The transcriptional coactivators YAP (Yes-associated protein) and TAZ (transcriptional coactivator with PDZ-binding motif) are the main downstream effectors of the evolutionary conserved Hippo signaling pathway. YAP/TAZ is implicated in the transcriptional regulation of target genes that are involved in a wide range of key biological processes affecting tissue homeostasis and play dual roles in the aging process depending on cellular and tissue context. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether pharmacological inhibitors of Yap/Taz may increase the lifespan of Drosophila melanogaster. qRT-PCR was performed to measure the changes in the expression level of Yki (Yorkie, the Drosophila homolog of YAP/TAZ) target genes. We have revealed a lifespan increasing effect of YAP/TAZ inhibitors that was mostly associated with decreased expression level of wg and E2f1 genes. However further analysis is required to understand how YAP/TAZ pathway is linked with aging.

This study investigates the therapeutic potential of new compound, potassium 2-[2-(2-oxo-4-phenylpyrrolidin-1-yl) acetamido]ethanesulfonate (Compound I), in depression. Willner's chronic unpredictable mild stress model of depression in 48 male Wistar rats was used a depression model. The rats were randomized into four groups, including an intact group, a Compound I group, a Fluoxetine group, and a control group receiving saline. Behavioral tests, such as the Porsolt forced swim test, hole-board test, elevated plus maze test, and light-dark box, were used to assess the animals' conditions. Our results demonstrated that Compound I effectively reduced the immobilization time of rats in the forced swim test, increased orientation and exploratory behavior, and decreased the latency period of going into the dark compartment compared to the control group. Hippocampal and striatal serotonin concentrations were increased in the Compound I group, and the compound also reduced the level of corticosterone in the blood plasma of rats compared to intact animals. These results suggest that Compound I has a reliable antidepressant activity, comparable to that of the reference antidepressant Fluoxetine.

The diet and feeding behavior of South Polar Skuas (Stercorarius maccormicki) are well studied within the species' breeding range, but are poorly understood on the Haswell Islands. Goal: to establish how South Polar Skuas used the abundance of living resources of the Haswell Archipelago (66°31' S, 93°01' E, Davis Sea, Southern Ocean) under conditions of prolonged human activity. Methods: direct observations, study of pellets, spontaneous regurgitation and stomach contents of feathered birds. South Polar Skuas fed primarily on terrestrial resources. The dominant prey of skuas were vertebrates. Emperor Penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) and Adélie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) make up the bulk of the skuas’ diet in the pre-breeding and breeding periods. Surface feeding at sea was observed in the post-breeding period, when the availability of land-based food resources was reduced. Throughout history, kitchen waste supported the skuas population. Scavenging is the dominant strategy for obtaining food. Predation (primarily on Adélie Penguin eggs and chicks) is of minor importance. South Polar Skuas do not affect the breeding success of Emperor Penguins if they feed on frozen chicks and eggs in their colony. Skua predation influences breeding success of Adélie Penguins and fulmarine petrels, but the extent of the impact is unknown.

The nature of the sustainability crisis is characterized by high levels of complexity, thus it is not amenable to be approached from the linearity or reductionist paradigm. Emergence is a multilevel phenomenon that is characterized by qualitative novelty and is recognized as an important attribute of complex systems produced by self-organized processes, unveiled from a holistic stance. This conceptual-analytical article explores the emergence phenomenon and questions whether it can be a way of enhancing the solution process to meet the sustainability challenges. Emergent properties or behaviors emerge only when the system parts interact in a wider whole. Moreover, a systemic approach is proposed as an intermediary component in the process of emergence of creative and wise solutions to the wicked problems of unsustainability. This requires observation and entails analyzing open systems as a whole and recognizing the impact of traversing macro- and micro- scales on causal and creative emergence. The study also emphasizes synergies between emergence and creativity aimed at sustainability. Sustainable development requires leapfrogging past conventional practices, in an accelerated way, and the emergence phenomenon at play between systems levels, coupled with purposefully structured creative processes, holds the potential for catalyzing sustainable development efforts.

Several series of new polymers were synthesized: binary copolyesters of vanillic (VA) and hydroxybiphenylcarboxylic (HBCA) acids, as well as ternary copolyesters additionally containing hydroxybenzoic acid (HBA) and obtained via three different ways (in solution, in melt and in solid state). The high values of logarithmic intrinsic viscosities and insolubility of several samples proved its high molecular weights. It has been shown that the use of vanillic acid leads to the production of copolyesters with a relatively high glass transition temperature (about 130°C). Thermogravimetric analysis revealed onset of weight loss temperatures of ternary copolyesters occurred at 330-350 °C, the temperature of 5% mass loss is in the range of 390-410 °C. Two-stage thermal destruction is observed for all aromatic copolyester of vanillic acid: decomposition begins with VA units at 420-480 °C, and then decomposition of more heat-resistant units demonstrated above 520 °C. The copolyesters are thermotropic and exhibit a typical nematic type of liquid crystalline order. Mechanical characteristics of copolyesters are close to those for semi-aromatic copolyesters, but are much lower than typical values for fully aromatic thermotropic polymers. Thus, vanillic acid is a mesogenic monomer suitable for the synthesis of thermotropic fully aromatic and semi-aromatic copolyester, but resulting processing temperature must not exceed 280°C.

This paper proposes a method based on genetic algorithm (GA) for the security-constrained optimal dispatch of integrated natural gas and electricity networks, considering operating scenarios in both energy systems. The mathematical formulation of the optimization problem consists of a multi-objective function which aims to minimize both cost of thermal generation (diesel and natural gas) as well as the production and transportation of natural gas. The joint gas-electricity system is modeled by two separate groups of nonlinear equation, which are solved by the combination of Newton's method with the GA. The applicability of the proposed method is tested in the Belgian gas network integrated with the IEEE 14-bus test system and a 15-node natural gas network integrated with the IEEE 118-bus test system. The results demonstrate that the proposed method provides efficient and secure solutions for different operating scenarios in both energy systems.

The necessary and sufficient conditions of existence of the nonlinear operator equations' branches of solutions in the neighbourhood of branching points are derived. The approach is based on reduction of the nonlinear operator equations to finite-dimensional problems. Methods of nonlinear functional analysis, integral equations, spectral theory based on index of Kronecker-Poincare, Morse-Conley index, power geometry and other methods are employed. Proposed methodology enables justification of the theorems on existence of bifurcation points and bifurcation sets in the nonstandard models. Formulated theorems are constructive. For a certain smoothness of the nonlinear operator, the asymptotic behaviour of the solutions is analysed in the neighbourhood of the branch points and uniformly converging iterative schemes with a choice of the uniformization parameter enables the comprehensive analysis of the problems details. General theorems are illustrated on the nonlinear integral equations.

We review a modern differential geometric description of the fluid isotropic motion and featuring it the diffeomorphism group structure, modelling the related dynamics, as well as its compatibility with the quasi-stationary thermodynamical constraints. There is analyzed the adiabatic liquid dynamics, within which, following the general approach, there is explained in detail, the nature of the related Poissonian structure on the fluid motion phase space, as a semidirect Banach groups product, and a natural reduction of the canonical symplectic structure on its cotangent space to the classical Lie-Poisson bracket on the adjoint space to the corresponding semidirect Lie algebras product. We also present a modification of the Hamiltonian analysis in case of the isotermal liquid dynamics. We study the differential-geometric structure of the adiabatic magneto-hydrodynamic superfluid phase space and its related motion within the Hamiltonian analysis and invariant theory. In particular, we construct an infinite hierarchies of different kinds of integral magneto-hydrodynamic invariants, generalizing those before constructed in the literature, and analyze their differential-geometric origins. A charged liquid dynamics on the phase space invariant with respect to an abelian gauge group transformation is also investigated, some generalization of the canonical Lie-Poisson type bracket is obtained.

Diclofenac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives, which has analgesic, anti-inflammatory and antipyretic properties. The interaction of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs with cell membranes can affect their physicochemical properties, which, in turn, can cause a number of side effects in the use of these drugs. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy could be used to study the interaction of diclofenac with the membrane, if its spin-labeled analogs existed. This paper describes the synthesis of spin-labeled diclofenac (diclofenac-SL), which consists of a simple sequence of transformations such as iodination, esterification, Sonogashira cross-coupling, oxidation and saponification. EPR spectra showed that diclofenac-SL binds to in a lipid membrane composed of palmito-yl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (POPC). 2H electron spin echo spectroscopy (ESEEM) was used to determine the position of the diclofenac-SL relative to the membrane surface. It has been established that the average its depth of immersion corresponds to the 5th position of the carbon atom in the lipid chain.

The structural evolution and phase composition of multi-block thermoplastic polyurethanes, with different nature of the soft segments based on poly(butylene adipate) (PBA), were analyzed during in-situ thermal treatments. A combination of synchrotron small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and FTIR spectroscopy was used to determine the influence of macrodiol nature and crystallization conditions on the polymorphic behavior of PBA. Using a new synthesis scheme, a relatively high degree of crystallinity for urethane blocks was achieved, which depends on the diisocyanate type in the structure of the soft segment. The hard segment domains impose geometrical constraints on PBA, thereby altering its crystallization process compared to the neat oligomer. Thus, crystallization after annealing at a low temperature (80 °C) is fast, predominantly yielding a metastable β-phase. When heated to 180 °C, which is higher than the hard-segment melting temperature, a phase-separated structure is observed. Subsequent crystallization is slower, favoring the formation of the stable α-PBA modification. The phase separation can be observed even after the hard block melting. A notably slow crystallization from an isotropic melt was documented after the disruption of phase separation at 230 °C.

In the global carbon cycle, atmospheric carbon emissions, both ‘natural’ and anthropogenic, are balanced by carbon uptake (i.e. sequestration) that mostly occurs via photosynthesis, plus a much smaller proportion via geological processes. Since the formation of the Earth about 4.54 billion years ago the ratio between emitted and sequestered carbon has varied considerably with atmospheric CO₂ levels ranging from 100,000 ppm to a mere 100 ppm. Over this time, a huge amount of carbon has been sequestered due to photosynthesis and essentially removed from the cycle, being buried as fossil deposits of coal, oil and gas. Relatively low atmospheric CO₂ levels were the norm for the past 10 million years, and during the past million years they averaged about 220 ppm. More recently, the Holocene epoch, starting ~11,700 years ago, has been a period of unusual climatic stability with relatively warm, moist conditions and low atmospheric CO₂ levels of between 260 and 280 ppm. During the Holocene, stable conditions facilitated a social revolution with domestication of crops and livestock leading to urbanisation and development of complex technologies. As part of the latter process, immense quantities of sequestered fossil carbon have recently been used as energy sources, resulting in a particularly rapid increase in CO₂ emissions after 1950 CE to the current value of 424 ppm, with further rises to >800 ppm predicted by 2100. This is already perturbing the previously stable Holocene climate and threatening future food production and social stability. Today, the global carbon cycle has been shifted such that carbon sequestration is no longer keeping up with recent anthropogenic emissions. In order to address this imbalance it is important to understand the roles of high-capacity carbon sequestration systems, such as natural forests and tropical croplands, and to devise strategies to facilitate net CO₂ uptake.

The aim of this paper is to apply all the existing pyranometric method, to estimate the sunshine duration from the global solar irradiation, in order to find in their original form the most suitable method for a tropical site. Then, in a second step, one of these methods will be optimized to well fit tropical sites. Five methods in the literature (Step Algorithm, Carpentras Algorithm, Slob & Monna Algorithm, Slob & Monna 2 Algorithm, and Linear Algorithm) were applied with eleven years of global and diffuse solar radiation data. As a result, in their original form, the Step Algorithm is on the first rank. But in the second step, after improving its main coefficients, the Carpentras Algorithm was found to be the best algorithm for tropical site in the southern hemisphere.

We apply the Canny Edge algorithm to the Utqiaġvik coastal sea ice radar system (CSIRS) to quantify open water and sea ice (landfast or drifting) concentration. The radar-derived sea ice concentration is compared against the 25-km resolution NSIDC Climate Data Record (CDR, one pixel closest to the radar field of view) and the 1-km merged MODIS-AMSR2 sea ice concentrations in the ∼11 km field of view for the year 2022-2023, when improved image contrast was first implemented. The algorithm was first optimized using sea ice concentration from 14 different images and 10 ice analysts (140 analysis in total) covering a wide range of ice condition with landfast ice, drifting ice and open water. The algorithm is also validated quantitatively against high-resolution MODIS-Terra in the visible range. Results show a correlation coefficient and mean bias error between the optimized algorithm, the CDR and MODIS-AMSR2 daily SIC of 0.18 and 0.54, and ∼ -1 and 0.9%, respectively, with an averaged inter-analyst error of ± 3%. In general, the CDR captures the melt period correctly and overestimates the SIC during the winter and freeze-up period, while the merged MODIS-AMSR2 better captures the punctual break-out events in winter including those during the freeze-up events (reduction of in SIC). Remnant issues with the detection algorithm include the false detection of sea ice in the presence, fog or precipitation (up to 20%), quantified from the summer reconstruction with known open water conditions. Coastal marine radars provide prove very useful in bridging the gap between (lower) resolution satellite-derived and in-situ (visual) sea ice conditions, and to quantify land contamination from lower resolution satellite-derived SIC.

