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Abstract Glioneuronal tumors constitute a histologically diverse group of primary central nervous system neoplasms that are typically slow-growing and managed conservatively. Genetic alterations associated with glioneuronal tumors include BRAF mutations and oncogenic fusions. To further characterize this group of tumors, we collected a cohort of 26 glioneuronal tumors and performed in-depth genomic analysis. We identified mutations in BRAF (34%) and oncogenic fusions (30%), consistent with previously published reports. In addition, we discovered novel oncogenic fusions involving members of the NTRK gene family in a subset of our cohort. One-patient with BCAN exon 13 fused to NTRK1 exon 11 initially underwent a subtotal resection for a 4th ventricular glioneuronal tumor but ultimately required additional therapy due to progressive, symptomatic disease. Given the patient’s targetable fusion, the patient was enrolled on a clinical trial with entrectinib, a pan-Trk, ROS1, and ALK (anaplastic lymphoma kinase) inhibitor. The patient was treated for 11 months and during this time volumetric analysis of the lesion demonstrated a maximum reduction of 60% in the contrast-enhancing tumor compared to his pre-treatment magnetic resonance imaging study. The radiologic response was associated with resolution of his clinical symptoms and was maintained for 11 months on treatment. This report of a BCAN-NTRK1 fusion in glioneuronal tumors highlights its clinical importance as a novel, targetable alteration.

The grey-shanked douc langur (Pygathrix cinerea) is a recently described, critically endangered primate, endemic to Vietnam. In this study, we describe the Central Highland species’ complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome—mtDNA). It is a circular molecule with a length of 16,541 base pairs (bp). The genome consists of 37 genes, consistent with those found in most other vertebrates, including 13 protein coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, and two ribosomal RNAs. A comparison with the mitogenomes of more than 50 primates showed that the mitogenome of Vietnamese Central Highland Pygathrix cinerea has a conservative gene order. We identified 43 nucleotide differences when comparing this genome with a previously published mitogenome of Pygathrix cinerea. It is evident that there are distinct differences between the Pygathrix cinerea we are currently studying and other Pygathrix cinerea specimens. These differences are unlikely to be solely the result of sequencing errors, as the mitogenomes were generated using high-quality methods. The genetic divergence observed between the two Pygathrix cinerea mitogenomes implies the potential existence of at least two distinct lineages or forms of this primate species within its native range in Vietnam.

Abstract Monolayer materials typically display intriguing temperature-dependent dielectric and optical properties, which are crucial for improving the structure and functionality of associated devices. Due to its unique photoelectric capabilities, monolayer WSe2 has recently received a lot of attention in the fields of atomically thin electronics and optoelectronics. In this work, we focus on the evolution of the temperature-dependent dielectric function (ε = ε1 + i ε2) of monolayer WSe2 over energies from 0.74 to 6.40 eV and temperatures from 40 to 350 K. We analyze the second derivatives of ε with respect to energy to accurately locate the critical points (CP). The dependence of the observed CP energies on temperature is consistent with the alternative domination of the declining exciton binding energy as the temperature increases.

Background: Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is widely used during assisted reproductive therapy to facilitate the development of multiple follicles. In turn, the number of oocytes retrieved has been shown to relate to the live birth rate. This retrospective study investigated the correlation between the total FSH dose used and the cumulative live birth rate in individuals who had undergone in vitro fertilization/intracytoplasmic sperm injection (IVF/ICSI). Methods: This retrospective study included women undergoing IVF/ICSI using a gonadotropin-releasing hormone antagonist protocol who had a regular menstrual cycle and an expected normal response to ovarian stimulation. Cumulative live birth rate was defined as the first live birth following the use of all fresh and frozen transfers of embryos derived from one stimulated IVF/ICSI cycle. Results: The analysis included 7,130 stimulated cycles in 6,517 individuals (9,138 transfers). The mean age, antral follicle count, and anti-Müllerian hormone level were [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text][Formula: see text]ng/ml, respectively. The mean total FSH dose, total number of oocytes retrieved, and total FSH dose per oocyte retrieved were [Formula: see text] IU, [Formula: see text], and [Formula: see text] IU, respectively. There was a significant negative correlation between the total FSH dosage and the cumulative live birth rate in women aged [Formula: see text] years ([Formula: see text], 95% confidence interval [−0.14, −0.08]; [Formula: see text]) and in those aged [Formula: see text] years ([Formula: see text], 95% confidence interval [−0.11, −0.02]; [Formula: see text]). Conclusions: The cumulative live birth rate decreased as the total FSH dose increased. These findings suggest that physicians may wish to avoid prescribing a high dose of FSH in women undergoing IVF/ICSI who are predicted not to have a poor response.

