Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
In-Body to On-Body Channel Characterization and Modeling Based on Heterogeneous Human Models at HBC-UWB Band

In this work, the in-body to on-body (IB2OB) channel characteristics of the ultrawideband (UWB) link from 10 to 50 MHz at the human body communication (HBC) band are studied for developing high-speed and large-capacity intrabody wireless communication systems. Incorporating the time-domain finite integration technique (FIT) with three types of anatomical human models (adult male, adult female, and teenager) and a simple geometric human model with homogeneous or multilayer biological tissues, the 10–50-MHz signal propagation characteristics are investigated, and a comprehensive path loss model is proposed based on typical in-body links of the heart, brain, and intestine to the on-body sensor nodes. The statistical results show that a linear regulation term related to the surface wave propagation should be added to construct a more accurate logarithmic-distance path loss model in the sense of least-mean-square error (LMSE), indicating that the surface wave propagation mechanism can describe the 10–50-MHz signal propagation more accurately. The shadow fading in decibel is normally distributed around the mean path loss with a standard deviation in the range of 7–9 dB. And the average group delay of the IB2OB channel fluctuates around 0–7 ns, illustrating that the channel can be approximated as a linear phase response. Moreover, the experimental verification is conducted with a tissue-equivalent liquid phantom and an adult man, demonstrating the validity of our proposed statistical path loss model. The key parameters for channel characterization in simulations and measurements are summarized to provide useful insights for HBC-UWB communication system design and performance analysis.
Effect of Service Quality on Costumer Loyalty: Multiple Comparisons between Internal and External Costumers

Many hospitals establish survival business strategies and secure costumers with high loyalty to the hospital that is also an important strategy This study identified the causal relationships among service quality, service value, costumer satisfaction and costumer loyalty and difference in path-coefficients depending on costumer type. The subjects of this study were 314 medical, health care and administrative workers, who were working at 1 university dental clinics located in Seoul for more than one month and 303 adult males and females aged between 18 and 60, who visited the same clinics more than 2 times within 9 months.This study found that service quality has effects on increases in service value and costumer satisfaction; service value has effects on costumer satisfaction and costumer loyalty; and costumer satisfaction has an effect on costumer loyalty. Tangibles and assurance had more effects on internal costumers’ satisfaction unlike external costumers, while service value had greater effects on external costumers’ satisfaction. This study furthermore provided baseline data for hospital managers to improve costumer loyalty.
Improvement of the Ultrasound-Assisted Extraction of Polyphenols from Welsh Onion (Allium fistulosum) Leaves Using Response Surface Methodology

Welsh onion (Allium fistulosum) leaves contain several bioactive compounds that can be extracted and used to develop new value-added products (e.g., functional foods and dietary supplements). In the current work, optimal ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) conditions to obtain extracts with high polyphenols content and DPPH (1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazil) scavenging activity were identified using response surface methodology. A complete 3k factorial design was used to evaluate the effect of different variables of the UAE (extraction temperature, time, and ethanol concentration) on the polyphenols content and the DPPH scavenging activity of the extracts. The best conditions for UAE to reach both the highest values of total polyphenols content (51.78 mg GAE/100 g) and DPPH scavenging activity (34.07 mg Trolox equivalents/100 g) were an extraction temperature of 60 °C, time of 10 min, and ethanol concentration of 70% v/v. The antioxidant activity of the extracts obtained at the optimal conditions was also evaluated by 2,2′-azino-bis-3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assays obtaining values of 155.51 ± 2.80 μM Trolox/100 g and 1300.21 ± 65.55 μM Trolox/100 g, respectively. Moreover, these extracts were characterized by UHPLC-ESI+-Orbitrap-MS analysis finding that cyanidin (6.0 mg/kg) was the phenolic compound found in the highest amount followed by quercetin-3-glucoside (4.4 mg/kg).
Risk Factors Analysis of Surgical Infection Using Artificial Intelligence: A Single Center Study

