Fuzzy and Position Particle Swarm Optimized Routing in VANET

In Intelligent Transport Systems, traffic management and providing stable routing paths between vehicles using vehicular ad hoc networks (VANET\u27s) is critical. Lots of research and several routing techniques providing a long path lifetime have been presented to resolve this issue. However, the routing algorithms suffer excessive overhead or collisions when solving complex optimization problems. In order to improve the routing efficiency and performance in the existing schemes, a Position Particle Swarm Optimization based on Fuzzy Logic (PPSO-FL) method is presented for VANET that provides a high-quality path for communication between nodes. The PPSO-FL has two main steps. The first step is selecting candidate nodes through collectively coordinated metrics using the fuzzy logic technique, improving packet delivery fraction, and minimizing end-to-end delay. The second step is the construction of an optimized routing model. The optimized routing model establishes an optimal route through the candidate nodes using position-based particle swarm optimization. The proposed work is simulated using an NS2 simulator. Simulation results demonstrate that the method outperforms the standard routing algorithms in packet delivery fraction, end-to-end delay and execution time for routing in VANET scenarios

Epiphreatic caves in Niah karst tower (NW Borneo): occurrence, morphology and hydrogeochemistry

Epiphreatic caves develop close to the water table at the boundary between vadose and phreatic karst zones. The recognition of their former existence and position in uplifted limestone regions can inform on phases of uplift, base level lowering and rate of vertical deepening of the karst. Hence, epiphreatic caves and the karst processes that form them are of specific interest. Although the large and spectacular caves of Niah have been subject of much research and interest, the existence of small epiphreatic caves at the foot of the karst towers has not previously been documented in this region of NW Borneo. The study documents and reports an epiphreatic cave passage at water table elevation in the Painted Cave karst tower where several large caves are also known. The semi-flooded passage is over 480 m long and traverses the tower from east to west, intersecting other much larger vadose caves. The epiphreatic flow path is characterized by a number of sinking streams and resurgences as well as several sharp bends in the passage indicating joint control. As an initial attempt this study was undertaken to correlate the water chemistry along the cave path to understand the geomorphological controls. A preliminary campaign of water sampling was carried out with samples collected at ten locations along the path of the cave stream and analyzed for pH, EC, TDS, DO, Eh, major ions, nutrients and trace metals. The results show that dissolution of host rock and leaching of organic matter are the dominant controlling factors for the geochemistry of surface water along the cave stream passage. During dry conditions the water was under-saturated for carbonate minerals but not aggressive suggesting that most dissolution and erosion occurs during flood conditions. This is supported by the morphology of the passages and features of the rock wall both inside the caves and at the foot of the karst tower. Key words: Karst, Niah cave, Epiphreatic, Hydrogeochemistry, water table.Jame epifreatične cone v kraškem stolpu Niah (severozahodni Borneo): pojavnost, morfologija in hidrogeokemija Epifratične jame nastajajo na meji med vadozno in freatično cono. Prepoznavanje epifreatičnih elementov v bloku dvignjenega masiva nam omogoča razbrati faze dvigovanja masiva oz. spuščanja erozijske baze, zato so epifreatične jame in procesi še posebno zanimivi. Čeprav so o jamah stolpa Niah opravili številne študije, nobena od teh ne obravnava epifreatičnih jam ob vznožju kraškega stolpa. Ta študija obravnava epifreatične rove na ravni vodne gladine v stolpu Painted Cave v severozahodnem Borneu, kjer sicer poznamo več velikih jam. Delno potopljen rov je dolg več kot 480 m in preči stolp od vzhoda proti zahodu ter pri tem seka še več drugih, veliko večjih vadoznih jam. Epifreatični tok je povezan z več ponikalnicami in izviri, zanj so značilne nagle spremembe smeri, ki sledi vodilnim razpokam. Namen študije je povezati kemijo vode vzdolž toka in aktivne geomorfološke dejavnike. Vzorčenje in analize vode na desetih lokacijah so dali podatke o pH, električni prevodnosti, skupni raztopljeni snovi (TDS), raztopljenem kisiku, Eh ter o koncentraciji glavnih ionov, hranil in kovin v sledeh. Rezultati so pokazali, da sta raztapljanje matične kamnine in izpiranje organskih snovi prevladujoča dejavnika geokemije vode v kanalu. V sušnem obdobju je voda rahlo nenasičena na kalcit, a je agresivnost majhna, kar kaže na to, da glavna faza razvoja poteka v poplavnih obdobjih. To potrjujejo tudi morfologija rova in jamske skalne oblike v jami in ob vznožju kraškega stolpa.Ključne besede: kras, jama Niah, epifreatična cona, hidrogeokemija, vodna površina.

