This report describes a case of anti-hu antibody associated paraneoplastic sensory neuropathy with an undifferentiated lung tumor . The aim of this case was to highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach for early recognition and rapid treatment of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes

This work presents the implementation of an adaptive pulse skipping modulation-based quadratic buck converter. The voltage gain of quadratic buck converter is quadratic in nature and depends on the square of the duty cycle, unlike a standard buck converter whose voltage gain is proportional to the duty cycle. It has a steep step-down voltage conversion ratio capability. The converter efficiency is affected by conduction and switching losses. The conduction losses are load-dependent; it is low at light load. Nevertheless, switching losses dominates if conventional control technique like Pulse Width Modulation is adopted. The Switching losses can be reduced by Pulse Skipping Modulation (PSM), in which a few pulses are skipped. The PSM technique warrants efficiency improvement under light load, where the load current is low and the inductor has discontinuous conduction. The existing Pulse skipping modulation controller uses PWM as a building block, and in other techniques, it needs to pre-specify the number of charge pulses and skip pulses for the load current. The controller of the proposed adaptive PSM for quadratic buck converter generates pulses autogenously. This scheme gives better voltage regulation and provides stable periodic behavior. The stability is examined using a state-space model, and efficiency and mode transition have been observed using simulation results in MATLAB with Simulink modelling.

Simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) technology is ubiquitously employed in ground robots, unmanned aerial vehicles, and autonomous cars. This paper presents LTA-OM: an efficient, robust, and accurate LiDAR SLAM system. Employing FAST-LIO2 and Stable Triangle Descriptor as LiDAR-IMU odometry and the loop detection method, respectively, LTA-OM is implemented to be functionally complete, including loop detection and correction, false positive loop closure rejection, long-term association mapping, and multi-session localization and mapping. One novelty of this paper is the real-time long-term association (LTA) mapping, which exploits the direct scan-to-map registration of FAST-LIO2 and employs the corrected history map to constrain the mapping process globally. LTA leads to more globally consistent map construction and drift-less odometry at revisit places. We exhaustively benchmark LTA-OM and other state-of-the-art LiDAR systems with 18 data sequences. The results show that LTA-OM steadily outperforms other systems regarding trajectory accuracy, map consistency, and time consumption. The robustness of LTA-OM is validated in a challenging scene - a multi-level building having similar structures at different levels. Besides, a multi-session mode is designed to allow the user to store current session’s results, including the corrected map points, optimized odometry, and descriptor database for future sessions. The benefits of this mode are additional accuracy improvement and consistent map stitching, which is helpful for life-long mapping. Furthermore, LTA-OM has valuable features for robot control and path planning, including high-frequency and real-time odometry, drift-less odometry at revisit places, and fast loop closing convergence. Moreover, LTA-OM is versatile as it is applicable to both multi-line spinning and solid-state LiDARs, mobile robots and handheld platforms.

This paper presents a precise two-robot collaboration method for 3D self-localization relying on a single rotating camera and onboard accelerometers used to measure the tilt of the robots. This method allows for localization in GPS-denied environments and in the presence of magnetic interference or relatively (or totally) dark and unstructured unmarked locations. One robot moves forward on each step while the other remains stationary. The tilt angles of the robots obtained from the accelerometers and the rotational angle of the turret, associated with the video analysis, make it possible to continuously calculate the location of each robot. We describe a hardware setup used for experiments and provide a detailed description of the algorithm that fuses the data obtained by the accelerometers and cameras and runs in real-time on onboard micro-computers. Finally, we present 2D and 3D experimental results, which show that the system achieves 2% accuracy for the total travelled distance.

