Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel High Step-Up Soft-Switching DC–DC Converter Based on Switched Capacitor and Coupled Inductor

A novel high step-up dc–dc converter with coupled inductor and switched capacitor is proposed in this article. The proposed converter adopts capacitors charged in parallel and discharged in series with a coupled inductor to achieve high step-up voltage gain. By utilizing the energy stored in the leakage of the coupled inductor, both of the switches can realize zero-voltage switching, which can reduce switching loss and improve efficiency. In addition, the voltage stress of the switches and diodes are also reduced. Therefore, low voltage components can be utilized and the input current is continuous. The operating principle, steady-state, and parameter design are shown in details, and a 100-W experimental prototype with 25-V input voltage and 380-V output voltage is established in the laboratory to verify the feasibility of the proposed converter, and the highest efficiency is 96.21%.
Génération procédurale d'effets atmosphériques

Cette these s’interesse a la synthetisation de paysages naturels, et plus particulierement, a leur portion celeste. L’aspect du ciel est gouverne par de nombreux phenomenes atmospheriques parmi lesquels les nuages jouent un role preponderant car ils sont frequemment presents et couvrent de grandes etendues. Meme sans considerer directement le ciel, la densite des nuages leur permet de modifier intensement l’illumination globale d’un paysage. Les travaux de cette these se concentrent donc principalement sur l’edition, la modelisation et l’animation d’etendues nuageuses aux dimensions d’un paysage. Comme la simulation thermodynamique de la formation des nuages est difficilement controlable et que les details du volume simules sont rapidement limites, nous proposons plutot une methode par generation procedurale. Nous erigeons un modele leger de paysage nuageux sous forme d’une hierarchie de fonctions. Les details les plus fins sont obtenus par composition de bruits proceduraux et reproduisent les formes de differents genres de nuages. La presence nuageuse a grande echelle est quant a elle decrite a haut niveau et a differents instants par des cartes dessinees par l’utilisateur. Ces cartes discretes sont transformees en primitives implicites statiques ensuite interpolees par metamorphose en prenant en compte le relief et les vents pour produire des trajectoires coherentes. Le champ implicite obtenu par melange des primitives interpolantes constitue le champ spatiotemporel de densite nuageuse. Des images sont finalement synthetisees par rendu du milieu participatif atmospherique selon notre propre implementation executee en parallele sur carte graphique
Transient Risk of Breakthrough Seizures Associated with Phenytoin Refilling and Switching

Background Generic substitution is prevalent in the U.S.; however, clinicians and patients remain wary of use of generic products for drugs with narrow therapeutic indices. Epileptic seizure control is an example of a condition which requires consistent blood concentrations of medications; this cannot be assured when patients switch among medications from different manufacturers and even between product lots. Objective We aimed to quantify the transient risk of seizure activity attributable to refills and switches of phenytoin from same and different manufacturers. Methods We conducted a case-crossover study using administrative claims from the Truven MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters database in 2010-2012. We identified individuals who had at least 1 emergency room visit or hospitalization with a primary diagnosis of epilepsy or seizure. We required the cases to have epilepsy and at least 2 phenytoin prescription dispensed during the 6-months enrollment in their insurance plan before the first observed emergency room visit or hospitalization (index date). The case period was defined as the 7 days prior to the index date and the control period as 7 days prior to the case period. We used conditional logistic
Antileukemic Effect of Polyphenol of Local Grape Seeds Extract from Duhok/Kurdistan of Iraq: in v itro Study

