Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Piecewise Average-Value Model of PWM Converters With Applications to Large-Signal Transient Simulations

State-space average-value models (AVMs) of pulse width modulation converters are widely used in both small-signal frequency-domain analysis and large-signal time-domain transient simulations. This paper is focused on the latter category. The limitations of the traditional state-space AVM (T-AVM) are discussed. A piecewise state-space AVM, P-AVM, is proposed, which uses the actual duty ratio as the control input instead of the continuous duty ratio used by the T-AVM. In order to consider the effect of switching ripples, an approximate ripple function is obtained. An iterative algorithm is proposed for utilization of P-AVM and ripple function for large-signal time-domain transient simulations. A boost converter and a two-level three-phase ac-dc converter are used to validate the performance of the P-AVM in comparison with the T-AVM under large ripple and large disturbance conditions. The detailed models developed in PSCAD/EMTDC are used as benchmarks. Improvement in accuracy is demonstrated. The efficiency of the iterative algorithm is discussed. Experiments on a 50-kVA three-phase ac-dc converter are conducted to validate the proposed method.
The contribution of visual and proprioceptive information to the perception of leaning in a dynamic motorcycle simulator

Abstract Compared with driving or flight simulation, little is known about self-motion perception in riding simulation. The goal of this study was to examine whether or not continuous roll motion supports the sensation of leaning into bends in dynamic motorcycle simulation. To this end, riders were able to freely tune the visual scene and/or motorcycle simulator roll angle to find a pattern that matched their prior knowledge. Our results revealed idiosyncrasy in the combination of visual and proprioceptive information. Some subjects relied more on the visual dimension, but reported increased sickness symptoms with the visual roll angle. Others relied more on proprioceptive information, tuning the direction of the visual scenery to match three possible patterns. Our findings also showed that these two subgroups tuned the motorcycle simulator roll angle in a similar way. This suggests that sustained inertially specified roll motion have contributed to the sensation of leaning in spite of the occurrence of unexpected gravito-inertial stimulation during the tilt. Several hypotheses are discussed. Practitioner Summary: Self-motion perception in motorcycle simulation is a relatively new research area. We examined how participants combined visual and proprioceptive information. Findings revealed individual differences in the visual dimension. However, participants tuned the simulator roll angle similarly, supporting the hypothesis that sustained inertially specified roll motion contributes to a leaning sensation.
Rice morphogenesis and plant architecture: measurement, specification and the reconstruction of structural development by 3D architectural modelling.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The morphogenesis and architecture of a rice plant, Oryza sativa, are critical factors in the yield equation, but they are not well studied because of the lack of appropriate tools for 3D measurement. The architecture of rice plants is characterized by a large number of tillers and leaves. The aims of this study were to specify rice plant architecture and to find appropriate functions to represent the 3D growth across all growth stages. METHODS A japonica type rice, 'Namaga', was grown in pots under outdoor conditions. A 3D digitizer was used to measure the rice plant structure at intervals from the young seedling stage to maturity. The L-system formalism was applied to create '3D virtual rice' plants, incorporating models of phenological development and leaf emergence period as a function of temperature and photoperiod, which were used to determine the timing of tiller emergence. KEY RESULTS The relationships between the nodal positions and leaf lengths, leaf angles and tiller angles were analysed and used to determine growth functions for the models. The '3D virtual rice' reproduces the structural development of isolated plants and provides a good estimation of the tillering process, and of the accumulation of leaves. CONCLUSIONS The results indicated that the '3D virtual rice' has a possibility to demonstrate the differences in the structure and development between cultivars and under different environmental conditions. Future work, necessary to reflect both cultivar and environmental effects on the model performance, and to link with physiological models, is proposed in the discussion.
Viscosinamide, a new cyclic depsipeptide with surfactant and antifungal properties produced by Pseudomonas fluorescens DR54

