Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Analysis and Comparison of Frequency Stabilization Loops in Self-Oscillating Current Mode DC–DC Converters

DC-DC converters, used in bidirectional applications such as battery/u-cap hybrid energy-storage systems, usually operate in current mode with a wide range of input and output voltages. Conventional current-mode control schemes, which requires adaptive slope compensation, are not attractive in these applications. In this paper, a class of self-oscillating hysteretic current-mode control (HCMC) schemes with frequency stabilization are analyzed and compared. Among them, the ripple HCMC scheme has the advantages of the inherent access to the average inductor current information, and inherent decoupling between the voltage and the frequency loops. The modeling and design procedure of two frequency regulation methods, namely the phase-locked loop (PLL) and delay-locked loop (DLL), are presented and compared in detail. The analysis is applicable to a range of inductive converters such as buck, boost, and buck-boost. HCMC implemented with a DLL is shown to not only offer comparable bandwidth compared to the PLL, but is also more robust against system parameter variations. The ripple HCMC controllers with PLL and DLL are implemented digitally, and the two schemes are verified experimentally on a 1 MHz 1-2.5 V to 5 V bidirectional boost converter prototype.
Price Elasticity and Pass-Through in the Nash Bargaining Solution in a Distribution Channel

This paper analyzes the role of the industry(cid:146)s price elasticity and the determinants of pass-through in the Nash bargaining solution in a distribution channel. It is shown that the division of the upstream and downstream pro(cid:133)ts is characterized by the price elasticity and the distribution of bargaining powers. I also show that the demand curvature plays an important role in the determination of pass-through rates.
‘Only work and sleep’: seafarers’ perceptions of job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and their effects on work and life on board

ABSTRACT Previous research on job demands in seafaring has focused on the effects of workload and circadian disturbance on seafarers’ health and fatigue. Taking a more comprehensive approach, this study identifies job demands of short sea cargo shipping lines and explores their effects on work and life on board. Data came from 54 interviews with officers and crew on five cargo ships. Findings revealed job demands related to characteristics of the schedule, ports, and sea voyages; these were not only associated with workload and circadian disturbance, but also with the difficulty of the work, the ability to plan ahead, and intrusions from third parties. Job demands affected outcomes through two interconnected processes. First, job demands had direct and indirect effects on fatigue and the working climate on board. Second, potential positive effects of job demands (i.e. interesting work and pay) were related to motivation and, together with a good working climate, could reduce turnover. Connecting the two processes, a good working climate was pivotal in counteracting negative emotions and supporting motivation and collaboration. In this way, it functioned as a key resource. External constraints could either buffer or reinforce these effects.
The unforeseen challenge: from genotype-to-phenotype in cell populations

Biological cells present a paradox, in that they show simultaneous stability and flexibility, allowing them to adapt to new environments and to evolve over time. The emergence of stable cell states depends on genotype-to-phenotype associations, which essentially reflect the organization of gene regulatory modes. The view taken here is that cell-state organization is a dynamical process in which the molecular disorder manifests itself in a macroscopic order. The genome does not determine the ordered cell state; rather, it participates in this process by providing a set of constraints on the spectrum of regulatory modes, analogous to boundary conditions in physical dynamical systems. We have developed an experimental framework, in which cell populations are exposed to unforeseen challenges; novel perturbations they had not encountered before along their evolutionary history. This approach allows an unbiased view of cell dynamics, uncovering the potential of cells to evolve and develop adapted stable states. In the last decade, our experiments have revealed a coherent set of observations within this framework, painting a picture of the living cell that in many ways is not aligned with the conventional one. Of particular importance here, is our finding that adaptation of cell-state organization is essentially an efficient exploratory dynamical process rather than one founded on random mutations. Based on our framework, a set of concepts underlying cell-state organization—exploration evolving by global, non-specific, dynamics of gene activity—is presented here. These concepts have significant consequences for our understanding of the emergence and stabilization of a cell phenotype in diverse biological contexts. Their implications are discussed for three major areas of biological inquiry: evolution, cell differentiation and cancer. There is currently no unified theoretical framework encompassing the emergence of order, a stable state, in the living cell. Hopefully, the integrated picture described here will provide a modest contribution towards a physics theory of the cell.
Dobutamine Stress Echocardiography for Assessment of Perioperative Cardiac Risk in Patients Undergoing Major Vascular Surgery

