Euryhalinity is present in diverse aquatic taxa and requires flexible osmoregulation to field the challenges posed by differing salinities. Na+, K+-ATPase (NKA) is a ubiquitous ion pump in the gills of fishes and, for some species, paralogs of the catalytic α-subunit (NKA α1a and α1b) exhibit reciprocal expression between fresh- and seawater, termed paralog-switching. We investigated the expression and evolution of NKA paralogs in Alewife (Alosa pseudoharengus), a euryhaline and migratory fish. Comparisons between landlocked and diadromous life history forms and migrant and pre-migrant ontogenetic stages were used to study shifts in NKA paralog expression related to freshwater or seawater specialization. We exposed juvenile diadromous and landlocked alewives to freshwater (0 ppt) and seawater (30 ppt) for 2, 5, and 15 days. Additionally, we sampled migrant and pre-migrant alewives from the natal freshwater environment or after 24 hours in seawater. Diadromous Alewife exhibited salinity-dependent paralog switching, and the freshwater-specialized landlocked life history form showed greater upregulation of NKA α1b in seawater. Migrant Alewife showed a loss of freshwater readiness traded for seawater specialization through greater reliance (via upregulation) on NKA α1a in freshwater. Molecular phylogenies show Alewife NKA paralogs originated independently of paralogs in salmonids and other members of Euteleosteomorpha. This study demonstrated that NKA paralog switching is tied to halohabitat profile and that duplications of the ancestral NKA gene provided the substrate for multiple, independent molecular solutions for supporting a diadromous life history.

GPR84 is an understudied rhodopsin-like class A G protein-coupled receptor which is arousing particular interest from a therapeutic perspective. Not least this reflects that gpr84 expression is significantly up-regulated following acute inflammatory stimuli and in inflammatory diseases and that receptor activation plays a role in regulating pro-inflammatory responses and migration of cells of the innate immune system such as neutrophils, monocytes, macrophages and microglia. Although most physiological responses of GPR84 reflect receptor coupling to Gαi/o G-proteins, several studies indicate that agonist-activated GPR84 can also recruit arrestin adaptor proteins and this regulates receptor internalisation and desensitisation. To date, very little is known on the patterns of GPR84 phosphorylation and how these might control these processes. Here, we consider what is known on the molecular basis of GPR84 signalling with a focus on how GRK-mediated phosphorylation regulates arrestin protein recruitment and receptor function.

Introduction: Reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) most commonly manifests as shingles. A few months after the start of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign cases of shingles were reported. Objective: We aimed to report cases of VZV reactivation reported after COVID-19 vaccination to the Tunisian National Centre of pharmacovigilance (NCPV). Method: This is a retrospective study of cases of VZV reactivation reported to the CNPV after COVID-19 vaccination from March 2021 to May 2022. Results: We included 20 patients with shingle. The sex ratio (M/F) was 0.8. The median age was 68.5 years. Nine patients were over 70 years of age. The administered vaccines were an mRNA vaccine for 15 patients. The onset delay ranged between one and 30 days (mean of 4.5 days). All patients recovered within a few days and no severe cases have been reported. Two patients received the second dose; One patient did not experience a recurrence of the symptomatology. The other patient, had aggravation of symptomatology and occurrence of facial paralysis; noting that the initial symptomatology did not entirely disappear when the patient received the second dose. The patient was diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt Syndrome. Conclusion: Our study draws attention to the chronological association between SARS-CoV-2 vaccine and VZV reactivation, which should be investigated.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) has some life-threatening extrahepatic complications, such as acute acalculous cholecystitis (AAC). We herein reported a HAV-induced AAC case in a young female, who developed acute liver failure (ALF) during the course of her disease and preform a literature review.

The patient is a 33-year-old Iranian woman without a significant past medical history with the full range of narcolepsy symptoms that started within two weeks after her recovery from COVID-19. Sleep studies revealed increased sleep latency and three sleep-onset rapid eye movement events, compatible with a narcolepsy-cataplexy diagnosis.

A 64-year-old man presented with asymmetric paresthesia and subsequent weakness of his feet and a 10-kg weight loss over 40 days. Electrodiagnostic studies revealed distal axonal sensory-motor polyneuropathy with ongoing axonal loss. A peroneal nerve biopsy showed intravascular proliferation of CD-20 positive lymphocytes, which suggested intravascular large B-cell lymphoma.

