Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development of an HT PEM Fuel Cell Emulator Using a Multiphase Interleaved DC–DC Converter Topology

This paper presents a new emulator topology for a high-temperature (HT) proton-exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell (FC). Emulators are used to predict FC behavior and facilitate development of the power-conditioning subsystems. In this paper, the high-temperature system is modeled and emulated both in the steady state and transient domains. The model is tailored to operate effectively in real time on the emulator hardware and to deliver acceptable performance during steady-state and dynamic conditions. In particular, a two-stage approach is applied to the design of the emulator hardware. The first stage is based on a multiphase interleaved converter, capable of maximizing ripple cancellation, while ensuring rapid dynamic performance through the use of reduced filter components. These benefits are only apparent by operating the converter at its critical duty ratio. This is achieved through the introduction of a power-stage converter, which tracks the steady-state behavior of the FC, allowing the multiphase converter to account for the rapid transient behavior. This operating principle improves the quality of the output dc voltage and dynamic performance beyond that achieved by conventional emulator topologies. The experimental results of the FC stack, HT PEM FC model and emulator are presented to confirm the performance of the proposed system.
Dissecting the Molecular Relationship Among Various Cardiogenic Progenitor Cells

Rationale: Multiple progenitors derived from the heart and bone marrow (BM) have been used for cardiac repair. Despite this, not much is known about the molecular identity and relationship among these progenitors. To develop a robust stem cell therapy for the heart, it is critical to understand the molecular identity of the multiple cardiogenic progenitor cells. Objective: This study is the first report of high-throughput transcriptional profiling of cardiogenic progenitor cells carried out on an identical platform. Method and Results: Microarray-based transcriptional profiling was carried out for 3 cardiac (ckit+, Sca1+, and side population) and 2 BM (ckit+ and mesenchymal stem cell) progenitors, obtained from age- and sex-matched wild-type C57BL/6 mice. Analysis indicated that cardiac-derived ckit+ population was very distinct from Sca1+ and side population cells in the downregulation of genes encoding for cell–cell and cell–matrix adhesion proteins, and in the upregulation of developmental genes. Significant enrichment of transcripts involved in DNA replication and repair was observed in BM-derived progenitors. The BM ckit+ cells seemed to have the least correlation with the other progenitors, with enrichment of immature neutrophil–specific molecules. Conclusions: Our study indicates that cardiac ckit+ cells represent the most primitive population in the rodent heart. Primitive cells of cardiac versus BM origin differ significantly with respect to stemness and cardiac lineage–specific genes, and molecules involved in DNA replication and repair. The detailed molecular profile of progenitors reported here will serve as a useful reference to determine the molecular identity of progenitors used in future preclinical and clinical studies.
Diagnostic markers of infection in neonates

Diagnostic markers of infection are useful indicators of neonatal sepsis. Serial measurements of infection markers can improve diagnostic sensitivity, and the use of multiple markers can enhance diagnostic accuracy. Current evidence suggests that promising markers may be useful for early termination of antimicrobial treatment, but none of the current diagnostic tests are sensitive and specific enough to influence the clinical decision for withholding antibiotic treatment at the onset of suspected infection.
Provocation of Coronary Artery Spasm by the Cold Pressor Test: Hemodynamic, Arteriographic and Quantitative Angiographic Observations

