A CMOS Mixed Mode Non-Linear Processing Unit for Adaptive Sensor Conditioning in Portable Smart Systems

This paper presents the architecture of a novel non-linear digitally programmable analog unit for sensor output conditioning in battery-operated smart systems. Designed in an 180nm 1.8V standard CMOS technology, by properly setting the 6-bit registers in the arithmetic unit, the voltage inputs are weighted before being processed by a non-linear circuit. Thus, a processing system consisting of a set of these devices suitably tuned and interconnected can be applied to condition a non-linear sensor, improving its behavior both in linearity and operating range, while reducing the effects of cross sensitivity. The robustness of the digital weight tuning is tested simulating a chip-on-the-loop training using a Levenberg-Marquardt-based algorithm. Electric simulations of the proposed unit and the results of its application in a complete neural network-based processing system to improve the linear operating range of a thermistor are presented

La revisión sistemática de la relación indirecta entre la pertenencia social frustrada y la sensación de ser una carga en el suicidio

Joiner's Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide (IPTS) considers the interpersonal variables of low social belonging and the perception of being a burden on others as drivers of suicidal ideation. This study has sought to review the empirical evidence on this prediction. In all, 40 studies were found. The findings report a major mediator and moderator role of perceived burdensomeness (PB) and thwarted belongingness (TB) in the relationship between the propensity toward suicide and psychological, social, and environmental factors. As the theory predicts, expecting to find that the interaction of both of these variables would be more closely linked to suicidal ideation, this does not appear to have been fully supported, generally finding a greater significance when they were integrated into separate models. It seems that attributing other forms of relationship with suicide for the variables identified by Joiner would provide IPTS with greater empirical support.La teoría interpersonal psicológica del suicidio de Joiner considera las variables interpersonales de baja pertenencia social y la percepción de ser una carga para los demás como impulsores de la ideación suicida. Este estudio revisa la evidencia empírica sobre esta predicción. En total, se han encontrado 40 estudios. Los hallazgos descubren un importante papel mediador y moderador de la carga percibida y la pertenencia frustrada en la relación entre la propensión al suicidio y los factores psicológicos, sociales y ambientales. Como predice la teoría, esperando encontrar que la interacción de ambas variables estaría más estrechamente ligada a la ideación suicida, esto no parece haber sido totalmente respaldado, encontrando generalmente una mayor significación cuando estas se integraron en modelos separados. Parece que atribuir otras formas de relación con el suicidio para las variables identificadas por Joiner proporcionaría a la teoría interpersonal psicológica del suicidio un mayor apoyo empíric

Seasonal adaptation of the thermal‐based two‐source energy balance model for estimating evapotranspiration in a semiarid tree‐grass ecosystem

© 2020 by the authors.The thermal-based two-source energy balance (TSEB) model has accurately simulated energy fluxes in a wide range of landscapes with both remote and proximal sensing data. However, tree-grass ecosystems (TGE) have notably complex heterogeneous vegetation mixtures and dynamic phenological characteristics presenting clear challenges to earth observation and modeling methods. Particularly, the TSEB modeling structure assumes a single vegetation source, making it difficult to represent the multiple vegetation layers present in TGEs (i.e., trees and grasses) which have different phenological and structural characteristics. This study evaluates the implementation of TSEB in a TGE located in central Spain and proposes a new strategy to consider the spatial and temporal complexities observed. This was based on sensitivity analyses (SA) conducted on both primary remote sensing inputs (local SA) and model parameters (global SA). The model was subsequently modified considering phenological dynamics in semi-arid TGEs and assuming a dominant vegetation structure and cover (i.e., either grassland or broadleaved trees) for different seasons (TSEB-2S). The adaptation was compared against the default model and evaluated against eddy covariance (EC) flux measurements and lysimeters over the experimental site. TSEB-2S vastly improved over the default TSEB performance decreasing the mean bias and root-mean-square-deviation (RMSD) of latent heat (LE) from 40 and 82 W m−2 to −4 and 59 W m−2, respectively during 2015. TSEB-2S was further validated for two other EC towers and for different years (2015, 2016 and 2017) obtaining similar error statistics with RMSD of LE ranging between 57 and 63 W m−2. The results presented here demonstrate a relatively simple strategy to improve water and energy flux monitoring over a complex and vulnerable landscape, which are often poorly represented through remote sensing models.The research received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 721995. It was also funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad through FLUXPEC CGL2012-34383 and SynerTGE CGL2015-G9095-R (MINECO/FEDER, UE) projects. The research infrastructure at the measurement site in Majadas de Tiétar was partly funded through the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, ELEMENTAL (CGL 2017-83538-C3-3-R, MINECO-FEDER) and IMAGINA (PROMETEU 2019; Generalitat Valenciana).Peer reviewe

Two-Scale Kirchhoff Theory: Comparison of Experimental Observations With Theoretical Prediction

We introduce a non-perturbative two scale Kirchhoff theory, in the context of light scattering by a rough surface. This is a two scale theory which considers the roughness both in the wavelength scale (small scale) and in the scales much larger than the wavelength of the incident light (large scale). The theory can precisely explain the small peaks which appear at certain scattering angles. These peaks can not be explained by one scale theories. The theory was assessed by calculating the light scattering profiles using the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) images, as well as surface profilometer scans of a rough surface, and comparing the results with experiments. The theory is in good agreement with the experimental results.Comment: 6 pages, 8 figure

Bioelectronics-on-a-chip for cardio myoblast proliferation enhancement using electric field stimulation

