Wide Interval Research Articles

Enhancement of blasting techniques for reducing seismic and acoustic nuisances: A case study of El-Hassa Quarry, Algeria

The minimal environmental impact, the size of the fragments obtained, and the maximum amount of blasted rock are major concerns for optimizing blasting in mines. The study undertaken in this work allowed us to clarify some points related mainly to blasting. The significance of the latter comes from the fact that it is the main operation in a technology chain, on which the success of extraction technology and exploitation in general depends. Seismic waves, sound waves, and their effects on the environment were always a substantial problem. In this context, significant results were obtained by using the technique of combining electric detonators with micro delays (EDM) and delays (EDD) whose use of a sequential exploder gave a wide interval to decrease the instantaneous load by the possibility of having a blasting with 231 delays. Therefore, the decrease in particulate speeds and vibrations facilitates protection of the environment as well as the elimination of noise.

A Clinical Nomogram for Predicting Substandard Serum Valproic Acid Concentrations in Chinese Patients With Epilepsy.

It is well-known that substandard serum valproic acid (VPA) concentrations may lead to treatment failure of epilepsy. However, there is still a lack of a quick method to predict whether a patient's serum VPA concentration will reach the standard. The aims of this study were to investigate the factors leading to substandard serum VPA concentrations in Chinese patients with epilepsy and develop a related nomogram for risk prediction. From January 2019 to March 2022, a total of 1143 serum VPA concentrations were collected from 630 hospitalized Chinese patients with epilepsy who were monitored by the Department of Pharmacy of Lu'an People's Hospital, and complete clinical data were collected from the corresponding patients for retrospective analysis. All monitored serum VPA concentrations were further divided into a training cohort and a validation cohort. For the training cohort, serum VPA concentrations below 50 µg/mL and between 50 and 100 µg/mL were classified into the subtherapeutic group and therapeutic group, respectively. The variables were selected from the clinical data, and differences between the variables of the subtherapeutic and therapeutic groups were analyzed. The influencing factors leading to substandard serum VPA concentrations were screened via logistic regression analysis, and the screened influencing factors were used to establish the nomogram prediction model. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the daily dose per unit of body weight (mg/kg/d), route of administration, presence of hepatic lesions, hypoalbuminemia, and combination with carbapenems or barbiturates were independent factors influencing the occurrence of substandard serum VPA concentrations. On the basis of the results of the multivariate logistic regression analysis, a nomogram risk prediction model for substandard serum VPA concentration was established. The values of the C-index and internal verification results indicated that the nomogram model had good accuracy and discrimination. The decision curve revealed that the nomogram that predicted the risk of substandard serum VPA concentration had a greater net benefit value (ranging from 12% to 94%), indicating that the model had a wide prediction interval. Our study established a nomogram risk prediction model for substandard serum VPA concentrations in Chinese patients with epilepsy, which can help doctors or patients control the serum VPA concentration within the target concentration range as soon as possible.

Гетероморфний вірш у румунській поезії перших десятиліть ХХ століття

In the article the Romanian heteromorphic verse of the early 20th century is examined. It is shown that, despite rejecting traditional norms of verse organization – such as isometry, isotony, isosyllabism, rhyme, and regular strophic patterns – these works are nonetheless based on certain versification systems. The first experiments with poetic forms were recorded specifically in syllabo-tonic verse. Such experiments include heterometric or free forms of a nontraditional type, which are constructed on the principle of graphic segmentation of the verse, meaning these works consist of regular syllabo-tonic lines but with disrupted line-length uniformity. Among them, we identify structures with a metrical dominant, where the rhythmic inertia of the text is still perceptible, and constructions with an unlimited range of line lengths, where rhythmic scansion is lost. Another manifestation of disorder is found in heterometric verses – disordered structures that combine lines written in different meters without a systematic pattern, creating a unified whole that cannot be separated into distinct components. Within such structures, we distinguish works where lines written in different syllabo-tonic meters are disorderly combined, and poems where syllabo-tonic verses alternate with tonic lines and even with free verse. Tonic disorder is represented by heteroictic forms, which appear in two types: structures with a certain regularity in the number of ictuses and inter-ictic intervals, organized into strophoids, and structures with a chaotic alternation of lines with varying ictus patterns and a wide (ranging from zero to five) inter-ictic interval range. It is demonstrated that the emergence of heteromorphic structures reflects an effort to overcome the excessive rigidity of canonical verse. Its defining feature lies in the intention to challenge the fundamental principle of homomorphism in versification techniques.

