In this paper, to address the problem that the traditional fal function constitutes an active disturbance rejection control (ADRC) system that is greatly affected by feedback signal noise and the control output has jitter, propose a continuous and smooth Hfal function in the definition domain to improve the extended state observer and nonlinear error feedback control law in ADRC. Firstly, the characteristic curves and error gain curves of the fal function and Hfal function are compared and analyzed to prove the feasibility and superiority of the Hfal function; secondly, the convergence condition of the extended state observer improved by the Hfal function is analyzed theoretically, and the simulation of the improved extended state observer with glan , faln , and tanh function is compared in the observed signal containing noise to verify the improved extended state observer with Hfal function has higher observation accuracy; finally, the improved ADRC (IADRC) method is applied to the magnetically levitated sphere system model with a nonlinear, large time lag and strong coupling characteristics for discretization simulation experiments, and the results show that the proposed IADRC method solves the output jitter problem of the traditional ADRC method, has better stability, and has stronger robustness to large-amplitude control quantity step disturbances and feedback link noise. The proposed control method further improves the control performance of the system and has a good reference value for the control of other nonlinear systems with uncertain disturbances.

Melt rates at the base of Antarctic ice shelves are needed to drive projections of the Antarctic ice sheet mass loss. Current basal melt parameterisations struggle to link open ocean properties to ice-shelf basal melt rates for the range of current sub-shelf cavity geometries around Antarctica. We present a novel parameterisation based on deep learning. With a simple feedforward neural network, or multilayer perceptron, acting on each grid cell separately, we emulate the behavior of circum-Antarctic cavity-resolving ocean simulations. We explore different neural network sizes and find that, in all cases containing at least one hidden layer, this kind of emulator produces reasonable basal melt rates for our training ensemble, closer to the reference simulation than traditional parameterisations. For testing, we use an independent ensemble of simulations that was produced with the same ocean model but with different model parameters, different cavity geometries and different forcing. In this challenging test, traditional and neural network parameterisations yield similar results on present conditions. In much warmer conditions than the training ensemble, both traditional parameterisations and neural networks struggle, but the neural networks tend to produce basal melt rates closer to the reference than a majority of traditional parameterisations. These neural networks are therefore suitable for century-scale Antarctic ice-sheet projections.

Background: Hard-to-treat childhood cancers are those where standard treatment options do not exist and prognosis is poor. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) are responsible for communicating with families about prognosis and complex experimental treatment. We aimed to identify HCPs’ key challenges and skills required when communicating with families about hard-to-treat cancers, and their perceptions of communication-related training. Method: We interviewed Australian HCPs who had direct responsibilities in managing children/adolescents with a hard-to-treat cancer within the past 24 months. Interviews were analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: We interviewed 10 oncologists, 7 nurses, and 3 social workers. HCPs identified several challenges for communication with families including: balancing information provision while maintaining realistic hope; managing their own uncertainty; and nurses and social workers being under-utilised during conversations with families, despite widespread preferences for multidisciplinary teamwork. HCPs perceived that making themselves available to families, empowering them to ask questions, and repeating information helped to establish and maintain trusting relationships with families. Half the HCPs reported receiving no formal training for communicating prognosis and treatment options with families of children with hard-to-treat cancers. Nurses, social workers, and junior oncologists supported the development of communication training resources, more so than senior oncologists. Conclusion(s): Resources are needed which support HCPs to communicate with families of children with hard-to-treat cancers. Such resources may be particularly beneficial for junior oncologists and other HCPs during their training, and should aim to prepare them for common challenges, and to foster greater multidisciplinary collaboration.

1. Fine root distribution influences the potential for resource acquisition in soil profiles, which defines how plants interact with local soil environments; however, a deep understanding of how fine root vertical distribution varies with soil structural variations and across plant ages is lacking. 2. We subjected four xerophytic species native to an arid valley of China, Artemisia vestita, Bauhinia brachycarpa, Sophora davidii, and Cotinus szechuanensis, to increasing rock fragment content (RFC) treatments (0%, 25%, 50%, and 75%, v v-1) in an arid environment and measured fine root vertical profiles over four years of growth. 3. Fine root depth and biomass of woody species increased with increasing RFC, but the extent of increase declined with plant age. Increasing RFC also increased the degree of interannual decreases in fine root diameter. The limited supply of soil resources in coarse soils explained the increases in rooting depth and variations in the pattern of fine root profiles across RFC. Fine root depth and biomass of the subshrub species (A. vestita) in soil profiles decreased with the increase in RFC and plant age, showing an opposite pattern from the other three woody species. 4. Within species, the annual increase in fine root biomass varied with RFC, which led to large interannual differences in the patterns of fine root profiles. Capacity of younger or subshrub plants to cope with soil environmental changes were greater than the older or shrub plants. These results provide insights into the limitations of soil resources in dry and rocky environments, and have management implications for degraded agroforest ecosystem.

