Staphylococcus aureus can develop resistance by mutation, tranfection or biofilm formation. Resistance was induced in S. aureus by growth in sub-inhibitory concentrations of ciprofloxacin for 30 days. The ability of the antimicrobials to disrupt biofilms was determined using crystal violet and live/dead staining. Effects on the cell membranes of biofilm cells was evaluated by measuring release of dyes and ATP and nucleic acids. S. aureus did not develop resistance to the AMPs but resistance increased to ciprofloxacin by 128 times after 30 passages. Only peptides reduced biofilms of ciprofloxacin resistant cells. The antibiofilm effect of melimine with ciprofloxacin was more (27%) than with melimine alone at 1X MIC (p < 0.001). Similarly, at 1X MIC the combination of Mel4 and ciprofloxacin produced more (48%) biofilm disruption than Mel4 alone (p < 0.001). Combinations of either of the peptides with ciprofloxacin at 2X MIC released  66 nM ATP, more than either peptide alone (p  0.005). At 2X MIC, only melimine in combination with ciprofloxacin released DNA/RNA which was 3 times more than released by melimine alone (p = 0.043). These results suggest the potential use of melimine and Mel4 with conventional antibiotics for the treatments of S. aureus biofilms.

This study reports on empirical findings of participatory design workshops for the development of a supportive user experience design system in the automotive. Identifying and addressing this area with traditional research methods is problematic due to the different UX design perspectives that might be conflicting and the related automotive domain limitations. To help resolve this problem, we conducted research with 12 User Experience (UX) designers through individual participatory prototyping activities to gain insights on their explicit, observable, tacit and latent needs. These activities allowed us to explore their motivation to use different technologies; the system's architecture; detailed features of interactivity and describe user needs including Efficiency, Effectiveness, Engagement, Naturalness, Ease of Use, Information retrieval, Self-Image awareness, Politeness, and Flexibility. Our analysis led us to design implications that translate participants' needs into UX design goals, informing practitioners on how to develop relevant systems further.

The development of potent antiviral agents is of utmost importance to combat the global burden of viral infections. Traditional antiviral drug development involves targeting specific viral proteins, which may lead to the emergence of resistant strains. To explore alternative strategies, we investigated the antiviral potential of antimicrobial peptidomimetic compounds. In this study, we evaluated the antiviral potential of short anthranilamide-based peptidomimetic compounds 1-17 against two viruses: Murine Hepatitis Virus 1 (MHV-1-single stranded RNA virus) which is a surrogate of human coronaviruses and Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1-double stranded DNA virus). The half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of these compounds were determined in vitro to assess their potency as antiviral agents. Compounds 11 and 14 displayed the most potent inhibitory effect with IC50 values of 2.38μM, and 6.3μM against MHV-1 while compounds 9 and 14 showed IC50 values of 14.8μM and 13μM, against HSV-1. Multiple antiviral assessments and microscopic images obtained through transmission electron microscopy (TEM) collectively demonstrated that these compounds exert a direct influence on the viral envelope. Based on this outcome, it can be concluded that peptidomimetic compounds could offer a new approach for the development of potent antiviral agents.

Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK) is a severe, rare protozoal infection of the cornea. Acanthamoeba can survive in diverse habitats and at extreme temperatures. AK is mostly seen in contact lens wearers, whose lenses have become contaminated, or a history of water exposure, and in those without contact lens wear, who have experienced recent eye trauma involving contaminated soil or water. Infection usually results in severe eye pain, photophobia, inflammation, and corneal epithelial defects. The pathophysiology of this infection is multifactorial, including the production of cytotoxic proteases by Acanthamoeba that degrades the corneal epithelial basement membrane and induce the death of ocular surface cells, resulting in degradation of the collagen-rich corneal stroma. AK can be prevented by avoiding the risk factors, which include avoiding water contact such as swimming or showering in contact lenses, and wearing protective goggles when working on the land. AK is mostly treated with an antimicrobial therapy of biguanides alone or in combination with diaminidines, although the commercial availability of these medicines is variable. Other than anti-amoeba therapies, targeting host immune pathways in Acanthamoeba disease may lead to the development of vaccines or antibody therapeutics which could transform the management of AK.

This review asks some hard questions about what the enigmatic graphoglyptid trace fossils are, documents some of their early fossil record from the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition and explores the idea that they may not have been fossils at all. Most researchers have considered the Graphoglyptida to have had a microbial-farming mode of life similar to that proposed for the fractal Ediacaran Rangeomorpha. This begs the question “What are the Graphoglyptida if not the Rangeomorpha persevering” and if so then “What if…?”. This provocative idea has at its roots some fundamental questions about how to distinguish burrows sensu-stricto from the external molds of endobenthic sediment displacive organisms.

D-Aspartate and D-Serine serve as primary agonists at glutamate receptors, playing a crucial role in modulating synaptic plasticity and cell migration within the central nervous system. The pre-cise regulation of their levels is essential and intricately linked to the expression of their synthetic and catabolic enzymes, which are, in turn, primarily influenced by epigenetic modifications. In a comprehensive analysis, we examined the methylation profiles of the promoters and transcription start sites of critical genes associated with D-Aspartate and D-Serine metabolism in human post-mortem brain tissues sourced from normal individuals and those diagnosed with schizo-phrenia. Our approach involved a qualitative method capable of identifying specific families of methylated alleles known as epialleles, sharing a common pattern of methylated non-contiguous CpGs, referred to as cores. These methylated traits exhibit stability and consistency within com-plex populations of diverse DNA-methylated molecules. Our findings reveal brain area-specific methylation signatures to the DDO, DAO and DAOA genes serving as distinctive markers that differentiate normal brain areas from those affected by schizophrenia. These methylation patterns align with the reported high D-Aspartate and low D-Serine levels observed in schizophrenic brain areas. The study suggests a potential link between epigenetic modifications and the dysreg-ulation of these neurotransmitters in schizophrenia.

Protected areas, such as natural World Heritage sites, RAMSAR wetlands, and Biosphere reserves are ecosystems within landscapes. Each site meets certain criteria that allow it to qualify as heritage or protected. Both climate change and human influence (e.g., incursion, increased tourist visitation) are altering biophysical conditions at many such sites. As a result, conditions at many sites are falling outside the criteria for their original designation. The alternatives are to change the criteria, remove protection from the site, change site boundaries such that the larger or smaller landscape meets the criteria, or manage the existing landscape in some way that reduces the threat. This paper argues for adaptive heritage, an approach that explicitly recognizes changing conditions. We discuss the need to view heritage areas as parts of a larger landscape, and to take an adaptive approach to management of that landscape. We offer five themes of adaptive heritage: 1) treat sites as living heritage, 2) employ innovative governance, 3) embrace transparency and accountability, 4) invest in monitoring and evaluation, and 5) manage adaptively. We offer the Australian Wet Tropics as an example where aspects of adaptive heritage currently are practiced, highlighting the tools being used. This paper offers guidance supporting decisions about natural heritage in the face of climate change and non-climatic pressures. Rather than delisting or lowering standards, we argue for adaptive approaches.

Emerging countries in Southeast Asia are facing considerable challenges in addressing rising motorisation and its negative impact on air quality, traffic, energy security, liveability, and greenhouse gas emissions. Indeed, even as initial policies to address these issues are being agreed and implemented, current trends are incompatible with sustainable development and long-term climate change targets. This paper presents a comparative analysis of the approach and status of sustainable, low-carbon transport policy in ASEAN countries and identifies differences and similarities, with the aim of helping assessment of feasibility of future policies and informing future studies on policy innovations and cross-country learning. The methodology is based on the taxonomy of policy components developed by Howlett and Cashore, and our data on comprehensive country studies for Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam and interviews. We find that each country has a specific set of goals, objectives and targets that support sustainable transport, and, directly or indirectly, climate change mitigation. In terms of specific instruments and calibrations, which we analyse based on the Avoid-Shift-Improve approach, there are notable differences between the countries, for example in fuel economy policy.

The agricultural sector provides employment and income to the majority of Myanmar's population. The sector, however, is extremely susceptible to severe weather, rising temperatures, and changes in precipitation. This paper aims to analyze how vulnerable Myanmar's agricultural sector is to climate change and highlights the key sectors that are most at risk. This report also examines historical climate information, and the anticipated effects of climate change on Myanmar's agricultural sectors. In-depth literature reviews and summaries of Myanmar's climate change adaptation efforts are included in the report, along with recom-mendations for targeted, locally appropriate actions to strengthen the country's agricultural sector's resilience. Additionally, the study reviews Myanmar's in-stitutional framework for climate action and government priorities for adaptation measures, emphasizes the urgent need for climate action in Myanmar's agricul-ture sectors and calls for more research and development efforts on the effects of climate change on rural livelihoods and agriculture.

Objectives: The purpose of this systematic review was to ascertain critical care nurses’ understanding and experiences of patient advocacy in adult critical care settings. The specific objectives were to identify how critical care nurses define patient advocacy, to explore the understanding and experiences of critical care nurses regarding patient advocacy, to explore critical care nurses’ role in patient advocacy, and to ascertain the barriers to encouraging advocacy in the critical care setting. Research design: Systematic literature search of CINAHL and Medline databases, Google Scholar, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, as well as grey literature search, was conducted. Search dates were restricted from January 2005 to 2015 in both CINAHL and Medline. Findings: 62 studies were identified, of which 6 qualitative research papers were included. Nurses gave varied definitions of patient advocacy, which were categorized into three themes: communication, protection, and doing. Nurses perceive advocacy as truly listening to patients and their families. Conclusion: For critical care nurses to be effective advocates, there must be support, collaboration, and improved working relationship between professional groups. Moreover, nurses must be empowered to be able to give power to patients and family.

It's challenging to achieve robust lane detection depending on single frame when considering complicated scenarios. In order to detect more credible lane markings by using sequential frames, a novel approach to fusing vision and Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) is proposed in this paper. The hough space is employed as the space where lane markings are stored and it's calculated by three steps. Firstly, a basic hough space is extracted by Hough Transform and primary line segments are extracted from it. In order to measure the possibility about line segments belong to lane markings, a CNNs based classifier is introduced to transform the basic hough space into a probabilistic space by using the networks outputs. However, this probabilistic hough space based on single frame is easily disturbed. In the third step, a filtering process is employed to smooth the probabilistic hough space by using sequential information. Pose information provided by IMU is applied to align hough spaces extracted at different times to each other. The final hough space is used to eliminate line segments with low possibility and output those with high confidence as the result. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed approach has achieved a good performance.

This paper discusses the preliminary results of archaeological surveys conducted in the Juuku Region of north-central Kyrgyzstan on the south side of Lake Issyk kul. Our goal was to document ancient and contemporary agropastoral systems over a four millenia time period. During the surveys about 350 loci were identified as settlements, burial mounds, graves, single artifact finds, and artifact scatters (ceramic). The areas of Juuku Valley survey included two discrete polygons: Polygon 1, Lower Juuku at 1750 to 1950 m asl in elevation and Polygon 2, Chak Juuku or Upper Eastern Branch Juuku Valley at 2060 to 2100 m asl in elevation. Three radiometric dates and preliminary archaeobotanical studies were conducted at three exposed profile cuts. The methods included here are: (1) pedestrian surveys; (2) use of digital maps (Google Earth, Encarta); (3) placing archaeological loci within known chronological time periods; (4) AMS dating of charcoal samples collected from profile deposits; and (5) preliminary identification of plant remains found from archaeobotanical samples. The results of our research represent the first step toward inventorying and interpreting archaeological data in the Juuku Valley derived from field studies.

Objectives To develop and validate a prediction model for 28-day in-hospital mortality among adult patients critically ill with COVID-19 in the UK. Design Observational cohort study. Setting 287 adult critical care units in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, of which 260 admitted at least one eligible patient. Participants 10,933 patients with confirmed COVID-19 of whom 10,401 were eligible (excluding 532 patients with a duration of critical care less than 24 hours and 1 patient with unknown 28-day outcome): 8,666 development (March-April 2020) and 1,735 temporal validation (May-August 2020). Main outcome measures 28-day in-hospital mortality from start of critical care. Results Two models were developed using 14 patient level predictors selected from 30 candidate predictors, with and without adjustment for calendar time. In the temporal validation data, the model discrimination was maintained (c index 0.78) but calibration was poor, particularly for the model not adjusted for calendar time (ratio of observed to predicted mortality 0.74 versus 0.88 for the model adjusted for calendar time). Conclusions We developed and validated a prediction model for 28-day in-hospital mortality for patients critically ill with COVID-19. Although absolute predictions were inaccurate due to changing outcomes, the models will support risk-adjustment in analyses and monitoring changes in risk-adjusted outcome over time.

