In this paper, we solved the Schrodinger equation with Hellmann-modified Kratzer potential using Nikiforov-Uvarov-Functional Analysis (NUFA) method. The obtained energy is used to study the numerical results of the ro-vibrational energy spectra for some selected diatomic molecules and their thermodynamic properties. In addition, we also investigated the Fisher information for three diatomic molecules and they all satisfied the Stam-Cramer-Rao inequalities uncertainty relations. Special cases of the potential are discussed and we compute the numerical eigenvalue of the modified Kratzer, Kratzer-Feus and Hellmann potentials for comparison with other analytical methods. The results of the present study agree with the results obtained with other known methods.

Ternary metal hydrides play an essential role in the search for conventional high-temperature superconductors because they can be synthesized under mild condition and recovered at ambient pressure. It has been widely accepted that the electronic structure, metallization pressure and superconducting behavior of binary hydrides can be adjusted effectively by doping, replacing or introducing a new element. In this work, yttrium hydrides were chosen as parent hydrides while scandium was considered as the doped element to perform systematical crystal structure searches on the Sc-Y-H system under pressure. A new ternary hydride ScYH6 was found according to PSO calculations, and it presents high symmetric character below 150 GPa with a Pm-3 structure (cP8), then a P4/mmm phase (tP8) becomes favorable from 150 GPa. Importantly, cP8-ScYH6 is dynamically stable under pressure as low as 0.01 GPa with a Tc of 32.110 K for Coulomb pseudopotential μ∗=0.13, indicating ternary hydrides are promising candidates in the search for superconductors which can be synthesized under mild conditions in hydrogen-rich materials. The analysis through “triangle straight-line method” (TSLM) compared with enthalpy difference calculations showed the most reasonable synthesis pathway of ScYH6 is in the whole studied pressure range. The Tc of ScYH6 takes a linear relationship with pressure up to 52.907 K under 200 GPa. The lattice dynamical calculations demonstrate the H atoms in both cP8 and tP8 structures make crucial contributions to the superconducting behavior of ScYH6. These findings can further reveal the influence of doping, replacing and introducing new element on superconducting behavior of binary hydrides.

Normalization method is a practical method for determining the J-R curves and fracture toughness of steels. There is some concern, however, about the performance of this method on steels with small strain hardening exponent and yield strength due mainly to the assumption of infinite strain hardening exponent (n). This paper intends to analytically modify the normalization method by removing this assumption and incorporating the strain hardening in calculating the blunting corrected crack length. This modification enables the normalization method to be applied to steels with small strain hardening exponent and yield strength. Experiments are undertaken to prove the underperformance of the normalization method for steels with small strain hardening exponent and yield strength and to verify the modified normalization method (CNM). A comparison of fracture toughness determined by CNM with that by the unloading compliance method and normalization method corroborates the improved accuracy of the developed CNM. It is found in the paper that the developed CNM performs very well for materials with small strain hardening exponent and yield strength and performs better for specimens with smaller thickness and in accordance with all standards. The paper concludes that the developed CNM overcomes the deficiency of the normalization method for steels with small strain hardening exponent and yield strength.

In this paper, the ultra high-cycle bending vibration fatigue performance of TC17 titanium alloys under corrosion environment and laser shock was studied by using a new loading method. The results show that the ultra high-cycle fatigue performance of TC17 titanium alloys has no fatigue limit in the traditional sense and different surface processing has different effects on the ultra high-cycle fatigue properties of TC17 titanium alloys. The ultra high-cycle fatigue performance of TC17 under corrosion environment did not decrease significantly, but the ultra high-cycle fatigue performance of TC17 strengthened by laser shock treatment could be greatly improved. With the SEM analysis, it was found that the specimen crack initiation showed two modes: surface and sub-surface, which was independent of the internal inclusions and defects. No sign of internal crack initiation was found and the sub-surface crack propagation did not show “fish-eye”.

