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Objective(s): Accurate detection and competent management of thyroid nodules, as a common disease, basically depends on the reliability of the ultrasonography (US) report. In this research, we evaluated inter and intra-observer variation among ultrasonography reporters, based on ACR-TIRADS.Methods: In this retrospective study, 345 thyroid US images of 150 patients were reviewed. Three clinicians with at least 6-year experience in thyroid US reviewed the images twice at 6-8 weeks’ intervals. Composition, echogenicity, shape, margin, and echogenic foci based on ACR-TIRADS were reported, independently. Inter and intra-observer variations were calculated based on Cohen’s Kappa statistics.Results: 345 ultrasonography images of 150 patients with thyroid nodules (83 women and 67 men) with a mean age of 65 years were reviewed. Moderate to the substantial intra-observer agreement was achieved with the highest Kapa value in the category of shape (k=0.61-0.77). For TIRADS level, the moderate intra-observer agreement was observed (k=0.42-0.46). Inter-observer agreement for the US category of thyroid nodules was obtained slightly to moderate. Composition (k=0.42 and 0.51) and echogenicity (k=0.45 and 0.46) showed the highest overall agreement and margin showed the lowest overall agreement (k=0.18 and 0.19). In assessing TIRADS level of nodules, a fair agreement was obtained (k=0.23 and 0.29) .Conclusion: Moderate to substantial intra-observer agreement and slight to moderate inter-observer variation for evaluation of thyroid nodules; shows the need for a computer-aided diagnosis system based on artificial intelligence to assist our physicians in differentiating thyroid nodule characteristics based on explicit image features. An additional training course based on ACR-TIRADS for physicians can be another useful recommendation.

Abstract Background SHuffle is a suitable Escherichia coli (E. coli) strain for high yield cytoplasmic soluble expression of disulfide-bonded proteins such as Insulin due to its oxidative cytoplasmic condition and the ability to correct the arrangement of disulfide bonds. Lispro is an Insulin analog that is conventionally produced in E. coli as inclusion bodies (IBs) with prolonged production time and low recovery. Here in this study, we aimed to optimize cultivation media composition for high cell density fermentation of SHuffle T7 E. coli expressing soluble Lispro proinsulin fused to SUMO tag (SU-INS construct) to obtain high cell density fermentation. Results Factors including carbon and nitrogen sources, salts, metal ions, and pH were screened via Plackett–Burman design for their effectiveness on cell dry weight (CDW) as a measure of cell growth. The most significant variables of the screening experiment were Yeast extract and MgCl2 concentration, as well as pH. Succeedingly, The Central Composite Design was utilized to further evaluate and optimize the level of significant variables. The Optimized media (OM-I) enhanced biomass by 2.3 fold in the shake flask (2.5 g/L CDW) that reached 6.45 g/L (2.6 fold increase) when applied in batch culture fermentation. The efficacy of OM-I media for soluble expression was confirmed in both shake flask and fermentor. Conclusion The proposed media was suitable for high cell density fermentation of E. coli SHuffle T7 and was applicable for high yield soluble expression of Lispro proinsulin.

In this paper, a simple while effective methodology to calculate the symbolic transfer function of a multistage amplifier with frequency compensation is proposed. Three general amplifier models are introduced and analyzed, which represent basic topologies found in the literature. For these amplifier models, the symbolic transfer function is derived and specific strategies for the zero and non-dominant pole expressions are presented. The methodology is suited for hand calculations and yields accurate results while offering more intuition into the operation of the widely adopted frequency compensation solutions discussed in the literature. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is validated through various typical cases of study.

This paper proposes an optimal design approach for three-stage amplifiers driving an ultra-wide range of load capacitor. To this end, efficient state-of-the-art solutions have been combined to develop a power-efficient frequency compensation solution. High-speed feedback pathways relying on Miller capacitors and current buffers are implemented within the amplifier scheme to push the non-dominant poles to high frequencies for small to medium load capacitors. A small resistor is also shared between the two pathways to improve the stability regardless of the load capacitor. A serial $R$ - $C$ branch is then added to extend the lower limit of load drive capability to small load capacitors. Gain margin is, for the first time in literature, analytically evaluated and included in the design phase. A prototype of the proposed amplifier is fabricated in 65-nm CMOS process with active area of 0.0017 mm2 and 1.15 pF total compensation capacitance. It can drive the load capacitor range from 200 pF to 100 nF, while drawing a quiescent current of $7.4~ \mu \text{A}$ from a 1.2-V input voltage supply. A unity-gain frequency of 1.67 MHz was measured with an average slew-rate of 1.31 V/ $\mu \text{s}$ , when the proposed amplifier is wired in unity-gain configuration to drive a 500-pF load capacitor.

