Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Test Review: Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Fourth Edition (WAIS-IV) is an individually administered measure of cognitive ability for individuals aged 16 years, 0 months to 90 years, 11 months. Although administration may be completed by trained technicians, it is stressed in the Administration and Scoring Manual that interpretation should always be completed by professionals with sufficient training in assessment and experience with standardized clinical instruments (Wechsler, 2008). Published by Pearson in 2008, the developers of the WAIS-IV endeavored to provide comprehensive and updated developmental norms, improve psychometric properties and clinical utility, and enhance the user-friendliness of the measure. Increased emphasis was also placed on the theoretical constructs of working memory, processing speed, and fluid reasoning (Lichtenberger & Kaufman, 2009). In addition to providing an overall assessment of general cognitive functioning, the WAIS-IV may be utilized in specific instances such as the assessment of intellectual giftedness or disability (e.g., mental retardation). The inclusion of subtest and composite scores allows for an examination of individual strengths and weaknesses in a variety of cognitive domains. Finally, when used in conjunction with other assessment instruments, such as the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test—Third Edition (WIAT-III; Wechsler, 2009), an examinee’s overall cognitive ability as assessed by the WAIS-IV can be compared to other more specific areas of functioning to identify unexpected patterns of strengths or deficits.
Analysis of a preQ1-I riboswitch in effector-free and bound states reveals a metabolite-programmed nucleobase-stacking spine that controls gene regulation

Abstract Riboswitches are structured RNA motifs that recognize metabolites to alter the conformations of downstream sequences, leading to gene regulation. To investigate this molecular framework, we determined crystal structures of a preQ1-I riboswitch in effector-free and bound states at 2.00 Å and 2.65 Å-resolution. Both pseudoknots exhibited the elusive L2 loop, which displayed distinct conformations. Conversely, the Shine-Dalgarno sequence (SDS) in the S2 helix of each structure remained unbroken. The expectation that the effector-free state should expose the SDS prompted us to conduct solution experiments to delineate environmental changes to specific nucleobases in response to preQ1. We then used nudged elastic band computational methods to derive conformational-change pathways linking the crystallographically-determined effector-free and bound-state structures. Pathways featured: (i) unstacking and unpairing of L2 and S2 nucleobases without preQ1—exposing the SDS for translation and (ii) stacking and pairing L2 and S2 nucleobases with preQ1—sequestering the SDS. Our results reveal how preQ1 binding reorganizes L2 into a nucleobase-stacking spine that sequesters the SDS, linking effector recognition to biological function. The generality of stacking spines as conduits for effector-dependent, interdomain communication is discussed in light of their existence in adenine riboswitches, as well as the turnip yellow mosaic virus ribosome sensor.
Edge Caching in Wireless Infostation Networks: Deployment and Cache Content Placement

This paper studies the popularity-based content caching at the edge of the network. We consider a special edge caching network consisting of a set of infostations that are colocated with a cellular network. These infostations, equipped with large storage and high-speed wireless disseminators, are randomly and uniformly distributed within the coverage of a central base station. Then certain popular content files can be cached at the infostations and provisioned to the requesting user through dedicated short-range communications, upon a cache hit. Subject to a sum storage constraint over the infostations, the problem of maximizing the edge cache-hit-ratio is formulated, which requires a joint design on the number of infostations and the cache content placement at each infostation and is NP-hard in general. To provide insights on these two issues, we characterize a performance tradeoff regarding the number of infostations under maximal-popularity caching (MPC). Furthermore, a hybrid content placement (HCP), as a combination of MPC and the maximal-diversity caching (MDC), is proposed by employing a storage splitting factor. Simulation results demonstrate that there always exists an optimal number of infostations under different caching strategies except the MDC, and the proposed HCP can effectively improve the performance compared to MPC and MDC.
Uni-OPU: An FPGA-Based Uniform Accelerator for Convolutional and Transposed Convolutional Networks

