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Wheat (Triticum aestivum) yield predictions can be improved by using multispectral remote sensing to identify different genotypes and crop growth stages. We propose an innovative machine learning technique aimed at classifying diverse wheat crop genotypes and providing accurate estimations of plant age. Multispectral reflectance data was obtained from different sites where various wheat genotypes were cultivated. This approach involved analyzing incoming radiation and canopy light reflectance across five distinct spectral bands using a multispectral radiometer. The newly collected remote sensing data was utilized as input for the machine learning algorithm. Impressively, the random forest model achieved an accuracy rate of 98.77% in wheat crop genotype classification. Furthermore, the proposed approach's effectiveness was confirmed through a 10‐fold cross‐validation mechanism. Moreover, a multiple linear regression model for predicting the age of wheat genotypes explained 91% of the observed variation. These findings signify significant progress in wheat crop genotype and age prediction, ultimately leading to enhanced wheat yield. This research addresses a significant challenge in wheat crop genotype and age prediction.We propose an innovative machine learning methodology to classify different wheat crop genotypes.We collected different wheat seed genotype samples using the multispectral radiometer.

AbstractThe interaction between the anti-apoptotic Bcl-2 protein and its antagonist Bax is essential to the regulation of the mitochondrial pathway of apoptosis. For this work, we built models by homology of Bcl-2 full-sequence length in monomeric form (apo-Bcl-2) and in complex with the BH3 domain of Bax (holo-Bcl-2). The Bcl-2 protein was analyzed with its transmembrane domain anchored to a lipidic bilayer of DPPC, imitating physiological conditions. We performed molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the GROMACS program. Conformational changes showed that the flexible loop domain (FLD) tends to fold on itself and move towards the main core. Furthermore, the BH3 peptide of pro-apoptotic protein Bax, showed an allosteric stabilizing effect on FLD upon being bound to the hydrophobic cleft of the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2, causing a reduction in its structural flexibility. However, FLD is distal from the main core of Bcl-2. Principal component analysis (PCA) showed a weak correlation between FLD residues and BH3 peptide from Bax. Upon MD simulations, several new contacts appeared between FLD and some α-helices of the core of Bcl-2, which contribute to maintaining the stability of Bcl-2. This knowledge sheds light on the behavior of Bcl-2 in the cell's native environment.Communicated by Ramaswamy H. Sarma

Anesthesiologists are increasingly required to care for frail elderly patients. A detailed knowledge of the influence of age on the pharmacokinetics and dynamics of the anesthetic drugs is essential for optimal safety and care. For most of the anesthetic drugs, the elderly need lower doses to achieve the same plasma concentrations, and at any given plasma and effect-site concentration, they will have more profound clinical effects than younger patients. Caution is required, with close monitoring of clinical effects and active titration of dose administration to achieve the desired level of effect, ideally following the “start low, go slow” principle.

This paper proposes a modified version of the Dwarf Mongoose Optimization Algorithm (IDMO) for constrained engineering design problems. This optimization technique modifies the base algorithm (DMO) in three simple but effective ways. First, the alpha selection in IDMO differs from the DMO, where evaluating the probability value of each fitness is just a computational overhead and contributes nothing to the quality of the alpha or other group members. The fittest dwarf mongoose is selected as the alpha, and a new operator ω is introduced, which controls the alpha movement, thereby enhancing the exploration ability and exploitability of the IDMO. Second, the scout group movements are modified by randomization to introduce diversity in the search process and explore unvisited areas. Finally, the babysitter's exchange criterium is modified such that once the criterium is met, the babysitters that are exchanged interact with the dwarf mongoose exchanging them to gain information about food sources and sleeping mounds, which could result in better-fitted mongooses instead of initializing them afresh as done in DMO, then the counter is reset to zero. The proposed IDMO was used to solve the classical and CEC 2020 benchmark functions and 12 continuous/discrete engineering optimization problems. The performance of the IDMO, using different performance metrics and statistical analysis, is compared with the DMO and eight other existing algorithms. In most cases, the results show that solutions achieved by the IDMO are better than those obtained by the existing algorithms.

During the surgical procedure of deep brain stimulation (DBS), insertion of an electrode in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) frequently causes a temporary improvement of motor symptoms, known as the microlesion effect (MLE). The objective of this study was to determine the correlation between the intraoperative MLE and the clinical effect of DBS.

