A document by Jennifer Cai. Click on the document to view its contents.

Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been widely applied in the field of computer vision with the development of artificial intelligence. MobileNet and ShuffleNet, among other depthwise separable convolutional neural networks, have gained significant advantages in deploying on resource-constrained embedded devices due to their characteristics such as fewer parameters and higher computational efficiency compared to previous networks. In this paper, we focus on the hardware implementation of ShuffleNetV2. We optimized the network structure. Feature channel numbers, pooling modes, and channel shuffle modes are modified, resulting in a 1.09% increase in accuracy while reducing the parameter count by 0.18M. Additionally, we implement a highly parallel hardware accelerator on the Xillinx xczu9eg FPGA, which supports both standard convolution and depthwise convolution. The power consumption of this accelerator is only 7.3W while achieving an energy efficiency of 13.45 GOPS/W. The running frame rate achieves 675.7 fps.

1-IntroductionPentalogy of Cantrell (OMIM 313850) is an exceedingly rare malformation characterized by the presence of five cardinal congenital birth defects, affecting the lower sternum, the anterior diaphragm, the diaphragmatic pericardium, the mid-line/ventral supraumbilical abdominal wall region, and the heart.Initially described by Cantrell in 1958 [1]and subsequently revised by Toyama in 1972 [2], the incidence of Cantrell’s Pentalogy is exceptionally low, with only 1 in 5.5 million live births being affected [3]. Despite a total of 250 published cases, a mere 15 have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa. This paper presents the first comprehensive case of Cantrell’s pentalogy from Togo, accompanied by a review of other reported cases across Africa.

A document by Shritik Devkota. Click on the document to view its contents.

A document by Shritik Devkota. Click on the document to view its contents.

In spite of tremendous efforts dedicated to addressing bacterial infections and biofilm formation, the post-antibiotic ear continues to witness a gap between the established materials and an easily accessible yet biocompatible antibacterial reagent. Here we show carbon dots (CDs) synthesized via a single hydrothermal process can afford promising antibacterial activity that can be further enhanced by exposure to light. By using citric acid and polyethyleneimine as the precursors, the photoluminescence CDs can be produced within one-pot, one-step hydrothermal reaction in only 2 h. The CDs demonstrate robust antibacterial property against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria and, notably, a considerable enhancement of antibacterial effect can be observed upon photo-irradiation. Mechanistic insights reveal that the CDs generate singlet oxygen (1O2) when exposed to light, leading to an augmented reactive oxygen species level. The approach for disruption of biofilms and inhibition of biofilm formation by using the CDs has also been established. Our findings present a potential solution to combat antibacterial resistance, and offer a path to reduce dependence on traditional antibiotics.

Objective: To update the epidemiological understanding of vocal fold atrophy (VFA), a condition with increasing morbidity in an ageing global population by assessing prevalence and phonographic characteristics by age, gender, and occupation. Design: Retrospective chart review Setting: Single centre Participants: The study analysed medical records of patients diagnosed with VFA for the first time from January 2020 to December 2022. Main Outcome Measures: Parameters such as age, sex, maximum phonation time (MPT), Voice Handicap Index (VHI), occupation, and voice disease complications were extracted and analysed. Results: The study included 610 patients (319 women and 291 men), with ages ranging from 17 to 96 years (median, 64; mean, 61.14). The majority of patients were in their 70s, with a higher prevalence of women than men overall but more men in their 60s and an equal gender distribution among patients in 70s. Among participants aged 60 and above, 185 were women and 189 were men. On the other hand, some patients were diagnosed with atrophy at a young age. Most participants were unemployed, and the most common complication was functional dysphonia. A moderately negative correlation was found between VHI and MPT in unemployed men. Other analyses showed no or weak correlations between age, sex, occupation, and complications. Conclusion: VFA is not exclusively a disease of older men. The study suggests that early diagnosis and appropriate use of simple tests, such as MPT, could potentially extend healthy life expectancy in unemployed men diagnosed with this condition.

