Survivin was initially identified as a member of the inhibitor apoptosis (IAP) protein family and has been shown to play a critical role in regulation of both apoptosis and mitosis. Survivin has emerged as an attractive target for cancer therapy because its overexpression has been found in most human cancers and is frequently associated with chemotherapy resistance, recurrence, and poor survival rate in cancer patients. In this review, we discuss our current understanding of how survivin mediates various aspects of malignant transformation and drug resistance, as well as efforts that have been made to develop therapeutics targeting survivin for the treatment of cancer.

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.

Polymerase I (Pol I) is at the epicenter of ribosomal RNA (rRNA) synthesis. Pol I is a target for treatment of cancer. Given the many cellular commonalities between cancer and neurodegeneration (i.e., different faces of the same coin) it seems rational to consider targeting of Pol I or, more generally, rRNA synthesis for treatment of disorders associated with the death of terminally differentiated neurons. Principally, ribosomes synthesize proteins and, accordingly, Pol I can be considered the starting point for protein synthesis. Given that cellular accumulation of abnormal proteins such as α-synuclein and tau is an essential feature of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson disease and fronto-temporal dementia, reduction of protein production is now considered as a viable target for treatment of these and closely related neurodegenerative disorders. Abnormalities in polymerase I activity and rRNA production may also be associated with nuclear and nucleolar stress, DNA damage, and childhood onset neuronal death as is the case for the UBTF E210K neuroregression syndrome. Moreover, restraining the activity of Pol I may be a viable strategy to slow aging. Before starting down the road of Pol I inhibition for treating non-cancerous disorders of the nervous system, many questions must be answered. First, how much Pol I inhibition can neurons tolerate and for how long? Should inhibition of Pol I be continuous or pulsed? Will cells compensate for Pol I inhibition by upregulating the number of active rDNAs? At present, we have no effective and safe disease modulatory treatments for Alzheimer disease, α-synucleinopathies, or tauopathies, and novel therapeutic targets and approaches must be explored.

In this work, we investigate the embedding of a four-dimensional spherically symmetric metric in a six dimensional bulk. By using the Nash-Greene theorem, the additional $SO(2)$ symmetry of the two space-like extra-dimensions induces the appearance of horizons of a lukewarm charged black hole. Accordingly, an emerged mass-dependent cosmological constant is obtained with a prediction with a bound for the mass and minimal charge.

Aedes albopictus is considered one of the major invasive species in the world and can transmit viruses such as dengue, Zika, or chikungunya. The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) can be used to suppress the native populations of Ae. albopictus. To support the development of the release strategy during the SIT application, Mark-Release-Recapture (MRR) studies are crucial. Mean-while, weather conditions can affect the MRR trial’s results and it is critical to understand the influence of climatic factors on the results. In October 2022 in Faro, Southern Portugal, 84,000 ir-radiated sterile males were released for three consecutive weeks and mosquitoes were recapture by Human Landing Collections (HLC) one, two, four and six days after. Generalised linear models with a negative binomial family and log function were used to estimate the factors asso-ciated with the number of recaptured mosquitoes, prevalence ratios, and the 95% confidence in-tervals (CI). A total of 84,000 sterile male mosquitoes were released, with 528 recaptured (0.8%) by HLC. The prevalence of recaptured mosquitoes was 23% lower when the wind intensity was moderate. Sterile-marked males had an average median distance travelled of 88.7 m. Median probability of daily survival and the average life expectancy were 61.6% and 2.1, respectively. Wild male population estimates was 443.33 males/ ha. Despite no statistically significant asso-ciation was found with humidity, temperature and precipitation, it is crucial to consider weather conditions during MRR trials analyses to obtain the best determinants estimation and a more ef-ficient application of SIT in an integrated vector management program.

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.

Using a joint statistical analysis, we test a four-dimensional FLWR model embedded in a five-dimensional bulk based on the Nash-Greene embedding theorem. Performing a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) modelling, we combine observational data sets as those of the recent ``Gold 2018'' growth data, the best-fit Planck2018/$\Lambda$CDM parameters on the Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB), the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) measurements, the Pantheon Supernovae type Ia and the Hubble parameter data with redshift ranging from $0.01 < z < 2.3$ to impose restrictions on the model. From linear Nash-Green fluctuations of the metric, we obtain the related perturbed equations in longitudinal Newtonian gauge to obtain the evolution of growth matter. We show that a mild alleviation is obtained from the $\sigma$ tension between the growth amplitude factor and the matter content $(\sigma_8$-$\Omega_m)$ of the observations from CMB and Large Scale Structure (LSS) probes with degeneracies on the parameters. We also apply the Om(z) diagnosis to distinguish the model from $\Lambda$CDM. The Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) is used and we find a relative statistical consistence of the present model with both $\Lambda$CDM and $w$CDM models up to 1$\%$ of percentage difference at early times.

Emotion recognition and social inference impairments are well-documented post-traumatic brain injury (TBI) yet the mechanisms underpinning these are not fully understood. We examined dynamic emotion recognition, social inference abilities, and eye fixation patterns between adults with and without TBI. Eighteen individuals with TBI and 18 matched non-TBI participants were recruited and underwent all three components of The Assessment of Social Inference Test (TASIT). The TBI group were less accurate in identifying emotions compared to the non-TBI group. Individuals with TBI also scored lower when distinguishing sincere and sarcastic conversations but scored similarly to those without TBI during lie vignettes. Finally, those with TBI also had difficulty understanding the actor’s intentions, feelings, and beliefs compared to participants without TBI. No group differences were found for eye fixation patterns and there were no associations between fixations and behavioural accuracy scores. This conflicts with previous studies and might be related to an important distinction between static and dynamic stimuli. Visual strategies appeared goal- and stimulus-driven, with attention being distributed to the most diagnostic area of the face for each emotion. These findings suggest that low-level visual deficits may not be modulating emotion recognition and social inference disturbances post-TBI.

Aging is a major risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD mouse models are frequently used to assess pathology, behavior, and memory in AD research. While the pathological characteristics of AD are well established, our understanding of the changes in the metabolic phenotypes with age and pathology is limited. In this work, we used the Promethion cage systems® to monitor changes in physiological metabolic and behavioral parameters with age and pathology in wild-type and 5xFAD mouse models. Then, we assessed whether these parameters could be altered by treatment with oleocanthal, a phenolic compound with neuroprotective properties. Findings demonstrated metabolic parameters such as body weight, food and water intake, energy expenditure, dehydration, and respiratory exchange rate, and the behavioral parameters of sleep patterns and anxiety-like behavior are altered by age and pathology. However, the effect of pathology on these parameters was significantly greater than normal aging, which could be linked to amyloid-β deposition and blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. In addition, and for the first time, our findings suggest an inverse correlation between sleep hours and BBB breakdown. Treatment with oleocanthal improved the assessed parameters and reduced anxiety-like behavior symptoms and sleep disturbances. In conclusion, aging and AD are associated with metabolism and behavior changes, with the changes being greater with the latter, which were rectified by oleocanthal. In addition, our findings suggest that monitoring changes in metabolic and behavioral phenotypes could provide a valuable tool to assess disease severity and treatment efficacy in AD mouse models.

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.

The process of oxygenic photosynthesis is primarily driven by two multiprotein complexes known as photosystem II (PSII) and photosystem I (PSI). PSII facilitates the light–induced reactions of water–splitting and plastoquinone reduction, while PSI functions as the light–driven plastocyanin-ferredoxin oxidoreductase. In contrast to the highly conserved structure of PSII among all oxygen–evolving photosynthetic organisms, the structures of PSI exhibit remarkable variations, especially for photosynthetic organisms that grow in special environments. In this review, we make a concise overview of the recent investigations of PSI from photosynthetic microorganisms including prokaryotic cyanobacteria and eukaryotic algae from the perspective of structural biology. All known PSI complexes contain a highly conserved heterodimeric core; however, their pigment compositions and peripheral light-harvesting proteins are substantially flexible. This structural plasticity of PSI reveals the dynamic adaptation to environmental changes for photosynthetic organisms.

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.

Background Homologous recombination deficiency (HRD) evolved into a major diagnostic marker in high grade ovarian cancer (HGOC) predicting the response to poly (Adenosine diphosphate-ribose) polymerase inhibitors (PARPi) and also platinum-based therapy. In addition to HRD, the type of peritoneal tumor spread influences treatment response and patient survival; miliary type tumor spread has poorer predicted outcome than non-miliary type tumor spread. Methods Known methods for HRD assessment were adapted for our technical requirements and the Predictive-value Integrated Genomic Instability Score (PIGIS) for HRD assessment evolved as an outcome. PIGIS was validated in HGOC samples from 122 patients. We used PIGIS to analyze whether the type of tumor spread correlated with HRD status and whether this had an impact on survival. Results We demonstrated that PIGIS can discriminate HRD positive from HRD negative samples. Tumors with miliary tumor spread are HRD negative and have a very bad prognosis with a progression free survival (PFS) of 15.6 months and an overall survival (OS) of 3.9 years. However, HRD negative non-miliary spreading tumors in our cohort had a much better prognosis (PFS 35.4 months, OS 8.9 years), similar to HRD positive tumors (PFS 34.7 months, OS 8.9 years). Conclusions Our results indicate that in a predominantly PARPi naïve cohort the type of tumor spread might be a better predictor of response to platinum sensitivity than HRD. It remains to be determined, whether this also applies for sensitivity to PARPi.

