Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Application of piezoelectric macro-fiber-composite actuators to the suppression of noise transmission through curved glass plates

This paper analyzes the possibility of increasing the acoustic transmission loss of sound transmitted through planar or curved glass shells using attached piezoelectric macro fiber composite (MFC) actuators shunted by active circuits with a negative capacitance. The key features that control the sound transmission through the curved glass shells are analyzed using an analytical approximative model. A detailed analysis of the particular arrangement of MFC actuators on the glass shell is performed using a finite element method (FEM) model. The FEM model takes into account the effect of a flexible frame that clamps the glass shell at its edges. A method is presented for the active control of the Young's modulus and the bending stiffness coefficient of the composite sandwich structure that consists of a glass plate and the attached piezoelectric MFC actuator. The predictions of the acoustic transmission loss frequency dependencies obtained by the FEM model are compared with experimental data. The results indicate that it is possible to increase the acoustic transmission loss by 20 and 25 dB at the frequencies of the first and second resonant modes of the planar and curved glass shells, respectively, using the effect of the shunt circuit with a negative capacitance.
Adaptive regulation of amplitude limited robot manipulators with uncertain kinematics and dynamics

Common assumptions in most of the previous robot controllers are that the robot kinematics and manipulator Jacobian are perfectly known and that the robot actuators are able to generate the necessary level of torque inputs. In this paper, an amplitude-limited torque input controller is developed for revolute robot manipulators with uncertainty in the kinematic and dynamic models. The adaptive controller yields semi-global asymptotic regulation of the task-space set-point error. The advantages of the proposed controller include the ability to actively compensate for unknown parametric effects in the dynamic and kinematic model and the ability to ensure that actuator constraints are not breached by calculating the maximum required torque a priori.
Three-dimensional array of scintillation crystals with proper reflector arrangement for a depth of interaction detector

A 16/spl times/16/spl times/4 multicrystal detector module to acquire depth of interaction (DOI) information is proposed for a next generation positron emission tomography scanner that realizes high resolution and high sensitivity. The scintillation crystal array is coupled with a 256ch flat panel position sensitive photomultiplier tube (256ch FP-PMT) having large opening area. One unit consists of 2/spl times/2/spl times/4 crystal elements. The units are arranged in 8/spl times/8 array on a 256ch FP-PMT as a DOI detector module. Its crystal identification performance is evaluated by uniform gamma ray irradiation. The measured scintillation events are mapped on a two-dimensional positioning histogram according to the relative ratio of the multianode output of the FP-PMT. However, peaks corresponding to the crystal elements of one unit form a colony in the resultant positioning histogram and there is large space between adjacent colonies. In order to decrease such useless space, we propose a new method of reflector arrangement for the DOI detector module. Preliminary experiments showed that the more effective position performance was obtained with the proper reflector arrangement in the three-dimensional crystal array. The proposed new method has an advantage in mass production of DOI detector modules.
Comparison of Reliability Indices From the Perspective of Network Automation Devices

The role of electricity has become more significant in today's society; electricity distribution has to be reliable and there should be no outages. Incentives from economic regulation support this direction of development. Therefore, there is a demand for development of distribution networks. The key question is, from which viewpoint the issue of reliability is addressed in the network renovation process? Are we optimizing the number of faults (SAIFI), the duration of faults (SAIDI), the outage costs (CENS), or some other reliability index? If the target is to minimize CENS, can this be done by evaluating the basic reliability indices? These questions have to be answered when considering the placement of a network automation device. Network automation such as circuit reclosers or switchgear with breaker functions and remote-controlled disconnectors belong to the basic structures in distribution technology, and they play a significant role in the improvement of reliability. A recloser installed into the network may have a great impact on reliability, by which the outage costs can be reduced even by 30%. Hence, a study, which approaches the reliability indices as a decisive factor in the placement of network automation devices, is needed.
New asymmetrical hybrid multilevel voltage inverter

This article presents the study and implementation of a new asymmetric hybrid voltage inverter, for high voltage applications. The proposed inverter employs two types of modulation in low and high frequency (sinusoidal PWM). Simulations and experiment results are provided showing the validity of the analyses. These were obtained using a low-voltage single/three-phase prototype that demonstrated its operation.
Low Complexity Multiuser MIMO Scheduling with Channel Decomposition

In multiuser MIMO systems, the base station schedules transmissions to a group of users simultaneously. In order to avoid the inter-user interference, a transmit preprocessing technique which decomposes the multiuser MIMO downlink channel into multiple parallel independent single-user MIMO channels can be used. When the number of users is larger than the maximum that the system can support simultaneously, the base station selects a subset of users who have the best instantaneous channel quality to maximize the system throughput. Since the exhaustive search for the optimal user set is computationally prohibitive, a low complexity scheduling algorithm which aims to maximize the capacity upper bound is proposed in this paper. Simulation results show that the proposed scheduling algorithm achieves similar total throughput as the optimal algorithm but with much lower complexity.
A dynamic data structure for 3-d convex hulls and 2-d nearest neighbor queries