Background and Aims. Since the war in Ukraine which began on February 2022, many pediatric oncology centers have welcomed patients from Ukraine. To understand the needs of patients and families arriving at our hospital, an anonymous questionnaire investigated the families’ backgrounds, feelings and impressions about hospitality and care. Methods Twenty items investigated how patients had reached Italy, from whom they received help (logistically/economically); emotions regarding their statusas war refugees; knowledge, expectations, and opinions about Italy and Italians; the quality of medical care received and relationships with the healthcare staff; suggestions to improve assistance. Results Questionnaires were completed by 19/32 patient/parents in the time interval May-November 2022 in two different pediatric-oncology centers in the north of Italy. Most families had reached Italy (58%) and received medical care (95%) thanks to the help of Charities and the Italian Public Health Care System. Many of them (69%) declared themselves to be satisfied by the assistance. The Italian population appeared friendly (95%) and generous (58%). The improvement of their stay correlated with the positive outcome of their children (15%), the presence of the whole family (15%), the end of the war (10%), and the overcoming of language barriers (10%) Conclusions. Taking care of children from a different country suffering the traumatic experience of fleeing their country in addition to the equally traumatic condition of cancer disease, is a huge task. Our questionnaire aimed at obtaining a better understanding of families’ conditions, not at bridging the relational gap due to different culture and experiences.

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to examine the proportion of CD161 on CD56+Natural Killer(NK) cells in peripheral blood of primary Sjögren’s syndrome(pSS) and investigate its clinical relevance of pSS. Methods:The proportion of CD56+NK cells and CD161 on CD56+NK cells was detected by flow cytometry in 31 pSS patients and 29 healthy controls (HCs). The correlations between proportion of CD161+CD56+NK cells and clinical features and disease activity of pSS were further analysed. Meanwhile, we drew the receiver operating characteristic(ROC) curve to evaluate the diagnostic value of CD161+CD56+NK cells in pSS. Results: The proportion of CD56+ NK cells and CD161+CD56+NK cells decreased markly in pSS patients compared to HCs. The correlation analysis showed that proportion of CD161+CD56+NK cells negatively correlated with WBC,IgA,IgM,IgG,ESSRPI and ESSDAI,and positively correlated with complement C4.The proportion of CD161+CD56+NK cells in pSS patients with decayed tooth, fatigue, arthralgia, skin involvement, primary biliary cirrhosis(PBC),interstitial lung disease(ILD), anti-SSA/Ro60 positive, anti-SSB positive and high IgG was lower than that in negative patients. Furthermore, compared with innactive patients,the proportion of CD161+CD56+NK cells decreased obviously in active patients. The area under the curve(AUC)was 0.7375(P=0.0016),the results indicated that CD161+CD56+NK cells had certain diagnostic value for pSS. Conclusion: This study suggested that the proportion of CD56+NK cells and CD161+CD56+NK cells decreased significantly in pSS patients,and the proportion of CD161+CD56+NK cells negatively associated with the clinical features and disease activity of pSS patients. The CD161+CD56+NK cells may present as a potential target for therapy and a biomarker of disease activity in pSS .

SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has caused more than 676 million cases in the global human population with approximately 7 million deaths and vaccination has been proved as the most effective countermeasure in reducing clinical complications and deaths of SARS-CoV-2 infection. However, the protective elements induced by vaccine are still not completely understood. Various antibodies with multiple protective mechanisms can be induced simultaneously by vaccination in vivo, thereby complicating the identification and characterization of each protective components. Recently, an increasing body of observations suggests that antibody-induced Fc-effector functions play a crucial role in combating SARS-CoV-2 infections, including neutralizing antibodies-escaping variants. Here, we review the recent progress in understanding the impact of Fc-effector functions in broadly disarming SARS-CoV-2 infectivity and discuss various efforts in harnessing this conserved antibody function to develop an effective SARS-CoV-2 vaccine that can protect humans against infections by SARS-CoV-2 virus and its variants of concern (VoCs).

