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INTRODUCTION: Alterations in forkhead box A1 (FOXA1), a pioneer transcription factor, are associated with poor prognosis in breast cancer (BC) and prostate cancer (PC). We characterized FOXA1 genomic alterations and their clinical impacts in a large pan-cancer cohort from the AACR GENIE database. METHODS: FOXA1 alterations were characterized across >87,000 samples from >30 cancer types for primary and metastatic tumors alongside patient characteristics and clinical outcomes. FOXA1 alterations were queried in the MSK-MET cohort (a GENIE subset), allowing definition of hazard ratios (HRs) and survival estimates based on Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: FOXA1 was altered in 1,869 samples (2.1%), with distinct patterns across different cancers: PC enriched with indel-inframe alterations, BC with missense mutations, and lung cancers with copy number (CN) amplifications.Of 74,715 samples with FOXA1 CN profiles, amplification was detected in 834 (1.1%). Amplification was most common in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC, 3% in primary; 6% in metastatic) and small cell lung cancer (4.1% primary; 3.5% metastatic), followed by BC (2% primary; 1.6% metastatic) and PC (2.2% primary; 1.6% metastatic).CN amplifications were associated with decreased overall survival in NSCLC (HR: 1.45, 95%CI: 1.06-1.99, p = .02), BC (HR: 3.04, 95%CI: 1.89-4.89, p = 4e-6), and PC (HR: 1.94, 95%CI: 1.03-3.68, p = .04). Amplifications were associated with wide-spread metastases in NSCLC, BC, and PC. CONCLUSIONS: FOXA1 demonstrates distinct alteration profiles across cancer sites. Our findings suggest an association between FOXA1 amplification and both enhanced metastatic potential and decreased survival, highlighting prognostic and therapeutic potential in breast cancer, prostate cancer, and NSCLC.

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Rectal prolapse is a relatively rare condition where the rectal mucosa protrudes out of the anal canal. The diagnosis is made through a physical exam and clinical evaluation, and surgical treatment options can vary. Anal polyps masquerading as rectal prolapse have rarely been described in the literature. A 79-year-old man presented with a four-year history of a bulging, protruding mass from his anus that is exacerbated with defecation and bowel movements. He was initially diagnosed with rectal prolapse and had a proctosigmoidectomy performed robotically. Shortly after the procedure, his symptoms recurred, and he was referred to a different surgeon for reevaluation. A large, prolapsed polyp was visible on the physical exam. A colonoscopy and an anoscopy were performed. The CT abdomen/pelvis revealed a mass within the rectum, and the biopsy showed an adenomatous polyp with high-grade dysplasia. The patient underwent a transanal excision of the rectal polyp, with symptoms permanently resolving. For an accurate diagnosis, it is crucial to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the patient's history, a physical exam, and an unusual clinical course of rectal prolapse. The rarity of large, prolapsed polyps, along with their similar presentation to that of other anorectal conditions, may have contributed to this patient's diagnosis of rectal prolapse and the subsequent proctosigmoidectomy in place of a transanal excision of a polyp. The palpation of a stalk on a physical exam should raise suspicion of a polyp, and further workup, such as a colonoscopy and/or anoscopy, should be conducted to confirm the diagnosis.

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Medicinal plants have long been studied for their therapeutic benifits. The present research aims to unveil complex phytochemical profile and therapeutic properties of ethyl acetate fraction of Phlomis stewartii, an important medicinal plant. In this context, the Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis of the fraction identified 26 compounds. Additionally, the fraction exhibited concentration dependent antioxidant activity with an IC50 value lower than the standard antioxidant butylated hydroxytoluene. The antifungal activity of the fraction examined against F. oxysporum, A. alternate, and R. solani resulted in almost complete inhibition (>90%) of fungal growth. Furthermore, the fraction exhibited significant antibacterial potential against B. subtilus, S. aureus, E. coli, and S. dysenteriae, with inhibition zones of 18±0.22, 17±0.22, 12±0.11, and 10±0.12, respectively. Briefly, the plant extract was found to be highly potent, particularly in its antifungal action. Further studies, including natural products isolation coupled with bioassays, are recommended for promising drug candidates discovery.

