Search

The generalization of the virial theorem, introduced by Clausius in statistical mechanics, has recently been carried out in the framework of geometric approaches to Hamiltonian and Lagrangian theories and it has been formulated in an intrinsic way. It is here revisited not only in its more general situation of a generic vector field but mainly from the perspective of contact and cosymplectic geometry. The previous generalizations allowing virial like relations from one-parameter groups of non-strictly canonical transformations and the rôle of Killing and conformal Killing vector fields for Lagrangians of a mechanical type are here completed with the theory for contact Hamiltonian, as well as gradient and evolution, vector fields. The corresponding theories in the framework of cosymplectic geometry and the particular case of time-dependent vector fields are also developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Intestinal stomas are one of the most common parts of pediatric surgical care, and complications arising from it have significant impact on overall patient outcomes. However, data on major complications in low–middle-income countries remain limited. This pilot retrospective cohort study aimed to investigate the prevalence, types, and management of major stoma complications in pediatric patients at a tertiary government hospital in the Philippines. Methods: Medical records of pediatric patients with major stoma complications classified as Clavien–Dindo III–V from June 2018 to June 2023 were reviewed. Patient-related factors (age, sex, diagnosis) and surgery-related factors (stoma type and location, surgeon expertise) were analyzed. Descriptive statistics characterized demographic profiles, while Chi-square and t tests analyzed categorical and continuous variables, respectively. Multivariable logistic regression evaluated independent associations with major stoma complications. Results: Out of 1041 pediatric patients with stomas, 102 cases had major complications, representing a prevalence rate of 9.8%. Mortality directly attributed to stoma complications accounted for 1.3% of the total cases, or 14 deaths in 5 years. Neonates comprised a significant portion, primarily diagnosed with congenital conditions like anorectal malformation and Hirschsprung’s disease. Ileostomies exhibited a higher incidence of major complications compared to other stoma types. Stomal prolapse and adhesive bowel obstruction are the most common reported stoma complications requiring surgical intervention while stoma revision is the most frequent corrective procedure. The median time from stoma creation to presentation of major complication was 14 months, with nearly half of the complications occurring within the first year. Only the presence of ileostomy had significant association with the development of major complications among the risk factors analyzed. Conclusions: This study provides useful insights into stoma complications in pediatric patients in a low–middle income country. Despite the lack of significant associations between the patient-related and surgeon-related factors, and major stoma complications, further investigation into other contributing factors is warranted. Improvements in data collection methods and prospective studies with larger sample sizes are recommended to enhance understanding and optimize care of major stoma complications. Addressing the challenges identified in this study could lead to a comprehensive and tailored approach to pediatric stoma care and their complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study assesses the optimal levelized cost of hydrogen (LCOH) production from wind farms. The study investigates 84 locations in the south of Argentina with nodes spaced 100 km apart, as well as one location each in Chile, the USA, Spain, Japan, and Australia. A model is presented to optimize the design of the wind farm, electrolyzer plant, compressor station, and storage capacity (gaseous 160 bar), with different hydrogen demands (hydrogen dispatch constraints) and minimizing the LCOH. Hourly data for wind resources from NASA is used to define a characteristic year. The model involves energy and mass balances in hourly basis for the whole year. Sequential solution procedures with heuristic rules are implemented. The optimal costs and their relation to the main variables, as well as production and storage, are analyzed. By imposing dispatch constraints, increase in levelized cost ranges from 25 % to 40 %, and decrease in annual hydrogen production ranges from 5 % to 30 %. Best levelized cost without considering electric transport between wind farm and electrolyzer plant is 2700 USD/t. • Attain the optimal hydrogen cost from wind energy. • Analize 84 sites in a 100 km × 100 km grid covering the Argentina's south region. • Identify the representative year (2011–2020) for wind resources. • Determine the site-specific optimal wind farm-to-electrolyzer power ratio. • Investigate the influence of dispatch constraints on the optimal LCOH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes the phenomena of the so-called "Special Period in Time of Peace" of the 1990s and the influence that these have had on the economic, social, and political crisis of the Cuban Revolution after the outbreak of Covid-19 and the implementation of economic reforms on the island. Likewise, the optics emerged in publications by the Cuban system are presented, as well as the cultural products that reactively explain the Cuban reality. Finally, we emphasize the importance of the historical discipline to analyzes the Cuban present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personal ornaments are widely viewed as indicators of social identity and personhood. Ornaments are ubiquitous from the Late Pleistocene to the Holocene, but they are most often found as isolated objects within archaeological assemblages without direct evidence on how they were displayed. This article presents a detailed record of the ornaments found in direct association with an Early Mesolithic buried female infant discovered in 2017 at the site of Arma Veirana (Liguria, Italy). It uses microscopic, 3D, and positional analyses of the ornaments as well as a preliminary perforation experiment to document how they were perforated, used, and what led to their deposit as part of the infant's grave goods. This study provides important information on the use of beads in the Early Mesolithic, in general, as well as the relationship between beads and young subadults, in particular. The results of the study suggest that the beads were worn by members of the infant's community for a considerable period before they were sewn onto a sling, possibly used to keep the infant close to the parents while allowing their mobility, as seen in some modern forager groups. The baby was then likely buried in this sling to avoid reusing the beads that had failed to protect her or simply to create a lasting connection between the deceased infant and her community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article, titled "OC21.05: Assessing racial disparities in sonographic detection of endometrial cancer," compares the effectiveness of different methods (transvaginal sonogram, sonohysterogram, and endometrial aspiration) in detecting endometrial cancer or hyperplasia (ECH) between black and non-black women. The study included 1,840 women over the age of 50 who underwent endometrial evaluation. The results showed that there were no significant racial disparities in the detection rates of ECH between black and non-black women. However, the completion rate of transvaginal sonograms was lower in black women compared to non-black women, with fibroids negatively impacting the likelihood of completion. [Extracted from the article]

