Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
23 µW 8.9-effective number of bit 1.1 MS/s successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter with an energy-efficient digital-to-analog converter switching scheme

This study presents a successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter with an energy-efficient switching scheme. A split-most significant bit capacitor array is used with a least significant bit-down switching scheme. Compared with the conventional binary-weighted capacitor array, it reduces the area and average switching energy by 50 and 87% under the same unit capacitor. Moreover, capacitor matching requirement is relaxed by 75%. A prototype design was fabricated in a 0.13 µm complementary metal oxide semiconductor process. It consumes 23.2 µW under 1 V analog supply and 0.5 V digital supply. Measured results show a peak signal-to-distortion-and-noise ratio of 55.2 dB and an effective resolution bandwidth up to 1.1 MHz when it operates at 1.1 MS/s. Its figure-of-merit is 44.1 fJ/conversion-step.
Knowledge management in a polarised environment

The nature of the environment – static or dynamic – corresponds to a given type of knowledge, its creation, storage, processing and use. This paper addresses the way knowledge evolves and its corresponding management on the basis of a polarised environment of operation. Thus the paper examines: a) what knowledge is and its relationship with data, information, wisdom and truth; b) knowledge's relationship with a stable and dynamic environment correspondingly; c) knowledge management as a representation of highly structured and unstructured situations and their corresponding attributes; d) the resulting technology as well as the human-centric practices and their consequent repercussions.
Reducing test application time by scan flip-flops sharing

The test application time is reduced while preserving the test quality or the fault coverage for circuit testing. The goal is achieved by reducing the number of scan flip-flops required for a scan-based design, and the basic procedure is to look for groups of "s-independent inputs. " The s-independent inputs in a group have the property that, when these inputs are combined together to share a scan flip-flop, the originally detectable faults are still detectable under the new scan structure. Though the number of test vectors may slightly increase, this can be offset by the significant reduction in the scan test width. Thus, the goal of test time reduction for scan test can be accomplished. For circuits which have few s-independent inputs, bypass storage cells are added to increase the s-independencies among all inputs. Experiments have been performed on MCNC benchmarks and the results are good. Several benchmark circuits have shown more than 90% of test time reduction.
Laser stimulation of auditory neurons at high repetition rate

Pulsed, mid-infrared lasers can evoke neural activity from motor as well as sensory neurons in vivo. Lasers allow more selective spatial resolution of stimulation than the conventional electrical stimulation. To date, few studies have examined pulsed, mid-infrared neural stimulation and very little of the available optical parameter space has been studied. We found that pulse durations as short as 20 ? s elicit a compound action potential from the gerbil cochlea. Moreover, stimulation thresholds are not a function of absolute energy or absolute power deposited. Compound action potential peak-to-peak amplitude remained constant over extended periods of stimulation. Stimulation occurred up six hours continuously and up to 50 Hz in repetition rate. Single fiber experiments were made using repetition rates of up to 1 kHz. Action potentials occurred 2.5-4 ms after the laser pulse. Maximum rates of discharge were up to 250 action potentials per second. With increasing stimulation rate (300 Hz), the action potentials did not respond strictly after the light pulse. The results from these experiments are important for designing the next generation of neuroprostheses, specifically cochlear implants.
Ultrasensitive and affordable assay for early detection of primary liver cancer using plasma cell‐free DNA fragmentomics

