Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Improved NPC Inverters Without Short-Circuit and Dead-Time Issues

The traditional neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter has short-circuit problem. The risk of short-circuit can be decreased by using dead-time in the switching signals. However, the dead-time decreases the achievable output voltage and causes distortion in the waveforms. To overcome the short-circuit problem, dual-buck NPC (DB-NPC) and split-inductor NPC (SI-NPC) inverters have been researched. However, the voltage stress of the two external diodes in the DB-NPC inverter is higher. On the other hand, the SI-NPC inverter has a problem of generating huge voltage spikes in the dead-time, which can destroy the semiconductor devices. In addition, the SI-NPC inverter cannot provide reactive power. This article presents a family of NPC inverters consisting of single-phase, three-phase, and cascaded inverters. The proposed inverters have no short-circuit and dead-time issues, therefore no high voltage and current spikes are caused. Also, the dead-time in the switching signals can be minimized. As a result, the magnitude of the output waveforms can be increased, and quality can be improved. Unlike the DB-NPC inverter, the voltage stress of all the semiconductor in the proposed inverter is lower, and unlike the SI-NPC inverter the proposed inverter provides reactive power. In this article, the proposed three-level NPC inverter is analyzed, designed, and tested. The voltage stress of the semiconductor devices in the proposed inverter is half of the source voltage, whereas in the conventional DB-NPC inverter the voltage stress of the two external diodes is the source voltage. In addition to the aforementioned benefits, the proposed cascaded inverter reduces the total number of inductors. To verify the analysis, detailed simulation, and experimental results of the proposed three-level inverter with input voltage 640 V, output power 1.2 kW, and output voltage 220 Vrms are provided.
Microwave Synthesis of MnO2-Lignin Composite Electrodes for Supercapacitors

The demand for energy storage devices made from biodegradable materials has increased significantly due to sustainability. Currently, such devices possess vital issues, such as high manufacturing costs and toxicity, low reliability, as well as poor electrochemical performance. In this research, microwave synthesis was conducted to fabricate a low-cost, high-performing, plant-based electroactive material. MnO2 microparticles fabricated via microwave irradiation were deposited on two plant-based materials as substrates made of Al/lignin and Al/AC/lignin. The quasi-solid-state supercapacitors were assembled using a polymeric gel electrolyte of PVA/H3PO4. Scanning electron microscopy was performed to examine the polydispersity, morphology, and porosity of the micro-MnO2 deposited materials. FTIR and UV-vis spectroscopy were performed to study the composition and verify deposition of micro-MnO2 on the lignin-based matrixes. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) was employed to study the polarization resistance of the system. The cyclic charge-discharge (CCD) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) were performed to observe cyclic performance and interfacial resistances. Electrochemical tests showed that after 700 cycles of charge-discharge, both the supercapacitors exhibited high capacitance retention above 90%. Compared to the existing technology, this method enables consistent material structurization with tunable properties due to the controlled heating time and exposure to radiation with minimal waste. This work provides an alternative approach to synthesize low-cost and scalable green composite electrodes for flexible supercapacitors.
The impact of leadership styles and motivations: lessons from Open Source Software projects for educational organizations

ABSTRACT This work focuses on the Open Source Software (OSS) topic in education, using a leadership and motivational perspective. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the teachers’ motivation to contribute to OSS projects for teaching. A structural equation model (SEM) has been defined under the postulates of the Path-Goal leadership theory and Motivational Behaviour. This model has tried to explain and predict the use of OSS solutions by teachers in an educational context. The findings confirm the positive relationships between transactional and transformational leaderships with extrinsic and intrinsic motivations. Additionally, the findings show the positive relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivations and the contributions to the OSS project in teaching. This research suggests several implications for both leaders and members of an OSS project in an educational context. First, the contribution of teachers and instructors to the project is greater when the motivation is fostered by the leader. Second, this study finds that motivating the participants of a project – teachers in this case – is highly recommended, in order to reach a successful adoption of OSS solutions for education.
Overview of sesquiterpenes and chromones of agarwood originating from four main species of the genus Aquilaria

The main chemical constituents of agarwood are sesquiterpenes and chromones, which can be divided into different categories depending on their molecular skeletons. Agarwoods are obtained from different plant species: Aquilaria sinensis, A. malaccensis, A. crassna, and A. subintegra. In this review, we systematically summarized the structures of 367 compounds isolated from agarwoods originating from four main species. We structurally classified all the components into 11 different types and summarized the number of compounds in each type. Different and identical components were obtained by enumerating the chemical compositions of the different species. Knowledge regarding the chemical constituents of agarwoods of different species will aid understanding of the chemical compositions of agarwoods and will subsequently identify similar compounds that can serve as standards for quality control to provide a reference for future studies on agarwoods from different species and to increase their usefulness.
Rhizosphere Priming Effects On Soil Extracellular Enzymatic Activity And Microbial Abundance During The Low-Temperature Dormant Season In A Northern Hardwood Forest

