We explored the statistics of filtering of simple patterns on a number of deterministic and random graphs as a tractable simple example of information processing in complex systems. In this problem, multiple inputs map to the same output, and the statistics of filtering is represented by the distribution of this degeneracy. For a few simple filter patterns on a ring we obtained an exact solution of the problem and described numerically more difficult filter setups. For each of the filter patterns and networks we found a few numbers essentially describing the statistics of filtering and compared them for different networks. Our results for networks with diverse architectures appear to be essentially determined by two factors: whether the graphs structure is deterministic or random, and the vertex degree. We find that filtering in random graphs produces a much richer statistics than in deterministic graphs. This statistical richness is reduced by increasing the graph’s degree.

Recently a measure termed F* was described, as an interpretable transformation of the F measure, also known as the Dice coefficient. Using elementary mathematical methods, it is shown that F* is in fact identical to a previously described measure, monotonically related to the F measure, and variously termed in previous publications, dating from the late 19^th to the late 20^th century, as the ratio of verification, the Jaccard similarity measure or index, the threat score, the Tanimoto index, and the critical success index. The origins of these different terms in different disciplines (weather forecasting, ecology, machine learning) may explain the repeated independent redescription of this measure.

This paper presents a concise mathematical framework for investigating both feed-forward and backward process, during the training to learn model weights, of an artificial neural network (ANN). Inspired from the idea of the two-step rule for backpropagation, we define a notion of F_adjoint which is aimed at a better description of the backpropagation algorithm. In particular, by introducing the notions of F-propagation and F-adjoint through a deep neural network architecture, the backpropagation associated to a cost/loss function is proven to be completely characterized by the F-adjoint of the corresponding F-propagation relatively to the partial derivative, with respect to the inputs, of the cost function.

We investigate alternative candidates to dark energy that can explain the current state of the universe in the framework of the generalized teleparallel theory of gravity f(T ) where T denotes the torsion scalar. To achieve this, we carried out a series of reconstruction taking into account to the ordinary and entropy-corrected versions of the holographic and new agegraphic dark energy models. These models used as alternative to dark energy in the literature in order describe the current state of our universe. It is remarked that the models reconstructed indicates behaviors like phantom or quintessence models. Furthermore, we also generated the EoS parameters associated to entropy-corrected models and we observed a transition phase between quintessence state and phantom state as showed by recent observational data. We also investigated on the stability theses models and we created the {r − s}. The behavior of certains physical parameters as speed of sound and the Statefinder parameters are compatible with current observational data.

Petrosamine (1) – a colored pyridoacridine alkaloid from the Belizean sponge, Petrosia sp. that is also a potent inhibitor of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) – was investigated by spectroscopic and computational methods. Analysis of the petrosamine free energy landscapes, pKa and tautomerism revealed an accurate electronic depiction of the molecular structure of 1 as the di-keto form, with net charge of q = +1, rather than a dication (q = +2) under ambient conditions of isolation-purification. The pronounced solvatochromism (UV-vis) reported for 1, and related analogs, was investigated in detail and is best explained by charge delocalization and stabilization of the ground state (HOMO) of 1 rather than an equilibrium of competing tautomers. Refinement of the molecular structure of 1 by QM methods complements published computational docking studies to define the contact points in the enzyme active site that may improve design of new AChE inhibitors based on the pyridoacridine alkaloid molecular skeleton.

In this work, we explore a the different forms of a new type of modified gravity, namely f(φ) gravity. We construct the Big Rip type for the energy density and the curvature of the universe. We show that dark energy is a result of the transformation of the field φ mass (dark matter) to energy. In addition, we provide that Ω_{m}≈0,050, Ω_{DM}≈0,2, Ω_{DE}≈0,746, is in excellent agreement with observation data. We explore a generalized formalism of braneworld modified gravity. We also construct a new field equations, which generalize the Einstein field equations. We provide a relation between the extra dimension in 3-brane with the vacuum energy density. We show that the energy density of matter depends directly on the number of dimensions. We manage to find the value of the Gauss-Bonnet coupling α=1/4 which is a good agreement with the results in the literature, this correspondence creates a passage between f(R) gravity and Gauss-Bonnet gravity, this comparison leads to a number of bulk dimensions equal to D=10¹²¹+4.

In many application problems, F-transform algorithms are very efficient. In F-transform techniques, we replace the original signal or image with a finite number of weighted averages. The use of weighted average can be naturally explained, e.g., by the fact that this is what we get anyway when we measure the signal. However, most successful applications of F-transform have an additional not-so-easy-to-explain feature: the partition requirement, that the sum of all the related weighting functions is a constant. In this paper, we show that this seemingly difficult-to-explain requirement can also be naturally explained in signal-measuring terms: namely, this requirement can be derived from the natural desire to have all the signal values at different moments of time estimated with the same accuracy.

A 3D graphene foam made of interconnected multilayer graphene flakes was produced on optical fibres (OF) by laser-induced transformation of a polyimide (PI) film coated on the OF cladding. This material, known as la-ser-induced graphene (LIG), was explored in the electrochemical detection and quantification of dopamine (DA) at physiologically relevant concentrations in the presence of the most relevant interfering molecules in biological fluids, ascorbic acid (AA) and uric acid (UA). The measured limit of detection is 100 nM, the linear range is 0.1 to 5 μM and a maximum sensitivity of 5.0 µA µM−1 cm−2 was obtained for LIG decorated with Pt nanoparticles (NPs). Moreover, immunity to AA and UA interference and to fouling was attained by decorating the LIG elec-trode with Pt NPs and coating with Nafion. These figures of merit underlines the potential of these sensors for the quantification of physiologically relevant concentrations of DA in biological fluids, paving the way for the development of hybrid electrochemical/optical sensing actuating platforms in a lab-on-fibre configuration, with relevant applications in biomedical engineering. The advantages of this hybrid arrangement include the possi-bility of in-situ counterproofing, extended measuring ranges, photoelectrochemical detection and the probing of inaccessible places. This elegant approach can also provide a simple and cost-effective way to fabricate biomed-ical devices with extended functionality, such as medical optical probes with added electrochemical capabilities, optogenetics combined with local electrochemical detection, among others.

The development of electric aircrafts is becoming an important technology for achieving the goals set by the European Commission for the reduction of gases emissions by 2050 in the aeronautical transportation system. However, there is a gap between the values of specific power in commercial electric machines and the ones required for aeronautical applications. Therefore, the search for alternative materials and non-conventional designs is mandatory. One emergent solution is using superconducting machines and systems to overcome the current limits of conventional electrical machines. This work reviews the new hybrid and all-electric aircraft tendencies, complementing it with recent research on the design and development of high specific power superconducting machines. This includes the main topologies for hybrid and all-electric aircraft, with an overview of the ongoing worldwide projects of these types of aircrafts, systematizing the main characteristics of their propulsion systems. It also includes the research on superconducting machines for the purpose of high specific power, considering the impact on the redesign of aircraft systems in the electrical, cooling, and fuel source sense.

In this work we present a novel steganography algorithm, based on Fractal Transform domain, combined with the principles of Cryptography. The proposed method uses a private key, which will indicate which segment of the image will be taken and encoded with the Fractal Transform, to then insert the secret bits in the transformed coefficients, thus generating the stego image.

A popular approach to learning about admixture from population genetic data is by computing the allele-sharing summary statistics known as f-statistics. Compared to some methods in population genetics, f-statistics are relatively simple, but interpreting them can still be complicated at times. In addition, f-statistics can be used to build admixture graphs (multi-population trees allowing for admixture events), which provide more explicit and thorough modeling capabilities but are correspondingly more complex to work with. Here, I discuss some of these issues to provide users of these tools with a basic guide for protocols and procedures. My focus is on the kinds of conclusions that can or cannot be drawn from the results of f₄-statistics and admixture graphs, illustrated with real-world examples involving human populations.

In this paper we have defined the effect of bulk viscosity on Quintessence model and scaler field potential as well as on classical field. We have shown the same effect for modified gravity with f(R,T)= R+f(T). In the derivation we have predicted the possibility of time dependent evolution of gravitational constant G and anisotropy.

Purpose: To identify the impact of dealing with COVID-19 patients in clinical areas on nurses' professional self-concept and self-confidence. Background: Professional self-concept is considered a critical factor in the recruitment/retention process in nursing, nursing shortage, career satisfaction, and academic achievements. Professional self-confidence is also a crucial determinant in staff satisfaction, reducing turnover, and increasing work engagement. Design: Descriptive, comparative study. Methods: The study was conducted between February to May 2021 by utilizing a convenience sampling technique. A total of 170 nurses from two facilities were recruited from two COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 designated facilities. The level of professional self-concept and self-confidence was assessed by utilizing the Nurses' Self-Concept Instrument and Self-Confidence Scale. Results: The professional self-concept level among the exposed group to COVID-19 patients was lower than the comparison group, while the professional self-confidence level among the exposed group to COVID-19 patients was similar to the comparison group. On the other hand, the satisfied staff and those who received professional training in dealing with COVID-19 patients reported a higher level of professional self-concept. Conclusions: Dealing with COVID-19 patients has an impact on professional self-concept; the exposure group was lower than those who did not deal with COVID-19 patients, while the professional self-confidence level among the exposed group was similar to the comparison group. Getting professional training in dealing with COVID-19 patients and being satisfied at work were significant factors in improving the professional self-concept. Policymakers should create strategies that target the improvement of professional training in dealing with COVID-19 patients.

The compatibility between the de Sitter Swampland conjecture and Ho\v{r}ava-Lifshitz $F(\bar{R})$ theories with a flat FLRW metric is studied. We first study the standard $f(R)$ theories and show that the only way in which the dS conjecture can be made independent of $R$ is by considering a power law of the form $f(R)\sim R^{\gamma}$. The conjecture and the consistency of the theory puts restrictions on $\gamma$ to be greater but close to $1$. For the $F(\bar{R})$ theories described by its two parameters $\lambda$ and $\mu$ we use the equations of motion to construct the function starting with an ansatz for the scale factor in the Jordan frame of the power law form. By doing a conformal transformation on the three metric to the Einstein frame we can obtain an action of gravity plus a scalar filed by relating the parameters of the theory. The non-projectable and projectable cases are studied and the differences are outlined. The $F(\bar{R})$ function obtained consists of terms of the form $\bar{R}^{\gamma}$ with the possibility of having negative power terms. The dS conjecture leads to inequalities for the $\lambda$ parameter, in both versions it gets restricted to be greater but close to $1/3$. For the general case in which $\mu$ and $\lambda$ are considered as independent, the action contains an extra term but we propose that the conjecture is still applicable. Once again the non-projectable and projectable cases are studied. The $F$ function obtained has the same form as before, the consistency of the theory and the dS conjecture lead to a set of inequalities on both parameters that are studied numerically. In all cases $\lambda$ is restricted by $\mu$ around $1/3$ and we obtain $\lambda\to1/3$ if $\mu\to0$. Finally we consider the $f(R)$ limit $\mu,\lambda\to1$ and we obtain consistent results.

Background: The leaf of Telfairia occidentalis Hook f. (Cucurbitaceae) is consumed in different parts of Nigeria because of the numerous nutritional and medicinal attributes ascribed to it. The sub-chronic toxicity of the hydroethanolic leaf extract of Telfairia occidentalis (TO) was investigated in this study. Methods: Rats in different groups were separately administered 80, 400 and 2000 mg/kg TO p.o. for 60 days. Animals were sacrificed and blood samples collected for haematological and biochemical analysis. Vital organs were harvested and evaluated for in vivo antioxidants and histopathological changes. Results: Results showed no significant changes in the weight of vital organs except in respect of the testes of the group treated with 2000 mg/kg extract which showed a significant (p<0.05) reduction in weight compared to the control group. There was a significant (p<0.01) increase in sperm motility and count of the group administered 80 mg/kg extract and a significant (p<0.001) reduction was observed at 2000 mg/kg. There were significant increases in the level of Hb and PCV at 80 and 2000 mg/kg of the extract. In respect of liver function parameters, a significant decrease in AST and ALT levels at doses of 400 and 2000 mg/kg relative to control was observed. A significant reduction (p<0.05) in the level of total cholesterol (400 mg/kg) and increase (p<0.05) in level of HDL (80-2000 mg/kg) compared to control was observed. There was also significant (p<0.05) increase in the level of MDA and significant (p<0.05) decrease in SOD level in the testes at 2000 mg/kg. Histopathological assessment of the testes revealed abnormality at this dose. These effects were reversed after 30 days of cessation of administration of TO. Conclusions: The findings showed that the hydroethanolic leaf extract of Telfairia occidentalis is relatively non-toxic on acute and sub-chronic exposure, with potential to elicit anti-anaemic effect, reduce the risk of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease, and enhance antioxidant status in the brain and liver. Although possibly beneficial at low dose, the extract could be harmful to the testes on prolonged oral exposure at high dose.

