Selection Protocol Research Articles

Comparison of pre-operative computed tomography cholangiography and intraoperative cholangiography in laparoscopic cholecystectomy: a retrospective analysis

BackgroundThe role of intra-operative cholangiography (IOC) in laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is controversial. CT cholangiography (CTC) provides a reliable assessment of biliary anatomy, potentially reducing operating times, open conversion, and complication rates. This study aims to assess the safety and effectiveness of routine pre-operative CTC.MethodsA single centre retrospective analysis was undertaken of all elective laparoscopic cholecystectomies between 2017 and 2021. Information was obtained from a general surgical database alongside hospital electronic medical records. T-tests and Chi2 tests were used to assess statistical significance.ResultsOf 1079 patients, 129 (12.0%) underwent routine pre-operative CTC, 786 (72.8%) routine IOC, and 161 patients (14.9%) neither modality. Comparing CTC and IOC, the CTC group had higher rates of open conversion (3.1% vs. 0.6%, p 0.009), subtotal cholecystectomies (3.1% vs. 0.8%, p 0.018), and length of stay (1.47 vs. 1.18 nights, p 0.015). Comparing the prior groups together against those utilising neither modality, the latter had reduced operative time (66.29 vs. 72.47, p 0.011), but increased rate of bile leak (1.9% vs. 0.4%, p 0.037) and bile duct injury (1.2% vs. 0.2%, p 0.049). Co-dependence between operative complications was noted in linear regression.ConclusionBiliary imaging with either CTC or IOC is beneficial in reducing bile leak and bile duct injury, and its routine use LC is recommended. However, routine CTC is inferior to routine IOC in preventing conversions to open surgery and subtotal cholecystectomy. Further research may be undertaken to evaluate criteria for a selective CTC protocol.

P-371 Subendometrial administration of selectively enriched angiogenic precursor cells and growth factors derived from peripheral blood and bone marrow optimizes endometrialthickness and pregnancyoutcomes in thin-endometrium patients

Abstract Study question Can hysteroscopic instillation of progenitor cells combined with platelet derived growth factor concentrate into subendometrial region help patient with thin endometrium conceive? Summary answer Hysteroscopic subendometrial administration of stem cells and growth factors significantly improved endometrial thickness (EMT) and pregnancy outcomes in women with refractory thin endometrium What is known already Chronically thin endometrium is a challenge in ART, results in repeated expensive IVF cycles, cycle cancellations, unplanned cryopreservation of embryos and, surrogacy. Many studies have successfully used stem cells or platelet derivatives to rejuvenate reproductive tissues. When these growth-promoting cells and growth factors from platelets are delivered into basal layer which is origin of endometrial cells quality of the endometrium can be improved. While bone marrow is excellent source for obtaining stem cells main challenge is invasiveness of collection. This forms the basis for collecting mobilized endothelial progenitor cells from bone marrow into circulation for easy collection. Study design, size, duration This study is to evaluate effect angiogenic precursor cells and growth factors derived from peripheral blood and bone marrow in improving endometrial quality and pregnancy outcomes. In the present pilot study, 50 patients with persistent refractory thin endometrium were included and underwent frozen embryo transfer from September 2019-January 2023 at A4 fertility center, Chennai. Out of 50 patients, 43 were treated with peripheral blood and 7 were treated with bonemarrow derived cells and growth factors. Participants/materials, setting, methods 50 patients with EMT<6mm and >2 canceled cycles included. Two doses of subcutaneous G-CSF was given on Menstrual Cycle Days 3&4, followed by 60ml venous blood or bone marrow aspirated on MCD-5. Seragen’s selective enrichment protocol was used to prepare circulating endothelial progenitor cells and growth factors concentrate. With a 2.9mm hysteroscope and single lumen ovum pickup needle harvested cells and growth factors were injected on all four walls of cavity. Main results and the role of chance EMT increased significantly following bone marrow and peripheral blood cells 5 days after sub-endometrial injection (5.8 ± 0.71 vs. 7.12 ± 0.8; P = 0.0001), with average increase of 1.30mm and 1.80mm respectively and considered optimal improvement when EMT≥ 7mm. 33 (66%) had an optimal response and there was a significant improvement in the endometrial thickness(mm).Cycle cancellations were significantly lesser in both peripheral blood and bone marrow group and LBR was significantly improved (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in CPR, IR and LBR between peripheral blood and bone marrow groups (p > 0.05). Overall, clinical pregnancy and LBR reached up to 40% and 30%, respectively. No adverse reactions were reported. There was statistically significant probability of achieving pregnancy (p < 0.01) when treated with both peripheral blood and bone marrow derived cells. Likewise, there was also a statistically significant probability of getting pregnant (p < 0.05) when embryo transfer was planned in the subsequent cycle. While bone marrow group showed 100% HCG positive in all 5 out of 7 patients underwent embryo transfer and 57% (4/7) of clinical pregnancy, the sample size was small compared to peripheral blood group. Limitations, reasons for caution Further research is needed to provide opportunity for women with refractory thin endometrium to conceive without surrogacy. Clinician expertise in patient recruitment, dosage personalization support, and administration is paramount. Our study provides promising information for future randomized, controlled trials with large sample size in this field. Wider implications of the findings We have validated feasibility and efficacy of mobilized peripheral blood cells for improving endometrial pathologies when bone marrow aspiration is a challenge. Our findings show targeted delivery of personalizeddosage from minimally invasive autologous source could be new rayof hope in females failto improve despite all possible treatment options recommended surrogacy. Trial registration number Not applicable