BackgroundThe purpose of this study was to determine the predictive value of dobutamine stress echocardiography for perioperative cardiac events in patients scheduled for elective major noncardiac vascular surgery. Methods and ResultsPatients (N = 136; mean age, 68 years) unable to exercise underwent a dobutamine stress test before surgery (incremental dobutamine infusion [10-40 μg. kg-1. min-1] continued with atropine [0.25-1 mg i.v.] if necessary to achieve 85% of the age-predicted maximal heart rate without symptoms or signs of ischemia). The clinical risk profile was evaluated by Detsky's modification Goldman's risk factor analysis. Echocardiographic images were evaluated by two observers blinded to the clinical data of the patients, and results of the test were not used for clinical decision making. Technically adequate images were obtained in 134 of 136 patients, one major complication occurred (ventricular fibrillation), and three tests were discontinued prematurely because of side effects. Finally, data from 131 patients were analyzed with univariate and multivariate methods. The dobutamine stress test was positive (new or worsened wall motion abnormality) in 35 of 131 patients. In the postoperative period, five patients died of myocardial infarction, nine patients had unstable angina, and one patient developed pulmonary edema. All patients with cardiac complications (15 patients) had a positive dobutamine stress test. cardiac events occurred in patients with negative tests. Five patients with a technically inadequate prematurely stopped test were operated on without complications. By multivariate analysis (logistic regression), only age >70 years and new wall motion abnormalities during the dobutamine test were significant predictors of perioperative cardiac events. ConclusionsDobutamine stress echocardiography is a feasible, safe, and useful method for identifying patients at high or low risk of perioperative cardiac events. The test yields additional information, beyond that provided by clinical variables, in patients who are scheduled for major noncardiac vascular surgery.
Predicting response to omalizumab, an anti-IgE antibody, in patients with allergic asthma.

STUDY OBJECTIVE To determine baseline characteristics predictive of response to omalizumab, an anti-IgE antibody, in patients with allergic asthma. DESIGN Pooled analysis of two multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled phase III studies with omalizumab. PATIENTS One thousand seventy allergic asthma patients symptomatic despite moderate-to-high doses (mean, 725 micro g/d) of inhaled beclomethasone dipropionate (BDP). INTERVENTIONS Omalizumab (n = 542) or placebo (n = 528) were administered at a 4-weekly subcutaneous dose of at least 0.016 mg/kg/IgE (IU/mL) for 16 weeks in addition to stable BDP therapy. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS Univariate logistic regression was performed to explore baseline variables predictive of best response. Various aspects of response (reduced symptom scores, reduced usage of rescue medication, improved lung function, improved quality of life [QoL]) were explored as well as a composite definition of response (response in at least one of these four aspects with no asthma exacerbation during 16 weeks of treatment). Time to onset of response as well as the ability to predict eventual response were also determined for the composite definition of response. A consistent pattern of predictive covariates was seen over all definitions of response (except for QoL). For the composite definition, a history of emergency asthma treatment in the past year was the factor most predictive (p = 0.015) of best response on active treatment (response rate for those with such history was 67% for omalizumab and 42% for placebo; for those without a history the response rates were 63% and 54%, respectively). Another factor predictive of best response on active treatment was high BDP dose (p = 0.037; response rate for those treated with >or= 800 micro g/d was 65% for omalizumab and 40% for placebo; for those treated with < 800 micro g/d, the response rates were 63% and 55%, respectively). A low FEV(1) was also predictive (p = 0.072; response rates for those with FEV(1) <or= 65% predicted were 60% for omalizumab and 40% for placebo; for those with FEV(1) >or= 65% predicted, the response rates were 67% and 53%, respectively). Seventy-six percent of patients had at least one of these factors. This subgroup showed odds of being a responder (composite definition) 2.25 times higher (95% confidence interval, 1.68 to 3.01) than placebo. Some 38% of patients treated with omalizumab showed a response (composite definition) at the first evaluation time point at 4 weeks, increasing to 64% at week 16 (vs 48% for placebo; p < 0.001). Among omalizumab responders at 16 weeks, only 61% had responded at 4 weeks whereas 87% had responded at 12 weeks. CONCLUSIONS Patients who benefit most when omalizumab is administered as add-on therapy are those receiving high doses of BDP, those with a history of frequent emergency asthma treatment, and those with poor lung function. Patients should be treated with omalizumab for a minimum duration of 12 weeks.
Examining Staff Members’ Views on Staff Retention Practices in a Public Higher Education Institution

Abstract Worker productivity is enhanced by good working conditions provided to workers. Good working conditions include perks and benefits. Underpinned by the Four Drive Model of Employee Motivation, the study sought to examine workers’ views on staff retention measures at the workplace. The study adopted a mixed methods approach. A concurrent triangulation mixed methods design was employed. The study found that availability of medical allowances and pension schemes was disregarded at the workplace and that career advancement was not taken seriously as staff members who wanted to advance themselves were not supported. The study concludes that there were seriously negative issues regarding staff members’ job satisfaction in the institution under study. The study recommends that institutions should have clear recruitment policies and that basic and attractive conditions of service should be put in place to attract staff and enhance job satisfaction.
What’s Politics Got to do with it? Changes Retirement Expectations in Response to the ACA

