Fertility sparing treatments are increasingly used in patients with early-stage cervical cancer. The residual shortened cervix that might lead to a risk factor of preterm birth. When a vaginal cerclage is not technically feasible, a laparoscopic transabdominal cerclage (LAC) could be offered before or after conception. In this article we show how to safely perform a post-conceptional LAC in patients with insufficient residual cervical length for vaginal cerclage. LAC in pregnancy, although made more difficult due to the size of the uterus, is a safe and feasible procedure combining the advantages of minimally invasive surgery with excellent obstetric result.

A document by Fei He. Click on the document to view its contents.

Astrocytes, glial cells in the central nervous system, perform a multitude of homeostatic functions and are in constant bidirectional communication with neuronal cells, a concept named the tripartite synapse, however their role in the dopamine homeostasis remains unexplored. The aim of this study was to clarify the pharmacological and molecular characteristics of dopamine transport in cultured cortical astrocytes of adult rats. In addition, we were interested in the expression of mRNA of dopamine transporters as well as dopamine receptors D1 and D2 and in the effect of dopaminergic drugs on the expression of these transporters and receptors. We have found that astrocytes possess both Na+-dependent and Na+-independent transporters. Uptake of radiolabelled dopamine was time-, temperature- and concentration-dependent and was inhibited by decynium-22, a plasma membrane monoamine transporter inhibitor, tricyclic antidepressants desipramine and nortriptyline, both inhibitors of the norepinephrine transporter. Results of transporter mRNA expression indicate that the main transporters involved in cortical astrocyte dopamine uptake are the norepinephrine transporter and plasma membrane monoamine transporter. Both dopamine receptor subtypes were identified in cortical astrocyte cultures. 24-hour treatment of astrocyte cultures with apomorphine, a D1/D2 agonist, induced upregulation of D1 receptor, norepinephrine transporter and plasma membrane monoamine transporter, whereas the latter was downregulated by haloperidol and L-DOPA. Astrocytes take up dopamine by multiple transporters and express dopamine receptors, which are sensitive to dopaminergic drugs. The findings of this study could open a promising area of research for the fine-tuning of existing therapeutic strategies.

The growing demand of better representation of people from marginalised communities within the scientific workforce has recently started to include neurodiversity, especially in projects and consortia investigating neurodivergence. In line with this aim, this study explores the diversity of the research workforce in the context of a European autism neuroscience research consortium (AIMS-2-TRIALS). By investigating potential power imbalances between researchers of different backgrounds and at different career levels, we aim to investigate the impact of such imbalances on career and mental health. A survey was administered to AIMS-2-TRIALS researchers (including students, early, mid, and advanced career levels), obtaining 124 complete respondents. While autistic researchers were present in this sample (4% formally diagnosed, 19.23% self-identified), they were under-represented in senior and clinical roles. Neuro-identity emerged as the primary predictor of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Also, while researchers in the sample were mostly women (74%), income was consistently lower in women. These findings emphasise the need to consider underrepresentation of intersecting marginalised identities within consortia like AIMS-2-TRIALS, and to redistribute roles and resources. The recognition of mental health and socio-economic challenges faced by neurodivergent and female researchers in this field constitute a barrier to career progression that calls for recognition and intervention.

Key Clinical MessageA trapped appendix within the inguinal hernia sac is described as Amyand hernia, which is reported as extremely rare as less than 1% of inguinal hernias in literature. Physical examination raises suspicion to evaluate the patient by imaging modalities. Different types of Amyands hernia based on content and complications have been proposed; hence, Radiologist and Surgeon should aware about them to determine precise management and approach.Ultrasound findings could help the correct diagnosis and determine the type of Amyand hernia since the treatment and surgical approach would differ.Keywords: Inguinal hernia, Ultrasound, appendicitis, Amyand hernia

Interest of natural roots’ exploitation in the optimization of the prosthetic balance: case series

A document by Brihaspati K C. Click on the document to view its contents.

This article reviews the essential role of mathematical models in understanding and combatting the pandemic of novel coronaviruses, in particular focusing the advance in the use of mathematical models in disease control in Japan. Highlighting the integral role of mathematical models in public health, the article introduces a model that factors in the heterogeneity of infectious contacts, concentrating on the effectiveness of testing and isolation, alongside a model that involves economic losses. The models exhibit how, given such heterogeneity, milder behavioral restrictions can still achieve suppression, rigorous testing and isolation can effectively curb the spread, and containment measures can mitigate economic losses. These models aid in grasping the complicated dynamics of disease transmission and optimizing interventions. The knowledge of population ecology is also considered effective for public health in statistical analysis, organizing concepts using dynamic mathematical models, which lead to policy proposals and deepen understanding. Evolution theory may help the understanding of virulence subject to change. However, effective prevention necessitates not only models but also the practical implementation of efficacious measures. The cooperation of various disciplines is particularly crucial in achieving a balance between health measures, economic interests, and human rights. Moreover, the article acknowledges the limitations of models and underscores the significance of real-world execution. Overall, the article advocates for a broader outlook to tackle future pandemics and related challenges, underscoring the importance of ongoing academic cooperation and global governance to effectively address emerging infectious diseases and their far-reaching implications.