PurposePlant roots alter nutrient cycling within the soil surrounding them (rhizosphere). Recent studies have focused on nutrient uptake by plants in low-temperature seasons. This study aimed to reveal the nutrient dynamics in rhizosphere during low-temperature seasons in a northern hardwood forest in Japan.MethodsThe potential extracellular enzymatic activity, bacterial, fungal, and archaeal abundances, and soil chemical properties in the rhizosphere of canopy trees and understory vegetation and non-rhizosphere bulk soil were measured at the beginning of the dormant season (November), end of the dormant season (April and May), and middle of the growing season (August) in a northern hardwood forest in Japan.ResultsThe abundance of fungi and the activity of nitrogen- and phosphorus-degrading enzymes were higher in the rhizosphere than in non-rhizosphere bulk soil regardless of the season. The concentration of extractable organic and inorganic N was higher in the rhizosphere than in the non-rhizosphere bulk soil at the beginning and end of the dormant season, but this trend was not observed in the middle of the growing season. ConclusionSince the concentration of nutrients in the rhizosphere is determined by the balance between nutrient uptake by fine roots and root-induced acceleration of decomposition, our results suggest that plant roots would accelerate N and P cycles during the dormant season, even though the amount of nutrient uptake by plants was lower during the season.
Open Nucleus Breeding Strategy for Fogera Cattle Breed in Ethiopia: Achievements and Lessons Learnt

Fogera cattle are one of the promising indigenous milk type local breed of Ethiopia. The objective of this paper was to evaluate the performance of Fogera breed under open nucleus breeding scheme. The work was done in two purposively selected districts (Gondar Zuria and Fogera) with community-based breed productivity improvement (CBBPI) as an approach. The collected data was analysed by GLM procedure of SAS for fixed factors estimation. Genetic parameters estimate was made by ASREML software for heritability and correlation. The overall milk yield of the nucleus herd was 2.26 ± 0.794 litter. From the total herd, best 10% and 25% of them give a respective milk yield of 3.31 and 2.87 litter; and some elite cows give an average of 5.45 ± 0.73 litter with a maximum yield of eight litters per day. The overall birth and weaning weight of nucleus herd calves was 21.30 ± 0.06 and 103.66 ± 0.59kg, respectively. Heritability for birth and weaning weight was 0.24 ± 0.09 and 0.18 ± 0.05, respectively. The phenotypic and genotypic correlation with their respective standard error between birth and weaning weight was 0.0613 ± 0.0075 and 0.0712 ± 0.0343, respectively. For CBBPI program, 17 pure Fogera bulls were distributed to the two districts. The birth and weaning weight of the village calves was 23.77 ± 0.21 and 85.89 ± 1.07, respectively. Through the program, above 1000 households were benefiting through the breeding program, health, forage development and grazing land management. To share the achievements of the results in CBBPI program, popularization through filed days and innovation platforms; and documentation of each step via publications, videos and pictures was done. From the result, it can be concluded that the strategy implemented for the breed conservation “open nucleus breeding scheme” had shown progressive results and improvement was recorded. To widen the result and improve the livelihood of the farmer, scaling up of the activity should better be planned with stakeholders.
Integrinβ3 Mediates the Protective Effect of Soluble Receptor for Advanced Glycation End-products During Myocardial Ischemia/Reperfusion

Soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-product (sRAGE) was reported to protect myocardial ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injuries via interacting with AGEs (the ligands of RAGE). Besides, sRAGE was also reported to interact with myocardial cell membranes to protect myocardial I/R injuries. However, the specific molecular of the interaction between sRAGE and myocardial cell membrane is not clearly defined. Integrins were the major adhesion receptors expressed on myocardial cells. The present study showed sRAGE affected the expression of integrinβ3 around integrinβ1 to β5 in I/R treated cardiomyocytes. Consequently, it was supposed that integrinβ3 might be related to the protective effects of sRAGE on myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injuries. The results in this study showed that the protective effects of sRAGE on cardiac function, cardiac infracting size and apoptosis in mice were cancelled by cilengitide (the inhibitor of integrinβ3). Myocardial apoptosis and autophagy decreased by sRAGE in I/R treated cardiomyocytes were showed to be increased by the inhibition of integrinβ3. Mechanistically, the inhibition of integrinβ3 decreased the phosphorylation of Akt and STAT3 but did not affect the phosphorylation of FAK, PTEN, and MAPKs (P38 MAPK, JNK, Erk) in OGD/R and sRAGE treated cardiomyocytes. In addition, the phosphorylation of STAT3 was significantly downregulated by the inhibition of Akt (LY294002,10μM) in OGD/R and sRAGE treated cardiomyocytes. The present study demonstrated integrinβ3 mediated the protective effects of sRAGE on myocardial I/R injuries through Akt-induced STAT3 signaling pathway thus may provide a novel molecular therapy strategy for ameliorating I/R injury.
Major Depressive Disorder and Bipolar Disorder Subtypes Differ in their Genetic Correlations with Physical Activity, Circadian Rhythm, and Sleep