Introduction: The aim of endovascular treatment (EVT) for acute ischaemic stroke is to relieve the cerebral tissue hypoxia in the area supplied by the occluded artery. Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) monitoring is developed to assess regional cerebral tissue oxygen haemoglobin saturation (rSO2). We aimed to investigate whether NIRS can detect inter- and intra-hemispheric rSO2differences during EVT.Patients and methods: In this prospective, observational study, patients undergoing EVT for a proximal intracranial occlusion of the anterior circulation between May 2019 and November 2020, were included. A four-wavelength NIRS monitor (O3®Regional Oximeter (Masimo, Irvine, CA)) was used to measure rSO2during EVT with sensors placed over the temporal lobes in 20 patients and over the frontal lobes in 13 patients. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test was used to test for inter-hemispheric rSO2differences after groin puncture and after recanalisation, and intra-hemispheric rSO2changes before and after recanalisation.Results: In the temporal cohort, no inter-hemispheric rSO2differences were observed after groin puncture (median [IQR] rSO2affected hemisphere, 70% [67–73] and unaffected hemisphere, 70% [66–72]; p= 0.79) and after recanalisation. There were no intra-hemispheric rSO2changes over time. In the frontal cohort, no inter- and intra-hemispheric rSO2differences or changes were found.Discussion and conclusion: A NIRS monitor could not detect inter- and intra-hemispheric rSO2differences or changes during EVT, irrespective of the sensor position. It is likely that even with temporal sensor application, a significant proportion of the received NIRS signal was influenced by oxygenation of surrounding tissues.

ABSTRACTBlood is a valuable commodity in society due to its ability to save lives during crises. Furthermore, because of the scarcity of blood donors, blood assignment by blood banks requires meticulous planning and solid issuing policy. The multiple components of a blood banking system contribute to the complexity of maintaining an efficient structure for such a system. One particular aspect relates to the stochastic nature of the demand for blood units. This paper implements a mathematical model for a blood bank system in South Africa and additionally explores the possible implementation of a hybrid global optimisation metaheuristic approach for the efficient assignment of blood products in the blood bank system. The approximate optimisation method used is the hybridisation of the symbiotic organism search (SOS) algorithm and a pre-processing ecosystem services (PES) techniques. In order to show the practicability of the model and evaluate the accuracy and robustness of the newly proposed hybrid algorithm, several numerical computations were performed using synthetically generated datasets that fall within the initial blood volume bounds of 500 to 20, 000. The experimental results indicate that the hybrid symbiotic organisms search ecosystem services optimisation algorithm offers better solutions for blood allocation under a dynamic environment than does the standard symbiotic organism search algorithm and other previously proposed hybrid versions of the SOS methods.

(Br J Anaesth. 2021;126:17–20. doi: 10.1016/j.bja.2020.10.003)Pharmacokinetics, while perhaps seen as arcane and opaque to the clinical practice of anesthetists, is the research data on which the foundation of all drug dosing derives. Developing the clinical dosing of tranexamic acid (TXA) was based on its pharmacokinetic properties and calibrated for administration in various applications. As an antifibrinolytic, TXA is a competitive inhibitor of plasmin, binding to its lysyl groups to inhibit the plasmin-fibrin binding interaction. It has been administered orally and intravenously as an inexpensive intervention in the setting of blood loss due to trauma, hemorrhage, and other hemostatic emergencies.

Arithmetic optimization algorithm (AOA) is one of the recently proposed population-based metaheuristic algorithms. The algorithmic design concept of the AOA is based on the distributive behavior of arithmetic operators, namely, multiplication (M), division (D), subtraction (S), and addition (A). Being a new metaheuristic algorithm, the need for a performance evaluation of AOA is significant to the global optimization research community and specifically to nature-inspired metaheuristic enthusiasts. This article aims to evaluate the influence of the algorithm control parameters, namely, population size and the number of iterations, on the performance of the newly proposed AOA. In addition, we also investigated and validated the influence of different initialization schemes available in the literature on the performance of the AOA. Experiments were conducted using different initialization scenarios and the first is where the population size is large and the number of iterations is low. The second scenario is when the number of iterations is high, and the population size is small. Finally, when the population size and the number of iterations are similar. The numerical results from the conducted experiments showed that AOA is sensitive to the population size and requires a large population size for optimal performance. Afterward, we initialized AOA with six initialization schemes, and their performances were tested on the classical functions and the functions defined in the CEC 2020 suite. The results were presented, and their implications were discussed. Our results showed that the performance of AOA could be influenced when the solution is initialized with schemes other than default random numbers. The Beta distribution outperformed the random number distribution in all cases for both the classical and CEC 2020 functions. The performance of uniform distribution, Rayleigh distribution, Latin hypercube sampling, and Sobol low discrepancy sequence are relatively competitive with the Random number. On the basis of our experiments’ results, we recommend that a solution size of 6,000, the number of iterations of 100, and initializing the solutions with Beta distribution will lead to AOA performing optimally for scenarios considered in our experiments.

