Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved Control Strategy of a Supercapacitor-Based Energy Recovery System for Elevator Applications

This paper proposes an improved control strategy for a supercapacitor (SC)-based energy recovery system (ERS) for elevator applications. The ERS is connected to the dc-link of the elevator motor drive through a bidirectional dc-dc converter for storing and then recovering the braking energy. A system of two fuzzy-logic controllers is introduced for online adjusting the dc-link voltage through the dc-dc converter of the ERS, according to the elevator operating conditions and the ac-grid voltage variations. Thus, the reduction in the consumed energy by the grid in an elevator operating cycle and, therefore, increase in the elevator system efficiency is achieved. Also, the developed control system keeps the SCs current ripple low in order to protect the SCs from overheating and, therefore, preserves their energy storage capability and operating lifetime. The proposed control scheme can be easily installed without requiring modifications to the elevator motor drive and, thus, it can be applied to any elevator system, even existing elevator installations. The effectiveness and the resulting operational improvements of the proposed control scheme have been experimentally validated on a real elevator system.
Ubiquitin as potential cerebrospinal fluid marker of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease

Until today, a definite diagnosis of Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (CJD) can only be made neuropathologically. At lifetime the early and differential diagnosis is often a problem. With SELDI we analyzed cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) from 32 CJD patients, 32 patients having other dementive diseases and 31 non‐demented control subjects for diagnosis‐dependent protein pattern differences. In a screening set of patients, peaks that discriminate best between groups were identified. These peaks were subsequently analyzed using an independent validation set of patients. Diagnostic accuracies were compared with established markers like tau protein and 14‐3‐3‐protein. Potential marker proteins were purified and identified by LC‐MS/MS. In the validation set only one peak of 8.6 kDa out of ten in the screening set could be confirmed. This protein was identified to be ubiquitin and increased levels in CSF (but not in serum) of CJD patients were confirmed by Western blot. Ubiquitin allows the correct diagnoses of that CJD cases missed by tau protein or 14‐3‐3‐protein. We conclude that ubiquitin is a promising additional CSF biomarker for diagnosis of CJD, especially in differential diagnostically difficult cases. The selective increase of ubiquitin in CSF of CJD patients might point to an involvement of ubiquitin in pathophysiological process.
Reactive oxygen species and human spermatozoa: Analysis of the cellular mechanisms involved in luminol‐ and lucigenin‐dependent chemiluminescence

We have shown that human spermatozoa generate and release reactive oxygen species that can be detected by chemiluminescence techniques. Analysis of the cellular mechanisms responsible for this activity suggests that the probe, luminol, undergoes an intracellular dioxygenation reaction mediated by hydrogen peroxide and a sperm peroxidase located within the acrosome. Support for this model included the following observations: (1) the luminol‐dependent signal could be suppressed with peroxidase inhibitors, phenylhydrazine and sodium azide; (2) this suppression could be reversed by the addition of an azide‐insensitive peroxidase, horse radish peroxidase (HRP); (3) inhibition of intracellular superoxide dismutase (SOD) with potassium cyanide (KCN) suppressed the luminol signal; (4) peroxidase activity could be detected in purified populations of human spermatozoa with 3,3′,5,5′ tetramethylbenzidine (TMB); (5) this peroxidase was active at the pH prevailing within the acrosomal vesicle; and (6) peroxidase activity and luminol‐dependent chemiluminescence were minimal in spermatozoa exhibiting a congenital absence of acrosomes. Human spermatozoa could also generate lucigenin‐dependent chemiluminescent signals that could neither be suppressed with peroxidase inhibitors nor enhanced by the addition of peroxidase. However, these signals could be enhanced by suppression of intracellular SOD with KCN or inhibited by exogenous SOD, suggesting that lucigenin was responding to superoxide anion released into the extracellular space. The ability of chemiluminescent techniques to detect and discriminate the production of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide by spermatozoa should facilitate the further analysis of reactive oxygen species as mediators of normal and abnormal human sperm function. © 1992 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
MEK inhibitor, U0126, attenuates cisplatin-induced renal injury by decreasing inflammation and apoptosis.

