Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Energy management and control strategy for multiport power supply system based on energy storage

The MPSS (multiport power supply system) is consist of fuel cell, super capacitor and two DC/DC converters. The energy management scheme, along with the allocation principle of energy storage unit is analyzed. The paper establishes the mathematical model and proposes a composite control strategy. The strategy fuses subsection PI (Proportional and Integral) control and SMC (Sliding Mode Control) based on super capacitor energy storage device. It also realizes the current sharing control, the rapid energy transfer control and the voltage stability control based on voltage and current double closed-loop control strategy. The bidirectional DC/DC converter provides instantaneous energy; the unidirectional DC/DC converter transfers energy from fuel cell to loads and capacitor energy storage unit. Both of the converters circuit component parameters are designed for the system need. The simulation and experimental analysis verify the effectiveness of the composite control strategy for the MPSS.
A Rapid Microfluidic Switching System for Analysis at the Single Cellular Level

Analysis of cellular responses to chemicals at high spatiotemporal resolution is required for precise understanding of intracellular signal transduction. Here, we demonstrated a novel method for applying different solutions to a part of or all of a cell at high spatiotemporal resolution. We fabricated a microfluidic device using polydimethylsiloxane, and the sharp interface between the two solution streams flowing in the channel was used for the application of different solutions. We constructed a computer-controlled system to control the interface movement precisely, rapidly, and reproducibly during positioning, and spatial and temporal resolutions attained were 1.6 ¿m and 189 ms, respectively. We then applied the present system to the analysis of intracellular responses to chemicals. We were able to measure [Ca2+]i increases within 500 ms, when one laminar stream covered a part of the cell. This method can be used as a generic platform to investigate responses against drugs at the single cell level.
Nonsteroidal Anti-inflammatory Drug Use Is a Significant Cause of Peptic Ulcer Disease in a Tertiary Hospital in Singapore: A Prospective Study

Background Peptic ulcers due to nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) use may have contributed to the static prevalence of ulcer disease in Asia. Goal We aimed to determine the current etiology of peptic ulcer disease in Singapore. Study Consecutive patients undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy who had not been exposed to antibiotics, or antiulcer therapy within the past 6 months, and in whom peptic ulcers were found, were prospectively studied. Before endoscopy, patients were interviewed regarding the use of NSAID or aspirin. During endoscopy, antral biopsies were obtained for urease test and histology. Serum thromboxane B2 levels were compared with those of healthy volunteers. Results Peptic ulcers were detected in 600 patients during a 2-year period. The ulcers were negative for Helicobacter pylori in 212 patients (35.3%) and these H. pylori negative ulcers were related to NSAID use in 68.9% of cases. On the basis of serum thromboxane B2 levels, 30.8% of the patients with non-H. pylori non-NSAID were considered to have consumed NSAID. Conclusions H. pylori negative peptic ulcer makes up a significant proportion of peptic ulcer in Singapore. Most of these ulcers were related to NSAID use. Serum thromboxane profile suggested surreptitious NSAID use in many of the non-H. pylori and apparently non-NSAID patients.
A Temperature Estimation Method Using the Ratio of Emitter-to-Base Voltages

A temperature estimation method is proposed which utilizes the ratio of two emitter-to-base voltages of bipolar transistors. This removes the need for a precision reference voltage from the digitization step by implicitly implementing the reference in the digital backend. Using measurement data for p-n-p transistors in a 65-nm CMOS technology, we show that the proposed scheme is tolerant to tens of millivolt of offset and up to ±50% gain errors without the need for any calibration. The designed sensor core, incorporating the new estimation scheme, reports room-temperature trim accuracy of ±1 °C (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3\sigma )$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, and an area and power of 0.009 mm<sup>2</sup> and <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$200~\mu \text{W}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, respectively.
Allopatric genetic origins for sympatric host-plant shifts and race formation in Rhagoletis