Objective: To evaluate the role of peak atrial longitudinal strain (PALS) through speckle tracking 2D echocardiography for the assessment of structural and functional left atrial (LA) remodelling in a type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) population. Methodology: We conducted a cross-sectional study during a 9-month period. Were included T2DM adults aged 18 and above. The variables assessed during the study include age and gender of participants, diabetes characteristics, cardiovascular risk factors, clinical anthropometric and haemodynamic parameters, standard echocardiographic parameters, volume-derived LA functions and 2D PALS. Results: We included a total of 102 patients. The mean age was 58±11.7 years and the M/F sex ratio was 1:1.5. Coexistent arterial hypertension (HTN) was observed in more than half (59.8%) of the population sample. Mean 2D PALS was 29.2±8.9% with 58.8% (95% CI:50.0–68.6) of subjects having a reduced LA strain (i.e.<32%). Reservoir and pump functions were the most altered LA volumetric phasic functions. Mean indexed LA maximal volume was 22.2±6.8 ml/m². There was a significant association between abnormal PALS and age, Body mass index (BMI), indexed LA volume, E/E’ ratio, LA active ejection fraction (pump function) and LA expansion index (reservoir function). Conclusion: LA remodelling is a recurrent condition in adult T2DM Cameroonians. The Reservoir and pump LA functions were the most affected. Assessment of LA global strain allows early detection of LA remodelling with comparison to LA size standard analyses. Age, BMI, indexed LA volume, E/E’ ratio, reservoir and pump LA functions were associated to 2D LA global strain impairment.

A 73-year-old woman with occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection was diagnosed with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Serum HBV core-related antigen (HBcrAg) was elevated and HBV covalently closed circular DNA (cccDNA) was presented in the liver tissue. This report shows HBcrAg might be a predictive factor for development of HCC.

A young man presented with sudden onset chest and neck pain, dyspnoea and dysphonia, following vigorous coughing. Examination identified surgical emphysema and subsequent CT scan revealed a spontaneous pneumomediastinum. The patient remained well despite the remarkable radiological findings. He was managed conservatively but his travel plans were interrupted.

While sinus pause is frequently a benign finding in adults, commonly occurring during sleep, sometimes it can be abnormal. We present a case of symptomatic sinus pause in the setting of increasing doses of ropinirole. To our knowledge, this is the second case reported in the literature.

21 year old white Caucasian male presented with left foot pain and bilateral periorbital hypopigmentation. An MRI revealed multiple stress fractures. Blood tests revealed Vitamin D deficiency. There is currently evidence confirming relationships between Vitamin D deficiency and cutaneous hypopigmentation. This case suggests further research into this area.

Nowadays social media play an important role to share opinions on various events. People often share their experiences, opinions and measurements. Social media have become important sources of information to evaluate different types of events and people as well. Twitter has become one of the popular social media platforms to express news in real-time. Opinions shared on social media can create impacts on various events. People often share their opinions and feelings about players. Football is one of the most popular game all around the world. People love to watch football, analyze players and post their opinions on social media. In this thesis, an analysis is performed on FIFA top listed eight players of the current time, based on tweets of different persons. 5000 tweets are extracted and by applying the Named Entity Recognition technique tweets on each player are isolated. A sentiment analysis approach is applied on tweets to measure the polarity of each tweet. A ranking system is designed to rank the players. By different computational and statistical means and using the designed ranking system the chosen players are ranked. A comparative analysis among FIFA best eight players is shown as well according to public views on them.

In situ visible near infrared diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (VNIR) is a rapid and in-situ sensing approach and can provide analytical dense soil data reflecting multiple physical and chemical properties of soil. A total of 246 in situ soil samples were collected and scanned in 2016-2018. The dataset from 2016-2017 was used as the calibration dataset to develop the dry ground model and to develop to the in situ correction matrix using the dry and in situ spectra. The dataset from 2018 was used as the validation dataset using the in situ spectra. Four in situ correction methods, external parameter orthogonalization (EPO), direct standardization (DS), piecewise direct standardization (PDS), and generalized least squares weighting (GLSW) were used to remove the in situ effect on the spectra. In addition, two models, partial least squares regression (PLSR) and support vector machine (SVM), were used to detect the effectiveness of the prediction. The results showed that the four in situ corrections could remove the error introduced by in situ measurement to some extent. The four in situ corrections, when combined with SVM, could better reduce the errors caused by in situ measurements than the same corrections combined with PLSR. EPO correction outperformed the other three methods, and EPO-SVM obtained the best prediction with the lowest RMSE (1.91 g kg-1) and highest Lin’s concordance correlation coefficient (LCCC) (0.84). We conclude that the EPO-SVM methods using in situ spectra can detect soil organic carbon in the Poyang Lake area in a rapid and minimally invasive manner.