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The increasing utilization of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO-NPs) in many consumer products is of concern due to their eventual release into the natural environment and induction of potentially adverse impacts. The behaviour and environmental impacts of ZnO-NPs could be altered through their interactions with environmentally coexisting substances. This study investigated the changes in the behaviour of ZnO-NPs in the presence of coexisting organic pollutants (such as perfluorooctanoic acid [PFOA]), natural organic substances (i.e., humic acid [HA]), and electrolytes (i.e., NaCl and CaCl2) in simulated waters. The size, shape, purity, crystallinity, and surface charge of the ZnO-NPs in simulated water after different interaction intervals (such as 1 day, 1 week, 2 weeks, and 3 weeks) at a controlled pH of 7 were examined using various characterization techniques. The results indicated alterations in the size (such as 162.4 nm, 1 day interaction to >10 µm, 3 weeks interaction) and zeta potential (such as -47.2 mV, 1 day interaction to -0.2 mV, 3 weeks interaction) of the ZnO-NPs alone and when PFOA, electrolytes, and HA were present in the suspension. Different influences on the size and surface charge of the nanoparticles were observed for fixed concentrations (5 mM) of the different electrolytes. The presence of HA-dispersed ZnO-NPs affected the zeta potential. Such dispersal effects were also observed in the presence of both PFOA and salts due to their large aliphatic carbon content and complex structure. Cation bridging effects, hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bonding, electrostatic interactions, and van der Waals forces could be potential interaction forces responsible for the adsorption of PFOA. The presence of organic pollutants (PFOA) and natural organic substances (HA) can transform the surface characteristics and fate of ZnO-NPs in natural and sea waters.

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Vibrio alginolyticus, a gram-negative marine bacterium, poses significant health risks through various infections transmitted via contaminated seawater or seafood consumption. This case report details a 42-year-old male presenting with chronic seropurulent discharge from his ear, ultimately diagnosed with otitis externa caused by V. alginolyticus. Examination findings and antibiotic sensitivity testing informed the treatment strategy, leading to a successful resolution. The increasing incidence of V. alginolyticus infections, particularly in warm coastal water, necessitated heightened clinical awareness and appropriate management. As global temperatures rise, proactive measures including patient education and accurate diagnosis become crucial in preventing disease progression and complications associated with V. alginolyticus infections.

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The effectiveness of green finance in driving clean energy and environmental sustainability in the current era is receiving attention. Therefore, this study proposes an empirical framework highlighting the effects of green bonds (GB) on clean energy investment (CEI), clean energy investment efficiency (CEE) and environmental sustainability of 29 green bond issuing countries between 2014 and 2022. Using system and difference GMM approaches, this study finds that (i) green bond issuance drives clean energy investment. (ii) Green bonds sufficiently enhance the selected countries' environmental quality. These results supplement the promotion of green bonds in increasing the transfer of funds towards renewable energy projects by reducing reliance on fossil fuels. (iii) Using Driscoll & Kraay, Fully Modified-OLS, and changing the dependent variable, this study further supported the idea that green bonds effectively promote the CEE and environmental sustainability of the chosen countries. (iv) Similarly, this study conducted income heterogeneity, showing that green bonds improve high- and middle-income countries' CEI and environmental quality. (v) Finally, the results indicate that resource consumption escalates CO2 emissions by declining the CEI. Technological innovations increase CEI, whereas they do not mitigate CO2 emissions directly, hinting at the requirement for a comprehensive approach. Therefore, inclusive policies on green bond frameworks, robust incentives, and rigorous environmental criteria should be implemented to attract investment in clean energy development and ensure the environmental sustainability of the selected countries.

