Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Myeloid Acat1/Soat1 KO attenuates pro-inflammatory responses in macrophages and protects against atherosclerosis in a model of advanced lesions

Cholesterol esters are a key ingredient of foamy cells in atherosclerotic lesions; their formation is catalyzed by two enzymes: acyl-CoA:cholesterol acyltransferases (ACATs; also called sterol O-acyltransferases, or SOATs) ACAT1 and ACAT2. ACAT1 is present in all body cells and is the major isoenzyme in macrophages. Whether blocking ACAT1 benefits atherosclerosis has been under debate for more than a decade. Previously, our laboratory developed a myeloid-specific Acat1 knockout (KO) mouse (Acat1−M/−M), devoid of ACAT1 only in macrophages, microglia, and neutrophils. In previous work using the ApoE KO (ApoE−/−) mouse model for early lesions, Acat1−M/−M significantly reduced lesion macrophage content and suppressed atherosclerosis progression. In advanced lesions, cholesterol crystals become a prominent feature. Here we evaluated the effects of Acat1−M/−M in the ApoE KO mouse model for more advanced lesions and found that mice lacking myeloid Acat1 had significantly reduced lesion cholesterol crystal contents. Acat1−M/−M also significantly reduced lesion size and macrophage content without increasing apoptotic cell death. Cell culture studies showed that inhibiting ACAT1 in macrophages caused cells to produce less proinflammatory responses upon cholesterol loading by acetyl low-density lipoprotein. In advanced lesions, Acat1−M/−M reduced but did not eliminate foamy cells. In advanced plaques isolated from ApoE−/− mice, immunostainings showed that both ACAT1 and ACAT2 are present. In cell culture, both enzymes are present in macrophages and smooth muscle cells and contribute to cholesterol ester biosynthesis. Overall, our results support the notion that targeting ACAT1 or targeting both ACAT1 and ACAT2 in macrophages is a novel strategy to treat advanced lesions.
Improved HLA typing of Class I and Class II alleles from next‐generation sequencing data

Precise HLA genotyping is of great clinical importance, albeit a challenging bioinformatics endeavor because of the hyper polymorphism of the HLA region. The ever‐increasing availability of next‐generation sequencing (NGS) solutions has spurred the development of several computational methods for predicting HLA genotypes from NGS data. Although some of these tools genotype HLA Class I alleles reasonably well, there is a need to incorporate integrative parameters related to ethnicity frequency information, in order to improve performance for both Class I and Class II alleles. Here, we present a bioinformatics method that addresses some of the current shortfalls in HLA genotyping from NGS. First, reads that map to the HLA region is aligned against a comprehensive library of reference HLA alleles. The allele type was then subsequently determined on the basis of the distribution of aligned reads, and the prior probabilities of the ethnic frequencies of alleles. Three public NGS datasets were used to benchmark the approach against six similar tools. The method outlined in this manuscript displayed an overall accuracy of 98.73% for Class I and 96.37% for Class II alleles. We illustrate an improved integrative approach that outperforms existing tools and is able to predict HLA alleles with improved fidelity for both Class I and Class II alleles.
Expert by Experience Involvement in Mental Health Nursing Education: Nursing Students’ Perspectives on Potential Improvements

Abstract Expert by experience involvement in mental health education for health professional programmes has increased in recent decades. The related literature has articulated the benefits, and changes in attitudes have been measured in some studies. Less attention has been devoted to ways this learning approach could be improved. The aim of this paper is to present the nursing students perspectives on how Expert by Experience input into nursing curricula could be enhanced. Qualitative exploratory research was undertaken, involving focus groups with students who had completed a mental health learning module co-produced by Experts by Experience and nurse academics. Results show two main themes: getting the structure right, and changes to content and approach. Some student responses could directly influence changes to the learning module. In other instances, responses indicate the need to better prepare students of the value of lived experience knowledge in its own right, rather than adjunct to more traditional methods of education. These findings are important in encouraging reflection on how future learning modules co-produced by Experts by Experience and Mental Health Nursing academics can be refined and better articulated.
Maximal isometric force exertion predicted by the force feasible set formalism: application to handbraking

