The current research investigated the environmental risk of the polycyclic musk compounds, Galaxolide® (HHCB) and Tonalide® (AHTN), in the marine environments. These substances are lipophilic, bioaccumulated and potentially biomagnified in aquatic organisms. To understand the toxicity of HHCB and AHTN, we performed acute toxicity tests by exposing marine microalgae (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Tretraselmis chuii and Isochrysis galbana), crustaceans (Artemia franciscana), echinoderms (Paracentrotus lividus), bivalves (Mytilus galloprovincialis), fish (Sparus aurata) and a candidate freshwater microalga (Raphidocelis subcapitata) to environmentally relevant concentrations (0.005 - 5 µg/L) following standardized protocols. The effects of both substances on microalgae growth were incipient and only I. galbana was sensitive to HHCB and AHTN, with IC10 values of 5.22 µg/L and 0.328 µg/L, respectively. Significant (p < 0.01) concentration dependent responses were measured in P. lividus and M. galloprovincialis larvae developments as well as S. aurata mortality tested with HHCB. The effect of HHCB on P. lividus larvae development was the most sensitive endpoint recorded, producing an EC50 value of 4.07 µg/L. Our results show that HHCB represents a high risk to P. lividus larvae development for early life stages in marine environments.

Introduction: Type 1 diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease of autoimmune etiology that is highly prevalent in childhood. In the last decade, the possibility of using the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine for the treatment of this disease has been studied thanks to its immunomodulatory action . Objectives: The objective of this work is to carry out a systematic review of the available scientific evidence on the relationship between the tuberculosis vaccine and the treatment of diabetes in childhood. Secondarily, the aim is to study the incidence of Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in a cohort of children from the Basque Country according to whether or not they have received the vaccine. Methods: An exhaustive bibliographic search has been carried out on the evidence available to date. For the epidemiological study in Euskadi, a comparison of accumulated incidences between vaccinated and unvaccinated population groups was made. Results: According to the literature analyzed, There is more and more evidence about the possible use of the tuberculosis vaccine in Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus. The results of our study were not conclusive, but we believe that it is necessary to continue with long-term studies to eliminate biases. Conclusions: The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine could be used for the treatment of autoimmune, allergic, infectious or oncological processes, although more studies are still necessary in this regard.

The coffee industry loses millions of dollars annually worldwide due to the Coffee Berry Borer (CBB); these losses imply a decrease in quality and production. Traps are used to monitor their flight and for pest control. The main objective was to determine the flight pattern and trap capture percentages of the CBB population over time using column traps (CTs) in two independent field experiments. CTs were composed of four traps installed at four different heights 0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5m above ground. Our results demonstrated a significant difference in CBB capture by traps placed at different heights above the ground. The CT capture maintained a pattern throughout this study's lag; the lower the height, the greater the percentage of CBBs captured. In Experiments A and B, the traps placed at 0.5m caught 67% and 85% of the CBBs captured, respectively. Furthermore, the trap set at 1.5m above the ground in the multi-level CT showed a higher capture percentage than the individually placed trap (also at 1.5m). The pattern of the capture and proportion of the CBB in the CTs were maintained throughout the study despite the season, changes in temperature, and relative air humidity. We suggested that CTs could be explored as a useful tool for capturing the CBB, considering its monitoring and management.

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) technology enables a differentiation between oxyhemoglobin (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) in the sensory and motor cerebral gyri, resulting in greater sensitivity for cerebral activation compared to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Here, we introduce a novel approach where functional regions of interest (ROIs) are created based on the specific signal behavior observed in DOT measurements, in contrast to the conventional use of structural-ROIs obtained from anatomical information. The generation of cerebral activation maps involves using the general linear model (GLM) to compare the outcomes obtained from both the functional and structural ROI approaches. DOT-derived maps are then compared with maps derived from fMRI datasets considered the gold standard for assessing functional brain activity. The results obtained demonstrate the effectiveness of employing functional ROIs to improve the spatial location of functional activations in the sensory and motor cerebral gyri by leveraging the neural synchronization data provided by DOT. Furthermore, this methodology simplifies data processing in animal models, where anatomical differences compared to the human head can pose challenges. By incorporating functional ROIs prior to GLM application, this study offers enhancements to DOT analysis techniques and broadens its applicability in both human and animal models.

This study aimed to investigates obesity-related glomerulopathy (ORG) at cellular, structural, and transcriptomic levels. Thirty Wistar rats were randomized into two groups: control (n=15) and study groups (n=15) that were fed a standard (SD) and high-fat diet (HFD), respectively. After 10 weeks, the weight, kidney function, histological features, and transcriptomic changes were assessed. HFD group exhibited increased weight gain (55.8% vs 29.2%; P< 0.001) and albuminuria (10384.04 ng/ml vs 5845.45 ng/ml; P<0.001) compared to controls. The HFD group exhibited early stages of ORG lesions, with a predominance of mesangial matrix increase and podocyte hypertrophy (PH). These lesions correlated with differentially expressed (DE) genes and miRNAs. Functional analysis showed that four DE miRNAs in the kidneys of the HFD group negatively regulated the PTEN gene, which promotes podocyte endocytosis of lipids in ORG. Among these four miRNAs, miR-205 was upregulated in the urine of the HFD group. HFD-fed Wistar rats developed early stages of ORG, with a specific targetome of miRNAs and gene expression. The upregulation of miR-205 in the kidney and its isolation in urine are associated with lipid endocytosis in podocytes, which could become a plausible biomarker of the early stages of ORG and lead to future therapeutic research.

The aims of the review were to elucidate the spatial variation in sea ice algae primary production rates and biomasses (Chl a) in the Canadian Arctic – Greenland region, characterized by comparable physical settings. A database was compiled from 30 studies of sea ice algae primary production rates, biomasses (Chl a), snow and ice thicknesses, ice types, nutrient (Si(OH)4, PO4, (NO3+NO2), and (NH4) concentrations in ice and below ice from the region. Production rates were significantly high (463 mg C m-2 d-1) in Resolute Bay and in Northern Baffin Bay (317 mg C m-2 d-1) both in Canadian Arctic, as compared to a rate of 0.2 mg C m-2 d-1 in northeast Greenland. The biomasses reached 340 mg Chl a m-2 in Resolute Bay in comparison to a 0.02 mg Chl a m-2 in southwest Greenland. Primary production at other Canadian and Greenland sites were comparable but sea ice Chl a was higher (15.0 ± 13.4 mg Chl a m-2) at Canadian sites as compared to Greenland (0.8 ± 0.5 mg Chl a m-2). Resolute and Northern Baffin Bays production rates were significantly higher when compared to other Arctic Ocean sites outside the studied region. The review concludes that high production rates and biomasses in Resolute and Northern Baffin Bay’s were related to inflow and mixing of nutrient rich waters of Pacific origin. A conceptual model with drivers and inhibitors of sea ice algae primary production is projected, and the database compiles a dataset of published data for further studies.

: The performance of the students in academics depends on many different factors. One of these factors is the economic status of their families. Education in public schools, though it is free, some parents cannot afford to send their children to school due to financial constraints. Education as a free is every individual's right in society, but it becomes a privilege because of a lack of financial support. This research work is a comparative study of students' or learners' performance in mathematics among students from working and non-working. This research article's ultimate objective is to investigate and compare a significant difference in their performance in the subject mathematics. The research methodology utilizes a t-test to analyze and synthesize primary data sources collected via interview and academic records, and diverse literature on the study area. However, the research findings revealed no significant difference in the two groups (the working and non-working group of learners). Therefore, it is recommended that secondary schools should be provided with adequate books and facilities and faculty school interventions and programs and promote the usage of SIM or Strategic Intervention Materials for learning and memory enhancement among learners.

HIV infection is well-known to be associated with the development of Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL) with extranodal involvement being exclusive bone marrow involvement is less common. Co-infection by other viruses such as the esptein Baar virus (EBV) increases the incidence of a frequent complication denominated hemophagocytic lymphohistocytosis (HLH). We present the case of a 50-year-old patient with the above clinical spectrum who develops several serious complications during treatment.

This paper provides a framework for the assessment of household-level risk, incorporating both a individual social risk perspective and a location-based perspective. We use this framework as a heuristic to explore the effect of social reintegration choices individuals face, which are not be addressed by current policies. For example, we explore how integrating extended family households during COVID-19 without social distancing may affect household and community risk. The goal is to aid individual decision makers, who are seeking to maintain quality-of-life while navigating local policy, with nuance relating to location-specific behavior and disease prevalence.

Cannabidiol (CBD) is a safe and non-psychotropic phytocannabinoid with a wide range of potential therapeutic antiinflamatory and antioxidant activity. Due to its lipophilicity, it is normally available dissolved in oily phases. The main aim of this work was to develop and characterize a new formulation of a microemulsion with a potential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action for topical treatment of inflammatory skin disorders. The micro-emulsion system was obtained from a 20% CBD oil as hydrophobic phase, Labrasol/Plurol Oleique (1:1) as surfactant and cosurfactant (S/CoS) respectively and an aqueous vegetal extract obtained from S. ebulus L. ripe fruits, with a potential anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, as water phase. A pseudo-ternary phase diagram was elaborated, selecting an optimal proportion of 62% (S/CoS), 27% CBD oil and 11% water and, after testing its reproducibility, the aqueous phases were replaced by the vegetal hydrophilic extract. The defined systems were characterized in terms of conductivity, droplet size by laser scattering, compatibility of components by differential scanning calorimetry and rheological properties using a rotational rheometer. The designed microemulsion showed good stability and a slight pseudo-plastic behavior. The release properties of CBD from the oil phase and caffeic acid from the water phase of the microemulsion were studied by in vitro diffusion experiments using flow-through diffusion cells in comparison to a CBD oil and a microemulsion only with CBD as active substance. It was evidenced that the inclusion of the original oil in microemulsions did not provoke a significant modification of the release of CBD, incorporating the possibility of including hydrophilic active compounds in the formulation, stablishing an interesting strategy for the development of future formulations.

Abstract. Introduction: BMD study gives partial information on bone health in patients with TSH suppression therapy due to Differentiated Thyroid Cancer (DTC). TBS, a new parameter of bone microarchitecture is propose for bone quality study. This study analyze their long-term use in patients with DTC. Methods: BMD was measured by DXA and TBS with iNsigth software in 145 postmenopausal DTC patients. Vertebral Fractures (VFs) with a semi-quantitative x-ray method. Results: BMD at the end study was not different from initial. TBS decreased from 1.35±0.1 to 1.27±0.1 (p=0.002). PTH, Osteocalcin, and BAP were increased, suggesting increased bone remodeling. There was an increase in osteoporosis and osteopenia (40.6% and 16.5% to 46.6% and 18.6%); 31% had partially degraded and 15.1% degraded TBS changed to 48,9% and 24,8% at the end study. VFs in 30 patients, was not different in age, BMI, calcium and alcohol ingestion, smoking, radioiodine, or thyroid parameters vs. without VFs. Odds ratio for VFs increased with osteopenia (OR 2.63). Combination of TBS plus TBS did not improve discrimination. Conclusions: TBS was lowered while BMD did not differ. Percentage of osteoporosis and osteopenia and of partially degraded and degraded TBS was higher at the end study. Predominant discordance rate was found in partially degraded microarchitecture, in which the proportion of osteopenia was higher than normal or osteoporotic patients. AUC of TBS plus BMD did not improve discrimination. TBS, radioactive iodine, and sedentary lifestyle were the main differential data for patients with DTC and VFs.

We present an open-source Star Tracker (ST) for Attitude Determination. Our implementation makes use of open source software of common usage in astronomy running on a Raspberry Pi 2 platform. The developed platform is open and available for parties interested in further development. Evaluation of the system showed that the ST is suitable for Cubesats of 2U or larger. The ST platform is capable of solving the Lost-In-Space (LIS) problem. Currently, the average accuracy reached of the algorithm is close to 5 seconds of arc with an average processing time of 75 seconds. However, a average accuracy of about 3 minutes of arc can be reached with 35 seconds in average processing time. We also describe the evaluation procedure, the found conclusions of this procedure, in particular the section of the algorithm where most of the processing time is spent and other possible source of errors not included in this study.

When bioprospecting for novel industrial enzymes, substrate promiscuity is a desirable property that increases the reusability of the enzyme. Among industrial enzymes, ester hydrolases have great relevance for which the demand has not ceased to increase. However, the search for new substrate promiscuous ester hydrolases is not trivial since the mechanism behind this property is greatly influenced by the active site's structural and physicochemical characteristics. These characteristics must be computed from the 3D structure, which is rarely available, and expensive to measure, hence the need for a method that can predict promiscuity from a sequence alone. Here we report such a method called EP-pred, an ensemble binary classifier, that combines three machine learning algorithms: SVM, KNN, and a Linear model. EP-pred has been evaluated against the Lipase Engineering Database together with a hidden Markov approach leading to a final set of 10 sequences predicted to encode promiscuous esterases. Experimental results confirmed the validity of our method since all ten proteins were found to exhibit a broad substrate ambiguity.

