Search

Background: The genetic basis for hyperglycaemia in pregnancy remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the genetic determinants of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) and investigate their applications. Methods: We performed a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for GDM in Chinese women (464 cases and 1,217 controls), followed by de novo replications in an independent Chinese cohort (564 cases and 572 controls) and in silico replication in European (12,332 cases and 131,109 controls) and multi-ethnic populations (5,485 cases and 347,856 controls). A polygenic risk score (PRS) was derived based on the identified variants. Results: Using the genome-wide scan and candidate gene approaches, we identified four susceptibility loci for GDM. These included three previously reported loci for GDM and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) at MTNR1B (rs7945617, odds ratio [OR], 1.64; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.38 to 1.96), CDKAL1 (rs7754840, OR, 1.33; 95% CI, 1.13 to 1.58), and INS-IGF2-KCNQ1 (rs2237897, OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.23 to 1.79), as well as a novel genome-wide significant locus near TBR1-SLC4A10 (rs117781972, OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.61 to 2.62; Pmeta= 7.6x10-9), which has not been previously reported in GWAS for T2DM or glycaemic traits. Moreover, we found that women with a high PRS (top quintile) had over threefold (95% CI, 2.30 to 4.09; Pmeta=3.1 x 10-14) and 71% (95% CI, 1.08 to 2.71; P= 0.0220) higher risk for GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance post-pregnancy, respectively, compared to other individuals. Conclusion: Our results indicate that the genetic architecture of glucose metabolism exhibits both similarities and differences between the pregnant and non-pregnant states. Integrating genetic information can facilitate identification of pregnant women at a higher risk of developing GDM or later diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cyclen‐peptide bioconjugates are usually prepared in multiple steps that require individual preparation and purification of the cyclic peptide and hydrophilic cyclen derivatives. An efficient strategy is discovered for peptide cyclization and functionalization toward lanthanide probe via three components intermolecular crosslinking on solid‐phase peptide synthesis with high conversion yield. Multifunctionality can be conferred by introducing different modular parts or/and metal ions on the cyclen‐embedded cyclopeptide. As a proof‐of‐concept, a luminescent Eu3+ complex and a Gd3+‐based contrasting agent for in vitro optical imaging and in vivo magnetic resonance imaging, respectively, are demonstrated through utilizing this preparation of cyclen‐embedded cyclic arginylglycylaspartic acid (RGD) peptide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical investigation, employing density functional theory with the PBE functional and the Def2-TZVP basis set, comprehensively explores the geometric and electronic structures and properties of the boron doped scandium clusters BmScn−m+/0 with m = 2–3 and n = 3–13. Introduction of B atoms significantly enhances the stability of the resulting clusters with respect to the initial counterparts. As the number of B atoms increases, the stability of the doped clusters improves, following the order: B3Scn−3+/0 > B2Scn−2+/0 > BScn−1+/0 > Scn+/0. Notably, the B2@Sc8 cluster represents the smallest fully endohedral doubly doped cage, and the B3@Sc10 is the smallest fully endohedral triply doped cage reported to date. The size with 8 Sc atoms plays a crucial role in the structural evolution of both doubly doped B2Scn−2+/0 and triply doped B3Scn−3+/0 series. For the doubly doped species, this size marks an exohedral-to-endohedral transition, while in the triply doped species, it marks an interconversion of the B3 dopant from a triangular to a linear arrangement. In the triangular B3 trimer, the electron and charge distribution are evenly shared among the three B atoms, whereas in the linear B3 trimer, these distributions are unequal. Additionally, the geometric and electronic structures of the linear-B3 doped B3@Sc8 can serve as basic building blocks for the construction of larger clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Tendon, ligament, fascia, and cartilage are connective tissues that develop in response to diverse mechanical demands and pathology may result from alterations in the load placed any of these tissues. • Loads can be generally categorized into tension, compression, and shear. Each of these regulate distinct molecular pathways that are involved in matrix remodeling. • The response to load is stage-specific, meaning that the activation of mechanically sensitive pathways changes during development and maturation. • The perspectives provided here draw from studies spanning in vitro, animal, and human experiments of healthy and diseased tendon to propose a more targeted approach to advance rehabilitation, orthobiologics, and tissue engineering. Tendon and ligament injuries are highly prevalent but heal poorly, even with proper care. Restoration of native tissue function is complicated by the fact that these tissues vary anatomically in terms of their mechanical properties, composition, and structure. These differences develop as adaptations to diverse mechanical demands; however, pathology may alter the loads placed on the tissue. Musculoskeletal loads can be generally categorized into tension, compression, and shear. Each of these regulate distinct molecular pathways that are involved in tissue remodeling, including many of the canonical tenogenic genes. In this review, we provide a perspective on the stage-specific regulation of mechanically sensitive pathways during development and maturation of tendon and ligament tissue, including scleraxis, mohawk, and others. Furthermore, we discuss structural features of healing and diseased tendon that may contribute to aberrant loading profiles, and how the associated disturbance in molecular signaling may contribute to incomplete healing or the formation of degenerative phenotypes. The perspectives provided here draw from studies spanning in vitro , animal, and human experiments of healthy and diseased tendon to propose a more targeted approach to advance rehabilitation, orthobiologics, and tissue engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We classify what we call "typically almost symmetric" depth zero supercuspidal representations of a classical group over a local field of odd residual characteristic into L-packets. Our main results resolve an ambiguity in the paper of Lust-Stevens [24] in this case, where they could only classify these representations in two or four, if not one, L-packets. By assuming the expected numbers of supercuspidal representations in the L-packets, we employ only simple properties of the representations to prove the main results. In particular, we do not require any deep calculations of character values. With the same method, we also compute the parity of a (conjugate-)self-dual depth zero supercuspidal representation of a general linear group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medication adherence plays a crucial role in effectively managing hypertension, a significant public health concern, especially in regions like Central Vietnam. This study aimed to assess medication adherence levels among hypertensive patients in primary care settings and explore the factors influencing adherence within this specific population. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study to evaluate medication adherence and its determinants among individuals with hypertension in Central Vietnam. Medication adherence was assessed using the 5-item version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale self-report. We collected data on the demographics, medical history, lifestyle, hypertension knowledge, along with the patient beliefs and perceptions about hypertension. Logistic regression analysis was employed to identify the key factors associated with their medication adherence. Results: Our study revealed that only half of the hypertensive patients adhered to their prescribed medication regimens. Several factors significantly influenced their medication adherence, including age, ethnicity, educational level, home blood pressure monitoring, healthy diet, time since hypertension diagnosis, hypertension knowledge, and patient beliefs. According to the logistic regression analysis, a healthy diet and patient beliefs emerged as primary predictors of medication adherence. Patients who strongly believed in the necessity of medication demonstrated better adherence, while concerns about overuse and harm were linked to lower adherence levels. Conclusions: This study highlighted the suboptimal levels of medication adherence among hypertensive patients in primary care settings in Central Vietnam. It underscored the urgent need for tailored interventions to address this issue. For the sake of better medication adherence, healthcare providers were suggested to prioritize patient education, address patient beliefs and concerns about medication, and promote the practice of home blood pressure monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pathogenic or null mutations in WRN helicase is a cause of premature aging disease Werner syndrome (WS). WRN is known to protect somatic cells including adult stem cells from premature senescence. Loss of WRN in mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) not only drives the cells to premature senescence but also significantly impairs the function of the stem cells in tissue repair or regeneration. Results: In this study, we profiled the signaling pathways altered in WRN-deficient MSC and applied pharmacological method to activate the AKT signaling in these cells and examined their cellular phenotype related to aging. We found that the AKT signaling in WRN-deficient MSCs was significantly suppressed while the AKT upstream phosphatases (SHIP1/2) were upregulated. Knockdown or inhibition of SHIP1/2 could ameliorate premature senescence in WRN-deficient MSCs. Moreover, SHIP inhibition stimulated MSC proliferation and suppressed expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6 and IL-8. The stemness of WRN-deficient MSC was also improved upon pharmacological treatments with the inhibitors. Conclusions: These results suggested that targeting the SHIP/AKT signaling pathway is beneficial to WRN-deficient stem cells and fibroblasts, which might be applied for improving the trophic function of MSC in, for instance, promoting angiogenesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractA new phenomenon has emerged among Generation Z (born after 1995) in China, who often spend their leisure time in the core streets or public spaces near their communities. These recreational areas are called neighborhood commercial circles (NCCs). However, few studies have investigated the environmental factors of NCCs that motivate Generation Z visitors to visit most frequently. This study applies an exploratory sequential mixed research design to create a measurement scale for understanding these environmental factors. Through semi-structured interviews with 32 Generation Z visitors and a survey with 334 participants in five cities in China, a measurement scale of 15 items related to five environmental factors (physical design, ambience, consumption, entertainment, and facility services) of NCCs is developed. The construct validation and scale refinement are performed via an exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. This study contributes to leisure research by providing a context-specific measurement scale for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of the dragon millipede genus Hylomus Cook & Loomis, 1924 are described from mountainous areas in northern Vietnam, namely Hylomus piccolo sp. nov. and Hylomus borealis sp. nov. The COI barcodes are provided for these species, and an identification key is presented to all Vietnamese Hylomus species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractStudies on parental depression predominantly use quantitative designs and are based in Western cultural contexts. Research on the lived experiences of Chinese parents with major depressive disorder (MDD) in Hong Kong society is scant. In this study, we aim to address this research gap using a qualitative design, exploring Chinese parents’ subjective experiences. From December 2022 to April 2023, 12 parents, purposively sampled from a community-based setting, participated in semi-structured, rigorous interviews exploring how they responded to MDD. Using thematic analysis, an overarching theme of “revitalizing parenthood” was identified, under which five subthemes, namely “rejecting fatalism of parental depression,” “regulating proximity with children,” “retaining parenthood,” “redefining suffering,” and “untapped resources in the dyad,” were generated. The findings provide suggestions for social workers to engage with parents with MDD, who are perceived as active players in the journey of recovery and revitalizing parenthood. Mental health professionals and researchers should consider departing from a deficit-based landscape to a resilience-oriented perspective to identify the potential of the parents, which may contribute to the well-being of the whole family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this article, we exploit the huge advantages of full‐duplex (FD) transmission, nonorthogonal multiple access (NOMA) technique, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and millimeter‐wave (mmWave) communications in an Internet of things (IoT) sensor network. Specifically, the UAV operates as a FD amplify‐and‐forward (AF) relay to aid communications between an IoT sensor and multiple NOMA users. Moreover, the FD‐UAV (FDU) adopts both fixed and variable gains. We obtain exact expressions of outage probability (OP) and throughput of IoT‐FDU‐NOMA‐mmWave network with fixed and variable gains at FDU over Nakagami‐m$$ m $$ fading channels. Numerical illustrations clearly show that the OP and throughput performance of the IoT‐FDU‐NOMA‐mmWave network with variable gain are considerably higher than those with fixed gain. Since mmWave bands are used, the OP and throughput of the IoT‐FDU‐NOMA‐mmWave network are greatly affected by carrier frequency and communication distances. Consequently, when the carrier frequency or/and the distances between the IoT sensor and the users increase, the transmit power of the IoT sensor and the FDU should be increased to maintain the network performance. On the other hand, the effects of residual loop interference (LI) induced by FD transmission are remarkable. Thus, more efforts to reduce the residual LI power have to be continuously performed. Moreover, the specific impacts of the key parameters such as fading order m$$ m $$, the positions of the FDU, and data rates are clarified. More importantly, in practice, according to the fixed gain or the variable gain that is used, we can locate the position of FDU to achieve the best performance for the IoT‐FDU‐NOMA‐mmWave network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractAlthough the importance of teacher feedback literacy in enhancing student feedback literacy is recognized, the influence of teacher beliefs on teacher feedback literacy at the classroom level remains uncertain. This study aimed to address this issue by examining twenty-two educators’ beliefs in Hong Kong universities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and reflective journals. Thematic analysis revealed four distinct patterns of teacher beliefs: knowledge-oriented, social learning, relationship-building, and technology-mediated feedback beliefs. Teachers with a knowledge-oriented approach position themselves as authoritative figures, emphasizing their expertise and focusing on evaluating students’ performance based on assessment criteria. Those endorsing social learning feedback beliefs highlight the collaborative efforts of peers in enhancing feedback literacy through discussions and reviews. Educators with relationship-building feedback beliefs prioritize supportive interpersonal relationships to alleviate learner anxiety through teacher–student conferences. Lastly, teachers with technology-mediated feedback beliefs leverage technology for efficient feedback exchanges and promote AI tools for evaluating student drafts. While these belief patterns are distinct, each participant holds at least two feedback belief patterns, prioritizing one set over the others. The implications of these findings for teacher development in feedback literacy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractPrognostic assessment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is essential for delivery of timely, personalized therapy. TP53 status, karyotype, IGHV mutational status, minimal residual disease (MRD), gene mutations and markers of cell proliferation were important prognostic tools in the era of chemo-immunotherapy (CIT). With BCL2 inhibitors (BCL2i), outcome is still impacted by IGHV status, TP53 status, complex karyotype, and achievement of undetectable MRD. On the other hand, BTK inhibitors (BTKi) are agnostic to IGHV status, rarely cause MRD negative remissions and are less clearly impacted by TP53 status. Although based on less mature data, outcomes with BCL2i/BTKi combinations are likely influenced by TP53 and IGHV status. Responses to non-covalent BTKI (ncBTKI) are impacted by the mechanism of resistance to previous covalent BTKi. Finally, responses to chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy (CAR-T) appear independent of TP53 status, but dependent on overall T- cell fitness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purposes of this study are to identify the ways that luxury fashion brands can leverage in metaverse retailing, and give insights to practitioners in the fashion industry who are planning to launch metaverse retailing. Design/methodology/approach: To offer a balanced view of available evidence, this study adopted a literature review approach and attempted to collect all existing academic journal articles on the issues related to metaverse retailing and luxury fashion brands. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in electronic databases Google Scholar, Web of Science, Scopus, Pro Quest and Science Direct from January 2023 to April 2024. Based on the results of the research in literature, real-life examples of luxury fashion brands were used to explain the ways that luxury fashion brands in the metaverse retailing can be put into practice. Findings: The findings have revealed that there are many ways that luxury fashion brands can leverage in the metaverse retailing. The fusion of metaverse-related technologies provides brands with a wide platform of choices that can create immersive, personalized marketing experiences for customers. Four roles of metaverse are identified: (1) enhance of immersive experience; (2) provide big data interface to smart decision-making; (3) form high-fidelity simulated space; and (4) maintenance economic system and making of identification. To further enhance the four roles of metaverse, four types of technologies and 15 components for metaverse can be adopted by luxury fashion brands. Research limitations/implications: While this paper provides a literature review and real-life examples of luxury fashion brands in the metaverse retailing to explain the findings, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness of current efforts in the development of luxury fashion brands in the metaverse retailing through collecting both quantitative and qualitative data. Also, future studies may attempt to explore the challenges of investigating consumers in response to luxury fashion brands in the metaverse retailing. Practical implications: The metaverse is turning imagination into reality through the integration of multiple technologies and is gaining momentum in tech. With technology leading the way, business leaders and brands must not only rethink retail but also bring immersive shopping experiences into the future. Metaverse has immense potential to transform the retail industry, thus the leading global and local firms must embrace innovation and new technologies, and prioritize "metaverse transformation" for their business. Based on the results of this study, some emerging practices pertaining to metaverse retailing are provided. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, it would seem that this is the first work that conducts a literature review of the relevant academic journal articles addressed to the practitioners or managerial audiences in the area of luxury fashion industry who are concerned about the development of metaverse retailing. This paper identifies the ways that luxury fashion brands can leverage in the metaverse retailing and gives insights to practitioners in the luxury fashion industry who are planning to launch metaverse retailing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, it is challenging to investigate aneurismal hemodynamics based on current in vivo data such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging or Computed Tomography due to the limitations in both spatial and temporal resolutions. In this work, we investigate the use of modal analysis at various resolutions to examine its usefulness for analyzing blood flows in brain aneurysms. Two variants of Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD): (i) Hankel-DMD; and (ii) Optimized-DMD, are used to extract the time-dependent dynamics of blood flows during one cardiac cycle. First, high-resolution hemodynamic data in patient-specific aneurysms are obtained using Computational Fluid Dynamics. Second, the dynamics modes, along with their spatial amplitudes and temporal magnitudes are calculated using the DMD analysis. Third, an examination of DMD analyses using a range of spatial and temporal resolutions of hemodynamic data to validate the applicability of DMD for low-resolution data, similar to ones in clinical practices. Our results show that DMD is able to characterize the inflow jet dynamics by separating large-scale structures and flow instabilities even at low spatial and temporal resolutions. Its robustness in quantifying the flow dynamics using the energy spectrum is demonstrated across different resolutions in all aneurysms in our study population. Our work indicates that DMD can be used for analyzing blood flow patterns of brain aneurysms and is a promising tool to be explored in in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we give new numerical methods to solve C2 splines for interpolating a finite set of probability measures. Due to the difficulties of generalizing interpolations and solving them with explicit expressions on manifolds, we first introduce a theoretical analysis with different structures on the Riemannian manifold of probability measures P+(I). Then, by combining standard numerical methods and a new mathematical modeling we generalize interpolating splines as a minimizer of an energy functional on P+(I). Finally, we show the efficiency of the proposed methods and their computational relevance with several applications including real medical data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior research has shown that visual working memory capacity is enhanced for meaningful stimuli (i.e., real-world objects) compared to abstract shapes (i.e., colored circles). Here, we hypothesized that the shape of meaningful objects would be better remembered incidentally than the shape of nonmeaningful objects in a color memory task where the shape of the objects is task-irrelevant. We used a surprise-trial paradigm in which participants performed a color memory task for several trials before being probed with a surprise trial that asked them about the shape of the last object they saw. Across three experiments, we found a memory advantage for recognizable shapes relative to scrambled versions of these shapes (Experiment 1) that was robust across different encoding times (Experiment 2), and the addition of a verbal suppression task (Experiment 3). Interestingly, this advantage disappeared when all objects were from the same category (Experiment 4), suggesting that people are incidentally encoding broad conceptual information about object identities, but not visual details. Finally, when we asked about the location of objects in a surprise trial, we did not observe any difference between the two stimulus types (Experiment 5). Overall, these results show that conceptual information about the categories of meaningful objects is incidentally encoded into working memory even when task-irrelevant. This privilege for meaningful information does not exhibit a trade-off with location memory, suggesting that meaningful features influence representations of visual working memory in higher-level visual regions without altering the use of spatial reference frames at the lower level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel 1×4 non-blocking four-mode selection switch on a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrate. It comprises one Y-Junction coupler, six Phase Shifters (PS), and three Multimode Interferences (MMI). While the Y-Junction is designed to divide modes at the input of the device, the MMIs direct signals from its inputs to suitable outputs by adjusting the value of the Phase Shifters. The outstanding feature is that the proposed switch allows the four input modes ( TE 0 − TE 1 − TE 2 − TE 3 ) to be guided simultaneously or sequentially to the desired output without any discontinuation. Through BPM-3D beam propagation with the EIM effective index method, it is shown that the device is capable of smoothly switching concurrently or, in