Design process can be divided into stages of analysis and synthesis. This paper presents the application of the object-oriented technique to the analysis as well as theoretical considerations concerning to design of gear size ranges. This analysis consists in decomposition of the designed artefact (a gear) according to the rule “from general to details view”. The basics of the object-oriented analysis were formulated. Furthermore, design phases and the objects related to theses phases were discussed. The following models have been considered: hierarchical model, entity-relationship model, data-flow model and object model. Analysis is additionally connected with interactions between particular design phases.

Groove pancreatitis represents a chronic focal form of pancreatitis affecting the zone between the pancreatic head and the duodenal „C” loop, known as the groove area. This is a rare condition that affects the pancreatic periampullary part, including the duodenum and the common bile duct, associated usually with long-term alcohol and tobacco misuse and being more frequent in men than in women. The most common clinical symptoms of groove pancreatitis include weight loss, acute abdominal pain, nausea, and jaundice. This report is about a 66 year old woman with a history of heavy smoking, presenting with weight loss, nausea, and upper abdominal pain. Contrast enhanced computed tomography revealed the existence of a chronic pancreatitis as well as the dilatation of the main pancreatic duct, a cyst of the pancreatic head and enlargement of the biliary tract. Conservatory treatment was initiated but with no improvement of symptoms. Since there was no indication for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography, we decided to perform a pancreatoduodenectomy, as surgery appears to be the single effective treatment.

The broad emission bump in the electromagnetic spectra observed following the detection of gravitational waves created during the kilonova event of merger of two neutron stars in August 2017, GW170817, has been linked to the heavy elements of lanthanides (Z=57-71), and a new understanding of creation of heavy elements in the r-process. The initial spectral emission bump has a wavelength range of 3000 - 7000 \AA, thus covering the region of ultraviolet (UV) to optical (O) wavelengths, and is similar to those seen for lanthanides. Most lanthanides have large number of closely lying energy levels which introduce extensive sets of radiative transitions which often form broad region of lines of significant strength. The current study explores these broad features through photoabsorption spectroscopy of 25 lanthanides ions, Ho I-III, Er I-IV, Tm I-V, Yb I-VI and Lu I-VII. With excitations only to a few orbitals up beyond the ground configurations, we find most of these ions cover large number of bound levels with open $4f$ orbital and produce tens to about hundred thousands lines that may form one or multiple broad features in X-ray to UV, O, and infrared (IR) regions. Spectrum of each of 25 ions is presented indicating presence, shape and wavelength region of the features. Accuracy of atomic data to interpret the merger spectra has been a outstanding problem. The present study aims at providing improved atomic data for energies and transition parameters obtained using relativistic Breit-Pauli approximation implemented in the atomic structure code SUPERSTRUCTURE. The present data have been benchmarked with available experimental data for energies and transition parameters. The study finds that number of ions under the present study are possible contributors of the emission bump of GW170817. All atomic data will be made available online at NORAD-Atomic-Data database.

Background: Endovascular treatment of popliteal aneurysms (PA) has increased in the last few years, quickly becoming the main treatment in many vascular centers, based on the acceptable and promising outcomes reported in the literature. However, endograft infections are the most dangerous complication as a serious local compromise and usually require open surgical conversion and device explantation to preserve the affected extremity. Case report: We reported two patients admitted to the emergency room for pain and edema in the lower leg. Both patients have undergone exclusion of ruptured PA a few years before by endovascular graft. CTA showed a significant volume of fluid-corpuscular collection related to perianeurysmal abscess collection in both cases. Blood cultures and drained material cultures were positive for Staphylococcus Capitis in the first case and S. Aureus in the second. The antibiotics prophylaxis was performed for 10 days, then, patients underwent an open surgical conversion with a complete explantation of endovascular material and a femoro-popliteal bypass using an autologous vein in the first case and biological bovine pericardium prosthesis in the other case. Furthermore, we have questioned the literature and found eight more cases described in case report article referred to popliteal graft infections by different microorganisms, mostly presenting acute limb ischemia as the first symptom and suggesting endograft explantation with open conversion and autologous vein bypass as the commonest therapeutic choice. Conclusions: Open surgical conversion of popliteal endograft infection is the best strategy to manage peripheral infection of the popliteal stent.

Experiments were conducted in 2020 and 2021 in College Station, TX; Stoneville, MS; and Blackville, SC, to evaluate the potential of grain sorghum to serve as a trap crop for H. zea, a nursery crop for natural enemies of H. zea, and source of HearNPV for H. zea management in cotton. The experiments consisted of 3 treatments, including cotton-only, non-treated cotton-sorghum, and HearNPV-treated cotton-sorghum. Variables, including percentage of damaged fruiting forms, parasitized H. zea larvae, egg density, H. zea larval density, beneficial arthropod numbers, and HearNPV prevalence, were compared between treatments. Growing cotton in an intercropping system with grain sorghum did not result in a consistent increase in H. zea control and beneficial arthropod density relative to the cotton-only treatment. Additionally, our results did not show sufficient evidence that grain sorghum interplanted with cotton can serve as a source of HearNPV that can favor H. zea control in cotton. However, we found that, if maintained in the cotton canopy, HearNPV may favor some level of H. zea suppression in cotton. Based on our PCR analyses, insects in the families Chrysopidae, Coccinellidae, Pentatomidae, Reduviidae, Formicidae, Anthocoridae, and spiders appeared to be carrying HearNPV. The virus was detected consistently in specimens of coccinellids, pentatomids, and reduviids across both years of the study. We suggest that further investigation on virus efficacy against H. zea in cotton using the sorghum-cotton system as well as the ability of grain sorghum to serve as a H. zea trap crop and source of H. zea natural enemies be considered in future studies.

The article presents several innovative systems developed through student laboratory projects, including two autonomous vehicles, a four-legged walking robot, an active ankle-foot orthosis, a ball on beam balancing mechanism, a ball on plate system, and a manipulator arm—all powered by pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs). Fluidic muscles offer significant potential in various mechatronic systems, robots, and manipulators due to their flexible, lightweight nature and compliance. Their ability to produce smooth and adaptable motions is particularly beneficial in applications requiring natural and human-like movement, such as rehabilitation and assistive devices. Although PAMs powered control systems face challenges with nonlinear phenomena, their biologically inspired design holds promise for future applications across various industries. These may include innovative applicability in industrial, automotive, and aerospace sectors, as well as use in sports, medical aids, entertainment, and animatronics. Incorporating self-made laboratory systems actuated by PAMs into control systems education offers a comprehensive learning opportunity that combines theoretical concepts with hands-on experience. This approach develops the necessary skills of future engineers, expanding their understanding of technical principles and preparing them for future challenges in engineering practice.

This research aims to apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) methods, specifically Artificial Immune Systems (AIS), to design an optimal control strategy for a multivariable control plant. Two specific industrial control approaches are investigated: I-PD (Integral-Proportional Derivative) and PI-D (Proportional-Integral Derivative) control. The motivation for using these variations of PID controllers is that they are functionally implemented in modern industrial controllers, where they provide precise process control. The research results in a novel solution to the control synthesis problem for the industrial system. In particular, the research deals with the synthesis of I-P control for a two-loop system in the technological process of a distillation column. This synthesis is carried out using the AIS algorithm, which is the first application of this technique in this specific context. Methodological approaches are proposed to improve the performance of industrial multivariable control systems by effectively using optimization algorithms and establishing modified quality criteria. The numerical performance index ISE justifies the effectiveness of the AIS-based controllers in comparison with conventional PID controllers (ISE₁ = 1.865, ISE₂ = 1.56). The problem of synthesis of the multi-input multi-output (MIMO) control system is solved, considering the interconnections due to the decoupling procedure.

High hopes were associated with the new anti-angiogenic medicament, bevacizumab, which due to the possibility of binding to isoform A of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), inhibited the creation of new blood vessels. However, not only blood vessels are responsible for the tumor cells' spread. During the process of tumor growth, lymphangiogenesis is mediated by other isoforms of the VEGF family, specifically VEGF-C and VEGF-D, which are independent of the bevacizumab action. Therefore, based on the mechanism of bevacizumab action and the processes of angio- and lymphangiogenesis, we formed three hypotheses: 1) if the lymph nodes in the primary ovarian cancers are metastatic, the outcome of bevacizumab treatment is worsened; 2) concerning the second-line treatment, bevacizumab will act in a weakened manner if the recurrence occurs in lymph nodes compared to local recurrences; 3) patients treated by bevacizumab are more likely to have recurrences in lymph nodes. These hypotheses raise the issue of the existing gap of knowledge, which concerns the effect of bevacizumab on the metastatic lymph nodes.

