Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Delay Synchronizing Rectification Control Strategy of Bi-Directional Converter in a Novel Stand-Alone PV System

A novel stand-alone photovoltaic (PV) system is proposed, which exhibits the advantages of better protection and more efficient control on charge/discharge of the battery. Furthermore, it can realize energy management of the system. The key point of energy management is how to control the bi-directional converter effectively. Considering traditional soft start strategy would be ineffective for bi-directional converter in the double sources application for the possibility of damaging the power device, a new soft start control strategy named delay synchronizing rectification control strategy is proposed. A 500 W prototype converter is built to verify the theoretical analysis and the control strategy.
Non-contact Instantaneous Heart Rate Monitoring Using Microwave Doppler Sensor and Time-Frequency Domain Analysis

This paper describes a non-contact heart rate monitoring system using a microwave Doppler sensor. It can achieve better usability than conventional heart rate sensors, which require direct skin contact. The objective of this work is to detect an instantaneous heart rate using this non-contact system. The instantaneous heart rate can contribute to prevent heart disasters and to detect mental stress state. However, the Doppler sensor system is very sensitive and it can be easily contaminated by a body motion artifact including breathing. To address this problem, we introduce time frequency analysis with short window length. The heart rate extraction performance with various parameters is evaluated using a measured Doppler sensor output with 4 subjects. The proposed method achieves 4.5-ms RMS error with 50-cm distance for heart rate extraction from 60 s duration data.
LINC performance with Wilkinson matched and Chireix unmatched combiners

Two kinds of RF power combiner are studied. Matched Wilkinson combiner shows very good linearity but low power efficiency. Unmatched Wilkinson combiner used at the output of class-B amplifiers can be optimized in order to obtain the same good linearity of a matched Wilkinson combiner but better efficiency. Careful attention has to pay to the amplifier impedance to stop instability that may create undesirable oscillation in the system. Analytical and ADS simulation are presented to support this work. Excellent agreement between simulations and analysis is obtained in all cases considered.
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Types and Sources of Victimization Inside Prison

Interracial patterns in sexual violence between inmate groups are well documented. Considerably less is known about the interracial pattern of sexual violence as well as physical violence between staff and inmates. This article provides rates of victimization for a single prison system by racial and ethnic groupings and by type of perpetrator. Racial and ethnic patterns were found in prevalence rates by types of victimization and type of perpetrator, but they do not appear to be principally explained by racism. Preventing violence inside prison should include reducing opportunities for victimization as well as “pulling up” the environment by training officers and other staff in supervisory styles that affirm and preserve a “harm-free” environment.
Motor-unit properties following cross-reinnervation of cat lateral gastrocnemius and soleus muscles with medial gastrocnemius nerve. II. Influence of muscle on motoneurons.

We tested whether the muscle innervated may influence the expression of motoneuron electrical properties. Properties of individual motor units were examined following cross-reinnervation (X-reinnervation) of cat lateral gastrocnemius (LG) and soleus muscles by the medial gastrocnemius (MG) nerve. We examined animals at two postoperative times: 9-10 wk (medX) and 9-11 mo (longX). For comparison, normal LG and soleus motoneuron properties were also studied. Motor units were classified on the basis of their contractile responses as fast contracting fatigable, fast intermediate fast contracting fatigue resistant, and slow types FF, FI, FR, or S, respectively) (9, 21). Motoneuron electrical properties (rheobase, input resistance, axonal conduction velocity, afterhyperpolarization) were measured. After 9-11 mo, MG motoneurons that innervated LG muscle showed recovery of electrical properties similar to self-regenerated MG motoneurons. The relationships between motoneuron electrical properties were largely similar to self-regenerated MG. For MG motoneurons that innervated LG, motoneuron type (65) predicted motor-unit type in 74% of cases. LongX-soleus motoneurons differed from longX-LG motoneurons or self-regenerated MG motoneurons in mean values for motoneuron electrical properties. The differences in overall means reflected the predominance of type S motor units. The relationships between motoneuron electrical properties were also different than in self-regenerated MG motoneurons. In all cases, the alterations were in the direction of properties of type S units, and the relationship between normal soleus motoneurons and their muscle units. Within motor-unit types, the mean values were typical for that type in self-regenerated MG. Motoneuron type (65) was a fairly strong predictor of motor-unit type in longX soleus. MG motoneurons that innervated soleus displayed altered values for axonal conduction velocity, rheobase, and input resistance, which could indicate incomplete recovery from the axotomized state. However, although mean afterhyperpolarization (AHP) half-decay time was unaltered by axotomy (25), this parameter was significantly lengthened in MG motoneurons that innervated soleus muscle. There were, however, individual motoneuron-muscle-unit mismatches, which suggested that longer mean AHP half-decay time may also be due to incomplete recovery of a subpopulation of motoneurons. Those MG motoneurons able to specify soleus muscle-fiber type exhibited motoneuron electrical properties typical of that same motoneuron type in self-regenerated MG. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
High Levels of Sequence Diversity in the 5′ UTRs of Human-Specific L1 Elements

