Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis and design of smart PV modules

This paper explores the design of a smart photovoltaic (PV) module- a PV module in which PV cells in close proximity are electrically grouped to form a pixel and are connected to dc-dc converter blocks which reside embedded in the back pane of the module. An auto-connected flyback converter topology processing less than full power is used to provide high gain and perform maximum power point tracking (MPPT). These dc-dc converters interface with cascaded H-bridge inverter modules operating on feed forward control for dc-link voltage ripple rejection. By means of feed forward control, a significant reduction in dc link capacitance is achieved by enduring higher dc link ripple voltages. The dc link electrolytic capacitors are replaced with film capacitors thus offering an improvement in the reliability of the smart PV module. The proposed configuration is capable of producing 120V/ 240V AC voltage. The PV module now becomes a smart AC module by virtue of embedded intelligence to selectively actuate the individual dc-dc converters and control the output AC voltages directly, thus becoming a true plug and power energy system. Such a concept is ideal for curved surfaces such as building integrated PV (BIPV) system applications where gradients of insolation and temperature cause not only variations from PV module-to-PV module but from group-to-group of cells within the module itself. A detailed analysis along with simulation and experimental results confirm the feasibility of the proposed concept.
The Structure of HIV-1 Genomic RNA in the gp120 Gene Determines a Recombination Hot Spot in Vivo*

By frequently rearranging large regions of the genome, genetic recombination is a major determinant in the plasticity of the human immunodeficiency virus type I (HIV-1) population. In retroviruses, recombination mostly occurs by template switching during reverse transcription. The generation of retroviral vectors provides a means to study this process after a single cycle of infection of cells in culture. Using HIV-1-derived vectors, we present here the first characterization and estimate of the strength of a recombination hot spot in HIV-1 in vivo. In the hot spot region, located within the C2 portion of the gp120 envelope gene, the rate of recombination is up to ten times higher than in the surrounding regions. The hot region corresponds to a previously identified RNA hairpin structure. Although recombination breakpoints in vivo cluster in the top portion of the hairpin, the bias for template switching in this same region appears less marked in a cell-free system. By modulating the stability of this hairpin we were able to affect the local recombination rate both in vitro and in infected cells, indicating that the local folding of the genomic RNA is a major parameter in the recombination process. This characterization of reverse transcription products generated after a single cycle of infection provides insights in the understanding of the mechanism of recombination in vivo and suggests that specific regions of the genome might be prompted to yield different rates of evolution due to the presence of circumscribed recombination hot spots.
IL-1beta enhances beta2-adrenergic receptor expression in human airway epithelial cells by activating PKC.

Protein kinase C (PKC)-activated signal transduction pathways regulate cell growth and differentiation in many cell types. We have observed that interleukin (IL)-1beta upregulates beta2-adrenergic receptor (beta2-AR) density and beta2-AR mRNA in human airway epithelial cells (e.g., BEAS-2B). We therefore tested the hypothesis that PKC-activated pathways mediate IL-1beta-induced beta-AR upregulation. The role of PKC was assessed from the effects of 1) the PKC activator phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA) on beta-AR density, 2) selective PKC inhibitors (calphostin C and Ro-31-8220) on beta-AR density, and 3) IL-1beta treatment on the cellular distribution of PKC isozymes. Recombinant human IL-1beta (0.2 nM for 18 h) increased beta-AR density to 213% of control values (P < 0.001). PMA (1 microM for 18 h) increased beta-AR density to 225% of control values (P < 0.005), whereas Ro-31-8220 and calphostin C inhibited the IL-1beta-induced upregulation of beta-AR in dose-dependent fashion. PKC isozymes detected by Western blotting included alpha, betaII, epsilon, mu, zeta, and lambda/iota. IL-1beta increased PKC-mu immunoreactivity in the membrane fraction and had no effect on the distribution of the other PKC isozymes identified. These data indicate that IL-1beta-induced beta-AR upregulation is mimicked by PKC activators and blocked by PKC inhibitors and appears to involve selective activation of the PKC-mu isozyme. We conclude that signal transduction pathways activated by PKC-mu upregulate beta2-AR expression in human airway epithelial cells.
Interferon induction and its dependence on the primary and secondary structure of poly(inosinic acid).poly(cytidylic acid).