This study investigates the modification of materials by doping with foreign elements to enhance electrocatalytic activity and focuses on the engineering of an inorganic material composed of transition heterometal-rich pentlandite (Fe3Co3Ni3S8, FCNS) doped with silicon (FCNSSi) as a bifunctional catalyst for the overall electrochemical water splitting process. The FCNSSi electrode exhibits remarkable catalytic activity for oxygen evolution reaction (OER) and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). The OER performance of FCNSSi was evaluated in a 1.0 M KOH solution, achieving an overpotential of 313 mV at 10 mA cm-2. The FCNSSi electrode exhibits a current density of -10 mA cm-2 at a remarkably low overpotential of 164 mV with a Tafel slope of 80.7 mV/dec in HER. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation suggests that Si doping adjusts the binding energies of intermediates on the surface, which weakened the *OH, *O, and *OOH adsorption energies, resulting in enhanced activity for both OER and HER. Moreover, Si doping enhances the hydrogen adsorption activity of all sites. Finally, a two-electrode zero-gap cell assembly was used to investigate the durability of FCNSSi catalyst towards efficient and durable alkaline water electrolysis, demonstrating the promising potential of this catalyst for practical applications at 500 mA cm-2.

Single-cell transcriptomics analysis is an advanced technology that can describe the intracellular transcriptome in complex tissues. It profiles and analyses datasets by single-cell RNA sequencing. Neurodegenerative diseases are identified by the abnormal apoptosis of neurons in the brain with few or no effective therapy strategies at present, which has been a growing healthcare concern and brought a great burden to society. The transcriptome of individual cells provides deep insights into previously unforeseen cellular heterogeneity and gene expression differences in neurodegenerative disorders. It detects multiple cell subsets and functional changes during pathological progression, which deepens the understanding of the molecular underpinnings and cellular basis of neurodegenerative diseases. Furthermore, the transcriptome analysis of immune cells shows the regulation of immune response. Different subtypes of immune cells and their interaction are found to contribute to disease progression. This finding enables the discovery of novel targets and biomarkers for early diagnosis. In this review, we emphasize the principles of the technology, and its recent progress in the study of cellular heterogeneity and immune mechanisms in neurodegenerative diseases. The application of single-cell transcriptomics analysis in neurodegenerative disorders would help explore the pathogenesis of these diseases and develop novel therapeutic methods.

Electrocatalytic water splitting is crucial for the development of the renewable energy industry. However, gas bubble attachment to the electrode surface has severely limited the electrochemical performance. In this study, we develop a superaerophobic nickel-based catalyst by electrodeposition onto pencil-drawn non-conducting A4 paper. We reveal that phosphorus (P) doping in the nickel metal causes lattice contraction and cracked electrode surface, creating a superaerophobic electrode surface, as supported by first-principles calculations and surface tension measurement. The improved catalytic performance results from the superaerophobic electrode surfaces with minimal gas bubble adhesion, outperforming commercial Pt plates, particularly at higher current densities. P-doping also enhances the corrosion resistance of the electrode to the electrolyte and contributes to its structural stability. Our findings suggest a promising strategy for developing highly efficient electrocatalysts with improved stability.

Backgrounds. Fusion of the left and right inferior pulmonary veins (PV) (confluent inferior PV, CIPV) is a rare variation. Using intracardiac echocardiography (ICE) from the left atrium (LA), we measured the posterior wall thickness (PWT) of CIPV adjacent to the esophagus and compared it with LA posterior wall thickness (LAPWT) in non-CIPV cases. Methods. Of the consecutive 986 patients undergoing atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation from July 2020 to June 2022, seven (0.7%) had CIPV with a common trunk connecting to the LA diagnosed by 3-dimentinal contrast-enhanced computed tomography. Twenty-five AF patients without CIPV served as control. ICE was done from LA to measure PWT of CIPV and LAPWT of non-CIPV cases at the level of the left inferior PV. For ablation in CIPV patients, each superior PV was individually isolated, and BOX isolation of CIPV without ablating CIPV posterior wall was added. Results. CIPV PWT was 0.7±0.1 mm, while LAPWT of non-CIPV was 2.0±0.4 mm (P<0.001). In CIPV group, the upper and lower portions of CIPV were both apart from the esophagus (mean distances, 6.7±3.4 mm and 7.9±2.7 mm, respectively). Individual superior PV isolation and BOX CIPV isolation resulted in complete isolation of all PVs. There were no complications. All CIPV patients but one remained free from AF recurrence for 376±52 days. Conclusions. Although CIPV frequency is low (0.7%), CIPV PWT is very thin and a special care is needed in ablation. The present ablation strategy is effective for complete PV isolation with a less risk of the esophageal injury.

