Nowadays, with the development of the times, network structure analysis has become a hot issue in some fields. The eigenvalues of normalized Laplacian are very important for some network structure properties. Let Qn be octagonal-quadrilateral networks composed of n octagons and n squares and let Q2n be the strong prism of Qn. The strong product of a complete graph of order 2 and a complete graph of order G forms a strong prism of the graph G. In this paper, the decomposition theorem of the associated matrix is used to completely investigate the normalized Laplacian spectrum of Qn2. In addition, we establish exact formulas for the degree-Kirchhoff index and the number of spanning trees of Qn2.

Catheter ablation has become the standard of care for the management of antiarrhythmic drug-refractory atrial fibrillation (AF) in many patients. The cornerstone of AF ablation includes pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) and energy delivery can sometimes extend beyond the atrial myocardium and result in collateral damage to adjacent structures, include the esophagus.[1] While atrial esophageal fistula (AEF) is a generally a rare complication, there have been continued efforts aimed to reduce esophageal thermal injury during AF ablation. While emerging energy sources such as irreversible electroporation show exciting promise for selective, non-thermal targeting of myocardial tissue, safety and efficacy clinical trial evaluation is on-going.[2] Therefore, strategies that can prevent esophageal thermal injury without adversely impacting lesion formation using conventional ablation technologies are still needed.

Backgrounds: Heterogeneous clinical features of antibody deficiency (AD) may cause diagnostic delays. Calculated globulin (CG) (total protein minus albumin) has been proposed as a screening test to prevent morbidity due to diagnostic delays in AD. Our aim is to validate CG as a screening test in AD in Turkish adult patients by comparing its role with gamma globulin analysis in protein electrophoresis. Methods: Fifty serum samples were randomly collected for each level of CG from 1.5 to 2.5 mg/dl and tested for serum IgG, IgA, IgM levels and protein electrophoresis. Cut-off values predicting low IgG levels were calculated for electrophoretically determined gamma globulin and CG. Additionally, the data of 47 patients followed up in our clinic with a diagnosis of primary antibody deficiency (PAD) were retrospectively analyzed. Results: A total of 550 adult patients were included in the study. The CG value predicting patients with IgG <600 mg/dl as a screening test was determined as <2.0 with 83.8% sensitivity and 74.9% specificity. The gamma globulin value which predicted patients with the same IgG value of 89.0% sensitivity and 89.4% specificity was determined as <0.7. In the retrospective analysis, 37 of 47 patients (78.7%) with PAD had a CG value of <2.0 at the time of the diagnosis and all 13 patients (%100) whose gamma globulin values were measured at the time of the diagnosis had a gamma globulin value of <0.7. Conclusion: The determined CG cut-off value of <2.0 can be used as a screening test in Turkish adult patients.

Considering about slow drift and complicated relationships among process variables caused by corrosion, fatigue, and so on in complex chemical engineering processes, an Industrial Process Optimization ViT (IPO-ViT) method was proposed to explore the global receptive field provided by self-attention mechanism of Vision Transformer (ViT) on fault detection and diagnosis (FDD). The applications on data sampled from both a real industrial process and the Tennessee Eastman (TE) process showed superior performance of the global attention-based method (IPO-ViT) over other typical local receptive fields deep learning methods without increasing sample and computation requirements. Moreover, results on six different variants in combing local, shallow filtering and global receptive field mechanisms unravel that the local attention explosion, the information alignment, and the expression capability are three major challenges for further improvement on industrial applications of complex deep learning network structures.

Industries and manufacturing companies around the world are successfully implementing lean principles into their processes. Today, lean has become an indispensable part of global players. Recently, lean manufacturing has overtaken the automotive industry and has conquered almost all relevant sectors around the world. Insurance companies, hospitals, and even government organizations are continually improving their processes using lean manufacturing principles. In the recent world, safety and standardization are very important parameters to increase the production of the product in any industry, regardless of its size. After globalization and liberalization, quality has emerged as the most critical and crucial area of concern, along with the productivity of production organizations. With the reduction of various barriers and the pressure of competition in this difficult global market, operational efficiency has become a necessity for organizations.

Industries and manufacturing companies around the world are successfully implementing lean principles into their processes. Today, lean has become an indispensable part of global players. Recently, lean manufacturing has overtaken the automotive industry and has conquered almost all relevant sectors around the world. Insurance companies, hospitals, and even government organizations are continually improving their processes using lean manufacturing principles. In the recent world, safety and standardization are very important parameters to increase the production of the product in any industry, regardless of its size. After globalization and liberalization, quality has emerged as the most critical and crucial area of concern, along with the productivity of production organizations. With the reduction of various barriers and the pressure of competition in this difficult global market, operational efficiency has become a necessity for organizations.

