Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Closed loop contol of ZCS interleaved high step up converter for sustainable energy applications

The grid-connected systems employing Photovoltaic and fuel cells call for high step-up dc/dc topologies. Large voltage conversion ratio with ten times of voltage gain is essential for the front-end dc/dc converters. In this paper, the built-in transformer multiplier cell is inserted into each phase of the conventional interleaved boost converter. The multiplier cell is composed by the built-in transformer windings, diodes and capacitors. Additional active switches are not required to simplify the circuit configuration. Moreover, the switch voltage stress and the diode peak current are also minimized and reverse recovery problem of the diodes can be minimised. In addition, the switch turn-off voltage spikes are suppressed effectively by zero current switch (ZCS) turn-on across the switches, which can enhance the reliability. To study the performance of the high step up Interleaved boost converter with closed loop, simulations has been carried out in MATLAB 2013 environment. The waveforms agreed with the operating principles and the steady-state analysis.
Market Transparency and Market Structure: The Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999

The premise of the Livestock Mandatory Reporting Act of 1999 is that enhanced transparency promotes competition. This article provides a theoretical study of the consequences of such transparency for the structure, conduct, and performance of the livestock industry. I conclude that the usefulness of the Act to the livestock industry may not be in the value of reported information to feeders, as the supporters of the Act claim. Rather, by forcing packers to pool information at negligible marginal cost, the Act may foster more competitive conduct in the procurement of livestock. Copyright 2003, Oxford University Press.
Deleterious effects of delayed graft function in cadaveric renal transplant recipients independent of acute rejection.

BACKGROUND In cadaveric renal transplantation, delayed graft function (DGF) correlates with poor long-term graft survival; however, whether its effects are independent of acute rejection is controversial. We wished to study the effect of DGF on graft survival, controlling for acute rejection, discharge creatinine, and human leukocyte antigen match. METHODS We analyzed 27,096 first cadaveric donor renal transplants reported to the UNOS Scientific Renal Transplant Registry between January 1994 and November 1997. DGF was defined as dialysis need in the first week. Acute rejection was recorded for initial hospitalization and within 6 months. Kaplan Meier survival curves were analyzed with the log rank test. RESULTS DGF increased the incidence of acute rejection before discharge (8% without DGF; 25% with DGF, P<0.01) and any acute rejections by 6 months (25% without DGF, 42% with DGF, P<0.01). Without early rejection, DGF reduced 1-year graft survival from 91 to 75% (P<0.0001) and graft half-life from 12.9 to 8.0 years. In kidneys with acute rejection within 6 months, DGF decreased 3-year graft survival from 77 to 60% and graft half-life from 9.4 to 6.2 years (P<0.001). With a discharge creatinine of less than 2.5 mg/dl, the difference in graft half-life between no DGF and no rejection (13.4 years) and DGF with rejection (9.8 years) was significant (P<0.001). Increased donor age and cold ischemia time additionally decreased graft survival, whereas a good human leukocyte antigen match could not overcome the deleterious effects of DGF or acute rejection. CONCLUSIONS DGF is an important independent predictor of poor graft survival. Newer immunosuppressive strategies must minimize nonimmune and immune renal injury if long-term graft survival is to improve.
Measuring neonatal intensive care unit-related parental stress.

