Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A critical study of modulation techniques for three level Diode Clamped Voltage Source Inverter for grid connection of WECS

This paper presents a critical study of modulation strategies for three level Diode Clamped Voltage Source Inverter (DCVSI) for grid connected wind turbine. The survey is carried out on two types of modulation techniques popularly used in three level DCVSI, viz. Sinusoidal PWM and Space vector PWM. Purpose of the survey is to critically analyze and identify the problems associated with existing DCVSI used in grid connection. It is observed from the study that the three level DCVSI suffers from narrow pulse width and capacitor voltage imbalance, which would be more predominant with higher rated wind turbine. Further this problem results in inefficient performance of DCVSI, there by affecting the power quality. The study also reveals that the existing modulation techniques, even though popular in drive application, fail to meet the present requirements of grid connection. Observations from the study will be of much use to investigators, to develop modulation strategies to overcome the said problems for grid connection of wind turbines. This study is part of research project entitled "Development of FPGA-DSP Controlled Multilevel Inverter Interface for Grid Connection of Wind Turbine Generators" funded by All India Council Technical Education (AICTE), New Delhi, India.
Adaptive MAC with scheduled sectorial access at sinks (SSAS) in Wireless Sensor Networks

This paper addresses the trend in wireless sensor network applications of increasing node density and multi-hop communications that result into extremely challenging design constraints. SSAS, an adaptive hybrid localised sink-oriented Routing/MAC protocol is proposed. It offers a self-configuration scalable solution for large random sensor networks and attempts to alleviate multi-hop congestion problems. The strength of the SSAS protocol is based on the scheduled access at the sinks and the enhancement of the number of one-hop sinks' neighbours by profiting directional antenna capabilities. By means of modelling off-the-shelf sensor node architecture with realistic radio channel assumptions and the use of network simulations, this paper shows significant improvements of SSAS (such as 10 times higher network lifetime) compared to other techniques such as pure contention-based alternative (C-MAC), B-MAC and LEACH.
The confounding problem of polydrug use in recreational ecstasy/MDMA users: a brief overview

The popular dance drug ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine -- MDMA) is neurotoxic upon central serotonergic neurons in laboratory animals and possibly also in humans. In recent years, several studies reported alterations of serotonergic transmission and neuropsychiatric abnormalities in ecstasy users which might be related to MDMA-induced neurotoxic brain damage. To date, the most consistent . ndings associate subtle cognitive, particularly memory, de.cits with heavy ecstasy use. However, most studies have important inherent methodological problems. One of the most serious confounds is the widespread pattern of polydrug use which makes it dif.cult to relate the . ndings in user populations to one speci.c drug. The present paper represents a brief overview on this issue. The most commonly co-used substances are alcohol, cannabis and stimulants (amphetamines and cocaine). Stimulants are also neurotoxic upon both serotonergic and dopaminergic neurons. Hence, they may act synergistically with MDMA and enhance its long-term adverse effects. The interactions between MDMA and cannabis use may be more complex: cannabis use is a wellrecognized risk factor for neuropsychiatric disorders and it was shown to contribute to psychological problems and cognitive failures in ecstasy users. However, at the cellular level, cannabinoids have neuroprotective actions and they were shown to (partially) block MDMA-induced neurotoxicity in laboratory animals. In future, longitudinal and prospective research designs should hopefully lead to a better understanding of the relation between drug use and subclinical psychological symptoms or neurocognitive failures and, also, of questions around interactions between the various substances of abuse.
VITRECTOMY AND PANRETINAL PHOTOCOAGULATION REDUCES THE OCCURRENCE OF NEOVASCULAR GLAUCOMA IN CENTRAL RETINAL VEIN OCCLUSION WITH VITREOUS HEMORRHAGE

