Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Design and Applications of Integrated Transducers in Commercial CMOS Technology

Monolithic integration of Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) directly within CMOS technology offers enhanced functionality for integrated circuits (IC) and the potential improvement of system-level performance for MEMS devices in close proximity to biasing and sense circuits. While the bulk of CMOS-MEMS solutions involve post-processing of CMOS chips to define freely-suspended MEMS structures, there are key applications and conditions under which a solid, unreleased acoustic structure composed of the CMOS stack is preferred. Unreleased CMOS-MEMS devices benefit from lower barrier-to-entry with no post-processing of the CMOS chip, simplified packaging, robustness under acceleration and shock, stress gradient insensitivity, and opportunities for frequency scaling. This paper provides a review of advances in unreleased CMOS-MEMS devices over the past decade, with focus on dispersion engineering of guided waves in CMOS, acoustic confinement, CMOS-MEMS transducers, and large signal modeling. We discuss performance limits with standard capacitive transduction, with emphasis on performance boost with emerging CMOS materials including ferroelectrics under development for memory.
Organismic Memristive Structures With Variable Functionality for Neuroelectronics

In this paper, we report an approach to design nanolayered memristive compositions based on TiO2/Al2O3 bilayer structures with analog non-volatile and volatile tuning of the resistance. The structure of the TiO2 layer drives the physical mechanism underlying the non-volatile resistance switching, which can be changed from electronic to ionic, enabling the synaptic behavior emulation. The presence of the anatase phase in the amorphous TiO2 layer induces the resistive switching mechanism due to electronic processes. In this case, the switching of the resistance within the range of seven orders of magnitude is experimentally observed. In the bilayer with amorphous titanium dioxide, the participation of ionic processes in the switching mechanism results in narrowing the tuning range down to 2–3 orders of magnitude and increasing the operating voltages. In this way, a combination of TiO2/Al2O3 bilayers with inert electrodes enables synaptic behavior emulation, while active electrodes induce the neuronal behavior caused by cation density variation in the active Al2O3 layer of the structure. We consider that the proposed approach could help to explore the memristive capabilities of nanolayered compositions in a more functional way, enabling implementation of artificial neural network algorithms at the material level and simplifying neuromorphic layouts, while maintaining all benefits of neuromorphic architectures.
Differential Gene Expression and Withanolides Biosynthesis During in vitro and ex vitro Growth of Withania somnifera (L.) Dunal

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera L. Dunal) is a medicinally important plant with withanolides as its major bioactive compounds, abundant in the roots and leaves. We examined the influence of plant growth regulators (PGRs) on direct organogenesis, adventitious root development, withanolide biosynthetic pathway gene expression, withanolide contents, and metabolites during vegetative and reproductive growth phases under in vitro and ex vitro conditions. The highest shooting responses were observed with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) (2.0 mg L–1) + Kinetin (KIN) (1.5 mg L–1) supplementation. Furthermore, BAP (2.0 mg L–1) + KIN (1.5 mg L–1) + gibberellic acid (GA3) (0.5 mg L–1) exhibited better elongation responses with in vitro flowering. Half-strength MS medium with indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) (1.5 mg L–1) exhibited the highest rooting responses and IBA (1.0 mg L–1) with highest fruits, and overall biomass. Higher contents of withaferin A (WFA) [∼8.2 mg g–1 dry weight (DW)] were detected in the reproductive phase, whereas substantially lower WFA contents (∼1.10 mg g–1 DW) were detected in the vegetative phase. Cycloartenol synthase (CAS) (P = 0.0025), sterol methyltransferase (SMT) (P = 0.0059), and 1-deoxy-D-xylulose-5-phosphate reductase (DXR) (P = 0.0375) genes resulted in a significant fold change in expression during the reproductive phase. The liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis revealed metabolites that were common (177) and distinct in reproductive (218) and vegetative (167) phases. Adventitious roots cultured using varying concentrations of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) (0.5 mg L–1) + IBA (1.0 mg L–1) + GA3 (0.2 mg L–1) exhibited the highest biomass, and IAA (0.5 mg L–1) + IBA (1.0 mg L–1) exhibited the highest withanolides content. Overall, our findings demonstrate the peculiarity of withanolide biosynthesis during distinct growth phases, which is relevant for the large-scale production of withanolides.
Screening Method for Assessment of Work Ability for Patients Suffering From Mental Fatigue

