Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Detailed characterization of coupled inductors in interleaved converters regarding the demand for additional filtering

To obtain highest efficiency in electric vehicles and to increase the lifetime of the traction battery, a battery buffer system which consists of a DC/DC converter and electric double layer capacitors can be implemented. To achieve low volume and high efficiency, multiphase interleaved converters are used for the DC/DC converters. The inductors represent a main part concerning the converter volume. Coupled inductors can reduce the volume and increase the efficiency. In case of high coupling, additional filtering is required to reduce the current ripple. There are different options to realize the filtering. In this paper, a characterisation for coupled inductors in a three-phase interleaved converter is presented. The different filter types are introduced and their influence to the system characteristics is analyzed and discussed.
Suppression of Current Leakage Along Mesa Surfaces in GaN-Based p-i-n Diodes

Trifluoromethane-containing plasma is used to passivate the mesa surfaces and suppresses the surface leakage current of GaN p-i-n rectifiers. Reduction of surface leakage enhances the reverse blocking voltage by 25% measured at J = 1 A/cm2. Differential forward resistances of control samples and plasma-treated ones are 0.65 and 0.49 mΩ-cm2, respectively, and an excellent Baliga's figure-of-merit of more than 800 MW/cm2, as compared with the conventional 545 MW/cm2, is achieved for GaN diodes fabricated on sapphire substrates.
Derangements of immunoglobulin levels, phytohemagglutinin responsiveness and T and B cell markers in Down's syndrome at different ages

Immunologic studies were performed in 83 patients with Down's Syndrome (DS) in ages ranging from a few months to 30 years and 76 karyotypically normal age‐matched controls. The results show that both thymus‐dependent and independent functions were impaired in DS with a characteristic age sequence.
Cardiac Arrest Outside of a Hospital: How Can We Improve Results of Resuscitation?

In the western world, one-fifth of all deaths occur suddenly and unexpectedly,1 ventricular fibrillation being a frequent mechanism. It happens approximately 300 000 times per year both in the United States and in Europe.2 This problem continues to haunt us, for we know that restoring normal heart rhythm by a defibrillation shock not only saves the life of the victim, but is often followed by many years of satisfactory living. Much effort has been put into recognizing the person at high risk of dying suddenly and is clearer in the case of a previous life-threatening arrhythmia or successful resuscitation from circulatory arrest. In such patients, death from a new arrhythmic episode can be prevented by implanting a defibrillator. Accurate risk stratification is much more difficult in the large group of patients with known heart disease but without a history of a life-threatening arrhythmia.3 Patients characterized by a previous myocardial infarction and poor left ventricular function, with or without non-sustained ventricular arrhythmias, can profit from a defibrillator implant, as shown by studies such as the Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial-I (MADIT I), the Multicenter Unstable Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT), and MADIT II.4–6 However, only 10% of sudden cardiac arrest victims have such a high-risk profile.1,7 The challenge is therefore to improve the outcome of resuscitation in the 90% of patients that we cannot recognize as being at high risk before the event. Of course, risk in the known cardiac patient should be minimized by improving myocardial perfusion and pump function by medical and surgical interventions and other secondary prevention measures. In half of the victims, however, cardiac arrest is the first manifestation of heart disease. That 90% has much less cardiac damage than the 10% with a high risk profile, and they should have a much better …
A yeast mitogen-activated protein kinase homolog (Mpk1p) mediates signalling by protein kinase C

