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Modeling topological properties of the spatial relationship between objects, known as the topological relationship, represent a fundamental research problem in many domains including artificial intelligence and geographical information science. Real-world data are generally finite and exhibit uncertainty. Therefore, when attempting to model topological relationships from such data, it is useful to do so in a manner which is both stable and facilitates statistical inferences. Current models of the topological relationships do not exhibit either of these properties. We propose a novel model of topological relationships between objects in the Euclidean plane, which encodes topological information regarding connected components and holes. Specifically, a representation of the persistent homology, known as a persistence scale space, is used. This representation forms a Banach space that is stable and, as a consequence of the fact that it obeys the strong law of large numbers and the central limit theorem, facilitates statistical inferences. The utility of this model is demonstrated through a number of experiments.

Background: Half of acute exacerbations of COPD are due to bacterial infection, and the other half are likely influenced by microbial colonisation. The same organisms commonly cultured during acute exacerbations are often found in the sputum of patients during stability. A robust assessment of the prevalence of potentially pathogenic microorganisms (PPMs) in the sputum of stable COPD patients may help to inform the targeted prevention of exacerbation by these organisms. Methods: A systematic review and meta-analysis was carried out to determine the prevalence of PPMs in patients with COPD in the stable state. Meta-analysis of prevalence was carried out using the Freeman–Tukey double arcsine transformation random effects model, and sub-group analysis was performed for sputum modality. Prevalence of total and individual PPMs was calculated from patient-level data from individual studies. Results: Pooled prevalence of PPMs identified by sputum culture was found to be 41% (95% CI 36–47%). Significant heterogeneity was found across all studies, which can likely be attributed to inconsistent measuring and reporting of PPMs. The most commonly reported organisms were H. influenzae, M catarrhalis, S. pneumoniae, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa. Declining lung function was weakly correlated with prevalence of PPMs. Conclusion: The airways of patients with COPD are colonised with PPMs during the stable state in almost half of patients. A complex relationship likely exists between the microbiome in the stable state and the phenotype of COPD patients. Targeted microbial therapy for preventing exacerbations of COPD should carefully consider the stable microbiome as well as the exacerbated.

Rowanberries (Sorbus aucuparia) are omnipresent in Europe. The medicinal importance of rowanberries is widely known and corresponds to the active ingredients present in the fruits, mainly polyphenols, carotenoids, and organic acids. In the current study, we explored rowanberries for the reduction of gold and silver salts into nanoparticles. Rowanberries-mediated gold nanoparticles (RB-AuNPs) formed within 5 s at room temperature, and silver nanoparticles (RB-AgNPs) formed in 20 min at 90 °C. The produced nanoparticles were thoroughly characterized by UV-Vis spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDX), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), dynamic light scattering (DLS), single-particle inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (sp-ICP-MS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF). The characterization confirmed that the nanoparticles are highly monodisperse, spherical, stable over long periods, and exhibit a high negative zeta potential values. The produced RB-AuNPs and RB-AgNPs were 90–100 nm and 20–30 nm in size with a thick biological corona layer surrounding them, providing extreme stability but lowering the antimicrobial activity. The antimicrobials study of RB-AgNPs revealed that the nanoparticles have antimicrobial potential with an MBC value of 100 µg/mL against P. aeruginosa and 200 µg/mL against E. coli.

Abstract Background Several aspects of slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) treatment remain controversial. Loder’s work has been instrumental in changing our understanding and approach to the management of the condition when he introduced the concept of “slip instability” and showed that avascular necrosis (AVN) developed in 47% of unstable slips but none of the stable slips. As the two types of SCFE behave differently in terms of presentation, progress and complications, we approached them as two different conditions to highlight these differences. This paper focuses on treatments of stable SCFE. Materials and methods An extensive literature search was carried out from multiple databases. One thousand six hundred and twenty-three citations were screened. Three hundred and sixteen full publications were obtained for further scrutiny. Fifty-eight studies (2262 hips) were included in the review. These studies evaluated 6 interventions. AVN was chosen as a surrogate for bad outcome. Secondary outcomes were chondrolysis (CL), femoro-acetabular impingement (FAI), osteoarthritis (OA) and patients’ reported outcomes. The latter were pooled when they met our predefined criteria. Results The type of surgical intervention was an important risk factor. Pinning in situ (PIS) was associated with the lowest AVN rate (1.4%). Moreover, the CL, FAI and OA rates were relatively low in patients who underwent PIS. These were not translated into high patient satisfaction rates among these patients, with only 47% reporting an “excellent” outcome. In contrast, 87% of patients who underwent Ganz surgical dislocation reported an “excellent” outcome. The Ganz surgical dislocation was associated with an AVN rate of 3.3%; double that observed in pinning in situ. Conclusion Pinning in situ is the best treatment for mild and moderate stable slip. Ganz surgical dislocation gives higher patient satisfaction for severe stable slip but the risk of AVN is doubled compared with pinning in situ. Devices that allow continued growth may be better than standard screws. Level of evidence Level III.

The study uses the idea of logistic function to illustrate the presence of chaos as the cause of the absence of periodic formation. The logistic function is used in demonstrating, proving, and explaining Definition 6 and Theorem 1 through examples, tables, and figures. A system in recurrent behavior is describable when it is stable. However, chaotic behavior is seen when the system moves beyond periodic making it difficult to predict or describe the nature of the system. The WolframAlpha computational knowledge engine was used in obtaining the tables and the figures for the study. The study shows that when the parameter of the logistic function is at exactly 4 there is an uncorrelated behavior of the system indicating a new regime called chaos. Finally, the study shows that after successive iterations of the system there is no recurrent formation which is due to the system showing un-periodic, unstable, and uncorrelated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a large number of birds in the flock, we mathematically investigate the mechanism the birds move in a collective behavior. We assume that each bird is able to know its position and velocity of other birds within a radius of communication. Thus, to be able to fly in the flock, a bird has to adjust its position and velocity according to his neighbors. For this purpose, first of all, we analyze how the connectedness of the bird interaction network affects the cohesion of the stable bird flock. We further analyze a condition when the flock is vulnerable, which is mathematically indicated by means of the presence of an articulation point in bird communication network.

