A document by H Shafeeq Ahmed. Click on the document to view its contents.

Smart drainage management to limit summer drought damage in Nordic agriculture under the circular economy conceptSyed Md Touhidul Mustafa 1, *, Kedar Ghag1, Anandharuban Panchanathan2, Bishal Dahal 1, Amirhossein Ahrari1, Toni Liedes 3, Hannu Marttila1, Tamara Avellán1, Mourad Oussalah2, Björn Klöve 1, & Ali Torabi Haghighi11Water, Energy and Environmental Engineering Research Unit, University of Oulu, P.O. Box 4300, FIN90014, Oulu, Finland2Center for Machine Vision and Signal Analysis, University of Oulu, Finland3Intelligent Machines and Systems, University of Oulu, PO Box 4200, 90014 Oulu, Finland

Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) has been recognized as a causative agent of porcine circovirus-associated diseases (PCVAD) affecting the global swine industry for more than three decades. The high mutation rate of PCV2 can lead to rapid evolution and emergence of novel PCV2 strains. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity of PCV2 strains circulating in Thailand between 2019-2020. From 734 samples (145 farms), 396 (54.0%) samples obtained from 118 farms were positive for PCV2. Of these, whole-genome sequences of 51 Thai PCV2 strains were analyzed and assigned to PCV2d (86.3%) and PCV2b (13.7%). The complete genomic analysis also revealed an intergenotypic recombinant virus between PCV2b and PCV2d. Our findings and viral sequence dataset provide essential information on the genetic diversity of PCV2, including the evidence of novel intergenotypic recombination of PCV2 in Thailand.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction (FGR; <3rd centile) in women with pre-existing cardiac dysfunction. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: Maternity units in UK and Australia. Population: Pregnant women with impaired left ventricular ejection fraction<55%. Methods: Routine clinical data, including medical history and pregnancy outcome were collected retrospectively. Main Outcome Measures: Pre-specified outcomes included pre-eclampsia and FGR prevalence in women with pre-existing cardiac impairment, compared with the general population; and the relationship between pregnancy outcome and pre-pregnancy cardiac phenotype. Results: In this cohort of 282 pregnancies, pre-eclampsia prevalence was not significantly increased (4.6% [95% C.I 2.2-7.0%] versus population prevalence of 4.6% [95% C.I. 2.7-8.2], p=0.99); 12/13 of these women had additional obstetric/medical risk factors. However, prevalences of preterm pre-eclampsia (<37 weeks) and FGR were increased (1.8% versus 0.7%, p=0.03; 15.2% versus 5.5%, p<0.001, respectively). Neither systolic nor diastolic function correlated with pregnancy outcome; however, left ventricular mass index (LVMi) weakly correlated with pre-eclampsia (5g/m2 increase: OR 1.18 [95% C.I. 1.01-1.38], p=0.04). Antenatal ß blockers (n=116) were associated with lower birthweight Z score (adjusted difference -0.33 [95% C.I. -0.63- -0.02], p=0.04). Conclusions: This study demonstrated a modest increase in preterm pre-eclampsia and significant increase in FGR in women with cardiac dysfunction. These results do not support a causal relationship between cardiac dysfunction and pre-eclampsia, especially accounting for the background risk status of the population. The mechanism underpinning the relationship between cardiac dysfunction and FGR merits further research but could be influenced by concomitant ß blocker use.

Phytoplankton plays a fundamental role in the ecology of ocean systems and is the key player in the global carbon cycle. At a time of global warming, understanding the mechanisms of its adaptation to temperature is therefore of paramount importance. Cosmopolitan planktonic species abundant in different marine environments provide both a unique opportunity and an efficient methodological tool to study the genomic bases of their adaptation. This is the case for the eukaryotic picoalga Bathycoccus prasinos, whose genomic variability we chose to study in temperate and polar oceanic waters. Using multiple metagenomic datasets, we found that ~5% of B. prasinos genomic positions are variable, with an overwhelming majority of biallelic motifs. Cold and temperate waters are clearly associated with changes in variant frequencies, whereas in transitional waters we found more balanced polymorphism at most of these positions. Mesophilic and psychrophilic gene variants are distinguished by only a few amino acid changes located at positions critical for physical and functional protein properties. These results provide new information on the genomic diversity of a cosmopolitan eukaryotic planktonic species and suggest “minimal mutational strategies” related to the properties of specific proteins at different temperatures.

