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BackgroundHypertension affects one-third of adults in the United States and is the leading risk factor for death. Underserved populations are seen disproportionately in the emergency department (ED) and tend to have worse blood pressure (BP) control. For adults, a lack of hypertension knowledge is a common barrier to hypertension control, while social support is a strong facilitator, and providing information that is culturally sensitive and relevant is especially important in this context. The youth experience increased confidence when given the responsibility to provide health education and care navigation to others. As such, we planned a randomized controlled trial (RCT) for the effectiveness of a digital youth-led hypertension education intervention for adult patients in the ED with hypertension, focusing on change in BP and hypertension knowledge. ObjectiveIn preparation for an RCT, we conducted a formative study to determine acceptable and easily comprehensible ways to present hypertension information to adults with hypertension and optimal ways to engage youth to support adults on how to achieve better hypertension control. MethodsAfter creating an intervention prototype with 6 weekly self-guided hypertension online modules, we recruited 12 youth (adolescents, aged 15-18 years) for 3 focus groups and 10 adult ED patients with hypertension for individual online interviews to garner feedback on the prototype. After completing a brief questionnaire, participants were asked about experiences with hypertension, preferences for a hypertension education intervention, and acceptability, feasibility, obstacles, and solutions for intervention implementation with youth and adults. The moderator described and showed participants the prototyped intervention process and materials and asked for feedback. Questionnaire data were descriptively summarized, and qualitative data were analyzed using the template organizing style of analysis by 3 study team members. ResultsParticipants showed great interest in the intervention prototype, thought their peers would find it acceptable, and appreciated its involvement of youth. Youth with family members with hypertension reported that their family members need more support for their hypertension. Youth suggested adding more nutrition education activities to the intervention, such as a sodium tracker and examples of high-sodium foods. Adults discussed the need for a hypertension support intervention for themselves and the expected benefits to youth. They mentioned the overwhelming amount of hypertension information available and appreciated the intervention’s concise content presentation. They suggested adding more mental health and smoking cessation resources, information about specific hypertension medications, and adding active links for health care information. ConclusionsBased on focus groups and interviews with participants, a youth-led digital hypertension intervention is an acceptable strategy to engage both adults with hypertension and youth. Incorporating participant suggestions into the intervention may improve its clarity, engagement, and impact when used in a subsequent RCT.

Introduction: People without reliable access to healthcare are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer that could have been treated more effectively if diagnosed earlier. Emergency departments (ED) may be a novel place for cancer screening education for underserved patients. In this study we sought to determine patient characteristics and barriers to cancer screening for those patients who presented to a large, academic safety-net ED and were overdue for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening since the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods: Adult ED patients eligible for at least one cancer screening based on US Preventive Serivces Task Force guidelines completed a web-based survey. We examined the association of demographic characteristics and having a personal physician with being overdue on screening using chi-square or the Fisher exact test for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables. Results: Of 221 participants, 144 were eligible for colorectal, 96 for cervical, and 55 for breast cancer screening. Of eligible patients, 46% (25/55) were overdue for breast cancer screening, 43% (62/144) for colorectal, and 40% (38/96) for cervical cancer screening. There were no significant characteristics associated with breast cancer screening. Being overdue for cervical cancer screening was significantly more likely for patients who were of Asian race (P = 0.02), had less than a high school diploma (P = 0.01), and were without a routine checkup within the prior five years (P = 0.01). Overdue for colorectal cancer screening was associated with patients not having insurance (P = 0.04), being in their 40s (P = 0.03), being Hispanic (P = 0.01), and not having a primary care physician (P=0.01). Of 97 patients overdue for at least one screening, the most common barriers were cost (37%), lack of time (37%), and lack of knowledge of screening recommendations (34%). Only 8.3% reported that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their screening. Conclusion: The ED may be a novel setting to target patients for cancer screening education. Future work that refers patients to free screening programs and primary care physicians may help improve disparities in cancer screening and cancer mortality rates for underserved populations.

ABSTRACT Objective: To assess the effect of different irrigating solutions (Normal saline, 5.25% NaOCl and 90% Ethanol) on apical sealing ability of resin based root canal sealer filled with single cone obturating technique in extracted teeth. Methods: From March 2022 to September 2022, the Case Control research was carried out in Karachi. Sample size of 30 single root teeth were decoronated and roots were divided into Group A and B Group B is subdivided into two cases according to the type of irrigating solution used. Group A irrigation solutions include 5ml of Normal saline solution, while group B includes 5ml of 5.25% Sodium Hypochlorite and 5ml of 90% Ethanol, solution. Teeth were prepared, obturated, placed in 2% methylene blue dye and extent of dye penetration was done under a Digital stereomicroscope and maximum leakage was measured by using software. Data was analyzed on SPSS version 26.0. Results: All solutions were normally distributed. While comparing both groups, Ethanol has the lowest mean value of dye penetration i.e. 1.07 ± 0.63 which means that this irrigating solution has least microleakage and provide effective seal of resin sealer to the root canal wall filled by using single cone obturating technique. Case group irrigation solutions has significant p- value i.e. 0.000 which indicates absolute absence of microleakage. Comparison of mean value of sodium hypochlorite and ethanol, ethanol is more efficient irrigation solution as it has shown least dye penetration as compare to sodium hypochlorite. Conclusion: It has been concluded that among all the solutions, Ethanol has proved to be the most effective irrigation solution followed by Sodium hypochlorite showed least dye penetration and hence least microleakage.

