Skin cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer among all malignant neoplasms. The decrease in mitotic activity and the death of intact keratinocytes arise due to the constantly renewing epithelium is highly sensitive to ionising radiation. Objective: immunohistochemical evaluation of the proliferative-apoptotic balance of keratinocytes, the fibrous component of the skin and the expression of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines after single or fractional local electron irradiation. Methods. Wistar rats (n=50) were taken and divided into groups: I – control (n=20), which were injected with saline; and experimental groups, local electron irradiation at doses: II – 8 Gy (n=10; single), III – 40 Gy (n=10, single), IV – summary dose 78 Gy (n=10; fractional; 13 Gy per day for 6 days). Results and Conclusions. 8 Gy and 40 Gy single local electron irradiation leads to a shift in the proliferative-apoptotic balance of keratinocytes towards their apoptosis, the activity of which is directly correlate with the dose of ionizing radiation, and 78 Gy summary dose in fractions leads to partial desquamation of the epithelium and inflammatory infiltration. In addition, a significant increase in the expression of type I and type III collagen fibers and the development of signs of radiation-induced skin fibrosis takes place against the background of 78 Gy fractional local electron irradiation. At the same time, after single 8 Gy and 40 Gy electron irradiation the described immunohistochemical changes were insignificant and directly correlated with the dose of ionizing radiation.

The understanding of radiation-induced non-cancer effects on the central nervous system (CNS) is essential for the medical setting (e.g., radiotherapy), and occupational exposures, such as nuclear workers or astronauts. Herein, the adverse outcome pathway (AOP) approach was used to consolidate relevant studies in the area of cognitive decline for identification of research gaps, countermeasure development, and for eventual use in risk assessments. AOPs are an analytical construct describing critical events to an adverse outcome (AO) in a simplified form beginning with a molecular initiating event (MIE). An AOP was constructed utilizing mechanistic information to build empirical support for the key event relationships (KERs) between the MIE of deposition of energy to the AO of learning and memory impairment through multiple key events (KEs). The evidence for the AOP was developed through a scoping review of the literature. In this AOP, the MIE is connected to the AO via six KEs of increased oxidative stress, increased deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) strand breaks, altered signaling pathways, tissue resident cell activation, increased pro-inflammatory mediators and neural remodeling. Deposition of energy directly leads to oxidative stress, increased DNA strand breaks, an increase of pro-inflammatory mediators and tissue resident cell activation. These KEs, which are themselves interconnected, converge through increased DNA strand breaks, altered signaling pathways and pro-inflammatory routes and directly lead to neural remodeling. Broadly, it is envisioned that the outcome of these efforts could be applied to other cognitive disorders and support ongoing work by international authorities to review the system of radiological protection.

Tropical cyclones are globally common, and impact forests worldwide. Despite the ubiquity of hurricane disturbances, little is known about how hurricane regimes shape the ecology and evolution of tree species. Consideration of forest fire regimes has advanced the ecological understanding of fire-prone forests, but no similar framework is available for hurricanes. Using a simple meteorological model, we test the hypothesis that the intensity and frequency of hurricanes differs among geographically distinct hurricane regimes, and we define four hurricane regimes for North and Central America (Continental, Inland, Coastal, and Lowland). We quantify major differences in hurricane regimes and discuss how species traits related to windfirmness may vary along hurricane regime gradients. Quantitative characterization of forest hurricane regimes provides a critical first step for understanding the evolutionary and ecological role of hurricane regimes in wind-prone forests.

Anthropogenic activities expose many ecosystems to multiple novel disturbances simultaneously. Despite this, how biodiversity responds to simultaneous disturbances remains unclear, with conflicting empirical results on their interactive effects. Here, we experimentally test how one disturbance (an invasive species) affects the diversity of a community over multiple levels of another disturbance regime (pulse mortality). Specifically, we invade stably coexisting bacterial communities under four different pulse frequencies, and compare their final resident diversity to uninvaded communities under the same pulse mortality regimes. Our experiment shows that the disturbances synergistically interact, such that the invader significantly reduces resident diversity at high pulse frequency, but not at low. This work therefore highlights the need to study simultaneous disturbance effects over multiple disturbance regimes as well as to carefully document unmanipulated disturbances, and may help explain the conflicting results seen in previous multiple-disturbance work.

