Urbanization and the expansion of human activities foster radical ecosystem changes with cascading effects also involving host-pathogen interactions. Urban pollinator insects face several stressors related to landscape and local scale features such as green habitat loss, fragmentation, and availability reduction of floral resources with unpredictable effects on parasite transmission. Furthermore, beekeeping may contribute to the spread of parasites to wild pollinators by increasing the number of parasite hosts. Here we used DNA-based diagnostics tools to evaluate how the occurrence of parasites, namely microsporidians (Nosema spp.), trypanosomatids (Crithidia spp.) and neogregarines (Apicystis bombi), is shaped by the above-mentioned stressors in two bumblebee species (i.e, Bombus terrestris and B. pascuorum). Infection rates of the two species were different and generally higher in B. terrestris. Moreover, they showed different responses towards the same ecological variables, possibly due to differences in body size and foraging habits supposed to affect their susceptibility to parasite infection. The probability of infection was found to be reduced in B. pascuorum by green habitat fragmentation, while increased along with floral resource availability. Unexpectedly, B. terrestris had a lower parasite richness nearby apiaries probably because parasites are prone to be transmitted among the most abundant species. Our finding supports the need to design proper conservation measures based on species-specific knowledge, as suggested by the variation in the parasite occurrence of the two species. Moreover, conservation policies aiming at safeguarding pollinators through flower planting should consider the indirect effects of these measures for parasite transmission together with pollinator biodiversity issues.

The paper devises a H ∞ -norm theory for the CSVIU (control and state variations increase uncertainty) class of stochastic systems. This system model appeals to stochastic control problems to express the state evolution of a possibly nonlinear dynamic system restraint to poor modeling. Contrary to other H ∞ stochastic formulations that mimic deterministic models dealing with finite energy disturbances, the focus is on the H ∞ control with infinity energy disturbance signals. Thus, the approach portrays the persistent perturbations due to the environment more naturally. In this regard, it requires a refined connection between a suitable notion of stability and the systems’ energy or power finiteness. It delves into the control solution employing the relations between H ∞ optimization and differential games, connecting the worst-case stability analysis of CSVIU systems with a perturbed Lyapunov type of equation. The norm characterization relies on the optimal cost induced by the Min-Max control strategy. The rise of a pure saddle point is linked to the solvability of a modified Riccati-type equation in a form known as a generalized game-type Riccati equation, which yields the solution of the CSVIU dynamic game. The emerging optimal disturbance compensator produces inaction regions in the sense that, for sufficiently minor deviations from the model, the optimal action is constant or null in the face of the uncertainty involved. A numerical example illustrates the synthesis.

The Enhance Low Dose Rate Sensitivity (ELDRS) of bipolar devices is one of the important effects on space electronics systems that could be impact on its high reliability and long life. It is important to ensure radiation reliability for space applications by evaluating ELDRS of bipolar devices. However, the low dose rate irradiation test has a long period and high cost, so accelerated testing methods are required. In this paper, low dose rate, high dose rate and hydrogen soaking accelerated irradiation experiments are carried out on the operational amplifier circuit (XJ139), and the experimental data of high and low dose rate of the circuit are analyzed, the conclusion that the circuit has a ELDRS effect is given. Experiments on circuit irradiation effects under different hydrogen concentrations and immersion time were carried out. The degradation data of irradiation-sensitive parameters under different hydrogen soaking pretreatment conditions were analyzed. The optimal combination conditions for hydrogen soaking are given based on this circuit, and verified by experiments. At last, the degradation equivalence under accelerated hydrogen soaking and low dose rate irradiation test results is analyzed and discussed. The results show that the degradation degree of the samples after hydrogenation pretreatment after high dose rate irradiation is comparable to that of low dose rate irradiation. The research results can be used to guide the development of low dose rate accelerated tests and engineering applications.

