Efficacy and safety of aldafermin in non-alcoholic steatohepatitis: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is an advanced subtype of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). NASH prevalence is increasing exponentially and carries a high risk for disease progression, cirrhosis, and liver-related mortality. Aldafermin, a fibroblast growth factor 19 (FGF19) analog, is one of the evolving therapeutic agents with the potential to regulate multiple pathways involved in the pathogenesis of NASH. We aimed to investigate the efficacy and safety of aldafermin in patients with NASH. METHODS: PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and Web of Science were searched till November 2023 to identify eligible randomized controlled trials (RCTs). Continuous data were pooled as mean difference (MD), while dichotomous data were pooled as risk ratios (RR) with a 95 % confidence interval. A subgroup meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the two doses (1 mg and 3 mg) of aldafermin. RESULTS: Four RCTs with a total of 491 patients were included. Aldafermin showed a dose-dependent improvement in the ≥30 % reduction in the liver fat content (RR: 2.16, 95 % CI [1.41 to 3.32]) and (RR: 5.00, 95 % CI [1.34 to 18.64]), alanine aminotransferase levels (MD: -19.79, 95 % CI [-30.28 to -9.3]) and (MD: -21.91, 95 % CI [-29.62 to -14.21]), aspartate aminotransferase levels (MD: -11.79, 95 % CI [-18.06 to -5.51]) and (MD: -13.9, 95 % CI [-18.59 to -9.21]), and enhanced liver fibrosis score (ELF) (MD: -0.13, 95 % CI [-0.29 to 0.02]) and (MD: -0.33, 95 % CI [-0.50 to -0.17]), in the 1 mg and 3 mg subgroups respectively. No significant differences were detected in the aldafermin group regarding histologic endpoints, lipid profile, metabolic parameters, and overall adverse effects, except for the increased occurrence of diarrhea in the aldafermin 3 mg subgroup. CONCLUSION: Aldafermin is a promising well-tolerated therapeutic agent for NASH with evidence supporting its ability to reduce liver fat content, fibrosis serum biomarkers, and liver enzymes. However, its effectiveness in improving histologic fibrosis, while showing numerical trends, still lacks statistical significance. Larger and longer NASH trials are warranted to enhance the robustness of the evidence.

A Four Element mm-Wave MIMO Antenna System with Wide-Band and High Isolation Characteristics for 5G Applications.

In this article, we propose a light weight, low profile Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna system for compact 5th Generation (5G) mmwave devices. Using a RO5880 substrate that is incredibly thin, the suggested antenna is made up of circular rings stacked vertically and horizontally on top of one another. The single element antenna board has dimensions of 12 × 12 × 0.254 mm3 while the size of the radiating element is 6 × 2 × 0.254 mm3 (0.56λ0 × 0.19λ0 × 0.02λ0). The proposed antenna showed dual band characteristics. The first resonance showed a bandwidth of 10 GHz with a starting frequency of 23 GHz to an ending frequency point of 33 GHz followed by a second resonance bandwidth of 3.25 GHz ranging from 37.75 to 41 GHz, respectively. The proposed antenna is transformed into a four element Linear array system with size of 48 × 12 × 0.254 mm3 (4.48λ0 × 1.12λ0 × 0.02λ0). The isolation levels at both resonance bands were noted to be >20 dB which shows high levels of isolation among radiating elements. The MIMO parameters such as Envelope Correlation Co-efficient (ECC), Mean Effective Gain (MEG) and Diversity Gain (DG) were derived and were found to be in satisfactory limits. The proposed MIMO system model is fabricated and through validation and testing of the prototype, the results were found to be in good agreement with simulations.

SFBC Recognition over Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing Schemes in the Presence of Inphase and Quadrature Phase Discrepancies for Cognitive Radio Applications.

