Initial Stage Research Articles

The Initial Stage of the Gorlitskaya Operation (1915). Causal Relationships of the Defeat of the Russian Army

The Initial Stage of the Gorlitskaya Operation (1915). Causal Relationships of the Defeat of the Russian Army

Strengthening COVID-19 Surveillance Using the Existing National Respiratory Surveillance Framework

ABSTRACT The coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a global outbreak of coronavirus and has significantly changed the dynamics and framework of healthcare delivery system. Acknowledging the fact that the clinical manifestations of both influenza and COVID-19 are quite similar and both are respiratory pathogens, it will be ideal to use the Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) for monitoring the community-level transmission in any nation. During the initial stages of pandemic itself, with the intention to strengthen the surveillance activities, it was recommended that all the nations should use the existing surveillance networks in the nation and employ them for the surveillance of COVID-19 cases. In conclusion, the GISRS continues to play an important role in the COVID-19 pandemic response since its onset. As a matter of fact, this system is an efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable platform for nations to continue their battle against the pandemic.

Highly stable and antifungal properties on the oilseed rape of Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2 nanoflakes prepared by simple aqueous precipitation

In the last few decades, nanoparticles have been a prominent topic in various fields, particularly in agriculture, due to their unique physicochemical properties. Herein, molybdenum copper lindgrenite Cu3(MoO4)2(OH)2 (CM) nanoflakes (NFs) are synthesized by a one-step reaction involving α-MoO3 and CuCO3⋅Cu(OH)2⋅xH2O solution at low temperature for large scale industrial production and developed as an effective antifungal agent for the oilseed rape. This synthetic method demonstrates great potential for industrial applications. Infrared spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) results reveal that CM samples exhibit a pure monoclinic structure. TG and DSC results show the thermal stable properties. It can undergo a phase transition form copper molybdate (Cu3Mo2O9) at about 300 °C. Then Cu3Mo2O9 nanoparticles decompose into at CuO and MoO3 at 791 °C. The morphology of CM powder is mainly composed of uniformly distributed parallelogram-shaped nanoflakes with an average thickness of about 30 nm. Moreover, the binding energy of CM NFs is measured to be 2.8 eV. To assess the antifungal properties of these materials, both laboratory and outdoor experiments are conducted. In the pour plate test, the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of CM NFs against Sclerotinia sclerotiorum (S. sclerotiorum) is determined to be 100 ppm, and the zone of inhibiting S. sclerotiorum is 14 mm. When the concentration is above 100 nm, the change rate of the hyphae circle slows down a little and begins to decrease until to 200 ppm. According to the aforementioned findings, the antifungal effects of a nano CM NFs solution are assessed at different concentrations (0 ppm (clear water), 40 ppm, and 80 ppm) on the growth of oilseed rape in an outdoor setting. The results indicate that the application of CM NFs led to significant inhibition of S. sclerotiorum. Specifically, when the nano CM solution was sprayed once at the initial flowering stage at a concentration of 80 ppm, S. sclerotiorum growth was inhibited by approximately 34%. Similarly, when the solution was sprayed once at the initial flowering stage and once at the rape pod stage, using a concentration of 40 ppm, a similar level of inhibition was achieved. These outcomes show that CM NFs possess the ability to bind with more metal ions due to their larger specific surface area. Additionally, their semiconductor physical properties enable the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Therefore, CM NFs hold great potential for widespread application in antifungal products.

CO2 is the contrast media to choose in patients with initial Chronic Kidney Disease undergoing endovascular aneurysm repair to prevent further renal function deterioration.

