Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Interleaved Secondary-Side Modulated LLC Resonant Converter for Wide Output Range Applications

In this paper, an LLC type converter with two interleaved pulsewidth modulation (PWM) rectifiers is proposed. Compared with the conventional LLC converter, it achieves a wide voltage regulation range independent of load. In the proposed structure, each secondary-side PWM rectifier can operate individually. With the interleaving technique and shared primary-side switching network, the circuit secondary-side current stress is halved and the primary-side current stress is largely reduced. Besides, the filter capacitor requirement is reduced. Therefore, the proposed structure is a good option for medium/high power wide output range applications. The symmetrical LLC resonant tanks always operate at the resonant frequency, which marks the optimal operation point of the LLC resonant tank. Therefore, the conduction loss is effectively mitigated. In the proposed converter, zero-voltage turning-on (ZVS) of the primary-side MOSFETs can be ensured and is independent of the load. Moreover, the turning-off currents of the primary-side MOSFETs are small and are also load independent. This brings the benefits of minimized circulating current and negligible turning-off loss and no MOSFET turning-off voltage spike. The secondary-side auxiliary MOSFETs turn-on with ZVS and rectifying diodes turn-off with limited di/dt. Topological analysis and experimental results of a 1.3 kW/100 kHz prototype generating 230–440 V output from 390-V input are presented. The prototype demonstrates 97.31% peak efficiency and good performance over a wide output range.
Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars interfacial polarization in dielectric spectra of composite materials: Scaling laws and applications

An experimental and theoretical investigation of the scaling laws governing the phenomenon of Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars interfacial polarization in composite materials in dependence on morphology, volume fraction, orientation of fillers, form factor and the presence of interphases is presented in the current study. By considering the complex dielectric function of the matrix and of the fillers, the dielectric spectra are calculated in the frequency range from 107 Hz to 10-2 Hz and compared to dielectric measurements by Broadband Dielectric Spectroscopy, carried out in the frequency range from 107 Hz to 0.5Hz and between -90oC and 150oC. The characteristic frequencies of the global dielectric response are reported to strongly vary with the conductivity value of the conductive phase, while a much weaker dependence is observed upon varying the volume fraction, the form factor and the orientation of fillers. The value of permittivity at low frequency does not change with the conductivity value, whereas a significant variation is observed in dependence on the composite morphology, form factor, orientation of fillers and presence of interfaces with different gradients of properties. Two possible applications of our analysis are reported: (i) measuring the conductivity of materials without employing a direct electrical contact between the electrodes and the sample and (ii) discriminating different phenomena of electrical polarization in complex materials by analyzing the scaling laws. Our study delivers thus a useful and necessary analysis of the dielectric behavior of composite materials, where interfacial polarization effects play a major role.
Downregulation of PTCD1 in Bladder Urothelial Carcinoma Predicts Poor Prognosis and Levels of Immune Infiltration

Pentatricopeptide repeat domain 1 (PTCD1) was reported to regulate mitochondrial metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation. However, the effect and mechanism of PTCD1 in the development of bladder urothelial carcinoma (BLCA) remain unclear. The databases from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Human Protein Atlas (HPA) were used to analyze the expression changes, clinical features, and prognostic values of PTCD1. A nomogram was built to predict the prognostic outcomes of BLCA cases. The potential genes interacting with PTCD1 were explored by Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis (WGCNA). The estimation of associations between PTCD1 and tumor mutations, tumor immunities, and m6A methylations was performed. The study found that the gradual decrease of PTCD1 expression was observed with the increase of stage and grade. Low PTCD1 expression was greatly correlated with higher pathological stage, N stage, and poor prognosis in TCGA cohorts; interestingly, low-grade BLCA cases all exhibited high expression of PTCD1. HPA database analysis implied that the expression of PTCD1 protein in BLCA was lower than that in normal bladder tissue, and the protein expression of PTCD1 in high-grade BLCA was lower than that in low-grade BLCA. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that PTCD1 may serve as an independent factor influencing prognosis of BLCA. Mechanistically, PTCD1 played a regulatory role in BLCA progression through multiple tumor-related pathways containing PI3K-Akt signaling, ECM-receptor interaction, oxidative phosphorylation, and extracellular matrix organization. WGCNA reported that PTCD1 had a strong positive correlation with POLR2J, ZNHT1, ATP5MF, PDAP1, BUD31, and COPS6. Besides, the mRNA expression of PTCD1 was negatively associated with immune cells' infiltrations, immune functions, and checkpoints, especially with some m6A methylation regulators in BLCA. In sum, downregulation of PTCD1 expression may be involved in the development of BLCA and remarkably correlated with poor prognosis. Meantime, it showed an influence in immune cell infiltration and may serve as an agreeable prognostic indicator in BLCA.
Towards a Smarter Battery Management System for Electric Vehicle Applications: A Critical Review of Lithium-Ion Battery State of Charge Estimation

