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ABSTRACT In this work, the degradation of mono‐ and polyfluorinated phenolic compounds was demonstrated by a series of crude plant peroxidases, including horseradish root (HRP) and six members of the Cucurbita genus. Highly active samples were identified using a library screening approach in which more than 50 crude plant samples were initially evaluated for defluorination activity toward 4‐fluorophenol. The highest concentrations were observed in the HRP, pumpkin skin (PKS), and butternut squash skin (BNS), which consistently gave the highest intrinsic rates of decomposition for all the substrates tested. Although HRP exhibited a significant decrease in activity with increased fluorination of the phenolic substrate, PKS showed only minor reductions. Furthermore, in silico studies indicated that the active site of HRP poorly accommodates the steric bulk of additional fluorines, causing the substrate to dock farther from the catalytic heme and thus slowing the catalysis rate. We propose that the PKS active site might be larger, allowing closer access to the perfluorinated substrate, and therefore maintaining higher activity compared to the HRP enzyme. However, detailed kinetic characterization studies of the peroxidases are recommended. Conclusively, the high catalytic activity of PKS and its high yield per gram of tissue make it an excellent candidate for developing environmentally friendly biocatalytic methods for degrading fluorinated aromatics. Finally, the success of the library approach in identifying highly active samples for polyfluorinated aromatic compound (PFAC) degradation suggests the method may find utility in the quest for other advanced catalysts for PFAS degradation.

Organisms require dietary macronutrients in specific ratios to maximize performance, and variation in macronutrient requirements plays a central role in niche determination. Although it is well recognized that development and body size can have strong and predictable effects on many aspects of organismal function, we lack a predictive understanding of ontogenetic or scaling effects on macronutrient intake. We determined protein and carbohydrate intake throughout development on lab populations of locusts and compared to late instars of field populations. Self-selected protein:carbohydrate targets declined dramatically through ontogeny, due primarily to declines in mass-specific protein consumption rates which were highly correlated with declines in specific growth rates. Lab results for protein consumption rates partly matched results from field-collected locusts. However, field locusts consumed nearly double the carbohydrate, likely due to higher activity and metabolic rates. Combining our results with the available data for animals, both across species and during ontogeny, protein consumption scaled predictably and hypometrically, demonstrating a new scaling rule key for understanding nutritional ecology.

Antecedentes. Las fracturas de radio distal son fracturas muy frecuentes en el mundo, por lo que es necesario establecer nuevas estrategias de rehabilitación. Objetivo. Determinar la efectividad de la telerrehabilitación en comparación con el tratamiento supervisado en la recuperación funcional de los pacientes con fractura de radio distal. Método. Se realizó un ensayo clínico aleatorizado que incluyó 91 pacientes con fracturas de radio distal de grados AO23A y AO23B, los cuales se asignaron aleatoriamente a un grupo de rehabilitación supervisado que recibió durante 2 semanas un programa de 10 sesiones de tratamiento o un grupo de telerrehabilitación que mediante la plataforma de Moodle recibió instrucciones para realizar el programa de rehabilitación. Las medidas de resultado (funcionalidad, rango de movimiento activo, fuerza de prensión de la mano, calidad de vida y dolor) se midieron en el momento del ingreso a rehabilitación y a los 1, 3 y 6 meses. Resultados. A los 6 meses, ambos grupos de tratamiento demostraron diferencias estadísticamente significativas intragrupo en la funcionalidad, sin diferencias intergrupo. Conclusiones. A los 6 meses, ambos programas de rehabilitación aumentan la funcionalidad, el rango de movimiento y la calidad de vida, y disminuyen el dolor, sin diferencias estadísticamente significativas intergrupo.

More often than not, currents due to gravity, wind friction, and heterogeneous water density cause frequent drifts of the end-users to random locations creating transmission problems in an underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) network. The location uncertainty effect on the overall network performance in harsh environments, including submarine ones, is an appealing issue that needs to be adequately addressed in the existing technical literature. The present work takes account of a vertical UOWC link where a fixed transmitter at the sea surface illuminates towards the seabed following a Lambertian pattern. In this way, a randomly placed receiver inside a spherical cone is served, and the problem is treated with three-dimensional stochastic geometry methods. In the sequel, the complete statistical behavior of the random distributions of the channel gain and the instantaneous electrical signal-to-noise ratio is estimated. Moreover, some critical network performance metrics, including the outage probability and the bit-error rate for intensity modulation/direct detection with on-off keying and $M$ -ary pulse position modulation, are derived, whereas indicative numerical results are illustrated adequately through a series of appropriate figures.

Introduction: The epidemic that had its beginning in the city of Wuhan in December 2019, has become a public health problem that is advancing at dizzying steps. Objective: To determine the clinical and epidemiological profile in Covid-19 patients attended at the Hospital Apoyo I Santiago Apóstol - Utcubamba, 2020. Method: The type of research was observational, descriptive and retrospective cross-sectional. The population consisted of 312 patients from which a sample of 173 patients was extracted that met the conditions of being representative and adequate. All data processing and statistical calculations were performed using Microsoft Excel 2019 software. Results: Regarding the results, it was determined that the epidemiological profile: male gender a total of 102 and female gender 71, representing 59.0% and 41.0% respectively; average age of 45 years; most affected place of origin, the city of Bagua Grande, with a frequency of 162, which represents 93.6%. Regarding the clinical profile: diabetes mellitus presented a total of 7 cases, representing 4.1%; cardiovascular diseases with a frequency of 6, representing 3.5%; general malaise with a total of 75 cases, representing 43.4%; fever with a frequency of 66 cases, representing 38.2%; cough with a frequency of 56 cases, representing 32.4%; headaches with a frequency of 50 cases, representing 28.9%; and dyspnea with a frequency of 34, representing 19.7%. Conclusion: The male gender was predominant with comorbidities such as diabetes mellitus, general malaise and elevated CRP.

