1. Leaching – the release of elements from organic matter through dissolution in water – plays an important role in biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem processes. However, understanding the patterns in and underlying drivers of element solubility in leaves lags far behind that of other related plant traits. 2. In this study, we quantify the solubility of carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) from leaves of Betula pubescens - a widespread boreal tree species - across a 5182 year postfire retrogressive chronosequence. 3. We find that P is much more soluble than C and N, and is released in solution mainly in readily accessible mineral form. Solubility patterns are strongly related to foliar chemical and structural traits, particularly for green leaves, whereas metrics related to stand structure exert a stronger influence over solubility from senesced leaf litter. 4. Overall, our results indicate that leaching could constitute an important flux of nutrients to the soil, particularly of P, and that the rate and spatio-temporal pattern of this flux appear readily predictable from foliar and ecosystem properties. Further application of the method across more species and environmental contexts should allow for rapid integration of leaching-related foliar traits into broader plant trait frameworks.

A document by Yuling He. Click on the document to view its contents.

This review paper presents a comprehensive examination of the current and future landscape of Natural Language Processing (NLP) in healthcare, with a particular focus on the integration and potential of generative AI and GPT-3 technologies. The research delves into the transformative applications of NLP in clinical documentation, patient feedback analysis, and the burgeoning field of AI-driven virtual health assistants. It highlights how these advanced technologies can streamline healthcare data management, enhance patient engagement, and facilitate innovative research methodologies. The paper also critically examines the challenges and limitations inherent in the application of NLP within healthcare. These include ensuring the accuracy and reliability of AI-generated information, addressing privacy and ethical concerns related to patient data, and integrating these technologies into existing healthcare infrastructures. The research underscores the need for rigorous standards and ethical considerations in the development and implementation of NLP tools in healthcare. Looking ahead, the paper discusses the potential future directions for NLP in healthcare, emphasizing the role of generative AI models like GPT-3 in advancing patient care, medical documentation, and healthcare research. This review serves as a foundational analysis for future research in this field, advocating for continuous innovation and ethical implementation of NLP and AI technologies in healthcare.

A document by Prasanta Mohapatra. Click on the document to view its contents.

In complex and dynamic environments, the decision-making sequence of individual robots significantly influences the effectiveness of collaboration and cooperation among multi-robot systems in completing tasks. This paper focuses on the division of labor in autonomous multi-robot systems, aiming to find optimal strategies for resource allocation among robots operating in complex scenarios. Each robot makes independent yet interacting decisions in relatively isolated dynamic environments. We propose a model that applies game theory from economics, classifying the robots into resource-providing robots and resource-consuming robots. Resource providers acquire resources and compete to determine the optimal strategy, while resource consumers purchase resources, making decisions based on the pricing set by providers.The problem is formulated as a two-stage game. In the first stage, resource providers engage in resource games, abstracted into Cournot or Stackelberg models, where optimal decisions are made based on available resources and estimated strategies of other participants. The second stage involves price games between providers and consumers, analogous to market supply and demand relationships. Price adjustments and demand changes lead to the discovery of Nash equilibria in the price game. Simulations are conducted to compare the system-wide benefits when providers adopt different strategies in the first stage. Results indicate that using the Stackelberg model yields higher overall benefits, further demonstrating the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed strategies. This highlights the importance of strategic model selection in optimizing the performance and resource efficiency of multi-robot systems operating in dynamic environments.

Chronic heart failure is a global health issue and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality. As its prevalence increases, it imposes a growing burden on both individuals and healthcare systems. Patients’ adherence to optimal drug treatment is crucial for achieving the best possible outcomes and effectiveness. However, medication adherence rates vary widely among patients with heart failure, and thus it is essential to accurately assess patients’ adherence. In this comprehensive review, we aim to provide insights into the practical aspects of various methods of adherence assessment. Direct methods include directly observed medication intake, serum drug level measurement, and biological marker testing. Indirect methods can be divided into subjective methods (patient–physician dialogue, patient questionnaires, and patient diaries), and objective methods (pill counts, pharmacy refill records, and electronic monitoring devices). Healthcare professionals must recognize and understand these different methods to develop strategies that optimize patient outcomes, and mitigate the economic implications associated with heart failure.

