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An epidemic can cause enormous damage through financial and economic losses in addition to impaired health and loss of life. Good epidemic models can provide insights into ongoing waves that may facilitate public health responses and other readiness. Epidemic systems can undergo or consist of more than two driving forces; actually, they involve several. This paper deals with the modeling epidemics with two wave dynamics. We present a mathematical model with three driving forces, which is more compatible with the biology of the epidemic than conventional bilogistic and bi‐Richards ones, which have two driving forces. Simulation results show that our proposed model can predict turning points (waves) and cumulative case numbers during the two waves of epidemics satisfactorily. As a sample examination of our proposed model against real data, we show that the second phase of a typical epidemic can be detected by using less case data past the beginning of the epidemic than the bi‐Richards model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cardiac tamponade is an important and emergent complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), purulent pericarditis is rare despite the high frequency of pericardial effusion in SLE. We describe the first SLE case of Haemophilus influenzae type-f pericarditis with cardiac tamponade with SLE as the initial presentation. The pathophysiology and therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although cardiac tamponade is an important and emergent complication of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), purulent pericarditis is rare despite the high frequency of pericardial effusion in SLE. We describe the first SLE case ofHaemophilus influenzaetype-f pericarditis with cardiac tamponade with SLE as the initial presentation. The pathophysiology and therapy are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we will consider the stationary Stokes equations with the periodic boundary condition and we will study approximation property of the solutions by using the properties of the Fourier series. Finally, we will discuss that our estimation for approximate solutions is optimal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of genetic engineering has revolutionized the field of immunology by allowing the utilization of intrinsic antibody structures. One of the biologics that are being produced by recombinant antibody technology is single‐chain fragments variable (scFv). Genes of variable regions, the heavy and light chains that are genetically linked into a single transcript by a short flexible linker peptide, are used to generate this fragment from cellular and synthetic libraries. The specificity and affinity of these molecules are comparable to those of parental antibodies. Fusion with marker proteins and other potent molecules improves their stability, circulation half‐life, activity, and efficient purification. Besides, this review comprises construction protocols, therapeutics, and diagnostic applications of scFv, as well as related challenges. Nonetheless, there are still issues with efficacy, stability, safety, intracellular administration, and production costs that need to be addressed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar and wind energy for water electrolysis are gaining interest in contemporary times. In this context, platinum catalysts are commonly recognized as the standard for the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), yet their effectiveness is constrained by their high cost and inadequate stability. Combining Ru and Ni lowers the material expense and greatly improves the electrocatalytic performance. Therefore, in the present study, a 3D nanostructured amorphous RuO2 aerogel is doped with various concentrations of Ni for enhanced HER activity. The results indicate that the 4% Ni‐RuO2 aerogel exhibits a 0D colloidal network featuring interconnected mesopores, with a high specific surface area of 241.5 m2·g−1. In addition, the 4% Ni‐RuO2 aerogel catalyst exhibits the lowest overpotentials of 63 and 122 mV at current densities of 10 and 50 mA·cm−2, respectively, along with enhanced hydrogen adsorption activity for the HER due to the 3D porous structure of the aerogel. However, a further increase in Ni doping leads to a decrease in HER activity due to a reduction in the number of catalytic Ru sites. The study found that doping with the optimum amount of Ni causes a redistribution of charges on the sample surface, thereby uncovering more reaction sites and enhancing the electrocatalytic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dendritic cells (DCs) are specialized antigen-presenting cells that are crucial for maintaining self-tolerance, initiating immune responses against pathogens, and patrolling body compartments. Despite promising aspects, DC-based immunotherapy faces challenges that include limited availability, immune escape in tumors, immunosuppression in the tumor microenvironment, and the need for effective combination therapies. A further limitation in DC-based immunotherapy is the low population of migratory DC (around 5%–10%) that migrate to lymph nodes (LNs) through afferent lymphatics depending on the LN draining site. By increasing the population of migratory DCs, DC-based immunotherapy could enhance immunotherapeutic effects on target diseases. This paper reviews the importance of DC migration and current research progress in the context of DC-based immunotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate photovoltaic (PV) power forecasting is essential for the stable and reliable operation of PV power generation systems. Recently, various deep learning- (DL-) based forecasting models have been proposed for accurate forecasting, but newly built systems cannot benefit from them due to the absence of PV power data. Although zero-shot methods based on single site can be used for PV power forecasting, they suffer from performance degradation problems when the characteristics of the source data and target data are different. To address this issue, we propose a novel zero-shot PV power forecasting scheme that leverages historical data from multiple PV generation systems at different sites. The proposed scheme constructs an individual forecasting model using historical data from each PV generation system. Then, two correlation coefficients are calculated for each forecasting model: one based on the correlation between the input variables of the source data and target data and the other on the correlation between the input variables and output variables of the source data. Lastly, the final forecasting value is calculated as a weighted sum of the predicted values of the constructed forecasting models for the input variables of the target data. In the extensive experiments for diverse DL models for forecasting, correlation coefficient types for weights, and data time intervals, the combination of recurrent neural network, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and solar-noon time yielded the best prediction performance, with an improvement of up to 34.47% in mean absolute error and up to 15.94% in root mean square error compared to the best single-site zero-shot prediction. In addition, in experiments on PV power data from 9 cities in Korea using this combination, the proposed scheme achieved the best predictive performance