Access to health insurance is a known determinant in labor market decisions, both in terms whether and how much to work. Recent research suggests that the Massachusetts health reform has had significant retirement effects for males ages 55-64 (Sanzenbacher 2014). However, current work has focused on estimating the average effect of health insurance on retirement; heterogeneity is likely important as well. The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is an extreme example of politically charged policy change. This project estimates the effect of the ACA on retirement, and explore whether local and/or individual political beliefs are a source of heterogeneity in the “treatment effect,” using unique state-level data for the state of Washington.
Cooking Oil Fumes Improve Lung Adenocarcinoma Cell Survival Through c-IAP2 Induction

Cooking oil fumes (COF) exposure was demonstrated to be associated with lung cancer development in Taiwanese nonsmoking women. Previous studies identified Cox-2 overexpression and oxidative DNA damage in lung adenocarcinoma cells after exposure to COF. Involvement of COF in lung tumorigenesis may be associated with cell survival, as well as proliferation of lung adenocarcinoma. To test this hypothesis, A549, a lung adenocarcinoma cell line, was used, and MTT assay data showed that the cell viability of A549 was significantly increased in a concentration-dependent manner by COF treatment for 48h. Flow cytometery results indicated that the proportion of A549 cell at S-phase was markedly increased after exposure of COF. To elucidate whether the antiapoptotic c-IAP2 (IAP2) was involved in COF-improved cell survival, IAP2 protein levels was determined by Western blot, and the results showed it was significantly induced by COF in a concentration-dependent manner. Moreover, the suppression of BAY, a nuclear factor (NF)-κB binding inhibitor, or the COF-induced IAP2 protein levels indicated that NF-κB activation by COF may partly be involved in IAP2 induction. These results showed that the positive impact of COF on cell survival and proliferation of A549 lung tumor cells may be through an induction of IAP2 overexpression.
QUENCHING OF SINGLET OXYGEN BY HUMAN RED CELL GHOSTS

Abstract— Time resolved measurements of singlet oxygen phosphorescence at 1270 nm were made from unsealed red cell ghosts, labeled with 5‐(N‐hexadecanoyl)aminoeosin and suspended in deuterium oxide buffer. The singlet oxygen emission lifetime was long, 23 ± 1 μs. The lifetime of the singlet oxygen phosphorescence from intact unsealed ghosts was not a measure of the singlet oxygen lifetime within the red cell ghost membrane, however. The prolonged singlet oxygen emission was due to singlet oxygen escaping from the thin membrane into the buffer, since the emission lifetime was significantly shortened by adding azide ion or water to the deuterium oxide buffer.
Financial impact of wheat quality standards on South African wheat producers: A dynamic linear programming (DLP) approach

ABSTRACT The South African wheat industry has been under pressure in recent years from global economic instability and a fast-changing domestic policy environment. This has manifested itself in declining wheat production and profitability at the farm level. Wheat quality plays a key role in wheat buying decisions, with quality improvements correlating negatively with yield and, ultimately, productivity. Yet any new wheat cultivar released for commercial production must still meet the standards of the country’s wheat classification system, which has led to wheat sometimes being imported in the face of a domestic shortfall. This situation has inevitably led to tension within the industry and affected both performance and pricing. Using various data sources and a dynamic linear programming (DLP) approach, this paper takes an in-depth look at the link between wheat quality and yield, with a view to determining the impact of wheat quality standards (ceteris paribus) on the profitability of South African wheat producers. Results indicated that were these classification discrepancies removed, the country-wide effect on net farm income is estimated to range between ZAR606 million and ZAR920 million per annum.
Central projections of the sciatic, saphenous, median, and ulnar nerves of the rat demonstrated by transganglionic transport of choleragenoid‐HRP (B‐HRP) and wheat germ agglutinin‐HRP (WGA‐HRP)

The central projections of the rat sciatic, saphenous, median, and ulnar nerves were labeled by injecting each nerve with 0.05 mg B‐HRP, or 0.5 mg WGA‐HRP, or a mixture of both. The B‐HRP labeled large dorsal root ganglion cells (30–50 μm) and, correspondingly, 98% of axons labeled in a rootlet were myelinated; although all sizes of myelinated axons were labeled, a greater proportion fell in the large ranges (2–6.5 μ axon diameter) than in the small ranges (0.5–2 μm). Primary afferents labeled with B‐HRP were distributed in laminae I, III, IV, and V of the dorsal horn and extended into the intermediate grey and the ventral horn; Clarke's column and the respective dorsal column nuclei were also densely labeled. Motoneurons of the nerve were densely labeled by B‐HRP, including extensive regions of their dendritic trees. In contrast, WGA‐HRP labeled small dorsal root ganglion cells (15–25 μm) and in the dorsal rootlets, 84% of the labeled axons were nonmyelinated; the small population of labeled myelinated afferents mainly fell within the smaller ranges (0.5–2.0μm). Terminal fields of WGA‐HRP labeled afferents were restricted to the superficial dorsal horn (laminae I–III), and to limited regions in the dorsal column nuclei.
Up‐regulation of TFF expression by PPARγ ligands in gastric epithelial cells

