Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Novel Microwave Tomography System Using a Phased-Array Antenna

In this paper, a novel microwave tomography (MWT) system that utilizes a phased-array transmitter antenna is presented. In contrast to contemporary MWT systems, the system presented herein consists of a single transmitter and multiple receivers. The single transmitter is a four-element array antenna; by varying the phase for each element in the array, the field distribution inside the imaging chamber varies, which produces a different set of measurements per phase configuration. Furthermore, the individual elements of the transmitting array antenna and the receiving antennas are of different types; the receiving antenna type is selected to maximize the coupling between the transmitter and the receiver. Due to the system’s complexity, the system is modeled using a neural network; the trained network is used as the forward solver for an inversion algorithm based on a Bayesian regularized Levenberg–Marquardt algorithm. The system along with the inversion algorithm is tested using several targets. Furthermore, the performance of the algorithm against various levels of experimental noise is analyzed and evaluated.
A GaN HEMT Global Large-Signal Model Including Charge Trapping for Multibias Operation

This paper presents a novel empirical model for gallium nitride on silicon carbide high-electron mobility transistors. A global state-space formulation describes charge trapping effects by means of suitable 2-D nonlinear lag functions of the applied voltages, extracted from a reduced set of double-pulse current–voltage characteristics. The implementation in CAD tools involves a simple equivalent circuit and lookup tables, making the model well suited for power amplifier design in the presence of signals of practical interest. An extensive validation at both low (4 MHz) and radio frequencies (5.5 GHz) exhibits good accuracy and a robust performance prediction for the operation above the cut-off of dispersive phenomena, across different operating classes and loads, in terms of output power, power-added efficiency, and third-order intermodulation distortion. These results show that traps with both linear and nonlinear dynamics are stimulated in large-signal operation, and that these must be taken into account for global model predictions.
Vaccination of chickens with the 34 kDa carboxy-terminus of Bpmp72 reduces colonization with Brachyspira pilosicoli following experimental infection

ABSTRACT The anaerobic intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli colonizes the large intestine of a variety of species of mammals and birds, and may result in colitis, diarrhoea and reductions in growth rate. Naturally occurring infections in chickens are largely confined to adult laying and breeding birds. In this study, the 34 kD carboxy-terminus of the prominent outer membrane protein Bmp72 of B. pilosicoli was expressed as a histidine-tagged recombinant protein and used to immunize two groups (B and C) of 15 individually housed layer chickens. Vaccination was with either 100 μg (B) or 1 mg (C) protein emulsified with Freund’s incomplete adjuvant delivered into the pectoral muscles, followed three weeks later by 1 mg of protein in phosphate buffered saline delivered via crop tube. Two weeks later these and 15 non-vaccinated positive control birds (group A) housed in the same room were challenged via crop tube with B. pilosicoli avian strain CPS1. B. pilosicoli was detected in the faeces of all control birds and in 14 of the vaccinated birds in each vaccinated group at some point over the 30-day period following challenge. Colonization was delayed and the duration of excretion was significantly reduced (P = 0.0001) in both groups of vaccinated birds compared to the non-vaccinated control birds. Fewer immunized birds had abnormal caecal contents at post mortem examination compared to non-vaccinated birds, but the difference was not statistically significant. This study indicates that recombinant Bmp72 C-terminus has potential to be developed for use as a vaccine component to provide protection against B. pilosicoli infections. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS Laying chickens were immunized with recombinant Brachyspira pilosicoli membrane protein Bpmp72. Immunized birds had a highly significant reduction in the duration of colonization. Fewer immunized than control birds had abnormal caecal contents after infection. Bpmp72 showed potential for use as a novel vaccine component for B. pilosicoli.
Epidemiological surveillance of bovine viral diarrhea and rift valley fever infections in camel