In this article, we design the first full software/ hardware stack, called <italic>Uni-OPU</italic>, for an efficient uniform hardware acceleration of different types of transposed convolutional (TCONV) networks and conventional convolutional (CONV) networks. Specifically, a software compiler is provided to transform the computation of various TCONV, i.e., zero-inserting-based TCONV (zero-TCONV), nearest-neighbor resizing-based TCONV (NN-TCONV), and CONV layers into the same pattern. The compiler conducts the following optimizations: 1) eliminating up to 98.4% of operations in TCONV by making use of the fixed pattern of TCONV upsampling; 2) decomposing and reformulating TCONV and CONV into streaming parallel vector multiplication with a uniform address generation scheme and data flow pattern; and 3) efficient scheduling and instruction compilation to map networks onto a hardware processor. An instruction-based hardware acceleration processor is developed to efficiently speedup our uniform computation pattern with throughput up to 2.35 TOPS for the TCONV layer, consuming only 2.89 W dynamic power. We evaluate <italic>Uni-OPU</italic> on a benchmark set composed of six TCONV networks from different application fields. Extensive experimental results indicate that <italic>Uni-OPU</italic> is able to gain <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.45 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> to <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.68 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> superior power efficiency compared with state-of-the-art zero-TCONV accelerators. High acceleration performance is also achieved on NN-TCONV networks, the acceleration of which have not been explored before. In summary, we observe <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.90 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$1.63 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> latency reduction, as well as <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$15.04 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$12.43 \times $ </tex-math></inline-formula> higher power efficiency on zero-TCONV and NN-TCONV networks compared with Titan Xp GPU on average. To the best of our knowledge, ours is the first in-depth study to completely unify the computation process of zero-TCONV, NN-TCONV, and CONV layers.
Single-Phase Bridgeless PFC Rectifier with Hybrid Switched-Capacitor Cell

This work proposes a novel hybrid bridgeless PFC rectifier with high voltage gain. The proposed topology is a variation of other 2-level previous hybrid topologies in literature and its main advantages compared to the previous hybrid structures are the reduced number of switches and common ground reference for all active switches and the output. The hybrid rectifier uses a hybrid switched-capacitor (SC) voltage multiplier to increase the voltage gain of the conventional boost PFC rectifier, which multiplies the output voltage and divides the voltage stress across the switches. The topology analysis and experimental results are presented for a 1 kW, 800 V dc output voltage and 220 V ac input voltage converter.
Computation of Least-Conservative State-Constraint Sets for Decentralized MPC With Dynamic and Constraint Coupling

We address the problem of synthesizing state-constraint sets for a fully decentralized Model Predictive Control (MPC) scheme. We consider linear time-invariant discrete time systems, with subsystems possibly coupled in both dynamics and state constraints. For each individual subsystem we employ a set-based framework to compute the state-constraint sets, that are used to synthesize local tube-based MPC controllers. The offline problem that computes the constraint sets explicitly ensures that the feasible regions of the MPC controllers are non-empty, and whenever the controllers are feasible, the overall system constraints are satisfied with the least conservativeness possible. We demonstrate the closed-loop performance of the decentralized scheme, assessed with respect to centralized MPC, using a numerical example.
Kappa Switching DC-DC Converter with Continuous Input and Output Currents Achieving 86.7% Input Ripple Suppression and 16dB Peak EMI Reduction

To achieve high power efficiency for step-up and step-down conversions, switching DC-DC power converters are widely used. However, the high di/dt and dv/dt transitions from switching converter operation create unwanted EMI noise which injects into the input and ground bus and interferes with other systems. To mitigate this, this paper presents an isolated gate driver and double-NMOS based switching DC-DC converter -the Kappa converter which has both continuous input and output currents. With two inductors isolating both input and ground respectively as well as a minimized di/dt hot loop formed by a flying capacitor and two power switches, the Kappa buck and Kappa boost converters can be configured to achieve respective step-down and step-up voltage conversions. The Kappa buck converter, with one inductor connecting to input, has a continuous input current which can significantly reduce the input ripple, mitigate EMI noise and eliminate the need of bulky input EMI filters required by the conventional buck converter. Meanwhile, the entire load current is distributed between the two inductors to reduce DCR loss, but only two power switches are required compared to conventional two-phase buck converter. A Kappa buck converter with isolated gate driver is implemented to achieve a DC-DC conversion from 48V to 5V at an IO up to 5A. Compared to a conventional buck converter with same passive component values and operating conditions, this Kappa converter has an input ripple of 14mV, achieving 86.7% input ripple suppression and 16dB peak EMI noise reduction.
Contributions of EWS/FLI Target Genes and Cellular Context in Ewing Sarcoma Pathogenesis

