Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Resonant voltage divider with startup considered

In this paper, the resonant voltage divider (RVD) is presented with the fixed switching frequency over all the load range, which is to be used as the first stage of the bus converter. The proposed resonant voltage divider without any control loop embedded can reach very high efficiency from the light load to the rated load, especially for the light load. Above all, it has a serious drawback that a large surge current at startup causes components to be saturated or destroyed. Consequently, how to reduce such a surge current based on the proposed variable switching frequency at startup is also taken into account. The basic operating principles of the RVD and how to suppress the startup surge current are illustrated in detail along with some simulated and experimental results to verify its effectiveness.
Dependence of String Electron Current on Array Plasma Aspect Angle and Temperature

In most cases, the incident aspect angle of a photovoltaic array to the local plasma continuously changes for a spacecraft in low Earth orbit. It is possible to simulate the combined effects of changing array ram aspect angle with respect to the plasma flow inside a vacuum chamber. On-orbit solar array collected current will significantly vary as a function of the angle between the spacecraft velocity vector and the solar array front surface normal vector. The purpose of this paper is to extract this angular dependence of electron current collection of UltraFlex solar array coupons, as well as to measure the dependence of string electron collection current on array temperature. It is found that collected current can be approximated by a cosine function with a 70% drop when the array coupon front surface normal vector is rotated to an angle from 15° to 90°. It was also determined in subsequent tests with two electron number densities of Ne = 0.5 · 106 cm-3 and 1.0 · 106 cm-3 that electron current collection does not depend on the sample temperature.
Low-threshold operation of LCI-membrane-DFB lasers with Be-doped GaInAs contact layer

One of the promising candidates to solve a problem of a performance limitation of LSI is replacing electrical global wirings by on chip optical interconnections. We proposed and realized lateral-current-injection (LCI) type membrane DFB lasers for this purpose. In this paper, we report a new type LCI membrane DFB laser by introducing Be-doped GaInAs contact layer to the initial wafer structure so as to make simple fabrication of p-contact. As the result, a threshold current of as low as 3.8 mA, which was much lower than the previously reported value of 11 mA, was obtained for the stripe width of 1.5 μm and the cavity length of 250 μm.
On the Use of Bayesian Probabilistic Matrix Factorization for Predicting Student Performance in Online Learning Environments

Thanks to the advances in digital educational technology, online learning (or e-learning) environments such as Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) have been rapidly growing. In the online educational systems, however, there are two inherent challenges in predicting the performance of students and providing personalized supports to them: sparse data and the cold-start problem. To overcome such challenges, this article aims to employ a pertinent machine learning algorithm, the Bayesian Probabilistic Matrix Factorization (BPMF) that can enhance the prediction by incorporating background information on the side of students and/or items. An experimental study with two prediction scenarios and 24 experimental conditions was conducted to study the BPMF based on real online learning data. The results show that the lower rate of missingness and the appropriate dimensionality of latent features provided better prediction accuracy in both prediction scenarios. The use of side information enhanced the prediction accuracy but the effect was diminished for the high dimensional latent features when the data are sparse. The methodological value, applicability, and practical implications of the BPMF and side information to the online educational systems were also discussed.
[Effects of p38MAPK inhibitor on the occurrence of acute GVHD and intestine damage after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation in mice].

