Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
New Analytical Model for Real-Time Junction Temperature Estimation of Multichip Power Module Used in a Motor Drive

A new analytical electro-thermal model of a multichip power module is described in this paper. The proposed model is intended to be used during in-service conditions inside a motor drive for remaining useful lifetime calculation, in combination with a thermal cycle counting algorithm. The model allows fast calculations of the chips temperature, based on simple analytical expressions of averaged total power losses, and mathematical formulations of thermal impedances using the Foster network representation. The proposed model is computationally efficient, since it does not require the switching instants information, but only the used pulse width modulation (PWM) technique, which is advantageous for embedding in terms of reducing computation resources and time. Finally, a comparison between the proposed model results and experimental measurements is conducted at different operating points of the motor drive, and under two different switching modes; the third harmonic injection PWM for output frequencies below 20 Hz and the discontinuous PWM for frequencies above 20 Hz. The results obtained are very satisfactory in terms of mean temperature levels and temperature swings for frequencies from 1 to 50 Hz.
CHAPTER 13 Short-term Tests for Neurotoxicity

A neurotoxic event may be defined as any change in the morphology, biochemistry Dr function of the nervous system, peripheral or central. Psychotropic ~rugs are neurotoxic chemicals according to this definition because, although they are intended to relieve mental illness, they certainly alter biochemical and functional activities of the central nervous system and, at high doses, even the morphology. However, this definition of a neurotoxic event, though broad, includes chemical contaminants in the environment. Although it is outside the scope of this review to discuss the general problems of neurotoxicity, it should be recalled that in an evaluation of neurotoxicity, at least four aspects must be considered separately: the neurotoxic potential, which is a substance's ability to cause neurotoxic effects; the neurotoxic potency, which includes concepts of dose-range and duration of the neurotoxic effect; the neurotoxic hazard which is the specificity of a chemical to cause neurotoxic effects in relation to other toxic actions; and the neurotoxic risk which is the likelihood that a given neurotoxic effect will be produced in real life. This review is restricted to the various ways of detecting the neurotoxic potential of chemicals that affect the central nervous system. Short-term tests will be taken to include both in vitro and in vivo tests. Frequent reference will be made to drug neurotoxicity because studies in this field are more advanced than for environmental contaminants.
Cadaveric dissection as an educational tool for anatomical sciences in the 21st century

Anatomical education has been undergoing reforms in line with the demands of medical profession. The aim of the present study is to assess the impact of a traditional method like cadaveric dissection in teaching/learning anatomy at present times when medical schools are inclining towards student‐centered, integrated, clinical application models. The article undertakes a review of literature and analyzes the observations made therein reflecting on the relevance of cadaveric dissection in anatomical education of 21st century. Despite the advent of modern technology and evolved teaching methods, dissection continues to remain a cornerstone of anatomy curriculum. Medical professionals of all levels believe that dissection enables learning anatomy with relevant clinical correlates. Moreover dissection helps to build discipline independent skills which are essential requirements of modern health care setup. It has been supplemented by other teaching/learning methods due to limited availability of cadavers in some countries. However, in the developing world due to good access to cadavers, dissection based teaching is central to anatomy education till date. Its utility is also reflected in the perception of students who are of the opinion that dissection provides them with a foundation critical to development of clinical skills. Researchers have even suggested that time has come to reinstate dissection as the core method of teaching gross anatomy to ensure safe medical practice. Nevertheless, as dissection alone cannot provide uniform learning experience hence needs to be complemented with other innovative learning methods in the future education model of anatomy. Anat Sci Educ 10: 286–299. © 2016 American Association of Anatomists.
Relations between language rhythm and speech rate

The interaction between speech rate and rhythm is a topic that has hardly been studied in respective models of language rhythm though its potential significance has recently been addressed: since both of these prosodic parameters are to a great extent dependent on speech timing they are suspected to interact to a great degree. The present research studies the influence of speech rate on the vocalic and intervocalic measures %V and C that have been discussed widely in the recent past as measures by which language rhythm classes may be distinguished. Results show that C is extremely speech rate dependent while %V remains rather stabile across different speech rates. Different results may be obtained according to the way speech rate is controlled across languages. An alternative model for a cross language rate control will be proposed in this context.
Author's Personal Copy Games and Economic Behavior Edgar Allan Poe's Riddle: Framing Effects in Repeated Matching Pennies Games

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t Framing effects have a significant influence on the finitely repeated matching pennies game. The combination of being labelled " a guesser, " and having the objective of matching the opponent's action, appears to be advantageous. We find that being a player who aims to match the opponent's action is advantageous irrespective of whether the player moves first or second. We examine alternative explanations for our results and relate them to Edgar Allan Poe's " The Purloined Letter. " We propose a behavioral model which generates the observed asymmetry in the players' performance.
Gadolinium as a new emerging contaminant of aquatic environments

