Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Battery-Assisted Passive EPC Gen-2 RFID Sensor Tag IC With Efficient Battery Power Management and RF Energy Harvesting

Herein, we present a fully integrated electronic product code (EPC) Gen-2 compatible battery-assisted passive (BAP) radio-frequency identification sensor tag integrated circuit (IC) with efficient power management. The key components of the tag IC include an adaptive radio-frequency (RF) energy harvester, a battery access controller (BAC), a storage capacitor charger, and a powergated sensor block. External RF energy is efficiently harvested using dynamically controlled rectifying stages and a threshold-compensation technique. The BAC tightly controls the power path, cutting off leakage current from the battery. The power-gated sensor block supports multiplexed sensing operations in a power efficient manner. The sensor interface includes a chopper amplifier, a programmable gain amplifier, multiplexers, and an 8-bit ADC. For sensing data logging, custom designed nonvolatile memory is employed via one-time programmable memory. The digital control block is based on an EPCglobal Gen-2 standard that is modified to support the sensing operation. The tag chip was fabricated in a 1-poly 6-metal standard 0.18-μm standard CMOS process. The tag IC consumes 1 μA for leakage and active operation (0.1% duty), and the estimated lifespan of the BAP tag IC is about 0.2 year/mA·h.
Inclusion of Saccharina latissima in conventional anaerobic digestion systems

ABSTRACT Loading macroalgae into existing anaerobic digestion (AD) plants allows us to overcome challenges such as low digestion efficiencies, trace elements limitation, excessive salinity levels and accumulation of volatile fatty acids (VFAs), observed while digesting algae as a single substrate. In this work, the co-digestion of the brown macroalgae Saccharina latissima with mixed municipal wastewater sludge (WWS) was investigated in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions. The hydraulic retention time (HRT) and the organic loading rate (OLR) were fixed at 19 days and 2.1 g l−1 d−1 of volatile solids (VS), respectively. Initially, WWS was digested alone. Subsequently, a percentage of the total OLR (20%, 50% and finally 80%) was replaced by S. latissima biomass. Optimal digestion conditions were observed at medium-low algae loading (≤50% of total OLR) with an average methane yield close to and in mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively. The conductivity values increased with the algae loading without inhibiting the digestion process. The viscosities of the reactor sludges revealed decreasing values with reduced WWS loading at both temperatures, enhancing mixing properties.
Retrospective study of porcine circovirus 3 infection in China

PCV3 is an emerging swine virus associated with porcine dermatitis and nephropathy syndrome (PDNS), reproductive failure, respiratory diseases and systematic inflammation. Although first identified in 2015, the earliest case has been traced back to 2009 in the United States. In China, PCV3 infection was first detected in 2015, but little information has been available about its occurrence and prevalence there before 2015. In this study, 200 porcine clinical samples collected from 20 provinces, five autonomous regions and four municipalities between 1990 and 1999 were analysed for PCV3 infection by PCR. Results showed that 6.5% of the porcine samples collected from eight provinces and one autonomous region were PCV3 positive, with the earliest cases occurring in 1996. Nucleotide sequence analysis showed that PCV3 strains obtained in this study shared 96.6%-99.7% and 97.1%-99.4% sequence identity at the ORF2 gene and genome levels with all available reference strains from China and other countries, indicating the high genetic stability of PCV3 over the past 20 years.
Simulation of the effect of wind speedup in the formation of transverse dune fields

