We report behavioural findings implying common motion processing for auditory and visual motion. We presented brief translational motion stimuli drifting leftwards or rightwards in the visual or auditory modality at various speeds. Observers made a speed discrimination on each trial, comparing current speed against mean speed (i.e., method of single stimuli). Data were compiled into psychometric functions and means and slopes compared. Slopes between auditory and visual motion were identical, consistent with a common noise source, although mean speed for audition was veridical while visual speeds were significantly underestimated. An inter-trial analysis revealed clear motion priming in both audition and vision (i.e., faster perceived speed after a fast preceding speed, and vice versa – a positive serial dependence). Plotting priming as a function of preceding speed revealed the same slope for each modality. We also tested whether motion priming was modality specific. Whether vision preceded audition, or audition preceded vision, a positive serial bias (i.e., priming) was always observed. We conclude a common process underlies auditory and visual motion, and that this explains the closely matched data in vision and audition, as well as the crossmodal data showing equivalent motion priming regardless of the preceding trial’s modality.

Abacavir (ABC) is a NRTI (nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor) antiretroviral drug has potent antiviral activity against HIV infection. Abacavir can cause a severe hypersensitivity reaction (ABC-HSR) in about 5–8% of persons living with HIV (PLHIV) and varies in severity and clinical manifestation indicative of multiorgan involvement, including fever, skin rash, constitutional, gastrointestinal tract, and respiratory symptoms. According to pharmacogenetic studies, development of abacavir hypersensitivity reaction is strongly associated with the HLA-B*57:01 allele. ABC-HSR is reduced or eliminated by prospective HLA-B*57:01 screening. Therefore, HLA-B*57:01 genotyping is required prior to the prescription of ABC. The sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (SSOP) reverse hybridization method, followed by Sanger sequencing, is routinely used in laboratory. This method is both time-consuming and costly. HCP5 rs2395029 is localized within the MHC class I region, was found to be in complete linkage disequilibrium with HLA-B*57:01. In this review, we examine the prevalence of HLA-B*57:01, available diagnostic techniques, and its linkage disequilibrium (LD) with the HCP5 rs2395029 (G) allele in various ethnic groups around the world.

Many researchers in biomedical engineering and related fields are interested in exploring the feasibility of using electroosmosis in microchannels to move fluids, which can be done with micro-pumping or micro peristaltic pumping. Due to the one-of-a-kind properties of nanoliquids and their significance in processes like peristalsis, inquisitive scholars have studied the behavior of peristaltic nanofluids while accounting for the effect of electroosmosis. This study aims to assess the impact of electromagnetic fields on peristaltic heat and mass transfer inside a non-uniform channel, with electroosmosis considered. This study explicitly accounts for electroosmotic effects by deriving concentration, temperature, and velocity fields from a complex coupled partial differential equations (PDE) system. The electromagnetic experiments being conducted as part of the inquiry are essential, but electroosmosis is also a crucial part of the research. Furthermore, specific physical features of Casson and Newtonian liquids are investigated to determine the impact of several factors. Some examples of these variables are the skin friction coefficient, the Nusselt number, and the Sherwood number. It also visually examines the trapping phenomena that occur inside the system, emphasizing the role that electroosmosis plays in developing these events.

In this letter, a compact absorptive bandpass filter (ABPF) with adjustable bandwidth and phase, low group delay (GD), high absorptive ratio, and low insertion loss (IL) characteristics is proposed. The presented ABPF consists of a bandpass section that is made of a quarterwavelength coupled-line and four stubs that are basically a lumped resistor in series with a short-circuited quarter-wavelength transmission line. The stubs not only have the function of absorption, but also have the advantage of adjustable bandwidth and phase. To verify the design concept and analysis formulas, an ABPF operating at 2.4 GHz is fabricated and measured, whose simulated and measured results are in good agreement.