The present study was conducted to evaluate the cytotoxic effect of secondary metabolites extract (polyphenol) from local grape seeds of vitis viniferra (rash meu) from Duhok Governorate / Kurdistan of Iraq using MTT assay. Different concentrations 39.1 µg/ml, 78.125 µg/ml, 156.25 µg/ml, 312.5 µg/ml µg/ml 625 µg/ml, µg/ml 1250 µg/ml, and 2500µg/ml of polyphenol extract were tested against the proliferation of acute leukemic lymphocytes of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML) and acute Lymphoid Leukemia (ALL) patients in culture within 24 and 48 hours exposure. This study showed that a polyphenolic extract that isolated from seeds of local grape is substantially rich in phenolic content and flavonoid. The result of cytotoxicity assay revealed that all concentrations of polyphenol extract were effective against the proliferation of both types of acute leukemic lymphocytes of AML and ALL patients. Statistical analysis for all patients with AML and all patients with ALL was revealed that the higher concentrations 1250µg/ml and 2500µg/ml were effected after both time of exposure 24 and 48hours. The result of cytotoxicity assay showed that the highest concentration 2500µg/ml was more effected after 24 and 48 hours of all acute leukemic cases. The CC50 value was 859µg/ml after 24hours of treatment. The result of present study showed no significant different between two type of acute leukemia AML and ALL in to response to cytotoxic effect of polyphenol extract.
Algorithms of approximate dynamic programming for hydro scheduling

In hydro scheduling, unit commitment is a complex sub-problem. This paper proposes a new approximate dynamic programming technique to solve unit commitment. A new method called Least Square Policy Iteration (LSPI) algorithm is introduced which is efficient and faster in convergence. This algorithm takes the properties of widely used algorithm least square temporal difference (LSTD), enhance it further and make it useful for optimization problems. First value function is to find a fixed policy by using least square temporal difference Q (LSTDQ) algorithm which is similar to LSTD, then LSPI is introduced for making the policy iteration algorithm by using the results of LSTDQ. It combines the data efficiency of LSTDQ and policy-search efficiency of policy iteration.
A collection of studies on the biometry of myopic and non-myopic eyes

At present, a wealth of interest surrounds the epidemiology of ametropia and ocular structural and functional correlates across the spectrum of refractive error. Myopia is the most common ocular condition globally, and its prevalence is continuing to increase. Myopia is not a purely refractive condition, being a major cause of visual impairment and blindness worldwide. Consequently, numerous studies have investigated various optical and non-optical interventions to limit its progression in childhood. This thesis describes the correlates of structural and functional parameters on the development of myopia in children. The investigation of these differences is expected to aid a deeper understanding of the aetiology of ametropia and subsequently assist with myopia amelioration The data presented within form a collection of cross-sectional cohort studies, investigating ocular parameters of children and young adults with normally developing eyes and children with peripheral retinal anomalies. Measures of central and peripheral refractive error, visual fields, fundus imaging and ocular biometry are analysed and discussed. This thesis demonstrates that gender and ethnicity do not appear to have a significant influence on refractive error: axial length ratio. Furthermore, the distribution and degree of corneal or refractive astigmatism in children appears linked to increasing spherical hypermetropia and is not influenced by ethnicity, gender or axial length. Pilot work also suggests that Retinitis Pigmentosa and Congenital Stationary Night Blindness are appropriate models for the investigation of the retinal periphery’s role in myopia development. The final study contained within found a reduction in foveal light sensitivity correlated with increasing myopia, perhaps suggestive of an increase in photoreceptor spacing. It is, therefore, recommended that normative refractive, astigmatism and axial length data should be tailored to individual characteristics. Future large-scale longitudinal studies should be designed to develop growth curves for axial length and refractive error such as those available for anthropometric characteristics.
The macroeconomics of uncertainty