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the best-corrected visual acuity and occurrence of neovascular glaucoma with vitrectomy (VT) and panretinal photocoagulation or without VT in central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) associated with vitreous hemorrhage (VH). Methods: The charts from patients diagnosed as having CRVO with VH at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (Taiwan) were reviewed. They were grouped based on whether they also underwent VT. The main outcome measurements were the best-corrected visual acuity and incidence of neovascular glaucoma. Results: There were 83 eyes that had CRVO with VH from 83 patients (VT group, 56 eyes; non-VT group, 27 eyes). There was no significant difference between the VT and non-VT groups in terms of age, gender, diabetes, hypertension, lens status, and follow-up period. The non-VT group had a better best-corrected visual acuity (P = 0.018) and less VH (P = 0.025) than the VT group at baseline; however, the VT group had a better best-corrected visual acuity at the end of the follow-up than the non-VT group (P < 0.001). Most importantly, there was a higher neovascular glaucoma development (37%) in the non-VT group compared with that (14.3%) in the VT group (P = 0.025). Conclusion: The visual outcomes of CRVO with VH are unfavorable whether VT was performed. However, VT and panretinal photocoagulation improved visual acuity and reduced the incidence of neovascular glaucoma in CRVO with VH.
A low clock swing, power saving and generic technology based D flip-flop with single power supply

A low power, low clock swing D flip-flop (DFF) based on C2MOS (Clocked CMOS) and sense amplifier (SA) is proposed in this paper. This DFF is extensively applicable as it utilizes generic CMOS technology and needs no additional power supply specially for the clock sub-circuit. Simulation result shows that the average leakage power and dynamic power of this DFF are reduced by 78.73% and 8.74% respectively, with the delay slightly smaller, with the clock swing as low as 658 mV (under 1.8 V supply).
Duchenne muscular dystrophy

Two-hundred eighty-three boys with Duchenne dystrophy and 10 with Becker dystrophy have been followed for up to 10 years in a protocol that accurately measured their function, strength, contractures, and back curvature. Clinical heterogeneity is noted. Patients whose muscles were stronger were more likely to die from a cardiomyopathy. Weaker patients died from respiratory failure. A series of milestones is defined, which is of use in following the illness in an individual patient. This approach permits a scoring system that allows the severity of the disease to be defined in an individual boy. Evaluation of physical therapy and surgical intervention shows that night splints and scoliosis surgery are effective forms of treatment.
Smoking-related correlates of psychomotor restlessness and agitation in a community sample of daily cigarette smokers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Psychomotor restlessness and agitation (PMA) is a putatively important, yet understudied, psychopathologic correlate of smoking. The scant smoking research on PMA previously conducted has been narrow in scope and conducted among psychiatric patients. To examine the generalizability and relevance of PMA to smoking, this cross-sectional study investigated associations between PMA and a variety of smoking processes in a community sample. METHODS Participants in this study were non-treatment-seeking smokers (N = 254, ≥10 cig/day, M age = 44 years) from the community without an active mood disorder. At baseline, they completed a PMA symptom checklist, a composite depressive symptom index, and a battery of smoking questionnaires. RESULTS Linear regression models adjusting for depressive symptoms and demographics indicated that PMA level was positively associated with severity of nicotine withdrawal symptoms during prior quit attempts (β = .18, p < .05), anticipated likelihood of withdrawal in a future quit attempt (β = .19, p < .05), motivation to smoke for negative reinforcement (β = .14, p < .05), and smoking expectancies for negative reinforcement (β = .17, p < .05), negative consequences (β = .22, p < .01), and positive reinforcement (β = .14, p < .05). PMA was not significantly associated with smoking chronicity, frequency, or dependence severity. CONCLUSION AND SCIENTIFIC SIGNIFICANCE Smokers with elevated PMA appear to experience greater smoking-induced affect modulation and nicotine withdrawal than the average smoker, regardless of other depressive symptoms. Given that PMA differentiates a qualitatively unique profile of smoking characteristics, PMA warrants consideration in tobacco addiction research and practice.
Effective Ocular Biometry and Intraocular Lens Power Calculation