Gold, present as electrum, in the Battle Gap, Ridge North-West, HW, and Price deposits at the Myra Falls mine, occurs in late veinlets cutting the earlier VMS lithologies. The ore mineral assemblage containing the electrum comprises dominantly galena, tennantite, bornite, sphalerite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and rare stromeyerite is defined as an Au-Zn-Pb-As-Sb association. The gangue is comprised of barite, quartz, and minor feldspathic volcanogenic sedimentary rocks and clay. Deposition of gold as electrum in the baritic upper portions of the sulphide lenses occurs at relatively shallow water depths beneath the sea floor. Primary, pseudosecondary, and secondary fluid inclusions, petrographically related to gold, show boiling fluid inclusion assemblages in the range of 123 to 173 °C, with compositions and eutectic melt temperatures consistent with seawater at approximately 3.2 wt% NaCl equivalent. The fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures are consistent with boiling seawater corresponding to water depths ranging from 15 to 125 metres. Slightly more dilute brines corresponding to salinities of approximately 1 wt% NaCl indicate that there is input from very low-salinity brines, which could represent a transition from subaqueous VMS to epithermal-like conditions for precious metal enrichment, mixing with re‑condensed vapour, or very low-salinity igneous fluids.

U.S. Spanish-speaking populations experienced gaps in timely COVID-19 information during the pandemic and disproportionate misinformation exposure. Brigada Digital de Salud was established to address these gaps with culturally-tailored, Spanish-language COVID-19 information on social media. From May 1, 2021-April 30, 2023, 495 Twitter, 275 Facebook, and 254 Instagram posts were published and amplified by 10 trained community health workers. A qualitative content analysis was performed to characterize topics and formats of 251 posts. To assess reach and engagement, page analytics and advertising metrics for 287 posts were examined. Posts predominantly addressed vaccination (49.45%), infection risks (19.12%), and COVID-related scientific concepts (12.84%). Posts were educational (48.14%), and aimed to engage audiences (23.67%), promote resources (12.76%), and debunk misinformation (9.04%). Formats included images/text (55.40%), carousels (27.50%), and videos (17.10%). By June 9, 2023, 394 Facebook, 419 Instagram, and 228 Twitter followers included mostly women aged 24-54. Brigada Digital reached 386,910 people with 552,037 impressions and 96,868 engagements, including 11,292 likes, 15,240 comments/replies, 9,718 shares/retweets, and 45,381 video play-throughs. The most engaging posts included videos, trending topics, and music or audio-narration. This community-based model to engage Spanish-speaking audiences on social media with culturally-aligned content to counter misinformation shows promise for addressing public health threats.

The serendipitous discovery of antiparasitic drugs, such as quinine and artemisinin from plant origin reveals that the search for new chemical pharmacophores from medicinal plants is valuable. The present study sought to explore the antiplasmodial, antileishmanial, and antitrypanosomal activities of extracts from Lippia adoensis. Crude extracts of L. adoensis leaves and twigs, which were obtained by extraction using 70% ethanol in water, were assayed for antiplasmodial activity against P. falciparum 3D7 and Dd2 through the SYBR green I-based fluorescence assay; and for antileishmanial, antitrypanosomal, and cytotoxic effects on Leishmania donovani, Trypanosoma brucei brucei, and Vero cells, respectively, using the resazurin colorimetric assays. The phytochemical analysis of the extracts was performed using a liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) feature-based detection and molecular networking flow on Global Natural Product Social (GNPS). As a result, the crude extracts from L. adoensis inhibited growth of P. falciparum (3D7 and Dd2) (IC50s; (3D7): 10.008 and 97.467 μg/mL; (Dd2): 29.48 and 26.96 μg/mL), L. Donovani (IC50s: 22.879-10.522 μg/mL), and T. brucei brucei (IC50s: 2.3085-55.06 μg/mL). The extracts were found to be non-cytotoxic to Vero cells, thus yielding median cytotoxic concentrations (CC50s) above 100 μg/mL. The LC-MS tandem molecular networking flow predicted that the extracts contain valsafungin A and bacillamidin on the first cluster, and fatty acids, ketone and aldehyde derivatives on the second cluster. Overall, the present study demonstrated the antiparasitic effects of L. adoensis extracts, thus justifying the use of this plant in the traditional treatment of fever and malaria conditions. Nevertheless, detailed metabolomic studies and antiparasitic mechanisms of action of the extracts are expected to unveil the potential antiparasitic hit compounds.

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.

The superfamily of Acid proteases has two catalytic aspartates for proteolysis of their peptide substrates. Here, we show a minimal structural scaffold, the Structural Catalytic Core (SCC), which packs all conserved substructure elements around the catalytic machinery, and which can be found in all enzymes of the Acid proteases superfamily. The SCC is a dimer of several structural blocks, such as the DD-link, the D-loop and the G-loop, around two catalytic aspartates in each protease subunit or within an individual chain. The dimer of two D-loop/DD-link substructures makes a DD-zone, and the dimer of two D-loop/G-loop substructures makes a psi-loop. These structural markers are useful for protein comparison, structure identification, protein family separation and protein engineering.

Due to its high short-term global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide, methane (CH₄) is a considerable agent of climate change. This research is aimed at analyzing data on methane gathered at the GAW (Global Atmosphere Watch) station of Lamezia Terme (Calabria, Southern Italy) spanning seven years of continuous measurements (2016-2022) and integrating the results with key meteorological data. Compared to previous studies on detected methane mole fractions at the same station, daily-to-yearly patterns have become more prominent thanks to the analysis of a much larger data set. Overall, the yearly increase of methane at the Lamezia Terme station is in general agreement with global measurements by NOAA, though local peaks are present, and an increase linked to Covid-19 is identified. Seasonal changes and trends have proved to be fully cyclic, with the daily cycles being largely driven by local wind circulation patterns and synoptic features. Outbreak events have been statistically evaluated depending on their weekday of occurrence to test possible correlations with anthropic activities. A cross analysis between methane peaks and specific wind directions has also proved that local sources may be deemed responsible for the highest mole fractions.

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.

Background: Cognitive for patients with neurocognitive disorders are mostly measured by Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) and Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT) as screening tools. These cognitive scores are usually left skewed and the results of association analysis might not be robust. This study aims to study the distribution of the cognitive outcomes and to discuss potential solutions. Materials and Methods: The inverse transformed cognitive outcomes are modelled using different statistical distributions. Robustness of the proposed models are checked under different scenarios: with intercept only, models with covariate, with and without bootstrapping. Results: Main results were based on VCAT score, and validated via MoCA score. Findings suggested that the inverse transformation method improves modelling the cognitive scores compared to the conventional methods using the original cognitive scores. Association of baseline characteristics (age, gender and years of education) and the cognitive outcomes were reported as estimates and 95% confidence intervals. Bootstrap methods improved the estimate precision and the bootstrapped standard errors of the estimates are more robust. Cognitive outcomes are widely analyzed using linear regression models with default normal distribution as a conventional method. We compared the results of our suggested models with the normal distribution under various scenarios. Goodness-of-fit measurements were compared between proposed models and conventional methods. Conclusions: The findings support the use of the inverse transformation method to model the cognitive outcomes instead of the original cognitive scores for early stage neurocognitive disorders where the cognitive outcomes are left skewed.

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.

Diarrhea remains one of the leading causes of mortality worldwide, especially among children. Recent epidemiological studies conducted in developing countries identified Shigella species as the most predominant pathogenic bacteria responsible for diarrhea. Antimicrobial therapy is necessary for Shigella infections; however, the rapid emergence of resistance against existing antimicrobials in Shigella spp. poses a serious global health problem. To identify alternative antimicrobial compounds with activity against Shigella species, the pathogens responsible for bacterial diarrhea. In this study, we have applied antibacterial phenotypic screening to identify potent anti-Shigella compounds across a broad chemical diversity, including selected acetaminophen derivatives containing benzothiazoles backbone, and their combination with certain antibiotics. In continuation to our effort in searching potent antimicrobial compounds, we have found this time around that two acetaminophen derivatives containing benzothiazoles backbone (4a and 4b) could inhibit the growth of Shigella flexneri with common MIC value of 12.5 µg/ml. These compounds were established through a time-kill kinetics’ study to be bactericidal. Meanwhile, the 2-aminobenzothiazoles (1a and 1b) used for the synthesis of compounds 4 (a & b) were found to be poorly active (MIC: 100 µg/ml) against this pathogen. Combination studies of 4a and 4b with the least susceptible antibiotics (ceftriaxone and cotrimoxazole) demonstrated synergistic anti-Shigella activity. The present study demonstrates that the azobenzothiazole dyes 4 (a & b) can be repurposed as potential anti-Shigella compounds, which can serve as scaffolds for the development of new agents against infectious diarrhea caused by Shigella and other enteric pathogens, especially in developing countries.

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.

The study of the impact of polyQ expansion driven proteotoxicity on cell metabolism has evi-denced NAD molecule as a central player in regulating metabolic response and cell repair in neurodegeneration. The decline in NAD intracellular levels represents a hallmark of ageing aris-ing from a dysregulation between NAD-consuming and biosynthetic enzymatic reactions in which NMNAT plays a key role. By an integrated bioanalytical and proteomic experimental design, the derangement of NAD metabolism deriving from the accumulation of polyQ-Htt protein has been analysed in Saccha-romices cerevisiae harbouring a 103Q-Htt and compared with wild-type Htt, in absence and in presence of a phenolic extract from EVOO, as a source of antioxidant bioactive compounds. Quantification of NAD and its precursors and proteomic analysis of the differential protein ex-pression has been performed by LC-DAD-MS. Chronological lifespan and NAD homeostasis was strongly impaired by proteotoxic polyQ-Htt, eliciting a depletion of NAD levels and accumulation of NaMN. In parallel a downregulation of Sirt2 expression levels has been observed. Phenolic extract administration had no meaningful ef-fects on NAD replenishment to prevent proteotoxicity. NaMN can represent a biomarker of accel-erated aging, and/or a signaling molecule for cell repair.

