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This study reports groundwater contamination in Morocco’s Casablanca-Settat region and observes groundwater quality trends, using Moroccan, EU and WHO standards. High mineralisation was attributed to soil composition and extensive agriculture. Bacteriological analysis indicated significant faecal contamination, with a positive correlation between bacterial load (TC, EC, IE) and physicochemical parameters (NO3–, NH4+, and oxidisability), as nitrates and ammonium provide nutrients for bacterial growth, thus explaining the direct correlation. The study highlights the region’s deteriorating groundwater quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Facial nerve baroparesis is a peripheral facial nerve injury resulting from barotrauma during activities such as diving, aviation, and mountain climbing. This condition occurs when increased pressure in the middle ear affects the facial nerve, leading to facial palsy. Despite being documented in otolaryngology literature, facial nerve baroparesis remains underreported and often misunderstood. Enhanced awareness and education about this condition are essential for effectively managing affected patients, helping to mitigate unnecessary panic and procedures during episodes. Case presentation: We present two cases of facial nerve baroparesis that occurred during flights. The first case involves a 25-year-old Arab male with no significant medical history who experienced a transient, one-time episode of right-sided facial nerve baroparesis during a flight from Kuwait to Syria; he reported nasal congestion and a sore throat prior to the flight, with the episode lasting approximately 30 min before resolving spontaneously. The second case is a 30-year-old Arab female with a history of chronic allergic rhinitis, who has experienced recurrent episodes of left-sided facial nerve baroparesis for the past 2 years, occurring during nearly every flight; each episode lasted around 5 min, caused severe facial pain, and also resolved spontaneously. Both patients exhibited varying degrees of Eustachian tube dysfunction. Treatment for the recurrent case included maneuvers to alleviate ear pressure and the use of nasal decongestants, which improved symptoms and decreased the frequency of episodes. Conclusion: Facial nerve baroparesis is frequently underestimated due to its temporary nature, yet it remains a significant cause of facial nerve palsy, especially after changes in pressure. Although the underlying mechanisms are not completely understood, dysfunction of the Eustachian tube is believed to be a contributing factor. Identifying the characteristic features of baroparesis—such as rapid onset, brief duration, and bilateral involvement of facial muscles—is essential for effective management. This highlights the necessity of educating healthcare professionals and flight personnel about this condition to prevent unnecessary treatments. For recurrent cases, management strategies should focus on alleviating Eustachian tube dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Prostate cancer (PCa) is the second most prevalent malignancy among males and ranks as the fifth primary cause of mortality worldwide, underscoring its substantial impact on public health. Notably, there is a lack of research focused on PCa within the context of Saudi Arabia. Consequently, this study endeavours to elucidate the knowledge, attitudes, and screening practices related to PCa among males in Jazan, Saudi Arabia. Methodology: A cross‐sectional survey was carried out on males over 40 years old in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia between December 2022 and March 2023. The survey used a web‐based questionnaire containing questions about sociodemographic characteristics, PCa knowledge, and attitudes toward screening practices. Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis evaluated the participants' knowledge and attitudes toward PCa screening. Results: Out of the 468 male participants aged over 40 years, approximately 44% demonstrated limited awareness about PCa. Intriguingly, 60.3% of participants showed a positive attitude toward PCa screening. Moreover, 35.7% reported consulting a urologist for screening purposes. Furthermore, 25.6% had undergone a prostate‐specific antigen (PSA) test, with the predominant rationale (25.8%) being medical advice. Multivariate analysis revealed that being married (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) = 4.5, p = 0.011) and having a family history of PCa (AOR = 4.6, p = 0.001) were significant predictors of heightened PCa awareness. Concurrently, a history of PCa (AOR = 6.8, p = 0.001) and holding a postgraduate qualification (AOR = 5.5, p = 0.024) emerged as significant determinants of proactive practices toward PCa. Conclusion: The results revealed a significant lack of knowledge regarding PCa and the screening practices associated with it among the study participants. These results emphasize the urgent need to provide men with comprehensive information about the benefits and limitations of PCa screening in order to enable them to make more informed decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objective Materials and Methods Results Conclusion Studying dentists' knowledge of dry mouth management is crucial for effective diagnosis and treatment, improving patient outcomes and oral health. This study aimed to evaluate their knowledge and awareness of dry mouth and its predictors.A pre‐validated online survey was administered to a convenience sample of dentists across six countries. The questionnaire evaluated knowledge in various domains, including predisposing factors, diagnosis, clinical signs and symptoms, and management of dry mouth.A total of 884 dentists participated. Knowledge and awareness of dry mouth management varied significantly between countries (p < 0.05). Overall, 34.3% of participants demonstrated good knowledge, while 53.7% had moderate knowledge. Regarding management awareness, 55.4% had good awareness and 35.5% had moderate awareness. A majority (69.2%) showed good knowledge of common signs, symptoms, and consequences of dry mouth. Significant predictors of better knowledge and awareness included the country of practice and attendance at continuing education courses on dry mouth.The findings suggest that dentists in the surveyed countries require improved education on dry mouth and its management. Dental educators and healthcare planners can use this data to design targeted continuing education activities to enhance knowledge and awareness of dry mouth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within the framework of safeguarding Egypt’s coastal lowlands, which face escalating susceptibility to both climate change and human interventions, this study aims to provide a comprehensive analysis of sediment transport dynamics and their implications, with Damietta serving as a case study. To achieve this, a thorough review of the existing literature on sediment transport dynamics was conducted. MIKE21 Shoreline Morphology (MIKE21 SM) model was employed to simulate longshore sediment transport (LST) dynamics both before and after the construction of Damietta Port (DP). Analysis of the model output revealed that the model underestimated the infl uence of waves, primarily originating from the Northwest, on shaping the LST pattern. The results indicate that the construction of DP led to a reduction in average gross longshore sediment transport (GLST) and average net longshore sediment transport (NLST) by 18%, decreasing from 1.1 to 0.9 106 x m³ /year, and 42%, decreasing from 0.73 to 0.42 x 106 m3/year, respectively. Additionally, the average monthly GLST and NLST reductions were 17% and 37%, respectively, compared to pre-construction conditions. Consequently, this research underscores the importance of continuous monitoring of sediment transport to ensure shoreline stability and protect surrounding ecological systems. This recommendation is vital for managing and mitigating the impacts of ongoing and future coastal interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sentiment is employed in various fields, such as collecting web-based opinions for the formulation of governmental policies, measuring employee and customer satisfaction levels in business organizations, and measuring the sentiment of the public in political and security matters. The field has recently faced new challenges since algorithms must operate with highly unstructured sentiment data from social media. In this study, the authors present a new stacking ensemble method that combines the lexicon-based approach with machine learning algorithms to improve the sentiment analysis of tweets. Due to the complexity of the text with very ill-defined syntactic and grammatical patterns, using lexicon-based techniques to extract sentiment from the content is proposed. On the same note, the contextual and nuanced aspects of sentiment are inferred through machine learning algorithms. A sophisticated bat algorithm that uses an Elman network as a meta-classifier is then employed to classify the extracted features accurately. Substantial evidence from three datasets that are readily available for public analysis re-affirms the improvements this innovative approach brings to sentiment classification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A given dose of hypoxia causes a greater increase in pulmonary ventilation during physical exercise than during rest, representing an exercise‐induced potentiation of the acute hypoxic ventilatory response (HVR). This phenomenon occurs independently from hypoxic blood entering the contracting skeletal muscle circulation or metabolic byproducts leaving skeletal muscles, supporting the contention that neural mechanisms per