Alterations in biological rhythms are features of mood disorders. Patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) show decreased physical activity compared to healthy controls. Bipolar disorder (BIP) patients differ in their activity patterns during different mood phases, and in comparison to their non-affected relatives and healthy controls. In both MDD and BIP, circadian rhythms can be disrupted, accompanied by sleep problems and changes in sleep duration. It is unclear whether the observed associations are due to common etiology or if they are influenced by the current mood state in which they are observed. Here, we used summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) to test the genetic correlations of MDD, BIP-I, and BIP-II with physical activity (overall physical activity, moderate activity, sedentary behavior), circadian rhythm (relative amplitude) and sleep features (sleep duration, daytime sleepiness). MDD showed positive genetic correlations with sedentary behavior, and negative correlations with overall physical activity and moderate activity, while BIP-I showed associations in the opposite direction. MDD and BIP-II had negative genetic correlations with relative amplitude. All mood disorders were positively genetically correlated with daytime sleepiness. The correlational patterns show that MDD and BIP-I differ the most in their correlations with biological rhythms with BIP-II seemingly occupying a intermediate position. Furthermore, our results suggest that the clinically observed associations between mood disorders and biological rhythms have shared genetic underpinnings. Future research considering possible joint mechanisms may offer potential avenues for improving disease detection and treatment.
THE SHARING ECONOMY IN THE OPINION OF POLISH CONSUMERS

This article is devoted to the issue of the sharing economy. In Poland, the sharing economy is a relatively new area but with high development dynamics. Therefore, the paper aims to answer the question: „is Polish society ready to adopt the sharing economy concept? ”In Poland, there is a research gap in the context of the sharing economy. The phenomenon of collective consumption concerning Polish consumers is a relatively new area that requires careful research . For this purpose, a pilot study was used with the use of the diagnostic survey method using the questionnaire survey technique.The presented research results show that 39.7% of the respondents have come across the sharing economy concept. However, ignorance of the concept does not mean that the respondents did not use services based on the assumptions of the sharing economy. 56.7% of respondents used at least one service provided by the sharing economy. There is a visible relationship between the respondents’ age and education and their awareness of the sharing economy. The highest knowledge of the sharing economy was found in the age group under 36 and among respondents with higher education. Most of the respondents support the directions of activities presented by the sharing economy and use its services.The conducted research is of a pilot nature. However, it allows drawing attention to an important issue in the acceptance of new solutions related to the application of the sharing economy by the older generation of Polish consumers. This is a field for further research on a much wider research sample.
College Pre-service Teachers’ Disposition to Mathematics as They Enter the College

This is a descriptive study that aims to investigate pre-service teachers’ dispositions toward mathematics (cognitive, affective, and conative). 117 pre-service teachers were purposively sampled for the study. The purpose was to measure their disposition as they join the college community. The findings of this study show that the majority of college freshmen and fresh-women enter college with a negative disposition in all three functions (cognitive, affective, and conative) in mathematics. It was then concluded that a high percentage of these students have a negative disposition towards mathematics. It is recommended that college tutors develop their mathematics disposition by teaching most of the mathematics concepts through activities base.
An 82-mW ΔΣ-Based Filter-Less Class-D Headphone Amplifier With −93-dB THD+N, 113-dB SNR, and 93% Efficiency

A low-power 113-dB SNR, −93-dB total harmonic distortion (THD)+N, digital input <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta \Sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula>-based filter-less Class-D amplifier for wireless headphone applications is presented. This performance is achieved by the following architecture improvements: 1) variable-frequency-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Delta \Sigma $ </tex-math></inline-formula> Class-D with digital feed-forward and switching-frequency reduction, 2) common-mode-stabilized power stage, 3) current digital-to-analog converter direct drive, and 4) rotational first-order dynamic-element-matching techniques. It operates on a single 1.8-V power supply with no external passive components except for a supply decoupling capacitor. The Class-D headphone amplifier achieves 82-mW non-clipping output power with 93% efficiency at a 16-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\Omega $ </tex-math></inline-formula> and 33-<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$\mu \text{H}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> load condition. The complete system was fabricated in a 40-nm CMOS process and occupies 1.33-mm<sup>2</sup> die area.
Effects of Antioxidant, Anti-Collagenase, Anti-Elastase, Anti-Tyrosinase of The Extract and Fraction From Turbinaria decurrens Bory.

