Transportation tasks in nursing are common and shorten the time for direct patient care in times of nursing shortage and an aging society. There is a lack of research on transportation needs, with most studies focusing on overall nursing task analysis without a deeper analysis of transportation tasks. In July and September 2023, we conducted weekly observations of nurses to assess clinical transportation needs. We aim to understand the economic impact and the methods nurses use for transportation tasks. We conducted a participant observation using a standardized app-based form over a seven-day observation period in two rural clinics. N=1,830 transports were made by nurses and examined by descriptive analysis. Non-medical supplies account for 27.05 % (n=495) of all transports, followed by medical supplies at 17.32 % (n=317), pharmacotherapy at 14.10 % (n=258) and other other categories like meals or drinks contributing 12.68 % (n=232). Most transports had a factual transport time of under a minute, with patient transport and lab samples displaying more variability. In total, 77.15 % of all transports were made by hand. Requirements to collect items or connect transports with patient care were included in 5 % of all transports. Our economic evaluation spotlighted meals as the most costly transport, with 9,596.16€ p.a. in the observed clinics. Budget-friendly robots would amortize over one year by transporting meals. We support understanding nurses’ transportation needs via further research on assistive robots to validate our findings and determine the feasibility of transport robots.

New innovative green concepts in electrified vertical take-off and landing vehicles currently emerge as a revolution to urban mobility going into the third dimension (vertically). The high population density of cities makes the market share highly attractive while posing an extraordinary challenge for community acceptance due to the increasing and possibly noisier commuter traffic. In addition to passenger transport, package deliveries to customers by drones may enter the market. The new challenges associated with this increasing transportation need in urban, rural and populated areas pose challenges for established companies and startups to deliver low-noise emission products. The article's objective is to revisit the benefits and drawbacks of an affordable acoustic measurement campaign focused on early prototyping. In the very early phase of product development, often considerably limited resources are available. With this in mind, the article discusses the sound power results using the enveloping surface method in a typically available low-reflection room with a reflecting floor according to DIN EN ISO 3744:2011-02. The method is applied to a subsonic electric ducted fan (EDF) unit of a 1:2 scaled electrified vertical take-off and landing vehicle. The results show that considerable information at low costs can be gained for the early prototyping stage, despite this easy-to-use, easy-to-realize, and not fine-tuned measurement setup. Furthermore, the limitations and improvements to a possible experimental setup are presented to discuss a potentially more ideal measurement environment. Measurements at discrete operating points and transient measurements across the total operating range were conducted to provide complete information on the EDF's acoustic behavior. The rotor-self noise and the rotor-stator interaction were identified as primary tonal sound sources, along with the highest broadband noise sources located on the rotor. Based on engineering experience, a first acoustic improvement treatment is also quantified with a sound power level reduction of 4dB(A). In conclusion, the presented method is a beneficial first measurement campaign to quantify the acoustic properties of an electric ducted fan unit at minimal resources in a reasonable time of several weeks when starting from scratch.

After proving, in a purely categorial way, that the inclusion functor InAlg(Σ) from Alg(Σ), the category of many-sorted Σ-algebras, to PAlg(Σ), the category of many-sorted partial Σ-algebras, has a left adjoint FΣ, the (absolutely) free completion functor, we recall, in connection with the functor FΣ, the generalized recursion theorem of Schmidt, which we will also call the Schmidt construction. Next we define a category Cmpl(Σ), of Σ-completions, and prove that FΣ, labeled with its domain category and the unit of the adjunction of which it is a part, is a weakly initial object in it. Following this we associate to an ordered pair (α,f), where α=(K,γ,α) is a morphism of Σ-completions from F=(C,F,η) to G=(D,G,ρ) and f a homomorphism in D from the partial Σ-algebra A to the partial Σ-algebra B, a homomorphism ΥαG,0(f):Schα(f)B. We then prove that there exists an endofunctor, ΥαG,0, of Mortw(D), the twisted morphism category of D, thus showing the naturalness of the previous construction. Afterwards we prove that, for every Σ-completion G=(D,G,ρ), there exists a functor ΥG from the comma category (Cmpl(Σ)↓G) to End(Mortw(D)), the category of endofunctors of Mortw(D), such that ΥG,0, the object mapping of ΥG, sends a morphism of Σ-completion in Cmpl(Σ) with codomain G, to the endofunctor ΥαG,0.

A very high parking occupancy can negatively influence the traffic performance of an area by causing very long cruising times. A very low parking occupancy, on the other hand, is inefficient from a space utilization perspective. Thus, this paper proposes a framework to compute the optimal parking occupancy rate over a given time horizon based on a macroscopic traffic and parking model. This rate is set high enough to ensure an efficient usage of the parking infrastructure. However, it should also guarantee a high likelihood of finding parking in order to eliminate the drivers’ time wasted in cruising for parking and the added congestion it causes. The model outputs are based on small data collection efforts and low computational costs, and they can be generated without complex simulation software using a simple numerical solver. Multiple vehicle types are included into our methodology allowing us to generate insights about the optimal parking occupancy with or without differentiated parking (i.e., parking for specific vehicles, such as fuel and electric vehicles). In times of a modal shift towards electric vehicles, cities can use our model to evaluate how much parking supply (with battery charging opportunities) they would like to dedicate to electric vehicles in order to achieve optimal traffic and parking results, and whether a differentiated or semi-differentiated parking policy is desirable. We illustrate our framework in a case study of a central area within the city of Zurich, Switzerland, showing the traffic and parking impacts (e.g., average searching time for parking, total revenue created by parking fees, optimal parking occupancy rate) for different proportions of fuel and electric vehicles in the parking demand and/or supply. Our results confirm that optimal occupancy rates are between and for most realistic scenarios. We then discuss how these rates might change depending on various demand and supply relationships, and according to different parking policies. We show that equal proportions between electric vehicles in the demand and their parking spaces in the supply lead to the best traffic performance in the area. We also provide the tools for cities to analyze their loss in performance if they do not react, e.g., to an increasing demand for electric vehicles over time. Moreover, we illustrate how some of these risks can be mitigated by having more flexible parking policies, e.g., allowing electric vehicles to use parking spaces for fuel vehicles.

Secondary and tertiary prevention strategies targeting people with disabilities to improve their health and wellbeing is important. In Sweden, >95% of all children with cerebral palsy (CP) participate in a follow-up program, where one of the goals is the prevention of hip dislocations. We reviewed the incidence of hip dislocations from 2010 to 2019 and the number of children who underwent different types of hip surgeries. The number of hip dislocations was reduced from 8.8% before introduction of the program to 0.3-0.4% up to 2015, followed by a gradual increase to 0.8% in 2019. The proportion of children who underwent adductor-psoas lengthening as their primary preventive surgery decreased from 50% in 2017 to 37% in 2019 with a corresponding increase of children undergoing femoral osteotomy, indicating more children underwent surgery at a later stage. Reasons for the increased number of children with hip dislocation may be that more children have moved to Sweden in recent years without corresponding compensation in health care resources and increased waiting times for surgery due to, among other things, a shortage of nurses. The results highlight the importance of constantly monitoring follow-up programs.

Background: The dairy industry heavily relies on fermentation processes driven in high proportion by Lactococcus lactis. The fermentation process can be perturbed or even stopped by bacteriophage activity leading to complete loss of fermentation batch or decreased quality product. Monitoring of the phage diversity and dynamics in the process allows to implement protective measures (e.g. starter rotation) in order to maintain unperturbed production.; Methods: Universal primers were used to amplify sequences of the 936, c2, and P335 Lactococcus phage types. The amplicons were sequences with Sanger method and obtained degenerate sequences were analyzed using simple bioinformatic pipeline in R environment.; Results: The most prevalent phage type is 936, followed by P335, whereas c2 type is less frequent.; Conclusions: Curd cheeses prepared on non-pasteurized milk based on native milk microbiota had higher diversity of phages distinct of these found in dairy plants. Sanger sequencing of heterogenous amplicons generated on metagenome DNA can be used to asses low-complexity microbiota diversity.

Background: Demonstrate a theoretical and empirical justification for including potentially protective factors in Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob case-controlled studies alongside the almost exclusively studied risk-enhancing factors. Methods: Synthesize existing sCJD and Alzheimer's disease (AD) research to suggest the plausibility of shared neuroprotective factors. A fixed effects longitudinal analysis of 26 countries across 10 time periods examines whether factors identified to protect against AD are associated with population-level sCJD incidence rates. Results: Increased consumption of beans and nuts, both of which are thought to protect against AD risk, is associated with lower population level sCJD incidence. Conclusion: This study suggests that factors that protect against other neurodegenerative diseases might offer protection from sCJD. The low marginal burden of including protective factors in sCJD questionnaires offers a chance to better understand sCJD at little additional cost.

In this paper, dual-rotor counter-rotating (CR) configurations of vertical axis wind turbines (VAWT) are briefly inspected and divided into three types. This investigation was focused on one of these types – the CR-VAWT with co-axial rotors, in which two equal rotors are placed on the same shaft, displaced from each other along it and rotate in opposite directions. For this CR-VAWT with three-blade H-Darrieus rotors, the properties of the design in terms of aerodynamics, mechanical transmission and electric generator, as well as control system are analyzed. A new direct-driven dual-rotor (DR) permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) was proposed, in which two built-in low-power PM electric machines have been added. They perform two functions – start-up and overclocking of the rotors to the angular velocity at which the lifting force of the blades is generated and stabilizing the CR-VAWT work as wind gusts act on the two rotors. Detailed in this paper is the evaluation of aerodynamic performance of the CR-VAWT via 3D computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. The evaluation was conducted using the CONVERGE CFD software with the inclusion of the actuator line model for the rotor aerodynamics, which significantly reduces the computational effort. Obtained results show that both rotors, while they rotate in opposite directions, had a positive impact on each other: the power coefficients of the upper and lower rotors in the CR-VAWT increased by 5.5% and 13.3% respectively compared to the single-rotor VAWT at the optimal distance between the rotors of 0.3 from a rotor height.

Pain is a natural bioassay for detecting and quantifying biological activities of venoms. The painfulness of stings delivered by ants, wasps, and bees can be easily measured in the field or lab using the stinging insect pain scale that rates the pain intensity from 1 to 4, with 1 being minor pain, and 4 being extreme, debilitating, excruciating pain. The painfulness of stings of 96 species of stinging insects and the lethalities of the venoms of 90 species was determined and utilized for pinpointing future promising directions for investigating venoms having pharmaceutically active principles that could benefit humanity. The findings suggest several under- or unexplored insect venoms worthy of future investigations, including: those that have exceedingly painful venoms, yet with extremely low lethality – tarantula hawk wasps (Pepsis) and velvet ants (Mutillidae); those that have extremely lethal venoms, yet induce very little pain – the ants, Daceton and Tetraponera; and those that have venomous stings and are both painful and lethal – the ants Pogonomyrmex, Paraponera, Myrmecia, Neoponera, and the social wasps Synoeca, Agelaia, and Brachygastra. Taken together, and separately, sting pain and venom lethality point to promising directions for mining of pharmaceutically active components derived from insect venoms.

Disputes on authorships or the order of authors on publications are among the most common conflicts in science, particularly where multi-author papers have become the norm. Here, I propose an adaptable and generalizable method to rationalize and democratize decisions about authorships, which can be applied in diverse scientific areas. In the process, the authors of a manuscript collect, discuss, score, and weight their contributions to the final manuscript. The decision process is assisted by a simple spreadsheet-based “authorship matrix”, which helps to break down the complexity of different contributions and their importance. The matrix generates a score s describing the percentage of the author’s total contributions and can be used to determine authorship and their order. The transparency and simplicity score s can reduce conflicts and thus increase productivity in collaborations.

Using of the organic base tetramethylammonium hydroxides (TMAH) is a viable, cheap and fast route, for the MgZnAl-LDH type materials synthesis by both co-precipitation and mechano-chemical methods. TMAH provided several advantages as smaller quantity of water required in the washing step compared to the use of inorganic alkalis, prevention of LDH contamination with alkali cations, acting as template molecule in texture tailoring along with disadvantages as its presence in small quantities in the resulting layered materials. Regardless the use of organic / inorganic bases and co-precipitation / mechano-chemical methods, zincite stable phase was found in all the synthesized solids. The basicity of catalysts followed the trend: mixed oxides > reconstructed > parent LDH. The memory effect of LDH is supported only by the presence of Mg and Al cations, while Zn remains as zincite stable phase. The catalytic activities for Claisen-Schmidt condensation of benzaldehyde with cyclohexanone provided values higher than 90% after 2h, with a total selectivity in 2,6-dibenzylidenecyclohexanone, while in self-condensation of cyclohexanone no more than 7.29% after 5h. These behaviors depended on catalysts basicity as well as the planar rigidity of the compound.

it has been just over three years since SARS-CoV-2 viral infection was first known as causing severe acute and highly transmissible respiratory syndrome coronavirus. During one of the worst global pandemics of the last century, caused by the COVID-19 disease, under the persistent immune pressure exerted by the newest vaccines, the SARS-CoV-2 virus is fastly mutating and becoming less severe, but more contagious. On the other hand, some studies [1,2,3] indicate that the elderly COVID-19 patients or those who have reported a virulent episode of this infection, experience some long-lasting neurological complications, including encephalopathy, encephalitis, cerebrovascular disease, Parkinson’s disease (PD), Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and prion disease (PrD). So, there are several recent reports of patients [4,5] developing PrD following the SARS-CoV-2 infection, but, to the best of our knowledge, this is the first case reported in Italy on an association of the PRNP E200K somatic mutation with gCJD. The rising global prevalence neurodegenerative complications following COVID-19 disease adds urgency to the study of this potential relationship.

