Initial Number Research Articles

Emerging role of quantitative imaging (radiomics) and artificial intelligence in precision oncology.

Cancer is a fatal disease and the second most cause of death worldwide. Treatment of cancer is a complex process and requires a multi-modality-based approach. Cancer detection and treatment starts with screening/diagnosis and continues till the patient is alive. Screening/diagnosis of the disease is the beginning of cancer management and continued with the staging of the disease, planning and delivery of treatment, treatment monitoring, and ongoing monitoring and follow-up. Imaging plays an important role in all stages of cancer management. Conventional oncology practice considers that all patients are similar in a disease type, whereas biomarkers subgroup the patients in a disease type which leads to the development of precision oncology. The utilization of the radiomic process has facilitated the advancement of diverse imaging biomarkers that find application in precision oncology. The role of imaging biomarkers and artificial intelligence (AI) in oncology has been investigated by many researchers in the past. The existing literature is suggestive of the increasing role of imaging biomarkers and AI in oncology. However, the stability of radiomic features has also been questioned. The radiomic community has recognized that the instability of radiomic features poses a danger to the global generalization of radiomic-based prediction models. In order to establish radiomic-based imaging biomarkers in oncology, the robustness of radiomic features needs to be established on a priority basis. This is because radiomic models developed in one institution frequently perform poorly in other institutions, most likely due to radiomic feature instability. To generalize radiomic-based prediction models in oncology, a number of initiatives, including Quantitative Imaging Network (QIN), Quantitative Imaging Biomarkers Alliance (QIBA), and Image Biomarker Standardisation Initiative (IBSI), have been launched to stabilize the radiomic features.

Sensitive detection of aflatoxin B1 in foods by aptasensing-based qPCR

In this study, a reproductive switch DNA template was designed using aptasensing principles for the accurate quantification of aflatoxins. The template transformed the aflatoxin molecule into linear DNA of 102 nt. The linear DNA was subjected to a quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) to determine its initial copy number, which was positively correlated with the aflatoxin concentration. Using aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) as a model, the established method could quantify AFB1 within the range of 10-16–10-11 Mol/mL (detection limit equals 0.03 pg/mL), with a linear correlation coefficient R2 of 0.974. Good anti-interference abilities against common food ingredients and high specificity towards other mycotoxins were demonstrated. The established method was successfully applied for the quantification of AFB1 in complex foods such as soy sauce, milk, yellow wine, and peanut butter. The design of a reproductive switch template introduces a novel approach for the sensitive detection of small-molecule toxicants in foods.

Stochastic simulation of hydrogen-oxygen auto-ignition at the microscale.

A hybrid stochastic simulation method is developed to study H2-O2 auto-ignition at the microscale. Simulation results show that the discrete and stochastic characteristics of reaction collisions have notable impacts on the ignition process, particularly in the early stages when only a few radicals exist. The statistical properties of ignition delay time, which reflect the accumulated stochasticity during ignition, are obtained and analyzed for different initial temperatures and total molecular numbers. It is found that the average and standard deviation of ignition delay time increase as the total molecular number decreases, with this phenomenon being particularly pronounced near the crossover temperature. When the total molecular number is sufficiently small, the chain initiation reaction becomes crucial to the stochastic properties, as its average firing time exhibits an inverse proportionality to the total molecular number. As the total molecular number increases, the influence of other chain reactions intensifies, causing the power law relation between standard deviation and total molecular number to shift from -1 power to -0.5 power. Owing to different chain reaction paths for high- and low-temperature auto-ignition, the strongest relative fluctuation occurs near the crossover temperature. A theoretical equation for the standard deviation of ignition delay time is obtained based on dimensional analysis, giving excellent agreement with the simulation results in both high- and low-temperature modes.

