Exhaustive Measurements Research Articles

Altered immunophenotypic expression in the peripheral bladder cancer immune landscape.

Treatments targeting the immune system only benefit a subset of patients with bladder cancer (BC). Biomarkers predictive of BC progression and response to specific therapeutic interventions are required. We evaluated whether peripheral blood immune subsets and expression of clinically relevant immune checkpoint markers are associated with clinicopathologic features of BC. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells isolated from blood collected from 23 patients with BC and 9 age-matched unaffected-by-cancer control donors were assessed using a 21-parameter flow cytometry panel composed of markers of T, B, natural killer and myeloid populations and immune checkpoint markers. Patients with BC had significantly lower numbers of circulating CD19+ B cells and elevated circulating CD4+CD8+ Tcells compared with the control cohort. Immune checkpoint markers programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1) and T-cell immunoglobulin and mucin-domain containing-3 (TIM-3) were elevated in the total peripheral immune cell population in patients with BC. Within the BC cohort, PD-1 expression in T and myeloid cells was elevated in muscle-invasive compared with non-muscle-invasive disease. In addition, elevated T, B and myeloid PD-1 cell surface expression was significantly associated with tumor stage, suggesting that measures of peripheral immune cell exhaustion may be a predictor of tumor progression in BC. Finally, positive correlations between expression levels of the various immune checkpoints both overall and within key peripheral blood immune subsets collected from patients with BC were observed, highlighting likely coregulation of peripheral immune checkpoint expression. The peripheral blood immunophenotype in patients with BC is altered compared with cancer-free individuals. Understanding this dysregulated immune profile will contribute to the identification of diagnostic and prognostic indicators to guide effective immune-targeted, personalized treatments.

Aculeaquamides B and C, two new paraherquamides from the co-culture of Aspergillus aculeatinus WHUF0198 and Penicillium sp. DM27

Two new paraherquamides (PHQs) namely aculeaquamides B and C (1 and 2), along with four known PHQs (3–6), were isolated from the co-culture of marine fungus Aspergillus aculeatinus WHUF0198 and mangrove-associated fungus Penicillium sp. DM27. Compound 1 represents the first PHQ derivative featuring an uncommon 7/6/5/5/6/5 hexacyclic system. The structures of the isolated compounds were elucidated based on exhaustive NMR spectroscopy measurement and HRESIMS data. The absolute configurations of new compounds were determined by TDDFT-ECD calculations. Compound 3 demonstrated suppression of AngII-induced cardiac hypertrophy while exhibiting relatively low cardiomyocyte toxicity.

An innovative virtual sensing system for the vehicle-centric evaluation of emissions in the sustainable mobility transition

The objective of the research is to develop a new methodology capable of quantifying the emissions of internal combustion engine cars based not only on their technology but also on the dynamic behavior of the individual vehicle. No complicated exhaust measurement apparatus is needed. Employing just a telematic device equipped with GNSS and an inertial measurement unit, which can be easily attached to the vehicle, we demonstrate how individualised, accurate climate-altering emissions result by using figures extracted from European test databases, appropriately combined with real travelled distances, speeds, and driving style of each individual car. Pollutant emissions are, in this paper, also assessed though in a more general manner, and this represents a starting point for a future complete vehicle-centric emissions evaluation. This research demonstrates that circulating car emissions have to be assessed considering not only the Euro class and type of fuel, but also how the vehicle is driven. In this work a new, implementation oriented methodology is proposed in order to properly merge average European standard emission data with car-based telematic measures to highlight a new paradigm for regulating in a more conscious way the transition of the internal combustion engine car park towards a large scale, sustainable mobility ecosystem. This approach would place greater responsibility on the driver, without leaving anyone behind and without compelling the car scrapping solely based on the Euro class of its engine. The key contribution is ultimately to establish an easy to handle methodology enabling targeted and behavior-based traffic management policies. In fact, through a massive telematics recent dataset, the proposed virtual emission sensing system reveals that an extensive and inefficient use of eco-friendly vehicles produces much more greenhouse gas emissions than older vehicles driven in an environmentally responsible way.