Pseudomonas fluorescens DR54 showed antagonistic properties against plant pathogenic Pythium ultimum and Rhizoctonia solani both in vitro and in planta. Antifungal activity was extractable from spent growth media, and fractionation by semi‐preparative HPLC resulted in isolation of an active compound, which was identified as a new bacterial cyclic lipodepsipeptide, viscosinamide, using 1D and 2D 1H‐, 13C‐NMR and mass spectrometry. The new antibiotic has biosurfactant properties but differs from the known biosurfactant, viscosin, by containing glutamine rather than glutamate at the amino acid position 2 (AA2). No viscosin production was observed, however, when Ps. fluorescens DR54 was cultured in media enriched with glutamate. In vitro tests showed that purified viscosinamide also reduced fungal growth and aerial mycelium development of both P. ultimum and R. solani. Viscosinamide production by Ps. fluorescens DR54 was tightly coupled to cell proliferation in the batch cultures, as the viscosinamide produced per cell mass unit approached a constant value. In batch cultures with variable initial C, N or P nutrient levels, there were no indications of elevated viscosinamide production during starvation or maintenance of the cultures in stationary phase. Analysis of cellular fractions and spent growth media showed that a major fraction of the viscosinamide produced remained bound to the cell membrane of Ps. fluorescens DR54. The isolation, determination of structure and production characteristics of the new compound with both biosurfactant and antibiotic properties have promising perspectives for the application of Ps. fluorescens DR54 in biological control.
Closed Chest Radiofrequency Ablation of the Sinoatrial Node in Dogs

Transcatheter ablation of the sinoatrial node with radiofrequency energy (0.6 MHZ, 2.5–5 watts) was performed in 10 dogs under fluoroscopic monitoring and autonomic blockade. Sinus function was previously studied in terms of cycle length, recovery time and atrial activation pattern by catheter mapping. Several discharges (8–22) were applied for variable periods of time (maximum 1 minute). Sinus tachycardia and/or sinus arrest during ablation confirmed correct catheter position. Sinus rhythm was abolished in eight dogs. The ectopic rhythm was atrial in six and AV nodal in two dogs. Ectopic atrial cycle length and recovery time were longer than the baseline sinus values: 724 ± 321 versus 509 ± 147, P < 0.05; 1103 ± 775 versus 638 ± 151, P < 0.05 (values in msec). The study was repeated 10–14 days later in six dogs; three maintained the same atrial rhythm, one persisted in sinus rhythm, and one dog changed from atrial to sinus rhythm, whereas another changed from sinus to atrial rhythm. Gross findings revealed transmural lesions in all dogs, without perforation. Histology in chronic dogs showed sinus cell necrosis and its replacement by granulation tissue. In conclusion: sinus function may be abolished by closed chest radiofrequency ablation.
Articular chondrocytes express the receptor for advanced glycation end products: Potential role in osteoarthritis.

OBJECTIVE The receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) binds multiple ligands, including S100 proteins, high mobility group box chromosomal protein 1 (HMGB-1), and AGEs, all of which are present in articular cartilage. Stimulation of RAGE signaling can lead to MAP kinase activation and increased NF-kappaB activity. The objective of the present study was to determine if chondrocytes express functional RAGE. METHODS The presence of chondrocyte RAGE was analyzed by immunohistochemistry using normal and osteoarthritic (OA) cartilage from young and old monkeys and humans, immunoblotting of chondrocyte lysates and human cartilage extracts, and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of RNA from chondrocytes treated with interleukin-1 (IL-1) and fibronectin fragments. RAGE signaling was evaluated by stimulating chondrocytes with S100B and HMGB-1 and analyzing for activation of the ERK MAP kinase and NF-kappaB. The ability of S100B and HMGB-1 to stimulate matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13) production was also assessed. A pull-down assay using biotin-labeled S100B was used to demonstrate binding to RAGE. RESULTS RAGE was detected in sections of monkey knee cartilage and human knee and ankle cartilage. Increased immunostaining for RAGE was noted in cartilage from older adult monkeys and humans and was further increased in OA tissue. RAGE was also detected by immunoblotting and by RT-PCR, where IL-1beta and fibronectin fragments were found to stimulate RAGE expression. Stimulation of chondrocytes with S100B or HMGB-1 increased phosphorylation of the ERK MAP kinase and the p65 subunit of NF-kappaB and increased the production of MMP-13. This signaling was inhibited in cells pretreated with soluble RAGE, and S100B was shown to bind to chondrocyte RAGE. CONCLUSION Articular chondrocytes express functional RAGE. The increase in RAGE noted in OA cartilage and the ability of RAGE ligands to stimulate chondrocyte MAP kinase and NF-kappaB activity and to stimulate MMP-13 production suggests that chondrocyte RAGE signaling could play a role in OA.
Identification of the Protein Storage Vacuole and Protein Targeting to the Vacuole in Leaf Cells of Three Plant Species1