The Metaverse relies on advanced machine learning (ML) techniques to facilitate the seamless mapping between the virtual and physical realms. ML-based technologies also enable metaverse service providers (MSPs) to offer a diverse range of intelligent virtual services to metaverse users (MUs). However, it can be challenging for MSPs to collect sufficient metaverse data to train ML models by themselves. As a result, MSPs can be interested in seeking contributions from MUs in both ML data and models. To address these challenges, we propose MetaAICM, a blockchain-based framework that empowers the metaverse through two key components. Firstly, it incorporates a distributed crowdsourcing system that allows MSPs to gather metaverse data and ML models from MUs. Secondly, it features a decentralized marketplace, enabling MUs to proactively collect data and train ML models for sale using their metaverse devices and computing resources. MetaAICM leverages blockchain and smart contracts to achieve decentralization, ensuring security and privacy without relying on a trusted third-party authority or additional trust assumptions between MUs and MSPs. Numerical studies show that MetaAICM offers high processing performance and cost efficiency, while the framework is implemented on top of a consortium blockchain to show its feasibility.

To achieve an adequate tradeoff between range and energy efficiency, LoRaWAN End Nodes (ENs) choose their transmission parameters using an Adaptive Data Rate (ADR) scheme based on the maximum value of previous Signal-to-Noise (SNR) values. However, the ADR only performs well in favorable channel conditions. In fact, if the SNR exhibits high variability, these parameters could be inefficiently set and may negatively affect the Packet Delivery Rate (PDR). Therefore, a link margin could be overestimated to improve the PDR by the ADR algorithm, which may, however, waste the EN’s energy. This paper proposes a novel ADR that does not rely on the past SNR values. Still, our proposed design directly predicts the current SNR and transmission parameters using Machine Learning. Specifically, the underlying Machine Learning models were trained using in-field measurements for six months in Medellín, Colombia, including different environmental variables and their effects on the SNR. Our ADR scheme improved energy consumption by 47.1% with a PDR of 99% and reduced collisions in dense networks up to 9.5% compared with the ADR scheme. Furthermore, we show that our proposed design outperforms some enhanced versions of the ADR scheme proposed in the literature in both energy consumption and collision rate. Finally, our proposed framework enables simple implementation since it runs directly in the ENs, improving the response time compared with the traditional ADR scheme.

The rapid development of the metaverse and generative Artificial Intelligence (GAI) has led to the emergence of AI-Generated Content (AIGC). Unlike real-world products, AIGCs are represented as digital files, thus vulnerable to plagiarism and leakage on the Internet. In addition, the trading of AIGCs in the virtual world is prone to various trust issues between the involved participants. For example, some customers may try to avoid the payment after receiving the desired AIGC products, or the content sellers refuse to grant the products after obtaining the license fee. Existing digital asset management (DAM) systems often rely on a trusted third-party authority to mitigate these issues. However, this might lead to centralization problems such as the single-point-of-failure (SPoF) when the third parties are under attacks or being malicious. In this paper, we propose MetaTrade, a blockchain-empowered DAM framework that is designed to tackle these urgent trust issues, offering secured AIGC trading and management in the trustless metaverse environment. MetaTrade eliminates the role of the trusted third party, without requiring trust assumptions among participants. Numerical results show that MetaTrade offers higher performance and lower trading cost compared to existing platforms, while security analysis reveals that the framework is resilient against plagiarism, SPoF, and trust-related attacks. To showcase the feasibility of the design, a decentralized application (DApp) has been built on top of MetaTrade as a marketplace for metaverse AIGCs.

We identify the factors affecting the participation in land accumulation of rural households by using a multinomial logit model and assess the income effects of participation in land accumulation by using the propensity score matching (PSM) method. We use household data from a rural survey in three provinces in the Red River Delta of Vietnam in 2019. Our results show that farmland accumulation is significantly correlated with age and gender of household head, as well as agricultural productive assets, non-farm income, saving and access to credit. The participation in farmland accumulation leads to an increase in total household income, although the effect is different between land increasing and land decreasing groups. We suggest enhancing access to credit and supporting non-farm activities to accelerate the accumulation of agricultural land and consequently improve household income.

Adenoviruses are extensively studied in terms of their use as gene therapy vectors and pathogenesis. These vectors have been targeted on both transcriptional and transductional levels to achieve cell-specific gene delivery. Current detection strategies, including reporter gene expression, viral component detection, and vector labeling with fluorophores, have been applied to analyze adenoviral vectors; however, these methods are inadequate for assessing transductional targeting. As an alternative to conventional vector detection techniques, we developed a specific genetic labeling system whereby an adenoviral vector incorporates a fusion between capsid protein IX and EGFP. DNA packaging and thermostability were marginally hampered by the modification while DNA replication, cytopathic effect, and CAR-dependent binding were not affected. The fluorescent label was associated with the virus capsid and conferred a fluorescent property useful in detecting adenoviral particles in flow cytometry, tracking, and tissue sections. We believe our genetic adenovirus labeling system has important implications for vector development, detecting adenovirus vectors in targeting schemes, and studying adenovirus biology. In addition, this technique has potential utility for dynamic monitoring of adenovirus replication and spread.