Mapping the TQM implementation approaches and their impact on realizing leadership in Indian tyre manufacturing industry

PurposeThis paper attempts to investigate the approaches used for implementing total quality management (TQM) practices and study its impact on ABC India Limited (Name changed), a tyre manufacturing industry for realizing leadership in the Indian market. The other objectives are to explore the key issues faced by the company before TQM and study the benefits achieved after TQM implementation.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual case study research methodology has been utilized in this paper. The industry was facing some major business challenges such as low productivity, financial issues and low market presence since 1996. To overcome these issues, the top management of the industry adopted TQM as a business improvement tool and started its implementation in 2008.FindingsA good number of improvement initiatives under four TQM approaches such as management approach, development approach, improvement approach and involvement approach were performed systematically and strategically. As a result of the successful implementation of TQM initiatives, the industry received the most prestigious quality award namely Deming Prize in 2017.Research limitations/implicationsWith the implementation of the TQM philosophy in the industry, it gained the top market position, the customer satisfaction score increased from 75 to 81, market presence increased from 7.2% to 26.3% and the percentage participation of employees increased by 73.5% within a period from 2009 to 2016.Originality/valueThe novelty of this research is to consider a case-based approach that will be helpful in promoting the utilization of the TQM philosophy in other industries for gaining competitive advantages.

Inbound Corporate Social Responsibility Model for Selected Indian Banks and Their Proposed Impact on Attracting and Retaining Customers – A Case Study

Purpose: The banking sector in India's service industry sector helps the whole national economy by mobilising deposits and granting credit to other businesses, industrial sectors, and individuals. A recent government law mandates that both public and private banks voluntarily donate 2% of their income to CSR initiatives that address a variety of societal challenges. It is interesting to read how Indian banks have wisely utilised CSR funding. It will be interesting to compare the CSR programmes of a few Indian public and private banks to discover how cleverly they have increased organisational business benefits by spending on inbound CSR activities. Design/Methodology: This study proposes, cites, and analyses a number of inbound social responsibility initiatives started or to be started by Indian banks. The data and facts came from the websites of the chosen banks as well as from relevant case studies and bank literature from a number of open access sources. Findings: Inbound CSR initiatives have a variety of effects on banks' ability to draw in new clients and keep existing ones. Banks may strengthen their brand image, increase customer trust, and establish emotional connections. Based on a study of CSR efforts across banks in the private and public sectors, it was found that whereas public banks supported brand-building projects indirectly, private sector banks focused on giving direct support for their client services. As a result, both categories of banks will be able to gain from improved client satisfaction and, separately, the promotion of their services to underserved segments of the population using a strategy of spending a partial amount of CSR funds for inbound activities. Originality/Value: This study examines whether both public and private banks contribute to the successful discharge of their CSR funds for inbound CSR activities. Paper type: Research Case study.

Inactivation of Salmonella enterica and shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli on desiccated shredded coconut by high voltage atmospheric cold plasma

The main objective of the present study was to determine the efficacy of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) high voltage atmospheric cold plasma (HVACP) at 70 kV for inactivating Salmonella enterica and shiga-toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) on desiccated shredded coconut. Additional objectives were to evaluate sub-lethal injury in pathogen survivors, and selected quality characteristics of the coconut as affected by HVACP. Shredded coconut inoculated with ∼7.74 log10 CFU/g S. enterica or STEC, was exposed to HVACP (70 kV) for 3–15 min (S. enterica) and up to 5 min (E. coli). Non-HVACP-treated, inoculated coconut served as control. Samples were held at 23 ± 1°C for 24 h after HVACP treatment, and analyzed for survivors via the plate count method using thin agar layer (TAL) media and selective (SEL) agar. For each pathogen, differences in numbers of survivors on TAL medium and selective agar were used to evaluate sub-lethal injury. Color and texture of the coconut were determined using a ColorFlex EZ Spectrophotometer and a TA. XT Plus C Texture Analyzer, respectively. HVACP treatments significantly decreased the initial numbers of viable S. enterica and STEC (p < 0.05) with more survivors consistently recovered on TAL media compared to selective agar. Reductions (log10 CFU/g) of STEC and S. enterica after 3 min of HVACP treatment were 1.97 and 1.56, respectively (p < 0.05) based on survivors on TAL medium. A greater extent of sub-lethal injury was observed in STEC survivors compared to S. enterica (p < 0.05). The TAL method allowed detection of sub-lethally injured pathogens in HVACP-treated coconut that would have otherwise remained undetected if only selective agar media were used. There were minimal changes in color and texture of the coconut after HVACP (70 kV) treatment for 12 min. Based on these results, HVACP (70 kV) has good potential for inactivating enteric pathogens in desiccated shredded coconut to improve the microbial safety of this popular food ingredient with minimal effect on product color and texture.