Here are given tight probabilistic inequalities that provide nearly best estimates for the Csiszar's f-divergence. These use the right and left psi -Hilfer fractional derivatives of the directing function f. Csiszar's f- divergence or the so called Csiszar's discrimination is used as a measure of dependence between two random variables which is a very essential aspect of stochastics, we apply our results there. The Csiszar's discrimination is the most important and general measure for the comparison between two probability measures. We give also other applications.

The rock joint fissure slope in cold regions is prone to deformation and failure problems such as relaxation, tension and collapse under freeze-thaw (F-T) cycles. Based on the ideology of clean production and promoting the structural integrity of geotechnical projects in cold areas, this study designed and prepared aeolian-sand (AS) to replace part of river sand as a filling mortar material by taking advantage of the low cost and easy availability of AS. Investigations were carried out to determine the impact of varying proportions of AS in mortar on the microstructure and shear properties of the mortar-rock interface under F-T cycles. Therefore, F-T cycle testing, nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) testing and shear testing were carried out on grout with different proportions of AS. The results show that the right proportion of AS replacement could enhance the shear deformation resistance and F-T resistance of the mortar-rock interface, and 30% proportion is the optimal proportion. By increasing of F-T cycles, the three types of specimens showed different degrees of particle spalling, shedding and cracking. The slurry-rock interface layer in the A (0%) group exhibited the most severe F-T deterioration, while the B (15%) group showed a lesser degree, and the C (30%) group performed the best. T2 spectrum curve and total spectrum area change law from the microscopic point of view to verify the 30% AS proportion mortar-rock interface F-T resistance is the strongest, followed by 15% AS proportion mortar, the weakest is ordinary mortar. The degradation of the mortar-rock bond is primarily due to the conversion of solid to liquid phases and the movement of internal water caused by fluctuating temperatures. The extent of F-T deterioration in the slurry-rock interface layer is greatly affected by the varying proportions of AS. The shear strength and shear stiffness of specific proportion of AS decreased with the increase of F-T cycles. For same F-T cycles, the shear strength and shear stiffness of group C (30%) were the highest, followed by group B (15%) and group A (0%). The grout material not only reinforces the F-T joint fissure slope, but also reduces the cost of grout reinforcement and promotes the clean production of geotechnical structures.

A Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-Walker space-time model with all curvatures k=0,±1 is explored in f(R,T) gravity. The solutions are obtained via the parametrization of the scale factor that leads to a model transiting from a decelerated universe to an accelerating one. The physical features of the model are discussed and analysed.

We analyze the behavior of relativistic spherical objects within the context of modified $f(R,T)$ gravity considering Tolman VI spacetime, where gravitational lagrangian is a function of Ricci scalar(R) and trace of energy momentum tensor(T) i.e,$ f(R,T)= R+ 2\beta T$, for some arbitrary constant $\beta$. For developing our model, we have chosen $\pounds_{m} = -p$, where $ \pounds_{m}$ represents matter lagrangian. For this investigation, we have chosen three compact stars namely PSR J1614-2230 [Mass=(1.97$\pm$ 0.4)M$_\odot$; Radius= 9.69$_{-0.02} ^{+0.02}$ Km] ,Vela X-1 [Mass=(1.77$\pm$ 0.08)M$_\odot$; Radius= 9.560$_{-0.08} ^{+0.08}$ Km] and 4U 1538-52 [Mass=(9.69)M$_\odot$; Radius= 1.97 Km]. In this theory the equation of pressure isotropy is identical to standard Einstein's theory. So all known metric potential solving Einstein's equations are also valid here. In this paper, we have investigated the effort of coupling parameter ($\beta$) on the local matter distribution. Sound of speed and adiabatic index are higher with grater values of $\beta$ while on contrary mass function and gravitational redshift are lower with higher values of $\beta$ . For supporting the theoretical results, graphical representation are also employed to analyze the physical viability of the compact stars.

In the present work, a portable device system applied in the detection and classification of different metallic ions was proposed and developed, aiming at its application in the monitoring of hydrological systems like rivers, lakes and groundwater. Considering the system features, a portable colorimetric system was developed by using a multispectral optoelectronic sensor. All the technology of quantification and classification of metallic ions using Optoelectronic Multispectral sensors was fully integrated in the embedded hardware FPGA technology and software based on virtual Instrumentation (NI LabView ®). The system was used as a colorimeter by using the chromogen reagent of 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) as an indicator and the results obtained together with the signal processing and pattern analysis using the method of the linear discriminant analysis, allowed to obtain excellent results in detection and classification of Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II) ions, with almost the same level of performance in relation to those obtained from the UV-VIS spectrometers of high spectral resolution.

Martensitic steels are used at a wide range of strength levels in environments which expose them to hydrogen or water vapor over a large range of partial pressures and temperatures. Hydrogen can cause catastrophic failures under many seemingly benign conditions. The effect of hydrogen on the dimension stability of high strength martensitic steels under such conditions has been poorly understood, and existing models do not seem to adequately account for it. Experiments were conducted to measure the variation in volume due to the uptake of hydrogen of such steels under near-ambient conditions, and the results were compared to theoretical estimates derived from the density of defects acting as hydrogen traps. Based on these results a new model for hydrogen embrittlement was developed. The hydrogen lattice dilation (HLD) model isolates volume expansion as a primary driver of hydrogen embrittlement. It provides and distinguishes two modes of failure acceleration: the fast, brittle, stress-intensity independent cracking under higher static crack loading, and a slower, highly stress-intensity dependent tearing mode at lower stress intensity. The relationship between the two is explained, as is how hydrogen absorption by defects accounts for the crack threshold and crack velocity of each.

The ionic liquid A327H+Cl- is generated by reaction of the tertiary amine A327 (industrial mixture of tri-octil and tri-decyl amines) and hydrochloric acid solutions. Further, the extraction of Au(III) by A327H+Cl- ionic liquid under various variables, including metal and ionic liquid concentrations, has been investigated. Results indicate that A327H+AuCl4- is formed, by an exothermic (ΔHº= -3 kJ/mol) reaction, in the organic solution. Aqueous ionic strength influences the formation constants values and the specific interaction theory (SIT) is used to estimate the interaction coefficient between AuCl4- and H+. Gold (III) is stripped using thiocyanate media, and from the strip solutions, gold is precipitated as gold nanoparticles.

Symbioses between animals and bacteria are ubiquitous. To better understand these relationships, it is essential to unravel how bacteria evolve to colonize hosts. Previously, we serially passaged the free-living bacterium, Shewanella oneidensis, through the digestive tracts of germ-free larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) to uncover the evolutionary changes involved in the initiation of a novel symbiosis with a vertebrate host. After 20 passages, we discovered an adaptive missense mutation in the mshL gene of the msh pilus operon, which improved host colonization, increased swimming motility, and reduced surface adhesion. In the present study, we have determined that this mutation was a loss-of-function mutation and found that it improved zebrafish colonization by augmenting S. oneidensis representation in the water column outside larvae through a reduced association with environmental surfaces. Additionally, we found that strains containing the mshL mutation were able to immigrate into host digestive tracts at higher rates per capita. However, mutant and evolved strains exhibited no evidence of a competitive advantage after colonizing hosts. Our results demonstrate that bacterial behaviors outside the host can play a dominant role in facilitating the onset of novel host associations.

Dental polymers are often advertised and selected for use in restorations based upon the flexural strength of prefabricated discs, which may not accurately reflect their performance in dental applications. The objectives of this study were, therefore, to determine whether the three-point bending (3PB) test for flexural strength would be predictive of the “crunch-the-crown” CTC test for the failure load. Three brands of polymers (Trilor, Juvora, and Pekkton) were fabricated into rectangular bars and fully contoured crowns (10 specimens of each polymer brand, 30 specimens of each shape). Bars were tested in 3PB to determine flexural strength, and crowns were CTC tested to determine failure load after luting to resin abutments. Statistical significance was evaluated by one-way ANOVA ( = 0.05) and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The fracture mechanisms were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). There were significant differences (p < 0.05) in the mean crown failure loads (Trilor [7,033 N] > Juvora [5,217 N] > Pekkton [3,023 N]) and mean flexural strengths of the bars (Trilor [468 MPa] > Juvora [197 MPa] = Pekkton [192 MPa]). There were no correlations between flexural strength and failure load. The mode of crown fracture was different between the polymers, and included deformation (Juvora), ductile-to-brittle fracture (Pekkton), and a combination of cracks and deformation (Trilor). The flexural strength was not correlated with the corresponding crown failure load. Dental practitioners should not rely on the value of flexural strength obtained from the three-point bending test, as advertised from the manufacturer, to predict the performance of polymeric crowns.

It has been proven that in standard Einstein gravity, exotic matter (i.e. matter violating the point-wise and averaged weak and null energy conditions) is required to stabilize traversable wormholes. Quantum field theory permits these violations due to the quantum coherent effects found in any quantum field . Even reasonable classical scalar fields violate the energy conditions. In the case of the Casimir effect and squeezed vacuum states, these violations have been experimentally proven. It is advantageous to investigate methods of minimizing the use of exotic matter. One such area of interest is extended theories of Einstein gravity. It has been claimed that in some extended theories, stable traversable wormholes solutions can be found without the use of exotic matter. There are many extended theories of gravity and in this review paper we first explore f(R) theories and then explore some wormhole solutions in f(R) theories including Lovelock gravity.

In this paper, we classify the function space of all real-valued functions on R denoted as F(R,R) into 28 distinct blocks. Each block contains elements that share common features in terms of the cardinality of their sets of continuity and differentiability. Alongside this classification, we introduce the concept of the Connection, which reveals a special relationship structure between four well-known real-valued functions in real analysis: the Cantor function, Dirichlet function, the Thomae function, and the Weierstrass function. Despite the significance of this field, several perspectives remain unexplored.

A locally-rotationally-symmetric Bianchi-I model filled with strange quark matter (SQM) is explored in f(R, T) gravity. We take f(R, T) = R + 2 f(T) = R + 2λT, where R is the Ricci scalar, T is the trace of energy-momentum tensor and λ is an arbitrary constant. Exact solutions are obtained by assuming that the expansion scalar is proportional to the shear scalar. This yields a constant value for the deceleration parameter, q = 2, which corresponds to the decelerated phase of the universe. The model is found to be physically viable for λ < −1. SQM during early evolution mimics ultra-relativistic radiation whereas at late times, it behaves as dust, quintessence or even the cosmological constant depending on the value of λ. The effective matter acts as a stiff fluid irrespective of the matter content and of the f(R, T) terms. The model is shear free at late times but remains anisotropic throughout the evolution. In the absence of the f(R, T) terms, SQM accelerates the universe. In the specific case when SQM vanishes at late times, the effect of f(R, T) is to accelerate the universe. The model admits the possibility that SQM could be an alternative to dark energy.