In this study, cladodes of Opuntia ficus indica (OFIC), chemically modified with NaOH (OFICM), have been prepared, characterized, and tested as an effective biomass to remove Pb(II) and/or Cd(II) from aqueous media. At an optimum pH of 4.5, the adsorption capacity, qe, of treated OFICM was almost four times higher than that of untreated OFIC. The maximum adsorption capacities (qmax) in the single removal of Pb(II) and Cd(II) were 116.8 and 64.7 mg g−1, respectively. These values were 12.1% and 70.6% higher than those for the corresponding qmax in binary removal, which indicates the strong inhibitive effect of Pb(II) on the co-cation Cd(II) in a binary system. Structural and morphological characterization have been carried out by FTIR, SEM/EDX, and point of zero charge (pHPZC) measurements. The SEM/EDX results confirmed that the metals are adsorbed on the surface. The presence of C-O, C=O, and COO- functional groups were identified by FTIR on both OFIC and OFICM surfaces. On the other hand, we found that the adsorption processes followed the pseudo-second-order kinetics for both single and binary systems, with a fast biosorption rate of Pb(II) and Cd(II). The equilibrium data (adsorption isotherms) were better described by Langmuir and modified-Langmuir models for single and binary systems, respectively. A good regeneration of OFICM was obtained with an eluent of 0.1 M HNO3. Therefore, OFICM can be efficiently reused to remove Pb or Cd, up to three times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Geodesic vector fields and other distinguished vector fields on a Riemann manifold were used in the study of free motions on such a manifold, and we applied the geometric Hamilton–Jacobi theory for the search of geodesic vector fields from Hamilton–Jacobi vector fields and the same for closed vector fields. These properties were appropriately extended to the framework of Newtonian and generalised Newtonian systems, in particular systems defined by Lagrangians of the mechanical type and velocity-dependent forces. Conserved quantities and a generalised concept of symmetry were developed, particularly for Killing vector fields. Nonholonomic constrained Newtonian systems were also analysed from this perspective, as well as the relation among Newtonian vector fields and Hamilton–Jacobi equations for conformally related metrics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sergio Guerra Vilaboy (1949, La Habana) as director of the American History Department of the University of Havana and honorary president of Association of Historians of Latin America and the Caribbean has developed a prolific career focused on the study of the Latin American framework in comparative perspective according to the teachings of the German historian Manfred Kossok. Author of numerous publications, his knowledge about Latin-American and Cuban historiography makes him a leading figure in the field. For all that, this interview it's focused on his personal career and how it has influenced his intellectual creation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outer membrane protein A (OmpA) is one of the most abundant outer membrane proteins of Gram-negative bacteria and is known to have patterns of sequence variations at certain amino acids—allelic variation—in Escherichia coli. Here we subjected seven exemplar OmpA alleles expressed in a K-12 (MG1655) ΔompA background to further characterization. These alleles were observed to significantly impact cell surface charge (zeta potential), cell surface hydrophobicity, biofilm formation, sensitivity to killing by neutrophil elastase, and specific growth rate at 42°C and in the presence of acetate, demonstrating that OmpA is an attractive target for engineering cell surface properties and industrial phenotypes. It was also observed that cell surface charge and biofilm formation both significantly correlate with cell surface hydrophobicity, a cell property that is increasingly intriguing for bioproduction. While there was poor alignment between the observed experimental values relative to the known sequence variation, differences in hydrophobicity and biofilm formation did correspond to the identity of residue 203 (N vs T), located within the proposed dimerization domain. The relative abundance of the (I, δ) allele was increased in extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) isolates relative to environmental isolates, with a corresponding decrease in (I, α) alleles in ExPEC relative to environmental isolates. The (I, α) and (I, δ) alleles differ at positions 203 and 251. Variations in distribution were also observed among ExPEC types and phylotypes. Thus, OmpA allelic variation and its influence on OmpA function warrant further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Surgical treatment of ileo-colic intussusception (ICI) has been reported as the second cause of emergency laparotomy in children. The performance of incidental appendectomy after surgical reduction is currently controversial. The aim is to analyse the outcomes of performing incidental appendectomy after surgical ICI reduction with or without associated bowel resection. Materials and methods. A retrospective study was performed in patients with ICI episodes, who underwent surgical treatment in our institution between 2005-2019. Patients were divided in two groups according to the performance of associated appendectomy (AA group) or not (NA group). Subsequently, a stratified analysis was performed according to the need for bowel resection in both groups. Demographic variables, intraoperative findings, surgical time, hospital stay, postoperative complications and recurrences were analysed. Results. A total of 101 patients (77 AA group; 24 NA group) were included, without differences in demographics or intraoperative findings. A total of 36 bowel resections were performed (24 group AA; 10 group NA), with no differences in surgical time (55.7 min in group AA vs. 61.2 min in group NA; p = 0.587) or hospital stay (median 5 days in both groups). There were also no differences in postoperative complications or recurrences between the two groups. Stratified analysis showed that bowel resection increases operative time, hospital stay and postoperative complications, regardless of whether associated appendectomy was performed or not. Conclusions. Incidental appendectomy during surgical treatment of ICI in children is a safe procedure that does not increase operative time, hospital stay, postoperative complications or recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic viability of bioprocesses is constrained by the limited range of operating conditions that can be tolerated by the cell factory. Engineering of the microbial cell membrane is one strategy that can increase robustness and thus alter this range. In this work, we targeted cellular components that contribute to maintenance of appropriate membrane function, such as: flotillin-like proteins, membrane structural proteins, and membrane lipids. Specifically, we exploited the promiscuity of squalene hopene cyclase (SHC) to produce polycyclic terpenoids with properties analogous to cholesterol. Strains producing these cholesterol-like molecules were visualized by AFM and height features were observed. Production of these cholesterol-like molecules was associated with increased tolerance towards a diversity of chemicals, particularly alcohols, and membrane trafficking processes such as lipid droplet accumulation and production of extracellular vesicles. This engineering approach improved the production titers for wax-esters and ethanol by 80- and 10-fold, respectively. Expression of SHC resulted in the production of steroids. Strains engineered to also express truncated squalene synthase (tERG9) produced diplopterol and generally did not perform as well. Increased expression of several membrane-associated proteins, such as YqiK, was observed to impact vesicle trafficking and further improve tolerance relative to SHC alone, but did not improve bio-production. Deletion of YbbJ increased lipid droplet accumulation as well as production of intracellular wax esters. This work serves as a proof of concept for engineering strategies targeting membrane physiology and trafficking to expand the production capacity of microbial cell factories. • E. coli produced cholesterol-like species via expression of squalene hopene cyclase. • Evidence of membrane nanodomains was observed via AFM for the engineered strains. • Strain engineering impacted extracellular vesicle and lipid droplet production. • Alcohol tolerance and production increased, possibly by altered membrane fluidity. • Wax ester production increased due to membrane trafficking, deletion of ybbJ. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MAP: Figure 5 Comparison between spatial correlation map between the common time series (2001-2018) of FireCCI51-FireCCILT11 from Otón et al. [[2]] and global map of fire size distribution from Hantson et al. [[5]]. Lines 50-53: "Curiously, some 12.1% of the total global FireCCILT11 BA mapped during this period is located within grid cells where the FireCCILT11 and FireCCI51 annual time series are inversely correlated (i.e., r < 0)". Furthermore, FireCCI51 and FireCCILT11 in Zone A and B, despite low correlation, present similar BA values that are consistent over time, unlike MCD64A1, which shows a notable underestimation. Furthermore, our study is not a study to compare the products, rather it is a study to analyze global trends in BA using the FireCCILT11 long-term BA product. [Extracted from the article]

This paper concerns the optimization of a dual-purpose desalination system based on a geothermal flash cycle, a Kalina cycle, and a desalination process. A non-linear mathematical programming (NLP) optimization is developed and implemented in GAMS –General Algebraic Modelling System– a high-level modeling environment widely used in process systems engineering (PSE). CONOPT, a NLP derivative-based optimization algorithm, is employed. Furthermore, dynamic link libraries (DLLs) are developed and implemented in C programming code to calculate the thermodynamic properties of all process streams. The DLLs are systematically called from the GAMS environment. Additionally, a solution strategy has been devised to facilitate model convergence. In this strategy, several models are solved sequentially, commencing with the simplest model and progressing to solve the most complex model. This approach enables the optimal sizing and operating conditions of all process units to be obtained simultaneously. Two process configurations, differing in the type of seawater desalination system (reverse osmosis and multi-stage flash desalination systems), are optimized. The proposed mathematical models are effective decision-making tools for the design and synthesis of integrated geothermal power and seawater desalination processes. They can be used as either simulators or optimizers, depending on the number of degrees of freedom specified by the user. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human silencing hub (HUSH) preserves genome integrity through the epigenetic repression of invasive genetic elements. However, despite our understanding of HUSH as an obligate complex of three subunits, only loss of MPP8 or Periphilin, but not TASOR, triggers interferon signaling following derepression of endogenous retroelements. Here, we resolve this paradox by characterizing a second HUSH complex that shares MPP8 and Periphilin but assembles around TASOR2, an uncharacterized paralog of TASOR. Whereas HUSH represses LINE-1 retroelements marked by the repressive histone modification H3K9me3, HUSH2 is recruited by the transcription factor IRF2 to repress interferon-stimulated genes. Mechanistically, HUSH-mediated retroelement silencing sequesters the limited pool of the shared subunits MPP8 and Periphilin, preventing TASOR2 from forming HUSH2 complexes and hence relieving the HUSH2-mediated repression of interferon-stimulated genes. Thus, competition between two HUSH complexes intertwines retroelement silencing with the induction of an immune response, coupling epigenetic and immune aspects of genome defense. [Display omitted] • TASOR2 binds MPP8 and Periphilin to form a HUSH2 complex • An IRF2-TASOR2 interaction recruits HUSH2 to repress interferon-stimulated genes • TASOR and TASOR2 compete for a limited pool of MPP8 and Periphilin • Competition between HUSH and HUSH2 couples retroelement silencing to the induction of ISGs The HUSH complex, composed of TASOR, MPP8, and Periphilin, facilitates epigenetic silencing of retroelements. Danac et al. now describe HUSH2, centered around the TASOR paralog TASOR2, which represses interferon-stimulated genes. Competition between TASOR and TASOR2 for the shared subunits MPP8 and Periphilin couples retroelement silencing to the immune response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores the relation between dental enamel hypoplasia and socio-economic status and health conditions in the nineteenth- to twentieth-century Granada, Spain. The Granada osteological collection of infants and young children was analyzed. Macroscopic enamel defects were examined and scored in 1791 deciduous teeth of 177 individuals aged between 6 months of gestation and 85 months postnatal. Detailed information on the last address where the children’s family lived, and the costs and type of coffin used in the burial, facilitated the estimation of the socio-economic status of the families. The prevalence of affected children was relatively high (19.8%) and there were no significant differences in the distribution of enamel defects between municipal districts of the city of Granada and the type of coffin. According to the age at onset of the physiological stressful events, 23.8% of children exhibited enamel hypoplasia during the prenatal period, 19.1% during the perinatal period, and 57.1% in the postnatal period. Analyzing the chronological distribution, two peaks of occurrence of stressful events were observed in the decades of the late 1930s and the mid-1940s, and in the early 1970s. The prevalence of enamel hypoplasia of the individuals analyzed does not seem to be associated with the socio-economic status of their families. However, the chronological distribution showed two peaks of high frequency related to different historical periods of economic and social crisis. The analysis of dental enamel hypoplasia provides an excellent index of developmental stress levels in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The multi-directional pyranometer array is a method for estimation of the global irradiance on a tilted plane and the direct irradiance based on the simultaneous measurement of global irradiance on a set of stationary surfaces with different inclinations and orientations. Experimental testing shows that estimates of global irradiance on a tilted plane are 50% more accurate than transposing measured global and diffuse irradiance. A simplified layout of five sensors yields comparable results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present an analysis of the spatio-temporal trends derived from long-term burned area (BA) data series. Two global BA products were included in our analysis, the FireCCI51 (2001-2019) and the FireCCILT11 (1982-2018) datasets. The former was generated from Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250 m reflectance data, guided by 1 km active fires. The FireCCILT11 dataset was generated from Land Long-Term Data Record data (0.05°), which provides a consistent time series for Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer images, acquired from the NOAA satellite series. FireCCILT11 is the longest time series of a BA product currently available, making it possible to carry out temporal analysis of long-term trends. Both products were developed under the FireCCI project of the European Space Agency. The two datasets were pre-processed to correct for temporal autocorrelation. Unburnable areas were removed and the lack of the FireCCILT11 data in 1994 was examined to evaluate the impact of this gap on the BA trends. An analysis and comparison between the two BA products was performed using a contextual approach. Results of the contextual Mann-Kendall