Recently, the world has experienced severe food insecurity problems with most countries having inadequate access to affordable, nutritious and safe foods. Consequently, many food innovations and technologies have been approved to secure sustainable access to food for millions of people. This study investigated the implementation of two technologies to address food insecurity, namely genetically modified foods (GMOs) and the use of antibiotics in crops and animal production. In particular, the study explored how their implementation can be governed responsibly through approved legislation. Therefore, the knowledge, attitudes and practices as well as the governance of antibiotic resistance risks and GMO foods were assessed. In-depth key interviews were conducted for the qualitative survey with triangulation with quantitative data sources. The findings showed that 46% of the population have little knowledge about GMOs with about 79% indicating that food with GM ingredients were being consumed in the country. The main concerns reported on GM foods by most respondents were impact on environment, human health and adverse effects on traditional farming practices with 36% indicating that it intensifies contamination and 32% indicating that it contributes to loss of biodiversity. Notably, 64%) reported that GMOs are a solution to food security and that they are safe. On the use of antimicrobials mainly meant to prevent diseases and access better markets, respondents perceived their use to be associated with antimicrobial resistance a “large level of risk” (score 2 in a scale of 1-3) (M = 1.85, SD = 1.06). Overall, the study found that efforts towards promoting awareness on antibiotic resistance risks and response in human health is relatively limited as reported by 56% of the respondents. Findings show that most of the respondents have only seen minimal or small-scale awareness campaigns. On governance of the two technologies, 71% and 50% of the respondents reported that scientists and elected officials respectively have the greatest role in governance of GMOs with small scale farmers playing a negligible role. Further, it was noted that all the respondents were knowledgeable in AMR and GMO technologies and these findings are crucial to the advancement of food innovations that are geared towards achieving food security in Kenya. This study highlights the risks associated with the poor governance and implementation of technologies and the need for a framework for technological risk governance that is sensitive to local values and socio-economic circumstances that will benefit the achievement.

In the literature of Low-Energy Nuclear Reactions (LENR), particle tracks in photographic emulsions (and other materials) associated with certain electrical discharges have been reported. Some Russian and French researchers have considered these particles to be magnetic monopoles. These tracks correspond directly to tracks created with a simple uniform exposure to photons without an electrical discharge source. This simpler method of producing tracks supports a comprehensive exploration of particle track properties. Out of 750 exposures with this method, elliptical particle tracks were detected, 22 of which were compared to Bohr-Sommerfeld electron orbits. Ellipses fitted to the tracks were found to have quantized semi-major axis sizes with ratios of ≈n²/α² to corresponding Bohr-Sommerfeld hydrogen ellipses. This prompts inquiry relevant to magnetic monopoles due to the n²/α² force difference between magnetic charge and electric charge using the Schwinger quantization condition. A model using analogy with the electron indicates that the elliptical tracks could be created by a bound magnetically charged particle with mass m_m = 1.45 × 10^-3 eV/c², yet with superluminal velocities. Using a modified extended relativity model, m_m becomes the relativistic mass of a superluminal electron, with m₀ = 5.11 × 10^-3 eV/c², the fine structure constant becomes a mass ratio and charge quantization is the result of two states of the electron.

Based on detection of elliptic particle tracks, $\simeq 137^2 n^2$ bigger than Bohr-Sommerfeld electron orbits, indicating the possible detection of superluminal electrons masquerading as magnetic monopoles, a new structure emerges leading to: (i) a new set of seven elementary lengths; (ii) replacement of the usual motion (Lorentz) transformations by scale transformations between $v^2<c^2$ and $v^2>c^2$ frames; (iii) equivalence of charge between $v^2<c^2$ and $v^2>c^2$ frames based on the Dirac-Schwinger quantization condition; (iv) a relativistic foundation for the Dirac-Schwinger quantization condition; (v) a possible cause of charge quantization; and (vi) the prospect of symmetry in Maxwell's equations. If the elliptic particle tracks are viewed as a magnification of electron orbits, the effect is suggestive of a spacetime distortion such as those predicted in general relativistic theories.

‘Inner mitochondrial membrane peptidase 2 like’ (IMMP2L) is a nuclear encoded mitochondrial peptidase that has been conserved through evolutionary history as has its target enzyme ‘mitochondrial glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase 2’ (GPD2). IMMP2L is known to cleave the mitochondrial transit peptide from GPD2 and another nuclear encoded mitochondrial respiratory related protein cytochrome C1 (CYC1). However, it is not known whether IMMP2L peptidase activates or alters the activity or respiratory related functions of GPD2 or CYC1. Previous investigations found compelling evidence of behavioural change in the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse and in this study EchoMRI analysis found that many organs of the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse were smaller and that the KO mouse had significantly less lean mass and overall body weight compared with wildtype littermates (p&lt;0.05). Moreover, all of the organs analysed from the Immp2lKD-/- KO had lower relative levels of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (mitoROS). The kidneys of the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse displayed the greatest decrease in mitoROS levels that were over 50% less compared with wildtype litter mates. Mitochondrial respiration was also lower in the kidney of the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse compared with other tissues when using succinate as the respiratory substrate, whereas respiration was similar to wildtype when glutamate was used as substrate. When glycerol-3-phosphate (G3P) was used as the substrate for Gpd2 we observed ~20% and ~7% respective decreases in respiration in female and male Immp2lKD-/- KO mice over time. Together these findings suggest that the respiratory related functions of mGpd2 and Cyc1 have been compromised to different degrees in different tissues in the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse. Structural analyses using AlphaFold2-Multimer further predicted that the interaction between Cyc1 and mitochondrial encoded cytochrome b (Cyb) in Complex III had been altered as had the homodimeric structure of the mGpd2 enzyme within the inner mitochondrial membrane of the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse. mGpd2 functions as an integral component of the glycerol phosphate shuttle (GPS) which positively regulates both mitochondrial respiration and glycolysis. Interestingly, we found that nonmitochondrial respiration (NMR) was also dramatically lowered in the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse. Primary mouse embryonic fibroblast (MEF) cell lines derived from the Immp2lKD-/- KO mouse displayed a ~27% decrease in total respiration comprised of a ~50% decrease in NMR and a ~12% decrease in total mitochondrial respiration where the latter was consistent with the decreases in substrate specific mitochondrial respiration reported here. This study is the first to report the role of Immp2l in enhancing Gpd2 structure and function, mitochondrial respiration, nonmitochondrial respiration, organ size and homeostasis.

Three significant changes have occurred in the winter climate in Europe recently: increased UK flooding; Iberian drought; and warmer temperatures north of the Alps. The literature links all three to a persistent, significant increase in sea level pressure over Southern Europe, the Mediterranean, Iberia and the Eastern Atlantic (SEMIEA) which changes the atmospheric circulation system: forcing cold fronts to the north away from Iberia; and creating a south westerly flow around the northern perimeter of the high-pressure region bringing warmer, moist air from the subtropical Atlantic to the UK and Europe which increases precipitation in the UK and raises the temperature in Europe. I use the Last Millennium Ensemble, MERRA-2 and Terra-NCEP data to demonstrate that the extreme, anthropogenic, West African aerosol Plume (WAP) which only exists from December to April perturbs the northern, regional Hadley Circulation creating the high pressure in the SEMIEA. I also show that the anthropogenic WAP has only existed in its extreme form in recent decades as the two major sources of the WAP aerosols: biomass burning; and gas flaring have both increased significantly since 1950 due to: a four-fold increase in population; and gas flaring rising from zero to 7.4 billion m3/annum and note that this time span coincides with the changes in the three elements of the winter climate of Europe. I also suggest that it may be possible to eliminate the WAP and return the winter climate of Europe to its natural state after the crucial first step of recognising the cause of the changes is taken.

The creation of protonated water nanoclusters from amorphous water-ice under laboratory conditions suggests the possible ejection of such nanoclusters from ubiquitous amorphous water-ice-covered cosmic dust to interstellar space. The quantum properties of these quintessential water entities introduce a tantalizing prospect that bridges the origins of dark matter, dark energy, and life in the universe. The quantum-entangled diffuse Rydberg electronic states inherent to cosmic water nanoclusters make them plausible candidates for baryonic dark matter. Moreover, they exhibit the capacity to absorb, through the microscopic dynamical Casimir effect, virtual photons originating from zero-point-energy vacuum fluctuations occurring above the water-nanocluster vibrational frequency cutoff. This selective interaction leaves only vacuum fluctuations below these frequencies with gravitational significance, cancelling the vacuum-energy catastrophe and yielding a shared genesis for dark matter and dark energy. Moreover, this theory extends its implications to the origins of life itself, proposing that RNA protocells on Earth and habitable exoplanets may have emerged from the interactions between cosmic water nanoclusters and prebiotic organic molecules, thus yielding an anthropic narrative. Collectively, these findings coalesce into a cosmological framework depicting a cyclic universe, with cosmic water nanoclusters constituting a quintessence scalar field, instead of adhering to the multiverse concept based on cosmic inflation theory. Recent observations of CMB birefringence support this quintessence.

Approximately 6% of adults worldwide suffer from peripheral artery disease (PAD) primarily caused by atherosclerosis of lower limb arteries. Despite optimal medicine and revascularization, many PAD patients remain symptomatic and progress to critical limb ischemia (CLI) and risk major amputation. Delivery of pro-angiogenic factors as proteins or DNA, stem or progenitor cells confers vascular regeneration and functional recovery in animal models of CLI, but the effects are not well replicated in patients and no pro-angiogenic biopharmacological procedures are approved in the US. The reasons are unclear, but animal models that do not represent clinical PAD/CLI are implicated. Consequently, it is unclear whether the obstacles to clinical success lie in the toxic biochemical milieu of human CLI, or in procedures that were optimized by inappropriate models. The question is significant because the former case requires abandonment of current strategies, while the latter encourages continued optimization. These issues are discussed in the context of relevant preclinical and clinical data, and it is concluded that preclinical mouse models that include age and atherosclerosis as the only comorbidities that are consistently present and active in clinical trial patients are essential to predict clinical success. Of the reviewed materials, no biopharmacological procedure that failed in clinical trials had been tested in animal models that included advanced age and atherosclerosis relevant to PAD/CLI.

Urban form is associated with both socio-economic and urban physical properties. This study explores the differences among urban forms in the Seoul Metropolitan Region with a comparison between census-based socioeconomic variables and landscape metrics computed from remotely sensed data. To accomplish this, factor analysis and multi-dimensional scaling were used with the selected variables and metrics. When all of the measures are considered together, four types of cities and towns emerged: 1) exurban-fragmented high growth, 2) exurban-fragmented low growth, 3) compact-extensive urban core and 4) sub-urban compact-high growth. The results indicate that the fusion of knowledge of the physical urban layout and that of socio-economic characteristics is beneficial for a better understanding of urban spatial patterns. However, there remain challenges in delineating each urbanized area and with indicator selection for comparing urban form across cities and towns.

The emergence of the semiconductor industry in the early 1960s resulted in a significant stage in the evolution of computing when large computational problems, as typified by the application of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT) to the task of spectrum estimation, could suddenly, with the availability of suitable algorithms, be solved in close to real time fashion. This paper provides a brief and meandering account of the history of the DFT’s various solutions, referred to generically as the fast Fourier transform (FFT), the algorithm being chosen for its mathematical elegance, practical significance and ever‑increasing range of applications. We touch upon a few of the most striking personalities, places and events that were encountered along the way and look, in particular, at the recent British contribution to the journey.

In 2018, the author identified a previously unknown/unreported association between dexrazoxane and poly(ADP-ribose) (PAR). Interestingly, PAR is a close structural analogue of the polyadenine nucleotide polymer, polyadenosine monophosphate (poly(A)). In this report, subsequent in silico modelling of the interaction between dexrazoxane and poly(A) reveals some notable differences from the previously reported interaction between dexrazoxane and PAR. Significantly, the supramolecular self-assembly of dexrazoxane and poly(A) is distinguished by vertically-orientated nonelectrostatic forces comparable to the stabilizing interactions between stacked bases within DNA. Notably, the vertical separation of 3.4 Å between each stack is consistent with solvent entropy as a dominant driving force in stabilising the interaction. Additionally, concomitant conformational analysis by the author reveals the existence of low energy planar conformers of dexrazoxane. This analysis enables an explanation for the considerable discrepancies and conflicts that exist within the reported pharmacokinetic data for dexrazoxane. Exploring the significance of the interaction between dexrazoxane and poly(A), the author illustrates that survival, translation and replication of the severe acute respiratory syndrome virus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is absolutely dependent upon the mature and unhindered poly(A) tail of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. The proposition herein, that dexrazoxane, as a chameleonic agent sequesters the poly(A) tail of the SARS-CoV-2 genome by the catalysis of a supramolecular hybrid assembly establishes SARS-CoV-2 infected cells as deep compartments for the accumulation of dexrazoxane. Taken together, dexrazoxane or its demethylated analogue, represent a novel treatment to kill the SARS-CoV-2 virus by irreversible destabilization of the SARS-CoV-2 poly(A) tail.

This paper puts forward an alteration for Tensor Calculus utliized in a coordinate system which is under a dynamic distortion drawing inspiration from similar fields such as the Calculus of Moving Surfaces (CMS). The paper establishes transformation laws for Tensors within these regions and establishes Operators such as the Tensorial Field Derivative which enforce a Tensorial Transformation on Tensors defined within a Dynamically Moving coordinate system. This variation of Tensor Calculus can be utilized to observe how disciplines such as QFT and Continuum Mechanics would change to accomodate for a distorting coordinate system and can be utliized to develop new theoretical models which account for this temporal distortion particularly within Biological Settings.

