To improve the thermal properties of thermite safely and stably, electrostatic spraying was used to prepare the Al/MoO3 thermite. The Al/MoO3 thermites were detected and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD), and thermal decomposition experiments were carried out by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The heat release of the Al/MoO3 thermite prepared by the electrostatic spray (1044 J·g-1) is significantly higher than that of the thermite prepared by the ultrasonic (692 J·g-1), which is due to more uniform dispersion between Al and MoO3. The initial reaction temperature and activation energy (Ea) of the former keep it steady. Electrostatic spray ensures the safety and stability of the Al/MoO3 thermite. This study provides a new idea for safely and stably improving the thermal properties of thermite by enhancing surface homogenization, which is of great significance for practical applications.

Background: Atopic dermatitis (AD) contributes to substantial social and financial costs in public health care systems. Antibiotic exposure during pregnancy has been proposed as a risk factor, but findings remain inconsistent. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between prenatal antibiotic use and childhood AD. Methods: We performed a population-based cohort study using data collected from the Taiwan Maternal and Child Health Database from 2009 to 2016. Associations were determined using Cox proportional hazards model and were adjusted for several potential covariates, including maternal atopic disorders and gestational infections. Subgroup analyses evaluated the influence of postnatal infant antibiotic/acetaminophen use on the association between prenatal antibiotic exposure and childhood AD diagnosed after 1 year of age. Results: A total of 1288343 mother-child pairs were identified and 39.5% received antibiotics prenatally. Maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy was slightly positively associated with childhood AD (aHR 1.05, 95% CI 1.04-1.06), especially in the first and second trimesters. An apparent dose-response pattern was observed with an 11% increased risk when the exposure was ≥5 courses prenatally (aHR 1.11, 95% CI 1.09-1.14). Subgroup analysis showed the positive association remained significant regardless of postnatal antibiotic use; however, a negative association was found in children without postnatal infant acetaminophen use (aHR 1.02, 95% CI 0.97-1.07). Conclusion: Maternal antibiotic use during pregnancy was associated with increased risk of childhood AD in a dose-related manner. Possible confounders existed between prenatal antibiotics and postnatal infant acetaminophen use in the subgroup analysis. Further research may be warranted to investigate this variable using a prospectively designed study, and also to examine whether or not this association is specifically related to pregnancy.

Diospyros (Ebenaceae) is a widely distributed genus of trees and shrubs native to tropical and subtropical regions, with numerous species valued for their fruits (persimmons), timber, and medicinal values. However, information regarding their plastomes and chloroplast evolution is scarce. The present study performed comparative genomic and evolutionary analyses on plastomes of 18 accepted Diospyros species, including three newly sequenced ones. Our study showed a highly conserved genomic structure across the species, with plastome size ranging from 157,321 bp (D. jinzaoshi) to 157,934 bp (D. deyangensis). These plastomes encoded 134–138 genes, including 89–91 protein-coding genes, 1–2 pseudogenes (Ψycf1 for all, Ψrps19 for a few), 37 tRNA genes, and 8 rRNA genes. Comparative analysis of Diospyros identified the intergenic regions (trnH-psbA, rps16-trnQ, trnT-psbD, petA-psbJ, trnL-trnF-ndhJ) as the mutational hotspots in these species. Phylogenomic analyses identified three main groups within the genus designated as the evergreen, deciduous, and island groups. The codon usage analysis identified 30 codons with relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) values greater than 1 and 29 codons ending with A and U bases. A total of three codons (UUA, GCU, and AGA) with highest (RSCU) values were identified as the optimal codons. ENC-plot indicated the significant role of mutational pressure in shaping codon usage, while most protein-coding genes in Diospyros experienced relaxed purifying selection (Ka/Ks < 1). Additionally, the ndhG, rpoC1, and ycf3 genes showed positive selection (Ka/Ks > 1) in the island, deciduous, and both deciduous and evergreen species, respectively. Thus, the results provide a foundation for elaborating Diospyros’s genetic architecture and taxonomy, conserving genetic diversity and enriching genetic resources.

Streptococcus intermedius is a commensal bacterium reported in few cases as the causative agent of brain and lung abscesses, pneumonia, and endocarditis. Lung abscesses due to Streptococcus intermedius are rare, especially in pregnancy. We describe the first case of lung abscess due to streptococcus intermedius in a pregnant woman.

Hydrobatic Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) can be efficient in range and speed, as well as agile in maneuvering. They can be beneficial in scenarios such as obstacle-avoidance, inspections, docking, and under-ice operations. However, such AUVs are underactuated systems - this means exploiting the system dynamics is key to achieving elegant hydrobatic maneuvers with minimum controls. This paper explores the use of Model Predictive Control (MPC) techniques to control underactuated AUVs in hydrobatic maneuvers and presents new simulation and experimental results with the small and hydrobatic SAM AUV. Simulations are performed using nonlinear MPC (NMPC) on the full AUV system to provide optimal control policies for several hydrobatic maneuvers in Matlab/Simulink. For implementation on AUV hardware in ROS, a linear time varying MPC (LTV-MPC) is derived from the nonlinear model to enable real-time control. In simulations, NMPC and LTV-MPC shows promising results to offer much more efficient control strategies than what can be obtained with PID and LQR based controllers in terms of rise-time, overshoot, steady-state error and robustness. The LTV-MPC shows satisfactory real-time performance in experimental validation. The paper further also demonstrates experimentally that LTV-MPC can be run real-time on the AUV in performing hydrobatic maneouvers.

