For almost a half-decade, the unique autocorrelation properties of Golay complementary pairs (GCP) have added a significant value to the key performance of conventional time-domain multiplexed fiber ...Bragg grating sensors (TDM-FBGs). However, the employment of the unipolar form of Golay coded TDM-FBG has suffered from several performance flaws, such as limited improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNIR), noisy backgrounds, and distorted signals. Therefore, we propose and experimentally implement several digital filtering techniques to mitigate such limitations. Moving averages (MA), Savitzky–Golay (SG), and moving median (MM) filters were deployed to process the signals from two low reflectance FBG sensors located after around 16 km of fiber. The first part of the experiment discussed the sole deployment of Golay codes from 4 bits to 256 bits in the TDM-FBG sensor. As a result, the total SNIR of around 8.8 dB was experimentally confirmed for the longest 256-bit code. Furthermore, the individual deployment of MA, MM, and SG filters within the mentioned decoded sequences secured a further significant increase in SNIR of around 4, 3.5, and 3 dB, respectively. Thus, the deployment of the filtering technique alone resulted in at least four times faster measurement time (equivalent to 3 dB SNIR). Overall, the experimental analysis confirmed that MM outperformed the other two techniques in better signal shape, fastest signal transition time, comparable SNIR, and capability to maintain high spatial resolution.
The analysis of complex mixtures of closely related species is quickly becoming a bottleneck in the development of new drug substances, reflecting the ever-increasing complexity of both fundamental ...biology and the therapeutics used to treat disease. Two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2D-LC) is emerging as a powerful tool to achieve substantial improvements in peak capacity and selectivity. However, 2D-LC suffers from several limitations, including the lack of automated multicolumn setups capable of combining multiple columns in both dimensions. Herein, we report an investigation into the development and implementation of a customized online comprehensive multicolumn 2D-LC-DAD-MS setup for screening and method development purposes, as well as analysis of multicomponent biopharmaceutical mixtures. In this study, excellent chromatographic performance in terms of selectivity, peak shape, and reproducibility were achieved by combining reversed-phase (RP), strong cation exchange (SCX), strong anion exchange (SAX), and size exclusion chromatography (SEC) using sub-2-μm columns in the first dimension in conjunction with several 3.0 mm × 50 mm RP columns packed with sub-3-μm fully porous particles in the second dimension. Multiple combinations of separation modes coupled to UV and MS detection are applied to the LC × LC analysis of a protein standard mixture, intended to be representative of protein drug substances. The results reported in this study demonstrate that our automated online multicolumn 2D-LC-DAD-MS workflow can be a powerful tool for comprehensive chromatographic column screening that enables the semi-automated development of 2D-LC methods, offering the ability to streamline full visualization of sample composition for an unknown complex mixture while maximizing chromatographic orthogonality.
Graphical Abstract
This article reviews the current literature on the risks and challenges associated with intraocular lens (IOL) implantation in the ciliary sulcus.
The development of IOLs designed specifically for ...placement in the ciliary sulcus continues to be an area of interest for the ophthalmic industry. Currently the one-piece PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) lens or a three-piece IOL are the best available options for IOL placement in the ciliary sulcus space. Single piece acrylic (SPA) IOLs are not designed for sulcus placement and there is growing evidence of chronic complications related to their use in the ciliary sulcus. Many of these eyes ultimately require surgical intervention, including lens exchange. Endoscopic imaging and ultrasound biomicroscopy (UBM) have enabled a better understanding of ciliary sulcus anatomy and measurements in the living eye.
When the capsular bag is compromised, IOL placement in the ciliary sulcus is a reasonable option. In these circumstances, appropriate choice of IOL, knowledge of the sulcus anatomy, and correct technique can improve results and reduce postoperative complications.