Antifungal effects of eugenol on Candida albicans adherence to denture polymers.

The study's objective is to assess the adherence of C. albicans in different types of denture polymers and the effectiveness of eugenol and commercialized denture cleansers in the removal of C. albicans. Three types of denture base polymers (Lucitone® 199 (High-Impact PMMA), Impact® (conventional PMMA) and Eclipse® (UDMA)) and two hard denture reline materials (Kooliner® and Tokuyama® Rebase II Fast) were used in this study. Three hundred samples were prepared (6 × 2 mm disc shape) and divided into five groups of denture polymers (n=60) and further subjected into five treatment groups (Polident®, Steradent, distilled water, eugenol 5-minutes, and eugenol 10-min). Three samples were extracted from each treatment group for baseline data (n=12). Baseline data were used to calculate the initial number of C. albicans adherence. A 0.5 ml immersion solution from each specimen was cultured on YPD agar and incubated for 48 h at 37 °C. Visible colonies were counted using a colony counter machine (ROCKER Galaxy 230). The result showed that the denture base polymer significantly affected the initial adherence (p=0.007). The removal of C. albicans was also considerably affected by the denture base polymers and denture cleansers (p<0.05). Lucitone®, Tokuyama®, and Kooliner® denture base polymers immersed for 3 min in eugenol showed the best results of removal. This study's overall results showed that all denture polymers used as denture bases had an effect on C. albicans initial adherence and removal from the denture base, and eugenol is comparable to commercialised denture cleansers in reducing the number of attached C. albicans on denture base polymers.

The UK Reproducibility Network: A progress report

There is growing awareness that the ways in which academic research is conducted could be improved. A number of exciting innovations are emerging, alongside a broader agenda that includes a growing emphasis on open research. This short article outlines the rationale, progress and plans of the UK Reproducibility Network, which is one of a growing number of similar initiatives internationally that promote more rigorous and transparent research.

The initial number of fetuses in multiple pregnancy before reduction affects perinatal outcomes.

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the perinatal outcomes of dichorionic diamniotic (DCDA) twin pregnancies reduced by the fetal reduction (FR) procedure and cases with continuing DCDA twin pregnancies without FR. FR performed in a university hospital in the last 10 years was evaluated. Pregnancies reduced to DCDA twin pregnancies by reduction from three or more pregnancies and pregnancies that started with DCDA twins and continued with DCDA twins were compared in terms of perinatal outcomes. In the subgroup analysis, those who were reduced from three-chorionic three-amniotic (TCTA) triplets to DCDA twins and those who were reduced to DCDA twin pregnancies from four or more were compared in terms of perinatal outcomes. A total of 119 pregnant women were included in the study, 36 patients underwent FR, while 83 patients were DCDA twins who did not undergo FR. The groups were similar in terms of preterm delivery (p = 0.370). There was a higher rate of miscarriage (21.4% vs. 0.0%, p = 0.019) in the group that was reduced to DCDA twins from quadruplet and above pregnancies compared to the group that was reduced from TCTA triplets to DCDA twins. The gestational week at birth was lower in the group reduced to DCDA twins from quadruplets and above pregnancies (31.00 ± 4.31 vs. 34.64 ± 2.88, p = 0.019). The study's results show that the perinatal outcomes of multiple pregnancies with and without FR are the same As the number of reduced fetuses increases, the rates of preterm birth and miscarriage also increase.

