Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Broadband and wide range tunable phase shifter based on composite right/left handed transmission line

In this paper, an improved tunable phase shifter with broadband and wide range of the phase shift is proposed. The structure consists of two improved tunable composite right/left handed (CRLH) transmission line (TL) unit cells. A π-shape circuit model is adopted for each unit cell, and its phase characteristic is discussed in detail, based on which a varactor diode parallel to a lumped capacitor in series circuit and two varactor diodes series with other lumped capacitors in shunt circuits are carefully designed to tune the shifted phase as well as the nonignorable lumped inductors. After that, the phase shifter is finally fabricated using two tunable CRLH-TL unit cells. All of the varactor diodes are controlled by only one bias voltage which also leads to a compact size. The simulated and measured results agree well with a continuously tunable phase range more than 170°. The relative bandwidth is 40%, while the input return loss is not large than 10 dB.
Changes in Plasma Phospholipid Metabolism Are Associated with Clinical Manifestations of Systemic Sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with fibrosis of the skin and/or internal organs, causing a decrease in quality of life and survival. There is no causative therapy, and the pathophysiology of the SSc remains unclear. Studies showed that lipid metabolism was relevant for autoimmune diseases, but little is known about the role of lipids in SSc. In the present study, we sought to explore the phospholipid profile of SSc by using the lipidomics approach. We also aimed to analyze lipidomics results for different clinical manifestations of SSc. Experiments were performed using high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry for the lipidomic profiling of plasma samples from patients with SSc. Our study showed, for the first time, significant changes in the level of phospholipids such as plasmalogens and sphingomyelins from the plasma of SSc patients as compared to controls. Phosphatidylcholine plasmalogens species and sphingomyelins were significantly increased in SSc patients as compared to controls. Our results also demonstrated a significant association of changes in the metabolism of phospholipids (phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylethanolamine plasmalogens species and sphingomyelins) with different clinical manifestations of SSc. Further lipidomic studies might lead to the detection of lipids as new biomarkers or therapeutic targets of SSc.
Advances in Wirelessly Powered Backscatter Communications: From Antenna/RF Circuitry Design to Printed Flexible Electronics

Backscatter communication is an emerging paradigm for pervasive connectivity of low-power communication devices. Wirelessly powered backscattering wireless sensor networks (WSNs) become particularly important to meet the upcoming era of the Internet of Things (IoT), which requires the massive deployment of self-sustainable and maintenance-free low-cost sensing and communication devices. This article will introduce the state-of-the-art antenna design and radio frequency (RF) system integration for wirelessly powered backscatter communications, covering both the node and the base unit. We capture the latest development in ultralow-power RF front ends and coding schemes for $\mu \text{W}$ -level backscatter modulators, as well as the latest progress in wireless power transfer (WPT) and energy harvesting (EH) techniques. Newly emerged rectenna system, waveform design, and channel optimization are reviewed in light of the opportunities for adaptively optimizing the WPT/EH efficiency for low-power signals with varying conditions. In addition, advanced device packaging and integration technologies in, e.g., additively manufactured RF components and modules for microwave and millimeter-wave ubiquitous sensing and backscattering energy-autonomous RF structures are reported. Inkjet printing for the sustainable and ultralow-cost fabrication of flexible RF devices and sensors will be reviewed to provide a prospective insight into the future packaging of backscatter communications from the chip-level design to complete system integration. Finally, this article will also address the challenges in fully wireless powered backscatter radio networks and discuss the future directions of backscatter communication in terms of “Green IoT” and “Low Carbon” smart home, smart city, smart skin, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications.
The Moderated Mediation Role of Malaria Knowledge and Household Income in the Relationship between Insecticide-Treated Mosquito Nets and Malaria