Several biomarkers have been evaluated as predictors of severity or in directing the treatment of COVID-19, however there are no conclusive results with prediction of the pathobiology of the infection. In this study, we evaluated serum levels of cytokines, chemokines, and cell growth factors in association with the pathobiology of mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection. Those markers may act as immuno-inflammatory biomarkers in adults with mild to moderate flu syndrome who sought care at health units. Serum levels of SARS-CoV-2 infected patients (n=113) and flu symptoms individuals negative for SARS-CoV-2 (n=58), tested by the RT-qPCR test - nasal swab were compared to healthy controls (n=53). Participants who were symptomatic but negative for SARS-CoV-2 were tested for Influenza A/B and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV). Results showed that the pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, MCP-3, TNF-α and G-CSF were increased in symptomatic patients and the cytokines IL-6 and IL-10 were associated with patients positive for SARS-CoV-2 when compared to healthy controls. Symptoms associated with COVID-19 were fever, anosmia, ageusia and myalgia. For patients without SARS-CoV-2 infection their major symptom was sore throat. Five percent (4/83) of SARS-CoV-2 negative patients were positive for RSV. The pathobiology of mild to moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection was associated with increasing pro-inflammatory cytokines and also a pleiotropic IL-6 and anti-inflammatory IL-10 cytokines compared to healthy controls.

Purpose: The present study aimed to evaluate the risk of nilotinib-induced cardiac adverse events (CAEs), time to onset, incidence rates, and post hoc outcomes using the Japanese Adverse Drug Event Report database. Methods: We analysed data for the period between April 2004 and March 2022. Data on CAEs were extracted and relative risk of adverse events (AEs) was estimated using the reporting odds ratio (ROR). Results: We analysed 2,021,907 reports and identified 3,545 reports of AEs caused by nilotinib. Of these, 511 reports involved CAEs. Signals were detected for 19 CAEs. Of these, electrocardiogram QT prolonged was the most frequently reported (30.9%). Fatal outcomes were observed in eight AEs: cardiac failure, atrial fibrillation, acute myocardial infarction, pericardial effusion, myocardial infarction, cardiac arrest, pericarditis, and cardiac tamponade. Of these, acute myocardial infarction, myocardial infarction, pericarditis, and cardiac tamponade exhibited mortality rates >10%. A histogram of median times to onset showed nilotinib-associated AEs occurring 3–485 days after nilotinib administration. Conclusions: We focused on CAEs caused by nilotinib as post-marketing AEs. Some cases resulted in serious outcomes. Patients should be monitored for signs of onset of these AEs not only at the start of administration, but for a long period of time.

Background and Purpose Morphine induces spinal 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) release, but the role and mechanism of this release is unclear. The purpose of this study was to define the role and mechanism of spinal 5-HT release induced by oral morphine. We also examined whether persistent pain affected the oral morphine-induced spinal release of 5-HT. Experimental Approach Spinal 5-HT release was measured using microdialysis in lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Two opioids, morphine and oxycodone, were orally administered and 5-HT release was measured in awake rats. Naloxone was used to determine whether the effect of morphine on 5-HT release was mediated by opioid receptor activation. To study persistent pain, the formalin test was used. Forty-five minutes after oral morphine, the formalin test was started and spinal 5-HT release was measured. Key Results Oral morphine, but not oral oxycodone, increased 5-HT release in the spinal cord to approximately 4,000% of the baseline value, and this effect of morphine was not antagonised by naloxone at the dose that antagonised the analgesic effect of morphine. Formalin-induced persistent pain itself had no effect on spinal 5-HT release but enhanced the oral morphine-induced spinal 5-HT release. Conclusion and Implications Oral morphine-induced spinal 5-HT release is not mediated by opioid receptor activation. Spinal 5-HT release induced by oral morphine does not play an important role in the analgesic effect of morphine. Persistent pain increases oral morphine-induced spinal 5-HT release.

Anthropogenic impacts are typically detrimental to tropical coral reefs, but the effect of increasing environmental stress and variability on the size structure of coral communities remains poorly understood. This limits our ability to effectively conserve coral reef ecosystems because size specific dynamics are rarely incorporated. Our aim is to quantify variation in the size structure of coral populations across 20 sites along a tropical-to-subtropical environmental gradient on the east coast of Australia (~23°S to 30°S), to determine how size structure changes with a gradient of sea surface temperature, turbidity, productivity and light levels. We use two approaches: 1) linear regression with summary statistics (such as median size) as response variables, a method frequently favoured by ecologists; and 2) compositional functional regression, a novel method using entire size-frequency distributions as response variables. We then predict coral population size structure with increasing environmental stress and variability. Together, we find fewer but larger coral colonies in marginal reefs than in tropical reefs, where environmental conditions are more variable and stressful for tropical corals. Our model predicts that coral populations may become gradually dominated by larger colonies (> 148 cm2) with increasing environmental stress. Fewer but bigger corals suggest low survival of smaller corals, slow growth, and / or poor recruitment. This finding is concerning for the future of coral reefs as it implies populations may have low recovery potential from disturbances. We highlight the importance of continuously monitoring changes to population structure over biogeographic scales.