S ince the introduction of phacoemulsification, cataract surgery has evolved remarkably. The use of premium intraocular lenses (IOLs) (aspheric, toric, multifocal), refractive lens exchange and patients after refractive surgery procedures require extremely precise clinical measurements and IOL calculation formulas to achieve desired postoperative refraction. For many years, ultrasound biometry has been the standard for measurement of ocular parameters. The introduction of optical biometry (fast and non-invasive) has replaced ultrasound methods and is now considered as the clinical standard for ocular biometry. Recently, several modern optical instruments have been commercially launched and there are new methods available, including the empirical, analytical, numerical or combined methods to determine IOL power. The aim of this review is to present current techniques of ocular biometry and IOL power calculation formulas, which will contribute to achieve highly accurate refractive outcomes.
A BDDC Algorithm with Enriched Coarse Spaces for Two-Dimensional Elliptic Problems with Oscillatory and High Contrast Coefficients

A balancing domain decomposition by constraints (BDDC) algorithm with enriched coarse spaces is developed and analyzed for two-dimensional elliptic problems with oscillatory and high contrast coefficients. To obtain a robust algorithm based on the classical BDDC framework for conforming finite element methods, a set of enriched primal unknowns is constructed. The enriched component of the primal unknowns is chosen to reflect the local structures of the coefficient by solving two types of generalized eigenvalue problems. These problems are solved locally for every two adjacent subdomains, so that the computations of the enriched primal unknowns are very efficient. Given a tolerance, dominant eigenfunctions with eigenvalues larger than this tolerance are precomputed and used to form coarse basis functions. The resulting condition number by using this enriched coarse space is proved to be bounded above by this tolerance and the maximum number of edges per subdomain, independent of the contrast of the given coefficient. Furthermore, numerical results are presented for various model problems and various choices of primal unknowns to show the performance of the proposed algorithm.
The ecology of primate material culture

Tool use in extant primates may inform our understanding of the conditions that favoured the expansion of hominin technology and material culture. The ‘method of exclusion’ has, arguably, confirmed the presence of culture in wild animal populations by excluding ecological and genetic explanations for geographical variation in behaviour. However, this method neglects ecological influences on culture, which, ironically, may be critical for understanding technology and thus material culture. We review all the current evidence for the role of ecology in shaping material culture in three habitual tool-using non-human primates: chimpanzees, orangutans and capuchin monkeys. We show that environmental opportunity, rather than necessity, is the main driver. We argue that a better understanding of primate technology requires explicit investigation of the role of ecological conditions. We propose a model in which three sets of factors, namely environment, sociality and cognition, influence invention, transmission and retention of material culture.
AN O(lOg2 N)-LATENCY SISO WITH APPLICATION TO BROADBAND TURBO DECODING

The standard algorithm for computing the softinverse of a finite-state machine (i.e., the Soft-in/Softout or SISO) module, is the forward-backward algorithm. These forward and backward recursions can be computed in parallel, yielding an architecture with latency O(N), where N is the block size. We demonstrate that the standard SISO computation may be formulated using a combination of a prefix and suffix operations. Based on well-known tree-structures for fast parallel prefix computations in the Very Large Scale Integration literature (e.g., tree adders), we propose a tree-structured SISO that has latency O(log2 N). The decrease in latency comes primarily at a cost of area, with, in some cases, only a marginal increase in computation. We discuss how this structure could be used to design a very high throughput turbo decoder, or more generally an iterative detector. Various sub-windowing and tiling schemes are also consider to further improve latency.
Does Investment in Schooling Raise National Income? Evidence from Cross-Country Studies

The economics literature identifies three effects of schooling on national income; the direct effect on the earnings of the workers who receive the schooling and the external effects on workers´ earnings and on physical capital due to schooling´s spillover effect on the productivity of these other factors of production. This paper reviews the estimates of the income elasticity of these three effects in the literature and finds that the evidence supports an elasticity of 0.34. The associated marginal rates of return on national investment in schooling in 2000 are found to average about 12 percent in countries with high levels of schooling and about 25 percent in countries with low levels of schooling.
Quantity and species of fish consumed shape breast-milk fatty acid concentrations around Lake Victoria, Kenya