Even low quantities of iodine contrast media (ICM) could be responsible for exacerbation of a chronic kidney disease (CKD). Aim of this study was to determine whether it is more reasonable to perform endovascular aneurysm repair (EVAR) procedures in patients with initial CKD using CO2 rather than ICM to prevent further kidney deterioration. A retrospective analysis was performed at our institution to identify patients with preoperative CKD at initial stage (class G3a-G3b according to KDOQI-KDIGO classification) who underwent either CO2-EVAR or ICM-EVAR. Primary endpoint was renal function evaluation; secondary endpoints were technical success, perioperative complications, hospital stay, and reinterventions and overall mortality at follow-up. Both CO2-EVAR and ICM-EVAR groups were composed of 21 patients. There were no differences in demographics, anatomy, and comorbidities, apart from worse ASA score in CO2-EVAR group (100% vs 57.1%, p = .001). Preoperative serum creatinine and glomerular filtration rates (GFR) were comparable (1.73 vs 1.6mg/dl, p = .082 and 39.71 vs 43.04mL/min/1.73m2, p = .935). At follow-up (16.7 ± 18.1 months), CO2-EVAR was not associated with significant changes in creatinine and GFR, whereas ICM-EVAR determined a significant increase in creatinine (1.6mg/dl vs 1.91mg/dl, p = .04) and decrease in GFR values (43 vs 37.9mL/min/1.73m2, p = .04), determining the need for dialysis in one patient. ICM seems to be a determining factor in worsening renal function; therefore, an effort should be made to standardize the use of CO2 as the contrast medium of choice in patients with initial renal insufficiency undergoing EVAR.

Pediatric Medullary Thyroid Carcinoma: Clinical Presentations and Long-term Outcomes in 144 Patients Over Six Decades.

Sporadic medullary thyroid carcinoma (sMTC) rarely occurs in childhood and no studies have specifically focused on this entity. To describe the clinical presentations and long-term outcomes of a large cohort of children and young adults with sMTC compared with hereditary MTC (hMTC). Retrospective study of 144 patients diagnosed with MTC between 1961-2019 at an age ≤21 years and evaluated at a tertiary referral center. In contrast to hMTC (n=124/144, 86%), patients with sMTC (n=20/144, 14%) are older (p<0.0001), have larger tumors (p<0.0001), a higher initial stage grouping (p=0.001) and have more structural disease (p=0.0045) and distant metastases (DM) (p=0.00084) at last follow up, but are not more likely to die from MTC (p=0.42). Among 77 patients diagnosed clinically, not by family history (20/20 sMTC and 57/124 hMTC), there was no difference in the initial stage (p=0.27), presence of DM at diagnosis (p=1.0), disease status at last follow-up (p=0.13), overall survival (p=0.57), or disease specific survival (p=0.87). Of the twelve sMTC tumors that underwent somatic testing, eleven (91%) had an identifiable alteration: ten RET gene alterations and one ALK fusion. sMTC is primarily a RET-driven disease that represents 14% of childhood-onset MTC in this cohort. Pediatric sMTC patients are older, present with clinical disease at a more advanced TNM classification, and have more persistent disease at last follow up compared with hMTC, but these differences disappear when comparing those presenting clinically. Somatic molecular testing should be considered in sMTC patients who would benefit from systemic therapy.

The influence of interface morphology on the tensile properties and interface stress of rock-shotcrete Brazilian discs

In tunnelling and mining applications, the rock-shotcrete interface is crucial for structural stability at the initial support stage, but its complex stress distribution remains poorly understood due to the rock surface depressions. This study employs a series of simulations and model tests to investigate the influence of depression shape and depth on the interface. The results indicate that increased depression depth negatively impacts nominal tensile strength (NTS) and crack initiation energy, although these effects are lessened with rectangular-toothed depressions. The tensile stress on non-depressed surfaces is unaffected by depression depth but is influenced by its shape. Due to the concentration of tensile stress, non-concave interfaces are most prone to failure. In underground rock early support, the construction method of rectangular depression chiselling is more conducive to improving the strength of the shotcrete-rock interface.

Analysis of the Cooling Modes of the Lining of a Ferroalloy-Casting Ladle

Analysis of the Cooling Modes of the Lining of a Ferroalloy-Casting Ladle

Effect of Tungsten Inert Gas Remelting on Microstructure and Corrosion Resistance of Q450NQR1 High-Strength Weathering Steel-Welded Joints.

