A document by Xavier Pardell Peña. Click on the document to view its contents.

El cristalino es un tejido transparente ubicado en la parte anterior del ojo, detrás del iris y de la pupila (figura 1), que funciona como lente natural, ya que permite enfocar la imagen en la retina. Asimismo, aumenta su capacidad de refracción (capacidad dióptrica) mediante fibras musculares que lo rodean, con lo cual consigue enfocar mejor la luz hacia la retina. Dentro de los padecimientos más comunes del ojo, está la opacificación parcial o total del cristalino, a la cual se le denomina catarata. Cuando la opacificación llega a un punto en el que impide ver lo suficiente para que el paciente pueda realizar sus actividades normales, es necesario extraer la catarata, sustituyendo el poder dióptrico del cristalino por un lente intraocular.

Los ultrasonidos son ondas sonoras de alta frecuencia (0.8 a 3 MHz) producidas por un cabezal vibratorio que se aplica sobre la piel, a través del cual penetran en el organismo. Algunos minerales poseen la propiedad de deformarse al someterlos o que generen un impulso eléctrico al ser sometidos a deformación brusca. Fenómeno que recibe el nombre de piezoelectricidad (figura 1).

RATIONALE: Benzene (C 6H 6) is industrially important aromatic molecule which used as a primary reagent in pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries and on the other hand in the preparation of polystyrene for plastic industries, styrene (C 8H 8) is used as monomer. This motivated us to carry out the extensive study for the considered molecules. METHODS: The single differential cross-sections and their integral i.e. total ionization cross-sections for benzene and styrene molecules have been calculated by employing modified Jain-Khare semiempirical formulation. The ionization rate coefficient is calculated by using Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution law of temperature/energy. To confirm the consistency and reliability of the calculated ionization Qion data and, to prove the reliability of the employed JK formulation we used the empirical relationship reported by Lampe, Franklin and field. RESULTS: The secondary electron energy dependent differential cross sections at fix incident electron energies 100 and 200 eV and their integral cross-sections from ionization threshold to 5 keV have been calculated. The averaged secondary electron energy and the rate coefficients in ionization threshold to 5 keV energy range are also calculated and we found the linear relationship between Q ion and (⍺/I) 1/2, which confirm the consistency and reliability of the present data and applied JK formulation. CONCLUSION: The present TICS are found to be in good agreement with theoretical and experimental available data sets and are significant for the pharmaceutical and petrochemical industries, the planetary atmosphere, the plastic industries, and X-ray lithography techniques in microelectronics and microfabrication. This encourages the atomic and molecular communities for better outcomes.

In this paper, we are concerned with the limiting absorption principle for the fractional Helmholtz equation (0.1) ( − ∆ ) s u − λ u = f ( x , u ) , in R n , where n≥3, 0 +∞ and n n + 1 < s < n 2 are two real parameters. By establishing the boundedness estimate for the resolvent of fractional Helmholtz operator, we obtain the nontrivial L q ( R n ) complex valued solutions for (0.1). By setting up a dual variational framework, we also obtain the real valued solutions for (0.1) via a non-vanishing principle.

Background: Increasing the motivation of hospital staff is an important factor in improving service quality, patient satisfaction, and competitiveness. Especially in developing countries such as Somalia, it is important to increase and sustain the motivation of doctors in order to improve health services and overcome challenges (quality and accessibility). Objectives: This descriptive study aimed to determine the motivation levels of 154 doctors working in Somalia’s Hargeisa Group Hospital and the factors affecting these levels. Methods: The research was designed using a relational screening model. The research data were obtained with the Factors Affecting the Motivation Levels of Nurses Scale. Cronbach Alpha values were calculated to test the reliability of the scale. Descriptive statistics were shown as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. For intergroup comparisons, the t test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were applied. Results: Factors affecting the motivation of physicians were grouped into four categories: managerial practices, work environment characteristics, work-related characteristics, and individual characteristics. It was determined that there was a statistically significant difference in favor of female physicians in the sub-dimensions of managerial practices and work-related characteristics according to gender of the factors affecting the motivation level of physicians. Similarly, it was observed that there was a difference in the sub-dimensions of work environment characteristics and individual characteristics according to age groups. This difference was in favor of physicians in advanced age groups. It was determined that the general motivation level of the 121 doctors participating in the study was above the median value. Conclusion: In order to increase the motivation of doctors, it was recommended that they be more involved in decision-making processes and management practices; continuous development and training opportunities should be provided; and working environments that encourage a culture of cooperation and teamwork should be created.