turn, the four modes mentioned above from any input to any output with insertion loss (IL) being smaller than 0.1 dB at the central wavelength 1.55 μ m, and crosstalk (CT) being from −48 dB to −19 dB for the entire C band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary With the rapid growth of genetic data linked to electronic health record (EHR) data in huge cohorts, large-scale phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) have become powerful discovery tools in biomedical research. PheWAS is an analysis method to study phenotype associations utilizing longitudinal EHR data. Previous PheWAS packages were developed mostly with smaller datasets and with earlier PheWAS approaches. PheTK was designed to simplify analysis and efficiently handle biobank-scale data. PheTK uses multithreading and supports a full PheWAS workflow including extraction of data from OMOP databases and Hail matrix tables as well as PheWAS analysis for both phecode version 1.2 and phecodeX. Benchmarking results showed PheTK took 64% less time than the R PheWAS package to complete the same workflow. PheTK can be run locally or on cloud platforms such as the All of Us Researcher Workbench (All of Us) or the UK Biobank (UKB) Research Analysis Platform (RAP). Availability and implementation The PheTK package is freely available on the Python Package Index, on GitHub under GNU General Public License (GPL-3) at https://github.com/nhgritctran/PheTK , and on Zenodo, DOI 10.5281/zenodo.14217954, at https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14217954. PheTK is implemented in Python and platform independent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infectious complications are the most common and can be life-threatening to liver transplant recipients, in particular, within the first month after transplantation. Early diagnosis of these severe complications and accurate detection of causative etiologies are crucial for the choice of therapeutic strategies and management of liver transplants. We present a case report of a patient with a history of primary sclerosing cholangitis who underwent a liver transplantation (LT) from a living donor. The postoperative care was complicated with the hepatic artery thrombosis on day 16 and then the presence of sepsis on day 22 and intra-abdominal abscess on day 30, caused by Enterococcus avium (E. avium). The patient was treated with stent placement for hepatic artery thrombosis, percutaneous drainage of the abscess, and used an intensive intravenous antibiotic regimen with a combination of fosfomycin and vancomycin for a duration of 14 days. After the interventional procedure, the clinical examination and laboratory findings became normal and the patient left the hospital on day 46 in good general condition. We diagnosed early and well-recognized complications during the perioperative care to make a prompt therapeutic approach with conservative treatment to rescue the patient without requiring urgent surgery and retransplantation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Sporadic Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease (sCJD) is a rapidly progressive and fatal prion disease with significant public health implications. Survival is heterogenous, posing challenges for prognostication and care planning. We developed a survival model using diagnostic data from comprehensive UK sCJD surveillance. Methods: Using national CJD surveillance data from the United Kingdom (UK), we included 655 cases of probable or definite sCJD according to 2017 international consensus diagnostic criteria between 01/2017 and 01/2022. Data included symptoms at diagnosis, CSF RT-QuIC and 14-3-3, MRI and EEG findings, as well as sex, age, PRNP codon 129 polymorphism, CSF total protein and S100b. An artificial neural network based multitask logistic regression was used for survival analysis. Model-agnostic interpretation methods was used to assess the contribution of individual features on model outcome. Results: Our algorithm had a c-index of 0.732, IBS of 0.079, and AUC at 5 and 10 months of 0.866 and 0.872, respectively. This modestly improved on Cox proportional hazard model (c-index 0.730, IBS 0.083, AUC 0.852 and 0863) but was not statistically significant. Both models identified codon 129 polymorphism and CSF 14-3-3 to be significant predictive features. Conclusions: sCJD survival can be predicted using routinely collected clinical data at diagnosis. Our analysis pipeline has similar levels of performance to classical methods and provide clinically meaningful interpretation which help deepen clinical understanding of the condition. Further development and clinical validation will facilitate improvements in prognostication, care planning, and stratification to clinical trials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a family, including a 6-year-old boy, experiencing acute altered mental status due to unintentional tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) ingestion. Topics discussed include the rising incidence of pediatric THC toxicity, the challenges in diagnosis and management, and the importance of preventive measures and community education to reduce such exposures.

Background: INTER- and INTRAmuscular fat (IMF) is elevated in high metabolic states and can promote inflammation. While magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) excels in depicting IMF, the lack of reproducible tools prevents the ability to measure change and track intervention success. Methods: We detail an open-source fully-automated iterative threshold-seeking algorithm (ITSA) for segmenting IMF from T1-weighted MRI of the calf and thigh within three cohorts (CaMos Hamilton (N = 54), AMBERS (N = 280), OAI (N = 105)) selecting adults 45–85 years of age. Within the CaMos Hamilton cohort, same-day and 1-year repeated images (N = 38) were used to evaluate short- and long-term precision error with root mean square coefficients of variation; and to validate against semi-automated segmentation methods using linear regression. The effect of algorithmic improvements to fat ascertainment using 3D connectivity and partial volume correction rules on analytical precision was investigated. Robustness and versatility of the algorithm was demonstrated by application to different MR sequences/magnetic strength and to calf versus thigh scans. Results: Among 439 adults (319 female(89%), age: 71.6 ± 7.6 yrs, BMI: 28.06 ± 4.87 kg/m2, IMF%: 10.91 ± 4.57%), fully-automated ITSA performed well across MR sequences and anatomies from three cohorts. Applying both 3D connectivity and partial volume fat correction improved precision from 4.99% to 2.21% test–retest error. Validation against semi-automated methods showed R2 from 0.92 to 0.98 with fully-automated ITSA routinely yielding more conservative computations of IMF volumes. Quality control shows 7% of cases requiring manual correction, primarily due to IMF merging with subcutaneous fat. A full workflow described methods to export tags for manual correction. Conclusions: The greatest challenge in segmenting IMF from MRI is in selecting a dynamic threshold that consistently performs across repeated imaging. Fully-automated ITSA achieved this, demonstrated low short- and long-term precision error, conducive of use within RCTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a case study of a 20-year-old woman with STUB1-Associated Autosomal-Recessive Spinocerebellar Ataxia Type 16 (SCAR16) presenting with Gordon-Holmes Syndrome due to a novel biallelic variant in STUB1 inherited through maternal uniparental isodisomy. The patient exhibited symptoms such as gait ataxia, cognitive challenges, and endocrinopathies. Exome sequencing revealed a homozygous variant in STUB1, leading to a diagnosis of GHS. The study underscores the importance of considering uniparental isodisomy in the differential diagnosis of recessive ataxias. [Extracted from the article]