Tephritid fruit flies belonging to the Rhagoletis pomonella sibling species complex are controversial because they have been proposed to diverge in sympatry (in the absence of geographic isolation) by shifting and adapting to new host plants. Here, we report evidence suggesting a surprising source of genetic variation contributing to sympatric host shifts for these flies. From DNA sequence data for three nuclear loci and mtDNA, we infer that an ancestral, hawthorn-infesting R. pomonella population became geographically subdivided into Mexican and North American isolates ≈1.57 million years ago. Episodes of gene flow from Mexico subsequently infused the North American population with inversion polymorphism affecting key diapause traits, forming adaptive clines. Sometime later (perhaps ±1 million years), diapause variation in the latitudinal clines appears to have aided North American flies in adapting to a variety of plants with differing fruiting times, helping to spawn several new taxa. Thus, important raw genetic material facilitating the adaptive radiation of R. pomonella originated in a different time and place than the proximate ecological host shifts triggering sympatric divergence.
Demonstration of Multipotent Stem Cells in the Adult Human Endometrium by In Vitro Chondrogenesis

Stem cells are defined by their unique capacity for self-renewal and multilineage differentiation. Stem cells have been obtained from multiple extramedullary tissues. Recently, a population of progenitor cells have been identified in the endometrium. However, multilineage differentiation of endometrial stem cells has not been reported.Endometrial tissue was obtained from reproductive-aged women undergoing surgery for benign disease, from which monolayer endometrial stromal cell (ESC), myometrial, fibroid, fallopian tube, and uterosacral ligament tissue cultures were generated. Once confluent, cells were trypsinized and centrifuged in conical tubes to form a cell pellet. Cell pellets were cultured in a defined chondrogenic media (CM) containing dexamethasone and transforming growth factor (TGF)—β2 or TGF-β3 for 3 to 21 days. Samples were analyzed for markers of human articular cartilage, including sulfated glycosaminoglycans and expression of type II collagen. ESC pellets cultured in CM were found to contain cells that resemble chondrocytes. These cells expressed sulfated glycosaminoglycans and type II collagen typical of human articular cartilage. Myometrial, fibroid, fallopian tube, and uterosacral ligament cells were unable to undergo chondrogenic differentiation using the pellet culture method. Cells derived from the endometrium were able to differentiate into a heterologous cell type: chondrocytes, thus demonstrating the presence of multipotent stem cells. Endometrium is a potential source of multipotent stem cells.
Animated icons: re-inventing visual cues for the visually impaired computer user

Universal access to information is critical for universal participation in society. The Graphical User Interface is a mainstream means for accessing the computing resources needed to access information. These interfaces have become challenging to the visually impaired. Many partially sighted individuals posses residual vision. While the enlargement of screen content is important, enlargement alone will not address all of issues involving the utilization of GUIs. While icons are generally useful, animation increases the usefulness of the icons. The sizes of static and animated icons are compared in order to ascertain the impact of animation on icon size.
Physiological mechanisms underlying a trade-off between growth rate and tolerance of feed deprivation in the European sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

SUMMARY The specific growth rate (SGR) of a cohort of 2000 tagged juvenile European sea bass was measured in a common tank, during two sequential cycles comprising three-weeks feed deprivation followed by three-weeks ad libitum re-feeding. After correction for initial size at age as fork length, there was a direct correlation between negative SGR (rate of mass loss) during feed deprivation and positive SGR (rate of compensatory growth) during re-feeding (Spearman rank correlation R=0.388, P=0.000002). Following a period of rearing under standard culture conditions, individuals representing ‘high growth’ phenotypes (GP) and ‘high tolerance of feed deprivation’ phenotypes (DP) were selected from either end of the SGR spectrum. Static and swimming respirometry could not demonstrate lower routine or standard metabolic rate in DP to account for greater tolerance of feed deprivation. Increased rates of compensatory growth in GP were not linked to greater maximum metabolic rate, aerobic metabolic scope or maximum cardiac performance than DP. When fed a standard ration, however, GP completed the specific dynamic action (SDA) response significantly faster than DP. Therefore, higher growth rate in GP was linked to greater capacity to process food. There was no difference in SDA coefficient, an indicator of energetic efficiency. The results indicate that individual variation in growth rate in sea bass reflects, in part, a trade-off against tolerance of food deprivation. The two phenotypes represented the opposing ends of a spectrum. The GP aims to exploit available resources and grow as rapidly as possible but at a cost of physiological and/or behavioural attributes, which lead to increased energy dissipation when food is not available. An opposing strategy, exemplified by DP, is less ‘boom and bust’, with a lower physiological capacity to exploit resources but which is less costly to sustain during periods of food deprivation.
Early Changes in Functional Dynamic Magnetic Resonance Imaging Predict for Pathologic Response to Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Primary Breast Cancer