Virus-like particles derived from Pichia pastoris-expressed dengue virus type 1 glycoprotein elicit homotypic virus-neutralizing envelope domain III-directed antibodies

Background: Four antigenically distinct serotypes (1–4) of Dengue Viruses (DENVs) cause dengue disease. Antibodies to any one DENV serotype have the potential to predispose an individual to more severe disease upon infection with a different DENV serotype. A dengue vaccine must elicit homotypic neutralizing antibodies to all four DENV serotypes to avoid the risk of such antibody-dependent enhancement in the vaccine recipient. This is a formidable challenge as evident from the lack of protective efficacy against DENV-2 by a tetravalent live attenuated dengue vaccine that has completed phase III trials recently. These trial data underscore the need to explore non-replicating subunit vaccine alternatives. Recently, using the methylotrophic yeast Pichia pastoris, we showed that DENV-2 and DENV-3 envelope (E) glycoproteins, expressed in absence of prM, implicated in causing severe dengue disease, self-assemble into Virus-like Particles (VLPs), which elicit predominantly virus-neutralizing antibodies and confer significant protection against lethal DENV challenge in an animal model. The current study extends this work to a third DENV serotype. Results: We cloned and expressed DENV-1 E antigen in P. pastoris and purified it to near homogeneity. Recombinant DENV-1 E underwent post-translational processing, namely, signal peptide cleavage and glycosylation. Purified DENV-1 E self-assembled into stable VLPs, based on electron microscopy and dynamic light scattering analysis. Epitope mapping with monoclonal antibodies revealed that the VLPs retained the overall antigenic integrity of the virion particles despite the absence of prM. Subtle changes accompanied the efficient display of E domain III (EDIII), which contains type-specific neutralizing epitopes. These VLPs were immunogenic, eliciting predominantly homotypic EDIII-directed DENV-1-specific neutralizing antibodies. Conclusions: This work demonstrates the inherent potential of P. pastoris-expressed DENV-1 E glycoprotein to self-assemble into VLPs eliciting predominantly homotypic neutralizing antibodies. This work justifies an investigation of the last remaining serotype, namely, DENV-4, to assess if it also shares the desirable vaccine potential manifested by the remaining three DENV serotypes. Such efforts could make it possible to envisage the development of a tetravalent dengue vaccine based on VLPs of P. pastoris-expressed E glycoproteins of the four DENV serotypes

Metal concentrations in sediments from tourist beaches of Miri City, Sarawak, Malaysia (Borneo Island)

Forty-three sediment samples were collected from the beaches of Miri City, Sarawak, Malaysia to identify the enrichment of partially leached trace metals (PLTMs) from six different tourist beaches. The samples were analyzed for PLTMs Fe, Mn, Cr, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn. The concentration pattern suggest that the southern side of the study area is enriched with Fe (1821–6097 μg g−1), Mn (11.57–90.22 μg g−1), Cr (51.50–311 μg g−1), Ni (18–51 μg g−1), Pb (8.81–84.05 μg g−1), Sr (25.95–140.49 μg g−1) and Zn (12.46–35.04 μg g−1). Compared to the eco-toxicological values, Cr > Effects range low (ERL), Lowest effect level (LEL), Severe effect level (SEL); Cu > Unpolluted sediments, ERL, LEL; Pb > Unpolluted sediments and Ni > ERL and LEL. Comparative results with other regions indicate that Co, Cr, Cu, Ni and Zn are higher, indicating an external input rather than natural process

Deep Learning for Enhanced Fault Diagnosis of Monoblock Centrifugal Pumps: Spectrogram-Based Analysis

Abstract The reliable operation of monoblock centrifugal pumps (MCP) is crucial in various industrial applications. Achieving optimal performance and minimizing costly downtime requires effectively detecting and diagnosing faults in critical pump components. This study proposes an innovative approach that leverages deep transfer learning techniques. An accelerometer was adopted to capture vibration signals emitted by the pump. These signals are then converted into spectrogram images which serve as the input for a sophisticated classification system based on deep learning. This enables the accurate identification and diagnosis of pump faults. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology, 15 pre-trained networks including ResNet-50, InceptionV3, GoogLeNet, DenseNet-201, ShuffleNet, VGG-19, MobileNet-v2, InceptionResNetV2, VGG-16, NasNetmobile, EfficientNetb0, AlexNet, ResNet-18, Xception, ResNet101 and ResNet-18 were employed. The experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed approach with AlexNet exhibiting the highest level of accuracy among the pre-trained networks. Additionally, a meticulous evaluation of the execution time of the classification process was performed. AlexNet achieved 100.00% accuracy with an impressive execution (training) time of 17 s. This research provides invaluable insights into applying deep transfer learning for fault detection and diagnosis in MCP. Using pre-trained networks offers an efficient and precise solution for this task. The findings of this study have the potential to significantly enhance the reliability and maintenance practices of MCP in various industrial settings

