Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A WR-3 Band Fundamental Voltage-Controlled Oscillator With a Wide Frequency Tuning Range and High Output Power

This paper presents a 300-GHz voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) with a wide frequency tuning range and high output power. To generate fundamental oscillation at 300 GHz, a cascode cross-coupled pair is employed as a VCO core instead of a conventional common-emitter pair. Capacitive emitter degeneration is added to the VCO core to achieve a wide bandwidth of a negative conductance. In addition, the phase of the oscillation feedback loop is analyzed and optimized to further extend the tuning range. The VCO is fabricated in a 0.25-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{m}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> InP DHBT technology (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f_{\mathrm {T}}/f_{\mathrm {max}} = 392$ </tex-math></inline-formula>/859 GHz). Measurements show that the VCO frequency is tuned from 272.4 to 310.8 GHz with a peak output power of 1.5 dBm. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this is the widest tuning range of 38.4 GHz (a fractional bandwidth of 13.2%) among the reported fundamental VCOs at the WR-3 band.
Analysis of the influence of DC optimizers on photovoltaic production

Energy efficiency is a key element in the Smart Cities (SC), in which integration of renewable sources is a reality. Small-scale integration is usually implemented with photovoltaic (PV) and solar thermal energy. The shadows on the PV modules are a reality as they are originated by unavoidable buildings and obstacles existing in the cities. These shadows will cause the decrease in PV efficiency. Therefore, the increase in PV efficiency is essential. This increase in efficiency can be achieved by associating the DC-DC converters (DC-DC optimizers) with PV modules. This work presents and compares simulations and real results of the influence of DC-DC optimizers in the efficiency of PV modules. In addition, the work includes an economic study of the installation of DC optimizers considering three different electricity price scenarios.
Analysis of Gain Variation With Changing Supply Voltages in GaN HEMTs for Envelope Tracking Power Amplifiers

Envelope tracking (ET) is a promising power amplifier (PA) architecture for current and future communications systems, which uses dynamic modulation of the supply voltage to provide high efficiency and potentially very wide bandwidth over a large dynamic range of output power. However, the dynamic nature of the supply voltage can lead to a problematic variation in transistor gain, particularly in GaN HEMTs. This paper describes and analyzes this behavior and the detrimental effect it can have on ET PAs. Contributing factors and origins of gain variation are described in detail along with how, for the first time, meaningful comparisons can be made between different devices. Using these guidelines, gain variation is shown to be a widespread issue effecting most GaN HEMTs presented in literature. To allow an analysis of the intrinsic device behavior, an extended transistor model is developed that takes the effect of gate and source field plates into account. This model is refined using measurement data and used to demonstrate the fact that the parasitic gate–drain capacitance ( $C_{\textrm {GD}}$ ) is the main contributor to the small-signal gain variation—a significant part of the overall gain variation. Based on this knowledge, possible strategies to reduce gain variation at the transistor technology level are proposed, allowing the optimization of GaN HEMTs specifically for ET PAs. One identified strategy involves reducing the length of the gate field plate and is shown to be a viable approach to reduce the gain variation in GaN HEMTs, albeit at an increased RF/dc dispersion.
Effect of the Educational Pamphlet on the Quality of Multiple-Choice Questions

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to evaluate the structural integrity of multiple-choice questions according to the Millman checklist, and to assess thedistinguishing power of these questions between weak and strong students in theoretical courses of Periodontics in an academic year (2014-15) in Dental Branch of Tehran Islamic Azad University. Materials and Methods: A total of 262 students comprising periodontics module 1, 2 and 3 in two semesters responded to 240 multiple-choice questions and results from the two consecutive semesters were compared with each other. ANOVA was used to analyse data. P<0.05 was considered significant. Results: There was no statistical difference between the difficulty coefficient of the questions in the two semesters for Periodontics module 1, 2, and 3 (P-values were0.2, 0.34 and 0.69, respectively). For discrimination coefficient, there was no significant difference between Periodontics module 2 (P=0.72) and 3(P=0.42) in the two semesters, however, in Periodontics module 1 this difference was significant (P=0.017). Although a favourable change in the indicators of Millman checklist was seen in the second semester, it was not statistically significant (P= 0.65). In total, the difficulty and discrimination coefficients revealed that the majority of questions were "medium difficult". Conclusion: Although the educational pamphlet did not significantly improve the quality of multiple-choice questions, some Millman checklist items improved slightly.
Trigger tool num serviço de medicina: uma ferramenta para a melhoria da segurança do doente

