Delay-enhanced coherent chaotic oscillations in networks with large disorders

We study the effect of coupling delay in a regular network with a ring topology and in a more complex network with an all-to-all (global) topology in the presence of impurities (disorder). We find that the coupling delay is capable of inducing phase-coherent chaotic oscillations in both types of networks, thereby enhancing the spatiotemporal complexity even in the presence of 50% of symmetric disorders of both fixed and random types. Furthermore, the coupling delay increases the robustness of the networks up to 70% of disorders, thereby preventing the network from acquiring periodic oscillations to foster disorder-induced spatiotemporal order. We also confirm the enhancement of coherent chaotic oscillations using snapshots of the phases and values of the associated Kuramoto order parameter. We also explain a possible mechanism for the phenomenon of delay-induced coherent chaotic oscillations despite the presence of large disorders and discuss its applications.Comment: 13 pages, 20 figure

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Axillary galactocele of ectopic breast: Ultrasound and mammography correlation

Ectopic or accessory breast tissue may occur anywhere along the milk line or mammary ridge extending from axilla to groin. The most common location of the ectopic breast is axilla. This article reviews a case of 35-year-old female patient who presented to our hospital with left axillary lump. Mammography and ultrasonography were performed. Imaging findings were further confirmed with fine-needle aspiration cytology revealing left axillary galactocele

Development of a Virus‐Induced Gene Silencing System for Dioecious Coccinia grandis

International audienceCoccinia grandisis an interesting model system to understand dioecy in Cucurbitaceae family. Recent transcriptomics and proteomics studies carried out to understand the sex expression inC. grandishave resulted in identification of many candidate sex-biased genes. In absence of an efficient genetic transformation protocol forC. grandis, virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) would be a powerful tool to enable gene functional analysis. In current study, we explored the apple latent spherical virus (ALSV) for gene knockdown inC. grandis.The viral infection was achieved through mechanical inoculation of ALSV-infectedChenopodium quinoaleaf extract onto the cotyledons ofC. grandis. ALSV-VIGS mediated knockdown ofCgPDSgene was successfully achieved inC. grandisby mechanical inoculation method resulting in characteristic photobleaching. Subsequently, we developed agroinfiltration compatible vectors for direct infection ofC. grandisand shortened the time-frame by skipping viral propagation inC. quinoa. Typical yellow-leaf phenotype was observed inC. grandisplants agroinfiltrated with ALSV-CgSUconstructs, indicating robust silencing ofCgSUgene. In addition, we improved the infection efficiency of ALSV by co-infiltration of P19 viral silencing suppressor. These results suggest that ALSV-VIGS is suitable for characterization of gene function in dioeciousC. grandisand it can help us understand the mechanism of sex expression

Data Mining for Cyber Biosecurity Risk Management – a comprehensive review

The world is currently facing the era of Cyberbiosecurity, also known as Biocybersecurity, or Digital Biosecurity, which poses a few unique security vulnerabilities. A significant percentage of the scientific, agricultural, and health communities are still unaware of the unique security complexities that have resulted from fusion of the supply chain, infrastructure, cyber, and life and medical sciences. Measurement, analysis, and mitigation of cyberattacks on biological systems are the goals of Cyberbiosecurity. Data mining is a promising avenue for further investigation as a means of mitigating cyber-attacks for research purposes. Data mining is the process of extracting useful patterns, information, and expertise from massive datasets. In the domain of Cyberbiosecurity, data mining techniques have received little attention. The purpose of this survey on data mining in cybersecurity is to determine the state of the art in cybersecurity issues, including different types of assaults and data mining methods that could be used to address these issues. This review's findings shed insight on the characteristics of security issues as well as gaps in Cyberbiosecurity. Furthermore, the review's conclusions show that most responses to Cyberbiosecurity attacks advocate for national or international government/private organizations to raise public awareness of these attacks and equip their clients/dealers with secure methods to transmit data online. These attempts to raise awareness can be divided into four distinct levels, each with its own set of techniques and objectives, resulting in a holistic strategy to addressing the difficulties of Cyberbiosecurity. A notable gap found in this review is the absence of appropriate countermeasures against cyberattacks employing data mining in the biological systems domain such as healthcare, agriculture, biomedical research, and other domains. The goal of this review is to increase knowledge among Cyberbiosecurity experts and to develop innovative solutions by utilizing cutting-edge data mining techniques in this sector

Participant experiences of clean intermittent self-catheterisation, urinary tract infections and antibiotic use on the ANTIC trial – A qualitative study

Background: Recurrent urinary tract infections are a commonly reported problem in people who use clean intermittent self-catheterisation. Yet there is a lack of knowledge regarding both the impact on people's lives, the use of prophylactic anti-biotics and perceptions of patients on their use. Aims: To explore the views and experiences of adults who use clean intermittent self-catheterisation for long-term bladder conditions, with a focus on urinary tract infection experience and prophylactic antibiotic use. Design: A qualitative descriptive study. Methods: Twenty-six semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with individuals recruited from the ANTIC Trial (Antibiotic treatment for intermittent bladder catheterisation: A randomised controlled trial of once daily prophylaxis). Participants were intermittent self-catheter users aged 18 years or older. Interviews took place between August 2015 and January 2016. Transcript data were analysed thematically. Findings: Three overarching topics were revealed with corresponding themes: the experiences of intermittent self-catheterisation and urinary tract infections (normalisation, perceived burden); attitudes towards antibiotics for urinary tract infection treatment (nonchalant attitudes, ambivalence towards antibiotic resistance); and experiences of low-dose prophylaxis antibiotics (habitual behaviour and supportive accountability). Conclusion: The emotional and practical burden of catheter use and urinary tract infection was considerable. Beliefs pertaining to antibiotic use were based on utility, gravity of need and perceived efficacy. These opinions were often influenced by clinician recommendation

Toward the Synthesis and Improved Biopotential of an N-methylated Analog of a Proline-Rich Cyclic Tetrapeptide from Marine Bacteria

An N-methylated analog of a marine bacteria-derived natural proline-rich tetracyclopeptide was synthesized by coupling the deprotected dipeptide fragments Boc-l-prolyl-l-N-methylleucine-OH and l-prolyl-l-N-methylphenylalanine-OMe. A coupling reaction was accomplished utilizing N,N′-Dicyclohexylcarbodidimde (DCC) and 1-Ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide (EDC·HCl) as coupling agents and Triethylamine (TEA) or N-methylmorpholine (NMM) as the base in the presence of the racemization suppressing agent. This was followed by the cyclization of the linear tetrapeptide fragment under alkaline conditions. The structure of the synthesized cyclooligopeptide was confirmed using quantitative elemental analysis, FTIR (Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy), 1H NMR (Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy), 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry. From the bioactivity results, it was clear that the newly synthesized proline-rich tetracyclopeptide exhibited better anthelmintic potential against Megascoplex konkanensis, Pontoscotex corethruses, and Eudrilus eugeniae at a concentration of 2 mg/mL as well as improved antifungal activity against pathogenic dermatophytes Trichophyton mentagrophytes and Microsporum audouinii at a concentration of 6 μg/mL, as compared to non-methylated tetracyclopeptide. Moreover, N-methylated tetracyclopeptide displayed significant activity against pathogenic Candida albicans