Energy storage system (ESS) technology is still the logjam for the electric vehicle (EV) industry. Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries have attracted considerable attention in the EV industry owing to their high energy density, lifespan, nominal voltage, power density, and cost. In EVs, a smart battery management system (BMS) is one of the essential components; it not only measures the states of battery accurately, but also ensures safe operation and prolongs the battery life. The accurate estimation of the state of charge (SOC) of a Li-ion battery is a very challenging task because the Li-ion battery is a highly time variant, non-linear, and complex electrochemical system. This paper explains the workings of a Li-ion battery, provides the main features of a smart BMS, and comprehensively reviews its SOC estimation methods. These SOC estimation methods have been classified into four main categories depending on their nature. A critical explanation, including their merits, limitations, and their estimation errors from other studies, is provided. Some recommendations depending on the development of technology are suggested to improve the online estimation.
Evaluation of a Long-Distance IEEE 802.11ah Wireless Technology in Linux Using Docker Containers

Wireless technologies are essential for modern people to maintain uninterrupted connection to the Internet. The most popular standards for wireless technologies are standards of the IEEE 802.11 family. Currently, data transmission rate achievable by IEEE 802.11ac or 802.11ax standards can reach up to 10 Gbit/s. Different IEEE standards have specific data transmission rates. For example, the IEEE 802.11ah standard or Wi-Fi HaLow (code name) operates in the 900 MHz band, which is an unlicensed frequency band below 1 GHz, and is called the “Sub-1-GHz” range. In theory, this standard can provide coverage range of up to 543 meters indoors and data transfer rate of up to 347 Mbit/s (using a maximum of four spatial streams and 16 MHz channel bandwidth). The great benefit of the 802.11ah standard is low energy consumption, which enables communication between devices from the Internet of Things (IoT) over long distances without using a lot of energy. The Wi-Fi HaLow standard is being studied by the authors of the presented article in the ns-3 network simulation program with the 802.11ah module installed and implemented in Docker containers, VirtualBox Virtual Machines (VMs) with a running Linux operating system. During the simulations, results were obtained for the Docker containers simulation with a limited number of stations over different simulation times. These results have been studied in different scenarios. In the scenarios, the results of the Wi-Fi HaLow network simulation were converted into another simulation time, and thus were compared with each other.
The Development Progress of Surface Structure Diffraction Gratings: From Manufacturing Technology to Spectroscopic Applications

The high-precision diffraction grating is an important chromatic dispersion component that has been widely used in many fields, including laser beam combining, chirped pulse compression, spectroscopy, among others. In this paper, we review the development status of reflection and transmission gratings with high diffraction efficiency and high laser-induced damage thresholds, such as metal-film and multilayer-dielectric-film gratings. Then, we review the basic principles and most recent stages in the development of manufacturing techniques, such as mechanical scribing, holographic exposure, electron-beam lithography, and nanoimprinting.
Bibliometric Mapping of Trends, Applications and Challenges of Artificial Intelligence in Smart Cities

INTRODUCTION: The continued growth of urbanization presents new challenges. This, in turn, will lead to pressure for sustainable environment initiatives, with demands for more and better infrastructure in the diminishing space available and improved quality of life for city dwellers at a more affordable cost. Smart Cities are part of the solution to the growing challenges of urbanization. The adoption of new technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming cities, making them smarter, faster, and predicting opportunities for improvement. OBJECTIVES: This study is conducting a detailed bibliometric survey to investigate the applications and trends of Artificial Intelligence research for different areas of smart cities and emphasizing the potential effects and challenges of AI adaptation in smart cities over the past 30.5 years. METHODS: For this study, the Scopus database was used to collect a total of 1925 documents published between 1991-2021 (July). The bibliometric analysis includes document types, subject categorization, document growth, as well as top contributing sources, countries, authors, and funding sponsors. It also analyses keywords, abstracts, titles, and characteristics of most cited documents. RESULTS: The analyzed findings of this research study reflect not only the significance of AI technology for various applications within numerous sectors in the smart city but also major obstacles in AI research for various sectors of smart cities. CONCLUSION: The research demonstrates that AI has the ability to construct today’s and tomorrow’s smart cities, but that each region’s potentials, conditions, and circumstances must be addressed in order to achieve a smooth internet city development.
Breaking Wave Imaging Using Lidar and Sonar