As traffic congestion gets worse year by year in metropolitan areas, cities search for solutions to improve their traffic performance and reduce their environmental impacts. This paper focuses on parking pricing and congestion pricing and their short-term effects not only on traffic congestion but also on the potential revenue for a city. We develop an easy to implement multimodal macroscopic traffic and parking search model for a central area based on aggregated data at the network level. Our methodology allows us to analyze how introducing parking pricing inside a network, or a congestion toll combined with a park and ride (P+R) scheme can affect the drivers’ decision between entering the network by car (private vehicle) or using P+R instead. This decision directly influences the number of drivers using P+R, and this impacts, in turn, the traffic performance. Based on such analysis, a city can get valuable insights to evaluate whether congestion pricing is a necessity or if the traffic improvements resulting from implementing parking pricing strategies are sufficient when combined with P+R facilities. A search algorithm is used to find the best trade-off between the parking fees and the congestion toll. Any additional revenue collected through these schemes can then be used to improve public transport or the P+R facilities themselves. With minor data collection efforts and little computational costs compared to most existing parking and congestion pricing models, we illustrate our proposed framework in a case study of an area with a high parking demand for public parking spaces within the city of Zurich, Switzerland. Results show that parking pricing combined with P+R is indeed a viable option compared to congestion pricing for improving traffic performance, even if parking pricing schemes do not target all the drivers.

Cognitive impairment is a condition which affects aging patient populations and is becoming more prevalent as the geriatric population expands. It is categorized by the extent of cognitive decline, memory loss, functional abilities, and the capability to perform daily tasks. Based on the degree of impairment, it is classified as mild cognitive impairment or dementia. Considering the debilitating nature of cognitive decline and its impact on quality of life, prevention is key. In addition, given the gradual progression of the underlying causes of cognitive decline, early diagnosis and appropriate management has the potential to offer clinical advantages and better patient outcomes. Management options discussed vary from pharmaceutical regimens to neurosurgical interventions, with differing outcomes based on etiology of cognitive impairment.

What is the function of cognition? On one influential account, cognition evolved to co-ordinate behaviour with environmental change or complexity (Godfrey-Smith 1996). Liberal interpretations of this view ascribe cognition to an extraordinarily broad set of biological systems – even bacteria, which modulate their activity in response to salient external cues, would seem to qualify as cognitive agents. However, equating cognition with adaptive flexibility per se glosses over important distinctions in the way biological organisms deal with environmental complexity. Drawing on contemporary advances in theoretical biology and computational neuroscience, we cash these distinctions out in terms of different kinds of generative models, and the representational and uncertainty-resolving capacities they afford. This analysis leads us to propose a formal criterion for delineating cognition from other, more pervasive forms of adaptive plasticity. On this view, biological cognition is rooted in a particular kind of functional organisation; namely, that which enables the agent to detach from the present and engage in counterfactual (active) inference.

Printed oral splints are a therapeutic alternative in the treatment of functional disorders. Their mechanical properties are crucial to their clinical success and their performance can vary depending on cleaning, post-polymerization, or build orientation. This in vitro study aimed to compare the biaxial flexural strength of the chosen materials depending on the aforementioned parameters. 720 discs (n = 15 per group, 16 mm x 2 mm) were printed from splint materials. Printing was performed under 90°, 45°, or 0° orientation to the building platform with supporting structures. Specimens were either automatically or manually cleaned with isopropanol. Post-polymerization was performed with LED- or Xenon-light. Biaxial flexural strength (BFS) was determined with a piston-on-3-ball test after 24 hours or 60 days water storage (37°C). Test specimens were preloaded with 0.5 N and the load was applied by a piston of 1.6 mm in diameter at 1 mm/min crosshead speed. Statistics were performed by using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and Levene-tests. Mean BFS after 24 hours of storage varied between 79 MPa and 157 MPa. After 60 hours the BFS significantly decreased and revealed values ranging from 72-127 MPa (mean24 113 MPa, mean60 97 MPa; p<0.001). No significant differences could be determined between the materials (p=0.103) or between the different cleaning procedures (p=0.321). Post-polymerization yielded higher means with LED- (P1: 115 MPa) than with Xenon-light (P2: 95 MPa; p<0.001). Regarding position, the mean values ranged from 101 MPa for 0°, 102 MPa for 45°, and 115 MPa for 90°, which was significantly different (p<0.001). Build orientation of 90° and post-polymerization with LED-light provided significantly higher biaxial flexural strength and should be used to guarantee optimal strength of splint materials. Aging decreased the biaxial flexural strength of the tested specimens.

AGI could arise within the next decades, promising a decisive strategic advantage. This paper discusses risks, associated with the development of AGI: destabilizing effects on strategic balance, underestimating risks in the interest of victory in the race, egoistically exploiting the huge benefits by a tiny minority. Further: Developed AGI could be beyond human control. Human goals could not be implemented and an intelligence explosion to superintelligence could take place leading to a total loss of control and power. If competition for AGI is non-transparent, secret, uncontrolled and not regulated, it’s possible that risks could not be managed and would lead to catastrophic consequences. The danger corresponds to that of nuclear weapons. It is crucial that the key actors of a possible AI Race agree at an early stage on the prevention and transparent regulation of a possible AI Race - similar to measures to secure strategic stability, on arms control measures, disarmament, and prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. The realization that an uncontrolled AI race can lead to the extinction of humanity - this time even independent of human will – requires analogous measures to contain, prevent, regulate and secure an AI race within the framework of AGI development.

Despite their relatively low incidence globally, CNS tumors remain amongst the most lethal cancers, with only a few other malignancies surpassing them in 5-year mortality rates. Treatment decisions for brain tumors heavily rely on histopathological analysis, particularly intraoperatively, to guide surgical interventions and optimize patient outcomes. Frozen sectioning has emerged as a vital intraoperative technique, allowing for highly accurate, rapid analysis of tissue samples, although it poses challenges regarding interpretive errors and tissue distortion. Raman histology, based on Raman spectroscopy, has shown great promise in providing label-free, molecular information for accurate intraoperative diagnosis, aiding in tumor resection and identification of neurodegenerative disease. Techniques including Stimulated Raman Scattering (SRS), Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS), Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS), and Tip-Enhanced Raman Scattering (TERS) have profoundly enhanced the speed and resolution of Raman imaging. Similarly, Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (CLE) allows for real-time imaging and rapid intraoperative histologic evaluation of specimens. While CLE is primarily utilized in gastrointestinal procedures, its application in neurosurgery is promising, particularly in the context of gliomas and meningiomas. This review focuses on discussing the immense progress in intraoperative histology within neurosurgery and provides insight into the impact of these advancements on enhancing patient outcomes..

Digitalization is widely recognized as a transformative power for sustainable development. Careful alignment of progress made by digitalization with the globally acknowledged Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is crucial for inclusive and holistic sustainable development in the digital era. However, limited reference has been made in SDGs about harnessing the opportunities offered by digitalization capabilities. Moreover, research on inhibiting or enabling effects of digitalization considering its multi-faceted interlinkages with the SDGs and their targets is fragmented. There are only limited instances in the literature examining and categorizing the impact of digitalization on sustainable development. To overcome this gap, this paper introduces a new Digitainability Assessment Framework (DAF) for context-aware practical assessment of the impact of the digitalization intervention on the SDGs. The DAF facilitates in-depth assessment of the many diverse technical, social, ethical, and environmental aspects of a digital intervention by systematically examining its impact on the SDG indicators. Our approach draws on and adapts concepts of the Theory of Change (ToC). The DAF should support developers, users as well policymakers by providing a 360-degree perspective on the impact of digital services or products, as well as providing hints for its possible improvement. We demonstrate the application of the DAF with the three test case studies illustrating how it supports in providing a holistic view of the relation between digitalization and SDGs.

This paper systematically discusses the application of reinforcement learning in automatic driving system. Reinforcement learning frameworks show significant advantages in optimizing decision making, predictive perception, path planning, and controller design, exceeding the limitations of traditional supervised learning methods. The paper highlights the critical role of components such as scene understanding, positioning, and map making in autonomous driving systems, which provide reliable environmental awareness through deep learning and sensor fusion technologies to support intelligent decision-making in complex urban environments. In addition, the paper discusses innovative approaches to safety reinforcement learning to reduce risk in autonomous driving and ensure that systems adhere strictly to safety constraints while maximizing expected rewards. These findings provide an important theoretical and practical basis for further improving algorithm robustness, managing multi-agent interactions, and integrating ethical considerations in the future.

Gut microbiota is considered a key player modulating the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy. The study investigated the association between response to the anti-PD-1 therapy and the baseline gut microbiome in the Polish cohort of melanoma patients, alongside selected agents modifying the microbiome. Sixty-four melanoma patients enrolled for the anti-PD-1 therapy and 10 healthy subjects were recruited. Response to the treatment was assessed according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors, and patients were classified as responders or non-responders. The association between selected extrinsic factors and response was investigated using questionnaire-based analysis, and metataxonomics of the microbiota. The Bacteroidota to Firmicutes ratio was higher, and the richness was decreased in the responders. The abundance of Prevotella copri and Bacteroides uniformis was related to the response, whereas non-responder gut microbiota was enriched with Faecalibacterium prausnitzii and Desulfovibrio intestinalis, and some unclassified Firmicutes. Dietary patterns, including plant, dairy, and fat consumption, but also gastrointestinal tract functioning were significantly associated with the therapeutic effects of the therapy. The specific gut microbiota alongside diet were found associated with response to the therapy in the Polish population of melanoma patients.

A 47-year-old physician suddenly noticed a persistent difficulty maintaining attention. He was awake, alert, and oriented. After two hours he developed fever, ageusia, and anosmia. He denied any previous history of psychiatric illness and was hydrated at the time of the subjective attention impairment. On admission, the patient remained oriented. He reported the persistence of attention problems, anosmia, and mild fatigue. The oxygen saturation 99% while he was breathing ambient air. Laboratory tests were unremarkable. A high-resolution computed tomography of the chest was normal. Nasopharyngeal and throat swabs specimens on reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis tested positive for SARS-CoV2. On illness day 3, the examination was unchanged, but he continued to complain of difficulties to stay focused. Then, he performed an objective attention test. The test demonstrated a moderate attentional impairment. On day 6, the patient reported a subjective worse in his concentration and performed a second test. Although his physical examination remained normal, the attention performance was worse as compared to day 3. Eight hours after worsening of attention impairment, the patient’s oxygen saturation dropped to 94%. From illness days 9 to 14, the patient evolved with clinical improvement. On day 10, a third objective attention test indicated a mild deficit. On day 16, he did not report any other symptom and the attention test was completely normal. Then, the patient returned to work. Neurological symptoms had been previously described in COVID- 19 patients. However, no previous research had investigated early cognitive deficits preceding the traditional symptoms.

The pandemic is fast moving, accelerating rapid changes that lead to new challenges and making organizations suffer an impact. A big mark has been left on the workplaces - places where we do business, because an ongoing change to remote work challenges the role of the office. It is highly possible that as the change is progressing, it is not only the workplace that will change its design, but also the way in which work will be planned, organized, done and controlled. However, as the restrictions ease up questions appear: What is the potential of office sustainability? How has the perception of flexible office space changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic? This paper used an online survey as a quantitative research method. In this paper, we looked at the employer’s vision of the office. We investigated employers’ perspectives of where and in what settings the work will be done in the post-pandemic time. Specifically, we discussed the changes employers will apply in terms of work environment and office layout. The findings suggest that an increasing mobile workforce and expansion of the new workstyle will not mean an office exodus, but will certainly have an impact on office utilization.

Plants have evolved tightly regulated strategies to adapt and acclimate to a changing environment to ensure their survival. Various environmental factors affect plant distribution, growth and yield. Low temperature belongs to those abiotic factors which significantly constrain range boundaries of plant species. Exposing plants to low but non-freezing temperature induces a multigenic processes termed cold acclimation, which finally results in an increased freezing tolerance. Cold acclimation comprises reprogramming of the transcriptome, proteome and metabolome and affects communication and signaling between subcellular organelles. Reprogramming of the central carbohydrate metabolism plays a key role in cold acclimation. This review summarizes current knowledge about the role of carbohydrate metabolism in plant cold acclimation. A focus is laid on subcellular metabolic reprogramming, its thermodynamic constraints under low temperature and mathematical modelling of metabolism.

The naturally occurring dipeptide carnosine (β alanyl L histidine) specifically attenuates tumor growth. Here, we asked whether other small imidazole containing compounds also affect viability of tumor cells without affecting non-malignant cells, and whether formation of histamine is involved. Patient-derived fibroblasts and glioblastoma cells were treated with carnosine, L alanyl L histidine (LA-LH), ß alanyl L alanine, L histidine, histamine, imidazole, β alanine and L alanine. Cell viability was assessed by cell-based assays and microscopy. The intracellular release of L histidine and formation of histamine was investigated by High Performance Liquid Chromatography coupled Mass Spectrometry. Whereas carnosine and LA LH inhibited tumor cell growth with minor effects on fibroblasts, L-histidine, histamine and imidazole affected viability in both cell types. Compounds without imidazole moiety did not diminish viability. In the presence of LA LH but not in the presence of carnosine a significant rise of intracellular amounts of histidine was detected in all cells. Formation of histamine was not detectable in the presence of carnosine, LA LH or histidine. In conclusion, the imidazole moiety of carnosine contributes to its anti-neoplastic effect, which is also seen in the presence of histidine and LA LH. Despite histamine had a strong effect on cell viability, formation of histamine is not responsible for the effects on cell viability of carnosine, LA LH and histidine.

