Donor Genetic Predisposition to High Interleukin-10 Production Appears Protective against Acute Graft-Versus-Host Disease

The persistence of graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) as the principal complication of allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) demonstrates that HLA matching alone is insufficient to prevent alloreactivity. We performed molecular and functional characterization of 22 candidate cytokine genes for their potential to improve matching in 315 myeloablative, 10/10 HLA-matched donor–recipient pairs. Recipients of a graft carrying the -1082GG IL10 gene promoter region variant had a three-fold lower incidence of grade II–IV acute GVHD compared to IL10-1082AA graft recipients (SHR = 0.25, p = 0.005). This was most evident in matched unrelated donor (MUD) transplants, where the greatest alloreactivity is expected. IL10-1082GG transplants did not experience an increased incidence of relapse, and, consequently, overall survival was two-fold higher in IL10-1082GG MUD transplants (HR = 0.17, p = 0.023). Longitudinal post-transplant measurements demonstrated that -1082GG is a high-IL10-producing and -expressing genotype with attenuated CD8⁺ T-cell reconstitution. High post-transplant donor chimerism in T- and myeloid-cells (>95%) confirmed a predominant donor, rather than recipient, genotype effect on immune function and aGVHD. To date, this is the first study to report corroborating genome-to-cellular evidence for a non-HLA donor immunogenetic variant that appears to be protective against GVHD. The incorporation of IL10 variants in donor selection criteria and clinical-management decisions has the potential to improve patient outcomes.     

Computer Methodologies for the Comparison of Some Efficient Derivative Free Simultaneous Iterative Methods for Finding Roots of Non-Linear Equations

In this article, we construct the most powerful family of simultaneous iterative method with global convergence behavior among all the existing methods in literature for finding all roots of non-linear equations. Convergence analysis proved that the order of convergence of the family of derivative free simultaneous iterative method is nine. Our main aim is to check out the most regularly used simultaneous iterative methods for finding all roots of non-linear equations by studying their dynamical planes, numerical experiments and CPU time-methodology. Dynamical planes of iterative methods are drawn by using MATLAB for the comparison of global convergence properties of simultaneous iterative methods. Convergence behavior of the higher order simultaneous iterative methods are also illustrated by residual graph obtained from some numerical test examples. Numerical test examples, dynamical behavior and computational efficiency are provided to present the performance and dominant efficiency of the newly constructed derivative free family of simultaneous iterative method over existing higher order simultaneous methods in literature.     

Spatio-Temporal Dynamics and Structure Preserving Algorithm for Computer Virus Model

The present work is related to the numerical investigation of the spatio-temporal susceptible-latent-breaking out-recovered (SLBR) epidemic model. It describes the computer virus dynamics with vertical transmission via the internet. In these types of dynamics models, the absolute values of the state variables are the fundamental requirement that must be fulfilled by the numerical design. By taking into account this key property, the positivity preserving algorithm is designed to solve the underlying SLBR system. Since, the state variables associated with the phenomenon, represent the computer nodes, so they must take in absolute. Moreover, the continuous system (SLBR) acquires two steady states i.e., the virus-free state and the virus existence state. The stability of the numerical design, at the equilibrium points, portrays an exceptional aspect about the propagation of the virus. The designed discretization algorithm sustains the stability of both the steady states. The computer simulations also endorse that the proposed discretization algorithm retains all the traits of the continuous SLBR model with spatial content. The stability and consistency of the proposed algorithm are verified, mathematically. All the facts are also ascertained by numerical simulations.     

Optimal parameters for tall buildings with a single viscously damped outrigger considering earthquake and wind loads

Tall buildings suffer from low inherent damping and high flexibility. Therefore, a core-outrigger system is often used to stiffen such buildings. A modified form, known as the damped outrigger system, wherein vertically oriented dampers are installed between outriggers and perimeter columns, has been recently developed to supplement the damping. This paper studies the efficacy of a viscously damped outrigger system through dynamic analysis of a 60-story tall building subjected to nonconcurrent earthquake and wind excitations. Two ground motion sets (100 accelerograms) are used for the former and wind tunnel test data for the latter. Effects of three building parameters, namely, (i) the core-to-column stiffness ratio, (ii) the outrigger location, and (iii) the damper size, on the dynamic characteristics and seismic and wind responses are evaluated. Effects of damper nonlinearity on seismic and wind responses are also investigated considering energy-equivalent nonlinear viscous dampers. Finally, the optimum values of these parameters are determined. For example, the optimum outrigger location is found to be between $0.6H$ to $0.9H$, where $H$ is the height of the building. The results also show that the damped outrigger system significantly outperforms the conventional one for seismic excitation, and it is very effective in reducing the wind-induced floor accelerations, provided the parameters are chosen appropriately.     

