The long memory effects of a system can be regarded as fractional. This paper deals with a newly constructed system of equation for Hepatitis B disease of fractional control problems in sense of Caputo fractional order derivative. The model considers four different health classes of populations, susceptible, acute infections, chronic infections and recovered, as well as a control by applying a strategy of isolation, treatment and vaccination. Initially, the equilibrium points and stability of the system are studied and sensitivity analysis complemented by simulation is performed to determine how changes in parameters affects the dynamical behavior of the system. For singular kernel of fractional derivative, the necessary conditions for optimality of Hepatitis B system are derived. An effective numerical simulation depended on trapezoidal approximation is to verify the control effect in terms of the transient response compared to the different fractional- and integer-order derivatives, and additional graphical solutions are presented for ease of understanding. This study may provide a strong theoretical basis for uncovering the importance of the long memory effects in the control of hepatitis B.

A new class of materials was identified as Cu20Nb monolayer clusters, which hosts strong correlation electrons. Direct observation show maps of electron wave function patterns, where the symmetry, brightness and size of features was directly related to the position of a Nb atom in Cu lattice, around which the electron was bound. Using the Fourier transform (FT) of the fractal dimension of the AFM images, these clusters present quasi-particle interference (QPI), which reveals a unique picture of electron waves and the trapping of further electrons in the lattice. Furthermore, density functional theory (DFT) calculations validated electronic features of the clusters with remarkable accuracy. DFT calculations also revealed differences between the lowest unoccupied energy (LUMO) and the highest occupied energy (HOMO), and these phase gaps evolved in the ground state. These phenomena provide evidence that electron correlation stimulates electronic bands to pseudo-gap states. Indeed, our experiments pave the way for realizing unconventional superconductivity in zero-dimension materials.

Objective: To identify predictors of fertility awareness-based method use. Design: Ongoing, prospective internet-based cohort study. Setting: Nurses living in the United States and Canada. Population: Women trying to become pregnant or contemplating pregnancy. Methods: Multivariable negative binomial regression. Main Outcome Measures: Fertility awareness-based methods. Results: Among the 23,418 women with pregnancy intention, 955 were trying to conceive and 2,282 were contemplating pregnancy. The ongoing duration of pregnancy attempt and gravidity were associated with the number of fertility awareness-based methods used among women actively trying to conceive. Compared to women who had been trying for two months or less, the number of methods was 29% (95% CI, 1.11—1.51), 45% (95% CI, 1.27—1.66) and 38% (95% CI, 1.21—1.58) higher for women who had been trying for 3-5 months, 6-12 months, or more than 1 year, respectively. Compared to nulligravid women, the number of fertility-awareness based methods was 17% (95% CI, 0.70—0.98) lower for women with a history of two or more pregnancies. Among women contemplating pregnancy, those who were married or in a domestic partnership used on average 39% (95% CI, 1.23—1.57) more fertility awareness-based methods than unpartnered women. Conclusion(s): Duration of ongoing pregnancy attempt and gravidity were the only significant predictors for number of fertility awareness-based method use among women trying to conceive, whereas partnership was the only significant predictor among women contemplating pregnancy.Funding: Supported by grants R24ES028521 and U01HL145386 from the National Institutes of Health. Keywords: pre-conception, pregnancy planning, fertility awareness-based methods.

Objective: To investigate whether the extent of peritoneal disease may predict the survival benefit from IP/IV therapy. Design: A TFS analysis. Setting: Censored on August 27, 2020, the extended follow-up of AICE (Additional Intraperitoneal Cisplatin and Etoposide in ovarian cancer) trial. Population: Patients were categorized into the high tumor burden (HTB) and low tumor burden (LTB) subgroups. Methods: Overall survival (OS) was partitioned into time on protocol treatment exposure (T), time to subsequent treatment initiation or death (TFS), and time after first subsequent therapy or death (REL). TFS analyses and quality-adjusted OS were calculated by multiplying mean time in each health state by its assigned utility (Quality-adjusted OS =ut *T+TFS+urel *REL). Main Outcome Measures: The area under each Kaplan-Meier curve was estimated by the 96-month restricted mean time, with the threshold utility analyses illustrating the quality-adjusted OS comparisons. Results: In the HTB subgroup, restricted mean TFS was 33.9 months and 18.7 months in the IP/IV and IV groups, respectively (difference, 15.2 months; 95%CI, 4.6 to 25.7; P = .005), with a significant quality-adjusted OS gain (ranging from 13.2 to 16.0 months). In the LTB subgroup, there was no survival benefit from IP/IV therapy in either TFS (difference, 7.1 months; 95%CI, -5.5 to 19.8; P = .268) or quality-adjusted OS (ranging from 1.4 to 6.3 months). Conclusions: IP/IV therapy provided significantly longer TFS and quality-adjusted OS across all values of utility weights than standard IV therapy in the HTB subgroup, while patients did not benefit from it in the LTB subgroup.

