The explainable potential of coupling hybridized metaheuristics, XGBoost, and SHAP in revealing toluene behavior in the atmosphere

Toluene is a neurotoxic aromatic hydrocarbon and one of the major representatives of volatile organic compounds, known for its abundance, adverse health effects, and role in the formation of other atmospheric pollutants like ozone. This research introduces the enhanced version of the reptile search metaheuristics algorithm which has been utilized to tune the extreme gradient boosting hyperparameters, to investigate toluene atmospheric behavior patterns and interactions with other polluting species within defined environmental conditions. The study is based on a two-year database encompassing concentrations of inorganic gaseous contaminants every hour (NO, NO2, NOx, and O3), particulate matter fractions (PM1, PM2.5, and PM10), m,p-xylene, toluene, benzene, total non-methane hydrocarbons, and meteorological data. The experimental outcomes were validated against the results of extreme gradient boosting models optimized by seven other recent powerful metaheuristics algorithms. The best-performing model has been interpreted by employing Shapley additive explanations method. In the study, we have focused on the relationship between toluene and benzene, as its most important predictor, and provided a detailed description of environmental conditions which directed their interactions.

European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care consensus document on sustainability: 4 scopes to achieve a more sustainable practice

Climate change is a defining issue for our generation. The carbon footprint of clinical practice accounts for 4.7% of European greenhouse gas emissions, with the European Union ranking as the third largest contributor to the global healthcare industry's carbon footprint, after the United States and China. Recognising the importance of urgent action, the European Society of Anaesthesiology and Intensive Care (ESAIC) adopted the Glasgow Declaration on Environmental Sustainability in June 2023. Building on this initiative, the ESAIC Sustainability Committee now presents a consensus document in perioperative sustainability. Acknowledging wider dimensions of sustainability, beyond the environmental one, the document recognizes healthcare professionals as cornerstones for sustainable care, and puts forward recommendations in four main areas: direct emissions, energy, supply chain and waste management, and psychological and self-care of healthcare professionals. Given the urgent need to cut global carbon emissions, and the scarcity of evidence-based literature on perioperative sustainability, our methodology is based on expert opinion recommendations. A total of 90 recommendations were drafted by 13 sustainability experts in anaesthesia in March 2023, then validated by 36 experts from 24 different countries in a two-step Delphi validation process in May and June 2023. To accommodate different possibilities for action in high- versus middle-income countries, an 80% agreement threshold was set to ease implementation of the recommendations Europe-wide. All recommendations surpassed the 80% agreement threshold in the first Delphi round, and 88 recommendations achieved an agreement >90% in the second round. Recommendations include the use of very low fresh gas flow, choice of anaesthetic drug, energy and water preserving measures, "5R" policies including choice of plastics and their disposal, and recommendations to keep a healthy work environment or on the importance of fatigue in clinical practice. Executive summaries of recommendations in areas 1, 2 and 3 are available as cognitive aids that can be made available for quick reference in the operating room.

Potential of Coupling Metaheuristics-Optimized-XGBoost and SHAP in Revealing PAHs Environmental Fate

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) refer to a group of several hundred compounds, among which 16 are identified as priority pollutants, due to their adverse health effects, frequency of occurrence, and potential for human exposure. This study is focused on benzo(a)pyrene, being considered an indicator of exposure to a PAH carcinogenic mixture. For this purpose, we have applied the XGBoost model to a two-year database of pollutant concentrations and meteorological parameters, with the aim to identify the factors which were mostly associated with the observed benzo(a)pyrene concentrations and to describe types of environments that supported the interactions between benzo(a)pyrene and other polluting species. The pollutant data were collected at the energy industry center in Serbia, in the vicinity of coal mining areas and power stations, where the observed benzo(a)pyrene maximum concentration for a study period reached 43.7 ngm-3. The metaheuristics algorithm has been used to optimize the XGBoost hyperparameters, and the results have been compared to the results of XGBoost models tuned by eight other cutting-edge metaheuristics algorithms. The best-produced model was later on interpreted by applying Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP). As indicated by mean absolute SHAP values, the temperature at the surface, arsenic, PM10, and total nitrogen oxide (NOx) concentrations appear to be the major factors affecting benzo(a)pyrene concentrations and its environmental fate.

