Background In recent years, immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have been introduced as a first-line treatment for patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), which are expected to achieve long-term survival. However, despite ICI treatment, many patients do not achieve sustained effects from immunotherapy. To date, detailed studies on the long-term survival in patients with NSCLC without driver gene mutations remain limited. Methods We conducted a retrospective analysis of 97 patients with NSCLC treated with ICIs. Patients with a more than 3-year survival following treatment were classified into the long-term survival group, and those who did not were classified into the non-long-term survival group. The clinical information was compared between the two groups. Results Of the 97 patients, 22 (22.7%) were classified into the long-term survival group. The long-term survival group had a significantly higher proportion of younger patients, patients who responded to initial ICI treatment, and patients who discontinued treatment due to immune-related adverse events (irAEs). Multivariate analysis identified ”switching administration,” adenocarcinoma, and low neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) as significant independent factors predicting long-term survival. Conclusion Initial treatment response and the appropriate discontinuation of ICI therapy in the event of irAEs may contribute to the long-term survival of patients with NSCLC. Furthermore, when considering the continuation of ICI therapy, the introduction of “switching administration” may also be beneficial.

Monte-Carlo statistical analysis is combined with finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) electromagnetic simulation to model the absorption of radio-frequency electromagnetic fields by a mouse in a reverberation chamber. The purpose of this paper is twofold: 1) rigorous derivation of the statistics of the N random plane wave model with MATLAB codes for validation, 2) implementation of the N random plane wave model in a commercial FDTD software and estimating the proportionality constant relating the mean whole body specific absorption rate of a OF1 mouse to the mean square electric field. The estimated constant was found to be close to a recently published work.

Disturbances in daytime and nighttime schedules can significantly impact school-aged children, particularly in relation to their academic performance and cognitive functioning. Several factors may contribute to these challenges, including chronotype characteristics, sociocultural context, and geographical location (latitude) where children live. To our knowledge, research on the interaction between these factors in school-aged children is limited, and existing studies often have biased measures of chronotype. This study presents a systematic review design aiming to explore how chronotype features are assessed in school-aged children (ages 4–11) and how chronotype is related to sleep habits, household dynamics, ethnicity, and geographical latitude. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Research was conducted using relevant terms and MeSH keywords across databases such as LENS, EBSCO, Scopus, and PubMed. Thirty-two studies were identified as eligible and reviewed by three independent researchers. The main findings indicate that chronotype is often under-assessed in school-aged children, with both professionals and parents reporting limited knowledge of children’s sleep patterns and chronotype traits. Additionally, there is a lack of information in the literature regarding how chronotype, sleep patterns, and vigilance are influenced by latitude and sociocultural factors. Most research on the relationship among the aforementioned variables is focused on adults rather than children. Furthermore, the methods for measuring sleep quality and chronotype were found to be inconsistent, with chronotype and sleep quality often used interchangeably. Based on these findings, further research is needed to explore how chronotype, sleep habits, and cultural or latitudinal factors might predict mental health and cognitive development in children aged 4–11. In terms of practical implications, there is an urgent need for re-education of parents on establishing healthy sleep and wake routines for their children.

CALC - ΔK th is a toolkit specialized in automatically assessing the Stress Intensity Factor (SIF) threshold of materials from specimens failed in the Very-High-Cycle fatigue (VHCF) region and showing the typical fish-eye morphology. The developed process involves two key parameters: the size of the Optical Dark Area (ODA), which is a typical feature region on the fracture surface of specimens failing in the VHCF life region from internal defects, and the stress amplitude at the crack initiation site. Based on the optical image of the fracture surface input from the user side, the automatic detection of the ODA feature is obtained with a deep learning method. Thereafter, the analytical stress distribution in the specimen is assessed, thus allowing to compute the critical SIF threshold for the investigated specimen. This package requires minimal scanning prerequisites on specimens, featuring notable advantages in modularity, automation, and practical usability.