The National Institute on Aging-Alzheimer's Association's research framework in 2018 proposed a molecular construct for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Nonetheless, the clinical exclusionary strategy is still the mainstay of AD diagnosis in Pakistan. We looked at the plasma levels of amyloid beta-42 (Aβ-42), phosphorylated tau (P-tau), and neurofilament light (NFL) in patients with Alzheimer's clinical syndrome (ACS) and healthy controls (HC) from the Pakistani population to keep pace with the global efforts towards establishing accessible and affordable biochemical diagnostic markers for AD in Pakistan.Consultant neurologists screened patients who presented with cognitive impairment to three large tertiary care hospitals in Karachi, and after receiving informed consent, recruited participants with ACS and HC from the same facilities. We collected 5cc of blood in EDTA tubes along with demographic and lifestyle information of the subjects. Plasma aliquots were stored at −80°C after centrifugation. For analysis it was thawed at 4℃ and levels of the three proteins were measured through ELISA.Data from 28 ACS patients and 28 age matched healthy controls were evaluated. Among demographic factors, education and depression were related with health status (p = 0.03 and 0.003, respectively). NFL and P-tau mean values demonstrated a significant difference between the ACS and control groups (p = 0.003 and 0.006), however Aβ42 did not (p = 0.114). ROC analysis showed that plasma P-tau and NFL, with AUCs of 0.717 and 0.735, respectively, could substantially distinguish ACS from the HC group (p = 0.007 and 0.003, respectively). Both plasma P-tau (r = −0.389; p = 0.004) and NFL (r = −0.424; p = 0.001) levels were significantly and negatively correlated with individuals' MMSE scores. NFL and plasma P-tau show promise in differentiating AD patients from healthy individuals. However, similar larger studies are needed to validate our findings.

Background: Nitrogen (N) is a crucial macronutrient for plants and serves as a significant measure of soil productivity. The leaching of N-nitrate creates significant hazards for human health and ground water quality. Supplemental irrigation applied to various field crops significantly alters crop yield and nitrate (NO3–) leaching within the soil. Determining the influence of various N rates and irrigation levels on yield and NO3– leaching could help to select the optimum combination of irrigation and N. Methods: The influence of various irrigation levels and N rates on NO3– leaching, soil physicochemical characteristics and grain yield of wheat crop was investigated. Two irrigation levels, i.e., I1 and I2 (60% and 75% of field capacity) and three N levels, i.e., 105, 130 and 160 kg/ha named as N1, N2 and N3 were included in the study. The irrigation and N levels were optimized in preliminary studies. Data relating to yield-related characteristics of wheat and soil physicochemical properties were recorded. Results: The growth and yield traits of the wheat crop were considerably influenced by varying degrees of irrigation N application. The interactive effect of I2N3 resulted in the highest numbers of tillers m−2 (18.9), 1000-grain weight (40.3 g), and straw (5.87 t ha−1) and grain (4.17 t ha−1) yields. Irrigation significantly affected infiltration rate, hydraulic conductivity of the saturated soil and soil strength. The bulk density of soil increased, while soil porosity decreased with increasing depth. Economic analysis revealed that higher irrigation and N levels, i.e., I2N3 resulted in the highest net economic returns. The NO3– concentration was significantly affected by soil depth and time after application of fertilizer. The NO3– concentration exhibited its greatest value at a depth of 0.35 m, while its lowest value was seen at a depth of 1 m. In addition, the concentration of NO3– exhibited a decline throughout the course of time after the administration of N. Conclusion: It is concluded that higher application of irrigation water and N fertilizer increased wheat yield and economic returns, and NO3– leaching. Therefore, alternative N sources with lower NO3– leaching must be used to reduce the adverse impacts on groundwater and environment.

Dear Madam, With an estimated 6.5 million people living with dementia in the South Asian region, these areas are at the forefront of tackling the growing epidemic. However, there is a scarcity of population-based studies particularly in lower-middle-income countries, which hampers accurate estimation of the economic burden posed by dementia (1). Pakistan, with the world’s third largest growing population is a model of these countries. Although the Global Action Plan for Public Health Response to Dementia highlights seven action areas, the Global Dementia Observatory (GDO) report has Pakistan underperforming in almost all areas. In comparison, her neighbors, India, China and Iran are significantly better. With no health information systems for dementia, and no support or care for people with dementia, Pakistan has failed to consider dementia as a public health priority (1). Reports show that Pakistan is drafting a national policy for dementia, yet no surveys on national prevalence and cost have been conducted (2). Apart from an ageing population, low literacy levels and high prevalence of heart diseases and diabetes, make the population highly susceptible to developing AD in the coming future. Furthermore, a challenge especially to LMICs is the stigma associated with dementia and the lack of awareness, not just in the general population, but also in the healthcare providers. Alzheimer’s Disease International reports that almost 2 in 3 healthcare practitioners worldwide consider dementia as part of normal ageing (3). Only if these beliefs are reformed can the disease be tackled efficiently. For a nation with no infrastructure to support patients with AD and where MRI is unaffordable to the majority and scarcely available PET scans are not used for the diagnosis of AD, the population would rely on the establishment of fluid biomarkers not only for diagnosing AD, but for its identification at a stage where it is possible to reduce the years lost to dependence. Unfortunately, our search on PubMed and Google Scholar revealed only one AD biomarker study conducted by the current authors on our population (4). Recently a constructive step was taken by lay and professional experts where a SWOT analysis was done of dementia research capacity in Pakistan. ---Continue

