Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Highly Integrated Tri-Path Hybrid Buck Converter With Reduced Inductor Current and Self-Balanced Flying Capacitor Voltage

This paper presents a single-stage tri-path buck converter with reduced inductor current and self-balanced flying capacitor voltage. The proposed converter introduces capacitor paths to reduce the average inductor current and inductor current ripple, hence decreasing the conduction loss. Operating with two states per conversion cycle, it exhibits a relatively low voltage conversion ratio of <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${D}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>/(1 <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$+\,\,2{D}$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). Besides, it realizes a self-balanced flying capacitor voltage in the charge redistribution phase. Similar to the conventional buck converter, the proposed converter in continuous-current mode only has two complex poles. Therefore, we design a Type-III compensator to obtain a good transient response. Moreover, the circuit does not require extra supplies for gate drivers due to the reutilization of the flying capacitor voltages, eliminating additional circuit and power overheads. The proposed converter, validated in a 65-nm standard CMOS technology, regulates a 0.7 V – 1 V output voltage from a 3.3 V – 4 V input voltage, delivering a maximum output power of 270 mW. The peak efficiency is 84%, with a switching frequency up to 5 MHz.
Multiple-Case Analysis on Governance Mechanisms of Multi-Sided Platforms

The concept of multi-sided platforms (MSPs) plays an important role in the environment of companies with internet-based business models. In the recent years several new platforms emerged and disrupted long-established companies. Prominent examples are Uber or Airbnb, challenging the taxi and accommodation industry. The centerpiece of MSPs is the platform governance which orchestrates the communication between the involved parties. As this communication is crucial for each platform, this paper aims to analyze six different MSPs in terms of platform governance to identify how different mechanisms are implemented in practice and which tradeoffs different implementation strategies cause. The paper starts with a literature review to determine the state of research on platform governance mechanisms and synthesizes the results. After that, a multiple-case study is conducted to identify how the different companies implemented each dimension of platform governance. In a final step cross-case conclusions are drawn to highlight important tradeoffs, for example that centralized governance models offer a high degree of control in exchange for less user involvement and transparency when implementing governance mechanisms differently.
Metabolic Syndrome-Related Kidney Injury: A Review and Update

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) includes visceral obesity, hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, and hypertension. The prevalence of MetS is 20-25%, which is an important risk factor for chronic kidney disease (CKD). MetS causes effects on renal pathophysiology, including glomerular hyperfiltration, RAAS, microalbuminuria, profibrotic factors and podocyte injury. This review compares several criteria of MetS and analyzes their differences. MetS and the pathogenesis of CKD includes insulin resistance, obesity, dyslipidemia, inflammation, oxidative stress, and endothelial dysfunction. The intervention of MetS-related renal damage is the focus of this article and includes controlling body weight, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia, requiring all components to meet the criteria. In addition, interventions such as endoplasmic reticulum stress, oxidative stress, gut microbiota, body metabolism, appetite inhibition, podocyte apoptosis, and mesenchymal stem cells are reviewed.
COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in Sana'a, Yemen

Background and Aim: The development of a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine is ongoing. This study aimed to prepare for public acceptance of the vaccine. There is a need to identify the current acceptance and potential barriers to receiving a COVID-19 vaccine in Yemen. Understanding the hesitancy and acceptance of a COVID-19 vaccine are crucial to develop local evidence-based interventions. Materials and Methods: Twenty students were interviewed in this study. An interview guide was developed and it addressed the willingness to accept a future COVID-19 vaccine. In-depth interviews were conducted, transcribed, and manually analyzed. Results: The majority of participants agreed that they would take a COVID-19 vaccine for several reasons, including protection for themselves, their families, and others and to stop the spread of COVID-19, for which the vaccine is important, as in other routine vaccinations. However, some participants shared that they would not take the COVID-19 vaccine due to the following reasons: Concerns regarding the safety of the vaccine; feeling fit and healthy, and thus considering themselves to have strong immunity; feeling that the vaccine was manufactured in a rushed manner and thus it would require approval by the World Health Organization; being previously infected with COVID-19 and considering themselves protected, and placing their trust in God and believing no vaccine was needed. Conclusion: The willingness to receive a future COVID-19 vaccine was high among medical students. However, some students hesitated to take the vaccine. Therefore, mass media interventions are required to maximize vaccine uptake.
β-Hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB) supplementation during pregnancy and perinatal period in animals studies and possible application in humans

