Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Wireless power and network synchronisation for agricultural and industrial remote sensors using low voltage CMOS Harvesting and Data Demodulator IC

This paper presents a wide area medium frequency loosely coupled magnetic energy harvesting system with power delivery and network synchronisation for remote sensors, intended for agricultural and industrial environments. Intended for situations with poor service access, power is supplied from a source via a large area loop. Receiver nodes may use ferrite cored coils for good efficiency with modest volume. Transmission of low bandwidth network synchronisation data permits very low operational duty cycle with the need for real time clocks or wake up receivers and their associated power drain. As a key enabler for the system, a full custom energy harvester and QPSK data demodulator IC has been designed and fabricated in a commercial 180nm CMOS technology. The IC occupies 0.54mm2 and can deliver 10. 3μW at 3V to an external battery or capacitor. With standard MOS device thresholds the rectifier can start from cold with only 250mV peak from the antenna loop, and the battery charge output is delivered with 330mV peak input. Results are presented from laboratory evaluation and from preliminary measurements in the field with a 10m x 10m loop driven at 800kHz.
Telepresence Robot with Novel Stereoscopic Camera Configuration

A novel stereoscopic camera configuration which has two movable wide-lens cameras and one stationary fisheye-lens camera is proposed to build ”view-sharing” telepresence robot for multiple users. The camera system provide 180-deg monocular field-of-view obtained from the stationary fish-eye camera for more than two users, and provide additional stereoscopic information of parallax for at most two users independently. The parallax is obtained from the movable cameras which revolves around the fish-eye camera according to each user’s head motion so that the inter-lens distance keeps constant length, and stereoscopic view of remote environment is provides for each user. We demonstrate some applications using the proposed system such as body-sharing experience, joint attention via shared-view, and improvement of sense of presence.
The Consumer Deviation Index: A Method for Identifying Changing Behaviors and Market Opportunities

The increasing availability of behavioral data about consumers offers great promise for understanding their shifting preferences over time. This poses an important challenge for business practitioners - particularly entrepreneurs and investors – who wish to be the first to identify and satisfy consumers’ unmet needs. Here, we introduce the Consumer Deviation Index (CDI) as a means of generating forecasts from historical time series data in order to isolate emerging behaviors that fall outside the realm of expectation. These deviations serve as leading indicators of market opportunities to fulfill pockets of “latent demand” before they fully manifest across a consumer population. We illustrate the application of this methodology to behavior change during the height of COVID-19 stay-at-home restrictions, and to the initial reopening of the U.S. economy post-pandemic. We discuss implications for optimizing product development and innovation to better serve consumers’ ever-changing needs.
Editorial: Neuromechanics in Movement and Disease With Physiological and Pathophysiological Implications: From Fundamental Experiments to Bio-Inspired Technologies

Department of Sport and Sport Science, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany, Department of AI in Biomedical Engineering, University of Erlangen-Nuernberg, Erlangen, Germany, Laboratory of Applied Biololgy and Research Unit in Applied Neurophysiology (LABNeuro), Faculty of Motor Sciences, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Bruxelles, Belgium, Institut des Sciences du Sport, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland, Neuromuscular Physiology Laboratory, Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
PI3K Signaling in Dendritic Cells Aggravates DSS-Induced Colitis

Aberrant innate immune responses to the gut microbiota are causally involved in the pathogenesis of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). The exact triggers and main signaling pathways activating innate immune cells and how they modulate adaptive immunity in IBD is still not completely understood. Here, we report that the PI3K/PTEN signaling pathway in dendritic cells enhances IL-6 production in a model of DSS-induced colitis. This results in exacerbated Th1 cell responses and increased mortality in DC-specific PTEN knockout (PTENΔDC) animals. Depletion of the gut microbiota using antibiotics as well as blocking IL-6R signaling rescued mortality in PTENΔDC mice, whereas adoptive transfer of Flt3L-derived PTEN-/- DCs into WT recipients exacerbated DSS-induced colitis and increased mortality. Taken together, we show that the PI3K signaling pathway in dendritic cells contributes to disease pathology by promoting IL-6 mediated Th1 responses.
Functional Neural Alterations in Pathological Internet Use: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies

Previous resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) studies found spontaneous neural activity in the brains of Pathological Internet Use (PIU) subjects. However, the findings were inconsistent in studies using different neuroimaging analyses. This meta-analytic study aimed to identify a common pattern of altered brain activity from different studies. Resting-state fMRI studies, based on whole-brain analysis methods published before July 1, 2021, were searched in multiple databases (PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, and Web of Science). A voxel-based signed differential mapping (SDM) method was used to clarify brain regions, which showed anomalous activity in PIU subjects compared with healthy controls (HCs). Ten eligible publications consisting of 306 PIU subjects and 314 HCs were included in the SDM meta-analysis. Compared with HCs, subjects with PIU showed increased spontaneous neural functional activity in the left temporal pole of the superior temporal cortex, left amygdala, bilateral median cingulate cortex, and right insula. Meanwhile, a decreased spontaneous neural activity was identified in the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus and right middle frontal gyrus in the subjects with PIU. These abnormal brain regions are associated with cognitive executive control and emotional regulation. The consistent changes under different functional brain imaging indicators found in our study may provide important targets for the future diagnosis and intervention of PIU. Systematic Review Registration: www.crd. york.ac. uk/PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021258119.
Integrated Analysis of Coding and Non-coding RNAs Reveals the Molecular Mechanism Underlying Salt Stress Response in Medicago truncatula

Salt stress is among the most severe abiotic stresses in plants worldwide. Medicago truncatula is a model plant for legumes and analysis of its response to salt stress is helpful for providing valuable insights into breeding. However, few studies have focused on illustrating the whole-transcriptome molecular mechanism underlying salt stress response in Medicago truncatula. Herein, we sampled the leaves of Medicago truncatula treated with water or NaCl and analyzed the characteristics of its coding and non-coding RNAs. We identified a total of 4,693 differentially expressed mRNAs (DEmRNAs), 505 DElncRNAs, 21 DEcircRNAs, and 55 DEmiRNAs. Gene ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analyses revealed that their functions were mostly associated with metabolic processes. We classified the lncRNAs and circRNAs into different types and analyzed their genomic distributions. Furthermore, we predicted the interactions between different RNAs based on the competing endogenous RNA (ceRNA) theory and identified multiple correlation networks, including 27 DEmiRNAs, 43 DEmRNAs, 19 lncRNAs, and 5 DEcircRNAs. In addition, we comprehensively analyzed the candidate DEmRNAs and ceRNAs and found that they were involved in Ca+ signaling, starch and sucrose biosynthesis, phenylpropanoid and lignin metabolism, auxin and jasmonate biosynthesis, and transduction pathways. Our integrated analyses in salt stress response in Medicago truncatula revealed multiple differentially expressed coding and non-coding RNAs, including mRNAs, lncRNAs, circRNAs, and miRNAs, and identified multiple DEmRNA and ceRNA interaction pairs that function in many pathways, providing insights into salt stress response in leguminous plants.
Seasonal Changes of Growth, Immune Parameters and Liver Function in Wild Chinese Sturgeons Under Indoor Conditions: Implication for Artificial Rearing

Seasonality has a significant effect on the physiology of fish, especially the effect of water temperature changes. In the present study, the growth, innate immune parameters and liver function indices of two rescued wild adult Chinese sturgeons under captive conditions were monitored for 1 year. The results showed that the total annual weight loss rate of the male was −4.58% and the total weight gain rate of the female was 24.12%, in which the weight of both individuals registered highly significant differences in summer, fall and winter (p < 0.01). The male Chinese sturgeon also exhibited negative specific growth rates (−0.1 to −0.8%) during spring to fall, whereas positive specific growth rates, ranging from 0.03 to 0.11%, were recorded in the female. Seasonality also affected the innate immune parameters of the two Chinese sturgeons, in which leukocytes had been increasing since spring and C-reactive protein (CRP) content was significantly higher (p < 0.05) in summer than fall in both individuals. The CRP level of the male Chinese sturgeon showed a significant increase from fall to winter (p < 0.05), suggesting that it may have contracted infection or inflammation during this study period. With the analysis of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), transaminase (AST:ALT) ratio, alkaline phosphatase, albumin to globulin ratio and triglycerides, it was found that the liver function of the captive Chinese sturgeons was adversely affected along seasonal changes, with the highest degree of liver impairment in winter. In combining observations from growth performance and changes in innate immune and liver function parameters, the present findings deduced that the male Chinese sturgeon under study was more susceptible to seasonal changes than the female. For better indoor culture of adult Chinese sturgeons, monitoring of hematological parameters to detect early signs of inflammation and liver function abnormality should be conducted with routine veterinary care during prolonged captivity.
When is it time to stop an IT project

IT projects should deliver value to organizations but there are cases when, however well planned a project may have been, changes in the environment and/or in the strategic priorities of the organization mean it can never deliver value. Value is a subjective term and simply means, in this context, something that is important to the organization which would generally result in profit, in a commercial entity, or improved service, in a public entity. This paper addresses the problem of how to ensure that you will have the capabilities in place to know when your project can no longer deliver value and to take appropriate action. It does not discuss in detail the technical issues of project management execution, as a well-executed project can still fail to deliver value. Rather, it looks at the specific question of knowing when projects can no longer deliver value and putting measures in place to both prevent and address project escalation. We show how a capability based approach supported by the IT-CMF framework can improve your ability to quickly identify projects that have started but now can no longer deliver value. This capability approach increases the agility of the organization and makes it easier to develop and maintain competitive advantage.
Age-Related Changes in Micro Brain Characteristics Based on Relaxed Mean-Field Model