A radio is adaptive if it can autonomously analyze the communications environment and instantly modify its settings to achieve the best possible efficiency. In orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) transmissions, identifying the space frequency block coding (SFBC) category utilized is one of the most important tasks of an adaptive receiver. Previous approaches to this problem did not take into consideration the fact that real systems typically suffer from transmission defects. This study offers a novel maximum likelihood recognizer capable of distinguishing between SFBC OFDM waveforms in the context of inphase and quadrature phase differences (IQDs). The theoretical findings show that IQDs arising from the transmitter and recipient can be combined with channel paths to generate so-called effective channel paths. The conceptual examination demonstrates that the outlined maximum likelihood strategy of the SFBC recognition and effective channel estimation processes is implemented by an expectation maximization tool utilizing the error control decoders' soft outputs. The simulations results reveal that the suggested strategy delivers a much greater recognition accuracy than the typical approaches outlined in the comparable literature. At a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 14 dB, for example, the proposed approach achieves a bit error rate (BER) of 0.00002, which is very close to the case of perfect estimation and compensation for IQDs, outperforming the previous reported works which achieved BERs of 0.01 and 0.02.

A Compact MIMO Multiband Antenna for 5G/WLAN/WIFI-6 Devices.

This research work presents a compact design of a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) multiband antenna along with high-isolation characteristics. The presented antenna was designed for 3.50 GHz, 5.50 GHz, and 6.50 GHz frequencies for 5G cellular, 5G WiFi, and WiFi-6, respectively. The fabrication of the aforementioned design was undertaken using FR-4 (1.6 mm thickness) substrate material with a loss tangent and relative permittivity of about 0.025 and 4.30, respectively. The two-element MIMO multiband antenna was miniaturized to 16 × 28 × 1.6 mm3, making it desirable for devices operating in 5G bands. High isolation (>15 dB) was attained with thorough testing without employing a decoupling scheme in the design. Laboratory measurements resulted in a peak gain of 3.49 dBi and an efficiency of around 80% in the entire operating band. The evaluation of the presented MIMO multiband antenna was carried out in terms of the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), diversity gain (DG), total active reflection coefficient (TARC), and Channel Capacity Loss (CCL). The measured ECC was less than 0.04, and the DG was well above 9.50. The observed TARC was also lower than -10 dB, and the CCL was below 0.4 bits/s/Hz in the entire operating band. The presented MIMO multiband antenna was analyzed and simulated using CST Studio Suite 2020.

Optimized Classification of Intelligent Reflecting Surface (IRS)-Enabled GEO Satellite Signals.

The intelligent reflecting surface (IRS) is a cutting-edge technology for cost-effectively achieving future spectrum- and energy-efficient wireless communication. In particular, an IRS comprises many low-cost passive devices that can independently reflect the incident signal with a configurable phase shift to produce three-dimensional (3D) passive beamforming without transmitting Radio-Frequency (RF) chains. Thus, the IRS can be utilized to greatly improve wireless channel conditions and increase the dependability of communication systems. This article proposes a scheme for an IRS-equipped GEO satellite signal with proper channel modeling and system characterization. Gabor filter networks (GFNs) are jointly proposed for the extraction of distinct features and the classification of these features. Hybrid optimal functions are used to solve the estimated classification problem, and a simulation setup was designed along with proper channel modeling. The experimental results show that the proposed IRS-based methodology provides higher classification accuracy than the benchmark without the IRS methodology.

Sperm induce proinflammatory responses in the uterus and peripheral blood immune cells of artificially inseminated cows.

This in vivo study aimed to investigate local and systemic immune responses induced by sperm in cows after artificial insemination (AI). Initially, 12 multiparous Japanese Black cows were subjected to intrauterine AI (AI group, n = 6) or saline infusion (control group, n = 6). The uterine body and horn ipsilateral to the ovulatory follicle were mini-flushed with 2 ml of RPMI-1640 medium at different time points (0, 1, 6, 10, 24, 48 h, and 7 days after AI), centrifuged, and the sediments were examined under a light microscope. Vaginal smears were prepared at 0, 1, 6, and 10 h after AI to investigate the sperm backflow. Subsequently, another experiment was conducted by assigning cows to three groups: intrauterine AI (AI group, n = 5), heat-inactivated AI (Heat-AI group, n = 5), or saline infusion (control group, n = 5). Blood samples were collected, and polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs) and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were separated and analyzed for gene expression using real-time PCR. The results showed that most sperm were rapidly transported either forward into the uterine horn or backward into the vagina within 1 h after AI. The PMNs migrated into the uterine lumen 6 hours after AI. Only active sperm-induced proinflammatory responses in PMNs and PBMCs via upregulation of TNFa, IL8, IL1B, and PGES and downregulation of IL10 at 6 h after AI. These data provide evidence that sperm generate transient proinflammatory responses locally in the uterus and systemically in the peripheral immune cells, which may be prerequisites for uterine clearance, embryo receptivity, and implantation in cows.