Natural enemies are critical drivers of species biogeography. Local adaptation of victim populations in edge habitats is particularly likely to be limited by enemies. We experimentally tested this hypothesis using a model microbial system, bacterium Pseudomonas fluorescens (victim) and a lytic bacteriophage (enemy). When evolving alone, bacterial populations in a low temperature environment (10°C) showed obvious abiotic adaptation in terms of increased growth performance; and immigration of bacteria from an optimal environment (28°C) reduced such evolutionary adaptation. However, when phages were present, no significant abiotic adaptation was observed. Crucially, phage immigrants from source populations even caused maladaptation (decreased growth performance relative to the ancestral genotype), and bacterial adaptation was less affected when both bacteria and phages had joint migration. Our results demonstrate intraspecific apparent competition mediated by enemies with which prosperity in core habitats can exacerbate hardship in edge habitats.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is the most common form of brain cancer. Even with aggressive treatment, tumor recurrence is almost universal and patient prognosis is poor because many GBM cell subpopulations, especially the mesenchymal and glioma stem cell populations, are resistant to temozolomide (TMZ) the most commonly used chemotherapeutic in GBM. For this reason, there is an urgent need for the development of new therapies that can more effectively treat GBM. Several recent studies have indicated that high expression of connexin 43 (Cx43) in GBM is associated with poor patient outcomes. It has been hypothesized that inhibition of the Cx43 hemichannels could prevent TMZ efflux and sensitize otherwise resistance cells to the treatment. In this study, we use a 3-dimensional organoid model of GBM to demonstrate that combinatorial treatment with TMZ and αCT1, a Cx43 mimetic peptide, significantly improves treatment efficacy in certain populations of GBM. Confocal imaging was used to analyze changes in Cx43 expression in response to combinatorial treatment. These results indicate that Cx43 inhibition should be pursued further as an improved treatment for GBM.

Tropical forest succession and associated changes in community composition are driven by species' demographic rates, but how demographic strategies shift during succession remains unclear. To identify generalities in demographic trade-offs and successional shifts in demographic strategies, we quantified demographic rates of 787 tree species from two wet and two dry Neotropical forests. Across all forests, we found two demographic trade-offs -- the growth--survival and the stature--recruitment trade-off -- enabling the data-driven assignment of species to five demographic strategies. Fast species dominated early in succession and were then replaced by long-lived pioneers in three forests. Intermediate and slow species increased in basal area over succession but in contrast to the current conceptual model, long-lived pioneers continued to dominate until the old-growth stage in all forests. The basal area of short-lived breeders was low across all successional stages. These results increase the mechanistic understanding and predictability of Neotropical forest succession.

The context and cause of adaptive radiations has been widely described and explored but why rapid evolutionary diversification does not occur in related evolutionary lineages has yet to be understood. One possible answer to this is simply that evolutionary diversification is provoked by environmental diversity, and that some lineages do not encounter the necessary environmental diversity. Three-spined stickleback on the Scottish island of North Uist show enormous diversification, which seems to be associated with the diversity of aquatic habitats. Stickleback on the neighbouring island of South Uist have not been reported to show the same level of evolutionary diversity, despite levels of environmental variation that we might expect to be similar to North Uist. In this study, we compared patterns of morphological and environmental diversity on North and South Uist. Ancestral anadromous stickleback from both islands exhibited similar morphology including size and bony ‘armour’. Resident stickleback showed significant variation in armour traits in relation to pH of water. However, North Uist stickleback exhibited greater diversity of morphological traits than South Uist and this was associated with greater diversity in pH of the waters of lochs on North Uist. Highly acidic and highly alkaline freshwater habitats are missing, or uncommon, on South Uist. Thus, pH appears to act as a causal factor driving the evolutionary diversification of stickleback in local adaptation in North and South Uist. This is consistent with diversification being more associated with ecological constraint than ecological opportunity.

A document by Taylor Bogar. Click on the document to view its contents.

