Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Interleaved DC/DC Converter with Soft-switching Characteristic and high Step-up Ratio

This study presents a dc/dc converter featuring soft-switching characteristic, high conversion efficiency, and high step-up ratio. The proposed circuit is composed of two parallel-connected boost converters. Only one coupled inductor is used to replace inductors of the boost converters which are interleaved operated at discontinuous-conduction mode (DCM). The current ripples at the input and the output terminals are reduced due to the interleaved operation. By freewheeling the current of the coupled inductor to discharge the stored electric charges in the parasitic capacitors of the active switches, both active switches can fulfill zero-voltage switching on (ZVS). Owing to DCM operation, the freewheeling diodes can fulfill zero-current switching off (ZCS). Therefore, the power conversion efficiency is improved. The operation principle for each operation mode is analyzed in detail and design equations for the component parameters are provided in this report. Finally, a prototype 200 W 48–400 V converter was implemented and measured to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed circuit.
Beaked Whale Anatomy, Field Studies and Habitat Modeling

Abstract : This report describes the results of two tasks related to the study of beaked whales. The first study was a field study of beaked whales in the Gulf of California from December 2004 to December 2006. The goal of the study was to determine the range of sound produced by beaked whales and to investigate beaked whale behavior and habitat. A minimum of 17 cetacean species (12 toothed and 5 baleen whales) were observed in 147 sightings. The proportion of sighted toothed whales and baleen whales was 67% and 32%, respectively. The second task was the modeling of beaked whale anatomy, the conversion of anatomy to physical properties, and the use of these in a finite element model of the effects of intense sound. To validate their methodological procedures, the authors compared CT data from live, frozen, and thawed specimens of Tursiops truncatus. The results showed that CT scans produce similar results in tissues and organs for the following quantities: geometry, absolute density, and sound velocity across live and thawed specimens. Simulated sound sources placed inside and outside of a modeled adult male beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) revealed pathways for acoustic propagation into and out of the head. This result supports the notion that dual sonar sources interfere constructively to form a sonar beam in front of the animal. The simulations also indicated a new "gular pathway" for sound reception. Propagated sound pressure waves enter the head from below and between the lower jaws, continuing toward the bony ear complexes through the internal mandibular fat bodies. The report titles produced through these studies are as follows: "Vocalizations and Marine Habitat of Baleen and Beaked Whales," by Gustavo Cardenas, Jorge Urban, and Alejandro Gomez-Gallardo; and "Simulated Sound Transmission and Reception in Cuvier's Beaked Whale (Ziphius Cavirostris) Using the Vibro-Acoustic Toolbox," by Ted W. Cranford, Petr Krysl, and John A. Hildebrand.
The effect of load and plane of elevation on acromial stress after reverse shoulder arthroplasty

Background Acromial fractures are a substantial complication following reverse shoulder arthroplasty, reported to affect up to 7% of patients. Previous studies have shown that implant placement affects acromial stress during elevation of the arm in the scaption plane. The purpose of this study was to investigate the results of arm loading and variation in plane of elevation on acromial stresses. Methods Nine elevation angles (0°–120°), in three planes of elevation (abduction (0°), scaption (30°), and forward elevation (60°)), and three hand loads (0, 2.5, 5 kg) were investigated. Finite element models were generated using computed tomography data from 10 cadaveric shoulders (age 68 ± 19 yrs) to determine acromial stress distributions. Models were created for a lateralized glenosphere (0, 5, 10 mm), inferiorized glenosphere (0, 2.5, 5 mm), and humeral offset (−5, 0, 5 mm). Results For all planes of elevation (0°, 30°, 60°) and hand loads (0, 2.5, 5 kg) investigated, glenoid lateralization consistently increased acromial stress, glenoid inferiorization consistently decreased acromial stress, and humeral offset proved to be insignificant in altering acromial stress. Abduction resulted in significantly higher peak acromial stresses (p = 0.002) as compared to scaption and forward elevation. Conclusions In addition to implant position and design, patient activity, such as plane of elevation and hand loads, has substantial effects on acromial stresses. Level of evidence Basic science study
Comparison of two manual therapy techniques in patients with carpal tunnel syndrome: A randomized clinical trial