OBJECTIVE To explore the effects of p38MAPK inhibitor SB203580 (SB) on the occurrence of acute GVHD and intestine damage after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) in mice. METHODS Sixty BALB/c mice, as recipients, were randomized to control group, irradiation group, model group and intervention group. C57BL/6 mice, as donors, were raised to prepare the bone marrow cells (BMCs) and spleen cells (SCs), which were injected into irradiated recipients mice by tail vein. Except control group, other groups accepted 7.5Gy total body irradiation. Model group and intervention group were infused with BMCs 5×10⁶ and SCs 5×10⁵ by less than 4 h after irradiation. SB was injected into intervention group by intraperitoneally, but only DMSO for model group. The general status and survival rate of each group were evaluated. The expression of p-p38MAPK, Fas and FasL in intestine were determined by RT-PCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry (IHC). RESULTS The weight changes of intervention group (13.00±0.50)% was significantly lighter than that of model group (25.00±0.75)% (P<0.05). The clinical score of acute GVHD in the intervention group (3.33±0.82) was significantly lower than that of model group (6.33±1.36) (P<0.05). The expression levels of p-p38MAPK, Fas and FasL in small intestine of intervention group (1.43±0.02, 0.81±0.03, 0.97±0.03) were lower than those of model group (1.76±0.05, 1.52±0.04, 1.48±0.04). CONCLUSION SB inhibited the activation of p38MAPK and Fas/ FasL signal pathway and alleviated the apoptosis of small intestine. And SB could relieve small intestine damages induced by allogeneic T lymphocytes.
Distributed methodology management for design-in-the-large

The MCC CAD framework methodology management system (MMS) is used to describe and control distributed engineering activities in terms of a unified design methodology. Methodologies describe the interactions among design tools and design team members necessary to manage the concurrent design activities associated with design-in-the-large (DITL). A distributed process control server (PCS) provides general process control, load balancing, and interprocess communication (IPC) services to effectively support methodology management activities using networked computing resources. <<ETX>>
Myofilament‐based relaxant effect of isoprenaline revealed during work‐loop contractions in rat cardiac trabeculae

In cardiac muscle, β‐adrenergic stimulation increases contractile force and accelerates relaxation. The relaxant effect is thought to be due primarily to stimulation of Ca2+ uptake into the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR), although changes in myofilament properties may also contribute. The present study investigated the contribution of the myofilaments to the β‐adrenergic response in isolated rat cardiac trabeculae undergoing either isometric or work‐loop contractions (involving simultaneous force generation and shortening) at different stimulation frequencies (range 0.25‐4.5 Hz). SR‐dependent effects were eliminated by treatment with ryanodine (1 μM) and cyclopiazonic acid (30 μM). In isometric contractions during SR inhibition, isoprenaline increased the force but did not alter the time course of the twitch. In contrast, in work‐loop contractions, the positive inotropic effect was accompanied by a reduced diastolic force between beats, most apparent at higher frequencies (e.g. diastolic stress fell from 58.6 ± 5.5 to 28.8 ± 5.8 mN mm−2 at 1.5 Hz). This relaxant effect contributed to a β‐adrenoceptor‐mediated increase in net work and power output at higher frequencies, by reducing the amount of work required to re‐lengthen the muscle. Consequently, the frequency for maximum power output increased from 1.1 ± 0.1 to 1.6 ± 0.1 Hz. We conclude that the contribution of myofilament properties to the relaxant effect of β‐stimulation may be of greater significance when force and length are changing simultaneously (as occurs in the heart) than during force development under isometric conditions.
Dormancy patterns, germination ecology, and seed-bank types of twenty temperate fen grassland species

The germination ecology, including primary and secondary dormancy, mortality of seeds, and seed-bank type, of 20 fen grassland species from Northern Germany was investigated using a combination of burial and germination experiments. To analyze primary dormancy and effects of after-ripening (dry storage for 28 days) on freshly matured seeds, germination was measured at two fluctuating temperature regimes (15/25°C and 5/15°C) in the light and in darkness. Temporal changes in dormancy were investigated by burying seeds at 8–10 cm depth in nylon bags, exhuming samples at bimonthly intervals over a period of two years, and analyzing germination at the above-mentioned temperature and light treamtents. Additional seed samples were retrieved five years after burial to determine seed longeity and seed-bank type. Freshly matured seeds of all species except Bromus racemosus showed primary dormancy. Dry after-ripening significantly increased germination in Parnassia palustris and Triglochin palustre. Mortality of buried seeds of Bromus racemosus, Sanguisorba officinalis, and Succisa pratensis reached 100% within 12 months (transient seed banks). All other species germinated both in the first and in the second growth period after burial and (with the exception of Briza media) showed annual changes in dormancy. For Silene flos-cuculi and Juncus filiformis, dormancy cycles were detected only in the dark treatments. Most species had a lower percentage germination in darkness than in the light, and the greatest suppression of germination in darkness was found in the small-seeded species (Juncus filiformis and Parnassia palustris). The retrieval of seed samples after five years revealed that most of the fen grassland species examined have short-term, persistent seed banks and thus are buffered against years of poor seed production and/or seedling survival. In addition, a large proportion of the species maintain long-term, persistent seed banks from which re-establishment is possible if management practices and site conditions of degenerated fen grasslands become appropriate following restoration measures.
Mobile phone use and brain tumors in children and adolescents: a multicenter case-control study.