Predicting very high cycle fatigue (VHCF) life in composites is challenging due to the lengthy testing times required by traditional methods. Ensuring compatibility between VHCF and high cycle fatigue (HCF) data presents an additional challenge. This investigation examines CF-PEKK fatigue behavior under low and ultrasonic cyclic frequencies using a thermographic approach and the Fracture Fatigue Entropy (FFE) concept. Constant-amplitude fatigue (CAF) and increasing-amplitude fatigue (IAF) tests were conducted, with self-heating behavior analyzed for different loading conditions. Digital Image Correlation (DIC) and finite element analysis (FEA) enabled stress estimation for each test setup. Heat dissipation rates from IAF experiments and fatigue data from three CAF experiments at 40 Hz and three at 20 kHz were used to calculate FFE values. Results showed that the self-heating response of CF-PEKK specimens helps achieve comparable fatigue data across frequencies, with consistent FFE ranges identified between HCF and VHCF regimes. This consistency highlights that FFE can provide reliable fatigue life estimation for composites. Thermographic and microscopic analyses further confirmed this approach as an efficient method for estimating fatigue life under various cyclic loading conditions.

Camouflage is an adaptive strategy that allows organisms and objects to blend with their surrounding environments, thereby evading detection by predators or adversaries. Current artificial methods, including manual painting, computer-aided techniques, and deep learning approaches, face significant challenges related to manual intervention, scalability, and generalization across diverse and non-calibrated scenes. In this paper, we propose a novel few-shot diffusion-based method for camouflage pattern generation, called Camouflage Diffusion (CamoDiff). Our method consists of two distinct stages: meta learning and few-shot learning. During the meta learning stage, our method employs a diffusion-based architecture to automatically generate camouflage patterns from noise, thus it eliminates manual intervention and enables scalable production. Additionally, our approach integrates the guidance mean absolute error (GMAE) loss in the few-shot learning stage. This allows the generated camouflage to adapt seamlessly to new environments with minimal retraining, regardless of varying viewpoints. We also introduce a comprehensive camouflage dataset and generation tool, which can be used as benchmarks for future research. Experimental results demonstrate that CamoDiff outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods in camouflage pattern generation on different datasets and metrics.

math_commands Monitoring earthquakes along mid-ocean ridges and oceanic transform faults is crucial for understanding magmatic and tectonic processes in oceanic regions. In this study, we present an automated envelope-cross-correlation-based workflow for detecting and locating submarine earthquakes using hydroacoustic T-phases recorded by cabled seafloor observatories in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. Our catalog comprises 25,681 earthquakes from 2015 to 2024, eight times more than the National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) catalog compiled based on land-based seismic data, with approximately one unit improvement in magnitude of completeness. More than 7,000 earthquakes are located along the Juan de Fuca Ridge compared to the fewer than 100 events recorded in the NEIC catalog, with the majority concentrated along the northern segments suggesting that the higher spreading rate of the southern segments is accommodated through aseismic magmatism or smaller earthquakes below our detection threshold. Elevated seismicity along the West Valley, Endeavour, Cobb, and Coaxial segments possibly indicate active magmatic/volcanic processes, aligning with previous studies that identified swarms linked with diking/eruption events. Our catalog also captures significant seismic activity around the start of the 2015 Axial Seamount eruption. Finally, our catalog reveals numerous energetic swarms and mainshock-aftershock sequences along the Sovanco and Blanco Transform Faults, such as the 2021 Western Blanco swarm which includes 319 events potentially driven by aseismic slip or fluid migration. Therefore, our results demonstrate that the existing cabled seafloor observatories can be leveraged for improved real-time monitoring of earthquakes to facilitate the study of active magmatic and tectonic processes in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.