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective surgical treatment for patients with various neurological and psychiatric disorders. Clinical improvements rely on careful patient selection and accurate electrode placement. A common method for target localization is intraoperative microelectrode recording (MER). To facilitate MER, DBS surgery is traditionally performed under local or regional anesthesia. However, sedation or general anesthesia is sometimes needed for patients who are unable to tolerate the procedure fully awake because of severe motor symptoms, psychological distress, pain, or other forms of discomfort. The effect of anesthetic drugs on MER is controversial but likely depends on the type and dose of a particular anesthetic agent, underlying disease, and surgical target. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of the current literature on the anesthetic drugs most often used for sedation and anesthesia during DBS surgery, with a focus on their effects on MERs.

Cellulomonas udaproduces Xyn11A, moderately thermostable xylanase, with optimal activity at 50 °C and pH 6.5. An improvement in the biochemical properties of Xyn11A was achieved by site-directed mutagenesis approach. Wild-type xylanase, Xyn11A-WT, and its mutant Xyn11A-N9Y were expressed in Escherichia coli, and then both enzymes were purified and characterized. Xyn11A-N9Y displayed optimal activity at 60 °C and pH 7.5, an upward shift of 10 °C in the optimum temperature and an upward shift of 1 unit in optimum pH; also, it manifested an 11-fold increase in thermal stability at 60 °C, compared to that displayed by Xyn11A-WT. Molecular dynamics simulations of Xyn11A-WT and Xyn11A-N9Y suggest that the substitution N9Y leads to an array of secondary structure changes at the N-terminal end and an increase in the number of hydrogen bonds in Xyn11A-N9Y. Based on the significant improvements, Xyn11A-N9Y may be considered as a candidate for several biotechnological applications.Graphical AbstractSignificant improvements in the biochemical properties such as optimal temperature and thermal stability of Xyn11A were achieved by site-directed mutagenesis and molecular dynamic studies.

Dexmedetomidine can be used for sedation and analgesia and has been approved for this use by the European Medicines Agency since 2017. It causes an arousable state of sedation, which is beneficial during neurosurgical procedures that require the patient to cooperate with neurological tests (i.e. tumor surgery or implantation of deep brain stimulators). During procedures where monitoring of somatosensory evoked potentials and/or motor evoked potentials is required, dexmedetomidine can be used as an adjunct to general anesthesia with GABAergic drugs to decrease the dose of the latter when these drugs impair the monitoring signals. The use of dexmedetomidine has also been associated with neuroprotective effects and a decreased incidence of delirium, but studies confirming these effects in the peri-operative (neuro-)surgical setting are lacking.

In laboratory animals, exposure to most general anaesthetics leads to neurotoxicity manifested by neuronal cell death and abnormal behaviour and cognition. Some large human cohort studies have shown an association between general anaesthesia at a young age and subsequent neurodevelopmental deficits, but these studies are prone to bias. Others have found no evidence for an association. We aimed to establish whether general anaesthesia in early infancy affects neurodevelopmental outcomes.

The bin-packing problem (BPP) is an age-old NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem, which is defined as the placement of a set of different-sized items into identical bins such that the number of containers used is optimally minimized. Besides, different variations of the problem do exist in practice depending on the bins dimension, placement constraints, and priority. More so, there are several important real-world applications of the BPP, especially in cutting industries, transportation, warehousing, and supply chain management. Due to the practical relevance of this problem, researchers are consistently investigating new and improved techniques to solve the problem optimally. Nature-inspired metaheuristics are powerful algorithms that have proven their incredible capability of solving challenging and complex optimization problems, including several variants of BPPs. However, no comprehensive literature review exists on the applications of the metaheuristic approaches to solve the BPPs. Therefore, to fill this gap, this article presents a survey of the recent advances achieved for the one-dimensional BPP, with specific emphasis on population-based metaheuristic algorithms. We believe that this article can serve as a reference guide for researchers to explore and develop more robust state-of-the-art metaheuristics algorithms for solving the emerging variants of the bin-parking problems.

