This study explores the development and testing of a social resilience psychometric scale, through physical and social unrest during the COVID-19 pandemic. Qualitative interviews (N = 40) were aggregated to define social resilience measured statements. When tested in quantitative analysis respondents (N = 901) “see myself as a monster” when evaluating others and are “scared to let people know the real me” fearing loss of relationships. Anxiety is heightened through a perception through the measure “could have done better.” When testing for “want to be liked even when disagree on issues” Black respondents are significantly different than White, Asian and those expressing other races. Liberals and moderate conservatives are significantly different in perception of social resilience, as are those exemplifying feminine versus masculine traits. Logistic regression testing for “comfortable with who I am in society” indicates narcissism (65% more likely) and negative social resilience (56% more likely) are key adapters. Human wellbeing, the act of perceiving self as a healthy or unhealthy actor in society, has been influenced through groupthink and polarization of the “other.” This study suggests the construct of self-esteem has been pushed into reactive mode. Research that explicates the psychological dimensions of modern resilience, is warranted.

In contrast to the Western world, China is a less religious country. whether in a country without real religions believing in religion would contribute to the variation in value strain is a worth noting issue. Based on previous studies, this study further examined the relationship between religion and suicidality with value strain as a mediating factor among Chinese college students. Employing cluster sampling, there were 13,250 college students recruited across seven provinces in China. Three psychometric scales were used to examine religiousness (Religious Orientation-Revised Scale), value strain levels (Psychological Strain Scale), and suicidal behaviors (Suicidal Behaviors Questionnaire-Revised). Both univariate and multivariate analyses were used to identify the influencing power of religion on value strain and suicidality. In addition, a series of linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the mediating effect of value strain on the association between religion and suicidality. the findings showed that first, positive relationships between religion and value strain, and suicidality were both detected; second, adherents to religion were marginalized which may have caused more value conflict further leading to a higher suicidal risk among believers.

A flow-through catalytic membrane micro-reactor (CMR) with Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 nanoparticles immobilized in porous membrane pores has been developed for hydrogen production by methanol steam reforming (MSR). The characteristics for CMR demonstrated Cu/ZnO/Al2O3 nanoparticles with almost 200 nm were successfully in situ immobilized in membrane pores. During MSR for hydrogen production in CMR by flow-through mode, hydrogen productivity of 500 mmol h-1 g-1 cat. and selectivity of 100% can be achieved under the condition of temperature being 360℃, molar ratio of water to methanol of 8.8 and gas hourly space velocity (GHSV) of 176.7 L g-1 h-1. Compared with the commercial fixed bed reactor, the hydrogen productivity in CMR is one order of magnitude higher, owing to MSR confined in the space of membrane pore with micro-scale. The methanol conversation rate of over 95% can be expected, if five sheets of CMR with thickness of 5 mm was assembly in series.

This work focused on determining the dissociation constants (pKa) for eight amines, namely, 3-(Diethylamino) propylamine, 1,3-Diaminopentane, 3-Butoxypropylamine, 2-(Methylamino) ethanol, Bis(2-methoxyethyl) Amine, α-Methylbenzylamine, 2-Aminoheptane, and 3-Amino-1-phenylbutane at temperatures ranging from 293.15 K to 323.15 K. The protonated order of two polyamines, 3-(Diethylamino) propylamine and 1, 3-Diaminopentane, were determined using computational chemistry methods. The dissociation constants at the standard temperature of 298.15 K were estimated using group functional models (paper-pencil) and computational methods using software such as COSMO-RS and Gaussian. In addition, the pKas at various temperatures were calculated using computational methods for two different thermodynamic cycle. A simple artificial neural network (ANN) method was also employed to reduce the calculation time as well as improve the accuracy. Instead of using the experimental property data, these could be generated using Aspen Plus or CosmothermX. The simulated model provided a very good fit to the pKa values.

A document by Santiago PENA CLAVIJO. Click on the document to view its contents.