Natural fibers and zinc hydroxystannate 3D microspheres based composite paper sheets for modern bendable energy storage application

For modern high-tech flexible energy storage devices, it becomes important to synthesize micro-/nanostructures as per the required shape and morphology with superior physical and electro-active characteristics. This work shares the fabrication and characterization of ZnSn(OH)₆ (Zinc hydroxystannate [ZHS]) prepared by facile microwave-assisted technique and furthermore converted into flexible sheets by employing lignocelluloses (LC) known as natural fibers, collected from Carica papaya leaf petiole as a substrate to provide the flexible matrix. X-ray diffraction measurements confirm the successful crystalline structure of ZHS. Scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy showed the solid spherical structure of ZHS microspheres. Fourier transform infrared spectrometry and Raman spectroscopy confirmed the composite formation of ZHS and LC-based composite sheets (ZHS/LC sheets). Electrochemical measurements that is, cyclic voltammetry (CV), Galvanostatic charge/discharge, and electrochemical impedance (EIS) spectroscopy revealed the electroactive behavior of ZHS/LC paper sheets as working electrode for energy storage applications. CV measurements revealed the specific capacitance of 100 F/g and EIS measurements confirmed the decrease in the resistance of LC fiber after the growth of ZHS microspheres. Presented flexible ZHS based paper sheets will be highly feasible for the modern bendable/flexible/disposable energy storage applications.     

Evaluating the effect of waste glass granules on the fresh,mechanical properties and shear bond strength of sustainable cement mortar

Clean Technologies and Environmental Policy - The amount of waste material has increased with the development of the standard of life, and with an increase in the population, for that waste...     

New Trends in the Modeling of Diseases Through Computational Techniques

The computational techniques are a set of novel problem-solving methodologies that have attracted wider attention for their excellent performance. The handling strategies of real-world problems are artificial neural networks (ANN), evolutionary computing (EC), and many more. An estimated fifty thousand to ninety thousand new leishmaniasis cases occur annually, with only 25% to 45% reported to the World Health Organization (WHO). It remains one of the top parasitic diseases with outbreak and mortality potential. In 2020, more than ninety percent of new cases reported to World Health Organization (WHO) occurred in ten countries: Brazil, China, Ethiopia, Eritrea, India, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen. The transmission of visceral leishmaniasis is studied dynamically and numerically. The study included positivity, boundedness, equilibria, reproduction number, and local stability of the model in the dynamical analysis. Some detailed methods like Runge Kutta and Euler depend on time steps and violate the physical relevance of the disease. They produce negative and unbounded results, so in disease dynamics, such developments have no biological significance; in other words, these results are meaningless. But the implicit nonstandard finite difference method does not depend on time step, positive, bounded, dynamic and consistent. All the computational techniques and their results were compared using computer simulations.     

Oxidative coupling of methane over strontium-doped neodymium oxide: Parametric evaluations

Since its discovery in 1982, oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) has been considered one of the most promising approaches for the on-purpose synthesis of ethylene. The development of more selective catalysts is essential to improve process economics. In this work, undoped neodymium oxide as well as neodymium oxide doped with high (20%) and low (2.5%) levels of strontium were tested in a high-throughput fashion covering a wide range of operating conditions. The catalysts were shown to be able to achieve greater than 18% C₂+ yield. Space velocity was shown to play a significant role in C₂+ selectivity. For a methane to oxygen feed ratio of 3.5, selectivity increased with increasing space velocity, reaching a maximum of 62% at a methane conversion of 30% at an optimal space velocity of ~250,000 ml/h/g. The difference in activity between the three samples was linked to the contribution of different oxygen centers.     

Thermally radiative slip flow of viscous fluid through a microfluidic vessel having sinusoidal walls with variable viscosity

This article explores the influence of variable viscosity on the peristaltic movement of viscous fluid through a tapered microfluidic vessel having sinusoidal walls. The aspect of slip velocity has been considered on the channel walls. Furthermore, the heat transfer phenomenon is explored under the effectiveness of thermal radiation and viscous dissipation. The nonlinearity of the problem is scrutinized by the lubrication approximation hypothesis. Analytic outcomes have been acquired for liquid velocity, temperature, pressure rise, and streamlines. The impact of dissimilar physical parameters influencing the liquid flow features is revealed and deliberated through graphs. The study revealed that the velocity at the central region diminishes with increasing values of the velocity slip parameter. The number of boluses in the streamlines pattern is enhanced by enhancing the viscosity parameter. The current model has been used in bio-engineering processes, industrial fluid mechanics, thermal processing, and cooling systems.