A control oriented strategy of disruption prediction to avoid the configuration collapse of tokamak reactors.

The objective of thermonuclear fusion consists of producing electricity from the coalescence of light nuclei in high temperature plasmas. The most promising route to fusion envisages the confinement of such plasmas with magnetic fields, whose most studied configuration is the tokamak. Disruptions are catastrophic collapses affecting all tokamak devices and one of the main potential showstoppers on the route to a commercial reactor.

Immunohistochemical expression of paxillin in ameloblastoma and odontogenic keratocyst: An observational study.

Background: Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are found on the surface of all cells, where they allow dynamic processes to take place. These include cadherins, integrins, selectins and Immunoglobulin superfamily. Directly associated with β-integrin tails is a multidomain protein known as paxillin.

Effects of environmental conditions on COVID-19 morbidity as an example of multicausality: a multi-city case study in Italy.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), broke out in December 2019 in Wuhan city, in the Hubei province of China. Since then, it has spread practically all over the world, disrupting many human activities. In temperate climates overwhelming evidence indicates that its incidence increases significantly during the cold season.

Phospholipids can regulate complex I assembly independent of their role in maintaining mitochondrial membrane integrity.

Several phospholipid (PL) molecules are intertwined with some mitochondrial complex I (CI) subunits in the membrane domain of CI, but their function is unclear. We report that when the Drosophila melanogaster ortholog of the intramitochondrial PL transporter, STARD7, is severely disrupted, assembly of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) system is impaired, and the biogenesis of several CI subcomplexes is hampered. However, intriguingly, a restrained knockdown of STARD7 impairs the incorporation of NDUFS5 and NDUFA1 into the proximal part of the CI membrane domain without directly affecting the incorporation of subunits in the distal part of the membrane domain, OXPHOS complexes already assembled, or mitochondrial cristae integrity.

Machine Learning Classification of Body Part, Imaging Axis, and Intravenous Contrast Enhancement on CT Imaging.

The development and evaluation of machine learning models that automatically identify the body part(s) imaged, axis of imaging, and the presence of intravenous contrast material of a CT series of images. This retrospective study included 6955 series from 1198 studies (501 female, 697 males, mean age 56.5 years) obtained between January 2010 and September 2021.

Upgrades of Genetic Programming for Data-Driven Modeling of Time Series.

In many engineering fields and scientific disciplines, the results of experiments are in the form of time series, which can be quite problematic to interpret and model. Genetic programming tools are quite powerful in extracting knowledge from data. In this work, several upgrades and refinements are proposed and tested to improve the explorative capabilities of symbolic regression (SR) via genetic programming (GP) for the investigation of time series, with the objective of extracting mathematical models directly from the available signals.

On the Potential of Relational Databases for the Detection of Clusters of Infection and Antibiotic Resistance Patterns.

In recent years, several bacterial strains have acquired significant antibiotic resistance and can, therefore, become difficult to contain. To counteract such trends, relational databases can be a powerful tool for supporting the decision-making process. The case of diffusion in a central region of Italy was analyzed as a case study.

Resting mitochondrial complex I from adopts a helix-locked state.

Respiratory complex I is a proton-pumping oxidoreductase key to bioenergetic metabolism. Biochemical studies have found a divide in the behavior of complex I in metazoans that aligns with the evolutionary split between Protostomia and Deuterostomia. Complex I from Deuterostomia including mammals can adopt a biochemically defined off-pathway 'deactive' state, whereas complex I from Protostomia cannot.

The membrane domain of respiratory complex I accumulates during muscle aging in Drosophila melanogaster.

The boot-shaped respiratory complex I (CI) consists of a mitochondrial matrix and membrane domain organized into N-, Q- and P-modules. The N-module is the most distal part of the matrix domain, whereas the Q-module is situated between the N-module and the membrane domain. The proton-pumping P-module is situated in the membrane domain.

IDH2-mediated regulation of the biogenesis of the oxidative phosphorylation system.

Several subunits in the matrix domain of mitochondrial complex I (CI) have been posited to be redox sensors for CI, but how elevated levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) impinge on CI assembly is unknown. We report that genetic disruption of the mitochondrial NADPH-generating enzyme, isocitrate dehydrogenase 2 (IDH2), in flight muscles results in elevated ROS levels and impairment of assembly of the oxidative phosphorylation system (OXPHOS). Mechanistically, this begins with an inhibition of biosynthesis of the matrix domain of CI and progresses to involve multiple OXPHOS complexes.

Nitric Oxide in Selective Cerebral Perfusion Could Enhance Neuroprotection During Aortic Arch Surgery.

Background: Hypothermic circulatory arrest (HCA) in aortic arch surgery has a significant risk of neurological injury despite the newest protective techniques and strategies. Nitric oxide (NO) could exert a protective role, reduce infarct area and increase cerebral perfusion. This study aims to investigate the possible neuroprotective effects of NO administered in the oxygenator of selective antegrade cerebral perfusion (SCP) during HCA.

Analyzing the integrity of oxidative phosphorylation complexes in flight muscles.

flight muscles are highly enriched with mitochondria and have emerged as a powerful genetic system for studying how oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) complexes are assembled. Here, we describe a series of protocols for analyzing the integrity of OXPHOS complexes in via blue native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (BN PAGE). We have also included protocols for the additional steps that are typically performed after OXPHOS complexes are separated by BN PAGE, such as Coomassie staining, silver staining, and in-gel OXPHOS activities.

What can we learn from systematic segmental analysis of fetal heart by postmortem micro-CT: Is it time to change approach?