This study aimed to assess the effects of hexavalent chromium on zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryo development. The zebrafish embryos were treated with solutions containing chromium at different concentrations (0.1, 1, 3.125, 6.25, 12.5, 50, and 100 µg/mL). The development of zebrafish embryos was estimated by the determination of survival rate, heart rate, and the measurement of larvae body length. Real time RT-PCR and Western blot were performed to assess the expression of apoptosis- and antioxidant-related genes. The results showed that the reduced survival rate of zebrafish embryos and larvae was associated with an increase in chromium concentration. The exposure of higher concentrations resulted in a decrease in body length of zebrafish larvae. In addition, a marked increase in heart rate was observed in the zebrafish larvae under chromium treatment, especially at high concentrations. The real-time RT-PCR analysis showed that the transcript expressions for cell-cycle-related genes (cdk4 and cdk6) and antioxidant-related genes (sod1 and sod2) were downregulated in the zebrafish embryos treated with chromium. Western blot analysis revealed the upregulation of Caspase 3 and Bax, while a downregulation was observed in Bcl2. These results indicated that hexavalent chromium induced changes in zebrafish embryo development by altering apoptosis- and antioxidant-related genes.

Objective: This retrospective study aims to describe the disease patterns among patients admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) in a public provincial hospital in North Central Vietnam in 2020. Design: We conducted a retrospective descriptive study. Setting: The study was conducted in the Thanh Hoa General Hospital, Thanh Hoa Province, Vietnam. The study included all emergency and critical care admissions hospitalized from January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2020. Main outcome measures: Data on age, gender, hospital admission, and discharge dates, length of hospital stays, illness chapters (based on ICD-10 codes), and treatment results determined at the hospital discharge of 27,152 episodes of ICU admission were collected. Results: The three illness chapters of ICD-10 with the most patients were Chapter IX-Diseases of the Circulatory System, Chapter XI-Diseases of the Digestive System, and Chapter XIX-Injury, Poisoning, and Some Other Consequences of External Causes, with 21.6%, 21%, and 20.3% of patients, respectively. Most episodes (n = 21,999, 81.0%) showed improved health at the time of hospital discharge, with up to 87% of patients finding a cure. Conclusions: The insights gained from this study can inform healthcare strategies, resource planning, and policy decisions to enhance the delivery of critical care services in the region. Further research and ongoing surveillance will be essential to adapt healthcare systems to the evolving landscape of diseases and to ensure the continued improvement of patient outcomes in intensive care settings.

Graphite is a versatile material used in various fields, particularly in the power source manufacturing industry. Nowadays, graphite holds a unique position in materials for anode electrodes in lithium-ion batteries. With a carbon content of over 99% being a requirement for graphite to serve as an electrode material, the graphite refinement process plays a pivotal role in the research and development of anode materials for lithium-ion batteries. This study used three different processes to purify spherical graphite through wet chemical methods. The spherical graphite after the purification processes was analysed for carbon content by using energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) spectroscopy and was evaluated for structural and morphological characteristics through X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analyses. The analyses results indicate that the three-step process via H2SO4–NaOH–HCl cleaning can elevate the carbon content from 90% to above 99.9% while still maintaining the graphite structure and spherical morphology, thus enhancing the surface area of the material for anode application. Furthermore, the spherical graphite was studied for electrochemical properties when used as an anode for Li-ion batteries using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and galvanostatic charge–discharge (GCD) measurements. The results demonstrated that the purification process significantly improves the material’s capacity with a specific capacity of 350 mAh/g compared to the 280 mAh/g capacity of the anode made of spherical graphite without purification.

We report the absorption and photoluminescence spectra of GaSe single crystals in the near-edge region. The temperatures explored the range from 17 to 300 K. Specifically, at a temperature of 17 K, the photoluminescence spectrum reveals an interesting phenomenon: the Wannier-Mott exciton separates into two states. These states are a triplet state with an energy of 2.103 eV and a singlet state with an energy of 2.109 eV. The energy difference between these two states is 6 meV. Furthermore, the bound exciton (BX) can be localized at an energy of 2.093 eV. It is worth noting that its phonon replicas (BX-nLO) can be clearly distinguished up to the fourth order. Interestingly, the energy gaps between these replicas exhibit a consistent spacing of 7 ± 0.5 meV. This intriguing finding suggests a high-quality crystalline structure as well as a strong coupling between the phonon and BX-nLO. Additionally, at low temperatures, both the ground state (n = 1) at 2.11 eV and the excited state (n = 2) at 2.127 eV of free excitons can be observed.

We report the temperature dependences of the dielectric function ε = ε1 + iε2 and critical point (CP) energies of the uniaxial crystal GaSe in the spectral energy region from 0.74 to 6.42 eV and at temperatures from 27 to 300 K using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The fundamental bandgap and strong exciton effect near 2.1 eV are detected only in the c-direction, which is perpendicular to the cleavage plane of the crystal. The temperature dependences of the CP energies were determined by fitting the data to the phenomenological expression that incorporates the Bose–Einstein statistical factor and the temperature coefficient to describe the electron–phonon interaction. To determine the origin of this anisotropy, we perform first-principles calculations using the mBJ method for bandgap correction. The results clearly demonstrate that the anisotropic dielectric characteristics can be directly attributed to the inherent anisotropy of p orbitals. More specifically, this prominent excitonic feature and fundamental bandgap are derived from the band-to-band transition between s and pz orbitals at the Γ-point.