se can mediate the HVR when humoral mechanisms are not at play. However, multiple neural mechanisms might be interacting intricately. First, we discuss the neural mechanisms involved in the ventilatory response to hypoxic exercise and their potential interactions. Current evidence does not support an interaction between the carotid chemoreflex and central command. In contrast, findings from some studies support synergistic interactions between the carotid chemoreflex and the muscle mechano‐ and metaboreflexes. Second, we propose hypotheses about potential mechanisms underlying neural interactions, including spatial and temporal summation of afferent signals into the medulla, short‐term potentiation and sympathetically induced activation of the carotid chemoreceptors. Lastly, we ponder how exercise‐induced potentiation of the HVR results in hyperventilation‐induced hypocapnia, which influences cerebral blood flow regulation, with multifaceted potential consequences, including deleterious (increased central fatigue and impaired cognitive performance), inert (unchanged exercise) and beneficial effects (protection against excessive cerebral perfusion). What is the topic of this review?What neural mechanisms are involved in the ventilatory response to hypoxic exercise and do they interact? What are the mechanisms underlying neural interactions during hypoxic exercise?What advances does it highlight?Current evidence does not support an interaction between the carotid chemoreflex and central command. In contrast, findings from some studies support synergistic interactions between the carotid chemoreflex and the muscle mechano‐ and metaboreflexes. Medullary signal summation, short‐term potentiation and sympathetic carotid chemoreceptor activation probably contribute to potentiation of the hypoxic ventilatory response during exercise, impacting cerebral blood flow and oxygenation via hyperventilation‐induced hypocapnia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Pediatric uveitis poses unique challenges, characterized by difficulties in performing comprehensive examinations, potential delays in diagnosis, and a heightened risk of ocular complications. This study evaluate the etiologic and clinical characteristics of uveitis in children presenting to the Mansoura Ophthalmic Center, Mansoura, Egypt. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study was undertaken involving children diagnosed with uveitis attending the uveitis outpatient clinic at Mansoura University Ophthalmic Center. Comprehensive clinical evaluations were carried out, including detailed history taking and exhaustive ophthalmological examinations. Whenever deemed necessary, Spectral Domain Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and Fluorescein Fundus Angiography (FFA) were utilized to secure retinal images. An extensive systemic evaluation was also conducted to discern the diverse causes of uveitis among the participants. Results: The cohort comprised 63 children, impacting 97 eyes. Bilateral involvement was seen in 54% of cases, with a male predominance of 58.7%. The predominant etiologies of uveitis were presumed trematode-induced (36.7%), Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis (JIA) accounting for 28.6%, and in 12.7% of cases, the cause remained undetermined. Anterior uveitis emerged as the primary presentation in 79.4% of cases. Regarding visual loss, cataract was the leading cause at 56.4%, followed by vitritis at 38.4%, and macular edema at 20.5%. Conclusion: Anterior uveitis was the most frequent presentation in our pediatric cohort. Despite the challenges, the majority of children with uveitis exhibited no significant visual impairment, with most causes of visual loss being reversible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Upper limb impairments are among the most common consequences following a stroke. Recently, robot-assisted therapy (RT) and virtual reality (VR) have been used to improve upper limb function in stroke survivors. Objectives: This review aims to investigate the effects of combined RT and VR on upper limb function in stroke survivors and to provide recommendations for researchers and clinicians in the medical field. Methods: We searched PubMed, SCOPUS, REHABDATA, PEDro, EMBASE, and Web of Science from inception to March 28, 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving stroke survivors that compared combined RT and VR interventions with either passive (i.e., sham, rest) or active (i.e., traditional therapy, VR, RT) interventions and assessed outcomes related to upper limb function (e.g., strength, muscle tone, or overall function) were included. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was used to evaluate the methodological quality of the included studies. Results: Six studies were included in this review. In total, 201 patients with stroke (mean age 57.84 years) were involved in this review. Four studies were considered 'high quality', while two were considered as 'moderate quality' on the Cochrane Collaboration tool. The findings showed inconsistent results for the effects of combined RT and VR interventions on upper limb function poststroke. Conclusion: In conclusion, there are potential effects of combined RT and VR interventions on improving upper limb function, but further research is needed to confirm these findings, understand the underlying mechanisms, and assess the consistency and generalizability of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a methodology for applying the three-dimensional actuator disk-RANS technique in modeling tidal energy converters within a regional-scale simulation. Of particular interest are the robustness of the applied momentum source term and its effectiveness in modeling an array of full-sized tidal turbines under realistic hydrodynamic and operational conditions. The Inner Sound region, which is the site of commercial-scale deployment projects of the Pentland Firth in Scotland, is chosen as the study area. While the actuator disk approach had been used in past studies to parameterize the far-wake region of horizontal-axis tidal turbines, details of its three-dimensional implementation have not been thoroughly discussed. Criteria adopted in deciding the array location are presented in this study, along with the actuator disks' detailed setup and constraints. The models are subjected to one operational characteristic that is similar to commercial devices in service to examine the accuracy of the imposed source term under complex flow conditions. The results demonstrate that the thickness of the disk imposed in the source term has a pronounced influence on the model outputs. In addition to accurately modeling flow propagation and wake interactions, the models are also able to replicate the observed asymmetrical tidal currents in the region. Because there is currently limited published material on the detailed application of the actuator disk approach in ocean-scale models, this study is hoped to fill the research gap and provide evidence, guidance, and examples of best practices for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the current study is to investigate whether the time of day at which exercise is performed affects metabolic, glucose and insulin responses to exercise in adults. Databases were searched for randomised controlled (parallel and crossover) trials with participants aged from 18 to 65 year, an intervention of any exercise carried out at a specific time of the day and compared to any exercise carried out at a different time of the day. From 2458 screened articles, 12 studies were included in the systematic review of which 5 studies were included in the meta-analyses which compared 24 h continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) data, between morning and afternoon/evening exercise, on the day exercise was performed (SMD = 0.12 [−0.22–0.46] p = 0.76) and the day after exercise (SMD = −0.02 [−0.36–0.33] p = 0.94. Similar findings were observed in the wider systematic review with a general unclear risk of bias and a low certainty in these data. The results indicate that there is no clear effect of the time of the day on metabolic responses to exercise and exercise at any time of day should be the goal of public health strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In traditional digital filing systems, people mostly use text as a key to categorise images, and retrieve them in the future. The use of other media as keys for image retrieval is rarely used, notwithstanding that multisensory digital media – mulsemedia – can be harnessed to improve users' performance and help them to retrieve their images. In this respect, olfactory media (engaging the sense of smell) is an example, as people can categorise their images by using congruent olfactory media. Accordingly, we investigated the impact of employing olfactory media as a key for retrieving a set of images. Moreover, we also studied the impact of the usage of olfactory media in this context on a user's performance and Quality of Experience (QoE). To this end, we developed an olfactory-enhanced application (SCENT2IMAGE) in which olfactory media was emitted alongside a 5X5 matrix of images, of which users had to recognize 4 images congruent with the emitted scents. Furthermore, we developed a word-only version of the application (WORD2IMAGE) in which words alone were used as an equivalent key instead of olfactory media. Forty-four participants were invited and took part in our experiment, evenly split into a control and experimental group. Results highlight that using olfactory media does have a significant impact on user performance by helping them find related images. Moreover, using olfactory effects in this context was also found to enhance user QoE. Lastly, our findings underscore that users were willing to use olfactory-enhanced applications for categorizing/retrieving their albums and images. