Search

Abstract Introduction The objective of this work was to summarize the incidence of herpes zoster (HZ) complications in different populations. Methods Systematic literature review of PubMed, Embase, and Virtual Health Library records between January 1, 2002 and October 20, 2022 using search strings for HZ, complications, and frequency measurements. Results The review included 124 studies, most conducted in the general population (n = 93) and on individuals with comorbidities (n = 41) ≥ 18 years of age. Most studies were conducted in Europe (n = 44), Asia (n = 40), and North America (n = 36). Postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) was the most studied neurological complication. Variable relative PHN incidence was found in the general population (2.6–46.7%) or based on diagnosis: immunocompromised (3.9–33.8%), depression (0–50%), and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (6.1–40.2%). High incidence rates were observed in hematological malignancies (HM) and solid organ malignancies (132.5 and 93.7 per 1000 person-years, respectively). Ocular complications were frequently reported with herpes zoster ophthalmicus (HZO). The relative incidence (incidence rate) of HZO in the general population was reported as 1.4–15.9% (0.31–0.35 per 1000 person-years). High relative incidence was observed in HIV (up to 10.1%) and HM (3.2–11.3%). Disseminated HZ was the most frequently reported cutaneous complication. The relative incidence of disseminated HZ was 0.3–8.2% in the general population, 0–0.5% in the immunocompetent, and 0–20.6% in patients with comorbidities. High relative incidence was reported in HM and solid organ transplant (up to 19.3% and 14.8%, respectively). Discussion Most reported complications were neurological (n = 110), ocular (n = 48), and cutaneous (n = 38). Few studies stratified complications by age or gender (or both). Incidence appeared higher in select immunocompromised populations. Higher incidence was associated with older age in several studies; the general association with gender was unclear. Conclusions Variable incidence of HZ complications was reported by population subgroup. Further research is required to quantitatively analyze incidence by age, gender, and location.

Radio-frequency electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) forecasting plays an important role in the evaluation of regulatory compliance, network planning and system optimization. The knowledge of RF-EMF levels is essential to ensure compliance with standards and avoid public health concerns, especially with the arrival of new frequencies and scenarios in fifth-generation (5G) and sixth generation (6G) wireless networks. This work provides a comprehensive study on time series forecasting for RF-EMF measured in frequency from 100 kHz - 3 GHz. The state-of-the-art deep learning model architectures consist of deep neural network (DNN), convolutional neural network (CNN), long-short term memory (LSTM), and transformer are applied for time series forecasting. The prediction performance is evaluated under three different scenarios - namely single-step input single-step output (SISO), multi-step input single-step output (MISO), and multi-step input multi-step output (MIMO). The findings from the simulation demonstrate that SISO forecasting is inadequate in predicting long-term radio-frequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) data as it lacks accuracy while MISO and MIMO forecasting scenarios offer more precise predictions. Specifically, in these two scenarios where the input width and label width are both set to 20 steps, the LSTM and CNN models exhibit superior performance compared to other models. Nonetheless, as the input width and label width in a MIMO scenario increase, the accuracy of both CNN and LSTM models decline considerably, whereas the transformer model consistently maintains good performance. Additionally, the transformer model continues to deliver accurate predictions as the label width and shift length increase, which is not the case for DNN, CNN, and LSTM models.

**Background:** The economic burden associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and concurrent cardiovascular disease (CVD) among patients with COVID-19 is unclear. **Objective:** We compared healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) and costs in patients with COVID-19 and T2DM and CVD (T2DM + CVD), T2DM only, or neither T2DM nor CVD (T2DM/CVD). **Methods:** A retrospective observational study in COVID-19 patients using data from the Healthcare Integrated Research Database (HIRD®) was conducted. Patients with COVID-19 were identified between March 1, 2020, and May 31, 2021, and followed from first diagnosis or positive lab test to the end of health plan enrollment, end of study period, or death. Patients were assigned one of 3 cohorts: pre-existing T2DM+CVD, T2DM only, or neither T2DM/CVD. Propensity score matching and multivariable analyses were performed to control for differences in baseline characteristics. Study outcomes included all-cause and COVID-19–related HCRU and costs. **Results:** In all, 321 232 COVID-19 patients were identified (21 651 with T2DM + CVD, 28 184 with T2DM only, and 271 397 with neither T2DM/CVD). After matching, 6967 patients were in each group. Before matching, 46.0% of patients in the T2DM + CVD cohort were hospitalized for any cause, compared with 18.0% in the T2DM-only cohort and 6.3% in the neither T2DM/CVD cohort; the corresponding values after matching were 34.2%, 26.0%, and 21.2%. The proportion of patients with emergency department visits, telehealth visits, or use of skilled nursing facilities was higher in patients with COVID-19 and T2DM + CVD compared with the other cohorts. Average all-cause costs during follow-up were $12 324, $7882, and $7277 per-patient-per-month after matching for patients with T2DM + CVD, T2DM-only, and neither T2DM/CVD, respectively. COVID-19–related costs contributed to 78%, 75%, and 64% of the overall costs, respectively. The multivariable model showed that per-patient-per-month all-cause costs for T2DM + CVD and T2DM-only were 54% and 21% higher, respectively, than those with neither T2DM/CVD after adjusting for residual confounding. **Conclusion:** HCRU and costs in patients were incrementally higher with COVID-19 and pre-existing T2DM + CVD compared with those with T2DM-only and neither T2DM/CVD, even after accounting for baseline differences between groups, confirming that pre-existing T2DM + CVD is associated with increased HCRU and costs in COVID-19 patients, highlighting the importance of proactive management.

