bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Case Report of a Malignant Melanoma Patient With Longitudinally Extensive Transverse Myelitis: Immune-related Adverse Event or Human Herpes Virus 7 Infection?
Authors: Sunter Gulin , Vural Ezgi , Engin Esin , Babacan Nalan
Published: July 2022

Introduction'Immune checkpoint inhibitors' are used in patients with metastatic malignant melanoma. Programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) and cytotoxic lymphocyte-associated protein 4 (CTLA-4) are found on the surface of T cells and are used as targets for the formation of an immune response against the tumor. Anti-CTLA-4 antibody ipilimumab and anti-PD-1 antibodies nivolumab and pembrolizumab are used as treatment options in patients with advanced melanoma. However, immune-related adverse events (irAEs) occur in approximately 40% of patients. Neurological side effects are rare.CaseIpilimumab and nivolumab combination therapy was applied in a 60-year-old male patient due to malignant melanoma after detection of metastasis after pembrolizumab, another immune checkpoint inhibitor. After the last course of treatment, numbness in the legs, loss of strength and inability to walk developed. Neurological examination revealed 5-/5 muscle strength of all upper extremity muscle groups, 1/5 muscle strength in the lower extremities, and loss of sensation in the lower extremities that did not give a clear level. In spinal imaging, the longitudinal, diffuse edematous image extending from the upper cervical to the lower thoracic levels was evaluated as transverse myelitis. Human Herpes Virus-7 (HHV-7) DNA detected in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) could not be demonstrated in serum. A second CSF examination could not be performed regarding the role of HHV-7 in the etiology.ConclusionIn conclusion, patients given immune checkpoint inhibitors should be followed up for signs and symptoms of irAE. Prompt diagnosis and treatment will increase the likelihood of complete recovery from neurological complications.
Critical Parameters of Gate Control in NC-FinFET on GaAs
Authors: Jia Tingting , Li Henghui , Yu Ziwei , Zhang Chong , Guo Quansheng , Zhao Hongyang , Jia Chunyang , Yu Shuhui , Sun Rong
Published: July 2022

Gate control ability is expected to keep constant, guaranteeing accurate MOSFET adjustment of drive strength by changing its size. In NCFET, the non-uniform distribution of ferroelectric polarization and capacitance match are sensitive to the size and tend to enhance the fluctuation of gate control. In the current work, a detailed simulation was made on NC-FinFET to clarify the effect of structural factors on its gate control. These factors include the Fin structure (length, width, and height), the doping concentration in the GaAs channel, and ferroelectric film thickness. Simulation results indicate that the SS of NC-FinFET with BTFM-CTO film is more insensitive to the variation of structural factors than that with HfO2 or PZT film. Thus, the fluctuation of gate control can be significantly weakened with a suitable set of structure factors and ferroelectric parameters. The current work generates new insights into the fluctuation of gate control with varying structure factors and adjustment of NC-FinFET drive strength, which are essential for NC-FinFET to applicate in an analog circuit.
Novel technology of amino acids preparation and recovery from excess sludge
Authors: Hui Wenlong , Zhou Jiti , Jin Ruofei
Published: July 2022

Thermal alkaline method can effectively extract protein from excess sludge. During the extraction process, insoluble proteins in sludge were turned into soluble proteins, and partly soluble proteins were hydrolyzed into peptides, amino acids and by-products: water, carbon dioxide and ammonium. The optimum conditions were as follows: 0.1 M NaOH, the temperature of 70 °C, reaction time of 5 h. Then the soluble proteins were hydrolyzed into amino acids with hydrochloric acid furtherly. The optimal process parameters of hydrochloric acid hydrolysis were as follows: the hydrolysis temperature of 110 °C, heating time of 12 h, and acid to supernatant ratio of 0.8. The results show that proteins of 46.33% were extracted from the excess sludge and the amino acids yield was 75.49%, namely approximately 9 g per 100 g of dry sludge under the optimum hydrolysis conditions. The contents of amino acids in hydrolysate were determined by automatic amino acid analyzer and the functional groups of hydrolysate were characterized by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectrum. There were 17 kinds of amino acids in the hydrolysate，which can be used as deodorants, food additives, preservatives and corrosion inhibitors.
Clinical characteristics of homeless patients hospitalised with alcohol-related mental disorders
Authors: Gajdics Janka , Kádár Bettina Kata , Kovács Ildikó , Kálmán János , Andó Bálint , Pribék Ildikó Katalin , Lázár Bence András
Published: July 2022