A computer simulation model for transverse-dune-field dynamics, corresponding to a uni-directional wind regime, is developed. In a previous formulation, two distinct problems were found regarding the cross-sectional dune shape, namely theerosionintheleeofdunesandthesteepnessofthewindwardslopes.Thefirstproblemissolvedbyintroducingnoerosion inshadowzones.Thesecondissueisovercomebyintroducingawindspeedup(shearvelocityincrease)factor,whichcanbe accountedforbyaddingatermtotheoriginaltransportlength,whichisproportionaltothesurfaceheight.Byincorporating these features we are able to model dunes whose individual shape and collective patterns are similar to those observed in nature.Moreoverweshowhowtheintroductionofanon-linearshear-velocity-increasetermleadstothereductionofdune height,andthismayresultinanequilibriumdunefieldconfiguration.Thisisthoughttobebecausethenon-linearincreaseof thetransportlengthmakesthesandtrappingefficiencylowerthanunity,evenforhigherdunes,sothattheincomingandthe outgoingsandfluxareinbalance.Tofullydescribetheinter-dunemorphologymoreprecisedynamicsintheleeofthedune must be incorporated. Copyright # 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Neutralizing Antibody Response in an Individual with Triple HIV-1 Infection Remains Directed at the First Infecting Subtype.

The effect of serial HIV-1 infection on the development of the broadly neutralizing antibody (bNAb) response was studied in an individual, H01-10366, with a serial HIV-1 superinfection (SI), hence triple infection, and compared with the bNAb response in three superinfected as well as 11 monoinfected men who have had sex with men (MSM) from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Neutralization assays measuring heterologous neutralizing antibody (NAb) titers on a panel of six representative viruses from different HIV-1 subtypes were performed on blood serum samples obtained ∼3 years after primary HIV infection (PHI) and longitudinally for H01-10366. A bNAb response was defined as having a geometric mean neutralization titer (the reciprocal serum dilution giving 50% inhibition of virus infection, inhibitory dilution (ID50)) ≥100 and neutralizing >50% of viruses in the panel with an ID50 titer ≥100. H01-10366 quickly developed a potent NAb response against subtype B viruses before subtype B SI, but no broadening of the response occurred after the second subtype B infection or the third infection with CRF01_AE. When comparing H01-10366 with matched monoinfected (N = 11) and superinfected (N = 3) individuals analyzed 3 years after PHI, we found that 5 of the 15 individuals (4/11 monoinfected, 1/4 SI) developed a bNAb response. However, there was no statistically discernible difference between the bNAb response and HIV-1 SI. Thus, HIV-1 SI was not associated with the breadth and potency of the bNAb response in this small group of Dutch MSM with SI that included a triple HIV-1-infected individual.
A framework for evaluating and designing citizen science programs for natural resources monitoring

We present a framework of resource characteristics critical to the design and assessment of citizen science programs that monitor natural resources. To develop the framework we reviewed 52 citizen science programs that monitored a wide range of resources and provided insights into what resource characteristics are most conducive to developing citizen science programs and how resource characteristics may constrain the use or growth of these programs. We focused on 4 types of resource characteristics: biophysical and geographical, management and monitoring, public awareness and knowledge, and social and cultural characteristics. We applied the framework to 2 programs, the Tucson (U.S.A.) Bird Count and the Maui (U.S.A.) Great Whale Count. We found that resource characteristics such as accessibility, diverse institutional involvement in resource management, and social or cultural importance of the resource affected program endurance and success. However, the relative influence of each characteristic was in turn affected by goals of the citizen science programs. Although the goals of public engagement and education sometimes complimented the goal of collecting reliable data, in many cases trade‐offs must be made between these 2 goals. Program goals and priorities ultimately dictate the design of citizen science programs, but for a program to endure and successfully meet its goals, program managers must consider the diverse ways that the nature of the resource being monitored influences public participation in monitoring.
The Associations Among Individual Factors, eHealth Literacy, and Health-Promoting Lifestyles Among College Students

