COVID-19, a predominantly respiratory infection, is demonstrated to cause neurologic complications even in the recovery phase. This systematic review aims to investigate the neuroimaging findings in Acute/ Subacute and Chronic or Post-COVID-19 patients. We searched the online databases of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science, using relevant keywords up to December, 2021. We included all observational studies reporting neuroimaging findings in confirmed COVID-19 patients, during acute/subacute or chronic phase. We included 25 studies in our study. Structural and functional neuroimaging modalities, mainly magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), positron emission tomography (PET), and computed tomography (CT), were applied in COVID patients with valuable findings to detect the neural alterations in the brain. Hypometabolism in various regions of the brain, especially the hippocampus, parahippocampus, entorhinal cortices, cingulate, and frontal cortices as well as pons and thalamus were among findings reported in post-COVID patients. In addition, anatomical alterations in different areas of the brain including the thalamus, pons, cingulate cortex, corpus callosum, and Globus pallidus were reported. Such findings can justify several post-COVID neurological symptoms or complications. Structural and functional neuroimaging in COVID and post-COVID patients potentially can show alterations which can help in follow up of patients.

Gut microbiome gene catalogues have advanced the knowledge of host-microbiome interactions in many mammals. Snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus spp) are folivores with foregut fermentation which is similar to ruminants, but their gut microbiota lacks a comprehensive description. In this study, we constructed a comprehensive gene catalogue by performing metagenomic analysis on 143 wild snub-nosed monkeys and compare it to that of ruminants and monogastric animals. Our results demonstrate the classification and functional characteristics of the gut microbiome of snub-nosed monkeys and identified a set of core genera in these mammals. Moreover, we found that the gut of snub-nosed monkeys and other herbivores was enriched with more bacteria and enzymes related to the degradation of structural carbohydrates, indicating the importance of gut microbiota for dietary adaptation. Our study expands resources for gut microbiome studies of nonhuman primates and provide new insights into the evolutionary route of foregut fermenting animals during dietary adaptation.

Background Nucleic acid-based molecular techniques in current laboratory practice allow the identification of a broad range of respiratory microorganisms. However, due to asymptomatic carriage, the detection of microorganisms in the respiratory tract does not necessarily indicate disease. The study aimed to investigate the prevalence of the different viruses that colonize the airways and their association with the occurrence of either upper respiratory tract infection (AURTI) or lower respiratory tract infection (ALRTI) in children. Methods A matched case-case-control study included ALRTI cases, AURTI cases, and healthy controls and was conducted at Kunming Children’s Hospital. Endotracheal aspirate and oropharyngeal swabs were collected for eight viral pathogens and analyzed by probe-based multiplex RT-PCR. The association of each pathogen with disease status was determined by comparing the results between each participant group. Results From March 1, 2021 through February 28, 2022, 278 participants in each group were investigated. Viral infection was detected in 53.96%, 37.05%, and 12.23% of the ALRTI cases, AURTI cases, and healthy controls, respectively. Human respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), adenovirus (ADV), and parainfluenza virus-3 (PIV-3) were the most frequently documented viruses. RSV/ADV was the most frequent combination detected in coinfection. RSV was independently associated with both ALRTI and AURTI. Additionally, PIV-3 was only relevant to ALRTI. Conclusions RSV and PIV-3 were causes of either ALRTI or AURTI in pediatric patients in Kunming. These results provide initial evidence of the potential of microbiota-based diagnostics for the differential diagnosis of severe acute respiratory infections using primary site samples.