THE PATIENT A 24-year-old male patient, known to have tuberous sclerosis complex, developed renal epithelioid angiomyolipomas with hepatic metastasis. Everolimus treatment failed, this lead to a switch to temsirolimus treatment without more efficiency that appeared later on was due to drug-drug interaction which was dealt with in an effective manner

In this paper, the two dimensional Signorini static contact problem in linear elasticity is presented. We present the weak formulation of frictionless and the frictional contact problems. In the both cases, the boundary integral operators are used to propose a boundary variational formulation whose resolution by the generalized Newton method is presented. Moreover a particular formulation by the fixed point method associated with the augmented Lagrangian is proposed for efficient analysis of contact problems with friction (Tresca and Coulomb) and powerful algorithms are constructed. The discretization is carried over by using the Galerkin method. The resulting linear system is solved by using preconditioned Conjugate Gradient (CG) iterative solver.

Background: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been confirmed to harbor therapeutic potential in bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Nevertheless, the possible influence of peptides secreted from MSCs remains clarified. Herein, this study focused on investigating the potential role of peptide KLF14-P1 (271TKHARRHP278, Named after the precursor protein Krueppel-like factor 14, KLF14) secreted from MSCs in BPD both in vivo and in vitro. Methods: Firstly, the mouse BPD model was constructed, and administrated with KLF14-P1 (10, 50 and 100 μg/g). General basic characteristics were observed. Pathological change of lung tissues was determined by HE analysis. Besides, the number and proportion of cells in broncho alveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were analyzed. The inflammatory factor (IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α and IL-10) expressions in BALF and lung tissues were analyzed through ELISA, QRT-PCR and western blot. Moreover, MLE-12 cells stimulated with H2O2 (1 mM) was adopted construct in vitro BPD model. CCK-8, qRT-PCR, western blot and ELISA were carried out to evaluate the effects of KLF14-P1 (10, 50 and 100 μM) on H2O2-treated MLE-12 cell proliferation and inflammatory responses. The role of KLF14-P1 in the oxidative stress was evaluated by analysis. Results: In vivo, KLF14-P1 improved BPD mice accompanied with decreasing inflammatory infiltration and reducing lung dry / wet weight ratio. Moreover, in vitro, CCK-8 revealed that KLF14-P1 improved the viability MLE-12 cells treated with H2O2. In addition, KLF14-P1 notably inhibited the apoptosis of H2O2-treated MLE-12 cells. Besides, KLF14-P1 obviously ameliorated inflammatory responses of H2O2-treated MLE-12 cells. Conclusion: KLF14-P1 exhibited potential therapeutic properties against BPD.

Biodiversity loss and its effects on humanity is of major global concern. While a growing body of literature confirms positive relationships between biodiversity and multiple ecological functions, the links between biodiversity, ecological functions and multiple ecosystem services is yet unclear. Studies of biodiversity-functionality relationships are mainly based on computer simulations or controlled field experiments using only few species. Here, we use a trait-based approach to integrate plant functions into an ecosystem service assessment to analyze impacts of restoration on species-rich grasslands over time. We show that the existence of trade-offs among services at the individual species level could be mitigated at community level by high species diversity and more evenly distributed species. Restoring and managing ecosystems to enhance biodiversity is therefore essential to secure higher functional redundancy towards disturbances and a more sustainable provision of multiple ecosystem services over time.

Trisomy 18 , is a genetic disorder characterized by fetal death shortly after birth. However, with advances in medical care and careful family nursing, the survival rate for Edwards syndrome is improving.This paper reports the anaesthetic management of a boy with trisomy 18 undergoing closure of patent ductus arteriosus

The Islamic Republic of Iran is one of few countries that still has an active obligatory military service for 24 months. As far as we know, this is the first study that reviewing Iran obligatory military service, its health and life hazards for soldiers and compare it with slavery. According to “National Law for Military Service in the Islamic Republic of Iran” , all male citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran are obliged to perform military service during war and peace for 24 months. for this purpose and make sure male will join the service, limitation established that deprecate nearly all the citizenship rights if the males refuse to join the army. However, the harmful effects of the current form of military service during the service that put the health of soldiers in high danger can continue after the service, is the other side of this service. in addition, it has a close pattern with slavery in the 18th century that required a significant revise based on a voluntary method that could significantly improve both the morale of soldiers and the socio-economical state of the country.Keywords: soldiery, depression, health, human right, slave

