Number Of Counts Research Articles

Instant Granule Formulation Combining White Sweet Potato Leaves Extract (Ipomoea batatas (L.) Lam.) and Javanese Chili (Piper retrofractum Vahl)

Dengue haemorrhagic fever is a viral infection transmitted by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is one of the symptoms is thrombocytopenia. The extract from white sweet potato leaves is recognized for its potential to increase the number of platelet count. This research aimed to develop a formula for an instant granule combining white sweet potato leaves extract with Javanese chili extract meeting taste preferences and societal acceptability. The preparation of the extract was performed by maseration using 70% ethanol and then concentrated with a rotary evaporator. The result was a thick extract which was then dried in an oven at 50℃. The manufacture of instant granule formulations was conducted using wet granulation method. Various formulations were obtained by differentiated concentration of Javanese chili used in the formula (FI 1%, FII 2%, and FIII 3%). The instant granule formulation was evaluated by organoleptic assay and other essential parameters for instant granule, such as moisture content, flow rate, angle of repose, and particle size distribution. The FII 2% formulation emerged as the most acceptable with an average score of 2.17. Non-parametric analysis indicated no significant difference among the three formulas, as the obtained significant value (α) was ≥ 0.05, leading to the acceptance of the null hypothesis H0.

Trends in Hospital Billing for Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction Procedures from 2013 to 2020.

With greater acceptance of postmastectomy breast reconstruction (PMBR) as a safe and reliable treatment option, the role of plastic surgeons in breast cancer management continues to rise. As Medicare reimbursements for surgical procedures decline, hospitals may increase charges. Excessive markups can negatively affect uninsured and underinsured patients. We aimed to analyze mastectomy and breast reconstruction procedures to gain insights into recent trends in utilization and billing. We queried the 2013 to 2020 Medicare Provider Utilization and Payment Data with 14 Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes to collect service count numbers, hospital charges, and reimbursements. We calculated utilization (service counts per million female Medicare enrollees), weighted mean charges and reimbursements, and charge-to-reimbursement ratios (CRRs). We calculated total and annual percentage changes for the included CPT codes. Among the 14 CPT codes, 12 CPT codes (85.7%) with nonzero service counts were included. Utilization of mastectomy and breast reconstruction procedures decreased from 1,889 to 1,288 (-31.8%) procedures per million female Medicare beneficiaries from 2013 to 2020. While the utilization of immediate implant placements (CPT 19340) increased by 36.2%, the utilization of delayed implant placements (CPT 19342) decreased by 15.1%. Reimbursements for the included CPT codes changed minimally over time (-2.9%) but charges increased by 28.9%. These changes resulted in CRRs increasing from 3.3 to 4.4 (+33.3%) from 2013 to 2020. Free flap reconstructions (CPT 19364) had the highest CRRs throughout the study period, increasing from 7.0 in 2013 to 10.3 in 2020 (+47.1%). Our analysis of mastectomy and breast reconstruction procedures billed to Medicare Part B from 2013 to 2020 showed increasingly excessive procedural charges. Rises in hospital charges and CRRs may limit uninsured and underinsured patients from accessing necessary care for breast cancer management. Legislations that monitor hospital markups for PMBR procedures may be considered by policymakers.

Microstructure and Properties Variation of High-Performance Grey Cast Iron via Small Boron Additions

