Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Differential power processing converter design for photovoltaic wearable applications

Traditional photovoltaic (PV) systems are stationary PV systems mounted in one location and, generally, receive consistent and even illumination across the PV panel. However PV cells can also be utilized in wearable applications, in which the PV cells are likely to experience uneven illumination. Under uneven illumination, traditional series-connected PV systems experience severely decreased output power and overall efficiency. The system output power can be increased by improving the power converter connection architecture and control method. To achieve optimal system efficiency, differential power processing (DPP) converters are adapted so that each PV cell can operate at its own maximum power point (MPP) even under uneven illumination. This paper introduces a PV power system with four DPP converters for a wearable application that allows the system to effectively utilize PV energy under even and uneven illumination conditions. The DPP converter design and control method are validated through simulation results, including dynamic illumination changes, and experimental results using a hardware prototype. Results show that each PV cell is controlled independently such that each PV cell operates at its own MPP under uneven illuminations.
Thresholded Multivariate Principal Component Analysis for Phase I Multichannel Profile Monitoring

ABSTRACT Monitoring multichannel profiles has important applications in manufacturing systems improvement, but it is nontrivial to develop efficient statistical methods because profiles are high-dimensional functional data with intrinsic inner- and interchannel correlations, and that the change might only affect a few unknown features of multichannel profiles. To tackle these challenges, we propose a novel thresholded multivariate principal component analysis (PCA) method for multichannel profile monitoring. Our proposed method consists of two steps of dimension reduction: It first applies the functional PCA to extract a reasonably large number of features under the in-control state, and then uses the soft-thresholding techniques to further select significant features capturing profile information under the out-of-control state. The choice of tuning parameter for soft-thresholding is provided based on asymptotic analysis, and extensive numerical studies are conducted to illustrate the efficacy of our proposed thresholded PCA methodology.
Modified MISO DC-DC converter based PV water pumping system

In this paper an modified MISO DC-DC converter based Photovoltaic (PV) water pumping system is designed for population living in remote areas to fulfill their water pumping requirement for various applications like drinking water, water for irrigation and daily needs etc. With the objective of improvement in performance and efficiency of PV based water pumping system and thus to justify its installation cost, a modified Multi-input single-output (MISO) converter is proposed. Contribution of this paper is the implementation of proposed MISO converter to the conventional PV based water pumping system to enhance extraction of power from PV units under partial shading/mismatching phenomena without any energy storage device. Various irradiation patterns are considered to create the mismatching conditions and observe the performance of designed system. To verify the performance of proposed MISO converter, designed system is simulated in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. Simulation results show that the implementation of proposed MISO converter instead of conventional DC-DC converter based PV water pumping system increases the extracted power from PV units under mismatching phenomena.
Disentangling Fear and Anxiety in Self–reported Responses to Situational Scripts

With decreasing threat ambiguity and increasing threat imminence, human psychophysiological responses can be mapped onto a defensive continuum that distinguishes between the states of general anxiety, cued anxiety, and fear. The present study aimed to investigate whether self–reported physiological, cognitive, behavioral and attentional responses can also distinguish between cued anxiety and fear. Healthy participants (N=141) received 9 situational scripts (3 prototypical scripts per phase of the defensive continuum) each followed by 22 responses. They indicated how likely they would display each response in the described situation. The results of an INDCLAS–analysis indicated that the distinction between "cued anxiety" and "fear" can be made on the basis of self–reported responses. Responses typical for fear situations were "fear of dying", "breathing faster", and "feeling of choking". Cued anxiety situations evoked "accelerated heart rate", "to startle", "sharpened senses", "tense muscles" and "sweating". This finding may contribute to constructing an easy tool to distinguish cued anxiety and fear in both clinical and experimental contexts.
A Comparative Study of Collective Self-Esteem and Perception of Racism among Cambodian Immigrants and French Quebecois