ABSTRACT Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) has become a common rescue therapy for recurrent Clostridium difficile infection, and encapsulated delivery (cFMT) of healthy donor microbiota shows similar clinical efficacy as more traditional routes of administration. In this study, we characterized long-term patterns of bacterial engraftment in a cohort of 18 patients, who received capsules from one of three donors, up to 409 days post-FMT. Bacterial communities were characterized using Illumina sequencing of the V5-V6 hypervariable regions of the 16S rRNA gene, and engraftment was determined by using the Bayesian algorithm SourceTracker. All patients recovered clinically and were free of C. difficile infection following cFMT. The majority of patients (61%) showed high levels of engraftment after the first week following FMT, which were sustained throughout the year. A small subset, 22%, experienced a decline in donor engraftment after approximately 1 month, and a few patients (17%), two of whom were taking metformin, showed delayed and low levels of donor engraftment. Members of the genera Bacteroides, Parabacteroides, and Faecalibacterium were significantly and positively correlated with donor similarity (ρ = 0.237 to 0.373, P ≤ 0.017). Furthermore, throughout the year, patient fecal communities showed significant separation based on the donor fecal microbiota that they received (P

Network dysfunction is well established in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and has been shown to be present early in the disease. This is especially interesting in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) since they are more likely to develop AD. In EEG, one type of network analysis is microstates where the EEG is divided into quasi-stable states and these microstates have been linked to networks found with resting state functional MRI. In the current exploratory study, we therefore wanted to explore the changes in microstates in MCI, and AD compared to healthy controls (HC) and whether microstates were able to separate patients with MCI who progressed (pMCI) and those who remained stable (sMCI). EEGs were recorded at baseline for 17 patients with AD, 27 patients with MCI, and 38 older HC and the patients were followed for 3 years. To investigate whole-brain dynamics we extracted different microstate parameters. We found that patients with MCI, and AD had significantly higher occurrence (p-value = 0.028), and coverage (p-value = 0.010) for microstate A compared to HC. However, we did not find any significant systematic deviation of the transition probabilities from randomness for any of the groups. No significant differences were found between pMCI and sMCI but the largest difference in duration was found for microstate D. Microstate A has been linked to the temporal lobes in studies combining EEG and fMRI and the temporal lobes are the most affected by AD pathology in the early stages of the disease. This supports our idea that microstate A may be the first affected microstate in early AD. Even though not significant between pMCI and sMCI, Microstate D has previously been shown to be associated with both frontal and parietal areas as measured with fMRI and may correspond to underlying pathological changes in the progression of MCI to AD. However, larger studies are needed to confirm these findings.

The neoagaro-oligosaccharides, degraded from agarose by agarases, are important natural substances with many bioactivities. In this study, a novel agarase gene, agaW1540, from the genome of a deep-sea bacterium Shewanella sp. WPAGA9, was expressed, and the recombinant AgaW1540 (rAgaW1540) displayed the maximum activity under the optimal pH and temperature of 7.0 and 35 °C, respectively. rAgaW1540 retained 85.4% of its maximum activity at 0 °C and retained more than 92% of its maximum activity at the temperature range of 20–40 °C and the pH range of 4.0–9.0, respectively, indicating its extensive working temperature and pH values. The activity of rAgaW1540 was dramatically suppressed by Cu2+ and Zn2+, whereas Fe2+ displayed an intensification of enzymatic activity. The Km and Vmax of rAgaW1540 for agarose degradation were 15.7 mg/mL and 23.4 U/mg, respectively. rAgaW1540 retained 94.7%, 97.9%, and 42.4% of its maximum activity after incubation at 20 °C, 25 °C, and 30 °C for 60 min, respectively. Thin-layer chromatography and ion chromatography analyses verified that rAgaW1540 is an endo-acting β-agarase that degrades agarose into neoagarotetraose and neoagarohexaose as the main products. The wide variety of working conditions and stable activity at room temperatures make rAgaW1540an appropriate bio-tool for further industrial production of neoagaro-oligosaccharides.

