Application of Soft Computing Techniques for the Analysis of Tractive Properties of a Low-Power Agricultural Tractor under Various Soil Conditions

Considering the fuel consumption and soil compaction, optimization of the performance of tractors is crucial for modern agricultural practices. The tractive performance is influenced by many factors, making it difficult to be modeled. In this work, the traction force and tractive efficiency of a low-power tractor, as affected by soil coefficient, vertical load, horizontal deformation, soil compaction, and soil moisture, were studied. The optimal work of a tractor is a compromise between the maximum traction force and the maximum tractive efficiency. Optimizing these factors is complex and requires accurate models. To this end, the performances of soft computing approaches, including neural networks, genetic algorithms, and adaptive network fuzzy inference system, were evaluated. The optimal performance was realized by neural networks trained by backpropagation as well as backpropagation combined with a genetic algorithm, with a coefficient of determination of 0.955 for the traction force and 0.954 for the tractive efficiency. Based on models with the best accuracy, a sensitivity analysis was performed. The results showed that the traction performance is mainly influenced by the soil type; nevertheless, the vertical load and soil moisture also exhibited a relatively strong influence

Fungi isolated from Niedźwiedzia Cave in Kletno (Lower Silesia, Poland)

Niedźwiedzia Cave is the most beautiful cave in Poland, discovered in a block of Cambrian marbles. It is the most important part of the reserve established in 1977. The cave is located within the Kłodzko Valley, in Śnieżnik Mt. Massif, in Kleśnica Stream Valley and was discovered in 1966 while working in a quarry. The study aimed at first mycological evaluation of the air and the rocks in Niedźwiedzia Cave. Nine species of filamentous fungi and a yeast species were isolated from the air sampled in the cave, whereas from the rocks - nine species of filamentous fungi and two species of yeasts were collected. Rhizopus stolonifer was the species most frequently isolated from the air and from the rocks, while the least isolated from the air was Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. Among the species found in the rock, the least frequently collected were Fusarium oxysporum and the yeast Rhodotorula rubra

Resistance Mechanisms in Pediatric B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

Despite the rapid development of medicine, even nowadays, acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is still a problem for pediatric clinicians. Modern medicine has reached a limit of curability even though the recovery rate exceeds 90%. Relapse occurs in around 20% of treated patients and, regrettably, 10% of diagnosed ALL patients are still incurable. In this article, we would like to focus on the treatment resistance and disease relapse of patients with B-cell leukemia in the context of prognostic factors of ALL. We demonstrate the mechanisms of the resistance to steroid therapy and Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitors and assess the impact of genetic factors on the treatment resistance, especially TCF3::HLF translocation. We compare therapeutic protocols and decipher how cancer cells become resistant to innovative treatments—including CAR-T-cell therapies and monoclonal antibodies. The comparisons made in our article help to bring closer the main factors of resistance in hematologic malignancies in the context of ALL

Kształtowanie się sił wciągania strzyka do gum strzykowych o różnej konstrukcji części trzonowej

