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In this paper we study ergodic optimization and multifractal behavior of Lyapunov exponents for matrix cocycles. We show that the restricted variational principle holds for generic cocycles [in the sense of (Bonatti and Viana in Ergod Theory Dyn Syst 24(5):1295–1330, 2004)] over mixing subshifts of finite type. We also show that the Lyapunov spectrum is equal to the closure of the set where the entropy spectrum is positive for such cocycles. Moreover, we show the continuity of the entropy spectrum at boundary of Lyapunov spectrum in the sense that htop(E(αt))→htop(E(β(A)) , where E(α)=x∈X:limn→∞1nlog‖An(x)‖=α , for such cocycles. We prove the continuity of the lower joint spectral radius for linear cocycles under the assumption that linear cocycles satisfy a cone condition.

Herein, the health risk assessment of exposure to fluoride in drinking water of southern province of Iran was performed with a definite and probabilistic approach. The Monte-Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis were used to explain the impact of risk and uncertainty upon estimations. The results indicated that fluoride concentration was in the range of 0.1–0.9 mg/L with an average of 0.454 ± 0.205 mg/L, and distribution function followed the normality. Moreover, the highest fluoride concentration was observed in the central and northern regions of the province. In the definitive method, hazard quotient (HQ) associated with fluoride in drinking water were lower than 1 (HQ < 1). Conducting Monte-Carlo simulation illustrated that the potential non-carcinogenic risk for children in the 95th percentile exceeded the safe limit of 1, indicating a potential non-carcinogenic in this age group. Sensitivity analysis showed that fluoride concentration and water consumption rate had the most effect in the model. Therefore, consumption of water and foods containing fluoride along with excessive consumption of tea could increase the risk for human health. The results suggested that a continuous monitoring of fluoride in water resources besides proper dietary regime for inhabitants of this province should be taken into consideration.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) casts a wide shadow over the reproductive health of millions of women worldwide, emerging as one of the most complex and multifaceted endocrine disorders. In addition, nitric oxide (NO) stands out as a pivotal signaling molecule, orchestrating a symphony of physiological processes.Objective: This meta-analysis aims to elucidate the association between NO levels and PCOS, investigate the potential of NO as a biomarker for PCOS diagnosis, and evaluate its clinical significance.Materials and Methods: A systematic review was conducted in several electronic databases, including PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Scopus, EMBASE, and Google Scholar, to identify relevant studies published up to January 2024. Standardized mean difference and 95% CI were calculated using a random effects model to assess the overall effect size. Meta-regressions and subgroup analysis were performed to investigate sources of heterogeneity.Results: A meta-analysis of 14 studies with 1171 participants showed that NO levels were significantly lower in the PCOS group than in the control group. The pooled analysis yielded a standardized mean difference of -0.482; 95% CI: -0.908 to -0.056; p = 0.027. Subgroup analyses further demonstrated variations in NO levels between different PCOS phenotypes and in relation to metabolic parameters.Conclusion: This meta-analysis provides evidence for an association between PCOS and dysregulated NO levels and suggests a potential role of NO as a biomarker in the diagnosis and pathogenesis of PCOS.

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is commonly used to treat atrial fibrillation (AF). However, the outcome is often compromised due to the lack of direct real-time feedback to assess lesion transmurality. In this work, we evaluated the ability of polarization-sensitive optical coherence tomography (PSOCT) to measure cardiac wall thickness and assess RF lesion transmurality during left atrium (LA) RFA procedures. Quantitative transmural lesion criteria using PSOCT images were determined ex vivo using an integrated PSOCT-RFA catheter and fresh swine hearts. LA wall thickness of living swine was measured with PSOCT and validated with a micrometer after harvesting the heart. A total of 38 point lesions were created in the LA of 5 living swine with the integrated PSOCT-RFA catheter using standard clinical RFA procedures. For all lesions with analyzable PSOCT images, lesion transmurality was assessed with a sensitivity of 89% (17 of 19 tested positive) and a specificity of 100% (5 of 5 tested negative) using the quantitative transmural criteria. This is the first report of using PSOCT to assess LA RFA lesion transmurality in vivo. The results indicate that PSOCT may potentially provide direct real-time feedback for LA wall thickness and lesion transmurality.

The Body Roundness Index (BRI) has recently been proposed as an effective metric for assessing obesity-related health risks, but its association with female infertility remains insufficiently studied. This study aims to evaluate the predictive power of BRI in comparison to traditional obesity measures (waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI)) for predicting female infertility using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). A total of 2962 women aged 18–45 years were included in this cross-sectional analysis. Multivariable logistic regression models were employed to examine the relationship between BRI and infertility, adjusting for demographic, behavioral, and metabolic factors. In addition, Generalized Additive Models (GAM) and Restricted Cubic Spline (RCS) regression were used to investigate potential non-linear associations, and machine learning algorithms were applied to assess the predictive performance and identify significant features. Our results demonstrated a significant positive association between BRI and female infertility. In the fully adjusted model, each unit increase in BRI was associated with 18% higher odds of infertility (OR = 1.18, p  = 0.032). A dose-response relationship was also observed across BRI quartiles, with women in the highest quartile (Q4) exhibiting 125% higher odds of infertility compared to those in the lowest quartile. Machine learning analysis further confirmed the robustness of BRI in predicting infertility risk, with the XGBoost model providing the highest area under the curve (AUC = 0.935). These findings highlight BRI as a superior predictor for female infertility compared to traditional obesity measures, suggesting its potential for improving clinical risk stratification in reproductive health.