Approximately 80 long interspersed element (LINE-1 or L1) copies are able to retrotranspose actively in the human genome, and these are termed retrotransposition-competent L1s. The 5′ untranslated region (UTR) of the human-specific L1 contains an internal promoter and several transcription factor binding sites. To better understand the effect of the L1 5′ UTR on the evolution of human-specific L1s, we examined this population of elements, focusing on the sequence diversity and accumulated substitutions within their 5′ UTRs. Using network analysis, we estimated the age of each L1 component (the 5′ UTR, ORF1, ORF2, and 3′ UTR). Through the comparison of the L1 components based on their estimated ages, we found that the 5′ UTR of human-specific L1s accumulates mutations at a faster rate than the other components. To further investigate the L1 5′ UTR, we examined the substitution frequency per nucleotide position among them. The results showed that the L1 5′ UTRs shared relatively conserved transcription factor binding sites, despite their high sequence diversity. Thus, we suggest that the high level of sequence diversity in the 5′ UTRs could be one of the factors controlling the number of retrotransposition-competent L1s in the human genome during the evolutionary battle between L1s and their host genomes.
Clustering of risk factors and social class in childhood and adulthood in British women's heart and health study: cross sectional analysis

Abstract Objective To examine co-occurrence and clustering of risk factors used in the Framingham equation by social class in childhood and adult life. Design Cross sectional study. Setting 23 towns across England, Wales, and Scotland. Participants 2936 women aged 60-79 years. Main outcome measures Prevalence of risk factors (hypertension, obesity, smoking, left ventricular hypertrophy on electrocardiography, diabetes, and low concentration of high density cholesterol); ratios of observed to expected frequencies of clusters of risk factors. Results Risk factors were more common in women from manual social classes in either childhood or adult life, and the co-occurrence of three or four of these risk factors was greater among more disadvantaged groups. Within the four socioeconomic groups, these risk factors occurred together more than would be expected from their individual frequency distributions, indicating that they were clustered. The extent of this clustering was similar in all four social class groups. Conclusions Clustering of risk factors included in the Framingham risk function occurs in all social class groups, but the lack of social patterning makes it unlikely that clustering is an explanation of socioeconomic inequalities in cardiovascular disease. As the proportion of women with co-occurrence of risk factors is greatest in those from manual social class in childhood, this measure of socioeconomic position might prove useful in risk prediction.
Petri Net Model Based Energy Optimization Of Programs Using Dynamic Voltage And Frequency Scaling

High power dissipation and on-chip temperature limit performance and affect reliability in modern microprocessors. For servers and data centers, they determine the cooling cost, whereas for handheld and mobile systems, they limit the continuous usage of these systems. For mobile systems, energy consumption affects the battery life. It can not be ignored for desktop and server systems as well, as the contribution of energy continues to go up in organizations’ budgets, influencing strategic decisions, and its implications on the environment are getting appreciated. Intelligent trade-offs involving these quantities are critical to meet the performance demands of many modern applications. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) offers a huge potential for designing trade-offs involving energy, power, temperature and performance of computing systems. In our work, we propose and evaluate DVFS schemes that aim at minimizing energy consumption while meeting a performance constraint, for both sequential and parallel applications. We propose a Petri net based program performance model, parameterized by application properties, microarchitectural settings and system resource configuration, and use this model to find energy efficient DVFS settings. We first propose a DVFS scheme using this model for sequential programs running on single core multiple clock domain (MCD) processors, and evaluate this on a MCD processor simulator. We then extend this scheme for data parallel (Single Program Multiple Data style) applications, and then generalize it for stream applications as well, and evaluate these two schemes on a full system CMP simulator. Our experimental evaluation shows that the proposed schemes achieve significant energy savings for a small performance degradation.
Light Stimulation Properties to Influence Brain Activity: A Brain-CoMputer Interface application

