Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Imposed Source Current Predictive Control for Battery Charger Applications with Active Damping

This paper presents an imposed source current predictive control approach for a current source rectifier that can be used as battery charger fed from three-phase ac grid. The proposed MPC technique allows to charge the battery with a constant current or voltage as what is required for cyclic charge process of batteries. The proposed technique ensures unity input power factor operation for grid side. The single-objective cost function of the predictive control employs the error between supply current reference and supply current prediction and the switching state that minimizes this cost function is selected among the nine switching vector combinations of the current source rectifier so as to apply for next sampling interval. An active damping current term, that is predicted from the input filter capacitor voltage estimation is included in the cost function to mitigate the resonance of input LC filter. The supply current references in phase with grid voltages are generated from grid voltages and the amplitude of this reference currents are generated from the charging requirements of the battery. The input filter model is used to predict the filter capacitor voltages at sampling intervals k and k+1 in order to eliminate sensor requirement for them. A simulation study is carried out to observe the proposed method in terms of steady-state and dynamic responses and supply current quality.
Expresiones y vivencias de violencia física y psicológica en parejas de mujeres homosexuales universitarias

A nivel mundial el 35% de las mujeres han sufrido de violencia de pareja, en Colombia en los ultimos anos se han presentado 68.230 casos de violencia intrafamiliar de los cuales el 65.58% son de violencia de pareja. A pesar de la gravedad de las cifras, la mayoria de estudios solo se han realizado desde una perspectiva heteronormativa, dejando en evidencia el estereotipo social que invisibiliza la violencia de pareja en mujeres homosexuales. De acuerdo a lo mencionado, el presente estudio tuvo como objetivo general explorar las expresiones y vivencias de violencia fisica y psicologica en parejas de mujeres homosexuales universitarias. La metodologia consistio en el desarrollo de una investigacion cualitativa basada un diseno narrativo por topicos. Los datos fueron recolectados en la ciudad Cali, en 4 parejas de mujeres homosexuales universitarias. El analisis de la informacion se realizo a traves del metodo CQR y el analisis de contenido por medio del software Atlas TI. En los resultados se encontro que las participantes habian vivido episodios de violencia en el ambito familiar, escolar y en sus relaciones pasadas reflejadas en conductas de control, agresion fisica y discriminacion. Adicionalmente, revelaron que en las relaciones homosexuales estan en una constante lucha contra los roles y expectativas que impone la sociedad patriarcal. Por ultimo, afirmaron que en algun momento dejaron de sentir el apoyo de sus familias lo que contribuyo a caer en dinamicas de violencia de pareja. Como conclusion, se resalta que la violencia torna un caracter ciclico en el sentido que la pareja es la unica figura de apoyo y agresor al mismo tiempo, fenomeno en el cual la familia juega un papel muy importante pues en la medida en que acepta la diversidad sexual, se convierte en el amortiguador de los actos de violencia evitando que sus miembros tengan una vida paralela con su pareja, caracterizada por el ocultamiento y la represion.
La valutazione del clima di reparto nelle Comunità Terapeutiche Riabilitative Protette: uno studio osservazionale di coorte

The concept of “social climate” or “ward atmosphere” means the interaction between physical and emotional factors characterizing a specific clinical environment, affecting people inside. Literature shows that the clinical treatment variables are directly affected by the ward atmosphere. Aim: to measure the mental health operators’ and service users’ perception about ward atmosphere, within some supported residential facilities (CTRP) afferent to the AULSS 3 Serenissima, focusing on the main similarities and differences identifiable in the comparison of the demographic, professional and clinical variables. This observational cohort study included 50 professionals and 37 users of 4 CTRP, administering the questionnaire ESSENCES-I. The comparison between staff and service users’ groups shows significant differences. In the sub scale “Patients’ Cohesion and Mutual Support” service users think to support each other more than the staff perceive; in the sub scale “Experienced Safety” patients feel more secure than staff, and in “Therapeutic Hold” emerges that the staff feels to give more therapeutic support than the services users perceive. The ward atmosphere seems to be also affected by the kind of service. Monitoring the ward atmosphere in psychiatric settings can be very useful to detect the changing of physical and social environment and treatment outcomes.
Wat kunnen we in Nederland leren van warmtenetten in Denemarken