This paper presents an extension for principles of Differential Geometry on Surfaces (re-hashed through the budding field of CMS, the Calculus of Moving Surfaces). It analyzes mostly 2D Hypersurfaces with Riemannian Geometry and proposes the construction of a 3D Static Frame combining the Surface Basis Vectors with the Orthogonal Normal Field as a 3D Orthogonal Vector Frame. The paper introduces conventions for manipulating Tensors defined using this 3D Orthogonal Vector Frame as well as Curvature Connections associated with this Vector Frame. It then finally introduces Symbols and Tensors to describe Inner Products and Variance within the 3D Vector Frame and then extends all the above concepts to a surface which is Dynamic utilizing principles from CMS. This formulation has potential to extend identities and concepts from CMS and from Differential Geometry in a compact Tensorial Framework, which agrees with the new Framework proposed by CMS.

The paper describes schemes for the resource-efficient generation of twiddle factors for the fixed-radix version of the ubiquitous fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithm. The schemes, which are targeted at a parallel implementation of the FFT, provide one with the facility for trading off arithmetic complexity, as expressed in terms of the required numbers of multiplications and additions (or subtractions), against the memory requirement, as expressed in terms of the amount of random access memory (RAM) required for constructing the look-up tables (LUTs) needed for the storage of the two twiddle factor components – one component being derived from the sine function and the other from the cosine function. Examples are provided which illustrate the advantages and disadvantages of each scheme – which are very much dependent upon the length of the FFT to be computed – for both the single-level and multi-level LUTs, highlighting those situations where their adoption might be most appropriate. More specifically, it is seen that the adoption of a multi‑level LUT scheme may be used to facilitate significant reductions in memory – namely, from an O(N) to an memory requirement, for the case of an N‑point FFT, where β ≥ 2 corresponds to the number of distinct angular resolutions used – at a relatively small cost in terms of increased FFT latency and arithmetic complexity.

The actions of many drugs involve enzyme inhibition. This is exemplified by the inhibitors of monoamine oxidases (MAO) and the cholinsterases (ChE) that have been used for several pharmacological purposes. This review describes key principles and approaches for the reliable determination of enzyme activities and inhibition as well as some of the methods that are in current use for such studies with these two enzymes. Their applicability and potential pitfalls arising from their inappropriate use are discussed. Since inhibitor potency is frequently assessed in terms of the quantity necessary to give 50% inhibition (the IC50 value), the relationships between this and the mode of inhibition is also considered, in terms of the misleading information that it may provide. Incorporation of more than one functionality into the same molecule to give a multi-target-directed ligands (MTDLs) requires careful assessment to ensure that the specific target effects are not significantly altered and that the kinetic behaviour remains as favourable with the MTDL as it does with the individual components. Such factors will be considered in terms of recently developed MTDLs that combine MAO and ChE inhibitory functions.

Many people with enduring mental health difficulties (EMHD) have reduced social connections and subsequent experiences of isolation and loneliness. This paper outlines the development and trial of a manualised social-identity-based group therapy intervention to increase social connection and develop social skills to build connections outside of healthcare settings. This intervention was developed in line with the quality intervention development (6SQuID) methodology. The paper describes initial data from a feasibility study (which was ceased prematurely due to COVID-19 restrictions). Semi-structured outcome interviews were conducted with the participants and analysed using thematic analysis. Uptake, retention and acceptability of participants was high. Four primary themes were identified across the dataset: Therapeutic Process, Social Identity, Generic Components of Group Therapy and Impact of COVID-19. Participants experienced positive changes in their social behaviour, mood and avoidance. Some were unsure of the concept of social identity while reporting positive changes. A theoretically coherent manualised treatment was developed and tested on a small scale. This study supports social identity-based CBT groups as a potentially effective way of increasing social connection in those with EMHD. Social identity theory supported participants to positively integrate an area of potential social threat into their self-concept and may offer a positive addition to current psychological interventions

To study and monitor the adverse health consequences from using electronic cigarettes, a user’s puff topography, which are quantification parameters of the user’s vaping habits, plays a central role. In this work, we introduce a topography sensor to measure the mass of total particulate matter generated in every puff and to estimate the nicotine yield. The sensor is compact and low-cost, and is integrated into the electronic cigarette device to promptly and conveniently monitor the user’s daily puff topography. The topography sensor is comprised of a photometric sensor and a pressure sensor. The photometric sensor measures the mass concentration of the aerosol, based on scattering of near-infrared light from airborne particles, while the pressure sensor measures the flow rate. The topography sensor was experimented under various conditions with a wide range of atomizer power, puff duration, and inhalation pressure. The sensor’s accuracy was validated by comparing the sensor’s readings with reference measurements, and the results matched closely with the trends reported by existing studies on electronic cigarettes. An example application of tracking a user’s puff topography was also demonstrated. Our topography sensor holds great promise in mitigating health risks of vaping, and in promoting quality control of electronic cigarette products.

In Data Science we are concerned with the integration of relevant sciences in observed and empirical contexts. This results in the unification of analytical methodologies, and of observed and empirical data contexts. Given the dynamic nature of convergence, described are the origins and many evolutions of the Data Science theme. The following are covered in this article: the rapidly growing post-graduate university course provisioning for Data Science; a preliminary study of employability requirements, and how past eminent work in the social sciences and other areas, certainly mathematics, can be of immediate and direct relevance and benefit for innovative methodology, and for facing and addressing the ethical aspect of Big Data analytics, relating to data aggregation and scale effects. Associated also with Data Science is how direct and indirect outcomes and consequences of Data Science include decision support and policy making, and both qualitative as well as quantitative outcomes. For such reasons, the importance is noted of how Data Science builds collaboratively on other domains, potentially with innovative methodologies and practice. Further sections point towards some of the most major current research issues.

Very heavy stratiform precipitation (> 200 mm/per day) occurred in the Hokitika region on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand on 18 June 2015, under north-westerlies with small CAPE (< 25 J/kg). Analyses of model simulations and observations showed that this heavy rainfall was due to cold front lifting enhanced by orographic lifting over the Southern Alps. At 1.5 km grid-length, the model terrain underestimated the average height of the 103 tallest mountains over the South Island by ~ 800 m. This leads to weaker orographic lifting and mountain blocking, and a faster-moving and stronger cold front in the Hokitika region. As a result, large errors in the heavy rainfall prediction occur. By increasing either the resolved or the sub-grid mountain heights, the simulated rainfall errors were largely reduced through stronger orographic lifting and mountain blocking, and a better simulation of the cold front movement and strength. All the experiments have the same “flow-over” regime with mountain waves and/or wave breaking (Fm ranges 0.61 – 1.21). However, the rainfall amount and distribution on the windward side of mountains altered significantly. Our new findings were that the Southern Alps can have significant indirect effects on heavy rainfall by altering the speed and strength of the cold front, in addition to the well-known direct dynamical effects (i.e., orographic lifting and mountain blocking). A combination of these direct and indirect effects makes the heavy rainfall simulation sensitive to mountain heights even under the same “flow-over” regime.

We developed a temporal population receptive field model to differentiate the functional and hemodynamic responses in the human LGN. The hemodynamic response of the human LGN is dominated by the richly vascularized hilum, a structure that serves as a point of entry for blood vessels entering the LGN and supplying the substrates of central vision. The location of the hilum along the ventral surface of the LGN and the resulting gradient in the amplitude of the hemodynamic response across the extent of the LGN has made it difficult to segment the human LGN into its more interesting magnocellular and parvocellular regions that represent two distinct visual processing streams. Here, we show that an intrinsic clustering of the LGN responses to a variety of visual input reveals the hilum, and further that this clustering is dominated by the amplitude of the hemodynamic response. We introduce a temporal population receptive field model that includes both a sustained and transient temporal impulse response. When we account for the hemodynamic amplitude, we demonstrate that this temporal response model is able to functionally segregate the residual responses according to their temporal properties.

This paper attempts to address the phenomenon of normal vibrations, (referred to as dynamic vibrations) occurring on a surface which is already in vibrational motion due to other kinematic phenomena. Such a surface will have a metric tensor, normal, and ambient velocity which diverges from the surface’s original various dynamic tensorial descriptors. This paper formulates the wave equation defined in a coordinate space, and extends the equation to observe vibrations on a surface with the use of the Laplace-Beltrami operator in a tensorial fashion drawing on conventions from the newly established Calculus of Moving Surfaces (CMS). The Paper then identifies the way which these normal vibrations will manifest within ambient space. Finally, a counter-intuitive relation between the magnitude of such dynamic vibrations and dynamic surface’s time-dependent mean curvature presents itself, for which dynamic vibrations superimposed on original dynamic motion will eliminate the other, and the surface remains static under an arbitrary initial motion. From this condition, resubstitution within the wave equation yields a novel coupled PDE system which within contains the time-evolution of the surface’s mean curvature and its dynamic vibrations. This analysis can have application for algorithms designed for mechanical stabilization during seismic activity, as well as analyzing stabilization algorithms for other various applications and can also have application with respect to biotechnological innovations for analyzing properties defined on the surface of cell-Like biological entities such as metabolism, lipid content, and actin dynamics.

Betadine (Providone-Iodine) solution is a topically applied antiseptic, which has been used for wound care and surgery for decades for the prevention and treatment of skin and wound infections. However, several studies have documented the ineffectiveness of Betadine solution. Other topical antimicrobial dressings, including those that contain silver, have been used in the management of infected wounds. The present study was undertaken to determine if the combination of 5% Betadine solutions and silver colloidal gel (Ag-gel), is more effective than the individual materials in inhibiting the growth of both Gram negative and Gram positive bacteria. These determinations were carried out by both the colony forming unit (CFU) assay, and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM). Ag-gel showed complete inhibition on all the bacteria, except Klebsiella pneumoniae CI strain while 5% Betadine concentrations did not completely kill any of the tested bacteria. However, K. pneumoniae was completely eliminated in the presence of the combination of 5% Betadine solution plus Ag-gel. Confocal laser microscopy confirmed the CFU results. Thus this study demonstrated that while the individual treatments are not effective in killing all the bacteria tested, the combination of 5% Betadine solution and Ag-gel completely kill all bacteria tested, including K. penumoniae CI.

A model that predicts levels of coronavirus (CoV) respiratory/fecal-oral transmission potentials based on the outer shell hardness has been built using neural network (artificial intelligence, AI) analysis of the percentage of disorder (PID) in the nucleocapsid, N, and membrane, M, proteins of the inner and outer viral shells, respectively. Based mainly on the PID of N, SARS-CoV-2 is categorized as having intermediate levels of both respiratory and fecal oral transmission potential. Related to this, other studies have found strong positive correlations between virulence and inner shell disorder among numerous viruses, including Nipah, Ebola, and Dengue viruses. There is some evidence that this is also true for SARS-CoV-2 and SARS-CoV, which have N PIDs of 48% and 50%, and are characterized by case-fatality rates of 7.1% and 10.9%, respectively. The link between levels of respiratory transmission and virulence lies in viral load of body fluids and organ respectively. A virus can be infectious via respiratory modes only if the viral loads in saliva and mucus exceed certain minima. Likewise, a person may die, if the viral load is too high especially in viral organs. Inner shell proteins of viruses play important roles in the replication of viruses, and structural disorder enhances these roles by providing greater efficiency in protein-protein/DNA/RNA/lipid binding. This paper outlines a novel strategy in attenuating viruses involving comparison of disorder patterns of inner shells of related viruses to identify residues and regions that could be ideal for mutation. The M protein of SARS-CoV-2 has one of the lowest M PID values (6%) in its family, and therefore this virus has one of the hardest outer shells, which makes it resistant to antimicrobial enzymes in body fluid. While this is likely responsible for its contagiousness, the risks of creating an attenuated virus with a more disordered M are discussed.

Using insights from cybernetics and an information-based understanding of biological systems, a precise, scientifically inspired, definition of free-will is offered and the essential requirements for an agent to possess it in principle are set out. These are: a) there must be a self to self-determine; b) there must be a non-zero probability of more than one option being enacted; c) there must be an internal means of choosing among options (which is not merely random, since randomness is not a choice). For (a) to be fulfilled, the agent of self-determination must be organisationally closed (a `Kantian whole'). For (c) to be fulfilled: d) options must be generated from an internal model of the self which can calculate future states contingent on possible responses; e) choosing among these options requires their evaluation using an internally generated goal defined on an objective function representing the overall `master function' of the agent and f) for `deep free-will', at least two nested levels of choice and goal (d-e) must be enacted by the agent. The agent must also be able to enact its choice in physical reality. The only systems known to meet all these criteria are living organisms, not just humans, but a wide range of organisms. The main impediment to free-will in present-day artificial robots, is their lack of being a Kantian whole. Consciousness does not seem to be a requirement and the minimum complexity for a free-will system may be quite low and include relatively simple life-forms that are at least able to learn.

The last few decades have witnessed a surge of interest in adventure sports, and an emerging research focus on these activities. However, recent conceptual analyses and scientific reviews have highlighted a major, fundamental question that remains unresolved: what constitutes an adventure sport (and are they ‘sports’ at all)? Despite several proposals for definitions, the field still seems to lack a shared conceptualization. This deficit may be a serious limitation for research and practice, restricting the development of a more nuanced theoretical explanation of participation and prac-tical implications within and across adventure sports. In this article we address another crucial question, how can adventure sports be better understood for research and practice? We briefly summarize previous definitions to address evident confusion and lack of conceptual clarity in the discourse. Alternatively, we propose how an ecological perspective on human behaviors, as in-teractions with the environment, may provide an appropriate conceptualization to guide and enhance future research and practice, using examples from activities such as freeride skiing / snowboarding, white-water kayaking, climbing, mountaineering and the fields of sport science, psychology and avalanche research and education. We draw on ecological dynamics as a trans-disciplinary approach to discuss how this holistic framework presents a more detailed, nuanced, and precise understanding of adventure sports.

