Combined Frequency Research Articles

Features of the frequency of occurrence of T-330G <i>IL2</i> gene polymorphism in patients with COVID-19

SARS-CoV-2 infection is the etiopathogenetic factor of the new coronavirus infection. Susceptibility to the virus and, accordingly, the incidence differs in children and adults. On the one hand, this reflects the age-related features of the immune response. On the other hand, it is realized through the production of a number of cytokines, including IL-2, and reflects the genetically determined features of cytokine production. The aim of the study was to analyze the frequency of occurrence of T-330G polymorphic variants of the IL2 gene in patients with a new coronavirus infection. A total of 145 patients were examined, including 31.0% of children (n = 45) and 69.0% of adults (n = 100). The diagnosis of a new coronavirus infection was verified by RT-PCR confirming the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and identifying clinical symptoms of an upper respiratory tract infection. The control group consisted of 50 healthy volunteer donors. Allele-specific PCR with electrophoretic detection in 3% agarose gel (Litech, Russia) was used to analyze the T-330G polymorphism of the IL2 gene. To compare the frequencies of allele combinations, the χ2 test and the odds ratio OR and (95% CI) were used.The dominant genotype in patients with COVID-19 was the heterozygous GT genotype of the T-330G polymorphism of the IL2 gene. In the group of children at risk of developing a new coronavirus infection, the GG genotype of the T-330G polymorphism of the IL2 gene was associated (31.1% in children and 18.0% in the control group, p < 0.05, OR = 2.047). While the homozygous TT genotype of the T-330G polymorphism of the IL2 gene was a protective genotype (its occurrence rate was 26.7% in patients, 54.0% in the control group, p < 0.05, OR = 0.315). In adults, the heterozygous GT genotype of the T-330G polymorphism of the IL2 gene was associated with the risk of developing a new coronavirus infection (in the group of patients – 44.0% versus control – 28.0%, p = 0.028, OR = 2.020). A low risk of developing the disease was associated with the homozygous TT variant of the T-330G polymorphism of the IL2 gene (in the group of patients 37.0% versus control – 54.0%, p = 0.024, OR = 0.500).The T-330G polymorphism of the promoter zone of the IL2 gene differently affects its production. The direction of the immune response and its effectiveness depend on the level of IL-2. Understanding the individual factors that determine the features of the immune response can help in understanding the mechanisms of development of COVID-19-associated diseases and the selection of approaches to personalized methods of their treatment.

ВЫРАЖЕННОСТЬ ОКСИДАТИВНОГО СТРЕССА У БОЛЬНЫХ С ИНФАРКТОМ МИОКАРДА НА ФОНЕ ХОБЛ

Introduction. Oxidative stress is a pathogenetic link in the development of many diseases, including pathology of the respiratory system and cardiovascular events. Comorbidity is a topical problem of modern medicine. One of the frequent combinations is myocardial infarction against the background of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The peculiarities of changes in protein and lipid peroxidation, as well as the state of antioxidant protection in comorbid patients are of interest. Aim. To study protein and lipid peroxidation processes in patients with myocardial infarction against the background of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Material and Methods: 195 patients with myocardial infarction against the background of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were examined. Comparison groups were represented by 130 patients with myocardial infarction without chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 104 patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The control group included 110 somatically healthy individuals. The level of malondialdehyde was assessed as a marker of lipid peroxidation, the level of deep protein oxidation products was assessed as a marker of free radical oxidation of proteins. Antioxidant protection was assessed using plasma level of total superoxide dismutase. To evaluate non-enzymatic components of antioxidant protection, total serum antioxidant status was determined by spectroscopy. The data were statistically processed using the SPSS 26.0 software package. Results and discussion. In patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease the levels of protein and lipid oxidation markers were higher than in myocardial infarction. The highest levels were noted in comorbid patients. Antioxidant levels were decreased in all groups compared to controls. Patients with monosomatic myocardial infarction had lower levels of antioxidants compared with patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The lowest values were observed in the group of comorbid patients. Conclusion. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is accompanied by a more pronounced activation of lipid and protein peroxidation processes, but accompanied by activation of adaptive mechanisms, which is not observed in acute coronary pathology. The greatest severity of oxidative stress is characteristic of comorbid patients.