Pathological mental fatigue adversely affects endurance in the performance of tasks over time, with negative impact on work ability. There are currently no methods for objectively assessing work ability for patients suffering from mental fatigue. In this study, work ability in relation to mental fatigue as a screening method was evaluated, using the Work Ability Index (WAI) and Mental Fatigue Scale (MFS). Included participants represented three patient groups commonly affected by mental fatigue; acquired brain injury (n = 49, traumatic brain injury, stroke), burn-out syndrome (55) and hypothyroidism (50). The results showed a significant correlation between WAI and MFS (r = –0.754) and status in the workplace (WAI r = 0.722, MFS r = –0.443) for all groups. The WAI and MFS were significant predictors for status in the workplace (p < 0.001) and explained 53% of the variance. This screening method can help health care professionals to identify people who are mentally fatigued with a reduced ability to work or return to work after illness, and who are in need of in-depth investigation. It is important to initiate treatment early with the aim of promoting a sustainable working life and general well-being of the individual.
Spatiotemporal Signatures of Surprise Captured by Magnetoencephalography

Surprise and social influence are linked through several neuropsychological mechanisms. By garnering attention, causing arousal, and motivating engagement, surprise provides a context for effective or durable social influence. Attention to a surprising event motivates the formation of an explanation or updating of models, while high arousal experiences due to surprise promote memory formation. They both encourage engagement with the surprising event through efforts aimed at understanding the situation. By affecting the behavior of the individual or a social group via setting an attractive engagement context, surprise plays an important role in shaping personal and social change. Surprise is an outcome of the brain’s function in constantly anticipating the future of sensory inputs based on past experiences. When new sensory data is different from the brain’s predictions shaped by recent trends, distinct neural signals are generated to report this surprise. As a quantitative approach to modeling the generation of brain surprise, input stimuli containing surprising elements are employed in experiments such as oddball tasks during which brain activity is recorded. Although surprise has been well characterized in many studies, an information-theoretical model to describe and predict the surprise level of an external stimulus in the recorded MEG data has not been reported to date, and setting forth such a model is the main objective of this paper. Through mining trial-by-trial MEG data in an oddball task according to theoretical definitions of surprise, the proposed surprise decoding model employs the entire epoch of the brain response to a stimulus to measure surprise and assesses which collection of temporal/spatial components in the recorded data can provide optimal power for describing the brain’s surprise. We considered three different theoretical formulations for surprise assuming the brain acts as an ideal observer that calculates transition probabilities to estimate the generative distribution of the input. We found that middle temporal components and the right and left fronto-central regions offer the strongest power for decoding surprise. Our findings provide a practical and rigorous method for measuring the brain’s surprise, which can be employed in conjunction with behavioral data to evaluate the interactive and social effects of surprising events.
Brevilin A Ameliorates Acute Lung Injury and Inflammation Through Inhibition of NF-κB Signaling via Targeting IKKα/β

Acute lung injury (ALI) is life-threatening disease characterized by uncontrolled inflammatory response. IKKα/β, the key kinases in the activation of NF-κB pathway, are implicated in inflammatory pulmonary injury, and represent attractive targets for ALI therapy. Brevilin A (BVA) is a sesquiterpene lactone from Centipeda minima, a Chinese herb used to treat inflammatory diseases. This study aims to investigate the inhibition of BVA on ALI, with focus on clarifying the molecular mechanisms involved in BVA-mediated anti-inflammatory activity in macrophages. Briefly, BVA significantly inhibited the production of NO and PGE2 by suppressing iNOS and COX2 expression, and suppressed the mRNA expression of IL-1β, IL-6, and TNFα in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated RAW264.7 macrophages. The anti-inflammatory activity of BVA was further confirmed in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated BMDMs and TNFα/IFNγ-exposed RAW264.7 cells. In vivo, BVA effectively attenuated LPS-induced lung damage, inflammatory infiltration, and production of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including MPO, IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, and PGE2. Mechanistically, BVA could covalently bind to the cysteine 114 of IKKα/β, and effectively inhibiting the activity and function of IKKα/β, thereby resulting in the suppression of phosphorylation and degradation of IκBα and the subsequent activation of NF-κB signaling. Furthermore, pretreatment of DTT, a thiol ligand donor, significantly abolished BVA-mediated effects in LPS/IFNγ-stimulated RAW264.7 cells, suggesting the crucial role of the electrophilic α, β-unsaturated ketone of BVA on its anti-inflammatory activity. These results suggest that BVA ameliorates ALI through inhibition of NF-κB signaling via covalently targeting IKKα/β, raising the possibility that BVA could be effective in the treatment of ALI and other diseases harboring aberrant NF-κB signaling.
Counterconditioning as Treatment to Reduce Nocebo Effects in Persistent Physical Symptoms: Treatment Protocol and Study Design