In a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) system, the flow of the air and hydrogen is the main factor affecting the output characteristics of the PEMFC, and there is a coordination problem in the flow control of both. To ensure the real-time gas supply in the fuel cell and improve the output power and economic benefits of the system, a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) controller based on fusion optimization with deterministic policy gradient and a control optimization strategy based on net power optimization are proposed in this paper. The experimental results show that the control algorithm proposed in this paper can effectively improve the dynamic performance and steady-state performance of the system, which is embodied in the average 12.5% increase in the dynamic performance compared with the fuzzy PID control and average 99.54% increase in the steady-state performance compared with the traditional DRL control.

Objective: SARS-COV-2 pandemic had a profound impact on acute bronchiolitis epidemiology, especially in RSV diffusion and the burden of disease with implications on the management of prophylaxis and health resources. We aimed to compare clinical and epidemiological characteristics of bronchiolitis before and during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.   Methods: We conducted an observational study involving children aged 0-2 years with bronchiolitis admitted to a tertiary children’s hospital during the last 5 years. Demographic, clinical, microbiological, and outcome data were collected. Comparison between pre- and post-pandemic period, RSV positive versus non-RSV patients, and SARS-CoV-2 positive vs negative patients were carried out.    Results: A total of 647 patients admitted for bronchiolitis were included (264 female,40.8%, median age 78 days). Molecular diagnostic tests were performed in 617 patients (95.4%) with RSV detected in 62.5% of patients. SARS-CoV-2 was found in 3.9% of hospitalized bronchiolitis (3.9%). We observed a progressive increase in bronchiolitis admissions and a statistically significant increase over the years in the need for respiratory support. Conversely, this was not true for mechanical ventilation, duration of respiratory support, ICU admission, and length of stay. During the pandemic period children with prematurity increased, although only 1 child had an indication for prophylaxis. Discussion: We confirm the stronger impact of bronchiolitis in the 2021-22 season, which is likely explained by the higher prevalence of RSV and the immunity debt theory. However, our findings were conflicting in terms of worsening clinical severity. The increase of children with prematurity and the inter-seasonal spread of RSV highlight the importance of epidemiological surveillance systems that monitor RSV circulation.

Background: Pneumocystis pneumonia (PCP), caused by P. jirovecii, is one of the opportunistic fungal infections that can cause life-threatening pneumonia in children with underlying diseases. Due to the similarity of the symptoms of PCP with other lung infections, such as tuberculosis, differential and accurate diagnosis is necessary. The current study investigated the molecular diagnosis of P. jirovecii, predisposing factors, and the outcomes, among pediatric inpatients in Northeastern Iran. Method: In this study, 180 bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) specimens were obtained from hospitalized children with respiratory disorders. The specimens were examined using Giemsa stain, and the genomic DNA was extracted according to the protocol of the AmpliSens® kit. Real-time polymerase chain reaction technique was used to detect P. jirovecii by the AmpliSens Pneumocystis jirovecii ( carinii)-FRT PCR kit. Results: Among the patients studied, 34 (18.9%) were positive, and 8 (4.4%) were suspicious for the presence of P. jirovecii. Among the 34 positive cases, 12 (35%) were related to before, and 22 (65%) were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 2 cases (5.88%) of the positive cases detected by Real-time PCR method were observed using Giemsa staining. Also, no correlation was observed between positive cases of infection and the sex, the outcomes, and underlying diseases. Conclusion: The results showed that PCP has a relatively high prevalence among pediatric inpatients with respiratory disorders. Neutropenia is a significant predisposing factor in these patients. However, there is no correlation between PCP cases and the outcomes and underlying diseases. Most of patients with PCP were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Asthma deaths were rare in children but attention should be paid to those with a severe exacerbation (requiring systemic steroids, an ED visit or hospitalization) in the past year, more than three beta-agonist refills in a year and poor adherence to controller medication.