27 The high incidence of adverse events EA is one of the worrying situations described in 28 literature directly related with the rise of costs in healthcare and the rise of days in 29 Trigger Tool num serviço de medicina: uma ferramenta para a melhoria da segurança do doente 20 hospital. The Global Trigger Tool (GTT) methodology is considered a relatively new 30 method, that has shown to be promising in international contexts, in tracking actions of 31 EA. 32 Goal: To obtain a body of evidence, gathering a set of information about the use of this 33 methodology in hospital context. 34 Methodology: It is a systematic review of literature based on primary studies with this 35 theme published between 2009 and 2014. 36 Results: The study includes 8 primary studies and the results show relevant data about 37 the utility of GTT in hospital context. 38 Conclusion: The scientific evidence shows that the application of GTT method as a 39 monitoring strategy of EA is a viable tool, since it allows the follow up in the changes 40 implementation, oriented to EA occurrence reduction. 41
Localist plasticity identified by mutual information

The issue of memory is difficult for standard neural network models. Ubiquitous synaptic plasticity introduces the problem of interference, which limits pattern recall and introduces conflation errors. We present a lognormal recurrent neural network, load patterns into it (MNIST), and test the resulting neural representation for information content by an output classifier. We identify neurons, which ‘compress’ the pattern information into their own adjacency network, and by stimulating these achieve recall. Learning is limited to intrinsic plasticity and output synapses of these pattern neurons (localist plasticity), which prevents interference. Our first experiments show that this form of storage and recall is possible, with the caveat of a ‘lossy’ recall similar to human memory. Comparing our results with a standard Gaussian network model, we notice that this effect breaks down for the Gaussian model.
Noise-Robust Hyperspectral Image Classification via Multi-Scale Total Variation

In this paper, a novel multi-scale total variation method is proposed to extract structural features from hyperspectral images (HSIs), which consists of the following steps. First, the spectral dimension of the HSI is reduced with an averaging-based method. Then, the multi-scale structural features (MSFs), which are insensitive to image noise, are constructed with a relative total variation-based structure extraction technique. Finally, the MSFs are fused together using kernel principal component analysis (KPCA), so as to obtain the KPCA-fused MSFs for classification. Experimental results on three publicly available hyperspectral datasets, including both well-known, long-used data, and a recent dataset obtained from an international contest, demonstrate the competitive performance over several state-of-the-art classification approaches in this field. Moreover, the robustness of the proposed method to the small-sample-size problem and serious image noise is also demonstrated.
Implicancias de la enzima AID en la mutagénesis y evolución clonal durante la progresión de la Leucemia Linfoide Crónica

The expression of a functional antigen receptor is necessary for cell survival of normal B lymphocytes and most B-cell neoplasms alike. When the genetic modifications of the B-cell receptor locus fail to produce a functional antigen receptor or result in deleterious mutations of a previously expressed receptor, the affected B cell will undergo apoptosis. The three physiological mechanisms that generate the B-cell receptor, VDJ recombination, somatic hypermutation, and class switch recombination, can induce double-strand DNA breaks and can specifically contribute to lymphomagenesis. On the other hand, the B-cell receptor activation and signaling pathways, which provide strong survival and proliferation signals to normal B cells, can support the growth and evolution of malignant lymphocytes. As a result, an otherwise structurally normal B-cell receptor can behave, from the functional perspective, as a true oncogene. In this chapter, we provide an in-depth discussion of the most recently discovered recurrent mechanisms involving the B-cell receptor in lymphoma pathogenesis. The discussion is structured around two major topics: (1) the genetic mechanisms that create a functional antigen receptor and their errors leading to oncogenic events, and (2) the pathogenic activation of the B-cell receptor signaling cascade. Finally, we will briefly comment on novel emerging therapies targeting the B-cell receptor at different levels.
Mismatches between breeding phenology and resource abundance of resident alpine ptarmigan negatively affect chick survival

Abstract Phenological mismatches—defined here as the difference in reproductive timing of an individual relative to the availability of its food resources—occur in many avian species. Mistiming breeding activities in environments with constrained breeding windows may have severe fitness costs due to reduced opportunities for repeated breeding attempts. Therefore, species occurring in alpine environments may be particularly vulnerable. We studied fitness consequences of timing of breeding in an alpine‐endemic species, the white‐tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucura), to investigate its influence on chick survival. We estimated phenological mismatch by measuring plant and arthropods used by ptarmigan in relation to their timing of breeding. We monitored 120 nests and 67 broods over a three‐year period (2013–2015) at three alpine study sites in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. During this same period, we actively monitored food resource abundance in brood‐use areas to develop year and site‐specific resource phenology curves. We developed several mismatch indices from these curves that were then fit as covariates in mark‐recapture chick survival models. A correlation analysis between seasonal changes in arthropod and food plant abundance indicated that a normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) was likely the best predictor for food available to hens and chicks. A survival model that included an interaction between NDVI mismatch and chick age received strong support and indicated young chicks were more susceptible to mismatch than older chicks. We provide evidence that individual females of a resident alpine species can be negatively affected by phenological mismatch. Our study focused on individual females and did not examine if phenological mismatch was present at the population level. Future work in animal populations occurring in mountain systems focusing on a combination of both individual‐ and population‐level metrics of mismatch will be beneficial.
RELIABILITY ANALYSIS OF THREE ELEMENTS IN SERIES AND PARALLEL SYSTEMS UNDER TIMEVARYING FUZZY FAILURE RATE

