Stability of Analytical and Numerical Solutions for Nonlinear Stochastic Delay Differential Equations with Jumps

This paper is concerned with the stability of analytical and numerical solutions for nonlinear stochastic delay differential equations (SDDEs) with jumps. A sufficient condition for mean-square exponential stability of the exact solution is derived. Then, mean-square stability of the numerical solution is investigated. It is shown that the compensated stochastic θ methods inherit stability property of the exact solution. More precisely, the methods are mean-square stable for any stepsize Δt=τ/m when 1/2≤θ≤1, and they are exponentially mean-square stable if the stepsize Δt∈(0,Δt0) when 0≤θ<1. Finally, some numerical experiments are given to illustrate the theoretical results

Microstructural Abnormalities in Children with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study at 3.0T

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a severe anxiety disorder characterized by re-experiencing, avoidance and hyperarousal. Brain microstructure abnormalities in PTSD, especially in children, are not yet well characterized. The aim of this study was to use MR diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to identify brain microstructure alterations in children with PTSD compared to non-PTSD controls who experienced the same time-limited trauma. We studied 27 children with PTSD and 24 age- and gender-matched traumatized controls without PTSD, who all experienced the 2008 Sichuan major earthquake. DTI data were acquired and analyzed in terms of fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), radial diffusivity (RD) and axial diffusivity (AD). Children with PTSD showed an abnormal pattern, not only of FA, but also of the diffusivity measures MD, AD and RD. Most of the abnormal brain regions belonged to two important networks: the default-mode network, including precuneus and angular gyrus and the salience network, including insula, putamen and thalamus. This DTI study identifies microstructural abnormalities of children with PTSD after a major earthquake, our results are consistent with the suggestion that pediatric PTSD is accompanied by a connectivity disequilibrium between the salience and default-mode networks, a finding of potential pathophysiological significance

Association between gut microbiota and hepatocellular carcinoma from 2011 to 2022: Bibliometric analysis and global trends

BackgroundHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a primary malignant tumor responsible for approximately 90% of all liver cancers in humans, making it one of the leading public health problems worldwide. The gut microbiota is a complex microbial ecosystem that can influence tumor formation, metastasis, and resistance to treatment. Therefore, understanding the potential mechanisms of gut microbiota pathogenesis is critical for the prevention and treatment of HCC.Materials and methodsA search was conducted in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) database for English literature studies on the relationship between gut microbiota and HCC from 2011 to 2022. Bibliometric analysis tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and R Studio were used to analyze global trends and research hotspots in this field.ResultsA total of 739 eligible publications, comprising of 383 articles and 356 reviews, were analyzed. Over the past 11 years, there has been a rapid increase in the annual number of publications and average citation levels, especially in the last five years. The majority of published articles on this topic originated from China (n=257, 34.78%), followed by the United States of America (n=203, 27.47%), and Italy (n=85, 11.50%). American scholars demonstrated high productivity, prominence, and academic environment influence in the research of this subject. Furthermore, the University of California, San Diego published the most papers (n=24) and had the highest average citation value (value=152.17) in the study of the relationship between gut microbiota and HCC. Schnabl B from the USA and Ohtani N from Japan were the authors with the highest number of publications and average citation value, respectively.ConclusionIn recent years, research on the gut microbiota’s role in HCC has made rapid progress. Through a review of published literature, it has been found that the gut microbiota is crucial in the pathogenesis of HCC and in oncotherapy

Comparative Evaluation of the LAMP Assay and PCR-Based Assays for the Rapid Detection of Alternaria solani

Early blight (EB), caused by the pathogen Alternaria solani, is a major threat to global potato and tomato production. Early and accurate diagnosis of this disease is therefore important. In this study, we conducted a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay, as well as conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR), nested PCR, and quantitative real-time PCR (RT-qPCR) assays to determine which of these techniques was less time consuming, more sensitive, and more accurate. We based our assays on sequence-characterized amplified regions of the histidine kinase gene with an accession number (FJ424058). The LAMP assay provided more rapid and accurate results, amplifying the target pathogen in less than 60 min at 63°C, with 10-fold greater sensitivity than conventional PCR. Nested PCR was 100-fold more sensitive than the LAMP assay and 1000-fold more sensitive than conventional PCR. qPCR was the most sensitive among the assays evaluated, being 10-fold more sensitive than nested PCR for the least detectable genomic DNA concentration (100 fg). The LAMP assay was more sensitive than conventional PCR, but less sensitive than nested PCR and qPCR; however, it was simpler and faster than the other assays evaluated. Despite of the sensitivity, LAMP assay provided higher specificity than qPCR. The LAMP assay amplified A. solani artificially, allowing us to detect naturally infect young potato leaves, which produced early symptoms of EB. The LAMP assay also achieved positive amplification using diluted pure A. solani culture instead of genomic DNA. Hence, this technique has greater potential for developing quick and sensitive visual detection methods than do other conventional PCR strategies for detecting A. solani in infected plants and culture, permitting early prediction of disease and reducing the risk of epidemics

Predicting global potential distribution of Peromyscopsylla hesperomys and Orchopeas sexdentatus and risk assessment for invading China under climate change