Collective self-esteem represents a potentially useful construct for understanding intergroup relations in multiethnic societies, but current literature reflects a gap in cross-cultural comparisons of this concept. This study was designed to compare expression of collective self-esteem and its relation to perception of self and others across two distinct cultural groups. Collective self-esteem, personal self-esteem and perception of racism were measured in two groups of 114 Cambodian immigrants and 94 Francophone Quebecois, each composed of adolescents and their parents. The magnitude of collective self-esteem, as well as its relation with personal self-esteem and perception of racism differed across groups. Further analyses highlighted cultural factors in the function and impact of collective self-esteem, while suggesting that cultural characteristics may change rapidly when groups experience considerable modifications in their social identity because of intergenerational shifts and because of minority-majority tensions.
MANAGEMENT OF CHILDREN WITH CLEFT LIP AND PALATE: A REVIEW DESCRIBING THE APPLICATION OF MULTIDISCIPLINARY TEAM WORKING IN THIS CONDITION BASED UPON THE EXPERIENCES OF A REGIONAL CLEFT LIP AND PALATE CENTRE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The currently accepted model for delivery of this care in the most appropriate way is the multidisciplinary cleft team. This is a group of individuals from different specialist backgrounds who work closely together, not only to bring each specialist’s particular expertise to the patient in the optimum way, but also to develop an understanding of the requirements and specialist skills of the other team members to enhance the delivery of the total package. It has been suggested that such an integrated system of delivery of care enables the individuals within the team to function in an interdisciplinary way so that all aspects of health care for the cleft condition can be delivered in as seamless a way as possible. This model has an international acceptance and many centres have slowly developed their services along these lines. However, within the United Kingdom there has been a period of more rapid change stimulated by a government report (CSAG 1 ) leading to a major reorganisation of cleft services across England and Wales
Serum Markers May Distinguish Biliary Atresia From Other Forms of Neonatal Cholestasis

Background: Biliary atresia (BA) is the most serious liver disease in infants. Diagnosis currently depends on surgical exploration of the biliary tree. Noninvasive tests that distinguish BA from other types of neonatal liver disease are not available. Patients and Methods: To identify potential serum biomarkers that classify children with neonatal cholestasis, we performed 2-dimensional difference gel electrophoresis, statistical analysis, and tandem mass spectrometry using serum samples from 19 infants with BA and 19 infants with non-BA neonatal cholestasis. Results: Eleven potential serum biomarkers were found that could in combination classify children with neonatal cholestasis. Conclusions: Although no single biomarker or imaging test adequately distinguishes BA from other types of neonatal cholestasis, combinations of biomarkers, imaging tests, and noninvasive clinical criteria should be further explored as potential tests for rapid and accurate diagnosis of BA.
Morphometric studies of the nutrient foramen in lower limb long bones of adult black and white South Africans

The present study analyzed the direction, number, location and position of the nutrient foramina in 1080 lower limb long bones of 20th century adult black and white South Africans. In each population 90 complete skeletons were used resulting in 360 femora, 360 tibiae and 360 fibulae being analyzed. The majority of the nutrient foramina pointed away from the growing end of the diaphysis in the lower limb bones with a few pointing in the opposite direction in both black and white populations. A single nutrient foramen was common on the shafts of the tibia and fibula in both populations, while, in the femur, double nutrient foramina were most frequent in the white population as opposed to one in the black counterparts.Nutrient foramina were located most frequently on the linea aspera of the femur and the posterior surface of both the tibia and the fibula in both black and white populations. The mean foraminal indices were as follows: in the black population, 41.87% for the femur, 31.66% for the tibia and 43.33% for the fibula, and in the white population, 44.58% for the femur, 33.15% for the tibia and 46.86% for the fibula. These foraminal indices represent the relative positions of the nutrient foramina on the shaft of the bone. The information about direction, number, location and position of the nutrient foramina is important clinically during free vascularized bone grafting to preserve the blood supply of the graft, during fracture repair, joint replacement surgeries, and also in medico-legal cases.
Initial evaluation of hepatic T1 relaxation time as an imaging marker of liver disease associated with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD)

Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is a potentially lethal multi‐organ disease affecting both the kidneys and the liver. Unfortunately, there are currently no non‐invasive methods to monitor liver disease progression in ARPKD patients, limiting the study of potential therapeutic interventions. Herein, we perform an initial investigation of T1 relaxation time as a potential imaging biomarker to quantitatively assess the two primary pathologic hallmarks of ARPKD liver disease: biliary dilatation and periportal fibrosis in the PCK rat model of ARPKD. T1 relaxation time results were obtained for five PCK rats at 3 months of age using a Look–Locker acquisition on a Bruker BioSpec 7.0 T MRI scanner. Six three‐month‐old Sprague‐Dawley (SD) rats were also scanned as controls. All animals were euthanized after the three‐month scans for histological and biochemical assessments of bile duct dilatation and hepatic fibrosis for comparison. PCK rats exhibited significantly increased liver T1 values (mean ± standard deviation = 935 ± 39 ms) compared with age‐matched SD control rats (847 ± 26 ms, p = 0.01). One PCK rat exhibited severe cholangitis (mean T1 = 1413 ms), which occurs periodically in ARPKD patients. The observed increase in the in vivo liver T1 relaxation time correlated significantly with three histological and biochemical indicators of biliary dilatation and fibrosis: bile duct area percent (R = 0.85, p = 0.002), periportal fibrosis area percent (R = 0.82, p = 0.004), and hydroxyproline content (R = 0.76, p = 0.01). These results suggest that hepatic T1 relaxation time may provide a sensitive and non‐invasive imaging biomarker to monitor ARPKD liver disease. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Apoptosis of T Lymphocytes in Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is a systemic, autoimmune, chronic inflammatory disease affecting the connective tissue. SSc is mainly characterised by progressive fibrosis of the skin, subcutaneous tissue and internal organs, leading to their failure (1). In the majority of cases, lesions involve the osteoarticular, gastrointestinal or cardiovascular system, lungs, kidneys, and nervous system (2-4). The disease occurs in all ethnic groups and mainly affects women; its peak incidence is observed in the 5th and 6th decade of life. Occasionally, lesions develop in childhood (about 3% of cases) (5). The aetiology and pathogenesis of SSc have not been fully elucidated. The immune system activation appears to be essential for the development of disease (6-8). By releasing cytokines and growth factors, the immune response markedly affects the growth and differentiation of fibroblasts as well as synthesis of collagen (9). The study findings demonstrate that the extent of lymphocytic infiltrates in the affected skin of SSc patients correlates with the severity and degree of skin hardening (10). In the early stages of SSc, inflammatory infiltrates in the skin composed of T lymphocytes, macrophages, mast cells, eosinophils, basophils, and, although less frequently, of B lymphocytes, precede the histological features of fibrosis (7,11). With the progression of fibrosis, inflammatory infiltrates tend to regress (12).
Imagery and Philosophy in Plato's Phaedrus

