Initial Window Research Articles

Investigating the Atmospheric Conditions Associated with Impactful Shallow Landslides in California (USA)

Abstract Shallow landslides are often triggered during rainfall events, which can increase subsurface soil water pressure and destabilize hillslopes. The likelihood of regional shallow landslide initiation is often assessed through a comparison of rainfall intensity and duration to pre-established thresholds. While informative for landslide warning, this exclusive focus on rainfall exceeding thresholds does not consider the meteorological conditions producing the rainfall. Here, we ask the question, are there common meteorological characteristics that lead to landslide-triggering precipitation? We develop a catalog of 18 post-1995 widespread, impactful shallow landslide events occurring within 13 storms across California, USA, where initiation time could be constrained to a ≤6-h window. We examine storm characteristics during the landslide initiation window using atmospheric reanalysis products, radar observations, and quantitative precipitation estimates. We find that, while there are some common atmospheric characteristics across landslide events, they can occur under a range of atmospheric conditions. For example, all Northern California landslide events assessed are associated with moderate to strong atmospheric rivers (ARs), while Southern California landslides feature non-AR to strong AR conditions. The storm events evaluated herein share many characteristics of hydrologically important storms in California that did not necessarily result in landslides; thus, atmospheric characteristics alone may not be sufficient to determine whether landslides will occur. However, documenting the characteristics of landslide-triggering storms defines the conditions under which landslides tend to occur, provides analog events that can be useful in forecast applications, helps define future research directions relating to atmospheric conditions and landslides, and supports interdisciplinary research efforts. Significance Statement Rainfall-triggered landslides pose a threat to communities situated in and around California’s steep terrain. Thresholds related to measured antecedent rainfall accumulation and anticipated rainfall intensity over various durations are typically used for predicting landslide occurrence. Here, we assess various atmospheric characteristics of 18 storms that triggered landslides to determine whether there are common characteristics that could provide insight into landslide occurrence beyond precipitation information. Our results indicate while there are some common characteristics across landslide events, the events can occur under a range of conditions. This finding and the documentation of these events are useful for communicating weather forecasts and potential hazards, help build an interdisciplinary understanding of landslide-triggering precipitation, and highlight future research needs.

ANÁLISIS ADAPTATIVO DE TRAYECTORIAS SINUSOIDALES ALTAMENTE HETEROGÉNEAS

The study of sperm motility offers multiple applications in reproductive medicine, as well as in the aquaculture and livestock industrie. Aiming to achieve a population motility characterization with high precision and automatization, a software was developed in order to obtain good motility parameters from their trajectories: mean velocity, heading frequency and amplitude. The development requires only one adjustable parameter, an initial time window for averaging, which is optimized recursively for each cell. When it is applied to aquatic spermatozoa recorded at 400 fps, it proves to be robust and adaptable to populations with high heterogeneity in their motility parameters.

Interval type-2 evolving fuzzy Kalman filter for processing of unobservable spectral components from uncertain experimental data

In this paper, an interval type-2 evolving fuzzy Kalman filter (IT2EFKF) is designed for processing unobservable spectral components of uncertain experimental data. The primary objective of the methodology proposed in the present research is to provide a novel mathematical tool for interval and spectral processing of uncertain experimental data in order to deal with real-world filtering, tracking, and forecasting problems. The adopted methodology consider the following steps: an initial model of the interval type-2 fuzzy Kalman filter, which is off-line identified from an initial window of the experimental data; the updating of antecedent proposition of interval type-2 fuzzy Kalman filter by using an interval type-2 formulation of evolving Takagi–Sugeno (eTS) clustering algorithm and the updating of consequent proposition by using a type-2 fuzzy formulation of Observer/Kalman Filter Identification (OKID) algorithm, taking into account the multivariable recursive Singular Spectral Analysis of the experimental data. Computational results for tracking the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach when compared to related methodologies from the literature, with superior results for RMSE of 0.0026. Experimental results for tracking a 2DoF helicopter illustrate its applicability, with superior results for RMSE and VAF of 0.00156 and 99.9874% for yaw angle, and of 0.00702 and 99.8863% for pitch angle, respectively.

