Technological advancement is currently focused on the miniaturization of devices, and integrated circuits allow us to observe the increase in the number of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Most IoT ...services and devices require an Internet connection, which needs to provide the minimum processing, storage and networking requirements to best serve a requested service. One of the main goals of 5G networks is to comply with the user's various Quality of Service (QoS) requirements in different application scenarios. Fifth-generation networks use Network Function Virtualization (NFV) and Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) concepts to achieve these QoS requirements. However, the computational resource allocation mechanisms required by the services are considered very complex. Thus, in this paper, we propose an allocation and management resources mechanism for 5G networks that uses MEC and simple mathematical methods to reduce the model complexity. The mechanism decides to allocate the resource in MEC to meet the requirements requested by the user. The simulation results show that the proposed mechanism provides a larger amount of services, leading to a reduction in the service lock number and as a reduction in the blocking ratio of services due to the accuracy of the approach and its load balancing in the process of resource allocation.
Phylogeographic studies have sought to explain the genetic imprints of historical climatic changes and geographic barriers within the Brazilian Atlantic Forest (AF) biota, and consequently two ...processes of diversification (refugia and barriers) have been proposed. Additionally, there is evidence that eustatic changes influenced the biogeographic history of the AF. Here we evaluate these contrasting diversification processes using two AF social wasp species - the mid-montane Synoeca cyanea and the lowland Synoeca aff. septentrionalis. We analyzed several sources of data including multilocus DNA sequence, climatic niche models and chromosomal features. We find support for idiosyncratic phylogeographic patterns between these wasps, involving different levels of population structure and genetic diversity, contrary suitable climatic conditions during the last glaciation, and contrasting historical movements along the AF. Our data indicate that neotectonics and refugia played distinct roles in shaping the genetic structure of these wasps. However, we argue that eustatic changes influenced the demographic expansion but not population structure in AF biota. Notably, these wasps exhibited chromosomal clines, involving chromosome number and decreasing of GC content, latitudinally oriented along the AF. Together, these results reinforce the need to consider individual organismal histories and indicate that barriers and refugia are significant factors in understanding AF evolution.
Objectives
We sought to study the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on the presentation delay, severity, patterns of care, and reasons for delay among patients with ST‐elevation myocardial infarction ...(STEMI) in a non‐hot‐spot region.
Background
COVID‐19 pandemic has significantly reduced the activations for STEMI in epicenters like Spain.
Methods
From January 1, 2020, to April 15, 2020, 143 STEMIs were identified across our integrated 18‐hospital system. Pre‐ and post‐COVID‐19 cohorts were based on March 23rd, 2020, whenstay‐at‐home orders were initiated in Ohio. We used presenting heart rate, blood pressure, troponin, new Q‐wave, and left ventricle ejection fraction (LVEF) to assess severity. Duration of intensive care unit stay, total length of stay, door‐to‐balloon (D2B) time, and radial versus femoral access were used to assess patterns of care.
Results
Post‐COVID‐19 presentation was associated with a lower admission LVEF (45 vs. 50%, p = .015), new Q‐wave, and higher initial troponin; however, these did not reach statistical significance. Among post‐COVID‐19 patients, those with >12‐hr delay in presentation 31(%) had a longer average D2B time (88 vs. 53 min, p = .033) and higher peak troponin (58 vs. 8.5 ng/ml, p = .03). Of these, 27% avoided the hospital due to fear of COVID‐19, 18% believed symptoms were COVID‐19 related, and 9% did not want to burden the hospital during the pandemic.
Conclusions
COVID‐19 has remarkably affected STEMI presentation and care. Patients' fear and confusion about symptoms are integral parts of this emerging public health crisis.
Although molecular diagnostics is well established in clinical laboratories, its full potential has not been extended to field settings. Typically, diagnostic real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) ...reagents require temperature-controlled transportation and storage. Furthermore, thermocyclers are bulky and fragile, requiring good infrastructure for optimal operation. These major hurdles strongly limit use of molecular-based tests in low-resource scenarios. Herein, Trypanosoma cruzi or Plasmodium spp. DNA were detected with qPCR using commercial equipment (ABI7500 instrument) and a prototype platform comprising a portable device and a silicon chip, named Q3-Plus. In addition, a ready-to-use reaction format, where all qPCR reagents are stored on plate or on chip, was compared with the traditional freezer-stored format. No significant differences were observed in detecting T. cruzi or Plasmodium spp. DNA between thermocyclers, as well as between reagents' formats, for storage periods of up to 28 days (at 2°C to 8°C or 21°C to 23°C, respectively). When challenged with patients' samples, the Q3-Plus system performed as efficiently as the standard equipment for Plasmodium spp. DNA detection, showing it to be a valuable solution to malaria point-of-care diagnostics. Detection of T. cruzi DNA in chronic patients' samples using the Q3-Plus system yielded approximately 50% efficiency relative to the ABI7500. These results are essential to support future endeavors to bring molecular diagnostics to the point of care, where most needed.
Summary
An increasing body of literature supports a role for neutrophils as players in the orchestration of adaptive immunity. During acute and chronic inflammatory conditions, neutrophils rapidly ...migrate not only to sites of inflammation, but also to draining lymph nodes and spleen, where they engage bidirectional interactions with B‐ and T‐lymphocyte subsets. Accordingly, a relevant role of neutrophils in modulating B‐cell responses under homeostatic conditions has recently emerged. Moreover, specialized immunoregulatory properties towards B or T cells acquired by distinct neutrophil populations, originating under pathological conditions, have been consistently described. In this article, we summarize the most recent data from human studies and murine models on the ability of neutrophils to modulate adaptive immune responses under physiological and pathological conditions and the mechanisms behind these processes.