Automated spectrum analysis serves as a troubleshooting tool that helps to diagnose faults in wireless networks like difficult signal propagation conditions and coexisting wireless networks. It provides a higher monitoring coverage while requiring less expertise compared to manual spectrum analysis. In this paper, we introduce a data set that can be used to train and evaluate deep learning models, capable of detecting frames from different wireless standards as well as interference between single frames. Since manually labelling a high variety of frames in different environments is too challenging, an artificial data generation pipeline has been developed. The data set consists of 20 000 augmented signal segments, each containing a random number of different Wi-Fi and Bluetooth frames, their spectral image representations and labels that describe the position and type of frame within the spectrogram. The data set contains results of intermediate processing steps that enables the research or teaching community to create new data sets for specific requirements or to provide new interesting examination examples.

Despite their enormous potential the use of Indoor Localization Systems (ILS) remains seldom. One reason is the lack of market transparency and stakeholders’ trust in the systems’ performance as a consequence of insufficient use of Test and Evaluation (T&E) methodologies. The heterogeneous nature of ILS, their influences, and their applications pose various challenges for the design of a methodology that provides meaningful results. Methodologies for building-wide testing exist, but their use is mostly limited to associated indoor localization competitions. In this work, the T&E 4iLoc Framework is proposed - a methodology for T&E of indoor localization systems in semi-controlled environments based on a system-level and black-box approach. In contrast to building-wide testing, T&E in semi-controlled environments, such as test halls is characterized by lower costs, higher reproducibility, and better comparability of the results. The limitation of low transferability to real world applications is addressed by an application-driven design approach. The empirical validation of the T&E 4iLoc Framework, based on the examination of a contour-based Light Detection and Ranging ILS, an Ultra Wideband ILS, and a camera-based ILS for the application of Automated Guided Vehicles in warehouse operation, demonstrates the benefits of T&E with the T&E 4iLoc Framework.

In order to investigate the coordination chemistry of O-alkyl N-aryl thiocarbamate ligands, BiI3 has been reacted with two equivalents of MeOC(=S)N(H)Ph in MeCN solution to afford the dinuclear title compound complexes [{I2Bi(μ2-I)2BiI2}{1-MeOC(=S)N(H)Ph}4] 1. Compound 1 has been characterized by IR, UV and NMR spectroscopy, the dinuclear framework has be ascertained by a single-crystal X-ray diffraction study performed at 100 K.

The European Union Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC; WFD) aims to achieve a good ecological and chemical status of all bodies of surface water by 2027. The development of an integrated guidance on surface water chemical monitoring (e.g. WFD Guidance Document No. 7/19) has been transferred into national German law (Ordinance for the Protection of Surface Waters, OGewV). For the majority of compounds, this act requires a monthly sampling frequency to assess the chemical water quality status of a surface water body. To evaluate the representativeness of the sampling strategy under the OGewV, high-frequency online monitoring data is investigated under different sampling scenarios and compared with current, monthly grab sampling strategy. About 23 million data points were analyzed for this study, three chemical parameters (dissolved oxygen, nitrate-nitrogen, chloride concentration) and discharge data were selected from four catchment of different sizes ranging from 51391 km² to 84 km² (Elbe, Vereinigte Mulde, Neiße and two stations at Lockwitzbach). In this paper we proposed short-term online-monitoring (STOM) as a sampling alternative. STOM considers the placement of online sensors over a limited duration and return interval. In general we: (I) compare the results of conventional grab sampling with STOM, (II) investigate the different performance of STOM and grab sampling using discharge data as proxy for analyzing event-mobilized pollutants and (III) investigate the related uncertainties and costs of both sampling methods. Results show, that STOM outperforms grab sampling for parameters where minimum/maximum concentrations are required by law as the probability to catch a single extreme value is higher with STOM. Furthermore, parameters showing a pronounced diurnal pattern, like dissolved oxygen, are also captured considerably better. The performance of STOM showed no substantial improvements for parameters with small concentration variability, as nitrogen-nitrate The analysis of discharge events as a proxy parameter for event-mobilized pollutants proved that the probability of capturing samples during events is significantly increased by STOM.

Anthocyanins are well known as colorants of flowers, but many other invisible functions might have been more important during the evolution of complex biosynthesis networks in plants. The number of anthocyanin decorating enzymes, the subtle control of structural genes by numerous transcription factors, and routes of intracellular anthocyanin transport are reviewed here. Various ecological functions of anthocyanins hold the key to understanding evolutionary trajectories that lead to the success of these pigments. Proposed functions include carbon sinks that prevent excessive sugar levels, sun blockers protecting the photosynthesis apparatus, antioxidants scavenging reactive oxygen species, providing camouflage, and attraction of pollinators and seed dispersers. Anthocyanins clearly fulfill different functions in different plant organs. It is currently believed that protective functions in leaves gave rise to the biosynthesis network and that flower and fruit coloration evolved later.

The adoption of Machine Learning (ML) for building emulators for complex physical processes has seen an exponential rise in the recent years. While neural networks are good function approximators, optimizing the hyper-parameters of the network to reach a global minimum is not trivial, and often needs human knowl- edge and expertise. In this light, automatic ML or autoML methods have gained large interest as they automate the process of network hyper-parameter tuning. In addition, Neural Architecture Search (NAS) has shown promising outcomes for improving model performance. While autoML methods have grown in popularity for image, text and other applications, their effectiveness for high-dimensional, complex scientific datasets remains to be investigated. In this work, a data driven emulator for turbulence closure terms in the context of Large Eddy Simulation (LES) models is trained using Artificial Neural Networks and an autoML frame- work based on Bayesian Optimization, incorporating priors to jointly optimize the hyper-parameters as well as conduct a full neural network architecture search to converge to a global minima, is proposed. Additionally, we compare the effect of using different network weight initializations and optimizers such as ADAM, SGDM and RMSProp, to explore the best performing setting. Weight and function space similarities during the optimization trajectory are investigated, and critical differences in the learning process evolution are noted and compared to theory. We observe ADAM optimizer and Glorot initialization consistently performs better, while RMSProp outperforms SGDM as the latter appears to have been stuck at a local minima. Therefore, this autoML BayesOpt framework provides a means to choose the best hyper-parameter settings for a given dataset.

Insufficient physical activity (PA) is associated with low cardiorespiratory fitness, which favors cardiovascular and other non-communicable diseases. Besides, it evidentially affects mental health. Considering the WHO PA guidelines, CrossFit® represents a versatile exercise program, combining aerobic and resistance training with mobility and could help lowering disease incidences among sedentary people. Yet, long-term CrossFit research is sparse. We conducted a nine-months intervention (≥ 2 CrossFit workouts/week) in sixteen beginners (14 males, 35  6.8 years, 180  8.6 cm, 85. 5  19.1 kg). As primary endpoint, VO2max was assessed at baseline, after four, and nine months. A repeated-measures ANOVA and pearson correlation were conducted. Well-being was investigated by WHO-5-index pre- and post-intervention. For exploratory purpose, body composition was tracked. Main outcome was an 11.5 % VO2max improvement with large effect (p < .01, η_p^2 = .27). Strong negative correlations between baseline VO2max and its progression after nine months (p = .006, r = -.654) were found. Well-being increased by 8.7 % (p = .024, d = .51). Body composition improved without statistical significance. Resting metabolic rate increased by 2.2 % (p = .042). This study reveals the potential of CrossFit to enhance physiological and psychological health in beginners. For more robust results, bigger sample sizes with higher proportion of women are needed.

(1) Background: Neurologic and musculoskeletal diseases represent a considerable portion of the underlying etiologies responsible for the widely prevalent symptoms of pain, weakens, numbness, and paresthesia. Because of the subjective and often nonspecific nature of these symptoms, different diagnostic modalities have been explored and utilized.; (2) Methods: Literature review; (3) Results: Nerve and muscle biopsy remains the gold standard for diagnosing many of the responsible neurological and musculoskeletal conditions. However, the need for invasive tissue sampling is diminishing as more investigations explore alternative diagnostic modalities. Because of this, it is important to explore the current role of neurosurgical intervention for nerve and muscle biopsies and its current relevance in the diagnostic landscape of neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. With consideration of the role of nerve and muscle biopsy, it is also important to explore innovations and emerging techniques for conducting these procedures. This review explores the indications and emerging techniques for neurological intervention for nerve and muscle biopsies; (4) Conclusions: The role of neurosurgical intervention for nerve and muscle biopsy remains relevant in diagnosing many neurological and musculoskeletal disorders. Biopsy is especially relevant as a supportive point of evidence for diagnosis in atypical cases. Additionally, emerging techniques have been explored to guide diagnostics and biopsy, conduct less invasive biopsies, and reduce risks of worsening neurologic function and other symptoms secondary to biopsy.

For each measurement, at least three objects are needed: a solid, neutral object as a measuring instrument and two objects for comparison. This system of three spatial dimensions per object has a common time. All measurements are based on orbits relative to the firmament and coincidences of the spatial coordinates of the objects after rotations with π and provide the energy of the system. These results in the most suitable coordinate system with dimensions of powers of π in which the radius is curved, as are the longitude and latitude. Polynomials P(2π) correspond to neutral objects, in addition to P(π) for charge, spin, isospin. In addition, it is assumed that the cosmos consists of a single type of particle with a speed of light c. Normalizing to the rest mass of the electron, the neutrinos are ντ=π, νμ=1, and νe=1/π. The energy of an electron is: Ee=gfreq(π)+1−1/π. An algorithm is derived from a Christoffel symbol and similar to a lattice gauge calculation. It provides exact residual masses for neutrons, protons, muons, tauons, quarks u, d, and pions. The theory can be applied to the inner planetary system and the cosmos and explains the hierarchy problem.

Trypanosome brucei, the causative agent of African sleeping sickness, harbours a highly ordered, subpellicular microtubule cytoskeleton that defines many aspects of morphology, motility and virulence. This array of microtubules is associated with a large number of proteins involved in its regulation. Employing proximity-dependent biotinylation assay (BioID) using the well characterized cytoskeleton-associated protein CAP5.5 as a probe we identified CAP50 (Tb927.11.2610). This protein colocalizes with the subpellicular cytoskeleton microtubules but not with the flagellum. Depletion by RNAi results in defects in cytokinesis, morphology and partial disorganization of microtubule arrays. Published proteomics data indicate a possible association of CAP50 with two other, yet uncharacterized, cytoskeletal proteins, CAP52 (Tb927.6.5070) and CAP42 (Tb927.4.1300), which were therefore included in our analysis. We show that their depletion causes phenotypes similar to those described for CAP50 and that they are essential for cellular integrity.

Worldwide, about one in eight people live in slums. Empirical studies based on satellite data have identified that the size distributions of this type of settlement are similar in different cities of the Global South. Based on these results, we developed a model describing the formation of slums with a Turing mechanism, in which patterns are created by diffusion-driven instability and the inherent characteristic length of the system is independent of boundary conditions. We examine the model in this paper by critically reflecting its assumptions, comparing them with recent empirical observations and discussing possible adjustments and future extensions based on new methods of identifying pattern formation mechanisms.

Injuries to the ligaments of the knee are extremely common among athletes who participate in high-risk sports, or any sport that requires frequent cutting motions, jumping, or contact. In order to determine the best way to heal these injuries, it is important to understand not just the pathology of the injury, but also the biomechanical factors that are affected, including stability and steadiness. While many studies have been done to examine the stability of healthy knees, there is little to no existing literature on stability of knees afflicted by injury. In order to surpass this obstacle, static steadiness and dynamic stability data was collected using the Lockhart Monitor phone application and Xsens accelerometers, respectively, both before and after completion of a course of physical therapy in a patient with a grade 2 medial collateral ligament (MCL) tear. These results were then used to determine the degree to which the prescribed physical therapy protocol was effective in healing the MCL, which can be useful for tweaking the individual protocol for future conservative treatment and management of the injury.

Separation of polyethylene glycols (PEGs) into single homologs by reversed-phase chromatography is investigated experimentally and theoretically. The used core-shell column is shown to achieve baseline separation of PEG homologs up to molar weights of at least 5000 g/mol. A detailed study is performed elucidating the role of the operating conditions temperature, eluent composition, and degree of polymerization of the polymer. Applying Martin's rule yields a simple model for retention times that holds for a wide range of conditions. In combination with relations for column efficiency, the role of the operating conditions is discussed and separations are predicted for analytical-scale chromatography. Finally, the approach is included in an efficient process model based on discrete convolution, which is demonstrated to predict with high accuracy also advanced operating modes with arbitrary injection profiles.