Brown macroalgae (BM) which contain fucoxanthin exhibited high antioxidant activity. This study was performed to examine antioxidant, anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, anti-tyrosinase activities, and effect on cell viability of Human Dermal Fibroblast adult (HDFa) of BM, Turbinaria decurrens Bory. T. decurrens dried powder were macerated by ethanol to obtain extract (ETD) and was fractination by column chromatography to obtain fraction (FTD). Fucoxanthin content was determined using HPLC. The antioxidant activities, anti-collagenase, anti-elastase, and tyrosinase inhibitory assay were performed. The effect of ETD and fucoxanthin standard on cell viability were conducted on HDFa cell-induced by hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ). The HPLC analysis showed that ETD and FTD contain fucoxanthin of 284.9±3. 3µg/g and of 653.4±30. 6µg/g dry-weight, respectively. The antioxidant assay showed that ETD and FTD produced high antioxidant activity by ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) and b-carotene bleaching (BCB) methods that were comparable to fucoxanthin. ETD exhibited significantly higher tyrosinase inhibitory than kojic acid (p<0.01), while FTD had a comparable effect to kojic acid. The result also revealed that ETD and FTD produced anti-elastase and anti-collagenase (matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1). Fucoxanthin and ETD were able to maintain cell viability on HDFa cell-induced H 2 O 2 . This study suggests that T. decurrens may be effective to prevent skin aging and wrinkle formation, possibly through the antioxidant activity and maintain cell viability of fibroblast.
Impact of Natural Disasters on Energy Consumption: Evidence From Indian States

This study investigates the impact of natural disasters on energy consumption across selected Indian states from 1996 to 2019. Using the system generalized method of moments, we examine whether the frequent occurrence of floods and droughts alters India’s energy demand. Our findings show considerable variation in the relation between natural disasters and energy consumption. Generally, we find that natural disasters, as measured by the magnitude of floods and a drought dummy, have an adverse impact on per capita energy consumption.
The Rich Afterimage Illusions under Head-Image Tilting and the Internal Visual Space Model. A New Theoretical Comprehending

Some features of the illusions arising from the movement of the observer’s eyes and/or head under the background of the positive afterimage of the entire visual scene (rich afterimage-rAI) when the head and/or afterimage are tilted are described. Under these conditions, there are the violations of the visual direction constancy and stability of not only the visual field but also near extrapersonal space. This happens also under the constant position of the eyes in orbits when changing of the fixation point by the head movements. The illusion of violation of the visual vertical on the background of an inclined rAI is also described. It turns out that the synthesis of the field of rAI does not depend on the state of eye vergence in a wide range. The features of the so-called “residual illusion” are described in detail. In this phase all phenomena that have arisen against the background of rAI persist for tens of seconds in total darkness after the rAI is completely attenuated. This also applies to distorted perception of the visual vertical. Based on the analysis of the rAI illusions and peculiar properties of the rich afterimage itself, it is proposed to consider the hypothesis, suggesting the complete nonparticipation of the efferent oculomotor subsystem signals in the mechanisms of the visual field constancy and the gaze direction constancy. The hypothesis suggests that the structurally rich visual scene allows the visual system to form a stable visual field and to calculate the observer’s gaze direction only based on the signals within the visual flow. The hypothesis allows to coherently interpret the main phenomena have been observed in the experiments. And the observation of an oblique 3-D rAI when the head is tilted to the shoulder clearly indicates that not the images on the retinas, but the internal visual space (IVS) model is the object of vision.
Evaluation of the Different Numerical Formats for HIL Models of Power Converters after the Adoption of VHDL-2008 by Xilinx

Hardware in the loop is a widely used technique in power electronics, allowing to test and debug in real time (RT) at a low cost. In this context, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) play an important role due to the high-speed requirements of RT simulations, in which area optimization is also crucial. Both characteristics, area and speed, are affected by the numerical formats (NFs) and their rounding modes. Regarding FPGAs, Xilinx is one of the largest manufacturers in the world, offering Vivado as its main design suite, but it was not until the release of Vivado 2020.2 that support for the IEEE NF libraries of VHDL-2008 was included. This work presents an exhaustive evaluation of the performance of Vivado 2020.2 in terms of area and speed using the native IEEE libraries of VHDL-2008 regarding NF. Results show that even though fixed-point NFs optimize area and speed, if a user prefers the use of floating-point NFs, with this new release, it can be synthesized—which could not be done in previous versions of Vivado. Although support for the native IEEE libraries of VHDL-2008 was included in Vivado 2020.2, it still lacks some issues regarding NF conversion during synthesis while support for simulation is not yet included.