In recent years, the tremendous increase in data traffic carried by wireless communication networks has generated the urgent need for establishing more energy-efficient wireless communication systems. Recent advances in semiconductor and light devices have triggered remarkable research interest to the development of these optical wireless communication (OWC) links. Among them, free-space optical (FSO) links and, more recently, ultraviolet links which operate within the (UV-C) spectral band, have been considered as prime candidates to create both high speed and power effective line-of-sight (LOS) and non-light-of-sight (NLOS) free-air communication links, respectively. Moreover, transdermal optical wireless (TOW) links for telemetry with medical implants minimize the expense of power for the implant. In the current review, a background on the energy efficiency challenges in wireless communication is presented. Each of these OWC technologies is mainly discussed in terms of key energy consumption requirements and major limiting factors that affect their power performance. Energy-efficient modulation formats as well as other powerful techniques for performance enhancement such as diversity and relaying are assessed. The survey is concluded with a discussion regarding their future energy consumption requirements and trends.

Amygdaloid circuits are involved in a variety of emotional and motivation-related behaviors and are impacted by stress. The amygdala expresses several neuromodulatory systems, including opioid peptides and their receptors. The Dynorphin (Dyn)/kappa opioid receptor (KOR) system has been implicated in the processing of emotional and stress-related information and is expressed in brain areas involved in stress and motivation. Dysregulation of the Dyn/KOR system has also been implicated in various neuropsychiatric disorders. However, there is limited information about the role of the Dyn/KOR system in regulating amygdala circuitry. Here, we review the literature on the (1) basic anatomy of the amygdala, (2) functional regulation of synaptic transmission by the Dyn/KOR system, (3) anatomical architecture and function of the Dyn/KOR system in the amygdala, (4) regulation of amygdala-dependent behaviors by the Dyn/KOR system, and (5) future directions for the field. Future work investigating how the Dyn/KOR system shapes a wide range of amygdala-related behaviors will be required to increase our understanding of underlying circuitry modulation by the Dyn/KOR system. We anticipate that continued focus on the amygdala Dyn/KOR system will also elucidate novel ways to target the Dyn/KOR system to treat neuropsychiatric disorders.

Visible light positioning systems (VLP) have attracted significant commercial and research interest because of the many advantages they possess over other applications such as radio frequency (RF) positioning systems. In this work, an experimental configuration of an indoor VLP system based on the well-known Lambertian light emission, is investigated. The corresponding results are also presented, and show that the system retains high enough accuracy to be operational, even in cases of low transmitted power and high background noise.

Photon counting detector arrays are commonly used for deep space optical communication receivers operating on the principle of intensity modulation/direct detection (IM/DD). In scenarios where beam parameters can vary at the receiver due to scattering, it is important to estimate beam parameters in order to minimize the probability of error. The use of array of detectors increases the sensitivity of the receiver as compared to single photo-detector of the same size. In this paper, we present the derivation of a maximum likelihood estimator (ML) for peak optical intensity, providing both numerical and closed form expressions for the estimator. Performance of both forms of ML estimator are compared using the mean squared error (MSE) criterion and Cramer–Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) is also derived to assess the proposed estimator’s efficiency. This research contributed to the advancement of estimation techniques and has practical implications for optimizing deep space optical communication systems.

The Hellenic Naval Academy (HNA) reports the latest results from a medium-range, near-maritime, free-space laser-communications-testing facility, between the lighthouse of Psitalia Island and the academy’s laboratory building. The FSO link is established within the premises of Piraeus port, with a path length of 2958 m and an average altitude of 35 m, mainly above water. Recently, the facility was upgraded through the addition of a BLS450 scintillometer, which is co-located with the MRV TS5000/155 FSO system and a WS-2000 weather station. This paper presents the preliminary optical turbulence measurements, collected from 24 to 31 of May 2022, alongside the macroscopic meteorological parameters. Four machine-learning algorithms (random forest (RF), gradient boosting regressor (GBR), single layer (ANN), and deep neural network (DNN)) were utilized for refractive-index-structural-parameter regression modeling. Additionally, another DNN was used to classify the strength level of the optical turbulence, as either strong or weak. The results showed very good prediction accuracy for all the models. Specifically, the ANN algorithm resulted in an R-squared of 0.896 and a mean square error (MSE) of 0.0834; the RF algorithm also gave a highly acceptable R-squared of 0.865 and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.241. The Gradient Boosting Regressor (GBR) resulted in an R-squared of 0.851 and a RMSE of 0.252 and, finally, the DNN algorithm resulted in an R-squared of 0.79 and a RMSE of 0.088. The DNN-turbulence-strength-classification model exhibited a very acceptable classification performance, given the highly variability of our target value (Cn2), since we observed a predictive accuracy of 87% with the model.

Recent developments in both optical wireless communication (OWC) systems and implanted medical devices (IMDs) have introduced transdermal optical wireless (TOW) technology as a viable candidate for extremely high-speed in-body to out-of-body wireless data transmissions, which are growing in demand for many vital biomedical applications, including telemetry with medical implants, health monitoring, neural recording and prostheses. Nevertheless, this emerging communication modality is primarily hindered by skin-induced attenuation of the propagating signal bit carrier along with its stochastic misalignment-induced fading. Thus, by considering a typical modulated retroreflective (MRR) TOW system with spatial diversity and optimal combining (OC) for signal reception in this work, we focus, for the first time in the MRR TOW literature, on the stochastic nature of generalized pointing errors with non-zero boresight (NZB). Specifically, under these circumstances, novel analytical mathematical expressions were derived for the total average bit error rate (BER) of various system configurations. Their results revealed significant outage performance enhancements when spatial diversity was utilized. Moreover, taking into consideration the total transdermal pathloss along with the effects of stochastic NZB pointing errors, the critical average signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) metric was evaluated for typical power spectral-density values.