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wheat represents a fundamental component of the diet that contributes to ensuring global food security. However, its cultivation faces various abiotic and biotic constraints that result in fluctuating yields. The use of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with the ability to solubilize phosphate presents itself as an environmentally friendly solution aimed to at enhancing sustainable agriculture practices. The objective of the present study is to assess the potential of PGPR in augmenting both yield and phosphorus (P) levels in wheat plants (Triticum durum L). under semi-controlled environmental conditions. Initially, the strains under investigation were screened for their capacity to dissolve different forms of mineral complex P, along with other plant growth promoting attributes such as iron chelation, Indole acetic acid (IAA) production, nitrogen fixation, and production of exopolysaccharides. Plant response to inoculation with PGPR was studied through an experiment conducted in a greenhouse involving four distinct treatments: (1) Control plants without any inoculation, (2) Inoculation with the PGP27 strain (Rahnella aquatilis), (3) Inoculation with the PGP25 strain (Erwinia persicina), and (4) Inoculation with the PGP374 strain (Raoultella terrigena). Results demonstrated that the studied strains exhibited significant promoting activities, including the solubilization of complex phosphate, the production of exopolysaccharides, IAA, siderophores, and atmospheric nitrogen fixation. Furthermore, the inoculation of plants with PGPR led to an increase in both biomass and plant phosphate concentrations, surpassing those observed in the control group. In conclusion, the findings propose that species like Raoultella and Erwinia have the potential to offer agronomic advantages as rhizobacteria that promote plant growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternative biomarker for assessing the cyanide levels in postmortem materials is crucial for investigating acute cyanide intoxication. Herein, an aptamer–ligand biorecognition system with high specificity was developed to detect acute cyanide poisoning via its secondary metabolite, 2-amino-2-thiazoline-4-carboxylic acid (ATCA). Potential aptamers were screened from a random library of 66-base single-stranded DNA using GO-SELEX, with individual aptamers being identified through single-stranded DNA sequencing. Molecular docking was employed to predict the affinity of these aptamers toward ATCA and selected counter-targets; these predictions were confirmed using thermodynamic analysis with an isothermal titration calorimeter. Owing to its label-free biomolecular binding interactions, Apt46 exhibited the highest affinity against ATCA and notable selectivity against structurally similar counter-targets. Thus, an amino-tagged Apt46 binding aptamer was attached to a carbon electrode modified with EDC–NHS-activated graphene oxide. The binding of Apt46 to ATCA was quantified by measuring current changes using differential pulse voltammetry. The aptasensor achieved a detection limit of 0.05 µg/mL and demonstrated suitability for detecting ATCA across various biological matrices, with the high recovery percentages ranging from 92.29 to 114.22%. Overall, the proposed ATCA aptasensor is promising for identifying ATCA metabolites in cases of acute cyanide exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Nurses have a critical role in quality improvement (QI) and patient safety. This necessitates gaining knowledge and mastering QI abilities to lead and participate in QI programs in clinical practice. Aim: To assess undergraduate nursing students' knowledge about QI, and experience of patient safety situation; and examine the relationship between obtaining information on healthcare quality and knowledge about QI in Jordan. Design: A descriptive cross-sectional correlational design was used. The study engaged undergraduate nursing students from two Jordanian universities (Public and private universities). A convenient sample of 147 nursing undergraduate students from universities. Methods: Data were collected using paper-based self-reported questionnaires. The Quality Improvement Knowledge, Skills, and Attitudes (QulSKA) survey and the Healthcare Professional Patient Safety Assessment Curriculum Survey (HPPSACS) were used to assess knowledge about QI and patient safety. Results: Out of 152 students, 147 completed the study. Overall, QI knowledge was moderate (mean score 57.7). Students from the private university scored significantly higher than public university students. Regarding patient safety, 74.8% of students observed medical errors in clinical areas. However, only 57.1% of the students disclosed a medical error to a faculty member. Also, the results showed a significant positive correlation between knowledge level about QI and obtaining information about QI, quality in healthcare, and patient safety from sources other than the undergraduate nursing program at universities (p≤.001). Conclusions: This study suggests a potential gap in QI education. Integrating QI concepts into nursing curricula may be necessary to prepare future nurses for healthcare quality improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper addresses optimal control problems with loss control regions. In that context the state space is partitioned into disjoint subsets, referred to as regions , which are classified into two types: control regions and loss control regions. When the state belongs to a control region, the control is permanent (i.e. the control value is authorized to be modified at any time). On the contrary, when the state belongs to a loss control region, the control must remain constant as long as the state belongs to this region. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, we reformulate the above setting into a hybrid optimal control problem (with spatially heterogeneous dynamics) involving moreover a regionally switching parameter, and we prove a corresponding hybrid maximum principle: hence first-order necessary optimality conditions in a Pontryagin form are obtained. Second, this paper proposes a two-steps numerical scheme to solve optimal control problems with loss control regions. It is based on a direct numerical method (applied to a regularized problem) which initializes an indirect numerical method (applied to the original problem and based on the aforementioned necessary optimality conditions). This numerical approach is applied to several illustrative examples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The turbulent airflow in a rectangular channel with two porous vertical baffles of 25%, 50%, and 75% porosity is investigated using the finite volume method and Fluent software. The k-ε turbulence model analyzes turbulence dynamics, adjusting boundary conditions for varying inlet velocities. Key parameters, including turbulent kinetic energy (TKE), dynamic pressure (DP), temperature variation (T), friction coefficient (Cf), Nusselt number (Nu), and thermal enhancement factor (TEF) are evaluated at Reynolds numbers of 28,000 and 56,000. Findings indicate that at a Reynolds number of 28,000, the 25% porous ratio maximizes energy transfer, while the friction coefficient peaks at the same ratio for a Reynolds number of 56,000. Notably, the TEF reaches 1.4 at a 75% porous ratio for a Reynolds number of 28,000. This research uniquely demonstrates the pronounced impact of porous baffles on heat transfer and friction under different Reynolds numbers, particularly highlighting the significance of baffle porosity in lower Reynolds number regimes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the factors that affect performance, namely work discipline, work motivation, work attitude and job satisfaction as a mediator. The research was conducted at the Majene Regency Health Office. The population of this study were ASN employees of the Majene Regency Health Office and the scope of the Puskesmas in their work area. The sampling technique used was probability sampling with the sloving formula and Proportional Stratified Random Sampling. The sample size in this study was 198 respondents. The results of hypothesis testing using SEM-PLS analysis show that the three latent variables of employee performance and job satisfaction as the mediating variable affect employee performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Post-operative sore throat (POST) can be a cause of great discomfort after endotracheal intubation with an incidence of up to 65%. While there are studies demonstrating the efficacy of prophylactic zinc lozenges in decreasing POST in patients intubated using MacIntosh laryngoscope, similar studies with King Vision video laryngoscope (KVVL) are lacking. Hence, we conducted this study to assess whether similar beneficial effects can be seen in South Indian patients. Aims and Objectives: The primary objective was to evaluate the efficacy of prophylactic zinc lozenges for the prevention of POST in patients intubated using channeled KVVL. The Secondary objectives were to assess the severity of POST, the duration of laryngoscopy, and the number of intubation attempts and their effect on POST. Materials and Methods: In this prospective comparative trial, 94 American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status one and two patients, randomized into two groups received either 40 mg of a zinc lozenge or a placebo, 30 min before endotracheal intubation POST was evaluated after surgery at 0, 2, 4, 6, and 24 h. Results: The overall incidence of POST in the zinc group was 13.18% and in the placebo group was 26.37% resulting