Background eHealth literacy is gaining importance for maintaining and promoting health. Studies have found that individuals with high eHealth literacy are more likely to adopt healthy eating, exercise, and sleep behaviors. In addition, previous studies have shown that various individual factors (eg, frequency of seeking information on health issues, degree of health concern, frequency of eating organic food, and students’ college major) are associated with eHealth literacy and health-promoting lifestyles. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles among college students. Moreover, there is a lack of studies that focus on eHealth literacy as a predictor of psychological health behaviors. Objective To examine the associations among various individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles. Methods The eHealth Literacy Scale is a 12-item instrument designed to measure college students’ functional, interactive, and critical eHealth literacy. The Health-promoting Lifestyle Scale is a 23-item instrument developed to measure college students’ self-actualization, health responsibility, interpersonal support, exercise, nutrition, and stress management. A nationally representative sample of 556 valid college students in Taiwan was surveyed. A questionnaire was administered to gather the respondents’ background information, including the frequency of seeking information on health issues, the frequency of eating organic food, the degree of health concern, and the students’ major. We then conducted a multiple regression analysis to examine the associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles. Results The study found that factors such as medical majors (t550=2.47-7.55, P<.05) and greater concern with health (t550=2.15-9.01, P<.05) predicted college students’ 4-6 health-promoting lifestyle dimensions and the 3 dimensions of eHealth literacy. Moreover, critical eHealth literacy positively predicted all 6 health-promoting lifestyle dimensions (t547=2.66-7.28, P<.01), functional literacy positively predicted 2 dimensions (t547=2.32-2.98, P<.05), and interactive literacy predicted only the self-actualization dimension (t547=2.81, P<.01). Conclusions This study found that participants who majored in medical fields had greater concern with their health and frequently sought health information, exhibited better eHealth literacy, and had a positive health-promoting lifestyle. Moreover, this study showed that college students with a higher critical eHealth literacy engaged better in health-promoting activities than those with functional and interactive literacy.
I Keep a Close Watch on This Heart of Mine: Increased Interoception in Insomnia.

STUDY OBJECTIVES Whereas both insomnia and altered interoception are core symptoms in affective disorders, their neural mechanisms remain insufficiently understood and have not previously been linked. Insomnia Disorder (ID) is characterized by sensory hypersensitivity during wakefulness and sleep. Previous studies on sensory processing in ID addressed external stimuli only, but not interoception. Interoceptive sensitivity can be studied quantitatively by measuring the cerebral cortical response to one's heartbeat (heartbeat-evoked potential, HEP). We here investigated whether insomnia is associated with increased interoceptive sensitivity as indexed by the HEP amplitude. METHODS Sixty-four participants aged 21-70 years were recruited through www.sleepregistry. nl including 32 people suffering from ID and 32 age- and sex-matched controls without sleep complaints. HEPs were obtained from resting-state high-density electroencephalography (HD-EEG) recorded during evening wakeful rest in eyes-open (EO) and eyes-closed (EC) conditions of 5-minute duration each. Significance of group differences in HEP amplitude and their topographical distribution over the scalp were assessed by means of cluster-based permutation tests. RESULTS In particular during EC, and to a lesser extent during EO, people with ID had a larger amplitude late HEP component than controls at frontal electrodes 376-500 ms after the R-wave peak. Source localization suggested increased neural activity time-locked to heartbeats in people with ID mainly in anterior cingulate/medial frontal cortices. CONCLUSIONS People with insomnia show insufficient adaptation of their brain responses to the ever-present heartbeats. Abnormalities in the neural circuits involved in interoceptive awareness including the salience network may be of key importance to the pathophysiology of insomnia.
Low Plasma Adiponectin Concentrations Predict Increases in Visceral Adiposity and Insulin Resistance