This study aimed to compare the mean plasma levels of Amyloid B42, Phosphorylated Tau and Neurofilament Light chain in patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Clinical Syndrome (ACS), and other neurodegenerative dementias to find affordable and less-invasive means of diagnosing Alzheimer’s disease (AD) early in its course. Blood samples of 36 subjects presenting with cognitive decline to the neurology OPDs of Dow and Civil hospitals, Karachi, were centrifuged, and plasma was stored at 80C. Before analysis, it was thawed at 4C and protein levels were measured through ELISA. Two-thirds of the patients were females but age distribution across both the groups was not significantly different (p 0.21). No difference was observed in the mean plasma concentrations of AB42, P-Tau, and NFL between the two groups (p-values 0.78 and 0.27 and 0.09 respectively). ---Continue

Objectives: To qualitatively analyse the barriers in pursuing undergraduate research, and to propose solutions for the problems identified. Method: The qualitative study was conducted from May to October 2021 after approval from the institutional ethics review board of the Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi, and comprised undergraduate students of either gender at various public and private medical universities across Pakistan having some level of research experience and good communication skills. Data triangulation was employed to collect qualitative data through open-ended survey, face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. Using the information of one method to inform the rest, linked trajectories were established that allowed validation of information at each level. Data was coded manually by two researchers independently. Data was subjected to inductive thematic analysis. Results: Of the 33 subjects, 17(51.5%) were males, 17(51.5%) were from private medical colleges, 18(54.5%) were from Karachi, and 11(33.3%) were in the final year of medical school. Overall, 13(39.4%) students completed the open-ended survey, 6(18.2%) completed face-to-face interviews, and 14(42.4%) participated in focus group discussions. Thematic anlsysis showed that students were interested in research to improve their career prospects, but not all were passionate about it. Students were not satisfied with the quality of research being conducted Pakistan in the country. Dearth of motivated faculty, unavailability of well-maintained and digitalised data registries, ineffective research methodology teaching and lack of access to medical journals and research software were the major barriers in undergraduate research. Time constraint was a projecting problem which challenged the students. Frequent research workshops and conferences, strong networking, reorienting curriculum to provide early exposure to research and student-led initiatives were suggested to improve undergraduate research in Pakistan. Conclusion: Students’ lack of initiative coupled with administrative and faculty-related issues pose a serious threat to the future of evidence-based medicine. Proposed solutions offer a ray of hope to the future of undergraduate research in Pakistan. Key Words: Undergraduate medical education, Qualitative research, Focus groups, Interview, Pakistan.

The aberrant glycosylation is a hallmark of cancer progression and chemoresistance. It is also an immune therapeutic target for various cancers. Tunicamycin (TM) is one of the potent nucleoside antibiotics and an inhibitor of aberrant glycosylation in various cancer cells, including breast cancer, gastric cancer, and pancreatic cancer, parallel with the inhibition of cancer cell growth and progression of tumors. Like chemotherapies such as doxorubicin (DOX), 5′fluorouracil, etoposide, and cisplatin, TM induces the unfolded protein response (UPR) by blocking aberrant glycosylation. Consequently, stress is induced in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) that promotes apoptosis. TM can thus be considered a potent antitumor drug in various cancers and may promote chemosensitivity. However, its lack of cell-type-specific cytotoxicity impedes its anticancer efficacy. In this review, we focus on recent advances in our understanding of the benefits and pitfalls of TM therapies in various cancers, including breast, colon, and pancreatic cancers, and discuss the mechanisms identified by which TM functions. Finally, we discuss the potential use of nano-based drug delivery systems to overcome non-specific toxicity and enhance the therapeutic efficacy of TM as a targeted therapy.

Pengetahuan terkait pemenuhan gizi keluarga yang kurang, budaya sosial terkait konsumsi makanan sehari-hari tanpa nilai gizi yang cukup masih menjadi suatu permasalahan di Desa Tumpang. Pemberian ASI Eksklusif yang belum diikuti dengan intensitas rutin serta pengetahuan terkait pentingnya pemberian ASI yang kurang masih menjadi suatu hal yang diabaikan, dikhawatirkan jika terus menerus diabaikan maka anak berpotensi mengalami kejadian stunting. Kegiatan pengabdian masyarakat berjudul “Manajemen ASI Eksklusif dan MP-ASI kepada masyarakat Desa Tumpang Kabupaten Malang” bertujuan untuk memberikan edukasi terkait pentingnya pemberian ASI Ekslusif dan peningkatan keterampilan ibu dalam mengkreasikan menu MP-ASI untuk bayi dan balita dan bagaimana cara pengolahannya yang benar. Kami juga memberikan penyuluhan terkait tumbuh kembang anak yang ditunjukkan melalui perilaku, perubahan fisik serta naluriah anak yang mungkin masih asing bagi para ibu muda. Metode yang kami pakai adalah sosialisasi yang diikuti dengan praktek untuk mengembangkan keterampilan peserta sasaran, kami juga membagikan kuesioner sebagai tolak ukur pemahaman sasaran saat sebelum dan sesudah mendapatkan penyuluhan. Hasilnya, pengetahuan dan keterampilan peserta sasaran terkait ASI dan MP-ASI telah bertambah. Harapannya, para Ibu tetap konsisten dalam melakukan penerapan ASI Eksklusif dan MP-ASI dengan baik untuk menunjang kesehatan bayi dan balita.