A liner is the only part of the milking unit which has a direct contact with a cow’s teat. It ensures a correct circulation of body liquids in a teat with its suitable massage and creates conditions for a teat to open and milk to flow out and maintains a milking cup on a teat. The result of the last task is generation of a suction force that sucks a teat into a liner. During milking, when a cup is placed on a teat, counter forces are generated that try to remove a liner from a teat and forces that cause that a teat moves up to a liner producing a phenomenon of “a climbing cup”. Forces that tend to separate a teat from a liner depend on the mass of a milking cup set and the value of the friction force. A counter force that tends to suck a teat into a liner is proportional to the level of negative pressure in a liner and the surface of cross-section of a teat that is subjected to negative pressure. We should also assume that also the structure of a liner will influence this force. The paper presents results of the laboratory tests on the impact of the shape of the cross-section of a rubber core and construction solutions of liners on the vacuum force of a liner when a teat is sucked into a teat chamber. Eight liners, popular in milking machines used in our country were used in the tests. Various penetrations of a teat (50, 62, 75 and 100 mm), working pressure (25-55 kPa) and a working stage of the milking cup were additional variables. In order to determine whether and what is the degree of the impact of variability sources on shaping the suction forces of a liner, a static processing of results was carried out using a multi-variance analysis. It was proved that at the significance level of α=0.05, the source of variability assumed in the experiment in the form of the liner shape, negative pressure and penetration affected the analysed sizes, i.e. Average values of suction forces in the suction phase (Fws) and massage phase (Fwm). The investigation of the impact of the rubber core part on the determined values of the suction force in the function of variable negative pressure proved that at teat penetration of 50 and 62 mm (the most popular lengths of teats in milked cows), the lowest suction force was observed in case of a liner with a triangular cross-section, slightly bigger with a square cross-section and the highest suction force is generated by round and oval liners.Guma strzykowa jest jedynym elementem aparatu udojowego, który ma bezpośredni kontakt ze strzykiem dojonej krowy. Ma ona za zadanie zapewniać prawidłowy obieg płynów ustrojowych w strzyku przez odpowiedni jego masaż oraz stworzenie warunków do przyjęcia przez strzyk „pozycji otwarcia” i wypływu mleka oraz do prawidłowego utrzymywania się kubka udojowego na strzyku. Efektem ostatniego zadania jest generowanie siły wciągania strzyka do gumy strzykowej. Podczas doju, kiedy kubek założony jest na strzyku, pojawiają się przeciwstawne siły starające się usunąć gumę ze strzyka jak również powodujące ruch strzyka głębiej do gumy wywołując zjawisko „wspinania się kubka". Tendencja sił do separacji strzyka i gumy jest uzależniona od masy zestawu kubka udojowego i wielkości siły tarcia. Siła przeciwna mająca tendencję do wciągania strzyka do gumy strzykowej jest proporcjonalna do poziomu podciśnienia w gumie strzykowej i powierzchni przekroju strzyka wystawionego na działanie podciśnienia. Należy przypuszczać, że również konstrukcja gumy strzykowej będzie wpływała na tę siłę. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań laboratoryjnych wpływu kształtu przekroju trzonu oraz rozwiązań konstrukcyjnych gum strzykowych na siłę wciągania strzyka do komory podstrzykowej kubka udojowego. W badaniach użyto osiem gum strzykowych powszechnie stosowanych w dojarkach użytkowanych w kraju. Dodatkowymi zmiennymi były różne penetracje strzyka (50, 62, 75 i 100 mm), podciśnienia robocze (25-55 kPa) i faza pracy kubka udojowego. W celu określenia, czy i na jakim poziomie poszczególne źródła zmienności wpływają na kształtowanie się sił wciągania strzyka przeprowadzono statystyczną obróbkę wyników, używając wieloczynnikowej analizy wariancji. Wykazano na poziomie istotności α=0.05, że przyjęte w doświadczeniu źródła zmienności w postaci kształtu gumy strzykowej, podciśnienia i penetracji miały wpływ na analizowane wielkości, tj. średnie wartości sił wciągania w fazie ssania (Fws) i w fazie masażu (Fwm). Badania wpływu profilu części trzonowej gumy na wyznaczone wartości sił wciągania w funkcji zmiennego podciśnienia wykazały, że przy penetracjach strzyków 50 i 62 mm (najczęściej występujące długości strzyków u dojonych krów) najmniejszą siłę wciągania zaobserwowano w przypadku gumy o przekroju trójkątnym, nieco większą o przekroju kwadratowym, zaś największą siłę wciągania generują gumy okrągłe i owalne

<i>DOCK8</i> Mutation in Patient with Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis and Sjögren’s Syndrome

This study investigated the association between autoimmunity and immunodeficiency in pediatric patients, focusing on the case of a 15-year-old female diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and secondary Sjögren’s syndrome. The patient presented with a variety of symptoms, including joint pain, bronchial asthma, leukopenia, and skin lesions. Genetic testing revealed a de novo mutation in the DOCK8 gene, associated with DOCK8 deficiency, a condition usually associated with immunodeficiencies. The clinical course, diagnostic pathway, and treatment history are detailed, highlighting the importance of molecular diagnostics in understanding the genetic basis of rheumatic diseases. This case highlights the need to consider innate immune errors in patients with multiple diseases or atypical symptoms of rheumatic diseases. Furthermore, the study highlights the importance of targeted treatment, including genetic counseling, to improve patient outcomes. The observed association between autoimmunity and immune deficiency reinforces the importance of molecular testing in elucidating the causes of previously idiopathic rheumatic diseases, contributing to improved patient care and quality of life

Comprehensive Investigation of miRNome Identifies Novel Candidate miRNA-mRNA Interactions Implicated in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is an aggressive malignancy originating from T-cell precursors. The genetic landscape of T-ALL has been largely characterized by next-generation sequencing. Yet, the transcriptome of miRNAs (miRNome) of T-ALL has been less extensively studied. Using small RNA sequencing, we characterized the miRNome of 34 pediatric T-ALL samples, including the expression of isomiRs and the identification of candidate novel miRNAs (not previously annotated in miRBase). For the first time, we show that immunophenotypic subtypes of T-ALL present different miRNA expression profiles. To extend miRNome characteristics in T-ALL (to 82 T-ALL cases), we combined our small RNA-seq results with data available in Gene Expression Omnibus. We report on miRNAs most abundantly expressed in pediatric T-ALL and miRNAs differentially expressed in T-ALL versus normal mature T-lymphocytes and thymocytes, representing candidate oncogenic and tumor suppressor miRNAs. Using eight target prediction algorithms and pathway enrichment analysis, we identified differentially expressed miRNAs and their predicted targets implicated in processes (defined in Gene Ontology and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes) of potential importance in pathogenesis of T-ALL, including interleukin-6–mediated signaling, mTOR signaling, and regulation of apoptosis. We finally focused on hsa-mir-106a-363 cluster and functionally validated direct interactions of hsa-miR-20b-5p and hsa-miR-363-3p with 3′ untranslated regions of their predicted targets (PTEN, SOS1, LATS2), overrepresented in regulation of apoptosis. hsa-mir-106a-363 is a paralogue of prototypic oncogenic hsa-mir-17-92 cluster with yet unestablished role in the pathogenesis of T-ALL. Our study provides a firm basis and data resource for functional analyses on the role of miRNA-mRNA interactions in T-ALL