This study aimed to assess the effects of hexavalent chromium on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo development. The zebrafish embryos were treated with solutions containing chromium at different concentrations (0.1, 1, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 50, and 100 µg/mL). The development of zebrafish embryos was estimated by the determination of survival rate, heart rate, and the measurement of larvae body length. Real time RT-PCR and Western blot were performed to assess the expression of apoptosis- and antioxidant-related genes. The results showed that the reduced survival rate of zebrafish embryos and larvae was associated with an increase in chromium concentration. The exposure of higher concentrations resulted in a decrease in body length of zebrafish larvae. In addition, a marked increase in heart rate was observed in the zebrafish larvae under chromium treatment, especially at high concentrations. The real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that the transcript expressions for cell-cycle-related genes (cdk4 and cdk6) and antioxidant-related genes (sod1 and sod2) were downregulated in the zebrafish embryos treated with chromium. Western blot analysis revealed the upregulation of Caspase 3 and Bax, while a downregulation was observed in Bcl2. These results indicated that hexavalent chromium induced changes in zebrafish embryo development by altering apoptosis- and antioxidant-related genes.

Abstract Mfsd2a is the transporter for docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, across the blood brain barrier (BBB). Defects in Mfsd2a are linked to ailments from behavioral and motor dysfunctions to microcephaly. Mfsd2a transports long-chain unsaturated fatty-acids, including DHA and α-linolenic acid (ALA), that are attached to the zwitterionic lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) headgroup. Even with the recently determined structures of Mfsd2a, the molecular details of how this transporter performs the energetically unfavorable task of translocating and flipping lysolipids across the lipid bilayer remains unclear. Here, we report five single-particle cryo-EM structures of Danio rerio Mfsd2a (drMfsd2a): in the inward-open conformation in the ligand-free state and displaying lipid-like densities modeled as ALA-LPC at four distinct positions. These Mfsd2a snapshots detail the flipping mechanism for lipid-LPC from outer to inner membrane leaflet and release for membrane integration on the cytoplasmic side. These results also map Mfsd2a mutants that disrupt lipid-LPC transport and are associated with disease.

Background: Cells are sensitive to changes in gravity, especially the cytoskeletal structures that determine cell morphology. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of simulated microgravity (SMG) on 3T3 cell morphology, as demonstrated by a characterization of the morphology of cells and nuclei, alterations of microfilaments and microtubules, and changes in cycle progression. Methods: 3T3 cells underwent induced SMG for 72 h with Gravite®, while the control group was under 1G. Fluorescent staining was applied to estimate the morphology of cells and nuclei and the cytoskeleton distribution of 3T3 cells. Cell cycle progression was assessed by using the cell cycle app of the Cytell microscope, and Western blot was conducted to determine the expression of the major structural proteins and main cell cycle regulators. Results: The results show that SMG led to decreased nuclear intensity, nuclear area, and nuclear shape and increased cell diameter in 3T3 cells. The 3T3 cells in the SMG group appeared to have a flat form and diminished microvillus formation, while cells in the control group displayed an apical shape and abundant microvilli. The 3T3 cells under SMG exhibited microtubule distribution surrounding the nucleus, compared to the perinuclear accumulation in control cells. Irregular forms of the contractile ring and polar spindle were observed in 3T3 cells under SMG. The changes in cytoskeleton structure were caused by alterations in the expression of major cytoskeletal proteins, including β-actin and α-tubulin 3. Moreover, SMG induced 3T3 cells into the arrest phase by reducing main cell cycle related genes, which also affected the formation of cytoskeleton structures such as microfilaments and microtubules. Conclusions: These results reveal that SMG generated morphological changes in 3T3 cells by remodeling the cytoskeleton structure and downregulating major structural proteins and cell cycle regulators.

Abstract Background Although various treatments help reduce abdominal pain, real-world pain medication utilization among patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC) receiving advanced therapies is poorly understood. The aim is to understand the utilization of pain medication 12 months before and after the initiation of advanced therapies among patients with newly diagnosed CD or UC. Methods This retrospective, observational cohort study used administrative medical and pharmacy claims data of patients with CD or UC from HealthCore Integrated Research Database (HIRD®). The data from patients with use of pain medication over 12 months follow-up (after the initiation date of advanced therapies) were collected and analyzed. Differences in the use of pain medication 12 months before and after the initiation of advanced therapies were assessed using McNemar's and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results Prior to initiating advanced therapies, 23.1% of patients with CD (N = 540) received nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), 78.1% glucocorticoids, 49.4% opioids, and 29.3% neuromodulators; similarly, 20.9% of patients with UC (N = 373) received NSAIDs, 91.4% glucocorticoids, 40.8% opioids, and 29.5% neuromodulators. After receiving advanced therapies for 12 months, patients reported a reduction in the use of steroids (78.1% vs. 58.9%, P

Abstract Perturbations in the gut microbiome have been associated with colorectal cancer (CRC), with the colonic overabundance of Fusobacterium nucleatum shown as the most consistent marker. Despite its significance in the promotion of CRC, genomic studies of Fusobacterium is limited. We enrolled 43 Vietnamese CRC patients and 25 participants with non-cancerous colorectal polyps to study the colonic microbiomes and genomic diversity of Fusobacterium in this population, using a combination of 16S rRNA gene profiling, anaerobic microbiology, and whole genome analysis. Oral bacteria, including F. nucleatum and Leptotrichia, were significantly more abundant in the tumour microbiomes. We obtained 53 Fusobacterium genomes, representing 26 strains, from the saliva, tumour and non-tumour tissues of six CRC patients. Isolates from the gut belonged to diverse F. nucleatum subspecies (nucleatum, animalis, vincentii, polymorphum) and a potential new subspecies of Fusobacterium periodonticum. The Fusobacterium population within each individual was distinct and in some cases diverse, with minimal intra-clonal variation. Phylogenetic analyses showed that within four individuals, tumour-associated Fusobacterium were clonal to those isolated from non-tumour tissues. Genes encoding major virulence factors (Fap2 and RadD) showed evidence of horizontal gene transfer. Our work provides a framework to understand the genomic diversity of Fusobacterium within the CRC patients, which can be exploited for the development of CRC diagnostic and therapeutic options targeting this oncobacterium.