Purpose: Alcohol dependency syndrome (ADS) as one of the most common psychiatric disorders among homeless people has severe consequences such as alcohol withdrawal state (AWS) and alcohol withdrawal state with delirium (delirium tremens [DT]). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to reveal the demographic and clinical characteristics, and risk factors underlying the development of AWS and DT among homeless patients hospitalised with alcohol-related mental disorders.Methods: This retrospective study was conducted between 2008 and 2015 in Hungary. Medical records of 1591 patients diagnosed with alcohol-related mental disorders were listed in 2900 hospital appearances. Two groups were formed based on the presence of home address. Demographic (sex, age, seasonality) and clinical characteristics (presence of AWS, DT, laboratory parameters, psychiatric and somatic co-morbidities) were examined. Statistical analyses were performed by using chi-square tests, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and binary logistic regressions. Results: The ratio of homeless appearances was 6.28%. The ratio of male attendances in the homeless group was significantly higher. Significantly elevated GOT/GPT ratio, potassium levels, somatic co-morbidity and lower psychiatric co-morbidity were revealed in the homeless group. There was no significant difference in the ratio of AWS and DT between homeless and non-homeless appearances. Explanatory role of GOT/GPT ratio and potassium level was detected in the development of DT among homeless patients.Conclusion: Our results provide data for the first time about homeless patients diagnosed with ADS. Furthermore, our findings indicate that homelessness bears a critical importance regarding their specific clinical characteristics among patients with ADS.
Multi-scale habitat models influence a freshwater-obligate mustelid in the Southern Deccan Plateau, India
Authors: Moun Ankit , KP Ramesh , PM Malathi , Kalle Riddhika , T Ramesh
Published: July 2022

Background
The changing land-use patterns surrounding freshwater bodies influence the habitat ecology of semi-aquatic mammals through alterations in stream characteristics and riparian habitat. We aimed to predict the occupancy and detection probability of smooth-coated otter Lutrogale perspicillata along the Tungabhadra Otter Conservation Reserve (TOCR) taking stream characteristics, riparian vegetation and anthropogenic disturbances at the local-scale and hydro-environmental characteristics and land uses at the landscape-scale. We sampled 180 stream segments (100 m – 400 m) as spatial replicates of 60 1 km2 sites to record smooth-coated otter evidence (spraints and mass latrine sites) along TOCR in the dry season. We applied Markovian-chain detection and occupancy models to assess the multi-scale habitat use of otters.
Results
At the local-scale, probability of otter site use increased with proportion of bank vegetation, and decreased with anthropogenic pressure while the species probability of detection decreased with grass cover. At the landscape-scale, probability of otter site use increased with stream power, river area, stream order and proportion of sugarcane fields. Conservation of otters in inland freshwaters exposed to high anthropogenic activity requires an understanding of their multi-scale factorial responses for effective ecosystem-level and site-specific habitat management.
Conclusions
Our findings highlight the first empirical evidence of multi-scale habitat use of a southern Indian population of smooth-coated otters in a freshwater ecosystem surrounded by the scrub jungle-agriculture matrix. We suggest that habitat models built from analytical approaches that account for correlated detections can avoid biased predictions when estimating occupancy and detection probability of semi-aquatic or riparian mammal communities with linear distributions.
Predicting Parametric Influence of Resistance Spot Welding Process Parameters on Tensile Shear Load Using Optimization Technique
Authors: K Vignesh
Published: July 2022

The stainless steels such as Austenitic Stainless Steel (ASS) and Duplex Stainless Steel (DSS) are joined to optimize the Resistance Spot Welding (RSW) process parameters and predict the parametric influence on the response of Tensile Shear Load (TSL). The Response Surface Methodology (RSM) is an optimization technique which is used for optimizing the process parameters on TSL and with the help of these results a satisfactory quadratic mathematical model has been developed to predict the response. The optimal parameters and their levels are found and reported as follows: welding current = 9 kA, welding time = 0.18 seconds and electrode tip radius = 3 mm. The actual and predicted values of TSL for the optimized parameters are 17.6 kN and 17.9 kN respectively. The developed quadratic model is efficiently predicted the response with an average error percentage of 2.18. The significant and insignificant terms in the models has been identified by 95% confidence level using ‘p’ test. The insignificant terms are removed from the model and the ANOVA table is formulated only with the significant terms. Significance or effect of each term in the ANOVA table is identified by calculating the percentage of contribution and noticed that welding current has the highest significance (46%) on TSL. The macroscopic examination confirmed that the nugget is initially formed in DSS side due to its higher thermal conductivity and resistivity. The tensile shear-strain graphs are observed with the percentage of elongation varies from the minimum of 5.18 to the maximum of 8.57 which confirm the ductile failure.
The dilemma between colony growth and survival: an experiment on food resource selection with a nasute termite
Authors: Silva Aline , Silva Catila , Santos Renan , Arce Carla , Araújo Ana Paula , Cristaldo Paulo
Published: July 2022

Decrease the risk of being killed and increase the food intake is an important feature of the foraging behavior of most animals. In general, foragers are vulnerable and the ability to trade-off benefits (food quantity) against costs (risk of being killed) may provide a considerable ecological advantage. Despite the increasing number of studies, the effects of food quantity and risk signals on resource selection in eusocial insect is not well understood. Here, we investigated the combination of distinct levels of food quantity and risk signals on resource selection of a Neotropical termite, Nasutitermes corniger (Termitidae: Nasutitermitinae). Manipulative bioassays with binary and multiple choices were conducted over time to check the recruitment of termite groups among resources containing different levels of food quantity and risk signals. Overall, the quantity of food resource was more important than the risk signals during the resource selection by N. corniger groups. However, termites were able to perceive the risk choosing resource with high benefits (high amount of food) and low costs (low risk signal) when it was conducted multiple bioassays with empty arenas. This work contributes to a better understanding of habitat use by termite species. Furthermore, it shows for the first time the combined effects of food quantity and risk signals on resource selection of an important ecological and economic termite species.
Constant GTF2I L424H mutation in micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma: genetic evidence supporting its close relationship with type A and AB thymomas
Authors: Hsieh Min-Shu , Kao Hua-Lin , Huang Wen-Chang , Wang Shu-Ying , Lin Shin-Ying , Chu Ping-Yuan , Pan Chin-Chen , Chou Teh-Ying , Ho Hsiang-Ling , Yeh Yi-Chen
Published: July 2022

Micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma is a rare thymic neoplasm characterized by discrete nodules of epithelial tumor cells separated by abundant lymphoid stroma. The genetic features of micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma remain largely unexplored. Owing to the interference of abundant intra-tumoral non-neoplastic lymphoid cells, a highly sensitive approach is necessary to study the genetic changes in these tumors. In this study, we applied a highly sensitive next-generation sequencing assay using molecular barcoding Ion AmpliSeq HD technology to study the most commonly mutated genes in thymomas, including GTF2I, HRAS, NRAS, KRAS, and TP53. A total of 12 cases of micronodular thymomas with lymphoid stroma were tested, and 2 cases also had areas of type A thymoma in their tumor bed. Two micronodular thymic carcinomas with lymphoid stroma, a histological mimic of micronodular thymoma, were also included for comparison. Recurrent GTF2I p.L424H mutations were found in all cases of micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma but not in micronodular thymic carcinomas. In addition, 3 cases of micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma also had concomitant HRAS and/or KRAS mutations. Our study shows that GTF2I p.L424H mutation is a constant genetic feature in micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma. This finding strongly suggests micronodular thymoma with lymphoid stroma is closely related to type A and type AB thymomas as they all share GTF2I p.L424H mutations.
Creating Evidence Driven Practices to Enhance Human Care Services for Unhoused and Low-Income Pet Owners
Authors: Covner Audrey L. , Ekstrom Hannah , Kalaf Nevin , Sherman Brianna
Published: July 2022

Background: Seattle Veterinary Outreach, a nonprofit organization providing free and sliding scale veterinary services to those experiencing homelessness and low-income residents of the Seattle Washington Puget Sound area, began operations in 2019. A key premise of the organization is that offering veterinary services creates a trusting relationship with pet owners that fosters guiding human clients toward obtaining services for their own health and wellbeing.1 Pet owners face significant barriers to obtaining care for themselves due to the lack of pet-friendly housing, shelter, and medical care clinics.2Methods: To support this vision, SVO partners with human care service providers to co-locate, allowing for pet-friendly access to needed services. Up until now, the decision about partners has been made based on immediate needs, circumstances, and availability. The purpose of this study was to develop a data-driven process that would assist in identifying the type of human care services needed, create a ranking system to assist in securing these services, and identify partners that can co-locate with SVO mobile clinics to address human care needs. Relying on data collected by SVO staff and volunteers and incorporating attributes of potential partners into the discussion, a data-driven process for partner outreach was created. Results: A new process was created that is currently in use and will be incorporated into staff responsibilities.Conclusion: The new process offers an opportunity to ensure that the needs of pet owners are being best served.
Stabilization of nonlinear PMSG-based wind energy conversion system via coupling memory sampled-data control with a membership function-dependent $ H_{\infty} $-approach
Authors: Yesudhas Anto Anbarasu , Joo Young Hoon
Published: July 2022

This study presents the coupling memory sampled-data control (CMSDC) design for the Takagi-Sugeno (T-S) fuzzy system that solves the stabilization issue of a surface-mounted permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG)-based wind energy conversion system (WECS). A fuzzy CMSDC scheme that includes the sampled-data control (SDC) and memory sampled-data control (MSDC) is designed by employing a Bernoulli distribution order. Meanwhile, the membership function-dependent (MFD) H∞ performance index is presented, mitigating the continuous-time fuzzy system's disturbances. Then, by using Lyapunov-Krasovski functional with MFD $H_\infty$ performance index, data of sampling pattern and a constant signal transmission delay, sufficient conditions are derived. These sufficient conditions are linear matrix inequalities (LMIs), ensuring the global asymptotic stability of PMSG-based WECS under the designed control technique. Besides, the proposed method is demonstrated by a numerical simulation implemented on the PMSG-based WECS. Finally, Rossler's system demonstrates the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method.
Teachers as multipliers of knowledge about schistosomiasis: a possible approach for health education programmes
Authors: Murta Felipe Leão Gomes , Massara Cristiano Lara , Rodrigues Maria Gabriela , Beck Lilian Christina Nóbrega Holsbach , Favre Tereza Cristina
Published: July 2022