SARS-CoV-2 was empirically and computationally found to be of a specific but peculiar evolution. Shell disorder models found that the outer shell (M protein) of SARS-CoV-2 to be among the hardest in its CoV family. The hard outer shell (low M percentage of disorder (PID)) is likely to be related to the SARS-CoV-2 resistance to the antimicrobial enzymes in saliva and mucus, and be responsible for the high-level of viral shedding which has been observed clinically. Experimental studies have also shown that SARS-CoV-2 is more resilient in the environment than many other CoVs, including SARS-CoV-1. Another aspect of the shell disorder models predicts that SARS-CoV-1 is more virulent than SARS-CoV-2 because of higher inner shell disorder (N PID) that helps SARS-CoV-1 replicate faster in vital organs despite being of lesser viral loads in the saliva and mucus, unlike SARS-CoV-2. This has been reaffirmed experimentally, where higher levels (50 folds) of infectious particles were detected in the SARS-CoV-1 samples in comparison with those of SARS-CoV-2. The hard outer shell of SARS-CoV-2 has been found to be associated with burrowing animals, particularly pangolins, which are often in contact with buried feces. For these reasons, the M protein is highly conserved among close relatives of SARS-CoV-2. The phylogenetic tree using M, unlike the genome-wide one, shows that pangolin-CoVs are more closely related to SARS-CoV-2 than bat-RaTG13. Previous phylogenetic studies may have been confused by recombinations that are usually poorly handled. According to the shell disorder models based on the N PID, an attenuated COVID-19 strain is likely to have entered humans via pangolins in 2017 or before, which provides the virus enough time to adapt to humans. This could explain why the SARS-CoV-2 S protein is highly adapted to the human ACE-2. The specific but peculiar evolution has a wide range of clinical, immunological, and epidemiological implications.

A commercially reared domesticated turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) was purchased from a local market and sections of tissue representing leg, thigh, and breast were harvested and processed for analysis of the lipids and proteins present. Leg and thigh tissue was enriched in mitochondrial proteins whereas the breast tissue was enriched in glycolytic enzymes as well as the cytosolic and mitochondrial forms of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase. A potential marker for breast tissue muscle formation and/or function was also identified. The tissues could clearly be separated based upon their lipid profiles with little differences in cardiolipin levels suggesting that mitochondrial surface areas may be similar across the tissues. The most significant differences in the lipids were found to be higher levels of oxidized lipids in thigh meat. This work provides the first untargeted proteome and lipidome datasets for the domesticated turkey. The proteome dataset is accessible from ProteomeXchange Consortium via the PRIDE partner repository with the identifier PXD008207.

This work investigates centered polygonal lacunary functions restricted from the unit disk onto symmetry angle space which is defined by the symmetry angles of a given centered polygonal lacunary function. This restriction allows for one to consider only the p-sequences of the centered polygonal lacunary functions which are bounded, but not convergent, at the natural boundary. The periodicity of the $p$-sequences naturally gives rise to a convergent subsequence, which can be used as a grounds for decomposition of the restricted centered polygonal lacunary functions. A mapping of the unit disk to the sphere allows for the study of the line integrals of restricted centered polygonal that includes analytic progress towards closed form representations. Obvious closures of the domain obtained from the spherical map lead to four distinct topological spaces of the "broom topology'' type.

Internet-led labour market has become so competitive forcing many organisations from different sectors to embrace e-recruitment. However, realising the value of the e-recruitment from a Requirements Engineering (RE) analysis perspective is challenging. This research is motivated by the results of a failed e-recruitment project conducted in military domain which is used as a case study in this research. After reviewing the various challenges faced in that project through a number of related research domains, this research focuses on two major problems which are the (1) difficulty of scoping, representing, and systematically transforming recruitment problem knowledge towards e-recruitment solution specification; and (2) the difficulty of documenting e-recruitment best practices for reuse purposes in an enterprise recruitment environment. In this paper, a Problem-Oriented Conceptual Model (POCM) with a complementary Ontology for Recruitment Problem Definition (Onto-RPD) is proposed to contextualise the various recruitment problem viewpoints from an enterprise perspective and to elaborate those problem viewpoints towards a comprehensive recruitment problem definition. The POCM and Onto-RPD are developed incrementally using action-research conducted on three real case studies: (1) Secureland Army Enlistment, (2) British Army Regular Enlistment, and (3) UK Undergraduate Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS). They are later evaluated in a focus group study against a set of criteria. The study showed that the POCM and Onto-RPD provide a strong foundation for representing and understanding the e-recruitment problems from different perspectives.

In an era of unparalleled technical advancement, the pharmaceutical industry is struggling to transform data into increased research and development efficiency, and as a corollary, new drugs for patients. Here, we briefly review some of the commonly discussed issues around this counterintuitive innovation crisis. Looking at both industry and science related factors, we posit that traditional preclinical research is front-loading the development pipeline with data and drug candidates that are unlikely to succeed in patients. Applying a first principles analysis, we highlight the critical culprits and provide suggestions as to how these issues can be rectified through pursuit of a Human Data-driven Discovery (HD3) paradigm. Consistent with other examples of disruptive innovation, we propose that new levels of success are not dependent on new inventions, but rather the strategic integration of existing data and technology assets. In support of these suggestions, we highlight the power of HD3, through recently published proof-of-concept applications in the areas of drug safety analysis and prediction, drug repositioning, rational design of combination therapies and the global response to the Covid19 pandemic. We conclude that innovators must play a key role in expediting the path to a largely human focused, systems-based approach to drug discovery and research.

BACKGROUND: Retinoblastoma is a malignant tumour that develops from the immature cells of the retina. It is the most frequent type of paediatric intraocular cancer and is curable. Clinical and histological findings after enucleation of the affected eye dictate not only the patient's secondary care but also their prognosis. We assessed the clinical and histopathologic predictors of survival among children with retinoblastoma from two tertiary health facilities in Uganda. METHODS: This retrospective research utilized archived formalin fixed & paraffin embedded blocks of eye specimens enucleated between 2014 to 2016 at Mbarara University, pathology department and Ruharo Eye Centre. The specimens were then processed and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The confirmation of retinoblastoma was made to include histologic stage and features of the tumor. Biographic data of the patients and the clinical features such as leukocoria, proptosis, phthisis, staphyloma, buphthalmos were retrieved from the records.RESULTS: Males (55.1%) dominated the study population (N=78). The median age was 31 months. The commonest clinical sign was leukocoria (69.2%) and the most abundant histopathological stage was stage 1 (41%). Optic nerve invasion 39.5%, choroidal invasion 29.5%, scleral invasion 7.7% and orbital extension 16.7% were seen. Flexner-Wintersteiner rosettes were seen in 24.6%. Necrosis was a prominent feature (71.2%). The two-year survival was estimated to be 62%. Leukocoria (RR 1.1), female gender (RR 1.4), intralaminar optic nerve invasion (RR 7.6) and a lack of orbital extension (RR- 7) were significant predictors of survival.CONCLUSION: Leukocoria and proptosis are noticeable clinical signs of retinoblastoma. Most patients present while in stage one although stage four presentation is also common. Leukocoria, optic nerve invasion, orbital extension, and gender are significant factors predictive of survival in patients with retinoblastoma.

Despite extensive use of intravitreal anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) biologics for over a decade, neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD) or choroidal neovascularization (CNV) continues to be a major cause of irreversible vision loss in developed countries. Many nAMD patients demonstrate persistent disease activity or experience declined responses over time despite anti-VEGF treatment. The underlying mechanisms of anti-VEGF resistance are poorly understood, and no effective treatment strategies are available to date. Here we review evidence from animal models and clinical studies that supports the roles of neovascular remodeling and arteriolar CNV formation in anti-VEGF resistance. Cholesterol dysregulation, inflammation, and ensuing macrophage activation are critically involved in arteriolar CNV formation and anti-VEGF resistance. Combination therapy by neutralizing VEGF and enhancing cholesterol removal from macrophages is a promising strategy to combat anti-VEGF resistance in CNV.

In 1990 the Malaysian Government launched Vision 2020 with the goal of Malaysia becoming a ‘fully developed country’ by the year 2020. In this drive for development the country has been examining many of its key natural assets, exploring how to both preserve them whilst ensuring that they make the maximum possible contribution to national development goals. Endau Rompin is one of these assets, being the second largest National Park in Peninsula Malaysia. The rich tropical rainforest flora and fauna of the Park and its hinterland, however, are threatened by various anthropogenic forces, most notably deforestation and poaching; both of which have taken the Park’s flagship species - the Tiger Panthera tigris jacksoni – towards the brink of local extinction. Malaysia’s statutory East Coast Economic Region Development Council commissioned a study to consider ways of increasing tourism revenues from the Park while at the same time reversing these threats. The key conclusion drawn is that a more holistic, landscape-scale approach should be adopted, with Endau Rompin forming part of a wider strategic economic zone based around sustainable tourism and land management. The proposed expanded zone extends eastwards beyond the confines of the Park, across the coastal plain to the South China Sea, and onwards to the neighbouring Mersing Islands. This expanded zone is referred to as Malaysia’s new ‘Rainforest to Reef Region’.

The desert locust remains a major threat to global food security. Control operations are a crucial tool to manage crisis; this research investigated the nature of control operations conducted between 2019-2021. Historical data on desert locust and control operations were obtained from the survey reports at the FAO Locust Hub and analysed with respect to survey reports, land cover types, cropland/rangeland extent and crop productivity data. We found that 16.1% of the grid cells with locust presence and 14.9% of the grid cells with control operations had a proportion of rangeland higher than 0.75; while 13.3% of the grid cells with locust presence and 13.2% of the grid cells with control operations had a proportion of croplands higher than 0.75, highlighting that locust presence and control operations were reported in both rangeland and cropland. Control operations continue to be used both to reduce overall locust numbers and to protect crops. Furthermore, through identifying which crops were most at risk, our analyses indicate that wheat production was under the highest strain during periods of increased locust infestations.

Microsporidia are fungi-like parasites that have the smallest known eukaryotic genome, and for that reason they are used as a model to study the phenomenon of genome decay in parasitic forms of life. Similar to other intracellular parasites that reproduce asexually in an environment with alleviated natural selection, Microsporidia experience continuous genome decay driven by Muller's ratchet - an evolutionary process of irreversible accumulation of deleterious mutations, which leads to gene loss and miniaturization of cellular components. Particularly, Microsporidia have remarkably small ribosomes in which the rRNA is reduced to the minimal enzymatic core. To better understand the impact of Muller's ratchet on RNA and protein molecules in parasitic organisms, particularly regarding their ribosome structure, we have explored an apparent effect of Muller's ratchet on microsporidian ribosomal proteins. Through mass spectrometry, analysis of microsporidian genome sequences and analysis of ribosome structure from non-parasitic eukaryotes, we found that massive rRNA reduction in microsporidian ribosomes appears to annihilate binding sites for ribosomal proteins eL8, eL27, and eS31, suggesting that these proteins are no longer bound to the ribosome in microsporidian species. We then provided an evidence that protein eS31 is retained in Microsporidia due to its non-ribosomal function in ubiquitin biogenesis. To sum up, our study illustrates that while Microsporidia carry the same set of ribosomal proteins as non-parasitic eukaryotes, some of ribosomal proteins are no longer participating in protein synthesis in Microsporidia and they are preserved from genome decay by having extra-ribosomal functions.

Temperature-index modeling is used to determine the magnitude of temperature depression on the Blanca Massif, Colorado, required to maintain steady-state mass balances of nine reconstructed glaciers at their extent during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The mean temperature depression thus determined is ~8.6 +0.7/–0.9 °C where the uncertainties account for those inherent in the glacier reconstructions, in model parameters (e.g. melt factors), and possible modest changes in LGM precipitation. Associated equilibrium-line altitudes (ELAs) exhibit a statistically significant directional dependency being lower toward the north and east. Under the assumption that regional temperature change was uniform, required changes in precipitation vary systematically – also exhibiting a directional dependency coinciding with that in ELAs – and indicate increases (over modern) occurred on the eastern side of the massif while decreases occurred on the western side. This disparity represents a strengthening of a precipitation asymmetry, particularly winter precipitation, that exists today. The modern precipitation asymmetry may be a consequence of snow being blown over to the eastern side of the massif (advective transport) by southwesterly flow. Intensification of this flow during the LGM would have enhanced advection, and augmented snow accumulation on glaciers, thus explaining the lower ELAs and increased precipitation on that side of the massif.

Temperature-index modeling is used to determine the magnitude of temperature depression in the northern Sawatch Range required to maintain steady-state mass balances of six reconstructed glaciers at their extent during the local Last Glacial Maximum (LLGM), dated at ~21 ka. Assuming no significant differences in precipitation compared to modern values, mean annual temperatures in the region were on average 8.8 +0.5/–0.8 °C cooler than they are today. Allowing for modest increases or decreases in precipitation, required temperature depressions only differ by ± 0.2 °C. Temperature depression in the northern Sawatch Range are consistent, although slightly greater, with those determined in other ranges in Colorado using similar approaches. The estimates presented here are, however, substantially less than those suggested by several downscaled simulations of global LGM climate, that might be due to the need for improved calibration of such downscalings, or the models from which they are derived. Our estimates of LGM temperature depression are considerably greater than that previously determined in the study area and those in two other ranges in Colorado derived using different methodologies, the latter being most likely responsible for the discrepancies.

Hydraulic relationships are important for water resource management, hazard prediction, and modelling. Since Leopold first identified power law expressions that could relate streamflow to top-width, depth, and velocity, hydrologists have been estimating ‘At-a-station Hydraulic Geometries’ (AHG) to describe average flow hydraulics. As the amount of data, data sources, and application needs increase, the ability to apply, integrate and compare disparate and often noisy data is critical for applications ranging from reach to continental scales. However, even with quality data, the standard practice of solving each AHG relationship independently can lead to solutions that fail to conserve mass. The challenge addressed here is how to extend the physical properties of the AHG relations, while improving the way they are hydrologically addressed and fit. We present a framework for minimizing error while ensuring mass conservation at reach - or hydrologic Feature - scale geometries’(FHG) that complies with current state-of-the-practice conceptual and logical models. Through this framework, FHG relations are fit for the United States Geological Survey’s (USGS) Rating Curve database, the USGS HYDRoacoustic dataset in support of the Surface Water Oceanographic Topography satellite mission (HYDRoSWOT), and the hydraulic property tables produced as part of the NOAA/Oakridge Continental Flood Inundation Mapping framework. The paper describes and demonstrates the accuracy, interoperability, and application of these relationships to flood modelling and presents this framework in an R package.