Snakebite and its socio-economic impact on the rural population of Tamil Nadu, India

BACKGROUND: Snakebite represents a significant health issue worldwide, affecting several million people each year with as many as 95,000 deaths. India is considered to be the country most affected, but much remains unknown about snakebite incidence in this country, its socio-economic impact and how snakebite management could be improved. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We conducted a study within rural villages in Tamil Nadu, India, which combines a household survey (28,494 people) of snakebite incidence with a more detailed survey of victims in order to understand the health and socio-economic effects of the bite, the treatments obtained and their views about future improvements. Our survey suggests that snakebite incidence is higher than previously reported. 3.9% of those surveyed had suffered from snakebite and the number of deaths corresponds to 0.45% of the population. The socio-economic impact of this is very considerable in terms of the treatment costs and the long-term effects on the health and ability of survivors to work. To reduce this, the victims recommended improvements to the accessibility and affordability of antivenom treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Snakebite has a considerable and disproportionate impact on rural populations, particularly in South Asia. This study provides an incentive for researchers and the public to work together to reduce the incidence and improve the outcomes for snake bite victims and their families

Exploitation of Herpesvirus Immune Evasion Strategies to Modify the Immunogenicity of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Transplants

BACKGROUND: Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are multipotent cells residing in the connective tissue of many organs and holding great potential for tissue repair. In culture, human MSCs (hMSCs) are capable of extensive proliferation without showing chromosomal aberrations. Large numbers of hMSCs can thus be acquired from small samples of easily obtainable tissues like fat and bone marrow. MSCs can contribute to regeneration indirectly by secretion of cytokines or directly by differentiation into specialized cell types. The latter mechanism requires their long-term acceptance by the recipient. Although MSCs do not elicit immune responses in vitro, animal studies have revealed that allogeneic and xenogeneic MSCs are rejected. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We aim to overcome MSC immune rejection through permanent down-regulation of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I proteins on the surface of these MHC class II-negative cells through the use of viral immune evasion proteins. Transduction of hMSCs with a retroviral vector encoding the human cytomegalovirus US11 protein resulted in strong inhibition of MHC class I surface expression. When transplanted into immunocompetent mice, persistence of the US11-expressing and HLA-ABC-negative hMSCs at levels resembling those found in immunodeficient (i.e., NOD/SCID) mice could be attained provided that recipients' natural killer (NK) cells were depleted prior to cell transplantation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Our findings demonstrate the potential utility of herpesviral immunoevasins to prevent rejection of xenogeneic MSCs. The observation that down-regulation of MHC class I surface expression renders hMSCs vulnerable to NK cell recognition and cytolysis implies that multiple viral immune evasion proteins are likely required to make hMSCs non-immunogenic and thereby universally transplantable

