The climate drives species distribution and genetic diversity; the latter defines the adaptability of populations and species. The ongoing climate crisis induces tree decline in many regions, compromising the mitigation potential of forests. Scientific-based strategies for prioritising forest tree populations are critical to managing the impact of climate change. Identifying future climate refugia, which are locations naturally buffering the negative impact of climate change, may facilitate local conservation. In this work, we conducted the populations’ prioritisation for Castanea sativa (sweet chestnut), a Neogene relict growing in the Caucasus global biodiversity hotspot. We generated genetic and ecological metrics for 21 sites in Georgia and Azerbaijan, which cover the natural range of sweet chestnut across the region. We demonstrated that climate primarily drives the pattern of genetic diversity in C. sativa, proved with a significant Isolation-by-Environment model. In future, climate change may significantly reorganise the species genetic diversity, inducing even some genetic loss, especially in the very distinct eastern fringe of the species range in Azerbaijan. Based on our combined approach, we mapped populations suitable for ex-situ and in-situ conservation, accounting for genetic variability and the location of future climate refugia.

Workers in the ant genus Pheidole show an extreme degree of morphological differentiation, with at least two distinct subcastes: minor workers are smaller and perform most of the colony tasks, whereas majors are larger, display disproportionately massive heads, and specialize in roles as defense and food processing. There is considerable interspecific variation in head shape within worker subcastes of Pheidole, which could affect how the stresses generated by the mandibular closing muscle contraction (0md1) spread throughout the head and influence bite force. To assess the role of head shape in stress patterns of Pheidole workers, we solve a set of Finite Element Analysis (FEA) while exploring variation in Pheidole worker head morphospace. We hypothesize that majors possess head shapes optimized for the generation of stronger bites. In addition, we expect that head shapes corresponding to the edges of morphological space in the genus would show mechanical limitations that could prevent further expanding the occupied morphospace. We vectorized Pheidole head shapes based on images of worker heads, considering species that represent mean shapes and the edges of the two main axes of each morphospace, for a total of five head shapes for each worker subcaste. We performed linear static FEA simulating the contraction of 0md1. Our results demonstrate that head shapes of majors are optimized to generate stronger bites given that stress generated on those shapes is distinctly directed towards the mandibles. Head shapes of minors tended to concentrate stresses around the mandibular articulations, with substantially lower and more diffuse stresses spreading throughout the head, indicating that such shapes are associated with weaker bites. Our results agree with the expectations regarding the main colony tasks performed by each worker subcaste, and we find some evidence of biomechanical limitations on extreme head shapes for majors and minors.

Aim: Sarcopenia is associated with poor prognosis in adult oncologic patients, with little evidence of this association in pediatric population, including hepatoblastoma. Methods: Retrospective study in patients with hepatoblastoma, divided into those with or without sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was assessed by measuring psoas muscle area (PMA) at L4-L5 level on the CT/MR and defined as z-score values ≤2. Relapse and mortality were analyzed. Results: Twenty-one patients (57.1% male) were included, with median age 35.7 months (IQR: 23.5-58.5). Seven (33.3%) had sarcopenia on initial studies compared to 14 (66.7%) who did not. No differences were found between groups in age, weight, PRETEX, surgical treatment or a-fetoprotein levels. Twelve (57.1%) underwent liver resection and 9 (42.9%) liver transplantation. Sarcopenia was associated with a higher rate of metastases at diagnosis (49.2% vs 0.0%; p=0.026) and surgical complications (57.1% vs 21.4%, p=0.047). After a median follow-up of 65.1 months (1.7-144.8), 2 patients (28.6%) had tumor relapse in sarcopenic group compared to 1 (7.1%) in non-sarcopenic group. Two patients died in sarcopenic group and 1 in non-sarcopenic group. Median event-free survival (EFS) was lower in sarcopenic group (100.38±25.63vs118.91±11.52 months) as well as overall survival (OS) (101.72±24.86 vs 121.78±8.75 months) with no statistical significance. Five-year EFS was also lower in sarcopenic group (71%vs93%) as well as 5-year OS (71%vs87%). Conclusions: Sarcopenia at diagnosis was associated with a higher rate of metastases and surgical complications in hepatoblastoma. Our data shows the first evidence of its role as a possible poor prognostic factor, influencing survival and risk of relapse.

