Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A power efficient buck‐boost converter by reusing the coil inductor for wireless bio‐implants

In this paper, a buck‐boost converter circuit for wireless power transfer via inductive links in bio‐implantable systems is presented. The idea is based on reusing the power receiver coil to design a regulator. This method employs five switches to utilize the coil inductor in a frequency other than the power‐receiving signal frequency. Reusing the coil inductor decreases the on‐chip regulator area and makes it suitable for bio‐implants. Furthermore, in the proposed technique, the regulator efficiency becomes almost independent of the coil receiving voltage amplitude. The proposed concept is employed in a buck‐boost regulator, and simulation results are provided. For a 10 MHz received signal with the amplitude variation within 3 ~ 6 V and with the converter switching rate of 200 kHz, the achieved maximum efficiency is 78%. The proposed regulator can also deliver 10 μA to 4 mA to its load while its output voltage varies from 0.6 to 2.3 V. Simulations of the proposed converter are performed in Cadence‐Spectre using TSMC 0.18 μm CMOS technology. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Developmental PBDE Exposure and IQ/ADHD in Childhood: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Background: In the United States, one in six children are affected by neurodevelopmental disorders, and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in flame-retardant chemicals are measured ubiquitously in children. Objective: We conducted a systematic a systematic review regarding developmental exposure to PBDEs and intelligence or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and attention-related behavioral conditions in humans. Methods: We searched articles published up to 26 September 2016, and included original studies that quantified exposures to PBDEs incurred any time in proximity to conception or during in utero, perinatal, or childhood time periods. We evaluated the risk of bias of individual studies and the overall quality and strength of the evidence according to the Navigation Guide systematic review methodology. We established criteria in advance to identify studies that could be combined using random effects meta-analyses (DerSimonian-Laird method). Results: Fifteen studies met the inclusion criteria; 10 studies met the criteria for intelligence and nine for attention-related problems. We rated studies generally with “low” to “probably low” risk of bias and rated the overall body of evidence as “moderate” quality with “sufficient” evidence for an association between Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and PBDEs. Our meta-analysis of four studies estimated a 10-fold increase (in other words, times 10) in PBDE exposure associated with a decrement of 3.70 IQ points (95% confidence interval: 0.83, 6.56). We concluded the body of evidence was of “moderate” quality for ADHD with “limited” evidence for an association with PBDEs, based on the heterogeneity of association estimates reported by a small number of studies and the fact that chance, bias, and confounding could not be ruled out with reasonable confidence. Conclusion: We concluded there was sufficient evidence supporting an association between developmental PBDE exposure and reduced IQ. Preventing developmental exposure to PBDEs could help prevent loss of human intelligence. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP1632
A Mexican Honeymoon Marred by Gastrointestinal Upset: A Case of Dientamoeba fragilis Causing Post-infectious Irritable Bowel Syndrome

Dientamoeba fragilis (D. fragilis) is an anaerobic intestinal protozoan parasite that has been associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)-like symptoms. We report a case of post-infectious IBS caused by D. fragilis treated successfully with metronidazole. A 33-year-old African American male with an unremarkable past medical history was seen in the office with a three-month history of intermittent, generalized, crampy abdominal pain with bloating and flatulence without associated weight loss. He visited Mexico for his honeymoon four months ago. Initial lab work was normal. Dietary changes including fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides, and polyols (FODMAP) diet and loperamide were prescribed with the presumptive diagnosis of IBS; however, his symptoms persisted. Three samples of stool for ova and parasites (O&P) were positive for D. fragilis. The patient was treated with metronidazole for 14 days. Repeat fecal O&P were negative. Upon follow-up, the patient’ symptoms substantially improved with a resolution of abdominal pain and flatulence. Infection caused by D. fragilis may be symptomatic or asymptomatic. It is transmitted by the fecal-oral route. Symptoms include abdominal pain, bloating, and alteration of bowel movements, resembling IBS. The diagnosis is made via the detection of D. fragilis trophozoites in appropriately fixed and stained stool samples or by a polymerase chain reaction. Treatment options include tetracyclines, paromomycin, metronidazole, and Iodoquinol. Further epidemiologic studies may help in elucidating the association between D. fragilis and IBS.
Robust Brain-Machine Interface Design Using Optimal Feedback Control Modeling and Adaptive Point Process Filtering