In this article, we summarize the most recent data from human studies and murine models on the ability of neutrophils to modulate B‐ and T‐cell responses under physiological and pathological conditions and the mechanisms behind these processes.
Ant-plant associations are an outstanding model to study the entangled ecological interactions that structure communities. However, most studies of plant-animal networks focus on only one type of ...resource that mediates these interactions (e.g, nectar or fruits), leading to a biased understanding of community structure. New approaches, however, have made possible to study several interaction types simultaneously through multilayer networks models. Here, we use this approach to ask whether the structural patterns described to date for ant-plant networks hold when multiple interactions with plant-derived food rewards are considered. We tested whether networks characterized by different resource types differ in specialization and resource partitioning among ants, and whether the identity of the core ant species is similar among resource types. We monitored ant interactions with extrafloral nectaries, flowers, and fruits, as well as trophobiont hemipterans feeding on plants, for one year, in seven rupestrian grassland (campo rupestre) sites in southeastern Brazil. We found a highly tangled ant-plant network in which plants offering different resource types are connected by a few central ant species. The multilayer network had low modularity and specialization, but ant specialization and niche overlap differed according to the type of resource used. Beyond detecting structural differences across networks, our study demonstrates empirically that the core of most central ant species is similar across them. We suggest that foraging strategies of ant species, such as massive recruitment, may determine specialization and resource partitioning in ant-plant interactions. As this core of ant species is involved in multiple ecosystem functions, it may drive the diversity and evolution of the entire campo rupestre community.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Thermophilic fungi are a promising source of thermostable enzymes able to hydrolytically or oxidatively degrade plant cell wall components. Among these enzymes are lytic polysaccharide monooxygenases ...(LPMOs), enzymes capable of enhancing biomass hydrolysis through an oxidative mechanism. Myceliophthora thermophila (synonym Sporotrichum thermophile), an Ascomycete fungus, expresses and secretes over a dozen different LPMOs. In this study, we report the overexpression and biochemical study of a previously uncharacterized LPMO (MtLPMO9J) from M. thermophila M77 in Aspergillus nidulans. MtLPMO9J is a single-domain LPMO and has 63% sequence similarity with the catalytic domain of NcLPMO9C from Neurospora crassa. Biochemical characterization of MtLPMO9J revealed that it performs C4-oxidation and is active against cellulose, soluble cello-oligosaccharides and xyloglucan. Moreover, biophysical studies showed that MtLPMO9J is structurally stable at pH above 5 and at temperatures up to 50°C. Importantly, LC-MS analysis of the peptides after tryptic digestion of the recombinantly produced protein revealed not only the correct processing of the signal peptide and methylation of the N-terminal histidine, but also partial autoxidation of the catalytic center. This shows that redox conditions need to be controlled, not only during LPMO reactions but also during protein production, to protect LPMOs from oxidative damage.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
IMPORTANCE The current recommendation is for at least 12 months of dual antiplatelet therapy after implantation of a drug-eluting stent. However, the optimal duration of dual antiplatelet therapy ...with specific types of drug-eluting stents remains unknown. OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical noninferiority of 3 months (short-term) vs 12 months (long-term) of dual antiplatelet therapy in patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with zotarolimus-eluting stents. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PATIENTS The OPTIMIZE trial was an open-label, active-controlled, 1:1 randomized noninferiority study including 3119 patients in 33 sites in Brazil between April 2010 and March 2012. Clinical follow-up was performed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Eligible patients were those with stable coronary artery disease or history of low-risk acute coronary syndrome (ACS) undergoing PCI with zotarolimus-eluting stents. INTERVENTIONS After PCI with zotarolimus-eluting stents, patients were prescribed aspirin (100-200 mg daily) and clopidogrel (75 mg daily) for 3 months (n = 1563) or 12 months (n = 1556), unless contraindicated because of occurrence of an end point. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary end point was net adverse clinical and cerebral events (NACCE; a composite of all-cause death, myocardial infarction MI, stroke, or major bleeding); the expected event rate at 1 year was 9%, with a noninferiority margin of 2.7%. Secondary end points were major adverse cardiac events (MACE; a composite of all-cause death, MI, emergent coronary artery bypass graft surgery, or target lesion revascularization) and Academic Research Consortium definite or probable stent thrombosis. RESULTS NACCE occurred in 93 patients receiving short-term and 90 patients receiving long-term therapy (6.0% vs 5.8%, respectively; risk difference, 0.17 95% CI, −1.52 to 1.86; P = .002 for noninferiority). Kaplan-Meier estimates demonstrated MACE rates at 1 year of 8.3% (128) in the short-term group and 7.4% (114) in the long-term group (HR, 1.12 95% CI, 0.87-1.45). Between 91 and 360 days, no statistically significant association was observed for NACCE (39 2.6% vs 38 2.6% for the short- and long-term groups, respectively; HR, 1.03 95% CI, 0.66-1.60), MACE (78 5.3% vs 64 4.3%; HR, 1.22 95% CI, 0.88-1.70), or stent thrombosis (4 0.3% vs 1 0.1%; HR, 3.97 95% CI, 0.44-35.49). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In patients with stable coronary artery disease or low-risk ACS treated with zotarolimus-eluting stents, 3 months of dual antiplatelet therapy was noninferior to 12 months for NACCE, without significantly increasing the risk of stent thrombosis. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01113372
Adaptation and energy conversion have been around for as long as humanity has used tools. Mechanical first with mills for example, then electric from the 18th century, energy is rarely produced where ...it is consumed and it almost always has to be adapted to the device. The evolution of converters follows the evolution of technologies: ever more efficient, ever more integrated, ever more robust...This special issue highlights the latest innovations in the field of converters through around twenty publications resulting from the rigorous and selective examination of a committee of international experts.
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