P-785 Promising Reproductive Outcomes In Patients With Refractory Thin Endometrium After Autologous Bone Marrow Regenerative Cell Therapy (ABM-RCT) – A Case Series

Abstract Study question Does Autologous Bone Marrow Regenerative Cell Therapy (ABM-RCT) improve endometrial thickness and receptivity and restoration of fertility in refractory cases of thin endometrium? Summary answer Selective Autologous Bone Marrow Regenerative Cell Therapy from Seragen (ABM-RCT) improves endometrial thickness, pregnancy, and live birth rate in refractory cases of thin endometrium. What is known already The impaired endometrial function can limit implantation due to insufficient tissue regeneration. Clinical investigation has proved that stem cells existing in the endometrium might originate from bone marrow and provides evidence that bone marrow-derived cells have a non-hematopoietic physiologic contribution to decidual stroma and play a vital role in implantation and pregnancy maintenance and non-hematopoietic BMSCs are able to impact decidual molecular milieu and overcome implantation defects. ABM-RCT is the most commonly used cell therapy and its safety and efficacy are well-established and documented. This forms the basis for exploring and standardizing ABM-RCT in the management of refractory thin endometrium. Study design, size, duration Eleven patients (from age 29 to 43 with refractory thin endometrium resistant to conventional treatment modalities were recruited and obtained informed consent with detailed explanation that the therapy is still experimental and the risk of failure was given to the couple as part of gynec-oncology treatment. Five patients had asherman’s syndrome, two patients had genital tuberculosis, two patients had thin endometrium hypo-responsive/unresponsive to estrogens, with RIF and two patients underwent chemo and radiotherapy Participants/materials, setting, methods BM aspiration was performed under local anesthesia, from the iliac crest using a disposable BM aspiration needle (Jamshidi, 11 G) and collected in heparinized syringes. Progenitor cell enrichment was done by Seragen’s Selective Enrichment Protocol. Peripheral blood was collected to enrich growth factor concentrate. A 2.9mm Hysteroscope was used with an operating channel and egg pickup needle attached to it and cells were implanted in subendometrial zone in all four walls of the uterine cavity. Main results and the role of chance All patients presented to us with refractory thin endometrium in HRT cycle despite giving all possible medications. Hence the decision was taken for Autologous Bone Marrow Cell Concentrate Therapy.Post ABM-RCT, endometrial thickness showed increase 100% (11/11) of more than 8 mm in all cases on day of embryo transfer with average endometrial thickness improvement was 1.8 mm than previous cycles, with uniform triple layer pattern.10 out of 11 (91%) patients conceived after autologous stem cell injection. 9 Out of 10 (90%) patients conceived had delivered healthy babies and 1 patient (9%) had a miscarriage at 12th week of pregnancy. 1 patient did not conceive will be assessed for immunoprofiling and one more rejuvenation cycle. Limitations, reasons for caution Our study outcomes are consistent with several previous studies and the feasibility of treatment at an IVF setup and encouraging results. Well-planned study with more patients is warranted to evaluate safety, effectiveness, and cost of this modality before it becomes integrated in treatment of this frustrating condition during IVF procedures Wider implications of the findings Our results demonstrates selectively enriched ABM-RCT enhances endometrial thickness, tissue remodeling, uneventful gestation, improved pregnancy and live birth rate. Need for Surrogacy in Non-Responsive Thinendometrium May Be Re-Evaluated. Role of hematopoetic stem cell research and knowledge generated is representing reliable strategy in IVF that may be routinely used in clinicalpractice. Trial registration number Not applicable