The current study investigates the strategies of translating cultural references applied in the Kurdish subtitles of the American movie entitled ‘Scent of a Woman’. This research also determines the parameters that affect the application of translation strategies in the Kurdish subtitles on the movie. In doing so, the English audio scripts (i.e., source text) and their Kurdish subtitles (i.e., target text), were compared and interpreted in accordance with Pedersen’s taxonomy of subtitling strategies and parameters (2011). The results revealed that all the translation strategies proposed by Pedersen (2011) were used in the Kurdish subtitles. However, due to the consideration of the ‘monocultural parameter’, the subtitler most frequently used the strategy of retention in the Kurdish subtitles. On the other hand, he used the strategies of omission and official equivalence least frequently. It is also shown that the parameters affecting the application of subtitling strategies were monocultural, transcultural, infracultural, and polyesemiotics. In sum, the cultural differences between SL and TL made the subtitler adopt justifiable strategies depending on availability of specific parameters.

Background: Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinoses (NCL) is a rare progressive neurodegenerative disorder caused by more than 530 mutations of at least 13 different genes (CLN 1-14). NCL is a part of the lysosomal disease characterized by the presence of neuronal and extraneural autofluorescent lipopigment accumulations that leads to motor and mental deterioration, developmental regression, seizure, vision loss, and premature death. NCL is classified into four main groups based on the different clinical manifestations and age of presentation. In this study, we aimed to report an unusual presentation of NCL with CLN6 mutation without retina involvement. Case Presentation: We reported a 10-year-old boy with mixed types of seizures, developmental delay, cognitive problems, unsteady gait, and speech disorders. Although after a thorough assessment, CLN6 mutation was diagnosed, he had all symptoms of this mutation, except the visual impairment. Conclusion: According to recent NCL case reports from Asia, full familiarity with its presentation by pediatricians and neurologists is obligatory. Children with developmental regression or refractory seizures, who also have visual or other neurological symptoms such as ataxia and other cerebellar symptoms, even at older ages, should be evaluated for NCL. Attention to ophthalmological examinations and neurological signs and confirming the diagnosis by biopsy or genetic analysis is desirable to prevent missed diagnosis.

Genetic deficiency of dystrophin leads to disability and premature death in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), affecting the heart as well as skeletal muscle. Here, we report that clinical-stage cardiac progenitor cells, known as cardiosphere-derived cells (CDCs), improve cardiac and skeletal myopathy in the mdx mouse model of DMD. Injection of CDCs into the hearts of mdx mice augments cardiac function, ambulatory capacity, and survival. Exosomes secreted by human CDCs reproduce the benefits of CDCs in mdx mice and in human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived Duchenne cardiomyocytes. Surprisingly, CDCs and their exosomes also transiently restored partial expression of full-length dystrophin in mdx mice. The findings further motivate the testing of CDCs in Duchenne patients, while identifying exosomes as next-generation therapeutic candidates.

Abstract A new strain of Influenza A Virus (IAV), so-called "H7N9 Avian Influenza", is the first strain of this virus in which a human is infected by transmitting the N9 of influenza virus. Although continuous human-to-human transmission has not been reported, the occurrence of various H7N9-associated epidemics and the lack of production of strong antibodies against H7N9 in humans warn of the potential for H7N9 to become a new pandemic. Therefore, the need for effective vaccination against H7N9 as a life-threatening viral pathogen has become a major concern. The current study reports the design of a multi-epitope vaccine against Hemagglutinin (HA) and Neuraminidase (NA) proteins of H7N9 Influenza A virus by prediction of Cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL), Helper T lymphocyte (HTL), IFN-γ and B-cell epitopes. Human β-defensin-3 (HβD-3) and pan HLA DR-binding epitope (PADRE) sequence were considered as adjuvant. EAAAK, AAY, GPGPG, HEYGAEALERAG, KK and RVRR linkers were used as a connector for epitopes. The final construct contained 777 amino acids that are expected to be a recombinant protein of about ~ 86.38 kDa with antigenic and non-allergenic properties after expression. Modeled protein analysis based on the tertiary structure validation, docking studies, and molecular dynamics simulations results like Root-mean-square deviation (RMSD), Gyration, Root-mean-square fluctuation (RMSF) and Molecular Mechanics Poisson-Boltzmann Surface Area (MM/PBSA) showed that this protein has a stable construct and capable of being in interaction with Toll-like receptor 7 (TLR7), TLR8 and m826 antibody. Analysis of the obtained data the demonstrates that suggested vaccine has the potential to induce the immune response by stimulating T and Bcells, and may be utilizable for prevention purposes against Avian Influenza A (H7N9).

