Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Synthesis of switched-capacitor power converters: An iterative algorithm

Fibonacci limit for the achievable conversion gains of switched-capacitor power converters (SCPC) is known, but a simple synthesis algorithm is not available yet. In this paper, a simple iterative algorithm for the exhaustive synthesis of 2-phase SCPC topologies is presented. The main advantages of this approach are: (1) it is circuit-design oriented, and (2) it can be automated due to its iterative nature. In the iterative approach, topology synthesis results of (n-1) floating capacitors are used to synthesize topologies of n floating capacitors. In addition, an intuitive proof of the Fibonacci limit is given.
Why are Managed Care Plans Less Expensive: Risk Selection, Utilization, or Reimbursement?

This article develops a new method of decomposing the cost difference between HMO and non-HMO plans into observed risk selection, unobserved risk selection, utilization differences, and differences in provider reimbursement rates. We implement this method using a large national sample of employer-sponsored health insurance enrollees from the Community Tracking Study Household Survey. We find no evidence that HMO plans attract a disproportionate share of low-risk enrollees; the US$188 difference between HMO and non-HMO medical expenditures per enrollee can be explained by the relatively low provider reimbursement rates paid by HMO plans. This indicates there may be little need for employers to risk adjust insurance premiums or otherwise restrict employee choice of plan types.
Bilirubin as a Potential Causal Factor in Type 2 Diabetes Risk: A Mendelian Randomization Study

Circulating bilirubin, a natural antioxidant, is associated with decreased risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D), but the nature of the relationship remains unknown. We performed Mendelian randomization in a prospective cohort of 3,381 participants free of diabetes at baseline (age 28–75 years; women 52.6%). We used rs6742078 located in the uridine diphosphate–glucuronosyltransferase locus as an instrumental variable (IV) to study a potential causal effect of serum total bilirubin level on T2D risk. T2D developed in a total of 210 participants (6.2%) during a median follow-up period of 7.8 years. In adjusted analyses, rs6742078, which explained 19.5% of bilirubin variation, was strongly associated with total bilirubin (a 0.68-SD increase in bilirubin levels per T allele; P < 1 × 10−122) and was also associated with T2D risk (odds ratio [OR] 0.69 [95% CI 0.54–0.90]; P = 0.006). Per 1-SD increase in log-transformed bilirubin levels, we observed a 25% (OR 0.75 [95% CI 0.62–0.92]; P = 0.004) lower risk of T2D. In Mendelian randomization analysis, the causal risk reduction for T2D was estimated to be 42% (causal OR for IV estimation per 1-SD increase in log-transformed bilirubin 0.58 [95% CI 0.39–0.84]; P = 0.005), which was comparable to the observational estimate (Durbin-Wu-Hausman χ2 test, P for difference = 0.19). These novel results provide evidence that an elevated bilirubin level is causally associated with the risk of T2D and support its role as a protective determinant.
Urine nucleic acid amplification tests for the diagnosis of sexually transmitted infections in clinical practice

Purpose of review With the advent of highly sensitive and specific nucleic acid amplification assays, this report will demonstrate that self-collected genital specimens, such as urine or even vaginal swabs can be accurately used to diagnose sexually transmitted infections. Recent findings Use of self collected samples can eliminate the necessity of a clinician to perform a pelvic examination for women or collect a urethral swab for men, thus extending the diagnostic capability for sexually transmitted infections to non-clinic screening venues. As many sexually transmitted infections are asymptomatic, this ability to use self-sampling greatly increases the numbers of patients that can be screened, and has the potential to augment public health programs designed to control the epidemic of sexually transmitted infections in the community. Patient collected samples are highly acceptable, highly accurate, and are becoming widely used. Self-sampling also allows clinicians to easily screen patients in the clinic, who are not presenting for pelvic or urogenital examinations, for sexually transmitted infections. Summary Highly accurate molecular tests and easily obtained self-collected urogenital samples represent the ideal combination for obtaining the public health goal of decreasing the sexually transmitted infection epidemic among sexually active persons in the United States today. Abbreviations CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; CIN: cervical intraepithelial neoplasia; EIA: enzyme immunoassay; FDA: Food and Drug Administration; HPV: human papillomavirus; NAAT: nucleic acid amplification test; PCR: polymerase chain reaction; PPV: positive predictive value; STD: sexually transmitted disease; STI: sexually transmitted infection.
Probing the structural and electronic effects to stabilize nonplanar forms of thioamide derivatives: A computational study