Adult cancers often arise due to the accumulation of mutations over time, while pediatric malignancies occur early in life and may result from disruption of normal developmental processes. Ewing sarcoma is an undifferentiated neoplasm and the second most common bone associated tumor in children and young adults. This is an aggressive disease and effective treatment for those with metastatic disease is lacking. The EWS/FLI translocation encodes an oncogenic transcription factor and the principle driver of the disease. This fusion protein relies on a very specific cellular context in order to dysregulate transcription of several thousand genes including many developmental regulators. The presence of the translocation in a permissive cell type may be sufficient to drive the transformation process. The specific oncogenic contributions made by EWS/FLI target genes and identification of the cell of origin – which remains unknown – will lead to targeted treatment options based on the molecular underpinnings of the disease. Toward this goal, we identified BCL11B as an up-regulated EWS/FLI target necessary for maintenance of transformation. Genome wide expression profiling of BCL11B regulated genes revealed that BCL11B is responsible for a significant portion of the EWS/FLI repressed gene signature. The normal function of BCL11B as a transcriptional repressor in many developmental processes, suggests that inappropriate expression of BCL11B in the incipient Ewing sarcoma cell leads to aberrant expression of genes involved in several cell lineages, thus contributing to the poorly differentiated
Optimized Controller Placement for Soft Handover in Virtualized 5G Network

Softwarized Network Function Virtualization (sNFV) is driving the next generation 5G telecommunication networks to fulfill all the real time service demands of mobile users. Seamless connectivity with ultra low latency (ULL) in high mobility scenarios is one of the most necessary and challenging areas where researchers are working intensively. Thanks to Network Function Softwarization that helps to optimize the user data plane and control plane characteristics very easily with the help of Software Defined Networking (SDN). Inside a 5G network architecture the Serving Gateways (SGW) and Packet Data Gateways (PGW) are responsible for handing over the control functions (e.g signaling and tunnel creation) from one controller to another. SDN brakes SGW to make S/PGW-C at control plane and S/PGW-U at data plane. The UE traffic forwarding decisions are taken at S/PGW-C and further it instructs the S/PGW-U to execute the required data transferring operations. Dynamic up-gradations for uninterrupted signal flow are done at SGW-C using virtual machines running on a federated cloud. In this paper, we focus on a unique and novel SGW Controller Placement Problem (CPP) where a trade off has been made in between the controller load and handover frequency within a restricted network latency constraint. The problem formulations are done based on a Mixed Integer linear Optimization Programming model. The Pareto optimal algorithmic solution shows the suitable control plane distributions of SGW-C satisfying all the necessary objectives.
A Hybrid Modular Multilevel Converter with Multiple Common-Mode Voltages Injection Control for Electric Vehicle Applications

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) for electric vehicle applications has been studied in recent years, for its advantages such as high modularity, fault tolerant ability and capability of multi-function (motor drive, cell equalizer and on-board charger) integration. However, during the operation of MMC, specific ac harmonics will be introduced in battery cell currents, reducing battery lifetime. A multiple common-mode voltages injection control method, increasing the frequency of the 2nd order current harmonic and allowing the filtering through smaller filters, is proposed in this paper, to mitigate the negative influence of current harmonics on battery lifetime. To eliminate the effect of injected common-mode components on the ac side, a hybrid MMC topology is also proposed. Simulation results verify the validity of the proposed method and topology.
A Novel Passive Integrated Unit for A Single-Stage LED Driver