This work proposes an energy-efficient C-2αC Charge-Sharing (CS) successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Instead of scaling capacitance, binary-weighted charges are achieved by scaling the voltages at capacitor terminals using a C-2αC ladder topology with only C and 2αC capacitance values. Unlike the exponential capacitors scaling of the typical binary-weighted CS digital-to-analog converters (DACs), this approach enables linear scaling with bit number, simplifying the handling of comparator voltage offset-induced charges. During conversion, C capacitor cells are sequentially added to the comparator input for quantization in the charge domain. This structure maintains a constant input capacitance of ~2C, allowing significant energy savings from an on-chip voltage reference buffer. A 6-bit high-level model as a proof-of-concept, marking the first CS SAR ADC architecture based on a C-2αC DAC structure, to the best of the authors’ knowledge.

It remains uncertain how tree seedling’s growth and its related physiological characteristics with different drought-tolerances respond to warming and associated inter-annual changes in precipitation. Herein, using a 2-year infrared radiation (IR) heating system in temperate secondary forests of Northeast China, we showed divergent responses of the photosynthetic properties, autioxidant enzyme activities and growth of two main tree species to warming with different precipitation levels. Compared with control, IR caused +2 °C and +1.77 °C above ambient temperature of 0-10 cm soil layer and 0.2 m above surface (seedlings’ height), and decreased air relative humidity (RH) at a height of 0.2 m by 7.51%. In the non-drought year, warming reduced photosystem II performance in two species, but significantly increased malondialdehyde (representing lipid peroxidation) content by 67% of Fraxinus mandshurica (drought-intolerant species) seedlings. In drought year, warming reduced the net photosynthetic rate of Quercus mongolica (drought-tolerant species) and F. mandschurica by 12% and 28%, and antioxidant enzyme activity for both species. The growth of Q. mongolica was not impacted by warming in the non-drought year. Warming strongly reduced the total biomass, the increasement in root collar and height of F. mandshurica in two years (by 33%, 48% and 67% in drought year, while by 30.1%, 18.4% and 10.6% in non-drought year). In addition, among the environmental factors caused by IR, RH mainly affected growth and physiology of seedlings. Therefore, the warming effect is species-specific, and the drought-intolerant species is more sensitive to projected climate change and its warming response is deteriorate with drought.

Title: Primary Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura in an Adult Male: A Rare Case Report from Eastern Nepal

math_commands Title: Successful treatment of infective endocarditis case at 33 weeks’ gestation due to acute left heart failureMiharu Masaki1), Minoru Wakasa1), Yuki Kuzume1), Jun Sawaguchi1), Taka-aki Takamura1), Kosuke Fujibayashi1), Tamaki Takano2) and Kouji Kajinami1)Department of Cardiology, Kanazawa Medical University, JapanDepartment of Cardiovascular surgery, Kanazawa Medical University, Japan

Substituent constants are often described with experimental proxies based on a simplified substituent effect model. While good insights have been derived from such proxies, the true properties of the substituent, through which a more thorough understanding of the substituent effect might be assessed, are not often investigated. Here, we have developed an atomic graph descriptor model for substituent properties using the Quantum Theory of Atoms in Molecules comprised of atomic, bond critical point, and charge concentration properties. These descriptors are shown to contain similar information to some traditionally used field and resonance parameters. The use of such descriptors for studying the substituent effect should provide greater insights into the true origin of the effect substituents have on molecular systems.

math_commands Head and neck squamous cell carcinoma poses grave challenges to clinicians and patients due to its tumor invasiveness and treatment uncertainties. Despite the substantial improvements in conventional treatment modalities such as surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy, the recurrence rate and mortality rate of HNSCC remain stubbornly high. Traditionally, the front-line therapy for recurrent/metastatic HNSCC has been the amalgamation of platinum-based drugs/paclitaxel, 5-fluorouracil , and cetuximab, yet it only improves the prognosis of some patients, and the overall treatment situation remains severe.Immunotherapy, as an emerging luminary in the domain of cancer treatment, is committed to improving the tumor microenvironment and stimulate the immune system to perform anti-tumor functions. The continuous updates of immune checkpoint inhibitors have also obtained favorable clinical feedback and is expected to overcome the constraints of traditional therapies. This article elaborates on the trends of immunotherapy within the TME and the progress of immunotherapy, aiming to provide new ideas for treatment regimens in the new therapeutic landscape of HNSCC and offer new hope for patients.