Reliability is the most important performance issue in engineering design process but in the real world problems, there are limitations for using conventional reliability. Fuzzy logic has proved to be effective in expressing uncertainties in different fields, including engineering reliability. In this paper, for both series and parallel systems composed of three identical or different elements, the reliability has been analyzed using the fuzzy concepts and some characteristics such as the mean time to failure have been evaluated, taking in our account that all the operating units have increasable time varying failure rates with fuzzy triangular membership functions. This paper includes a numerical example to illustrate the model and validate the analytical results.
Response of Sugarcane to Carbon Dioxide Enrichment and Elevated Air Temperature

Four sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum ) cultivars (CP72-2086, CP73-1547, CP88-1508, and CP80-1827) were grown in elongated temperature-gradient greenhouses (TGG) at ambient or elevated carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) of 360 or 720 μmol·mol -1 CO 2 air (ppm, mole fraction basis), respectively. Elevated CO 2 was maintained by injection and feedback control. Each TGG maintained air temperatures in four zones at Base temperature with respect to Gainesville, FL ambient (Zone 1), Base + 1.5 °C (Zone 2), Base + 3.0 °C (Zone 3), and Base + 4.5 °C (Zone 4) via computer-controlled ventilation fans and electric heaters. Data from Zones 1 and 4 are reported herein. Germinated sugarcane seed pieces of each cultivar were planted in early March 1997 in 8 tubs in each zone of each TGG. Four tubs contained mineral soil and four contained organic soil (peat). Two tubs of each soil had a high water table (20 cm) and two had a low water table (~50 cm). Biomass harvests were conducted each June and December of 1997 through 1999. Extracted juice volume and Brix were measured at each harvest from a subset of plants in Zone 1 and Zone 4, and sucrose yield (g per plant) calculated. Over these six harvests, sucrose was 23% greater in doubled CO 2 , 23% greater at + 4.5 °C, 63% greater in mineral than organic soil, and 36% greater at the higher water table.
GROWTH KINETICS OF Citrus suhuiensis CELL SUSPENSION CULTURES

Citrus is as one of the major commodities in most countries because of its demand and availability throughout the year. However, production of citrus including Citrus suhuiensis (C. suhuiensis) is declining due to diseases and unable to withstand low temperature. Plant cultures such as cell suspension has a potential in propagating free-disease and healthy Citrus fruits with value-added characteristics. However, studies related to C. suhuiensis is still scarce. Therefore, the growth kinetics of C. suhuiensis cell suspension culture was studied. Friable callus of C. suhuiensis which was induced from seeds was inoculated into MS medium with 30 g/L sucrose, 0.5 g/L malt extract and 2.0 mg/L 2, 4-D for the cell suspension initiation. Several batch experiments using several types of sugars (sucrose, glucose and fructose) were carried out. The cell dry weight (CDW) of C. suhuiensis was recorded for 30 days of culture period and the residual sugars in medium were analyzed using HPLC. Cells were completely hydrolyzed sucrose into glucose and fructose after 5 days of inoculation. All sugars were completely utilized by C. suhuiensis cells after 25th day. The kinetic growth parameters determined from batch experiments were then used for model simulation and verification in MATHCAD 15 software. After adjustments and refinement to the selected kinetic parameters, the model has fairly described and predicted the growth and sugars profile of C. suhuiensis cell suspension culture. The proposed model can be used to predict sucrose hydrolysis, glucose and fructose formation from sucrose and their consumption by the cells and also for larger scale of growth.
Restored tactile sensation improves neuroprosthetic arm control

The sense of touch is critical for skillful hand control1–3, but is largely missing for people who use prosthetic devices. Instead, prosthesis users rely heavily on visual feedback, even though state transitions that are necessary to skillfully interact with objects, such as object contact, are relayed more precisely through tactile feedback4–6. Here we show that restoring tactile sensory feedback, through intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex7, enables a person with a bidirectional intracortical brain-computer interface to improve their performance on functional object transport tasks completed with a neurally-controlled prosthetic limb. The participant had full visual feedback and had practiced the task for approximately two years prior to these experiments. Nevertheless, successful trial times on a commonly used clinical upper limb assessment task were reduced from a median time of 20.9 s (13.1 - 40.5 s interquartile range) to 10.2 s (5.4 - 18.1 s interquartile range) when vision was supplemented with microstimulation-evoked cutaneous percepts that were referred to different fingers and were graded in intensity based on real-time prosthesis contact forces. Faster completion times were primarily due to a reduction in the amount of time spent attempting to grasp objects. These results demonstrate the importance of tactile sensations in upper-limb control and the utility of creating bidirectional brain-computer interfaces to restore this stream of information using intracortical microstimulation.
Preparation, Characterization, and Application of Metakaolin-Based Geopolymer for Removal of Methylene Blue from Aqueous Solution