Purpose: To evaluate the drug-induced liver injury (DILI) adverse events related to antidepressants. Method: Post-marketing cases were obtained from the United States Food and Drug Administration Adverse Events Reporting System (FAERS). Disproportionality analyses were conducted by estimating the reporting odds ratio (ROR) and the information component (IC). Result: There were a total of 10,355 reported cases of DILI out of a total of 324,588 cases reported from January 2004 to December 2021. Among the 42 antidepressants assessed, nefazodone (n = 47, ROR = 7.79, IC=2.91), fluvoxamine (n = 29, ROR = 4.69, IC=2.20), and clomipramine (n = 24, ROR = 3.97, IC=1.96), were the top three compounds ranked with the highest reporting odds of cholestatic injury. Mianserin (n = 3, ROR = 21.46, IC=3.99), nefazodone (n = 264, ROR = 18.67, IC=3.84), and maprotiline (n = 15, ROR = 5.65, IC=2.39), were the top three compounds ranked with the highest reporting odds of hepatocellular injury. Nefazodone (n = 187, ROR = 12.71, IC=0.48), clomipramine (n = 35, ROR = 2.07, IC=0.26), and mirtazapine (n = 483, ROR = 1.96, IC=0.94) were the top three on drug related severe hepatic disorders. Only nefazodone detected the signals (n = 48, ROR = 18.64, IC=4.16) in the study of hepatic faliure. Conclusion: The data mining of FAERS suggested significant association between DILI and nefazodone. Duloxetine and clomipramine detected the signals on three categories of DILI besaides hepatic failure. Moreover, DILI risk on the new generation of antidepressants should also be taken into consideration.

A document by Rachael C. Kretsch. Click on the document to view its contents.

Electroencephalogram (EEG) based Brain-computer interface (BCI) is a viable technology. It can enable people with temporal voice impairment to communicate to the world directly from their brain. The electrical signals generated by the human brain during sub-vocalized speech are captured, analyzed, and interpreted as speech using BCI. This review offers an introduction and overview of different modalities in EEG-based BCI applications for silent speech, imagined speech, and inner speech recognition. It briefly presents various techniques and methods from pre-processing techniques to feature classification involved in the development of EEG-based BCI applications for silent speech recognition.

Epileptic spasm is a type of seizure disorder, uncommonly diagnosed and under-recognized nosological condition with possibility of neuropsychological deterioration. This study aims to estimate the burden, identify the possible aetiological factors and the prognostic factors of epileptic spasm in psychiatric clinic of Sarkin Maska Shehu Hospital (SMASH) Funtua. Questionnaire detailing sociodemographic and clinical variables were administered to participants with symptoms of epileptic spasm who were recruited from psychiatric clinic over six months and followed up for another minimum period of six months. Data analysis was done with PSPP (free version of statistical package for social sciences, SPSS). Data was collated from 57 out of 59 participants diagnosed of epileptic spasms during the study period. 30 (52.60%) were males, infancy was the modal age of symptom onset, though usually presented at toddlers and school age group with median frequency of 10-spasms per day. Cerebral Infection/infestation 16 (28.07%), precipitate labor 14 (24.56%) and hypoxic-ischemic-encephalopathy (HIE) 11(19.30%) were the leading contextual factors recognized in the study. Total spasm abatement was attained in 21 (56.76) out of 37 participants placed on prednisolone therapy. None of the factors studied is associated or predict response to prednisolone therapy. Epileptic spasm is relatively common in the study setting. Onset is usually in infancy, though usually presented in toddler and school-age, with few adult onset and presentations. Cerebral Infection/infestation, precipitate labor and perinatal asphyxia were the leading contextual factors. Prednisolone was the only first-line treatment option in the study centre with total symptom abatement in 21(56.76%) of participants.