Review and External Evaluation of Population Pharmacokinetic Models for Vedolizumab in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Assessing Predictive Performance and Clinical Applicability.

Several population pharmacokinetic models of vedolizumab (VDZ) are available for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. However, their predictive performance in real-world clinical settings remains unknown. This study aims to externally evaluate the published VDZ pharmacokinetic models, focusing on their predictive performance and simulation-based clinical applicability. A literature search was conducted through PubMed to identify VDZ population pharmacokinetic models. A total of 114 VDZ concentrations from 106 IBD patients treated at the University Medical Center "Zvezdara", Republic of Serbia, served as the external evaluation cohort. The predictive performance of the models was assessed using prediction- and simulation-based diagnostics. Furthermore, the models were utilized for Monte Carlo simulations to generate concentration-time profiles based on 24 covariate combinations specified within the models. Four published pharmacokinetic models of VDZ were included in the evaluation. Using the external dataset, the median prediction error (MDPE) ranged from 13.82% to 25.57%, while the median absolute prediction error (MAPE) varied between 41.64% and 47.56%. None of the models fully met the combined criteria in the prediction-based diagnostics. However, in simulation-based diagnostics, pvcVPC showed satisfactory results, despite wide prediction intervals. Analysis of NPDE revealed that only the models by Rosario et al. and Okamoto et al. fulfilled the evaluation criteria. Simulation analysis further demonstrated that the median VDZ concentration remains above 12 μg/mL at week 22 during maintenance treatment for approximately 45-60% of patients with the best-case covariate combinations and an 8-week dosing frequency. None of the published models satisfied the combined criteria (MDPE, MAPE, percentages of prediction error within ±20% and ±30%), rendering them unsuitable for a priori predictions. However, two models demonstrated better suitability for simulation-based applications.

Evaluating inter- and intra-rater reliability in assessing upper limb compensatory movements post-stroke: creating a ground truth through video analysis?

BackgroundCompensatory movements frequently emerge in the process of motor recovery after a stroke. Given their potential for unfavorable long-term effects, it is crucial to assess and document compensatory movements throughout rehabilitation. However, clinically applicable assessment tools are currently limited. Deep learning methods have shown promising potential for assessing movement quality and addressing this gap. A crucial prerequisite for developing an accurate measurement tool is ensuring reliability in assessing compensatory movements, which is essential for establishing a valid ground truth.ObjectiveThe study aimed to assess inter- and intra-rater reliability of occupational and physical therapists’ visual assessment of compensatory movements based on video analysis.MethodsExperienced therapists evaluated video-recorded performances of a standardized drinking task through an online labeling system. The standardized drinking task was performed by seven individuals with mild to moderate upper limb motor impairments after a stroke. The therapists rated compensatory movements in predetermined body segments and movement phases using a slider with a continuous scale ranging from 0 (no compensation) to 100 (maximum compensation). The collected data were analyzed using a generalized-linear mixed effects model with zero-inflated beta regression to estimate variance components. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to assess inter- and intra-rater reliability.ResultsTwenty-two therapists participated in this study. Inter-rater reliability was good for the phases of reaching, drinking, and returning (ICC ≥ .0.75), and moderate for both phases of transporting. Intra-rater reliability was excellent for the drinking phase (ICC > 0.9) and moderate to good for the phases of reaching, transporting, and returning of our cohort. ICCs for smoothness and interjoint coordination were poor for both inter- and intra-rater reliability. The data analysis unveiled a wide range of credible intervals for the ICCs across all domains examined in this study.ConclusionsWhile this study shows promising inter- and intra-rater reliability for the drinking phases within our sample, the wide credible intervals raise the possibility that these results may have occurred by chance. Consequently, we cannot recommend the establishment of a ground truth for the automatic assessment of compensatory movements during a drinking task based on therapists’ ratings alone.

