A Novel NFC Antenna for Metal Cover Smartphone Applications

© 2018 IEEE. A miniaturized dual-loop near field communication antenna of size 15 mm×25 mm is proposed for metal cover smartphone applications. By embedded it with a small rectangular slot of size 8 mm×16 mm loaded metal cover, the direction of the eddy current induced on metal cover will be the same with the current flow the on the dual loop NFC antenna coil. It's worth noting that the proposed NFC antenna design was certified by the Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) test

Comparative genomics of the class 4 histone deacetylase family indicates a complex evolutionary history

BACKGROUND: Histone deacetylases are enzymes that modify core histones and play key roles in transcriptional regulation, chromatin assembly, DNA repair, and recombination in eukaryotes. Three types of related histone deacetylases (classes 1, 2, and 4) are widely found in eukaryotes, and structurally related proteins have also been found in some prokaryotes. Here we focus on the evolutionary history of the class 4 histone deacetylase family. RESULTS: Through sequence similarity searches against sequenced genomes and expressed sequence tag data, we identified members of the class 4 histone deacetylase family in 45 eukaryotic and 37 eubacterial species representative of very distant evolutionary lineages. Multiple phylogenetic analyses indicate that the phylogeny of these proteins is, in many respects, at odds with the phylogeny of the species in which they are found. In addition, the eukaryotic members of the class 4 histone deacetylase family clearly display an anomalous phyletic distribution. CONCLUSION: The unexpected phylogenetic relationships within the class 4 histone deacetylase family and the anomalous phyletic distribution of these proteins within eukaryotes might be explained by two mechanisms: ancient gene duplication followed by differential gene losses and/or horizontal gene transfer. We discuss both possibilities in this report, and suggest that the evolutionary history of the class 4 histone deacetylase family may have been shaped by horizontal gene transfers

Synthesis, Electrical Measurement, and Field Emission Properties of α-Fe2O3Nanowires

α-Fe2O3nanowires (NWs) were formed by the thermal oxidation of an iron film in air at 350 °C for 10 h. The rhombohedral structure of the α-Fe2O3NWs was grown vertically on the substrate with diameters of 8–25 nm and lengths of several hundred nm. It was found that the population density of the NWs per unit area (DNWs) can be varied by the film thickness. The thicker the iron film, the more NWs were grown. The growth mechanism of the NWs is suggested to be a combination effect of the thermal oxidation rate, defects on the film, and selective directional growth. The electrical resistivity of a single NW with a length of 800 nm and a diameter of 15 nm was measured to be 4.42 × 103 Ωcm using conductive atomic force microscopy. The field emission characteristics of the NWs were studied using a two-parallel-plate system. A low turn–on field of 3.3 V/μm and a large current density of 10−3 A/cm2(under an applied field of about 7 V/μm) can be obtained using optimal factors ofDNWsin the cathode

Measurement properties of the Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) in an elderly population in Sweden

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Insomnia is common among elderly people and associated with poor health. The Minimal Insomnia Symptom Scale (MISS) is a three item screening instrument that has been found to be psychometrically sound and capable of identifying insomnia in the general population (20-64 years). However, its measurement properties have not been studied in an elderly population. Our aim was to test the measurement properties of the MISS among people aged 65 + in Sweden, by replicating the original study in an elderly sample.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from a cross-sectional survey of 548 elderly individuals were analysed in terms of assumptions of summation of items, floor/ceiling effects, reliability and optimal cut-off score by means of ROC-curve analysis and compared with self-reported insomnia criteria.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Corrected item-total correlations ranged between 0.64-0.70, floor/ceiling effects were 6.6/0.6% and reliability was 0.81. ROC analysis identified the optimal cut-off score as ≥7 (sensitivity, 0.93; specificity, 0.84; positive/negative predictive values, 0.256/0.995). Using this cut-off score, the prevalence of insomnia in the study sample was 21.7% and most frequent among women and the oldest old.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Data support the measurement properties of the MISS as a possible insomnia screening instrument for elderly persons. This study make evident that the MISS is useful for identifying elderly people with insomnia-like sleep problems. Further studies are needed to assess its usefulness in identifying clinically defined insomnia.</p