We present a fully dynamic randomized data structure that can answer queries about the convex hull of a set of <i>n</i> points in three dimensions, where insertions take <i>O</i>(log<sup>3</sup> <i>n</i>) expected amortized time, deletions take <i>O</i>(log<sup>6</sup> <i>n</i>) expected amortized time, and extreme-point queries take <i>O</i>(log<sup>2</sup> <i>n</i>) worst-case time. This is the first method that guarantees polylogarithmic update and query cost for arbitrary sequences of insertions and deletions, and improves the previous <i>O</i>(<i>n</i><sup>ε</sup>)-time method by Agarwal and Matoušek a decade ago. As a consequence, we obtain similar results for nearest neighbor queries in two dimensions and improved results for numerous fundamental geometric problems (such as levels in three dimensions and dynamic Euclidean minimum spanning trees in the plane).
Applications of Next Generation and Nanopore Sequencing for Infectious Disease Identification and Antimicrobial Resistance Detection

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging epidemic problem worldwide. Existing methods for detection of gastrointestinal colonization are either time-consuming or too targeted to allow for rapid response and clear understanding of transmission mechanism. Here we outline our efforts to apply shotgun metagenomic sequencing, using both the Illumina Miseq and Oxford Nanopore MinION, to characterize vancomycin and carbapenem resistance from patient perirectal swabs. Introduction Antimicrobial resistant organisms (ARO) that are known to colonize the gastrointestinal tract, such as vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) and carbapenem-resistant Gram-negative organisms (CRO), are associated with significant morbidity and mortality especially among immunocompromised populations (Arias, Contreras, and Murray 2010), (Nordmann, Naas, and Poirel 2011). Early detection of ARO colonization is highly beneficial in the healthcare setting as patients with unrecognized colonization and/or infection with ARO serve as a reservoir for transmission during health-care associated outbreaks (Snitkin et al. 2012; Samra et al. 2007). As such, certain hospital institutions have opted to implement ARO surveillance programs in high-
Educational Social Justice Agnostic to Zealot: One White Male Elementary Principal's Journey

I failed my students as a first-time principal. By not speaking up for students on the margins, I was complicit in maintaining a status quo that was morally and educationally reprehensible. As a second-time principal, I attempted to rectify challenges from my first principalship and to lead in a culturally responsive and socially just way. This autoethnography explored how culturally responsive and socially just leadership is manifested in practice. Using vignettes, I presented data detailing my process as I learned to practice culturally responsive social justice leadership. Next, I analyzed and categorized the vignettes to find meaning based on adjectival categories that emerged as the data were thematized. My analysis utilized Noddings’ Caring Theory to arrive at deeper meaning. Based on the extant literature, adjectival categorization, and Caring Theory conceptual analysis, this autoethnography sought to provide insight into one principal’s attempts to lead in a culturally responsive and socially just manner. My findings were: historical and present context matter in leading a school, Culturally Responsive Social Justice Leadership (CRSJL) moved from individual conversations to wholeschool action, and the efforts to be a CRSJL exacted an emotional toll, required persistence, and proved that the change process was difficult. INDEX WORDS: Culturally Responsive Social Justice Leadership, Caring Theory, Vulnerability, Autoethnography, Marginalized Students EDUCATIONAL SOCIAL JUSTICE AGNOSTIC TO ZEALOT: ONE WHITE MALE ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL’S JOURNEY
Is politics under increasing corporate sway? A longitudinal study on the drivers of corporate access

Abstract This article analyses patterns in interest group access to the political process in the Netherlands from 1970 to 2017. Research has indicated that corporations are amongst the most frequent participants in contemporary political systems. Yet such research has had a strong focus on the US, leaving a gap in our knowledge of corporate lobbying within Europe. This study demonstrates for the first time in a European context that, in contrast to several decades ago, corporations have managed to increase their access to the political process. In doing so, the article tests a new approach that identifies large-scale interest group populations. The method shows itself to be reliable and can therefore be useful for other scholars. The explanatory model indicates that corporate access increases when the economy weakens and political opportunities increase. Overall, the article demonstrates that business interests have managed to expand their access, contributing to a fragmented interest group system.
Interest Organizations and European Union Politics