The ultimate goal of an undergraduate translation program is to educate competent translators for the local and global translation markets. The present study concentrates on the translation programs at Iraqi universities while adopting a descriptive framework to show what translation students need to acquire through a 4-year study program. For this purpose, the researcher has reflected upon the application of the Social Constructivist Approach to teaching translation and the Translation Competence Development Model proposed by the PACTE research group (2003) according to which translation students need to develop linguistic as well as non-linguistic translation sub-competencies to become competent translators. In other words, students need to improve their bilingual, extra-linguistic, theoretical, instrumental, strategic, and psycho-physiological sub-competencies through completing their undergraduate studies. The curriculum assessment of some Iraqi universities` undergraduate translation programs has revealed that the development of non-linguistic translation competence is mostly missing in those programs. They generally emphasized the development of students` linguistic and bilingual abilities. In sum, these study programs, to provide their students with appropriate translation skills, knowledge, and abilities, need to be extended beyond the concerns of foreign language teaching.

Abstract Aneurysmal bone cysts (ABCs) are benign lesions that are locally invasive. The prevalence of soft tissue ABCs is far lower than the intraosseous type. Here, we report a case of ABC in thigh muscles who presented with distal thigh pain.

Background: Gonadal dysgenesis, the most common cause of primary amenorrhea, is characterized by absent or underdeveloped ovaries. Although the coexistence of gonadal dysgenesis and Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser (MRKH) has been reported, it is still quite infrequent. To the extent that authors searched, just one study reported the association between Rokitansky sequence and Dandy-Walker malformation. Clinical Presentation and Intervention: We aimed to report a case with gonadal dysgenesis, MRKH, and the Dandy-Walker variant. In this care report, the authors reported a 15-year-old girl with primary amenorrhea and underdeveloped secondary sexual properties. Her karyotype was 46, XX. The abdominopelvic MRI without contrast demonstrated bilateral ovarian agenesis and no uterus or cervix. Vagina was normal in length. Brain MRI was consistent with the Dandy-Walker variant. Conclusion: Although some affected chromosomal regions have been identified, further genetic analyses should be performed to elucidate the probable association between these anomalies.

Constructing an accurate model for insurance losses is a challenging task. Researchers have developed various methods to model insurance losses, such as composite models. Composite models combine two distributions: one for part of the data with small and high frequencies and the other for large values with low frequencies. The purpose of this article is to consider a mixture of prior distributions for exponential–Pareto and inverse-gamma–Pareto composite models. The general formulas for the posterior distribution and the Bayes estimator of the support parameter θ are derived. It is shown that the posterior distribution is a mixture of individual posterior distributions. Analytic results and Bayesian inference based on the proposed mixture prior distribution approach are provided. Simulation studies reveal that the Bayes estimator with a mixture distribution outperforms the Bayes estimator without a mixture distribution and the ML estimator regarding their accuracies. Based on the proposed method, the insurance losses from natural events, such as floods from 2000 to 2019 in the USA, are considered. As a measure of goodness-of-fit, the Bayes factor is used to choose the best-fitted model.