Protein storage vacuoles (PSVs) are specialized vacuoles devoted to the accumulation of large amounts of protein in the storage tissues of plants. In this study, we investigated the presence of the storage vacuole and protein trafficking to the compartment in cells of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris), and Arabidopsis leaf tissue. When we expressed phaseolin, the major storage protein of common bean, or an epitope-tagged version of α-tonoplast intrinsic protein (α-TIP, a tonoplast aquaporin of PSV), in protoplasts derived from leaf tissues, these proteins were targeted to a compartment ranging in size from 2 to 5 μm in all three plant species. Most Arabidopsis leaf cells have one of these organelles. In contrast, from one to five these organelles occurred in bean and tobacco leaf cells. Also, endogenous α-TIP is localized in a similar compartment in untransformed leaf cells of common bean and is colocalized with transiently expressed epitope-tagged α-TIP. In Arabidopsis, phaseolin contained N-glycans modified by Golgi enzymes and its traffic was sensitive to brefeldin A. However, trafficking of α-TIP was insensitive to brefeldin A treatment and was not affected by the dominant-negative mutant of AtRab1. In addition, a modified α-TIP with an insertion of an N-glycosylation site has the endoplasmic reticulum-type glycans. Finally, the early step of phaseolin traffic, from the endoplasmic reticulum to the Golgi complex, required the activity of the small GTPase Sar1p, a key component of coat protein complex II-coated vesicles, independent of the presence of the vacuolar sorting signal in phaseolin. Based on these results, we propose that the proteins we analyzed are targeted to the PSV or equivalent organelle in leaf cells and that proteins can be transported to the PSV by two different pathways, the Golgi-dependent and Golgi-independent pathways, depending on the individual cargo proteins.
Deuterium Isotope Effect in γ‐Aminobutyric Acid Transamination: Determination of Rate‐Limiting Step

Abstract: The rate of transamination of γ‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) catalyzed by hog brain γ‐aminobutyrate ami‐notransferase was substantially reduced when the hydrogen at the γ‐carbon position was replaced by deuterium. The deuterium isotope effect of this reaction has been substantiated by fluorometric, radiometric, and mass spectrometric procedures and assessed kinetically. The ratios of Vmax of the nonlabeled substrate/Vmax of the deuterated substrate obtained under different conditions ranged from 6 to 7. This indicates that the cleavage of the hydrogen from the γ‐carbon is the rate‐determining step in GABA transamination. Similar isotope effects have also been shown to occur in the peripheral system in vivo.
First record of planktonic crustaceans in Sardinian reservoirs