Optimizing language models to achieve both high performance and efficiency remains a complex challenge due to the vast parameter spaces and the intricacies of text generation. Introducing a novel approach that leverages highly dense reward structures combined with a recursive thought process through Monte Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) offers significant improvements in model training and generative capabilities. The enhanced LLaMA model benefits from granular feedback provided through dense rewards, allowing it to better navigate the high-dimensional space and converge more rapidly to optimal solutions. The recursive evaluation mechanism of MCTS further enables the model to make informed decisions through an iterative exploration of potential text sequences, resulting in more contextually coherent outputs. Experiments conducted on diverse datasets demonstrate the model's superior performance in terms of BLEU, ROUGE, and METEOR scores, as well as its adaptability to unseen linguistic contexts. The modified LLaMA model exhibits faster convergence rates and more robust generalization compared to baseline models, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed optimization techniques in enhancing language model performance.

Coinage bonds, a type of non-covalent interaction, occur between group 11 elements (Au, Ag and Cu) with electron donor groups. Despite theoretical validation, empirical evidence remains limited. In this study, an aggregation-induced emission (AIE)-active Au(I) complex, ITCPAu, which exhibits Au···I coinage bonds, was revealed based on the single-crystal X-ray diffraction and theoretical calculations. Further examination of the luminescence properties of the ITCPAu revealed multi-switchable behavior, including mechanochromism and thermochromism. Nearly pure white-light emission was achieved with Commission Internationale de L’Eclairage (CIE) 1931 chromaticity coordinates of (0.30, 0.31) by grinding the green-emissive ITCPAu monomer crystals. Moreover, visualization and manipulation of solid-state molecular motion (SSMM) in the yellow-emissive ITCPAu dimer crystals, driven by the robust Au···I coinage bonds, were revealed through a combination of crystal engineering and luminescent properties. Furthermore, to support the robust Au···I coinage bonds, a versatile carrier for small solvent molecules in crystal lattices was developed for uptake and release. Our findings provide experimental and theoretical evidence for Au···I coinage bonds, highlighting their ability to boost photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) and trigger SSMM, emphasizing their potential in developing smart materials with stimuli-responsive properties.

The chiral resolution and separation of enantiomers is of great significance in both life science and pharmaceutical industry. Herein, we empoly butanol solvent isomerism and metal ion-coordintion to target chiral spontaneous resolution through chiral amplification forming superhelix. In Ni/ Rac-BrpempH 2 system, cyan flake crystal compounds Meso-1C and light blue gel 2S were generated from the reaction of NiSO 4·6H 2O and racemic 4-Br-(1-phenylethylamino)methylpho sphonate (4-BrpempH 2) under hydrothermal conditions at 100 °C for 2 days, in 20 % ethyl alcohol (EA)/H 2O and 40 % sec-butyl alcohol (SBA)/H 2O, respectively. Noteworthly, compound 2S is an aggregate of left-handed and right-handed nanohelices ( P&M) with the diameter about 60 nm and the pitch of 50 nm, which indicated chiral self-resolution was occured. Further to obtain a homochiral macroscopic helix, D/L-phephenylalanine (D-/L-Phe) or D-/L-Pipecolinic acid (D-/L-Pca) are added to the reaction system. Interestingly, the right-hand superhelices ( 2S-M) were obtained at the present of L-Phe additive, the left-hand superhelices ( 2S-P) at the present of D-Phe additive. However, when chiral Pca is used as a chiral additive, the opposite result to the above occurs, i.e., the addition of D-Pca results in a left-handed helix ( 2S-P) and vice versa for a right-handed helix ( 2S-P). In this case, the cosolvent SBA and chiral additive play critical roles in chiral resolution. Furthermore, helical products 2S-P and 2S-M obtained from D-/L-Phe chiral resolving agents exhibited comparable recognition capacities for Trp enantiomers.This study offers a novel method for chiral resolution through chiral amplification and provides a new pathway for the design and self-assembly of chiral materials with controllable handedness, especially in coordination polymer systems.

We report a rare case of double outlet atrial tachycardia (DOAT) originating from the ascending aorta in an 84-year-old male with drug-refractory palpitations. Electrophysiologic study revealed dual exit sites from the non-coronary cusp and adjacent right atrium with alternating P-wave morphologies. Initial ablation attempts at conventional sites were unsuccessful. Activation mapping identified the earliest signal in the ascending aorta, where radiofrequency ablation terminated tachycardia without recurrence.

