Human cervical, vaginal, vulval, penile, anal, and oropharyngeal cancers are all caused by the human papillomavirus (HPV). This review article focuses on HPV biology, virus-host interactions, cell transformation, cancer progression, and its co-infection with HIV, HSV, EBV, and other bacteria in cancer development. It explores HPV vaccination’s role in preventing high-risk HPV infections and cancers, emphasizes early detection and screening methods, discusses emerging strategies like specialized therapies and immuno-based interventions, and considers personalized medical care for HPV-linked cancers. Comprehensive coverage includes HPV-associated cancer epidemiology, regional variations, and India’s unique challenges. The cumulative efforts of scientists facilitate groundbreaking approaches toward reducing the adverse consequences of HPV-related malignancies among people and communities.

Objective: The aim of this investigation was to explore the potential correlation between signal intensity ratio (SIR) at internal auditory canal (IAC) bottom and hearing impairment in MD, thereby providing a foundation for further comprehension of the underlying mechanisms contributing to hearing loss. Design: Fifty patients diagnosed with unilateral definited MD were enrolled in the study. 3D-FLAIR MRI was conducted four hours after intravenous administration of gadobutrol to determine the SIR of bilateral IAC bottom. The difference of SIR of IAC bottom was assessed between affected and unaffected sides, followed by an analysis of its correlation with low-, middle-, and high-tone hearing thresholds. Additionally, correlation analysis was conducted between the degree of EH in vestibular and cochlea and the SIR on the affected side. Results: The degree of EH in MD can be clearly visualized through 3D-FLAIR MRI. The SIR on the affected side was significantly higher than that on the unaffected side (P=0.000). Furthermore, a positive correlation was observed between the SIR at the affected and low (r=0.692, P=0.000), middle (r=0.615, P=0.000) and high-tone (r=0.440, P=0.001); the SIR showed no significant correlation with cochlear (r=0.315, P=0.088) or vestibular hydrops (r=0.215, P=0.244). Conclusion: 3D-FLAIR MRI can observe the degree of EH in MD; impairment of the internal auditory barrier may be one of the factors of hearing loss in MD.

Letter Maurits S. van Maaren*1, Dewi Rijnenberg*2, Theo H.W.M. Roovers3, Annick A.J.M. van de Ven4, Rick G. Pleijhuis4, Thomas Rustemeyer5, Paul L.A. van Daele1, Heike Rockmann-Helmbach2, Saskia M. Rombach1* both authors contributed equally1. Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands2. Department of Dermatology and Allergology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands3. Department of Allergology, Elisabeth-TweeSteden Ziekenhuis, Tilburg, Noord-Brabant, the Netherlands4. Department of Internal Medicine and Allergology, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands5. Department of Dermatology, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

En bloc resection of an extremely giant mediastinal immature teratoma with somatic-type malignancy: A case report with a brief review of the literatureKai-li Huang, MD1#, Pengfei Li, MD1#, Han-Yu Deng, MD1, Xiaojun Tang1, Qinghua Zhou, MD1*1Lung cancer center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, China*Correspondence to: Qinghua Zhou. Lung Cancer Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, No.37 Guoxue Alley, Chengdu 610041, China. Email: prof_qh_zhou@126.com#These authors contributed equally to the study and were co-first authors.Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no competing interests.Word count: 3717

A novel ninth-order suspended stripline low pass filter with three transmission zeros is presented. The technique use a pseudo-elliptic synthesis with grounding improvements. Suspended stripline low-pass filters are most widely used for applications that require high suppression of spurious and harmonic signals, and grounding could affect stopband rejection. The designed low pass pseudo-elliptic filter has a cutoff frequency of 2.5 GHz and an insertion loss less than 0.5 dB, and a stopband from 3.6 GHz to 6 GHz with a rejection better than 60 dB is achieved.

