Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Power-Electronics-Based Power Distribution System of a MVDC Ship: AC/DC Interface Converters and Control System

Next generation of MVDC ships will be characterized by a power-electronics-based power distribution system. Since onboard power generation is in AC, special attention is pointed at the AC/DC interface converters forming the MVDC bus of the shipboard power distribution system. In this paper preliminary design of two AC/DC power conversion stages and their voltage control is provided. Besides the respective local control systems, a coordination strategy is required between the two AC/DC power conversion stages in order to achieve loads power sharing. In the proposed case study, a MVDC bus control based on the droop control theory is adopted. Simulation results support the proposed coordination strategy.
Robust BCS-based Direction-of-Arrival and Bandwidth Estimation of Unknown Signals for Cognitive Radar

The problem of the estimation of the directions-of-arrival (DoA) and the bandwidth (BW) of wideband signals impinging on an array of electromagnetic sensors is addressed in this work. A novel strategy based on a customized implementation of the Multi- Tasks Bayesian Compressive Sensing (MT -BCS) is proposed to increase the robustness of the joint DoA-and-BW estimation, thanks to the statistical correlation of multiple frequency data samples acquired at consecutive time instants. A preliminary numerical result is reported to show the behavior and the validity of the proposed approach in case of severe noisy condition.
Fluoxetine-mediated inhibition of endoplasmic reticulum stress is involved in the neuroprotective effects of Parkinson’s disease

BACKGROUND Accumulating evidence suggests that Fluoxetine (FLX), an anti-depressant drug, has broad neurobiological functions and neuroprotective effects in central nervous system injury, but its roles in Parkinson's disease (PD) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to evaluate whether fluoxetine attenuates rotenone-induced neurodegeneration in PD. METHODS Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly allocated to control, rotenone-treated, rotenone + FLX-treated and FLX-treated groups. Behavioral tests including open field behavioral test and catalepsy measurement were taken to evaluate neurological behavioral measurements. Apoptosis was detected by TUNEL assay. Endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-related gene expressions were detected by qRT-PCR and western blot. Immunohistochemistry was performed to assess dopaminergic neuronal degeneration. RESULTS We demonstrated that pretreatment with FLX (10.0 mg/kg, i.p.) significantly ameliorated the catalepsy symptom and increased locomotor activity. In addition, FLX markedly reversed the loss of dopaminergic neurons and suppressed the X‑box‑binding protein 1 (XBP1)/caspase-3-activated ER stress. Furthermore, FLX inhibited rotenone-mediated neurodegeneration through caspase-3-mediated neuronal apoptosis. CONCLUSION Taken together, our findings indicate that FLX has beneficial neuroprotective effects in PD and FLX might be a potential therapeutic agent for the treatment of PD. In light of its favorable properties, FLX should be evaluated in the treatment of PD as well as related neurologic disorders.
Sequential Phase-Shifted Model Predictive Control for a Single-Phase Five-Level H-bridge Flying Capacitor Converter

This paper proposes a sequential Phase-Shifted Model Predictive Control (PS-MPC) strategy for a single-phase five-level H-bridge flying capacitor converter. The optimal control problem is formulated to regulate the output current and both of the internal floating capacitor voltages. The proposed sequential PS-MPC strategy achieves a fixed switching frequency, which is beneficial in terms semiconductor loss distribution, and also to ensure that a high-bandwidth is achieved that compares favorably to the finite-control-set MPC (FCS-MPC) case. Simulation results of the proposed sequential PS-MPC strategy, providing current tracking control for a passive load, are presented to verify the transient and steady-state performance that can be achieved.
An In-Pipe Leak Detection Robot With a Neural-Network-Based Leak Verification System

