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In this research paper, an adaptive sliding controller designed to enhance seismic response mitigation in structural systems with prescribed performance is presented. The performance function converts the error to a converging error within a predefined neighborhood. Furthermore, the adaptive algorithm is also designed to ensure the controller operates effectively under uncertain system parameters. The serial–parallel estimation model was adopted for parameter vector and error model. The Lyapunov function is chosen to ensure the convergence stability of the control strategy. Through comprehensive theoretical analysis and simulation studies, the efficiency of the performance function has been simulated for a one-degree-of-freedom structure. Simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the control algorithm in reducing the seismic response.

The prevalence and predictors of mortality following an ischemic stroke or intracerebral hemorrhage have not been well established among patients in Vietnam. 2885 consecutive diagnosed patients with ischemic stroke and intracerebral hemorrhage at ten stroke centres across Vietnam were involved in this prospective study. Posthoc analyses were performed in 2209 subjects (age was 65.4 ± 13.7 years, with 61.4% being male) to explore the clinical characteristics and prognostic factors associated with 90-day mortality following treatment. An explainable machine learning model using extreme gradient boosting and SHapley Additive exPlanations revealed the correlation between original clinical research and advanced machine learning methods in stroke care. In the 90 days following treatment, the mortality rate for ischemic stroke was 8.2%, while for intracerebral hemorrhage, it was higher at 20.5%. Atrial fibrillation was an elevated risk of 90-day mortality in the ischemic stroke patient (OR 3.09; 95% CI 1.90–5.02, p<0.001). Among patients with intracerebral hemorrhage, there was no statistical significance in those with hypertension compared to their counterparts without hypertension (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.41–1.03, p > 0.05). The baseline NIHSS score was a significant predictor of 90-day mortality in both patient groups. The machine learning model can predict a 0.91 accuracy prediction of death rate after 90 days. Age and NIHSS score were in the top high risks with other features, such as consciousness, heart rate, and white blood cells. Stroke severity, as measured by the NIHSS, was identified as a predictor of mortality at discharge and the 90-day mark in both patient groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arenavirus-based vectors are being investigated as therapeutic vaccine candidates with the potential to elicit robust CD8 T-cell responses. We compared the immunogenicity of replicating (artPICV and artLCMV) and non-replicating (rPICV and rLCMV) arenavirus-based vectors expressing simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) Gag and Envelope (Env) immunogens in treatment-naïve non-human primates. Heterologous regimens with non-replicating and replicating vectors elicited more robust SIV IFN-γ responses than a homologous regimen, and replicating vectors elicited significantly higher cellular immunogenicity than non-replicating vectors. The heterologous regimen elicited high anti-Env antibody titers when administered intravenously, with replicating vectors inducing significantly higher titers than non-replicating vectors. Intramuscular immunization resulted in more durable antibody responses than intravenous immunization for both vector platforms, with no difference between the replicating and non-replicating vectors. Overall, both replicating and non-replicating arenavirus vectors generated robust T- and B-cell-mediated immunity to SIV antigens in treatment-naïve non-human primates, supporting further evaluation of these vectors in a clinical setting for HIV therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is an intelligent material whose mechanical properties can be rapidly adjusted under a magnetic flux density. This material's mechanical properties change due to the interaction between the iron particles inside the material. Understanding the influence of magnetic flux on iron particles in MRE materials is essential. Studies have proven that the distance and angle of inclination between iron particles significantly affect the magnetic flux density and the interaction force between the particles. Therefore, the distribution of iron particles substantially affects the material's properties. However, understanding magnetic flux through magnetic particles is necessary to improve the material's mechanical properties and to design magnetic field systems in systems using the materials. This study maps three problems affecting magnetic flux density to the properties of MRE. First, the mechanical characteristics of the MRE