A Miniaturized Arc Shaped Near Isotropic Self-Complementary Antenna for Spectrum Sensing Applications.

This paper presents the design of an arc-shaped near-isotropic self-complementary antenna for spectrum sensing application. An arc-shaped dipole with horizontal and vertical arms is used to achieve a near isotropic radiation pattern. The radiation pattern improved by adjusting the horizontal and vertical arm lengths. Simulated and experimental results show that the proposed antenna has an impedance bandwidth of 146% (2.4-18.4 GHz) for VSWR ≤ 2 with a good radiation pattern. In order to quantify the antenna performance, antenna gain variation, bandwidth, efficiency, and size have been compared with previously reported designs. It is shown that the proposed arc-shaped antenna can achieve nearly isotropic radiation patterns with a maximum radiation efficiency of 92%. The isotropic performance of the antenna has been characterized by observing the radiation pattern and solid angle. The FR4 substrate is used as a dielectric with relative permittivity 4.4 and loss tangent of 0.02. (εr = 4.4, h = 1.6 mm) The simulated and measured results are in good comparison, and the proposed design is a suitable candidate for spectrum sensing.

Activation of sperm Toll-like receptor 2 induces hyperactivation to enhance the penetration to mucus and uterine glands: a trigger for the uterine inflammatory cascade in cattle.

It is known that sperm and seminal plasma (SP) affect uterine immunity. In cattle, artificial insemination enables breeding by depositing frozen and largely diluted sperm with a negligible amount of SP into the uterus. Thus, the present study focused on the impact of frozen-thawed sperm on bovine uterine immunity. We have previously shown that in the bovine uterus, sperm swim smoothly over the luminal epithelium and some sperm interact with uterine glands to induce a weak inflammatory response mainly via the endometrial Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2) signaling. However, the process by which sperm is encountered in the uterine glands is not completely clear. The present study intended to evaluate the role of sperm-TLR2 in sperm-uterine mucus penetration for reaching the glandular epithelium to induce the uterine immune response. To activate and block sperm-TLR2, they were treated with TLR2 agonist and antagonist, respectively. TLR2 activation enhanced sperm hyperactivation and improved its capacity to penetrate the artificial viscoelastic fluid and estrous-uterine-mucus. In contrast, TLR2-blocked sperm showed completely opposite effects. It is noteworthy, that the TLR2-activated sperm that penetrated the uterine mucus exhibited increased motile activity with hyperactivation. In the sperm-endometrial ex-vivo model, a greater amount of TLR2-activated sperm entered the uterine glands with an immune response, which was seen as the upregulation of mRNA expression for TNFA, IL1B, IL8, PGES, and TLR2 similar to those in control sperm. On the other hand, a lesser amount of TLR2-blocked sperm entered the uterine glands and weakened the sperm-induced increase only in PGES, suggesting that penetration of a certain number of sperm in the uterine gland is necessary enough to trigger the inflammatory response. Altogether, the present findings indicate that activation of sperm-TLR2 promotes their hyperactivation and mucus penetration with greater motility, allowing them to enter into the uterine glands more. This further suggests that the hyperactivated sperm contributes to triggering the pro-inflammatory cascade partly via TLR2 in the uterus.

Design and Analysis of a Flexible Smart Apparel MIMO Antenna for Bio-Healthcare Applications.