PET imaging of bacterial infection could potentially provide added benefit for patient care by non-invasive means. [68Ga]Ga-desferrioxamine B – a radiolabelled siderophore – shows specific uptake by human-pathogenic bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus or Pseudomonas aeruginosa as well as sufficient serum stability for clinical application. Here, we provide data for automated production of [68Ga]Ga-desferrioxamine B on two different cassette based synthesis modules (Modular-Lab PharmTracer and GRP 3V) using commercially available cassettes together with an approved 68Ge/68Ga radionuclide generator. Quality control including determination of radiochemical purity as well as a system suitability test was set up via RP-HPLC on a C18 column. The two described production processes, using an acetic acid/acetate buffer system with ascorbic acid as a radiation scavenger for radiolabelling, yield ready-to-use formulations with sufficient activity yield. Batch data showed radiochemical purity of &gt;95 % as determined by RP-HPLC and ITLC as well as excellent stability over 2 hours post production. Specifications for routine production were set up and validated with four master batches for each synthesis module. Based on this study, an academic clinical trial for imaging of bacterial infection was initiated. Both described synthesis methods enable reproducible, automated in-house production of [68Ga]Ga-desferrioxamine B for clinical application.

Research on mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) interventions with displaced communities has increasingly focused on evaluating implementation, including identifying strategies to promote retention in services. This study examines the relationship between participant characteristics, study setting, and reasons for intervention noncompletion using data from the Entre Nosotras feasibility trial, a community-based MHPSS intervention targeting displaced and host community women in Ecuador and Panama that aimed to promote psychosocial wellbeing. Among 225 enrolled women, approximately half completed the intervention, with varying completion rates and reasons for nonattendance across study sites. Participants who were older, had migrated for family reasons, had spent more time in the study community, and were living in Panamá (vs. Ecuador) were more likely to complete the intervention. The findings suggest the need to adapt MHPSS interventions to consider the duration of access to the target population and explore different delivery modalities including the role of technology and cellular devices as reliable or unreliable source for engaging with participants. Engaging younger, newly arrived women is crucial, as they showed lower completion rates. Strategies such as consulting scheduling preferences, providing on-site childcare, and integrating MHPSS interventions with other programs could enhance intervention attendance.

Oxidative stress plays an essential role in the pathological processes that trigger various chronic liver diseases and contributes to the development of hepatocarcinogenesis. Antioxidants from natural sources trap free radicals by converting them into non-harmful products and minimize oxidative stress, playing a crucial function in the treatment of free radical-induced diseases. However, the activity of these antioxidants is limited due their poor bioavailability, which is why various nano-drug delivery systems have been developed to improve their stability, promote smooth release, and targeted delivery for liver cancer treatment. Specifically, this review aims to report recent scientific findings of novel nano-formulations containing natural antioxidant molecules targeted for the treatment of liver cancer.

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.

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.

Photovoltaic modules should pass series of tests and examinations, verifying the electrical and thermal characteristics of the module, before being released to the market, examining the properties of the modules should undergo appropriate durability and efficiency tests under real outdoor conditions with exposure to climatic conditions and under laboratory conditions. The performance of photovoltaic cells depends on many factors, such as solar irradiance, module operating temperature, installation location, weather conditions and module shading. In this paper, three selected photovoltaic modules were examined using a large-scale steady-state solar simulator. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the photovoltaic modules were experimentally tested and analyzed. The next step was to implement a three-layer artificial neural network model (MLP). The experimental data obtained in the previous step coupled with output data from MLP were then used in global sensitivity analysis (GSA). Experiments carried out on a large-scale stationary solar simulator showed differences between the values declared by the manufacturer and the values obtained from measurements of PV modules. The first module tested achieved the maximum power point greater than that specified by the manufacturer, while the other two showed power drops; it was 85-87% for the second module, and 95-98% for the third, respectively. The performed global sensitivity analysis (GSA) for the MLP model showed that the parameters: eff (22.9) and Voc/V (14.19) have the largest effect on the power-voltage relationship, while U (7.29) has the smallest effect. The usefulness of machine learning (ML) methods in the comparative analysis of PV modules has been proved.

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.

Crystalline silver thin layers were obtained by high-energy pulsed laser ablation without heating of the deposition substrate. The fluid Plateau-Rayleigh (PRI), Rayleigh – Taylor (RTI) and Richtmyer – Meshkov (RMI) instabilities, as well as crown splash induced during pulsed laser deposition (PLD) in high energy regime, resulting in ring and pearl shaped structures, offer the benefit of increased sorption surface. These morphological structures obtained for the silver thin layers make them of interest for catalytic applications. The study presented with this work addresses both the fundamental and applied issues on the morphological structures obtained for the silver thin layer and their catalytic function in organic processes. In this sense, the catalytic action of the thin silver layer was highlighted by modifications of the Reactive Blue 21 dye (C.I.) in aqueous solution with sodium bicarbonate. Specific investigations and analyzes were carried out by electron microscopy and elemental analysis (SEM-EDX), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and profilometry, mass spectrometry, ablation plasma diagnosis, diffractograms (XRD), as well as IR spectroscopy (FTIR). In addition to the experimental investigation and analyzes, simulation of the ionization energy threshold was conducted in COMSOL for complementary evaluation on the involved processes and phenomena.

This article aims to analyze the relationship between non-obstructive coronary artery disease (NOCAD) and atrial fibrillation (AF), exploring the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and implications for clinical management. NOCAD and AF are prevalent cardiovascular conditions that often coexist, yet their interrelation is not well understood. NOCAD, characterized by the presence of atherosclerotic plaques without significant luminal stenosis, can lead to ischemic necrosis of cardiomyocytes and their replacement with fibrous tissue, in this way sustaining the focal ectopic activity in atrial myocardium. Atrial fibrillation, on the other hand, is the most common sustained cardiac arrhythmia, associated with an increased risk of stroke and heart failure, which may accelerate atherosclerosis and may increase oxygen consumption in the myocardium, creating a mismatch between supply and demand, thus promoting the development or worsening of coronary ischemia. Therefore, NOCAD and AF seems to be a complex Interplay with one begets another.

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.

A simple protocol for preparation of O-acylated enol form - (R/S)-ethyl-2-acetoxy-4-phenyl-4H-chromene-3-carboxylate 5 was presented. The compound was characterized by 1H-, 13C-and DEPT135 NMR spectra, including {1H,1H} COSY, {1H,13C} HSQC, {1H,13C} HMBC and 2D-NOESY spectra. The preferred regioselectivity for O-acylation of 3,4-dihydrocoumarin 5 in the presence of substituent in 4-th position in the chroman ring and accounting the steric hindrance of the ester group in 3-th place was confirmed.

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.

Background: Despite advances in the treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) over the last few decades, treatment opportunities for patients with HCC remain limited. HCC is the most common form of liver cancer, accounting for approximately 90% of all cases worldwide. Moreover, apart from the current pharmacological interventions, hepatic resection and liver transplantation are the mainstay curative approaches for patients with HCC. Methods: This systematic review included phase I, II, III, and IV clinical trials (CTs) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on current treatments for patients with HCC in an Asian population (2013–2023). A total of 427 articles were screened, and 184 non-duplicate publications were identified. After screening titles and abstracts, 96 publications were excluded, and another 28 were excluded after full-text screening. The remaining 60 eligible RCTs/CTs were finally included. Results: Sixty clinical trials fulfilled our inclusion criteria and screened 36 drugs as monotherapy or combination therapy for HCC. Most studies used sorafenib alone or in combination with any of the treatment regimens. Lenvatinib or atezolizumab with bevacizumab was used for HCC after initial sorafenib treatment. Eighteen studies compared the efficacy of sorafenib with that of other drugs, including lenvatinib, cabozantinib, tepotinib, tigatuzumab, linifanib, erlotinib, resminostat, brivanib, tislelizumab, selumetinib, and refametinib. Conclusion: This study provides comprehensive insights into effective treatment interventions for HCC in Asian populations. The overall assessment indicated that sorafenib alone or in combination with atezolizumab and bevacizumab has been the first treatment choice in the past decade to achieve better outcomes in patients with HCC in an Asian population

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.

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.

“Pecorino” is a typical semi-hard cheese obtained with raw or heat-treated sheep milk using procedures to valorize the raw material's chemical and microbiological properties. In the present study, using a high throughput method of 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we assessed the evolution of the microbiome composition from milk to Pecorino cheese in artisanal processes using milk from Comisana and Lacaune sheep breeds. The comparative analysis of the bacterial com-munity composition revealed significant differences in the presence and abundance of specific taxa in the milk microbiome of the Comisana and Lacaune breeds. NGS analysis also revealed differences in the curd microbiome related to dairy farming practices, which have a relevant effect on the final structure of the Pecorino-cheese microbiome.