During a health crisis, prosocial sharing of health-related information (HRI) on social media can help deliver early warnings about new diseases, raise social awareness, exchange support, and spread health policies. Current literature has mainly focused on the factors of general sharing of HRI under normal conditions but neglected those motivations under the health crisis context. This study aims to investigate factors that influence prosocial sharing of HRI on social media during a health crisis. To obtain the objective, this study proposes a dual exchanging-protecting model derived from the fear appeal model and social exchange theory. A partial least squares analysis, carried out on surveyed data of 326 participants, suggested that online users performed two steps of threat appraisal and coping appraisal when they share HRI on social media. Specifically, both health and information risks were found to have impacts on prosocial sharing via motivational factors. Additionally, the motivations of prosocial sharing include both protecting factors (i.e., sharing efficacy, response efficacy) and an exchanging factor (i.e., reciprocity expectation). Our findings offer several theoretical implications and practical contributions for health communicators.

Salmonella enterica is one of dangerous food-borne pathogens listed by the World Health Organization (WHO). In Vietnam, poultry is one of the most widely eaten meats and is reported as a common source of S. enterica contamination. The aim of this study was to examine multi-resistant Salmonella strains, to identify susceptibility to antibiotics by using 15 different types of medications and to perform sequencing to analyze antibiotic resistance genes, genotypes, multi-locus sequence-based typing (MLST), and plasmids. The result of the antibiotic susceptibility test indicated that phenotypic resistance to 9–11 types of antimicrobials was confirmed in all strains. Among 06 sequenced strains, we identified 43 genes associated with antibiotic resistance: strains carrying a range of genes that are associated with aminoglycoside resistance (aac(3), aac(6), ant(3), aph(3), aph(6), aadA); all strains carried blaCTX-M-55 or blaCTX-M-65 gene, which were resistant to the 3rd generation antibiotics; there were also frequently observed sul1, sul2, sul3, tet (A), qnrS1, floR, dfrA14 or dfrA27 genes in sequenced isolates. Besides, the genome sequencing also indicated that all strains carried pathogenicity islands SPI 1, SPI 2, and SPI 3 thereby creating many potential triggers of the disease. Additionally, some carried C63PI, SPI 9, SPI 13, SPI 14, and plus some plasmids such as Col156, IncHI2, IncHI2A, IncFIB, Col (MGD2).

Metaverse is expected to rely on massive Internet of Things (IoT) connections so it inherits various security threats from the IoT network and also faces other sophisticated attacks related to virtual reality technology. As traditional security approaches show various limitations in the large-scale distributed metaverse, this paper proposes MetaCIDS, a novel collaborative intrusion detection (CID) framework that leverages metaverse devices to collaboratively protect the metaverse. In MetaCIDS, a federated learning (FL) scheme based on unsupervised autoencoder and an attention-based supervised classifier enables metaverse users to train a CID model using their local network data, while the blockchain network allows metaverse users to train a machine learning (ML) model to detect intrusion network flows over their monitored local network traffic, then submit verifiable intrusion alerts to the blockchain to earn metaverse tokens. Security analysis shows that MetaCIDS can efficiently detect zero-day attacks, while the training process is resistant to SPoF, data tampering, and up to 33% poisoning nodes. Performance evaluation illustrates the efficiency of MetaCIDS with 96% to 99% detection accuracy on four different network intrusion datasets, supporting both multi-class detection using labeled data and anomaly detection trained on unlabeled data.

Background: Cells are sensitive to changes in gravity, especially the cytoskeletal structures that determine cell morphology. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of simulated microgravity (SMG) on 3T3 cell morphology, as demonstrated by a characterization of the morphology of cells and nuclei, alterations of microfilaments and microtubules, and changes in cycle progression. Methods: 3T3 cells underwent induced SMG for 72 h with Gravite®, while the control group was under 1G. Fluorescent staining was applied to estimate the morphology of cells and nuclei and the cytoskeleton distribution of 3T3 cells. Cell cycle progression was assessed by using the cell cycle app of the Cytell microscope, and Western blot was conducted to determine the expression of the major structural proteins and main cell cycle regulators. Results: The results show that SMG led to decreased nuclear intensity, nuclear area, and nuclear shape and increased cell diameter in 3T3 cells. The 3T3 cells in the SMG group appeared to have a flat form and diminished microvillus formation, while cells in the control group displayed an apical shape and abundant microvilli. The 3T3 cells under SMG exhibited microtubule distribution surrounding the nucleus, compared to the perinuclear accumulation in control cells. Irregular forms of the contractile ring and polar spindle were observed in 3T3 cells under SMG. The changes in cytoskeleton structure were caused by alterations in the expression of major cytoskeletal proteins, including β-actin and α-tubulin 3. Moreover, SMG induced 3T3 cells into the arrest phase by reducing main cell cycle related genes, which also affected the formation of cytoskeleton structures such as microfilaments and microtubules. Conclusions: These results reveal that SMG generated morphological changes in 3T3 cells by remodeling the cytoskeleton structure and downregulating major structural proteins and cell cycle regulators.