Genetic associations between miR‑200bT>C and miR‑495A>C polymorphisms and hypertension susceptibility.

Although microRNA (miRNA)-mediated functions and gene expression regulation are involved in the susceptibility to vascular diseases, the potential effect of miRNA polymorphisms on the susceptibility of patients to hypertension (HTN) remains to be sufficiently elucidated. Therefore, the present study aimed to identify the potential association between miRNA (miR)-200bT>C (rs7549819) and miR-495A>C (rs2281611) polymorphisms, which may be implicated in stroke and vascular pathogenesis, and the susceptibility to HTN and relevant risk factors in a Korean cohort recruited from Jeju National University Hospital (Jeju, South Korea). Using an analysis of PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism, genotype analysis was conducted to assess the frequency of miR-200bT>C and miR-495A>C gene polymorphisms in the HTN group (n=232) and the non-HTN healthy control group (n=247). The results showed significant differences in the genotype distributions of the miR-495A>C polymorphism between the HTN and control groups, specifically with the CC genotype and C allele. However, neither the miR-200bT>C nor the dominant and recessive models were found to be distributed differently between the two groups. Following analysis of the genotype combination of the single nucleotide polymorphisms, the TC/CC and CC/CC combined genotypes of the miR-200bT>C and miR-495A>C polymorphisms were observed to be associated with susceptibility to HTN. The haplotype results demonstrated that the allele combination frequency of haplotype C-A was significantly different between the two groups. The stratified analysis revealed that the miR-200b and miR-495 polymorphisms are associated with the risk of HTN, exhibiting differences in the levels of body-mass index (<28.12 kg/m2), fasting blood glucose (<106.26 mg/dl), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (<44.29 mg/dl) and systolic blood pressure (≥132.67 mmHg). Data from the present study suggested that the variant of miR-495A>C polymorphism and allelic combinations (haplotype C-A of miR-200bT>C/miR-495A>C) can increase hypertension susceptibility among a Korean population.

THE TERM COMBINATION AND THE METAPHOR IN THE OFFICIAL BUSINESS DOCUMENT: COGNITIVE ASPECT

THE TERM COMBINATION AND THE METAPHOR IN THE OFFICIAL BUSINESS DOCUMENT: COGNITIVE ASPECT

Simultaneous laser obliteration of recurrent veins and Baker’s cyst: indications, technique, results of treatment

Introduction. The wide prevalence of varicose veins of the lower extremities and relapses of this disease causes a frequent combination of this pathology with other surgical and traumatological diseases. The expediency of using simultaneous operations is manifested in their obvious economic advantages.Objective. To substantiate the expediency and effectiveness of simultaneous laser thermal obliteration of recurrent veins of the lower extremities and Baker’s cyst.Materials and methods. 9 patients with recurrent varicose veins and Baker’s cyst were operated on. Of these, there were 7 (77.8%) women and 2 (22.2%) men, the average age was 52.8 ± 0.2 years. The average duration of the incidence of varicose veins was 14.1 ± 0.3 years, Baker’s cyst – 3.5 ± 0.1 years. As planned, patients underwent simultaneous laser endovenous coagulation of recurrent veins and intracavitary thermal obliteration of Baker’s cyst.Results. There were no complications, the duration of operations was 40.3 ± 0.4 minutes. The intensity of the pain syndrome in 6–8 hours after surgery was 4.1 ± 0.2 points. On the 10th day, no pain was observed in any patient. The duration of pain was 7.8 ± 0.4 days. Long-term results were studied 12–16 months after completion of treatment in 9 (100%) patients. Recurrent varicose veins were not detected. In 8 (88.9%) patients, complete obliteration of Baker’s cyst was established.Conclusions. Reliable obliteration of Baker’s cyst and recurrent varicose veins, 100% technical success, disappearance of clinical symptoms of this pathology, absence of relapses of both diseases in 8 (88.9%) patients after 12-16 months indicates high efficiency and indisputable prospects of such an approach to the treatment of this category of patients. However, the study is based on a small number of observations, so further accumulation of experience is required to generalize the results of the study.