O-300 Human sperm selection using cumulus oophorus complexes compared with conventional sperm preparation method on sperm quality and ICSI outcomes: A pilot study

Abstract Study question We compared a sperm selection protocol using cumulus oophorus complexes with a swim up preparation, evaluating the effects on sperm parameters and ICSI outcomes Summary answer Spermatozoa selected using cumulus oophorus complexes showed higher rates of normal morphology, good motility compared with basal semen and the traditional pellet swim up protocol. What is known already It is known that the head of a mature spermatozoa has a hyaluronan receptor that allows them to bind with hyaluronan acid. Cumulus oophorus complexs (COCs) extracellular matrix is made mainly by hyaluronic acid (HA). Various studies have confirmed the importance of COCs in fertilization, demonstrating that spermatozoa that are able penetrate through a layer of COCs are more likely to have a normal morphology and be more effective in producing acrosome reactions than spermatozoa that are not able to do. Moreover, these spermatozoa have been shown to have higher chromatin integrity and zona-binding capacity, resulting in increased fertilization competence. Study design, size, duration A prospective study was conducted between July and December 2022. A total of 50 participants were recruited for the study, randomly selected between patients attending ICSI. The patients were classified as group A when the sperms were selected using pellet swim up and COC selection and as group B when it was used pellet swim up treatment alone. Patients older than 39 years, with endometriosis or repeated IVF failure or severe male factor were excluded. Participants/materials, setting, methods 3 drops of 30 mlt aligned and connected each other were prepared, covered with mineral oil. In group A, in the middle drop, was transferred COC fragments, while the central drop was empty in group B. In the left drop were added 20 mlt of sperm suspension after swim up, and from the right drops were recovered the sperms after passing the middle drop with or without COC, that were used for ICSI treatment. Main results and the role of chance The aim of the study was to verify the effectiveness of COCs, collected after ovarian stimulation, in selecting the best sperms to be used in ICSI procedure. No statistical difference was found between group A and B in the median age of female patients, FSH/LH units administred, E2 and endometrium thickness at triggering using hCG, in the sperm concentration, motility and normal morphology in the baseline seminal samples. We found a statistical difference in the traditional seminal parameters comparing the two different treatments. In particular, we found an higher rates of sperms with rapid and progressive motility and normal morphology in group A between basal semen sample and after sperm selection using COC filter (86.7 vs 31.3%; 8.2 vs 4.4 %). We found a lower sperm concentration in group A vs group B after sperm treatment (2.3 vs 4.7 M/ml), and an higher rates of rapid progressive motility and normal morphology in group A vs group B (86.7 vs 38.6 %; 8.2 vs 4.6%). We found an higher but not statistically significative pregnancy and implantation rates in group A compared with group B probably because of the limited number of patients analyzed (25 vs 19.2 %; 25 vs 20.6%) Limitations, reasons for caution The study was conducted on a small participant cohort. We analyzed the traditional sperm parameters, but it is necessary to evaluate the chromatine integrity of the sperms after COC selection to confirm that the higher sperm competence in fertilization and embryo development could be based on a better genetic pattern Wider implications of the findings Data seem to demonstrate that the use of COC allows to select higher competent sperms if compared with traditional pellet swim up treatment. The clinical and biological ICSI outcomes seem to be improved by COC treatment but it is necessary to increase the sample size in future experimental trial Trial registration number not applicable

P-233 Novel, non-invasive imaging techniques in quality assessment of mammalian eggs