BACKGROUND: Management of Covid 19 has been a challenge to health care system. Covid-19 pandemic led to prescribing a greater number of drugs for curing the disease as in initial phase of pandemic due to lack of understanding of pathophysiology of Covid 19, symptomatic treatment was given as no definite treatment was available. This presented an opportunity to assess prescribing practices during the pandemic. AIM: Prescription audit and effect of co-morbidities on indoor Covid-19 patients. METHODS: The present study is a retrospective cohort to assess 300 random prescriptions from indoor Covid 19 patients of a tertiary care teaching hospital. The parameters analysed in the process of prescription audit were, patients’ demographics data, prescribing standards according to WHO core indicators, clinical diagnosis with co-morbid condition, legibility of hand writing, doctors name and signature, outcome of disease. RESULTS: A total of 300 prescriptions were analyzed, among them 198(66%) were male and 102(34%) females. Total 2972 drugs were prescribed. The average number of drugs per prescription are 9.90, percentage of drugs prescribed by generic name is 88%, percentage of encounters with antimicrobials is 99.66%, percentage of encounters with injections is 44%, percentage of drugs prescribed from National Essential Drug List is 83.34%. 167 patients (55.67%) presented with co-morbidity. The average duration of hospital stay is approximately 8 days. This study reveals impact of co-morbidities on Covid 19. CONCLUSION: Each and every patient received antimicrobial in the form of antibiotic or antiviral. The effect of co-morbidity has a significant influence on the outcome of patients having covid 19, as in this study mortality rate in diabetic patients is higher than non-diabetics. Similarly, in hypertension, mortality rate is higher than in non-hypertensive patients.

In this paper, by considering the existence of unavailable state, external disturbance, and denial of service (DoS) attacks, an anti-disturbance trajectory tracking controller is proposed for the air-ground system composed of unmanned autonomous helicopter (UAH) and unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Initially, by combining the advantages of conventional event-triggered scheme (ETS) and memory ETS, a switching-like event-triggered mechanism is put forward, which can cause less data transmissions without reducing control performance, and effectively restrain the DoS attacks. Secondly, by dividing the DoS attacks into active intervals and sleep ones, the concept of acknowledgement character technology (ACK) is presented to determine the suitable type of time intervals. Thirdly, the switching-like dynamic ETS is introduced for the sleep intervals of DoS attacks while the ETS with fixed triggered-threshold is exploited for the active intervals. Fourthly, based on the occurrence of the DoS attacks, a switching-like observer and a normal one are respectively proposed to estimate the UGV state, the UAH state, the reference input of the UGV, and the disturbance of the UAH, which are utilized to design the anti-disturbance tracking controller. Fifthly, an augmented closed-loop system consisting of observation errors and tracking error is established and its stability is analyzed by using Lyapunov stability theory. Then, a sufficient condition on co-designing the parameters of switching-like ETS, observers, and tracking controller is presented in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMI). Finally, the validity and superiority of the proposed control scheme are verified by resorting to simulations and comparisons.

I comment on the article JN-2022-11-29991.R1 by quickly summarizing the findings and going further by putting it in the context of current knowledge and elaborate on open questions that this article raises

With the increasing use of anti-angiogenic drugs (AADs) in clinical practice, a wide spectrum of adverse events (AEs) has been recognized, compromising the quality of life of oncologic patients. Global repositories of post-marketing safety reports enhance the understanding of drug toxicities in real-life setting, often not observable in clinical trials. The aim of this scoping review was to map the evidence arose from spontaneous reporting systems studies (SRSs) about AADs in cancer patients and to highlight if the found AEs with disproportionality signals were validated and thus mentioned in the respective Summary of product Characteristics documents (SmPC). Twenty-four studies were retrieved (most part of them focused on cardiovascular AEs): among them twelve studies performed a disproportionality analysis. Arterial aneurysm/aortic dissection was the most studied AE in SRSs. With this analysis, we observed a knowledge gap about the safety of AADs: first, several cardiovascular AEs were not mentioned in the SmPCs and no pharmacovigilance studies were conducted despite the well-recognized safety concern for these drugs about the cardiovascular system. Secondly, a disproportionality signal of pericardial disease (not validated through causality assessment by the authors) was found in literature for axitinib with no mention in SmPC of the drug. Further active pharmacovigilance studies need to be performed with regards to the knowledge gap identified to better characterize the safety profile of AADs.

OBJECTIVE To compare the surgery and survival outcomes between neoadjuvant chemotherapy and primary debulking surgery in patients with advanced ovarian yolk sac tumor (OYST). METHODS In this retrospective cohort analysis, patients with stage III to IV OYST or mixed germ cell tumor containing yolk sac tumor elements and underwent surgery at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between 2010 and 2021 were identified. Nineteen cases were treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) followed by interval surgery. Twenty-one cases were treated with primary debulking surgery (PDS). Data on patient characteristics, treatment and survival were analyzed between the two groups. RESULTS After NACT, the physical status of patients were significantly improved and tumor burden were decreased, with an optimal cytoreduction rate of 100% at interval surgery. No statistical difference was found in 3-year disease-free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) between NACT group and PDS group (Log Rank p=0.461 and 0.935). Patients suffered less blood loss, lower rate of transfusion, shorter operation time, and less severe peri-operative complications at the debulking surgery after NACT, as compared to patients who underwent PDS. CONCLUSION For patients with advanced stage OYST, NACT followed by interval surgery might be an alternative option, especially for those who could not tolerate the primary debulking surgery because of high tumor burden and vulnerable status.

