Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Observer-Based Current Control for Converters with an LCL Filter: Robust Design for Weak Grids

This paper deals with state-feedback current control for power converters, which are equipped with an LCL filter and connected to a weak grid. The grid-side current is measured and other states needed by the current controller are estimated using a reduced-order observer. The control system is designed directly in the discrete-time domain. The gains of the control system are calculated using direct pole placement, assuming a strong grid. Recommendations for the nominal pole locations are given. The results show that the control system is robust against the unknown grid impedance, ranging from strong to very-weak grid conditions. The proposed design is validated by means of experiments.
Systematic Analysis of the Smooth Muscle Wall Phenotype of the Pharyngeal Arch Arteries During Their Reorganization into the Great Vessels and Its Association with Hemodynamics

Early outflow morphogenesis is a critical event in cardiac development. Understanding mechanical and molecular based morphogenetic relationships at early stages of cardiogenesis is essential for the advancement of cardiovascular technology related to congenital heart defects. In this study, we pair molecular changes in pharyngeal arch artery (PAA) vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) with hemodynamic changes over the course of the same period. We focus on Hamburger Hamilton stage 24–36 chick embryos, using both Doppler ultrasound and histological sections to phenotype PAA VSMCs, and establish a relationship between hemodynamics and PAA composition. Our findings show that PAA VSMCs transition through a synthetic, intermediate, and contractile phenotype over time. Wall shear stress magnitude per arch varies throughout development. Despite distinct hemodynamic and fractional expression trends, no strong correlation was found between the two, indicating that WSS magnitude is not the main driver of PAA wall remodeling and maturation. While WSS magnitude was not found to be a major driver, this work provides a basic framework for investigating relationships between hemodynamic forces and tunica media during a critical period of development. Anat Rec, 302:153–162, 2019. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Acute Myeloid Leukemia and the Bone Marrow Niche—Take a Closer Look

The bone marrow is the home of hematopoiesis and is therefore a hotspot for the development of hematopoietic diseases. Complex interactions between the bone marrow microenvironment and hematopoietic stem cells must find a balance between proliferation, differentiation and homeostasis of the stem cell compartment. Changes in this tightly regulated network can provoke malignant transformation, leading to hematopoietic diseases. Here we focus on acute myeloid leukemia (AML), since this is the most frequent acute leukemia in adulthood with very poor overall survival rates and where relapse after chemotherapy continues to be a major challenge, driving demand for new therapeutic strategies. Current research is focusing on the identification of specific interactions between leukemic blasts and their niche components, which may be exploited as novel treatment targets along with induction chemotherapy. Significant progress has been gained over the last few years in the field of high-resolution imaging. Confocal ex vivo and intravital microscopy have revealed a detailed map of bone marrow structures and components; as well as identifying numerous alterations in the stem cell niche that correspond to disease progression. However, the underlying mechanisms are still not completely understood and due to the complexity, their elucidation remains a challenging. This review discusses the constitution of the AML niche in the bone marrow, the improvement in visualization of the complex three-dimensional niche structures and points out new therapeutic strategies to increase the overall survival of AML patients.
Non-Vitamin K Oral Anticoagulants Associated Bleeding and Its Antidotes

Oral anticoagulant-associated intracerebral hemorrhage (OAC-ICH) accounts for nearly 20% of all ICH. The number of patients with an indication for oral anticoagulant therapy (OAT) increases with increasing age. OAT became less complicate with the introduction of non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (NOAC) OAT because of easier handling, favorable risk-benefit profile, reduced rates of ICH compared to vitamin K antagonists and no need for routine coagulation testing. Consequently, despite a better safety profile of NOAC the number of patients with OAC-ICH will increase. The mortality and complication rates of OAC-ICH are high and therefore they are the most feared complication of OAT. Immediate normalization of coagulation is the main goal and therefore knowledge of pharmacodynamics and coagulation status is essential. Laboratory measurements of anticoagulant activity in NOAC patients is challenging as specific tests are not widely available. More accessible tests such as the prothrombin time and activated partial thromboplastin time have important limitations. In dabigatran-associated ICH 5 g Idarucizumab should be administered. In rivaroxaban and apixaban-associated ICHs administration of andexanet alpha should be considered. Prothrombin complex concentrate may be considered if andexanet alpha is not available or in case of an ICH associated with edoxaban.
Comment on: Inducing system-1-type diagnostic reasoning in second-year medical students within 15 minutes