Bacterial infections are very commonly acquired infections. Cephalosporins are broad-spectrum antibiotics used to manage a wide-variety of infections caused by gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria. The knowledge of the basic chemistry helps in understanding the pharmacokinetic, antimicrobial and toxicological profiles of cephalosporins. Cephalosporins are antibiotics with bactericidal activity which act by inhibiting the synthesis of cell wall in bacteria. The drugs of this class are classified into five generations in which the antimicrobial spectrum shifts from gram-positive bacteria to gram-negative bacteria with increasing generations of Cephalosporins. Antibiotic-producing bacteria contain a wide range of complex defense mechanisms to protect themselves from their own antibiotics and it results in the development of antibiotic resistance. The various mechanisms by which bacteria develop resistance are: production of β-lactamases, alteration of the porin channels, alteration of molecular structure of transpeptidase, and upregulation of cephalosporin efflux pumps. The new cephalosporins are the foundation for the real warning signs to open up new and interesting possibilities for serious infections in the future thereby ensuring rational selection of antibiotics for various infections.

Diseases are dynamic phenomena that develop and change over time, with one thing being certain: they do not adhere to a calendar. Dynamic diseases, i.e., de facto, all pathological processes, are those that exhibit changes in their clinical appearance, pathogenesis, and response to treatment over time. The management of dynamic diseases, and thus of diseases per se, poses a major challenge to health care providers because the conventional treatment and control strategies that have come into vogue, based on standard protocols, are not adequate. In many cases, fixed treatment protocols actually impair or even cause death to those who suffer from a disease. This article explores the concept of dynamic disease and the importance of dynamic (flexible) follow-up in the management of such disease, and presents to the public for the first time data from a clinical trial suggesting dramatically worse outcomes in patients with hemorrhoids who were treated and followed-up "on schedule."

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant has led to a complete reconfiguration of the therapeutic landscape, with most monoclonal antibodies having lost any neutralization activity. We report here a case series of 75 immunocompromised patients infected by the Omicron variant who benefited of convalescent plasma. At baseline, 49 (68%) of the participants had a WHO score of 5 and 23 (32%) a WHO score of 6. At day 28 the case fatality was 24%. We observed no significant difference in the clinical outcome between patients with hematological malignancies, solid organ transplantation or auto-immune diseases. These promising results require controlled studies.

We present a theoretical study on the energy dispersion of an ultrathin film of periodically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) with the help of the Bogoliubov–Valatin transformation. The Hamiltonian of the film is derived using the many-particle green function technique in the Matsubara frequency formalism. The periodic array of SWCNTs is embedded in a dielectric with comparatively higher permittivity than the substrate and the superstrate such that the SWCNT film becomes independent with the axis of quantization but keeps the thickness as the variable parameter making the film neither two-dimensional nor three-dimensional, but transdimensional. It is revealed that the energy dispersion of the SWCNT film is thickness dependent.

Childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (cSLE) is a rare multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by inflammatory and autoimmune reaction in several organs. The diagnosis can be difficult due to the heterogeneity of clinical manifestations. Early diagnosis can lead to a proper diagnosis and treatment to control inflammation and to avoid life-threatening complications.

The Pearl River Basin is prone to drought, and it is of great practical significance to use the comprehensive meteorological drought index to accurately assess its spatial and temporal variability. Based on the daily MCI values of 75 meteorological stations in the Pearl River Basin from 1961 to 2020, the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of drought days, drought station ratio, drought impact range, and cumulative drought intensity are analyzed by using Kriging spatial interpolation, linear trend analysis, Mann-Kendall mutation test and empirical orthogonal function (EOF). The results show that the distribution of drought days generally shows a decreasing trend from the middle of the basin to the east and west, and areawide and local droughts are prone to occur. Drought days are highest in winter, followed by spring and autumn, and lowest in summer. Spatially, the distribution is more west than east in spring and winter, less west than east in autumn, and very few drought days in summer throughout the basin. The cumulative drought intensity is close to the same trend as the drought impact, showing a positive correlation. The first mode of cumulative drought intensity’s EOF expansion reflects consistent basin-wide drought variation, while the second mode reflects the spatial distribution characteristics of the inverse phase variation in the western and eastern parts of the basin.