The idea of replacing the broken linear economy with circular forms to help address the current sustainability crisis is gaining world-wide traction in policy, industry, and academia. This article presents results from an international interview study with 34 repair practitioners and experts in different fields. The article aims to improve understandings of the potential of repair so as to contribute to a more just, sustainable, and circular economy. Through a five-step qualitative method the results reveal and explore three tensions inherent in repair: first, repair activities constitute different forms of subjectivity; second, repair entails different and sometimes contested temporalities; and finally, even though repair is deeply political in practice, the politics of repair are not always explicit, and some repair activities are actively depoliticized. The opportunities and obstacles embodied in these tensions are generative in repair practices and debates, but poorly reflected in contemporary circular economy discourse. We conclude that a richer, more inclusive and politicized understanding of repair can support environmental justice in the implementation of CE and provide greater opportunities for just and transformational sustainability strategies and policies.

With 500+ papers and 20+ books spanning many scientific disciplines, Mark Burgin has left an indelible mark and legacy for future explorers of human thought and information technology professionals. In this paper, I discuss his contribution to the evolution of machine intelligence using his general theory of information (GTI) based on my discussions with him and various papers I co-authored during the past eight years. His construction of a new class of digital automata to overcome the barrier posed by the Church-Turing Thesis, and his contribution to Super-Symbolic Computing with Knowledge Structures, Cognizing Oracles, and Structural Machines are leading to practical applications changing the future landscape of information systems. GTI provides a model for the operational knowledge of biological systems to build, operate, and manage life processes using 30+ trillion cells capable of replication and metabolism. The schema, and associated operations derived from GTI are also used to model a digital genome specifying the operational knowledge of algorithms executing the software life processes with specific purposes using replication and metabolism. The result is a digital software system with a super-symbolic computing structure exhibiting autopoietic and cognitive behaviors that biological systems also exhibit. We discuss here one of these applications.

Poor therapeutic outcomes have been attributed to inter-individual and interethnic variability in cytochrome P450 (CYP450)-dependent metabolism and altered drug retention associated with P-glycoprotein (P-gp). An individualized pharmacotherapeutic approach would benefit the genetically diverse South African population. The study aim was to develop a validated, targeted, analytical method to quantify seven probe drugs and their metabolites in dried blood spots (DBS) using the Mitra™ volumetric absorptive micro-sampling device for blood collection. An Agilent liquid chromatography (LC) system coupled to a Sciex 4000 QTRAP tandem mass spectrometer (MS) was used for method optimization and validation. Targeted LC-MS/MS methods were validated according to ICH guidelines. The validated LC-MS/MS method met the required bioanalytical standards for specificity, sensitivity, linearity, accuracy, precision, carry-over, and stability. This study successfully validated the use of DBS, collected with the Mitra™ microsampling device, to measure expected probe drug and metabolite concentrations using the “Geneva phenotyping cocktail” for the purpose of simultaneous phenotyping of in vivo CYP450 metabolic activity of the CYP1A2, -2B6, -2C9, -2C19, -2D6, and -3A4 enzymes, and P-gp transport activity. However, statistical analysis using Bland-Altman plots showed that not all analytes exhibited linear distribution pharmacokinetics between DBS and plasma, which influenced the predicted vs real plasma concentrations based on measurements in a DBS matrix. These findings were attributed to the blood-to-plasma concentration ratio, the physicochemical properties and stability of the analytes, and the extraction efficiency of the Mitra™ sampler. More research is required before DBS sampling can be substituted for conventional plasma sampling

Gelatinization of starch content in pet foods can be impacted by several factors including moisture, retention time, and ingredients used. Starch gelatinization has been associated with digestibility but isn’t well studied using ingredients common in non-traditional canine diets. The objective of this research was to examine the impacts of dietary ingredient profile (traditional vs non-traditional) and assess impacts to total starch content and starch gelatinization. Traditional diets (n = 10) utilizing meat-based ingredients including chicken, chicken by-product meal, meat and bone meal and plant-based ingredients including rice, barley, oats, and corn were examined in comparison with non-traditional diets (n = 10) utilizing meat-based ingredients including alligator, buffalo, venison, kangaroo, squid, quail, rabbit, rabbit and salmon along with plant-based ingredients including tapioca, peas, chickpeas, lentils, potato, and pumpkin. Representative samples were collected via grab sample technique (5 samples/diet) and were assessed for total starch content as well as percent starch gelatinization. Difference between ingredient type was assessed using a Students t-test in SAS 9.4. Significance was set at P < 0.05. Distribution of total starch content based on ingredient type (traditional vs non-traditional) revealed that mean total starch content was higher in traditional diets as compared to non-traditional diets (P <0.0001). Conversely, starch gelatinization was found to be higher in non-traditional diets (P < 0.0001). Total starch content and total gelatinized starch had a strong negative correlation (P < 0.01) in traditional diets, though no correlation was observed in non-traditional diets. This negative correlation indicates a decrease in total gelatinized starch associated with increased total starch content. These novel data reveal important differences between starch content and gelatinization and could impact manufacturing processes for ingredient types as well as feeding recommendations. Unpredicted variation between ingredient formulations could potentially lead to decreased digestibility and absorption and may result in nutrient deficiencies.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is caused by genetic mutations in the cytoskeletal-sarcolemmal anchor protein dystrophin. Repeated cycles of sarcolemmal tearing and repair lead to a variety of secondary cellular and physiological stressors that are thought to contribute to weakness, atrophy, and fibrosis. Collectively, these stressors can contribute to a pro-inflammatory milieu in locomotor, cardiac, and respiratory muscles. Given the many unwanted side effects that accompany current anti-inflammatory steroid-based approaches for treating DMD (e.g., glucocorticoids), there is a need to develop new therapies that address inflammation and other cellular dysfunctions. Adiponectin receptor (AdipoR) agonists, which stimulate AdipoR1 and R2 isoforms on various cell types, have emerged as therapeutic candidates for DMD due to their anti-inflammatory, anti-fibrotic, and pro-myogenic properties in pre-clinical human and rodent DMD models. Although these molecules represent a new direction for therapeutic intervention, the mechanisms through which they elicit their beneficial effects are not yet fully understood, and DMD-specific data is limited. The overarching goal of this review is to investigate how adiponectin signaling may ameliorate pathology associated with dystrophin deficiency through inflammatory-dependent and -independent mechanisms, and to determine if current data supports their future progression to clinical trials.

In contrast to animals, adult organs in plants are not determined during embryogenesis but gen-erated from meristematic cells as plants advance through development. Plant development in-volves a succession of different phenotypic stages and the transition between these stages is termed phase transition. Phase transitions need to be tightly regulated and coordinated to ensure they occur under optimal seasonal, environmental conditions. Polycarpic perennials transition through vegetative stages and the mature, reproductive stage many times during their lifecycles and, in both perennial and annual species, environmental factors and culturing methods can re-verse the otherwise unidirectional vector of plant development. Epigenetic factors regulating gene expression in response to internal cues and external (environmental) stimuli influencing the plant’s phenotype and development have been shown to control phase transitions. How develop-mental and environmental cues interact to epigenetically alter gene expression and influence these transitions are not well understood and understanding this interaction is important considering the current climate change scenarios, since epigenetic maladaptation could have catastrophic con-sequences for perennial plants in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Here we review studies focussing on the epigenetic regulators of the vegetative phase change and highlight how these mechanisms might act in exogenously induced plant rejuvenation and regrowth following stress.

The annual budget for the United States National Park Service was roughly three billion dollars in 2016. This is distributed amongst 405 National Parks, 23 national scenic and historic trails, and 60 wild and scenic rivers. Entrance fees and concessions generate millions of dollars in income for the National Park Service; however, this metric fails to account for the total value of the National Parks. In failing to consider the value of the ecosystem services provided by the National Parks we fail to quantify and appreciate the contributions our parks make to society. This oversight allows us to continue to underfund a valuable part of our natural capital and consequently damage our supporting environment, national heritage, monetary economy, and many of our diverse cultures. We explore a simple benefits transfer valuation of the United States national parks using National Land Cover Data from 2011 and ecosystem service values determined by Costanza (et al). This produces an estimate suggesting the parks provide $84 billion / year in ecosystem service value. If the natural infrastructure 'asset' that is our national park system had a budget comparable to a piece of commercial real estate of this value, the annual budget of the National Park Service would be roughly an order of magnitude larger at something closer to $30 billion rather than $3 billion.

Nickel nitrate diammine, Ni(NH₃)₂(NO₃)₂, can be synthesised from the thermal decomposition of the nickel nitrate hexammine, Ni[(NH₃)₆](NO₃)₂. The hexammine decomposes in 2 distinct steps; the first releases 4 equivalents of ammonia while the second involves the release of NO_x, N₂ and H₂O to yield NiO. The intermediate diammine compound can be isolated following the first deammoniation step or synthesised as a single phase from the hexammine under vacuum. Powder X-ray diffraction (PXD) experiments have allowed the structure of Ni(NH₃)₂(NO₃)₂ to be solved for the first time. The compound crystallises in orthorhombic space group Pca2₁ (a = 11.0628 (5) Å, b = 6.0454 (3) Å, c = 9.3526 (4) Å; Z = 4) and contains 11 non-hydrogen atoms in the asymmetric unit. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy demonstrates that the bonding in the ammine is consistent with the structure determined by PXD.

Capacitive contact imaging has shown potential in measuring skin properties including hydration, micro relief analysis, as well as solvent penetration measurements. Through calibration we can also measure the absolute permittivity of the skin, and from absolute permittivity we then work out the absolute solvent content in skin. In this paper, we present our latest study of capacitive contact imaging for skin characterizations and vivo skin solvent penetration. We will show how to use capacitive occlusion measurements to characterize skin damages, and how to calculate the absolute water content and solvent content in skin.

The Fruit Harvest Helper, a mobile application developed by Northwest Nazarene University’s (NNU) Robotics Vision Lab, aims to assist farmers in estimating fruit yield for apple orchards. Currently, farmers manually estimate the fruit yield for an orchard, which is a laborious task. Fruit Harvest Helper seeks to simplify their process. While prior research efforts at NNU concentrated on developing an iOS app for blossom detection, this current research aims to adapt that smart farming application for apple detection across multiple platforms, iOS and Android. The old and new applications were designed with an intuitive user interface that is easy for farmers to use, allowing for quick image selection and processing. Unlike before, the adapted app utilizes a color ratio-based image segmentation algorithm implemented in OpenCV C++ to detect apples in apple tree images selected for processing. The results of testing the algorithm with a dataset of images indicate an 8.52% Mean Absolute Percentage Error (MAPE) and a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.6 between detected and actual apples on the trees. These findings were obtained by evaluating the images from both the east and west sides of the trees, which was the best method to reduce the error of this algorithm. Although the Fruit Harvest Helper shows promise, there are many opportunities for improvement. These opportunities include exploring alternative machine-learning approaches for apple detection, conducting real-world testing without any human assistance, and expanding the app to detect various types of fruit. The Fruit Harvest Helper mobile application is among the many mobile applications contributing to precision agriculture, nearing readiness for farmers to use in yield monitoring and farm management.

Public health agencies are increasingly using pathogen whole genome sequencing (WGS) to support surveillance and epidemiologic investigations. As access to WGS has grown, greater amounts of molecular data have helped improve our ability to detect outbreaks, investigate transmission chains, and explore large-scale population dynamics, such as the spread of antibiotic resistance. However, the wide adoption of WGS also poses challenges due to the amount of data generated and the need to transform raw data prior to analysis. This complexity means that public health agencies may need more advanced computational infrastructure, a broader technical workforce, and new approaches to data management and stewardship. As both a guide for how this development could occur, and a place to initiate discussion, we describe ten proposals for developing and supporting an informatics infrastructure for public health.

Heat-stressed lactating dairy cattle exhibit unique metabolic symptoms; many of which are undoubtedly involved in heat-induced subfertility. Because of its known systemic effects, we hypothesized that γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) participates in the regulation of insulin and progesterone during heat stress. Multiparous lactating Holstein cows (n=6) were studied during four experimental periods: 1) thermoneutral (TN; d 1-5), 2) TN + hyperinsulinemic-hypoglycemic clamp (d 6-10), 3) heat stress (HS; d 16-20), and 4) HS + euglycemic clamp (d 21-25). Blood samples were collected once daily via coccygeal venipuncture into heparinized evacuated tubes. Analysis of GABA concentrations from all four treatment periods yielded no differences. In direct comparison to TN concentrations, plasma GABA tended to be decreased during HS (16.57±2.64 vs 13.87±2.28 ng/ml, respectively, P = 0.06). Both milk production and plasma insulin were moderately correlated with plasma GABA (r=0.35, P<0.01; r = -0.32, P<0.01). Plasma progesterone was correlated with plasma GABA concentrations during TN but not HS. These results are the first to indicate that peripheral GABA could be involved in regulating aspects of production and reproduction during heat stress. More research is needed to determine its precise role(s).