Background: Surgical site infections (SSIs) have a major role in the evolution of medical care. Despite centuries of medical progress, the management of surgical infection remains a pressing concern. Nowadays, the SSIs continue to be an important factor able to increase the hospitalization duration, cost, and risk of death, in fact, the SSIs are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in modern health care. Methods: A study based on statistical test and logistic regression for unveiling the association between SSIs and different risk factors was carried out. Successively, a predictive analysis of SSIs on the basis of risk factors was performed. Results: The obtained data demonstrated that the level of surgery contamination impacts significantly on the infection rate. In addition, data also reveals that the length of postoperative hospital stay increases the rate of surgical infections. Finally, the postoperative length of stay, surgery department and the antibiotic prophylaxis with 2 or more antibiotics are a significant predictor for the development of infection. Conclusions: The data report that the type of surgery department and antibiotic prophylaxis there are a statistically significant predictor of SSIs. Moreover, KNN model better handle the imbalanced dataset (48 infected and 3983 healthy), observing highest accuracy value.
Laparoscopic Lap Band Placement

Extreme obesity is a widely recognized worldwide epidemic. It is known as the second most common cause of preventable death in the United States, after smoking. Bariatric surgery, the surgical management of obesity, has demonstrated a substantial reduction in overall mortality in extremely obese individuals according to multiple long-term studies. Bariatric surgery was first conducted in the 1960s as the jejunoileal bypass procedure. This procedure showed good weight loss results involved numerous complications, especially malabsorption. Over time, surgeons worked to develop techniques with fewer complications. The Roux-en-Y gastric bypass was introduced in 1977 and became the procedure of choice by the 1980s. The nonadjustable gastric band procedure was introduced in the late 1970s with poor results, but the first adjustable gastric band was placed in 1985. The results of the adjustable band were released in 1986. They demonstrated improved weight loss with decreased complications when compared to nonadjustable gastric banding. The first laparoscopically-placed adjustable gastric band (LAGB) was placed in 1993. Due to its technical ease, it became one of the more popular weight loss surgeries in Europe and Australia in the late 1990s. Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding was approved in the United States in 2001. Its popularity grew annually until 2008, then began to decline rapidly. The decrease in its use is attributable to the introduction of the sleeve gastrectomy. The laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy was introduced in 1999. Its long-term results as a stand-alone procedure were becoming apparent in the late 2000s. In 2008 the indications for laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy were published. By 2016 it had become the most commonly performed bariatric surgery in the United States. By 2015, laparoscopically adjusted gastric banding constituted only 5.7% of all bariatric procedures performed in the United States. It is rarely done. The two primary mechanisms by which bariatric surgery allows a patient to lose weight are restriction and malabsorption. Restriction refers to achieving weight loss by limiting the intake of calories. Malabsorption refers to altering the intestinal tract to bypass a certain length of small intestine. This bypass results in a decrease in absorption of ingested nutrients. Some procedures change bodily hormonal concentrations which also lead to weight loss and resolution of co-morbidities. The laparoscopic adjusted gastric bypass is strictly a restrictive procedure, which may explain why its long-term results are inferior to other bariatric surgeries. Although the performance of this procedure is rare in the modern era, many patients may continue to have adjustable gastric bands. Therefore, it is necessary to educate clinicians on the laparoscopic adjusted gastric banding technique to diagnose and treat any potential complications in a safe and timely manner.
A Compact Planar Low-Pass Filter Based on SRR-Metamateria

In this work, a novel design of a Microstrip Low-pass filter based on metamaterial square split ring resonators (SRRs) is proposed. The SRRs has been added to obtain a reduced size and high performances. The filter is designed on an FR-4 substrate having a thickness of 1.6mm, a dielectric constant of 4.4 and loss tangent of 0.025. The proposed low-pass filter is characterized by a cutoff frequency of 2.4 GHz and an attenuation level below than -20dB in the stopband. The LPF is designed, simulated and optimized by using two electromagnetic solvers CST microwave studio and ADS. The computed results obtained by both solvers are in good agreement. The total surface area of the proposed circuit is 18x18mm2 excluding the feed line, its size is miniaturized by 40% compared to the conventional filter. The experimental results illustrate that the filter achieves very good electrical performances in the passband with a low insertion loss of 0.2 dB. Moreover, a suppression level can reach more than 35 dB in the rejected band.
Voltage and Power Balance Strategy without Communication for a Modular Solid State Transformer Based on Adaptive Droop Control