Rare plant species identified in project areas where land is to be developed or altered may need to be extracted for ex-situ conservation under human control. During ex-situ conservation, it is important to minimize the impact of adverse factors including the potentially limited environmental adaptability of rare plants under cultivation and possible losses of genetic diversity due to inbreeding if the number of conserved individuals is low. Here we evaluate the conservation difficulty and genetic diversity of populations of the rare plant Violα raddeana at five sites based on harmful gene accumulation and gene duplication data gathered using RNA-seq. Moreover, we evaluate the genetic diversity and structure of these populations using SNP data acquired using MIG-seq. The results obtained indicate that the V. raddeana populations have declined but remain robust towards environmental changes and can undergo voluntary mating at all sites. Moreover, there is clear genetic differentiation between two populations in close geographic proximity. If the majority of the remaining individuals of V. raddeana in each genetically related population were transplanted and cultivated, it would be possible to maintain their genetic diversity through ex-situ conservation.

math_commands Genetic and phenotypic clines in hybrid zones can differ due to various extents of hybridization and selection in heterogeneous environments. Temperate Cerasus leveilleana (Cl) and cool-temperate C. sargentii (Cs) form hybrid zones along elevational gradients. Because their geographic distributional ranges are largely overlapped, the hybrid zones are located across a wide latitudinal range in Japan. We compared variation in genotypes and phenotypes in hybrid zones among the south edge of Cs (south site), the north edge of Cl (north site), and the core of their ranges (central site). Genetic differentiation in nuclear microsatellite genotypes between Cl and Cs was lower, and the proportion of admixed individuals was higher, in the south site than in the central and north sites. Difference in the leaf hair density between Cl and Cs was smaller in the south site than in the central and north sites. Flowering periods at the same elevation were about seven days earlier in Cs than in Cl in the central site, while the periods were about nine days earlier in the south and north sites. These results suggest more admixture in the south site, which may result in introgression in a leaf trait, although staggered flowering is maintained. These findings imply that genetic admixture and phenotypic introgression has been facilitated, except for the latter in traits contributing to reproductive isolation, in the hybrid zone at the south rear edge of either species under the warming trend after the last glacial period.

Clothing, as a powerful tool of self-expression and social identity, significantly influences perceptions and interactions with others. This research aims to explore the impact of different clothing styles on social interactions and helping behavior. In the first study (n=57) we explored the stereotypes and prejudices of four common clothing styles (i.e., Bohemian, Classic, Elegant, and Sportswear) using a verbal association task. We then investigated how bystanders (488) interacted with, and even helped an unknown individual regarding their clothing style. Our findings suggest that clothing style can significantly impact social interactions, with more formal styles, such as Elegant, leading to increased social engagement. However, prosocial behavior did not appear to be influenced by clothing style. This research highlights the complex interplay between clothing, identity, and social behavior. It emphasizes the importance of understanding the psychological and social factors that drive clothing choices and their subsequent impact on well-being.

We present new numerical tools for geophysical inversion and uncertainty quantification (UQ), with an emphasis on blocky (piecewise-constant) layered models that can reproduce sharp contrasts in geophysical or geological properties. The new tools are inspired by an "old" and very successful inversion tool: regularized, nonlinear inversion (Occam's inversion, Constable et al. (1987)). We combine Occam's inversion with total variation (TV) regularization and a split Bregman method to obtain an inversion algorithm that we call blocky Occam, because it determines the blockiest model that fits the data adequately. To generate a UQ, we use a modified randomize-then-optimize approach (RTO) and call the resulting algorithm RamBO (randomized blocky Occam), because it essentially amounts to running blocky Occam in a randomized parallel for-loop. Blocky Occam and RamBO inherit computational advantages and stability from the combination of Occam's inversion, split Bregman and RTO, and, therefore, can be expected to be robustly applicable across geophysics.