Evidence-based canine decontamination protocols are underrepresented in the veterinary literature. Aerosolized microbiological and chemical contaminants can pose a risk in deployment environments highlighting the need for improved canine field decontamination strategies. Prior work has established the efficacy of traditional, water-intensive methods on contaminant removal from the coat of the working canine; however, it is not known if similar reductions can be achieved with simple field expedient methods when resources are limited. The objective of this study was to measure the reduction of aerosolized contamination via a practical “wipe-down” procedure performed on working canine coats contaminated with a fluorescent, non-toxic, water-based aerosol. Disposable, lint-free towels were saturated with one of three treatments: water, 2% chlorhexidine gluconate scrub (CHX), or 7.5% povidone-iodine scrub (PVD). Both CHX and PVD were diluted at a 1:4 ratio. Treatments were randomly assigned to one of three quadrants established across the shoulders and back of commonly utilized working dog breeds (Labrador retrievers, n = 16; German shepherds, n = 16). The fourth quadrant remained unwiped, serving as a control. Reduction in fluorescent marker contamination was measured and compared across all quadrants. PVD demonstrated greater marker reduction compared to CHX or water in both breeds (P < 0.0001). Reduction was similar between CHX or water in Labradors (P = 0.86) and shepherds (P = 0.06). Effective wipe-down strategies using common veterinary cleansers should be further investigated and incorporated into decontamination practices to safeguard working canine health and prevent cross-contamination of human personnel working with these animals.

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

Deuterostomes make a sudden appearance in the fossil record during the Early Cambrian. Two deuterostome groups, the chordates and the vetulicolians, are of particular interest for understanding the evolutionary dynamics of the Cambrian evolutionary event. Lagerstätten in China and elsewhere have dramatically improved our understanding of the range of variation in these ancient animals. Cephalochordate and vertebrate body plans are well established at least by Cambrian Series 2. Taken together, roughly a dozen chordate genera and fifteen vetulicolian genera document an explosive radiation of deuterostomes at the base of the Cambrian. A new vetulicolian (••• nov. gen. nov. sp.) with a polygonal anterior section and a narrow, unsegmented posterior region (‘tail’) bearing possible myotomes provides new insight into the affinities of the various body plans that emerged during the Early Cambrian. It seems clear that the advent of deuterostomes near the Cambrian boundary involved both a reversal of gut polarity and a two-sided retinoic acid gradient, with a gradient discontinuity at the midpoint of the organism that is reflected in the sharp division of vetulicolians into anterior and posterior sections.

The Food and Drug Administration’s 2011 Process Validation Guidance and International Council for Harmonization Quality Guidelines recommend continued process verification (CPV) as a mandatory requirement for pharmaceutical, biopharmaceutical, and other regulated industries. As a part of product life cycle management, after process characterization in stage 1 and process qualification and validation in stage-2, CPV is performed as stage-3 validation during commercial manufacturing. CPV ensures that the process continues to remain within a validated state. CPV requires the collection and analysis of data related to critical quality attributes, critical material attributes, and critical process parameters on a minimum basis. Data is then used to elucidate process control regarding the capability to meet predefined specifications and stability via statistical process control tools. In statistical process control, control charts and Nelson rules are commonly used throughout the industry to monitor and trend data to ensure that a process remains in control. In the control chart, the mean value is taken as the center line, and 3σ limits are placed on either side of the center line. In CPV, manufactured lots are summarized, trended, and discussed at a cross-functional level at pre-defined intervals (either weekly, bi-weekly, or even monthly) based on the batch run rate. A cross-functional team assesses details regarding 1) violation frequency, 2) statistical strength of the signal, 3) violation magnitude and its impact on process or quality, and 4) any potential root causes for out-of-expectation or out-of-trend signals. The cross-functional team must analyze whether any signal identified by the control chart is reliable and must determine whether corrective action should be taken and justify the decision in the CPV meeting minutes based on statistical strength and reliability of the signal. However, basic control charts are susceptible to false alarms and nuisance alarms. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the assumptions behind control charts and the inherent false alarm rates for different Nelson rules. In this article, the authors have detailed the assumptions behind the usage of control charts, the rate of false alarms for different Nelson rules, the impact of skewness and kurtosis of a data distribution on the false alarm rate, and methods for optimizing control chart design by reducing false alarm rates and nuisance signals.

This work provides critical commentary on and corrections of a recently published taxonomy of Montiaceae. Valid citation and publication dates of novel taxa per the International Code of Nomenclature for Plants, Algae, and Fungi are summarized.

Montiaceae (Portulacineae) comprise a clade of at least 268 species plus ca. 27 subspecific taxa primarily of western North America, the Chilean Floristic Region, and temperate Australasia. This work uses existing phylogenetic metadata to elaborate a new cladistic taxonomic synthesis. A total of 24 taxa are validated, nine new and 15 necessary nomenclatural recombinations. Hypotheses of Montiaceae historical biogeographical, ecological, and phenotypic evolution are evaluated in light of recent metadata and in terms of classical, contemporary, and novel systematic and evolutionary epistemology.

This article analyses entropy changes triggered by specific events in deterministic and indeterministic systems. Article considers a simple model consisting of water in a cuvette, an ice cube in the device above the cuvette and a random number generator (RNG) that controls the probability of dropping the ice into water. Article introduces the entropic potential Z(T, A) of an event A occurred in a system R at the moment Т₀, which describes the influence of the event A to the entropy of the system R in the future (for the moments T>Т₀). The entropic potential of an event Z(T,A) can be calculated as the difference between the mathematical expectations of entropy of the system R for the moment T (T>Т₀) made immediately before and immediately after the event A as Z(T, A) = Ŝ_T(Т₀+dT) - Ŝ_T(Т₀-dT). Article also presents examples of calculations of the entropic potentials of events in indeterministic systems with different probabilities of events. Since real-life systems are mostly indeterministic, the entropic potentials of events in real-life usually have non-zero values. The entropic potentials of the events "useful" for the system are negative, and entropic potentials of the events "harmful" for the system are positive.

Phylogenies depict shared evolutionary patterns and structures on a tree topology, enabling the identification of hierarchical and historical relationships. Recent analyses indicate that phylogenetic signals extend beyond the primary structure of protein or DNA, and various aspects of codon usage biases are phylogenetically conserved. Several functional biases exist within genes, including the number of codons that are used, the position of the codons, and the overall nucleotide composition of the genome. Codon usage biases can significantly affect transcription and translational efficiencies, leading to differential gene expression. Although systematic codon usage biases originate from the overall GC content of a species, ramp sequences, codon aversion, codon pairing, and tRNA competition also significantly affect gene expression and are phylogenetically conserved. We review recent advances in analyzing codon usage biases and their implications in phylogenomics. We first outline common phylogenomic techniques. Next, we identify several codon usage biases and their effects on secondary structure, gene expression, and implications in phylogenetics. Finally, we suggest how codon usage biases can be included in phylogenomics. By incorporating various codon usage biases in common phylogenomic algorithms, we propose that we can significantly improve tree inference. Since codon usage biases have significant biological implications, they should be considered in conjunction with other phylogenetic algorithms.

A significant portion of the harvested land base in western Canada is becoming old enough or entering a phase where thinning is a legitimate option. A comprehensive review of the existing knowledge of commercial thinning (CT) treatments applied to pine and spruce-dominated stands in Alberta was conducted, with particular regard to the intensity, the timing of interventions, method and impacts on crop tree growth responses. Although the geographical focus of this review is Alberta, information on this topic is more complete in other areas of North America, and Europe, where there is a long history of density management. In areas of eastern North America, our review revealed that CT from below, with tree removal levels from 27 to 43% of the basal area could increase the merchantable wood volume from 11 to 60 m3 ha-1, depending on stand age and intensity of thinning. For Alberta conditions, and considering the risks, we conclude that commercial thinning basal area removal should be in the range of 25 to 40%, depending on a variety of factors such as species, wind firmness and insect or disease incidence and risk. Thinning too aggressively and/or too late will increase the blowdown risk but the literature is fairly consistent in suggesting that live crown ratios should be >40% to maximize the chance of growth response and minimize the blowdown risk. In cases where stands are also threatened by stressors such as drought, wind, and insect or disease outbreaks, CT treatments likely offer the potential at limiting the overall risk, but localized knowledge and experience are critical. It is intended that the information presented may support ongoing and future research trials and growth and yield (G&Y) model development with regard to potential CT treatments to apply and the likely results of practical application to commercial forestry.

This paper presents a comprehensive and adaptive framework for orchid conservation programs illustrated with data from published and unpublished case studies. There is a specific focus on West Australian terrestrial orchids, but many of the approaches have universal relevance. Aspects of the framework include (1) setting appropriate objectives, (2) establishing effective collaborations between scientists, volunteers and regulators to fill knowledge and funding gaps, (3) use of survey and demographics data to determine extinction risks and management requirements for species, (4) effective habitat management to overcome threats such as grazing, (5) finding potential new habitats by modelling climate and site data, (6) investigating the effectiveness of pollinators and (7) using seed baiting to detect mycorrhizal fungi. The relative cost and effectiveness of different methods used to propagate orchids for translocation are compared. Methods known to be successful, in order of complexity, include placement of seed in situ, vegetative propagation, symbiotic germination in non-sterile organic matter, symbiotic germination in sterile culture, asymbiotic sterile germination and clonal division in tissue culture. These form a continuum of complexity, cost, time required, faculties needed, as well as the capacity to maintain genetic diversity and produce seedlings preadapted to survive in situ. They all start with seed collection and lead to seed storage, living collections used as tuber banks and seed orchards, as well as translocation for conservation. They could also lead to commercial availability and sustainable ecotourism, both of which are needed to reduce pressure on wild plants. Overall, there has been a strong preference to use relatively complex, expensive and time-consuming methods for orchid conservation, despite evidence that simpler approaches have also been successful. These simpler methods, which include in situ seed placement and non-sterile germination on inorganic substrates, should be trialled in combination with more complex orchid propagation methods as part of an adaptive management framework. It is essential that orchid conservation projects harness the unique biological features of orchids, such as abundant seed production and mycorrhizal fungi which are far more widespread than their hosts. This is necessary to increase the efficiency and coverage of recovery actions for the largest and most threatened plant family.

This paper develops mathematical models examining possible roles of oxytocin and oxytocin receptors in the development of autism. This is done by demonstrating that mathematical operations on normalized data from the Stanford study (K.J. Parker, 2016), which establishes a correspondence between severity of autism in children and their oxytocin blood levels, generates a graph that is the same as the graph of mathematical operations on a normalized theoretical model for the severity of autism. This procedure establishes the validity of the theoretical model and the significance of oxytocin receptors in autism. A steady-state model follows, explaining the constant baseline concentrations of oxytocin observed in the cerebral spinal fluid and blood in terms of the neuromodulation by oxytocin of oxytocin receptors on the magnocellular neurons that produce oxytocin in nuclei in the hypothalamus. The implications of these models for possible roles of oxytocin and oxytocin receptors in autism is considered for several unrelated conditions that may be associated with autism. These are: oxytocin receptor desensitization and down-regulation as factors during labor in offspring autism development; reductions in the oxytocin receptor numbers in the fixed oxytocin receptor expression that occurs before birth; MAST Immune System disease; and the excess number of dendritic spines from lack of pruning observed in brains of autistic people. Research into the feasibility of generating magnocellular neurons and other neurons from adult stem cells is suggested as a way of doing invitro studies of oxytocin and oxytocin receptors to assess the validity of theories presented in this paper.