Solid State Transformers (SST) are attracting considerable attention due to their great application potential in future smart grids. It is an essential technology capable of promoting the modernization of the electric power distribution system and it is considered a key element for interfacing future microgrid systems to medium voltage utility grids, allowing plug-and-play integration with multiple renewable energy sources, storage devices and DC power systems. Its main advantages in relation to conventional transformers are substantial reduction of volume and weight, fault isolation capability, voltage regulation, harmonic filtering, reactive power compensation and power factor correction. A three-stage modular cascaded topology has been considered as an adequate candidate for the SST implementation, consisting of multiple power modules with input series and output parallel connection. The modular structure presents many advantages, e.g., redundancy, flexibility, lower current harmonic content and voltage stress on the power switches, however component tolerances and mismatches between modules can lead to DC link voltage imbalance and unequal power sharing that can damage the solid state transformer. This paper proposes a decentralized strategy based on adaptive droop control capable of promoting voltage and power balance among modules of a modular cascaded SST, without relying on a communication network. The behavior of the proposed strategy is assessed through a MATLAB/Simulink simulation model of an 100 kVA SST and shows that power and voltage balance are attained through inner power distribution of the SST modules, being transparent to elements connected to the transformer input and output ports. Besides that, real-time simulation results are presented to validate the proposed control strategies. The performance of embedded algorithms is evaluated by the implementation of the SST in a real-time simulation hardware, using a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and high level programming.
A Comprehensive Survey on Mobility-Aware Device-to-Device Communications: Principles, Practice and Challenges

—Device-to-device (D2D) communication proposes a new epitome in mobile networking to avail data exchange between physically proximate devices. The exploitation of D2D communication enables mobile operators to harvest short range communications for improving network performance and corrob-orating proximity-based services. In this article, we investigate mobility aspects of D2D communication, which are indispensable for the adoption and implementation of D2D communication technology. We present an extensive review of the state-of-the-art problems and the corresponding solutions for encouraging the exploitation of mobility to assist D2D communication. Speciﬁcally, by identifying the mobility models, traces, problems, requirements, and features of different proposals, we discuss the lessons learned and summarize the advantages of mobility-aware D2D communication. We also present open problems and highlight future research directions concerning D2D communication applications in real-life scenarios. To the best of our knowledge, this is the ﬁrst comprehensive survey to address mobility-aware D2D communication, which offers insight to the underlying problems and provides the potential solutions.
Evaluating the Hospital Standardized Home-Transition Ratios for Cerebral Infarction in Japan: A Retrospective Observational Study from 2016 through 2020

Discharge to home is considered appropriate as a treatment goal for diseases that often leave disabilities such as cerebral infarction. Previous studies showed differences in risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality and readmission rates; however, studies assessing the rate of hospital-to-home transition are limited. We developed and calculated the hospital standardized home-transition ratio (HSHR) using Japanese administrative claims data from 2016–2020 to measure the quality of in-hospital care for cerebral infarction. Overall, 24,529 inpatients at 35 hospitals were included. All variables used in the analyses were associated with transition to another hospital or facility for inpatients, and evaluation of the HSHR model showed good predictive ability with c-statistics (area under curve, 0.73 standard deviation; 95% confidence interval, 0.72–0.73). All HSHRs of each consecutive year were significantly correlated. HSHRs for cerebral infarction can be calculated using Japanese administrative claims data. It was found that there is a need for support for low HSHR hospitals because hospitals with high/low HSHR were likely to produce the same results in the following year. HSHRs can be used as a new quality indicator of in-hospital care and may contribute to assessing and improving the quality of care.
Expression and Genetic Effects of GLI Pathogenesis-Related 1 Gene on Backfat Thickness in Pigs