The two-phase flow generated by breaking ocean waves plays a crucial role in various geophysical processes, including dissipation of wave energy and atmospheric gas exchange. This paper presents a technique to measure the two-phase flow generated by breaking waves at prototype scale. We have demonstrated the validity and potential of this technique in the Large Wave Flume (Grosser Wellenkanal, GWK) facility in Hanover, Germany. Actively breaking, depth-limited waves were measured using an array of three downward-looking lidars mounted above the water surface and an upward-looking multibeam sonar below. This novel setup enabled the characterization of the complete upper boundary (free water surface and splash-up) and seaward lower boundary (entrained cavity and bubble plume) of the breaking wave. We have quantified the migration of the lower boundary as the cavity and plume are entrained in the water column—penetrating toward the seabed, moving onshore with the passage of the wave crest, and then rising as it is slowly advected offshore. We have also estimated the overall composition of the splash, cavity, and plume as the breaking wave evolves over time. Our observations are consistent with results from previous small-scale laboratory experiments and the suitability of the technique for experimentation at prototype scale has been demonstrated.
Sur la réductibilité des variétés des lois d’algèbres de Leibniz complexes

Dans cette note, en utilisant les notions de deformation et contraction des lois d'algebres de Lie et Leibniz, on montre que les varietes algebriques des lois d'algebres de Leibniz complexes et de Leibniz nilpotentes de dimension superieure ou egale a 3 sont reductibles.
Influence of the Gut Microbiome on Feed Intake of Farm Animals

With the advancement of microbiome research, the requirement to consider the intestinal microbiome as the “last organ” of an animal emerged. Through the production of metabolites and/or the stimulation of the host’s hormone and neurotransmitter synthesis, the gut microbiota can potentially affect the host’s eating behavior both long and short-term. Based on current evidence, the major mediators appear to be short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), peptide hormones such as peptide YY (PYY) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), as well as the amino acid tryptophan with the associated neurotransmitter serotonin, dopamine and γ-Aminobutyrate (GABA). The influence appears to extend into central neuronal networks and the expression of taste receptors. An interconnection of metabolic processes with mechanisms of taste sensation suggests that the gut microbiota may even influence the sensations of their host. This review provides a summary of the current status of microbiome research in farm animals with respect to general appetite regulation and microbiota-related observations made on the influence on feed intake. This is briefly contrasted with the existing findings from research with rodent models in order to identify future research needs. Increasing our understanding of appetite regulation could improve the management of feed intake, feed frustration and anorexia related to unhealthy conditions in farm animals.
A Liposomal Formulation to Exploit the Bioactive Potential of an Extract from Graciano Grape Pomace

Antioxidant compounds with health benefits can be found in food processing residues, such as grape pomace. In this study, antioxidants were identified and quantified in an extract obtained from Graciano red grape pomace via a green process. The antioxidant activity of the extract was assessed by the DPPH and FRAP tests, and the phenolic content by the Folin–Ciocalteu test. Furthermore, nanotechnologies were employed to produce a safe and effective formulation that would exploit the antioxidant potential of the extract for skin applications. Anthocyanins, flavan-3-ols and flavanols were the main constituents of the grape pomace extract. Phospholipid vesicles, namely liposomes, were prepared and characterized. Cryo-TEM images showed that the extract-loaded liposomes were predominantly spherical/elongated, small, unilamellar vesicles. Light scattering results revealed that the liposomes were small (~100 nm), homogeneously dispersed, and stable during storage. The non-toxicity of the liposomal formulation was demonstrated in vitro in skin cells, suggesting its possible safe use. These findings indicate that an extract with antioxidant properties can be obtained from food processing residues, and a liposomal formulation can be developed to exploit its bioactive value, resulting in a promising healthy product.
Correlation-based Identification of the Effects of the Loads on Oscillatory Modes

This paper aims at finding the effects of low frequency oscillations on load and shows how the oscillatory modes affect the load. The proposed method uses an on line identification method to identify the effects of load on oscillatory mode on the basis of cross-correlation (autocorrelation). A test power system consisting nine buses and three generators is utilised to simulate and validate the algorithm. Finally the transfer function indicating the effects of low frequency oscillations on load for one feeder of Australian network is specified.
Cross-Cultural Translation and Application of the Lieberman–Brian Inclusion Rating Scale for PE in German-Speaking Countries