Although atmospheric nitrogen deposition due to throughfall has decreased in Tokyo metropolitan, the forested catchment which composed with Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Japanese cypress (Chamaecyparis obtusa), and oak (Quercus serrata) was still nitrogen saturated. We aimed to elucidate effects of decrease in nitrogen deposition on aluminum (Al) dynamics in a forested Andisols. Throughfall and soil percolated water samples were taken under Japanese cedar stand and Japanese cypress stand in Hachioji, Tokyo (Field Museum Tamakyuryo). Major inorganic ions were determined by ion chromatography. Total Al concentrations were measured by atomic absorption spectrometry after concentrating under acidic condition. Aluminum concentrations were significantly correlated with nitrate (NO3-) concentration in both Japanese cedar stand and Japanese cypress stand. In case of Japanese cedar stand, Al concentrations tended to decrease with time. Acid load associated with N transformation ([H+]load), which was chosen as the sole factor for Al mobilization in Japanese cedar stand, has also decreased. Decrease in nitrogen deposition affected Al dynamics via decrease in [H+]load. It was suggested that the calcium (Ca) content in needles may promote recovery from soil acidification in Japanese cedar stand.

This article presents a maximum power point control (MPPC) algorithm on a 5kW doubly fed induction generator (DFIG) based wind energy conversion system (WECS). The proposed algorithm can generate optimal speed for wind turbine to harvest more energy from all wind profiles. In this paper, the tip speed ratio (TSR) algorithm is proposed on rotor side control (RSC) to extract maximum power by controlling rotor speed and grid side control (GSC) is regulated to control DC link voltage. Also, the closed-loop double transfer function of RSC and GSC can be determined by using a proportional-integral control strategy. The Matlab/Simulation result show that the proposed MPPT algorithm can extract maximum power against all types of wind flow conditions.

[The Instructions to Authors state no abstract is required for a Research Letter but the submission sysem demands one, so this text is included.] In order to assess whether measuring HE4 might add to the performance of CA125 in diagnosing ovarian cancer, we measured both markers in 33 individuals with elevated CA125. We found that HE4 elevated above 150 pmol/l was present in all 9 cases of ovarian cancer and in the single case of pancreatic cancer.  HE4 levels below 77pmol/l seen in 16 cases were associated with non-malignant gynaecological conditions and with there being no identified cause for elevated CA125. Two cases with HE4 between 77 and 149 pmol/l had no gynaecological conditions and 2 had no an identifiable cause.  Measuring both markers could lead to improved sensitivity and specificity of the initial diagnostic step.

The accuracy of rainfall runoff modeling plays a crucial role in the simulation and evaluation of hydrological processes. Numerous physical parameters need to be determined when modeling using SWMM. Automatic calibration helps to achieve improved model accuracy. However, the SWMM model does not have automatic way of calibration. For this purpose, this study is dedicated to combining the NSGA II optimization algorithm with pyswmm to achieve automatic parameter calibration for the swmm model. The swmm model was calibrated and validated using rainfall and runoff measurements from a monitoring catchment located in Taipei City, Taiwan. The results of the study show that the calibrated parameters help to improve the accuracy of the SWMM model quickly compared to relying on manual determination. The relative error of the peak flow rate is lower than 10%. However, the baseflow has a significant impact on the validation of the results. Based on the current research results, it is expected that the proposed method will be exerted on other similar environmental modeling problems.

Scientific outreach activities play an important role in disseminating knowledge, connecting the general public to research and breaking down scientific scepticism barriers. However, the vision impaired community is often disadvantaged when the most common audio-visual approach of scientific communication is applied. Here we integrated tactile clues in the scientific communication of immune processes involved in the autoimmune skin disease psoriasis. We encouraged participation of the vision impaired community by engagement with tactile scientific origami art, a haptic poster and wood carved molecular models. Readily accessible science communication that engages a number of senses is a critical step towards making science more inclusive, and engaging for individuals with a wide range of sensory abilities. The Sensory Science approach aligns with the principles of equity, diversity, and inclusion and helps create a more informed and scientifically literate public.