Objective: To assess patient and clinician satisfaction with the use of video consulting (VC) in the fields of obstetrics and gynaecology (O&G) and fertility in Wales. To identify any differences in satisfaction between the specialties and between patients and clinicians. Design: A retrospective survey study. Setting: All hospitals in Wales that used virtual methods for delivery of fertility and/or O&G appointments between August 2020 and March 2022. Population: Patients who have attended virtual fertility or obstetrics and gynaecology appointments in Wales, and fertility and O&G clinicians who have conducted appointments virtually. Methods: Analysis of patient and clinician responses to a VC satisfaction survey delivered by Technology Enabled Care (TEC) Cymru between August 2020 and March 2022. Main Outcome Measures: Patient and clinician satisfaction rates with the use of virtual consultation in fertility and O&G appointments. Results: In satisfaction data collected from 420 patients and 161 clinicians, 83% of patients and 63% of clinicians reported their VC quality to be “very good” or “excellent”. Difficulties when using VC were experienced by a minority of patients and clinicians, and most patients and clinicians found several aspects of VC to be “very beneficial”. Fertility patients rated their VC experience more positively than O&G patients. Conclusions: Most patients and clinicians were satisfied with their VC experience. Patients were more satisfied with the use of VC than clinicians. Fertility patients were more satisfied with the use of VC than O&G patients. Funding: None received.

A document by Vehbi Dogan. Click on the document to view its contents.

The article "The value of communication in a pandemic" highlights the crucial importance of communication during a health crisis. It highlights how accurate and up-to-date information, accessibility and inclusiveness in communication, empathy and compassion in the way of communicating, and the proper use of technology are key elements for effective communication in times of pandemic. The benefits of effective communication are mentioned, such as preventing the spread of the virus, promoting responsible behaviour, managing misinformation and promoting solidarity and emotional support. The challenges facing communication in a pandemic, such as misinformation and inequality in access to information, are also recognized. of the spread of the virus, effective communication, Inequality in access to information, Well-being, Adaptation to the needs of the population. MATERIALS AND METHODS The materials used in this study include data from various sources, including databases, public health reports, and scientific literature. We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on health communication in times of pandemic, using a systematic approach to identify relevant articles. We searched multiple databases, including PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using keywords related to epidemiological surveillance and pandemics. We also reviewed the websites of national and international public health organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to identify guidelines and protocols for pandemic surveillance. The results of our review provide an overview of the key principles and challenges of health communication in times marked by pandemic.

We propose criteria for recess etching to fabricate T-gate used in InGaAs HEMTs. By patterning additional rectangular pads on the source and drain metals in the e-beam lithography step, it is possible to measure the drain-to-source resistance (Rds) and current (Ids). the ratio (Γ) of before and after etching for each Rds and Ids can be used as criteria to determine the point in time to stop etching. By performing recess etching with Γ= 1.97 for Rds and Γ= 0.38 for Ids on an epiwafer having cap doping concentration of 2= 1019 cm−3 and channel indium content of 0.7, we have fabricated InGaAs mHEMT device showing gm,max= 1603 mS/mm and ft= 290 GHz at Lg= 124 nm. The criteria presented can be applied to InGaAs HEMTs with various epitaxial structures.

In this paper in an elegant way will be present that the gravitational fine-structure constant is a simple analogy between atomic physics and cosmology. We will find the expression that connects the gravitational fine-structure constant with the four coupling constants. Perhaps the gravitational fine-structure constant is the coupling constant for the fifth force. Also will be presented the simple unification of atomic physics and cosmology. We will find the formulas for the cosmological constant and we will propose a possible solution for the cosmological parameters. Perhaps the shape of the universe is Poincaré dodecahedral space. This article will be followed by the energy wave theory and the fractal space-time theory.