Background: Studies report associations between maternal mental health and adverse respiratory outcomes in children; however, the impact of timing and duration of maternal distress remains understudied. We sought to longitudinally examine associations between maternal depression and childhood asthma and wheeze, and explore sex differences. Methods: Maternal depression (n=605) were assessed using the Edinburgh Depression Scale questionnaire, dichotomized at a clinically relevant cutoff (>12) a) during pregnancy, b) postpartum, and c) postpartum and subsequent time points postnatally (recurrent depression). Report of wheeze in the past 12 months (current wheeze) and asthma were obtained using a validated survey at 48 and 72 months. Associations were analyzed using a modified Poisson regression adjusted for covariates, and in interaction models. Results: Both postpartum and recurrent depression were associated with higher risk of current wheeze (RR: 1.88, 95% CI: 1.21, 2.92; RR: 2.39, 95% CI: 1.52, 3.78) and asthma at 48 months (RR: 2.79, 95% CI: 1.13, 6.87; RR: 3.14, 95% CI: 1.26, 7.84). In interaction analyses, associations were stronger in females. Postpartum and recurrent depression were associated with higher risk of current wheeze at 48 months in females (RR: 3.06, 95% CI: 1.48, 6.32; RR: 4.02, 95% CI: 1.91, 8.46) when compared to males RR: 1.47, 95% CI: 0.84, 2.56; RR: 1.86, 95% CI: 1.04, 3.34). Conclusions: Postpartum and recurrent depression were associated with higher risk of wheeze and asthma in children, and associations were stronger in females than males. Understanding the temporal- and sex-specific effects of maternal depression may better inform prevention strategies.

Carbon (C) storage allows a plant to support growth whenever there is a temporal asynchrony between supply (source strength) and demand of carbon (sink strength). This asynchrony is strongly influenced by changes in light and temperature.Traditionally, C storage is considered as a passive process that occurs whenever there is an excess of C from photosynthesis compared with the demand of C for metabolism. However, the role of C storage may vary from being a passive overflow to being an active process as a strategy of the plant to buffer climate fluctuations and support long-term growth. Despite numerous experiments that have advanced our knowledge in the role of C storage in plants, the exact mechanisms and the consequences at whole-plant level are still limited. We propose that an active C pool needs to be included in simulation models for a better understanding of plant growth patterns under fluctuating environment. The insights gained here are important to optimize crop performance under fluctuating conditions and thus for developing more resource-efficient crop production systems.

In the current research, we present the meshless Fragile Points Method for the two-dimensional linear and nonlinear wave equations on irregular and complex domains. In addition, problems with domains that have cracks, fractures, or any other type of discontinuity have been studied. This method uses a simple Galerkin with the domain divided into subdomains by a Voronoi diagram. Based on selected points in the domain, the method of generalized finite difference is applied for deriving the test and trial functions. These functions are simple, local, and discontinuous polynomials. Discontinuity of test and trial functions may cause FPM method inconsistency. In this study, we apply numerical flux corrections to avoid incompatibilities. Time derivatives of the wave equation are eliminated using finite difference schemes and the theorems of stability and convergence of this semi-discrete scheme are presented. FPM is very suitable for solving equations that have complex, irregular that have fractures, cracks, and rupture domains. Numerical examples of solving a two-dimensional wave equation on domains with complex geometry are presented to illustrate the capabilities of FPM. These examples presented with random and uniform points demonstrate the reliability and robustness of the method at different times. It is also shown how the number of points selected from the domain correlates with the accuracy of the calculations. Also, according to the number of points used, the final time, and the time steps, the method has a good computational speed.

We report a case of a severely underweight and flat chest woman with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis who was successfully treated with cadaveric sequential bilateral lung transplantation. By the fourth months after transplantation, we found three-dimensional CT volumetry is a feasible way to evaluate postoperative thoracic cage change.

Background: Covid-19 can have remarkable effects on pregnancy, and pregnant women with this infection are at higher risk for developing ketoacidosis. In this case report, we report a 35-year-old pregnant woman infected with Covid-19 with early manifestations of ketoacidosis during term pregnancy.