Structured Medication Reviews (SMRs) were introduced into the National Health Service (NHS) Primary Care to support the delivery of the NHS Long-Term Plan for medicines optimisation. SMRs improve the quality of care, reduce harm, and offer value for money. However, evidence to support SMRs for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) stage G4-5D with elevated risk of cardiovascular disease and premature mortality is unknown. This scoping review aimed to assess the extent and nature of SMR research in the population of patients with CKD stage G4-5D. Electronic databases were searched on 20 October 2023. Studies were eligible if they described an SMR in adults with CKD stage G4-5D, regardless of the study design. Data detailing the global patterns, population and intervention descriptions, professionals performing SMR, and reported areas for future research were extracted. The extracted outcome data were categorised as clinically important, patient-important, medication-related, and experience-related. A narrative synthesis was completed. Seventeen studies (81%) were conducted in nephrology outpatient setting, three (14%) during acute hospital admissions, and one (5%) within the community pharmacy. Eighteen studies (86%) were quantitative, to include five randomised controlled trials. Ten (48%) studies were undertaken in the United States of America and Canada, and two in Europe (France and Norway). No such studies have been conducted in the United Kingdom. Our review revealed that there is a lack of evidence for SMR as a strategy to reduce polypharmacy and harms from medication for adults with CKD stage G4-5D. Therefore, further research is required in this area.

Text generation leverages artificial intelligence to generate natural language texts automatically. One of the applications of text generation is in text classification. Many of the real-world problems involve imbalanced text data, which may reduce the accuracy and efficiency of classification. A common approach to address the problem of imbalanced data is oversampling the minority class. Considering the success and progress of generative adversarial networks (GANs) in data generation, these models can be used to generate text samples in oversampling. Text generation using GANs is a complex issue due to the discrete nature of text. Despite their potentials, the use of generative methods in resolving the problem of imbalanced text data is rarely studied. We investigate, compare and analyze the use of GANs in improving the efficiency of text classification in presence of class imbalance. We apply three models based on the state-of-art GANs to resolve the imbalanced text problem, and compare the classification results with oversampling based on traditional methods such as SMOTE and ADASYN. The experiments on different datasets reveal that oversampling with GANs results in a larger classification improvement. We also investigate and compare the quality and diversity of the text generated by GANs, and further analyze the classification performance in accordance to these aspects. The results of this study can also aid in analyzing the current capacities and deficiencies of generating text with GANs.

A solution to the initial-boundary value problem for the heat equation with a discontinuous coefficient and a general conjugation condition is verified using the Fourier method. The problem considered in the paper models the process of heat propagation of a temperature field in a thin rod of finite length, consisting of two sections with different thermal-physical characteristics. In addition to the boundary conditions of the first kind, general conditions are specified at the point of contact of the two media. The existence and uniqueness of a classical solution to the studied problem is proved.

A document by DR DHIREN SHAH. Click on the document to view its contents.

The most important characteristics of conformable integrals and derivatives have recently been explored in the literature [1][2]. In this work, we delve into the newly emerging field of fractional calculus, with a particular focus on the novel class of fractional derivatives known as conformable fractional derivatives. We provide an extensive examination of various definitions and formulations of fractional derivatives, emphasizing the ”new conformable fractional derivative” introduced in [13]. This new derivative is defined as ( D α G ) ( z ) = lim x −→ 0 G ( z + x e ( α − 1 ) z ) − G ( z ) x , which is distinct from traditional fractional derivatives in its formulation and application. We investigate the implications and utility of this new definition in proving certain results related to conformable fractional derivatives, as established in [14]. Our study includes a comparative analysis of the new conformable fractional derivative with existing fractional calculus frameworks, and we demonstrate how it simplifies and enhances the understanding of fractional calculus problems. Additionally, we explore its potential applications in various fields, including mathematical modeling and engineering. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of fractional calculus and offer new tools for researchers and practitioners in the field.