The direct radiative effect of aerosols is taken into account in many limited area numerical weather prediction models using wavelength-dependent aerosol optical depths of a range of aerosol species. We study the impact of aerosol distribution and optical properties on radiative transfer, based on climatological and more realistic near real-time aerosol data. Sensitivity tests were carried out using the single column version of the ALADIN-HIRLAM numerical weather prediction system, set up to use the HLRADIA broadband radiation scheme. The tests were restricted to clear-sky cases to avoid the complication of cloud-radiation-aerosol interactions. The largest differences in radiative fluxes and heating rates were found to be due to different aerosol loads. When the loads are large, the radiative fluxes and heating rates are sensitive to the aerosol inherent optical properties and vertical distribution of the aerosol species. Impacts of aerosols on shortwave radiation dominate longwave impacts. Sensitivity experiments indicated the important effects of highly absorbing black carbon aerosols and strongly scattering desert dust.

Disease, trauma, and aging account for a significant number of clinical disorders. Regenerative medicine is emerging as a very promising therapeutic option. The design and development of new cell-customized biomaterials able to mimic ECM functionalities represent one of the major strategy to control the cell fate and stimulate tissue regeneration. Recently, hydrogels have received a considerable interest for their use in the modulation and control of cell fate during regeneration processes. Several synthetic bioresponsive hydrogels are being developed in order to facilitate cell-matrix and cell-cell interactions. In this review new strategies and future perspectives of such synthetic cell microenvironment will be highlighted.

Clinical and analytical differences between adult patients monoinfected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) and patients infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. who also had IgG antibodies against Babesia divergens have not been reported so far. Both Lyme disease caused by B. burgdorferi and babesiosis caused by B. divergens, endemic in Asturias, Northwestern Spain, are transmitted by Ixodes tick bites. Clinical, laboratory and other diagnostic tests characteristics (imaging, electro-cardiographic-ECG) of 120 residents of Asturias with confirmed B. burgdorferi s.l. infection, di-agnosed during 2015-2017, of whom 47 (39.2%) had B. divergens IgG antibodies, were retrospec-tively compared. Cardiorespiratory symptoms were reported in 9/47 (19.2%) patients with Lyme disease and B. divergens IgG antibodies compared to 4/73 (5.5%) patients with B. burgdorferi s.l. monoinfection (P=0.02). Dyspnea was recorded in 4/47 (8.5%) patients with Lyme disease and B. divergens IgG antibodies compared to 1/73 (1.4%) monoinfected (P=0.07). In addition ECG atri-oventricular (AV) block, mostly 1st degree, was detected in 5/47 (15.6%) patients with Lyme dis-ease and B. divergens IgG antibodies compared to 1/73 (2.6%) B. burgdorferi s.l. monoinfected (P=0.09). No other clinical, laboratory or other tests differences were observed between B. burgdorferi and B. divergens IgG antibodies carriers and B. burgdorferi monoinfected. We con-cluded that patients with Lyme disease and B. divergens IgG antibodies had more frequent car-diorespiratory symptoms, mainly dyspnea, compared to B. burgdorferi monoinfected patients. These symptoms were unrelated to anemia. ECG AV block, perhaps induced by summative myo-cardial damage due to either infections or B. divergens induced lung microcirculation slow-ing-down, might play a role in the cardiorespiratory dysfunction.

This study was conducted to propose the Green Economic Development Plan for Manufacturing S.M.E.s based on financial performance and operations thru Green Initiatives. The descriptive survey method used to gather data to determine the green initiative's implementation of small and medium (S.M.E.s) manufacturing enterprises. Green initiatives use as a basis for crafting a green economic development plan. Document analysis was also employed to obtain data from any available printed materials and records provided by the respondents. Such methods of gathering information used to validate data gathered from local and foreign-related literature. The observation also employed to survey the assets owned and validate any green initiatives practiced, including their implementation. The study's findings show that among the green initiatives implemented by SMMEs, which resulted in the reduction of total costs and expenses, were the proper disposal and segregation of waste materials, water management by recycling wastewater and using water-efficient equipment, natural resources, and raw materials management. SMMEs should encourage active participation and support of suppliers and customers in achieving G.E.D.'s objectives by developing incentive schemes.Furthermore, SMMEs should continue to benchmark with G.E.D. Practitioners are operating locally and abroad to adopt best greening strategies and regularly network with concerned government agencies for continuous updating on G.E.D. Initiatives that may benefit the firm. Further research may be conducted on green initiatives implemented by small and medium enterprises in other industry sectors.

Recognition, decoding and tracking of vortex patterns is of increasing importance in many fields reaching from astronomical observation of distant galaxies to turbulence phenomena in liquids or gases. Currently, coherent light beams with orbital angular momentum (OAM) are of particular interest for optical communication, metrology, micro-machining or particle manipulation. One common task is to identify characteristic spiral patterns in pixelated intensity maps at real-world signal-to-noise ratios. Recently, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) was applied to the quantitative analysis of spiral interference patterns of OAM beams. Our study considers this approach in more detail. It is demonstrated that specific information can be extracted by combining conformal mapping by polar transform with determining one- or two-dimensional angular frequency spectra either in spatially fixed or scanning mode. Results of proof-of-principle experiments are presented.

As participating molecules in nucleic acids, nucleotides also have signaling functions and act as second messengers in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, the most common example being cyclic AMP (cAMP). In bacteria, a great interest has arisen in studying nucleotide signaling. It has been determined that cyclic di-AMP (c-di-AMP), cAMP, and cyclic di-GMP (c-di-GMP) participate in biological events such as bacterial growth, biofilm formation, sporulation, cell differentiation, motility, virulence, and other. Moreover, these cyclic-di-nucleotides (c-di-nucleotides) produced in pathogenic intracellular bacteria can affect eukaryotic host cells for infection. On the other hand, the nucleotide molecules pppGpp, and ppGpp are alarmones involved in regulating bacterial nutritional stress; they are also considered second messengers. These second messengers can be used as therapeutic agents because of their immunological functions on eukaryotic cells. In this review, different topics on the role of c-di-nucleotides as second messengers in different bacterial processes are addressed.

Background: Mycobacterium avium complex includes the commonest nontuberculous mycobacteria associated with human infections. These infections have been associated with the production of biofilms in many cases, but there are only a few studies about biofilms produced by the species included in this group. Methods: Three collection strains (M. avium ATCC25291, M. intracellulare ATCC13950, and M. chimaera DSM756), three clinically significant strains (647, 657, and 655), and three clinically nonsignificant ones (717, 505, and 575) of each species were included. The clinical significance of the clinical isolates was established according to the internationally accepted criteria. Biofilm ultrastructure was studied by Confocal-Laser Scanning Microscopy using Backlight Live dead and Red Nile stains. Viability, covered surface, height and relative autofluorescence were measured in several images/strain. The effect of clarithromycin was studied the technique described by Muñoz-Egea et al with modifications regarding incubation time. The study included clarithromycin in the culture medium at a concentration achievable in the lungs (11.3 mg/L), using one row of wells as the control without antibiotic. Bacterial viability inside the biofilm is expressed as a percentage of viable cells. The differences between the different parameters of biofilm ultrastructure were analysed using Kruskal-Wallis test. The correlation between bacterial viability in the biofilm and treatment time was evaluated using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (ρ). Results: The strains showed differences between them with all the studied parameters, but neither a species-specific pattern nor a clinical significance-specific patter were detected. For the effect of clarithromycin, the viability of the bacteria contained in the biofilm was inversely proportional to the exposure time of the biofilm (ρ > -0.3; p-value < 0.05), excluding two M. chimaera strains (M. chimaera DSM756 and 575), which showed a weak positive correlation with treatment time (0.2 < ρ < 0.39; p-value < 0.05). Curiously, despite a clarithromycin treatment of 216 hours, the percentage of biofilm viability of the strains evaluated here was not less than 40% at best (M. avium 717). Conclusions: All the M. avium complex studied strains are able to form biofilm in vitro, but ultrastructural characteristics between them suggest that these are strain-specific characteristics unrelated with neither with the species nor with the clinical significance. The clarithromycin effect on MAC species is biofilm age/time of treatment-dependent and appears to be strain-specific while being independent of the clinical significance of the strain.

Despite chronic fibrosis and associated excess extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition and crosslinking occurring in many pathological conditions, few in vitro studies examine how fibrosis-induced ECM stiffening impacts lymphatic endothelial cells (LEC) behavior and subsequent new lymphatic vessel growth and function. This study examined the stiffening profile of PhotoCol®—commercially available methacrylated type I collagen—photo-crosslinked with photoinitiators Lithium phenyl-2,4,6-trimethylbenzoylphosphinate (LAP), Irgacure 2959 (IRG), and Ruthenium/Sodium Persulfate (Ru/SPS) prior to evaluating PhotoCol® permeability and LEC response to PhotoCol® at low and high stiffness levels representing normal and fibrotic ECM stiffness. Ru/SPS produced the highest maximum stiffness for photo-crosslinked PhotoCol® hydrogels. While Ru/SPS stiffness values did not differ significantly with increased light exposure, permeability decreased significantly with increasing light exposure for 40 kDa dextran. Finally, LECs on softer PhotoCol® appeared smaller with less prominent VE-Cadherin (cell-cell junction) and F-actin expression compared to cells on stiffer PhotoCol®. Overall, PhotoCol® with Ru/SPS photoinitiator provides the fibrillar microstructure and dynamic stiffness range that enables systematic study of LEC stiffness responses relevant to the stiffened ECM observed in pathologies with significant fibrotic activity. Therefore, this study demonstrates the utility of PhotoCol® with Ru/SPS for disease modeling applications, particularly modeling lymphatic vascular growth and function during fibrosis.

This article addresses the generic dynamic decision problem of how to achieve sustained market growth by increasing two interdependent organizational resources needed (1) to increase and (2) to sustain demand. The speed and costs of increasing each resource are different. Failure to account for this difference has been reported to lead to policies that drive a quick increase of demand followed by decline. Three generic policies derived from the literature have been implemented in a system dynamics model. Simulation shows that all three policies can generate sustained exponential growth but differ in performance. These results suggest that even policies which risk generating overshoot and collapse can avoid it. This poses two questions for further research: (1) what is the reasoning of human decision-makers when choosing between these policies and (2) how can the important but easily overlooked features of such decision situations be made sufficiently salient to be accounted for?

Different types of disasters, whether natural or human character, lead to the significant loss of human lives. In the latter case, the quick action of identification of corpses and human remains is mandatory. There are a variety of protocols to identify victims, however, genetics is one of the tools that allow an exact identification of the victim. However, several factors may interfere with this identification, from the biological samples’ degradation not allowing the analysis of nuclear information, to failure to dispose of biological samples from family members. Access to certain family members could be a determinant of the proper choice of genetic markers that allow the identification of the victim, or his/her inclusion in a given genetic maternal or paternal lineage. With the new advances in the genetic field, it is expected to allow soon the identification of victims from disasters only with his/her biological postmortem samples, being possible to draw a robot portrait and its most likely physical characteristics. In all cases, genetics is the only modern tool with universal character and can be used in essentially all biological samples, giving and identification of more or less accurate statistical character, depending on whether nuclear or lineage markers are used.

Antibiotic failure is one of the most worrying health problems worldwide. Nowadays we are facing an international crisis where several issues are involved: new antibiotics are not being discovered any longer, resistance mechanisms become spread in nearly every clinical isolate of bacteria and the appearance of recurrent infections caused by persistent bacteria complicates the overcoming of infections. In this context, it has been explored new anti-infectious strategies against MDR and persistent bacteria as well as the rescue of FDA-approved compounds (drug repurposing). Among the highlighted new anti-infectious strategies we find anti-microbial peptides, anti-virulence compounds, phage therapy and new molecules. On the other hand, as drugs of repurposing that have been described, we have anti-inflammatory compounds, anti-psychotics, anti-helmintic drugs, anti-cancerous and statins.

Understanding African swine fever virus (ASFV) transmission is essential for strategies to minimize virus spread during an outbreak. ASFV can survive for extended time periods in animal products, carcasses, and the environment. While ASFV genome was found in the environment around infected farms, data on the virus survival in soil are scarce. We investigated different soil matrices spiked with ASFV-positive blood from infected wild boar to see if ASFV can remain infectious in the soil beneath infected carcasses. As expected, ASFV genome detection was possible over the entire sampling period. Soil pH, structure, and ambient temperature played a role for the stability of infectious ASFV. Infectious ASFV was demonstrated in specimens originating from sterile sand for at least three weeks, from beach sand for up to two weeks, from yard soil for one week, and from swamp soil for three days. Virus was not recovered from two acidic forest soils. All risk mitigation experiments with citric acid or calcium hydroxide resulted in complete inactivation. In conclusion, stability of infectious ASFV is very low in acidic forest soils but rather high in sandy soils. However, given the high variability, treatment of carcass collection points with disinfectants should be considered.

The photosystem I (PSI) of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii associates with 10 light-harvesting proteins (LHCI) to form the PSI-LHCI complex. Binding of LHCII to PSI may also occur and is controlled by a process called state transitions. Hereby, two LHCII trimers bind to the PSAL, PSAH and PSAO side of PSI to produce the PSI-LHCI-LHCII complex. In this work, we took advantage of chemical crosslinking of proteins in conjunction with mass spectrometry to identify protein-protein interactions between the light-harvesting proteins of PSI and PSII. We detected binding of LHCBM proteins to the LHCA1-PSAG side of PSI and identified protein-protein interactions of LHCSR3 with LHCA5 and LHCA3. Our data indicate that the binding of LHCII to PSI is more versatile as anticipated and reveal that LHCSR3 likely regulates excitation energy transfer to the PSI core via LHCA5/LHCA3.