The synthetic interferon (IF) inducer rIn.rCn was modified by substituting the ribosyl residues with either their corresponding deoxy(dC or dI) or 2'-O-methyl analogues (mC or mI). The polynucleotide duplexes of these analogues are inactive as IF inducers. Circular dichroism (CD) studies revealed that, while the deoxy substitution produces significant changes in the conformation of rIn.rCn, the 2'-O-methyl substitution produces no detectable change. Biological competition experiments indicated that the methylated duplexes mIn.rCn, rIn.mCn, and mIn.mCn all compete with rIn.rCn for IF induction, while the deoxy duplexes dIn.rCn and rIn.dCn do not. These results are consistent with those predicted from the CD data. Copolymer duplexes (mI,rI)n. (mC,rC)n of varying degrees of methylation and residue clustering were also evaluated for IF induction in human fibroblasts. The IF-inducing capabilities of these duplexes correlated highly with the presence of clusters containing six or more consecutive ribosyl residues. These combined observations suggest that interaction of rIn.rCn with the cell in the induction process may occur in a biphasic manner involving first the topological recognition of a large segment of the RNA to allow for proper binding to the putative cellular receptor, followed by recognition of a much smaller region of the RNA corresponding to 6--12 consecutive ribosyl residues (0.5 to 1 helical turn) which is responsible for the triggering of the induction process.
Cross-Country Analysis of Tourist Activities Based on Venue-Referenced Social Media Data

Insights into the activity preferences of specific tourist groups are crucial for tourism practitioners in developing appropriate travel packages that attract tourists and meet their expectations. Tourist activities across different countries often vary depending on what these destinations can offer. Existing attempts to obtain comprehensive information on tourist activities across multiple countries often fail because of the limitations of traditional data collection approaches, which are heavily reliant on surveys and questionnaires. This study proposes to address the challenge by introducing a new type of data called venue-referenced social media data (VR-SMD), which can effectively determine various tourist activities and the temporal preferences for each activity at different destinations. We demonstrate the effectiveness of VR-SMD using a case study that focuses on Malaysian outbound travelers. Their cross-cultural differences from another travel group, namely, Thai outbound travelers, are highlighted through a comparative analysis. Analysis results provide valuable insights for various tourism applications.
Seasonality in Birth Weight: Review of Global Patterns and Potential Causes

Abstract Birth weight is the single most significant determinant of infant mortality and the chances of a newborn to experience healthy development. Low birth weight also appears to be related to higher risks of several important chronic conditions, such as ischemic heart disease, non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and cancer in adults. Thus factors that influence in utero growth and birth weight may have a serious effect on health outcomes many years later in life. Analysis of seasonal variations in birth weights may enable us to suggest specific factors that influence this measure. In this review we summarize the literature on seasonal variations in birth weight. Although causes of seasonal variation in developing regions are more clearly understood, it is not yet clear which factors affect apparent seasonal variation in birth weight in developed countries. In our analysis we observed a pattern of seasonal variations in developed countries that differed between low-, middle-, and high-latitude countries, and we suggest several mechanisms that may be responsible for this diversity. Namely, we suggest that in middle-latitude climates, the large annual temperature range may cause low birth weights during summer, whereas in high- and low-latitude regions variations in sunlight exposure between seasons may contribute to low birth weights apparent during winter. Identification of the suggested causal environmental factors may have public health implications in the development of primary prevention programs for low birth weight and macrosomia in developed countries.
Mean and variance equation dynamics: Time deformation, GARCH, and a robust analysis of the London housing market