Interest representation plays a systemic role in European Union (EU) policymaking and integration, recognized as such in the Treaty on European Union. Interest organizations supply technical and political information to the EU institutions, and EU institutions use interest organizations as agents of political communication. Interest organizations act as a proxy for an otherwise largely absent civil society, with a teeming population of groups advocating for every imaginable cause. Where groups are absent, so EU institutions have stimulated their formation. The result is a pluralist system of checks and balances, although the literature includes findings of “islands” resembling corporatist practice. EU institutions have designed a range of procedures in support of “an open and structured dialogue between the Commission and special interest groups,” now largely packaged as a “Better Regulation” program. Measures include funding for nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), consultation procedures accompanied by impact assessments, a Transparency Register to provide lobbying transparency, and measures for access to documents that enable civil society organizations to keep EU institutions accountable. A multilevel governance system further strengthens pluralist design, making it impossible for any one type of interest to routinely capture the diversity of EU decision-making. A key controversy in the literature is how to assess influence and whether lobbying success varies across interest group type. EU public policymaking is regulatory, making for competitive interest group politics, often between different branches of business whose interests are affected differently by regulatory proposals. There are striking findings from the literature, including that NGOs are more successful than business organizations in getting what they want from EU public policymaking, particularly where issues reach the status of high salience where they attract the attention of the European Parliament. A key innovation of the Lisbon Treaty involves a European Citizens’ Initiative, which takes dialogue between civil society and EU institutions outside the ecosystem inhabited by civil society organizations and EU institutions known as the “Brussels bubble” and into the member states.
A single-inductor, multiple-channel current-balancing LED driver for display backlight applications

A single-inductor boost LED driver that can distribute equal DC currents to multiple channels of LEDs is presented. To ensure uniform brightness in display backlight units, the previous approaches used current regulation elements serially inserted in individual LED channels, which incur power losses. Instead, the proposed LED driver adopts a single-inductor multiple-output (SIMO) boost converter topology, which keeps the channel currents equal in an open-loop fashion by connecting the current-delivering inductor to each channel for an equal period of time, in a time-division multiplexing manner. Furthermore, the sequence of conduction is continuously permutated in order to reduce possible systematic imbalances among the currents. A prototype LED driver demonstrates the peak power efficiency of 93.0% excluding the FPGA controller power and maximum current balance error of 2.04% while delivering 12.4-W to three channels of high-brightness white LEDs.
Kadar Matriks Metaloproteinase-8 Saliva dan Cairan Sulkus Gingiva Setelah Skeling dan Penghalusan Akar pada Pasien Periodontitis Kronis dengan dan Tanpa Diabetes Melitus Tipe 2

Levels of Matrix Metalloproteinase-8 in Saliva and Gingival Crevicular Fluid after scaling and root planning in Chronic Periodontitis with and without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Background: Diabetes mellitus and chronic periodontitis are chronic disease found in the world and epidemiological evidence illustrates the existence of a two-way relationship between this two diseases. Increased salivary and gingival sulcus fluid metalloproteinase-8 (MMP-8) matrix in chronic periodontitis patients with and without Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are associated with increased inflammation of periodontal tissue. The condition of T2DM can worsen the periodontal condition, while periodontitis can also worsen glycemic control. The treatment of periodontitis with scaling and root planing can contribute to improving glycemic control and reducing MMP-8. Aim: The aim of the this study was to compare the level of MMP-8 in saliva and Gingival Crevicular Fluid (GCF), clinical parameters and Random Blood Glucose (RBG) levels after scaling and root planing in chronic periodontitis with and without Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). Methods: This study was performed in 30 subjects (15 Chronic Periodontis (CP) with T2DM and 15 CP without T2DM patients). Both group were recorded for clinical parameters (Pappilary Bleeding Index (PBI), Gingival Index (GI), Probing Depth (PD) and Clinical Attachment Loss (CAL)), RBG levels and level of MMP-8 saliva and GCF (ELISA) at baseline and 2 weeks after scaling and root planing. Result: CP with and without T2DM patients reveals significant reduction of clinical parameters, RBG levels and level of MMP-8 saliva and GCF (p<0,05) after 2 weeks after scaling and root planing. Only PBI and RBG levels showed statistical difference in clinical parameters between CP with and without T2DM patient. Only PD showed a strong positive correlation with level of MMP-8 saliva. Meanwhile only GI showed moderate positive correlation with level of MMP-8 GCF. Conclusion: CP with and without T2DM presented a significant reduction of clinical parameters, RBG and level MMP-8 saliva and GCF after scaling and root planing. Keyword: Scaling and root planning, matrix metalloproteinase-8, chronic periodontitis, type 2 diabetes mellitus UNIVERSITAS SUMATERA UTARA
Design of broadband Class EF power amplifier based on low-pass filter matching structure