AIMS This paper reports a study: (1) to determine the validity and reliability of the Parent Stressor Scale:Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) for use with United Kingdom (UK) parents; (2) compare UK scores with those from a contemporary reference sample from the United States (US), (3) to identify the sources of greatest NICU-related stressors for parents and (4) to identify demographic or situational factors influencing NICU-related parental stress. BACKGROUND Evaluation of the adequacy of nursing care and psychosocial support services for parents of ill infants in the NICU requires valid and reliable measures of parental stress. The PSS:NICU is a well-validated scale developed in the US to measure NICU-related parental stress. However, it has not been tested in the UK. METHODS Consecutive samples of parents (n = 257) of infants in nine UK NICUs and two reference US units completed the PSS:NICU and the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Scale approximately 1 week after admission. Psychometric properties of the PSS:NICU, including internal consistency reliability and construct, concurrent and predictive validity, were evaluated. RESULTS PSS:NICU scores were similar in the UK and US samples and high internal consistency reliability was found for all metrics (e.g. Overall Stress: 0.94 for both samples). A three-factor principal components solution accounted for 66% of the variance in the scores, with the items grouped into the three a priori scales specified in the PSS:NICU (Infant Behaviour and Appearance, Parental Role Alterations, and Sights and Sounds). Stress Occurrence and Overall Stress were moderately correlated with State Anxiety in both samples (r = 0.46-0.61, P < 0.001). Thirty-one per cent of the variance in Stress Occurrence in the UK sample was explained by State Anxiety, infant severity of illness score, parent gender, and less frequent visitation. CONCLUSIONS The PSS:NICU demonstrated appropriate psychometrics in a large sample of parents from diverse NICUs in the UK. These findings support its wider use in research and clinical practice to identify parental distress and evaluate the effectiveness of nursing care and psychosocial support services for parents.
Speech and Swallowing Rehabilitation Following Devastating Caustic Ingestion: Techniques and Indicators for Success

Caustic material ingestion, either accidental or intentional, may result in tissue and organ destruction leading to a wide range of complications, including loss of speech and the ability to eat. The esophagus can be reconstructed successfully, but reopening the larynx and upper airway poses a significant therapeutic dilemma. External reconstruction may put the neoesophagus at risk. Loss of the normal swallowing mechanism and the protective supraglottic structures often results in fatal aspiration.
Rarity of PTEN deletions and EGFR amplification in malignant gliomas of childhood: results from the Children's Cancer Group 945 cohort.

OBJECT In reporting on molecular studies involving malignant gliomas in adults, authors have noted that deletions of PTEN and amplification of EGFR are common and may contribute to tumor development, providing a rationale for a number of therapies aimed at these molecular targets. The frequency of comparable abnormalities has not been defined in a sizable pediatric cohort. To address this issue, we examined tumor samples from the Children's Cancer Group 945 study, a large randomized trial of treatment for childhood malignant gliomas. METHODS Tissue sections in 62 evaluable cases were examined, and the tumors were isolated by microdissection. Polymerase chain reaction amplification was used to detect PTEN mutations. Deletions of PTEN were also assessed by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) in 27 cases and loss of heterozygosity analysis in 54; EGFR was assessed using immunohistochemistry to identify areas with maximal EGFR expression, followed by FISH to determine EGFR amplification. Alteration of the PTEN sequence was detected in just one of 62 tumors, in conjunction with loss of chromosome 10; PTEN deletions without mutation were evident in seven additional tumors. The PTEN alterations were more common in glioblastoma multiforme (seven of 25 tumors) than other tumor subgroups (one of 37 tumors) (p = 0.0056). Although 14 of 38 evaluable tumors had increased EGFR expression compared to normal tissue, only one tumor exhibited amplification of EGFR. CONCLUSIONS Alterations in PTEN and amplification of EGFR are uncommon in pediatric malignant gliomas, in contrast to adult malignant gliomas. From this one can infer that the pediatric and adult tumors involve distinct molecular causes. The results of this study have important implications for the adaptation of glioma therapies aimed at molecular targets in adults to the treatment of childhood gliomas, and highlight the need for investigations of therapies specifically directed toward childhood tumors.
Book Review: Rethinking enterprise policy: Can failure trigger new understanding?

papers made by the editors is undoubtedly valuable as a reading list for those who want to get acquainted with the entrepreneurship education literature. The insightful introduction by the reviewers is worth reading, but does not add much to the individual papers. Thus, a cheaper option of an overview of the entrepreneurship education literature would be to consult a literature review such as the one recently published in this journal (Pittaway and Cope, 2007).
Climate Change Politics