A model to predict the relative levels of respiratory and fecal-oral transmission potentials of coronaviruses (CoVs) by measuring the percentage of protein intrinsic disorder (PID) of the M (Membrane) and N (nucleoprotein) proteins in their outer and inner shells, respectively, was built before the MERS-CoV outbreak. Application of this model to the 2003 SARS-CoV indicated that this virus with M_PID = 8.6% and N_PID = 50.2% falls into group B, which consists of CoVs with intermediate levels of both fecal-oral and respiratory transmission potentials. Further validation of the model came with MERS-CoV (M_PID = 9%, N_PID = 44%) and SARS-CoV-2 (M_PID = 5.5%, N_PID = 48%) falling into the groups C and B, respectively. Group C contains CoVs with higher fecal-oral but lower respiratory transmission potentials. Unlike SARS-CoV, SARS-CoV-2 with M_PID = 5.5% has one of the hardest outer shells among CoVs. This shell hardness is believed to be responsible for high viral loads in the mucus and saliva making it more contagious than SARS-CoV. The hard shell is able to resist the anti-microbial enzymes in body fluids. Further searches have found that high rigidity of outer shell is characteristic for the CoVs of burrowing animals, such as rabbits (M_PID = 5.6%) and pangolins (M_PID = 5-6%), which are in contact with the buried feces. A closer inspection of pangolin-CoVs from 2017-19 reveals that these animals provided a unique window of opportunity for the entry of an attenuated SARS-CoV-2 precursor into the human population in 2017 or earlier, with the subsequent slow and silent spread as a mild cold that followed by its mutations into the current more virulent form. Evidence of this lies in the similarity of shell disorder and genetic proximity of the pangolin-CoVs to SARS-CoV-2 (~90%). A 2017 pangolin-CoV strain shows evidence of higher levels of attenuation and higher fecal-oral transmission associated with lower human infectivity via having lower N_PID (44.8%). Our shell disorder analysis also revealed that lower inner shell disorder is associated with the lesser virulence in a variety of viruses.

Despite concerns about the negative effects of social distancing and prolonged school closures on children’s lifestyle and physical activity (PA) during the COVID-19 pandemic, robust evidence is lacking on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children’s wellbeing and daily life. This study aimed to examine changes in the PA levels, sleep patterns and screen time of school-aged children during the different phases of COVID-19 outbreak in Hong Kong using a repeated cross-sectional design. School students (Grades 1 to 12) were asked to report their daily electronic device usage and to fill in a sleep dairy recording their daily sleep and wake-up time. They were equipped with a PA monitor, Actigraph wGT3X-BT, to obtain objective data on their PA levels and sleep patterns. Students were recruited before the pandemic (Sep 2019 – Jan 2020; n=577), during school closures (Mar 2020 – Apr 2020; n=146), and after schools partially reopened (Oct 2020 – Jul 2021; n=227). Our results indicated lower PA levels, longer sleep duration, and longer screen time among participants recruited during school closures than those recruited before the COVID-19 outbreak. Primary school students were found to sleep on average for an extra hour during school closures. Our findings illustrate the impact of social distancing policies during the COVID-19 pandemic on the sleep pattern, screen time, and PA level in school-aged children in Hong Kong. Professionals should reinforce the importance of maintaining a physically active lifestyle, good sleep hygiene, and healthy use of electronic devices to parents and school-aged children during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Apple replant disease (ARD) is a complex issue caused by various fungal, oomycetes pathogens and parasites which can differ in their abundance between sites within a geographic region. Knowledge of the specific etiology of ARD at a particular site is required in order to develop commercially viable soil management strategies to combat specific/individual components of the disease. In this study we analyzed the soil from six ARD sites for the presence of fungal, bacterial and oomycetes communities and plant parasitic nematodes. Five fungal, and 17 bacterial classes were differentially represented in the microbiomes from different locations. Mortierellomycetes was the most abundant fungal taxa represented followed by Sordariomycetes. Mortierella exigua a fungal endophyte was the most abundant fungal amplicon sequence variant (ASV) in the core microbiome. Proteobacteria was the most prevalent phylum identified in orchard soils. Several potential phytopathogenic fungi involved in ARD and endophytes including Fusarium oxysporum, F. solani, Nectria ramulariae, Ilyonectria robusta and Nectriaceae were identfied in the orchard soil. Pythium attrantheridium (Globisporangium attrantheridium), P. monospermum and P. ultimum (Globisporangium ultimum) were the most abundant oomycete taxa identified in these soil samples. Six different groups of plant-parasitic nematodes were found across the six orchards soil. Root-lesion nematodes, Pratylenchus spp., which are commonly associated with ARD, were identified in all orchards soil at population densities ranging from 12 to 33/100 cm3 soil. This research contributes valuable understanding of the ARD complex as the apple industry needs alternative approaches to combat the disease.

Full waveform (FW) LiDAR holds great potential for retrieving vegetation structure parameters at a high level of detail, but this prospect is constrained by practical factors such as lack of available handy processing tools and technical intricacy of waveform processing. This study introduces a new product, named the Hyper Point Cloud (HPC) derived from FW LiDAR data, and explore its potential applications such as tree crown delineation using the HPC-based intensity and percentile height (PH) surfaces, which show a promising solution to the constraints of using FW LiDAR data. Results of the HPC present a new direction to handle FW LiDAR data and offer prospects for studying the mid-story and understory of vegetation with high point density (~ 182 points/m2). The intensity-derived digital surface model (DSM) generated from the HPC shows that the ground region has larger maximum intensity (MAXI) and mean intensity (MI) than the vegetation region while having smaller total intensity (TI) and number of intensities (NI) at the given grid cell. Our analysis of intensity distribution contours at individual tree level exhibit similar patterns, indicating that the MAXI and MI are decreasing from the tree crown center to tree boundary while a rising trend is observed for TI and NI. These intensity variable contours provide a theoretical justification for using HPC-based intensity surfaces to segment tree crowns and exploit their potential for extracting tree attributes. The HPC-based intensity surfaces and the HPC-based PH Canopy Height Models (CHM) demonstrate promising tree segmentation results comparable to the LiDAR derived CHM for estimating tree attributes such as tree locations, crown widths and tree heights. We envision that products such as the HPC and the HPC-based intensity and height surfaces introduced in this study can open new perspectives to use FW LiDAR data and alleviate the technical barrier of exploring FW LiDAR data for detailed vegetation structure characterization.

This study examines the potential of combining decision support approaches to identify optimal bundles of ecosystem services. A forested landscape, Zona de Intervenção Florestal of Paiva and Entre-Douro and Sousa (Portugal), is used to test and demonstrate this potential. The landscape extends over 14,000 ha, representing 1,976 stands. The property is fragmented into 376 holdings. The overall analysis was performed in three steps. First, we selected six alternative solutions (A to F) in a Pareto frontier generated by a multiple criteria method within a decision support system (SADfLOR) for subsequent analysis. Next, an aspatial strategic multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) analysis was performed with the Criterium DecisionPlus (CDP) component of another decision support system (EMDS) to assess the aggregate performance of solutions A to F for the entire forested landscape with respect to their utility for delivery of ecosystem services. For the CDP analysis, SADfLOR data inputs were grouped into two sets of primary criteria: Wood Harvested and Other Ecosystem Services. Finally, a spatial logic-based assessment of solutions A to F for individual stands of the study area was performed with the NetWeaver component of EMDS. The NetWeaver model was structurally and computationally equivalent to the CDP model, but the key NetWeaver metric is a measure of the strength of evidence that solutions for specific land stands were optimal for the unit. Solutions D and B performed best in the aspatial strategic MCDA analysis, and a composite of the maps generated by NetWeaver demonstrated the spatial basis for the performance of solutions D and B in individual land stands. We conclude with a discussion of how the combination of decision support approaches encapsulated in the two systems could be further automated.

Lactic acid bacteria are traditionally applied in a variety of fermented food products and have the capability to produce a wide range of bioactive ingredients during fermentation including vitamins, bacteriocins, bioactive peptides and bioactive compounds. The bioactivity and health benefits associated with these ingredients have gained interest in applications in the functional dairy market and have relevance both as components produced in situ and as functional additives. This review provides a brief description of the regulations regarding the functional food market in the European Union as well as an overview of some of the functional dairy products currently available in the Irish and European markets. A better understanding of the production of these ingredients excreted by lactic acid bacteria can further drive the development and innovation of the continuously growing functional food market.

We report a diode pumped solid state (DPSS) laser used for intracavity pump-enhanced difference frequency generation (DFG) to create a 3.5 micron laser. Using a 50 mm-long periodically poled lithium niobate (PPLN) crystal inside the cavity of an Nd:YVO4 solid state laser at 1064 nm with 4.5 W pump power at 808 nm, and a 310 mW C-band signal at 1529 nm, up to 31 mW of mid-infrared output power at 3499 nm is obtained. The cavity requires no active stabilization and/or locking, and the entire cavity is &lt;8 cm in length. The obtained output power corresponds to a black box efficiency of 2.20 %W-1, which is the highest value reported to date for continuous wave DFG based on a bulk nonlinear optical crystal with no active stabilization. Potential future applications in free space optical communication are discussed as well.

Threats to natural ecosystems are closely linked to human development, and the lack, insufficiency or inefficiency of public policies are some of the most important drivers of negative effects on the environment. The contribution of the IUCN’s Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) to conservation topics has been discussed in previous studies; however, to date its implications for conservation in public policies have not been addressed. This perspective discusses how the RLE may support the improvement and development of these policies, specifically through the implications for public policy of each of the criteria that substantiate the threat status of ecosystems. We aim to provide a plausible baseline to the operationalization of RLE in public and conservation policy, facilitating the work of governments, practitioners and decision makers. Finally, we provide recommendations and examples as to how to proceed in creating and modifying different public policy instruments, such as land-use planning, spatial zoning, tax reduction, compensation schemes, climate change adaptation plans, management of introduced species, development offsets and restoration investment. This perspective contributes to implement RLE into public policy and to improve ecosystem conservation by expanding the current scope of RLE into practical and political dimensions through plausible actions, policies and strategies.

The water and wastewater sectors are energy-intensive, and so a growing number of utility companies are seeking to identify opportunities to reduce energy use. Though England’s water sector is of international interest, in particular due to the early experience with privatisation, for the time being very little published data on energy usage exists. We analyse telemetry data from Thames Water Utilities Ltd. (TWUL), which is the largest water and wastewater company in the UK and serves one of the largest mega-cities in the world, London. In our analysis, we (1) break down sectoral energy use into their components, (2) present a statistical method to analyse the long-term trends in use, as well as the seasonality and irregular effects in the data, (3) derive energy-intensity (kWh m³) figures for the system, and (4) compare the energy-intensity of the network against other regions in the world. Our results show that electricity use grew during the period 2009 to 2014 due to capacity expansions to deal with growing water demand and storm water flooding. The energy-intensity of the system is within the range of reported figures for systems in other OECD countries. Plans to improve the efficiency of the system could yield benefits in lower the energy-intensity, but the overall energy saving would be temporary as external pressures from population and climate change are driving up water and energy use.

Heterotopic ossification (HO) is most dramatically manifested in the rare and severely debilitating disease, fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva (FOP), in which heterotopic bone progressively accumulates in skeletal muscles and associated soft tissues. The great majority of FOP cases are caused by a single amino acid substitution in the type 1 bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) receptor ACVR1, a mutation that imparts responsiveness to activin A. Although it is well-established that biological sex is a critical variable in a range of physiological and disease processes, the impact of sex on HO in animal models of FOP has not been explored. We show that female FOP mice exhibit both significantly greater and more variable HO responses after muscle injury. Additionally, the incidence of spontaneous HO was significantly greater in female mice. This sex dimorphism is not dependent on gonadally-derived sex hormones, and reciprocal cell transplantations indicate that apparent differences in osteogenic activity are intrinsic to the sex of the transplanted cells. By circumventing the absolute requirement for activin A using an agonist of mutant ACVR1, we show that the female-specific response to muscle injury or BMP2 implantation is dependent on activin A. These data identify sex as a critical variable in basic and preclinical studies of FOP.

Lithium-ion batteries serve as the primary sources of power for electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). For vehicle applications, battery management systems (BMSs) are nec-essary to protect lithium-ion batteries from overheating and to ensure optimum vehicle perfor-mance. Our approach to developing a BMS was based on recent advances in the application of phase field models for lithium-ion batteries. In particular, our reduced-order model (ROM) uti-lized a dataset generated from the COMSOL® Multiphysics simulation of the Cahn–Hilliard equation for a single particle of a lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cathode: an example of using a reduced-order model (ROM) based on a single-particle model (SPM). The main innovation of our ROM is that the SPM is fully coupled to a heat transfer model at the battery cell level. We utilized principal component analysis to identify a lower-order model that could reproduce the battery’s voltage and temperature response for ambient temperatures ranging from 253 to 298 K and for discharge rates ranging from 1 C to 20.5 C. The reduced-order dataset was then fitted to the ex-perimental data for an A123 Systems 26650 2.3 Ah cylindrical battery using deep neural network (DNN) regression.

In this study we mimic the unique, transparent protective carapace (shell) of myodocopid ostracods, through which their compound eyes see, to demonstrate that the carapace ultrastructure also provides functions of strength and protection for a relatively thin structure. The bulk ultrastructure of the transparent window in the carapace of the relatively large, pelagic cypridinid (Myodocopida) Macrocypridina castanea was mimicked using thin film deposition of dielectric materials to create a transparent, 15 bi-layer material. This biomimetic material was subjected to the natural forces withstood by the ostracod carapace in situ, including scratching by captured prey and strikes by water-borne particles. The biomimetic material was then tested in terms of its extrinsic (hardness value) and intrinsic (elastic modulus) response to indentation along with its scratch resistance. The performance of the biomimetic material was compared with that of a commonly used, anti-scratch resistant lens and polycarbonate that is typically used in the field of transparent armoury. The biomimetic material showed the best scratch resistant performance, and significantly greater hardness and elastic modulus values. The ability of biomimetic material to revert back to its original form (post loading), along with its scratch resistant qualities, offers potential for a biomimetic eye protection coating that could enhance material currently in use.

