Intra-Individual Variability in Cognitive Performance Can Befuddle the Study of Cognitive Impairments and Decline

Using group-aggregated results and snapshot assessments of cognitive performance may prove problematic if the assessed construct shows substantial and rapid variation over time. To illustrate the significance of this issue, we analyzed cognitive performance data of ten older adults undergoing daily computerized cognitive assessments (CogState Brief Battery) for 36–93 days. In all cases, the day-to-day intra-individual variability was substantial when compared with group-level, between-person variability. This indicates that the results of studies using single snapshot assessments of cognitive functioning should be interpreted with caution. Additionally, group-aggregated measures of cognitive performance may not directly extrapolate to an individual.

Covid-19 Infection in India: A Comparative Analysis of the Second Wave with the First Wave

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is considered as the most dreaded disease that has spread all over the world in the recent past. Despite its outbreak in December 2019–January 2020, a few continents and countries such as India started to experience a significant number of COVID-19-positive cases from March 2020. GISAID clade variation analysis in the period March 2020–February 2021 (period I) and March 2021–first week of April 2021 (period II) showed a rapid variation of SARS-CoV-2 in all continents and India over time. Studying the relationship of patient age or gender with viral clades in these two periods revealed that the population under 10 years of age was the least affected, whereas the 11–60-year-old population was the most affected, irrespective of patient gender and ethnicity. In the first wave, India registered quite a low number of COVID-19-positive cases/million people, but the scenario unexpectedly changed in the second wave, when even over 400,000 confirmed cases/day were reported. Lineage analysis in India showed the emergence of new SARS-CoV-2 variants, i.e., B.1.617.1 and B.1.617.2, during April–May 2021, which might be one of the key reasons for the sudden upsurge of confirmed cases/day. Furthermore, the emergence of the new variants contributed to the shift in infection spread by the G clade of SARS-CoV-2 from 46% in period II to 82.34% by the end of May 2021. Along with the management of the emergence of new variants, few factors viz., lockdown and vaccination were also accountable for controlling the upsurge of new COVID-19 cases throughout the country. Collectively, a comparative analysis of the scenario of the first wave with that of the second wave would suggest policymakers the way to prepare for better management of COVID-19 recurrence or its severity in India and other countries.

Shame and State of The Self and Its Implications for Technique

The author reflects on the vicissitudes of the state of the self as it unfolds during the analytical encounter. He delineates the presence and the ubiquity of shame during the interaction between patient and analyst. An important mention is given to the concept of the subject and object polarity. As such, special emphasis is given to the rapid variation of the state of the self. This requires dedicated attention to the state of the self and its awareness, regarding how invalidating shame is to both members of the dyad during their exchanges. The outcome of this attention will be the resulting lack of emotional attunement or validation during the exchange.

Improvement of the Dynamic Response of Robust Sliding Mode MPPT Controller-Based PSO Algorithm for PV Systems under Fast-Changing Atmospheric Conditions

To get the maximum power point (MPP), the algorithms developed in the literature fail for the most part when the atmospheric conditions vary rapidly. This paper presents the optimization by the swarm particles (PSO) of a sliding mode controller (SMC) to optimize photovoltaic systems (PV) evolving under the conditions of a rapid variation of the sunshine. The stochastic PSO algorithm is used in particular to determine the optimal gains of the sliding mode controller, and this algorithm guarantees the stability and global fast convergence of the system. Efficiency of the proposed hybrid algorithm is proved by using a Solarex MSX-60 module connected to a step-up DC-DC converter supplying a resistive load. The performances are compared to the conventional perturb and observe technique (P&O), PSO, CUCKOO, grey wolf optimization (GWO), and Whale Optimization Algorithm (WOA) in terms of convergence speed, i.e., 0.05 s, tracking speed after extreme change in irradiance 0.03 s, high Ability to track large changes in power before 1 s. Simulation results show that this technique is effective in conditions of a rapid variation of the irradiance.

Study of Accretion Flow Dynamics of V404 Cygni during Its 2015 Outburst

The 2015 Outburst of V404 Cygni is an unusual one with several X-ray and radio flares and rapid variation in the spectral and timing properties. The outburst occurred after 26 years of inactivity of the black hole. We study the accretion flow properties of the source during its initial phase of the outburst using Swift/XRT and Swift/BAT data in the energy range of 0.5–150 keV. We have done spectral analysis with the two component advective flow (TCAF) model fits file. Several flow parameters such as two types of accretion rates (Keplerian disk and sub-Keplerian halo), shock parameters (location and compression ratio) are extracted to understand the accretion flow dynamics. We calculated equipartition magnetic field Beq for the outburst and found that the highest Beq∼900 Gauss. Power density spectra (PDS) showed no break, which indicates no or very less contribution of the Keplerian disk component, which is also seen from the result of the spectral analysis. No signature of prominent quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) is observed in the PDS. This is due to the non-satisfaction of the condition for the resonance shock oscillation as we observed mismatch between the cooling timescale and infall timescale of the post-shock matter.