Development of a conceptual model of the capacity for patients to engage in their health care: a group concept mapping study

BackgroundPatient engagement is seen as a necessary component in achieving the triple aim of improved population health, improved experience of care, and lower per capita health care costs. While there has been a substantial increase in the number of tools and patient-centered initiatives designed to help patients participate in health decisions, there remains a limited understanding of engagement from the perspective of patients and a lack of measures designed to capture the multi-faceted nature of the concept.MethodsDevelopment of a concept map of patient engagement followed a five-step modified Group Concept Mapping (GCM) methodology of preparation, generation, structuring, analysis and interpretation. We engaged a Project Advisory Committee at each step, along with three rounds of survey collection from clinicians and patients for element generation (272 clinicians, 61 patients), statement sorting (30 clinicians, 15 patients), and ranking and rating of statements (159 clinicians, 67 patients). The survey of three separate samples, as opposed to focus groups of ‘experts,’ was an intentional decision to gain a broad perspective about the concept of patient engagement. We conducted the structure and analysis steps within the groupwisdom concept mapping software.ResultsThe final concept map comprised 47 elements organized into 5 clusters: Relationship with Provider, Patient Attitudes and Behaviors, Access, Internal Resources and External Resources. There was considerable agreement in the way elements in each cluster were rated by patients and clinicians. An analysis of the importance of the constitutive elements of patient engagement relative to their addressability highlighted actionable items in the domain of Relationship with Provider, aimed at building trust and enabling patients to ask questions. At the same time, the analysis also identified elements traditionally considered barriers to engagement, like personal access to the internet and the patient’s level of digital literacy, as difficult to address by the healthcare system, but also relatively less important for patients.ConclusionsThrough our GCM approach, incorporating perspectives of both patients and clinicians, we identified items that can be used to assess patient engagement efforts by healthcare systems. As a result, our study offers specific insight into areas that can be targeted for intervention by healthcare systems to improve patient engagement.

Inpatient vs outpatient arthroplasty: A in-state database analysis of 90-day complications

IntroductionAn increase in the number of policy initiatives, such as alternative payment models, have prompted healthcare providers to examine health-care expenditures while seeking to improve quality of care. Performing total joint arthroplasty (TJA) in the outpatient setting is an attractive option in driving costs down and providing psychological benefits to patients. Concerns regarding the safety and effectiveness of same-day discharge protocols warrants further investigation, especially on the state level. Due to the lack of consensus, we aimed to compare: (1) risk factors for outpatient arthroplasty and (2) incidences of postoperative complications between inpatient vs outpatient arthroplasty using an in-state database. MethodsPatients who underwent total knee or hip arthroplasty between January 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 were identified. Data was drawn from the Maryland State Inpatient Database (SID) and Maryland State Ambulatory Surgery and Services Database (SASD). A total of 7817 patients had TJA within this time. Patients were divided into inpatient arthroplasty (n = 1429) and outpatient arthroplasty (n = 6338). Demographic variables, medical comorbidities, and 90-day complication rates were compared between inpatient and outpatient procedures. Additional independent variables included: marital status, primary language, race, and median household income. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for complications following TJA after controlling for risk factors and patient comorbidities. ResultsArthroplasty in the outpatient setting were more likely to be married (61.3% vs. 51.2%, p < 0.001), white (75.5% vs. 60.9%, <0.001), speak English as primary language (98.7% vs. 88.6%, p < 0.001), and have lower rates of diabetes (4.8% vs. 9.7%, p < 0.001), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (16.3% vs. 21.8%, p < 0.001), and obesity (30.0% vs. 45.2%, p < 0.001) compared to arthroplasty in the inpatient setting, respectively. There were lower incidences of acute kidney injury (0.2 vs. 0.8%, p < 0.001) and infection (0.3% vs. 1.1%, p < 0.001) in the outpatient cohort compared to the inpatient cohort, respectively. Inpatient arthroplasty (Odds Ratio (OR) 1.98, 95% CI 1.30–3.02, p = 0.002) and hypertension (OR 2.12, 95% CI 1.23–3.64, p = 0.007) were independent risk factors for total complications following TJA. ConclusionArthroplasty in the outpatient setting showed fewer complications than compared to patients in the inpatient setting. Although multiple factors should guide the decision for arthroplasty, outpatient arthroplasty may be a safe option for select, healthier patients without the increased burden of increased complications.