Knowledge of the spatio-temporal occurrence of avalanche activity is critical for avalanche forecasting and hazard mapping. We present a near-real time automatic avalanche monitoring system that outputs detected avalanche polygons within roughly 10 min after Sentinel- 1 SAR data download. Our avalanche detection algorithm has an average probability of detection of 67.2 % with a false alarm rate averaging 45.9, with maximum POD's over 85 % and minimum FAR's of 24.9 % compared to manual detection of avalanches. The high variability in performance stems from the dynamic nature of snow in the Sentinel-1 data. After tuning parameters of the detection algorithm, we processed five years of Sentinel-1 images acquired over a 150 x 100 km large area in Northern Norway, with the best setup. Compared to a dataset of field-observed avalanches, 77.3 % were manually detectable. Using these manual detections as benchmark, the avalanche detection algorithm achieved an accuracy of 79 % with high POD's in cases of medium to large wet snow avalanches. For the first time, we can present a dataset of spatiotemporal avalanche activity over several winters from a large region. This unique dataset allows for research into the relationship between avalanche activity and triggering meteorological factors, mapping of avalanche prone areas and near-real time avalanche activity monitoring to assist public avalanche forecasting. Currently, the Norwegian Avalanche Warning Service is using our processing system for pre-operational use in three regions in Norway.

Reduced nutrient mineralization rates under minimum tillage are usually compensated by mineral fertilizer application. These cannot be applied in organic farming systems, however. We hypothesized that organic minimum tillage based on frequent cover cropping and application of dead mulch will improve soil fertility and can compensate for the potential negative effects of minimum tillage. Two long-term field experiments were set up in 2010 and 2011 comparing plough versus minimum tillage including application of transferred mulch. As second factor, the application of compost versus mineral potassium and phosphorus was compared. In 2019, soils were analyzed for soil pH, organic carbon, macro-, micronutrients, microbial biomass, microbial activity and total nematode abundance. In addition, performance of pea in the same soils was determined under greenhouse conditions. Across both experiments, macronutrients (+52%), micronutrients (+11%), microbial biomass (+51%), microbial activity (+86%), and bacterivorous nematodes (+112%) increased in minimum tillage compared with the plough-based system. In the greenhouse, pea biomass was 45% higher in the soil that had been subjected to minimum tillage compared to the plough. In conclusion, soil fertility can be improved in organic minimum tillage systems by intensive cover cropping and application of dead mulch to levels higher than in a plough-based system.

Recent advances in artificial intelligence combined with behavioral sciences have led to the development of cutting-edge tools for recognizing human emotions based on text, video, audio, and physiological data. However, these data sources are expensive, intrusive, and regulated, unlike plants which have been shown to be sensitive to human steps and sounds. A methodology is proposed to use plants as human emotion detectors. Electrical signals from plants are tracked and labeled based on video data. Labeled data are then used for classification. MLP, biLSTM, MFCC-CNN, MFCC-ResNet, and additionally, Random Forests, 1-Dimensional CNN, and biLSTM without windowing models are set using a grid search algorithm with cross-validation. Finally, best-parameterized models are trained and used with the test set for classification. The performance of this methodology is measured with a case study with 54 participants, who were watching an emotionally charged video, as ground truth their facial emotions were simultaneously measured using face emotion analysis. The Random Forest model shows the best performance, particularly in recognizing high-arousal emotions, achieving an overall weighted accuracy of 55.2% and demonstrating high weighted recall in emotions such as fear 61.0% and happiness 60.4%. The MFCC-ResNet model offers decently balanced results, with Accuracy(MFCC-ResNet)=0.318 and Recall (MFCC-ResNet)=0.324. With the MFCC-ResNet model fear and anger are recognized with 75% and 50% recall respectively. Thus, using plants as an emotion recognition tool seems worth investigating, addressing both cost and privacy concerns.

The Robotics Vision Lab of Northwest Nazarene University has developed Orchard Robot (OrBot), which was designed for harvesting fruits. OrBot is composed of a machine vision system to locate fruits on the tree, a robotic manipulator to approach the target fruit, and a gripper to remove the target fruit. Field trials conducted at commercial orchards for apples and peaches during the harvesting season of 2021 yielded a harvesting success rate of about 85% and had an average harvesting cycle time of 12 seconds. Building upon this success, the goal of this study is to evaluate the performance of OrBot during nighttime harvesting. The idea is to have OrBot harvest at night, and then human pickers continue the harvesting operation during the day. This human and robot collaboration will leverage the labor shortage issue with a relatively slower robot working at night. The specific objectives are to determine the artificial lighting parameters suitable for nighttime harvesting and to evaluate the harvesting viability of OrBot during the night. LED lighting was selected as the source for artificial illumination with a color temperature of 5600 K and 10% intensity. This combination resulted with the lowest noise in the images. OrBot was tested in a commercial orchard using twenty Pink Lady apple trees. Results showed an increased success rate during the night, with OrBot gaining 94%. compared to 88% during the daytime operations.

In the transition towards sustainable energy sources, hydrogen has emerged as the predominant alternative after fossil fuels. This comprehensive literature review delves into the evolving landscape of hydrogen launching strategies within the energy market. Numerous countries have strategically initiated efforts to introduce products based on hydrogen, underscoring the global acknowledgment of the potential inherent in hydrogen. Despite witnessing significant growth in the adoption of hydrogen energy worldwide, impediments to its widespread commercialization persist. This review identifies key barriers, including cost structures, technical complexities, and marketing challenges, hindering the establishment of a robust hydrogen energy market. The article critically examines the actions already undertaken to harness hydrogen energy for commercial purposes, leveraging scientific insights and statistical data. By carefully examining the current state of hydrogen energy initiatives, the review highlights gaps in existing strategies that require thoughtful consideration. Insights derived from scientific and statistical analyses inform the identification of barriers and contribute to a nuanced understanding of the challenges faced in the journey towards hydrogen energy commercialization. Ultimately, the article presents a strategic proposal outlining marketing actions geared towards expediting the commercialization and widespread adoption of hydrogen energy. Grounded in a thorough review of existing literature and supported by scientific and statistical evidence, this comprehensive analysis offers valuable insights for stakeholders seeking to navigate the intricate landscape of hydrogen energy in the global energy market.

Mouse models are frequently used to study Huntington’s disease (HD). Onset and severity of neuronal and behavioral pathologies vary greatly between HD mouse models, which results from different huntingtin expression levels and different CAG repeat length. HD pathology appears to depend also on strain background of mouse models. Thus, behavioral deficits of HD mice are more severe in the FVB than in the C57BL/6 background. Alterations in medium spiny neuron (MSN) morphology and function has been well documented in young YAC128 mice in the FVB background. We here tested the relevance of strain background for mutant huntingtin (mHTT) toxicity on the cellular level by investigating HD pathologies in YAC128 mice in the C57BL/6 background (YAC128/BL6). Morphology, spine density, synapse function and membrane properties were not or only subtly altered in MSNs of 12-month-old YAC128/BL6 mice. Despite the mild cellular phenotype, YAC128/BL6 mice showed deficits in motor performance. More pronounced alterations in MSN function were found in the HdhQ150 mouse model in the C57BL/6 background (HdhQ150/BL6). Consistent with the differences in HD pathology, the number of inclusion bodies was considerably lower in YAC128/BL6 mice than HdhQ150/BL6 mice. This study highlights the relevance of strain background for mHTT toxicity in HD mouse models.

In MBSE there is yet no converged terminology. The term ’system model’ is used in different contexts in literature. In this study we elaborated the definitions and usages of the term ’system model’, to find a common definition. 104 publications have been analyzed in depth for their usage and definition as well as their meta-data e.g., the publication year and publication background to find some common patterns. While the term is gaining more interest in recent years it is used in a broad range of contexts for both analytical and synthetic use cases. Based on this three categories of system models have been defined and integrated into a more precise definition.

Abstract: Plasma hemopexin (HPX) is the key antioxidant protein of the endogenous clearance pathway that limits the deleterious effects of heme released from hemoglobin and myoglobin. During intra-vascular hemolysis, heme partitioning to protein and lipid increases as the plasma concentration of HPX declines. Therefore, the development of HPX as a replacement therapy during high heme stress could be a relevant intervention for hemolytic disorders. A logical approach to enhance HPX yield involves recombinant production strategies from human cell lines. The present study focuses on a biophysical assessment of heme binding to recombinant human HPX (rhHPX) produced in the Expi293FTM (HEK293) cell system. In this report, we examine rhHPX in comparison with plasma HPX using a systematic analysis of protein structural and functional characteristics related to heme binding. Analysis of rhHPX by UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, circular dichroism (CD), SEC-HPLC and catalase-like activity demonstrated a similarity to HPX fractionated from plasma. In particular, the titration of HPX apo-protein(s) with heme was performed for the first time using a wide range of heme concentrations to model HPX-heme interactions to approximate physiological conditions (from extremely low to more than 2-fold heme excess). The CD titration data showed an induced bisignate CD Soret band pattern typical for plasma and rhHPX versions at low heme-to-protein molar ratios and demonstrated that further titration is dependent on the amount of protein-bound heme to the extent that the arising opposite CD couplet results in a complete inversion of the observed CD pattern. The data generated in this study suggests more than one binding site in both plasma and rhHPX. Further, our study provides a useful analytical platform for detailed characterization of HPX-heme interactions and potentially, novel HPX fusion constructs.

Cesiumtrifluoroacetate (CsTFA) is a key chemical for RNA-based stable isotope analyses to link the structure and function of microbial communities. We report a protocol to easily synthesize CsTFA from Cesiumcarbonate (Cs₂CO₃₎ and Trifluoroacetate (TFA) and show that self-synthesized CsTFA behaves similar to commercial CsTFA in the separation of isotopically labelled and unlabelled E. coli RNA.

Since the first published genome sequence of Trypanosoma cruzi in 2005, there has been tremendous technological advance in genomics, reverse genetics, and assay development for this elusive pathogen. However, there is still an unmet need for new and better drugs to treat Chagas disease. Here we introduce a T. cruzi assay strain that is useful for drug research as well as basic studies in host-pathogen interaction. Trypanosoma cruzi STIB980 is a strain of discrete typing unit TcI that grows well in culture as axenic epimastigotes or intracellular amastigotes. We have evaluated the optimal parameters for genetic transfection and constructed derivatives of T. cruzi STIB980 that express reporter genes for fluorescence- or bioluminescence-based drug efficacy testing, as well as a Cas9-expressing line for CRISPR/Cas9-mediated gene editing. The genome of T. cruzi STIB980 was sequenced by combining short-read Illumina with long-read Oxford Nanopore technologies. The latter served for the primary assembly, the former to correct mistakes and fill the gaps. This resulted in a high-quality nuclear haplotype assembly of 28 Mb in 400 contigs, containing 10,043 open-reading frames with a median length of 1077 bp. We believe that T. cruzi STIB980 is a useful addition to the antichagasic toolbox, and propose that it can serve as a DTU TcI reference strain for drug efficacy testing.

As part of our research for new leads against human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), we report on a 3D-QSAR study for antitrypanosomal activity and cytotoxicity of aminosteroid-type alkaloids recently isolated from the African medicinal plant Holarrhena africana A. DC. (Apocynaceae), some of which are strong trypanocides against Trypanosoma brucei rhodesiense (Tbr) with low toxicity against mammalian cells. Fully optimized 3D molecular models of seventeen congeneric Holarrhena alkaloids were subjected to a comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA). CoMFA models were obtained for both, the anti-Tbr and cytotoxic activity data. Model performance was assessed in terms of statistical characteristics (R², Q² and P² for partial least squares (PLS) regression, internal cross-validation (leave-one-out) and external predictions (test set), respectively, as well as the corresponding SDEP and F-values). With R²=0.99, Q²=0.83 and P²=0.79 for anti-Tbr activity and R²=0.94, Q²=0.64, P²=0.59 for cytotoxicity against L6 rat skeletal myoblasts, both models were of good internal and external predictive power. The regression coefficients of the models representing the most prominent steric and electrostatic effects on anti-Tbr and for L6 cytotoxic activity were translated into contour maps and analyzed visually, allowing suggestions for possible modification of the aminosteroids to further increase the antitrypanosomal potency and selectivity. Very interestingly, the 3D-QSAR model established with the Holarrhena alkaloids also applied to the antitrypanosomal activity of two aminocycloartane-type compounds recently isolated by our group from Buxus sempervirens L. (Buxaceae), which indicates that these structurally similar natural products share a common SAR and, possibly, mechanism of action with the Holarrhena steroids. This 3D-QSAR study has thus resulted in plausible structural explanations of the antitrypanosomal activity and selectivity of aminosteroid- and aminocycloartane-type alkaloids as an interesting new class of trypanocides and may represent a starting point for lead optimization.

Residual stresses in fiber metal laminates (FML) inevitably develop during the manufacturing process. The main contributor to these stresses is the difference in the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE) between fibers and metal in combination with high process temperatures. To quantify these stresses, the use of specimens with an asymmetric layup is an easily adaptable method. The curvature that develops after the manufacturing of flat laminates with an asymmetrical layer stack is a measure of the level of residual stresses evolving during cure. However, the accuracy of the curvature evaluation is highly dependent on specimen design and other influencing parameters. In this work a large set of FML specimens is investigated to identify relevant influencing parameters and derive conclusions about specimen design and evaluation techniques. For certain layups and process parameters, there is a good correlation between the curvature and the stress-free temperature, which is further covered by analytical solutions for bimetals. This correlation is the basis to transfer curvature into a stress-free temperature that can consequently be used for the quantification of residual stress levels in more complex FMLs. The transfer is validated by in-situ strain measurements during cure using a strain gage technique. Based on the results, the application of asymmetric specimens for residual stress characterization in more complex laminates is presented in the form of a workflow.