Persistent physical symptoms have a high prevalence and a large impact for patients and society. To date, treatment effects for these symptoms are often limited. Nocebo effects (i.e., negative outcomes that are not attributable to active treatment components) have a substantial influence on treatment success and can be established via learning through classical conditioning. Therefore, interventions aimed at reducing nocebo effects by means of counterconditioning, in which an alternative association (inhibiting the previous association) is learned, could be a promising method for improving physical symptoms. In experimental studies, counterconditioning has been shown promising in reducing experimentally-induced nocebo effects on pain and itch. Application of counterconditioning procedures to reduce nocebo effects on clinical symptoms has yet to be researched. This paper provides a protocol of a 6-week counterconditioning intervention aimed at reducing nocebo effects and clinical pain in patients with fibromyalgia. A study in patients with fibromyalgia is proposed to examine the feasibility and potential effectiveness of this counterconditioning intervention as a novel treatment method for reducing nocebo effects and generalization to clinical pain symptoms. Results can help design an optimized treatment protocol for reducing nocebo effects, based on the experiences of participants and the first indications of treatment efficacy.
Self-Sustained Regulation or Self-Perpetuating Dysregulation: ROS-dependent HIF-YAP-Notch Signaling as a Double-Edged Sword on Stem Cell Physiology and Tumorigenesis

Organ development, homeostasis, and repair often rely on bidirectional, self-organized cell-niche interactions, through which cells select cell fate, such as stem cell self-renewal and differentiation. The niche contains multiplexed chemical and mechanical factors. How cells interpret niche structural information such as the 3D topology of organs and integrate with multiplexed mechano-chemical signals is an open and active research field. Among all the niche factors, reactive oxygen species (ROS) have recently gained growing interest. Once considered harmful, ROS are now recognized as an important niche factor in the regulation of tissue mechanics and topology through, for example, the HIF-YAP-Notch signaling pathways. These pathways are not only involved in the regulation of stem cell physiology but also associated with inflammation, neurological disorder, aging, tumorigenesis, and the regulation of the immune checkpoint molecule PD-L1. Positive feedback circuits have been identified in the interplay of ROS and HIF-YAP-Notch signaling, leading to the possibility that under aberrant conditions, self-organized, ROS-dependent physiological regulations can be switched to self-perpetuating dysregulation, making ROS a double-edged sword at the interface of stem cell physiology and tumorigenesis. In this review, we discuss the recent findings on how ROS and tissue mechanics affect YAP-HIF-Notch-PD-L1 signaling, hoping that the knowledge can be used to design strategies for stem cell-based and ROS-targeting therapy and tissue engineering.
A Method to Combine Neurofilament Light Measurements From Blood Serum and Plasma in Clinical and Population-Based Studies

Introduction Neurofilament light (NfL) can be detected in blood of healthy individuals and at elevated levels in those with different neurological diseases. We investigated if the choice of biological matrix can affect results when using NfL as biomarker in epidemiological studies. Method We obtained paired serum and EDTA-plasma samples of 299 individuals aged 37–67 years (BiDirect study) and serum samples of 373 individuals aged 65–83 years (MEMO study). In BiDirect, Passing–Bablok analyses were performed to assess proportional and systematic differences between biological matrices. Associations between serum or EDTA-plasma NfL and renal function (serum creatinine, serum cystatin C, glomerular filtration rate, and kidney disease) were investigated using linear or logistic regression, respectively. All regression coefficients were estimated (1) per one ng/L increase and (2) per one standard deviation increase (standardization using z-scores). In MEMO, regression coefficients were estimated (1) per one ng/L increase of serum or calculated EDTA-plasma NfL and (2) per one standard deviation increase providing a comparison to the results from BiDirect. Results We found proportional and systematic differences between paired NfL measurements in BiDirect, i.e., serum NfL [ng/L] = −0.33 [ng/L] + 1.11 × EDTA-plasma NfL [ng/L]. Linear regression coefficients for the associations between NfL and renal function did not vary between the different NfL measurements. In MEMO, one standard deviation increase in serum NfL was associated with greater changes in the outcomes than in BiDirect. Conclusion Although there are differences between serum and EDTA-plasma NfL, results can be used interchangeably if standardized values are used.
Work-Family Conflict, Happiness and Organizational Citizenship Behavior Among Professional Women: A Moderated Mediation Model

This study investigates the association between work-family conflict and organizational citizenship behavior and examines the mediated role of subjective happiness between and the moderated part of family support. A moderated mediation model is established based on the Conservation of Resources theory. We collected data from 386 employees of nine companies in China. This study shows that the work-family conflict of female professional employees is negatively correlated with organizational citizenship behavior, and that the relationship is mediated by subjective well-being. Furthermore, female professional employees’ family support moderates the effects of work-family conflict on subjective happiness and organizational citizenship behavior, with the relationship weaker when family support is higher. This study enriches the literature on work-family conflict by using family support as a mediating mechanism for work-family conflict. It enhanced our understanding of the influencing mechanisms of organizational citizenship behavior by constructing a more detailed model.
Case Report: AL Amyloidosis Severe Restrictive Cardiomyopathy Associated With Multiple Myeloma—Diagnostic Difficulties