RATIONALE: Collisional cross sections (CCS) are an important characteristic of gas-phase ions that are measured using ion mobility-mass spectrometry (IMS). Typically, CCS measurements are performed with drift-tube IMS or travelling-wave IMS. However. in a high-field asymmetric waveform ion mobility (FAIMS) device, the non-linear path through the device makes CCS determination more challenging. This research explores whether CCS can be predicted using a microscale FAIMS by using known CCS standards. METHODS: An Owlstone ultraFAIMS microscale FAIMS spectrometer was coupled to an Orbitrap Exactive mass spectrometer. 2 different CCS standard mixtures (tetraalkylammonium halides and poly-DL-alanine oligomers) were used to evaluate the systems potential to predict CCS. Test peptides bradykinin acetate and substance P were used to determine prediction accuracy for singly and doubly charged peptide species using external calibration with a series of poly-DL-alanine peptides for +1, +2 charge states. RESULTS: Calibrations with excellent correlation coefficients (R 2 = 0.99) for both TAAHs and poly-DL-alanine were obtained. Good predictive accuracy was achieved for bradykinin [M+2H] 2+ with a ±0.5% difference between experimental and published CCS at a dispersion field strength (DF) of 250 Td, the model proved less accurate for bradykinin [M+H] + (±1.4% at 240 Td). The prediction accuracy for the [M+H] + and [M+2H] 2+ ions of substance P was within ±5% and ±3% at 250 Td respectively, while at higher DF values accuracy decreased to approximately 5%. CONCLUSIONS: Distinct relationships were observed between CCS and transmission CF with both calibrants. Optimum predictive performance was obtained at DF strengths of 240-260 Td. At lower DF accuracy is reduced by insufficient resolution of analyte ions from solvent cluster adducts while at higher DF values, poor transmission becomes a factor. Nevertheless, these data suggest microscale FAIMS can conduct CCS measurements with reasonable accuracy when the compound being measured has similar structural features to the CCS standards used.

Soil water infiltration is an important hydrological process influencing mountain ecosystems’ runoff and soil loss. Our study evaluates soil water infiltration characteristics and the underlying mechanisms under Carya cathayensis plantations with different planting years: 6 (CC 6 years), 20 (CC 20 years), and 50 (CC 50 years). Native forest was chosen as control (CC 0 year). Philip, Kostiakov, Kostiakov-lewis, and Horton models were selected to evaluate their applicability under different planting years of Carya cathayensis plantations. The results showed that: (1) Converting native forests to Carya cathayensis plantations significantly decreased soil water infiltration rates, with average infiltration rate ( AIR), initial infiltration rate ( IIR), and stable infiltration rate ( SIR) decreasing by 33.11% ~ 70.98%, 31.23% ~ 64.11%, and 40.13% ~ 75.01%, respectively；(2) Soil water infiltration rates were improved with planting years, with the highest value shown under CC 50 years；(3) The correlation and path analysis indicated that IIR and SIR was mainly affected by soil non-capillary porosity, while AIR was mainly influenced by 5-2 mm water stable aggregate fraction; (4) The Kostiakov model is found to be the most appropriate for characterizing soil infiltration characteristics in the studied area. These findings shed insight into soil water infiltration processes and regulating factors for preventing and controlling soil erosion and restoring soil health in land use change, particularly forest cover conversion in the Dabie Mountain area.

Aiming at the pose solution problem of non-cooperative target (tracked vehicles). This study proposes a pose estima-tion method based on non-iterative PnP, considering the large contact area between the track and the ground, which makes the pitch angle between the camera coordinate system and the object coordinate system basically consistent. This method uses the RANSAC algorithm to eliminate wild points, reduce the iterative error caused by the PnP algo-rithm, and eliminate the mismatched points when matching feature points. Finally, the pose equation is solved by using the local minimum value of the cost function. This method reduces the difficulty of tracked vehicle pose solution and improves the pose solution speed. This paper verifies the proposed algorithm through an optoelectronic recon-naissance unmanned platform. Experiments show that the algorithm can improve the calculation rate while main-taining accuracy in solving the tracked vehicle pose problem and realizes real-time pose solution of tracked vehicles.