Background: The thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) is thought to play a role in the development of LBP, but it is not yet clear which factor of TLF changes is a cause and which is an effect. Therefore, some studies used the cross-correlation function (CCR) to reveal time-dependent relationships between biomechanical and neuromotor factors. Methods: Ten patients with acute low back pain (aLBP) were matched to healthy controls. Simultaneous recording of surface electromyography (sEMG) of the erector spinae muscle (ES) and dynamic ultrasound (US) images of TLF deformation were performed during trunk extension. CCR functions and Granger causality were used to describe the relationship between the two measures. Results: CCR time lags were significant higher in the aLBP group (p = 0.04). Granger causality (GC) showed a direct effect of TLF deformation on ES activation only in the aLBP group (p &lt; 0.03). Conclusions: The results suggest that in aLBP, ES activity is significantly affected by TLF, whereas this relation-ship is completely random in healthy subjects studied with CCR and GC comparisons of dynamic US imaging and sEMG data signals. Fascia-related disturbances in neuromotor control, particularly due to altered muscle spindle functions, are suspected as a possible mechanism behind this.

Rotor blade bearings enable the rotor blades to pivot about their longitudinal axis and thus control the power output and reduce the loads acting on the wind turbine. Over a design period of 20 years, rolling bearings are exposed to frequent oscillating movements with amplitude ratios of x/2b>1, especially due to new control concepts such as Individual Pitch Control, which can lead to wear and a reduction in service life. The objective of the paper is to identify the dominant wear mechanisms and their consequences for the operation of oscillating bearings. Oscillating experiments with increasing number of cycles on angular contact ball bearings of two different sizes (type 7208 and 7220), show that the damage initiation starts with adhesive and corrosive wear mechanisms, which result in a sharp increase of the torque as well as the wear volume on the bearing raceway. As the number of cycles increases, an abrasive mechanism occurs, resulting in a lower slope of the wear curve and a smoothing of the resulting wear depressions. The wear and torque curves are evaluated and classified using an energy-wear approach according to Fouvry.

Levan is a fructan-type exopolysaccharide, which is produced by many microbes from sucrose via extracellular levansucrases. The hydrocolloid properties of levan depend on its molecular weight, while it is unknown why and to which extent levan is functionally diverse in dependence of its size. The aim of our study was to get deeper insights into the size-dependent, functional variability of levan. For this purpose, levans of different sizes were produced using the water kefir isolate Gluconobacter albidus TMW 2.1191 and subsequently rheologically characterized. Three levan types could be identified, which are similarly branched, but significantly differ in their molecular size and rheological properties among each other. The smallest levan (< 107 Da) produced without adjustment of the pH exhibited Newton-like flow behavior up to a specific concentration of 25% (w/v). On the contrary, larger levans (> 108 Da) produced at pH ≥ 4.5 were shear-thinning and showed a gel like behavior at ≥ 5% (w/v). A third (intermediate) levan variant was obtained via production in buffers at pH 4.0 and exhibited the properties of a viscoelastic fluid at ≥ 5% (w/v). Our study reveals that the variable size and composition of levan are controllable and more decisive for its functionality than the amount of exerted levan.

Heavy and light quarks produced in high-pT partonic collisions radiate differently. Heavy quarks regenerate their color field, stripped-off in the hard reaction, much faster than the light ones and radiate a significantly smaller fraction of the initial quark energy. This peculiar feature of heavy-quark jets leads to a specific shape of the fragmentation functions observed in e+e− annihilation. Differently from light flavors, the heavy quark fragmentation function strongly peaks at large fractional momentum z, i.e. the produced heavy-light mesons, B or D, carry the main fraction of the jet momentum. This is a clear evidence of the dead-cone effect, and of a short production time of a heavy-light mesons. Contrary to propagation of a small qq¯ dipole, which survives in the medium due to color transparency, a heavy-light Qq¯ dipole promptly expands to a large size. Such a big dipole has no chance to remain intact in a dense medium produced in relativistic heavy ion collisions. On the other hand, a breakup of such a dipole does not affect much the production rate of Qq¯ mesons, differently from the case of light qq¯ meson production.

Hamman’s syndrome is a rare condition that mostly affects young males, often with a predisposition of asthma. It includes the presence of free air in the mediastinum and subcutaneous emfysema with no other underlying cause such as trauma or infection. It occurs spontanously and often in association with prolonged valsalva manouvre. This might explain why there are some cases of Hamman syndrome among young females giving birth. Here we present a case report of a 24-year- old primigravida with Hamman’s syndrome. She presented with symptoms a few hours after an uncomplicated vaginal delivery at 40+1 pregnancy week. The symptoms resolved spontanously after a few days of observation. We also give a systemic review of reported cases since 2000 to provide overview on pathomechanism, symptoms, diagnostics, treatment and management of this condition. Hamman’s syndrome is a rare, usually benign, but potentially serious complication that can occur during the second stage of labour. Diagnostics include inquiring about typical symptoms, clinical examination and chest x-ray or CT scan. Treatment is usually conservative with oxygen, bronchodilators and pain relief. The reccurence rate is low and there is no contraindication to vaginal delivery in future pregnancies. However, it is suggested that physicians and midwives be cautious and consider low threshold for instrumental delivery or caesarean section to avoid excessive valsalva manoeuvre.

To understand forest dynamics under today’s changing environmental conditions, it is important to analyze the state of forests at large scales. Forest inventories are not available for all regions, so it is important to use other additional sources of information, e.g. remote sensing observations. Increasingly, remotely sensed data based on optical instruments and airborne LIDAR are becoming widely available for forests. There is great potential in analyzing these measurements and gaining an understanding of forests state. In this work, we combine the new generation radiative transfer model mScope with the individual-based forest model FORMIND to generate reflectance spectra for forests. Combining the two models allows us to account for species diversity at different height layers in the forest. We compare the generated reflectances for forest stands in Finland, in the region of North Karelia, with Sentinel-2 measurements. We investigate which level of forest representation gives the best results. For the majority of the forest stands, we generated good reflectances with all levels forest representation compared to the measured reflectance. Good correlations were also found for the vegetation indices (especially NDVI with R²=0.62). This work provides a forward modelling tool for relating forest reflectance to forest characteristics. With this tool it is possible to generate a large set of forest stands with corresponding reflectances. This opens the possibility to understand how reflectance is related to succession and different forest conditions.

Cellular biomolecular condensates termed ribonucleoprotein (RNP) granules often are enriched in messenger RNA (mRNA) molecules relative to the surrounding cytoplasm. Yet, the spatial localization and diffusion of mRNAs in close proximity to phase separated RNP granules is not well understood. In this study, we performed single molecule fluorescence imaging experiments of mRNAs in live cells in the presence of two types of RNP granules, stress granules (SG) and processing bodies (PB), which are distinct in their molecular composition and function. We developed a photobleaching- and noise-corrected colocalization imaging algorithm that was employed to determine the accurate positions of individual mRNAs relative to the granule’s boundaries. We found that mRNAs are often localized at granule boundaries, an observation consistent with recently published data. We suggest that mRNA molecules become spontaneously confined at the RNP granule boundary similar to the adsorption of polymer molecules at liquid-liquid interfaces, which is observed in various technological and biological processes. We also suggest that this confinement could be due to a combination of intermolecular interactions associated with, first, the screening of a portion of the RNP granule interface by the polymer and, second, electrostatic interactions due to a strong electric field induced by a Donnan potential generated across the thin interface.

To fully appreciate genetics, one must understand the link between genotype (DNA sequence) and phenotype (observable characteristics). Advances in high-throughput genomic sequencing technologies and applications, so-called “-omics”, have made genetic sequencing readily available across fields in biology from applications in non-traditional study organisms to precision medicine. Thus, understanding these tools is critical for any biologist, especially those early in their career. This comprehensive review discusses the chronological development of different sequencing methods, the bioinformatics steps to analyzing this data, and social and ethical issues raised by these techniques that must be discussed and evaluated.

Trends such as Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) and Industry 4.0 have increased the need to use powerfull network technologies in industrial automation. The growing communication in industrial automation is harnessing the productivity and efficiency of manufacturing and process automation with minimum human intervention. Due to the ongoing evolution of industrial networks from Fieldbus technologies to Ethernet, the new opportunity has emerged to integrate the Software Defined Networking (SDN) technique. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of SDN in the domain of industrial automation. We propose a network architecture called Software Defined Industrial Automation Network (SDIAN), with the objective of improving network scalability and efficiency. To match the specific considerations and requirements of having a deterministic system in an industrial network, we propose two solutions for flow creation: Pro-active Flow Installation Scheme (PFIS) and Hybrid Flow-Installation Scheme (HFIS). We analytically quantify the proposed solutions in alleviating the overhead incurred from the flow setup cost. The analytical model is verified through monte carlo simulations. We also evaluate the SDIAN architecture and analyze the network performance of the modified topology using an emulator called Mininet. We further list and motivate SDIAN features and in particular report on an experimental food processing plant demonstration featuring Raspberry PIs (RPIs) instead of traditional Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs). Our demonstration exemplifies the characteristics of SDIAN.

The chemical graph theory is a subfield of mathematical chemistry which applies classic graph theory to chemical entities and phenomena. Chemical graphs are main data structures to represent chemical structures in cheminformatics. Computable properties of graphs lay the foundation for (quantitative) structure activity and structure property predictions - a core discipline of cheminformatics. It has a historic relevance for natural sciences, such as chemistry, biochemistry and biology, and is in the heart of modern disciplines, such as cheminformatics and bioinformatics. This review first covers the history of chemical graph theory, then provides an overview of its various techniques and applications for CASE, and finally summarises modern tools using chemical graph theory for CASE.

The improvement of energy efficiency of hydraulic systems remains to be an essential challenge for the industry, and the demand for more sustainable solutions is increasing. A main focus in this endeavor is the ability to eliminate or strongly reduce the use of throttle control valves which have been the preferred control element in industrial hydraulic systems for decades. Components have been subject to continuous evolution, and current industrial grade hydraulic pumps and motors are both efficient and reliable. Even though few percentages of energy efficiency can still be achieved, the main achievements in terms of efficiency is associated with novel system designs rather than further development of components. An area subject to increasing attention is the field of variable-speed displacement control, allowing to avoid the main control valve throttle losses. Systems using this technology are, however, mainly developed as standalone drive systems, necessitating maximum force, speed and power installed in each axis, with limited hydraulic power distribution capability as compared to valve controlled systems. An emerging field addressing this challenge is so-called electro-hydraulic variable-speed drive networks which allow to completely eliminate the use of control valves and enables power sharing both electrically and hydraulically, potentially reducing the necessary installed power in many cases. The idea of such a technology was first proposed in 2022, and so far developments reported in literature have mainly been of theoretical nature. This article presents the first ever experimental results for a dual cylinder electro-hydraulic variable-speed drive network prototype. The prototype has been developed for an industrial application, but has initially been implemented in a laboratory testbench. Extensive data acquisition has been conducted while subject to the associated industrial motion cycle, under different load conditions. The data is further used in combination with models to predict the total efficiency of the drive network prototype under higher loads than what could be achieved in the laboratory, suggesting a total efficiency from the electric supply to the cylinder pistons of 68 %. Re-configuring the prototype to a known standalone drive system structure implies comparable efficiencies. Finally, the drive network is theoretically compared to a valve drive solution, generally suggesting the prototype drive network to provide efficiency improvements of at least 40 % in comparison.

Airborne wind energy (AWE) systems use tethered flying devices to harvest higher-altitude winds to produce electricity. For a successful deployment of these systems, it is crucial to understand how the public perceives them. If public concerns about the technology are not taken seriously, implementation could be delayed or, in some cases, prevented, resulting in increased costs for project developers and a lower contribution of the sector to renewable energy targets. This literature review assessed the current state of knowledge on public responses to AWE. An exhaustive literature search led to the identification of 40 relevant publications that were reviewed. The literature assumed that the safety, visibility, acoustic emissions, ecological impacts, and the siting of AWE systems shape public responses to the technology. The reviewed literature views people’s responses to AWE very optimistically but lacks scientific evidence to back up its claims. It seems to overlook that the influence of AWE’s characteristics (e.g., visibility) on public responses will also depend on a range of situational and psychological factors (e.g., people’s general attitude towards AWE, the public’s trust in project developers). Therefore, empirical social scientific research is needed to increase the field’s understanding of public responses to AWE and thereby facilitate deployment.

Education outside the classroom (EOtC) can be beneficial for students. The relationship between biological stress markers and sedentary behavior (SB) plus physical activity (PA) is insufficiently evaluated in school settings. This exploratory study aims to evaluate the association between students’ cortisol, plus circulating cell-free deoxyribonucleic acid (cfDNA) levels, and their SB, light PA (LPA) and moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) during outdoor and indoor classes in different seasons. We assessed data from an education outside the classroom (EOtC) program (n = 48; intervention group [IG], n = 37; control group [CG], n = 11). We sampled data on 3 school-days in three seasons (fall, spring, and summer) in normal teaching indoors (CG) and outdoor lessons (IG) in the forest. SB and PA were evaluated by accelerometry, and cortisol and cfDNA levels by saliva samples. The compositional data analysis approach analyzed SB and PA. Fitted Bayesian hierarchical linear models evaluated the association between cortisol and cfDNA, and SB/LPA/MVPA. A steady decline of cortisol in the outdoor setting is associated with relatively high levels of LPA. SB and MVPA tended to exhibit a similar effect in the indoor setting. CfDNA is positively associated with a relatively high amount of SB in the IG, the same association is likely for LPA and MVPA in both groups. LPA seems to support a healthy cortisol decrease in children during outdoor lessons. The relevance of SB/PA as a composition in relation to students stress response in school should be emphasized. This study facilitates the formulation of straightforward and directed hypotheses for further research.