Improving Covid-19 Forecasts in Malaysia: A Hybrid SARIMAX-SARIMA Model with Application to State Elections and Cultural Festivals

Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, numerous challenges have emerged, including ensuring an adequate supply of personal protective equipment, evaluating the sufficiency of the healthcare workforce, and determining safety measures to sustain businesses and the economy. Consequently, there is a critical need for a computationally competent and realistic model to monitor current caseloads and forecast future cases, thereby enhancing public health awareness, preparation, and response. However, many forecast models currently in use have wide prediction intervals, diminishing their effectiveness as forecasting tools. Thus, this study aims to analyse the trend of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia and develop a forecast model that provides appropriate limits to improve prediction accuracy. This study relied on secondary data of daily Covid-19 cases in Malaysia provided by Ministry of Health from April 12, 2021, to April 24, 2022. Future Covid-19 incidence was predicted using simple, double and Holts-Winter exponential smoothing and SARIMAX models. SARIMAX (0, 1, 1) (1, 0, 2)7 was identified as the best model, exhibiting the lowest error values for forecasting cases. However, the results indicated that SARIMAX's prediction intervals were broad. To address this issue, a new model called hybrid SARIMAX-SARIMA was proposed where the orders from the best SARIMAX model found by using auto.arima() function are extracted and used to specify the order for a SARIMA model. The resulting combined model was then utilized to predict future trends in daily Covid-19 cases and evaluation during cultural festivals and state elections. It was observed that the proposed model outperformed others, demonstrating lower error rates and narrower confidence intervals for future predictions.

Morphology of Denisovan molars: problems of taxon identification in the context of genetic data

Attempts to analyse fragmentary specimens of Denisovan remains in conjunction with archaeological and ge-netic data may be a useful experience in the search for taxonomically valuable traits. The paper presents the results of a dental analysis of 3 permanent molars and 1 deciduous tooth of the upper and lower jaws of different individuals, representing different stages of the Denisovan (Homo altaensis or Homo s. denisovan) existence in the territory of modern Altai during the Pleistocene. The chronological age of the finds is marked by a wide interval from about 300–200 kyBP to 84–55 kyBP. The materials were obtained during excavations in Denisova Cave (Northwestern Altai). The presence of both exceptional megadontia and obvious hominin features in the odontoglyphics of Denisovans allows us to discuss this feature as the most characteristic. The crowns of the teeth show certain proportions, with a relative reduction of the hypocone, but the dimensions of this tubercle are consistently larger than in other hominins (with the exception of Homo heidelbergensis and Neanderthals, who often show the same variations, but with diffe-rent proportions and less crown size). Often, the chewing surface shows features characteristic of anatomically mo-dern humans and Neanderthals, but at the same time the teeth are marked by the presence of unique combinations characteristic of hominoids, not hominins. The tooth of a representative of a later wave of migration shows a greater number of unique combinations than the tooth of a representative of an early wave of migrants to Altai. It is possible that the later populations of Denisovans showed a founder effect during selection, crystallizing, among other things, rare phenotypes, for example, unique combinations of chewing surface relief.

Externally validated clinical prediction models for estimating treatment outcomes for patients with a mood, anxiety or psychotic disorder: systematic review and meta-analysis.

Suboptimal treatment outcomes contribute to the high disease burden of mood, anxiety or psychotic disorders. Clinical prediction models could optimise treatment allocation, which may result in better outcomes. Whereas ample research on prediction models is performed, model performance in other clinical contexts (i.e. external validation) is rarely examined. This gap hampers generalisability and as such implementation in clinical practice. Systematically appraise studies on externally validated clinical prediction models for estimated treatment outcomes for mood, anxiety and psychotic disorders by (1) reviewing methodological quality and applicability of studies and (2) investigating how model properties relate to differences in model performance. The review and meta-analysis protocol was prospectively registered with PROSPERO (registration number CRD42022307987). A search was conducted on 8 November 2021 in the databases PubMED, PsycINFO and EMBASE. Random-effects meta-analysis and meta-regression were conducted to examine between-study heterogeneity in discriminative performance and its relevant influencing factors. Twenty-eight studies were included. The majority of studies (n = 16) validated models for mood disorders. Clinical predictors (e.g. symptom severity) were most frequently included (n = 25). Low methodological and applicability concerns were found for two studies. The overall discrimination performance of the meta-analysis was fair with wide prediction intervals (0.72 [0.46; 0.89]). The between-study heterogeneity was not explained by number or type of predictors but by disorder diagnosis. Few models seem ready for further implementation in clinical practice to aid treatment allocation. Besides the need for more external validation studies, we recommend close examination of the clinical setting before model implementation.

