Improved Stable Read Range of the RFID Tag Using Slot Apertures and Capacitive Gaps for Outdoor Localization Applications.

This paper proposes a small-size UHF RFID tag antenna, which was designed to function in the frequency interval of 860-960 MHz, with a large-read range of up to 17 m. In this work, the effects of capacitive slots and gaps on the impedance matching between conventional industrial chips and a designed RFID antenna was investigated. Simulated and measured results provided a clear indication that these two techniques can efficiently improve the return loss parameter and the antenna impedance matching behavior at the UHF band. Three-dimensional electromagnetic (EM) simulations results further proved that a better impedance matching between an industrial chip and a proposed RFID antenna occurs at 870 MHz, where the estimated input antenna impedance was about Za = 16 + j184 (Ω), and the calculated read range reached a value of up to 17 m with a measured return loss value of -14 dB. The proposed RFID antenna can almost maintain the same read range value over a 180 degree angle variations on the horizontal plane owing to its omnidirectional radiation pattern. The fabrication and test stages of the antenna prototype were scheduled to validate the simulated characteristics. Experimental results confirmed the performances of our proposed RFID tag antenna and proved its potential ability for localization applications. EM simulations have been performed using the well-known commercial EM software simulator CST MWS.

Single-fed broadband CPW-fed circularly polarized implantable antenna for sensing medical applications.

Biomedical telemetry relies heavily on implantable antennas. Due to this, we have designed and tested a compact, a circularly polarized, a low-profile biomedical implantable antenna that operate in the 2.45 GHz ISM band. In order to keep the antenna compact, modified co-planar waveguide (CPW) technology is used. Slotted rectangular patch with one 45-degree angle slot and truncated little patch on the left end of the ground plane generate a frequency-range antenna with circular polarization. Using a 0.25-millimeter-thick Roger Duroid-RT5880 substrate with a thickness of εr = 2.2, tanδ = 0.0009 provides flexibility. The volume of the antenna is 21 mm x 13.5 mm x 0.254 mm (0.25λg × 0.16λg × 0.003λg). The antenna covers 2.35-2.55 GHz (200 MHz) in free space and 1.63-1.17 GHz (1.17 GHz) in epidermal tissue. With skin tissue that has more bandwidth, the (x and y)-axis bends of the antenna are also simulated via the simulation. Bended antenna simulations and measurements show excellent agreement. At 2.45 GHz, the skin-like gel had -10dB impedance and 3dB axial ratio (AR) bandwidths of 47.7 and 53.8%, respectively. The ultimate result is that the SAR values are 0.78 W/kg in skin over 1 g of bulk tissue, as determined by simulations. The suggested SAR values are lower than the FCC's maximum allowable limit (FCC). This antenna is small enough to be implanted in the body, making it perfect for biomedical applications.

Design of high gain base station antenna array for mm-wave cellular communication systems.

Millimeter wave (mm-Wave) wireless communication systems require high gain antennas to overcome path loss effects and thereby enhance system coverage. This paper presents the design and analysis of an antenna array for high gain performance of future mm-wave 5G communication systems. The proposed antenna is based on planar microstrip technology and fabricated on 0.254 mm thick dielectric substrate (Rogers-5880) having a relative permittivity of 2.2 and loss tangent of 0.0009. The single radiating element used to construct the antenna array is a microstrip patch that has a configuration resembling a two-pronged fork. The single radiator has a realized gain of 7.6 dBi. To achieve the gain required by 5G base stations, a 64-element array antenna design is proposed which has a bore side gain of 21.2 dBi at 37.2 GHz. The 8 × 8, 8 × 16, and 8 × 32 antenna array designs described here were simulated and optimized using CST Microwave Studio, which is a 3D full-wave electromagnetic solver. The overall characteristics of the array in terms of reflection-coefficient and radiation patterns makes the proposed design suitable for mm-Wave 5G and other communication systems.

Targeting Macrophages with CAR T Cells Delays Solid Tumor Progression and Enhances Antitumor Immunity.

Tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) are one of the most abundant cell types in many solid tumors and typically exert protumor effects. This has led to an interest in macrophage-depleting agents for cancer therapy, but approaches developed to date have had limited success in clinical trials. Here, we report the development of a strategy for TAM depletion in mouse solid tumor models using chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells targeting the macrophage marker F4/80 (F4.CAR-T). F4.CAR-T cells effectively killed macrophages in vitro and in vivo without toxicity. When injected into mice bearing orthotopic lung tumors, F4.CAR-T cells infiltrated tumor lesions and delayed tumor growth comparably with PD-1 blockade, and significantly extended mouse survival. Antitumor effects were mediated by F4.CAR-T-produced IFNγ, which promoted upregulation of MHC molecules on cancer cells and tumor-infiltrating myeloid cells. Notably, F4.CAR-T promoted expansion of endogenous CD8 T cells specific for tumor-associated antigen and led to immune editing of highly antigenic tumor cell clones. Antitumor impact was also observed in mouse models of ovarian and pancreatic cancer. These studies provide proof of principle to support CAR T-cell targeting of TAMs as a means to enhance antitumor immunity.