Epididimo-orhitis u 13-godišnjeg dječaka tokom varicella infekcije – ultrazvučno praćenje

Varicella is a highly contagious infectious disease that can cause various complications. One of them, epididymo-orchitis, is rare and poorly described in literature, and thus remains seldom thought of, under-diagnosed, and poorly treated. In this report we present the case of a 13-year-old boy initially examined by an infectologist and a pediatric surgeon under the diagnosis of a scrotal bacterial superinfection during a varicella infection. Wrongly treated with antibiotics, he was then examined by a pediatric endocrinologist, diagnosed with epididymoorchitis as a varicella complication, and treated with acetaminophen, ice packs and scrotum suspension, as the 24-hour window for antiviral therapy initiation was missed. Laboratory test showed no signs of infection, while ultrasonography showed enlargement of the right testicle and epididymis with thickening of tunica albuginea and paratesticular effusion. The ultrasound follow up then showed improvement with each examination and a year later a completely normal finding. The hormonal status was normal during the follow up, so was the sperm count. However, sperm mobility was reduced 5 years later and the patient was diagnosed with asthenozoospermia. Hence we must emphasize the role of a varicella infection and its ability to leave a long term consequence to reproductive health. Having in mind the diminished antiviral therapy and still doubtful complication prevention we have to point out the prevention measures, including vaccination and the development of new antiviral methods.

Introducing an active opening strategy to mitigate large open-plan compartment fire development

‘Travelling fire’ behaviour was found in large compartment fire tests with initial window openings, which exhibits slow fire development benefiting fire safety design and firefighting. Since much faster fire spread is found in the same compartment with glass panels, this paper attempts to explore an ‘active opening’ strategy to open the glass panels to regain the ventilation assumptions. The proposed strategy uses an activation temperature to control the opening and it has been now implemented in the CFD fire models. Two extreme situations, i.e., initial opening without glass and windows initially closed with glass, are investigated. A striking difference of fire behaviour is found as flashover is observed in the latter scenario compared to the localized burning in the former case. While implementing active opening, the influences of activation temperature and window height on the performance of mitigating fire development are investigated. It is found that a lower activation temperature allows faster removal of hot smoke and thus avoids spontaneous ignition. Furthermore, the effect of window height is demonstrated as higher opening reduces the thickness of hot smoke, which effectively enables lower floor radiation and thus mitigates fast fire spread.

A rapid outliers detection and correction method for external ballistic velocity measurement data

Due to the influence of various sudden and abnormal factors during the tracking environment, equipment working conditions, and operation process, there are inevitable outliers in the tracking measurement process of aircraft such as carrier rockets, artificial satellites, and missiles. Therefore, the prerequisite for ensuring the reliability of processing results is to timely and accurately detect and correct outliers. In this paper, we proposed the sliding window-based variable degree B-spline function method (SWVD B-spline), which can handle isolated outliers and spotted outliers. SWVD B-spline uses variable degree B-spline function to model observed data in sliding windows, which can detect and correct outliers point by point along with window sliding. Then, we propose an initial window data selection method to remove outliers in initial windows to ensure the processing effect. In addition, because there are often inflection points in external ballistic velocity measurement data, differential evolution is used to optimize variable degree B-spline in windows that include inflection points to improve processing accuracy. The experimental results verify that SWVD B-spline can handle various outliers rapidly and efficiently.

A Quasi Experimental Study of Helicobacter Pylori Eradication in Afghanistan: Comparison of Treatment Preferences for Helicobacter Pylori Eradications, Sequential Therapy Versus Hybrid Therapy