Objectives: The study was premised on the notion that insecticide-treated mosquito nets are positively related to malaria prevalence, and that knowledge mediates the relationship between insecticide-treated mosquito nets and malaria. Furthermore, household income was hypothesized to have a moderating effect on the direct and indirect relationships (through malaria knowledge) between insecticide-treated mosquito nets and the prevalence of malaria. Methods: The hypothesized relationships were examined using panel data collected from ten regions of Ethiopia during 2011-2015. Structural equation modeling and the random effect model were used to test the hypotheses. Statistical analyses were performed using Stata version 13.0. Results: The results were consistent with our proposed hypotheses, showing a significant relationship between the research variables. The findings suggest that malaria knowledge contributes to improving the relationship between insecticide-treated mosquito nets and malaria prevalence. A positively significant indirect effect (β = 0.47, p = 0.003) as well as direct effect (β = 0.28, p = 0.001) was revealed in the study. Furthermore, a positive impact of household income in strengthening the relationship between insecticide-treated mosquito nets and malaria through knowledge was reported, with a considerable value (β = 0.13, p = 0.000). The result also reveals differences in the outcome of malaria prevalence at different levels of household income category, where the indirect effect of insecticide-treated mosquito nets on malaria prevalence via malaria knowledge was positive and significant for households under the second-level income category (β = 0.15, p = 0.000). Conversely, the indirect effect of insecticide-treated mosquito nets on malaria prevalence via malaria knowledge was negative for the high level-income category (β = -0.14, p = 0.022). Besides, insignificant and negative relationships were reported for households under low-level income categories (β = 0.024, p = 0.539). Conclusion: The findings are potentially useful for the health sector to ensure success in infectious disease prevention and control, particularly malaria, and to explain how various factors contribute to the relationship.
ASSESSMENT OF MILK PRODUCTION AND QUALITY IN SOHAGI EWES AT DIFFERENT PARITIES AND LACTATION STAGES UNDER INTENSIVE FARMING SYSTEMS

This study was conducted to assess milk production and quality in Sohagi ewes at different parities and lactation stages under intensive farming systems. Forty single-born Sohagi ewes (8 ewes / each parity, from 1st to 5th) were used, daily ration of ewes consisted of 60 % concentrate mixture and 40 % Egyptian clover and wheat straw as roughage, diets were offered to the ewes to meet their daily requirements. Milk yield, fat corrected milk (FCM6.5 %), and milk components (fat, protein, lactose, total solids, solids not fat and ash) were recorded and estimates weekly for 15 weeks of lactation. Results revealed that the lactation stage had significant (P < 0.05) effects on daily milk yield, FCM6.5 %, and fat, protein, SNF, and total solids contents, mid-lactation had the highest value (1051.6 and 984.3 ml/d) followed by earlylactation (986.1 and 944.5 ml/d) and latelactation had the lowest values (730 and 702.7 ml/d). Milk fat, protein, SNF, and total solids were higher (P < 0.05) at earlyand late-lactation than at mid-lactation. Daily milk yield, FCM6.5 %, and fat, protein, SNF, and total solids contents were increased significantly (p < 0.05) with advancing in parity number of ewes until 4th parity, then decreasing at 5th parity. A significant (P < 0.01) and positive correlations were found between the parity number and daily milk yield, FCM6.5 % and milk contents of fat, protein, SNF and total solids. Finally, the milk production and quality of Sohagi ewes of higher parities have improved, and their use under intensive farm systems will improve the incomes of the breeders. Also, Sohagi ewes have a potential ability to produce milk, which is suitable for dairy products manufacture, which may represent a modern approach to improve the value chain for dairy processing in Upper Egypt, which often depends on milk from cows and buffaloes. Keys word: Sohagi ewes, parity, lactation stage, milk yield, milk composition.
Common Misconceptions about the Phonological Deficit Theory of Dyslexia