Background: Manual therapy techniques are part of physiotherapy treatment of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) which are classified into two groups including nerve mobilization and mechanical interface mobilization. The aim of the study was to find which manual therapy method-technique directed to mechanical interface and nerve mobilization–has superior beneficial effects on clinical and electrophysiological findings in conservative management of patients with CTS. Methods: Thirty patients with CTS participated into two groups namely: mechanical interface and nerve mobilization in this randomized clinical trial. The intervention was performed three times weekly for 4 weeks. Mechanical interface mobilization was directed to structures around the median nerve at the forearm and wrist. Techniques of median nerve gliding and tension were used in the nerve mobilization group. The outcome measures included visual analogue scale (VAS), symptom severity scale (SSS), hand functional status scale (FSS) and motor and sensory distal latencies of median nerve. Paired t-test and ANCOVA were used for statistical analysis. Results: At the end of the 4th week of the treatment, the mean of VAS, SSS and FSS significantly improved in both groups (p<0.05), but the difference was not significant between the two groups (P>0.05). Although the mean of motor and sensory distal latencies of median nerve at the end of the treatment period only improved in the nerve mobilization group (p<0.05), the difference was not significant between the two groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Mechanical interface mobilization and nerve mobilization techniques are not superior to each other in reducing pain and improving hand symptoms and functional status.
Oxidative quality and color variation during refrigeration (4 °C) of rainbow trout fillets marinated with different natural antioxidants from oregano, quillaia and rosemary

The study aimed at determining the antioxidant effect of natural extracts on the oxidative quality and color variation of rainbow trout fillets during storage at 4 °C. The fillets were marinated and samples from the belly flap area and Norwegian quality cuts were used for lipid oxidation determination while the dorsal region was used for color measurements. The fillets were marinated with the different treatments: 470 mg l-1 of oregano extract, 6.84 ml l-1 of quillaia extract, 7.2 ml l-1 of rosemary extract and 2 ml l-1 of a synthetic antioxidant. Maximum TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) values of belly flap and Norwegian quality cuts occurred at five and six days of storage, respectively. The susceptibility of treatments to lipid oxidation in decreasing order was: control>quillaia>oregano>rosemary>synthetic antioxidant. An increase in lightness (L*) and redness (a*) were observed for rosemary and quillaia extracts when compared to control samples. Marinates with natural antioxidants may be an alternative for extending shelf-life of trout fillets at least during the first six days of storage at 4 °C.
From Ethnographic Research to Big Data Analytics—A Case of Maritime Energy-Efficiency Optimization

The shipping industry constantly strives to achieve efficient use of energy during sea voyages. Previous research that can take advantages of both ethnographic studies and big data analytics to understand factors contributing to fuel consumption and seek solutions to support decision making is rather scarce. This paper first employed ethnographic research regarding the use of a commercially available fuel-monitoring system. This was to contextualize the real challenges on ships and informed the need of taking a big data approach to achieve energy efficiency (EE). Then this study constructed two machine-learning models based on the recorded voyage data of five different ferries over a one-year period. The evaluation showed that the models generalize well on different training data sets and model outputs indicated a potential for better performance than the existing commercial EE system. How this predictive-analytical approach could potentially impact the design of decision support navigational systems and management practices was also discussed. It is hoped that this interdisciplinary research could provide some enlightenment for a richer methodological framework in future maritime energy research.
Green synthesis of titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles by using Mentha arvensis leaves extract and its antimicrobial properties