in almost all cases and the second-best performance with a very narrow margin only in a few cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large megawatts offshore wind turbine (OWT) with low natural frequency and low damping is subjected to significant vibration from wind and wave actions in its service environment. The one-dimensional prestressed tuned mass damper (PSTMD) is further extended to a 3D-PSTMD for the control of vibrations of the OWT in this paper. A multiple DOFs coupled system of turbine, blades, tower, and foundation under aerodynamic and hydrodynamic forces is considered in this study of vibration mitigation at fore-aft and side-side directions. The dynamic model is derived with the Lagrangian equation, and the superiorities of the PSTMD are proved from the perspective of theoretical analysis. Aerodynamic and hydrodynamic loads are generated with the blade element momentum (BEM) theory and Morrison equation, and the dynamic responses of different systems are computed by using the Wilson-θ method. The analysis results indicate that a damping coefficient of the 3D-PSTMD corresponding to the first vibration mode can be tuned to take up values larger than that in traditional three-dimensional pendulum (TMD) (3D-PTMD). The bidirectional vibration suppression competences of the 3D-PSTMD in the dynamic responses when under aerodynamic and hydrodynamic loads are better than those of the traditional 3D-PTMD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We will prove the generalized Hyers-Ulam stability of the (inhomogeneous) diffusion equation with a source, ut(x,t)-k△u(x,t)=f(x,t), for a class of scalar functions with continuous second partial derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an infection that can result in lung issues such as pneumonia and, in extreme situations, the most severe acute respiratory syndrome. COVID-19 is widely investigated by researchers through mathematical models from different aspects. Inspired from the literature, in the present paper, the generalized deterministic COVID-19 model is considered and examined. The basic reproduction number is obtained which is a key factor in defining the nonlinear dynamics of biological and physical obstacles in the study of mathematical models of COVID-19 disease. To better comprehend the dynamical behavior of the continuous model, two unconditionally stable schemes, i.e., mixed Euler and nonstandard finite difference (NSFD) schemes are developed for the continuous model. For the discrete NSFD scheme, the boundedness and positivity of solutions are discussed in detail. The local stability of disease-free and endemic equilibria is demonstrated by constructing Jacobian matrices for NSFD scheme; nevertheless, the global stability of aforementioned equilibria is verified by using Lyapunov functions. Numerical simulations are also presented that demonstrate how both the schemes are effective and suitable for solving the continuous model. Consequently, the outcomes obtained through these schemes are completely according to the solutions of the continuous model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-heating effects and short channel effects are unappealing side effects of multigate devices like gate-all-around nanowire-field-effect transistors (FETs) and fin FETs, limiting their performance and posing reliability difficulties. This paper proposes the use of the novel nanosheet FET (NsFET) for complementary metal-oxide semiconductor technology nodes that are changing. Design guidelines and basic measurements for the sub-nm node are displayed alongside a brief introduction to the roadmap to the sub-nm regime and electronic market. The device had an ION/IOFF ratio of more than 105, according to the proposed silicon-based NsFET. For low-power and high-switching applications, the results were verified and achieved quite well. When an NS width increases, although, the threshold voltage (Vth) tends to fall, resulting in a loss in subthreshold effectiveness. Furthermore, the proposed device performance, like subthreshold swing ION/IOFF, was studied with a conventional 2D FET. Hence, the proposed NsFET can be a frontrunner for ultra-low power and high-speed switching applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To describe four peripheral spondyloarthritis patients presenting with fever and severe systemic inflammatory response mimicking infection. Methods. Between 2017 and 2019, four patients with the final diagnosis of peripheral spondyloarthritis had atypical presentation of fever and severe systemic inflammatory response requiring hospital admission and extensive workup. Results. We reported four patients who were admitted to the hospital for fever and arthritis. They all had laboratory tests of the severe systemic inflammatory response (leukocytosis, thrombocytosis, high ESR, and high CRP) concerning infection. They underwent extensive workup for infectious causes, including septic arthritis, which came back negative. Other rheumatic diseases that are known to present with fever such as adult-onset Still's disease, reactive arthritis, and crystal arthritis were all excluded. The final diagnosis of spondyloarthritis was made during their follow-up: three patients with peripheral spondyloarthritis and one with psoriatic arthritis. All patients received conventional DMARDs (methotrexate and sulfasalazine) and two patients received tumor necrosis factor inhibitors in addition to conventional DMARDs to control their disease. Conclusion. We observed a subgroup of peripheral spondyloarthritis patients presenting with fever and severe systemic inflammatory response requiring hospitalization. Recognition of this subgroup is important and should be considered once an infection is ruled out. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the hyperstability problem for the well-known σ -Jensen's functional equation f x y + f x σ y = 2 f x for all x , y ∈ S , where S is a semigroup and σ is an involution of S. We present sufficient conditions on E ⊂ ℝ + S 2 so that the inhomogeneous form of σ -Jensen's functional equation f x y + f x σ y = 2 f x + φ x , y for all x , y ∈ S , where the inhomogeneity φ is given, can be E -hyperstable on S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this manuscript, we study the properties and equivalence results for different forms of quadratic functional equations. Using the Brzdȩk and Ciepliński fixed-point approach, we investigate the generalized Hyers–Ulam–Rassias stability for the 3-variables quadratic functional equation in the setting of 2-Banach space. Also, we obtain some hyperstability results for the 3-variables quadratic functional equation. The results obtained in this paper extend several known results of the literature to the setting of 2-Banach space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. The clinical and imaging features of asymptomatic carriers of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 and symptomatic COVID-19 patients. Methods. The clinical and chest computed tomography imaging data of 47 asymptomatic carriers and 36 symptomatic COVID-19 patients were derived. All patients underwent 4–6 CT scans over a period of 2–5 days. Results. The bulk of asymptomatic carriers who developed symptoms and most of the COVID-19 patients were older than 18 years of age with a decreased lymphocyte count, abnormal hepatic and renal function, and