Sardinian man-made lakes are reservoirs of species richness, hosting zooplankton taxa from the Mediterranean region and North Africa. To provide a first record of the taxa composition and diversity of zooplankton communities, we sampled 15 reservoirs during 2008–2009, from the north of the island to the south, representative of a range of size, depth, renewal time, and trophy. The survey was complemented by seasonal sampling in one of the largest lakes studied. Water samples collected from surface to bottom provided data on hydrochemistry and trophy. Crustacean dormant stages were inspected from sediments of the richest, and most diverse, Lake Sos Canales. RDA suggested that productivity, water depth, renewal time and altitude were the main variables related to taxa composition. The ubiquitous Copidodiaptomus numidicus, and its persistence in the water column, resulted from the production of subitaneous eggs throughout the year, an adaptive strategy in perennial water bodies. Genetic analyses of DNA sequences of the diagnostic gene ND5 placed the Sardinian Daphnia pulex in the North American group. Moreover, the ND5 sequence found in Sardinia was identical with that of an asexual hybrid clone between the American D. pulex and American D. pulicaria that replaced native D. pulex throughout Africa. The presence of this ND5 haplotype in Sardinia shows that this invasive clone also poses an invasive threat to native populations in Europe.
Taiwan schizophrenia linkage study: The field study

One possible reason of the inconsistent results of linkage analyses of schizophrenia, a complex disorder, was mainly due to the small sample size of studies. This Taiwan Schizophrenia Linkage Study (TSLS) was designed to collect a large family sample with at least two affected siblings of a single ethnicity. The 17.6 millions of Taiwanese Chinese, age over 15, was the sample population, and 78 psychiatric hospitals or health centers participated in this TSLS program. Before data collection started, every study subject signed the informed consent. The ascertainment protocol for data collection included blood sample, structured Diagnostic Interview for Genetic Studies (DIGS), Structured Interview for Schizotypy (SIS), scales for assessment of positive and negative symptoms (SAPS, SANS), and continuous performance test (CPT), Wisconsin card sort test (WCST) of neuropsychological functions. We have contacted 831 families for this study and 607 families, comprised 2,490 subjects, were successfully recruited. The recruitment rate was 38.4% from the estimated total of 1,582 families with at least two affected siblings. These collected family samples were fairly evenly distributed all over Taiwan. Those 2,490 study subjects (1,283 male, 1,117 female) comprised 1,568 siblings (mean age 35.7 years old) and 922 parents (mean age 63.6 years old). Of these 1,568 siblings, 1,258 (80.2%) were affected (male 795, female 463), and the mean age of onset was 22.6 years old. Among 922 parents, 65 were affected (male 14, female 51) and the age of onset was 33.1 years old. This TSLS demonstrated a successful establishment of an efficient research infrastructure to collect a large nation‐wise sample of schizophrenic family for genetic linkage study. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Certified Malware: Measuring Breaches of Trust in the Windows Code-Signing PKI

Digitally signed malware can bypass system protection mechanisms that install or launch only programs with valid signatures. It can also evade anti-virus programs, which often forego scanning signed binaries. Known from advanced threats such as Stuxnet and Flame, this type of abuse has not been measured systematically in the broader malware landscape. In particular, the methods, effectiveness window, and security implications of code-signing PKI abuse are not well understood. We propose a threat model that highlights three types of weaknesses in the code-signing PKI. We overcome challenges specific to code-signing measurements by introducing techniques for prioritizing the collection of code signing certificates that are likely abusive. We also introduce an algorithm for distinguishing among different types of threats. These techniques allow us to study threats that breach the trust encoded in the Windows code signing PKI. The threats include stealing the private keys associated with benign certificates and using them to sign malware or by impersonating legitimate companies that do not develop software and, hence, do not own code-signing certificates. Finally, we discuss the actionable implications of our findings and propose concrete steps for improving the security of the code-signing ecosystem.
Mepolizumab for the treatment of severe eosinophilic asthma