METHODS AND MODELS FOR FORMATION A PORTFOLIO OF URBAN TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS BASED ON THE SMART PORT CITY CONCEPT

Renovation of public transport fleets was carried out in different cities of the state before the outbreak of hostilities. In year 2020 "Urban public transport of Ukraine II" project was approved by the Government. Among eighteen cities-participants of this project, Odessa was the only one that had a maritime transport usage option. However, the specifics of the territorial location and the experience accumulated by the previous decades in the maritime coastal communications were not taken into account by that project. This article aims to study the specific features of the city's transport infrastructure development projects portfolio formation with the involvement of the off-street transport modes (including its maritime component), based on the latest Smart Port City concept, which reflects the harmonious targeting of the city and port development main directions. Results. Smart City is the concept, which encourages innovative solutions to the management of all transport types at a particular city level. The carried-out goals systematization reflects the involvement of the city's public administration and commercial players into the initiation of projects intended to enhance the use of off-street transport types. The ability to initiate a wide range of projects is provided by Smart Port concept to cities where the port operation role is decisive. The combination of these two concepts is presented in the form of Smart Port City, which contains the foundation for a significant number of project initiatives for new products and services in the promising areas of city and port development, improving the quality of urban environment and the port production operations efficiency results. Conclusions. The approach to determine projects structure, which is based on a system of objectives to resolve the city transport problems and ensure the port development, has been proposed. The formalized procedure of projects selection to the portfolio from the Smart Port City perspective has been developed, which allows: first, − to identify projects that match the city and the port general goals; second, − to produce a rating system for the city and the port projects respectively; third, – given the set threshold value, to identify the projects with the highest priority.

Rural Entrepreneurship through Vermicomposting – Case Studies

Solid waste management continue to be a major challenge and permanent problem of urban as well as semi-urban areas of the country. A number of initiatives have been taken by several public and private sector organizations to overcome this serious problem. One such initiative taken at the Dev Sanskriti Vishwavidyalaya (DSVV), Haridwar has successfully turned the bio-degradable part of the solid waste into a thriving and profitable enterprise. DSVV has transferred this technology to a number of entrepreneurs through their on-going capacity development programmes for rural development and organic farming. The paper describes how DSVV continue to manage its solid waste of over 5 MT generated daily in the Campus as well as that of Shantikunj by converting it into valuable vermicompost and handmade paper, after segregation, and thus helping DSVV as well as Shantikunj to become completely organic in managing their total area of over 200 acres lush green campus. The paper also describes how rural entrepreneurship training on vermicomposting at DSVV has helped three entrepreneurs, besides many, to develop large commercial vermicompost units with attractive returns. The paper also highlight potential of vermicomposting in solid waste management, employment generation and organic farming with least damage to environment.

A Critical Analysis of the Ghanaian Context, Experience and Perspectives of Public Theology

The article aimed at a critical analysis of the Ghanaian experience of Public Theology. It argued that through Christian perspectives derived from sermons, communiqués, and other official public statements the church has participated in public conversations, public-policy cycles, and other public issues within the Ghanaian context. Participation involves challenging the structures of corruption, injustice, poverty, and inequality that exist in societies and advocating for policies and practices that promote the common good. With perspectives from Christian beliefs and values the study observed the framework for addressing these issues and promoting a more just and equitable society and further places emphasis on the social responsibility of Christians. The study concluded that Ghanaian public theologians must stress the importance of the Christian community’s involvement in addressing social issues and not just focusing on individual spiritual growth. This will lead to the development of a number of initiatives by Christian organizations and churches to address social issues such as poverty, health, democratic consolidation, wealth creation, education, and social justice. Keywords: Public Theology, African Christianity, Christian Council of Ghana, Presbyterian Church of Ghana

Oscillatory Modes on the Onset of Electrohydrodynamic Instability in Oldroydian Nanofluid Saturated Anisotropic Porous Layer

