The cochlea forms a key element of the human auditory system in the temporal bone. Damage to the cochlea continues to produce significant impairment for sensory reception of environmental stimuli. To improve this impairment, the optical cochlear implant forms a new research approach. A prerequisite for this method is to understand how light propagation, as well as scattering, reflection and absorption, takes place within the cochlea. We offer a method to study the light distribution in the human cochlea through phantom materials and Monte-Carlo simulations. The calculation of an angular distribution after scattering requires a phase function. Often approximate functions like Henyey-Greenstein, two-term Henyey-Greenstein or Legendre polynomial decompositions are used as phase function. An alternative is to exactly calculate a Mie distribution for each scattering event. This method provides a better fit to the data measured in this work.

In the wake of the havoc caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, it is imperative to use the available genomic sequence data to gain insight into the mutational and genomic diversity of SARS-CoV-2. Here we have performed comparative phylogenetic, mutational and genetic diversity analysis on 1962 SARS-CoV-2 genome sequences from seven worst hit Indian states during the third Covid-19 wave, to determine the Covid-19 strains and mutations in circulation during the third wave and the transmission pattern and disease epidemiology across the states and gain valuable insight into the viral evolution. 6083 Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were discovered in the analysis with 93 SNPs common to all states. The genetic relatedness among the statewise multilocus genotypes was visualized by plotting a minimum spanning tree based on Bruvo’s distance framework. The phylogenetic tree based on Nei’s genetic distance showed distinct clades. The AMOVA results indicated that large proportion of the total genetic variation is distributed within the samples, rather than between the samples within each population and between the populations. Our findings provide insight into the SARS-CoV-2 variants and mutations which dominated the third Covid-19 wave in India and thus provide a basis to monitor and further assess these variants and their sub lineages and mutations for their clinical impact and reaction to existing and newly designed drugs and vaccines. The genetic diversity analysis helps in comprehending the viral transmission scenarios across the Indian states so as to enable the State government and researchers in developing state specific prevention measures for future.

A document by María Cristina Villa-Medina. Click on the document to view its contents.

Background and Purpose: Transient hypofunction of NMDARs represents a convergence point for the onset and further development of psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia. Although the cumulative evidence indicates dysregulation of the hippocampal formation in schizophrenia, the integrity of the synaptic transmission and plasticity conveyed by the somatosensorial inputs to the dentate gyrus, the perforant path synapses, have barely been explored in this pathological condition. Experimental Approach: We identified a series of synaptic alterations of the lateral and medial perforant paths, in animals neonatally treated with the NMDAR antagonist MK-801. The dysregulation here reported suggests decreased cognitive performance, for which the dentate gyrus is critical. Key Results: We identified alterations in the synaptic properties of the lateral and medial perforant paths to the dentate gyrus synapses in MK-801-treated animals. Altered glutamate release and decreased synaptic strength precede an impairment in the induction and expression of LTP and cannabinoid 1 receptor (CB1R)-mediated LTD. Remarkably, by inhibiting the degradation of 2-arachidonoylglycerol, the endogenous ligand of the CB1R, we restored the LTD in animals treated with MK-801. Additionally, we show for the first time that spatial discrimination, a cognitive task that requires dentate gyrus integrity, is impaired in animals exposed to transient hypofunction of NMDARs. Conclusion and Implications: Descriptive and mechanistic evidence showing the dysregulation of glutamatergic transmission and synaptic plasticity from the entorhinal cortex to the dentate gyrus is presented. These findings may explain the cellular dysregulations underlying the altered cognitive processing in the dentate gyrus associated with schizophrenia.