Overcoming participation barriers of students with disabilities in physical education is of great importance and an internationally recognized goal. Research highlights that students with disabilities have mixed feelings about their inclusion experiences in physical education. Physical education teachers often do not feel prepared to appropriately support all students. In German-speaking countries in particular, there is a strong tradition of segregation, with varying interpretations of inclusion. In this light, an instrument to reliably assess the inclusive potential of physical education is needed, thereby providing data on the efficacy of teachers’ practices. Such an assessment scale would be important to identify barriers to inclusive physical education while providing teachers with data that could potentially enhance the learning environment. The purpose of this study was to outline initial insights into the cross-cultural translation process of the Lieberman/Brian Inclusion Rating Scale for PE in German-speaking countries. The translation process followed suggestions for transcultural validation. Expert review was provided to check content and face validity. Major item challenges centered around paraeducators, gym management, and conceptual differences regarding physical education.
Modeling and Analysis of a Composite Structure-Based Soft Pneumatic Actuators for Soft-Robotic Gripper

Soft pneumatic actuators are extensively used in soft robots, and their bending angles and kinematic rules at different pressures play a crucial role in practical applications. This investigation aims to model the bending angle and motion of a new type of soft pneumatic actuator that adopts a composite structure consisting of two kinds of pneumatic networks. Based on the structural and deformation characteristics of the proposed soft actuator, the constitutive model is established, and then the moment equilibrium and virtual work principle are combined to model the bending angle of two pneumatic modules. The kinematic model of the proposed soft actuator is co-opted from the kinematic modeling of rigid robots. By employing the piecewise constant curvature method and coordinate transformation, the location of any chamber of the soft actuator can be calculated. The effectiveness of the developed analytical models is then tested, and the calculated results show good agreement with the experimental results. Finally, three soft actuators are used to constitute a soft gripper, and the pinching and enveloping grasping performance are examined. All experimental test results demonstrate that the developed bending angle and kinematic models can explain the bending principle of the proposed soft actuators well.
Research and Analysis on Markowitz Model of Portfolio Selection

: In the past few years, people focus more on portfolio selection and stock investment. It is increasingly significant to help investors to maximize their returns while minimizing the associated risks. In this paper, Full Markowitz Model is used as a basis to analyze and build portfolios. The dataset includes a recent 20 years of historical daily total return data from ten stocks. All optimal optimization inputs are calculated based on the monthly observations, including efficient frontier, minimal risk portfolio, optimal portfolio, and minimum portfolios frontier. Also, the optimal portfolios are also built based on the five cases of the additional constraints in real life. These optimization results help investors to choose their portfolios according to their needs.
A Framework for Stakeholders' Involvement in Digital Productions for Cultural Heritage Tourism

This paper proposes a new framework for the production and development of immersive and playful technologies in cultural heritage in which different stakeholders such as users and local communities are involved early on in the product development chain. We believe that an early stage of co-creation in the design process produces a clear understanding of what users struggle with, facilitates the creation of community ownership and helps in better defining the design challenge at hand. We show that adopting such a framework has several direct and indirect benefits, including a deeper sense of site and product ownership as direct benefits to the individual, and the creation and growth of tangential economies to the community.
Análisis y detección de los trols en el perfil de Twitter de El País España

Los trols son una realidad cada vez más presente con la que conviven los usuarios de Internet. El presente estudio pretende confirmar si los trols son una amenaza real en España y, más concretamente, en el perfil de Twitter del periódico más leído de la nación: El País. Mediante el análisis de 767 tuits, se buscaba analizar la frecuencia con la que intervienen los trols en el perfil El País España, caracterizar —en cuanto a sexo y tipología— los trols que intervinieron en esta cuenta de Twitter y comprobar si existe una relación entre el ratio de engagement de las publicaciones y el número de comentarios trolling. Los resultados confirmaron que los trols están muy presentes en el perfil de Twitter de El País España, con un mayor protagonismo de los trols anónimos de tipología hater. Además, el engagement presenta una correlación positiva muy fuerte con el número de comentarios trolling hasta el punto de que es posible predecir este ratio, utilizando para ello el número de comentarios protagonizados por trols. La investigación aporta información de valor que puede resultar de utilidad tanto a nivel teórico como práctico debido a las implicaciones y el carácter innovador que posee.
Plastic Flow Characteristics of Micro Single-Crystal Copper

In order to study the plastic flow characteristics of micro single-crystal Cu, an in-situ uniaxial loading test was carried out. The slip direction of the test is determined by the Schmidt factor, which is at 1μm~4μm. Within the micropillar size range, the sample has an obvious size effect. This is essentially due to the continuous proliferation of dislocations in the micropillar flowing out of the surface. The smaller the size, the more difficult it is to store dislocations, and the easier dislocations flow out. Therefore, the yield stress significantly increases with the increment of sample diameter. This study provides guidance for the reliability evaluation of microscale components based on the single-crystal Cu.