Bismuth (III) oxide (Bi 2 O 3) has been highly studied as a photocatalyst for green hydrogen production due to its low band gap, yet its efficiency requires enhancement. This study synthesizes a defective and strained black Bi 2 O 3 by severe straining under high pressure, via a high-pressure torsion method, to improve its photocatalytic hydrogen production. The material rich in oxygen vacancies exhibits a ten-fold improvement in water splitting with excellent cycling stability. Such improvement is due to improved light absorption, narrowing band gap and reduced irradiative electron-hole recombination. Moreover, the valence band bottom energy positively increases by straining leading to a high overpotential for hydrogen production. This research highlights the potential of vacancies and lattice strain in developing dopant-free active catalysts for water splitting. • Defective and strained Bi 2 O 3 was produced by severe straining under high pressure. • The material, rich in oxygen vacancies, exhibits high light absorption and a narrow band gap. • It shows ten-fold improvement in photocatalytic hydrogen production with excellent cycling. • Strain and vacancies reduce recombination and enhance overpotential for H 2 evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Background Methods Results Conclusions Research on evaluating the efficacy of non‐cultured epidermal cell suspension (NCECS) combined with excimer lamps for the treatment of vitiligo is currently unavailable. This research aims to evaluate the efficacy of this combination in treating vitiligo.A prospective, controlled study was conducted from November 2021 to January 2024. Patients with stable vitiligo were randomly assigned into groups 1 (NCECS combined with excimer lamps) or 2 (NCECS alone). All patients were followed up 18 months after the procedure. Treatment effectiveness and adverse events were recorded.Sixty patients were randomly assigned to groups 1 (30 patients) and 2 (30 patients). A total of 33.3% of patients in group 1 achieved 100% repigmentation, significantly higher than the 6.7% in group 2 (p‐value = 0.021). Meanwhile, 63.3% of patients in group 1 achieved ≥ 90% repigmentation, higher than the 50% in group 2 but not statistically significant (p‐value = 0.435). The mean time to initial repigmentation in group 1 (2.35 ± 0.575 weeks) was significantly shorter than in group 2 (2.72 ± 0.665 weeks) (p‐value = 0.003). Both groups demonstrated a similar rate of good color match, but group 1 exhibited a lower incidence of the halo phenomenon. A total of 23.3% of patients in group 1 experienced mild erythema, which spontaneously resolved in a few days.The combination of NCECS and excimer lamps can substantially stimulate the onset of repigmentation and enhance 100% repigmentation compared to NCECS monotherapy. Excimer lamps may reduce the incidence of the halo phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This theoretical study presents novel insights into the doping of boron clusters with an increasing number of dopant atoms, ranging from 1 to 4, that preserve the integrity of the original boron framework. The triple-chain forms of clusters B10 and B16 remain unchanged upon sequential addition of P atoms, showcasing a perfect isolobal substitution of {P} with {CH}. Similarities in the number of delocalized electrons are observed between pure and doped boron clusters, alongside the subsequent substitution of {P} with {CH}. All triple-chain structures exhibit high thermodynamic stability, having low vertical attachment energies and high vertical ionization energies. The lowest-lying isomer of B16P4 has thus a triple-chain shape instead of a tetrahedral Td form as previously reported. While AdNDP analysis confirms the number of globally delocalized electrons, it differs much from a previous interpretation. The magnetic ring current maps support the double aromaticity of triple-chain structures. Electron counting rules established for triple-chain structures are verified. The particle-in-a-rectangular-box model elucidates the relationship between the structure size and electron configuration and aids in understanding the transition from antiaromatic to aromatic configurations. The self-locking phenomenon is crucial for adhering to the triple-chain model and satisfying electron configuration requirements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a case series of three children with ATM-mutated medulloblastoma, a common malignant brain tumor in childhood. It explores the genetic and clinical features of medulloblastoma, emphasizing the importance of molecular characterization for prognosis and treatment management. The study highlights the impact of germline ATM variants on cancer risk and radiation-induced toxicity, with one patient experiencing severe radiation-induced brainstem necrosis due to a germline ATM variant. The article underscores the potential of precision oncology in guiding personalized treatment decisions based on genetic predispositions to radiosensitivity. [Extracted from the article]

Background/Objectives: Orthostatic hypotension (OH) is highly prevalent in hospitalized patients and can lead to major consequences. The prevalence of OH among patients with stroke has also been reported to be high in in-patient cohorts. However, no previous analysis has focused exclusively on patients with hemorrhagic stroke, a group that may have a different disease profile, including a greater need for blood pressure control and surgical intervention. This study aims to examine the prevalence of OH, its risk factors, and potential impact in patients who were hospitalized due to hemorrhagic stroke. Methods: A retrospective analysis of in-patient records between 1 January 2021 and 30 April 2023 was conducted for patients with stroke due to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) or subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) who were referred to rehabilitation at a tertiary hospital in Singapore. OH was defined as a drop in systolic blood pressure of ≥20 mmHg or diastolic blood pressure of ≥10 mmHg during the sit-up test as part of the rehabilitation assessment. Additional data collected included demographic information, length of stay, antihypertensive medications used at the time of assessment, comorbidities, and discharge functional outcomes as measured by a modified Rankin Scale. Results: A total of 77 patients (65 [84.4%] with ICH and 12 [15.6%] with SAH) were included in the analysis. The prevalence of OH was 37.7%. A history of surgical intervention was identified as the major risk factor for the development of OH (odds ratio 4.28, 95% confidence interval 1.37 to 13.35, p = 0.009). There was no difference in hospital length of stay or discharge modified Rankin Scale scores between the two groups. Conclusions: OH was frequently observed among patients with hemorrhagic stroke during the acute/subacute stage and should be monitored, especially in patients who require surgical intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) and big data, among other new technologies, have attracted the attention and interest of practitioners and researchers in cognitive cybersecurity regarding the use of AI technologies to protect digital as well as analogue systems. This mixed-method study explores the main determinants of cognitive cybersecurity adoption at the individual level. We propose an integrated model with unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model in combination with trust, word-of-mouth, information security awareness, and habit. We empirically examine the hypotheses using a survey of 267 people from southern Europe. The results obtained from the use of structural equation modelling show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and word-of-mouth affect behavioural intention. The behavioural intention and word-of-mouth influences use behaviour. The results were triangulated with field interviews, which supported the findings. This study offers a valuable contribution to software-selling companies that are at the moment, or will in the future be, interested and/or involved in developing cognitive cybersecurity software to be used at an individual level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Haematococcus pluvialis, a green microalga, is a rich source of natural astaxanthin and a potent antioxidant with high commercial value. This study investigates the biological characteristics and potential of H. pluvialis HB isolated from Hoa Binh, Vietnam, for growth and astaxanthin accumulation using a two-phase culture method. Methods: H. pluvialis HB was cultured in a C/RM medium at 25 °C, and morphological characteristics were examined. NMR spectroscopy was used to determine the structure of the astaxanthin, which was extracted using the Soxhlet method. Results: After 22 days, the highest cell density (4.96 × 106 cells mL−1) was achieved under optimized light and ultraviolet conditions. Nutrient deprivation followed by bicarbonate supplementation resulted in a maximal astaxanthin accumulation of 48.8 mg g−1 dry cell weight within two days. The extracted astaxanthin demonstrated potent antioxidant activity (IC50: 3.74 mg mL−1) compared to ascorbic acid (IC50: 18.53 µg mL−1) and exhibited strong acetylcholinesterase inhibition (IC50: 297.99 µg mL−1). It also showed neuroprotective effects against H2O2 and amyloid beta-induced neurotoxicity in C6 cells. Conclusions: This study highlights H. pluvialis HB as a promising source for large-scale astaxanthin production with potential applications in neuroprotective health products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