BACKGROUND Although inflammation and apoptosis are known to play important roles in cisplatin nephrotoxicity, the exact intracellular signaling mechanisms are not well understood. Recent reports that extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK1/2) pathway mediates cisplatin-induced caspase activation and apoptosis in cultured renal tubular cells led us to investigate the effect of MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK) inhibitor, an immediate upstream of ERK1/2 in cisplatin-induced acute renal failure (ARF) in mice. METHODS The effect of MEK/ERK1/2 inhibition on kidney tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha (gene expression, inflammation, the activation of tissue caspases, and apoptosis were examined in addition to its effects on renal function and histology in cisplatin-induced ARF in mice. RESULTS Pretreatment of MEK inhibitor, U0126, decreased ERK1/2 phosphorylation following cisplatin administration with significant functional and histologic protection. This beneficial effect was accompanied by decrease in TNF-alpha gene expression level and inflammation, as well as in caspase 3 activity and apoptosis. CONCLUSION These data provide evidence that ERK1/2 pathway functions as an upstream signal for TNF-alpha-mediated inflammation and caspase 3-mediated apoptosis in cisplatin-induced ARF in mice and suggest that ERK1/2 can be a novel therapeutic target in cisplatin nephrotoxicity.
Chain conformations dictate multiscale charge transport phenomena in disordered semiconducting polymers

Significance Semiconducting polymers have promising applications in transistors, light-emitting diodes, and solar cells. These materials have microstructures that exhibit heterogeneity over multiple length scales, which obscures the relationship between properties, processing conditions, and device performance. Our work provides a theoretical framework to address the role of polymer conformations in electronic transport through disordered semiconducting polymers. We present a simple model that reconciles observations at the local scale with device-scale measurements of charge mobility (charges move quickly at short distances and slowly at long distances). The main features are the use of well-known models to describe the conformations of individual polymer chains and the inclusion of the kinetics of electronic transport between sites on a single polymer and between adjacent chains. Existing models for the electronic properties of conjugated polymers do not capture the spatial arrangement of the disordered macromolecular chains over which charge transport occurs. Here, we present an analytical and computational description in which the morphology of individual polymer chains is dictated by well-known statistical models and the electronic coupling between units is determined using Marcus theory. The multiscale transport of charges in these materials (high mobility at short length scales, low mobility at long length scales) is naturally described with our framework. Additionally, the dependence of mobility with electric field and temperature is explained in terms of conformational variability and spatial correlation. Our model offers a predictive approach to connecting processing conditions with transport behavior.
Rate of Latent Tuberculosis Infection Detected by Occupational Health Screening of Nurses New to a London Teaching Hospital

The prevalence of latent tuberculosis infection in a cohort of nurses new to a London hospital was 7.6% (13 of 171), using an interferon-γ(IFN-γ) release assay, and 16.2% (24 of 148), using the tuberculin skin test. On multivariate analysis, birth in a country with tuberculosis prevalence of more than 40 cases per 100,000 population was associated with positive results of both the IFN-γ release assay and the tuberculin skin test.
Pilot-Aided Channel Estimation for Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier

Universal Filtered Multi-Carrier (UFMC, a.k.a. UF-OFDM) is a novel multi-carrier modulation technique, which aims at replacing OFDM for next generation wireless communication systems (5G). It is a generalization of OFDM and filter bank based multi-carrier (FBMC-FMT), which combines the advantages of OFDM and FBMC while avoiding its main drawbacks. UFMC is shown to be more robust in relaxed synchronization conditions i.e. time-frequency misalignment compared to conventional CP-OFDM systems. As required in potential scenarios of 5G systems, UFMC is more efficient to support short uplink bursts communications. Without the insertion of cyclic prefix, we investigate the procedure and performance of pilot-aided channel estimation for UFMC in an uplink multi-user FDMA scenario and show that almost the same performance as CP-OFDM can be achieved despite the lack of cyclic prefix. In case of timing and frequency offset, UFMC shows its robustness over CP-OFDM in terms of symbol error rate (SER). Simulation results show that the error floor is reduced applying UFMC for considered different types of channels.
Herbivores alter plant–wind interactions by acting as a point mass on leaves and by removing leaf tissue

Abstract In nature, plants regularly interact with herbivores and with wind. Herbivores can wound and alter the structure of plants, whereas wind can exert aerodynamic forces that cause the plants to flutter or sway. While herbivory has many negative consequences for plants, fluttering in wind can be beneficial for plants by facilitating gas exchange and loss of excess heat. Little is known about how herbivores affect plant motion in wind. We tested how the mass of an herbivore resting on a broad leaf of the tulip tree Liriodendron tulipifera, and the damage caused by herbivores, affected the motion of the leaf in wind. For this, we placed mimics of herbivores on the leaves, varying each herbivore's mass or position, and used high‐speed video to measure how the herbivore mimics affected leaf movement and reconfiguration at two wind speeds inside a laboratory wind tunnel. In a similar setup, we tested how naturally occurring herbivore damage on the leaves affected leaf movement and reconfiguration. We found that the mass of an herbivore resting on a leaf can change that leaf's orientation relative to the wind and interfere with the ability of the leaf to reconfigure into a smaller, more streamlined shape. A large herbivore load slowed the leaf's fluttering frequency, while naturally occurring damage from herbivores increased the leaf's fluttering frequency. We conclude that herbivores can alter the physical interactions between wind and plants by two methods: (1) acting as a point mass on the plant while it is feeding and (2) removing tissue from the plant. Altering a plant's interaction with wind can have physical and physiological consequences for the plant. Thus, future studies of plants in nature should consider the effect of herbivory on plant–wind interactions, and vice versa.
A universally conserved GTPase regulates the oxidative stress response in Escherichia coli