EXPLOSIVE MUSCLE POWER ASSESSMENT IN ELITE ATHLETES USING WINGATE ANAEROBIC TEST

ABSTRACT Introduction: Maximal effort physiological tests provide information about the current functional capacity of athletes. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate anaerobic performance parameters in elite athletes and to compare them in terms of the specific demands of each sport. We also created and applied the new software which enables us to quantify a new parameter -explosive muscle power (EP), a major component in sports requiring explosive bursts of movement lasting from a few seconds to 1 or 2 minutes. This new parameter reflects the velocity of energy transformation from intramuscular ATP and high-energy phosphates into mechanical power. Methods: All Wingate test parameters (standard parameters) - anaerobic power (AP), anaerobic capacity (AC), and explosive power (EP) as the new parameter were recorded in 104 subjects: 30 non-athletes and 74 athletes divided into different groups depending on their sport specialty (20 rowers, 28 wrestlers and 26 soccer players). Results: Anaerobic power (AP), anaerobic capacity (AC) and explosive power (EP) were significantly higher in the group of athletes compared to non-athletes. Among athletes, significant differences were observed in some parameters according to the type of activities they are involved in. The highest values were recorded in the group of wrestlers (AP=836W; AC=16.6kJ; EP=139W/s). The values of AP (absolute values) and EP (absolute and relative values) were significantly higher in wrestlers than in soccer players and rowers, but there was no significant difference in AC among these groups. The EP variable had a distribution similar to AP. Conclusions: Alongside anaerobic power and anaerobic capacity, the assessment of explosive power may complement the anaerobic profile of athletes. Experts in the field of sports medicine and exercise physiology could find these results useful in improving test variables, which are more important for specific sports, and for evaluating and monitoring training progress. Level of Evidence I; Diagnostic studies - Investigating a diagnostic test.

Radiographic enlargement of mandibular canal as first feature of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma

Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma has the propensity to affect non-lymphoid tissue including oral tissue. Primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the mandible mistreated as chronic periodontitis with diffuse enlargement of the mandibular canal and ice-cold numbness is very rarely described in English medical literature. A 57-year-old patient presented with a painful swelling on the left side of the mandible with a clinically chronic periodontitis associated with ice-cold numbness. A panoramic radiograph showed a diffuse uniform enlargement of the mandibular canal. Histological examination showed that the lesion was a primary intraosseous non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the mandible. Immunohistochemical examination showed a positive reaction for CD20+, Ki-67+. Seven months after chemotherapy the patient was observed for possible life-threatening propagation of the disease. In conclusion, primary (extra-nodal) non-Hodgkin's lymphoma of the mandible usually clinically presents with bone swelling, teeth mobility and neurological disturbance. Radiographic features presenting as diffuse enlargement of the mandibular canal could be considered as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

The evolution of the phage shock protein response system: interplay between protein function, genomic organization, and system function

Sensing the environment and responding appropriately to it are key capabilities for the survival of an organism. All extant organisms must have evolved suitable sensors, signaling systems, and response mechanisms allowing them to survive under the conditions they are likely to encounter. Here, we investigate in detail the evolutionary history of one such system: The phage shock protein (Psp) stress response system is an important part of the stress response machinery in many bacteria, including Escherichia coli K12.

Here, we use a systematic analysis of the genes that make up and regulate the Psp system in E. coli in order to elucidate the evolutionary history of the system. We compare gene sharing, sequence evolution, and conservation of protein-coding as well as noncoding DNA sequences and link these to comparative analyses of genome/operon organization across 698 bacterial genomes. Finally, we evaluate experimentally the biological advantage/disadvantage of a simplified version of the Psp system under different oxygen-related environments.

Our results suggest that the Psp system evolved around a core response mechanism by gradually co-opting genes into the system to provide more nuanced sensory, signaling, and effector functionalities. We find that recruitment of new genes into the response machinery is closely linked to incorporation of these genes into a psp operon as is seen in E. coli, which contains the bulk of genes involved in the response. The organization of this operon allows for surprising levels of additional transcriptional control and flexibility. The results discussed here suggest that the components of such signaling systems will only be evolutionarily conserved if the overall functionality of the system can be maintained.