This paper presents a custom designed in-pipe inspection robot that is developed for a pipe of diameter 0.203 m, commonly found in the oil and gas industry. Several pressure sensors are incorporated on board the robot that are used for detecting leaks. The robot has a propeller arrangement that not only drives the robot forward but also helps simulate a flow in an empty pipe, and thus aids the detection of leaks. Furthermore, the leak detection system is augmented by a neural network-based verification framework that improves the robustness of leak detection by allowing the operator to check their identification of a leak by passing it through a neural network-based system. This paper presents the details of the construction of the actual robot and presents experimental data, which show successful neural-networks-based detection of leaks in various scenarios.
Predictive Control for a Flying Capacitor Multilevel Inverter

Multilevel converters play an important role in power electronics applications due to their numerous advantages. In this way, a flying capacitor (FC) multilevel converter is an interesting option as it can create high-quality load waveforms and achieve high power levels. The predictive control technique is a control method for power converters that has attracted attention in the research community. This report carries out an overview of the predictive control technique applied to flying capacitor multilevel converters.
Efficient 60 GHz Antenna Based on Open-End Microstrip Line Fringing Fields

A high gain antenna at 60 GHz is presented. The antenna utilizes the radiation from open-end microstrip lines fringing fields as an efficient radiator. The proposed antenna structure is very compact in size. The simulated antenna has realized boresight gain of 11.5-dBi, and matching bandwidth of 2.2 GHz (i.e., 3.66% relative bandwidth). The proposed antenna simplicity allows easy fabrication and low cost.
On the use of MmCn-BBO for Antenna Problems Optimization

This communication deals with a new family of global optimization algorithms, named Mm Cn -BBO. The different schemes are modifications of the Biogeography Based Optimization (BBO) algorithm, developed with the aim to improve its performances, and in particular to reduce its risk of stagnation and slow convergence. The capabilities of the MrnCn-BBO schemes are here analyzed and compared with other algorithms when they are applied to the optimization of a planar reflectarray.
Predictive Voltage Control Techniques for AC UPS Applications

The classical model based predictive control leads to a variable switching frequency which could produce resonances in the input filter of the power converter, affecting the performance of the system. This paper proposes a fixed switching frequency model based predictive voltage control for UPS applications and a performance comparative between the proposed control and the variable switching frequency counterpart, showing the advantages and disadvantages among the two strategies.
Stress recognition in dental students using smartphone sensor and a software: A pilot study

Aims and Objectives: A dental student in his/her life goes through several academic stresses. Mild stress may be beneficial in cognitive tasks and performance, while persistently high stress may lead to anxiety and depression. Thus, the aim is to compare the stress levels in students appearing for previva and postviva during university examinations. Materials and Methods: The study was carried out on 70 3rd year Bachelor of Dental Surgery students who were appearing for their university practical examination. Heart rate, oxygen saturation and stress levels were measured using Android S-HEALTH software. The data were compared and tabulated. Results obtained were statistically analyzed using paired “t”-test. Results: Heart rate, oxygen saturation and stress levels were statistically high in previva of all the students. Conclusion: It can be concluded that examination is a situational stress resulting in anxiety due to increased levels of plasma cortisol reflected by an increased heart rate, oxygen saturation and stress levels. It is important for students to use stress-reducing measures or to reduce them as much as possible to avoid factors that can affect themselves and their patients in stressful way.
Therapeutic drug level testing based on Raman spectroscopy of the tear fluid

We have developed the drug level testing based on Raman Spectroscopy of tear fluid. In this study, we examined the detection limit of Paper-based Surface Raman Spectroscopy (PSERS) and simulated Line and Space photonics crystal Surface Raman Spectroscopy (L/SSERS). The results implicated the usefulness of this method.
Realization of Low-RCS Parabolic Reflector Antenna Using Curved 3-D Frequency-Selective Structure

This paper presents a high gain and low radar cross section (ReS) antenna based on a parabolic curved 3-dimensional bandstop frequency-selective structure (FSS) backed with an absorber. For the in-band frequencies, the proposed structure can achieve both reflecting and focusing for incident waves, resulting in a highly directive beam in the far field. For the out-of-band frequencies, the incident waves can be almost absorbed, leading to a low ReS. Simulated results show that the proposed low ReS parabolic reflector antenna has a gain of 24.4dB and aperture efficiency of 61.8%.
Channel Analysis and Performance Evaluation of Wireless Backhaul at 5G Frequency Bands