Background Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with lung cancer. Systemic therapies, such as chemotherapy (chemo), are associated with increased risk of VTE. Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are a new standard of care for the treatment of lung cancer, but their association with VTE is not fully understood. We evaluated the incidence of VTE and risk factors for patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (aNSCLC) treated with first-line ICI-based, chemo-based, or ICI+chemo regimens.Methods This retrospective cohort study used HealthCore Integrated Research Environment - Oncology data, an integrated database of administrative claims, coupled with clinical data from a cancer-care quality program. Patients with first-line treatment of stage IV non-small cell lung cancer from July 2014 to August 2020 were grouped based on three treatment types: ICI-based, chemo-based, or ICI+chemo. Patients with VTE before initiation of systemic treatment were excluded. Newly diagnosed VTE events were identified via inpatient and outpatient diagnosis codes. Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the factors associated with VTE risk.Results Among 2299 eligible patients (ICI-based, n=605; chemo-based, n=1092; ICI+chemo, n=602) with a median follow-up of 9.1 months, the VTE incidence rates (95% CI) per 100 person-years were 17.8 (95% CI 16.0 to 19.5) overall, 13.5 (95% CI 10.6 to 16.5) for ICI-based, 18.0 (95% CI 15.5 to 20.5) for chemo-based, and 22.4 (95% CI 20.2 to 24.5) for ICI+chemo. The 6-month cumulative incidence of VTE was 8.1% for ICI-based, 10.9% for chemo-based, and 12.8% for ICI+chemo. Pulmonary embolism was most common, accounting for 63% of the VTE events. After controlling for baseline patient characteristics, the risk of VTE was 26% lower for ICI-based regimens than for chemo-based regimens (HR 0.74, p=0.03). There was no meaningful difference in the risk between ICI+chemo and chemo-based regimens (HR 1.12, p=0.36). Previous radiation and severe obesity (body mass index ≥40) were associated with VTE.Conclusions VTE incidence rate per 100 person-years was common across regimens in patients with aNSCLC, but numerically lower for patients receiving ICI-based regimens compared with those receiving chemo-based and ICI+chemo regimens. VTE is a common complication of lung cancer, and there is a continued need for awareness of VTE as a comorbidity in this population.

The ubiquity of IT (Information technology) for teaching at large is a reality that can be observed, including STEM education, which is the field of study of this research. In view of this situation, this work is intended to determine the role of IT in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. It was decided to conduct a systematic review based on PRISMA model and adding information obtained from the analysis of fugitive literature. The literature review was carried out on a total of 16 articles. The main inclusion criteria were a temporal selection from 2015 to March 2023, the inclusion of the terms IT and STEM in the title, abstract or keywords of the articles. The main results show an increasing tendency of this topic, especially in English research. Most relevant conclusions of the systematic review evidence a positive relationship between IT and STEM education, although some negative aspects are also highlighted as there is still a lack of resources and teacher training, leading to ineffective application of IT in STEM classes. The research results have important practical implications, it motivates teachers to research, propose and implement measures to enhance the role of IT in STEM education, while minimizing the limitations that have been identified.

Biochar, a carbon material, has become an attractive material for various applications due to its intriguing properties. The characteristics and adsorption performance of biochar depended on synthesis conditions. Hence, this work aimed to study the influence of activating agents and pyrolysis temperature on the structure and adsorption performance of biochar. The activated biochar (AB) was prepared by treatment of raw water hyacinth (an agricultural waste) with different activating agents including ZnNO3, FeCl3, NiCl2, KOH and HNO3 before treatment at high temperature under N2 atmosphere. The obtained AB samples were characterized by XRD, SEM, Raman, and BET. The activating agents strongly affected on the structure of the AB and methylene blue adsorption performance. The ZnNO3-activated biochar exhibited highest MB removal, compared to the KOH-, FeCl3-, NiCl2-, and HNO3-activated biochar. In addition, it was found that the pyrolysis temperature significantly enhanced the adsorption performance. The MB removal increased from 21.4 % to 99.4 % corresponding to the increasing of the temperature from 500 to 800 °C. Moreover, the highest MB adsorption capacity was 59.6 mg g-1 for Zn-BC-800.

The research objective was to determine the suitability of land regarding physical and economic conditions as a basis to support managers in planning effective agricultural development strategies that are suitable and sustainable for land potential in a future affected by climate change. In this research, physical and socio-economic data were collected by field surveys, household interviews (330 households), and agricultural manager discussions. Additionally, the methodology of land suitability evaluation was based on Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) (1976 & 2007) and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools, which were used to determine suitability classifications for land-use types (under different physical and socio-economic conditions) in three coastal districts within the Ben Tre province. The results showed that agricultural production status in the research area was divided into three agro-ecological zones including the freshwater zone, brackish water zone, and saltwater zone of which the highest rate of agricultural land area was aquaculture. The next major proportion of agricultural area belonged to land for planting perennial crops and land for planting annual crops. Besides, 7 and 8 land suitability zones were determined, respectively, depending on physical and economic conditions, for 11 main landuse types. This research contributes toward basic knowledge that aims to support local decision makers in their transformation of agricultural land and adaptation of salinization in the future.