Objectives Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) is a pregnancy complication that increases the risk of preterm delivery and cesarean delivery. This study aimed to investigate whether maternal blood monocyte or neutrophil counts in the first trimester are related to the development of HDP. Design, Setting and Sample Data were collected from the Japan Environment and Children’s Study, a large birth cohort study (n = 38194) that recruited pregnant women in 15 Regional Centers across Japan between January 2011 and March 2014. The maternal neutrophil and monocyte counts in the first trimester were divided into quartiles. Results Compared with pregnant women with low neutrophil counts, those with high neutrophil counts had higher adjusted odds ratio (aOR) for both mild HDP (aOR [95% confidence interval]: Q4: 1.29 [1.06–1.58]) and severe HDP (aOR [95% CI]; Q2: 1.49 [1.07–2.08], Q3: 1.40 [1.00–1.95], and Q4: 1.47 [1.06–2.03]). Furthermore, compared with pregnant women with lower monocyte counts, those with higher monocyte counts also had higher aOR for both moderate HDP (aOR [95% CI]; Q2: 1.28 [1.02–1.60], Q3: 1.42 [1.14–1.77], and Q4: 1.49 [1.20–1.85]) and severe HDP (aOR [95% CI]; Q2: 1.33 [1.06–1.66], Q3: 1.46 [1.17–1.82], and Q4: 1.52 [1.22–1.89]). Conclusion In conclusion, high leukocyte counts, especially high monocyte count, in the first trimester is associated with a development of HDP. Thus, they may be used to predict subsequent HDP.

Abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) are typically asymptomatic. When symptomatic, AAA may present as a chief concern of musculoskeletal hip and low back pain. Assessment in the orthopaedic clinic should focus on a holistic examination of the patient.

Objective: To describe the vaginal microbiome of women with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) receiving systemic hormone therapy (HT). Study design: Descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods: Forty women with POI receiving systemic HT for at least 6 months, were included in the study. Vaginal secretion was collected for DNA extraction followed by Pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA. The samples were pooled into phylogenetic groups (Ravel – I, II, III, IV, V). Results: Women had mean age of 37.13 (± 7.27) years and POI diagnosis at 27.90 (± 8.68) years, a mean HT duration of 8.20 (± 8.73) years. It was observed that 33.4% of the women presented group I flora, with a predominance of L. crispatus; 9% group II flora, with a predominance of L. gasseri; 33.4% group III flora, with predominance of L. iners; 15.2% group IV flora, with a predominance of anaerobic bacteria; and 9% group V flora, with a predominance of L. jensenii. Conclusion: Women with POI receiving HT presented a vaginal microbiome with a predominance of lactobacilli in the composition of the vaginal flora, specifically L. crispatus and L. iners when evaluated by molecular biology through the pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA.

In vascular dementia (VD), memory impairment caused by the damage of synaptic plasticity is the most prominent feature that afflicts patients and their families. Treadmill exercise has proven beneficial for memory by enhancing synaptic plasticity in animal models including stroke, dementia, and mental disorders. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of treadmill exercise on recognition memory, and structural synaptic plasticity in VD rat model. Here, our study demonstrated that VD rat exhibited significantly recognition impairment, while treadmill exercise improved recognition memory in VD rat. To further investigate potential mechanisms for the treadmill exercise-induced improvement of recognition memory, we examined hippocampal structural synaptic plasticity by means of transmission electron microscopy and golgi staining in VD rat that had undergone 4 weeks of treadmill exercise. The results demonstrated that VD rat causes the damage of structural synaptic plasticity. However, treadmill exercise led to increases in synapse numbers and the number of dendritic spines in VD rat. Together, the improvement of VD-associated recognition memory by treadmill exercises is associated with enhanced structural synaptic plasticity in VD rat model.

Fingertip soft tissue defect caused by periungual warts: a case report

An Aesthetic, Functional, and Low-Invasive Lower Red Lip Reconstruction Using a Mucosal Perforator Flap: A Case Report

Currently, as the population continues to grow, the preservation of the world’s water resources is becoming a serious challenge. The seawater desalination process is considered a sustainable option for the future. The two most common technologies used in desalination are reverse osmosis (RO) and membrane distillation (MD). However, membrane fouling caused by the accumulation of contaminants membrane surface is an emerging and growing problem. then a pre-treatment stage is required to reach an optimal efficiency during desalination process, since this stage is crucial for a successful desalination process. In this regard, developing new material-based composite membranes has the potential to upgrade the anti-fouling features of RO membranes and thereby enhance the desalination efficiency due to the characteristics of these composite membranes especially, their high permeability, hydrophilicity, selectivity mechanical strength, thermal stability, and anti-bacterial property. The objective of this review is to present the main techniques for seawater pre-treatment. the results of several membrane types and methods of modification were also discussed. Finally, the performance of composite membranes for seawater pre-treatment is defined and future perspectives are highlighted.