Abstract Objective Long-chain PUFA (LCPUFA) found in breast milk are derived from dietary sources and critical for optimal infant development. We examined associations between fish consumption and concentrations of LCPUFA and essential n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in breast milk among mothers living around Lake Victoria. Design We used cross-sectional analyses of associations between recent fish consumption and breast-milk fatty acid concentrations. Setting The study was conducted around Lake Victoria on Mfangano Island, Kenya, where multiple fish species are key dietary components and also are widely exported. Subjects Breast-feeding mothers (n 60) provided breast-milk samples, anthropometric measurements and questionnaire responses. Results In the previous 3 d, 97 % of women consumed a mean of 178 (sd 111) g fish (~2 servings/3 d). Mean breast-milk concentrations included DHA (0·75 % of total fatty acids), EPA (0·16 %), α-linolenic acid (ALA; 0·54 %), arachidonic acid (AA; 0·44 %) and linoleic acid (LA; 12·7 %). Breast-milk DHA concentrations exceeded the global average of 0·32 % in fifty-nine of sixty samples. We found native cichlids (Cichlidae) and dagaa (Rastrineobola argentea) contributed high levels of DHA, EPA and AA to local diets. We also found evidence for associations between fish species consumed and breast-milk LCPUFA concentrations when controlling for intake of other fish species, maternal body mass, maternal age, child age and exclusive breast-feeding. Conclusions The fatty acid composition of breast milk was influenced by the fish species consumed. Ensuring access to diverse fish and particularly inexpensive, locally available species, may be important for diet quality as well as infant growth and development.
DO11.10 and OT-II T Cells Recognize a C-Terminal Ovalbumin 323–339 Epitope1

The OVA323–339 epitope recognized by DO11.10 (H-2d) and OT-II (H-2b) T cells was investigated using amino- and carboxy-terminal truncations to locate the approximate ends of the epitopes and single amino acid substitutions of OVA323–339 to identify critical TCR contact residues of the OVA323–339 peptide. DO11.10 and OT-II T cells are both specific for a C-terminal epitope whose core encompasses amino acids 329–337. Amino acid 333 was identified as the primary TCR contact residue for both cells, and amino acid 331 was found to be an important secondary TCR contact residue; however, the importance of other secondary TCR contact residues and peptide flanking residues differ between the cells. Additional OVA323–339-specific clones were generated that recognized epitopes found in the N-terminal end or in the center of the peptide. These findings indicate that OVA323–339 can be presented by I-Ad in at least three binding registers. This study highlights some of the complexities of peptide Ags such as OVA323–339, which contain a nested set of overlapping T cell epitopes and MHC binding registers.
Singular-minutiae points relationship-based approach to fingerprint matching

Key issues with several of the existing fingerprint matching algorithms include problem of alignment of two minutiae feature vectors, failure with noisy image and nonlinear distortions. In this study, singular-minutiae points relationship-based algorithm is proposed for addressing the problem of alignment of two minutiae feature vectors in fingerprint matching. The algorithm uses the minutiae in the neighborhood of the core or delta point for promoting accuracy and reduction in computation by taking advantage of the fact that same source images of equal dimensions maintain same distance for every minutia point and the core/delta point irrespective of orientation. Results of experiments on local fingerprints and FVC2006 standard fingerprint databases were classified into correct, false positive and false negative. With correct results, the reference fingerprint is correctly matched to one or more fingerprints from the same person while in the case of false positive; the reference fingerprint is matched to one or more fingerprints of another person. False negative results were recorded for cases where the reference image refused to match with any of the fingerprints in the database. Based on FVC2006 fingerprints database, the Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) curves were also generated for the proposed algorithm and some recently formulated ones. Analysis of obtained results in all cases shows very good performance of the new algorithm.
Evaluating the Aluminum-Alloyed $\hbox{p}^{+}$ -Layer of Silicon Solar Cells by Emitter Saturation Current Density and Optical Microspectroscopy Measurements

Surface-passivated and surface-unpassivated aluminum-alloyed p+-layers are characterized. By varying the firing conditions and the thickness of the screen-printed aluminum paste, different sheet resistances Rsh of the p+-layer were fabricated. The emitter saturation current density J0e plotted versus Rsh follows distinctly different trends for the passivated and unpassivated samples. An aluminum paste with a boron additive achieves a much higher doping concentration and a lower sheet resistance but nevertheless follows the same J0e curves as the pure Al paste. The aluminum p+-layer was quantitatively analyzed with microphotoluminescence and Fano-Raman measurements. The latter shows an increased defect recombination at the interface between the p+-layer and the moderately doped Si bulk. The lower Shockley-Read-Hall lifetime in this region can be attributed to a high defect concentration in the most highly doped layer, represents an impediment to the reduction of J0e for Al-doped emitter regions, and needs to be optimized in future investigations.
[Study on distribution of neural stem cells in the brain of Alzheimer disease transgenic mice through caudal vein transplantation].