β-Hydroxy β-methylbutyrate (HMB) is a diet supplement known for its positive impact on muscle anabolism, which makes it very popular among amateur sportsmen. Diet enriched with HMB leads to decreased proteolysis in muscle tissue, which is extremely important in the process of muscle regeneration after intensive training. As the number of possible implications of this molecule in medicine is still growing, the aim of this review was to find potential applications of HMB in women and their infants during pregnancy and perinatal period.
Role of Local Excision for Suspected Regrowth in a Watch and Wait Strategy for Rectal Cancer

Simple Summary Rectal cancer patients with a clinical complete response to neoadjuvant treatment are eligible for Watch and Wait as an alternative to total mesorectal excision. However, in patients with local regrowth, major surgery is still the standard of care. The present study evaluates the role of local excision for suspected local regrowth in a large Watch and Wait cohort, in terms of long-term outcomes. This study shows excellent overall survival and a good organ preservation rate. Patients who developed locoregional recurrence after initial local excision for regrowth were all successfully treated with salvage surgery. This study shows that local excision can provide maintenance of organ preservation without an obvious compromise in surgical or oncological safety. Local excision for suspected regrowth in patients following Watch and Wait can be a safe alternative for total mesorectal excision in selected patients with a strong wish to preserve their rectum. Abstract Rectal cancer patients with a clinical complete response to neoadjuvant (chemo)radiation are eligible for Watch and Wait (W&W). For local regrowth, total mesorectal excision (TME) is considered the standard of care. This study evaluated local excision (LE) for suspected local regrowth. From 591 patients prospectively entered into a national W&W registry, 77 patients with LE for regrowth were included. Outcomes analyzed included histopathologic findings, locoregional recurrence, long-term organ preservation, and colostomy-free and overall survival. In total, 27/77 patients underwent early LE (<6 months after neoadjuvant radiotherapy) and 50/77 underwent late LE (≥6 months). Median follow-up was 53 (39–69) months. In 28/77 patients the LE specimen was histopathologically classified as ypT0 (including 9 adenomas); 11/77 were ypT1, and 38/77 were ypT2–3. After LE, 13/77 patients with ypT2–3 and/or irradical resection underwent completion TME. Subsequently, 14/64 patients without completion TME developed locoregional recurrence, and were successfully treated with salvage TME. Another 8/77 patients developed distant metastases. At 5 years, overall organ preservation was 63%, colostomy-free survival was 68%, and overall survival was 96%. There were no differences in outcomes between early or late LE. In W&W for rectal cancer, LE can be considered as an alternative to TME for suspected regrowth in selected patients who wish to preserve their rectum or avoid colostomy in distal rectal cancer.
Cloud phase and macrophysical properties over the Southern Ocean during the MARCUS field campaign