Background: Postmortem analysis of fetal heart is crucial but challenging. Alternative techniques to autopsy have been studied. We investigate micro-CT diagnostic accuracy in the analysis of fetal heart coming from early and late termination of pregnancy.

Activation of the Adipose Tissue NLRP3 Inflammasome Pathway in Cancer Cachexia.

Background: Cachexia is a paraneoplastic syndrome that accompanies and compromises cancer treatment, especially in advanced stages, affecting the metabolism and function of several organs. The adipose tissue is the first to respond to the presence of the tumor, contributing to the secretion of factors which drive the systemic inflammation, a hallmark of the syndrome. While inflammation is a defensive innate response, the control mechanisms have been reported to be disrupted in cachexia.

Cor Triatriatum and Intracardiac Anomalous Pulmonary Venous Return: An Inborn Atrial Flow Inversion.

A neonate with a diagnosis of nonobstructive intracardiac type total anomalous pulmonary venous connection presented with profound cyanosis in the first days of life. The preoperative specialist echocardiographic examination also identified the presence of partial cor triatriatum dexter. The anatomic pattern of this exceedingly rare disease's association, its peculiar clinical presentation, and surgical management are discussed.

Improved Treatment of the Independent Variables for the Deployment of Model Selection Criteria in the Analysis of Complex Systems.

Model selection criteria are widely used to identify the model that best represents the data among a set of potential candidates. Amidst the different model selection criteria, the Bayesian information criterion (BIC) and the Akaike information criterion (AIC) are the most popular and better understood. In the derivation of these indicators, it was assumed that the model's dependent variables have already been properly identified and that the entries are not affected by significant uncertainties.

Dissecting the concordant and disparate roles of NDUFAF3 and NDUFAF4 in mitochondrial complex I biogenesis.

Distinct sub-assemblies (modules) of mitochondrial complex I (CI) are assembled with the assistance of CI Assembly Factors (CIAFs) through mechanisms that are incompletely defined. Here, using genetic analyses in , we report that when either of the CIAFs - NDUFAF3 or NDUFAF4 - is disrupted, biogenesis of the Q-, N-, and P-modules of CI is impaired. This is due, at least in part, to the compromised integration of NDUFS3 and NDUFS5 into the Q-, and P-modules, respectively, coupled with a destabilization of another CIAF, TIMMDC1, in assembly intermediates.

First spatially resolved measurements of the D-He α-particle source with the upgraded JET gamma-ray camera.

The Joint European Torus (JET) gamma-ray camera has been recently upgraded with the installation of new gamma-ray detectors, based on LaBr(Ce) scintillation crystals, which add spectroscopic capability to the existing system allowing measurements with good energy resolution (5% at 0.622 MeV), a dynamic range from hundreds of keV up to about 30 MeV, and high counting rate capabilities of MCps. First gamma-ray measurements during the C38 campaign of the JET have been successfully carried out, in particular, in D-He plasmas from three-ion ion cyclotron resonance heating experiments, where the detection of 16.

A Refinement of Recurrence Analysis to Determine the Time Delay of Causality in Presence of External Perturbations.

This article describes a refinement of recurrence analysis to determine the delay in the causal influence between a driver and a target, in the presence of additional perturbations affecting the time series of the response observable. The methodology is based on the definition of a new type of recurrence plots, the Conditional Joint Recurrence plot. The potential of the proposed approach resides in the great flexibility of recurrence plots themselves, which allows extending the technique to more than three quantities.

Image-Based Methods to Investigate Synchronization between Time Series Relevant for Plasma Fusion Diagnostics.

Advanced time series analysis and causality detection techniques have been successfully applied to the assessment of synchronization experiments in tokamaks, such as Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) and sawtooth pacing. Lag synchronization is a typical strategy for fusion plasma instability control by pace-making techniques. The major difficulty, in evaluating the efficiency of the pacing methods, is the coexistence of the causal effects with the periodic or quasi-periodic nature of the plasma instabilities.

On the Potential of Time Delay Neural Networks to Detect Indirect Coupling between Time Series.

Determining the coupling between systems remains a topic of active research in the field of complex science. Identifying the proper causal influences in time series can already be very challenging in the trivariate case, particularly when the interactions are non-linear. In this paper, the coupling between three Lorenz systems is investigated with the help of specifically designed artificial neural networks, called time delay neural networks (TDNNs).

Upgrading Model Selection Criteria with Goodness of Fit Tests for Practical Applications.

The Bayesian information criterion (BIC), the Akaike information criterion (AIC), and some other indicators derived from them are widely used for model selection. In their original form, they contain the likelihood of the data given the models. Unfortunately, in many applications, it is practically impossible to calculate the likelihood, and, therefore, the criteria have been reformulated in terms of descriptive statistics of the residual distribution: the variance and the mean-squared error of the residuals.

Quantifying Total Influence between Variables with Information Theoretic and Machine Learning Techniques.

The increasingly sophisticated investigations of complex systems require more robust estimates of the correlations between the measured quantities. The traditional Pearson correlation coefficient is easy to calculate but sensitive only to linear correlations. The total influence between quantities is, therefore, often expressed in terms of the mutual information, which also takes into account the nonlinear effects but is not normalized.

Data driven theory for knowledge discovery in the exact sciences with applications to thermonuclear fusion.

In recent years, the techniques of the exact sciences have been applied to the analysis of increasingly complex and non-linear systems. The related uncertainties and the large amounts of data available have progressively shown the limits of the traditional hypothesis driven methods, based on first principle theories. Therefore, a new approach of data driven theory formulation has been developed.