The Himalayan region, a rugged mountain zone is among the most susceptible zones to the landslide hazard due to its terrain, geography, and active tectonics. Machine learning (ML) techniques are most advanced and precise methods to develop landslide susceptibility model (LSM). The current study was designed to analyze and assess the landslide susceptibility using ML approaches for District Hattian Bala, NW Himalayas, Pakistan. The historical satellite imageries are used to generate spatiotemporal landslide inventories of year 2005, 2007 and 2012. A spatial database was created pertaining to topographic, environmental, geologic, and anthropogenic factors including slope, aspect, elevation, curvature, plane curvature, profile curvature, topographic wetness index (TWI), lithology, distance to faults, distance to streams, distance to roads, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land use/ land cover (LULC). These LCFs were selected to analyze periodic landslide susceptibility in the region. The experimental design utilized 349, 393, and 735 landslide inventory of 2005, 2007, and 2012 respectively. Two ML models, i.e., Random Forest (RF) and Logistic Regression (LR) were applied to assess landslide susceptibility determine by thirteen landslide causative factors (LCFs). The spatiotemporal landslide inventory was partitioned into training (70%) and testing (30%) landslides for respective years to check the prediction accuracies of selected ML models. Comparative analysis of different LSMs was performed by the Receiver Operator Curves – Area Under Curves (ROC-AUC). The resultant accuracy, MAE, RMSE, Kappa, Precision, Recall, F1 indicated that RF outperformed the LR model. The study aims to minimize losses to lives and potential economic damage linked with recurrent slope instabilities in the region. It is anticipated that use of ML algorithms would support concerned authorities and organizations to effectively plan and manage landslide hazard in the region.

Major histocompatibility complex class I chain-related A (MICA) is a tumour antigen that is greatly expressed on the surfaces of human malignancies and infection cells, which trigger attachment to immune cells. Although many studies have investigated the role of the MICA rs2596542 variant involved in high risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the expression regulation of rs2596542 MICA in nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) susceptibility with the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is still ambiguous. Therefore, this study was conducted to elucidate the association of rs2596542C/T and EBV load to MICA expression in NPC tissues. A total of 70 tumour tissues from NPC patients were enrolled in the current study . The genetic variant of rs2596542 was identified by Real-time PCR genotyping, and MICA protein expression was quantified by immunohistochemistry staining. A significant difference was observed in the expression of MICA regarding EBV copy numbers (p

This study aims to assess the impacts of three components from Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) on Entrepreneurial intention and analyze the mediating effects of these three components in the relationship between Entrepreneurial education and Entrepreneurial intention and in the relationship between Self-Efficacy and Entrepreneurial intention among engineering students. Data were collected via a structured questionnaire from engineering students at Industrial University of Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The methodology employed Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) using SmartPLS (version 3.3.3) to assess the relationship among variables. Findings confirm the directly positive relationship between Attitude toward entrepreneurship, Perceived behaviour control and Subjective norms on engineering student’s entrepreneurial intention. These three components of TPB mediate the relationship between Entrepreneurial education, Self-Efficay and engineering student’s entrepreneurial intention. This study contributes toward the understanding of engineering student’s entrepreneurial intention in Vietnam as an emerging market in Asia. The mediating effects of three components of TPB have been systematically investigated and the indirect roles of Entrepreneurial education and Self-Efficay have been validated by applying employed Structural Equation Modelling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS). Managerial implications are discussed to promote engineering student’s entrepreneurial intention in Vietnam. Higher education leaders and policymakers can utilise the findings to construct the initiatives of entrepreneurship development and their implementation for engineering students.

Background: Simulated microgravity (SMG) has not been well characterized in terms of its impact on cell division structures. This research aimed to assess the changes in cell division in Chang liver cells (CCL-13 cells) under SMG conditions. Methods: CCL-13 cells were exposed to SMG conditions via a 3D clinostat for 72 h. The cells from the control group were kept under the same conditions, without exposure to SMG. The changes in cell division were assessed via cell cycle progression analysis, the transcript expression of the genes associated with the cell cycle, and the appearance of the contractile ring, microvilli, and spindle in CCL-13 cells. Results: The CCL-13 cells from both the control group and the SMG group exhibited a typical epithelial-like shape. The CCL-13 cells of both groups displayed normal nuclear morphologies and were devoid of fragmentation and condensation, which are signs of apoptosis. There were changes in the cell cycle of CCL-13 cells in the SMG condition, which were shown via an increase in the cell percentage in the G0/G1 phase and a decrease in the S phase and G2/M phase. The cell area of the SMG-exposed CCl-13 cells increased, while their nuclear area decreased, which led to a reduction in the nuclear/cytoplasmic ratio. Moreover, the transcript expression of cyclin b1, cyclin d1, cdk2, and cdk6 was downregulated in CCL-13 cells under SMG conditions compared to the control group. Interestingly, SMG-exposed CCL-13 cells exhibited a decreased appearance of microvilli, changes in the formation of the contractile ring, and polar spindle microtubules during cytokinesis. Conclusions: SMG attenuated the cell division of CCL-13 cells by driving cells into the arrest phase and altering the cell division structures.