Montiaceae comprise a clade of at least 270 species plus about 20 accepted subspecific taxa, primarily of western America and Australia. The present paper is the first of a two-part work that seeks to evaluate evolutionary theory via metadata analysis of Montiaceae. In particular, it uses metadata analysis to evaluate the theory in theory-laden methods that have been applied in evolutionary analyses of Montiaceae. This part focuses on phylogeny and phylogeography. The second part focuses on phenotypic and ecological diversification. An emergent theme in this paper is the degree to which historical idiosyncrasy during Montiaceae evolution misleads quantitative methods of evolutionary reconstruction and phylogeographic interpretation. This suggests that idiosyncraticity itself is a fundamental property of evolution. The second part of this work elaborates this notion as the Principle of Evolutionary Idiosyncraticity. The present part describes idiosyncraticity in molecular phylogenetic and phylogeographic data and uses this notion to refine ideas on Montiaceae evolution. Phylogenetic metadata conflicts and conflicting phylogeographic interpretations are discussed. I conclude that, owing to PEI, quantitative methods of evolutionary analysis cannot be globally accurate, though they are useful heuristically. In contrast, classical narrative analysis is robust in the face of PEI.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is a glioma and the most aggressive type of brain tumor with a dismal average survival time, despite the standard of care. One promising alternative therapy is boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT), which is a noninvasive therapy for treating locally invasive malignant tumors, including glioma. BNCT involves boron-10-released radiation directly into tumor cells with minimal damage to healthy tissues. This therapy lacks clinically approved targeted blood-brain-barrier-permeating delivery vehicles for therapeutic drug/ boron-10. Nanoparticles, particularly gold nanoparticles (GNPs), are selective and effective drug-delivery vehicles because of their desirable properties, facile synthesis, and biocompatibility. This review discusses historical and current GNP therapeutic applications as a drug delivery vehicle for treating glioma. Furthermore, GNPs loaded with therapeutic drugs, imaging agents, and GBM-targeting antibodies/ peptides to treat GBM will be discussed. Additionally, the importance of upper and lower limits on therapeutic efficacy will be described and explored followed by highlighting their advantages, limitations, and possible toxicity. Recent research and selected important findings for GNP-mediated pharmaceutics in GBM will also be considered.

We construct a Bayesian estimator for the dilution of a wastewater sample. When wastewater is diluted by rainwater an estimate of the level of dilution is required if we are to normalise sample measurements of disease markers such as SARS-CoV-2 RNA. We consider the situation where flow measurements are available, but will regularly be unreliable because of the action of combined sewer outflows (CSOs) and wastewater storage tanks, which divert wastewater away from treatment plants when the flow is excessive. However, we also have proxies for the flow from various chemical markers (e.g.\ phosphate, ammonium, electrical conductivity), whose level per unit of population is fixed. The new flow estimator has multiple advantages compared to existing procedures: credible intervals for the estimates; optimal weighting of the chemical markers; systematic handling of missing and censored values; and model based smoothing without lags.

Calandrinia speciosa Lehm. and Calandrinia spectabilis Otto & Dietr. are 1830s-vintage validly-published names of Chilean plant species evidently pertaining to taxa currently classified in Cistanthesect. Cistanthe (Montiaceae). The taxonomic status of both names is problematic, because they were not typified or illustrated, their precise Chilean provenance is unknown, and their diagnoses/descriptions might apply to more than one species. Both names have been and continue to be applied taxonomically haphazardly. The existence of two later conceptually heterotypic synonyms of C. speciosa Lehm, viz. C. speciosa Lindl. non Lehm. and C. speciosa Hook. non Lehm., has exacerbated the confusion. The present work summarizes the history of the application of these names in botanical taxonomy and horticulture. Both likely, but not unequivocally, refer to plants of the later-described, typified, and otherwise well-documented species Calandrinia laxiflora Phil. [≡ Cistanthe laxiflora (Phil.) Peralta & D.I. Ford]. But persistent ambiguities justify proposals to reject both C. speciosa and C. spectabilis.

The present paper reviews evidence for ecological evolution of Montiaceae. Montiaceae (Portulacineae) comprise a family of ca. 275 species and ca. 25 subspecific taxa of flowering plants distributed mainly in extreme western America, with additional endemism elsewhere, including other continents and islands. They have diversified repeatedly across steep ecological gradients. Based on narrative analysis, I argue that phylogenetic transitions from annual to perennial life history have been more frequent than suggested by computational phylogenetic reconstructions. I suggest that a reported phylogenetic correlation between the evolution of life history and temperature niche is coincidental and not causal. I demonstrate how statistical phylogenetic comparative analysis (PhCA) missed evidence for marked moisture niche diversification among Montiaceae. I discount PhCA evidence for the relation between Montiaceae genome duplication and ecological diversification. Based on the present analysis of Montiaceae evolution, I criticize the premise of the prevalent statistical approach to PhCA, which tests Darwinian deterministic hypotheses against stochastic evolutionary null models. I discuss theoretical/empirical evidence that evolution is neither stochastic, nor Darwinistically-determined, but idiosyncratic. Idiosyncraticity describes the outcome of a stochastically perturbed nonlinear chaos-like process. The Principle of Evolutionary Idiosyncraticity (PEI) is based on the evolutionary theory of Natural Drift, which maintains that determinism in evolution is a property of the organism and not, as maintained by the theory of Natural Selection, its traits or its milieu. This determinism is characteristic of chaotic functions, which are absolutely determinate, generate self-similarity, but remain absolutely unpredictable. PEI explains precisely observations that evolution proceeds not linearly, but chaotically, producing both quasi-linear fractal-like patterns and non-linear jumps. PEI has ramifications for all areas of macroevolutionary research. In particular, it demonstrates both the fallacy and futility of the statistical PhCA approach that interprets evolutionary causes in terms of evolutionary correlations. However, statistical methods of PhCA can be applied heuristically and fruitfully to reveal idiosyncraticity and discover evolutionary novelty. This, in turn, is demonstrated by the emergence of statistical anomalies in evolutionary analyses of Montiaceae.

The authors argue that despite significant numbers of foreign workers present in the Russian labor market Russia remains unattractive for highly skilled foreign workers. The economic crisis the country has faced since 2014 has resulted in a further outflow of foreign nationals from OECD countries. So Russia has to look for employees among newcomers from the former Soviet states, the majority of whom come from Central Asia. Russian politics with regard to immigration is characterized by the collision between “geopolitical” and domestic policy rationales. On one hand, seeking to maximize its influence in the post-Soviet space Russia provides preferential conditions of employment for citizens of partner countries in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. On the other hand, the Kremlin is afraid to liberalize its approach to immigration and the integration of immigrants through fear of losing popularity among the electorate. The second substantial feature of Russian immigration politics is an extreme level of securitization of migration issues. The government considers these issues primarily through a policing lens. One cannot claim that the Russian state does not take any steps to liberalize “migratory regulation”; however, the effect of these measures is being vastly reduced by new restrictions. In addition, liberally designed laws do not bring the expected results due to the corrupt practices that pervade the whole of migration regulation.

A Berry geometrical phase is identified in a strongly metastable system containing dynamically responsive clathrate hydrate structures within a crystal-fluid material. High energy degeneracy in the associated chemistry produces local stability and false vacuum conditions that lead to non-extensive and non-additive contributions in the fundamental thermodynamic relation. Application of Ginzburg-Landau theory and the scaling laws reveals a coherence length and a penetration depth for a macro-scale dual superconductor. The coherence length determines non-extensive volume changes whilst its inverse gives the Higgs mass. The penetration depth determines the extent of QCD vacuum suppression whilst its inverse gives the vector boson mass together with indirect manifestation as non-additive hyperbolic curvature. Simultaneous emergence of the Ginzburg-Landau superconducting phase transition is consistent with gauge-invariant coupling of the scalar field to the Yang-Mills action in QCD. The discovery of an energy gap in the gradient energy term of the system Lagrangian is associated with a critical correlation length revealed in the transition from a gapped to a gapless superconducting state. Together with the emergence and absorption of the Higgs-like scalar field, a mechanism for describing a renormalized QCD mass gap arises.

Many papers in recent years have been devoted to estimating the per pixel proportions of three broad classes of materials (e.g. photosynthetic vegetation, non-photosynthetic vegetation and bare soil) using data from multispectral sensors. Many of these papers use estimation methods based on the linear mixture model. Very few of these papers assess the accuracy of their estimators. I show how to produce confidence intervals (CIs) and joint confidence regions (JCRs) for the proportions associated with various linear mixture models. There are two main models, both of which assume that the coefficients in the model are non-negative. The first model assumes that the coefficients sum to 1. The second does not, but uses rescaling of the estimated coefficients to produce estimated proportions. Three variants of these two models are also analysed. JCRs are shown to be particularly informative, because they are typically better at localising the information than CIs are. The methodology is illustrated using examples from Landsat Thematic Mapper data at 1169 locations across Australia, each of which has associated field observations. There is also discussion about the extent to which the methodology can be extended to hyperspectral data.

Cistanthe subspeciosa Hershk. (Cistanthe Spach sect. Cistanthe; Montiaceae) here is described as a herbaceous to suffruticose perennial from the vicinity of Copiapó, Chile. Its epithet is juxtaposed with its rank in order to highlight its subspecific aesthetic. In particular, the specioid is infrequent, locally restricted, and lacks unique diagnostic traits. Rather, it is diagnosed by a combination of traits characteristic of different Cistanthe species from the region, none of which can be identified as the referential species to which Cs. subspeciosa might be considered subspecific. The intersection between species nomenclature and species ontology thus is discussed. I hypothesize that Cs. subspeciosa is irrigated primarily by mountain runoff rather than localized precipitation, and that it might be both resistant to and dependent upon high substrate metal concentrations characteristic of the Copiapó region. The ornamental value of this and other Cistanthe species is discussed. Finally, additional historical details pertaining to Calandrinia spectabilis Otto & Dietr. and Cistanthe philhershkovitziana are provided.

The main goal of this paper is to present results of preliminary archaeological research on the south side of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan. We test the hypothesis that agropastoral land use changed over four millennia from the Bronze Age through the ethnographic Kirghiz period due to economic, socio-political, and religious changes in the prehistoric and historic societies of this region. Our research objectives are to: (1) describe and analyze survey results from Lower Kizil Suu Valley; (2) discuss the results of radiometric and archaeobotanical samples taken from three stratigraphic profiles from three settlements from the Juuku Valley, including these chronological periods: the Wusun period (200 to 400 CE), the Qarakhanid period (1100 to 1200 CE), and the ethnographic Kirghiz period (1700 to 1900 CE); and (3) conduct preliminary GIS spatial analyses on the Iron Age mortuary remains (Saka and Wusun period). This research emerges out of the first archaeological surveys conducted in 2019 - 2021 and includes the Lower Kizil Suu alluvial fan; it is an initial step toward developing a model for agropastoral land use for upland valleys of the Inner Tian Shan Mountains.

This study investigated the relationship between functional movement (FM) and adiposity in adolescents (16-17 years). This research is a part of the CRO-PALS study conducted in a random sample of adolescents (n=652, mean age±SD: 16.6±0.4). Body mass index (BMI), a sum of four skinfolds (S4S), waist and hip circumference were measured, and FM was assessed via Functional Movement Screen™ (FMSTM). Multilevel analysis were employed to determine the relationship between different predictors and total FMS score. After controlling for age, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and socioeconomic status, relationship between variables of adiposity and total FMS score was significant and negative among boys (BMI:β=-0.18, p<0.0001; S4S:β=-0.04, p<0.0001; waist circumference:β=-0.08, p<0.0001; hip circumference:β=-0.09, p<0.0001). However, among girls, in adjusted models, only S4S showed a significant and negative effect on total FMS score (β=-0.03, p<0.0001), while other coefficients failed to reach significance (BMI:β=-0.05, p=0.23; waist circumference:β=-0.04, p=0.06; hip circumference:β=-0.01, p=0.70). Results showed that the effect of adiposity on FM in adolescence is sex-specific, suggesting that boys with overweight and obesity could be more prone to develop dysfunctional movement patterns. Therefore, exercise interventions directed toward correcting dysfunctional patterns should be sex-specific, targeting more boys with overweight and obesity rather than adolescent girls with overweight and obesity.

Multi-task Gaussian processes (MTGPs) are a powerful approach for modeling structured dependencies among multiple tasks. Researchers on MTGPs have contributed to enhance this approach in various ways. Current MTGP methods, however, cannot model nonlinear task correlations in a general way. In this paper we address this problem. We focus on spectral mixture (SM) based kernels and propose an enhancement of this type of kernels, called multi-task generalized convolution spectral mixture (MT-GCSM) kernel. The MT-GCSM kernel can model nonlinear task correlations and mixtures dependency, including time and phase delay, not only between different tasks but also within a task at the spectral mixture level. Each task in MT-GCSM has its own generalized convolution spectral mixture kernel (GCSM) with a different number of convolution structures and all spectral mixtures from different tasks are dependent. Furthermore, the proposed kernel uses inner and outer full cross convolution between base spectral mixtures, so that the base spectral mixtures in the tasks are not necessarily aligned. Extensive experiments on synthetic and real-life datasets illustrate the difference between MT-GCSM and other kernels as well as the practical effectiveness of MT-GCSM.

Montiaceae (Portulacineae) comprise a clade of at least 270 species primarily of western America and Australia. This work uses existing phylogenetic metadata to elaborate a new cladistic taxonomic synthesis, and clarifies morphological circumscriptions of several poorly known species. A total of 21 taxa are validated, seven new and 14 necessary nomenclatural recombinations). Hypotheses of Montiaceae historical biogeography and phenotypic evolution are evaluated in light of recent metadata.