In this paper, the corrosion environment of a railway coal truck was simulated with 1.0%H2SO4 + 3%NaCl solution. The effect of weld toe Tungsten Inert Gas (TIG) remelting on the microstructure and corrosion resistance of welded joints of Q450NQR1 high-strength weathering steel was studied. The results show that the weld toe melts to form a remelting area after TIG remelting. After TIG remelting, the weld geometry was improved, and the stress concentration factor decreased from 1.17 to 1.06 at the weld toe, a decrease of 9.4%. TIG remelting refines the microstructure of the weld toe and improves the corrosion resistance of the welded joint. The surface of the TIG-remelted sample is uniformly corroded with no "deep and narrow" pits after the removal of corrosion products. The weight loss rate and corrosion rate of remelted welds are lower than those of unremelted welds. The structure of corrosion products is loose at the initial stage of corrosion, and the corrosion products are transformed into Fe3O4 and Fe2O3 protective rust layers with a dense structure after 480 h of corrosion. With the extension of corrosion time, the tensile strength and percentage elongation of the specimen decreased linearly. The decreasing rates of tensile strength of remelted and unremelted specimens were 0.09 and 0.11, respectively, and the decreasing rates of elongation after fracture were 0.0061 and 0.0076, respectively.

Abstract A052: ROS in ovulatory follicular fluid exert de novo mutagenic activities through activation-induced cytidine deaminase acting on the TP53 gene in the fallopian tube epithelial cell

Abstract Objective: Ovulation is a major risk factor of epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC), presumably acts from the cancer initiation stage. High-grade serous carcinoma (HGSC) is the most prevalent and fatal EOC, mainly arising from fallopian tube fimbrial epithelium (FTE). TP53 missense mutations are considered the earliest event of carcinogenesis since they form “p53 signatures” in FTE and were found in virtually all HGSC. Previously, we discovered that a subset of ovulatory follicular fluids (FF) harbored high levels of ROS, which were both mutagenic and oncogenic, causing DNA double-strand breaks (DSB) and tumorigenesis. However, DSB is unlikely the cause of TP53 mutations which are mostly CG: TA base substitutions involving deamination. We hypothesized that during ovulation FF exposes the fallopian tube fimbria and causes TP53 mutations by activating the activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Materials and Methods: By conducting an HPRT gene mutation assay, we determined the mutagenic activity of FF on FTE cells with or without AID-knockdown. AID gene activation and protein nuclear translocation were analyzed in human FTE tissues and cells with different degrees of transformation, as well as in the oviducts of mice under controlled ovulation. The binding of AID to the TP53 gene and the subsequent deamination were determined by ChIP-PCR and uracil-qPCR, respectively. Results: After FF exposure, the mutation frequency of HPRT in FTE cells increased by 4.1 folds, at levels 40% higher than the ethyl methane sulfonate control and could be diminished by antioxidants or knockdown of the AID gene. AID activation, including mRNA and protein inductions and nuclear translocation, was evident in FTE cells and tissue after FF exposure and in mouse oviducts after ovulation. Two waves of AID activations were noted, peaking at 45 minutes (early activity) and 8.5 hours (late activity) after ovulation or FF exposure. TNF-α and ROS were found to be responsible for the activities in FF. Mechanistically, the early activity worked through the MAPK, while the late activity worked through the NF-κB pathway. The induced AID in both activities physically binds to and biochemically deaminates the TP53 gene irrelative to the known mutational hotspots of HGSC. However, it did not act on PTEN, the other prevalent tumor suppressor gene in HGSC. Meanwhile, ovulatory FF also activates the putative tumor-initiating and stemness gene LGR6 in FTE at locations where AID was also activated. Conclusion: The serial studies characterized the mutagenic activities of ovulatory FF, which acts on the LGR6-expressing cells in the fallopian tube fimbria and targets the TP53 gene. The study also identified ROS as the mutagen and pointed to strategies of ovulation inhibition and antioxidation for the prevention of EOC. Citation Format: Tang-Yuan Chu, Sanchana Subramani, Hsuan-Shun Huang. ROS in ovulatory follicular fluid exert de novo mutagenic activities through activation-induced cytidine deaminase acting on the TP53 gene in the fallopian tube epithelial cell [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Ovarian Cancer; 2023 Oct 5-7; Boston, Massachusetts. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2024;84(5 Suppl_2):Abstract nr A052.