Background: Simulated microgravity (SMG) has not been well characterized in terms of its impact on cell division structures. This research aimed to assess the changes in cell division in Chang liver cells (CCL-13 cells) under SMG conditions. Methods: CCL-13 cells were exposed to SMG conditions via a 3D clinostat for 72 h. The cells from the control group were kept under the same conditions, without exposure to SMG. The changes in cell division were assessed via cell cycle progression analysis, the transcript expression of the genes associated with the cell cycle, and the appearance of the contractile ring, microvilli, and spindle in CCL-13 cells. Results: The CCL-13 cells from both the control group and the SMG group exhibited a typical epithelial-like shape. The CCL-13 cells of both groups displayed normal nuclear morphologies and were devoid of fragmentation and condensation, which are signs of apoptosis. There were changes in the cell cycle of CCL-13 cells in the SMG condition, which were shown via an increase in the cell percentage in the G0/G1 phase and a decrease in the S phase and G2/M phase. The cell area of the SMG-exposed CCl-13 cells increased, while their nuclear area decreased, which led to a reduction in the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio. Moreover, the transcript expression of cyclin b1, cyclin d1, cdk2, and cdk6 was downregulated in CCL-13 cells under SMG conditions compared to the control group. Interestingly, SMG-exposed CCL-13 cells exhibited a decreased appearance of microvilli, changes in the formation of the contractile ring, and polar spindle microtubules during cytokinesis. Conclusions: SMG attenuated the cell division of CCL-13 cells by driving cells into the arrest phase and altering the cell division structures.

A series of Mn4+-activated CaAl2O4 (CAO) compounds were synthesized by co-precipitation to seek a candidate for a red-emitting phosphor to be employed in a white LED. The crystal structure, morphology, and fluorescence properties of the as-obtained phosphors were investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and photoluminescence (PL). The deep red luminescence of Mn4+ in CaAl2O4 is reported and discussed. The excitation spectrum exhibited broadband emission between 260 and 550 nm with three peaks dominating at 320 nm due to the transition of 4A2->4T1. The emission spectra between 600 to 720 nm displays an overwhelming emission peak at 654 nm owing to the 2E->4A2 transition of Mn4+ ion. This research demonstrates the great promise of CaAl2O4:Mn4+ as a commercial red phosphor in warm white LEDs and opens up new avenues for the exploration of novel non-rare-earth red-emitting phosphors.

Intensity-mapping observations measure galaxy clustering fluctuations from spectral–spatial maps, requiring stable noise properties on large angular scales. We have developed specialized readouts and analysis methods for achieving large-scale noise stability with Teledyne 2048 × 2048 H2RG infrared detector arrays. We designed and fabricated a room-temperature low-noise ASIC Video8 amplifier to sample each of the 32 detector outputs continuously in sample-up-the-ramp mode with interleaved measurements of a stable reference voltage that remove current offsets and 1/ f noise from the amplifier. The amplifier addresses rows in an order different from their physical arrangement on the array, modulating temporal 1/ f noise in the H2RG to high spatial frequencies. Finally, we remove constant signal offsets in each of the 32 channels using reference pixels. These methods will be employed in the upcoming SPHEREx orbital mission that will carry out intensity-mapping observations in near-infrared spectral maps in deep fields located near the ecliptic poles. We also developed a noise model for the H2RG and Video8 to optimize the choice of parameters. Our analysis indicates that these methods hold residual 1/ f noise near the level of SPHEREx photon noise on angular scales smaller than ∼30′.

In this paper, we analyze the secrecy outage probability (SOP) and the fairness of average packet transmission time for a non-orthogonal multiple access (NOMA) system which consists of a base station (BS) and two legal NOMA users in the presence of an eavesdropper (Eve). In order to extract the superimposed signal, the Eve is considered in two modes, i.e., successive interference cancellation (SIC) mode and parallel interference cancellation (PIC) mode. Accordingly, we analyze the secrecy performance of the considered system by deriving a new exact expression for SOP. Furthermore, the optimal power allocation between two legal users is determined such that the average transmission time from BS to two legitimate users are approximately equal to achieve the fairness of average packet transmission time. Monte Carlo simulations are provided to verify our analytical results.

This study aims to examine the effects of higher education on self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control and entrepreneurial intention among Vietnamese students. By collecting data from 553 Vietnamese students at universities and colleges in Vietnam, authors employed the quantitative approach such as certain descriptive statistics, explorative factor analysis, correlation coefficient analysis, ANOVA test and multiple linear regression to analyze the relationship between higher education, self-efficacy, perceived behavioral control and entrepreneurial intention. In addition, Chi-square and Cramer’s V tests are implemented to indicate the difference of higher education on entrepreneurial intention. The research results show that there is a positive relationship between higher education and entrepreneurial intention, while self-efficacy and perceived behavioral control also had positive effects on entrepreneurial intention. Moreover, Chi-Square and Cramer’s V test report that there was a strong evidence of higher education in entrepreneurial intention but there were no differences in self-efficacy and entrepreneurial intention.

Although prophylactic use of low dosage acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin) to inhibit the effects of platelet aggregation is common, a few, if any, rheological studies validating the change in the physical and mechanical properties of human blood post-aspirin administration have been reported. Recent work modeling the rheological behavior of thixo-elasto-visco-plastic materials, such as human blood, indicates that they have all the hallmark features of a complex material, including shear-thinning, viscoelasticity, yield stress, and thixotropy. Using human blood rheological data collected on a Discovery Hybrid Rheometer, before and after a 14-day protocol of once daily 81 mg aspirin tablet, we compare the mechanical properties with the recently published enhanced thixotropic modified Horner–Armstrong–Wagner–Beris thixo-elasto-visco-plastic model and sequence of physical processes. We do so to highlight the subtle shift in mechanical properties in terms of the “liquid-like” and “solid-like” nature of blood. We will show both before and after parametric analysis, profile, and comparison, as well as the before and after aspirin elastic and viscous properties of the human blood.

