Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Joint Power and Data Allocation in Multi-Carrier Full-Duplex Relaying Networks Operating With Finite Blocklength Codes

In this paper, we study a full-duplex (FD) relaying network operating with finite blocklength (FBL) codes. Based on Polyanskiy’s FBL model, we characterize the FBL reliability of the relaying network under both decode-and-forward (DF) and amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying schemes. Based on the characterisation, we provide reliability-optimal designs via optimal power allocation for both schemes in a single-carrier scenario. In particular, we prove that under the FD DF relaying scheme the (tightly approximated) overall error probability is convex in the transmit power at the relay. In addition, we show that minimizing the overall error probability of the FD AF relaying is equivalent to maximizing the overall signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), which is further proved to be pseudo-concave. Then, the designs for a single-carrier scenario are further extended to a multi-carrier scenario with a joint power and data allocation among carriers. In particular, for either the FD DF or FD AF relaying scheme, a joint optimization problem is reformulated to a single problem maximizing the reliability via finding and achieving the optimal SINRs, while auxiliary variables are introduced in FD AF relaying to facilitate the reformulation. Based on mathematical analysis, we respectively construct convex approximations and subsequently propose iterative algorithms, with which the error probability is reduced iteratively until an eventual convergence to an efficient suboptimal value. Hence, a corresponding suboptimal data and power allocation solution can be constructed for the multi-carrier scenario. Via numerical analysis, we validate our analytical model and the proposed allocation algorithms. The FD DF and FD AF relaying schemes are compared with direct transmission in both single-carrier and multi-carrier scenarios, and the benefits of applying FD relaying schemes and joint optimization among multiple carriers are observed.
Analysis of Echinacea flower volatile constituents by HS-SPME-GC/MS using laboratory-prepared and commercial SPME fibers

ABSTRACT HS-SPME-GC/MS has been widely used in herbs and spices for essential oil analysis. This paper reports on the utility of HS-SPME method for profiling of volatile compounds from Echinacea flower using commercial and laboratory-prepared SPME fibers, and additionally comparing the volatiles extracted from HD. For achieving optimum recovery of volatiles, SPME conditions (equilibrium time, extraction temperature and extraction time) were examined. The use of SPME method enhanced the detected volatiles (161 peaks) in comparison to HD method (90 peaks). The identified volatile in Echinacea as total was 92 whether identified by SPME or HD methods. The total of tentatively identified compounds including monoterpenes, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenes, sesquiterpenoids and other hydrocarbons with HS-SPME method (83) was higher than HD method (59). Sesquiterpenic hydrocarbons were shown to be the main group within Echinacea by both methods. It is shown that the extraction efficiencies of polymeric ionic liquid based SPME fibers are comparable with commercial ones.
N-carbamylglutamate and L-arginine Supplementation Improve the Intestinal Oxidative Resistance of the Intrauterine Growth-retarded Ovine Fetuses 

Background: The maternal under nutrition-induced intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) is associated with intestinal oxidative injury in fetuses and neonates in various animal models. However, whether maternal dietary Arginine (Arg) and N-carbamylglutamate (NCG) supplementation during IUGR alters fetal small intestine redox status is unclear.Objective: The ovine model of IUGR was used to elucidate whether dietary supplementation of rumen-protected Arg (RP-Arg) and NCG modulates the fetal intestinal oxidative resistance via the nitric oxide (NO) -dependent pathway. Methods: On day 35 of gestation, 32 twin-bearing Hu ewes were randomly assigned into 4 treatment groups, 8 ewes each. The first and second groups received 100% (Control, CON) and 50% (restricted, RES) of NRC-recommended pregnancy nutrient requirements, respectively. The third and fourth treatment groups included the RES ewes supplemented with 20 g/day of RP-Arg (RES+ARG) or 5 g/day of NCG (RES+NCG), respectively. On day 110 of gestation, fetal blood and intestinal specimens were collected and assayed for oxidative damage biomarkers. Results: The NCG or Arg-supplemented RES ewes elevated the fetal jejunal NO concentrations and NO synthase (NOS) activity, but decreased the fetal jejunal and plasma concentrations of interleukin (IL)-6 and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) (P < 0.05) compared with those in the RES ewes. Further, the NCG or Arg treatment increased the contents of catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), superoxide dismutase 2 (SOD2), heme oxygenase (HO-1), quinone oxidoreductase 1 (NQO1), claudin-1, zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1), epithelial NOS (eNOS) and inducible NOS (iNOS) in the fetal jejunum (P < 0.05). Conclusion: These results indicate that both NCG and Arg supplementation for RES ewes help maintain intestinal function in fetuses experiencing IUGR through modulating the oxidation status.
Coupled-Inductor-Based Dual Active Bridge Converter With Soft Switching Capability and Low Component Count