In this study we attempted to determine if the cold pressor test, a known sympathetic reflexogenic stimulus, could precipitate coronary artery spasm. Thirty-five patients undergoing coronary arteriography for evaluation of chest pain syndromes were given the cold pressor test. During 1 minute of cold pressor stimulation, aortic systolic pressure increased 18.1 ± 9.7 mm Hg (mean ± SD) and heart rate did not change significantly. Focal coronary artery spasm was provoked in seven patients, each of whom had an atheromatous plaque at the site of spasm. Four of six patients with a precatheterization clinical diagnosis of variant angina (group 1) had coronary artery spasm, and two of the four had associated ischemic manifestations. Of 14 patients in whom classic angina (group 2) was diagnosed before cardiac catheterization, two manifested focal coronary spasm. One of 15 patients thought to have atypical chest pain (group 3) manifested spasm. There were no significant differences in baseline variables (aortic systolic or diastolic pressure, heart rate, double product and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure) or hemodynamic response (aortic systolic pressure, heart rate or double product) to cold pressor stimulation between patients in each group and between those who manifested spasm and those who did not. Ventricular ectopy and ventricular tachycardia developed in one patient but were readily reversed with intravenous nitroglycerin. Quantitative angiography showed that the luminal diameter of normal coronary segments significantly decreased in each group of patients in response to cold pressor stimulation, but this response was most pronounced in the variant angina group (-12.7 ± 11.5% from control in group 1, −5.1 ± 10.2% in group 2, and −7.9 ± 9.6% in group 3; p < 0.001 for each group). Patients who are prone to coronary spasm may represent one extreme of a spectrum of reactivity to a coronary vasoconstrictive stimulus. The cold pressor test can provoke focal coronary artery spasm in certain patients and may be a useful nonpharmacologic provocative screening test to aid in the diagnosis of this phenomenon.
Caffeinated Coffee, Decaffeinated Coffee and Endometrial Cancer Risk: A Prospective Cohort Study among US Postmenopausal Women

There is plausible biological evidence as well as epidemiologic evidence to suggest coffee consumption may lower endometrial cancer risk. We evaluated the associations between self-reported total coffee, caffeinated coffee and decaffeinated coffee, and endometrial cancer risk using the Women’s Health Initiative Observational Study Research Materials obtained from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Biological Specimen and Data Repository Coordinating Center. Our primary analyses included 45,696 women and 427 incident endometrial cancer cases, diagnosed over a total of 342,927 person-years of follow-up. We used Cox-proportional hazard models to evaluate coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk. Overall, we did not find an association between coffee consumption and endometrial cancer risk. Compared to non-daily drinkers (none or <1 cup/day), the multivariable adjusted hazard ratios for women who drank ≥4 cups/day were 0.86 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.63, 1.18) for total coffee, 0.89 (95% CI 0.63, 1.27) for caffeinated coffee, and 0.51 (95% CI 0.25, 1.03) for decaf coffee. In subgroup analyses by body mass index (BMI) there were no associations among normal-weight and overweight women for total coffee and caffeinated coffee. However among obese women, compared to the referent group (none or <1 cup/day), the hazard ratios for women who drank ≥2 cups/day were: 0.72 (95% CI 0.50, 1.04) for total coffee and 0.66 (95% CI 0.45, 0.97) for caffeinated coffee. Hazard ratios for women who drank ≥2 cups/day for decaffeinated coffee drinkers were 0.67 (0.43-1.06), 0.93 (0.55-1.58) and 0.80 (0.49-1.30) for normal, overweight and obese women, respectively. Our study suggests that caffeinated coffee consumption may be associated with lower endometrial cancer risk among obese postmenopausal women, but the association with decaffeinated coffee remains unclear.
Intestinal Transcriptomes of Nematodes: Comparison of the Parasites Ascaris suum and Haemonchus contortus with the Free-living Caenorhabditis elegans