Working memory (WM) is one of the fundamental cognitive functions associated with the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, we still know little about the neurochemical mechanisms of WM in the DLPFC. Here, we investigated WM-related dynamic neurometabolite and hemodynamic responses in the DLPFC. We measured Glx (glutamate+glutamine) and GABA alterations as well as blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal changes during a WM task combining functional magnetic resonance spectroscopy and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In the DLPFC, we found that a 2-back task increased Glx concentrations and larger BOLD signal changes, and that these task-modulated Glx increases were positively correlated with task-induced regional activity. Importantly, task induced Glx changes in the DLPFC were associated with individual WM performance. Higher Glx increases were associated with increased DLPFC activation and lower WM task performance in the individuals. There were no changes in DLPFC GABA levels during WM processing. Our findings suggest that glutamatergic modulation in the DLPFC may play a critical role in WM processing and its performance.

Arthropod-eating birds are a heterogeneous group, with different levels of environmental sensitivity and diverse responses to habitat degradation. In this paper, we tested the effects of landscape on the functional diversity of insectivorous birds within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We predict that (I) species composition and functional diversity are shaped by turnover and nestedness across different habitats, and (II) the gradient of forest cover has a positive effect on bird species composition and functional diversity. We used data from 22 landscapes of the Atlantic Forest in the Cantareira-Mantiqueira region (Brazil), within buffers of 1 km radius, surrogating three types of environments (i.e., forests, pastures, and swamps). The components of β-functional diversity were calculated using the beta pair and beta multi-function for each type of environment, and the effects of the forest cover gradient and environment type were tested using linear models and GLMM, respectively. Our results showed that the forest cover gradient and the type of environment had a negative effect on the indices of functional diversity, contrary to our expectations. Pasturelands and marshes were susceptible to turnover and nestedness, respectively. The beta diversity of forests was influenced by both species nestedness and turnover. The regional native forest fragments are generally small-sized, and in early successional stages, which could explain the patterns we found. The presence of secondary forests may have affected the expected pattern of functional diversity, therefore, caution is needed when interpreting this, since the way in which compensatory dynamics may not involve real functional compensation.

With the rapid development of flexible DC transmission systems, the application of modular multilevel converter MMC is becoming increasingly widespread. Meanwhile, the nearest-level modulation is most applied. This paper establishes a simple and efficient harmonic model of MMC based on nearest-level modulation with the equidistant controlled firing scheme. First, based on the analysis of the working principle of MMC and the modulation principle, the Fourier decomposition of the stair wave is obtained. Then, according to the equivalent circuit diagram of MMC, the stair wave is exactly the differential-mode voltage. Moreover, the amplitude and phase of each differential-mode voltage harmonic content are obtained. So far, MMC can be regarded as a harmonic voltage source. Finally, simulations were performed on PSCAD to verify the accuracy of the MMC harmonic model proposed in this paper. Furthermore, the MMC harmonic model under the equidistant controlled firing scheme and real-time trigger control were also compared. The final results show that the model proposed in the paper can accurately reflect the harmonic characteristics of MMC in the existing power system after considering the equally-spaced trigger control.