We obtain exact solutions to the field equations for 5 dimensional LRS Bianchi type-I spacetime in $f(R,T)$ theory of gravity where specifically the following three cases are considered: (i) $f(R,T)=\mu(R+T)$, (ii) $f(R,T)=R \mu + R T \mu^2$ and (iii) $f(R,T)=R+\mu R^2+\mu T$ where $R$ and $T$ respectively the Ricci scalar and trace of the energy-momentum tensor. It is found that the equation of state (EOS) parameter $w$ is governed by the parameter $\mu$ involved in the $f(R,T)$ expressions. We fine-tune the parameter $\mu$ to obtain effect of phantom energy in the model, however we also restrict this parameter to obtain a stable model of the universe. It is noted that the model isotropizes at finite cosmic time.

In this work, we study the existence of strange star in the background of f(T,T) gravity in the Einstein spacetime geometry, where T is the torsion tensor and T is the trace of the energy-momentum tensor. The equations of motion are derived for anisotropic pressure within the spherically symmetric strange star. We explore the physical features like energy conditions, mass-radius relations, modified TOV equations, principal of causality, adiabatic index, redshift and stability analysis of our model. These features are realistic and appealing to further investigation of properties of compact objects in f(T,T) gravity as well as their observational signatures.

Multiple preventive vaccines are being developed to counter the COVID-19 pandemic. The leading candidates have now been evaluated in non-human primates (NHPs) and human Phase 1 and/or Phase 2 clinical trials. Several vaccines have already advanced into Phase 3 efficacy trials, while others will do so before the end of 2020. Here, we summarize what is known of the antibody and T-cell immunogenicity of these vaccines in NHPs and humans. To the extent possible, we compare how the vaccines have performed, taking into account the use of different assays to assess immunogenicity and inconsistencies in how the resulting data are presented. We also summarize the outcome of SARS-CoV-2 challenge experiments in immunized macaques, while noting variations in the protocols used, including but not limited to the virus challenge doses.

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian household’s rice production and trying to determine its main influencing factors using the stochastic frontier production function. The study utilized primary data collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the level of household rice output varied according to differences in the efficiency of production processes. The mean TE is 0.34 which means that famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, indicates that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Furthermore, between 2013-2015 TE of household’s rice production recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015. Moreover, evidence reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of household’s rice production, while disaster, education of household head, family size and other crops’ cultivated area are core influencing factors decreasing TE. Conversely, the main influencing factors increasing TE are irrigated area, number of plot area and sex of household head.

The aims of this study are to measure the technical efficiency (TE) of Cambodian household’s rice production and trying to determine its main influencing factors using the stochastic frontier production function. The study utilized primary data collected from 301 rice farmers in three selected districts of Battambang by structured questionnaires. The empirical results indicated the level of household rice output varied according to differences in the efficiency of the production processes. The mean TE is 0.34 which means that famers produce 34% of rice at best practice at the current level of production inputs and technology, indicates that rice output has the potential of being increased further by 66% at the same level of inputs if farmers had been technically efficient. Furthermore, between 2013-2015, TE of household’s rice production recorded -14.3% decline rate due to highly affected of drought during dry season of 2015. Moreover, evidence reveals that land, fertilizer, and pesticide are the major influencing input factors of household’s rice production, while disaster, education of household head, family size and other crops’ cultivated area are core influencing factors decreasing TE. Conversely, the main influencing factors increasing TE are irrigated area, number of plot area and sex of household head.

The present study aims to measure the technical efficiency and establish core factors effecting rice production in Cambodia. Four-years dataset generated from the central government document “Profile on Economics and Social” of entire 25 provinces between 2012-2015 and the stochastic production frontier model (SFA) was applied. The results indicated that the level of output (quantity) of Cambodian rice production varied according to the different level of capital investment in agricultural machineries, total rice actual harvested area, and technically fertilizers application within provinces. Furthermore, evidence revealed the overall mean efficiency of rice production is 78.4% implies that there is still room to further improve technical efficiency by given the same level of inputs and technology. More importantly, the findings revealed that irrigation, production technique and amount of agricultural supporting staffs are being as the most important influencing factors of rice production’s technical efficiency in Cambodia. In conclusion, present study strongly recommends the development of irrigation systems and good water management practices to be considered and bring into more effective actions by the central government as well as related agencies for improving rice production in Cambodia in addition to capital investment and improving technical skills of supporting staffs and rural farmers.

In this work, we introduce a new concepts for $\alpha$-type $F$-Suzuki contraction and $\alpha$-type $F$-weak-Suzuki contraction in the context of $b$-metric spaces. Compared to the $\alpha$-type $F$-contraction and $F$-Suzuki contraction mappings, these contractions are essentially weaker. For these type of contraction mappings, sufficient conditions are established for the fixed point's existence and uniqueness in $b$-metric spaces. As a result, the findings encompass several generalizations. To show the usability of our obtained results, we provide a supportive example and an application to a non-linear differential equation with fractional order.

Solute carrier (SLC) proteins transport a wide range of substrates across biological membranes and more than 400 proteins are considered as SLCs based on its sequence. Despite it has important potential applications in drug development, the SLC superfamily is still understudied. Drosophila blot, an orphan SLC protein, regulates F-actin organization in the syncytial blastoderm and the Malpighian tubules. However, the molecular mechanism was unknown. In this study, we found Blot was localized at the furrow canal, the front of the invaginating membrane during cellularization process. Blot is required for maintaining proper morphology of furrow canal and cellularization process. By affinity purification and mass spectrometry we identified RhoGEF ELMO/DOCK complex was required for Blot-mediated F-actin organization and cellularization. Further analysis revealed that ELMO localization depends on Blot. Taken together, we propose Blot plays a role in F-actin organization as an upstream factor of ELMO by recruiting ELMO to the target membrane compartments.

Lemon oils are amongst the highest volume and most frequently traded of the flavour and fragrance essential oils. Citronellal and citral are considered the key components responsible for the lemon note with citral (neral + geranial) preferred. Of the myriad of sources of citral, the Australian myrtaceous tree, Backhousia citriodora, is considered superior. This review examines the history, natural occurrence, the cultivation, the taxonomy, the chemistry, the biological activity, the toxicology, standardisation and the commercialisation of Backhousia citriodora especially in relation to its essential oil.

The objective was to compare the failure loads of glass ceramic, and polymer crowns against yttria-partially stabilized zirconia (Y-PSZ) crowns with varying yttria concentrations. Monolithic crowns of zirconia (Cercon XT, Katana UTML, BruxZir Anterior), glass ceramic (Celtra press, IPS e.max press, Lisi press), and polymeric materials (Trilor, Juvora, Pekkton) were fabricated and cemented to epoxy abutments. The total number of specimens was 135 for crowns and 135 for discs (15 specimens per material type and design). A universal testing machine was used to perform compressive loading of all crowns to failure with a steel hemisphere along the longitudinal axis of the abutments. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) was used to identify the concentration (mol% yttria-partially stabilized zirconia) for each zirconia brand. The data were analyzed using a generalized linear model and regression analysis. The results revealed significant differences (P < .05) in mean failure loads for different crown materials: Trilor (6811 ± 960 N) > Juvora (5215 ± 151 N) > Cercon (4260 ± 520 N) = BruxZir (4186 ± 269 N) = e.max (3981 ± 384 N) > Katana (3195 ± 350 N) = Lisi (3173 ± 234 N) = Pekkton (3105 ± 398 N) > Celtra (2696 ± 393 N). EDS showed that the zirconia materials contained yttria at different concentrations (BruxZir = 5Y-PSZ, Cercon = 4Y-PSZ, Katana = 3Y-PSZ). The yttria concentration had a significant effect on the failure load of the Katana (3Y-PSZ) crowns, which revealed lower failure loads than the Cercon (4Y-PSZ) and BruxZir (5Y-PSZ) crowns. New zirconia materials are provided with different yttria concentrations (3Y-, 4Y-, and 5Y-PSZ). Since a higher yttria concentration increases the translucency, clinicians should be aware that 4-5 wt% yttria-partially stabilized zirconia materials provide comparable or higher mechanical properties than e. max glass ceramic for dental application of crowns.

Decoherence with recurrences appear in the dynamics of the one-body density matrix of an $F = 1$ spinor Bose-Einstein condensate, initially prepared in coherent states, in the presence of an external uniform magnetic field and within the single mode approximation. The phenomenon emerges as a many-body effect of the interplay of the quadratic Zeeman effect, that breaks the rotational symmetry, and the spin-spin interactions. By performing full quantum diagonalizations very accurate time evolution of large condensates are analyzed, leading to heuristic analytic expressions for the time dependence of the density matrix, in the weak and strong interacting regimes. We are able to find accurate analytical expressions for both the decoherence and the recurrence times, in terms of the number of atoms and strength parameters, that show remarkable differences depending on the strength of the spin-spin interactions. We discuss the nature of these limits in the light of the thermodynamic limit.

The advances mobile communications has seen in recent years has rendered the radio spectrum a limited and, hence, an expensive resource. Therefore, technologies that support unlicensed access to spectrum are needed. Therefore, the adoption of novel modulation schemes becomes of utmost importance to obtain better spectral-localization and reduce the OOBE (\textit{Out of Band Emission}) inherent to OFDM (\textit{Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing}) and, consequently, mitigating the interference between secondary (\textit{unlicensed}) and primary users. In this scenario, we assess the gain in the bit error probability using f-OFDM (\textit{filtered-OFDM}) in MIMO systems, both used in the 5G RANGE project.

Tracking the kinematics of human movement usually requires the use of equipment that constrains the user within a room (e.g., optical motion capture systems), or requires the use of a conspicuous body-worn measurement system (e.g., inertial measurement units (IMUs) attached to each body segment). This paper presents a novel Lie group constrained extended Kalman filter to estimate lower limb kinematics using IMU and inter-IMU distance measurements in a reduced sensor count configuration. The algorithm iterates through the prediction (kinematic equations), measurement (pelvis height assumption/inter-IMU distance measurements, zero velocity update for feet/ankles, flat-floor assumption for feet/ankles, and covariance limiter), and constraint update (formulation of hinged knee joints and ball-and-socket hip joints). The knee and hip joint angle root-mean-square errors in the sagittal plane for straight walking were 7.6±2.6∘ and 6.6±2.7∘, respectively, while the correlation coefficients were 0.95±0.03 and 0.87±0.16, respectively. Furthermore, experiments using simulated inter-IMU distance measurements show that performance improved substantially for dynamic movements, even at large noise levels (σ=0.2 m). However, further validation is recommended with actual distance measurement sensors, such as ultra-wideband ranging sensors.

This work presents the electrochemical degradation of the herbicide Diuron by anodic oxidation on a Ti/Ru0.3Ti0.7O2 dimensionally stable anode (DSA) using sulfate as electrolyte. The study includes the influence of the Diuron concentration and the current density on the anodic oxidation. The results evidence a first-order degradation, with the highest degradation capacity achieved at 40 mA cm2 and an initial Diuron concentration of 38 mg L1. Nevertheless, in terms of efficiency and energy demand, the operation at 10 mA cm2 is favored due to the more efficient and less energy-consuming condition. To discern the optimum design and operation conditions, this work presents the results of a preliminary technical-economical analysis, demonstrating that, to minimize the total costs of the system, it is recommended to seek the most efficient conditions, i.e., the conditions demanding the lowest applied charges with the highest Diuron degradation. At the same time, attention must be given to the required cell voltage to not increase excessively the operating costs.

In this paper, a positive answer to the open question of Fabino et al. is given, and the concept of I\c sik type set valued contractions is introduced and fixed point theorem for such contractions is established. Examples to support main theorems are given, and an application to integral inclusion is given.

Rising raw material prices can have a significant impact on the financial performance of the food and beverage (F&B) business. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of rising prices of staples onfinancial resilience F&B business in Indonesia. This study uses a quantitative approach with bivariate correlation analysis and secondary data from the financial reports of F&B companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange for the 2020-2022 period. The results showed that the increase in the price of basic commodities had a significant positive impact onfinancial resilience F&B company. This can be seen from the decline in the profitability and liquidity of F&B companies as a result of the increase in the price of basic commodities. Therefore, F&B companies must pay attention to and manage the risk of rising prices of basic commodities to maintainfinancial resilience and sustainable business continuity.