Since the 1980s, gadolinium (Gd)–based contrast agents (GBCAs) have been routinely used in magnetic resonance imaging as stable chelates of the Gd3+ ion, without toxic effects. Generally, GBCAs are considered some of the safest contrast agents. However, it has been observed that they can accumulate in patient tissue, bone, and probably brain (causing nephrogenic systemic fibrosis in patients with kidney failure or insufficiency and disturbance of calcium homeostasis in the organism). The GBCAs are predominantly removed renally without metabolization. Subsequently, they do not undergo degradation processes in wastewater‐treatment plants and are emitted into the aquatic ecosystem. Their occurrence was confirmed in surface waters (up to 1100 ng/L), sediments (up to 90.5 μg/g), and living organisms. Based on a literature review, there is a need to investigate the contamination of different ecosystems and to ascertain the environmental fate of Gd. Long‐term ecotoxicological data, degradation, metabolism, bioaccumulation processes, and biochemical effects of the Gd complexes should be explored. These data can be used to assess detailed environmental risks because currently only hotspots with high levels of Gd can be marked as dangerous for aquatic environments according to environmental risk assessments. Environ Toxicol Chem 2018;37:1523–1534. © 2018 SETAC
Sublingual microcirculation reveals fluid overload and leukocytosis in a post-cardiac surgery patient

Positive cumulative fluid balance caused by excessive fluid administration during the perioperative phase is known as one of the most common clinical complications in post-intensive care unit cardiac surgery patients.1 Mostly, administration of diuretics is initiated to correct the fluid overload. However, there is no clinical parameter showing the changes in the fluid balance, while daily measurements of weight and fluid balance are initiated to help to manage diuretic therapy. Herein, we present a case report, in which we show that sublingual microcirculation monitoring (SMiMo) may provide an additional check on optimal filling status in these patients apart from recording fluid balance and weight control. A 75-year-old woman with a history of B cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia diagnosed with aortic valve stenosis was admitted for transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Patient was discharged from the intensive care unit with a cumulative positive fluid balance of 1800 cm3 and transferred to the …
Welfare Impacts of Preferential Trade Liberalization in South Asia

Focusing on the global trading relationship aggregated at the level of 15 regions and 10 sectors, we investigate in this paper the welfare effects of preferential trade liberalisation in South Asia from several simulation perspectives. The static version of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) model shows that countries that are initially more protected (such as India) are likely to capture the lion’s share of the gain from the liberalization scheme. Countries that maintain status quo are the losers; prominent among them are the EU 25 and the North America region. However, these results are dramatically changed in the dynamic version of the GTAP model. In terms of deviations from the baseline scenario, the regional integration policy in South Asia turns out to be net welfare reducing for both the region and the rest of the world.
Ultra‐Processed Food Consumption and the Incidence of Hypertension in a Mediterranean Cohort: The Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra Project

BACKGROUND Some available evidence suggests that high consumption of ultra‐processed foods (UPFs) is associated with a higher risk of obesity. Collectively, this association and the nutritional characteristics of UPFs suggest that UPFs might also be associated with hypertension. METHODS We prospectively evaluated the relationship between UPF consumption and the risk of hypertension in a prospective Spanish cohort, the Seguimiento Universidad de Navarra project. We included 14,790 Spanish adult university graduates who were initially free of hypertension at baseline who were followed for a mean of 9.1 years (SD, 3.9 years; total person‐years: 134,784). UPF (industrial formulations of chemical compounds which, beyond substances of common culinary use such as salt, sugar, oils, and fats, include substances also derived from foods but not used in culinary preparations) consumption was assessed using a validated semi‐quantitative 136‐item food‐frequency questionnaire. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for hypertension incidence. RESULTS During follow‐up, 1,702 incident cases of hypertension were identified. Participants in the highest tertile of UPF consumption had a higher risk of developing hypertension (adjusted HR, 1.21; 95% CI, 1.06, 1.37; P for trend = 0.004) than those in the lowest tertile after adjusting for potential confounders. CONCLUSIONS In this large prospective cohort of Spanish middle‐aged adult university graduates, a positive association between UPF consumption and hypertension risk was observed. Additional longitudinal studies are needed to confirm our results.
Seroprevalence survey on measles, mumps, rubella and varicella antibodies in healthcare workers in Japan: sex, age, occupational-related differences and vaccine efficacy