Abstract The performance of free‐space optics links strongly depends on scintillation effects caused by the atmospheric turbulence appearance. A widely adopted way to counterbalance the expected deterioration due to scintillation is to employ cooperative and multi‐hop arrangements. However, the use of multiple relays increases significantly the complexity of the mathematical models used to describe the overall performance of the system. Taking the latter into account, we approximate a generic multiple relay‐assisted free‐space optical configuration with a dual‐hop link in order to simplify the performance analysis. To this end, we provide new mathematical derivations for the evaluation of the outage probability and the average bit error rate by assuming typical turbulence models.

Free space optical (FSO) systems have become a reliable solution for modern communications networks, due to the high performance, availability, reliability and security they can provide. However, their characteristics depend strongly on the conditions of the atmosphere, which is the propagation path of the optical beam. In this work, this dependence is experimentally investigated through a terrestrial horizontal FSO link, which was installed a few meters above the sea. Thus, the procedure presented hereis an accurate empirical model for the estimation of the attenuation coefficient for an optical wireless link, as a function of the atmospheric temperature, the relative humidity, and the wind speed. Its accuracy is verified by comparing the estimated outcomes—obtained from the empirical model—versus the measured—experimental—ones. Such accurate empirical models can be used for designing high performance and reliability FSO links, as parts of the upcoming 5G/5G+ networks, for areas where the behavior of the atmospheric conditions and parameters are known.

Neuropeptides, a diverse class of signaling molecules in the nervous system, modulate various biological effects including membrane excitability, synaptic transmission and synaptogenesis, gene expression, and glial cell architecture and function. To date, most of what is known about neuropeptide action is limited to subcortical brain structures and tissue outside of the central nervous system. Thus, there is a knowledge gap in our understanding of neuropeptide function within cortical circuits. In this review, we provide a comprehensive overview of various families of neuropeptides and their cognate receptors that are expressed in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Specifically, we highlight dynorphin, enkephalin, corticotropin-releasing factor, cholecystokinin, somatostatin, neuropeptide Y, and vasoactive intestinal peptide. Further, we review the implication of neuropeptide signaling in prefrontal cortical circuit function and use as potential therapeutic targets. Together, this review summarizes established knowledge and highlights unknowns of neuropeptide modulation of neural function underlying various biological effects while offering insights for future research. An increased emphasis in this area of study is necessary to elucidate basic principles of the diverse signaling molecules used in cortical circuits beyond fast excitatory and inhibitory transmitters as well as consider components of neuropeptide action in the PFC as a potential therapeutic target for neurological disorders. Therefore, this review not only sheds light on the importance of cortical neuropeptide studies, but also provides a comprehensive overview of neuropeptide action in the PFC to serve as a roadmap for future studies in this field.

La evaluación de riesgo de extinción de los mamíferos de Colombia se ha realizado heterogéneamente en los últimos 16 años. Sin embargo, las evaluaciones de los mamíferos de Colombia están desactualizadas. Por esta razón, se hace necesario renovar la evaluación del riesgo de extinción de los de mamíferos de Colombia. Este proceso se realiza de manera articulada y con el apoyo de expertos y entidades según los criterios de la Unión Internacional para la Conservación de la Naturaleza (IUCN). Esta labor ha servido además, para consolidar información de especies pobremente documentadas con información de colecciones biológicas o con fototrampeo. El proceso de evaluación terminará en 2022 con los esfuerzos de la Sociedad Colombiana de Mastozoología, el Instituto de Investigación de Recursos Biológicos Alexander von Humboldt, la Asociación Colombiana de Zoología y el apoyo de otras organizaciones.

Background: Pulmonary sepsis is a leading cause of hospital mortality, and sepses arising from antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) bacterial strains are particularly difficult to treat. Here we investigated the potential of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) to combat established Klebsiella pneumoniae pneumosepsis and further evaluated MSC preconditioning and pre-activation methods. Methods: The potential for naïve and preconditioned MSCs to enhance wound healing, reduce inflammation, preserve metabolic activity, and enhance bacterial killing was assessed in vitro. Rats were subjected to intratracheal K. pneumoniae followed by the intravenous administration of MSCs. Physiological indices, blood, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), and tissues were obtained 72 h later. Results: In vitro assays confirmed that preconditioning enhances MSC function, accelerating pulmonary epithelial wound closure, reducing inflammation, attenuating cell death, and increasing bacterial killing. Cytomix-pre-activated MSCs are superior to naïve and hypoxia-exposed MSCs in attenuating Klebsiella pneumosepsis, improving lung compliance and oxygenation, reducing bacteria, and attenuating histologic injuries in lungs. BAL inflammatory cytokines were reduced, correlating with decreases in polymorphonuclear (PMN) cells. MSCs increased PMN apoptosis and the CD4:CD8 ratio in BAL. Systemically, granulocytes, classical monocytes, and the CD4:CD8 ratio were reduced, and nonclassical monocytes were increased. Conclusions: Preconditioning with cytokines, but not hypoxia, enhances the therapeutic potential of MSCs in clinically relevant models of K. pneumoniae-induced pneumosepsis.