Recent research indicates the need to understand how threats operate at a local level. In the wake of Brexit’s significant impact on Ireland’s political, economic, and social climate, the present research investigated whether information about economic threat posed by this political event affect political preferences in the Republic of Ireland, as well as national identity and boundaries of the national group ( N = 267). We experimentally manipulated perceived economic threat posed by Brexit using fictitious information and assessed political preferences for a ‘United Ireland’. Additionally, we examined the impact of this economic threat for strength of national identification, as well as the boundaries of the national community, measured by civic and ethnic nationalism. We also assessed participants’ agreement with the manipulated information about Brexit as a moderator of these effects. Results indicated that threatening information about Brexit goes along with more support for Irish unity the more participants’ agree with the information and reduces support the more participants’ disagree. There was no effect of threat on national identification or civic and ethnic nationalism. The discussion highlights the implications for constructing threats in political messaging and offers important insights into preferences for Irish unity within the evolving Brexit context.

This study aimed to test the psychometric properties of the Turkish version of the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ) and the mediating roles of dimensions of the MZQ in the relationship between attachment insecurity and borderline personality disorder (BPD) features. Four hundred eighty-four young adults (82.2% women, 17.8% men) aged between 18 and 37 completed the Turkish translation of the MZQ, the Experiences in Close Relationships Scale-Revised (ECR-R), the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ), the Borderline Personality Inventory (PBI), and the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI). Exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted after randomly splitting the dataset. EFA indicated a three-factor solution, and CFA supported this three-factor model, which consisted of emotional self-reflection, pre-mentalizing modes, and affect regulation. Construct validity was further established by significant correlations of the MZQ with reflective functioning and indicators of maladaptive psychological functioning. Emotional self-reflection and regulation of affect both mediated the positive relationship between attachment insecurity and BPD features. Pre-mentalizing modes moderated the relationship between attachment anxiety and BPD. The Turkish version of the MZQ can be an applicable and reliable tool for assessing mentalizing deficits not evaluated by prior tools.

Congenital Perineal Hernia in Siblings: Case Reports and Review of LiteratureMalik W.Z. Khan*¹; Muhammad Ahmad*²; Samra Iftikhar¹; Asfandiyar K. Mohmand²; Ahmed Kertam³; Salma Qudrat²; Jibran Ikram⁴; Salman Khan⁵; Long H. Tu¹¹Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, USA; malik.khan@yale.edu; samraiftikhar.shah@gmail.com; long.tu@yale.edu²Khyber Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan. muhammadahmad.mail44@gmail.com;  asfandiyar510@gmail.com; salmaqd19@gmail.com³Ain-Shams University Medical School, Cairo, Egypt; akertam@gmail.com⁴Department of Outcomes Research, Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA; ikramj@ccf.org⁵Staten Island University Hospital, Northwell Health, NY, USA; skhan114@northwell.edu* Contributed equally

Objectives: paranoia exists in the general population both in adults and in children and is key feature of schizotypy and schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. Attempts to develop child-appropriate tools to assess childhood suspiciousness and its correlates with developmental psychopathology is underdeveloped but crucial. This study examines the prevalence and structure of childhood mistrust and its correlations with internalizing and externalizing problems in non-clinical and clinical samples using a newly validated Italian Social Mistrust Scale (SMS). Methods: children aged 8-14 years old from a non-clinical ( N = 242) and a clinical sample with anxiety and/or mood disorder ( N = 44) were recruited. All children completed the SMS and a standardized battery of tests measuring schizotypal traits, anxiety, depression, and internalizing/externalizing problems. Results: the Total Mistrust score was positively skewed, with 50% of children scoring ≤3 points and 15% scoring ≥7 points. Factor Analyses revealed a three-factor model (i.e., General Mistrust, Home Mistrust, and School Mistrust) replicating the original English SMS. As expected, childhood mistrust was positively correlated with schizotypal traits, anxiety, and depression in the non-clinical sample ( r = 0.49, 0.42, and 0.54, respectively) and in the clinical sample ( r = 0.75, 0.51, and 0.85, respectively). Finally, the SMS showed an overall moderate internal reliability in the non-clinical sample ( α = 0.74), and a good internal reliability in the clinical sample ( α = 0.83). Conclusion: replicating previous studies, childhood mistrust as measured by the newly translated Italian SMS exists on a continuum of severity and is associated with higher levels of childhood psychopathology.