Brain health is an important research direction of neuroscience. In addition to the effects of diseases, we cannot ignore the negative effect of aging on brain health. There have been many studies on brain aging, but only a few have used dynamic models to analyze differences in micro brain characteristics in healthy people. In this article, we use the relaxed mean-field model (rMFM) to study the effects of normal aging. Two main parameters of this model are the recurrent connection strength and subcortical input strength. The sensitivity of the rMFM to the initial values of the parameters has not been fully discussed in previous research. We examine this issue through repeated numerical experiments and obtain a reasonable initial parameter range for this model. Differences in recurrent connection strength and subcortical input strength due to aging have also not been studied previously. We use statistical methods to find the regions of interest (ROIs) exhibiting significant differences between young and old groups. Further, we carry out a difference analysis on the process of change of these ROIs on a more detailed timescale. We find that even with the same final results, the trends of change in these ROIs are different. This shows that to develop possible methods to prevent or delay brain damage due to aging, more attention needs to be paid to the trends of change of different ROIs, not just the final results.
The Basis and Advances in Clinical Application of Cytomegalovirus-Specific Cytotoxic T Cell Immunotherapy for Glioblastoma Multiforme

A high percentage of malignant gliomas are infected by human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), and the endogenous expression of HCMV genes and their products are found in these tumors. HCMV antigen expression and its implications in gliomagenesis have emerged as a promising target for adoptive cellular immunotherapy (ACT) strategies in glioblastoma multiforme (GB) patients. Since antigen-specific T cells in the tumor microenvironments lack efficient anti-tumor immune response due to the immunosuppressive nature of glioblastoma, CMV-specific ACT relies on in vitro expansion of CMV-specific CD8+ T cells employing immunodominant HCMV antigens. Given the fact that several hurdles remain to be conquered, recent clinical trials have outlined the feasibility of CMV-specific ACT prior to tumor recurrence with minimal adverse effects and a substantial improvement in median overall survival and progression-free survival. This review discusses the role of HCMV in gliomagenesis, disease prognosis, and recent breakthroughs in harnessing HCMV-induced immunogenicity in the GB tumor microenvironment to develop effective CMV-specific ACT.
Antibiotic Treatment Ameliorates the Impact of Stony Coral Tissue Loss Disease (SCTLD) on Coral Communities

Stony coral tissue loss disease has spread widely in the Caribbean and causes substantial changes to coral community composition because of its broad host range and high fatality rate. To reduce SCTLD impacts, intervention programs throughout the region have divers treating corals with antibiotics. We assessed the effect of antibiotic treatment in the British Virgin Islands by comparing coral communities at 13 treated sites to those at 13 untreated sites. The prevalence of white syndromes (assumed to be primarily SCTLD), the severity of white syndrome lesions, partial colony mortality and complete colony mortality all showed a qualitative pattern consistent with benefits of treatment: they were reduced at treated sites for species highly susceptible to SCTLD. In contrast, the prevalence and severity of lesions from other diseases, and other causes of tissue loss, were all unrelated to treatment. Re-ordering of rank abundance at the community-level was also consistent with a positive effect of treatment because rare, highly SCTLD-susceptible species increased slightly in relative cover at treated sites. Although there was limited statistical support for these responses individually, collectively the overall pattern of results indicates a modest beneficial effect of the intervention program for highly susceptible species. Diver-based intervention programs using antibiotics may thus be a viable part of management plans for STLD at the epidemic stage.
Disulfiram Protects Against Radiation-Induced Intestinal Injury in Mice

Radiation-induced intestinal injury (RIII) occurs after high doses of radiation exposure. RIII restricts the therapeutic efficacy of radiotherapy in cancer and increases morbidity and mortality in nuclear disasters. Currently, there is no approved agent for the prevention or treatment of RIII. Here, we reported that the disulfiram, an FDA-approved alcohol deterrent, prolonged the survival in mice after lethal irradiation. Pretreatment with disulfiram inhibited proliferation within 24 h after irradiation, but improved crypt regeneration at 3.5 days post-irradiation. Mechanistically, disulfiram promoted Lgr5+ intestinal stem cells (ISCs) survival and maintained their ability to regenerate intestinal epithelium after radiation. Moreover, disulfiram suppresses DNA damage accumulation, thus inhibits aberrant mitosis after radiation. Unexpectedly, disulfiram treatment did not inhibit crypt cell apoptosis 4 h after radiation and the regeneration of crypts from PUMA-deficient mice after irradiation was also promoted by disulfiram. In conclusion, our findings demonstrate that disulfiram regulates the DNA damage response and survival of ISCs through affecting the cell cycle. Given its radioprotective efficacy and decades of application in humans, disulfiram is a promising candidate to prevent RIII in cancer therapy and nuclear accident.
Editorial: COVID-19: Mid- and Long-Term Educational and Psychological Consequences for Students and Educators