Modulation of Primary and Secondary Processes in Tau Fibril Formation by Salt-Induced Dynamics.

The initial stages of amyloid fibrilization begin with the monomers populating aggregation-prone conformers. Characterization of such aggregation-prone conformers is crucial in the study of neurodegenerative diseases. The current study characterizes the aggregation pathway of two tau protein constructs that have been recently demonstrated to form Alzheimer's (AD) fibril structures with divalent ions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) fibril structures with monovalent ions. The results highlight the involvement of identical residues in both the primary and secondary processes of both AD and CTE fibril propagation. Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation experiments reveal increased flexibility of the motifs 321KCGS within R3 and 364PGGGN within R4 in the presence of MgCl2/NaCl, correlating with faster aggregation kinetics and indicating efficient primary nucleation. Notably, the seeded aggregation kinetics of the tau monomers in the presence and absence of metal ions are strikingly different. This correlates with the overall sign of the 15N-ΔR2 profile specifying the dominant mechanism involved in the process of aggregation.

Drifting toward Alliance Innovation: Patent Collaboration Relationships and Development in China’s Hydrogen Energy Industry from a Network Perspective

Drifting toward Alliance Innovation: Patent Collaboration Relationships and Development in China’s Hydrogen Energy Industry from a Network Perspective

Boron nitride-alginate coordination interactions enabling hydrogels with enhanced mechanical strength and heat resistance

Developing large-scale hydrogels with high tensile strength and robust mechanical properties is an intricate challenge of great industrial significance. In this study, we demonstrate an efficient method for producing nanocomposite hydrogels with extraordinary mechanical properties. Our approach involves a two-step process: an initial stage of pre-cross-linking boron nitride (BN)-enriched pre-gel sodium alginate, followed by cross-linking with metal ions. In stark contrast to conventional sodium alginate hydrogels (SA), our newly formulated ‘BS hydrogel’ exhibited an impressive tensile strength exceeding 41 MPa and improved thermal resistance. Moreover, the reconstituted BS hydrogel exhibited tensile strengths ranging from 47 to 96 MPa and elastic moduli ranging from 199 to 1184 MPa, depending on the cross-linking metal ions. These findings indicate the multifaceted potential of the BS hydrogel, which is poised to revolutionize many applications and represents a significant step forward in hydrogel technology for industrial applications.

Lipoprotein dysfunction in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Pathogenesis and treatment of CKD dyslipidemia (literature review)

Dyslipidemia develops in the initial stages of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and worsens as nephropathy progresses. The main manifestation of dyslipidemia is hypercholesterolemia, especially in nephrotic syndrome. However, with CKD of stages 4-5, it is replaced by hypertriglyceridemia in combination with an increase in blood levels of lipoproteins low and very low density. Such changes are closely related to the development of cardiovascular pathology with high mortality. The content of high-density lipoproteins (HDL) in the blood is gradually decreasing, as well as the reversible transport of cholesterol. Thus, their anti-atherogenic, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory functions are lost. The main components of HDL – apolipoproteins ApoA-I and ApoA-II, which provide functionality, are replaced by acute-phase proteins, and HDL lose their cardioprotective potential and acquire a proinflammatory and proatherogenic phenotype. According to modern concepts, HDL dysfunction, along with metabolic shifts, is largely due to epigenetic disorders affecting gene expression and partially eliminated by prescribing drugs containing microRNAs (mRNAs) or antisense nucleotides. Drugs with interfering RNAs created in recent years have been successfully used not only for the treatment of dyslipidemia in nephrological patients, but also in patients with neoplastic processes, inflammatory arthritis, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system, porphyria, hemophilia and many other diseases. The proposed review is devoted to the mechanisms of disorders of the structure and functions of HDL in patients with CKD and the correction of these disorders.