The potential relationship between time deformation and generalized autoregressive conditional heteroscedasticity (GARCH) is examined. Despite time deformation and GARCH being mean and variance equation phenomena, respectively, they are argued herein to share a common motivation relating to the examination of changes in the temporal evolution of timeâ€ series processes. Via extensive simulation analysis, a close connection between the two concepts is established. It is found that the presence of GARCHÂ can result in the spurious detection of time deformation, particularly when examining the heavyâ€ tailed distributions and volatile data typically considered in empirical finance. It is shown that although the application of heteroskedasticity corrected covariance matrix estimators often increases, rather than corrects, the detected oversizing of the tests of time deformation, the application of GARCHÂ filters does provide a solution to size distortion. The findings of the experimental analysis are drawn upon to provide a robust empirical examination of the London housing market where evidence of overwhelming and widespread nonlinearity is detected in the form of time deformation. The implications of these findings for the conduct of future, and the interpretation of previous, research are discussed.
The prostamide-related glaucoma therapy, bimatoprost, offers a novel approach for treating scalp alopecias

Balding causes widespread psychological distress but is poorly controlled. The commonest treatment, minoxidil, was originally an antihypertensive drug that promoted unwanted hair. We hypothesized that another serendipitous discovery, increased eyelash growth side‐effects of prostamide F2α‐related eyedrops for glaucoma, may be relevant for scalp alopecias. Eyelash hairs and follicles are highly specialized and remain unaffected by androgens that inhibit scalp follicles and stimulate many others. Therefore, we investigated whether non‐eyelash follicles could respond to bimatoprost, a prostamide F2α analog recently licensed for eyelash hypotrichosis. Bimatoprost, at pharmacologically selective concentrations, increased hair synthesis in scalp follicle organ culture and advanced mouse pelage hair regrowth in vivo compared to vehicle alone. A prostamide receptor antagonist blocked isolated follicle growth, confirming a direct, receptor‐mediated mechanism within follicles; RT‐PCR analysis identified 3 relevant receptor genes in scalp follicles in vivo. Receptors were located in the key follicle regulator, the dermal papilla, by analyzing individual follicular structures and immunohistochemistry. Thus, bimatoprost stimulates human scalp follicles in culture and rodent pelage follicles in vivo, mirroring eyelash behavior, and scalp follicles contain bimatoprost‐sensitive prostamide receptors in vivo. This highlights a new follicular signaling system and confirms that bimatoprost offers a novel, low‐risk therapeutic approach for scalp alopecias. —Khidhir, K. G. , Woodward, D. F. , Farjo, N. P., Farjo, B. K. , Tang, E. S. , Wang, J. W. , Picksley, S. M. , and Randall, V. A. The prostamide‐related glaucoma therapy, bimatoprost, offers a novel approach for treating scalp alopecias. FASEB J. 27, 557–567 (2013). www.fasebj. org
MAMMALIAN METHYLMALONYL ISOMERASE AND VITAMIN B(12) COENZYMES.

In 1955 Flavin et al.1-4 found that the main pathway of propionic acid oxidation in animal tissues proceeds via the reaction sequence propionate ATPC propionyl CoA5 ATPCOYmethylmalonyl CoA -succinyl CoA succinate. Isomerization of methylmalonyl CoA to succinyl CoA (reaction 1) is also a key step in propionate formation by propionic acid bacteria. ' In analogy to Lynen's 3-methylerotonyl carboxylase,7 propionyl carboxylase (the enzyme catalyzing the carboxylation of propionyl CoA to methylmalonyl CoA) has been found to be a biotin enzyme.8 Although reaction 1 resembled Barker's glutamate-,3-methylaspartate isomerization9 (reaction 2),10 which requires cobamide coenzymes (vitamin B12 or pseudovitamin
RF radiation from corona discharge between two water droplets on epoxy and silicone-rubber surfaces

Corona is a common type of partial discharge activity on high voltage insulators due to wet surfaces. An extensive level of corona will damage the hydrophobic properties of nano-composite insulators. This paper will discuss the RF radiation caused by corona discharge on two common nano-composite insulation materials used in high voltage distribution power lines. This will be explained using two water droplets on epoxy and silicone-rubber insulation materials under constant electrical stress.
Characterization of Secondary Metabolites, Biological Activity and Glandular Trichomes of Stachys tymphaea Hausskn. from the Monti Sibillini National Park (Central Apennines, Italy)