Wireless backhaul (WB) based on the Heterogeneous Network (HetNet) architecture has been attracting increasing interests in the fifth generation (5G) cellular mobile communications and beyond for providing convenient and agile networking. Meanwhile, 5G is extending cellular mobile communication from sub-6 GHz bands to millimeter wave (mmWave) bands for larger under-utilized bandwidth. To efficiently and accurately estimate the performance of wireless backhauling technologies, correct understanding of the backhaul channel is important. However, there still lacks a comprehensive study on the impact of back-hauling channel on the key performance metrics for applications in different deployment scenarios and 5G frequency bands. In this paper, applicable channel models are recommended for the backhaul link and access link in urban environment. Moreover, an in-band WB scheme adopting unified bandwidth allocation is evaluated by the recommended 3GPP channel models for both Random and Hotspot user equipment distributions. It is observed from the numerical results that the frequency and distribution have significant impacts on the performance of the algorithm.
Predictive Control in Power Converter Applications: Challenge and Trends

Predictive control is a attractive alternative for control of power converter and their applications due to fast response and no required to a proportional gain. This paper presents an overview of recent publications of predictive control for power converters and drives. This review shows that predictive control is positioning itself as a real alternative for this kind of applications.
iDEG: Integrated Data and Energy Gathering Framework for Practical Wireless Sensor Networks Using Compressive Sensing

Minimizing the energy consumption through efficient data gathering as well as energy harvesting both are open research problems in the context of practical wireless sensor networks (WSNs). Although the number of approaches has been proposed to cater the above, they are limited in terms of computational complexity, energy efficiency, and the ease of implementation. In this paper, we propose an integrated data and energy gathering framework, named hereby as “iDEG,” for practical WSNs. The proposed work is based on compressive sensing and utilizes partial canonical identity (PCI) matrix that samples/picks fewer sensor nodes randomly at any time point instead of picking up a linear combination of data from all sensor nodes at all time points as used in the conventionally popular Gaussian or Bernoulli matrices. This reduces the computation cost, implementation complexity, and energy losses while improving the data recovery. Furthermore, the fewer sensors at any time point selected by PCI contribute for recovering data, while the rest of the nodes harvest energy during those time points. Performance of iDEG has been tested on a real WSN dataset from Intel Lab. Comparative results of iDEG with the conventional approaches highlight its efficacy.
A comparative study of 3 deep learning models for Pap smear screening

This work presents a comparative study of automated screening procedure for Pap smear with deep learning technology. Three convolution neural network models (AlexNet, densenet161 and resnet101) were employed for detecting the presence of cervical precancerous or cancerous cells from Pap smear database. The study compares accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and computation time for each deep learning model. The best model is the densenet161 due to its high sensitivity and accuracy which are key factors in an automated Pap smear screening procedure to offer the best early detection of cervical cancer to better treatment outcomes.
A Multi Interface Home Automation System with Distributed Intelligence

During the last decade, plenty of devices labeled as “smart” have appeared in the market with the promise of taking the relationship home-user to a new level. Unfortunately, most of these devices are not able to interact with one another and the “smart” solution reduces to the use of a phone app to control a particular device or process. Lately, new devices known as smart hubs have arisen as smart home enablers based on their ability to talk several communication protocols and incorporate devices from different vendors. However, hub-based solutions suffer from various drawbacks, notably the lack of scalability and the presence of a single point of failure. In this work, a multi agent approach is proposed to generate and operate home automation systems. The proposed approach distributes the intelligence among agents, which behave as finite state machines, achieving a scalable and robust architecture. A pilot implementation is presented as proof of concept.
Miniaturized Multibeam Array Antenna Based on E-Plane Butler Matrix for 5G Application