Successful Multi-Disciplinary Workup in Management of Virginal Breast Hypertrophy Associated with Kallmann Syndrome in Adolescent female

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Trematodes are obligatory parasites that generally must transmit between hosts to complete life cycle. These strategies entail parasitizing diverse intermediate hosts, yet their evolutionary trajectory and ancestral origins remain elusive. We conducted the ancestral state reconstruction of the number of intermediate hosts using mitogenomic (Trematoda) and nuclear-genomic (Neodermata) topologies. Aspidogastrea was identified as the sister-group (basal) to all other Trematoda using a range of approaches, so it is crucial for studying the evolutionary history of trematodes. Unfortunately, mitogenome of this lineage still inaccessible. Herein, we sequenced mitogenomes of two aspidogastreans: Aspidogaster ijimai and Aspidogaster conchicola. As the ancestral state reconstruction analysis is topology-sensitive, we tested multiple phylogenetic strategies, comprising the outgroup selection, phylogenetic models, partitioning strategies, and topological constraints. Based on our analyses, Cestoda was the optimal outgroup choice, and the heterogeneous CAT-GTR model in PhyloBayes was the optimal model choice. We inferred the time tree and conducted ancestral state reconstruction analyses using this optimal topology, as well as constrained mitogenomic and nuclear genomic topologies. Results were ambiguous for some lineages, but scenario that received the strongest support is the direct life cycle (no intermediate hosts) in the ancestors of Trematoda (proto-trematodes) and Aspidogastrea (proto-aspidogastreans), while the ancestor of Digenea (proto-digeneans) had two intermediate hosts. The inferred scenario indicates that host strategies are relatively plastic among trematodes, putatively comprising several independent host gains, and multiple host losses. We propose a timeline for these events and discuss the role played in the evolution of complex parasitic life histories in digeneans.

A document by fatemeh mohaghegh. Click on the document to view its contents.

Liparis maguanensis, a new orchid species from Yunnan province of China, is described and illustrated based on morphological and molecular analysis. Morphologically, this new species is similar to L. viridiflora, but it can be distinguished from the latter by having one leaf, a loosely flowered, 11-30 cm inflorescence, and a 1-5 cm × 0.5-1.2 cm obovate-elliptic pseudobulb. Phylogenetic analysis based on nrITS and plastid matK DNA sequences data further supported that Liparis maguanensis is a distinct species.

not-yet-known not-yet-known not-yet-known unknown Ecotones are expected to be sensitive to climate change, but supporting evidence is scarce. Dense paleoecological data networks are ideal for studying past ecotonal dynamics because of their broad spatiotemporal coverage. Here we test the ecotonal sensitivity hypothesis by reconstructing movements of a major temperature-governed forest ecotone over the last 11,000 years in lower Michigan and comparing the variability of ecotone-proximal and distal vegetation. NMDS ordination indicates four meaningful axes of variation in Holocene Michigan vegetation, with axis 2 capturing the latitudinal ecotone and axis 4 differentiating by moisture sensitivity. The ecotone advanced northwards by 150 km from 11 to 6 ka, during a 3.5⁰CTJuly warming, then retreated. Ecotone-proximal sites have higher rates of compositional change than distal sites. These findings support the ecotonal sensitivity hypothesis, constrain estimates of climate-driven forest ecotonal movement, and reinforce concerns about the sensitivity of ecotonal ecosystems to anthropogenic global warming.