Neuroblastoma (NB) is a childhood cancer in which amplification of the MYCN gene is the most acknowledged marker of poor prognosis. MYCN-amplified NB cells rely on both glycolysis and mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) for energy production. Previously, we demonstrated that a ketogenic diet (KD) combined with metronomic cyclophosphamide (CP) delayed tumor growth in MYCN-amplified NB xenografts. The anti-diabetic drug metformin (MET) also targets complex I of the OXPHOS system. Therefore, MET-induced disruptions of mitochondrial respiration may enhance the anti-tumor effect of CP when combined with a KD. In this study, we found that MET decreased cell proliferation and mitochondrial respiration in MYCN-amplified NB cell lines, while the combination of KD, MET, and low-dose CP (triple therapy) also reduced tumor growth and improved survival in vivo in MYCN-amplified NB xenografts. Gene ontology enrichment analysis revealed that this triple therapy had the greatest effect on the transcription of genes involved in fatty acid ß-oxidation, which was supported by the increased protein expression of CPT1A, a key mitochondrial fatty acid transporter. We suspect that alterations to ß-oxidation alongside the inhibition of complex I may hamper mitochondrial energy production, thus explaining these augmented anti-tumor effects, suggesting that the combination of MET and KD is an effective adjuvant therapy to CP in MYCN-amplified NB xenografts.

Risk analysis in control problems is a critical but often overlooked issue in this research area. The main goal of this analysis is to assess the reliability of designed controllers and their impact on applied systems. The chaotic behavior of fractional-order economical systems has been extensively investigated in previous studies, leading to advancements in such systems. However, this chaotic behavior poses unpredictable risks to the economic system. This paper specifically investigates the reliability and risk analysis of chaotic fractional-order systems synchronization. Furthermore, we present a technique as a new mechanism to evaluate controller performance in the presence of obvious effects. Through a series of simulation studies, the reliability and risk associated with the proposed controllers are illustrated. Ultimately, we show that the suggested technique effectively reduces the risks associated with designed controllers.

The facade of the building, as one of the elements affecting the visual quality of urban spaces, is four disturbances, as visual disturbances and pollution are evident in most buildings in Tehran. Residential buildings with the largest number of decisive roles in shaping the urban landscape. Therefore, the present study intends to study the factors affecting the promotion of residential facades in Tehran with a combination of research method and using qualitative and quantitative tools. The qualitative method used is the analysis of the content of interviews with people influencing the appearance of residential buildings in Tehran in the period from 1397 to 1399. After extracting the research codes, using quantitative methods to measure key factors, the data collected from the research questionnaire were statistically described and analyzed in two parts: Part One - Descriptive Statistics - Quantities and Descriptive Diagrams of Analysis And were analyzed and the second part - inferential statistics - hypotheses; The normality of the variables, the correlation of the variables and the accuracy of the path analysis were evaluated Then, the data were analyzed by factor analysis method with structural equation modeling approach and it was found that the documentary, legal-managerial, social, design, technical-technological, theoretical, economic and executive dimensions have the greatest impact on They are in the process of upgrading residential facades in Tehran.

Background and aims: Many pathologic conditions can affect the tongue and their pattern of occurrence may differ. The objective of this study was the epidemiological survey of tongue lesions reported in a 10-year period in the Oral Pathology Department of Khorasgan Dental School. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 800 biopsy records were retrieved from the archives of the Oral Pathology Department of Khorasgan Dental School and examined. Moreover, the prevalence of lesions was investigated in terms of age and gender using descriptive statistics. Results: The prevalence of lesions analyzed in the present study was 4.37%. About 71.42% of the participants were female and 28.58% were male. Irritation fibroma had the highest frequency (20%). The most frequent lesion among women was lichen planus with a prevalence of 20% and the most frequent lesion among men was irritation fibroma with a prevalence of 30%. The highest frequency was observed in the age group of 21-30 years. Squamous papilloma, lichen planus, and irritation fibroma were the most common lesions with a prevalence of 25%. No lesion was detected in people aged 1-10 years. Conclusion: In the present study, reactive lesions were the most prevalent tongue lesions. According to the findings, changing the lifestyle and observing oral hygiene seem to help prevent these lesions to a large extent.

Abstract Background In this case report, we presented a rare case of maternal death with massive vulvar edema and Covid-19 diagnosis. Case presentation The case was a 20-year-old woman who was referred to with pain and massive vulvar edema by passing 7 days from her labor. The laboratory tests showed leukocytosis, lymphopenia, and elevated C-reactive protein levels. The high-resolution computed tomography was in favor of Covid-19 changes. Finally, she died because of respiratory distress, ON the 8th day postpartum. Conclusion Given the increasing prevalence of Covid-19, it is important and vital to be aware of its potential complications and then to try prevent and manage them, especially during high-risk periods such as pregnancy and postpartum.