Many chemical processes utilize catalysts to enhance chemical conversion behavior. A catalyst promotes the rate of chemical conversion but does not affect the energy transformations which occur during the reaction. The present study is focused primarily upon the performance and efficiency analysis of steam-methanol reforming processes in combined parallel plate heat exchanger-reactors. The steady-state continuity, momentum, energy, and species conservation equations are solved in the fluid phase and the heat equation is solved in the solid phase using a finite volume approach. An adaptive meshing scheme is used for the discretization of the differential equations. Computational fluid dynamics simulations are carried out over a wide range of material conductivities. Continuity in temperature and heat flux is applied at the fluid-solid interfaces. Neither heat-transfer nor mass-transfer correlations are employed. Parallel processing employing a message passing interface is used to speed up the most demanding calculations. The present study aims to explore how to effectively enhance chemical conversion behavior by utilizing catalysts. Particular emphasis is placed upon the effect of wall thermal conductivity on the performance and efficiency of steam-methanol reforming processes in combined parallel plate heat exchanger-reactors. The results indicate that the arrangement leads to improved heat transfer and therefore chemical conversion. The honeycomb structure imparts strength to the overall system permitting the walls to be very thin and thereby being responsible for the low weight and rapid thermal response of the reactor configuration. The heat transfer from the process catalyst to the dividing wall is highly efficient, however, the uptake of the energy by the heat transfer fluid will suffer from all of the limitations of traditional heat transfer operations. The process provides more efficient utilization and uniform usage of the heat generated by the exothermic reaction, thus allowing the endothermic reaction to be carried out at a somewhat higher temperature. The temperature control possible with this system is extremely efficient because all the catalytic material in the reactor channels is on the surface of the walls that can transmit heat through the walls directly to the thermal control channels. Adiabatic conditions prevail in the autothermal reactor because the catalytic oxidation reaction is exothermic in nature and the heat generated in the course of such a reaction is usually sufficient to initiate and sustain the endothermic reforming reaction. The thickness of the catalyst coating depends upon the process proceeding within the catalyst matrix. The thin walls and small internal diameters of the channels result in an extremely difficult system for carrying out reactions and transferring heat by giving rise to a high ratio of wall surface area.Keywords: Chemical processes; Autothermal reactors; Heat transfer; Reaction chambers; Heterogeneous oxidation; Transport phenomena

For many modern biopharmaceutical processes, manufacturers develop data-driven models using data analytics/machine learning (DA/ML) methods. The challenge is how to select the best methods for a specific dataset to construct the most accurate and reliable model. This article describes the application of smart process data analytics software to industrial end-to-end biomanufacturing datasets for monoclonal antibody production to automate the determination of the best DA/ML tools for model construction and process understanding. The application demonstrates that smart process data analytics software captures product- and process-specific characteristics for two different monoclonal antibody productions. This study provides tools that can be widely applied to biomanufacturing processes for root cause analysis, prediction, and control.

Objectives: To assess the willingness of patients to remove urinary catheters by themselves after anterior / posterior vaginal wall repairs done as day cases Design: This was a non-randomized, single centre, prospective pilot study where we included patients who have had anterior and/or posterior colporrhaphy as day cases between November 2020 and September 2022. Setting - UK DGH hospital urogynaecology department Population: all patients who had anterior/ posterior colporrhaphy as day cases between nov 2020 and sept 2022 Methods :Non-randomized, single centre, prospective pilot study Main Outcome: Majority of patients were able to remove their urinary catheters post operatively without complications Measures: Outcomes were evaluated using patients’ feedback respones Results: The data obtained was over 22 month peroid.The total was a total of 81 patients with 61% of them having anterior repairs and 39% having posterior repairs. Ages of the participants ranged from 42 years to 89 years. 79 % of questionnaires were returned. 98% of the enrolled patients would not prefer to wait for another admission date where a bed will be available. 97% of our patients removed the urinary catheter by themselves and found it to be easy. 88% of our patients would not prefer to come to the hospital or have a nurse sent to their homes to remove the catheter. 89 % of our patients would recommend this service to a friend. Conclusion: Our Study demonstrated that removal of patient’s own catheter following vaginal wall repairs is cost-saving and highly acceptable to this cohort of patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the bond strength of three different calcium silicate based cements (Biodentine, NeoPutty and MTA Cem LC) with two different bulk fill composites (fiber-reinforced and non-fiber-reinforced). Plexiglas molds with a diameter of 4 mm and a thickness of 2 mm were prepared (n=60). Each CBC was mixed according to the manufacturer’s instructions and placed in plexiglass molds. The BD, NP, and MTA Cem LC samples were then randomly divided into 2 subgroups containing 10 samples each. The surfaces of the samples were air dried and Single Bond universal adhesive was applied. Then, cylindrical plastic capsules of 2 mm height and 2 mm inner diameter belonging to Filtek Bulk fill and EverX Posterior composite resin groups were centered on the coating material and polymerized for 20 seconds. After SBS testing, all samples were examined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify failure patterns. Three samples, one from each group, were prepared to evaluate the chemical compositions of the materials. Samples were prepared using plexiglass molds with a diameter of 10 mm and a thickness of 2 mm. The materials were then examined with an energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy for surface elemental analysis. The values obtained from the tests were evaluated as statistically significant (p < 0.05). After SBS testing, the difference between all CBCs was statistically significant in both compound groups. According to the findings obtained from this study, it was concluded that MTA Cem LC had the highest SBS values in both composite groups.