LoRaWAN is a widespread protocol by which Internet of things end nodes (ENs) can exchange information over long distances via their gateways. To deploy the ENs, it is mandatory to perform a link budget analysis, which allows for determining adequate radio parameters like path loss (PL). Thus, designers use PL models developed based on theoretical approaches or empirical data. Some previous measurement campaigns have been performed to characterize this phenomenon, primarily based on distance and frequency. However, previous works have shown that weather variations also impact PL, so using the conventional approaches and available datasets without capturing important environmental effects can lead to inaccurate predictions. Therefore, this paper delivers a data descriptor that includes a set of LoRaWAN measurements performed in Medellín, Colombia, including PL, distance, frequency, temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, particulate matter, and energy, among other things. This dataset can be used by designers who need to fit highly accurate PL models. As an example of the dataset usage, we provide some model fittings including log-distance, and multiple linear regression models with environmental effects. This analysis shows that including such variables improves path loss predictions with an RMSE of 1.84 dB and an R2 of 0.917.

We report the dielectric tensors on the cleavage plane of biaxial SnSxSe1-x alloys in the spectral energy region from 0.74 to 6.42 eV obtained by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Single-crystal SnSxSe1-x alloys were grown by the temperature-gradient method. Strongly anisotropic optical responses are observed along the different principal axes. An approximate solution yields the anisotropic dielectric functions along the zigzag (a-axis) and armchair (b-axis) directions. The critical point (CP) energies of SnSxSe1-x alloys are obtained by analyzing numerically calculated second derivatives, and their physical origins are identified by energy band structure. Blue shifts of the CPs are observed with increasing S composition. The fundamental bandgap for Se = 0.8 and 1 in the armchair axis arises from band-to-band transitions at the M0 minimum point instead of the M1 saddle point as in SnS. These optical data will be useful for designing optoelectronic devices based on SnSxSe1-x alloys.

The backward heat problem is known to be ill possed, which has lead to the design of several regularization methods. In this article we apply the method of filtering out the high frequencies from the data for a parabolic equation. First we identify two properties that if satisfied they imply the convergence of the approximate solution to the exact solution. Then we provide examples of filters that satisfy the two properties, and error estimates for their approximate solutions. We also provide numerical experiments to illustrate our results.

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome is a devastating disease that causes heavy losses to the economy and the development of agriculture. In this study, we aimed to assess the genetic variation of the ORF5 gene from 12 Vietnamese porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) strains. The phylogenetic analysis of the ORF5 sequences of Vietnamese strains and other strains indicated that the Vietnamese strains belong to type II. The Vietnamese strains were also separated into two clusters. Five strains BG/12, TG1/12, TG2/12, TG3/12, and TG4/12 were grouped in cluster 1 with a 98% bootstrap value, while the other seven strains HCM/14, TG5/15, TG6/15, TG7/15, ST1/15, ST2/15, and ST3/15 belonged to cluster 2. The alignment of the deduced amino acid sequences demonstrated that the identity between Vietnamese strains with CH-1a, JXA1, and VR2332 strains were 87–93%, 91–98%, and 83–89%, respectively. The mutation of the N21 glycosylation site (N→S) of the GP5 sequence was observed in five Vietnamese strains from cluster 1. The core sequence of the neutralizing epitopes (including five positions at H25, Q27, I29, Y30, and N31) in GP5 was presented in all Vietnamese strains except strain TG1/12. The hydrophobicity plots of GP5 revealed two different positions of BG/12 strain from CH-1a strain and VR2332 strain. The first difference was the missing of a hydrophilic peak from position amino acid 85 to 95. In this region, the CH-1a and VR2332 strains have 3 hydrophilic peaks. The second difference was the loss of another hydrophilic peak at position amino acid 100. Key words: genotype; ORF5; phylogenetics; PRRSV; Vietnam RAZNOLIKOST GENA ORF5 V SEVIH VIRUSA VIETNAMSKEGA PRAŠIČJEGA RESPIRATORNEGA IN REPRODUKTIVNEGA SINDROMA Prašičji respiratorni in reproduktivni sindrom je huda bolezen, ki povzroča velike izgube v gospodarstvu in vpliva na razvoj kmetijstva. V raziskavi smo želeli oceniti gensko raznolikost gena ORF5 v 12 sevih virusa vietnamskega prašičjega respiratornega in reproduktivnega sindroma (PRRSV). Filogenetska analiza baznih zaporedij ORF5 vietnamskih in drugih sevov je pokazala, da vietnamski sevi pripadajo tipu II. Tudi vietnamski sevi so bili ločeni v dve skupini. Pet sevov (BG/12, TG /12, TG2/12, TG3/12 in TG /12) je bilo združenih v skupino 1 z 98-odstotno vrednostjo bootstrap, medtem ko je bilo ostalih sedem sevov (HCM/14, TG5/15, TG6/15, TG7/15, ST1/15, ST2/15 in ST3/15) uvrščenih v drugo skupino. Poravnava zaporedij aminokislin je pokazala, da je podobnost med vietnamskimi sevi in sevi CH-1a 87−93-odstotna, JXA1 91−98-odstotna in VR2332 83−89-odstotna. Pri petih vietnamskih sevih iz skupine 1 smo opazili mutacijo mesta z glikozilacijo N21 (N → S) zaporedja GP5. Glavno zaporedje nevtralizacijskih epitopov (vključno s petimi položaji pri H25, Q27, I29, Y30 in N31) v GP5 je bilo opaženo pri vseh vietnamskih sevih, razen v sevu TG1/12. Grafikoni hidrofobnosti GP5 so pokazali dva različna položaja BG/12 iz CH-1a in VR2332 sevov. Prva razlika je bila odsotnost hidrofilnega vrha pri položaju aminokislin 85 do 95. V tem področju so imeli sevi CH-1a in VR2332 tri hidrofilne vrhove. Druga razlika je bila izguba drugega hidrofilnega vrha na položaju aminokisline 100. Ključne besede: genotip; ORF5; filogenetika; PRRSV; Vietnam