East Asian colorism refers to the favoring of lighter skin tones due to historical roots related to manual labor and social classes. This may influence the skincare behavior of people in modern society, particularly adolescents, who are vulnerable to social pressure. By conducting a Bayesian analysis aided by Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithms on data from 11,926 middle-school students in China, we found that the use of skin-whitening products was positively associated with self-perception of lighter skin, being a girl, feeling that one's skin tone was not attractive enough, constantly being evaluated about one's skin tone, and observations of unfair treatment due to skin tone (including both negative bias toward darker skin and positive bias toward lighter skin). These findings provide practical guidance for policy making and educational and marketing approaches regarding adolescent health and skincare. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the bond energy model, we investigate the particle size and shape effects on the melting temperature, Debye temperature, and specific heat at constant pressure of Ni nanoparticles with carbon impurity. We have derived analytical expressions for these thermodynamic quantities as functions of the size and shape of nanoparticles. Numerical calculations have been implemented for nickel nanoparticles with carbon impurity up to 20 nm of size. Our theoretical melting temperatures are compared with molecular dynamics simulations showing the good agreement. Our research indicates that the Debye temperature and melting temperature of nickel nanoparticles increase rapidly while the specific heat decreases significantly for particle diameters smaller than 5 nm. At larger sizes, these thermodynamic quantities gradually approach saturation values of bulk material. This indicates that surface area plays an important role in the thermodynamic properties of nickel nanoparticles. And carbon substitution leads to a reduction in the values of the studied thermodynamic quantities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cloud radiative feedback impacts early tropical cyclone (TC) intensification, but limitations in existing diagnostic frameworks make them unsuitable for studying asymmetric or transient radiative heating. We propose a linear Variational Encoder‐Decoder (VED) framework to learn the hidden relationship between radiative anomalies and the surface intensification of realistic simulated TCs. The uncertainty of the VED model identifies periods when radiation has more importance for intensification. A close examination of the radiative pattern extracted by the VED model from a 20‐member ensemble simulation on Typhoon Haiyan shows that longwave forcing from inner core deep convection and shallow clouds downshear contribute to intensification, with deep convection in the downshear‐left quadrant having the most impact overall on the intensification of that TC. Our work demonstrates that machine learning can aid the discovery of thermodynamic‐kinematic relationships without relying on axisymmetric or deterministic assumptions, paving the way for the objective discovery of processes leading to TC intensification in realistic conditions. Plain Language Summary: How clouds react to heating from the sun and Earth's surface, called Cloud Radiative Feedback (CRF), greatly affects how quickly tropical cyclones intensify in their early stage. Traditional methods to isolate CRF have limitations. In this manuscript, we demonstrate that machine learning can be applied to this problem and allows us to isolate, quantify, and visualize CRF with better spatial details than what is possible with traditional methods. One of the many things our machine‐learning model can do is identify times when CRF is important and times when other processes are more important. Applying our model to two historical tropical cyclones shows that CRF in certain regions close to the tropical cyclones' centers are crucial for their early intensification. This helps us understand how these storms form in real‐world conditions. Key Points: We extract three‐dimensional radiative heating patterns critical to tropical cyclogenesis from WRF simulationsOur data‐driven model pinpoints time periods where radiative heating has a dominant effect on early TC intensificationDownshear longwave anomaly patterns are more relevant to the genesis of Haiyan than azimuthally uniform ones [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although seasonal changes were suggested to be among the many factors that affect thyroid functions, this issue is still controversial. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible relationship between seasonal changes and thyroid function. Methods: We retrospectively scanned all thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4) values checked in our hospital between 2019 and 2023. Using the big data approach, we examined the relationship between TSH and thyroid hormones and monthly and seasonal recorded climatic changes, particularly the duration of daylight and temperature. Results: A total of 195,534 serum samples were analyzed for TSH, 195,491 for FT3, and 195,487 for FT4. There were significant differences in the values of TSH, FT3, and FT4 between months (p = 0.001 for TSH, p < 0.001 for FT3 and FT4). The months with the highest levels of TSH, FT3, and FT4 values were January, December, and June, while the months with the lowest levels were July, May, and March-April, respectively. The differences between the maximum and minimum median values were 14.5% for TSH, 4.9% for FT3, and 5.7% for FT4. From January to August, as the temperature rose, there was a decrease in TSH values. Between September and December, as the temperature decreased, an increase in TSH was observed. Conclusions: This study revealed that TSH, FT3, and FT4 show seasonal variability and change in temperature is an important factor that plays role in this variability. It would be appropriate to take these changes into consideration when interpreting thyroid function tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several studies have explored the use of hologram technology in architecture and urban design, demonstrating its feasibility. Holograms can represent 3D spatial data and offer an immersive experience, potentially replacing traditional methods such as physical 3D and offering a promising alternative to mixed-reality display technologies. Holograms can visualize realistic scenes such as buildings, cityscapes, and landscapes using the novel view synthesis technique. This study examines the suitability of spatial data collected through the Gaussian splatting method for tabletop hologram visualization. Recent advancements in Gaussian splatting algorithms allow for real-time spatial data collection of a higher quality compared to photogrammetry and neural radiance fields. Both hologram visualization and Gaussian splatting share similarities in that they recreate 3D scenes without the need for mesh reconstruction. In this research, unmanned aerial vehicle-acquired primary image data were processed for 3D reconstruction using Gaussian splatting techniques and subsequently visualized through holographic displays. Two experimental environments were used, namely, a building and a university campus. As a result, 3D Gaussian data have proven to be an ideal spatial data source for hologram visualization, offering new possibilities for real-time motion holograms of real environments and digital twins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mark Coeckelbergh (Int J Soc Robot 1:217–221, 2009) argues that robot ethics should investigate what interaction with robots can do to humans rather than focusing on the robot's moral status. We should ask what robots do to our sociality and whether human–robot interaction can contribute to the human good and human flourishing. This paper extends Coeckelbergh's call and investigate what it means to live with disembodied AI-powered agents. We address the following question: Can the human–AI interaction contribute to our moral development? We present an empirically informed philosophical analysis of how the AI personal assistant Siri changes its users' way of life, based on the responses obtained from 20 semi-directive individual interviews with Siri users. We identify changes