A miniaturized multibeam array antenna fed by a compact beam-forming network (BFN) in multi-layer substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) technology is addressed. As the BFN, an E-plane 4 × 4 Butler matrix (BM) is designed. It is stacked with basic components in the vertical direction so that the dimension can be significantly reduced. Furthermore, some modifications of the BM have been made to obtain further miniaturization. The total occupied area of the designed antenna, including the BFN, is merely 3.8 1 × 0.5 1, which provides an attractive alternative for future 5G applications.
Characterizations of MIMO Antennas Using Multiplexing Efficiency

The multiplexing efficiency has been proposed for characterizations of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas. It has only been partially verified by measurements previously. In this paper, we complement the measurement-based verification. In addition, it is recognized that the multiplexing efficiency is a harmonic mean of the antenna branch powers, implying that the throughput performance of an MIMO system is dominated by the worst antenna branch.
2.5 Dimensional Miniaturized Dual-band Frequency Selective Surface Design

A novel dual-band frequency selective surface based on combined element of 2.5 dimensional spiral ring and crossed dipole is proposed. The simulation results indicate that the dual-bandstop frequency selective surface operates at the frequency of 2.3GHz and 5.9GHz, and is independent of incident angle and polarization. The whole dimension of the miniaturized unit cell is 0.051 X 0.051 (λ is free space wavelength on first resonant band). Its resonance mechanism is analyzed by the current distributions of the element at the two resonance frequencies.
Characterization of Multiple-Layer Anisotropic Metasurfaces Based on Generalized Boundary Conditions

Scattering properties of multiple-layer anisotropic metasurfaces are characterized based on generalized boundary conditions. Once surface susceptibilities of all layers are determined, reflection and transmission coefficients could be readily derived for arbitrary incident angles and polarizations. The validity of this analytical method is demonstrated through comparison between computed results and full-wave simulations.
Automatic Scene Reconstruction Algorithm for Planialtimetric Applications

The development of digital photogrammetry solutions applied to aerial images has gained interest in recent years due to its diverse areas of application, besides the decreasing production costs of high-resolution cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles. The implementation of an automatic scene reconstruction algorithm by using a pair of aerial images as input is proposed in this paper, as a first approach to the full reconstruction algorithm with multiple images. The current work can be used for educational purposes as it contains the general method of reconstruction, excepting for the densification process, which is tested in this paper. The reconstruction algorithm is tested with pairs of aerial pictures taken from a controlled scene, in order to analyze its viability and then with aerial pictures taken with a drone.
A new species of Acartia (Copepoda, Calanoida) from the Philippines, based on morphological and molecular analyses

Abstract A new species of Acartia (Odontacartia), A. (O.) edentatasp. n. , was collected from Leyte Island in the Philippines. Morphologically, the new species resembles A. (O.) pacifica Steuer, 1915. The female of the new species differs from other species of the A. (O.) erythraea Giesbrecht, 1889 species group in the absence of a pair of sharp spines on the posterior border of the genital double-somite and absence of setules on the lateral margins of urosomites 1–3. Unlike other congeners of the species group, males of the new species lack fine setules along the posterior margin of the prosome. Comparison of the new species with A. (O.) pacifica by pairwise distance data for the 16S (282 bp) gene indicates that these species differ by 20–21%, while the COI gene (636 bp) indicates a difference of 16–17%. The new species seems to be a coastal, occurring in warm waters having a salinity of 33.5.
EEG Forward Problem Modelling: Comparison of FieldTrip-SimBio and CST EM Studio

The contribution is focused on the comparison of the accuracy of the solution obtain from the FieldTrip-Simbio and the CST EM Studio. It is showed that the solution from FieldTrip-Simbio can have higher inaccuracy due to either exploitation of the St. Venant's approach for dipole approximation, or not considering the displacement current.
Comparison of small extracellular vesicles isolated from plasma by ultracentrifugation or size-exclusion chromatography: yield, purity and functional potential