Gastrointestinal Helminths Increase Bordetella bronchiseptica Shedding and Host Variation in Supershedding

Multi-species infections have been suggested to facilitate pathogen transmission and the emergence of supershedding events. However, how the interactions between co-infecting pathogens affect their dynamics of shedding, and how this is related to the host immune response, remains largely unclear. We used laboratory experiments and a modeling approach to examine temporal variations in the shedding of the respiratory bacterium Bordetella bronchiseptica in rabbits challenged with one or two gastrointestinal helminth species. Experimental data showed that rabbits co-infected with one or both helminths shed significantly more B. bronchiseptica by direct contact with an agar petri dish than rabbits with bacteria alone. There was also evidence of synergistic effects when both helminth species were present (triple infection). Co-infected hosts generated supershedding events of higher intensity and more frequently than hosts with no helminths. Model simulations revealed that the two helminths affected the relative contribution of neutrophils and specific IgA and IgG to B. bronchiseptica neutralization in the respiratory tract. In turn, these changes led to differences in the magnitude and duration of shedding among the various types of infection. However, the rapid variation in individual shedding, including supershedding, could not be explained by the interactions between infection and immune response at the scale of analysis that we used. We suggest that local rapid changes at the level of respiratory tissue probably played a more important role. This study provides novel insight into the role of helminths to the dynamics of respiratory infections and offers a quantitative explanation for the differences generated by two helminth species.

The brine depth of the Khorat Basin in Thailand as indicated by high-resolution Br profile

Bromine contents of a 17-cm halite core from drilling hole of K203 in the Khorat Basin were analysed at 1 cm intervals (17 samples in total). The Br contents range from 99 to 184 ppm with a rapid variation. The K/Mg ratios of halite samples are tens of times higher than those of primary halite fluid inclusions. There is no positive correlation between Mg and Br contents, suggesting that fluid inclusions impose very little or negligible influence on Br contents of halites. The Br contents are not controlled by potash minerals either because the SEM examination shows no potash minerals and there is no relationship between K and Br contents. The Br contents of halite are thus primarily controlled by the Br concentrations of parent brines. The rapid variation of Br contents of halite within this section suggests a shallow saline pan wherein the giant Khorat evaporites were formed. This is contradictory to previous Br profiles of the Lower Salt Member which showed relatively stable and continuously increasing trends. The shallow saline pan model evidenced by high-resolution Br profile is consistent with sedimentary facies and salt mineral textures.

Experimental-Numerical Study of Indexation of Scenic Road Vertical Alignment in China

The vertical alignment design method of road in scenic spots does not evolve enough along the vehicle’s rapid variation. Values of the maximum longitudinal slope (MLS) and longest slope length (LSL) applicable to scenic roads used by the environmental-friendly vehicle (EFV) are not provided. To compensate for this shortage, a multibody vehicle dynamic model in uphill traving is built, providing the static equilibrium state and dynamic balancing process of a typical vehicle. MLS and LSL values in scenic roads are obtained based on this model through numerical simulation, considering typical EFV, maximum velocity loss (MVL), and ideal velocity loss (IVL). Field experiments for verifying the results are also carried out in Huashan Mountain, Cuihua Mountain National Park, and Taiping Forest Park, using two EFV types. MLS and LSL values in scenic roads applicable to EFV obtained in this research vary from 7.8% to 10.2% and 200 to 955 m, respectively, and both are larger than the corresponding values in current criteria. According to verification results, relative errors of climbing velocity vary from 0.0104 to 0.0205, showing the dynamic model’s accuracy and further proving the practicality of MLS and LSL values obtained. The results obtained in this research lay a foundation for establishing the scenic-road vertical alignment design method.

Expression and Purification of a PEDV-Neutralizing Antibody and Its Functional Verification

Porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDV) is a highly infectious and pathogenic virus causing high morbidity and mortality, especially in newborn piglets. There remain problems with contemporary PEDV vaccines, in part because of the rapid variation of PEDV, poor conferred immunity, and numerous side effects. The ability to produce PEDV-neutralizing antibodies suggests that we may be able to increase the success rate of PEDV prevention in piglets using these antibodies. In this study, we produced an anti-PEDV S protein monoclonal antibody (anti-PEDV mAb-2) that neutralized PEDV-CV777 (a G1 strain), PEDV-SDSX16 and PEDV-Aj1102 (two G2 strains). In vivo challenge experiments demonstrated that anti-PEDV mAb-2 inhibited the PEDV infection in piglets. We also produced three HEK293 cell lines that expressed anti-PEDV mAb-2. Overall, our study showed that anti-PEDV mAb-2 produced from hybridoma supernatants effectively inhibited PEDV infection in piglets, and the recombinant HEK293 cell lines expressed anti-PEDV mAb-2 genes.