Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and implementation of digital controlled boost PFC converter under boundary conduction mode

The use of power factor correction (PFC) converters is widely discussed and considered for most off-line power supplies. For low power applications, boost PFC converters operated in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) or boundary conduction mode (BCM) mode are usually employed. The main advantage of BCM mode is the reduction of reversal recovery loss of diode and simple control, especially at the high-line light-load condition. In this paper, a digital-controlled method for boost PFC operating under boundary conduction mode without input voltage sensing is proposed. The digital PI controller voltage is used to determine the constant on-time period and the comparator block inside the DSP controller is employed to detect the zero-crossing of inductor current for turning on the main switch. Therefore, the size and cost are reduced significantly. A 200W boost PFC prototype is implemented and tested to verify the feasibility of the proposed control scheme.
Myocardial Protection

Smce June 197') the tc pic o f myocardial prot eenon has been dealt with in an int ensive and cor uprehensive mannet in 4 exceltenuy organized international mecnngs in New York (June 19791. Cologne (Oe. toter llJ 7lJ) , Ynrk (April 1980) , and loodon (June 1( 80). As the proc eedmgs cf these meeungs will be publtshed in part only and as dela)' ! in publicalion are 10 bc expected in view of the large amount cf materia l presenred , lt seems reasoua blc thut one of the parlicipanl s of these 4 symposta should endeavor 10 summ artze the prcscrn ste te includ ing the progrm o f the last (ew )'ea rs and the problems still open tc discuiSion. Twent y years o f expeucnce with experi ment al and (( inkaI problems of myocardial prorecucn are ükety to prod oce an overly personal v iew c n the Palt of the auth or . 0" the " the r hand , Iuture produclive we rk and useful clnucal application appears quesliollable wuhoct an overoew which necessarii)' is based on person al selectlcn. The qcantnanve evaluation of the problerno nly seems pos. able if the different (act OlS cont ributing 10 myocardial prot eenon are weighed in a proper mannet. To Ihal extent , the philosoph ical scllte nee of Hegel •.Das Wahrc ist das Ganze" ('111e truth lies in Ihe wholc") also 3pplies tO m)'ocardial prolecli on.
Modulation of selenite cataract by the flavonoid fraction of Emilia sonchifolia in experimental animal models

The purpose of the study was to investigate the role of flavonoids from Emilia sonchifolia (ES) on the progression of selenite‐induced cataract. The antioxidant property of the flavonoids isolated from ES was assessed by measuring its capacity to inhibit superoxide production and serum oxidation in vitro in comparison with quercetin. Based on these experiments, an in vivo study was conducted to evaluate the modulatory effects of the flavonoids against selenite cataract. Cataract was induced by a single subcutaneous injection of sodium selenite (4 mg/kg body weight). The treatment group received flavonoids from ES (1 mg/kg) and this was compared with the quercetin treated group. Lens opacification was monitored by a slit lamp microscope and classified into six stages. Activity of the antioxidant enzymes – superoxide dismutase and catalase – and the level of lipid peroxidation products thiobarbituric acid reacting substances and reduced glutathione were studied. Slit lamp examination showed that the flavonoid fraction from ES could modulate the progression of cataract. Activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and reduced glutathione were found to be increased in the ES treated groups, while thiobarbituric acid reacting substances were decreased compared with the seleniteinduced group. The results suggest that flavonoids from ES can modulate lens opacification and oxidative stress in selenite‐induced cataract. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Performance analysis of one-way relay networks with channel estimation errors and loop-back interference

In this paper, we derive capacity cut-set bounds of half-duplex (HD) and full-duplex (FD) single relay systems in the presence of channel estimation errors and loop-back interference. Next, we propose power allocation technique to maximize the capacity upper bound that is shown to be effective and close to optimum solution. Comparison between FD and HD relaying systems using optimum power allocation is carried out. Simulation results show that depending on SNR values, it is better to tolerate some loop-back interference with the FD relaying rather than to consume channel resources in HD one. In addition, the estimation error effect is more destructive for low power. While, by increasing the transmitted power, the loop-back interference noise dominates the channel estimation error.
Aphrodisiac activity of methanol extract of leaves of Passiflora incarnata Linn. in mice

