Interrogating autism from a multidimensional perspective: an integrative framework.

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a condition characterized by social and behavioral impairments, affecting approximately 1 in every 44 children in the United States. Common symptoms include difficulties in communication, interpersonal interactions, and behavior. While symptoms can manifest as early as infancy, obtaining an accurate diagnosis may require multiple visits to a pediatric specialist due to the subjective nature of the assessment, which may yield varying scores from different specialists. Despite growing evidence of the role of differences in brain development and/or environmental and/or genetic factors in autism development, the exact pathology of this disorder has yet to be fully elucidated by scientists. At present, the diagnosis of ASD typically involves a set of gold-standard diagnostic evaluations, such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R), and the more cost-effective Social Responsive Scale (SRS). Administering these diagnostic tests, which involve assessing communication and behavioral patterns, along with obtaining a clinical history, requires the expertise of a team of qualified clinicians. This process is time-consuming, effortful, and involves a degree of subjectivity due to the reliance on clinical judgment. Aside from conventional observational assessments, recent developments in neuroimaging and machine learning offer a fast and objective alternative for diagnosing ASD using brain imaging. This comprehensive work explores the use of different imaging modalvities, namely structural MRI (sMRI) and resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI), to investigate their potential for autism diagnosis. The proposed study aims to offer a new approach and perspective in comprehending ASD as a multidimensional problem, within a behavioral space that is defined by one of the available ASD diagnostic tools. This dissertation introduces a thorough investigation of the utilization of feature engineering tools to extract distinctive insights from various brain imaging modalities, including the application of novel feature representations. Additionally, the use of a machine learning framework to aid in the precise classification of individuals with autism is also explored in detail. This extensive research, which draws upon large publicly available datasets, sheds light on the influence of various decisions made throughout the pipeline on diagnostic accuracy. Furthermore, it identifies brain regions that may be impacted and contribute to an autism diagnosis. The attainment of high global state-of-the-art cross-validated, and hold-out set accuracy validates the advantages of feature representation and engineering in extracting valuable information, as well as the potential benefits of employing neuroimaging for autism diagnosis. Furthermore, a suggested diagnostic report has been put forth to assist physicians in mapping diagnoses to underlying neuroimaging markers. This approach could enable an earlier, automated, and more objective personalized diagnosis

SYNTHESIS, CHARACTERIZATION AND BIOLOGICAL STUDY OF MANNICH BASES AND THEIR COPPER (II) COMPLEXES

Objective: The present study is focused on the synthesis of novel Mannich bases and their metal complexes, and to characterize them by physical, chemical and biological methods. Mannich bases, 2-(piperazin-1-yl(thiophen-2-yl)methyl)hydrazinecarboxamide (PTMHC), 2-(piperazin-1-yl(thiophen-2-yl)methyl)hydrazinecarbothioamide (PTMHCT), and 2-((4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)(thiophen-2-yl)methyl)hydrazinecarboxamide (MPTMHC) and 2-((4-methylpiperazin-1-yl)(thiophen-2-yl)methyl)hydrazinecarbothioamide (MPTMHCT), were prepared by Mannich condensation method.Methods: The compounds and complexes were prepared by known literature methods. Characterizations were carried out through physical methods such as elemental analyses, melting point and TLC. IR, 1H NMR, [13]C NMR and Mass spectral studies were carried out to characterize the ligands. The methods like EPR, magnetic susceptibility measurements, conductance measurements and thermal analysis were carried out for complexes besides the UV-Vis and IR spectral studies. Anti-cancer activity of synthesized ligands was performed using human lung and colon cancer cell lines.Results: Eight compounds have been prepared and characterized. Four among the eight compounds were used as ligands for the preparation of metal complexes. The results of physical and chemical methods show all the complexes act as bidentate ligands. The coordination with the metal ion takes place through N, S and O atoms. The results of molar conductivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal the electrolytic and non-electrolytic nature of the metal complexes. EPR and TG-DTA studies also support the other spectral data.Conclusions: Copper (II) complexes of PTMHC, PTMHCT, MPTMHC, and MPTMHCT were prepared and their structures were determined. The anti-cancer activity of the synthesized ligands and their complexes was evaluated. The synthesized novel ligands of Mannich bases can serve as a potential anti-cancer agent.Â