A study was undertaken to investigate the effects of small boron additions on the solidification and microstructure of hypo-eutectic alloyed grey cast iron. The characteristic temperatures upon crystallisation of the treated metal melt were recorded, specifically those concerning small boron addition by using thermal analysis with the ATAS system. Additionally, a standardised wedge test was set to observe any changes in chill performance. The microstructures of thermal analysis samples were analysed using a light optical microscope (LOM) and field emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) equipped with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), which reveal variations in graphite count number with the addition of boron within observed random and undercooled flake graphite. The effect of boron was estimated by the classical analytical and statistical approach. The solidification behaviour under equilibrium conditions was predicted by a thermodynamic approach using Thermo-Calc. Based on all gathered data, a response model was set with boron for given melt quality and melt treatment using the experimentally determined data. The study reveals that boron as a ferrite and carbide-promoting element under the experimental set shows weak nucleation potential in synergy with other heterogenic nuclei at increased solidification rates, but no considerable changes were observed by the TA samples solidified at slower cooling rates, indicating the loss of the overall inoculation effect. The potential presence of boron nitride as an inoculator for graphite precipitation for a given melt composition and melt treatment was not confirmed in this study. It seems that boron at increased solidification rates can contribute to overall inoculation, but at slower cooling rates these effects are gradually lost. In the last solidification range, an increased boron content could have a carbide forming nature, as is usually expected. The study suggests that boron in traces could affect the microstructure and properties of hypo-eutectic alloyed grey cast iron.

Empirical rovibrational energy levels for nitrous oxide

A survey of the huge number of measured rovibrational transitions of the 14N216O isotopologue of nitrous oxide is performed which either confirms the positions, the assignments, and the uncertainties of the measurements or refutes at least one of them. Data from 95 literature sources are analyzed and their assignments adjusted to a uniform set of polyads and associated counting numbers. This is an important result of the present study and this canonical set of vibrational state assignments is recommended for future studies. The adjusted list of 67930 transitions (43246 unique ones) then underwent a thorough Marvel (Measured Active Rotational–Vibrational Energy Levels) analysis, yielding 17561 empirical rovibrational energy levels. Uncertainties for these levels are determined using a newly implemented bootstrap approach. The bootstrap uncertainties indicate that the uncertainties for about 1.5% of the energy levels had to be increased significantly, often by more than 10 times compared to previous level uncertainty estimates. This study yields empirical values for 78 band origins of 14N216O for states with ℓ=0, where ℓ is the vibrational angular momentum quantum number. The measured transitions and the empirical energy levels are compared to the SISAM and the recent NOSL-296 line lists with the result that while the overall agreement is good, there are still a number of issues requiring further careful experimental and modeling studies.

The rumen microbiota contributed to the development of mastitis induced by subclinical ketosis

BackgroundMastitis is a serious disease which affects animal husbandry, particularly in cow breeding. The etiology of mastitis is complex and its pathological mechanism is not yet fully understood. Our previous research in clinical investigation has revealed that subclinical ketosis can increase the number of somatic cell counts (SCC) in milk, although the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Recent studies have further confirmed the significant role of mastitis. ResultsIn this study, we aimed to examine the SCC, rumen microbiota, and metabolites in the milkmen of cows with subclinical ketosis. Additionally, we conducted a rumen microbiota transplant into mice to investigate the potential association between rumen microbiota disturbance and mastitis induced by subclinical ketosis in dairy cows. The study has found that cows with subclinical ketosis have a higher SCC in their milk compared to healthy cows. Additionally, there were significant differences in the rumen microbiota and the level of volatile fatty acid (VFA) between cows with subclinical ketosis and healthy cows. Moreover, transplanting the rumen microbiota from subclinical ketosis and mastitis cows into mice can induce mammary inflammation and liver function damage than transplanting the rumen flora from healthy dairy cows. ConclusionsIn addition to the infection of mammary gland by pathogenic microorganisms, there is also an endogenous therapeutic pathway mediated by rumen microbiota. Targeted rumen microbiota modulation may be an effective way to prevent and control mastitis in dairy cows.