in the users' social interaction associated with the adoption of Siri. These changes include: (1) the indirect effect of reducing opportunities of human interaction, (2) the second-order effect of diminished expectations toward each other in a community, and (3) the acquired preference to obtain hassle-free interaction with Siri over human interaction. We examine them in relation to concerns that are voiced in the current debates over the rise of AI, namely the suspicion that humans could become overly reliant on AI (Danaher 2019) and the worry that social AI could impede on moral development (Fröding and Peterson, Ethics Inf Technol 23:207–214, 2012; Li, Ethics Inf Technol 23:543–550, 2021). We analyze the ethical costs that come from these changes in light of virtue ethics and address potential objections along the way. We end by offering directions for thinking about how to live with AI personal assistant while preserving favorable conditions for moral development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Institutional education leaders serve key roles in leading major curricular change within residency education, yet little is known about how they accomplish these goals on the ground. Change management principles have predominantly been developed and described in the hierarchical context of management science and corporate settings. However, the non‐hierarchical, complex and adaptive features of health professions education may render these traditional change management models inadequate. We explored how institutional educational leaders navigate the complex residency education system in implementing a major curricular change. Methods: Using constructivist grounded theory, we conducted and iteratively analysed semi‐structured interviews with 11 institutional education leaders from across Canada who were responsible for leading the nationally mandated curricular change to competency‐based residency education. Thematic analysis was performed iteratively using constant comparison. Results: Leaders managing the change process focused on two priorities: steering the direction of the change process as it evolved and maintaining the momentum amongst stakeholders to move forward steadily. Four common threats and opportunities impacted the focus on direction and momentum: multiplicity of contexts, innovation, resistance and distractions. In response, leaders utilised various tactics and harnessed diverse leadership styles to manage these challenges accordingly. Conclusions: We identified a change framework that offers a more contextually nuanced understanding of curricular change in residency education that has not been described in the change management literature generated by the management sector. Institutional education leaders focused on maintaining the direction and momentum, while constantly assessing and adapting to evolving, uncertain and complex conditions. Our findings provide a simple and practical foundation to support leadership education in curricular change as well as researchers in developing further change theories in complex adaptive health professions education systems. New original research from @DrPedsRheum and @IanMScott details how leaders manage complex curricular change processes @ubcMedCHES #change #leadership #CBME [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unpredicted responses to sedatives and analgesics are common in critically ill patients on mechanical ventilation (MV) and may be attributed to genetic variation. Our primary aim was to investigate the association between the pharmacogenomic (PGx) variation and sedation outcomes. The secondary aim was to capture intensive care unit (ICU) participants' perceptions of PGx. This was a prospective, observational PGx association study. Adult ICU patients receiving acute MV and sedatives/analgesics were enrolled. The number of altered PGx phenotypes in genes relevant to fentanyl, propofol, and midazolam (CYP2D6, CYP3A4/5, COMT, OPRM1, and CYP2B6) were tested with logistic regression for association with achieving ≥60% and ≥70% of time within Richmond Agitation‐Sedation Scale (RASS) target range (0 to −2) in the first 24 and 48 h of MV. Participants' perceptions of PGx testing and satisfaction with the return of PGx results were collected. Participants (n = 78) had a median of 2 altered PGx phenotypes. Fentanyl and propofol combination was the most frequently administered regimen. There were non‐significant associations of worse sedation outcomes with an increasing number of altered PGx phenotypes (i.e., adjusted odds ratio of achieving target RASS range = 0.46 to 0.96 for each altered phenotype increase at both 24 and 48 h). Individuals participating in the post‐discharge survey had positive perceptions toward PGx. There were no associations between sedation outcomes and PGx variants in the studied 6 genes. Larger studies are needed to investigate the impact of these genes and to evaluate additional genes. ICU participants had positive attitudes and perceptions toward PGx. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Family systems theory explains how post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the family affects family members who must cope with disturbing behaviors from the military member. Although military-related PTSD has been studied in the United States for over a decade, Canadian research is in its infancy. This article focuses on the challenges military families face for both active military members and retired veterans. Corbin and Strauss' (2015) grounded theory was used to guide this study. Following theoretical sampling, semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 non-military parents and 4 adult children in Alberta. The findings have important implications for military families, as well as practice, policy, and research on the topic. Further research could expand the sample to include military members/veterans and families across Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although peer feedback is highly valued in the feedback process, the specific contribution of feedback providers in this process remains unclear. In this qualitative multiple-case study, the primary focus was to explore the contribution of feedback providers and the benefits they obtained through online peer micro-teaching practices. The study encompassed both anonymity and non-anonymity settings through a videoconferencing platform, involving 20 student teachers pursuing a Bachelor of Education (English language). Data collection methods included semi-structured interviews, reflective journals and online classroom observations. The findings revealed that both anonymous and identified groups provided feedback of the same quality and types. Proactive feedback provision fostered the development of an online learning community, facilitated multimodal learning and enhanced peer cohesion. The student teachers who assumed the role of feedback providers in this study experienced cognitive, behavioural and socio-affective gains during their learning process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mast cells are the major effector cells that mediate IgE-dependent allergic reactions. We sought to use integrated network analysis to identify genomic biomarkers associated with high response in IgE-mediated activation of primary human mast cells. Primary human mast cell cultures derived from 262 normal donors were categorized into High, Average and Low responder groups according to their activation response profiles. Transcriptome analysis was used to identify genes that were differentially expressed in different responder cultures in their baseline conditions, and the data were analyzed by constructing a personalized perturbed profile (PEEP). For upregulated genes, the construction of PEEP for each individual sample of all three responder groups revealed that High responders exhibited a higher percentage of "perturbed" samples whose PEEP values lay outside the normal range of expression. Moreover, the integration of PEEP of four selected upregulated genes into distinct sets of combinatorial profiles demonstrated that the specific pattern of upregulated expression of these four genes, in a tandem combination, was observed exclusively among the High responders. In conclusion, this combinatorial approach was useful in identifying a set of genomic biomarkers that are associated with high degranulation response in human mast cell cultures derived from the blood of a cohort of normal donors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthracnose in citrus is a severe disease caused by Colletotrichum species. Synthetic fungicides