Life in estuaries, especially in surface waters, is a challenge, particularly due to changes in salinity. Environmental changes inevitably lead to acclimation or adaptation of phytoplankton in order to survive. Since membranes are the first to perceive changes in the environment, we focused on understanding how phytoplankton in estuaries adapt to salinity stress through lipid remodeling. Since photosynthesis is one of the most sensitive processes, we studied the response of phytoplankton thylakoid membrane lipids to salinity stress. The study was conducted in two estuaries with completely different environmental characteristics. Apart from hydrology, estuaries also differ in phytoplankton community compositions, nutrient status and temperature. Here we show that estuarine phytoplankton, regardless of environmental differences in the two estuaries studied, increase monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) content and unsaturation in response to osmotic shock to protect photosynthetic machinery. This was particularly pronounced at the lowest salinities when freshwater phytoplankton encounter saline water and decreases with increasing salinity. Our results also suggest that increased concentrations of nitrogen nutrients have a positive effect on the increased unsaturation of MGDG. Finally, we speculate that the freshwater green algae are the major group responsible for the observed largest increased and content of unsaturated MGDG at the lowest salinity.

This article presents a novel approach to obfuscating database connection strings using Keyword Cipher, which is based on the Roman Caesar Cipher and Greek Scytale Cipher. This is an important and open problem because database connection strings typically have long substrings of identical and well-known character substrings. These known substrings in related database connection strings greatly increase the risk of their encryption key’s being broken, in addition to having identical initial substrings in their encrypted versions. Our experience applying these two obfuscation techniques to database connection strings show that the simple and easily implemented string obfuscation functions effectively solve the problem of common initial substrings. It also greatly reduces risk of breaking the connections strings encryption keys by hiding the known substrings and making the number of possible string needed to search for grow geometrically. Lastly, the use of obfuscation functions completely eliminates all the commonality between related database connection strings.

Ewing sarcoma is a rare primary mesenchymal tumor of the bone that requires an intensive multimodal therapeutic approach. Multidrug chemotherapy regimens are also the backbone for relapsing/recurring Ewing sarcoma treatment, yet when relapse occurs as bone marrow infiltration, combination chemotherapy might be difficult to be administered and prognosis is poor. This report describes the case of a 22-year-old patient with Ewing sarcoma who developed severe pancytopenia due to bone marrow infiltration, who was treated with high-dose continuous infusion ifosfamide, obtaining both clinical, radiological and hematological response lasting for about 7 months.

Explaining variation in individual fitness is a key goal in evolutionary biology. Recently, telomeres, repeating DNA sequences capping the ends of chromosomes, have gained attention as a biomarker for body state, individual quality, and ageing. However, existing research has provided mixed evidence for whether telomere length correlates with fitness components, including survival and reproductive output. Moreover, few studies have examined how telomere shortening correlates with fitness in wild populations. Here, we intensively monitored an insular population of house sparrows on Lundy Island, UK, and collected longitudinal telomere and life history data spanning 16 years from 1,225 individuals. We tested whether telomere length and/or shortening predict fitness measures, namely survival, lifespan, as well as annual and lifetime reproductive success. Telomere length positively predicted immediate survival up to one year after measurement, independent of age, but did not predict lifespan, suggesting either a diminishing telomere length – survival correlation with age, or other extrinsic factors of mortality. The positive effect of telomere length on survival translated to reproductive benefits, as birds with longer telomeres produced more genetic recruits over their lifetime, but not annually, suggesting variation in individual quality. The rate of telomere shortening, however, correlated with neither lifespan nor lifetime reproductive success. Our results provided further evidence that telomere length correlates with fitness, and they contributed to our understanding of how telomere dynamics link with individual quality.

The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) into energy networks significantly advanced short-term forecasting, particularly in smart meter applications. However, as distributed energy resources proliferated and energy systems grew in complexity, traditional centralized approaches to data analysis became insufficient in addressing privacy-preserving challenges. Federated learning (FL) emerged as a promising solution, leveraging distributed data sources while safeguarding user privacy. Nonetheless, FL encountered inherent vulnerabilities to adversarial attacks during model training, undermining its reliability and effectiveness. Existing techniques to eliminate these attacks often required additional frameworks for detection, imposing an added burden on devices. To address this issue, we proposed a novel method called federated random layer aggregation (FedRLA). It aggregated only one randomly chosen neural network layer on the server in a privacy-aware manner, leaving the remaining layers unchanged. FedRLA exhibited superior resilience against adversarial attacks by confining attackers to a single neural network layer. Our simulations, focusing on household energy consumption, demonstrated that FedRLA achieved 3.56 times less data transmission compared to FedAvg during global model training. This enhanced efficiency translated to improved energy usage and resource conservation. Furthermore, FedRLA performed better in the presence of differential privacy under attack and no attack conditions.