Purpose Published data on the pharmacology, pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, and clinical efficacy and safety of the interleukin‐5 antagonist mepolizumab are reviewed. Summary Asthma of the eosinophilic phenotype is characterized by persistent eosinophilic airway inflammation promoted primarily by T‐helper type 2 cytokines, the key regulator of eosinophils. Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma are burdened by the need to administer high doses of corticosteroids to help manage their symptoms. In November 2015, mepolizumab (Nucala, GlaxoSmithKline) gained U.S. marketing approval for use as an add‐on maintenance treatment for severe eosinophilic asthma in patients 12 years of age or older, making it the first personalized targeted therapy for this population. Efficacy results from clinical trials provided evidence of the corticosteroid‐sparing effects of mepolizumab and its ability to reduce both blood and sputum eosinophil counts. Safety data from several Phase II or III studies involving a total of more than 1,300 patients indicated that mepolizumab was generally well tolerated, and types and rates of adverse events in mepolizumab recipients were comparable to those reported with placebo use; the only mepolizumab‐associated serious adverse drug events were asthma exacerbations in 2 patients. The recommended dosage of mepolizumab is 100 mg administrated via subcutaneous injection every 4 weeks. Conclusion Mepolizumab is a safe and efficacious novel add‐on therapy for a small subgroup of patients with severe eosinophilic asthma whose asthma is not adequately controlled by standard regimens for asthma treatment.
A multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of aprotinin for reducing blood loss and the requirement for donor-blood transfusion in patients undergoing repeat coronary artery bypass grafting.

BACKGROUND Aprotinin is a serine protease inhibitor that reduces blood loss and transfusion requirements when administered prophylactically to cardiac surgical patients. To examine the safety and dose-related efficacy of aprotinin, a prospective, multicenter, placebo-controlled trial was conducted in patients undergoing repeat coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. METHODS AND RESULTS Two hundred eighty-seven patients were randomly assigned to receive either high-dose aprotinin, low-dose aprotinin, pump-prime-only aprotinin, or placebo. Drug efficacy was determined by the reduction in donor-blood transfusion up to postoperative day 12 and in postoperative thoracic-drainage volume. The percentage of patients requiring donor-red-blood-cell (RBC) transfusions in the high- and low-dose aprotinin groups was reduced compared with the pump-prime-only and placebo groups (high-dose aprotinin, 54%; low-dose aprotinin, 46%; pump-prime only, 72%; and placebo, 75%; overall P = .001). The number of units of donor RBCs transfused was significantly lower in the aprotinin-treated patients compared with placebo (high-dose aprotinin, 1.6 +/- 0.2 U; low-dose aprotinin, 1.6 +/- 0.3 U; pump-prime-only, 2.5 +/- 0.3 U; and placebo, 3.4 +/- 0.5 U; P = .0001). There was also a significant difference in total blood-product exposures among treatment groups (high-dose aprotinin, 2.2 +/- 0.4 U; low-dose aprotinin, 3.4 +/- 0.9 U; pump-prime-only, 5.1 +/- 0.9 U; placebo, 10.3 +/- 1.4 U). There were no differences among treatment groups for the incidence of perioperative myocardial infarction (MI). CONCLUSIONS This study demonstrates that high- and low-dose aprotinin significantly reduces the requirement for donor-blood transfusion in repeat CABG patients without increasing the risk for perioperative MI.
EEG-based seizure detection using discrete wavelet transform through full-level decomposition

Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a gold standard in epilepsy diagnosis and has been widely studied for epilepsy-related signal classification. In the past few years, discrete wavelet transform (DWT) has been widely used to analyze epileptic EEG. However, there are two practical questions unanswered: 1. what the best mother wavelet for epileptic EEG analysis is; 2. what the optimal level of wavelet decomposition is. The main challenge in using wavelet transform is selecting the optimal mother wavelet for the given task, as different mother wavelet applied on the same signal may produces different results. Such a problem also exist in epileptic EEG analysis based on wavelet. Deeper DWT can yield more detailed depiction of signals but it requires substantially more computational time. In this paper, we study these problems, using the most common epileptic EEG classification task, seizure detection, as an example. The results show that all 7 mother wavelets used in this work achieve high seizure detection accuracy at high decomposition levels. Also, decomposition level effects the detection accuracy more significantly than mother wavelets. For all wavelets, decomposition beyond level 7 improves accuracy limitedly and even decreases accuracy. We further study the most effective bands and features for seizure detection. An interpretation to our results is that seizure and non-seizure EEGs differ across all conventional frequency bands of human EEG rhythms. The best accuracy of seizure detection achieved in this research is 92.30% using coif3 from levels 2 to 7.