Analysis of Skin-Worn Thermoelectric Generators for Body Heat Energy Harvesting to Power Wearable Devices.

The rapid growth of wearable electronic devices motivates investigation of powering such devices using energy harvesting, with the long-term goal of continuous operation without the need to recharge or replace batteries. In this work, we present a study conducted using a wearable device to measure the voltage, power, and energy that can be harvested continuously from human body heat using a thermoelectric generator (TEG) worn on the skin surface. Using a TEG worn on the arm, we demonstrate an average of 22.

Intermittent low-level viremia in very early primary HIV-1 infection.

Serial samples from source plasma donors with confirmed new HIV infection were investigated for low-level viremia (LLV) (ie, < 100 genome copies [cp]/mL) at time points preceding the period of steadily rising viremia above 100 cp/mL (ramp-up viremia). Fifteen of 44 plasma donor panels previously studied for the dynamics of HIV viremia during primary infection contained 70 samples with undetectable HIV-1 RNA by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR). On retesting with a sensitive qualitative reverse transcriptase PCR assay (95% detection at 4 cp/mL), we identified LLV in 13 of 15 panels and 23 of 69 retested samples.

Disease management practices of health plans.

Objective: To investigate how health plans manage chronic diseases.

Study Design: Health plan medical directors were surveyed regarding the disease management (DM) practices of their plans.

Methods: We took a stratified random sample of 65 plans, all members of the American Association of Health Plans.