In this paper, we would like to consider the Cauchy problem for semi-linear σ-evolution equations with time-dependent damping for any σ≥1. Motivated strongly by the classification of damping terms in the paper34, the first main goal of the present work is to make some generalizations from σ=1 to σ>1 and simultaneously to investigate decay estimates for solutions to the corresponding linear equations in the so-called effective damping cases. For the next main goals, we are going not only to prove the global well-posedness property of small data solutions but also to indicate blow-up results for solutions to the semi-linear problem. In this concern, the novelty which should be recognized is that the application of a modified test function combined with a judicious choice of test functions gives blow-up phenomena and upper bound estimates for lifespan in both the subcritical case and the critical case, where σ is assumed to be any fractional number. Finally, lower bound estimates for lifespan in some spatial dimensions are also established to find out their sharp results.

This article presents the architecture, design and validation of a microservice orchestration approach, that improves the flexibility of heterogeneous microservice-based platforms. Improving user experience and interaction, for time-critical applications are aspects that were primary objectives for the design of the architecture. Each microservice can provide its own embedded user interface component, also decentralizing it and, in consequence, improving the loosely coupled approach to the architecture. Obtained results are promising, with high throughput and low response times. Also, a key finding was the introduction of benchmarking as a new step in the development lifecycle of performance-critical software components, with an example of how it can be applied within an Agile methodology. Further research is proposed to improve the results and raise the final technology readiness level of the system. Obtained results already make the approach a candidate and viable alternative to classical service composers.

A document by Maria Höffmann. Click on the document to view its contents.

Background and Purpose Asthma is characterized by airway inflammation, mucus hypersecretion and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR). The activation of cholinergic anti‐inflammatory pathway (CAP) through nicotinic agents has been shown to control experimental asthma. Yet, the effects of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS)-induced CAP on allergic inflammation remain unknown. Experimental Approach BALB/c mice were sensitized and challenged with house dust mite (HDM) extract, and treated with active VNS (5Hz, 0.5 ms, 0.1 mA). Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid was assessed for total and differential cell counts and cytokine levels. Lungs were examined by histopathology and electron microscopy. AHR in response to methacholine was also measured. Key Results In the HDM mouse asthma model, active but not sham VNS reduced BAL fluid total and differential cell counts, blocked mucus hypersecretion and suppressed choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) expression in bronchial epithelial cells. Besides, active VNS also abated HDM-induced elevation of type 2 cytokines IL-4 and IL-5. Furthermore, goblet cell hyperplasia and collagen deposition were diminished in VNS-treated mice. Mechanistically, VNS was found to block the phosphorylation of transcription factor STAT6 and the level of IRF4 in total lung lysates. Finally, VNS abrogated methacholine-induced AHR in asthma mice. Therapeutic effects of VNS were abolished by prior administration with α-bungarotoxin, a specific inhibitor of α7 nicotinic receptors (α7nAChR). Conclusion Our data revealed the protective effects of VNS on various clinical features in allergic airway inflammation model. VNS, a clinically approved therapy for depression and epilepsy, appears to be a promising new strategy for controlling allergic asthma through α7nAChR.

A document by Lizandro de Sousa Santos. Click on the document to view its contents.

Aim: This research aims to provide an overview of the consequences of undiagnosed non-adherence in clinical trials. Methods: This research was conducted with a mixed-methods approach. It combines a literature review and qualitative semi-structured interviews with key opinion leaders. Based on this groundwork, the consequences of undiagnosed non-adherence in clinical trials were summarized and reported in a figure. This study focused on phases II, III, and IV in ambulatory settings across a variety of therapeutic areas and indications. Results: Various consequences of non-adherence in trials were investigated. In phase II, drug efficacy may be underestimated, variability in the outcomes may be high, and a distorted picture of side effects could be reported, resulting in an uncertain impression of the investigational product’s profile, and complicating decision-making. The sponsor may need to increase the sample size of the upcoming phase III study to improve its power, representing additional costs, or even terminate the study. In phase III, similar phenomena may be observed, making demonstration of efficacy to the regulatory bodies more difficult. Lastly, in phase IV, a distortion in pharmacometrics may occur; the drug may underperform, prescriptions may be refilled less often than expected, or extra expenses may be incurred by the payers. This can result in post-marketing dose reduction, new competitors coming into the market, and eventually, product withdrawal. Conclusion: This research highlighted the many potential adverse consequences of undiagnosed non-adherence in clinical trials, including additional costs. Collecting accurate data appeared to be crucial for decision-making throughout the drug development process.