Autoimmune diseases arise from an immune response against self-antigens, but their pathophysiology is not fully understood. One of the proposed mechanisms is molecular mimicry, where infectious agents share similar antigens with host proteins leading to cross-reactivity. Our study aimed to investigate the presence of molecular mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 and human proteome using bioinformatics techniques. To accomplish this, we constructed sequences of 8 consecutive amino acids for structural proteins of SARS-CoV-2, such as spike, nucleocapsid, membrane, and envelope proteins. Next, we evaluated the mimicry of these sequences with the human proteome and analyzed their antigenicity, allergenicity, toxicity, TAP affinity, and IFNγ and IL-10 induction.We also calculated the affinity of the amino acid sequence DEDDSEPV, which showed molecular mimicry, to HLA receptors and found that it had a good binding energy. Based on our in silico analysis, we found that DEDDSEPV amino acid sequence might trigger autoimmunity due to its similarity with myosin-16 protein. Our study provides evidence for the possibility of SARS-CoV-2 inducing autoimmunity via molecular mimicry. Our findings can have significant implications for understanding the pathophysiology of autoimmune diseases and may contribute to the development of potential therapeutic strategies.

Evaluating the level of green development of cultivated land (GDCL) and its influence mechanism can provide important support for better promoting agricultural green development and rural revitalization. According to the concept of green development, we construct the evaluation system of “adaptability-vitality-resistance (A-V-R)” and explore the spatial and temporal differentiation characteristics and influence mechanism of China’s GDCL in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2020 by using the methods of the Comprehensive Evaluation Model, Standard Deviation Ellipse, Theil Index, and Geographic Detector. The results show that: (1) From 2000 to 2020, the level of GDCL in China was low and improved slowly, increasing from 0.264 to 0.293, showing the characteristics of “W” fluctuation, and the focus shifted from Southwest to Northeast. (2) The GDCL in China has obvious spatial dependence, and the evolution of different types of regions has significant path dependence and spatial and temporal inertia. (3) The regional difference in the level of GDCL in China is greater than that among regions. The hierarchical structure characteristics of Northeast Region > Western Region > Central Region > Eastern Region is prominent, and show an overall increasing trend. (4) Human factors greatly impact the level of GDCL. The interaction of driving factors forms a complex multi-resultant force to jointly build a comprehensive action mechanism of GDCL level driven by demand, economy, science and technology, and ecological block.

Staphylococcal scalded skin syndrome (SSSS) in premature infants is a rare condition. We present SSSS in a preterm infant, who developed all signs and symptoms of SSSS at birth, with a fatal outcome due to fungemia caused by Candida parapsilosis. The clinical presentation was challenging to differential diagnosis. SSSS diagnosis was

HPV infection can lead to HPV-related cancer in men, including the anus, penile, and oropharyngeal cancers and precancerous lesions. This study retrospectively investigated HPV prevalence and genotype distribution in Liaocheng men between 2016 and 2022. The total HPV positive rate was 64.87% (2388/3681, 95% CI: 63.32%-66.40%), where HR-HPV and LR-HPV accounted for 42.49% (1564/3681, 95% CI: 40.90%-44.09%) and 69.71% (2566/3681, 95% CI: 68.20%-71.17%), respectively. The mixed HPV infection rate of two and more genotypes was 35.72%. The infection rate of HR-HPV increased with the number of positive cases annually from 2016 (16.91%) to 2022 (46.59%). The most common HR-HPV genotypes were HPV16 (11.60%), HPV52 (6.95%), and HPV59 (6.28%), whereas the least common HR-HPV was HPV26. The most common LR-HPV genotypes were HPV6 (56.99%), HPV11 (23.79%), and HPV43(6.37%). The 9v HPV vaccine preventable for LR-HPV and HR-HPV accounted for 80.78% and 30.40%, respectively, in this study. Most HPV-positive patients aged 1-86 were in the 30-39 age group. This study confirmed that HPV prevalence in Liaocheng men was common and diverse. HPV16, HPV52, and HPV59 are widely distributed in Liaocheng men, and the male HR-HPV infection rate remained high in this region. Regarding public health and cancer prevention, it is recommended and effective to include the HPV vaccination in the national vaccination program for men.

A document by Xiaoling Yu. Click on the document to view its contents.