Perancangan dan Pembuatan Website Majelis Ulama Indonesia Kota Batu Malang

Community service is one of the activities required for lecturers at Institut Teknologi dan Bisnis ASIA Malang every semester. This activity is carried out in groups to distribute knowledge to the community. This activity is in partnership with the Batu City MUI in creating a digital website for distribution of information to the wider community. Problems arise when a partner's website is hacked or damaged by a hacker. The service team wanted to teach how to recover or mitigate after damage, but the technical team could not provide information regarding the website and suggested creating a new website. In the initial stage, this service will create a new website. The method of this service approach is to carry out discussions in group discussion forums (FGD). The results of the discussion were realized in the form of a website for the Batu City MUI. Evaluations were carried out regarding design and functionality requirements. The partners are satisfied but it must be developed further. In ongoing collaboration this website will continue to be developed. After that, training in mitigating data when exposed to hackers will be carried out in the next service.

Interactive design generation and optimization from generative adversarial networks in spatial computing

This paper focuses on exploring the application possibilities and optimization problems of Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) in spatial computing to improve design efficiency and creativity and achieve a more intelligent design process. A method for icon generation is proposed, and a basic architecture for icon generation is constructed. A system with generation and optimization capabilities is constructed to meet various requirements in spatial design by introducing the concept of interactive design and the characteristics of requirement conditions. Next, the generated icons can effectively maintain diversity and innovation while meeting the conditional features by integrating multi-feature recognition modules into the discriminator and optimizing the structure of conditional features. The experiment uses publicly available icon datasets, including LLD-Icon and Icons-50. The icon shape generated by the model proposed here is more prominent, and the color of colored icons can be more finely controlled. The Inception Score (IS) values under different models are compared, and it is found that the IS value of the proposed model is 7.05, which is higher than that of other GAN models. The multi-feature icon generation model based on Auxiliary Classifier GANs performs well in presenting multiple feature representations of icons. After introducing multi-feature recognition modules into the network model, the peak error of the recognition network is only 2.000 in the initial stage, while the initial error of the ordinary GAN without multi-feature recognition modules is as high as 5.000. It indicates that the improved model effectively helps the discriminative network recognize the core information of icon images more quickly. The research results provide a reference basis for achieving more efficient and innovative interactive space design.

A unified total synthesis route to 18-trideuterated and/or 19-trideuterated testosterone, androstenedione and progesterone

A unified total synthesis route has been used to prepare 18- and 19-trideuterated testosterone, androstenedione and progesterone. The 18-trideuterated steroid synthetic method starts with the synthesis of 2-(methyl-d3)-1,3-cyclopentanedione from CD3I and 1,3-cyclopentanedione and is subsequently converted into the Hajos-Parrish ketone for synthesis of these trideuterated steroids. The 19-trideuterated steroid synthesis proceeds through non-deuterated Hajos-Parrish ketone with incorporation of the 19-methyl-d3 group from CD3I at a later stage of the same synthetic route. Utilization of CD3I at both the initial and later stages of the synthesis provides a route to 18,19-hexadeuterated steroids. The deuterated steroids are useful for studies of steroid biosynthesis and metabolism.

Analysis of Beginning Reading Difficulties in Students Class II SDN 2 Mayonglor

Beginning reading is the initial stage of learning to read which focuses on recognizing shapes and letters related to words, and provides a foundation for children to progress to the beginning stage of reading. The aim of this research is to identify difficulties in beginning reading comprehension in class II of SD Negeri 2 Mayonglor. The research method used in this research is a descriptive method with a qualitative approach. The data collection methods used in this research were observation and questionnaires. Researchers identified three students with reading comprehension difficulties. Basically, students are good at writing letters A-Z, but when these letters are written in words or sentences, they have difficulty writing some letters. Therefore, students should pay attention to the words spoken and the letters written in sentences.

