Answering a question by Angel, Holroyd, Martin, Wilson and Winkler 1, we show that the maximal number of non-colliding coupled simple random walks on the complete graph KN
, which take turns, moving ...one at a time, is monotone in N. We use this fact to couple N/4 such walks on KN
, improving the previous Ω(N/log N) lower bound of Angel et al. We also introduce a new generalization of simple avoidance coupling which we call partially ordered simple avoidance coupling, and provide a monotonicity result for this extension as well.
Abstract
An efficient and practical method was developed for the synthesis of 2,2-disubstituted indolin-3-ones by palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation. Enantioselective construction of ...quaternary carbon centers was also realized in this way.
We consider a notion of approximation for terms of de Groote–Saurin Λμ-calculus. Then, we introduce an intersection type assignment system for that calculus which is invariant under subject ...conversion. The type assignment system also induces a filter model, which is an extensional Λμ-model in the sense of Nakazawa and Katsumata. We then establish the approximation theorem, stating that a type can be assigned to a term in the system if and only if it can be assigned to same of its approximations.
Paper has been present in the world of analytical chemistry for centuries, but it seems that just a few years back it was rediscovered as a valuable substrate for sensors. We can easily list some of ...the countless advantages of this simple cellulosic substrate, including mechanical properties, three-dimensional fibrous structure, biocompatibility and biodegradability, easiness of production and modification, reasonable price, and availability all over the world. Those characteristics make paper a first-choice substrate for disposable sensors and integrated sensing platforms. Nowadays, numerous examples of paper-based sensors are being presented in the literature. This review describes some of the most prominent examples classifying them by type of detection: optical (colorimetric, fluorescence, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy, and transmittance methods) and electrochemical (voltammetric, potentiometric, and conductivity-based methods). We take a closer look at recent advances in immunoassays fabricated on paper, excluding simple lateral flow tests assembled on nitrocellulose. This review also summarizes the main advantages and disadvantages of the use of paper as a substrate for sensors, as well as its impact on their performance and application, presents a short history of paper in analytical chemistry, and discusses fabrication methods and available sources of paper.
Due to the health and environment impacts of fossil fuels utilization, biofuels have been investigated as a potential alternative renewable source of energy. Bioethanol is currently the most produced ...biofuel, mainly of first generation, resulting in food-fuel competition. Second generation bioethanol is produced from lignocellulosic biomass, but a costly and difficult pretreatment is required. The pulp and paper industry has the biggest income of biomass for non-food-chain production, and, simultaneously generates a high amount of residues. According to the circular economy model, these residues, rich in monosaccharides, or even in polysaccharides besides lignin, can be utilized as a proper feedstock for second generation bioethanol production. Biorefineries can be integrated in the existing pulp and paper industrial plants by exploiting the high level of technology and also the infrastructures and logistics that are required to fractionate and handle woody biomass. This would contribute to the diversification of products and the increase of profitability of pulp and paper industry with additional environmental benefits. This work reviews the literature supporting the feasibility of producing ethanol from Kraft pulp, spent sulfite liquor, and pulp and paper sludge, presenting and discussing the practical attempt of biorefineries implementation in pulp and paper mills for bioethanol production.
Abstract Motivation ADP-ribosylation is a critical modification involved in regulating diverse cellular processes, including chromatin structure regulation, RNA transcription, and cell death. ...Bacterial ADP-ribosyltransferase toxins (bARTTs) serve as potent virulence factors that orchestrate the manipulation of host cell functions to facilitate bacterial pathogenesis. Despite their pivotal role, the bioinformatic identification of novel bARTTs poses a formidable challenge due to limited verified data and the inherent sequence diversity among bARTT members. Results We proposed a deep learning-based model, ARTNet, specifically engineered to predict bARTTs from bacterial genomes. Initially, we introduced an effective data augmentation method to address the issue of data scarcity in training ARTNet. Subsequently, we employed a data optimization strategy by utilizing ART-related domain subsequences instead of the primary full sequences, thereby significantly enhancing the performance of ARTNet. ARTNet achieved a Matthew’s correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.9351 and an F1-score (macro) of 0.9666 on repeated independent test datasets, outperforming three other deep learning models and six traditional machine learning models in terms of time efficiency and accuracy. Furthermore, we empirically demonstrated the ability of ARTNet to predict novel bARTTs across domain superfamilies without sequence similarity. We anticipate that ARTNet will greatly facilitate the screening and identification of novel bARTTs from bacterial genomes. Availability and implementation ARTNet is publicly accessible at http://www.mgc.ac.cn/ARTNet/. The source code of ARTNet is freely available at https://github.com/zhengdd0422/ARTNet/.