À ce jour, aucun consensus n'existe concernant le suivi des patients coronariens stables asymptomatiques à risque d'événement intermédiaire. La majorité des événements cardiovasculaires (ECV) surviennent chez des patients asymptomatiques d'où l'intérêt pour le clinicien d'établir des scores permettant de stratifier le risque. Ainsi, l'évaluation du risque après un syndrome coronarien aigu (SCA) chez les patients asymptomatiques repose sur 3 types de score : clinique avec par exemple le score REACH ; angiographique avec le score SYNTAX résiduel ; scintigraphique et scores dérivés décrits dans la littérature. Ces scores sont très différents en termes de critères d'évaluation et de période d'analyse. Le but de notre étude est donc, chez des patients coronariens stables asymptomatiques après un SCA, de comparer ces différents scores prédictifs ; d'établir que la combinaison de ces scores permet d'optimiser l'évaluation du risque au cours du suivi. Notre étude rétrospective a inclus 236 patients revascularisés après un SCA. Le score SYNTAX résiduel, calculé au moment de la revascularisation, a été collecté. Trois à douze mois après l'évènement, les patients ont bénéficié d'une scintigraphie myocardique avec évaluation du score de risque scintigraphique décrit par l'équipe de Sharir, tenant compte de l'étendue de l'ischémie (SDS) et de la fraction d'éjection ventriculaire gauche (FEVG) poststress. Les patients présentant une FEVG < 50 % et/ou une atteinte ischémique modérée à sévère (SDS ≥ 2) ont été considérés à risque scintigraphique intermédiaire ou élevé. Enfin, le score clinique REACH a été calculé le jour de l'examen scintigraphique. Les ECV ont été évalués à un an de l'examen scintigraphique. Les données continues ont été analysées soit par le test t de Student, soit par le test non paramétrique de Mann-Whitney. Les données dichotomiques quant à elles ont été comparées soit par le test du χ2 soit par le test exact de Fisher. Après un an de suivi, 48 patients (20,1 %) ont présenté un ECV. Trente patients (13,8 %) présentaient un score SYNTAX résiduel élevé (≥ 8) et notre travail ne met en évidence aucune corrélation entre le score SYNTAX résiduel et les ECV sur la période de suivi (p = 0,359). Pour le score clinique REACH, 148 patients (57,7 %) présentaient un score élevé (≥ 11) et aucune relation n'est mise en évidence avec les ECV (p = 0,079). Par contre, 34 patients (14,4 %), présentaient un score scintigraphique intermédiaire ou élevé et ce dernier était corrélé à un plus grand nombre d'ECV (p < 0,001). L'analyse multivariée met en évidence 3 facteurs indépendants associés aux ECV : un score scintigraphique > 2 (OR [(95 % CI] : 5,530 [2,426–12,605] p < 0,001) ; la présence d'une artériopathie des membres inférieurs (AOMI) (OR [95 % CI] : 8,531 [2,540–28,660] p < 0,001) ; un diabète (OR [95 % CI] : 2,868[1,262–6,517], p = 0,012). L'association du score scintigraphique et de la présence de 2 facteurs cliniques que sont l'AOMI et le diabète apporte une valeur pronostique optimale dans l'évaluation du patient coronarien stable asymptomatique en post-SCA. Notre étude souligne donc l'intérêt d'optimiser les stratégies d'évaluation dans le cadre du suivi de ces patients qui reste à risque d'ECV en post-SCA. To date, there is no consensus regarding the follow-up of asymptomatic coronary patients with an intermediate risk of events. Indeed, most of cardiovascular events (CVE) occur in asymptomatic patients, hence the clinician's interest in establishing risk stratification scores. In asymptomatic patient, the risk assessment after acute coronary syndrome (ACS) can currently be based on 3 types of score: clinical with, for example, the REACH score; angiographic with the residual SYNTAX score; imaging with different scintigraphic scores. These scores differ widely in terms of evaluation criteria and period of analysis. The aim of our study was therefore, in stable and asymptomatic coronary patients after ACS, to compare these different predictive scores; to establish that the combination of these scores makes it possible to optimize the risk assessment during the follow-up. Our retrospective study included 236 revascularized patients after ACS. Three different risk scores were collected: 1) the residual SYNTAX score, calculated at the time of revascularization; 2) the scintigraphic risk score described by Sharir et al., performed 3 to 12 months after the event and taking into account the extent of ischemia (SDS) and the poststress left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF). Patients with LVEF < 50% and/or moderate to severe ischemic disease (SDS ≥ 2) were considered with an intermediate or high scintigraphic risk; 3) the REACH clinical score calculated on the day of the scintigraphic examination. After the myocardial scintigraphic exam, patients had a 1-year follow-up and CVE were recorded. Continuous data were analyzed either by Student's t-test or non-parametric Mann-Whitney test. The dichotomous data were compared either by the χ2 test or by Fisher's exact test. Forty-eight patients (20.1%) had a CVE during the 1-year follow-up. Thirty patients (13.8%) had a high residual SYNTAX score (≥ 8) without any correlation observed between the residual SYNTAX score and CVE (P = 0.359). 148 patients (57.7%) had a high REACH clinical score (≥ 11) with no significant correlation observed with CVE (P = 0.079). Lastly, 34 patients (14.4%) had an intermediate or high scintigraphic score, this imaging score being strongly correlated with a greater number of CVE (P < 0.001). Multivariate analysis revealed 3 independent factors associated with CVE: a scintigraphic score> 2 (OR [(95% CI): 5.530 [2.426–12.605] P < 0.001); Peripheral Arterial Obstructive Disease (PAOD) (OR [95% CI]: 8.531 [2.540–28.660] P < 0.001); diabetes (OR [95% CI]: 2.86 [1.262–6.517] P = 0,012). The combination of the scintigraphic score with two clinical factors, such as PAOD and diabetes, provides optimal prognostic value in the evaluation of asymptomatic and stable patients after ACS. Our study therefore highlights the importance of optimizing evaluation strategies in the follow-up of these patients who remain at risk of post-revascularization CVE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assessment of myocardial ischemia in patients with stable angina is important in deciding whether to treat coronary artery disease and in predicting clinical outcome. The fractional flow reserve is a standard reference for the diagnosis of myocardial ischemia, but this procedure has limitations because of its invasiveness. Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) is now an established tool in the anatomic diagnosis of coronary artery disease; however, there are limits to the diagnosis of hemodynamically important stenosis that causes myocardial ischemia. In order to address this problem, studies using quantification of coronary atherosclerotic plaques, myocardial perfusion, and noninvasive calculation of fractional flow reserve based on CCTA have been actively conducted and recognized for their diagnostic value. In this review, several imaging techniques of CCTA used to assess myocardial ischemia are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mir-22 improved luciferase expression 2.4-fold, while improvement by HIPK1 knockout was 4.7-fold. • Both HEK293 cell lines were able to be adapted to suspension growth conditions. • Although CRISPR/Cas9 knockout is more effective, it is time consuming and labor intensive. Stable cell lines can continuously produce a recombinant protein without the need to repeatedly engineer the genome. In a previous study HIPK1, Homeodomain-interacting Protein Kinase 1, was found to be a target of the microRNA miR-22 that, when repressed, improved expression of both an intracellular and a secreted protein. In this report, HEK293 cells stably over-expressing miR-22 were compared with HEK293 with knockout of HIPK1, executed by CRISPR/Cas9, for their ability to improve recombinant protein expression. In this model case of luciferase, over-expression of miR-22 improved overall activity 2.4-fold while the HIPK1 knockout improved overall activity 4.7-fold. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective was to estimate the emission factor (EF) of methane (CH4) and the daily losses of gross energy (GE) converted to CH4 (LCH4), by means of prediction equations of the Level 2 method of the Intergovermental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC) or based on technical information from the family-run dairy farming system. The study was carried out in 10 farms, obtaining technical information on the type and quantity of the ingredients offered to the herd during three visits in different periods of the year. The technical information --body weight, milk production and amount of each ingredient consumed, together with laboratory analysis of dry matter (DM) and GE content of the sampled ingredients-- was used to calculate the DM and GE intake; the EF and the PCH4 were estimated using the IPCC methodology. The same variables were estimated using the prediction equations of the IPCC. In cows in milking conditions, the EF (81 and 70, kg CH4 yr-1) and the LCH4 (2.95 and 2.56, Mcal d-1) obtained using the IPCC equations were similar to those obtained through the observations in the farms; the weighted EF per farm was similar (49.06 and 54.09, kg CH4 yr-1), but the LCH4 estimated using the IPCC equations was lower than that obtained through farm observations (1.11 and 1.97, Mcal d-1; P<0.01, respectively). In general, the use of technical information from the farms, made it possible to estimate the EF and to show a higher LCH4 per farm, and, consequently, a lower energetic efficiency, compared to the IPCC methodology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of diframe was intro duced as ageneralization of ditop ological texture sp aces. The purp ose of this paper is to present the resu lts of a study on th e concepts of com pactness and stability in the setting of diframes. Further, the bitop ological concepts of locally compactness and locally stability are extended to diframes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the fault diagnosis of the gearboxes in wind turbines, the possible problems in the wind turbine gearbox are studied by constructing the support vector machine algorithm. The research process mainly focuses on indicators of support vector machine algorithm in diagnosing the faults of wind turbine gearbox, such as the accuracy and stability of the algorithm. Besides, the proposed algorithm is compared with the particle swarm optimization algorithm and the traditional algorithm. The support vector machine algorithm is more accurate than the particle swarm optimization algorithm in the diagnosis of possible problems in the wind turbine gearbox, while the traditional algorithm performs more prominently. The support vector algorithm is used in the diagnosis of fault wear, pitting, broken teeth, and common faults of glue lamps. It is proved that the support vector algorithm has the highest diagnostic rate for broken teeth and the lowest diagnostic accuracy for pitting. In addition, the standard deviation of the support vector algorithm is the smallest, which indicates that the stability of the algorithm is the best. Based on the support vector machine algorithm, the accuracy of fault diagnosis of the wind turbine gearbox is very high. The diagnosis of broken teeth is the most prominent, and the algorithm has excellent stability. The research results also show that the diagnosis of wind turbine faults is a challenging discipline. The core of the problem is the fact that many types of faults may occur in the gearbox. Thus, a single model and method cannot fully diagnose the fault. The research in this study has greatly improved the understanding of the support vector machine algorithm and gear faults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The optimum antibiotic therapy for non-cystic fibrosis bronchiectasis (NCFB) has yet to be determined. A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the efficacy and safety of inhaled antibiotics in adults with stable NCFB. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE and the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials were searched through November 2019. Results: A total of 16 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), recruiting 2748 NCFB patients, were finally included. Inhaled antibiotics treatment significantly reduced the sputum bacterial load [standard mean difference (SMD) = –0.74, 95% CI: –1.16–0.32, p < 0.001, I2 = 68.1%], prolonged median time [hazard risk (HR) = 0.73, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.57–0.93, p < 0.001, I 2 = 53.6%] and reduced frequency [incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.74, 95% CI 0.63–0.87, p < 0.001, I 2 = 20.5%] of exacerbations, with good tolerance. However, it failed to improve Pseudomonas aeruginosa eradication, [forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1)] % predicted, quality of life questionnaire (QoL-B) and St. George's respiratory questionnaire (SGRQ) scores, and may induce higher risk of P. aeruginosa resistance. Subgroup analysis showed Ciprofloxacin was more effective than other antibiotics in reducing bacterial load (SMD = –1.35, 95% CI: –1.85–0.85, I 2 = 63.4%, p = 0.042). Conclusion: Inhaled antibiotics therapy holds great promise for stable NCFB as it is effective in reducing sputum bacterial load and the risk of acute attack, delaying disease progression, and is well tolerated. Although this study brings some constructive ideas in the field of clinical medication, further clinical trials should be carried out, particularly in solving drug-resistance and improving health-related quality of life (HRQoL), which we believe will finally provide benefits for patients suffering from bronchiectasis. The reviews of this paper are available via the supplemental material section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transparent superoleophobic surfaces have attracted a great deal of attention due to their broad applications in daily use. But it has been proven that obtaining transparency and superoleophobicity simultaneously is challenging. Here, we report a one-step spraying method to prepare a robust transparent superoleophobic coating using SiO2@fluorinated polysiloxane, which derived through a sol–gel process of fumed SiO2 with tetraethylorthosilicate and perfluorooctyltrichlorosilane. The obtained coating exhibited high transmittance (above 82.3% for wavelength range 400–800 nm) and outstanding superoleophobicity to low surface tension liquids with the contact angles greater than 150° and sliding angles lower than 10°. The influence of SiO2 concentration and spray layer on the transmittance and superoleophobicity of coatings was also investigated. Results showed proper surface roughness and low surface energy are two main factors accounting for superoleophobicity. And