Synchronization in the quaternionic Kuramoto model

In this paper, we propose an $N$ oscillators Kuramoto model with quaternions $\mathbb{H}$. In case the coupling strength is strong, a sufficient condition of synchronization is established for general $N\geqslant 2$. On the other hand, we analyze the case when the coupling strength is weak. For $N=2$, when coupling strength is weak (below the critical coupling strength $\lambda_c$), we show that new periodic orbits emerge near each equilibrium point, and hence phase-locking state exists. This phenomenon is different from the real Kuramoto system since it is impossible to arrive at any synchronization when $\lambda<\lambda_c$. A theorem is proved which states that the closed contours form a set of "Baumkuchen" that is dense near each equilibrium point. In other words, the trajectory of phase difference lies on a $4D$-torus surface. Therefore, this implies that the phase-locking state is Lyapunov stable but not asymptotically stable. The proof uses a new infinite buffer method ("$\delta/n$ criterion") and a Lyapunov function argument. This has been studied both analytically and numerically. For $N=3$, we consider Lion Dance flow, the analog of Cherry flow, to demonstrate that the quaternionic synchronization exists even when the coupling strength is "super weak" (when $\lambda/\omega 3$, the stable manifold of Lion Dance flow exists, and the number of these equilibria is $\lfloor \frac{N-1}{2}\rfloor$. Therefore, we conjecture that quaternionic synchronization always exists.Comment: 35 pages, 6 figure

Study of sponge gourd ascorbate peroxidase and winter squash superoxide dismutase under respective flooding and chilling stresses

AbstractThe objectives of this work were to study the responses of ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione reductase (GR), and physiological parameters of bitter melon (BM), sponge gourd (SG), and winter squash (WS) under waterlogged and low temperature conditions. The BM and SG plants were subjected to 0–72h flooding treatments. Moreover, BM and WS plants were exposed to chilling at 12/7°C (day/night) for 0–72h. The results show that different genotypes responded differently to environmental stress according to their various antioxidant enzymes and physiological parameters. The activity of APX in roots and leaves of SG plants significantly higher than that of BM plants during continuous flooding. Significant increases in SOD activity in leaves of WS plants were also observed throughout the entire chilling duration compared to BM plants. On the basis of our observations, we conclude that increased APX and SOD activities provide SG and WS plants with increased waterlogging and chilling stress tolerance, respectively. Both APX and SOD activities can be used for selecting BM lines with the best tolerances to water logging and chilling stresses

Identifying early decline of daily function and its association with physical function in chronic kidney disease: performance-based and self-reported measures

Objective To verify self-reported basic and instrumental activities of daily living (IADL) with a disability and the results of performance-based tests (namely the Taiwan performance-based IADL (TPIADL), the 2-minute step test (2MST), the 30-second chair-stand test (30-s CST), and handgrip dynamometer measurement) to identify disability early and assess the associations with functional fitness in patients with advanced chronic kidney disease (CKD). Methods A cross-sectional study of 99 patients with stage 4–5 CKD and 57 healthy elderly adults were recruited. Self-reported measures were used to collect information on basic (Barthel Index) and IADL (Lawton–Brody scale). Objective measures of the TPIADL and functional fitness (2MST, 30-s CST, handgrip dynamometer) were also assessed. Results Only IADL, as detected by the TPIADL, were impaired to a greater extent in the CKD patients than those of healthy elderly adults. Among all the patients with CKD, a greater impairment in the TPIADL remained statistically associated with a lower ability in the 2MST. A one step increase in the 2MST score was significantly associated with an improvement of 0.2 s in the total performance time of the TPIADL. Conclusion Performance-based measures, such as the TPIADL, may detect a functional limitation before it becomes measurable by traditional self-reported basic and IADL scales; functional limitation is mainly associated with cardiac endurance for advanced CKD

Identification of single nucleotide polymorphism markers associated with resistance to bruchids (Callosobruchus spp.) in wild mungbean (Vigna radiata var. sublobata) and cultivated V. radiata through genotyping by sequencing and quantitative trait locus analysis

Interval mapping of bruchid resistance on physical maps of populations TC1966 x NM94 and V2802. (DOCX 14 kb

Post-transplant lymphoproliferative disorders: From epidemiology to pathogenesis-driven treatment

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Proteomics Characterization of Cytoplasmic and Lipid-Associated Membrane Proteins of Human Pathogen Mycoplasma fermentans M64

