Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
CMOS Charge Pump With Transfer Blocking Technique for No Reversion Loss and Relaxed Clock Timing Restriction

A CMOS charge pump based on a transfer blocking technique and a modified precharge scheme is proposed for avoiding reversion loss and relaxing the timing restrictions imposed on input clocks. Comparison results in an 80-nm CMOS process indicate that, with no loading current, the output voltage of the proposed charge pump reaches almost 98% of the ideal boosting level with switching ripple reduced by up to 97%. They also indicate that output voltage deviations due to temperature and process variations are reduced by 24%-98% and 81%-95%, respectively.
Effect of Arthroscopic Evaluation of Acute Ankle Fractures on PROMIS Intermediate-Term Functional Outcomes

Background: Following open reduction internal fixation (ORIF) of unstable ankle fractures, some patients have persistent pain and poor outcomes. This may be secondary to intra-articular injuries that occur at the time of fracture, which occur in up to 88% of fractures. Ankle arthroscopy at the time of ORIF has been proposed to address these intra-articular injuries. This study compared patient-reported functional outcomes in patients who underwent ankle ORIF with and without ankle arthroscopy. Methods: An institutional database was used to retrospectively identify 93 patients who underwent ORIF for an unstable ankle fracture with an intact medial malleolus between 2002 and 2013. Forty-two patients had ankle arthroscopy at the time of ORIF and 51 did not. Functional outcomes between groups were compared using Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) physical function and pain interference computerized adaptive tests at a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Outcomes were also measured with the visual analog scale (VAS) pain score and the Olerud and Molander ankle fracture outcome scale. Average patient follow-up was 67 months (n = 51). Results: PROMIS physical function and pain interference scores were not significantly different between groups (physical function, 57.8 vs 54.5, P = .23; pain interference, 45.6 vs 46.9, P = .56). Operative time was increased in the arthroscopy group (74 minutes vs 59 minutes, P = .027). Overall, 60% (25/42) had chondral lesions of the talus, 7% (3/42) had chondral lesions of the tibial plafond, and 21% (9/42) had loose bodies requiring removal. There was no significant difference in complication rates between groups. Conclusion: At intermediate-term follow-up of patients with unstable ankle fractures and intact medial malleoli, functional outcomes were not significantly improved in patients who underwent ankle arthroscopy. However, there were no increased complications attributable to ankle arthroscopy, and average total operative time was increased by only 15 minutes. Level of Evidence: Level III, retrospective cohort study.
Response to “Letter Regarding: Comparison of Cannulated Screws Versus Compression Staples for Subtalar Arthrodesis Fixation”

Dear Editor: We thank Dr Mason and Dr Baumhauer for their interest and comments regarding our article. The article’s primary outcome was not only the postoperative AOFAS score, as stated in the letter, but also the fusion rate. However, we agree with the comment that the AOFAS hindfoot score is not validated. We have highlighted this issue, as well as the reasons for using this score, as the fourth limitation at the end of the discussion section. Currently, the preoperative and postoperative functional status of all patients who undergo elective foot and ankle surgery at our institutions is assessed using the PROMIS Physical Function CAT. Furthermore, we discuss the fact that the patient cohort was small and without randomization as the first limitation. The post hoc power analysis demonstrated that the comparisons made in this study were not underpowered. However, because of the pitfalls of a post hoc analysis, those results should be interpreted with caution. Therefore, we absolutely agree that the small amount of patients included into this study is a major methodological weakness of this paper. Finally, one of the authors of this study (VV) has some industry consultant relationships as noted in the AAOS disclosure database (http://www7.aaos. org/education/disclosure/search). However, these relationships do not impact the Declaration of Conflicting Interests for this paper, as no authors have relationships with the manufacturers of products used in this research. There are no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. In the conclusion section of our article, we neutrally summarized the main results of this study, which we still believe are an important contribution to the recent literature addressing outcomes in patients with subtalar arthrodesis. We did not specifically advocate the use of any fixation techniques. Furthermore, we highlighted all possible limitations of this study in detail to avoid any unforeseen misinterpretation. We appreciate the commenters’ suggestions and thoughts and hope that we were able to address their concerns adequately. Sincerely,
Operative Treatment of Acute Fractures of the Tarsal Navicular Body