Colonization by Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) of the gastric epithelial lining epitomizes a pervasive and clinically consequential infectious etiology. Therapeutic strategies aimed at bacterial eradication inherently hinge on a confluence of determinants-regional antimicrobial resistance spectra, localized clinical algorithms, and pharmaceutical attainability. Best practices in the medical milieu underscore sagacious antibiotic stewardship, predicated on a patient-centric antibiotic historiography prior to therapeutic commencement.
 The overarching objective of this study-executed in a quasi-experimental comparative framework at Sheikh Zayed University Teaching Hospital, Khost, Afghanistan-was to discerningly evaluate and contrast two paradigms of treatment: Sequential Therapy and Hybrid Therapy. The subject pool encapsulated a demographically diverse set of individuals, aged 16 to 80, manifesting symptoms of peptic ulcer diseases or gastritis. Those ineligible for inclusion included follow-up patients, immunocompromised subjects, and individuals undergoing oncological interventions.
 Employing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 25 for data stratification, the Hybrid Therapy arm was subjected to an initial seven-day treatment window with amoxicillin (1g, BID) and omeprazole (20mg, BID), succeeded by a seven-day regimen involving clarithromycin (500mg, BID) and metronidazole (400mg, TID). Conversely, the Sequential Therapy cohort received a bifurcated, five-day course of omeprazole and amoxicillin, followed by an additional five-day regimen of omeprazole, metronidazole, and clarithromycin. Outcome variables, inclusive of treatment efficaciousness, regimen completion, and patient adherence, were rigorously evaluated via Chi-Square statistical testing.
 Encompassing 145 patients, the study observed a gender dispersion of 156 males (41.1%) to 224 females (58.9%). Per-protocol analysis unveiled a statistically significant eradication rate-86.8% vs 83.0% (P=0.021)-tilted in favor of Hybrid Therapy. Both Modified Intention-to-Treat and Intention-to-Treat analyses corroborated this proclivity, registering significant eradication rates of 92.1% versus 67% (P=0.031) for Hybrid Therapy.
 Conclusively, Hybrid Therapy demonstrated a superior safety and efficacy profile vis-à-vis Sequential Therapy in extirpating H. pylori, intimating its plausible preferability for the clinical management of associated peptic ulcer diseases and gastritis.

Optimal sizing and lifetime investigation of second life lithium-ion battery for grid-scale stationary application

The renewable energy sources (RESs) integration into the grid system aims to solve the problem of power shortage and satisfy the increasing demand with the production of surplus energy. However, the intermittent nature of these RESs (solar and wind) is a challenge to integrate with the grid system without the deployment of mitigating solutions. The re-use of first life-end-of-life (FL_EoL) electric vehicle batteries known as second life batteries (SLBs) is therefore proposed as a reliable solution to resolve this problem, satisfying the techno-economic requirements of stationary applications. Though various studies performed on the technical viability evaluation of SLBs, most of them have not considered the field data of existing stationary plants and were found to be limited with simulation-based aging results. On the other hand, few of the studies have performed the second life aging test with limited cycles considering the end of test conditions rather than using the cells reached to their end of first life criteria. Therefore, in this paper, the prolonged cycling aging of SLBs is conducted (both cell-level and module-level aging), focusing on aging characteristics of SLBs by using a real-life renewable power smoothing profile extracted from an existing photovoltaic grid-connected system (PVGCS) installed in Ethiopia. Prior to the aging characterization of SLBs, assessment of the selected stationary application requirement, optimal sizing of the storage battery and cycling profile definition are performed using advanced moving average ramp rate controller (MARRC) algorithm. The proposed method of MARRC is used to determine the optimal SLBs capacity by analyzing the relationship between ramp-rate, initial battery capacity and window sizes of moving average control method in terms of time series. The algorithm addresses the main objectives of reducing unnecessary battery cycling, mitigating ramp-rate violations and meeting minimum storage requirements for the second-life application. From the result of the battery sizing study, the desired optimal battery capacity and the permissible ramp-rate limit below 10 %/minute is achieved. Moreover, the aging characterization and lifetime model validation results with a root mean square error (RMSE) of 1.5 % shows that, the technical performance of the SLBs is found to be promising with an efficiency of >90 % interpreted in terms of the service year that the SLBs can provide. Therefore, SLBs can be regarded as a viable solution for integrating RESs with the grid system for the power variability smoothing application.