This paper proposes a broadband Class EF power amplifier based on a low-pass filter matching structure. Based on the theory of Class EF power amplifiers, the optimal fundamental load impedance required is derived. A broadband matching circuit is then designed using a low-pass filter prototype. In the meantime, a compact harmonic control circuit is proposed to meet the harmonic impedance requirements of class EF power amplifiers. In order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, a 2.6–3.6GHz broadband class EF power amplifier is designed and fabricated. Measurement results show that the output power is between 40.68 dBm and 41.6 dBm at 1 dB compression point in 2.6– 3.6GHz. From 62% to 78% drain efficiency is obtained with gain greater than 10 dB.
Rationality of inﬂation expectations: an interpretation of Google Trends data

ABSTRACT This study derives inflation expectations from the internet search query data of Google Trends and validates the rationality criteria for India. The empirical analysis is carried out with proper consideration of persistence characteristics of the data for the period from January 2006 to April 2018. The results indicate the derived inflation expectations fulfil the properties of rationality. The results have far-reaching policy implications for the better conduct of monetary policy in favour of using real-time internet search data as an indicator of inflation expectations.
A 0.2-to-2MHz BW, 50-to-86dB SNDR, 16-to-22mW flexible 4th-order ΣΔ modulator with DC-to-44MHz tunable center frequency in 1.2-V 90-nm CMOS

This paper describes the design of a switched-capacitor fourth-order single-loop ΣΔ modulator with a 5-level embedded quantizer. The loop filter consists of a cascade of resonators with distributed feedforward coefficients, which can be programmed to make the zeros of the noise transfer function variable. As a result, the modulator can be reconfigured either as a lowpass or as a bandpass analog-to-digital converter with a tunable notch frequency and an optimized loop-filter zero placement. The circuit - designed and implemented in a 1.2-V 90-nm CMOS technology - incorporates diverse architecture- and circuit-level strategies to adapt its performance to different sets of specifications with a variable sampling frequency of 100 and 200MHz and scalable power consumption. Post-layout simulations (for a frequency range of DC to 22MHz) and behavioral simulations (from 22 to 44MHz) show a correct operation of the circuit in steps of 1-to-2MHz, featuring an adaptive SNDR of 74-to-86, 57-to-68 and 50-to-59dB within a signal bandwidth of 200kHz, 1MHz and 2MHz, respectively, while dissipating a scalable power consumption of 16-to-22mW*.
Is it the end of the road for silicon in power conversion?

For the past three decades, power management efficiency and cost have shown steady improvement as innovations in power MOSFET structures, technology, and circuit topologies have paced the growing need for electrical power in our daily lives. In the last few years, however, the rate of improvement has slowed as the silicon power MOSFET has asymptotically approached its theoretical bounds.
Real-Time Control of a Full Scale Li-ion Battery and Li-ion Capacitor Hybrid Energy Storage System for a Plug-in Hybrid Vehicle

A semi-active hybrid energy storage system, consisting of a Li-ion battery pack, dc/dc converter, and Li-ion capacitor pack was developed for a range extended plug-in vehicle. The vehicle has a series-parallel drivetrain with two electric motors, a gas engine, gearbox, and a clutch to allow the engine to run decoupled from the gearbox in range extending mode. The peak dc electrical requirement of the electric drivetrain is about 175 kW, which is similar to the peak power capability of the developed hybrid energy storage system. A model of the prototype hybrid energy storage system, which has the Li-ion capacitor pack connected directly to the motor drive's dc bus and the battery pack connected to the Li-ion capacitor pack via a dc/dc converter, is developed and used to determine the optimal power split between the battery and Li-ion capacitor packs and for tuning the developed real-time control system. The real-time control system is shown through modeling and experimental testing of the full scale hybrid energy storage systems to reduce battery pack losses, increase vehicle range, and to have performance approaching that of the optimal control solution as calculated via dynamic programming.
Reactive metabolites and antioxidant gene polymorphisms in type 2 diabetes mellitus

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), by definition is a heterogeneous, multifactorial, polygenic syndrome which results from insulin receptor (IR) dysfunction. It is an outcome of oxidative stress caused by interactions of reactive metabolites (RMs) with lipids, proteins and other molecules of the human body. Production of RMs mainly superoxides (•O2−) has been found in a variety of predominating cellular enzyme systems including nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase, xanthine oxidase, cyclooxygenase, endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) and myeloperoxidase. The four main RM related molecular mechanisms are: increased polyol pathway flux; increased advanced glycation end-product formation; activation of protein kinase C isoforms and increased hexosamine pathway flux which have been implicated in glucose-mediated vascular damage. Superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione-S-transferase and NOS are antioxidant enzymes involved in scavenging RMs in normal individuals. Functional polymorphisms of these antioxidant enzymes have been reported to be involved in the pathogenesis of T2DM. The low levels of antioxidant enzymes or their non-functionality results in excessive RMs which initiates stress related pathways thereby leading to IR and T2DM. An attempt has been made to review the role of RMs and antioxidant enzymes in oxidative stress resulting in T2DM.