Philippine Lime or Calamansi is considered one of the Philippine high-value crops in Nueva Ecija province. This article presents some issues and problems of the calamansi industry in terms of marketing. The study used a descriptive survey of 56 farm-owners or calamansi growers. Findings revealed that lime production could be a stable income source if the growers can provide the necessary production inputs on a sustainable basis. Calamansi farmers in the province some often confronted with the following problems: the high cost of farm inputs, price fluctuations, price manipulation of big-time traders, and other intermediaries. The study also found out that the existing actors in the chain were limited to growers, laborers, agri-supply shops, nursery owners, intermediaries, and traders. In terms of trading, there is a high degree of competition among traders in the market. The findings and results from this study may have important factors in developing and designing effective agricultural marketing program and strategic development plan by the authorities in the region.

Philippine Lime or Calamansi is considered one of the Philippine high-value crops in Nueva Ecija province. This article presents some issues and problems of the calamansi industry in terms of marketing. The study used a descriptive survey of 56 farm-owners or calamansi growers. Findings revealed that lime production could be a stable income source if the growers can provide the necessary production inputs on a sustainable basis. Calamansi farmers in the province some often confronted with the following problems: the high cost of farm inputs, price fluctuations, price manipulation of big-time traders, and other intermediaries. The study also found out that the existing actors in the chain were limited to growers, laborers, agri-supply shops, nursery owners, intermediaries, and traders. In terms of trading, there is a high degree of competition among traders in the market. The findings and results from this study may have important factors in developing and designing effective agricultural marketing program and startegic development plan by the authorities in the region.

Background: The tsunami and earthquake occurred in 1927 and 2018 made life quality of Da’a Tribe women in refugee camps was affected by violence. It affects on women reproductive health in various aspects of life as high maternal mortality rate of 450 per 100 thousand live births and half of women victims of natural disasters have reproductive health problems such as anemia and malnutrition during pregnancy. The study objective is to explore the health quality of women related to the couple violence during the humanitarian crisis at refugees’ camps. Method: The population was 798 cases of violence. The 90 samples were selected by simple random sampling and calculated by Slovin method. Data analysis was done by descriptive qualitative and cross tabulation. The research location was Palu City. Results: The research findings showed that health quality of Da’a Tribe women after the couple violence is influenced by three factors, namely economic by 40%, psychological by 7%, violence during pregnancy 59.3%. Conclusion: Social life and women violence handling can be done by symbolizing the threat of criminal law for male perpetrators in accordance with applicable laws in Indonesia and improving the life quality of population, especially women in education and skills through empowering the family economy and increasing gender equality justice.

The aim of this study was to evaluate patients' knowledge and perception of the use of systemic antibiotics in the treatment of endodontic infections and to determine the possible contribution of patients to the development of bacterial resistance. Five hundred and fifty patients were asked to respond to a survey on the perception of systemic antibiotic use in the treatment of endodontic infections and antibiotic resistance during January 2022 and March 2023. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson's Chi-square test. 514 patients were included in the study, 65.9% of whom were women. While 34.6% of the population studied thought that it was always necessary to take antibiotics prior to endodontics, 49.4% considered that they were necessary after endodontics, regardless of the clinical symptoms (p&gt;0.05). The prevalence of self-medication was 17.3% and women self-medicate more than men, with significant differences (p&lt;0.05), although they have greater knowledge of antibiotic resistance than men (p&gt;0.05). Forty-four percent of the population expect to take antibiotics when faced with dental pain, mainly women (p&lt;0.05). The general population is contributing to the serious problem of bacterial resistance. It is necessary to promote educational strategies focused on the correct use of antibiotics in the community.

: The interaction of the Activating Transcription Factor 6 (ATF6), a key effector of the unfolded protein response (UPR) in the endoplasmic reticulum, with the neuronal calcium sensor Downstream Regulatory Element Antagonist Modulator (DREAM) is a potential therapeutic target in neurodegeneration. Modulation of the interaction ATF6-DREAM with repaglinide (RP) induced neuroprotection in a model of Huntington´s disease. Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder with no cure, characterized by the progressive loss of motoneurons resulting in muscle denervation, atrophy, paralysis and death. The aim of this work was to investigate the potential therapeutic significance of DREAM as a target for intervention in ALS. We found that the expression of the DREAM protein was reduced in the spinal cord of SOD1G93A mice compared to wild type littermates. RP treatment improved motor strength and reduced the expression of the ALS progression marker collagen type XIX1 (Col191 mRNA) in the quadriceps muscle in SOD1G93A mice. Moreover, treated SOD1G93A mice showed reduced motoneuron loss and glial activation and increased ATF6 processing in the spinal cord. These results indicate that the modulation of the DREAM-ATF6 interaction ameliorates ALS symptoms in SOD1G93A mice.

Vacuum pump wear is the most prevalent failure mode of the IBA Synthera® automated radiochemistry system. Rebuilding or replacing the pump causes equipment downtime and increases the radiation exposure of the service personnel. We built a dedicated test device to assess new or rebuilt pumps prior to installation, thus reducing downtime and radiation exposure during repairs. The Testbed incorporates a microprocessor that actuates the pump, valves, pressure sensor, and communicates with the user through lights, buttons, and an alphanumeric screen. The Testbed increases productivity and safety in the radiochemistry laboratory.

The focus of this work lies in the construction of monitoring system designed in the form of a patch using a long-lasting potentiometric electrolyte concentration sensor from metal electrodes, in a galvanic cell configuration Mg(s)|NaCl(aq)|Cu(s). Initially, a mathematical analysis was conducted on the expected sensor output through the Nernst equation. The experimental phase involved conducting controlled tests in the laboratory using various molar concentrations of sodium chloride (NaCl) in aqueous solution. Results showed that the electrolyte sensor allows for monitoring electrolyte levels in NaCl in the range of 0.02 to 1 M/L, with electrode lifespan exceeding 10 days. On the other hand, when patch is using human sweat during controlled exercise routines, it showed the sensor's capability for monitoring changes in the subjects' hydration levels in real time. The sensor output potential is greater than 1.7 volts when the sensor electrodes are in contact with human sweat, which is equivalent to measuring molar concentrations at normal hydration and moderately high hydration levels. Sensor results indicate that the system can function in a self-powered manner without external batteries. Additionally, the extended lifespan of its electrodes allows for continuous monitoring of imbalances in the human body, showcasing the system capability for long-term health assessment.

Confinement can induce substantial changes in the physical properties of macromolecules in suspension. Soft confinement is a particular class of restriction where the boundaries that constraint the particles in a region of the space are not well-defined. This scenario leads to a broader structural and dynamical behavior than the observed in systems enclosed between rigid walls. In this contribution, we study the ordering and diffusive properties of a two-dimensional colloidal model system subjected to a one-dimensional parabolic trap. Increasing the trap strength makes it possible to go through weak to strong confinement, allowing a dimensional transition from two- to one-dimension. The non-monotonic response of the static and dynamical properties to the gradual dimensionality change affects the system phase behavior. We find that the particle dynamics is connected with the structural transitions induced by the parabolic trap. In particular, at low and intermediate confinement regimes, complex structural and dynamical scenarios arise, where the softness of the external potential induces melting and freezing, resulting in faster and slower particle diffusion, respectively. Besides, at strong confinements, colloids move basically along one direction, and the whole system behaves structurally and dynamically similar to a one-dimensional colloidal system.

The prevalence of diagnosed cases of autism has increased rapidly, which raise interest in studying the variables related to the well-being of these families. The purpose of this paper is to review recent literature on other variables related to family well-being such a parenting styles. We conducted a systematic review using PRISMA check list and bias assessment ESTROBE with the aim of analyzing if the concepts of autism, well-being and parenting style are related. We screened 753 references, 16 full text articles and abstracts were read. It was identified that authoritative parenting style, those based on warmth, establishing relationships and emotional bonding, and low expressed emotion were positively related to family well-being. On the other hand, authoritarian, permissive and overprotective styles, as well as critical, punishing and training-based were negatively associated with well-being and quality of family life.

In a series of recent papers we developed a formulation of general relativity in which spacetime and the dynamics of matter evolve with a Poincaré invariant parameter τ. In this paper we apply the formalism to derive the metric induced by a `static’ event evolving uniformly along its t-axis at the spatial origin x=0. The metric is shown to vary with t and τ, as well as spatial distance r, taking its maximum value for a test particle at the retarded time τ=t−r/c. In the resulting picture, an event localized is space and time produces a metric field similarly localized, where both evolve in τ. We first derive this metric as a solution to the wave equation in linearized field theory, and discuss its limitations by studying the geodesic motion it produces for an evolving event. By then examining this solution in the 4+1 formalism, which poses an initial value problem for the metric under τ-evolution, we clarify these limitations and indicate how they may be overcome in a solution to the full nonlinear field equations.

Leaf area estimation is a critical component in the study of plant growth and productivity within agricultural systems. This research introduces the LeafArea package, a specialized tool designed to calculate the leaf area of six distinct Andean fruit species: S. quitoense, S. betaceum, P. peruviana, R. fruticosus, P. ligularis and P. edulis. Leveraging response variables such as species type, leaf length and width, the package employs advanced machine learning algorithms to estimate leaf area accurately. The primary focus of the study is to identify the most effective model for describing the relationship between leaf width, length, and area for each plant species. Currently, the LeafArea package utilizes four different machine learning algorithms, namely generalized linear model (GLM), generalized linear mixed model (GLMM), Random Forest and XGBoost. Among these, XGBoost stands out as a top-performing algorithm, exhibiting exceptional predictive accuracy. The evaluation metrics employed in the program provide valuable insights for researchers, aiding in informed decision-making. Specifically, XGBoost demonstrates significantly lower prediction errors and approaches a near-perfect R2 value, emphasizing its potential to enhance predictive accuracy. These results underscore the efficacy of machine learning techniques, as a compelling choice for researchers seeking precise and robust predictions in leaf area estimation. The LeafArea package thus represents a valuable tool for advancing our understanding of plant growth dynamics, resource allocation, and overall productivity within agricultural ecosystems.

This study uses Landsat 8 and Digital Elevation Models (DEM) to show the dominant orientations of digital lineaments and morphotectonic features between measured trends and the tectonic evolution of the Upper Guajira, Colombia, in the northernmost region of the South American plate. Data from Landsat-8 and hillshaded images of three Digital Elevation Model (DEM) images with different resolutions (SRTM: 90m, ASTER-GDEM: 30m and Alos-Palsar: 12.5m), were used for the extraction and mapping of morpholineaments, drainage network and morphological features. Lineaments were analyzed by means of north azimuth frequency, length, density distributions, lithological distributions and geochronological periods. Tectonic control was supported by using the digitized geological map created by the Colombian Geological Service (SGC). Lineaments and faults were analyzed through the interpretation of a Riedel shear model as a result of the transtensional/transpressional tectonic arrangement of the Caribbean and South American plates. The directional trends of lineaments and faults indicate two dominant directions: NE-SW and E-W. The azimuth distribution analysis of measured structures and drainage channels show similar trends, except for some differences in the predominant directions of some drainage channels. The similarity in the orientation of lineaments, faults and drainage system highlights the degree of control exerted by underlying structures on the surface geomorphological features. Drainage channel classification illustrates the morphological and neo-tectonic complexity of the region. The extracted lineaments were divided into five geochronological groups based on the main ages of host rock formations according to the Colombian Geological Service (SGC) geological map. From the Cretaceous onward, the lineament azimuth frequency rotates from a NE-SW trend to a prominent E-W direction, which resembles the translation that Caribbean plate has been undergoing since the Cretaceous. Our results confirm that Remote Sensing techniques are reliable and useful to study the morphotectonic of an area and can be applied to zones of difficult access.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) and its close paralogue, proline-rich tyrosine kinase 2 (PYK2), are key regulators of aggressive spreading and metastasis of cancer cells. While targeted small-molecule inhibitors of FAK and PYK2 are showing promising antitumor activity, their clinical long-term efficacy may be undermined by the strong capacity of cancer cells to evade anti-kinase drugs. In healthy cells, the expression and/or function of FAK and PYK2 is tightly controlled through modulation of gene expression, competing alternatively spliced forms, non-coding RNAs, and proteins that directly or indirectly affect kinase activation or protein stability. The molecular factors involved are frequently deregulated in cancer cells. Here, we review the endogenous mechanisms controlling FAK and PYK2, and discuss how these mechanisms could inspire or improve anticancer therapies.

Gastric cancer is an aggressive disease with increasing global incidence in recent years. Human epidermal growth receptor 2 (HER2) is overexpressed in approximately 10-20% of gastric cancers. The implementation of targeted therapy against HER2 as part of the standard of care treatment in metastatic disease has improved the prognosis of this subset of patients. However, gastric cancer still has high mortality rates and urgently requires new treatment strategies. The combination of immunotherapy with HER2-targeted therapies has shown synergistic effects in preclinical models, being the rationale behind exploring this combination in clinical trials in locally advanced and metastatic settings. Additionally, the irruption of antibody-drug conjugates and other novel HER2-targeted agents has led to the development of numerous clinical trials showing promising results. This review presents the molecular mechanisms supporting the use of HER2-targeted drugs in combination with immunotherapy and provides an overview of the therapeutic scenario of HER2-positive disease. We focus on the role of immunotherapy but also summarize emerging therapies and combinations under clinical research that may change the standard treatment in HER-2 positive disease in the future.