Warfarin is a challenging drug to administer due to the narrow therapeutic index of the International Normalized Ratio (INR), the inter- and intra-variability of patients, limited clinical data, genetics, and the effects of other medications. Goal: To predict the optimal warfarin dosage in the presence of the aforementioned challenges, we present an adaptive individualized modeling framework based on model (In)validation and semi-blind robust system identification. The model (In)validation technique adapts the identified individualized patient model according to the change in the patient's status to ensure the model's suitability for prediction and controller design. Results: To implement the proposed adaptive modeling framework, the clinical data of warfarin-INR of forty-four patients has been collected at the Robley Rex Veterans Administration Medical Center, Louisville. The proposed algorithm is compared with recursive ARX and ARMAX model identification methods. The results of identified models using one-step-ahead prediction and minimum mean squared analysis (MMSE) show that the proposed framework effectively predicts the warfarin dosage to keep the INR values within the desired range and adapt the individualized patient model to exhibit the true status of the patient throughout treatment. Conclusion: This paper proposes an adaptive personalized patient modeling framework from limited patientspecific clinical data. It is shown by rigorous simulations that the proposed framework can accurately predict a patient's doseresponse characteristics and it can alert the clinician whenever identified models are no longer suitable for prediction and adapt the model to the current status of the patient to reduce the prediction error.

A compact metasurface-based circularly polarized (CP) dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) is proposed with wideband characteristics. The antenna forms a very simple structure, composed of a rectangular DR, a single coaxial probe, and plus-shaped unit cells-based metasurface. The metasurface is realized on a grounded FR-4 substrate. Next, a rectangular DR is loaded centrally over the metasurface. The DR is fed with a perturbed probe feed at an appropriate angle of ( $\theta $ =29°), along the diagonal line. Thus, a novel hybrid technique involving the angle of feed location from the center of DR, and the N $\times $ N unit cells-based metasurface is utilized for generating a wideband CP radiation. The resonance from the rectangular DR and surface waves along the $7\times $ 7 plus-shaped unit cells-based metasurface is exploited to achieve a wide 3-dB axial ratio (AR) and impedance matching bandwidth. The fabricated antenna prototype used for the validation of predicted results confirms the successful implementation of the proposed technique. Measured results demonstrate a wide impedance bandwidth of 32% (3.6 GHz - 7.0 GHz) and an overlapping 3-dB AR bandwidth of 20.4% (4.2 GHz - 5.2 GHz). Moreover, the antenna adopts a left-hand circular polarization (LHCP) with 6–7 dBic measured gain within the operational frequency range. Overall, the proposed antenna offers low-profile, simplicity, ease of design, and high performance.

Background: Exploring genetic diversity in traits of interest and utilizing it to breed high yielding, disease-resistant and high market value varieties is the prime objective of plant breeders. Unfortunately, genetic diversity in most of the crops has declined due to selection and reutilization of already adapted germplasm. Chemical mutagens are widely used to create novel changes in germplasm; however, these have been rarely tested for chili germplasm in Pakistan. Methods: We used ethyl methane sulfonate (EMS) and sodium azide (SA) to induce mutations for obtaining novel alterations in morphological and yield-related traits of four chili genotypes (i.e., ‘Mexi’, ‘Dandi Cut’, ‘Nageena’ and ‘Talhari’). Firstly, concentrations of both mutagens were calibrated, i.e., 1.5 % EMS and 0.5 % SA. Afterwards, seeds of four chili cultivars were treated and grown in peat trays. As the nursery was established, seedlings were transferred to media (sand: silt: clay + 1 kg well-decomposed FYM) after 30 days of germination. Different mutants were isolated based on differential morphological and phenotypic expressions. Results: It was found that efficiency of EMS was greater than SA and more variants were noticed in case of EMS-treated populations. Genetic analysis showed that almost all the traits were affected by mutagens in the M1 generations although the stability of isolated mutants was not checked in later generations. All the traits showed higher estimates of heritability but in some traits genetic advance was non-significant. Conclusion: It is recommended that isolated mutants could be used as rich genetic diversity source to breed new varieties. Furthermore, EMS proved a suitable mutagen for targeted mutations.