Background and Objectives:: Hip osteoarthritis is the main cause physical disability, also has a serious impact on the efficiency and independence of older people. The aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between hip osteoarthritis and the risk of sarcopenia. Our main hypothesis was whether the risk of sarcopenia, as measured by the SARC F questionnaire , is related to the physical fitness of older people with hip osteoarthritis. Materials and Methods: The study was conducted with the participation of 177 people of aged 65 or more, diagnosed hip osteoarthritis. The subjects were assessed using the SARC F questionnaire, the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) and Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. The subjects were divided into two groups depending on the result they obtained in the SARC F questionnaire (group 1- SARC F &lt;4, group 2 - SARC F ≥ 4). Results: There was a significant correlation between the results in the SARC F and the results of the TUG (p&lt;0.001) and the SPPB test, both the SPPB total score (p&lt;0.001)and its elements: SBBP chair stand test (p&lt;0.001), SPPB balance test (p&lt;0.001), SPPB gait speed test (p&lt;0.001). Logistic regression of the SPPB and TUG predictors showed that in SARC F more than 4 predicted worse SPPB and TUG outcomes. In the SARC group, F above 4 increases the odds of poorer scores in SPPB OR=1.097; CI 95% 1.053-1.146 and TUG, OR=1.096; CI 95% 1.104-1.266. Conclusion: The study showed that the results obtained in the SARC F questionnaire correlate with the possibilities of physical functioning in patients with hip osteoarthritis SARC F is an inexpensive method that can be used to assess the risk of sarcopenia. Healthcare professionals, especially in primary care, should consider assessing the risk of sarcopenia especially in people with hip osteoarthritis.

In this study, the degradable superhydrophobic Mg/P/Z/F/H (magnesi-um/poly(-caprolactone)/zinc oxide/1H,1H,2H,2H-perfluorodecyltriethoxysilane (PFDTES)/ heating process) composite materials were prepared through one-step method for enhancing the corrosion resistance of AZ91D magnesium alloys. Electrochemical measurements showed that Mg/P/Z/F/H materials significantly improved the corrosion resistance of magnesium alloys in 3.5 wt.% NaCl. The self-cleaning, adhesion and stability tests suggested that Mg/P/Z/F/H composite materials had well self-cleaning properties, good adhesion strength and stability in wet atmosphere.

Nitric oxide (NO) is involved in physiological processes, including vasodilatation, wound healing and antibacterial activities. As NO is a free radical, designing drugs to generate therapeutic amounts of NO in controlled spatial and time manners is still a challenge. In this study, the NO donor S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO) was incorporated into the thermoresponsive Pluronic F-127 (PL) - chitosan (CS) hydrogel, with an easy and economically feasible methodology. CS is a polysaccharide with known antimicrobial properties. Scanning electron microscopy, rheology and differential scanning calorimetry techniques were used for hydrogel characterization. The results demonstrated that the hydrogel has a smooth surface, thermoresponsive behavior and good mechanical stability. The kinetics of NO release and GSNO diffusion from GSNO-containing PL/CS hydrogel demonstrated a sustained NO/GSNO release, in concentrations suitable for biomedical applications. The GSNO-PL/CS hydrogel demonstrated a concentration-dependent toxicity to Vero cells, and antimicrobial activity to Pseudomonas aeruginosa (minimum inhibitory concentration and minimum bactericidal concentration values of 0.5 µg·mL^-1 of hydrogel, which corresponds to 1 mmol·L^-1 of GSNO). Interestingly, the concentration range in which the NO-releasing hydrogel demonstrated an antibacterial effect was not found to be toxic to the Vero mammalian cell. Thus, the GSNO-PL/CS hydrogel is a suitable biomaterial for topical NO delivery applications.

This review presents an updated overview of research concerning Leishmania protein structures, primarily sourced from the Protein Data Bank (PDB), that play a role in the metabolic pathways of the Leishmania parasite. Furthermore, we assess the current progress in the identification and development of bioactive chemical agents aimed at addressing this substantially overlooked tropical disease. We have analyzed experimental data obtained from in vitro, in vivo and in silico sources. This data has been categorized into four main areas: a) vector taxonomy and geographic distribution; b) parasite taxonomy and geographic distribution; c) enzymatic functions of proteins engaged in parasite/host interactions throughout various developmental stages (such as oxidoreductases, transferases, hydrolases, lyases, isomerases, ligases, and cytokines); and d) established and experimental treatments employing bioactive chemical compounds. Our objective is to establish a foundational point of reference for research efforts concentrating on the elucidation of interaction mechanisms and the processes of ligand-protein activation/inactivation, specifically linked to Leishmania infections. Consequently, we emphasize enzymes recognized for their involvement in the biochemical pathways incited during Leishmania infection episodes. This review encapsulates the current understanding, offering insights to inform and direct future explorations aimed at targeting proteins and pathways to enhance the management of Leishmania-related diseases.

The increased consumption of food requiring thermoformed packaging means that the packaging industry demands customized solutions in terms of shapes and sizes to make the packaging unique. In particular, the food industry increasingly requires more transparent packaging, with greater clarity and a better presentation of the product features they contain. However, in turn, the differentiation of products is sought through the geometry and final finish of the product, as well as the arrangement of food inside the packaging. In addition, these types of packaging usually include ribs in the walls to improve physical properties, however they also affect the final aesthetics of the product. In accordance with this, this research study analyses by studying the mechanical properties of different relief geometries that can affect not only the aesthetics but also their strength. For this purpose, tensile and compression tests have been carried out. The results provide comparative data on the reliefs studied and show that there are different shapes, sizes and layout.

In the context of food packaging design, customization enhances the value of a product by meeting the needs of the consumer. Personalization is also linked to adaptation. This makes it possible to improve the properties of the packaging from various points of view: functional, aesthetic, economic and ecological. Currently the functional and formal properties of packaging are not investigated among themselves, however the study of both properties are the basis for creating a new concept of personalized and sustainable product. In accordance with this approach, the conceptual design procedure of packaging with personalized and adapted geometries based on the digitization of fresh food is proposed in this work. This study is based on the application of advanced technologies for the design and development of food packaging, in this case apples, in order to improve the quality of the packaging. The results obtained show that it is possible to use advanced technologies in the early stages of product design in order to obtain competitive products adapted to new emerging needs.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are single-stranded, noncoding RNA molecules that regulate gene expression post-transcriptionally by binding to messenger RNAs. miRNAs are important regulators of gene expression, and their dysregulation is implicated in many human and dog diseases. Most cancers tested, to date, have been shown to express altered miRNA levels, which indicates their potential importance in the oncogenic process. Based on this evidence, numerous miRNAs have been suggested as potential cancer biomarkers for both diagnosis and prognosis. miRNA-based therapies have also been tested in different cancers and have provided measurable clinical benefits to patients. In addition, understanding miRNA biogenesis and regulatory mechanisms in cancer can provide important knowledge about resistance to chemotherapies, leading to more personalized cancer treatment. In this review, we have comprehensively summarized the importance of miRNA in human and dog cancer research. We have discussed the current state of development and potential for miRNA as both a diagnostic marker and a therapeutic target.

Background: Few studies have assessed built environment correlates of active commuting in low-and-middle-income countries, but the different context could yield distinct findings. This cross-sectional study investigated associations between home neighbourhood environment characteristics and active commuting in Chennai, India. Methods: Adults (N = 370, 47.2% female, mean age = 37.9 years) were recruited from 155 wards in the metropolitan area of Chennai in southern India between January and June 2015. Participants self-reported their usual mode of commute to work, with responses recoded into three categories: (1) multi-modal or active commuting (walking and bicycling); (2) public transit; and (3) private transport. Environmental attributes around participants’ homes were assessed using the Neighborhood Environment Walkability Scale-India (NEWS-India). Associations between environmental characteristics and likelihood of active commuting and public transit use were modelled using logistic regression with private transport (driving alone or carpool) as the reference category, adjusting for age, gender, and household car ownership. Results: Consistent with other international studies, participants living in neighbourhoods with a mix of land-uses and a transit stop within a 10-minute walk from home were more likely to use active commuting (both p < 0.01). Land-use mix was significantly associated with the use of public transit compared to private transport (aOR = 5.2, p = 0.002). Contrary to findings in high-income countries, the odds of active commuting were reduced with improved safety from crime (aOR = 0.2, p = 0.003), aesthetics (aOR = 0.2, p = 0.05) and street connectivity (aOR = 0.2, p = 0.003). Conclusions: Different environmental attributes were associated with active commuting, suggesting that these relationships are complex and may distinctly differ from those in high-income countries. Unexpected inverse associations of perceived safety from crime and aesthetics with active commuting emphasize the need for high quality epidemiologic studies with greater context-specificity in the study of physical activity in LMICs. Findings have public health implications for India and suggest that caution should be taken when translating evidence across countries.

The present analysis deals with the study of the $f(Q, T )$ theory of gravity which was recently considered by many cosmologists. In this theory of gravity, the action is taken as an arbitrary function $f(Q, T )$ where $Q$ is non-metricity and $T$ is the trace of energy-momentum tensor for matter fluid. In this study, we have taken three different forms of the function $f(Q, T )$ as $f(Q,T)=a_1Q+a_2 T$ and $f(Q,T)=a_3 Q^2+a_4 T$ and discussed some physical properties of the same. Also, we have obtained the various cosmological parameters towards Friedmann-Lemaitre-Robertson-walker (FLRW) Universe by defining the transit form of scale factor which yields the Hubble parameter in redshift form as $H(z)=\frac{H_{0}}{(\lambda+1)} \left(\lambda+ (1+z)^{\delta}\right)$. %We have obtained the approx best-fit values of model parameters using the least square method for observational constraints on available datasets like Hubble dataset $H(z)$, Supernova dataset SNe-Ia, etc., by applying the Root Mean Squared Error formula (RMSE). By applying the Root Mean Squared Error formula (RMSE), we were able to determine the approximate best-fit values of model parameters using the least square approach for observational constraints on the datasets Hubble dataset $H(z)$, Supernova dataset SNe-Ia, etc. We have observed that the deceleration parameter $q(z)$ exhibits a signature-flipping (transition) point within the range $0.623 \le z_{0} \le 1.668$ through which it changes its phase from the decelerated to the accelerated expanding universe with $\omega = -1$ at $z=-1$ for the approximate best-fit values of the model parameters. %For obtained approx best-fit values of model parameters we have observed that the deceleration parameter $q(z)$ shows a signature-flipping (transition) point within the range $0.623 \le z_{0} \le 1.668$ through which it changes its phase from decelerated to the accelerated expanding universe with $\omega = -1$ at $z=-1$.

This paper presents a novel DQ-based multicarrier Pulse Width Modulation PWM for a single-phase, three-level PV-powered grid-connected F-type inverter. The main control objective in the proposed inverter is to regulate the grid current with low total harmonic distortion and load power components compensation. Despite the F-type inverter’s advanced advantages, there are only a few works addressing the control issue in the literature yet. The proposed control and switching methods aim to achieve both DC side voltage balance and lowest switching losses. The proposed scheme has been designed based on a modified multi-carrier PWM switching algorithm. Consequently, the proposed control method able to satisfy the requirements of DC side voltage balance and achieve lower switching losses. A further advantage of the proposed control and switching methods is that they retain the main advantage of the F-Type inverter, which is that only 25% of the power switches are exposed to full DC voltage. This is an important advantage since it reduces the overall cost of the inverter and improves its reliability. Overall, the proposed modified multi-carrier PWM switching algorithm appears to be a promising approach for controlling the F-Type inverter, offering improved performance and efficiency compared to other control methods. The theoretical model was verified through simulation using MATLAB/Simulink. According to the simulation results, the grid current and dc capacitor voltages are successfully managed in all operational situations.