Abstract Different supplements or strategies have been proposed as alternatives to the use of antibiotics at sub‐therapeutic levels in chickens. Mannan oligosaccharides and β‐glucans, yeast cell wall fractions (YCW), have been reported to beneficially influence broiler performance and health. Two differently produced yeast cell wall fractions derived from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were evaluated in this study using two different supplementation strategies offered to full‐term broilers. The birds were placed in floor pens on used pine‐shaving litter to increase potential microbial stress and mimic industry practice. The study utilized a three‐phase feeding program with a 1‐ to 21‐day starter, 21‐ to 35‐day grower and 35‐ to 42‐day finisher phases. Five dietary treatments were compared in this study. The experimental diets consisted of a control basal broiler diet; or the basal diet supplemented with the two differently produced fractions of YCW. The YCW products were supplemented at a constant 250 ppm or a decreasing concentration program (500, 250, 125 ppm) throughout the three feeding phases. Birds fed diets supplemented with either YCW products at any inclusion regimen demonstrated higher (P

In recent years, the THz frequency band (0.3 THz–10 THz) has attracted an increasing research interest for the realization of emerging high-speed wireless communication links. Nevertheless, the propagation of THz signals through the atmospheric channel is primarily subjected to signal attenuation due to free space path loss (FSPL), water vapor, adverse weather conditions along with atmospheric turbulence-induced and misalignment-induced scintillations. Therefore, in this work, a multi-hop line-of-sight THz system that utilizes serially connected decode-and-forward relays is proposed to extend the total THz coverage distance under the presence of fog, rain or clear weather conditions, as well as water vapor, atmospheric turbulence, non-zero boresight pointing errors and FSPL. Under these circumstances, an average bit error rate (ABER) analysis is performed. In this context, novel closed-form ABER expressions are derived. Their analytical results demonstrate the influence of each of the above limiting factors as well as their joint impact on the ABER performance. Finally, the feasibility of extending the total THz link distance through multi-hop relaying configurations is also evaluated.

Studies on public health and wild mammal biodiversity include a genetic component. For blood samples, there must be optimal sample collection conditions since these can affect DNA preservation and extraction. This study evaluated the use of liquid and dry DNA preservation methods and commercial and non-commercial DNA extraction methods on field-collected blood samples. For this, 264 total blood samples were collected from wild mammals. A first group of samples was preserved in guanidine hydrochloride (GuHCl) and DNA was extracted using six commercial kits: Bioline, Norgen, Invitrogen, Promega, and Qiagen, in addition to phenol-chloroform isoamyl alcohol (PC) and guanidine thiocyanate (GIT). Another group of samples was preserved in Whatman® FTA® cards and DNA was extracted with PC and GIT. The extractions with GIT and PC showed the highest values (ng/µL) and variation in DNA concentration, while the commercial kit showed low variation. Sample preservation in Whatman® FTA® cards provided low variation and quantity of the extracted DNA compared with the use of GuHCl. Concerning DNA quality, the commercial kits yielded higher purity, while GIT and PC-based protocols provided highly variable results. Furthermore, the use of GIT and PC yielded a higher amount of DNA, yet, of variable quality. Overall, extraction based on commercial kits and Whatman® FTA® preservation allowed obtaining more standardized DNA qualities and quantities.

Magnetic ratcheting cytometry is a promising approach to separate magnetically-labeled cells and magnetic particles based on the quantity of magnetic material. We have previously reported on the ability of this technique to separate magnetically-labeled cells. Here, with a new chip design, containing high aspect ratio permalloy micropillar arrays, we demonstrate the ability of this technique to rapidly concentrate and collect superparamagnetic iron oxide particles. The platform consists of a mechatronic wheel used to generate and control a cycling external magnetic field that impinges on a "ratcheting chip." The ratcheting chip is created by electroplating a 2D array of high aspect ratio permalloy micropillars onto a glass slide, which is embedded in a thin polymer layer to create a planar surface above the micropillars. By varying magnetic field frequency and direction through wheel rotation rate and angle, we direct particle movement on chip. We explore the operating conditions for this system, identifying the effects of varying ratcheting frequency, along with time, on the dynamics and resulting concentration of these magnetic particles. We also demonstrate the ability of the system to rapidly direct the movement of superparamagnetic iron oxide particles of varying sizes. Using this technique, 2.8 μm, 500 nm, and 100 nm diameter superparamagnetic iron oxide particles, suspended within an aqueous fluid, were concentrated. We further define the ability of the system to concentrate 2.8 μm superparamagnetic iron oxide particles, present in a liquid suspension, into a small chip surface area footprint, achieving a 100-fold surface area concentration, and achieving a concentration factor greater than 200%. The achieved concentration factor of greater than 200% could be greatly increased by reducing the amount of liquid extracted at the chip outlet, which would increase the ability of achieving highly sensitive downstream analytical techniques. Magnetic ratcheting-based enrichment may be useful in isolating and concentrating subsets of magnetically-labeled cells for diagnostic automation.

Humanity is experiencing great trauma during the current phase of globalization. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE; 2019), “Globalization is… the growing interdependence of the world’s economies, cultures, and populations, brought about by cross-border trade in goods and services, technology, and flows of investment, people, and information.” The human factor is included significantly in the PIIE definition—cultures, populations and flows of people. The human factor has been the least considered in current and early stages of globalization. That factor causes the most resistance and fear. Where and how are we looking for solutions? We keep focusing on areas where we have invested the most—economy, technology and physical science, while increasingly disregarding human dignity and human agency (Haque, 2018). This article proposes that we can address these inconsistencies in globalization if humanity evolves to greater maturity through a paradigm, which reveals cultural interdependence as a priority on par with economic and technological interdependence. Such a paradigm is Cultural Complementarity, which can harness cultural synergy to complement the achievements already in place and to reduce fear and divisiveness and their resulting excess and crises.