Conservation of natural habitats in human-dominated landscapes is critical for halting biodiversity loss. Maintaining habitat quantity and connectivity requires landscape-level collective action, which results from environmental decisions made by individual land owners. We investigate how individual decision making in a rural collective translates into quantitative differences in landscape-level environmental outcomes. Behavioral science has become a critical domain of knowledge in conservation, but little attention has been paid to how multiple behavioral drivers determine the success of collective environmental action. We developed a social-ecological model for landscape-level conservation using a detailed data set of 600 land owners in New Zealand. With the model, we tested whether the effect of social influence networks on collective conservation action was altered by their interplay with land owners’ personal characteristics, connections to cross-scale actors and local environmental contexts. Interactions between multiple behavioral drivers determined the environmental outcomes of collective action in unexpected ways by modifying, muting or amplifying the effects of single drivers. Importantly, we detected a social-ecological mechanism for rapid change in the extent of protected habitats, which can explain highly successful or failed environmental outcomes of collective conservation. Further, when environmentally desirable and undesirable behaviors spread simultaneously through the social network, homophily and network cohesion hinder desirable environmental outcomes. This effect can be modified by other drivers such as social responses to local environmental change. Thus, understanding how the antagonistic and synergistic effects of behavioral drivers can be best utilized in conservation will benefit biodiversity and ensure benefits that humans obtain from biodiversity.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a progressive neuromuscular disease caused by mutations to the dystrophin gene - resulting in deficiency of dystrophin protein, loss of myofiber integrity in skeletal and cardiac muscle, and eventual cell death and replacement with fibrotic tissue. Pathologic cardiac manifestations occur in nearly every DMD patient, with development of cardiomyopathy - the leading cause of death - inevitable by adulthood. As early cardiac abnormalities are difficult to detect, timely diagnosis and appropriate treatment modalities remain a challenge. There is no cure for DMD – treatment is aimed at delaying disorder progression and alleviating symptoms. A comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiological mechanisms is crucial to development of targeted treatments. While established hypotheses of underlying mechanisms include sarcolemmal weakening, upregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines, and perturbed ion homeostasis, mitochondrial stress has recently come into focus as a potential key contributor. Several experimental compounds targeting the skeletal muscle pathology of DMD are in development, but effects of such agents on cardiac function remain unclear. Synergistic integration of small molecule- and gene-target-based drugs with metabolic, immune, or ion balance-enhancing compounds into a combinatorial therapy offers potential for treating dystrophin deficiency-induced cardiomyopathy, making it crucial to understand the underlying mechanisms driving the disorder.

Lignocellulosic biomass has demonstrated great potential as feedstock for pellet production, notwithstanding the fact that the industrial production of pellets is faced with some economic challenges. This study presents a technoeconomic analysis of six case scenarios to develop a process model for pellet production from sawdust and oat straw that employs torrefaction and steam explosion pretreatment prior to pelletization. SuperPro Designer was used to carry out this evaluation. The pellet plants were designed to have a capacity of 9.09 t/h of sawdust and oat straw each. The pellet yield ranged from 59 kt– 72 kt/year. Scenarios analyzed included variations of steam explosion and torrefaction. In some scenarios materials were lost in the form of liquid and gas due to the pretreatment process. The breakdown of equipment purchase cost showed that the torrefaction reactor is the most expensive unit with about 51% of the purchase cost. Facility-dependent and feedstock costs were the major significant contributors to the pellet production cost. The profitability of pellet production as determined by the net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period and was found to be sensitive to variations in feedstock cost.

Dietary contaminants are often an over-looked factor in the health of zebrafish. Typically, water is considered to be the source for most contaminants, especially within an aquatic environment. For this reason, source water for zebrafish recirculating systems is highly regulated and monitored daily. Most facilities use reverse osmosis or de-ionized water filtration systems to purify incoming water to ensure that contaminants, as well as pathogens, do not enter their zebrafish housing units. However, diets are rarely tested for contaminants and, in the case of manufactured zebrafish feeds, since the product is marketed for aquaculture or aquarium use it is assumed that the feed is acceptable for animals used for research. The following provides examples as to how contaminants could lead to negative effects on development and behavior of developing zebrafish.

Molecular motors play a vital role in the transport of material within the cell. A family of motors of growing interest are burnt bridge ratchets (BBRs). BBRs rectify spatial fluctuations into directed motion by creating and destroying motor-substrate bonds. It has been shown that the motility of a BBR can be optimized as a function of the system parameters. However, the amount of energy input required to generate such motion and the resulting efficiency has been less well characterized. Here, using a deterministic model, we calculate the efficiency of a particular type of BBR, namely a polyvalent hub interacting with a surface of substrate. We find that there is an optimal burn rate and substrate concentration that leads to optimal efficiency. Additionally, the substrate turnover rate has important implications on motor efficiency. We also consider the effects of force-dependent unbinding on the efficiency and find that under certain conditions the motor works more efficiently when bond breaking is included. Our results provide guidance for how to optimize the efficiency of BBRs.

This paper uses preliminary studies of archaeological sites (burial mounds and settlements) from the Iron Age through Medieval periods (ca. 800 BCE to 1200 CE) in the Juuku Valley on the South side of Lake Issyk-Kul to model land-use across vertical mountain zones. To do so, we have established a radiometric chronology, conducted test excavations of an Iron Age settlement and a Turkic period burial, undertaken preliminary archaeobotanical research, and pedestrian surveys. Seed remains of wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), broomcorn millet (Panicum milaceum) and foxtail millet (Setaria italica) and legumes were recovered in very small quantities from an Iron Age upland settlement at 2100 m asl and a Turkic period burial mound at 1934 m asl. These preliminary archaeobotanical results are compared to the Talgar Iron Age settlements on the north side of the Tian Shan Mountain range in Kazakhstan studied earlier by Robert Spengler. Small samples of faunal remains found at the Turkic period kurgan and from a profile at the upland Iron Age settlement indicate livestock herding of sheep/goats, cattle, and horses in Juuku Valley. The goal of this paper is to test the hypothesis that pastoral transhumance and agropastoralism were economic strategies used by ancient societies during the Iron Age through Medieval periods in mountain-river valley areas between 750 m to 2500 m asl. These economic strategies that combined the pasturing of sheep, goats, cattle and horses with the cultivation of cereals were adapted to the use of different vegetational zones along a vertical gradient. This paper based on preliminary research of upland sites of the Juuku Valley in Kyrgyzstan, initiates a long-term research study of four millennia of settlements that ranged from pastoral transhumance, pastoral nomadism, and combined mountain agriculture using survey data and test excavations.

This study aimed to determine shifts in microbial populations regarding richness and diversity from the daily use of a popular over-the-counter nasal spray. In addition, the finding of nasal commensal bacterial species that overlap with the oral microbiome may prove to be potential probiotics for the “gateway microbiomes.” Nasal swab samples were obtained before and after using the most popular over-the-counter (OTC) nasal spray in 10 participants aged 18–48. All participants were healthy volunteers with no significant medical histories. The participants were randomly assigned a number by randomizing software and consisted of five men and five women. The sampling consisted of placing a nasal swab atraumatically into the nasal cavity. The samples were preserved and sent to Northwestern University Sequencing Center for whole-genome deep sequencing. After 21 days of OTC nasal spray use twice daily, the participants returned for further nasal microbiome sampling. The microbial analysis included all bacteria, archaea, viruses, molds, and yeasts via deep sequencing for species analysis. The Northwestern University Sequencing Center utilized artificial intelligence analysis to determine shifts in species and strains following nasal spray use that resulted in changes in diversity and richness.

A global revolution in information and communication technologies (ICT) has occurred over the past few decades, emerging first in industrialized countries and then in developing countries. While researchers have examined many facets of the ICT revolution, relatively little work has systematically examined the degree to which ICT has reduced natural disaster vulnerability. In this article we use cross-country data over the 1980-2013 period to estimate the relationship between newly-emerging cell phone access/use and disaster-induced fatalities. Our estimates suggest that a one-standard-deviation increase in cell phone usage reduces disaster fatalities by nearly one half. The estimated effect increases to almost three quarters for geologic events where people are typically afflicted without warning. The largest marginal benefit from cell phones in terms of saving lives come from events where there is typically no warning, thus many are caught by surprise; cell phones are used to call for help and coordinate assistance.

Successful fertilization treatments targeted to improve stand productivity while reducing operational complexities and cost depend on a clear understanding of soil nutrient availability under varying environmental conditions. Soil nutrient data collected from 154 forest sites throughout the Inland Northwest, USA were analyzed to examine soil nutrient characteristics on different geologic soil parent materials and to rank soil fertility. Results show that soil parent material explains significant differences in soil nutrient availability. Soils developed from volcanic rocks have the highest CEC and are relatively high in P, K, S, Mg, Cu, Ca, and B, but generally poor in N. Forest soils developed from plutonic rocks exhibit the lowest CEC and are low in N, S, K, Mg, Cu, and Ca, but higher in P. Some soils located on mixed glacial till are low only in K, Cu, Mg, and Ca, but many glacial soils are relatively rich in other nutrients, albeit the second lowest CEC. Soils developed from metasedimentary and sedimentary rocks are among those with lowest soil nutrient availability for P and B. Sulfur was found to have the highest concentrations in metasedimentary influenced soils and the least in sedimentary derived soils. Our results should be useful in designing site-specific fertilizer and nutrient management prescriptions for forest stands growing on soils developed from these major geologies within the Inland Northwest region of the United States.

A monocular vision pose estimation and identification algorithm used on a small spacecraft for future orbital servicing is studied in this paper. A tracker spacecraft equipped with a short-range vision system is proposed to recover the 3D structural model of a space target in orbit and automatically identify its solar panels and main body using only visual information from an onboard camera. The proposed reconstruction and identification framework is tested using structure-from-motion and point cloud identification methods. The Efficient Perspective-n-Points (EPnP) descriptor is used for pose estimation. Triangulated points are used for component segmentation by means of orientation histogram descriptors. Experimental results based on laboratory images of a spacecraft model show the effectiveness and robustness of our approach.

Selective Paste Intrusion (SPI) is an additive manufacturing (AM) process in which thin layers of aggregates are selectively bonded by cement paste only where the structure is to be produced. In this way, concrete elements with complex geometries and structures can be created. Reinforcement is required to increase the flexural strength of the concrete elements and, thus, enable their applicability in practice. Integrating the reinforcement is a difficult task, particularly in the case of SPI due to the layer-wise printing method. Especially with respect to possible complex structures, the production of the reinforcement needs to be adapted to SPI, thereby offering a high degree of freedom. One concept for a reinforcement integration is combining the two additive manufacturing processes SPI and Wire and Arc Additive Manufacturing (WAAM). However, since the two processes serve different fields of application, their compatibility is not necessarily given. Ongoing investigations show that the temperatures caused by WAAM adversely affect both, the cement paste rheology required for sufficient paste penetration into the particle bed and the overall concrete strength. This paper provides an overview of ongoing research focusing on different cooling strategies and their effects on the compressive strength of SPI-printed concrete parts.

Body temperature responses were recorded during phases of work (waiting to work in close proximity to search site, active work in a search site, and post-work recovery crated in vehicle) in human remains detection dogs during search training. State or federally certified human remains detection dogs (n = 8) completed eight iterations of searching, rotating through six different types of search environments to detect numerous scent sources including partial and complete, buried, hidden, or fully visible human remains. Internal temperature (Tgi) of the body was measured continuously using an ingestible thermistor in the gastrointestinal tract. Mean total phase times were: waiting to work: 9.17 minutes (± 2.27); active work: 8:58 minutes (± 2:49); and post work recovery: 24:04 minutes (± 10.59). Tgi was impacted by phase of work (P < 0.001) with a small increase during active work, with mean peak temperature 39.4 °C (± 0.34 ºC) during that period. Tgi continued to increase for a mean of 7:37 (± 6:04) minutes into the post-work recovery phase in the handler’s vehicle with a mean peak Tgi of 39.66 °C (± 0.41 ºC). No significant increase in temperature was measured during the waiting to work phase, suggesting anticipation of work did not appear to contribute to overall body temperature increase during the waiting to work recovery cycle. Continued increase of gastrointestinal body temperature several minutes after cessation of exercise indicates that risk of heat injury does not immediately stop when the dog stops exercising, although none of the dogs in this study reached clinically concerning body temperatures or displayed any behavioral signs suggestive of pending heat injury. More work is needed to better understand the impact of vehicle crating on post-work recovery temperatures in dogs.