Background: Treatment of displaced tarsal navicular body fractures usually consists of open reduction and internal fixation. However, there is little literature reporting results of this treatment and correlation to fracture severity. Methods: We report the results of 24 patients treated in our institution over a 12-year period. Primary outcome measurements were Visual-Analogue-Scale Foot and Ankle score (VAS-FA), AOFAS midfoot score, and talonavicular osteoarthritis at final follow-up. According to a new classification system reflecting talonavicular joint damage, 2-part fractures were classified as type I, multifragmentary fractures as type II, and fractures with talonavicular joint dislocation and/or concomitant talar head fractures as type III. Spearman’s coefficients tested this classification’s correlation with the primary outcome measurements. Mean patient age was 33 (range 16-61) years and mean follow-up duration 73 (range 24-159) months. Results: Average VAS-FA score was 74.7 (standard deviation [SD] 16.9), and average AOFAS midfoot score was 83.8 (SD = 12.8). Final radiographs showed no talonavicular arthritis in 5 patients, grade 1 in 7, grade 2 in 3, grade 3 in 6, and grade 4 in 1 patient. Two patients had secondary or spontaneous talonavicular fusion. Spearman coefficients showed strong correlation of the classification system with VAS-FA score (r = −0.663, P < .005) and talonavicular arthritis (r = 0.600, P = .003), and moderate correlation with AOFAS score (r = −.509, P = .011). Conclusion: At midterm follow-up, open reduction and internal fixation of navicular body fractures led to good clinical outcome but was closely related to fracture severity. A new classification based on the degree of talonavicular joint damage showed close correlation to clinical and radiologic outcome. Level of Evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series.
mTOR regulates metabolic adaptation of APCs in the lung and controls the outcome of allergic inflammation

Metabolic programming of tissue APCs Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) are scattered throughout the body in lymphoid organs and at the portals of pathogen entry, where they act as sentinels of the immune system. Sinclair et al. demonstrate that APCs at different sites have distinctive metabolic signatures and that the development and function of these cells are determined not only by their transcriptional program, but also by their metabolic state (see the Perspective by Wiesner and Klein). The authors identified a central role for mTOR in mediating the metabolic adaptation of such tissue-resident APCs by influencing the immunological character of allergic inflammation. Thus, tissues endow resident APCs with distinctive metabolic characteristics that control APC development and function. Science, this issue p. 1014; see also p. 973 Metabolic adaptation of antigen-presenting cells in the lung reprograms lung dendritic cells and modulates allergic inflammation. Antigen-presenting cells (APCs) occupy diverse anatomical tissues, but their tissue-restricted homeostasis remains poorly understood. Here, working with mouse models of inflammation, we found that mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR)–dependent metabolic adaptation was required at discrete locations. mTOR was dispensable for dendritic cell (DC) homeostasis in secondary lymphoid tissues but necessary to regulate cellular metabolism and accumulation of CD103+ DCs and alveolar macrophages in lung. Moreover, while numbers of mTOR-deficient lung CD11b+ DCs were not changed, they were metabolically reprogrammed to skew allergic inflammation from eosinophilic T helper cell 2 (TH2) to neutrophilic TH17 polarity. The mechanism for this change was independent of translational control but dependent on inflammatory DCs, which produced interleukin-23 and increased fatty acid oxidation. mTOR therefore mediates metabolic adaptation of APCs in distinct tissues, influencing the immunological character of allergic inflammation.
Noise Analysis and Minimization in Bang-Bang Digital PLLs