We were interested to read about the research recently published by Rosby et al. (2018) concerning diagnostic reasoning, having recognized some parallels with our own revision in their study. Their investigation into system-1 diagnostic reasoning, a skill they termed “fast, intuitive, automatic, and [requiring] minimal effort,” involved repeatedly showing non-expert participants chest X-rays and asking them to pick the correct diagnosis from multiple choices – they subsequently demonstrated reduced response times and increased diagnostic accuracy when participants were faced with an X-ray on which they had already been tested. This is an approach we take regularly when preparing for an MCQ, with a wide array of practice MCQ books and websites providing ample opportunity to answer questions similar or even identical to ones we expect in the examination. Often, like the study participants, we will see variants of the same question so often that the process does indeed become automatic – having read “A patient presents with a pearly nodule with rolled edges. ” for the eighth time there is no need to finish the vignette, already knowing that basal cell carcinoma will be one of the options. In these moments, one often wonders whether what we have learned is of much practical use. We can all recognize terms used to describe the carcinoma, but very few of us have dealt with “pearly nodules with rolled edges” in real life. No doubt the non-experts in the study could use similar system-1 reasoning to diagnose the carcinoma from a vignette with little prior knowledge, perhaps indicating that performance in MCQs at medical school is as much a function of practice as it is medical acumen. A similar study by Haenssle et al. (2018) has shown that computers can even be taught to out-perform expert dermatologists, correctly diagnosing melanomas from images with a specificity of 82.5% compared with the experts’ 74.5%. We do not deny that practicing this type of pattern recognition is useful to a doctor, but if computers can be taught to diagnose in this way with increasing accuracy, then should we not be focusing on examining the more abstract, “system-2” based diagnostic thinking that becomes valuable when it is a whole patient, rather than a vignette, sat in front of us?
The chloroplast 2-cysteine peroxiredoxin functions as thioredoxin oxidase in redox regulation of chloroplast metabolism

Thiol-dependent redox regulation controls central processes in plant cells including photosynthesis. Thioredoxins reductively activate e.g. Calvin-Benson cycle enzymes. However the mechanism of oxidative inactivation is unknown despite its importance for efficient regulation. Here, the abundant 2-cysteine peroxiredoxin (2-CysPrx), but not its site-directed variants, mediates rapid inactivation of reductively activated fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase and NADPH-dependent malate dehydrogenase (MDH) in the presence of the proper thioredoxins. Deactivation of phosphoribulokinase and MDH was compromised in 2cysprxAB mutants plants upon light/dark transition compared to wildtype. The decisive role of 2cysprxAB in regulating photosynthesis was evident from reoxidation kinetics of ferredoxin upon darkening of intact leaves since its half time decreased 3.5-times in 2cysprxAB. The disadvantage of inefficient deactivation turned into an advantage in fluctuating light. The results show that the 2-CysPrx serves as electron sink in the thiol network important to oxidize reductively activated proteins and represents the missing link in the reversal of thioredoxin-dependent regulation.
Robot-Assisted Diagnosis for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder Based on Automated Analysis of Nonverbal Cues