Vietnam's close proximity to China where the COVID-19 outbreak started made it one of the countries expected to have widespread transmission of the virus. However, the country opposed this expectation and attained low spread of COVID-19 infection due to its proactive approaches in containing the disease. As of March 11, 2021, Vietnam has a total of 2529 confirmed cases, equivalent to 26 cases per one million population-compared to the global rate of 15,223 cases. The low-cost model approach used by Vietnam in dealing with previous public health issues, tackle the importance of a strategic public health system, good governance, and citizen cooperation in the fight against COVID 19 pandemic. This paper aims to analyze Vietnam's achievement in its early and continued success in combating COVID-19 by taking into account various aspects of its health system and experience on outbreaks that have previously occurred and how these can be applied to current COVID-19 responses.

Abstract Background Prevalence of hemolytic neonatal hyperbilirubinemia (NHB) is not well characterized, and economic burden at the population level is poorly understood. This study evaluated the prevalence, clinical characteristics, and economic burden of hemolytic NHB newborns receiving treatment in U.S. real-world settings. Methods This cohort study used administrative claims from 01/01/2011 to 08/31/2017. The treated cohort had hemolytic NHB diagnosis and received phototherapy, intravenous immunoglobulin, and/or exchange transfusions. They were matched with non-NHB newborns who had neither NHB nor related treatments on the following: delivery hospital/area, gender, delivery route, estimated gestational age (GA), health plan eligibility, and closest date of birth within 5 years. Inferential statistics were reported. Results The annual NHB prevalence was 29.6 to 31.7%; hemolytic NHB, 1.8 to 2.4%; treated hemolytic NHB, 0.46 to 0.55%, between 2011 and 2016. The matched analysis included 1373 pairs ≥35 weeks GA. The treated hemolytic NHB cohort had significantly more birth trauma and hemorrhage (4.5% vs. 2.4%, p = 0.003), vacuum extractor affecting newborn (1.9% vs. 0.8%, p = 0.014), and polycythemia neonatorum (0.8% vs. 0%, p = 0.001) than the matched non-NHB cohort. The treated hemolytic NHB cohort also had significantly longer mean birth hospital stays (4.5 vs. 3.0 days, p

Serine palmitoyltransferase long chain base subunit 1 (SPTLC1) encodes a serine palmitoyltransferase (SPT) resident in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). Pathological SPTLC1 variants cause a form of hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathy (HSAN1A), and have recently been linked to unrestrained sphingoid base synthesis, causing a monogenic form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). It was postulated that the phenotypes associated with dominant variants in SPTLC1 may represent a continuum between neuropathy and ALS in some cases, complicated by additional symptoms such as cognitive impairment. A biochemical explanation for this clinical observation does not exist. By performing proteomic profiling on immortalized lymphoblastoid cells derived from one patient harbouring an alanine to serine amino acid substitution at position 20, we identified a subset of dysregulated proteins playing significant roles in neuronal homeostasis and might have a potential impact on the manifestation of symptoms. Notably, the identified p.(A20S)-SPTLC1 variant is associated with decrease of transcript and protein level. Moreover, we describe associated muscle pathology findings, including signs of mild inflammation accompanied by dysregulation of respective markers on both the protein and transcript levels. By performing coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering microscopy, presence of protein and lipid aggregates could be excluded.

The box-ball system (BBS) was introduced by Takahashi and Satsuma as a discrete counterpart of the Korteweg-de Vries equation. Both systems exhibit solitons whose shape and speed are conserved after collision with other solitons. We introduce a slot decomposition of ball configurations, each component being an infinite vector describing the number of size k solitons in each k-slot. The dynamics of the components is linear: the kth component moves rigidly at speed k. Let $\zeta $ be a translation-invariant family of independent random vectors under a summability condition and $\eta $ be the ball configuration with components $\zeta $ . We show that the law of $\eta $ is translation invariant and invariant for the BBS. This recipe allows us to construct a large family of invariant measures, including product measures and stationary Markov chains with ball density less than $\frac {1}{2}$ . We also show that starting BBS with an ergodic measure, the position of a tagged k-soliton at time t, divided by t converges as $t\to \infty $ to an effective speed $v_k$ . The vector of speeds satisfies a system of linear equations related with the generalised Gibbs ensemble of conservative laws.

Clustering trajectories from GPS data is a crucial task for developing applications in intelligent transportation systems.Most existing approaches perform clustering on raw data consisting of series of GPS positions of moving objects overtime. Such approaches are not suitable for classifying moving behaviours of vehicles, e.g., how to distinguish between atrajectory of a taxi and a trajectory of a private car. In this paper, we focus on the problem of clustering trajectories ofvehicles having the same moving behaviours. Our approach is based on histogram-based feature extraction to modelmoving behaviours of objects and utilizes traditional clustering algorithms to group trajectories. We perform experimentson real datasets and obtain better results than existing approaches.

Rural people in the Mekong Delta (MD) use surface water from rivers and canals for daily activities; and in areas far from the canals, people use rainwater for cooking and drinking. In certain areas, people use shallow layered groundwater and deep layered groundwater from drilled wells 80m – 100m deep. The quality of water used in daily activities of rural people is almost uncontrolled. Somewhere water supply systems are used, but they have been built over many periods, certain ones for over 50 years ago, thus having a lot of damage and many deposits, causing loss of pressure and huge loss of water. The issue of repairing, replacing and installing more water supply networks in urban areas is facing lots of financial, technical difficulties.