BACKGROUND It has been hypothesized that children and adolescents might be more vulnerable to possible health effects from mobile phone exposure than adults. We investigated whether mobile phone use is associated with brain tumor risk among children and adolescents. METHODS CEFALO is a multicenter case-control study conducted in Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Switzerland that includes all children and adolescents aged 7-19 years who were diagnosed with a brain tumor between 2004 and 2008. We conducted interviews, in person, with 352 case patients (participation rate: 83%) and 646 control subjects (participation rate: 71%) and their parents. Control subjects were randomly selected from population registries and matched by age, sex, and geographical region. We asked about mobile phone use and included mobile phone operator records when available. Odds ratios (ORs) for brain tumor risk and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated using conditional logistic regression models. RESULTS Regular users of mobile phones were not statistically significantly more likely to have been diagnosed with brain tumors compared with nonusers (OR = 1.36; 95% CI = 0.92 to 2.02). Children who started to use mobile phones at least 5 years ago were not at increased risk compared with those who had never regularly used mobile phones (OR = 1.26, 95% CI = 0.70 to 2.28). In a subset of study participants for whom operator recorded data were available, brain tumor risk was related to the time elapsed since the mobile phone subscription was started but not to amount of use. No increased risk of brain tumors was observed for brain areas receiving the highest amount of exposure. CONCLUSION The absence of an exposure-response relationship either in terms of the amount of mobile phone use or by localization of the brain tumor argues against a causal association.
Enhanced Nucleotide Excision Repair in Human Fibroblasts Pre‐exposed to Ionizing Radiation

Cellular protection against deleterious effects of DNA damaging agents requires an intricate network of defense mechanisms known as the DNA damage response (DDR). Ionizing radiation (IR) mediated activation of the DDR induces a transcriptional upregulation of genes that are also involved in nucleotide excision repair (NER). This suggests that pre‐exposure to X‐rays might stimulate NER in human cells. Here, we demonstrate in normal human fibroblasts that UV‐induced NER is augmented by pre‐exposure to IR and that this increased repair is accompanied by elevated mRNA and protein levels of the NER factors XPC and DDB2. Furthermore, when IR exposure precedes local UV irradiation, the presence of XPC and DDB2 at the sites of local UV damages is increased. This increase might be p53 dependent, but the mechanism of X‐ray specific stabilization of p53 is unclear as both X‐rays and UV stabilize p53.
Relief of Radiation-Induced Oral Mucositis in Head and Neck Cancer

This study was a prospective, randomized clinical trial carried out to explore the efficacy of payayor in the prevention and relief of radiation-induced oral mucositis compared with benzydamine. Sixty patients with head and neck cancer, who have started to receive radiotherapy and met predetermined criteria, were randomly assigned into each group to use assigned products 3 times a day from the first to the last day of radiation. The first group used glycerin payayor, a Thai prepared herbal product, by dripping it into the mouth. Another group rinsed their mouths with benzydamine hydrochloride. The World Health Organization Mucositis Grading System was used to assess oral status every week and 2 weeks after radiation. Comparison of time to the onset, pain, severity, xerostomia, postponement of treatment, satisfaction of the solution, and body weight between the 2 groups was performed by t test. The average time to the onset of oral mucositis in the payayor group was significantly later, and its severity and pain score were less than those of the benzydamine group throughout the study period. Significantly higher satisfaction with the solution and higher body weight at the end of the study were shown in the payayor group. Payayor seemed to be superior to benzydamine for preventing and relieving radiation-induced oral mucositis.
Evidence of CNS β-amyloid deposition in Nasu-Hakola disease due to the TREM2 Q33X mutation