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) enable people to control appliances without involving the normal output pathways of peripheral nervesand muscles. A particularly promising type of BCI is based on the Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential (SSVEP). Users can selectcommands by focusing their attention on repetitive visual stimuli(RVSi) that change one of their properties (e.g. color or pattern) with a certain frequency. These properties as well as the devicethe RVSi are rendered on, can greatly affect the performance, applicability, comfort and safety of the BCI. Despite this fact, stimulation properties have received fairly little attention in the BCI literature to this date. Furthermore, a heavy emphasis is placedon BCI performance to the detriment of other important factors suchas comfort and safety. The research reported in this document aimsat studying the effects of stimulation properties on performance aswell as comfort of SSVEP-based BCIs. Research was performed in bothoffline and online settings, using a custom made high-performance BCI. Comfort was measured using a custom questionnaire. A largevariability across subjects was found, but the results confirm that stimulation properties have a considerable impact on performance and comfort of SSVEP based BCIs. In general, a large difference between stimulation states is beneficial for BCI performance, but detrimen-tal to user comfort. A couple of configurations were found that provide a good compromise between comfort and performance.
Cox Process Learning

This article addresses the problem of supervised classification of Cox process trajectories, whose random intensity is driven by some exogenous random covariable. The classification task is achieved through a regularized convex empirical risk minimization procedure, and a nonasymptotic oracle inequality is derived. We show that the algorithm provides a Bayes-risk consistent classifier. Furthermore, it is proved that the classifier converges at a rate which adapts to the unknown regularity of the intensity process. Our results are obtained by taking advantage of martingale and stochastic calculus arguments, which are natural in this context and fully exploit the functional nature of the problem. Index Terms — Cox process, supervised classification, oracle inequality, consistency, regularization, stochastic calculus. 2010 Mathematics Subject Classification: 62G05, 62G20.
Religion and Delinquency: the Ecology of a "Lost" Relationship

Confusion has developed in the literature over whether religious commitment decreases delinquent behavior. In this paper we show that conflicting findings stem from variations in the religious ecology of the communities studied. In communities where religious commitment is the norm, the more religious an individual, the less likely he or she will be delinquent. However, in highly secu larized communities, even the most devout teenagers are no less delinquent than the most irreligious. This is why the initial studies found no religious ef fects on delinquency. Each was based on highly secularized West Coast com munities, and the results generalize only to similar communities in that area. Elsewhere in the nation, studies have found strong religious effects on delin quency. Using a national sample of sixteen-year-old boys from eighty-seven high schools, we show there is a very substantial negative relationship between religious commitment and delinquency in the great majority of schools-those schools in which religious students are a majority. But the relationship vanishes in the most highly secularized West Coast schools. The theoretical implications of these marked ecological effects are assessed.
Examining the test-taking process: a cognitive perspective on the discourse cloze test

Testing consists of making a generalization about a population on the basis of what can be observed in a sample. This principle underlies not only the composition of the sample of individuals to be tested but also the selection of content for the testing instrument itself. Careful attention to the content of assessment tasks is needed to ensure that they are representative of the domain of tasks about which generalizations are to be drawn. However, content representativeness extends beyond mere attention to the problems posed and materials provided in the test. What is more crucially important is the manner in which test tasks are performed. Attention to test-taking process is especially crucial and problematic in the testing of cognitive processing skills. The sample will only be representative if the cogni tive processes involved in task performance are representative of those involved in performance of the domain of tasks in the real world. Thus the validation of tests involving cognitive processes will not be complete unless it includes some examination of the processes by which solutions to test tasks are reached. This line of thinking was propounded 40 years ago by Lennon but has only recently been taken up with the application of ethnographic methods to the study of the test-taking process. This article looks at the findings of a study of the processes employed by sub jects engaged in a discourse cloze test. Think-aloud protocols obtained from test- takers give indications of the reasoning employed in selecting items to complete gaps in the cloze passage and of the strategies employed in doing so. From these indications, cognitive processes are inferred. Comparing observed behaviours and inferred processes with those predicted in a model of ideal performance gives a measure of the construct validity both of the items and of the discourse cloze procedure in general. This introspective validation procedure reveals the test-tak ing behaviour of subjects engaged in cloze tasks and provides a cognitive perspec tive on the vexed question of what cloze actually measures.
Interest alignment for joint business development: How global software houses and consulting firms work together in the enterprise systems sector

Despite the relatively long history of strategic alliances in the enterprise systems sector, studies examining the relationships between software houses and consulting firms have been rare and fragmented, particularly those related to the mechanisms that promote interest alignment for delivering a joint value proposition to the market. Through the cross-analysis of two case studies, we identify 10 mechanisms that are regularly used for interest alignment purposes as well as counterpoints that contribute to the literature regarding the search for a consistent explanation for the longevity of hybrid organizational forms. Additionally, the study provides some insights related to the impact of innovation massification on competitiveness, partners' interdependence, and the presence of complementary contracts along with insights into the coexistence and interaction of other mechanisms that may help to explain the persistent existence of hybrid organizational forms in markets.
Prevention of Selenite-Induced Cataractogenesis by N-Acetylcysteine in Rats