Unani Integrative Approach for the Management of Sciatica, Employing Pharmacotherapy with Regimenal Therapy: A Case Report

Sciatica, a subtype of low back pain (LBP) is one of the most common clinical complaints in primary care which is characterized by pain that originates in the lower back or buttocks and radiates down one or both legs along the distribution of the sciatic nerve. It commonly results due to nerve root compression by a prolapsed lumbar disc. Sciatica affects both genders equally and has an annual incidence of 1-5%, most common in 30-65 years of age. The management of sciatica includes non-pharmacological, pharmacological and surgical approaches. Combining these management techniques can help in pain reduction and thereby can lead to an overall wellbeing of the individual. In this case report we present the case of a 52 year old male patient with lower back pain radiating to left lower limb who came to Department of Regimenal therapies, National Institute of Unani Medicine, Bengaluru. The patient had taken NSAIDs and other measures for pain management from last 6 months. Despite taking exhaustive measures, no significant improvement was seen. The symptoms have gotten worse over the past two months. After complete clinical examination and diagnosis, the patient underwent treatment for 4 weeks using integrative approach in the form of unani pharmacotherapy, coupled with regimenal therapy. Many objective parameters were used to evaluate the patient both before and after the intervention. The assessment parameters after the intervention reported a significant amelioration of the symptoms. Our study suggested that, management of sciatica with an integrative strategy can be considered. Keywords: Sciatica, LBP, lumbar disc, Integrative therapy, NSAIDs, Regimenal therapy.

Structural simulation and performance evaluation of self-priming electrostatic diesel vehicle emission particle sensor

Here is reported a self-priming electrostatic particulate matter (PM) sensor for real-time monitoring of diesel exhaust under different operating conditions. Initially, a multi-physics coupling model for the sensor was established. By varying the exhaust flow and temperature, the emissions of diesel vehicles were simulated to evaluate the sensor. The results showed that within the typical velocities (5 to 60 m/s) and temperature ranges (100 to 500 °C) of diesel exhaust, the sensor outlet pressure was consistently below the inlet pressure, with a maximum differential pressure of 259 Pa, indicating the capability for self-priming sampling of exhaust under different operating conditions. Additionally, the calibration platform was constructed using a miniature inverted soot generator which produced a series of samples to calibrate the relationship between current and mass concentration with a correlation coefficient of 0.99. From 0 to 100 mg/m3, the PM sensor exhibited a relative error between −6.00% and 6.00% with good stability and consistency for samples of different sizes and concentrations, with correlation coefficients exceeding 0.98. The results between the self-developed sensor and a commercial instrument revealed that the former provided high-precision real-time measurement of diesel exhaust.

Real Driving Emissions—Event Detection for Efficient Emission Calibration

The systematic analysis of measurement data allows a large amount of information to be obtained from existing measurements in a short period of time. Especially in vehicle development, many measurements are performed, and large amounts of data are collected in the process of emission calibration. With the introduction of Real Driving Emissions Tests, the need for targeted analysis for efficient and robust calibration of a vehicle has further increased. With countless possible test scenarios, test-by-test analysis is no longer possible with the current state-of-the-art in calibration, as it takes too much time and can disregard relevant data when analyzed manually. In this article, therefore, a methodology is presented that automatically analyzes exhaust measurement data in the context of emission calibration and identifies emission-related critical sequences. For this purpose, moving analyzing windows are used, which evaluate the exhaust emissions in each sample of the measurement. The detected events are stored in tabular form and are particularly suitable for condensing the collected measurement data to a required amount for optimization purposes. It is shown how different window settings influence the amount and duration of detected events. With the example used, a total amount of 454 events can be identified from 60 measurements, reducing 184,623 s of measurements to a relevant amount of 12,823 s.

