Introduction: To compare the effect of a policy of screening for spontaneous preterm delivery (SPD) by transvaginal cervical length (CL) measurement versus a no screening policy in the prevention of severe prematurity. Methods: Retrospective study on low risk singleton pregnancies examined at 20-24 weeks. Two cohorts one with SPD screening and the other without screening were matched using propensity analysis to create the study groups. Women with short CL were treated with vaginal progesterone and/or cervical cerclage/pessary. The outcomes examined were SPD<32 weeks (SPD 32) and SPD between 20 and 32 weeks (SPD 20-32). Results: Screening for SPD was associated with a significant reduction in the rate of SPD at less than 32 weeks (0.3% vs 0.8%, p=0.001 in the screened and no screened pregnancies respectively) and in the rate of SPD 20-32 (0.3% vs 0.9%, p=0.005 in the screened and no screened pregnancies respectively). After adjusting for maternal age, parity, body mass index, smoking and mode of conception, the screening group had significantly lower hazard for SPD 20-32 (HR=0.36, 95% CI: 0.18-0.75, p=0.006) and SPD32 (HR=0.39, 95% CI: 0.19-0.82, p=0.013). Conclusion: Screening for SPD by transvaginal CL measurement in mid pregnancy may reduce the incidence of severe prematurity in low risk singleton pregnancies.

A left middle cerebral artery aneurysm was ruptured and clipped, but a de novo aneurysm on contralateral side ruptured within 5 years in a 38-year-old man. The cause of the formation of de novo aneurysms is unknown and is not consistent with most of current reports.

Background Cardiac surgery-associated acute kidney injury (CSA-AKI) is an important and serious complication that affects morbidity and mortality. We studied both pediatric and adults using the definition of the Acute Kidney Injury Network (AKIN). Methods This is an observational retrospective cohort study done at King Abdulaziz University Hospital in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia approved by ethical committee. The exclusion criteria were baseline serum creatinine (SCr) ≥ 4 mg/dL or preexisting renal failure requiring dialysis, reoperation, death within 24 hours postoperatively, and operative mortality or missing data. 941 patients were included in the analysis using the statistical software  SPSS, version 15.0. Results 28.68% in the adult group and 20.07% in the pediatric group developed CSA-AKI. Adult risk factors included age group of 60-69 years, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), number of grafts and hypertension. In the pediatric group, CPB, aortic cross-clamping (ACX) and the lower preoperative SCr are the main risk factors Conclusion Conventional conservative management and preoperative Identification of predictor risk factors are essential for prevention of CSA-AKI which constitute the main strategy for optimal management.

OBJECTIVE: Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a common complication after cardiac surgery, and there is no pharmacologic prophylaxis of AKI. Some animal and clinical studies showed the renoprotection effect of dexmedetomidine (DEX) on AKI, but data from other trials came to the opposite conclusion following cardiac surgery. METHODS: We searched databases including EMBASE, PubMed, and Cochrane CENTRAL for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on DEX for AKI in adult patients after cardiac surgery. The primary outcome was incidence of AKI. Secondary outcomes were mechanical ventilation (MV) duration, intensive care unit (ICU) length of stay (LOS), hospital LOS and mortality. RESULTS: Fifteen trials enrolling 2907 study patients were collected in the meta-analyses. Compared with controls, DEX reduced the incidence of postoperative AKI [odds ratio (OR), 0.66; 95%confidence interval (CI), 0.48-0.91; P=0.01], and there was no significant difference between groups in postoperative mortality (OR, 0.63; 95%CI, 0.32-1.26; P=0.19), MV duration [weighted mean difference(WMD), -0.44; 95%CI, -1.50-0.63; P=0.42], ICU LOS (WMD, -1.19; 95%CI, -2.89-0.51; P=0.17) and hospital LOS (WMD, -0.31; 95%CI, -0.76-0.15; P=0.19). CONCLUSIONS: Perioperative DEX use reduced the incidence of postoperative AKI in adult patients undergoing cardiac surgery. No significant decrease existed in mortality, MV duration, ICU LOS and hospital LOS owing to the DEX administration.