The goal of this study is to analyze why some countries have had a high negative impact of COVID-19 pandemic crisis in terms of fatality rate compared to others. In particular, this study endeavors to verify whether statistical evidence supports the hypothesis that high general government gross debt in countries generates a structural vulnerability in socioeconomic and health systems to face emergencies, such as COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The research setting here analyzes the relationship between general government gross debt (as % GDP), healthcare expenditures per capita, and COVID-19 case fatality in an international context given by European countries. Empirical evidence reveals that European countries having lower COVID-19 fatality rate in 2020 (1.40%, indicated as group 1) had also lower government gross debt as % of GDP both in 2009 (50.79%) and 2019 (46.80%) than countries with higher fatality rate (2.83% given by group 2) that had 81.49% in 2009 and 67.22% in 2019. In addition, group 1 has from 2009 to 2019 a lower growth of government gross debt (% of GDP) given by 0.12 compared to group 2, which experienced a high growth of 0.29 generating a high burden for socioeconomic system and public finance. This structural situation leads countries of group 1 with lower COVID-19 fatality rates to support higher levels of health expenditure per capita (values higher than $3,100 per capita), whereas countries with a higher COVID-19 fatality rate have health expenditure per capita lower than previous group 1 (about $2,530 in 2009 and $2,600 in 2019) also for stringent austerity policies imposed by European Union. Estimated relationship shows that countries with 1% increase in the change of health expenditure per capita over 2009-2019 (predicted values considering in stage 1 the explanatory variable of government gross debt as % of GDP in 2009), it reduces the level of COVID-19 fatality rate by 2.63%. The contribution here expands the knowledge in these research topics by endeavoring to clarify primary causes of vulnerability of countries in crisis management driven by high levels of government gross debt, which deteriorate socioeconomic systems with stringent austerity policies that create constraints to increase health expenditures and improve health planning, reducing preparedness and resilience of countries to face crises similar to COVID-19 pandemic.

Objective: To develop and verify a risk score scale for early prediction of sBPD according to the 2018 NICHD diagnostic criteria of BPD in preterm infants with gestational age < 32 weeks. Methods: 408 infants with gestational age<32 weeks admitted within 24 hours after birth from June 20,2018 to August 28,2020 were identified for the retrospective research using multinomial logistic regression. Then a scoring system was developed according to the sum of coefficient (β) and referring to the method of Sullivan etc. and validated in another equivalent 187 preterm infants from August 31,2020 to January14, 2022. Results: The incidence of sBPD was 14.7% in the derivation cohort (n = 408) and 17.1% in the validation cohort (n =187). Multinomial logistic regression showed that ventilation time (h)(regression coefficient, β=0.011), gender (male)(β=-0.871), diagnosis of septicemia within 14 days after birth(β=1.098), difference-value between 2500g and birth weight (g) (β=0.002) were associated with sBPD. The scoring system ranged from 0 to 11 was further developed and the cut-off score of 6.5. The AUCs of the BPD risk scores were 0.842 and 0.790 in the derivation and validation cohort. Conclusion: We developed a clinical score system associated with early perdition of sBPD among the preterm infants<32 weeks gestation.

：Thermal fracture is a common problem in engineering. Traditional studies mainly addressed surface crack propagation, with limited research on 3D internal crack propagation. This paper uses the 3D-ILC method to fabricate 3D internal cracks of different positions within semi-disc specimens. Physical experiments, numerical simulations and fracture morphology analysis were conducted on the propagation of 3D internal cracks under non-uniform temperature fields. The results indicate the following: 1) In physical experiment, different crack propagation modes were observed in group A at different heights, including “n-shaped” and “u-shaped” cracks, while group B formed the “s-shaped” cracks. 2) In numerical simulation, the crack propagation length and deflection angle for crack tips on both sides are different of the same specimen in group B. The K Ⅲ of the internal cracks in group B cannot be overlooked, consistent with the location of the “lance-like” fracture observed in the physical experiments. 3) In fracture morphology, group A cracks have smooth fracture surfaces, which are mode I-II mixed cracks, while group B cracks show lance-like fracture, considered mode I-II-Ⅲ mixed cracks. The results provide an experimental and theoretical basis for the study of 3D internal crack propagation patterns under non-uniform temperature fields.