Rethinking Decentralized Antitrust Regimes: A Window on the Future of Protectionism and Overregulation

Over 100 jurisdictions have a domestic competition law, making competition law one of the most widespread forms of economic regulation around the world. The existing decentralized antitrust regimes have increased transaction costs and uncertainties, enforcement conflicts, antitrust protectionism, and global overenforcement of antitrust laws. Yet international coordination has received little attention. Why? Two interest-based explanations suggest that the European Union and the United States have adopted different approaches to regulating competition, making the two leading regulators race to spread their regulatory models. Moreover, the balance of benefits under existing international legal rules continues to favor major corporations in both developed and developing countries. As a result, the developed world, particularly the United States, has viewed attempts at multilateral coordination as against its interests.
 This Article challenges this conventional wisdom. It argues that the increasing heterogeneity among decentralized antitrust regimes poses a larger long-term threat to the US than is commonly believed. A closer examination of the proliferation of antitrust laws demonstrates why antitrust protectionism and overregulation are not temporary and not destined to level off. In addition, as more developing countries have the capacity to prosecute multinationals and as the strictest jurisdiction has the power to set the de facto world standard, today’s positive balance of benefits will disappear tomorrow. This Article argues that the United States should reverse its hands-off approach to international antitrust coordination and instead enact proposals that place greater convergence among national antitrust regimes. It highlights why the present moment is an opportune time to initiate, but notes that the window for initiation is likely to close as developing countries acquire increased economic strength and enforcement capacity.

Numerical Study to Define Initial Thermal Integration Window for Methane Oxidative Coupling with Dehydroaromatization Reactors

Oxidative coupling of methane and methane dehydroaromatization are attractive one-step conversion routes to make valuable platform chemicals more sustainable. Both processes require elevated temperatures above 600°C, good heat management, and the use of heterogeneous catalysts. None of these reactions are yet commercial due to many technical challenges. This work explores the potential of combining these two processes under one umbrella to overcome some of the technical challenges and make these processes more attractive. It focuses on the recuperative autothermal reactor coupling as one of the possible integration options. A tube-in-tube reactor design is proposed in which OCM is in the inner tube and MDA is in the outside. A numerical study is carried out using pseudohomogenous ideal fixed bed reactor models with literature kinetics. A systematic tabulated approach is used to simplify, visualize, and structure the design process and view the design options. Practical constraints such as reactor sizing, pressure drop, reaction performance, and axial temperature profile are investigated. The effect of heat transfer coefficient, diluents, catalyst profiling, and flow direction have been investigated to alter the axial temperature profile, avoid thermal run away, and improve the performance. Multiple thermally coupled OCM-MDA reactor design candidates are identified. This is the first time that the thermal coupling of OCM and MDA has been identified and quantified. These candidates are merely a starting point toward exploring the full coupling opportunities between OCM and MDA toward reaching the ultimate and more attractive option of full mass and heat integration in the same reactor.

Fair and Efficient Spectrum Sharing in Unlicensed Bands: Does Number of Links Matter?

The rapid growth of mobile data traffic has become a great challenge to the licensed spectrum in scarcity. Driven by this, deploying networks in unlicensed bands has been drawing significant attention. This work is devoted to study the impact of the number of links on optimal coexistence performance between Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA) and WiFi in unlicensed bands. In particular, we consider three coexistence cases, including 1) single LAA link coexisting with single WiFi link; 2) single LAA link coexisting with multiple WiFi links; 3) multiple LAA links coexisting with multiple WiFi links. The throughput performance in all the three cases is characterized as explicit expressions, based on which the maximum total throughput under the throughput fairness and the corresponding optimal initial backoff window sizes are derived. A systematic comparison among the optimal performance of the three cases is conducted, and it is found that while the maximum total throughput is insensitive to the change of the number of multiple links, the drastic change from single link to multiple links in one network would lead to fierce internal competition in that network, and thus deteriorates both the optimal throughputs of the coexisting network and WiFi. This work sheds important light on the realization of fair and efficient spectrum sharing.