A 30-year-old man presented with sudden chest pain and evidence of multiple cystic lesions in both long and left-sided pneumothorax in HRCT. H&E stained section and IHC for CD1a and S100 were positive in lung samples. The patient was treated with the diagnosis of Isolated pulmonary langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Key Clinical Message: An elevated middle cerebral artery peak systolic velocity in the setting of non-diabetic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may portend an especially poor prognosis.

Spinal intramedullary lipoma within the craniovertebral region is extremely rare. These lesions are often associated with spinal dysraphism. Here we present a non-dysraphic one. Our patient was a 56-year-old female who presented with progressive right shoulder pain and gait disturbance.

A document by Canlin Gan. Click on the document to view its contents.

Background: Information and communication technologies (ICTs) improve patient-centered care and are routinely used in Allergic Rhinitis (AR), but patients’ preferences and attitudes are unexplored. This study examines AR-related information preferences and ICT use by AR patients. Methods: A survey-based cross-sectional study was carried out in Ecuador in seven centers of reference of allergic disease. Participants were 18 or older, diagnosed with AR, and had access to ICT and the internet. Descriptive and binomial logistic regression were done. A value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: 217 patients were included. 47% used ICTs to learn about AR, 38.2% found it useful. 75% disagreed that ICTs reduce doctor’s appointments. Individuals with poorer quality of life were 27% more likely to utilize ICTs to contact their doctor and 23% more likely to be interested in AR-related content. Patients with long-term AR or other allergies were less likely to use ICTs. Higher education and lower quality of life may increase AR app adoption by 4.8 times. Academic preparation five-fold increased ICT use for health provider communication. Mild-persistent allergic rhinitis 12 times enhanced the probabilities of using ICTs to share experiences and communicate with other patients. Conclusions: Our study found that moderate-to-severe AR individuals are not interested in information despite ICTs’ potential benefits. Consequently, allergists should use evidence-based resources and establish new technological options for content, follow-up, and emotional support for AR patients in Ecuador.

Background: As the global prevalence of allergy increases, it is clear that more individuals are presenting with complex and multiple allergies. The impact of various demographic and clinical risk factors on developing allergies has not been explored at a population level. Objectives: To ascertain if age, gender, ethnicity, UK geographical region of residence and being diagnosed with another allergy affect the risk of having allergies. Methods: A retrospective analysis was performed using cross-sectional data for the year 2018 extracted from the from the health improvement network (THIN) database. THIN is a live primary care database which holds entries about 6% of the UK population. A logistic regression analysis was carried out using demographic data and allergy diagnoses as independent variables. Results: Of the 3.03 million records analysed, 49.8% were male and 19.7% were children (aged < 18 yrs). There were gender, ethnicity and region-based differences in the prevalence of GP diagnosed allergic diseases in the UK. The odds of developing anaphylaxis are highest in individuals with food allergy [OR: 54.57 (95%CI: 45.65-65.22); p<0.001 for children and OR:18.05 (95% CI:16.79-19.41); p<0.001 for adults respectively]. Individuals with any diagnosed allergy had significantly higher odds of being diagnosed with others. Conclusions: Having an allergy significantly increases the odds of being diagnosed with others. There are age, gender, ethnicity and region based differences in the prevalence of allergies. These data suggest that the number of individuals with multiple allergies is increasing and that the needs of increasingly cosmopolitan populations should be taken into account when planning allergy services.