Background: Cardio myoblast generation from conventional approaches is laborious and time-consuming. We present a bioelectronics on-a-chip for stimulating cells cardio myoblast proliferation during culture. Method: The bioelectronics chip fabrication methodology involves two different process. In the first step, an aluminum layer of 200 nm is deposited over a soda-lime glass substrate using physical vapor deposition and selectively removed using a Q-switched Nd:YVO4 laser to create the electric tracks. To perform the experiments, we developed a biochip composed of a cell culture chamber fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) with a glass coverslip or a cell culture dish placed over the electric circuit tracks. By using such a glass cover slip or cell culture dish we avoid any toxic reactions caused by electrodes in the culture or may be degraded by electrochemical reactions with the cell medium, which is crucial to determine the effective cell-device coupling. Results: The chip was used to study the effect of electric field stimulation of Rat ventricular cardiomyoblasts cells (H9c2). Results shows a remarkable increase in the number of H9c2 cells for the stimulated samples, where after 72 h the cell density double the cell density of control samples. Conclusions: Cell proliferation of Rat ventricular cardiomyoblasts cells (H9c2) using the bioelectronics-on-a-chip was enhanced upon the electrical stimulation. The dependence on the geometrical characteristics of the electric circuit on the peak value and homogeneity of the electric field generated are analyzed and proper parameters to ensure a homogeneous electric field at the cell culture chamber are obtained. It can also be observed a high dependence of the electric field on the geometry of the electrostimulator circuit tracks and envisage the potential applications on electrophysiology studies, monitoring and modulate cellular behavior through the application of electric fields

Personality Disorders and Health Problems Distinguish Suicide Attempters from Completers in a Direct Comparison

Background Whether suicide attempters and completers represent the same population evaluated at different points along a progression towards suicide death, overlapping populations, or completely different populations is a problem still unresolved. Methods 446 Adult suicide attempters and knowledgeable collateral informants for 190 adult suicide probands were interviewed. Sociodemographic and clinical data was collected for both groups using semi-structured interviews and structured assessments. Univariate analyses and logistic regression models were conducted to explore the similarities and differences between suicide attempters and completers. Results Univariate analyses yielded significant differences in sociodemographics, recent life events, impulsivity, suicide intent, and distribution of Axis I and II disorders. A logistic regression model aimed at distinguishing suicide completers from attempters properly classified 90% of subjects. The most significant variables that distinguished suicide from attempted suicide were the presence of narcissistic personality disorder (OR=21.4; 95% CI=6.8–67.7), health problems (OR=20.6; 95% CI=5.6–75.9), male sex (OR=9.6; 95% CI=4.42–20.9), and alcohol abuse (OR=5.5; 95% CI=2.3–14.2). Limitations Our study shares the limitations of studies comparing suicide attempters and completers, namely that information from attempters can be obtained from the subject himself, whereas the assessment of completers depends on information from close family or friends. Furthermore, different semi-structured instruments assessed Axis I and Axis II disorders in suicide attempters and completers. Finally, we have no data on inter-rater reliability data. Conclusions Suicide completers are more likely to be male and suffer from alcohol abuse, health problems (e.g. somatic illness), and narcissistic personality disorder. The findings emphasize the importance of implementing suicide prevention programs tailored to suicide attempters and completers

Cardiac toxicity of trastuzumab in metastatic breast cancer patients previously treated with high-dose chemotherapy: a retrospective study

HER-2 overexpression is associated to a poor prognosis in high-risk and metastatic breast cancer (MBC) patients treated with high-dose chemotherapy (HDC). HER-2 status is also a predictive factor and when trastuzumab is administered in combination with or sequentially to chemotherapy, a significant disease-free and/or overall survival improvement has been observed in HER-2+ early and MBC. Unfortunately, in both settings, trastuzumab is associated with an increased risk of cardiac dysfunction (CD). We have reviewed the clinical charts of HER-2-overexpressing MBC patients treated with trastuzumab after HDC. Age, baseline left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), radiation therapy on cardiac area, exposure to anthracycline, single or multiple transplant, high-dose agents, trastuzumab treatment duration were recorded as potential risk factors. In total, 53 patients have been included in the analysis. Median LVEF at baseline was 60.5%; at the end of trastuzumab (data available for 28 patients only), it was 55% (P=0.01). Five out of the 28 (17.9%) patients experienced CD. Two out of 53 (3.8%) patients developed a congestive heart failure. Age ⩾50 years and multiple transplant procedure were potential risk factors for CD. The overall incidence of CD observed in this population of HER-2+ MBC patients treated with trastuzumab after HDC is not superior to that reported with concomitant trastuzumab and anthracyclines. However, patients with age ⩾50 years or receiving multiple course of HDC should be considered at risk for CD

Genetic susceptibility to telomere shortening through the rs2293607 polymorphism is associated with a greater risk of alcohol use disorder

Telomere shortening is usually considered a biomarker of ageing. Harmful alcohol use promotes accelerated biological ageing and alcohol use disorders (AUDs) are associated with short telomere length (TL). This study was conducted to examine the relationship of TL to AUD and determine whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in TERC and TERT modulate this association. For this purpose, we genotyped TERC SNPs rs2293607, rs12696304, and rs16847897 and TERT SNPs rs2735940, rs2736100, and rs2736098 in 308 male patients with AUD and 255 sex-matched healthy controls and measured TL in a subset of 99 patients and 99 controls paired by age and smoking status. Our results showed that the mean TL was shorter in patients with AUD than in controls. The area under the ROC curve was 0.70 (P < 0.001). The GG genotype of TERC rs2293607 was more common among patients with AUD than among controls (9.8% vs. 5.1%; P = 0.038). No difference was found for the other SNPs. Carriers of the GG genotype of rs2293607 had shorter telomeres than did allele A carriers. In conclusion, patients with AUD had shorter telomeres. Genetic susceptibility to telomere shortening through the rs2293607 SNP is associated with a greater risk of AUD