This research aims to identify the processes that influence the structure of eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.) stands across a range of size classes and in stands that are co-dominated by deciduous species. The trend of eastern redcedar encroachment into prairies and old fields in North America is well-documented; but the mechanisms that shape the distribution of con- and heterospecific trees within stands are poorly understood. Eastern redcedar stands representing a variety of size classes were sampled in the Midwest to examine how stand-shaping processes vary with stand age. Additionally, mature eastern redcedar stands where Quercus spp. are codominant were sampled to evaluate how competitive interactions influence stand structure. Point-pattern analyses were conducted to detect signals of underlying point-processes. We found several signals of density-dependent growth including evidence of self-thinning and regular-spacing between mature individuals. We found segregation within and between mature eastern redcedar and Quercus spp., indicating competitive partitioning of space. These findings indicate density-dependent intra- and interspecific competition are the most important process influencing the structure of eastern redcedar stands in its encroaching range.

We consider a shape optimization based method for finding the best interpolation data in the compression of images with noise. The aim is to reconstruct missing regions by means of minimizing a data fitting term in an L p -norm between original images and their reconstructed counterparts using linear diffusion PDE-based inpainting. Reformulating the problem as a constrained optimization over sets (shapes), we derive the topological asymptotic expansion of the considered shape functionals with respect to the insertion of small ball (a single pixel) using the adjoint method. Based on the achieved distributed topological shape derivatives, we propose a numerical approach to determine the optimal set and present numerical experiments showing, the efficiency of our method. Numerical computations are presented that confirm the usefulness of our theoretical findings for PDE-based image compression.

By constructing various Pohozaev identities, we study the uniqueness of minimizers for L 2 -subcritical inhomogeneous variational problems with spatially decaying nonlinear terms, which contain x=0 as a singular point.

In recent works, well-known three-dimensional localization methods studied in the aerospace field have been revisited for applications on multirotor aerial vehicles (MAVs). However, most of these classic methods employ stochastic estimators that are asymptotically stable, in a stochastic sense, and exhibit high sensitivity to disturbances and model uncertainties. The goal of this paper is to propose and evaluate a novel solution to the localization problem of MAVs, employing multivariable robust observers based on sliding-mode techniques. Aiming to improve on the existing methods usually based on the extended Kalman filter, this paper investigates sliding-mode techniques to reach finite-time stabilization of the estimation error and provide robustness to disturbances and uncertainties. The super-twisting algorithm (STA) is considered as a starting point for its recognized performance when used to design differentiators. In particular, a modification of the STA is proposed, replacing one of its terms with a certain time-varying function that allows the upper bound of the settling time of the resulting algorithm to be a direct adjustable parameter. The proposed algorithm’s behavior is numerically evaluated and is shown to yield the predicted properties even in the presence of bounded disturbances and uncertainties. Additionally, an attitude determination problem employing the proposed algorithm is presented as an application. The three-dimensional attitude and angular velocity of an MAV are accurately estimated under strict settling-time restrictions, using only the vector measurements provided by an accelerometer and a magnetometer.

We aim to study Mittag-Leffler type functions of two variables D 1 ( x , y ) , . . . , D 5 ( x , y ) by analogy with the Appell hypergeometric functions of two variables,. Moreover, we targeted functions E 1 ( x , y ) , . . . , E 10 ( x , y ) as limiting cases of the functions D 1 ( x , y ) , . . . , D 5 ( x , y ) and studied certain properties, as well. Following Horn’s method, we determine all possible cases of the convergence region of the function D 1 ( x , y ) . Further, for a generalized hypergeometric function D 1 ( x , y ) (Mittag-Leffler type function) integral representations of the Euler type are proved. One-dimensional and two-dimensional Laplace transforms of the function are also defined. We have constructed a system of partial differential equations which is linked with the function D 1 ( x , y ) .