COVID-19 pandemic has been a great challenge to our societies. To reduce its impact, different approaches, and politics have been used. However, public health, along with educational breaches have been evidenced in most countries in which not all citizens have the same opportunities to deal with the pandemic. Therefore, this has led to pervasive consequences, including mental health problems because of the disruption of everyday life routines.
Dose Optimisation of Posaconazole and Therapeutic Drug Monitoring in Pediatric Patients

Experience in the clinical use of posaconazole (PCZ) in pediatric patients is limited, and no specific dose recommendations exist. This study aimed to investigate an appropriate dosing regimen, and assess the exposure-response relationships of PCZ in children. We reviewed the medical records of inpatients aged <18 years who subjected to PCZ concentrations monitoring. Clinical data, PCZ dosing and monitoring data were collected. A total of 375 PCZ trough concentrations (C min) from 105 pediatric patients were included. For children receiving PCZ for prophylaxis, the median doses required to achieve the therapeutic range at the ages of <6, 6–12 and >12 years were 14.80, 14.52 and 12.90 mg/kg/day, respectively (p = 0.001); and for those receiving PCZ for treatment, the median doses were 23.50, 20.96 and 15.38 mg/kg/day, respectively (p = 0.001). Among children taking PCZ for prophylaxis, 12% developed a proven or probable breakthrough IFIs; the median PCZ concentrations were significantly lower than those children with successful treatment response (0.43 versus 1.20 μg mL−1; p < 0.001). 79.2% patients taking PCZ for treatment had a positive clinical response, and the median PCZ concentrations were significantly higher than those children with disease progression (1.06 versus 0.53 μg mL−1; p = 0.024). No association between C min values and hepatotoxicity was observed. Factors such as age, CRP, ALT and co-administration with proton pump inhibitors exhibited significant effects on PCZ C min. It is necessary to adjust the dosing regimens based on PCZ C min to individualize antifungal therapy and provide guidelines for dose adjustment in children.
Swiss Value of Travel Time Savings

Switzerland was the first German speaking country to initiate an official study of the value of travel time savings (VTTS). The context of the study is the development of an official cost-benefit guideline in the context of a wider sustainability analysis sponsored by the Swiss Highway Agency (Bundesamt fŸr Strassen) (see www.nistra.ch). The paper reports the work undertaken by the authors for this study with a special emphasis on those elements of the survey work and modelling experience which are often less well reported: sample development from the original RP sample to the respondents of the SP, selection of the choice contexts, final wording of the SP, stability of the VTTS as a function of the model specifications. The sampling frame of the study was an on-going survey by the Swiss Federal Railroads on the travel behaviour of the Swiss population. In the main study 51% of the sample of 2300 respondents replied (two reminders were issued). The pre-tests had shown that only the route and mode choice experiments produced reliable results, while a destination choice based experiment returned results inconsistent with reasonable expectations. The pre-tests also showed that the presentation of the different travel time elements had a strong impact on the responses. The main study sample indicated some over-representation of wealthier males with a higher than average usage and commitment to public transport. We will report the selectivity analysis and an analysis of the reply speeds. We will also report the results of removing answers of respondents who answered inconsistently. The extensive specification search indicated a substantial sensitivity of the VTTS estimates to the inclusion of variables describing the behavioural inertia of the respondents and to trip distance and respondent income. The models included random parameter formulations and non-linear elasticity formulations for distance and income. They were estimated using Biogeme, an advanced choice model estimator developed by M. Bierlaire. We will describe the sequence of estimation results for the different SP experiments and interpret them against the background of recent European experiences. The recommended mean VTTS values are comparatively low in terms of average hourly wage rates (about 30% across all purposes), but show a substantial variation by income and trip distance.
Over 100-Year Preservation and Temporal Fluctuations of Cell Wall Polysaccharides in Marine Sediments

Polysaccharides constitute an important carbon pool in marine systems, but much is still unknown about the fate and degradation of these compounds. They are derived partly from production in situ, and in coastal areas, they are partly terrestrially derived, originating from freshwater runoff from land. The aim of this study was to test the applicability of high-throughput polysaccharide profiling for plant and algal cell-wall compounds in dated sediment cores from a coastal marine environment, to examine the preservation of cell-wall polysaccharides and explore their potential as proxies for temporal environmental changes. Preserved compounds and remains of organisms are routinely used as paleoenvironmental proxies as the amount and composition of different compounds that can provide insight into past environmental conditions, and novel means for reporting environmental changes are highly sought.