We developed and applied a method for characterizing bacterial promoters genome-wide by in vitro transcription coupled to transcriptome sequencing specific for native 5’-ends of transcripts. This method called ROSE (Run-Off transcription/RNA-SEquencing), only requires chromosomal DNA, ribonucleotides, RNA polymerase (RNAP) core enzyme, and a specific sigma factor, recognizing the corresponding promoters, which have to be analyzed. ROSE was performed on E. coli K-12 MG1655 genomic DNA using E. coli RNAP holoenzyme (including σ70) and yielded 3,226 transcription start sites, 2,167 of which were also identified in in vivo studies, and 598 were new. Many new promoters not yet identified by in vivo experiments might be repressed under the tested conditions. Complementary in vivo experiments with E. coli K-12 strain BW25113 and isogenic transcription factor gene knockout mutants of fis, fur, and hns were used to test this hypothesis. Comparative transcriptome analysis demonstrated that ROSE could identify bona fide promoters that were apparently repressed in vivo. In this sense, ROSE is well-suited as a bottom-up approach for characterizing transcriptional networks in bacteria and ideally complementary to top-down in vivo transcriptome studies.

Knowledge of the temperature evolution is crucial to understand and control laser beam welding of low-melting materials. Existing temperature determination approaches are restricted to i) one-dimensional temperature information (e.g. ratio-pyrometers), ii) a priori knowledge of the emissivity (e.g. thermography) and iii) high temperature regions (e.g. two-wavelength imaging). In this paper, a ratio-based two-color-thermography approach is developed that allows for two-dimensional temperature determination in low-melting temperature ranges (< 1200 K). For static measurement situations it is demonstrated, that temperature can be determined despite variation in signal intensity and emissivity with high accuracy. The two-color-thermography set-up is further transferred into a commercial laser beam welding machine and experiments are conducted for varying process parameters. The direct application of the developed two-color-thermography system in dynamic process situations is limited as image artifacts presumably caused by internal reflections inside the optical beam path are present.

The rowing technique is a key factor in the overall rowing performance. Nowadays the athletes’ performance is so advanced that even small differences in technique can have an impact on sport competitions. To further improve the athletes’ performance, individualized rowing is necessary. This can be achieved by intelligent measurement technology that provides direct feedback. To address this issue, we developed a novel wireless rowing measurement system (WiRMS) that acquires rowing movement and measures muscle activity using electromyography (EMG). Our measurement system is able to measure several parameters simultaneously: the rowing forces, the pressure distribution on the scull, the oar angles, the seat displacement and the boat acceleration. WiRMS was evaluated in a proof-of-concept study with seven experienced athletes performing a training on water. Evaluation results showed that WiRMS is able to assess the rower’s performance by recording the rower’s movement and force applied to the scull. We found significant correlations (p&lt;0.001) between stroke rate and drive-to-recovery ratio. By incorporating EMG data, a precise temporal assignment of the activated muscles and their contribution to the rowing motion was possible. Furthermore, we were able to show that the rower applies the force to the scull mainly with the index and middle fingers.

Technical components should be produced sustainably and are subject to growing demands in terms of durability and reliability. To meet these expectations, the development of thermochemical processes is auspicious. Titanium alloys, which have a comparatively high gas solubility, allow temporary hydrogen (H) loading, often called thermo hydrogen treatment (THT). THT causes lattice deformation and reduces the β transformation temperature. These effects enable an adjustment of the microstructure, which improves the mechanical properties as compared to those produced conventionally. Furthermore, the process is applicable to complex geometries that cannot be surface hardened by mechanical surface treatment techniques. The investigation presented intends to realize a local microstructure gradient in additively via laser-powder bed fusion (L-PBF) manufactured cylindrical Ti–6Al–4V specimens by changing the distribution and morphology of strengthening precipitates as well as the β grain size depending on the distance to the surface, which should improve the material fatigue properties. To evaluate the mechanical properties of such THT-induced microstructure gradients, the resulting change in fatigue life in the LCF and HCF range was determined by stress-controlled cyclic deformation tests. Besides, the resulting microstructure was characterized by means of XRD and TEM. In addition to the additively manufactured and thermo hydrogen treated cylindrical specimens, conventionally produced tube-like specimens were thermo hydrogen treated and examined. For the THT-induced microstructure gradients, numerically simulated H concentration profiles as well as experimentally determined hardness profiles were used for the evaluation of the THT process. The study shows that H-loading at 500°C and H-degassing at 750°C, followed by aging at 550°C, allows the establishment of a microstructure gradient that shows an 8% improvement in fatigue properties compared to a reference condition without THT. The reason for this improvement is an increased volume fraction secondary alpha phase in the near-surface area of the specimens. Moreover, the results show that the process is applicable a tube-like specimen with varying wall thicknesses.

Addressing non-unions involves stabilizing the affected area through osteosynthesis and improving bone biology using bone grafts. However, there is no consensus on the optimal treatment method. This study aims to compare outcomes of non-union revision using conventional treatment methods (metal hardware ± graft) versus osteosynthesis with the human, allogeneic cortical bone screw (Shark Screw®). Thirty-four patients underwent conventional treatment, while 28 cases received Shark Screws®. Patient demographics, bone healing, time to bone healing, and complications were assessed. Results revealed a healing rate of 96.4% for the Shark Screw® group, compared to 82.3% for the conventionally treated group. The Shark Screw® group exhibited a tendency for faster bone healing (9.4±3.2 vs. 12.9±8.5 weeks, p=0.05061). Hardware irritations led to six metal removals in the conventional group versus two in the Shark Screw® group. The Shark Screw® emerges as a promising option for personalized non-union treatment in the foot, ankle, and select lower leg cases, facilitating effective osteosynthesis and grafting within a single construct, promoting high union rates, low complications, and a rapid healing process.

Tobamovirus species represent a threat to solanaceous crops worldwide, due to their extreme stability and being seed-borne. In particular, recent outbreaks of tomato brown rugose fruit virus in tomato and pepper crops led to the establishment of prompt control measures, and the need for reliable diagnosis was urged. Another member of the genus, tomato mottle mosaic virus, has recently risen attention due to reports in different continents and its common features with tomato brown rugose fruit virus. In this study, a new real-time RT-PCR detection system was developed for tomato brown rugose fruit virus and tomato mottle mosaic virus on tomato leaves and seeds using TaqMan chemistry. This test was designed to detect tomato mottle mosaic virus by amplifying the movement protein gene in a duplex assay with tomato brown rugose fruit virus target on the CP-3’NTR region, which was already validated as a single assay. The performance of this tests was evaluated, displaying analytical sensitivity 10-5-10-6-fold dilution for seeds and leaves, respectively, and good analytical specificity, repeatability, and reproducibility. Using the newly developed and validated test, tomato brown rugose fruit virus detection was 100% concordant with previously performed analyses on 106 official samples collected in 2021 from different continents.

The hot rolling in the process chain of the aluminium rolled products present the critical element of material quality and influence on productivity. The desire to increase the letter demand modifications of hot rolling, consequential changes of microstructure, crystallographic texture, mechanical and formability properties must be knowledge and consistently considered in planning the rolling process and rolled product. Achieving lower thicknesses of the hot-rolled band would enable fewer passes with cold rolling; consequently, hot rolling with the same number of passes will complete with lower temperatures. Microstructural and texture characterization with the optical microscope and scanning electron microscope for the hot-rolled band 3.25 mm the smaller grains appeared in the center of the cross-section, unlike for the hot-rolled band 6 mm, the smaller grains were detected on the upper and bottom position of the cross-section. Furthermore, the comparison shows also that the hot-rolled band 6 mm has 64 % of random texture components and 83 % of recrystallized grains, and the proportional adjustment for the hot-rolled band 3.25 mm has the 42 % of random texture components and 55 % of recrystallized grains. For the mechanical testing results, the elongation values in rolling and transverse directions significantly differ just in the case of a hot rolled band of 3.25 mm. Consequently, the earing results are more than 1.5 % higher for the hot-rolled band, 3.25 mm, than the hot-rolled band, 6 mm.

Ophelia syndrome is characterized by the coincidence of severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, classical Hodgkin lymphoma, and the presence of antibodies to the metabotropic glutamate 5 receptor (mGluR5). Little is known about the pathogenetic link between these symptoms and the role that anti-mGluR5-antibodies play. We investigated lymphoma tissue from patients with Ophelia syndrome and with isolated classical Hodgkin lymphoma by quantitative immunocytochemistry for mGluR5-expression. Further, we studied the L-1236, L-428, L-540, SUP-HD1, KM-H2, and HDLM-2 classical Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines by FACS and Western blot for mGluR5-expression, and by transcriptome analysis. mGluR5 surface expression differed significantly in terms of receptor density, distribution pattern, and percentage of positive cells. Highest expression levels were found in the L-1236 line. RNA-sequencing revealed more than 800 genes that were higher expressed in the L-1236 line in comparison to the other classical Hodgkin lymphoma cell lines. High mGluR5-expression was associated with upregulation of PI3K/AKT and MAPK pathways and of downstream targets (e.g. EGR1) known to be involved in classical Hodgkin lymphoma progression. Finally, mGluR5 expression was increased in the classical Hodgkin lymphoma-tissue of our Ophelia syndrome patient in contrast to five classical Hodgkin lymphoma-patients without autoimmune encephalitis. Given the association of encephalitis and classical Hodgkin lymphoma in Ophelia syndrome, it is possible that mGluR5-expression on classical Hodgkin lymphoma cells not only drives tumor progression but also triggers anti-mGluR5 encephalitis even before classical Hodgkin lymphoma becomes manifest.

The importance of sleep for healthy brain function is widely acknowledged. However, it remains unclear how the internal generation of dreams might facilitate cognitive processes. In this perspective we review a computational approach inspired by artificial intelligence that proposes a framework for how dreams occurring during rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep can contribute to learning and creativity. In this framework, REM dreams are characterized by an adversarial process that, against the dream reality, tell a discriminator network to classify the internally created sensory activity as real. Such an adversarial dreaming process is shown to facilitate the emergence of real-world semantic representations in higher cortical areas. We further discuss the potential contributions of adversarial dreaming beyond learning, such as balancing fantastic and realistic dream elements, and facilitating the occurrence of creative insights. We characterize non-REM (NREM) dreams, where a single hippocampal memory is replayed at a time, as serving a complementary role of improving the robustness of cortical representations to environmental perturbations. We finally explain how subjects can become aware of the adversarial REM dreams, but less of the NREM dreams, and how the awareness phenomenon of wake, dream and lucid dreaming may appear.

The tetracyclic pyrido[4,3-b]carbazole olivacine and four of its oxygenated derivatives have been synthesized by a late-stage palladium-catalyzed Heck-type cyclization of the pyrrole ring as key step. In a test for inhibition of the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis 9-methoxyolivacine showed the most significant inhibiting activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis with an MIC₉₀ value of 1.5 μM.

Diabetes mellitus (DM) and chronic kidney disease (CKD) are common in middle aged and elderly individuals. DM may accelerate the aging process, and the age-related declines in the estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate (eGFR), can pose a challenge to diagnose diabetic kidney disease (DKD) using standard diagnostic criteria especially with absence of severe albuminuria among the elderly. In the presence of CKD and DM, elderly patients may need multidisciplinary care due to susceptibility to various health issues e.g., cognitive decline, auditory or visual impairment, various comorbidities, complex medical regimens, and increased sensitivity to medication adverse effects. As a result, it can be challenging to apply recent therapeutic advancements for the general population to the elderly. We review the evidence that the benefits from these newer therapies apply equally to elderly and non-elderly patients and propose a framework for the management of DKD by discussing the nonpharmacological measures and pharmacological management with renin angiotensin system inhibitors (RASi), Sodium Glucose Co-Transporter two inhibitors (SGLT2i), non-steroidal mineralocorticoids receptor antagonists (MRAs), and Glucagon Like Peptide 1 Receptor Agonists (GLP1-RAs).

Abiogenic hydrocarbons are fundamentally important for understanding the deep microbial communities and the origin of life. The generation of abiogenic hydrocarbons was proposed to be limited to ultramafic-hosted hydrothermal systems, fueled by the serpentinization product H₂. Here, we present the discharge of short-chain alkanes from an andesitic rock-hosted Lutao geothermal field in the north Luzon arc, carrying abiotic chemical and isotopic signals. These abiogenic hydrocarbons were generated from CO₂-H₂O-rich fluid inclusions, where the long-term storage since Lutao volcanism (~ 1.3 Ma) allowed overcoming the sluggish kinetics of CO₂ to CH₄ reduction at temperatures of 174 - 206 ^oC. Natural abiogenic production of hydrocarbons, therefore, can be more ubiquitous than previously thought. The hypothesis regarding the origin of methane in Earth’s early atmosphere and its implication to the origin of life may require reconsideration.

Plant diseases cause losses of approximately 16% globally. Thus, management measures must be implemented to mitigate losses and guarantee food production. In addition to traditional management measures, resistance induction and biological control have gained ground in agriculture due to their enormous potential. Endophytic fungi colonize plant tissues internally and have the potential to act as biological control agents, as elicitors in the process of resistance induction and in attenuating abiotic stresses. In this review, we list the action of this group of microorganisms as potential agents which can act in controlling plant diseases and describe several examples in which endophytes were able to reduce the damage caused by pathogens and adverse conditions. This is due to their arsenal of molecules generated during the interaction by which they form a kind of biological shield in the plant. Studies on these microorganisms have grown due to the existing diversity and the multiple benefits they can offer. Finally, considering that endophytic fungi can be an important tool in managing diseases due to the large amount of biologically active substances produced, bioprospecting this class of microorganisms is tending to increase and generate valuable products.