Bioluminescence is used as marker e.g., in genetic or plant pathological studies. We developed a method to monitor bioluminescence at the whole plant level combined with phenotypic analysis of the plant. Using a CCD camera mounted in a cabinet shielding all external light we can image weak luminescence emissions from samples and map these to RGB images. Image processing delivers temporal and spatial data on the distribution of the luminescence together with phenotypic features of the plants. With this technology, microbial colonization of plants can be monitored. Arabidopsis plants were inoculated with Pseudomonas and Xanthomonas plant-pathogenic bacteria labelled with gene cassette for autonomous luminescence and disease progression was monitored over time. Luminescence imaging revealed accumulation of the bacteria in different plant tissues while the RGB images served to monitor plant growth and occurrence of disease symptoms. Applying this method, resistant plants could be selected from a mutant population. Disease responses of susceptible plants were compared to the responses of resistant plants. In the case of Pseudomonas, bacterial abundance reached its maximum during two to four days after inoculation, at a time when water soaking of the leaves could be observed as well with the RGB camera. At later stages-five to seven days after inoculation, disease symptoms in terms of leaf yellowing and tissue collapse occurred while bacterial populations appeared to decrease. With this method it was possible to monitor pathogen development and disease progression non-invasively at whole-plant level over time.

High temperatures (HT) seriously affect the yield and quality of tea. Catechins, derived from the flavonoid pathway, are characteristic compounds that contribute to the flavor of tea leaves. In this study, we first showed that the flavonoid content of tea leaves was significantly reduced under HT conditions via metabolic profiles; and then demonstrated that two transcription factors, CsHSFA1b and CsHSFA2 were activated by HT and negatively regulate flavonoid biosynthesis during HT treatment. Jasmonate (JA), a defensive hormone, plays a key role in plant adaption to environmental stress. However, little has been reported on its involvement in HT response in tea. Herein, we demonstrated that CsHSFA1b and CsHSFA2 activate CsJAZ6 expression through directly binding to HSE elements in its promoter, and thereby repress the JA pathway. Most secondary metabolites are regulated by JA, including catechin in tea. Our study reported that CsJAZ6 directly interacts with CsEGL3 and CsTTG1 and thereby reduces catechin accumulation. From this, we proposed a CsHSFA-CsJAZ6 mediated HT regulation model of catechin biosynthesis. We also determined that negative regulation of the JA pathway by CsHSFAs and its homologues is conserved in Arabidopsis. These findings broaden the applicability of the regulation of JAZ by HSF transcription factors and further suggest the JA pathway as a valuable candidate for HT-resistant breeding and cultivation.

Telomerase activity and telomere maintenance in certain somatic cells of human adults support the proliferative capacity of these cells and thus contribute to their regenerative potential, and telomerase activity and telomere length are commonly considered lifespan predictors. Eusocial insects provide excellent models for aging research based on their extraordinary caste-related lifespan differences that contradict the typical mammalian fecundity/lifespan trade-off. Telomerase activity is upregulated in the reproductive, long-lived individuals of eusocial insects such as queens and kings, and telomerase activity may act as a key factor in their extended longevity. But, as documented by the presence of telomerase in somatic tissues of numerous invertebrate and vertebrate species, the connection between telomerase activity and the predicted lifespan is not clear. Here, I ask whether somatic telomerase activity in eusocial reproductives may serve its non-canonical function to protect its individuals against the metabolic stress due to reproduction and reflect a more common phenomenon among species. Here, I propose a hypothesis that the presence of telomerase activity in somatic cells reflects a different reproduction strategy of species.

We present an 18-year-old male suffering from myalgia, cough, and anorexia with symptoms of jaundice and lymphadenopathy. He was infected with the Epstein-Barr virus which leads to acute lymphoblastic leukemia in this patient.

4-Carbamoyl-Hantzsch esters were used as carbamoyl radical precursors for oxidative carbamoylation of N-arylacrylamides in the presence of inexpensive persulfates. This protocol can be applied for a broad range of substrates with various functional groups, whereas a variety of 3,3-disubstituted oxindoles were obtained in good yields via an intermolecular addition/cyclization process.

A document by Greicelene Jesus da Silva. Click on the document to view its contents.