Mountain biota survived the Quaternary cold stages in peripheral refugia and/or ice-free peaks within ice-sheets (nunataks). While survival in peripheral refugia has been broadly demonstrated, evidence for nunatak refugia is still scarce. We generated RADseq data from three mountain plant species occurring at different elevations in the southeastern European Alps to investigate the role of different glacial refugia during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). We tested the following hypotheses. (i) The deep Piave Valley forms the deepest genetic split in the species distributed across it, delimiting two peripheral refugia. (ii) The montane to alpine species Campanula morettiana and Primula tyrolensis survived the LGM in peripheral refugia, while high-alpine to subnival Saxifraga facchinii likely survived in several nunatak refugia. (iii) The lower-elevation species suffered a strong population decline during the LGM. By contrast, the higher-elevation species shows long-term stability of population sizes due to survival on permanently ice-free peaks and small population sizes at present. We found peripheral refugia on both sides of the Piave Valley, which acted as a major genetic barrier. Demographic modeling confirmed nunatak survival not only for S. facchinii, but also for montane to alpine C. morettiana. Altitudinal segregation influenced the species’ demographic fluctuations, with the lower-elevation species showing a significant population increase at the end of the LGM, and the higher-elevation species either showing decrease towards the present or stable population sizes with a short bottleneck. Our results highlight the role of nunatak survival and species ecology in the demographic history of mountain species.

High-capacity nickel-rich layered oxides are promising cathode materials for high-energy-density lithium batteries. However, the poor structural stability and severe side reactions at the electrode/electrolyte interface result in unsatisfactory cycle performance. Herein, the thin layer of two-dimensional (2D) graphitic carbon-nitride (g-C3N4) is uniformly coated on the LiNi0.8Co0.1Mn0.1O2 (denoted as NCM811@CN) using a facile chemical vaporization-assisted synthesis method. As an ideal protective layer, the g-C3N4 layer effectively avoids direct contact between the NCM811 cathode and the electrolyte, preventing harmful side reactions and inhibiting secondary crystal cracking. Moreover, the unique nano-pore structure and abundant nitrogen vacancy edges in g-C3N4 facilitate the adsorption and diffusion of lithium ions, which enhances the lithium deintercalation/intercalation kinetics of the NCM811 cathode. As a result, the NCM811@CN-3wt% cathode exhibits 161.3 mAh g-1 and capacity retention of 84.6% at 0.5 C and 55 °C after 400 cycles and 95.7 mAh g-1 at 10 C, which is greatly superior to the uncoated NCM811 (i.e. 129.3 mAh g-1 and capacity retention of 67.4% at 0.5 C and 55 °C after 220 cycles and 28.8 mAh g-1 at 10 C). The improved cycle performance of the NCM811@CN-3wt% cathode is also applicable to solid-liquid-hybrid cells composed of PVDF:LLZTO electrolyte membranes, which show 163.8 mAh g-1 and the capacity retention of 88.1% at 0.1 C and 30 °C after 200 cycles and 95.3 mAh g-1 at 1 C.

In this research, the radially increasing axisymmetric discharge of an electrically conducting fluid across a surface is accurately evaluated mathematically using the influence of Soret number. The surface is extended at an exponential speed in a radial direction, which causes flow trends. New similarity transformations are discussed in order to transform the governing, transform nonlinear partial differential equations into standard derivatives. The Successive Linearization Method is used to perform mathematical analysis for flow performing. The Chebyshev spectral technique is utilized to resolve the linear system in order to provide accurate solutions that converge effectively to the whole numerical solution. Comparisons with earlier research are conducted to evaluate the validity of the results on the distribution of velocity, temperature and concentration. Verify convergence and accuracy of the solution, the impacts of a few fluid factors are identified and explained.