Community health needs assessments (CHNAs) are important tools to determine community health needs, however, populations that face inequities may not be represented in existing data. The use of mixed methods becomes essential to ensure the needs of underrepresented populations are included in the assessment. We created an in-school public health course where students acted as citizen scientists to determine health needs in New Brunswick, New Jersey adults. By engaging members of their own community, students reached more representative respondents and health needs of the local community than a CHNA completed by the academic hospital located in the same community as the school which relies on many key health statistics provided at a county level. New Brunswick adults reported significantly more discrimination, fewer healthy behaviors, more food insecurity, and more barriers to accessing healthcare than county-level participants. New Brunswick participants had significantly lower rates of health conditions but also had significantly lower rates of health screenings and higher rates of barriers to care. Hospitals should consider partnering with local schools to engage students to reach populations that face inequities, such as individuals who do not speak English, to obtain more representative CHNA data.

Olahraga rekreasi paser merupakan olahraga baru yang dapat dikembangkan secara maksimal melalui potensi yang dapat dikembangkan seperti nilai ekonomis, nilai konservatif, dan juga dapat membantu mengurangi angka pengangguran. Objek Wisata Waduk Cacaban dirasa menjadi sebuah prasarana yang dapat menunjang dan memberikan masing-masing efek positif baik itu bagi olahraga Paser maupun pengembangan dari Objek Wisata Waduk Cacaban itu sendiri. Penelitian dan Pengembangan ini menghasilkan sebuah produk buku mengenai olahraga rekreasi paser, namun penelitian ini hanya sebatas tahap awal yang dimodifikasi sedemikian rupa untuk kebutuhan penelitian dan pengembangan.

The looming energy crisis is affecting every sector of the world. The dire need to conserve energy has compelled researchers to bring automation to the power sector. The conservation of energy is one of the biggest challenges Third-World countries are facing in general and in Europe due to the Russian–Ukrainian war. There is a need to introduce such systems that can prevent energy loss and let users buy and sell excessive electricity they have. In the field of power and electricity, the Internet of Things (IoT) plays an active role in the conservation of energy. The new concept of smart grids is widely used for efficient transmission. The technique of blockchain can further reduce the wastage of energy and efficient consumption if it is used with smart grids. This article proposes a smart energy meter based on smart grids and blockchain. The proposed implementation is a demonstration containing a few microgrids, each with its very own blockchain. The users will use energy by making transactions, following the smart contracts. The focus is on the peer-to-peer transactions in a microgrid controlled by blockchain. The architectural design outcomes are a smart energy meter, a smart contract on the Ethereum blockchain, and an android application to monitor and control transactions and energy trade via smart contracts with other consumers.

The localization of agents for collaborative tasks is crucial to maintain the quality of the communication link for successful data transmission between the base station and agents. Power-domain Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (P-NOMA) is an emerging multiplexing technique that enables the base station to accumulate signals for different agents using the same time-frequency channel. The environment information such as distance from the base station is required at the base station to calculate communication channel gains and allocate suitable signal power to each agent. The accurate estimate of the position for power allocation of P-NOMA in a dynamic environment is challenging due to the changing location of the end-agent and shadowing. In this paper, we take advantage of the two-way Visible Light Communication (VLC) link to (1) estimate the position of the end-agent in a real-time indoor environment based on the signal power received at the base station using machine learning algorithms and (2) allocate resources using the Simplified Gain Ratio Power Allocation (S-GRPA) scheme with the look-up table method. In addition, we use the Euclidean Distance Matrix (EDM) to estimate the location of the end-agent whose signal was lost due to shadowing. The simulation results show that the machine learning algorithm is able to provide an accuracy of 0.19 m and allocate power to the agent.

It is challenging in practice to achieve a steady-state value for external human recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) dosage to be administrated to maintain Hemoglobin (Hb) level within the desired range of 11–12 g/dl based on population-based models for anemia management due to inter-and intra-variability of the patients. On the other hand, Pharmacokinetic (PK) and Pharmacodynamic (PD) characteristics can vary for the patients over the course of treatment due to aging and other life changes. To address the inter-and intra-variability in anemia management, the semi-blind robust identification approach is proposed to obtain individualized patient models using limited number of clinical patient data. Semi-blind robust identification utilizes the effect of the initial condition during system identification to reduce the identification error. To reflect the patient’s true dose-response relation as time passes and ensure the suitability of the individualized model for the controller, the model (In)validation technique is discussed to provide appropriate mathematical evidence about the suitability of the individualized model for dose prediction and controller design via testing it on new clinical data of the particular patient. One-step-ahead prediction results are shown for identified individualized patient models. The individualized patient models provide decision support to the clinicians about EPO dosage to avoid undershoot or overshoot of Hb level. Minimum mean squared error (MMSE) is calculated for the predicted values obtained by the models identified using semi-blind robust identification with and without the model (In)validation against clinically acquired EPO-Hb data.