A document by Dave Daversa. Click on the document to view its contents.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) believes to be a major cause of transience and indisposition worldwide. Early diagnosis and timely intervention are critical in preventing the progression of CVD and improving patient outcomes. Machine learning (ML) algorithms have emerged as powerful tools in CVD recognition, with the potential to assist physicians in making accurate and efficient diagnoses. This research paper explores the combination of multiple ML algorithms for CVD recognition, utilizing diverse datasets such as the Cleveland, Hungarian, Switzerland, statlog, and VA Long Beach datasets. Additionally, a CVD dataset comprising 12 attributes and 70,000 records is employed, demonstrating improved results through the proposed and trained model compared to previous prediction techniques for CVD. The performance of various ML techniques, including support vector machines (SVM), Naive Bayes (NB), K-Nearest Neighbor (KNN), Random Forest (RF), and Logistic Regression (LR), is evaluated and compared. The impact of feature selection and feature scaling on the models’ performance is also examined. An ensemble bagging techniques is applied which is being embedded with other classifiers. LR classifier embedded with bagging techniques proved to be our proposed model. The findings reveal that the proposed Hybrid Linear Regression Bagging Model (HLRBM) outperforms other models. Furthermore, the study highlights the significance of data preprocessing techniques, such as data normalization and class balancing, which significantly enhance the performance of all models. To this end, standard scalar and Synthetic Minority Over-sampling Technique (SMOTE) are employed. The study emphasizes the importance of selecting an appropriate ensemble technique in conjunction with various ML algorithms and preprocessing methods for CVD prediction. Overall, the research provides valuable insights into the potential of ML in improving CVD risk assessment.

This paper presents a new Multi Agent Collaborative Search Algorithm with Adaptive Weights (named MACSAW). MACS is a memetic scheme for multi-objective optimization which contains two kind of actions, the local actions and social actions. The former explore the neighborhood of some virtual agents and the latter push the individual towards the Pareto front. On the base of the latest version of MACS, MACS2.1, we improve the old algorithm from three direction. First, a new kind of utility function is introduced to enhance the convergence. Next, a new social action process which contains more operators and adaptive parameters is embedded in MACSAW. Finally, MACS2.1 lacks the weight vectors adjustment process which leads to diversity losing in some real problems and MACSAW adds it. Further, MACSAW is compared with some state-of-art algorithms and MACS2.1 on some standard benchmarks. It gets competitive results. Two real optimization problems is tackled and the results are analyzed in details.

The organic peroxide industry is highly hindered by accidents resulting from their synthetic reaction. It is significant demand for green advances to develop efficient & safe synthesis technology for methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKPO) and other organic peroxides. Moreover, lacking quantitative model for MEKPO synthesis reaction, it is insufficient to determine regulatory mechanism, eliminate potential risks, and achieve successful scale-up. Herein, a microreaction platform was established to get thermodynamics and apparent kinetics model of MEKPO synthesis reaction. With its guidance, a scaled-up microreaction process was developed for such a typical organic peroxide (MEKPO), with 1000 tons/year productivity. In the pilot plant, the conversion of reactants is higher than current batch process, within only 390s residence time. The space-time yield increased by 55 times, which greatly reduced the liquid hold-up and ensured safety. It is the first microreaction pilot plant for organic peroxides, improving both safety and efficiency for the industry.

Title Page Title: Letter to the Editor: Early splenomegaly and septicemia in homozygous sickle cell disease: A birth cohort studyArticle Type: Letter to the editorCorresponding Author: 1. Muhammad AamirContact: +923485131700Email: muhammadaamir717@yahoo.comORCID: 0009-0005-3251-7244Institute: Kabir Medical College,Gandhara University, Peshawar

Title Page Title: Response to: Renal function in abdominal neuroblastoma patients undergoing proton radiotherapy.Article Type: Letter to the editorCorresponding Author: 1. Muhammad AamirContact: +923485131700Email: muhammadaamir717@yahoo.comORCID: 0009-0005-3251-7244Institute: Kabir Medical College, Gandhara University, Peshawar

Decomposition facilitates the recycling of often limiting resources, which may promote plant productivity responses to diversity, i.e. overyielding. However, the direct relationship between decomposition and overyielding remains underexplored in grassland diversity manipulations. We test whether local adaptation of microbes, i.e. home-field advantage (HFA), N-priming from plant inputs, or precipitation drive decomposition and whether decomposition generates overyielding in an established rainfall and diversity manipulation. Precipitation was a strong, independent driver of decomposition. Grass diversity stimulates decomposition, which decreased with phylogenetic dissimilarity from and densities of the ‘home’ species, providing strong evidence HFA drives decomposition through closely related neighbors, rather than conspecifics. Legumes stimulate decomposition of litter carbon, suggesting N-priming stimulates decomposition. However, decomposition and overyielding were unrelated in legume communities and positively related in grass communities. Combined this suggest diversity stimulates decomposition through multiple mechanisms, but only HFA generates overyielding through resource recycling, linking diversity with ecosystem processes directly facilitating overyielding.