Within the past 25 years, climate change has evolved from an issue of interest primarily to some natural scientists into one of the top priorities on the global policy agenda. Research in political science and related fields offers systematic and empirically well-supported explanations for why solving the climate problem has turned out to be more difficult than originally anticipated. After reviewing this research, I focus on four areas in which we know less: (a) institutional design features that may help in mitigating or overcoming fundamental problems in the global cooperative effort; (b) factors that are driving variation in climate policies at national and subnational levels; (c) driving forces of climate policy beyond the state, in particular civil society, the science–policy interface, and public opinion; and (d) sociopolitical consequences of failing to avoid major climatic changes. The article concludes by identifying key questions at the micro, meso, and macro levels that should be addressed by .
In vitro susceptibilities of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis to seven fluoroquinolones

The in vitro susceptibilities of Bordetella pertussis and Bordetella parapertussis to seven fluoroquinolones were assessed by the agar dilution method. Ciprofloxacin and temafloxacin were the most active compounds (MIC for 90% of isolates tested [MIC90], 0.06 microgram/ml), while enoxacin and pefloxacin were the least active (MIC90, 0.5 microgram/ml). Fleroxacin, lomefloxacin, and ofloxacin showed intermediate activities (MIC90s, 0.125 to 0.25 microgram/ml). These results suggest a possible role for the fluoroquinolones in the treatment of pertussis, at least in adult patients.
Poor survival in t(8;21)(q22;q22)‐associated acute myeloid leukaemia with leukocytosis

Abstract: Twenty‐nine consecutive cases with a t(8;21)(q22;q22) in the bone marrow (BM) karyotype were retrospectively studied concerning clinical, morphological and cytogenetic data. All had been diagnosed as acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), 27 FAB subtype M2 and two M1, comprising 5% of all cytogenetically analysed AML during 18 yr. Auer rods were the most consistent t(8;21)‐associated morphological finding and were demonstrated in 92% of the reviewed BM specimens, whereas BM eosinophilia was seen in only 24%. The median age was 53 yr, and 30% of the patients were >60 yr old. Twenty‐four patients had received induction chemotherapy; 22 of these (91%) entered a complete remission (CR). The median survival time in treated patients was 18 months. Leukocytosis at diagnosis (>20×109/l) was significantly (p=0.01) associated with shorter survival time. All four children are still in first CR after 9–80 months. Seven cases (25%) developed granulocytic sarcomas, discovered either at diagnosis (n=4) or at first relapse (n = 3). Secondary chromosome abnormalities were found in 62% of the cases, most often loss of a sex chromosome. The presence of such secondary aberrations did not correlate with any morphological or clinical characteristics, including survival. This first Scandinavian study of AML with t(8;21) corroborates the previous findings that these AMLs are characterized by distinct morphological features, a high frequency of CR and a striking tendency to develop extramedullary leukaemic manifestations. Leukocytosis at diagnosis indicates a less favourable prognosis.
The MYB96 Transcription Factor Regulates Cuticular Wax Biosynthesis under Drought Conditions in Arabidopsis[W]

This work provides evidence that deposition of cuticular waxes is intimately associated with plant responses to drought. The Arabidopsis MYB96 transcription factor functions as a regulator of ABA-mediated cuticular wax biosynthesis under drought conditions by binding directly to the promoters of genes encoding very-long-chain fatty acid–condensing enzymes involved in cuticular wax biosynthesis. Drought stress activates several defense responses in plants, such as stomatal closure, maintenance of root water uptake, and synthesis of osmoprotectants. Accumulating evidence suggests that deposition of cuticular waxes is also associated with plant responses to cellular dehydration. Yet, how cuticular wax biosynthesis is regulated in response to drought is unknown. We have recently reported that an Arabidopsis thaliana abscisic acid (ABA)–responsive R2R3-type MYB transcription factor, MYB96, promotes drought resistance. Here, we show that transcriptional activation of cuticular wax biosynthesis by MYB96 contributes to drought resistance. Microarray assays showed that a group of wax biosynthetic genes is upregulated in the activation-tagged myb96-1D mutant but downregulated in the MYB96-deficient myb96-1 mutant. Cuticular wax accumulation was altered accordingly in the mutants. In addition, activation of cuticular wax biosynthesis by drought and ABA requires MYB96. By contrast, biosynthesis of cutin monomers was only marginally affected in the mutants. Notably, the MYB96 protein acts as a transcriptional activator of genes encoding very-long-chain fatty acid–condensing enzymes involved in cuticular wax biosynthesis by directly binding to conserved sequence motifs present in the gene promoters. These results demonstrate that ABA-mediated MYB96 activation of cuticular wax biosynthesis serves as a drought resistance mechanism.
Systemic Factors for the Formation of a Born Global R&D Intensive Firm