to achieve highly transmittance, surface roughness of coating should be less than one-quarter of visible wavelength. More importantly, the superoleophobic coating demonstrated excellent mechanical and chemical stability, which confirmed through a series of experiments such as thermal treating at 300 °C, repelling corrosive liquid droplets, and high-speed sand impact. We envision our findings have a promising development space due to its simple preparation process and outstanding performance. Highlights: Robust transparent superoleophobic coating was fabricated by one-step spraying. The superoleophobic coating exhibited the transmittance of above 82.3%. The superoleophobic coating possesses excellent mechanical and chemical stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional descriptive study aimed to describe the health-related quality of life (HRQL) and related factors of the southern Thai patients with stable COPD. The sample consisted of 126 patients with stable COPD attending the out-patient pulmonary clinic of Thasala hospital. The patients were assessed for HRQL by the Saint George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), age, BMI, depression, dyspnea by the Modified Medical Research Council (mMRC), exercise capacity by the 6 min walk distance (6MWD), and admission. The results found that 84% of patients were male, with a mean age of 69.6 years, FEV1 70 (9.6) % predicted, BMI 21.9 (4.4) and 6MWD 259.8 (97.9). The HRQL indicated mild impairment: symptoms 47.1 (22.4), activity 49.7 (30.3), impact 41.9 (21.2) and total scores of 45.1 (21.7). The regression analysis showed that HRQL was significantly associated with exercise capacity, depression, and MRC dyspnea respectively (R2 = 0.492, p < 0.01). Therefore, stable COPD patients should be assessed and motivated to pulmonary rehabilitation for promoting clinical outcomes and also improving their HRQL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ebola virus (EBOV) is a highly lethal member of the Filoviridae family associated with human hemorrhagic disease. Despite being a sporadic disease, it caused a large outbreak in 2014-2016 in West Africa and another outbreak recently in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Several vaccine candidates are currently in preclinical and clinical studies but none are stable without cold chain storage.Methods: We used preservation by vaporization (PBV), a novel processing technology to heat-stabilize FiloRab1 (inactivated rabies-based Ebola vaccine), a candidate Ebola vaccine, and stored the vials at temperatures ranging from 4°C to 50°C for 10 days to 12 months. We immunized Syrian hamsters with the best long-term stable FiloRab1 PBV vaccines and challenged them with rabies virus (RABV).Results: Syrian hamsters immunized with FiloRab1 PBV-processed vaccines stored at temperatures of 4°C and 37°C for 6 months, and at 50°C for 2 weeks, seroconverted against both RABV-G and EBOV-GP. Notably, all of the FiloRab1 PBV vaccines proved to be 100% effective in a RABV challenge model.Conclusions: We successfully demonstrated that the FiloRab1 PBV vaccines are stable and efficacious for up to 6 months when stored at temperatures ranging from 4°C to 37°C and for up to 2 weeks at 50°C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a prevalent and fatal cancer. Oral administration provided the potential for in situ treatment of the colorectal cancer. However, drugs couldn't be well-absorbed mainly due to its degradation in the gastric area and poor intestinal permeability. In this study, we synthesized deoxycholic acid and hydroxybutyl decorated chitosan nanoparticles (DAHBC NPs) as oral curcumin (CUR) delivery system for colorectal cancer treatment. DAHBC with lower critical solution temperature (LCST) below 37 °C (27–33 °C) was obtained. DAHBC NPs were correspondingly stable in simulated gastric conditions (pH 1.2, 37 °C), due to the offset of size change between pH-responsive expansion and thermo-responsive shrinkage. In simulated intestinal tract (pH 7.0–7.4, 37 °C), DAHBC NPs exhibited burst release of CUR owing to the onefold effect of thermo-responsive shrinkage. DAHBC27 NPs showed the minimum CUR leakage (~10%) in simulated gastric conditions, because a furthest temperature-sensitive shrinkage caused by the lowest LCST offset the expansion in acid environment. DAHBC27 NPs induced ~10-fold increased (P < 0.05) CUR absorption by paracellular transport pathway, compared to the free CUR. Thus, DAHBC NPs stabilized in the gastric environment may be a promising oral drugs delivery system for effective in situ colorectal cancer therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a large number of birds in the flock, we mathematically investigate the mechanism the birds move in a collective behavior. We assume that each bird is able to know its position and velocity of other birds within a radius of communication. Thus, to be able to fly in the flock, a bird has to adjust its position and velocity according to his neighbors. For this purpose, first of all, we analyze how the connectedness of the bird interaction network affects the cohesion of the stable bird flock. We further analyze a condition when the flock is vulnerable, which is mathematically indicated by means of the presence of an articulation point in bird communication network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A stable money demand function is essential when using monetary aggregate as a monetary policy. Thus, there is need to examine the stability of the money demand function in Nigeria after the deregulation of the financial sector. To achieve this, the study employed CUSUM (cumulative sum) and CUSUMSQ (CUSUM of square) tests after using autoregressive distributive lag bounds test to determine the existence of a long run relationship between monetary aggregates and their determinants. Results of the study show that a long-run relationship holds and that the demand for money is stable in Nigeria. In addition, the inflation rate is found to be a better proxy for an opportunity variable when compared to interest rate. The main implication of the study is that interest rate is ineffective as a monetary policy instrument in Nigeria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this study was to investigate the management practices that affect undesirable behaviors in American Quarter Horses (AQH) confined to box stalls. A total of 105 adult AQH, comprising 29 females, 22 intact males, and 54 castrated males, housed in box stalls for at least 30 days, were included in the study. Behavioral activities were recorded through visual inspection at 5-min intervals over a 24-h period by two observers who took turns in shifts of 4 hours. Parameters related to animal characteristics, stall conditions, handling, training, nutrients supplied, and feeding behaviors were considered independent variables, and the time spent in undesirable behaviors was the dependent variable. Data were subjected to exploratory factor analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis. Four principal components were extracted. Two clusters were identified based on the time spent in undesirable behaviors: low-incidence group (25 ± 13 minutes) and high-incidence group (97 ± 52 minutes). Nutritional status (P =.1447), physiological status (P =.1372), and training routine (P =.1160) had no significant effects on the dependent variable; however, the effect of feeding behavior (P =.0444) was significant. A low dry matter