD2 activation on inflammation and the insulin signalling pathwaywas also assessed. NOD1, but not NOD2, expression was higher in omental and subcutaneous adipose tissues obtained from women with GDMwhen compared with those from women with normal glucose tolerance (NGT). Inbothomentalandsubcutaneousadiposetissues fromNGTandGDMwomen, the NOD1 ligand g-D-glutamyl-meso-diaminopimelic acid (iE-DAP) significantly induced the expression and secretion of the pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin 6 (IL6) and chemokine IL8; COX2 (PTGS2) gene expression and subsequent prostaglandin production; the expression and secretion of the extracellular matrix remodelling enzyme matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) and the gene expression and secretion of the adhesionmolecules ICAM1 and VCAM1. There was no effect of the NOD2 ligand muramyl dipeptide on any of the endpoints tested. The effects of the NOD1 ligand iE-DAP were mediated via NFkB, as the NFkB inhibitor BAY 11-7082 significantly attenuated iE-DAP-inducedexpressionand secretionofpro-inflammatory cytokines, COX2gene expression and subsequent prostaglandin production,MMP9 expression and secretion and ICAM1 andVCAM1gene expression and secretion. In conclusion, thepresent findings describe an important role for NOD1 in the development of insulin resistance and inflammation in pregnancies complicated by GDM.