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases are activated in response to a variety of stimuli through a protein kinase cascade that results in their phosphorylation on tyrosine and threonine residues. The molecular nature of this cascade is just beginning to emerge. Here we report the isolation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae gene encoding a functional analog of mammalian MAP kinases, designated MPK1 (for MAP kinase). The MPK1 gene was isolated as a dosage-dependent suppressor of the cell lysis defect associated with deletion of the BCK1 gene. The BCK1 gene is also predicted to encode a protein kinase which has been proposed to function downstream of the protein kinase C isozyme encoded by PKC1. The MPK1 gene possesses a 1.5-kb uninterrupted open reading frame predicted to encode a 53-kDa protein. The predicted Mpk1 protein (Mpk1p) shares 48 to 50% sequence identity with Xenopus MAP kinase and with the yeast mating pheromone response pathway components, Fus3p and Kss1p. Deletion of MPK1 resulted in a temperature-dependent cell lysis defect that was virtually indistinguishable from that resulting from deletion of BCK1, suggesting that the protein kinases encoded by these genes function in a common pathway. Expression of Xenopus MAP kinase suppressed the defect associated with loss of MPK1 but not the mating-related defects associated with loss of FUS3 or KSS1, indicating functional conservation between the former two protein kinases. Mutation of the presumptive phosphorylated tyrosine and threonine residues of Mpk1p individually to phenylalanine and alanine, respectively, severely impaired Mpk1p function. Additional epistasis experiments, and the overall architectural similarity between the PKC1-mediated pathway and the pheromone response pathway, suggest that Pkc1p regulates a protein kinase cascade in which Bck1p activates a pair of protein kinases, designated Mkk1p and Mkk2p (for MAP kinase-kinase), which in turn activate Mpk1p.
Analysis on the Relationship and its Dynamics Between Rural Settlements and Linear Features Using Gis and Rs

Abstract The relationship between spatial patterns of rural settlements and environment and its dynamics were analyzed in Daxing District, Beijing in the recent 20 years using landsat TM images. Results showed that too much of land in total was used for the rural settlements in the study area with a rapid growth, and it had a great potential for land intensive utilization; the rural settlements were rather small, with weak aggregation and high random expanse in spatial distribution; highways, rivers and channels were important factors that affected the spatial distribution of rural settlements, while railways and expressways exhibited little influence. Accordingly, to guarantee the unified and balanced development of rural and urban construction, planning for villages and towns are required, and considering the convenience of road transportation and water use is an important principle for the selection of central towns and the systematic planning of rural settlements; on the other hand, areas along the hi.
Practical Guidelines : Management of Alcoholic Liver Disease European Association for the Study of the Liver ⇑

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) is the most prevalent cause of advanced liver disease in Europe. However, there has been limited research investment into ALD despite its significant burden on the health of Europeans. This disparity is reflected by the ETOh score – the ratio of the estimated population mortality rate to the number of trials focused on a particular disease. The ETOh score for ALD is 358, compared with 1.4 for hepatitis B, 4.9 for hepatitis C, and 15.2 for primary biliary cirrhosis [1]. In recent years however, the mechanisms driving disease progression and the natural history of ALD have been better defined and novel targets for therapy have been identified [2]. In addition, significant clinical research has produced a clear framework for the evaluation of new therapies in particular in patients with alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH). ALD is a complex disease, the successful management of which hinges on the integration of all the competences in public health, epidemiology, addiction behavior and alcohol-induced organ injury. Both primary intervention to reduce alcohol abuse and secondary intervention to prevent alcohol-associated morbidity and mortality rely on the coordinated action of multidisciplinary teams established at local, national, and international levels. These guidelines are largely based on the issues raised during the EASL monothematic conference on ALD held in Athens in 2010. The guidelines have three main aims: (1) to provide physicians with clinical recommendations; (2) to emphasize the fact that alcohol can cause several liver diseases (steatosis, steatohepatitis, cirrhosis), all of which may coexist in the same patient; (3) to identify areas of interest for future research, including clinical trials. The evidence and recommendations in these guidelines have been graded according to the Grading of Recommendations Assessment Development and Evaluation (GRADE) system [3]. The strength of recommendations thus reflects the quality of underlying evidence. The principles of the GRADE system have been enunciated. The quality of the evidence in these clinical practical guidelines (CPGs) has been classified into one of three levels: high (A), moderate (B) or low (C). The GRADE system offers two grades of recommendation: strong (1) or weak (2) (Table 1). The CPGs thus consider the quality of evidence: the higher the quality of evidence, the more likely a strong recommendation is warranted; the greater the variability in values and preferences, or the greater the uncertainty, the more likely a weaker recommendation is warranted.
Conflicts, Satisfactions, and Attitudes During Transition To the Maternal Role

