Male infertility can result from impaired sperm motility caused by multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella(MMAF).Distinct projections encircling the central microtubules of the spermatozoal axoneme play p...Male infertility can result from impaired sperm motility caused by multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella(MMAF).Distinct projections encircling the central microtubules of the spermatozoal axoneme play pivotal roles in flagellar bending and spermatozoal movement.Mammalian sperm-associated antigen 17(SPAG17)encodes a conserved axonemal protein of cilia and flagella,forming part of the C1a projection of the central apparatus,with functions related to ciliary/flagellar motility,skeletal growth,and male fertility.This study investigated two novel homozygous SPAG17 mutations(M1:NM_206996.2,c.829+1G>T,p.Asp212_Glu276del;and M2:c.2120del,p.Leu707*)identified in four infertile patients from two consanguineous Pakistani families.These patients displayed the MMAF phenotype confirmed by Papanicolaou staining and scanning electron microscopy assays of spermatozoa.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR)of patients’spermatozoa also revealed a significant decrease in SPAG17 mRNA expression,and immunofluorescence staining showed the absence of SPAG17 protein signals along the flagella.However,no apparent ciliary-related symptoms or skeletal malformations were observed in the chest X-rays of any of the patients.Transmission electron microscopy of axoneme cross-sections from the patients showed incomplete C1a projection and a higher frequency of missing microtubule doublets 1 and 9 compared with those from fertile controls.Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analyses of spermatogenesis-associated protein 17(SPATA17),a component of the C1a projection,and sperm-associated antigen 6(SPAG6),a marker of the spring layer,revealed disrupted expression of both proteins in the patients’spermatozoa.Altogether,these findings demonstrated that SPAG17 maintains the integrity of spermatozoal flagellar axoneme,expanding the phenotypic spectrum of SPAG17 mutations in humans.展开更多
Incorporation of explainability features in the decision-making web-based systems is considered a primary concern to enhance accountability,transparency,and trust in the community.Multi-domain Sentiment Analysis is a ...Incorporation of explainability features in the decision-making web-based systems is considered a primary concern to enhance accountability,transparency,and trust in the community.Multi-domain Sentiment Analysis is a significant web-based system where the explainability feature is essential for achieving user satisfaction.Conventional design methodologies such as object-oriented design methodology(OODM)have been proposed for web-based application development,which facilitates code reuse,quantification,and security at the design level.However,OODM did not provide the feature of explainability in web-based decision-making systems.X-OODM modifies the OODM with added explainable models to introduce the explainability feature for such systems.This research introduces an explainable model leveraging X-OODM for designing transparent applications for multidomain sentiment analysis.The proposed design is evaluated using the design quality metrics defined for the evaluation of the X-OODM explainable model under user context.The design quality metrics,transferability,simulatability,informativeness,and decomposability were introduced one after another over time to the evaluation of the X-OODM user context.Auxiliary metrics of accessibility and algorithmic transparency were added to increase the degree of explainability for the design.The study results reveal that introducing such explainability parameters with X-OODM appropriately increases system transparency,trustworthiness,and user understanding.The experimental results validate the enhancement of decision-making for multi-domain sentiment analysis with integration at the design level of explainability.Future work can be built in this direction by extending this work to apply the proposed X-OODM framework over different datasets and sentiment analysis applications to further scrutinize its effectiveness in real-world scenarios.展开更多
A combination of experimental and statistical analysis presents a comprehensive understanding of the microwave pyrolysis technique for catalytic deconstruction of mixed-density plastics.By optimizing the process param...A combination of experimental and statistical analysis presents a comprehensive understanding of the microwave pyrolysis technique for catalytic deconstruction of mixed-density plastics.By optimizing the process parameters and catalyst selection,it is possible to maximize the production of valuable solid and energy products,contributing to sustainable waste management.In this work,different mixed-density plastics were pyrolyzed with different catalysts and residence times to yield liquid fuel,syngas,and structured carbon residue.The effect of inputs on the product type,yield and composition was statistically evaluated using ANOVA,which showed an F value of 4.108 and a p-value of 0.098(>1.00).FTIR and GC-MS revealed that the oil product consisted of C13+fractions in the form of alkanes,alkenes,and aromatics.The microscopic analysis of the residue confirmed the formation of carbon nanotubes along with other amorphous products.The presence of impurities in the solid product was further analyzed through XRD analysis.The pyrolytic liquid fuel revealed the presence of conjugated aromatic structure and carbonyl group in their concentration.This research demonstrated that converting mixed-density plastics using sodium zeolite,aluminum oxide,and nickel oxide catalysts yields 84%valuable products,confirming wasted plastics as a lucrative energy feedstock for producing hydrogen and high-value carbon compounds.展开更多
Multiple morphological abnormalities of sperm flagella(MMAF)is a severe form of asthenoteratozoospermia,characterized by morphological abnormalities and reduced motility of sperm,causing male infertility.Although appr...Multiple morphological abnormalities of sperm flagella(MMAF)is a severe form of asthenoteratozoospermia,characterized by morphological abnormalities and reduced motility of sperm,causing male infertility.Although approximately 60%of MMAF cases can be explained genetically,the etiology of the remaining cases is unclear.Here,we identified two novel compound heterozygous variants in the gene,dynein axonemal heavy chain 10(DNAH10),in three patients from two unrelated Pakistani families using whole-exome sequencing(WES),including one compound heterozygous mutation(DNAH10:c.9409C>A[p.P3137T];c.12946G>C[p.D4316H])in family 1 and another compound heterozygous mutation(DNAH10:c.8849G>A[p.G2950D];c.11509C>T[p.R3687W])in family 2.All the identified variants are absent or rare in public genome databases and are predicted to have deleterious effects according to multiple bioinformatic tools.Sanger sequencing revealed that these variants follow an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance.Hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining revealed MMAF,including sperm head abnormalities,in the patients.In addition,immunofluorescence staining revealed loss of DNAH10 protein signals along sperm flagella.These findings broaden the spectrum of DNAH10 variants and expand understanding of the genetic basis of male infertility associated with the MMAF phenotype.展开更多