Background: In the past decade, Brazil has significantly reduced the prevalence of schistosomiasis through a combined effort of early treatment of infected people, expansion of basic sanitation infrastructure and educational measures. Despite these efforts, in some areas, prevalence of schistosomiasis exceeds 20% of the school population, who lack knowledge of the risks of the disease. Action can be taken in schools to empower this population about their health condition. This paper describes the role of the teacher as a multiplier of knowledge about schistosomiasis and proposes two different approaches to training these teachers.Methods: This study used mixed methods to evaluate training of teachers and educational intervention with those teachers’ pupils. Two training courses, each of 40 hours of face-to-face activity, were offered to 19 teachers. The courses included classroom activities and laboratory and field work. After the training, the teachers conducted activities on schistosomiasis with their pupils. These activities involved constructing educational materials and cultural productions. The pupils’ knowledge about the disease was evaluated before the activities and 12 months later. The teachers’ acceptance and perceptions were assessed through structured interviews and subsequent thematic analysis. Infection status for Schistosoma mansoni was also assessed using the Kato Katz stool test.Results: The parasitological study showed 31.6% of the teachers and 21.4% of the pupils to be positive for S. mansoni. The teachers’ knowledge of important aspects of schistosomiasis transmission and prevention was fragmented and incorrect. The teachers’ knowledge changed significantly after the training and they were strongly accepting of the pedagogical methods used during the training. The level of their pupils’ knowledge about the disease had increased significantly. However, most pupils responded that, even after the educational activities, they still had contact with the city’s contaminated waters.Conclusions: The results of this study underline the importance of schools and teachers as partners in controlling and eliminating schistosomiasis. Teacher training on the disease significantly increases their pupils’ knowledge, reflecting empowerment with regard to local health conditions.
Interplanetary social responsibility: A Fuzzy SME model for coding ethical Artificial Intelligence of NASA
Authors: RODRIGUEZ SAUL ALFONSO ESPARZA , TAPIA GABINO GARCIA
Published: July 2022

In terms of interplanetary exploration, the Perseverance Rover is searching for signs of ancient microbial life, helping exploring the past habitability of Mars helping to pave the way for future human exploration of Mars; nevertheless, this exploration process is also related to recent events such as a wreckage detected by a small robotic companion for the rover, which captured on camara that the backshell that protected this devices plunged through the Martian atmosphere making the signature of one of the first evidences related to the effect of the arriving of humankind in other planets. In that sense, the present research analyses the potential opportunities and risk that interplanetary exploration has in the future in relation to expanding the activities of the artificial intelligence created to interplanetary exploration as a potential opportunity for useful resources identification, possible exploitation and potential building activities projects. JEL Code: M14, M15, C32.
Classification tasks using input driven nonlinear magnetization dynamics in spin Hall oscillator
Authors: Mohan John Rex , Mathew Arun Jacob , Nishimura Kazuma , Feng Ruoyan , Medwal Rohit , Gupta Surbhi , Rawat Rajdeep Singh , Fukuma Yasuhiro
Published: July 2022

The inherent nonlinear magnetization dynamics in spintronic devices makes them suitable candidates for neuromorphic hardware. Among spintronic devices, spin torque oscillators such as spin-toque oscillators and spin Hall oscillators have shown the capability to perform recognition tasks. In this paper, we demonstrate that the magnetization dynamics of a single spin Hall oscillator can be nonlinearly transformed by harnessing input pulse streams and can be utilized for classification tasks. The spin Hall oscillator utilizes the microwave spectral characteristics of its magnetization dynamics for processing a binary data input. The spectral change due to the nonlinear magnetization dynamics assists in real time feature extraction and classification of 4-bit binary digits. The performance is tested for the classification of the standard MNIST handwritten digit data set and achieved an accuracy of 83.1%. Our results suggest that modulating time driven input data can generate diverse magnetization dynamics in the spin Hall oscillator, which is suitable for temporal or sequential information processing.
A Taste of Bizarre Local Foods as Part of Terengganu’s Food Tourism Experience
Authors: Yaacob Mohd Faizal Mohd , JALIS MOHD HAIRI , Ismail Wan Rusni Wan , Zulkifli Amirul Hakim , Azmi Mohamad Farhan
Published: July 2022

Local food has gained popularity and has become one of the important core elements in the food and tourism industry to market many tourism destinations around the world. Many studies have found that selling and serving local food, enables tourists to get connected to the local culture as well as the culinary taste and practice of people who live in a particular place or country. In the efforts of destination marketing by promoting local food as part of tourism experiences, proper planning and understanding on specific dishes or meals are vital and are often emphasized by relevant food and tourism related authorities. Moreover, the choice and selection of specific local dishes or meals provide tourists with a better understanding on the type of food and experience that they will encounter when traveling to a particular place or country. However, this exercise will at the same time, prevent the potential of some local foods to be discovered due to the idea of promoting only local foods that have commercial and marketable values in the eyes of tourists rather than to educate tourists on all of the authentic food traditions which is part of the identity of the local people. Unfamiliarity with certain local dishes and/or meals prior to traveling to a tourism destination may be unappealing to some tourists. Thus, the food and tourism marketers as well as relevant stakeholders should make careful considerations of their choice of dishes and meals to speak and represent the local food as part of the identity of a place or country. This study, delves into the concept of the unfamiliarity or bizarre local food as a highlight of food and tourism destinations, specifically discussing on the possibilities of bizarre local foods (i.e. dishes and/or meals) of Terengganu that have been ignored or gotten less attention in promoting food tourism experiences for Terengganu, Malaysia.
Resting state fMRI analysis of pseudobulbar affect in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS): motor dysfunction of emotional expression
Authors: Trojsi Francesca , Nardo Federica Di , D'Alvano Giulia , Caiazzo Giuseppina , Passaniti Carla , Mangione Antonella , Sharbafshaaer Minoo , Russo Antonio , Silvestro Marcello , Siciliano Mattia , Cirillo Mario , Tedeschi Gioacchino , Esposito Fabrizio
Published: July 2022