In this discussion paper, I review a number of common misconceptions about the phonological deficit theory (PDH) of dyslexia. These include the common but mistaken idea that the PDH is simply about phonemic awareness (PA), and, consequently, is a circular “pseudo”-explanation or epiphenomenon of reading difficulties. I argue that PA is only the “tip of the phonological iceberg” and that “deeper” spoken-language phonological impairments among dyslexics appear well before the onset of reading and even at birth. Furthermore, not even reading-specific expressions of phonological deficits—PA or pseudoword naming, can be considered circular if we clearly distinguish between reading proper—real meaning-bearing words, or real text, and the mechanisms (subskills) of reading development (such as phonological recoding). I also explain why an understanding of what constitutes an efficient writing system explains why phonology is necessarily a major source of variability in reading ability and hence a core deficit (or at least one core deficit) among struggling readers whether dyslexic or non-dyslexic. I also address the misguided notion that the PDH has now fallen out of favor because most dyslexia researchers have (largely) ceased studying phonological processing. I emphasize that acceptance of the PDH does not imply repudiation of other non-phonological hypotheses because the PDH does not claim to account for all the variance in reading ability/disability. Finally, I ask where neurobiology enters the picture and suggest that researchers need to exercise more caution in drawing their conclusions.
Time-dependence of Heterogeneous Ice Nucleation by Ambient Aerosols: Laboratory Observations and a Formulation for Models

Abstract. The time dependence of ice-nucleating particle (INP) activity is known to exist, yet for simplicity it is often omitted in atmospheric models as an approximation. Hitherto only limited experimental work has been done to quantify this time dependency, for which published data are especially scarce regarding ambient aerosol samples and longer time scales. In this study, the time dependence of INP activity is quantified experimentally for ambient environmental samples. The experimental approach includes a series of hybrid experiments with alternating constant cooling and isothermal experiments using a recently developed cold-stage setup called the Lund University Cold-Stage (LUCS). This approach of observing ambient aerosol samples provides the optimum realism for representing their time dependence in any model. Six ambient aerosol samples were collected representing aerosol conditions likely influenced by these types of INPs: marine, mineral dust, continental pristine, continental polluted, combustion-related and rural continental aerosol. Active INP concentrations were seen to be augmented by about 40 % to 100 % (or 70 % to 200 %), depending on the sample, over 2 (or 10) hours. This degree of time dependence observed was comparable to that seen in previous published works. Our observations show that the minority of active ice nuclei (IN) with strong time dependency on hourly time scales display only weak time dependence on short time scales of a few minutes. A general tendency was observed for the natural time scale of the freezing to dilate increasingly with time. The fractional freezing rate was observed to steadily declines exponentially with the order of magnitude (logarithm) of the time since the start of isothermal conditions. A representation of time dependence for incorporation into schemes of heterogeneous ice nucleation that currently omit time dependence is proposed.
Epigenotype, Genotype, and Phenotype Analysis of Taiwanese Patients with Silver–Russell Syndrome

Background: Silver–Russell syndrome (SRS) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous disorder characterized by severe intrauterine growth retardation, poor postnatal growth, characteristic facial features, and body asymmetry. Hypomethylation of the imprinted genes of the chromosome 11p15.5 imprinting gene cluster and maternal uniparental disomy of chromosome 7 (mUPD7) are the major epigenetic disturbances. The aim of this study was to characterize the epigenotype, genotype, and phenotype of these patients in Taiwan. Methods: Two hundred and six subjects with clinically suspected SRS were referred for diagnostic testing, which was performed by profiling the methylation of H19-associated imprinting center (IC) 1 and the imprinted PEG1/MEST region using methylation-specific multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification and high-resolution melting analysis with a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction assay. We also applied a whole genome strategy to detect copy number changes and loss of heterozygosity. Clinical manifestations were recorded and analyzed according to the SRS scoring system proposed by Bartholdi et al. Results: Among the 206 referred subjects, 100 were classified as having a clinical diagnosis of SRS (score ≥ 8, maximum = 15) and 106 had an SRS score ≤ 7. Molecular lesions were detected in 45% (45/100) of the subjects with a clinical diagnosis of SRS, compared to 5% (5/106) of those with an SRS score ≤ 7. Thirty-seven subjects had IC1 hypomethylation, ten subjects had mUPD7, and three subjects had microdeletions. Several clinical features were found to be statistically different (p < 0.05) between the “IC1 hypomethylation” and “mUPD7” groups, including relative macrocephaly at birth (89% vs. 50%), triangular shaped face (89% vs. 50%), clinodactyly of the fifth finger (68% vs. 20%), and SRS score (11.4 ± 2.2 vs. 8.3 ± 2.5). Conclusions: The SRS score was positively correlated with the molecular diagnosis rate (p < 0.001). The SRS subjects with mUPD7 seemed to have fewer typical features and lower SRS scores than those with IC1 hypomethylation. Careful clinical observation and timely molecular confirmation are important to allow for an early diagnosis and multidisciplinary management of these patients.
miRNA-223-3p, miRNA- 2909 and Cytokines Expression in COVID-19 Patients Treated with Ivermectin

