Functional Approach Research Articles

MoSey1 regulates the unfolded protein response, appressorium development, and pathogenicity of Magnaporthe oryzae

Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an enclosed three-dimensional eukaryotic membrane network composed of flattened sacs. Fusion of homologous membranes to the ER membrane is essential for the maintenance of this network structure. In yeast, ER membrane fusion is mediated by Sey1p, whose paralogues function distinctly in different species. In this study, we investigated the biological functions of MoSEY1 in the devastating rice blast fungus Magnaporthe oryzae by functional genomic approach. Compared to wild type, deletion of MoSEY1 considerably decreased the growth and conidia production of M. oryzae. Additionally, the absence of MoSEY1 delayed appressorium formation and invasive hyphae growth. The appressorium function was also impaired in ΔMosey1 mutant. Subcellular localization analysis revealed that MoSey1 is localized at the ER. The ΔMosey1 mutant showed augmented sensitivity to ER stress. Additionally, we found that MoSey1 regulated the unfolded protein response, autophagy, and protein secretion in M. oryzae. In conclusion, our study unveiled the involvement of MoSey1 in the development, pathogenesis, and ER functions in M. oryzae.

Potent and Selective Oxidatively Labile Ether-Based Prodrugs through Late-Stage Boronate Incorporation.

This manuscript describes a new strategy for prodrug synthesis in which a relatively inert ether group is introduced at an early stage in a synthetic sequence and functionalized in the final step to introduce a prodrug-activating group through a chemoselective process. Boryl allyloxy (BAO) ether groups are synthesized through several metal-mediated processes to form entities that are readily cleaved under oxidative conditions commonly found in cancer cells. The high cleavage propensity of the BAO group allows for ether cleavage, making these compounds substantially more hydrolytically stable in comparison to acyl-linked prodrugs while retaining the ability to release alcohols. We report the preparation of prodrug analogues of the natural products camptothecin and pederin from acetal precursors that serve as protecting groups in their synthetic sequences. The BAO acetal groups cleave in the presence of hydrogen peroxide to release the cytotoxic agents. The pederin-based prodrug shows dramatically greater cytotoxicity than negative controls and outstanding selectivity and potency toward cancer cell lines in comparison to non-cancerous cell lines. This late-stage functionalization approach to prodrug synthesis should be applicable to numerous systems that can be accessed through chemoselective processes.

Quantifying myelin density in the feline auditory cortex.

The cerebral cortex comprises many distinct regions that differ in structure, function, and patterns of connectivity. Current approaches to parcellating these regions often take advantage of functional neuroimaging approaches that can identify regions involved in a particular process with reasonable spatial resolution. However, neuroanatomical biomarkers are also very useful in identifying distinct cortical regions either in addition to, or in place of functional measures. For example, differences in myelin density are thought to relate to functional differences between regions, are sensitive to individual patterns of experience, and have been shown to vary across functional hierarchies in a predictable manner. Accordingly, the current study provides quantitative stereological estimates of myelin density for each of the 13 regions that make up the feline auditory cortex. We demonstrate that significant differences can be observed between auditory cortical regions, with the highest myelin density observed in the regions that comprise the auditory core (i.e., the primary auditory cortex and anterior auditory field). Moreover, our myeloarchitectonic map suggests that myelin density varies in a hierarchical fashion that conforms to the traditional model of spatial organization in auditory cortex. Taken together, these results establish myelin as a useful biomarker for parcellating auditory cortical regions, and provide detailed estimates against which other, less invasive methods of quantifying cortical myelination may be compared.