This paper presents a millimeter-wave Integrated Substrate Gap Waveguide (ISGW) filtering antenna with four controllable radiation nulls, two on each of its upper and lower stop bands. These radiation nulls can be adjusted by manipulating the dimensions of the stepped-impedance resonators (SIRs), complementary U-slots, and passive coplanar parasitic patches. This filtering antenna has the advantages of separately controllable radiation nulls and flexible adjustment of selectivity and gain curve roll-off. The simulation results demonstrate that the antenna operates at a center frequency of 25.4 GHz, with a relative bandwidth of 14.3% (23.76-27.04 GHz), and achieves a realizable average gain of 7.6 dBi.

For the power systems in electric vehicle, a weight and efficiency are very important since it is directly related with driving range. Many previous researches proposed new systems to reduce a weight or to increase efficiency. However, although they improved the weight or efficiency, they usually degrade the other side. Therefore, this paper proposes a new power system which achieves high efficiency while don't degrade the weight of the power system by adopting frequency modulation control. The proposed idea is implemented for 48V-to-12V DC-DC converter of mild hybrid electric vehicle using buck converter.

Fluvial hazards of river mobility and flooding are often problematic for road infrastructure and need to be considered in the planning process. The extent of river and road infrastructure networks and their tendency to be close to each other creates a need to be able to identify the most dangerous areas quickly and cost-effectively. In this study we propose a novel methodology using random forest (RF) machine learning methods to provide easily interpretable fine-scale fluvial hazard predictions for large river systems. The tools developed provide predictions for three models: presence of flooding (PFM), presence of mobility (PMM) and type of erosion model (TEM, lateral migration, or incision) at reference points every 100 meters along the fluvial network of three watersheds within the province of Quebec, Canada. The RF models uses variables focused on river conditions and hydrogeomorphological processes such as confinement, sinuosity, and upstream slope. Training/validation data included field observations, results from hydraulic and erosion models, government infrastructure databases, and hydro- geomorphological assessments using 1-m DEM and satellite/historical imagery. A total of 1,807 reference points were classified for flooding, 1,542 for mobility, and 847 for the type of erosion out of the 11,452 reference points for the 1,145 km of rivers included in the study. These were divided into training (75%) and validation (25%) datasets, with the training dataset used to train supervised RF models. The validation dataset indicated the models were capable of accurately predicting the potential for fluvial hazards to occur, with precision results for the three models ranging from 83% to 94% of points accurately predicted. The results of this study suggest that RF models are a cost-effective tool to quickly evaluate the potential for fluvial hazards to occur at the watershed scale.

Current TENG production predominantly employs synthetic materials, posing a significant threat to the environment. This study introduces split black gram (SBG) as a tribo-positive material for TENGs due to its easy availability, cost-effectiveness, and biodegradability for manufacturing eco-friendly TENG. The fabrication process of SBG-TENG is economical, facile, solvent-free, and requires no specialized tools. The SBG-TENG achieved maximum power density of 15.36 µW/cm² at 1 MΩ, with open circuit voltage and short circuit current of 84 V and 28 µA, respectively; comparable with the recently reported studies. To showcase the practical applications of SBG-TENG, it was integrated with LEDs and portable electronic devices efficiently. Furthermore, an autonomous lighting system using SBG TENG allowed wireless control of lights through human stepping on the mat. The proposed food based SBG-TENG not only offers cost-effectiveness but also minimizes its impact on the environment by harnessing sustainable and environment friendly energy through food.