Objectives: In this study, it was aimed to investigate the effect of biochemical blood values on the course of the disease. Material and Methods: This is a retrospective study. For the treatment of COVID-19, clinical features and biochemical test parameters of 243 patients who applied to Malatya Training and Research Hospital in Malatya province of Turkey between 03 March and 31 December 2021 were used. Results: In the regression analysis performed in patients with Covid, glucose, urea, ALP, LDH, albumin, calcium and potassium levels were found to be effective on the severity of the disease. Conclusion: Biochemical parameters can be used as clinical findings to predict the diagnosis and course of COVID-19.

IntroductionIBD is a chronic systemic inflammatory disease that predominantly involves the gastrointestinal tract. At the same time, it exerts numerous cardiovascular manifestations, like atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease and thromboembolic events, due to a hypercoagulable state. Although the disease mechanism is unclear, factors responsible, like the disruption of the normal coagulation cascade, hyperhomocysteinemia, abnormalities in platelet-endothelial cell interactions, and increased fibrinolysis, are implicated.

A document by Zaib Un Nisa Mughal1. Click on the document to view its contents.

Cells, tissues, and organs harbour complex systems to allow communication between one another. The biological rhythms can be contrasting among organs, tissues, and cells, adjusting the physiology differently along the organism‘s regions. while also synchronising flowering and metabolism. Here, we revealed that Solanum lycopersicum manifests more balanced rhythms across the whole plant than wild tomatoes. Accordingly, the leaf development program is more coordinated in this organism than in wild species, in that young S. lycopersicum leaves develop slowly in comparison to mature leaves. Young leaves from wild tomatoes display higher photosynthetic rate than mature leaves, while large metabolite accumulations occur across plant segments. Consequently, diel metabolite levels are rather similar between young and mature leaves in the wild tomato S. pennellii, whereas the expression patterns for circadian clock genes are widely contrasting between differently aged leaves. We further demonstrated that introduction of domestication alleles into the wild tomato S. pimpinellifolium appears to synchronize the development of young and mature leaves, rendering this similar to that observed for S. lycopersicum. Collectively, the strengthening of inter-organ relationships in S. lycopersicum indicates an increased synchronization of its biology, which is probably fundamental to explain its elevated yield.

The DNA data storage based on the marker-LDPC code is designed, which can correct insertions/deletions/ substitutions and recover the stored information accurately. In this system, the data was mapped to the LDPC codeword, and then the known marker was inserted into it to construct the concatenated code, which was subsequently converted to the DNA sequence by employing the quadratic encoding method. Next, the DNA sequence was synthesized and stored. Finally, we extracted the DNA for sequencing, and then the stored information was recovered through the decoding based on the weighted Levenshtein distance. Experiment results show that the reliable DNA storage can be achieved with the marker-LDPC code.

Many hazards, including precipitation-induced landslides and coseismic liquefaction, are strongly influenced by the variability of groundwater levels. Simplified or coarse-resolution groundwater models are available for regional-scale studies of infrastructure networks; however, these models often do not consider spatial and temporal variations observed within wells and may not provide sufficient local resolution for critical hazard studies. We extend a conventional, physics-based groundwater model to include spatial and temporal variability based on Gaussian process (GP) interpolation to better understand the local and temporal variation of groundwater between well observations. In this probabilistic model, the physics-based groundwater elevation model serves as an ergodic function and the GP interpolation serves as a model of the well observation residuals. We demonstrate the applicability and accuracy of the model by developing phreatic groundwater estimates for an approximately 10,000 km2 area surrounding San Francisco Bay, California, USA. The resulting model accurately estimates the seasonally variable groundwater depth in a blind holdout dataset within 1.11 m with 90% confidence. The model is well constrained with a standard deviation of approximately 1.1 m near wells, but the uncertainty increases dramatically in mountainous terrain where well observations are limited. The model results also indicate that the average seasonal variability is typically modest relative to non-seasonal events, but nonetheless could have significant impacts on hazard evaluations such as earthquake-induced liquefaction or shallow slope instability.

This paper examines the flocking control issue of Cucker-Smale model in presence of denial-of-service (DoS) attacks and communication delays. In the setting of DoS attacks, the attacker only obstructs the information communication among agents during the activation phases, while concentrates on supplying its own energy during the dormancy phases. Furthermore, the communication delays are assumed to be time-varying and heterogeneous. Firstly, a general control input scheme defending against DoS network attacks and communication delays is constructed. Secondly, on the basis of the presented control input and the properties of graph theory, the flocking control issue is equivalently transformed into a products convergence issue of infinite sub-stochastic matrices. Finally, an algebraic condition is obtained to formulate all agents asymptotically achieving the flocking behavior. Moreover, the obtained theoretical results are verified by a numerical example.