intake/requirement ratio (P =.0470) and a high heart rate at rest (P =.0444) indicated that inadequate nutrient supply is a determinant of the time spent in undesirable behaviors in AQH. Aspects related to management practices such as horse nutrition, feeding behaviors, and training routine should be considered to reduce undesirable behaviors in AQH. • Horses housed in box stalls may be subjected to different feeding practices. • Failures in handling and feeding in box stalls can lead to stress status in horses. • Stressful factors result in the manifestation of undesirable behaviors. • The lack of nutritional requirements supplies results in stress status in horses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modification of reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (MrGO) is an effective strategy to increase their dispersability and hydrophobicity in order to fabricate alginate microspheres via crosslingking stable Pickering alginate emulsions stabilized by MrGO, in where alginate aqueous solution is the dispersed phase and an organic solvent the continuous phase. The effects of MrGO concentration, water/oil ratio and salt concentration on the alginate spheres were investigated, and the results shows that MrGO could efficiently stabilize alginate spheres in suitable conditions and increasing the MrGO concentration or the oil/water ratio was favorable to the formation of alginate spheres. Using this method, alginate microspheres loaded with drug were easily fabricated and their release properties at different conditions were discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we study a stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) with Hölder continuous coefficient driven by an α -stable colored noise. The pathwise uniqueness is proved by using a backward doubly stochastic differential equation backward (SDE) to take care of the Laplacian. The existence of solution is shown by considering the weak limit of a sequence of SDE system which is obtained by replacing the Laplacian operator in the SPDE by its discrete version. We also study an SDE system driven by Poisson random measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells are the most dependable mammalian cells for the production of recombinant proteins. Replication-incompetent retroviral vector (retrovector) is an efficient tool to generate stable cell lines. Multiple copies of integrated genes by retrovector transduction results in improved recombinant protein yield. HEK-293 and their genetic derivatives are principal cells for retrovector production. Retrovectors packaged in HEK-293 cells pose a risk of infectious agent transmission, such as viruses and mycoplasmas, from serum and packaging cells. Results: In this report, retrovectors were packaged in CHO cells cultured in chemically defined (CD) media. The retrovectors were then used to transduce CHO cells. This method can block potential transmission of infectious agents from serum and packaging cells. With this method, we generated glucagon-like protein-1 Fc fusion protein (GLP-1-Fc) stable expression CHO cell lines. Productivity of GLP-1-Fc can reach 3.15 g/L. The GLP-1-Fc protein produced by this method has comparable bioactivity to that of dulaglutide (Trulicity). These stable cell lines retain 95-100% of productivity after 40 days of continuous culture (~48-56 generations). Conclusions: Suspension CHO cells are clean, safe, and reliable cells for retrovector packaging. Retrovectors packaged from this system could be used to generate CHO stable cell lines for recombinant protein expression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The limited water supply for irrigation is a major constraint to cotton production. Various drought tolerance indices calculated on the basis of yield provide useful information for drought tolerance. The present study was conducted for the evaluation of nine indices related to drought tolerance, such as stress tolerance index (STI), yield index (YI), stress susceptibility index (SSI), mean productivity (MP), yield stability index (YSI), relative drought index (RDI), tolerance index (TOL), sensitive drought index (SDI) and relative decrease in yield index (RDY) in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) genotypes. To accomplish this, forty cotton genotypes were evaluated under two moisture regime i.e. normal and drought stress (50% reduced irrigation) in field by using split plot design under RCBD. The calculation of drought tolerance indices were done on the basis of seed cotton yields both under normal and drought stress condition. All the genotypes behaved differently under two moisture levels. The interaction of cotton genotypes with two environments (moisture levels) were studied for various indices related to drought tolerance on the basis of seed cotton yield using Principle Component Analysis (PCA). The drought tolerant and sensitive genotypes were selected on the basis of biplot analysis. Results revealed that for most of the drought tolerance indices under studied; the genotypes VH-144, IUB-212, MNH-886, VH-295, IR-3701, AA-802, NIAB-111, NS-121, FH-113, and FH-142 are either stable or showing positive interaction with drought conditions. These genotypes can be used in further breeding program for developing varieties suitable for cultivation under drought conditions whereas; IR-3, CIM-443, FH-1000, MNH-147, S-12 interacted undesirably with drought stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Routing trains through busy railway station layouts is an important part of the timetabling process. For each train, a feasible route has to be determined to provide reliable operations, given the arrival and departure times at stations. In this paper, we propose a model for stable and robust train routing with the goal to minimize capacity occupation and maximize robustness. We define a multi-objective optimization problem and provide the heuristic RouteCare based on a max-plus automata model and a delay propagation model. We consider microscopic infrastructure to guarantee practical feasibility. The performance of the proposed algorithm is demonstrated on real-life instances of the Dutch railway network. The generated solutions outperformed the variants of RouteCare that independently maximize stability or robustness by 10.4% and 9.5%, respectively. In addition, RouteCare showed that even for the same number of resources used, a more robust route plan can be found that uses the station capacity more efficiently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronchialasthma is one of the most common respiratory disorder with increasing prevalence among children and adults. During ionic study of disease Mg++ was found to be associated with exacerbation as well as treatment of the disease. Magnesium causes inhibition of smooth muscle contraction by competing with ca++, histamine release from mast cells by stabilizing outer membrane and acetylcholine release from cholinergic nerve terminals. All these processes results in relaxation of smooth muscles of bronchi which ultimately relieves the symptoms of asthma. Low magnesium level has been associated with asthma. Objective: To determine the serum magnesium (Mg) concentration in asthmatics in acute attack, stable stage of asthma and its comparison with healthy individuals. Material and methods: 110 Subjects were enrolled in the study after their written consent, Among them 60 patients diagnosed as asthma(study group), 30 subjects with chronic