(1) Background: Zika virus (ZIKV), an arbo-flavivirus, is transmitted via Aeges aegyptii mosquitoes Following its major outbreaks in 2013, 2014 and 2016, WHO declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Symptoms of ZIKV infection include acute fever, conjunctivitis, headache, muscle & joint pain and malaise. Cases of its transmission also have been reported via perinatal, sexual and transfusion transmission. ZIKV pathologies include meningo-encephalitis and myelitis in the central nervous system (CNS) and Guillain-Barré syndrome and acute transient polyneuritis in the peripheral nervous system (PNS). Drugs like azithromycin have been tested as inhibitors of ZIKV infection but no vaccines or treatments are currently available. Astrocytes are the most abundant cells in the CNS and among the first cells in CNS infected by ZIKV; (2) Methods: We previously used SOMAScan proteomics to study ZIKV-infected astrocytic cells. Here, we use mass spectrometric analyses to further explain dysregulations in the cellular expression profile of glioblastoma astrocytoma U251 cells. We also knocked down (KD) some of the U251 cellular proteins using siRNAs and observed the impact on ZIKV replication and infectivity; (3) Results & Conclusions: The top ZIKV dysregulated cellular networks were antimicrobial response, cell death, and energy production while top dysregulated functions were antigen presentation, viral replication and cytopathic impact. Th1 and interferon signaling pathways were among the top dysregulated canonical pathways. siRNA-mediated KD of HLA-A, IGFBP5, PSMA2 and HSPA5 increased ZIKV titers and protein synthesis, indicating they are ZIKV restriction factors. ZIKV infection also restored HLA-A expression in HLA-A KD cells by 48 h post-infection, suggesting interactions between this gene product and ZIKV.

In this paper, a low-profile broadband antenna is presented for 60 GHz applications. It is demonstrated that the entire unlicensed 60 GHz frequency band can be covered using a dielectric based aperture type antenna. The antenna consists of a single-layer dielectric superstrate and an aperture type feed, which are separated by an air-cavity. The diameter of the superstrate is 15 mm, which is $2.75\lambda _{0}$ at the lowest operating frequency of 55.2 GHz. The simulated total efficiency of the antenna is greater than 88% over the entire operating band (55.2 GHz-65 GHz), which is unprecedented relative to medium-to-high gain millimeter-wave printed antenna arrays, used for similar applications. A prototype antenna was constructed, which exhibits a measured peak gain of 19.5 dBi. This value remains greater than 17 dBi over the entire operating bandwidth. The measured 3-dB beamwidths of the proposed antenna remain between 16° to 20° in the E-plane and 19.5° to 25° in the H-plane, respectively. The proposed antenna provides broadside directed radiation patterns with cross-polarization in the order of -30 dB over the entire operating band.

Virus infection induces different cellular responses in infected cells. These include cellular stress responses like autophagy and unfolded protein response (UPR). Both autophagy and UPR are connected to programed cell death I (apoptosis) in chronic stress conditions to regulate cellular homeostasis via Bcl2 family proteins, CHOP and Beclin-1. In this review article we first briefly discuss arboviruses, influenza virus, and HIV and then describe the concepts of apoptosis, autophagy, and UPR. Finally, we focus upon how apoptosis, autophagy, and UPR are involved in the regulation of cellular responses to arboviruses, influenza virus and HIV infections. Abbreviation: AIDS: Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome; ATF6: Activating Transcription Factor 6; ATG6: Autophagy-specific Gene 6; BAG3: BCL Associated Athanogene 3; Bak: BCL-2-Anatagonist/Killer1; Bax; BCL-2: Associated X protein; Bcl-2: B cell Lymphoma 2x; BiP: Chaperon immunoglobulin heavy chain binding Protein; CARD: Caspase Recruitment Domain; cART: combination Antiretroviral Therapy; CCR5: C-C Chemokine Receptor type 5; CD4: Cluster of Differentiation 4; CHOP: C/EBP homologous protein; CXCR4: C-X-C Chemokine Receptor Type 4; Cyto c: Cytochrome C; DCs: Dendritic Cells; EDEM1: ER-degradation enhancing-a-mannosidase-like protein 1; ENV: Envelope; ER: Endoplasmic Reticulum; FasR: Fas Receptor;G2: Gap 2; G2/M: Gap2/Mitosis; GFAP: Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; GP120: Glycoprotein120; GP41: Glycoprotein41; HAND: HIV Associated Neurodegenerative Disease; HEK: Human Embryonic Kidney; HeLa: Human Cervical Epithelial Carcinoma; HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus; IPS-1: IFN-β promoter stimulator 1; IRE-1: Inositol Requiring Enzyme 1; IRGM: Immunity Related GTPase Family M protein; LAMP2A: Lysosome Associated Membrane Protein 2A; LC3: Microtubule Associated Light Chain 3; MDA5: Melanoma Differentiation Associated gene 5; MEF: Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast; MMP: Mitochondrial Membrane Permeabilization; Nef: Negative Regulatory Factor; OASIS: Old Astrocyte Specifically Induced Substrate; PAMP: Pathogen-Associated Molecular Pattern; PERK: Pancreatic Endoplasmic Reticulum Kinase; PRR: Pattern Recognition Receptor; Puma: P53 Upregulated Modulator of Apoptosis; RIG-I: Retinoic acid-Inducible Gene-I; Tat: Transactivator Protein of HIV; TLR: Toll-like receptor; ULK1: Unc51 Like Autophagy Activating Kinase 1; UPR: Unfolded Protein Response; Vpr: Viral Protein Regulatory; XBP1: X-Box Binding Protein 1

Lyme disease is the most reported vectorborne disease affecting humans in Canada, and incidence continues to increase (1). In eastern North America, the blacklegged tick (Ixodes scapularis) is the primary [...]