The suitability of phenyl–based deep eutectic solvents (DESs) as absorbents for toluene absorption was investigated by means of thermodynamic modeling and molecular dynamics (MD). The thermodynamic models PC–SAFT and COSMO–RS were used to predict the vapor–liquid equilibrium (VLE) of DES–toluene systems. PC–SAFT yielded quantitative results even without using any binary fitting parameters. Among the DESs consisting of three different HBAs and three different HBDs (phenol, levulinic acid, ethylene glycol), [TEBAC][PhOH] was considered as the most suitable absorbent. Systems with [TEBAC][PhOH] had lowest equilibrium pressures of the considered DES–toluene mixtures, the best thermodynamic characteristics (i.e., Henry’s law constant, excess enthalpy, free energy of solvation of toluene), and the highest self–diffusion coefficient of toluene. The molecular–level mechanism was explored by MD simulations, indicating that [TEBAC][PhOH] has the strongest interaction of HBA–/HBD–toluene compared to the other DESs under study. This work provides guidance to rationally design novel DESs for efficient aromatic VOCs absorption.

This work presents the study on solid-liquid mass transfer performance of suspension in a rotating packed bed (RPB). The calculation model of solid-liquid mass transfer coefficient (ks) is deduced on the basis of the mass conversation law. The ks in RPB is measured using the suspension of cation exchange resin particle reaction with NaOH. The effects of different operating parameters such as pre-dispersion time (t), rotating speed (N), mesh packing thickness (w), liquid volume flow rate (LT), and solid loading (e) are investigated. The results show that the ks increases with the increase of N and w, and increases first and then tends to remain constant with the increase of t and LT. However, the e has no influence on ks. The obtained ks ranges from 1.00×10-5 m/s to 2.60×10-4 m/s which is higher than that in microreactor (MR) under the similar experimental conditions.

We introduce \(\oplus\)calculus and \(\otimes\)calculus for intuitionistic fuzzy values and prove some basic theorems by using multiplicative calculus which has useful tools to represent the concepts of introduced calculi. Besides, we construct some isomorphic mappings to interpret the relationships between \(\oplus\)calculus and \(\otimes\)calculus. This paper reveals also new calculi for fuzzy sets in particular.

Introduction: Understanding ” what is most important” to medical-students can help improve residence learning and working conditions. Such information is needed to facilitate policy planning that will encourage the next generation of physicians to specialize in medical-fields that are experiencing shortages. The hypothesis was, there are significant changes in medical students’ preferences, regarding the considerations for choosing a medical specialty in 2020 as compared to students a decade earlier. Methods: A time comparison cross-sectional study of 5 th-year medical students from two universities took place in 2010 and 2020. A questionnaire was used to examine various aspects of the specialty selection process. Results : 335 medical-students answered the survey (237 and 98 in 2010 and 2020, respectively). Medical students in 2020 in comparison to 2010, were 2.26 time less likely to choose a residency because of its potential for a high income (P<0.05), had significantly more interest in residencies with greater teaching (98.8% vs 82.9%, P<0.05) and increased responsibility/chance to make clinical decisions on their own (67.9% vs 51.6%, P<0.05). There were criteria which were important to both the 2010 and 2020 students, such as, choosing a bedside specialty (70.2%vs 67.9%, NS), an interesting and challenging residency (95.2%v s 91.3%, NS) and interest in a specialty that involved working in the operating room (29.8% vs 32.6%, NS). Conclusions: These results reinforce the idea of avoiding stereotypes based on the generational cohort and the importance of exploring the needs and motivations of medical students. Notably, we found that the 2020 medical-students were more interested than their predecessors in residencies with much resident teaching and more responsibility/making clinical decisions on their own. In addition, we found that selection criteria such as, importance of choosing a specialty that one finds interesting and challenging, are universal over time.

AbstractTens of millions of images from biological collections have become available online in the last two decades. In parallel, there has been a dramatic increase in the capabilities of image analysis technologies, especially those involving machine learning and computer vision. Whilst image analysis has become mainstream in consumer applications, it is still only used on an artisanal basis in the biological collections community, largely because the image corpora are dispersed. Yet, there is massive untapped potential for novel applications and research if the images of collection objects could be made accessible as a single corpus. In this paper, we make the case for building infrastructure that could support image analysis of collection objects. We show that such an infrastructure is entirely feasible and well worth the investment.IntroductionOwing to their central role in cataloguing the world’s biodiversity, global biological collections likely hold samples of most known macro-biodiversity. As such, they are an irreplaceable asset for research of all kinds, including ecology, conservation, natural history and epidemiology  \cite{Bradley_2014,Cook_2014,Davis_2019,Antonelli_2020}. They are also seen as an important and underused resource to address numerous questions in the context of biodiversity under global change \cite{Soltis_2017,Meineke_2018,Hussein_2022}. Thus ensuring access to, and integrating data from these collections is globally important for the future. Conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity are fundamental to the 2030 Agenda of the \cite{secretariat_of_the_convention_on_biological_diversity_biodiversity_2016} and achieving its sustainable development goals is only realistic with the collections that underpin accurate naming and knowledge of biodiversity.To keep pace with the demand for access to collections, digital imaging of biological collections has progressed at pace (Fig. 1). As of September 2022, the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) has more than 49 million preserved or fossil specimens with an image. For just the nearly 400 million specimens of plants held in collections globally \cite{thiers_worlds_2020}, there are almost 38 million (9%) occurrences with images on GBIF. This number is expected to grow substantially. For example, the digitisation of the Kew herbarium, which holds over 7 million specimens will add to already major digitization programs in Australia, China, Europe and the United States among others \cite{willis_science_2018,Nelson_2018,Borsch_2020,chinese_virtual_herbarium_299000_2021}.\ref{240550}\ref{205447}