Urbanisation is rapidly altering ecosystems, leading to profound biodiversity loss. To mitigate these effects, we need a better understanding of how urbanisation impacts dispersal and reproduction. Two contrasting population demographic models have been proposed which predict that urbanisation either promotes (facilitation model) or constrains (fragmentation model) gene flow and genetic diversity. Which of these models prevails likely depends on the strength of selection on specific phenotypic traits that influence dispersal, survival or reproduction. Here, we examine the genomic impact of urbanisation on the Neotropical túngara frog (Engystomops pustulosus), a species known to adapt its reproductive traits to urban selective pressures. Using whole-genome resequencing for multiple paired urban and forest populations we examined genomic diversity, population connectivity and demographic history. Contrary to both the fragmentation and facilitation models, urban populations did not exhibit substantial changes in genomic diversity or differentiation compared to forest populations and genomic variation was best explained by geographic distance rather than environmental factors. Moreover, both urban and forest populations appear to have undergone population declines which are coincident with extensive human-activity around the Panama Canal during the last few centuries rather than recent urbanisation. Overall, our study underscores the importance of considering the historical context in urban evolution studies as anthropogenic effects may be extensive and impact non-urban areas on both recent and older timescales. Failure to take this into account when interpreting comparisons between urban and non-urban areas may underestimate the impact of urbanisation.

Extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) has proven effective in the treatment of several diseases, including acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In its standard version, ECP requires leukapheresis to obtain a fraction of mononuclear cells. The possibility of using leukapheresis is limited by the requirements for vascular access and the somatic status of the patient. We have developed a new ECP method that does not require leukapheresis. This paper presents a description of two clinical cases of severe refractory GVHD treated by micro-ECP.

Invasive alien species are generally highly fertile and adaptable and can pose a severe threat to the ecological security of invaded localities. Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) is a rapidly evolving cryptic complex. Among them, Mediterranean (MED) and Middle East–Asia Minor 1 (MEAM1) is the most invasive and widely distributed. To clarify the invasion source, population structure, and genetic differentiation drivers of whitefly populations in Xinjiang, China, we collected B. tabaci from 14 host crops in Xinjiang, China. A total of 453 sequenced cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI) fragments were analysed. We used common methods and parameters of genetic analysis, such as phylogenetic analysis, haplotype diversity, and nucleotide diversity, neutrality testing, and mismatch distribution chart analysis to determine the genetic structure and genetic differentiation and explore the origin of the invasion of B. tabaci populations in Xinjiang. The results have shown that global MED and MEAM1 populations are genetically differentiated, and MED has a significant geographical lineage structure at the Xinjiang and global spatial scales. This was the same for the MEAM1 population at the Xinjiang spatial scale. There have been multiple local expansions and founder effects in the MED populations. The MEAM1 population has retained a stable population size with a bottleneck effect. Based on the phylogenetic tree for MED and MEAM1, it has been demonstrated that there have been multiple points and pathways of invasion of B. tabaci and the sources in Xinjiang, China were complex. The sources of MED invasion of MED are likely to be Zhejiang, Hebei, or Shanxi. The source for MEAM1 is complex, and Zhejiang is one of the main invasion sources. This study has shown that host plant differences in open habitats, geographic isolation, and habitat differences were the driving factors for genetic differentiation of B. tabaci populations in Xinjiang, China

The Siamese tracker consists of two components: a classification and a regression networks. Despite their different roles, most Siamese trackers have similar feature fusion modules in the two networks, leading to the neglect of their unique characteristics. In this work, we experimentally discover that the two networks place different levels of emphasis on different types of information. Specifically, regression tends to rely on semantic information, while classification places more emphasis on global information. Therefore, we propose a new tracking structure named SGTrack, which includes a semantic augmentation fusion (SAF) for regression and a global relevance fusion (GRF) for classification. It allows us to unlock the full potential of both networks. The experimental results of our method on five benchmarks provide evidence of a notable improvement in tracking performance, while preserving real-time speed.

IntroductionOral symptoms are often the first manifestation of leukemia in children, and there are many reports of tooth extraction for abnormalities such as tooth movement. Leukemia accounts for 38% of all childhood cancers in Japan, followed by brain tumors (16%), lymphomas (9%), and neuroblastomas (AML) (8%), and the remaining 5% are unknown. Among the types of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) accounts for 80–85% and T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) about 10–15%.1Marukawa et al. reported that approximately 20–35% of leukemia patients have initial symptoms in the oral cavity, and it is not uncommon for oral symptoms to appear early in the course of leukemia. The most common oral symptoms in leukemia patients are gingival hemorrhage and gingival swelling, followed by jawbone abnormalities such as miconus hypersensitivity, alveolar bone resorption, and tooth movement, and many cases of leukemia have been detected in the oral cavity.2-8Curtis et al. reported a correlation between leukemia and mild or worsening jaw bone symptoms in pediatric patients with ALL, based on radiographic studies of jaw bone changes. However, there are no reports of cases of jaw bone resorption in patients with ALL in Japan, although there are a few reports of cases in which jaw bone resorption was observed due to leukemia cell infiltration following the onset of leukemia. No cases have been reported in which the jawbone was severely resorbed.9, 10In this study, we report a case of a pediatric patient with ALL who developed leukemia and had significant jaw bone resorption due to infiltration of leukemia cells, resulting in severe tooth movement and the inability to properly occlude the jaw.