increased D-dimer and C-reactive protein. In the early stage, the pulmonary lesion involved mostly 1–2 lobes at the peripheral area in asymptomatic carriers but more than three lobes at both the central and peripheral areas in COVID-19 patients. In the progression stage, the lesion of asymptomatic carriers extended from the peripheral to the central area, and no significant difference was found in the lesion range compared with the symptomatic control group. In early improvement stage, the lesion was rapidly absorbed, and lesions were located primarily at the peripheral area in asymptomatic carriers; contrastingly, lesions were primarily located at both the central and peripheral areas in symptomatic patients. Asymptomatic carriers reflected a significantly shorter duration from disease onset to peak progression stage compared with the symptomatic. Conclusions. Asymptomatic carriers are a potential source of transmission and may become symptomatic COVID-19 patients despite indicating less severe pulmonary damage, earlier improvement, and better prognosis. Early isolation and intervention can eliminate such carriers as potential sources of transmission and improve their prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxygen is an essential factor in the cellular microenvironment with pivotal effects on neural development with a particular sensitivity of midbrain neural stem cells (NSCs) to high atmospheric oxygen tension. However, most experiments are still performed at atmospheric O2 levels (21%, normoxia), whereas mammalian brain tissue is physiologically exposed to substantially lower O2 tensions around 3% (physioxia). We here performed serial Affymetrix gene array analyses to detect expression changes in mouse fetal NSCs from both midbrain and cortical tissues when kept at physioxia compared to normoxia. We identified more than 400 O2-regulated genes involved in cellular metabolism, cell proliferation/differentiation, and various signaling pathways. NSCs from both regions showed a low number but high conformity of regulated genes (9 genes in midbrain vs. 34 in cortical NSCs; 8 concordant expression changes) after short-term physioxia (2 days) with metabolic processes and cellular processes being the most prominent GO categories pointing to cellular adaption to lower oxygen levels. Gene expression profiles changed dramatically after long-term physioxia (13 days) with a higher number of regulated genes and more diverse expression patterns when comparing the two NSC types (338 genes in midbrain vs. 121 in cortical NSCs; 75 concordant changes). Most prominently, we observed a reduction of hits in metabolic processes but an increase in biological regulation and signaling pointing to a switch towards signaling processes and stem cell maintenance. Our data may serve as a basis for identifying potential signaling pathways that maintain stem cell characteristics in cortical versus midbrain physioxic stem cell niches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the expression of protein disulfide isomerase A3 (PDIA3/ERP57) in cervical cancer and its clinical prognostic significance as well as its function and possible action mechanism in the progression of cervical cancer. Based on TIMER2.0 database, the human protein map (Human Protein Atlas) was used to determine the expression level of PDIA3 protein for the analysis of PDIA3 expression in 39 The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) tumors. The PDIA3 expression in cervical cancer tissues in the TCGA and Genotype-Tissue Expression databases was further verified based on the GEPIA2 database to analyze the relationship between the PDIA3 expression and the pathological stage of cervical cancer patients. Immunohistochemistry was used to detect the PDIA3 expression in cervical cancer tissue microarray, including 111 cancer tissue samples and 24 adjacent cancer tissue samples, and the relationship between PDIA3 protein expression and clinical characteristics of patients with cervical cancer was analyzed. The Kaplan–Meier method and log-rank test were used for survival analysis. Based on the cBioPortal database, the Spearman's and Pearson's methods were used to analyze the correlation between PDIA3 expression and DNA methylation. The correlation between PDIA3 expression and the infiltration levels of each immune cell in cervical cancer was evaluated. The STRING was used to construct protein interaction network. Based on LinkedOmics database, the Spearman's method was used to analyze the co-expressed genes of PDIA3 in TCGA cervical cancer. The gene ontology functional enrichment analysis was performed on Top 50 differentially co-expressed genes based on DAVID database. The PDIA3 expression in cervical cancer tissues was significantly higher than that in normal tissues, which (F = 2.74 , PR (>F) = 0.0436) was significantly increased with the progression of tumor stage, and PDIA3 showed strong immunoreactivity in cervical cancer tissues. In cervical cancer patients, overall survival (P = 0.014), disease-specific survival (P = 0.013), disease-free interval (P = 0.023), and progression-free interval (P = 0.001) in those with high expression of PDIA3 were significantly lower than those with low expression, suggesting that high expression of PDIA3 was associated with poor prognosis. In cervical cancer, high expression of PDIA3 was associated with DNA methylation and negatively correlated with B cell memory (r = − 0.132 , P = 0.021), T cell regulatory (r = − 0.127 , P = 0.026), monocytes (r = − 0.204 , P = 0), and macrophages M2 (r = − 0.142 , P = 0.013), whereas positively correlated with levels of NK cell activated (r = 0.162 , P = 0.005) and mast cells activated (r = 0.119 , P = 0.037). The genes positively correlated with PDIA3 expression included HSPA5 and PPIB, which were mainly enriched in biological processes, such as endoplasmic reticulum (ER) protein folding and ER stress response. PDIA3 can be used as a marker of poor prognosis of cervical cancer. The expression level of PDIA3 is closely related to the survival and prognosis of cervical cancer patients, DNA methylation, and immune cell infiltration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional Langevin system has great advantages in describing the random motion of Brownian particles in complex viscous fluid. This manuscript deals with a delayed nonlinear fractional Langevin system with nonsingular exponential kernel. Based on the fixed point theory, some sufficient criteria for the existence and uniqueness of solution are established. We also prove that this system is UH- and UHR-stable attributed to the nonlinear analysis and inequality techniques. As applications, we provide some examples and simulations to illustrate the availability of main findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Few studies have specifically observed the relationship of sarcopenia, visceral obesity, or their joint effects with lean NAFLD in patients with diabetes. We aimed to investigate the associations of lean NAFLD with sarcopenia, visceral obesity, and sarcopenic visceral obesity (SV) in Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods. Altogether, 1,112 T2DM patients with BMI <25 kg/m2 were enrolled, and 33.18% of them were diagnosed with lean NAFLD by abdominal ultrasonography. Body composition markers were measured by bioelectrical impedance (BIA). Skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) was