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a major non-communicable disease associated with high rates of premature morbidity and mortality. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D (deficiency of 25(OH)D or 25D) is greater in racial/ethnic minorities and in patients with CKD than the general population. Low 25D is associated with bone and mineral disorders as well as immune, cardiometabolic and cardiovascular (CV) diseases. Thus, it has been suggested low 25D contributes to the poor outcomes in patients with CKD. The prevalence of hypovitaminosis D rises progressively with advancing severity of kidney disease with over 30% of patients with CKD stage 3 and 70% patients with CKD stage 5 estimated to have low levels of 25D. This report describes several of the abnormal physiologic and counter-regulatory actions related to low 25D in CKD such as those in oxidative stress and inflammatory systems, and some of the preclinical and clinical evidence or lack of thereof of normalizing serum 25D levels to improve outcomes in patients with CKD, and especially for the high risk subset of racial/ethnic minorities who suffer from higher rates of advanced CKD and hypovitaminosis D.

The relationship between pangolin-CoV and SARS-CoV-2 has been a subject of debate. Further evidence of a special relationship between the two viruses can be found by the fact that all known COVID-19 viruses have abnormally hard outer shell (low M disorder; i.e., low content of intrinsically disordered residues in the membrane (M) protein) that so far was found in CoVs associated with burrowing animals, such as rabbits and pangolins, in which transmission involves virus remaining in buried feces for a long time. While a hard outer shell is necessary for viral survival, a harder inner shell could also help. For this reason, the N disorder range of pangolin-CoVs, not bat-CoVs, more closely matches that of SARS-CoV-2 especially when Omicron is included. The low N disorder (i.e., low content of intrinsically disordered residues in the nucleocapsid (N) protein), first observed in pangolin-CoV-2017 amd later in Omicron, is associated with attenuation according to the Shell-Disorder-Model. Our experimental study revealed that pangolin-CoV-2017 and SARS-CoV-2 Omicron (XBB.1.16 subvariant) show similar attenuations with respect to viral growth and plaque formation. Subtle differences have been observed that are consistent with disorder-centric computational analysis.

Postharvest physiological deterioration (PPD) of fresh cassava roots limits its shelf-life to about 48 hours. There is a demand for simple, cheap, and logistically feasible solutions for extending the shelf life of fresh cassava roots at industrial processes. In this study, three different types of bag materials were tested (woven polypropylene, tarpaulin, and jute as a potential storage solution for cassava roots with different levels of mechanical damages. Microclimate (temperature, humidity, CO2) was monitored to understand the storage conditions for up to 12 days. The results showed that fresh cassava roots could be stored for 8 days, with minimal PPD and starch loss (2.4 %). How-ever, roots with significant mechanical damage (cuts, breakages) had a considerably shorter shelf life in the storage bag, compare to whole roots and roots with retained peduncle (stalk where roots are connected to the main plant). Wetting the roots and type of bag material were not significant factors in determining the shelf life and starch loss. Carbon dioxide concentration in the stores significantly correlated with the starch loss in fresh cassava roots and is proposed as a possible method for continuously and remotely monitoring starch loss in large scale commercial operations and reduce postharvest losses.

Low-frequency peaks in the Raman spectra of amorphous poly (ether ketone) (PEEK) are investigated. An amorphous sample with zero crystallinity, as confirmed by WAXRD, was used in this study. In a previous study, two peaks were observed in the low-frequency Raman spectra of crystallized samples. One of the peaks at 135 cm-1, disappeared for the amorphous sample. Furthermore, the peak at 50 cm-1 was observed for the first time in the crystallized sample. The peak at 50 cm-1, similar to the peak at 135 cm-1, disappeared in the amorphous state, and its intensity increased with increasing crystallinity. The origins of the two peaks were both associated with the Ph-CO-Ph-type intermolecular vibrational modes in the simulation. It was suggested that the Ph-CO-Ph vibrational mode observed in the low-frequency region of PEEK was strongly in-fluenced by the intermolecular order.

Herbicide-resistant weed populations in numerous cropping systems pose a significant threat to global food security by reducing crop yields and increasing production costs. Multiple herbicide-resistant (MHR) Avena fatua L. (wild oat) plants with non-target site resistance (NTSR) mechanisms can express resistance to herbicides without previous exposure and are thus particularly troubling. Although precise molecular mechanisms for resistance to five different mechanisms of action are not clear, numerous transcription factors and stress-related proteins are preferentially subjected to constitutive post-translational modifications (PTMs) in MHR plants. Transient assays to quickly assess if changes to specific genes can change the MHR response will facilitate the development of new strategies to manage MHR weeds. Our study showed that the Barley Stripe Mosaic Virus (BSMV) mediated system can be an option for A sa-tiva (cultivated oat) and A. fatua (wild oat) functional analysis. The inoculation efficiency of this system ranged from 48% to 100%. Its efficacy was demonstrated by successfully knocking down phy-toene desaturase (PDS) expression and overexpressing green fluo-rescent protein (GFP), suggesting its potential for oat functional genomics.

We applied a framework to assess climate change vulnerability of 52 major vegetation types in the western United States to provide spatially-explicit input to adaptive management decisions. The framework addressed climate exposure and ecosystem resilience; the latter derived from analyses of ecosystem sensitivity and adaptive capacity. Measures of climate change exposure used observed climate change (1981-2014) and then climate projections for the mid-21st century (2040-2069 RCP 4.5). Measures of resilience included (under ecosystem sensitivity) landscape intactness, invasive species, fire regime alteration, and forest insect & disease risk, and (under adaptive capacity), measures for topo-climate variability, diversity with functional species groups, and vulnerability of any keystone species. Outputs are generated per 100km² hexagonal area for each type. As of 2014, moderate climate change vulnerability was indicated for >50% of the area of 50 of 52 types. By the mid-21^st century, all but 19 types face high or very high vulnerability with >50% of the area scoring in these categories. Measures for resilience explain most components of vulnerability as of 2014, with most targeted vegetation scoring low in adaptive capacity measures and variably for specific sensitivity measures. Elevated climate exposure explains increases in vulnerability between the current and mid-century time periods.

Introduction: The presence of multiple comorbidities increases the risk of all-cause mortality, but the effects of the comorbidity sequence before the baseline date on mortality remained unexplored. This study investigated the relationship between coronary heart disease (CHD), atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) sequence on all-cause mortality risk in type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods: This study included patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus prescribed antidiabetic/cardiovascular medications in public hospitals of Hong Kong between January 1st, 2009 and December 31st, 2009 with follow-up until death or December 31st, 2019. Cox regression was used to identify comorbidity sequences predicting all-cause mortality in patients with different medication subgroups. Results: A total of 249291 patients (age: 66.0±12.4 years, 47.4% male) were included. At baseline, 7564, 10900 and 25589 patients had AF, HF and CHD, respectively. Over follow-up (3524±1218 days), 85870 patients died (mortality rate: 35.7 per 1000 person-years). Sulphonylurea users with CHD developed later, but insulin users with CHD developing earlier, in the disease course had lower mortality risks. Amongst insulin users with two of the three comorbidities, CHD with preceding AF (hazard ratio [HR]: 3.06, 95% CI: [2.60-3.61], p<0.001) or HF (HR: 3.84 [3.47- 4.24], p<0.001) had a higher mortality. In users of lipid-lowering agents with all three comorbidities, those with preceding AF had higher risk of mortality (AF-CHD-HF: HR: 3.22, [2.24-4.61], p<0.001; AF-HF-CHD: HR: 3.71, [2.66-5.16], p<0.001). Conclusion: The sequence of comorbidity development affects the risk of all-cause mortality to varying degrees in diabetic patients on different antidiabetic/cardiovascular medications.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to be a global threat due to its ability to evolve and generate new subvariants, leading to new waves of infection. Additionally, other coronaviruses like Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV, formerly known as hCoV-EMC) which first emerged in 2012, persists and continues to present a threat of severe illness to humans. The continued identification of novel coronaviruses, coupled with the potential for genetic recombination between different strains, raises the possibility of new coronavirus clades of global concern emerging. As a result, there is a pressing need for pan-CoV therapeutic drugs and vaccines. After extensive optimization of an HCV protease inhibitor screening hit, a novel 3CLPro inhibitor (MK-7845) was discovered and subsequently profiled. MK-7845 exhibited nanomolar in vitro potency with broad spectrum activity against a panel of clinical SARS-CoV-2 subvariants and MERS-CoV. Furthermore, when administered orally, MK-7845 demonstrated a notable reduction of viral burdens by &gt;6 log orders in the lungs of transgenic mice infected with SARS-CoV-2 (K18-hACE2 mice) and MERS-CoV (K18-hDDP4 mice).

Cancer associated cachexia (CAC) is a critical contributor to pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) mortality. Thus, there is an urgent need for new strategies to mitigate PDAC-associated cachexia; and the exploration of dietary interventions is a critical component. We previously observed that a ketogenic diet (KD) combined with gemcitabine enhances overall survival in the autochthonous LSL-KrasG12D/+; LSL-Trp53 R172H/+; Pdx1-Cre (KPC) mouse model. In this study, we investigated the effect and cellular mechanisms of a KD in combination with gemcitabine on the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass in KPC mice. For this purpose, male and female pancreatic tumor-bearing KPC mice were allocated to a control diet (CD), a KD, a CD + gemcitabine (CG), or a KD + gemcitabine (KG) group. We observed that a KD or a KG mitigated muscle strength decline over time and presented higher gastrocnemius weights compared CD-fed mice. Mechanistically, we observed sex-dependent effects of KG treatment, including the inhibition of autophagy, and increased phosphorylation levels of eIF2α in KG-treated KPC mice when compared to CG-treated mice. Our data suggests that a KG results in preservation of skeletal muscle mass. Additional research is warranted to explore whether this diet-treatment combination can be clinically effective in combating CAC in PDAC patients.

The role of circulating plasma cells (CPCs) and circulating leukemic cells (CLCs) as biomarkers for several blood cancers, such as multiple myeloma and leukemia, respectively, have recently been reported. These markers can be attractive due to the minimally invasive nature of their acquisition through a blood draw (i.e., liquid biopsy) negating the need for painful bone marrow biopsies. CPCs or CLCs can be used for cellular/molecular analyses, such as immunophenotyping or fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). FISH, which is typically carried out on slides involving complex workflows, becomes problematic when operating on CLCs or CPCs due to their relatively modest numbers. Here, we present a microfluidic device for characterizing CPCs and CLCs enriched from peripheral blood using immunofluorescence or FISH. The microfluidic possessed an array of cross-channels (2-4 µm in depth and width) that interconnected a series of input and output fluidic channels. Placing a cover plate over the device formed microtraps, the size of which was defined by the width and depth of the cross-channels. This microfluidic chip allowed for automating immunofluorescence and FISH requiring the use of small volumes of reagents, such as antibodies and probes, as compared to slide-based immunophenotyping and FISH. In addition, the device could secure FISH results in <4 h compared to 2-3 d for conventional FISH.

In 2014, the International Union for Conservation of Nature adopted the Red List of Ecosystems (IUCN RLE) criteria as the global standard for assessing risks to terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. Identifying and quantifying the impacts of biodiversity assessments on the status of nature is key to justifying continued investment in assessments and enabling strategic planning to maximize future impact. In this policy perspective, we use an established impact evaluation framework to identify the impacts of the IUCN RLE since its inception. To date, 1,397 ecosystem units in 100 countries have been assessed following the IUCN RLE protocol. Systematic assessments are complete or underway in more than 25 countries and two continental regions (the Americas and Europe). Countries with established ecosystem red lists have already used them to inform legislation, land-use planning, protected area expansion, monitoring and reporting, and ecosystem management. IUCN RLE indices based on systematic assessments have high potential to inform global biodiversity reporting for the Aichi Targets and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Expanding the coverage of IUCN RLE assessments, building capacity to undertake them, and establishing stronger policy instruments to manage red-listed ecosystems will be key to maximizing conservation impacts over the coming decades.

Early-onset colorectal cancer (EOCRC) is defined as a diagnosis of colorectal cancer (CRC) in individuals younger than 50 years of age. While overall CRC rates in the United States (US) decreased between 2001 and 2018, EOCRC rates have increased. This research project aims to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of Time-Restricted Eating (TRE), Mindfulness, or TRE combined with Mindfulness among young to middle-aged adults at risk of EOCRC. Forty-eight participants will be randomly assigned to one of four groups: TRE, Mindfulness, TRE &amp; Mindfulness, or Control. Data on feasibility, adherence, and acceptability will be collected. Measures assessed at baseline and post-intervention will include body weight, body composition, dietary intake, physical activity, sleep behavior, circulating biomarkers, hair cortisol, and gut microbiome. Effects of the intervention on the following will be examined: 1) acceptability and feasibility; 2) body weight, body composition, and adherence to TRE; 3) circulating metabolic, inflammation, and oxidative stress biomarkers; 4) intestinal inflammation; and 5) the gut microbiome. TRE combined with Mindfulness holds promise for stress reduction and weight management among individuals at risk of EOCRC. The results of this pilot study will inform the design and development of larger trials aimed at preventing risk factors associated with EOCRC.