Prescribing habits of Moroccan psychiatrists toward patients with schizophrenia: about 72 practitioners

BackgroundThe therapeutic decision toward patients with schizophrenia is very different from one psychiatrist to another when faced with potentially similar clinical symptoms. It depends on many factors that are related to the patient’s and the doctor’s profiles, and the drug’s characteristics. To date, no study has been conducted in Morocco on the prescribing habits of psychiatrists toward patients with schizophrenia. The objectives of our survey are to identify the molecules most prescribed by psychiatrists in Morocco for patients with schizophrenia and to determine the most common therapeutic strategies.ResultsOur survey recruited 72 Moroccan psychiatrists. The median age was 36.5 years. 72.2% were women, and 37.5% had between 5 and 10 years of practice. More than two-thirds were practicing in the public sector in big cities. Olanzapine was an antipsychotic prescribed as first-line treatment for a patient with schizophrenia. For the majority, the most frequent combination was atypical antipsychotics with conventional neuroleptics. On the one hand, most psychiatrists reported prescribing neuroleptics long-acting injectable (neuroleptic LAIs). In the other hand, almost half of the participants had never prescribed second-generation antipsychotic long-acting injectables (SGA-LAIs). The high cost (77.8%), lack of availability of the product in certain sectors (33.3%), lack of therapeutic choice (26.4%), and lack of patient profile that could use the drug (23.6%), were among the strong reasons given for not prescribing SGA-LAIs.ConclusionsThe treatment decision for patients with schizophrenia differs from one clinician to the other. It depends on various factors that may be related to the psychiatrist, the patient, and to the drug.

Impact of Second-Line Combination Treatment for Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus on Disease Control: A Population-Based Cohort Study.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Achieving and maintaining glycemic control is essential to prevent or delay complications and different strategies are available as second-line treatment options for patients with type 2 diabetes who do not achieve glycemic control with metformin monotherapy. The aim of this work is to describe the impact of initiating a combination treatment to reduce glycated hemoglobin in patients with type 2 diabetes with insufficient glycemic control. We included patients with a type 2 diabetes diagnosis between 2015 and 2020 at the Information System for Research in Primary Care (SIDIAP) database in Catalonia, Spain. The primary outcome was the time to glycated hemoglobin control (≤ 7%) during the first 720 days, expressed as the restricted mean survival time. Adjusted differences of the restricted mean survival time were compared to analyze the performance of each treatment versus the combination with a sulfonylurea. Adherence was calculated as the medication possession ratio using an algorithm to model treatment exposure. A total of 28,425 patients were analyzed. The most frequent combinations were those with sulfonylureas and dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitors. All treatments reduced glycated hemoglobin and the restricted mean survival time for the sulfonylurea treatment was 455 (451-459) days although combinations with glucagon-like peptide-1 and insulin reached glycemic control earlier, - 126 days (- 152 to - 100, p < 0.001) and - 69 days (- 88 to - 50, p < 0.001), respectively. Adherence was high in all groups apart from the insulin combination and had a significant effect in reducing glycated hemoglobin except in sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors and insulin. Glucagon-like peptide-1 and sodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors showed significant reductions in weight. Patients achieved the glycated hemoglobin goal with second-line treatments. Glucagon-like peptide-1 and insulin combinations achieved the goal earlier than sulfonylurea combinations. Adherence significantly reduced the time to glycated hemoglobin control except for the combination withsodium-glucose cotransporter type 2 inhibitors.

Determinants of tumor immune evasion: the role of T cell exposed motif frequency and mutant amino acid exposure.