A háború társadalmi-gazdasági hatásainak vizsgálata a kárpátaljai kistérségi önkormányzatok vonatkozásában

Since 2022, the Russian-Ukrainian war has been a major focus of everyday life and scientific research. From a Hungarian perspective, it has had a significant impact on the national economy. However, it is also important to monitor the socio-economic effects on the indigenous Hungarians living in Transcarpathia, which have profoundly affected their existence. The scope for analysis is wide, but the present study combines an analysis of the impact of the war with an examination of the so-called "small regions" that have been created in recent years and the population living there. First, I will present a literature review on the socio-economic impacts of war in general. Then, using a sample of empirical research, I will analyze the situation of three small regions along the border of Transcarpathia in the period 2021-2023. As a result of the research, it can be concluded that the differences between the local government groupings are not only influenced by their economic strength, demographic framework, and other social factors, but also by the timing of the study - whether it was conducted before the war, immediately after its outbreak, or a year and a half later. It follows that there is a measure of war exhaustion in society, both economically and psychologically, affecting hope for the future. Therefore, it would be important to have the possibility of reconstruction as soon as possible after the degrading state of war.

The Feasibility and Impact of an Asynchronous Interprofessional Well-Being Course on Burnout in Health Care Professionals.

Well-being initiatives are essential components in fostering an engaged workforce and creating an effective health care ecosystem. Health care professional (HCP) burnout is widespread and has worsened since the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2014, with Health Resources and Services Administration funding support, the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine created an online course for HCP well-being. It was subsequently studied in medical residents and revised in 2020. In this study, we explore the impact of the course across larger systems, as well as the long-term impact on HCPs. The Health Care Professional Well-Being course is 4.5 hours of interactive online education that explores personal well-being, promoters and detractors of well-being, and systemic factors that influence the overall impact of well-being in health care systems. Participants were recruited through institutional members of the Academic Consortium for Integrative Medicine and Health and were randomized to either active or waitlist control groups. Assessments were taken pre-course, 1-month post-course, and 6-months post-course in the areas of burnout, compassion, resiliency, and lifestyle behaviors. Burnout measures of depersonalization and emotional exhaustion showed a significant improvement amongst active participants, sustained for 6 months after the course. However, no significant improvement in either the resiliency or the compassion measurements was noted for the active group. Initially, the active group showed improvement in personal accomplishment; however, both groups showed a decline overall. Most noteworthy, a large number of active participants demonstrated adoption of new health-promoting behavior; 95% incorporated at least 1 new lifestyle behavior learned from the course. This study of a brief, asynchronous, online well-being course with interprofessional HCPs, demonstrates that the course is associated with improvement in individual burnout measures and can educate HCPs about healthy behaviors and a framework for professional engagement.

Construction of a High-Temperature Sensor for Industry Based on Optical Fibers and Ruby Crystal.

This paper presents the construction of an innovative high-temperature sensor based on the optical principle. The sensor is designed especially for the measurement of exhaust gases with a temperature range of up to +850 °C. The methodology is based on two principles-luminescence and dark body radiation. The core of this study is the description of sensing element construction together with electronics and the system of photodiode dark current compensation. An advantage of this optical-based system is its immunity to strong magnetic fields. This study also discusses results achieved and further steps. The solution is covered by a European Patent.

Identifying Contact Time Required for Secondary Transmission of Clostridioides difficile Infections by Using Real-Time Locating System.

Considering patient room shortages and prevalence of other communicable diseases, reassessing the isolation of patients with Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is imperative. We conducted a retrospective study to investigate the secondary CDI transmission rate in a hospital in South Korea, where patients with CDI were not isolated. Using data from a real-time locating system and electronic medical records, we investigated patients who had both direct and indirect contact with CDI index patients. The primary outcome was secondary CDI transmission, identified by whole-genome sequencing. Among 909 direct and 2,711 indirect contact cases, 2 instances of secondary transmission were observed (2 [0.05%] of 3,620 cases), 1 transmission via direct contact and 1 via environmental sources. A low level of direct contact (113 minutes) was required for secondary CDI transmission. Our findings support the adoption of exhaustive standard preventive measures, including environmental decontamination, rather than contact isolation of CDI patients in nonoutbreak settings.