Background Diagnosing paroxysmal cardiac arrhythmias early poses a challenge, yet it holds paramount significance. Certain patients hold strong beliefs regarding the moon’s impact on cardiac arrhythmias. This study aims to examine the potential correlation. Methods In our emergency room, each patient presentation is assigned an ’admission diagnosis’. An analysis was conducted on admission diagnoses from 2012 to 2020 (pre-COVID pandemic). The frequency of rhythmological diagnoses was investigated, both collectively and separately, as well as categorized by underlying pathomechanism, in relation to the lunar phase and the moon’s proximity to Earth at the time of admission. Moreover, the impact of gender, age, and weight was evaluated. Results 58,230 patient presentations were recorded, with 16.9% coded with rhythmological diagnoses. No significant differences were found in the distribution of cardiac arrhythmias concerning lunar phases or moon-earth distance. Gender, age, and weight did not influence this distribution, except in a small group of underweight patients (<55kg), where a statistical difference was observed with greater moon distance. To verify this results, we investigated all existing holter monitoring of underweight patients presenting to the ER between 2017 and 2020. In 195 24-hour holter recordings a uniform burden of supraventricular extrasystoles and atrial fibrillation/flutter irrespective of the moon’s distance from Earth was observed. Conclusion Contrary to patient beliefs, moon does not seem to affect the presentations with rhythmological complaints and diagnoses in our single-center analysis, irrespective of age, gender, or arrhythmia type. The moon cannot aid in diagnosing paroxysmal arrhythmias .

Exploring the Principles of Optics Through Modern Technologies Aditya Chauhan 11 High School Student, Department of Science, GD Goenka Public School, Kashipur, India

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative force in the field of economic forecasting, enhancing the accuracy and timeliness of predictions while enabling the analysis of large and complex datasets. This paper explores the transition from traditional econometric methods to AI-powered forecasting, detailing the advantages and challenges involved in this shift. Case studies illustrate successful applications across various sectors, including finance, healthcare, and government, highlighting the potential for AI to improve decision-making processes. By examining the implications of AI in economic forecasting, this research aims to provide a nuanced understanding of its impact on policymaking, business strategy, and socioeconomic dynamics.

Background: Cobalt/chromium alloy is the most frequently used material in knee replacement hardware. It is composed of 60% cobalt, 30% chromium, 5% molybdenum, and contains from 0.5 - 2% nickel. We have found that nickel sensitization is an important cause of failed knee replacements in these patients. Despite such low percent concentrations in the alloy, whether nickel elutes from the implant material and become detectable in synovial fluid from cobalt/chromium knee replacements has never been measured. If so, such soluble material would be more available to trigger an immune inflammatory response. Methods: After obtaining written informed consent, we collected synovial fluid from the knees of patients with failed cobalt/chromium knee replacements, from those with other non-nickel containing implants, or those without implants with osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. We measured synovial fluid concentrations of nickel, cobalt, chromium, and molybdenum by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results: Nickel and cobalt concentrations were significantly higher in patients with cobalt/chromium knee replacements, and virtually non-detectable in other non-nickel, non-cobalt implants or in other causes of knee arthritis. In those with failed cobalt/chromium knee hardware, nickel concentrations were also significantly higher in patients with failure due to nickel sensitization compared to those with other causes of failure. Conclusion: Despite low concentrations in cobalt/chromium alloy, nickel does elute from this material, is detectable in synovial fluid from failed cobalt/chromium knee replacements, and is significantly higher in nickel-sensitized patients with these failed implants. Elevated cobalt concentrations are also found in some of these patients.

A document by Mandana Khodahahi. Click on the document to view its contents.