Purpose: Dynamic contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (DCE-MRI) allows noninvasive, in vivo measurements of tissue microvessel perfusion and permeability. We examined whether DCE-MRI done after two cycles of neoadjuvant chemotherapy could predict final clinical and pathologic response in primary breast cancers. Experimental Design: Thirty-seven patients with primary breast cancer, due to receive six cycles of neoadjuvant 5-fluorouracil, epirubicin and cyclophosphamide chemotherapy, were examined using DCE-MRI before neoadjuvant chemotherapy and after two cycles of treatment. Changes in DCE-MRI kinetic parameters (Ktrans, kep, ve, MaxGd, rBV, rBF, MTT) were correlated with the final clinical and pathologic response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Test-retest variability was used to determine individual patient response. Results: Twenty-eight patients were evaluable for response (19 clinical responders and 9 nonresponders; 11 pathologic responders and 17 nonresponders). Changes in the DCE-MRI kinetic parameters Ktrans, kep, MaxGd, rBV, and rBF were significantly correlated with both final clinical and pathologic response (P < 0.01). Change in Ktrans was the best predictor of pathologic nonresponse (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve, 0.93; sensitivity, 94%; specificity, 82%), correctly identifying 94% of nonresponders and 73% of responders. Change in MRI-derived tumor size did not predict for pathologic response. Conclusion: Changes in breast tumor microvessel functionality as depicted by DCE-MRI early on after starting anthracycline-based neoadjuvant chemotherapy can predict final clinical and pathologic response. The ability to identify nonresponders early may allow the selection of patients who may benefit from a therapy change.
Carrier‐mediated efflux of [3H] dopamine and [3H]1‐methyl‐4‐phenylopyridine: Effects of ascorbic acid

The carrier‐mediated efflux of [3H]1‐methyl‐4‐phenylpyridine (MPP+) and [3H] dopamine was examined in mouse striatal synaposomal p2 fractions. Although the two compound are transported by the same carrier, the translocation of the carrier–ligand complex is more rapid with MPP+ than with dopamine. With dopamine‐stimulated efflux of preloaded [3H] dopamine, externally present dopamine at concentration of 1.3 μM reduced the intrasynaprosomal concentration of [3H] dopamine by 50% (the ECR value) with 8 min of incubation. The ECR value of dopamine in promoting the efflux of [3H]MPP+ was only 0.15 μM. Similarly [3H] ascorbic acid was weaker in enhancing the efflux of dopamine (ECR > 2000 μM) than that of [3H] MPP+ (ECR = 567 μM). This effect of ascorbic acid on the efflux of [3H]MPP+ was attenuated by mazindol, a blocker of dopamine uptake. It is proposed that ascorbic acid has a neuromodulatory role involving changes at the level of carrier‐membrane translocation and/or orientation.
Silencing of ErbB3/ErbB2 Signaling by Immunoglobulin-like Necl-2*