Background Cardioneuroablation (CNA) is a novel therapeutic approach for functional bradyarrhythmias, specifically neurocardiogenic syncope or atrial fibrillation, achieved through endocardial radiofrequency catheter ablation of vagal innervation, obviating the need for pacemaker implantation. Originating in the nineties, the first series of CNA procedures was published in 2005. Extra-cardiac vagal stimulation (ECVS) is employed as a direct method for stepwise denervation control during CNA. Objective This study aimed to compare the long-term follow-up outcomes of patients with severe cardioinhibitory syncope undergoing CNA with and without denervation confirmation via ECVS. Method A cohort of 48 patients, predominantly female (56.3%), suffering from recurrent syncope (5.1±2.5 episodes annually) that remained unresponsive to clinical and pharmacological interventions, underwent CNA, divided into two groups: ECVS and NoECVS, consisting of 34 and 14 cases, respectively. ECVS procedures were conducted with and without atrial pacing. Results Demographic characteristics, left atrial size, and ejection fraction displayed no statistically significant differences between the groups. Follow-up duration was comparable, with 29.1 ± 15 months for the ECVS group and 31.9±20 months for the NoECVS group (p=0.24). Notably, syncope recurrence was significantly lower in the ECVS group (2 cases vs. 4 cases, Log Rank p=0.04). Moreover, the Hazard ratio revealed a five-fold higher risk of syncope recurrence in the NoECVS group. Conclusion This study demonstrates that concluding CNA with denervation confirmation via ECVS yields a higher success rate and a substantially reduced risk of syncope recurrence compared to procedures without ECVS confirmation.

Himalayan rivers are prone for drying subject to continuous drop in the glacial meltwater contribution and groundwater level. The present study is conducted in the region of West Kameng District of Arunachal Pradesh, India, covering catchment of 2 tributaries of Kameng river, viz., Tenga & Dirang-Bichom. We used stable isotopic method to trace the origin of water feeding the river as it flows from the headwater to the region of flood plain. Our observation allowed defining the Local Water line (LWL) in this region for the dry period, with the relation δD = (8.1 ± 0.3)×δ 18O + (11.6 ± 2.5‰). This equation is derived from analysis of river water sample collected during March 2021. This LWL is identical to that reconstructed using the monthly (from India, April – October 2007 ) precipitation isotope data from a station at Mawlong, Meghalaya, [δD = (8.1 ± 0.1) ×δ 18O + (11.8 ± 0.9) ‰]. The d-excess values from the two set of data are similar at 11.2± 1.8 ‰ and 11.3± 2.7‰, respectively, implying that river water is mainly derived from rainwater. Such coincidence of observation is interpreted as a common source of water for river and groundwater. Further, we compared present observation with other studies on the surface water composition in other Himalayan River systems and documented a consistent elevation pattern for stable isotopes. Our observation on spatial variability showed maximum altitude effect in the North-Western Himalaya and drop in isotope ratios with height with pronounced participation of recycled moisture in the Eastern Himalaya with presence of terrestrial biosphere.

A document by Pedro Rocha Carvalho. Click on the document to view its contents.

Oshtoran Syndrome, also known as H63D Syndrome Type-3, is a multifaceted meta-syndromic condition characterized by an array of clinical manifestations. These manifestations include irregular iron homeostasis, micro-inflammatory events, neuropsychiatric disturbances, multi-organ pathology, and notably, autonomic dysfunctions that affect the Central Nervous System, the Autonomous Nervous System, and the innate immune system. A nuanced understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms is crucial for precise diagnosis, evidence-based management, and the development of targeted therapeutic strategies. Healthcare professionals are encouraged to employ an interdisciplinary framework in patient management, accentuating the imperative for early diagnostic efforts, timely interventions, and patient-focused educational initiatives. Future research should strategically focus on the employment of gene-editing technologies and the identification of novel therapeutic options to address the root genetic anomalies and the corresponding heterogeneous symptomatology.