Background: Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), referring to exaggerated or inappropriate episodes of laughing and/or crying without an apparent motivating stimulus, has been mainly attributed to bilateral degeneration of corticobulbar tracts. We aimed at exploring brain functional connectivity (FC) correlates of PBA in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common motor neuron disease, frequently associated with PBA.Methods: Resting state functional MRI (RS-fMRI) independent component (ICA) and seed-based analyses and voxel-based morphometry (VBM) whole-brain analysis were performed on 27 ALS patients (13 with PBA; 14 without PBA) and 26 healthy controls (HC), for investigating functional and structural abnormalities in ALS patients compared to HC and in patients with PBA compared to patients without PBA.Results: Between-patient analysis revealed different FC patterns, especially regarding decreased FC in several areas of cognitive (default mode, frontoparietal, salience) and sensory-motor networks in patients with PBA compared to those without PBA. However, no significant differences were found in gray matter atrophy. Seed-based analysis showed increased FC between middle cerebellar peduncles and posterior cingulate cortex and decreased FC between middle cerebellar peduncles and left middle frontal gyrus in patients with PBA compared to patients without PBA. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that some alterations of fronto-tempo-parietal-cerebellar circuits could be related to PBA in ALS. In particular, the abnormal FC between cerebellum and posterior cingulate cortex and left middle frontal gyrus in patients with PBA compared to patients without PBA highlights a crucial role of the cerebellum in regulating emotion expression in patients with ALS.
Observing flow of He II with unsupervised machine learning
Authors: Wen Xin , McDonald Landen , Pierce Josh , Guo Wei , Fitzsimmons Michael R.
Published: July 2022

Time dependent observations of point-to-point correlations of the velocity vector field (structure functions) are necessary to model and understand fluid flow around complex objects. Using thermal gradients, we observed fluid flow by recording fluorescence of \({He}_{2}^{*}\) excimers produced by neutron capture throughout a ~ cm3 volume. Because the photon emitted by an excited excimer is unlikely to be recorded by the camera, the techniques of particle tracking (PTV) and particle imaging (PIV) velocimetry cannot be applied to extract information from the fluorescence of individual excimers. Therefore, we applied an unsupervised machine learning algorithm to identify light from ensembles of excimers (clusters) and then tracked the centroids of the clusters using a particle displacement determination algorithm developed for PTV. The United States Government retains and the publisher, by accepting the article for publication, acknowledges that the United States Government retains a non-exclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, world-wide license to publish or reproduce the published form of this manuscript, or allow others to do so, for United States Government purposes.
Accessing the relative performance of fast molecular dating methods for phylogenomic data
Authors: Costa Fernanda P. , Schrago Carlos G. , Mello Beatriz
Published: July 2022

Due to advances in genome sequencing techniques, there was a significant growth of phylogenomic datasets. This massive amount of data represents a computational challenge for molecular dating with the Bayesian approach that relax the assumption of rate constancy. To overcome these issues, over the last few decades, rapid molecular dating methods have been proposed. However, comparative evaluation of their relative performances on empirical data sets is lacking. We analyzed 23 empirical phylogenomic datasets to investigate the performance of two commonly employed fast dating methodologies, the penalized likelihood (PL), implemented in treePL, and the relative rate framework (RRF), implemented in RelTime. They were compared to Bayesian analysis under the same models and calibration settings. We found that the RRF was computationally faster and generally provided node age estimates statistically equivalent to Bayesian divergence times. Furthermore, contrasted to Bayesian dating, PL time estimates were excessively precise. To approximate Bayesian approaches, RelTime is an efficient method with significantly lower computational demand, being up to more than 100 times faster than treePL. Thus, to alleviate the computational burden of Bayesian divergence time inference in the era of massive genomic data, molecular dating can be facilitated using the RRF, so that evolutionary hypotheses can be tested more quickly and efficiently.
Novel electro-oxidation unite for electro-disinfection of E. coli and some waterborne pathogens during wastewater treatment: Batch and continuous experiments
Authors: Hellal Mohamed S. , Hemdan Bahaa A. , Youssef Marwa , El-TAweel Gamila , Taleb Enas M. Abou
Published: July 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the performance of the Novel electro-oxidation unit for the disinfection of wastewater from technoeconomic point of view. The cell was fabricated based on patent design with a total volume of 3L containing nine electrodes (6graphite and 3stainless steel) with cylindrical shape and connected to DC power supply. Determination of optimum operating parameters were investigated in batch mode on synthetic wastewater through studying effect of contact time, current density(CD), total dissolved solids concentration(TDS) and bacterial density. Also, continuous mode experiment was studied on real wastewater from agricultural drain and secondary wastewater treatment plant. The results of batch mode revealed that the optimum operational conditions that achieved the complete removal E.coli was at contact time of 5 minutes, TDS = 2000 mg/L and CD = 4mA/Cm2. Application of these conditions on the continuous mode experiment indicated the complete removal of all bacterial indicators after 5 minutes in the drainage wastewater and after 2 minutes in the secondary treated wastewater. The physico-chemical characterization indicated also, no formation of chlorine by products in the process. The electrical consumption was calculated in the continuous mode and found to be 0.5 kWh/m3 with operational cost about 0.06 $/m3 including cost of adding chemicals to increase the TDS. This proved that this novel electro-oxidation unite is cost effective for disinfection of wastewater and complete removal bacterial pollutants than other conventional treatment methods.
Severe Fever with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome in the Fujian Province, China (2020)
Authors: Han Lifen , wang Qiaowen , Lin Ting , Guan Shengcan , Weng Shengtong , lin Luanfeng , Lin Shujin , Jiang Xiwen , Han Xiao , Ye Hanhui
Published: July 2022