The malicious physical attacks from both sensor and actuator side make real threats to the security and safety of autonomous ground vehicles (AGVs). This paper focuses on the problem of neural-network-based event-triggered adaptive security control (ET-ASC) scheme for path following of AGVs subject to arbitrary abnormal actuator signal. Firstly, we assume that an arbitrary abnormal signal is caused by arbitrary malicious attacks or disturbances from actuators. Then, radial basis function neural network (RBF-NN) is used to reconstruct such abnormal actuator signal. Secondly, modelling issues on security path following control of AGVs with Sigmoid-like ETC scheme are shown when the AGV is suffering from abnormal actuator signal. In what follows, an ET-ASC scheme is developed to mitigate the adverse effects of abnormal actuator signal with the reconstructed abnormal signal based on a novel Sigmoid-like event-triggered communication scheme. By using the proposed RBF-NN-based ET-ASC scheme, H ∞ control performance can be guaranteed under arbitrary malicious actuator signal rather than such attacks following a specific probability distribution. Finally, some simulation experiments are provided to verify the effectiveness of proposed ET-ASC scheme.

In this paper, we study the averaging principle for Caputo type fractional stochastic differential equations with Lévy noise. Firstly, the estimate on higher moments for the solution is given. Secondly, under some suitable assumptions, we show that the solutions of original equations can be approximated by the solutions of averaged equations in the sense of pth moment and convergence in probability by Hölder inequality. Finally, a simulation example is given to verify the theoretical results.

Background Low-dose aspirin (LDA) is recommended to improve birth outcomes in high-risk pregnant women from developing countries. There is no aggregate data from developing countries on LDA’s effect on preterm births. Objective To systematically review and collate clinical data to determine the effects of LDA on preterm births in women from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Search strategy MEDLINE, Embase and Cochrane CENTRAL databases were systematically searched in 2020. Selection criteria Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) of LDA compared with placebo or no treatment for preterm births in at-risk pregnant women from LMICs. Data collection and analysis Two authors independently screened the studies, extracted data and assessed quality. Pooled effect sizes were calculated using random effects models. The Cochrane risk of bias and Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) tools were used to assess the quality of studies and overall quality of evidence. Main results Ten RCTs with 23 654 participants were included; studies were published between 1996 and 2020. Nine RCTs with 23 486 patients were pooled for the outcome preterm birth. Meta-analysis results suggest significantly reduced risks of preterm births (RR 0.90, 95% CI 0.82-0.98, p = 0.01) and perinatal mortality (RR 0.83, 95% CI 0.73-0.94, p < 0.01) in the LDA group. Conclusion Targeted LDA therapy should be considered to reduce preterm births in at-risk pregnant women from LMICs. Funding This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Keywords Low-dose aspirin, preterm birth, pre-eclampsia

Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) play an important role in the progression and pathogenesis of many diseases, and have been proved to regulate transcription by transcription factors (TFs). Currently, the pathogenesis of chronic periodontitis (CP) about the interaction between lncRNAs and TFs is little known. So, we explore this interaction through bioinformatics. A dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus was screened, which contained lncRNA and mRNA Expression profiles of gingival samples from periodontal healthy subjects and CP patients. We identified differentially expressed (DE) lncRNAs and DEmRNAs, and conducted gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Gene Genome Encyclopedia (KEGG) pathway enrichment analyses to explore the potential functional and biological pathways of related differentially expressed genes (DEGs). After analyzing the trans-regulation of lncRNAs, we selected 3 lncRNA–TF pairs and examined them by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). A total of 13 upregulated lncRNAs and 1 downregulated lncRNA, MIR210HG, were screened from CP patients. Trans analysis showed that the downregulation of lncRNA-MIR210HG corresponded to the upregulation of TFs (IRF4, POU2AF1 and XBP1), which were enriched in positive regulation of cytokine production in GO. Notably, the qPCR results validated the expression of lncRNA-MIR210HG and 3 TFs, further supporting the trans analysis results. LncRNA-MIR210HG and TFs (IRF4, POU2AF1 and XBP1) are significantly involved in the regulatory mechanisms in the pathogenesis of CP. This lncRNA may become a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of CP, providing new clues to explore the regulatory mechanism of lncRNA in the pathogenesis of CP.