Being a nonlinear operator,fractional derivatives can affect the enforcement of existence at any given time.As a result,the memory effect has an impact on all nonlinear processes modeled by fractional order differenti...Being a nonlinear operator,fractional derivatives can affect the enforcement of existence at any given time.As a result,the memory effect has an impact on all nonlinear processes modeled by fractional order differential equations(FODEs).The goal of this study is to increase the fractional model of the TB virus’s(FMTBV)accuracy.Stochastic solvers have never been used to solve FMTBV previously.The Bayesian regularized artificial(BRA)method and neural networks(NNs),often referred to as BRA-NNs,were used to solve the FMTBV model.Each scenario features five occurrences that each reflect a different order of derivatives,ranging from 0.8,0.85,0.9,0.95,and 1,as well as five potential rates for different parameters.Training data made up 90%of the data,testing data made up 5%,and validation data made up 5%of the data used to illustrate the FMTBV’s approximations.To verify that the BRA-NNs were correct,the generated simulations were described in the following solutions using the FOLotkaVolterra approach in MATLAB.Comprehensive Simulink results in terms of mean square error,error histogram,and regression analysis investigations further highlight the competence,dependability,and accuracy of the suggested BRA-NNs.展开更多
Multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella(MMAF)are characterized by bent,irregular,short,coiled,and absent flagella.MMAF is caused by a variety of genes,some of which have been identified.However,the ...Multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella(MMAF)are characterized by bent,irregular,short,coiled,and absent flagella.MMAF is caused by a variety of genes,some of which have been identified.However,the underlying genetic factors responsible for the majority of MMAF cases are still largely unknown.The glutamine-rich 2(QRICH2)gene plays an essential role in the development of sperm flagella by regulating the expression of essential sperm flagellar biogenesis-associated proteins,and genetic variants of QRICH2 have been identified as the primary cause of MMAF in humans and mice.Here,we recruited a Pakistani consanguineous family to identify the genetic variant causing infertility in patients with MMAF.Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were conducted to identify potentially pathogenic variants causing MMAF in infertile patients.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining was performed to analyze sperm morphology.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction,western blot,and immunofluorescence staining analyses were conducted to observe the expression of QRICH2 in spermatozoa.A novel homozygous missense variant(c.4618C>T)in QRICH2 was identified in the affected patients.Morphological analysis of spermatozoa revealed the MMAF phenotype in infertile patients.qPCR revealed a significant reduction in the level of sperm QRICH2 mRNA,and immunofluorescence staining revealed a lack of sperm QRICH2 expression.Additionally,patients harboring a homozygous QRICH2 mutation presented reduced expression of outer dense fiber 2(ODF2)in sperm,whereas sperm expression of A-kinase anchor protein 4(AKAP4)was normal.These findings expand our understanding of the genetic causes of MMAF-associated male infertility and emphasize the importance of genetic counseling.展开更多
In recent years,the integration of stochastic techniques,especially those based on artificial neural networks,has emerged as a pivotal advancement in the field of computational fluid dynamics.These techniques offer a ...In recent years,the integration of stochastic techniques,especially those based on artificial neural networks,has emerged as a pivotal advancement in the field of computational fluid dynamics.These techniques offer a powerful framework for the analysis of complex fluid flow phenomena and address the uncertainties inherent in fluid dynamics systems.Following this trend,the current investigation portrays the design and construction of an important technique named swarming optimized neuroheuristic intelligence with the competency of artificial neural networks to analyze nonlinear viscoelastic magneto-hydrodynamic Prandtl-Eyring fluid flow model,with diffusive magnetic layers effect along an extended sheet.The currently designed computational technique is established using inverse multiquadric radial basis activation function through the hybridization of a well-known global searching technique of particle swarm optimization and sequential quadratic programming,a technique capable of rapid convergence locally.The most appropriate scaling group involved transformations that are implemented on governing equations of the suggested fluidic model to convert it from a system of nonlinear partial differential equations into a dimensionless form of a third-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation.The transformed/reduced fluid flow model is solved for sundry variations of physical quantities using the designed scheme and outcomes are matched consistently with Adam's numerical technique with negligible magnitude of absolute errors and mean square errors.Moreover,it is revealed that the velocity of the fluid depreciates in the presence of a strong magnetic field effect.The efficacy of the designed solver is depicted evidently through rigorous statistical observations via exhaustive numerical experimentation of the fluidic problem.展开更多
Cardiac arrest(CA)is a life-threatening condition with complex pathophysiology and limited treatment options.To gain deeper insights into the pathological state of vital organs,we employed a proteomics analysis in rod...Cardiac arrest(CA)is a life-threatening condition with complex pathophysiology and limited treatment options.To gain deeper insights into the pathological state of vital organs,we employed a proteomics analysis in rodents to assess proteome alterations in the brain,heart,kidney,and liver using a rat model of CA.The brain displayed severe protein alterations in essential cellular pathways,including three major energy-generating pathways after CA,which worsened after resuscitation,resulting in the most significant overall protein changes among the organs.Conversely,the liver,experiencing the most substantial protein alterations post-CA,demonstrated significant recovery,presenting the least protein changes post-resuscitation.展开更多
Hydro-Pericardium Hepatitis (HPH) is an emerging infectious disease of commercial poultry, caused by different serotypes of Fowl Adeno Virus. The vertical transmission of the virus into the progeny may results in deva...Hydro-Pericardium Hepatitis (HPH) is an emerging infectious disease of commercial poultry, caused by different serotypes of Fowl Adeno Virus. The vertical transmission of the virus into the progeny may results in devastating damage, causing huge economic losses to its farmers. In present study, molecular typing is performed on basis of partially conserved hexon gene sequences, using a unique set of primers having common reverse oligo for simultaneous detection of FAdV1, FAdV-4 and FAdV-11. A total of 14 fowl adeno virus strains were isolated from 100 suspected adeno virus liver samples, collected from different districts in Pakistan, between 2018 and 2019. FASTA’s sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that out of the 14, one isolate which belonged to group A showed 27% similarity with FAdV-1, while three isolates showed 99%, 95% & 45% similarity to FAdV-4 (Group C). Whereas, ten isolates showed more than 99% similarity to FAdV-11 (Group D). The serotypes FAdV1, FAdV-4 and FAdV-11 are prevailing in the breeder and broilers. These results hold great importance in rapid, reliable and simultaneous detection of the three FAdV serotypes. Therefore, fowl adeno virus vaccine production for commercial poultry shall be according to the prevalent field serotypes.展开更多