Estimates on the convergence of expansions at finite baryon chemical potentials

Convergence of three different expansion schemes at finite baryon chemical potentials, including the conventional Taylor expansion, the Padé approximants, and the T′ expansion proposed recently in lattice QCD simulations, have been investigated in a low energy effective theory within the functional renormalization group approach. It is found that the convergence of the T′ expansion and the Padé approximants is consistent with the conventional Taylor expansion, within the expansion orders considered in this work. Furthermore, we find that the consistent regions of the three different expansions are in agreement with the convergence radius of the Lee-Yang edge singularities. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Economic burden of infectious diseases and its equity implications in Indian households: Estimates from a nationally representative household survey (2017–18)

Infectious diseases remain one of the major causes of health and economic burden for Indian households. Furthermore, the magnitude of economic losses on account of infectious disease episodes varies widely across rich and poor households. The primary objective of this research is to estimate the equity impact of infectious disease episodes on out-of-pocket expenditure (OOPE) and wage losses among Indian households. We analysed the Social Consumption: Health (SCH) data from the 75th round (2017–18) of India's National Sample Survey (NSSO). The sample included approximately 113,823 households and 555,352 individuals through a multistage stratified sampling process. We report i) the prevalence of infectious disease and healthcare utilisation rate by levels of care; ii) medical and non-medical OOPE per episode; iii) OOPE and wage loss as a share of households' monthly non-medical consumption expenditure (non-medical MPCE) across wealth quintiles. We adopted a microeconomic cost of illness approach to estimate the OOPE on infectious disease episodes for outpatient care and hospitalization. We also estimated potential wage losses due to a reduction in effective labour supply at the household level because of infectious disease using a production function approach. The overall prevalence of infectious diseases and hospitalization rate were 31 and 9 per thousand persons, respectively. Per capita medical OOPE was more in higher wealth quintiles for outpatient care and hospitalization. However, OOPE as a share of non-medical MPCE was higher in the poorest 20% households (outpatient: 14%; hospitalization: 153%) in comparison to the richest 20% households (outpatient: 5.5%; hospitalization: 96%). Similarly, the wage losses as a share of non-medical MPCE were higher among the poorest 20% households (outpatient: 21%; hospitalization:38%) in comparison to the richest 20% households (outpatient: 15%; hospitalization:11%). Furthermore, the proportion of households reporting the sale of assets and borrowing to finance hospitalization was higher in the poorest (24%) compared to the richest (12.5%). To our knowledge, this is the first paper which contributes to developing an understanding of the equity impact of infectious disease on households in India. We recommend improved targeting and coverage of publicly funded health insurance schemes among socially disadvantaged populations.

OBIWAN: An Element-Wise Scalable Feed-Forward Neural Network Potential.

Estimating the potential energy of a molecular system at a quantum level of theory is a task of paramount importance in computational chemistry. The often employed density functional theory approach allows one to accomplish this task, yet most often at significant computational costs. This prompted the community to develop so-called machine learning potentials to achieve near-quantum accuracy at molecular mechanics computational cost. In this paper, we introduce OBIWAN, a feed-forward neural network that bears some relevant structural properties that also led to the definition of a new kind of general-purpose neural network layer. Its featurization process scales efficiently with newly added atomic species. This allows one to seamlessly add new atom types without requiring to change the topology of the network. Also, this allows one to train on new data sets leveraging a previously trained OBIWAN, hence converging very quickly. This avoids training from scratch and renders the approach more compliant with a green computing perspective.

Benchmarking Periodic Density Functional Theory Calculations for Spin-State Energies in Spin-Crossover Systems.

Spin energetics is one of the biggest challenges associated with energy calculations for electronic structure methods. The energy differences of the spin states in spin-crossover compounds are very small, making them one of the most difficult systems to calculate. Few methods provide accurate results for calculating these energy differences. In addition, studies have usually focused on calculating energetics of single molecules, while spin-crossover properties are usually experimentally studied in the solid phase. In this paper, we have used periodic boundary conditions employing methods based on density functional theory to calculate the high- and low-spin energy differences for a test case of 20 extended systems. Compounds with different metals and ligands have been selected, and the results indicate that a semiquantitative description of the energy differences can be obtained with the combination of geometry optimization using the PBE functional including many-body dispersion approach and the use of meta-GGA functionals, such as r2SCAN but especially KTBM24, for the energy calculation. Other hybrid functionals, such as TPSSh, give generally good results, but the calculation of the exact exchange with periodic boundary conditions involves a huge increase in computer time and computational resources. It makes the proposed nonhybrid functional approach (KTBM24//PBE+MB) a great advantage for the study of periodic systems.