Abstract The aim of this study was to test the capacity of the force feasible set formalism to predict maximal force exertion during isometric handbraking. Maximal force exertion and upper-limb posture were measured with a force sensor embedded in a handbrake and an optoelectronic system, respectively. Eleven subjects participated in the experiment which consisted of exerting the maximal force in isometric conditions considering five hand brake positions relative to the seat H-point. Then, maximal force was predicted by the force feasible set obtained from an upper-limb musculoskeletal model. The root-mean-square (RMS) of the angle between measured and predicted forces was 8.4° while the RMS error (RMSE) for amplitude prediction was 95.4 N. However, predicted, and measured force amplitudes were highly correlated (r = 0.88, p < 0.05, slope = 0.97, intercept = 73.3N) attesting the capacity of the model to predict force exertion according to the subject’s posture. The implications in the framework of ergonomics are then discussed. Practitioner summary: Maximal force exertion is of paramount importance in digital human modelling. We used the force feasible set formalism to predict maximal force exertion during handbraking from posture and anthropometric data. The predicted and measured force orientation showed a RMS of 8.4° while amplitude presented a RMSE of 95.4 N with a strong correlation (r = 0.88, p < 0.05, slope 0.97, intercept 77.3 N).
U.S. Quantitative Easing Policy Effect on TAIEX Futures Market Efficiency

This paper examines the market efficiency of the Taiwan Stock Exchange Capitalization Weighted Stock Index (TAIEX) Futures after the announcement of Quantitative Easing (QE) policy. Order imbalance is used to explore the relationship between return and order imbalance. We find that under the unconditional OLS model, lagged order imbalances almost have no significantly positive predictive power for current return. Nonetheless, on the trading day after the announcement of QE 1 policy, one-minute interval data show that the lagged order imbalance has predictive power for current return. Under the conditional OLS model, the reversed relation between current return and lagged order imbalance is not universal; on the other hand, after the announcement of QE 2 policy, the reversed relation between current return and lagged order imbalance is more common. Moreover, under volatility-GARCH (1, 1), one-minute interval data shows significantly positive relation between order imbalance and volatility.
The use of qPCR in human Chagas disease: a systematic review

ABSTRACT Introduction: The diagnosis in Chagas disease is a challenge because most infections with Trypanosoma cruzi are asymptomatic and currently serological tests have limitations, such as cross-reactivity with other trypanosomatids. Real-time PCR (qPCR) is a useful procedure that allows T. cruzi detection even when the parasitic load is very low and seems interesting for monitoring the response to trypanocidal treatment and elucidating cases with doubtful serological results. Areas covered: This systematic review aimed to investigate the applications and relevance of qPCR in human Chagas disease, and focus on the methodological aspects. Expert opinion: The results showed that blood samples with the TaqMan procedure direct to nuclear DNA (nDNA) sequences are used the most. However, a high variability among laboratories concerning the qPCR methods make it difficult to compare between studies and the use in routine surveillance laboratories, even if some works had performed an analytical validation of T. cruzi qPCR to try to counteract this. Nevertheless, the detection of T. cruzi by qPCR has multiple advantages including fast results, reduction of carryover contamination compared to conventional PCR, and high sensitivity and specificity. This study has given an overview of assays using qPCR in human Chagas disease and has shown the relevance of this technique in diagnosis.
Consumer responses to peers’ luxuriously looking Instagram accounts : the moderating role of materialism