Context: Plasma adiponectin concentration has been shown to be inversely associated with body mass index (BMI) and insulin resistance in cross-sectional research. However, it is unclear whether adiponectin predicts future body composition and insulin resistance. Objective: We aimed to investigate the potential relationship between adiponectin concentration and future regional body fat distribution and insulin resistance. Design and Setting: This was a community-based prospective cohort study with 5 years of follow-up. Participants: A total of 218 Japanese Americans without diabetes (79 men, 139 women, mean age 51.7 ± 10.1 years) were assessed at baseline and after 5 years of follow-up. Main Outcome Measures: Abdominal visceral and subcutaneous fat area and thigh subcutaneous fat area were measured by computed tomography (CT). Insulin resistance was evaluated by homeostasis model assessment 2 of insulin resistance (HOMA2-IR). Plasma total adiponectin was measured by radioimmunoassay. Results: Baseline adiponectin was inversely associated with abdominal visceral fat area (P = 0.037) and HOMA2-IR (P = 0.002) at 5 years in a multiple linear regression model after adjustment for baseline traits (including age, sex, BMI, abdominal visceral fat area, abdominal subcutaneous fat area, thigh subcutaneous fat area, HOMA2-IR) and weight change. However, no association was seen between baseline adiponectin concentration and BMI or other CT-measured regional fat depots at 5 years. Conclusions: Low plasma adiponectin concentration independently predicted future abdominal visceral fat accumulation and increased insulin resistance in Japanese Americans.
Aging and Parkinson’s Disease: Different Sides of the Same Coin?

Despite abundant epidemiological evidence in support of aging as the primary risk factor for PD, biological correlates of a connection have been elusive. In this article, we address the following question: does aging represent biology accurately characterized as pre‐PD? We present evidence from our work on midbrain dopamine neurons of aging nonhuman primates that demonstrates that markers of known correlates of dopamine neuron degeneration in PD, including impaired proteasome/lysosome function, oxidative/nitrative damage, and inflammation, all increase with advancing age and are exaggerated in the ventral tier substantia nigra dopamine neurons most vulnerable to degeneration in PD. Our findings support the view that aging‐related changes in the dopamine system approach the biological threshold for parkinsonism, actively producing a vulnerable pre‐parkinsonian state. © 2017 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society
Assessment of mammal reproduction for hunting sustainability through community‐based sampling of species in the wild

Wildlife subsistence hunting is a major source of protein for tropical rural populations and a prominent conservation issue. The intrinsic rate of natural increase. (rmax) of populations is a key reproductive parameter in the most used assessments of hunting sustainability. However, researchers face severe difficulties in obtaining reproductive data in the wild, so these assessments often rely on classic reproductive rates calculated mostly from studies of captive animals conducted 30 years ago. The result is a flaw in almost 50% of studies, which hampers management decision making. We conducted a 15‐year study in the Amazon in which we used reproductive data from the genitalia of 950 hunted female mammals. Genitalia were collected by local hunters. We examined tissue from these samples to estimate birthrates for wild populations of the 10 most hunted mammals. We compared our estimates with classic measures and considered the utility of the use of rmax in sustainability assessments. For woolly monkey (Lagothrix poeppigii) and tapir (Tapirus terrestris), wild birthrates were similar to those from captive populations, whereas birthrates for other ungulates and lowland‐paca (Cuniculus paca) were significantly lower than previous estimates. Conversely, for capuchin monkeys (Sapajus macrocephalus), agoutis (Dasyprocta sp.), and coatis (Nasua nasua), our calculated reproductive rates greatly exceeded often‐used values. Researchers could keep applying classic measures compatible with our estimates, but for other species previous estimates of rmax may not be appropriate. We suggest that data from local studies be used to set hunting quotas. Our maximum rates of population growth in the wild correlated with body weight, which suggests that our method is consistent and reliable. Integration of this method into community‐based wildlife management and the training of local hunters to record pregnancies in hunted animals could efficiently generate useful information of life histories of wild species and thus improve management of natural resources.
A New Basal Sauropod Dinosaur from the Middle Jurassic of Niger and the Early Evolution of Sauropoda