This study presents an in-depth analysis of land use and land cover change on the Kerch Peninsula over a period spanning three decades. Utilizing convolutional neural networks alongside satellite imagery analysis, we have mapped and quantified the changes in land use and cover, revealing significant trends and transformations within the peninsula's landscape. The research aims to elucidate the interplay between anthropogenic activities, climatic variations, and policy interventions in shaping land cover dynamics, thereby providing insights into the environmental and socio-economic impacts of these changes. Our findings indicate a marked increase in urban expansion at the expense of natural ecosystems, including forests and wetlands, underscoring the urgent need for sustainable land management strategies. The study highlights the role of agricultural intensification and expansion in altering the peninsula's ecological balance and emphasizes the critical importance of integrating change analysis and prediction. By leveraging advanced remote sensing and GIS technologies, our analysis not only enhances the understanding of the complex dynamics driving land use and land cover change but also showcases the potential of predictive modeling in forecasting future land cover scenarios. The implications of this study extend beyond the Kerch Peninsula, offering valuable lessons for managing land use changes and conserving natural landscapes in similar regions globally.

Telomeres – special DNA-protein structures at the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes define the proliferation potential of cells. Extremely short telomeres promote DNA damage response and cell death to eliminate cells potentially accumulated mutations after multiple divisions. However, telomere elongation is associated with increased proliferative potential of special types of cells, such as stem and germ cells, permanently, and is activated temporally in processes of activation of immune response, regeneration processes. Activation of mechanisms of telomere lengthening coupled with increased proliferation and with requirements of cells in energy and building resourses. To obtain necessary nutrients cells stimulate metabolism by switching of oxidative phosphorylation program to glycolysis. In this review we focused on the interconnection of metabolism program and telomere lengthening mechanisms known for the situation of the programmed activation of proliferation such as germ cells maturation, early embryonic development program and immune response activation. Here, we propose that it is possible to reprogram metabolism in order to regulate the telomere length, proliferative activity of cells that may be important for the development of approaches to regeneration, immune response modulation and cancer therapy and further investigations in this area are necessary to improve the understanding and manipulating of molecular mechanisms used for regulation of proliferation.

Melt mixing is a convenient method to prepare polymer nanocomposites, but the extent of the dispersion of the solid filler reached is often limited, and may compromise the anticipated performance of these materials during service. Since the efficiency of extensional flows on dispersion is now well recognized, several mixers were designed with the aim of inducing both shear and extensional flow components. This work combines experimental and numerical data to better understand the kinetics of the dispersion of graphite nanoplates in a polypropylene melt, using a mixing device that consists of a series of stacked rings with equal outer diameter and alternating larger and smaller inner diameters, thus creating a series of converging/diverging flows. Numerical simulation of the flow using the opensource OpenFOAM software assuming both inelastic and viscoelastic responses predicted the velocity, streamlines, flow type and shear and normal stress fields for the mixer. Experimental and computed data were combined to determine the trade-off between the local degree of dispersion of the PP/GnP nanocomposite, measured as Area ratio, and the absolute average value of the hydrodynamic stresses multiplied by the local cumulative residence time. From considerations based on a theoretical approach to dispersion, the cohesive strength of the GnP agglomerates studied was estimated to be in the range 3 - 10kPa.

Observations of the X-ray binary system Her X-1 by the AstroSat Soft X-ray Telescope 1 (SXT) were carried out in 2020 through 2023 with the goals of measuring X-ray spectrum changes with the 35-day disk rotation phase and measuring eclipses at different 35-day phases. The four multi-day long observations were scheduled during: turn-on to Main High (MH) and MH rise; MH state; Short High (SH) state; and Low State (LS). 35-day phase was determined using monitoring observations with the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT). Nine eclipses were observed at a range of 35-day phases, with at least one eclipse during each observation. Data with dips were separated from data without dips. The variation of X-ray spectral parameters vs. 35-day phase shows the following: eclipse parameters are nearly constant, showing that the scattering corona does not change with 35-day phase; dips show an increase in covering fraction but not column density compared to non-dip data; the 1 keV line normalization indicates an origin in a small region near the continuum emission region, likely the magnetospheric accretion flow from the inner disk onto the neutron star; and the change in blackbody normalization (area) shows that the emission region is much larger than the 1 keV emission region, and consistent with the inner edge of the accretion disk.

The research reported on this paper was aimed at improving the overall efficiency of a PDO certified artisanal cheese production process. Being a PDO certified foodstuff by the EU, it is considered to have properties and qualities determined by the geographical environment in which is made, with its production taking place in a specific and determined geographical location, in this case the Serra da Estrela region. In that sense, the authors conducted a mapping according to a systemic perspective of the processes involved in the context of manufacturing and distribution of certified Serra da Estrela cheese. Numerous methods were used throughout the process, such as a systemic design analysis, and techniques derived from ethnographic methods, which led to the collection of data in the field and consequently provided the immersion of the researcher in genuine work situations. Critical points were identified and emphasized in the systemic map with the purpose of encouraging initiatives to address and overcome the gaps and inefficiencies detected. The systemic design analysis triggered the development of design work. Observations following an ethnographic approach identified ergonomic risks in cheese making during the process of cutting excess chips, fostering the emergence of musculoskeletal disorders at the wrist. A tool that fits best to the task at hand was developed. A prototype of the new tool enabled collecting feedback from use in the work context, in order to inform product development. The domains of agricultural production and microbiology, considering the specific microorganisms developed trough the ripening process of the cheese, turned out to be aspects of high importance for the issue under focus, contributing to a broader understanding of the ripening process and its risks, simultaneously improving the efficiency and success of cheese production. If it were not for the systemic analysis, which served as a link between the boundaries of distinct domains such as the risk of microorganism contamination, ergonomics, energy efficiency, legislation and regulation policies, transportation challenges and economic viability, approached throughout the research. Simultaneously creating bridges between them, the various problems might not have been detected in the first place, as they are usually addressed in specialized disciplines, predetermined by the restrictions of each specific area of knowledge. As a consequence of the development of this research, which was based on an analysis that sought to establish possible connections between various disciplines and tried to constantly maintain a holistic perspective, making new connections and observing the issues from a new angle, apart from the already established methodologies. All this allowed to lay out the seeds for the development of a plan to tackle the critical points identified by the systemic analysis reported in this paper.

The state of knowledge of properties of the Andromeda Galaxy (also known as M31) is reviewed. The spatial structure of the Andromeda Galaxy, its main source populations and the properties of its gas and dust are discussed. To understand the formation history of the Andromeda Galaxy, the critical issues of its star formation history and the gas streams and dwarf galaxies in its surrounding environment are reviewed. Emphasis is on recent studies with important earlier work described in the references provided here. It is important to understand the Andromeda Galaxy because it is the nearest large external galaxy and is close enough for high resolution studies. This allows the Andromeda Galaxy to be used as a template to understand more distant and less resolved galaxies in the universe.

Autonomous driving navigation relies on diverse approaches, each with advantages and limitations depending on various factors. For HD maps, modular systems excel, while end-to-end methods dominate mapless scenarios. However, few leverage the strengths of both. This paper innovates by proposing a hybrid architecture that seamlessly integrates modular perception and control modules with data-driven path planning. This innovative design leverages the strengths of both approaches, enabling a clear understanding and debugging of individual components while simultaneously harnessing the learning power of end-to-end approaches. Our proposed architecture achieved 1st and 2nd place in the 2023 CARLA Autonomous Driving Challenge’s SENSORS and MAP tracks, respectively. These results demonstrate the architecture’s effectiveness in both map-based and mapless navigation.

In this paper, the authors consider the influence of the type of power supply and the internal parameters of the DC-DC converter on the stability of the system at constant power load. The stability of the system under consideration is important in the design and development of the power supply system for an autonomous consumer. Such a typical system can be a DC microgrid. In the work, when analyzing the stability of the system, the power source is not considered an ideal voltage source, but the active-inductive nature of the voltage source is taken into account, which is equivalent to using a synchronous machine with permanent magnets. The Rauss-Hurwitz algebraic criterion was used as a criterion for analyzing the stability of the system. This will make it possible to build and analyze the areas and boundaries of the system's stability. As a result, the areas and boundaries of the stability of the system were presented. The general trend towards the behavior of the zone of instability of the system was given. At the same time, dependences describing the boundaries of instability are presented, which are combinations of parameters of the DC-DC converter, beyond which the system becomes unstable. The presented definitions of the instability limits can be used as a corrective device of the control system to ensure the stability of the system in the upper limits of the power consumption.

Here, we present a general framework for computing the infrared anharmonic vibrational spectra of polyatomic molecules using the Born-Oppenheimer molecular dynamics (BOMD) with the software PyRAMD. To account for the nuclear quantum effects, we suggest using the simplified Wigner sampling (SWS) approach [\textit{Phys. Chem. Chem. Phys.}, 2023, \textbf{25}, 18406-18423] simultaneously coupled with the Andersen and Berendsen thermostats. We propose a new criterion for selecting the parameter of the SWS based on the molecules' harmonic vibrational frequencies and usage of the large-time-step blue shift correction, allowing for a decrease in computational expenses. For the Fourier transform of the dipole moment autocorrelation function, we propose to use the regularized least-squares analysis, which allows us to obtain higher frequency resolution than the direct application of fast Fourier transform. Finally, we suggest the usage of the pre-parameterized scaling factors for the IR spectra from BOMD, also providing the scaling factors for the spectra at the BLYP-D3(BJ)/6-31G, PBE-D3(BJ)/6-31G, and PBEh-3c levels of theory.

The global demand for rubber is on a steady rise, which is driven by the increasing production of automobiles and the growing need for industrial, medical, and household products. This surge in demand has led to a significant increase in rubber waste, posing a major global environmental challenge. End-of-life tire (ELT) is a primary source of rubber waste, which possesses significant environmental hazards due to its massive stockpiles. While landfilling is a low-cost and easy-to-implement solution, it is now largely prohibited due to environmental concerns. Recently, ELT rubber waste has garnered considerable attention for its potential applications in civil engineering and construction. These applications not only enhance sustainability but also foster a circular economy between ELT rubber waste and the civil engineering and construction sectors. This review article concentrates on the recent research progress and challenges in the civil engineering applications of ELT rubber waste. It also discusses commercially available recycled rubber-based construction materials, their properties, testing standards, and certification. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first time such a discussion on commercial products has been presented.

After the ban on tributyltin-based antifouling paints, DCOIT (4,5-Dichloro-2-octylisothiazol-3(2H)-one) became one of the most used antifouling biocides. DCOIT is a pseudo-persistent contaminant in port areas and is toxic to non-target species, but its ability to bioaccumulate and be transferred along the trophic chain remains unknown. This study aimed to preliminarily investigate the bioaccumulation, trophic transfer, and biomagnification of DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT (DCOIT immobilized in silica mesoporous nanocapsules) from the microalga Tetraselmis chuii to the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis during exposure experiments considering 24 h of uptake followed by 72 h depuration. Mussels rapidly internalized and metabolized both DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT. The predator-prey biomagnification factors (BMFTL) suggested that both forms of the biocide can be trophically transferred, with higher concentrations of DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT in mussels than in microalgae (BMFTL > 1). However, the bioaccumulation and bioconcentration factors indicated a low bioaccumulation capability in the short term, suggesting that the depuration rate overcomes the uptake. Our findings contribute to the development of environmental risk assessments for DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT, but do not exclude the possibility of DCOIT bioaccumulation in the long-term in areas with constant input of DCOIT. Further studies are needed to understand these processes under continuous exposure scenarios to DCOIT.

We prove an analog of the removable singularity theorem for bounded harmonic functions on stratified sets. The harmonic functions are understood in the sense of the soft Laplacian. The result can become one of the main technical components for extending the well-known Poincaré–Perron’s method of proving the solvability of the Dirichlet problem for the soft Laplacian.

Online education allows learners to develop knowledge and skills flexibly and conveniently—such observation among students whose characteristics involve student engagement, self-regulation, and self-efficacy. However, studies to characterize Filipino online learners seem lacking. Thus, this study aimed to characterize science education tertiary students in the Philippines concerning their online student engagement (OSE), self-regulated learning (SRL), and online learning self-efficacy (OLSE). The unprecedented events brought by COVID-19 pandemic also urged the implementation of online modalities while there is no available information on students’ online learning profiles. Hence, researchers used a survey research employed through ex post facto approach to determine the effects of the demographic profile on OSE, SRL, and OLSE. The survey was participated by N=373 respondents who answered the questionnaire with informed consent administered via Google Forms. Results revealed that OSE indicators moderately characterized students, while SRL and OLSE indicators are true of them, substantiated by the overall mean M=3.85(SD=0.90), M=3.86(SD=0.92), and M=3.14(SD=0.73), respectively. Also, multivariate tests showed no significant effect among the independent groups (p>0.05), except for gender and OLSE interaction (p<0.05) so, only in OLSE was a significant difference found in gender. In conclusion, Filipino online learners are moderate across aspects of student engagement, self-regulation, and self-efficacy.

This work addresses the problem of automatic head pose estimation and its application in 3D gaze estimation using low quality RGB--D sensors without any subject cooperation or manual intervention. The previous works on 3D head pose estimation using RGB--D sensors require either an offline step for supervised learning or 3D head model construction which may require manual intervention or subject cooperation for complete head model reconstruction. In this paper, we propose a 3D pose estimator based on low quality depth data, which is not limited by any of the aforementioned steps. Instead, the proposed technique relies on modeling the subject's face in 3--D rather than the complete head, which in turn, relaxes all of the constraints with the previous works. The proposed method is robust, highly accurate and fully automatic. Moreover, it does not need any offline step. Unlike some of the previous works, the method only uses depth data for pose estimation. The experimental results on the Biwi head pose database confirm the efficiency of our algorithm in handling large pose variations and partial occlusion. We also evaluate the performance of our algorithm on IDIAP database for 3D head pose and eye gaze estimation.