Findings of two experimental studies show that exposure to peers’ Instagram accounts portraying a luxurious lifestyle may negatively affect one’s state self-esteem, due to negative social comparison. Exposure to peers’ luxurious lifestyle leads to the notion that the signaler is better off, decreasing one’s state self-esteem. Moreover, these negative effects on an individual’s state self-esteem are stronger for highly materialistic individuals. Though, luxuriously looking Instagram accounts of peers may also cause inferences of the signaler being a braggart. However, the results show that this bragging only leads to negative effects on state self-esteem for highly materialistic individuals and not for less materialistic individuals. These results can explain why highly materialistic people experience a higher self-esteem threat after exposure to luxurious Instagram profiles. Implications of these findings are discussed.
HARMONIC ANALYSIS AND MODELLING OF MAGNETISATION PROCESS IN SOFT FERROMAGNETIC MATERIAL

The aim of this paper is to present a research of magnetic hysteresis loops of a toroidal ferromagnetic core made of electrical steel. The experimental results of induced voltage, magnetic induction and hysteresis loop obtained at different frequencies of the sinusoidal excitation magnetic field have been presented. The harmonic content of the induced voltage and magnetic induction have been calculated using Fast Fourier Transformation. Observed variation of higher harmonics with frequency has been correlated to the mechanism of magnetic domain walls damping. A variation of harmonics of the magnetic induction with the amplitude of the excitation magnetic field has been analysed and a proper mathematical model has been proposed. Furthermore, the influence of the triangularly shaped excitation magnetic field and the distorted shape excitation that produces sinusoidal induction on the shape of hysteresis loop and harmonic content of the induced voltage and the magnetic induction has been analysed and discussed.
Direct and indirect effects of sexual signal loss on female reproduction in the Pacific field cricket (Teleogryllus oceanicus)

Sexual signal evolution may present fitness consequences for the non‐signaling sex due to shared genes and altered social conditions, but this is rarely studied in natural populations. On the Hawaiian Island of Kauai, most male Teleogryllus oceanicus (Pacific field crickets) lack the ability to sing because of a novel wing mutation (flatwing) that arose and spread in <20 generations. Obligately silent flatwing males have been highly successful because they avoid detection by a deadly, acoustically‐orienting parasitoid fly. Little is known about how the flatwing mutation and resulting song‐less acoustic environment affects female fitness. We found that Kauai females carrying the flatwing allele invested less in reproductive tissues and experienced more instances of mating failure than normal‐wing‐carrying females, though total offspring production did not differ between female genotypes. Females from Oahu (HI, where the parasitoid and flatwing also occur) and Mangaia (an island in the Cook Islands which harbors neither the parasitoid nor flatwing) invested less in reproductive tissues when reared in a song‐less acoustic environment. Kauai females did not exhibit this plasticity, perhaps because they have experienced nearly song‐less conditions for the past ~15 years following the establishment of flatwing. We show that female T. oceanicus experience a mix of costly and beneficial effects of sexual signal loss, which should help maintain the wing polymorphism in the wild. Our results demonstrate that the non‐signaling sex can experience a nuanced set of phenotypic consequences resulting from signal evolution, which can further shape dynamics of sexual signal evolution.
A Review on Technologies for Oil Shale Surface Retort

Summary: In recent years, with the shortage of oil resources and the continuous increase in oil prices, oil shale has seized much more attention. Oil shale is a kind of important unconventional oil and gas resources. Oil shale resources are plentiful according to the proven reserves in places. And shale oil is far richer than crude oil in the world. Technology processing can be divided into two categories: surface retorting and in-situ technology. The process and equipment of surface retorting are more mature, and are still up to now, the main way to produce shale oil from oil shale. According to the variations of the particle size, the surface retorting technologies of oil shale can be notified and classified into two categories such as lump shale process and particulate shale process. The lump shale processes introduced in this article include the Fushun retorting technology, the Kiviter technology and the Petrosix technology; the particulate processes include the Gloter technology, the LR technology, the Tosco-II technology, the ATP (Alberta Taciuk Process) technology and the Enefit-280 technology. After the thorough comparison of these technologies, we can notice that, this article aim is to show off that : the particulate process that is environmentally friendly, with its low cost and high economic returns characteristics, will be the major development trend; Combined technologies of surface retorting technology and other oil producing technology should be developed; the comprehensive utilization of oil shale should be considered during the development of surface retorting technology, meanwhile the process should be harmless to the environment.
Selection of microsatellite loci for genetic monitoring of sloth bears