Purpose: We assessed if a CXR AI algorithm can detect missed or mislabeled chest radiographs (CXRs) findings in radiology reports. Methods: We queried multi-institutional radiology reports search database of 13-million reports to identify all CXRs reports with addendums from 1999-2021. Of the 3469 CXR reports with an addendum, a thoracic radiologist excluded reports where addendum was created for typographic errors, wrong report template, missing sections, or uninterpreted signoffs. The remaining reports with addendum (279 patients) with errors related to side-discrepancy or missed findings such as pulmonary nodules, consolidation, pleural effusions, pneumothorax, and rib fractures. All CXRs were processed with an AI algorithm. Descriptive statistics were performed to determine the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of AI to detect missed or mislabeled findings. Results: AI had high sensitivity (96%), specificity (100%), and accuracy (96%) for detecting all missed and mislabeled CXR findings. The corresponding finding-specific statistics for AI were nodules (96%, 100%, 96%), pneumothorax (84%, 100%, 85%), pleural effusion (100%, 17%, 67%), consolidation (98%, 100%, 98%), and rib fractures (87%, 100%, 94%). Conclusion: The CXR AI could accurately detect mislabeled and missed findings. Clinical Relevance: The CXR AI can reduce the frequency of errors in detection and side-labeling of radiographic findings.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is associated with adverse outcomes among immunocompromised patients. Inhaled ribavirin has been shown to improve mortality rates. The Small-Particle Aerosol Generator delivery system (SPAG-2) is the only FDA-cleared device to deliver inhaled ribavirin. However, it is difficult to set up and maintain. We developed a method for delivery of this medication using the vibrating mesh nebulizer (Aerogen®). We did not observe any adverse events with this method.

Previous studies have quantified repolarization variability using time-domain, frequency-domain and non-linear analysis in mouse hearts. Here, we investigated the relationship between these parameters and ventricular arrhythmogenicity in a hypokalaemia model of acquired long QT syndrome. Methods: Left ventricular monophasic action potentials (MAPs) were recorded during right ventricular regular 8 Hz pacing during normokalaemia (5.2 mM [K+]), hypokalaemia modelling LQTS (3 mM [K+]) or hypokalaemia with 0.1 mM heptanol in Langendorff-perfused mouse hearts. Results: During normokalaemia, mean APD was 33.5±3.7 ms. Standard deviation (SD) of APDs was 0.63±0.33 ms, coefficient of variation was 1.9±1.0% and the root mean square (RMS) of successive differences in APDs was 0.3±0.1 ms. Low- and high-frequency peaks were 0.6±0.5 and 2.3±0.7 Hz, respectively, with percentage powers of 38±22 and 61±23%. Poincaré plots of APDn+1 against APDn revealed ellipsoid morphologies with SD along the line-of-identity (SD2) to SD perpendicular to the line-of-identity (SD1) ratio of 4.6±1.1. Approximate and sample entropy were 0.49±0.12 and 0.64±0.29, respectively. Detrended fluctuation analysis revealed short- and long-term fluctuation slopes of 1.62±0.27 and 0.60±0.18, respectively. Hypokalaemia provoked ventricular tachycardia in six of seven hearts, prolonged APDs (51.2±7.9 ms), decreased SD2/SD1 ratio (3.1±1.0), increased approximate and sample entropy (0.68±0.08 and 1.02±0.33) and decreased short-term fluctuation slope (1.23 ± 0.20) (ANOVA, P<0.05). Heptanol prevented VT in all hearts studied without further altering the above repolarization parameters observed during hypokalaemia. Conclusion: Reduced SD2/SD1, increased entropy and decreased short-term fluctuation slope are associated with ventricular arrhythmogenesis in hypokalaemia. Heptanol exerts anti-arrhythmic effects without affecting repolarization variability.

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), a novel evolutionarily divergent RNA virus etiological agent of COVID-19, is responsible for present devastating pandemic respiratory illness. To explore the genomic signatures, we comprehensively analyzed 2,492 complete and/or near-complete genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 strains reported from across the globe to the GISAID database up to 30 March 2020. Genome-wide annotations revealed 1,407 nucleotide-level mutations at different positions throughout the entire genome of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, nucleotide deletion analysis found nine deletions throughout the genome, including in polyprotein (n=6), ORF10 (n=1) and 3´-UTR (n=2). Evidence from the systematic gene-level mutational and protein profile analyses revealed a large number of amino acid (aa) substitutions (n=722), making the viral proteins heterogeneous. Notably, residues of receptor-binding domain (RBD) having crucial interactions with angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), and cross-reacting neutralizing antibody were found to be conserved among the analyzed SARS-CoV-2 strains, except for replacement of Lysine with Arginine at 378 position of the cryptic epitope of a Shanghai isolate, hCoV-19/Shanghai/SH0007/2020 (EPI_ISL_416320). Our method of genome annotation is a promising tool for monitoring and tracking the epidemic, the associated genetic variants, and their implications for the development of effective control and prophylaxis strategy.

(1) Background: Treatment of male stress incontinence in patients with prostate cancer treated with radical prostatectomy and adjuvant pelvic radiation is a therapeutic challenge. The efficacy and safety of the adjustable trans-obturator male system (ATOMS) in these patients is not well established, despite the general belief that outcomes are worse than in patients without radiation. (2) Methods: Retrospective multicenter study evaluating patients treated with silicone-covered scrotal port (SSP) ATOMS implant after radical prostatectomy and radiotherapy in nine different institutions between 2016 and 2022. The primary endpoint was dry patient rate, defined as pad-test ≤20 mL/day. The secondary endpoints were complication rate (defined using Clavien-Dindo classification), device removal and self-perceived satisfaction using the Patient Global Impression of Improvement (PGI-I) scale. Wilcoxon rank sum test, Fisher’s exact test and logistic regression were performed using stepwise method with a 0.15 entry and 0.1 stay criteria. (3) Results: 223 patients fulfilled criteria for inclusion, 12 (5.4%) had received salvage prostatectomy after radiation and 27 (12.1%) previous devices for stress incontinence. After ATOMS adjustment, 95 patients (42.6%) were dry and 36 (16.1%) had complications of any grade (grade I, n=20; grade II, n=11; grade III, n=5) during the first 3 months postoperatively. At a mean 36 ± 21 months follow-up the device was explanted in 26 (11.7%) patients. Regarding self-perceived satisfaction with the implant, 105 of 125 patients (84%) considered themselves satisfied (PGI-I 1 to 3). In univariate analysis dryness was associated to younger age (p=.06), primary prostatectomy (p=.08), no previous incontinence surgery (p=.02), absence of overactive bladder symptoms (p=.04), absence of bladder neck stricture (p=.001), no need of surgical revision (p=.008) and lower baseline incontinence severity (p=.0003). Multivariate analysis identified absence of surgical revision (p=.018), absence of bladder neck stricture (p=.05), primary prostatectomy (p=.07) and baseline incontinence severity (p&lt;.0001) were independent predictors of dryness. A logistic regression model was proposed and internally validated. (4) Conclusions: ATOMS is an efficacious and safe alternative to treat male incontinence after radical prostatectomy and adjuvant radiotherapy. Factors predictive of dryness are identified in this complex scenario to allow better patient selection.

Phase imaging of biochemical samples has been demonstrated for the first time at the Infrared Microspectroscopy (IRM) beamline of the Australian Synchrotron using the usually discarded Near-IR (NIR) region of the synchrotron-IR beam. The synchrotron-IR beam at the Australian Synchrotron IRM beamline has a unique fork shaped intensity distribution as a result of the gold coated extraction mirror shape, which includes a central slit for rejection of the intense X-ray beam. The resulting beam configuration makes any imaging task challenging. For intensity imaging, the fork shaped beam is usually tightly focused to a point on the sample plane followed by a pixel-by-pixel scanning approach to record the image. In this study, a pinhole was aligned with one of the lobes of the fork shaped beam and the Airy diffraction pattern was used to illuminate biochemical samples. The diffracted light from the samples was captured using a NIR sensitive lensless camera. A rapid phase-retrieval algorithm was applied to the recorded intensity distributions to reconstruct the phase information corresponding to different planes. The preliminary results are promising to develop multimodal imaging capabilities at the IRM beamline of the Australian Synchrotron.

This study evaluated the impact of climate change on water resources in a large semi-arid urban watershed located in Niamey Republic of Niger, West Africa. The watershed was modeled using the fully integrated surface-subsurface HydroGeoSpheremodel at a high spatial resolution. Historical (1980-2005) and projected (2020-2050) climate scenario derived from the outputs of three Regional Climate Models (RCM) under the RCP 4.5 scenario were statistically downscaled using the multiscale quantile mapping bias correction method. Results show that the bias correction method is optimum at daily and monthly scales, and increased RCM resolution does not improve the performance of the model. The three RCMs predict increases of up to 1.6% in annual rainfall and of 1.58°C for mean annual temperatures between the historical and projected periods. The durations of the Minimum Environmental Flow (MEF) conditions, required to supply drinking and agriculture water, were found to be sensitive to changes in runoff resulting from climate change. MEF occurrences and durations are likely to be greater for (2020-2030), and then they will be reduced for (2030-2050). All three RCMs consistently project a rise in groundwater table of more than 10 meters in topographically high zones where the groundwater table is deep and an increase of 2 meters in the shallow groundwater table.

Since the emergence of convolutional neural networks (CNNs), and later vision transformers (ViTs), the standard paradigm for model development has been using a set of identical block types with varying parameters/hyper-parameters. To leverage the benefits of different architectural designs (e.g., CNNs and ViTs), we propose alternating structurally different types of blocks to generate a new architecture, mimicking how Lego blocks can be assembled. Using two CNN-based and one SwinViT-based blocks, we investigate three variations to the so-called LegoNet that apply the new block alternation concept for the segmentation task in medical imaging. We also study a new clinical problem that has not been investigated before – the right internal mammary artery (RIMA) and perivascular space segmentation from computed tomography angiography (CTA). It was proven to demonstrate a prognostic value to primary cardiovascular outcomes. We compare the model performance against popular CNN and ViT architectures using two large datasets (achieving 0.749 dice similarity coefficient (DSC) on the larger dataset). We also evaluate the model’s performance on three external testing cohorts, where an expert clinician corrected model-segmented results (DSC>0.90 for the three cohorts). To assess our proposed model for suitability in clinical use, we perform intra- and inter-observer variability analysis. Finally, we investigate a joint self-supervised learning approach to determine its impact on model performance.

(1) Background: Older people hospitalized with Covid-19 can reduced the capacity to walk. However, the prevalence of impairment of ambulation capacity still need to be established. Objective: To estimate the prevalence and identify the risk factors associated with the impairment of ambulation capacity at hospital discharge of older people with Covid-19. (2) Methods: A retrospective cohort study. Included age &gt; 60 years, both sexes, hospitalized due to Covid-19. Clinical data was collected from the medical records. Ambulation capacity prior to Covid-19 infection was assessed through the patient report from his relatives. Multiple logistic regressions were performed to identify the risk factors associated with the impairment of ambulation at hospital discharge. (3) Results: Data from 429 older people were randomly. Among the 56.4% who were discharged, 57.9% had reduced ambulation capacity. Factors associated with reduced ambulation capacity at discharge were hospital stay higher than 20 days (OR: 3.5) and dependent ambulation capacity prior to Covid-19 (OR: 11.3). (4) Conclusion: More than half of the older people who survived hospitalized due to Covid-19 had reduced ambulation capacity at hospital discharge. Impaired ambulation prior to the infection, and a longer hospital stay were risks factors for reduced ambulation capacity.

Despite the publication in 2009 of a paper on ‘terms and definitions of immune thrombocytopenia’, (ITP) some unresolved issues remain and are reflected by the disagreement in the treatment suggested for primary ITP in adults. Considering that these disagreements could be ascribed to non-shared goals, a ‘consensus’ to classify the different lines of treatment for primary ITP in adults according to their indications and goals was proposed in October 2018 to the XIX annual meeting of the Italian Gruppo di Studio delle Piastrine (GSP), a non-profit platelet study group of scientists and physicians. Having approved the project, 60 potential co-authors and experts in the world were invited to take part to a consensus through e-Delphy method and nine of the 12 who initially accepted the invitation completed the work. Agreement was reached on a classification of four lines of treatment for primary ITP in adults based on their indications and goals. The consensus obtained regarded also the criteria, ‘timing’ included, to consider practicable elective splenectomy in these patients. In our opinion, the classification of the lines of treatment for primary ITP in adults here proposed could facilitate the realization of better shared evidence-based guidelines for the treatment of the disease.

Milk serves as a crucial source of natural bioactive compounds essential for human nutrition and health. The gastrointestinal digestion of milk proteins releases various biologically active peptides that positively impact human health and enhance physiological performance. With the growing production of cheese, Greek yogurt, and other dairy products, the volume of unutilized acid whey is significantly increasing. Acid whey, containing almost all whey proteins and approximately one-quarter of casein, presents a valuable raw material for generating peptides with potential health benefits. These peptides exhibit properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anticarcinogenic, antihypertensive, antithrombotic, opioid, mineral-binding, and growth-stimulating activities, contributing to improved human immunity and the treatment of chronic diseases. Enzymatic hydrolysis of milk proteins has been developed as a method to produce these peptides, facilitating their use in food fortification. To incorporate whey into functional beverages, it undergoes fermentation by lactic acid bacteria with proteolytic activity. To specifically enrich these beverages with peptides exhibiting targeted bioactivities, it is essential to select lactic acid bacteria strains possessing the requisite protease profiles. Additionally, the sensory properties of the final product can be enhanced using starter cultures with diverse metabolic capabilities, even in the absence of added flavoring agents. Given the imperative to develop waste-free technologies and enhance the profitability of the dairy industry, there is a growing need to efficiently utilize and transform acid whey into a broad spectrum of valuable products and food additives. This approach is justified not only by the nutritional benefits of the bioactive components in whey but also by the commercial potential of safe and health-enhancing products.