The ATP-dependent DNA ligase Lig E is present as an accessory DNA ligase in numerous proteobacterial pathogen genomes, including many disease-causing species. Here we have constructed a genomic Lig E knock-out in the obligate human pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae and characterised its growth and infection characteristics. This demonstrates that N. gonorrhoeae Lig E is a non-essential gene and its deletion does not cause defects in replication or survival of DNA-damaging stressors. Knock-out strains were partially defective in biofilm formation on an artificial surface as well as adhesion to epithelial cells which coupled with the predicted extracellular/ periplasmic location of Lig E indicates a role in extracellular DNA joining. In addition to in vivo characterisation, we have recombinantly expressed and assayed N. gonorrhoeae Lig E and determined the crystal structure of the enzyme-adenylate engaged with DNA substrate in an open non-catalytic conformation, providing insight into the binding dynamics of these minimal DNA ligases.

ObjectiveThere are widespread financial relationships between journal editors and healthcare industry in the United States (US) across specialties. These relationships could be conflicts of interest among editors: however, no studies have been assessed the extent of the relationships in infectious diseases.MethodsUsing the Open Payments Database between 2014 and 2022, financial relationships between the healthcare industry and all US-based physician editors of the six clinical infectious disease journals with the highest impact factors were evaluated. Proportion of the editors with payments and payment amounts to the editors were calculated.ResultsOf the 82 eligible US physician editors, 61 (74.4%) and 45 (54.9%) received non-research payments from the healthcare industry for the periods 2014-2022 and 2020-2022, respectively. Meanwhile, 22.4% and 40.3% received direct research payments and associated research funding over the nine years. The total payment amounts to the editors were $3,996,131 in non-research payments, $933,813 in direct research payments, and $39,394,410 in associated research funding. The majority of US physician editors received non-research payments between 2020 and 2022 in the Clinical Microbiology and Infection, Clinical Infections Diseases, Journal of Travel Medicine, and Journal of Infectious Diseases. Only two journals had conflicts of interest policies for their journal editors available on the journal webpage. Additionally, none of the journals disclosed the editors’ conflicts of interest.ConclusionsThis study found that the majority of the US-based physician editors of high-impact infectious disease journals received payments from the healthcare industry. Additionally, these financial conflicts of interest among the editors were not publicly disclosed.

Heat transfer and thermodynamic analysis are performed using computational fluid dynamics and chemical kinetics to investigate the synthesis gas production processes in chemical reactors with integrated heat exchangers by steam reforming. The change of thermal energy in the reactor is fully described in order to analyze the influences of fluid velocity, solid thermal properties, and flow arrangement on the thermal behavior of the reactor. The evolution of energy is discussed in terms of reaction heat flux, and thermodynamic analysis of the oxidation and reforming processes is performed in terms of enthalpy changes. The results indicate that while the net sensible enthalpy change is always positive in the reactor, the net enthalpy change for the endothermic and exothermic reactions is positive and negative, respectively. The wall thermal conductivity plays a significant role in determining the efficiency and operation of the autothermal system. The parallel flow design is advantageous for purposes of avoiding localized hot spots and enhancing heat transfer. The change in enthalpy is vital to the endothermic and exothermic reactions. The thermal behavior of the reactor system depends upon the thermal properties of the walls. The change in flow arrangement significantly affects the reaction heat flux in the reactor. The endothermic reforming reaction can proceed efficiently and rapidly if the wall thermal conductivity is high. The reaction heat flux for the endothermic and exothermic processes is negative and positive, respectively. The wall heat conduction effect accompanying temperature changes is of great importance to the autothermal design and self-sustaining operation of the reactor. Keywords: Hydrogen; Steam; Carbon; Methanol; Air; Copper

Objective Machine learning has been effective in other areas of medicine, this study aims to investigate this with regards to HNC and identify which algorithm works best to classify malignant patients. Design An observational cohort study. Setting Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Participants Patients who were referred via the USOC pathway between January 2019 and May 2021. Main outcome measures Predicting the diagnosis of patients from three categories, benign, potential malignant and malignant, using demographics and symptoms data. Results The logistic regression-based models with a penalty term worked best on the data, ridge achieving an AUC of 0.7081. The demographic features describing living alone and recreational drug use history were the most important variables alongside the red flag symptom of a neck lump. Conclusion Further studies should aim to collect larger samples of malignant and pre-malignant patients to improve the class imbalance and increase the performance of the machine learning models.