The aphrodisiac properties of the methanol extract of leaves of Passiflora incarnata Linn. have been evaluated in mice by observing the mounting behaviour. The methanol extract of P. incarnata exhibited significant aphrodisiac behaviour in male mice at all doses, i.e. 75, 100 and 150 mg/kg. Amongst these, the highest activity was observed with the 100 mg/kg dose when the mountings were calculated about 95 min after the administration of the test extracts. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Expression of estrogen receptors in estrogen receptor–negative human breast carcinoma cells: Modulation of epidermal growth factor‐receptor (EGF‐R) and transforming growth factor α (TGFα) gene expression

A number of studies suggest that an inverse correlation exists between the epidermal growth factor–receptor and the estrogen receptor expression in primary human breast carcinoma as well as in established human breast carcinoma cell lines. Recent studies suggest that the epidermal growth factor–receptor does not regulate the estrogen receptor gene expression. Whether the estrogen receptor regulates the epidermal growth factor–receptor gene expression is not known. We addressed this question by stably transfecting the estrogen receptor cDNA into the estrogen receptor–negative human breast carcinoma cell line MDA‐MB‐231. Constitutive expression of functional estrogen receptors in the transfactants resulted in increased mRNA levels of both epidermal growth factor–receptor and transforming growth factor α. Estradiol treatment of transfected cells, although enhancing transforming growth factor α mRNA levels, did not modulate epidermal growth factor–receptor mRNA levels. The estrogen receptor–transfected cells grown in estrogenic regular medium, however, exhibited lower constitutive levels of epidermal growth factor–receptor mRNA than in steroid‐stripped medium, suggesting that estrogens coupled with some factors normally present in the regular medium may indeed downmodulate epidermal growth factor–receptor mRNA. Sodium butyrate treatment enhanced epidermal growth factor–receptor mRNA levels in nontransfected cells grown in regular estrogenic as well as in steroid stripped medium. Sodium butyrate enhancement of epidermal growth factor–receptor mRNA levels was completely abolished in estrogen receptor–transfected cells grown in regular estrogenic medium and blunted in steroid stripped medium. Using various epidermal growth factor–receptor gene promoter‐CAT constructs in transient transfection assays, we further demonstrate that sodium butyrate enhanced transcription of the epidermal growth factor–receptor gene. The putative sodium butyrate responsive element(s) appears to localize within the proximal 384 bp of the epidermal growth factor–receptor gene promoter region. Although the interactions between estrogen receptor and epidermal growth factor–receptor are rather complex, taken together, our data suggest that estrogen receptor can indeed modulate the epidermal growth factor–receptor mRNA expression.
Modeling human affective postures: an information theoretic characterization of posture features

One of the challenging issues in affective computing is to give a machine the ability to recognize the mood of a person. Efforts in that direction have mainly focused on facial and oral cues. Gestures have been recently considered as well, but with less success. Our aim is to fill this gap by identifying and measuring the saliency of posture features that play a role in affective expression. As a case study, we collected affective gestures from human subjects using a motion capture system. We first described these gestures with spatial features, as suggested in studies on dance. Through standard statistical techniques, we verified that there was a statistically significant correlation between the emotion intended by the acting subjects, and the emotion perceived by the observers. We used Discriminant Analysis to build affective posture predictive models and to measure the saliency of the proposed set of posture features in discriminating between 4 basic emotional states: angry, fear, happy, and sad. An information theoretic characterization of the models shows that the set of features discriminates well between emotions, and also that the models built over‐perform the human observers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Multidimensional Stochastic Ordering and Associated Random Variables

This paper presents several relationships between the concept of associated random variables RVs and notions of stochastic ordering. The question that provides the impetus for this work is whether the association of the ℝ-valued RVs {X1, ', Xn} implies a possible stochastic ordering between the ℝn-valued RV X â X1, ', Xn and its independent version XI â XI1, ', XIn. This leads to results on how multidimensional probability distributions are determined by conditions on their one-dimensional marginal distributions in the event of comparison under the stochastic orderings â¤st, â¤c1, â¤cv, â¤D and â¤K. Such results have direct implications for the comparison of bounds for Fork-Join queues and for the structure of monotone functions of several variables.
Do green offices affect employee engagement and environmental attitudes?