Few neoepitopes detected in tumor biopsies are immunogenic. Tumor-specific T cell responses require both the presentation of an epitope that differs from wildtype and the presence of T cells with neoepitope-cognate receptors. We show that mutations detected in tumor biopsies result in an increased frequency of rare amino acid combinations compared to the human proteome and gastrointestinal microorganisms. Mutations in a large data set of oncogene and tumor suppressor gene products were compared to wildtype, and to the count of corresponding amino acid motifs in the human proteome and gastrointestinal microbiome. Mutant amino acids in T cell exposed positions of potential neoepitopes consistently generated amino acid motifs that are less common in both proteome reference datasets. Approximately 10% of the mutant amino acid motifs are absent from the human proteome. Motif frequency does not change when mutants were positioned in the MHC anchor positions hidden from T cell receptors. Analysis of neoepitopes in GBM and LUSC cases showed less common T cell exposed motifs, and HLA binding preferentially placing mutant amino acids in an anchor position for both MHC I and MHC II. Cross-presentation of mutant exposed neoepitopes by MHC I and MHC II was particularly uncommon. Review of a tumor mutation dataset known to generate T cell responses showed immunogenic epitopes were those with mutant amino acids exposed to the T cell receptor and with exposed pentamer motifs present in the human and microbiome reference databases. The study illustrates a previously unrecognized mechanism of tumor immune evasion, as rare T cell exposed motifs produced by mutation are less likely to have cognate T cells in the T cell repertoire. The complex interactions of HLA genotype, binding positions, and mutation specific changes in T cell exposed motif underscore the necessity of evaluating potential neoepitopes in each individual patient.

Risk of Complications in Combined Plastic Surgery Procedures Using the Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons Database.

Combining multiple surgical procedures into one operative session is widespread in the field of plastic surgery; however, the implications of this practice are not fully understood. This study compared 30-day complication rates associated with combined plastic surgery procedures compared to index procedures. This retrospective cohort analysis utilized the Tracking Operations and Outcomes for Plastic Surgeons database from 2016-2020 to identify the three most frequent combinations with augmentation mammaplasty, reduction mammaplasty, trunk liposuction, mastopexy, and abdominoplasty. The 30-day overall complication rate was 5.0% (1,400 of 26,771 patients), with a higher complication rate for combined procedures compared to index (7.6% vs 4.2%, aOR 1.91 (95% CI 1.61-2.27), p<0.001). There were no significant differences in complication rates for abdominoplasty or mastopexy combinations compared to index. Complication rates for reduction mammaplasty combinations compared to index were not statistically different after controlling for demographics (aOR 1.02 (95% CI 0.61, 1.64) p=0.93). Higher rates of minor and major complications were observed for combinations of trunk liposuction (aOR 4.84, (95% CI 3.31, 7.21), p<0.001) and augmentation mammaplasty (aOR 1.60, (95% CI 1.13, 2.22), p=0.007) compared to index. TOPS data suggests that combinations with trunk liposuction or augmentation mammaplasty present with increased risk of complications compared to index, controlling for demographics. Abdominoplasty and mastopexy may be combined with other plastic surgery procedures without increased risk to patients. The complication risk of reduction mammaplasty combinations is mediated by other variables, suggesting the need for shared surgical decision making when recommending these combinations to patients.

Asteroseismic Determination of Stellar Rotation: On Synchronization in the Close Eclipsing Binaries AB Cas and OO Dra

A star’s rotation rate is difficult to estimate without surface inhomogeneities such as dark or bright spots. This paper presents asteroseismic results to determine the rotation rates of δ Sct-type pulsating primary stars in two eclipsing binary systems, AB Cas and OO Dra. After removing the binarity-induced light variations from archival TESS data and carefully examining the combination frequencies, we identified 12 independent frequencies for AB Cas and 11 frequencies for OO Dra, with amplitudes higher than ∼0.3 mmag, as δ Sct-type pulsation frequencies excited in each primary star. The theoretical frequencies for seismic analysis were obtained by fully considering rotation effects. Grid fitting for various stellar properties, such as mass, radius, metallicity, and rotation rate, yielded the best solutions for which the theoretical frequencies and stellar parameters agreed well with the observations. The rotation rate of the AB Cas primary was tightly constrained to 0.81 ± 0.01 day−1 (f rot/f orb = ), which is slightly faster than the synchronized rotation. In contrast, the rotation rate of 0.63 ± 0.01 day−1 for the OO Dra primary is lower than the synchronous value of approximately 0.81 day−1. Subsynchronous rotation is uncommon in short-period binaries, and its physical mechanism is not yet well understood. Our results show that asteroseismology can be used to measure the rotation rate of fast-rotating δ Sct stars precisely and thus provide a valuable constraint on rotation–orbit synchronization in close binary systems.