This paper presents the evaluation of the potential aggregate source for pavement construction in Pakistan. Recently the demand for construction materials has been increased significantly due to the establishment of t...This paper presents the evaluation of the potential aggregate source for pavement construction in Pakistan. Recently the demand for construction materials has been increased significantly due to the establishment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Projects. Therefore, it is essential to look for new resources of construction materials along with the CPEC routes in consideration of this increasing demand. In this context, a Physical and Mechanical characterization investigation is carried out on the Permian Wargal Limestone from Zaluch Nala, Salt Range to explore their potential to utilize as construction materials. The studied samples have tolerable values for all standard engineering parameters, proposed by various national and international agencies such as AASHTO, ASTM, BS, and NHA. Furthermore, as a performance indicator of aggregate overall quality, the evaluated mechanical qualities were integrated into a single characteristic, Toughness Index (TI). The TI values also suggested that the Permian Wargal limestone aggregates meet international quality standards for pavement construction. On the basis of geotechnical testing and Toughness Index (TI), the late Permian Wargal limestone, Zaluch Nala, Salt Range, is strongly recommended as a potential aggregate resource for mega projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other construction projects.展开更多
In this study, a simple Arduino-based experiment was designed to examine the acceleration of the object during free fall and to calculate the value of “g” (acceleration due to gravity). Experimental data on the free...In this study, a simple Arduino-based experiment was designed to examine the acceleration of the object during free fall and to calculate the value of “g” (acceleration due to gravity). Experimental data on the free fall of a plastic box through the air was gathered with the help of an ultrasonic distance sensor (HC-SR04). Readings were taken at different intervals during the fall to obtain distance time curves. Acceleration during the free fall was then determined by applying the standard kinematic equations. The shape of the distance-time graphs obtained from the experimental setup was in good agreement with the predicted graphs and the calculated values of g lie within the expected range. After repeated experiments, value of gravitational acceleration was found to be 9.805 m/s2. Hardware and software prepared for the experiment are sufficient to examine movement of ordinary objects during free fall, therefore the experiment can be easily settled in a laboratory for the purpose of learning and teaching.展开更多
Under natural conditions, plants constantly encounter various biotic and abiotic factors, which can potentially restrict plant growth and development and even limit crop productivity. Among various abiotic factors aff...Under natural conditions, plants constantly encounter various biotic and abiotic factors, which can potentially restrict plant growth and development and even limit crop productivity. Among various abiotic factors affecting plant photosynthesis, light serves as an important factor that drives carbon metabolism in plants and supports life on earth. The two components of light(light quality and light intensity) greatly affect plant photosynthesis and other plant's morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters. The response of plants to different spectral radiations and intensities differs in various species and also depends on growing conditions. To date, much research has been conducted regarding how different spectral radiations of varying intensity can affect plant growth and development. This review is an effort to briefly summarize the available information on the effects of light components on various plant parameters such as stem and leaf morphology and anatomy, stomatal development, photosynthetic apparatus, pigment composition, reactive oxygen species(ROS) production, antioxidants, and hormone production.展开更多
The controllable growth of large area band gap engineered-semiconductor nanowires(NWs) with precise orientation and position is of immense significance in the development of integrated optoelectronic devices. In this ...The controllable growth of large area band gap engineered-semiconductor nanowires(NWs) with precise orientation and position is of immense significance in the development of integrated optoelectronic devices. In this study, we have achieved large area in-plane-aligned CdS_xSe_(1-x) nanowires via chemical vapor deposition method. The orientation and position of the alloyed CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs could be controlled well by the graphoepitaxial effect and the patterns of Au catalyst. Microstructure characterizations of these as-grown samples reveal that the aligned CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs possess smooth surface and uniform diameter. The aligned CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs have strong photoluminescence and high-quality optical waveguide emission covering almost the entire visible wavelength range. Furthermore, photodetectors were constructed based on individual alloyed CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs. These devices exhibit high performance and fast response speed with photoresponsivity ～670 A W^(-1) and photoresponse time ～76 ms. Present work provides a straightforward way to realize in-plane aligned bandgap engineering in semiconductor NWs for the development of large area NW arrays,which exhibit promising applications in future optoelectronic integrated circuits.展开更多
In this work,a degradable polyurethane composed of caprolactone(CL)and L-Lactide(LLA)as soft segments,and 4,40-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate)(H12 MDI)and polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG)as hard segments,was...In this work,a degradable polyurethane composed of caprolactone(CL)and L-Lactide(LLA)as soft segments,and 4,40-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate)(H12 MDI)and polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG)as hard segments,was prepared.Hydrolytic degradation experiment revealed that the degradable polyurethane(PU)could be degraded in artificial seawater.It also showed that caprolactone-copolyurethane(CL-PU)copolymer with higher crystallinity degraded much slower in artificial seawater.However,the introduction of LLA resulted in an increase in the hydrophilicity and reduction in the crystallinity of degradable PU,as demonstrated by the contact angle analysis.The result of the scanning electron microscope showed that the surface of degradable PU renewed under static condition.Moreover,degradable PU was able to be used as a carrier,and it controlled the release rate of 4,5-dichloro-2-octyl-isothiazolone(DCOIT).The anti-diatom(Navicula incerta)test demonstrated that the(caprolactone-co-L-lactide)-co-polyurethane 4(CL/LAx-PU4)with DCOIT contents prevented the adhesion of diatom Navicula incerta(88.37%reduction)due to their self-polishing and the release of antifoulants.Therefore,the degradable PU consisted of CL,LLA,and DCOIT could be a durable resin with good antifouling activity for the application in the marine anti-biofouling field.展开更多