ErbB2 and ErbB3, members of the EGF receptor/ErbB family, form a heterodimer upon binding of a ligand, inducing the activation of Rac small G protein and Akt protein kinase for cell movement and survival, respectively. The enhanced ErbB3/ErbB2 signaling causes tumorigenesis, invasion, and metastasis. We found here that the ErbB3/ErbB2 signaling is regulated by immunoglobulin-like Necl-2, which is down-regulated in various cancer cells and serves as a tumor suppressor. The extracellular region of ErbB3, but not ErbB2, interacted in cis with that of Necl-2. This interaction reduced the ligand-induced, ErbB2-catalyzed tyrosine phosphorylation of ErbB3 and inhibited the consequent ErbB3-mediated activation of Rac and Akt, resulting in the inhibition of cancer cell movement and survival. These inhibitory effects of Necl-2 were mediated by the protein-tyrosine phosphatase PTPN13 which interacted with the cytoplasmic tail of Necl-2. We describe here this novel mechanism for silencing of the ErbB3/ErbB2 signaling by Necl-2.
Low spin-lock field T1 relaxation in the rotating frame as a sensitive MR imaging marker for gene therapy treatment response in rat glioma.

PURPOSE To prospectively assess the effectiveness of T1 relaxation in the rotating frame (T1 rho) dispersion and the low spin-lock radiofrequency field (B(1)) T1 rho magnetic resonance (MR) imaging relaxation time in noninvasive monitoring of gene therapy response in BT4C glioma in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS All animal studies were approved by the ethical committee of the National Laboratory Animal Center. Rats with BT4C gliomas (n=9) were treated with herpes simplex virus thymidine kinase gene therapy and were compared with untreated rats (n=5). Absolute T1 rho at a B(1) range of 2.0 x 10(-6) to 1.4 x 10(-4) T, T1, T2, and apparent diffusion constant were measured at 4.7 T during treatment. Statistical significance was tested by using repeated-measures analysis of variance. RESULTS A significant (P<.05) lengthening of T1 rho was observed beginning on the 4th day of treatment, and T1 rho values increased to be approximately 80% higher than values observed before treatment. These changes preceded T1 and T2 changes and resembled those of water diffusion. The T1 rho was associated with a treatment-induced decrease in cell density; this was the only measured MR imaging property that provided significant (P<.05) Pearson correlation with cell density in the tumor border. T1 rho relaxation dispersion, however, did not offer additional benefits over those offered in one B(1) experiment in the early phase of treatment. CONCLUSION T1 rho with low B(1) is an excellent MR imaging marker of early gene therapy response in gliomas. The low B(1) approach is not limited by specific absorption rate restrictions; this finding suggests that spin-lock methods could be applicable in clinical settings. (
A low frequency AC to high frequency AC inverter with build-in power factor correction and soft-switching

This paper presents a full bridge AC-AC inverter for high frequency power distribution system with power factor correction stage controlled by a unified controller. The proposed inverter has the following features: 1) load independent output voltage with constant frequency and very low total harmonic distortion (THD); 2) soft switching of the full bridge switches for a wide range of input voltage and load conditions; 3) low DC bus voltage; 4) simple control and cost effectiveness for the power factor correction stage. Operating principles and performance characteristics are presented, and guidance to design the converter is given. Experimental results of a 90-265V/sub ac/ input, 30 V/sub ac/ output at 100 kHz, 250 W laboratory prototype are given to verify the theoretical and simulation results. The proposed ac-ac inverter is attractive for low power (up to 250 W) high frequency applications.
Culture of Human Laryngeal Papilloma Cells in Vitro

Human laryngeal epithelial cells have been grown in tissue culture in a hydrated collagen gel containing Nutrient Mixture F12 (Gibco) supplemented with 15% fetal calf serum and 10μg//mL hydrocortisone. Primary cells often remain viable in culture for more than six months. They can be serially transferred two to four times before senescence. Cells derived both from normal epithelium and from laryngeal papilloma have been successfully cultured. Papilloma cells appear to contain more perinuclear granules and form fewer tight junctions than normal cells.
Determinants of public trust in government: empirical evidence from urban China