Although additive manufacturing is widely used in all industries, its applications are limited due to poor mechanical properties. Current research focuses on improving the strength of 3D printed composites by changing control parameters (raster angle, layer thickness, and shell count), and developing the new composite and sandwich composite through the Fusion Deposition Modelling (FDM) printing process. The parameters influencing the tensile strength of the printed part, such as raster angle, layer thickness, and the number of shells, are considered at three levels and discussed in the research. According to the investigation’s findings, the tensile strength can be significantly (up to 12.7%) increased by adjusting the control parameters (in order of the number of shells, layer thickness, and fill orientation) and significantly improved by using the sandwich construction. When printing with different controllable parameters, it has been discovered that the fewer the outer shells give, the greater the tensile strength. Fractography analysis was performed to identify the fracture type, and scanning electron microscopic analysis was performed to identify the layer’s inner failure analysis. Finally, it was discovered that there was a close relationship between the number of outer shells and the thickness of the layers. The excellent tensile strength improvement in PLA-composite sandwiches was also discovered. Overall, the PLA/Ceramic sandwich 3D printed parts showed the maximum tensile strength over the PLA, composites, and other sandwiches and tested for 3D printed hangers.

The replacement of loading zone is not considered in active calculation method on fatigue life of remanufactured bearings. In practical application, when the radial bearings are reinstalled after remanufacturing, it is required to replace the loading zone, which results in a large deviation between the calculated fatigue life according to active calculation method and the actual life. In this paper, the fatigue life factors of radial bearings with different remanufacturing levels are calculated according to the actual application condition. The results of case studies show that the life factors by the method presented in this paper of remanufactured radial bearings with replaced loading zone are significantly higher than that of t active calculation method. The research results of this paper provides a more accurate calculation scheme for the fatigue life of remanufactured radial rolling bearings, which is a supplement to the active calculation method, and has important practical significance for the practice of bearing remanufacturing engineering.

Mangrove plants are cyclically exposed to variations in salinity. However, high salinity for long periods can significantly alter their metabolism. Here, we studied the effect of contrasting interstitial salinities (45 ppt vs. 70 ppt) on leaf morpho-physiological traits in adult Avicennia germinans L. trees in the dry and rainy seasons in Tampamachoco lagoon, Mexico. In the dry season, there was low stomatal conductance and low water potential. Plants under 70 ppt of salinity had significantly lower leaf Ca and Mg concentrations than those at 45 ppt. The metabolomics results revealed that plants produced different organic compounds based on the salinity they were exposed to. The specific leaf area was significantly lower under 70 ppt of salinity (12.94 ± 0.87 g cm -2) compared to 45 ppt (19.57 ± 1.52 g cm -2) may as a result of the leaf stomatal conductance responses. Salt glands and trichome density were significantly higher in the leaves of trees found at the more saline site. Although mangroves are exposed to freshwater availability, saline, and tidal variation, prolonged exposure to high salinity results in morphophysiological and biochemical changes in leaves which facilitates their survival, even under extremely salt conditions.