Human introduction of species around the world is not exhaustive. Comparing characteristics of non-native species that have been introduced with characteristics of non-native species that could be introduced can reveal biases in which species were introduced in the past, and can highlight future threats. We test for introduction biases in non-native trees introduced to Australia using a dataset of 57,958 tree species known globally. We found that: (1) non-native species were selectively introduced, and do not form a random subset of all non-native species, though (2) they do represent the functional trait-space occupied by tree species globally; (3) trees naturalised in numerous countries and introduced for more uses are more likely to be introduced in Australia; and (4) introduction debt can indicate characteristics of potential future non-native introductions. For Australia, tree species from the tropics and global south pose an especially high future invasion risk.

The ventral and dorsal components of the ascending colon are adjoined by the ascending mesocolon, and few case reports have described congenital or acquired malformations of this structure. This case series reports the occurrence of large mesenteric rents of the ascending mesocolon ( Hernia mesocolica coli ascendentis) in 6 adult horses diagnosed during exploratory laparotomy. Based on the history of the patients, the rents were most likely acquired. The rents were mainly located directly adjacent to the left dorsal colon, and without affecting the intestinal blood supply. The size of the defect varied between 20 and 80 cm, and in 5/6 cases it was a subacute or chronic rupture with rounded edges. Two different types of intestinal displacements in relation to the rent were found, with either a localized torsion of the dorsal colon or herniation of the pelvic flexure through the rent. In all cases, the intestine could be repositioned, and the rent was sutured. Despite some minor postoperative complications, the short- and long-term outcome was excellent. It was hypothesised that recurrent colon displacements or trauma elicited by an intrauterine foal may have been the cause of the rent in some of the cases.

The growing demand for sustainable mango production has driven the search for eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic chemicals, leading to the exploration of plant-based biofungicides. This study aims to identify and evaluate these biofungicides, focusing on their in silico toxicity and docking properties against the cutinase protein of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the pathogen responsible for mango anthracnose. Using computational methods, the potential toxicity of 14 phytochemical compounds was assessed to ensure their safety for non-target organisms and the environment. Molecular docking simulations were conducted to examine the interaction between the compounds and the cutinase enzyme, a critical factor in the pathogenicity of C. gloeosporioides. The toxicity evaluations revealed limonene and β-linalool as safe candidates, while compounds like n-hexadecanoic acid and dodecanoic acid exhibited significant toxicity risks, necessitating further modifications. The results highlight the potential of certain phytochemicals, particularly limonene and β-linalool, as biofungicides, while also identifying areas for improvement in terms of toxicity and environmental impact. Future research should focus on optimizing these compounds to enhance their efficacy and safety for sustainable mango production.

Neurofeedback training (NFT) has emerged as a promising technique for enhancing sports performance by enabling individuals to self-regulate their neural activity. However, only 53% of the 13 included studies, which all published before 2021, in the latest meta-analyses of NFT and motor performance focused on motor performance outcome. Due to the rapid development of neurofeedback, 8 high-quality articles published in 2023 alone. Therefore, there is a need for a new meta-analysis to update the impact of NFT on sports performance. In this systematic review and meta-analysis, we have not only updated the knowledge of the effect of EEG neurofeedback in motor performance, but have also incorporated a standardized methodology, called CRED-nf checklist (Consensus on the reporting and experimental design of clinical and cognitive-behavioural neurofeedback studies), for methodological evaluation of previous EEG neurofeedback studies. The study protocol was pre-registered, and the meta-analysis revealed a moderate positive effect of NFT on sports performance, with a standardized mean difference (SMD) of 0.71 (95% CI: 0.51-0.91, p < 0.001). Importantly, subgroup analyses showed that studies with higher methodological quality, as assessed by the checklist, had significantly larger effect sizes (SMD = 0.98) compared to lower-quality studies (SMD = 0.41). This finding highlights the importance of addressing key methodological gaps, such as reporting on participant strategies, data processing methods, and the relationship between regulation success and behavioral outcomes.