Type-2 evolving fuzzy Kalman filter design based on unobservable spectral components space for interval tracking of non-stationary experimental data

In this paper, an interval type-2 evolving fuzzy Kalman filter is designed for processing of unobservable spectral components of uncertain experimental data. The adopted methodology consider the following steps: an initial model of the interval type-2 fuzzy Kalman filter, which is off-line identified from an initial window of the experimental data; the updating of antecedent proposition of interval type-2 fuzzy Kalman filter by using an interval type-2 formulation of evolving Takagi-Sugeno (eTS) clustering algorithm and the updating of consequent proposition by using a type-2 fuzzy formulation of Observer/Kalman Filter Identification (OKID) algorithm, taking into account the multivariable recursive Singular Spectral Analysis of the experimental data. The computational results for tracking the Mackey-Glass chaotic time series illustrate the efficiency of proposed methodology as compared to relevant approaches from literature, and the experimental results for tracking a 2DoF helicopter demonstrate its applicability.

Quantifying the Variation in the Number of Donors in Quantum Dots Created Using Atomic Precision Advanced Manufacturing

Atomic-precision advanced manufacturing enables unique silicon quantum electronics built on quantum dots fabricated from small numbers of phosphorus dopants. The number of dopant atoms comprising a dot plays a central role in determining the behavior of charge and spin confined to the dots and thus overall device performance. In this work, we use both theoretical and experimental techniques to explore the combined impact of lithographic variation and stochastic kinetics on the number of P incorporations in quantum dots made using these techniques and how this variation changes as a function of the size of the dot. Using a kinetic model of PH3 dissociation augmented with novel reaction barriers, we demonstrate that for a 2 × 3 silicon dimer window the probability that no donor incorporates goes to zero, allowing for certainty in the placement of at least one donor. However, this still comes with some uncertainty in the precise number of incorporated donors (either one or two), and this variability may still impact certain applications. We also examine the impact of the size of the initial lithographic window, finding that the incorporation fraction saturates to δ-layer-like coverage as the circumference-to-area ratio decreases. We predict that this incorporation fraction depends strongly on the dosage of the precursor and that the standard deviation of the number of incorporations scales as ∼√n, as would be expected for a sequence of largely independent incorporation events. Finally, we characterize an array of 36 experimentally prepared multidonor 3 × 3 nm lithographic windows with scanning tunneling microscopy, measuring the fidelity of the lithography to the desired array and the final location of PHx fragments within these lithographic windows. We use our kinetic model to examine the expected variability due to the observed lithographic error, predicting a negligible impact on incorporation statistics. We find good agreement between our model and the inferred incorporation locations in these windows from scanning tunneling microscope measurements.

Long-term follow-up of persistent pulmonary subsolid nodules: Natural course of pure, heterogeneous, and real part-solid ground-glass nodules.

Previous studies have suggested the applicability of three classifications of subsolid nodules (SSNs). However, few studies have unraveled the natural history of the three types of SSNs. A retrospective study from two medical centers between November 2007 and November 2017 was conducted to explore the long-term follow-up results of three different types of SSNs, which were divided into pure ground-glass nodules (pGGNs), heterogeneous ground-glass nodules (hGGNs), and real part-solid nodules (rPSNs). A total of 306 consecutive patients, including 361 SSNs with long-term follow-up, were reviewed. The median growth times of pGGNs, hGGNs, and rPSNs were 7.7, 6.0, and 2.0 years, respectively. For pGGNs, the median period of development into rPSNs was 4.6 years, while that of hGGNs was 1.8 years, and the time from pGGNs to hGGNs was 3.1 years (p < 0.05). In SSNs with an initial lung window consolidation tumor ratio (LW-CTR) >0.5 and mediastinum window (MW)-CTR >0.2, all cases with growth were identified within 5 years. Meanwhile, in SSNs whose LW-CTR and MW-CTR were 0, it took over 5 years to detect nodular growth. Pathologically, 90.6% of initial SSNs with LW-CTR >0 were invasive carcinomas (invasive adenocarcinoma and micro-invasive adenocarcinoma). Among patients with rPSNs in the initial state, 100.0% of the final pathological results were invasive carcinoma. Cox regression showed that age (p=0.038), initial maximal diameter (p < 0.001), and LW-CTR (p=0.002) were independent risk factors for SSN growth. pGGNs, hGGNs, and rPSNs have significantly different natural histories. Age, initial nodule diameter, and LW-CTR are important risk factors for SSN growth.