Juvenile Xanthogranulomas (JXGs) are rare, benign lesions that belong to the large group of non-Langerhans cell histiocytosis, often affecting infants and younger children. JXG usually presents with 1 or more erythematous or yellowish nodules that are most commonly located on the head or neck. On the contrary, we present a rare case of juvenile xanthogranuloma which presented as a large swelling in the gluteal region-a location that has been rarely described in literature. The baby underwent excision of gluteal swelling. Histopathology demonstrated a lymphohistiocytic lesion characterized by proliferation of mononuclear medium-sized histiocytes along with admixed multinucleated giant cells, variably lipidized xanthomatous and Touton-type giant cells. Immunohistochemistry showed immunopositivity for CD68 (Diffuse) and CD4 (Diffuse). Cutaneous JXGs are usually self-limiting and do not require treatment, unless large and causing functional impairment as seen in the case described. Systemic cases may even warrant chemotherapy. Case Report History-A 1-month-old child was brought with insidious onset right gluteal swelling over one month. The swelling was non-tender, with reddish discoloration of the overlying skin. Clinical Examination-The child was alert, active, and hemodynamically stable. Systemic examination was normal. Local examination showed a 4x2 cm swelling in the left gluteal region, which was non-tender and soft to firm in consistency. It was fixed to the underlying structures. The overlying skin was pinchable and seen to be mildly erythematous. No ulceration or discharge was present. No sacral abnormality was noted. The anal opening was normal. Investigations-Baseline investigations reported elevated AFP levels, and serial AFP levels reported a decreasing trend. Ultrasound showed a well-defined hypo-echoic lesion measuring 3.1 cm x 1.9 cm noted in the medial aspect of the left gluteal region at the level of the ischium in close relation with the perianal region, showing internal vascularity-possibly sacrococcygeal teratoma. MRI Pelvis subsequently showed a large lobulated altered signal intensity solid lesion showing predominantly peripheral diffusion restriction and heterogenous post-contrast enhancement arising adjacent to the base of the coccyx with a large exophytic component in the left gluteal region. CT Thorax showed no obvious metastases.

Non Hodgkin's Lymphoma is a predominantly nodal disease. Hepatic involvement secondary to systemic disease is common-however, a primary hepatic location of non Hodgkin lymphoma is rare and only constitutes 0.01% of all cases. This is a case of a 51 year old female who presented with an abdominal swelling measuring 10 cm. Imaging showed a large mass in the right lobe of the liver and biopsy revealed non Hodgkin lymphoma-diffuse large B cell lymphoma. Patient was treated with 6 cycles of RCHOP chemotherapy and patient followed up regularly for 12 months with resolution of mass on imaging and resolution of symptoms. This case highlights a rare case of primary non hodgkin's lymphoma of the liver and how it was successfully treated with chemotherapy alone. Case Presentation: This is a case of a 51 year old female who presented with an abdominal swelling for 2 months associated with decreased appetite and weight loss. On examination, there was a tender, well-defined, firm to hard mass measuring 10 cm in the epigastric region. Ultrsound of the Abdomen showed hepatomegaly with large ill-defined hyperechoic lesion predominantly in right lobe of liver and moderate ascites with internal echoes. CECT showed a 13.8 x 9 cm mass in left lobe of liver without distant metastasis and was suspected to be a primary hepatic neoplasm. Liver biopsy showed non hodgkin lymphoma-diffuse large B cell lymphoma-germinal center subtype/ high grade B cell lymphoma with MYC and BCL6 rearrangement. Immunohistochemistry showed diffuse membrane positivity for CD20 and CD10, diffuse nuclear positivity for BCL6, CMYC nuclear positive in >40% cells, and Ki67-75%. Patient was treated with pre phase chemotherapy with rituximab and steroids. She was treated with RCHOP chemotherapy and Peg filgrastim. 6 cycles of RCHOP were given in total, PET CT done post chemotherapy in comparison with PET CT done pre chemotherapy showed interval resolution in metabolic activity of the large hypodense lesion in liver and interval resolution in size and metabolic activity of the mediastinal lymph nodes. Patient followed up for 6 months and is asymptomatic on follow up.