In this paper, we investigated the trajectory of the massive particle in the vicinity of a general spherical symmetric black hole. Also, in the framework of general sphericalily symmetric black hole, Pseudo-Newtonian potential (PNP) and effective potentials has been investigated. As an example, static spherically symmetric black hole in f(R) gravity is considered and presented the brief discussion on the structure of spacetime and horizons. We calculated energy and angular momentum in the framework of general relativity as well as in Pseudo-Newtonian theory. A graphical comparison of angular momentum in this both framework has been studied.

Adventurous play, defined as exciting, thrilling play where children are able to take age-appropriate risks has been associated with a wide range of positive outcomes. Despite this, it remains unclear what factors might aid or hinder schools in offering adventurous play opportu-nities. The purpose of this systematic review is to synthesise findings from qualitative studies on the perceived barriers and facilitators of adventurous play in schools. A total of nine studies were included in the final synthesis. The review used two synthesis strategies: a meta-aggregative syn-thesis and narrative synthesis. Findings were similar across the two syntheses, highlighting that key barriers and facilitators were: adults’ perceptions of children; adults’ attitudes and beliefs about adventurous play and concerns pertaining to health; and, safety and concerns about legis-lation. Based on the findings of the review, recommendations for policy and practice as provided to support adventurous play in schools.

Terahertz tomography is a promising method among non-destructive inspection techniques to detect faults and defects in dielectric samples. Image quality recently significantly improved through the incorporation of a priori information and off-axis data. However, this improvement has come at the cost of increased measurement time. To aim toward industrial applications, it is therefore necessary to speed up the measurement by parallelizing the data acquisition employing multi-channel setups. In this work, we present two tomographic frequency-modulated continuous wave (FMCW) systems working at a bandwidth of 230-320 GHz, equipped with an eight-channel detector array, and compare their imaging results with a single-pixel setup. While in the first system, the additional channels are used exclusively to detect radiation refracted by the sample, the second system features an f-θ lens, focusing the beam at different positions on its flat focal plane, and thus utilizing the whole detector array directly. The usage of the f-θ lens in combination with a scanning mirror eliminates the necessity of the formerly used slow translation of a single-pixel transmitter. This opens up the potential for a significant increase in acquisition speed, in our case by a factor of four to five, respectively.

In the context of the French-German space lidar mission MERLIN dedicated to the determination of the atmospheric methane content, an end-to-end mission simulator is being developed. In order to check whether the instrument design meets the performance requirements, simulations have to count all the sources of noise on the measurements like the optical energy variability induced by speckle. Speckle is due to interference as the lidar beam are quasi monochromatic. Speckle contribution to the error budget has to be estimated but also simulated. In this paper, the speckle theory is revisited and applied to MERLIN double pulsed IPDA lidar and also to the DLR demonstrator CHARM-F. Results show: on the signal path, speckle noise depends mainly on the size of the illuminating area on ground; on the solar flux, speckle is fully negligible both because the pixel size and the optical filter spectral width; on energy monitoring path a decorrelation mechanism is needed to reduce speckle noise on averaged data. Speckle noises for MERLIN and CHARM-F can be simulated by Gaussian noises with only one random draw by shot separately for energy monitoring and signal paths.

A growing number of studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2 could interfere with homeostatic mechanisms in the lung but the implications of this possible interference have not been fully explored in the literature. In this work, we examine the consequences that can be drawn from this hypothesis according to currently available knowledge. We suggest that one such consequence is the potential disruption of normal ventilation and perfusion of lung regions that may be distant from the infection sites. Loss of ventilation might result in local alveolar hypoxia and contribute to hypoxemia, which in turn could trigger homeostatic responses that enhance blood oxygenation by redistributing pulmonary blood circulation. Sudden changes in perfusion might then lead to the development of hydrostatic edema and eventually to vascular remodeling and inflammation. Therefore, the immune response might not be the only source of the substantial inflammation observed in lung tissues of patients with severe COVID-19, as is often assumed in the literature. The balance between the homeostatic and the immune reaction in each patient could account for the observed heterogeneity of the clinical manifestations of COVID-19.

On February 28th, 2023, Spanish Royal Decree 150/2023 as published, approving the plans for the management of the maritime space of the five Spanish marine demarcations. This Royal Decree Law inaugurates the Planning of the Maritime Space in Spain. Terrestrial Space Planning is very advanced, both in the legislation and in the instruments that are enabled to organize this space, from the national scale to the municipal scale, passing through the regional, provincial, and supra-municipal scales. Naturally, both Planning must converge and thus speak of an Integrated Space Planning. In some of the countries that we can take as global references, this convergence in the form of integration is taking place. On the other hand, and within the context of climate change, coastal cities will be the most affected, both by the potential rise in sea level and by the increasingly continuous and greater extreme events. Integrated Space Planning is postulated as the most effective tool to carry out adequate territorial and urban planning of our coastal cities, as well as to analyse the influence and possible corrective measures to apply against the effects produced by climate change.

In bone tissue engineering, ceramics have been the choice due to their excellent biological properties. But the paradigm changed with the discovery of bioactive glasses (BGs) in 1969 by Larry Hench and co-workers, due to their ability to bond to living tissues through the formation of an interfacial bone-like hydroxyapatite layer when the bioglass was put in contact with biological fluids in vivo. Among a number of tested compositions, the one exhibiting the highest bioactivity index is the well-known trademarked 45S5 Bioglass®. The topic received increasing attention particularly after 1985 when this material entered in the market of biomedical devices, inspiring many other investigations aiming at further exploring the in vitro and in vivo performances of this BG, or developing other related BG compositions. The research efforts gradually revealed a number of shortcomings of 45S5 Bioglass®, mostly derived from its high sodium content, initially intended to decrease the melting temperature and accelerating the degradation of the silicate network over time. But the extensive release of sodium from 45S5 Bioglass® in the biological fluids creates a high pH cytotoxic environment. Other serious drawbacks include a fast degradation rate, and a poor sintering ability, which hinders the reliable fabrication of porous scaffolds. Therefore, sol-gel was regarded as an attractive alternative to prepare alkali-free BG compositions. The process uses inorganic and/or organic precursors, which undergo hydrolysis and condensation at room-temperature, being less costly. When properly conducted, the sol-gel process might result in amorphous structures with all the components intimately mixed at the atomic scale. Moreover, developing new better performing materials for bone tissue engineering is a growing concern, as the ageing of the world’s population leads to lower bone density and osteoporosis. This work describes the sol-gel synthesis of a novel quaternary silicate-based BG with the composition 60 SiO2 – 34 CaO – 4 MgO – 2 P2O5 (mol%) was prepared using acidified distilled water as single solvent. By controlling the kinetics of the hydrolysis and condensation steps, an amorphous glass structure could be obtained. The results of XRD of samples calcined within the temperature range from 600-900 ºC demonstrated that amorphous nature was maintained until 800 ºC, followed by partial crystallization at 900 ºC. The specific surface area, an important factor in osteoconduction, was also evaluated over different temperatures, ranging from 160.6 ± 0.8 m2/g at 600 ºC down to 2.2 ± 0.1 m2/g at 900 ºC, being accompanied consistent changes in average pore size and agreeing pore size distribution. The immersion of the BG particles in simulated body fluid (SBF) led to the formation of an extensive apatite layer on its surface. These overall results indicate the proposed material is very promising for biomedical applications in bone regeneration and tissue engineering.

This manuscript presents the result of utilizing cellulose as a template to prepare na-nosized WO3-NiWO4 and its application as co-catalysts in Pt/WO3-C and Pt/WO3-NiWO4-C for ethanol and glycerol electro-oxidation. Microcrystalline cellulose was hydrolyzed with phosphotungstic acid (H3PW12O40) to prepare the nanosized template of crystalline cellulose. Next, the template was impregnated with Ni(NO3)2, rendering a precursor mate-rial that is subsequently air-calcinated, removing the carbon-template material to obtain the nanometric WO3 and NiWO4. Elemental analysis confirmed the coexistence of nickel and tungsten, whereas the thermal analysis evidenced the high thermal stability of these materials. The X-ray diffractograms displayed crystal facets of WO3 and, when added Ni, of NiWO4. The transmission electron micrographs corroborated the formation of na-nosized particles with average particle sizes close to 50 nm. Finally, to apply this material, Pt/WO3-C and Pt/WO3-NiWO4-C were prepared and used in ethanol and glycerol electro-oxidation in alkaline medium, observing a promotional effect of the oxide and tungstate by reducing the onset potential and increasing the current density. These materials show great potential to produce clean electricity or green hydrogen contributing to energetic transition.

First, we examine how spin is treated in special relativity and the necessity of introducing spin supplementary conditions (SSC) and how they are related to the choice of a center-of-mass of a spinning particle. Next, we discuss quantum electrodynamics and the Foldy-Wouthuysen transformation which we note is a position operator identical to the Pryce-Newton-Wigner position operator. The classical version of the operators are shown to be essential for the treatment of classical relativistic particles in general relativity, of special interest being the case of binary systems (black holes/neutron stars) which emit gravitational radiation.

This work studies the discontinuities features of sedimentary flysch materials in a 100 km2 area belonging to the Basque Arc. Such materials are common in this Spanish Alpine region located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula. A total of 33 outcrops are investigated by an intensive geotechnical investigation including geomechanical stations, boreholes and mechanical laboratory tests. Two flysch units are characterized: the Upper Aguinaga Formation or siliciclastic flysch, and the Lower Itziar Formation or calcareous flysch. Differences between both flysch formation are found. Joints in the siliciclastic flysch formation present an undulated roughness, with a spacing narrower and a persistence lower than in the calcareous flysch formation, which exhibits higher friction angles, although roughness is essentially planar. In addition, the potential of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques, particularly Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machine, to estimate the Geological Strength Index (GSI) from the Rock Quality Design (RQD) and some discontinuities features (spacing, persistence, aperture and roughness) is investigated. AI techniques are found to be satisfactory, being the Support Vector Machine with a linear kernel the technique which achieves the best performance.

Concentrator photovoltaic (CPV) technology offers an alternative to conventional photovoltaic systems, focusing on the concentration of solar radiation through the optics of the system onto smaller and more efficient solar cells. However, the surface on which the solar beam is incident must remain oriented towards the position of the sun, which requires the use of large and heavy external elements known as solar trackers. In addition to their size, these elements must be as accurate as possible to avoid misalignment. To avoid the need of these solar trackers, the concept of tracking-integrated concentrating systems has been developed. This technology has been researched to make CPV systems accessible in places where conventional systems are not viable, such as building roofs or agrivoltaic fields. This review presents a detailed classification of the existing designs in the literature and providing an overview of this type of system. By eliminating the need for external solar trackers, tracking-integrated CPV systems offer a promising solution to increase the adoption of this technology. Therefore, it is expected that these systems will be a viable and effective option for solar power generation.

Nickelate superconductors, R1-xAxNiO2 (where R is a rare earth metal and A = Sr, Ca), experimentally discovered in 2019 exhibit many unexplained mysteries as the existence of a superconducting state with Tc (up to 18 K) in thin films and its absence in bulk materials. Another unexplained mystery of nickelates is their temperature-dependent upper critical field, Bc2T, which can be nicely fitted to two-dimensional (2D) models; however the deduced film thickness, dsc,GL, exceeds the physical film thickness, dsc, by a manifold. To address the latter, it should be noted that 2D models assume that dsc is less than the in-plane and out-of-plane ground state coherence lengths, dsc&lt;ξab0 and dsc&lt;ξc0, respectively, and, in addition, that the inequality ξc0&lt;ξab0 satisfies. Analysis of the reported experimental Bc2T data showed that at least one of these conditions does not satisfy for R1-xAxNiO2 films. This implies that nickelate films are not 2D superconductors, even despite though that the superconducting state is observed only in thin films. Based on this, here we proposed analytical three dimensional (3D) model for global data fit of in-plane and out-of-plane Bc2T in nickelates. The model is based on a heuristic expression for temperature dependent coherence length anisotropy: γξT=γξ01-1a×TTc, where a&gt;1 is a unitless free-fitting parameter. The proposed expression for γξT, perhaps, has a much broader application because it has been successfully applied to bulk pnictide and chalcogenide superconductors.