Cisplatin (CIS)-induced nephrotoxicity is associated with oxidative stress, apoptosis, inflammation, and fibrogenesis. In this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of ranolazine (RAN), a current antianginal drug known to experimentally reduce oxidative damage in CIS-induced nephrotoxicity. We randomly assigned thirty-two Sprague Dawley rats to one of four groups (Control, CIS, CIS+RAN, and RAN+CIS). We evaluated kidney function parameters including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine (Cre), electrolytes, and albumin, as well as tissue biochemical parameters including malondialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidant enzymes. Histopathological parameters were also assessed. We observed a significant increase in BUN and Cre values in the CIS group compared to the control group (p<0.05). However, there was a significant decrease in BUN values (p<0.05) in the CIS+RAN and RAN+CIS groups compared to the CIS group. In contrast, the decrease in Cre values did not reach statistical significance (p>0.05), and serum electrolytes were comparable among groups. Furthermore, a statistically significant increase in albumin levels was observed in the CIS+RAN group compared to the CIS group (p<0.05). MDA levels were significantly decreased in the CIS+RAN group compared to the CIS group, indicating the antioxidant activity of RAN (p<0.05). Histopathological analysis revealed that necrosis and dilatation in epithelial cells of cortical and medullary tubules were more prominent in the CIS group (p<0.0001). However, in the RAN+CIS group, the histopathological changes observed in the CIS group were found to be significantly reduced (p<0.0001). Degenerative changes in tubules were observed in the CIS+RAN group (p>0.05). Our findings suggest that the beneficial effects of RAN on CIS-induced nephrotoxicity may be related to its antioxidant activity.

MOFs are an emerging class of porous materials with potential applications in lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). Despite the numerous advantages of MOFs, challenges are still pervasive in its application in LIBs. Herein, we review recent advances in the field of MOFs applied in electrodes and electrolytes of LIBs based on the structural design of MOFs. First, low dimensions, inter spaces and composites are introduced and its application research progress is summarized. Then, the synthesis strategies of MOFs and its derivatives are briefly reviewed, including template synthesis and post-synthetic modifications. On this basis, the effective application mechanism of MOFs in LIBs is summarized. Overall, these design rationales and synthesis strategies represent general models of MOFs applied in LIBs, and which are also beneficial for boosting material innovations in other filed of energy storage.

This interdisciplinary study highlights the crucial role of mathematics and physics in ocean engineering. In this study, the traveling wave solutions of the general Drinfiel’d-Sokolov-Wilson (DSW)-system, which was introduced as a model of water waves, were investigated. Converting the DSW-system to a more straightforward system of ordinary differential equation system with wave transform is the first step in the process. The solutions of the system were obtained using five different methods. These methods are effective methods for generating periodic solutions. It has also been seen that the periodic solutions we got using the Jacobi elliptic function expansions containing different Jacobi elliptic functions might be different, and that we can get some new periodic solutions. Given 3-dimensional simulations using Maple TM were made to see the behaviour of the solutions obtained for the appropriate different values of the parameters. This study is very important as it is the unique study in the literature in which five different Jacobi elliptic function expansion methods are discussed together. Jacobi elliptic functions are valuable mathematical tools that can be applied to various aspects of ocean engineering. Their use helps engineers better understand and predict the behaviour of waves, tidal forces, and other phenomena, ultimately leading to safer and more efficient structures and systems. The stability property of the obtained solutions was tested to demonstrate the ability of the obtained solutions.

The HVDC transmission based on modular multilevel converter shows the weak feed characteristic of limited fault current amplitude when connected to the traditional AC power grid, which leads to the risk of sensitivity reduction or even failure of the traditional pilot protection. In this paper, a MMC-HVDC AC side transmission line protection scheme based on positive sequence fault component current ratio is proposed. The positive sequence fault component current of the MMC-HVDC side is calculated by using the positive sequence fault component current of the power grid side, and the fault is identified through the significant difference between the ratio of the positive sequence fault component current of the MMC-HVDC side and the actual positive sequence fault component current of the MMC-HVDC side in the case of internal and external faults. This method has the advantages of simple principle, low requirement for synchronous data, not affected by capacitive current and strong resistance to high resistance. The simulation results show that the algorithm can correctly partition internal and external faults, and is not affected by fault location, fault type and operation mode of converter station, and has high sensitivity and reliability.