In recent years, different deep learning frameworks were introduced for hyperspectral image (HSI) classification. However, the proposed network models have a higher model complexity and do not provide high classification accuracy if few-shot learning is used. This paper pre-sents an HSI classification method that combines random patches network (RPNet) and re-cursive filtering (RF) to obtain informative deep features. The proposed method first convolves image bands with random patches to extract multi-level deep RPNet features. Thereafter, the RPNet feature set is subjected to dimension reduction through principal component analysis (PCA) and the extracted components are filtered using the RF procedure. Finally, HSI spectral features and the obtained RPNet-RF features are combined to classify the HSI using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. In order to test the performance of the proposed RPNet-RF method, some experiments were performed on three widely known datasets using a few training samples for each class and classification results were compared with those obtained by other advanced HSI classification methods adopted for small training samples. The comparison showed that the RPNet-RF classification is characterized by higher values of such evaluation metrics as overall accuracy and Kappa coefficient (https://github.com/UchaevD/RPNet-RF).

This paper explores ballot split by type and introduces universal measures of democratic power flow and accountable local representation. These measures allow definitive comparison of electoral systems between countries, and choice of a new electoral system within a country based on existing data and with minimum assumptions.

The Covid-19 coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, is inactivated much faster on paper (3h) than on plastic (7d). By classifying materials according to virus stability on their surface, the following list is obtained (from long to short stability): polypropylene (mask), plastic, glass, stainless steel, pig skin, cardboard, banknote, cotton, wood, paper, tissue, copper. These observations and other studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 may be inactivated by dryness on water absorbent porous materials but sheltered by long-persisting micro-droplets of water on waterproof surfaces. If such physical phenomenons were confirmed by direct evidence, the persistence of the virus on any surface could be predicted, and new porous objects could be designed to eliminate the virus faster.

The archival Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer (RXTE) Proportional Counter Array (PCA) observations of HZ Her/Her X-1 are analyzed here. The time periods for Anomalous Low States are refined. The 35-day X-ray lightcurve of Her X-1 is produced using 35-day phases determined with RXTE All-Sky Monitor (ASM) and Swift Burst Altert Telescope (BAT) data, with adjustments based on the RXTE/PCA data. The result is the highest sensitivity 35-day lightcurve of Her X-1. The RXTE/PCA data were separated into 8 differents states of the 35-day cycle: Main High (MH) turn-on, MH, MH decline, Low State (LS) 1, Short High (SH) turn-on, SH, SH decline, and LS2. Orbital lightcurves were created for each state, and the different states are compared. Eclipse data was extracted for each state to determine the changes of eclipse shape with 35-day phase. A scattering corona model was fit to the eclipses for the different 35-day states: this shows that the corona is present at all 35-day phases with similar intensity. We carried out a search for previously-reported dips with no absorption, but did not find any.

Inverse problems of recovering surface fluxes on the boundary of a domain from pointwise observations are considered. Sharp conditions on the data ensuring existence and uniqueness of solutions in Sobolev classes are exposed. They are smoothness conditions on the data, geometric conditions on the location of measurement points, and the boundary of a domain. The proof relies on asymptotics of fundamental solutions to the corresponding elliptic problems and the Laplace transform. The problem is reduced to a linear algebraic system with a nondegerate matrix.

The X-ray emission from a supernova remnant (SNR) is a powerful diagnostic of the state of the shocked plasma, and, given a model, can be used to determine the energy of the explosion, the age of the SNR and the density of the surrounding medium. Observed properties are shock radius, electron temperature (kTe) and emission measure (EM) of the shocked-gas. The standard and XSPEC definitions have an important difference. The XSPEC definition is superior for SNRs, which have components with low hydrogen abundance. SNR model calculations are based on hydrodynamic solutions for fluid variables of density, pressure and velocity. The relations between fluid variables and kTe or EM depend on composition, ionization state and electron-ion temperature ratio (Te/TI). Here the effects of composition, ionization and Te/TI on standard and on XSPEC versions of kTe and EM are investigated.

Background Oil palm (OP), Elaeis guineensis , is by far the most important global oil crop, supplying about 40% of total traded vegetable oil. Palm oils are key dietary components consumed daily by over three billion people, mostly in Asia, and also have a wide range of important non-food uses including in cleansing and sanitising products. Main body Oil palm is a perennial crop with a >25-year life cycle and an exceptionally small land footprint compared to annual oilseed crops. Oil palm crops globally produce an annual 81 million tonnes (Mt) of oil from about 19 million hectares (Mha). In contrast, the second and third largest vegetable oil crops, soybean and rapeseed, yield a combined 84 Mt oil but occupy over 163 Mha of increasingly scarce arable land. Despite this advantage, oil palm has acquired a poor environmental reputation, especially in Europe and North America, although soybean planting is now responsible for more deforestation. Oil palm crops face other challenges in the 2020s. On the demand side, these include changing consumer purchasing habits, threats to global trade systems, and diminishing demand for liquid fuels as transport systems become increasingly electrified. On the supply side, major issues include stagnant yields in ageing plantations, sluggish replanting of improved varieties, labour shortages, diseases and climatic/ environmental threats. The latter include the increasing incidence of new and existing pests/diseases and a general lack of climatic resilience, especially relating to elevated temperatures and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns. This review surveys the oil palm sector in the 2020s and beyond, its major challenges and options for future progress. Conclusions Oil palm crops face many future challenges, including emerging threats from climate change and new pests and diseases, that require more effective international collaboration. Nevertheless, new breeding technologies are providing the promise of improvements, such as much higher yielding varieties, improved oil profiles, enhanced disease resistance and modified crop architecture to enable harvesting mechanisation. The industry also needs to redouble its efforts to engage with global consumers in a constructive dialogue aimed at addressing its image problem and explaining the many benefits of its products.

Multiagent technologies give a new way to study and control complex systems. Local interactions between agents often lead to group synchronization also known as clusterization, which usually is a more rapid process in comparison with relatively slow changes in external environment. Usually, the goal of system control is defined by the behaviour of a system on long time intervals. When these time intervals are much longer than the time of cluster formation, clusters may be considered as new variables in a ``slow'' time model. We call such variables ``mesoscopic'' to emphasize their scale laying between the level of the whole system (macroscopic scale) and the level of individual agents (microscopic scale). Thus, it allows us to reduce significantly the dimensionality of a system by omitting considerations of each separated agent, so that we may hope to reduce the required amount of control inputs. Thus, we are often able to consider a system as a collection of ``flowing'' (morphing) clusters emerged form behaviour of a huge amount of individual agents. In this paper, we contrast such approach to the one where a system is considered as a network of elementary agents. We develop a mathematical framework for analysis of cluster flows in multiagent networks and use it to analyze the Kuramoto model as an attracting example of a complex networked system. In this model, a clusterization leads to sparse representation of dynamic trajectories in the whole quantized state space. With that in mind, compressive sensing allows to restore the trajectories in a high-dimensional discrete state space based on significantly lower amount of randomized integral mesoscopic observations. We propose a corresponding algorithm of quantized dynamic trajectory compression. It could allow us to efficiently transmit the state space data to a data center for further control synthesis. The theoretical results are illustrated for a simulated multiagent network with multiple clusters.

In this paper, a multirotor UAV platform based on the PX4 ecosystem was discussed, which in combination with the MATLAB Simulink programming environment enables utilization in various aspects of mechatronic engineering education. Extensive testing of the UAV platform control module was performed, in order to enable implementation in engineering education. In the design phase of the educational platform, take-off-the-shelf components were selected and tested, and airframe parts were manufactured using rapid prototyping technologies. The proposed educational platform with four rotors was presented and tested. The learning outcomes of the undergraduate mechatronics professional study program according to the Croatian Qualifications Framework and related to the considered platform are shown. A preliminary framework of laboratory exercises for the field of mechatronic systems control is investigated.

Trio-based exome sequencing and high-resolution HLA typing were employed to analyze three patients with autoimmune adrenal insufficiency (AAI), including those with autoimmune polyglandular syndrome (APS) type 2, as well as their parents. Benign or likely benign variants of the AIRE gene were identified in all participants of the study. These variants, coupled with clinical data and the results of antibody studies to type I interferons, helped to exclude APS-1. Patients with APS-2, in contrast to patient with AAI, inherited distinct variants of unknown significance in the CLEC16A gene, which is associated with autoimmune diseases including AAI. Various risk alleles in other genes associated with autoimmunity were identified in all patients. HLA typing of second class loci revealed alleles related to APS types 2, 3, and 4. Nevertheless, the frequencies of the haplotypes identified are substantial in the healthy Russian population, precluding from regarding these alleles as genetic determinants linked to APS development. Immunological examination can detect antibody carriers and predict the risk of autoimmune disease development. In the future, to identify genetic predictors of autoimmune endocrinopathies, it is recommended to analyze the whole genome of patients and their relatives, examining clinically relevant variants in non-coding regions.

This article introduces a new physically based Lyapunov function difinition, which can be used as acoustic energy for finite amplitude pressure oscillations in reacting systems especially in combustion chambers. Reacting flow is seen as an open, non-equilibrium (parameters are distributed unevenly locally) thermodynamic system. This Lyapunov function is defined as the maximum mechanical work, which could be extracted by a heat engine from studied system, if this system would be disconnected from inlet and outlet and from any other surrounding environment, and the engine could transfer to the surrounding environment only mechanical work.

This work presents the synthesis and self-organization of the calamitic fluorinated mesogen, 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro-2-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro-4-iodobutoxy)ethanesulfonic acid, a potential model for perfluorosulfonic acid membranes (PFSA). The compound is derived in three steps from 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro-2-(1,1,2,2-tetrafluoro-2-iodoethoxy)ethanesulfonyl fluoride, achieving an 78% overall yield. The resulting compound exhibits intricate thermal behavior. At 150 °C, a crystal-to-crystal transition is observed due to the partial disordering of calamitic molecules, which is followed by isotropization at 218 °C. Upon cooling, sample ordering occurs through the formation of large smectic liquid crystalline phase domains. This thermotropic state transforms into a layered crystal phase at lower temperatures, characterized by alternating hydrophilic and hydrophobic layers. Using X-ray diffraction, crystalline unit cell models at both room temperature and 170 °C were proposed. Computer simulations of the molecule across varying temperatures support the idea that thermal transitions correlate with a loss of molecular orientation. Importantly, the study underscores the pivotal role of precursor self-organization in aligning channels during membrane fabrication, ensuring controlled and oriented positioning.

The intricacies of translational strategies make this stage of the implementation of genetic information one of the most difficult to understand and, at the same time, perhaps the most interesting. It also becomes clear that all this variety of strategies is not just a consequence of a long evolutionary history but is of paramount importance for fine-tuning gene expression and metabolic modulation. This is especially true for those organisms that demonstrate predominantly biochemical and physiological reactions with a lack of behavioural ones. Plants are just such a group of organisms. Overcoming unfavourable environmental conditions occupies a key place in plant physiology. This is especially true with the changing conditions of global warming and the irretrievable loss or depletion of natural ecosystems. Conceptually, the response of plants to abiotic stress is a set of complex and intricate strategies. This is dictated both by a variety of abiotic factors that provoke stressful conditions and by a variety of molecular genetic mechanisms that make it possible to fine-tune the metabolic pathways through which the plant organism overcomes non-standard and non-optimal conditions. In the presented review, we tried to focus on the state-of-the-art in the field of translational regulation in plants under abiotic stress conditions. Various regulatory elements and patterns are considered in relative chronological order. We also considered it necessary to pay attention to key high-performance methods for studying the dynamics of genetic information at the stage of translation.

Stress is one of the important factors affecting the growth and development of plants. In recent years, a large body of data on transcriptional changes in response to stress in plants has been obtained. Despite the fact that the important role of the regulation of translation in response to stress has been proven in plants, knowledge in this area remains extremely scarce. In this review, we focused on mRNA translation in the cytoplasm of higher plants. Most of the current research on the effects of translation has been done in yeast and mammalian systems. Translation factors and mechanisms are mostly conserved among eukaryotes; however, some differences are known to exist among plants. A comprehensive understanding of the complex apparatus of translation and its regulation in plants is required. In this work, we have tried to update modern ideas about the regulation of translation under conditions of abiotic stress.

Sulfite and kraft pulping are two principal methods of industrial delignification of wood. In recent decades, those have been considered as possibilities to pretreat recalcitrant wood lignocellulosics for enzymatic hydrolysis of polysaccharides and subsequent fermentation of obtained sugars to valuable bioproducts. Current work compares chemistry and technological features of two different cooking processes in the preparation of polysaccharide substrates for deep sacchari-fication with P. verruculosum glycosyl hydrolases. Bleached kraft and sulfite pulps were subjected to hydrolysis with enzyme mixture of high xylanase, cellobiohydrolase and β-glucosidase activities at a dosage of 10 FPU/g of dry pulp and fiber concentration of 2.5, 5 and 10%. HPLC was used to analyze soluble sugars after hydrolysis and additional acid inversion of oligomers to monosaccharides. Kraft pulp demonstrated higher pulp conversion after 48 h (74-99%), mostly resulted from deep xylan hydrolysis. Sulfite-pulp hydrolysates, obtained in similar conditions, due to higher hexose concentration (more than 50 g/L), had higher fermentability for industrial strains producing alcohols, microbial protein or organic acids. Along with saccharification, enzymatic modification of non-hydrolysed residues occurred, which led to decreased degree of polymerization and composition changes in two industrial pulps. As a result, crystallinity of kraft pulp increased by 1.3%, which opens possibilities for obtaining new types of cellulosic products in pulp and paper industry. The high adaptability and controllability of enzymatic and fermentation processes creates prospects for the modernization of existing factories.