The purpose of this paper is to study the following equation driven by a nonlocal integro-differential operator $\mathcal{L}_K$: \[u_{tt}+[u]_s^{2(\theta-1)}\mathcal{L}_Ku+a|u_t|^{m-1}u_t=b|u|^{p-1}u\] with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary condition and initial data, where $[u]^2_s$ is the Gagliardo seminorm, $a\geq 0,~b>0,~0

Duckweeds (Lemnaceae) are increasingly studied for their potential for phytoremediation of heavy-metal polluted water bodies. A prerequisite for metal removal, however, is the tolerance of the organism to the pollutant, e.g., the metal zinc (Zn). Duckweeds have been shown to differ in their tolerances to Zn, however, despite them most commonly co-occurring with other species, there is a lack of research concerning the effect of species interactions on Zn tolerance. Here we tested whether the presence of a second species influenced the growth rate of the three duckweed species Lemna minor, Lemna gibba, and Lemna turionifera. We used four different Zn concentrations in a replicated microcosm experiment under sterile conditions, either growing the species in isolation or in a 2-species mixture. The response to Zn differed between species, but all three species showed a high tolerance to Zn, with low levels of Zn even increasing the growth rates. The growth rates of the individual species were influenced by the identity of the competing species, but this was independent of the Zn concentration. Our results suggest that species interactions should be considered in future research with duckweeds and that several duckweed species have high tolerance to metal pollution, making them candidates for phytoremediation efforts.

Herewith the most condensed and at the same time most comprehensible guide to Gene H63D Syndrome is available. It is specifically made for general physicians in primary and family medicine.

The congenital left ventricular diverticulum is a rare cardiac malformation, and it may associate with Cantrell’s Pentalogy with other cardiac defects. However, isolated ventricular diverticulum without any other cardiac defect in complete Cantrell’s syndrome is very rare. We describe a 6-year-old male patient with a complete Cantrell’s syndrome with isolated left ventricular diverticulum.

In this paper the details of photoconductivity experiments on K crystal are presented. Photoconductivity measurements were inconclusive as to whether or not there was a current flowing during the 850 nm excitation of a feldspar sample. However there was a clear current when exciting the same sample with 515 nm light, but there was a complex relationship between the magnitude of the current and the number of emission photons counted. A model was developed to explain the photoconductivity results where electrons migrate through the conduction band aided by thermal excitation and tunneling.

Developing social strategies to share the limited resources equally and maximize the long-term benefits of conflict resolution is critical for appropriate social interactions. During social interactions, making social decisions depend not only on the external environment but also on internal factors such as hunger, thirst, or fatigue. In particular, the hunger state, which is related to food as a physical need, plays a dominant role in social decision-making. However, the consequences of food deprivation on social decision-making are not well understood. We have previously shown that mice in rule-observance behavior are capable of resolving conflict during social decision-making by observing the well-established social strategy based on reward zone allocation. Here, we develop a rule-observance behavior paradigm, in which the hunger state is achieved by applying food restrictions on mice prior to social behavior. We found that the hunger state in mice deteriorated the established social strategy by decreasing the reaction time, implying an increase in impulsivity. In contrast, the hunger state did not affect the reward zone allocation, indicating no effect on spatial memory. This decrease in reaction time led to a significant increase in the percentage of wrong social decisions (violation) and a significant decrease in the amount of reward (payoff equity). Our study proposes that the hunger state exerts a detrimental effect on appropriate social decision-making by decreasing reaction time, increasing violation, and decreasing payoff equity in rule-observance behavior.