Early detection of primary liver cancer (PLC), including HCC, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC), and combined HCC‐ICC (cHCC‐ICC), is essential for patients’ survival. This study aims to develop an accurate and affordable method for PLC early detection and differentiating ICC from HCC using plasma cell‐free DNA (cfDNA) fragmentomic profiles.
Focus of Attention During ACL Injury Prevention Exercises Affects Improvements in Jump-Landing Kinematics in Soccer Players: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Supplemental Digital Content is Available in the Text. Abstract Dalvandpour, N, Zareei, M, Abbasi, H, Abdoli, B, Mohammadian, MA, Rommers, N, and Rössler, R. Focus of attention during ACL injury prevention exercises affects improvements in jump-landing kinematics in soccer players: a randomized controlled trial. J Strength Cond Res 37(2): 337–342, 2023—Anterior cruciate ligament tears are severe and complex knee injuries that commonly occur in soccer. Prevent injuries enhance performance (PEP) is an exercise-based prevention program to effectively reduce anterior cruciate ligament injuries. It is, however, unclear how the delivery of the program contributes to its effectiveness. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the effect of the focus of attention that was emphasized during the delivery of the PEP program on jump-landing kinematics in male, elite-level, U21 soccer players. Forty-two players participated in this randomized controlled trial and were allocated to (a) the internal focus of attention (IF) group, receiving instructions focusing on the execution of the exercise (b), the external focus of attention (EF) group, receiving instructions focusing on the outcome of the exercise, or (c) the control group. Before and after the 8-week intervention, players performed a jump-landing task during which we measured hip and knee angles at the initial contact, peak knee flexion, and peak vertical ground reaction force using a 3-dimensional motion analyzer. A repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to compare groups over time. Significant time-by-group interaction effects with large effect sizes were found for hip flexion at all moments (p < 0.032; η2 > 0.15) and for the knee flexion angle at initial contact and maximum knee flexion (p < 0.001; η2 > 0.35), all in favor of the EF group. This shows that EF during PEP improves hip and knee joint kinematics in the sagittal plane more than IF. Therefore, EF during PEP instructions is preferred to increase the effectiveness of this injury prevention program.
The effect of laser chirping on synchronous fiber-optic code division multiple access networks

The effect of directly modulated semiconductor laser chirping on the performance of synchronous fiber-optic code-division multiple-access networks is investigated. The impact of chirping-induced waveform distortion on the ratio of the autocorrelation to cross-correlation functions of the modified prime sequence codes is presented, and the influence of modulation parameters is also discussed. The numerical results are used to examine the dependence of this ratio on optical extinction ratios. >
Effects of Age and Educational Stream on Coping Behavior of Girls

In the present investigation, effort has been made to ascertain the effects of Age and Educational Stream on Coping Behaviour in girls. A 2X2 factorial design was employed. The two factors studied were: Age (Junior/Senior) and Educational Stream (Science/Arts). There were four cells with forty subjects in each cell (Total sample consisted of 160 subjects). Coping Behaviour was measured by Carver’s COPE scale. Subjects were assessed on total test scores of COPE scale. Results of ANOVA show main effects of Age (Junior X=144.16: Senior X=152.65)were found significant on total coping test score i.e. Senior girls were found better on total coping test scores than junior girls. Educational Stream (Science X=149.65: Art X=147.17) was found significant. Science Subjects were found superior in coping than subjects from Art stream. Interaction between age and educational stream were also found significant.
Assessment of Indian Medical Graduate (IMG)’s knowledge about emergency contraception (EC) in a medical college of Himachal Pradesh

Background: Undergraduate curriculum of the medicine is created to ensure achievement of goal of “health for all” in India. In addition, it aspires graduates to meet or exceed global benchmark in knowledge, attitude, skills and communication (1). Objectives: 1) To assess undergraduates’ knowledge regarding the types and correct usage of available Emergency Contraceptives. 2) To utilize the data base for capacity building by focusing on the Core Competency of Emergency Contraceptives. Methods: This cross-sectional study was done among 442 undergraduates of all the Profs in our college in September 2017 after approval from Institutional Ethical Committee (17/66) and informed verbal consent from the participants. This pretested, pre-designed and self-administered 11-questionnaire proforma in English was used as a tool of investigation. Results: Maximum participation was from 3rd and 4th year. 7.2 % had a very poor knowledge, attempted 3 or less questions correctly. Only 14.5% attempted 8 or more questions correctly. Conclusion: Young population of our country forms the broad base of the pyramid, they should be provided with correct knowledge about EC for improving their reproductive health. Since these graduates are going to serve the community, their knowledge and skill in this core competency is going to help the community.
Characterization and qualification of a neutron irradiation environment for neutron hardness assurance testing of electronic devices