The tremendous development of both optical wireless communications (OWC) and implantable medical devices (IMDs) has recently enabled the establishment of transdermal optical wireless (TOW) links that utilize light waves to transfer information inside the living body to the outside world and conversely. Indeed, numerous emerging medical applications such as cortical recording and telemetry with cochlear implants require extremely high data rates along with low power consumption that only this new technology could accommodate. Thus, in this paper, a typical TOW link is investigated in terms of outage capacity which is a critical performance metric that has so far not been evaluated for such wireless systems in the open technical literature. More precisely, an outage capacity analysis is performed considering both skin-induced attenuation and stochastic spatial jitter, i.e., pointing error effects. Analytical expressions and results for the outage capacity are derived for a variety of skin channel conditions along with varying stochastic pointing errors which demonstrate the feasibility of this cross-field cooperation. Lastly, the corresponding simulation outcomes further validate our suggestions.

Radio-on-Free-Space Optical systems constitute a very attractive option for interconnecting central base stations with remote antenna units. Nonetheless, the optical signal propagation through the atmosphere is tremendously affected by turbulence- and misalignment-induced fading. In the present study, we investigate the transmission of code division multiple access signals over a free-space optical (FSO) link. The atmospheric turbulence is modeled by the M (Malaga) distribution, which acts as a unifying statistical model encompassing all the well-known distributions that have been proposed in the FSO area. In addition, nonzero boresight pointing errors (PEs) are employed, which are described by an accurate approximation of the Beckmann distribution. Novel mathematical expressions are extracted regarding the average bit error rate and the outage probability of the forward and the reverse link. Moreover, appropriate numerical results are depicted for various turbulence and PE scenarios, along with their associated corroborative outcomes.

Corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) and its related peptides differentially bind to CRF receptors to modulate stress-related behaviors. CRF receptors comprise two G-protein coupled receptors (GPCR), type-1 CRF receptors (CRF1), and type-2 CRF receptors (CRF2). CRF2 encompasses three spliced variants in humans, alpha (CRF2α), beta (CRF2β), and gamma (CRF2γ), which differ in their N-terminal extracellular domains and expression patterns. Previously, we showed that CRF2α form a heteromeric protein complex with dopamine D1 receptors (D1R), leading to changes in the signaling of D1R. Based on the high sequence identity between CRF2α and CRF2β, we hypothesized that CRF2β also heteromerize with D1R. To test the hypothesis, we compared the expression and localization of both CRF2 isoforms and whether CRF2β form stable protein complexes with D1R in HEK293 and ATR75 cell lines. We observed that the immunoreactivity for CRF2β was similar to that of CRF2α in the endoplasmic compartment but significantly higher in the Golgi compartment. Immunoprecipitation analysis showed that CRF2β forms a heteromeric protein complex with D1R. Furthermore, the protein complex formed by CRF2β and D1R was stable enough to change the sub-cellular localization of CRF2β when it was co-expressed with a construct of D1R bearing a nuclear localization signal. Immunofluorescence in A7R5 cells, which endogenously express CRF2β and D1R, shows significant colocalization of CRF2β with D1R. In conclusion, our results show that CRF2β forms a stable heteromeric protein complex with D1R, a potential new therapeutic target in tissues where both receptors are co-expressed, such as the septum in the brain, and heart, kidney, and skeletal muscle in the periphery.

Managed entry agreements (MEAs)—a type of formal institutional arrangement between pharmaceutical companies and payers for sharing the risk with respect to the introduction of new pharmaceutical technologies—may expand access to new pharmaceutical technologies for non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Although common in highincome countries (HICs), there is limited evidence of their use in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). This article aims to document international experiences of countries implementing MEAs and potential barriers and facilitators for their use in LMICs. We reviewed published literature sources on MEAs over the past 10 years considering peer-reviewed publications and gray literature data. We took into consideration the MEAs taxonomy presented by Kanavos and Ferrario et al. to categorize our findings, and extract information on factors for their implementation. We retrieved 285 MEAs documented in the literature, mostly from HICs and for a broad spectrum of NCDs. Financial schemes were slightly more prominent than performance-based agreements. Identified factors that could potentially facilitate or hinder the implementation of MEAs included the presence of quality administrative and information systems to track their implementation; availability of quality data and evidence of positive outcomes; uncertainty of drug efficacy/effectiveness, safety, and financial impact; and cultural factors, namely country’s preference for certain type of agreement and trust among payers and manufacturers. The increased availability of publications in recent years suggests a growing interest among policy-makers and researchers in the implementation of MEAs. While the use of MEAs in LMICs is very limited, this could be the result of limited empirical evidence on its use and possibly due to the use of a different taxonomy for describing MEAs in these settings. As any other policy option, the implementation and use of MEAs come with advantages and challenges. Since there is limited evidence on their use in LMICs, the identified cases of implementation in HICs may serve to inform the interest on MEAs in resource limited settings. Therefore, further research in this field especially in the context of LMICs may be of value for the global community as all countries are embarking into fairer and sustainable Universal Health Coverage (UHC).

FSO communication is a viral technology among optical wireless communications, gathering the interest of both researchers and manufacturers. This is because of the many advantages associated with FSO communication, including high data rates, reliability, safety, and economy. However, there are several unavoidable drawbacks that shadow the performance of FSO systems. For example, atmospheric turbulence is a well-known problem related to the weather conditions of the channel, which causes the scintillation effect. Also, spatial jitter due to pointing errors is a critical factor of the link’s performance, caused by occasional misalignments between the transmitter and the receiver. Moreover, time jitter is another limiting agent that deteriorates the total throughput, inducing bit stream misdetections, caused by the arrival of out-of-sync pulses. All three effects have been exhaustively studied and many statistical models and interesting solutions have been proposed in the literature to estimate their magnitude and compensate for their impact. In this work, the turbulence effect was treated by Málaga distribution, the spatial jitter effect was regulated by the non-zero boresight model, and the time jitter effect was modeled by the generalized Gaussian distribution. Various modulation schemes were studied, along with DF multi-hop and optimal combining diversity techniques at the receiver’s end. New, accurate mathematical expressions of average BER performance have been obtained, and valuable conclusions were drawn thanks to the presented numerical results.