Backfat thickness (BFT) is an important carcass composition trait and regarded as a breeding focus. Our initial transcriptome analysis of pig BFT identified GLI pathogenesis-related 1 (GLIPR1) as one of the promising candidate genes. This study was conducted to identify the expression profiles, polymorphisms, and genetic effects of the GLIPR1 gene on BFT in pigs. The expression of the GLIPR1 gene existed in every detected tissue, and there was a significantly higher expression in spleen and adipose tissue than others (p < 0.05). At the different ages of pig, the expression of the GLIPR1 gene was low at an early age, increased with growth, and reached the highest level at 180 days. Genetic polymorphism analysis was detected in 553 individuals of the Large White × Minzhu F2 population. Four SNPs in the promoter significantly associated with 6–7 rib BFT (p < 0.05) were predicted to alter the transcription factor binding sites (TFBS), and the mutations of g.38758089 T>G and g.38758114 G>C were predicted to change the TFs associated with the regulation of adipogenesis. Haplotypes were formed by the detected SNPs, and one block showed a strong association with BFT (p < 0.05). In summary, our results indicate that the expression profiles and genetic variants of GLIPR1 affected the BFT of pigs. To our knowledge, this study is the first to demonstrate the biological function and genetic effects of the GLIPR1 gene on the BFT of pig and provide genetic markers to optimize breeding for BFT in pigs.
A High-Performance NS-SAW Resonator Using 30° YX-Lithium Niobate

With the popularity of 5G technique, large bandwidth devices are urgently needed to meet the enormous transmission requirements. Recently, the shear horizontal (SH) surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators with large effective coefficient (k<sup>2</sup> <inf>eff</inf>) attracted wide attention, however, obtaining a high quality-factor (Q) is still a great challenge due to the bulk acoustic wave radiation into the substrate. In this work, a 30° YX-LiNbO<inf>3</inf>/SiO<inf>2</inf>/Si Non-leaky Stack SAW (NS-SAW) resonator with SH mode is proposed. Large velocity difference between the SHSAW wave in LiNbO<inf>3</inf> layer and the slow shear bulk acoustic wave in SiO<inf>2</inf>/Si substrate helps to reduce the bulk wave leakage. Numerical simulations by finite element method (FEM) are implemented to optimize the cut angle of LiNbO<inf>3</inf> film and the thickness of each layer. The fabricated NS-SAW resonators yield a k<sup>2</sup> <inf>eff</inf> of 24.4% and a Bode-Q<inf>max</inf> of 1092. Compared to the reported similar-type SAW resonators, the NS-SAW resonator shows the best level of figure of merit (FoM=266) when k<sup>2</sup> <inf>eff</inf> is more than 20%, presenting great potential for designing the wide bandwidth devices in 5G wireless communication.
Microglia Impairs Proliferation and Induces Senescence In-Vitro in NGF Releasing Cells Used in Encapsulated Cell Biodelivery for Alzheimer’s Disease Therapy

There is no cure yet available for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). We recently optimized encapsulated cell biodelivery (ECB) devices releasing human mature nerve growth factor (hmNGF), termed ECB-NGF, to the basal forebrain of AD patients. The ECB-NGF delivery resulted in increased CSF cholinergic markers, improved glucose metabolism, and positive effects on cognition in AD patients. However, some ECB-NGF implants showed altered hmNGF release post-explantation. To optimize the ECB-NGF platform for future therapeutic purposes, we initiated in-vitro optimization studies by exposing ECB-NGF devices to physiological factors present within the AD brain. We report here that microglia cells can impair hmNGF release from ECB-NGF devices in-vitro, which can be reversed by transferring the devices to fresh culture medium. Further, we exposed the hmNGF secreting human ARPE-19 cell line (NGC0211) to microglia (HMC3) conditioned medium (MCM; untreated or treated with IL-1β/IFNγ/Aβ40/Aβ42), and evaluated biochemical stress markers (ROS, GSH, ΔΨm, and Alamar Blue assay), cell death indicators (Annexin-V/PI), cell proliferation (CFSE retention and Ki67) and senescence markers (SA-β-gal) in NGC0211 cells. MCMs from activated microglia reduced cell proliferation and induced cell senescence in NGC0211 cells, which otherwise resist biochemical alterations and cell death. These data indicate a critical but reversible impact of activated microglia on NGC0211 cells.
ESP-LRSMD: A Two-Step Detector for Ship Detection Using SLC SAR Imagery