Due to the growing number of users, power, and spectral effectiveness, most communication systems are complex and difficult to implement on a large scale. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has played an outstanding role in the implementation of theoretical systems in the real world, with less complexity achieving better results. In this direction, we compare the Non-Orthogonal Multiple Access (NOMA) technique for a multiuser Visible Light Communication (VLC) system with Successive Interference Cancellation (SIC) for two types of detectors: (1) the deep learning-based system and (2) the traditional maximum likelihood (ML) decoder-based system. For multiplexing, we compare the variations of novel Orbital Angular Momentum (OAM) multiplexing and Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) with Index Modulation (IM). In this article, we implement OFDM-IM and OAM-IM for four users for the Gaussian fading MIMO Line-of-Sight (LoS) and Non-Line-of-Sight (NLoS) VLC channels. The suggested systems’ bit error rate (BER) performances are compared in simulations for a wide range of Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNRs), which shows that deep learning-based systems outperform the ML-based system for both users to ensure better decoding at the receiver end, especially at higher SNR values. The detection error is lower in a deep learning-based system at around 20% and around 30% for low SNR and high SNR values, respectively.

Dinamika umat Islam dapat disimak dari berbagai perubahan yang menimpanya atau perubahan yang memang diprogramkan dalam sebuah proses dan sistem, begitu pula dalam dunia pesantren. Dengan berbagai perubahan zaman dan peradaban umat manusia yang selalu tumbuh dan berkembang, diperlukan suatu upaya bagaimana umat Islam mengetahui tentang perilaku pesantren sebagai sebuah institusi pendidikan, sumber daya manusianya, baik yang menyangkut pimpinan pesantren (kiai), ustadz, santri dan apresiasi masyarakatnya terhadap pesantren. Masyarakat akan merasakan keberadaan serta eksistensi pesantren apabila pesantren mampu berbuat secara kongkrit perubahan-perubahan positif di tengah berbagai elemen masyarakat. Di satu pihak pesantren harus secara terbuka bekerjasama dengan sistem-sistem yang lain di luar dirinya yang tidak selalu sepaham dengan dirinya, di pihak lain pesantren dituntut untuk menemukan identitasnya kembali

The first human Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreak was reported in Micronesia in 2007, followed by one in Brazil in 2015. Recent studies have reported cases in Europe, Oceania and Latin America. In 2016, ZIKV transmission was also reported in the US and the World Health Organization declared it a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. Because various neurological conditions are associated with ZIKV, such as microcephaly, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and other disorders of both the central and peripheral nervous systems, including encephalopathy, (meningo)encephalitis and myelitis, and because of the lack of reliable patient diagnosis, numerous ongoing studies seek to understand molecular mechanisms underlying ZIKV pathogenesis. Astrocytes are one of the most abundant cells in the CNS. They control axonal guidance, synaptic signaling, neurotransmitter trafficking and maintenance of neurons, and are targeted by ZIKV. In this study, we used a newly developed multiplexed aptamer-based technique (SOMAScan) to examine > 1300 human astrocyte cell proteins. We identified almost 300 astrocyte proteins significantly dysregulated by ZIKV infection that span diverse functions and signaling pathways, including protein translation, synaptic control, cell migration and differentiation.

Introduction: People without reliable access to healthcare are more likely to be diagnosed with late-stage cancer that could have been treated more effectively if diagnosed earlier. Emergency departments (ED) may be a novel place for cancer screening education for underserved patients. In this study we sought to determine patient characteristics and barriers to cancer screening for those patients who presented to a large, academic safety-net ED and were overdue for breast, cervical, and colorectal cancer screening since the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.Methods: Adult ED patients eligible for at least one cancer screening based on US Preventive Serivces Task Force guidelines completed a web-based survey. We examined the association of demographic characteristics and having a personal physician with being overdue on screening using chi-square or the Fisher exact test for categorical variables and t-tests for continuous variables.Results: Of 221 participants, 144 were eligible for colorectal, 96 for cervical, and 55 for breast cancer screening. Of eligible patients, 46% (25/55) were overdue for breast cancer screening, 43% (62/144) for colorectal, and 40% (38/96) for cervical cancer screening. There were no significant characteristics associated with breast cancer screening. Being overdue for cervical cancer screening was significantly more likely for patients who were of Asian race (P = 0.02), had less than a high school diploma (P = 0.01), and were without a routine checkup within the prior five years (P = 0.01). Overdue for colorectal cancer screening was associated with patients not having insurance (P = 0.04), being in their 40s (P = 0.03), being Hispanic (P = 0.01), and not having a primary care physician (P = 0.01). Of 97 patients overdue for at least one screening, the most common barriers were cost (37%), lack of time (37%), and lack of knowledge of screening recommendations (34%). Only 8.3% reported that the COVID-19 pandemic delayed their screening.Conclusion: The ED may be a novel setting to target patients for cancer screening education. Future work that refers patients to free screening programs and primary care physicians mayhelp improve disparities in cancer screening and cancer mortality rates for underserved populations.