Influence of rotating magnetic field on microstructure and strength-ductility synergy in wide liquidus-solidus interval phosphor bronze

Influence of rotating magnetic field on microstructure and strength-ductility synergy in wide liquidus-solidus interval phosphor bronze

Stress relief annealing of super Invar alloy: microstructure, soft magnetic and thermal expansion properties

Invar (Fe64Ni36) alloy is regarded as a prospective contender for thermal structural materials and transformers utilized in aerospace vehicles, in addition to electrical, and other applications, largely due to its markedly low expansion properties. It is noteworthy that the optimization of permeability and coercivity in Invar alloys has the potential to meet the requirements of a broader range of applications. Consequently, enhancing the soft magnetic properties and extending the low expansion intervals is crucial. The effects of stress relief annealing on the microstructure, soft magnetic properties, and thermal expansion behavior of super Invar alloy (Fe64Ni32Co4) are investigated. The findings indicate that the incorporation of Co has no impact on the phase structure of the Fe-Ni alloy, yet elevates the Curie temperature of the Fe-Ni alloy to 324.84°C. As the annealing temperature is increased, the grain diameter of the alloy increases gradually. Concurrently, the enhancement of density and magnetocrystalline isotropy diminishes the prevalence of lattice defects, which markedly influences the soft magnetic characteristics of super Invar alloy. At an annealing temperature of 1150°C, the material exhibits a saturation magnetic flux density of 1494 mT, a maximum permeability of 31.04mH/m, a coercivity of 13.52A/m, and a wide low expansion interval. This phenomenon can be attributed to random orientation, residual stress relief, and higher Curie temperatures. The results provide a comprehensive insight into the evolution of soft magnetic properties and their underlying mechanisms, covering a larger range of low expansion intervals.

Cosmography from accurate mass modeling of the lens group SDSS J0100+1818: Five sources at three different redshifts

Systems where multiple sources at different redshifts are strongly lensed by the same deflector allow one to directly investigate the evolution of the angular diameter distances as a function of redshift, and thus to learn about the geometry of the Universe. We present measurements of the values of the total matter density, Ωm, and of the dark energy equation of state parameter, w, through a detailed strong lensing analysis of SDSS J0100+1818, a group-scale system at z = 0.581 with five lensed sources, from z = 1.698 to 4.95. We take advantage of new spectroscopic data from the Multi Unit Spectroscopic Explorer (MUSE) on the Very Large Telescope to securely measure the redshift of 65 sources, including the 5 multiply imaged background sources (lensed into a total of 18 multiple images) and 19 galaxies on the deflector plane, all employed to build robust strong lensing models with the software GLEE. The total mass distribution of the deflector is described in a relatively simple way, and includes an extended halo, the brightest group galaxy (BGG) with a measured stellar velocity dispersion of (380.5 ± 4.4) km s−1, and fainter members. We measure Ωm = 0.14−0.09+0.16 in a flat Λ cold dark matter (CDM) model, and Ωm = 0.19−0.10+0.17 and w = −1.27−0.48+0.43 in a flat wCDM model. Given the presence of different sources angularly close in projection, we quantify through a multiplane approach their impact on the inferred values of the cosmological parameters. We obtain consistent median values, with uncertainties for only Ωm increasing by approximately a factor of 1.5. Thanks to the remarkably wide radial interval where the multiple images are observed, ranging from 15 to 77 kpc from the BGG, we accurately measure the total mass profile and infer the stellar over total mass profile of the deflector. They result in a total mass of (1.55 ± 0.01)×1013 M⊙ within 50 kpc and a stellar over total mass profile decreasing from 45.6−8.3+8.7% at the BGG effective radius to (6.6 ± 1.1)% at R ≈ 77 kpc. Our results confirm that SDSS J0100+1818 is one of the most massive (lens) galaxies known at intermediate redshift and one of the most distant candidate fossil systems. We also show that group-scale systems that act as lenses for ≥3 background sources at different redshifts enable one to estimate the values of the cosmological parameters Ωm and w with an accuracy that is competitive with that obtained from lens galaxy clusters.

Understanding chiral charge-density wave by frozen chiral phonon

Charge density wave (CDW) is discovered within a wide interval in solids, however, its microscopic nature is still not transparent in most realistic materials, and the recently studied chiral ones with chiral structural distortion remain unclear. In this paper, we try to understand the driving forces of chiral CDW transition by chiral phonons from the electron-phonon coupling scenario. We use the prototypal monolayer 1T-TiSe2 as a case study to unveil the absence of chirality in the CDW transition and propose a general approach, i.e., symmetry-breaking stimuli, to engineer the chirality of CDW in experiments. Inelastic scattering patterns are also studied as a benchmark of chiral CDW (CCDW, which breaks the mirror/inversion symmetry in 2D/3D systems). We notice that the anisotropy changing of Bragg peak profiles, which is contributed by the soft chiral phonons, can show a remarkable signature for CCDW. Our findings pave a path to understanding the CCDW from the chiral phonon perspective, especially in van der Waals materials, and provides a powerful way to manipulate the chirality of CDW.