Nasu-Hakola disease (NHD), also known as polycystic lipomembranous osteodysplasia and sclerosing leukoencephalopathy, is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized by dementia and multifocal bone cysts. NHD is associated with the loss-of-function mutation of triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells-2 gene (TREM2), leading to an aberrant form of TREM2.1
Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation is impaired in peritoneal dialysis patients.

BACKGROUND Peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients have a high risk of cardiovascular mortality, which is not completely explained by conventional risk factors. Other factors related to chronic renal failure and/or dialysis treatment might lead to endothelial dysfunction, which is associated with an adverse cardiovascular outcome. One such factor is hyperhomocysteinaemia, which has a high prevalence in PD patients. METHODS A vessel wall movement detector system was used to investigate endothelium-dependent, flow-mediated, and endothelium-independent, glyceryl trinitrate-induced, vasodilatation of the brachial artery in 29 PD patients and 29 control subjects. RESULTS Endothelium-dependent vasodilatation was markedly reduced in the PD group: 5.7 +/- 1.0% vs 10.4 +/- 1.3% in the control group (P = 0.004). Endothelium-independent vasodilatation was not impaired. Plasma total homocysteine was elevated in the PD patients (45.2 +/- 6.2 micromol/l), but was not related to endothelium-dependent vasodilatation. CONCLUSION Chronic peritoneal dialysis patients have impaired endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, which may reflect an increased susceptibility for the development of atherosclerosis and thrombosis.
Global Scheduling for the Embedded Virtualization System in the Multi-core Platform

In this paper, we are trying to address the global scheduling issues in the embedded multi-core virtualization system. Virtualization system is widely being used in the embedded device nowadays, especially with the multi-core platform also shown in the embedded system world. Global scheduling in the virtualization system makes the real-time tasks in the GPOS (General Purpose Operating System) to have chance to be scheduled against the tasks in the RTOS (Real-Time Operating System). We proposed using GPOS/RTOS mix scheduling and VCPU migration to deal with global scheduling problem. Meanwhile, some issues like interrupt latency in the GPOS and the priority inversion problem in the RTOS are also discovered while doing this research. We would like to make more detail investigation about this issues to improve the quality of global scheduling so we can construct a more ideal virtualization environment.
The postnatal growth of the rat lung II. Autoradiography

Combined morphometric and autoradiographic methods were used to analyze the postnatal growth of rat lung from 1–21 days after birth. Each cell population had distinct growth patterns with an increase in the number of fibroblasts and capillary endothelial cells largely determining the increase in interstitial volume and capillary surface, respectively. The height of proliferation activity in mesodermally‐derived cells was concurrent with the outgrowth of secondary alveolar septa (between days 4 and 13). Analysis of the location of labeled cells on day 7 showed that the higher labeling index on septal crests could be ascribed to the proliferative activity of fibroblasts and endothelial cells.
Vine-Copula GARCH Model with Dynamic Conditional Dependence

Constructing multivariate conditional distributions for non-Gaussian return series has been a major research agenda recently. Copula GARCH models combine the use of GARCH models and a copula function to allow flexibility on the choice of marginal distributions and dependence structures. However, it is non-trivial to define multivariate copula densities that allow dynamic dependent structures in returns. The vine-copula method has been gaining attention recently in that a multi-dimensional density can be decomposed into a product of conditional bivariate copulas and marginal densities. The dependence structure is interpreted individually in each copula pair. Yet, most studies have only focused on time varying correlation. A vine-copula GARCH model with dynamic conditional dependence is proposed. A generic approach to specifying dynamic conditional dependence using any dependence measures is developed. The characterization also induces multivariate conditional dependence dynamically through vine decomposition. The main idea is to incorporate dynamic conditional dependence, such as Kendall's tau and rank correlation, not to mention linear correlation, in each bivariate copula pair. The estimation is conducted through a sequential approach. Simulation experiments are performed and five Hong Kong blue chip stock data from January 2004 to December 2011 are studied. Using t and two Archimedean copulas, it is revealed that Kendall's tau and linear correlation of the stock returns vary over time, indicating the presence of time varying properties in dependence.
Information systems evaluation: an ongoing measure