Plants produce a diverse portfolio of sesquiterpenes that are important in their response to herbivores and the interaction with other plants. Their biosynthesis from farnesyl diphosphate depends on the sesquiterpene synthases. Here, we investigate to what extent metabolic pathways can be reconstructed just from knowledge of the final product and the reaction mechanisms catalyzed by sesquiterpene synthases. We use the software package MedØlDatschgerl (MØD) to generate chemical networks and elucidate pathways contained in them. As examples, we successfully consider the reachability of the important plant sesquiterpenes β-caryophyllene, α-humulene, and β-farnesene. We also introduce a graph database to integrate simulation results with experimental biological evidence for selected predicted sesquiterpenes biosynthesis.

Keywords: Spine surgery 1; Metastatic spinal cord compression 2; Spinal metastasis 3; Cancer treatment.

Among hearing aid (HA) users, there is a considerable variability in word-recognition scores (WRS). This variability is most pronounced among individuals with moderately severe to severe hearing loss. The variability cannot be adequately explained by factors such as the pure-tone audiogram, audiogram type, or age. This prospective study was designed to investigate the relationship between tone decay (TD) and WRS in a group of HA users with corresponding pure-tone hearing loss. The study population included 22 patients with hearing loss between 50 and 80 dB HL. Aided WRS, unaided WRS and TD were assessed for both ears. TD was found to be frequency-dependent. TD and WRS were correlated, with up to R=–0.66. The TD test was revealed as a feasible method for explaining the variability in WRS among HA users with hearing loss below 80 dB. This may contribute to improved differential diagnostics. The TD test may thus offer a better understanding of the limitations of HA use in the context of cochlear implant candidacy assessment for HA users.

Cystic echinococcosis (CE), caused by the larval stage of Echinococcus granulosus, is significantly underreported in Mongolia due to geographical remoteness, lack of early diagnostics, and poor clinical management. This study aimed to provide a more accurate estimate of CE in Mongolia by comparing data of surgical (reported) and diagnosed (unreported) cases, and assessing the challenges faced by rural doctors in disease management and surveillance. We collected data on surgical cases hospitalized between 2006-2016 and newly diagnosed CE cases in 2016 from eight provinces. Using a quasi-Poisson regression model of the collected data, we used extrapolation to estimate the number of diagnosed cases for the entire country. Additionally, fourty health professionals from all 21 provinces rated local clinical management for CE through a questionnaire. Results reveal that surgical cases (2.2 per year) represent only one-eighth of diagnosed cases (15.9 per year). The laboratory facilities, disease reporting, and cyst classification usage scored below 2. These results highlight the significant underreporting of CE in Mongolia and urges human and animal health experts, along with policymakers, to invest into combating CE, particularly in remote provincial areas. It also emphasizes the need for standard clinical management involving cyst classification according to WHO-IWGE, seamless integration of CE reporting and monitoring mechanisms, which can significantly contribute to the national and global burden estimation of CE.

Most neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, ischemic stroke, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and intracerebral hemorrhage are associated with inflammation. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is a pleiotropic pro-inflammatory cytokine that regulates cerebral infarction in stroke pathology, and its action is influenced by the bioavailability of its membrane-bound receptors, TNFR1 and TNFR2, and microglial activation. During the initial onset of these diseases, the soluble variant of the cytokine presents with prolonged and excessive activation of TNFR1, resulting in cell death and long-term neurological impairments. Therapeutic interventions for neurodegenerative diseases have targeted TNF to limit the onset of neuroinflammation. First-generation therapeutics have been demonstrated to inhibit membrane-bound TNF to TNFR2 receptor binding, resulting in severe side effects such as infections and cancer. As such, second-generation drugs, including XPro1595, have been developed to selectively inhibit soluble TNF and impede the effects of TNFR1 while still allowing for TNFR2 activation. Early results in murine TBI models demonstrate reduced glial reactivity by 50%, reduced dendritic degeneration by 30%, increased plasticity by 15%, and improved functional outcomes by 20% post-TBI. This scoping review of TNF receptors in various neurodegenerative diseases seeks to evaluate current and future therapeutic strategies as well as highlight potential strategies to eliminate confounding variables present in the current literature.

Lipoproteins are important cardiovascular (CV) risk biomarkers. This study aimed to investigate the associations of lipoprotein subclasses with micro- and macrovascular biomarkers to better understand how these subclasses relate to atherosclerotic CV diseases. One hundred fifty-eight serum samples from the EXAMIN AGE study, consisting of healthy individuals and CV risk patients, were analyzed by nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to quantify lipoprotein subclasses. Microvascular health was quantified by measuring retinal arteriolar and venular diameters. Macrovascular health was quantified by measuring carotid-to-femoral pulse wave velocity (PWV). Nineteen lipoprotein subclasses showed statistically significant associations with retinal vessel diameters and nine with PWV. These lipoprotein subclasses together explained up to 26% of variation (R²=0.26, F(29,121)=2.80, p<0.001) in micro- and 12% (R²=0.12, F(29,124)=1.70, p=0.025) of variation in macrovascular health. High-density (HDL-C) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as well as triglycerides together explained up to 13% (R²=0.13, F(3,143)=8.42, p<0.001) of micro and 8% (R²=0.08, F(3,145)=5.46, p=0.001) of macrovascular variation. Lipoprotein subclasses seem to reflect micro- and macrovascular end organ damage more precisely as compared to only measuring HDL-C, LDL-C and triglycerides. Further studies are needed to analyse how the additional quantification of lipoprotein subclasses can improve CV risk stratification and CV disease prediction.

Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT), also known as Osler-Weber-Rendu syndrome, is a rare and inherited vascular disorder, characterized by the development of arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) in various organs and telangiectasia (small AVM) in the mucocutaneous. The majority of HHT patients have haploinsufficiency of genes involved in the transforming growth factor-beta (TGFβ) signaling pathway, including endoglin (ENG), activin receptor-like kinase 1 (ALK1, also known as ACVRL1), or SMAD4. Active angiogenesis is also required for telangiectasia and AVM development. Anti-angiogenic strategies have been tested in patients and animal models extensively. However, the exact mechanisms for telangiectasia and AVM development remain unclear. In this review, we discuss recent advances in identifying disease mechanisms, and potential therapeutic targets.

Given the high levels of overall volume of alcohol use, detrimental drinking patterns, and high levels of alcohol-attributable mortality and burden of disease, Lithuania implemented a series of alcohol control policies within a relatively short period of time (2008 to 2019). Based on their expected impact on alcohol consumption and alcohol-attributable harm, as well as their target population, the respective policies were classified using a set of objective criteria and expert opin-ion. The classification criteria included: positive vs. negative outcomes, mainly immediate versus delayed outcomes, and general population versus specific group outcomes. The judgement of the alcohol policy experts converged on the objective criteria, and, as a result, two tiers of inter-vention were identified: Tier 1 – general population interventions with an anticipated immediate impact; Tier 2 – other interventions aimed at the general population. In addition, interventions for specific populations were identified. This adaptable methodological approach to alcohol control policy classification is intended to provide guidance and support the evaluation of alcohol policies elsewhere, lay the foundation for the critical assessment of the respective policies to im-prove health and increase life expectancy, and to reduce crime and violence.

Background: Instrument-assisted soft tissue mobilization (IASTM) is thought to alter fluid dynamics in human soft tissue. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of IASTM on the thoracolumbar fascia (TLF) on the water content of the lumbar myofascial tissue. Methods: 21 healthy volunteers were treated with IASTM. Before and after the procedure and 5 and 10 minutes later, lumbar bioimpedance was measured by bioimpedance analysis (BIA) and TLF stiffness by indentometry. Tissue temperature was recorded at the measurement time points using an infrared thermometer. Results: Bioimpedance increased significantly from 58.3 to 60.4 Ω (p < 0.001) at 10-minute follow-up after the treatment. Temperature increased significantly from 36.3 to 36.6° Celsius from 5 to 10 minutes after treatment (p = 0.029), while lumbar myofascial stiffness did not change significantly (p = 0.84). Conclusions: After the IASTM intervention, there was a significant increase in bioimpedance, likely due to a decrease in water content in myofascial lumbar tissue. Further studies in a randomized control trial design are needed to extrapolate the results in healthy subjects to a symptomatic population as well and to confirm the reliability of BIA in myofascial tissue.

Glioblastoma (GBM) is an aggressive and lethal primary brain tumor with restricted treatment options and a dismal prognosis. Oncolytic virotherapy (OV) has developed as a promising approach for GBM treatment. However, reaching invasive GBM cells may be hindered by tumor-surrounding, non-neoplastic cells when the OV is applied intratumorally. In this study, using a rodent GBM model and immunofluorescence analyses, we investigated the intranasal delivery of the oncolytic adenovirus (OAV) XVir-N-31 via virus-loaded, optimized shuttle cells. Intranasal administration (INA) was selected due to its non-invasive nature and the potential to bypass the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Our findings demonstrate that INA of XVir-N-31 loaded shuttle cells successfully delivers OAVs to the core tumor and invasive GBM cells, significantly prolongs the survival of GBM bearing mice, induces immunogenic cell death and finally reduces tumor burden, all this highlighting the therapeutic potential of this innovative approach. Overall, this study provides compelling evidence for the effectiveness of INA of XVir-N-31 via shuttle cells as a promising therapeutic strategy for GBM. The non-invasive nature of INA of OV-loaded shuttle cells holds great promise for future clinical translation. However, further research is required to assess the efficacy of this approach to ultimately progress in human clinical trials.

Background/Objectives: Head and neck free flap reconstructions are often required to treat tumors or extensive post-traumatic jaw defects. The facial artery is the standard receiving vessel for intraoral microvascular anastomoses. However, its use is associated with several disadvantages, such as lesions of buccal nerve branches or the parotid duct and variability in course and diameter. This study aims to investigate whether sublingual artery branches can be considered an alternative intraoral supply vessel to the facial artery to avoid these drawbacks. Methods: 12 formalin-fixed cadaveric heads with 24 sides were dissected. The sublingual artery's origin, course, branching pattern, and distribution were examined. In addition, the diameters of the branches of the sublingual artery were assessed to identify potential supply vessels for anastomoses. Results: In ten of the 24 cases (41.7 %), the sublingual artery originated from the lingual artery and nine cases (37.5 %) from the facial artery. The main trunk of the sublingual artery was present in the floor of the mouth in all cases (100 %) with a diameter of ≥ 0.9 mm in vitro (1 mm in vivo). In 15 of the 24 half heads (62.5 %), branches of the sublingual artery with ≥ 0.9 mm were identified in this space. Conclusions: The large diameter of the sublingual artery on the floor of the mandible suggests that this vessel or its branches could be considered alternative pedicles for intraoral anastomoses in mandibular microvascular free flap grafts.

In eukaryotes, the Dph1•Dph2 dimer is a non-canonical radical SAM enzyme. Using iron-sulfur (FeS) clusters, it cleaves the cosubstrate S-adenosyl-methionine (SAM) to form a 3-amino-3-carboxy-propyl (ACP) radical for synthesis of diphthamide. The latter decorates a histidine residue on elongation factor 2 (EF2) conserved from archaea to yeast and humans and is important for accurate mRNA translation and protein synthesis. Guided by evidence from archaeal orthologues, we searched for a putative SAM binding pocket in Dph1•Dph2 from Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We predict a SAM binding pocket near the FeS cluster domain that is conserved across eukaryotes in Dph1 but not Dph2. Site-directed DPH1 mutagenesis and functional characterization by assays diagnostic for loss of diphthamide reveal the SAM pocket is essential for synthesis of the décor on EF2 in vivo. Further evidence from structural modeling suggests particularly critical residues close to the methionine moiety of SAM. Presumably, they facilitate a geometry specific for SAM cleavage and ACP radical formation that distinguishes Dph1•Dph2 from classical radical SAM enzymes, which generate canonical 5′-deoxyadenosyl (dAdo) radicals.

Computed tomography (CT) offers detailed insights into the internal anatomy of patients, partic-ularly for spinal vertebrae examination. However, CT scans are associated with higher radiation exposure and cost compared to conventional X-ray imaging. In this study, we applied a Genera-tive Adversarial Network (GAN) framework to reconstruct 3D spinal vertebrae structures from synthetic biplanar X-ray images, specifically focusing on anterior and lateral views. The synthetic X-ray images were generated using the DRRGenerator module in 3D Slicer, by incorporating segmentations of spinal vertebrae in CT scans for the region of interest focussing. The approach leverages a novel feature fusion technique based on X2CT-GAN to combine information from both views and employs a combination of Mean Squared Error (MSE) loss and adversarial loss to train the generator, resulting in high-quality synthetic 3D spinal vertebrae CTs. A total of n=440 CT data were processed. We evaluated the performance of our model using multiple metrics, in-cluding Mean Absolute Error (MAE) (for each slice of the 3D volume [MAE0] and for the entire 3D volume [MAE]), Cosine Similarity, Peak Signal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR), 3D Peak Sig-nal-to-Noise Ratio (PSNR-3D), and Structural Similarity Index (SSIM). The average PSNR was 28.394 dB, PSNR-3D was 27.432, SSIM was 0.468, cosine similarity was 0.484, MAE0 was 0.034, and MAE was 85.359. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the approach in reconstruct-ing 3D spinal vertebrae structures from biplanar X-rays, although some limitations in accurately capturing the fine bone structures and maintaining the precise morphology of the vertebrae were present. This technique has the potential to enhance the diagnostic capabilities of low-cost X-ray machines while reducing radiation exposure and cost associated with CT scans, paving the way for future applications in spinal imaging and diagnosis.