The dominant plant species in many African wetlands is Cyperus papyrus. Its adaption to saturated and low oxygen conditions and its dense structure and height provide breeding and feeding grounds for unique flora and fauna. As a keystone species adapted to local hydrology, the flow regime of papyrus offers the full range of hydrologic conditions and events essential to ecosystem health. However, no study has attempted to link papyrus wetlands’ flow regimes to their biologically-relevant hydrologic attributes. The Indicators of Hydrologic Alteration (IHA) enable the evaluation of changes to flow regimes by examining hydrologic records and linking them to biologically-relevant hydrologic characteristics through the Environmental Flow Components (EFCs) approach. This study assesses hydrologic alterations of a papyrus wetland’s flow regime due to rice irrigation. We develop a conceptual ecological model linking papyrus to hydrologic attributes to determine the consequences of changed EFCs (extreme low flows, base flow, high flow pulses, and small and large floods) on papyrus as a habitat. We find that agricultural water management considerably alters the magnitude, duration, timing and rate of change of EFCs for the irrigated area to catchment area ratio greater than 1:153, affecting both sexual and asexual reproduction in papyri plants. Overall, a better understanding of the threats of water diversion for agriculture is made by linking papyrus’ flow regimes to biologically-relevant hydrologic attributes. Knowledge of the roles of the various EFCs could provide opportunities for conserving and protecting papyrus wetlands, especially for systems at risk of altered flows.

Author(s): Masab Ali 1 , Moiz Ul-Islam2 and Muhammad Husnain Ahmad3

The dorsal subiculum is the primary source of hippocampal projections to the rat retrosplenial cortex. Although, both regions are implicated in spatial memory and navigation, the significance of their direct interconnections remains poorly understood. The present study selectively disrupted dorsal subiculum projections to retrosplenial cortex with inhibitory designer-receptors exclusively activated by designer drugs (iDREADDs), activated locally by clozapine. iDREADDs were injected in the dorsal subiculum in adult male rats (N=14), where they were transported anterogradely to granular retrosplenial cortex. In a separate control group, GFP expressing adeno-associated virus was injected into the dorsal subiculum (N=8). Both groups received behavioural sessions preceded either by intracerebral infusions of clozapine or saline within retrosplenial cortex. Behavioural testing involved reinforced T-maze alternation, with five test variations that differentially taxed intra-maze, extra-maze, and egocentric strategies. Disruption of the subiculum to retrosplenial projections impaired spatial working memory whenever the test variant created a conflict between cue-types, associated with a switch between different strategies. These findings suggest that the direct projections from the dorsal subiculum to the granular retrosplenial cortex help to maintain the flexible integration of different spatial cue-types.

Catchment modelling has undergone tremendous developments during the past decades. In the 1970s, the focus was on simulation of catchment runoff with process descriptions and data inputs being lumped to the catchment scale. Later developments included spatially distributed models allowing data inputs and hydrological processes to be simulated at model grid scale, i.e. much finer than catchment scale. These models were able to explicitly simulate various processes such as soil moisture, evapotranspiration, groundwater and surface runoff. With the advancements in remote sensing technology and availability of high-resolution data, increased attention has in recent years been given to enhancing the capability of catchment models to reproduce spatial patterns and in this way improve our understanding of hydrological processes and the physical realism of catchment models. This development process has involved a wide spectrum of different aspects in the modelling process, reaching from an improved understanding of uncertainties in data, model parameters and model structures to new protocols for good modelling practices in water management. Recognizing the important role of biodiversity and social aspects, hydrologists are now extending the scope of their models to capture the interactions between water, biota and human social systems.