Dams are built on rivers to make effective use of, inter alia, water resources, flood protection, and power generation. The construction of dams has greatly promoted the economy and social development, but also reduced the connectivity of rivers, which leads to the weakening of the exchange of material and biological organisms between rivers. The connectivity of rivers directly determines the self-purification and pollution capacity of water bodies, and the migration possibility of fish, which are all important indexes for quantifying the ecological health in basins. In this study, the connectivity of the two largest river basins in China, the Yangtze River and Yellow River Basins, was investigated. The Dendritic Connectivity Index (DCI) was applied to evaluate the impact on river connectivity of dams with a reservoir capacity of larger than 100 million m3. The results show that river connectivity decreased as dam construction increased. The connectivity of the Yangtze River Basin was good in the 1980s, but declined significantly after the Gezhouba Dam was constructed on the mainstream. The changes in the connectivity indexes of potadromous fish (DCIp) and diadromous fish (DCId) were determined for the period of 1980–2010. In the Yangtze River Basin, the DCIp decreased by 58% (from 81.25 to 34.16) and the DCId decreased by 53% (from 89.98 to 42.30). In the Yellow River Basin, the DCIp decreased by 38% (from 51.46 to 31.81) and the DCId decreased by 60% (from 32.74 to 13.00). In both basins, dams on the mainstream are the main cause of the decline in the DCI, dams located on the middle reaches are the main cause of the decline in the DCIp, and dams located on the lower reaches close to the estuary are the main cause of the decline in the DCId.

The mitral isthmus conduction block was inadvertently achieved during radiofrequency catheter ablation for a left lateral concealed accessory pathway (AP). we reported that the mitral isthmus incomplete conduction block accompanied by alternating atrioventricular conduction interval led to tachycardia cycle length variability during left lateral AP ablation. This rare electrophysiological phenomenon should be acknowledged to avoid radiofrequency applications in inappropriate regions.

We present a case report of severed epicardial atrial lead salvage using an IS-1 lead extender. A 37-year-old male with single ventricle physiology, Fontan palliation, sinus node dysfunction, recurrent atrial tachycardias and atrial fibrillation resulting in failing Fontan physiology presented with failure of the atrial pacing lead. The patient was initially paced with an epicardial system that had to be removed due to pocket infection, and the epicardial leads were cut and abandoned. Given his significant sinus node dysfunction he required atrial pacing to allow for rhythm control. The failing Fontan physiology of the patient precluded him from undergoing surgery for epicardial lead placement or a complex intravascular lead placement procedure (although anatomically feasible). We considered the option of salvaging the existing epicardial atrial leads to provide atrial pacing, allowing for rhythm control and improvement of his failing Fontan physiology as a bridge to a more permanent pacing solution. This case report is important because it demonstrates how a lead extender can be used to salvage a severed pacemaker lead. This may be useful for patients in whom implantation of new leads is not promptly feasible due to patient anatomy and/or clinical status.

Background: Brugada syndrome (BrS) has diagnostic challenges and controversial risk assessment. We aimed to investigate invasive and non-invasive parameters in symptomatic and asymptomatic patients from a Brazilian cohort of type-1 BrS. Methods Patients with spontaneous and drug-induced type-1 BrS were classified in two groups, asymptomatic (n=116, 84.1%) and symptomatic (n=22, 15.9%, 13 with arrhythmogenic syncope, 9 with aborted sudden cardiac death). Genetic testing, EPS parameters, and ECG parameters were analysed. Results: 138 consecutive patients were eligible, 101 men (73.2%), mean 41.4 years, mostly probands (79%). Spontaneous pattern, observed in 77.5% of the patients, was associated to symptoms only if expressed in V1 and V2 standard position (not high precordial leads) (p=0.014). All symptomatic patients were probands. The presence of RV outflow tract conduction delay (RVOTcd) signs, positive EPS and SCN5A status was similar between symptomatic and asymptomatic subjects. During mean 75-month follow-up, 8 patients had appropriate therapies. All had spontaneous type-1 ECG pattern and 2/8 (25%) were asymptomatic, with positive EPS. The overall LAE incidence of 1.1%/year dropped to 0.27% in asymptomatic patients. RVOTcd occurred more frequently in SCN5A carriers (QRS-f 33.3% vs 7.7%, p=0.005; AVR sign 58.3% vs 13.6%, p<0.001; deep S in lead I 75% vs 48.5%, p=0.025%), as well as longer HV interval (66ms vs 49ms, p<0.001). Conclusions: Spontaneous type-1 Brugada pattern in standard leads and proband status were more frequent in symptomatic subjects. RVOTcd, more common in SCN5A carriers, did not predict symptoms in BrS patients. EPS exhibited limited prognostic value for this low risk population.