Functional data geometric morphometrics with machine learning for craniodental shape classification in shrews

This work proposes a functional data analysis approach for morphometrics in classifying three shrew species (S. murinus, C. monticola, and C. malayana) from Peninsular Malaysia. Functional data geometric morphometrics (FDGM) for 2D landmark data is introduced and its performance is compared with classical geometric morphometrics (GM). The FDGM approach converts 2D landmark data into continuous curves, which are then represented as linear combinations of basis functions. The landmark data was obtained from 89 crania of shrew specimens based on three craniodental views (dorsal, jaw, and lateral). Principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis were applied to both GM and FDGM methods to classify the three shrew species. This study also compared four machine learning approaches (naïve Bayes, support vector machine, random forest, and generalised linear model) using predicted PC scores obtained from both methods (a combination of all three craniodental views and individual views). The analyses favoured FDGM and the dorsal view was the best view for distinguishing the three species.

Prestress force and moving force identification in prestressed concrete bridges via Lagrangian polynomial-based load shape function approach

Prestress force and moving force identification in prestressed concrete bridges via Lagrangian polynomial-based load shape function approach

The cost of climate change: A generalized cost function approach for incorporating extreme weather exposure into public transit accessibility

Public transit offers urban populations physical accessibility to resources and opportunities. However, at the same time, transit trips often expose users to extreme environmental conditions, such as extreme heat and cold since transit journeys usually include out-of-vehicle trip segments including walking and waiting. Such exposure can be considered as environmental health costs because exposure to weather extremes can lead to adverse health outcomes. Even worse, climate change is increasing the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events. In this context, how can we make public transit accessibility measures ready for climate change? This paper attempts to answer this question by developing a generalized cost function approach combining travel time and environmental health costs into an integrated measure of dual accessibility: a measure of the travel costs of accessing a fixed number of destinations. We synthesize transport science, environmental health, remote sensing, and urban climatology to empower the proposed framework. To demonstrate the utility of the proposed method, we carry out an example study that incorporates transit passengers' extreme cold exposure into accessibility measures in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Further, we perform a social equity analysis to investigate whether the increase in total integrated costs (i.e., decrease in accessibility) due to the inclusion of environmental health costs disproportionately affects socially disadvantaged population groups. The proposed method enables a more realistic and practical measurement of public transit accessibility under climate change; thereby, improving the readiness and resilience of our society and transport systems for future challenges.

A Comparative Study of the Biliary Outcome in Roux-en-Y Hepaticojejunostomy versus Duct to Duct Biliary Anastomosis in Right Lobe Living Donor Liver Transplantation in Adults