This thesis comprises three essays that analyze how uncertainty affects the macroeconomy. Each essay investigates a particular feature of uncertainty propagation. The first essay studies the effects of uncertainty shocks on economic activity, focusing on inflation. I consider standard New Keynesian models with Rotemberg-type and Calvo-type price rigidities. Despite the belief that the two schemes are equivalent, I show that they generate different dynamics in response to uncertainty shocks. In the Rotemberg model, uncertainty shocks decrease output and inflation, in line with the empirical results. By contrast, in the Calvo model, uncertainty shocks decrease output but raise inflation because of firms’ precautionary pricing motive. The second essay, written with Dario Bonciani, shows that uncertainty shocks negatively affect economic activity not only in the short, but also in the long run. We build a New Keynesian model with endogenous growth and Epstein-Zin preferences. A decline in R&D by higher uncertainty determines a fall in productivity, which causes a long-term decrease in the macroeconomic aggregates. This long-term risk affects households’ consumption process, which exacerbates the overall negative effects of uncertainty shocks. The third essay, prepared with Anna Rogantini Picco, illustrates how economic agents’ heterogeneity is crucial for the propagation of uncertainty shocks. We build a heterogeneous agent New Keynesian model with search and matching frictions and Calvo pricing. Unemployment risk for imperfectly insured households amplifies their precautionary savings through increased uncertainty, thus further depressing consumption. Therefore, uncertainty shocks have considerably adverse effects and lead to a decrease in inflation.
Energy-Efficient Provisioning for Service Function Chains to Support Delay-Sensitive Applications in Network Function Virtualization

The efficient deployment of virtual network functions (VNFs) for network service provisioning is key for achieving network function virtualization (NFV); however, most existing studies address only offline or one-off deployments of service function chains (SFCs) while neglecting the dynamic (i.e., online) deployment and expansion requirements. In particular, many methods of energy/resource cost reduction are achieved by merging VNFs. However, the energy waste and device wear for large-scale collections of servers (e.g., cloud networks and data centers) caused by sporadic request updating are ignored. To solve these problems, we propose an energy-aware routing and adaptive delayed shutdown (EAR-ADS) algorithm for dynamic SFC deployment, which includes the following features: 1) energy-aware routing (EAR): by considering a practical deployment environment, a flexible solution is developed based on reusing open servers and selecting paths with the aims of balancing energy and resources and minimizing the total cost and 2) adaptive delayed shutdown (ADS): the delayed shutdown time of the servers can be flexibly adjusted in accordance with the usage of each device in each time slot, thus eliminating the no-load wait time of the servers and frequent on/off switching. Therefore, the EAR-ADS can achieve dual-energy savings by both decreasing the number of open servers and reducing the idle/switching energy consumption of these servers. The simulation results show that EAR-ADS not only minimizes the cost of energy and resources but also achieves an excellent success rate and stability. Moreover, EAR-ADS is efficient compared with an improved Markov algorithm (SAMA), reducing the average deployment time by more than a factor of 40.
Rethinking the Use of Mobile Apps for Dietary Assessment in Medical Research

Food intake and usual dietary intake are among the key determinants of health to be assessed in medical research and important confounding factors to be accounted for in clinical studies. Although various methods are available for gathering dietary data, those based on innovative technologies are particularly promising. With combined cost-effectiveness and ease of use, it is safe to assume that mobile technologies can now optimize tracking of eating occasions and dietary behaviors. Yet, choosing a dietary assessment tool that meets research objectives and data quality standards remains challenging. In this paper, we describe the purposes of collecting dietary data in medical research and outline the main considerations for using mobile dietary assessment tools based on participant and researcher expectations.
Dispersing Population: What America Can Learn From Europe.

This work examines the growing trend toward population concentration in the US the recently attained consensus that further concentration should be discouraged and the relevant experiences of 5 European countries that had faced similar problems of population concentration had concluded that the growth of their largest cities should be controlled and had then enacted ambitious and comprehensive programs to that end. The country studies for Great Britain France Italy the Netherlands and Sweden report on the goals of each program the accomplishments the current status and future direction of such efforts as viewed by politicians administrators and independent observers. A concluding chapter attempts to apply the experiences of the other countries to the case of the US. The limited 1st steps of the European countries subsequently led to complex structures of mutually reinforcing measures including comprehensive regional development planning generous cash grants to investors disincentives to the growth of major cities and decentralization of governmental agencies universities and state-controlled industries. The birthrate decline of the early 1970s and the spontaneous reversal of the trend to concentration in the US somewhat reduced the urgency of the problem but did not completely eradicate it. This work argues that if public preference for a policy of population dispersion in the US becomes overwhelming the experience of the European countries can serve as a guide to planning a program of measures which are likely to be popular affordable and effective.
Vitalität oder Zerfall? Der Gurkentest - eine neue Methode