Background: YchF is a universally conserved ATPase of unknown function Results: YchF inhibits catalase activity and high YchF levels cause H2O2 hypersensitivity. YchF is negatively regulated by OxyR in response to H2O2. Conclusion: YchF is a universally conserved negative regulator of the oxidative stress response that acts by a post-translational mechanism. Significance: First functional description of the YchF protein family
Effects of Pollen Competition on Progeny Performance in a Heterozygous Cucurbit

We used an F1 hybrid of zucchini and its wild progenitor to examine the effects of pollen competition on progeny performance. We experimentally varied the intensity of pollen competition by depositing large or small pollen loads onto stigmas. To separate the effects of pollen competition from maternal effects, we excised the styles of flowers receiving the large pollen loads after only the fastest pollen tubes had entered the ovary. The styles from flowers receiving small pollen loads were excised after both fast- and slow-growing tubes had entered the ovary. Consequently, the mature fruits from the two treatments were similar in seed number and weight. Because our previous studies had revealed that fast- and slow-growing pollen tubes fertilize ovules in different regions (locations) within the ovary (fast into region I and slow into region 3), we examined the vigor of the progeny produced in regions I and 3 from both large and small pollen loads. The results revealed that the progeny from large pollen loads outperform progeny from small pollen loads. We also found that for small pollen loads, the progeny from region I outperform the progeny from region 3, which indicates that the progeny produced by the fastest pollen tubes outperform the progeny produced from the slowest
GIS-Based Method for Delineating Urban Hinterlands in Northeast China

Abstract This paper describes a gravity-based method for delineating urban hinterlands, and applies the method to define hinterlands of major cities in Northeast China. Two major tasks are involved: calibrating network travel distances by railway and implementing the gravity model in a GIS environment. ArcGIS is chosen as the platform to illustrate the method. The paper's emphasis is on the methodology, i.e., how the method is implemented step by step in GIS. The study can be improved by using more accurate data and conducting more fieldwork.
Biliary complications and outcomes of liver transplantation from donors after cardiac death

Biliary complications after liver transplantation (LT) using organs retrieved from donors after cardiac death are not well characterized. The aim of this study was to evaluate the severity of biliary complications and outcomes after donation after cardiac death liver transplantation (DCD‐LT). A retrospective evaluation of 20 DCD‐LTs from 1997–2006 was performed. The recipient age was 53 ± 8.7, and the donor age was 35 ± 11 years. The warm ischemia time, cold ischemia time, peak alanine aminotransferase level, and peak aspartate aminotransferase level were 33 ± 12 minutes, 8.7 ± 2.7 hours, 1757 ± 1477 U/L, and 4020 ± 3693 U/L, respectively. The bilirubin and alkaline phosphatase levels at hospital discharge after LT were 3.2 ± 5.4 mg/dL and 248 ± 200 U/L, respectively. During a median follow‐up of 7.5 months (range: 1–73), 5 patients (25%; 1 death after re‐LT) died (3 from sepsis, 1 from recurrent hepatocellular carcinoma at 4 months, and 1 from a cardiac event at 46 months), and additionally, 4 patients (20%) required re‐LT (1 because of hepatic artery thrombosis, 1 because of primary graft nonfunction, and 2 because of biliary strictures). Twelve (60%) developed biliary complications, and of these, 11 (55%) had serious biliary complications. The biliary complications were as follows: a major bile leak for 2 patients (10%; both eventually underwent retransplantation), anastomotic strictures for 5 patients (25%), hilar strictures for 7 patients (35%), extrahepatic donor duct strictures for 9 patients (45%), intrahepatic strictures for 10 patients (50%), stones for 1 patients (5%), casts for 7 patients (35%), and debris for 2 patients (10%). More than 1 biliary complication was seen in most patients, and these were unpredictable and required multiple diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. Serious biliary complications are common after DCD‐LT, and research should focus on identifying donor and recipient factors that predict and prevent serious biliary complications. Liver Transpl 13:1645–1653, 2007. © 2007 AASLD.
Correlates of depression in chronic dialysis patients: morbidity and mortality.