Background Propofol has been the gold standard for anesthesia induction and maintenance due to its rapid onset and favourable pharmacokinetic properties. However, the search for alternative agents with improved safety and efficacy has led to the emergence of ciprofol (HSK3486), a structural analog of propofol. This systematic review and meta-analysis aims to comprehensively assess the safety and efficacy of ciprofol compared to propofol for anaesthesia induction and maintenance in adult patients undergoing surgical procedures. Methods This study included only double-arm RCTs in which participants were aged eighteen or older undergoing surgery. For the statistical analysis of the extracted data, we employed RevMan 5.4.1. Results Ciprofol demonstrated a promising trend of higher anesthesiologists’ satisfaction during the induction phase (MD: 0.14, 95%, CI: -0.28 to 0.56, p = 0.51), whereas Propofol was favored during maintenance. Propofol also exhibited advantages with a shorter time to successful anesthesia induction (MD: 0.08 minutes, 95% CI: 0.00 to 0.15, p = 0.04). and quicker attainment of full alertness (MD: 0.11 minutes, 95% CI: -1.29 to 1.52, p = 0.87), suggesting its efficiency in clinical practice. Importantly, there were no significant disparities in the success rate of anesthesia. Conclusion Both ciprofol and propofol demonstrate comparable efficacy and safety for anesthesia induction and maintenance in adult patients undergoing surgery. While propofol provides a faster onset of induction, ciprofol exhibits advantages in terms of pain management. Clinicians should consider these findings when selecting anesthetic agents, tailoring choices to individual patient needs and clinical scenarios.

Scaffold-based tissue engineering provides an efficient approach for repairing uterine tissue defects and restoring fertility. In the current study, a novel trilayer tissue engineering scaffold with high similarity to the uterine tissue in structure was designed and fabricated via 4D printing, electrospinning and 3D bioprinting for uterine regeneration. Highly stretchable poly(L-lactide-co-trimethylene carbonate) (PLLA-co-TMC, “PTMC” in short)/thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) polymer blend scaffolds were firstly made via 4D printing. To improve the biocompatibility, porous poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA)/gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) fibers incorporated with polydopamine (PDA) particles were produced on PTMC/TPU scaffolds via electrospinning. Importantly, estradiol (E2) was encapsulated in PDA particles. The bilayer scaffolds thus produced could provide controlled and sustained release of E2. Subsequently, bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) were mixed with gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA)-based inks and the formulated bioinks were used to fabricate a cell-laden hydrogel layer on the bilayer scaffolds via 3D bioprinting, forming ultimately biomimicking trilayer scaffolds for uterine tissue regeneration. The trilayer tissue engineering scaffolds thus formed exhibited a shape morphing ability by transforming from the planar shape to tubular structures when immersed in the culture medium at 37 ℃. The developed trilayer tissue engineering scaffolds would provide a new insight for uterine tissue regeneration.

Lung adenocarcinoma is a malignancy with a high global incidence and cancer-related mortality rate.The 5-year survival rate is low. This study aimed to improve the prognosis of LUAD patients. LUAD RNA sequencing data obtained from online database.Weighted gene co-expression network analysis combined with univariate and multifactorial COX analysis was used to identify hub prognostic genes. Based on these genes, pam clustering classified LUAD into two subtypes. The ESTIMATE, Immunophenoscore, and Microenvironment Cell Populations-counter algorithm were applied to determine the microenvironmental purity and immune. Genomic enrichment analysis was performed to analyze the function. Mutational difference was also explored. The effects of cisplatin and FASNi on gene expression were examined by RT-PCR.The results showed LUAD patients could be divided into two subtypes. The survival rate of patients in cluster 2 was signifcantly higher than that in cluster 1. Patients in cluster 2 had more immune cell infiltration, higher microenvironmental component, and higher rate of EGFR mutations. Patients in cluster 1 had more fibroblast infiltration and high rate of NTRK3 mutations. Functional analysis suggested cluster 1 was associated with Nucleotide sequence repair, while cluster 2 mainly related to lipid metabolism and angiogenic pathways. RT-PCR indicated that cluster1-related model genes were associated with cisplatin, cluster2-related genes were associated with EGFR-targeted therapy and lipid metabolism inhibitors.This study showed patients in cluster 1 may benefit from anti-Nucleotide repair therapies such as platinum, radiotherapy, targeting fibroblasts, and targeting NTRK3, while patients in cluster 2 benefit from immunotherapy, anti-angiogenic,targeting lipid metabolism, and targeting EGFR therapy.