Mandible schwannoma (neurilemmoma) presenting as periapical lesion

Schwannoma is a benign nerve tumour that originates from Schwann cells, which cover peripheral nerves. Intraosseous schwannoma of the jaw is rare. Primary schwannoma of the mandible presenting as a periapical radiolucency on a non-vital endodontically treated tooth has rarely been referred to in the English medical literature. A rare case of intraosseous schwannoma is reported in a 23-year-old woman. The patient presented clinically with a painful swelling on the right side of the mandible and with a radiologically ill-defined unilocular periapical lesion around the mesial root of the endodontically treated first molar. Surgical treatment involved complete excision of the lesion with a mesial and distal root resection. Histological and immunohistochemical examination showed that the lesion was a primary intraosseous schwannoma of the mandible. Immunohistochemical examination showed a positive and strong reaction for S-100 protein, characteristic of neural tumours. 1 year following surgery, there were no regional recurrences. Radiographically, mandibular intraosseous schwannoma is difficult to differentiate from bone tumours such as ameloblastoma, myxoma, fibrous dysplasia, neurofibroma, central giant cell lesion or periapical lesion, so it should be included in the list of possible periapical pathoses.

The PspA protein of Escherichia coli is a negative regulator of sigma(54)-dependent transcription

In Eubacteria, expression of genes transcribed by an RNA polymerase holoenzyme containing the alternate sigma factor sigma(54) is positively regulated by proteins belonging to the family of enhancer-binding proteins (EBPs). These proteins bind to upstream activation sequences and are required for the initiation of transcription at the sigma(54)-dependent promoters. They are typically inactive until modified in their N-terminal regulatory domain either by specific phosphorylation or by the binding of a small effector molecule. EBPs lacking this domain, such as the PspF activator of the sigma(54)-dependent pspA promoter, are constitutively active. We describe here the in vivo and in vitro properties of the PspA protein of Escherichia coli, which negatively regulates expression of the pspA promoter without binding DNA directly.

tRNA synthetase mutants of Escherichia coli K-12 are resistant to the gyrase inhibitor novobiocin

In previous studies we demonstrated that mutations in the genes cysB, cysE, and cls (nov) affect resistance of Escherichia coli to novobiocin (J. Rakonjac, M. Milic, and D. J. Savic, Mol. Gen. Genet. 228:307-311, 1991; R. Ivanisevic, M. Milic, D. Ajdic, J. Rakonjac, and D. J. Savic, J. Bacteriol. 177:1766-1771, 1995). In this work we expand this list with mutations in rpoN (the gene for RNA polymerase subunit sigma54) and the tRNA synthetase genes alaS, argS, ileS, and leuS. Similarly to resistance to the penicillin antibiotic mecillinam, resistance to novobiocin of tRNA synthetase mutants appears to depend upon the RelA-mediated stringent response. However, at this point the overlapping pathways of mecillinam and novobiocin resistance diverge. Under conditions of stringent response induction, either by the presence of tRNA synthetase mutations or by constitutive production of RelA protein, inactivation of the cls gene diminishes resistance to novobiocin but not to mecillinam.

In vivo and in vitro activities of the Escherichia coli sigma54 transcription activator, PspF, and its DNA-binding mutant, PspFDeltaHTH

Transcription of the phage-shock protein (psp) operon in Escherichia coli is driven by a sigma54 promoter, stimulated by integration host factor and dependent on an upstream, cis-acting sequence and an activator protein, PspF. PspF belongs to the enhancer binding protein family but lacks an N-terminal regulatory domain. Purified PspF is not modified and has an ATPase activity that is increased twofold in the presence of DNA carrying the psp cis-acting sequence. Purified mutant His-tagged PspF that lacks the C-terminal DNA-binding motif has a DNA-independent ATPase activity when present at 30-fold the concentration of the wild-type protein. Both proteins oligomerize in solution in an ATP and DNA-independent manner. The wild-type activator protein, but not the DNA-binding mutant, binds specifically to the cis-acting sequence. Analysis of the sequence protected by PspF demonstrates the presence of two upstream binding sites within the sequence, UAS I and UAS II, which together constitute the psp enhancer. Protection at low protein concentrations is more pronounced and more extensive on a supercoiled DNA than on a linear template. Full expression of the psp operon upon hyperosmotic shock depends on wild-type PspF, but only partially requires the presence of the psp enhancer.