In digital bang-bang phase-locked loops (BBPLLs), both the hard nonlinearity of the phase detector and the frequency granularity of the digitally controlled oscillator (DCO) can give rise to undesired tones or peaking in the output spectrum. This work derives the maximum ratio between DCO resolution and jitter, which avoids limit cycles, in the case of dominant DCO noise over reference noise. Moreover, the output jitter is expressed in closed form as a function of the loop parameters and latency, revealing the existence of a minimum and suggesting an optimum design criterion. Finally, an estimation of the BBPLL output spectrum taking into account the quantization noise is provided.
A climate policy pathway for near- and long-term benefits

Climate actions can advance sustainable development The Paris Climate Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) explicitly links the world's long-term climate and near-term sustainable development and poverty eradication agendas. Urgent action is needed, but there are many paths toward the agreement's long-term, end-of-century, 1.5° to 2°C climate target. We propose that reducing short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) enough to slow projected global warming by 0.5°C over the next 25 years be adopted as a near-term goal, with many potential benefits toward achieving Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As countries' climate commitments are formally adopted under the agreement and they prepare for its 2018 stocktaking, there is a need for them to pledge and report progress toward reductions not just in CO2 but in the full range of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and black carbon (BC) (plus co-emissions) in order to track progress toward long-term goals.
Structure of a yeast step II catalytically activated spliceosome

Poised for the second step of splicing In eukaryotes, noncoding sequences in transcribed precursor mRNA are cut out by a dynamic macromolecular machine, the spliceosome. This involves two sequential reactions. The first cuts one end of the noncoding intron and loops it back on itself to form an intron lariat, and the next excises the intron and ligates the coding mRNA. Insights into the first step of splicing have come from the structures of two intermediates: the Bact complex, which is primed for catalysis, and the C complex, which is formed after the first splicing reaction. Yan et al. now report a high-resolution structure of the step II catalytically activated spliceosome (the C* complex). This structure shows conformational changes that position catalytic motifs to accomplish the second splicing reaction. Science, this issue p. 149 A spliceosome intermediate complex is poised to complete the second step of splicing. Each cycle of precursor messenger RNA (pre-mRNA) splicing comprises two sequential reactions, first freeing the 5′ exon and generating an intron lariat–3′ exon and then ligating the two exons and releasing the intron lariat. The second reaction is executed by the step II catalytically activated spliceosome (known as the C* complex). Here, we present the cryo–electron microscopy structure of a C* complex from Saccharomyces cerevisiae at an average resolution of 4.0 angstroms. Compared with the preceding spliceosomal complex (C complex), the lariat junction has been translocated by 15 to 20 angstroms to vacate space for the incoming 3′-exon sequences. The step I splicing factors Cwc25 and Yju2 have been dissociated from the active site. Two catalytic motifs from Prp8 (the 1585 loop and the β finger of the ribonuclease H–like domain), along with the step II splicing factors Prp17 and Prp18 and other surrounding proteins, are poised to assist the second transesterification. These structural features, together with those reported for other spliceosomal complexes, yield a near-complete mechanistic picture on the splicing cycle.
Decision Feedback Equalizers Using the Back-Gate Feedback Technique

A merged adder/D-type flip-flop (DFF) is presented by using the back-gate feedback technique. By using this merged adder/DFF, a slicerless one-tap decision feedback equalizer (DFE) and a cascaded DFE are fabricated in 65-nm CMOS technology. For a cable loss of 12 dB and a 30-Gb/s pseudorandom bit sequence (PRBS) of 27 - 1, the measured bit error rate of the slicerless one-tap DFE is below 10-11. Its power dissipation is 27 mW from a 1-V supply. For a cable loss of 12 dB and a 30-Gb/s PRBS of 215 - 1, the measured bit error rate of the cascaded DFE is below 10-12. This cascaded DFE consumes 55 mW from a 1-V supply.
Amostragem em pesquisas qualitativas: proposta de procedimentos para constatar saturação teórica