Efeito imediato de exercício inspiratório com exercitador e incentivador respiratório em mulheres sem queixas vocais

ABSTRACT Purpose To evaluate the immediate effect of the inspiratory exercise with a booster and a respiratory exerciser on the voice of women without vocal complaints. Methods 25 women with no vocal complaints, between 18 and 34 years old, with a score of 1 on the Vocal Disorder Screening Index (ITDV) participated. Data collection was performed before and after performing the inspiratory exercise and consisted of recording the sustained vowel /a/, connected speech and maximum phonatory times (MPT) of vowels, fricative phonemes and counting numbers. In the auditory-perceptual judgment, the Vocal Deviation Scale (VSD) was used to verify the general degree of vocal deviation. Acoustic evaluation was performed using the PRAAT software and the parameters fundamental frequency (f0), jitter, shimmer, harmonium-to-noise ratio (HNR), Cepstral Peak Prominence Smoothed (CPPS), Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI). To measure the aerodynamic measurements, the time of each emission was extracted in the Audacity program. Data were statistically analyzed using the Statistica for Windows software and normality was tested using the Shapiro-Wilk test. To compare the results, Student's and Wilcoxon's t tests were applied, adopting a significance level of 5%. Results There were no significant differences between the results of the JPA and the acoustic measures, in the pre and post inspiratory exercise moments. As for the aerodynamic measures, it was possible to observe a significant increase in the value of the TMF /s/ (p=0.008). Conclusion There was no change in vocal quality after the inspiratory exercise with stimulator and respiratory exerciser, but an increase in the MPT of the phoneme /s/ was observed after the exercise.

Immediate effect of inspiratory exercise with exerciser and respiratory encourager in women without vocal complaints.

To evaluate the immediate effect of the inspiratory exercise with a booster and a respiratory exerciser on the voice of women without vocal complaints. 25 women with no vocal complaints, between 18 and 34 years old, with a score of 1 on the Vocal Disorder Screening Index (ITDV) participated. Data collection was performed before and after performing the inspiratory exercise and consisted of recording the sustained vowel /a/, connected speech and maximum phonatory times (MPT) of vowels, fricative phonemes and counting numbers. In the auditory-perceptual judgment, the Vocal Deviation Scale (VSD) was used to verify the general degree of vocal deviation. Acoustic evaluation was performed using the PRAAT software and the parameters fundamental frequency (f0), jitter, shimmer, harmonium-to-noise ratio (HNR), Cepstral Peak Prominence Smoothed (CPPS), Acoustic Voice Quality Index (AVQI) and Acoustic Breathiness Index (ABI). To measure the aerodynamic measurements, the time of each emission was extracted in the Audacity program. Data were statistically analyzed using the Statistica for Windows software and normality was tested using the Shapiro-Wilk test. To compare the results, Student's and Wilcoxon's t tests were applied, adopting a significance level of 5%. There were no significant differences between the results of the JPA and the acoustic measures, in the pre and post inspiratory exercise moments. As for the aerodynamic measures, it was possible to observe a significant increase in the value of the TMF /s/ (p=0.008). There was no change in vocal quality after the inspiratory exercise with stimulator and respiratory exerciser, but an increase in the MPT of the phoneme /s/ was observed after the exercise.

Transcriptional alterations of the resistant potato genotype ‘Cruza 148’ in response to Ralstonia solanacearum infection

AbstractRalstonia solanacearum, a highly destructive phytopathogen causing bacterial wilt disease, poses a substantial risk to the potato value chain, putting global food security at risk and impeding potato production. ‘Cruza 148’, a locally adapted potato genotype, has been reported to exhibit resistance when cultivated in areas with a background of bacterial wilt occurrences. This study aimed to acquire a deeper understanding of the factors influencing resistance and susceptibility in ‘Cruza 148’ and ‘Shangi’ potato genotypes respectively. To achieve this, RNA‐seq was deployed to detect DEGs in ‘Cruza 148’ and ‘Shangi’ potato genotypes at 6 h, 24 h, 48 h, and 72 h post‐inoculation with Ralstonia solanacearum. A total of 54.2% of the DEGs were upregulated and 45.8% were downregulated in the roots of the ‘Cruza 148’ potato genotype, while 45.5% and 54.5% of DEGs were upregulated and downregulated in the roots of the susceptible potato genotype ‘Shangi’ respectively. The gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis indicated that the ‘Cruza 148’ genotype consistently displayed the ‘defence response’ category throughout every stage of infection. The analysis of enriched GO terms revealed 225 terms, with 132 related to biological processes, 16 linked to cellular components and 12 linked to molecular functions. The ‘Cruza 148’ genotype had the highest gene counts in peptide metabolic processes and cellular component assembly, while the ‘Shangi’ genotype had the greatest number of gene counts that responded to chemicals and cellular component assembly. Defence genes identified, included leucine‐rich repeat protein, MYB transcription factor, glucan endo‐1,3‐beta‐glucosidase, serine/threonine‐protein kinase, ethylene‐responsive transcriptional coactivator and disease resistance protein, which could help explain the mechanisms and pathways of resistance to R. solanacearum. This study presents a fundamental understanding of the transcriptional alterations that occur during pathogen interactions with potato. It will also assist in identifying potential useful genes induced during the resistance and susceptibility processes.