Abstract The novelty of this present work is to investigate the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal activity of the green synthesized titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles using leaf extract of Mentha arvensis, titanium tetraisopropoxide act as the precursor and leaf extract act as the reducing agent. Synthesized nanoparticles were characterized by using X-ray diffraction, UV–Visible absorbance spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy methods. The X-ray diffraction study of the synthesized nanoparticles shows the crystalline structure and the incidence of peaks at 25.27° corresponds to 110 anatase form. Scanning electron microscope study revealed that the synthesized nanoparticle was spherical in shape and the average size of the synthesized nanoparticles was found to be the range of 20–70 nm. Green synthesized TiO2nanoparticle exhibited interesting antibacterial and antifungal activity against selected microorganism.
Production of gynogenetic diploid Polyodon spathula using fertilization with irradiated sperm followed by spontaneous diploidization and distant hybridization caused by heat shock

Summary When paddlefish, Polyodon spathula, eggs were fertilized with UV irradiated (863 l Wc m )2 ) sperm of Amur sturgeon, Acipenser schrenckii, viable gynogenetic diploid progeny with approximately 120 chromosomes occurred due to spontaneous diploidization of the maternal set of chromosomes (SDM). Distant hybridization of P. spathula eggs by A. schrenckii sperm induced inviable gynogenetic haploid progeny with approximately 60 chromosomes. When eggs gynogenetically activated by heterospecific sperm were heatshocked with 37� C for 2 min at 18 min post-fertilization, a small proportion (7.8%) of viable gynogenetic diploid progeny appeared. The female inheritance of these gynogenetic diploid progeny was verified by chromosome analyses and microsatellite genotyping.
Covert Device Association Among Colluding Apps via Edge Processor Workload

While thriving application (app) distribution systems involving incentivized third-party app vendors are desirable for the emerging edge computing paradigm, they also bring security challenges as faced by the current mobile app distribution systems. This article studies a threat called covert device association, in which the vendors of two apps collude to figure out which of their app installations run on the same edge device. The threat can widely spread when the two apps are popular. It is also a stepping stone for: 1) the de-anonymization attacks against the users anonymous to one of the two vendors and 2) privilege escalation in which the two colluding vendors have united privileges. We show that the threat can be implemented via a reliable and ubiquitous covert channel based on the edge device’s processor workload without requiring any privileged permissions. We present the implementation details for three attack scenarios of: 1) two Android apps; 2) an Android app and a Web session running in the mobile Tor browser; and 3) two Android Things apps. Evaluation on two smartphones and an embedded edge device shows that the covert channel gives at least 0.25 b/s data rate with zero empirical bit error rate and the covert device association can be completed within 3.2 min.
50 Cent or 5 Dollars: Comparing the fatty acid level of sand smelt (Atherina boyeri) with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) as a cheaper protein and fatty acid source

Alternatif bir protein ve yag asidi kaynagi olarak gumus baliginin gokkusagi alabaligina karsi yag asidi seviyeleri arastirilmistir. Baliklar iki gruba ayrilarak; pahali / bilinen (gokkusagi alabaligi) ve daha ucuz / az bilinen (gumus baligi) olarak tanimlandi. Gokkusagi alabaligi ve gumus baligi gruplari yakin besin ve duyusal degerlere sahip olsa da gumus baligi grubu fiyat / lezzet tercihine gore daha fazla tercih edilmistir. Gruplarin yag asidi kombinasyonlari 27,56%'dan 38,80% doymus (SFA), 26,30%–31,22% tekli doymamis (MUFA) ve 34,91%-41,22% doymamis asitleri (PUFA) seklinde degismistir. Gruplar arasinda en yuksek oranlar miristik asit (3,15-3,73%), palmitik asit (15,99-26,85%), palmitoleik asit (5,82-6,01%), stearik asit (4,44-6,40%), oleik asit (11,81-20,40%), linoleik asit (2,47-16,73%), eikosapentaenoik asit (2,30-8,80%) ve dokosaheksaenoik asit (7,84-15,77%) idi. PUFAs-n3 ve DHA degerleri daha ucuz olan grupta pahali gruba gore daha yuksekti.
Expression of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Tat Proteins in Escherichia coli and Application to Study Tat Functions