Background Cardiac AL amyloidosis as a complication of multiple myeloma (MM) is a formidable life-threatening condition. The first-line therapy for both MM and systemic AL amyloidosis is proteasome inhibitors (PIs). Unfortunately, the use of PIs may lead to cardiovascular toxicity development, which requires specific cardio-oncology supervision. Case Report A 57-year-old woman was admitted to a university hospital with clinical manifestation of progressive chronic heart failure. The patient had hypertension and no history of diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction (MI), stroke, and arrhythmias. After a series of laboratory and instrumental examination methods, MM complicated by cardiac AL amyloidosis was proved. Upon specific cardio-oncology examination (NT-proBNP 4,274 pg/ml), ECHO showed systolic dysfunction, motion abnormalities in LV basal and middle segments, and a typical depositional myocardium pattern (“luminescence”); cardiac MRI revealed restrictive cardiomyopathy and specific hyperenhancement of the ventricles and atria; 24-h ECG showed QS-pattern in leads V1–V3 and unstable ventricular tachycardia (VT) paroxysms. Cardio-oncology consultation showed baseline cardiovascular risk was very high (≥20%), and cardioprotective therapy [iACE/ARBs, beta-blockers (BB), statins] was administered. The patient underwent VCD (bortezomib; cyclophosphamide; dexamethasone) chemotherapy (CMT) program. By the time of publication, the patient had received four CMT courses with a positive oncohematological and cardiovascular effect. Conclusion In this clinical case, we described a complication of MM, which was rare according to the severity and manifestation with restrictive cardiomyopathy due to secondary cardiac amyloidosis. The case's features were difficulties in verifying the underlying disease and its own complication, and the complexity of patient management according to modern principles of cardio-oncology.
Rhizospheric Bacillus-Facilitated Effects on the Growth and Competitive Ability of the Invasive Plant Ageratina adenophora

The rhizospheric microbial community affects the population establishment of invasive plants in introduced areas, among which Bacillus has numerous functions in promoting plant growth. This study isolated and enriched the Bacillus community in the rhizospheric soil of the invasive plant Ageratina adenophora and the native accompanying plant Rabdosia amethystoides. The effects of these rhizospheric Bacillus communities on the growth and competition of A. adenophora and R. amethystoides were evaluated in pot experiments. The results showed that the number and diversity of Bacillus in the rhizospheric soil of A. adenophora were higher than those of R. amethystoides (A. adenophora: 122 strains in soil, 16 Bacillus taxa; R. amethystoides: 88 strains in soil, 9 Bacillus taxa). After Bacillus inoculation of A. adenophora in a pot experiment, Bacillus idriensis, Bacillus toyonensis and Bacillus cereus were accumulated in the rhizospheric of A. adenophora, which significantly increased the nitrate nitrogen (NO3–-N) content in the soil and the total carbon and nitrogen concentrations in A. adenophora in the mixed treatment. The selective accumulation of Bacillus enhanced the competitive advantage of A. adenophora over the native accompanying plant; the corrected index of relative competition intensity of A. adenophora-inoculated Bacillus reached double that of the uninoculated treatment, and the growth of native plants was greatly suppressed under mixed planting. Our study confirmed that invasion of A. adenophora can lead to the accumulation of specific Bacillus taxa in the rhizospheric soil, which in turn can increase the competitive advantage of A. adenophora.
Sustainable Engagement and Academic Achievement Under Impact of Academic Self-Efficacy Through Mediation of Learning Agility—Evidence From Music Education Students

The overarching goal of this study was to look into the effects of academic self-efficacy and academic motivation on student long-term engagement and academic achievement. This study also sought to investigate the role of learning agility as a mediator in the relationship between academic self-efficacy and academic motivation. This study examined the impact of student sustainable engagement on student academic achievement as part of our model. A questionnaire technique was used to collect data from 325 music education students studying at various music training institutions in China. The data were analyzed using the Smart-PLS software and a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. Academic self-efficacy and academic motivation were found to have a positive and significant relationship with student long-term engagement. The academic motivation was also found to have a positive relationship with student long-term engagement. Furthermore, learning agility was found to mediate the relationship between academic self-efficacy and student sustainable engagement. Furthermore, learning agility mediated the relationship between academic motivation and long-term student engagement. Furthermore, student sustainable engagement has a significant and positive relationship with student academic achievement. This paper made a valuable theoretical contribution by investigating the impact of academic self-efficacy and academic motivation on student sustainable engagement, as well as the impact of student sustainable engagement on student academic achievement. Furthermore, this study added to the body of knowledge by investigating the relationship through the lens of cognitive learning theory. In terms of practical implications, this paper would undoubtedly assist educational institutions in maintaining a fair and just learning environment that encourages students to be engaged and perform well. Future research can include other constructs to gain a better understanding of the factors that influence students’ academic engagement and achievement.