Agricultural robots offer a viable solution to the critical challenges of productivity and sustainability of modern agriculture. The widespread deployment of agricultural robotic fleets, however, is still hindered by the overall system’s complexity, requiring the integration of several non-trivial components for the operation of each robot but also the orchestration of robots working with each other and human workers. This paper proposes a topological map as the unifying representation and computational model to facilitate the smooth deployment of robotic fleets in agriculture. This topological abstraction of the system state results in an efficient representation of large-scale environments, but also offers the scalable and efficient operation of the entire fleet and allows for ex-situ modelling and analysis of operations. The practical use of the proposed framework is demonstrated in a horticultural use case with a fleet of robots supporting the work of human fruit pickers. The critical components of the system are analysed and evaluated in deployment in both realistic digital twin and real-life soft fruit farms of different scales, demonstrating the scalability and effectiveness of the proposed framework. The presented framework is general and should be easy to adopt in other multi-robot/multi-human scenarios such as warehouse logistics, cleaning and maintenance of public spaces.

The noticeable lag in the development of fractional-order controllers through direct synthesis, compared to their PID counterparts, underscores a clear challenge. To counteract this trend and explore novel control structures, a dual approach involving hardware synthesis and parameter optimization is imperative. This study primarily focuses on hardware synthesis, investigating four scenarios that combine various integer and fractional-order models for both the plant and the desired closed-loop transfer function. Anchored in Oustaloup’s fractional-order derivative approximation, the approach utilizes biquadratic filters and adder amplifiers for synthesis. The method’s validity is demonstrated through numerical simulations of two examples and experimental characterization of one of them. The latter involves the use of two AN231E04 Field Programmable Analog Arrays. The ensuing response effectively showcases the dynamic behavior of a three-term fractional system with an order of 2α=49.2, a natural frequency ω n =49 rad/s, and a damping factor of ζ=− 0.1. The results underscore the practical viability of the proposed approach, laying a foundation for its application in real-world scenarios.

Despite the well-established link between human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical and anogenital cancers, there is ongoing debate regarding the relationship between HPV and colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to evaluate the causal connection between HPV infection and CRC. To achieve this, we conducted a Mendelian randomization analysis utilizing data from genomewide association studies (GWAS) to explore the association between HPV and CRC. Our analysis revealed a significant association between genetically predicted HPV-16 infection and the risk of paternal colorectal adenocarcinoma (HPV-16: OR 1.058, 95% CI 1.013 to1.102; p = 0.011), as well as CRC (HPV-16: OR 1.045 95% CI 1.005 to 1.085; p = 0.025). These findings provide compelling evidence for a causal effect of HPV-16 on the development of CRC. Further investigations into the underlying mechanisms and elucidation of this association are necessary to identify viable interventions for the prevention and treatment of HPV-16-associated CRC.

Early SARS-CoV-2 variant detection relies on testing and genomic surveillance. The Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) has quickly become the dominant type among the previous circulating variants worldwide. Several subvariants have emerged exhibiting greater infectivity and immune evasion. In this study we aimed at studying the prevalence of the Omicron subvariants during the flu season and beyond in Lebanon through genomic screening and at determining the overall standing and trajectory of the pandemic in the country. A total of 155 RNA samples were sequenced and 39 Omicron variants were detected. XBB.1.5 (23.29%) was the most common, followed by XBB.1.9.1 (10.96%) and XBB.1.42 (7.5%). The first batch collected between September and November 2022, included the BA.2.75.2, BA.5.2, BA.5.2.20, BA.5.2.25 and BQ.1.1.5 lineages. Between December 2022 and January 2023, those lineages were replaced by BA.2.75.5, BN.1, BN.1.4, BQ.1, BQ.1.1, BQ.1.1.23, CH.1.1, CM.4 and XBK. Starting February 2023, we observed a gradual emergence and dominance of the recombinant XBB and its sub-lineages (XBB.1, XBB.1.5, XBB.1.5.2, XBB.1.5.3, XBB.1.9, XBB.1.9.1, XBB.1.9.2, XBB.1.16, XBB.1.22 and XBB.1.42). The timely detection and characterization of SARS-CoV-2 variants is important to reduce transmission through established disease control measures and to avoid introductions into animal populations that could lead to serious public health implications.