Role of upstream activation sequences and integration host factor in transcriptional activation by the constitutively active prokaryotic enhancer-binding protein PspF

PspF, the transcriptional activator of the pspA operon of Escherichia coli, which belongs to the enhancer binding protein (EBP) family of sigma54 activator proteins, is constitutively active in an in vitro transcription assay. PspF protein, together with RNA polymerase holoenzyme containing sigma54, is required for in vitro transcription from the pspA promoter. EBP proteins are typically subject to regulation either by post-translational modification or interaction of a specific ligand with an N-terminal regulatory domain. However, unlike other members of the EBP family, PspF lacks this domain. pspA is positively regulated by IHF in vitro, and this regulation is dependent on the topology of the DNA; a linear template is much more dependent on IHF than a supercoiled template. EBP binding to upstream activating sequences (UAS) in their target promoters is mediated by the C-terminal domain which contains a helix-turn-helix DNA-binding motif. A mutant PspF protein lacking the C-terminal DNA-binding domain is active in vitro, although at much higher concentrations than the wild-type protein. In vitro transcription from pspA templates missing one or both of the UAS sites is reduced relative to wild-type templates, but is still appreciable; however, IHF acts as a negative regulator of pspA transcription on these mutant templates. Thus, PspF bound to non-specific sequences upstream of the pspA promoter can activate pspA transcription, but this activation is inhibited by IHF. These data, taken together, support the model that a precise promoter geometry is necessary for IHF to positively regulate transcription and that IHF may act to prevent activation from inappropriately spaced upstream sites.

Filamentous phage infection-mediated gene expression: construction and propagation of the gIII deletion mutant helper phage R408d3

We describe the use of transcriptional fusions to the phage shock protein (psp) promoter. These fusions are expressed only when cells are infected by filamentous phage. In an application, the psp promoter was fused to the protein coding part of filamentous phage gene III (gIII). Protein III (pIII) is needed to complement mutant f1 phage containing a deletion of gIII, but its synthesis also renders cells resistant to infection. By inducing pIII production from psp-gIII only in the cells that are already infected with phage, it was possible to obtain plaques from phage in which gIII had been completely deleted. gIII was deleted from two helper phages: R408 and VCSM13, which were then propagated on cells containing the psp-gIII fusion. These two phages were tested for use in a phage display method that requires generation of noninfectious, phagemid-containing virion-like particles. Both helpers worked, but R408d3 was superior to VCSM13d3, because it generated about 1800-times fewer background infectious particles.

Autogenous control of PspF, a constitutively active enhancer-binding protein of Escherichia coli

Escherichia coli sigma54-dependent phage shock protein operon (pspA to -E) transcription is under the control of PspF, a constitutively active activator. Sigma70-dependent transcription of pspF is under autogenous control by wild-type PspF but not by a DNA-binding mutant, PspF deltaHTH. Negative autoregulation of PspF is continual and not affected by stimuli, like f1 pIV, that induce the pspA to -E operon. PspF production is independent of PspA (the negative regulator of the pspA to -E operon) and of PspB and -C (positive regulators).

PspF and IHF bind co-operatively in the psp promoter-regulatory region of Escherichia coli

PspF bound to the psp enhancer activates E sigma54 holoenzyme-dependent transcription of the Escherichia coli phage-shock protein (psp) operon and autogenously represses its own sigma70-dependent transcription, thereby keeping its concentration at a low level. It has been demonstrated previously that integration host factor (IHF) bound to a DNA site located between the psp core promoter and the PspF binding sites stimulates psp expression. We show here that wild-type IHF strongly retards DNA containing the psp promoter region. In vitro, PspF binding to the psp enhancer facilitates IHF binding, while IHF binding to the pspF-pspA-E promoter-regulatory region increases the efficacy of PspF binding to the upstream activating sequences (UASs). This is the first demonstration of co-operative binding of an activator and IHF in a sigma54-dependent system. In the absence of IHF, in vivo autoregulation of pspF transcription is lifted and, consequently, PspF production is increased, indicating that IHF enhances PspF binding to the psp enhancer in vivo.

The RIB element in the goaG-pspF intergenic region of Escherichia coli

The sequence (2,700 bp) between the aldH and pspF genes of Escherichia coli was determined. The pspF gene encodes a sigma54 transcriptional activator of the phage shock protein (psp) operon (pspA to pspE). Downstream of the pspF transcribed region are two open reading frames (ORFs), ordL and goaG, convergently oriented with respect to pspF. These two ORFs, together with the adjacent aldH gene, may constitute a novel operon (aldH-ordL-goaG). The goaG-pspF intergenic region contains a complex extragenic mosaic element, RIB. The structure of this RIB element, which belongs to the BIME-1 family, is Y(REP1) > 16 < Z1(REP2), where Y and Z1 are palindromic units and the central 16 bases contain an L motif with an ihf consensus sequence. DNA fragments containing the L motif of the psp RIB element effectively bind integration host factor (IHF), while the Y palindromic unit (REP1) of the same RIB element binds DNA gyrase weakly. Computer prediction of the pspF mRNA secondary structure suggested that the transcribed stem-loop structures formed by the 3'-flanking region of the pspF transcript containing the RIB element can stabilize and protect pspF mRNA. Analysis of pspF steady-state mRNA levels showed that transcripts with an intact RIB element are much more abundant than those truncated at the 3' end by deletion of either the entire RIB element or a single Z1 sequence (REP2). Thus, the pspF 3'-flanking region containing the RIB element has an important role in the stabilization of the pspF transcript.