Abstract Introduction Minimally invasive approaches to oncological liver resection is common in many hepatobiliary centres. This study aims to compare the key oncological and survival outcomes of patients with colorectal liver metastases (CRLM) undergoing laparoscopic or open resections using propensity score matching (PSM). Methods A single-centre retrospective study was performed using a prospective database of patients undergoing liver resection for CRLM between January 2016 and December 2019. Different co-variates were selected for matching using PSM. Pre-matching and post-matching analyses were compared. Surgical and survival outcomes were analysed. Results In total, 303 patients who met the inclusion criteria were identified: 214 underwent open liver resection (OLR) and 91 laparoscopic liver resection (LLR). LLR had a significantly reduced length of intensive treatment unit (ITU) and overall in-patient stay but longer pringle and operative times. In the unmatched cohort, the median overall and disease-free survival time was significantly longer in patients undergoing laparoscopic compared with open surgery. A PSM model demonstrated significantly reduced blood loss and length of hospital stay, with a significantly greater Pringle and operative time in the LLR group. Differences seen in overall and disease-free survival were lost with propensity score matching, possibly due to lack of bi-lobar disease within the minimally invasive group. Conclusion In selected patients with CRLM, LLR presents similar survival and oncological outcomes with the advantages of the short-term results associated with the laparoscopic approach.

The recent past has witnessed a growing interest in technologies for creating chatbots. Advances in Large Language Models for natural language processing are underpinning rapid progress in chatbot development, and experts predict revolutionary changes in the labour market as many manual tasks are replaced by virtual assistants in a range of business functions. As the new technology becomes more accessible and advanced, more companies are exploring the possibilities of implementing virtual assistants to automate routine tasks and improve service. This article reports on qualitative inductive research undertaken within a chatbot development team operating in a major international enterprise. The findings identify critical success factors for chatbot projects, and, based on the in-depth case study, a model is put forward to aid the manageability of chatbot implementation. The presented model can serve as an exemplar guide for researchers and practitioners working on the design, development and implementation of virtual assistants. It is flexible and applicable in a wide range of business contexts, linking strategic business goals with execution steps. It is particularly applicable for teams with no experience of chatbot implementation, reducing uncertainty and managing decisions and risks throughout the project lifecycle, thereby increasing the likelihood of project success.

Polyhydroxyalkanotes (PHA) are bio-based microbial biopolyesters with stiffness, elasticity, crystallinity and degradability tunable by the monomeric composition, bio-production strategy and post-synthetic processing; they display biological alternatives for diverse technomers of petrochemical origin. This, together with the fact that their monomeric and oligomeric in vivo degradation products do not exert any toxic or elsewhere negative effect to living cells or tissue of humans or animals, makes them highly stimulating for various applications in the medical field. The article provides an overview of PHA application in the therapeutic, surgical and tissue engineering area, and reviews strategies to produce PHA at purity levels high enough to be used in vivo. Tested applications of differently composed PHA and advanced follow-up products as carrier materials for controlled in vivo release of anti-cancer drugs or antibiotics, as scaffolds for tissue engineering, as guidance conduits for nerve repair or as enhanced sutures, implants or meshes are discussed from both a biotechnological and a material-scientific perspective. Particular attention is devoted to the adaptation of traditional polymer processing techniques for production of medicine-related devices based on PHA, such as melt-spinning, melt extrusion, or solvent evaporation, and to emerging processing techniques like 3D-printing, computer-aided wet-spinning, laser perforation, or electrospinning.

Waste heat dissipated in the exhaust system in a combustion engine represents a major source of energy to be recovered and converted into useful work. A waste heat recovery system (WHRS) based on an Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) is a promising approach, and has gained interest in the last few years in an automotive industry interested in reducing fuel consumption and exhaust emissions. Understanding the thermodynamic response of the boiler employed in an ORC plays an important role in steam cycle performance prediction and control system design. The aim of this study is therefore to present a methodology to study these devices by means of pattern recognition with infrared thermography. In addition, the experimental test bench and its operating conditions are described. The methodology proposed identifies the wall coordinates, traces paths, and tracks wall temperature along them in a way that can be exported for subsequent post-processing and analysis. As for the results, through the wall temperature paths on both sides (exhaust gas and working fluid) it was possible to quantitatively estimate the temperature evolution along the boiler and, in particular, the beginning and end of evaporation.

This study presents a new kinetic scheme for the mass yield prediction of waste lignocellulosic biomasses treated by Hydrothermal Carbonization (HTC). The proposed reactions are based on the decomposition, solubilization, and polymerization of each main fraction of the biomass: cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. The ash content was assumed to be inert. The kinetic parameters have been obtained by non-linear adjustment using a data set with 220 experimental runs collected from the literature. The results indicate that the pre-exponential factors range was from 7.33 x10¹ to 1.412x10⁵ min^-1, and activation energies were between 33.75 y 225.3 kJ/mol. A good fit is achieved between the observed and predicted data with an R² of 0.81 and an RMSE of 7.7 %. The proposed scheme was validated with the experimental data obtained by the HTC of sawdust (Pinus radiata) and rapeseed (Brassica napus). The experiments were carried out at temperatures of 190, 220, and 250 ºC and reaction times of 0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 min. The predicted values showed an average error of 2.3 and 3.5 %, respectively. Therefore, the kinetic scheme is a useful tool in the conversion analysis of waste biomass treated by HTC.

There is a disproportionate increase in the incidence of diet-related cardiometabolic disorders in racial and ethnic minority groups. This systematic review examines the extent to which diet-induced changes in health outcomes have been discussed by race or ethnicity in randomized controlled trials recruiting both minority and non-Hispanic White groups. Databases i.e. PubMed, Cochrane library and Web of Science were searched up to November 2019. Studies that discussed effects of defined dietary interventions on health outcomes by racial or ethnic minority group vs. non-Hispanic Whites (n=29) were included in the review. Most studies were conducted in Black vs. White people testing effects of energy restriction, macronutrient modification, sodium reduction, or variations of the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet on cardiometabolic outcomes. There was limited focus on other minority groups. Evidence suggests greater blood pressure reduction for Black people compared to Whites particularly on DASH (or similar) diets. Overall, there was limited consideration for group-specific eating patterns and diet acceptability in most studies. Adequately powered studies are needed for accurate interpretation of race by diet effects. With emerging precision nutrition initiatives, it is imperative to ensure adequate representation of racial and ethnic subgroups for addressing nutrition-related health disparities.

: A strong financialtransaction is an important factor in organizational triumph and sustainability, and it is elucidated in the revised student handbook of the University that can be found on page 96 rules 1 to 5. This study assessed the registered students organizations' profile in terms of its type, registration, years of establishment, functions, and designations of student leaders and advisers. The financial practices or internal control system manages their organizational finances and the problems encountered by the student organizations and eventually proposed a manual of operation for students and youth organization's internal control system. This research used the descriptive design with the aid of questionnaire; data gathering through quota sampling from 57 student leaders and advisers of different student organizations of NEUST. Findings showed that most organizations had their constitution and by-laws but kept only as files and renewal requirements. Some provisions were not known to the officers, mostly were registered more than five years in operation; however, in terms of functions of officers and advisers, the results showed that some functions were not done by the officers who supposed to do it like the auditors who serve as treasurers also, the PRO as the record keeper and the presidents who handled finances and collections and as well as disbursements of funds. Generally, the organizations' financial activities were deemed to be "good", especially budgeting and cash receipt, due to the implementation of "no collection and no tuition fee policy". The researchers concluded that the absence of the proper internal control systems and manual of operation and lack of proper transfer of financial records from the previous sets of officers were the serious problems that should be addressed. Moreover, the student organizations' internal control system could still be improved if there is proper training and supervision in accounting operation.

Predicting the growth response of seedlings from the environmental responses of photosynthesis and metabolism may be improved by considering the dynamics of non-structural carbohydrate, NSC, over a diurnal cycle. Attenuation of growth metabolism when NSC content is low could explain why some NSC is conserved through the night. A dynamic model, incorporating diurnal variation in NSC, was developed to simulate growth of seedlings hour-by-hour. I compared predictions of this model to published growth and NSC data for seedlings that varied according to temperature, light, day length, or CO₂. Prolonged-darkness experiments showed a temperature dependent upper limit on the respiration capacity. Respiration was attenuated as NSC was depleted. Furthermore, when NSC was high at dawn, inhibition of photosynthesis could attenuate the accumulation of NSC under low temperature, or high light, or high CO₂. These concepts were used to simulate plant metabolism and growth rates and diurnal variation of NSC in tomato seedlings under two light levels and various temperatures. Comparison of other results using the same model parameters showed the dynamic model could predict results for starch and starch-less plants, and when growth was affected by CO₂ enrichment and day length.

Vaccination against tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is based on the use of formalin-inactivated, culture-derived whole-virus vaccines. Immune response following vaccination is primarily directed to the viral envelope (E) protein, the major viral surface antigen. In Europe, two TBE vaccines are available in adult and pediatric formulations, FSME-IMMUN® (Pfizer) and Encepur® (GlaxoSmithKline). Herein, we analyzed the content of these vaccines using mass spectrometry (MS). The MS analysis revealed that the Encepur vaccine contains not only proteins of the whole virus particle, but also viral non-structural protein 1 (NS1). MS analysis of the FSME-IMMUN vaccine failed due to the high content of human serum albumin used as a stabilizer in the vaccine. However, the presence of NS1 in FSME-IMMUN was confirmed by immunization of mice with six doses of this vaccine, which led to a robust anti-NS1 antibody response. NS1-specific western blot analysis detected anti-NS1 antibodies also in sera of humans who received multiple doses of either of these two vaccines; however, most vaccinees who received ≤3 doses were negative for NS1-specific antibodies. The contribution of NS1-specific antibodies to protection against TBE was demonstrated by immunization of mice with purified NS1 antigen, which led to a significant (p < 0.01) prolongation of the mean survival time after lethal virus challenge. This indicates that stimulation of anti-NS1 immunity by the TBE vaccines may increase their protective effect.

This article considers the basic psychological needs theory and tries to determine how much autonomy support from a coach is required for basic psychological needs and how autonomy, competence, relatedness, and the psychological motivational climate can explain task and ego involvement in a group of young elite ice hockey players. Our three hypotheses were as follows: autonomy support from the coach will have an impact on motivational involvement, all three basic needs will have an impact on motivational involvement, and motivational involvement will be explained by the motivational climate. A total of 175 male elite ice hockey players from Norway, ranging in age from 15 to 18 years old, answered questionnaires about autonomy support, perceived motivational climate, achievement goal orientation, and basic psychological needs. A multiple regression analysis was run to predict ego–task involvement using autonomy support from the coach, the need for autonomy, the need for competence, the need for relatedness, the task climate, and the ego climate. The only two variables that statistically significantly predicted ego–task involvement were autonomy support from the coach and the ego climate. The analysis revealed that the athletes had a higher score on task than ego involvement, but when this was transformed into two variables (high and low) for task and ego involvement, we found that most players scored high for both task and ego involvement. We found that autonomy from the coach had a positive relationship with a high score for players on both task and ego involvement. We also found that the three basic psychological needs had no impact on the motivational involvement of the athletes. Lastly, we found that the ego climate had an impact on the motivational involvement. There was a positive relationship between a high score for the ego climate and a high score for both ego and task involvement.

The genus Rhodotorula includes basidiomycetous oleaginous yeast species. R. babjevae can produce compounds of biotechnological interest such as lipids, carotenoids and biosurfactants from low value substrates such as lignocellulose hydrolysate. High-quality genome assemblies are needed to develop genetic tools and to understand fungal evolution and genetics. Here, we combined short- and long-read sequencing to resolve the genomes of two R. babjevae strains, CBS 7808 (type strain) and DBVPG 8058 at chromosomal level. Both genomes have a size of 21 Mbp and a GC content of 68.2%. Allele frequency analysis indicated tetraploidy in both strains. They harbor 21 putative chromosomes with sizes ranging from 0.4 to 2.4 Mb. In both assemblies, the mitochondrial genome was recovered in a single contig, which shared 97% pairwise identity. The pairwise identity between the majority of chromosomes ranges from 82% to 87%. We found indications for strain-specific extrachromosomal endogenous DNA. 7,591 protein-coding genes and 7,607 associated transcripts were annotated in CBS 7808 and 7,481 protein-coding genes and 7,516 associated transcripts in DBVPG 8058. CBS 7808 has accumulated a higher number of tandem duplications than DBVPG 8058. We identified large translocation events between putative chromosomes and a high genetic divergence between the two strains.

Cutaneous T-cell lymphomas (CTCLs) are a heterogeneous group of T-cell lymphomas characterised by high relapse rates and no curative treatments unless the allogeneic stem cell transplantation. The main complication in the management of this kind of malignancy is the variability that characterises the genetic and clinical features among the CTCL subtypes. JAK/STAT, MAPK/ERK, PI3K/Akt, and NF-kB are those signalling pathways that are found altered in CTCL and that are responsible for promoting both T-cell malignancy and the pro-tumorigenic microenvironment. Thus, targeting key players of these pathways can be an advantageous therapeutic option for CTCL. In this review, we aim to summarise the different approaches that precisely inhibit the kinases of each cited signalling. JAK inhibitors seem to be the most promising kinase inhibitors for CTCL. However, adverse events have been reported especially in patients with immunosuppression or an underlying autoimmune disease. More studies are needed, especially clinical trials, to investigate the benefits of these drugs for the treatment of cutaneous T-cell lymphomas.