The rheological properties of natural polymer solutions are difficult to be modeled universally because of the strongly nonlinear relations between viscosities and the external factors and the discreteness of the rheological data owning to different molecular parameters including the molecular weights and size of clusters from different types of natural polymers and solvents. In this study, a typical natural polymer-lignin was selected and dissolved in polyethylene glycol (PEG). The rheological properties of different PEG-lignin solutions (PEG-Ls) and the molecular parameters of the pretreated lignin were tested. Subsequently, machine learning was applied to establish the generalized models considering the molecular parameters. The models were successfully developed in Newtonian and non-Newtonian regimes for PEG-Ls with correlation coefficients of 0.982 and 0.980, respectively. The models and relevant methodology can provide scenarios for further application of natural polymer solutions.

Volatility is a measure of the instantaneous variability of a financial asset. High-volatility assets is often associated with high risk, highlighting the importance of precisely estimating the volatility. This paper proposes an autoregressive support vector regression (SVR) model integrating the lagged range-based Parkinson volatility measure and four lagged logarithmic prices ( SVR LagPK _ LagPrices ) jointly as predictor variables to capture the dynamics of volatility of asset returns. An empirical analysis based on the Standard and Poor’s 500 was adopted. We performed extensive comparisons among SVR models to determine the significance of integrating the predictor variables encompassing the lagged range-based Parkinson volatility measure and four lagged logarithmic prices, both jointly and singly in the autoregressive SVR models with different kernel settings. Additionally, the conditional autoregressive range (CARR) models were also evaluated. The in-sample results based on the two realised volatility measures that act as proxies for the unobserved true volatility, revealed two important findings: (i) Although the volatility estimates based on CARR models outperformed other SVR models in terms of root mean squared error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE), the goodness-of-fit analysis results show that these models did not fulfil the underlying model assumptions, (ii) The SVR LagPK _ LagPrices   model generally predominates other SVR models for the in-sample model fit based on the RMSE and MAE. An examination of the SVR LagPK _ LagPrices model with linear kernel yielded the best out-of-sample forecasts, characterised by the smallest RMSE and MAE which were tested based on the mean squared error loss function using Hansen’s model confidence set.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is linked to lifestyle factors such as diet and obesity. The gut microbiome’s influence on immune pathways and dysregulations is increasingly recognized in NAFLD. The gut microbiome can significantly modulate immune and inflammatory responses in NAFLD and other liver diseases. We explore how the microbiome impacts local and systemic immune responses contributing to NAFLD’s development, discussing mechanisms and novel interventions like probiotics. Our review points out different immune system pathways and microorganisms regulating metabolism, liver inflammation and fibrosis. We specifically mention TLR-4 as a key immune pathway activated by bacterial lipopolysaccharides producing pro-inflammatory cytokines. Also, we mention endotoxin-producing strains (Enterobacter cloacae B29, Escherichia coli PY102, Klebsiella pneumoniae A7) that can induce NAFLD in animal models by activating TLR4-dependent immune response. These bacteria may also contribute to NAFLD pathogenesis via other immune and non-immune mechanisms. In the end we discuss future perspective of gut microbiome research in NAFLD as a potential new target for both diagnostic and treatment.

This paper presents Solus, a proposed end-to-end AI software development solution. It examines the rapid advancement of the generative AI space and identifies a gap in the current ecosystem: while existing tools such as GitHub's Copilot, Replit's Ghostwriter, and Amazon's Code-whisperer offer inline code completions to aid developers, there is no comprehensive autonomous software development solution. Furthermore, these systems often require manual intervention and revision. The Solus system aims to solve these issues by utilizing self-critical, multi-role AI agents to undertake all aspects of software development, including managing dependencies , refactoring, debugging, and generating business logic. It also proposes a robust, secure, and scalable approach that is capable of handling enterprise-level projects, with transparency and trace-ability of operations. The paper delves into the system architecture, discussing key components such as a control plane, agents, and resources. It makes a case for the unique design of Solus, which allows for scalability, customization, and optimization of the generative process by compartmentalizing agents and abstracting resources.