in an almost 50% reduction in the overall incidence of POST. Conclusion: The administration of zinc lozenge 30 min preoperatively is effective to reduce the incidence of POST in the immediate and early post-operative period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research focuses on the reliability analysis of a complex system comprising two interconnected subsystems. Each subsystem consists of three identical units arranged in parallel. The operational policy employed is the 1-out-of-3: G policy, which means that as long as at least one unit is operational in each subsystem, the system as a whole remains functional. The failure rates of the units within the subsystems are consistent and follow an exponential distribution. To address unit failures and repair them, the Gumbel-Hougaard copula repair method is employed. The research investigates various reliability metrics, including system availability, system reliability, mean time to failure (MTTF), and sensitivity analysis. The researchers employ stochastic theory, differential equations, and supplementary variables to model and analyze the reliability behavior of the system. Moreover, the model's findings can guide decision-making processes related to system design, component selection, and maintenance strategies. System engineers and managers can utilize the insights gained from the reliability analysis to optimize the system's performance, enhance its reliability, and reduce costs associated with maintenance and repair. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The high demand for generation and development in wind electrical power competitiveness has gained significant popularity in wind energy and speed forecasting models. It is also an essential method for planning the wind power plant system. Several models were created in the past to forest the speed and energy of the Wind. However, results have very low prediction accuracy due to their nonlinear and irregular characteristics. Therefore, a novel Modular Red Deer Neural System (MRDNS) was developed in this research to forecast wind speed and energy effectively. Primarily, the system accepted the data from the wind turbine SCADA database and preprocessed it to remove the training flaws. Further, the relevant features are extracted. The complexity of the prediction process was reduced by processing the relevant features. By analysing these features, the wind speed and energy were predicted in accordance with the fitness function of the MRDNS. The model obtained higher prediction accuracy. The recommended strategy was checked in the Python platform and the robustness metrics including RMSE, MSE, and precision were computed. The model scored 99.99% prediction accuracy; also gained 0.0017 MSE value, 0.0422 RMSE value for wind power forecasting and 0.0003 MSE, 0.0174 RMSE for wind speed forecasting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Executive control of movement enables inhibiting impulsive responses critical for successful navigation of the environment. Circuits mediating stop commands involve prefrontal and basal ganglia structures with fMRI evidence demonstrating increased activity during response inhibition in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC)—often ascribed to maintaining task attentional demands. Using direct intraoperative cortical recordings in male and female human subjects, we investigated oscillatory dynamics along the rostral-caudal axis of dlPFC during a modified Go/No-go task, probing components of both proactive and reactive motor control. We assessed whether cognitive control is topographically organized along this axis and observed that low-frequency power increased prominently in mid-rostral dlPFC when inhibiting and delaying responses. These findings provide evidence for a key role for mid-rostral dlPFC low-frequency oscillations in sculpting motor control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glass transition temperature of polymers, Tg, is an important thermophysical property, which sometimes can be difficult to measure experimentally. In this regard, data-driven machine learning approaches are important alternatives to assess Tg values, in a high-throughput way. In this study, a large dataset of more than 900 polymers with reported glass transition temperature (Tg) was assembled from various public sources in order to develop a predictive model depicting the structure-property relationships. The collected dataset was curated, explored via cluster analysis, and then split into training and test sets for validation purposes and then polymer structures characterized by molecular descriptors. To find the models, several machine learning techniques, including multiple linear regression (MLR), k-nearest neighbor (k-NN), support vector machine (SVM), random forest (RF), gaussian processes for regression (GPR), and multi-layer perceptron (MLP) were explored. As result, a model with the subset of 15 descriptors accurately predicting the glass transition temperatures was developed. The electronic effect indices were determined to be important properties that positively contribute to the Tg values. The SVM-based model showed the best performance with determination coefficients (R2) of 0.813 and 0.770, for training and test sets, respectively. Also, the SVM model showed the lowest estimation error, RMSE = 0.062. In addition, the developed structure-property model was implemented as a web app to be used as an online computational tool to design and evaluate new homopolymers with desired glass transition profiles. Glass transition temperatures (Tg) of polymers are important thermophysical descriptors, but they can be difficult to determine experimentally. Here, the authors develop a data-driven support vector machine structure-property model to assess Tg values in a high-throughput manner, and implement the model into a web app. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud computing has become an essential technology for people and enterprises due to the simplicity and rapid availability of services on the internet. These services are usually delivered through a third party, which provides the required resources for users. Therefore, because of the distributed complexity and increased spread of this type of environment, many attackers are attempting to access sensitive data from users and organizations. One counter technique is the use of intrusion detection systems (IDSs), which detect attacks within the cloud environment by monitoring traffic activity. However, since the computing environment varies from the environments of most traditional systems, it is difficult for IDSs to identify attacks and continual changes in attack patterns. Therefore, a system that uses an ensemble learning algorithm is proposed. Ensemble learning is a machine learning technique that collects information from weak classifiers and creates one robust classifier with higher accuracy than the individual weak classifiers. The bagging technique is used with a random forest algorithm as a base classifier and compared to three boosting classifiers: Ensemble AdaBoost, Ensemble LPBoost, and Ensemble RUSBoost. The CICID2017 dataset is utilized to develop the proposed IDS to satisfy cloud computing requirements. Each classifier is also tested on various subdatasets individually to analyze the performance. The results show that Ensemble RUSBoost has the best average performance overall with 99.821% accuracy. Moreover, bagging achieves the best performance on the DS2 subdataset, with an accuracy of 99.997%. The proposed model is also compared to a model from the literature to show the differences and demonstrate its effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lower limb impairments are common consequences of stroke. Robotics and virtual reality (VR) play crucial roles in improving lower limb function post-stroke. This review aims to assess the effects of combined robot and VR interventions on lower limb functional ability poststroke and to provide recommendations for future studies in the rehabilitation field. PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Web of Science were searched from inception to March 1, 2024. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving patients with a stroke, administering combined robot and VR compared with passive (i.e., rest) or active (any intervention), and including at least one outcome evaluating lower limb function (i.e., balance, gait, mobility, muscle tone, muscle strength, range of motion) or activities of daily living were selected. The Cochrane Collaboration tool was employed to evaluate the risk of bias in the included studies. Nine studies met the eligibility criteria. In total, 364 stroke survivors (Mean age 55.62 years) were involved in this review. According to the Cochrane Collaboration tool, five studies were classified as "high quality," "moderate quality" (n=3), and "low quality" (n=1). There are mixed findings on the effects of combined robot and VR on lower limb functional ability in stroke survivors. The evidence for the effects of combined robot and VR on lower limb functional ability post-stroke is promising. Further trials with long-term follow-up are strongly warranted to understand the immediate and long-term effect of combined robot and VR intervention on various lower limb impairments and to define the optimal treatment protocols. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corals are colonized by a plethora of microorganisms, and their diversity plays a significant role in the health and resilience of corals when they face oxidative stress leading to bleaching. In the current study, we examined 238 bacteria isolated from five different coral species (Acropora hyacinthus, Pocillopora damicornis, Podabacea crustacea, Porites lobata, and Pavona venosa) collected from the coral reef ecosystems of Kavaratti, Lakshadweep Islands, India. We found that bacteria such as Psychrobacter sp., Halomonas sp., Kushneria sp., Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., Brachybacterium sp., Citrobacter sp., and Salinicola sp. were commonly present in the corals. On the other hand, Qipengyuania sp., Faucicola sp., Marihabitans sp., Azomonas sp., Atlantibacter sp., Cedecea sp., Krasalinikoviella sp., and Aidingimonas sp. were not previously reported from the corals. Among the bacterial isolates, a significant number showed high levels of biofilm formation (118), UV absorption (119), and melanin production (127). Considering these properties, we have identified a combination of seven bacteria from the genera Halomonas sp., Psychrobacter sp., Krasalinikoviella sp., and Micrococcus sp. as a potential probiotic consortium for protecting corals from oxidative stress. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the coral microbiome and opens up possibilities for microbiome-based interventions to protect these crucial ecosystems in the face of global environmental challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unequal access to language learning resources has been exacerbated by the global expansion of English private tutoring (EPT). Despite its popularity, no study has examined the implications of EPT during the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this mixed-methods study explored the nature and effectiveness of EPT that first-year Kazakhstani undergraduate students had experienced over the previous 12 months during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was informed by Benson's (2011) model of language learning beyond the classroom. Data were collected through a close-ended questionnaire and semi-structured online interviews. The study found that 318 out of 750 (42.4%) had experienced EPT, and 64% of respondents had received face-to-face EPT although it was considered a health risk during the pandemic. All the interviewees perceived EPT sessions as an encouraging environment for coaching towards the university entrance examination and expanding their knowledge. They attributed this mainly to the individual attention they obtained from their tutors, which was lacking in online classes with their English teachers due to teachers' indifferent attitude to students' questions and the limited duration of video conferencing sessions. The participants acted agentively by evaluating the advantages and drawbacks of online EPT. Pedagogical implications and areas for further research are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For j = 1 , 2 , let f j (z) = ∑ n = 1 ∞ a j (n) e 2 π i n z be a holomorphic, non-CM cuspidal newform of even weight k j ≥ 2 with trivial nebentypus. For each prime p , let θ j (p) ∈ [ 0 , π ] be the angle such that a j (p) = 2 p (k − 1) / 2 cos ⁡ θ j (p). The now-proven Sato–Tate conjecture states that the angles (θ j (p)) equidistribute with respect to the measure d μ S T = 2 π sin 2 ⁡ θ d θ. We show that, if f 1 is not a character twist of f 2 , then for subintervals I 1 , I 2 ⊆ [ 0 , π ] , there exist infinitely many bounded gaps between the primes p such that θ 1 (p) ∈ I 1 and θ 2 (p) ∈ I 2. We also prove a common generalization of the bounded gaps with the Green–Tao theorem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Developing new therapeutic strategies to target specific molecular pathways has become a primary focus in modern drug discovery science. Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2) is a critical signaling protein involved in various cellular processes and implicated in numerous diseases, including cancer. Existing FGFR2 inhibitors face limitations like drug resistance and specificity issues. In this study, we present an integrated structure-based bioinformatics analysis to explore the potential of FGFR2 inhibitors-like compounds from the PubChem database with the Tanimoto threshold of 80%. We conducted a structure-based virtual screening approach on a dataset comprising 2336 compounds sourced from the PubChem database. Primarily, the selection of promising compounds was based on several criteria, such as drug-likeness, binding affinities, docking scores, and selectivity. Further, we conducted all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations for 200 ns, followed by an essential dynamics analysis. Finally, a promising FGFR2 inhibitor with PubChem CID:507883 (1-[7-(1H-benzimidazol-2-yl)-4-fluoro-1H-indol-3-yl]-2-(4-benzoylpiperazin-1-yl)ethane-1,2-dione) was screened out from the study. This compound indicates a higher potential for inhibiting FGFR2 than the control inhibitor, Zoligratinib. The identified compound, CID:507883 shows >80% structural similarity with Zoligratinib. ADMET analysis showed promising pharmacokinetic potential of the screened compound. Overall, the findings indicate that the compound CID:507883 may have promising potential to serve as a lead candidate against FGFR2 and could be further exploited in therapeutic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heat transfer from the walls of engine has a significant role on engine combustion, performance and emission characteristics. The study objectives to showcase the efficacy of the new model through an analysis by comparison with existing heat transfer models. New model is based on woschni model in which pressure and temperature is replaced by other fluid properties like density, thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity. A series of experiments were conducted on a compressed natural gas internal combustion engine across varying hydrogen fractions, EGR ratios, engine speeds and different loads under stoichiometric conditions. The study demonstrates the efficacy of the proposed model by constantly achieving high prediction quality across a wide range of engine calibration coefficients by using Quasi-dimensional Combustion Model (QDCM) on MATLAB. Comparative analyses of new model with different heat transfer models were undertaken to validate the heat transfer rates with experimental results across a broad spectrum of operational conditions. It is observed that heat transfer rate is increased by increasing the engine load as 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% as 90.57J/deg, 130.12J/deg, 200.02J/deg, and 260.26J/deg with new model correspondingly. Heat transfer rate reduced by rise in engine speed with 1100 rpm, 1200 rpm, 1500 rpm and 1700 rpm is as 32.91 kW, 32.16 kW, 25.36 kW and 18.03 kW by new heat transfer model respectively. Artificial neural network (ANN) popular backpropagation algorithm is adopted to predict the heat transfer rate of HCNG engine, the five-input and one-output network structure are used. The values of correlation coefficient (R) and mean square error (MSE) were 0.99957 and 0.22667, 0.99998 and 0.010776, 0.99253 and 4.4762, 0.9961 and 1.2329, 0.99994 and 0.025108 for Woschni, New_Model, Chang, Sitkei and experimental respectively. This research work offers that ANN is a wise option for conventional modeling systems. In this way, the heat transfer rate of hydrogen-added CNG engines may be precisely predicted using ANN modeling. • Experiments were performed on the HCNG engine under a wide range of operating conditions. • The heat transfer rate analysis of different models by QDCM and compared with new model. • In new model, pressure and temperature is replaced by other fluid properties like density, thermal conductivity and dynamic viscosity. • Heat transfer rate increases by increasing the hydrogen fraction and load. • Artificial neural network (ANN) popular backpropagation algorithm is adopted to predict the heat transfer rate of HCNG engine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In solid-state systems, spin squeezing states have acquired much interest in quantum information processing since they are not only essential from a basic physics standpoint but also have many applications, notably reducing noise in interferometry. This paper addresses the study of quantum nonlocality as examined by the violation of the Bell and Clauser–Horne–Shimony–Holt (CHSH) inequality in two classes of spin squeezing states and how this relates to the quantum-memory-assisted entropic uncertainty relation (QMA–EUR). The spin squeezing states in the two classes are systematically generated by two twisting nonlinear interactions. These separately describe two spin- 1 2 interaction mechanisms that undergo one-axis twisting (OAT) and two-axis countertwisting (TAC). We investigate each spin squeezing mechanism in a thermal bath ( k B T) with a transverse magnetic field. Our main results indicate that the degree of violation of the Bell-CHSH inequality and the entropic uncertainty relation (EUR) is typically anticorrelated in both mechanisms. We demonstrate that the spin squeezing states in the OAT mechanism violate the Bell-CHSH inequality and thus exhibit Bell nonlocality only at low temperatures ( k B T → 0), whereas in the TAC mechanism, increasing the strength of the spin squeezing interaction leads to a violation of the Bell-CHSH inequality even at finite temperatures. We have also shown that there is always an expansion of the EUR and a decrease in the degree of violation of the Bell-CHSH inequality in the high-temperature regime. In addition, the transverse magnetic field exhibits different behavior under the considered temperature regimes in the two classes of spin squeezing states. Other results will also be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growing demand for sustainable building materials, amid escalating costs, has spurred interest in alternative solutions such as wood cement composites. This study explores the feasibility of producing wood cement boards (WCBs) using