Rainfall data, as an important input data, its temporal and spatial resolution directly affects the accuracy of watershed hydrological simulations. Weather radar has been used in business in China, but the uncertainty of radar rainfall data is large, so the two-source rainfall data fusion based on radar and rainfall stations has become an important method to obtain rainfall data with high resolution. In this paper, taking Duanzhuang watershed in the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain for example, based on the data of 18 rainfall stations in the basin and Shijiazhuang’s S-band radar data, the radar data are preprocessed, initially optimized (overall optimization and subsection optimization) and evaluated. Then 11 rainfalls in this basin are selected by three fusion methods for fusion and quality evaluation. The results show that the pre-processed radar rainfall data and the preliminarily optimized radar rainfall data have poor effects in rainfall spatial estimation This indicates that single-source radar data cannot be directly used to describe rainfall events. Among the three fusion algorithms, the rainfall proportional coefficient fusion method (q_k method) is the best, the optimal interpolation method is the second, and the mixed geographically weighted regression-gaussian function (MGWR-GAU) fusion algorithm is the worst under the conditions of spatial and temporal variation of rainfall and different station densities. In the case of q_k method, the correlation coefficients of the three inspection stations are increased to 0.51, 0.78 and 0.82 on the point scale, and to 0.98 on the basin area scale, and the rainfall changes smoothly in time and space.It shows this method can effectively improve the data accuracy of weather radar, and it is an important fusion method to obtain high temporal and spatial resolution rainfall data in the watershed.

A document by James Halivor. Click on the document to view its contents.

We inter-compare four hydrological models in terms of their surface water response simulations and their ability to capture the particular features of humid Mediterranean climates. We selected the Maule River basin (central Chile), in particular the Longaví basin as the paradigm of humid Mediterranean climate to run the study. The area is under intensive irrigated agricultural exploitation, which jeopardizes groundwater recharge and may be further pressurized by precipitation changes due to global warming. The Longaví in the south of the Maule, was studied using four simulation tools: HBV-light, GR4J, HEC-HMS and WEAP, hence including conceptual as well as a semi-distributed approaches. For model performance assessment, the Longaví was sub-divided into three zones with comparable characteristics in terms of climate, physical soil properties and altitude classes. Daily hydro-meteorological forcing time series were provided by official institutions of Chile for the 1979 to 2015 period. The individual model efficiency was evaluated through usual deterministic performance indicators. The models exhibit different strengths in terms of hydrologic response simulations. The results obtained with GR4J, HEC-HMS and WEAP perform better during southern hemisphere Winter between June and October, while HBV-light produces stronger results during the November to May Summer season. The more heavily parameterized WEAP model tends to better represent the stream flow variability observed during the rainy season with respect to the dry season. The actual irrigation water demand for the selected study region is matter of further research and will be acknowledged in a sequel paper.

We describe a 5-year-old child with extrahepatic biliary stone who successfully underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for stone removal. He suffered from persistent colicky abdominal pain accompanied by fever that biliary stone confirmed him. ERCP along with other methods, can be considered a safe procedure for managing BD in children.

A 19 year-old adolescent girl with Dravet syndrome, characterized by complex seizure disorder and global developmental delay, presented with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The genetic basis for her Dravet syndrome was a pathogenic variant in SCN1A, a sodium channel subunit. SCN1A is chiefly expressed in neuronal tissue, but bioinformatic analysis demonstrated its presence in B cell lineage. One estimate suggested that 10% of children with pediatric cancer have a germline predisposition involving proto-oncogenes or tumor suppressors. This number might be even higher should non-classical genetic variants, such as that encoding a sodium channel subunit, be considered.

We study the Lagrangian structure of Vlasov-Maxwell equations. We show that for sufficiently regular initial conditions, renormalized solutions of these systems are Lagrangian and that these notions of solution, in fact, coincide. As a consequence, finite-energy solutions are shown to be transported by a global flow. These results extend to our setting those obtained by Ambrosio, Colombo, and Figalli [3] for the Vlasov-Poisson system and by the first author and Marcon for relativistic Vlasov systems [5]; here, we analyze the electromagnetic fields with bounded variation under Maxwell equations.