Background and purpose: Pregnancy-associated vascular remodeling is essential for both maternal and fetal health. We have previously shown that maternal endothelial cell tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4) deficiency causes poor pregnancy outcomes. Here, we investigated the role and mechanisms of endothelial cell-mediated vasorelaxation function in these outcomes. Experimental approach: The vascular reactivity of mouse aortas and uterine arteries from non-pregnant and pregnant endothelial cell-specific BH4 deficient mice (Gch1fl/flTie2cre mice) was assessed by wire myography. Systolic blood pressure was assessed by tail cuff plethysmography. Key results: Key results: In late pregnancy, systolic blood pressure was significantly higher (~24 mmHg) in Gch1fl/flTie2cre mice compared with wild-type littermates. This was accompanied by enhanced vasoconstriction and reduced endothelial-dependent vasodilation in both aorta and uterine arteries from pregnant Gch1fl/flTie2cre mice. In uterine arteries loss of eNOS-derived vasodilators was partially compensated by upregulation of intermediate and large-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels. In rescue experiments, oral BH4 supplementation alone did not rescue vascular dysfunction and pregnancy-induced hypertension in pregnant Gch1fl/flTie2cre mice. However, combination with the fully reduced folate, 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), restored endothelial cell vasodilator function and blood pressure. Conclusions and implications: We identify a critical requirement for maternal endothelial cell BH4 biosynthesis in endothelial cell vasodilator function in pregnancy. Targeting vascular Gch1 and BH4 biosynthesis with reduced folates may provide a novel therapeutic target for the prevention and treatment of pregnancy-related hypertension.

Given the current aging population, the demand on medical facilities, facilities for elderly care, and even their high prevalence, it is crucial to investigate the advantages of older people. The amount of scholarly literature examining natural factor-related activities to enhance older people’s health status has steadily risen over the last few decades. But the scope of the present review is limited. We compiled the results of 33 peer-reviewed publications and conducted a meta-analysis using a total of 27 relevant variables to assess the advantages of horticultural therapy (HT) for, among other things, the physical and psychological functioning of the elderly. Results show that horticultural therapy may be helpful in helping seniors lose weight -0.195 (95% CI -0.507,0.117), reduce their waist circumference -0.327 (95% CI -0.637, -0.017), improve their physical flexibility (chair sit-and-reach) 0.302 (95% CI 0.036, 0.569), lower their stress -0.339 (95% CI -0.610, -0.069) and cortisol -0.902 (95% CI -0.728, -0.002) levels, improve social interaction 0.370, (95% CI 0.115, 0.624), increase daily vegetables and fruit consumption 0.688 (95% CI: 0.287, 1.089). HT may be a useful tool for enhancing the physical, mental and social aspects of older adults.

With a wide variety of associated diseases, proper diagnosis and treatment of annular rashes can prove clinically challenging. It is essential to remain vigilant of atypical presentations of disease and to complete a comprehensive history, physical, and workup to ensure optimal patient care.

Amidst discourse surrounding the racing industry’s social license to operate, the welfare of racehorses and jockeys is often at the forefront of discussions. Specifically, catastrophic events and the sudden death (SD) of horses on race days tend to capture media attention and often place the racing industry under public scrutiny. While such occurrences are not frequent, they have negative ramifications on the welfare of both racehorses and jockeys. The development of advanced diagnostic technology is therefore paramount to bettering the safety and welfare of horses and jockeys, as well as maintaining the integrity of the racing industry. Most importantly, the application of such technology could reduce the prevalence of avoidable injuries and SD. This review discusses the relevance of monitoring horses’ cardiovascular, respiratory, and thermometry biometrics and examines the currently available commercial devices capable of doing so. The review also explores the relevance and application of such devices within the racing industry and suggests how they may fit in with currently-available tools for monitoring the musculoskeletal health of racehorses.

Here we discuss a diabetic 54 years old female presented with malignant otitis externa and bilateral facial paresis followed by cervical spondylitis and C1-C2 instability. Skull base osteomyelitis confirmed by clinical presentation, imaging, and lab data. Fortunately, she responded well to anti-bacterial and antifungal therapy.

Full-color 3D printing technology has become more and more popular for industrial manufacturing applications. The voxelization of color 3D models and the expression of appearance colors become more and more important. To illustrate the complex appearance and internal characteristics of 3D models, we present a voxelization algorithm of the color 3D models for color 3D printing in this paper. Specifically, we use the 3D model of 3MF with color appearance features for surface voxelization first. Then, we propose an improved scan line filling algorithm to realize the voxelization of the interior of the model and obtain the color voxel model. Finally, to improve the high quality of color printing, we propose a surface color inward diffusion algorithm, which can make the surface color of the voxel model diffuse inward and further express the surface color of the voxel model. The experimental results show our proposed method can obtain an effective color voxel model and accurately. express the color of the voxel model surface, which can enhance the color effect of the color model and realize the control of voxels.