were presented in the frequency, amplitude, magnetic flux density, and magnetic flux inclination domains relative to the particle chain. Next, the influence of the magnetic flux on the particle chain was investigated based on the dipole interaction model and the magnetic force on iron particles. The finite element method also explored the magnetic flux distribution in the MRE material. Finally, the response of the single-degree-of-freedom damping system is tested experimentally. The results show that the influence of the magnetic flux on the iron particles in the MRE material is significant. The research results aim to improve the mechanical properties of MRE materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tirabrutinib is an irreversible, small‐molecule Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor, which was approved in Japan (VELEXBRU) to treat B‐cell malignancies and is in clinical development for inflammatory diseases. As an application of model‐informed drug development, a semimechanistic pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) model for irreversible BTK inhibition of tirabrutinib was developed to support dose selection in clinical development, based on clinical PK and BTK occupancy data from two phase I studies with a wide range of PK exposures in healthy volunteers and in subjects with rheumatoid arthritis. The developed model adequately described and predicted the PK and PD data. Overall, the model‐based simulation supported a total daily dose of at least 40 mg, either q.d. or b.i.d., with adequate BTK occupancy (> 90%) for further development in inflammatory diseases. Following the PK/PD modeling and simulation, the relationship between model‐predicted BTK occupancy and preliminary clinical efficacy data was also explored and a positive trend was identified between the increasing time above adequate BTK occupancy and better efficacy in treatment for RA by linear regression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The magnetorheological elastomer (MRE) is a smart material widely used in recent vibration systems. A system using these materials often faces difficulties designing the controller such as unknown parameters, hysteresis state, and input constraints. First, a model is designed for the MRE-based absorber to portray the behavior of MRE and predict the appropriate electric current supplied. The conventional adaptive controller often suffers from so-called control singularities. The singularity-free adaptive controller is proposed to eliminate the singularity with parametric uncertainty. The proposed controller consists of four components: an adaptive linearizing controller, a deputy adaptive neural network controller, an auxiliary part designed for the controller to overcome the input constraint problem, and a smooth switching algorithm used to exchange the takeover rights of the two controllers. Moreover, the controller is designed to obtain the stabilization of hysteretic state estimation for the vibration system. The adaptive algorithms are proposed to update the unknown system parameters and to observe the unmeasurable hysteretic state. Meanwhile, closed-loop system stability is comprehensively assessed. Finally, the simulation performed on a quarter-car suspension with an MRE-based absorber shows the proposed controller's efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Smith-Magenis syndrome (SMS) is a complex syndrome involving intellectual disabilities, sleep disturbance, behavioural problems, and a variety of craniofacial, skeletal, and visceral anomalies. While the majority of SMS cases harbor an ~3.5 Mb common deletion on 17p11.2 that encompasses the retinoic acid induced-1 (RAI1) gene, some patients carry small intragenic deletions or point mutations in RAI1. We present data on two cases of Smith-Magenis syndrome with mutation of RAI1. Both cases are phenotypically consistent with SMS and RAI1 mutation but also have other anomalies not previously reported in SMS, including spontaneous pneumothoraces. These cases also illustrate variability in the SMS phenotype not previously shown for RAI1 mutation cases, including hearing loss, absence of self-abusive behaviours, and mild global delays. Sequencing of RAI1 revealed mutation of the same heptameric C-tract (CCCCCCC) in exon 3 in both cases (c.3103delC one case and and c.3103insC in the other), resulting in frameshift mutations. Of the seven reported frameshift mutations occurring in poly C-tracts in RAI1, four cases (~57%) occur at this heptameric C-tract. Collectively, these results indicate that this heptameric C-tract is a preferential hotspot for single nucleotide insertion/deletions (SNindels) and therefore, should be considered a primary target for analysis in patients suspected for mutations in RAI1. We expect that as more patients are sequenced for mutations in RAI1, the incidence of frameshift mutations in this hotspot will become more evident.