MicroRNAs are small non-coding RNAs, which contribute to the regulation of many physiolog-ical and pathological processes. Conventionally, miRNAs perform their activity in the cyto-plasm, where they regulate gene expression by interacting in a sequence-specific manner with mature messenger RNAs. Recent studies point to the presence of mature miRNAs in the nucleus. This review summarizes current findings regarding the molecular activities of nuclear miRNAs. These molecules can regulate gene expression at the transcriptional level by directly binding DNA on the promoter or the enhancer of regulated genes. MiRNAs recruit to these regions dif-ferent protein complexes, resulting both in activation or repression of transcription, through a number of molecular mechanisms. Haematopoiesis is presented as a paradigmatic biological process whereby nuclear miRNAs possess a relevant regulatory role. Nuclear miRNAs may af-fect gene expression also acting on nuclear mRNA processing and on the biogenesis of miRNA themselves by regulating pri-miRNA maturation. Overall, nuclear miRNAs are biologically ac-tive molecules that can be critical for the fine tuning of gene expression and deserve further studies in a number of physiological and pathological conditions

(1) Background: A wide literature based on loading and unloading bending tests has been carried out over the half past century for assessing the force released by superelastic wires. The aim of this investigation is not only to characterize a broadly described superelastic NiTi and a novel CuNiTi archwire, but also to provide novel insights into the load vs deflection profiles. A harmonic scenario for superelastic wires will be shown as temperature is kept constant at 37°C. However, a completely different picture will be highlighted as a temporary heating step up to 50°C is introduced within the force vs deflection profiles. (2) Methods: A variety of NiTi and a novel CuNiTi round and rectangular cross-section archwires have been investigated. Static 3-point bending tests up to a deflection level of 3.0 mm have been carried out for detecting the unloading force plateau levels occurring at 37°C. A hold deflection step of 5 min at deflection levels occurring along the unloading plateau extension is introduced. The effect of a temporary heating up to 50°C on the force plateau level released by the investigated wires is analyzed. (3) Results: Mechanical profiles suggest that the plateau force levels detected at 37°C are consistent with those broadly reported in the literature, but they only represent a single block puzzle of the force scenario that a superelastic wire releases during the orthodontic treatment. (4) Conclusions: Once a superelastic wire is bent and clinically applied, the effect of a temporary heating up to 50°C (e.g. hot food or drink ingestion) produces a significant plateau force increase whose magnitude depends on the deflection level. The highest force increase of about 50% and 40% have been detected at deflection levels located at the beginning of the unloading plateau extension for NiTi and CuNiTi wires, respectively.

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.

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

Most cervical cancer cases are a result of persistent high-risk Human papillomavirus (HPV) infections. Cervical cancer is prevalent in LMICs especially in SSA where it is second most prevalent cancer. In South Africa, it is the second most common cancer affecting women aged between 15 and 44 years. The host immune response has been shown as an important factor in controlling the progression or regression of high-risk HPV infection of the cervix to cervical cancer. The risk of cervical cancer is known to be influenced by the host's genetic diversity, particularly by immune response-regulating genes such as the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) class I and II genes. HLA class I genes present viral peptides to CD8+ T cells which are restricted and pre-programmed for cytotoxic functions. There is very little known about the HLA genes of South African women and how these influence outcome of HPV infections. This review aims to understand the role and influence of HLA class I genes in HPV clearance, persistence, and CD8+ T cell mediated immunity in African women by examining existing literature in this area. Understanding this role can influence and inform therapeutic vaccine design that is population specific.

The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area containing approximately 40% of the currently identified total coal reserves in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Due to the ongoing increase of mining activities, PM10 (air-borne particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres) pollution has become a major air quality concern in local communities. This paper summarises the spatial and temporal variability modes of PM10 pollution in the region, based on long-term multi-site monitoring data and the application of the rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) and wavelet analysis techniques. RPCA identified two distinct air quality clusters/subregions in the valley, one in the west/northwest, the other in the southeast. Wavelet analysis revealed the annual cycle to be most persistent temporal mode of PM10 variability in both subregions, with intermittent signals observed at time scales of around 120, 30~90 and under 30 days. How these variation modes are related to the effects of local PM10 emissions and the influence of meteorology at different time scales deserves further attention in future work. The findings will be used in air quality reporting and forecasting in NSW. The methodology and results can also be useful for air quality research in similar regions elsewhere.

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.

Here we present 1. a model for amplicon sequencing 2. a definition of the best assignment of a read to a set of reference sequences 3. strategies and structures for indexing reference sequences and computing the best assign- ments of a set of reads efficiently, based on (ultra)metric spaces and their geometry The models, techniques, and ideas are particularly relevant to scenarios akin to 16S taxonomic profiling, where both the number of reference sequences and the read diversity is considerable.

Drosophila melanogaster serves as a important research model both for genetic investigations and for the study of metal toxicity, facilitating the elucidation of physiological mechanisms comparable to those of human organisms. In our research, we evaluated the toxicity effect resulting from exposure to various concentrations of lead and copper on the prolificity rates throughout the life cycle (egg-adult) of four genotypes of Drosophila melanogaster: wild-type (control), white, brown, and white-vestigial. During our study, the prolificity rates were examined across three repetitions under the impact of exposure to concentrations of 0.50, 1.00, 2.00, and 4.00 mM of copper (CuSO₄) and lead (Pb(C₂H₃O₂₎₂). Prolificity rates throughout the life cycle exhibited variations as a direct consequence of genetic factors, the concentration of exposure, and the specific type of metal, either copper or lead. The mutant white-vestigial genotype revealed an IC₅₀ concentration for prolificity inhibition at lower doses of 2.00 mM for copper and 4.00 mM for lead, in contrast to the control genotype (wild-type), which exhibited an inhibition concentration rate >IC₅₀ of 4.00 mM only in the case of copper. Our results concluded that the (i) dose influences the prolificity rate in a directly proportional manner, (ii) comparative analyses between copper and lead revealed that copper displayed toxicity across all genotypes within the concentration range of 0.50 mM to 2.00 mM. In contrast, lead exhibited toxicity within the concentration range of 1.00 mM to 4.00 mM, highlighting a (iii) more acute toxicity characteristic in the case of copper. Thus, the results of this research reflect the importance of using Drosophila melanogaster as a genetic model in the comparative study of the interaction between genetic factors and the toxicity of metals, offering significant insights into monitoring their impact and defining the maximum permissible doses on organisms.

Background/Objectives: Endometriosis represents substantial direct and indirect healthcare costs impacted by absent accurate, non-invasive uniformly diagnostic tools. We endeavored to demonstrate gastrointestinal myoelectrical activity (GIMA) biomarkers unique to endometriosis allow noninvasive, uniformly accurate diagnosis or exclusion of endometriosis. Methods: Prospective open-label comparative study of 154 patients, age &gt;18, with or without diagnosed endometriosis. Population included 62 non-endometriosis controls (Cohort 1), 43 subjects with surgically histologically-confirmed endometriosis (Cohort 2), and 49 subjects with abdominal pain and negative imaging (Cohort 3). Electroviscerography (EVG) recorded GIMA biomarkers from three abdominal electrodes before and 30-minutes post water-load protocol. Cohort 2 had postoperative EVG and Cohort 3 had preoperative EVG. Calculated specificity, sensitivity, NPV, PPV and predictive probability or C-Statistic used univariate, multivariate, linear and logistical regression analyses of the area under the curve (AUC) at all frequency and time points, including age and pain covariants. Results: Non-endometriosis cohort differed significantly from endometriosis cohorts (p&lt;0.001) for median (IQR), and AUC percent frequency distribution of power at baseline, 10-minute, 20-minute, and 30-minute post water-load at all frequency ranges 15-20cpm, 30-40cpm and 40-50cpm. Endometriosis cohorts were statistically similar (p&gt;0.05). GIMA biomarker threshold scoring demonstrated 95%/91% sensitivity and PPV, 96%/95% specificity and NPV and C-statistic of &gt;99%/98% respectively for age subsets. GIMA biomarkers in Cohort 3 predicted 47/49 subjects positive and 2/49 negative for endometriosis, confirmed surgically. Hormonal therapy, surgical stage, nor pain score affected diagnostic accuracy. Conclusions: Non-invasive electroviscerography with GIMA biomarker detection distinguished participants with and without endometriosis based upon endometriosis specific GIMA biomarkers threshold scoring.

Predicting the prices of cryptocurrency owing to its volatility, instability, and other factors has been challenging; investors and traders especially in Nigeria have been on a constant look for a more reliable way of knowing market trends and prices and while there has been so many research conducted using deep learning, the results for which has fall short of what investors could called a strong predictor. This research reviewed the results of many works that had been done and proposed two types of recurrent neural network (RNNs) namely Long Short-Term Memory and Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) for predicting the future prices of two of the most common crypto assets namely Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), these two were selected based on their popularity, the volume traded and their market capitalization. The experiment was conducted in a GPU Jupyter Notebook environment and the performance of our experiment was evaluated on a test set using root mean square error (RMSE) and based on its values, the LSTM presented a better performance with rsme scores of 654.66, and 80.30 respectively for BTC and ETH as compared to GRU. The paper proceeds further to compare the results of this experiment with other related works and we discovered that its performance is a great improvement.