Abstract The sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) is a threatened species endemic to the Indian subcontinent. To date, no reliable method has been developed for identifying individuals or monitoring their populations. Here we describe a non-invasive genetic monitoring technique for individual identification of sloth bears. After testing 18 microsatellites developed for other carnivore species, including ursids, we optimized a panel of 7 highly polymorphic microsatellite loci that yielded a cumulative Probability of Identity between siblings value of 2.15E-03. We used this panel to identify 55 individual sloth bears from 190 fecal and 4 hair samples collected in tiger reserves in central India. This panel can be used for population genetic studies and population monitoring of sloth bears.
Optical properties of ZnMgO films grown by spray pyrolysis and their application to UV photodetection

This work presents a comprehensive optical characterization of Zn1−xMgxO thin films grown by spray pyrolysis (SP). Absorption measurements show the high potential of this technique to tune the bandgap from 3.30 to 4.11 eV by changing the Mg acetate content in the precursor solution, leading to a change of the Mg-content ranging from 0 up to 35%, as measured by transmission electron microscopy-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The optical emission of the films obtained by cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence spectroscopy shows a blue shift of the peak position from 3.26 to 3.89 eV with increasing Mg incorporation, with a clear excitonic contribution even at high Mg contents. The linewidth broadening of the absorption and emission spectra as well as the magnitude of the observed Stokes shift are found to significantly increase with the Mg content. This is shown to be related to both potential fluctuations induced by pure statistical alloy disorder and the presence of a tail of band states, the latter dominating for medium Mg contents. Finally, metal–semiconductor–metal photodiodes were fabricated showing a high sensitivity and a blue shift in the cut-off energy from 3.32 to 4.02 eV, i.e., down to 308 nm. The photodiodes present large UV/dark contrast ratios (102 − 107), indicating the viability of SP as a growth technique to fabricate low cost (Zn, Mg)O-based UV photodetectors reaching short wavelengths.
Aalborg Universitet Implementation issues on the design of current loops based on resonant regulators for isolated

This paper analyzes the influence of state feedback coupling between the capacitor voltage and inductor current in voltage source inverters (VSI) operating in stand-alone microgrids. A decoupling technique is proposed as an effective measure to enhance the dynamics. Further implementation issues and control structures are also considered. Lab-scale experimental results prove the validity of the approaches. Introduction Voltage and current regulators play an important role in modern applications of power electronics, such as variable speed drives, active power filters, and microgrids [1]-[3]. The general power processor unit used in these applications is the Voltage Source Inverter (VSI) operating in current or voltage control mode depending on the application. The current loops are responsible for controlling torque in ac machines, harmonic compensation in active power filters and microgrids. Moreover, current and voltage regulation is needed in isolated microgrids. Hence, accurate control of current, voltage or both is required for the VSI to succeed in implementing the desired feature of each application. It is expected from any current or voltage regulator to [3],[4]: i) achieve zero steady-state error; ii) accurately track the commanded reference during transients; iii) have a bandwidth as widen as possible; and iv) mitigate low order harmonics. Linear regulators suit very well for analysis with classical control theory. Among linear regulators the PI implemented in the stationary and synchronous reference frames [4],[5], and Proportional + Resonant (PR) [6] in the stationary reference frame are the most common regulators used in these applications. Due to the importance of these regulators, there has been substantial research activity in the subject throughout the years [7]-[10]. Implementation issues on the design of current loops based on resonant regulators for isolated microgrids DE BOSIO Federico
Early Life Predictors of Systolic Blood Pressure Trajectories from Infancy to Adolescence: Findings from Project Viva.