Abstract Study question Can Optical Coherence Microscopy (OCM) imaging and Cytoplasmic Movement Velocity (CMV) analysis be useful in quality assessment of mature mammalian oocytes? Summary answer OCM allows for assessment of oocytes’ metaphase spindles, and CMV – the actomyosin cytoskeleton functionality, therefore they are potentially useful in oocyte selection for IVF. What is known already The success rate of IVF has significantly improved over the recent years, yet its efficiency plummets with the increasing age of female patients. Therefore, novel approaches to oocyte/embryo quality assessment are in high demand. Among the most promising new methods are OCM, a label-free, 3D tool for subcellular structure visualization, such as the meiotic spindle in mature oocytes or nuclear structure in immature oocytes, and the analysis of CMV, a time-lapse imaging-based method for studying properties of the actomyosin cytoskeleton, crucial for a plethora of cellular process. Both these methods provide unique insights into oocyte competence. Study design, size, duration MII spindle dimensions were measured in OCM-imaged freshly ovulated oocytes collected from young mice (FO-MII, n = 108) and correlated with the outcome of preimplantation development achieved after the oocytes’ activation. Spindles of FO-MII (n = 45) were also compared to spindles of oocytes collected from mice in advanced maternal age (AMA-MII, n = 44). CMV was compared in time-lapse imaged FO-MII (n = 24), postovulatory aged oocytes collected from young mice (PA-MII, n = 16), and AMA-MII (n = 19). Participants/materials, setting, methods Oocytes were collected from hormonally primed mice and imaged using a customized OCM protocol. They were then activated parthenogenetically and cultured for 5 days, followed by immunofluorescence staining to assess the total number of cells and number of cells in the first embryonic cell lineages. FO-MII, PA-MII, and AMA-MII were time-lapse imaged (6 frames per minute; 15 min). The images were subjected to particle image velocimetry analysis and the mean CMV was calculated. Main results and the role of chance Oocytes that achieved the blastocyst stage had smaller spindle volume (p < 0.001) and width (p < 0.05) as compared to those failing to do so. Univariate logistic regression analysis indicated that a 1 μm rise in the spindle width decreases the odds of blastocyst formation by 28% and the number of cells on average by 8, whereas a 100 μm3 rise in the volume – by almost 10% and 2.7 cells respectively. Moreover, the spindle volume is also related to the number of trophectodermal cells, and the spindle length - to the number of primitive endoderm cells in the blastocysts. Noteworthily, young oocytes’ spindles had significantly smaller volume (p < 0.0001), as well as were narrower (p < 0.0001) compared to their counterparts from aged females. A multivariate linear regression model combining spindle length with three morphokinetic parameters (t3, cc2b, tSB) explained 60% of the variability in the total number of cells in 5-day-old embryos (R2 = 0.604) while models based solely on a single morphokinetic parameters explained only up to approx. 54% (R2 = 0.537, for tSB). On the other hand, CMV analysis revealed that freshly ovulated eggs display faster cytoplasmic movements than those postovulatory-aged (p < 0.0001). Reduced cytoplasmic speed was also observed in oocytes collected from aged mice (p < 0.0001). Limitations, reasons for caution All studies presented here were performed on a mouse model, so the obtained data needs to be verified in the target species for validation of these methods as novel tools in oocyte selection protocols. Wider implications of the findings Our results suggest that OCM-based assessment of the MII spindle and short, 15-minute CMV imaging allow for the selection of higher quality oocytes and could potentially find application in assisted reproductive technologies, as they are non-invasive and may enhance the universally acclaimed oocyte/embryo quality assessment protocols. Trial registration number not applicable

Performance-based protocol for selection of economical portable sensor for air quality measurement.

An effective micro-level air quality management plan requires high-resolution monitoring of pollutants. India has already developed a vast network of air quality monitoring stations, both manual and real time, located primarily in urban areas, including megacities. The air quality monitoring network consists of conventional manual stations and real time Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) which comprise state-of-the-art analysers and instruments. India is currently in the early stages of developing and adopting economical portable sensor (EPS) in air quality monitoring systems. Protocols need to be established for field calibration and testing. The present research work is an attempt to develop a performance-based assessment framework for the selection of EPS for air quality monitoring. The two-stage selection protocol includes a review of the factory calibration data and a comparison of EPS data with a reference monitor, i.e. a portable calibrated monitor and a CAAQMS. Methods deployed include calculation of central tendency, dispersion around a central value, calculation of statistical parameters for data comparison, and plotting pollution rose and diurnal profile (peak and non-peak pollution measurement). Four commercially available EPS were tested blind, out of which, data from EPS 2 (S2) and EPS 3 (S3) were closer to reference stations at both locations. The selection was made by evaluating monitoring results, physical features, measurement range, and frequency along with examining capital cost. This proposed approach can be used to increase the usability of EPS in the development of micro-level air quality management strategies, other than regulatory compliance. For regulatory compliance, additional research is needed, including field calibration and evaluating EPS performance through additional variables. This proposed framework may be used as starting point, for such experiments, in order to develop confidence in the use of EPS.