Um herauszufinden, wie gut die Qualitat von Gurken ist, wurde ein Vitalitatstest erfunden: Gurken werden in ca. 2 cm dicke Scheiben geschnitten, in transparente Plastikfolie gewickelt und in einen Inkubator gelegt. Nach einigen Tagen zeigt sich, welche Gurken mikrobiell angegriffen wurden oder an den Schnittflachen zusammengewachsen sind. Dieses Vorgehen wird beliebig oft wiederholt. Die Untersuchungen nach dieser Methode ergaben, dass alte Sorten und biologisch bzw. bio-dynamisch angebaute Gurken am vitalsten sind. Sie zeigten teilweise erst nach zweieinhalb Monaten einen Befall durch Mikroorganismen. Die wieder zusammengewachsenen Schnittflache konnen sogar mit mehr als 2 kg belastet werden.
Noninvasive multilevel geometric regularization of mesh‐based three‐dimensional shape measurement

Finite element stereo digital image correlation (FE‐SDIC) requires a crucial calibration phase in which the initial CAD needs to be updated to fit the actual shape of the specimen. On the one hand, the use of a FE mesh facilitates the coupling of measurements with simulation tools, while on the other hand, it provides a unique, fine description of both the geometry and the displacement, which often makes the shape measurement problem highly ill‐posed. As a remedy, we propose a hybrid isogeometric‐FE strategy that can measure a shape in terms of spline functions while considering as an input and output the analysis‐suitable FE mesh. Making use of the appealing spline refinement procedures and of Bézier‐based operators, multilevel smooth spline discretizations are built concurrently with the initial FE subspace and related to the multiscale images used for the initialization of the shape measurement. It results in a geometrically sound regularization which provides a spline parametrization of the optimal shape along with its FE twin. A noninvasive implementation from an existing FE‐SDIC code is also detailed. The performance of the proposed method is assessed on real images and comparisons are made with other published techniques to prove its efficiency.
Exploring Novel Stratified Therapeutic Targets in B- Cell Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is a heterogeneous B-cell malignancy with multiple genetic abnormalities, which have been used to stratify patient’s treatments and prognosis. For instance, genetic alterations have been identified in CLL patients, such as SF3B1, Notch1, TP53, and Myd88, and they have been related to prediction of progression and survival. Moreover, mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) signalling is crucial in the pathogenesis of a number of cancers, and it has also showed increased expression in a large subset of CLL patients. In this project, we investigated the sensitivity of five leukaemic cell lines to 22 targeted inhibitors. We found that cells with V600EBRAF mutations showed greater sensitivity to MAPK inhibition, while cells with K601NBRAF mutations were more resistant. Wild type BRAF CLL cells showed varied sensitivity to 16 different inhibitors but not to MAPK inhibitors. Combination of a MAPK inhibitor (Sorafenib) and CUDC-907 (CDK/HDAC inhibitor) showed strong synergism in CLL cells at nanomolar concentration, suggesting a potential therapeutic application of blocking both pathways simultaneously. BRAF exon 15 mutations had low frequencies in our cohort (1.052%), but we also found Notch1 mutations (14.81%), Myd88 (1.35%) and SF3B1 (16.21%, 20.8% of which were first-time reports of non-coding regions). Notch1 mutants were more resistant to pladienolide B and more sensitive to MK-0752. On the other hand Myd88 mutants were more sensitive to IRAK1/4 inhibitors. In conclusion, our results showed that therapies for CLL can be stratified based on in vitro information of drug sensitivity in relation to mutations present in the cells and suggest that inhibiting the MAPK pathway could be an effective approach in combination therapies. These preclinical data could be applied in CLL management in the near future. Dedicated to the loving memory of my father (1944-1984)
On Communication Performance in Energy Harvesting WSNs Under a Cooperative Jamming Attack