Boron-doped diamond-like carbon (B-DLC) and boron-rich DLC thin films have been deposited on
n
-type silicon and quartz substrates by reactive rf magnetron sputtering process. Boron carbide (B
4
C) ...target was used in the deposition. Reducing the boron/carbon ratio was achieved by either using hydrogen gas or by introducing a proper flow rate of methane. Another approach of producing B-DLC thin films was achieved by using low methane\argon ratio (5/40) while sputtering atoms from non-saturated target-surface under various sputtering rf powers. The maximum film graphitization and lowest band gap energy was achieved by applying 100 W power. The Auger electron spectroscopy and Raman shifts were used to investigate the composition of the films. The optical properties were investigated using spectroscopic ellipsometry and spectrophotometer. Furthermore,
p
-type B-DLC/
n
-type Si(100) heterojunction diode was fabricated and the
I
–
V
characteristics were investigated against the flow rates of methane or the rf power.
Background: Although several studies examining nurses’ turnover intentions have been conducted, few studies have been conducted to explore how COVID-19 contributes to nurses’ turnover intentions. ...This study aims to compare nurses’ turnover (TO) intentions before and during COVID-19. Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted using the Turnover Intention Scale (TIS-6) and a convenience sample of participants from the largest healthcare provider in Qatar between August and September 2020. Results: A total of 512 nurses were included in the final analysis. The majority were between 31 and 40 years of age (61.5%), 67.6% were females, 76.4% were married, 79.7% had a BSN, 43% had less than 5 years of experience, and 60.4% had worked in COVID-19 designated facilities. The turnover intentions were higher compared with before COVID-19 (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Nurses in Qatar have higher TO intentions during COVID-19. The participants’ characteristics and stress levels are playing a major role in nurses’ decision to leave during COVID-19. Understanding the factors that contribute to turnover intentions is crucial for workforce planning, especially during pandemics.
Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (TEV) “educate” healthy cells to promote metastases. We found that melanoma TEV downregulated type I interferon (IFN) receptor and expression of IFN-inducible ...cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H). CH25H produces 25-hydroxycholesterol, which inhibited TEV uptake. Low CH25H levels in leukocytes from melanoma patients correlated with poor prognosis. Mice incapable of downregulating the IFN receptor and Ch25h were resistant to TEV uptake, TEV-induced pre-metastatic niche, and melanoma lung metastases; however, ablation of Ch25h reversed these phenotypes. An anti-hypertensive drug, reserpine, suppressed TEV uptake and disrupted TEV-induced formation of the pre-metastatic niche and melanoma lung metastases. These results suggest the importance of CH25H in defense against education of normal cells by TEV and argue for the use of reserpine in adjuvant melanoma therapy.
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•Tumor-derived extracellular vesicles (TEV) downregulate IFNAR1 and CH25H•CH25H acts to restrict TEV uptake and limit the education of healthy cells•Downregulation of CH25H in normal cells promotes melanoma metastasis•Disruption of TEV uptake and education by reserpine elicits anti-metastatic effects
Ortiz et al. reveal that melanoma-derived extracellular vesicles (EV) downregulate type I interferon receptor (IFNAR1) and cholesterol 25-hydroxylase (CH25H) in normal cells to facilitate EV uptake and pre-metastatic niche development. IFNAR1-CH25H upregulation or reserpine treatment inhibits EV uptake and metastasis.
The electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals, highly non-stationary in nature, greatly suffers from motion artifacts while recorded using wearable sensors. ...Since successful detection of various neurological and neuromuscular disorders is greatly dependent upon clean EEG and fNIRS signals, it is a matter of utmost importance to remove/reduce motion artifacts from EEG and fNIRS signals using reliable and robust methods. In this regard, this paper proposes two robust methods: (i) Wavelet packet decomposition (WPD) and (ii) WPD in combination with canonical correlation analysis (WPD-CCA), for motion artifact correction from single-channel EEG and fNIRS signals. The efficacy of these proposed techniques is tested using a benchmark dataset and the performance of the proposed methods is measured using two well-established performance matrices: (i) difference in the signal to noise ratio ( ) and (ii) percentage reduction in motion artifacts ( ). The proposed WPD-based single-stage motion artifacts correction technique produces the highest average (29.44 dB) when db2 wavelet packet is incorporated whereas the greatest average (53.48%) is obtained using db1 wavelet packet for all the available 23 EEG recordings. Our proposed two-stage motion artifacts correction technique, i.e., the WPD-CCA method utilizing db1 wavelet packet has shown the best denoising performance producing an average and values of 30.76 dB and 59.51%, respectively, for all the EEG recordings. On the other hand, for the available 16 fNIRS recordings, the two-stage motion artifacts removal technique, i.e., WPD-CCA has produced the best average (16.55 dB, utilizing db1 wavelet packet) and largest average (41.40%, using fk8 wavelet packet). The highest average and using single-stage artifacts removal techniques (WPD) are found as 16.11 dB and 26.40%, respectively, for all the fNIRS signals using fk4 wavelet packet. In both EEG and fNIRS modalities, the percentage reduction in motion artifacts increases by 11.28% and 56.82%, respectively when two-stage WPD-CCA techniques are employed in comparison with the single-stage WPD method. In addition, the average also increases when WPD-CCA techniques are used instead of single-stage WPD for both EEG and fNIRS signals. The increment in both and values is a clear indication that two-stage WPD-CCA performs relatively better compared to single-stage WPD. The results reported using the proposed methods outperform most of the existing state-of-the-art techniques.