The emergence of endovascular techniques has enabled minimally invasive options for repair and salvage of postoperative sequelae from complex aortic operations. There have been few reports of percutaneous transcatheter repair of aortic pseudoaneurysms after composite aortic root replacement with reports of only two patients with follow-up longer than two years. We report a case of a 35 year man who developed an aortic root pseudoaneurysm following a composite aortic root replacement and was successfully managed by transcatheter repair using an Amplatzer™ Septal Occluder without evidence of recurrence at two year follow-up.

Astroviruses (AstVs) are major causative agents of gastroenteritis in children and had been detected worldwide. Recently, the novel neurotropic AstV associated with encephalitis and meningitis has been found in different species including human, bovine and ovine. However, little is known about the prevalence of neurotropic AstVs in water buffalo of China. In this study, we examined fecal samples from water buffalo in the Guangxi province of China and found different lineages of Water Buffalo Astrovirus (BufAstV) infections, especially the neurotropic BufAstV (BufAstV-NNA-14 GenBank: MT499772) which belongs to the VA/HMO cluster strains and this is its first detection in China. Based on the 3’RACE and next-generation sequencing technologies, 2 full-length genomes (BufAstV-NNA-14 and BufAstV-NNA-12) and 2 ORF2 genes (BufAstV-NND-s2 and BufAstV-NNA-17) of AstVs from this source were sequenced. Phylogenetic analysis of the ORF2 indicated 3 major lineages of BufAstVs including a novel neurotropic BufAstV, a BufAstV which is related to Bovine Astrovirus (BoAstV) and a classical BufAstV. Moreover, the occurrence of frequent genomic recombination between BufAstV and BoAstV strains have been identified. This is the first report to describe a neurotropic BufAstV in water buffalo feces in China and details of the epidemiology, genetic diversity and possible interspecies transmission of BoAstV and BufAstV in water buffalo from the Guangxi province of China are described.

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Introduction: Congenital lung malformations (CLM) are rare disorders and surgical intervention is the definitive treatment. Our aim is to evaluate the long term lung function of patients with CLM after surgery compared to healthy children. Methods: 16 children with CLM (M/F: 9/7) and 30 age-matched healthy controls (M/F: 13/17) were included in the study. Demographic data was recorded and both groups were compared by Spirometry and nitrogen based Lung Clearance Index (LCI). Results: Mean age of the patients was 12.0 ±5.4 years old. Mean Forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), Forced vital capacity (FVC), FEV1/FVC and Forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of force expiration (FEF25-75) %pred was, 86.68 ±16.65, 88.00 ±14.58, 97.44 ±9.89 and 79.00 ±26.41 respectively in patients group. Patients with CLM, had significantly lower values in FEV1, FVC, FEF25-75 values than healthy controls (p:0.002, p:0.007, p:0.045). While mean LCI2,5% value in patients’ group was 8.33 ±1.52, it was 7.28 ±0.80 in healthy controls (p:0.023). Strong inverse correlation between LCI and FEV1, FEV1/FVC was detected in patients’ group (p: 0.023 r: -0,581, p: 0.017 r: -0,606 respectively). Conclusion: Current study revieled that patients operated due to CLM have impairment in the pulmonary function compared to healthy children in long term follow-up and LCI may be more accurate detecting airway diseases earlier than spirometry.

Bronchiolitis is a common seasonal lung infection, almost always caused by a virus, mostly respiratory syncytial virus. Although some coronavirus species has been identified in children with bronchiolitis, the association with SARS-CoV-2 is questioned. Herein, we report 2 cases of 2 months infants presenting with classical covid-19 (fever, neurologic symptoms and positive RT-PCR test) who developed bronchiolitis within a short period after initial episode.