A coupled-inductor-based dual active bridge (DAB) converter with soft switching capability and low component count is proposed in this article. Under wide-input voltage range application, it only utilizes four active switches to achieve voltage regulation and can behave like the current-fed DAB (CF-DAB) converter. In addition, three magnetic components, including the input dc inductor, the transformer, and the leakage inductor, can all be integrated into one coupled inductor, thus reducing the magnetic component count. With the coupled-inductor structure, the voltage of the half bridge capacitor at the output side can be automatically changed according to different duty cycle. Consequently, the voltage matching at the two ports of the equivalent leakage inductor will always be satisfied by controlling the input capacitor voltage with the adopted pulsewidth modulation (PWM). Based on the detailed analysis of the working modes, power transfer characteristics, and zero-voltage switching (ZVS) conditions, full load range ZVS can be mathematically obtained, which shows that the full load range ZVS capability is an intrinsic feature of the proposed converter and is not related to the converter inductance values. Furthermore, the magnetic integration and parameter design are analyzed in detail. Finally, experimental results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed solution.
Droop-Controlled Inverters as Educational Control Design Project

Electric grids are seeing increasing adoption of renewables interfaced with power electronics. As the share of renewable generation increases, the inverters are expected to operate in grid-forming mode to replace large conventional synchronous generation. Further, in geographical islands and isolated/rural areas, inverters interfacing renewable generators and storage are used to form the grids and share the loads. Given the expected presence of grid-forming inverters in future power systems, there is an urgent need to revise education curricula about the stability issues arising from these interconnected inverters. Existing training is overly reliant on numerical simulation or on expensive tools such as real-time simulators. In this paper, we present a laboratory hands-on project dealing with small-signal stability in droop-controlled inverters. It entails simulation and hands-on experimentation for which an inexpensive microgrid set up was developed in-house at the National University of Singapore. The design project can be integrated into power engineering courses offered to senior and postgraduate students.
Improving the Software-Defined Wireless Sensor Networks Routing Performance Using Reinforcement Learning

Software-defined networking (SDN) is an emerging architecture used in many applications because of its flexible architecture. It is expected to become an essential enabler for the Internet of Things (IoTs). It decouples the control plane from the data plane, and the controller manages the whole underlying network. SDN has been used in wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for routing. The SDN controller uses some algorithms to calculate the routing path; however, none of these algorithms have enough ability to obtain the optimized routing path. Therefore, reinforcement learning (RL) is a helpful technique to select the best routing path. In this article, we optimize the routing path of SDWSN through RL. A reward function is proposed that includes all required metrics regarding energy efficiency and network Quality-of-Service (QoS). The agent gets the reward and takes the next action based on the reward received, while the SDWSN controller improves the routing path based on the previous experience. However, the whole network is also controlled remotely through the Web. The performance of the RL-based SDWSN is compared with SDN-based techniques, including traditional SDN and energy-aware SDN (EASDN), QR-SDN, TIDE and non SDN-based techniques, such as $Q$ -learning and RL-based routing (RLBR). The proposed RL-based SDWSN outperforms in terms of lifetime from 8% to 33% and packet delivery ratio (PDR) from 2% to 24%. It is envisioned that this work will help the engineers for achieving the desired WSN performance through efficient routing.
A Three-Phase Electric Vehicle Charger Integrated With Dual-Inverter Drive