According to a recent theory the Universe could be a dodecahedron. It is surprising that Plato used a dodecahedron as the quintessence to describe the cosmos. In this paper we will prove the shape of the Universe is Poincaré dodecahedral space. From the dimensionless unification of the fundamental interactions will propose a possible solution for the density parameter of baryonic matter,dark matter and dark energy. The sum of the contributions to the total density parameter at the current time is Ω0=1,0139. This result answers the ancient question of whether space is finite or infinite,while retaining the standard Friedmann-Lemaître foundation for local physics.

EFT is an empirically supported treatment of depression for individuals, and is also considered to be an integrative, transdiagnostic therapy approach focusing on emotions that are the cause of a client's emotional pain and suffering. The target of treatment is to facilitate emotional processing to change unhealthy emotion schemes that underlie current symptoms of depression. The therapist is highly attuned to the client's moment-by-moment process to promote in-session work on emotion, alongside experiential teaching. In-session work is consolidated and expanded by between-session homework, which is viewed as a natural extension of the in-session work. EFT views the therapist as an emotion coach who offers interventions within a client's developmental and experiential learning capabilities to move them to their end goals. A case example is discussed to illustrate how homework is used effectively in treating a depressed client in relation to treatment principles over the course of treatment.

Clarifying the distribution and dynamics of soil moisture during the freeze-thaw process is crucial for surface ecology and is an objective requirement to investigate the mechanism of changes during the groundwater recharge process in a freeze-thaw zone. Based on the monitoring data of soil moisture and temperature in the Changbai Mountain area, the freeze-thaw process is classified into four periods. This study investigates the hydrothermal migration processes during different periods. The simultaneous heat and water model is used to simulate and analyze the infiltration of soil moisture into groundwater under five precipitation guarantee rates. The results are as follows: (1) The smaller the soil depth, the stronger is the correlation between soil temperature and air temperature during the freeze-thaw process. (2) The redistribution of soil moisture before and after freeze-thaw is significantly affected by the soil texture, and soil permeability affects the recharge of soil moisture from the upper region to the lower region during the thawing period. (3) Groundwater receives vertical infiltration recharge mainly during non-freezing and is supplied by freezing and snowmelt recharge during the stable thawing period. The percentage of soil water infiltration during the stable thawing period in the total annual infiltration increases gradually with the precipitation guarantee rate.

Metabolomics provides an unprecedented window on diverse plant secondary metabolites that represent a potentially critical niche dimension in tropical forests underlying co-existence. Here, we used untargeted metabolomics to evaluate the chemical composition of 358 tree species and its relationship to phylogeny and variation in light environment, soil nutrients, and insect-herbivore leaf damage in a tropical rain forest plot. We found that tree species that co-occur locally are less chemically similar than random, and that local chemical dispersion and metabolite diversity reduce herbivory, especially that of specialist insect herbivores. Our results suggest that plant secondary metabolites have the potential to mediate plant-herbivore interactions in a manner consistent with diversity maintenance at the community scale.

Vapor Pressure Deficit (VPD, atmospheric drought) and soil water potential (Ψsoil, soil drought) have both been reported to affect terrestrial plant water stress, plant functions (growth, stomatal conductance, transpiration) and vulnerability to ecosystem disturbances (mortality or vulnerability to wildfires). Which of atmospheric drought or soil drought has the greatest influence on these responses is yet an unresolved question. Using a state-of-the-art soil-plant-atmosphere hydraulic model, we conducted an in-silico experiment where VPD and Ψsoil were manipulated one at a time to quantify the relative importance of atmospheric vs soil drought on most critical plant functions. The model simulates the combined effects of soil drought and atmospheric drought on plant water potential (ΨPlant), a physiologically meaningful metric of plant water status driving plant turgor, stomatal conductance, hydraulic conductance or water content, and thus mortality and fire risks. Contrary to expectations, we showed that VPD had a weaker effect than Ψsoil on tree water stress and forest disturbances risk (i.e leaf moisture content). While physiological responses associated with low water stress such as stomatal closure or turgor loss could be driven by both VPD or soil drought, consequences of extreme water stress such as hydraulic failure, leaf desiccation and vulnerability to wildfires were almost exclusively driven by low Ψsoil. Our results therefore suggest that most plant functions are affected by VPD through its cumulative effect on Ψsoil via increased plant transpiration, rather than through a direct instantaneous effect on plant water potential. We argue that plant hydraulics provide a strong foundation for predicting tree and terrestrial ecosystem responses to climate changes and propose a list of explanations and testable hypotheses to reconcile plant hydraulic theory and observations of soil and atmospheric drought effects on plant functions.