This paper presents the design and development of a quad-port smart textile antenna for bio-healthcare applications. The antenna is designed to operate in the ultra-wideband (UWB) spectrum (3.1−12 GHz) with an impedance bandwidth of 8.9 GHz. The size of the unit cell and multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna are 0.25λ0 × 0.2λ0 × 0.015λ0 and 0.52λ0 × 0.52λ0 × 0.015λ0, respectively. The antenna has a maximum efficiency of 93% and a peak gain of 4.62 dBi. The investigation of diversity metrics is performed and the results obtained are found to be ECC < 0.08 and DG < 9.99 dB. The computed CCL and TARC values are <0.13 bits/s/Hz and <−12 dB, respectively. The SAR analysis of the antenna shows a value of 0.471 Watt/Kg at 4 GHz, 0.39 Watt/Kg at 7 GHz, and 0.22 Watt/Kg at 10 GHz.

A Privacy-Preserved Internet-of-Medical-Things Scheme for Eradication and Control of Dengue Using UAV.

Dengue is a mosquito-borne viral infection, found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas. Countries like Pakistan receive heavy rains annually resulting in floods in urban cities due to poor drainage systems. Currently, different cities of Pakistan are at high risk of dengue outbreaks, as multiple dengue cases have been reported due to poor flood control and drainage systems. After heavy rain in urban areas, mosquitoes are provided with a favorable environment for their breeding and transmission through stagnant water due to poor maintenance of the drainage system. The history of the dengue virus in Pakistan shows that there is a closed relationship between dengue outbreaks and a rainfall. There is no specific treatment for dengue; however, the outbreak can be controlled through internet of medical things (IoMT). In this paper, we propose a novel privacy-preserved IoMT model to control dengue virus outbreaks by tracking dengue virus-infected patients based on bedding location extracted using call data record analysis (CDRA). Once the bedding location of the patient is identified, then the actual infected spot can be easily located by using geographic information system mapping. Once the targeted spots are identified, then it is very easy to eliminate the dengue by spraying the affected areas with the help of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). The proposed model identifies the targeted spots up to 100%, based on the bedding location of the patient using CDRA.

A Deployable and Cost-Effective Kirigami Antenna for Sub-6 GHz MIMO Applications.

In this work, a low-cost, deployable, integratable, and easy-to-fabricate multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) Kirigami antenna is proposed for sub-6 GHz applications. The proposed MIMO antenna is inspired by Kirigami art, which consists of four radiating and parasitic elements. The radiating and parasitic elements are composed of a rectangular stub. These elements are placed in such a way that they can provide polarization diversity. The proposed MIMO antenna is designed and fabricated using a soft printed board material called flexible copper-clad laminate (FCCL). It is observed from the results that the proposed MIMO antenna resonates in the 2.5 GHz frequency band, with a 10 dB reflection coefficient bandwidth of 860 MHz ranging from 2.19 to 3.05 GHz. It is worthwhile to mention that the isolation between adjacent radiating elements is higher than 15 dB. In addition, the peak realized gain of the MIMO antenna is around 11 dBi, and the total efficiency is more than 90% within the band of interest. Moreover, the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) is noted to be less than 0.003, and the channel capacity is ≥17 bps/Hz. To verify the simulated results, a prototype was fabricated, and excellent agreement between the measured and computed results was observed. By observing the performance attributes of the proposed design, it can be said that there are many applications in which this antenna can be adopted. Because of its low profile, it can be used in 5G small-cell mobile MIMO base stations, autonomous light mobility vehicles, and other applications.

Novel Deep-Learning Modulation Recognition Algorithm Using 2D Histograms over Wireless Communications Channels.

Modulation recognition (MR) has become an essential topic in today's wireless communications systems. Recently, convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been employed as a potent tool for MR because of their ability to minimize the feature's susceptibility to its surroundings and reduce the need for human feature extraction and evaluation. In particular, these investigations rely on the unrealistic assumption that the channel coefficient is typically one. This motivates us to overcome the previous constraint by providing a novel MR suited to fading wireless channels. This paper proposes a novel MR algorithm that is capable of recognizing a broad variety of modulation types, including M-ary QAM and M-ary PSK, without enforcing any restrictions on the modulation size, M. The analysis has shown that each modulation choice has a distinct two-dimensional in-phase quadrature histogram. This property is beneficially utilized to design a convolutional neural-network-based MR algorithm. When compared to the existing techniques, Monte Carlo simulations demonstrated the success of the proposed design.