Background: The role of Ivermectin in improving the outcome of coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) symptoms was reported in several studies, while its effect on the proinflammatory cytokines triggering the cytokine storm is still not investigated. This study aimed to investigate the role of Ivermectin on the proinflammatory cytokines in Covid-19 patients and correlated the results with the expression of miR-2909, miR-223-3p. Methods: Three hundred and twenty hospitalized patients with confirmed moderate-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection were selected. The patients were divided into 2 groups: Group I treated with the Egyptian protocol of COVID-19 including (Ivermectin plus hydroxychloroquine). Group II was treated with the Egyptian protocol, including hydroxychloroquine and no Ivermectin. IL6, IL-1b, procalcitonin, and gene expression of miR-2909, miR-223-3p, and Toll-like receptor 4 were done by real-time Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Results: Patients treated with COVID-19 protocol including Ivermectin showed a significant decrease of cytokines levels (IL-6, IL-1, and procalcitonin), when compared with the other group, the cytokines levels improvement were positively correlated with miR-2029 expression and negatively correlated with the expression of miR-223-3p. Moderate ill COVID-19 patients treated with Ivermectin showed a significant decline in mortality rate and duration of hospital stay. Conclusions: Ivermectin is an effective drug in improving the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 patients with a significant decrease in mortality rate through decreasing cytokines expression via controlling miR-2029, miR-233-3p expressions.
Numerous expansions in TRP ion channel diversity highlight widespread evolution of molecular sensors in animal diversification

Transient Potential Receptor (TRP) ion channels are a diverse superfamily of multimodal molecular sensors that respond to a wide variety of stimuli, including mechanical, chemical, and thermal. TRP channels are present in most eukaryotes but best understood in mammalian, worm, and fly genetic models, where they are expressed in diverse cell-types and commonly associated with the nervous system. Here, we characterized TRP superfamily gene and genome evolution to better understand origins and evolution of molecular sensors, brains, and behavior in animals and help advance development of novel genetic technologies, like sonogenetics. We developed a flexible push-button bioinformatic and phylogenomic pipeline, GIGANTIC, that generated genome-based gene and species trees and enabled phylogenetic characterization of challenging remote homologs and distantly-related organisms deep in evolution. We identified complete sets of TRP superfamily ion channels, with over 3000 genes in 22 animal phyla and 70 species having publicly-available sequenced genomes, including 3 unicellular outgroups. We then identified clusters of TRP family members in genomes, evaluated gene models per cluster, and repaired split gene models. We also produced whole-organism PacBio transcriptomes for five species to independently validate our gene model assessment and model repairs. We find that many TRP families exhibited numerous and often extensive expansions in different phyla. Some expansions represent local clusters on respective genomes, a trend that is likely undercounted due to varied quality in genome assemblies and annotations of non-model organisms. Our work expands known TRP diversity across animals, including addition of previously uncharacterized phyla and identification of unrecognized homologs in previously characterized species.
Depths Inferred from Velocities Estimated by Remote Sensing: A Flow Resistance Equation-Based Approach to Mapping Multiple River Attributes at the Reach Scale