A novel passive integrated unit is proposed to increase the power density of a single-stage light-emitting diode (LED) driver in this paper. With the flexible multi-layer foil (FMLF) integration technique, such an integrated unit consists of two transformers, one resonant inductor and two resonant capacitors to reduce the volume of these passive components. The composition principle, flux analysis and parameter design of the proposes integrated device are introduced in detail, respectively. Finally, the validity and feasibility of the proposed ideas are proved by the simulation results of a Maxwell model and a prototype for a 100W-100kHz single-stage LED driver.
Effect of a Protein-Xanthophyll Concentrate from Alfalfa and of Genotype and Sex of Lambs on their Blood Redox Profile

Abstract The experiment was conducted on lambs of the Polish Lowland sheep (PLS) and a synthetic BCP line. The redox potential was assessed in blood of lambs with different genotype and sex, which were fed feed mixtures with various contents of a proteinxanthophyll (PX) concentrate from alfalfa (1.5% and 3%). The 1.5% addition of PX concentrate to feed stimulated the response of the antioxidant defence mechanisms of the lambs to a greater extent than the 3% addition. The study showed that sex of the lambs had no significant effect on changes in the redox parameters of blood. The PLS genotype of lambs determined higher values of superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant potential of plasma (FRAP), malondialdehyde, and vitamin C than the BCP genotype. Along with the growth of the lambs, a descending tendency was observed in SOD and catalase levels, and an ascending tendency in FRAP value.
Performance Evaluation of Ad-Hoc Routing Protocols in (FANETs)

The utilization of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) as aerial relays for the Internet of Drones (IoD) network has several advantages such as civilian and military applications. A Flying Ad-Hoc Network (FANETs) is a group of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) which can complete their function without human intervention. FANET is considered as a subset of MANET, however, due to high mobility and rapid topology changes in FANET applying routing protocols in FANET is a big challenge. In this paper, we have extensively evaluated existing Ad-Hoc routing protocols such as OLSR, AODV, DSR, TORA & GRP for FANET environment. The performance of those protocols was evaluated using an OPNET 17.5 network simulator. We have compared the protocols using packet dropped ratio, end to end delay, number of hops and throughput in different moving speeds and mobility models such as Random Waypoint Mobility (RWPM), Manhattan Grid Mobility Model (MGM), Semi-Random Circular Movement (SCRM) and Pursue Mobility Model (PRS). For all evaluation scenarios, the results indicate that OLSR and GRP perform better than AODV, DSR, and TORA on average. This paper shows that the variation of the network topology caused by the relative speed of nodes is the main reason for the fluctuation of network performance. Also, we found that the (MGM) greatly affects the packet dropped ratio for all protocols. As we increase mobility speed, we found that End-to-End delay decreases in MGM, PRS, and RWPM, while it is high in SCRM.
Soft-switching Bi-directional High Step-up/down Converter for Battery Charging Applications

A bi-directional high step-up/down converter for battery charging applications is proposed in this paper. Energy is transferred in between low- and extreme-low voltage buses in this isolated DC-DC converter using a minimum number of switches. Energy trapped in the leakage inductance of the high-frequency transformer (HFT) is recycled to achieve the soft switching when transferring energy into both directions. The operation of the proposed converter is validated and verified using the simulation and experimental results.
A urease test for characterizing Brucella strains

The methods at present in use for measuring urease activity to Brucella strains are either rather inaccurate or require specialized equipment (Wohlfeil & Weiland, 1927; Piishel, 1936; Ferguson & Hook, 1943; Schneider & Gunderson, 1946; Christensen, 1946; Bauer, 1949; Hoyer, 1950 ; Pacheco & Thiago de Mello, 1950; Sanders & Warner, 1951; Renoux & Quatrefages, 1951; Huddleson, 1951; Pickett, Nelson & Liberman, 1953; Niznansky & Kremery, 1953; Godgluck & Marggraff, 1955). In addition they expose workers to infection with virulent material, e.g. the use of the Warburg apparatus, or Van Slyke & Archibald's (1944) titrimetric method or Conway's (1939) microdiffusion method.
Production of TGF-beta1 specific chicken polyclonal antibodies and their use in analysis of cytokine level in hookworm infected hamsters