Prediction Model for in-Stent Restenosis Post-PCI Based on Boruta Algorithm and Deep Learning: The Role of Blood Cholesterol and Lymphocyte Ratio.

Percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is the primary treatment for acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, in-stent restenosis (ISR) remains a significant limitation to the efficacy of PCI. The cholesterol-to-lymphocyte ratio (CLR), a novel biomarker associated with inflammation and dyslipidemia, may have predictive value for ISR. Deep learning-based models, such as the multilayer perceptron (MLP), can aid in establishing predictive models for ISR using CLR. A retrospective analysis was conducted on clinical and laboratory data from 1967 patients. The Boruta algorithm was employed to identify key features associated with ISR. An MLP model was developed and divided into training and validation sets. Model performance was evaluated using ROC curves and calibration plots. Patients in the ISR group exhibited significantly higher levels of CLR and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) compared to the non-ISR group. The Boruta algorithm identified 21 important features for subsequent modeling. The MLP model achieved an AUC of 0.95 on the validation set and 0.63 on the test set, indicating good predictive performance. Calibration plots demonstrated good agreement between predicted and observed outcomes. Feature importance analysis revealed that the number of initial stent implants, hemoglobin levels, Gensini score, CLR, and white blood cell count were significant predictors of ISR. Partial dependence plots (PDP) confirmed CLR as a key predictor for ISR. The CLR, as a biomarker that integrates lipid metabolism and inflammation, shows significant potential in predicting coronary ISR. The MLP model, based on deep learning, demonstrated robust predictive capabilities, offering new insights and strategies for clinical decision-making.

Sensibilidade in vitro de plantas de batata expostas ao cádmio

ABSTRACT: Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal that is extremely dangerous to human health and can be found naturally in soils, deposited through industrial waste or phosphate fertilization. In this study, we evaluated the morphological responses of in vitro grown plants of potato in the presence of Cd, and define a procedure for assessing Cd sensitivity of different clones. The potato clone SMIJ461-1 was cultured in the presence of Cd at concentrations of 0, 20, 40, 60, 80, 90, 110, 120, 140, and 160 µM. Survival, rooting, number and height of shoots, leaf and root counts were evaluated at 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of cultivation. Adverse effects of Cd on the growth of the potato plants, exerted in a concentration-dependent manner, were observed for shoot height, leaf and root counts. Results of this study indicated that Cd concentrations of 0, 45, 90, and 135 µM can be used for future in vitro evaluation of potato clone sensitivity to Cd exposure.

Enhanced drug delivery and wound healing potential of berberine-loaded chitosan-alginate nanocomposite gel: characterization and in vivo assessment.