Spline function generating Gabor systems on the half real line

Recently, Gabor analysis on locally compact abelian (LCA) groups has interested some mathematicians. The half real line is an LCA group under multiplication and the usual topology. This paper addresses spline Gabor frames for , where is the corresponding Haar measure. We introduce the concept of spline functions on by ‐convolution and estimate their Gabor frame sets, that is, lattice sets such that spline generating Gabor systems are frames for . For an arbitrary spline Gabor frame with special lattices, we present its one dual Gabor frame window, which has the same smoothness as the initial window function. For a class of special spline Gabor Bessel sequences, we prove that they can be extended to a tight Gabor frame by adding a new window function, which has compact support and same smoothness as the initial windows. And we also demonstrate that two spline Gabor Bessel sequences can always be extended to a pair of dual Gabor frames with the adding window functions being compactly supported and having the same smoothness as the initial windows.

Disparities in routine healthcare utilization disruptions during COVID-19 pandemic among veterans with type 2 diabetes

BackgroundWhile emerging studies suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in routine healthcare utilization, the full impact of the pandemic on healthcare utilization among diverse group of patients with type 2 diabetes is unclear. The purpose of this study is to examine trends in healthcare utilization, including in-person and telehealth visits, among U.S. veterans with type 2 diabetes before, during and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, by demographics, pre-pandemic glycemic control, and geographic region.MethodsWe longitudinally examined healthcare utilization in a large national cohort of veterans with new diabetes diagnoses between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2018. The analytic sample was 733,006 veterans with recently-diagnosed diabetes, at least 1 encounter with veterans administration between March 2018–2020, and followed through March 2021. Monthly rates of glycohemoglobin (HbA1c) measurements, in-person and telehealth outpatient visits, and prescription fills for diabetes and hypertension medications were compared before and after March 2020 using interrupted time-series design. Log-linear regression model was used for statistical analysis. Secular trends were modeled with penalized cubic splines.ResultsIn the initial 3 months after the pandemic onset, we observed large reductions in monthly rates of HbA1c measurements, from 130 (95%CI,110–140) to 50 (95%CI,30–80) per 1000 veterans, and in-person outpatient visits, from 1830 (95%CI,1640–2040) to 810 (95%CI,710–930) per 1000 veterans. However, monthly rates of telehealth visits doubled between March 2020–2021 from 330 (95%CI,310–350) to 770 (95%CI,720–820) per 1000 veterans. This pattern of increases in telehealth utilization varied by community type, with lowest increase in rural areas, and by race/ethnicity, with highest increase among non-hispanic Black veterans. Combined in-person and telehealth outpatient visits rebounded to pre-pandemic levels after 3 months. Despite notable changes in HbA1c measurements and visits during that initial window, we observed no changes in prescription fills rates.ConclusionsHealthcare utilization among veterans with diabetes was substantially disrupted at the onset of the pandemic, but rebounded after 3 months. There was disparity in uptake of telehealth visits by geography and race/ethnicity.

Pseudo-flexible resistive switching characteristics of nano-bowl-like NiO arrays on mica substrates

Nano-bowl-like NiO (nb-NiO) arrays on flexible Pt-coated mica substrates have been fabricated by electro-deposition and magnetron sputtering with the assistance of the monolayer colloidal sphere template. The nano-bowl array makes the polycrystalline NiO film thickness change periodically in the range of 150–450 nm, and the HfO2 buffer layer effectively depresses the local leakage current. A voltage which is lower than ±0.4 V can make the Ag/HfO2/nb-NiO/Pt cell reversibly switch between the high and the low resistance states within 11 μs. This cell exhibits a ratio of the high to the low resistance (RH/RL) of 103 ∼ 104, a data retention time over 104 s and an endurance of >1200 cycles. Driven by the non-uniform electric field, oxygen ions accumulated at the HfO2/NiO interface prefer to occur the Fowler-Nordheim tunneling at the thinnest bowl bottom, which decreases switching voltages. The bent cell almost keeps initial resistive switching properties before the bending radius (r) is below 2.5 cm. Though its properties greatly degrade when the r further reduces below 1.5 cm, it can recover most of initial memory window after returning to the flat state again, showing potential applications in new types of pseudo-flexible memory devices.