locally sourced cedar sawdust as a reinforcing agent. Boards with a thickness of 10 mm and a target density of 1200 kg/m3 were manufactured under pressures ranging from 2 to 6 MPa for 24 h. Cedar sawdust, used as raw and untreated material, was incorporated into the mixture as a partial substitute for cement in varying proportions, ranging from 10% to 25% (by weight). The WCBs were cured for 28 days under ambient conditions. Physical properties including density, water absorption (WA), and thickness swelling (TS) were assessed, along with mechanical properties through flexural tests. The results showed that increasing cedar sawdust content decreased both density and mechanical performance while increasing WA and TS. Microstructural analysis (SEM and EDS) revealed significant porosity at higher sawdust contents, while lower contents had better matrix–reinforcement cohesion. Additionally, substantial levels of calcium and silicon were detected on the sawdust surface, indicating stabilized cement hydration products. These findings, supported by thermal (TGA and DSC) and FTIR analyses, clearly demonstrate that cement boards with 10% cedar sawdust exhibit favorable properties for non-structural applications, such as wall and partition cladding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of renewable fuels in place of fossil fuels in internal combustion engines is regarded as a viable method for achieving zero-impact-emission powertrains. However, to achieve the best performance with these fuels, these engines require further optimization, which is achieved through new combustion strategies and the use of advanced ignition systems such as prechambers. Since simulations greatly accelerate this development, accurate simulation models are needed to accurately predict the combustion phenomenon, which requires a deep understanding of the ignition phenomenon as it significantly affects combustion. This work presents a comprehensive experimental methodology to study sparks under engine conditions, providing quantitative data to improve and validate ignition simulation models. The goal was to determine the volume generated by sparks under engine conditions that can initiate combustion and use this information to improve simulation results to match the experimental results. The visible sparks were observed with high-speed cameras to understand their time-resolved evolution and interaction with the flow. The heat transfer from the plasma was also visualized using a modified Background-Oriented Schlieren technique. The information gained from the experimental observations was used to improve an ignition simulation model. Since the velocity of the plasma was found to be slower than the surrounding flow, a user-defined parameter was included to calibrate the velocity of the simulated plasma particles. This parameter was calibrated to match the simulated spark length to the experimental spark length. In addition, since the previous simulation model did not take the heat transfer from the plasma into account, the simulated plasma particles were coupled to have heat transfer to the surroundings. Based on a comparison of the simulation results with the experimental results, the improved approach was found to provide a better physical representation of the spark ignition phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Inadequate surgical interventions can lead to serious complications such as tubo-ovarian abscesses in the upper female genital system, often resulting from untreated pelvic inflammatory disease. Pelvic inflammatory disease, caused by infections like Chlamydia trachomatis and Neisseria gonorrhoeae, leads to scarring and adhesions in the reproductive organs, with common risk factors including intrauterine device use and multiple sexual partners. Pelvic inflammatory disease primarily affects sexually active young women and can manifest with varied symptoms, potentially leading to complications like ectopic pregnancy, infertility, and chronic pelvic pain if untreated. Case presentation: This case report presents a unique scenario involving a 17-year-old sexually inactive female who experienced concurrent tubo-ovarian abscess, acute cystitis, and pancolitis following laparoscopic ovarian cystectomy. Pelvic inflammatory disease and its complications are well-documented, but the simultaneous occurrence of acute cystitis and pancolitis in this context is unprecedented in the medical literature. The patient's presentation, clinical course, and management are detailed, highlighting the importance of considering diverse and severe complications in individuals with a history of gynecological surgeries. Conclusions: Our case report highlights the need for healthcare professionals to remain vigilant for atypical presentations of gynecological complications and emphasizes the value of interdisciplinary collaboration for optimal patient care. We encourage further research and awareness to enhance understanding and recognition of complex clinical scenarios associated with gynecological procedures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two problems involving nonlinear time fractional hyperbolic partial differential equations (PDEs) and time fractional pseudo hyperbolic PDEs with nonlocal conditions are presented. Collocation technique for shifted Chebyshev of the second kind with residual power series algorithm (CTSCSK-RPSA) is the main method for solving these problems. Moreover, error analysis theory is provided in detail. Numerical solutions provided using CTSCSK-RPSA are compared with existing techniques in literature. CTSCSK-RPSA is accurate, simple and convenient method for obtaining solutions of linear and nonlinear physical and engineering problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diagnosing brain death in paediatrics is difficult due to emotional, ethical, and legal weightage. This can easily be resolved in a straightforward case following a series of examinations and investigations to confirm that the condition is irreversible. However, in some cases, consideration of religio-cultural, family preferences, and other contextual factors have to be carefully considered. This is due to challenges in ethical decision making whether to continue the treatment or to set for discontinuation of active management. There should be an emphasis on appropriate communication, resolution of conflicts and also a focus on supporting the family and healthcare providers involved in the care of the patient. This is to avoid misunderstanding of information and allowing continuous discussion on the right way forward. Decision making in a complex situation such as paediatric brain death would require ongoing negotiation based on the best interest and beneficence of the medical actions to avoid ongoing suffering for the patient and his/her family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding drought occurrence and evolution is important in minimizing the impacts associated with it. This work assesses the performance of 10 commonly used meteorological indices to measure drought in Morocco. The studied indices are Deciles Index (DI), Percent of Normal Index (PNI), Z‐Score Index (ZSI), China‐Z Index (CZI), Rainfall Anomaly Index (RAI), Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI), its self‐calibrated variant (scPDSI) and Palmer Z Index (PZI). Rainfall and temperature gridded data is sourced from PERSIANN‐CDR and ERA5, respectively, for the period 1983–2021. The study area exhibits three main climatic regimes; subhumid, semi‐arid and arid, with a drying and warming climate, as depicted by the rainfall and temperature trends analysis. Results show that most rainfall‐based indices perform relatively poorly in drought monitoring in the study area. DI and PNI appear to be inconsistent and abnormally responsive to rainfall. RAI reports droughts 56.5% more frequently and slightly underestimate drought intensity compared to other indices. Similarly, ZSI and CZI largely underestimate drought intensity. PDSI and scPDSI are computationally demanding, often underestimate drought intensity and overestimate drought duration by at least 115% compared to SPI and SPEI. Conversely, PZI can be used for drought onset detection as it reported droughts early compared to the other indices. SPI and SPEI perform overall better regarding their consistent drought identification and severity assessment. However, SPEI is found to be more suitable than SPI in the arid and semi‐arid regions and performed better considering the warming climate of the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Expectant mothers susceptible to emotional shifts during pregnancy, such as depression, underwent a perinatal phase. Within the first year after giving birth, 10-15% of women experienced specific depressive symptoms. This situation could harm the mother-child relationship. The purpose of this study was to characterize the traits of mothers who might have experienced prenatal depression at Muhammadiyah Gresik Hospital. Purposive sampling and Spearman's rank test analytics were applied to pregnant women between 20 weeks gestation and one month postpartum. Pregnant women with a history of acute medical problems and mental or psychological disorders were excluded. Out of 47 respondents, 59.6% were at risk of perinatal depression. The characteristics studied included religion, ethnicity, maternal age, educational level, employment status, family income, number of children, mode of delivery, complications during delivery, and depression history. Maternal age (r=-0.314, p=0.032*), employment status (r=0.346, p=0.016*), parity (r=-0.410, p=0.004*), and most recent delivery (r=-0.329, p=0.024*) showed significant correlations with the likelihood of perinatal depression. Maternal age, parity, and mode of delivery