A correlational descriptive study of 86 first-time mothers examined the relationships among employment status, role conflict, marital satisfaction, employment role attitude, and ease of transition to the maternal role. Interview and questionnaire data were collected 5 to 18 months after the birth of the first child. No significant differences were observed between employed and unemployed mothers in relation to role conflict. Mothers with careers tended to experience more role conflict between their worker, self, and spouse roles than mothers with jobs. Mothers who experienced more role conflict, regardless of their work status, had more difficulty in making the transition to the maternal role. Marital satisfaction was found to be positively correlated with ease in transition to the maternal role. No significant correlation was observed between employment role attitude and ease of transition to the maternal role. Mothers who reported a more positive attitude toward employment reported significantly less conflict between spouse and parent roles. Mothers who had attended a parent support group, regardless of their work status, experienced more conflict between the parent and self roles; these mothers also tended to have greater difficulty in making the transition to the maternal role.
Enterprise knowledge portals: two projects in the United States Department of the Navy

Two projects in the US Department of the Navy to develop enterprise portals for facilitating knowledge discovery and dissemination are discussed. The authors describe efforts within a global organization to capitalize on current knowledge management concepts and technologies for knowledge access and sharing in order to provide users with more personalized, responsive, and integrated information systems. The Next Generation Library supports knowledge management and networking objectives, as well as providing high‐quality content access at the desktop. The Naval Postgraduate School Knowledge Portal, still under development, is designed to link internal administrative databases with current message traffic and external scholarly information resources.
A broad-host-range plasmid for isolating mobile genetic elements in gram-negative bacteria.

Plasmid pGBG1 was constructed to isolate mobile genetic elements in a wide variety of gram-negative bacteria. The mutation target, carried on a broad-host-range vector, allows positive selection for tetracycline resistance. In tests using several gram-negative bacteria we could detect transposition events of either insertion sequences or transposons. A new insertion sequence (IS) element was identified in Ralstonia eutropha.
Bimanual Training Reduces Spatial Interference

Abstract The authors investigated whether training can reduce bimanual directional interference by using a star-line drawing paradigm, Participants (N = 30) were required to perform rhythmical arm movements with identical temporal but differing directional demands. Moreover, the effectiveness of part-task training in which each movement was practiced in isolation was compared with that of whole-task training in which only combined movements were performed. Findings revealed that bimanual training substantially reduced spatial interference, but unimanual training did not. The authors therefore concluded that the spatial coupling of the limbs is not implemented in a rigid way; instead, the underlying neural correlate can undergo plastic changes induced by training. Moreover, the practical implication that emerged from the present study is that athletic, musical, or ergonomic skills that require a high degree of interlimb coordination are best served by whole-task practice.
Relaxed stabilizability conditions for hybrid linear systems on periodic time domains

In this paper, we consider the problem of designing stabilizing feedback control laws for hybrid linear systems defined on periodic time domains. In this context, requiring the existence of a Lyapunov function decreasing simultaneously along flow and jump dynamics is a rather conservative condition. We propose then relaxed conditions for analysis and design that allow to systematically redistribute negativity of a candidate Lyapunov function between the continuous-time and the discrete-time compo- nents. Interestingly, such redistribution is performed dynamically by suitably assigning the behavior over the time interval of a time-varying component of the function. Finally, it is shown that the latter selection, in the design scenario, may be recast in terms of a reachability problem for a LTI extended system.
Selection of Resistance-Conferring Mutations in HIV-1 by the Nucleoside Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors (+/-)dOTC and (+/-)dOTFC