Introduction: Computer invention made human life easier. Computers can be utilized for various types of purposes getting initiated from an individual to large organizations in the entire world. Some of the users of computers have also utilized the machine for erroneous purposes, for personal profits, or other wrong intentions for many decades’ world. It also gave birth to a rise in the number of Cybercrimes, which leads to engagement in activities that are illegal for society. Cybercrimes are crimes that are committed while using computer networks and computer systems which usually take place within cyberspace, especially within the internet. AI software also provides a unique platform for creating the misuse of the data of the user creating the theft of the money and many more things. Objectives: There are four objectives which have been fulfilled in the present study such as to assess the awareness about cybercrime trends, to find out the awareness of the relation of AI with cyber security and cybercrime, to know about the advantages and disadvantages of AI in cyber security and to aware about cyber insurance. Research Methodology: The study used the questionnaire as the primary data collection instrument as well as supplemented it with in-depth interviews. The quantitative data (questionnaire) measured as well as captured the cybercrime trends and the relation between cybercrime and cyber security with AI. Findings: The main findings of the study are such that 69% of people are aware about cybercrime trends while 31% of people are not aware of cybercrime trends. Moreover, 64% of people are aware of the Relation of AI with cyber security and cybercrime awareness and 36% of people are not aware about the subjects. Therefore, furthermore findings have been detailed in the present study. Conclusion: Cybercrimes can be stalking, pornography, phishing, bitcoin popularity, cyberbullying, data breaches, and many more are included in the list of cybercrime trends. An organization needs to adapt cyber security practices to effectively combat it. Artificial intelligence has also emerged as a dynamic as well as powerful tool that can revolutionize realm of the cyber security. It can also identify the data flow, pattern as well and the systems which enables it to respond to the previously unseen Threats. It creates the use of advanced algorithms for predicting potential vulnerability.

Adsorption and separation are the most important chemical engineering processes for wastewater treatment. Exerting microfiltration membranes as the central separation technology and decorated it with absorption property, forming absorptive-membranes, result in the separation and purification of diverse wastewaters in an energy-efficient manner. Herein, a versatile polyanionic coating with superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity, superior anti-oil-fouling, and efficient charges is acquired through mussel-inspired co-deposition, followed by b-PEI functionalization, N-alkylation, and anionization. Thanks to the superhydrophilicity/underwater superoleophobicity, the as-prepared microfiltration membrane achieves selective separation of oil/water emulsions. Meanwhile, the functional membranes exhibited excellent selective and efficient adsorption capacity for organic dyes and heavy metal ions due to the abundant surface charges. Interestingly, benefiting from superhydrophilicity and considerable surface charges, the as-designed microfiltration membrane can realize selective and efficient simultaneously adsorption and separation of wastewaters with complicated components, including oil/water emulsions, organic dyes, and heavy metal ion by the concept of “achieving three things at one stroke”. Such a versatile and feasible strategy could pave a new path for constructing multifunctional membranes for complex wastewater treatment and purification.

This study investigates large-scale robotic systems depending on Multi-Target Path Planning (MTPP), where mobile agents should plan for their destination without collision and reach to the specified objective places. They restrict the range of real-world domains where they are applicable by using nonholonomic car-like agents instead of holonomic ones. This essay provides a multi-agent path finding mathematical formalization for the problem with known and unknown environments. Conflict-Based Search presents a unique hierarchical search-based solution. Omnidirectional multi-agent path planning has been proposed. We have modified our algorithm to be able to plan for an omnidirectional multi-agent mobile robot for multi-target in a warehouse environment by applying agents to reach their goals without conflict with the obstacles inside the environment. A comparative study has been made with related works, our work shows better performance in time, cost, and path length.

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 identified based on morphological, physiological, biochemical, and molecular characteristics. The phylogenetic analysis using concatenated sequences of the SSU rRNA gene, ITS region, and D1/D2 domains of LSU rRNA revealed that N. atacamensis sp. nov. formed an early diverging cluster closely related to Nakazawaea peltata, N. siamensis and N. odontotermitis. The sequence identity of N. atacamensis differed from closely related species by 6% to 10% in the investigated regions. 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.