B-cell receptor (BCR)-mediated signaling plays an important role in the pathogenesis of a subset of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), and novel agents targeting this pathway are now in clinical use. We have previously identified a signature of active BCR signaling on formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded specimens using quantitative immunofluorescence, allowing for identification of patients who might benefit from anti-BCR therapies. We sought to characterize the clinicopathologic significance of active BCR signaling in DLBCL by correlating measures of signaling intensity with clinical features and various tumor cell characteristics. High MYC and concurrent high MYC and BCL2 double-expression was positively correlated with individual markers of active BCR signaling and cases with MYC/BCL2 double-expression showed overall greater BCR activation compared to cases lacking double-expression. Our findings suggest that the BCR signaling pathway may be more active in MYC/BCL2 double-expressor DLBCL and may represent a rational therapeutic target in this aggressive DLBCL subgroup.

BACKGROUND: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is involved in the growth of new blood vessels that feed tumors and kinesin spindle protein (KSP) plays a critical role in mitosis involving in cell proliferation. Simultaneous silencing of VEGF and KSP, an attractive and viable approach in cancer, leads on restricting cancer progression. The purpose of this study is to examine the therapeutic potential of dual gene targeted siRNA cocktail on human hepatocellular carcinoma Hep3B cells. RESULTS: The predesigned siRNAs could inhibit VEGF and KSP at mRNA level. siRNA cocktail showed a further downregulation on KSP mRNA and protein levels compared to KSP-siRNA or VEGF-siRNA, but not on VEGF expression. It also exhibited greater suppression on cell proliferation as well as cell migration or invasion capabilities and induction of apoptosis in Hep3B cells than single siRNA simultaneously. This could be explained by the significant downregulation of Cyclin D1, Bcl-2 and Survivin. However, no sigificant difference in the mRNA and protein levels of ANG2, involving inhibition of angiogenesis was found in HUVECs cultured with supernatant of Hep3B cells treated with siRNA cocktail, compared to that of VEGF-siRNA. CONCLUSION: Silencing of VEGF and KSP plays a key role in inhibiting cell proliferation, migration, invasion and inducing apoptosis of Hep3B cells. Simultaneous silencing of VEGF and KSP using siRNA cocktail yields promising results for eradicating hepatocellular carcinoma cells, a new direction for liver cancer treatment.

Like many families who were on the “wrong” side of the Việt Nam war, my family history has effectively been “displaced” from official discourse in Việt Nam when the country was “reunified” in 1975, as well as in the discourse of public history in the U.S. which has overwhelmingly emphasized the “lessons” of the “American Experience” in Việt Nam. Using my family history as an index of historical processes, I hope to introduce windows on the continuities of what noncommunist Vietnamese do and think. My family folklore is utilized as a way to create opportunities for other non-communist Vietnamese here and elsewhere to connect, articulate, or remind them of a pattern from the past that can provide a contemporary coherence with an ethic workable for the future.

Background: Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM®) is the standard for the representation, storage, and communication of medical images and related information. A DICOM file format and communication protocol for pathology have been defined; however, adoption by vendors and in the field is pending. Here, we implemented the essential aspects of the standard and assessed its capabilities and limitations in a multisite, multivendor healthcare network. Methods: We selected relevant DICOM attributes, developed a program that extracts pixel data and pixel-related metadata, integrated patient and specimen-related metadata, populated and encoded DICOM attributes, and stored DICOM files. We generated the files using image data from four vendor-specific image file formats and clinical metadata from two departments with different laboratory information systems. We validated the generated DICOM files using recognized DICOM validation tools and measured encoding, storage, and access efficiency for three image compression methods. Finally, we evaluated storing, querying, and retrieving data over the web using existing DICOM archive software. Results: Whole slide image data can be encoded together with relevant patient and specimen-related metadata as DICOM objects. These objects can be accessed efficiently from files or through RESTful web services using existing software implementations. Performance measurements show that the choice of image compression method has a major impact on data access efficiency. For lossy compression, JPEG achieves the fastest compression/decompression rates. For lossless compression, JPEG-LS significantly outperforms JPEG 2000 with respect to data encoding and decoding speed. Conclusion: Implementation of DICOM allows efficient access to image data as well as associated metadata. By leveraging a wealth of existing infrastructure solutions, the use of DICOM facilitates enterprise integration and data exchange for digital pathology.