The REDISCOVER consensus conference aimed at developing and validate guidelines on the perioperative care of patients with borderline resectable (BR-) and locally advanced (LA) pancreatic ductal ...adenocarcinoma (PDAC).
Coupled with improvements in chemotherapy and radiation, the contemporary approach to pancreatic surgery supports resection of BR-PDAC and, to a lesser extent, LA-PDAC. Guidelines outlining the selection and perioperative care for these patients are lacking.
The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) methodology was used to develop the REDISCOVER guidelines and create recommendations. The Delphi approach was used to reach consensus (agreement ≥80%) among experts. Recommendations were approved after a debate and vote among international experts in pancreatic surgery and pancreatic cancer management. A Validation Committee used the AGREE II-GRS tool to assess the methodological quality of the guidelines. Moreover, an independent multidisciplinary advisory group revised the statements to ensure adherence to non-surgical guidelines.
Overall, 34 recommendations were created targeting centralization, training, staging, patient selection for surgery, possibility of surgery in uncommon scenarios, timing of surgery, avoidance of vascular reconstruction, details of vascular resection/reconstruction, arterial divestment, frozen section histology of perivascular tissue, extent of lymphadenectomy, anticoagulation prophylaxis and role of minimally invasive surgery. The level of evidence was however low for 29 of 34 clinical questions. Participants agreed that the most conducive mean to promptly advance our understanding in this field is to establish an international registry addressing this patient population ( https://rediscover.unipi.it/ ).
The REDISCOVER guidelines provide clinical recommendations pertaining to pancreatectomy with vascular resection for patients with BR- and LA-PDAC, and serve as the basis of a new international registry for this patient population.
Summary
Objective
COVID-19 might cause neuroinflammation in the brain, which could decrease neurocognitive function. We aimed to evaluate the causal associations and genetic overlap between COVID-19 ...and intelligence.
Methods
We performed Mendelian randomization (MR) analyses to assess potential associations between three COVID-19 outcomes and intelligence (N = 269 867). The COVID phenotypes included severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection (N = 2 501 486), hospitalized COVID-19 (N = 1 965 329) and critical COVID-19 (N = 743 167). Genome-wide risk genes were compared between the genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets on hospitalized COVID-19 and intelligence. In addition, functional pathways were constructed to explore molecular connections between COVID-19 and intelligence.
Results
The MR analyses indicated that genetic liabilities to SARS-CoV-2 infection (odds ratio OR: 0.965, 95% confidence interval CI: 0.939–0.993) and critical COVID-19 (OR: 0.989, 95% CI: 0.979–0.999) confer causal effects on intelligence. There was suggestive evidence supporting the causal effect of hospitalized COVID-19 on intelligence (OR: 0.988, 95% CI: 0.972–1.003). Hospitalized COVID-19 and intelligence share 10 risk genes within 2 genomic loci, including MAPT and WNT3. Enrichment analysis showed that these genes are functionally connected within distinct subnetworks of 30 phenotypes linked to cognitive decline. The functional pathway revealed that COVID-19-driven pathological changes within the brain and multiple peripheral systems may lead to cognitive impairment.
Conclusions
Our study suggests that COVID-19 may exert a detrimental effect on intelligence. The tau protein and Wnt signaling may mediate the influence of COVID-19 on intelligence.
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