The performance prediction of an optical communications link over maritime environments has been extensively researched over the last two decades. The various atmospheric phenomena and turbulence effects have been thoroughly explored, and long-term measurements have allowed for the construction of simple empirical models. The aim of this work is to demonstrate the prediction accuracy of various machine learning (ML) algorithms for a free-space optical communication (FSO) link performance, with respect to real time, non-linear atmospheric conditions. A large data set of received signal strength indicators (RSSI) for a laser communications link has been collected and analyzed against seven local atmospheric parameters (i.e., wind speed, pressure, temperature, humidity, dew point, solar flux and air-sea temperature difference). The k-nearest-neighbors (KNN), tree-based methods-decision trees, random forest and gradient boosting- and artificial neural networks (ANN) have been employed and compared among each other using the root mean square error (RMSE) and the coefficient of determination (R2) of each model as the primary performance indices. The regression analysis revealed an excellent fit for all ML models, indicative of their ability to offer a significant improvement in FSO performance modeling as compared to traditional regression models. The best-performing R2 model found to be the ANN approach (0.94867), while random forests achieved the most optimal RMSE result (7.37).

The performance of a free-space optical (FSO) communications link suffers from the deleterious effects of weather conditions and atmospheric turbulence. In order to better estimate the reliability and availability of an FSO link, a suitable distribution needs to be employed. The accuracy of this model depends strongly on the atmospheric turbulence strength which causes the scintillation effect. To this end, a variety of probability density functions were utilized to model the optical channel according to the strength of the refractive index structure parameter. Although many theoretical models have shown satisfactory performance, in reality they can significantly differ. This work employs an information theoretic method, namely the so-called Jensen–Shannon divergence, a symmetrization of the Kullback–Leibler divergence, to measure the similarity between different probability distributions. In doing so, a large experimental dataset of received signal strength measurements from a real FSO link is utilized. Additionally, the Pearson family of continuous probability distributions is also employed to determine the best fit according to the mean, standard deviation, skewness and kurtosis of the modeled data.

In this paper, a chaotic three dimansional dynamical system is proposed, that is a modification of the system in Volos et al. (2017). The new system has two hyperbolic sine nonlinear terms, as opposed to the original system that only included one, in order to optimize system’s chaotic behavior, which is confirmed by the calculation of the maximal Lyapunov exponents and Kaplan-Yorke dimension. The system is experimentally realized, using Bi-color LEDs to emulate the hyperbolic sine functions. An extended dynamical analysis is then performed, by computing numerically the system’s bifurcation and continuation diagrams, Lyapunov exponents and phase portraits, and comparing the numerical simulations with the circuit simulations. A series of interesting phenomena are unmasked, like period doubling route to chaos, coexisting attractors and antimonotonicity, which are all verified from the circuit realization of the system. Hence, the circuit setup accurately emulates the chaotic dynamics of the proposed system.

Transdermal optical wireless (TOW) communication links have recently gained particular research and commercial attention as a viable alternative for establishing high speed and effective implantable data transmissions, which is vital for a variety of neuroprosthetic and other medical applications. However, the development of this optical telemetry modality with medical implanted devices (IMDs) is adversely affected by skin-induced photon absorption, scattering and pointing errors effects. Thus, in this work a minimum mean-square error (MMSE) criterion is proposed for the estimation of the optical signal intensity in a typical TOW link of varying path loss and misalignment-induced fading characteristics. In this context, the stochastic nature of the transmitter–receiver misalignment has been considered and jointly modeled with transdermal path loss. Additionally, the link is assumed to employ the suitable On–Off Keying (OOK) with intensity modulation and direct detection scheme as well as a PIN photodiode at the receiver side for signal detection. Under these assumptions the results demonstrate that the stochastic amount of pointing mismatch strongly affects the received irradiance estimation.

During the last two decades, Global Positioning System (GPS) geodetic-grade receivers and accelerometers have been implemented in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). Most recently, the use of sensors integrated in smartphones has been evolving. Although some of their capabilities are validated for small and local structures, there is a gap in knowledge about the use of sensors embedded in smartphones and other electronic devices for SHM of complex structures as bridges. To contribute in this area, this paper demonstrates the application of GPS receivers, accelerometers, and smartphones, integrating a smart sensor for the SHM of bridges. In order to validate its capabilities, the alternative smart sensor is used to study a particular bridge with vibration problems. Semistatic and dynamic displacements are obtained by means of GPS measurements. Accelerations in three directions of the bridge are determined using the accelerometer and the smartphone. Based on the results of the alternative smart sensor, inappropriate structural behavior is detected in the vertical direction of the bridge. In addition, dynamic characteristics are extracted using the smart sensor applying the Fast Fourier Transformation (FFT) and periodogram to the structural responses. As a result, it is verified the applicability of the fused smart sensor for SHM on real-scale bridges.

The treatment of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) consists primarily of oral antidiabetic drugs (OADs) that stimulate insulin secretion, such as sulfonylureas (SUs) and reduce hepatic glucose production (e.g., biguanides), among others. The marked inter-individual differences among T2DM patients’ response to these drugs have become an issue on prescribing and dosing efficiently. In this study, fourteen polymorphisms selected from Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were screened in 495 T2DM Mexican patients previously treated with OADs to find the relationship between the presence of these polymorphisms and response to the OADs. Then, a novel association screening method, based on global probabilities, was used to globally characterize important relationships between the drug response to OADs and genetic and clinical parameters, including polymorphisms, patient information, and type of treatment. Two polymorphisms, ABCC8-Ala1369Ser and KCNJ11-Glu23Lys, showed a significant impact on response to SUs. Heterozygous ABCC8-Ala1369Ser variant (A/C) carriers exhibited a higher response to SUs compared to homozygous ABCC8-Ala1369Ser variant (A/A) carriers (p-value = 0.029) and to homozygous wild-type genotypes (C/C) (p-value = 0.012). The homozygous KCNJ11-Glu23Lys variant (C/C) and wild-type (T/T) genotypes had a lower response to SUs compared to heterozygous (C/T) carriers (p-value = 0.039). The screening of OADs response related genetic and clinical factors could help improve the prescribing and dosing of OADs for T2DM patients and thus contribute to the design of personalized treatments.