The paper aims at analysing the phenomenon of born globals in R&D intensive settings, where companies conduct international business at or near the founding of the firm and create new value for the market while transferring unique knowledge to innovative products or services through commercializing their R&D activities. Despite limited resources that usually characterize new entrepreneurial developments, these born global firms achieve substantial international sales from an early stage in their development. In many cases, knowledge intensity in these firms specifically gives rise to the emphasis on product quality and uniqueness. Born global firms rely on technological or scientific knowledge in order to develop competitive advantage which helps them project their business activities into world markets. On this basis, a born global R&D intensive entrepreneurial enterprise concept is highlighted in the article with the aim to disclose systemic factors for the formation of these companies. A comprehensive consideration of born global R&D intensive entrepreneurial enterprises is given, viewed from distinctive features of knowledge-based entrepreneurship and born global firms to their early internationalisation issues, considering conditions and factors causing such a pathway, to a theoretical grounding while creating a systemic factors portrayal for the formation of enterprises under study. DOI: http://dx.doi. org/10.5755/j01.ss. 80.2. 4845
Forecaster diversity and the benefits of combining forecasts

The expected error variance of a combined forecast is necessarily lower than that of an individual forecast, but in practice there may be considerable variation around these expected values. This paper introduces a measure of the benefit from combining, the probability of a reduction in error variance, which recognizes this problem. The measure is applied to data on the forecasts and forecasting methods of a panel of U.S. economists to determine how the benefits of combining vary with the number of forecasts combined, and with the diversity in theories and techniques among the component forecasts.
Ubiquitin‐conjugating enzymes UBC4 and UBC5 mediate selective degradation of short‐lived and abnormal proteins.

Ubiquitin‐conjugating enzymes catalyse the covalent attachment of ubiquitin to target proteins. Members of this enzyme family are involved in strikingly diverse cellular functions: UBC2 (RAD6) is central to DNA repair, UBC3 (CDC34) is involved in cell cycle control. We have cloned the genes for two novel ubiquitin‐conjugating enzymes, UBC4 and UBC5, from the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These enzymes mediate selective degradation of short‐lived and abnormal proteins. UBC4 and UBC5 are closely related in sequence and complementing in function. Expression of UBC4 and UBC5 genes is heat inducible. UBC4 and UBC5 enzymes generate high mol. wt ubiquitin‐protein conjugates in vivo consistent with previous studies which suggested that attachment of multiple ubiquitin molecules to proteolytic substrates is required for their selective degradation. UBC4 and UBC5 enzymes comprise a major part of total ubiquitin‐conjugation activity in stressed cells. Turnover of short‐lived proteins and canavanyl‐peptides but not of long‐lived proteins is markedly reduced in ubc4ubc5 mutants. Loss of UBC4 and UBC5 activity impairs cell growth, leads to inviability at elevated temperatures or in the presence of an amino acid analog, and induces the stress response.
Wages, government policy and unemployment

In this paper we question the usefulness of what has become the new textbook orthodoxy — the 'new Keynesian' NAIRU theory. We then discuss the impact of the policy developments that follow from this orthodoxy, and argue that NAIRU theory has resulted in greater, not reduced, unemployment. Consequently, orthodox economic theory has added an upward twist to the stagnationist, high-unemployment ratchet.
Improving Question Answering System based on a Hybrid Technique