Berberine-encapsulated polyelectrolyte nanocomposite (BR-PolyET-NC) gel was developed as a long-acting improved wound healing therapy. BR-PolyET-NC was developed using an ionic gelation/complexation method and thereafter loaded into Carbopol gel. Formulation was optimized using Design-Expert® software implementing a three-level, three-factor Box Behnken design (BBD). The concentrations of polymers, namely, chitosan and alginate, and calcium chloride were investigated based on particle size and %EE. Moreover, formulation characterized in vitro for biopharmaceutical performances and their wound healing potency was evaluated in vivo in adult BALB/c mice. The particle distribution analysis showed a nanocomposite size of 71 ± 3.5 nm, polydispersity index (PDI) of 0.45, ζ-potential of +22 mV, BR entrapment of 91 ± 1.6%, and loading efficiency of 12.5 ± 0.91%. Percentage drug release was recorded as 89.50 ± 6.9% with pH 6.8, thereby simulating the wound microenvironment. The in vitro investigation of the nanocomposite gel revealed uniform consistency, well spreadability, and extrudability, which are ideal for topical wound use. The analytical estimation executed using FT-IR, DSC, and X-ray diffraction (XRD) indicated successful formulation with no drug excipients and without the amorphous state. The colony count of microbes was greatly reduced in the BR-PolyET-NC treated group on the 15th day from up to 6 CFU compared to 20 CFU observed in the BR gel treated group. The numbers of monocytes and lymphocytes counts were significantly reduced following healing progression, which reached to a peak level and vanished on the 15th day. The observed experimental characterization and in vivo study indicated the effectiveness of the developed BR-PolyET-NC gel toward wound closure and healing process, and it was found that >99% of the wound closed by 15th day, stimulated via various anti-inflammatory and angiogenic factors.

Decision support system for the classification of Downey cells as a pre-diagnostic tool

Abstract Objectives Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) is a member of the herpes virus that causes infectious mononucleosis (IM). Downey cell is the atypical lymphocyte of IM and can be seen in various conditions. Peripheral blood smear (PBS) microscopic evaluation is used to identify Downey cells. A lack of experienced professionals or professional errors may obstruct early and accurate diagnostics for the microscopic evaluation. The main objective of this study is to create a decision support system by digitizing the PBS samples. A general tool providing an inexpensive and measurable solution is envisioned to analyze the PBS samples in detail to give alerting flags to prevent missing Downey cells in manual analysis. Methods The PBS dataset collected was split into Downey positives and negatives. The negative set consisted of 5 leucocyte subtypes. Mantiscope, a cloud-based slide scanner system, was used to collect images from the physical PBS samples. Clinically and laboratory-confirmed 35 IM patients and 124 healthy PBS slides were selected for this procedure. A number of cell counts were obtained after the application of annotation and augmentation methods, and a partially balanced dataset was created for the artificial intelligence (AI) network training. The verification steps included the calculation of sensitivity, specificity, and Cohen’s kappa metrics from the partitioned testing set that was not used during training. A validation process was also performed over the manually identified PBS samples to measure whether the algorithm noticed the samples or not. Results After testing this setup, we have observed 98 % sensitivity and 99 % specificity for Downey cells. According to the validation procedure of Downey positive and negative samples that were carried out by the physicians, a sensitivity of 57 %, specificity of 100 %, and Cohen’s kappa value of 0.5 were observed. Besides, the accuracy was found to be 66 % according to the physicians’ evaluations employing the digital images which were identified by Mantiscope, Conclusions Decision support systems can alert the physician for Downey cells and increase the rate of true diagnosis in PBS evaluation. A higher sensitivity and specificity for the detection of Downey cells would be achieved. However, the variance over the dataset is a constraint for effective diagnosis. As the annotation and AI development process continues to collect more data from patients, the model can be updated for future releases.

Prevalence and correlates of unintentional nonfatal injuries among school-going adolescents in Central America.