The goal of this paper is to introduce the notion of polyconvolution for Fourier-cosine, Laplace integral operators, and its applications. The structure of this polyconvolution operator and associated integral transforms is investigated in detail. The Watson-type theorem is given, to establish necessary and sufficient conditions for this operator to be unitary on L 2 ( R ) , and to get its inverse represented in the conjugate symmetric form. The correlation between the existence of polyconvolution with some weighted spaces is shown, and Young’s type theorem, as well as the norm-inequalities in weighted space, are also obtained. As applications of the Fourier cosine–Laplace polyconvolution, the solvability in closed-form of some classes for integral equations of Toeplitz plus Hankel type and integro-differential equations of Barbashin type is also considered. Several examples are provided for illustrating the obtained results to ensure their validity and applicability.

In this paper, we investigate some new inequalities based on the Riesz-type fractional integral operator for synchronous and bounded functions.

As far as we know, this is the 51st case of Hennekam Syndrome (HS) worldwide and the first one in an African American.1 Our patient met all diagnostic criteria for HS, type 2 (FAT4 mutation), as the disease onset was in adolescence.2,3

In this paper, we prove the well-posedness of a nonlinear wave equation coupled with boundary conditions of Dirichlet and acoustic type imposed on disjoints open boundary subsets. The proposed nonlinear equation models small vertical vibrations of an elastic medium with weak internal damping and a general nonlinear term. We also prove the exponential decay of the energy associated with the problem. Our results extend the ones obtained by Frota-Goldstein [18] and Limaco-Clark-Frota-Medeiros [26] to allow weak internal dampings and removing the dimensional restriction 1≤ n≤4. The method we use is based on a finite-dimensional approach by combining the Faedo-Galerkin method with suitable energy estimates and multiplier techniques.

Background: Cardiovascular implantable electronic device (CIED) technology continue to advance and improve overtime to help in the treatment of various bradyarrhythmia and prevent sudden cardiac death. Trends and types of various CIED insertion has been changing over the past two decades. No recent study has captured trends in procedures related to several categories of implantable devices in United States (US) subgroups. Objective: We conducted a nationwide subcategory analysis of trends in device implants from 2016 to 2019 using the US National Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Methods: We used data from the NIS between January 2016 to December 2019 on hospitalized adults ≥18 years old undergoing CIED implants and/or device upgrades to study CIED device trends each year stratified by baseline characteristics and comorbid conditions. Linear regression for continuous outcomes and logistic regression for categorical outcomes were used to calculate p-value trends for each subcategory. Results: We found a significant increase in implantation rates of all CIEDs in the US from 2016 to 2019 (150,370 to 159,300). There was a significant increase in dual-chamber compared to single-chamber pacemaker and implanted cardioverter defibrillator devices implanted noted (p <0.001), and an increase in permanent pacemaker to cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemaker upgrades from 1,280 to 1,615 (p = 0.002). When stratified by gender, the percentage of all CIEDs were higher in males than females. No significant change was shown when stratified by age, race, or comorbidity. Conclusion: The findings likely mirror the increasing prevalence of conduction abnormalities in the US and account for the better understanding that dual pacing better emulates normal cardiac physiology and atrioventricular synchrony .

The growing complexity of software development has caused project management techniques to shift towards agile methodologies, which are usually supported by software tools that help planning and reporting. However, most popular tools are fairly simple in terms of decision support. In this work, we aim to implement a software tool that supports the decision maker in agile project management by means of computational intelligence-based methods. We have analyzed the needs in an agile project, and designed and implemented a software solution named ProjectION. The tool has been made public and evaluated with real users, obtaining positive feedback that indicates it is of interest for experienced managers and software engineers. ProjectION solves the most common needs in agile-managed projects. It provides an intuitive user interface that supports the decision maker in managing and reporting project status, forecasting expected progress, and automatically planning software releases solving the well-known Next Release Problem. Used algorithms and the execution service have been made available to the community in order to enable future integrations of other researchers' approaches to the Next Release Problem.

Paper mulberry pollens are known to trigger severe allergies that can also cause asthma exacerbations. In Islamabad, the paper mulberry pollen concentrations are thought to peak between the 10th and 31st of March each year, depending on the weather in the preceding months. However, more accurate prediction of high pollen days would allow patients to take more timely precautionary measures. We developed and validated two prediction algorithms that took historical pollen data and historical weather data in Islamabad as its input. One is based on linear regression and the other is based on phenological modelling. These algorithms gave encouraging results where the mean absolute error for start day was between 2.33 and 3.67 days. On the other hand, for peak day, the mean absolute error was recorded between 3.33 and 4 days. These results could be used in a website or app to notify patients and healthcare providers to start preparing for the paper mulberry pollen season and its adverse effects.