The performance of an underwater optical wireless communication link is investigated by taking into account—for the first time and to the best of our knowledge—the simultaneous influence of the chromatic dispersion, the time jitter and the turbulence effects, by assuming chirped longitudinal Gaussian pulse propagation as information carriers. The estimation procedure is presented and a novel probability density function is extracted in order to describe the irradiance fluctuations at the receiver side. Furthermore, the availability of the link is investigated by means of its probability of fade and various numerical results are presented using typical parameters for the underwater optical wireless communication systems.

The obsolete communication systems used in the underwater environment necessitates the development and use of modern telecommunications technologies. One such technology is the optical wireless communications, which can provide very high data rates, almost infinite bandwidth and very high transmission speed for real time fast and secure underwater links. However, the composition and the optical density of seawater hinder the communication between transmitter and receiver, while many significant effects strongly mitigate the underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) systems’ performance. In this work, the influences of chromatic dispersion and time jitter are investigated. Chromatic dispersion causes the temporal broadening or narrowing of the pulse, while time jitter complicates the detection process at the receiver. Thus, the broadening of the optical pulse due to chromatic dispersion is studied and the influence of the initial chirp is examined. Moreover, the effect of the time jitter is also taken into consideration and for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, a mathematical expression for the probability of fade is extracted, taking into account the influence of both of the above-mentioned effects for a UOWC system. Finally, the appropriate numerical results are presented.

Over the past few years, terrestrial free space optical (FSO) communication systems have demonstrated increasing research and commercial interest. However, due the signal’s propagation path, the operation of FSO links depends strongly on atmospheric conditions and related phenomena. One such significant phenomenon is the scintillation caused by atmospheric turbulence effects; in order to address the significant performance degradation that this causes, several statistical models have been proposed. Here, turbulence-induced fading of the received optical signal is investigated through the recently presented mixture Gamma distribution, which accurately describes the irradiance fluctuations at the receiver’s input of the FSO link. Additionally, at the same time, it significantly reduces the mathematical complexity of the expressions used for the description of composite channels with turbulence along with nonzero boresight pointing error-induced fading. In order to counterbalance the performance mitigation due to these effects, serial decode-and-forward relays are employed, and the performance of the system is estimated through derived mathematical expressions.

Visible Light Communication (VLC) systems use light-emitting diode (LED) technology to provide high-capacity optical links. The advantages they offer, such as the high data rate and the low installation and operational cost, have identified them as a significant solution for modern networks. However, such systems are vulnerable to various exogenous factors, with the background sunlight noise having the greatest impact. In order to reduce the negative influence of the background noise effect, optical filters can be used. In this work, for the first time, a low-cost optical vanadium dioxide (VO2) optical filter has been designed and experimentally implemented based on the requirements of typical and realistic VLC systems in order to significantly increase their performance by reducing the transmittance of background noise. The functionality of the specific filter is investigated by means of its bit error rate (BER) performance estimation, taking into account its experimentally measured characteristics. Numerous results are provided in order to prove the significant performance enhancement of the VLC systems which, as it is shown, reaches almost six orders of magnitude in some cases, using the specific experimental optical filter.

The hybrid system of free space optic (FSO) and radio frequency (RF) has come forth as alternative good solution for increasing demand for high data rates in wireless communication networks. In this paper, wireless networks with hard-switching between FSO and RF link are analyzed, assuming that at a certain time point either one of the two links are active, with FSO link having higher priority. As the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of FSO link falls below a certain selected threshold, the RF link is activated. In this work, it is assumed that the FSO link follows Gamma-Gamma fading due to the atmospheric turbulence effect whereas RF link experiences Rayleigh fading. To analyze the proposed hybrid model, analytical expressions are derived for the outage probability, bit error rate and ergodic capacity. A numerical comparison is also done between the performances of the proposed hybrid FSO/RF model and the single FSO model.

The last few years, the scientific field of optical wireless communications (OWC) has witnessed tremendous progress, as reflected in the continuous emergence of new successful high data rate services and variable sophisticated applications. One such development of vital research importance and interest is the employment of high speed, robust, and energy-effective transdermal optical wireless (TOW) links for telemetry with implantable medical devices (IMDs) that also have made considerable progress lately for a variety of medical applications, mainly including neural recording and prostheses. However, the outage performance of such TOW links is significantly degraded due to the strong attenuation that affects the propagating information-bearing optical signal through the skin, along with random misalignments between transmitter and receiver terminals, commonly known as pointing error effect. In order to anticipate this, in this work we introduce a SIMO TOW reception diversity system that employs either OOK or more power-effective L-PPM schemes. Taking into account the joint impact of skin-induced attenuation and non-zero boresight pointing errors, modeled through the suitable Beckmann distribution, novel closed-form mathematical expressions for the average BER of the total TOW system are derived. Thus, the possibility of enhancing the TOW availability by using reception diversity configurations along with the appropriate modulation format is investigated. Finally, the corresponding numerical results are presented using the new derived theoretical outcomes.