Diagnostic experiments have been performed to characterize and validate a neutron irradiation environment for use as a calibrated neutron source for neutron hardness assurance testing. Facility qualification for a TRIGA nuclear reactor was achieved by comparing the neutron-induced displacement damage in divided-lots of Si-based electronic components irradiated to the same 1-MeV equivalent fluence at the candidate environment and at a qualified fast burst reactor facility.
Enhancing the real-time response of an ultrasonic sensor for map building tasks

This paper focuses on reducing the number of angular readings per scan, using a single ultrasonic rotary device; together with the use of interpolation to achieve high angular resolution. This reduction in the number of angular readings also produces a drastic reduction in the time spent in map generation, enabling real-time response. Finally, the enhanced real-time map-building architecture of the robot is also described.
Biochemical Indicators of Contaminant Exposure in Flatfish from Puget Sound, WA

Flatfish from Puget Sound, WA are shown to develop liver diseases which are correlated with aromatic hydrocarbon (AH) contamination of sediment. However, due to the efficient metabolism of AHs by these fish, AHs cannot be readily monitored in biological samples. Nonetheless, some biochemical measurements are shown to be useful indicators of exposure of fish to AHs. One such technique, currently in use, is the measurement of fluorescent aromatic compounds in the bile of fish sampled in the field. Another is the measurement of hepatic activities of aryl hydrocarbon hydroxylase (AHH), an enzyme which is readily induced in animals exposed to a variety of contaminants. However, each of these methods, used singly, can have some deficiencies for routine environmental monitoring. This paper reports data from field and laboratory studies where both of these techniques were used to assess the exposure of English sole to contaminants. The advantages of employing both of these methods in a monitoring program are described, and ways of enhancing the usefulness of these techniques are suggested.
Testicular Pouch Hibernoma: A Case Report

Hibernomas are rare lipomatous tumors derived from brown adipose tissue. Only two cases of hibernomas in the scrotum have been reported in the literature so far. Brown adipose tissue is responsible for thermogenesis in hibernating mammals and embryos. In adult humans, reminiscent brown tissue is most frequently located in the axial skeleton, scapular waist, and neck. This case report describes the finding of a testicular pouch hibernoma in a 34-year-old male who presented with a nodule in the scrotum, which was initially suspected to be a lipoma. The diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological analysis, and the patient was treated by surgical excision. Despite its rarity, hibernoma should be part of the differential diagnosis for lipoma, the most frequent benign mesenchymal neoplasm worldwide.
High-resolution frequency-domain reflectometry by estimation of modulated superimposed complex sinusoids

A nonlinear least-squares-estimation method for time-domain analysis from frequency-domain measurements of a device under test (DUT) is presented. Estimation is based on a parsimonious model that requires a low reflectivity assumption. An extremization algorithm with good global convergence properties is presented for the case of imperfections of small reflectivity modeled as simple lumped frequency-dependent elements. The reflection coefficient at either port of the DUT is modeled as a superposition of modulated complex sinusoids. Through optimization of a sequence of cost functions, the algorithm produces a sequence of fits for models that incorporate an increasing number of imperfections. The method copes with frequency-dependent reflection, and it is shown how prior knowledge can be used to improve the performance of the algorithm. Analysis of experimental data illustrates the potential of the method. >
Simplified approach for structural capacity evaluation of flexible pavements at the network level

Pavement surface deflection has been used by several highway agencies to assess the structural condition of the pavement structure. Falling weight deflectometer, deflectograph and other devices are commonly used to measure the deflected shape of the pavement surface under loading. Several parameters have been derived from the measured deflection bowl to evaluate pavement structural condition; however, there is no universally agreed parameter that can reliably rank the structural condition of the highway network. In addition, each pavement type deflects differently under traffic loads. Therefore, it is not possible to have one single scale to evaluate and rank pavement structural capacity for all different types. In this research paper, four different scales were developed to evaluate structural capacity of different flexible pavement structures. The area ratio, deflection ratio and their normalised values were derived from the deflection bowls of both field measured deflections and computer simulated data.
Low-noise, low DC power linear amplifiers