Our paper examines the place of Pan-Africanism as an educational, political, and cultural movement which had a lasting impact on the on the relationship between liberation and people of African descent, in the continent of Africa and the Diaspora. We also show its evolution, beginning with formerly enslaved Africans in the Americas, to the colonial borders of the 1884 Berlin Conference, and conclude with the independence movements in Africa. For formerly enslaved Africans, Pan-Africanism was an idea that helped them see their commonalities as victims of racism. That is, they realized that they were enslaved because they came from the same continent and shared the same racial heritage. They associated the continent of Africa with freedom. The partitioning of Africa at the Berlin Conference (colonialism) created pseudo-nation states out of what was initially seen as an undivided continent. Pan-Africanism provided an ideology for rallying Africans at home and abroad against colonialism, and the creation of colonial nation-states did not erase the idea of a united Africa. As different African nations gained political independence, they took it upon themselves to support those countries fighting for their independence. The belief, then, was that as long as one African nation was not free, the continent could not be viewed as free. The existence of nation-states did not imply the negation of Pan-Africanism. The political ideas we examine include those of Marcus Garvey, W.E.B. Du Bois, Kwame Nkrumah, and Thabo Mbeki.

The overarching purpose of this review was to highlight the utility of different aerobic field tests in terms of the parameters they provide, with a specific focus on shuttle running and all-out testing. Various field tests are discussed in detail and are categorised according to linear continuous running tests (e.g. 12-minute Cooper Test, University of Montreal Track Test [UMTT], 1200/1600 m time trials, 3-minute all-out test for running [3MT]), intermittent shuttle running tests (e.g. yo-yo inter-mittent recovery test level 1 [YYIR1], 30-15 intermittent fitness test [IFT], and the intermittent all-out shuttle test [IAOST]), and continuous shuttle running tests (e.g. 1.2 km shuttle run test [1.2SRT], maximal multi-stage 20-m shuttle test [MSR], 25-m, 30 m and 50-m 3-minute all-out shuttle test [AOST]). Readers will be guided through the theoretical and practical underpinnings of the 3MT methodology, where the all-out testing methodology is stationed within the testing paradigm, and how to practically implement and interpret the results thereof.

A Fall armyworm (FAW) is a major pest of maize and causes huge losses. Chemical control is the commonly used strategy FAW among farmers. Efficacy of baculovirus against FAW has been proven, however, farmers may not afford the products. The use of farmer produced baculovirus mixtures could provide an opportunity for a nature-based solution for FAW at low cost. This study evaluated the potential of virus extracted from FAW larvae treated with a commercial baculovirus (Littovir) for the management of FAW under laboratory and field conditions. In Laboratory, the virus extracted from 25, 50, 75 and 100 FAW larvae caused varied mortality on FAW instars. The highest mortality (45%) on 1st-3rd instars was caused by Littovir followed by virus extract from 100 FAW larvae (36%). Under field conditions, even though virus extracts did not offer adequate protection against the FAW damage, the maize yield was comparable to commercial insecticides treated plots. This study has shown the potential of use of virus extracts for management of FAW. This would offer the farmers a sustainable and affordable option for management of FAW as it would require the farmers to purchase the commercial baculovirus once and collect larvae from treated plots for repeat applications.

The goal of the project was to understand how topography/bathymetry is imported and used in GeoFlood with an aim towards improving efficiency and computational cost of bathymetry handling in GeoFlood.GeoFlood is a software to simulate overland flooding basing on shallow water equations.Numerical methods and programming were used for this study.The GeoFlood was ran on a given data set (Malpasset data) and it was found out that indeed topography handling during simulations has to be improved to minimise the computational time and also improve the efficiency.Through this research, we also looked at the the shallow water equations, and the numerical techniques used to solve the equations

The metaphor of being touched by music is widespread and almost universal. The tactile experience, moreover, has received growing interest in recent years. There is, however, a need to go beyond a mere metaphorical use of the term, by positioning the tactile experience within the broader frame of embodied cognition and the experiential turn in cognitive science. This article explores the possible contribution of a science of touch by defining music as a vibrational art that impinges upon the body and the senses. It takes as a starting point the clinical findings on the psychological and physiological value of tender touch with a special focus on the method of kangaroo mother care, which is a method for holding the baby against the chest of the mother, skin-to-skin. It is seen as one of the most basic affiliative bonding with stimuli that elicit reward. Via an extensive review of the research literature, it is questioned to what extent this rationale can be translated to the realm of music. There are, in fact, many analogies, but a comprehensive theoretical framework is still lacking. This article aims at providing at least some preparatory groundwork to fuel more theorizing about listening and its relation to the sense of touch.

A silicified, thick-shelled, smooth-surfaced nuculanoid bivalve has been recovered by acid maceration of the Late Triassic (Carnian-Norian) strata of the Luning Formation, Nevada. Comparable modern nuculanoid clams inhabit water depths from 525-2,562 meters, and the living clam (an undescribed species of Pseudoneilonella from Caleta Sierra, Coquimbo, Chile) most similar to the fossil lives at 878-933 m. The Triassic nuculanoid clam (possibly a neilonellid) is inferred here to have inhabited marine waters at approximately 1000 m deep during deposition of the Shaly Limestone Member of the Luning Formation. This new fossil discovery falsifies hypotheses that the ichthyosaurs (Shonisaurus popularis) of Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park, Nevada, USA, were deposited, respectively, in either shoreline deposits or in strata that accumulated above storm wave base.

This paper presents an overview of tomography and different tomographic imaging modalities. The goal of this paper is to provide an understanding of various imaging modalities; in particular, how the imaging is performed, working principles, and applications. It was not intended to provide the in-depth mathematical principles of these imaging modalities, rather this paper focuses on providing the knowledge in an easy-to-grasp manner for the readers' benefit. Imaging modalities are categorized based on the physics behind image generation. First, the paper explains the general tomography principle. Then explains Ultrasound Imaging, Electrical Impedance Tomography, Computed Tomography, Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Photoacoustic Tomography (PAT), and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). In the end, the paper provides the fundamentals and review of two relatively new imagining modalities, Diffuse Optical Tomography (DOT) and functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS).

An evolutionary game is introduced which considers game-theoretic strategies in the context of non-linear population matrix models. This game considers the states and actions of the organisms of the evolving population, and a notion of dynamic equilibrium between strategies is described. The game’s formalism is expounded and a proof about equilibrium is given; specifically that any stable equilibrium can be described by proportions of pure strategies; particularly when population matrices are not defective.

Calandrinia compressa Schrad. ex DC (Prodr. 3: 359. 1828) is the name currently widely applied to a polymorphic annual species of Calandrinia sect. Calandrinia endemic to the Chilean Floristic Region. A total of ten validly published heterotypic names plus six horticultural designations (and orthographic variants thereof) have been considered at some point as taxonomically the same as C. compressa. Two additional heterotypic taxa and their synonyms and two other designations possibly refer to this species. Two other taxa sometimes referred to this species are excluded. I treat here a total of 77 distinct nomenclaturally valid names and invalid designations and variants thereof. The type of one of the valid and legitimate names, Calandrinia pilosiuscula DC (Rev. Portulac. 9. 1827), is judged here to be taxonomically the same as the type of C. compressa. Because of its chronological priority, Calandrinia pilosiuscula DC must be accepted as the correct name for Calandrinia compressa Schrad. ex DC when the two are considered taxonomic synonyms. Here, the taxonomic history of this taxon is articulated and, where possible, types are identified and/or designated. The natural and anthropogenic history of the species is summarized critically in a theoretical context.

We show how some concentration inequalities for sampling without replacement can be used for bounding future samples. This process can be extended to bound the sum of future samples from multiple populations, and we analyse an illustrative sample allocation problem.

Upper confidence bound multi-armed bandit algorithms (UCB) typically rely on concentration in- equalities (such as Hoeffding’s inequality) for the creation of the upper confidence bound. Intu- itively, the tighter the bound is, the more likely the respective arm is or isn’t judged appropriately for selection. Hence we derive and utilise an optimal inequality. Usually the sample mean (and sometimes the sample variance) of previous rewards are the information which are used in the bounds which drive the algorithm, but intuitively the more infor- mation that taken from the previous rewards, the tighter the bound could be. Hence our inequality explicitly considers the values of each and every past reward into the upper bound expression which drives the method. We show how this UCB method fits into the broader scope of other information theoretic UCB algorithms, but unlike them is free from assumptions about the distribution of the data, We conclude by reporting some already established regret information, and give some numerical simulations to demonstrate the method’s effectiveness.

The primary purpose of this investigation was to identify safety-oriented bicycling practices commonly used by adult riders in an urban setting (Brooklyn, New York), and to explore whether there are any differences between the safety-oriented practices of men and women riders. Methods: 24 adult riders (14 men, 10 women) in Brooklyn were interviewed concerning their perceptions of bicycling hazards and their safety-oriented practices. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed through thematic analysis. Fisher’s Exact Test was employed to test for gender differences. Results: Participants identified a variety of hazards, mainly due to motor vehicles but also pedestrians and roadway conditions. The analysis distilled twenty-one bicycling practices to summarize prevalent views of the participants about safe riding practices. Related items were grouped under broader categories, generating seven safety-oriented bicycling strategies. Few differences based on gender were found in the analysis; however, women in this study were more likely than men to say that they felt disrespected by other road users. Conclusion: Seven strategies may be important for safe urban bicycling: minimizing exposure to other road users (especially motor vehicles) while riding, being vigilant and anticipating what others might do, riding in a predictable fashion, making one’s presence known to other road users, making sure it is safe before proceeding, obeying traffic rules, and riding at a safe speed. Future studies could develop these concepts further and test whether they are associated with involvement in traffic crashes.

Eight amniote genera (representing four clades) became aquatic during the Permian. The four clades were mesosaurids, tangasaurids, the neodiapsid Claudiosaurus, and the procolophonid Barasaurus. Two of eight genera survived the end-Permian mass extinction, but did not last long into the Mesozoic. A previously undescribed specimen of Claudiosaurus germaini, preserved in a lacustrine concretion from the Sakamena Formation, Madagascar, bears seventeen vertebrae that has been split along an approximate horizontal plane to reveal sections of neural canal casted in white calcite. Enlargement of the neural canal in the sacral region of this specimen of Claudiosaurus (vertebral segments 22-26) is more similar to that of Tupinambis (segments 24-28) than it is to Testudo (segments 16-23). Claudiosaurus skeletal anatomy provides evidence for swim propulsion by both hind limbs and by undulation of a dorsal-ventrally flattened tail. Evidence for the latter includes elongate transverse processes on distal tail vertebrae. Other Permian aquatic reptile genera (Mesosaurus, Hovasaurus, Barasaurus) used snake-like side-to-side tail undulation, whereas Claudiosaurus used cetacean-like up-down tail undulation in the vertical plane. It seems unlikely that any of these animals were particularly fast swimmers.

Scrutiny of online herbarium and social network images revealed at least three historical collections and one recent photograph of the recently described Cistanthe philhershkovitziana Hershk. (C. sect. Cistanthe). The herbarium specimens, dating to 1829, 1882, and 1905, corroborate, and extend slightly the species range estimated on the basis of unvouchered collections and observations C. grandiflora (Lindl.) Schlect.

A number of experimental tests of time orientability are described as well as clear experimental signatures from non time orientability (time reversal). Some tests are well known, while others are based on more recent theoretical work. Surprisingly, the results all suggest that time is not orientable at a microscopic level; even definitive tests are positive. At a microscopic level the direction of time can reverse and a consistent forward time direction cannot be defined. That is the conclusion supported by a range of well-known experiments. The conflict between quantum theory and local realism; electrodynamics with electric charges; and spin half transformation properties of fermions; can all be interpreted as evidence of time reversal. While particle-antiparticle annihilation provides a definitive test. It offers both a new view of space-time and an novel interpretation of quantum theory with the potential to unify classical and quantum theories.

This paper formulates the classic Monty Hall problem as a Bayesian game. Allowing Monty a small amount of freedom in his decisions facilitates a variety of solutions. The solution concept used is the Bayes Nash Equilibrium (BNE), and the set of BNE relies on Monty's motives and incentives. We endow Monty and the contestant with common prior probabilities (p) about the motives of Monty, and show that under certain conditions on p, the unique equilibrium is one where the contestant is indifferent between switching and not switching. This coincides and agrees with the typical responses and explanations by experimental subjects. Finally, we show that our formulation can explain the experimental results in Page (1998) [12]; that more people gradually choose switch as the number of doors in the problem increases.