analysis identified significant trends in both datasets, with very different regional values. The long-term series presented larger clusters than the short-term ones. Africa displayed significant decreasing trends in the short-term, and increasing trends in the long-term data series, except in the east. In the long-term series, Eastern Africa, boreal regions, Central Asia and South Australia showed large BA decrease clusters, and Western and Central Africa, South America, USA and North Australia presented BA increase clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This work estimated PV energy potentials of building rooftops, walls and windows. • The analysis was conducted at various spatial resolutions from city to building scale. • Multiple urban form indicators were highly correlated with the PV energy estimates. • PV Production could cover up to 74% of electricity consumption in the City of Melbourne. • PV potential from windows became more prominent in central urban areas. Many cities across the world are committing to deep decarbonisation efforts. While solar photovoltaics (PV) will play a critical role in this pursuit, the role of rooftop and facade-integrated PVs within the urban landscape is yet to be fully understood. This work presents an analysis into the solar energy harvesting potential of PVs integrated as building rooftops, walls, and windows at various spatial resolutions that range from city to building scale within the City of Melbourne, Australia, as a contemporary case study. It further investigates the relationship between calculated electricity production from such PVs with the urban morphology, seasonal variation and the measured electricity consumption by the local distribution network service providers. The results indicate that PV rooftops are responsible for the largest share of the city's solar energy potential. However, for individual blocks with high densities of high-rise and glazed buildings, it is shown that the PV potential from windows becomes more prominent. The technical workflow presented here will enable different cities to facilitate decision-making on the PV implementation in urban environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantum Reservoir Computing (QRC) offers potential advantages over classical reservoir computing, including inherent processing of quantum inputs and a vast Hilbert space for state exploration. Yet, the relation between the performance of reservoirs based on complex and many-body quantum systems and non-classical state features is not established. Through an extensive analysis of QRC based on a transverse-field Ising model we show how different quantum effects, such as quantum coherence and correlations, contribute to improving the performance in temporal tasks, as measured by the Information Processing Capacity. Additionally, we critically assess the impact of finite measurement resources and noise on the reservoir's dynamics in different regimes, quantifying the limited ability to exploit quantum effects for increasing damping and noise strengths. Our results reveal a monotonic relationship between reservoir performance and coherence, along with the importance of quantum effects in the ergodic regime. Quantum Reservoir Computing leverages the quantum properties of physical systems for solving temporal tasks. This study shows the importance of quantum effects, such as coherence and superposition, in the reservoir's performance for different dynamical regimes, while considering the impact of finite measurements and noisy environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper contains two parts. In the first we determine the length of the central simple cyclic algebras of degree less than or equal to five. In the second we give a upper bound for the length of a commutative subalgebra of the full matrix algebra over the real quaternions. We also prove that if the length of a commutative matrix subalgebra is maximal, then this subalgebra is maximal under inclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. Congenital muscular hyperplasia of the hand is a rarely described entity, characterized by the presence of aberrant or accessory muscles in the hypothenar eminence, which has been always reported as sporadic anomaly in the medical literature. The aim of this paper is to report a series of cases with a phenotype of aberrant muscle hyperplasia associated with PIK3CA mutations. Material and Methods. We describe a retrospective series of cases followed at our institution between 2008 and 2020, with a unique phenotypein the context of PIK3CA mutations. Results. A total of 6 patients were included (4 males and 2 females), who presented with an enlargement of the hypothenar eminence of the hand and peculiar wrinkling of the overlying skin, associated with ulnar deviation of the metacarpo-phalangeal joints. In all cases, variable degrees of congenital overgrowth of the ipsilateral limb were observed. Skin punch biopsy (5 mm diameter and 3-5 mm depth) was performed on 4 patients, where striated muscle hyperplasia and the presence of striated muscular fibers in the dermis and hypodermis were observed in all of them. Genetic studies revealed PIK3CA mutation in 3 of the 4 patients whose affected tissue was analyzed, in a mosaic state ranging from 3 to 8% (His1047Arg, Glu542Lys, and Cys420Arg, 1 case each). Conclusion. Aberrant muscular hyperplasia of the hand is a well-recognized entity scarcely described in association with PIK-3CA spectrum disorder in the pediatric population. The role of PIK- 3CA in muscle overgrowth is not yet well understood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cell membrane plays a central role in the fitness and performance of microbial cell factories and therefore it is an attractive engineering target. The goal of this work is to develop a systematic framework for identifying membrane features for use as engineering targets. The metrics that describe the composition of the membrane can be visualized as "knobs" that modulate various "outcomes", such as physical properties of the membrane and metabolic activity in the form of growth and productivity, with these relationships varying depending on the condition. We generated a set of strains with altered membrane lipid composition via expression of des , fabA and fabB and performed a rigorous characterization of these knobs and outcomes across several individual inhibitory conditions. Here, the knobs are the relative abundance of unsaturated lipids and lipids containing cyclic rings; the average lipid length, and the ratio of linear and non-linear lipids (L/nL ratio). The outcomes are membrane permeability, hydrophobicity, fluidity, and specific growth rate. This characterization identified significant correlations between knobs and outcomes that were specific to individual inhibitors, but also were significant across all tested conditions. For example, across all conditions, the L/nL ratio is positively correlated with the cell surface hydrophobicity, and the average lipid length is positively correlated with specific growth rate. A subsequent analysis of the data with the individual inhibitors identified pairs of lipid metrics and membrane properties that were predicted to impact cell growth in seven modeled scenarios with two or more inhibitors. The L/nL ratio and the membrane hydrophobicity were predicted to impact cell growth with the highest frequency. We experimentally validated this prediction in the combined condition of 42 °C, 2.5 mM furfural and 2% v/v ethanol in minimal media. Membrane hydrophobicity was confirmed to be a significant predictor of ethanol production. This work demonstrates that membrane physical properties can be used to predict the performance of biocatalysts in single and multiple inhibitory conditions, and possibly as an engineering target. In this manner, membrane properties can possibly be used as screening or selection metrics for library- or evolution-based strain engineering. • Differential gene expression of fabA , fabB