Free space optics (FSO) technology has demonstrated an increasingly scientific and commercial interest over the past few years. However, due to signal propagation in the atmosphere, the operation depends strongly on the atmospheric conditions and some random impairments, including turbulence and pointing error (PE) effects. In the present study, a single-input multiple-output FSO system with wavelength, spatial, or time diversity over the turbulence and non-zero boresight PE effects is thoroughly investigated. A versatile mixture composite model which accurately describes both impairments is employed for the performance evaluation. Novel mathematical expressions of the outage probability and the average bit-error rate assuming intensity modulation/direct detection and optimal combining at the reception are provided.

This study investigated the outage performance of a terrestrial FSO communication system that uses mixed series and parallel decode-and-forward (DF) relay-assisted (i.e., cooperative diversity) configurations, taking into account the influence of both atmospheric turbulence and pointing error effects. Turbulence-induced optical signal fading is modeled by gamma-gamma or the negative exponential distribution for weak to strong and saturated turbulence conditions, respectively. Additionally, weak to strong non-zero boresight misalignment-induced optical signal fading is modeled by the generalized Beckmann distribution. Under these conditions, an outage analysis of the examined FSO system is performed, in terms of both outage probability and mean outage duration metrics. Thus, fairly accurate closed-form mathematical expressions for both performance metrics are derived, while their corresponding analytical results demonstrate concrete performance and availability improvements for the total FSO system, especially when the number of the connected in parallel DF relays increases. Moreover, the obtained results are verified through the corresponding simulation results.

A CDMA RoFSO link with receivers’ spatial diversity is studied. Turbulence-induced fading, modeled by the M(alaga) distribution, is considered that hamper the FSO link performance along with the nonzero boresight pointing errors effect. Novel, analytical closed-form expressions are extracted for the estimation of the average bit-error-rate and the outage probability of the CDMA RoFSO system for both directions of the forward and the reverse link. The numerical results show clearly the performance improvement of using spatial diversity, even in the most adverse atmospheric conditions with strong and saturated atmospheric turbulence with enhanced misalignment. Also, the effects of nonlinear distortion, multiple access interference and clipping noise aggravate the performance of the link, where cases with large number of users are taken into account.

Subcarrier free-space optical (FSO) systems using coherent recovery techniques at the receiver have acquired growing research interest in recent times. However, their optimal performance is diminished by the non-perfect synchronization of carrier frequency and phase, which is mainly due to phase noise problems. Moreover, turbulence and pointing error effects further deteriorate the overall performance. However, relay transmission schemes can extend the coverage distance and offer substantial improvements over fading conditions. In this respect, we consider a serially relayed network using decode-and-forward relays, and investigate its performance by means of average symbol error probability and mean outage duration. Turbulence is modeled by the recently unified M(alaga) distribution, which constitutes a very general statistical model that accurately describes the irradiance fluctuations from weak-to-strong turbulence conditions. Additionally, the presence of non-zero boresight pointing errors due to misalignment between the transmitter–receiver pair is considered, while the effect of phase noise is specified by a Tikhonov distribution. A comparison between single line-of-sight and serially relayed FSO configurations is provided as well. Novel approximated mathematical expressions are deduced, which are proved to be accurate enough over a wide range of turbulence strengths and signal-to-noise values. Finally, proper numerical results are presented and validated by Monte Carlo simulations.

The influence of values inherent to the social capital has in the regional innovation systems consolidation for the society's development, will be analyzed in this article. Along this topic, there's a reference of aspects related to the social capital concept, as an useful theoretical tool used in order to understand their own dynamical regional innovation systems, as well as the characteristics description of an innovation system and the common elements this have with values like: Confidence, cooperation, solidarity and reciprocity.

In this work, a 4D hyperchaotic hyperjerk system, with better results for its Lyapunov exponents and Kaplan–Yorke dimension regarding other systems of this family, as well as its circuit implementation, is presented. Hyperchaotic hyperjerk systems depict complex dynamical behavior in a high-dimensional phase space with n ≥ 4, offering robustness against many types of attacks in private communications. For this reason, an adaptive controller in order to achieve global chaos synchronization of coupled 4D hyperchaotic hyperjerk systems with unknown parameters is designed. The adaptive results in this work are proved using Lyapunov stability theory and the effectiveness of the proposed synchronization scheme is confirmed through the simulation results.

The terrestrial optical wireless communication links have attracted significant research and commercial worldwide interest over the last few years due to the fact that they offer very high and secure data rate transmission with relatively low installation and operational costs, and without need of licensing. However, since the propagation path of the information signal, i.e., the laser beam, is the atmosphere, their effectivity affects the atmospheric conditions strongly in the specific area. Thus, system performance depends significantly on the rain, the fog, the hail, the atmospheric turbulence, etc. Due to the influence of these effects, it is necessary to study, theoretically and numerically, very carefully before the installation of such a communication system. In this work, we present exactly and accurately approximate mathematical expressions for the estimation of the average capacity and the outage probability performance metrics, as functions of the link’s parameters, the transmitted power, the attenuation due to the fog, the ambient noise and the atmospheric turbulence phenomenon. The latter causes the scintillation effect, which results in random and fast fluctuations of the irradiance at the receiver’s end. These fluctuations can be studied accurately with statistical methods. Thus, in this work, we use either the lognormal or the gamma–gamma distribution for weak or moderate to strong turbulence conditions, respectively. Moreover, using the derived mathematical expressions, we design, accomplish and present a computational tool for the estimation of these systems’ performances, while also taking into account the parameter of the link and the atmospheric conditions. Furthermore, in order to increase the accuracy of the presented tool, for the cases where the obtained analytical mathematical expressions are complex, the performance results are verified with the numerical estimation of the appropriate integrals. Finally, using the derived mathematical expression and the presented computational tool, we present the corresponding numerical results, using common parameter values for realistic terrestrial free space optical communication systems.