Aim: This study was designed to investigate the current epidemiological situation of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) and rift valley fever virus (RVFV) infection of camels originating from Sudan “smuggler” and Egypt as part of our future plan for a national surveillance program in Egyptian provinces, which will aid in establishment of control strategy for animal diseases. Materials and Methods: This investigation was accomplished using serological diagnostic and molecular biology techniques. A total number of 200 blood samples were collected from camel (120 originated from Sudan “smuggler” and 80 from local breed) and were subjected for testing both BVDV and RVFV occurrence with different age and sex. Results: Sixty-six of the 200 camels (33%) were positive for BVDV antibodies, and 44 (22%) for BVDV antigen (Ag), and 27 of the 200 camels (13.5%) were positive for RVFV immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies. On the other hand, the seroprevalence of BVDV for antibodies (47.5%), Ag (31.6%), and RVFV IgG antibodies (16.6%) was higher in camel originated from Sudan “smuggler” than of local breed which was 11.2% for BVDV antibodies and 7.5% for BVDV Ag, while it was 8.7% for RVFV IgG antibodies. The incidence of BVDV antibodies, Ag, and RVFV IgG antibodies was the highest in male, up to 9 years of age. The frequency of positive cases was significantly different according to the origin of samples and sex and age of camel for BVDV and RVFV. In addition, seven serologically positive samples for BVDV and five serologically positive samples for RVFV were submitted as a buffy coat for molecular detection by one-step – reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results demonstrated that three samples were positive for BVDV of camel originated from Sudan (smuggler), while no RVFV Ag was detected in all five samples. Sequencing and phylogenetic analysis of the amplicons obtained from positive RT-PCR samples (three samples) indicated 100% nucleotide homology with Sudan strain 2015 except only one (missense point mutation) by substitution of A to T at position 345 that changed the coded amino acids from T (Threonine) to S (Serine) at residue 115. Conclusion: Camels act as risk animals for the introduction of many infectious diseases from Sudan to Egypt, especially transboundary animal diseases, so strict quarantine measures should be taken during importation of live animals from Sudan to prevent the spread of such diseases.
Stereoview to Multiview Conversion Architecture for Auto-Stereoscopic 3D Displays

In this paper, a stereoview to multiview conversion system, which includes stereo matching and depth image-based rendering (DIBR) hardware designs, is proposed. To achieve an efficient architecture, the proposed stereo matching algorithm simply generates the raw matching costs and aggregates cost based on 1D iterative aggregation schemes. For the DIBR architecture, an inpainting-based method is used to find the most similar patch from the background, according to depth information. The simulation results show that the designed architecture achieves an averaged peak signal-to-noise ratio of 30.2 dB and structure similarity of 0.94 for the tested images. The hardware design for the proposed 2D to 3D conversion system operates at a maximum clock frequency of 160.2 MHz for outputting 1080p ( $1920 \times 1080$ ) video at 60 frames per second.
Interstitial Pregnancy: From Medical to Surgical Approach—Report of Three Cases

Background Interstitial pregnancy is a rare form of ectopic pregnancy that usually leads to uterine rupture resulting in sudden life-threatening haemorrhage, need for blood transfusion, and admission to intensive care unit. Mortality rate is 6–7 times higher than that in classical ectopic pregnancy. Uterine rupture has been typically reported to occur at more advanced gestational ages compared to tubal pregnancy although several recent reports have shown a high risk of rupture before 12 weeks of gestation. Cases Presentation We report three cases of women affected by interstitial pregnancy, with different clinical symptoms, and managed to be treated with surgery or medical therapy. An emergency laparotomy was performed in the first case by the general surgeon, while in the second case laparoscopy was made by a gynecologist; last case shows the success of systemic administration of methotrexate. Conclusion Interstitial pregnancy is still a challenging condition to diagnose and treat; early diagnosis may help to choose the proper management.
Streptococcus pneumoniae Serotype 3 in Mexico (1994 to 2017): Decrease of the Unusual Clonal Complex 4909 Lineage following PCV13 Introduction