Employees working in 15 public- and private-sector office buildings in a mid-sized Canadian city reported their level of work engagement (as measured by job satisfaction, perceived productivity and affective organizational commitment), environmental orientation, pro-environmental behaviour and opinions about the physical aspects of their buildings. The buildings’ green attributes were assessed on an objective 36-item scale. Neither engagement nor environmental attitudes were correlated with green design attributes. However, employees’ office impressions were significantly negatively correlated with the number of green design attributes. Surprisingly, the results suggest that green design in office buildings does not have a positive effect on employee engagement or on environmental attitudes and behaviours.
Continuous assessment of relative cerebral blood volume in transient ischemia using steady state susceptibility‐contrast MRI

The utility of a noninvasive steady state susceptibility‐contrast MRI technique for continuous measurement of relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) during global transient ischemia and subsequent hyperemia in a feline ischemia model is demonstrated. The measurements were obtained during a 10‐min period of occlusion and 1‐h period of reperfusion. Maximal hyperemic responses in gray matter, basal ganglia, and white matter (observed at 7,7, and 5 min, respectively) were 1.9 ± 0.5,1.8 ± 0.3, and 1.7 ± 0.6 times greater than baseline CBV (mean ± SEM). Thirty to forty minutes after onset of reperfusion, CBV returned to normal. Thereafter, it decreased below baseline, nearing the control level by 1 h after onset of reperfusion. Steady state susceptibility‐contrast MRI permits continuous, in vivo mapping of alterations in CBV.
Transtubal Photo of the Middle Ear in a Newborn after Removal of a Pharyngeal Teratoma

A newborn female born after an uneventful pregnancy with severe dyspnea was admitted to our pediatric department. During the urgent intubation procedure, a mass was seen in the oropharynx. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a mass in the oropharynx and nasopharynx, with a pedicle at the left lateral pharyngeal wall in close proximity to the Eustachian tube. In the operation theater, combined transnasal and endoral endoscopy with retraction of the soft palate was performed. This confirmed that the mass pedicled to the lateral nasopharyngeal wall. The hairy tumor was excised under combined visualization. The 3.5×2-cm surgical specimen was found to be a radically excised mature teratoma on histology. Immediately after excision of the mass, a “cavity” opened in the depth. A 0° rigid endoscope was introduced and a photo was taken of the left tympanic cavity of the newborn (Figure 1). Most likely the pedicle was situated in the entrance of the Eustachian tube, which had been dilated by the mass, and at the time of excision the middle ear had been widely opened.
The N-Terminal Lipopeptide of a 44-kDa Membrane-Bound Lipoprotein of Mycoplasma salivarium Is Responsible for the Expression of Intercellular Adhesion Molecule-1 on the Cell Surface of Normal Human Gingival Fibroblasts1