Real time crowd anomaly detection and analyses has become an active and challenging area of research in computer vision since the last decade.The emerging need of crowd management and crowd monitoring for public safet...Real time crowd anomaly detection and analyses has become an active and challenging area of research in computer vision since the last decade.The emerging need of crowd management and crowd monitoring for public safety has widen the countless paths of deep learning methodologies and architectures.Although,researchers have developed many sophisticated algorithms but still it is a challenging and tedious task to manage and monitor crowd in real time.The proposed research work focuses on detection of local and global anomaly detection of crowd.Fusion of spatial-temporal features assist in differentiation of feature trained using Mask R-CNN with Resnet101 as a backbone architecture for feature extraction.The data from,BIWI Walking Pedestrian dataset and the Crowds-By-Examples(CBE)dataset and Self-Generated dataset has been used for experimentation.The data deals with different situations like one set of data deals with normal situations like people walking and acting individually,in a group or in a dense crowd.The other set of data contains images four unique anomalies like fight,accident,explosion and people behaving normally.The simulated results show that in terms of precision and recall,our system performs well with Self-Generated dataset.Moreover,our system uses an early stopping mechanism,which allows our system to outperform to make our model efficient.That is why,on 89th epoch our system starts generating finest results.展开更多
Requirements elicitation is a fundamental phase of software development in which an analyst discovers the needs of different stakeholders and transforms them into requirements.This phase is cost-and time-intensive,and...Requirements elicitation is a fundamental phase of software development in which an analyst discovers the needs of different stakeholders and transforms them into requirements.This phase is cost-and time-intensive,and a project may fail if there are excessive costs and schedule overruns.COVID-19 has affected the software industry by reducing interactions between developers and customers.Such a lack of interaction is a key reason for the failure of software projects.Projects can also fail when customers do not know precisely what they want.Furthermore,selecting the unsuitable elicitation technique can also cause project failure.The present study,therefore,aimed to identify which requirements elicitation technique is the most cost-effective for large-scale projects when time to market is a critical issue or when the customer is not available.To that end,we conducted a systematic literature review on requirements elicitation techniques.Most primary studies identified introspection as the best technique,followed by survey and brainstorming.This finding suggests that introspection should be the first choice of elicitation technique,especially when the customer is not available or the project has strict time and cost constraints.Moreover,introspection should also be used as the starting point in the elicitation process of a large-scale project,and all known requirements should be elicited using this technique.展开更多
Attitude stabilization of a charged rigid spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit using torques due to Lorentz force in pitch and roll directions is considered. A spacecraft that generates an electrostatic charge on its surface...Attitude stabilization of a charged rigid spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit using torques due to Lorentz force in pitch and roll directions is considered. A spacecraft that generates an electrostatic charge on its surface in the Earth’s magnetic field will be subject to perturbations from the Lorentz force. The Lorentz force acting on an electrostatically charged spacecraft may provide a useful thrust for controlling a spacecraft’s orientation. We assume that the spacecraft is moving in the Earth’s magnetic field in an elliptical orbit under the effects of gravitational, geomagnetic and Lorentz torques. The magnetic field of the Earth is modeled as a non-tilted dipole.A model incorporating all Lorentz torques as a function of orbital elements has been developed on the basis of electric and magnetic fields. The stability of the spacecraft orientation is investigated both analytically and numerically. The existence and stability of equilibrium positions is investigated for different values of the charge to mass ratio（α＊）. Stable orbits are identified for various values of α＊. The main parameters for stabilization of the spacecraft are α＊and the difference between the components of the moment of inertia for the spacecraft.展开更多
Due to their low power consumption and limited computing power,Internet of Things(IoT)devices are difficult to secure.Moreover,the rapid growth of IoT devices in homes increases the risk of cyber-attacks.Intrusion det...Due to their low power consumption and limited computing power,Internet of Things(IoT)devices are difficult to secure.Moreover,the rapid growth of IoT devices in homes increases the risk of cyber-attacks.Intrusion detection systems(IDS)are commonly employed to prevent cyberattacks.These systems detect incoming attacks and instantly notify users to allow for the implementation of appropriate countermeasures.Attempts have been made in the past to detect new attacks using machine learning and deep learning techniques,however,these efforts have been unsuccessful.In this paper,we propose two deep learning models to automatically detect various types of intrusion attacks in IoT networks.Specifically,we experimentally evaluate the use of two Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)to detect nine distinct types of attacks listed in the NF-UNSW-NB15-v2 dataset.To accomplish this goal,the network stream data were initially converted to twodimensional images,which were then used to train the neural network models.We also propose two baseline models to demonstrate the performance of the proposed models.Generally,both models achieve high accuracy in detecting the majority of these nine attacks.展开更多
Brain tumor is one of the most dreadful worldwide types of cancer and affects people leading to death.Magnetic resonance imaging methods capture skull images that contain healthy and affected tissue.Radiologists check...Brain tumor is one of the most dreadful worldwide types of cancer and affects people leading to death.Magnetic resonance imaging methods capture skull images that contain healthy and affected tissue.Radiologists checked the affected tissue in the slice-by-slice manner,which was timeconsuming and hectic task.Therefore,auto segmentation of the affected part is needed to facilitate radiologists.Therefore,we have considered a hybrid model that inherits the convolutional neural network(CNN)properties to the support vector machine(SVM)for the auto-segmented brain tumor region.The CNN model is initially used to detect brain tumors,while SVM is integrated to segment the tumor region correctly.The proposed method was evaluated on a publicly available BraTS2020 dataset.The statistical parameters used in this work for the mathematical measures are precision,accuracy,specificity,sensitivity,and dice coefficient.Overall,our method achieved an accuracy value of 0.98,which is most prominent than existing techniques.Moreover,the proposed approach is more suitable for medical experts to diagnose the early stages of the brain tumor.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.82171599 and No.32270901)the National Key Research and Developmental Program of China(2022YFC2702601 and 2022YFA0806303)the Global Select Project(DJKLX-2022010)of the Institute of Health and Medicine,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center.