Large-scale fading models play an important role in estimating radio coverage, optimizing base station deployments and characterizing the radio environment to quantify the performance of wireless networks. In recent times, multi-frequency path loss models are attracting much interest due to their expected support for both sub-6 GHz and higher frequency bands in future wireless networks. Traditionally, linear multi-frequency path loss models like the ABG model have been considered, however such models lack accuracy. The path loss model based on a deep learning approach is an alternative method to traditional linear path loss models to overcome the time-consuming path loss parameters predictions based on the large dataset at new frequencies and new scenarios. In this paper, we proposed a feed-forward deep neural network (DNN) model to predict path loss of 13 different frequencies from 0.8 GHz to 70 GHz simultaneously in an urban and suburban environment in a non-line-of-sight (NLOS) scenario. We investigated a broad range of possible values for hyperparameters to search for the best set of ones to obtain the optimal architecture of the proposed DNN model. The results show that the proposed DNN-based path loss model improved mean square error (MSE) by about 6 dB and achieved higher prediction accuracy R2 compared to the multi-frequency ABG path loss model. The paper applies the XGBoost algorithm to evaluate the importance of the features for the proposed model and the related impact on the path loss prediction. In addition, the effect of hyperparameters, including activation function, number of hidden neurons in each layer, optimization algorithm, regularization factor, batch size, learning rate, and momentum, on the performance of the proposed model in terms of prediction error and prediction accuracy are also investigated.

This study explored teachers' perceptions of synchronous online peer interaction (SOPI) among young learners (YLs), aged 7 to 15. Thirty-eight teachers of diverse L1 backgrounds and teaching experience completed a survey and attended an in-depth interview that explored multiple aspects of SOPI (e.g. benefits, issues, frequency of use, strategies to promote SOPI's effectiveness, and mediating factors). Survey data were analysed using exploratory factor analyses to identify themes/constructs related to areas of SOPI under investigation, and inferential statistics were reported to examine teachers' self-ratings of different aspects of SOPI. Interviews were analysed following a content-based approach to supplement the quantitative data. The results show that teachers believed SOPI promoted YLs' attention to language aspects and created a peer-support learning environment. SOPI's effectiveness was affected by multiple factors (e.g. learners' individual differences, teachers' guidance, grouping, and learners' financial and family backgrounds). Teachers expressed the importance of using SOPI for YLs in online classes and suggested instruction/guidance to maximize its' benefits. However, the frequency of use of SOPI was reported to be dependent on schools' regulations and resources, learners' affective aspects, and parental support. The results also indicate the impact of teachers' online teaching experience on their differential perceptions of online SOPI.

Using a mixed-methods approach, this study examines the college expectations of high school students in Hanoi, Vietnam. Findings from a survey of approximately 4,000 students and interviews with 76 students, teachers, and school leaders revealed that the majority of students planned to apply to college. However, rural students had significantly lower college expectations compared to their urban and suburban peers, largely due to inequities in socioeconomic backgrounds and parental expectations across residential locations, as suggested by survey data. The interviews revealed complexities in students' perspectives toward continued learning, credentialism, and employment opportunities, as well as a sense of attachment or responsibility felt by rural students, leading to their decisions about whether or not to go to college. This study contributes to long-standing scholarly debates over factors attributing to students' college expectations and provides nuanced explanations for rural-urban disparities in college-going decisions.

The optimal state of charge (SoC) balancing control for series-connected lithium-ion battery cells is presented in this paper. A modified SoC balancing circuit for two adjacent cells, based on the principle of a bidirectional Cuk converter, is proposed. The optimal SoC balancing problem is established to minimize the SoC differences of cells and the energy loss subject to constraints of the normal SoC operating range, the balancing current, and current of cells. This optimization problem is solved using the sequential quadratic programming algorithm to determine the optimal duties of PWM signals applied to the SoC balancing circuits. An algorithm for the selection of the initial points for the optimal problem-solving process is proposed. It is applied in cases where the cost function has no decreasing part. Experimental tests are conducted for seven series-connected Samsung cells. The optimal SoC balancing control and SoC estimation algorithms are coded in MATLAB and embedded in LabVIEW to control the SoC balancing in real time. The test results show that the differences between the SoCs of cells converges to the desired range using the proposed optimal SoC balancing control strategy.

Simulated microgravity (SMG) induced the changes in cell proliferation and cytoskeleton organization, which plays an important factor in various cellular processes. The inhibition in cell cycle progression has been considered to be one of the main causes of proliferation inhibition in cells under SMG, but their mechanisms are still not fully understood. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of SMG on the proliferative ability and cytoskeleton changes of Chang Liver Cells (CCL-13). CCL-13 cells were induced SMG by 3D clinostat for 72 h, while the control group were treated in normal gravity at the same time. The results showed that SMG reduced CCL-13 cell proliferation by an increase in the number of CCL-13 cells in G0/G1 phase. This cell cycle phase arrest of CCL-13 cells was due to a downregulation of cell cycle-related proteins, such as cyclin A1 and A2, cyclin D1, and cyclin-dependent kinase 6 (Cdk6). SMG-exposed CCL-13 cells also exhibited a downregulation of α-tubulin 3 and β-actin which induced the cytoskeleton reorganization. These results suggested that the inhibited proliferation of SMG-exposed CCL-13 cells could be associate with the attenuation of major cell cycle regulators and main cytoskeletal proteins.

In the recent decades, the Mekong River Delta has suffered quite significant impacts of climate change. Fluctuations of weather elements and sea level rises have caused adverse changes, namely: the appearance of unusual high and low levels of annual floods, more and more intense storms, more severe droughts, forest fires, river erosion, cyclones, and tidal surges appear increasingly more dangerous. Traditional adaptation measures to the environmental conditions may be unsuitable in the context of climate change in the Mekong River Delta. This paper summarizes some of the new adaptation measures that scientists and policy planners have proposed for the area to cope with the negative impacts of climate change.

The cosmic optical background is an important cosmological observable. Here the authors show that a direct observation of the background brightness from the outer solar system can be obtained by the LORRI instrument aboard the New Horizons mission, on the basis of data acquired between Jupiter and Uranus.

