Objective To investigate inequalities in antenatal care initiation and to assess whether early pregnancy recognition may reduce these inequalities. Design Population-based birth cohort study. Setting Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Population A cohort of N=4196 pregnant women from Generation R. Methods The association of individual and socioeconomic factors and gestational age at pregnancy recognition with timing of antenatal care initiation were assessed using linear regression analyses. G-methods were used to estimate the reduction of the inequalities in antenatal care initiation, if everyone would have recognized the pregnancy within 6 weeks after the first day of menstrual period. Main Outcome Measures Antenatal care initiation was derived from electronic patient files of 10 midwifery practices in Rotterdam. Results Those who recognized their pregnancy within 6 weeks (81.7%) had their first antenatal care visit 1.26 weeks (95%CI:-1.59; -0.93) earlier than those who recognized their pregnancy after 6 weeks. All factors were significantly associated with timing of antenatal care initiation. Modeling a situation in which people would recognize their pregnancy within 6 weeks resulted in a significant reduction in the inequalities in antenatal care initiation for age, migration background, pregnancy intention, education, employment, household income, housing, and neighborhood deprivation. Conclusions Early recognition of pregnancy would reduce the impact of socio-economic inequalities in timely initiation of prenatal care.

A case report of drug-Induced hemorrhagic bullae

Although efforts to estimate Ne, Nc, and their ratio in wild populations are expanding, few empirical studies investigate interannual changes in these parameters. Hence, we do not know how representative many estimates may be. Answering this question requires studies of long-term population dynamics. We non-lethally sampled N=5400 brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) from seven populations during 6 consecutive years (2014-2019) and genotyped them at 33 microsatellites to examine variation in Ne, Nc and their ratio. Nc was estimated by Mark-Recapture (Nc(MR)) (2014-2018) as well as by Close-Kin-Mark-Recapture (Nc(CKMR)) (2015-2017). Within populations, annual variation in Ne (max/min Ne) ranged from 1.6-fold to 58-fold. Over all 7 populations, median annual variation in Ne was 5-fold. These results reflect important interannual changes in reproductive success variance. Within population Nc(MR) varied by a median of 2.7. Thus, Ne varied nearly twice as much as did Nc(MR) . Our results suggest that, at least in small populations, any single annual estimate of Ne is unlikely to be representative of long-term dynamics. At least 3-4 annual estimates may be required for an estimate of contemporary Ne to be representative. For five of the seven populations, Nc(MR) was indistinguishable from Nc(CKMR). The two populations with discordant estimates exhibited the largest annual Ne variation (58-fold and 35.4-fold). These results suggest sampling effort in these two streams may have been insufficient to capture the genetic diversity of the entire population. Our study demonstrates how knowledge of temporal variation in Ne can be used to identify potential biases in Nc(CKMR).

Colorectal cancer is one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide， with a tendency of increasing incidence in developed countries, which poses a significant threats to the patients’ physical and mental health. The development of colorectal cancer involves numerous genetic alterations, which indicate that transcription factors may play an important role in this process. Changes in the level of zinc finger proteins, the most prevalent transcription factor, may play an important trigger for the development of colorectal cancer. Different zinc finger proteins play different roles in terms of promoting or inhibiting cancer development. This paper briefly reviews the classification, functional characteristics, and expression changes of zinc finger proteins in colorectal cancer, it focuses on how they regulate gene transcription, influence on common signaling pathways and their potential for translational studies and clinical applications. The objective is to stimulate new ideas for their study in colorectal cancer while also providing foundational information to guide drug development and treatment strategies for colorectal cancer patients in clinical settings.

Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection is still a global public health issue, and the development of an effective prophylactic HIV vaccine inducing potent neutralizing antibodies remains a significant challenge for the scientific community. This study aims to explore the protein factors associated with the induction of neutralizing antibodies by the rTV vaccine. In our study, we employed the Olink chip to analyze the inflammation-related proteins in plasma in healthy individuals receiving HIV candidate vaccine (DNA priming and recombinant vaccinia virus rTV boosting) and compared the differences between neutralizing antibody-positive and -negative groups. We identified 25 differentially expressed factors and conducted enrichment analysis and correlation analysis on them. Our results revealed significant expression differences in artemin (ARTN) and C-C motif chemokine ligand 23 (CCL23) between individuals who were positive and negative for neutralizing antibodies. Notably, the expression of CCL23 was inversely proportional to the capacity to produce neutralizing antibodies and correlated with the intensity of the cellular immune response. Additionally, the immune response of T cells in the positive group exhibited higher specificity, further supporting our conclusions. This study not only enriches our understanding of the immune mechanism of the rTV vaccine, but also provides important data for future vaccines.