A straightforward electrochemical hydrogenation of benzo[b]thiophene 1,1-dioxides with HFIP as the hydrogen donor has been re-ported in an undivided cell under metal-free conditions. Moreover, the tolerance of various functional groups and scaled-up experi-ments showed the practicability and potential applications of this methodology.

Simulation and optimization of chemical flowsheets rely on the solution of a large number of non-linear equations. Finding such solutions can be supported by constructing machine-learning based surrogates, relating features and outputs by simple, explicit functions. In order to generate training data for those surrogates computationally efficiently, schemes to adaptively sample the feature space are mandatory. In this article, we present a novel family of utility functions to favor an adaptive, Bayesian exploration of the feature space in order to identify regions that are convergent, fulfill customized inequality constraints and are Pareto-optimal with respect to conflicting objectives. The benefit is illustrated by small toy-examples as well as by industrially relevant chemical flowsheets.

Introduction Humanitarian crisis means any event or series of events that are harmful to the health or security of the general population. The Niger Republic is recently facing serious crisis amid the military coup of 26 th of July, 2023. Our fear is that if nothing is done about it quickly, there could be a civil war in Niger and other neighbouring countries. Aim The aim of this present article is to provide comprehensive knowledge about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Niger, highlighting the factors that caused it and providing possible solutions for them. Methodology A literature search was done about the recent humanitarian crisis amid the military coup in the Niger Republic through databases such as PubMed, ResearchGate, Google Scholar, World Health Organization, United Nations, Online Newspapers and Reports between a 10-year-period. Result We found that the humanitarian crisis amid the military coup in Niger Republic has further amplified the vulnerability of millions of Nigeriens to more problems in the Niger Republic. The number of Nigeriens in need of humanitarian assistance has reportedly increased by 65% from 2.3 million in 2019 to 3.8 million in 2021. More than two million children in Niger have been impacted by the crisis in the country and are in need of humanitarian assistance. Furthermore, other causes of humanitarian crisis in the Niger Republic include; sociodemographic factors, climate change and other natural disasters. Conclusion The humanitarian crisis in Niger, caused by different factors such as socioeconomic stagnation, environmental causes, food insecurity, terrorist activities, and internal displacement is an alarming situation that requires an urgent solution and a response from the international community. There is a need to analyse all the underlying causes of humanitarian crises and find long-lasting solutions for them.

Slit lamp images with direct illumination (a and b ) and retroillumination (c ). A 64-year-old woman with history of phacoemulsification and single-piece intraocular lens (IOL) placement had an extracapsular anterior dislocation of the IOL four years ago. The dislocated IOL was subsequently removed out of the capsular bag and a new three-piece IOL was placed in the posterior chamber with scleral fixation. Three months later, an unexpected total migration of the empty capsular bag into the anterior chamber was observed. The slit lamp images also show ghost traces of the previous IOL haptic.Declarations: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.Funding: None.Acknowledgments: The authors express their gratitude to the patient for allowing the publication of the presented image.