A kinetic energy functional Ee was developed within the framework of the density-functional theory (DFT) based on the energy electron density for the purpose of realizing the orbital-free DFT. The functional includes the nonlocal term described with the linear-response function (LRF) of a reference system. As a notable feature of the present approach, the LRF is represented on the energy coordinate ε defined for each system of interest. In addition, an atomic system is taken as a reference system for the construction of the LRF, which shows a clear difference from the conventional approach based on the homogeneous electron gas. The explicit form of the functional Ee was formulated by means of the coupling-parameter integration scheme. The functional Ee was applied to the calculations of the kinetic energies of the pseudo atoms that mimics H, He, Ne, and Ar. Explicitly, the kinetic energy of each atom was computed using the functional Ee with respect to the variation of the valence charge Zv of each atom. In these calculations, the electron density n optimized by the Kohn-Sham DFT was adopted as an argument of the functional. It was found that the results are in excellent agreements with those given by the Kohn-Sham DFT. We also devised a method to perform the self-consistent field calculation utilizing the functional Ee The method was applied to the computation of the radial distribution functions of the electrons in the pseudo Ne and Ar atoms. It was demonstrated that the results reasonably agree with those yielded by the Kohn-Sham DFT.

Polynomial graph invariants have been confirmed to have important applications in quantum chemistry and biological information. One of the famous polynomial graph invariants is the Tutte polynomial which gives multifarious interesting information about the graph structure. In this paper, we first give a simpler and more efficient method to get the Tutte polynomials of alternating polycyclic chains. Then we obtain the explicit expressions for the Tutte polynomials and the number of spanning trees of phenylene systems with given number of branching hexagons. Moreover, we determine the extremal values of the number of spanning trees among the phenylene systems with given one or two branching hexagons, and the corresponding extremal phenylene systems are characterized, respectively.

Crude vegetable oils can contain sometimes high concentrations of free fatty acids (FFAs) forming during manufacture, processing, transportation and storage. As FFAs may impair the senoric and olfactory properties of vegetable oil products, efficient deacidification strategies for crude vegetable oils are highly desirable. In this work, crude vegetable oils were deacidified by using a recently discovered photodecarboxylase from Chlorella variabilis NC64A (CvFAP) heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli catalyzing selective decarboxylation of FFAs while leaving esters unmodified. Using this novel approach, deacidification degree of 8 different crude vegetable oils with varying initial FFAs content (1.62%–39.68%) reached 83.17%–98.30% after 6 h at 30 ℃. The highest degree of deacidification (99.33% after 6 h) was achieved for crude rice bran oil with 13.98% initial FFAs under optimized conditions. The deacidification reaction was negatively affected by increasing crude vegetable oil concentration, which was probably due to low value of solvent accessible surface area when surrounded by high mole of FFAs. This study developed mild reaction conditions and simple deacidification making the production process of crude vegetable oils environmentally friendly.

Journal of Cardiac SurgeryEditorial

Objectives: To determine the relationship between serum levels of oxidative stress (OS) parameters and regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2), as well as postoperative clinical outcomes in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG). Materials and Methods: This prospective observational study included 64 adult patients undergoing elective CABG [on-pump-CABG (n=48) and off-pump CABG (n=16)]. The OS level was determined according to total oxidant status and malondialdehyde. OS levels and rSO2 values were measured intraoperatively at three-time points (T1: after induction, T2: 15min before aortic cross-clamp removal or before the last distal anastomosis, T3: 15min after aortic cross-clamp removal or the last distal anastomosis). Results: In the on-pump group, OS levels at T2-3 and lactate values at T2-3 were found to be higher (p=<0.001), rSO2 at T2 was lower (p=0.024). There was a negative correlation between rSO2-T2 values and OS parameters, lactate levels at T2-3, aortic clamp time, postoperative mechanical ventilation (MV) time, and length of stay (LOS) in the ICU. In the multivariate linear regression analysis [F(2.61)=8.26, p=0.001], lactate values at T2 were found to be the only factor affecting the OSI-T2 index (Beta=0.388, p=0.006). Conclusıons: In this study, we observed that OS levels were increased and rSO2 values were relatively low during on-pump CABG procedures, furthermore, lower rSO2 values were associated with increased OS levels and poor postoperative clinical outcomes. The OS response and cerebral oxygenation could be improved in off-pump CABG by limiting global ischemia, resulting in a favourable postoperative outcomes such as less MV time and LOS in the ICU.