Social buffering is the phenomenon in which the presence of an affiliative conspecific mitigates stress responses. We previously demonstrated that social buffering completely ameliorates conditioned fear responses in rats. The present study explored the neurochemical background of this social buffering. In Experiment 1, fear-conditioned subjects first received an intraperitoneal injection of either naloxone (non-selective opioid receptor antagonist), haloperidol (dopamine D2 receptor antagonist), SR49059 (vasopressin V1A receptor antagonist), atosiban (oxytocin receptor antagonist), or saline. The subjects were then exposed to a conditioned stimulus with an unfamiliar non-conditioned rat. Naloxone, but not the other three antagonists, blocked social buffering. In Experiment 2, we assessed the effect of naloxone on locomotor activity during an open-field test. Naloxone did not affect walking steps during the test. Therefore, it is unlikely that the results of Experiment 1 were due to decreased activity by naloxone. In Experiment 3, we assessed Fos expression in 16 brain regions accompanied by the blockade of social buffering by naloxone. Consistent with the results of Experiment 1, Fos expression was increased in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. In addition, Fos expression was decreased in the nucleus accumbens shell, anterior cingulate cortex, and insular cortex and tended to be decreased in the nucleus accumbens core. Naloxone thus appears to affect these four regions and/or act upstream of these regions during blockade of social buffering. Based on these results, we conclude that naloxone blocks social buffering of conditioned fear responses in rats.

Enzymes that catalyze post-translational modifications of peptides and proteins (PTM-enzymes) – proteases, protein ligases, oxidoreductases, kinases, and other transferases - are foundational to our understanding of health and disease and empower applications in chemical biology, synthetic biology, and biomedicine. To fully harness the potential of PTM-enzymes, there is a critical need to decipher their enzymatic and biological mechanisms, develop molecules that can probe and reprogram them, and endow them with improved and novel functions. These objectives are contingent upon implementation of high-throughput functional screens and selections that interrogate large sequence libraries to isolate desired PTM-enzyme properties. This review discusses the principles of S. cerevisiae organelle sequestration to study and engineer PTM-enzymes. These include methods that modify yeast surface display and employ enzyme-mediated transcription activation to evolve the activity and substrate specificity of proteases and protein ligases. We also present a detailed discussion of yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER) sequestration for the first time. Where appropriate, we highlight the major features and limitations of different systems, specifically how they can measure and control enzyme catalytic efficiencies. Taken together, yeast-based high-throughput sequestration approaches significantly lower the barrier to understanding how PTM-enzymes function and how to reprogram them.

A document by Fusun Fakili. Click on the document to view its contents.

Authors: Sowmya Sagireddy1, Chiya Abramowitz2, Sai Sagireddy3, Marc Sukhoo-Pertab1, Mark Sonnenschine11 South Brooklyn Health, Brooklyn, NY, 11235, USA2 New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, 11568, USA;3Baylor University, Waco, Texas,76706, USA

This study aims to revealing the relationship between retained austenite (RA) morphology, deformation-induced transformation (DIPT) behavior and surface wear behavior. The hardening and fatigue behavior during wear of continuous film-like RA (CFRA), blocky RA (BRA), discontinuous film-like RA (DFRA) and point or flocculent RA (PRA) achieved through different tempering process was investigated using quasi-in-situ fatigue test and impact abrasive wear test. RA morphology exhibited a significant influence on hardening and fatigue behavior during wear. CFRA exhibited the best wear properties, owing to its excellent fatigue performance and hardening capacity. The BRA displayed relative high wear performance, with adequate hardening capacity but weak fatigue performance. DFRA demonstrated comparable wear resistance to BRA due to better fatigue performance. PRA exhibited deficient wear performance due to insufficient fatigue properties and low work hardening ability.

Impact of nonbiological factors (NBF) on survival was investigated in a large cohort of adolescents and young adults (AYA) with lymphoma in the US. We found that uninsured and Medicaid AYA beneficiaries with classical Hodgkin lymphoma (cHL) and non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) are at significantly increased risk of death when compared with their insured counterpart even after adjustment for other factors affecting survival. NHL AYA patients residing in lower income counties are at increased risk of death. The strong association of NBF with survival indicates opportunities to improve survival of AYA lymphoma patients by improving access/quality of care in the US.