Abstract. To investigate the cloud phase and macrophysical properties over the Southern Ocean (SO), the Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Mobile Facility (AMF2) was installed on the Australian icebreaker research vessel (R/V) Aurora Australis during the Measurements of Aerosols, Radiation, and Clouds over the Southern Ocean (MARCUS) field campaign (41 to 69∘ S, 60 to 160∘ E) from October 2017 to March 2018. To examine cloud properties over the midlatitude and polar regions, the study domain is separated into the northern (NSO) and southern (SSO) parts of the SO, with a demarcation line of 60∘ S. The total cloud fractions (CFs) were 77.9 %, 67.6 %, and 90.3 % for the entire domain, NSO and SSO, respectively, indicating that higher CFs were observed in the polar region. Low-level clouds and deep convective clouds are the two most common cloud types over the SO. A new method was developed to classify liquid, mixed-phase, and ice clouds in single-layered, low-level clouds (LOW), where mixed-phase clouds dominate with an occurrence frequency (Freq) of 54.5 %, while the Freqs of the liquid and ice clouds were 10.1 % (most drizzling) and 17.4 % (least drizzling). The meridional distributions of low-level cloud boundaries are nearly independent of latitude, whereas the cloud temperatures increased by ∼8 K, and atmospheric precipitable water vapor increased from ∼5 mm at 69∘ S to ∼18 mm at 43∘ S. The mean cloud liquid water paths over NSO were much larger than those over SSO. Most liquid clouds occurred over NSO, with very few over SSO, whereas more mixed-phase clouds occurred over SSO than over NSO. There were no significant differences for the ice cloud Freq between NSO and SSO. The ice particle sizes are comparable to cloud droplets and drizzle drops and well mixed in the cloud layer. These results will be valuable for advancing our understanding of the meridional and vertical distributions of clouds and can be used to improve model simulations over the SO.
Low-Cost Sensing Platforms Based on Tunable 1D Photonic Crystals Integrated with Organic Light-Emitting Diodes and Photodetectors

Herein, we present an innovative detection platform based on utilizing 1D PCs as responsive multilayers for intensity modulation of narrow-band light sources, namely, organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs), as shown in Figure 1. The tunable range for the stop band modulation lies in the visible region and can thus be detected in a straightforward and inexpensive fashion by a visible-light organic photodetector. We propose a route towards the bottom-up assembly of a fully functional, integrated miniature platform with the resolution exceeding the capabilities of most commercial spectrometers and show temperature, humidity, chemical and biological analyte detection.
Business-making supported via the application of big data to achieve economic sustainability

Decision-making of managers in companies is currently significantly influenced by instantly available information. This phenomenon was caused by advances in information and communication technologies (ICT) and the development of a new generation of machines and systems that create an abundance of diverse data. For managers, this data is a source of information that needs to be obtained in an appropriate manner using different technologies. Technologies that enable the acquisition of this information from available data become an essential part of each company and its management processes. Since technology is currently entering the decision-making process in a significant way, this can be seen as the digital transformation of decision-making processes in companies. The ability to capture, process and assess a very large amount of available data represents the implementation of decisions that make the company’s activity more efficient and sustainable (e.g., achieving a competitive advantage, increasing sales or profits, development of new products, etc.). The article presents the results of the conducted research focused on identifying the benefits of implementing Big Data solutions in companies. The main method applied was content analysis of multiple cases followed by the categorization of data extracted. The research hypothesis was stated as follows: There are significant reasons that justify the application of Big Data in managerial decision-making to support the achievement of economic sustainability. The findings from the research (categories) support the importance of the Big Data solutions applied in the managerial decision-making for ensuring the sustainable operation of companies with the current trend of generating and processing a large variety of data.
Legal Protection of Indigenous People's Rights Through Strengthening the Licensing Principles Based on Social Sensitivity

The issue of human rights in Indonesia towards the 21st century has shifted from violations committed by the government during the new order to the issue of human rights violations by multinational companies (corporate crime), because of natural resources exploitation is directly proportional to the increase in human rights violations. Many cases of human rights violations by business actors that occur in the form of annexation and seizure of indigenous peoples land that occurs every year. One of the causes of the many cases of human rights violations against indigenous peoples is due to the loosening of permits given by the government to companies wishing to exploit natural resources. Strengthening the Permits principle can be used as a strategic step in reducing the number of violations of poverty that occur to indigenous peoples. Permits used as a means of controlling human behavior which results in rights and obligations born of licenses.
Analysis, Modeling, and Optimal Experimental Design under Uncertainty: From Carbon Nano-Structures to 3D Printing