or des impacted various membrane metrics. • Effect of some microbial inhibitors on membrane metrics and growth was quantified. • Membrane metrics to predict growth are recommended for seven combined conditions. • Growth at 42 °C with furfural and ethanol corresponds to membrane hydrophobicity. • Membrane hydrophobicity correlated to ethanol production in the combined condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular RNAs have emerged as functional regulatory molecules whose aberrant expression has been linked to diverse pathophysiological processes. Here, we report that circPVT1 interferes with let-7 binding to NRAS, confirming this axis as one route by which circPVT1 can instigate an oncogenic program in A549 lung cancer cells and HCT116 colorectal cancer cells. CircPVT1 knockdown significantly reduced NRAS levels and attenuated cancer hallmark phenotypes such as proliferation, migration, resistance to apoptosis, cytoskeletal disorganization, and epithelial-mesenchymal transition. The effects of circPVT1 knockdown were at least partially rescued by blocking binding of let-7 to NRAS 3′UTR with a target protector, suggesting that a circPVT1/let-7/NRAS axis exists and acts in cells to reverse NRAS downregulation and favor oncogenicity. While the phenotypic effects of circPVT1 knockdown may be attributable to the global action of circPVT1, the target protection assays resolved the relative contribution of the circPVT1/let-7/NRAS axis specifically. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction. As a result of the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 respiratory virus in Wuhan in December 2019, the Spanish Government declared the state of emergency with restrictions such as stay-at-home lockdown. The objective of this study was to analyze emergency activity at a referral pediatric surgery unit in its territory and determine whether surgical pathologies had decreased or not. Methods. A retrospective study of pediatric patients presenting at the emergency department and referred to the pediatric surgery unit from March 14, 2020 to April 20, 2020 was carried out. The results were compared with those from the same dates of the previous year. Demographic variables, pathologies, and management strategies were studied for each case. The number of patients with abdominal pain requiring surgical assessment was also analyzed. Results. 161 patients were included - 91 from 2019 and 70 from 2020. Of the 2020 patients, 62 (88.6%) underwent surgery and 8 (11.4%) were admitted, whereas in 2019, patient distribution was 67 (73.6%) and 24 (26.4%), which means there were fewer admissions in 2020 (p= 0.018). There were no differences in terms of hours to emergency department consultation - just an increase in the case of appendicular pathologies in the 2020 period, with 24 [23-48] hours vs. 24 [12-30] hours (p = 0.045). Conclusion. The current pandemic has not caused emergency surgeries to decrease. It has only increased time to consultation in patients with appendicular pathologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GaN is the most promising upgrade to the traditional Si-based radiation-hard technologies. However, the underlying mechanisms driving its resistance are unclear, especially for strongly ionising radiation. Here, we use swift heavy ions to show that a strong recrystallisation effect induced by the ions is the key mechanism behind the observed resistance. We use atomistic simulations to examine and predict the damage evolution. These show that the recrystallisation lowers the expected damage levels significantly and has strong implications when studying high fluences for which numerous overlaps occur. Moreover, the simulations reveal structures such as point and extended defects, density gradients and voids with excellent agreement between simulation and experiment. We expect that the developed modelling scheme will contribute to improving the design and test of future radiation-resistant GaN-based devices. Gallium nitride is a wide bandgap semiconductor which is generally expected to replace some silicon-based technologies, despite some of its properties still requiring further investigation. Here, using a two-temperature model coupled to molecular dynamics simulations, the authors investigate and predict the effects of strongly ionising radiation in gallium nitride, revealing the mechanism behind its unusual resistance to radiation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this work is to study the phenomenon of tidal locking in a pedagogical framework by analyzing the effective gravitational potential of a two-body system with two spinning objects. It is shown that the effective potential of such a system is an example of a fold catastrophe. In fact, the existence of a local minimum and saddle point, corresponding to tidally locked circular orbits, is regulated by a single dimensionless control parameter that depends on the properties of the two bodies and on the total angular momentum of the system. The method described in this work results in compact expressions for the radius of the circular orbit and the tidally locked spin/orbital frequency. The limiting case in which one of the two orbiting objects is point-like is studied in detail. An analysis of the effective potential, which in this limit depends on only two parameters, allows one to clearly visualize the properties of the system. The notorious case of the Mars' moon Phobos is presented as an example of a satellite that is past the no return point and, therefore, will not reach a stable or unstable tidally locked orbit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Nagoya Protocol in particular, provide a framework for the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of biological resources and traditional knowledge, and ultimately aim to promote capacity-building in the developing world. However, measuring capacity-building is a challenging task due to its intangible nature. By compiling and analyzing a database of scientific peer-reviewed publications over a period of50 y (1965 to 2015), we investigated capacity-building in global marine natural product discovery. We used publication and authorship metrics to assess how the capacity to become scientifically proficient, prolific, and independent has changed in bioprospecting countries. Our results show that marine bioprospecting is a dynamically growing field of research with continuously increasing numbers of participating countries, publications, and scientists. Yet despite long standing efforts to promote equitability and scientific independence, not all countries have similarly increased their capacity to explore marine biodiversity within their national jurisdiction areas.Although developing countries show an increasing trend in the number of publications, a few developed countries still account for almost one-half of all publications in the field. Multiple lines of evidence suggest that economic capacity affects how well countries with species-rich marine ecosystems can scientifically explore those resources. Overall, the capacity-building data analyzed here provides a timely contribution to the ongoing international debate about access to and benefit-sharing of biological resources for countries exploring biodiversity within and outside their national jurisdiction areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mexican industry generates tons of organic wastes that are not used and cause social, environmental, and health problems. The main organic residue which is generated during wood production is the sawdust (biomass). In order to reduce the problems generated by its waste, a prototype to manufacture biofuel pellets was designed by considering a flat die pelletizing machine according to the standard EN 14961-2. The machine design consists of stainless steel 304 and carbon steel to produce pellets of 6 mm and 30 mm in diameter and length, respectively, at 50–100 rpm. The matrix types proposed were radial, spiral, and hexagonal. In