T Cell Exhaustion Markers in Multiple Myeloma Patients are Lower After Physical Activity Intervention

PurposeThere is compelling evidence that CD4+ and CD8+T cells are dysfunctional in multiple myeloma, compromising their ability to control disease progression. Pre-clinical models suggest that exercise represents a non-pharmacologic means to reduce immune exhaustion, but no studies to date have examined the relationship between an exercise intervention and biomarkers of immune exhaustion in multiple myeloma patients. Patients and MethodsThe current study includes 24 multiple myeloma patients who participated in a six-month physical activity intervention, consisting of supervised strength training (n = 12) and unsupervised home-based walking arms (n = 12). Comprehensive flow cytometry was utilized to assess the frequency of CD4+ and CD8+T cells and subpopulations expressing the markers of exhaustion PD-1, TIGIT, TIM3 and/or LAG3. Ratios of exhausted to non-exhausted cell populations, and percentages of exhausted to total populations of the same lineage, were calculated for the baseline and final timepoints. ResultsEighteen of 20 exhaustion measures were lower at the end of the intervention than at baseline, and several were significantly or borderline significantly reduced in the entire sample or in one of the arms. The entire sample saw improvements in the ratios of CD4+ TIGIT+ to non-exhausted CD4+ (0.7 [0.6] to 0.6 [0.4], P = .04) and CD8+ PD1+ to non-exhausted CD8+ (1.8 [2.6] to 1.5 [2.0], P = .06), and in total exhausted CD8+ as a percent of total CD8+ (72.9 [21.9] to 68.3 [19.6], P < .01). ConclusionsThis pilot study suggests that physical activity induces changes in MM patients’ immune systems, potentially rendering a less exhausted T cell state.

Isolation and Structure Determination of cis-OPDA-α-Monoglyceride from Arabidopsis thaliana.

cis-12-oxo-Phytodieneoic acid-α-monoglyceride (1) was isolated from Arabidopsis thaliana. The chemical structure of 1 was elucidated based on exhaustive 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic measurements and supported by FDMS and HRFDMS data. The absolute configuration of the cis-OPDA moiety in 1 was determined by comparison of 1H NMR spectra and ECD measurements. With respect to the absolute configuration of the β-position of the glycerol backbone, the 2:3 ratio of (S) to (R) was determined by making ester-bonded derivatives with (R)-(+)-α-methoxy-α-trifluoromethylphenylacetyl chloride and comparing 1H NMR spectra. Wounding stress did not increase endogenous levels of 1, and it was revealed 1 had an inhibitory effect of A. thaliana post germination growth. Notably, the endogenous amount of 1 was higher than the amounts of (+)-7-iso-jasmonic acid and (+)-cis-OPDA in intact plants. 1 also showed antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria, but jasmonic acid did not. It was also found that α-linolenic acid-α-monoglyceride was converted into 1 in the A. thaliana plant, which implied α-linolenic acid-α-monoglyceride was a biosynthetic intermediate of 1.

Experimental research on instrumentation for measuring automotive exhaust particle concentrations

Due to the absence of domestic automotive exhaust measurement methods, this paper, based on the principle of condensation nucleus growth counting, has developed a nanoparticle counter suitable for automotive exhaust detection. The paper incorporates the peak value counting method and conducts comparative experiments between different counting methods of the nanoparticle counter and the results obtained by electrostatic counting, as well as parallel experiments with a TSI CPC. The following results were obtained: (1) Compared to the traditional rising edge counting method, the peak value counting method significantly improves counting accuracy. (2) When the concentration is below 12, 500 P/cc, the peak value counting method can count more particle signals. (3) In the testing of complex particle clusters in automotive exhaust, the nanoparticle counter can be used for measuring automotive exhaust emissions.

Diameter characterization of the principal architectural structures for the Nectarine tree before flowering

This study aims to describe the variation of the diameter in architecture structure of Nectarine fruit trees located in Sefrou region. This characterization was realized before flowering by metric exhaustive and non-destructive measurements of all architectural organ to the supporting organs of fructification. The study conducted on Nectarine variety of Spring Bright, by measuring diameter of different tree structures: 10 trunk, 40 frames, 1234 underframes from level 1 to level 6 and 1250 of mixed branches for 10 trees that have been labelled and numbered. The characterization of the tree revealed the logic of the plant’s construction, the diameters of the frames and their distribution were grouped in three to four homogeneous classes. The diameter was between 226,97 (trunk) and 7.31 (Mixt branch) mm with a standard deviation between 2.47 for mixt branch up to 23,29 for 1sts under frames .The diameter of the structure of a level is always lower than that of the superior level, but the comparison between the successive structure tree present a regressive diminution percentage in diameter. The diameter of different structures is homogeneous, with a low variability in all levels of the tree structures of Nectarine tree studied.