Density functional calculations have been performed to examine the stability of nonplanar conformations of thioamide derivatives. Electrostatic, orbital, and ring strain effects were invoked to stabilize the nonplanar conformations of thioamide systems 2–7. Electrostatic interactions helped to achieve the twisted forms of thioamide derivatives; however, pyramidal forms predicted to be the global minimum. Negative hyperconjugative type interactions enhanced the stability of the twisted form 4b when compared with the planar form 4a. The influence of ring strain effect to achieve the twisted form of thioamide was observed with azirine ring. The predictions made with B3LYP/cc‐pVDZ+ level of theory was found to be in good agreement with more accurate CBS‐QB3 method. The solvent calculations performed with polarized continuum solvation model suggest that the relative stabilities of the nonplanar forms of thioamide derivatives are in general similar to the gas phase results. The importance of hydrogen bonding interactions between the solvent molecules and thioamide derivatives was observed toward the enhanced stability of twisted forms using a combination of explicit solvent molecules and continuum model. The natural bond orbital analysis confirmed the participation of nN → π*CS delocalizations in the planar forms and corroborated the earlier reports on larger delocalizations in thioamide systems. Furthermore, the influence of electrostatic and ring strain effects on the amide, natural amides, and selenoamide has also been studied. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2011
Bonding, Structure and the Stability of Political Parties: Party Government in the House

The public policy benefits that parties deliver are allocated by democratic procedures that devolve ultimately to majority rule. Majority-rule decision make, however, does not lead to consistent policy choices; it is unstable. In this paper, we argue that institutions - and thereby policy coalitions - can be stabilized by extra-legislative organization. The rules of the Democratic Caucus in the U.S. House of Representatives dictate that a requirement for continued membership is support on the floor of the Caucus decisions for a variety of key structural matters. Because membership in the majority party's caucus is valuable, it constitutes a bond, the posting of which stabilizes the structure of the House, and hence the policy decisions made in the House. We examine the rules of the House Democratic Caucus and find that they do in fact contain the essential elements of an effective, extralegislative bonding mechanism.
Entry and Competitive Structure in Deregulated Airline Markets: An Event Study Analysis of People Express

While recent studies of deregulated airline prices considerably advance our understanding of competitive structure in this industry, they suffer from several weaknesses that could potentially undermine their inferences. In this article, we consider an alternative approach to this issue that uses the reactions of incumbent airlines' stock prices to announcements of entry by People Express to shed light on competitive structure. These stock reactions reveal significant route-specific profits or sunk costs (rejecting, for example, the contestable market model) and also provide evidence on the degree of competitive localization present in the industry. We also examine the price, sales quantity, and schedule changes that followed entry. These changes corroborate the conclusions emerging from our analysis of stock price reactions.
The relative clinical effectiveness of ranibizumab and bevacizumab in diabetic macular oedema: an indirect comparison in a systematic review