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Nanofluids have a wide range of applications due to their unique properties, such as enhanced thermal conductivity, convective heat transfer, and mass transfer. These applications can be seen in heat exchangers, cooling systems, and electronic devices to improve thermal performance. To enhance the cooling efficiency and lifespan of electronic devices such as smartphones, televisions, and computers nanofluids are used. These novel types of fluids can be used in energy storage systems, cancer treatment, imaging, and drug deliveryKeeping in mind, the real-time applications in engineering, industry, and science, the current study is carried out. In the present study for heat and mass transportation, the two-phase Buongiorno model for nanofluid is employed to scrutinize Brownian motion and thermophoresis aspects using stationary sphere and plume region. The temperature-dependent viscosity and thermal conductivity effects are encountered in momentum and energy equations, respectively are encountered. The proposed mechanism in the partial differential equations having dimensional form is converted to a non-dimensional form using appropriate dimensionless variables. The solution of the current non-linear and coupled model is obtained using the finite difference method. The numerical solutions presented in graphs and tables indicate that along with heat and mass transfer phenomena are entirely dependent on thermophoresis, Brownian motion, temperature-dependent viscosity, and thermal conductivity. The results indicate that the quantitative behavior of the velocity field is enhanced by increasing values of thermal conductivity variation parameters for both the sphere and the plume region at each position. On the other hand, the reverse trend is noted against the rising magnitudes of the viscosity variation parameter, thermophoresis parameter, and Brownian diffusion parameter. Additionally, the temperature in the plume region declines to enhance thermal conductivity variation parameter. A test for grid independence was performed by considering various grid points. Excellent solution accuracy has been seen as the number of grid points has risen. This ensures the validity and accuracy of the currently employed method. The current results are compared with already published solutions for the validation of the current model for specific cases. It has been noted that there is excellent agreement between both of the results. This close agreement between the results indicates the validation of the current solutions.

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In this study, we report the successful synthesis of Ni-doped ZnS nanocomposite via a green route using ethanolic crude extract of Avena fatua. The as-synthesized nanocomposite was comprehensively characterized using Dynamic light scattering (DLS), Zeta potential, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and Atomic force microscopy (AFM). These analyses provided detailed insights into the size, morphology, composition, surface properties, and structural characteristics of the nanocomposite. Subsequently, the synthesized nanocomposite was evaluated for their photocatalytic performance against the organic dye Methyl orange. Remarkably, the nanocomposite exhibited rapid and efficient degradation of Methyl orange, achieving 90 % degradation within only 30 min of irradiation under UV light. Moreover, the photocatalyst demonstrated an exceptional hydrogen production rate, reaching 167.73 µmolg-1h-1, which is approximately 4.5 times higher than that of its pristine counterparts. These findings highlight the significant potential of Ni-doped ZnS nanocomposite as highly efficient photocatalysts for wastewater treatment and hydrogen production applications.

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BACKGROUND: Distal femoral fractures represent a challenging injury, with many different factors such as the method of fixation, complexity of fracture pattern, and patient co-morbidities affecting the outcome. Lots of surgical treatment options have been described, but recently double construct fixation, using a nail/plate combination, has received lots of attention, a technique that leads to faster weight-bearing, low risk of metalwork failure, and non-union. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of the linked nail/plate construct in the management of complex distal femur fractures and to investigate if the above technique leads to faster recovery and earlier radiographic union. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In total 15 cases were included in the study, that underwent a combined nail/plate construct for a distal femur fracture between January 2021 and December 2022. Only cases with a linked nail/plate construct were included, with a minimum follow-up of 1 year. Open femur fractures, single implant fixation cases, and revision procedures were excluded. RESULTS: In this cohort study, 11 cases were periprosthetic distal femur features, and 4 cases were distal femur fractures around a native knee joint. The mean age group was 74 years, 86.6% of the patients had a BMI > 25 and the mean time to fracture union was 24 weeks (range from 20 to 26 weeks). All cases healed uneventfully and the complication rate was 6.6%, including 1 case of superficial infection which resolved completely with oral antibiotics. CONCLUSION: The increasing age population, the complexity of distal femoral fractures along with the increasing physiological demands of the elderly population, drive the need for double fixation constructs that allow early mobilization and enhance fracture stability. In our study, the linked nail/plate construct seems to provide adequate stability and excellent union rates (100%) with no associated increased risk of complications.