Individual susceptibility to pulmonary oxygen toxicity (PO2tox) is highly variable and currently lacks a reliable biomarker for predicting pulmonary hyperoxic stress. As nitric oxide (NO) is involved in many respiratory system processes and functions, we aimed to determine if expired nitric oxide (FENO) levels can provide an indication of PO2tox susceptibility in humans. Eight U.S. Navy trained divers volunteered as subjects. The hyperoxic exposures consisted of six- and eight-hour hyperbaric chamber dives conducted on consecutive days in which subjects breathed 100% oxygen at 202.65 kPa. Subjects’ individual variability in pulmonary function and FENO was measured twice daily over five days and compared with their post-dive values to assess susceptibility to PO2tox. Only subjects who showed no decrements in pulmonary function following the six-hour exposure conducted the eight-hour dive. FENO decreased by 55% immediately following the six-hour oxygen exposure (n=8, p<0.0001) and by 63% following the eight-hour exposure (n=4, p<0.0001). Four subjects showed significant decreases in pulmonary function immediately following the six-hour exposure. These subjects had the lowest baseline FENO and the lowest post-dive FENO and had clinical symptoms of PO2tox. Individuals with low FENO were the first to develop PO2tox symptoms and deficits in pulmonary function from the hyperoxic exposures. These data suggest that endogenous levels of NO in the lung may protect against the development of PO2tox.

Telemedicine, telehealth, e-Health, and other related terms refer to the exchange of medical information or medical care from one site to another through electronic communication between a patient and healthcare provider. As telemedicine infrastructure has changed since the COVID-19 pandemic, this review provides an overview of telemedicine use and effectiveness in cardiology, with emphasis on the post-pandemic context. Pre-pandemic studies tend to report statistically insignificant or modest improvements in cardiovascular disease outcome from telemedicine use to usual care. By contrast, post-pandemic studies tend to report positive outcomes or comparable acceptance of telemedicine use to usual care. Today, telemedicine can effectively replace in person follow-ups to produce comparable (but not necessarily superior) outcomes in cardiovascular disease management. A major benefit of telemedicine is the significant reduction in follow-up time or time-to-intervention which may lead to earlier detection and prevention of adverse events. Nonetheless, there remain barriers to effective telemedicine implementation in the post-pandemic context. Providing accuracy and ease-of-use of telemedicine devices, ensuring adherence to remote rehabilitation procedures, and implementing widespread telemedicine infrastructure are such examples. Current knowledge gaps include the true economic cost of telemedicine infrastructure, feasibility of use in specific cardiology contexts, and sex/gender differences of health outcomes through telemedicine use. Future telemedicine developments will need to address these concerns to achieve widespread acceptance as the new standard of care.

Testosterone (T), the principal androgen secreted by the testes, plays an essential role in male health. Male hypogonadism is diagnosed based on a combination of associated clinical signs and symptoms and laboratory confirmation of low circulating T levels. In this review we have highlighted factors, both biological and analytical, that introduce variation into the measurement of serum T concentrations in men; these need to be considered when requesting T levels and interpreting results. There is an ongoing need for analytical standardisation of T assays and harmonisation of pre- and post-analytical laboratory practices, particularly in relation to the laboratory reference intervals provided to clinicians. Further, there is a need to share with service users the most up-to-date and evidence-based action thresholds for serum T as recommended in the literature. Estimation of free testosterone may be helpful. Causes of secondary hypogonadism should be considered. A comprehensive approach is required in the management of male hypogonadism, including lifestyle modification, as well as medication where appropriate. The goal of treatment is resolution of symptoms as well as optimisation of metabolic, cardiovascular and bone health. The advice of an endocrinologist should be sought, where there is doubt about the cause and appropriate management of the hypogonadism.

Background: Multifunctional nanoparticles are known for their wide range of biomedical applications. Controlling the magnetic properties of these nanoparticles is imperative for various applications, including therapeutic angiogenesis. The study was performed to evaluate the magnetic properties and their control mechanisms by the external magnetic field. Methods: A 100nm magnetic nanoparticle was placed in the magnetic field, and parametrically the magnet field strength and distance was evaluated. Various models of magnetic strength and disposition were evaluated. Magnetic flux density, force/weight, and magnetic gradient strength were the parameters evaluated in electromagnetic computational software. Results: The seven-coil method with three centrally placed coils as Halbach array, and each coil with a flux density of 7 Tesla, and with a coil dimension of 20cmx20cm (square model) of each coil showed a good magnetic strength and force/weight parameters in a distance of 15cm from the centrally placed coil. The particles were then evaluated for their motion characteristics in saline. It showed good displacement and acceleration properties. After that, the particles were theoretically assessed in a similar mathematical model after parametrically correcting the drag force. After application of high drag forces, the particles showed adequate motion characteristics. When the particle size was reduced further, the motion characteristics were preserved even with high drag forces. Conclusion: There is potential for a novel method of controlling multifunctional magnetic nanoparticles using high magnetic fields. Further studies are required to evaluate the motion characteristics of these particles in-vivo and invitro.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is the etiological agent of tuberculosis (TB), a disease that alt-hough preventable and curable, remains a global epidemic due to the emergence of resistance and a latent form responsible for a long period of treatment. Drug discovery in TB is a challenging task due to the heterogeneity of the disease, the emergence of resistance and an uncomplete knowledge of the pathophysiology of the disease. The limited permeability of the cell wall and the presence of multiple efflux pumps remain a major barrier to achieve effective intracellular drug accumulation. While the complete genome sequence of Mtb has been determined and several potential protein targets have been validated, the lack of adequate models for in vitro and in vivo studies is a limit-ing factor in TB drug discovery programs. In current therapeutic regimens, less than 0.5% of bac-terial proteins are targeted being the biosynthesis of the cell wall and the energetic metabolism two of the most important processes exploited for TB chemotherapeutics. This review provides an overview on the current challenges in TB drug discovery and emerging Mtb druggable proteins, and how chemical probes for protein profiling enabled the identification of new targets and bi-omarkers, paving the way to disruptive therapeutic regimens and diagnostic tools.

This paper investigates the feasibility of a backend design for real-time, multiple-channel processing digital phased array system, particularly for high-performance embedded computing platforms constructed of using general purpose digital signal processors. Frist, we obtained the lab-scale backend performance benchmark from simulating beamforming, pulse compression, and Doppler filtering based on MicroTCA chassis using Serial RapidIO protocol in backplane communication. Next, a field-scale demonstrator of a multifunctional phased array radar is emulated by using the similar configuration. Interestingly, the performance of a barebone design is compared to that of emerging tools that systematically take advantage of parallelism and multicore capabilities, including Open Computing Language.

The malaria parasite resides within erythrocytes during one stage of its life cycle. During this intraerythrocytic period, the parasite ingests the erythrocyte cytoplasm and digests approximately two-thirds of the host cell hemoglobin. This digestion occurs within a lysosome-like organelle called the digestive vacuole. Several proteases are localized to the digestive vacuole and these proteases sequentially breakdown hemoglobin into small peptides, dipeptides, and amino acids. The peptides are exported into the host cytoplasm via the chloroquine-resistance transporter and an amino acid transporter has also been identified on the digestive vacuole membrane. The environment of the digestive vacuole also provides appropriate conditions for the biocrystallization of toxic heme into non-toxic hemozoin by a poorly understood process. Hemozoin formation is an attribute of Plasmodium and Haemoproteus and is not exhibited by other intraerythrocytic protozoan parasites. The efficient degradation of hemoglobin and detoxification of heme likely plays a major role in the high level of replication exhibited by malaria parasites within erythrocytes. Unique features of the digestive vacuole and the critical importance of nutrient acquisition provide therapeutic targets for the treatment of malaria.

This manuscript is aimed at encouraging those interested in biofilms and their effects on microbial communities to view the study of chronic airways disease as one of the most challenging and potentially rewarding areas to focus on. To do this it is necessary to review how we have reached 2023 having made so little progress. It is more than two hundred years ago since the term bronchitis was proposed to describe diseases affecting the airways rather than the respiratory zone of the lungs. The main histological features were described in Laennec’s text of 1819. By the mid C20th it was recognised that the two great drivers of chronic respiratory symptoms were inhaled toxins and chronic bacterial infections. The widespread availability of antibiotics in subsequent years had a dramatic impact on mortality from pneumonia, greatly reduced the prevalence of chronic symptoms after acute lower respiratory tract infections, transformed the lives of many with bronchiectasis and appeared to play a major role in the dramatic fall in prevalence of bronchiectasis. Unfortunately, during the following 70 years the importance of dealing with a chronic bacterial bronchitis was largely forgotten. While two artificial diseases ‘COPD’ and ‘bronchiectasis’ have been the subject of numerous guidelines, chronic bacterial bronchitis has been out in the cold. Antibiotics have in theory been reserved for those with established damage in the form of bronchiolitis and impaired lung function as defined by an arbitrary FEV1/FVC ratio and even then there is a disconnect with a minimum of 2 weeks being prescribed for exacerbations of bronchiectasis and the use of long term inhaled and oral macrolides frequently being advocated while a 5 day course is reserved for an exacerbation in a patient with COPD. The loss of focus on the role of antibiotics has a number of causes – a desire to ration antibiotic as part of ‘antibiotic stewardship’, the potential cost of treatment, the failure to ‘cure’ patients with chronic bronchitis and the difficulty in dealing with a disease whose morbidity at any given time can range from a mild cough and production of phlegm in the morning with no obvious impact on daily function to troublesome cough, sputum production and significant ill health. This was compounded by the vagaries of culture based diagnosis and the observation that more than one potential pathogen was often present. As a result chronic bacterial bronchitis was relegated to the ‘too hard to deal with’ box and many of the lessons of the past were forgotten. Revisiting the field from the perspective of current understanding of bacterial behaviour in biofilms and how these alter the resident microbiota of the airways should ensure that a chronic bacterial bronchitis returns to centre stage in order to minimise respiratory morbidity and mortality. This review charts the history of our understanding and mis-understanding of the role of chronic bacterial bronchitis in airways disease and the pernicious effect of language in helping to ensure that this common and important condition became the elephant in the room. Focusing on the nature of chronic bacterial bronchitis is essential if we are to find ways of identifying it accurately and treat it effectively – new approaches will be extremely slow unless we recognise its importance and the challenges it poses.

Proof of the Riemann hypothesis is obtained using the properties of the Gamma function, the Bernoulli function, and limitations imposed by the rational relations of the complex roots of the Riemann zeta function, and the rational relations of the complex Gamma functions.

The remarkable success of taxonomic discovery, powered by culturomics, genomics and metagenomics, creates a pressing need for new bacterial names, while holding a mirror up to the slow pace of change in bacterial nomenclature. Here, I take a fresh look at bacterial nomenclature, exploring how we might create a system fit for the age of genomics, playing to the strengths of current practice, while minimising difficulties. Adoption of linguistic pragmatism, obeying the rules while treating recommendations as merely optional will make it easier to create names derived from descriptions, from people or places or even arbitrarily. Simpler protologues and a relaxed approach to recommendations will also remove much of the need for expert linguistic quality control. Automated computer-based approaches will allow names to be created en masse before they are needed, while also relieving microbiologists of the need for competence in Latin. The result will be a system that is accessible, inclusive and digital, while also fully capable of naming the unnamed millions of bacteria.

Background: The purpose was to develop a novel hypothetical method to increase the size of coronary arteries. Methods: In the long-term observation the coronary sizes were dilated in three unexpected scenarios. The coronary artery sizes were observed in patients with mitral stenosis (n=59) by angiogram prior to percutaneous balloon mitral valvuloplasty or valve replacement surgery for severe mitral stenosis. The coronaries of patients with patent ductus arteriosus who underwent surgical closure in the past (n=12) were examined by echocardiogram. Patients with renal failure on long-term dialysis through peripheral arterio-venous fistula without left ventricular hypertrophy (n=17) were studied by echocardiography. Normal age, weight and sex matched coronary sizes served as controls in the study. All these observations were made over a period of 11.5 years. Results: The sizes of coronaries in patients with mitral stenosis, patients who underwent closure for patent ductus arteriosus, and in patients on hemodialysis through arteriovenous fistulas were higher than normal controls (p<0.05, for all). A hypothetical model to increase the coronary sizes could be developed based on the analysis of the differential equations of Poiseuille’s. The proposed method is creating a peripheral arterio-venous fistula, which could be closed later electively by a percutaneous method/surgery. The closure time needs to be determined by experimental studies. The other methods could be a continuous exercise program or usage of beta-blockers. Conclusion: A novel hypothetical method of peripheral arteriovenous fistula formation could potentially increase the size of the coronaries, and this could be closed later.