Abstract Background Recently, liver transplantation settled to be a real breakthrough in surgery as the only curable treatment to deal with fatal liver diseases. Living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) is the only available option in Egypt owing to the inactive deceased donor program. Most of the patients indicated for LDLT do not have the luxury of having an ideal living donor although we have big families in Egypt. Surgeons of recipient’s operation should occupy refined surgical skills and experience to reduce the risk of complications. The incidence of biliary complications (BCs) ranges from 5.3% to 40.6%. Leaks occur in 0% to 21.9% while strictures occur in 3.7% to 25.3%. Duct-to-duct anastomosis (D2D) and hepaticojejunostomy (HJ) are the two most common techniques of bile duct anastomosis in LDLT. D2D is gaining popularity over HJ, because of shorter operative time, fewer septic complications, a better physiologic gastrointestinal function and rapid recovery beside easier endoscopic approach to the reconstructed biliary tract. Patients and Methods The current surgical methodology is a prospective study with nonrandomized convenient sampling that was conducted at Liver Transplantation Unit in Air Forces Specialized Hospital and Nasser Institute for Research and Treatment, Cairo, Egypt, between August 2019 to August 2021. During this study, 40 patients candidate for LDLT was divided into two groups according to type of biliary anastomosis, group A included 20 recipients who had stentless duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis compared to group B including 20 recipients underwent Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostmy. Results A total of 40 recipients were divided into two equal groups according to biliary reocstruction into group A duct-to-duct biliary anastomosis, and group B Roux-en-Y hepaticojejunostmy. The incidence of biliary related complications was higher in group A reaching 30%, double that recorded in group B (15%, p = 0.262). Upon stratification of those complications, the incidence of biliary leakage was reversed being doubled in group B 10% versus 5% in group A (p = 0.553). After exclusion of seven mortalities (one in group A and 6 in group B) who did not complete the 6 months follow-up period necessary for complete observation of BAS, there was insignificant difference between the two groups. The overall mortality was 17.5% (7 out of 8 recipients), and all died from non-biliary complication related causes. The only recipient died from biliary sepsis following ERCP and stenting for BAS, was included in the results as he died after 5 months from the operation. In a trial to understand the relation between the biliary reconstruction and the complication rate (Table 8), we found that there was a higher frequency of complications in both 1x1 and 2x2 technique in group A (33% each). In contrast, all complication happened in group B was in 1x1 technique. In addition, we could not apply the statement that the higher the number of ducts the higher the rate of complications in the study as 2 ducts grafts represent 66.7% of complications in group A compared to 100% in single duct graft in group B. Conclusion BC is a bottleneck along the path of a successful LDLT as it is multifactorial making it impossible to specify a single predictable risk factor to avoid. The advantages of D2D over HJ; especially the beneficial use of ERCP in management of complications, are buffered by the higher incidence of biliary complication that is involved with D2D. Therefore, we think that surgeons should master both reconstruction techniques and weight the risk-and-benefit case by case.

The stationary Klein-Gordon equation with a delta-like source: A generalized function approach

Abstract This work aims to initiate a discussion on finding solutions to non-homogeneous differential equations in terms of generalized functions. For simplicity, we conduct the analysis within the specific context of the stationary Klein-Gordon equation with a point-like source, identifying a generalized function that solves such an equation and aligns with the solution obtained through the Fourier approach with dimensional regularization. In addition to being regular at the source singularity, a notable advantage of our solution is its presentation as a single expression, eliminating the need for piecewise definitions. The arguments presented here are applicable to a broader range of situations, offering a novel approach to addressing divergences in field theories using generalized functions. Moreover, we anticipate that the approach introduced in this work could provide a new method for handling Green functions regularized at coincident points, thereby simplifying the renormalization process in a wide range of theories.

Potential Near‐Term Wetting of the Southwestern United States if the Eastern and Central Pacific Cooling Trend Reverses

AbstractNear‐term projections of drought in the southwestern United States (SWUS) are uncertain. The observed decrease in SWUS precipitation since the 1980s and heightened drought conditions since the 2000s have been linked to a cooling sea surface temperature (SST) trend in the Equatorial Pacific. Notably, climate models fail to reproduce these observed SST trends, and they may continue doing so in the future. Here, we assess the sensitivity of SWUS precipitation projections to future SST trends using a Green's function approach. Our findings reveal that a slight redistribution of SST leads to a wetting or drying of the SWUS. A reversal of the observed cooling trend in the Central and East Pacific over the next few decades would lead to a period of wetting in the SWUS. It is critical to consider the impact of possible SST pattern trends on SWUS precipitation trends until we fully trust SST evolution in climate models.