We present the case of a 65 years old patient who developed a complete, sensorineural hearing loss on the right side due to an intravestibular schwannoma. Our video shows a transcanal, endoscopic approach with complete schwannoma removal on the right side, subsequent e-BERA recordings, and cochlear implantation.

Herein we report the intriguing case of a 42-year-old woman presenting with grade three hypertension, severe hypokalemia and primary amenorrhea, which revealed to be the complete form of 17 alpha-hydroxylase deficiency. We also discuss the challenging therapeutic approach as well as the outcomes and the follow-up of this patient.

Android occupies a high market share, and its broad functions make Android security matter. Research reveals that many security issues are caused by insecure coding practices. As a poor design indicator, code smell threatens the safety and quality assurance of Android applications (apps). Although previous works revealed specific problems associated with code smells, the field still lacks research reflecting Android features. Moreover, the cost and time limit developers to repairing numerous smells timely. We conducted a study, including definition, detection, and impact quantification for Android code smell (DefDIQ): (1) define 15 novel code smells in Android from a security programming perspective; meanwhile, we provide suggestions on how to eliminate or mitigate them; (2) implement DACS to automatically detect the custom code smells based on ASTs; (3) investigate the correlation between individual smells with DACS detection results, and select suitable code smells to construct fault counting models, then quantify their impact on quality, and thereby generating code smell repair priorities. We conducted experiments on 4,575 open-source apps, and the findings are: (i) Lin’s CCC between DACS and manual detection results reaches 0.9994, verifying the validity; (ii) the fault counting model constructed by ZINB is superior to NB (AIC = 517.32, BIC = 522.12); some smells do indicate fault-proneness, and we identify such avoidable poor designs; (iii) different code smells have different importance and the repair priorities constructed provide a practical guideline for researchers and inexperienced developers.

Methemoglobinemia is a rare but fatal disorder of the oxygen-carrying capacity of hemoglobin. Here is a case representing high-dose Sulfamethoxazole/ Trimethoprim ( SMX/TMP ) induced Methemoglobinemia in a boy treated for Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), which was resolved successfully after administration of methylene blue and discontinuation of SMX/TMP

Introduction: Monoclonal gammopathies are a group of disorders associated with monoclonal proliferation of plasma cells that produces a monoclonal protein. To describe the epidemiological and immunochemical characteristics of monoclonal gammopathies diagnosed during a nineteen-year period in a Moroccan teaching hospital was the main objective of this study. Methods: This study was performed from January 2000 to August 2019. It was a retrospective study that included of 545 Moroccan patients with monoclonal gammopathy. Results: The patients who participated in the study, 374 (68.6%) were male and 171(31.4%) were female, with a mean ±SD age of 62.24±13.14 years. The most frequent reasons for admission were bone pain (41,60%), renal failure (19.08%), alteration of the general condition (12.21%) and anemia (10.69). Plasma cell proliferative disorders in our study were as follow, multiple myeloma (MM) (45.65%), Monoclonal gammopathies of undetermined significance (MGUS) (39.05%), Waldenstrom’s macroglobulinemia(5.58%), Lymphoma (2.27%+1.2%), Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (2.48%), Plasma cell leukemia (1.86%), Plasmacytoma (0.62%), POEMS syndrome (0.41%), and Amyloidosis (0.84%). The most frequent isotypes in MM were the IgGκ (62) 36.5%, IgGλ(52)30.6%, IgAκ(27)15.9% and the IgAλ (19)11.2%. It is also worthy of note, that Free light chain MM represents 20% of all cases of MM. Conclusions: This is the largest Moroccan cohort, it included 545 patients. The results of this study point to the need for an early diagnosis of monoclonal gammopathies in the Moroccan population

As the COVID-19 continues to mutate, the number of infected people is increasing dramatically, and the vaccine is not enough to fight the mutated strain. In this paper, a SEIR-type fractional model with reinfection and vaccine inefficacy is proposed, which can successfully capture the mutated COVID-19 pandemic. The existence, uniqueness, boundedness and nonnegativeness of the fractional model are derived. Based on the basic reproduction number R 0 , locally stability and globally stability are analyzed. The sensitivity analysis evaluate the influence of each parameter on the R 0 and rank key epidemiological parameters. Finally, the necessary conditions for implementing fractional optimal control are obtained by Pontryagin's Maximum Principle, and the corresponding optimal solutions are derived for mitigation COVID-19 transmission. The numerical results show that humans will coexist with COVID-19 for a long time under the current control strategy. Furthermore, it is particularly important to develop new vaccines with higher protection rates.

A document by Callum Haseler. Click on the document to view its contents.