Objective To indirectly compare the effectiveness of ranibizumab and bevacizumab in the treatment of diabetic macular oedema. Design Systematic review and indirect comparison. Data sources Medline (1996–September 2011), Embase (1996–September 2011), and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (Issue 4, 2011). Selection criteria for studies Randomised trials evaluating ranibizumab or bevacizumab in diabetic macular oedema with a common comparator and sufficient methodological similarity to be included within an indirect comparison were eligible for inclusion. Main outcome measures The primary outcome was the proportion of patients with an improvement in best corrected visual acuity of more than two lines on the Early Treatment Diabetic Retinopathy Study (ETDRS) scale. Secondary outcomes included mean changes in best corrected visual acuity and in central macular thickness, and adverse events. Best corrected visual acuity was converted to logMAR units, a linear scale of visual acuity with positive values representing increasing visual loss. Indirect comparisons were done using Bayesian methods to estimate relative treatment effects of bevacizumab and ranibizumab. Results Five randomised controlled trials with follow-up of 6–12 months and a common comparator (multiple laser treatment) were sufficiently similar to be included in the indirect comparison. Generally studies were small, resulting in wide credible intervals. The proportions of patients with an improvement in best corrected visual acuity of >2 lines were 21/77 participants (27%) for bevacizumab and 60/152 participants (39%) for ranibizumab (odds ratio 0.95 (95% credible interval 0.23 to 4.32)). The wide credible intervals cannot exclude a greater improvement, or worse outcome, for either drug. The mean change in best corrected visual acuity non-significantly favoured bevacizumab (treatment effect −0.08 logMAR units (−0.19 to 0.04)). The difference in mean change in central macular thickness was not statistically significant between ranibizumab and bevacizumab (treatment effect −6.9 μm (−88.5 to 65.4)). Conclusions Results suggest no difference in effectiveness between bevacizumab and ranibizumab, but the wide credible intervals cannot exclude the possibility that either drug might be superior. Sufficiently powered, direct head to head trials are needed.
Real options and interactions with financial flexibility

This article serves two main purposes. First, it aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the existing real options literature and applications, as well as to present practically useful principles for quantifying the value of various real options. Second, it takes a first step towards extending the real options literature to recognize various interactions with financial flexibility. Overall, the paper illustrates how to practically analyze managerial flexibility in the case of various types of both real as well as financial options, recognizing that these option values may interact.
Post-hematopoietic cell transplantation control of graft-versus-host disease by donor CD425 T cells to allow an effective graft-versus-leukemia response.

After allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), the high inverse correlation between graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) and leukemic relapse requires that calculated measures be taken to reduce GVHD pathology while retaining the graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) effect. We sought to determine whether donor CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells could control ongoing GVHD, thereby providing an initial window of time in which the alloreactive anti-host response is permitted to begin, with the intent of most effectively eliminating residual leukemia cells. Prevention of lethal GVHD by infusion of donor CD4(+)CD25(+) cells early after HCT (day 2) was achieved across a major histocompatibility complex barrier in the haploidentical C3H-->(B6xC3H)F(1) model. However, in vitro expansion of donor CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells, stimulated by recipient cells in the presence of high-dose interleukin-2, was required for successful regulation. In contrast, in the major histocompatibility complex-matched, minor histocompatibility antigen-disparate, CD8-mediated B10.BR-->CBA GVHD model, lethal disease could be completely prevented by a single infusion of freshly isolated donor CD4(+)CD25(+) cells administered as late as 10 days after HCT. Of importance, this late regulatory effect required only a 3:1 ratio of effector CD8:CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells, indicating a strong potential for the delayed infusion of CD4(+)CD25(+) cells to control GVHD across minor histocompatibility antigen barriers. Furthermore, this regulation did not interfere with complete and lasting donor engraftment of the hematopoietic compartment. Of most significance, the day 10 infusion of donor CD4(+)CD25(+) cells into CBA HCT recipients that had been challenged with the MMCBA6 myeloid leukemia cell line did not block an effective GVL response, despite reducing lethal GVHD. These results suggest that donor CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells infused soon after transplantation can ameliorate the development of GVHD without sacrificing a sufficient GVL effect.
The troponin complex and regulation of muscle contraction