The complication of myocardial infarction after using intravenous recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rt-PA) in patients with acute ischemic stroke is rare. Several of these cases have been reported in the first 3 hours after infusion of rt-PA. There is controversy on how to manage treatment of the coronary artery, such as intravenous anticoagulants and antiplatelets, at the same time. We introduce a new strategy for treatment of a patient who had ischemic stroke and developed myocardial infarction after intravenous rt-PA therapy. Our case had coronary and cerebral intervention in combination with low-dose intravenous rt-PA. He was successfully treated for coronary occlusion with aspiration thrombectomy.

The states of the suspension system including the road excitation depend on the road quality, the velocity of the car, and the sprung mass. Those states play a very important role in the control problem of stability, ride comfort, ride safety, and dynamic wheel load of the suspension systems. The velocities and deflections of the sprung mass and unsprung mass would not be measured fully in the practice. Therefore, it must be estimated by other measured quantities from the system such as acceleration and deflection of sprung mass and unsprung mass. To control the active suspension system, its states need to be estimated accurately and guaranteed the response time. This paper presents the method using the sigma point Kalman filter to estimate the suspension system’s states including the road excitation, the deflections, and the velocities of the sprung mass and unsprung mass. The mathematical model of the suspension system is rewritten for the state estimation problem, and the stochastic load profile is supposed the main noise input. The stochastic characteristic of the road excitation depending on the car’s velocity is taken into account in the model used for suspension system state estimation. The results calculated based on the practical experiment data for specific road profile with some particular velocities of the car show that the suspension system states are estimated quite accurately in comparison with the practice states.

Wisely using natural water resources to serve human needs plays a decisive role in ensuring water and food security. In the natural water cycle, rainwater is considered as a valuable renewable resource. Rainwater harvesting (RWH) for daily life and production is a simple but effective and also environmentally sound measure. It is also a positive solution in a climate change adaptation strategy. However, this resource is being wasted in our country in general and in the HCM City in particular. This paper provides an overview of the status of rainwater use in the world; the general situation, the potential of rainwater collection and a number of issues related to the potential of rainwater harvesting in the city. Some solutions to enhance the use of rainwater and improve water supply for city residents are also suggested in this discussion.

In accordance with Decision 99/TTg dated 9/2/1996 and Decision 173/TTg dated 6/11/2001 of the Prime Minister regarding the construction program of residential clusters (residential flood free areas), these residential areas as constructed would be fully equipped with critical infrastructures and services such as water supply and drainage works, toilets with sanitary appropriateness, etc. to ensure environmental sanitary conditions in the residential clusters. However, the actual surveys done in residential clusters in the Mekong Delta show that many arising problems must be addressed to enable the local communities to have better living conditions and ensure the sanitary conditions and environmental safety.

This paper deals with the state of charge (SoC) estimation of a lithium-ion battery pack (LiBP) connected by some cells in series and parallel. The voltage noise, noise and current bias of current through the LiBP are taken into account in the SoC estimation problem. In order to describe the cell dynamic more accurately, especially for practical applications with charge and discharge amplitude varying suddenly, in this paper we use the second dynamic order model of the cell to estimate the SoC of the LiBP. By applying the sigma point Kalman filter (SPKF), the average SoC of the pack and bias current of current measurement are estimated by first estimator; the second estimator estimates the SoC differences of the cell modules from average SoC of the pack. The SoC of the cell modules are the sum of average SoCs of the pack and the SoC differences. By only using two estimators, the calculation complexity for SoC estimation is more reduced; this is very useful for the LiBP, which has the number of cells connected in a large series. This method was applied for the pack of SAMSUNG ICR18650-22P connected by seven cell modules; the cell modules were connected by nine cells in parallel; the LiBP was charged and discharged with amplitude varying suddenly. The estimated SoC of seven cell modules is smaller than 2% for a temperature operating range typically −5 °C to 45 °C. The comparison of the accuracy of SoC estimation based on the first and the second order dynamic models is made; the result shows that the SoC estimation used the second order dynamic model is more exact.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome is a devastating disease that causes heavy losses to the economy and the development of agriculture. In this study, we aimed to assess the genetic variation of the ORF5 gene from 12 Vietnamese porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) strains. The phylogenetic analysis of the ORF5 sequences of Vietnamese strains and other strains indicated that the Vietnamese strains belong to type II. The Vietnamese strains were also separated into two clusters. Five strains BG/12, TG1/12, TG2/12, TG3/12, and TG4/12 were grouped in cluster 1 with a 98% bootstrap value, while the other seven strains HCM/14, TG5/15, TG6/15, TG7/15, ST1/15, ST2/15, and ST3/15 belonged to cluster 2. The alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences demonstrated that the identity between Vietnamese strains with CH-1a, JXA1, and VR2332 strains were 87–93%, 91–98%, and 83–89%, respectively. The mutation of the N21 glycosylation site (N→S) of the GP5 sequence was observed in five Vietnamese strains from cluster 1. The core sequence of the neutralizing epitopes (including five positions at H25, Q27, I29, Y30, and N31) in GP5 was presented in all Vietnamese strains except strain TG1/12. The hydrophobicity plots of GP5 revealed two different positions of BG/12 strain from CH-1a strain and VR2332 strain. The first difference was the missing of a hydrophilic peak from position amino acid 85 to 95. In this region, the CH-1a and VR2332 strains have 3 hydrophilic peaks. The second difference was the loss of another hydrophilic peak at position amino acid 100. Key words: genotype; ORF5; phylogenetics; PRRSV; Vietnam RAZNOLIKOST GENA ORF5 V SEVIH VIRUSA VIETNAMSKEGA PRAŠIČJEGA RESPIRATORNEGA IN REPRODUKTIVNEGA SINDROMA Prašičji respiratorni in reproduktivni sindrom je huda bolezen, ki povzroča velike izgube v gospodarstvu in vpliva na razvoj kmetijstva. V raziskavi smo želeli oceniti gensko raznolikost gena ORF5 v 12 sevih virusa vietnamskega prašičjega respiratornega in reproduktivnega sindroma (PRRSV). Filogenetska analiza baznih zaporedij ORF5 vietnamskih in drugih sevov je pokazala, da vietnamski sevi pripadajo tipu II. Tudi vietnamski sevi so bili ločeni v dve skupini. Pet sevov (BG/12, TG /12, TG2/12, TG3/12 in TG /12) je bilo združenih v skupino 1 z 98-odstotno vrednostjo bootstrap, medtem ko je bilo ostalih sedem sevov (HCM/14, TG5/15, TG6/15, TG7/15, ST1/15, ST2/15 in ST3/15) uvrščenih v drugo skupino. Poravnava zaporedij aminokislin je pokazala, da je podobnost med vietnamskimi sevi in sevi CH-1a 87−93-odstotna, JXA1 91−98-odstotna in VR2332 83−89-odstotna. Pri petih vietnamskih sevih iz skupine 1 smo opazili mutacijo mesta z glikozilacijo N21 (N → S) zaporedja GP5. Glavno zaporedje nevtralizacijskih epitopov (vključno s petimi položaji pri H25, Q27, I29, Y30 in N31) v GP5 je bilo opaženo pri vseh vietnamskih sevih, razen v sevu TG1/12. Grafikoni hidrofobnosti GP5 so pokazali dva različna položaja BG/12 iz CH-1a in VR2332 sevov. Prva razlika je bila odsotnost hidrofilnega vrha pri položaju aminokislin 85 do 95. V tem področju so imeli sevi CH-1a in VR2332 tri hidrofilne vrhove. Druga razlika je bila izguba drugega hidrofilnega vrha na položaju aminokisline 100. Ključne besede: genotip; ORF5; filogenetika; PRRSV; Vietnam