文摘Male infertility can result from impaired sperm motility caused by multiple morphological abnormalities of the flagella(MMAF).Distinct projections encircling the central microtubules of the spermatozoal axoneme play pivotal roles in flagellar bending and spermatozoal movement.Mammalian sperm-associated antigen 17(SPAG17)encodes a conserved axonemal protein of cilia and flagella,forming part of the C1a projection of the central apparatus,with functions related to ciliary/flagellar motility,skeletal growth,and male fertility.This study investigated two novel homozygous SPAG17 mutations(M1:NM_206996.2,c.829+1G>T,p.Asp212_Glu276del;and M2:c.2120del,p.Leu707*)identified in four infertile patients from two consanguineous Pakistani families.These patients displayed the MMAF phenotype confirmed by Papanicolaou staining and scanning electron microscopy assays of spermatozoa.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction(PCR)of patients’spermatozoa also revealed a significant decrease in SPAG17 mRNA expression,and immunofluorescence staining showed the absence of SPAG17 protein signals along the flagella.However,no apparent ciliary-related symptoms or skeletal malformations were observed in the chest X-rays of any of the patients.Transmission electron microscopy of axoneme cross-sections from the patients showed incomplete C1a projection and a higher frequency of missing microtubule doublets 1 and 9 compared with those from fertile controls.Immunofluorescence staining and Western blot analyses of spermatogenesis-associated protein 17(SPATA17),a component of the C1a projection,and sperm-associated antigen 6(SPAG6),a marker of the spring layer,revealed disrupted expression of both proteins in the patients’spermatozoa.Altogether,these findings demonstrated that SPAG17 maintains the integrity of spermatozoal flagellar axoneme,expanding the phenotypic spectrum of SPAG17 mutations in humans.
基金support of the Deanship of Research and Graduate Studies at Ajman University under Projects 2024-IRG-ENiT-36 and 2024-IRG-ENIT-29.
文摘Incorporation of explainability features in the decision-making web-based systems is considered a primary concern to enhance accountability,transparency,and trust in the community.Multi-domain Sentiment Analysis is a significant web-based system where the explainability feature is essential for achieving user satisfaction.Conventional design methodologies such as object-oriented design methodology(OODM)have been proposed for web-based application development,which facilitates code reuse,quantification,and security at the design level.However,OODM did not provide the feature of explainability in web-based decision-making systems.X-OODM modifies the OODM with added explainable models to introduce the explainability feature for such systems.This research introduces an explainable model leveraging X-OODM for designing transparent applications for multidomain sentiment analysis.The proposed design is evaluated using the design quality metrics defined for the evaluation of the X-OODM explainable model under user context.The design quality metrics,transferability,simulatability,informativeness,and decomposability were introduced one after another over time to the evaluation of the X-OODM user context.Auxiliary metrics of accessibility and algorithmic transparency were added to increase the degree of explainability for the design.The study results reveal that introducing such explainability parameters with X-OODM appropriately increases system transparency,trustworthiness,and user understanding.The experimental results validate the enhancement of decision-making for multi-domain sentiment analysis with integration at the design level of explainability.Future work can be built in this direction by extending this work to apply the proposed X-OODM framework over different datasets and sentiment analysis applications to further scrutinize its effectiveness in real-world scenarios.
基金supported by the Researchers Supporting Project(RSPD2025R985),King Saud University,Riyadh,Saudi Arabia.
文摘A combination of experimental and statistical analysis presents a comprehensive understanding of the microwave pyrolysis technique for catalytic deconstruction of mixed-density plastics.By optimizing the process parameters and catalyst selection,it is possible to maximize the production of valuable solid and energy products,contributing to sustainable waste management.In this work,different mixed-density plastics were pyrolyzed with different catalysts and residence times to yield liquid fuel,syngas,and structured carbon residue.The effect of inputs on the product type,yield and composition was statistically evaluated using ANOVA,which showed an F value of 4.108 and a p-value of 0.098(>1.00).FTIR and GC-MS revealed that the oil product consisted of C13+fractions in the form of alkanes,alkenes,and aromatics.The microscopic analysis of the residue confirmed the formation of carbon nanotubes along with other amorphous products.The presence of impurities in the solid product was further analyzed through XRD analysis.The pyrolytic liquid fuel revealed the presence of conjugated aromatic structure and carbonyl group in their concentration.This research demonstrated that converting mixed-density plastics using sodium zeolite,aluminum oxide,and nickel oxide catalysts yields 84%valuable products,confirming wasted plastics as a lucrative energy feedstock for producing hydrogen and high-value carbon compounds.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.32100689)the National Key Research and Development Program of China(No.2021YFC2700202,No.2022YFA0806303,and No.2022YFC2702601)+1 种基金the Global Select Project(No.DJK-LX-2022010)of the Institute of Health and MedicineHefei Comprehensive National Science Center,and the Joint Fund for New Medicine of USTC(No.YD9100002034).