The separation of microparticles with respect to different properties such as size and material is a research field of great interest. Dielectrophoresis, a phenomenon which is capable of addressing multiple particle properties at once, can be used to perform a chromatographic separation. However, the selectivity of current dielectrophoretic particle chromatography (DPC) techniques is limited. Here we show a new approach for DPC based on differences in the dielectrophoretic mobilities and the crossover frequencies of polystyrene particles. Both differences are addressed by modulating the frequency of the electric field to generate positive and negative dielectrophoretic movement to achieve multiple trap and release cycles of the particles. A chromatographic separation of different particle sizes revealed a voltage dependency of this method. Additionally, we showed the frequency bandwidth influence on separation using one example. The DPC method developed was tested with model particles but offers possibilities to separate a broad range of plastic and metal microparticles or cells and to overcome currently existing limitations in selectivity.

(1) Background: When the Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 first emerged in Germany in January 2022, data on related disease severity among children and adolescents was not yet available. Given Omicron’s high transmissibility, the ability to assess its impact on admission and hospitalization rates in children’s hospitals is critical for the purpose of understanding the scope of its burden on the German health care system. (2) Methods: From January 24, 2022 to July 31, 2022, SARS-CoV-2 cases admitted to German pediatric hospitals were monitored via a national, clinician-led reporting system (CLRS) established by the German Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases (DGPI). Cases treated on general wards and intensive care units, as well as patient age and need for respiratory support were recorded. (3) Results: From January to July 2022, a median of 1.7 cases (range 0.4–3) per reporting pediatric hospital per day were hospitalized on general wards, whereas a median of 0.1 cases (range 0–0.4 cases) were on intensive care units. Of all hospitalized patients, 4.2% received respiratory support. (4) Conclusions: Despite the high incidence rates documented in connection with the Omicron variant in early 2022, the number of pediatric hospital admissions, and especially the number of cases with need for intensive care treatment and respiratory support due to a symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection, remained relatively low. Higher Omicron incidence rates had only a modest impact on SARS-CoV-2-related admissions and hospitalization in German children’s hospitals.

The proper regulation of RNA processing is critical for muscle development and the fine-tuning of contractile ability between muscle fiber-types. RNA binding proteins (RBPs) regulate the diverse steps in RNA processing including alternative splicing, which generates fiber-type specific isoforms of structural proteins that confer contractile sarcomeres with distinct biomechanical properties. Alternative splicing is disrupted in muscle diseases such as myotonic dystrophy and dilated cardiomyopathy, and is altered after intense exercise as well as with aging. It is therefore important to understand splicing and RBP function, but currently only a small fraction of the hundreds of annotated RBPs expressed in muscle have been characterized. Here we demonstrate the utility of Drosophila as a genetic model system to investigate basic developmental mechanisms of RBP function in myogenesis. We find that RBPs exhibit dynamic temporal and fiber-type specific expression patterns in mRNA-Seq data and display muscle-specific phenotypes. We performed knockdown with 105 RNAi hairpins targeting 35 RBPs and report associated lethality, flight, myofiber and sarcomere defects, including flight muscle phenotypes for Doa, Rm62, mub, mbl, sbr, and clu. Interestingly, knockdown phenotypes of spliceosome components, as highlighted by phenotypes for A-complex components SF1 and Hrb87F (hnRNPA1), revealed level- and temporal-dependent myofibril defects. We further show that splicing mediated by SF1 and Hrb87F is necessary for Z-disc stability and proper myofibril development, and strong knockdown of either gene results in impaired localization of Kettin to the Z-disc. Our results expand the number of RBPs with a described phenotype in muscle and underscore the diversity in myofibril and transcriptomic phenotypes associated with splicing defects. Drosophila is thus a useful model to gain disease-relevant insight into cellular and molecular phenotypes observed when expression levels of splicing factors, spliceosome components and splicing dynamics are altered.

Energy metabolism, including alterations in energy intake and expenditure, is closely related to aging and longevity. Metabolomics studies have recently unraveled changes in metabolite composition in plasma and tissues during aging and have provided critical information to elucidate the molecular basis of aging process. However, the metabolic changes in tissues responsible for food intake and lipid storage have remained unexplored. In this study, we aimed to investigate aging-related metabolic alterations in these tissues. To fill this gap, we employed NMR-based metabolomics in several tissues, including different parts of the intestine (duodenum, jejunum, ileum) and brown/white adipose tissues (BAT, WAT) of young (9-10 weeks) and old (96-104 weeks) wild-type (mixed genetic background of 129/J and C57BL/6) mice. We further included plasma and skeletal muscle of the same mice to verify previous results. Strikingly, we found that duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and WAT do not metabolically age. In contrast, plasma, skeletal muscle, and BAT show a strong metabolic aging phenotype. Overall, we provide first insights into the metabolic changes of tissues essential for nutrient uptake and lipid storage and have identified biomarkers for metabolites that could be further explored to study the molecular mechanisms of aging.

Background: Having a laboratory renal profile for medical imaging examinations requiring contrast media (CM) administration is strongly advised. Creatinine helps identify patients at risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). GEM® Premier™ ChemSTAT (Werfen) is a point-of-care (POC) analyzer with 12 emergency parameters including creatinine assay. The aim of this study consists to compare ChemSTAT with the central analytical solution of the University Hospital of Clermont-Ferrand and to evaluate the interest of the POC creatinine in the emergency department (ED) in optimizing the flow of patients, especially if CM used. Methods: More than 200 whole blood (WB) samples from the ED were evaluated on the ChemSTAT analyzer. As comparative methods, the plasma aliquots from the same samples were assayed on an Atellica® CH (Siemens Healthineers). The clinical concordance was assessed ac-cording the decision cut-offs of the French Society of Radiology for the risk of CIN. The availability times of biological results between ChemSTAT and the central laboratory were studied. Results: WB results from ChemSTAT correlated well with those from Atellica® CH, except for tCO2 (known bias between Siemens and Cobas Roche methods predicting ChemSTAT values). The results of creatinine assay allow to have identical medical decisions compared to the renal risk cut-offs. The availability of biological results is reduced by 50 min on average with ChemSTAT vs the central laboratory. Computed tomography was performed for 44.7% of patients including the injection of the CM in 68% of cases. For these patients, the availability of creatinine results relative to imaging time is faster with the ChemSTAT on average of 45.2 min. Conclusions: Great analytical and clinical correlations for creatinine assay allow safe iden-tification of patients at risk of CIN and improve patient flow in ED especially for those requiring computed tomography with use of CM.

Long-range interactions are relevant for a large variety of quantum systems in quantum optics and condensed matter physics. In particular, the control of quantum-optical platforms promises to gain deep insights in quantum-critical properties induced by the long-range nature of interactions. From a theoretical perspective, long-range interactions are notoriously complicated to treat. Here, we give an overview of recent advancements to investigate quantum magnets with long-range interactions focusing on two techniques based on Monte Carlo integration. First, the method of perturbative continuous unitary transformations where classical Monte Carlo integration is applied within the embedding scheme of white graphs. This linked-cluster expansion allows to extract high-order series expansions of energies and observables in the thermodynamic limit. Second, stochastic series expansion quantum Monte Carlo which enables calculations on large finite systems. Finite-size scaling can then be used to determine physical properties of the infinite system. In recent years, both techniques have been applied successfully to one- and two-dimensional quantum magnets involving long-range Ising, XY, and Heisenberg interactions on various bipartite and non-bipartite lattices. Here, we summarise the obtained quantum-critical properties including critical exponents for all these systems in a coherent way. Further, we review how long-range interactions are used to study quantum phase transitions above the upper critical dimension and the scaling techniques to extract these quantum critical properties from the numerical calculations.

We examined whether the ambient illuminance during extended wakefulness modulates the homeostatic increase in human deep sleep [i.e. slow wave sleep (SWS) and electroencephalographic (EEG) slow-wave activity (SWA)] in healthy young and older volunteers. Thirty-eight young and older participants underwent 40 hours of extended wakefulness [i.e. sleep deprivation (SD)] once under dim light (DL: 8 lux, 2800K), and once under either white light (WL: 250 lux, 2800K) or blue-enriched white light (BL: 250 lux, 9000K) exposure. Subjective sleepiness was assessed hourly and polysomnography was quantified during the baseline night prior to the 40-h SD and during the subsequent recovery night. Both the young and older participants responded with a higher homeostatic sleep response to 40-h SD after WL and BL than after DL. This was indexed by a significantly faster intra-night accumulation of SWS and a significantly higher response in relative EEG SWA during the recovery night after WL and BL than after DL for both age groups. No significant differences were observed between the WL and BL condition for these two particular SWS and SWA measures. Subjective sleepiness ratings during the 40-h SD were significantly reduced under both WL and BL compared to DL, but were not significantly associated with markers of sleep homeostasis in both age groups. Our data indicate that not only the duration of prior wakefulness, but also the experienced illuminance during wakefulness affects homeostatic sleep regulation in humans. Thus, working extended hours under low illuminance may negatively impact subsequent sleep intensity in humans.

Forest management aims to preserve ecosystem integrity, maintaining resilience thresholds. For this, conservation and invasion patterns must be determined in managed landscapes. The objective was to identify proxies (landscape and environmental patterns) that allowed the plant species invasion and define thresholds of human impacts to improve management practices. We also want to identify indicator species for the different kinds of impacts and environments. 165 plots were measured in Nothofagus antarctica forests and associated open-lands (dry and wet grasslands) in Tierra del Fuego (Argentina). We found differences in the studied variables across landscape and among different uses and impact types. Human impacts influenced over land types, emphasizing the importance of managing intensities. Indicator plant species allowed to identify potential ecological thresholds related to human impacts and the establishment of species linked to ecological and economic degradation, e.g. Bolax gummifera and Azorella trifurcata were associated with high grazing pressure in grasslands and fire in forested areas, while Rumex acetosella and Achillea millefolium, typically associated with forested areas, were related to high harvesting pressure and fire impacts. These findings contribute to understanding the long-term effects of some impacts, and allow us to define variables of monitoring and indicator species for each impact type.

The genus Dirphys Howard is synonymized with Encarsia Förster syn. n. and treated as a species-group of Encarsia, referred to henceforth as the Encarsia mexicana species-group. The monophyly of Encarsia is discussed in relation to Dirphys. The new synonymy is based on phylogenetic analyses of the nuclear ribosomal 28S-D2 gene region (43 taxa, 510 bp). The Encarsia mexicana species-group is recovered as strongly monophyletic within Encarsia. All species of the Encarsia mexicana species-group are revised. The group includes six previously described species, and fourteen newly described species. All species are described (or redescribed) and illustrated. Detailed distributional data, and, where available, plant associate and host records are provided for all species. Encarsia myartsevae Kresslein &amp; Polaszek nom. nov. is here proposed as a replacement name for Encarsia mexicana Myartseva, now preoccupied by Encarsia mexicana (Howard). A dichotomous identification key, supplemented by an online multiple-entry key, is provided for all species.

Background: The intrauterine and early extrauterine development represents a “window of opportunity” in the immunological development. The underlying mechanisms are still poorly understood. The aim of this study was to provide reference values B cell subpopulations in cord blood of term newborns, juveniles and in adults to find the spectrum of their physiological age-related variation. Methods: In this study, we used flow cytometry to evaluate human B lymphocytes and subpopulations in cord blood (n = 10), in peripheral blood from healthy juveniles aged 1 to 17 years (n=20) and from donors aged 24 to 62 years (n = 10). Results: Our findings showed increasing frequencies of IgM memory B cells, class-switched memory B cells, marginal zone B cells and plasmablasts, from cord blood to peripheral blood of juveniles and adults. In con-trast, the percentage of naïve B cells was higher in newborns than in juveniles and adults. The frequencies of were similar in cord blood and peripheral blood of adults. Interestingly, transitional B cells frequencies were similar in cord blood and adults but significantly lower in juveniles. Conclusions: The frequencies of circulating B cell subpopulation are subject to considerable changes during on-togeny, reflecting overlying effects of maturation and of the acquisition of an adaptive immune memory.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a mosquito-borne zoonotic viral disease that infects both human and animals. This is a descriptive study summarizes investigation and response to RVF outbreak, using surveillance data. A RVF outbreak occurred in Berber locality in northern Sudan. We identified 246 cases of RVF including seven deaths among humans, 119 deaths and 82 abortions among Livestock. Our entomological surveillance confirmed the presence of Anopheles arabiensis, An. stephensi, Aedes aegypti, Ae. vexans, Culex pipiens, Cx. Quinquefasciatus, and Cx. theileri in the area during the outbreak. In a comparison with another outbreak of Rift Valley fever in nearby area while ago, a multisectoral One Health response strategy has resulted in strengthening the health system through re-innovating health facilities and centres and training about 200 healthcare and emergency responders. Additionally, it reduced cases and fatalities among humans by 78% and 63%, respectively, and loss in livestock due to deaths and/or abortions by 82%. The added-value of implementing One Health strategy was saving more lives and resources, while strengthening the health system. We recommend the systematic institutionalization of One Health strategy in the country as a core part of the national prevention and control strategy for zoonotic diseases epidemics and pandemics.