Noun phrases in mixed Martinican Creole and French

AbstractContact between French and Martinican Creole (MC) takes place in a society where bilingualism is the standard, in a situation of constant language mixing. French and MC, although related, show significant typological divergences on some specific features, e.g. the order between noun and definite determiner in the noun phrase, or the use of a linker to mark a possessive embedded noun phrase. In this paper, I explore the possible combination of the different values of these features in mixed noun phrases occurring in corpora. I inquire about the possible parameters which may influence the outcome and explain the relative frequencies of these different combinations. It appears that there is a partially common pool of elementary structures. Many utterances fall into the category termed byMuysken (2000)‘congruent lexicalization’. I also observe that apparent complex double embeddings have an internal logic, as they result from adjunction of multi-word modifiers. Finally I propose a model which accounts for the observed occurrences by postulating a level in the speech generation process where language itself is underspecified, and where it is in a position to be specified on the fly by contextual factors, coming either from the lexicon or from the constructional frame.

Concurrent frequency–voltage stabilization for hybrid microgrid with virtual inertia support

AbstractThis paper presents a novel control scheme for combined frequency and voltage stabilization of an islanded multi‐generator hybrid microgrid (IHμG). The control concept incorporates an improved virtual inertia support scheme (IVIS) and the recently developed yellow saddle goatfish technique (YSGA) to obtain optimal control parameters. IHμG model consists of an AVR‐based voltage compensating loop for synchronous biodiesel generator, wind generator, wave generator, photon exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), and controllable heat pump and freezer. An integer order proportional‐integral‐derivative (IOPID) controller is leveraged for frequency‐voltage stabilization. A comparative response assessment has been performed with/without IVIS. The utilization of YSGA has been justified by comparative assessment with particle swarm optimization, firefly, and sine‐cosine techniques. A meticulous performance evaluation of YSGA optimized IOPID control scheme in the IHμG has been conducted through several case studies. Furthermore, the rigorous sturdiness assessment of YSGA optimized IOPID controller was performed under different uncertainties such as: variation of amplifier gain, ±30% variation in demanded loading magnitude, moment of inertia and droop co‐efficient. Finally, real‐time hardware‐in‐the‐loop (HIL) simulation platform is utilized to validate the proposed control approach.

Assessing Pediatric Mild Traumatic Brain Injury and Its Recovery Using Resting-State Magnetoencephalography Source Magnitude Imaging and Machine Learning.

The objectives of this machine-learning (ML) resting-state magnetoencephalography (rs-MEG) study involving children with mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and orthopedic injury (OI) controls were to define a neural injury signature of mTBI and to delineate the pattern(s) of neural injury that determine behavioral recovery. Children ages 8-15 years with mTBI (n = 59) and OI (n = 39) from consecutive admissions to an emergency department were studied prospectively for parent-rated post-concussion symptoms (PCS) at: 1) baseline (average of 3 weeks post-injury) to measure pre-injury symptoms and also concurrent symptoms; and 2) at 3-months post-injury. rs-MEG was conducted at the baseline assessment. The ML algorithm predicted cases of mTBI versus OI with sensitivity of 95.5 ± 1.6% and specificity of 90.2 ± 2.7% at 3-weeks post-injury for the combined delta-gamma frequencies. The sensitivity and specificity were significantly better (p < 0.0001) for the combined delta-gamma frequencies compared with the delta-only and gamma-only frequencies. There were also spatial differences in rs-MEG activity between mTBI and OI groups in both delta and gamma bands in frontal and temporal lobe, as well as more widespread differences in the brain. The ML algorithm accounted for 84.5% of the variance in predicting recovery measured by PCS changes between 3 weeks and 3 months post-injury in the mTBI group, and this was significantly lower (p < 10-4) in the OI group (65.6%). Frontal lobe pole (higher) gamma activity was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with (worse) PCS recovery exclusively in the mTBI group. These findings demonstrate a neural injury signature of pediatric mTBI and patterns of mTBI-induced neural injury related to behavioral recovery.

Clozapine prescription rates in Southeast Europe: A cross-sectional study.