A qualitative study's methodological transparency is considered a key factor for achieving its reliability and should be guaranteed by the researchers. Closing the sampling process by saturation is a common approach, but it is rarely made explicit in research reports. Qualitative researchers also commonly experience technical difficulties in objectively identifying saturation. This article proposes a method to organize sample closing by saturation, with a sequence of eight procedural steps for treating and analyzing data collected through open or semi-structured interviews or focus groups. The article aims to help researchers objectively explain how and when saturation occurred and to allow their readers to know how this process occurred.
Codesign of a PA–Antenna Block in Silicon Technology for 80-GHz Radar Application

This brief presents the codesign of a W-band power amplifier (PA) with a dipole antenna using a 0.13- <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\mu\hbox{m}$</tex></formula> SiGe bipolar complementary metal oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) process. The codesign allows the direct interconnection between the PA and the transmitter (Tx) antenna, suppressing the matching network between the two blocks and contributing to loss reduction, energy efficiency enhancement, and miniaturization. The design and the measured results of the monolithic integrated circuit are reported. The 79-GHz differential PA delivers 17 dBm of maximum output power. The chip consumes 300 mA with a 1.8-V supply voltage. The gain of the dipole antenna is <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$-$</tex></formula> 14 dBi in the forward direction and <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$-$</tex></formula>8.5 dBi in the backward direction. The PA and the antenna size are 0.7 and 0.75 <formula formulatype="inline"><tex Notation="TeX">$\hbox{mm}^{2}$</tex> </formula>, respectively. The PA/antenna achieves a maximum power gain of 9.4 dB at 77 GHz and an effective isotropic radiated power of 8.5 dBm.
A Frequency Synchronization Method for a Self-Oscillating PWM Signal Generator

This brief proposes a frequency synchronization method for a full-digital self-oscillating pulsewidth modulation (PWM) signal generator. The self-oscillating PWM signal generator (PSG) generates a variable switching frequency, which results in poor drive performance for a three-phase power inverter or converter. The proposed frequency synchronization method utilizes an additional carrier signal, such as a triangular wave, to fix the switching frequency of a self-oscillating PSG. The switching frequency is synchronized by the triangular wave. As a test case, a switching frequency of 312.5 kHz is used for a performance evaluation of the proposed PSG with a sampling frequency of 12.5 MHz. A first-order noise-shaped output has been obtained. A high-precision PWM signal with low distortion and high resolution of the effective duty cycle has been achieved within the bandwidth. The proposed synchronized self-oscillating PSG is implemented in a three-phase brushless dc motor driver system to confirm the three-phase synchronization performance. Undesirable ripple current from asynchronous operation was not observed. The switching frequencies were synchronized among the three phases.
Digital Noise-Coupling Technique for Delta–Sigma Modulators With Segmented Quantization

A digital noise-coupling technique for delta-sigma modulators with a high-resolution quantizer is presented. The proposed technique divides the outputs of the quantizer into an MSB segment and an LSB segment. The MSBs are directly fed to the modulator input, whereas the LSBs are used as the quantization noise for noise coupling. After the digital postprocessing, the MSBs and the LSBs are then recombined. As a result, it preserves the benefit of increased quantization levels without suffering from the exponential growth of the dynamic element matching logic. The extra noise shaping introduced by the LSB feedback further reduces the quantization noise leakage caused by the mismatch between the analog and digital noise transfer functions, which allows a more relaxed operational amplifier design. This technique is simple to implement and well suited for low-power and wideband applications.
Accurate Fixed-Point Logarithmic Converter

The hardware computation of the logarithm function is required in several applications, ranging from signal and image processing to telecommunication systems. This brief shows that most of previous proposed logarithmic converters, based on piecewise linear approximations, suffer from large errors when dealing with fixed-point input values with many fractional bits, a situation often encountered in practical applications. Thus, this brief proposes a novel logarithmic converter, using nonuniform segmentation and piecewise linear approximation. A rigorous technique that allows computing the optimal segmentation and the coefficients values for a prescribed precision is described in this brief. For fixed-point input values, the proposed approach allows obtaining a sensibly lower error, for the same number of nonuniform segments, compared with previously published results. Implementation details and synthesis results in a 65-nm CMOS technology are also presented.
An Improved Two-Step Binary Logarithmic Converter for FPGAs