In a wide variety of cellular settings, from organelle transport to muscle contraction, Ca2+ binding to members of the EF hand family of proteins controls the interaction between actin and different myosins that are responsible for generating movement. In vertebrate skeletal and cardiac muscle the Ca2+ ‐binding protein troponin C (TnC) is one summit of the ternary troponin complex which, through its association with actin and tropomyosin on the thin filament, inhibits the actomyosin interaction at sub‐micromolar Ca2+ concentrations and stimulates the interaction at micromolar Ca2+ concentrations. Because TnC does not interact directly with actin or tropomyosin, the Ca2+‐binding signal must be transmitted to the thin filament via the other two troponin summits: troponin I (TnI), the inhibitory subunit, and troponin T (TnT), the tropomyosin‐binding subunit. Thus, the troponin complex is a Ca2+ ‐sensitive molecular switch and the structures of and interactions between its components have been of great interest for many years. Although the crystal structure of TnC has been known for almost a decade, the molecular structures of TnI and TnT are not known and therefore convincing models of the organization of the troponin complex and the Ca2+‐induced changes in its structure have not been forthcoming. Recent advances on a wide variety of fronts including 1) the bacterial expression and characterization of mutants of TnC, TnI, and TnT; 2) cross‐linking and fluorescence studies; and 3) the determination of the crystal and nuclear magnetic resonance structures of synthetic and recombinant troponin fragments and complexes between EF hand proteins and their target peptides have provided new insights into the nature of the interactions between troponin subunits. This review discusses these recent advances with the aim of critically assessing molecular models of the nature of the Ca2+‐induced structural transition in troponin. —Farah, C. S. , Reinach, F. C. The troponin complex and regulation of muscle contraction. FASEB J. 9, 755‐767 (1995)
Genomic Analysis of a Pathogenicity Island in Uropathogenic Escherichia coli CFT073: Distribution of Homologous Sequences among Isolates from Patients with Pyelonephritis, Cystitis, and CatheterAssociated Bacteriuria and from Fecal Samples

ABSTRACT Urinary tract infection is the most frequently diagnosed kidney and urologic disease and Escherichia coli is by far the most common etiologic agent. Uropathogenic strains have been shown to contain blocks of DNA termed pathogenicity islands (PAIs) which contribute to their virulence. We have defined one of these regions of DNA within the chromosome of a highly virulentE. coli strain, CFT073, isolated from the blood and urine of a woman with acute pyelonephritis. The 57,988-bp stretch of DNA has characteristics which define PAIs, including a size greater than 30 kb, the presence of insertion sequences, distinct segmentation of K-12 and J96 origin, GC content (42.9%) different from that of total genomic DNA (50.8%), and the presence of virulence genes (hly and pap). Within this region, we have identified 44 open reading frames; of these 44, 10 are homologous to entries in the complete K-12 genome sequence, 4 are nearly identical to the sequences of E. coli J96 encoding the HlyA hemolysin, 11 encode P fimbriae, and 19 show no homology to J96 or K-12 entries. To determine whether sequences found within the junctions of the PAI of CFT073 were common to other uropathogenic strains ofE. coli, 11 probes were isolated along the length of the PAI and were hybridized to dot blots of genomic DNA isolated from clinical isolates (67 from patients with acute pyelonephritis, 38 from patients with cystitis, 49 from patients with catheter-associated bacteriuria, and 27 from fecal samples). These sequences were found significantly more often in strains associated with the clinical syndromes of acute pyelonephritis (79%) and cystitis (82%) than in those associated with catheter-associated bacteriuria (58%) and in fecal strains (22%) (P < 0.001). From these regions, we have identified a putative iron transport system and genes other than hly and pap that may contribute to the virulent phenotype of uropathogenic E. coli strains.
Local strong D-Monotonicity of the Kalai-Smorodinsky and Nash bargaining solution