Broadening the Perspective on Cancer in Pregnancy: Addressing Diagnostic Delays, Tumor Diversity, and Psychosocial Factors in Maternal Mortality

Background: Outcome-Based Education (OBE) has become essential in reshaping medical training, driven by evolving practices, changing patient expectations, and increased legal accountability in healthcare. OBE is notably impactful in specialties like Obstetrics and Gynecology, demanding precision and adaptability. Materials and Methods: This peer review involved examining literature on OBE across various medical fields, with a focus on Obstetrics and Gynecology. Using PubMed and the University of Limerick library database, searches included terms related to OBE, curriculum development, and educational assessments. Only fully accessible articles in English were reviewed, ensuring a focus on comprehensive studies. Results: The shift from volume-based to competency-based training is profound in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Tools like the Mini-Clinical Evaluation Exercise (Mini-CEX) and Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills (OSATS) are critical for objectively evaluating competencies in real-time settings. Despite their role in meeting contemporary medical standards, challenges persist, including discrepancies between intended and actual training outcomes, variable effectiveness of assessment tools, and a tendency for evaluations to become simplistic checklists. Continuous refinement of these tools is necessary to accurately measure competencies. Crucially, the successful adoption of OBE relies on full trainer engagement and their integration into the transition process. Conclusion: OBE represents a substantial evolution towards structured and measurable training goals in medical education. Successful implementation depends on adapting and rigorously evaluating educational strategies to match the dynamic medical training landscape.

Objective: There are increasing concerns about the trustworthiness of the medical literature. When identified after publication, such concerns about published papers can be addressed through a post-publication review (PPR) system. We evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of this system while addressing studies in women’s health. Design: Cohort study Setting: The project was conducted at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Monash University, Australia. Sample: Papers Published in Women’s Health Journals Methods: We wrote to the editors and publishers about potentially untrustworthy papers in women’s health and requested an investigation according to the procedure established by the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE). Main outcome measure: For each paper, we tabulated the trial characteristics, investigation outcome [retraction, expression of concern (EoC), correction or no wrongdoing found] and time to decision. We also report the case completion rate per journal and publisher. Results: Between 7 th November 2017 and 30 th April 2024, we wrote to editors and publishers of 891 potentially untrustworthy papers published in 206 different journals. At present, 263 (30%) of 891 papers received an outcome, with 227 (86%) labelled as problematic (152 (58%) papers retracted; 75 (29%) EoC). It took a median time of 16 months for editors and publishers to decide, with 13% of the flagged cases reaching a decision within 12 months. Conclusions: The current PPR process is inefficient and ineffective in assessing and removing untrustworthy data from the medical literature. Funding: No funding was sought for this project.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a prevalent and highly virulent bacterium encountered in clinical settings. Due to its uneven drug resistance profile and the multitude of factors influencing detection rates, precise and sensitive identification of MRSA is essential. Herein, we developed a detection system (called “APC-Cas-PLNPs”) that can ultra-sensitive detection for MRSA, using nucleic acid-based allosteric probe, CRISPR-Cas12a and dual-colored persistent luminescent nanoparticles tandem detection. Simply, allosteric probe was used for specifically recognize MRSA and cyclic signal amplification, and then initiated catalytic CRISPR-Cas12a collateral cleavage. Meanwhile, red-emitting ZnGa2O4:Cr (ZGC) bonded with BHQ3 modified single-stranded DNA to create a detection probe known as ZGC@BHQ3, and green-emitting Zn2GeO4:Mn (ZGM) was utilized as the reference probe and electrostatically bound to both probes, forming the ratiometric luminescence sensor ZGC@BHQ3-ZGM for CRISPR-Cas12a detection.With this strategy, the non-nucleic acid targets were dexterously converted into fluorescent signals. This tandem detection system eliminates interference from background fluorescence and external factors, and provided a novel signal amplification and conversion strategy, which enables accurate and sensitive quantification of MRSA (1-105 CFU/mL) without requiring isolation and DNA extraction. Moreover, APC-Cas-PLNPs can recognize low levels of MRSA in food samples such as milk and orange juice, as well as in mouse serum, demonstrating greater sensitivity compared to real-time PCR. This method holds significant potential application value in food detection and early diagnosis of pathogenic bacteria, highlighting its broad applicability.

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has affected many aspects of our lives. The scientific community is in awe of the SARS-CoV-2 virus’s ability to evolve through mutations that affect its transmission bottlenecks and ability to evade the host immune system. In this study, we aimed to gain a better understanding of the genomic changes that might occur during serial passaging of the local SARS-CoV-2 Ank1 isolate. The local SARS-CoV-2 isolate was serially passaged ten times in vitro and in vivo (Vero E6 cells and type 1 interferon knockout transgenic mice (IFNAR-/-), respectively). Whole genome sequencing of the isolates was performed using the Illumina NextSeq 550 platform and the Paragon CleanPlex® SARS-CoV-2 panel. The Genome Detective tool was used to analyze the raw sequence data. According to our results, in vitro passaging, at passage number 10, four non-synonymous substitutions and two synonymous substitutions were detected compared to the original isolate. Interestingly, in vivo passaging, at passages 9 and 10, two additional non-synonymous substitutions were observed. Our obtained result indicated that the SARS-CoV-2 passaging processes in vitro and in vivo affect its genome, we speculated that the host environments obtained in the laboratory selectively pressed on the isolate.