This study assessed bio-equivalence of high-quality, plant-based protein blends versus Whey Protein Isolate (WPI) in healthy, resistance-trained men. The primary endpoint was incremental area under the curve (iAUC) of blood essential Amino Acids (eAAs) 4 hours after consumption of each product. Cmax and Tmax of blood leucine were secondary outcomes. Subjects (n=18) consumed three plant-based protein blends and WPI (control). Analysis of Variance model was used to assess for bio-equivalence of total sum of blood eAA concentrations. The total blood eAA iAUC ratios of the three blends were: [90% CI]: #1: 0.66 [0.58-0.76]; #2: 0.71 [0.62-0.82]; #3: 0.60 [0.52-0.69], not completely within the pre-defined equivalence range [0.80-1.25], indicative of 30-40% lower iAUC versus WPI. Leucine Cmax of the three blends was not equivalent to WPI, #1: 0.70 [0.67-0.73]; #2: 0.72 [0.68-0.75]; #3: 0.65 [0.62 – 0.68], indicative of a 28-35% lower response. Leucine Tmax for two blends were similar to WPI (#1: 0.94 [0.73-1.18]; #2: 1.56 [1.28-1.92]; #3: 1.19 [0.95-1.48]). The plant-based protein blends were not bio-equivalent. However, blood leucine kinetic data across the blends approximately doubled from fasting concentrations whereas blood Tmax data across two blends was similar to WPI. This suggests evidence of rapid hyperleucinemia, which correlates with a protein’s anabolic potential.

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) is one of the most commercially essential vegetable crops cultivated worldwide. In addition to the nutritional value, tomato is an excellent model for studying climacteric fruits' ripening process. Despite this, the available natural pool of genes that allows expanding phenotypic diversity is limited, and the difficulties of crossing using classical selection methods when stacking traits increase proportionally with each additional feature. Genetic engineering makes it possible to introduce changes in genes of interest without changing the allelic combinations characteristic of successful commercial varieties, to enhance the expression of existing genes, to create and transfer artificial and heterologous genes, and much more. However, this requires understanding the fundamental principles of the molecular interaction. Although the leading candidate genes for these components have been identified, a complete picture of their relationship has yet to be formed. The review summarizes the latest (2017-2023) achievements related to studying the ripening processes of tomato fruits. In this work, an attempt is made to systematize the results of various research and display the interaction pattern of genes regulating the process of tomato fruit ripening.

Given the documented wave-induced damage of elevated coastal decks during extreme natural hazards (e.g. hurricanes) in the last two decades, it is of utmost significance to decipher the wave-structure-interaction of complex deck geometries and quantify the associated loads. Therefore, this study focuses on the assessment of solitary wave impact on open-girder decks that allow the air to escape from the sides. To this end, an arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) numerical method with a multi-phase compressible formulation is used for the development of three-dimensional hydrodynamic models, which are validated against a large-scale experimental dataset of a coastal deck. Using the validated model as a baseline, a parametric investigation of different deck geometries with a varying number of girders Ng and three different widths, was conducted. The results reveal that the Ng of a superstructure has a complex role and that for small wave heights the horizontal and uplift forces increase with the Ng, while for large waves the opposite happens. If the Ng is small the wave particles accelerate after the initial impact on the offshore girder leading to a more violent slamming on the onshore part of the deck and larger pressures and forces, however, if Ng is large then unsynchronized eddies are formed in each chamber, which dissipate energy and apply out-of-phase pressures that result in multiple but weaker impacts on the deck. The decomposition of the total loads into slamming and quasi-static components, reveals surprisingly consistent trends for all the simulated waves, which facilitates the development of predictive load equations. These new equations, which are a function of Ng and are limited by the ratio of the wavelength to the deck width, provide more accurate predictions than existing empirical methods, and are expected to be useful to both engineers and researchers working towards the development of resilient coastal infrastructure.

To protect power lines, distance relays are used which can rely on a modified distance resistance. But usually the operating range of these relays changes as the network conditions change (network topology, load value, output value, etc.) and leads to false trips, By using methods that can process information and recognize patterns, for example, the use of micro and intelligent processor algorithms can use the new relays with high precision and thus provide adequate protection. In this study, a distance relay was modeled using a neural network, and it was observed that the neural relay had higher accuracy than the conventional relay. In addition to detecting the fault and its location, type and phase of the fault, three-stage simultaneous protection can be performed. As a result, the number of linear relays can be reduced by using relays based on neural technologies. An MLP (multilayer perceptron) neural network is used to model a sequence of distances.

In recent years, antibacterial coatings have become a significant approach in the global fight against bacterial pathogens. Developments in materials science, chemistry and biochemistry have led to a plethora of materials and chemical compounds that have potential for creating antibacterial coatings. Nonetheless, there has been insufficient consideration given to the analysis of the techniques and technologies used to apply these coatings. Among the various inorganic coating techniques, Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) is noteworthy. It enables the successful synthesis of high-purity inorganic nanocoatings on surfaces of complex shape and topography, while also providing precise control over their thickness and composition. ALD has various industrial applications, but its practical application in medicine is still limited. In recent years, a substantial number of papers have been published on the suggested implementation of thin films and coatings produced through ALD in medicine, notably those with antibacterial properties. The aim of this paper is to carefully evaluate and analyse the relevant literature on this subject. Simple oxide coatings, including TiO2, ZnO, Fe2O3, MgO, and ZrO2, were examined, as well as coatings containing metal nanoparticles such as Ag, Cu, Pt, and Au, and mixed systems such as TiO2-ZnO, TiO2-ZrO2, ZnO-Al2O3, TiO2-Ag, and ZnO-Ag. Through comparative analysis, we have been able to draw conclusions on the effectiveness of various antibacterial coatings of different compositions, including key characteristics such as thickness, morphology, and crystal structure. ALD has been analysed in its use for developing antibacterial coatings for various applications. Furthermore, assumptions regarding the most promising development areas have been presented.

Since the 20th century, numerous studies have detected or isolated parasites from the Trypanosomatidae family in various tick species. However, the status of ticks as vectors of medically or veterinary important Trypanosoma and Leishmania remains unclear. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to pro-vide new insights into the potential vector status of Leishmania and Trypanosoma, which have medical and veterinary significance. We searched three databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, and Web of Science) from 1912 to June 30, 2023, resulting in 94 and 86 papers included in the qualitative and quantitative analyses, respectively. All identified field studies were conducted in endemic areas and investigated the presence of Trypanosoma and Leishmania parasite, DNA, or antigen in ticks. We recorded a pooled prevalence of Trypa-nosomatidae detection in ticks at 15.48% [7.99-24.61%], with significant variations depending on the year, detection method, and geographical area. Most of positive tick species belonged to the genera Amblyomma, Hyalomma, Ixodes, and Rhipicephalus. Experimental laboratory work on transmission routes proved potential vector competence in both the Argasidae and Ixodidae tick families. Although our systematic review and meta-analysis provide unambiguous evidence of the natural infection of ticks by Trypanosomatidae para-sites with some evidence of non-traditional transmission routes, it does not provide conclusive evidence on the role of ticks as biological or mechanical vectors for veterinary and medically interest protozoan Trypa-nosomatidae species. All these unambiguously demonstrates the need of additional investigations to address this point.

Unicellular eukaryotes of the Trypanosomatidae family include human and animal pathogens that belong to the Trypanosoma and Leishmania genera. Diagnosis of the diseases they caused requires the sampling of body fluids (blood, lymph, peritoneal fluid, cerebrospinal fluid, etc.) or organ biopsies (bone marrow, spleen, etc.), which are mostly obtained through invasive methods. Body fluids or appendages can be alternatives to these invasive biopsies but appropriateness remains poorly studied. To further address this question, we perform a systematic review on clues evidencing the presence of parasites, genetic material, antibodies, and antigens in body secretions, appendages, or the organs or proximal tissues that produce these materials. Paper selection was based on searches in PubMed, Web of Science, WorldWideScience, SciELO, Embase, Google. The information of each selected article (n=333) was classified into different sections and data were extracted from 77 papers. The presence of Trypanosomatidae parasites has been tracked in most of organs or proximal tissues that produce body secretions or appendages, in naturally or experimentally infected hosts. The meta-analysis highlights the paucity of studies on Human African Trypanosomiasis and a the absence on animal Trypanosomiasis. Among the collected data high heterogeneity in terms of the I² statistic (100%) is recorded. A high positivity is recorded for antibody and genetic material detection in urine of patients and dogs suffering leishmaniasis, and of antigen for leishmaniasis and Chagas disease. Data on conjunctival swab can be analyzed with molecular methods solely for dogs suffering canine visceral leishmaniasis. Saliva and hair/bristle showed a pretty good positivity that support their potential to be used for leishmaniasis diagnosis. In conclusion, our study pinpoints significant gaps that need to be filled in order to properly address the interest of body secretion and hair or bristle for the diagnosis of infections caused by Leishmania and by other Trypanosomatidae parasites.

Global concerns of decreasing water availability and food security are being exacerbated by the increasing demand for food, water quality degradation, and climate change impacts. Rice is an essential crop for food security with paddy rice cultivation largely practiced using traditional flooding conditions. Water regimes and components of the soil water balance in paddy rice catchments affect uptake of water by rice roots. Paddy management, especially puddling, significantly affects soil hydrological properties, such as hydraulic conductivity, percolation, and seepage in the paddy rhizosphere. Improved knowledge of these interactions is vital for developing sustainable water management strategies in paddy fields. Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) practice contributes to sustainable water management, but little is known about effects of soil wetting and drying duration on gravitational soil water flow, moisture dynamics, and hydraulic conductivity in the rice paddy rhizosphere. These factors depend on soil type, rice variety, rooting conditions, and environmental factors, such as solar radiation and temperature. Here we examine the paddy cultivation environment and soil properties under traditional continuous flooding and AWD practice. Some studies indicate that the duration and frequency of wetting and soil drying under AWD practice in paddy fields affects soil hydraulic conductivity that alters the next cycle of water application. During droughts and short rainy seasons, rainfall, soil properties, and atmospheric conditions control soil moisture dynamics in paddy fields. Limitations and challenges of applying AWD in paddy soils, including the variation of hydrological properties and the need for frequent field manual monitoring of water level (WL) head, are discussed. Implications of AWD practice on yield, water use efficiency, soil hydrology, and reduction of methane emissions, are outlined along with opportunities to improve AWD integration within government policies, irrigation schemes, and adoption by farmers. Coupled crop models can provide important insights for sustainable agricultural water management.

In this work, a simple and environmentally friendly process combining low pressure (vacuum) and mechanical compression is proposed to convert recycled polypropylene (PP) foams (28 kg/m3) into low density foams (90-131 kg/m3) having negative tensile and compressive Poisson's ratios (NPR). The effect of processing conditions (vacuum time, temperature, and mechanical pressure) was studied. Based on the optimized conditions, the tensile Poisson’s ratio of the resulting auxetic foams reached −1.50, while the minimum compressive Poisson's ratios was −0.32 for the same sample. The foam structure was characterized via morphological analysis (SEM) to determine any changes related to the treatment applied. Finally, tensile and compressive properties (Young's modulus, strain energy, energy dissipation and damping capacity) are also presented and discussed. It was observed that the mechanical properties of the resulting auxetic foams were improved compared to the original PP foam (PP-O) for all tensile properties in terms of modulus (19.9 to 59.8 kPa), strength (0.298 to 1.43 kPa) elongation at break (28 to 77%), energy dissipation (14.4 to 56.3 mJ/cm3) and damping capacity (12 to 19%). Nevertheless, improvements were also observed under compression in terms of energy dissipation (1.6 to 3.6 mJ/cm3) and damping capacity (13 to 19%). These auxetic foams can find applications in sport and military protective equipment, as well as any energy mitigation system.

The factors influencing hepatitis E virus (HEV) circulation remain largely unexplored. We investigated HEV seroprevalence in humans and the prevalence of infection in farm pigs and rabbits in different regions of the Russian Federation, as well as the genetic diversity and population dynamics of HEV. Anti-HEV IgG antibody detection rates in the general population increase significantly with age, from 1.5% in children and adolescents under 20 years old to 4.8% in adults aged between 20 and 59 years old, to 16.7% in people aged 60 years and older. HEV seroprevalence varies between regions, with the highest rate observed in Belgorod Region (16.4% compared with the national average of 4.6%), which also has the country’s highest pig population. When compared with the archival data, both increases and declines in HEV seroprevalence have been observed within the last 10 years, depending on the study region. Virus shedding has been detected in 19 out of the 21 pig farms surveyed. On one farm, circulation of the same viral strain for five years was documented. All human and animal strains belonged to the HEV-3 genotype, with its clade 2 sequences being predominant in pigs. Sequences from patients, pigs, and sewage from pig farms clustered together, suggesting a zoonotic infection in humans and possible environmental contamination. The HEV-3 population size predicted using SkyGrid reconstruction demonstrated exponential growth in the 1970s–1990s, with a subsequent decline followed by a short rise around the year 2010, the pattern being similar to the dynamics of the pig population in the country. The HEV-3 reproduction number (Re) predicted using Birth-Death Skyline analysis has fluctuated around 1 over the past 20 years in Russia, but is 10 times higher in Belgorod Region. In conclusion, HEV-3 circulation varies both geographically and temporally, even within a single country. The possible factors contributing to this variability are largely related to the circulation of the virus among farm pigs.