This study examined the economics of Philippine Lime or Calamansi production in selected Cities and Municipalities in Nueva Ecija, Philippines. The study was conducted within the rural farming households' framework, which constitutes the Philippine agricultural sector's backbone, producing about 5.8 percent of the total national agricultural output with the Central Luzon area, including the portion of the locale of the study. Using quota sampling, data collected from 50 selected calamansi grower- farmers from top 5 producing area in Nueva Ecija, the study measured the profitability of and the production efficiency of calamansi production in the area. Using a formal interview schedule, primary data was obtained from the sampled farming households. The study revealed that the typical calamansi farmer in the area as reflected in the instrument, thirty-two (32) or 64% which covers the majority of the respondents claimed that they fully owned the land they cultivated. Calamansi yield depends on its age as well. Fertilizer was found to harm output. Majority of them shared the same production and post–production practices, though a slight difference in terms of labor cost was observed. There were some who were already in the industry for quite a long time and learned other farming techniques and practices different from the conventional and were proven effective. For better efficiency, the land area cultivated, the farmers' educational status, accessibility to credit facility, and development of the rural areas and farmers' contact with the extension agents are some of the key issues to address. The local government in cities and municipalities may engage in an intensive campaign in encouraging capitalists to form cooperatives, processing and manufacturing houses to produce calamansi juice and other valuable products out of the calamansi fruit.

This article addresses a challenge modeling novices face in model conceptualization: the recognition of behavior modes. Despite behavior modes being at the heart of system dynamics modeling, there is no unifying taxonomy for them, making them harder to learn for beginners. The article proposes criteria a taxonomy should satisfy, critically reviews previous taxonomies in the literature, and then introduces a new consistent taxonomy based on slope and curvature with mode names that refer only to visual cues and free of references to prior mathematical or domain-specific knowledge. Evidence from an exploratory experiment suggests that novices actually have difficulties classifying curves when using previous taxonomies. Links from these elementary modes to analogous terms in other taxonomies in diverse disciplines allow this taxonomy to be related to other ones. The article concludes by mentioning relevant limitations and future steps.

Injury to the peritoneum during surgery is followed by a healing process that frequently results in the attachment of adjacent organs by a fibrous mass, referred to commonly as adhesions. Because injuries to the peritoneum during surgery are inevitable, one must understand the mechanisms of adhesion formation to prevent its occurrence. This requires a thorough understanding of the molecular sequence that results in the attachment of injured peritoneum and the development of fibrous tissue. Recent data show that fibroblasts from the injured peritoneum may play a critical role in forming adhesion tissues. Therefore, identifying changes in gene expression patterns in the peritoneal fibroblasts during the process may provide clues to the mechanisms by which adhesion develops. This review presents many papers discussing genes implied in peritoneal adhesion.

Over the years, researchers have been studying the effect of weather and context data on the transport mode choice. The majority of these works are based on survey data, however the accuracy of their findings relies on how respondents give accurate and honest answers. In this paper, the potential of using GPS trajectories as an alternative to travel surveys in studying the impact of weather and context data on transport mode choices is investigated in Beijing city. In the analysis, we apply both descriptive and statistical models such as the MNL and MNP models. Our findings indicate that temperature has the most prominent effect among weather conditions. For instance, for temperatures greater than 25 °C, the walking share increases by 27% and the bike share reduces by 21%, which is line with the results from several survey studies. In addition, the evidence of government policy on transport regulation is revealed when the air quality becomes hazardous as people are encouraged to use environmentally friendly travel mode choices such as the bike instead of the bus and car, which are known CO2 emitters. Moreover, due to a series of traffic restrictions introduced by the Beijing government during the 2008 summer Olympics, a decrease of 17.5% in the car share and an increase of 13% and 10% in the walking and bus shares, respectively are observed. These findings provide a scientific basis for effective transport regulation and planning purposes.

Current research on smart cities is primarily focused on the area of applicability of information and communication technologies. However, in the context of a multidisciplinary approach, it is also necessary to pay attention to the resilience and converged security of individual infrastructures. Converged security represents a particular security type based on a selected spectrum of certain convergent security types of, assuming the creation of a complementary whole. Considering the outputs of the analysis of security breaches manifestations, this kind of security makes it possible to detect emerging security breaches earlier (still in the symptom stage), thus providing a more efficient and targeted solution suitable for building smart city infrastructure. In its essence, the article refers the practical application of the theoretical principles of converged security presented in the publication to a functional sample, deployed and tested in practical conditions of selected smart city infrastructure protection and resilience. Considering the nature of the practical application, the convergence of a wider spectrum of smart security alarm systems in the context of resilience assessment is defined. In the beginning, the general principles of security/ safety and the need for their convergence are presented. In this context, the mathematical model called Converged Resilience Assessment method is presented for better understanding. Subsequently, PSIM and SIEM systems are described as a technological concept that can be used for resilience assessment. The most beneficial part is the structural, process and functional description of the Converged Security and Information Management System (CSIM) using the concept of smart security alarm systems converged security.

Women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields are under-represented, and women are also less likely than men to be in leadership positions generally. Little is known about the intersection of these areas: women in leadership in STEM. To determine what sort of barriers and assistance female STEM leaders have encountered, a survey was developed asking women who are in academic leadership positions in STEM about their experiences. The main barriers were similar in the STEM area and in leadership: balancing work/home life, devaluing of achievements, and imposter syndrome. The main two types of assistance in both STEM and leadership were support from spouse/partner, and encouragement from peers. The main barriers women encounter are cultural and will take time to overcome. The main assistance women have had comes from people, not training or institutional structures.

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious-contagious disease caused by M. tuberculosis (Koch’s bacillus). About one-quarter of the world’s population is infected with that bacillus and at risk of developing TB disease. Latent tuberculosis corresponds to people who have been infected by TB bacteria but are not (yet) ill. The most vulnerable population to TB activation includes HIV infected, drug abuse and autoimmune disease patients. Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic and autoimmune neurological disease caused by lymphocytic infiltration. Its prevalence worldwide is 22.2 million cases of MS. There is a relation between TB and MS: due to immunomodulation or immunosuppression treatment of MS (reactivation of latent infection), or due to the intense inflammatory response before the infection of the bacillus (increased susceptibility to the development of autoimmune diseases). Screening for TB includes complete patient history, physical exam, chest radiography, and Tuberculin Skin Test or IGRA (Interferon Gamma Release Assay). This investigation is suggested when MS drugs (immunomodulatory and immunosuppressant medications) are prescribed. If a patient has positive results, the treatment for MS should not be delayed for the finishing TB treatment. In this paper, considering the high prevalence of tuberculosis, we recommend that TB screening should be also done at the moment of Multiple Sclerosis diagnosis.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is an pathogenic and opportunistic Gram-positive bacteria that is the leading cause of community acquired respiratory diseases, varying from mild- to deathly- infections. Appearance of antibiotic resistant isolates has prompted the search for novel targets. One of the most promising approaches is the structure-based knowledge of possible targets in conjunction to rational design and docking of inhibitors of the chosen targets. A useful technique to help solving protein structures is to label them with a heavy atom, like selenium, that facilitates tracing of the some of the amino acid residues. We have chosen two pneumococcal DNA-binding proteins, namely the relaxase domain of MobM protein from plasmid pMV158, and the RelB-RelE antitoxin-toxin protein complex. Through the update of a previous protocol [1] that uses seleno-L-methionine, we could achieve 100% labelling of the proteins. Furthermore, the labelled proteins retained full activity as judged from relaxation of supercoiled plasmid DNA and from gel-retardation assays.

In the clinical electrophysiologic practice, the reading and comparing electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings some times is insufficient and take to much time. That is why in the last years it has begun to introduce new methods of EEG analysis, that give a better and faster understanding of the EEG dynamics and allow a rapid intervention in the patient's treatment. Tools coming from the information theory or nonlinear system as an entropy and complexity have been shown to be a very good alternative to address this problem. In this work we introduce a novel method -the permutation Lempel-ziv complexity vs permutation entropy map. This method was applied to EEG of two patients with specific diagnosed pathologies during respective follow up processes of pharmacological changes in order to detect changes that are not evident with the usual inspection method. Our results show that the proposed method are useful for observing an evolutionary retrospective clinical effects of pharmacological interventions in both patients, and from these, to follow the clinical response to the proposed treatment.

Background: The Liver Imaging Reporting and Data System (LI-RADS) combines standardized terminology with a classification system for imaging findings in patients with HCC, therefore rendering diagnostic biopsy unnecessary in many cases. This retrospective study included 23 patients with a biopsy diagnosis of HCC, performed either before or after local interventional procedures, in order to evaluate the histopathologic changes induced by previous procedures and their potential influence on the response to immune therapy. Material and Methods: The study encompassed a cohort of patients diagnosed with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC). Diagnosis was established through contrast-enhanced computer tomography or magnetic resonance imaging that identified LI-RADS-5 nodules in conjunction with historical liver disease and elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels, or through histological examination confirming positivity for glypican3, heat shock protein70, and glutamine synthetase. The study detailed the liver disease etiology, LI-RADS scores, characteristics and dimensions of HCC nodules, serum AFP concentrations, Edmondson-Steiner grading, and the expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) in the tumor cells. Results: Among the study's cohort of Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) patients, a portion had not received any prior treatments, while the remainder experienced local HCC recurrence following trans-arterial chemoembolization or radiofrequency ablation. Observations indicated elevated alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) levels in those who had not undergone any previous interventions, showing statistical significance. The Edmondson-Steiner classification predominantly identified grade III differentiation across patients, irrespective of their treatment history. Furthermore, an increase in intra-tumoral programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) expression was noted in patients who had not been subjected to previous therapies. Conclusion: Liver biopsy offers valuable insights for patients with Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC), assisting in the tailoring of immune therapy strategies, particularly in cases of recurrence following prior local interventions.

Tungsten oxides play a pivotal role in a variety of modern technologies e.g., switchable glasses, wastewater treatment, and modern gas sensors. Metallic tungsten is used as armor material, for e.g., gas turbines as well as future fusion power devices. In the first case, oxides are desired as functional materials, while in the second case, oxides can lead to catastrophic failures, so avoiding the oxidation of tungsten is desired. In both cases, it is crucial to understand the reactivity of tungsten oxides with other chemicals. In this study, the different reactivities of tungsten oxides with the highly-oxophilic beryllium are studied and compared. Tungsten-(IV)-oxide and tungsten-(VI)-oxide layers are prepared on a tungsten substrate. In the next step, a thin film of beryllium is evaporated on the samples. In consecutive steps, the sample is heated in steps of 100 K from r. t. to 1273 K. The chemical composition is investigated after each experimental step by high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) of all involved core levels as well as the valence band. A model is developed to analyze the chemical reactions after each step. In this study, we find that tungsten trioxide was already reduced by beryllium at r. t. and started to react to form the ternary compounds BeWO₃ and BeWO₄ at temperatures starting from 673 K. However, tungsten dioxide is resistant to reduction at temperatures of up to 1173 K. In conclusion, we find WO₂ to be much more chemically resistant to the reduction agent Be than WO₃.

Although the failure of antibiotic treatment is normally attributed to resistance, tolerance and persistence display a significant role in the lack of response to antibiotics. Due to the fact that several nosocomial pathogens show a high level of tolerance and/or resistance to chlorhexidine, in this study we analyzed the molecular mechanisms associated with chlorhexidine adaptation in two clinical strains of Klebsiella pneumoniae by phenotypic and transcriptomic studies. These two strains belong to ST258-KPC3 (high-risk clone carrying β-lactamase KPC3) and ST846-OXA48 (low-risk clone carrying β-lactamase OXA48). Our results showed that K. pneumoniae ST258-KPC3CA and ST846-OXA48CA strains exhibited a different behavior under CHLX pressure, adapting to this biocide through resistance and tolerance mechanisms, respectively. Furthermore, the appearance of cross-resistance to colistin was observed in the ST846-OXA48CA strain (tolerant to CHLX), using the broth microdilution method. Interestingly, this ST846-OXA48CA isolate contained a plasmid that encodes a novel type II toxin/antitoxin (TA) system, PemK/PemI. We characterized this PemK/PemI TA system by cloning both genes into the IPTG-inducible pCA24N plasmid, and found their role in persistence and biofilm formation. Accordingly, the ST846-OXA48CA strain showed a persistence biphasic curve in the presence of a chlorhexidine-imipenem combination, and these results were confirmed by the enzymatic assay (WST-1).

Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) are microbial biopolyesters utilized as “green plastics”. Their production under controlled conditions resorts to bioreactors operated in different modes. Because PHA biosynthesis constitutes a multiphase process, both feeding strategy and bioreactor operation mode need smart adaptation. Traditional PHA production setups based on batch, repeated batch, fed-batch or cyclic fed-batch processes are often limited in productivity, or display insufficient controllability of polyester composition. For highly diluted substrate streams like it is the case for (agro)industrial waste streams, fed-batch enhanced by cell recycling were recently reported as a viable tool to increase volumetric productivity. As emerging trend, continuous fermentation processes in single-, two-, and multi-stage setups are reported, which bring the kinetics of both microbial growth and PHA accumulation into agreement with process engineering, and allow tailoring PHA´s molecular structure. Moreover, we currently witness an increasing number of CO2-based PHA production processes using cyanobacteria; these light-driven processes resort to photobioreactors similar to those used for microalgae cultivation, and can be operated both discontinuously and continuously. This development goes in parallel to the emerging use of methane and syngas as an abundantly available gaseous substrates, which also calls for bioreactor systems with optimized gas transfer. The review sheds light on the challenges of diverse PHA production processes in different bioreactor types and operational regimes using miscellaneous microbial production strains such as extremophilic Archaea, chemoheterotrophic eubacteria and phototrophic cyanobacteria. Particular emphasize is dedicated to the limitations and promises of different bioreactor-strain combinations, and to efforts devoted to upscaling these processes to industrially relevant scales.