Given the AdS/CFT relationship, the study of higher-dimensional AdS black holes is extremely important. Furthermore, since the restriction derived from $f(Q)$'s field equations which prevents it from deriving spherically symmetric black hole solutions, the result is either $Q'=0$ or $f_{QQ}=0$. We derive static anti-de-Sitter black holes in $D$-dimensions using the cylindrical coordinate in the framework of the cubic form of $f(Q)$ gravity, where the coincident gauge condition is imposed \cite{Heisenberg:2023lru,Maurya:2023muz}. Within this study we are going to use the power-law ansatz which is the most viable according to observations where $f(Q)=Q+\frac{1}2\gamma Q^2+\frac{1}3\gamma Q^3-2\Lambda$, and the condition $D \geq 4$ is satisfied. Since these solutions lack a general relativity limit, they belong to a brand-new solution class, the characteristics of which are derived only from the non-metricity $Q$ modification. We investigate the singularities of the solutions by computing the values of different curvature and non-metricity invariants. We discover that the solutions indeed have a central singularity, but because of the f(Q) impact, it is softer than in the typical general relativity case. In conclusion, we compute thermodynamic parameters such as Gibbs free energy, Hawking temperature, and entropy. These thermodynamic calculations confirm that our model is stable.

Limited research has been conducted on the metabolites present in the essential oils (EOs) of Phlomoides rotata (Benth. ex Hook. f.) Mathiesen (PR, syn. Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudô), and their potential pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant properties, are often overlooked. We conducted a metabolomics-based screening to identify the characteristic metabolites (CMs) in the EOs extracted from PR. Meanwhile, we evaluated their in vitro antioxidant activities (AOAs). The EOs obtained through hydro-distillation are characterized by a light yellow color and a fresh, elegant fragrance. Cryoprecipitation was used to separate the crystals (Crs) from the EOs, resulting in the crystal-free EOs (CFs). A total of 121 components are identified and quantified in the EOs, Crs, and CFs. Among them, 84 were reported for the first time from such EOs. The major compounds include long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and their esters, such as palmitic acid (PA), myristic acid (MA), linoleic acid (LA), oleic acid (OA), stearic acid, and methyl palmitate (MP). Furthermore, 11 kinds of apocarotenoids (also called norisoprenoids) were first systematically investigated. Among them, eight C13-norisoprenoids, with trans-β-damascenone (DN) being particularly notable for its flavor, were identified. A sum of 11 CMs are screened , including PA, MA, LA, OA, MP, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone, phytol (PT), DN, stearic acid, linalool, and hexanal. These CMs are biosynthesized through FAs and 2-C-Methyl-D-erythritol 4-phosphate/1-Deoxy-D-xylulose 5-phosphate pathways. The in vitro AOAs of EOs, Crs, CFs, and seven selected CMs (PA, MA, LA, OA, MP, PT, and DN) were evaluated. Generally, PA and MA exhibited pro-oxidant activities (POAs) or weak AOAs. LA and OA demonstrated POAs or weak AOAs at lower concentrations, but at higher concentrations, they displayed medium to strong AOAs. Importantly, the CFs typically exhibited stronger AOAs compared to the corresponding EOs and Crs, potentially due to variations in their PA content. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the potential utilization of EOs from PR.

We consider several unification problems in mathematics. We refer to transcendental numbers. Also, we present some ways to unify the main non-associative algebras (Lie algebras and Jordan algebras) and associative algebras.

MicroRNA-155 (miR-155) expression promotes inflammatory responses in macrophages. Activation of macrophages with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) elevates miR-155, while the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-10 (IL10) reduces miR-155 levels. MiR-155 exists in two forms, miR-155-5p and miR-155-3p, produced from the precursor of miR-155 (pre-miR-155). MiR-155-5p is the most abundant strand in activated macrophages, but in response to LPS, the miR-155-3p level is upregulated first, followed by miR-155-5p later. We have previously identified CELF2 protein which interacts with pre-miR-155 and impairs miR-155-5p expression. We now show that CELF2 only regulates the miR-155-5p expression and that another protein FUBP1 controls miR-155-3p levels in response to LPS and IL10.

The Action Control Theory (ACT) is an enactive theory of perception and mental imagery with six components: Schemata, Objects, Actions, Affect, Goals and Others’ Behavior. The evidence support-ing these six connected processes is reviewed in light of research on mental imagery vividness. The six processes and their interconnections receive empirical support from a wide range of studies. All six domains of perception and mental imagery are influenced by individual differences in vividness. Real-world applications of ACT show interesting potential to improve human well-being in both healthy people and patients. Mental imagery can be applied in creative ways to make new collective goals and actions for change that are necessary to maximize the future prospects of the planet.

Shear thickening fluids (STF) are a class of fluids whose viscosity significantly rises under external loads. The research on these fluids has been advancing in recent years regarding prospective practical applications, including developing impact-absorbing composites. Following the green agendas governments and legislators advocate, this study investigates the combination of STF and other sustainable materials. Cork is a naturally occurring cellular material with a negative carbon footprint and superior energy absorption properties. With varying concentrations of STF material, cork agglomerates were formed. Notably, the analysed blends are homogeneous, contrasting with previous literary works. A series of experiments were conducted in quasi-static and dynamic conditions to determine the various mechanical responses. STF appears to influence the mechanical behaviour of cork agglomerates by providing softer deceleration rates and dispersing more energy through disaggregation mechanisms.

The isoenergetic cycle is a purely mechanical cycle comprised of adiabatic and isoenergetic processes. In the latter the system interacts with an energy bath keeping constant the expectation value of the Hamiltonian. This cycle has been mostly studied in systems consisting of particles confined in a power-law trap. In this work we study the performance of the isoenergetic cycle for a system described by the quantum Rabi model for the case of controlling the coupling strength parameter, the resonator frequency and the two-level system frequency. For the cases of controlling either the coupling strength parameter or the resonator frequency, we find that it is possible to closely approach to maximal unit efficiency when the parameter is sufficiently increased in the first adiabatic stage. In addition, for the first two cases the maximal work extracted is obtained at parameter values corresponding to high efficiency which constitutes an improvement over current proposals of this cycle.

Using UAV-based multispectral images for quickly and accurately monitoring chlorophyll content is critical for field management and yield estimation. However, the lower model accuracy and the poor robustness of the estimation models are still preventing the widespread application of UAV-based multispectral images. We carried out two field trials at various experimental sites to further enhance the precision and applicability of the model used to estimate the chlorophyll content of potato plants. Firstly, the texture features and vegetation indices derived from multispectral images were screened using the Pearson correlation coefficient method, and Normalized difference red edge (NDRE) performed the best over the two growth periods. Secondly, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to recombine five bands of multispectral images, and third PCA results (PCA3) was selected to combined with NDRE according to the construction principle of NDRE, and the newly constructed parameter was named improved NDRE (INDRE). Finally, INDRE was used to establish a chlorophyll content estimation model of potato plants, and compared with some traditional parameters. The results demonstrated that the INDRE had the maximum accuracy (R2 = 0.7865, RMSE = 2.1378), and corresponding R2 increased by 0.1481 and RMSE decreased by 1.2994 than NDRE. Additionally, the model was validated using independent data from Experiment 2, and INDRE considerably increased estimation accuracy compared to other factors. In conclusions, the INDRE suggested in this study significantly enhances the accuracy and applicability of the chlorophyll content inversion model and can serve as an additional reference for fertilization management.

A new model of cosmology is proposed, where the state of high energy density commonly associated with the big bang is generated by the collapse of an antineutrino star that has exceeded its Chandrasekhar limit. To allow the first neutrino stars and antineutrino stars to form naturally from an initial quantum vacuum state, matter and antimatter are assumed to gravitationally repel. In this scenario, a degenerate antineutrino star in effective hydrostatic equilibrium has a density that is similar to the dark energy density of the ΛCDM model. When viewed from the core, such a star could today accelerate matter radially and emit the isothermal cosmic microwave background radiation, which addresses the horizon and flatness problems. This model and the ΛCDM model are in similar quantitative agreement with supernova distance measurements. The presented model is also in qualitative agreement with observed large-scale anisotropy and inhomogeneity, which distinguishes it from the ΛCDM model.

With the increase in life expectancy and consequent aging of the world’s population, the prevalence of many neurodegenerative diseases is increasing, without concomitant improvement in diagnostics and therapeutics. These diseases share neuropathological hallmarks, including mitochondrial dysfunction. In fact, as mitochondrial alterations appear prior to neuronal cell death at an early phase of the disease onset, the study and modulation of mitochondrial alterations rise as promising strategies to predict and prevent neurotoxicity and neuronal cell death before the onset of cell viability alterations. In this work, differentiated SH-SY5Y cells were treated with the mitochondrial-targeted neurotoxicants 6-hydroxydopamine and rotenone. These compounds were used at different concentrations and for different time points to understand the similarities and differences in their mechanisms of action. To accomplishing this, data on mitochondrial parameters was acquired and analyzed using unsupervised (hierarchical clustering) and supervised (decision tree) machine learning methods. Both biochemical and computational analyses resulted in an evident distinction between the neurotoxic effects of 6-hydroxydopamine and rotenone, specifically for the highest concentrations of both compounds.

The paper argues that universal approaches to infiltration and drainage in permeable media that pivot around capillarity and that led to dual porosity, non-equilibrium, or preferential flow need to be replaced by a dual process approach. One process has to account for relatively fast infiltration and drainage based on Newton's shear flow, while the other one is responsible for storage and relatively slow redistribution of soil water by focusing on capillarity. Already Schumacher (1864) postulated two separate processes. However, Buckingham's (1907) and Richards' (1931) apparent universal capillary-based approach to flow and storage of water in soils dominated. The paper introduces the basics of Newton's shear flow in permeable media. It presents experimental support for the four presumptions of (i) sharp wetting shock fronts; (ii) that move with constant velocities; (iii) atmospheric pressure prevails behind the wetting shock front; (iv) laminar flow. It further discusses the scale tolerance of the approach, its relationship to Darcy's (1856) law, and its extension to solute transport.

This work presents a numerical study on atmospheric sound propagation over rough water surfaces. A method to generate pseudorandom sea profiles consistent with sea wave spectra is presented. The proposed method is suited to capture the logarithmic nature of the energy distribution of the waves. Sea profiles representing fully developed seas for sea states 2, 3, 4 and 5 are generated from the Elfouhaily et al. (ECKV) sea wave spectra. Excess attenuation caused by refraction and surface roughness is predicted with a parabolic equation (PE) solver. A novel method to estimate equivalent effective impedance based on PE predictions at different sea states is presented. Parametric expressions using acoustic frequency and significant wave height are developed for effective surface impedances. In this work, sea surface roughness is on a scale comparable to the acoustic wavelength. Under this condition, the acoustic scattering is primarily incoherent. This work shows the limitations of using an equivalent surface impedance in such incoherent scattering cases.

The adsorption of carbon dioxide on amino silanes-functionalized MCM-41 and SBA-15 materials is reported. The functionalization of mesoporous silicas was made by post-synthesis method, by impregnation of 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane. The obtained materials were characterized by X-ray diffraction, scanning and transmission electron microscopies, nitrogen adsorption-desorption and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements. The carbon dioxide adsorption capacities for the samples were carried out under ambient pressures. The obtained results evidenced that amino-silanes with a terminal amine (–NH₂) were functionalized through covalent coupling of this group on the surface of the channels in the ordered mesoporous silica, meaning that the amine is anchored on the surface of the bigger pores of the MCM-41 and SBA-15 support. For functionalized materials, the CO₂ adsorption capacity of the AMCM-41 increased from 0.18 to 1.1 mmol·g⁻¹, whereas for ASBA-15, it was from 0.6 to 1.8 mmol·g⁻¹. The Lagergren kinetic algorithms were applied in order to validate the obtained results, evidencing the enhanced carbon dioxide adsorption capacity and stability of the functionalized ordered mesoporous molecular sieves.