In this study, experimental results presenting the development of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) powered by bipolar and unipolar pulses are compared. The experimental results showed that discharge current peaks in the case of DBD driven by repetitive unipolar pulses were about three times lower than those in the case of DBD driven by bipolar pulses. It is well known that if DBD is driven by bipolar pulses, the effect of surface charge on dielectric layers from the preceding discharge helps to ignite consecutive discharges at the same locations where the previous discharges already struck. In contrast, in the case of DBD generated by using the low-frequency unipolar pulses, the consecutive DBDs just could be initiated after the system erases part of the prehistory effect of surface charge deposition on dielectric layers from the preceding discharge, and then the following discharge was ignited at erased or uncharged areas. It was critical that a part of the energy stored in the dielectric layer and discharge gap by the previous discharge needed to be released to develop the next discharge. The results of this study provided an outlook for estimating the effectiveness of the DBD plasma system used in specific applications such as DBD for flow actuators or surface treatment where the use of unipolar DBDs at low frequency may be necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyses the effects of corruption on Vietnamese provinces and cities' economic growth using a dynamic panel data analysis with a system generalized method of moments approach. Although this study investigates both the direct and indirect effects of corruption, it focuses more on the direct effects. The estimation results consistently support the assertion that, in general, corruption is detrimental to economic growth. Disaggregating this total effect, however, reveals more noteworthy issues in the Vietnamese context. Corruption directly impedes growth rates by reducing the efficiency of investments, and this effect is more intense in provinces and cities with higher investment rates. However, the adverse direct impact of corruption may be alleviated by its positive impact on investment rates, which is an unexpected finding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For most existing semiactive systems, it is commonly known that the stability and tracking performance will deteriorate in a real application due to the input constraints and nonlinearity in the system. In this study, in order to overcome the above shortcomings, a novel bench-scale suspension plant using a magnetorheological elastomer (MRE)-based absorber accompanied with an adaptive and global neural-network-based tracking controller is introduced. The adaptive neural network (ANN) is used to estimate the uncertain dynamics of the quarter-car model. The novel scheme consists of three parts, including a conventional ANN controller dominating the active region of neurons, a robust controller serving as a temporary controller to pull back the state into the active region when the neural approximation falls outside, and a switch to be used to monitor the activation of the neural part and switch the control authority between the above two controllers. The controller ensures that a globally uniform ultimate boundedness can be achieved. Furthermore, an auxiliary design system was added to the controller in order to deal with the effects of input constraints, and the state was analyzed for the tracking of the stabilization. The control scheme ensures that the output of the system converges to the vicinity of a reference trajectory and all the signals are globally, uniformly, and ultimately bounded. The simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed controller can effectively suppress the vibrations of the semiactive quarter car. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A method for producing ferulic acid by ultrasound-assisted, homogeneous, base-catalyzed hydrolysis of γ-oryzanol was developed. Experiments were conducted using various reaction temperatures and ratios of γ-oryzanol to base catalyst in both homogeneous and heterogeneous systems. The reaction performed without ultrasound under the homogeneous conditions of potassium hydroxide/γ-oryzanol ratio (wt/wt) 20 : 1 and 75°C gave a ferulic acid yield of 83.3% in 3 h. Acceleration of the homogeneous reaction using ultrasound irradiation at 20 (horn type) and 200 kHz (planar type) was explored by evaluating the kinetic parameters. At 30°C, the ratios of ultrasonic irradiation at low (20 kHz, 50 W) and high (200 kHz, 50 W) frequencies versus those of the heating method increased by 2.0- and 1.4-fold in comparison with those at 60°C, respectively. The contribution of ultrasonic irradiation (50 W) to the hydrolysis reaction decreased with increase of temperature. However, irradiation at 20 kHz and a power of 180 W gave a 94% ferulic acid yield at 60°C in 3 h. These results indicate that the use of low frequency (horn type and high-power irradiation) enabled yields higher than 90% to be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies have established that 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA) can initiate skin tumourigenesis in conventional furred mouse models by acting on hair follicle stem cells. However, further cancer progression depends on repeated applications of tumour promoter agents. This study evaluated the timeline involved in skin tumourigenesis and progression in immunocompetent hairless SKH1-hr mice with dysfunctional hair follicles using only DMBA with no additional tumour promoter agents. The results showed that topical application of 30 µg (117 nmol) of DMBA over the back and flank regions of the mouse once a week and 15 µg (58.5 nmol) twice a week produced skin tumours after 7–8 weeks. However, by week 14 a heavy benign tumour load required the mice to be euthanized. Lowering the DMBA dose to 15 µg (58.5 nmol) once a week produced tumours more slowly and allowed the mice to be studied for a longer period to week 23. This low-dose DMBA regimen yielded a high percentage of malignant tumours (58.8%) after 23 weekly applications. Additionally DMBA-treated skin showed an increase in mean epidermal thickness in comparison to untreated and acetone-treated skin. Despite the aberrant hair follicles in SKH1-hr mice, this chemically driven skin cancer model in hairless mice can serve as a suitable alternative to the ultraviolet-induced skin cancer models and can be reliably replicated as demonstrated by both the pilot and main experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early detection of cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (cSCC) can enable timely therapeutic and preventive interventions for patients. In this study, in vivo nonlinear optical imaging (NLOI) based on two-photon excitation fluorescence (TPEF) and second harmonic generation (SHG), was used to non-invasively detect microscopic changes occurring in murine skin treated topically with 7,12-dimethylbenz(a)anthracene (DMBA). The optical microscopic findings and the measured TPEF-SHG index show that NLOI was able to clearly detect early cytostructural changes in DMBA treated skin that appeared clinically normal. This suggests that in vivo NLOI could be a non-invasive tool to monitor early signs of cSCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]