In Nederland verwarmen we onze woningen vooral met Gronings aardgas. Maar in 2030 stopt de winning van Gronings aardgas en moet Nederland op zoek naar andere, liefst duurzame, manieren om onze huizen te verwarmen. De ambitie in het Ontwerp Klimaatakkoord is 1,5 miljoen bestaande woningen en gebouwen in 2030 aardgasvrij te maken. Welke rol kunnen warmtenetten hierbij spelen en wat kan Nederland leren van Denemarken? Deze notitie is geschreven om input te geven aan een discussiebijeenkomst van Energeia Energy Perspective. Energeia zoekt daarin naar buitenlandse successen. Wat werkt? Waarom werkt het? En zou het ook hier in Nederland kunnen werken? Wat kunnen we leren? Energeia nodigt daarbij internationale topsprekers uit die elders in de wereld de energietransitie laten slagen, om te horen wat de basis was van hun succes. En bespreken met elkaar hoe in Nederland zo’n zelfde basis kan worden gelegd. Deze notitie start met een vergelijking van de warmtevoorziening in Nederland met Denemarken en beschrijft de verschillen in de praktijk, de rol van warmtenetten, de warmtemarkt en de regulering. In deel 2 van deze notitie beschrijven we de lessen die Nederland uit de situatie in Denemarken kan leren.
Embodied Representation in Staged Opera

The singing and acting performer in staged opera has and also performs a body that is both a biological entity and an ideological construct: its race, sex, physique, and age are all given meaning by directors—and audiences. Within the contexts of feminist, queer, and disability studies, this chapter reads the “marked” body of the protagonist of David Alden’s 2008 production of Gaetano Donizetti’s 1835 Lucia di Lammermoor as the literal embodiment of the excruciating vulnerability of Lucia as subject through the medium of her youthfulness and her mixed race: a Down syndrome child sexually abused by her brother on stage. Just as the opera’s use of coloratura is a marked musical gesture of madness in dramaturgical terms for the “voice in performance,” so the specifically marked corporeal body of Lucia was crucial to this production’s dramatic power, as well as the ethical and political issues it raised.
'Roids and Race: A content analysis of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens media coverage, 2009-2013

This study is a content analysis comparing the media coverage of Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens during their respective steroid scandals from 2009-2013. Articles from the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, and USA Today were examined. The research sought to answer whether there were differences in terms of prominence, racial descriptions, and tone. After five key elements were analyzed – headlines, the article, lead paragraphs, quote selection, and closing paragraphs – it was concluded that the coverage was equitable, with little evidence of discrimination. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION. 1 LITERATURE REVIEW . 4 SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY . 4 FRAMING . 5 MEDIA COVERAGE OF RACE . 7 RACIAL FRAMING IN SPORTS MEDIA . 9 MEDIA PORTRAYAL OF AFRICAN-AMERICANS IN BASEBALL . 11 FRAMING OF ATHLETIC SCANDALS . 13 JUSTIFICATION . 16 METHOD . 18 SAMPLING . 18 CODING . 19 CODER TRAINING AND INTERCODER RELIABILITY . 21 RESULTS . 24 HEADLINES . 24 ARTICLE . 25 LEAD PARAGRAPH . 27 QUOTE AND SOURCE SELECTION . 28 CLOSING PARAGRAPH . 30 DISCUSSION . 32 REFERENCES . 38 APPENDIX. 46 CODEBOOK . 46 CODING SHEET . 54
Design of intelligent vehicle control system based on machine visual

Ai-Juan Li, Wan-Zhong Zhao, Si-Ming Fang, Gang Xu 1,d and Hui-Jun Wang 1 School of Automotive Engineering, Shan Dong Jiaotong University, Jinan 250023, China Energy and Power Engineering College, Nanjing University of Aeronautics & Astronautics, Nanjing 210016, China Hao Tai Investment Group co., LTD, Kelamayi 834000, China liaijuan2008@163.com, zhaowanzhong@126.com, htfsm@163.com, d zyjnjds@163.com, wanghj@sdjtu.edu. cn
Predicting Subjectivity in Image Aesthetics Assessment