This ethnographic study examines how participation in a Christian church community shapes Chinese international undergraduate students’ social experiences in an American university. Our findings reveal that Chinese international undergraduate students identify the church and its fellowship as (1) a social support community and (2) an informal learning community, one which fills in the gap in counseling services and interpersonal activities that the university fails to offer. Recommendations are made for higher education institutions to provide stronger support for international students, regardless of their nationalities and religions.

An international comparative study of mathematics textbooks is essential in identifying trends in international mathematics education, developing textbooks and improving the quality of teaching and learning in mathematics. This study analyses and compares the contents of the probability and statistics curricula in the high school textbooks of Vietnam and Germany. It highlights the similarities and differences in the contents and the way they are presented, consolidated and deepened in textbooks of the two countries. The probability and statistics curricula in Vietnamese textbooks are much less than that of German textbooks. The Vietnamese textbooks focus on the mathematical content whereas the German textbooks focus on applications of the content in real life. Vietnamese textbooks tend to force students to accept probability and statistics knowledge while German textbooks encourage students to explore knowledge. Because of this, contexts relating to the contents in German textbooks are more detailed and more natural. German textbooks mainly use an inductive approach to present the contents whereas Vietnamese textbooks often use a deductive approach. In addition, German textbooks unlike those of Vietnam, always take advantage of realistic situations in exploring the contents, encourage co-operative learning and promote statistical reasoning by implementing several project works and provide an opportunity for practical experience and experiment by using the simulations of probability and statistics situations. The comparison shows the strengths of probability and statistics contents in German textbooks that Vietnamese textbooks can learn for the development of textbooks in future.

In the title complex, [PtCl2(C5H11N)(C6H6N2O2)], the PtII metal atom displays a slightly distorted trans-PtN2Cl2 square-planar coordination geometry. The dihedral angle between the mean plane of the benzene and piperidine rings is 89.03 (3)°. In the crystal structure, inversion dimers are formed via N—H...Cl hydrogen-bond interactions, resulting in chains parallel to the [001] direction. The benzene rings within the chains show π–π stacking interactions [centroid-to-centroid distances of 3.801 (3) Å] and neighbouring chains interact via N—H...O hydrogen bonds.

Lần đầu tiên, thành phần hóa học và hoạt tính kháng vi sinh vật của tinh dầu lá Trầu không (Piper betel L.) thu hái tại tỉnh Hậu Giang được khảo sát. Tinh dầu lá trầu không được ly trích thành công bằng phương pháp chưng cất lôi cuốn hơi nước đạt hiệu suất 0,63%. Bằng phương pháp phân tích sắc ký khí ghép khối phổ (GC-MS), thành phần hóa học chính trong tinh dầu lá Trầu không được xác định là hợp chất 4-Allyl-1,2-diacetoxybenzene với hàm lượng 34,55%. Hoạt tính kháng vi sinh vật của tinh dầu được đánh giá bằng phương pháp pha loãng đa nồng độ để xác định nồng độ ức chế tối thiểu (MIC). Kết quả thử hoạt tính kháng vi sinh vật cho thấy tinh dầu Trầu không có khả năng ức chế sự tăng trưởng của 3 chủng vi sinh vật: B. subtillis, F. oxysporum và A. niger với giá trị MIC lần lượt là 100, 200 và 200 μg/mL.

This paper addresses the problem of adaptive tracking control for uncertain fully actuated dynamical systems with additive disturbance (FDSA) based on the sliding mode. We use the adaptive mechanism to adjust the uncertain parameters in sliding mode control law which can be switched to two modes depending on the sliding surface. By choosing appropriately the parameters in control law, the desired transient time can be obtained without effects of uncertain parameters and additive disturbances. The chattering phenomenon can be minimized by a chosen constant. This control method is applied to the angles tracking control of the twin rotor multi-input multi-output system (TRMS) which have nonlinear characteristics, the input torque disturbances and the coupling between the horizontal and vertical movements. The simulation and experimental results are presented that validate the proposed solution.