ABSTRACT Interest in small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) as functional carriers of proteins and nucleic acids is growing continuously. There are large numbers of sEVs in the blood, but lack of standardised methods for sEV isolation greatly limits our ability to study them. In this report, we use rat plasma to systematically compare two commonly used techniques for isolation of sEVs: ultracentrifugation (UC-sEVs) and size-exclusion chromatography (SEC-sEVs). SEC-sEVs had higher particle number, protein content, particle/protein ratios and sEV marker signal than UC-sEVs. However, SEC-sEVs also contained greater amounts of APOB+ lipoproteins and large quantities of non-sEV protein. sEV marker signal correlated very well with both particle number and protein content in UC-sEVs but not in all of the SEC-sEV fractions. Functionally, both UC-sEVs and SEC-sEVs isolates contained a variety of proangiogenic factors (with endothelin-1 being the most abundant) and stimulated migration of endothelial cells. However, there was no evident correlation between the promigratory potential and the quantity of sEVs added, indicating that non-vesicular co-isolates may contribute to the promigratory effects. Overall, our findings suggest that UC provides plasma sEVs of lower yields, but markedly higher purity compared to SEC. Furthermore, we show that the functional activity of sEVs can depend on the isolation method used and does not solely reflect the sEV quantity. These findings are of importance when working with sEVs isolated from plasma- or serum-containing conditioned medium.
Wideband Compact Slot Antenna Based on Triple-Resonance Substrate Integrated Waveguide Cavity

A slot antenna based on triple-resonance cylindrical substrate integrated waveguide (SIW) cavity is presented in this paper, which shows a wideband property and also a stable radiation pattern over a whole working frequency band of interest. The wideband property is realized by combining high-order modes (TMolO, TE111, and TMo11) of the cylindrical cavity. This antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 270/0 with Sn<-10dB, from 15.5GHz to 20.5GHz. Compared with other wideband SIW cavity-backed slot antennas, which work with the same principle (multimode resonance), the proposed antenna has a compact size, whose diameter is about O. 54λg (λg denotes to the wavelength of waveguide corresponding to the lowest operating frequency). The structure is simple, easy to fabricate by using planar circuit board technology and can be integrated with other planar circuits. It can be applied to advanced communication systems thanks to its simple structure, wideband property, and broadside radiation pattern.
Graphene Loop Antenna for THz Band

A graphene loop antenna with reconfigurable operation band is proposed. The antenna consists of a ring graphene element excited by a photomixer. By modifying the chemical potential of graphene, the device can operate at multiple frequencies in terahertz band. The maximum of the antenna total efficiency occurs near to its second resonance frequency. The bandwidth of the proposed device can be changed from 4.4% (2.2 THz ≤ f ≤ 2.3 THz) to 21.1% (2.6 THz ≤ f ≤ 3.7 THz). The loop antenna is also compared with a graphene dipole antenna.
Unbalanced-Fed Rectangular Loop Antennas for Circular Polarization

Analysis is newly performed for a one-wavelength rectangular loop antenna having an unbalanced feed. This antenna radiates an axial beam in a direction normal to the antenna plane. Subsequently, the axial beam is transformed into a conical beam by taking the loop perimeter to be two wavelengths. It is found that as the aspect ratio is varied, the antenna shows two minima in the axial ratio characteristic, where the rotational senses of the circular polarization are different from each other. Finally, a tilted beam is formed by superimposing the axial and conical beams for a double-loop antenna.
Roman pottery production complex in Crikvenica – conclusive research in 2015

U tekstu se donose rezultati posljednje sezone sustavnih arheoloskih istraživanja antickog keramicarskog kompleksa u Crikvenici koja je Institut za arheologiju provodio u razdoblju od 2006. do 2015. godine. Poseban naglasak ovogodisnjih istraživanja bio je usmjeren na definiranje pojedinih, do sada dvojbenih faza, oblikovanja i koristenja radionickog prostora s ciljem oblikovanja zavrsnih znanstvenih zakljucaka.