stable asthma, 30 subjects with acute severe attack of asthma and 50 normal individuals as a control group. Results: There was a significant decrease in Serum Mg levels in study group as compared to control group. It was further observed that there is decrease in serum Mg++in asthmatic patients during acute attack of asthma as compared with stable stage of asthma. Moreover a positive correlation between serum Mg levels and lung function test especially FEV1 and FEV1/FVC ratio was observed in the present study. Conclusion: There is a strong relationship between asthma and serum magnesium level. It was further concluded that in asthmatics there is further decrease in serum Mg in acute exacerbation of the disease as compared to chronic stable asthma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Herein, an effective method was developed to integrate carbon microwires on Ti mesh (denoted as CM/TiM) to fabricate high-performance anodes with long-time stability in microbial fuel cell. CM/TiM was synthesized by colonizing filamentous fungi on the bread modified Ti mesh followed by carbonization, which could convert the attached mycelium into carbon microwires (denoted as CM). Benefiting from the biocompatibility and 3D interlaced structure of carbon microwires, the biomass accumulation (1027 ± 83 μg cm−2) of CM/TiM have been significantly improved nearly 3 folds, thus the fabricated CM/TiM demonstrated 2-fold higher current density (12.19 ± 0.07 A m−2) with significantly increased stability compared with TiM. Therefore, the present high power output, chemical stability and hydrophilic carbon microwires make CM/TiM stable, scalable and environmentally sustainable anodes in bioelectrochemical systems. Graphical abstract The waste organic matters are chosen as sources for synthesis of sustainable and cost-effective microwires for biocompatible modification of up-scale bioelectrochemical systems. Covering the Ti mesh with intensive microwires allowed more biofilm to colonize the anodes and achieve stable and efficient power output. Unlabelled Image Highlights • A novel carbon microwire was synthesized by an ecologically sustainable way. • Carbon microwires improved biocompatibility and stability of the Ti mesh anode. • CM/TiM provides a scalable and stable anode for BESs. • New method was proposed to handle organic waste into valuable microwires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The single phase Li x Fe 3-x O 4 (0.06 ≤ x ≤ 0.3) nanoparticles were synthesized using microwave refluxing technique and found to be spherical with the size in the range of ∼ 3–22 nm. The structure and the size were confirmed by X-ray diffraction patterns and transmission electron microscopy. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy data of Li 0.3 Fe 2.7 O 4 sample indicate the oxidation states for Li-ions (+1) and Fe-ions (+2 and + 3). The sample Li 0.06 Fe 2.94 O 4 had superior magnetization value (∼54.1 Am2/kg) and it diminished with increasing Li content. The low coercivity values and the presence of a doublet in Mössbauer spectra advise the presence of both ferrimagnetic and superparamagnetic component. The ferrofluids of these samples show magnetic field dependent stabilization of temperature near 42 °C at the time of magnetic hyperthermia experiments. The specific absorption rate value (up to 100 W/g) found to be comparable with the literature values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Network dysfunction is well established in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and has been shown to be present early in the disease. This is especially interesting in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) since they are more likely to develop AD. In EEG, one type of network analysis is microstates where the EEG is divided into quasi-stable states and these microstates have been linked to networks found with resting state functional MRI. In the current exploratory study, we therefore wanted to explore the changes in microstates in MCI, and AD compared to healthy controls (HC) and whether microstates were able to separate patients with MCI who progressed (pMCI) and those who remained stable (sMCI). EEGs were recorded at baseline for 17 patients with AD, 27 patients with MCI, and 38 older HC and the patients were followed for 3 years. To investigate whole-brain dynamics we extracted different microstate parameters. We found that patients with MCI, and AD had significantly higher occurrence (p -value = 0.028), and coverage (p -value = 0.010) for microstate A compared to HC. However, we did not find any significant systematic deviation of the transition probabilities from randomness for any of the groups. No significant differences were found between pMCI and sMCI but the largest difference in duration was found for microstate D. Microstate A has been linked to the temporal lobes in studies combining EEG and fMRI and the temporal lobes are the most affected by AD pathology in the early stages of the disease. This supports our idea that microstate A may be the first affected microstate in early AD. Even though not significant between pMCI and sMCI, Microstate D has previously been shown to be associated with both frontal and parietal areas as measured with fMRI and may correspond to underlying pathological changes in the progression of MCI to AD. However, larger studies are needed to confirm these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and purpose: Peripapillary retinal nerve fibre layer (pRNFL) thickness is a strong candidate as a biomarker of axonal degeneration in multiple sclerosis (MS). The aim was to determine a cut‐off value of pRNFL thinning rates in relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS) to discriminate between stable and progressing patients. Methods: In this 3‐year prospective longitudinal study on 141 RRMS patients, annual pRNFL thinning rates (aLpRNFL) were determined by individual linear regression models. The best possible cut‐off value discriminating clinically progressing (physical progression or cognitive decline) and stable patients was defined by receiver operating characteristic analysis. Cut‐off values were validated using a multivariate logistic regression model. Results: Average aLpRNFL in progressing patients (2.4 μm, SD 2.1) was significantly higher compared to stable patients (0.5 μm, SD 1.2, P < 0.001). At a predefined specificity of 90%, aLpRNFL >1.5 μm was able to distinguish between stable and progressing RRMS with a sensitivity of 76.1%. aLpRNFL >1.5 μm was associated with a 15‐fold increased risk of clinically progressing MS (P < 0.001). Conclusions: A cut‐off of aLpRNFL discriminating clinically progressing and stable RRMS was identified. After validation in independent cohorts, this cut‐off could be used as a biomarker of axonal degeneration supporting disease monitoring in daily clinical routine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Radial basis function (RBF) interpolation is a powerful, meshfree tool for function approximation but its direct implementation might suffer from severe ill-conditioning as the shape parameter decreases. We build upon RBF-GA, a stable approach for Gaussian RBFs, and derive its representation in terms of a matrix factorization which can then be generalized to a symmetrized version. This symmetrized version requires fewer function evaluations, yields new insight into the at limit case, and, combined with diagonal scaling, allows a further reduction of the condition