Microchannels are structures of smaller hydraulic diameters used for efficient heat exchange in fluid flow. In this paper, a detailed study on types of channels categorized by different authors based on the size range has been done. These channels are further elaborated based on different geometries such as circular, rectangular and trapezoidal microchannels with hydraulic diameters range and aspect ratios. Major applications of microchannels can be seen in a diverse range of industries. Microchannels are best known for heat removal due to their compactness and high efficiency. A comprehensive study on the advantages of small hydraulic diameters has been done. Various correlations proposed by several authors to determine the heat transfer and friction factor for gas and liquid flow through a microchannel have been discussed. In microchannels, the Reynolds number range for different types of flow categorized as laminar, turbulent, and transition is different from the conventional range. The correlations suggested in the literature for heat transfer and friction factor are compared for the laminar and turbulent regime for liquid and gas flow of Prandtl number 4 and 0.7, respectively.

Numerical research has been done on the movement of a Magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) viscous nanofluid together with thermal radiation over a nonlinearly stretching sheet. Variable magnetic and variable permeability are used in this study instead of the more frequent constant magnetic and permeability, which makes it distinctive and the results more realistic and practically helpful. The flow, heat, and mass transfer equations have been generated as coupled second order nonlinear partial differential equations using a mathematical model that resembles the physical flow problem. First, a similarity transformation is employed to modify PDEs into a system of nonlinear ODEs. By using a shooting method and a Runge-Kutta-Fehlberg’s (RKF-45) scheme, the boundary value problem is solved. The role of mass-transfer characteristics, heat-transfer characteristics and dimensionless temperature, as well as flow parameters of the problem like magnetic parameter, the radiation parameter, nonlinearly stretching sheet parameter, and the viscous parameter etc. are drawn and tabulated. The numerical findings in the current analysis are very well validated and are shown in both tabular and graphical form.

Diffuse fluorescence tomography (DFT) is a promising noninvasive imaging modality. To date, traditional physics-based approaches cannot substantially improve the imaging quality due to inherent light scattering property and severe ill-poseness of inverse problem. Therefore, three neural networks, namely, back-propagation neural network (BPNN), convolutional neural network (CNN) and U-net trained in an end-to-end fashion are explored to improve imaging quality. To evaluate their performance, a series of simulation, phantom and in vivo experiments are conducted for single and double-target reconstructions, and the results are compared with the traditional algebraic reconstruction technique (ART). The numerical results demonstrate that the neural network-based algorithms significantly enhance the image quality in terms of target shape, size, location, as well as noise robustness. The subsequent phantom and in vivo experimental results verify the effectiveness of the well-trained networks to estimate experimental data. Comparatively, BPNN is competitive in computational efficiency and generalization capacity.

A document by Xuanqi Wang. Click on the document to view its contents.

As water utilities seek to improve their energy management practices, examples from successful cases are needed. Based on published documents and firsthand knowledge, this article summarizes energy management activities and results from five Utah water systems: Jordan Valley Water, Logan, Mountain Regional Water, North Salt Lake, and Riverton. The activities occurred from 2010 to 2018-a concentrated period of water-focused energy management efforts in the state-and the energy or cost savings ranged from 19% to 38% of each system's annual baseline. The savings came from diverse operational and capital practices, including source selection, valve adjustments, time-of-use power rates, pressure zone reconfiguration, pump scheduling, and new facilities. Managerial practices like energy goals, policies, and teams were also influential. New case studies are welcomed as water utilities adjust to the ongoing energy transition.

Background: Post COVID-19 syndrome has emerged as a long-term complication in adults and children, its effect on adolescents’ performance in school is not well studied. Methods: This is a survey of children in grades 10-12 looking into the physical/psychological impact of prolonged post COVID-19 symptoms on school performance. Results: 32/54 students with a mean age of 16 years old had COVID-19. Two were hospitalized, 10 had symptoms lasting more than 4 weeks. Commonly reported chronic symptoms were fatigue and cough. Seven students quit sports, 8 had decrease in their academic performance. Adolescents with a family history of long haulers and those being infected more than once where more likely to develop prolonged symptoms, quit sports and perform poorly in school. 3/14 (21%) reported not seeking help. Conclusion: Post COVID-19 syndrome is associated with decline in physical and mental performance in school yet only 79% of adolescents will talk about it.