OBJECTIVE To observe whether neural stem cells (NSCs) can successfully permeate into the brain through the blood-brain barrier (BBB) of Alzheimer disease (AD) transgenic mice and explore the methods of distribution and migration. METHODS NSCs were isolated from 12-day-old fetal mice, cultured, labeled with enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) and then transplanted into 10 AD transgenic mice and normal mice as controls through caudal vein. The mice were killed 48 h, 1 w, 2 w, and 4 w after transplantation respectively. The brains of the mice were made into continual frozen sections, the distribution and migration of the eGFP-labeled NSCs were studied under fluorescence microscope. RESULTS At different time points after transplantation the eGFP-labeled NSCs were diffusely distributed in the brain: distributed around the blood vessels in the first 48 h, and then migrated gradually towards the hippocampus and cortex until 4 weeks later. There were no obvious abnormal complications occurring after transplantation. CONCLUSION NSCs can successfully permeate into the brain through the BBB of AD transgenic mice, and migrate into the brain parenchyma gradually.
Letter Recognition at Low Contrast Levels: Effects of Letter Size

Contrast variation was used to measure recognition thresholds for lowercase letters, with the aim of obtaining a better understanding of the role that early stages of visual processing play in letter recognition. Frequency-of-recognition curves were measured for alphabets of different letter size. Since variation of the adaptational state of the eye changes the characteristics of primary visual processing in a quantifiable way, recognition thresholds were measured both at a high (150 cd m−2) and at a low (0.9 cd m−2) adaptation level. Thresholds decreased as letter size increased, in a way comparable with data on visual acuity. At the lower adaptation level, recognition thresholds became higher, which is also in accordance with visual acuity data. Furthermore, the slopes of the frequency-of-recognition curves for alphabets as a function of log contrast decreased with decreasing letter size. It is argued that this is mainly caused by an increasing dispersion of internal representations of individual letters on the internal psychological scale as letter size decreases.
Possible role for water dissociation in the slow binding of phosphorus-containing transition-state-analogue inhibitors of thermolysin.

A number of phosphonamidate and phosphonate tripeptide analogues have been studied as transition-state-analogue inhibitors of the zinc endopeptidase thermolysin. Those with the form Cbz-GlyP(Y)Leu-X [ZGP(Y)LX, X = NH2 or amino acid, Y = NH or O linkage] are potent (Ki = 9-760 nM for X = NH, 9-660 microM for X = O) but otherwise ordinary in their binding behavior, with second-order rate constants for association (kon) greater than 10(5) M-1 s-1. Those with the form Cbz-XP(Y)-Leu-Ala [ZXP(Y)LA,XP = alpha-substituted phosphorus amino acid analogue] are similarly potent (Ki for ZFPLA = 68 pM) but slow binding (kon less than or equal to 1300 M-1 s-1). Several kinetic mechanisms for slow binding behavior are considered, including two-step processes and those that require prior isomerization of inhibitor or enzyme to a rare form. The association rates of ZFPLA and ZFP(O)LA are first order in inhibitor concentration up to 1-2 mM, indicating that any loose complex along the binding pathway must have a dissociation constant above this value. The crystallographic investigation described in the preceding paper [Holden, H. M. , Tronrud, D. E. , Monzingo, A. F. , Weaver, L. H. , & Matthews, B. W. (1987) Biochemistry (preceding paper in this issue)] identifies a specific water molecule in the active site that may hinder binding of the alpha-substituted inhibitors. The implication of this observation for a mechanism for slow binding is discussed.