Myopathy-related symptoms are rare manifestations of hypothyroidism. Clinicians should consider hypothyroid myopathy as one of possible diagnosis for patients with proximal weaknesses. We report a 34-year-old woman, presenting with a new atypical musculoskeletal manifestation of hypothyroidism mimicking polymyositis.

Pancreatic cancer (PC) is one of top deadliest cancer types, p53 was found mutated in about 75% of PC patients. Hence, mutant/wild-type p53 protein may represent a unique therapeutic target. Interestingly, a p53-reactivator (PRIMA-1 MET) was recently approved by FDA and showed promise in hematological malignancies, therefore, warrants an in vitro evaluation in PC cell lines. The aim of this study was valuation of the antiproliferative effects of PRIMA-1 MET single or combined with an essential chemotherapy 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in both mutated and wild-type p53 PC cell lines. In this study, p53-mutant (AsPC-1) and p53-wild type (Capan-2) PC cell lines were used. In vitro cytotoxicity of PRIMA-1 MET was evaluated single or combined with 5-FU by MTT assay. The Chou and Talalay approach was employed to evaluate synergism by calculating the combination index (CI) by CalcuSyn software. Apoptosis was analyzed by fluorescent microscopy following Acridine orange/ethidium bromide (AO/EB) staining. Morphological changes were investigated by inverted microscope. Real-time quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) was used to measure gene expression. Both PC cell lines (p53-wt and p53-mut) have shown sensitivity to PRIMA-1 MET monotherapy. Furthermore, adding PRIMA-1 MET to 5-FU was synergistic (CI<1) and this enhanced effect was reflected in greater induction of apoptosis and morphological changes. Moreover, RT-qPCR results indicated increased expression of Noxa and TP73 genes in combination treated cells. Our data suggested that PRIMA-1 MET, whether single or combined with 5-FU, have an antiproliferative impact on PC cell lines regardless of p53 mutational status. Synergism was allied with significant apoptosis induction through p53-dependent and p53-independent pathways. Preclinical confirmation of these data in in vivo models is highly recommended.

In this study we propose a general mathematical algorithm for the selection of aux- iliary linear operator () and initial guess 0(), which are the principal parts of Homotopy methods: Homotopy Perturbation Method (HPM) and Homotopy Anal- ysis Method (HAM). We assume the coefficients of derivatives involved in () as a functions of auxiliary roots of () = 0. Based on the residual error minimization we compute unknown roots and thereby obtain the best fitted optimal linear operator. Additionally, from the efficiency standpoint, we suggest discretize the exact square residual using the Simson’s 31 algorithm. We applied our algorithms to six nonlin- ear problems: (i) two nonlinear initial value problem (IVP) (ii) two highly nonlinear BVPs with quadratic and cubic nonlinearity, (iii) Bessel equation of zero-order and (iv) A singular and highly nonlinear BVP (for fluid electrohydrodynamics). We then compare our technique’s accuracy and efficiency to other existing analytical and nu- merical methods. It demonstrates that our best fitted optimal linear operator is much more efficient, important (than the artificial controlling parameters or functions of optimal HAM) and self-sufficient for the convergence of series solutions over the whole domain, specially for IVP. Also, an effort is made to search the best () for different choices of real roots and by means of fastest converges of the solution. Our approach is more effective, straightforward and easy to use when applied to many nonlinear problems arises in science and engineering, and using our propose ap- proach homotopy methods (HAM and HPM) will be more powerful.