While the effect of interpersonal distance on forgiveness has been investigated over the past few years, it remains unclear whether this facilitating effect holds even when measured implicitly. Meanwhile, though cognitive control and the corresponding prefrontal cortex play a prominent role in forgiveness processing, the neural mechanism underlying forgiveness toward varied wrongdoers is largerly unexplored. Here, forty-two participants initially underwent noise offense either from their friend or stranger, followed by a word identification test to examine their reactive attitude, during which they were presented with word-name combinations and required to categorize forgive- or complain-label words while ignoring the names of their friends or strangers below. A shorter reaction time reflects more congruence with one’s implicit attitude. Electroencephalogram was recorded during the word identification test. Behaviorally, while individuals reacted faster to forgive-friend relative to complain-friend pairings, no such reaction bias was found for the stranger-wrongdoer, which suggests that individuals were more inclined to forgive someone close. Regarding the EEG/ERP results, forgive-friend elicited lower alpha oscillation and more negative frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) value than complain-friend combinations, suggesting increased and dominant activity in the right prefrontal network during forgiveness toward friends. Whereas complain- relative to forgive-stranger combinations elicited larger P3 amplitudes, suggesting a neural encoding bias to information associated with complaints about stranger-wrongdoer. These findings provide objective evidence for the benefits of closeness on forgiveness, which broaden previous findings depending on explicit measures into situations where forgiveness was measured implicitly and thus minimized confounding factors such as social desirability.

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to study the pitch-calling behavior of baseball umpires with varying experience, with a particular interest in understanding the pitcher handedness effect. Expert and intermediate umpires were recruited and asked to make ball/strike calls on videotaped pitches of left- and right-handed pitchers and rate their certainty for the call while undergoing scanning. Behavioral results replicated previous findings that expert umpires were more certain but not more accurate or quicker than intermediate umpires, suggesting that umpires learn to project confidence to maintain control of the game as sports officials. Both expert and intermediate umpires were less accurate when judging the left-handed pitcher than the right-handed pitcher (particularly with longer reaction times and less uncertainty for ball pitches), possibly due to their lower familiarity with rarely encountered left-handed pitchers. The umpires greatly engaged the action observation network, cerebellum, and caudate when making correct calls, and these activations were comparatively weaker when calling left-handed pitches, implying their less effective perceptual processing of the visual information details of the left-handed pitcher. The lower activity in the right premotor cortex for ball pitches from the left-handed pitcher further implies the umpires’ poorer predictive processing of the pitching action and baseball trajectory of the left-handed pitcher than the right-handed one, particularly for ball pitches. Our findings shed light on the influence of pitcher handedness on the pitch-calling behavior of baseball umpires and extend the current understanding of the perceptual and decision-making behavior of baseball umpires (sports officials).

Leucine and Isoleucine are two amino acids that differ only by the positioning of one methyl group. This small difference has however important consequences in α-helices, as the β-branching of Ile results in helix destabilization. We set out to investigate whether there are general trends for the occurrences of Leu and Ile residues in structures and sequences of class A GPCRs (G protein-coupled receptors). GPCRs are integral membrane proteins in which α-helices span the plasma membrane seven times and which play a crucial role in signal transmission into the cell. We found that Leu side chains are generally present in less densely packed regions and are more protein-surface exposed than Ile side chains. We explored whether this difference might be attributed to different functions of the two amino acids and tested if Leu adjusts the hydrophobicity of the transmembrane domain based on the Wimley-White whole-residue hydrophobicity scales. In class A GPCRs, Leu decreases the variation in hydropathy between receptors and Leu content correlates positively with hydropathy calculated without Leu. Both measures indicate that hydropathy is tuned by Leu. To test this idea further, we generated protein sequences with random amino acid compositions using a simple numerical model, in which hydropathy was tuned by adjusting the number of Leu residues. The model was able to replicate the observations made with class A GPCR sequences. We speculate that Leu tunes the hydropathy of the transmembrane domain of class A GPCRs to facilitate correct insertion into membranes and/or for stability within them.

This document focuses on ChatGPT, a natural language processing (NLP) model built by the transformer neural network. The document provides a comprehensive overview of the architecture, training, and fine-tuning of ChatGPT, as well as its applications in various fields, including customer service and support, healthcare, education, research, and development. The document analyzes the evaluation results of ChatGPT on different datasets, compares it with other NLP models, and proposes solutions to address security-related challenges. Finally, the document discusses the potential and challenges of ChatGPT in the future and its importance for humans and society, as well as the regulations and policies that need to be developed to ensure the proper and legal use of ChatGPT.