Patient safety, quality of care, and nurse-sensitive indicators are common areas of focus in international research relating to patient outcomes. Recent literature relating specifically to nurse-sensitive indicators has leaned towards an emphasis upon negative outcomes, such as ‘missed care’, ‘delayed care’, ‘failure to rescue’ or a reduction in adverse events rather than focus on nursing activities that lead to positive outcomes. In addition, little is known about nurse perspectives of nurse-sensitive indicators for positive patient outcomes.

IMPORTANCE: The development and expansion of intracranial hematoma are associated with adverse outcomes. Use of tranexamic acid might limit intracranial hematoma formation, but its association with outcomes of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is unclear. OBJECTIVE: To assess whether prehospital administration of tranexamic acid is associated with mortality and functional outcomes in a group of patients with severe TBI. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This multicenter cohort study is an analysis of prospectively collected observational data from the Brain Injury: Prehospital Registry of Outcome, Treatments and Epidemiology of Cerebral Trauma (BRAIN-PROTECT) study in the Netherlands. Patients treated for suspected severe TBI by the Dutch Helicopter Emergency Medical Services between February 2012 and December 2017 were included. Patients were followed up for 1 year after inclusion. Data were analyzed from January 10, 2020, to September 10, 2020. EXPOSURES: Administration of tranexamic acid during prehospital treatment. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The primary outcome was 30-day mortality. Secondary outcomes included mortality at 1 year, functional neurological recovery at discharge (measured by Glasgow Outcome Scale), and length of hospital stay. Data were also collected on demographic factors, preinjury medical condition, injury characteristics, operational characteristics, and prehospital vital parameters. RESULTS: A total of 1827 patients were analyzed, of whom 1283 (70%) were male individuals and the median (interquartile range) age was 45 (23-65) years. In the unadjusted analysis, higher 30-day mortality was observed in patients who received prehospital tranexamic acid (odds ratio [OR], 1.34; 95% CI, 1.16-1.55; P < .001), compared with patients who did not receive prehospital tranexamic acid. After adjustment for confounders, no association between prehospital administration of tranexamic acid and mortality was found across the entire cohort of patients. However, a substantial increase in the odds of 30-day mortality persisted in patients with severe isolated TBI who received prehospital tranexamic acid (OR, 4.49; 95% CI, 1.57-12.87; P = .005) and after multiple imputations (OR, 2.05; 95% CI, 1.22-3.45; P = .007). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study found that prehospital tranexamic acid administration was associated with increased mortality in patients with isolated severe TBI, suggesting the judicious use of the drug when no evidence for extracranial hemorrhage is present.

ABSTRACTBackground:Essential fatty acids (EFAs) and non-essential fatty acids (nEFAs) exert experimental and clinical neuroprotection in neurodegenerative diseases. The main EFAs, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), nEFAs, and oleic acid (OA) contained in olive and fish oils are inserted into the cell membranes, but the exact mechanism through which they exert neuroprotection is still unknown.Objectives and Methods:In this study, we assessed the fatty acids content and membrane fluidity in striatal rat synaptosomes after fatty acid-rich diets (olive- or a fish-oil diet, 15% w/w). Then, we evaluated the effect of enriching striatum synaptosomes with fatty acids on the oxidative damage produced by the prooxidants ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) or quinolinic acid (QUIN).Results and Discussion:Lipid profile analysis in striatal synaptosomes showed that EPA content increased in the fish oil group in comparison with control and olive groups. Furthermore, we found that synaptosomes enriched with fatty acids and incubated with QUIN or FeSO4 showed a significant oxidative damage reduction. Results suggest that EFAs, particularly EPA, improve membrane fluidity and confer antioxidant effect.

Solitary fibrous tumor (SFT) is a rare primary central nervous system neoplasm that usually presents as a dural-based mass. Awareness of the entity is limited by the rarity of the tumor which renders it prone to misdiagnosis. We present two cases of SFT located in the right parafalx and intraventricular region. The cases were classified as WHO grade 1 and grade 2, respectively. The present study discusses the radiological, histomorphological, and immunohistochemical features of SFT, with emphasis on potential diagnostic pitfalls that may lead to erroneous diagnosis.