文摘Multiple morphological abnormalities of sperm flagella(MMAF)is a severe form of asthenoteratozoospermia,characterized by morphological abnormalities and reduced motility of sperm,causing male infertility.Although approximately 60%of MMAF cases can be explained genetically,the etiology of the remaining cases is unclear.Here,we identified two novel compound heterozygous variants in the gene,dynein axonemal heavy chain 10(DNAH10),in three patients from two unrelated Pakistani families using whole-exome sequencing(WES),including one compound heterozygous mutation(DNAH10:c.9409C>A[p.P3137T];c.12946G>C[p.D4316H])in family 1 and another compound heterozygous mutation(DNAH10:c.8849G>A[p.G2950D];c.11509C>T[p.R3687W])in family 2.All the identified variants are absent or rare in public genome databases and are predicted to have deleterious effects according to multiple bioinformatic tools.Sanger sequencing revealed that these variants follow an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance.Hematoxylin and eosin(H&E)staining revealed MMAF,including sperm head abnormalities,in the patients.In addition,immunofluorescence staining revealed loss of DNAH10 protein signals along sperm flagella.These findings broaden the spectrum of DNAH10 variants and expand understanding of the genetic basis of male infertility associated with the MMAF phenotype.
基金supported via funding from Prince Sattam bin Abdulaziz University project number(PSAU/2024/R/1445).
文摘Being a nonlinear operator,fractional derivatives can affect the enforcement of existence at any given time.As a result,the memory effect has an impact on all nonlinear processes modeled by fractional order differential equations(FODEs).The goal of this study is to increase the fractional model of the TB virus’s(FMTBV)accuracy.Stochastic solvers have never been used to solve FMTBV previously.The Bayesian regularized artificial(BRA)method and neural networks(NNs),often referred to as BRA-NNs,were used to solve the FMTBV model.Each scenario features five occurrences that each reflect a different order of derivatives,ranging from 0.8,0.85,0.9,0.95,and 1,as well as five potential rates for different parameters.Training data made up 90%of the data,testing data made up 5%,and validation data made up 5%of the data used to illustrate the FMTBV’s approximations.To verify that the BRA-NNs were correct,the generated simulations were described in the following solutions using the FOLotkaVolterra approach in MATLAB.Comprehensive Simulink results in terms of mean square error,error histogram,and regression analysis investigations further highlight the competence,dependability,and accuracy of the suggested BRA-NNs.
基金supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2021YFC2700202,2022YFA0806303 and 2022YFC2702601)the Global Select Project of the Institute of Health and Medicine,Hefei Comprehensive National Science Center(DJK-LX-2022010)+1 种基金USTC Research Funds of the Double First-Class Initiative(the Joint Fund for New Medicine of USTC)(YD9100002034)the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities(WK9100000004).
文摘Multiple morphological abnormalities of the sperm flagella(MMAF)are characterized by bent,irregular,short,coiled,and absent flagella.MMAF is caused by a variety of genes,some of which have been identified.However,the underlying genetic factors responsible for the majority of MMAF cases are still largely unknown.The glutamine-rich 2(QRICH2)gene plays an essential role in the development of sperm flagella by regulating the expression of essential sperm flagellar biogenesis-associated proteins,and genetic variants of QRICH2 have been identified as the primary cause of MMAF in humans and mice.Here,we recruited a Pakistani consanguineous family to identify the genetic variant causing infertility in patients with MMAF.Whole-exome sequencing and Sanger sequencing were conducted to identify potentially pathogenic variants causing MMAF in infertile patients.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining was performed to analyze sperm morphology.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction,western blot,and immunofluorescence staining analyses were conducted to observe the expression of QRICH2 in spermatozoa.A novel homozygous missense variant(c.4618C>T)in QRICH2 was identified in the affected patients.Morphological analysis of spermatozoa revealed the MMAF phenotype in infertile patients.qPCR revealed a significant reduction in the level of sperm QRICH2 mRNA,and immunofluorescence staining revealed a lack of sperm QRICH2 expression.Additionally,patients harboring a homozygous QRICH2 mutation presented reduced expression of outer dense fiber 2(ODF2)in sperm,whereas sperm expression of A-kinase anchor protein 4(AKAP4)was normal.These findings expand our understanding of the genetic causes of MMAF-associated male infertility and emphasize the importance of genetic counseling.
文摘In recent years,the integration of stochastic techniques,especially those based on artificial neural networks,has emerged as a pivotal advancement in the field of computational fluid dynamics.These techniques offer a powerful framework for the analysis of complex fluid flow phenomena and address the uncertainties inherent in fluid dynamics systems.Following this trend,the current investigation portrays the design and construction of an important technique named swarming optimized neuroheuristic intelligence with the competency of artificial neural networks to analyze nonlinear viscoelastic magneto-hydrodynamic Prandtl-Eyring fluid flow model,with diffusive magnetic layers effect along an extended sheet.The currently designed computational technique is established using inverse multiquadric radial basis activation function through the hybridization of a well-known global searching technique of particle swarm optimization and sequential quadratic programming,a technique capable of rapid convergence locally.The most appropriate scaling group involved transformations that are implemented on governing equations of the suggested fluidic model to convert it from a system of nonlinear partial differential equations into a dimensionless form of a third-order nonlinear ordinary differential equation.The transformed/reduced fluid flow model is solved for sundry variations of physical quantities using the designed scheme and outcomes are matched consistently with Adam's numerical technique with negligible magnitude of absolute errors and mean square errors.Moreover,it is revealed that the velocity of the fluid depreciates in the presence of a strong magnetic field effect.The efficacy of the designed solver is depicted evidently through rigorous statistical observations via exhaustive numerical experimentation of the fluidic problem.
基金the National Research Foundation of Korea grant funded by the Korea government(Ministry of Science and ICT(MSIT),Grant No.:2021R1F1A1061840).
文摘Cardiac arrest(CA)is a life-threatening condition with complex pathophysiology and limited treatment options.To gain deeper insights into the pathological state of vital organs,we employed a proteomics analysis in rodents to assess proteome alterations in the brain,heart,kidney,and liver using a rat model of CA.The brain displayed severe protein alterations in essential cellular pathways,including three major energy-generating pathways after CA,which worsened after resuscitation,resulting in the most significant overall protein changes among the organs.Conversely,the liver,experiencing the most substantial protein alterations post-CA,demonstrated significant recovery,presenting the least protein changes post-resuscitation.