Sodium-chloride difference is not strongly correlated with base excess in chronic kidney disease: an anion gap problem.

The prevalence of metabolic acidosis is high in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). For the diagnosis, a blood gas analysis is necessary, but not always available. The aim of the study was to evaluate the base excess (BE) of the sodium-chloride difference (BENa-Cl = Na+-Cl--34mmol/l) as a screening parameter for hyperchloremic metabolic acidosis. We retrospectively performed acid-base analyses of 168non-dialysedpatientswith CKDaccording to the physiologic and to the Stewart's approach. We performed linear regression analysis, Bland-Altman plot and receiver operating characteristics (ROC) analysis of BENa-Cland BE to evaluate the accuracy of BENa-Clpredicting the BE. We further investigated possible confounding factors. The corrected R2for the correlation of BENa-Cland BE was 0.60 (p < 0.001). The Bland-Altman plot showed a good overall agreement. The bias was negligible, but the 95%-limits of agreement showed a wide interval (10.4mmol/l). For BE ≤ 2mmol/l, the ROC analysis yielded an AUC of 0.89 and moderate sensitivity (0.75) and specificity (0.86) for the optimal BENa-Clthreshold (≤ 2mmol/l). Subgroup analysis showed similar results. The main factor for the imprecision of BENa-Clpredicting the BE across all stages of CKD is the variability of the serum anion gap (SAG). The BENa-Clis not an adequate parameter for screening of hyperchloremic acidosis because of the high variability of the SAG. Only, if the BENa-Clis ≤ 5mmol/l, a hyperchloremic acidosis should be suspected. Therefore, a complete blood gas analysis is necessary for the correct diagnosis of acid-base disorders in patients with chronic kidney disease.

Spin-reorientation transition and exchange-bias effect in CeFe0.5Cr0.5O3 ceramics

The polycrystalline CeFe0.5Cr0.5O3 ceramics were synthesized by the solid-state method, whose structural and magnetic properties were systematically studied. With the interaction between Ce and Fe/Cr ions, a first-order spin-reorientation transition from Γ4 to Γ1 is observed over a wide temperature interval in CeFe0.5Cr0.5O3, which is remarkably sensitive to applied magnetic field. Interestingly, the exchange-bias effect is found in CeFe0.5Cr0.5O3 ceramics during the spin-reorientation transition, ascribed to the paramagnetic/antiferromagnetic system presented by the two interacting magnetic sublattices (Ce and Fe/Cr). The coexistence of spin-reorientation transition and exchange-bias effect is promising to expand the practical application of CeFe0.5Cr0.5O3 ceramics in multifunctional spintronics.

LATE MESOZOIC RARE-METAL GRANITES, PEGMATITES, AND GREISENS OF MONGOLIA: AGE, MINERALOGY, GEOCHEMISTRY, ORE POTENTIAL, AND PETROGENESIS

Comparative analysis of the earlier obtained and new geological data, age, mineral, petrological, and geochemical compositions of plutons of calc-alkalic granitoids and rare-metal Li–F granites shows their evolution in a wide time interval during the formation of Mesozoic areas of granitoid magmatism. Mineralogical and geochemical analysis of the evolution of plutons of palingenetic calc-alkalic granitoids (Baga Hentiyn (MZ1) and Ikh Narotiin = Hiid (MZ2)) and intrusions of rare-metal Li–F granites of Central and Eastern Mongolia revealed their petrological and geochemical differences. The closure of the Mongol–Okhotsk Basin with the formation of large plutons of calc-alkaliс granitoids, obviously related to collisional processes, did not cause significant enrichment of the late granite phases with lithophile and ore elements. Within the peripheral zones of еру MZ1 and MZ2 magmatic areas, mineralization is often associated with Mongolian multiphase plutons and small intrusions of rare-metal Li–F granites. The rare-metal granites are characterized by a decrease in indicative K/Rb, Nb/Ta, and Zr/Hf values and a regular increase in F, Li, Rb, Cs, Sn, W, Be, Ta, and Nb contents during the evolution of Li–F magmas. Igneous and, particularly, metasomatic rocks in most intrusions of ore-bearing rare-metal Li–F granites are characterized by significant variations in Sn and W contents. At the magmatic stage, the pegmatoid varieties of amazonite–albite granites and pegmatites of the zonal Baga Gazriin (MZ1) and Barun Tsogto (MZ2) plutons are significantly enriched in both Sn and W. Maximum Sn and W enrichment has been established in greisenized granites and zoned greisen bodies (zwitters), which is due to the percolation of ore-bearing solutions into the upper horizons and the mineralization of ore elements in the late phases of intrusions and in metasomatites. The wide variations in the age (321–126 Ma) and trace element and isotope compositions of Mongolian rare-metal Li–F granites within various zones of large magmatic areas suggest the influence of mantle plume sources on the composition of rare-metal granitic magmas and on their ore potential in intermediate chambers in the continental crust.