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurode-velopmental disorder that affects people from birth, whose symptoms are found in the early developmental period. The ASD diagnosis is usually performed through several sessions of behavioral observation, exhaustive screening, and manual coding behavior. The early detection of ASD signs in naturalistic behavioral observation may be improved through Child-Robot Interaction (CRI) and technological-based tools for automated behavior assessment. Robot-Assisted Tools using CRI theories have been of interest in intervention for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (CwASD), elucidating faster and more significant gains from the diagnosis and therapeutic intervention when compared to classical methods. Besides that, using computer vision to analyze child's behaviors and automated video coding to summarize the responses would help the clinicians to reduce the delay of ASD diagnosis. In this article, a CRI to enhance the traditional tools for ASD diagnosis is proposed, which is inspired on a well-established protocol for Joint Attention assessment, using a computer vision system composed of an unstructured and scalable network of RGBD sensors to allow the child's movement. Also, a proof of concept is presented, with the participation of three typically developing (TD) children.
A Systematic Min–Max Optimization Design of Constrained Model Predictive Tracking Control for Industrial Processes against Uncertainty

A systematic min-max optimization design of model predictive tracking control (MPC) for industrial processes under partial actuator uncertainty and unknown disturbances is proposed in this brief. A comprehensive state-space model with state variables and tracking error combined together and tuned separately is first proposed from the input-output process data; then, a subsequent min-max optimization-based MPC controller is designed, where two-step optimization is adopted to further enhance the system performance. In addition, the proposed min-max MPC offers more degrees of freedom to tune the closed-loop system performance and improved control performance will be obtained compared with conventional min-max MPC tracking approaches. Case studies on an injection molding process and a nonlinear batch reactor show the effectiveness of the proposed approach.
Prognostic value of PD-L1 expression in resected lung adenocarcinoma and potential molecular mechanisms

Background: The prognostic role of PD-L1 expression in surgically resected lung adenocarcinoma (ADC) remains controversial. The present study was aimed to clarify the role of PD-L1 expression in predicting prognosis and to investigate its biological function in ADC. Materials and Methods: The association between PD-L1 expression and clinical outcomes in patients with resected ADC was analyzed using immunohistochemistry (IHC) in our cohort (n=104), externally validated by a meta-analysis of 13 published studies. The biological role of PD-L1 in ADC was explored using gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA). Results: Positive PD-L1 expression in tumor cells was observed in 38.5% (40/104). High PD-L1 expression levels were significantly correlated with poor overall survival (P=0.008). Furthermore, the meta-analysis also showed that positive PD-L1 expression was associated with shorter OS than negative PD-L1 expression (HR= 1.75, 95% CI: 1.26-2.42; P<0.001). In subgroup analysis stratified according to ethnicity, the pooled results demonstrated that increased PD-L1 expression was an unfavorable prognostic factor for Asian populations (HR= 2.11, 95% CI: 1.48-3.02; P<0.001), but not for non-Asian populations (HR=1.16, 95% CI: 0.63-2.11, P=0.64). The pooled odds ratios (ORs) indicated that PD-L1 expression was associated with positive lymph node metastasis (OR=1.74, 95% CI: 1.23-2.46; P=0.002) and male (OR=1.56, 95% CI: 1.02-2.37; P=0.04). GSEA revealed PD-L1 expression levels positively correlated with immune process or immune-related pathways. Conclusion: PD-L1 expression is an important negative prognostic factor in resected ADC. This finding has important implications for immunotherapy targeting the PD-1/PD-L1 pathway in patients with resected ADC.
AUTONOMIC DISORDERS