Compared to the silicon-based photovoltaics, large-area luminescent solar concentrators (LSCs) can be used as smart PV window for building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPVs). However, because of the low quantum yield of the fluorophores, and reabsorption energy loss, the current obtained large-area LSCs have low optical efficiency, which required to design and synthesize high-quality fluorophores. Herein, we demonstrated a highly efficient and transparent tandem LSCs based on three types of carbon dots (C-dots). The blue and green C-dots were synthesized using vacuum heating approach and the orange C-dots were synthesized using solvothermal approach. The as-prepared B-, G- and O-C-dots have the QYs of 90%, 73% and 72%, respectively, with large Stokes shift (0.37 – 0.73 eV). By optimizing the concentration of the C-dots in each layer, the best LSC (100 cm2) with tandem structure exhibited an external optical efficiency of 8.0%, and a power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 5.6% under natural sunlight illumination (65 mW/cm2). The simulations indicate that optimized tandem LSCs could have a theoretical external optical efficiency over 12% for 1 m2 devices. The individual layer of the tandem LSC based on the B-/G-/O-C-dots has the typical average visible transmission of 70%, which makes the as-prepared LSCs suitable for commercial BIPVs.

The growing use of direct current (DC) load demands and distribution generations (DGs) has led to changes in the distribution network. Due to DC and alternating current (AC) loads and generators, switching to an AC/DC distribution network is an effective solution. In this paper, the AC/DC distribution network planning problem is discussed. Uncertainties in the load demand and power generation of renewable sources cause probabilistic behavior of the distribution network, which leads to risk in the network. Therefore, the technical risks related to the node voltage and the line loading constraints dominate the problem. By modeling the cost of damage due to technical risks, these risks have become economic risks. Using the conditional value at risk (CVaR) method, the economic risk assessment of planning has been addressed. In addition, the modeling of hard and soft constraints for technical constraints has been discussed. The K-means algorithm has been used to model the uncertainties in the problem. The goals of planning are: minimizing planning costs and reducing economic risk. The proposed mathematical model has been solved in MATLAB and general algebraic modeling system (GAMS) hybrid space using a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm (NSGA-II). Numerical results are presented for a 13-node distribution network.

Vibro-fluidized beds can improve the solids drying characteristics by enhancing the gas-solid contacting. In this study, experiments in a pseudo-2D vibro-fluidized bed setup are performed in order to better understand this improved drying behavior of binary solids mixtures. A coupled particle image velocimetry-infrared thermography technique is applied. Furthermore, a machine learning algorithm is used to characterize the bed segregation and mixing dynamics under the influence of mechanical vibration. Significant changes in bed hydrodynamics and various impacts on segregation and mixing characteristics were observed for vibrational oscillations corresponding to low values of acceleration compared to gravitational acceleration. Larger vibration accelerations result in significantly increased solids mixing compared to a static gas-fluidized bed due to enhanced meso-scale particle agitation.

Background: The circadian rhythm regulates various physiological processes, including sleep-wake cycle, cell division and cancer development. Aims: This study aimed to investigate circadian rhythm patterns in cancer patients. Methods and results: In this cross-sectional study, 150 cancer patients admitted to the internal ward of Tehran’s Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex in the fall of 2022 were evaluated. The demographic characteristics of patients were collected using a checklist. Patients also completed a morningness-eveningness questionnaire (MEQ). Utilizing Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Fisher’s exact test, circadian rhythm types with continuous and categorical variables were compared. The mean age of the study’s participants was 49.83 ± 14.53 years. A total of 82.7% (n=124) had non-hematological cancers, and breast cancer was the most prevalent type of cancer among patients (23.3%). The MEQ of the patients studied ranged from 41 to 74, with a mean score of 56.6 ± 6.34. Conclusion: According to the findings of this study, the circadian rhythm is distributed normally among the participants.