Remote sensing of flow conditions in stream channels could facilitate hydrologic data collection, particularly in large, inaccessible rivers. Previous research has demonstrated the potential to estimate flow velocities in sediment-laden rivers via particle image velocimetry (PIV). In this study, we introduce a new framework for also obtaining bathymetric information: Depths Inferred from Velocities Estimated by Remote Sensing (DIVERS). This approach is based on a flow resistance equation and involves several assumptions: steady, uniform, one-dimensional flow and a direct proportionality between the velocity estimated at a given location and the local water depth, with no lateral transfer of mass or momentum. As an initial case study, we performed PIV and inferred depths from videos acquired from a helicopter hovering at multiple waypoints along a large river in central Alaska. The accuracy of PIV-derived velocities was assessed via comparison to field measurements and the performance of an optimization-based approach to DIVERS was quantified by comparing calculated depths to those observed in the field. We also examined the ability of two variants of DIVERS to reproduce the discharge recorded at a gaging station. This analysis indicated that the accuracy of PIV-based velocity estimates varied considerably from hover to hover along the reach, with observed vs. predicted R2 values ranging from 0.22 to 0.97 and a median of 0.57. Calculated depths were also reasonably accurate, with median normalized biases from −4% to 9.9% for the two versions of DIVERS, but tended to be under-predicted in meander bends. Discharges were reproduced to within 1% and 4% when applying the optimization-based technique to individual hovers or reach-aggregated data, respectively. The results of this investigation suggest that, in addition to the velocity field derived via PIV, DIVERS could provide a plausible, first-order approximation to the reach-scale bathymetry. This framework could be refined by incorporating hydraulic processes that were not represented in the initial iteration of the approach described herein.
p53-Mediated Radiosensitization of 177Lu-DOTATATE in Neuroblastoma Tumor Spheroids

p53 is involved in DNA damage response and is an exciting target for radiosensitization in cancer. Targeted radionuclide therapy against somatostatin receptors with 177Lu-DOTATATE is currently being explored as a treatment for neuroblastoma. The aim of this study was to investigate the novel p53-stabilizing peptide VIP116 in neuroblastoma, both as monotherapy and together with 177Lu-DOTATATE. Five neuroblastoma cell lines, including two patient-derived xenograft (PDX) lines, were characterized in monolayer cultures. Four out of five were positive for 177Lu-DOTATATE uptake. IC50 values after VIP116 treatments correlated with p53 status, ranging between 2.8–238.2 μM. IMR-32 and PDX lines LU-NB-1 and LU-NB-2 were then cultured as multicellular tumor spheroids and treated with 177Lu-DOTATATE and/or VIP116. Spheroid growth was inhibited in all spheroid models for all treatment modalities. The most pronounced effects were observed for combination treatments, mediating synergistic effects in the IMR-32 model. VIP116 and combination treatment increased p53 levels with subsequent induction of p21, Bax and cleaved caspase 3. Combination treatment resulted in a 14-fold and 1.6-fold induction of MDM2 in LU-NB-2 and IMR-32 spheroids, respectively. This, together with differential MYCN signaling, may explain the varying degree of synergy. In conclusion, VIP116 inhibited neuroblastoma cell growth, potentiated 177Lu-DOTATATE treatment and could, therefore, be a feasible treatment option for neuroblastoma.
Some metabolic parameters during transition period in dairy cows with and without retained fetal membranes.

This study evaluated the levels of some serum metabolites for dairy cows (Holstein Friesian) in relation to expulsion of fetal membranes. Blood concentrations of glucose, triglycerides, total cholesterol and non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA) were determined (from 7 days before, day of parturition and 2 days after calving) in cows that expelled fetal membranes normally (n = 9 cows) and in cows that developed retention of fetal membranes (RFMs), n = 17). The cows that developed RFMs had lower concentrations of cholesterol at and after parturition, while the concentrations of NEFA and triglycerides were higher than those in cows that normally expelled the fetal membranes. Results revealed that the concentration of NEFA before calving was highly related to the RFMs. It may be inferred that monitoring the levels of NEFA during prepartum period would help in identifying the cows at the risk of developing RFMs.