Childhood blood pressure (BP) is a strong predictor for later cardiovascular risk. However, few studies have assessed dynamic BP trajectories throughout the early life period. We investigated the relationship between early life factors and systolic BP (SBP) from infancy to adolescence using linear spline mixed-effect models among 1370 children from Project Viva, a Boston-area cohort recruited in 1999‒2002. After adjusting for confounders and child height, we observed higher SBP in children exposed to gestational diabetes [vs. normoglycemia‒at 3 years: β 3.16mmHg (95% confidence interval 0.28,6.04); 6 years: 1.83mmHg (0.06,3.60)], hypertensive disorders of pregnancy [vs. normal maternal BP‒at 6 years: 1.39mmHg (0.10,2.67); 9 years: 1.84mmHg (0.34,3.34); 12 years: 1.70mmHg (0.48,2.92)], higher neonatal SBP [per 10mmHg increase‒at 3 years: 1.26mmHg (0.42,2.09); 6 years: 1.00mmHg (0.49,1.51); 9 years: 0.75mmHg (0.17,1.33)] and formula milk in the first 6 months [vs. breastmilk only‒at 12 years: 2.10mmHg (0.46,3.74); 15 years: 3.52mmHg (1.40,5.64); 18 years: 4.94mmHg (1.88,7.99)]. Our findings provide evidence of programming of offspring SBP trajectories by gestational diabetes, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and formula milk intake, and of neonatal BP being a potentially useful marker of childhood BP. These factors could be relevant in identifying children who are at risk of developing elevated BP.
SIW antennas as hybrid energy harvesting and power management platforms for the internet of things

A novel antenna-harvester co-design paradigm is presented for wireless nodes operating in an Internet of Things context. The strategy leads to compact and highly-integrated units, which are able to set up a reliable and energy-efficient wireless communication link, and to simultaneously harvest energy from up to three different sources, including thermal body energy, solar, and artificial light. The core of the unit consists of a substrate-integrated-waveguide (SIW) antenna. Its surface serves as a platform for the flexible energy-harvesting hardware, which also comprises the power management system. To demonstrate the approach, two different SIW cavity-backed slot antennas and a novel compact dual linearly polarized SIW antenna are presented. These topologies facilitate the integration of additional hardware without degrading performance. In the meantime, they enable comfortable integration into garments or unobtrusive embedding into floors or walls. Measurements on prototypes validate the integration procedure by verifying that the integrated hardware has a negligible influence on the performance of all discussed SIW antennas. Finally, measurements in four well-chosen indoor scenarios demonstrate that a hybrid energy-harvesting approach is necessary to obtain a more continuous flow and a higher amount of scavenged energy, leading to a higher system autonomy and/or reduced battery size.
Dewatering waste activated sludge using greenhouse-gas flotation followed by centrifugation.

The aim of this study is to develop a simple method for dewatering waste-activated sludge (WAS) for easier reuse and safer disposal of sludge. The paper builds on the success of a new flotation technique developed in previous research by the author utilizing the high water solubility of CO2 gas along with the model-gas (80%N2+20%CO2). The paper introduces a simple laboratory model for dewatering WAS in two stages, flotation followed by centrifugation. The first stage enables recycling a mixture of greenhouse gases containing 20% of CO2 and 80% of N2 gases by volume. The second stage uses a simple centrifuge model for dewatering WAS. Experiments were carried out to reduce the moisture content and volume of WAS. This was executed by generating low pressure using centrifugal force introduced by a simple centrifuge apparatus. Using the experimental dewatering model, promising results were obtained for dewatering WAS. Furthermore, additional data were obtained, such as the effect of temperature on the efficiency of dewater-ability. It is hoped that the results of this study will lead to more study for the efficient reuse of greenhouse gases. This can happen by collecting and recycling industrial emissions of fossil fuels then utilizing them in wastewater and sludge treatment, thereby decreasing the resulting harmful effects of these gases on global warming.