The aim of this study is to report on the frequency of serious physical injuries (SPI) among adolescents in Central America during the previous decade, 2009-2018. In total, 15,807 school adolescents (14.4 years mean age; SD=1.4) from six Central American countries participated in cross-sectional Global School-based Student Health Surveys in 2009-2018 (ranging from 1,779 students in Honduras in 2012 to 4,374 students in Guatemala in 2015). The prevalence of SPI was 33.8 % (22.9 % once, 7.4 % 2 or 3 times and 3.6 % 4 or more times), ranging from 31.8 % in Guatemala to 45.0 % in Belize and 45.6 % in Panama. The most frequent causes of SPI included fall (11.4 %, ranging from 6.9 % in Costa Rica to 15.6 % in Panama), and the type of SPI was fracture/dislocation (5.7 %, ranging from 4.3 % in Costa Rica to 6.7 % in Panama). In adjusted Poisson regression, male sex,food insecurity, a history of alcohol intoxication, soft drink consumption, fast food intake, truancy, multiple sexual partners, psychological distress, physical fight, physically attacked, bullied, and suicide attempt were significantly associated with a higher number of injury event counts. Overall, about one in three adolescents in Central America had sustained unintentional injuries in the past 12months and several contributing factors were identified which if addressed could aid injury prevention among adolescents.

Waste not, want not: revisiting the analysis that called into question the practice of rarefaction.

In 2014, McMurdie and Holmes published the provocatively titled "Waste not, want not: why rarefying microbiome data is inadmissible." The claims of their study have significantly altered how microbiome researchers control for the unavoidable uneven sequencing depths that are inherent in modern 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Confusion over the distinction between the definitions of rarefying and rarefaction continues to cloud the interpretation of their results. More importantly, the authors made a variety of problematic choices when designing and analyzing their simulations. I identified 11 factors that could have compromised the results of the original study. I reproduced the original simulation results and assessed the impact of those factors on the underlying conclusion that rarefying data is inadmissible. Throughout, the design of the original study made choices that caused rarefying and rarefaction to appear to perform worse than they truly did. Most important were the approaches used to assess ecological distances, the removal of samples with low sequencing depth, and not accounting for conditions where sequencing effort is confounded with treatment group. Although the original study criticized rarefying for the arbitrary removal of valid data, repeatedly rarefying data many times (i.e., rarefaction) incorporates all the data. In contrast, it is the removal of rare taxa that would appear to remove valid data. Overall, I show that rarefaction is the most robust approach to control for uneven sequencing effort when considered across a variety of alpha and beta diversity metrics.IMPORTANCEOver the past 10 years, the best method for normalizing the sequencing depth of samples characterized by 16S rRNA gene sequencing has been contentious. An often cited article by McMurdie and Holmes forcefully argued that rarefying the number of sequence counts was "inadmissible" and should not be employed. However, I identified a number of problems with the design of their simulations and analysis that compromised their results. In fact, when I reproduced and expanded upon their analysis, it was clear that rarefaction was actually the most robust approach for controlling for uneven sequencing effort across samples. Rarefaction limits the rate of falsely detecting and rejecting differences between treatment groups. Far from being "inadmissible", rarefaction is a valuable tool for analyzing microbiome sequence data.

It takes a village: Caregiver diversity and language contingency in the UK and rural Gambia

IntroductionThere is substantial diversity within and between contexts globally in caregiving practices and family composition, which may have implications for the early interaction’s infants engage in. We draw on data from the Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT, www.globalfnirs.org/the-bright-project) project, which longitudinally examined infants in the UK and in rural Gambia, West Africa. In The Gambia, households are commonly characterized by multigenerational, frequently polygamous family structures, which, in part, is reflected in the diversity of caregivers a child spends time with. In this paper, we aim to 1) evaluate and validate the Language Environment Analysis (LENA) for use in the Mandinka speaking families in The Gambia, 2) examine the nature (i.e., prevalence of turn taking) and amount (i.e., adult and child vocalizations) of conversation that infants are exposed to from 12 to 24 months of age and 3) investigate the link between caregiver diversity and child language outcomes, examining the mediating role of contingent turn taking. MethodWe obtained naturalistic seven-hour-long LENA recordings at 12, 18 and 24 months of age from a cohort of N = 204 infants from Mandinka speaking households in The Gambia and N = 61 infants in the UK. We examined developmental changes and site differences in LENA counts of adult word counts (AWC), contingent turn taking (CTT) and child vocalizations (CVC). In the larger and more heterogenous Gambian sample, we also investigated caregiver predictors of turn taking frequency. We hereby examined the number of caregivers present over the recording day and the consistency of caregivers across two subsequent days per age point. We controlled for children’s cognitive development via the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). ResultsOur LENA validation showed high internal consistency between the human coders and automated LENA outputs (Cronbach’s alpha’s all >.8). All LENA counts were higher in the UK compared to the Gambian cohort. In The Gambia, controlling for overall neurodevelopment via the MSEL, CTT at 12 and 18 months predicted CVC at 18 and 24 months. Caregiver consistency was associated with CTT counts at 18 and 24 months. The number of caregivers and CTT counts showed an inverted u-shape relationship at 18 and 24 months, with an intermediate number of caregivers being associated with the highest CTT frequencies. Mediation analyses showed a partial mediation by number of caregivers and CTT and 24-month CVC. DiscussionThe LENA provided reliable estimates for the Mandinka language in the home recording context. We showed that turn taking is associated with subsequent child vocalizations and explored contextual caregiving factors contributing to turn taking in the Gambian cohort.