The Escherichia coli phage-shock-protein (psp) operon

The phage-shock-protein (psp) operon helps to ensure survival of Escherichia coli in late stationary phase at alkaline pH, and protects the cell against dissipation of its proton-motive force against challenge. It is strongly induced by filamentous phage pIV and its bacterial homologues, and by mutant porins that don't localize properly, as well as by a number of other stresses. Transcription of the operon is dependent on sigma54 and a constitutively active, autogenously controlled activator. psp-operon expression is controlled by one negatively and several positively acting regulators, none of which is a DNA-binding protein. The major product of the operon, PspA, may also serve as a negative regulator of an unusual porin, OmpG.

Identification, nucleotide sequence, and characterization of PspF, the transcriptional activator of the Escherichia coli stress-induced psp operon

The phage shock protein (psp) operon (pspABCE) of Escherichia coli is strongly induced in response to a variety of stressful conditions or agents such as filamentous phage infection, ethanol treatment, osmotic shock, heat shock, and prolonged incubation in stationary phase. Transcription of the psp operon is driven from a sigma54 promoter and stimulated by integration host factor. We report here the identification of a transcriptional activator gene, designated pspF, which controls expression of the psp operon in E. coli. The pspF gene was identified by random miniTn10-tet transposon mutagenesis. Insertion of the transposon into the pspF gene abolished sigma54-dependent induction of the psp operon. The pspF gene is closely linked to the psp operon and is divergently transcribed from one major and two minor sigma 70 promoters, pspF encodes a 37-kDa protein which belongs to the enhancer-binding protein family of sigma54 transcriptional activators. PspF contains a catalytic domain, which in other sigma54 activators would be the central domain, and a C-terminal DNA-binding domain but entirely lacks an N-terminal regulatory domain and is constitutively active. The insertion mutant pspF::mTn10-tet (pspF877) encodes a truncated protein (PspF delta HTH) that lacks the DNA-binding helix-turn-helix (HTH) motif. Although the central catalytic domain is intact, PspF delta HTH at physiological concentration cannot activate psp expression. In the absence of inducing stimuli, multicopy-plasmid-borne PspF or PspF delta HTH overcomes repression of the psp operon mediated by the negative regulator PspA.

Reading and Living Images of Masculinity: Comments on Parker's 'Wild Men'

Hermeneutic impulses which continue the interpretative flows around the foci indicated in Parker's 'Masculinity and Cultural Change: Wild Men' (1995) do not just flow by themselves, but open new lines for discovery. As the 'Wild Man' is understood in Parker's text as sthe eruption into the body politic of a new version of psychoanalytic subjectivity', new meanings of Reichian and Habermasian forms of psychoanalytic knowledge are explored (stressing Reich's social understanding of psychoanalysis and warning that Habermas's universalistic claims, as the core of his point of view, cannot be preserved in a feminine interpretation of his communication discourse). It is also suggested that arguments delivered in developmental psychology by Piaget and Vygotsky should be taken into account in order to examine the relationship between the internal and external world and their qualities. In spite of different cultural patterns a promotion of a common patriarchal masculine pattern is recognized in the social context of the present author, not as men's writing, but as a nationalist ideology.

Nucleotide sequence analysis of the inversion termini located within IS3 elements alpha 3 beta 3 and beta 5 alpha 5 of Escherichia coli K-12

This paper presents the first detailed structural analysis of termini of an inversion mediated by recombination between Escherichia coli native IS elements. The complete nucleotide sequence of the inversion termini in the lactose region of Escherichia coli K-12 confirms our previous suggestion that the inversion occurred by homologous recombination between alpha 3 beta 3 and beta 5 alpha 5 IS3 elements (D. J. Savic, J. Bacteriol. 140:311-319, 1979; D. J. Savic, S. Romac, and S. D. Ehrlich, J. Bacteriol. 155:943-946, 1983). The data show a slight structural divergence of alpha 3 beta 3 and beta 5 alpha 5 elements, but they do not reveal new sequences within recombined IS3 elements that could influence the expression of nearby genes.