This brief describes an improved binary linear-to-log (Lin2Log) conversion algorithm that has been optimized for implementation on a field-programmable gate array. The algorithm is based on a piecewise linear (PWL) approximation of the transform curve combined with a PWL approximation of a scaled version of a normalized segment error. The architecture presented achieves 23 bits of fractional precision while using just one 18K-bit block RAM (BRAM), and synthesis results indicate operating frequencies of 93 and 110 MHz when implemented on Xilinx Spartan3 and Spartan6 devices, respectively. Memory requirements are reduced by exploiting the symmetrical properties of the normalized error curve, allowing it to be more efficiently implemented using the combinatorial logic available in the reconfigurable fabric instead of using a second BRAM inefficiently. The same principles can be also adapted to applications where higher accuracy is needed.
Psychometric Assessment of the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) Among Chinese Adolescents

The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) has the longest empirical track record as a valid measure of trait mindfulness. Most of what is understood about trait mindfulness comes from administering the MAAS to relatively homogenous samples of Caucasian adults. This study rigorously evaluates the psychometric properties of the MAAS among Chinese adolescents attending high school in Chengdu, China. Classrooms from 24 schools were randomly selected to participate in the study. Three waves of longitudinal data (N = 5,287 students) were analyzed. MAAS construct, nomological, and incremental validity were evaluated as well as its measurement invariance across gender using latent factor analyses. Participants’ mean age was 16.2 years (SD = 0.7), and 51% were male. The 15-item MAAS had adequate fit to the one-dimensional factor structure at Wave 1, and this factor structure was replicated at Wave 2. A 6-item short scale of the MAAS fit well to the data at Wave 3. The MAAS maintained reliability (Cronbach’s α = .89-.93; test–restest r = .35-.52), convergent/discriminant validity, and explained additional variance in mental health measures beyond other psychosocial constructs. Both the 15- and 6-item MAAS scales displayed at least partial factorial invariance across gender. The findings suggest that the MAAS is a sound measure of trait mindfulness among Chinese adolescents. To reduce respondent burden, the MAAS 6-item short-scale provides an option to measure trait mindfulness.
The Brief Family Relationship Scale

The Relationship dimension of the Family Environment Scale, which consists of the Cohesion, Expressiveness, and Conflict subscales, measures a person’s perception of the quality of his or her family relationship functioning. This study investigates an adaptation of the Relationship dimension of the Family Environment Scale for Alaska Native youth. The authors tested the adapted measure, the Brief Family Relationship Scale, for psychometric properties and internal structure with 284 12- to 18-year-old predominately Yup’ik Eskimo Alaska Native adolescents from rural, remote communities. This non-Western cultural group is hypothesized to display higher levels of collectivism traditionally organized around an extended kinship family structure. Results demonstrate a subset of the adapted items function satisfactorily, a three-response alternative format provided meaningful information, and the subscale’s underlying structure is best described through three distinct first-order factors, organized under one higher order factor. Convergent and discriminant validity of the Brief Family Relationship Scale was assessed through correlational analysis.
Using Behavioral Mapping to Examine the Validity of the IPIP-IPC

Behavioral mapping, a method designed to relate behaviors to circumplex models, was used to examine the predictive validity of the International Personality Item Pool–Interpersonal Circumplex (IPIP-IPC). In this study, 96 participants first completed the IPIP-IPC and then were videotaped in a social interaction with a confederate. At the conclusion of this interaction, the Riverside Behavioral Q-Sort was used to code 64 different behaviors expressed by the participants. Results indicated that participants’ Riverside Behavioral Q-Sort interpersonal behaviors occurred in a manner predicted by their IPIP-IPC scores. Such findings suggest that the IPIP-IPC can predict a multitude of interpersonal behaviors expressed during a dyadic interaction.