Aim: The genus Stasimopus is endemic to South Africa but has never undergone a phylogeographic review. This study aims to unravel the phylogeographic patterns and history of the many Stasimopus species which occur in the greater Karoo region. Location: The Karoo region, South Africa Time period: 2017-2018 Major taxa studied: Cork-lid trapdoor spider, Stasimopus (15 species). Methods: A fossil-calibrated phylogeny was produced based on three gene regions (CO1, 16S and EF-1ɣ) for Stasimopus specimens collected in the Karoo region, to infer dates of origin and diversification. Demographic analyses were performed on species with sufficient sample sizes (>4). Haplotype networks were constructed for each gene region and plotted on a map to infer phylogeographic patterns. Lastly, Mantel tests were performed to test for isolation by distance. Results: It was found that 15 species occur in the Karoo and that the genus radiation in the area is in the early Paleocene. Most diversification occurred between the late Eocene and the Miocene. Several species show signals of demographic expansions. Isolation by distance was detected, but only with a slight correlation. Main conclusions: It is apparent that aridification has played a vital role in the diversification of the genus in the Karoo region. This is a shared biogeographic influence between the mygalomorph fauna of the Karoo and arid region of western Australia. Stasimopus has radiated from the late Eocene and through the Miocene resulting in 15 extant species in the region. The Tankwa Karoo has been identified as a possible Pleistocene glacial cycle refugia for the species S. leipoldti. Many of the species in the Karoo are short range endemics, making them of high conservation concern. This study provided vital information as the Karoo is undergoing further desertification due to factors such as climate change, which may affect the future of short-range endemic spiders.

An open question in epidemiology is why transmission is often overdispersed, meaning that most new infections are driven by few infected individuals. For example, around 10\% of COVID-19 cases cause 80\% of new COVID-19 cases. This overdispersion in pathogen transmission is likely driven by intrinsic biological heterogeneity among hosts, i.e. variability in SARS-CoV-2 viral loads. However, host heterogeneity could also indirectly increase transmission dispersion by driving pathogen adaptation. Specifically, transmission variation among hosts could drive pathogen specialization to highly-infectious hosts. Adaptation to rare, highly-infectious hosts could amplify transmission dispersion by simultaneously decreasing transmission from common, less-infectious hosts. This study considers whether increased transmission dispersion can be, in part, an emergent property of parasite adaptation to heterogeneous host populations. We develop a mathematical model using a Price equation framework to address this question that follows the epidemiological and evolutionary dynamics of a general host-parasite system. The results predict that parasite adaptation to heterogeneous host populations drives high transmission dispersion early in epidemics. Further, parasite adaptation can maintain increased transmission dispersion at endemic equilibria as long as virulence differs between hosts in a heterogeneous population. More broadly, this study provides a framework for predicting how parasite adaptation determines transmission dispersion for emerging and re-emerging infectious disease.

Mechanical cardiac alternans is usually associated with left ventricular dysfunction. Atrial alternans has been described on invasive assessment of atrial action potentials, however cannot be detected clinically. Herein we report a patient who had transthyretin type cardiac amyloidosis with prior history of recurrent atrial fibrillation requiring ablations as well as ablation for atrial flutter and a recent history of cardioversion for atrial flutter. The patient presented with diastolic heart failure and recurrent atrial flutter and was referred for a TEE guided cardioversion. Mechanical left and right atrial alternans was seen on Doppler interrogation of both atrial appendages with velocities corresponding to the flutter P wave on the ultrasound ECG monitor. The patient was successfully cardioverted with the TEE probe in situ. Post cardioversion TEE showed resumption of normal albeit reduced mechanical atrial function in the left atrium and preserved right atrial function in tissue Doppler imaging. Our case demonstrates the mechanical phenomenon of atrial alternans in both atria on TEE with disappearance of atrial alternans during sinus rhythm suggesting rate related atrial alternans likely related to atrial stiffness from amyloid infiltration and as well as possibly scar formation from prior ablations.