Title: A Case Study: A case report of human Monkeypox with unusual featuresRunning Title: A case report of human Monkeypox with unusual featuresFull name of author: Bharti Sharma ORCID iD:0000-0001-7621-8047Title of author: Consultant Scientist and Epidemiologist, Head of Research DepartmentAffiliations: Duallinks International. 24, I. P. Extension, New Delhi-110092, IndiaTelephone number: +91-9811325310Funding: Not applicableConflict of Interest: No conflicts of interest to discloseData availability statement: Data available in articleCorresponding author institutional email address:duallinks_3@yahoo.com

Nearly all cervical cancer cases are infected with high risk (HR)-HPV types, with HR-HPV16 accounting for more than 50%. The mechanism of cervical cell transformation is related to the powerful action of viral E6 and E7 oncoproteins. Transcriptomic sequencing (RNA-seq) data from HPV16 positive and HPV negative cervical cancer cell lines were utilized to identify upregulated genes and their associated pathways. There were 593 overlapping upregulated genes (fold change >4) found in HPV16 positive cell lines. According to gene ontology analysis, these genes were predominantly expressed in extracellular region and plasma membrane that play a role in protein binding and cell adhesion molecule binding, leading to response to stimulus and tissue development. KEGG pathway analysis showed that the most significant pathways were metabolic pathways, pathway in cancer, MAPK signaling pathway, and PI3K-AKT signaling pathway. The laminin subunit beta-3 (LAMB3) gene was chosen for functional analysis. LAMB3 knockdown decreased cell migration, invasion, anchorage dependent- and anchorage independent-cell growth and increased number of apoptotic cells of HPV16 positive cervical cancer cells. These effects were linked to a decrease in protein levels involved in the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway and increased p53 protein. This study demonstrated that LAMB3 could promote cervical cancer cell migration, invasion and survival.

Due to a population bottleneck, northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris ) have very low genetic diversity, making them ideal model organisms for assessing the impact of genetic and non-genetic factors on the gut microbiome. In our study, we were especially interested in the role of sex given the northern elephant seal’s extreme sexual dimorphism. We investigated 54 northern elephant seal pups that were rescued from along the California coastline and brought to The Marine Mammal Center, a rehabilitation facility. Using a metabarcoding approach, we characterized microbial communities shortly after admission to the facility and found that both sex and geographic origin explained microbial variation. We detected significant differences in microbial class and order composition between sexes. We further analyzed paired samples from 24 seals at two time points, shortly after admission to the rehabilitation facility and a month post-acclimation in the facility. Between these two time points, microbial diversity increased, likely due to changes in diet. While there was an overall convergence of microbiome composition in a shared environment over time, remaining differences in microbial composition were explained by sex and host genetics.

This study presents TooT-PLM-ionCT, a holistic framework that exploits the capabilities of six diverse Protein Language Models (PLMs) - ProtBERT, ProtBERT-BFD, ESM-1b, ESM-2 (650M parameters), and ESM-2 (15B parameters) - for precise classification of integral membrane proteins, specifically ion channels (ICs) and ion transporters (ITs). As these proteins play a pivotal role in the regulation of ion movement across cellular membranes, they are integral to numerous biological processes and overall cellular vitality. To circumvent the costly and time-consuming nature of wet lab experiments, we harness the predictive prowess of PLMs, drawing parallels with techniques in natural language processing. Our strategy engages six classifiers, embracing both conventional methodologies and a deep learning model, to segregate ICs and ITs from other membrane proteins, as well as differentiate ICs from ITs. Furthermore, we delve into critical factors influencing our tasks, including the implications of dataset balancing, the effect of frozen versus fine-tuned PLM representations, and the potential variance between half and full precision floating-point computations. Our empirical results showcase superior performance in distinguishing ITs from other membrane proteins and differentiating ICs from ITs, while the task of discriminating ICs from other membrane proteins exhibits results commensurate with the current state-of-the-art.

Monkeypox (mpox), caused by the MPOXV (monkeypox virus), has been endemic in Africa since its first identification in 1958. However, in May 2022, the world witnessed the first global outbreak associated with the West African clade. Even though thousands of cases have been recorded, our understanding of vertical transmission during pregnancy remains restricted due to an absence of reported cases in pregnant women and a lack of adequate clinical descriptions. The cases of two pregnant women, ages 33 and 24, who tested positive for MPOXV at 31 and 13.4 weeks of gestation, respectively, are presented. In all cases, extensive clinical, histological, and molecular examinations of the mothers and neonates revealed no indication of vertical transmission. Surprisingly, both instances in Colombia were completed without difficulties. Although monkeypox during pregnancy is uncommon, it requires extensive multidisciplinary care.