Papillary thyroid carcinoma of the pyramidal lobe is rare. We describe a case of a 77-year-old woman who corroborates current literature findings, namely greater presence of adverse prognostic factors. Upper Neck Papillary Thyroid Cancer is a new entity, proposed to group these tumors with potential clinical and therapeutic implications.

Cystic fibrosis has seen a multitude of therapeutic advances targeting its downstream effects. This has led to a steady increase in survival over the past few decades. The recent development of disease-modifying drugs targeting the underlying CFTR mutation has revolutionized treatment for CF. Despite these advances, individuals with CF who are racial and ethnic minorities, from low socioeconomic status, or female sex have worse clinical outcomes. The inequitable access to CFTR modulators from cost and/or genetic eligibility has the potential to further worsen the existing health disparities seen within the CF community.

In this note, we prove that the Erdös-Straus conjecture holds true. Similarly, the Sierpinski conjecture follows. A relaxed extension of the restricted Hagedorn equation is presented.

Non-invasive sensory stimulation in the range of the brain’s gamma rhythm (30-100 Hz) is emerging as a new potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Here we investigated the effect of repeated combined exposure to 40 Hz synchronized sound and light stimuli on hippocampal long-term potentiation (LTP) in vivo in three rat models of early AD. We employed a very complete model of AD amyloidosis, amyloid precursor protein (APP)-overexpressing transgenic McGill-R-Thy1-APP rats at an early pre-plaque stage, systemic treatment of transgenic APP rats with corticosterone modelling certain environmental AD risk factors and, importantly, intracerebral injection of highly disease-relevant AD patient-derived synaptotoxic beta-amyloid and tau in wild-type animals. We found that daily sessions of 40 Hz sensory stimulation fully abrogated the inhibition of LTP in all three models. Moreover, there was a negative correlation between the magnitude of LTP and the level of active caspase-1 in the hippocampus of transgenic APP animals which suggests that the beneficial effect of 40 Hz stimulation was dependent on modulation of pro-inflammatory mechanisms. Our findings support ongoing clinical trials of gamma-patterned sensory stimulation in early AD.

Safety of Biologicals In Severe Asthma Patients Having COVID-19Running title: COVID-19, biologicals and severe asthma

As implantable medical electronics (IMEs) developed for healthcare monitoring and biomedical therapy are extensively explored and deployed clinically, the demand for non-invasive implantable biomedical electronics is rapidly surging. Current rigid and bulky implantable microelectronic power sources are prone to immune rejection and incision, or cannot provide enough energy for long-term use, which greatly limits the development of implantable medical devices. Herein, a comprehensive review of the historical development of IMEs and the applicable miniaturised power sources along with advantages and limitations is given. Despite recent advances in microfabrication techniques, biocompatible materials have facilitated the development of IMEs system toward non-invasive, ultra-flexible, bioresorbable, wireless and multifunctional, progress in the development of minimally invasive power sources in implantable systems has remained limited. Here we summarise three promising minimally invasive power sources, including energy storage devices (biodegradable primary batteries, rechargeable batteries and supercapacitors), human body energy harvesters (nanogenerators and biofuel cells) and wireless power transfer (far-field radiofrequency radiation, near-field wireless power, ultrasonic and photovoltaic power). The energy storage and harvesting mechanism, configurational design, output power and applications in vivo are discussed. It is expected to give a comprehensive understanding of the IMEs for painless health monitoring and biomedical therapy with long-term stable function

The simultaneous consideration of various economic, social, and environmental factors in determining the proper location for constructing a sports complex for traditional games is crucial to the continuation of such events. This research takes a two-stage approach when studying where to locate such infrastructure. In the first stage, namely, that of ranking the locations, the criteria influencing the evaluation are categorized based on the research literature and on interviews with experts well-versed in social, economic, and environmental questions. The criteria identified in this stage are divided into two broad categories: intra-city (selecting the most suitable city) and inter-city (identifying the most suitable geographic area). The best geographical area for constructing a sports complex is found using intra-city criteria based on expert opinions. These opinions were obtained using an online questionnaire prepared according to the Best Worst Method (BWM), giving the weights of both categories. In an effort to assess the desirability of the cities under consideration, we apply piecewise linear pereference functions (PLPFs) to determine the ranges in which each of the items achieve their best score. In the second stage, i.e., the geographical area selection stage, and according to the weighting of inter-city criteria and the ideal distance to each criterion (e.g., fire stations and hospitals), the best geographical area for constructing a sports complex is selected using geographical information system (GIS). The results of this research confirm that social factors are more important than economic and environmental ones in the evaluation phase of the candidates and PLPFs produce different results vis- à-vis the existing linear methods.