Stachys tymphaea (Lamiaceae) is a perennial herb growing in forest openings and dry meadows of central and southern Italy. It was investigated for the first time here, determining the content of secondary metabolites, the micromorphology of glandular trichomes, the histochemical localization of secretion, and the biological activity of the volatile oil, namely, the cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antimicrobial properties. The plant showed a peculiar molecular pattern, being rich of biophenolic compounds as flavonoids, phenylethanoid glycosides, and caffeoylquinic acid derivatives, but poor of iridoids, which are known as marker compounds of the genus Stachys. The essential oil was characterized by GC‐FID and GC/MS analyses, revealing a high percentage of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (54.6%), with germacrene D (30.0%) and (E)‐β‐farnesene (12.4%) as the most abundant compounds, while other main components were representatives of the diterpenes (19.2%), represented mainly by (E)‐phytol (11.9%). This composition supported the taxonomic relationships in the genus Stachys, which comprises oil‐poor species producing essential oils rich in hydrocarbons, with germacrene D as one of the predominant components. The micromorphological study revealed three types of glandular hairs, i.e., Type A peltate trichomes, being the primary sites of essential oil biosynthesis, Type B short‐stalked trichomes, typical mucopolysaccharide producers, and Type C long capitate trichomes, secreting a complex mixture of both lipophilic and hydrophilic substances, with a major phenolic fraction. Moreover, the MTT assay revealed the potential of the volatile oil to inhibit A375, HCT116, and MDA‐MB 231 tumor cells lines (IC50 values of 23.9–34.4 μg/ml).
Language Ability in Children With Permanent Hearing Impairment: The Influence of Early Management and Family Participation

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to examine the relationships between management after confirmation, family participation, and speech and language outcomes in the same group of children with permanent childhood hearing impairment. METHODS. Speech, oral language, and nonverbal abilities, expressed as z scores and adjusted in a regression model, and Family Participation Rating Scale scores were assessed at a mean age of 7.9 years for 120 children with bilateral permanent childhood hearing impairment from a 1992–1997 United Kingdom birth cohort. Ages at institution of management and hearing aid fitting were obtained retrospectively from case notes. RESULTS. Compared with children managed later (>9 months), those managed early (≤9 months) had higher adjusted mean z scores for both receptive and expressive language, relative to nonverbal ability, but not for speech. Compared with children aided later, a smaller group of more-impaired children aided early did not have significantly higher scores for these outcomes. Family Participation Rating Scale scores showed significant positive correlations with language and speech intelligibility scores only for those with confirmation after 9 months and were highest for those with late confirmed, severe/profound, permanent childhood hearing impairment. CONCLUSIONS. Early management of permanent childhood hearing impairment results in improved language. Family participation is also an important factor in cases that are confirmed late, especially for children with severe or profound permanent childhood hearing impairment.
Duration of self assessed benefit of cataract extraction: a long term study

Aim: To investigate how long patients’ improved visual function lasts after a cataract extraction. Methods: Patients’ self assessed visual function was evaluated using the Catquest questionnaire both before and 6 months after a cataract extraction. The study population consisted of 615 patients undergoing a cataract extraction during 1995–2002. A final follow up with a new questionnaire was performed in 2003, between 1 year and 8 years after surgery. Results: 445 (72.4%) patients were alive at follow up and agreed to participate in the study. The number of subjects still showing improved visual function after surgery decreased with longer follow up. After 7 years, 80% had improved visual function compared with before surgery. 50% of all originally operated subjects were alive 7 years postoperatively and enjoyed better visual function than they had done before surgery. Ocular co-morbidity in the operated eye or self assessed poor visual function before surgery was significantly related to deteriorated visual function at follow up. Conclusion: The number of subjects who experienced improved visual function after a cataract extraction decreased over the course of time postoperatively. Presence of ocular co-morbidity was significantly related to worsened function.
Organic Anion Transporting Polypeptide Mediates Organic Anion/HCO3 − Exchange*