Low-noise, low-DC-power linear amplifiers using high-dynamic-range GaAs/int FETs are discussed. Noise figures as low as dB have been achieved in a Ku-band amplifier simultaneously with over 36-dBm OIP3 and 18-dB gain with only 655 mW of DC power. A wideband distributed amplifier has shown average midband 7-dB gain and noise figure together with 37-dBm OIP3 with 800 mW of DC power. Greatly improved second-order intercept points (OIP2) have been observed in the distributed amplifier as compared to typical ion-implanted MESFET amplifiers. A dual-gate version, of the distributed amplifier demonstrated significant dynamic range advantages over its ion-implanted FET counterpart. Overall, state-of-the-art results in terms of simultaneous linearity, noise figure, gain-bandwidth, and DC power consumption have been achieved. <<ETX>>
Problems, Difficulties and Challenges Faced by Counsellors

Even though counselling is as old as Psychology in India, counselling education at post-graduate level and counsellors working in diverse settings are of recent origin. Not much is known about the problems, difficulties and challenges the counsellors face. The current study is done within the qualitative framework, with exploratory study design for which 14 participants who were working in different settings like school, college, employee assistant programme (EAP), family counselling centre, psychiatric rehabilitation centre, de-addiction centre, private practice, multiple settings, counselling centre, Christian religious setting, HIV/Aids centre were chosen through purposive sampling and were interviewed. The audio-recorded interviews were transcribed and analyzed using qualitative content analysis and the emerging themes were noted. The study showed among others, that the counsellors face several problems, difficulties and challenges like, lack of awareness of counselling among people, inadequate pay, job insecurity, absence of a professional body to regulate counselling, lack of network of counsellors and mental health professionals for seeking supervision and consultation, and so on. Implications for counsellor training, professional development are discussed.
Ensemble based on accuracy and diversity weighting for evolving data streams

Ensemble classification is an actively researched paradigm that has received much attention due to increasing real-world applications. The crucial issue of ensemble learning is to construct a pool of base classifiers with accuracy and diversity. In this paper, unlike conventional data-streams oriented ensemble methods, we propose a novel Measure via both Accuracy and Diversity (MAD) instead of one of them to supervise ensemble learning. Based on MAD, a novel online ensemble method called Accuracy and Diversity weighted Ensemble (ADE) effectively handles concept drift in data streams. ADE mainly uses the following three steps to construct a concept-drift oriented ensemble: for the current data window, 1) a new base classifier is constructed based on the current concept when drift detect, 2) MAD is used to measure the performance of ensemble members, and 3) a newly built classifier replaces the worst base classifier. If the newly constructed classifier is the worst one, the replacement has not occurred. Comparing with the state-of-art algorithms, ADE exceeds the current best-related algorithm by 2.38% in average classification accuracy. Experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively adapt to different types of drifts.
Combined carboplatin and etoposide chemotherapy for patients with recurrent glioma.