Global burden of 288 causes of death and life expectancy decomposition in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BACKGROUND Regular, detailed reporting on population health by underlying cause of death is fundamental for public health decision making. Cause-specific estimates of mortality and the subsequent effects on life expectancy worldwide are valuable metrics to gauge progress in reducing mortality rates. These estimates are particularly important following large-scale mortality spikes, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. When systematically analysed, mortality rates and life expectancy allow comparisons of the consequences of causes of death globally and over time, providing a nuanced understanding of the effect of these causes on global populations. METHODS The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2021 cause-of-death analysis estimated mortality and years of life lost (YLLs) from 288 causes of death by age-sex-location-year in 204 countries and territories and 811 subnational locations for each year from 1990 until 2021. The analysis used 56 604 data sources, including data from vital registration and verbal autopsy as well as surveys, censuses, surveillance systems, and cancer registries, among others. As with previous GBD rounds, cause-specific death rates for most causes were estimated using the Cause of Death Ensemble model-a modelling tool developed for GBD to assess the out-of-sample predictive validity of different statistical models and covariate permutations and combine those results to produce cause-specific mortality estimates-with alternative strategies adapted to model causes with insufficient data, substantial changes in reporting over the study period, or unusual epidemiology. YLLs were computed as the product of the number of deaths for each cause-age-sex-location-year and the standard life expectancy at each age. As part of the modelling process, uncertainty intervals (UIs) were generated using the 2·5th and 97·5th percentiles from a 1000-draw distribution for each metric. We decomposed life expectancy by cause of death, location, and year to show cause-specific effects on life expectancy from 1990 to 2021. We also used the coefficient of variation and the fraction of population affected by 90% of deaths to highlight concentrations of mortality. Findings are reported in counts and age-standardised rates. Methodological improvements for cause-of-death estimates in GBD 2021 include the expansion of under-5-years age group to include four new age groups, enhanced methods to account for stochastic variation of sparse data, and the inclusion of COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality-which includes excess mortality associated with the pandemic, excluding COVID-19, lower respiratory infections, measles, malaria, and pertussis. For this analysis, 199 new country-years of vital registration cause-of-death data, 5 country-years of surveillance data, 21 country-years of verbal autopsy data, and 94 country-years of other data types were added to those used in previous GBD rounds. FINDINGS The leading causes of age-standardised deaths globally were the same in 2019 as they were in 1990; in descending order, these were, ischaemic heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and lower respiratory infections. In 2021, however, COVID-19 replaced stroke as the second-leading age-standardised cause of death, with 94·0 deaths (95% UI 89·2-100·0) per 100 000 population. The COVID-19 pandemic shifted the rankings of the leading five causes, lowering stroke to the third-leading and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to the fourth-leading position. In 2021, the highest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 occurred in sub-Saharan Africa (271·0 deaths [250·1-290·7] per 100 000 population) and Latin America and the Caribbean (195·4 deaths [182·1-211·4] per 100 000 population). The lowest age-standardised death rates from COVID-19 were in the high-income super-region (48·1 deaths [47·4-48·8] per 100 000 population) and southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania (23·2 deaths [16·3-37·2] per 100 000 population). Globally, life expectancy steadily improved between 1990 and 2019 for 18 of the 22 investigated causes. Decomposition of global and regional life expectancy showed the positive effect that reductions in deaths from enteric infections, lower respiratory infections, stroke, and neonatal deaths, among others have contributed to improved survival over the study period. However, a net reduction of 1·6 years occurred in global life expectancy between 2019 and 2021, primarily due to increased death rates from COVID-19 and other pandemic-related mortality. Life expectancy was highly variable between super-regions over the study period, with southeast Asia, east Asia, and Oceania gaining 8·3 years (6·7-9·9) overall, while having the smallest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 (0·4 years). The largest reduction in life expectancy due to COVID-19 occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean (3·6 years). Additionally, 53 of the 288 causes of death were highly concentrated in locations with less than 50% of the global population as of 2021, and these causes of death became progressively more concentrated since 1990, when only 44 causes showed this pattern. The concentration phenomenon is discussed heuristically with respect to enteric and lower respiratory infections, malaria, HIV/AIDS, neonatal disorders, tuberculosis, and measles. INTERPRETATION Long-standing gains in life expectancy and reductions in many of the leading causes of death have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adverse effects of which were spread unevenly among populations. Despite the pandemic, there has been continued progress in combatting several notable causes of death, leading to improved global life expectancy over the study period. Each of the seven GBD super-regions showed an overall improvement from 1990 and 2021, obscuring the negative effect in the years of the pandemic. Additionally, our findings regarding regional variation in causes of death driving increases in life expectancy hold clear policy utility. Analyses of shifting mortality trends reveal that several causes, once widespread globally, are now increasingly concentrated geographically. These changes in mortality concentration, alongside further investigation of changing risks, interventions, and relevant policy, present an important opportunity to deepen our understanding of mortality-reduction strategies. Examining patterns in mortality concentration might reveal areas where successful public health interventions have been implemented. Translating these successes to locations where certain causes of death remain entrenched can inform policies that work to improve life expectancy for people everywhere. FUNDING Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Titanium dioxide is Preferred for Photo-catalytic and PEC Applications: Why?

Titanium dioxide-based systems are the preferred photo-catalytic materials. Among this the commercial P25 has been consistently employed for Photo-catalytic and PEC applications. This system ( ~20% Rutile and ~80% anatase) possibly crystallizes in a core shell configuration and the relevance of this. patterning for the observed photo-catalytic or Photo-electrochemical (PEC) activity is examined