BACKGROUND–Autonomic complications may result from many central and peripheral nervous system conditions. Understanding the anatomy and the spectrum of presentations of autonomic neuropathy is crucial to its recognition and management. REVIEW SUMMARY–This study will review the anatomy of the parasympathetic and sympathetic systems, describe the appropriate history and physical examination to be performed in a patient with suspected autonomic dysfunction, and list disorders that give rise to autonomic failure. Within the context of the autonomic physical examination, the measurement of positional blood pressures and bedside techniques for the detection of autonomic failure will be stressed. Most emphasized will be three easily performed electrophysiologic procedures that quantify the integrity of the parasympathetic and sympathetic output. Their use can be helpful in verifying the presence of autonomic dysfunction and serially following the response to therapy. The discussion of treatment will primarily focus on lifestyle changes and pharmacologic approaches to the management of orthostatic hypotension, neurogenic bladder, sexual dysfunction, and gastrointestinal disorders. CONCLUSIONS–The diagnosis and management of autonomic disorders require a knowledge of the anatomy, physiology, and pharmacology of the autonomic nervous system and the array of the central and peripheral neurologic disorders that give rise to autonomic symptoms and signs. Laboratory testing of the autonomic nervous system substantiates the presence of autonomic dysfunction and can be used to monitor disease progression or improvement after therapy.
Inhibitory effects of Pycnogenol®, a pine bark extract, in a rat model of testosterone propionate-induced benign prostatic hyperplasia

Benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) is a male reproductive disease that has gained increasing importance in recent years. The present study investigated whether Pycnogenol® (PYC), a standardized French maritime pine bark extract, could prevent BPH induced by testosterone propionate (TP) in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into five groups of six rats. One group was used as a normal control rats and the other groups received subcutaneous injections of TP for 4 weeks to induce BPH. In the two treatment groups, PYC (20 or 40 mg/kg) was administered daily for 4 weeks by oral gavage concurrently with the induction of TP. All rats were sacrificed at the scheduled termination time, the prostates were weighed, and histopathologic examinations were conducted. Dihydrotestosterone (DHT) levels in serum and the prostate were measured, and the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and Ki-67 proteins was investigated. BPH-treated animals showed increases in the relative weight of the prostate, higher concentrations of DHT in serum and the prostate, and higher expression of PCNA and Ki-67 in the prostate; in contrast, PYC-treated animals had significant reductions in these factors compared with the BPH animals. These findings indicated that PYC inhibited the development of BPH and that this was closely associated with a reduction in DHT concentration.
Effectiveness of bariatric surgery in diabetes prevention in high-risk Asian individuals.

INTRODUCTION Obesity is a key risk factor in the development of Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Bariatric surgery causes a large amount of durable weight loss in those with clinically severe obesity. We reported the effect of weight loss via bariatric surgery on DM prevention in those at high risk of developing DM. METHODS This was a retrospective cohort study of 44 patients with obesity (mean body mass index 43.8 kg/m2) and pre-DM who underwent bariatric surgery and were followed up for up to three years. We also reviewed a non-surgical cohort of patients with obesity and pre-DM seen at the weight management clinic. RESULTS 91% of patients attained normal glycaemic status at one year after bariatric surgery. At the three-year follow-up, 87.5% of the patients maintained normoglycaemia. None of the patients developed T2DM after surgery. 26.9% of patients achieved absolute weight loss at one year after bariatric surgery and maintained this at two and three years post surgery (p < 0.001 vs. baseline). The homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance index in patients also decreased from 5.50 at baseline to 1.20, 1.14 and 1.44 at one, two and three years, respectively (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION Bariatric surgery produces significant weight loss, and leads to reversion from the pre-diabetic state to normal glycaemic status and reduction of the incident DM rate in those with pre-DM and morbid obesity.
Midline thalamic inputs to the amygdala: Ultrastructure and synaptic targets