had negative correlations, while employment status had a positive correlation. The results of this study can be used as screening tools to identify mothers at risk of perinatal depression. Additionally, it proposes a prenatal and delivery counseling intervention program for both expectant mothers and unemployed women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furfural has become one of the most promising building blocks directly derived from biomass. It can be transformed into numerous important biobased chemicals. Among them, furfuryl ethers such as furfuryl ethyl ether (FEE) and tetrahydrofurfuryl ethyl ether (THFEE) are considered to be attractive derivatives, notably as fuel components, due to their high stability and high octane numbers. Therefore, the production of furfuryl ethers from furfural via a hydrogenation route is an important academic and industrial challenge and requires the deployment of new catalytic processes under green and competitive reaction conditions. The existing processes are based on a two-step process combining hydrogenation and reaction with a strong Bronsted acid catalyst in batch conditions. For the first time, a continuous flow one-step process has been elaborated for the conversion of furfural directly into furfuryl ethers based on reductive etherification. The present work explores the catalytic performance in a continuous flow of commercial palladium catalysts supported on activated carbon for the catalytic reductive etherification of furfural with ethanol in the presence of trifluoroacetic acid. The chemical and engineering aspects, such as the mechanisms and reaction conditions, will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the recent past, the formulation and development of nanocarriers has been elaborated into the broader fields and opened various avenues in their preclinical and clinical applications. In particular, the cellular membrane-based nanoformulations have been formulated to surpass and surmount the limitations and restrictions associated with naïve or free forms of therapeutic compounds and circumvent various physicochemical and immunological barriers including but not limited to systemic barriers, microenvironmental roadblocks, and other cellular or subcellular hinderances—which are quite heterogeneous throughout the diseases and patient cohorts. These limitations in drug delivery have been overcome through mesenchymal cells membrane-based precision therapeutics, where these interventions have led to the significant enhancements in therapeutic efficacies. However, the formulation and development of nanocarriers still focuses on optimization of drug delivery paradigms with a one-size-fits-all resolutions. As mesenchymal stem cell membrane-based nanocarriers have been engineered in highly diversified fashions, these are being optimized for delivering the drug payloads in more and better personalized modes, entering the arena of precision as well as personalized nanomedicine. In this Review, we have included some of the advanced nanocarriers which have been designed and been utilized in both the non-personalized as well as precision applicability which can be employed for the improvements in precision nanotherapeutics. In the present report, authors have focused on various other aspects of the advancements in stem cells membrane-based nanoparticle conceptions which can surmount several roadblocks and barriers in drug delivery and nanomedicine. It has been suggested that well-informed designing of these nanocarriers will lead to appreciable improvements in the therapeutic efficacy in therapeutic payload delivery applications. These approaches will also enable the tailored and customized designs of MSC-based nanocarriers for personalized therapeutic applications, and finally amending the patient outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Increases in the prevalence of melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer, have been observed over the last few decades. However, the likelihood of a longer life span for individuals is considerably improved with early detection of this malignant illness. Even though the field of computer vision has attained a certain level of success, there is still a degree of ambiguity that represents an unresolved research challenge. In the initial phase of this study, the primary objective is to improve the information derived from input features by combining multiple deep models with the proposed Information‐theoretic feature fusion method. Subsequently, in the second phase, the study aims to decrease the redundant and noisy information through down‐sampling using the proposed entropy‐controlled binary bat selection algorithm. The proposed methodology effectively maintains the integrity of the original feature space, resulting in the creation of highly distinctive feature information. In order to obtain the desired set of features, three contemporary deep models are employed via transfer learning: Inception‐Resnet V2, DenseNet‐201, and Nasnet Mobile. By combining feature fusion and selection techniques, we may effectively fuse a significant amount of information into the feature vector and subsequently remove any redundant feature information. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology is supported by an evaluation conducted on three well‐known dermoscopic datasets, specifically PH2$$ {\mathrm{PH}}^2 $$, ISIC‐2016, and ISIC‐2017. In order to validate the proposed approach, several performance indicators are taken into account, such as accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, false negative rate (FNR), false positive rate (FPR), and F1‐score. The accuracies obtained for all datasets utilizing the proposed methodology are 99.05%, 96.26%, and 95.71%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key Clinical Message: Perianal alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma is a rare sarcoma that requires a high index of suspicion along with tissue biopsy for accurate diagnosis. Successful treatment, even in the setting of recurrence, requires a multidisciplinary approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study design: Prospective observational qualitative study. Objective: Cannabis is used by patients for the treatment of chronic pain, spasticity, sleep issues or mood disorders such as anxiety and depression. Since 2018, it has been authorised in the United Kingdom for medical use as an unlicensed medicine. This study aims to determine if patients are using cannabis for the management of symptoms related to spinal cord injury, and if so, whether they are using medical or illicit cannabis. Methods: Spinal cord injury patients from the Yorkshire Regional Spinal Injuries Centre and SPINE Community in the United Kingdom were surveyed. Participants were sent a 7-point electronic survey. All results were anonymous, and confidentiality was maintained throughout the process. Results: In total, 223 patients completed the survey. Not all patients answered every question. Of those who responded 65.35% (n = 132) were paraplegic and 34.65% (n = 70) were tetraplegic. Patients were suffering from chronic pain (longer than 3 months), spasticity, loss of/difficulty in sleeping or anxiety/depression. Almost 15% (14.93%, n = 33 out of 221) used cannabis to manage their symptoms, out of those the majority used street cannabis (79.41%, n = 27 out of 34) were using street cannabis. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that there are spinal cord injury patients in the UK using cannabis to treat their symptoms. A majority appear to be using illicit cannabis. Given that cannabis can interact with other medications, and that the quality and content of illicit cannabis can be highly variable and at times dangerous, it is important for physicians to discuss cannabis use with their patients. This can inform prescribing and allow them to educate patients on the dangers of medical cannabis and potential alternatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Skin diseases can be serious, and early detection is key to effective treatment. Unfortunately, the quality of images used to diagnose these diseases often suffers due to interference from hair, making accurate diagnosis challenging. This research introduces a novel technology, the DM–AHR, a self-supervised conditional diffusion model designed specifically to generate clear, hairless images for better skin disease diagnosis. Our work not only presents a new, advanced model that expertly identifies and removes hair from dermoscopic images but also introduces a specialized dataset, DERMAHAIR, to further research and improve diagnostic processes. The enhancements in image quality provided by DM–AHR significantly improve the accuracy of skin disease diagnoses, and it promises to be a valuable tool in medical imaging. Accurate skin diagnosis through end-user applications is important for early detection and cure of severe skin diseases. However, the low quality of dermoscopic images hampers this mission, especially with the presence of hair on these kinds of images. This paper introduces DM–AHR, a novel, self-supervised conditional diffusion model designed specifically for the automatic generation of hairless dermoscopic images to improve the quality of skin diagnosis applications. The current research contributes in three significant ways to the field of dermatologic imaging. First, we develop a customized diffusion model that adeptly differentiates between hair and skin features. Second, we pioneer a novel self-supervised learning strategy that is specifically tailored to optimize performance for hairless imaging. Third, we introduce a new dataset, named DERMAHAIR (DERMatologic Automatic HAIR Removal Dataset), that is designed to advance and benchmark research in this specialized