BACKGROUND Currently, there is no consensus on the standard of care for patients with recurrent glioma. This study investigated the efficacy of combined carboplatin and etoposide (CE) treatment in recurrent glioma. METHODS A retrospective analysis was performed on adult patients with recurrent glioma who received combination chemotherapy consisting of CE from September 2017 to November 2020 at the Beijing Shijitan Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing. The response rate (RR), defined as the complete response (CR) + partial response (PR), and the disease control rate (DCR), defined as CR + PR + stable disease (SD), were analyzed by Chi-square or Fisher's exact test according to different clinical characteristics. Time to progression (TTP) was estimated using Kaplan-Meier plots and the log-rank test was used to compare differences. RESULTS A total of 55 patients were assessed and 47 patients were eligible to be enrolled in this study. There was 1 case of CR (2.1%), 3 patients with PR (6.4%), and 18 patients with SD (38.3%). The RR was 8.5% and the DCR was 46.8%. When the patients were stratified by World Health Organization (WHO) grade, the DCR was significantly higher in patients with grade 2 and 3 tumors (83.3% and 50%, respectively) compared to patients with grade 4 tumors (29.6%; P=0.039). For patients with grade 4 gliomas, the median TTP and median overall survival (OS) were 2 [95% confidence interval (CI): 0.988 to 3.012] and 7 (95% CI: 3.626 to 10.374) months, respectively. By comparison, the TTP and OS for patients with grade 2-3 gliomas were 4 (95% CI: 1.947 to 6.053) and 13 (95% CI: 0.000 to 26.47) months, respectively. The 6-month progression free survival (PFS) and 12-month OS were 11.1% and 16.3%, respectively, in patients with grade 4 glioma, compared to 37.9% and 48%, respectively, in patients with grade 2-3 gliomas. CONCLUSIONS CE regimen may be effective as a salvage treatment for recurrent glioma. Patients with anaplastic or low-grade glioma may benefit more from such therapy compared to patients with grade 4 tumors.
Short-Time Fourier Transform Using Odd Symmetric Window Function

In this paper, a novel time-frequency (TF) analysis method, called the short-time Fourier transform using odd symmetric window function (OSTFT), is proposed by using odd symmetric window function to replace the conventional even window function of STFT. Different from conventional STFT acquiring the amplitude maximum at time and frequency centers, OSTFT acquires the minimum amplitude of 0. Hence, OSTFT can obtain a TFR with high TF resolution by utilizing the leaked energy rather than restraining it. It is worth to mention that the proposed OSTFT can vitiate the effect of window size we choose on the TFR obtained. Furthermore, it also has a good performance on signals with complex instantaneous frequencies (IF), even crossing IFs. Because we just replace the conventional window function of STFT, the time-consuming of the proposed OSTFT is at the same level as the conventional STFT. The effectiveness of proposed OSTFT has been validated on two complex multi-component simulated numerical signals and a signal collected from the brown bat.
Influence of Coherent Properties of Water on Biological Growth of Plants

The purpose of the research was to study the effect of Allium cepa L on the growth processes of the coherent properties of various water sources and samples of distilled and natural water with the electrophysical properties of the original samples transferred to them. Materials and methods. The Kirlian gas-discharge glow of water droplets was recorded on an X-ray film. We used histograms of the luminescence corona brightness, calculated the values of the Euclidean distance for the medians of the heights of the histogram columns and for the differences in the medians in adjacent intervals. The values during of the research were compared with similar parameters of pre-formed samples of images of typical waters (distilled, tap water, from natural sources outside and from the territories of monasteries), as well as water samples with an established type and degree of coherence. The objects of the growth test were onion plants – Allium cepa L. The height of the seedlings, the length of the roots were estimated, and their dry weight was determined. Results and discussion. The identity of the signs of coherence in most samples of electrophysical (energy-informational) copies of water from original sources, the correspondence between the results of the growth test and the properties of water coherence were revealed. There was an increase in the biomass of the test culture when grown on samples with dextrorotatory coherence of water as its degree increased. With levorotatory polarization of water coherence, the biomass decreases with an increase in its degree. The study showed the possibility of transferring the electrophysical properties of various samples of natural water both to distilled water and to other water samples from natural sources. We experimentally demonstrated the possibility of transferring the quantum properties of liquid-phase objects for the preparation and use of biologically active substances in agriculture, biology and medicine without their side effects. Conclusion. Kirlian photography of water can be used as an additional way of express-indication of the physical state of the water basins of the biosphere, including the quality of drinking water by their coherent properties. It is perspective to study the effects of water sources with certain coherent properties on the growth processes of certain plant species and their parts