The activities to induce TNF-α production by a monocytic cell line, THP-1, and ICAM-1 expression and IL-6 production by human gingival fibroblasts were detected in plural membrane lipoproteins of Mycoplasma salivarium. Although SDS-PAGE of the lipoproteins digested by proteinase K did not reveal any protein bands with molecular masses higher than approximately10 kDa, these activities were detected in the front of the gel. A lipoprotein with a molecular mass of 44 kDa (Lp44) was purified. Proteinase K did not affect the ICAM-1 expression-inducing activity of Lp44, but lipoprotein lipase abrogated the activity. These results suggested that the proteinase K-resistant and low molecular mass entity, possibly the N-terminal lipid moiety, played a key role in the expression of the activity. The N-terminal lipid moiety of Lp44 was purified from Lp44 digested with proteinase K by HPLC. Judging from the structure of microbial lipopeptides as well as the amino acid sequence and infrared spectrum of Lp44, the structure of the N-terminal lipid moiety of Lp44 was speculated to be S-(2, 3-bisacyloxypropyl)-cysteine-GDPKHPKSFTEWV-. Its analogue, S-(2, 3-bispalmitoyloxypropyl)-cysteine-GDPKHPKSF, was synthesized. The lipopeptide was similar to the N-terminal lipid moiety of Lp44 in the infrared spectrum and the ICAM-1 expression-inducing activity. Thus, this study suggested that the active entity of Lp44 was its N-terminal lipopeptide moiety, the structure of which was very similar to S-(2, 3-bispalmitoyloxypropyl)-cysteine-GDPKHPKSF.
Detailing the role of Bax translocation, cytochrome c release, and perinuclear clustering of the mitochondria in the killing of HeLa cells by TNF

Induction of cell death in HeLa cells with TNF and cycloheximide (CHX) required an adequate ATP supply and was accompanied by decrease in intracellular pH, translocation of Bax, perinuclear clustering of the mitochondria, and cytochrome c release. The chloride channel inhibitor furosemide prevented the intracellular acidification, the translocation of Bax and the cell death. Cyclosporin A (CyA) or bongkrekic acid (BK) inhibited the induction of the MPT, the release of cytochrome c and the cell death without affecting the perinuclear clustering of the mitochondria or the translocation of Bax. Energy depletion with the ATP synthase inhibitor oligomycin or the uncoupler FCCP in the presence of 2‐deoxy‐glucose prevented the perinuclear clustering of the mitochondria and the cell killing. However, mitochondrial translocation of Bax was still observed. By contrast, cytochrome c was released in the oligomycin‐treated cells but not in the same cells treated with FCCP. The data demonstrate that apoptosis in HeLa cells is ATP dependent and requires the translocation of Bax. The movement of Bax to the mitochondria occurs before and during the perinuclear clustering of these organelles and does not require the presence of ATP. The release of cytochrome c depends on the induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition but not ATP content. J. Cell. Physiol. 217: 442–449, 2008. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Differential expression of egr-1 in osteoarthritic compared to normal adult human articular cartilage.

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to identify genes that are differentially expressed in normal versus osteoarthritic human articular cartilage as either potential novel therapeutic targets or diagnostic markers of this disease. DESIGN mRNA was isolated from histologically normal and osteoarthritic adult human articular cartilage. The Differential Display technique was employed which identified differentially expressed genes in the normal and diseased tissue. Northern and reverse Northern hybridization were used to confirm the gene expression pattern. Immunohistochemistry and in-situ hybridization were used to localize expression of Egr-1 protein and mRNA respectively in cartilage. RESULTS A transcription factor, early growth response protein-1 (Egr-1) was found to be down-regulated more than six-fold in multiple human OA cartilage samples when compared to normal tissue. Immunohistochemistry indicated that Egr-1 was expressed throughout normal adult cartilage, in deep-, mid- and superficial-zones. In contrast, in OA cartilage there was expression of Egr-1 mRNA and protein only in the chondrocytes undergoing cloning. CONCLUSIONS Egr-1 is differentially expressed in OA versus normal cartilage and because of its role in transcriptional activation and repression and regulation of proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis, Egr-1 may play an important role in the pathogenesis of OA. Up-regulation of Egr-1 may therefore provide a novel therapeutic approach for either the prevention or treatment of OA.
RESCORING WITH MAXIMUM ENTROPY CLASSIFICATION