Mountain meadows are ecologically important, but often degraded, groundwater dependent ecosystems that retain and store water in upland forested landscapes. They tend to occur in low-gradient, broad valleys where water naturally slows and sediment accumulates, making them efficient locations for restoration. Over a century and a half of land use has degraded many meadows in the Sierra Nevada, reducing their hydrological and ecological functionality. Process-based restoration is a potentially economical and scalable restoration approach for numerous, small, remote, degraded mountain meadows. The approach uses onsite materials and leverages fluvial processes to achieve restoration objectives including increases in wetted area, groundwater elevations, sediment capture, and development of multithreaded channels. These changes in hydrological functionality can lead to improved ecological function over time. This study compares pre- and post-restoration surface and groundwater conditions in a degraded riparian meadow in the Sierra Nevada, California U.S.A. to understand changes in meadow hydrogeomorphic function following process-based restoration. Restoration included the installation of 35 postless beaver dam analog structures in ~1 km of incised meadow channel. Stage-discharge data at the inlet and outlet of the project area were paired with groundwater data collected from 15 wells distributed across the meadow in a power law model to estimate increased water storage of 3700 m 3 (~3 acre-ft) due to restoration. After the wet winter of 2023, we estimated that pools behind structures filled to over half their volume with fine sediment. We also applied hydrodynamic modeling to evaluate fluvial changes at high flows and found that restoration increased flow complexity and wetted surface area. These short-term responses highlight the potential speed and effectiveness of low-tech, process-based restoration in achieving desired restoration outcomes.

Changes in evapotranspiration and its response to control variables are crucial for understanding water balance and climate change in high-altitude areas. Environmental changes will inevitably disturb regional water cycles and water balance, especially in the high-altitude alpine regions of the Qilian Mountains. To better understand the variation of evapotranspiration at different altitudes in the high-altitude region of the Qilian Mountains and the applicability of the model and its response to environmental factors, we measured the variation of actual evapotranspiration at three altitude gradients using meteorological stations and automatic observation of continuous data with a weighing-type micro-lysimeter at three altitude gradients of 3797 m, 4250 m, and 4303 m in the Shaliu River basin of the Qilian Mountains during the growing season from June 2020 to October 2022 in our research. Using ten models to calculate the variation of reference evapotranspiration, and fitting them to the actual evapotranspiration, we selected the most suitable model. The results showed that the cumulative total evapotranspiration during the growing season in our study period was 1974.556 mm, 2203.066 mm, and 2201.393 mm, respectively, with intra-annual fluctuations consistent across the three elevation gradients. The value of evapotranspiration in August showed the highest at the monthly scale of 4.809 mm·day -1 and a bimodal variation at the daily scale with peaks at 10:00 and 15:00. The model of Dalton simulations showed the best results with the lowest analysis of residuals (RA), root mean square error (RMSE), and percentage error (PE), which had values of 3.291 mm·day -1, 3.994 mm·day -1, and 0.692%, and the values of R 2 between simulated and measured values of 0.622, 0.609, and 0.420. Water balance results showed that a portion of evapotranspiration in the study area originated from deep soil moisture. Partial Least Squares Regression (PLSR) analysis and enhanced regression tree model results indicated that precipitation was the most important variable, with Variable Importance in Projection (VIP) scores of 2.079 and a relative contribution to evapotranspiration of 52.6%. Overall, moisture conditions and precipitation were important factors limiting evapotranspiration variation in our research area. Our findings have implications for future climate change conditions. This conclusion is important for future water budget details in alpine mountains under climate change.

The lingering humanitarian crisis in Palestine has resulted in severe humanitarian consequences, including a lack of access to services and displacement. People in dire need are facing an exploited healthcare system, scarce shelters, food insecurity, and increased poverty and unemployment. Since the UN Partition plan in 1948, it divided the region into one Israeli and one Palestinian sector, leading to an Arab-Israeli War, which has led to the persistent episodes of violence in Gaza and the West Bank. The Israel-Palestine conflict has seen increased violence in 2023 linked to the continued occupation, internal political divisions, and ongoing conflict that pose a threat to stability and development of the Palestinian people. The crisis is intensified by a lack of adherence to international humanitarian and human rights law. There are three strategies for different actors internationally that can aid in fighting this injustice.