Metakaolin-based geopolymers are aluminosilicate materials that can be used as cationic dye adsorbents in aqueous system treatment. Our aim in this paper is to study the ability of geopolymer powder produced from metakaolin and alkaline activators to act as an adsorbent to remove methylene blue (MB). The solid materials were systematically analyzed by X-ray fluorescence (XRF), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Fourier-transform infrared spectrometery (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX), and the point of zero charge. XRF, FTIR, XRD, SEM, and EDX analyses confirmed the formation of a geopolymer composite by geopolymerization reaction. The influence of various experimental factors such as geopolymer dosage, pH, initial dye concentration, contact time, and temperature was assessed. Adsorption isotherms were evaluated by Langmuir, Freundlich, Temkin, and Dubinin–Radushkevich isotherms. Kinetics data were studied using pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order, and intraparticle diffusion models. The thermodynamic parameters, namely, Gibbs free energy (ΔG°), enthalpy (ΔH°), and entropy (ΔS°), were determined. The results indicated that the maximum decolorization was found in high pH values. The collected isotherm data were best fitted by the Langmuir isotherm, and the maximum adsorption capacity of dye onto the geopolymer was 43.48 mg/g. The experiment kinetics followed the pseudo-second-order kinetic models. The thermodynamic results demonstrated that the adsorption of the obtained material occurs spontaneously as an endothermic process. The results confirmed that the prepared adsorbent can be used for remediation of water contaminated by MB dye.
Biosurfactant enhanced soil bioremediation and associated microbial community analysis

The nutrient and rhamnolipid biosurfactant enhanced soil bioremediation of petroleum hydrocarbons (PHCs) and the associated microbial communities were investigated in this thesis. A systematic factorial design was conducted, and a response surface reduced quadratic model was developed to determine the effects of the nutrients and two surfactants (i.e., rhamnolipids and Tween 80) in the degradation of PHCs within 36 days. A significant effect as a result of nutrient addition and a 92.3% removal of PHCs was achieved by applying rhamnolipids at a concentration of 150 mg/kg and a 1000 μL nutrient solution in every 30 g of soil. Rhamnolipids resulted in higher metabolic activities of indigenous soil microorganisms to assimilate hydrocarbons than Tween 80 based on kinetic investigation. Using phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis, three different total biomass transformation patterns were observed when the soils were treated by natural attenuation, by rhamnolipid aided bioremediation or Tween 80 aided bioremediation, respectively. As indicated by PLFA biomarkers of the Gram-negative bacterial populations (cy17:0, cy19:0, 16:1ω7c and 18:1ω7c), Gram-negative bacteria are closely correlated with the total amount of soil biomass and are the sources of hydrocarbon-degrading microorganisms. The physiological status of the indigenous microorganisms was also evaluated using PLFA compositional characteristics to indicate environmental stress and elucidate biodegradation mechanisms linked to different soil treatments.
Ventral Pallidum is Essential for Cocaine Reinstatement After Voluntary Abstinence

Addiction is a chronic relapsing disorder, and during recovery many people experience several relapse events as they attempt to voluntarily abstain from drug. New preclinical relapse models have emerged which capture this common human experience of relapse after voluntary abstinence, and mounting evidence indicates that reinstatement of drug seeking after voluntary abstinence recruits neural circuits distinct from reinstatement following experimenter-imposed abstinence, or abstinence due to extinction training. Ventral pallidum (VP), a key limbic node involved in drug seeking, has well-established roles in conventional reinstatement models tested following extinction training, but it is unclear whether this region also participates in more translationally-relevant models of relapse. Here we show that chemogenetic inhibition of VP neurons strongly attenuates cocaine-, context-, and cue-induced reinstatement tested after voluntary, punishment-induced abstinence. This effect was strongest in the most compulsive, punishment-resistant rats, and reinstatement was associated with neural activity in anatomically-defined VP subregions. VP inhibition also attenuated the propensity of rats to display ‘hesitations,’ a risk assessment behavior seen during punished drug taking that is likely due to concurrent approach and avoidance motivations. These results indicate that VP, unlike other connected limbic brain regions, is essential for reinstatement of drug seeking after voluntary abstinence. Since VP inhibition effects were strongest in the most compulsively cocaine-seeking individuals, this could indicate that VP plays a particularly important role in the most pathological, addiction-like behavior, making it an attractive target for future therapeutic interventions.