We report a 47-year-old male patient who presented with irregular fever, chills, fatigue, body aches, and an occasional cough while traveling between Fujian and Hebei, China in 2020. Due to delayed molecular diagnosis, he was laboratory confirmed in 2021 by reverse transcription PCR and gene sequencing which confirmed that he was infected with thrombocytopenia syndrome virus (SFTSV). Extension of molecular diagnosis on SFTSV is one of the best strategies in response to the virus epidemic.
The view of Hong Kong parents on secondary use of dried blood spots in newborn screening program
Authors: Hui Lai Ling , Nelson Edmund Anthony Severn , Deng Han-bing , Leung Tak Yeung , Ho Chih-hsing , Chong Josephine Shuk Ching , Fung Genevieve Po Gee , Hui Joannie , Lam Hugh Simon
Published: July 2022

Background
Residual dried blood spots (rDBS) from newborn screening programmes represent a valuable resource for medical research, from basic sciences, through clinical to public health. In Hong Kong, there is no legislation for biobanking.
Methods
A mixed-method approach was used to study the views and concerns on long-term storage and secondary use of rDBS from newborn screening programmes among Hong Kong Chinese parents of children 0–3 years or expecting parents through focus groups (8 groups; 33 participants) and a survey (n = 1012, 85% mothers). We used framework analysis to summarise the themes as supportive factors, concerns and critical arguments for retention and secondary use of rDBS from focus group discussion. We used multiple logistic regression to assess factors associated with support for retention and secondary use of rDBS in the survey.
Results
In both focus groups and survey, majority of parents were not aware of the potential secondary use of rDBS. Overall secondary use of rDBS in medical research was well accepted by a large proportion of Hong Kong parents, even if all potential future research could not be specified in a broad consent. However parents were concerned about potential risks of biobanking rDBS including leaking of data and mis-use of genetic information. Parents wanted to be asked for permission before rDBS are stored and mainly did not accept an “opt-out” approach. The survey showed that parents born in mainland China, compared to Hong Kong born parents, had lower awareness of newborn screening but higher support in biobanking rDBS. Higher education was associated with support in rDBS biobanking only among fathers.
Conclusions
Long-term storage and secondary use of rDBS from newborn screening for biomedical research and a broad consent for biobanking of rDBS are generally acceptable to Hong Kong parents given their autonomy is respected and their privacy is protected, highlighting the importance of an accountable governance and a transparent access policy for rDBS biobanks.
Non-contact locking plate application in second stage treatment of post-traumatic tibial osteomyelitis: A retrospective analysis
Authors: He Zhiwei , Chen Zijian , Zhu Yan , Wang Yicun , Zhou Hao , Zhou Guangxin , Sun Guojing , Zhao Jianning , bao Nirong , Qian Hongbo
Published: July 2022

Objective: We compared the fixation endurance, bone union time, lower limb joint function and complications associated with external fixation, internal fixation and non-contact locking plate during the treatment of bone defects caused by post-traumatic osteomyelitis debridement. Methods: This retrospective study involved the clinical data for 55 cases with post-traumatic-infected bone defects of the lower extremities, who had undergone radical debridement between January 2017 and September 2020. Moreover, demographics, the time of union, bacterial culture results, complications and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale scores were statistically compared among the three groups.Results: Differences in bone union time and recurrence rates of osteomyelitis among the three groups were not significant. In contrast, relative to the other two groups, functions after surgery were significantly high in the non-contact locking plate group. Eight patients (8/22 36.4%) in the EX group, four patients (4/13 30.8%) in the IX group and four patients (4/20 20%) in the LP group had shortened limb and deformed tibia. SAS assessment showed that patients in the LP group had the lowest moderate anxiety and severe anxiety rates.Conclusions: The non-contact locking plate technique can achieve a stable fixation with non-contact between the implant and bone tissues. Therefore, it is a viable alternative for second-stage treatment of post-traumatic tibial osteomyelitis.
Enhancing the Coherence of Superconducting Quantum Bits with Electric Fields
Authors: Lisenfeld Jürgen , Bilmes Alexander , Ustinov Alexey
Published: July 2022