Streptococcus pneumoniae expressing serotype 3 has a high virulence and a high case fatality ratio. Most studies of serotype 3 pneumococci have focused on a single lineage, the widespread sequence type 180 (ST180). ABSTRACT Streptococcus pneumoniae expressing serotype 3 has a high virulence and a high case fatality ratio. Most studies of serotype 3 pneumococci have focused on a single lineage, the widespread sequence type 180 (ST180). To evaluate the serotype 3 lineages causing infections in Mexico, we characterized 196 isolates recovered from 1994 to 2017. The isolates were mostly susceptible to all antimicrobials tested. A single meningitis isolate was resistant to penicillin, and the resistance to erythromycin was 5.2%. The isolates represented the widely disseminated clonal complex 180 (CC180; n = 140), the unusual CC4909 (n = 42), CC260 (n = 11), and a few singletons (n = 3). CC260 was less frequent among pneumococcal invasive disease isolates than CC180 and CC4909 (P = 0.015). There was a decrease of CC4909 (P < 0.001) following PCV13 introduction (2012 to 2017). The CC4909 isolates were represented mostly by ST1119 (n = 40), seemingly having a restricted geographic origin, with isolates in the PubMLST database having been recovered only in Mexico, the United States, and Germany. A genomic analysis of publicly available genomes showed that ST1119 isolates have less than 32% similarity with ST180 isolates, indicating that these lineages are more separated than revealed by traditional multilocus sequence typing. Considering the suggestions of a lower efficacy of the 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine against serotype 3, the different dynamics of the two major serotype 3 lineages in Mexico following the introduction of PCV13 should be closely monitored.
2-(2-Benzofuranyl)-2-imidazoline treatment within 5 hours after cerebral ischemia/reperfusion protects the brain

We previously demonstrated that administering 2-(2-benzofuranyl)-2-imidazolin (2-BFI), an imidazoline I2 receptor agonist, immediately after ischemia onset can protect the brain from ischemic insult. However, immediate administration after stroke is difficult to realize in the clinic. Thus, the therapeutic time window of 2-BFI should be determined. Sprague-Dawley rats provided by Wenzhou Medical University in China received right middle cerebral artery occlusion for 120 minutes, and were treated with 2-BFI (3 mg/kg) through the caudal vein at 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 hours after reperfusion. Neurological function was assessed using the Longa's method. Infarct volume was measured by 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride assay. Morphological changes in the cortical penumbra were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining under transmission electron microscopy . The apoptosis levels in the ipsilateral cortex were examined with terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end-labeling (TUNEL) assay. The protein expression of Bcl-2 and BAX was detected using immunohistochemistry. We found the following: Treatment with 2-BFI within 5 hours after reperfusion obviously improved neurological function. Administering 2-BFI within 9 hours after ischemia/reperfusion decreased infarct volume and alleviated apoptosis. 2-BFI administration at different time points after reperfusion alleviated the pathological damage of the ischemic penumbra and reduced the number of apoptotic neurons, but the protective effect was more obvious when administered within 5 hours. Administration of 2-BFI within 5 hours after reperfusion remarkably increased Bcl-2 expression and decreased BAX expression. To conclude, 2-BFI shows potent neuroprotective effects when administered within 5 hours after reperfusion, seemingly by up-regulating Bcl-2 and down-regulating BAX expression. The time window provided clinical potential for ischemic stroke by 2-BFI.
Visceral leishmaniasis and HIV coinfection: current perspectives

Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) is caused by Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum. The burden of VL is concentrated in tropical and subtropical areas; however, HIV infection has spread VL over a hyperendemic area. Several outcomes are observed as a result of VL–HIV coinfection. Impacts are observed in immunopathogenesis, clinical manifestation, diagnosis, and therapeutic response. Concerning clinical manifestation, typical and unusual manifestation has been observed during active VL in HIV-infected patient, as well as alteration in immunoresponse, inducing greater immunosuppression by low CD4 T-lymphocyte count or even by induction of immunoactivation, with cell senescence. Serological diagnosis of VL in the HIV-infected is poor, due to low humoral response, characterized by antibody production, so parasitological methods are more recommended. Another important and even more challenging point is the definition of the best therapeutic regimen for VL in HIV-coinfected patients, because in this population there is greater failure and consequently higher mortality. The challenge of better understanding immunopathogenesis in order to obtain more effective therapies is one of the crucial points to be developed. The combination of drugs and the use of secondary prophylaxis associated with highly active antiretroviral therapy may be the best tool for treatment of HIV coinfection. Some derivatives from natural sources have action against Leishmania; however, studies have been limited to in vitro evaluation, without clinical trials.
Multi-Scale Code Generation for Simulation-Driven Rapid ADAS Prototyping: the SMELT Approach