Background: Lung ultrasound (LUS) has been shown to be an effective tool to rapidly diagnose certain causes of pediatric respiratory distress in the emergency department. However, very little is known about LUS findings in pediatric asthma outside of acute exacerbations. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to characterize LUS findings in a cohort of pediatric patients with a definitive diagnosis of asthma, outside of an asthma exacerbation. Methods: Eligible patients, aged 6 to 17 years old and diagnosed with asthma, underwent LUS during an outpatient visit. LUS was conducted using a six-zone scanning protocol. A positive LUS was defined by one or more of the following: ≥3 B-lines per intercostal space, pulmonary consolidation and/or pleural anomaly. Images were interpreted by an expert sonographer blinded to patient clinical characteristics. Results: 52 patients were included. 10/52 patients had a positive LUS (19.2%, 95CI 8.3-30.1%). Of those with positive LUS findings, 8 had B lines, 7 had consolidations <1cm, 1 had a pleural line abnormality and 1 had a consolidation >1cm. Positive findings were seen in the right anterior and lateral zones in 60% of participants and were limited to 1-2 intercostal spaces within one lung zone in 100% of participants. Conclusion: To our knowledge, this is the first report of LUS findings in outpatient pediatric asthma. Positive LUS findings in asthmatic children can be seen outside of acute exacerbations. Such findings need to be taken into consideration when using LUS for the acute evaluation of a pediatric patient with asthma.

Background It is controversial whether pulmonary function testing should be performed routinely in cardiac surgery patients. The aim of our study was to focus on patients who have congestive heart failure, caused by left ventricular dysfunction or left-sided heart valve disease, and study the prognostic value of performing preoperative pulmonary function testing on their postoperative outcomes Methods: This is a retrospective propensity score matched study that included 366 patients with congestive heart failure who underwent cardiac surgery and had preoperative pulmonary function test. The patients were divided into two groups: Group 1; who had a normal or mild reduction in pulmonary function tests and group 2; who had moderate to severe reduction in pulmonary function tests. The postoperative outcomes, including pulmonary complications, were compared between the two groups. Results Pulmonary function tests were normal or mildly reduced in 190 patients (group 1) and moderately to severely reduced in 176 patients (group 2). Propensity matching identified 111 matched pairs in each group with balanced preoperative and operative characteristics. Compared to group 1, Group 2 had longer duration of mechanical ventilation [12 (7.5- 16) vs. 9 (6.5- 13) hours, p<0.001], higher postoperative Creatinine [111 (90- 142) vs. 105 (81- 128) µmol/dl, p=0.02] and higher hospital mortality (6.31% vs 0%, p=0.02). Conclusion In congestive heart failure patients undergoing cardiac surgery, moderate to severe reduction of pulmonary function test was associated with longer duration of mechanical ventilation and higher hospital mortality.

Many studies have provided significant insights into polyploid breeding in recent years, but limited research has been carried out on trees. The genomic information needed to understand the growth and response to abiotic stress in polyploidy trees is largely unknown, but has become critical due to the threats to our forests imposed by climate change. Populus alba 'Berolinensis', also known "Yinzhong poplar", is a triploid poplar from the northeast of China. This hybrid triploid poplar is widely used as a landscape ornamental and in urban forestry for its adaptation to adverse environments and fast growth than its parental diploid. It is an artificially synthesized male allotriploid hybrid, with three haploid genomes of P. alba 'Berolinensis' originated from different poplar species, so it is attractive for studying polyploidy genomic mechanisms in heterosis. In this study, we focused on the allelic genomic interactions in P. alba 'Berolinensis', and generated a high-quality chromosome-level genome assembly consisting of 19 allelic chromosomes. Its three haploid chromosome sets are polymorphic with an average of 25.73 nucleotide polymorphism sites per kilobase. We found that some stress related genes such as RD22 and LEA7 exhibited sequence differences between different haploid genomes. The genome assembly has been deposited into our polyploid genome online analysis website TreeGenomes (https://www.treegenomes.com). These polyploid genomic related resources will provide a critical foundation for the molecular breeding of P. alba 'Berolinensis' and help us uncover the allopolyploidization effects of heterosis and abiotic stress resistance and traits of polyploidy species deeper in the future.

The solutions of weakly singular fractional integro-differential equations involving the Caputo derivative have singularity at the lower bound of the domain of integration. In this paper, we design an algorithm to prevail on this non-smooth behaviour of solutions of the nonlinear fractional integro-differential equations with a weakly singular kernel. The convergence of the proposed method is investigated. The proposed scheme is employed to solve four numerical examples in order to test its efficiency and accuracy.