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INTRODUCTION: Lack of physical activity (PA) is associated with obesity, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer. Parenting practices influence PA in young children. However, there is little evidence available for adolescents. We examined whether parenting practices were associated with out-of-school PA (OSPA) in US adolescents. METHODS: This cross-sectional 2019 study analyzed data from the 2014 FLASHE study, a web-based, quota-sampled survey of parent-adolescent dyads. Inclusion required survey completion and parents to live with their teen (ages 12-17 y old). Physically limited adolescents were excluded. Dyads were stratified by teen age. Exposures included parental modeling, monitoring, facilitation, restriction, guided choice, and pressure. The outcomes of interest were OSPA Youth Activity Profile scores. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were calculated using adjusted logistic regressions. RESULTS: A total of 1109 dyads were included. Guided choice increased odds of OSPA for 15- to 17-year-olds (OR = 2.12; 95% CI, 1.17-3.84). Facilitation increased odds of OSPA for 12- to 14-year-olds (OR = 2.21; 95% CI, 1.13-4.33). Monitoring decreased odds of OSPA for 15- to 17-year-olds (OR = 0.34; 95% CI, 0.20-0.57) and 12- to 14-year-olds (OR = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.27-0.74). Friend support increased odds of OSPA in 15- to 17-year-olds (OR = 4.03; 95% CI, 2.29-7.08) and 12- to 14-year-olds (OR = 3.05; 95% CI 1.69-5.51). CONCLUSION: Future interventions should prioritize (1) shared decision making for older teens, (2) access to PA opportunities for younger adolescents, and (3) promoting peer PA and friend support for everyone.

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The use of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) in biomedical applications is limited due to their inability to disperse in aqueous solutions. In this study, dispersed -COOH functionalized CNTs with N-succinylated chitosan (CS), greatly increasing the water solubility of CNTs and forming a uniformly dispersed nanocomposite solution of CNTs@CS. Coupling reagent EDC/NHS was used as a linker with the -COOH groups present on the N-succinylated chitosan which significantly improved the affinity of the CNTs for biomolecules. Myoglobin (Mb) is a promising biomarker for the precise assessment of cardiovascular risk, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, hypertension and several types of cancer. A high level of Mb can be used to diagnose the mentioned pathogenic diseases. The CNTs@CS-FET demonstrates superior sensing performance for Mb antigen fortified in buffer, with a wide linear range of 1 to 4000 ng/mL. The detection limit of the developed Mb immunosensor was estimated to be 4.2 ng/mL. The novel CNTs@CS-FET immunosensor demonstrates remarkable capability in detecting Mb without being affected by interferences from nonspecific antigens. Mb spiked serum showed a recovery rate of 100.262 to 118.55 % indicating great promise for Mb detection in clinical samples. The experimental results confirmed that the CNTs@CS-FET immunosensor had excellent selectivity, reproducibility and storage stability.

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With the increasing population worldwide more wastewater is created by human activities and discharged into the waterbodies. This is causing the contamination of aquatic bodies, thus disturbing the marine ecosystems. The rising population is also posing a challenge to meet the demands of fresh drinking water in the water-scarce regions of the world, where drinking water is made available to people by desalination process. The fouling of composite membranes remains a major challenge in water desalination. In this innovative study, we present a novel probabilistic approach to analyse and anticipate the predominant fouling mechanisms in the filtration process. Our establishment of a robust theoretical framework hinges upon the utilization of both the geometric law and the Hermia model, elucidating the concept of resistance in series (RIS). By manipulating the transmembrane pressure, we demonstrate effective management of permeate flux rate and overall product quality. Our investigations reveal a decrease in permeate flux in three distinct phases over time, with the final stage marked by a significant reduction due to the accumulation of a denser cake layer. Additionally, an increase in transmembrane pressure leads to a correlative rise in permeate flux, while also exerting negative effects such as membrane ruptures. Our study highlights the minimal immediate impact of the intermediate blocking mechanism (n = 1) on permeate flux, necessitating continuous monitoring for potential long-term effects. Additionally, we note a reduced membrane selectivity across all three fouling types (n = 0, n = 1.5, n = 2). Ultimately, our findings indicate that the membrane undergoes complete fouling with a probability of P = 0.9 in the presence of all three fouling mechanisms. This situation renders the membrane unable to produce water at its previous flow rate, resulting in a significant reduction in the desalination plant's productivity. I have demonstrated that higher pressure values notably correlate with increased permeate flux across all four membrane types. This correlation highlights the significant role of TMP in enhancing the production rate of purified water or desired substances through membrane filtration systems. Our innovative approach opens new perspectives for water desalination management and optimization, providing crucial insights into fouling mechanisms and proposing potential strategies to address associated challenges.