The human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1), transactivator of transcription (Tat), is one of the viral gene products that is essential for HIV-1 replication. The HIV-l Tat protein regulates transcription from an HIV-1 long terminal repeat (LTR) and affects the gene expression of cellular proteins during infection. In order to develop an expression system to overexpress and simply purify HIV-1 Tat proteins, the HIV-1 Tat coding sequences that contain one or two exons were amplified using PCR and cloned into a pET vector, which contains a consecutive stretch of six histidine residues at the amino-terminus. The reconstituted vectors were overexpressed in the E. coli strain and the soluble recombinant proteins were purified to be homogeneity in a single step by acid Sepharose chromatography under nondenaturing conditions. Recombinant HIV-1 Tat proteins were shown to transactivate the HIV-1 LTR promoter in a dose-dependent manner when introduced into mammalian cells. In addition, treatment of human endothelial cells with purified Tat proteins resulted in a significant increase in the level of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression. These results indicate that the recombinant HIV-1 Tat proteins are active in transactivating viral and cellular promoters. The expression and purification system described in this study will facilitate in characterizing the biological functions of the Tat proteins.
BitMEX Bitcoin Derivatives: Price Discovery, Informational Efficiency and Hedging Effectiveness

BitMEX is the largest unregulated bitcoin derivatives exchange, listing contracts suitable for leverage trading and hedging. Using minute-by-minute data, we examine its price discovery and hedging effectiveness. We find that BitMEX derivatives lead prices on major bitcoin spot exchanges. Bid-ask spreads, inter-exchange spreads and relative trading volumes are important determinants of price discovery. Further analysis shows that BitMEX derivatives have positive net spillover effects, are informationally more efficient than bitcoin spot prices, and serve as effective hedges against spot price volatility. Our evidence suggests that regulators prioritise investigation of the legitimacy of BitMEX and its contracts.
Improved Culture Media for Embryogenic Callus Generation in Sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench]

: Many attempts on optimization of sorghum [ Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] tissue culture induction media have been made, but the culture system remains with some bottlenecks compared to that of other crops. This study aimed at assessing the suitability of various induction media to produce embryogenic callus (yellow and friable) with high induction rates and reduced phenolic exudation. The six culture medium modifications: 3 based on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium and one each based on Chu N6, Gamborg B5 and 190 -2 media respectively were applied in the culture of mature embryos from 10 sorghum genotypes. Although there was a genotype influence on the attainment of a yellow callus, friability of the callus was determined to be dependent on the culture medium and not the genotype. Half strength MS medium with 0.2 mg/l 2,4-D with 2.8 g/l Gelrite® as the gelling agent modified with 1.0 g/l KH 2 PO 4 , 1.0 g/l L-proline, 1.0 g/l L-asparagine and 0.16 mg/l CuSO 4 ·5H 2 O (type E) was found to be the most effective resulting in about 60% yellow coloured callus induction with 25% friability. Addition of CuSO 4 ·5H 2 O, KH 2 PO 4, L-proline and L-asparagine significantly reduced the phenolic production. Half strength MS medium was observed to contribute to quality callus production when compared to full strength MS media modified with the compounds. The half strength MS medium was also observed to suppress phenolic production. Medium 190 -2 produced the highest regeneration frequency (40%) among the 3-regeneration media tested. The results provide information on a suitable sorghum callus induction medium necessary for embryogenesis.
Ten Challenges in Advancing Machine Learning Technologies toward 6G