Volunteering has many social, emotional and health benefits and could be an option for people with younger/early onset dementia to engage in stage/age-appropriate, personally meaningful activity within their local community. Audio data of people with young onset dementia discussing their volunteering experiences were taken from the Dementia Diaries and co-analysed. This study explored how people with dementia volunteer in the UK, the benefits and barriers, and how we can improve access to volunteering opportunities. The findings suggest that stigma is the overarching concept (or net) which influences people’s experiences of volunteering with dementia. Within the stigma net, three themes were developed that employed a lifespan approach to challenging said stigma: 1) Valuing the past, 2) Valuing the present and 3) Valuing the future, each with additional subthemes. This research contributes to the limited pool of literature that highlights the clear benefits of volunteering for people with young onset dementia, while also considering how dementia stigma can create practical and institutional barriers to accessing volunteering. Guidance is provided for how to deliver meaningful and accessible volunteering opportunities.

The paper focuses on the application of a multilevel, integrative and territorial approach to the protection of cultural heritage through planning instruments in Serbia. It points out the problems of the sectoral approach and discusses international recommendations that can be integrated into the planning methodology. The case study is the area of Djerdap National Park, which has an already established international and national importance. The research suggests that the cultural heritage in the area, with the exception of the Roman limes, is still recognized at the level of individual localities. The study emphasizes the importance of aligning all levels of governance to safeguard the whole spatial entity rather than focusing solely on its particular areas. The interna-tional and national importance of the planning area contributes to the strengthening of awareness of heritage and its institutional protection. However, the vitality of the area, which is key to its sustainable development, comes from the local level. Planning documents contribute to the inte-gration of local values and local communities into development programs and projects.

In order to shorten the detection time and improve the average precision on embedded devices, A lightweight and high accuracy model is proposed for passion fruit in complex environments (backlight, occlusion, overlap, sunny, cloudy, rainy). Firstly, replacing the backbone network of YOLOv5 with a lightweight GhostNet model reduces the number of parameters and computation while improving detection speed. Secondly, a new feature branch is added to the GhostNet network, and the feature fusion layer in the neck network is reconstructed to effectively combine the lower-level and higher-level features, which not only improves the accuracy of the model but also maintains its lightweight. Finally, the knowledge distillation methods are used to transfer the knowledge from the more capable teacher model to the less capable student model, which significantly improving the detection accuracy. The improved model is denoted as G-YOLO-NK. The average accuracy of the G-YOLO-NK network is 96.00%, which is 1.00% higher than the original YOLOv5s model. Furthermore, the improved model size is 7.14MB, reduced to half of the original model, and the real-time detection frame rate is 11.25 FPS on the Jetson Nano. Compared to the state-of-the-art model, the proposed model outperforms them in terms of average precision and detection performance. The present work provides an effective model for real-time detection of passion fruits in complex orchard scenes, which can provide valuable technical support for the development of orchard picking robots and greatly improve the intelligence level of orchards.

The impact of interaction SS with MJO on rainfall along Java Island to East Nusa Tenggara has been studied using daily rainfall observation data from 2140 weather observation stations, which are also equipped with GSMaP, OLR, and ERA5 data. There were 61 SS events found, 17 during active MJO and 44 in inactive MJO. Rainfall increases more in the western study area when the active MJO and more in the eastern study area when the inactive MJO is due to SS. SS reduces rainfall in the Jakarta region, regardless of the activity or inactivity of the MJO. SS causes extreme rainfall to only occur in a small part of certain areas, so it tends to significantly reduce the possibility of extreme rainfall. In the southern part of the IMC, SS predominates over MJO in supporting increased water vapor transport. Large-scale synoptic circulations like the monsoon, SS, and MJO can interact with local land-sea wind circulation to produce spatiotemporal variability in rainfall on Java Island. Rainfall mostly increases in the afternoon and decreases in the morning when SS occurs, whether there is MJO or not. Convective instability analysis indicates that SS increases precipitation, most likely by lowering CIN and raising VIMFC.

The Simultaneous Localization And Mapping (SLAM) scanner is an easy and portable Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) data acquisition device. Its main output is a 3D point cloud covering the scanned scene. Regarding the importance of accuracy in the survey domain, this paper aims to assess the accuracy of two SLAM scanners: the NavVis VLX and the BLK2GO Scanner. This assessment is conducted for both outdoor and indoor environments. In this context, two types of reference data are used: the Total Station (TS) and the static scanner Z+F Imager 5016. To carry out the assessment, four comparisons are tested: cloud to cloud, cloud to mesh, mesh to mesh, and edge detection board assessment. However, the results of the assessments confirm that the accuracy of indoor SLAM scanner measurements (5 mm) is greater than that of outdoor ones (between 10 mm and 60 mm). Moreover, the comparison of cloud to cloud provides the best accuracy regarding direct accuracy measurement without manipulations. Finally, based on the high accuracy, scanning speed, flexibility, and the accuracy differences between tested cases, it is confirmed that SLAM scanners are effective tools for data acquisition.

Glycosidic linkage analysis was conducted on the unfractionated polysaccharides in the alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs) prepared from six red seaweeds (Gracilariopsis sp., Prionitis sp., Mastocarpus papillatus, Callophyllis sp., Mazzaella splendens, and Palmaria palmata) using GC-MS/FID analysis of partially methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs). The cell walls of P. palmata primarily contained mixed-linkage xylans and small amounts of sulfated galactans and cellulose. In contrast, the unfractionated polysaccharides of the other five species were rich in galactans displaying diverse 3,6-anhydro-galactose and galactose linkages with varied sulfation patterns. Different levels of cellulose were also observed. This glycosidic linkage method offers advantages for cellulose analysis over traditional monosaccharide analysis that is known for underrepresenting glucose in crystalline cellulose. Relative linkage compositions calculated from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements showed that anhydro sugar linkages generated more response in the latter detection method. This improved linkage workflow presents a useful tool for studying polysaccharide structural variations across red seaweed species. Furthermore, for the first time, relative linkage compositions from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements, along with normalized FID and total ion current (TIC) chromatograms without peak assignments, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technique's potential to differentiate various red seaweed species.

Background: Educating college students about the importance of good sleep habits could lead to the adoption of healthier sleep routines, including sufficient sleep duration and sleep quality. The current pre-post study examines the impact of completing a sleep education program called “Sleep 101” on (1) sleep hygiene practices, (2) sleep quality, and (3) weekday and weekend sleep behaviors among college students. “Sleep 101” is an interactive online course developed to educate college students about the importance of sleep by addressing basic sleep physiology, the impact of sleep on mood, academic and physical performance, the interactions between sleep and various substances, and common sleep disorders. Methods: 338 college students were recruited from a midsized public university in the US and invited to participate in “Sleep 101”, of which 25 participants completed the baseline and post-intervention questionnaire. The Sleep Hygiene Index (SHI) was utilized to evaluate sleep hygiene practices, while standard questions were employed to assess weekday and weekend sleep behaviors and overall sleep quality. Results: Those who completed the study demonstrated a significant increase in weekday sleep duration and were less likely to engage in negative prior bedtime activities. In addition, 40% of those who completed baseline and post-intervention assessments noticed improvements in their sleep quality. Conclusion: These findings suggest that a brief online program is beneficial in improving sleep behaviors among college and could be a scalable approach to addressing current sleep issues and preventing future sleep problems in college students.

The profile of secondary metabolites occurring in apple cuticular layer is not only characteristic for particular apple cultivar, but also dynamically reflects various external factors in growing environment. In this study, the possibility to authenticate apple samples based on analysis of their cuticular layer extracts was investigated. Ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high resolution tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC-HRMS/MS) was employed for obtaining metabolomic fingerprints. In total, 274 authentic apple samples, four cultivars harvested within the seasons 2020 to 2022 in the Czech Republic and Poland were analysed. The generated complex data processed by univariate and multivariate statistical methods enabled to build classification models for discrimination of apple cultivars as well as their geographical origin. The models showed very good performance in differentiation of Czech and Polish samples for three of four cultivars: ‘Gala’, ‘Golden Delicious’ and ‘Idared’, moreover, the validity of the models was verified over harvest seasons. The diagnostic markers, besides metabolites of triterpene biosynthetic pathway, mainly represented wax esters. ‘Jonagold’, which is known to be susceptible to mutations, was the only cultivar for which the unambiguous classification of geographical origin was not possible.

Superior fiber quality is one of the most important objectives in cotton breeding. To detect the genetic basis underlying fiber quality, an F2 population containing 413 plants was constructed by crossing Jifeng 914 and Jifeng 173, both of which have superior fiber quality, with Jifeng 173 being better. Five fiber quality traits were investigated in the F2, F2:3, F2:4, and F2:5 populations. Quantitative trait loci (QTL) mapping was conducted based on a high-density genetic map containing 11,488 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and spanning 4,202.12 cM in length. Transgressive segregation patterns and complex correlations in the five tested traits were observed. A total of 108 QTLs were found, including 27 for fiber length (FL), 16 for fiber strength (FS), 24 for micronaire (MC), 17 for fiber uniformity (FU), and 24 for fiber elongation rate (FE). Chromosome A7 contained 12 QTL, ranking the first. No QTL was found on chromosome D1 and D11. Each QTL contributed 1.98%–21.45% to the phenotypic variation (PV), including 13 major effect QTLs that contributed more than 10% toward PV. Two QTLs could be repeatedly detected in three populations, including qFL-D3-2 in F2, F2:4, and F2:5 with 9.18%–21.45% of PV, qFS-A11-1 in F2:3, F2:4 and F2:5 with 6.05%–10.41% of PV. Another seven stable QTLs could be detected in two populations, including four major effect QTLs: qFL-A12-3, qFS-D10-2, qMC-D6-2, and qMC-D8-1. Fourteen QTL-overlapping regions were found, which might explain the complex correlations among the five phenotypic traits. Four regions on chromosome A11, D3, D6, and D10 covered by both stable and major effect QTLs are promising for further fine mapping. The genomic regions of the two QTLs detected in three populations and the four major effect QTLs contain 810 genes. Gene functional analysis revealed that the annotated genes are mainly involved in protein binding and metabolic pathways. Fifteen candidate genes in the qFL-D3-2 region are highly expressed in fiber or ovules during fiber initiation, elongation, secondary cell wall thickening, or maturation stages. qRT-PCR revealed that Ghir_D03G005440.1 and Ghir_D03G011310.1 may play a role in promoting fiber initiation, Ghir_D03G006470.1 may be beneficial for promoting fiber elongation. This study provides more information for revealing the molecular genetic basis underlying cotton fiber quality.

Currently there are fewer depth models applied to pepper picking detection, while the existing generalized neural networks have problems such as large model parameters, long training time, and low model accuracy.In order to solve the above problems, this paper proposes a Yolo-chili target detection algorithm for chili pepper detection. First, the classical target detection algorithm yolov5 is used as a benchmark model, and an adaptive spatial feature pyramid structure combining the attention mechanism and the idea of multi-scale prediction is introduced to improve the model's detection effect on occluded peppers and small target peppers. Secondly, a three-channel attention mechanism module is introduced to improve the algorithm's long-distance recognition ability and reduce the interference of redundant testers. Finally, the quantized pruning method is used to reduce the model parameters and realize the lightweight processing of the model. Applying the method to the homemade chili pepper dataset, the AP value of chili pepper reaches 93.11%; the accuracy rate is 93.51% and the recall rate is 92.55%.The experimental results show that yolo-chili is able to achieve accurate and real-time pepper detection under complex orchards.

The temporary immersion system bioreactor named GreenTray®[2], [3]presents advantages over the existing ones. Firstly, there is no need to use forceps to move the shoots or plantlets in or out of the recipient, neither the use of scalpel to divide them. Secondly, the basis of the shoot can remain in the GreenTray® and can sprout again in several cycles of growth. These two characteristics reduce the costs in the process of micropropagation. Besides, shoots or plantlets development is enhanced by the aeration of the recipient, thus enriching with CO2 the recipient atmosphere. The chapter describes and provides images and values of interest in (1) the micropropagation process of some commercial Prunus or Pyrus rootstocks; (2) the plantlet growth under autotrophic conditions; and (2) the inoculation of plants with pathogens that reproduce in vitro the symptoms observed in vivo, using the GreenTray® bioreactor.

Aiming at the problems of inaccurate segmentation of long object and information loss of small object in real-time semantic segmentation algorithm, this paper proposes a lightweight multi-branch real-time semantic segmentation network based on BiseNetV2. The new auxiliary branch makes full use of spatial details and context information to cover the long object in the field of view. Meanwhile, in order to ensure the inference speed of the model, the asymmetric convolution is used in each stage of the auxiliary branch to design a structure with low computational complexity. In the multi-branch fusion stage, the alignment and fusion module is designed to provide guidance information for deep and shallow feature mapping, so as to make up for the problem of feature misalignment in the fusion of information at different scales, and thus reduce the loss of small target information. In order to further improve the model’s awareness of key information, a global context module is designed to capture the most important features in the input data. The proposed network uses NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU experiment, on the road street view data set Cityscapes and CamVid average occurring simultaneously ratio reached 77.1% and 78.4% respectively, with running speed of 127 frames/s respectively and 112 frames/s. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can achieve real-time segmentation and improve the accuracy significantly, showing good semantic segmentation performance

Strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora is one of the main diseases of strawberry and significantly impacts the yield and quality of strawberry fruit. There are now no effective control techniques available except for fungicide sprays, which may directly impact consumers. Biological control is becoming an alternative method for the control of plant diseases to replace or decrease the application of traditional synthetic chemical fungicides. Trichoderma is widely used as a biological agent for controlling strawberry root rot. In order to provide resources for screening the highly effective biocontrol fungus for controlling strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora, the biocontrol mechanism,the control effects of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 against strawberry root rot and growth-promoting effects on strawberry seedlings were investigated by plate culture, microscopy observation and root drenching methods.The results showed that CMT10 had obvious competitive, antibiotic and hyperparasitism effects on Neopestalotiopsis clavispora CMGF3. The CMT10 could quickly occupy nutritional space, and the inhibition rates of CMT10 against CMGF3 in confrontation culture on 7 d was 65.49%. The inhibition rates of volatile metabolite and fermentation metabolite produced by CMT10 against CMGF3 were 79.67% and 69.84%, respectively. The mycelium of strain CMT10 can act as hyperparasites by making contacting, winding and penetrating hyphae of CMGF3. Pot experiment showed that the biocontrol efficacy of CMT10 on strawberry root rot caused by Neopestalotiopsis clavispora was 63.00%. CMT10 had obvious promotion effect on strawberry growth, the plant height, root length, total fresh weight, root fresh weight, stem fresh weight and root dry weight, with the promotion rates were 20.09%, 22.39%, 87.11%, 101.58%, 79.82% and 72.33%, respectively. Overall, this study showed the ability of Trichoderma asperellum CMT10 to control strawberry root rot and their potential to develop as novel biocontrol agents to replace chemical fungicides for eco-friendly, sustainable agriculture.