SUMMARY A seroprevalence survey on measles, mumps, rubella and varicella was conducted on healthcare workers (HCWs) at Shimane University Hospital, Japan utilizing an enzyme immunoassay. Of 1811 HCWs tested, 91·8% were seropositive to measles, 92·1% to mumps, 89·5% to rubella and 96·3% to varicella. Sex-related differences in seroprevalence were found in rubella (males vs. females: 84·7 vs. 92·2%, P < 0·001). Moreover, males aged 30–39 years were most susceptible to rubella (22·4%), which may be attributed to the design of childhood immunization programmes in Japan. Individuals aged ⩽29 years were more susceptible to measles (14·3%) and mumps (10·9%), compared to other age groups. There were no significant sex- and age-related differences in varicella seroprevalence. The physician occupational group was more susceptible to rubella, but no significant occupational-related difference was observed in the other diseases. Susceptible subjects, with negative or equivocal serological results were given a vaccine which induced seroconversion in most vaccinees. Seroconversion occurred more frequently in the equivocal group than in the negative group. These findings provide a new insight for the seroprevalence survey of vaccine-preventable diseases in Japanese HCWs with special reference to vaccine efficacy.
The Effects of Productivity Growth , Population Growth , and the Rate of Interest on the Distribution of Wealth

In this thesis, Thomas Piketty’s book Capital in the Twenty-First Century is critically discussed and confronted with macroeconomic growth theory. The thesis gives an overview of Piketty’s main theoretical statements and summarises the main strands of criticism raised against his findings. Piketty states that the interest rate exceeding the growth rate of the economy – captured by the famous inequality r > g – is the main driver of wealth inequality. This claim is analysed using standard macroeconomic growth models. Heterogeneity is generated through the introduction of subsistence consumption as done by Bertola, Foellmi and Zweimüller (2006), whose work is extended to include exogenous productivity and population growth. In a Solow model and a one-period lifetime model with bequests it is shown that wage growth is the major equalising force in the economy. While a high interest rate correlates with a longer divergence period, economic growth lengthens the divergence period. In the Ramsey framework, wealth divergence is a rising function of the difference between the interest rate and the productivity growth rate, while the result is independent of population growth.
The Extendable Translating Instruction Set Simulator (ETISS) Interlinked with an MDA Framework for Fast RISC Prototyping

This paper describes the Extendable Translating Instruction Set Simulator (ETISS). In addition to binary translation, ETISS features a plugin mechanism that allows to quickly include new functionality into the translation stage, the simulation loop, during accesses to the memory or whenever an interrupt is received. ETISS targets to become an advanced industrial-strength ISS with special focus on virtual prototypes (VPs) written in SystemC/TLM. In this paper, we will show examples of ETISS Plugins, which include tracing tools, SystemC interfaces, closey-coupled peripherals or triggers for fault injection. A major drawback of developing a new binary translator such as ETISS is its lack of support for a variety of instruction set architectures (ISAs). At the moment ETISS supports the open-source OpenRISC or 1k and partly RISC-V ISAs. Yet, in order to overcome this problem, we developed a toolchain to generate the binary translation stage for different ISAs following the MDA concept based on meta-modeling and code generation. It is planned to make ETISS available as an open-source tool to the research community.
Accelerated weathering of marine fabrics

Fabrics designed to be used in marine applications must retain strength and resist color change over prolonged exposure to a variety of potentially degrading factors, including sunlight, variations in temperature and relative humidity, and repeated cycles of wetness and dryness. This research focused on the effects of instrumental weathering on the end-use performance properties of three woven marine fabrics currently available for use as sails. The fabrics were 100% polyester, 100% acrylic, and 100% nylon. Changes in fabric color and tensile properties were analyzed after exposure to three levels of simulated sunlight under both dry and moist conditions.
Effects of Different Drying Processes on the Material Properties of Bacterial Cellulose Membranes

Summary: Membranes of bacterial cellulose produced by Gluconacetobacter xylinus show a high water and gas permeability that can be altered by different drying techniques. It could be shown that freeze-drying reduces the swellability of the polymer membranes by a factor of 5 while evaporation drying causes a reduction by a factor of 50. The strong decrease of swellability for an evaporation dried membrane could be correlated with a reduction of the absolute number of polymer strands that form the network structure of the membrane, determined with oscillatory shear rheological experiments. The removal of network meshes by a complete aggregation of polymer strands could be confirmed by IR-spectroscopy with an increased degree of intramolecular hydrogen bonding of cellulose strands. In contrast to this, the freeze-drying process shows a slight increase of the number of network meshes due to partial aggregation of free polymer strands. Freeze-dried membranes show a gas permeability two orders of magnitude higher then evaporation dried membranes. The absolute permeability strongly depends on the bacterial strain used for the polymer membrane synthesis and varies by up to 1.5 orders of magnitude for the same drying process. The Young's modulus of the polymer membranes varies with the bacterial strain used, but does not show the same trends as the permeability. Finally, a comparison of the characterized properties shows that only one of the tested strains shows the capability to synthesize membranes that meets the requirements for an application as a wet wound dressing.
Population dynamics of Trichuris suis in trickle-infected pigs