The forecast of atmospheric processes is of great importance in planning and management. Meteorological parameters are highly nonlinear phenomena, varying with time and location, and many climatic factors affect their changes. In this paper, a hybrid method consisting of a flexible rough neural network (FRNN) and a genetic algorithm (GA) proposed for forecasting meteorological parameters. Emotional learning process used for learning rough neural network parameters by having memories of previous learning history parameters. The forecasting parameters used in this study are temperature, pressure, relative humidity, wind speed, dew point, and visibility. In FRNN neurons, instead of using an activating function, a combination of three different sigmoid, tangent hyperbolic and linear functions is used to add neuron flexibility. The genetic algorithm has also been used to select the number and type of network input parameters. It expected that the proposed method will work well for a chaotic system of uncertainty. To evaluate the performance of the proposed hybrid method, data from the Tehran Meteorological Database from 2008 to 2012 used. The results of the implementation demonstrate the effective efficiency of FRNN-GA in forecasting meteorological parameters compared to similar methods, and using emotional learning increased the accuracy.

Dynamic digital radiography (DDR) is a motion-detective technique with high temporal resolution. Flexible laryngoscopy is a common modality for observation of the larynx, but it is aerosol generating. DDR is an easy and less risky screening test for diagnosis of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this paper, a deep dynamical analysis is made using tools from multidimensional real discrete dynamics of some derivative-free iterative methods with memory. They all have good qualitative properties, but one of them (due to Traub) shows the same behavior as Newton’s method on quadratic polynomials. Then, the same techniques are employed to analyze the performance of several multipoint schemes with memory, whose first step is Traub’s method, but their construction was made using different procedures. Therefore, their stability is analyzed, showing which is the best in terms of the wideness of basins of convergence or the existence of free critical points that would yield convergence towards different elements from the desired zeros of the nonlinear function. Therefore, the best stability properties are linked with the best estimations made in the iterative expressions rather than their simplicity. These results have been checked with a numerical and graphical comparison with many other known methods with and without memory, with different orders of convergence, with excellent performance.

Cluster analysis is an exploratory analysis that is used to group objects into several clusters, which clusters have different characteristics. Survival analysis with Extended Cox regression is used when there is a time-dependent predictor variable so that the proportional hazard assumption is not met. This study integrates the two methods. The variables used are Collateral, Character, Capacity, Condition, and Capital (5C), Credit Collectability, and Credit Payment Time. The 5C variable has many indicators. The data used is secondary data obtained from a bank. The purpose of this study was to compare the Extended Cox Regression model based on the integration of Cluster analysis on Ward, and Average linkage with Survival analysis using the Extended Cox Regression method. The results showed that the integrated cluster model in Ward Linkage-based Extended Cox regression was the best method with two clusters formed and the smallest mean squared error value of the model, which was 0.265.

The efficacy of a plant-based vaccine produced in maize by expressing F and HN immunogenic proteins under a seed-specific promoter against NDV genotype VII was assessed using cell-mediated responses in chickens. Using real-time PCR, the mRNA expression of F and HN PCR confirmed maize plants was compared to non-transgenic control plants on a relative basis. F and HN genes mRNA expression was found to be 20 and 60 times higher in corn seeds than in leaves, respectively. In maize seeds, 35 ug/ml of F protein, or 0.6 percent of total protein, and 41 ug/ml of HN protein, or 0.85 percent of total protein, were found using ELISA. The boost in cell-mediated immune response was evaluated in chickens fed with transgenic corn seeds in comparison with control groups. The qPCR analysis showed an increase in the expression of Interleukin-1 (IL-1), Interleukin-2 (IL-2), Interleukin-6 (IL-6), Interleukin-8 (IL-8), Interleukin-10 (IL-10), interleukin-15 (IL-15), Interferon-α, Interferon-β, Interferon-γ, and CCL3 when evaluated at 0-day, 7th day, 14th day, 21st day, 28th day and 35th day in chickens receiving transgenic diet as compared to group 1 receiving non-transgenic diet. The increase in cytokines production was comparable with group 3 immunized with conventional market vaccine. Furthermore, anti-NDV antibodies were also found in the serum of chickens given maize containing immunogenic proteins, but not in the serum of chickens fed a normal diet, demonstrating the specificity of the antibodies created through feeding. The data suggest that oral edible vaccinations are more useful in the chicken industry than in injectables.

Letter to Editor

A 60-year-old male presented with sudden onset chest pain and pulmonary oedema. Investigation confirmed torrential aortic regurgitation of a bicuspid valve. At surgery a ruptured chordae tendineae was identified which had been supporting the left-right cusp commissure with loss of attachment to the aortic wall. This case demonstrates that chordae tendineae may be present as a supporting structure of the aortic valve, and rupture can be a rare cause of torrential aortic regurgitation, similar in pathogenesis to how it may be associated with acute severe mitral regurgitation.