Question Answering (QA) is a specialized form of information retrieval characterized by information needs that are expressed as natural language statements or questions. Query expansion is an approach which is used to extend question key words with new related words that are not included in question. In this study, anew association rule based question processing model is introduced. This model is used for expanding question keywords with the most related terms using new hybrid association rule base. This hybrid rule base takes into account both the exact match of association rules and the hierarchical match of semantic similarity to overcome the mismatch problem between questions and answer words. Therefore, it contains association rules between document words at a semantic level. The main goal of this new model is to enrich the question by reformulating it into similar meaning queries with additional information and hence for improving question answering process.
The Bovine Papillomavirus E6 Protein Binds to the LD Motif Repeats of Paxillin and Blocks Its Interaction with Vinculin and the Focal Adhesion Kinase*

The bovine papillomavirus type 1 (BPV-1) E6 oncoprotein can transform fibroblasts and induce anchorage-independent growth and disassembly of the actin stress fibers. We have previously shown that the E6 protein interacts with the focal adhesion protein, paxillin, suggesting a direct role of E6 in the disruption of the actin cytoskeleton. We have now mapped the E6 binding sites on paxillin to the LD motif repeats region, which has been implicated in mediating paxillin binding to two other focal adhesion proteins, vinculin and the focal adhesion kinase. The five LD motif repeats identified in paxillin do not contribute equally to its interaction with E6. The first LD repeat is most critical for paxillin binding to E6 both in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, the binding of recombinant wild-type E6 protein to paxillin blocked the interaction of several cellular proteins with paxillin, including vinculin and the focal adhesion kinase. A mutant E6 protein (H105) which does not bind to paxillin had no effect on the binding of these cellular proteins to paxillin. These data suggest that E6 disruption of the actin stress fibers occurs through blocking the interaction of paxillin with its cellular effectors such as vinculin and the focal adhesion kinase.
A contingent valuation analysis to determine profitability of establishing local organic wine markets in Spain

Abstract In this research an alternative is proposed for viticulture producers that would allow them to maintain their income and prevent the abandonment of their agricultural activity. The proposed alternative is the production of organic wine with subsequent commercialization in the local market. The suitability of the alternative is measured by the acceptance of the product in local markets. This acceptance was determined through contingent valuation, which relates probability of purchase to willingness to pay (WTP). Since regional differences could exist for product acceptance, the preliminary hypothesis was formulated that the importance of the viticulture sector in the regional economy makes consumers value farm work more highly and pay more for sustainable agricultural practices. Two regions of Spain were taken into consideration because of the different weight of their agricultural activity: Castile-La Mancha and the Community of Valencia. A survey of 800 wine consumers was made (400 from each region) to determine WTP. From the results it was shown on the one hand that organizing organic wine in local markets can be a profitable alternative for wine producers and, on the other hand, consumers from regions where wine production shares a larger proportion of the regional economy are willing to pay more for organic wine.
Overview of magnetic resonance imaging for management of relapsing−remitting multiple sclerosis in everyday practice

Although the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for diagnosis/differential diagnosis of patients with clinically isolated syndromes suggestive of multiple sclerosis (MS) is widely accepted, adoption of MRI into clinical practice to monitor disease evolution remains a work in progress. However, an accumulating body of evidence points to a central role for MRI in managing patients with relapsing−remitting MS along the disease continuum. Routine MRI surveillance provides insight into disease activity that is not evident clinically and this information, in turn, can be used to inform prognosis and guide treatment decisions. In Europe, practical guidelines have been developed to reduce the heterogeneity of imaging (both intracentre and intercentre) and improve the quality of MRI assessment and interpretation. Aimed at the general neurologist, this review explores some of the issues associated with MRI and examines evidence supporting its use for routine monitoring of MS patients in everyday practice.