We propose a simple yet effective method for improving speech recognition by reranking the N-best speech recognition hypotheses using search results. We model N-best reranking as a binary classification problem and select the hypothesis with the highest classification confidence. We us e query-specific features extracted from the search results t o encode domain knowledge and use it with a maximum entropy classifier to rescore the N-best list. We show that rescoring even only the top 2 hypotheses, we can obtain a significant 3% absolute sentence accuracy (SACC) improvement over a strong baseline on production traffic from an entertainment domain.
The Rapid Anticoagulation Prevents Ischemic Damage Study in Acute Stroke – Final Results from the Writing Committee

metric tests were used as appropriate. Thirty months after the onset of the study, recruitment was closed after 67 patients had been recruited, emphasizing the diffi culties of academic trials to recruit centers and patients without adequate funding, regardless of the clinical relevance of the question addressed. As illustrated in table 1 , there were close similarities between the 2 treatment groups, although a higher proportion of patients allocated to UH had large infarctions at baseline CT scan. As shown In the rat ischemic brain, unfractionated heparin (UH) is neuroprotective [1] , although its clinical value in acute stroke is still a matter of controversy [2–10] . The Rapid Anticoagulation Prevents Ischemic Damage (RAPID) Trial compared the value of aspirin and UH in patients with suspected nonlacunar ischemic stroke and symptoms lasting less than 12 h using a parallel group, randomized, open, blinded endpoint assessment (PROBE) design. A brain CT scan was mandatory at baseline to exclude any amount of blood, and patients or proxies signed an informed written consent. UH was started with an intravenous bolus of 40 IU/kg of UH followed by a weight-adjusted continuous infusion of 12 IU/kg/h aimed to achieve UH plasma levels of 0.3–0.5 U/ml as soon as possible. Control of UH therapy was assessed with aPTT ratios (patient aPTT/ control aPTT). Six hours after treatment onset, or after any dose adjustment, an aPTT was obtained. Otherwise, aPTTs were ordered every 12 h. Local laboratories were requested at study onset to calibrate the aPTT ratio to their corresponding UH levels. Aspirin (300 mg/day) was given orally or by nasogastric tube. The study treatment was maintained for 6 8 1 days in stroke units of tertiary hospitals. The primary endpoint of the RAPID study was the rate of favorable outcome defi ned as a modifi ed Rankin scale ^ 2 at day 90 8 14 days. The modifi ed Rankin scale was centrally assessed by telephone interview by investigators blind to treatment allocation. The main secondary endpoints included the single and combined incidence of recurrent stroke (appearance of new symptoms), worsening stroke (at least 4 points change in NIHSS score), symptomatic intracerebral hemorrhage, systemic bleeding, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and death at day 90. A Steering Committee and a DSMB directed and supervised the study. All centers had the approval of an independent ethics committee. For sample size calculations, 592 patients per treatment group were required ( � 0.05%, � 80%) to detect or disprove an absolute difference of about 8% in favorable outcome. Parametric and nonpara
Software Change Impact Analysis: An Approach to Compute and Prioritize Impacted Functions in Software Systems

This paper presents an approach to prioritize program segments within the impact set computed using functional call graph to assist regression testing for test case prioritization. The presented technique will first categorize the type of impact propagation and then prioritize the impacted segments into higher and lower levels based on propagation categorization. This will help in saving maintenance cost and effort by allocating higher priority to those segments which are impacted more within the impacted set. Thus a software engineer can first run those test cases which cover segments with higher impacted priority to minimize regression test selection.
Characteristics of natural antibody–secreting cells

Natural IgM plays a critical role in protection from pathogens and the prevention of autoimmunity. While its importance has been shown in many different settings, its origins are incompletely understood. This review focuses on the properties of the natural IgM antibody–secreting cells (ASCs), which arise mainly from the B‐1 cell lineage. B‐1 cells are generated in multiple waves during development, mostly in the fetal and early postfetal periods. The developmental time points can affect their repertoire: prenatal B‐1 cells express a mainly germ line–encoded repertoire, while postnatally developing B‐1 cells can express Ig with a greater degree of variation. Spleen and bone marrow, but not the body cavities, are primary sites of natural IgM secretion. Within these tissues heterogeneous populations of IgM ASCs can be found. While some ASCs express classical markers of B‐1 lymphocytes, others express those of terminally differentiated plasma cells. A better understanding of the properties of these different natural IgM ASCs could aid their future therapeutic exploitation.