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In this study, we developed a label-free and ultrasensitive electrochemical biosensor for the detection of transferrin (Tf), an important serum biomarker of atransferrinemia. The biosensor was fabricated by using glassy carbon electrode (GCE) and modified with gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) via electroless deposition. The electrochemical characteristics of the GCE-AuNPs biosensors were characterized using cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy analysis. Differential pulse voltammetry was used for quantitative evaluation of the Tf-antigen by recording the increase in the anodic peak current of GCE-AuNPs biosensor. The GCE-AuNPs biosensor demonstrates superior sensing performance for Tf-antigen fortified in buffer, with a wide linear range of 0.1 to 5000 µg/mL and a limit of detection of 0.18 µg/mL. The studied GCE-AuNPs biosensor showed excellent sensitivity, selectivity, long-term storage stability and simple sensing steps without pretreatment of clinical samples. This GCE-AuNPs biosensor indicates great potential for developing a Tf detection platform, which would be helpful in the early diagnosis of atransferrinemia. The developed GCE-AuNPs biosensor holds great potential in biomedical research related to point of care for the early diagnosis and monitoring of diseases associated with aberrant serum transferrin levels. These findings suggest that the GCE-AuNPs biosensor has great potential for detecting other serum biomarkers.

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BACKGROUND: MYC is a commonly amplified, potentially targetable gene in prostate cancer (PCa). We sought to define the molecular, immunologic, and clinicodemographic landscape of MYC amplification (MYCamp) in advanced PCa to establish a rationale for personalized treatment combinations. METHODS: Hybrid capture-based comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) was performed on PCa tumor samples. MYCamp = copy number ≥6 (CN). Patients treated between January 2011 and December 2020 were selected from a nationwide deidentified (280 clinics) EHR-derived clinicogenomic database (CGDB). RESULTS: Of 12,528 hormone-sensitive and castrate-resistant (CRPC) samples, MYCamp was detected in 10.6% (median CN = 8). MYCamp was more frequent in men with African versus European ancestry (12.9% vs. 10.2% P = .002), in metastatic vs. primary tissue (15.7% vs. 6.2% P < .001), and enriched in metastatic liver lesions (20.2%), but inversely associated with high microsatellite-instability (0.8% vs. 2.4%, P < .001). MYC CN≥15 was associated with PD-L1 expression (26.1% vs. 9.8%, P = .025). Amplification of AR, RAD21, LYN, CCND1, ZNF703, FGF3/4/19, and FGFR1 was enriched in MYCamp vs. MYCwt (all P < .001). In liquid samples with tumor fraction [TF]>0, MYCamp was detected in 2.0% (28/1,402), and 4.5% (20/445) with TF>20%. In the CGDB, (67 MYCamp and 658 MYCwt), patients received similar treatments; most received hormone therapies (35.8% MYCamp vs. 31.5% MYCwt) or chemotherapy (37.3% MYCamp vs. 27.7% MYCwt) as first therapy after CGP report. CONCLUSION: MYCamp defines a biologically distinct subset of PCa patients and is characterized with multiple proxies of advanced disease. These data suggest that MYCamp may be prognostic; independent cohorts are needed to validate these findings.