In this paper we study a class of impulsive delayed neural networks with parameter uncertainties and reaction-diffusion terms. Using the properties of M-matrices and some inequality techniques, some sufficient conditions are derived to guarantee the global exponential stability of the given system. The results obtained are presented by simple algebraic inequalities, which are certainly more concise than previous methods. Finally, the validity and usefulness of our results are illustrated by arithmetic examples.

Pyrops candelaria is one of the common pests of fruit trees, but the research on the pathogenic microorganisms it may carry is very limited. Therefore, it is essential to reveal the pathogenic microbes it carries and their potential hazards. This study found a new virus from the transcriptome of P. candelaria, which was first reported in P. candelaria and named as PyCaV (Pyrops candelaria associated virus). RACE and bioinformatics assay revealed that the full-length of PyCaV is 10855 bp with the polyA tail, containing a single open reading frame (ORF) encoding a polyprotein consisting of 3171 amino acid (aa). The virus has a typical Iflavirus structure, including two rhv domains, a RNA helicase domain (HEL), a 3C cysteine protease domain (Pro), and a RNA-dependent RNA polymerase domain (RdRp). Further phylogenetic analysis revealed that this virus belongs to family Iflaviridae and sequence alignements analysis suggedted PyCaV is new member in unassigned genus of family Iflaviridae. Further in-depth analysis of virus-infection-part showed that PyCaV is distributing in the whole longan lanternfly, including its head, chest, and abdomen, but more PyCaV was identified in the chest. The distribution of PyCaV in different parts of P. candelaria was further explored, which showed that more PyCaV were detected in its piercing-sucking mouthparts and chest viscera. Statistical analysis showed that the PyCaV infection was affected by time and locations.

Apis mellifera, especially weak ones, are highly vulnerable to Carpoglyphus lactis mites, which can rapidly infest and consume stored pollen, leading to weakened colonies and potentially colony collapse. This study aimed to ascertain and investigate the prevalence of this mite in honeybee colonies across 9 provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A total of 615 honeybee colonies were collected, from 66 apiaries during the spring and 58 apiaries during the summer of 2023. A 1,242 bp segment of the the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The detection levels of C. lactis in the honeybees were compared between winter and summer. Based on the COI sequence analysis, the nucleotide sequence similarity of C. lactis mites isolated in the ROK with those from China (NC048990.1) was found to be 99.5%, and with those from the United Kingdom (KY922482.1) was 99.3%. This study is the first report of C. lactis in Korean apiaries. The findings in this study demonstrate a significantly higher detection rate in winter, which is 4.1 times greater than that in summer (p &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, the results underscore the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for detecting C. lactis mites.

With the burgeoning growth of online retail, the issue of counterfeit products has become a significant threat to both consumer trust and brand integrity, posing challenges to sustainable market practices. Online retail platforms are promoted to redesign their channel structures and enhance brand traceability to tackle counterfeits using blockchain technology. To investigate the interactions between blockchain technology and the channel structures of online retail platforms, we design a game theory model incorporating a manufacturer with(out) blockchain participation selling products via an online retail platform that operates an agency channel and/or a reselling channel. We show that the critical trade-off of blockchain participation comprises the brand assurance effect of the blockchain, the channel competition intensification effect, and the blockchain adoption cost. The platform is capable of strategically designing the channel structure to encourage (while discouraging) blockchain participation by the manufacturer. Our analysis highlights the complementarity between blockchain participation and the channel structure. Furthermore, the effect of the consumer’s belief in the reselling channel, the commission fee in the agency channel, and the substitutability between channels are investigated in depth. The research provides valuable insights for online retail platforms and policymakers seeking to foster a sustainable and trustworthy e-commerce ecosystem.

COX II containing a dual core CuA active site is one of the three core subunits of mitochondrial Cco, which plays a significant role in the physiological process. In this report, the full-length cDNA of COXⅡ gene was cloned from Sitophilus zeamais, which had an ORF of 684 bp encoding 227 amino acids residues. The predicted COXⅡ protein had a molecular mass of 26.2 kDa with pI value of 6.37, and multiple sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that Sitophilus zeamais COXⅡ had high sequence identity 78.51% with the COXⅡ of other insect species, especially similarity to sitophilus oryzae. This gene was subcloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-32a, and induced by IPTG in E.coli Transetta (DE3) expression system. Finally the COXⅡ with 6-His tag was purified using affinity chromatography with Ni²⁺-NTA agarose. WB showed the recombinant COXⅡ was about 44 kD, and the concentration of fusion protein was 50μg/mL. UV-spectrophotometer and infrared spectrometer analysis showed that recombinant COXⅡ could catalyze the oxidation of substrate Cytc, and influenced by AITC. It was found that AITC could form a hydrophobic region with COXⅡ protein via molecular docking, besides, a sulfur atom of AITC structure could form a length of 2.9 Å hydrogen bond with Leu-31. These results will provide valuable information for elucidating the role of COXⅡ in Sitophilus zeamais responses to AITC, meanwhile, it will helpful to carry out a point mutation in AITC binding sites for the future research.

Axial resolution is one of the most important characteristics of a microscope. In all microscopes, a high axial resolution is desired in order to discriminate information efficiently along the longitudinal direction. However, when studying thick samples that do not contain laterally overlapping information, a low axial resolution is desirable as information from multiple planes can be recorded simultaneously from a single camera shot instead of plane-by-plane mechanical refocusing. In this study, we increased the focal depth of an infrared microscope non-invasively by introducing a binary axicon fabricated on barium fluoride substrate close to the sample. Preliminary results of imaging thick and sparse silk fibers showed an improved focal depth with a slight decrease in lateral resolution and increase in background noise.

The properties of the annual, semiannual and triennial oscillations (AO, SAO and TO) in the middle atmosphere have been investigated using the TIMED/SABER temperature data. The Lomb-Scargle and wavelet spectra were used to determine the dominant oscillations in the background temperature field. The AO is prominent at the mid-latitudes. The AO amplitudes present an asymmetry between the two Hemispheres, being larger in the mesosphere than in the stratosphere. The SAO dominates the tropical regions, with three amplitude maxima at altitudes of 45, 75, and 85 km. The SAOs in the upper mesosphere (75 km) are out of phase with those in the mesopause (85 km) in the tropical regions, which can generate an enhancement of 11 K at each equinox, contributing to the lower mesospheric inversion layer. The TO is significant in the tropical region, with amplitude being maximum at 35, 45 and 85 km. Result shows that there may be potential interaction by the TO with SAO at 85km at the equator. The relation between ENSO and TO has also been discussed. The ENSO signal may modulate the amplitude of the TO, mainly in the lower stratosphere. The real origin of the TO may lie in the wave-mean-flow interaction.

The paper describes the new method for image compression based on coordinated group signal transformation. The algorithm is a type of difference coding. Coordinated processing significantly simplifies the difference signal conversion scheme using a single group codec for all signals. The described method considers color channels as correlated signals of a multi-channel communication system. The specifics of the processed data required modification of the coordinated group processing algorithm. First, we changed how to calculate the difference signals to prevent data loss. Secondly, the group codec was supplemented with a neural network to improve the quality of reconstructed images. We considered the following types of neural networks: fully connected, recurrent, convolution, and convolution in the Fourier space. Based on the simulation results, it is best to use fully connected neural networks if the goal is to minimize processing delay time. These networks have a response time of 13 ms. On the other hand, if the priority is to improve quality in cases where delays are not critical, then convolution neural networks in the Fourier space should be used. These networks have a response time of 140 ms and are of significant interest.

As the world population grows, fulfilling the need for biomaterials in the healthcare system becomes increasingly important. Biomaterials, which include metals, polymers, ceramics, and composites, play an important role in the creation of medical devices that improve people's lives. The European Society for Biomaterials described biomaterials as non-biological materials used in medical devices to interact with biological systems. This definition has developed to encompass materials that treat, assess, or replace tissues or bodily functions. Biocompatibility, as defined by the FDA, is a key feature of biomaterials, as is the requirement to fulfil design requirements such as mechanical performance, geometry, and electrical control. Over the last decade, advances in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering have boosted biomaterials' usage in medical applications dramatically. Despite its promise, scientists, engineers, and physicians continue to face significant challenges due to the complexity of biomaterials. Biomaterials have various benefits, including biodegradability, non-toxicity, and biocompatibility, making them extremely useful for replacing, sustaining, or improving biological activities in damaged tissues. They are used in a wide range of applications, including tissue engineering implants, human tissue healing and regeneration, medication delivery systems, and biosensors. This study gives insights into the fundamental characteristics, case studies, and ethical issues associated with the usage and use of biomaterials, further examining their potential and significance in healthcare and medicine.

The studied solar pot is a recent invention, which gained a utility model protection in 2021 from the Hungarian Intellectual Property Office under patent number 5489. The device is made for environmentally friendly cooking or heating (by utilizing solar energy) of foods and liquids. Its structure is similar to a double pipe heat exchanger, it has an outer mantle and an inner cooking tank. The goals of the paper are proposing a new physically-based mathematical model describing the solar pot and carrying out computer experiments with it, assembling an experimental system of the pot connected with a solar collector and performing measurements on it. Based on the results, the solar pot can successfully be used for cooking or sterilizing foods or liquids during the studied time period, in Hungary.

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

Abstract: Transcription factors are crucial pre-transcriptional regulatory mechanisms that can modulate the expression of downstream genes by binding to their promoter regions. DOF (DNA binding with One Finger) proteins are a unique class of transcription factors with extensive roles in plant growth and development. Our previous research indicated a decrease in iron content in chlorotic bamboo leaves. However, to our knowledge, genes related to iron metabolism pathways in bamboo species have not yet been studied. Therefore, in the current study, we identified iron metabolism-related (IMR) genes in bamboo and determined the transcription factors that significantly influence them. Among these, DOFs were found to have widespread effects and potentially significant impacts on their expression. We identified specific DOF members in Dendrocalamus latiflorus with binding abilities through homology with Arabidopsis DOF proteins, and established connections between some of these members and IMR genes using RNA-seq data. Additionally, molecular docking confirmed the binding interactions between these DlDOFs and the DOF binding sites in the promoter regions of IMR genes. The co-expression relationship between the two gene sets was further validated using q-PCR experiments. This study paves the way for research into iron metabolism pathways in bamboo and lays the foundation for understanding the role of DOF transcription factors in D. latiflorus.

This paper is focused on typical rural settlements in the Stara Planina Mountain area in Serbia. They are distinguished by their authenticity, identity and character, and they have still not been destroyed by inappropriate development as is the case in some other mountain areas in Serbia, where the effects of urbanization, globalization and homogenization are obvious. Consequently, there is a need to prevent these effects in mountain areas where there is a threat of disbalance between development and the inherited natural and cultural values. The paper starts from several important concepts that relate contemporary approaches to cultural heritage preservation, place morphology and planning future development. The concept definitions from recent documents from related fields are used. These concepts are then applied to the area of Stara Planina Mountain and its rural settlements. The necessity for an integrative approach to planning this area with significant natural and anthropogenic potential is pointed out, including its integration into international programs of sustainable development.

The wetlands in northeastern Bangladesh are home to some of the most prolific and valuable ecosystems on the planet, offering a wide range of benefits to both the local and wider communities. A limited number of research on this topic have been carried out in various wetlands in coastal hilsa, but none have been located in the northeastern region of Bangladesh. Thus, the goal of this study was to better understand the most commercially relevant species (anadromous hilsa) in northeastern Bangladesh as well as to assess the wetland ecosystem services more thoroughly with the contribution of their fish genetic resources. In addition to laboratory studies, fieldwork was done in the fishing settlements along the Surma River, Hakaluki Haor, and Tanguar Haor. The study classified 77 fish species into 21 subcategories of ecosystem services, of which 56% were not threatened, 17% were vulnerable, and 10% were highly endangered. The species Hilsa was found to be the most economically significant, accounting for 1% of the GDP overall. The study determined if the hilsa stock of the examined wetlands maintains a single or several subpopulations in comparison to other parts of the country when they migrate from saline water to northeastern Bangladesh (freshwater). But when compared to other groups, the FST score was between 0.000 to 0.017, indicating that the populations are identical and that there is genetic material sharing between them. Additionally, these statistics imply that the Sylhet haor and adjacent river systems contain a single stock of Hilsa fish. Nevertheless, a number of stresses and risks, including overexploitation, illicit and destructive fishing, siltation, and natural disasters like flash floods, have been linked to changes in the supply of hilsa and other ecosystem services. This study also emphasizes the necessity of policy attention and research to address the concerns.

The continuous casting process of helical fiber reinforced metal matrix composites was proposed, and the experimental equipment was designed and manufactured. The relationship model be-tween the process parameters and the helical shape of the fibers in the metal matrix is analyzed by differential geometry. Helical carbon fiber reinforced lead matrix composites were prepared under different conditions. When the melting temperature and cooling intensity were increased, the helical radius of helical carbon fiber in lead matrix was increased. When the fiber rotation speed was increased, the helical radius was decreased, and the helical pitch was de-creased proportionally. The experimental results are consistent with the process model. Carbon fiber rein-forced aluminum composites were prepared. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the infiltration between the aluminum matrix and the carbon fiber was not complete. As the volume fraction of carbon fiber which was added in composites is too small, the mechanical properties of the composites have not been significantly improved.