The patterns of resistance-conferring mutations that are selected in HIV-1 reverse transcriptase (RT) by the racemates of 2′-dideoxy-3′-oxa-4′-thiocytidine (+/-)dOTC and its fluorinated derivative (+/-)dOTFC were characterized. Genotypic and phenotypic analyses of HIV-1 clinical isolates and HXB2D variants selected with (+/-)dOTC and (+/-)dOTFC were performed in primary cells and in the MT-2 T cell line. HIV-1 variants selected with (+/-)dOTC or (+/-)dOTFC displayed fivefold decreased susceptibility to the respective compounds. A substitution of methionine to valine was identified at position 184 (M184V) in variants selected with (+/-)dOTC. In contrast, a mutation of lysine to arginine at position 65 (K65R) was found in variants selected with (+/-)dOTFC. These patterns of selected mutations differ from those seen with the individual enantiomers. Studies with mutated recombinant HXB2D-M184V and -K65R confirmed that these mutations are important for phenotypic resistance in MT-2 cells. Clinical isolates that display resistance to (-)2′-deoxy-3′-thiacytidine (3TC) also showed cross-resistance to (+/-)dOTC and (+/-)dOTFC. These studies demonstrate that similar genotypes may be selected by the dOTC and dOTFC compounds to those with the structurally related drug 3TC.
Effects of the High-Affinity Peptide Reversin 121 on Multidrug Resistance Proteins in Experimental Pancreatic Cancer

Objectives: Multidrug resistance (MDR) is the major obstacle in the treatment of pancreatic carcinoma. Recent studies indicate resistance-modulating effects of high-affinity peptides. Material and Methods: Pancreatic cancer was induced in an ultrasound-guided orthotopic mouse model. Expression and function of MDR proteins (MRPs) P-glycoprotein MRP1 and MRP3 were analyzed in vitroandin vivo by multicolor flow-cytometric analysis. Proliferation of tumor cells was evaluated with a nonradioactive proliferation assay. Animals and cells received standard chemotherapy or chemotherapy plus the high-affinity peptide reversin 121 (R121). Results: The proportions of P-glycoprotein-, MRP1- and MRP3-positive tumor cells increased significantly after chemotherapy in vitro and in vivo. Drug efflux activity increased after chemotherapy. Addition of R121 to chemotherapeutic regimens significantly reduced the proportions of tumor cells positive for MRPs in vitroandin vivo. Tumor size and prevalence of metastases decreased significantly compared to untreated controls. Conclusion: Beneficial effects of high-affinity peptide R121 on reversing chemotherapy-induced MDR were demonstrated in pancreatic cancer.
Competing risks methods

Competing risks data usually arises in studies in which the failure of an individual may be classified into one of k (k > 1) mutually exclusive causes of failure. When competing risks are present, classical survival analysis techniques may not be appropriate to use. The main goal of this paper is to review the specific methods to deal with competing risks. To this aim, we first focus on how to specify a competing risks model, which is the structure of observed data in this framework, and how components of the model are estimated from a given random sample. In addition, we discuss how to correctly interpret probabilities in the presence of competing risks, and regression models are considered in detail. To conclude, we illustrate the problem with data from a bladder cancer study.
Meta-synthesis about man as a father and caregiver for a hospitalized child

ABSTRACT Objective: to identify, analyze and synthesize the father’s experience in care for a hospitalized child from results of primary qualitative studies. Method: this is a qualitative meta-synthesis through which 12 articles were analyzed, selected in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature databases, Latin American and Caribbean Literature in Health Sciences, Public Medline, Scopus, PsycINFO and Web of Science, published between 1995 and 2015. The methodological steps proposed by Sandelowski and Barroso were used to systematize the review, as well as concepts from the anthropology of masculinities to analyze and discuss the synthesis. Results: the synthesis was presented by means of two themes: 1) paternal dilemmas - what man feels and faces during the hospitalization of the child, highlighting the emotional involvement and change in the family and work relationship, and 2) paternal identities - masculinities readjusted in view of the child’s illness, which reveals identity marks and repressed fatherhood in the hospital environment. Both themes illustrate the challenges and readjustment of parental identity. Final considerations: to get to know the experiences of the father during the hospitalization of the child and the way in which the challenges for the readjustment of roles related to masculinity could broaden the range of nursing and other health professionals, alerting to the importance of including the father as a protagonist or coadjuvant in the care for hospitalized children.
Brain catecholamine metabolism in catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT)‐deficient mice