order to be constructed quickly, the design is standardized. Results from finite-element analysis indicate that it is possible to manufacture pellets from 50 to 1000 PSI (344.7 kPa to 6894.7 kPa) with this design complying with the standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the possible head and chest injuries, produced in a Hybrid III dummy model of a six-year-old child during a rollover test, while the child uses a passive safety system low-back booster (LBB). Vehicle seats and passive safety systems were modeled with a CAD (Computer Aided Design) software; later, all elements were analyzed using the finite element method (FEM) with LS-DYNA® software. The border conditions were established for each study, in accordance with the regulations of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), and following the FMVSS 213 standard for the mounting and fastening of the infant, the FMVSS 208 for the dolly methodology test with the vehicle rollover was performed, implementing such analysis under the same conditions for a vehicle Toyota Yaris 2010. The numerical simulations were performed during an interval of 1 second, obtaining data values for periods of 2 milliseconds. This paper examines the efficiency of the system; three case studies were carried out: Study I: vehicle seat belt (VSB); Study II: the LBB system was secured by the seat belt; Study III: the LBB system with ISOFIX anchorage. The values of decelerations for the head and thorax of the infant were obtained, as well as neck flexion and thoracic deflection. The main factor to reduce injuries during a rollover accident is the correct anchorage of the LBB, and this is achieved with the ISOFIX system, since it prevents the independent movement of the LBB, unlike when it is fastened with the seat belt of the vehicle. The results show low levels of head and chest injury when ISOFIX is used because of reduced thoracic deflection during infant retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Variations of coercive field, induced magnetic anisotropy, and saturation magnetostriction constant in (Co77Si13.5B9.5)90Fe7Nb3 amorphous ribbons submitted to stress and/or axial magnetic-field annealing are reported. The annealing was carried out by using the Joule-heating effect (average temperature values of the sample corresponding to the intensity of the electrical current were 273, 378, 409, and 445 °C) and the applied stress and axial magnetic field during the thermal treatments were 500 MPa and 750 A/m, respectively. As a result of these treatments, a uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy, which affects drastically the soft magnetic character of the samples, was developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effective magnetic anisotropy of the Fe[sub 71.5]Al[sub 2]Cu[sub 1]Nb[sub 3]Si[sub 13.5]B[sub 9] alloy with different nanostructures has been investigated. The nanostructured phase was produced by means of thermal treatment (520-600 °C during 1 h) to develop the devitrification of the precursor amorphous material. The effective magnetic anisotropy was evaluated from the measurement of the bias field dependence of the transverse susceptibility. Values of the effective anisotropy field, H[sub k], from 20 Oe (as-quenched sample) down to 7 Oe (optimum nanocrystalline state) were obtained. Such values of H[sub k] are close to those obtained in the classical nanocrystalline Fe[sub 73.5]Cu[sub 1]Nb[sub 3]Si[sub 13.5]B[sub 9] alloy (8-10 Oe) alloy. The Al could enhance the intergranular coupling, leading to the ultrasoft magnetic character of this nanocrystalline Al-containing alloy. © 2001 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetic anisotropy induced by stress annealing (500 MPa) in Fe[sub 73.5]Cu[sub 1]Ta[sub 3]Si[sub 13.5]B[sub 9] amorphous alloy has been investigated. Such thermal treatment was carried out by means of the Joule heating technique (current density ranging from 20 to 40 A/mm[sup 2]). As a result, a uniaxial in-plane magnetic anisotropy was induced in the samples. The dependence of this induced anisotropy on the current density shows a maximum (1000 J/m[sup 3]) around 34 A/mm[sup 2], which can be connected to the first stages of the crystallization process, followed by a minimum at 37 A/mm[sup 2]. The coercive field increases with this kind of thermal treatment, and is around 10-15 A/m for the optimum nanocrystalline state, which is one order of magnitude larger than that reported for this nanocrystalline material treated in conventional furnace. The variations of the coercive field after stress annealing seem to be correlated to the induced magnetic anisotropy behavior. The minimum anisotropy occurs for the optimum nanocrystallization process. The induced anisotropy should be mainly understood as of magneto-elastic character arising in the FeSi grains due to internal stresses. © 2000 American Institute of Physics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forecasting the dynamics of chaotic systems from the analysis of their output signals is a challenging problem with applications in most fields of modern science. In this work, we use a laser model to compare the performance of several machine learning algorithms for forecasting the amplitude of upcoming emitted chaotic pulses. We simulate the dynamics of an optically injected semiconductor laser that presents a rich variety of dynamical regimes when changing the parameters. We focus on a particular dynamical regime that can show ultrahigh intensity pulses, reminiscent of rogue waves. We compare the goodness of the forecast for several popular methods in machine learning, namely, deep learning, support vector machine, nearest neighbors, and reservoir computing. Finally, we analyze how their performance for predicting the height of the next optical pulse depends on the amount of noise and the length of the time series used for training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estimation of photovoltaic (PV) efficiency depends on the solar cell temperature, which varies with ambient temperature and solar irradiation. When only daily averages are available, for instance, when assessing solar potential in a future climate, the standard procedure leads to a non-negligible error in the estimation of PV generation, as it disregards the fact that changes in efficiency at low irradiance are less relevant than changes in efficiency at high irradiance. A correction factor based on a sinusoidal model for solar irradiation and temperature is proposed and tested for locations with diverse latitudes and climates. The results show that this approach features random and bias errors below 2%, at least three times smaller than the standard averaging method, thus validating its application for estimation of PV generation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combination of the latest and most precise measurements of several top quark properties is presented in this paper in order to establish allowed regions on anomalous contributions to the Lorentz structure of the Wtb vertex. These measurements include single top production cross-sections, W boson helicity fractions and forward–backward asymmetries, both at Tevatron and at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), up to a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV. The results obtained at 95% Confidence Level (CL) for the top quark anomalous couplings are compared with the limits extracted from a combination that includes the expected measurements at the future High-Luminosity run of the LHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Development of extrinsic functions for optimal synthesis and design. • Collection of dynamic-link libraries with extrinsic functions for GAMS. • Dynamic-link libraries implemented in the C programming language. • Integration of rigorous thermodynamic packages into algebraic modeling languages. • Improvement of convergence of distillation column models by extrinsic functions. This work deals with the development and