Much progress has been made in brain-machine interfaces (BMI) using decoders such as Kalman filters and finding their parameters with closed-loop decoder adaptation (CLDA). However, current decoders do not model the spikes directly, and hence may limit the processing time-scale of BMI control and adaptation. Moreover, while specialized CLDA techniques for intention estimation and assisted training exist, a unified and systematic CLDA framework that generalizes across different setups is lacking. Here we develop a novel closed-loop BMI training architecture that allows for processing, control, and adaptation using spike events, enables robust control and extends to various tasks. Moreover, we develop a unified control-theoretic CLDA framework within which intention estimation, assisted training, and adaptation are performed. The architecture incorporates an infinite-horizon optimal feedback-control (OFC) model of the brain’s behavior in closed-loop BMI control, and a point process model of spikes. The OFC model infers the user’s motor intention during CLDA—a process termed intention estimation. OFC is also used to design an autonomous and dynamic assisted training technique. The point process model allows for neural processing, control and decoder adaptation with every spike event and at a faster time-scale than current decoders; it also enables dynamic spike-event-based parameter adaptation unlike current CLDA methods that use batch-based adaptation on much slower adaptation time-scales. We conducted closed-loop experiments in a non-human primate over tens of days to dissociate the effects of these novel CLDA components. The OFC intention estimation improved BMI performance compared with current intention estimation techniques. OFC assisted training allowed the subject to consistently achieve proficient control. Spike-event-based adaptation resulted in faster and more consistent performance convergence compared with batch-based methods, and was robust to parameter initialization. Finally, the architecture extended control to tasks beyond those used for CLDA training. These results have significant implications towards the development of clinically-viable neuroprosthetics.
Circadian and interval timing mechanisms in the ovulatory cycle of the hen.

Abstract INTRODUCTION The object of this paper is to specify the timing processes that regulate the ovulatory cycle of the hen by comparing it with that of the rat. To this end, the temporal events that result in ovulation are characterized as having either circadian (i.e., oscillatory) or interval (i.e., hourglass) properties. When environmental time cues such as light, food, and temperature are eliminated, many circadian rhythms of activity persist, or “free run”, for about 24 hr, suggesting control by an endogenous oscillator. The physiological system that ensures synchronization of an organism’s internal temporal events with the external environment has been called the circadian timing system. In the natural environment, endogenous rhythms are synchronized by physical stimuli called zeitgebers. Such synchronization is possible only over a limited range of periods close to that of the circadian rhythm. Animals also measure and respond to intervals much shorter and longer than 24 hr, .
RAGPOOLS: RNA-As-Graph-Pools - a web server for assisting the design of structured RNA pools for in vitro selection

SUMMARY Our RNA-As-Graph-Pools (RagPools) web server offers a theoretical companion tool for RNA in vitro selection and related problems. Specifically, it suggests how to construct RNA sequence/structure pools with user-specified properties and assists in analyzing resulting distributions. This utility follows our recently developed approach for engineering sequence pools that links RNA sequence space regions with corresponding structural distributions via a 'mixing matrix' approach combined with a graph theory analysis of RNA secondary-structure space; the mixing matrix specifies nucleotide transition rates, and graph theory links sequences to simple graphical objects representing RNA motifs. The companion RagPools web server ('Designer' component) provides optimized starting sequences, mixing matrices and associated weights in response to a user-specified target pool structure distribution. In addition, RagPools ('Analyzer' component) analyzes the motif distribution of pools generated from user-specified starting sequences and mixing matrices. Thus, RagPools serves as a guide to researchers who aim to synthesize RNA pools with desired properties and/or experiment in silico with various designs by our approach. AVAILABILITY The web server is accessible on the web at http://rubin2.biomath. nyu.edu
Effect of probucol on reproductive performance, egg yolk cholesterol content, and lipid metabolism in the laying hen.

Egg production type chickens were given the drug Probucol in their diets to determine its effect on egg production characteristics, liver lipid metabolism, egg yolk lipid synthesis, and egg yolk cholesterol concentration. In none of the three trials conducted did Probucol feeding affect egg production or body weight. The drug reduced total liver lipogenesis as measured by incorporation of 14C-acetate by surviving liver slices. Relative incorporation of 14C-acetate into cholesterol by liver was increased by the drug. However, in ovo incorporation of 14C-acetate in total yolk lipids remains unchanged and relative incorporation into yolk cholesterol is reduced. As a result, egg yolk cholesterol content is reduced by 5% with the . 10% dietary level of drug administration.
Effects of different antibiotics on performance, processing characteristics, and parts yield of broiler chickens.

Broilers were grown to 49 days of age on diets supplemented with bambermycins (BAM, 2.2 ppm), bacitracin methylene disalicylate (BMD, 27.5 ppm), virginiamycin (VM, 11 ppm), or an unmedicated control. Samples of birds were processed for dressing percentage and parts yield. There were no significant (P greater than .05) effects of antibiotics on final body weight, feed conversion, or mortality. In male broilers, BMD and VM significantly (P less than or equal to .05) increased dressing percentage and percentage yield and reduced the skeletal rack as a percentage of postchill weight compared to those fed the nonmedicated control. All antibiotics significantly increased breast skin weight and breast skin as a percentage of postchill weight of as compared with those fed the unmedicated control. In female broilers, BAM and BMD significantly increased dressing percentage and percentage yield and increased breast weight and breast as percentage of postchill weight as compared with those fed the unmedicated control diet. Females fed BMD also had significantly heavier leg quarters and breast skin than those fed the unmediated control. Females fed VM had increased breast skin weight and breast skin as a percentage of postchill weight than those fed the unmedicated control. The results of the present study indicate that antibiotics may influence dressing percentage and parts yield in the absence of improvements in body weight gain or feed utilization.
Shining a light on AHG “blind” spot(s)