Design of a Millimeter-Wave MIMO Antenna Array for 5G Communication Terminals.

This paper presents a design of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) antenna array for 5G millimeter-wave (mm-wave) communication systems. The proposed MIMO configuration consists of a two antenna arrays combination. Each antenna array consists of four elements which are arranged in an even manner, while two arrays are then assembled with a 90-degree shift with respect to each other. The substrate used is a 0.254 mm thick Rogers RT5880 with a dielectric constant of 2.2 and loss tangent of 0.0009, correspondingly. The proposed MIMO antenna array covers the 37 GHz frequency band, dedicated for 5G millimeter-wave communication applications. The proposed antenna element yields a gain of 6.84 dB, which is enhanced up to 12.8 dB by adopting a four elements array configuration. The proposed MIMO antenna array performance metrics, such as envelope correlation coefficient (ECC) and diversity gain (DG), are observed, which are found to be under the standard threshold. More than 85% of the radiation efficiency of the proposed MIMO antenna array is observed to be within the desired operating frequency band. All the proposed designs are simulated in computer simulation technology (CST) software. Furthermore, the measurements are carried out for the proposed MIMO antenna array, where a good agreement with simulated results is observed. Thus, the proposed design can be a potential candidate for 5G millimeter-wave communication systems.

How Do Autonomous Vehicles Decide?

The advancement in sensor technologies, mobile network technologies, and artificial intelligence has pushed the boundaries of different verticals, e.g., eHealth and autonomous driving. Statistics show that more than one million people are killed in traffic accidents yearly, where the vast majority of the accidents are caused by human negligence. Higher-level autonomous driving has great potential to enhance road safety and traffic efficiency. One of the most crucial links to building an autonomous system is the task of decision-making. The ability of a vehicle to make robust decisions on its own by anticipating and evaluating future outcomes is what makes it intelligent. Planning and decision-making technology in autonomous driving becomes even more challenging, due to the diversity of the dynamic environments the vehicle operates in, the uncertainty in the sensor information, and the complex interaction with other road participants. A significant amount of research has been carried out toward deploying autonomous vehicles to solve plenty of issues, however, how to deal with the high-level decision-making in a complex, uncertain, and urban environment is a comparatively less explored area. This paper provides an analysis of decision-making solutions approaches for autonomous driving. Various categories of approaches are analyzed with a comparison to classical decision-making approaches. Following, a crucial range of research gaps and open challenges have been highlighted that need to be addressed before higher-level autonomous vehicles hit the roads. We believe this survey will contribute to the research of decision-making methods for autonomous vehicles in the future by equipping the researchers with an overview of decision-making technology, its potential solution approaches, and challenges.

The complete chloroplast genome sequence of Bambusa contracta L.C.Chia & H.L.Fung (Bambusodae).

Bambusa contracta L. C. Chia & H. L. Fung is widely distributed in the foothills of Guangxi province, China, and used as a raw material for the production of various bamboo weaving products. In the present work, the complete chloroplast genome sequence of B. contracta was characterized by Illumina pair-end sequencing. The chloroplast genome of B. contracta was 139,470 bp in total length, containing a large single-copy (LSC) region of 83,187 bp, a small single-copy (SSC) region of 12,897 bp, and two inverted repeats (IR) regions of 21,693 bp. The genome consisted of a total of 127 genes, with 83 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Based on 14 chloroplast genomes, the phylogenetic analysis revealed that B. contracta is closely related to B. emeiensis in Bambusodae.

Knowledge, awareness, and practices of cervical cancer, its risk factors, screening, and prevention among women in Karachi, Pakistan.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer has a high mortality rate worldwide; in Pakistan it kills more than 7000 women every year. Prevention is possible through vaccination against human papilloma virus, the causative agent of cervical cancer, or by screening for premalignant lesions through routine Pap smear tests. We have studied the knowledge and practices regarding cervical cancer, its risk factors, screening and prevention and the role of human papilloma virus vaccination and Pap smear testing, among young women of Karachi. METHODS: Information was gathered using a modified version of Cervical Cancer Awareness Measure Toolkit version 2.1 from 384 women aged 15 to 50 with no medical background attending outpatient clinics of AKUH, Karachi. Data entry was done through EpiData and analysis was done using SPSS version 22.0. RESULTS: Our respondents' mean age was 30 (±7.6) years. Out of the 61.2% of women who had heard about cervical cancer, 47.0% had heard about Pap smear test and among them, 73% had gotten a Pap test. A total of 25.5% of women out of the 61.2%, knew that a vaccine existed for prevention and out of them only 9.8% had vaccinated against human papilloma virus. CONCLUSION: Majority of women in our study belonged to a higher socioeconomic class and were mostly educated but their knowledge and practices regarding prevention and screening of cervical cancer were poor. This reflects that the knowledge levels as a whole would be considerably lower in the city's general population.