domain. These contributions significantly enhance the clarity of dermoscopic images, improving the accuracy of skin diagnosis procedures. We elaborate on the architecture of DM–AHR and demonstrate its effective performance in removing hair while preserving critical details of skin lesions. Our results show an enhancement in the accuracy of skin lesion analysis when compared to existing techniques. Given its robust performance, DM–AHR holds considerable promise for broader application in medical image enhancement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apical periodontitis (AP) is the most prevalent chronic inflammatory disease of the teeth. Bone resorption dynamics in symptomatic and asymptomatic AP are still unrecognized. This study examined different inflammatory markers within gingival crevicular fluid, including matrix metalloproteinases 8 (MMP8), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP1), receptor activator of nuclear factor κB (RANK), its ligand (RANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG), to be used in comparing symptomatic apical periodontitis (SAP) and asymptomatic apical periodontitis (AAP) versus healthy teeth. Subjects with SAP, AAP, and a control group were recruited and GCF samples were collected by Periopaper strips. Clinical and radiographical measures were used for diagnosing AP. Levels of MMP8, TIMP, RANK, RANKL, and OPG were determined by ELISA and their abilities to discriminate between examined sites were evaluated by receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curves. All examined biomarkers were statistically significant higher (p < 0.05) in SAP than AAP and the control group, apart from RANK. Significant positive correlations (p < 0.05) were identified between all SAP and AAP biomarkers except TIMP1 and RANK in AAP teeth. TIMP1 and OPG exhibited the highest ability to distinguish between SAP and AAP with areas under the curve of 0.824 and 0.763 in comparing SAP and the control group, and 0.732 and 0.73 when comparing AAP and the control group, respectively. Additionally, TIMP1 and OPG showed the highest AUC of 0.778 and 0.747 when SAP and AAP were compared, respectively. This study concluded that GCF levels of TIMP1 and OPG can be used to differentiate between SAP, AAP, and healthy teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This review aims to investigate the effects of the Gufoni maneuver on horizontal semicircular canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (HC-BPPV). Methods: A comprehensive search, including PubMed, PEDro, REHABDATA, SCOPUS, EMBASE, and Web of Science, was conducted to determine randomized clinical trials (RCTs) studying the effects of the Gufoni maneuver for HC-BPPV from inception to March 1, 2024. The quality of the included studies was estimated using the Physiotherapy Evidence Database (PEDro) scale. Results: Ten randomized controlled trials (RCTs) were included in this review with a total of 1025 HC-BPPV patients (mean age = 58.58 years; 63% female; 55% right-side HC-HBPPV; 49% geotropic HC-BPPV). The included RCTs ranged from 4 to 9 out of 10 (median = 6.5) on the PEDro scale. The included studies showed that the Gufoni maneuver revealed efficacy when compared to the sham maneuver but not when compared to other maneuvers such as the Barbecue roll maneuver, the Appiani maneuver, the Mastoid oscillation, the head shaking, and the modified Gufoni maneuver. Conclusions: The Gufoni maneuver is considered an option for treating patients with geotropic or apogeotropic HC-BPPV. Precise diagnosis of the BPPV, the subtype of HC-BPPV, symptom duration, history of previous BPPV attacks, the applied methods of maneuver and the proficiency of the clinician performing the maneuver, proper diagnosis, presence of any underlying health conditions are critical for successful treatment. Further studies are strongly warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coaching has become increasingly popular as a mechanism to support learning across the health professions education (HPE) continuum. While there is a growing body of literature in this area, there is minimal guidance related to the design and implementation of academic coaching in health professional courses. This paper seeks to contribute to this literature by presenting guidance for academic developers who are considering introducing academic coaching into a health professional course. The 12 tips are based on the authors' collective experiences of designing and implementing academic coaching in university medical courses in Australia and the UK. Although focused on medical education, this paper is intended to have applicability across the health professions, and potentially across university and postgraduate training contexts. Together, the tips offer a strategic and operational framework to guide the design and implementation of academic coaching initiatives in health professions education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetes mellitus is an etiological factor of tinea pedis (TP) which can increase the risk of diabetes-related foot complications. There is scarce research investigating the epidemiology of TP among patients with diabetes and this study contributed to filling this gap. Objective: To identify the prevalence and the associated factors of TP among patients with diabetes in Jordan. Methods: A total of 375 patients with diabetes were recruited in a cross-sectional study at the National Centre for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Genetics in Amman, Jordan. TP was examined by a specimen culture and microscopic study. Several independent variables were collected, including sociodemographic, clinical, and foot self-care variables. Multivariant logistic regression was conducted to test independent factors associated with the prevalence of TP. Results: Positive TP was present in 211 participants with a prevalence of 56.3%. Multiple logistic regression resulted in four significant associated factors; being highly educated (β = 1.69, p = 0.03), presence of onychomycosis (β = 4.48, p < 0.01), wearing socks as a daily habit (β = 2.30, p < 0.01), and frequency of feet washing (1–2 times\day) (β = 2.54, p = 0.04). Conclusion: Patients with diabetes in Jordan have a high prevalence of TP. Factors including educational level, onychomycosis infection, and self-care activities (i.e., socks wearing habits and foot hygiene) were found to be associated with the prevalence of TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we introduce the pied kingfisher optimizer (PKO), a novel swarm-based meta-heuristic algorithm that draws inspiration from the distinctive hunting behavior and symbiotic relationships observed in pied kingfishers in the natural world. The PKO algorithm is structured around three distinct phases: perching/hovering for prey (exploration/diversification), diving for prey (exploitation/intensification), and fostering symbiotic relations. These behavioral aspects are translated into mathematical models capable of effectively addressing a wide array of optimization challenges across diverse search spaces. The algorithm's performance is rigorously evaluated across thirty-nine test functions, which encompass various unimodal, multimodal, composite, and hybrid ones. Additionally, eight real-world engineering optimization problems, including both constrained and unconstrained scenarios, are considered in the assessment. To gauge PKO's efficacy, it is subjected to a comparative analysis against 3 categories of rival optimizers. The 1st category comprises well-established and widely-cited optimizers such as particle swarm optimization and genetic algorithm. The 2nd category encompasses recently published algorithms, including Harris Hawks optimization, Whale optimization algorithm, sine cosine algorithm, Grey Wolf optimizer, gravitational search algorithm, and moth-flame optimization. The 3rd category includes advanced algorithms, such as covariance matrix adaptation evolution strategy and Ensemble Sinusoidal Differential Covariance Matrix Adaptation with Euclidean Neighborhood (LSHADE-cnEpSin). The comparative analysis employs various performance metrics, including the Friedman mean rank and the Wilcoxon rank-sum test, to reveal PKO's effectiveness and efficiency. The overall results highlight PKO's exceptional ability to tackle intricate optimization problems characterized by challenging search spaces. PKO demonstrates superior exploration and exploitation tendencies while effectively avoiding local optima. The source code for the PKO algorithm is publicly accessible at https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/fileexchange/160043-pied-kingfisher-optimizer-pko. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conflict between Israelis and Palestinians has been ongoing for decades, with no solution in sight. In view of both the global situation and the changing priorities of various key political players, this conflict has no longer been at the forefront of the media agenda in recent years. Since Hamas' bloody attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and the invasion of the Gaza Strip by Israeli forces, this conflict has once again become the focus of political and media interest. The escalation and the new dimension of violence with the Hamas attack bring to light psychological forces that become clearer and more accessible to analysis in the face of the escalation of war. Using current events as an example, this essay attempts to understand the psychodynamics of this never-ending conflict, exploring the psychological and psychosocial functions at work perpetuating mutual animosity and thus the distance from peace and activating a recurring re-traumatization of two population groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]