have been used to combat this citrus disease; however, they may have adverse health effects on humans and cause harmful environmental impacts. During a search for environmentally friendly fungicides, we successfully prepared organic copper (copper (II) oleate) nanoparticles by using natural chitosan polymer as a coating agent and stabilizer and by combining an exchange reaction and in situ coating method. Organic copper nanoparticles coated with chitosan polymer (Cu‐oleate@CS NPs) with Cu contents ranged from 5.0 to 6.0 % by weight. The nanoparticles have an average particle size ranging from 50 nm to 60 nm (TEM), covered by a layer of polymer with a thickness of about 10 to 12 nm. The analytical results of zeta potential and dynamic solution size showed that the nanoparticles are uniformly dispersed (90–120 nm by DLS), with high stability (zeta potential=−61.7 mV) and low cytoxicity to Vero healthy cell line. Cu‐oleate@CS NPs significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of C. gloeosporioides in vitro at 500 and 1000 μg/mL. In field trials, the best antifungal efficacy of Cu‐oleate@CS NPs against citrus anthracnose on orange plants was found at a spray concentration of 0.33 % with a disease control efficacy of 54.18 % at 14 days after the second spraying. Our study results demonstrated a novel preparation of Cu‐oleate@CS NPs and suggested that it could be used as a promising nanoformulation to control citrus anthracnose in vitro and in vivo. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, we consider a nonsmooth minimisation problem in which the objective function can be represented as the maximum of finitely many smooth “component functions”. First, we study a smooth min–max reformulation of the problem. Due to this smoothness, the model provides enhanced capability of exploiting the structure of the problem, when compared to methods that attempt to tackle the nonsmooth problem directly. Then, we present several approaches to identify the set of active component functions at a minimiser, all within finitely many iterations of a first order method for solving the smooth model. As is well known, the problem can be equivalently rewritten in terms of these component functions, but a key challenge is to identify this set a priori. Such an identification is clearly beneficial in an algorithmic sense, since we can discard those component functions which are not necessary to describe the solution, which in turn can facilitate faster convergence. Finally, numerical results comparing the accuracy of each of these approaches are presented, along with the effect they have on reducing the complexity of the original problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of in vitro fertilization (IVF) in patients with endometriosis and identify related factors that may influence treatment outcomes. Methods: This retrospective descriptive study was conducted between November 2018 and November 2022. The study group comprised individuals who were diagnosed with endometriosis (endometrioma and/or adenomyosis) indicated for in vitro fertilization. The control group (129 patients with 249 cycles), which included patients without endometriosis and had an equivalent mean age as the study group patients. Results: In the endometriosis group, the quantities of retrieved oocytes and Anti-Müllerian Hormone (AMH) were reduced compared to the control group. The overall dose of gonadotropin and the duration of ovarian stimulation were significantly higher than the control group. The endometriosis group exhibited a Metaphase II (MII) oocyte rate of 82.3% and an oocyte fertilization rate of 82.2%. However, in patients with endometriosis, the rates of implantation, clinical pregnancy, and ongoing pregnancy were significantly lower than in patients without endometriosis. Besides, the clinical pregnancy rate of women with endometriosis was remarkably higher in the groups with maternal age ⩽35 years, a ratio of Follicle-stimulating Hormone to Luteinizing Hormone (FSH/LH) ⩽1.5, and over 10 retrieved oocytes. Conclusion: Endometriosis was associated with a decreased rate of implantation, clinical pregnancy, and ongoing pregnancy after in vitro fertilization treatment compared with patients without endometriosis. In vitro fertilization outcomes in patients with endometriosis were influenced by maternal age ⩽35 years, FSH/LH ratio ⩽1.5, and number of retrieved oocytes over 10. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research consistently shows the importance of teacher and peer feedback in enabling students to generate internal feedback for improved learning. However, the utilisation of Generative Pre-Trained Transformer (ChatGPT) to support higher education students in generating internal feedback lacks clarity. This qualitative case study aimed to explore students' experiences with ChatGPT as they sought assistance in generating internal feedback and to identify factors that influence the quality of feedback provided by ChatGPT. Forty-eight Chinese students with varying levels of writing proficiency participated in an English writing course, and data were collected through self-reflective questions, interviews, and conversation logs with ChatGPT. Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic coding. This qualitative case study aimed to explore students' experiences with ChatGPT as they sought assistance in generating internal feedback and to identify the factors that influence the quality of feedback provided by ChatGPT. The quality of ChatGPT's feedback was influenced by factors such as learners' personal goals, the utilisation of the system's multilingual capability, and their self-regulation writing strategies, which in turn affect the quality of prompts. These findings offer practical insights into the use of ChatGPT for generating internal feedback in second language (L2) writing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A classical theorem in conformal geometry states that on a compact manifold with nonpositive Yamabe invariant \sigma _0, a smooth metric achieving the invariant must be Einstein. In this work, we extend it to the singular case and show that in all dimensions, if a continuous metric is smooth outside a compact set \Sigma of co-dimension 2+a for some a>0 with unit volume and with scalar curvature bounded below by \sigma _0, then the metric is Einstein away from \Sigma and is isometric to a smooth Einstein manifold of scalar curvature \sigma _0. In this sense, singular metric can be extended to be smooth on the manifold in a suitable sense. This is related to a conjecture of Schoen in the continuous setting. As an application of the method, we prove a positive mass theorem for asymptotically flat manifolds with analogous singularities. This is based on a new maximum principle on Ricci-DeTurck flows which allow initial data to be singular. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increasing demand in renewable wind energy has led to more retired wind turbine blades which are mainly made by glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite. However, the recycling methods of these waste blades are limited so the blades have to be landfilled. This paper proposes a new recycling method which is developing the GFRP powder as a supplementary cementitious material (SCM), because the glass fibers in the powder are rich in silica and may have pozzolanic reactivity. This paper presents a comprehensive pozzolanic analysis of the GFRP powder and compares with reference SCMs of blast furnace slag (BFS) and fly ash (FA). The calcium oxide content in GFRP (12.56 wt.%) is significantly lower than in BFS (39.96 wt.%). Similarly, the aluminum oxide content in GFRP (10.54 wt.%) is lower compared to BFS (15.38 wt.%) and FA (33.17 wt.%). The particle size of GFRP is also larger than BFS and FA, and the glass fibers are covered by organic resin. The pozzolanic reactivity was analyzed by hydration heat, thermogravimetric (TG), scanning electron microscope (SEM), compressive strength test and mercury intrusion porosimeter (MIP). It was found that the resin in the GFRP powder reacts in alkaline environment and generates gas which increases the mortar porosity and reduces compressive strength. GFRP powder has longer induction period and generates fewer hydration products. The lower pozzolanic reactivity of the GFRP powder is mainly due to the presence of the resin and its coating on the glass fibers. Therefore, it is essential to remove the resin to increase the pozzolanic reactivity of the GFRP powder which has the potential to be developed as a new SCM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]