calculated as appendicular skeletal muscle mass (ASM) divided by weight, and sarcopenia was defined as SMI < 1 standard deviation SD below the sex-specific average for a young reference population. Visceral obesity was defined as visceral fat area VFA ≥ 100 c m 2 . Participants were categorized into one of the four body composition groups: nonsarcopenia/nonvisceral obesity (NN), nonsarcopenia/visceral obesity (NV), sarcopenia/nonvisceral obesity (SN), and SV. Results. Compared to those in the NN group, patients in the NV and SN groups had a higher risk of lean NAFLD after full adjustments (NV: OR = 1.74 ; 95% CI: 1.09, 2.78; SN: OR =2.07; 95% CI: 1.23, 3.46). Of note, patients in the SV group had the highest odds of lean NAFLD (OR = 3.29 ; 95% CI: 2.10, 5.17). There were no significant interaction effects between sarcopenia and metabolic risk factors on prevalent lean NAFLD. Conclusions. The current study demonstrated that SV was more closely associated with higher prevalent lean NAFLD than sarcopenia or visceral obesity alone in Chinese patients with T2DM. Besides, the harmful effect of sarcopenia on lean NAFLD was not influenced by visceral obesity or other metabolic risk factors. We hypothesize that increasing skeletal muscle mass more than just reducing visceral fat might be more optimal for the prevention and management of lean NAFLD, which needs further investigation in future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The importation of COVID‐19 cases in China is due to the returning of Chinese citizens abroad, where the majority of cases stand. This study aimed to evaluate the risk of importing COVID‐19 into the Sichuan Province of China and conduct a short‐term risk prediction assessment and analysis. Data on COVID‐19 cases in each country and Sichuan were collected, as well as visitors to Sichuan, population, area, and medical resources in each city in Sichuan province. According to different control strategies of entry aviation and quarantine control, we built models of epidemic transmission to estimate the risk for imported COVID‐19 cases in 21 cities of Sichuan. Within 140 days of the policy change's implementation, the number of susceptible, infected, and recovered people in all cities followed the same pattern over time: (1) the number of susceptible people declined slowly at first, then accelerated to reach a stable value; (2) the number of infections gradually increased to a peak, then decreased; and (3) the number of recovered patients gradually increased to a stable value. Under the four different scenarios, there were no significant differences between the risk peaks because the social distance did not change. However, the peak time would be delayed due to the implementation of flight control and nucleic acid detection measures. The improvement of foreign epidemics (reduction of attenuation factors) all delayed the arrival of the peak risk value in Chengdu by about 20 days; however, the size of the peak value did not change significantly. The improvement of nucleic acid detection accuracy delayed the arrival of the peak risk value in Chengdu, but the size of the peak value did not change significantly. Therefore, flight control and the improvement of nucleic acid detection accuracy and overseas epidemic situations have positively affected the prevention and control of the epidemic in Sichuan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the uniqueness and existence of the solutions of four types of non-singular delay difference equations by using the Banach contraction principles, fixed point theory, and Gronwall's inequality. Furthermore, we discussed the Hyers–Ulam stability of all the given systems over bounded and unbounded discrete intervals. The exponential stability and controllability of some of the given systems are also characterized in terms of spectrum of a matrix concerning the system. The spectrum of a matrix can be easily obtained and can help us to characterize different types of stabilities of the given systems. At the end, few examples are provided to illustrate the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Semen Strychni (SS) is an effective Chinese medicine formula for treating myasthenia gravis (MG) in clinics. Nonetheless, its molecular mechanism is largely unknown. Objective. Using network pharmacology, molecular docking, and experimental validation, we aim to identify the therapeutic effect of SS on MG and its underlying mechanism. Methods. The main ingredients of SS and their targets and potential disease targets for MG were extracted from public databases. The protein-protein interaction (PPI) network was constructed using the STRING 11.0 database, and Cytoscape was used to identify the hub targets. In addition, Gene Ontology (GO) and the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) were used to identify molecular biological processes and signaling pathways. Then, AutoDock Via conducted molecular docking. The experimental autoimmune myasthenia gravis (EAMG) model in female Lewis rats, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) were performed to confirm the effect and mechanism of SS on MG. Results. The following active compounds and hub targets were identified by screening and analyzing: isobrucine, vomicine, (S)-stylopine, strychnine, brucine-N-oxide, brucine and AKT1, MAPK1, MAPK14, CHRM1, ACHE, and CHRNA4. KEGG enrichment analyses indicated that the cholinergic synapse and neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction signaling pathway may be necessary. The results of molecular docking revealed that the main active ingredients bind well to the hub targets. In vivo experiments proved that SS could improve the weight loss and Lennon scores in the EAMG model. Experiments in molecular biology showed that SS could treat MG by affecting the cholinergic synapse through the respective antibody, receptor, and key enzymes in the cholinergic pathway. Conclusion. This study provided a preliminary overview of the active constituents, primary targets, and potential pathways of SS against MG. SS ameliorated EAMG by regulating the cholinergic synaptic junction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune progressive disease, associated with many pathophysiological consequences. Owing to the adverse effects and higher costs of pharmaceuticals, people are now looking for complementary and alternative remedies. In this milieu, the present study was designed to explore the therapeutic potential of walnuts against FCA‐induced arthritis in rat models. Purposely, 50 Sprague Dawley rats were housed in a well‐ventilated animal room and separated into 5 groups of 10 rats each. The rats were categorized as G0 (negative control), G1 (positive control, i.e., FCA induced untreated arthritic rats), G2 (arthritic rats treated with MTX), G3 (arthritic rats treated with walnut feed), and G4 (arthritic rats treated with walnut extract), with an efficacy trial lasting for 42 days. The physical analysis explicated that paw swelling was significantly improved by 10%–12.8% in treatment groups after the intervention when compared with positive control. Moreover, biochemical analyses revealed significantly lower levels of ESR, CRP, and RF in rats treated with walnut‐based interventions when compared to positive control. ESR values were decreased by 62.4% and 69.92% in G3 and G4, whereas CRP levels were improved by 56.20% and 77.78% in