Pathologic Angiogenesis of Malignant Vascular Sarcomas: Implications for Treatment.

Angiosarcoma, epithelioid hemangioendothelioma, and Kaposi sarcoma are classified according to the line of differentiation that these neoplastic cells most closely resemble: the endothelial cell. Although these malignant vascular sarcomas demonstrate immunohistochemical and ultrastructural features typical of this lineage, they vary dramatically in presentation and behavior, reflecting oncologic mechanisms unique to each. Antineoplastic therapies offer significant benefit, but because of the rarity of these cancers, novel therapies are slow to develop, and treatment options for these cancers remain limited. Antiangiogenic approaches that have shown benefit in other malignancies have not fully realized their promise in vascular tumors, suggesting that these tumors do not depend entirely on either angiogenic growth factors or on neighboring endothelia that are affected by these agents. Nonetheless, translational studies have begun to unravel these distinct pathologies, identifying novel translocation products, targets of oncogenic virulence factors, and genomic mutations that hijack angiogenic signaling and drive malignant growth. Concurrently, an elaborate and highly regulated model of angiogenesis and lymphangiogenesis involving vascular endothelial growth factor-receptor tyrosine kinase and TGF-ß and Notch pathways has emerged that informs treatment of these tumors as well as cancer in general. This review summarizes the literature on malignant vascular sarcomas in the context of current models of angiogenesis and, in light of recent clinical trial data, could help clinician-scientists generate novel therapeutic approaches.

Fetal liver hematopoietic stem cell niches associate with portal vessels.

Whereas the cellular basis of the hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) niche in the bone marrow has been characterized, the nature of the fetal liver niche is not yet elucidated. We show that Nestin(+)NG2(+) pericytes associate with portal vessels, forming a niche promoting HSC expansion. Nestin(+)NG2(+) cells and HSCs scale during development with the fractal branching patterns of portal vessels, tributaries of the umbilical vein. After closure of the umbilical inlet at birth, portal vessels undergo a transition from Neuropilin-1(+)Ephrin-B2(+) artery to EphB4(+) vein phenotype, associated with a loss of periportal Nestin(+)NG2(+) cells and emigration of HSCs away from portal vessels. These data support a model in which HSCs are titrated against a periportal vascular niche with a fractal-like organization enabled by placental circulation.

Synergistic antiosteoporotic effect of Lepidium sativum and alendronate in glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis in Wistar rats.

Alendronate belongs to a class of drugs called bisphosphonates. Bisphosphonates (BP) therapy is a vital option to reduce the risk of bone fracture in people who suffer from osteoporosis. Yet, bisphosphonate have displayed several side effects. Lepidium sativum (LS) seeds have been used in traditional folk medicine to heal fractured bones. However, there is a dearth of information on the impact of LS on bone metabolism especially in cases of glucocorticoids induced osteoporosis. Therefore, the aim of the study was to compare the biochemical bone markers and histological responses of LS alone (6 g of LS seeds in diet daily, n=8), ALD (alendronate, 70 mg/kg s.c.; n=8) alone, or LS and ALD combined in a rat model of glucocorticoid-induced osteoporosis (GIO) by injecting rats with methylprednisolone 3.5 mg/kg per day for 4 weeks. Serum calcium (Ca), albumin, phosphorus (P), bone-specific alkaline phosphatase (b-ALP), and tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) were measured 4 weeks after induction of GIO. GIO-group showed significantly increased serum TRAP and decreased b-ALP. GIO-group also showed significantly decreased serum P and unaltered Ca concentrations. Histological examination of GIO-group tibia bones indicated an osteoporotic change and a concomitant decrease in percentage of trabecular area or bone marrow area (PTB) in the proximal femoral epiphysis. Treatment with either LS and/or ALD ameliorated the above mentioned changes with variable degrees, with a net results of enhanced serum calcium, bone architecture, PTB, b-ALP and decreased TRAP in LS and LS+ALD groups compared to that of animals treated with alendronate alone. In conclusion, our findings present evidence supporting the potential benefits of LS in reducing the burden of GCs on bone health.