Madagascar’s Central Highlands are largely composed of grasslands, interspersed with patches of forest. The pre-human extent of these grasslands is a topic of vigorous debate, with conventional wisdom holding that they are anthropogenic in nature and emerging evidence supporting that grasslands were a component of the pre-human Central Highlands vegetation. Here, we shed light on the temporal dynamics of Madagascar’s vegetative composition by conducting a population genomic investigation of Goodman’s mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara; Cheirogaleidae). These small-bodied primates occur both in Madagascar’s eastern rainforests and in the Central Highlands, which makes them a valuable indicator species. Population divergences among forest-dwelling mammals can serve as a proxy for habitat fragmentation and patterns of post-divergence gene flow can reveal potential migration corridors consistent with a wooded grassland mosiac. We used RADseq data to infer phylogenetic relationships, population structure, demographic models of post-divergence gene flow, and population size change through time. These analyses offer evidence that open habitats are an ancient component of the Central Highlands, and that wide-spread forest fragmentation occurred naturally during a period of decreased precipitation near the last glacial maximum. Models of gene flow suggest that migration across the Central Highlands has been possible from the Pleistocene through the recent Holocene via riparian corridors. Notably, though our findings support the hypothesis that Central Highland grasslands predate human arrival, we also find evidence for human-mediated population declines. This highlights the extent to which species imminently threatened by human-mediated deforestation may be more vulnerable from paleoclimatic changes.

When a real-life problem is mathematically modeled by differential equations or another type of equation, there are always intrinsic phenomena that are not taken into account and can affect the behavior of such a model. For example, external forces can abruptly change the model; impulses and delay can cause a breakdown of it. Considering these intrinsic phenomena in the mathematical model makes the difference between a simple differential equation and a differential equation with impulses, delay, and nonlocal conditions. So, in this work, we consider a semilinear nonautonomous neutral differential equation under the influence of impulses, delay, and nonlocal conditions. In this paper we study the controllability of these semilinear neutral differential equations with some of these intrinsic phenomena taking into consideration. Our aim is to prove that the controllability of the associated ordinary linear differential equation is preserved under certain conditions imposed on these new disturbances. In order to achieve our objective, we apply Rothe’s fixed point Theorem to prove the exact controllability of the system. Finally, our method can be extended to the evolution equation in Hilbert spaces with applications to control systems governed by PDE’s equations.

Several cases of herpes zoster (HZ) following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination (BNT162b2 and mRNA-1273) have been reported, and first epidemiological evidences suggest an increased risk. We used the worldwide pharmacovigilance database VigiBase to describe HZ cases following mRNA COVID-19 vaccination. We performed disproportionality analyses (case/non-case statistical approach) to assess the relative risk of HZ reporting in mRNA COVID-19 vaccine recipients compared to influenza vaccine recipients and according to patient age. Until 30th June 2021, of 716,928 reports about mRNA COVID-19 vaccines, we found 7,728 HZ cases. When compared to influenza vaccines, mRNA COVID-19 vaccines were associated with a significantly higher reporting of HZ (reporting odds-ratio 1.9, 95%CI [1.8-2.1]). Furthermore, we found a reduced risk of reporting HZ among under 40 year-old persons compared to older persons (reporting odds-ratio 0.39, 95%CI [0.36-0.41]). For the first time, we could assess at a global level the risk of HZ after mRNA COVID-19 vaccination.