International reports indicate that clozapine is under prescribed. Yet, this has not been explored in Southeast European (SEE) countries. This cross-sectional study investigates clozapine prescription rates in a sample of 401 outpatients with psychosis from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo by United Nations resolution, North Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia. Descriptive analysis was used to explore clozapine prescription rates; daily antipsychotic dosage was calculated and converted into olanzapine equivalents. Patients receiving clozapine were compared to those not receiving clozapine; next those that were on clozapine monotherapy were compared to those who were on clozapine polytherapy regime. It was showed that clozapine was prescribed to 37.7% of patients (with cross-country variation: from 25% in North Macedonia to 43.8% in Montenegro), with average dose of 130.7 mg/daily. The majority of patients on clozapine (70.5%) were prescribed at least one more antipsychotic (the most frequent combination was with haloperidol). Our findings suggested that clozapine prescription rate in SEE outpatients is higher than in Western Europe. The average dose is significantly below the optimal therapeutic dosage recommended by clinical guidelines, and clozapine polytherapy is common. This might indicate that clozapine is prescribed mainly for its sedative effect rather than antipsychotic. We hope that this finding will be taken up by relevant stakeholders to address this non-evidence-based practice.

Effects of geometric attributes of horizontal and sag vertical curve combinations on freeway crash frequency

The geometric design of the combinations of horizontal and sag vertical curves (sag combinations or sag combined curves) is vital to road safety. However, there is little research that investigates the safety effects of their geometric attributes based on the analysis of real-world crash data. To this end, the crash, traffic, geometric design, and roadway configuration data are collected from 157 sag combinations on six freeways in Washington State, during 2011–2017. Poisson, negative binomial (NB), hierarchical Poisson, and hierarchical NB models are developed for analyzing the crash frequency of sag combinations. The models are estimated and compared in the context of Bayesian inference. The results indicate that significant over-dispersion and cross-group heterogeneity exist in the crash data and that the hierarchical NB model yields the best overall performance. The parameter estimates show that: five geometric attributes, including horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, departure grade, the ratio of horizontal curvature to vertical curvature, and the layout of front dislocation, have significant effects on the crash frequency of sag combinations. Freeway section length, annual average daily traffic, and speed limits are also important predictors of crash frequency. The analysis results and the proposed model are useful for evaluating the safety performance of freeway sag combinations and optimizing their geometric design based on substantive safety evaluation.

Buffering of transcription rate by mRNA half-life is a conserved feature of Rett syndrome models

Transcriptional changes in Rett syndrome (RTT) are assumed to directly correlate with steady-state mRNA levels, but limited evidence in mice suggests that changes in transcription can be compensated by post-transcriptional regulation. We measure transcription rate and mRNA half-life changes in RTT patient neurons using RATEseq, and re-interpret nuclear and whole-cell RNAseq from Mecp2 mice. Genes are dysregulated by changing transcription rate or half-life and are buffered when both change. We utilized classifier models to predict the direction of transcription rate changes and find that combined frequencies of three dinucleotides are better predictors than CA and CG. MicroRNA and RNA-binding Protein (RBP) motifs are enriched in 3ʹUTRs of genes with half-life changes. Nuclear RBP motifs are enriched on buffered genes with increased transcription rate. We identify post-transcriptional mechanisms in humans and mice that alter half-life or buffer transcription rate changes when a transcriptional modulator gene is mutated in a neurodevelopmental disorder.

Assessing the capability of Sentinel-2 time-series to estimate soil organic carbon and clay content at local scale in croplands

The use of remote sensing data methods is affordable for the mapping of soil properties of the plowed layer over croplands. Carried out in the framework of the ongoing STEROPES project of the European Joint H2020 Program SOIL, this work is focused on the feasibility of Sentinel-2 based approaches for the high resolution mapping of topsoil clay and organic carbon (SOC) contents at the within-farm or within-field scales, for cropland sites of contrasted climates and soil types across the Northern hemisphere. Four pixelwise temporal mosaicking methods, using a two years-Sentinel-2 time series and several spectral indices (NDVI, NBR2, BSI, S2WI), were developed and compared for i) pure bare soil condition (maxBSI), ii) driest soil condition (minS2WI), iii) average bare soil condition (Median) and iv) dry soil conditions excluding extreme reflectance values (R90). Three spectral modeling approaches, using the Sentinel-2 bands of the output temporal mosaics as covariates, were tested and compared: (i) Quantile Regression Forest (QRF) algorithm; (ii) QRF adding longitude and latitude as covariates (QRFxy); (iii) a hybrid approach, Linear Mixed Effect Model (LMEM), that includes spatial autocorrelation of the soil properties. We tested pairs of mosaic and spectral approaches on ten sites in Türkiye, Italy, Lithuania, and USA where soil samples were collected and SOC and clay content were measured in the lab. The average RPIQ of the best performances among the test sites was 2.50 both for SOC (RMSE = 0.15%) and clay (RMSE = 3.3%). Both accuracy level and uncertainty were mainly influenced by site characteristics of cloud frequency, soil types and management. Generally, the models including a spatial component (QRFxy and LMEM) were the best performing, while the best spatial mosaicking approaches mostly were Median and R90. The most frequent optimal combination of mosaicking and model type was Median or R90 and QRFxy for SOC, and R90 and LMEM for clay estimation.