Several studies suggest that public trust in government in China remains high and without any trend of decline despite the fact that public trust in government has declined dramatically in developed countries. This article analyses public trust in government in contemporary urban China with a comprehensive representative survey and tests the factors associated with public trust in government. Trust in government in China is found to be much lower than previous studies have indicated. Furthermore, the variables of citizen satisfaction with the quality of public services, general democracy, participation in government and the transparency of government are positively associated with public trust in government in China at both the city and central level. In addition, this research also finds that citizens who are younger, more highly educated and well-paid have a lower probability of trust in government in China. These findings suggest that maintaining political trust will be a challenge for the Chinese government. Points for practitioners The findings in this study suggest that public managers and policymakers in China should pay full attention to the challenge posed by maintaining public trust in government, and need to consider formulating specific and feasible measures to enhance public trust based on the determinants of public trust in government. Moreover, in terms of the fact that the determinants that make public trust in government decline in developed countries also affect public trust in government in China, such public managers and policymakers need to strengthen communication with developed countries to improve the handling of the common challenge of maintaining public trust in government.
Smith's View of Government's Economic Functions and its Enlightenment on Transforming the Mode of Economic Development China

The Economic Liberalism advocated by Adam Smith provided a theoretical foundation for the rising bourgeois to oppose the feudal autarchical system.To Adam Smith,the government plays a role of "night watchman",and he objects to that the government pokes nose into the market.He advocates that the problems aroused in the market should be solved by the market itself.Although there are defect in Smith's economic theory,it did give the capitalist market economy a great push forward.At present,our country is in a crucial period of transforming the mode of economy,Smith's views about the government's economic function might be of some help.
Neutrophils in cancer

Neutrophils play an important role in cancer. This does not only relate to the well‐established prognostic value of the presence of neutrophils, either in the blood or in tumor tissue, in the context of cancer progression or for the monitoring of therapy, but also to their active role in the progression of cancer. In the current review, we describe what is known in general about the role of neutrophils in cancer. What is emerging is a complex, rather heterogeneous picture with both pro‐ and anti‐tumorigenic roles, which apparently differs with cancer type and disease stage. Furthermore, we will discuss the well‐known role of neutrophils as myeloid‐derived suppressor cells (MDSC), and also on the role of neutrophils as important effector cells during antibody therapy in cancer. It is clear that neutrophils contribute substantially to cancer progression in multiple ways, and this includes both direct effects on the cancer cells and indirect effect on the tumor microenvironment. While in many cases neutrophils have been shown to promote tumor progression, for instance by acting as MDSC, there are also protective effects, particularly when antibody immunotherapy is performed. A better understanding of the role of neutrophils is likely to provide opportunities for immunomodulation and for improving the treatment of cancer patients.
Using the Freiburg Acuity and Contrast Test to Measure Visual Performance in USAF Personnel After PRK

Purpose. Photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) may be an alternative to spectacle and contact lens wear for United States Air Force (USAF) aircrew and may offer some distinct advantages in operational situations. However, any residual corneal haze or scar formation from PRK could exacerbate the disabling effects of a bright glare source on a complex visual task. The USAF recently completed a longitudinal clinical evaluation of the long-term effects of PRK on visual performance, including the experiment described herein. Methods. After baseline data were collected, 20 nonflying active duty USAF personnel underwent PRK. Visual performance was then measured at 6, 12, and 24 months after PRK. Visual acuity (VA) and contrast sensitivity (CS) data were collected by using the Freiburg Acuity and Contrast Test (FrACT), with the subject viewing half of the runs through a polycarbonate windscreen. Experimental runs were completed under 3 glare conditions: no glare source and with either a broadband or a green laser (532-nm) glare annulus (luminance ~6090 cd/m2) surrounding the Landolt C stimulus. Results. Systematic effects of PRK on VA relative to baseline were not identified. However, VA was almost 2 full Snellen lines worse with the laser glare source in place versus the broadband glare source. A significant drop-off was observed in CS performance after PRK under conditions of no glare and broadband glare; this was the case both with and without the windscreen. As with VA, laser glare disrupted CS performance significantly and more than broadband glare did. Conclusions. PRK does not appear to have affected VA, but the changes in CS might represent a true decline in visual performance. The greater disruptive effects from laser versus broadband glare may be a result of increased masking from coherent spatial noise (speckle) surrounding the laser stimulus.