This work is absorbed in the neighboring mode-dependent event-triggered control scheme for Markov jump systems with unknown interconnections. A dynamic event-triggered mechanism composed of neighboring modes parameters is provided to save communication resources and reduce the number of solution parameters. Distinguished from existing version, the global operating modes are required to be unknown for each local subsystem. Resorting to neighboring modes information, an event-triggered state feedback controller is established to assure system stability. The cyclic-small-gain criterion is used to tackle the unknown interconnections so that novel stability criteria are obtained for the closed-loop systems with H ∞ performance. Finally, an illustrative example is employed to confirm the proposed method in the aspect of validity.

At present, the employment of artificial intelligence has been greatly promising for several real-time applications. Recently, memristor has evolved as the most widely used electronic component for artificial synaptic applications. To further enhance the memristive controllability, this work proposes memristive synaptic updates through switch-free pulse width modulation-based memristive programming (SFPWMBMP), and switch-free pulse train-based memristive programming (SFPTBMP) techniques implemented through the aid of artificial intelligence (AI). The above programming is possible since the memristor facilitates simultaneous read and write operations, eliminating the need to switch between these two functions; thus, both write and read signals were superimposed and applied simultaneously. Interestingly, these techniques were employed in hotel management applications where a single memristor was engaged to follow the number of parcels ordered by a given customer. Furthermore, the proposed idea was extended to monitor all the customers through memristive crossbar architecture. Importantly, the circuits proposed in this work demonstrated a 49.57% improvement in circuit complexity and a 59.63% reduction in delay. Most importantly, employing AI was an easy process and resulted in an 88.8% reduction in code complexity.

Ultrasound (US) can easily penetrate media with excellent spatial precision corresponding to its wavelength. Naturally, US plays a pivotal role in the echolocation abilities of certain mammals such as bats and dolphins. In addition, medical US generated by transducers interact with tissues via delivering ultrasonic energy in the modes of heat generation, exertion of acoustic radiation force (ARF), and acoustic cavitation. Based on the principle of echolocation, various assistive devices for visual impairment people have been developed. High-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) are developed for targeted ablation and tissue destruction. Besides thermal ablation, histotripsy with US is designed to damage tissue purely via mechanical effect without thermal coagulation. Low-Intensity Focused Ultrasound (LIFU) has been proven to be an effective stimulation method for neuromodulation. Furthermore, US has been reported to transiently increase permeability of biological membranes, enabling acoustic transfection and blood-brain barrier open. All of these advances in US are changing the clinic. This review mainly introduces the advances in these aspects, focusing on the physical and biological principles, challenges and future direction.

Landslides are among the most recognizable evidence of hillslope erosion in tectonically active mountains. Yet, how much of the distribution of landslides of different ages relates to, or inherits from, the pattern of topographic metrics of landscape evolution remains partially unresolved, and especially so in tropical areas. We derive such metrics for 650 catchments, including their mean hypsometric integral, local relief, geological lineament, density, and stepness variations and knickpoint density of river channels as proxies of tectonic activity; we test how these proxies match with, if not explain, the distribution of some 14,000 prehistoric and modern landslides in the Colombian Andes. A $K$-means cluster analysis of catchment hypsometry reveals four distinct groups of catchments. We interpret these groups to reflect different states of transience with clear contrasts in mean local relief, average hillslope inclination, channel steepness, and landslide density. We propose that tectonic uplift, base-level changes, and passing waves of incision control these different states of transience. Yet, we find that landslides occur widely without much spatial association to, or amassing near, major channel knickpoints. This observation reflects what we would expect from a threshold landscape in which landslides abound irrespective of contrasts in local river incision rates. Still, we notice a pronounced attraction of landslides to transient divides, where especially prehistoric landslides are preferentially preserved. We infer that, in our study area at least, differences in catchment hypsometry might be more useful to track potential tectonic controls on landslide patterns than comparing these to knickpoint distributions or channel metrics.