The adverse consequences of ambient particulate matter (PM) on human health have been extensively studied. However, the association between PM2.5 and PM10 [mu]m, two common sizes of particulate matter, and semen quality remains a subject of debate. This systematic review and meta-analysis aim to investigate the relationship between ambient PM2.5 and PM10 [mu]m exposure and semen quality parameters. This systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate a consistent negative association between ambient PM10 and PM2.5 [mu]m exposure and semen quality parameters. The findings suggest that increased levels of ambient particulate matter may have an adverse influence on sperm count and motility. The results highlight the importance of addressing environmental air pollution as a potential risk factor for male reproductive health.

Prediction of water quality is a critical issue because of its significant impact on human and ecosystem health. This research aims to predict water quality index (WQI) for the free surface wetland using three soft computing techniques namely, adaptive neuro-fuzzy system (ANFIS), artificial neural networks (ANNs), and group method of data handling (GMDH). Seventeen wetland points for a period of 14 months were considered for monitoring water quality parameters including conductivity, suspended solid (SS), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), ammoniacal nitrogen (AN), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, phosphate nitrite, and nitrate. The sensitivity analysis performed by ANFIS indicates that the significant parameters to predict WQI are pH, COD, AN, and SS. The results indicated that ANFIS with Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE = 0.9634) and mean absolute error (MAE = 0.0219) has better performance to predict the WQI comparing with ANNs (NSE = 0.9617 and MAE = 0.0222) and GMDH (NSE = 0.9594 and MAE = 0.0245) models. However, ANNs provided a comparable prediction and the GMDH can be considered as a technique with an acceptable prediction for practical purposes. The findings of this study could be used as an effective reference for policy makers in the field of water resource management. Decreasing variables, reduction of running time, and high speed of these approaches are the most important reasons to employ them in any aquatic environment worldwide.

Objective To describe the frequency and demographic characteristics of SARS‐CoV‐2 and influenza infections, as well as their co‐occurrence, among patients in Khuzestan province. Methods This retrospective laboratory‐based study was conducted at the Reference Laboratory of Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Sciences. Between March 2021 and November 2023, respiratory swab samples from patients with suspected Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) or influenza referred from 64 affiliated healthcare institutions (23 health centers and 41 hospitals) were tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 and influenza A/B using RT‐qPCR. Demographic and laboratory data were analyzed using chi‐square and simple logistic regression, and the results were expressed as odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results A total of 148,079 respiratory specimens were analyzed between 2021 and 2023. Among them, 41.2% tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 in 2021, 14.9% in 2022, and 4.5% in 2023, showing a marked decline in COVID‐19 positivity over time. In contrast, influenza positivity progressively increased from 13.3% in 2021 to 15.5% in 2022 and 20.8% in 2023, coinciding with broader testing coverage. Females consistently showed higher infection rates for both viruses. The most affected age groups for COVID‐19 shifted from 40 to 50 years in 2021 to 20–30 years in 2022 and ≥ 70 years in 2023, while influenza was more frequent among individuals under 20 years in 2023. Coinfection with SARS‐CoV‐2 and influenza was uncommon, detected in only 0.6% of the patients in 2023, predominantly involving the H1N1 subtype. Conclusion The present study demonstrates a declining trend of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection alongside a progressive rise in influenza cases in southwest Iran from 2021 to 2023. The findings highlight age‐ and sex‐related variations in infection patterns and underscore the value of continuous dual surveillance for both viruses.

Diminished ovarian reserve is one of the most important issues in in vitro fertilization cycles. Some authors have reported beneficial effects of dual triggering in women with poor ovarian response, whereas other investigators have demonstrated contrary results. The study aims to investigate the effect of final follicular maturation using a dual trigger (human chorionic gonadotropin [HCG] plus gonadotropin-releasing hormone [GnRH] agonist) compared to HCG alone in GnRH-antagonist cycles on oocyte retrieval, maturation, embryo quality, and clinical pregnancy in frozen cycles. This single-blind randomized clinical trial was conducted from May and November 2019 on 80 infertile women with poor ovarian response undergoing an intracytoplasmic sperm injection-embryo transfer cycle with a GnRH-antagonist protocol. All participants received 10,000 IU of urinary HCG for final oocyte maturation. The dual trigger group received an additional 0.2 mg of triptorelin acetate, while the HCG alone group did not. The primary outcome was the clinical pregnancy rate. Secondary outcomes included the number of oocytes retrieved, mature oocytes, fertilization rate, embryo quality, implantation rate, and miscarriage rate. The dual trigger group showed a significantly higher number of total oocytes, metaphase II oocytes, good-quality embryos, and implantation rate compared to the HCG alone group (p 0.050). However, no significant difference was observed between the groups in clinical pregnancy or abortion rates (p 0.050). Final oocyte maturation using a dual trigger (GnRH agonist + HCG) improves the number of good-quality embryos and can be a practical approach to enhance the efficiency of the fertilization process in infertile women with diminished ovarian reserve.