Synthetic aperture radar (SAR), an active microwave remote sensing equipment, can provide all-day, all-weather, and high-resolution images for Earth observation. Ship monitoring using SAR is significant to fishery application, marine transportation, maritime security, and so on. Most traditional SAR ship detection methods use the amplitude information of the SAR imagery and employ the constant false alarm rate (CFAR), deep learning, and other technologies to detect the ship targets. However, in addition to the amplitude image, the SAR single-look complex (SLC) data can also be utilized for ship detection since its complex-valued information is beneficial to characterize the ship’s feature in the transforming domains. In this article, the strong scattering feature of ships in the image domain and low-rank feature in the transforming domain is studied, and on this basis, a two-step detector is proposed to detect ship targets in SAR SLC image. The first step is to identify the presence of ships, which is based on the eigen-subspace projection (ESP) technology to detect the occurrences of the ship targets in azimuth cells of the SAR data. The second step is to locate the position of ships, which is based on the low-rank and sparse matrix decomposition (LRSMD) to obtain the instantaneous frequency information of the ship targets in the time–frequency domain. Finally, the ship targets can be located in a line-by-line manner in the azimuth direction. Experimental results via European Sentinel-1A and Chinese Gaofen-3 single-pol SAR SLC data demonstrate the performance of the proposed detector.
Maize Flavonoid Biosynthesis, Regulation, and Human Health Relevance: A Review

Maize is one of the most important crops for human and animal consumption and contains a chemical arsenal essential for survival: flavonoids. Moreover, flavonoids are well known for their beneficial effects on human health. In this review, we decided to organize the information about maize flavonoids into three sections. In the first section, we include updated information about the enzymatic pathway of maize flavonoids. We describe a total of twenty-one genes for the flavonoid pathway of maize. The first three genes participate in the general phenylpropanoid pathway. Four genes are common biosynthetic early genes for flavonoids, and fourteen are specific genes for the flavonoid subgroups, the anthocyanins, and flavone C-glycosides. The second section explains the tissue accumulation and regulation of flavonoids by environmental factors affecting the expression of the MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) transcriptional complex. The study of transcription factors of the MBW complex is fundamental for understanding how the flavonoid profiles generate a palette of colors in the plant tissues. Finally, we also include an update of the biological activities of C3G, the major maize anthocyanin, including anticancer, antidiabetic, and antioxidant effects, among others. This review intends to disclose and integrate the existing knowledge regarding maize flavonoid pigmentation and its relevance in the human health sector.
Battery Storage System as Power Unbalance Redistributor in Distribution Grids Based on Three Legs Four Wire Voltage Source Converter

This article discusses the application of battery energy storage systems (BESSs) as power redistributors in three-phase distribution grids as an add-on functionality to typical BESS applications, such as congestion management and energy arbitrage. Combining those ancillary services into a single power unit is not yet performed in practice but may constitute an emerging business opportunity to increase the BESS revenues. The unbalanced operation of the BESS voltage source converter (VSC) leads to the circulation of low-frequency current harmonics in the dc-link through the capacitors and the battery cells. Therefore, it is particularly interesting whether relatively large 50- and 100-Hz currents can safely circulate within these components. Analytical modeling and design guidelines for the dc-link of a three-leg four-wire two-level VSC operating under unbalanced loads are detailed. Furthermore, a low-power VSC prototype is used to demonstrate the working principle of the BESS, providing power unbalance redistribution and symmetric power exchange. Additionally, the ICR18650-26F Lithium-ion cells are cycled to reach end-of-life with different current profiles and C-ratings. The analysis shows that charging with a 100 Hz ripple superimposed to the dc current leads to a 10% increment in degradation.