G3 and G4 when compared with G1. Likewise, RF values decreased in G2, G3, and G4 by 64.71%, 55.88%, and 69.24%, respectively when compared to G1. The histological examination demonstrated the potential role of walnut‐based interventions in reducing the severity of disease by decreasing cell infiltration, bone erosion, and paw inflammation. Meanwhile, the gene expression analysis revealed that walnut‐based interventions protected the paw joints from damage by downregulating the RANKL‐OPG pathway. Conclusively, walnut feed and extract may serve as potent anti‐arthritic interventions with no side effects. Practical applications: Plant‐based therapeutics are effective in the prevention and management of various chronic diseases. The current research explored the anti‐arthritic potential of walnuts. Walnut feed and extract effectively reduced the serum arthritic biomarkers as well as downregulated the genes involved in bone destruction. Thus, the inclusion of dietary ingredients having therapeutic potential such as walnuts may be synchronized in clinical practices to ameliorate arthritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presently, photovoltaic systems are an essential part of the development of renewable energy. Due to the inherent dependence of solar energy production on climate variations, forecasting power production using weather data has a number of financial advantages, including dependable proactive power trading and operation planning. Megacity electricity generation is regarded as a current research problem in the modern features of urban administration, particularly in developing nations such as Iran. Machine learning could be used to identify renewable resources like transformational participation (TP) and photovoltaic (PV) technology; based on resident motivational strategies, the smart city concept offers a revolutionary suggestion for supplying power in a metropolitan region. The sustainable development agenda is introduced at the same time as this approach. Therefore, the article's goals are to estimate Mashhad, Iran's electrical power needs using machine learning technologies and to make innovative suggestions for motivating people to generate renewable energy based on the expertise of experts. The potential of solar power over the course of a year is then assessed in our research study in Mashhad, Iran, using the solar photovoltaic modelling tool. The present idea in this research uses linear regression techniques to forecast utilising artificial neural networks (ANN). The most important factor in sizing the installation of solar power producing units is the daily mean sun irradiation. The amount of power that will be produced by solar panels can be estimated using the mean sun irradiance at a particular spot. A precise prediction can also be used to determine the complexity of the system, return on investment (ROI), and system load metrics. Several regression techniques and solar irradiance-related metrics have been combined to forecast the mean sun irradiation in terms of kilowatt hours per square metre. Azimuth and zenith factors considerably enhance the performance of the model, as demonstrated by the proposed method. The results of this study demonstrate 99.9% reliability rate for ANN model prediction of the electrical power usage during the summer and winter seasons. Thus, the maximum of power requirement during the hottest and coolest periods can be managed by using the photovoltaic system's renewable power projections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Preoperative eye-covering training for 3 hours has been reported to effectively reduce the incidence of emergence delirium (ED) in preschool children. However, most children can only maintain the eye being covered for less than 60 min, and shortening eye-covering duration can also achieve similar clinical effects as long duration of eye-covering. This study was designed to compare the effects of 30-min and 60-min eye-covering pretreatment based on cartoon education only on preoperative anxiety, postoperative ED, and pain score after ophthalmic surgery with general anesthesia in preschool-aged children. Methods. Preschool-aged children (3–7 years) who were diagnosed with cataract, blepharoptosis, trichiasis, strabismus, eyelid tumor, and underwent ophthalmic surgery with general anesthesia from August 2021 to January 2022 were recruited. A total of 228 patients were randomly assigned at a 1 : 1:1 ratio to receive 30-min eye covering (30-min group), 60-min eye covering (60-min group) pretreatment, or programmed education only (C group). The preoperative anxiety, postoperative emergence delirium, and pain were compared between the groups. Results. The preoperative anxiety score, postoperative ED score, and incidence of ED in the 30-min group (n = 76) and 60-min group (n = 72) were significantly lower than those in the C group (n = 76), demonstrating a significant between-group difference (P < 0.001). However, the 30-min group and 60-min group had no significant difference in the abovementioned outcome measures (P > 0.05). Moreover, no significant difference was found in postoperative pain scores among the three groups (H = 0.274, P = 0.872). Conclusion. Both 30-min and 60-min eye-covering pretreatments significantly reduce preoperative anxiety and postoperative ED after ophthalmic surgery with general anesthesia in preschool-aged children. The effects of the two groups show no intergroup difference, but the 30-min eye-covering pretreatment may be more convenient for practicing. Trial Registration. This study was registered with the No. NCT04973150. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wireless communication signals are often affected by noise and interference in the channel during transmission, which makes it difficult for the receiver to analyze. The signal enhancement technology can suppress the noise and interference in the signal, so as to improve the communication quality. It is one of the main research directions of signal processing. Classical enhancement methods separate the signals through separable transform domain. Artificial construction of the corresponding separable transform domain requires prior information of noise and interference, but they have the characteristics of randomness. Further, these methods usually use high-level features and rely on statistics, so they can only deal with specific noise conditions. At present, deep learning is increasingly applied in the field of wireless communications due to its powerful feature extraction ability for large sample sets. In this paper, a communication signal enhancement model based on generative adversarial network (GAN) is proposed. Compared with classical methods, the signal is operated directly and the model is trained end-to-end. It can adapt to different noise conditions and avoid the above problems. An independent and invisible test set is used to evaluate several comparative methods. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study the Ulam-Hyers-Mittag-Leffler stability for a linear fractional order differential equation with a fractional Caputo-type derivative using the fractional Fourier transform. Finally, we provide an enumeration of the chemical reactions of the differential equation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Superspreading, or overdispersion in transmission, is a feature of SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission which results in surging epidemics and large clusters of infection. The dispersion parameter is a statistical parameter used to characterize and quantify heterogeneity. In the context of measuring transmissibility, it is analogous to measures of superspreading potential among populations by assuming that collective offspring distribution follows a negative‐binomial distribution. We conducted a systematic review and meta‐analysis on globally reported dispersion parameters of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection. All searches were carried out on 10 September 2021 in PubMed for articles published from 1 January 2020 to 10 September 2021. Multiple estimates of the dispersion parameter have been published for 17 studies, which could be related to where and when the data were obtained, in 8 countries (e.g. China, the United States, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore). High heterogeneity was reported among the included studies. The mean estimates of dispersion parameters range from 0.06 to 2.97 over eight countries, the pooled estimate was 0.55 (95% CI: 0.30, 0.79), with changing means over countries and decreasing slightly with the increasing reproduction number. The expected proportion of cases accounting for 80% of all transmissions is 19% (95% CrI: 7, 34) globally. The study location and method were found to be important drivers for diversity in estimates of dispersion parameters. While under high potential of superspreading, larger outbreaks could still occur with the import of the COVID‐19 virus by traveling even when an epidemic seems to be under control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IgG4-related disease and granulomatosis with polyangiitis share several features as well as the presence of ANCA antibodies and serum IgG4 immunoglobulins. It is often difficult to distinguish between two entities. We hereby report the case of a patient portraying the clinical conundrum with clinical and biological features of the two diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The next generation of IoT, IoMT, and wearable bioelectronics demands the development of a novel form of thin‐film and flexible energy storage devices that offer high energy and power densities, mechanical reliability, and biocompatibility. Hydrogels are a class of materials that can be engineered with a range of desired properties, including stretchability, ionic conductivity, biocompatibility, adhesiveness, and mechanical match with organs, as they can be designed with Young's modulus in the range of the human skin. This review covers different types of hydrogels, including biopolymer hydrogels, carbon‐based hydrogels, and self‐healing hydrogels, and presents their use in the components of supercapacitors and batteries such as electrolyte; electrode, binder, separating membrane, and current collector. We also explain how these hydrogels contribute to improved properties of the energy storage devices and include cases in which the hydrogel is used for several functions in the same device. The contribution of hydrogels in the development of flexible energy storage devices and their impact on electrochemical performance are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shixiao powder comes from the Formularies of the Bureau of People's Welfare Pharmacies in the Song Dynasty and consists of two herbs, Puhuang (PH) and Wulingzhi (WLZ). PH-WLZ is a commonly used drug pair for the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD), and its clinical effect is remarkable. However, our understanding of the mechanism of treatment of CHD is still unclear. In this study, the method of network pharmacology was used to explore the mechanism of PH-WLZ in the treatment of CHD. A total of 56 active ingredients were identified from PH-WLZ, of which 93 targets of 41 active ingredients overlapped with those of CHD. By performing Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) enrichment analysis, we obtained the main pathways associated with CHD and those associated with the mechanism of PH-WLZ in the treatment of CHD. By constructing the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network of common targets, 10 hub genes were identified. Based on the number of hub genes contained in the enrichment analysis, we obtained the key pathways of PH-WLZ in the treatment of CHD. The key KEGG pathway in the treatment of CHD by PH-WLZ is mainly enriched in atherosclerosis, inflammation, immunity, oxidative stress, and infection-related pathways. Moreover, the results of molecular docking showed that the active ingredients of PH-WLZ had a good affinity with the hub genes. The results indicate that the mechanism of PH-WLZ in the treatment of CHD may be related to regulation of lipid metabolism, regulation of immune and inflammatory responses, regulation of downstream genes of fluid shear stress, antiaging and oxidative stress, and virus inhibition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Macrophage activation syndrome (MAS) is a severe complication of systemic juvenile arthritis (sJIA), and early diagnosis is critical for survival. The objective of this study was to evaluate the 2016 MAS classification criteria in a Danish sJIA cohort and to compare different sets of criteria for the early identification of MAS including the HLH-2004 diagnostic guidelines, MS score, and the ferritin/ESR ratio. Methods. Data was extracted from medical charts of 32 patients with sJIA from a single Danish paediatric rheumatology center diagnosed between January 2014 and June 2021. Patients who met the 2016 MAS classification criteria were classified as having MAS. From a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) plot, the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated for the prediction of patients with MAS according to the 2016 MAS classification criteria using either MS score or the ferritin/ESR ratio. Results. Of the cohort, eight (25%) patients were classified as having MAS according to the 2016 MAS classification criteria compared to only three (9.4%) patients fulfilling the HLH-2004 diagnostic guidelines, all of which had recurrent MAS. The ferritin/ESR ratio showed the highest sensitivity (100%) but the lowest specificity (72.2%). In comparison, the MS score had a higher specificity (90.9%) for the identification of MAS according to the 2016 classification criteria. In our cohort, the most optimal cut-off point for the ferritin/ESR ratio was ≥19.4 (sensitivity: 100%, specificity: 72.2%) and ≥ -1.5 for the MS score (sensitivity: 71.4%, specificity: 91.7%), respectively. Conclusion. The 2016 MAS classification criteria were a valuable tool in the discrimination of sJIA with and without MAS. The HLH-2004 diagnostic guidelines showed the lowest sensitivity, ferritin/ESR ratio, and the lowest specificity compared to the MS score where an acceptable high sensitivity and specificity was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evodia rutaecarpa has multiple pharmacological effects and is widely used in the prevention and treatment of migraine, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other chronic diseases; however, the pharmacological effects of its active compound evodiamine (Evo) have not been thoroughly investigated. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of Evo on antiplatelet activation and thrombosis. We discovered that Evo effectively inhibited collagen-induced platelet activation but had no effect on platelet aggregation caused by activators such as thrombin, ADP, and U46619. Second, we found that Evo effectively inhibited the release of platelet granules induced by collagen. Finally, evodiamine inhibits the transduction of the SFKs/Syk/Akt/PLCγ2 activation pathway in platelets. According to in vivo studies, Evo significantly prolonged the mesenteric thromboembolism induced by ferric chloride and had no discernible effect on the coagulation function of mice. In conclusion, the antiplatelet and thrombotic effects of Evo discovered in this study provide an experimental basis for the investigation of the pharmacological mechanisms of Evo and the development of antiplatelet drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) has predominantly damaged the poultry industry worldwide. The fundamental prevention and control strategy for HPAI includes early detection and timely intervention enforcement through a systematic surveillance system for wild birds based on the ecological understanding of the dynamics of wild birds' movements. Our study aimed to develop a spatiotemporal risk assessment model for avian influenza (AI) infection in wild birds to empower surveillance information for a contingency strategy. For this purpose, first, we predicted the monthly habitat suitability of seven waterfowl species, using 227,671 Global Positioning System (GPS) tracking records of 562 birds from 2014 to 2018 in the Republic of Korea (ROK). Then, that predicted habitat suitability and 421 coordinates of AI detection sites in wild birds were used to build the risk assessment model. Subsequently, we compared the monthly predicted risk of avian influenza virus (AIv) identification in wild birds between case and non‐case poultry farms with HPAI H5N6 outbreak in the ROK between 2016 and 2017. The results reported considerable variation of monthly habitat suitability of seven waterfowls and the impact of predicting AI occurrences in wild birds. The high habitat suitability for spot‐billed ducks (contribution rate in November = 40.9%) and mallards (contribution rate in January = 34.3%) significantly contributed to predicting the average risk of AIv identification in wild birds, with high predictive performance [the monthly mean of area under the curve (AUC) = 0.978]. Moreover, our model showed that the averaged risk of identification AI in wild birds was significantly higher in HPAI infected premises, with infected domestic duck holdings exhibiting a significantly higher risk than the chicken farms in November. This study suggests that animal health authority establishes a risk‐based HPAI surveillance system grounded on the ecological nature of wild birds to improve the effectiveness of prevention and preparedness of emerging epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Breast cancer diagnosis and treatment are important healthcare issues in the Industrialized World. In this study, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) images are used to diagnose breast cancer (BC) and analyze the application effect of epidermal factor receptor-targeted therapy in the treatment of BC. A total of 858 patients diagnosed with BC in Jincheng People's Hospital from 2019 to 2021 are included and randomly divided into an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group is treated with epidermal growth factor receptor- (EGFR-) targeted therapy, and the control group is treated with conventional chemotherapy according to subsequent treatment modalities. Experimental results show that compared with manual segmentation, machine automatic segmentation includes the local and edge information of the image with higher accuracy, compared with benign and malignant tumors. There are significant differences in the changes of Tpeak, SSmax, El, E 2 , and E 5 , P < 0.05 , with SSmax and El having the greatest changes. After chemotherapy, the recorded maximum diameter of cancer foci in the control and the experimental groups are 26.4 ± 11.6 mm and 20.3 ± 13.5 mm, respectively, and the difference is statistically meaningful (P < 0.05). The ADC value (12.74 ± 2.08) in the experimental group is higher than that (9.7 ± 1.88) in the control group (P < 0.05). There is a significant difference in SSmax between the control group and experimental group (P < 0.05), the SImax, pH values of the control group are significantly higher than those of the experimental group (P < 0.05), and the SSmaxR value (7.82 ± 6.24) in the experimental group is lower than that in the control group (10.08 ± 6.25), but the difference is not significant, P > 0.05. The proposed MRI method has high sensitivity and accuracy in the diagnosis of BC, improving the detection rate of lesions, compared with conventional chemotherapy. In addition, epidermal factor receptor-targeted therapy has a better therapeutic effect, with significant changes in cancer foci, which has the value of clinical promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This study investigated the frequency and patterns of interstitial lung disease (ILD) and their clinical effect on all-cause mortality during the follow-up period in patients with antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody- (ANCA-) associated vasculitis (AAV) in Korea.Methods: The medical records of 255 AAV patients with ILD were retrospectively reviewed. ILD and its patterns, the usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) and non-UIP patterns, were confirmed using high-resolution computed tomography both at AAV diagnosis and during follow-up. Forced vital capacity (FVC) and diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (DLCO) were also obtained.Results: The median age was 65.0 years, and 34.9% were male. ILD occurred in 53 patients, among whom 49.1% developed ILD after AAV diagnosis. Among AAV subtypes, the frequencies of ILD were significantly higher in both patients with microscopic polyangiitis (MPA) and those with AAV having myeloperoxidase (MPO)-ANCA (or P-ANCA) compared to other subtypes. However, there was no statistical significance in AAV subtypes or FVC/DLCO ratio between patients with the UIP and non-UIP patterns. In particular, the cumulative patients' survival rate was lower in patients with AAV and ILD than in those without ILD.Conclusions: ILD occurred in one-fifth of Korean patients with AAV in this study and was associated with MPA and MPO-ANCA (or P-ANCA). In addition, ILD significantly increased the rate of all-cause mortality in these patients with AAV. Therefore, we suggest the need for more attention and more frequent regular visit for patients with AAV and ILD regardless of the time of ILD occurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the intensification of global market competition and the continuous development of the information technology, competition in the apparel market has become increasingly fierce. The key to whether China's garment industry can maintain its advantage in the international market competition in the future lies in whether it can promote and realize the informatization of the garment industry or not. After all, under the context of increasingly developed information technologies and growing competition in the garment market, mass customization of garments has become a future trend in the garment industry. As custom-made clothing is more in line with