SUMMARY The population dynamics of Trichuris suis in pigs was studied during long-term experimental infections. Twenty-three 10-week-old pigs were inoculated with 5 T. suis eggs/kg/day. Seven, 8, and 8 pigs were necropsied at weeks 4, 8, and 14 post-start of infection (p.i.), respectively. The median numbers of worms in the colon were 538 (min–max: 277–618), 332 (14–1140) and 0 (0–4) at 4, 8, and 14 weeks p.i. respectively, suggesting an increased aggregation of the worms with time and acquisition of nearly sterile immunity. The serum levels of T. suis specific antibodies (IgG1, IgG2 and IgA) peaked at week 8 p.i. By week 14 p.i. the IgG2 and IgA antibody levels remained significantly elevated above the level of week 0. The population dynamics of T. suis trickle infections in pigs is discussed with focus on interpretation of diagnostic and epidemiological data of pigs, the use of pigs as a model for human Trichuris trichiura infections and the novel approach of using T. suis eggs in the treatment of patients with inflammatory bowel disease.
Nonfollicular reactivation of bone marrow resident memory CD4 T cells in immune clusters of the bone marrow

Significance The bone marrow (BM) harbors critical components of the adaptive immune system able to provide long-lasting protection against pathogens. Among those, CD4 memory T cells are potent helpers of immune reactions in secondary lymphoid organs. Here we analyze their reactivation in the BM in secondary immune reactions. The CD4 memory T cells form clusters with antigen-presenting cells and proliferate vigorously. Although these clusters contain many B lymphocytes, their formation is not dependent on them and no germinal centers develop. Rather, antigen-specific CD4 memory T cells are significantly amplified and, after termination of the immune reaction, they remain in the BM as resting cells. The BM thus provides a dynamic reservoir of CD4 memory T cells, adapting quantitatively to antigenic challenges. The bone marrow maintains memory CD4 T cells, which provide memory to systemic antigens. Here we demonstrate that memory CD4 T cells are reactivated by antigen in the bone marrow. In a secondary immune response, antigen-specific T cells of the bone marrow mobilize and aggregate in immune clusters together with MHC class II-expressing cells, mostly B lymphocytes. They proliferate vigorously and express effector cytokines, but they do not develop into follicular T-helper cells. Neither do the B lymphocytes develop into germinal center B cells in the bone marrow. Within 10 days, the immune clusters disappear again. Within 30 days, the expanded antigen-specific memory CD4 T cells return to memory niches and are maintained again individually as resting cells. Thus, in secondary immune responses in the bone marrow T-cell memory is amplified, while in germinal center reactions of secondary lymphoid organs humoral memory is adapted by affinity maturation.
Achieving Congestion Mitigation Using Distributed Power Control for Spectrum Sensor Nodes in Sensor Network-Aided Cognitive Radio Ad Hoc Networks

The data sequence of spectrum sensing results injected from dedicated spectrum sensor nodes (SSNs) and the data traffic from upstream secondary users (SUs) lead to unpredictable data loads in a sensor network-aided cognitive radio ad hoc network (SN-CRN). As a result, network congestion may occur at a SU acting as fusion center when the offered data load exceeds its available capacity, which degrades network performance. In this paper, we present an effective approach to mitigate congestion of bottlenecked SUs via a proposed distributed power control framework for SSNs over a rectangular grid based SN-CRN, aiming to balance resource load and avoid excessive congestion. To achieve this goal, a distributed power control framework for SSNs from interior tier (IT) and middle tier (MT) is proposed to achieve the tradeoff between channel capacity and energy consumption. In particular, we firstly devise two pricing factors by considering stability of local spectrum sensing and spectrum sensing quality for SSNs. By the aid of pricing factors, the utility function of this power control problem is formulated by jointly taking into account the revenue of power reduction and the cost of energy consumption for IT or MT SSN. By bearing in mind the utility function maximization and linear differential equation constraint of energy consumption, we further formulate the power control problem as a differential game model under a cooperation or noncooperation scenario, and rigorously obtain the optimal solutions to this game model by employing dynamic programming. Then the congestion mitigation for bottlenecked SUs is derived by alleviating the buffer load over their internal buffers. Simulation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed approach under the rectangular grid based SN-CRN scenario.