In situ production of titanium dioxide nanoparticles in molten salt phase for thermal energy storage and heat-transfer fluid applications

In this study, TiO2 nanoparticles (average particle size 16 nm) were successfully produced in molten salt phase and were showed to significantly enhance the specific heat capacity of a binary eutectic mixture of sodium and potassium nitrate (60/40) by 5.4 % at 390 °C and 7.5 % at 445 °C for 3.0 wt% of precursors used. The objective of this research was to develop a cost-effective alternate method of production which is potentially scalable, as current techniques utilized are not economically viable for large quantities. Enhancing the specific heat capacity of molten salt would promote more competitive pricing for electricity production by concentrating solar power plant. Here, a simple precursor (TiOSO4) was added to a binary eutectic mixture of potassium and sodium nitrate, heated to 450 °C, and cooled to witness the production of nanoparticles

Optimising biocatalyst design for obtaining high transesterification activity by α-chymotrypsin in non-aqueous media

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Enzymes are often used in organic solvents for catalyzing organic synthesis. Two enzyme preparations, EPRP (enzyme precipitated and rinsed with n-propanol) and PCMC (protein coated microcrystals) show much higher activities than lyophilized powders in such systems. Both preparations involve precipitation by an organic solvent. The clear understanding of why these preparations show higher catalytic activity than lyophilized powders in organic solvents is not available.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>It was found that EPRPs of α-chymotrypsin prepared by precipitation with <it>n</it>-propanol in the presence of trehalose contained substantial amount of trehalose (even though trehalose alone at these lower concentrations was not precipitated by <it>n</it>-propanol). The presence of trehalose in these EPRPs resulted in much higher transesterification rates (45.2 nmoles mg^-1min^-1) as compared with EPRPs prepared in the absence of trehalose (16.6 nmoles mg^-1min^-1) in octane. Both kinds of EPRPs gave similar initial transesterification rates in acetonitrile. Use of higher concentrations of trehalose (when trehalose alone also precipitates out), resulted in the formation of PCMCs, which showed higher transesterification rates in both octane and acetonitrile. SEM analysis showed the relative sizes of various preparations. Presence of trehalose resulted in EPRPs of smaller sizes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The two different forms of enzymes (EPRP and PCMC) known to show higher activity in organic solvents were found to be different only in the way the low molecular weight additive was present along with the protein. Therefore, the enhancement in the transesterification activity in EPRPs prepared in the presence of trehalose was due to: (a) better retention of essential water layer for catalysis due to the presence of the sugar. This effect disappeared where the reaction media was polar as the polar solvent (acetonitrile) is more effective in stripping off the water from the enzyme; (b) reduction in particle size as revealed by SEM. In the case of PCMC, the enhancement in the initial rates was due to an increase in the surface area of the biocatalyst since protein is coated over the core material (trehalose or salt).</p> <p>It is hoped that the insight gained in this work would help in a better understanding for designing high activity biocatalyst preparation of non-aqueous media.</p

Widespread horizontal transfer of mitochondrial genes in flowering plants

Horizontal gene transfer - the exchange of genes across mating barriers - is recognized as a major force in bacterial evolution(1,2). However, in eukaryotes it is prevalent only in certain phagotrophic protists and limited largely to the ancient acquisition of bacterial genes(3-5). Although the human genome was initially reported(6) to contain over 100 genes acquired during vertebrate evolution from bacteria, this claim was immediately and repeatedly rebutted(7,8). Moreover, horizontal transfer is unknown within the evolution of animals, plants and fungi except in the special context of mobile genetic elements(9-12). Here we show, however, that standard mitochondrial genes, encoding ribosomal and respiratory proteins, are subject to evolutionarily frequent horizontal transfer between distantly related flowering plants. These transfers have created a variety of genomic outcomes, including gene duplication, recapture of genes lost through transfer to the nucleus, and chimaeric, half-monocot, half-dicot genes. These results imply the existence of mechanisms for the delivery of DNA between unrelated plants, indicate that horizontal transfer is also a force in plant nuclear genomes, and are discussed in the contexts of plant molecular phylogeny and genetically modified plants.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/62688/1/nature01743.pd