Modelling, Identification and Control of A" Magnetic Levitation CE152

43 unstable, it should be linearized at optional operating point and a digital PID controller with a fine tuned parameters is designed to track a small varying input signals. Finally the simulation’s model is validated with the real system, the results show the simulation’s model is adequately represents the real magnetic levitation system

Tioconazole and Chloroquine Act Synergistically to Combat Doxorubicin-Induced Toxicity via Inactivation of PI3K/AKT/mTOR Signaling Mediated ROS-Dependent Apoptosis and Autophagic Flux Inhibition in MCF-7 Breast Cancer Cells.

Cancer is a complex devastating disease with enormous treatment challenges, including chemo- and radiotherapeutic resistance. Combination therapy demonstrated a promising strategy to target hard-to-treat cancers and sensitize cancer cells to conventional anti-cancer drugs such as doxorubicin. This study aimed to establish molecular profiling and therapeutic efficacy assessment of chloroquine and/or tioconazole (TIC) combination with doxorubicin (DOX) as anew combination model in MCF-7 breast cancer. The drugs are tested against apoptotic/autophagic pathways and related redox status. Molecular docking revealed that chloroquine (CQ) and TIC could be potential PI3K and ATG4B pathway inhibitors. Combination therapy significantly inhibited cancer cell viability, PI3K/AkT/mTOR pathway, and tumor-supporting autophagic flux, however, induced apoptotic pathways and altered nuclear genotoxic feature. Our data revealed that the combination cocktail therapy markedly inhibited tumor proliferation marker (KI-67) and cell growth, along with the accumulation of autophagosomes and elevation of LC3-II and p62 levels indicated autophagic flux blockage and increased apoptosis. Additionally, CQ and/or TIC combination therapy with DOX exerts its activity on the redox balance of cancer cells mediated ROS-dependent apoptosis induction achieved by GPX3 suppression. Besides, Autophagy inhibition causes moderately upregulation in ATGs 5,7 redundant proteins strengthened combinations induced apoptosis, whereas inhibition of PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathway with Beclin-1 upregulation leading to cytodestructive autophagy with overcome drug resistance effectively in curing cancer. Notably, the tumor growth inhibition and various antioxidant effects were observed in vivo. These results suggest CQ and/or TIC combination with DOX could act as effective cocktail therapy targeting autophagy and PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways in MCF-7 breast cancer cells and hence, sensitizes cancer cells to doxorubicin treatment and combat its toxicity

Towards Extended Bit Tracking for Scalable and Robust RFID Tag Identification Systems

The surge in demand for Internet of Things (IoT) systems and applications has motivated a paradigm shift in the development of viable radio frequency identification technology (RFID)-based solutions for ubiquitous real-Time monitoring and tracking. Bit tracking-based anti-collision algorithms have attracted considerable attention, recently, due to its positive impact on decreasing the identification time. We aim to extend bit tracking to work effectively over erroneous channels and scalable multi RFID readers systems. Towards this objective, we extend the bit tracking technique along two dimensions. First, we introduce and evaluate a type of bit errors that appears only in bit tracking-based anti-collision algorithms called false collided bit error in single reader RFID systems. A false collided bit error occurs when a reader perceives a bit sent by tag as an erroneous bit due to channel imperfection and not because of a physical collision. This phenomenon results in a significant increase in the identification delay. We introduce a novel, zero overhead algorithm called false collided bit error selective recovery tackling the error. There is a repetition gain in bit tracking-based anti-collision algorithms due to their nature, which can be utilized to detect and correct false collided bit errors without adding extra coding bits. Second, we extend bit tracking to 'error-free' scalable mutli-reader systems, while leaving the study of multi-readers tag identification over imperfect channels for future work. We propose the multi-reader RFID tag identification using bit tracking (MRTI-BT) algorithm which allows concurrent tag identification, by neighboring RFID readers, as opposed to time-consuming scheduling. MRTI-BT identifies tags exclusive to different RFIDs, concurrently. The concept of bit tracking and the proposed parallel identification property are leveraged to reduce the identification time compared to the state-of-The-Art. 2013 IEEE.This work was supported by the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation) through NPRP under Grant 7-684-1-127. The work of A. Fahim and T. ElBatt was supported by the Vodafone Egypt Foundation.Scopu