Research on coal crushing behavior under supercritical CO2 transient high-pressure fracturing

CO2 fracturing enhances gas permeability by creating a complex network of fractures in coal seams. Crushing serves as the foundation of fracture development, and studying the coal crushing behavior under supercritical CO2 transient high-pressure fracturing is of great significance to understand fracture evolution and guide precise fracturing. This study utilized a self-built experimental platform for supercritical CO2 transient high-pressure fracturing to obtain fractured coals at different energy levels. Based on multifractal theory, the relationship between fracturing energy and crushing behavior was studied by laser particle analysis and scanning electron microscopy. The results showed that the volume average particle size (D4,3), and the particle sizes at which the cumulative particle size distribution reached 50% (D50), and 90% (D90) decreased significantly with the increase of fracturing energy. The converted diameter and the crushing work ratio exhibited an exponential relationship with the fracturing energy. The larger the fracturing energy, the smaller the values of the multifractal generalized dimension spectrum parameters (D0, D1, and ΔD(q)), the larger the values of the multifractal singular spectrum width (Δα (q)), and the denser and more even the particle size distribution of fractured coal. The multifractal parameters and shape coefficients exhibited phased change during the fracturing process. The coal particles progressed from an initial stage with numerous microcracks and fissures to a honeycomb structures with small pores. After the disintegration of the honeycomb structures, agglomerated ultrafine particles were formed. The findings provide a theoretical reference for optimizing the selection of fracturing parameters.

Acute postoperative pain prevalence and intensity in the first 72 hour in Dessie Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Ethiopia: a prospective single center observational study.

Postoperative pain is poorly studied in developing countries. Severe pain after surgery remains a major problem, occurring in 50-70% of the patients. Differences exist across countries. Despite numerous published studies, the degree of pain following many types of surgery in everyday clinical practice is unknown. To improve postoperative pain-treatment and develop procedure-specific, optimized pain-treatment protocols, the prevalence and severity of postoperative pain must first be identified. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and intensity of acute postoperative pain and the practice of postoperative pain management. A total of 180 patients were enrolled in the study, with 160 calculated using a single population proportion formula and a 10% attrition rate added, with proportionate stratification according to the size of each ward to obtain the number of participants from each specialty ward. A multistage sampling with stratified proportionate at the initial stages and a simple random sampling technique at the final stage was used. The patients completed a numerical pain rating scale for pain immediately after surgery for the first 72h after surgery. The prevalence of mild, moderate, or severe pain was calculated. The evaluation was performed at eight time points including immediately after surgery: T2, T4, T8, T12, T24, T48, and T72. The prevalence of severe pain in patients who underwent elective surgery in the study period measured by numeric rating scale was 21.6, 43.9, 45.6, 28.9, 39.4, 10.5, and 13.4% at 2nd, 4th, 8th, 12th, 24th, 48th and 72h, respectively. The prevalence of moderate-to-severe pain within 72h postoperatively was slightly lower than that other studies conducted in Ethiopia reported. This was still high, indicating better pain management in the postoperative period. Involvement of the anesthetist in pain management is crucial for better patient management.

Deep transfer learning model for brain tumor segmentation and classification using UNet and chopped VGGNet

Brain tumors (BT) are a leading cause of cancer-related mortality worldwide, underscoring the critical need for early and precise detection to improve patient survival rates. Computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) plays a pivotal role in early BT detection by providing medical experts with valuable information image analysis. Various researchers have developed distinct methodologies, drawing from both machine and deep learning approaches. ML relies on manual feature analysis, which entails a time-intensive procedure of selecting an optimal feature extractor and necessitates domain experts with a deep understanding of feature selection. Conversely, deep learning methods exhibit superior performance compared to ML owing to their end-to-end, automated, high-level, and robust attribute mining capabilities. In this study introduced an innovative two-stage framework designed for the automatic classification of BT. In the initial stage, utilize U-Net models to conduct BT segmentation as part of the pre-processing step. Subsequently, in the second stage, utilize the improved BT images as input for a transfer learning-based model known as visual geometry group neural network (VGGNet), which excels in BT classification. The experimental analysis shows that the proposed approach has reported the average classification accuracy as 98.6%, 98.76%, and 99.45% for Meningioma, Glioma, and Pituitary BTs, respectively.