Mutations in epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) occur in about 48% of Asian and 19% of Western patients with lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD), leading to its constitutive activation and subsequent uncontrolled cell proliferation. To counteract this, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) have been developed, targeting EGFR activity. However, the emergence of metastases and resistance mutations often undermines the durability of the treatment response. Knowledge-based mechanistic models that replicate existing clinical trial outcomes, tailored to specific population characteristics, provide invaluable assistance in designing future clinical trials. These models are particularly effective in identifying optimal responders to specific treatments, thereby enhancing therapeutic efficacy. We have developed physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models for gefitinib and osimertinib, representing two distinct generations of EGFR TKIs, to accurately simulate the drugs’ distribution within the primary tumor and metastatic sites following oral administration. These models were integrated with a pathophysiological mechanistic model of EGFR-mutant LUAD, enabling the representation of the effects of both gefitinib and osimertinib on EGFR activation-induced signaling pathways. This comprehensive model outputs detailed evolutions of the primary tumor and each metastatic site, facilitating the evaluation of patient progression in alignment with RECIST guidelines (version 1.1). Notably, the model encapsulates the heterogeneity within the tumor, through the representation of various subclones, each characterized by unique mutation profiles, thereby reflecting differential responses to treatment. Calibration of the model was achieved using publicly available data from the NEJ002 and FLAURA clinical trials. Rigorous visual predictive checks and statistical tests were employed to ensure the proper behavior of the model. The model adeptly replicated the time to progression observed in real clinical trials in EGFR-mutant LUAD patients receiving gefitinib or osimertinib as first-line therapy. In addition, the model was able to reproduce the results from a retrospective study comparing gefitinib and osimertinib, a study that was not used to inform the model. With a consistent virtual population as a reference, the combined model facilitated a comparative analysis of the efficacy of both treatments, thereby underscoring its utility in evaluating therapeutic strategies. The faithful replication of real-world data significantly enhances the credibility of our model, rendering it a vital investigational tool for deriving pertinent insights and informing treatment strategies, particularly in identifying optimal responders to various generations of EGFR TKIs. Following its consecutive prospective validations in the FLAURA2 and MARIPOSA trials, the model is poised to facilitate the generation of synthetic control arms in future clinical trials. This advancement promises a more nuanced analysis of covariate relationships, especially when comparing investigational treatments to established standards of care. Additionally, it potentially reduces the required patient cohort size in such trials, optimizing resource utilization.

Salmon farming has been blamed for the collapse of the sea trout (Salmo trutta) fishery in Loch Maree on Scotland’s west coast despite the absence of any direct evidence. Stocks of west coast demersal marine fish, especially around the Clyde Estuary have also declined over a similar time span. The decline of these marine fish stocks can be attributed to the removal of the “three-mile fishing limit” in 1984 by UK Government legislation. Sea trout inhabit the same inshore waters as targeted demersal fish and can be caught as by-catch. Comparisons of the decline of demersal species and the sea trout from Loch Maree and the west coast show a high degree of correlation. Stocks of whiting (Merlangius merlangus) from inshore waters have found to consist of small fish which mirrors the stock makeup of the Loch Maree sea trout stock.

Incobotulinumtoxin A and Yoga-like Isometric Exercise in Adolescent Idiopathic Lumbar Scoliosis – a randomized pilot study Abstract: Background: Approximately 90% of scoliosis is adolescent idiopathic (AIS). From its first appearance at 10-14 until age 18 it is most vulnerable to deterioration; young people are most susceptible to the condition worsening. An effective non-surgical means of remediation would be welcome. Design: Randomized control two-arm study, assessing the safety and efficacy of combining incobotulinum injections with yoga to reverse lumbar and thoracolumbar AIS. Methods: In a private clinic setting, non-pregnant healthy 12 – 18 year-olds were either taught a symmetrical “placebo” yoga pose (control sub-group 1), given the side plank (Vasisthasana) done thrice daily with placebo injection (control sub-group 2) or given the thrice-daily side-plank with botulinum injection (Intervention group 3). Injection: 33 IU of incobotulinum toxin type A (Xeomin) injected into concave-side lumbar paraspinals and quadratus lumborum at L2-3 and the psoas muscle at L3-4, or injected similarly with placebo. Randomization by Random.com. Objective: Assess whether muscular asymmetry treated with botulinum toxin injection and the side-plank are safe and effective in AIS. Results: Outcome: Twelve intervention and 12 placebo patients (Groups 1 + 2), 12 -18 years old completed the three-month study period. Mean daily side-plank time = 165 seconds. Mean initial lumbar curvature was 36.9 degrees (SD 14.36), (p<0.0001); mean curvature at 3 weeks was 29.5 degrees. (SD 14.23) (p<0.0001); mean curvature at 3 months was 26.0 degrees (SD 12.81) Onset vs 3-month value: p<0.0001. Two patients in Group 3 complained of shoulder pain, and 2 of wrist pain that resolved when the side-plank was done on the elbow. Conclusion: Muscle asymmetry appears relevant to AIS treatment. Incobotulinum injections combined with the side-plank done with the convex side downward may be safe and helpful in adolescent idiopathic lumbar scoliosis.

Aims: To review canine rabies, mass parental vaccination, human post-exposure prophylaxis, gene therapy and costs for fighting rabies. Place and Duration of Study: Department of Animal Science – Other, Nelwan Institution for Human Resource Development, Indonesia, between December 2017 and March 2018. Methodology: The author searched the Pubmed Database at NCBI for articles on rabies disease published between 2007 and 2018. All articles were open access and in English. For rabies virus examination, Seller’s test was used. In this article, references written by the author and other relevant publications were included. The author reviewed a rabies dog case kept at Nelwan Institution for Human Resource Development. Results: The dog showed clinical signs such as inappetance, urinary frequency and soaking in a small, juicy drain. Currently, to treat rabies, no drugs are available. For rabies prevention, vaccination is the best way. To eradicate rabies, mass vaccination in dogs, post-exposure prophylaxis, and gene therapy should be used. Fort rabies disease eradication, minimum of 70% of the dog population should receive the vaccination. In addition, humans with category II exposure should receive a rabies vaccine and rabies immunoglobulin. Conclusion: To eradicate rabies, vaccinations are required. In addition, gene therapy can eliminate rabies from the infected neurons by using rAAV-N796. CRISPR/Cas9 system in combination with the MMEJ-based method. Furthermore, mass parental vaccination, post-exposure prophylaxis, and gene therapy can reduce costs in controlling rabies disease.

In an era characterized by rapid technological advancements, economic fluctuations, and global competition, adaptability and resilience have become critical success factors for businesses navigating uncertainty and complexity. This article explores the role of enterprise agility in today’s business landscape at Latam branch of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), where organizations face complex and diverse operations. We aim to examine how companies can become more agile in the face of emerging challenges and seize opportunities swiftly to drive growth and deliver value. Since 2014, the division has embarked on an agile transformation journey to drive growth, deliver value, foster innovation, and build resilience in an increasingly dynamic environment. We scrutinize an approach to measuring and enhancing enterprise agility, employing statistical analysis and continuous improvement methodologies to tackle real-world challenges while offering valuable insights and recommendations for organizations aiming to implement similar systems. The results of an agile transformation in a certain company’s Latam branch serve as a compelling case study, demonstrating how the implementation of targeted measures and continuous improvement can significantly bolster enterprise agility. Methodologically, our work applies a novel sequence of parametric statistical tests which, to the best of our knowledge, have not been used in the industry to validate the results of business agility metrics. In future work, we aim to create a new workflow considering non-parametric tests to address data with other statistical distributions. We conclude our work by proposing a sequence of steps for organizations to implement business agility metrics.

We investigate the behavior of the solutions of the ray equation in isotropic media. We discuss local and global transversals and wavefronts and give examples of rays without wavefronts.

This paper presents a novel approach for indoor acoustic source localization using microphone arrays and based on a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The proposed solution is, to the best of our knowledge, the first published work in which the CNN is designed to directly estimate the three dimensional position of an acoustic source, using the raw audio signal as the input information avoiding the use of hand crafted audio features. Given the limited amount of available localization data, we propose in this paper a training strategy based on two steps. We first train our network using semi-synthetic data, generated from close talk speech recordings, and where we simulate the time delays and distortion suffered in the signal that propagates from the source to the array of microphones. We then fine tune this network using a small amount of real data. Our experimental results show that this strategy is able to produce networks that significantly improve existing localization methods based on SRP-PHAT strategies. In addition, our experiments show that our CNN method exhibits better resistance against varying gender of the speaker and different window sizes compared with the other methods.

This paper describes the dielectric relaxation spectroscopy (DRS) method for obtaining glass transition temperature and the onset of crystallinity of skim milk powder (SMP). The methodology consists of exposing SMP samples to numerous constant temperatures, T, and water activities, a_w, and measuring the relaxation time. Measurements are based on changes in the loss-tangent height at its peak frequency. Glass transition times are identified at peaks in the loss-tangent height versus time curve and the onset of crystallinity times are identified when the loss-tangent height collapses. The analysis leads to two boundary curves: glass transition T_g, a_w curve and the onset of crystallinity T_c, a_w curve. They separate the SMP stable (long shelf life) and unstable (short shelf life) regions. Two curve fitting algorithms were developed for (a) a_w², t_g curve where t_g is the time to glass transition and a_w², t_c curve where time t_c is the time to onset of crystallinity and (b) T_g, a_w and T_c, a_w boundary curves. Finally, the DRS data are compared to differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) results.

Long COVID-19 syndrom appears after Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Corona Virus (SARS-CoV-2) infection with acute damages to microcapillaries, microthombi and endotheliitis. However, the mech-anisms involved in these processes remain to be identified. All blood vessels are lined with a monolayer of endothelial cells called vascular endothelium of which one of the major properties is to prevent coagulation. VE cadherin is a component of endothelial cell junctions responsible for maintenance of the integrity of the vessels through homophilic interaction of its Ca++- dependent adhesive extracellular domain. We first provide evidence that VE-cadherin is a target in vitro for ACE2 cleavage because its extracellular domain (hrVE-ED) contains two amino acid sequences for ACE2 substrate recognition at the po-sitions 256P-F257 and 321PMKP-325L. Indeed, incubation of hrVE-ED with the active ecto-peptidase hrACE2 for 16 hrs in the presence of 10M ZnCl2 showed a dose-dependent (from 0.2 ng/ul to 2 ng/ul) decrease of the VE-cadherin immunoreactive band. In vivo, in the blood from patients having severe COVID-19, a circulating form of ACE2 was detected with an apparent molecular mass of 70 kDa while it was barely detectable in patients with mild infection. Of importance, in the patients with severe COVID-19 disease, the presence of three soluble fragments of VE-cadherin (70, 62, 54 kDa) were detected using the antiEC1 antibody while only the 54 kDa fragment was present in patients with mild disease. Altogether, these data clearly support a role for ACE2 on VE-cadherin cleavage leading to potential biomarkers in SARS-CoV2 infection related with the vascular disease in “Long COVID-19”.

Driven by environmental sustainability concerns, the integration of biobased components in curtain wall systems is gaining traction in both research and the construction market. This paper explores the development and validation of a bio-based façade system within the Basajaun H2020 project. The project aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of introducing environmentally friendly bio-based components into the mature curtain wall façade industry. The paper focuses on identifying technological solutions for replacing key components such as profiles, insulation, and the tightness system with bio-based and less environmental impact alternatives presenting the results achieved in the façade system design of the Basajaun project funded by European Union. These solutions aimed at creating a bio-composite-based curtain wall façade that adheres to current building envelope standards and normative; to implement diverse façade typologies for vision panels, opaque sections, and integrated windows; to engineer the prefabrication process for industrialization, enabling wider market replication and simplified transport and installation. The results demonstrate that the Basajaun façade successfully integrates selected components and meets the performance requirements set by regulations. However, questions remain regarding the workability of bio-based profiles as a commercially viable, ready-to-market solution that can replace traditional aluminum profiles in the curtain wall façade industry.

Functional gastro-intestinal disorders (FGID) including irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) are frequently handled by self-management with over the counter (OTC) products such as hyoscine butylbromide (HBB), alone or in combination with paracetamol, and natural products such as peppermint oil. To obtain real-world information, we have performed an anonymous pharmacy-based patient survey among 1686 users of HBB, HBB + paracetamol and peppermint oil. Based on the distinct but overlapping indications for the three OTC products, multiple logistic regression was applied to compare them in users reporting gastrointestinal cramps and pain, bloating, flatulence, or IBS as cardinal symptom. All three treatments reduced symptoms and associated impairments of work/daily chores, leisure activities, and sleep by approximately 50%. Based on the four cardinal symptoms and the four dependent continuous variables of interest (change of intensity of symptoms and of the three impairment domains) a total of 16 logistic regression models were applied. HBB, HBB + paracetamol, and peppermint oil had similar reported overall effectiveness in those models. Gender, age, baseline symptom severity and impairment in one of three domains had small and inconsistent effects on perceived treatment success. We provide evidence that HBB, HBB + paracetamol, and peppermint oil have comparable effectiveness in their approved indications under real-world conditions in an OTC setting.