A Process Parameter Predictive Framework for Laser Cladding of Multi-principal Element Alloys

• A framework is constructed to predict the processing parameters for laser additive manufacturing of MPEAs • A set of dimensionless objective functions correlated elemental diffusion and atomic radii to the macroscopic process parameters. • A multi-objective cuckoo search optimization enables a Pareto front to identify optimal processing parameters. Surface engineering by additive manufacturing of multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) has generated significant attention recently for the range of remarkable material properties that can be achieved. A challenge exists in determining the optimum processing parameters for fabricating alloys of various compositions, as they govern the quality of the deposited material. Nevertheless, only limited models are available to predict the initial parameter window for the processing parameters. Using AlCoCrFeNi MPEA as a testbed for laser metal deposition, we present a framework correlating material properties to processing variables coupling predictions from fundamental molecular simulations and meta-heuristic optimization approaches. A set of dimensionless objective functions are constructed to connect elemental diffusion and atomic radii to the macroscopic process parameters, viz., cooling rate, energy density and powder deposition density. Our results suggest that the diffusion coefficient varies exponentially with cooling rate, when the MPEA assumes a crystalline phase upon solidification due to the formation of crystal point defects and a high activation energy rate required for diffusion during rapid cooling. However, the absence of these defects in an amorphous phase of the alloy renders no definitive correlation for the elemental diffusion coefficients with varying cooling rates. Through a multi-objective cuckoo search optimization, we construct a Pareto front to identify optimal values for processing variables, which concur with the parameters adopted in the literature for laser cladding of complex alloys.

Proteins secreted by brain arteriolar smooth muscle cells are instructive for neural development

Intercellular communication between vascular and nerve cells mediated by diffusible proteins has recently emerged as a critical intrinsic program for neural development. However, whether the vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) secretome regulates the connectivity of neural circuits remains unknown. Here, we show that conditioned medium from brain VSMC cultures enhances multiple neuronal functions, such as neuritogenesis, neuronal maturation, and survival, thereby improving circuit connectivity. However, protein denaturation by heating compromised these effects. Combined omics analyses of donor VSMC secretomes and recipient neuron transcriptomes revealed that overlapping pathways of extracellular matrix receptor signaling and adhesion molecule integrin binding mediate VSMC-dependent neuronal development. Furthermore, we found that human arterial VSMCs promote neuronal development in multiple ways, including expanding the time window for nascent neurite initiation, increasing neuronal density, and promoting synchronized firing, whereas human umbilical vein VSMCs lack this capability. These in vitro data indicate that brain arteriolar VSMCs may carry direct instructive information for neural development through intercellular communication in vivo.

A study to observe the effectiveness of dacryocystectomy in the management of chronic dacryocystitis

Background: Diseases of the Lacrimal sac could be secondary to the disease of the neighboring areas, namely, that of nose, orbit, and the face. And yet, the diseases of the Lacrimal sac can spread to these areas. Aims and Objectives: The present study was undertaken to observe the effectiveness of dacryocystectomy in the management of chronic dacryocystitis. Materials and Methods: A total of 35 male and female patients with chronic dacryocystitis were part of the study after obtaining informed consent. All the cases underwent surgery under local anesthesia. Incision was made and lacrimal sac was exposed. Bone resection of lacrimal fossa was performed. This is followed by the incision of the mucosal flaps. Postoperatively, the patient is kept on antibiotic, anti-inflammatory drugs, nasal decongestant drops, and antibiotic eye drops. The skin wound is dressed daily. Irrigation of the Lacrimal sac is done daily from 2nd post-operative day onward with warm saline to which few drops of gentamicin is added. Skin sutures are removed on 5th day. The patients are followed regularly. Results: The success rate in our series is 97.14%. The follow-up period in our series ranged between 3 months and 13 months during the follow-up. As described by stallard (1980) and paymann (1982), in 33 of our cases, the initial bony window is fashioned with a lacrimal dissector by inserting it into the suture line between the maxilla and lacrimal bone in the lacrimal fossa and breaking the Lacrimal bone. Conclusion: The study results support that dacryocystectomy is effective in the management of chronic dacryocystitis. The study also recommends further studies with larger sample size in this area.