Patients with locally advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) frequently require primary radiochemotherapy (RCT). Despite intensity-modulation, desired radiation-induced effects observed in HNSCC, may also be observed as side-effects in healthy tissue e.g. the sternocleidomastoideus muscle (SCM). These side-effects (e.g. tissue fibrosis) depend on the interval between completion of RCT and restaging-CT. For salvage surgery, the optimal time window for surgery is currently postulated between 6 and 12 weeks after completion of RCT. Thus, no extensive tissue fibrosis is to be expected. This interval is based on studies exploring surgical complications. Studies directly exploring radiation-induced changes of the SCM in HNSCC-patients are sparse. The present study quantifies tissue alterations in SCM and paravertebral musculature (PVM) after RCT applying radiomics to determine the optimal time window for salvage surgery. Three radiomic key parameters 1) volume, 2) mean positivity of pixels (MPP) and 3) uniformity were extracted with mint lesionTM in the staging-CTs and restaging-CTs of 98 HNSCC-patients. Of these, 25 were female, the mean age was 62 (±9.6) years and 80.9% were UICC Stage IV. The mean restaging-interval was 55 (±28; range29-229) days. Only the mean volume significantly decreased after RCT from 9.0 to 8.4 and 96.5 to 91.9 ml for SCM and PVM, respectively (both p=0.007, both Cohen’s d=0.28). In addition, the mean body mass index (BMI) decreases from 23.9 (±4.2) to 21.0 (±3.6) kg/m² (p<0.001); Cohen's d = 0.9). The mean BMI-decrease significantly correlated with the volume decrease for SCM (r=0.27; p=0.007) and PVM (r=0.41; p<0.001). If t-test p-values were adjusted for the BMI-decrease, no significant change in volumes for SCM and PVM was observed (both p>0.05). The present data supports the postulated optimal interval for salvage surgery of 6 to 12 weeks. Irrespective of the remaining risk-benefit ratio of salvage surgery, the risk of additional surgical complications due to fibrosis is not supported by the present observations.

DIEP-based breast reconstruction necessitates wide undermining at the abdominal donor-site, creating large wound areas. Flap harvesting is usually conducted using electrosurgical dissection devices. This study sought to compare the clinical outcomes in patients after using the PEAK PlasmaBlade (PPB) versus monopolar electrocautery (MPE). This retrospective cohort study included 128 patients with DIEP-based breast reconstruction. Patient characteristics as well as information on the postoperative course were collected and a comparative evaluation was conducted. The MPE group exhibited significantly (p* = 0.0324) higher abdominal drainage volume (351.11 ± 185.96 ml) compared to the PPB group (279.38 ± 183.38 ml). Subgroup analysis demonstrated that PPB significantly reduced postoperative wound fluid in patients with BMI > 30 kg/m² (p* = 0.0284), without prior neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p** = 0.0041), and among non-smokers (p = 0.0046). Furthermore, postoperative pain was significantly (p**** < 0.0001) lower in the PPB cohort. This study confirms the non-inferiority of the PEAK PlasmaBlade to conventional electrocautery for abdominal flap harvesting. The PPB demonstrated advantages, notably reduced drainage volume and lower postoperative pain levels. Recognizing patient subsets that benefit more from the PPB highlights the importance of personalized device selection based on patient characteristics.

Shiga toxins (Stxs), and more specifically the Stx2a subtype, are the major virulence factors involved in enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC)-associated hemolytic uremic syndrome (eHUS); a life-threatening disease causing acute kidney injury, especially in children. Cleavage of Stxs A subunit, when followed by reduction, boosts the enzymatic activity causing damage to targeted cells. This cleavage was assumed to be mostly mediated by furin during Stx intracellular trafficking. Cleavage of A subunit, without reduction, changes the binding properties of Stxs for blood components during HUS pathogenesis. To investigate whether the cleavage could occur in the intestine, even prior entering target cells, Stx2a structure was characterized after its exposure to specific host factors present in human stool. The structure of Stx2a A subunit was determined by immunoblotting after electrophoretic separation under reducing conditions. Trypsin and chymotrypsin-like elastase 3B (CELA3B), two serine proteases, were identified as potential candidates that may trigger the extracellular cleavage of Stx2a A subunit directly after its secretion by EHEC in the gut. Whether this observation indeed translates to natural infections and plays a role in eHUS pathogenesis has yet to be determined as well as whether host's protease profile could affect disease development by changing the toxin’s biological features.

The effect of doublet state metalloradical complex in a solar cell inside the common active layer poly(3-hexylthiophene)/ [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT/PC60BM) is explored. In this work is demonstrated that the role of the Bis-[1,3-Bis-(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)-4,5-dichloroimidazol-2-ylidene]palladium(I) hexafluoridophosphate dopant, [Pd(IPrCl)2][PF6], is crucial because, by having a stable unpaired electron in the molecule, it significantly improves the optoelectronic performance of the devices. We found the optimal concentration of this molecule in the active layer, and we demonstrated that the presence of this additive in the active layer helps to significantly improve the morphology of the device. The improvements in optoelectronic and morphological parameters are associated with a remarkable increase of photocurrent generation due to more favourable mechanisms of charge separation at the donor/acceptor (D/A) interfaces of the active layer and reduced recombinations. Moreover, the presence of this additive improves the stability of the unencapsulated solar cell against photochemical degradation produced by sunlight.

This study investigated the influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes asso-ciated with the interferon pathway (IFNAR2 rs2236757), antiviral response (OAS1 rs10774671, OAS3 rs10735079), and viral entry (ACE2 rs2074192) on COVID-19 severity and their association with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (MAFLD). We did not observe a significant association between the investigated SNPs and COVID-19 severity. While the IFNAR2 rs2236757 A allele correlated with higher creatinine levels upon admission and the G allele with lower band neu-trophils upon discharge, these findings require further investigation. The distribution of OAS gene polymorphisms (rs10774671, rs10735079 did not differ between MAFLD and non-MAFLD patients. Our study population's distribution of ACE2 rs2074192 genotypes and alleles differed from the European reference population. Overall, our findings suggest that these specific SNPs may not be major contributors to COVID-19 severity in our patient population, highlighting the potential role of other genetic factors and environmental influences.

Spodoptera frugiperda is an invasive pest that has spread in various parts of the world. These pests have the ability to spread and adapt highly to new habitats. Until now, it is not known with certainty the distribution of these invasive pests in Eastern Indonesia, especially Bali and Nusa Tenggara. This study aims to map the spatial distribution and genetic distribution of S. frugiperda which damages maize in the areas of Bali and Nusa Tenggara. This research was conducted using a survey method from May to September 2022 covering the islands of Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, and Timor. The results showed that S. frugiperda had spread evenly in Bali and Nusa Tenggara. The results of PCR amplification in the COI gene from 9 sample isolates from all research locations showed the similarity of DNA bands leading to the Spodoptera frugiperda species with a banding pattern length of 683 – 697. These results indicated that the distribution of genetic variants of corn caterpillars in Bali, NTB, and NTT was confirmed as S. frugiperda species. However, the isolated gene S. frugiferda, which was shown by the alignment results of the sequences from Lombok, was confirmed as a different strain from strains from Bali, Sumba, Sumbawa, Flores, and Timor. This incident can be seen from the difference in the protein base composition of S. frugiperda from Bali, Sumba, Sumbawa, Timor, and Flores. The results of phylogenetic analysis in this study confirmed 3 clusters of the genetic closeness of S. frugiperda. Cluster-1 comes from the results of the search for specimens of JB FAW and KB FAW from Bali, SB FAW and SB FAW Sorghum from Sumba, SW FAW from Sumbawa, KP FAW from Timor, and FL FAW from Flores. Cluster-2 is an isolate outside of our species. Cluster-3 comes from the search for LT and LS FAW specimens from Lombok. The genetic distance between cluster-1 and cluster-3 is quite far, which is 0.20 mu.

Keywords: Pain; Nociception; Disorders of Consciousness; Consciousness

The present study aimed at investigating the in vitro and in vivo susceptibility of malaria parasites to crude extracts and fractions from Polyalthia suaveolens, Uvaria angolensis, and Monodora tenuifolia. The ethanolic extracts were prepared by maceration, and were further partitioned using water, dichloromethane, hexane, and methanol. The most promising fraction was subjected to column chromatography and the sub-fractions tested for activity in vitro. The antiplasmodial effect of extracts and fractions was tested against the Chloroquine resistant (PfK1) strain in 96 wells microtiter plate format using SYBR green florescence assay. The promising fraction was further assessed for cytotoxicity and acute toxicity in Swiss albino mice and subsequently against the rodent malaria parasite, P. berghei. Qualitative phytochemical screening was also performed on the promising fraction. The methanol fractions exerted the overall better effect with that of the twigs of P. suaveolens (PStw(Ace)) showing the highest potency with a IC50 value of 3.24 µg/mL followed by the fractions of leaf of M. tenuifolia (MoTel(Ace), IC50= 3.84 µg/ml) and stem bark of P. suaveolens (IC50= 4.90 µg/ml). The phytochemical screening showed the presence of alkaloids, lactones, and phenols in the more active fraction of P. suaveolens (PStw(Ace)). The chromatographic fractionation of this fraction led to 12 sub-fractions with PS8 sub-fraction being the most active (IC50= 4.42 µg/mL). In vivo, oral administration of 2000 mg/kg b.w of fraction PStw(Ace) in mice showed no signs of toxicity. Also, fraction PStw(Ace) at 400 mg/kg b.w exerted the highest suppressive effect against P. berghei strain B throughout the 4 days experiment (% parasitaemia below 5.2%). Overall, the results achieved supported the use of the three plants in the traditional treatment of malaria in Cameroon. More interestingly, the methanolic fraction of the twigs extract from P. suaveolens might be of interest in future development of an antimalarial phytodrug.