The integration of diverse distributed generation (DG) units, encompassing both Renewable Energy Sources (RES) and non-RES technologies delves into voltage levels, current distributions, and power flows, aiming to optimize and effectively manage the distribution network. An RES-based DGs such as photovoltaic systems and wind turbines, alongside non-RES units like fuel cells and micro turbines. This study proposes a hybrid approach the Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm - Grey Wolf Optimizer (MOGA-GWO). By merging the strengths of multi-objective genetic algorithms with the efficiency of the Grey Wolf Optimizer, this advanced algorithm seeks semi-optimal solutions for multi-objective optimization problems. The algorithm aims to improve convergence speed without compromising solution quality, offering a promising solution for optimizing the characteristics of DG and RES integration in distribution networks compared to Cuckoo Search and Simulation Annealing Techniques. Key algorithmic operations include individual representation, initialization, fitness function computation, selection, crossover, mutation, and ending conditions. The DG optimal power flow problem is explored with a focus on minimizing generation costs, improving voltage profiles, minimizing losses, enhancing reliability, integrating renewable energy, reducing environmental impact, managing congestion, and ensuring compliance with operational constraints. Beyond traditional considerations, the study emphasizes neglected objectives and constraints, such as cyber-security concerns, real-time operation, regulatory frameworks, social acceptance, lifecycle environmental impact, grid resilience, data privacy, aging infrastructure compatibility, and economic viability.

An integrated two-stage metallurgical technology has been developed for processing concentrates from the Olimpiadinskoe deposit with high antimony and arsenic content. The parameters of the alkaline sulphide leaching process of the initial concentrate of the Olimpiadinskoe deposit, providing maximum extraction of antimony in solution at 99% level have been recommended. The L:S ratio = 4,5:1; the concentration of sodium sulphide - 61 g/L; the concentration of sodium-hydroxide – 6,5 g/L; the duration – 3 hours; the temperature – 50 °C. A synergistic effect of alkaline sulphide leach cakes co-processing by sulphuric and nitric acids has been determined. Pre-treatment allows to reduce the composition of nitric acid by converting the carbonates into gypsum and increases the extraction of arsenic by 15 % at the following nitric leaching. Laboratory research of nitric acid leaching of decarbonized cake allowed to set the basic parameters for maximum iron and arsenic extraction in solution (92 and 98 %): the L:S ratio =9:1; the concentration of nitric acid – 6 mol/L; the time – 90 min. The full polynomial equations for iron and arsenic extraction from decarbonised cake have been derived. The model is relevant since the value the determination coefficients for iron and arsenic R2 were 96,7 and 93,2 %. The high value of gold recovery from the cake of two-stage alkaline sulphide and nitric acid leach cake at 95 % has been established. The maximum value of arsenic deposition from the nitrate leach solution in the form of the insoluble deposition As2S3 99,9 %. A basic technological flowsheet diagram for flotation gold-antimony processing for the Olimpiadinskoe deposit has been developed; it includes two redistributions: production of metallic antimony and gold extraction from the nitric leach cake.

Despite the best efforts in air-purification, airborne infectious diseases do and will continue to spread due to continuous emission of bioaerosols by the host/infected person. To tackle the rapid spread of airborne infectious diseases, a shift in focus from air-purification to bioaerosol disinfection/ decontamination is urgently needed. In this work, we studied a cold plasma ionizer (CPI) and electrostatic precipitator (ESP)-coupled CPI (CPI-ESP) for disinfection and cleaning of bioaerosols. Using porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) and E. coli in a testing chamber, we demonstrated that CPI coupled with ESP is an effective technology for inactivating aerosolized microorganisms and microorganisms spread on surfaces. In addition, we have demonstrated the efficiency of a CPI-ESP coupled device for disinfection of naturally occurring airborne microbials in a few indoor settings (i.e., an living room, a discussion room, a schoolroom and an office) to determine the treatment duration- and human activity-dependent efficacy. To understand the disinfection mechanism, we conduced fluorescence microscopy study to reveal different degree of bacteria cell membrane damage under CPI treatment.

As of the end of 2022, despite the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the global HIV epidemic persists, with 39 million individuals living with the virus and 1.3 million new infections reported in that year. Opportunistic infections associated with AIDS claimed the lives of over 630,000 people in 2022, contributing to a cumulative death toll exceeding 40.4 million since the disease's emergence in 1981. Although advances in HIV diagnosis and antiretroviral therapy have transformed the disease into a manageable chronic condition, issues like drug resistance, low compliance, and high treatment costs persist. Until a vaccine becomes available, a comprehensive approach involving prevention and therapy is essential, particularly for high-risk populations. Research shows that prevention strategies are more cost-effective than treatment. The development of antiretroviral drugs has also spurred the creation of antivirals for other infections. The emergence of COVID-19 vaccines has opened new avenues for HIV vaccine development, as lessons from vaccine platform technologies like mRNA, viral vectors, and protein subunits can be applied to HIV. This review explores the most promising prophylactic and therapeutic HIV vaccine trials, emphasizing the need for a multi-pronged approach combining vaccines with non-vaccine strategies. Though significant progress is anticipated, the road to a viable HIV vaccine remains long, especially for high-risk populations, such as medical workers, blood transfusion recipients, and drug users. The combinatorial approach, capitalizing on various aspects of immunity, may hold the key to defeating HIV in the future.

In this work, studies were carried out on the extraction of silver and gold from cakes of pressure oxidation leaching of sulfide concentrate containing pyrite and arsenopyrite. The addition of gypsum at a consumption of 0.1 g/g of concentrate helps to increase silver extraction from 13.4 to 95–98% at the cyanidation stage, with no conditioning operation. Gold recovery was 99%. An increase in gypsum consumption contributes to the formation of BFAS with an increased content of sulfate sulfur, and a decrease in the As/S(sulfate) molar ratio in the cake from 3.7 down to 0.88 contributes to an increase in silver extraction at the cyanidation stage up to 98%, and its further decrease from 0.88 down to 0.58 leads to a gradual reducing silver transfer into solution from 98 down to 75.1% at the cyanidation stage. Basic ferric sulfate (BFS) is not formed in this case, since according to EDS mapping the distribution of arsenic and sulfur over iron-containing particles is uniform. According to TCLP analysis, the cake obtained after pressure oxidation leaching with the addition of gypsum and cyanidation is stable and suitable for disposal, since the final concentration of arsenic in the solution was 0.45 mg/dm3.

This paper is motivated by spatio-temporal pattern in the occurrence of Leishmaniasis in Afghanistan and the relatively high number of zero counts. We hold the view that correlations that arise from spatial and temporal sources are inherently distinct. Our method decouples these two sources of correlations, there are at least two advantages in taking this approach. First, it circumvents the need to inverting a large correlation matrix, which is a commonly encountered problem in spatio-temporal analyses. Second, it simplifies the modelling of complex relationships such as anisotropy, which would have been extremely difficult or impossible if spatio-temporal correlations were simultaneously considered. We identify three challenges in the modelling of a spatio-temporal process: (1) accommodation of covariances that arise from spatial and temporal sources; (2) choosing the correct covariance structure and (3) extending to situations where a covariance is not the natural measure of association. Moreover, because the data covers a period that overlaps with the US invasion of Afghanistan, the high number of zero counts may be the result of no disease incidence or lapse of data collection. To resolve this issue, a model truncated at zero built on a foundation of the generalized estimating equations was proposed.

This study assesses the impact of nurse-originated changes in central venous catheter (CVC) management on the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI). It is a single-center retrospective cohort study conducted at an urban, tertiary referral, and academic center serving pediatric patients. The study cohort comprised 236 patients and 323 CVCs seen between 2012 and 2022. CLABSI and CRBSI were defined according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions. Oncology nurse leaders developed CVC-specific educational modules for CLABSI prevention. All relevant information during the CVC maintenance period was noted in the patient's CVC logbook. 24 (7%) cases of confirmed CLABSI were identified. The incidence of CVC-related infections was 0.32 cases per 1000 catheter days. The incidence decreased by 40% between the first and second three-year study period. Documented exit-site infection was reported in 32 (10%) cases. The correlation between exit-site infection and CLABSI was found in 9 (28%) cases. Our CVC-related infection rates are significantly lower than the incidence reported by the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, which settles at 3-5 cases per 1000 catheter days. Our data confirm the effectiveness of local CVC management guidelines in preventing CVC-related infectious complications.

Legume seed protein is an important source of nutrition, but it is less digestible than animal protein. Poor protein digestibility in legume seeds and seedlings may partly reflect defences against herbivores. Protein changes during germination typically increase proteolysis and digestibility, by lowering the levels of anti-nutrient protease inhibitors, activating proteases, and breaking down storage proteins (including allergens). Germinating legume sprouts also show striking increases in free amino acids (especially asparagine), but their roles in host defence or other processes are not known. While the net effect of germination is generally to increase the digestibility of legume seed proteins, the extent of improvement in digestibility is species and strain dependent. Further research is needed to highlight which changes contribute the most to improved digestibility of sprouted seeds. Such knowledge could guide the selection of varieties that are more digestible, and also guide the development of food preparations that are more digestible, potentially combining germination with other factors altering digestibility, such as heating and fermentation. Techniques to characterize the shifts in protein make-up, activity and degradation during germination need to draw on traditional analytical approaches, complemented by proteomic and peptidomic analysis of mass spectrometry identified peptide breakdown products.

Rapid industrialization, urbanization, and population explosion in sub-Saharan Africa escalate environmental Lead levels with subsequent elevation of blood Lead levels in children. Nutrition status, age, and genetics govern one’s susceptibility to Lead toxicity. This study expounded this susceptibility by relating blood Lead levels, d-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase enzyme activity (ALAD), and genetic variations of proteins that code for ALAD enzyme in urban children of Uganda. Spectrophotometric analysis for blood Lead (BL), hemoglobin levels, and determination d-levels aminolevulinic acid dehydratase enzyme activity of the blood samples from 198 children were performed prior to a polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length digestion for ALAD polymorphism was done. Up to 99.5% of samples coded for the ALAD1 allele whereas 0.05% coded for ALAD2. Genotypes ALAD2-2 members had elevated BLL (mean 14.1 µg/dL) and reduced ALAD enzyme activity compared to others. This, therefore, implies that the majority of children hoard BL which may affect them later in life.

The switch from intermittently scanned continuous glucose monitoring (isCGM) to real-time (rt) CGM could improve glycemic management in suboptimal controlled type 1 diabetes patients, but long-term study is lacking. We evaluated retrospectively the ambulatory glucose profile (AGP) in such patients after switching from Free Style libre 1 (FSL1) to Dexcom G4 (DG4) over 1 year. Patients (n=21, 43±15 years, BMI 25±5, HbA1c 8.1±1.0%) had severe hypoglycemia and/or HbA1c≥8%. AGP metrics (time-in-range (TIR) 70-180 mg/dL, time-below-range (TBR)<70 mg/dL or <54 mg/dL, glucose coefficient of variation (%CV), time-above-range (TAR) >180 mg/dL or >250 mg/dL, glucose management indicator (GMI), average glucose) were collected the last 3 months of FSL1 use (M0) and of DG4 for 3, 6 (M6) and 12 (M12) months of use. Values were means ± standard deviation or medians [Q1;Q3]. At M12 versus M0, the higher TIR (50±17 vs. 45±16, P=0.036), and lower TBR<70 mg/dL (2.5 [1.6;5.5] vs. 7.0 [4.5;12.5], P=0.0007), TBR<54 mg/dL (0.7 [0.4;0.8] vs. 2.3 [0.8;7.0], P=0.007) and %CV (39±5 vs. 45±8, P=0.0009), evidenced a long-term effectiveness of the switch. Compared to M6, TBR<70mg/dL decreased, %CV remained stable, while the improvement on hyperglycemia exposure decreased (higher GMI, TAR and average glucose). This switch was a relevant therapeutic option, though a loss of benefit on hyperglycemia stressed the need for optimized management of threshold alarms. Nevertheless, few patients attained the recommended values for AGP metrics, and the reasons why some patients are “responders” vs “non-responders” warrant to be investigated.