In this article we discuss Sobolev spaces on canonical Banach spaces. The completeness of the Sobolev spaces is discussed in these settings. The Hilbert structure of the Sobolev spaces is also discussed. Finally, in application, we discuss the Fourier transform and its relevance for Sobolev spaces on canonical Banach spaces.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the morphological and chemical changes and bond strength on enamel surfaces subjected to different surface preparation techniques. Two different settings of Er:YAG laser and air-polishing systems were used to prepare the enamel surfaces besides the conventional acid application. The samples were evaluated in in vitro tests with 7 different groups (acid etching, Er:YAG laser quantum square pulse(QSP) mode, and Er:YAG laser medium-short pulse(MSP) mode at 10Hz,1.2W,120mJ, Air-Flow, and its combination with acid). Surface profilometer and AFM were used to evaluate the surface roughness of the specimens. After the surface treatment, the chemical changes that occured on enamel were analyzed using SEM-EDS. The effects of preparation technique on the bond strength to the enamel surface were evaluated by using micro tensile and shear bond strength tests. The values obtained the surface roughness evaluation of surface profilometer and AFM were compatible with each other. The highest roughness value was found in QSP when all groups were compared. Ca/P ratios of the surfaces were evaluated as a result of SEM-EDS analysis and it was observed that Ca/P ratio increased in all groups except Acid. It was seen that the results obtained for all groups of micro tensile and shear bond strength tests were consistent with each other. The highest values were observed in QSP+Acid, while the lowest values were observed in Air-Flow. In conclusion, it is considered the use of Er:YAG laser QSP settings with acid can effect the long-term success of restorations clinically.

With the inevitable environmental perturbations and complex population movements, the analysis of troublesome influenza is harder to proceed. Studies about the epidemic mathematical models can not only forecast the development trend of influenza, but also have a beneficial influence on the protection of health and the economy. Motivated by this, a stochastic influenza model incorporating human mobility and the Ornstein-Uhlenbeck process is established in this paper. Based on the existence of the unique global positive solution, we obtain sufficient conditions for influenza extinction and persistence, which are related to the basic reproduction number in the corresponding deterministic model. Notably, the analytical expression of the probability density function of stationary distribution near the quasi-endemic equilibrium is obtained by solving the challenging Fokker--Planck equation. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to support the theoretical conclusions, and the effect of main parameters and environmental perturbations on influenza transmission are also investigated.

With the development of society, the number of patients with osteoporosis is increasing. The prevention and control of osteoporosis has become a serious and urgent issue. The role of ferroptosis in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis has become a topic of increasing interest. With the continuous progress of biomedical research, ferroptosis has attracted increased attention. However, the pathophysiology and mechanisms of ferroptosis and osteoporosis still need further study. Natural products are widely used in East Asian countries for osteoporosis prevention and treatment. In this paper, we will discuss the basic mechanisms of ferroptosis, the relationship between ferroptosis and osteoclasts and osteoblasts, and in vitro and in vivo studies of natural products to prevent osteoporosis by interfering with ferroptosis.

Protein-protein interactions are fundamental components in the life activities of each cell. They play a pivotal role in various biological processes, including replication, transcription, translation, cell cycle regulation, and signal transduction. Distinct interaction networks are present in every species, individual, and cell. Various technical methods have been confirmed to map these interactions and to identify proteins that interact directly or indirectly. Yeast two-hybrid (Y2H) is an extensively employed system for determining the interaction sites or domains between two known proteins with physiological effects. However, the yeast dual hybrid method has certain limitations, as the autoactivation of bait proteins often lead to false positive outcomes. In this study, we optimized the assembly of bait proteins by introducing a transcriptional silencing motif (EAR inhibitory motif of SUPERMAN gene SRDX) to suppress the autoactivation. We selected five bait proteins with autoactivation activity, including ApGNAT12, ApCPP5, ApVOZ1, ApMYB2, and ApWRKY41. Notably, by introducing SDRX inhibitory motifs at the C-terminus of these proteins, the autoactivation activity of these proteins was effectively suppressed. In addition, we conducted a yeast two-hybrid library screening experiment coupled with high-throughput sequencing, using ApMYB2 as an example, and the outcomes revealed the reliability of this method. Together, our findings indicate that the inhibitory motif can effectively inhibit autoactivation in yeast two-hybrid systems, suggesting broad applications in the protein-protein interaction research.