Retroperitoneal sarcoma is relatively uncommon. We share our experience in encountering retroperitoneal sarcoma with vascular and urethral adhesion in a 46-year-old woman. Given the rarity of these tumors, evaluation and management should ideally be performed in a center equipped with multidisciplinary expertise in treating sarcomas.

Error-in-variables model (EVM) methods are used for parameter estimation when independent variables are uncertain. During EVM parameter estimation, output measurement variances are required as weighting factors in the objective function. These variances can be estimated based on data from replicate experiments. However, conducting replicates is complicated when independent variables are uncertain. Instead, pseudo-replicate runs may be performed where the target values of inputs for repeated runs are the same, but the true input values may be different. Here, we propose a method to estimate output-measurement variances for use in multivariate EVM estimation problems, based on pseudo-replicate data. We also propose a bootstrap technique for quantifying uncertainties in resulting parameter estimates and model predictions. The methods are illustrated using a case study involving n-hexane hydroisomerization in a well-mixed reactor. Case-study results reveal that assumptions about input uncertainties can have important influences on parameter estimates, model predictions and their confidence intervals.

Introduction: Children with peanut allergy are at increased risk of developing tree nut allergies, which can be severe and for most lifelong. Introduction of peanut in the first year of life can reduce the risk of peanut allergy, however, prevention strategies for tree nut allergies have not been established. We aimed to test the efficacy and safety of a novel strategy, a supervised multi-nut oral food challenge (OFC) compared to standard care for tree nut allergy prevention in infants at high risk of developing tree nut allergy, TreEAT. Methods and analysis: TreEAT is a 2-armed, open-label, randomised, controlled trial (RCT). Infants (n=212) aged 4-11months with peanut allergy will be randomised 1:1 at peanut allergy diagnosis to either a hospital-based multi-tree nut (almond, cashew, hazelnut and walnut) OFC using multi-nut butter or standard care (home introduction of individual tree nuts). All infants will be assessed at age 18months, with questionnaires and SPT to peanut and tree nuts. Peanut and tree nut OFCs will be performed as required to determine allergy status for each nut. The primary outcome is tree nut allergy at age 18 months. Secondary outcomes include peanut allergy resolution, proportion and severity of adverse events related to tree nut ingestion, number and frequency of tree nuts ingested, quality of life and parental anxiety and allergy related healthcare visits from randomisation to 18 months of age. Analyses will be performed on an intention-to-treat basis. Ethics and dissemination TreEAT was approved by the Royal Children’s Hospital Human Research Ethics Committee (#70489). Outcomes will be presented at scientific conferences and disseminated through publication. Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT04801823

Single-helical or double-helical structures are common in all living organisms, such as RNA and DNA. Helical assembly has been found in the artificial nanoparticles, but how they do so remains poorly understood. Here, we exploit atomically precise Au6Cu6 alloy nanoparticles (or called nanoclusters) as building blocks to construct a single-helical Au12Cu12 superstructure in an operative path, thereby providing access to currently elusive mechanistic pathways. We propose that the thermodynamically viable linear-to-bent process at a couple of Au6Cu6 nanoclusters imparted by the organic ligands seems to be critical for the helical-nanostructured arrangement of Au12Cu12. This study could help to offer new design rules for the exquisitely helical structure assembled from nanoparticles.

Objective: This clinical study was conducted to evaluate the impact of ritlecitinib on the pharmacokinetics (PK) of caffeine, a cytochrome P450 1A2 (CYP1A2) substrate. Methods: In this single-center, single-arm, open-label, fixed-sequence study, healthy participants received a single 100-mg dose of caffeine on two separate occasions: on Day 1 of Period 1 as monotherapy and on Day 8 of Period 2 after oral administration of ritlecitinib 200 mg once daily (QD) for 8 days. Serial blood samples were collected and analyzed using a validated LC/MS assay. PK parameters were estimated by using a non-compartmental method. Safety was monitored by physical examination, vital signs, electrocardiograms, and laboratory assessments. Results: Twelve participants were enrolled and completed the study. Co-administration of caffeine 100 mg in the presence of steady-state levels of ritlecitinib (200 mg QD) increased caffeine exposure compared with caffeine given alone. Area under the curve (AUCinf) and maximum concentration (Cmax) of caffeine increased by approximately 165% and 10%, respectively, when co-administered with ritlecitinib. The ratios of the adjusted geometric means (90% CI) for caffeine AUCinf and Cmax were 265.14% (234.12%-300.26%) and 109.74% (103.90%-15.91%), respectively, when caffeine was co-administered with steady-state ritlecitinib (test) compared with its administration alone (reference). Multiple doses of ritlecitinib when co-administered with a single dose of caffeine were generally safe and well tolerated in healthy participants. Conclusion: Ritlecitinib is a moderate inhibitor of CYP1A2 and can increase systemic exposures of CYP1A2 substrates.

This paper is devoted to solve the backward problem for radially symmetric time-fractional diffusion-wave equation under Robin boundary condition. This problem is ill-posed and we apply an iterative regularization method to solve it. The error estimates are obtained under the a priori and a posteriori parameter choice rules. Numerical results show that the proposed method is efficient and stable.