Characterization of the tree length structure of the Nectarine tree before flowering by metric measurements in Sefrou, Morocco

This study aims to describe the architecture of Nectarine fruit trees located in Sefrou region. This characterization concerned the length variation of all the tree structure before flowering by metric exhaustive and non-destructive measurements. The study conducted on Nectarine variety of Spring Bright, by measuring 10 trunk, 40 frames, 157 1st underframe, 280 2nd underframe, 361 3rd underframe, 308 4th underframe, 134 5th underframe and 1250 of mixed branches, that have been labelled and numbered. The characterization of the tree revealed the underlying logic of the plant’s construction, The lengths, decrease from scaffold to 5th level under frame but it experiences a 357% increase in length ratio for the mixed branch due to its role as the primary fructification structure. This type of distribution is logic for the goblet training pruning program. The mean number of structure evolution was (scaffold) 4/(1st level) 4/(2nd level)1/3rd level 2/(mixt branch) 9 . The raw length data was not homogeneous probably due to the pruning effect, so they were grouped in three to four class to enhance the homogeneity.

Characterization of the length and the distance of insertion of the branches of apple trees

The current study focused on the branches Cherry Gala variety of apple in Azrouregion.The objective is to characterize the length and the insertion distance of different structures of apple trees based on nondestructive and exhaustive measurements of the branches. In total 2982 branches were identified and measured in the two stages (stage 1, stage 2) on different 6 levels present at each stage known as A, B, C, D, E, and F. The length of the branches in each stage and level was classified into 1 to 5 homogeneous classes. The length of vegetative branch variation was not significant between stages 1 and 2 but the insertion distance was significant for level D and not for levels A, B, and C. For five different length structures bearing fruit, the variation was significantly different for B, C, and D levels between stages 1 and 2 (length of fruiting spurs/ Dard/ Bourse; insertion distance of Dard and Bourse). The analysis showed that the length of the branches decreases while passing from one first stage to the second. The average branch length for stage 1 is 4,84 cm against 4,05 cm for stage 2. In each stage, the length decreases progressively while passing from one level to a higher level, except for level E of stage 1 and levels E and F of stage 2.

An exhaustive measurement of re-sampling detection in lossy compressed images using deep learning approach

The detection of resampling in digital images is critical for image authentication, but performance can be challenging when dealing with lossy compression. This study proposes an efficient feature extraction technique for detecting resampling (i.e., tampering) in post-JPEG compressed images. Our approach combines compression clues with resampling clues and feeds them to various traditional machine learning (ML) algorithms such as logistic regression, K-nearest neighbours (K-NN), support vector machine (SVM), decision tree (DT), and random forest (RF) to detect and classify doctored images in the re-compression scenario. We propose and evaluate feed-forward deep neural networks (DNN) and 1D convolutional neural networks (CNN) based on evaluation parameters such as accuracy, recall, precision, and F1 score, comparing them with the aforementioned traditional ML algorithms. Our results show that the RF and one-dimensional (1D) CNN are the most efficient models for this task. Furthermore, the 1D CNN outperforms the state-of-the-art techniques, particularly in the most challenging case of downscaling in lossy JPEG compressed images. Our proposed method demonstrates promising results for resampling detection in post-JPEG compressed images, which can be helpful in various image authentication applications.

The Effect of Course Schedule Density and Assignment Frequency on Burnout Syndrome in Students of The Faculty of Medicine YARSI University in 2019 And 2020 and Their Review According to Islam

Background: Burnout syndrome is a measure of physical exhaustion and mental stress that is driven primarily by pressure and job requirements. The academic demands experienced by medical students, such as busy class schedules, practicum materials, group discussions, clinical skills, final exams, to organizational activities are some of the factors that make the duties and obligations as students pile up, triggering to the Burnout syndrome. According to the Islamic view, patience and trustworthiness are a way to deal with fatigue in studying. Method: This type of research is quantitative which is done in an analytical observational manner with a cross sectional design. Questionnaires were distributed via Google form to YARSI University Medical Faculty students in 2019 and 2020. The sample in this study was 224 respondents. The statistical test uses the Chi-Square test. Results: In the study it was found that there were 125 (55%) students who had moderate burnout syndrome. Based on the results of statistical tests, there is no effect between schedule density and the frequency of assignments on burnout syndrome. Conclusion: There is no effect of the density of schedules and the frequency of assignments on burnout syndrome