This work deals with an analytical study on the initiation of oscillatory convection in a rheological nanofluid saturating anisotropic porous layer with inclusion of vertical AC electric field using modified boundary conditions with negligible flux of volume fraction of nanoparticles. The rheological properties of the nanofluid are described using Oldroyd model. The Darcy model extended by Brinkman model is deployed to characterize the solid matrix behavior. The used model for nanofluid with inclusion of electric field integrates the additional effect of electrophoresis with that of thermophoresis and Brownian motion in the conservation equations of motion. The partial differential equations are simplified to non-dimensional linear equations using infinitesimal perturbations, Boussinesq approximation, normal mode technique and linearized stability theory. The characteristic equation is solved analytically for stress-free boundary conditions and the expressions for Rayleigh number of non-oscillatory and oscillatory modes initiation are determined. The oscillatory modes are found to occur for both the cases of top-/bottom-heavy nanoparticles distributions. The electric Rayleigh number, thermal Prandtl number and stress relaxation parameter advances whereas the Brinkman-Darcy number are found to delay initiation of both stationary and oscillatory convection.

Experimental investigation and integral simulation of a thermal annular plume

Thermal plumes issued with mean exit velocities of 0.527 and 0.702 m/s from internally closed annular nozzles are investigated experimentally, theoretically, and numerically. The experimental setup and the measurement and analysis methodologies for flow and mixing are described in detail. The experimental setup consists of an air heating box with an annular slot of 0.12-m mean diameter and 0.01-m width, accompanied by equipment for setup operation and measurement of mean velocities and temperatures. The trajectory of maximum velocities and the isovelocity contours indicate reattachment due to plume self-merging at z_{textrm{P0}}= 0.161 m and around 0.20 m in correspondence to exit velocities. It was found that z_{textrm{P0}} depends mainly upon initial Froude number and annulus equivalent diameter. Experiments detected a vortex ring right after the exit followed by a stagnation point at z_{textrm{P1}}cong 0.055 m on the plume centreline. The annular plume core obtains almost uniform temperature and on average 15 times higher dilutions than bulk dilutions of the equivalnt round plume. To predict the self-merging trajectory, a novel integral model was developed named self-merging approach (SMA). SMA is based on the solution of the ordinary differential equations of momentum and buoyancy applied to an infinitesimal sector of the annular plume, which is equivalent to two identical slot plumes. These plumes are reattached due to outer entrainment, inner entrainment starvation, and a series of sinks along the annular plume centreline with strengths calculated by an original relationship. SMA predictions agree very well with the observations. The present findings contribute to a better understanding of the phenomenon and offer new ideas for designing buoyancy-operating disposal systems with low momentum, using annular- or rosette-type diffusers mainly in shallow water bodies.

Leptomeningeal metastasis in patients with non-small cell lung cancer after stereotactic radiosurgery for brain metastasis.

Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is an effective treatment for brain metastases (BMs) in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). However, factors associated with the development of post-SRS leptomeningeal metastasis (LM) remain unclear. The authors analyzed the incidence and risk factors of LM development in patients with NSCLC and BMs after SRS and examined the survival outcomes and prognostic factors after LM development. This retrospective study included patients with NSCLC treated with SRS for MRI-diagnosed BM from 2002 to 2021. The authors recorded various clinical and demographic data, including age, sex, tumor histology, molecular profile of tumors, extracranial disease status, previous craniotomy, Karnofsky Performance Status, systemic treatments, tumor volume, and number of BMs. The management and survival outcomes after LM diagnosis were also recorded. LM developed in 13.7% of patients with NSCLC and BMs after SRS treatment. Large initial tumor volume and more than 5 BM lesions, but not EGFR mutation status and post-SRS treatment, were associated with LM development after SRS. Multivariate analysis revealed that chemotherapy and targeted therapy after LM were associated with better survival in patients with LM after SRS. This study is the first to evaluate the risk factors for LM in a relatively large cohort of patients with NSCLC after SRS. In patients with BMs harboring risk factors for subsequent LM, such as initial tumor volume and number of metastatic lesions, aggressive therapies with high CNS penetrating ability should be considered.