Decision Feedback Modulation Recognition with Channel Estimation for Amplify and Forward Two-Path Consecutive Relaying Systems.

Automatic modulation recognition (AMR) is an essential component in the design of smart radios that can intelligently communicate with their surroundings in order to make the most efficient use of available resources. Throughout the last few decades, this issue has been subjected to in-depth examination in the published research literature. To the best of the authors' knowledge, there have only been a few studies that have been specifically devoted to the task of performing AMR across cooperative wireless transmissions. In this contribution, we examine the AMR problem in the context of amplify-and-forward (AAF) two-path consecutive relaying systems (TCRS) for the first time in the literature. We leverage the property of data redundancy associated with AAF-TCRS signals to design a decision feedback iterative modulation recognizer via an expectation-maximization procedure. The proposed recognizer incorporates the soft information produced by the data detection process as a priori knowledge to generate the a posteriori expectations of the information symbols, which are employed as training symbols. The proposed algorithm additionally involves the development of an estimate of the channel coefficients as a secondary activity. The simulation outcomes have validated the feasibility of the proposed design by demonstrating its capacity to achieve an excellent recognition performance under a wide range of running conditions. According to the findings, the suggested technique converges within six rounds, achieving perfect recognition performance at a signal-to-noise ratio of 14 dB. Furthermore, the minimal pilot-to-frame-size ratio necessary to successfully execute the iterative procedure is 0.07. In addition, the proposed method is essentially immune to time offset and performs well throughout a broad range of frequency offset. Lastly, the proposed strategy beats the existing techniques in recognition accuracy while requiring a low level of processing complexity.

Intrauterine infusion of low levels of interferon-tau on day-8 post-estrus stimulates the bovine endometrium to secrete apolipoprotein-A1: A possible implication for early embryo tolerance.

We previously reported that interferon-tau (IFNT), derived from day-7 blastocyst, generates anti-inflammatory responses in bovine endometrial epithelial cells (BEECs) in vitro. However, the real in vivo impact of early embryo-derived IFNT on the uterine proteomic profile is mostly unknown. This study aimed to investigate proteomic changes of uterine flush (UF) when infused with a low physiological level of IFNT without embryo on day-8 post-estrus and its possible impact on the uterine immunological microenvironment. First, a fresh medium was infused into the uterine lumen on day-6, from which UF was obtained 24 h later, and this procedure was repeated on day-7 (control UF). On day-8, this procedure was done with a medium containing recombinant bovine IFNT (100 pg/ml) (IFNT-supplemented UF). Control and IFNT-supplemented UF were tested for immune responses in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs). Real-time PCR results revealed that IFNT-supplemented UF downregulated pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFA, IL1B) and upregulated anti-inflammatory cytokine (TGFB1) and PTGES in PBMCs. Through 2-D PAGE, followed by TOF/TOF mass spectrometer, apolipoprotein-A1 (Apo-A1) protein was identified in the IFNT-supplemented UF, which was confirmed by ELISA analysis. Proteomic analysis revealed again that the in vitro stimulation of BEECs by IFNT upregulated Apo-A1 expression. Further, stimulation of PBMCs with recombinant bovine Apo-A1 downregulated TNFA and NFKB and upregulated TGFB1 and PTGES in PBMCs. Altogether, our results suggest that minute amounts of IFNT alone, normally secreted from bovine blastocyst, stimulate Apo-A1 secretion from the endometrial epithelium in the absence of embryo that initiates an anti-inflammatory environment, which could pave the way for the acceptance of early embryo in the uterus.

Modulation Awareness Method for Dual-Hop Cooperative Transmissions over Frequency-Selective Channels.