Conventional image aesthetic quality prediction aims at predicting the average score of a picture or its aesthetic class (good/bad quality). However, aesthetic prediction is intrinsically subjective, and images with similar mean aesthetic scores/class might display very different levels of consensus by human raters. Recent work has dealt with aesthetic subjectivity by predicting the distribution of human scores. However, predicting the distribution is not directly interpretable in terms of subjectivity, and might be sub-optimal compared to directly estimating subjectivity descriptors computed from ground-truth scores. In this paper, we propose several measures of subjectivity, ranging from simple statistical measures such as the standard deviation of the scores, to newly proposed descriptors inspired by information theory. We evaluate the prediction performance of these measures when they are computed from predicted score distributions or when they are directly learned from ground-truth data. We find that the latter strategy provides in general better results, though there is still a large space for improvement in aesthetic subjectivity prediction.
STING is required for host defense against neuropathological West Nile virus infection

West Nile Virus (WNV), an emerging and re-emerging RNA virus, is the leading source of arboviral encephalitic morbidity and mortality in the United States. WNV infections are acutely controlled by innate immunity in peripheral tissues outside of the central nervous system (CNS) but WNV can evade the actions of interferon (IFN) to facilitate CNS invasion, causing encephalitis, encephalomyelitis, and death. Recent studies indicate that STimulator of INterferon Gene (STING), canonically known for initiating a type I IFN production and innate immune response to cytosolic DNA, is required for host defense against neurotropic RNA viruses. We evaluated the role of STING in host defense to control WNV infection and pathology in a murine model of infection. When challenged with WNV, STING knock out (-/-) mice displayed increased morbidity and mortality compared to wild type (WT) mice. Virologic analysis and assessment of STING activation revealed that STING signaling was not required for control of WNV in the spleen nor was WNV sufficient to mediate canonical STING activation in vitro. However, STING-/- mice exhibited a clear trend of increased viral load and virus dissemination in the CNS. We found that STING-/- mice exhibited increased and prolonged neurological signs compared to WT mice. Pathological examination revealed increased lesions, mononuclear cellular infiltration and neuronal death in the CNS of STING-/- mice, with sustained pathology after viral clearance. We found that STING was required in bone marrow derived macrophages for early control of WNV replication and innate immune activation. In vivo, STING-/- mice developed an aberrant T cell response in both the spleen and brain during WNV infection that linked with increased and sustained CNS pathology compared to WT mice. Our findings demonstrate that STING plays a critical role in immune programming for the control of neurotropic WNV infection and CNS disease.
Is atopic sensitization associated with indicators of early vascular ageing in adolescents?

Background Chronic systemic inflammation accelerates early vascular ageing. Atopic sensitization and allergic diseases may involve increased inflammatory activity. This study aimed to assess whether atopic sensitization and allergic diseases were associated with altered vascular biomarkers in Norwegian adolescents. Methods Distensibility coefficient of the common carotid arteries, carotid intima-media thickness and atopic sensitization (serum total and specific IgEs) were assessed in 95 Norwegian adolescents, who participated in the RHINESSA generation study. Symptoms of allergic disease were assessed by an interviewer-led questionnaire. Results Atopic sensitization was found in 33 (34.7%) of the adolescents. Symptomatic allergic disease was found in 11 (33.3%) of those with atopic sensitization. Distensibility coefficient of the common carotid arteries appeared to be lower in participants with atopic sensitization than in those without (46.99±8.07*10−3/kPa versus 51.50±11.46*10−3/kPa; p>0.05), while carotid intima-media thickness did not differ between these groups (0.50±0.04mm versus 0.50±0.04mm; p>0.05). Crude, as well as age- and sex-adjusted multiple regression, revealed no significant association, neither of atopic sensitization nor of allergic disease, with distensibility coefficient of the common carotid arteries and carotid intima-media thickness. Conclusions Our results do not support the assumption of an adverse impact of atopic sensitization and/or allergic disease on distensibility coefficient of the common carotid arteries and carotid intima-media thickness in Norwegian adolescents. Further research is necessary to study whether the clinical severity of allergic diseases might be more important than the status of allergic disease or atopic sensitization.
Effects of palm oil consumption on biomarkers of glucose metabolism: A systematic review