With increased spending of information systems (IS), IS evaluation is becoming increasingly important. It is important for organisations to evaluate business value of IS they have spent a portion, sometimes large, of their yearly revenue on. For that purpose, however, practitioners and researchers still have not agreed on a single method, although cost-benefit analysis seems to be a flavour among IS practitioners. The decision on which evaluation method is more appropriate in a particular situation is largely context dependent. Evaluators commonly face a difficult situation in choosing the right method for a particular context. This paper first reviews different terms being used to describe evaluation of IS business value. Next, it presents past research results about IS evaluation practices of organisations. It then proceeds to provide a summary of IS evaluation methods, IS evaluation approaches, and IS evaluation types. Last, it concludes with research themes of IS evaluation studies.
Is Falstaff Falstaff? Is Prince Hal Henry V?: Topic Modeling Shakespeare’s Plays

This essay demonstrates how topic modeling can be fruitfully applied to TEI-encoded plays, which allows scholars to analyze speeches by individual characters. Our analysis centers on Shakespeare’s corpus and characters who reappear in multiple plays. Specifically, we use topic models to show that young Prince Hal (in 1 and 2 Henry IV) does not speak the same language as his later self, Henry V (in his titular play): his linguistic shift mirrors his shift in status. Hal himself announces, “I have turned away my former self”—his change in diction bears out his assertion. Conversely, topic models reveal that Falstaff is Falstaff across multiple plays and genres (notably, 1 and 2 Henry IV and The Merry Wives of Windsor), despite scholarly claims to that the Falstaff of comedy is a watered-down version of the braggart drunk of the history plays. Ultimately, we hope that this algorithmically-informed analysis of Shakespeare’s plays is not taken as a final answer, but, instead, as a prompt. As this research reveals, topic modeling plays with attention to each speaker opens the door for new comparisons, and in turn, expands on previous interpretations of literature. Cet essai demontre que les modeles a themes (topic model) peuvent etre appliques avec succes a des pieces encodees en TEI, ce qui permet aux erudits d’analyser le discours de personnages individuels. Notre analyse se concentre sur le corpus de Shakespeare et sur ses personnages qui reapparaissent dans plusieurs pieces. Particulierement, nous employons des modeles a themes pour montrer que le jeune Prince Hal (1 et 2 Henri IV) ne parle pas le meme langage que celui qu’il parle apres etre devenu Henri V (Henri V): son changement linguistique reflete son changement de standing. Hal, lui-meme, annonce: « j’ai renonce a mon passe » —son changement de diction confirme cette affirmation. Inversement, les modeles a themes revelent que Falstaff est Falstaff a travers plusieurs pieces et genres (notamment, 1 et 2 Henri IV et Les Joyeuses Commeres de Windsor), malgre des affirmations erudites que le Falstaff dans la comedie est une version edulcoree du vantard ivre des pieces d’histoire. Finalement, nous esperons que cette analyse algorithmique des pieces de Shakespeare n’est pas consideree comme une solution finale, mais plutot comme une replique. Comme cette recherche le montre, l’usage de modeles a themes pour analyser des pieces, ce qui se concentre sur chaque personnage, offre de nouvelles voies de comparaisons et etoffe donc nos interpretations de la litterature. Mots-cles: Shakespeare; pieces de theâtre; modele thematique; modeles a themes; Falstaff; Prince Hal; Henry V; Henri IV; Joyeuses commeres de Windsor