Purpose: To evaluate the effect of N-acetylcysteine on selenite-induced cataract formation in a rat model. Materials and Methods: Thirty-four Sprague-Dawley rat pups were divided into three groups. Eight pups received only selenite on postpartum day 10 (group 1), 14 pups received selenite on day 10 and additional acetylcysteine on postnatal days 9 to 15 (group 2), and 12 pups received only saline (group 3, control). All pups were daily examined for the presence of cataract under the microscope, starting from the day their eyes opened. Glutathione and malondialdehyde levels were evaluated in both serum and lenticular samples while protein carbonyl level was studied only in lenticular samples. Results: In group 1, 50% of the rats developed dense nuclear opacities and 50% developed slight nuclear opacities, while in group 2 only 14.3% developed dense nuclear opacities and 21.4% developed slight nuclear opacities (p < 0.05). None of the rats in group 3 developed any lens opacity. In lenticular samples, mean glutathione level was statistically lower in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05), while malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels were both statistically higher in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05). Serum level of glutathione was statistically lower in group 1 compared to groups 2 and 3 (p < 0.05), while serum malondialdehyde level was statistically lower in group 3 compared to groups 1 and 2. Conclusions: N-acetylcysteine appears to inhibit selenite-induced cataractogenesis in the rat model, and this seems to be caused by the prevention of oxidative damage.
Exploring Destination Image, Experience and Revisit Intention: A Comparison of Sport and Non-Sport Tourist Perceptions

Despite calls for an integrative approach to examine sport event tourism, few attempts have combined sport event and tourism destination studies. This paper addresses this gap by examining travel purpose, destination image and revisit intention. Ratings of importance and performance for the 16 attributes of a destination hosting the European Athletics Championship are used to compare between sport tourist (N = 153) and non-sport tourist (N = 168) with revisit intention. Results support the use of a generic list of 16 destination attributes to examine travel purpose and reveal that sport and non-sport tourists possess both similar and dissimilar perspectives. Major differences were found among three attributes: accommodation facilities, historic/cultural attractions and sport facilities & activities. Results highlight the influential role that destination evaluation has on revisit intention. Managerial implications are discussed, providing suggestions to sport and tourism marketers.
Systematic changes in the rate of instruction during driver training

Relatively little empirical evidence exists concerning variations in the quantity of instruction across learning in complex, real-world tasks. Examination of driving instructors' remarks to pupils during actual lessons indicated the rate of comment declined in a coherent fashion across training, most consistent with a power function. The presence of a power law is reminiscent of learning functions found from studies in other skill domains when using indexes of performance, and suggests that quantity of instruction therefore might be used to assay the performance in complex tasks. The implications of these findings, for both basic and applied research, are discussed.
Probiotic Properties of Lactobacillus Strains Isolated from Tibetan Kefir Grains

The objective of this study was to evaluate the functional properties of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from Tibetan kefir grains. Three Lactobacillus isolates identified as Lactobacillus acidophilus LA15, Lactobacillus plantarum B23 and Lactobacillus kefiri D17 that showed resistance to acid and bile salts were selected for further evaluation of their probiotic properties. The 3 selected strains expressed high in vitro adherence to Caco-2 cells. They were sensitive to gentamicin, erythromycin and chloramphenicol and resistant to vancomycin with MIC values of 26 µg/ml. All 3 strains showed potential bile salt hydrolase (BSH) activity, cholesterol assimilation and cholesterol co-precipitation ability. Additionally, the potential effect of these strains on plasma cholesterol levels was evaluated in Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Rats in 4 treatment groups were fed the following experimental diets for 4 weeks: a high-cholesterol diet, a high-cholesterol diet plus LA15, a high-cholesterol diet plus B23 or a high-cholesterol diet plus D17. The total cholesterol, triglyceride and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in the serum were significantly (P<0.05) decreased in the LAB-treated rats compared with rats fed a high-cholesterol diet without LAB supplementation. The high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in groups B23 and D17 were significantly (P<0.05) higher than those in the control and LA15 groups. Additionally, both fecal cholesterol and bile acid levels were significantly (P<0.05) increased after LAB administration. Fecal lactobacilli counts were significantly (P<0.05) higher in the LAB treatment groups than in the control groups. Furthermore, the 3 strains were detected in the rat small intestine, colon and feces during the feeding trial. The bacteria levels remained high even after the LAB administration had been stopped for 2 weeks. These results suggest that these strains may be used in the future as probiotic starter cultures for manufacturing novel fermented foods.