implementation of mathematical models in the General Algebraic Modeling System (GAMS) environment for optimization purposes, involving extrinsic functions that are executed outside GAMS from dynamic-link libraries (DLL) implemented in the programming language C. Three DLL libraries are developed to calculate thermodynamic properties: the Raoult's law for vapor-liquid equilibrium, the Non-Random Two-Liquid (NRTL) model, and the Peng–Robinson equation of state. A detailed description on how GAMS and DLL libraries interact is presented. Case studies dealing with the optimal design of multi-component distillation columns with increasing complexity levels are discussed. For the proposed case studies, the obtained results show that the usage of the proposed extrinsic functions allows to significantly enhance the model implementation compared to the traditional model implementation approach, and to considerably reduce the model size as well as the computational time required by the optimization algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The economic viability of bio-production processes is often limited by damage to the microbial cell membrane and thus there is a demand for strategies to increase the robustness of the cell membrane. Damage to the microbial membrane is also a common mode of action by antibiotics. Membrane-impermeable DNA-binding dyes are often used to assess membrane integrity in conjunction with flow cytometry. We demonstrate that in situ assessment of the membrane permeability of E. coli to SYTOX Green is consistent with flow cytometry, with the benefit of lower experimental intensity, lower cost, and no need for a priori selection of sampling times. This method is demonstrated by the characterization of four membrane engineering strategies (deletion of aas, deletion of cfa, increased expression of cfa, and deletion of bhsA) for their effect on octanoic acid tolerance, with the finding that deletion of bhsA increased tolerance and substantially decreased membrane leakage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we propose the analysis of different geometries for an intramedullary device, which help to reduce and avoid the migration, deformation and rupture of the implant in bone tissue affected with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (OI). Designs of different prototypes were made in CAD, where the mechanical properties in the device's soul are analyzed, as well as in the distal and proximal threads of the male and female implants. Likewise, 3D bone models of an affected infant with OI were obtained to perform finite element simulations of the interaction between the bone and the intramedullary device. The results show that the prototypes proposed decrease the strain of the device, as well as the increase in the stiffnes of the bone-prosthesis relationship. Also, the threads generated less stress in the union with the bone, which provides less damage to the bone tissue. The work was limited to the numerical analysis of the redesign of intramedullary telescopic implants for patients with OI. Concluding that the semicircular geometry ? of cane, gives an optimal result in the tests carried out, while the ACME threads provide a better subjection in the distal and proximal epiphyses of the long bones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A fully automated and real-time heartbeat ventricular arrhythmia classifier based on a single lead designed to be fast and efficient in the training and evaluation phase. • The arrhythmia classifier can be applied to different ECG leads with excellent performance. Potential application to wearables with unconventionally placed electrodes. • Trained and evaluated with different databases, allowing the inter-patient and inter-database classification. Abstract Background and objective: In this work, we develop a fully automatic and real-time ventricular heartbeat classifier based on a single ECG lead. Single ECG lead classifiers can be especially useful for wearable technologies that provide continuous and long-term monitoring of the electrocardiogram. These wearables usually have a few non-standard leads and the quality of the signals depends on the user physical activity. Methods: The proposed method uses an Echo State Network (ESN) to classify ECG signals following the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) recommendations with an inter-patient scheme. To achieve real-time classification, the classifier itself and the feature extraction approach are fast and computationally efficient. In addition, our approach allows transferring the knowledge from one database to another without additional training. Results: The classification performance of the proposed model is validated on the MIT-BIH arrhythmia and INCART databases. The sensitivity and precision of the proposed method for MIT-BIH arrhythmia database are 95.3 and 88.8 for the modified lead II and 90.9 and 89.2 for the V1 lead. The results reported are further compared to the existing methodologies in literature. Our methodology is a competitive single lead ventricular heartbeat classifier, that is comparable to state-of-the-art algorithms using multiple leads. Conclusions: The proposed fully automated, single-lead and real-time heartbeat classifier of ventricular heartbeats reports an improved classification accuracy in different leads of the evaluated databases in comparison with other single lead heartbeat classifiers. These results open the possibility of applying our methodology to wearable long-term monitoring devices with an unconventional placement of the electrodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of incisional hernias (IHs) is still high after midline laparotomy (ML). There is an increasing body of evidence that prophylactic mesh placement (PMP) can be safe and efficient in the short-term outcomes, but there still are some concerns about the potential long-term complications of these meshes. This study describes our long-term PMP experience.Methods: Observational and prospective study including all patients undergoing the use of prophylactic onlay large-pore polypropylene meshes for the closure of ML since 2008 to 2014. Outcome measures included demographics, perioperative details, wound complications, recurrences, reoperations and chronic complications.Results: A cohort of 172 patients was analysed: 75% elective surgery, 25% emergency cases. Mean age was 68 years with mean body mass index (BMI) of 28.6 kg/m2. Wound classification: 6.4% clean; 85% clean-contaminated; 1.2% contaminated and 8.1% dirty. Follow-up of patients was up to 8 years (mean: 5 ± 1.6). Two meshes were removed due to chronic infection in first six postoperative months. Of the 13 patients (9.02%) who developed IH, 5 of them have been reoperated for IH repair without any difficulty related to previous mesh. During follow-up, 8 patients have been reoperated for other reasons and the integrity of abdominal wall was also checked. After the comparative study, higher BMI and emergency surgery were still risk factors for IH despite PMP.Conclusions: In our setting, the use of polypropylene prophylactic meshes in MLs is safe, efficient and durable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Extreme events associated with global warming, such as ocean heat waves, can have contrasting fitness consequences for different species, thereby modifying the structure and composition of marine communities. Here, we examined the effects of a laboratory simulated heat wave on the physiology and performance of two Indo-Pacific crustacean species: the shrimp Rhynchocinetes durbanensis and the hermit crab Calcinus laevimanus. We exposed the crustaceans to a control temperature or to a +5 °C temperature (25 °C vs 30 °C) for two consecutive weeks, and weekly analyzed protective proteins, antioxidant activity, and lipid peroxides in muscle and visceral mass. Fulton's K, total protein, %C, and C:N molar ratio of muscle tissue were also analyzed at the end of the experiment. Results showed