Background The nematode intestine is a major organ responsible for nutrient digestion and absorption; it is also involved in many other processes, such as reproduction, innate immunity, stress responses, and aging. The importance of the intestine as a target for the control of parasitic nematodes has been demonstrated. However, the lack of detailed knowledge on the molecular and cellular functions of the intestine and the level of its conservation across nematodes has impeded breakthroughs in this application. Methods and Findings As part of an extensive effort to investigate various transcribed genomes from Ascaris suum and Haemonchus contortus, we generated a large collection of intestinal sequences from parasitic nematodes by identifying 3,121 A. suum and 1,755 H. contortus genes expressed in the adult intestine through the generation of expressed sequence tags. Cross-species comparisons to the intestine of the free-living C. elegans revealed substantial diversification in the adult intestinal transcriptomes among these species, suggesting lineage- or species-specific adaptations during nematode evolution. In contrast, significant conservation of the intestinal gene repertories was also evident, despite the evolutionary distance of ∼350 million years separating them. A group of 241 intestinal protein families (IntFam-241), each containing members from all three species, was identified based on sequence similarities. These conserved proteins accounted for ∼20% of the sampled intestinal transcriptomes from the three nematodes and are proposed to represent conserved core functions in the nematode intestine. Functional characterizations of the IntFam-241 suggested important roles in molecular functions such as protein kinases and proteases, and biological pathways of carbohydrate metabolism, energy metabolism, and translation. Conservation in the core protein families was further explored by extrapolating observable RNA interference phenotypes in C. elegans to their parasitic counterparts. Conclusions Our study has provided novel insights into the nematode intestine and lays foundations for further comparative studies on biology, parasitism, and evolution within the phylum Nematoda.
Nitrate capture and slow release in biochar amended compost and soil

Slow release of nitrate by charred organic matter used as a soil amendment (i.e. biochar) was recently suggested as potential mechanism of nutrient delivery to plants which may explain some agronomic benefits of biochar. So far, isolated soil-aged and composted biochar particles were shown to release considerable amounts of nitrate only in extended (>1 h) extractions (“slow release”). In this study, we quantified nitrate and ammonium release by biochar-amended soil and compost during up to 167 h of repeated extractions in up to six consecutive steps to determine the effect of biochar on the overall mineral nitrogen retention. We used composts produced from mixed manures amended with three contrasting biochars prior to aerobic composting and a loamy soil that was amended with biochar three years prior to analysis and compared both to non-biochar amended controls. Composts were extracted with 2 M KCl at 22°C and 65°C, after sterilization, after treatment with H2O2, after removing biochar particles or without any modification. Soils were extracted with 2 M KCl at 22°C. Ammonium was continuously released during the extractions, independent of biochar amendment and is probably the result of abiotic ammonification. For the pure compost, nitrate extraction was complete after 1 h, while from biochar-amended composts, up to 30% of total nitrate extracted was only released during subsequent extraction steps. The loamy soil released 70% of its total nitrate amount in subsequent extractions, the biochar-amended soil 58%. However, biochar amendment doubled the amount of total extractable nitrate. Thus, biochar nitrate capture can be a relevant contribution to the overall nitrate retention in agroecosystems. Our results also indicate that the total nitrate amount in biochar amended soils and composts may frequently be underestimated. Furthermore, biochars could prevent nitrate loss from agroecosystems and may be developed into slow-release fertilizers to reduce global N fertilizer demands.
Attempts to counteract phosgene-induced acute lung injury by instant high-dose aerosol exposure to hexamethylenetetramine, cysteine or glutathione