Reduced Carbon Intensity of Ethanol Blend Gasoline

&lt;div&gt;Tank-to-wheels (TTW) CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; reduction for ethanol blends is determined from either gasoline composition or vehicle exhaust measurements. Fuels are characterized using a carbon intensity (CI), which is the ratio of carbon (as CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; mass) in the fuel to the net heating value. Our objective is to assess changes in CI of market gasoline with varying ethanol content that can be used to appreciate change in vehicle tailpipe greenhouse gases (GHG) in response to policy controlling the ethanol level in market fuels. Ethanol has both a reduced carbon content and a reduced net (lower) heating value relative to petroleum species, with a CI slightly lower than that of typical petroleum gasoline. However, ethanol blending offers additional CI reduction because it enables a reduction of aromatics in the petroleum blendstock for oxygenate blending (BOB) while maintaining octane rating of the blend. Aromatics have a CI about 20% higher than paraffins. The primary refinery option for aromatic reduction is through lower severity or throughput for the gasoline reformer, which ultimately reduces CI in the BOB and the finished blend. Expected gasoline market blends were projected by developing a model that addressed US refining and blending in response to octane requirements. A TTW blending CI, or BCI, for ethanol is proposed to describe the total CI reduction in the finished blend enabled by the ethanol. The ethanol BCI was found to average at 59 gCO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;/MJ for E10, E15, and E20 (10%, 15%, and 20% ethanol by volume) market fuels in this study. This is substantially below the ethanol chemical CI of 71.0 gCO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;/MJ and petroleum CI of 73.5 g CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt;/MJ due to the enabling of aromatic reduction. E10 in comparison to E0 (purely petroleum) is estimated to offer a national US tailpipe CO&lt;sub&gt;2&lt;/sub&gt; reduction of 16.6 billion kg annually.&lt;/div&gt;

Influence of high altitude after a prior ascent on physical exhaustion during cardiopulmonary resuscitation: a randomised crossover alpine field experiment

BackgroundPerforming cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) inevitably causes significant physical, as well as psychological stress for rescuers. Physical activity at high altitude, a hypobaric and hypoxic environment, similarly adds to the level of stress and causes multiple physiological changes. Continuous measurement of pulse rate serves as an objective measure of fatigue during CPR. We therefore aimed to investigate rescuers’ heart rates as a measure of physical strain during CPR in a high-altitude alpine environment to provide a better understanding of the physiological changes under these very special conditions.MethodsTwenty experienced mountaineers performed basic life support (BLS) on a manikin for 16 min, both at baseline altitude and at high altitude (3454 m) following a quick and exhausting ascent over 1200 m. Sequence of scenarios was randomised for analysis. Heart rate was continuously measured and compared between baseline and high altitude by absolute differences and robust confidence intervals.ResultsDuring CPR at baseline, the average heart rate increased from 87 bpm (SD 16 bpm) to 104 bpm [increase 17 bpm (95% CI 8.24–24.76)], compared to an increase from 119 bpm (SD 12 bpm) to 124 bpm [increase 5 bpm (95% CI − 1.59 to 12.19)] at high altitude [difference between two groups 32 bpm (95% CI 25–39)]. Differences between periods of chest compressions and ventilations were very similar at baseline [19 bpm (95%CI 16.98–20.27)] and at high altitude [20 bpm 95% CI 18.56–21.44)], despite starting from a much higher level at high altitude. The average heart rates of rescuers at high altitude at any point were higher than those at baseline at any other point.ConclusionPerforming BLS CPR causes exhaustion both at base level and at a high altitude. A further increase during CPR might imply a physiological reserve for adapting to additional physical exertion at high altitude. Phases of ventilation are much needed recovery-periods, but heart rates remain very high. Subjective measures of exhaustion, such as the BORG-scale, might lead to rescuers’ overestimation of their own performance.