In the endeavour to make quantum computers a reality, integrated superconducting circuits have become a promising architecture. A major challene of this approach is decoherence originating from spurious atomic tunneling defects at the interfaces of qubit electrodes, which may resonantly absorb energy from the qubit's oscillating electric field and reduce the qubit's energy relaxation time T1. Here, we show that qubit coherence can be improved by tuning dominating defects away from the qubit resonance using an applied DC-electric field. We demonstrate a method that optimizes the applied field bias and enhances the average qubit T1-time by 23%. We also discuss how local gate electrodes can be implemented in superconducting quantum processors to enable simultaneous in-situ coherence optimization of individual qubits.
The SMARCA4 R1157W mutation accelerates colorectal cancer progression by facilitating SMARCA4 recruitment to H4R3me2a and chromatin remodeling
Authors: Zeng Xiangwei , Yao Bing , Liu Jianpeng , Gong Guan-Wen , Liu Ming , Li Jiahuang , Pan Hua-Feng , Li Qixiang , Yang Dongjun , Lu Peifen , Wu Dongliang , Xu Peipei , Chen Bing , Chen Panhai , Zhang Ming , Zen Ke , Jing Jian , Huang David C. S. , Jiang Zhi-Wei , Zhao Quan
Published: July 2022

Background: Genomic studies have demonstrated a high frequency of genetic alterations in components of the SWI/SNF complex including the core subunit SMARCA4. However, the mechanisms of tumorigenesis driven by SMARCA4 mutations, particularly in colorectal cancer (CRC), remain largely unknown. Methods: To reveal the role of the SMARCA4R1157W mutation in CRC cells and its consequences on CRC progression, we used multiple approaches and techniques. These include DNA sequencing, the CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing system, biochemical assays including protein interaction studies, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) and chromatin remodeling assays, cellular analysis including cell proliferation, colony formation, migration assays and culture of CRC patient-derived organoids, clinical sample analysis and treatment of cell line-derived xenograft (CDX) mouse models. Results: We identified a specific, hotspot mutation in SMARCA4 (c. 3721 C>T) which results in conversion from arginine to tryptophan at residue 1157 (R1157W) in human CRC tissues associated with higher grade tumors and controls CRC progression. Mechanistically, we found that the SMARCA4R1157W mutation facilitated its recruitment to PRMT1-mediated H4R3me2a (asymmetric dimethylation of Arg 3 in histone H4) and enhanced the ATPase activity of SWI/SNF complex to remodel chromatin in CRC cells. We further showed that the SMARCA4R1157W mutant reinforced the transcriptional expression of EGFR and TNS4 to promote proliferation of CRC cells and patient-derived tumor organoids. Importantly, we demonstrated that SMARCA4R1157W CRC cells and mutant cell-derived xenografts were more sensitive to combined inhibition of PRMT1 and SMARCA4 which act synergistically to suppress cell proliferation. Conclusions: Together, our findings show that SMARCA4-R1157W is a novel gain-of-function mutation, which accelerates CRC progression through epigenetic reprograming of EGFR signaling. Our results suggest a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of CRC patients carrying the SMARCA4R1157W mutation.
Performance of Using Overtopping Breakwater for Shore Protection and Energy Conversion
Authors: saie Yasser El , amira  , Fahmy
Published: July 2022

The breakwater's assignment as a wave energy breaker and a coastal protection needs to be changed to capturing wave energy and converting it to electricity. This innovation is important to provide new, renewable energy as un-renewable energy is on the verge of depletion. In this paper, a physical breakwater device of the overtopping type has been proposed, which has a front slope facing the incoming waves, and at the end of the back slope, the turbine was installed. The effect of wave state (incident wave height and wave period) on the extracted electricity and wave energy dissipation was investigated. The effect of structural parameters (structure draught and inlet slope inclination) was also examined. Results showed that a lower inlet inclined angle was preferable for the purpose of increasing electric power extraction, whereas for a larger inlet inclined angle, the dissipation of the waves' energy was greater. With increasing draught, energy extraction increased, and wave energy loss increased.
Infinite Frequency Oscillations in a Class of Discontinuous Systems with a Variable Delay
Authors: Li Liping
Published: July 2022

This paper mainly investigates the oscillatory behaviors in a class of discontinuous dynamical systems with a variable delay. Under the restrictions of boundedness and monotonicity on the time-delay function, the type and distribution of zero points of the solution are firstly determined. And then, the non-existence of oscillatory solutions with infinite frequency is proven for the systems with two classes of discontinuous vector fields. In detail, by applying the inequality techniques on a backward shift operator, an exact lower bound of the time is provided to ensure the vanishing of infinite frequency oscillations after this time. The obtained results improve some previous work in the cases of the constant delay and constant vector fields.
HER2-low-positive features a distinct subtype in estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer associated with endocrine therapy resistance
Authors: Long Mengping , Ying Min , Wang Xinguang , Wu Jinbo , Hu Xuejiao Lina , Guo Zhaorong , Liang Baosheng , Xie Yuntao , Li Jinfeng , Wang Tianfeng , Ouyang Tao , Sun Aihua , Zhou Xiaohua , Fan Zhaoqing , Liu Yiqiang , Hu Taobo
Published: July 2022