BackgroundPeromyscopsylla hesperomys and Orchopeas sexdentatus are regarded to be representative plague vectors in the United States. The incidence of plague is rising globally, possibly due to climate change and environmental damage. Environmental factors such as temperature and precipitation have a significant impact on the temporal and spatial distribution of plague vectors.MethodsMaximum entropy models (MaxEnt) were utilized to predict the distributions of these two fleas and their trends into the future. The main environmental factors influencing the distribution of these two fleas were analyzed. A risk assessment system was constructed to calculate the invasion risk values of the species.ResultsTemperature has a significant effect on the distribution of the potentially suitable areas for P. hesperomys and O. sexdentatus. They have the potential to survive in suitable areas of China in the future. The risk assessment system indicated that the risk level for the invasion of these two species into China was moderate.ConclusionIn order to achieve early detection, early interception, and early management, China should perfect its monitoring infrastructure and develop scientific prevention and control strategies to prevent the invasion of foreign flea vectors

Elucidating the causal association between gut microbiota and intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma through Mendelian randomization analysis

BackgroundIntrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (ICC) is an aggressive liver cancer with poor prognosis. The gut microbiota has been linked to ICC, but evidence for causality is lacking. Elucidating causal gut microbiota-ICC links could inform prevention and treatment strategies.Materials and methodsWe performed a bidirectional two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) study to investigate causal associations between gut microbiota and ICC risk. Genome-wide significant single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with gut microbiota abundances were utilized as instrumental variables (IVs). Multiple methods assessed causality and sensitivity analyses evaluated result robustness. Bioinformatics analysis of genetic loci linked to gut microbiota and ICC examined potential mechanisms.ResultsGenetically predicted increases in Veillonellaceae, Alistipes, Enterobacteriales, and Firmicutes were suggestively associated with higher ICC risk, while increases in Anaerostipes, Paraprevotella, Parasutterella, and Verrucomicrobia appeared protective. Bioinformatics analysis revealed differentially expressed genes near gut microbiota-associated loci may influence ICC through regulating pathways and tumor immune microenvironment.ConclusionOur findings provide suggestive evidence for causal links between specific gut microbiota and ICC risk

Assessment of the economic impacts of heat waves: A case study of Nanjing, China

The southeast region of China is frequently affected by summer heat waves. Nanjing, a metropolitan city in Jiangsu Province, China, experienced an extreme 14-day heat wave in 2013. Extreme heat can not only induce health outcomes in terms of excess mortality and morbidity (hospital admissions) but can also cause productivity losses for self-paced indoor workers and capacity losses for outdoor workers due to occupational safety requirements. All of these effects can be translated into productive working time losses, thus creating a need to investigate the macroeconomic implications of heat waves on production supply chains. Indeed, industrial interdependencies are important for capturing the cascading effects of initial changes in factor inputs in a single sector on the remaining sectors and the economy. To consider these effects, this paper develops an interdisciplinary approach by combining meteorological, epidemiological and economic analyses to investigate the macroeconomic impacts of heat waves on the economy of Nanjing in 2013. By adopting a supply-driven input-output (IO) model, labour is perceived to be a key factor input, and any heat effect on human beings can be viewed as a degradation of productive time and human capital. Using this interdisciplinary tool, our study shows a total economic loss of 27.49 billion Yuan for Nanjing in 2013 due to the heat wave, which is equivalent to 3.43% of the city's gross value of production in 2013. The manufacturing sector sustained 63.1% of the total economic loss at 17.34 billion Yuan. Indeed, based on the ability of the IO model to capture indirect economic loss, our results further suggest that although the productive time losses in the manufacturing and service sectors have lower magnitudes than those in the agricultural and mining sectors, they can entail substantial indirect losses because of industrial interdependencies. This important conclusion highlights the importance of incorporating industrial interdependencies and indirect economic assessments in disaster risk studies

White Matter Abnormalities in Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Following a Specific Traumatic Event

Studies of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are complicated by wide variability in the intensity and duration of prior stressors in patient participants, secondary effects of chronic psychiatric illness, and a variable history of treatment with psychiatric medications. In magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, patient samples have often been small, and they were not often compared to similarly stressed patients without PTSD in order to control for general stress effects. Findings from these studies have been inconsistent. The present study investigated whole-brain microstructural alterations of white matter in a large drug-naive population who survived a specific, severe traumatic event (a major 8.0-magnitude earthquake). Using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), we explored group differences between 88 PTSD patients and 91 matched traumatized non-PTSD controls in fractional anisotropy (FA), as well as its component elements axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD), and examined these findings in relation to findings from deterministic DTI tractography. Relations between white matter alterations and psychiatric symptom severity were examined. PTSD patients, relative to similarly stressed controls, showed an FA increase as well as AD and RD changes in the white matter beneath left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and forceps major. The observation of increased FA in the PTSD group suggests that the pathophysiology of PTSD after a specific acute traumatic event is distinct from what has been reported in patients with several years duration of illness. Alterations in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may be an important aspect of illness pathophysiology, possibly via the region's established role in fear extinction circuitry. Use-dependent myelination or other secondary compensatory changes in response to heightened demands for threat appraisal and emotion regulation may be involved