that 1) the most responsive tissues were the muscle in the shrimp species and the visceral mass in the hermit crab species; 2) biomarker responses in both species occurred mostly after 7 days of exposure; 3) temperature stress led to an increase in biomarker levels; 4) highest biomarker fold-changes were detected in protective chaperones and antioxidants superoxide dismutase and glutathione-S-transferase; 4) integrated biomarker indices suggested poorer health status in individuals subjected to the heat wave; 5) performance changes at the organism level were only detected in R. durbanensis ; and 6) mortality rates of both species remained unchanged with the heat wave. Finally, we concluded that these species are capable of physiological adjustments in response to rapid environmental changes, which ultimately confers them with enough thermal tolerance to withstand this simulated heat wave without major consequences for fitness. Graphical abstract Image 1 Highlights • Effects of a marine heat wave were tested in two tropical crustaceans. • Heat wave elicited a cellular stress response that was time-dependent. • Specimens subjected to a heat wave showed poorer health condition. • Heat wave did not affect mortality rates in neither species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obesity is characterized by hypertrophy and hyperplasia of adipose tissue, which have been related to the development of hypoxia and insulin resistance. On the other hand, caveolin-1 (Cav-1), one of the main proteins of caveolae, promotes insulin receptor (IR) phosphorylation and the subsequent activation of insulin signaling. In this work we investigated the effect of hypoxia on Cav-1 regulation and the status of insulin signaling in 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Our results showed that hypoxia inhibited adipogenesis and insulin signaling in adipocytes. Furthermore, 48 h of hypoxia reduced insulin-induced glucose uptake while increased basal glucose uptake. This result was consistent with the upregulation of glucose transporter GLUT1 and the downregulation of GLUT4, which also showed defective translocation to plasma membrane when adipocytes were stimulated with insulin. In addition, the expression of caveolae-related proteins was reduced by hypoxia and chromatin immunoprecipitation assay demonstrated that Cav-1 transcription was directly regulated by HIF-1. These results strengthen the role of caveolae in insulin signaling and help to explain adipocyte response to hypoxia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a building stock energy model for the estimation of hourly electricity consumption for a large group of residential buildings. A Monte Carlo model stochastically generates a large sample of dwellings representative of the building stock and the correspondent number of user profiles, statistically supported by a web survey about the use of energy in dwellings for space heating and cooling. The model uses hourly energy balance equations to estimate energy needs and calculates the mean annual electricity consumption for regularly occupied dwellings with an error below 3%. Model is also validated against independent smart-metered data of about 250 dwellings. Hourly electricity consumption results feature an overall normalised mean absolute error of 11% and normalised root mean square error of 16%. The maximum relative difference is  ± 72% and the maximum absolute error is ≃217 Wh/h. The model is considered to be able to predict hourly electricity consumption accurately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The objective of this study was to determine the diagnostic value of maternal serology for the diagnosis of Salmonella Dublin bovine abortion and stillbirth. A retrospective, unmatched, case–control study was carried out using twenty year's data (1989–2009) from bovine foetal submissions to an Irish government veterinary laboratory. Cases (n = 214) were defined as submissions with a S. Dublin culture‐positive foetus from a S. Dublin unvaccinated dam where results of maternal S. Dublin serology were available. Controls (n = 415) were defined as submissions where an alternative diagnosis other than S. Dublin was made in a foetus from an S. Dublin unvaccinated dam where the results of maternal S. Dublin serology were available. A logistic regression model was fitted to the data: the dichotomous dependent variable was the S. Dublin foetal culture result, and the independent variables were the maternal serum agglutination test (SAT) titre results. Salmonella serology correctly classified 87% of S. Dublin culture‐positive foetuses at a predicted probability threshold of 0.44 (cut‐off at which sensitivity and specificity are at a maximum, J = 0.67). The sensitivity of the SAT at the same threshold was 73.8% (95% CI: 67.4%–79.5%), and the specificity was 93.2% (95% CI: 90.3%–95.4%). The positive and negative predictive values were 84.9% (95% CI: 79.3%–88.6%) and 87.3% (95% CI: 83.5%–91.3%), respectively. This study illustrates that the use of predicted probability values, rather than the traditional arbitrary breakpoints of negative, inconclusive and positive, increases the diagnostic value of the maternal SAT. Veterinary laboratory diagnosticians and veterinary practitioners can recover from the test results, information previously categorized, particularly from those results declared to be inconclusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of reduction of multisymplectic manifolds by the action of Lie groups is stated and discussed, as a previous step to give a fully covariant scheme of reduction for classical field theories with symmetries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on the experimental data analysis of electroencephalography (EEG) data, in which multiple sensors are recording oscillatory voltage time series. The EEG data analyzed in this manuscript has been acquired using a low-cost commercial headset, the Emotiv EPOC+. Our goal is to compare different techniques for the optimal estimation of collective rhythms from EEG data. To this end, a traditional method such as the principal component analysis (PCA) is compared to more recent approaches to extract a collective rhythm from phase-synchronized data. Here, we extend the work by Schwabedal and Kantz (PRL 116, 104101 (2016)) evaluating the performance of the Kosambi-Hilbert torsion (KHT) method to extract a collective rhythm from multivariate oscillatory time series and compare it to results obtained from PCA. The KHT method takes advantage of the singular value decomposition algorithm and accounts for possible phase lags among different time series and allows to focus the analysis on a specific spectral band, optimally amplifying the signal-to-noise ratio of a common rhythm. We evaluate the performance of these methods for two particular sets of data: EEG data recorded with closed eyes and EEG data recorded while observing a screen flickering at 15 Hz. We found an improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of the collective signal for the KHT over the PCA, particularly when random temporal shifts are added to the channels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In developing countries with limited medical infrastructure, preservation and recovery of renal function following acute kidney injury (AKI) is difficult. In conjunction with clinical presentation, rapid measurement of renal function is essential for early diagnosis and management. Especially in low- and middle-income countries, simple interventions such as hydration and avoidance of toxins have the highest probability of recovery. In such contexts, measurement of urine volume and osmolality and serum creatinine with point-of-care devices and saliva urea nitrogen dipsticks can be valuable. This review aims to identify currently available methodologies to assist in reaching the ambitious goal of the 0by25 initiative to eliminate all preventable deaths from AKI by 2025. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]