Organic anion transporting polypeptide (oatp) is an integral membrane protein cloned from rat liver that mediates Na+-independent transport of organic anions such as sulfobromophthalein and taurocholic acid. Previous studies in rat hepatocytes suggested that organic anion uptake is associated with base exchange. To better characterize the mechanism of oatp-mediated organic anion uptake, we examined transport of taurocholate in a HeLa cell line stably transfected with oatp under the regulation of a zinc-inducible promoter (Shi, X., Bai, S., Ford, A. C., Burk, R. D., Jacquemin, E., Hagenbuch, B., Meier, P. J., and Wolkoff, A. W. (1995) J. Biol. Chem. 270, 25591–25595). Whereas noninduced transfected cells showed virtually no uptake of [3H]taurocholate, taurocholate uptake by induced cells was Na+-independent and saturable (K m = 19.4 ± 3.3 μm; V max = 62.2 ± 1.4 pmol/min/mg protein; n = 3). To test whether organic anion transport is coupled to HCO3 − extrusion, we compared the rates of taurocholate-dependent HCO3 − efflux from alkali-loaded noninduced and induced cells. Monolayers grown on glass coverslips were loaded with the pH-sensitive dye 2′,7′-bis(carboxyethyl)-5(6)-carboxyfluorescein; intracellular pH (pHi) was measured by excitation ratio fluorometry. Noninduced and induced cells were alkalinized to an equivalent pHi (∼7.7) by transient exposure to a 50 mmHCO3 −, Cl−-free solution. In the absence of extracellular Cl− and taurocholate, isohydric reduction of superfusate HCO3 −concentration from 50 to 25 mm resulted in an insignificant change in pHi over time (dpHi/dt) in both groups. Addition of 25 μm taurocholate to the superfusate led to a rapid fall in pHi in induced (−0.037 ± 0.011 pH units/min to pHi of 7.41 ± 0.14) but not in noninduced (0.003 ± 0.006 pH units/min to pHi of 7.61 ± 0.08) cells (p < 0.03). These data indicate that oatp-mediated taurocholate transport is Na+-independent, saturable, and accompanied by HCO3 −exchange. We conclude that organic anion/base exchange is an important, potentially regulatable component of oatp function.
Genetic heterogeneity in sporadic colorectal adenomas

The majority of colorectal cancers develop from adenomatous polyps under the influence of factors that are still poorly understood. Tumourigenesis is generally considered a multistep process in which multiple genetic alterations occur, eventually reflected in abnormalities of the cellular DNA content. Macroscopical features such as tumour size and tumour architecture (tubular, tubulovillous, or villous) are correlated wit the chance of malignancy in the lesion. Grade of dysplasia can be considered an indicator for the level of progression of the adenoma towards invasive carcinoma. These characteristics were correlated with the presence or absence of K‐ras mutations and the DNA ploidy in a prospective study performed on 46 large sporadic colorectal adenomas resected by endoscopy. DNA ploidy and K‐ras mutations were analysed in two samples taken at distant sites in the adenomas. Aneuploidy was present in 12 adenomas (26 per cent) and K‐ras mutations occurred in 26 (57 per cent). A highly significant correlation was found between aneuploidy and adenoma size, architecture, and grade of dysplasia. The presence of K‐ras mutations was significantly correlated only with the size of the adenomas. The proportion of adenomas with aneuploidy and/or a K‐ras mutation increased when two samples were analysed instead of one. This observation suggests that the prevalence of genetic mutations and of aneuploidy is probably underestimated, as generally only one sample is investigated. No correlation was observed between K‐ras mutations and ploidy. This study demonstrates the presence of genetic heterogeneity in colorectal adenomas and supports the notion that K‐ras mutation is an early event, while aneuploidy is a late event in the adenoma–carcinoma sequence. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.