In this research, we explore whether a dendrogeomorphological assessment of tree scarring can accurately summarize past ice-jam flooding events occurring at a given reach of a river. A sample site was chosen with a history of ice-jam flooding located in close proximity to a river gauge station. Samples were collected along a 200-metre stretch of riverbank to capture the variation in elevations and possible different ice-jam flooding events. Disk samples were collected from trees with visual scarring evidence that indicated they had endured a past ice-jam event. Tree cores from an adjacent stand were collected to create a master chronology for each of the sampled species. Tree disks and cores were analyzed under a microscope using a Velmex stage system, then visually and statistically crossdated using the program COFECHA. Based on the last year of tree growth, years of individual injury events were established. The years of injury event dates were compared against the years of highest instantaneous maximum water elevations from gauged river data. The two data sets correlated, as years with highest recorded injury event dates were also the years of highest instantaneous water level elevations. The most common years of injury event dates were directly reflected in the top five years of highest river instantaneous water level elevations. In addition, the year of 2020 had the highest water elevations in the past 27 years, which was again reflected in the dendrogeomorphological data as the injury event year of 2020 was recorded on over 90% of the sampled tree disks. The correlation found between the gauged river data and the dendrogeomorphological data strongly suggests that past ice-jam flooding event dates can accurately be determined through the analysis of trees in riverbank stretches that have been impacted by ice-jams. The relationship of the gauged river data to the dendrogeomorphological data will therefore allow researchers to determine ice-jam site histories in remote areas where no gauged data exists. The site histories can provide information such as the years or heights that past ice-jam flooding occurred, which could then be used in ice-jam flooding hazard assessments.

Expanding upon person-centered approaches to understanding empathy, the author introduces an integrated psychotherapeutic framework, Existential Depth Analysis (EDA), that uses the four ultimate concerns of existential psychotherapy (death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness) to facilitate empathic engagement with clients throughout the therapeutic process. The author also illustrates the practical applications of EDA in clinical and educational settings. Keywords: Empathy, existential psychotherapy, person-centered therapy, four ultimate concerns, accurate empathic understanding

Homework assignments in psychoanalysis are contentious; some believe they contradict psychoanalytic principles, while others argue they enhance coping skills. We propose that homework can be a legitimate aspect of relational psychoanalysis when used in a way that is attuned to the patient’s experience and that homework may be an important component of treating personality disorders. We present the case of a man diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder to illustrate this: the patient, wrestling with social relations and control dynamics within therapy, was assigned homework aimed at curbing his compulsive caregiving and exploring its underlying motives. This exercise led him to understand his actions stemmed from avoidance of exposing his vulnerabilities. Subsequently, he was able to engage with relationships from diverse perspectives and discover new meanings. We advocate that homework tasks can be successfully incorporated into the relational psychoanalytic approach, fostering self-reflection and facilitating transformative change in patients with personality disorders.

A document by Danilo Coco. Click on the document to view its contents.

PIN proteins establish the auxin concentration gradient, which coordinates plant growth. PIN1-4 and 7 localized at the plasma membrane (PM) and facilitate polar auxin transport while the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) localized PIN5 and PIN8 maintain the intracellular auxin homeostasis. Although an antagonistic activity of PIN5 and PIN8 proteins in regulating the intracellular auxin homeostasis and other developmental events have been reported, how the two proteins, which localize at the same intracellular compartment, antagonize each other remains unclear. Combining immunolocalization, pH-dependent fluorescent quenching, and topology prediction programs, we mapped the membrane topology of PIN5 and PIN8 in Arabidopsis thaliana root cells. Our results indicate that, except for the similarities in the orientation of the N-terminus, PIN5 and PIN8 have an opposite orientation of the central hydrophilic loop and the C-terminus, as well as an unequal number of transmembrane domains (TMDs). PIN8 has ten TMDs with groups of five alpha-helices separated by the central hydrophilic loop (HL) residing in the ER lumen, and its N- and C-terminals are positioned in the cytoplasm. However, the topology of PIN5 comprises nine TMDs. Its N-terminal end and the central HL face the cytoplasm while its C-terminus resides in the ER lumen. Overall, the divergent membrane topology of PIN5 and PIN8 reflects different and often mutually opposing activities of these intracellular auxin homeostasis regulators.

Objective To evaluate the changes in intraoperative anaesthetic parameters during Low-Pressure laparoscopy with AirSeal® versus standard insufflation laparoscopy in gynaecological surgeries. Materials and Methods 77 patients who had laparoscopic hysterectomy for gynaecological causes were retrospectively identified. Patient demographics, procedure details, the data on intraoperative anaesthetic parameters and duration of recovery from GA after the procedure were collected from patients’ electronic and paper notes. No ethical approval was required for this project and the study was registered as a quality improvement project. Results 41 patients were operated with 7mmHg AirSeal® system and 36 with 15mmHg standard insufflation. Duration of recovery time from GA was significantly lower in the AirSeal® group. Statistically significant differences were also found in the mid-procedure end tidal CO2 levels and peak airway pressure at the end of the procedure. Conclusion In conclusion, our results show that there is no statistically significant difference in anaesthetic parameters between the low-pressure group and standard insufflation group except EtCO2 levels mid-procedure, and that the recovery time after general anaesthesia is significantly lower in the low pressure group.