As the 5G standard is being completed, academia and industry have begun to consider a more developed cellular communication technique, 6G, which is expected to achieve high data rates up to 1 Tb/s and broad frequency bands of 100 GHz to 3 THz. Besides the significant upgrade of the key communication metrics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been envisioned by many researchers as the most important feature of 6G, since the state-of-the-art machine learning technique has been adopted as the top solution in many extremely complex scenarios. Network intelligentization will be the new trend to address the challenges of exponentially increasing number of connected heterogeneous devices. However, compared with the application of machine learning in other fields, such as computer games, current research on intelligent networking still has a long way to go to realize the automatically- configured cellular communication systems. Various problems in terms of communication system, machine learning architectures, and computation efficiency should be addressed for the full use of this technique in 6G. In this paper, we analyze machine learning techniques and introduce 10 most critical challenges in advancing the intelligent 6G system.
Translatome Analyses Using Conditional Ribosomal Tagging in GABAergic Interneurons and Other Sparse Cell Types

GABAergic interneurons comprise a small but diverse subset of neurons in the mammalian brain that tightly regulate neuronal circuit maturation and information flow and, ultimately, behavior. Because of their centrality in the etiology of numerous neurological disorders, examining the molecular architecture of these neurons under different physiological scenarios has piqued the interest of the broader neuroscience community. The last few years have seen an explosion in next‐generation sequencing (NGS) approaches aimed at identifying genetic and state‐dependent subtypes in neuronal diversity. Although several approaches are employed to address neuronal molecular diversity, ribosomal tagging has emerged at the forefront of identifying the translatomes of neuronal subtypes. This approach primarily relies on Cre recombinase–driven expression of hemagglutinin A (HA)–tagged RiboTag mice exclusively in the neuronal subtype of interest. This allows the immunoprecipitation of cell‐type‐specific, ribosome‐engaged mRNA, expressed both in the soma and the neuronal processes, for targeted quantitative real‐time PCR (qRT‐PCR) or high‐throughput RNA sequencing analyses. Here we detail the typical technical caveats associated with successful application of the RiboTag technique for analyzing GABAergic interneurons, and in theory other sparse cell types, in the central nervous system. Published 2020. U.S. Government.
Perspectives on the Future of Land Surface Models and the Challenges of Representing Complex Terrestrial Systems

Land surface models (LSMs) are a vital tool for understanding, projecting, and predicting the dynamics of the land surface and its role within the Earth system, under global change. Driven by the need to address a set of key questions, LSMs have grown in complexity from simplified representations of land surface biophysics to encompass a broad set of interrelated processes spanning the disciplines of biophysics, biogeochemistry, hydrology, ecosystem ecology, community ecology, human management, and societal impacts. This vast scope and complexity, while warranted by the problems LSMs are designed to solve, has led to enormous challenges in understanding and attributing differences between LSM predictions. Meanwhile, the wide range of spatial scales that govern land surface heterogeneity, and the broad spectrum of timescales in land surface dynamics, create challenges in tractably representing processes in LSMs. We identify three “grand challenges” in the development and use of LSMs, based around these issues: managing process complexity, representing land surface heterogeneity, and understanding parametric dynamics across the broad set of problems asked of LSMs in a changing world. In this review, we discuss progress that has been made, as well as promising directions forward, for each of these challenges.
Ice Ice Baby: Teaching Addiction Using Experiential Learning and Reflection

This activity was previously presented at the 2016 Association for Gerontology in Higher Education Annual Conference in Long Beach, California. Abstract Students are often reluctant to realize that their parents, grandparents, or older clients may be using or abusing drugs. Recent research indicates that alcohol is the most frequently abused substance among adults over 50. Prescriptions rank second, but research shows dramatic increases in the use of illicit drugs by older females. Additionally, the over 50 age group had the highest hospital admission for illicit drugs such as heroin, cocaine, or opiates. The addiction simulation exercise ICE ICE BABY provides students with a deeper understanding of addiction, including an insight into the social experiences of drug/alcohol use and abuse. Explicit directions for using the exercise are included as well as reflections from students within two programs. Keywords: drug addiction, simulations, active learning, experiential learning DOI: 10.7176/JEP/11-6-16 Publication date: February 29 th 2020