Introduction: The management of thyroid nodules has been proposed based on US features and information obtained from Fine-Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC). In this study, we checked the diagnostic value of ultrasound in comparison with FNAC in probably benign nodules of thyroid. Materials and Methods: Patients with thyroid nodules referred to the Radiology department from 2015 to 2020, were classified into five types based on the American College of Radiology/thyroid imaging reporting and data system (TI-RADS) standards. The patients with TI-RADS III-V were examined by FNA biopsy. Subsequently, the collected data of 535 patients having thyroid nodules with TI-RADS III were statistically analyzed. Results: The mean age of the patients was estimated at 46.57. The analysis of TI-RADS III cases examined by the FNA biopsy revealed that 99.1% of the cases were diagnosed with benign lesions. The mean size of benign and malignant nodules was 27mm and 41mm, respectively. There was no significant correlation between the size of the nodules or patients age, and thyroid malignancy (P-values > 0.05). Conclusion: There was a very low chance of malignancy (0.9%) in thyroid nodules with thyroid imaging classification of TI-RADS III. Furthermore, no meaningful correlation was observed between the size of the nodules and their malignancy. Therefore, the use of FNAC, based on the current guidelines, on thyroids for nodules larger than 2.5 cm might need to be revised.

AbstractBivariate copulas for two dependent non homogeneous compound Poisson processes (NCPP) are considered. In this scenario, the arrival times of events are assumed to follow two independent non homogeneous Poisson processes (NHPP), but the corresponding renewal variables are dependent through a bivariate copula. The article aims to provide a computational tool for the estimation of the probability that the random sum associated with the first NCPP is less than the other random sum by a truncated time. The proposed ML and Bayesian estimation methods in a general setting can be applied using bivariate copulas such as Gumbel (for upper tail dependency), Clayton (for lower tail dependency), and Frank (for symmetric dependency). Power Law (PL) intensity function for the NHPPs and Inverse-Gaussian as renewal distribution are considered as examples. Bayes estimates of NHPPs parameters use gamma priors, and for Bayes estimates of Inverse-Gaussian distribution, an MCMC algorithm is employed. Our method has a broad range of practical applications, especially in the insurance sector, where the renewal variable may represent the dollar amount associated with a claim. To illustrate our approach, we analyze injury claims in North Carolina and South Carolina over a specific period, using a dataset sourced from docs.databricks.com. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Maintaining proper current sharing among distributed generation (DG) units while regulating the output voltage is a challenging control issue in DC microgrids. The conventional droop control is widely used at the primary level of control to tackle this issue, but this method faces some limitations in voltage control and current sharing. To address this problem, this paper presents a new distributed secondary control method that determines the resistance of transmission lines by injecting an external pulse to the reference voltage of each converter and measuring output voltage and current changes. The proposed secondary control signal, denoted as Ui, enables simultaneous proportional current sharing and voltage restoration in the DC microgrid by correcting the droop coefficients based on the determined resistances. In order to ensure the stability of the proposed method, the small signal stability analysis of the closed‐loop system is conducted, considering various parameter changes. In contrast to similar methods, the proposed method introduces a new hybrid technique of voltage setpoint shifting and droop parameter adjustment that achieves precise proportional current sharing and voltage restoration, even when faced with varying resistive loads and constant power loads (CPLs). Additionally, the proposed method demonstrates outstanding characteristics, such as high convergence speed, the ability to determine transmission line resistances instead of assuming them to be known, and robustness in plug‐and‐play scenarios and communication system failures. The simulation results in MATLAB and experimental tests confirm the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the insurance sector, Zero-Inflated models are commonly used due to the unique nature of insurance data, which often contain both genuine zeros (meaning no claims made) and potential claims. Although active developments in modeling excess zero data have occurred, the use of Bayesian techniques for parameter estimation in Zero-Inflated Poisson models has not been widely explored. This research aims to introduce a new Bayesian approach for estimating the parameters of the Zero-Inflated Poisson model. The method involves employing Gamma and Beta prior distributions to derive closed formulas for Bayes estimators and predictive density. Additionally, we propose a data-driven approach for selecting hyper-parameter values that produce highly accurate Bayes estimates. Simulation studies confirm that, for small and moderate sample sizes, the Bayesian method outperforms the maximum likelihood (ML) method in terms of accuracy. To illustrate the ML and Bayesian methods proposed in the article, a real dataset is analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]