Highly resilient 17‐level fault‐tolerant multilevel inverter topology with reduced capacitor size

SummaryMultilevel inverters (MLIs) have recently drawn the huge attention of industry and academia since they are becoming a viable technology for a variety of applications. However, the risk of failure of the converter increases with the increasing number of component count for applications involving heavy duty and continuous operation. In this context, an asymmetrical source configured FT‐MLI (fault tolerant‐MLI) topology is investigated and developed with less number of device count and having the ability to withstand both OC (open‐circuit) and SC (short‐circuit) switch faults on single and multiple switches. The proposed architecture maintains the same output voltage levels and power in both pre‐ and post‐fault operations. In addition, a switching method is developed to reduce the capacitors' size by minimizing the voltage ripple. Furthermore, without the need for an external circuit, the voltage across the capacitors remains balanced in both pre‐ and post‐fault operations. The simulation and experimental results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed asymmetrical FT‐MLI topology. Finally, a comparison of the proposed topology with the existing MLI topologies is shown to emphasize the benefits of the proposed system.

Meningkatkan Kemampuan Kognitif Dengan Penerapan Metode Pembelajaran Berbasis Proyek Kegiatan Mengelompokkan Buah Jeruk

The learning proses in kindergarten is still very conventional in nature, This is shown is teaching an learning activites in kindergarden Taman Kanak kanak Bersemi kepenuhan jaya Rokan Hulu.in traducing the number of teacher skill using the lecture method and memorizing.To count number children still write in the book given by their teacher.The research is currenty doing is to improve numeracy skill in children aged 5-6 year with interesting activities for children by providing learning methods need for children .This research method uses classroom action research..The research subjects were 13 student.corsiiting 0f 5 bays and 8 girls.The data method can improve numeracy skill.Pre cycle of 55 % with is in the ceritena of not Developing.in the first cycle the action taken trough the project based learning (PJBL) method tho 65 % in the criretia of developing in accordanc with ecpectatino , and increased in the second cycle to 85 % on criteria ocorrding to expextation an very good development.Based on the results of this study ,it show that on increase in numeracy the skill of children aged 5-6 years with PJBL methods. Keywords: Cognitive Skills, Classifying citrus fruits, Classroom Action Research

Crystal growth analysis in a membrane crystallization process using focused beam reflectance measurements (FBRM)

Future challenges in Membrane Crystallization (MCr) require a deeper understanding of the nucleation and crystal growth phenomena. This study first proposes using focused beam reflectance measurements (FBRM) to quantify the real-time crystal growth rate in a MCr process under single-cycle and multi-cycle batch operations. The assessment was performed at different temperatures and feed flowrates using a near-saturated NaCl brine. Results showed that flowrate variations at temperatures above 30 °C influence the size selectivity of the chord length distributions. Also, the relationship between water recovery rates and the number of counts at temperatures of 45 °C and 60 °C exhibited a maximum zone in the number of counts influenced by flowrate variations. Additionally, the temporal variation of the predicted mean crystal size agreed with the experimental measurements obtained by optical microscopy (OM), reaching values in the range of 100 to 200 μm. And, the crystal growth rate showed a coherent behavior with the flowrate variation, which explains both the direction towards which it occurs particle size selectivity and the OM observation of opacity or transparency of crystals. Finally, this study proposes a methodological approach that could support the future application of the MCr process in several processes, such as zero liquid discharge (ZLD) plants and the production of valuable compounds.