The global burden of antimicrobial resistance is on the rise, resulting in higher morbidity and mortality in our communities. The spread of antimicrobial resistance in the environment and development of resistant microbes is a challenge to the control of antimicrobial resistance. Approaches, such as antimicrobial stewardship programmes, and enhanced surveillance, have been devised to curb its spread. However, particularly in lower- and middle-income countries, the overall extent of antimicrobial resistance, and knowledge on on-going surveillance, stewardship or investigation efforts, re often poorly understood. This study aimed to look at the efforts that have been undertaken to combat antimicrobial resistance in Uganda as a means of establishing an overview of the situation, to help inform future decisions. We conducted a systematic literature review of the PubMed database to assess the efforts that have been done in Uganda to investigate and combat antimicrobial resistance. A search combining keywords associated with antimicrobial resistance were used to look up relevant studies between 1995 and 2020 on surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in Uganda, and susceptibility of microbes to different drugs. The search yielded 430 records, 163 of which met the inclusion criteria for analysis. The studies were categorized according to country and region, the type of antimicrobial resistance, context of the study, study design and outcome of the study. Antibacterial resistance and antimalarial resistance had the most published studies while antiviral and antifungal resistance each were represented by very few studies. Most studies were conducted in humans and hospital settings, with very few in veterinary and One Health contexts. The results from our work can inform public health policy on antimicrobial stewardship as it contributes to understanding the status of antimicrobial resistance surveillance in Uganda, and can also help to guide future research efforts. Notably, a One Health approach needs to be followed with re-spect to surveillance of antimicrobial resistance to better understand the mechanisms of resistance transfer across the human-animal–environment interface, including additional investigation in antiviral and antifungal resistance.

Most schoolchildren carry schoolbags, of which a substantial proportion carry loads that exceed 15% of their body mass. Although the effects of loading have been investigated to varying degrees, the status of schoolbag loading and the acute affects thereof on gait and posture have not been thoroughly investigated within the South African context. A total of 60 participants in the 10-13-year age range volunteered for the present study. Significant differences were evident for relative load carriage (χ2(3) = 14.54, p &lt; .001), forefoot and heel forces (Mdiff = 17.05-34.86 N, p &lt; .001), force-ratios (Mdiff = 0.02, p = .029), and gait speed (Mdiff = -0.18 km/hr, p = .016).), but not for any postural angles (Mdiff = -3.37-6.08 deg, all p &gt; .052). Those who exceeded 15% BM were ~9 times more likely to report pain than those below 15% BM. The children in the current carried significantly heavier realtive loads (p &lt; .001) compared to similarly aged children from other countries. Loading leads to acute changes in posture and gait that are likely not meaningful. However, excessive loading (&gt;15% BM) leads to significantly higher perceptions and reporting of pain in 10-13 year-old children.

Abstract: Bacterial biofilms are highly resistant to antibiotics and have been implicated in the etiology of 60-80% of chronic microbial infections. We tested a novel combination of low intensity ultrasound and blue light against biofilm and planktonic bacteria. A laboratory prototype was built which produced both energies uniformly and coincidently from a single treatment head, impinging upon a 4.45 cm^2 target. To demonstrate proof of concept, Propionibacterium acnes biofilm was cultured on Millicell hanging inserts in 6-well plates. Hanging inserts with biofilm were treated in a custom exposure chamber designed to minimize unwanted ultrasound reflections. Coincident delivery of both energies demonstrated synergy over either alone, killing both stationary planktonic and biofilm cultures of P. acnes. Biofilm killing was dose dependent on exposure time (i.e. energy delivered). P. acnes biofilms were significantly reduced by the dual energy treatment (p<0.0001), with a >1 log10 reduction after a 5 min (9 J/cm^2) and >3 log10 reduction after a 30 min (54 J/cm^2) treatment (p<0.05). Mammalian cells were found unaffected by the treatment. Both the light and the ultrasound energies are at levels previously cleared by the FDA. Therefore, this combination treatment could be used as a safe, efficacious method to treat biofilm related syndromes.

This paper reviews the current knowledge of pepper anthracnose in the Philippines. We present research outputs on pepper anthracnose from the last three years. Then, we present evidence of the widespread occurrence of C. acutatum sensu lato in the Philippines. Finally, we highlight some research prospects that would contribute towards developing an integrated anthracnose management program.

Thousands of new bacterial and archaeal species and higher-level taxa are discovered each year through the analysis of genomes and metagenomes. The Genome Taxonomy Database (GTDB) provides hierarchical sequence-based descriptions and classifications for new and as-yet-unnamed taxa. However, bacterial nomenclature, as currently configured, cannot keep up with the need for new well-formed names. Instead, microbiologists have been forced to use hard-to-remember alphanumeric placeholder labels. Here, we exploit an approach to the generation of well-formed arbitrary Latinate names at a scale sufficient to name tens of thousands of unnamed taxa within GTDB. These newly created names represent an important resource for the microbiology community, facilitating communication between bioinformaticians, microbiologists and taxonomists, while populating the emerging landscape of microbial taxonomic and functional discovery with accessible and memorable linguistic labels.

We report neutralization titer data against contemporary SARS-CoV-2 sublineages from an ongoing, open-label, phase 2/3 trial of a single 30-μg dose of monovalent Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 vaccine. Healthy participants had previously received ≥3 doses of a US-authorized mRNA vaccine, with the most recent being a bivalent Omicron BA.4/BA.5-adapted vaccine administered ≥150 days before study vaccination. In this analysis, Omicron XBB.1.5, BA.2.86, and JN.1 serum neutralizing titers were assessed at baseline and 1 month after vaccination in a subset of ≥18-year-olds (N = 40) with evidence of previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. Immunogenicity was also evaluated in a demographically matched group of participants who received bivalent BA.4/BA.5-adapted BNT162b2 in another study (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05472038). The XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 vaccine elicited higher XBB.1.5, BA.2.86, and JN.1 neutralizing titers than those elicited by bivalent BA.4/BA.5-adapted BNT162b2. Overall geometric mean fold rises in neutralizing titers from baseline to 1 month after vaccination were higher among participants who received XBB.1.5-adapted BNT162b2 than those who received bivalent BA.4/BA.5-adapted BNT162b2 for XBB.1.5 (7.6 vs 5.6), slightly higher for JN.1 (3.9 vs 3.5), and similar for BA.2.86 (4.8 vs 4.9). ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05997290.

Silicified ostracods from the Lower Carboniferous (Lower Tin Mountain Limestone; Kinderhookian-early Osagean; 350-358.9 Ma) of Lost Burro Gap, Death Valley region, Inyo County, California, USA augment the diversity of Paleozoic ostracods of western North America. Acid maceration of pelmatozoan, micritic and silicate clay-rich micritic marine limestones yielded the following palaeocopid and podocopid ostracods: Acratia spp., Bairdia quasilecta Bushmina, 1975, Bairdia sp. cf. B. orientalis, Ceratobairdia sp., Kirkbya panamintensis sp. nov., Rectobairdia sp. cf. R. legumen, and Silenites sp. This is the first report of Ceratobairdia and Silenites from the Tin Mountain Limestone. These ostracods occupied a Panthalassan carbonate ramp environment, and represent part of a fauna that was widespread in shallow marine waters of Panthalassa.

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) affects millions of people annually, however, our knowledge of the diffuse pathologies associated with TBI is limited. As diffuse pathologies, including axonal injury and neuroinflammatory changes, are difficult to visualize in the clinical population, animal models are used. In the current study we used the central fluid percussion injury (CFPI) model in a micro pig to study the potential scalability of these diffuse pathologies in a gyrencephalic brain of a species with inflammatory systems very similar to humans. We found that both axonal injury and microglia activation within the thalamus and corpus callosum are positively correlated to the weight-normalized pressure pulse, while subtle changes in blood gas and mean arterial blood pressure are not. We also found that the majority of tissue generated up to 10 years previously is viable for immunofluorescent labeling after long-term refrigeration storage. This study indicates that a micro pig CFPI model could allow for specific investigations of various degree of diffuse pathological burdens following TBI.

Authentic learning opportunities that simulate full scale design and construction experiences using real materials offer ideal experiential learning environments for construction and civil engineering students by challenging students to apply building concepts in practical settings. However, the excessive cost of real building materials required for this mode of education limits access to the vast majority of students. As a result, educational researchers have explored potential alternatives to provide cost-effective experiential learning through activities using mock-up materials (e.g., plastic straws, popsicle sticks) and simulation of experiences using immersive technologies (e.g., virtual reality or augmented reality). While some of these alternatives approximate the environment and others provide physical interaction with mock-up materials, the lack of authenticity in the building materials used introduces some apparent differences between the “authentic” learning environments and their cost-effective approximations. Therefore, this research aims to identify the learning processes reported by students and faculty who participated in authentic learning experiences to understand the ways in which this mode of education offers unique value to construction education. Their interview responses illustrated characteristics of authentic learning experiences that were believed to be critical to the learning process, some of which included: working in groups; interdisciplinary participants; and use of real construction materials. Although some of these characteristics are intrinsically linked to the use of real materials, others do not explicitly refer to interaction with real materials. This may indicate to aspects of the authentic learning processes that educational researchers can strategically target through more cost-effective learning environments like virtual and augmented reality. The contribution of this paper is in identifying the characteristics of authentic learning experiences that may guide educational investment and research innovations that aim to replicate some of these learning experiences through more accessible learning environments.

Rich biodiversity is one of the Philippines’ greatest assets. Unfortunately, there is a continuous decline in the diversity of flora and fauna across the world. This calls for the need to educate people, especially younger generations, to value and protect biodiversity and natural resources. The study aimed to assess the students’ extent of knowledge and identify their perspectives towards biodiversity and its protection and conservation. A total of 268 randomly selected students at Aurora State College of Technology Zabali Campus were involved in the study. Survey questionnaires were used to obtain data and information which were subjected to statistical tests. The students had a moderate knowledge level on biodiversity with a mean score of 6.65 out of 10 items (SD = 1.50). Their perspective on biodiversity was leaning toward its protection and conservation, with a mean score of 7.2 out of 10 items (SD = 1.29). Factors affecting the students’ knowledge were gender (p = .003) and academic department (p = 0.003). Females and those associated with the Department of Forestry and Environmental Sciences and Department of Industrial technology were found to have more knowledge than the others. Males, on the other hand, were found to have a more positive perspective towards biodiversity. Knowledge and perspective had a weak correlation with r = 0.39. Students were not well-aware, but were in support of the Philippines’ biodiversity-related laws, which could help shape their mindset and actions towards biodiversity conservation and protection. As an implication, the college administration must revisit the curricula of all degree programs and ensure that students from each degree program are environmentally educated, emphasizing biodiversity conservation.

Diabetes and mental disorders have been recognized as two significant public health concerns globally. Recent research indicates that there is a bidirectional relationship between these two conditions, with each influencing the other's course and outcomes. Nutrition plays an essential role in the prevention and treatment of both mental disorders and diabetes. A comprehensive review of existing literature was conducted to examine the impact of anxiety and depression on the development of diabetes and the influence of diabetes on the occurrence of mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression. Additionally, the effects of nutrition on the prevention and management of mental disorders, diabetes, and related complications in at risk individuals were assessed. Our findings show that mental disorders, such as depression and anxiety increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and are associated with poorer glycemic control, increased diabetes-related complications, and higher mortality rates. Conversely, diabetes is also linked with an increased risk of developing mental health disorders, including depression, anxiety, and cognitive decline. The biological, psychological, and social factors that contribute to the comorbidity between these two conditions are complex and multifaceted. Therefore, an integrated approach to the management of both conditions is critical for improving patient outcomes and reducing the overall burden of disease. Nutritional interventions should be utilized to reduce the risk of diabetes in patients with anxiety and depression as well as enhance mental health in patients with diabetes.

Re-interpretation of the Fermat principle governing propagation of light in media within the Ramsey Theory is suggested. Complete bi-colored graphs corresponding to the light propagation in media are considered. The vertices of the graphs correspond to the points of the real physical space, in which light sources or sensors are placed. Red links in the graphs correspond to the actual optical paths, emerging from the Fermat principle. A variety of optical events: refraction, reflection, etc. may be involved in the light propagation. Green links, in turn, denote the trial/virtual optical paths, which actually do not occur. The Ramsey Theorem states that within the graph containing six points, inevitably, actual or virtual optical cycle will be necessarily present. Implementation of the Ramsey Theorem to the light propagation in metamaterials is discussed. The Fermat Principle states that in metamaterials a light ray in going from point S to point P must traverse an optical path length L that is stationary with respect to variations of this path. Thus, bi-colored graphs built of links corresponding to maxima or minima of optical paths become possible. Graphs, comprising six vertices, inevitably will demonstrate optical cycles, built of the mono-colored links corresponding to the maxima or minima of the optical path. The notion of the “inverse graph” is introduced and discussed. The total number of triangles in the “direct” (source) and “inverse” Ramsey optical graphs is the same, Optical interpretation of the infinite Ramsey Theorem is suggested.