Introduction Vegetable oil is an important source of fatty acids, and as palm oil being the highest consumed vegetable oil in many countries, its high saturated fatty acid content has led many concerns on cardiometabolic health. Dietary fatty acids has also been linked to affect glucose metabolism and insulin sensitivity. This systematic review is aimed at critically evaluating the available evidence on the association of palm oil with the biomarkers of glucose metabolism as compared to other vegetable oils. Methods We systemically searched PubMed, CENTRAL and Scopus up to June 2018. We searched for published interventional studies on biomarkers of glucose metabolism (defined as fasting glucose, fasting insulin, HOMA, 2-hour post prandial glucose and HbA1C) that compared palm oil- or palm olein-rich diets with other edible vegetable oils (such as olive oil, canola oil and soybean oil). Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed study risks of bias. Mean differences of outcomes were pooled for the meta-analysis. Results We identified 1921 potentially eligible articles with only eight included studies. Seven randomised cross-over trials and one parallel trial were included. Study population were among young to middle-aged, healthy, non-diabetic, and normal weight participants. Intervention duration ranged from three to seven weeks, and fat substitution ranged from 15% to 20% energy. There were insignificant differences in fasting glucose when compared to partially hydrogenated soybean oil [-0.15mmol/L (-0.46,0.16) P = 0.33, I2 = 48%], soybean oil [0.05mmol/L (-0.09,0.18) P = 0.49, I2 = 0%] and olive oil [0.04mmol/L (-0.09,0.17) P = 0.76, I2 = 0%]. Insignificant effects were also seen on fasting insulin when compared to partially hydrogenated soybean oil [1.72pmol/L (-11.39,14.84) P = 0.80, I2 = 12%] and olive oil diet [-0.14pmol/L (-4.87,4.59) P = 0.95, I2 = 0%]. Conclusion Current evidence on the effects of palm oil consumption on biomarkers of glucose metabolism is poor and limited to only healthy participants. We conclude that little or no additional benefit will be obtained by replacing palm oil with other oils rich in mono or polyunsaturated fatty acids for changes in glucose metabolism.
Reducing the metabolic rate of walking and running with a versatile, portable exosuit

Lowering locomotion's metabolic cost Walking and running require different gaits, with each type of motion putting a greater bias on different muscles and joints. Kim et al. developed a soft, fully portable, lightweight exosuit that is able to reduce the metabolic rate for both running and walking by assisting each motion via the hip extension (see the Perspective by Pons). A waist belt holds most of the mass, thus reducing the cost of carrying the suit. By tracking the motion of the user, the suit is able to switch modes between the two types of motion automatically. Science, this issue p. 668; see also p. 636 A soft exosuit worn by humans reduces the metabolic rate for both walking and running. Walking and running have fundamentally different biomechanics, which makes developing devices that assist both gaits challenging. We show that a portable exosuit that assists hip extension can reduce the metabolic rate of treadmill walking at 1.5 meters per second by 9.3% and that of running at 2.5 meters per second by 4.0% compared with locomotion without the exosuit. These reduction magnitudes are comparable to the effects of taking off 7.4 and 5.7 kilograms during walking and running, respectively, and are in a range that has shown meaningful athletic performance changes. The exosuit automatically switches between actuation profiles for both gaits, on the basis of estimated potential energy fluctuations of the wearer’s center of mass. Single-participant experiments show that it is possible to reduce metabolic rates of different running speeds and uphill walking, further demonstrating the exosuit’s versatility.
Efficacy of differential non-invasive approaches in determining the clinical course in patients with Crohn’s disease