Background: Although concomitant pulmonary vein isolation (PVI) is used more frequently than the Cox-maze procedure, which is currently the gold standard treatment for AF, data on the comparative effectiveness of the two procedures after concomitant mitral valve (MV) surgery are still limited. Objective: We conducted a systematic review to identify randomized controlled trials (RCT) and observational studies comparing the mid-term mortality and recurrence of atrial fibrillation (AF) after concomitant Cox-Maze and PVI in patients with AF undergoing MV surgery based on 12-month follow-up. Methods: Medline, EMBASE databases, and the Cochrane Library were searched from 1987 up to March 2022 for studies comparing concomitant Cox-Maze and PVI. A meta-analysis of RCTs was performed to compare the mid-term clinical outcomes between these two surgical ablation techniques. Results: Three RCTs and 3 observational studies meeting the inclusion criteria were included with 790 patients in total (532 concomitant Cox-Maze and 258 PVI during MV surgery). Regarding AF recurrence, estimate pooled across the 3 RCTs indicated large heterogeneity and high uncertainty. In the largest and highest quality RCT, 12-month AF recurrence was higher in the PVI arm (RR=1.58, 95%CI 0.91-2.73). In 2 out of 3 higher quality observational studies, 12-month AF recurrence was higher in PVI than in Cox-Maze arm (estimated adjusted probabilities 11% vs. 8% and 35% vs. 17%, respectively). RCTs demonstrated comparable 12-month mortality between concomitant Cox-Maze and PVI, while observational studies demonstrated survival benefit of Cox-Maze. Conclusions: Concomitant Cox-Maze in AF patients undergoing MV surgery is associated with better mid-term freedom from AF when compared to PVI with comparable mid-term survival. Large observational studies suggest that there might be a mid-term survival benefit among patients after concomitant Cox-Maze. Further large RCTs with longer standardized follow-up are required in order to clarify benefits of concomitant Cox-Maze in AF patients during MV surgery.

In this paper, the solubility and diffusivity of CO2/C2H4 in ionic liquids ([Emmim][Tf2N], [Pmmim][Tf2N], [Bmmim][Tf2N], [Hmmim][Tf2N]) are measured at the temperature range of 303-333 K with a tube-in-tube reactor. The new device can greatly decrease the measurement time to several minutes in the tube-in-tube reactor. The solubility data is determined by the steady-state method with less than 10% deviation compared with previous reports. The diffusivity data is measured by an unsteady-state method within 3 min. The diffusion coefficient of CO2 in ionic liquids can be predicted with Morgan’s diffusivity correlation equation. For the diffusivity of C2H4 in ionic liquids, an empirical formula is developed and the predicted values using this correlation agree well with measured values with less than 17% deviation. The measured solubility and diffusivity data of CO2/C2H4 in ionic liquids and corresponding correlations can help to develop a more efficient process involving CO2/C2H4/ionic liquids system.

The idea that populations are spatially structured has become a very powerful concept in ecology, raising interest in many research areas. However, despite dispersal being a core component of the concept, it typically does not consider the movement behavior underlying any dispersal. Using individual-based simulations in continuous space, we investigate the emergence of a spatially structured population in landscapes with spatially heterogeneous resource distribution and with organisms following simple area-concentrated search (ACS); individuals do not, however, perceive or respond to any habitat attributes per se but only to their foraging success. We investigated effects of different resource clustering pattern in landscapes (single large cluster vs. many small clusters) and different resource density on spatially structure of populations and movement between resource clusters of individuals. As results, we found that foraging success increased with increasing resource density and decreasing number of resource clusters. In a wide parameter space, the system exhibited attributes of a spatially structured populations with individuals concentrated in areas of high resource density, searching within areas of resources, and ‘dispersing’ in straight line between resource patches. ‘Emigration’ was more likely from patches that were small or of low quality (low resource density), but we observed an interaction effect between these two parameters. With the ACS implemented, individuals tended to move deeper into a resource cluster in scenarios with moderate resource density than in scenarios with high resource density. ‘Looping’ from patches was more likely if patches were large and of high quality. Our simulations demonstrate that spatial structure in populations may emerge if critical resources are heterogeneously distributed and if individuals follow simple movement rules (such as ACS). Neither the perception of habitat nor an explicit decision to emigrate from a patch on the side of acting individuals are necessary for the emergence of spatial structure.