Functional neurological disorder, or FND, is widely misunderstood, particularly when considering recent research that suggests that the illness has a biological rather than a psychiatric basis. Nonetheless, the long-held view that FND is a purely psychiatric disorder without biological basis, or even a contrived (malingered) illness, remains pervasive both in modern medical care and general society. This is because FND involves an intermittent course of involuntary disability that rapidly alternates with improved neurological control. This has in turn caused shaming, low self-efficacy, and social isolation of the patients. Little research has examined the numerous biomarkers that are shared between FND and canonical neurological disorders and the encouraging outcomes that can follow conventional neurological rehabilitation, modified for this disorder. This review summarizes current research on FND biomarkers and physical rehabilitation results. General healthcare providers would benefit their care for their patients through their improved understanding the illness and recourses for support and treatment that are provided in this review.

Sparkling wines elaborated by means Ancestral method, also called Pét-Nats, are nowadays gaining an increasing share of the market. However, the scientific information about these wines is very scarce. For that reason, the aim of this research was to compare the physicochemical composition and sensory attributes of a representative sampling of commercial sparkling wines elaborated by Ancestral and Traditional methods. Ancestral sparkling wines were more heterogenous than Traditional sparkling wines because some of them showed lower internal pressure, higher turbidity, higher colour intensity and less foamability. These differences would be probably because the ancestral elaboration protocol is not so well defined as in the case of Traditional sparkling wines. However, Ancestral method has the advantage of being able to work with riper grapes and with lower doses of sulphur dioxide.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women globally, often necessitating mastectomy and subsequent breast reconstruction. Silicone mammary implants (SMIs) play a pivotal role in breast reconstruction, yet their interaction with the host immune system and microbiome remains poorly understood. This study investigates the impact of SMI surface topography on host antimicrobial responses, wound proteome dynamics, and microbial colonization. Biological samples were col-lected from ten human patients undergoing breast reconstruction with SMIs. Mass spectrometry profiles were analyzed for acute and chronic wound proteomes, revealing a nuanced interplay between topography and antimicrobial respondseproteins. 16S rRNA sequencing assessed mi-crobiome dynamics, unveiling topography-specific variations in microbial composition. Surface topography alterations influenced wound proteome composition. Microbiome analysis revealed heightened diversity around rougher SMIs, emphasizing topography-dependent microbial inva-sion. In vitro experiments confirmed staphylococcal adhesion, growth, and biofilm formation on SMI surfaces, with increased texture correlating positively with bacterial colonization. This comprehensive investigation highlights the intricate interplay between SMI topography, wound proteome dynamics, and microbial transmission. The findings contribute to understanding host-microbe interactions on SMI surfaces, essential for optimizing clinical applications and minimizing complications in breast reconstruction.

Angiotensin II (Ang II) plays a role in several inflammatory diseases and is capable of inducing the release of inflammatory mediators in several cell types. The objective was to investigate the potential of Ang II to induce mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators by cultured primary human periodontal cells. A synergistic effect of a co-treatment with Ang II and IL1β on mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators was also explored. Primary cultures of human fibroblast-like cells isolated from gingival and periodontal ligament tissues from 3 subjects were established using explant techniques. Immunophenotyping of STRO-1, Ang II type 1 receptor (AT1R) and Ang II type 2 receptor (AT2R) was performed by flow cytometry analysis. Cell cultures were challenged with Ang II (1M) for 3, 6 and 24h with or without a co-treatment with IL1β (0.1ng/mL) for 24h. mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators was performed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). We present, for the first time, a precise quantification for AT1R and AT2R on human gingival and periodontal fibroblast-like cell types; the percentage of positive immunostaining compared to the total population of cells varied from 3.35% through 5.29% for AT1R and 2.97% through 4.57% for AT2R. Ang II slightly upregulated mRNA expression of IL6 and CCL2/MCP1 in gingival cells and IL8 and PTGS2/COX2 in periodontal ligament cells. IL1β induced upregulation of IL8, IL6 CCL2/MCP1, PTGS2/COX2 and IL1β mRNA in both cell types. Co-treatment with Ang II and IL1β did not show a synergistic effect under these experimental conditions. Ang II shows a low potential to induce mRNA upregulation of inflammatory mediators in cultured primary human gingival and periodontal ligament cells, most likely due to the low percentage of Ang II receptors in such cells, and no synergistic effect with the co-treatment with IL1β.

Angiotensin II (Ang II) plays a role in several inflammatory diseases and is capable of inducing the release of inflammatory mediators in several cell types. The objective was to investigate the potential of Ang II to induce mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators by cultured primary human periodontal cells. A synergistic effect of a co-treatment with Ang II and IL1β on mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators was also explored. Primary cultures of human fibroblast-like cells isolated from gingival and periodontal ligament tissues from 3 subjects were established using explant techniques. Immunophenotyping of STRO-1, AT1 and AT2 receptors was performed by flow cytometry analysis. Cell cultures were challenged with Ang II (1M) for 3, 6 and 24h with or without a co-treatment with IL1β (0.1ng/mL) for 24h. mRNA expression of inflammatory mediators was performed by real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). We present, for the first time, a precise quantification for AT1 and AT2 receptors on human gingival and periodontal fibroblast-like cell types; the percentage of positive immunostaining compared to the total population of cells varied from 3.35% through 5.29% for AT1 and 2.97% through 4.57% for AT2. Ang II slightly upregulated mRNA expression of IL6 and CCL2/MCP1 in gingival cells and IL8 and PTGS2/COX2 in periodontal ligament cells. IL1β induced upregulation of IL8, IL6 CCL2/MCP1, PTGS2/COX2 and IL1β mRNA in both cell types. Co-treatment with Ang II and IL1β did not show a synergistic effect under these experimental conditions. Ang II shows a low potential to induce mRNA upregulation of inflammatory mediators in cultured primary human gingival and periodontal ligament cells, most likely due to the low percentage of Ang II receptors in such cells, and no synergistic effect with the co-treatment with IL1β.

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.

HLA class-I (HLA-I) polyreactive monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) reacting to all HLA-I alleles were developed by immunizing HLA-E monomeric heavy chain (HC) (Open Conformers, OCs). Two of the mAbs (TFL-006 and TFL-007) bound to the HC’s coated on a solid matrix. The binding was inhibited by a peptide 117AYDGKDY123, present in all alleles of the six HLA-I isoforms but masked by 2-microglobulin -m) in intact HLA-I trimers (Closed Conformers, CCs). Identical HLA-I polyreactivity is observed in IVIg administered to lower anti-HLA antibodies (Abs) in HLA-sensitized patients, but the mechanism is unknown. We hypothesized that the mAbs that mimic IVIg HLA-I polyreactivity might mimic the immunomodulatory functions of IVIg. We tested the relative binding affinity of the mAbs and IVIg for both OCs- and CCs and compared their effects on (a) the phytohemagglutinin (PHA)-activation T-cells, (b) the production of anti-HLA-II antibody (Ab) by B-memory cells, and anti-HLA-I Ab by immortalized B-cells, and (c) the upregulation of CD4+, CD25+, and Fox P3+ T-regs. The mAbs bound only to OCs, whereas IVIg is bound to both CCs and OCs. The mAbs suppressed blastogenesis and proliferation of PHA-activated T-cells, anti-HLA Ab production by B-cells and expanded the T-regs, better than IVIg. We conclude that a humanized version of the TFL-mAbs could be an ideal therapeutic IVIg-mimetic.

Visible-light photocatalysis, particularly in its application to organic synthesis, has experienced a big renaissance in the past decade. The rational design of new photocatalysts with designed and improved photocatalytic properties, that at the same time circumvents the necessity of using scarce and toxic transition metals, will predictably play a key role in photocatalysis in the next few years. Although free-base porphyrins were identified some years ago as a promising, easily accessible and easily tunable class of organic photoredox catalysts, a systematic study on the effect of the electronic nature and of the position of the substituents on both the ground-state and the excited-state redox potentials of these compounds is still lacking. We have prepared a set of known functionalized derivatives of meso-tetraphenyl porphyrin containing different substituents either in one of the meso-positions or at a beta-pyrrole carbon and we have determined their ground- and (singlet) excited-state redox potentials. This survey has led us to conclude that the introduction of a carbonyl group at the beta-pyrrolic position strongly increases the facility of the monoelectronic reduction of the porphyrin both in the ground state and in the singlet excited state. We have also prepared a second set of four previously unknown benzoyl derivatives of meso-tetraphenylporphyrin, and we have confirmed the validity of our conclusions.

The majority of investigations on microbial communities from various environments are presently built on culture-independent methods. Many studies point to the pivotal, selective role of primers targeting hypervariable regions of 16S rRNA in the metabarcoding of bacteria, including cyanobacterial communities. The selectivity of primers designed to amplify targeted regions of the 16S rRNA gene, which has been highlighted by many authors, limited effective amplification. Moreover, the type and specificity of the studied material can also negatively influence the results of 16S metabarcoding. Most of the studies of cyanobacterial communities have been performed for planktonic microbial communities that are often represented by common, well-studied species. In this study, we present the results of 16S metabarcoding analysis using three primer pairs - two already well-known and a third designed in this study - that amplify divergent regions of the 16S rRNA gene (V3-V4, V4-V6, V6) for benthic, microbial mat-forming cyanobacteria communities. Such communities can be a source of toxigenic cyanobacterial taxa and should be monitored with adequate primers. The comparison of three primer pairs suggested that those designed within the present study describe the structure and composition of highly heterogeneous cyanobacterial mats’ communities better than the others

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.