This study was conducted to evaluate the response of the double-bottom structure on a ship when a fire phenomenon involves temperature elevation and depreciation. Fire accidents on ships can be very detrimental, especially since ships are the main transportation for export and import activities. Therefore, this research is needed to reduce the risk of fire accidents on ships, especially on double-bottom structures. This study used the finite element modeling method in ABAQUS software. The research results found that the Von Mises stress contour, strain, and displacement values were influenced by the type of material, temperature, and plate thickness. Based on the results evaluated using the multi-attribute decision-making method, model 32 is the best model, while model 95 is the worst. Concurrently, from sensitivity analysis, it was found that temperature plays a significant role in the results of Von Mises Stress, Strain, and Displacement. The results indicated that the main factor influencing the Von Mises stress, strain, and displacement is the loading in the form of temperature, followed by material properties and plate thickness.

With the increasing popularity of the Internet-of-Medical-Things (IoMT) and smart devices, huge volumes of data streams have been generated. This study aims to address the concept drift, which is a major challenge in the processing of voluminous data streams. Concept drift refers to overtime change in data distribution. It may occur in the medical domain, for example the medical sensors measuring for general healthcare or rehabilitation, which may switch their roles for ICU emergency operations when required. Detecting concept drifts becomes trickier when the class distributions in data are skewed, which is often true for medical sensors e-health data. Reactive Drift Detection Method (RDDM) is an efficient method for detecting long concepts. However, RDDM has a high error rate, and it does not handle class imbalance. We propose an Enhanced Reactive Drift Detection Method (ERDDM), which systematically generates strategies to handle concept drift with class imbalance in data streams. We conducted experiments to compare ERDDM with three contemporary techniques in terms of prediction error, drift detection delay, latency, and ability to handle data imbalance. The experimentation was done in Massive Online Analysis (MOA) on 48 synthetic datasets customized to possess the capabilities of data streams. ERDDM can handle abrupt and gradual drifts and performs better than all benchmarks in almost all experiments.

Autophagy is a key cellular process that involves constituent degradation and recycling during cellular development and homeostasis. Autophagy also plays key roles in antimicrobial host defense and numerous pathogenic organisms have developed strategies to take advantage of and/or modulate cellular autophagy. Several pharmacologic compounds, such as BafilomycinA1, an autophagy inducer, and Rapamycin, an autophagy inhibitor, have been used to modulate autophagy, and their effects upon notable autophagy markers, such as LC3 protein lipidation and Sequestosome-1/p62 alterations are well defined. We sought to understand whether such autophagy modulators have a more global effect upon host cells and used a recently developed aptamer-based proteomic platform (SOMAscan®) to examine 1305 U-251 astrocytic cell proteins after the cells were treated with each compound. These analyses, and complementary cytokine array analyses of culture supernatants after drug treatment, revealed substantial perturbations in the U-251 astrocyte cellular proteome. Several proteins, including cathepsins, which have a role in autophagy, were differentially dysregulated by the two drugs as might be expected. Many proteins, not previously known to be involved in autophagy, were significantly dysregulated by the compounds, and several, including lactadherin and granulins, were up-regulated by both drugs. These data indicate that these two compounds, routinely used to help dissect cellular autophagy, have much more profound effects upon cellular proteins.

This paper presents a new planar feeding structure for wideband resonant-cavity antennas (RCAs). The feeding structure consists of two stacked dielectric slabs with an air-gap in between. A U-shaped slot, etched in the top metal-cladding over the upper dielectric slab, is fed by a planar stripline printed on the back side of the dielectric slab. The lower dielectric slab backed by a ground plane, is used to reduce back radiation. To validate the wideband performance of the new structure, in an RCA configuration, it was integrated with a wideband all-dielectric single-layer partially reflecting superstructure (PRS) with a transverse permittivity gradient (TPG). The single-layer RCA fed by the U-slot feeding structure demonstrated a peak directivity of 18.5 dBi with a 3 dB directivity bandwidth of 32%. An RCA prototype was fabricated and experimental results are presented.

Social mediator robots have shown potential in facilitating human interactions by improving communication, fostering relationships, providing support, and promoting inclusivity. However, for these robots to effectively shape human interactions, they must understand the intricacies of interpersonal dynamics. This necessitates models of human understanding that capture interpersonal states and the relational affect arising from interactions. Traditional affect recognition methods, primarily focus on individual affect, and may fall short in capturing interpersonal dynamics crucial for social mediation. To address this gap, we propose a multimodal, multi-perspective model of relational affect, utilizing a conversational dataset collected in uncontrolled settings. Our model extracts features from audiovisual data to capture affective behaviors indicative of relational affect. By considering the interpersonal perspectives of both interactants, our model predicts relational affect, enabling real-time understanding of evolving interpersonal dynamics. We discuss our model’s utility for social mediation applications and compare it with existing approaches, highlighting its advantages for real-world applicability. Despite the complexity of human interactions and subjective nature of affect ratings, our model demonstrates early capabilities to enable proactive intervention in negative interactions, enhancing neutral exchanges, and respecting positive dialogues. We discuss implications for real-world deployment and highlight the limitations of current work. Our work represents a step towards developing computational models of relational affect tailored for real-world social mediation, offering insights into effective mediation strategies for social mediator robots.