Lack of charging stations and long charge times are critical barriers to widespread electric vehicle (EV) adoption. High power off-board charging stations can address these issues but are expensive to implement. This article presents a three-phase EV charger integrated with the dual-inverter drive. Integrated charging can substantially reduce the charging station costs by reusing drivetrain components, such as power electronics and cooling systems, for charging when the EV is parked. The dual-inverter drive allows for significant current ripple reduction throughout the charger. Operation and control of the presented charger are discussed while functionality is experimentally verified with a 10-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$kW$ </tex-math></inline-formula>-rated prototype. The prototype is able to perform constant current, constant voltage (CCCV) charging of two isolated energy storage units (ESUs) from a three-phase grid with <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$> 0.99$ </tex-math></inline-formula> power factor. Charging is performed with balanced dc current passing through the dual-inverter’s motor windings to prevent torque generation during charging. The prototype achieves a peak efficiency of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$> 94\%$ </tex-math></inline-formula> while meeting grid current harmonic standards set by International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC)-61000-3-12.
Understanding the Relationship Between Official and Social Information About Infectious Disease: Experimental Analysis

Background Communicating official public health information about infectious diseases is complicated by the fact that individuals receive much of their information from their social contacts, either via interpersonal interaction or social media, which can be prone to bias and misconception. Objective This study aims to evaluate the effect of public health campaigns and the effect of socially communicated health information on learning about diseases simultaneously. Although extant literature addresses the effect of one source of information (official or social) or the other, it has not addressed the simultaneous interaction of official information (OI) and social information (SI) in an experimental setting. Methods We used a series of experiments that exposed participants to both OI and structured SI about the symptoms and spread of hepatitis C over a series of 10 rounds of computer-based interactions. Participants were randomly assigned to receive a high, low, or control intensity of OI and to receive accurate or inaccurate SI about the disease. Results A total of 195 participants consented to participate in the study. Of these respondents, 186 had complete responses across all ten experimental rounds, which corresponds to a 4.6% (9/195) nonresponse rate. The OI high intensity treatment increases learning over the control condition for all symptom and contagion questions when individuals have lower levels of baseline knowledge (all P values ≤.04). The accurate SI condition increased learning across experimental rounds over the inaccurate condition (all P values ≤.01). We find limited evidence of an interaction between official and SI about infectious diseases. Conclusions This project demonstrates that exposure to official public health information increases individuals’ knowledge of the spread and symptoms of a disease. Socially shared information also facilitates the learning of accurate and inaccurate information, though to a lesser extent than exposure to OI. Although the effect of OI persists, preliminary results suggest that it can be degraded by persistent contradictory SI over time.
BIOCOMPATIBLE POLYMERS FOR 3D PRINTING

Biodegradable polymers have special particularities (e.g. can be transformed chemically or enzymatically in nontoxic, natural byproducts by hydrolysis) that make them suitable for medical applications and represent the best choice for patients’ safety. In this article we review the most important characteristics of biodegradable polymers commonly used for 3D printing in two important health care fields, pharmaceuticals manufacturing and tissue engineering.
Dose All of the Coronary Fistulas been Created by the Reopening Wire After Successful Revascularization of Chronic Total Occlusion?