On the trapped magnetic moment in type-II superconductors

Abstract Measurements of the trapped (remanent) magnetic moment, M trap ( H ) , when a small magnetic field H is turned off after cooling below the superconducting transition temperature, Tc , or ramping a magnetic field up and down after cooling in a zero magnetic field, offer substantial advantages in difficult cases of small samples and large field-dependent backgrounds, which is relevant for hydrogen-based ultra-high-T c superconductors (UHTS). Until recently, there was no need for a separate paper on the trapped magnetic flux for well-known critical-state models due to the simplicity of the physics involved. However, recent publications showed the need for such an analysis. This note summarizes the expectations for the Bean model with constant critical current density and the Kim model with field-dependent critical currents. It is shown that if the trapped moment is fitted to the power law, M trap ∝ H α , the fixed exponent α = 2 is exact for the Bean model, while Kim models show a wide interval of possible values, 2 ⩽ α ⩽ 4 . Furthermore, accounting for reversible magnetization expands the range of possible exponents to 1 ⩽ α ⩽ 4 . In addition, demagnetizing factors are essential and make the trapped moment orientation dependent even in isotropic materials. As a concrete application, it is shown that flux trapping experiments performed on H3S UHTS compounds can be well described using this generalized approach, lending further support to the type-II superconducting nature of H3S under ultra-high pressure.

Performance of WHO mid-upper arm circumference cut-off to diagnose severe acute malnutrition in under-fives

Background Many studies indicate that the current WHO recommendation of cut-off value mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC) is not sensitive to detect severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in under-fives cases. Various new cut-off values have been proposed with better diagnostic values but have a wide interval, 12.1 cm—14.5 cm, which may be due to different races or habitus. Objective To evaluate the diagnostic value of MUAC in diagnosing SAM compared to the weight for height Z score (WFZ) index, to evaluate sensitivity, specificity, positive and negative predictive value of MUAC with 11.5 cm as standard cut-off, and to find an alternative cut-off value that may offer better diagnostic performance. Methods We collected 421 subjects consecutively in January-February 2020 in Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital and Puskesmas Cengkareng. We performed brief conversations for demographic data and did the measurement of physical examination and anthropometric measurement by trained researchers and research assistants. Results Mid-upper arm circumference has excellent diagnostic value to assess SAM in under-fives with area under curve 0,939 (CI95% 0,903-0,974). Diagnostic values MUAC using cut off 11.5 cm were 21% sensitivity (Se) 21%, 99.7% spesificity (Sp)and Youden Index (YI) of 0.20. By using 13.3 cm as a new cut-off value, MUAC has Se 89%, Sp 87%, and YI of 0.76. Conclusion We conclude that WHO MUAC cut-off using 11.5 cm has lower performance to detect SAM cases than the proposed new cut-off value of 13.3 cm. New MUAC cut-off should be considered to detect more SAM cases among under-fives.