Background: Polyomavirus BK virus infection is a significant complication of renal transplantation and is an important cause of allograft loss. Today, despite the innovations in the pharmaceutical industry, a curative treatment against the BK virus has not been developed. The management is not standardized and is generally based on reported experience from transplantation centers. However, the literature on the subject with large samples is limited. Therefore, we designed a study to present our countrywide experience with BK virus nephropathy (BKVN) in renal transplant recipients. Methods: Our study was conducted with thirty kidney transplant centers from all provinces of Turkey. Only cases with BKVN proven by allograft biopsy were included in our study. Demographic characteristics and laboratory values of the patients were obtained from the archives and electronic databases of the centers. Results: A total of 13.857 patients from 30 transplantation centers were screened. 207 BKVN cases proven by allograft biopsy were identified and included in the study. The mean age was 46.4±13.1, and 146 (70.5%) patients were male. Twenty-six patients did not receive any induction therapy, 144 patients received anti-T lymphocyte globulin (ATLG), and 37 patients received basiliximab after transplantation. 23.6% of the patients had acute rejection history in the first six months of renal transplantation. all were treated with pulse steroids, and 46 were also treated with ATLG. The mean time to diagnosis of BKVN was 15.8±22.2 months after transplantation. At the time of diagnosis, the patients’ mean creatinine level was 1.8±0.7 mg/dl, and the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate was 45.8±19.6 ml/min. While BKVN was solely reported in 181 cases, there were cellular rejection findings in 21 biopsy specimens and humoral rejection in 4 biopsy specimens. In addition of dose reduction or discontinuation of immunosuppressive drugs, eighteen patients were treated with cidofovir, 11 patients with leflunomide, 17 patients with quinolones, 15 patients with intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIG), five patients with cidofovir+IVIG, and 12 patients with leflunomide+IVIG. None of the patients who received leflunomide and leflunomide+IVIG had allograft loss. Allograft loss was observed in 12 (15%) of 78 patients treated with antivirals or immunomodulators. Allograft loss occurred in 32 patients (15%) during follow-up out of 207 patients with BKVN. Five patients were retransplanted, and none developed BKVN during the follow-up. Conclusions: BKVN is still a significant cause of allograft loss in kidney transplantation, which has not been fully elucidated. Leflunomide appears to be an effective treatment in these patients.

Nonequilibrium model is a significant improvement in multicomponent separation process simulation, but more equations are involved and the solution of the model equations, which relies on an adequate initial point for convergence of the Newton method, is difficult. In this work, based on the concept of pseudo-transient continuation approach, we proposed a new pseudo-transient (PT) nonequilibrium method. The proposed method decouples the strongly coupled model equations by introducing dynamic equations for material and energy conservation, as well as transition equations. Thus, the steady-state solution of the nonequilibrium model can be obtained through a robust and fast integration process, and the initial point issue in Newton method can be effectively avoided. Two simulation cases were used to demonstrate the advantages and applicability of the proposed PT nonequilibrium method.

Lobophorins (LOBs) belong to a large family of spirotetronate antibiotics with antibacterial and antitumor activities. In this study, we demonstrated the function of LobP1, a P450 monooxygenase encoded in the LOB biosynthetic gene cluster, by in vivo deletion and in vitro biochemical assays. The disruption of lobP1 led to the isolation of three new LOBs derivatives (3‒5) and three known ones (6‒8) without the hydroxyl group at C-32. LobP1 was shown to have relatively broad substrate scope. Determing the kinetic parameters of LobP1 towards different substrates revealed that LobP1 preferred substrate with a nitrosugar. The major product LOB E (6) from the ∆lobP1 mutant displayed better cytotoxic activities against several cancer cell lines than LOB B, the C-32 hydroxlated counterpart.