Terrestrial LiDAR becomes more and more popular to estimate leaf and plant area density. Voxel-based approaches account for this vegetation heterogeneity and significant work has been done in this recent research field, but no general theoretical analysis is available. Although estimators have been proposed and several causes of biases have been identified, their consistency and efficiency have not been evaluated. Also, confidence intervals are almost never provided. In the present paper, we solve the transmittance equation and use the Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE), to derive unbiased estimators and confidence intervals for the attenuation coefficient, which is proportional to leaf area density. The new estimators and confidence intervals are defined at voxel scale, and account for the number of beams crossing the voxel, the inequality of path lengths in voxel, the size of vegetation elements, as well as for the variability of element positions between vegetation samples. They are completed by numerous numerical simulations for the evaluation of estimator consistency and efficiency, as well as the assessment of the coverage probabilities of confidence intervals. • Although commonly used when the beam number is low, the usual estimators are strongly biased and the 95% confidence intervals can be ≈±100% of the estimate. • Our unbiased estimators are consistent in a wider range of validity than the usual ones, especially for the unbiased MLE, which is consistent when the beam number is as low as 5. The unbiased MLE is efficient, meaning it reaches the lowest residual errors that can be expected (for an unbiased estimator). Also the unbiased MLE does not require any bias correction when path lengths are unequal. • When elements are small (or voxel is large), 103 beams entering the voxel leads to some confidence intervals ≈±10%, but when elements are larger (or voxel smaller), it can remain wider than ±50%, even for a large beam number. This is explained by the variability of element positions between vegetation samples. Such a result shows that a significant part of residual error can be explained by random effects. • Confidence intervals are much smaller (±5 to 10%) when LAD estimates are averaged over several small voxels, typically within a horizontal layer or in the crown of individual plants. In this context, our unbiased estimators show a reduction of 50% of the radius of confidence intervals, in comparison to usual estimators. Our study provides some new ready-to-use estimators and confidence intervals for attenuation coefficients, which are consistent and efficient within a fairly large range of parameter values. The consistency is achieved for a low beam number, which is promising for application to airborne LiDAR data. They entail to raise the level of understanding and confidence on LAD estimation. Among other applications, their usage should help determine the most suitable voxel size, for given vegetation types and scanning density, whereas existing guidelines are highly variable among studies, probably because of differences in vegetation, scanning design and estimators.

Despite offering several potential benefits over standard prosthetic aortic valve replacement, the use of the pulmonary autograft has been limited to date, due to concerns over the risk of pulmonary autograft expansion and the need for reintervention. Several techniques using materials with biomimetic potential have been developed to reduce this complication. The incidence, risk factors and pathophysiology of pulmonary autograft dilatation are discussed in this article. This seminar will provide an overview of the techniques of external pulmonary autograft support and their advantages and limitations. It also considers future directions for further investigation and future clinical applications of external pulmonary autograft support. Dilatation of the autograft is more likely to occur in patients with aortic regurgitation and a dilated aortic annulus. External scaffolding may prevent autograft stretching and expansion in these specific cases. However, from a biomimetic point of view, any permanent scaffold potentially restricts the movement of the autograft root. This reduces some of the benefits associated with the use of autologous tissue, which is the priority of the Ross procedure. To address this issue, several bioresorbable matrix could be used to support the root during its initial adaptive phase. Control of blood pressure with aggressive therapy is the first line to avoid this problem in the first year after pulmonary autograft implantation, together with support of the annular and sino-tubular junction in some selected cases. This is the best way to maintain stable autograft root dimensions while preserving root dynamics. However, to determine the efficacy of this combined external support and best medical management, it is important to perform regular imaging and clinical follow-up.

It is shown that the termination of the channeling of the fundamental radiation mode in the waveguide can be observed upon heating of an optical integrated circuit based on proton exchange channel waveguides formed in a lithium niobate single crystal. This process is reversible, but restoration of waveguide performance takes tens of minutes. The effect of the waveguide disappearance is observed upon rapid heating (5 °C/min) from a low temperature (minus 40 °C). This effect can lead to a temporary failure of navigation systems using fiber optic gyroscopes with modulators based on a lithium niobate crystal

Many engineering systems are described by using differential models whose solutions, generally obtained after discretization, can exhibit a noticeable deviation with respect to the response of the physical systems that those models are expected to represent. In those circumstances one possibility consists of enriching the model in order to reproduce the physical system behavior. The present paper considers a dynamical system, and proposes enriching the model solution by learning the dynamical model of the gap between the system response and the model-based prediction, while ensuring that the time integration of the learnt model remains stable. The proposed methodology is applied on the simulation of the top-oil temperature evolution of a power transformer, whose data is provided by RTE, the French Electricity Transmission System Operator.

The role of astro- and microglial cells in the pathogenesis of epilepsy is currently under active in-vestigation. It is proposed that the activity of these cells may be regulated by agonists of peroxi-some proliferator-activated nuclear receptors (PPARs). The objective of this study was to investi-gate the effects of the PPAR β/δ agonist GW0742 (Fitorine) on the behavior and gene expression of astro- and microglial proteins involved in the regulation of epileptogenesis in rat brain in a lithi-um-pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). A seven-day administration of GW0742 at a dose of 5 mg/kg/day has been shown to suppress TLE-related behavioral hyperactivity in the Open Field test and to attenuate the TLE-induced increase in gene expression and protein levels of astro- and microglial activation markers Gfap and Aif1 in the dorsal hippocampus and temporal cortex. Furthermore, GW0742 reversed the TLE-related increase in Lcn2 gene expression (a marker of the A1 phenotype of astrocytes) in the temporal cortex, the increase in the ratio of Nos2/Arg1 gene expression (markers of the M1/M2 phenotypes of microglia), and the decrease in Arg1 gene ex-pression in the dorsal hippocampus. The results suggest that GW0742 may mitigate behavioral and biochemical abnormalities in a lithium-pilocarpine model of TLE.

We ascertain the in vitro Benznidazole (BZN) and Nifurtimox (NFX) susceptibility pattern of epimastigotes, trypomastigotes, and amastigotes of 21 T. cruzi strains, from patients, reservoir and triatomine bugs of various geographic origin. Using this panel of isolates, we compute the Epidemiological cut off value (CO_wt). Then, the frequency of the susceptible phenotype (Wild type) towards BZN and nifurtimox (NFX) within this set of strains belonging to 3 discrete typing units (DTUs), TcI, TcII, and TcV was deduced. We have observed that the susceptibility status of individual T. cruzi isolates toward BZN and NFX is related to the genetic background and to underlying factors probably related to the individual life trait history of each strain. Analyzing drug susceptibility in this conceptual framework would offers the possibility to evidence a link between isolates expressing a low susceptibility level (not wild-type) as define by the CO_wt value and none-curative treatment. It will also permit to tract drug-resistant parasites in T. cruzi population.

Ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopic studies allow for deep insights into the mechanisms and timescales of photophysical and photochemical processes. Extracting valuable information from these studies, such as reactive intermediates' lifetimes and coherent oscillation frequencies, is an example of the inverse problems of chemical kinetics. This article describes a consistent approach for solving this inverse problem that avoids the common obstacles of simple least-squares fitting that can lead to unreliable results. The presented approach is based on the regularized Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling for the strongly nonlinear parameters, allowing for a straightforward solution of the ill-posed nonlinear inverse problem. The software to implement the described fitting routine is introduced and the numerical examples of its application are given. We will also touch on critical experimental parameters, such as the temporal overlap of pulses and cross-correlation time and their connection to the minimal reachable time resolution.

Supernova remnants (SNRs) are an integral part in studying the properties of the Galaxy and its interstellar medium. For the current work, we explore the relation between the observed radio luminosities of SNRs and the physical properties of those SNRs. The physical properties of 54 SNRs are derived from their observed X-ray spectra. Then the observed radio emission is compared to predicted radio emission using the analytic model of . We find the model can be improved significantly by including an interstellar medium density dependence in the efficiency of particle acceleration and magnetic field amplification.

Since the emergence of the quantified self movement, users aim at health behavior change, but only those who are sufficiently motivated and competent with the tools will succeed. Our literature review shows that theoretical models for quantified self exist but they are too abstract to guide the design of effective user support systems. Here, we propose principles linking theory and implementation to arrive at a hierarchical model for an adaptable and personalized self-quantification system for physical activity support. We show that such a modeling approach should include a multi-factors user model (activity, context, personality, motivation), a hierarchy of multiple time scales (week, day, hour), and a multi-criteria decision analysis (user activity preference, user measured activity, external parameters). This theoretical groundwork, which should facilitate the design of more effective solutions, has now to be validated by further empirical research.

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) can be considered as semi-rigid all-carbon polymers. However, unlike conventional polymers that can form 3D networks such as hydrogels or elastomers through crosslinking with each other in solution, the cylindrical carbon lattice of CNTs was not believed to be directly crosslinkable in solution until our recent discovery of UV-defluorination driven direct CNT crosslinking. In this study, we further reveal that the UV-defluorination-driven crosslinked CNTs are metastable and can decompose more readily than fluorinated or pristine CNTs upon exposure to Raman laser irradiation. Specifically, we investigate the stability of UV-defluorinated single-walled and multi-walled fluoro-nanotubes using Raman spectroscopy under controlled varying laser power. The results indicate that both the defluorinated single-walled and multi-walled CNTs are thermally less stable than pristine CNTs or untreated fluorinated CNTs, which can be attributed to the strains on the crosslinking bonds created from the curved carbon lattice of linked CNTs. This instability, particularly evident under high-power laser irradiation, leads to combustion processes ignited at relatively lower temperatures that cause an extended burned area centered on the laser spot, offering potential future applications as mechanically robust, lightweight materials with feasible post-use degradation options.

Rare Earth Elements (REE), also known as Lanthanides (Ln3+), are a group of 17 elements showing peculiar physical and chemical properties. Unlike technological applications, very little is known about the physiological role and toxicity of Ln3+ on biological systems, in particular on microorganisms (e.g., bacteria), which represent the most abundant domains on our planet. Up to now, very limited studies have been conducted due to Ln3+ precipitation with some anions commonly present in the culture media. Therefore, the development of a minimal medium is essential to allow the study of Ln3+-microbial interactions, limiting considerably the precipitation as insoluble salts. In this regard, a new minimal culture medium capable of solubilizing large amounts of Ln3+, and allowing the growth of different microbial taxa, was successfully developed. Assays have shown that the medium is capable of solubilizing Ln3+ up to 100 times more than other common culture media and allowed the growth of 63 bacteria and 5 fungi. The kinetic growth of one yeast and one gram-positive bacterium has been defined, proving to support superior growth and biomass compared to other commonly used minimal media. Moreover, the sensitivity and uptake/absorption of a Bacillus stratosphericus strain was tested, highlighting its capability to tolerate concentrations up to 10 mM of either Cerium, Gadolinium or Lanthanum and accumulate different quantities of the three.

This study focuses on the modification of ion-exchange membranes by incorporating phosphorylated dendrimer into sulfonated polytetrafluoroethylene membranes to enhance specific selectivity between mono-/divalent ions, using the Ca2+/Na+ pair as an example. The research employs mechanical, physico-chemical, and electrochemical analyses to explore the effects of P-H20 incorporation on membrane properties. Bulk modification significantly increases membrane selectivity towards calcium ions (specific permselectivity coefficient rises from 1.5 to 7.2), while maintaining the same level of the limiting current density. Other findings indicate that bulk modification significantly changes the transport-channel structure of the membrane and alters the mechanism of over-limiting mass transfer. The over-limiting current for the pristine membrane is mainly due to non-equilibrium electroconvection, while modified membranes actively participate in the water-splitting reaction, leading to the suppression of the electroconvection. Despite this drawback, the decrease of the over-limiting potential drop results in a decrease in specific energy consumption from 0.11 to 0.07 kWh/mol. In the under-limiting current mode, the specific energy consumption for all studied membranes remains within the same limits of 0.02-0.03 kWh/mol.

While significant efforts have been made to recycle metals like lithium or cobalt for sustainable development in the battery industry, other high-value materials in the renewable energy sector, such as fluorinated carbon nanotubes (FCNTs), have not been adequately explored for re-utilization after their quality has been downgraded. FCNTs are expensive and energy-intensive to produce, making their sustainable use crucial. This study explores the potential of reusing quality-downgraded fluorinated carbon nanotubes (QD-FCNTs) as eco-friendly nano-additives in microgel composites for water retention applications. By employing a surface treatment process that avoids additional energy costs and environmentally harmful chemicals, we successfully enhanced the interaction between QD-FCNTs and microgels. This treatment significantly improved water retention time by reducing rapid evaporation, enabling sustained water release. Our findings demonstrate a promising avenue for the sustainable application of quality-downgraded fluorinated carbon nanotubes in agricultural and environmental technologies.

Current antibiograms cannot discern the particular effect of a specific antibiotic when the bacteria are incubated with a mixture of antibiotics. To prove that this task is achievable, Escherichia coli strains were treated with ciprofloxacin for 45 min, immobilized on a slide and stained with SYBR Gold. In susceptible strains, the nucleoid relative surface started to decrease near the MIC, being progressively condensed as dose increased. The shrinkage level correlated with the DNA fragmentation degree. Ciprofloxacin-resistant bacilli showed no change. Additionally, E. coli strains were incubated with ampicillin for 45 min and processed similarly. The ampicillin-susceptible strain revealed intercellular DNA fragments that increased with dose, unlike the resistant strain. Co-incubation with both antibiotics revealed that ampicillin did not modify the nucleoid condensation effect of ciprofloxacin, whereas the quinolone partially decreased the background of DNA fragments induced by ampicillin. Sixty clinical isolates, with different combinations of susceptibility-resistance to each antibiotic, were co-incubated with the EUCAST breakpoints of susceptibility of ciprofloxacin and ampicillin. The morphological assay correctly categorized all the strains for each antibiotic in 60 min, demonstrating the feasible independent evaluation of a mixture of quinolone and beta-lactam. The rapid phenotypic assay may shorten the incubation times and necessary microbial mass currently required for evaluation.

Human influenza A viruses (IAVs) cause global pandemics and epidemics, which remain serious threats to public health because of the shortage of effective means of control. To combat the surge of viral outbreaks, new treatments are urgently needed. Developing new virus control modalities requires better understanding of virus-host interactions. Here we describe how IAV infection triggers cellular apoptosis, and how this process can be exploited towards development of new therapeutics, which might be more effective than the currently available anti-influenza drugs.