Introduction: Rheumatic heart disease is responsible for the most prevalent pathological causes of mitral stenosis and is closely coupled with pulmonary hypertension. Balloon mitral commissurotomy as an alternative method for mitral valve replacement leads to a reduction in pulmonary pressure. All grades of pulmonary hypertension usually regress after mitral commissurotomy; however, the insignificant changes of pulmonary artery hypertension following balloon mitral valvuloplasty are not uncommon. Methods: This retrospective observational study was carried out on 160 patients with significant symptomatic mitral stenosis (mitral valve area [MVA] <1.5 cm 2) who underwent successful percutaneous transvenous mitral commissurotomy (PTMC) within 2016-2020 at Shaheed Rajaie Cardiovascular, Medical and Research Center, Tehran, Iran. Results: In this study, 89.4% of the patients were female, and the mean age of the participants was 47.2±12.4 years. Most (74%) patients presented with dyspnea on exertion functional class II. The mean basic MVA was 1±0.20 cm 2 that increased to 1.43±0.23 cm 2, and the mean basic systolic pulmonary artery pressure (PAP) was 43.84±11.93 mmHg that decreased to 35.13±7.7 mmHg. Persistent PAP after successful PTMC was observed in 34% of the patients. This group of patients showed smaller MVA gain and PAP reduction after the procedure. Pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) > 2 Wood units was correlated to 91.7% of the post-procedural success rate. Conclusion: The PTMC plays an important role in the reduction of PAP; nevertheless, the chronicity and severity of PAP can lead to persistent pulmonary hypertension. The assessment of initial PAP and basic PVR can help select patients with more likely intended results.

Cyclooctane is mainly used in the synthesis of cyclooctanone, cyclooctanol, caprolactam and octanoic acid. At the same time, it can also be used as an intermediate in organic synthesis and a chemical reagent. By discussing the resistance distance between any two points of cyclooctane derivative Tn(C8), some invariants about resistance distance are obtained, such as Kirchhoff index, multiplicative degree-Kirchhoff index, and additive degree-Kirchhoff index. Topological index can help scholars better understand some physical and chemical properties of compounds, and we obtain the closed expressions of valency-based topological indices for Tn(C8), such as ABC index, GA index, etc.

Background and Purpose: Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy type R3 (LGMD R3) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by a progressive proximal muscle weakness and caused by mutations in the SGCA gene encoding alpha-sarcoglycan (α-SG). Here, we report the results of a mechanistic screening ascertaining the molecular mechanisms involved in the degradation of the most prevalent misfolded R77C-α-SG protein. Experimental Approach: We performed a combinatorial study to identify drugs potentializing the effect of a low dose of the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib on the R77C-α-SG degradation inhibition. Key Results: Analysis of the screening associated to artificial intelligence-based predictive ADMET characterization of the hits led to identification of the HDAC inhibitor givinostat as potential therapeutical candidate. Functional characterization revealed that givinostat effect was related to autophagic pathway inhibition, unveiling new theories concerning degradation pathways of misfolded SG proteins. Conclusion and Implications: Beyond the identification of a new therapeutic option for LGMD R3 patients, our results shed light on the potential repurposing of givinostat for the treatment of other genetic diseases sharing similar protein degradation defects such as LGMD R5 and cystic fibrosis.

In this paper, we consider a class of functional equation Q(λ)Y (λ) −P(λ)Z(λ) = η related to sine type functions, where the known P,Q are appropriate entire functions of exponential type. We are concerned with the existence and uniqueness of the solution (Y,Z) under certain circumstances. Furthermore, we modify the Lagrange interpolation to deal with the situation of the interpolation nodes being counted by multiplicities, which is significant to solve the above functional equation.

Quantum chemical calculations have been performed on B3 ring stabilized Y-Y interaction (Y = Be, Mg, Ca) to understand the possibility of binuclear sandwich type complex formation. Calculations indicate single reference character of the studied systems. The complexes have been found to be stable towards dissociation into different fragments. Thermodynamic consideration also indicates the favourability of their formation. Increase in aromaticity of the parent B3 ring upon complexation is observed which is expected to provide extra stability to the complexes.

This Highlight showcases the Research Paper entitled Collective-Mode Enhanced Matter-Wave Optics (Phys. Rev. Lett. 127, 100401 (2021), DOI: 10.1103/Phys- RevLett.127.100401).

In this case study, we report an 11-year-old male patient who had jaundice, hepatosplenomegaly, and chronic mild congenital non-autoimmune hemolytic anemia. In our patient, a novel homozygous missense mutation in the PIEZO1 gene was detected using a gene-targeted Next-Generation Sequencing panel: c.3364G>A (p.Glu1122Lys), confirming the diagnosis of DHS.