The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected all aspects of human life including working of offices, businesses, industries, educational institutions etc. With more work load shifting online, changes in the network traffic are inevitable. The earlier investigations have generally focused on the qualitative aspects of network traffic data during COVID-19. In contrast, the paper presents a study based on MAWI data characterizing network traffic in terms of multimodal and unimodal probability distributions. It is found that a transition of multimodal Gaussian mixture model of byte and packet counts during normal period to that of unimodal Laplace distribution during COVID-19 period has emerged. Further it is observed that the probability distribution depicts the preponderance of small and large packets during normal period which changes to that of small sized packets during Covid-19 period. These findings are likely to be useful to the administrators to manage network during crisis periods.

Pharmacometrics Africa is a not-for-profit company registered in South Africa as an established platform for interested groups to establish and run open-access quantitative clinical pharmacology educational programs in partnership with local research organizations and academic groups. Pharmacometric research and clinical application is pivotal in characterising and optimising treatments, especially for complex or understudied populations. The application of pharmacometrics in drug development during recent years has led to an increase in the adoption of this technique in many drug companies and increased the demand for skilled pharmacometricians globally. Stringent regulatory authorities such as the US-FDA and EMA have increasingly populated their review groups with these scientists, further increasing the demand for the expertise and, more importantly, evidencing the impact and importance of pharmacometrics within the drug development cycle. Creative solutions are required to provide adequate training resources for the future. Pharmacometrics is nascent in Africa. Here, we report on establishing the Ugandan Chapter of Pharmacometrics Africa. This aims to transfer primary training responsibility to local institutions and faculty for sustainability and to build upon regional strengths in pharmacometrics. Creating a local centre of excellence will help attract both regional and international collaborations on quantitative clinical pharmacology. We summarize our experience, key lessons learnt and future perspectives.

Low-cost air pollutant sensors suffer several interferences due to the variation of climatic elements. Recent studies look for calibration solutions based on different regression and classification machine learning algorithms. The present work brings together the implementation and extraction of performance metrics from these algorithms in a single open-source tool. Both the input data and parameters for each algorithm are automatically configured. This feature makes the tool compatible with any input dataset and removes the need to interact with complex codes.

Although the capability of multifunctional grid-tied inverters (MFGTI) to compensate the voltage-based power quality is limited, more attention has been paid to their ability to improve power quality for effective use of renewable energy sources (RES) and grid resources even in poor power quality conditions. This paper proposes a MFGTI to compensate all power quality issues based on voltage, current and harmonic distortions caused by load and grid as a promising solution in microgrids. In this scheme, the proposed MFGTI can be connected to the grid in series or parallel via bidirectional switches to react to the disturbances occurring across the grid. The necessary compensation of current and voltage are mathematically extracted according to the grid and load situation to regulate the voltage. Also, in the proposed method, compensation strategies, control scheme and transients in the MFGTI are presented and in addition to compensate the balanced and unbalanced grid voltage disturbances, grid current is also compensated and harmonic distortions of PCC voltage and current is also reduced as much as possible under the allowable value. The simulation results to confirm the proposed method including the compensation of unbalanced voltage sag/swell, harmonics and interruption are performed in Simulink/MATLAB environment.

Background and purpose: Peptides constitute an interesting starting point for drugs, although research on them is quite slowed by the fact that most of them are non-patentable. Given that carnosine, β-Ala-His dipeptide, was found useful in cancer treatment, we aimed to inspect whether its similar structures could also possess such activity. Experimental Approach: The interdisciplinary approach allows for the much more detailed analysis, hence our study presents computational analysis of potential targets and therapeutic activities of dipeptides with β-Ala or His at the N-end, synthesis and in vitro cytotoxicity and apoptosis tests against a chosen cancerous and non-cancerous cell line. Key Results: We preliminarily propose β-Ala-Ala, His-Val and His-Arg as most potent entities, in regard to carnosine, a known anticancer peptide. Conclusion and Implications: An interdisciplinary approach allows for a much more complex analysis and in silico tests should be a standard element of every toxicological report and we hope to popularize that concept worldwide. Peptides indeed possess activity against cancer, with little to no harm to non-cancerous cells, which is highly valuable.