Atacama is the most hyper-arid Desert in the world. In this study, we describe a novel species, Nakazawaea atacamensis f. a., sp. nov., isolated from plant samples in the Atacama Desert of Chile. In total, three isolates of N. atacamensis were obtained from independent Neltuma chilensis bark samples (synonym Prosopis chilensis, Algarrobo). The novel species was delineated based on morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics. A neighbour-joining analysis using the sequences of the D1/D2 domains of LSU rRNA revealed that N. atacamensis sp. nov. clustered with Nakazawaea pomicola. The sequence of N. atacamensis differed from closely related species by 1.3% to 5.2% in the D1/D2 domains. A phylogenomic analysis based on single nucleotide polymorphism’s data confirms that the novel species belongs to the genus Nakazawaea, and placed N. atacamensis closer to N. peltata. Phenotypic comparisons demonstrated that N. atacamensis sp. nov. exhibited distinct carbon assimilation patterns compared to its related species. Genome sequencing of the ATA-11A-B T strain revealed a genome size of approximately 12.4 Mbp, similar to other Nakazawaea species, with 5,116 protein-coding genes annotated using InterProScan. In addition, N. atacamensis exhibited the capacity to ferment synthetic wine must, representing a potential new yeast for mono or co-culture wine fermentations. This comprehensive study expands our understanding of the genus Nakazawaea and highlights the ecological and industrial potential of these yeasts in fermentation processes. The holotype of N. atacamensis sp. nov. is CBS 18375 T. The Mycobank number is MB 849680.

Fatigue has become a major consideration factor in modern offshore wind farms as optimized design codes and a lack of lifetime reserve have made continuous fatigue life monitoring become an operational concern. In this contribution we discuss a data-driven methodology for farm-wide tower-transition piece fatigue load estimation. We specifically tackle the employment of this methodology in a real-world farm-wide setting and the implications of continuous monitoring. With reliable nacelle-installed accelerometer data at all locations, along with the customary ten-minute SCADA statistics and three strain gauge-instrumented ’fleet-leaders’ we discuss the value of two distinct approaches: use of fleet-leader or population-based data for training a physics-guided neural network model with a built-in conservative bias, with the latter taking precedence. In the context of continuous monitoring, we touch on the importance of data imputation, working under the assumption that if data is missing, then its fatigue loads should be modelled as under idling. With this knowledge at hand, we analyzed the errors of the trained model over a period of nine months, with monthly accumulated errors always kept below ±5% . A particular focus was given to performance under high loads, where higher errors were found. The cause for this error was identified as being inherent to the use of ten-minute statistics, but mitigation strategies have been identified. Finally, the farm-wide results are presented on fatigue load estimation, which allowed to identify outliers, whose behaviour we correlated with the operational conditions. Finally, the continuous data-driven, population-based approach here presented can serve as a springboard for further lifetime-based decision-making.

Chronic neuropathic pain and chronic tinnitus have been likened to phantom percepts, in which a complete or partial sensory deafferentation results in a filling in of the missing information derived from memory. 150 participants, 50 with tinnitus, 50 with chronic pain and 50 healthy controls underwent a resting state EEG. Source localized current density was recorded from all the sensory cortices (olfactory, gustatory, somatosensory, auditory, vestibular, visual) as well as the parahippocampal area. Functional connectivity by means of lagged phase synchronization was also computed between these regions of interest. Pain and tinnitus were associated with gamma band activity, reflecting prediction errors, in all sensory cortices except the olfactory and gustatory cortex. Functional connectivity identified theta frequency connectivity between each of the sensory cortices except the chemical senses to the parahippocampus, but not between the individual sensory cortices. When one sensory domain is deprived, the other senses may provide the parahippocampal ‘contextual’ area with the most likely sound or somatosensory sensation to fill in the gap, applying an abductive ‘duck test’ approach, i.e., based on stored multisensory congruence. This novel concept paves the way to develop novel treatments for pain and tinnitus, using multisensory modulation or via parahippocampal targeting.

A document by Josef Mana. Click on the document to view its contents.