Publication Activity of Public Higher Education Institutions in Poland Corresponding to the Idea of Sustainable Energy Development – Results of a Cluster Analysis

Abstract Objective The aim of the article is to present the involvement of public Higher Education Institutions in Poland in popularizing the idea of sustainable development within the framework of their publishing activities. Methodology In this study, agglomerative clustering approach, which is a representative of the hierarchical method, was used. The distance between selected public Higher Education Institutions in Poland was determined based on the Squared Euclidean Distance. In turn, to estimate the distance between clusters, the Ward method was used. The study used three parameters, constructed from data taken from SciVal: (1) total number of publications, (2) citation count, and (3) field-weighted citation impact. Findings Three groups of Polish public HEIs were distinguished as a result of the cluster analysis that was performed (based on: the total number of publications, the citation count, and the field-weighted citation impact). The most publication-productive were seven technical universities, i.e., Warsaw University of Technology, Gdansk University of Technology, Silesian University of Technology, AGH University of Science and Technology, Lodz University of Technology, Poznan University of Technology, and Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. The publications prepared by the employees of the universities of technology were also characterized by the highest number of citations. Value Added This article is one of the first to present (in quantitative terms) the involvement of universities in popularizing sustainable energy development concept. The methodology used in it can be applied to the other Sustainable Development Goals. Recommendations Given the increasing importance of the concept of sustainability in the functioning of universities, it seems necessary to create tools to measure the degree of their involvement in popularizing this idea. Among other things, universities are obliged to share their knowledge in this area. Bibliometric data provided by the SciVal system may be helpful in this regard. It is necessary to conduct research taking into account both domestic and foreign universities.

PcGC: A Parity-Check Garbage Collection for Boosting 3-D NAND Flash Performance

Garbage collection or GC running in the controller of 3D NAND flash-based solid-state disks -SSDs -plays a critical role in the performance of storage systems. SSD manufacturers have developed various garbage collection solutions based on internal data movement or IDM to mitigate the impacts of garbage collection on request latency. Due to the circuit characteristics of flash memory, existing IDM-based garbage collection strategies are restricted by the page parity during data movement: odd pages must be migrated to odd pages, and even pages to even pages. When migrating two consecutive pages with the same parity, the free page between the two migrated pages will be wasted after the migration is complete. This ever-increasing page waste problem inevitably deteriorates the storage space utilization of flash memory, thereby degrading the overall performance of 3D NAND flash-based SSDs. To address this issue, we propose a parity-check garbage collection scheme called PcGC to revamp SSD performance by alleviating page waste during garbage collection. We build a parity-check unit in PcGC to facilitate checking the parity of migrated valid pages and destination pages. According to the parity results offered by the parity-check unit, PcGC dynamically adjusts the migration order of valid pages during the course of garbage collection. In doing so, PcGC fundamentally averts page waste caused by the page parity restriction, thereby enhancing 3D NAND flash performance. We quantitatively evaluate the performance of PcGC in terms of wasted pages, storage utilization, GC counts, write amplification, and average response time. We compare PcGC against the two state-of-the-art schemes -Amphibian and TTflash. The experimental results derived from the nine real-world workload traces unfold that compared with Amphibian and TTflash, (1) PcGC curtails the number of wasted pages by up to 91.4% with an average of 53.75%, (2) cuts back the number of GC counts by up to 52.2% with an average of 11.9%, and (3) slashes average write response time by up to 77.8% with an average of 13.0%.