In vitro production of a potent immunoregulatory cytokine ‐ TGF-β1 in mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cell cultures derived from three age groups of Syrian golden hamsters infected with Ancylostoma ceylanicum was investigated. Expression of TGF-β1 mRNA in the cells was measured by real-time quantitative PCR. Protein concentration in cell culture sup ernatants was determined by ELISA with the use of generated chicken polyclonal antibodies recognising hamster TGF-β1. The highest concentration of this cytokine was released by cell s from the youngest hamsters, which were the most s usceptible to hookworm infection. Real-time PCR analysis of TGF-β1 mRNA expression in non-stimulated MLN cells showed that fold changes in mRNA expression in the age groups corresponded to protei n concentration in culture supernatants. To our kno wledge this is the first report of TGF-β1 production during hookworm infection in hamsters. We hope that our studies provide a basic start for further investigation of TGF-β1 role in immunosuppression during hookworm infection.
Development of the First-Instar Spruce Budworm (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

Abstract Development of the 1st-instar (L1) of the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana (Clemens), was studied at different temperatures under laboratory conditions. The development process was divided into different phases based on 4 distinct events observed during L1 development: hatching of L1, construction of hibernacula, excretion of green pellets, and molt. The green substance in newly hatched L1 was found to be proteinaceous. The proportion of L1 that successfully completed development at various temperatures indicated that the optimal temperature range for L1 development was between 18 and 27°C. Larval mortality, particularly at low temperatures, occurred mainly before construction of hibernacula and excretion of green pellets. Low temperatures had a weak effect on development time from larval hatching to construction of hibernacula, but the duration of subsequent development periods were substantially increased under these temperatures. Temperature threshold (TT ≈ 6°C), degree-day requirement (DD ≈ 87), and other developmental parameters were estimated.
Semiochemical Disruption of the Pine Shoot Beetle, Tomicus piniperda (Coleoptera: Scolytidae)

Abstract The pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), is an exotic pest of pine in North America. We evaluated blends of semiochemical disruptants, which included nonhost volatiles and verbenone, for their ability to disrupt attraction of T. piniperda to traps baited with the attractant α-pinene and to Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L. , trap logs. In Michigan and in Ontario, Canada, a single blend of nonhost volatiles alone [comprised of 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, 3-octanol, and 1-octen-3-ol] or the nonhost volatile blend combined with verbenone significantly reduced attraction of T. piniperda to attractant-baited traps by 68–77%. Similarly, verbenone plus the nonhost volatile blend or a similar blend without 1-octen-3-ol also significantly reduced attack density of T. piniperda on pine trap logs by 56–74% in both Michigan and Ontario. Although relative responses between the different blends were slightly different between Michigan and Ontario, the recommended operational disruptant consisted of 1-hexanol, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, (E)-2-hexen-1-ol, 3-octanol, and verbenone.
Host preference of Radopholus citrophilus from Hawaiian anthurium among selected tropical ornamentals

Fourteen tropical ornamental plants were evaluated for their host status to a population of Radopholus citrophilus isolated from anthurium. No nematodes were recovered from the roots of Aglaonema commutatum, Caryota mitis, Cycas revoluta, Dracaena deremensis, Neodypsis decaryii, Ravenea spp. , or Spathiphyllum wallisii 5 months after inoculation, making these plants nonhosts. Low numbers of R. citrophilus were recovered from the roots of Phoenix roebellinii, Rhapis excelsa, and Howea forsteriana, suggesting that they were poor hosts to this nematode population. Anthurium trifidum, Chamaedorea neathebella, Chamaedorea seifrizii, and Calathea variegata were hosts for the nematode, allowing population increases of 2.47 to 29.92 times the inoculation density. C. seifrizii and C. variegata represent new hosts of R. citrophilus.