This report describes a case of anti-hu antibody associated paraneoplastic sensory neuropathy with an undifferentiated lung tumor . The aim of this case was to highlight the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach for early recognition and rapid treatment of paraneoplastic neurological syndromes

This paper presents a precise two-robot collaboration method for 3D self-localization relying on a single rotating camera and onboard accelerometers used to measure the tilt of the robots. This method allows for localization in GPS-denied environments and in the presence of magnetic interference or relatively (or totally) dark and unstructured unmarked locations. One robot moves forward on each step while the other remains stationary. The tilt angles of the robots obtained from the accelerometers and the rotational angle of the turret, associated with the video analysis, make it possible to continuously calculate the location of each robot. We describe a hardware setup used for experiments and provide a detailed description of the algorithm that fuses the data obtained by the accelerometers and cameras and runs in real-time on onboard micro-computers. Finally, we present 2D and 3D experimental results, which show that the system achieves 2% accuracy for the total travelled distance.

Key pointsWe describe 35 cases of submandibular degloving, a recently encoded technique for submandibular sialoadenectomy in benign pathologyMalignancy has been reliably excluded through clinical assessment and fine needle aspiration cytologyIt is based on blunt subfascial supracapsular dissection in order to spare fascia along with facial vessels and marginalis mandibulae nerve (MMN) withinNo recurrences have been recordedThe rate of injury to the nerves at risk (MMN, lingual, hypoglossal) is lower than what reported in the literature for the “classical” transcervical and transoral techniques

Glacial moulins (cylindrical meltwater drainage shafts) provide valuable insights into glacier dynamics, but are inaccessible and hazardous environments for humans to study. Exploring using passive sensor probes has revealed the complex geometry of moulins, however, exploration has been limited. To overcome these challenges, we propose a tethered robot capable of autonomously exploring and capturing data in glacial moulins. Our novel robot is equipped with a tether to support its motion. Combined with novel estimation and control algorithms, the tethered robot is able to safely and efficiently maneuver in confined, chimney-like structures such as moulins. Laboratory and field experiments confirm the feasibility of the proposed design, showing successful localization in environments with no access to positional measurements. Field trials on the Mer de Glace glacier demonstrate the robot’s capabilities, descending into the largest moulin to depths of 25m and using onboard sensors to reconstruct the moulin shape. Two sampling mechanisms are presented and evaluated to extract samples from the icy surface of the moulin. Our results show promising potential for future exploration of moulins, demonstrating the effectiveness of our tethered robot for safely gathering data from these hazardous environments.

The main objective of this study is to address the challenge of simultaneously ensuring robustness and convergence performance in model-free inversion-based iterative learning control. Initially, this research provides a mathematical analysis of the sources of errors in the iterative process, followed by proposing a design guideline to enhance both convergence speed and the final value error. Based on the design guideline, a gain design method associated with the number of iterations is proposed, resulting in a novel model-free inversion-based iterative learning control algorithm. Subsequently, a robustness analysis of the proposed algorithm is conducted. Finally, a comprehensive simulation and numerical comparison of the proposed algorithm with existing similar algorithms are presented to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed control algorithm.

Landlocking is a process whereby a population of normally diadromous fish becomes limited to freshwater, potentially leading to behavioural, morphological, and genetic changes, and occasionally speciation. The study of recently landlocked populations can shed light on how populations adapt to environmental change, and how such life-history shifts affect population-genetic structure. Kōaro (Galaxias brevipinnis) is a facultatively diadromous Southern Hemisphere galaxiid fish that frequently becomes landlocked in inland lakes. This study compares seven landlocked kōaro populations to diadromous populations from main and offshore islands of New Zealand. Genotyping-by-sequencing was used to obtain genotypes at 18,813 single nucleotide polymorphism sites for each population. Analyses of population structure revealed that most landlocked populations were genetically highly distinct from one another, as well as from diadromous populations. A few particularly isolated island and lake populations were particularly strongly genetically differentiated. Landscape characteristics were measured to test whether lake elevation, size, or distance from the sea predicted genetic diversity or differentiation from diadromous kōaro. While there were no significant relationships indicating isolation-by-distance or isolation-by-environment, we detected a trend toward lower genetic diversity in lakes at higher elevations. Our findings illustrate the critical role that landlocking can play in the structure of intraspecific genetic diversity within and between populations.

Jupyter Notebook is a popular tool among data analysts and scientists for working with data. It provides a way to combine code, documentation, and visualizations in a single, interactive environment, facilitating code reuse. While code reuse can improve programming efficiency, it can also decrease readability, security, and overall performance. We conduct a large-scale exploratory study of code reuse practices in the Jupyter Notebook development community on the Stack Overflow platform to understand the potential negative impacts of code reuse. Our findings identified 1,097,470 Jupyter Notebook clone pairs that reuse Stack Overflow code snippets, and the average code snippet has 7.91 code quality violations. Through our research, we gain insight into the reasons behind Jupyter Notebook developers' decision to reuse code and the potential drawbacks of this practice.