The noble metals palladium and silver find use in many high performance applications, and their alloys (PdAg), known for more than sixty years, are industrially important, finding use in many fields including hydrogen purification and separation, numerous facets of catalysis, and in fuel cells. In recent years, interest in these materials has grown significantly, particularly in energy generating applications and due to their performance as solid-state chemical sensors for a range of small molecules. PdAg thin films can be prepared using traditional physical methods such as cold rolling, or more modern and controllable chemical or physical deposition techniques such as electrodeposition or chemical vapour deposition. Despite the wide-reaching uses of PdAg, several recent advancements in materials preparation, such as additive manufacturing, better known as 3-D printing, remain unexplored for this material due to the differing chemistries of the two elements. In this review, we explore the manufacturing methods commonly employed for the preparation of PdAg thin films, the common and niche applications of these materials, and opportunities for the future development of these two aspects, with an emphasis on how preparation of thin films can utilise additive manufacturing approaches.

As drone technology is rapidly becoming accessible to school children in terms of both low cost and ease-of-use, primary and secondary school teachers are beginning to consider where modern drones can play an important role in schooling. To date, there is very little empirical education research printed in the education research literature guiding innovative curriculum developers in the incipient domain of drone education. As a result, teachers interested in including emerging technologies in their classrooms are often at a loss of where to begin. Through clinical interviews with schoolteachers in the United States, our study identified five readily accessible “departure points” to include drones in contemporary STEM &amp; vocational technology (CTE) school classrooms that help teachers address common curricular goals. Taken together, these interviews reveal that teachers using drones follow one of several distinct pathways as a first step toward achieving a widespread goal of teaching students to use modern technologies to construct, pursue, and communicate findings of fruitful research inquiries—the prevalence of which is not reflected in a comprehensive literature review. The five pathways for starting a successful drone education emerging from the interview data as dominant were: timed-racing trials; precision-flight obstacle courses; computer coding; videography; and domain-specific knowledge of drone operations laws and ethics.

Subjective paranormal experience (SPE) has been a notable part of the human historical narrative. Alleged miracles, telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, witchcraft, spiritualism, monsters and ghosts have received a supernatural interpretation. The incidence and prevalence of reported SPE remains at high levels in all populations investigated to date. Previous research on SPE has focused on the cognitive and social factors that facilitate paranormal beliefs and experiences. I consider here developmental factors in the brain’s responses to trauma that appear to predispose certain individuals towards SPE. The theory draws upon the established mechanisms of dissociation and fantasy generation to describe and explain the origins of paranormal experience. The theory hypothesizes that childhood abuse and victimization trigger autonomic responses of dissociation, depersonalization and compartmentalization. Freezing and associated releases of fantasy serve as a survival strategy in the homeostatic regaining of safety and control. The predictions from the homeostasis theory are consistent with the findings of multiple studies and falsifying evidence has yet to be identified.

Organisms are adapted to each other and the environment, not as tradition would have it, because natural selection made them that way, but because there is inbuilt striving towards stability and equilibrium. A General Theory of Behaviour connects imagery, affect and action with the central executive system we call Consciousness. The General Theory is founded on the assumption that the primary motivation of all of Consciousness and intentional behaviour is Psychological Homeostasis. Psychological homeostasis is as important to the organisation of mind and behaviour as Physiological Homeostasis is to the organisation of bodily systems. Consciousness processes quasi-perceptual images independently of the input to the retina and sensorium. Consciousness is the “I-Am” control centre for integration and regulation of (my) thoughts, (my) feelings and (my) actions with (my) conscious mental imagery as foundation stones. Imagery vividness, a combination of clarity and liveliness, is essential to imagining, remembering, thinking, predicting, planning and acting. Assessment of vividness using introspective report is validated by objective means such as fMRI. A significant body of work shows that vividness of visual imagery is determined by the similarity of neural responses in imagery to those occurring in perception of actual objects and performance of activities. I am Conscious, therefore I am.

Incorporating nanoparticles into plant cultivation has been shown to improve growth parameters and alter the bioactive component compositions of many plant species, including Curcumin longa. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effects of foliar application of zinc oxide na-noparticles on the content of bioactive compounds and their antibacterial activities against poten-tial bacterial pathogens. To this end, C. longa leaves were treated with different doses of ZnO NPs to see how they affected bioactive component composition. The effect of different doses of ZnO NPs on the accumulation of bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and curcumin in etha-nolic extracts of C. longa rhizomes was evaluated using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). When compared to the control treatment, foliar spraying with (5 and 40 mgL-1) ZnO NPs increased bisdemethoxycurcumin, demethoxycurcumin, and curcumin levels by approximately (2.69 and 2.84), (2.61 and 3.22), and (2.90 and 3.45) fold, respectively. It was looked at to see if the ethanolic extracts made from the plantlets might change in terms of their phytochemical makeup and antibacterial properties. Furthermore, the results revealed that C. long-ZnO-NPs displayed antibacterial activity against S. aureus and P. aeruginosa tested bacterium strains, but made little attempt against E. coli. The MIC for P. aeruginosa was 100 g/mL. Time-kill studies also revealed that ZnO-NPs at 4 MIC killed P. aeruginosa, Actinobacteria baumannii, and Bacillus sp. after 2 hours, while S. aureus did not grow when treated with 4xMIC of the extract for 6 hours. The strongest antibacterial activity was seen with extract from plantlets grown without nanoparticles for P. aeruginosa, whereas it was seen with extract from plantlets grown in the presence of 5 mg/L ZnO-NPs for E. coli, S. aureus, and P. aeruginosa. These findings show that ZnO-NPs are a pow-erful enhancer of bioactive compound production in C. longa, a trait that can be used to combat antibiotic resistance in pathogenic bacterial species.

Revealing the spatial distribution mechanism of the coupling effect between soil water and salt is essential for managing saline-alkali farmland. This study utilized the multifractal method to analyze soil water and salt under varying water content levels in arid saline-alkali farmland. Soil samples were collected on the second (S1), fifth (S2), eighth (S3), eleventh (S4), and fourteenth (S5) days after a rainfall event. The findings showed that a significant decrease in soil water content, contrasting with an increase in soil salt content throughout the soil layers post-rainfall. As water content decreased, the spatial variability of soil water initially increased from S1-3 and then decreased, while the spatial variability of soil salt decreased. The spatial distribution between soil water and salt exhibited a high correlation at S3-4 (with relative water content of soil ranging from 0.52 to 0.75) due to their coupling effect. However, soil salt was unevenly leached by rainfall at high water content levels (S1-2) and precipitated at low water content levels (S5), resulting in low spatial variability correlations between soil water and salt. This study elucidated the coupling process of soil water and salt, identifying their spatiotemporal distribution mechanism in dryland agricultural areas.

Chemical investigation of the Chinese soft coral Lobophytum sp. has resulted in the isolation of six new compounds, namely lobosteroids A–F (1–6), along with four known compounds. Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analysis and comparison with the spectral data reported in the literature. Among them, the absolute configuration of 1 was determined by X-ray diffraction analysis. These steroids characterized by either the presence of an α,β-αꞌ,βꞌ-unsaturated carbonyl or an α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moiety in ring A, or the existence of a 5α,8α-epidioxy system in ring B, as well as diverse oxidation sites of side chains. The prelimi-nary antibacterial bioassay showed all compounds exhibited significant antibacterial activities against the fish pathogenic bacteria Streptococcus parauberis FP KSP28 and Phoyobacterium damselae FP2244 with all inhibition rates more than 90% at the concentration of 150 µM. And at the same concentration, compounds 2, 6–10 also displayed potent inhibitory effects against vancomy-cin-resistant Enterococcus faecium bacteria G7 with all inhibition rates more than 90%.

Eicheon properties are discussed. It is shown that the eicheon surface allows setting a boundary condition for the vacuum polarization and obtaining a solution describing the dark matter tail in the Milky Way. That is, the dark matter in the Milky Way is explained as the F-type of vacuum polarization, which could be treated as dark radiation. The model presented is spherically symmetric, but a surface density of a baryonic galaxy disk is taken into account approximately by smearing the disk over a sphere. This allows the reproduction of the large distance shape of the Milky Way rotational curve. Andromeda's rotational curves are also discussed.

The ongoing electrification of the heat and transport sectors is expected to lead to a substantial increase in peak electricity demand over the coming decades, which may drive significant investment in network reinforcement in order to maintain a secure supply of electricity to consumers. The traditional way of security provision has been based on conventional investments such as the upgrade of the capacity of electricity transmission or distribution lines. However, the energy storage technology can also provide security of supply, thereby constituting a cost-efficient alternative to expensive conventional reinforcements. In this context, the current paper presents a methodology for the economic quantification of the security contribution of energy storage. This methodology makes use of mathematical optimization for the calculation of the F-factor metric, which reflects the optimal amount of peak demand reduction as compared to the power capability of the energy storage asset. In this context, a case study is presented in which the security contribution of energy storage is analyzed as a function of its power capability, energy capacity and efficiency as well as of characteristics of load patterns.

Bananas, a staple food globally and a key agricultural commodity, face a severe threat from the fungus Fusarium oxysporum form specialis cubense (Foc), significantly impacting production. Genetic improvement to develop resistant cultivars stands out as a crucial strategy to mitigate this disease. This study focused on assessing and recommending enhanced diploid banana varieties for resistance against Foc subtropical race 4 (ST4) and Foc race 1 (R1). Twenty-five improved diploids developed by Embrapa, Brazil, underwent evaluation. Utilizing a scale for internal symptoms at 90 days post-inoculation, genotypes were categorized from highly resistant to highly susceptible based on the internal symptom index. The diploid M53 exhibited high resistance to R1 and resistance to Foc ST4, while only the diploid CNPMF 0534 demonstrated complete resistance to both R1 and ST4, with resistance to the latter likely associated with penetration. These findings provide valuable insights for banana and plantain breeding programs, offering selected diploids for crossbreeding with commercial cultivars to develop new, resistant genotypes against Foc.

Due to the low content, few studies are focused on the volatile compounds of Phlomoides rotata (Benth. ex Hook. f.) Mathiesen (PR, syn. Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudô). However, such volatile compounds may have important pharmacological activities such as antioxidant, anticancer. In order to identify the chemical markers (CMs) in the essential oils (Es) and explore the potential bioactivities, we first conduct a thoroughly investigation on the volatile compounds and evaluate their anti-oxidant activities (AOAs), to the best of our knowledge. Light yellow Es with a fresh and elegant smell are obtained by hydro-distillation with an average yield of 0.11% (mL/g). After separation through cryoprecipitation, the crystals (Cs) and EOs removed crystals (RCs) were gotten, respectively. A total of 81 components are qualified and quantified in the Es, Cs and RCs, in which 44 ones are first reported from PR. As for content, the main compounds are long-chain fatty acids (LCFAs) and their esters. Among them, palmitic acid (PA), myristic acid (MA), linoleic acid (LA), oleic acid (OA) and methyl palmitate are highlighted, Besides, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone and phytol are also prominent Four kinds of C13-norisoprenoids are first reported from PR, in which, trans-β-damascenone is potent in flavour. In sum, these eight representative compounds can be chosen as the CMs. The AOAs of Es, Cs, RCs and four CMs such as PA, MA, LA and OA are evaluated by in vitro assays. In general, PA and MA present pro-oxidant activities (POAs) or weak AOAs. LA and OA show POAs or weak AOAs in lower concentration group, whereas demonstrate medium or strong AOAs in higher concentration group. Usually, the RCs demonstrate stronger AOAs and the Cs present weaker AOAs compared with those of the corresponding Es, which should be related to their different content of PA. This study can give some hints on the utilization of such Es which are abundant in LCFAs.