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BACKGROUND: Contemporary general practice includes many kinds of remote encounter. The rise in telephone, video and online modalities for triage and clinical care requires clinicians and support staff to be trained, both individually and as teams, but evidence-based competencies have not previously been produced for general practice. AIM: To identify training needs, core competencies, and learning methods for staff providing remote encounters. DESIGN AND SETTING: Mixed-methods study in UK general practice. METHOD: Data were collated from longitudinal ethnographic case studies of 12 general practices; a multi-stakeholder workshop; interviews with policymakers, training providers, and trainees; published research; and grey literature (such as training materials and surveys). Data were coded thematically and analysed using theories of individual and team learning. RESULTS: Learning to provide remote services occurred in the context of high workload, understaffing, and complex workflows. Low confidence and perceived unmet training needs were common. Training priorities for novice clinicians included basic technological skills, triage, ethics (for privacy and consent), and communication and clinical skills. Established clinicians' training priorities include advanced communication skills (for example, maintaining rapport and attentiveness), working within the limits of technologies, making complex judgements, coordinating multi-professional care in a distributed environment, and training others. Much existing training is didactic and technology focused. While basic knowledge was often gained using such methods, the ability and confidence to make complex judgements were usually acquired through experience, informal discussions, and on-the-job methods such as shadowing. Whole-team training was valued but rarely available. A draft set of competencies is offered based on the findings. CONCLUSION: The knowledge needed to deliver high-quality remote encounters to diverse patient groups is complex, collective, and organisationally embedded. The vital role of non-didactic training, for example, joint clinical sessions, case-based discussions, and in-person, whole-team, on-the-job training, needs to be recognised.

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The current study aimed to identify the survival of bio-control bacteria with antifungal activity against Fusarium oxysporum and assess their growth promoting activity in wheat crop field conditions. To evaluate the fungicidal activities of isolated bacteria using the dual culture method, both qualitative and quantitative bioassays were performed. Plant Growth Promoting activities such as Indole 3-Acetic Acid (IAA), phosphate solubilization, Hydrogen cyanide (HCN), and Siderophore production were assessed for three biocontrol bacterial isolates (BCB 07, BCB16, and BCB 83) out of 180 with 70% antagonistic activity against Fusarium oxysporum. Chitinase, protease, and cellulase interaction in isolates was also tested. BCB16 was selected as it had 70% antagonist activity against F. oxysporum but also had the highest PGPR (Plant Growth Promoting Rhizobacteria) traits when compared to the other two isolates. BCB16 was also tested for survival in talc powder and in wheat crop field conditions. Even after 4 months in talc powder, the survival rate remained stable. In a wheat crop field, BCB16 reduced the disease incidence of Fusarium oxysporum by 54.38%. When compared to fungus alone treatment, BCB16 increased average yield by 57% alone and 32% in challenged conditions. BCB16 was identified molecularly using the 16s rRNA gene. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens shared 97% of the deduced sequence. The sequence was submitted to genbank and assigned the accession number OM333889. Bacillus amyloliquefaciens has the potential to be used in the field as an alternative to synthetic fungicides against Fusarium oxysporum.

Isolation and characterization of biocontrol bacteria.Molecular Identification of efficient biocontrol bacteria.Survival of biocontrol bacteria in talc powder as carrier material.The Bacillus amyloliquefaciens has plant growth-promoting characteristics.B. amyloliquefaciens reduced the disease incidence of F. oxysporum by 57% in field trials.

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Background Ankle syndesmotic injuries represent complex orthopaedic injuries, commonly requiring open reduction and fixation. Several techniques have been described for fixation, with syndesmotic screw fixation being traditionally considered as the 'gold standard'. Among the relatively new techniques developed, the TightRope system stabilisation provides 'dynamic' stabilisation with promising results. We aimed to evaluate the radiographic performance of these two different surgical techniques in the management of ankle fractures with an underlying syndesmotic injury. Methods A total of 85 cases were included in the study and were divided into two groups: syndesmotic screw fixation (48 cases) and TightRope system (37 cases). Patient demographics, type of ankle fracture and type of implant used were recorded for all the cases, and evaluation of the postoperative radiographs was performed for all. For all patients, the radiographic parameters assessed included the medial clear joint space (MCS), tibiofibular overlap (TFO), and anterior and posterior tibiofibular interval in order to calculate the anterior tibiofibular ratio (ATFR). Results Statistical analysis revealed no statistically significant differences in the radiographic parameters of the postoperative radiographs between the two groups. However, in the syndesmotic screw group, a higher incidence of radiographic malreduction was seen, as indicated by the MCS and ATFR parameters, in comparison to the TightRope fixation group. An equal distribution of radiographic abnormal parameters was noted among the different types of ankle fractures included in the study (trimalleolar, bimalleolar and isolated fibula fractures with syndesmotic injury) with no obvious positive correlation noted (Pearson correlation test). Conclusion Both surgical techniques seem to provide adequate reduction of the syndesmosis, with no statistical significant differences detected from the radiographic evaluation of both groups. In our study though, the syndesmotic screw group was associated with a higher incidence of radiographic malreduction as indicated by the MCS and ATFR parameters. The TightRope system seems to have a lower rate of radiographic malreduction and provides an equally effective way of syndesmosis fixation based on a dynamic mode of stabilisation.