Mycoplasma fermentans is a potent human pathogen which has been implicated in several diseases. Notably, its lipid-associated membrane proteins (LAMPs) play a role in immunomodulation and development of infection-associated inflammatory diseases. However, the systematic protein identification of pathogenic M. fermentans has not been reported. From our recent sequencing results of M. fermentans M64 isolated from human respiratory tract, its genome is around 1.1 Mb and encodes 1050 predicted protein-coding genes. In the present study, soluble proteome of M. fermentans was resolved and analyzed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. In addition, Triton X-114 extraction was carried out to enrich amphiphilic proteins including putative lipoproteins and membrane proteins. Subsequent mass spectrometric analyses of these proteins had identified a total of 181 M. fermentans ORFs. Further bioinformatics analysis of these ORFs encoding proteins with known or so far unknown orthologues among bacteria revealed that a total of 131 proteins are homologous to known proteins, 11 proteins are conserved hypothetical proteins, and the remaining 39 proteins are likely M. fermentans-specific proteins. Moreover, Triton X-114-enriched fraction was shown to activate NF-kB activity of raw264.7 macrophage and a total of 21 lipoproteins with predicted signal peptide were identified therefrom. Together, our work provides the first proteome reference map of M. fermentans as well as several putative virulence-associated proteins as diagnostic markers or vaccine candidates for further functional study of this human pathogen

Global burden of 369 diseases and injuries in 204 countries and territories, 1990–2019: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019

Background: In an era of shifting global agendas and expanded emphasis on non-communicable diseases and injuries along with communicable diseases, sound evidence on trends by cause at the national level is essential. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) provides a systematic scientific assessment of published, publicly available, and contributed data on incidence, prevalence, and mortality for a mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive list of diseases and injuries. Methods: GBD estimates incidence, prevalence, mortality, years of life lost (YLLs), years lived with disability (YLDs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) due to 369 diseases and injuries, for two sexes, and for 204 countries and territories. Input data were extracted from censuses, household surveys, civil registration and vital statistics, disease registries, health service use, air pollution monitors, satellite imaging, disease notifications, and other sources. Cause-specific death rates and cause fractions were calculated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model and spatiotemporal Gaussian process regression. Cause-specific deaths were adjusted to match the total all-cause deaths calculated as part of the GBD population, fertility, and mortality estimates. Deaths were multiplied by standard life expectancy at each age to calculate YLLs. A Bayesian meta-regression modelling tool, DisMod-MR 2.1, was used to ensure consistency between incidence, prevalence, remission, excess mortality, and cause-specific mortality for most causes. Prevalence estimates were multiplied by disability weights for mutually exclusive sequelae of diseases and injuries to calculate YLDs. We considered results in the context of the Socio-demographic Index (SDI), a composite indicator of income per capita, years of schooling, and fertility rate in females younger than 25 years. Uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated for every metric using the 25th and 975th ordered 1000 draw values of the posterior distribution. Findings: Global health has steadily improved over the past 30 years as measured by age-standardised DALY rates. After taking into account population growth and ageing, the absolute number of DALYs has remained stable. Since 2010, the pace of decline in global age-standardised DALY rates has accelerated in age groups younger than 50 years compared with the 1990–2010 time period, with the greatest annualised rate of decline occurring in the 0–9-year age group. Six infectious diseases were among the top ten causes of DALYs in children younger than 10 years in 2019: lower respiratory infections (ranked second), diarrhoeal diseases (third), malaria (fifth), meningitis (sixth), whooping cough (ninth), and sexually transmitted infections (which, in this age group, is fully accounted for by congenital syphilis; ranked tenth). In adolescents aged 10–24 years, three injury causes were among the top causes of DALYs: road injuries (ranked first), self-harm (third), and interpersonal violence (fifth). Five of the causes that were in the top ten for ages 10–24 years were also in the top ten in the 25–49-year age group: road injuries (ranked first), HIV/AIDS (second), low back pain (fourth), headache disorders (fifth), and depressive disorders (sixth). In 2019, ischaemic heart disease and stroke were the top-ranked causes of DALYs in both the 50–74-year and 75-years-and-older age groups. Since 1990, there has been a marked shift towards a greater proportion of burden due to YLDs from non-communicable diseases and injuries. In 2019, there were 11 countries where non-communicable disease and injury YLDs constituted more than half of all disease burden. Decreases in age-standardised DALY rates have accelerated over the past decade in countries at the lower end of the SDI range, while improvements have started to stagnate or even reverse in countries with higher SDI. Interpretation: As disability becomes an increasingly large component of disease burden and a larger component of health expenditure, greater research and developm nt investment is needed to identify new, more effective intervention strategies. With a rapidly ageing global population, the demands on health services to deal with disabling outcomes, which increase with age, will require policy makers to anticipate these changes. The mix of universal and more geographically specific influences on health reinforces the need for regular reporting on population health in detail and by underlying cause to help decision makers to identify success stories of disease control to emulate, as well as opportunities to improve. Funding: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. © 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licens

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals &lt;1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data