Machine learning (ML) has emerged as a prominent field of research in computer science and other related fields, thereby driving advancements in other domains of interest. As the field continues to evolve, it is crucial to understand the landscape of highly cited publications to identify key trends, influential authors, and significant contributions made thus far. In this paper, we present a comprehensive bibliometric analysis of highly cited ML publications. We collected a dataset consisting of the top-cited papers from reputable ML conferences and journals, covering a period of several years from 1959 to 2022. We employed various bibliometric techniques to analyze the data, including citation analysis, co-authorship analysis, keyword analysis, and publication trends. Our findings reveal the most influential papers, highly cited authors, and collaborative networks within the machine learning community. We identify popular research themes and uncover emerging topics that have recently gained significant attention. Furthermore, we examine the geographical distribution of highly cited publications, highlighting the dominance of certain countries in ML research. By shedding light on the landscape of highly cited ML publications, our study provides valuable insights for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners seeking to understand the key developments and trends in this rapidly evolving field.

Determination and analysis of total chromium (Cr) in soil and plant tissues help estimate the associated health risk; however, this might overestimate the risk because not all Cr from the soil is transported to above-ground plant tissues, mainly the edible part of most plants. Here we present the analysis of Cr partition in soils and paddy rice plant samples which currently missing in Usangu agro-ecosystem. The bio-concentration (BF) and translocation factors (TF) estimating the distribution and partitions of Cr in plant tissues (roots, straws, and grains), and associated environmentally and health risks were determined in Usangu agro-ecosystem. The Cr concentration in soils ranged from 4.58 to 42.76 mg/kg which was within maximum permissible limits (100 mg/kg), with the total Cr in plants samples ranging from 12.88 to 57.34 mg/kg. It was found that straws and roots had higher Cr concentrations than grains indicating a less health risk in edible parts. The BF > 1 was observed in 83.3% of the studied sites indicating higher Cr uptakes by plants. Furthermore, TF < 1 was observed in 67.33% of the studied sites indicating more Cr accumulated in below-ground biomass (roots) than above-ground biomass (straws and grains) (33.33%), thus less risk to edible plant parts. This study indicates that high Cr in agricultural soils may accelerate Cr accumulation in plant tissues or above-ground plant biomass leading to health risks.

Absence of interlobar collateral ventilation is key to successful endobronchial valve treatment in patients with severe emphysema and can be functionally assessed by using the Chartis measurement. This system has been validated during spontaneous breathing, undergoing procedural sedation (PS), but can also be performed under general anesthesia. Performing the Chartis measurement under PS is often challenging because of coughing, mucus secretion, and difficulties in maintaining an adequate level of sedation. The objective of this study was to investigate whether there is a difference in Chartis measurement outcomes between PS and general anesthesia.

Adaptive learning presents educators with a possibility of providing learning opportunities tailored to each student’s individual needs. As such, adaptive learning may contribute to both improving student learning outcomes and increasing student motivation and engagement. In this paper, we present the findings from a pilot of adaptive quizzes in a fully online unit at an Australian higher education provider. Results indicate that adaptive quizzes contribute to student motivation and engagement, and students perceive that adaptive quizzes support their learning. Interestingly, our results reveal that student scores did not increase significantly as a result of the introduction of adaptive quizzes, indicating that students may not be best placed to assess their own learning outcomes. Despite this, we conclude that adaptive quizzes have value to increase student motivation and engagement.

Published ahead of print May 4, 2017.

Essential fatty acids have an important effect on oxidative stress-related diseases. The Huntington's disease (HD) is a hereditary neurologic disorder in which oxidative stress caused by free radicals is an important damage mechanism. The HD experimental model induced by quinolinic acid (QUIN) has been widely used to evaluate therapeutic effects of antioxidant compounds. The aim of this study was to test whether the fatty acid content in olive- or fish-oil-rich diet prevents against QUIN-related oxidative damage in rats. Rats were fed during 20 days with an olive- or a fish-oil-rich diet (15% w/w). Posterior to diet period, rats were striatally microinjected with QUIN (240 nmol/µl) or saline solution. Then, we evaluated the neurological damage, oxidative status, and gamma isoform of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPARγ) expression. Results showed that fatty acid-rich diet, mainly by fish oil, reduced circling behavior, prevented the fall in GABA levels, increased PPARγ expression, and prevented oxidative damage in striatal tissue. In addition none of the enriched diets exerted changes neither on triglycerides or cholesterol blood levels, nor or hepatic function. This study suggests that olive- and fish-oil-rich diets exert neuroprotective effects.

Little is known about the incidence of severe critical events in children undergoing general anaesthesia in Europe. We aimed to identify the incidence, nature, and outcome of severe critical events in children undergoing anaesthesia, and the associated potential risk factors.