Homogeneous films with tailored microporous structures are crucial for several applications, yet fabricating such films presents significant challenges. This is primarily because most microporous materials have crystal sizes in the nano- and micrometer ranges, which inevitably generates intergranular spaces in the films, thereby complicating the fabrication of these thin films. We used functionalized metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) as discrete microporous units and assembled them into homogenous microporous films. This study focused on avoiding the generation of intergranular spaces while controlling packing parameters and film thicknesses. Initially, the MOP units, influenced by van der Waals forces between the functionalized acyl carbon chains, displayed an affinity to form spindle-shaped blocks and islands. As the MOP concentration increased, these structures self-assembled into a hexagonally packed structure with an in-plane orientation and a maximum stacking of two layers of MOPs. By contrast, un-functionalized MOPs yielded a disordered film structure formed by random agglomeration. Evidently, functionalized adipoyl chloride influences the orientation of the MOP network films with uniformly distributed micropores, effectively preventing the formation of intergranular spaces. Additionally, formaldehyde adsorption and desorption experiments revealed that the MOP network films possess superior adsorption and desorption capacities. The proposed approach signifies a breakthrough in the fabrication of homogenous microporous films.

Land degradation (LD) is a global canker that is of major concern for the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) which has led to a UNCCD target 15.3 of achieving land degradation neutral world by 2030. In order to attain this target, LD needs to be assessed, hence geospatial techniques integrated with analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to assess LD in the Birim North district of the Eastern region of Ghana. The AHP assigned weights to the criterions, and with weighted overlay algorithms in ArcGIS, the land degradation assessment map was generated. The results shown that 28.21% and 38.96 % has experienced no degradation and slight degradation respectively, whilst 24.32 % and 8.51% of the study area experienced medium and high degradation respectively. The spatial distribution of the LD was displayed on a map. The findings of this study would be a stepping stone for researchers, stakeholders and government to implement rehabilitation models to reverse LD in the Birim North district.

Introduction:Cortical basal ganglia degeneration (CBD) is currently considered to be a rare neurodegenerative disease characterized by pathological tau deposition, neuronal loss, ballooning, and glial degeneration in atrophic cerebral cortex and subcortical regions (including the substantia nigra and striatum) (1). On CBD magnetic resonance, the majority showed asymmetric cortical atrophy in the frontal, temporal, and parietal lobes of the brain. Typical MRI findings are asymmetric cortical atrophy in the premotor area, supplementary motor area and posterior cingulate gyrus, and middle frontal lobe (2).In this paper, we report a case of CBD misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease to summarize its clinical manifestations and imaging features, and have some experience in encountering such diseases in the future.

Innovation is a vital scientific activity for improvement of human production, quality of life and economic development in the globe. This review aims to discuss innovative strategies for a series of challenges of public health and sustainable growth as well as human diseases. Currently, there are huge challenges of public health due to both major viral infectious diseases (such as HIV infection and Covid-19) and major non-communicable diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer), as well as aging, climate change, industrialization, and urbanization. These challenges and risks greatly affect modern economic and social development not only in China but also in the globe. Herein, we should “know more, do better, and be smarter” about related knowledge and information, “reject misinformation and accept uncertainty”, and further understand the important roles of policies and laws as agents (PLA) in fighting against the infection of SARS-CoV-2 and its major variants, and effectively halting climate change for global health and sustainable growth. All in all, these innovative strategies and experiences in combating Covid-19 infection and climate change will help to get better economic and social development as well as sustainable growth in the countries worldwide, in particular the Covid-19 pandemic and post-COVID-19 era.

Background: Global influenza-associated acute respiratory infections contribute to 3-5 million severe illnesses requiring hospitalization annually, with 90% of hospitalizations occurring among children <5 years in developing countries. In Bangladesh, limited availability of nationally representative, robust estimates of influenza-associated hospitalizations limit allocation of resources for prevention and control measures. Methods: This study used data from the Hospital Based Influenza Surveillance (HBIS) system in Bangladesh from 2010-2019 and Healthcare Utilization Surveys to determine hospital utilization patterns in the catchment area. We estimated annual influenza-associated hospitalization numbers and rates for all age groups in Bangladesh using methods outlined by the World Health Organization and adjusted for enrolment, laboratory testing practices, and healthcare seeking behavior. We then estimated national hospitalization rates by multiplying age-specific hospitalization rates with the corresponding annual national census population. Results: Annual influenza-associated hospitalization rates per 100,000 population for all ages ranged from 31 (95% CI: 27-36) in 2011 to 139 (95% CI: 130-149) in 2019. Children <5 years old had the highest rates of influenza-associated hospitalization, ranging from 114 (95% CI: 90-138) in 2011 to 529 (95% CI: 481-578) in 2019, followed by adults aged ≥65 years with rates ranging from 46 (95% CI: 34-57) in 2012 to 252 (95% CI: 213-292) in 2019. The national hospitalization estimates for all ages from 2010-2019 ranged from 47,891 to 236,380 per year. Conclusions: The impact of influenza-associated hospitalizations in Bangladesh may be considerable, particularly for young children and older adults. Targeted interventions, such as influenza vaccination for these age groups, should be prioritized and evaluated.