We report on the spectroscopic investigation of common bacteria encountered in biopharmaceutical industries with spectroscopic definition and specificity using mid-infrared laser spectroscopy. This study describes the detection of three different bacteria species using quantum cascade laser spectroscopy coupled to a grazing angle probe (QCL-GAP). Stainless steel substrates were used as support for the bacterial samples. QCL-GAP spectroscopy was assisted by multivariate analysis (MVA) to assemble a powerful spectroscopic technique with classification, identification, and quantification resources. The bacterial species analyzed, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis, and Micrococcus luteus, were used to challenge the technique’s capability to discriminate microorganisms from the same family. Principal component analysis and partial least squares-discriminant analysis differentiated between the bacterial species using QCL-GAP. Spectral differences in the bacterial membrane were used to determine if these microorganisms were present in the samples analyzed. Results herein provided effective discrimination for the bacteria under study with high sensitivity and specificity values.

The present study combined behavioral measures and EEG to investigate the impact of emotional valence on both auditory and written word processing. Participants were first presented with a series of auditory words with varying emotional valence (positive, neutral and negative) produced in neutral tone, which they rated according to valence level. Subsequently they performed a surprise recognition task with written stimuli (half being foils). Our results revealed a significant valence/arousal effect on word recognition; written words with high-arousal and either positive or negative valence were recognized with higher accuracy compared to low-arousal neutral ones. EEG analyses revealed an effect of valence only for words presented in written format; no effects were found for auditory words. For written words, both positive and negative valence elicited a larger P2 response in comparison to neutral valence, indicating allocation of attentional resources. Critically, a reduced N400 was observed only for negative words, suggesting facilitated processing of unpleasant information perhaps due to better encoding during the auditory presentation. Overall, our study provides valuable insights into the cognitive mechanisms involved in integrating emotional information presented in distinct modalities, shedding light on the influence of valence on word recognition.

Background: Recently，epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) -targeting drugs have benefited thousands of patients with EGFR mutation-positive (EGFR MUT+) non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Nevertheless, nearly all patients with NSCLC who were sensitive to first- or second-generation EGFR-tyrosine kinase inhibitors (EGFR-TKIs), finally developed resistance. Therefore, numerous clinicians have focused on improving the clinical effect of first-generation EGFR-TKIs (1st-gen EGFR-TKIs). Methods: To analyze the therapeutic outcomes of individuals with progressive NSCLC, a retroactive assessment was performed on 86 patients who were medicated with only icotinib or combined with pemetrexed and platinum-based chemotherapy at The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Science and Technology (HAUST). Results: Eighty-six patients with NSCLC-bearing EGFR-sensitive mutations were retroactively analyzed. The results showed statistical significance in PFS (P = 0.049) and disease control rate DCR (P = 0.031) between icotinib + chemotherapy and icotinib alone, especially in the brain metastases (P = 0.021) and L-858R mutation subgroups (P = 0.05). According to the findings of the multivariate analysis, treatment (P = 0.033) and EGFR mutation status (P = 0.019) were significant predictive variables. The OS comparison between icotinib + chemotherapy and icotinib alone were not significantly different. The study included a total of 1242 patients, of which 648 obtained combined treatment and 594 obtained first-generation EGFR-TKI monotherapy. Analyzing the relevant data from multiple studies, the results showed significant improvements in ORR (RR: 0.63, 95% CI: 0.49–0.82, P = 0.0006), PFS (RR: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.47–0.79, P = 0.0002), and OS (RR: 0.67, 95% CI: 0.51–0.88, P = 0.004) for those on combination therapy. However, there was also an increase in treatment-emergent AEs among these patients. Conclusion: In summary, administering first-generation EGFR-TKI concurrently with chemotherapy provides an edge in the therapeutic management of locally or severely advanced NSCLC that is EGFR-positive. Therefore, EGFR mutation-positive NSCLC (EGFR MUT+ NSCLC) patients in this condition may find it advantageous to consider using 1st-gen EGFR-TKIs in conjunction with chemotherapy (1st-gen EGFR-TKIs + Chemo).

A document by David J. Moss. Click on the document to view its contents.

A document by David J. Moss. Click on the document to view its contents.