Unveiling the molecular insights of 2-(carboxymethyl) benzoic acid: A density functional theory approach towards structural and biological attributes

Nowadays density functional theory (DFT) is one of the best methods to explore the vibrational modes and structure of the biological system. Quantum mechanical calculations are performed using gas phase and different solvents (DMSO, methanol and water). The derived global reactive parameters, structural and topological study provides the clear insight of the 2-(Carboxymethyl) benzoic acid. Depth studies of DFT proves the existence of hydrogen bonds between donor and acceptor in the compound, which is supportive for the biological applications. In this paper, different experimental and computational simulated FT-IR, FT-Raman, UV–Vis spectral studies are used to explicate vibration assignments of the 2-(Carboxymethyl) benzoic acid. Experimentally observed vibrational frequency is compared with theoretically simulated spectrum. B3LYP method with 6–311++G (d, p) basis set is used in DFT to optimize the 2-(Carboxymethyl)benzoic acid structure. The most stable lower energy conformer is identified using potential energy surface (PES) analysis using Gaussian 16 W software. ESP, HOMO-LUMO, NBO, and QTAIM calculations have evinced an adequate electronic characterization of 2-(Carboxymethyl) benzoic acid. Further, van der Waals and steric interactions among 2-(Carboxymethyl) benzoic acid have been discussed with the help of RDG study. Hirshfeld surface studies establish the existing various interaction among molecules and total packing arrangement of the crystal structure. Due to the high biological activity score, 2-(Carboxymethyl) benzoic acid is a good therapeutic candidate. Lipophilicity analysis of 2-(Carboxymethyl)benzoic acid clearly explicates the bioactivity properties and its effective drug applications. Further, molecular docking investigates that the compound can be used as anticancer medication. The detailed DFT study of the 2-(Carboxymethyl) benzoic acid justified its biological applications of the present communication. The calculated NLO parameters of 2-(Carboxymethyl)benzoic acid evidenced for good efficacy in diverse filed application has been discussed.

Adaptive fixed-time neural consensus control for a class of uncertain nonlinear multi-agent systems with full state constraints

This paper is concerned with the fixed-time consensus control problem for non-strict feedback multi-agent systems with asymmetric output constraints and full state constraints. Considering the feasibility of controlling execution, a novel practical virtual control signal is developed utilizing both saturation function and hyperbolic tangent function to ensure that this signal can remain within the same restricted range as the corresponding state variable throughout entire operation process. In backstepping steps, the design of ideal virtual control signal also adopts a different form of piecewise function than before, introducing high-order polynomial functions to avoid singularity problems in the derivation process. In addition, function approximation ability of radial basis function neural networks technique is applied to estimate uncertainties derived from the system functions and controller design procedure. Moreover, universal barrier Lyapunov function approach is improved for constructing an adaptive constrained synchronization control scheme. By fixed-time stability theory, it is shown that the tracking errors of the MAS converge to an adjustable region around the origin in a fixed time and the state variables always obey their constraints. And the upper bound of the settling time is merely dependent on design parameters, which is not affected by the initial states of MAS. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is shown by a numerical simulation example at last. Two scenarios are provided to demonstrate the advantages of the control protocol proposed in this paper.

Conceptual Properties of Islamic Economic Modeling: Complexity, Nonlinearity, and Endogeneity in Epistemological Perspectives

This paper introduces a new perspective of economic reasoning and analysis pertaining to situations of complexity combined with nonlinearity and endogenous relations among interacting, integrating and evolutionary entities. The entities comprise multi-variables representing different embedded systems that encompass economy, society, science, and ethics. In the emergent model of endogenous inter-causal relationships between such entities the ontological perspective assumes the nature of evaluating inter-causal intra- and inters- systemic relations by means of formalism belonging to functional ontology of mathematical forms (Gruber, 1993), as opposed to invoking metaphysical ontological speculation. The functional ontological approach to structure and formalize leads to a new framework of economic reasoning in the presence of embedded systems that continuously participate and complement, as opposed to being subjected to the central postulate of marginal rate of substitution and exogenous treatment of knowledge in mainstream economics. The continuous phenomenon of interaction, integration, and evolutionary (IIE) learning in such inter-causal systems establish ethical endogeneity. Thus, philosophical background of economic reasoning is invoked in the functional epistemological formalism of the interactive, integrative, and evolutionary systems. That is sush systems are characterized by IIE-learning processes induced by the episteme of unity of knowledge.