Multifunctional nanoplatforms based on alumina-coated mesoporous silica with potential for cancer theranostics applications

Multifunctional nanoplatforms based on mesoporous silica coated with alumina were successfully and sustainably synthesized using sodium silicate extracted from rice husk ash (RHA), demonstrating the potential for cancer theranostics. The hybrid nanostructures produced (C2-600 and C4-600) from two different calcination times exhibited distinct morphologies, textural parameters, and degrees of mesoscopic organization. As expected, the Al2O3 coating on the mesoporous silica nanoparticles (MSNs) reduced the specific surface area from 720 m2/g to 122 m2/g (C2-600) and 57 m2/g (C4-600), while preserving their mesoporous structure. Additionally, both C2-600 and C4-600 showed relatively good stability across a wide pH interval, with a zeta potential of ζ = −15 mV and hydrodynamic diameter (Dh) ranging from 160 to 670 nm, depending on the pH of the medium. These peculiar characteristics resulted in high encapsulation efficiency (EE ≈ 90 %) for the doxorubicin (DOX) anticancer drug, as well as sustained drug release in simulated gastric fluid (SGF, pH 1.2) and simulated intestinal fluid (SIF, pH 7.4). Appreciably, C4-600-DOX released approximately 83 % of the drug over 96 h and demonstrated significant biodegradation in simulated biological media. Furthermore, the hybrid nanoplatforms exhibited strong optical absorption between 250 and 420 nm, along with broad and intense photoluminescence (PL) in the near-infrared (NIR) region (680–900 nm), which is highly desirable for NIR-fluorescence diagnostic imaging. Notably, the hybrid nanoplatforms without DOX were non-cytotoxic to fibroblast and Caco-2 cells, while the DOX-loaded nanoplatforms exhibited selectivity and potent anticancer activity, inhibiting approximately 80 % of Caco-2 colorectal cancer cells after 72 h. These findings demonstrate that C2-600 and C4-600 are innovative, multifunctional and biodegradable nanoplatforms with powerful potential as drug carriers and fluorescence imaging agents, making them promising candidates for cancer theranostics.

Nuclear suppression of coherent J/ψ photoproduction in heavy-ion ultraperipheral collisions and leading twist nuclear shadowing

We determine the nuclear suppression factor SPb(x), where x=MJ/ψ2/Wγp2 with MJ/ψ the J/ψ mass and Wγp the photon-nucleon energy, for the cross section of coherent J/ψ photoproduction in heavy-ion ultraperipheral collisions at the Large Hadron Collider and Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider by performing the χ2 fit to all available data on the cross section dσAA→J/ψAA/dy as a function of the J/ψ rapidity y and the photoproduction cross section σγA→J/ψA(Wγp) as a function of Wγp. We find that while the dσAA→J/ψAA/dy data alone constrain SPb(x) for x≥10−3, the combined dσAA→J/ψAA/dy and σγA→J/ψA(Wγp) data allow us to determine SPb(x) in the wide interval 10−5&lt;x&lt;0.05. In particular, the data favor SPb(x), which decreases with a decrease of x in the 10−4&lt;x&lt;0.01 interval and can be both decreasing or constant for x&lt;10−4. Identifying SPb(x) with the ratio of the gluon distributions in Pb and the proton Rg(x,Q02)=gA(x,Q02)/[Agp(x,Q02)], we demonstrate that the leading twist approximation for nuclear shadowing provides a good description of all the data on dσAA→J/ψAA/dy and σγA→J/ψA(Wγp) as well as on the experimental values for SPb(x) derived from σγA→J/ψA(Wγp). We also show that modern nuclear parton distributions reasonably reproduce SPb(x) as well. Published by the American Physical Society 2024

Numerical modeling and analysis of multistage gear transmission system in wind turbine gearbox under load uncertainty

A multistage gear transmission system (MGTS) is widely used in wind turbine gearboxes. Its dynamic responses are closely related to stochastic aerodynamic torque that has a wide interval range between cut-in and cut-out wind speeds. However, most of the dynamic models of MGTS lack attention to dynamic responses caused by uncertainties of multiple parameters under varied input torque. In this study, a dynamic modeling method in conjunction with interval uncertain analysis of MGTS caused by multiple load-related parameters due to varied input torques is proposed. A comprehensive dynamic model of MGTS is developed considering time-varying gear mesh transmission error, load-related gear mesh stiffness and bearing stiffness as well as flexible shafts. The reasonability of simulation is validated, and then the effects of multiple load-related parameters on uncertain dynamic responses are discussed in-depth. Results show that both gear mesh stiffness and bearing stiffness are enlarged with increasing input torque to cause uncertain dynamic responses. These uncertainties would propagate along the flexible shaft and be suppressed by system rigidity. The dominant transverse vibration modes of shafts are sensitive to bearing stiffness, thus, uncertain bearing stiffness has remarkable effects on dynamic responses than gear mesh stiffness.