This paper considers the synthesis of a static output feedback H-infinity controller for linear discrete-time systems subject to polytopic uncertainties and external disturbances. Based on the selection of parameter-dependent Lyapunov function and the use of a bounding matrix inequality followed by a congruent transformation, a set of sufficient bilinear matrix inequality conditions is obtained. Employing the well known cone complementarity technique, the nonconvex optimization problem is converted into a convex minimization one formulated with linear matrix inequality (LMI) conditions. Several numerical examples are presented to show that the proposed method yields less conservative disturbance attenuation rates than those reported in the literature.

Pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) using cryoballoon ablation (CBA) is a well-established method for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). As a rule, cryoenergy delivery is preceded by demonstrating full pulmonary vein (PV) occlusion by injecting contrast. Research on CBA without the use of contrast is sparse. The aim of the study was to determine efficacy and safety of a simplified protocol for CBA performed without demonstrating PV occlusion by venography and compare achieved results with those observed in patients undergoing conventional CBA. Methods This was a dual-centre, prospective, nonrandomized study (NCT04344743). The study cohort consisted of consecutive patients with paroxysmal AF, with 4 separate pulmonary veins (PVs), undergoing a first-time CBA. All ablations were performed using a 28-mm cryoballoon catheter (Arctic Front Advance, Medtronic). In the non-contrast (NC) group CBA was performed using standardized protocol without demonstrating PV occlusion by venography prior cryoapplication. In the case of PV isolation failure after a total of 5 minutes of cryoenergy delivery further attempts to isolate the vein were preceded by venography. A similar protocol was used in the conventional contrast (CC) group, where ablations were performed after confirmation of complete vein occlusion by venography. In both groups PVI was confirmed by demonstrating entrance and exit block using a diagnostic circular catheter (Achieve, Medtronic). Results The NC and CC groups comprised 51 and 22 patients, respectively. There were no differences between the NC and CC groups regarding baseline demographic, clinical and echocardiographic data. In the NC group 184 (90%) out of 204 veins were isolated without previous venography. Isolation of all 4 PVs without venography was possible in 34 (67%) patients. There were no differences between the NC and CC groups in terms of procedure duration (89.7 ± 22.6 vs. 90.0 ± 20.6 min; p=0.7) , left atrium dwelling time (71.2 ±21.3 vs 69.9 ± 19.1 min; p=0.8), fluoroscopy time (15.3 ± 6.3 vs. 15 ± 4.5 min; p=0.8) and radiation dose exposure (815 ± 594 vs. 945 ± 529 cGy*cm 2). In the NC group, the use of contrast was significantly lower compared to the CC group (4.9 ± 10.1 vs. 19.4 ± 8.6 ml, p<0.001). The time to isolation and the minimum temperature achieved were comparable between the NC and CC groups. There were no serious adverse events in both groups. A one year freedom from AF was achieved in 73.5% and 71.5% of patients from the NC group the CC group, respectively (p=1). Conclusions Cryoballoon ablation without demonstrating vein occlusion with contrast is feasible, safe and enables isolation of the vast majority of pulmonary veins. The acute and one-year results for non-contrast cryoballoon ablation are comparable to those obtained using the conventional protocol with contrast.