Gender preference in China: A study with indirect utility function

The traditional view is that China is a strong son preference country, and some empirical studies support such view. We argue that demand for children, including sex of children, and family size, is the outcome of economic decisions in which social and economic factors could interact with gender preference. Thus, it is possible that strong social and economic factors counteract the strong son preference and lead to daughter preference. To investigate this possibility, we propose an indirect utility function approach and apply it to a recent Chinese data set. We find strong evidence on preference reversal as incomes and child rearing costs rise substantially for Chinese urban parents. Given that China is now a middle-income country and child rearing costs have skyrocketed during the last four decades, we find that Chinese parents with one child have little interest in rushing to have a second child. This does not bode well for the Chinese government’s programs to improve demographics.

Quantum Gravity Corrections to the Inflationary Spectrum in a Bohmian Approach

A precise interpretation of the universe wave function is forbidden in the spirit of the Copenhagen School since a precise notion of measure operation cannot be satisfactorily defined. Here, we propose a Bohmian interpretation of the isotropic universe quantum dynamics, in which the Hamilton–Jacobi equation is restated by including quantum corrections, which lead to a classical trajectory containing effects of order ℏ2. This solution is then used to determine the spectrum of gauge-invariant quantum fluctuations living on the obtained background model. The analysis is performed adopting the wave function approach to describe the fluctuation dynamics, which gives a time-dependent harmonic oscillator for each Fourier mode and whose frequency is affected by the ℏ2 corrections. The properties of the emerging spectrum are discussed, outlining the modification induced with respect to the scale-invariant result, and the hierarchy of the spectral index running is discussed.

Semi-time-dependent stabilization results for asynchronously switched systems: An extended persistent dwell time switching strategy involving admissible transition information

This study investigates the stabilization problem for a kind of continuous-time asynchronously switched systems via a set of edge- or mode-dependent state-feedback controllers. To this end, an innovative switching strategy of admissible chain-dependent (or admissible edge-dependent) persistent dwell time property is presented by injecting the admissible transition chain (or admissible transition edge) notion into the existing persistent dwell time concept. Based on the admissible transition edges in a directed graph reported in the literature, the corresponding admissible transition chains can be determined. The individual allocation of transition weights for each admissible transition chain makes the presented admissible chain-dependent persistent dwell time switching less conservative than the other presented admissible edge-dependent persistent dwell time and the already existing mode-dependent persistent dwell time switching. Further, different from the Lyapunov functions commonly used in previous asynchronous stabilization works, a new semi-time-dependent Lyapunov function in a unique form that fits the nature of the discussed systems is suggested to provide a broader family of allowable switching signals. By the introduced switching and Lyapunov function approaches, new stability and stabilization criteria are formulated, through which the expected edge- or mode-dependent state-feedback controllers are devised. At last, the validity and applicability of the obtained stabilization solutions are demonstrated by a numerical example and a practical thermal system.

ОРГАНИ ДЕРЖАВНОЇ ВЛАДИ ЯК СУБ’ЄКТИ ВІЙСЬКОВО-ТЕХНІЧНОГО СПІВРОБІТНИЦТВА

The article analyzes the issues of competence of public authorities as subjects of legal relations in the field of military-technical cooperation. Based on the functional division of state power, the structure of state authorities in the field of military-technical cooperation is considered. It is stated that the only legislative body in Ukraine is the Parliament, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. The relevant government bodies, primarily the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, represent the executive branch of government. Based on the functional approach, the author proposes a three-tier system of central executive bodies in the field of military-technical cooperation, which includes: Level I – the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine; Level II – ministries of Ukraine (Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Strategic Industries, Ministry of Finance); Level III – state services, state inspections, state agencies, independent regulators and bodies with special status (State Export Control Service, State Space Agency). It was noted that an advisory body should be established with the competence to deal with military-technical cooperation, namely: The Interagency Commission on Military-Technical Cooperation and Export Control Policy, which is an advisory body to the President of Ukraine. Key words: military-technical cooperation, international cooperation, subjects of legal relations, public authorities, military-industrial complex.