Background: The use of antitussives is a crucial issue in pediatrics and can lead to respiratory complications that can affect the prognosis. Objectives: to determine the frequency of respiratory complications associated with the use of an-titussives in pediatrics in a remote city in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Method: This is a cross-sectional retrospective study conducted between January 1, 2017 and De-cember 2022. Patients under 12 years of age with an acute cough were eligible. The parameters studied were treatment with cough suppressants and associated respiratory complications. Results: A total of 218 children suffered from an acute cough. The average age was 11 months 10, the sex ratio (H/F) was 126/92. In 30% of cases, children were treated with cough suppressants for an average of 7 days prior to admission. Respiratory complications were observed in 11% (23/218) of cases. The majority of these complications, 61% (14 of 23), had received antitussive treatment prior to hospitalization. Respiratory complications were associated with cough medications (p-value = 0.0012, relative risk (RR) = 3.66, IC90 [1.696; 7,873]). Acute respiratory distress was reported in 87% (20/23) of cases and was associated with the use of cough suppressants (p-value = 0.0065, RR: 3.060, IC90: [1.433; 6,485]). Conclusion: The use of antitussives in pediatrics poses a risk of acute respiratory distress in a remote city that does not have sufficient human and material resources for management. Keywords: cough, cough suppressants, pediatrics, complications, Mbujimayi, Democratic Republic of Congo.

Rising antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Salmonella serotypes host-adapted to cattle is of increasing concern to the beef and dairy industry. The bulk of the existing literature focuses on AMR post-slaughter. In comparison, the understanding of AMR in Salmonella among pre-harvest cattle is still limited, particularly in Texas, which ranks top five in beef and dairy exports in the United States; inherently, the health of Texas cattle has nationwide implications for the health of the United States beef and dairy industry. In this study, long-read whole genome sequencing and bioinformatic methods were utilized to analyze antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in 98 isolates from beef and dairy cattle in the Texas Panhandle. Fisher exact tests and elastic net models accounting for population structure were used to infer associations between ARGs and antimicrobial phenotypic profiles and metadata. Gene mapping was also performed to assess the role of mobile genetic elements in harboring ARGs. ARG were found to be statistically different between the type of cattle operation and Salmonella serotypes. Beef operations were statistically significantly associated with more resistance genes compared to dairy operations. Salmonella Heidelberg, followed by Salmonella Dublin isolates, were associated with the most ARGs. Additionally, specific classes of ARGs were only present within mobile genetic elements.

A novel type of phosphazene containing additive that act both as catalyst and as flame retardant for benzoxazine binders is presented in this study. The synthesis of a derivative of hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCP) and meta-toluidine was carried out in the medium of the latter, which made it possible to achieve complete substitution of chlorine atoms in the initial HCP. Thermal and flammability characteristics of modified compositions are revealed. The modifier catalyzes the process of curing and shifts the beginning of reaction from 222.0 C for pure benzoxazine to 205.9 C for composition with 10 phr of modifier. The additive decreases the glass transition temperature of compositions. Achievement of the highest category of flame resistance (V-0 in accordance with UL-94) is ensured both by increasing the content of phenyl residues in the composition and by the synergistic effect of phosphorus and nitrogen. Brief research of the curing kinetics disclosed the complex nature of the reaction. An accurate two-step model is obtained using extended Prout-Tompkins equation for both steps.

Making sustainable business models, especially in manufacturing, is a key approach for organizations to adopt in order to create more sustainable processes. New technologies are needed to implement new policies that can minimize the economic, environmental, and social consequences of industrial activity. Sustainable maintenance is decisive to guarantee the availability, reliability, and safety of assets, surpassing traditional maintenance policies and embracing the principles of the circular economy. The main objective of Maintenance 4.0 is to increase the lifespan and availability of the equipment by preventing unplanned downtime, reducing planned shutdowns, and improving safety. This research focuses on the integration of advanced Industry 4.0 tools with conventional monitoring and control techniques in process industries. The article suggests that while complex neural networks might provide good predictions, simpler solutions can generalize well and have lower prediction errors because they can capture the underlying relationships between variables in a specific asset better. The combination of maintenance function, Industry 4.0 tools, and advanced statistical solutions to obtain sustainable processes can facilitate organizational change and aid decision-making in equipment management. These solutions seek to reduce interruptions and expenses through the unnecessary utilization of labor and spare parts. All these considerations improve communication and data processing, resulting in improved maintenance of a hydrogen compressor in the petrochemical industry.

Temporal lobe epilepsy is a common, chronic disorder with spontaneous seizures that is often refractory to drug therapy. A potential cause of temporal lobe epilepsy is primary brain injury, making prevention of epileptogenesis after the initial event an optimal method of treatment. Despite this, no preventive therapy for epilepsy is currently available. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of anakinra, lamotrigine, and their combination on epileptogenesis using the rat lithium-pilocarpine model of temporal lobe epilepsy. The study showed that the treated and untreated animals showed no significant difference in the number and duration of seizures. However, the severity of seizures was significantly reduced after treatment. Anakinra and lamotrigine, alone or in combination, significantly reduced neuronal loss in the CA1 hippocampus compared to the control group. However, the drugs administered alone were found to be more effective for CA3 than their combination. The treatment alleviated the impairments in activity level, exploratory behavior and anxiety, but had a relatively weak effect on TLE-induced impairments in social behavior and memory. The efficacy of the combination treatment did not differ from that of anakinra and lamotrigine monotherapy. These findings suggest that anakinra and lamotrigine, alone or in combination, may have clinical utility in preventing epileptogenesis.

Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate five glacierized river basins that are global in coverage and vary in climate. The river basins included the Narayani (Nepal), Vakhsh (Central Asia), Rhone (Switzerland), Mendoza (Central Andes, Argentina), and Central Dry Andes (Chile) with a total area of 85,000 km2. A modified SWAT snow algorithm was applied in order to consider spatial variation of associated snow melt /accumulation by elevation band across each subbasin. In the previous studies, melt rates varied as a function of elevation resulting from an air temperature gradient while the snow parameters were constant throughout the entire basin. A major improvement of the new snow algorithm is separating the glaciers from seasonal snow based on their characteristics. Two SWAT snow algorithms were evaluated in simulation of monthly runoff from glaciered watershed: 1) the snow parameters are lumped (i.e. constant throughout the entire basin) and 2) the snow parameters are spatially variable based on elevation band-subbasin (i.e. modified snow algorithm). Applying the distributed SWAT snow algorithm improved the model performance in simulation of monthly runoff with snow-glacial regime, so that mean RSR decreased to 0.49 from 0.55 and NSE increased to 0.75 from 0.69. Improvement of model performance was negligible in simulation of monthly runoff from the basins with monsoon runoff regime.

The present study explores the potential impact of peers' omnipresence at school on children's academic performance. We tested 99 fourth-graders either alone or with a classmate in a task involving both numeracy and literacy skills: numerosity comparison and phonological comparison. Ninety-seven college-aged young adults were also tested on the same task, either alone or with a familiar peer. Peer presence yielded a reaction time (RT) speedup in children, and this social facilitation was at least as important as that seen in adults. RT distribution analyses indicated that the presence of a familiar peer promotes the emergence of adult-like features in children. This included shorter and less variable reaction times (confirmed by an ex-Gaussian analysis), increased use of an optimal response strategy and, based on Ratcliff’s diffusion model, speeded up non decision (memory and/or motor) processes. Peer presence thus allowed children to, at least, narrow (for demanding phonological comparisons), and, at best, virtually fill in (for unchallenging numerosity comparisons) the developmental gap separating them from adult levels of performance. These findings confirm the influence of peer presence on skills relevant to education and lay the ground for exploring how the brain mechanisms mediating this fundamental social influence evolve during development.

Background: Molecular genetic events are among the numerous factors affecting the clinical course of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Recent studies have demonstrated that aberrant expression of miRNA, as well as different thyroid-related genes, correlate with the aggressive clinical course of PTC and unfavorable treatment outcome, which opens up new avenues for using them in personalization of the treatment strategy for patients with PTC. In the present work, our goal was to assess the applicability of molecular markers in preoperative diagnosis of aggressive variants of papillary thyroid cancer. Methods: The molecular genetic profile (expression levels of 34 different markers and BRAF mutation) was studied for 108 cytology specimens collected by fine-needle aspiration biopsy in patients with PTC having different clinical manifestations. Results: Statistically significant differences with adjustment for multiple comparisons (p &lt; 0.0015) for clinically aggressive variants of PTC were obtained for four markers: miRNA-146b, miRNA-221, FN1, and CDKN2A. Weak statistical correlation (0.0015&lt; р&lt;0.05) was observed for miRNA-31, -375, -551b, -148b, -125b, mtDNA, CITED1, TPO, HMGA2, CLU, NIS, SERPINA1, TFF3, and TMPRSS4. Conclusions: The recurrence risk of papillary thyroid carcinoma can be preoperatively predicted using miRNA-221, the fibronectin and cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2A genes.

Extensive genome structure variation, such as copy number variations (CNVs) and presence/absence variations, is the basis for the remarkable maize genetic diversity; however, the effect of CNVs on maize herbivory defense remains largely underexplored. Here, we report that the naturally occurring duplication of the maize 9-lipoxygenase gene, ZmLOX5, leads to increased resistance of maize to herbivory by fall armyworms (FAW). Previously, we showed that ZmLOX5-derived oxylipins are required for defense against chewing insect herbivores and identified several inbred lines, including Yu796, that contained duplicated CNVs of ZmLOX5, referred to as Yu796-2×LOX5. To test whether introgression of the Yu796-2×LOX5 locus into the herbivore-susceptible B73 background that contains a single ZmLOX5 gene is a feasible approach to increase resistance, we generated a series of near-isogenic lines that contained either 2, 1 or 0 copies of the Yu796-2×LOX5 locus in the B73 background by six back crosses (BC6). Droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) confirmed the successful introgression of the Yu796-2×LOX5 locus in B73. The resulting B73-2×LOX5 inbred line displayed increased resistance against FAW associated with increased expression of ZmLOX5, increased wound-induced production of its primary oxylipin product, the α-ketol, 9-hydroxy-10-oxo-12(Z),15(Z)-octadecadienoic acid (9,10-KODA), and the downstream defense hormones regulated by this molecule, 12-oxo-phytodienoic acid (12-OPDA) and abscisic acid (ABA). Surprisingly, wound-induced JA-Ile production was not increased in B73-2×LOX5, resulting from the increased JA catabolism. Furthermore, B73-2×LOX5 displayed enhanced drought tolerance likely due to increased ABA and 12-OPDA content. Taken together, this study revealed that the duplicated CNV of ZmLOX5 quantitively contributes to maize antiherbivore defense and presents proof-of-concept evidence that the introgression of naturally occurring duplicated CNVs of a defensive gene into the productive, but susceptible, crop varieties is a feasible breeding approach for enhancing plant resistance to herbivory and tolerance to abiotic stress.

Background: Every year, millions of people are hospitalized, and thousands die from influenza A virus (FLUAV) infection. Most cases of hospitalizations and death occur among elderly. Many of these elderly patients are reliant on medical treatment of underlying chronic diseases, such as arthritis, diabetes, and hypertension. We hypothesized that the commonly prescribed medicines for treatment of underlying chronic diseases can affect host responses to FLUAV infection, and thus contribute to morbidity and mortality associated with influenza. Therefore, the aim of this study was to examine whether commonly prescribed medicines could affect host responses to virus infection in vitro. Methods: We first identified 45 active compounds of medicines commonly prescribed in Central Norway. Then we constructed a drug-target interaction network and identified potential implication of these interactions for FLUAV-host cell interplay. Finally, we tested the effect of 45 drugs on viability, transcription and metabolism of mock- and A/WSN/33(H1N1)-infected human retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells. Results: In silico drug-target interaction analysis revealed that many drugs, such as acetylsalicylic acid, atorvastatin, candesartan, and hydroxocobalam, could target and modulate FLUAV-host cell interaction. In vitro experiments showed that these and other compounds at non-cytotoxic concentrations differently affected transcription and metabolism of mock- and FLUAV-infected cells. Conclusion: Many commonly prescribed drugs modulate FLUAV-host cell interactions in vitro and therefore could affect their interplay in vivo, thus, contributing to morbidity and mortality of patients with influenza virus infections.

A hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) are the proteinaceous aggregates formed by the amyloid-beta peptide (Aβ) that is deposited inside the brain as amyloid plaques. The accumulation of aggregated Aβ may initiate or enhance pathologic processes in AD. According to the amyloid hypothesis any agent that has the capability to inhibit Aβ aggregation and/or destroy amyloid plaques represents a potential disease modifying drug. In 2023, a humanized IgG1 monoclonal antibody (lecanemab) against the Aβ soluble protofibrils was approved by US FDA for AD therapy thus providing compelling support to the amyloid hypothesis. To acquire a deeper insight on the in vivo Aβ aggregation, various animal models, including aged herbivores and carnivores, non-human primates, transgenic rodents, fish and worms are widely exploited. This review is based on the recent data obtained using transgenic animal AD models and presents experimental verification of the critical role in Aβ aggregation seeding of the interactions between zinc ions, Aβ with the isomerized Asp7 (isoD7- Aβ) and the α4β2 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor.