BackgroundHER2-low-positive breast cancers are reported to have distinct clinical and molecular features from HER2-zero tumors in ER-positive breast cancer. However, the association between HER2-status with response to endocrine therapy is largely unknown. MethodsIn this study, we conducted a retrospective analysis to compare the response of ER-positive breast cancer to neoadjuvant endocrine therapy (NET), neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NCT) and survival according to HER2-status.ResultsPathological complete response (pCR) in primary tumor (ypT0/isNx) is significantly lower in HER2-low-positive breast cancer than in HER2-zero tumors for NET cohort (18 out of 233 [7.7%] vs 9 out of 45 [20%]) but not for NCT cohort (28 out of 204 [13.3%] vs 5 out of 36 [13.9%]). HER2-zero tumors consistently show higher ypT0/isNx pCR ratio than HER2-low-positive breast cancer in all endocrine therapy duration groups including 3-10months, 11-20months and 21-30months groups. Multi-variable logistic regression analyses showed that HER2-low-positive expression is a risk factor for poor response to NET. In patients receiving NET, HER2-low-positve breast tumors has better disease-free survival compared with HER2-zero while no significance difference was detected with overall survival. ConclusionsOur results demonstrated that HER2-low-positive breast tumors was a distinct subtype in ER-positive breast cancers and was associated with endocrine therapy resistance.
Chaotic Bi-LSTM and Attention HLCO Predictor Based Quantum Price Level Fuzzy Logic Trading System
Authors: Lee Jiahao , Huang Zihao , Lin Lirong , Guo Yuchen , Lee Raymond
Published: July 2022

There are various indicators i.e. Relative Strength Index (RSI), Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) , Stochastic Oscillator which have advantages in applications to determine not only market movements with buying and selling decisions in Computational Finance, but have significant drawbacks that discrepancies are easy to match against the best trading times due to fixed order-triggering boundaries and delay problems. For example, RSI ’s 70 and 30 overbuy and oversell are fixed boundaries. Orders can only be triggered when RSI’s value exceeds one of the boundaries. Its computation only considers past market situation prompting indicators like RSI to trigger orders with delay. In this paper, we proposed a method to reduce these problems with advanced AI technologies to generate indicators’ buy and sell signals executed in the best trading time. Recurrent Neural Network (RNN) has outstanding performance to learn time-series data automatic with long-time sequences but ordinary RNN units such as Long-Short-Term-Memory(LSTM) are unable to decipher the relationships between time units, so-called context. Hence, researchers have proposed an algorithm based on RNNs’ Attention Mechanism allowing RNNs to learn information such as chaotic attributes and Quantum properties contained in time sequences. Chaos Theory and Quantum Finance Theory (QFT) are also proposed to simulate these two features. One of the well-performed QFT models is Quantum Price Level (QPL) to simulate all possible vibration levels to locate price. The system used in this paper consists of two components - neural network and fuzzy logic. Neural networks are used to predict future data and to solve indicators lagging problem whereas fuzzy logic is used to solve fixed order-triggering boundaries problem. By combining these two core components, the proposed model has obtained remarkable results in backtesting previous data that it is possible for these methods to make better investment decisions when market changes constantly.
Building a Multi-class Password Strength Generator and Classifier Model by Augmenting Supervised Machine Learning Techniques
Authors: Sakya Sakya Sarkar , Mauparna Mauparna Nandan
Published: July 2022

In the current scenario, password is the most indispensable authentication mechanism with respect to any system security. Although a plethora of authentication methods are available now-a-days which provides improved security such as biometrics and smart cards but still the password authentication mechanism is auspicious to everyone for the enhanced system security along with the ease of implementation. On account of the conventional pattern of passwords, these are exposed to different types of vulnerabilities. Generally, human beings prefer to set a password related to their birth place, date of birth, keyboard patterns, dictionary words etc. The online or offline attackers can guess these passwords easily and intrude the system security. The diverse varieties of password cracking tools available are primarily based on guessing of passwords, irrespective of the fact that it may be online or offline. The bulk of these tools can easily crack such accounts possessing weak password or password with some common patterns. So, every organization must ensure to govern a policy regarding the implementation of strong passwords since the usage of strong passwords will reduce the different types of vulnerabilities. In the proposed work, at first the dataset employed in the study has been generated by implementing a password generator and secondly, the password strength prediction is modeled as a classification task through the implementation of multiple supervised machine learning algorithms. These algorithms are utilized for the training and testing purpose of the dataset. However, during the testing phase, the XGBoost algorithm outperforms the other machine learning algorithms with an accuracy of 94\%. The primary contribution of this work is the generation of the dataset by employing a password generator followed by the application of some machine learning algorithms like Adaboost, XGBoost(XGB), Stochastic Gradient Descent (SGD) and Multilayer Perceptron (MLP) during the training and testing phase which has not been considered in similar other works. The final results divulge that machine learning approaches have plenty of capabilities to categorize the various types of passwords into different classes such as very weak, weak, medium, strong, very strong.