Background The early evolution of sauropod dinosaurs is poorly understood because of a highly incomplete fossil record. New discoveries of Early and Middle Jurassic sauropods have a great potential to lead to a better understanding of early sauropod evolution and to reevaluate the patterns of sauropod diversification. Principal Findings A new sauropod from the Middle Jurassic of Niger, Spinophorosaurus nigerensis n. gen. et sp. , is the most complete basal sauropod currently known. The taxon shares many anatomical characters with Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods, while it is strongly dissimilar to Lower and Middle Jurassic South American and Indian forms. A possible explanation for this pattern is a separation of Laurasian and South Gondwanan Middle Jurassic sauropod faunas by geographic barriers. Integration of phylogenetic analyses and paleogeographic data reveals congruence between early sauropod evolution and hypotheses about Jurassic paleoclimate and phytogeography. Conclusions Spinophorosaurus demonstrates that many putatively derived characters of Middle Jurassic East Asian sauropods are plesiomorphic for eusauropods, while South Gondwanan eusauropods may represent a specialized line. The anatomy of Spinophorosaurus indicates that key innovations in Jurassic sauropod evolution might have taken place in North Africa, an area close to the equator with summer-wet climate at that time. Jurassic climatic zones and phytogeography possibly controlled early sauropod diversification.
The effectiveness of m-TMI-grafted-PP as a coupling agent for wood polymer composites

The effectiveness of m-isopropenyl-α,α-dimethylbenzyl isocyanate-grafted-polypropylene (m-TMI-g-PP) as a coupling agent was evaluated for wood flour filled polypropylene composites. The performance was compared with the conventionally used maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP) coupling agent in terms of mechanical properties. Rubberwood flour filled polypropylene composites were prepared at varying proportion (1 wt% to 9 wt% of wood fibers) of m-TMI-g-PP and MAPP coupling agents. Composites with m-TMI-g-PP coupling agent exhibited consistently superior strength properties as compared to MAPP at all concentrations of coupling agents inferring that m-TMI-g-PP is a better coupling agent. About 6–9 wt% coupling agent with respect to wood fiber was found to be the optimal level of coupling agent. The effect of filler content and fiber dimension on the properties of composites with m-TMI-g-PP coupling agent was also studied. Tensile strength, flexural strength and tensile modulus increased with increasing filler content in the composites with the coupling agent. At 50% filler loading, composites with coupling agent exhibited about 50%, 78% and 270% improvement in tensile strength, flexural strength and tensile modulus, respectively, over virgin polypropylene. Fiber aspect ratio was found to have a significant effect on the tensile strength of the composites.
The Role of MicroRNAs in Environmental Risk Factors, Noise-Induced Hearing Loss, and Mental Stress.

SIGNIFICANCE MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are important regulators of gene expression and define part of the epigenetic signature. Their influence on every realm of biomedicine is established and progressively increasing. The impact of environment on human health is enormous. Among environmental risk factors impinging on quality of life are those of chemical nature (toxic chemicals, heavy metals, pollutants, and pesticides) as well as those related to everyday life such as exposure to noise or mental and psychosocial stress. Recent Advances: This review elaborates on the relationship between miRNAs and these environmental risk factors. CRITICAL ISSUES The most relevant facts underlying the role of miRNAs in the response to these environmental stressors, including redox regulatory changes and oxidative stress, are highlighted and discussed. In the cases wherein miRNA mutations are relevant for this response, the pertinent literature is also reviewed. FUTURE DIRECTIONS We conclude that, even though in some cases important advances have been made regarding close correlations between specific miRNAs and biological responses to environmental risk factors, a need for prospective large-cohort studies is likely necessary to establish causative roles. Antioxid. Redox Signal. 28, 773-796.
Imaging Evaluation Following 90Y Radioembolization of Liver Tumors: What Radiologists Should Know

Radioembolization using beta-emitting yttrium-90 microspheres is being increasingly used for the treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancers. It is a form of intra-arterial brachytherapy which delivers intense radiation to liver tumors with little embolic effect; this mode of action results in unique post-treatment imaging findings. It is important to understand these imaging findings to avoid misinterpretation of tumor response and to determine further management of the disease. Herein, we discuss the current concepts for assessing tumor response, common post-treatment imaging features, and associated complications following radioembolization.