Abstract Background: We tested the hypothesis that, elevated levels of C-reactive protein might serve as prognostic marker for the classification of Crohn’s disease and its clinical course. Objectives: The present study was undertaken to explore if serum C-reactive protein (sCRP) levels along with the conventional cytogenetic and molecular genetic approaches might serve as efficient prognostic markers with respect to disease classification and clinical course in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients. Methods: We enrolled 43 patients with Crohn’s disease from Tamilnadu region, south of India. The patients were mainly classified into four groups based on disease location. A further sub-classification based on activity of disease was also undertaken in the study. Classification of type of disease activity was based on colonoscopic reports and radiological findings. An equal number of healthy normal age and sex-matched controls were also taken for the study. Results: A positive correlation between sCRP levels, and disease location was observed. Employing a cut-off level of 10 mg/dL, the index CRP level was found to discriminate patients with different locations of the disease along with disease condition when compared to controls. Cytogenetic analysis showed sporadic changes in such patients. The widely reported NOD2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were absent in the patients studied. Conclusion: Different levels of sCRP seem to correlate well with disease location and disease activity. In some of the patients, the CRP levels appeared to reflect disease activity, while in others persistently high levels seem to suggest active disease. Altogether, a positive correlation of CDAI values with CRP levels along with an increase in frequency of chromosomal aberrations was observed in CD patients.
Microfluidics of Nanodrug Delivery: Effect of Reynolds Number Ratio and Particle Size

In the present study dealing with nanodrug delivery, nanofluid flow in a microchannel is considered. The nanofluid considered is a solid (aluminum oxide) - liquid (water) mixture. A transient 3-D problem of controlled nanodrug delivery has been numerically solved. The study has been carried out using ANSYS CFX Version 11.0. The velocity profile and dimensionless nanodrug concentration profile for different Reynolds number ratios were obtained at different axial stations along the length of the microchannel (z = 0.5, 5, and 10mm). Effect of particle size on drug uniformity has been investigated.
The Economic Consequences of Fair Value Accounting

Two fatal intrinsic flaws of fair-value accounting are found and mathematically proved by this paper. One flaw concerns its non-complete existence, that is, the required fair value may not exist under certain conditions. One direct consequence of the flaw is that a huge fair value trap may be created by fair-value accounting when the fair value does not exist. Another flaw of fairvalue accounting is its self-expansion, that is, the fair-value accounting acts as a share price bubble maker based upon the normal net incomes from the operations of listed firms. The bubble may then expand much larger than the original incomes. For a single firm, it is possible to sell out its assets at their “fair value,” but it is usually impossible for all firms to sell out their assets at the same market price within a short period of time. From the standpoint of the whole market, fair-value accounting acts then like a numbers game, while its book values lose any connections with cash flows. All these flaws of fair-value accounting can bring risks to investors in financial markets, and finally provoke financial crises.
Population by the Numbers

Abstract The article examines main features and legal regulation of the Norwegian national identity number. Main provisions regarding collection of and access to information from the national population register and the 2001 census is explained and discussed, for instance in relation to citizens´ trust in processing of personal data by government agencies. Zusammenfassung Dieser Artikel untersucht die Hauptmerkmale und rechtlichen Regelungen von den norwegischen Identitätsnummern. Die wichtigsten rechtlichen Bestimmungen für die Regulierung von nationalen Registern, von Auskunftsrechten für Betroffene sowie von dem Census 2011 in Norwegen werden erläutert und diskutiert. Dabei wird auch auf das Vertrauen der norwegischen Bürger in die Datenverarbeitung des Staates eingegangen.
Timing of Retirement Plan Contributions and Investment Returns: The Case of Defined Benefit versus Defined Contribution

This paper examines the impact of the timing of contributions to defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) plans on investment returns. I show that net contributions to DB plans are counter-cyclical, while net contributions to DC plans are uncorrelated with the business cycle. Given the past mean reversion in equity prices, the counter-cyclicality of net contributions to DB plans means that dollar-weighted returns on DB plans are higher than the geometric average of annual returns. Therefore, using dollar-weighted returns as a measure of investment performance, the advantage of DB plans over DC plans is greater than using geometric average returns. Overall, I find that dollar-weighted returns on DB plans are more than one percentage point higher than