Aims: Omalizumab is an anti-immunoglobulin E (IgE) monoclonal antibody that was first approved by the United States (US) Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for the treatment of allergic asthma in 2003. The pivotal trials supporting the initial approval of omalizumab used dosing determined by patient’s baseline IgE and body weight, with the goal of reducing the mean free IgE level to approximately 25 ng/mL or less. While the underlying parameters supporting the dosing table remained the same, subsequent studies and analyses have resulted in approved alternative versions of the dosing table, including the European Union (EU) asthma dosing table, which differs in weight bands and maximum allowable baseline IgE and omalizumab dose. In this study, we leveraged modeling and simulation approaches to predict and compare the free IgE reduction and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) improvement with omalizumab dosing based on the US and EU asthma dosing tables. Methods: Previously established population pharmacokinetic-IgE and IgE-FEV1 models were used to predict and compare post-treatment free IgE and FEV1 based on the US and EU dosing tables. Clinical trial simulations (with virtual asthma populations) and Monte Carlo simulations were performed to provide both breadth and depth in the comparisons. Results/Conclusions: The US and EU asthma dosing tables were predicted to result in generally comparable free IgE suppression and FEV1 improvement. However, this has not been clinically validated with respect to the registrational endpoint of reduction in annualized asthma exacerbations.

A touch sensor is an essential component in meeting the growing demand for human-machine interfaces. These sensors have been developed in wearable, attachable, and even implantable forms to acquire a wide range of information from humans. To be applied to the human body, sensors are required to be biocompatible and not restrict the natural movement of the body. Ionic materials are a promising candidate for soft touch sensors due to their outstanding properties, which include high stretchability, transparency, ionic conductivity, and biocompatibility. Here, this review discusses the unique features of soft ionic touch position sensors, focusing on the ionic material and its key role in the sensor. The touch sensing mechanisms include piezocapacitive, piezoresistive, surface capacitive, piezoelectric, and triboelectric and triboresistive sensing. This review analyzes the implementation hurdles and future research directions of the soft ionic touch sensors for the transformative potential.

The JN1 variant harbors Leu455Ser and three mutations in non-spike proteins contributing to increased transmissibility and immune escape ability, also pseudovirus assay showed that the infectivity of JN.1 was significantly higher than its predecessor (1). JN.1 is about 3 to 5 times less susceptible to neutralizing antibodies than the XBB.1.5 variant that is in the updated booster raising concerns about its potential impact on public health (2) Recent data indicates a significant rise in cases associated with this variant, underscoring the need for immediate action. The antiviral Paxlovid, Remdesivir, and Molnupiravir continue to show activity against XBB-derived and BA.2.86 variants, suggesting that the current therapeutic tools remain effective(3).

Technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is a popular approach in multiple attribute decision-making. It ranks by estimating the separations between alternatives and the positive ideal solution (PIS) as well as the negative ideal solution (NIS). When setting the ranking rules, there are three limitations to the TOPSIS. First, there is controversy surrounding the addition of negative and positive indicators in the denominator of the ranking index, as these measurements represent opposite aspects. Second, the ranking index is also irrespective of the relative magnitudes of the distances from alternatives to PIS and NIS, resulting in incomparable situations. Third, the ranking results derived from the distances to PIS, the distances to NIS, and the relative closeness are inconsistent. To address these limitations, this paper first analyzes the inconsistency through a spatial partition diagram, that helps access the possible results under different indexes. Then, we define strong, weak, and no priority relationships between alternatives based on the differences in the distances to PIS and NIS, making the comparability enhanced. For further incorporating their differences in ranking, we also generate a relationship matrix based on the priority relationships from one alternative to all other alternatives, and devise a new, rational ranking index to address the non-additivity debate. Simulations and numerical example of a real-life case are conducted to demonstrate the rationality and superiority of the modified TOPSIS.