Phosgene is an important high-production-volume intermediate with widespread industrial use. Consistent with other lung irritants causing ALI (acute lung injury), mode-of-action-based countermeasures remain rudimentary. This study was conducted to analyze whether extremely short high-level exposure to phosgene gas could be mitigated using three different inhaled nucleophiles administered by inhalation instantly after exposure to phosgene. Groups of young adult male Wistar rats were acutely exposed to carbonyl chloride (phosgene) using a directed-flow nose-only mode of exposure of 600 mg/m3 for 1.5 min (225 ppm × min). Immediately after exposure to phosgene gas the rats were similarly exposed to three strong nucleophiles with and without antioxidant properties for 5 or 15 min. The following nucleophiles were used: hexamethylenetetramine (HMT), l-cysteine (Cys), and l-glutathione (GSH). The concentration of the aerosol (mass median aerodynamic diameter 1.7–2 µm) was targeted to be in the range of 1 mg/L. Cys and GSH have antioxidant properties in addition. The calculated alveolar molar dosage of phosgene was 9 µmol/kg. At 15-min exposure duration, the respective inhaled dose of HMT, Csy, and GSH were 111, 103, and 46 µmol/kg, respectively. The alveolar dose of drugs was ~10-times lower. The efficacy of treatment was judged by protein concentrations in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) collected 1 day post-exposure. In spite of using optimized aerosolization techniques, none of the nucleophiles chosen had any mitigating effect on BALF-protein extravasation. This finding appear to suggest that inhaled phosgene gas acylates instantly nucleophilic moieties at the site of initial deposition and that the resultant reaction products can not be reactivated even following instant inhalation treatment with competing nucleophilic agents. In spite of using maximal technically attainable concentrations, it appears to be experimentally challenging to deliver such nucleophiles to the lower respiratory tract at high dosages.
Single Transducer Pair Lamb Wave Time Reversal for Damage Detection in Composite Laminates

This paper investigates the potential of single transducer pair guided waves time reversal to detect damage in composite laminates. According to dynamic reciprocity of Lamb waves propagation in linear media, the time reversal process should reconstruct the original signal. The similarity of original and reconstructed time signals is calculated for different damage types using numerical and experimental studies with the aim to investigate, if the interaction of the wave pulse with inhomogeneities introduces any nonlinearity that time reversibility breaks down and single transducer pair time reversal could be used as damage diagnostics tool. 3D explicit finite element analysis is used for the numerical simulation and laser Doppler vibrometry is used to capture out-of-plane displacement time histories excited by an adhesively bonded piezoceramic transducer disc in the experimental time reversal process. In the case of an undamaged composite laminate the similarity index used to quantify the similarity of the original and reconstructed wave pulses is better than 95%. The similarity index is smaller for laminates with artificial damages including embedded fluoro polymer films to simulate delamination damage, through holes and bonded mass inhomogeneities. Although numerical and experimental similarity indices are smaller at higher frequencies, there is no clear evidence that single transducer pair time reversibility breaks down and represents a reliable damage diagnostics tool.
Design of full subtractor using DPL logic and MTCMOS technique to reduce the leakage current and area

The full subtractor design using DPL logic and MTCMOS technique is proposed in this paper. The application of combinational logic circuit is numerous in Digital Signal processing, microprocessors and low power VLSI design circuits. The principle objective of the designer is reducing the power dissipation. Scaling the supply voltage will reduce the power dissipation of the overall circuit, but causes a sub threshold leakage current which become a predominant component in the total average power dissipation. So we have proposed modified approach to decrease the sub threshold leakage current using DPL and MTCMOS technique in the full subtractor design. The Double Pass Transistor logic reduces the hardware requirement of the circuit and the MTCMOS technique reduces the sub threshold leakage current to 24zA. The simulation is performed at 1.8V using Cadence tool in 180nm technology.
Inhibitory effects of ouabain on early heart development and cardiomyogenesis in the chick embryo

Pericardial cavity formation and epithelialization of the cardiac precursor cell population constitute a critical developmental period that precedes stable cardiac cell commitment and differentiation. These events delineate the myocardial and endocardial precursor population in the embryo. Restriction of Na/K‐ATPase (the sodium pump) expression to the pre‐cardiomyocyte lateral membranes coincides with these events. Na/K‐ATPase has been implicated developmentally in cavitation and in maintaining membrane potential. Experiments were undertaken to determine if the effects of perturbing sodium pump activity will affect pericardial cavity formation and, in turn, whether heart formation and/or cardiac cell commitment will be affected. We incubated whole chick embryos in vitro between stages 5 to 8 in the presence of the highly specific Na/K‐ATPase inhibitor ouabain. Exposure of whole embryos to 10 μM ouabain (10−5 M) demonstrated that heart development and precardiomyocyte differentiation are inhibited principally between stage 5 through stage 7. In each stage the degree of inhibition follows a rostrocaudal gradient as development proceeds along the anterior to posterior axis. After stage 8 ouabain no longer affects heart development or cardiomyogenesis. The inhibition is concentration‐ and developmental stage‐dependent. The inhibition is reversible by elevating the outside potassium ion concentration [Ko] in the culture medium or by transferring the embryos into normal medium minus ouabain even after 20 hr of ouabain exposure. The results also suggest that the regulation of the formation of the three‐dimensional organ is independent from regulation of myogenesis. ©1995 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Parametric Statistical Generalization of Uniform-Hazard Earthquake Ground Motions