A group of 74 end-stage renal disease outpatients on dialysis completed on of seven forms of the Depression Adjective Check List (DACL) (Lubin, 1981) once a month over a 12-month period. Patient cooperation in filling out the DACL was 95%, indicating patient's acceptance of this fairly unobtrusive instrument. The distribution of usable DACL scores of 53 patients was trifurcated: high = one SD above the mean; medium +/- one SD from the mean; and low = more than one SD below the mean. A one-way ANOVA on the mean number hospitalizations during the 12-month period for each group was significant, F (2,50) = 8.11, p less than . 01. The mean number of hospital admissions was highest for the high depression group and lowest for the low depression group. DACL scores of seven patients who died were significantly higher than for the 46 survivors, t (60) = 4.44, p less than . 01.
Improper Signaling on the Two-user SISO Interference Channel

On a single-input-single-out (SISO) interference channel (IC), conventional non-cooperative strategies encourage players selfishly maximizing their transmit data rates, neglecting the deficit of performance caused by and to other players. In the case of proper complex Gaussian noise, the maximum entropy theorem shows that the best-response strategy is to transmit with proper signals (symmetric complex Gaussian symbols). However, such equilibrium leads to degrees-of-freedom zero due to the saturation of interference. With improper signals (asymmetric complex Gaussian symbols), an extra freedom of optimization is available. In this paper, we study the impact of improper signaling on the 2-user SISO IC. We explore the achievable rate region with non-cooperative strategies by computing a Nash equilibrium of a non-cooperative game with improper signaling. Then, assuming cooperation between players, we study the achievable rate region of improper signals. We propose the usage of improper rank one signals for their simplicity and ease of implementation. Despite their simplicity, rank one signals achieve close to optimal sum rate compared to full rank improper signals. We characterize the Pareto boundary, the outer-boundary of the achievable rate region, of improper rank one signals with a single real-valued parameter; we compute the closed-form solution of the Pareto boundary with the non-zero-forcing strategies, the maximum sum rate point and the max-min fairness solution with zero-forcing strategies. Analysis on the extreme SNR regimes shows that proper signals maximize the wide-band slope of spectral efficiency whereas improper signals optimize the high-SNR power offset.
Cardiac Strain during Upright Cycle Ergometry in Adolescent Males

Little evidence exists with regard to changes in cardiac strain that occur during submaximal exercise in young males. The aims of the study were to evaluate the changes that occur in longitudinal (L), radial (R), and endocardial circumferential (EC) strain during submaximal upright cycle ergometry and to examine the test–retest reproducibility of these measurements. Fourteen recreationally active, adolescent (age: 17.9 ± 0.7 years) males volunteered for the study. All subjects underwent an incremental (40 W) submaximal cycle ergometer test. L, R, and EC strain values were obtained using speckle tracking, from two‐dimensional B‐mode images of the left ventricle (LV) during rest and the initial stages of submaximal exercise (40 and 80 W). The average of 6 LV segments was used to determine both peak wall deformation (%) and the time to peak deformation (ms). There was a statistically (P < 0.05) significant increase from rest to submaximal exercise for peak deformation for L, R, and EC strain. There was a statistically significant (P < 0.05) decrease from rest to submaximal exercise for time to peak for L and R and EC strain and between submaximal workloads for time to peak for L strain and EC strain. Coefficients of variation demonstrated reproducibility for upright strain and strain rate measurements similar to published supine measurements. This study has demonstrated that changes in left ventricular wall deformation (L, R and EC strain) that occur during the transition from rest to submaximal exercise can be reliably measured and confirm that a healthy LV has a hyperdynamic response to exercise.
Study on the PSA-ANFIS approach for inverse design in slope engineering

As the most complex materials, the design object researched by slope engineering can not be described detailedly by any mechanical model. So, a reverse design approach has been established by the adaptive neuron-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) which tries to make full use of the successful design experiences in slope engineering in the past. It has been found that the ANFIS-based approach has many disadvantages of artificiality, randomness and irregularity. Therefore, the convergence process of training ANFIS is lengthy and trivial and repetitive. It is not optimized. So it is hardly to be used in the reverse problems in slope engineering. For this reason, the problems on setting the training parameters and model of ANFIS was studied by using orthogonal test design method and PSA, and the approach based on PSA-ANFIS for reverse design in slope engineering was put forward and established. Furthermore, this approach is applied to inverse design the angles and heights of some slopes, and the result shows that the new approach is an excellent inverse design approach.
A Reverse-Mode Automatic Differentiation in Haskell Using the Accelerate Library

Automatic Differentiation is a method for applying differentiation strategies to source code, by taking a computer program and deriving from that program a separate program which calculates the derivatives of the output of the first program. Because of this, Automatic Differentiation is of vital importance to most deep learning tasks as it allows for the easy backpropogation of complex calculations in order to minimize the loss of a learning algorithm. Most of these calculations are some variant of composed matrix and vector operations (such as matrix multiplication or dot products), and because Haskell, and the functional programming paradigm as a whole, stresses the easy composition of pure functions, the task of providing a good Automatic Differentiation implementation for deep learning tasks becomes much easier when using Haskell. Our work provides a functioning Automatic Differentiation library for use with the Accelerate library which implements matrix operations.