文摘Hydro-Pericardium Hepatitis (HPH) is an emerging infectious disease of commercial poultry, caused by different serotypes of Fowl Adeno Virus. The vertical transmission of the virus into the progeny may results in devastating damage, causing huge economic losses to its farmers. In present study, molecular typing is performed on basis of partially conserved hexon gene sequences, using a unique set of primers having common reverse oligo for simultaneous detection of FAdV1, FAdV-4 and FAdV-11. A total of 14 fowl adeno virus strains were isolated from 100 suspected adeno virus liver samples, collected from different districts in Pakistan, between 2018 and 2019. FASTA’s sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that out of the 14, one isolate which belonged to group A showed 27% similarity with FAdV-1, while three isolates showed 99%, 95% & 45% similarity to FAdV-4 (Group C). Whereas, ten isolates showed more than 99% similarity to FAdV-11 (Group D). The serotypes FAdV1, FAdV-4 and FAdV-11 are prevailing in the breeder and broilers. These results hold great importance in rapid, reliable and simultaneous detection of the three FAdV serotypes. Therefore, fowl adeno virus vaccine production for commercial poultry shall be according to the prevalent field serotypes.
文摘This paper presents the evaluation of the potential aggregate source for pavement construction in Pakistan. Recently the demand for construction materials has been increased significantly due to the establishment of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Projects. Therefore, it is essential to look for new resources of construction materials along with the CPEC routes in consideration of this increasing demand. In this context, a Physical and Mechanical characterization investigation is carried out on the Permian Wargal Limestone from Zaluch Nala, Salt Range to explore their potential to utilize as construction materials. The studied samples have tolerable values for all standard engineering parameters, proposed by various national and international agencies such as AASHTO, ASTM, BS, and NHA. Furthermore, as a performance indicator of aggregate overall quality, the evaluated mechanical qualities were integrated into a single characteristic, Toughness Index (TI). The TI values also suggested that the Permian Wargal limestone aggregates meet international quality standards for pavement construction. On the basis of geotechnical testing and Toughness Index (TI), the late Permian Wargal limestone, Zaluch Nala, Salt Range, is strongly recommended as a potential aggregate resource for mega projects such as the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and other construction projects.
文摘In this study, a simple Arduino-based experiment was designed to examine the acceleration of the object during free fall and to calculate the value of “g” (acceleration due to gravity). Experimental data on the free fall of a plastic box through the air was gathered with the help of an ultrasonic distance sensor (HC-SR04). Readings were taken at different intervals during the fall to obtain distance time curves. Acceleration during the free fall was then determined by applying the standard kinematic equations. The shape of the distance-time graphs obtained from the experimental setup was in good agreement with the predicted graphs and the calculated values of g lie within the expected range. After repeated experiments, value of gravitational acceleration was found to be 9.805 m/s2. Hardware and software prepared for the experiment are sufficient to examine movement of ordinary objects during free fall, therefore the experiment can be easily settled in a laboratory for the purpose of learning and teaching.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31571615)the earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS-04-PS19)。
文摘Under natural conditions, plants constantly encounter various biotic and abiotic factors, which can potentially restrict plant growth and development and even limit crop productivity. Among various abiotic factors affecting plant photosynthesis, light serves as an important factor that drives carbon metabolism in plants and supports life on earth. The two components of light(light quality and light intensity) greatly affect plant photosynthesis and other plant's morphological, physiological and biochemical parameters. The response of plants to different spectral radiations and intensities differs in various species and also depends on growing conditions. To date, much research has been conducted regarding how different spectral radiations of varying intensity can affect plant growth and development. This review is an effort to briefly summarize the available information on the effects of light components on various plant parameters such as stem and leaf morphology and anatomy, stomatal development, photosynthetic apparatus, pigment composition, reactive oxygen species(ROS) production, antioxidants, and hormone production.
基金the NSF of China (Nos.51525202,61574054,61635001,61505051,and 51772088)the Hunan province science and technology plan (Nos.2014FJ2001 and 2014TT1004)+1 种基金the Aid program for Science and Technology Innovative Research Team in Higher Educational Institutions of Hunan Provincethe Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
文摘The controllable growth of large area band gap engineered-semiconductor nanowires(NWs) with precise orientation and position is of immense significance in the development of integrated optoelectronic devices. In this study, we have achieved large area in-plane-aligned CdS_xSe_(1-x) nanowires via chemical vapor deposition method. The orientation and position of the alloyed CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs could be controlled well by the graphoepitaxial effect and the patterns of Au catalyst. Microstructure characterizations of these as-grown samples reveal that the aligned CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs possess smooth surface and uniform diameter. The aligned CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs have strong photoluminescence and high-quality optical waveguide emission covering almost the entire visible wavelength range. Furthermore, photodetectors were constructed based on individual alloyed CdS_xSe_(1-x)NWs. These devices exhibit high performance and fast response speed with photoresponsivity ～670 A W^(-1) and photoresponse time ～76 ms. Present work provides a straightforward way to realize in-plane aligned bandgap engineering in semiconductor NWs for the development of large area NW arrays,which exhibit promising applications in future optoelectronic integrated circuits.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(21776249,21878267,21576236)。
文摘In this work,a degradable polyurethane composed of caprolactone(CL)and L-Lactide(LLA)as soft segments,and 4,40-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate)(H12 MDI)and polytetramethylene ether glycol(PTMEG)as hard segments,was prepared.Hydrolytic degradation experiment revealed that the degradable polyurethane(PU)could be degraded in artificial seawater.It also showed that caprolactone-copolyurethane(CL-PU)copolymer with higher crystallinity degraded much slower in artificial seawater.However,the introduction of LLA resulted in an increase in the hydrophilicity and reduction in the crystallinity of degradable PU,as demonstrated by the contact angle analysis.The result of the scanning electron microscope showed that the surface of degradable PU renewed under static condition.Moreover,degradable PU was able to be used as a carrier,and it controlled the release rate of 4,5-dichloro-2-octyl-isothiazolone(DCOIT).The anti-diatom(Navicula incerta)test demonstrated that the(caprolactone-co-L-lactide)-co-polyurethane 4(CL/LAx-PU4)with DCOIT contents prevented the adhesion of diatom Navicula incerta(88.37%reduction)due to their self-polishing and the release of antifoulants.Therefore,the degradable PU consisted of CL,LLA,and DCOIT could be a durable resin with good antifouling activity for the application in the marine anti-biofouling field.