Pistachio (Pistacia spp.) is a tree nut crop with relatively high salinity tolerance. Currently, limited information exists on its rootstock’s cellular responses to salinity stress, especially in its roots. In this study, we investigated salinity tolerance at cellular level, in two pistachio rootstocks, Pistacia integerrima (PGI) and a hybrid, P. atlantica x P. integerrima (UCB1). Root tip sections were categorized across a developmental gradient according to their xylem development, and their sodium content and suberin deposition were analyzed with fluorescence microscopy. Our data demonstrated a correlation between vacuolar sequestration of sodium ions (Na+) and salinity tolerance in the UCB1 genotype. In addition, UCB1 displayed higher basal levels of suberization in both the exodermis and endodermis that increased further after salinity stress. Notably, the root region immediately distal to the region of secondary xylem initiation showed the highest amount of vacuolar Na+ sequestration, indicating a developmental regulation of this process. Our cumulative data demonstrate that salinity tolerance in pistachio rootstock species is associated with both vacuolar Na+ sequestration and suberin deposition at apoplastic barriers, and both are correlated with a root developmental gradient. These cellular characteristics are phenotypes that can be screened during the selection for salinity tolerant woody plant species.

Allergen tolerance is an active physiological process, which runs opposite to the adaptive immune response. The induction of allergen tolerance involves the multiple regulatory networks of cells and biomolecules. There are T regulatory cells, tolerogenic dendritic cells, IL10, IL35, TGFb, and immunosuppressive neurotransmitters. of this review is the overview of allergen tolerance mechanisms and its breakdown at the systemic and local levels, particularly concerning such specific organ as the nose. In this review, immune tolerance is initially considered on the whole. Then the review focuses on mechanisms of the physiological induction of allergen tolerance throughout the body, and pathogenesis of allergen tolerance breakdown with particular emphasis on both systemic and autonomous starting-off, taking into account two diverse entities (endotypes) of allergic rhinitis. Recently, two diverse endotypes, classical (conventional) allergic rhinitis and local allergic rhinitis, have been recognized. Although local allergic rhinitis revealed a decade ago, its immunopathogenesis is partially unclear, and a proper therapeutical protocol is not eventually developed. The possible role of neurotransmitter imbalance during the pathogenesis allergen tolerance breakdown is discussed. Accordingly, we proposed the hypothesis of autonomous allergen tolerance breakdown in local allergic rhinitis.

Being a tiny component, all the intra-cellular orchestra starting from exosome generation till its escape from the immune cells, is connected with biogenic dynamicity of molecular signaling in the cells. The biogenesis of exosomes follows the endocytic pathway thereby releases the intraluminal vesicles in the extracellular space. Exosomes play critical role in oncogenic signaling in the primary tumor microenvironment as well as distant sites to make a pre-metastatic niche (PMN) for the tumor cells to cause future metastasis. Moreover, tumor derived exosomes (TDEs) play an important role in invasion-metastasis cascade by initiating paracrine and autocrine signals in the tumor milieu thus activating the epithelial–mesenchymal transition (EMT) in the neoplastic epithelial cells. The exosomes taken up by the distally situated organ tissues facilitates the formation of pre metastatic niche allowing the tumor cells to arrive, extravasate and eventually colonize in the new microenvironment and thereby promoting distant metastasis (The Seed and Soil Theory). Importantly, secondary metastasis is also achieved by altering the extracellular matrix by the TDEs as well as by escaping the immune surveillance, which in turn modulate the host immunity and gradually results in the disease progression. Exosomes exhibiting the properties like high target specificity combined with low immunogenicity and biocompatibility aids the exosomes to sow its seed in the new field of therapies and thus all the remarkable properties make it a focus of interest in the research field.

Intense effort is underway to evaluate potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of COVID-19. In order to respond quickly to the crisis, the repurposing of existing drugs is the primary pharmacological strategy. Despite the urgent clinical need for these therapies, it is imperative to consider potential safety issues. This is important due to the harm-benefit ratios that may be encountered when treating COVID-19, which can depend on the stage of the disease, when therapy is administered and underlying clinical factors in individual patients. Treatments are currently being trialled for a range of scenarios from prophylaxis (where benefit must greatly exceed risk) to severe life-threatening disease (where a degree of potential risk may be tolerated if it is exceeded by the potential benefit). In this perspective, we have reviewed some of the most widely-researched repurposed agents in order to identify potential safety considerations using existing information in the context of COVID-19.