Objectives: In this retrospective observational study, it is intended to establish how the implementation of the use of antimicrobial optimization programs at the hospital and ICU level in a Sincelejo Sucre Clinic has significantly impacted the improvement of the rational use of antibiotics1, due to the alarming situation of increasing antibiotic resistance. Materials and methods: The methodology used was to analyze the Excel database of the Clinic, in such a way that it would allow comparing the pre-PROA and post-PROA data of 4 antibiotics, ceftriaxone3, ciprofloxacin4, meropenem5 and vancomycin6, measured in Daily Dose. defined. Results: According to the DDD values obtained for the 4 antibiotics, a reduction in DDD was identified in the post-Proa period. On the other hand, considering the DDD reported by the WHO for each of the antibiotics, significant differences were verified compared to the DDD obtained in the clinic in the hospitalization and ICU services. Conclusions: In conclusion, in the clinic there was evidence of a reduction in DDD in the post-ASP2 period compared to the pre-PROA period, both in hospitalization and in the ICU, as well as a slight to large effect with Cohen's D.

The Covid-19 pandemic was a challenge for the whole world and it had major secondary effects on humans and environmental health. The viral infection induced, in many situations, secondary bacterial infections, especially enteric infections by destabilizing the balance of the gastrointestinal microbiota. The large-scale use of antibiotics and biocides both for curative and preventive purposes has determined an increase in bacterial resistance and at the same time the possibility of pathogenic microorganisms’ multiplication and their dissemination to natural environments. Wastewater is the main vector of faecal microorganisms that favour their dissemination into natural aquatic ecosystems. The present paper aimed to analyze the effect of Covid-19 pandemic on the microbiological quality of wastewater from sewage treatment plants in Romania and its impact on receiving rivers. In order to highlight different and important areas of Romania, 3 cities from the east, center and west were selected for a microbiological evaluation of their WWTPs influent and effluent between ante-Covid-19 and Covid-19 pandemic peak period, when the Covid-19 pandemic had a direct impact on WWTPs microbial composition. Our study showed a higher contamination with fecal bacteria linked to a higher Covid-19 incidence. The increased usage of pharmaceutical compounds, at their turn, increased the number of resistant bacteria reaching the environment via WWTP effluents.

Previous evidence in support of a slowly acting (scale of 100s of seconds) and volume-transmitted component of cholinergic signaling was based largely on studies using measures of extracellular brain acetylcholine (ACh) levels which required several minutes to generate a single data point and typically employed AChEsterase inhibitors (AChEIs) to foster the measurement of ACh. Moreover, collecting such data points in correlation with relatively stable behavioral states has supported the view that extracellular ACh levels vary at a relatively slow rate. Here we argue that forebrain cholinergic signaling is exclusively phasic (milliseconds to perhaps seconds), unlikely to be volume-transmitted, and that previous neurochemical evidence and associated behavioral correlates may be re-interpreted in terms of integrated phasic cholinergic activity and specific behavioral and cognitive operations. The highly potent catalytic enzyme for ACh, AChE, limits the presence of an ambient extracellular ACh level and thus renders it unlikely that ACh influences target regions via relatively slow changes in extracellular ACh concentrations. Real-time amperometric recordings of cholinergic signaling have suggested a specific function of rapid, phasic or transient cholinergic signaling in attentional contexts. Optogenetic studies support a causal relationship between these transients on behavior. Combined electrochemical and neurophysiological recordings revealed that the powerful behavioral control by cholinergic transients involves the generation of high-frequency oscillations. Such oscillations are thought to recruit efferent circuitry to (re)activate dormant task sets. Evidence showing the impact of genetic variations of the capacity of cholinergic synapses likewise can be interpreted in terms of their impact on the ability to sustain generation of repeated phasic cholinergic signals, as opposed to effects on ambient ACh levels. Further, while notions of slowly-changing, sleep stage-associated variations in extracellular ACh levels and their functions are widely accepted, the evidence is in fact limited. An alternative hypothesis offers a role for high-frequency cholinergic transient signaling during REM sleep. By employing a theoretical framework that focuses on the phasic and causative characteristics and functions of cholinergic signaling, results from human cognitive neuroscience studies of cholinergic function may be substantially clarified and simplified. Compared to the current treatment of cholinergic deficits using AChEIs, the conceptualization of forebrain cholinergic signaling as wired, phasic, and causative predicts that drugs that either rescue transient presynaptic signaling or amplify or rescue the postsynaptic impact of phasic signals will be more efficacious in treating age- and dementia-related cognitive and cognitive-motor disorders.

The field of applied behavior analysis has been directly involved in both research and applications of behavioral principles to improve the lives of captive zoo animals. Thirty years ago, Forthman and Ogden (1992) wrote one of the first papers documenting some of these efforts. Since that time, considerable work has been done using behavioral principles and procedures to guide zoo welfare efforts. The current paper re-examines and updates Forthman and Ogden’s original points, with attention to the five categories they detailed: (1) promotion of species-typical behavior, (2) reintroduction and repatriation of endangered species, (3) animal handling, (4) pest control, and (5) animal performances. In addition, we outline three current and future directions for behavior analytic endeavors: (i) experimental analyses of behavior and the zoo, (ii) applied behavior analysis and the zoo, and (iii) within-subject methodology and the zoo. The goal is to provide a framework that can guide future behavioral research in zoos, as well as create applications based on these empirical evaluations.

Glucose is the primary energy fuel used by the brain and is transported across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by the glucose transporter type 1 and 2.[1] A GLUT1 genetic defect is responsible for glucose transporter type 1 deficiency syndrome (GLUT1DS). Patients with GLUT1DS may present with pharmaco-resistant epilepsy, developmental delay, microcephaly, and/or abnormal movements, with tremendous phenotypic variability. Diagnosis is made by the presence of specific clinical features, hypoglycorrhachia and an SLC2A1 gene mutation. Treatment with a ketogenic diet therapy (KDT) is the standard of care as it results in production of ketone bodies which can readily cross the BBB and provide an alternate energy source to the brain in the absence of glucose. KDTs have been shown to reduce seizures and abnormal movements in children diagnosed with GLUT1DS. However, little is known about the impact of KDT on cognitive function, seizures and movement disorders in adults newly diagnosed with GLUT1DS and started on a KDT in adulthood, or the appropriate ketogenic diet therapy to administer. This case report demonstrates the potential benefits of using a modified Atkins diet (MAD), a less restrictive ketogenic diet therapy on cognition, seizure control and motor function in an adult with newly-diagnosed GLUT1SD.

The partial discharge (PD) event in high voltage insulation releases energy, exerts mechanical pressure, and generates elastic waves. Detecting and locating these PD events through short-duration acoustic pulses is well-established, particularly in gas-insulated systems and oil-insulated transformers. However, its full potential remains untapped in solid insulation systems, where the propagation capability of acoustic pulse and the acoustic reflections pose fundamental challenges to the Acoustic Emission (AE) detection technique. This study investigates the influence of reflections and multiple paths on the propagating acoustic pulse in polymeric insulating materials using a finite element method (FEM) in COMSOL. It was observed that the reflections from the boundary influence the propagating pulse's shape, peak magnitude, and arrival time. An analytical MATLAB model further quantifies the impact of multiple propagation paths on the shape, magnitude, and arrival time of the pulse travelling in a cylinder. Additionally, a Perfect Matched Layer (PML) was implemented in the COMSOL model to eliminate reflections from the boundary, and it revealed that the acoustic pulse magnitude decreases with distance following the inverse square law. In essence, the models aid in measuring how reflections contribute to the observed signals, facilitating the precise identification of the source of the PD event in the tested system.

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

Epigenetic changes are changes in gene expression that do not involve alterations to the basic DNA sequence. These changes lead to establishing a so-called epigenetic code that dictates which and when genes are activated, thus orchestrating gene regulation and playing a central role in development, health, and disease. The brain, being for the most formed by cells that do not undergo a renewal process through life, is highly prone to the risk of alterations leading to neuronal death and neurodegenerative disorders, mainly at late age. Here we review the main epigenetic modifications that have been described in the brain, with particular attention to those related to the onset of developmental anomalies or neurodegenerative conditions and/or occurring in old age. DNA methylation and several types of histone modifications (acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation, ubiquitination, sumoylation, lactylation, and crotonylation) are major players in these processes. They are directly or indirectly involved in the onset of neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Therefore, this review briefly describes the role of these epigenetic changes in the mechanisms of brain development, maturation, and aging and some of the most important factors dynamically regulating or contributing to these changes such as oxidative stress, inflammation, and mitochondrial dysfunction.

Experimental and epidemiological evidence has shown that modifications of the intrauterine environment can have deleterious consequences for individuals, expressed as an increased risk of suffering non-communicable pathologies in adult life, which is known as the hypothesis of the early origin of diseases or programming fetal. On the other hand, changes in gene expression patterns through epigenetic modifications can be the basis for long-term maintenance of the effects of fetal programming. In this sense, epigenetics comprises the study of intrauterine disturbances, which develop diseases in the adult, including Celiac Disease (CD). In addition, early feeding practices could influence the risk of CD development, such as breastfeeding timing and duration and age at gluten introduction in the diet. Gluten acts as a trigger for CD in genetically predisposed subjects, although approximately 30% of the world population has HLA DQ2 or DQ8, the prevalence of the disease is only 1-3%. It is not known what factors act to modify the risk of disease in genetically at risk subjects. Taking into account all these considerations, the aim of the current review is to elucidate the role of early programming and the effect of early nutrition on the development and progression of CD.

Glioblastoma is a highly malignant brain tumor consisting of heterogeneous cellular population. The transformed metabolism of glioblastoma cells supports their growth and division on the background of their milieu. One might hypothesize that the transformed metabolism of a primary glioblastoma could be well adapted to limitations in the variety and number of substrates imported into the brain parenchyma and present it their microenvironment. Additionally, the phenotypic heterogeneity of cancer cells could promote the variations among their metabolic capabilities regarding the utilization of available substrates and release of metabolic intermediates. With the aim to identify the putative metabolic footprint of different types of glioblastoma cells, we exploited the possibility for separation of polar and ionic molecules present in culture media or cell lysates by hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC). The mass spectrometry (MS) was then used to identify and quantify the eluted compounds. The introduced method allows the detection and quantification of more than 150 polar and ionic metabolites in single run, those may be present either in culture media or cell lysates and provide data for polaromic studies within metabolomics. The method was applied to analyze the culture media and cell lysates derived from two types of glioblastoma cells, T98G and U118. The analysis revealed that even the both types of glioblastoma cells share several common metabolic aspects, they also exhibit differences in their metabolic capability. This finding agrees with the hypothesis about metabolic heterogeneity of glioblastoma cells. Furthermore, the combination of both analytical methods, HILIC-MS, provides a valuable tool for metabolomic studies based on the simultaneous identification and quantification of a wide range of polar and ionic metabolites - polaromics.

RNA silencing serves key roles in a multitude of cellular processes, including development, stress responses, metabolism, and maintenance of genome integrity. Dicer, Argonaute (AGO), double-stranded RNA binding (DRB), RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RDR) and DNA-dependent RNA polymerases known as Pol IV and Pol V form core components to trigger RNA silencing. Common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) is an important staple crop worldwide. In this study, we aimed to unravel the components of the RNA-guided silencing pathway in this non-model plant taking advantage of the availability of two genome assemblies of Andean and Meso-American origin. We identified six PvDCLs, thirteen PvAGOs, 10 PvDRB, 5 PvRDR, in both genotypes, suggesting no recent gene amplification or deletion after the gene pool separation. In addition, we identified one PvNRPD1 and one PvNRPE1 encoding the largest subunits of Pol IV and Pol V, respectively. These genes were categorized into subgroups based on phylogenetic analyses. Comprehensive analyses of gene structure, genomic localization and similarity among these genes were performed. Their expression patterns were investigated by means of expression models in different organs using online data and quantitative RT-PCR after pathogen infection. Several of the candidate genes were up-regulated after infection with the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum.

The textile and clothing (T&C) industry is not usually viewed as an exemplar of sustainable de-velopment and the circular economy, as the industry has hitherto made its products in linear fashion, with relatively little recycling of the finished goods. This article examines the industry’s approach to the core sustainability concept and the circular economy in particular, through a re-view of the available academic literature, evidence from corporate sustainability reports and websites, and feedback from an online survey of industry professionals. The role of digital technology deployment in engendering sustainability and the circular economy in the industry is also explored. The study finds that whilst sustainability is now firmly embedded at the strategic level in the vast majority of companies studied, attitudes towards the circular economy remain fickle. The use of digital technologies in support of sustainability objectives is also limited at present, but the article concludes that the need to meet compliance requirements and new cus-tomer perceptions of sustainability will speed the transition to circular economy activities, facili-tated by greater exploitation of digital technologies. Building upon the research findings, existing models and an initial conceptual framework, a simple operational model for initiating such a transition for small-to-medium sized enterprises in the T&C industry is put forward.

Background: Craniofacial injuries are thought to be commonly associated with traumatic brain injury (TBI), but there is conflicting evidence in the literature. The objective of this retrospective cohort study is to evaluate the incidence of TBI in patients with craniofacial trauma. Methods: The study included 2982 consecutive patients with either solitary or concurrent diagnoses of TBI and facial fractures, seen and evaluated at a single level II trauma center between January 1, 2010 and December 31, 2020. Continuous variables were compared against whether the patient had one or both diagnoses.Results: Of the target population, 55.8% had a solitary diagnosis of TBI, 30.28% had a solitary diagnosis of facial fractures, and 13.92% had concurrent diagnoses of both TBI and facial fractures. Patients with concurrent diagnoses had a significantly longer mean length of stay (LOS) compared to those with solitary diagnoses (9.92 ± 16.33 days vs. 6.21 ± 10.96 days, p&lt;0.01), but age (p=0.68) and ICU LOS (p=0.09) did not differ significantly between the two groups. Conclusions: Trauma to the face should be given special attention due to the close relationship between facial bones and the brain. Patients with concurrent diagnoses of TBI and facial fractures had worse hospital outcomes than those with solitary diagnoses of either TBI or facial trauma.