T he antihuman globulin (AHG) test was rediscovered at Cambridge University by Robin Coombs, Arthur Mourant, and Rob Race in 1945. The so-called “Coombs test” has since been used to identify immunoglobulin (Ig)G-reactive antibodies using the direct test for the elucidation of autoantibodies sensitizing patients’ red blood cells (RBCs) in vivo and an indirect test to detect alloantibodies ex vivo. Originally termed the Coombs test, it was renamed the direct antiglobulin test (DAT) and indirect antiglobulin test (IAT) after the realization that the test had actually been first reported in 1908 by Carlo Moreschi, an Italian clinician-scientist. The DAT and IAT were used for years, composed simply of a polyclonal anti-IgG preparation, but it became apparent that some antibodies were capable of binding complement components to RBCs, and this led investigators and commercial companies to produce so-called “broad-spectrum” AHG that contained polyclonal anti-IgG plus anticomplement. Many companies began to market broadspectrum AHG for use in transfusion medicine during the 1970s. The intense competition to gain market share on the “optimal” broad spectrum AHG led to seminal work by Garratty and Petz to question the make-up of AHG, in particular, the right mix of anti-IgG and anti-complement for optimal detection of alloantibodies, both in DAT and in IAT. This first comparative study of AHG found that the commercial products varied substantially in their ability to detect weak IgG levels, and most failed to have adequate anti-complement reactivity. These reports led manufacturers of AHG to either greatly improve their AHG or withdraw from the competitive market. The studies by Garratty and Petz led to polyclonal AHG that was optimized for the detection of potentially clinically significant antibodies, primarily using tube methods with albumin or enzyme enhancement common at the time. Today, AHG is manufactured by fewer commercial companies compared to 40 years ago (see the cover of TRANSFUSION).
The influence of the few: a stable ‘oligarchy’ controls information flow in house-hunting ants

Animals that live together in groups often face difficult choices, such as which food resource to exploit, or which direction to flee in response to a predator. When there are costs associated with deadlock or group fragmentation, it is essential that the group achieves a consensus decision. Here, we study consensus formation in emigrating ant colonies faced with a binary choice between two identical nest-sites. By individually tagging each ant with a unique radio-frequency identification microchip, and then recording all ant-to-ant ‘tandem runs’—stereotyped physical interactions that communicate information about potential nest-sites—we assembled the networks that trace the spread of consensus throughout the colony. Through repeated emigrations, we show that both the order in which these networks are assembled and the position of each individual within them are consistent from emigration to emigration. We demonstrate that the formation of the consensus is delegated to an influential but exclusive minority of highly active individuals—an ‘oligarchy’—which is further divided into two subgroups, each specialized upon a different tandem running role. Finally, we show that communication primarily occurs between subgroups not within them, and further, that such between-group communication is more efficient than within-group communication.
Human-Derived Physiological Heat Shock Protein 27 Complex Protects Brain after Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Mice

Although challenging, neuroprotective therapies for ischemic stroke remain an interesting strategy for countering ischemic injury and suppressing brain tissue damage. Among potential neuroprotective molecules, heat shock protein 27 (HSP27) is a strong cell death suppressor. To assess the neuroprotective effects of HSP27 in a mouse model of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, we purified a “physiological” HSP27 (hHSP27) from normal human lymphocytes. hHSP27 differed from recombinant HSP27 in that it formed dimeric, tetrameric, and multimeric complexes, was phosphorylated, and contained small amounts of αβ-crystallin and HSP20. Mice received intravenous injections of hHSP27 following focal cerebral ischemia. Infarct volume, neurological deficit scores, physiological parameters, and immunohistochemical analyses were evaluated 24 h after reperfusion. Intravenous injections of hHSP27 1 h after reperfusion significantly reduced infarct size and improved neurological deficits. Injected hHSP27 was localized in neurons on the ischemic side of the brain. hHSP27 suppressed neuronal cell death resulting from cytochrome c-mediated caspase activation, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses. Recombinant HSP27 (rHSP27), which was artificially expressed and purified from Escherichia coli, and dephosphorylated hHSP27 did not have brain protective effects, suggesting that the phosphorylation of hHSP27 may be important for neuroprotection after ischemic insults. The present study suggests that hHSP27 with posttranslational modifications provided neuroprotection against ischemia/reperfusion injury and that the protection was mediated through the inhibition of apoptosis, oxidative stress, and inflammation. Intravenously injected human HSP27 should be explored for the treatment of acute ischemic strokes.
Oxidative stress and rheologic properties of stored red blood cells before and after transfusion to surgical patients