Catechol‐O‐methyltransferase (COMT) catalyses the O‐methylation of compounds having a catechol structure and its main function involves the elimination of biologically active or toxic catechols and their metabolites. By means of homologous recombination in embryonic stem cells, a strain of mice has been produced in which the gene encoding the COMT enzyme is disrupted. We report here the levels of catecholamines and their metabolites in striatal extracellular fluid in these mice as well as in homogenates from different parts of the brain, under normal conditions and after acute levodopa administration. In immunoblotting studies, COMT‐knockout mice had no COMT protein in brain or kidney tissues but the amounts of catecholamine synthesizing and other metabolizing enzyme proteins were normal. Under normal conditions, COMT deficiency does not appear to affect significantly brain dopamine and noradrenaline levels in spite of relevant changes in their metabolites. This finding is consistent with previous pharmacological studies with COMT inhibitors and confirms the pivotal role of synaptic reuptake processes and monoamine oxidase‐dependent metabolism in terminating the actions of catecholamines at nerve terminals. In contrast, when COMT‐deficient mice are challenged with l‐dihydroxyphenylalanine, they show an extensive accumulation of 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylacetic acid and dihydroxyphenylglycol and even dopamine, revealing an important role for COMT under such situations. Notably, in some cases these changes appear to be Comt gene dosage‐dependent, brain‐region specific and sexually dimorphic. Our results may have implications for improving the treatment of Parkinson's disease and for understanding the contribution of the natural variation in COMT activity to psychiatric phenotypes.
Induction of graft vs. tumor effect in a murine model of mammary adenocarcinoma

We have attempted to induce immune‐mediated graft‐vs.‐tumor (GVT) effects against solid tumors, using a murine model of mammary adenocarcinoma derived from BALB/c(H‐2d) mice. A cell line (4TI) isolated from this tumor model was highly tumorigenic in syngeneic (BALB/c) or haplo‐identical (BALB/c × C57B1/6)F1 mice (F1), was only partially tumorigenic in an H‐2d congenic strain of mice (DBA/2) and was non‐tumorigenic in a major histocompatible (MHC)‐unrelated (H‐2b) strain of mice (C57B1/6). 4T1 cells express class I MHC antigens and adhesion molecules but do not express MHC class II antigens or B7‐I co‐stimulatory molecules. Female BALB/c (H‐2d) or F1 (H‐2d/b) mice were reconstituted with male bone marrow (BM) cells derived from minor histocompatible (MiHC)‐mismatched DBA (H‐2d) donors or with MHC‐mismatched C57B1/6 (H‐2b) BM cells, respectively, 24 hr following lethal total body irradiation. Recipient mice carrying MiHC‐ or MHC‐mismatched donor cells were inoculated with 4T1 cells 2–3 months following BM reconstitution. Chimeras reconstituted with allogeneic donor cells that were MiHC‐ or MHC‐incompatible with tumor cells were able to down‐regulate the development of the primary tumour expressing host‐type MHC alloantigens. Tumor size in BM chimeras across MiHC or MHC antigens was significantly smaller than tumor size observed in normal BALB/c or F1 controls. The GVT effect might be of help in improving immunotherapy for solid tumors in humans. Int. J. Cancer, 71:59–63, 1997. © 1997 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
STATE DETERMINATION IN CONTINUOUS MEASUREMENT

The possibility of determining the state of a quantum system after a continuous measurement of position is discussed in the framework of quantum trajectory theory. Initial lack of knowledge of the system and external noises are accounted for by considering the evolution of conditioned density matrices under a stochastic master equation. It is shown that after a finite time the state of the system is a pure state and can be inferred from the measurement record alone. The relation to emerging possibilities for the continuous experimental observation of single quanta, as for example in cavity quantum electrodynamics, is discussed.