number. We also propose a truncated version of the basis transformation. We conclude with numerical tests to illustrate the performance of all introduced interpolation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A heroin epidemic model with different conscious stages and distributed delays is constructed. The model allows for conscious drug users and unconscious drug users. The threshold dynamics of the model is established. It is shown that drug-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable when basic reproduction number R 0 < 1 ; when R 0 > 1 , the uniform persistence of the model is proved, and it is proved that the endemic equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Abstract This study examines the stability of money demand in the proposed West African Monetary Union (WAMU). The study uses annual data for the period 1981 to 2015 from thirteen of the fifteen countries making-up the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). A standard money demand function is designed and estimated using a bounds testing approach to co-integration and error-correction modeling. The findings show divergence across ECOWAS member states in the stability of money demand. This divergence is informed by differences in cointegration, stability, short run and long term determinants, and error correction in event of a shock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we establish some connections between partial metric spaces and domain theory, and give a characterization of stable partially metrizable d-spaces. First, the concept of S-partial metrics on posets is introduced. Then it is demonstrated that the open ball topology is coarser than the Scott topology in an S-partial metric space, and that the partially metrizable d -space is exactly the DS-partial metric space. In addition, some conditions are provided to ensure that the open-ball topology and the Scott topology coincide in an S-partial metric space. Moreover, we prove that, for an S-partial metric space (X , ≤ , p) , (X , O p (X)) is sober iff the set of all limit points of every self-convergent sequence is directed. Finally, we propose the notion of DS-valuation space and obtain the result that there is a bijection between stable DS-partial metric spaces and DS-valuation spaces, thereby giving the characterization of stable partially metrizable d-spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A stable wearable piezoresistive sensor with a laminated pattern was designed. • The sensor simultaneously achieves effective pressure sensing and self-power supply. • The sensor combines both hardness and softness for reliable sensing properties. • The sensor retains superhydrophobicity even subjected to mechanical/chemical damage. Wearable piezoresistive sensors have great potential in motion monitoring, health detection, and virtual reality. However, such sensors have difficulty maintaining long-term and stable sensing performance in complicated conditions such as wetting, corrosion and without external power supply. Herein, we integrated a stable wearable piezoresistance sensor (SWPS) with sandwich-like laminated structure, which consists of a flexible superhydrophobic conductive material, a rigid superhydrophobic material, conductive coil and magnetic composite materials which is used to provide magnetic field. SWPS achieves simultaneously effective pressure sensing and self-power supply. Importantly, such sensor maintains outstanding superhydrophobicity even when exposed to mechanical or chemical damage, such as cyclic compression, impact and wetting erosion, ensuring the reliable and long-lasting sensing performance. Our design strategy could also guide the development of other wearable sensor materials that need to retain long-term sensing performance in harsh operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halide perovskites, being a large family attained researchers focus for multiple targets because of their outstanding properties and flexible chemistry. In this study, density functional theory (DFT) based on WIEN2K code were utilized, to thoroughly explore the structural, electronic, optical, and mechanical properties of inorganic cubic halide perovskites, i.e.; RbSrM 3 (M = Cl, Br) for optoelectronic applications. Variation in the lattice parameters and unit cell volume were observed, as a result of halogen atom substitution from Cl with Br. Subsequently, the electronic characteristics certify the direct bandgap nature, with bandgap values of 7.73 eV for RbSrCl 3 and 6.79 eV for RbSrBr 3 , respectively. Optical properties proposed the high optical absorption, high conductivity, and low reflectivity. Further analysis into the mechanical properties, including bulk modulus (B), shear modulus (G), young modulus (E), anisotropic factor (A), Poison's ratio (ν) , and Pugh's ratio (B/G), comply the near ductility, stiffness, and elastically anisotropic behavior, confirmed the stability and reliability of the designed compound. Debye temperature (θ D), showing high capability to withstand against heat produced by lattice vibrations, further associated the thermodynamic stability that support the formation energy calculations. Based on the findings, it is confidently suggested that investigated halide perovskite materials i.e.; RbSrM 3 (M = Cl, Br), are promising candidates for next-generation photodetectors and optoelectronic devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background and objective Stable chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is associated with low-grade systemic inflammation as demonstrated by an increase in blood leukocytes, acute-phase proteins such as C-reactive protein, and inflammatory cytokines. Mean platelet volume (MPV) is one of the platelet (PLT) function indexes. It reflects the PLT production rate and stimulation. The changes in MPV during an exacerbation of COPD versus stable COPD have not been clearly examined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate MPV in participants during their stable phase and during an exacerbation of COPD. Patients and methods This study included a total of 80 COPD patients: group A included 40 patients in the stable state and group B included the remaining 40 who were admitted for exacerbation of COPD, who were followed-up for 6 weeks after recovery, and were matched with 40 healthy, nonsmoking controls. All patients underwent spirometry, laboratory investigations with respect to complete blood count, PLT count and MPV, and echocardiography. Results MPV revealed a highly significant decrease within the exacerbated patient group than stable ones who had lower levels of MPV than the control volunteers. There was a highly significant increase in MPV during the stable follow-up visit than during exacerbation for the same included group of patients. There was a significant positive correlation between MPV and grade of severity of COPD; 60% of the stable COPD patients were found to have pulmonary arterial hypertension by echocardiography. There was a significantly higher MPV among patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) than those without PH. Although PLT count increased with increased severity of PH, it did not reach significance, and there was a significant increase in MPV with increased severity of PH. Conclusion MPV is a quick and reliable tool for the assessment of inflammatory response. PLT activation is an important prothrombotic manifestation of COPD, which may be a useful therapeutic target.