Introduction: Pulse field ablation (PFA) is a new technology that has been approved for the isolation of pulmonary veins in paroxysmal and persistent atrial fibrillation. Using PFA for targetting extra pulmonary sites combined with ultrahigh density 3D electroanatomic mapping (EAM) is an innovative approach that has been reported as single center

The Agri-food Supply Chain (AFSC) encounters numerous challenges that impact its efficiency, sustainability, and overall performance. In addition, the growing recognition of risks to human life, agri-food loss and wastage resulting from the mishandling of agricultural products serves as a driving force for achieving sustainability across the entire supply chain. However, the nascent Blockchain Technology (BT) is believed to establish a more robust, transparent, sustainable and streamlined AFSC, offering advantages to all participants, ranging from farmers to consumers. This research aims to identify and categorize factors that contribute to the adoption of Blockchain Technology (BT), offering a comprehensive methodology for modelling and evaluating the recognized blockchain enablers. Fuzzy Total Interpretive Structural Modeling (F-TISM) is employed to gain an intricate understanding of the interrelationships among the blockchain enablers. Furthermore, Fuzzy Matriced’s Impacts Croisés Multiplication Appliquée à un Classement (F-MICMAC) is employed to assess the mutual influences and interactions among the enablers. The application of Fuzzy TISM-MICMAC contributes not only in theoretical advancements in blockchain adoption but also provides valuable practical insights for stakeholders in the agri-food industry, policymakers, and technology developers.

The research paper deals with the numerical solutions of the Rosenau- Hymann (R-H) equation, known as the generalized Korteweg-de Vries equation, which represents the dynamics of shallow water waves and models of pattern formation in liquid drops. To reach this aim based on septic B-spline approximation, a collocation finite element method has been offered and applied for numerical solutions of R-H equation conceiving different parameter values of test problem. Also, Von-Neumann stability analysis has been performed which guarantees that the scheme is unconditionally stable. A test problem has been successfully solved by calculating L 2 and L ∞ error norms for illustrate the proficiency and reliability of the method and highlighted the significance of this work. It is made an inference that the numerical results match well with the analytical solutions, which indicates that the current B-spline collocation algorithm is an attractive and powerful algorithm. Also to reflect the efficiency of this method for solving the nonlinear equation, the results are depicted both graphically and in tabular form. The results obtained from both analytical and numerical methods show us that this study will be very useful for scientists concern with searching characteristics features of nonlinear phenomena in several fields of science.

Introduction: Poor intra-operative blood pressure is a risk factor for kidney, heart, and cognitive post-operative complications. Literature suggests that use of low-dose peripheral norepinephrine (NOR) reduces organ dysfunction, yet its administration remains unstandardized. In this work we develop a pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamics (PK/PD) model of NOR effect on mean arterial pressure (mAP). Methods: From June 2018 to December 2021, we included patients scheduled for elective neurosurgery and requiring vasopressors for intra-operative hypotension management at Lariboisière Hospital, Paris. Low doses of NOR were administered peripherally, and successive arterial blood samples were collected to track its plasmatic concentration. We used a compartmental modelling approach for NOR PK. We developed and compared two models for NOR PD on mAP. Model comparison was done using Bayes information criteria. The resulting PK/PD model parameters were fitted over the entire population and linked to age, weight, height and sex. Results: We included 29 patients (age 52[46-64] years, 69% female). NOR median time to peak effect on mAP was 74[53-94] seconds. After bolus administration, mAP increased by 24% [15 - 31]. A 3-comparments model best captured NOR PK. NOR PD effect on mAP was well represented by both Emax and Windkessel models, with better results for the former. We found that age, height and weight as well as history of smoking and hypertension were correlated with model parameters. Conclusions: We developed a PK/PD model to accurately track norepinephrine plasma concentration and its effect on mAP over time, which could serve for target-controlled infusion. Study registration: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03454204)

A nonlinear shell model is studied in this paper. This is a nonlinear extension of the Budiansky-Sanders linear shell model. Under some suitable assumptions on the middle surface of the shell, we will prove the existence of a minimizer for this shell model around some particular large forces. Our result hence extends the one given by Destuynder in [2].