THERE SEEMS TO BE general agreement today that Plato had some purpose in writing dialogues rather than treatises, and that one should not entirely ignore the dramatic form when studying the dialogues. There is, however, considerable disagreement as to how much weight it should be given in interpreting the speeches of the dialogue. Some scholars fear that one may go too far and read into the action a significance that wasn't intended, thus distorting the "obvious" meaning of the speeches. Others feel that by paying insufficient attention to the action one treats the dialogues, where Plato says not a word in his own name, as treatises written in his name, and that it is as unjustified to attribute the views of his characters out of context to Plato as it would be to do so with a playwright. The latter point of view has been increasingly advocated of late, and commentaries paying careful attention to the action of the dialogues have shown convincing success. 1 Nevertheless, those who disagree with this approach initially, may remain unconvinced and feel that its explanatory power is more a matter of ingenuity than insight. I t would therefore be helpful if one could show, not so much that the dialogues can be interpreted through their literary form, but that they demand such an interpretation. How can this be put to the test? If it can be shown that the action or imagery of a dialogue is so consistent that it discloses a distinct pattern too structured to be undesigned, z and that this pattern illuminates the speeches so as to reveal significant aspects and relationships that would otherwise have gone unnoticed, it would suggest that these elements were meant to be given serious attention.
Radiation effects in spheroids of cells exposed to alpha emitters

Purpose : To simulate spheroids of cells and use the spheroid models to establish methods of calculating cell survival following exposure to alpha irradiation from decays of 211 At and 213 Bi. Methods : Using a Monte Carlo technique, two models of spheroids of cells were generated in which cells either did not or were allowed to overlap. At 40% packing of the volume it is shown that the two models are equivalent for longer-ranged alpha particles. The overlapping model was used to examine the effects of spheroid size and cell packing on cell survival. Cell survival was also calculated for different distributions of alpha decays such as uniform distribution within the spheroid, external to the spheroid and as a shell on the periphery of the spheroid. Results : Three examples of the cell structure of the spheroids are shown. Detailed calculations show that cell survival decreases from 57% to 37% as the spheroid diameter increases from 75 μ m to 225 μ m for an average of one 211 At decay per cell and 50% packing. Increasing the packing of the cells in the spheroid from 40% to 70% reduces survival from 46% to 26% for 200 μ m diameter spheroids for one 211 At or 213 Bi decay per cell. The presence of small regions of unlabelled cells within the spheroids does not significantly change cell survival. Conclusions : Monte Carlo programmes generating spheroids of cells and their subsequent use to score cell survival for alpha irradiation should be useful in the design and interpretation of work on spheroids of cells in vitro and the application of such modelling to the study of very small tumours in vivo. Copies of the programmes are available from the author on request.
The results of core decompression treatment in patients with avascular necrosis of femoral head in patients at Isfahan City educational hospitals in 2010-2011