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) matured into comprehensive hardware/software applications with exploding complexity. Various simulation-driven techniques emerged to facilitate their development, e.g., model-based design, driving simulators and virtual platforms. Moreover, multi-domain co-simulation standards arose to join such technologies and achieve fully virtual ADAS prototyping. Built upon these concepts, this paper presents the Static Multi-scale Export Layer Tool (SMELT), a retargetable “one-click” ADAS code generation facility. SMELT accelerates ADAS design space exploration by ensuring continuous refinement from the highest-level model representation down to embedded production code generation. To highlight its advantages, an ADAS library was rapidly prototyped using SMELT. Lastly, algorithmic and system-level analyses are presented, alongside simulation performance evaluation.
C-reactive protein, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, interleukin-2, and stressful life events in drug-naive first-episode and recurrent depression: A cross-sectional study

Aims: The aim of the study is to assess and compare serum C-reactive protein (CRP), brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and interleukin-2 (IL-2) levels in patients with first-episode depression (FED), recurrent depressive disorder (RDD), and healthy controls (HCs) and to determine the relationship between the above-specified inflammatory markers, severity of depression, and stressful life events. Materials and Methods: Consecutive drug-naive patients with FED and RDD (n = 85) and 50 HCs were studied. Serum concentrations of CRP, brain-derived nerve growth factor (BDNF), and IL-2 were measured. All participants were assessed using Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview Plus, Beck's depression inventory, and presumptive stressful life events scale. Results: The FED and RDD groups had statistically significant lower serum concentration of BDNF and higher IL-2 compared to the HC group, whereas no statistically significant difference was observed with regard to CRP level. No statistically significant differences were observed with regard to the severity of depression and serum concentrations of CRP, BDNF, and IL-2 in the FED and RDD groups. No significant correlation was found between severity of depression and serum concentration of CRP, BDNF, and IL-2 in both the groups. Serum CRP concentration was significantly higher in patients with ≥2 stressful life events. No significant difference was observed between number of stressful life events and BDNF and IL-2 in patients with depression. Conclusion: FED and RDD are associated with lower serum concentration of BDNF and higher IL-2 compared to the HCs, whereas there appears no difference with regard to CRP level. Multicentric studies are needed to further elucidate the role of inflammatory markers in depression.
Prototype Design of a Magnetometer Frontend-ASIC for Spaceborne Applications

Sensors that are used in satellites need to be power efficient and lightweight, but currently most spaceborne magnetometers are built using multiple integrated circuits. It is therefore beneficial to combine the required functionality on a single chip. This work describes the prototype design of a high resolution magnetometer front-end ASIC for spaceborne applications. Because of the harsh environment, special design techniques are required to achieve a robust design. The design of the system and methods to achieve radiation hardness are presented. In contrast to existing solutions the resolution of the performance limiting DAC was increased to 20 bit. Furthermore the design of the system monitoring unit is shown.
Efficient Method for Isolated Marathi Digits Recognition using DWT and Soft Computing Techniques