Enhancing the lifetime and performance of WSNs in smart irrigation systems using cluster‐based selection protocols

AbstractThis paper presents a comparative analysis of cluster‐based selection protocols for wireless sensor networks (WSNs) in smart irrigation systems. The study evaluates the performance of stable election protocol (SEP)‐based protocols, including conventional SEP, zonal SEP (ZSEP), enhanced SEP (ESEP) and threshold‐sensitive SEP (TSEP), and distributed energy‐efficient clustering (DEEC)‐based protocols, including conventional DEEC, developed DEEC (DDEEC), enhanced DEEC (EDEEC) and threshold‐sensitive DEEC (TDEEC). Simulation results show that TSEP and ZSEP outperform other SEP‐based protocols in terms of network lifetime, stability period, number of dead nodes and throughput. EDEEC and TDEEC show superior performance compared to other DEEC‐based protocols. However, TDEEC and EDEEC have a lower performance in terms of packets sent to cluster heads (CHs) due to the three levels of energy heterogeneity, which reduce the average packets sent to CHs. Finally, a comparative analysis between the SEP‐based and DEEC‐based protocols is presented. The findings reveal that TSEP outperforms all other protocols in terms of the performance metrics examined in this paper, except for throughput, which is higher in the case of ZSEP. Overall, the proposed cluster‐based selection protocols improve the energy efficiency and lifetime of WSNs in smart irrigation systems, and the results demonstrate their effectiveness in supporting the performance of smart irrigation systems.

A Strict Patient Selection Protocol Could Be the Key to Success for Transanal Minimally Invasive Surgery (TAMIS).

In recent years, the local excision of benign rectal lesions or early-stage rectal cancers using minimally invasive surgical techniques has replaced radical interventions that caused impairment in patients' quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the feasibility of transanal minimally invasive surgery (TAMIS), as well as its excision quality, its oncologic outcomes, and its impact on anorectal function. Patients who underwent TAMIS at a single colorectal unit of a tertiary university hospital from 2015 until 2020 for benign rectal lesions or early-stage malignant rectal lesions, along with unsuitable patients for radical interventions, were included in the present study. Twenty-five patients underwent TAMIS for rectal lesions. Their median distance from the anal verge was 7 cm (range 4-12 cm) and their median size was 3.8 cm (range 2-6 cm). The median operative duration was 75 minutes (range 30-150 minutes) and the median hospitalization interval was 2 days (range 1-6 days). In addition, the negative resection rate was 100% and the recurrence rate was 4% during an average follow-up period of 30 months (range 3-36 months). Two patients (8%) presented short-term complications, and in 1 patient (4%) a hybrid technique was required. Seventeen patients (68%) reported moderate incontinence symptoms 6 weeks postoperatively that subsided in all patients 3 months postoperatively. TAMIS seemed to be a feasible technique with adequate oncologic outcomes and high excision quality, which preserved patients' quality of life. The impact of TAMIS on anorectal function after neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy for rectal cancer should be further investigated, however.

Coverage Analysis of Hybrid RF/THz Networks With Best Relay Selection

Utilizing terahertz (THz) transmission to enhance coverage has proven various benefits compared to traditional radio frequency (RF) counterparts. This letter proposes a dual-hop decode-and-forward (DF) routing protocol in a hybrid RF and THz relay network named hybrid relay selection (HRS). The coverage probability of the HRS protocol is derived. The HRS protocol prioritizes THz relays for higher data rates or short source-destination distances; and RF relays for lower data rates or large source-destination distances. The proposed HRS protocol offers nearly the same performance as the optimal selection protocol, which requires complete instantaneous channel state information (CSI) of all the nodes.

Congestion-Free Cluster Formation and Energy Efficient Path Selection in Wireless Sensor Networks using ButPCNN

Today, network congestion is a common occurrence that needs to be focused on and effectively addressed, particularly in Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) for packed type networks. The main causes of congestion in WSN are a lack of channel capacity and energy waste. This study's major goal is to develop Energy Efficient Congestion Free Path Selection Protocol (ECFPSP) protocol, which aims to reduce network congestion. By selecting the most appropriate main cluster head (PCH) and secondary cluster head (SCH), the ECFPSP protocol is proposed to decrease end-to-end delay time and extend the network lifetime. The suggested protocol implements a routing protocol that provides security by avoiding hostile nodes and reducing data loss. It also routes the nodes. Hence, a Congestion-Free Cluster Formation is provided to increase the lifetime of the network by proposed ButPCNN approach. To decrease packet loss and conserve energy, this research also uses brand-new cluster-based WSNs. In comparison to other standard protocols, the simulation results reveal that ButPCNN has a reduced packet drop rate, which increases the ratio of packet distribution, network life, and residual energy. As a result, the suggested method enhances congestion control performance while using less energy and a recently developed strategy is suggested to successfully enhance network performance. The proposed ButPCNN gives 25 percent improvement to optimize traffic on overloaded node than the other traditional approaches.