Phlebotomus (Paraphlebotomus) sergenti Parrot, 1917, the proven vector of Leishmania tropica Wright, 1903, the causative agent of anthroponotic cutaneous leishmaniasis, is widely distributed in Morocco. Previous works using molecular markers (ITS2 rDNA and Cyt b mtDNA) have hy-pothesized the existence of multiple closely related populations of sandfly species (cryptic species) that would exhibit distinct vectorial capacities. In this work, descriptive characteristics of wings (size and shape of the right and left wings) were measured in samples collected from fourteen sta-tions in central Morocco. These analyses support the existence of distinct P. sergenti populations, enlightening significant phenotypic variations of P. sergenti’s wings, regarding their size and shape, depending on geographic origin. In addition, geomorphometric analyses of wing’s length, centroid size, alpha, and beta distances allowed clear discrimination of P. sergenti sub-populations. These data pinpoint the adaptative ability of P. sergenti to local environmental conditions. Additional studies are now required to further shed light on the genetic structure of P. sergenti populations in Morocco.

Soil-borne Trichoderma spp. have been extensively studied for their biocontrol activities against pathogens and growth promotion ability with plants. However, the beneficial effect of Trichoderma on inducing resistance against insect herbivores has been considered only recently. Among diverse Trichoderma species, consistent with previous reports, we showed that root colonization by T. virens triggered induced systemic resistance (ISR) to leaf-infecting fungal pathogens. Whether T. virens induces ISR to insect pests has not been tested before. In this study, we investigated whether T. virens affects jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and defense against fall armyworm (FAW) and western corn rootworm (WCR). Unexpectedly, the results showed that T. virens colonization of maize seedlings grown in autoclaved soil suppressed wound-induced production of JA, resulting in reduced resistance to FAW. Similarly, the bacterial endophyte Pseudomonas chlororaphis 30-84 suppressed systemic resistance to FAW due to reduced JA. Further comparative analyses of the systemic effects of these endophytes when applied into sterile or non-sterile field soil showed that both T. virens and P. chlororaphis 30-84 triggered ISR against hemibiotrophic fungal pathogen Colletotrichum graminicola in both soil conditions, but only suppressed resistance to FAW in sterile soil. In contrast to the effect on FAW defense, T. virens colonization of maize roots suppressed WCR larvae survival and weight gain. This is the first report suggesting the potential role of T. virens as a biocontrol agent against WCR.

Groundwater flow and transport models are essential tools for assessing and quantifying the mi-gration of organic contaminants at polluted sites. Uncertainties in the hydrodynamic and transport parameters of the aquifer have a significant effect on model predictions. Uncertainties can be quantified with advanced sensitivity methods such as Sobol’s High Dimensional Model Reduction (HDMR) and Variogram Analysis of Response Surfaces (VARS). Here we present the application of VARS and HDMR to assess the global sensitivities of the outputs of a transient groundwater flow model of the Gállego alluvial aquifer which is located downstream the Sardas landfill in Huesca (Spain). The aquifer is subject to the tidal effects caused by the daily oscillations of the water level in the Sabiñánigo reservoir. Global sensitivities are analysed for hydraulic heads, aquifer/reservoir fluxes, groundwater Darcy velocity and hydraulic head calibration metrics. Input parameters in-clude aquifer hydraulic conductivities and specific storage, aquitard vertical hydraulic conductiv-ities, and boundary inflows and conductances. VARS, HDMR and graphical methods agree to identify the most influential parameters which for most of the outputs are the hydraulic conduc-tivities of the zones closest to the landfill, the vertical hydraulic conductivity of the most permeable zones of the aquitard, and the boundary inflow coming from the landfill. The sensitivity of heads and aquifer/reservoir fluxes with respect to specific storage change with time. The aquifer/reservoir flux when the reservoir level is high shows interactions between specific storage and aquitard conductivity. VARS and HDMR parameter rankings are similar for the most influential parameters. However, there are discrepancies for the less relevant parameters. The efficiency of VARS was demonstrated by achieving stable results with a relatively small number of simulations.

The gut microbiota plays a crucial role in maintaining host health and has a significant impact on human health and disease. In this study, we investigated the alpha diversity of gut microbiota in COVID-19 patients and analyzed the impact of COVID-19 variants, antibiotic treatment, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and metformin therapy on gut microbiota composition and diversity. We used a culture-based method to analyze the gut microbiota and calculated alpha-diversity using the Shannon H' and Simpson 1/D indices. We collected clinical data, such as length of hospital stay (LoS), C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR). We found that patients with T2D had significantly lower alpha-diversity than those without T2D. Antibiotic use was associated with a reduction in alpha-diversity, while metformin therapy was associated with an increase. We did not find significant differences in alpha-diversity between the Delta and Omicron groups. Length of hospital stay, CRP levels, and NLR showed weak to moderate correlations with alpha diversity. Our findings suggest that maintaining a diverse gut microbiota may benefit COVID-19 patients with T2D. Interventions aimed at preserving or restoring gut microbiota diversity, such as avoiding unnecessary antibiotic use and promoting metformin therapy, may improve patient outcomes.

Background In this study we investigated in detail the role of cannabidiol (CBD), Beta-caryophyllene (BC), or their combinations in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DN). The key factors that contribute to DN include mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Methods Briefly, Streptozotocin (STZ) (55 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to induce DN in Sprague Dawley rats and performed procedures including Randall Sellito Calipers, Von Frey Aesthesiometer, hot plate, and cold plate methods to determine mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in vivo. The blood flow to the nerves was assessed by using the Laser Doppler device. Schwann cells were exposed to high glucose (HG) at a dose of 30 mM to induce hyperglycemia and DCFDA, JC1 & Mitosox staining were done to determine mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxides in-vitro. The rats were administered i.p with BC (30mg/kg), CBD (15mg/kg), or combination while Schwann cells were treated with 3.65 µM CBD, 75 µM BC, or combination to assess their role in DN amelioration. Results Our results revealed that exposure to BC and CBD diminished HG-induced hyperglycemia in Schwann cells, in part, through reducing mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxides. Further, BC and CBD combination treatment in-vivo could prevent the deterioration of mitochondrial quality control system by promoting autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis while improving blood flow. CBD and BC treatments also reduced pain hypersensitivity to hyperalgesia and allodynia with increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action in diabetic rats. These in vivo effects were attributed to significant upregulation of AMPK, SIRT3, Nrf2, PINK1, PARKIN, LC3B, Beclin1 and TFAM functions while downregulation of NLRP3 inflammasome, NFκB, COX2 and p62 activity was noted as determined by western blotting. Conclusion the present studies demonstrated that STZ & HG induced oxidative and nitrosative stress play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. We find, for the first time, that CBD and BC combination ameliorate DN via modulating the mitochondrial quality control system.

Biocides used in antifouling (AF) paints, such as 4,5-dichlorine-2-n-octyl-4-isothiazole-3-one (DCOIT), can gradually leach into the environment. Some AF compounds can persist in the marine environment and cause harmful effects on non-target organisms. Nanoengineered materials, such as mesoporous silica nanocapsules (SiNC) containing AF compounds, have been developed to control their release rate and reduce their toxicity to aquatic organisms. This study aimed to evaluate the acute toxicity of new nanoengineered materials, SiNC-DCOIT and a silver-coated form (SiNC-DCOIT-Ag), as well as the free form of DCOIT and empty nanocapsules (SiNC), on the sun coral Tubastraea coccinea. T. coccinea is an invasive species and can be an alternative test organism for evaluating the risks to native species, as most native corals are currently threatened. The colonies were collected from the Alcatrazes Archipelago, SP, Brazil, and acclimatized to laboratory conditions. They were exposed for 96h to different concentrations of the tested substances: 3.33, 10, 33, and 100 µg L-1 of free DCOIT; 500, 1000, 2000, and 4000 µg L-1 of SiNC; and 74.1, 222.2, 666.7, and 2000 µg L-1 of SiNC-DCOIT and SiNC-DCOIT-Ag. The test chambers consisted of 500 mL flasks containing the test solutions, and the tests were maintained under constant aeration, constant temperature of 23 ± 2°C, and photoperiod of 12h:12h (light/dark). At the end of the experiments, no lethal effect was observed; however, some sublethal effects were noticeable, such as the exposure of the skeleton in most of the concentrations and replicates, except for the controls, and embrittlement at higher concentrations. Adults of T. coccinea were considered little sensitive to the tested substances. This resistance may indicate a greater capacity for proliferation of the species, which is favored in substrates containing antifouling paints, to the detriment of the native species.

The solid particle erosion at room and elevated temperatures of pure and filled hot-curing epoxy resin on anhydride hardener was experimentally tested using accelerated method on special bench. Micro-sized dispersed industrial wastes were used as fillers: fly-ash from a power plant and spent filling material from a copper mining and processing plant. The results showed that the unfilled resin wear significantly decreases with increasing temperature, while the dependence on the temperature of the wear intensity at an impingement angle of 45o is linear inversely proportional, and at an angle of 90o non-linear. The decrease in wear intensity is probably due to an increase in elasticity (an increase in the fracture strain limit) because of heating. Solid particle erosion of the examined filled epoxy compounds is considerably higher than that of unfilled compounds at impingement angles of 90o and 45o. Filled compounds showed ambiguous dependences of intensity of wear from temperature (especially at an angle of attack 45o), probably, character of dependence is defined by a filler share and the structural features of the samples caused by distribution of particles of the filler. Intensity of wear of the considered compounds at impingement angles 90o and 45o has high direct correlation with density and the modulus of elasticity (i.e., increases with their increase), and low correlation with bending strength of the considered materials. The data set for determining the correlation between mechanical properties and wear included characteristics due to both compound filling and test temperature.

The new digital infrastructure has become an important basis for the green development of agriculture. This paper selects provincial sample data from 2006 to 2022, constructs an indicator system to measure new digital infrastructure and agricultural green total factor productivity, and explores how new digital infrastructure can promote agricultural green development. The results show that: (1) the new digital infrastructure has a significant role in promoting the green development of agriculture, and this conclusion is still valid after processing endogeneity and heteroscedasticity; (2) Technology and land factors play an intermediary role in the promotion of green agricultural development by the new digital infrastructure, that is, the new digital infrastructure helps to improve the quality and technical level of cultivated land and thus promote green agricultural development; (3) Labor force factors optimize the mediating role of technology factors, that is, the higher the quality of labor force, the stronger the role of the new digital infrastructure in promoting the green development of agriculture through the technological path; (4) The effect of new digital infrastructure on the green development of agriculture is obviously heterogeneous, and the effect is more obvious in northwest China and the regions with lower marketization level, higher environmental regulation level. This study is helpful to clarify the relationship between new digital infrastructure and agricultural green development in China, and provide corresponding policy suggestions for promoting regional agricultural green development.

We present a very computationally light and fast approximation algorithm and then verify it with genetic algorithm and simulated annealing. We show that our algorithm is on par with GA and SA in terms of output produced while having a tightly bounded time complexity. Our algorithm works best when there is a strong positive correlation between the reliability of a component and its cost. We present two algorithms with the same essence. One of them is system cost bounded and the other is target reliability bounded. Our proposed algorithm works on a subsystem level redundancy instead of component level redundancy.

New homogeneous bilayer membranes with a thin anion-exchange layer have been developed based on the copolymer of N,N-diallyl-N,N-dimethylammonium chloride (DADMAC) and ethyl methacrylate (EMA) on the surface of a membrane substrate made from polyfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA). The overall and partial current-voltage characteristics, as well as external and internaldiffusion limiting currents, were theoretically and experimentally investigated. Parameters such as specific conductivity, sorption, and diffusion permeability of individual membrane layers were determined, along with effective transport numbers and specific permselectivity of the bilayer homogeneous membranes in mixed solutions of calcium chloride and sodium chloride. It was found that applying a thin anion-exchange layer of DADMAC and EMA to the homogeneous membrane allows for the creation of a charge-selective bilayer membrane with enhanced selectivity towards monovalent metal cations. The specific selectivity of the bilayer membrane for sodium cations increases more than 6-fold (from 0.8 to 4.8). Verification of the obtained experimental data was performed within a four-layer mathematical model with quasi-equilibrium boundary conditions for the diffusion layer (I)/modifying layer (II)/membrane substrate (III)/diffusion layer (IV) in ternary NaCl+CaCl2 solutions.

Non-Linear Simulation by Harmonic Balance Techniques of Load Modulated Power Amplifier Driven by Random Modulated Signals. Comparison with measured results.

The paper presents a method for estimating the inertia tensor components of a spacecraft that has expired its active life using measurement data of the Earth's magnetic field induction vector components. The implementation of this estimation method is supposed to be carried out when cleaning up space debris in the form of a clapped-out spacecraft with the help of a space tug. It is assumed that a three-component magnetometer and a transmitting device are attached on space debris. With the help of this measuring system, the parameters for the rotational motion of space debris are estimated. Then the known controlled action from the space tug is transferred to the space debris. Next, measurements for the rotational motion parameters are carried out once again. Based on the available measurement data and parameters of the controlled action, the space debris inertia tensor components are estimated. It is assumed that the measurements of the Earth's magnetic field induction vector components are made in a coordinate system which axes are parallel to the corresponding axes of the main body axis system. Such an estimation makes it possible to effectively solve the problem of cleaning up space debris, to calculate the costs of the space tug working body and the parameters of the space debris removal orbit. Examples of numerical simulation using the measurement data of the Earth's magnetic field induction vector components on the Aist-2D small spacecraft are given. The results of the work can be used in the development and implementation of missions to clean up space debris in the form of clapped-out spacecraft.