Speech processing systems are actively considered for voice recognition, control and communication systems due to tremendous improvement in the digital signal processor and digital programmable logic devices. Preprocessing, feature extraction and classification are the fundamental steps involved in speech processing systems. Mostly transform domain and soft computing techniques are employed for feature extraction and classification respectively. Low computational complexity is desired to make speech processing systems as commercially viable solution. In this paper, speech recognition system for Marathi digit recognition using discrete wavelet transform (DWT), reduced order LPC coefficient and ANN is proposed. The main objective was to estimate the performance ofthe speech processing system at minimum feature vector length without significantly sacrificing on recognition rate. Better representation of speech frame was obtained using LPC coefficients derived from discrete wavelet-decomposed subbands instead of modeling the frame directly. Artificial neural network was used in the implementation of speech recognition system as classifier. An experimental result on Marathi digits from one to nine has demonstrated 78 % of the recognition rate at the minimum feature vector length of 24.
A Self Regulating and Crowdsourced Indoor Positioning System through Wi-Fi Fingerprinting for Multi Storey Building

Unobtrusive indoor location systems must rely on methods that avoid the deployment of large hardware infrastructures or require information owned by network administrators. Fingerprinting methods can work under these circumstances by comparing the real-time received RSSI values of a smartphone coming from existing Wi-Fi access points with a previous database of stored values with known locations. Under the fingerprinting approach, conventional methods suffer from large indoor scenarios since the number of fingerprints grows with the localization area. To that aim, fingerprinting-based localization systems require fast machine learning algorithms that reduce the computational complexity when comparing real-time and stored values. In this paper, popular machine learning (ML) algorithms have been implemented for the classification of real time RSSI values to predict the user location and propose an intelligent indoor positioning system (I-IPS). The proposed I-IPS has been integrated with multi-agent framework for betterment of context-aware service (CAS). The obtained results have been analyzed and validated through established statistical measurements and superior performance achieved.
Impact of the Timing of Placement of an Intracranial Pressure Monitor on Outcomes in Children with Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Background: Severe traumatic brain injury (sTBI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality from trauma. Brain Trauma Foundation guidelines recommend intracranial pressure (ICP) monitoring in sTBI. We hypothesized that early ICP monitor placement was associated with better outcomes in children. Methods: This was a retrospective study of children with sTBI admitted to the participating pediatric intensive care units (PICUs) and entered into the Virtual Pediatric Systems (VPS), LLC, database between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2015. We compared outcomes of patients who had an ICP monitor placed early (≤6 h from PICU admission) to those with later placement (> 6 to < 72 h). We collected demographics, diagnoses, procedure data, illness severity scores, outcomes, and site data. Multivariable regression analysis was used to identify variables independently associated with outcomes. Results: Twenty-seven percent of 3,608 patients with sTBI underwent ICP monitoring, 355 in the early and 156 in the later ICP monitoring groups, respectively. A higher proportion of patients in the early ICP monitoring group had worse markers of illness/injury severity; unadjusted analysis showed higher mortality in this group (31.3 vs. 21.8%, p = 0.029). Multivariable regression analysis showed that ICP monitoring was not independently associated with any of the outcomes. Conclusion: Time to ICP monitoring was not associated with outcomes after pediatric sTBI.
DNMTs and SETDB1 function as co-repressors in MAX-mediated repression of germ cell–related genes in mouse embryonic stem cells

In embryonic stem cells (ESCs), the expression of development-related genes, including germ cell–related genes, is globally repressed. The transcription factor MAX represses germ cell–related gene expression in ESCs via PCGF6-polycomb repressive complex 1 (PRC1), which consists of several epigenetic factors. However, we predicted that MAX represses germ cell–related gene expression through several additional mechanisms because PCGF6-PRC1 regulates the expression of only a subset of genes repressed by MAX. Here, we report that MAX associated with DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) and the histone methyltransferase SETDB1 cooperatively control germ cell–related gene expression in ESCs. Both DNA methylation and histone H3 lysine 9 tri-methylation of the promoter regions of several germ cell–related genes were not affected by knockout of the PRC1 components, indicating that the MAX-DNMT and MAX-SETDB1 pathways are independent of the PCGF6-PRC1 pathway. Our findings provide insights into our understanding of MAX-based repressive mechanisms of germ cell–related genes in ESCs.