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BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Cervical cancer affects around 0.5 million women per year, resulting in over 0.3 million fatalities. Therefore, repetitive screening for cervical cancer is of utmost importance. Computer-assisted diagnosis is key for scaling up cervical cancer screening. Current recognition algorithms, however, perform poorly on the whole-slide image (WSI) analysis, fail to generalize for different staining methods and on uneven distribution for subtype imaging, and provide sub-optimal clinical-level interpretations. Herein, we developed CervixFormer-an end-to-end, multi-scale swin transformer-based adversarial ensemble learning framework to assess pre-cancerous and cancer-specific cervical malignant lesions on WSIs. METHODS: The proposed framework consists of (1) a self-attention generative adversarial network (SAGAN) for generating synthetic images during patch-level training to address the class imbalanced problems; (2) a multi-scale transformer-based ensemble learning method for cell identification at various stages, including atypical squamous cells (ASC) and atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS), which have not been demonstrated in previous studies; and (3) a fusion model for concatenating ensemble-based results and producing final outcomes. RESULTS: In the evaluation, the proposed method is first evaluated on a private dataset of 717 annotated samples from six classes, obtaining a high recall and precision of 0.940 and 0.934, respectively, in roughly 1.2 minutes. To further examine the generalizability of CervixFormer, we evaluated it on four independent, publicly available datasets, namely, the CRIC cervix, Mendeley LBC, SIPaKMeD Pap Smear, and Cervix93 Extended Depth of Field image datasets. CervixFormer obtained a fairly better performance on two-, three-, four-, and six-class classification of smear- and cell-level datasets. For clinical interpretation, we used GradCAM to visualize a coarse localization map, highlighting important regions in the WSI. Notably, CervixFormer extracts feature mostly from the cell nucleus and partially from the cytoplasm. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison with the existing state-of-the-art benchmark methods, the CervixFormer outperforms them in terms of recall, accuracy, and computing time.

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Capacitive sensors that utilize the Coplanar Interdigitated (CID) electrode structure are widely employed in various technical and analytical domains, such as healthcare, infectious disease management, pharmaceuticals, metrology, and environmental monitoring. The present exigency for lab-on-a-chip contrivances and the requisite for the miniaturization of sensors have led to the widespread adoption of CID sensors featuring multiple dielectric layers (DLs), either in the form of substrates or superstrates. Previously, we derived an analytical model for the capacitance of CID capacitive sensors with four distinct 1-N-1 patterns (namely, 1-1-1, 1-3-1, 1-5-1, and 1-11-1) using partial capacitance (PC) and conformal mapping (CM) techniques. The aforementioned model has been employed in various applications wherein the permittivity of successive layers exhibits a monotonic decrease as one moves away from the electrode plane, resulting in highly satisfactory outcomes. Nevertheless, the PC technique is inadequate for structures with multiple layers where the permittivity exhibits a monotonic increase as the distance from the electrodes increases. Given these circumstances, it is necessary to adapt the initial PC method to incorporate these novel configurations. In this work, we have discussed a new approach, splitting the concept of PC into partial parallel capacitance (PPC) and partial serial capacitance (PSC), where new CM transformations are proposed for the latter case. Thus, the present study proposes a novel methodology to expand upon our prior analytical framework, which aims to incorporate scenarios where the permittivity experiences a reduction across successive layers. The outcomes are juxtaposed with the finite element simulation and analytical findings.

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