Background— aortic regurgitation in a bicuspid aortic valve is a complex entity that involves not only the semilunar valve but also the structure of the aortic root which is functionally & pathologically in a very close relationship to it. Considering repairing a bicuspid valve mandates a mindful involvement of all related structures concurrently. Here We report an interested case of both bicuspid aortic valve and mitral valve regurgitation in a patient with history of infective endocarditis, that was successfully managed by double valves repair.

In peroneal nerve palsy with closed knee injury, most of the case improves by follow-up. We present a case of peroneal nerve rupture with closed multiple ligament knee injury, requiring nerve transplantation. In multiple ligament knee injury, it is necessary to consider the possibility of peroneal nerve rupture.

We have carried out detailed ab-initio based density functional theory calculations on pristine graphene and pristine graphene nanosheets containing 8, 18, and 32 carbon atoms by constructing supercells, both with and without functionalizing the supercells with different functionalizing groups. After optimizing all the supercells, we calculated the variations in the transverse displacement of carbon atoms, changes in C-C and C-O bond length, and bond angles both in terms of supercell size and functionalizing groups, in order to infer the structural stability. Further, we computed the band structure, total density of states to understand the changes in the hybridization between states and deviations in the Dirac point near the Fermi energy as a result of functionalizing the supercells with different functionalizing groups. Finally, we calculated the excessive surface charge density, Σ and quantum capacitance, C_q of all graphene nanosheets from the density of state using the two – dimensional free – electron model, to find the suitability of these graphene nanosheets as potential cathode materials in battery applications.

This work conducts an exploratory evaluation of the brittle fracture behavior for a high-strength martensitic steel using conventional three-point bend SE(B) and pre-cracked Charpy V-notch (PCVN) specimens. A primary purpose of this study is to verify the effectiveness of the Master Curve methodology in providing a reliable estimate of the reference temperature ( T 0 ) derived from fracture toughness data sets measured in the ductile-to-brittle transition region (DBT) of a ultra high strength, low alloy martensitic steel. Fracture toughness testing conducted on three-point bend SE(B) specimens and pre-cracked Charpy (PCVN) configurations at different test temperatures in the DBT region provides the cleavage fracture resistance data in terms of the J -integral at cleavage instability, J c , and its corresponding K J c -values for the tested material. While this class of ultra high strength steel having a martensitic microstructure is currently beyond the reach of ASTM E1921, the analyses described here show that the predicted normalized curves of median fracture toughness vs. temperature are in good agreement with the experimental measurements.

Given the increasing eutrophication of water bodies in Africa due to increasing anthropogenic pressures, data are needed to better understand the responses of phytoplankton communities to these changes in tropical lakes. These ecosystems are used by local human populations for multiple purposes, including fish and drinking water production, potentially exposing these populations to health threats if, for example, an increase in toxic cyanobacterial blooms is associated with increasing eutrophication. To test the short-term response of the phytoplankton community to the addition of nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen, alone or in combination) and Nile tilapia, we developed an in situ mesocosm experiment in a freshwater lagoon located near Abidjan (Ivory Coast). We found that phytoplankton growth (estimated by chlorophyll-a quantification) was highly stimulated when both nitrogen and phosphorus were added, while there was no clear evidence for such colimitation by these two nutrients when considering their concentrations in the lagoon. Phytoplankton growth was accompanied by significant changes in the diversity and composition of this community and did not lead to an increase in the proportions of cyanobacteria. However, the addition of fish to some mesocosms resulted in a drastic decrease in phytoplankton biomass and a dominance of chlorophytes in this community. Finally, these experiments showed that the addition of nitrogen, alone or combined with phosphorus, stimulated microcystin production by cyanobacteria. In addition, no evidence for microcystin accumulation in the fish was found. Taken together, these data allow us to discuss strategies for controlling cyanobacterial blooms in this tropical ecosystem.

A document by Jordan Llerena-Velastegui. Click on the document to view its contents.

A document by Sebastian Velasteguí. Click on the document to view its contents.

Clinical assessment or scoring model for acute lung injury: a crossing path?