A Review of Affective Computing Research Based on Function-Component-Representation Framework

Affective computing, a field that bridges the gap between human affect and computational technology, has witnessed remarkable technical advancement. However, theoretical underpinnings of affective computing are rarely discussed and reviewed. This paper provides a thorough conceptual analysis of the literature to understand theoretical questions essential to affective computing and current answers. Inspired by emotion theories, we proposed the function-component-representation (FCR) framework to organize different conceptions of affect along three dimensions that each address an important question: function of affect (why compute affect), component of affect (how to compute affect), and representation of affect (what affect to compute). We coded each paper by its underlying conception of affect and found preferences towards affect detection, behavioral component, and categorical representation. We also observed coupling of certain conceptions. For example, papers using the behavioral component tend to adopt discrete representation, whereas papers using the physiological component tend to adopt dimensional representation. The FCR framework is not only the first attempt to organize different theoretical perspectives in a systematic and quantitative way, but also a blueprint to help conceptualize an AC project and pinpoint new possibilities. Future work may explore how the identified frequencies of FCR framework combinations may be applied in practice.

The Mount Washington Observatory Regional Mesonet: A Technical Overview of a Mountain-Based Mesonet

Abstract The Mount Washington Observatory Regional Mesonet (MWRM) is a network of 18 remote meteorological monitoring stations (as of 2022), including the Auto Road Vertical Profile (ARVP), located across the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire. Each station measures temperature and relative humidity, with additional variables at many locations. All stations need to withstand the frequent combination of intense cold, high precipitation amounts, icing, and hurricane-force winds in a mountain environment. Due to these challenges, the MWRM employs rugged instrumentation, an innovative radio-communications relay approach, and carefully selected sites that balance ideal measuring environments with station survivability. Data collected from the MWRM are used operationally by forecasters (including Mount Washington Observatory and National Weather Service staff) to validate model guidance, by alpine and climate scientists, by recreationalists accessing conditions in the backcountry, by groups operating on the mountain (Cog Railway, toll Auto Road), and by search and rescue organizations. This paper provides a detailed description of the network, with emphasis on how the challenging climate and terrain of this mountain region impacts sensor selection, site maintenance, and overall operation. Significance Statement The mountain environment is a heterogeneous landscape, and interactions between the atmosphere and terrain can cause a wide variety of conditions across time and space. Our network of remote stations at different elevations across the White Mountains allows data users to understand how the weather varies spatially across the mountain range where conditions on higher peaks can be drastically, and dangerously, different. Sharing information about the MWRM can help other groups establish networks in similar challenging environments, and broaden our understanding of weather and climate in mountainous regions.

Transmission of Power and Signal Multiplex for Electric Vehicles Using Cascaded Multilevel Inverters

Abstract: P&amp;SMT, or power and signal multiplex transmission, is a method for transmitting communication signals using power electronic circuits. A three-phase cascaded multilevel inverter-based P&amp;S MT system is recommended in this investigation. By allowing communication signals to be transmitted without utilizing a Controller Area Network bus, the proposed solution can lower the wiring expense of the existing electric vehicle (EV) communication system. The system's architecture enables battery balancing discharge and motor speed management for EVs. In a simulation system proposed in MATLAB/Simulink, both power and communication signals are effectively conveyed using the combined pulse width modulation scheme and frequency shift keying approach. The maximum signal rate of the proposed system is established at 600 bits per second by analyzing the bit error rate of the sent signal.