We previously developed a highly sensitive and specific anti-PDPN mAb, LpMab-23 (mouse IgG1, kappa). In this study, we produced a humanized IgG1 version (humLpMab-23) and its defucosylated form (humLpMab-23-f) of an anti‑PDPN mAb to potentiate the ADCC activity. The humLpMab-23 could recognize PDPN‑overexpressed Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-K1 (CHO/PDPN) and PDPN-positive PC-10 and LN319 cells by flow cytometry. Furthermore, we found that humLpMab-23-f exerted ADCC and complement-dependent cytotoxicity against CHO/PDPN, PC-10 and LN319 cells in vitro and exhibited potent antitumor activities in the xenograft models. These results indicated that humLpMab-23-f could be useful for an antibody treatment regimen for PDPN-positive human cancers.

Due to the low content, few studies are focused on the essential oils (EOs) of Phlomoides rotata (Benth. ex Hook. f.) Mathiesen (syn. Lamiophlomis rotata (Benth.) Kudô. This plant has been used to treat rheumatic arthritis and grasserie in China. However, such EOs may have important pharmacological activities such as anti-cancer. To identify the chemical markers (CM) in the EOs and evaluate their antioxidant activities (AAs), we firstly conduct a thoroughly investigation on their chemicals and AAs, to the best of our knowledge. Light yellow EOs with fresh and elegant smell are obtained by hydro-distillation with average yield 0.11% (volume mL/weight g). The crystals are separated from the EOs through cryoprecipitation, respectively. A total of 81 components are qualified and quantified in the EOs, crystals and EOs removed crystals, in which 44 ones are first reported. As for content, the main compounds are long-chain fatty acids (FAs) and their esters. The most abundant one n-hexadecanoic acid (palmitic acid, PA) accounting for 43.15-54.8%, 58.49-64.57% and 15.9-41.1%, in the EOs, crystals and EOs removed crystals, respectively. Seven compounds including PA, tetradecanoic acid, linoleic acid, oleic acid, methyl hexadecanoate, hexahydrofarnesyl acetone and phytol can be chosen a the CMs in these EOs. The AAs are evaluated through in vitro assays. PA presents pro-oxidant activities in a concentration dependence manner. Usually, the EOs removed crystals demonstrate stronger AAs, and the crystals demonstrate weaker AAs compared with that of the corresponding EOs, which is related to the different content of PA in these samples. This study can give some hints for the utilization of such EOs which are abundant in FAs such as PA.

Lippia javanica (Burm. f.) is a medicinal plant with multiple native uses in the treatment of colds, influenza, pneumonia, coughs, dermatitis, tuberculosis, asthma, and bronchial diseases. However, it remains underutilized in drug development. In this review, existing studies on the pharmacological activities of L. javanica, more specifically the antitumor, antiviral, and antibacterial properties as well as recent metabolites identified from the plant were appraised. Background information on the plant's ecological distribution, ethnobotanical importance, toxicity, and cytotoxicity activity was also provided. The information in the review was gathered from major scientific databases (Google scholar, BioMed Central, Scopus, PubMed, Springer, Web of Science, and Science Direct) using journals, conference proceedings, dissertations, books, and/or chapters. The review compiled 66 new metabolites from the plant while establishing the anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, and other important pharmacological activities of the organic (most especially methanol and acetone) and aqueous extracts of various parts of the plant attributed to several secondary metabolites present in the volatile oil of the plant, which includes carvone, ipsdienone, limonene, linalool, myrcene, ocimenone, caryophyllene, piperitenone, sabinene, p-cymene, sabinene, myrcene, ipsenone, and tagetenone. While some of the metabolites of L. javanica have been linked through pharmacological studies to the various traditional uses of the plant, some others remain unexplored, emphasizing how underutilized the plant is in drug research and development. It is envisaged that the reports from this review will help to further encourage future research and guide further investigations into the pharmaceutical and medicinal uses of L. javanica.

Tabebuia aurea (Silva Manso) Benth. & Hook. f. The ex S.Moore (yellow ipe), belonging to the Bignoniaceae family, used in the popular for fever, inflammation and healing of skin wounds. The extract was prepared by maceration, using 70% ethanol. Through HPLC analysis, it was possible to identify substances, mainly phenolic, such as lapachol, present in Bignoniaceae. The phenolic content was 21.36 mg / Eag in the antioxidant activity, the effective concentration of 50% was 53.03 ± 1.14 µg / mL. The antimicrobial activity against S.aureus, E. coli and C. albicans was evaluated by microdilution in broth, which verified action against the tested microorganisms. Cell viability has been inhibited for tumor cells, although this has not been observed for normal cells. The LD50 against A.aegypti mosquito larvae was 3504.6 mg / L and there was no mortality in the concentration tested for the snail B.glabrata. Nontoxic or low toxicity for A. salina and T. molitor, respectively, and did not exhibit hemolytic action at concentrations of antibacterial effect. Given the above, it was concluded that the bark extract of the studied species has bioprospecting potential for the future development of antimicrobial products.

Neonatal palliative care (NPC) is an integrated and holistic approach that is an integral part of the contemporary neonatal treatment delivery paradigm. It is the highest fulfillment of the notion of beneficence (doing or creating 'good') that has otherwise been neglected/underestimated by the focus of modern medicine on technology and instrumental treatments by its commitment to alleviating patient pain and quality of life. For decades, the Double-Effect Doctrine (DDE) has been used to consider and address a range of ethically questionable circumstances, often at the end of life, including euthanasia, termination of pregnancy to save maternal life, and morally justified warfare. The theory has continued to be mired in controversy as ethicists, legal scholars, theologians, and philosophers discuss the abstract concepts of moral reasoning, purpose, foresight, and other underlying moral theories. In this paper, the moral theory of DDE is discussed in its clinical application to the ethical decision-making process in neonatal palliative and end-of-life treatment, specifically 1) the administration of opioids as required for symptom control and 2) the use of palliative sedation for intractable symptom care.

The aim of this scoping review was to investigate and synthesize existing evidence on the airway microbiome of preterm infants, to outline the prognostic and therapeutic significance of these microbiomes within the preterm population, and identify gaps in current knowledge, proposing avenues for future research. We performed a scoping review of the literature following the Arskey and O'Malley framework. In accordance with our inclusion criteria and the intended purpose of this scoping review, we identified a total of 21 articles. The investigation of the airway microbiome in preterm infants has revealed new insights into its unique characteristics, highlighting distinct dynamics when compared to term infants. Perinatal factors, such as mode of delivery, chorioamnionitis, the respiratory support, and antibiotic treatment, could impact the composition of the airway microbiome. The 'gut-lung axis’, examining the link between the lung and gut microbiome, as well as modifications in respiratory microbiome across different sites and over time, has also been explored. Furthermore, correlations between the airway microbiome and adverse outcomes, such as bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), have been established. Additional research in neonatal care is essential to understand early colonization of infants’ airways and explore methods for its optimization. The critical opportunity to shape long-term health through microbiome-mediated effects likely lies within the neonatal period.

Recently, several research groups have reported on anomalous enhancement of the self-field critical currents, Ic(sf,T), at low temperatures in superconductor/Dirac-cone material/superconductor (S/DCM/S) junctions. Some papers attributed the enhancement to the low-energy Andreev bound states arising from winding of the electronic wave function around DCM. In this paper, Ic(sf,T) in S/DCM/S junctions have been analyzed by two approaches: modified Ambegaokar-Baratoff and ballistic Titov-Beenakker models. It is shown that the ballistic model is an inadequate tool to analyze experimental data from S/DCM/S junctions. The primary mechanism for limiting superconducting current in S/DCM/S junctions is different from the conventional view that the latter is the maximum value within the order parameter phase variation. Thus, there is a need to develop a new model for self-field critical currents in S/DCM/S systems.

The mechanistic influences of dopamine (DA) signaling and impact on motor function is nearly always interpreted from changes in nigrostriatal neuron terminals in striatum. This is a standard practice in studies of human Parkinson’s disease (PD) and aging, and related animal models of PD and aging-related parkinsonism. However, despite dozens of studies indicating an ambiguous relationship between changes in striatal DA signaling and motor phenotype, this perseverating focus on striatum continues. Although DA release in substantia nigra (SN) was first reported almost 50 years ago. assessment of nigral DA signaling changes in relation to motor function is rarely considered. Whereas DA signaling has been well-characterized in striatum at all 5 steps of neurotransmission (biosynthesis and turnover, storage, release, reuptake, and post-synaptic binding) in the nigrostriatal pathway, the depth of such interrogations in the SN, outside of cell counts, is sparse. However, there is sufficient evidence that these steps in DA neurotransmission in the SN are operational and regulated autonomously from striatum, and are present in human PD and aging, and related animal models. To complete our understanding of how nigrostriatal DA signaling affects motor function, it is past time to include interrogation of nigral DA signaling. This brief review highlights evidence that changes in nigral DA signaling at each step in DA neurotransmission are autonomous from those in striatum and changes in the SN alone can influence locomotor function. Accordingly, for full characterization of how nigrostriatal DA signaling affects locomotor activity, interrogation of DA signaling in SN is essential.

The possibility of releasing gold nanoparticles (GNP) into the environment has been rapidly increasing with the wide spread and flourishing application of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in a wide range of areas. Consequently, environmental effects of GNP, especially toxicities to living organisms have drawn great attention. However, their toxicological characteristics still remain unclear. Fungi, as the decomposers of the ecosystem, interact directly with the environment and critically control the overall health of the biosphere. Thus, their sensitivity to GNP toxicity is particularly important. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of shape and size of GNPs on their toxicities to fungi, which could help reveal the ecotoxicity of GNPs. Aspergillus niger, Mucor hiemalis and Penicillium chrysogenum were chosen for toxicity assessment, and spherical and star/flower-shaped GNPs sized from 0.7 nm to large aggregates of 400 nm have been synthesised. After exposure to GNPs and their corresponding reaction agents and incubation for 48 hours, the survival rates of each kind of fungus was calculated and compared. The results indicated that fungal species was the major determinant of the variation of survival rates, whereby A. niger was most sensitive and M. himalis was least sensitive to GNP exposure. Additionally, larger and non-spherical GNPs had relatively stronger toxicities.

Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a unique neurodegenerative disease that is associated with repetitive head impacts (RHI) in both civilian and military settings. In 2014, the research criteria for the clinical manifestation of CTE, traumatic encephalopathy syndrome (TES) were proposed to improve the clinical identification and understanding of the complex neuropathological phenomena underlying CTE. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current understanding of the neuropathological and clinical features of CTE, proposed biomarkers of traumatic brain injury (TBI) in both research and clinical settings, and a range of treatments based on previous preclinical and clinical research studies. Due to the heterogeneity of TBI, there is no universally agreed-upon serum, CSF, or neuroimaging marker for its diagnosis. However, as our understanding of this complex disease continues to evolve, it is likely that there will be more robust, early diagnostic methods and effective clinical treatments. This is especially important given the increasing evidence of a correlation between TBI and neurodegenerative conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease and CTE¹. As public awareness of these conditions grows, it is imperative to prioritize both basic and clinical research, as well as the implementation of necessary safe and preventative measures.

(1) Background: Asthma and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD ) are major global health issues, impacting morbidity, mortality, and healthcare costs. Despite the proven benefits of pharmacist involvement in managing these conditions, their potential in hospitals remains underused. This study aimed to identify patients at high risk of rehospitalisation post-exacerbation of asthma or COPD, to target pharmaceutical interventions. (2) Methods: Data from the University Hospital for January-December 2019 on adult admissions for asthma/COPD were analyzed, focusing on demographics, hospitalization, and clinical outcomes. (3) Results: Among the 140 patients enrolled, a significant majority (91%) underwent adjustments in their treatment regimens during their hospital stay, and nearly 59% faced readmission within six months. A survival analysis highlighted a notable disparity in the rates of rehospitalisation-free survival between patients with asthma and those with COPD, identifying COPD patients as having a higher susceptibility to rehospitalisation. (4) Conclusion: The study found COPD pa-tients at greater risk but didn't specify a priority profile, suggesting the necessity for broad, cus-tomized interventions to improve outcomes and reduce healthcare strain.