Efficient and secure chaotic PRNG for color image encryption

Random number generation is considered a major problem for any digital color image cipher algorithm and secret communication protocol. Pseudo-random number generators (PRNGs) are used in many security applications because they afford both features, the randomness efficiency and quality of the PRNG. The paper proposes a new PRNG depending on a combination of the Secure Hash Algorithm (SHA-2(256)) with the results of three chaotic maps: the 2D Henon map, the 2D Kaplan-Yorke map, and the 2D Tinkerbell map. In the proposed chaotic generator, 6 initial floating-point numbers with 10−16 precision are inputs to SHA-2(256) for generating the initial values of the three chaotic maps. Then the chaotic maps are iterated to produce a binary sequence that is processed to enhance the sequence complexity based on binary XOR addition operation and 2D shifting scrambling method. The random binary sequences produced by the proposed PRNG algorithm were tested using several number of analyses like the national statistical test suite, correlation analyses, key space analyses, Sum of absolute analyses (SAD), key sensitivity analyses, and histogram analyses. The results proved that scrambling binary sequences have passed successfully the NIST tests where the ratio η of p-value concerns individual sequences between [0.9805, 0.9994], the correlation between the produced sequences is very small where the distributions of Pearson's correlation coefficients belong to [-0.03, 0.03] and the distributions of Hamming distance coefficients belonging to [0.49, 0.52], all the results of the SAD between [0.33237, 0.33451] which are almost close ideal values, and the key space of proposed PRNG is very large which is 2319. The proposed PRNG was applied as a random key generation algorithm on a new color image cipher algorithm, with strong permutation and substitution methods to encrypt and decrypt each image color channel. The practicableness of the algorithm was tested by different statistical and security analyses.

Temporal Pattern of the Emergence of a Mutant Virus Escaping Cross-Immunity and Stochastic Extinction Within a Host

A high mutation rate of the RNA virus results in the emergence of novel mutants that may escape the immunity activated by the original (wild-type) strain. However, many of them go extinct because of the stochasticity due to the small initial number of infected cells. In a previous paper, we studied the probability of escaping stochastic extinction when the novel mutant has a faster rate of infection and when it is resistant to a drug that suppresses the wild-type virus. In this study, we examine the effect of escaping the immune reaction of the host. Based on a continuous-time branching process with time-dependent rates, we conclude the chance for a mutant strain to be established pleft(tright) decreases with time t since the wild-type infection when the mutant is produced. The number of novel mutants that can escape extinction risk has a peak soon after the wild-type infection. The number of novel escape mutations produced per patient in the early phase of host infection is small both for very strong and very weak immune responses, and it attains its maximum value when immune activity is of an intermediate strength.

Recapitulating the Drifting and Fusion of Two-Generation Spheroids on Concave Agarose Microwells.

Cells with various structures and proteins naturally come together to cooperate in vivo. This study used cell spheroids cultured in agarose micro-wells as a 3D model to study the movement of cells or spheroids toward other spheroids. The formation dynamics of tumor spheroids and the interactions of two batches of cells in the agarose micro-wells were studied. The results showed that a concave bottom micro-well (diameter: 2 mm, depth: 2 mm) prepared from 3% agarose could be used to study the interaction of two batches of cells. The initial tumor cell numbers from 5 × 103 cells/well to 6 × 104 cells/well all could form 3D spheroids after 3 days of incubation. Adding the second batch of DU 145 cells to the existing DU 145 spheroid resulted in the formation of satellite cell spheroids around the existing parental tumor spheroid. Complete fusion of two generation cell spheroids was observed when the parental spheroids were formed from 1 × 104 and 2 × 104 cells, and the second batch of cells was 5 × 103 per well. A higher amount of the second batch of cells (1 × 104 cell/well) led to the formation of independent satellite spheroids after 48 h of co-culture, suggesting the behavior of the second batch of cells towards existing parental spheroids depended on various factors, such as the volume of the parental spheroids and the number of the second batch cells. The interactions between the tumor spheroids and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs) were modeled on concave agarose micro-wells. The HUVECs (3 × 103 cell/well) were observed to gather around the parental tumor spheroids formed from 1 × 104, 2 × 104, and 3 × 104 cells per well rather than aggregate on their own to form HUVEC spheroids. This study highlights the importance of analyzing the biological properties of cells before designing experimental procedures for the sequential fusion of cell spheroids. The study further emphasizes the significant roles that cell density and the volume of the spheroids play in determining the location and movement of cells.