文摘Real time crowd anomaly detection and analyses has become an active and challenging area of research in computer vision since the last decade.The emerging need of crowd management and crowd monitoring for public safety has widen the countless paths of deep learning methodologies and architectures.Although,researchers have developed many sophisticated algorithms but still it is a challenging and tedious task to manage and monitor crowd in real time.The proposed research work focuses on detection of local and global anomaly detection of crowd.Fusion of spatial-temporal features assist in differentiation of feature trained using Mask R-CNN with Resnet101 as a backbone architecture for feature extraction.The data from,BIWI Walking Pedestrian dataset and the Crowds-By-Examples(CBE)dataset and Self-Generated dataset has been used for experimentation.The data deals with different situations like one set of data deals with normal situations like people walking and acting individually,in a group or in a dense crowd.The other set of data contains images four unique anomalies like fight,accident,explosion and people behaving normally.The simulated results show that in terms of precision and recall,our system performs well with Self-Generated dataset.Moreover,our system uses an early stopping mechanism,which allows our system to outperform to make our model efficient.That is why,on 89th epoch our system starts generating finest results.
基金funding this work through research group no.RG-1441-490.
文摘Requirements elicitation is a fundamental phase of software development in which an analyst discovers the needs of different stakeholders and transforms them into requirements.This phase is cost-and time-intensive,and a project may fail if there are excessive costs and schedule overruns.COVID-19 has affected the software industry by reducing interactions between developers and customers.Such a lack of interaction is a key reason for the failure of software projects.Projects can also fail when customers do not know precisely what they want.Furthermore,selecting the unsuitable elicitation technique can also cause project failure.The present study,therefore,aimed to identify which requirements elicitation technique is the most cost-effective for large-scale projects when time to market is a critical issue or when the customer is not available.To that end,we conducted a systematic literature review on requirements elicitation techniques.Most primary studies identified introspection as the best technique,followed by survey and brainstorming.This finding suggests that introspection should be the first choice of elicitation technique,especially when the customer is not available or the project has strict time and cost constraints.Moreover,introspection should also be used as the starting point in the elicitation process of a large-scale project,and all known requirements should be elicited using this technique.
文摘Attitude stabilization of a charged rigid spacecraft in Low Earth Orbit using torques due to Lorentz force in pitch and roll directions is considered. A spacecraft that generates an electrostatic charge on its surface in the Earth’s magnetic field will be subject to perturbations from the Lorentz force. The Lorentz force acting on an electrostatically charged spacecraft may provide a useful thrust for controlling a spacecraft’s orientation. We assume that the spacecraft is moving in the Earth’s magnetic field in an elliptical orbit under the effects of gravitational, geomagnetic and Lorentz torques. The magnetic field of the Earth is modeled as a non-tilted dipole.A model incorporating all Lorentz torques as a function of orbital elements has been developed on the basis of electric and magnetic fields. The stability of the spacecraft orientation is investigated both analytically and numerically. The existence and stability of equilibrium positions is investigated for different values of the charge to mass ratio（α＊）. Stable orbits are identified for various values of α＊. The main parameters for stabilization of the spacecraft are α＊and the difference between the components of the moment of inertia for the spacecraft.
基金funded by Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University,RG-21-07-04.
文摘Due to their low power consumption and limited computing power,Internet of Things(IoT)devices are difficult to secure.Moreover,the rapid growth of IoT devices in homes increases the risk of cyber-attacks.Intrusion detection systems(IDS)are commonly employed to prevent cyberattacks.These systems detect incoming attacks and instantly notify users to allow for the implementation of appropriate countermeasures.Attempts have been made in the past to detect new attacks using machine learning and deep learning techniques,however,these efforts have been unsuccessful.In this paper,we propose two deep learning models to automatically detect various types of intrusion attacks in IoT networks.Specifically,we experimentally evaluate the use of two Convolutional Neural Networks(CNN)to detect nine distinct types of attacks listed in the NF-UNSW-NB15-v2 dataset.To accomplish this goal,the network stream data were initially converted to twodimensional images,which were then used to train the neural network models.We also propose two baseline models to demonstrate the performance of the proposed models.Generally,both models achieve high accuracy in detecting the majority of these nine attacks.
基金Authors would like to acknowledge the support of the Deputy for Research and Innovation-Ministry of Education,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for funding this research through a Project(NU/IFC/ENT/01/014)under the institutional funding committee at Najran University,Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
文摘Brain tumor is one of the most dreadful worldwide types of cancer and affects people leading to death.Magnetic resonance imaging methods capture skull images that contain healthy and affected tissue.Radiologists checked the affected tissue in the slice-by-slice manner,which was timeconsuming and hectic task.Therefore,auto segmentation of the affected part is needed to facilitate radiologists.Therefore,we have considered a hybrid model that inherits the convolutional neural network(CNN)properties to the support vector machine(SVM)for the auto-segmented brain tumor region.The CNN model is initially used to detect brain tumors,while SVM is integrated to segment the tumor region correctly.The proposed method was evaluated on a publicly available BraTS2020 dataset.The statistical parameters used in this work for the mathematical measures are precision,accuracy,specificity,sensitivity,and dice coefficient.Overall,our method achieved an accuracy value of 0.98,which is most prominent than existing techniques.Moreover,the proposed approach is more suitable for medical experts to diagnose the early stages of the brain tumor.