Background: Currently, none of the diagnostic procedures for detecting female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) are 100 percent reliable, and the same is true for endoscopic results. There are several studies accessible on hysteroscopic and laparoscopic findings that are suggestive of TB. However, no study to our knowledge summarises the findings of laparoscopic and hysteroscopic examination in subfertile female patients with biopsy, culture, or other laboratory test-proven endometrial tuberculosis. Objective: Evaluation of hysteroscopic and laparoscopic findings in subfertile women suffering from proven endometrial tuberculosis. Materials and methods: 16,784 infertile women had a diagnostic hysterolaparoscopy between February 2014 and June 2021, among which 1084 patients were prescribed anti-tubercular medication based on the results of their findings; however, only 309 individuals had endometrial tuberculosis verified via positive on histopathology examination, AFB demonstration, Culture, and GeneXpert MTB/RIF. We retrospectively observed the diagnostic hysterolaparoscopy findings in those proven cases of subfertile women suffering from FGTB. Results: The major findings on hysteroscopy were periosteal fibrosis (209/309,67.63%), pale endometrium(179/309,57.92%), and micro polyp(138/309,44.66%). Other notable hysteroscopic findings were intrauterine adhesions (88/309,28.47%), endometrial tubercle (78/309,25.24%), endometrial polyp(54/309,14.88%), caseation(42/309,13.59%), focal hyperemia(29/309,9.38%) and diffuse hyperemia(18/309,5.82%). The most common finding on laparoscopy was abdominopelvic adhesions of various grades (297/309,96.11%). The major findings of laparoscopy were tubercle (155/309,50.16%), isthmo ampullary block (118/309,38.18%), tubal diverticula (116/309,37.54%), hydrosalpinx (97/309,31.39%) and TO mass (96/309,31.06%). 5.50% (17/300) had a normal appearance on hysteroscopy, and 1.29% (4/309) had a normal-looking pelvis on laparoscopy. Conclusions: In proven endometrial tuberculosis, significant hysteroscopic findings are periosteal fibrosis, pale endometrium, micro-polyp, and intrauterine adhesions, whereas major laparoscopic findings are various grades of abdominal pelvic adhesions, including perihepatic adhesions, miliary tubercle, isthmo ampullary block, tubal diverticula, caseous material, and hydrosalpinx. Tuberculosis should be considered if these signs are discovered during a diagnostic work-up in infertile people.

Conduction system pacing is an alternative practice to conventional right ventricular apical pacing. It is a method that maintains physiologic ventricular activation, based on a correct pathophysiological basis, in which the pacing lead bypasses the lesion of the electrical fibers, and the electrical impulse transmits through the intact adjacent conduction system. For this reason, it might reasonably characterized by the term “electrical bypass” compared to the coronary artery bypass in revascularization therapy. In this review reference is made to the sequence of events that conventional right ventricular pacing may cause adverse outcomes. Furthermore, there is a reference to alternative strategies and pacing sites. Interest focuses on the modalities for which there is data from the literature, namely for the Right Ventricular (RV) septal pacing, the His Bunde pacing (HBP), and the Left Bundle Branch pacing (LBBP). A more extensive reference is about the HBP, for which there are the most updating data. We analyze the considerations that limit HBP wide application in three axes, and we also present the data for the implantation and follow-up of these patients. Then, the indications with their most important studies to date are described in detail, not only in their undoubtedly positive findings but also in their weak aspects, because of which, this pacing mode has not yet received a strong recommendation for implementation. Finally, there is a report on LBBP, focusing mainly on its points of differentiation from HBP.

Jessica Nicole Kropich-Grant1*, Kerrie Wiley2, Jennifer Manyweathers3, Kirrilly Thompson4,5 & Victoria Jane Brookes11Faculty of Science, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camden 2570, Australia2Sydney School of Public Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown 2006, Australia3School of Agricultural, Environmental and Veterinary Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Locked Bag 588. Wagga Wagga 2678, Australia4University of Newcastle, College of Health, Medicine and Well-being, Callaghan 2308, Australia5Hunter New England Local Health District, Wallsend 2287, Australia.*CorrespondenceJ. N. Kropich-Grant, Faculty of Science, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camden 2570, Australia, E-mail: jkro8150@uni.sydney.edu.auInstitutions and places where this study was conducted:Faculty of Science, Sydney School of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camden 2570, Australia

Although three-dimensional (3D) host is effective in restricting Li dendrite growth, problems associated with the unstable electrode/electrolyte interphase becomes more severe due to increased interfacial area that is intrinsic of the 3D structures, being a major cause for the low Coulombic efficiency.While building a desirable solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) serves as an effective solution to improve the electrode/electrolyte interfacial stability, the 3D nature of the electrode makes the task challenging.Herein,we demonstrated the in-situ formation of SEI on chemically/structurally modified carbon cloth that is used as the 3D host.We shown that ZnS/ZnO nanotube arrays uniformly grown on the carbon cloth served as precursors for the in-situ formation of Li2S/Li2O/LiZn containing artificial SEI. While Li2S and Li2O are preferred components in SEI, Zn functions as lithiophilic site that guides the uniform lithium deposition.The present work shed light on effective design strategies for SEI formation on 3D electrode host with controllable SEI composition.