Capture and manipulation are an integral part of wildlife research and management. These practices, however, can affect animals either directly or indirectly, and studies should generally evaluate the consequences of captures to ensure animal welfare and reduce sampling bias. Here, we investigated the indirect, behavioural effects of live-capture on escape response to humans in Alpine marmot Marmota marmota within the Stelvio National Park (central Italian Alps) over three seasons (2021- 2023). We used flight initiation distance (FID) as a measure of escape response and tested it in relation to capture status using linear mixed modelling. Captures did not have any detectable effect on escape response, and FID was best explained by covariates such as starting distance, distance to nearest burrow, current behaviour during the observation and year of observation. It might be that, in marmots, escape response to humans is a rather inert behaviour, and as such, although we cannot rule out unmeasured effects, capture may not represent an excessively traumatic experience which could trigger immediate behavioural modification. In turn, capture is unlikely to compromise animal welfare or cause scientific bias in studies investigating escape response in this species, at least over the short term.

The soaring brain drain in the healthcare sector constitutes a pressing and formidable threat to public health in third-world countries. The increasing interconnectedness of the world has facilitated sharing of ideas and collaborations across borders, benefiting the global population. However, this has also led to the migration of skilled healthcare professionals from low-income countries to more developed nations. This is due to push factors such as the lack of proper healthcare infrastructure, low income, poor working conditions, and limited career opportunities which push healthcare workers to seek better prospects in more developed countries. Pull factors such as better remuneration, working conditions, and career advancement entice them to migrate to these countries. Consequently, the delivery of adequate healthcare services becomes severely compromised, exacerbating existing challenges in achieving public health goals. The impact of this phenomenon extends beyond mere workforce loss. It stifles local education, hinders advancements in medical research, and undermines the overall capacity to combat prevalent health issues. Urgent action is imperative to address this silent crisis. By prioritizing the improvement of domestic healthcare systems, offering competitive incentives for healthcare professionals, and fostering international collaboration, we can effectively mitigate brain drain and strengthen the foundation of public health in third-world countries. This Paper aims to identify the drivers behind brain drain, highlight implications for public health and proffer potential solutions and actionable plans to address this growing concern.

Due to the innate unique highly reactive properties and short life-time, organic free radicals can often serve as promoters or inter-mediates to engage in various radical transformations, which are otherwise difficult to access by ionic pathway-based mechanisms. With the evolvement of radical chemistry, chiral radical catalyzed-transformations have recently emerged as an attractive and ro-bust platform for synthesis of chiral molecules of interest. Herein, we highlight several creative and strategic advances in chiral rad-ical catalyst design, cyclization reaction achievements, and future challenges.

The poor prognosis of triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) resulting from its high metastasis, whereas inflammation accompanied by excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) is prone to aggravate tumor metastasis. Although photothermal therapy (PTT) has extremely high therapeutic efficiency, the crafty tumor cells allow increase the expression of heat shock proteins to limit its effect, and PTT induced inflammation is also thought to be a potential trigger for tumor metastasis. Herein, myricetin, iron ions and polyvinylpyrrolidone were utilized to develop nanomedicines by self-assembly strategy for the treatment of metastatic TNBC. The nanomedicines with marvellous water solubility and dispersion can inhibit glucose transporter 1 and interfer with mitochondrial function to block the energy supply of tumor cells, achieving starvation therapy on TNBC cells. Nanomedicines with excellent photothermal conversion properties allow down-regulate the expression of HSPs to enhance the effect of PTT. Interestingly, the broad spectrum of ROS scavenging ability of nanomedicines successfully attenuat PTT induced inflammation as well as regulate metastasis-related proteins through glycometabolism inhibition to reduce tumor cell metastasis. Moreover, the nanomedicines have negligible side effects and good clinical application prospect, which provides a valuable paradigm for the treatment of metastatic TNBC through glycometabolism interference, anti-inflammation, starvation and photothermal synergistic therapy.

Many-body interactions in condensed matter could lead to emergent phenomena spanning superconductivity, ferromagnetism, and exciton condensation, etc. The emergence of these phenomena often requires highly ordered spatial arrangements of the inter-acting species to enforce specific space symmetries and interacting strengths. Metal−organic frameworks (MOFs), crystalline materi-als formed by self-assembly of metal ions and organic ligands, allow precise design of their crystal structures and sophisticated tun-ing of Coulombic interaction or magnetic coupling among lattice sites. Such atomic-level designability combined with high crystallin-ity and versatile types of lattices (e.g. kagome and honeycomb lattices) render MOFs as a great platform to investigate emergent physics. In this Emerging Topic, we summarize recent studies evidencing emergent phenomena in MOFs including strong correla-tions, superconductivity, charge density wave, long-range magnetic order, and quantum spin liquid. We highlight the great potential of MOFs as quantum materials and discuss challenges including growth of high-quality single crystals and in-depth physical charac-terizations to reveal insights into the nature of physical properties of MOFs.