Modulation awareness and cooperative transmissions have individually received a significant amount of research in the scholarly literature. However, a limited number of works are principally concerned with the combination of the two topics, and they are restricted to frequency-flat wireless channels. In this study, we propose a new modulation awareness method applicable to dual-hop amplify-and-forward cooperative broadcasts. The suggested method is built on the creation of theoretical representations of cross-correlation functions of the received signals. We conceptually prove that a family of modulation types generates spikes for certain cross-correlation functions, while others do not. We create a numerous layer hypothesis evaluation for the purpose of making judgments centered on this attribute. The suggested method has a number of benefits, such as the ability to operate on both frequency-flat and frequency-selective channels, as well as the absence of the necessity of channel awareness or noise power. Computer simulations analyze the performance of the proposed method, which delivers adequate awareness performance in a variety of operational scenarios.

High Performance Eight-Port Dual-Band MIMO Antenna System for 5G Devices.

This study provides an eight-component multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antenna architecture for fifth-generation (5G) mobile communication systems. The single antenna element is comprised of an L-shaped radiating component, an L-shaped parasitic element, and a ground plane with a rectangular slot. The main element with a slot-loaded ground plane helps to draw current from a coaxial feed from the other side of the board, while the parasitic element helps to elongate the current path and improve the impedance of the system. This enables the system to radiate at two different frequency ranges: 3.34-3.7 GHz and 4.67-5.08 GHz, with 360 MHz and 410 MHz bandwidths, respectively. For MIMO configuration, the radiating elements are designed on either side of a 0.8 mm thick FR-4 substrate, allowing space to accommodate a battery, radio frequency (RF) systems and subsystems, and camera and sensor modules. The corner and the middle elements are arranged in such a manner so that they can provide spatial and pattern diversity. Furthermore, at least 12 dB of isolation is established between any two radiating elements. Various MIMO performance parameters were evaluated, e.g., mean effective gain (MEG), channel capacity (CC), envelope correlation coefficient (ECC), realized gain, far-field characteristics, and efficiency. Single- and double-hand mode evaluations were performed to further demonstrate the capability of the proposed MIMO antenna. A prototype of the proposed MIMO antenna was manufactured and assessed to verify the simulated data. The measured and simulated results were found to be in good agreement. On the basis of its performance characteristics, the designed MIMO system could be used in 5G communication systems.

Toll-like Receptor 2 is Involved in Calcium Influx and Acrosome Reaction to Facilitate Sperm Penetration to Oocytes During in vitro Fertilization in Cattle.

Cumulus cells of ovulated cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) express Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), pathogen recognition receptors, to recognize and react to sperm signals during fertilization. Sperm also express TLR2, but its contribution to the sperm-oocytes crosstalk is still unclear. Here, we adapted the in vitro fertilization (IVF) model to characterize the potential relevance of sperm TLR2 in sperm-oocytes interactions during fertilization in bovine. The IVF results showed that the ligation of sperm TLR2 with its specific antagonist/agonist resulted in down/up-regulation of the cleavage and blastocyst rates either in COCs or cumulus-free oocytes, but not in zona pellucida (ZP)-free oocytes. The computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system revealed that sperm motility parameters were not affected in TLR2 antagonist/agonist-treated sperm. However, fluorescence imaging of sperm-ZP interactions revealed that the blockage or activation of the TLR2 system in sperm reduced or enhanced both binding and penetration abilities of sperm to ZP compared to control, respectively. Flow cytometrical analysis of acrosome reaction (AR) demonstrated that the TLR2 system adjusted the occurrence of AR in ZP-attached sperm, suggesting that sperm TLR2 plays physiological impacts on the sperm-oocyte crosstalk via regulating ZP-triggered AR in sperm. Given that calcium (Ca2+) influx is a pre-requisite step for the induction of AR, we investigated the impact of the TLR2 system on the ionophore A23187-induced Ca2+ influx into sperm. Notably, the exposure of sperm to TLR2 antagonist/agonist reduced/increased the intracellular Ca2+ level in sperm. Together, these findings shed new light that the TLR2 system is involved in sperm AR induction which enables sperm to penetrate and fertilize oocytes during the fertilization, at least in vitro, in cows. This suggests that sperm possibly developed a quite flexible sensing mechanism simultaneously against pathogens as well as COCs toward fertilization with the same TLR2 of the innate immune system.

3-D twelve-port multi-service diversity antenna for automotive communications.