The loss of structural and functional integrity of red blood cells (RBCs) during storage, collectively referred to as “storage lesion,” has been implicated in reduced oxygen delivery after transfusion. RBCs are highly susceptible to oxidative damage from generation of reactive oxygen species by autoxidation of hemoglobin. Therefore, we examined whether increased oxidative stress (OS) in stored RBCs is associated with impaired cell membrane deformability before or after transfusion.
Sheet Formability of AA 1050 Al Alloy Sheet by Equal Channel Angular Pressing of Route C Type

Ultra-fine grained and high hardened Al sheet was obtained by Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP). During this process the microstructure, the hardness and the texture of AA 1050 Al alloy sheet are changed by a severe shear deformation. The plastic strain ratio after the ECAP and subsequent heat-treatment condition was investigated in this study. It was found that the average r-value of the equal channel angular pressed and subsequent heat-treated specimen was 1.7 times higher than that of the initial Al sheet. This could be attributed to the various texture formations through the ECAP and subsequent heat-treatment of AA 1050 Aluminum alloy sheets.
The effect of egg shell quality on penetration by Pseudomonas fluorescens.

Abstract MICROBIAL spoilage of eggs is an economic loss to the poultry industry and can also be a serious hazard to health. Penetration of bacteria through the egg shell may be increased by improper washing methods and by the presence of small quantities of iron or possibly other metals in the washing solution. The literature contains many reports concerned with egg spoilage. Comprehensive reviews by Hadley and Caldwell (1916) and Lorenz et al. (1952) indicate the long standing seriousness of the problem. More recently, Garibaldi (1961) demonstrated an increased incidence of flurescent spoilage in eggs due to iron in the washing water. Hartung and Stadelman (1962) reported increased penetration of the shell membrane by the organism Pseudomonas fluorescens in the presence of 10 p.p.m. of iron or magnesium. Garibaldi and Bayne (1962) observed that 10 p.p.m. of iron greatly enhanced penetration of the egg shell membrane by 22 strains of 10.
Adaptive sensing using internet-of-things with constrained communications

In this paper, we design and implement an Internet-of-Things (IoT) based platform for developing cities using environmental sensing as driving application with a set of air quality sensors that periodically upload sensor data to the cloud. Ubiquitous and free WiFi access is unavailable in most developing cities; IoT deployments must leverage 3G cellular connections that are expensive and metered. In order to best utilize the limited 3G data plan, we envision two adaptation strategies to drive sensing and sensemaking. The first technique is an infrastructure-level adaptation approach where we adjust sensing intervals of periodic sensors so that the data volume remains bounded within the plan. The second approach is at the information-level where application-specific analytics are deployed on board devices (or the edge) through container technologies (Docker and Kubernetes); the use case focuses on multimedia sensors that process captured raw information to lower volume semantic data that is communicated. This approach is implemented through the EnviroSCALE (Environmental Sensing and Community Alert Network) platform, an inexpensive Raspberry Pi based environmental sensing system that periodically publishes sensor data over a 3G connection with a limited data plan. We outline our deployment experience of EnviroSCALE in Dhaka city, the capital of Bangladesh. For information-level adaptation, we enhanced EnviroSCALE with Docker containers with rich media analytics, along Kubernetes for provisioning IoT devices and deploying the Docker images. To limit data communication overhead, the Docker images are preloaded in the board but a small footprint of analytic code is transferred whenever required. Our experiment results demonstrate the practicality of adaptive sensing and triggering rich sensing analytics via user-specified criteria, even over constrained data connections.
Evolution of the Jugal/Zygomatic Bones

This issue of the Anatomical Record is the second of a two‐volume set on the zygoma (also called the cheek bone, the zygomatic bone, the malar, or the jugal, the latter term being used in vertebrates other than mammals). The zygoma is an important component of the craniofacial skeleton, in which the zygoma is a connection between the midfacial and the cranial skeletons; has a functional role as the origin of one of the masticatory muscles, the masseter muscle, and several facial muscles; has been considered as an essential buttress of the facial skeleton for resisting masticatory forces; and has importance for determining phylogenetic relationships. In humans, the zygoma is also of aesthetic significance for facial appearance, and its restoration following trauma has resulted in a large clinical literature. In this second half of the special issue on the zygoma, a series of papers discuss studies related to evolution of the zygoma and related parts of the craniofacial skeleton throughout the vertebrates, and in particular in human evolution. There are also a series of articles discussing variation of the zygoma in modern humans. This article is an overview in which we discuss the primary findings of these studies and some of their implications. Anat Rec, 300:12–15, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.