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.

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.

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.

Rivers across the globe experience and respond to changes within the riparian corridor. Disturbance of the riparian corridor can affect warmwater, intermediate, and coldwater streams, which can negatively influence instream physical structure and biological communities. This study focused on assessing the influence of riparian habitat on instream structure within the Whitewater River, a coldwater stream system within an agricultural watershed in southeastern Minnesota, USA. Twenty variables (riparian, n = 9; instream, n = 11) were measured at 57 sites across three forks of the Whitewater. Canonical correlation detected significant associations between riparian and instream variables across the river forks, and indicated that wider riparian buffers, more bank grass and shrubs, longer overhanging vegetation, limited bare soil and more rocks on banks were significantly associated with increased instream cover, high levels of coarse substrates with reduced embeddedness, increased pool habitats, and reduced fine sediments. In contrast, excessive fine sediments, lack of riffle habitat, reduced coarse substrates, and high width to depth ratios indicative of impaired instream habitat were associated with narrow riparian buffers and high percentages of bare soil on banks. Riparian corridors have the capacity to enhance and protect physical instream habitat and overall ecosystem health when managed properly. Wide, grassy riparian corridors with stable banks, overhanging vegetation, and limited shade from trees should protect and/or enhance instream physical habitat, providing the structural diversity favored by aquatic communities.

Aluminum, a contentious trace element found in the environment, has been demonstrated to have harmful effects on both humans and animals. In contrast, Sempervivum tectorum, an evergreen plant, has been found to offer numerous beneficial effects for both humans and animals. Therefore, this study aims to assess the protective effect of S. tectorum on certain reproductive biomarkers in male rats exposed to aluminum. Thirty-five Wistar rats were randomly divided into five groups: NTC (no-treatment control) received distilled water; NC (negative control) received drinking water containing 1 mg/L aluminum sulfate (AS); E1 received 1 mg/L AS along with an 8% S. tectorum extract; PC (positive control) received only 8% S. tectorum extract; E2 received 1 mg/L AS for three months followed by 8% extract for one month. The study analyzed testosterone, LH, FSH, body weight, and the histological structure of the testis, epididymis, and prostate, as well as the levels of zinc, manganese, copper, and iron in these organs. Significant decreases in body weight, testis, and epididymis size were observed in the aluminum-exposed groups compared to the control, whereas these decreases were not significant in the S. tectorum-treated groups compared to the control. Aluminum exposure led to significant decreases in testosterone and LH levels, with FSH levels showing a non-significant decrease in males, which were mitigated significantly by the administration of the plant extract. Histological analysis revealed alterations in the testis, epididymis, and prostate of the AS-exposed groups, including necrosis of seminiferous tubule epithelium and Leydig cells in the testis, and basal epithelial necrosis in the epididymis and prostate. Aluminum levels increased in all organs studied, while levels of zinc, copper, iron, and manganese decreased, showing a negative and significant correlation with aluminum levels. The aqueous extract of S. tectorum demonstrated a protective effect on certain studied biomarkers in male rats affected by aluminum exposure.

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.

This article compares chemical coagulation with electrocoagulation, two popular methods for the primary treatment of wastewater generated in the process of Underground Coal Gasification (UCG). The primary aim was to determine which method is more effective in the removal of cyanide and sulphide ions, metals and metalloids, as well as organic compounds. In both cases, experiments were conducted in batch 1 dm³ reactors, and the coagulation/flocculation process was carried out using iron ions. Four types of coagulants were tested during the chemical coagulation study: FeCl₂, FeSO₄, Fe₂(SO₄)₃, and FeCl₃. In the electrocoagulation experiments, pure iron Armco steel was used to manufacture the sacrificial iron anode. Both processes were tested under a wide range of operating conditions (pH, time, Fe dose) to determine their maximum efficiency for treating UCG wastewater. It was found that, through electrocoagulation, a dose as low as 60 mg Fe/dm³ leads to >60% cyanide reduction and >98% sulphide removal efficiency, while for chemical coagulation, even a dose of 307 mg Fe/dm³ did not achieve more than 24% cyanide ion removal. Moreover, industrial chemical coagulants, especially when used in very high doses, can be a substantial source of cross-contamination with trace elements.

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.

Background: Microscopic examination of acid-fast stained sputum smears for detecting mycobacterial acid-fast bacilli (AFB) remains the most economical and readily available method for laboratory diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). However, this conventional approach has limitations, including low sensitivity and labor-intensive procedures. Methods: An automated microscopy system incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning for AFB identification was evaluated. The study was conducted at an Infectious Disease Hospital in Jiangsu Province, China, utilizing an intelligent microscope system (TB-Scan, Wellgen Medical, Kaohsiung). A total of 1,000 sputum smears were included in the analysis, with the system capturing digital microscopic images and employing an image recognition model to automatically identify and classify AFB. Referee technicians provided the gold standard for discrepant results. Results: The automated system demonstrated an overall accuracy of 95.00% (950/1,000), sensitivity of 91.24% (177/194), and specificity of 95.91% (773/806). Notably, the system identified 21 smears as positive that were previously reported as negative, with referee technicians confirming 17 of these as true positive and retracting the test results accordingly. Recalculating the performance, the accuracy increased to 96.70% (967/1,000), sensitivity to 91.94% (194/211), and specificity to 97.97% (773/789), with a false negative rate of 8.06% (17/211) and a false positive rate of 2.03% (16/789). Conclusions: The incorporation of AI and machine learning into an automated microscopy system demonstrated the potential to enhance the sensitivity and efficiency of AFB detection in sputum smears compared to conventional manual microscopy. This approach holds promise for widespread application in TB diagnostics and potentially other fields requiring labor-intensive microscopic examination.

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.

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.

Context: The compartmental description, well-known from the description of infection diseases and epidemics, is applied to describe the temporal evolution of the baryonic matter in interstellar gas and stars. The introduction of gaseous and stellar fractions of the total baryonic matter as the basic dynamical variables is advantageous because it allows to apply the description to a variety of astrophysical systems. Aims: The competition of spontaneous star formation, stellar feedback and stellar evolution is theoretically investigated to understand the baryonic matter cycle including luminous baryonic matter in main-sequence stars and weakly luminous matter in white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes (referred to as locked-in matter). Of particular interest is the understanding of the cosmic star formation history and the present-day gas fraction with compartmental models. Methods: For stationary rates of spontaneous star formation, continuous stellar feedback and stellar evolution exact analytical solutions of the time evolution of the fractions of gaseous, luminous stellar and locked-in stellar matter are derived. The accuracy of the analytical solutions is proven by the favorite comparison with the exact numerical solutions of the dynamical equations. Results: The observed cosmological star formation rate and the integrated stellar density as a function of redshift are reasonably well explained by the compartmental model without triggered star formation by the competition of spontaneous star formation and stellar evolution whereas the influence of stellar feedback is less important. The action of stellar evolution provides a significant redshift dependent reduction factor when calculating the integrated stellar density from the star formation rate. Without stellar evolution the observations cannot be reproduced very well. Then the fits to the observation allow us conclusions on the relative importance of spontaneous star formation, stellar evolution and feedback in the early universe after the recombination era until today. The gas, luminous star and locked-in stellar matter fractions indicate that the vast majority of the baryons in the present-day universe resides in the form of locked-in stellar matter in white dwarfs, neutron stars and black holes.

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.

Objectives: This study assessed the associations between parent intent to have their child receive COVID-19 vaccination, and demographic factors and various child activities including attendance at in-person education or childcare. Methods: Persons undergoing COVID-19 testing residing in Minnesota and Los Angeles County, California with children aged <12 years completed anonymous internet-based surveys between May 10 and September 6, 2021 to assess factors associated with intention to vaccinate their child. Factors influencing parents’ decision to have their child attend in person school or childcare were examined. Estimated adjusted odds rations (AORs, 95% CI) were computed between parents’ intentions regarding children’s COVID-19 vaccination and participation in school and extra-curricular activities using multinomial logistic regression. Results: Compared to parents intending to vaccinate their children (n=4,686 [77.2%]), those undecided (n=874 [14.4%] or without intention to vaccinate (n=508 [8.4%]) tended to be younger, non-White, less educated and themselves not vaccinated against COVID-19. Their children more commonly participated in sports (aOR:1.51 1.17-1.95) and in-person faith or community activities (aOR:4.71 (3.62-6.11). They further indicated that additional information regarding vaccine safety and effectiveness would influence their decision. COVID-19 mitigation measures were the most common factors influencing parents’ decision to have their child attend in-person class or childcare. Conclusions: Several demographic and socioeconomic factors are associated with parents’ decision whether to vaccinate their <12-year-old children for COVID-19. Child participation in in-person activities was associated with parents’ intentions not to vaccinate. Tailored communications may be useful to inform parents’ decisions regarding safety and effectiveness of vaccination.

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.

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.