Chronic‐lymphocytic‐leukemia (CLL) is the most prevalent leukemia in developed countries, caused by monoclonal proliferation of CD5+ B‐cells and accumulation of mature‐appearing‐neoplastic ...lymphocytes in blood, bone marrow, and secondary lymphoid organs. Oral manifestations of CLL are infrequent and rarely reported in literature. We report a new case of a 67‐year old man who presented with the complaints of tooth mobility and gingival swelling. Extra‐oral examination was remarkable for cutaneous pallor and bilateral cervical lymphadenopathy involving the submandibular, and deep cervical lymph nodes on both sides of the neck. Complete blood count revealed normal red blood cell count (4.25 × 106/μl), normal platelet count (136 × 103/μl) and increased white blood cell count (25.3 × 103/μl). Differential white blood cell count showed marked lymphocytosis (88%), and blood film revealed the presence of leukocytosis, with small mature‐looking lymphocytes, and mild thrombocytopenia. A flow cytometry immune‐phenotyping revealed that 55% of peripheral blood cells were monoclonal B‐lymphocytes expressing CD19, CD20, CD23, CD200, CD22, CD5, CD38, CD11c, sIgD and Kappa light chain confirming the diagnosis of CLL. Oral healthcare professionals should consider systemic causes, such as CLL, in the differential diagnosis of generalized tooth mobility and gingival swelling, particularly in patients with associated symptoms such as lymphadenopathy, fever, weight loss, and general fatigue.
•Thermal modeling of PVT-CPC integrated active conical solar still has been presented.•Experimental validation of passive solar still with conical condensing cover has been carried out.•Energy and ...exergy analysis of PVT-CPC and PVT-FPC active conical solar stills.
In this work, an analytical expressions of various temperatures namely, water and condensing cover temperatures, yield and electrical power output of PVT-CPC active solar distillation system have been derived. These expressions depend on basic energy balance equations of the proposed system. Effect of inclination of condensing cover (θ), packing factor (βc) and mass flow rate (ṁf) on hourly yield have been studied in brief in terms of overall thermal energy and exergy. The present thermal model for passive conical solar still has also been validated with the experimental results of Gad et al. (2015) for a given design parameters. Special cases of the proposed system have also been carried out. It has been found that the yield increases with an increase in inclination of conical shape of condensing cover for a given mass flow rate due to an increase in heat losses from condensing cover to the ambient air. Further, the yield also increases with the decrease in packing factor for a given mass flow rate as per our expectation.
We describe the case of a gentleman with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis and chronic lymphocytopenia secondary to treatment with fingolimod who presented with disseminated histoplasmosis after ...receiving the third dose of the Moderna coronavirus disease 2019 (mRNA-1273) vaccine. Following the vaccination the patient noted fatigue which worsened over time along with gradual weight loss. A few months later he noted low-grade fever and finally shortness of breath. A diagnosis of disseminated histoplasmosis was performed based on urine, blood, and imaging data. He responded well to prolonged antifungal treatment. Fingolimod was discontinued and replaced with glatiramer acetate. He has been clinically stable until the time of this report, 33 months following symptom onset.
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