One of the main subcortical inputs to the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BL) originates from a group of dorsal thalamic nuclei located at or near the midline, mainly from the central medial (CMT), and paraventricular (PVT) nuclei. Although similarities among the responsiveness of BL, CMT, and PVT neurons to emotionally arousing stimuli suggest that these thalamic inputs exert a significant influence over BL activity, little is known about the synaptic relationships that mediate these effects. Thus, the present study used Phaseolus vulgaris‐leucoagglutinin (PHAL) anterograde tracing and electron microscopy to shed light on the ultrastructural properties and synaptic targets of CMT and PVT axon terminals in the rat BL. Virtually all PHAL‐positive CMT and PVT axon terminals formed asymmetric synapses. Although CMT and PVT axon terminals generally contacted dendritic spines, a substantial number ended on dendritic shafts. To determine whether these dendritic shafts belonged to principal or local‐circuit cells, calcium/calmodulin‐dependent protein kinase II (CAMKIIα) immunoreactivity was used as a selective marker of principal BL neurons. In most cases, dendritic shafts postsynaptic to PHAL‐labeled CMT and PVT terminals were immunopositive for CaMKIIα. Overall, these results suggest that CMT and PVT inputs mostly target principal BL neurons such that when CMT or PVT neurons fire, little feed‐forward inhibition counters their excitatory influence over principal cells. These results are consistent with the possibility that CMT and PVT inputs constitute major determinants of BL activity.
An Efficient Image Classification using Bag-of-Words based on SURF and Texture Features

Image Classification is an important and challenging task in various applications like: video surveillance, image and video retrieval etc. It is the task of correctly assigning an image to the class to which it belongs to. Various approaches SIFT(Scale-Invariant Feature Transform), SURF, Local features have been used in literature for this purpose. SURF gives good accuracy for classification of image only if the query image is from the training set. The proposed approach in this paper is using the combination of both SURF and Texture. Even if the query image is not from training set the proposed approach gives higher accuracy of 94%.
Crack-pot: Autonomous Road Crack and Pothole Detection

With the advent of self-driving cars and autonomous robots, it is imperative to detect road impairments like cracks and potholes and to perform necessary evading maneuvers to ensure fluid journey for on-board passengers or equipment. We propose a fully autonomous robust real-time road crack and pothole detection algorithm which can be deployed on any GPU based conventional processing boards with an associated camera. The approach is based on a deep neural net architecture which detects cracks and potholes using texture and spatial features. We also propose pre-processing methods which ensure real-time performance. The novelty of the approach lies in using texture-based features to differentiate between crack surfaces and sound roads. The approach performs well in large viewpoint changes, background noise, shadows, and occlusion. The efficacy of the system is shown on standard road crack datasets.
Modalities in managing postherpetic neuralgia

Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) is the most troublesome side effect of Herpes Zoster (HZ), which mainly affects the elderly and immunocompromised populations. Despite the current advancement of treatments, PHN persists in many individuals influencing their daily activities and reducing their quality of life. Anticonvulsants, antidepressants, topical therapies including lidocaine and capsaicin, and opioids, are the most widely used therapies for the treatment of PHN. These medications come with their adverse effects, so they should be used carefully with the elderly or with patients with significant comorbidities. Other measures like botulinum toxin, nerve blocks, spinal cord stimulation, and radiofrequency have also contributed significantly to the management of PHN. However, the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of these invasive methods need to be carefully monitored when administering them. Early diagnosis and early initiation of treatment can reduce the burden associated with PHN. The zoster vaccine has effectively reduced the incidence of HZ and PHN. In this article, we discuss the treatment options available for the management of PHN, mainly focusing on the efficacy and safety of different therapeutic modalities.
Etude expérimentale et numérique de l'inondation d'une zone urbanisée : Cas des écoulements dans les carrefours en croix

L'objet de cette these est de verifier les capacites d'un code de calcul 2D a simuler les inondations en zones fortement urbanisees. Il apparait que des erreurs de simulation ont lieu lors du calcul des ecoulements rapides dans les carrefours. Une etude experimentale et analytique a alors eu lieu afin de verifier les formes d'ecoulement qui apparaissent dans les carrefours en periode d'inondation et afin de verifier les capacites du code de calcul a simuler ces ecoulements. Il est apparu qu'une typologie de ces ecoulements pouvait se degager en fonction de la nature des ressauts hydrauliques qui se developpent et que le code de calcul est apte a representer les champs de hauteur d'eau ainsi que les repartitions de debits dans les rues aval. Cependant, certaines incertitudes concernant le calcul des hauteurs d'eau localement subsistent.