Background : Avascular necrosis (AVN) of femoral head is one of the multifactorial pathologies, which can disturb hip joint and its range of motion. There have been several therapeutic methods for this pathology, but the results are controversial. Some studies show that core compression prevents the progress of the disease and its symptoms. This study aims to explore this issue. Materials and Methods : This clinical trial was conducted on patients who were diagnosed with AVN of femoral head stage I, II A, at educational hospitals of Isfahan in 2010. The patients who met the inclusion criteria and suffered from AVN of femoral head stage I, II A for any reason (primary or secondary), entered the study. Six and 12 months after surgery, final assessment in terms of range of motion, return to work, and severity of pain based on vancouver associated score (VAS) was made and recorded. The duration of hospitalization and rate of infection were also recorded. The data were entered into and analyzed by the SPSS software. Results: Mean and standard deviation of pain severity before surgery was 6.82 ± 1.74 in the participants. After 6 months, pain severity reduced to 4.05 ± 1.29, and after 12 months, it reached 2.41 ± 1.82. On the basis of analysis of variance with repeated observation, the severity of pain was significantly reduced in 1 year (P<0.001). Conclusion: It can be concluded that core decompression in patients with AVN of femoral head stage I, II A can improve pain in hip area and increase range of motion.
Disseminated classic Kaposi's sarcoma. Two cases with excellent response to pegylated liposomal doxorubicin

Pegylated liposomal doxorubicin (PLD) is usually used in disseminated HIV‐related Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). It is the first‐line treatment or second‐line therapy in patients who do not tolerate or do not respond to polychemotherapy since 1995, when it was approved by the FDA. We report two cases of disseminated classic KS not associated with immunosuppression in which HHV‐8 infection was demonstrated. They showed an excellent response to PLD, with good tolerance and an absence of side effects.
Changes in lens proteins in undernourished and well-nourished patients with cataract

1. Patients with cataract were classified into undernourished (twenty-eight subjects) and well-nourished (twenty-seven subjects) groups based on the anthropomtric index, weight (kg)/height (m)2. Those with a value for the index of less than 18 were considered as undernourished. 2. Lenses were classified into four groups on the basis of nuclear colour as proposed by Pirie (1968). Lenses of pale uniform colour or yellow colour were included in group 1, those with brownish-yellow nucleus in group 2, those with a yellowish-brown nucleus in group 3 and those with brown nucleus in group 4. 3. Irrespective of group, the wet weight, dry weight, percentage moisture and total protein content of cataractous lenses from undernourished patients were similar, as were the corresponding values for well-nourished patients. On the other hand, the percentage of soluble proteins in lenses tended to decrease with deepening of nuclear colour in both groups of patients. Further, soluble protein concentrations in lenses from undernourished patients were significantly lower as compared to those from well-nourished patients. 4. The results suggest that nutritional factors could influence the composition of cataractous lenses.
Activation of tobacco retrotransposons during tissue culture.

Sequences of at least three new families of retrotransposons (Tto1‐Tto3) were amplified by PCR from cDNA prepared from protoplasts of an established tobacco cell line, based on the fact that certain amino acids are highly conserved in the reverse transcriptases encoded by retrotransposons. Structural analysis indicates that Tto1 is 5.5 kb long and has features typical of retrotransposons. Transcription of Tto1 starting in the long terminal repeat was active only in cultured cells. Protoplast formation enhanced the transcription. The copy number of Tto1 increased 10‐fold in established cell lines; it also increased in plants regenerated from tissue cultures and in transgenic plants. These results indicate that Tto1 is activated during tissue culture. This is the first demonstration of activation of a plant retrotransposon by tissue culture. The copy number of Tto2 and a previously isolated transposon, Tnt1, also increased in established cell lines, indicating that these two retrotransposons may also be activated by tissue culture. These three retrotransposons are cryptic in normally propagated plants: no difference in the copy number was observed between individuals of the same cultivars or even between different cultivars.
Oxidative stress following exposure to silver and gold nanoparticles in mice

Silver (Ag) and gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) have wide applications. They are increasingly being used in the medical devices, biosensors, cancer cell imaging, and cosmetics. Increased applications of these NPs in the technological advances have also led to the risk of exposure to these particles. This study investigated the toxic effects of Ag and Au NPs (1 μM and 2 μM, oral) on mouse erythrocytes and tissues after 14 consecutive days’ exposure. Our results demonstrate significant increase in reactive oxygen species (ROS) and depletion of antioxidant enzyme status in erythrocytes and tissues. Hepatic and renal toxicity was evident from liver and kidney function tests. Inflammatory markers, interleukin-6 and nitric oxide synthase increased in plasma on administration following exposure to these NPs at both the doses. A more pronounced increase was noted in kidney metallothionein (MT) compared to liver MT on exposure to these NPs. Toxic potential of these NPs was further confirmed by increased 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine levels in urine, a biomarker of DNA damage. Among the two NPs, Ag NP was more toxic at 2 μM dose compared to lower dose of 1 μM. The study suggests oxidative stress as the major mechanism responsible for the toxic manifestations induced by Ag and Au NPs.