consumers' individual needs in terms of style, fabric, and size, the focus of development for clothing companies is increasingly on the grasp of the fit of clothing. However, with China's large population and the wide variety of body types, traditional hand-made garments are time-consuming and cannot meet the differentiated needs of consumers in the modern market. The design of garment samples is an important part of the industrial production of garments and is highly dependent on the skills and experience of the operators. In other words, the level of technical expertise can determine the quality and shape of a garment product to a certain extent. As a result, in order to further improve the efficiency and quality of garment sample design and to reduce the dependence on operator skills and experience, this study proposes an intelligent garment paper sample design system based on BP neural networks. The system mainly utilizes the self-learning, self-organizing, and adaptive as well as nonlinear mapping functions of artificial neural networks to design clothing samples autonomously, thus improving the design efficiency. In the era of rapid development of information technology and artificial intelligence technology, the development of intelligent garment pattern design systems with independent intellectual property rights is of great significance in promoting the prosperity of the garment industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) which emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, is widely controlled now in China. However, the global epidemic is still severe. To study and comment on Hubei's approaches for responding to the disease, the paper considered some factors such as suspected cases (part of them are influenza patients or common pneumonia patients, etc.), quarantine, patient classification (three types), clinically diagnosed cases, and lockdown of Wuhan and Hubei. After that, the paper established an S E L I H R model based on the surveillance data of Hubei published by the Hubei Health Commission from 10 January 2020 to 30 April 2020 and used the fminsearch optimization method to estimate the optimal parameters of the model. We obtained the basic reproduction number R 0 = 3.1571 from 10 to 22 January. R 0 was calculated as 2.0471 from 23 to 27 January. From 28 January to 30 April, R 0 = 1.5014. Through analysis, it is not hard to find that the patients without classification during the period of confirmed cases will result in the cumulative number of cases in Hubei to increase. In addition, regarding the lockdown measures implemented by Hubei during the epidemic, our simulations also show that if the lockdown time of either Hubei or Wuhan is advanced, it will effectively curb the spread of the epidemic. If the lockdown measures are not taken, the total cumulative number of cases will increase substantially. From the results of the study, it can be concluded that the lockdown, patient classification, and the large-scale case screening are essential to slow the spread of COVID-19, which can provide references for other countries or regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a novel generalized quartic functional equation and investigate its Hyers–Ulam stability in modular spaces using a fixed point technique and the Fatou property in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electrospinning enables simple and cost-effective production of polymer nanofibers from different polymer materials. Drug delivery systems are capable of achieving maximum drug treatment benefits by significantly reducing adverse complications. Electrospun nanofibers have recently attracted considerable attention owing to their distinctive properties, including flexibility and biocompatibility. The implementation of functional constituents within nanostructure fibers blends is an effective technique for the administration of a variety of drugs in animal research, broadening the nanofiber capability and reliability. The nanofibrous mesh and its various application purposes are discussed in terms of a summary of recent research, emphasizing the ease of streaming and a large number of combinations of this approach, which could lead to a breakthrough in targeted therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differential equations with fractional derivative are being extensively used in the modelling of the transmission of many infective diseases like HIV, Ebola, and COVID-19. Analytical solutions are unreachable for a wide range of such kind of equations. Stability theory in the sense of Ulam is essential as it provides approximate analytical solutions. In this article, we utilize some fixed point theorem (FPT) to investigate the stability of fractional neutral integrodifferential equations with delay in the sense of Ulam-Hyers-Rassias (UHR). This work is a generalized version of recent interesting works. Finally, two examples are given to prove the applicability of our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractional calculus is nowadays an efficient tool in modelling many interesting nonlinear phenomena. This study investigates, in a novel way, the Ulam–Hyers (HU) and Ulam–Hyers–Rassias (HUR) stability of differential equations with general conformable derivative (GCD). In our analysis, we employ some version of Banach fixed-point theory (FPT). In this way, we generalize several earlier interesting results. Two examples are given at the end to illustrate our results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce an additive s , t -functional inequality where s and t are nonzero complex numbers with 2 s + t < 1. Using the direct method and the fixed point method, we give the Hyers–Ulam stability of such functional inequality in Banach spaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Topical delivery of local anesthetics (LAs) is commonly used to decrease painful sensations, block pain throughout procedures, and alleviate pain after surgery. Dermal and/or transdermal delivery of LAs has other advantages, such as sustained drug delivery and decreased systemic adverse effects. This study reports the development of poly(D,L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) nanoparticles coated with chitosan for the sustained release and topicality of benzocaine (BZC) and topical delivery. BZC PLGA nanoparticles or nonencapsulated drugs were further incorporated into Poloxamer hydrogels (Pluronic™ F-127). The nanoparticles showed a mean diameter of 380 ± 4 nm, positive zeta potential after coating with chitosan (23.3 ± 1.7 mV), and high encapsulation efficiency (96.7 ± 0.02 %). Cellular viability greater than 70% for both fibroblasts and keratinocytes was observed after treatment with nanoparticles, which is in accordance with the preconized guidelines for biomedical devices and delivery systems. Both the nanoparticles and hydrogels were able to modulate BZC delivery and increase drug permeation when compared to the nonencapsulated drug. Furthermore, the incorporation of limonene into hydrogels containing BZC-loaded nanoparticles increased the BZC permeation rates. Non-Newtonian and pseudoplastic behaviors were observed for all hydrogel nanoformulations with or without nanoparticles. These results demonstrate that the hydrogel-nanoparticle hybrids could be a promising delivery system for prolonged local anesthetic therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]