This paper presents a twelve-port ultra-wideband multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO)/diversity antenna integrated with GSM and Bluetooth bands. The twelve-port antenna is constructed by arranging four elements in the horizontal plane and eight elements in the vertical plane. The antenna element, which is created using a simple rectangular monopole, exhibits a frequency range of 3.1 to 12 GHz. The additional Bluetooth and GSM bands are achieved by introducing stubs into the ground plane. The size of the MIMO antenna is 100 × 100 mm2. The antenna offers polarization diversity, with vertical and horizontal polarization in each plane. The diversity antenna has a bandwidth of 1.7-1.9 GHz, 2.35-2.55 GHz, and 3-12 GHz, the radiation efficiency of 90%, and peak gain of 2.19 dBi. The proposed antenna offers an envelope correlation coefficient of < 0.12, apparent diversity gain of > 9.9 dB, effective diversity gain of > 8.9 dB, mean effective gain of < 1 dB, and channel capacity loss of < 0.35 bits/s/Hz. Also, the MIMO antenna is tested for housing effects in order to determine its suitability for automotive applications.

Zearalenone interferes with the sperm-triggered inflammation in the bovine uterus in vitro: Negative impact on sperm motility and survival.

Zearalenone (ZEN)-contaminated diets induce detrimental effects on the bovine reproduction. Recently, we reported that active sperm induce pro-inflammatory responses in bovine endometrial epithelial cells (BEECs) in vitro. This study aimed to investigate the impact of presence of ZEN on the sperm-uterine crosstalk in vitro. BEECs monolayers were stimulated by ZEN (10, 100, and 1000 ng/mL) for 0, 3, 6, 12, or 24 h and gene expressions were analyzed by real-time PCR. Moreover, BEECs were pre-exposed to ZEN (10, 100, and 1000 ng/mL) for 24 h then, co-incubated with sperm for 6 h. Conditioned media (CM) from a sperm-BEECs co-culture, after pre-exposure to ZEN, were harvested and exploited to challenge either polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) or sperm. Both PMNs phagocytic activity toward sperm and sperm motility parameters were then assessed. Results showed that ZEN alone induced pro-inflammatory responses in BEECs through the induction of mRNA expressions of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFA and IL1B) and PGES1 at different time points. Pre-exposure of BEECs to ZEN, amplified the sperm-triggered upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNFA and IL1B) and chemokine IL8 mRNA abundance in BEECs. Sperm-BEECs conditioned media, primed by ZEN, stimulated the PMNs phagocytosis for sperm whereas suppressed sperm motility parameters. Taken together, these findings indicate that the presence of ZEN augments the pro-inflammatory cascade triggered by sperm in BEECs, provokes PMNs phagocytosis for sperm, and reduces sperm motility parameters. Such immunological reactions may create a hostile environment for sperm competence and survival in the bovine uterus, thus impair fertility.

On the design and performance analysis of wristband MIMO/diversity antenna for smart wearable communication applications.

The design of a silicone rubber-based wristband wearable antenna exploiting pattern diversity is presented in this paper. The wristband diversity antenna consists of four identical antenna elements with an inter-element spacing of 0.68λ0, where λ0 is the lower cut-off wavelength. A modified trapezoidal-shaped radiator with a rectangular ground structure is used to achieve ultra-wide bandwidth. The proposed multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO)/diversity antenna covers a frequency range of 2.75-12 GHz. The antenna element offers a radiation efficiency of 89.3% and a gain of 3.41 dBi. The size of the wristband diversity antenna is 1.1λ0 × 18.4λ0 × 0.18λ0. The diversity performance characteristics of the prototype antenna are examined, with the envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) < 0.18, apparent diversity gain (ADG) > 9.5, effective diversity gain (EDG) > 9.5, mean effective gain (MEG) < 1 dB, total active reflection coefficient (TARC) < - 10 dB, and channel capacity loss (CCL) < 0.1  bits/s/Hz over the entire operating band. The specific absorption rate (SAR) of the proposed wristband antenna is analyzed to determine its radiation exposure on the human body, and the results show that the values are less than 0.02 W/kg.