Background: Coronary fistulas may be congenital or acquired generally as consequence of coronary interventions, mainly chronic total occlusion (CTO) reopening. When the reopening wire passes through the occlusion it may microperforate the advential vascular layers, favoring the fistulous communication between coronary vessel and cardiac chambers. But some of acquired coronary fistulas (ACFs) had been already present at the CTO vessels and would been seen after revascularization. This study was designed to investigate the characteristics of ACFs, which albeit mostly benign can cause concern and unnecessary treatment post successful CTO percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). Methods: Data, including clinical and procedural characteristics, medical history, and findings in electrocardiography, echocardiography and coronary angiography, from 2169 consecutive patients undergoing CTO PCI between January 2018 and December 2019 were analyzed retrospectively. Results: 1844 (85.0%) underwent successful CTO PCI with complete revascularization. Among them, there were 49 cases (mean age, 62.80 ± 11.24 years; 40 men) of ACFs: 24 (49%) involved the right coronary artery, 19 (38.8%) the left anterior descending artery, and 6 (12.2%) the circumflex branch; and 38 (77.6%) were coupled with multiple fistulas (>3), and 29 (59.2%) affected multiple branches of the CTO vessel (>3). The majority of patients with ACFs had a history of MI or Q-wave (n=34, 69.4%), and angina was the most common complaint (n=41, 83.7%). None of them had pericardial effusion, tamponade and Hemodynamic abnormalities before or after PCI.Conclusion: ACFs after successful CTO PCI mostly developed in patients with MI history, originated from the right coronary artery or left anterior descending artery, and involved multiple fistulas and CTO vessel branches.
EMI Performance of Active Neutral Point Clamped Phase Leg for Dual Active Bridge DC–DC Converter

This article evaluates the electromagnetic interference (EMI) caused by active neutral point clamped (ANPC) phase leg undergoing zero voltage switching (ZVS). ZVS, together with a high fundamental frequency operation is encountered in dual active bridge (DAB) converters. This allows ANPC phase leg to be operated in a different manner than its inverter counterpart. A comprehensive evaluation of four switching schemes for NPC/ANPC-DAB with regard to their EMI performance, voltage overshoot, and losses have been done. Switching state redundancies have been used to reduce the EMI of the ANPC phase leg. To further help in reduction of high frequency EMI and voltage overshoot, a low inductance busbar design has been presented for through-hole discrete devices. Finite element simulation and measurement results show a busbar inductance of 7.7 nH for long commutation loops. Finally, EMI performance (conducted and radiated) together with the busbar design has been experimentally validated for two of the most useful switching schemes. The switching schemes and the busbar design can boost adoption of NPC/ANPC-DAB by ensuring EMI compliance and improved efficiency without affecting the normal DAB operation or using additional hardware.
Ultrafine Particulate Matter Source Contributions across the Continental United States

Abstract. The regional concentration of airborne ultrafine particulate matter mass (Dp < 0.1 µm; PM0.1) was predicted with 4 km resolution in 39 cities across the United States during summer time air pollution episodes. Calculations were performed using a regional chemical transport model with 4 km spatial resolution operating on the National Emissions Inventory created by the US EPA. Measured source profiles for particle size and composition between 0.01–10 µm were used to translate PM total mass to PM0.1. PM0.1 concentrations exceeded 2 µg m-3 during summer pollution episodes in major urban regions across the US including Los Angeles, the San Francisco Bay Area, Houston, Miami, and New York. PM0.1 spatial gradients were sharper than PM2.5 spatial gradients due to the dominance of primary aerosol in PM0.1. Artificial source tags were used to track contributions to primary PM0.1 and PM2.5 from fifteen source categories. As expected, on-road gasoline and diesel vehicles made significant contributions to regional PM0.1 in all 39 cities even though peak contributions within 0.3 km of the roadway were not resolved by the 4 km grid cells. Food cooking also made significant contributions to PM0.1 in all cities but biomass combustion was only important in locations impacted by summer wildfires. Aviation was a significant source of PM0.1 in cities that had airports within their urban footprints. Industrial sources including cement manufacturing, process heating, steel foundries, and paper & pulp processing impacted their immediate vicinity but did not significantly contribute to PM0.1 concentrations in any of the target 39 cities. Natural gas combustion made significant contributions to PM0.1 concentrations due to the widespread use of this fuel for electricity generation, industrial applications, residential, and commercial use. The major sources of primary PM0.1 and PM2.5 were notably different in many cities. Future epidemiological studies may be able to differentiate PM0.1 and PM2.5 health effects by contrasting cities with different ratios of PM0.1 / PM2.5. In the current study, cities with higher PM0.1 / PM2.5 ratios include Houston TX, Los Angeles CA, Birmingham AL, Charlotte NC, and Bakersfield CA. Cities with lower PM0.1 to PM2.5 ratios include Lake Charles LA, Baton Rouge LA, St. Louis MO, Baltimore MD, and Washington DC.
PENGARUH TAX AVOIDANCE TERHADAP COST OF DEBT PADA PERUSAHAAN MANUFAKTUR YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA

ABSTRAK Tax avoidance merupakan upaya yang dilakuakan untuk pajak tanpa melanggar ketentuan perpajakan itu sendiri, Berbeda dengan tax evasion, yang merupakan kecurangan pajak dengan melanggar ketentuan-ketentuan pajak yang berlaku. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menguji pengaruh variabel Penghindaran Pajak (Tax Avoidance) terhadap Biaya Utang.Sampel dalam penelitian ini berjumlah 46 perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia. Data yang digunakan adalah data sekunder dari setiap perusahaan laporan tahunan perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia selama 3 tahun yaitu dari tahun 2015 sampai 2017. Pengambilan sampel dengan menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Analisis data menggunakan analisis regresi linear berganda dengan menggunakan program spss. Pengujian hipotesis yang dilakukan dengan Uji Koefisien Determinasi,Uji F, dan Uji t.Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa variabel Tax Avoidance tidak berpengaruh terhadap Cost Of Debt dan variabel kontrol Ukuran Perusahaan tidak berpengaruh terhadap biaya hutang, dan Return On Assets berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap Cost Of Debt pada perusahaan manufaktur yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia.Tax avoidance tidak berpengaruh terhadap cots of debt. Dalam penelitian ini dapat diketahui bahwa tax avoidance tidak dapat mempengaruhi cost of debt secra tersendiri, tax avoidance berpengaruh ketika size dan return on asset sebaagai variabel kontrol yang memperkuat pengaruh tax avoidance terhadap cots of debt. Periode penelitian ini juga dilakukan setelah pemerintah melakukan reformasi perpajakan dan juga dengan adanya Peraturan Menteri Keuangan No.169/PMK.010/2015 mengenai besaran perbandingan hutang dan modal perusahaan yang telah dikeluarkan pada tahun 2015 yang membuat perusahaan pada saat ini berhati-hati di dalam mengelola hutang. Kata kunci :Tax avoidance, Cost of debt, Perusahaan Manufaktur
An aptamer/ siRNA Chimera against The SARS-CoV-2: A Dual Therapeutic Strategy for The Virus Neutralizing and RNA Interfering

During the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, besides the vaccines, there is an urgent need for the development of effective therapeutics. Although significant efforts have been made to develop such therapies, there are currently no approved treatments for COVID-19. One of the potential therapeutic targets is the spike (S) protein of SARS-CoV-2, which mediates viral entry into host cells. It has been shown that targeting S protein could neutralize viruses and hinder their binding to the cells. Among known viral neutralizing agents, aptamers’ potential in neutralizing the SARS-Cov-2 virus has not yet been revealed. In addition, aptamers could also be used for targeted delivery of drugs and other genetic elements, such as siRNAs, to the cells. Small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) are reliable tools for gene knockdown via RNA degradation. siRNAs have been implemented previously against some viruses, including SARS-CoV, to target its genome. Recently, potential siRNA sequences and their targets in the SARS-CoV-2 genome have been reported, and the efficiency of siRNAs in inhibiting SARS-CoV-2 infection is being revealed. An alternative antiviral approach we propose here relies on an aptamer-siRNA-based system for the treatment of COVID-19. These aptamers could neutralize viruses by hindering their receptor-mediated endocytosis, and siRNAs could suppress the expression of viral genes and halt various aspects of its pathogenesis whenever the aptamers fail to neutralize the virus.