A novel self‐adaptive hybrid slime mould naked mole‐rat algorithm for numerical optimization and energy‐efficient wireless sensor network

SummaryA wireless sensor network (WSN) is made up of widely spaced nodes inside the sensor field. Clustering is an effective data collection approach that lowers energy consumption by organizing nodes into groups. So, choosing the right cluster head (CH) and employing an effective routing protocol is required to prolong the lifetime of WSNs. This paper develops a novel self‐adaptive hybrid slime mould naked mole‐rat algorithm (SM‐NMRA) based on the hybridization of the slime mould algorithm (SMA) and naked mole‐rat algorithm (NMRA) to solve the above‐said problem of WSN. The new approach integrates SMA's wrap food abilities with NMRA to improve the working capabilities of the original NMRA. A new stagnation phase inspired by the grey wolf optimizer and cuckoo search algorithms has been integrated to handle the local optima stagnation problem. In addition, self‐adaptivity has been added for SM‐NMRA's parameters. Here, the performance of SM‐NMRA is evaluated for CEC 2005 and CEC 2014 numerical test suites. The statistical outcomes along with Freidman's test, Wilcoxon's rank‐sum test, and convergence profiles validate the superior performance of SM‐NMRA. The proposed clustering protocol for efficient CH selection in WSN using SM‐NMRA outperforms other state‐of‐the‐art techniques with improved network lifespan and reduced energy consumption.

Easy 250 EasySep&[trade] Magnet: A Novel Magnetic Platform For Large-Volume CD34+ Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Isolation from Leukapheresis Products

Abstract We have developed a novel magnetic platform for large-volume CD34+ hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell (HPSC) isolation from both mobilized and non-mobilized leukapheresis products. As the frequency of CD34+ cells is low, and cell quality and viability can be variable between samples, it takes great effort to isolate these cells with consistently high purities and yields. Working with large volume leukapheresis products can be challenging as the sample often needs to be split and processed in parallel, which can be both time-consuming and labor-intensive. The Easy 250 EasySep™ Magnet simplifies cell isolation procedures when processing leukapheresis samples. It is based on column-free immunomagnetic EasySep™ cell isolation technology and can process sample volumes up to 225 mL. We have developed a negative selection protocol for the enrichment of CD34+ HPSCs (mean purity ± SD of 74.6 ± 10.5%; n = 8) from non-mobilized leukapheresis products. For mobilized leukapheresis products, an EasySep™ positive selection protocol has been optimized for the isolation of highly purified CD34+ HPSCs (mean purity ± SD of 92.0 ± 1.7%; n = 7). Notably, these protocols can be completed in as little as 25 minutes, making the Easy 250 EasySep™ Magnet the fastest and simplest method for enriching highly purified HPSCs from large-volume leukapheresis products—critical for addressing the growing clinical demands for CD34+ cell-based therapies.

Building Bridges from Genome to Physiology Using Machine Learning and Drosophila Experimental Evolution.

Drosophila experimental evolution, with its well-defined selection protocols, has long supplied useful genetic material for the analysis of functional physiology. While there is a long tradition of interpreting the effects of large-effect mutants physiologically, identifying and interpreting gene-to-phenotype relationships has been challenging in the genomic era, with many labs not resolving how physiological traits are affected by multiple genes throughout the genome. Drosophila experimental evolution has demonstrated that multiple phenotypes change because of the evolution of many loci across the genome, creating the scientific challenge of sifting out differentiated but noncausal loci for individual characters. The fused lasso additive model method allows us to infer some of the differentiated loci that have relatively greater causal effects on the differentiation of specific phenotypes. The experimental material that we use in the present study comes from 50 populations that have been selected for different life histories and levels of stress resistance. Differentiation of cardiac robustness, starvation resistance, desiccation resistance, lipid content, glycogen content, water content, and body masses was assayed among 40-50 of these experimentally evolved populations. Through the fused lasso additive model, we combined physiological analyses from eight parameters with whole-body pooled-seq genomic data to identify potentially causally linked genomic regions. We have identified approximately 2,176 significantly differentiated 50-kb genomic windows among our 50 populations, with 142 of those identified genomic regions that are highly likely to have a causal effect connecting specific genome sites to specific physiological characters.