Natural fiber-reinforced composites are generally known as eco-friendly, long-lasting, and recyclable materials. Considering, this study characterizes cellulosic Helianthus tuberosus L. fiber for polymer-based green composites for the first time. It has been found that Helianthus tuberosus L. fiber has many advantages as a reinforcement material in polymer-based composites. For example, the high roughness provided by the fiber surface in cellular morphology increases the locking into the composite body. One of the most critical advantages is its high thermal stability temperature of 247.3 oC. Also, other advantages of the Helianthus tuberosus L. fiber can be listed as high cellulose content, high crystallinity, and high tensile strength. The hollow fiber structure can allow it to be used in materials used for insulation. Eventually, the high cellulose content of 62.65% supports its usage in various industries, including paper and paperboard manufacturing.

Ecosystems function in a series of feedback loops that can change or maintain vegetation structure. Vegetation structure influences the ecological niche space available for animals to partition, shaping many aspects of behavior and reproduction. In turn, animals perform ecological functions that shape vegetation structure. However, most studies concerning 3D vegetation structure consider only one of these relationships. Here, we review these separate lines of research and integrate them into a single concept that describes a feedback mechanism. We also show how remote sensing and animal tracking technologies are now available at the global scale to describe feedback loops and their consequences for ecosystem functioning. An improved understanding of how animals interact with vegetation structure in feedback loops is needed to conserve ecosystems that face major disruptions in response to climate and land use change.

In low- and middle-income countries, malignancies remain underreported due to lack of quality data. This study outlines the histopathological pattern of pediatric solid malignancies in children aged 0-15yrs at the largest referral hospital in Ethiopia. 432 solid malignancies were evaluated. The most common malignancies were Lymphoma (21.8%), Retinoblastoma (19.4%), and Wilms tumor (13.9%). Burkitt lymphoma accounted for 2.1%, despite being the most reported pediatric malignancy in sub-Saharan Africa in published literature. Definitive diagnosis could not be made in 7% of cases, related to the lack of confirmatory testing. The study highlights the need for improvements in diagnostic capabilities in LMIC.

Development of disposable, rapid and convenient biosensor with high sensitivity and reliability is the most desired method of viral disease prevention. To achieve this goal, in this work, a practical impedimetric biosensor has been implemented into a disposable electrode on a screen-printed carbon electrode (SPCE) for the detection of two mosquito-borne viruses. The biosensor fabrication has step-wisely carried out on the disposable electrode surface at room temperature: starting from conductive film formation, physical binding of the gold nanoparticles (AuNPs)-polyaniline (PAni) into the conductive film, and biofunctionalization. To get the maximum efficiency of the antibody, biotinylated antibody has been conjugated on the surface of AuNP-PAni /PAni-SPCE via the streptavidin-biotin conjugation method which is a critical factor for the high sensitivity. Using the antibody-antigen interaction, this disposable electrode has designed to detect mosquito-borne infectious viruses, Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) and Zika Virus (ZIKV) separately in a wide linear range of 100 fg/mL to 1 ng/mL with a low detection limit of 1.33 fg/mL and 12.31 fg/mL, respectively.

Background: Serotonin syndrome is a potentially life-threatening syndrome with manifestations spanning from mild adverse effects to life-threatening toxicity. The syndrome is caused by overstimulation of serotonin receptors by serotonergic drugs. Since the use of serotonergic drugs is increasing, primarily due to the widespread use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, cases of serotonin syndrome have likely seen a parallel increase. The true incidence of serotonin syndrome remains unknown due to its diffuse clinical presentation. Objectives: This review aims to provide a clinically focused overview of serotonin syndrome, covering its pathophysiology, epidemiology, clinical manifestations, diagnostic criteria, differential diagnosis, and treatment as well as classifying serotonergic drugs and their mechanism of action. The pharmacological context is emphasized, as it is crucial for detection and management of serotonin syndrome. Methods: Focused review based on a literature search using the PubMed database. Findings and conclusion: Serotonin syndrome can occur through therapeutic use or overdose of a single serotonergic drug, or as a drug interaction between two or more serotonergic drugs. Central clinical features consist of neuromuscular excitation, autonomic dysfunction and altered mental status, occurring in a patient undergoing new or altered serotonergic therapy. Early clinically recognition and treatment are crucial to prevent significant morbidity.