In this thesis, we develop approaches for carrying out inference and model-based experimental design, under both internal and external sources of uncertainty. Specifically, in Chapter 1, we develop a stochastic growth model for the carbon-based super material, Graphene, and propose approaches for relating controllable experimental factors to the underlying growth mechanism. In Chapter 2 we develop a unified framework for carrying out response surface optimization when the input factors are noisy, and in Chapter 3, we explore the problem of designing optimal experiments, under the extra uncertainty generated by noisy inputs. Internal noise, a term used to describe the phenomenon of noisy inputs, is found to adversely affect optimization and model-based optimal designs. We show that accounting for this internal noise during the design and modeling stages significantly improve inference. In particular, we develop a modified optimality criterion for generating optimal experimental data, and show improvements in subsequent inference based on that data. In Chapter 4, a missing data perspective is used to improve inference on deformations along the profile of 3D printed products. We show that these deformations depend on missing angles, which can be used to infer global and local deformation patterns. We use the inferred deformation model to design compensation plans for minimizing deformations on future printed objects.
Barriers to Entry in Rail Passenger Services: Empirical Evidence for Tendering Procedures in Germany

As in several other European Union Member States, Germany has used tendering to an increasing degree since the mid-1990s for subsidized passenger rail services. In order to determine whether market entry barriers exist in this market, a dataset of 30 German tendering procedures with start of operations between 1997 and 2007 is analyzed. The data consists of comprehensive primary data provided directly by public transport authorities and operators. On average 11 rail companies requested the tendering documents, but only four per tendering procedure submitted bids. The empirical analysis shows that there are two main tendering conditions that clearly influence the number of bidders. The first is the percentage of risk assumed by the public transport authority for price increases on input factors like personnel or fuel. This shows a positive correlation with the number of bidders. The second is the level of revenue risk to be assumed by the operator, which shows a negative correlation. Both correlations are highly significant. Authorities in Germany as well as in other countries using the tendering instrument should be aware of the influence of uncertainty and therefore avoid imposing untenable risks on operators. A high level of uncertainty will reduce authorities’ efficiency gains by reducing competition and making it necessary for operators to calculate an increased risk premium.
Comparison of Rhomboid Intercostal Block, Erector Spinae Plane Block, and Serratus Plane Block on Analgesia for Video-Assisted Thoracic Surgery: A Prospective, Randomized, Controlled Trial

Background Thoracic surgery is one of the most painful surgical steps. An important tool for managing postoperative pain is effective postoperative analgesia. This research aimed at comparing the analgesic roles of three new fascial block techniques in the postoperative period after video-helped thoracoscopic operation (VATS). Methods We randomly allocated ninety patients into three teams experiencing ultrasound-directed serratus plane block, erector spinae plane block, and the rhomboid intercostal block, respectively. 0.4% ropivacaine of 20 mL was received by all groups. Outcomes. At 0–12 hours, sufentanil consumption was significantly lower in the RIB (35.2 ± 3.3 mg) and ESP (35.4 ± 2.8 mg) groups than that in the SAB (43.3 ± 2.7 mg) group (P < 0.001), and no obvious diversity in sufentanil consumption was shown between the RIB and ESP groups (P=0.813). At 12–24 hours, sufentanil consumption was greatly lower in the RIB and ESP groups than that in the SAB group (P < 0.001), and no great diversity in sufentanil consumption was found between the RIB and ESP groups (P=0.589). No great diversity in sufentanil consumption was shown between the RIB (50.4 ± 1.4 mg), ESP (50.4 ± 1.5 mg), and SAB (51.0 ± 1.7 mg) groups at 24–48 hours (P=0.192). At 6, 12, 18, and 24 hours, the postoperative dynamic NRS scores were significantly lower in the RIB and ESP groups than in the SAB group ((P < 0.05) for all contrasts). Nevertheless, no great diversity was observed in postoperative pain marks at 0.5, 1, 3, 6, 12, 18, 24, 36, and 48 hours after the surgery across the three groups. No statistical diversity was found in the postoperative NRS mark between groups RIB and ESP within 48 hours after surgery in case of active patients ((P < 0.05) for all contrasts). At 24 hours after surgery, a significant difference in IL-1β and IL-6 inflammatory factor concentrations was found between RIB and ESP compared with SAB block ((P < 0.05) for all contrasts). However, no great diversities were observed in IL-1β, and IL-6 inflammatory factor concentrations between RIB, ESP, and SAB at 24 hours preoperatively and at 48 hours postoperatively ((P < 0.05) for all comparisons). Conclusion The dosage of sufentanil can be effectively reduced by ultrasound-directed rhomboid intercostal block and erector spinae plane block within 24 hours after VATS surgery, and pain can be relieved effectively within 24 hours by comparing with serratus plane block.
Ultrasound-Assisted Aqueous Extraction of Chlorogenic Acid and Cynarin with the Impact of Inulin from Burdock (Arctium lappa L.) Roots