PO-02-068 REAL WORLD COLCHICINE USE FOR PREVENTION OF PERICARDITIS AFTER ABLATION FOR ATRIAL FIBRILLATION

Colchicine is a commonly used anti-inflammatory medication for the treatment of acute pericarditis. The incidence of pericarditis after atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation has been estimated at up to 10%. Over the last decade, colchicine has been increasingly used for prevention of pericarditis after AF ablation. However, there are no established guidelines for preventative colchicine, no accepted dosage protocol, and no data regarding compliance with colchicine use. To estimate the usage of and compliance with colchicine for prevention of post-AF ablation pericarditis in real-world electrophysiology practices. The REAL-AF registry is the largest physician-driven registry of AF ablation in the United States, with a combined annual AF ablation volume of around 10,000 procedures by 80 operators. We circulated a Colchicine Use survey among all REAL-AF registry participants to estimate preventive colchicine usage as well as the dosage protocol and patient compliance. Sixty one (75%) registry participants responded to the survey. The majority (91.8%) used high power short duration (HPSD) ablation with 40-50 Watts in the left atrium (LA). Only 12 (21%) respondents had a pre-specified protocol for pericarditis prevention for all patients while another 12 (21%) operators used a selective protocol dependent upon extent of LA ablation beyond pulmonary veins. Colchicine was part of the preventive protocol for only 14 (24.1%) operators while another 10 (16.7%) used it selectively. Colchicine dosage varied between 0.3 mg BID (30.8%), 0.6 mg daily (38.4%) and 0.6 mg BID (38.4%), with duration of prescription varying widely from 1-4 weeks (Figure 1). As many as 44% of operators estimated that at least a third of their patients were unable to comply with complete colchicine protocol (Figure 1). Despite a general aura of regular use for prevention of post-AF ablation pericarditis, colchicine is actually used for this purpose by less than a third of high-volume operators in a real-world registry, with extreme variation in colchicine dosage protocol and a relatively high prevalence of patient non-compliance. The utility of preventive colchicine needs to be studied in a systematic manner to establish a universal usage recommendation.

Improving Smart Irrigation Systems through Energy Efficient Cluster-Head Selection in Heterogeneous WSNs

Introduction— Smart irrigation systems require reliable and energy-efficient communication between the sensors in a Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) and the control system. Objective— To address this challenge, this paper presents several cluster-based selection protocols, based on the Stable Election Protocol (SEP) and Distributed Energy-Efficient Clustering (DEEC). Methodology— The presented protocols divide the agriculture field into sub-fields to reduce energy consumption between far sensors and the Base Station (BS). Results— Comparison with traditional protocols using evaluation metrics such as network throughput, stability, instability period, and lifetime, shows that the presented protocols outperform in terms of all metrics. Conclusions— The results indicate the effectiveness of the proposed protocols in prolonging the network’s lifetime and improving energy efficiency in heterogeneous WSNs, thus supporting the performance of smart irrigation systems. Numerically, using the proposed protocols, the network lifetime increased by 23% compared to conventional SEP.

Zn(II)-complexes of diisatin dihydrazones as effective catalysts in the oxidation protocol of benzyl alcohol and effective reagents for biological studies

Two new dinuclear complexes of Zn2+ ion (ZnLC2 and ZnLC6, respectively) with two novel diisatin dihydrazone ligands of succinyl (H2LC2) and terephthalyl (H2LC2) derivatives were constructed. Their structure confirmation was achieved by different spectroscopic tools. The catalytic action of two ZnLCX was estimated under an aerobic atmosphere in the selective oxygenation protocol of benzyl alcohol within hydrogen peroxide. ZnLC6 represented more significant action by 88 % awarding of the monooxo-product, i.e. benzaldehyde, (with loaded catalyst amount = 0.005 mmol, at reaction temperature 70 °C for about 3 h), whereas ZnLC2 showed less reactivity with 87 % of the monooxo-product (with the same supplied amount, at 70 °C for 5 h).The biochemical action of H2LCX and ZnLCX was studied spectroscopically with some microbial-series and three human cancer cells. In addition, their biological action was studied through the interacting mode with calf thymus DNA (ctDNA) through viscometric and spectrophotometric assays. Both ZnLCX complexing reagents manifested a regarded inhibiting action versus the titled microbial (bacterial and fungal) series and with three human cancer cells growth (according to the zone values in mm of inhibition, MIC in μM, and IC50 values in µM) than that of free H2LCX ligands. ZnLC6 exhibited a distinguished interacting ability with ctDNA more than that interaction behavior of ZnLC2 based on the derived magnitudes of Kb (the binding constants), and ΔGb≠ (the Gibbs’ free energy), respectively. Such results referred to the lipophilic feature of the terphthalyl derivative compare to that of the succinyl one of the bonded ligands. Also, both ZnLC2 and ZnLC6 exhibited an observable higher reactivity over their both H2LC2 and H2LC6 ligands pointing to the function of Zn2+ ion and the structural effect of the free ligands for their progressing reactivity against the studied bacterial series, fungal series, human cancer cell lines and ctDNA.