The molecular mechanisms underlying chordoma pathogenesis are unknown. We therefore sought to identify novel mutations to better understand chordoma biology and to potentially identify therapeutic targets. Given the relatively high costs of whole genome sequencing, we performed a focused genetic analysis using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time of flight mass spectrometer (Sequenom iPLEX genotyping). We tested 865 hotspot mutations in 111 oncogenes and selected tumor suppressor genes (OncoMap v. 3.0) of 45 human chordoma tumor samples. Of the analyzed samples, seven were identified with at least one mutation. Six of these were from fresh frozen samples, and one was from a paraffin embedded sample. These observations were validated using an independent platform using homogeneous mass extend MALDI-TOF (Sequenom hME Genotyping). These genetic alterations include: ALK (A877S), CTNNB1 (T41A), NRAS (Q61R), PIK3CA (E545K), PTEN (R130), CDKN2A (R58*), and SMARCB1 (R40*). This study reports on the largest comprehensive mutational analysis of chordomas performed to date. To focus on mutations that have the greatest chance of clinical relevance, we tested only oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes that have been previously implicated in the tumorigenesis of more common malignancies. We identified rare genetic changes that may have functional significance to the underlying biology and potential therapeutics for chordomas. Mutations in CDKN2A and PTEN occurred in areas of chromosomal copy loss. When this data is paired with the studies showing 18 of 21 chordoma samples displaying copy loss at the locus for CDKN2A, 17 of 21 chordoma samples displaying copy loss at PTEN, and 3 of 4 chordoma samples displaying deletion at the SMARCB1 locus, we can infer that a loss of heterozygosity at these three loci may play a significant role in chordoma pathogenesis.

This paper introduces an effective intelligent controller for robotic systems with uncertainties. The proposed method is a novel self-organizing fuzzy cerebellar model articulation controller (NSOFC) which is a combination of a cerebellar model articulation controller (CMAC) and sliding mode control (SMC). We also present a new Gaussian membership function (GMF) that is designed by the combination of the prior and current GMF for each layer of CMAC. In addition, the relevant data of the prior GMF is used to check tracking errors more accurately. The inputs of the proposed controller can be mixed simultaneously between the prior and current states according to the corresponding errors. Moreover, the controller uses a self-organizing approach which can increase or decrease the number of layers, therefore the structures of NSOFC can be adjusted automatically. The proposed method consists of a NSOFC controller and a compensation controller. The NSOFC controller is used to estimate the ideal controller, and the compensation controller is used to eliminate the approximated error. The online parameters tuning law of NSOFC is designed based on Lyapunov's theory to ensure stability of the system. Finally, the experimental results of a 2 DOF robot arm are used to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apocrine-eccrine carcinomas are rare and associated with poor prognosis. Currently there is no uniform treatment guideline. Chemotherapeutic drugs that selectively target cancer-promoting pathways may complement conventional therapeutic approaches. However, studies on genetic alterations and EGFR and Her2 status of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas are few in number. In addition, hormonal studies have not been comprehensive and performed only on certain subsets of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas. To investigate whether apocrine-eccrine carcinomas express hormonal receptors or possess activation of oncogenic pathways that can be targeted by available chemotherapeutic agent we performed immunohistochemistry for AR, PR, ER, EGFR, and HER2 expression; fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) for EGFR and ERBB2 gene amplification; and molecular analyses for recurrent mutations in 15 cancer genes including AKT-1, EGFR, PIK3CA, and TP53 on 54 cases of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas. They include 10 apocrine carcinomas, 7 eccrine carcinomas, 9 aggressive digital papillary adenocarcinomas, 10 hidradenocarcinomas, 11 porocarcinomas, 1 adenoid cystic carcinoma, 4 malignant chondroid syringomas, 1 malignant spiradenoma, and 1 malignant cylindroma. AR, ER, PR, EGFR and HER2 expression was seen in 36% (19/53), 27% (14/51), 16% (8/51), 85% (44/52) and 12% (6/52), respectively. Polysomy or trisomy of EGFR was detected by FISH in 30% (14/46). Mutations of AKT-1, PIK3CA, and TP53 were detected in 1, 3, and 7 cases, respectively (11/47, 23%). Additional investigation regarding the potential treatment of rare cases of apocrine-eccrine carcinomas with PI3K/Akt/mTOR pathway inhibitors, currently in clinical testing, may be of clinical interest.