Sets of ground-motion records used for seismic hazard analyses typically have intensity measures corresponding to a particular hazard level for a site (perhaps conditioned on a particular intensity value and hazard). In many cases the number of available ground motions that match required spectral ordinates and other criteria (such as duration, fault rupture characteristics, and epicentral distance) may not be sufficient for high-resolution seismic hazard analysis. In such cases it is advantageous to generate additional ground motions using a parameterized statistical model calibrated to records of the smaller data set. This study presents a statistical parametric analysis of ground-motion data sets that are classified according to a seismic hazard level and a geographic region and that have been used extensively for structural response and seismic hazard analyses. Parameters represent near-fault effects such as pulse velocity and pulse period, far-field effects such as velocity amplitude and power-spectr.
Absorption and metabolism of flavonoids in the caco-2 cell culture model and a perused rat intestinal model.

The purpose of present study was to determine the intestinal absorption and metabolism of genistein and its analogs to better understand the mechanisms responsible for their low oral bioavailability. The Caco-2 cell culture model and a perfused rat intestinal model were used for the study. In both models, permeabilities of aglycones (e.g., genistein) were comparable to well absorbed compounds, such as testosterone and propranolol. In the Caco-2 model, permeabilities of aglycones were at least 5 times higher (p < 0.05) than their corresponding glycosides (e.g., genistin), and the vectorial transport of aglycones was similar (p > 0.05). In contrast, vectorial transport of glucosides favored excretion (p < 0.05). Limited hydrolysis of glycosides was observed in the Caco-2 model, which was completely inhibited (p < 0.05) by 20 mM gluconolactone, a broad specificity glycosidase inhibitor. In the perfused rat intestinal model, genistin was rapidly hydrolyzed (about 40% in 15 min) in the upper intestine but was not hydrolyzed at all in the colon. Aglycones were rapidly absorbed (P*(eff) > 1.5), and absorbed aglycones underwent extensive (40% maximum) phase II metabolism via glucuronidation and sulfation in the upper small intestine. Similar to the hydrolysis, recovery of conjugated genistein was also region-dependent, with jejunum having the highest and colon the lowest (p < 0.05). This difference in conjugate recovery could be due to the difference in the activities of enzymes or efflux transporters, and the results of studies tend to suggest that both of these factors were involved. In conclusion, genistein and its analogs are well absorbed in both intestinal models, and therefore, poor absorption is not the reason for its low bioavailability. On the other hand, extensive phase II metabolism in the intestine significantly contributes to its low bioavailability.
Chalcogenide-Tellurite Composite Microstructed Fiber for Low-Threshold Mid-IR Supercontinuum Generation

A chalcogenide-tellurite composite microstructed optical fiber (MOF) has been proposed and designed in this paper. The fiber has a flattened near-zero dispersion curve around 2.5 μm and has two zero dispersion wavelengths(ZDWs) in close. It also shows low confinement loss and single mode operation properties. Numerical simulation has been used to predict the supercontinuum spectra obtained from the designed fiber. Simulation results show that a widely supercontinuum spectrum covering from 1.8 to 6.0 μm can be generated by pumping pulses of energy below 10pJ/pulse.