In this paper we investigate how the Kalai-Smorodinsky and Nash bargaining solution respond to a change in the disagreement point d. We call a bazgaining solution locally strong d-monotonic at the disagreement point d if an infinitesimal increase of d;, while for each j~ i, d~ remains constant, then dgent i is the only one who's payoff increases. We present sufficient conditions for the Pareto frontier under which the Kalai-Smorodinsky and Nash bargaining solution satisfy this property. It turns out that in general the local strong d-monotonicity property of the Kalai-Smorodinsky solution is a stronger requirement than that of the Nash bargaining solution.
On the Fast and Precise Evaluation of the Outage Probability of Diversity Receivers Over $\alpha -\mu $ , $\kappa -\mu $ , and $\eta -\mu $ Fading Channels

In this paper, we are interested in determining the cumulative distribution function of the sum of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\eta -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula> random variables in the setting of rare event simulations. To this end, we present a simple and efficient importance sampling approach. The main result of this work is the bounded relative error property of the proposed estimators. Capitalizing on this result, we accurately estimate the outage probability of multibranch maximum ratio combining and equal gain diversity receivers over <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\alpha -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\kappa -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\eta -\mu $ </tex-math></inline-formula> fading channels. Selected numerical simulations are discussed to show the robustness of our estimators compared with naive Monte Carlo estimators.
Benchmarking Individual Publication Productivity in Logistics

What constitutes excellence in publication productivity in logistics journals? Several previous studies have examined this question at the institutional level. However, prior literature has not examined in detail the research productivity patterns of the entire distribution of individual logistics authors across a relatively large number of journals within a lengthy time frame. Prior work has also not established the benchmarks or thresholds of individual research productivity, in terms of both quantity and quality, which are necessary to be ranked among the leading contributors in the discipline. To address this void in the literature, we examine 3,312 articles published in seven leading logistics journals from 1990 to 2009, inclusive, to which 3,657 different individual authors contributed at least one authorship or coauthorship. Using the rankings and associated percentiles of individual authors according to six quality and quantity metrics, we identify the aggregate productivity benchmarks necessary for individual authors to be ranked at various positions in the field. We find that the thresholds necessary to be among the leaders in logistics research productivity, or to meet typically posited expectations for performance, are not necessarily reflective of the traditional wisdom.
Carbon management in New Zealand local government: co-benefits of action and organisational resolve in the absence of government support

In an effort to promote public sector carbon management, in 2004, New Zealand's (NZ) Labour-led government funded local government membership in the Communities for Climate Protection – New Zealand (CCP-NZ) program, the NZ arm of ICLEI's Cities for Climate Protection campaign. In late 2008, the government transitioned from a Labour-led to a National-led government, which resulted in a shift to its climate change agenda, including the abandonment of the CCP-NZ program. This paper examines the experiences of managers from the councils involved in the CCP-NZ program to determine the co-benefits of participation in the initiative, and to assess whether councils will continue activities to mitigate their carbon footprint in the absence of government support. The research approach consists of a series of semi-structured interviews with managers responsible for the delivery of the CCP-NZ program within member councils, as well as program architects from Local Government New Zealand and ICLEI. Findings suggest that while the scheme delivered considerable co-benefits, including improved management awareness around organisational carbon management and broadened inter-council networking on carbon reduction related objectives, without government support, overall, carbon management activities will only continue in a scaled-back manner.
Pedestrian Tracking based on 3D Head Point Detection

In this paper, we introduce a 3D pedestrian tracking method based on 3D head point detection in indoor environment, such as train stations, airports, shopping malls and hotel lobbies where the ground can be nonflat. We also show that our approach is effective and efficient in capturing close-up facial images using pantilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras. We use two horizontally displaced overhead cameras to track pedestrians by estimating the accurate 3D position of their heads. The 3D head point is then tracked using common assumptions on motion direction and velocity. Our method is able to track pedestrians in 3D space no matter if the pedestrian is walking on a planar or a non-planar surface. Moreover, we make no assumption about the pedestrians’ heights, nor do we have to generate the full disparity map of the scene. The tracking system architecture allows for a real time capturing of high quality facial images by guiding PTZ cameras. The approach is tested using a publicly available visual surveillance simulation test bed.