This paper, the second in a series of two, describes the experimental results for removing arsenic from the dust collected in the electrostatic precipitators of a fluidized bed roasting oven (RP dust). The RP dust produced is discharged as a toxic waste, although its copper content is close to 20% by weight. This work aims to process the RP dust; until obtained a material with a low concentration of arsenic, which could be recirculated in smelting operations and recover the valuable metals. Based on the successful experience obtained in the first document with FS dust, this work proposes to use the reduction-sulphidation-volatilization processes to carry out the volatilization of arsenic from RP dust. A set of experiments was realized in the roasting different ratios of the mixture of copper concentrate / RP dust, sulfur / RP dust varying temperature and roasting time; to reach an arsenic concentration <0.5% by weight. The RP dust was characterized using different techniques, that confirmed more than 20% by weight of copper and describing its structure as a small particle agglomerate (<5 µm), with a complex sulfoxide morphology. The main results indicated: that for a 75/25 mixture of the copper concentrate / PR dust under 700 ° C, 15 minutes roasting time with air atmosphere, the arsenic volatilization was 96% by weight. Meanwhile, for a 5/95 mixture of sulfur / RP dust, at 650 ° C, the volatilization of arsenic was 67% by weight.

This paper (the first of a series of two) seeks to describe the experimental results of removing arsenic from dust collected in electrostatic precipitators of copper into the pyro-metallurgy gas cleaning systems. The first work corresponds to the treatment of dust contained in gas off generated in the copper Flash Smelting Furnace process (FS dust), while the second focuses on the treatment of dust generated from a Fluidized Bed Roasting Furnace (RP dust). The dust is complex sulphur-oxide-metals with concentrations of copper above 10 wt % and relatively high concentrations of silver. Due to the dust has an arsenic’s concentration above 5 wt %, makes it difficult to recover valuable metals through hydro-metallurgical processes or by direct recirculation of the dust into a smelting furnace. Thus, the development of pyrometallurgical processes aimed to reduce the concentration of arsenic in dust is the main purpose of this study, particularly the production of a material suitable for recirculation in smelting operations. The works conducted provide a detailed characterization of the dust, including Quantitative Evaluation of Minerals by Scanning Electron Microscopy (QEMSCAN), Scanning electron microscope-Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (SEM/EDS), X-ray diffraction (XR-D), elemental chemical analysis using Atomic Adsorption (A. A.) and X-Ray Fluorescence (X-RF). By considering that arsenic volatilization requires a process of reduction-sulphidation-volatilization, the works explore the roasting of mixtures of copper concentrate/dust, sulphur/dust and pyrrhotite/dust. The degree of volatilization was determined by elemental chemical analysis of arsenic in the mixture after and before the roasting process. The results indicated the effect of parameters such as temperature, gas flow, gas composition and the ratio of mixtures (concentrate, sulphur or pyrrhotite)/dust on the volatilization of arsenic. The findings indicate that the concentration of arsenic in the FS dust can be reduced to a relatively low level (<0.5 wt %), allowing to the material to be recirculated into smelting processes.

Reproductive coercion and abuse is a hidden and poorly recognised form of violence against women. It refers broadly to behaviours that interfere with or undermine a person’s reproductive autonomy, specifically to promote or prevent pregnancy. Reproductive coercion and abuse can involve physical, sexual, financial or psychological abuse in order to achieve these aims, and is overwhelmingly perpetrated by men against women. As an emerging field of scholarship, conceptual understanding of reproductive coercion and abuse is still in its infancy; however, it is often described as being linked to coercive control. In this article, we seek to highlight the complexity of this relationship through qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 victim/survivors in Australia recruited from the community, focusing on their perceptions of the perpetrator’s motivations. Our analysis suggests that perpetrator motivations can range from entitlement and self-interest to a deep desire for domination and entrapment. Pregnancy preventing behaviour was more likely to be linked with entitlement and self-interest, whereas pregnancy promoting behaviour tended to be described by participants in relationships where there was a broader pattern of ongoing control and entrapment. Thus, we suggest that coercive control is a motivating factor for some, but not all men who perpetrate reproductive coercion and abuse. A greater understanding perpetrator motivations may be important for practitioners, particularly those working in sexual and reproductive health services, since it could be relevant to women’s level of risk for coercive controlling behaviour or more extreme forms of physical or sexual violence.

Mitochondria are involved in the regulation of cellular energy metabolism, calcium homeostasis, and apoptosis. For mitochondrial quality control, dynamic processes, such as mitochondrial fission and fusion, are necessary to maintain shape and function. Disturbances of mitochondrial dynamics lead to dysfunctional mitochondria which contribute to the development and progression of numerous diseases, including Type 2 Diabetes (T2D). Compelling evidence put forward that mitochondrial dynamics play a significant role in the metabolism-secretion coupling of pancreatic β cells. The disruption of mitochondrial dynamics is linked with defects in energy production and increased apoptosis, ultimately impairing insulin secretion and β cell death. This review provides an overview of altered mitochondrial dynamics in pancreatic β cells using ge-netic/pharmacologic approaches, and how these affect insulin secretion.

This article explores how digitalisation is impacting the hospitality industry and assesses the evolving role of Information Technology (IT) strategy in the digitalisation process. The research approach is qualitative and inductive, based on six in-depth interviews with senior IT professionals in the hospitality industry. Findings indicate significant differences in the role of IT strategy in guiding digitalisation in the companies studied. The depth of information provided by the interviewees supports the development and application of a model that profiles the companies regarding their degree of digitalisation and technology integration. Analysis of interview material allows the identification of key properties for successful digitalization: process agility, workforce adaptability, and technology manageability, along with a clear data culture and ensured cybersecurity. However, disparate systems and technologies, and a lack of data integrity, are key issues that leave hospitality companies with difficult choices in progressing digitalisation initiatives. The applied model and identification of key properties for successful digitalisation contribute to the development of related theory and can also be used as a reference point for senior IT professionals working in the industry.

Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) are essential to most electronic devices. Digitalization and upgradation of gadget generates lots of PCB-containing electronic waste. Conserving resources and protecting the environment requires recycling such e-waste. The present paper is focused on the recovery of metals from PCBs by physical pretreatment and hydrometallurgical processes. Initially, the waste PCBs were pre-treated to separate metallic and non-metallic fractions. The metallic concentrate was leached using nitric acid (strong oxidative agent) for dissolution of metals. The system was fully jacketed with scrubber and condenser so that no emission of toxic gases to the environment. The process parameters viz. effect of acid concentration, pulp density, temperature, time, etc. were optimized and the obtained data were scientifically validated. Kinetics leaching fitted well with the Shrinking core model, XB = kc.t for Cu, (1-(1-XB)1/2) for Ni and 1-3(1-XB)2/3 + 2(1-XB) for Pb. The optimized conditions derived from these studies will be useful for recovery of metals from waste PCBs, and tin left in the residue could be further treated for the purpose of safe disposal or the utilization in an environmentally friendly manner. The developed process provides environmental benefits and has potential to be commercialized after scale-up studies.

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient and plays an important role in plant growth and physiology. In addition, N is also the limiting nutrient in most terrestrial ecosystems. The increasing use of N fertilizers increases agricultural production, but also has negative impacts on biodiversity, water quality and increases emissions of greenhouse gases such as nitrogen oxides (NOx) and nitrous oxide (N2O) into the atmosphere. N2O is a strong greenhouse gas and the product of microbial transformation processes of N introduced into soil and groundwater (nitrification and denitrification). The production of N2O in soils is highly dependent on oxygen and water content, soil temperature and texture and the available amount of reactive nitrogen (NO3- or NH4+). In agricultural soils, N2O emissions are also influenced by the type of fertilizer used, crops grown, soil pH and NO3- concentration. Refined forms of land management, such as the cultivation of legumes, can reduce the use of fertilizers and thus also the emission of N2O. Legumes can use symbiotic nodule bacteria (rhizobia) to bind atmospheric N2 and make it available to the plant. Non-symbiotic soil microorganisms such as cyanobacteria or other heterotrophic and autotrophic prokaryotes are also able to fix N2. Furthermore, the N2-fixing enzyme nitrogenase, which is specific for most organisms, is not specific for other N2 compounds, especially N2O. To study the N2 and N2O fixation potential of soils and legumes, experiments with isotope-enriched N-gases (100 mol% 15N2 and 15N2O) were performed. Three different soil types (forest, meadow and wetland) as well as legume plants inoculated with rhizobia bacteria (Rhizobium leucaneae) (Leucaena leucocephala) were incubated in microcosms with different mixing ratios of N2 and N2O over a period of one week. The measured 15N enrichment was then used to determine the biological uptake rates. Both in plants and in soils admixtures of up to 40% N2O had no influence on the N2 fixation rate. N2 uptake rates were 1.2 ± 0.4 ug N gdw-1 d- 1in forest and grassland soils and 3.9 ± 1.2 ug N gdw-1 d- 1 in wetland soils. In contrast, the N2 fixation rates of leguminous plants were significantly higher (130 ± 40 ug N gdw-1 d- 1), with the highest accumulation not in root nodules but in the roots. In both plants and soil, the N2O fixation of 0.2 ± 0.1 ug N gdw-1 d- 1 could only be measured from a concentration of 4 vol%. The results indicate that both soils and legumes have a high potential to bind atmospheric nitrogen in the form of both N2 but not N2O. The fate of nitrogen in soil needs to be further investigated. N2 fixation seems to play an important role in wetland soils. Legumes in particular have the potential for NH4+ input and N2O reduction, as most of the solid nitrogen has been transferred to the roots, which can contribute significantly to soil nutrient input.

Based on hospital capacities, facts from past experience with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) virus and the number of dark infections during the second wave (DII = 2D2), a reasonable limiting value of 140/D2 for the 7-day incidence per 100,000 persons (MSDIHT) and a second wave herd immunization threshold fraction value of 0.26 in Germany were calculated. If the MSDIHT is held below this limiting value, the German hospital system can cope with the number of new seriously infected persons without any triage decisions. On the basis of the SIRV epidemics model, the classical threshold values for herd immunization were calculated for 18 countries. For these countries, the dates regarding when herd immunization against the second COVID-19 wave will be reached were estimated

In this paper we show how to efficiently implement parallel discrete simulations on Multi-Core and GPU architectures through a real example of application: a cellular automata model of laser dynamics. We describe the techniques employed to build and optimize the implementations using OpenMP and CUDA frameworks. We have evaluated the performance on two different hardware platforms that represent different target market segments: high-end platforms for scientific computing, using an Intel Xeon Platinum 8259CL server with48cores and also an NVIDIA Tesla6V100 GPU, both running on Amazon Web Server (AWS) Cloud, and on a consumer-oriented platform, using an Intel Core i9 9900k CPU and an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1050 TI GPU. Performance results are compared and analysed in detail. We show that excellent performance and scalability can be obtained in both platforms, and we extract some important issues that imply a performance degradation for them. We also found that current Multi-Core CPUs with large core numbers can bring a performance very near to that of GPUs, even similar in some cases.

"Metaverse" as a term came to the fore in 2021 when Facebook rebranded its corporate identity to Meta, and signaled its intention to invest at least $10 billion in developing the concepts and related products that year. However, there is still little consensus in defining what constitutes the metaverse, although there is a widespread, though not universal, agreement that it will bring a wide range of benefits across society. More specifically, the advent, and continuing evolution, of the metaverse has strategic and operational implications for, and impacts on, industry and business at large. Adopting an inductive, interpretivist approach, this exploratory research article presents case examples of the guidance on the responsible development of the metaverse provided by two IT business services companies. The article identifies the major risks and responsibilities associated with the metaverse and assesses how companies might address these responsibilities. Very little research has been published in this area and this article attempts to make a small contribution to filling this gap in the literature. The article finds that responsibilities are largely in line with those currently associated with corporate digital responsibility, and concludes that the strategic impact and extent of regulatory change will depend on the nature of the metaverse that materialises in the forthcoming decade.

Pharmacy personnel often answer telephones to respond to pharmacy customers (subjects) who received messages from automated systems. This research examines the communication process in terms of how users interact and engage with pharmacies after receiving automated messages. No study has directly addressed automated telephone calls and subjects’ interactions. The purpose of this study is to test the interpersonal communication (IC) process of uncertainty in subjects in receipt of automated telephone calls from pharmacies. Subjects completed a survey of validated scales for Satisfaction (S); Relevance (R); Quality (Q); Need for Cognitive Closure (NFC). Relationships between S, R, Q, NFC, and subject preference to an automated telephone call (ATC) were analyzed to determine whether subjects contacting pharmacies display information seeking behavior. This research demonstrates that seeking information occurs if subjects: are dissatisfied with the content of the ATC; perceive that the Q of the ATC is high; perceive that the Q of ATC is high, and like receiving the ATC or with high NFC, and do not like receiving ATCs. Other interactions presented complexities amongst uncertainty and tolerance of NFC within the IC process.