Efficient Load Balancing in WSN Using Quasi – oppositional Based Jaya Optimization with Cluster Head Selection

Researchers have been paying close attention to the wireless sensor (WSN) networks area because of its variety of applications, including industrial management, human detection, and health care management. In Wireless Sensor (WSN) Network, consumption of efficient energy is a challenging problem. Many clustering techniques were used for balancing the load of WSN network. In clustering, the cluster head (CH) is selected as a relay node with greater power which is compared with the nodes of non-CH. In the existing system, it uses LBC-COFL algorithm to reduce the energy consumption problem. To overcome this problem, the proposed system uses Quasi oppositional based Jaya load balancing strategy with cluster head (QOJ-LCH) selection protocol to boost the lifespan of network and energy consumption. The QOJ-LCH method improves the relay nodes life and shares the load on relay nodes equitably across the network to enhance the lifespan. It also reduces the load-balancing problems in Wireless Sensor networks. It uses two routing methods single-hop and multiple-hop. The proposed QOJ-LCH with cluster head selection method enhances the network’s lifespan, total amount of power utilization and the active sensor devices present in the Single-hop routing,it worked with 1600 rounds in network and 300 sensor nodes, for Multiple-hop routing, it worked with 1800 rounds in network and 350 sensor nodes. It achieves better performance, scalability and reliability.

Relay Selection for Over-the-Air Computation Achieving Both Long Lifetime and High Reliability.

In a general wireless sensor network, a sink node collects data from each node successively and then post-processes the data to obtain useful information. However, conventional methods have a scalability problem: the data collection/processing time increases with the number of nodes, and frequent transmission collisions degrade spectrum efficiency. If only statistical values of the data are needed, using over-the-air computation (AirComp) can efficiently perform data collection and computation. However, AirComp also has its problems: when the channel gain of a node is too low, (i) the transmission power of that node will be high, decreasing the lifetime of that node and the entire network, and (ii) sometimes, the computation error still occurs even though the maximal transmission power is used. To jointly solve these two problems, in this paper we investigate the relay communication for AirComp and study a relay selection protocol. The basic method selects an ordinary node with a good channel condition as a relay node, considering both computation error and power consumption. This method is further enhanced to explicitly consider network lifetime in relay selection. Extensive simulation evaluations confirm that the proposed method helps to prolong the lifetime of the entire network and reduce computation errors as well.

Process Development for the Synthesis of BI 1702135: A Concise Design Enabled by Selective Acylation of a 2-Aminobenzimidazole Intermediate

The route design and process development for the synthesis of BI 1702135 are described. The synthetic design centers around an amide synthesis involving a 2-amino benzimidazole analog 4 that has two competing acylation sites. A highly selective acylation protocol at the desired N-2′ site was identified. Robust and convenient processes were developed for each step in this five-step synthesis of BI 1702135.

Teletraffic analysis and simulation on FSO systems: the traffic generators approach

Free Space Optical Communications (FSO) has become an interesting topic to researchers in recent years since the amount of data generated by devices is growing, and it is necessary to use data links that support high bandwidth to transmit them from one device to another. This technology is used to establish not only terrestrial links but also space links.A CubeSat satellite is generally deployed in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) region. To maintain the altitude, the satellite must have a high orbital speed. For that reason, the time to transmit data between a particular ground station and the CubeSat satellite is limited. On the other hand, the volume, mass, and energy storage capacity are restricted in a CubeSat. The greater the bandwidth capacity of radio frequency links, the greater the demand for volume, mass, and energy they require. For that reason, to transmit a significant amount of data, traditional radio frequency links are not suitable and are becoming replaced by FSO as technology improves.Despite research in physical layer technologies on FSO (modulation schemes, error mitigation techniques, pointing and tracking systems), there is very little research in the literature about data link layer protocols for FSO. Secondly, there is little research to measure the data traffic demand on CubeSat satellites so that a certain data link layer protocol can be selected or adapted to be implemented in an FSO system.This paper presents research to address the issue of teletraffic through the use of traffic generators. The result is the design and development of a traffic generator for a discrete event simulator that will later be used to observe the behavior and to measure the performance of the Selective Repeat ARQ protocol in a simulated satellite FSO link, in order to propose improvements to adapt the protocol to this scenario.