A document by Ranjeeta Sinvhal. Click on the document to view its contents.

ABSTRACT Purpose: In this study, leukocyte, lymphocyte, neutrophil, platelet count, mean platelet volume (MPV), neutrophil/lymphocyte (NLR) ratio and platelet/lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were retrospectively evaluated in patients with idiopathic acute anterior uveitis. Methods: Medical records were retrospectively reviewed from March 2016 to February 2020. 50 patients, 25 men and 25 women, and 50 healthy volunteers, 25 males and 25 females, as the control group were included in the study. Blood samples of the patients were taken before starting treatment. A complete ophthalmological examination including corrected visual acuity, tonometry, slit lamp and fundus examination was performed in all patients. Gender, age, leukocyte, neutrophil, lymphocyte, platelet, MPV, PLR, NLR values of the patients were recorded. Results: In this study, a statistically significant difference was found in the values of leukocyte (p<0.001), neutrophil (p<0.001), platelet (p<0.001), NLR (p<0.001) and PLR (p<0.001). There was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of the number of lymphocyte (p=0.063) and value of MPV (p=0.051). Leukocyte, neutrophil, platelet count, NLR, PLR values were found to be higher in the uveitis group compared to the control group. Conclusions: In this retrospective study, it is thought that leukocyte, neutrophil, platelet count, PLR, NLR, levels are significant in patients with idiopathic acute anterior uveitis and can be used in early diagnosis.

As a key component of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), separator plays a crucial role in the performance and safety of LIBs. In this paper, a cellulose based porous membrane modified by nano CaCO3 is prepared conveniently by electrospinning. The membrane exhibits rich fibrous porous networks and uniform distribution of nanoparticles. Strengthed by CaCO3, the tensile strength of the cellulose porous membrane elevates from 4.7 ± 0.4 MPa to 7.7 ± 0.7 MPa. Besides, the modified membranes possess improved thermal stability and can maintain their original size after treatment at 150 °C and 180 °C. Also, the electrolyte uptake of cellulose/CaCO3 membrane is 73% higher than that of the pure cellulose membrane. Thus, the ionic conductivity of membrane achieves 1.08 mS cm-1 and the electrochemical window is about 4.8V, which meets the practical requirements of LIBs. Significantly, LiFePO4/Li battery this membrane can run for 230 cycles with a capacity retention of 97.4% and a discharge capacity of 149.0 mAh g-1, demonstrating the huge potential for high safety and next-generation LIBs.

Our previous study has shown that ferromagnetic gadolinium silicide (Gd5Si4) nanoparticles (NP) could be potentially efficient T2 CA for MRI with significantly reduced echo time (TE) compared to Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Nanoparticles (SPION) [1]. T2 CA are defined by their relaxivity, r2, which is dependent on both the saturation magnetization (Ms) and size of the NPs [1,2,4]. In this study, effect of Gd5Si4 NPs of varying sizes and concentrations are investigated on T1, T2 and T2* (effective/observed T2) relaxations times. Gd5Si4 NPs categorized into three fractions (named S1, S2 and S3) based on average sizes of 586 nm, 287 nm and 135 nm respectively as analyzed from SEM images (Fig. 1). XRD analysis on the combined samples shows that Gd5Si4 is the major phase while GdSi and Gd5Si3 are present as the minor phases in all fractions (Fig. 1). Magnetic properties measured in VSM reveal that the Curie temperature (Tc) decreases for Gd5Si4 phase from 312 K for S1 to 304 K for S2 and is undetectable in S3. The M-H curves at 300 K exhibits ferromagnetic behavior descending to paramagnetic as we move from S1 to S3 fraction (Fig. 1). MR data were acquired on the 21.1 T (900 MHz) magnet. The results shown in Table 1 indicate that higher concentrations of NPs shorten the T2 and T2* relaxation times and the contrast disappears rapidly at higher dilutions. The S2 fraction at 1/20 dilution shows notably shortened T1 and T2 relaxation times compared to the other two fractions. Although S1 has higher Gd5Si4 phase volume fraction and larger average particle size compared to S2, further investigation is needed inorder to establish the reason for shortened relaxation times compared to the S1 fraction.