Fast and accurate fault direction criteria is crucial for efficient protection in hybrid multi-terminal HVDC transmission systems. The current variation method is commonly used to identify fault direction but is affected by fault resistance and distributed capacitance. This paper proposes a new direction criterion based on the backward fault traveling-wave, which has stronger resistance to interference from transition resistance and operates at a faster speed than other methods. Additionally, this paper provides the time-domain expression of the traveling wave after multiple reflections between the fault point and the converter station port, enabling the calculation of the threshold setting for the criterion. The new direction criterion is tested in PSCAD/EMTDC, and simulation results demonstrate that it can accurately identify fault direction and has a strong ability to withstand transition resistance.

Single-pass tangential flow filtration (SPTFF) is a key operation in biopharmaceutical downstream processing for in-process volume reduction, and for achieving a higher final concentration than conventional ultrafiltration processes. The performance of SPTFF also impacts the overall process yield. A model-based multi-objective optimization framework is proposed for determining the optimum configuration of membranes connected in series or parallel inside a multistage SPTFF module for maximising the volume concentration factor (VCF) and the throughput. The resistance-in-series model is used for predicting the permeate flux. Single objective optimization was performed to determine maximum achievable VCF and throughput over wide ranges of feed flow rate and transmembrane pressure using the Particle Swarm Optimization. A non-dominated sorting-based genetic algorithm was used for multi-objective optimization to determine the optimum operating parameters for maximum throughput as well as maximum VCF. The optimization results were validated with published experimental data. A mixed variable multi-objective optimization framework was applied to obtain the optimal membrane configuration by minimizing the number of membranes while maximizing VCF and throughput; and for a given configuration of SPTFF, a set of optimal operating conditions were identified. These optimization results provide useful guidelines and insights for designers and plant operators to achieve cost-effective and efficient ultrafiltration.

Beginning in the early 2010s, an increased incidence of interstitial lung disease in systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA-LD) in pediatric patients has been identified. Despite the increase in prevalence of sJIA-LD, little is known about this disease process and effective therapeutic management. In this single-center, retrospective case series of 9 patients, we analyze demographic, clinical, radiographic, and laboratory data to corroborate common clinical characteristics and describe an approach for diagnosis and monitoring of interstitial lung disease in children with sJIA. Our results were similar to other described cases of sJIA-LD as patients in our cohort were more likely to be younger, have a history of macrophage activation syndrome and prior use of biologic therapies. In contrast to prior studies, they did not present with lymphadenopathy and hepatosplenomegaly. We discuss our management of this rare disease process. More research is necessary to understand the increased incidence and treatment of sJIA-LD in pediatric population.

Abstract: Pollination is a crucial aspect of plant reproduction and evolution. To explore the pollination biology of Cymbidium kanran, detailed studies were conducted on its flowering phenology, breeding system, volatile components of flowers, and the behavior of pollinating insects. The results showed that: 1) C. kanran does not have self-pollination or apomixis and requires a pollination medium to produce seeds. However, the natural fruit set rate is much lower than that of artificial pollination, indicating a serious pollination limitation. 2) The effective pollinating insect for C. kanran is Apis cerana, which carries both the pollinia and anther cap during pollination. C. kanran does not provide any reward such as nectar or edible pollen to the pollinators. 3) The glass cylinder experiment showed that the flower color of C. kanran is not attractive to pollinators (p=0.1341>0.05), while the scent is significantly attractive (p=0.00040.017<0.05), although the color of C. kanran is one of the most diverse species within the Cymbidium genus. 4) Based on the dynamic changes of volatile components of flowers during different flowering periods, it is speculated that hexanal, heptanal, octanal, 2-pentyl furan, 4-methyl-2-pentanone, and 1,4-cyclooctadiene may be the volatile components that attract pollinators. 5) The population size, number of flowering individuals, number of flowers, and the movement of pollinia have a highly significant positive correlation, but the population size is not correlated with individual reproductive success (p=0.112~0.185>0.05). This study provides scientific basis for the wild resources conservation and breeding in C. kanran.