Identification of a Natural Source of Resistance to Watermelon Chlorotic Stunt Virus in an Indigenous Accession of Cucumis Melo Var. Agrestis

Watermelon chlorotic stunt virus (WCSV) is among the most important viral diseases of the family Cucurbitaceae. It is a bipartite begomovirus (DNA-A and DNA-B genome components) that belongs to the family Geminividae (Walkely et al., 1990). It causes severe crop losses, particularly in watermelon and melon (Lecoq et al.,1994). In Sudan, WCSV causes high reduction in yield and quality of watermelon, melon, snake cucumber and squashes. Leaves of infected plants are crinkled, stunted and develop striking chlorotic mottle. The whole plant looked stunted and chlorotic and may be devoid of marketable fruits (Walkely et al., 1990). Resistance to major diseases is very common among indigenous Sudanese melons, Tibish and agrestis (C. melo var. agrestis), compared to other melon types (Mohamed, 2000).    Experiments were conducted at the University of Gezira Research Farm in April (1996-1997) to identify a natural source of resistance to watermelon chlorotic stunt virus in Cucumis melo L. The screened material included: 101 accessions of C. melo var. cantalupensis and C. melo var flexuousus collected in Sudan; nine accessions belong to the indigenous Humaid type (C. melo var. agrestis) and eleven introduced lines such as P1 313970, P1 131375, Pl 255478, Vedrantais, Nantais Oblong, MR-I, Isoblon, Virgos, Margot and Zumo. The inoculation pressure of the virus in the field was increased by growing plants of the susceptible watermelon cultivar "Sugar Baby", obtained from Peto Seed Company, about one month before conducting the screening experiments

Symmetric encryption relying on chaotic henon system for secure hardware-friendly wireless communication of implantable medical systems

Healthcare remote devices are recognized as a promising technology for treating health related issues. Among them are the wireless Implantable Medical Devices (IMDs): These electronic devices are manufactured to treat, monitor, support or replace defected vital organs while being implanted in the human body. Thus, they play a critical role in healing and even saving lives. Current IMDs research trends concentrate on their medical reliability. However, deploying wireless technology in such applications without considering security measures may offer adversaries an easy way to compromise them. With the aim to secure these devices, we explore a new scheme that creates symmetric encryption keys to encrypt the wireless communication portion. We will rely on chaotic systems to obtain a synchronized Pseudo-Random key. The latter will be generated separately in the system in such a way that avoids a wireless key exchange, thus protecting patients from the key theft. Once the key is defined, a simple encryption system that we propose in this paper will be used. We analyze the performance of this system from a cryptographic point of view to ensure that it offers a better safety and protection for patients. 2018 by the authors.Acknowledgments: This publication was made possible by NPRP grant #8-408-2-172 from the Qatar National Research Fund (a member of Qatar Foundation). The statements made herein are solely the responsibility of the authors.Scopu

Missing The Overlap

A 43-year-old female presented with painful obstructive jaundice, a mixed pattern of elevation of liver injury markers and neutrophilic leukocytosis. Evaluation with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) was unremarkable. The antimitochondrial antibody (AMA) titers were elevated. She was discharged on ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) for Primary Biliary Cirrhosis (PBC) but was readmitted for worsening symptoms. The patient\u27s liver biopsy results suggested Overlap syndrome (Primary Biliary Cirrhosis-Autoimmune hepatitis). She was then given corticosteroid therapy concurrently with UDCA after which she improved and remained asymptomatic. In conclusion, we would like to report this atypical presentation of overlap syndrome and hope the medical community learns from our experience by considering overlap syndrome when they see patients without the standard clinical picture of Primary Biliary Cirrhosis or Autoimmune Hepatitis