COVID-19 In Children Across Three Asian Cosmopolitan Regions

As another wave of COVID-19 outbreak has approached in July 2020, a larger scale COVID-19 pediatric Asian cohort summarizing the clinical observations is warranted. Children confirmed with COVID-19 infection from the Republic of Korea, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) and Wuhan, China, during their first waves of local outbreaks were included. Their clinical characteristics and the temporal sequences of the first waves of local paediatric outbreaks were compared. Four hundred and twenty three children with COVID-19 were analyzed. Wuhan had the earliest peak, followed by Korea and HKSAR. Compared with Korea and Wuhan, patients in HKSAR were significantly older (mean age: 12.9 vs. 10.8 vs. 6.6 years, p < 0.001, respectively) and had more imported cases (87.5% vs. 16.5% vs. 0%, p < 0.001, respectively). The imported cases were also older (13.4 vs. 7.6 years, p < 0.001). More cases in HKSAR were asymptomatic compared to Korea and Wuhan (45.5% vs. 22.0% vs. 20.9%, p < 0.001, respectively), and significantly more patients from Wuhan developed fever (40.6% vs. 29.7% vs. 21.6%, p=0.003, respectively). There were significantly less imported cases than domestic cases developing fever after adjusting for age and region of origin (p = 0.046). 5.4% to 10.8% of patients reported anosmia and ageusia. None developed pediatric multisystem inflammatory syndrome temporally associated with SARS-CoV-2 (PMIS-TS). In general, adolescents were more likely to be asymptomatic and less likely to develop fever, but required longer hospital stays. In conclusion, majority patients in this pediatric Asian cohort had a mild disease. None developed PIMS-TS. Their clinical characteristics were influenced by travel history and age

Juvenile idiopathic scoliosis treated with posterior arthrodesis and segmental pedicle screw instrumentation before the age of 9 years: a 5-year follow-up

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Study design</p> <p>Retrospective study.</p> <p>Objective</p> <p>To evaluate the radiological results of fusion with segmental pedicle screw fixation in juvenile idiopathic scoliosis with a minimum 5-year follow-up.</p> <p>Summary of background data</p> <p>Progression of spinal deformity after posterior instrumentation and fusion in immature patients has been reported by several authors. Segmental pedicle screw fixation has been shown to be effective in controlling both coronal and sagittal plane deformities. However, there is no long term study of fusion with segmental pedicle screw fixation in these group of patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Seven patients with juvenile idiopathic scoliosis treated by segmental pedicle screw fixation and fusion were analyzed. The average age of the patients was 7.4 years (range 5–9 years) at the time of the operation. All the patients were followed up 5 years or more (range 5–8 years) and were all Risser V at the most recent follow up. Three dimensional reconstruction of the radiographs was obtained and 3DStudio Max software was used for combining, evaluating and modifying the technical data derived from both 2d and 3d scan data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The preoperative thoracic curve of 56 ± 15° was corrected to 24 ± 17° (57% correction) at the latest follow-up. The lumbar curve of 43 ± 14° was corrected to 23 ± 6° (46% correction) at the latest follow-up. The preoperative thoracic kyphosis of 37 ± 13° and the lumbar lordosis of 33 ± 13° were changed to 27 ± 13° and 42 ± 21°, respectively at the latest follow-up. None of the patients showed coronal decompensation at the latest follow-up. Four patients had no evidence of crankshaft phenomenon. In two patients slight increase in Cobb angle at the instrumented segments with a significant increase in AVR suggesting crankshaft phenomenon was seen. One patient had a curve increase in both instrumented and non instrumented segments due to incorrect strategy.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In juvenile idiopathic curves of Risser 0 patients with open triradiate cartilages, routine combined anterior fusion to prevent crankshaft may not be warranted by posterior segmental pedicle screw instrumentation.</p