The ultrasound-assisted aqueous extraction of chlorogenic acid (CGA) and cynarin with the impact of inulin from burdock (Arctium lappa L.) roots was investigated. Three extraction modes, ultrasound at 40 kHz/300 W (U-40), ultrasound at 120 kHz/300 W (U-120), and shaking at 120 rpm (S-120), were compared. The effects of process parameters on the extraction of polyphenols, CGA, cynarin, inulin, and antioxidant activity using U-40 were evaluated. In 10 min, 50 °C, and 1/30 (g/mL-water) of solid-to-liquid ratio, the order of CGA content in the dried burdock root powder (DBR) was U-40 (484.65 μg/g-DBR) > U-120 (369.93 μg/g-DBR) > S-120 (176.99 μg/g-DBR), while the order of cynarin content in DBR was U-120 (376.47 μg/g-DBR) > U-40 (341.54 μg/g-DBR) > S-120 (330.44 μg/g-DBR), showing the selective extraction of CGA and cynarin between using 40 and 120 kHz of ultrasound. The profiles of increase and then decrease in free CGA and cynarin concentrations against time revealed their degradation, including their interactions with the abundant inulin. The kinetic model, considering extraction followed by degradation, was proposed to describe the variations of free CGA and cynarin against time. This study provides an effective method using water to extract CGA, cynarin, and inulin from burdock roots.
Exposure Surface Active Sites of Perovskite‐Type LaFeO3 Gas Sensors by Selectively Dissolving La Cations for Enhancing Gas Sensing Properties to Acetone

While perovskite metal oxide semiconductors (MOS) gas sensors have great potential for detecting various hazardous gases, the surface enrichment of inactive A‐sites severely limits their ability to obtain excellent gas sensing properties. Herein, one simple and facile citric acid etching method is reported with the aim of significantly improving the acetone sensing properties of perovskite LaFeO3 (LFO) by surface structure optimization. Structural characterization shows that citric acid selectively solubilized the A‐site cations and inhibits the occurrence of La segregation on the surface without destroying the perovskite structure, thus increasing the exposure of the active site Fe. At the operating temperature of 200 °C, the response of etched LFO for 20 ppm acetone reaches 50, which is almost 12 times higher than that of pristine LFO sample. Meanwhile, the etched LFO samples also exhibit low detection limits (50 ppb), good selectivity, and stability. The enhanced gas sensitivity is attributed to near‐perfect surface metal ion ratio (La/Fe atomic ratio = 0.97) and abundant oxygen species concentration. This work provides an avenue to enhance the acetone sensing properties and beyond by intentional structural modification, which not only has great scientific meaning, but also valuable potential for industrial and domestic applications.