Background : Although trefoil factor family peptides (TFF peptides) are assumed to play important roles in gastric mucosal protection, the regulatory mechanism of gastric TFF expression has not been fully understood yet. Recent reports showed gastric expression of peroxisome proliferator‐activated receptor γ (PPARγ), a nuclear receptor known to be involved in the regulation of cell growth and differentiation in other cell types, such as adipocytes.
Obesity: attitudes of undergraduate student nurses and registered nurses.

AIM To investigate undergraduate student nurses' and registered nurses' attitudes towards obese persons and towards the management of obese patients. BACKGROUND Obesity is a global public health problem. Escalating rates of overweight and obesity are also taking a toll in Asian countries that have historically had much lower rates. Despite the growing prevalence of obesity worldwide, studies show that nurses and other health professionals hold negative attitudes towards obese people, which may affect the care of obese patients. DESIGN Cross-sectional study. METHODS A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 352 undergraduate student nurses and 198 registered nurses. The questionnaire consisted of the Fat Phobia Scale, the Attitudes Toward Obese Adult Patients Scale and a demographic profile. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics and student's t-tests. RESULTS Overall mean scores on the Fat Phobia Scale (3.53 SD 0.47) indicated average levels of fat phobia and mean scores on the Attitudes Toward Obese Adult Patients scale (2.64 SD 0.51) indicated neutral attitudes towards obese patients. Registered nurses had significantly higher levels of fat phobia and more negative attitudes than did student nurses. The majority of participants perceived that obese people liked food, overate, and were shapeless, slow and unattractive. Additionally, over one-half of participants believed that obese adults should be put on a diet while in hospital. CONCLUSIONS Results of this study show that both registered nurses and student nurses have negative perceptions of obesity and are unlikely to attribute positive characteristics to obese individuals. That registered nurses hold more negative attitudes towards obese person is cause for concern. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Given the increasing prevalence of obesity and the disproportionate number of obese persons affected by many health conditions, current and future nurses should have positive professional attitudes towards obese individuals. Obesity needs to be more adequately addressed, both in basic nursing education programs and in continuing professional education for practising nurses.
A load-pull-based behavioral model for Doherty PA design

A fundamental-only behavioral model is extracted from DUT-level swept power load-pull data that is capable of accurately predicting output power, gain and efficiency of high power RF transistors as a function of input drive level, load impedances, frequency and gate bias. The model is implemented with a sub-set of the X-parameter components and is easily ported to modern CAD tools as an X-parameter file. It provides a convenient method for evaluating the performance of RF power transistors in different Doherty PA architectures and can be used to design and optimize matching network, phasing lines and dynamic load modulation for efficient Doherty operation. The model was used to design a symmetric LDMOS DPA with first-pass success, that achieved 55% drain efficiency at average power of 45dBm with 62dBc ACPR after DPD correction using a 4-C GSM, 6.2dB PAR signal at 1.842GHz.
Satisfaction with democracy and perceived performance of the welfare state in Europe

This article tests several hypotheses for explaining the link between welfare-state performance and satisfaction with democracy. In conducting our multilevel analysis, we combine data from the European Social Survey 2012 special module on democracy with data on contextual and institutional conditions, including those on welfare-state regimes. Our results show that a discrepancy between desired policy goals and perceived policy outcomes in connection with the welfare state (i.e. the policy deficit) influences citizens’ perceptions of how well democracy in their country works. Social policies which citizens see as reducing poverty correlate positively with satisfaction with democracy. We also find evidence that satisfaction with democracy depends on the type of welfare regime, as well as on changes in economic conditions that arise due to financial crisis.
A Review of CMOS Photodiode Modeling and the Role of the Lateral Photoresponse

The CMOS photodiode is the primary photosensing device used in solid-state image sensors. A review of significant CMOS photodiode models that can be found in the literature in recent years is presented here. We have focused on photocurrent models in one, two, and three dimensions, paying special attention to lateral current components. Lateral collection, particularly for small devices fabricated in deep submicrometer technologies, has been shown to be of utmost importance. Finally, several models to account for crosstalk effects are also described.