In this article, we consider the system performance of an energy harvesting (EH) wireless sensor network in terms of reliable communications when subjected to a cooperative jamming attack. A set of strategically located nodes acting as cluster heads (CHs) transfer energy to the wireless sensors within range, forming a cluster. The sensors use this energy to transmit data to the CHs, which, in turn, deliver the information to a base station (BS) using nonorthogonal multiple access. The BS processes the collected information and synchronizes the operation of all CHs. Furthermore, there exist two adversaries, namely, a jamming attacker and an eavesdropper, who cooperate to attack the considered system. To protect against this attack, the CHs should be controlled by suitable power allocation coefficients obtained from the security constraints of the CHs. Using these constraints, closed-form expressions are derived to find the power allocation coefficients that will enable reliable and secure communication. In addition, we propose an interference channel selection policy for the sensor-to-CHs links and CHs-to-BS links to improve the reliability of communication while enhancing energy utilization. Finally, an algorithm for finding the optimal EH time is also proposed.
Endomicroscopía en Anatomía Patológica. Biopsia óptica Endomicroscopy, new surgical pathology. Optical biopsy

SUMMARY Technological advances in optical microscopy and the diagnostic capacity of a wide variety of optical techniques call for a reappraisal of the role of the pathologist. Today, neither microscopes nor tissue staining and processing are essential for diagnosis. However, in order to set the gold standard for these techniques, more publications on the morphology of in vivo biopsies and noninvasive optical biopsies are needed. This should be the responsibility of pathologists. The present article introduces the techniques of optical microscopy and non invasive microscopy and demonstrates their diagnostic capacity.
GAMEREHAB@HOME: A New Engineering System Using Serious Game and Multisensor Fusion for Functional Rehabilitation at Home

Biomedical-connected objects, such as kinematic sensors, have been commonly used for patient monitoring in many clinical applications. Moreover, serious games have become widely used to improve patients’ motivation during functional rehabilitation. In this article, we develop and evaluate a new engineering system as a solution for functional rehabilitation at home. A multisensor fusion between Kinect camera and inertial sensors was developed to animate a 3-D avatar during rehabilitation and to estimate kinematic data of different joints for clinical monitoring. Two serious game scenarios were designed for upper and lower limb rehabilitation. The developed system was evaluated through patient kinematic data and a questionnaire-based approach with a panel of eight poststroke patients and four clinical experts. The evaluation of the system showed that multisensor fusion provides useful data for clinical follow-up. The virtual game scenarios lead to a high level of immersion for patients. Feedback from clinical experts concerning the system's graphical user interfaces and the clinical relevance of the acquired data for each rehabilitation session are positive. The developed system paves the way to deploy recent technologies, such as multisensor fusion and serious games, as a solution for home-based rehabilitation, which can optimize the benefit of the involved patients and medical experts.
Effects of High Calories High Protein Intake to Nitrogen Balance in end Stage of Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma Patient

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma is a malignant tumor that grows in nasopharynx with Rosenmuller fossae and nasopharyngeal roof as its predilection area. Early high calorie high protein intake administration, since the patient is diagnosed with cancer, might diminish the protein catabolism that could be simply observed through body weight loss, decreased urea secretion in urine, and faster rate of positive nitrogen balance.This is an experimental research with cross-over design. Purpose: To know the effect of high calorie high protein intake and education on nitrogen balance which are done to end stage nasopharyngeal carcinoma whose have been treated and agreed to be included in the research for 2 weeks. The study samples are 30 to 65 years old. Samples are obtained with consecutive sampling method until it achieves the sample amount. Total samples are 20 samples.Results: in the patients whose given education and high calorie high protein intake there is an increased rate in energy intake (2224±219-2753±329,32), protein intake, (89,80±10,24110,67±13,61), UUN (8,73-8,28), and nitrogen balance (1,9-5,2). Conclusion: Giving education and high calorie high protein intake will increase energy intake, protein intake, and nitrogen balance.