By employing thiazole and 4-chlorothiazole as the A′ units, two A-D-A′-D-A type nonfused-ring electron acceptors (NFREAs) Tz-H and Tz-Cl were designed and synthesized. Replacing thiazole in Tz-H with 4-chlorothiazole can not only remarkably shorten the synthetic route through C-H direct arylation but also enhance molecular planarity with the simultaneous incorporation of S···N and S···Cl non-covalently conformational locks (NoCLs). The photovoltaic devices based on PM6:Tz-Cl exhibited a power conversion efficiency as high as 11.10%, much higher than that of PM6:Tz-H (6.41%), mainly due to more efficient exciton dissociation, better and more balanced carrier mobility, less charge recombination, and more favorable morphology. These findings demonstrate the great potential of NoCLs in achieving low-cost and high-performance NFREAs.

The utilization of cyclobutanones as the synthon in transition metal catalysis has been made great success. Because C(carbonyl)−C bond of cyclobutanones can be cleaved through strain release. Despite those advancements, the main catalysts in literature are Rh catalysts or Ni catalysts and the reaction with C–H bond is still underdeveloped. Herein, we realized the first palladium-catalyzed skeletal reorganisation of cyclobutanones invoving successive cleavage of C(carbonyl)−C bonds and C−H bond cleavage, which con-stitutes an rapid access to diverse indanones.

Background and aim: It has been reported GIMAP6 was crucial for autophagy. But it is unknown the role of GIMAP6 in occurrence and tumor-immunity of lung adenocarcinoma. Methods: Comprehensive analyses for datasets from TCGA and GTEx databases were conducted by R software. Basic experiments including RT-qPCR, CCK-8 assays, colony formation assay and transwell assays were applied to explore the role of GIMAP6 in vivo and vitro. Prognostic features and GIMAP6 were applied to construct nomogram. Potential mechanism of GIMAP6 in lung adenocarcinoma was investigated by GO, KEGG and GESA. The correlation between GIMAP6 and immune landscape has also been explored using scRNA sequencing datasets from Timer 2.0 and TISCH. Results: The OS and DSS of lung adenocarcinoma patients with high GIMAP6 expression was better than that with low GIMAP6 expression. The nomogram based on T stage, N stage, and GIMAP6 had predictive significance for prognosis, which was identified by ROC and calibration curve. Functional enrichment analysis suggested that GIMAP6 was mainly involved in T-cell receptor signaling pathway, chemokine signaling pathway, cytokine and cytokine receptor interaction. Single cell sequencing and TIMER2.0 analysis illustrated that GIMAP6 was positively correlated with the infiltration of immune cells and immune-relate molecules including CTLA4, PD-L1, and TIGIT. Basic experiments confirmed the role of GIMAP6 in the proliferation, invasion and migration of lung adenocarcinoma cells. Conclusion: We confirmed that GIMAP6 was an effective prognostic molecule and involved in the regulation of the immune microenvironment of lung adenocarcinoma, which may become a predictor for the efficacy of immunotherapy.

Moving targets are a real threat to pulse compression radars, especially those operating with Doppler-intolerant waveforms. As the Doppler frequency increases, the radar system performance degrades accordingly. In the case of high-speed targets, the Doppler frequency is high enough to distort the received signal, and consequently, the matched filter output is distorted. Therefore, no target information could be extracted. In this paper, we introduce a new Doppler compensation (DC) and estimation technique for phase-coded pulse compression radars to allow the detection of high-speed targets. Moreover, their Doppler frequency value is estimated without ambiguity from one burst and without the need for a range-Doppler module. In addition, the proposed method does not require a synchronization system to perform its function. As such, the implementation of the proposed method is simple and inexpensive. The performance evaluation of the new method shows its superiority in compensation and estimation when examined under higher Doppler frequency and noise compared to a conventional radar.