Dual-functional radar-communication (DFRC) will be a key technology in future sixth-generation (6G) network. Specifically, an integrated radar and communication platform (IRCP) equipped with full-dimensional antenna arrays can execute 3D beamforming, which can effectively minimize interference for communicating with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, a significant challenge in fully exploiting 3D beamforming gain is the IRCP’s ability to precisely track maneuverable UAVs. In this letter, we propose a novel interacting multiple model with enhanced unscented Kalman filter (IMM-EUKF) algorithm to realize 3D beam tracking for one maneuverable UAV within the framework of DFRC. To be specific, we build multiple state transition models to adopt the maneuverability of the UAV. Meanwhile, the stability of the unscented Kalman filter (UKF) is improved by using the singular value decomposition (SVD). Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm has higher tracking accuracy and better transmission performance for one maneuverable UAV than the traditional single-motion model based beam tracking algorithm.

math_commands Senna martiana (Benth.) H.S. Irwin & Barneby is endemic to Brazil’s dryland Caatinga domain. The species is known as ”canafistula” in folk medicine and its leaves are used as a laxative. Anatomical and histochemical studies of the species’ vegetative organs (roots, stems, and leaves) were conducted to identify features that would support its taxonomic classification as well as provide quality control for its ethnomedicinal use. Dried fragments from both leaflet surfaces were examined using scanning electron microscopy, and paradermal and transverse sections were used in histochemical tests to confirm the presence of lipids, starch, alkaloids, and nonstructural phenolic compounds. Senna martiana exhibits a striate cuticle on both leaflet surfaces, with straight to curved anticlinal cell walls on the adaxial face and sinuous walls on the abaxial face. The leaflets are amphistomatic, with a variety of stomatal types (paracytic, anisocytic, anomotetracytic, and brachyparacytic). The midrib is plane-convex with a collateral vascular system; the petiole is elliptic with 6–8 vascular bundles; the leaf rachis is ovate with 4–5 vascular bundles. Stems have a siphonostelic ectophloic vascular system. Idioblasts containing crystal sand, prismatic crystals, druses, and starch grains were observed in all vegetative organs. The distinctive combination of leaflet edge contours, leaf rachis and stem structure, and the arrangement and number of vascular bundles provides a set of distinguishing features for Senna martiana that are useful for both taxonomy and quality control of its ethnomedicinal use.

The purpose of this work is to obtain exact and approximate formulas that calculate the number of partitions of even numbers into sums of pairs of prime numbers.

Background: Primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) due to CCNO mutations is frequently associated with more severe clinical phenotypes. This study reports our experience with three patients and reviews global characteristics of CCNO-related cases, providing insights for early diagnosis. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of PCD patients with CCNO mutations and reviewed genotype-phenotype correlations in the literature. Results: Three pediatric cases of PCD with CCNO mutations were enrolled in our department. All patients were born with respiratory distress and exhibited recurrent wet cough, wheezing, or dyspnea. Bronchial mucosal biopsies from all patients revealed the absence of ciliary structures. Patients exhibited nasal nitric oxide (nNO) levels below the normal range. All three patients had sinusitis; Patient 1 also suffered from otitis media, mastoiditis and hearing loss. Head magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed arachnoid cyst in patient 1 and ventricular enlargement in patient 3. Patient 2 carried a novel homozygous point mutation in exon 3 (c.884T>C/homo; p.L295P), and echocardiography revealed moderate pulmonary hypertension. Our literature review indicated that neonatal onset respiratory symptoms were the major manifestations. Low nNO levels were observed in 89.2% of patients. Heterotaxy was absent in all cases. Bronchiectasis was the most common radiological finding. A total of 20 mutations were identified in 55 patients. Conclusion: Neonatal respiratory distress and reduced nNO levels are common clinical features of CCNO-related PCD.Genetic testing is essential for the early diagnosis of CCNO-related PCD.