Phosphorus deficiency highly interferes with plant growth and development. Plants respond to the persistent P deficiency by coordinating the expression of genes involved in the alleviation of the stress. Promoters of phosphate transporter genes are of great choice for the development of genetically modified plants with enhanced phosphate uptake abilities, which improve crop yields in phosphate-deficient soils. In our previous study, the sugarcane phosphate transporter PHT1;2 gene, showed a significantly high expression under salinity stress. In this study, the Erianthus arundinaceus EaPHT1;2 gene was isolated and characterized using various in-silico tools. The deduced 542 amino acid residues have 10 transmembrane domains, with a molecular weight and isoelectric point of 58.9 kDa and 9.80, respectively. They displayed 71–96% similarity with Arabidopsis thaliana, Zea mays, and Saccharum hybrid. To elucidate the function of the 5’ regulatory region, the 1.1kb promoter was isolated and validated in tobacco transgenics under Pi stress. The EaPHT1;2 promoter activity was detected using the β-glucuronidase (GUS) assay. While the EaPHT1;2 promoter showed 3 to 4.2-fold higher expression than the most widely used CaMV35S promoter. The 5’ deletion analysis with and without 5’UTR regions, revealed that a small size 374 bp fragment with the highest promoter activity among 5′ truncated fragments, which was 2.7 and 4.2 times higher than the well-used CaMV35S promoter under normal and Pi-deprivation conditions, respectively. The strong and short promoter of EaPHT1;2 with 374 bp showed significant expression in low Pi-stress conditions and it could be a valuable source for the development of stress-tolerant transgenic crops

Currently, the pesticides are the global core concern because it is a boon to farmers against increasing disease-pest and simultaneously, pesticide residue is the major anxiety regarding human health. For that reason, identification and determination of factors affecting the application of pesticides are essential. To identify and evaluate determinants of pesticides application in Nepal, a household survey of 300 households was carried-out and an empirical analysis was done using multivariate probit model. Moreover, powder and liquid forms of pesticides were considered for summer and winter season in vegetable farming, which was assigned as outcome variables. Likewise, socio-economic, demographic, farm-level and perception data were considered as explanatory variables. Use of chemical fertilizers, age and gender of head of household, household size and access to weather information were found the most influencing factors. Moreover, forms of pesticides and growing seasons were found complementary to each other. Therefore, devising the policy options accordingly should balance needs of farmers and health of consumers.

The changing dynamics in climate is the primary and important determinant of agriculture productivity. The effects of this changing climate on overall productivity in agriculture can be understood when we study the effects of individual components contributing to the changing climate on plants and crops. Elevated CO₂ (eCO₂) and drought due to high variability in rainfall is one of the important manifestations of the changing climate. There is a considerable amount of literature that addresses climate effects on plant systems from molecules to ecosystems. Of particular interest is the effect of increased CO₂ on plants in relation to drought and water stress. As it is known that one of the consistent effects of increased CO₂ in the atmosphere is increased photosynthesis, especially in C₃ plants, it will be interesting to know the effect of drought in relation to elevated CO₂. The potential of elevated CO₂ ameliorating the effects of water deficit stress is evident from literature suggesting that these two are agents are brothers in arms protecting the plant from stress rather than partnering in crime, specifically water deficit when in isolation. The possible mechanisms by which this occurs will be discussed in this minireview. Interpreting the effects of short-term and long-term exposure of plants to elevated CO₂ in the context of ameliorating the negative impacts of drought will show us the possible ways by which there can be effective adaption to crops in the changing climate scenario.

The falling cost of cameras, the advancement of AI based computer vision algorithms, and powerful hardware accelerators for deep learning have enabled wide-spread deployment of surveillance cameras with the ability to automatically analyze streaming video feeds to detect events of interest. While streaming video analytics is currently largely done in the cloud, edge computing has emerged as a pivotal component due to its advantages of low latency, reduced bandwidth, and enhanced privacy. However, a distinct gap persists between the state-of-the-art computer vision algorithms, and successful practical implementation of edge-based streaming video analytics systems. This paper presents a comprehensive review of more than 30 research papers published over the last 6 years on edge video analytics systems. The papers are analyzed across 17 distinct dimensions. Unlike prior reviews, we examine each system holistically, identifying their strengths and weaknesses in diverse implementations. Our findings suggest that certain critical topics necessary for the practical realization of edge video analytics systems are not sufficiently addressed in current research. Based on these observations, we propose research trajectories across short, medium, and long term horizons. Additionally, we explore trending topics in other computing areas that can significantly impact the field of edge video analytics.

For a hierarchy of large scale structures, like galaxies, galaxy clusters, super-clusters, etc. the requirement that their gravitational (binding) self-energy density must at least equal or exceed the background repulsive dark energy density implies a universal mass-radius relation given by M/R² ~ 1g/cm². Here we point out that this mass-radius relation also holds for important individual biological structures, and even various organisms as a whole such as humans, trees, and to behemoths like whales, even though the physics is different. Here we try to understand this universality from two different physical considerations. We also point out the coincidence that the densities of most biological entities are close to that of water, and that the average density of main-sequence stars and giant planets are close to this density. We give a physical basis for the same.

During the conceptual and preliminary design stage of a ship, designers need to ensure that the selected principal dimensions and parameters are good enough to deliver a stable ship (statically and dynamically) besides deadweight and speed. To support this, the initial intact stability of the proposed ship is required to be calculated, and in doing so, the lightship weight and its detailed breakdown are necessary to be known. After hull steel weight, machinery weight, mainly, marine propulsion and power generation machinery, play a vital role in the lightship weight estimate of a ship due to its robustness. The correct estimation of respective weights improves the accuracy of calculating a ship's initial stability typically to be designed and built. Hence, it would be advantageous for the designer to convince the ship owner. A total of 3006 marine propulsion (main marine diesel) engines and 348 power generation (auxiliary marine diesel) engines/generators of various power output (generators output for auxiliary engines), engine RPM and cylinder number of different engine makers are collected. These are analyzed and presented in both tabular and graphical forms to demonstrate the possible relationship between marine propulsion engine weight and power generation engine weight, and their respective power output, RPM, cylinder number, power-RPM ratio and power-RPM ratio per cylinder.In this article, the authors have attempted to investigate the behavior of marine propulsion engine weight and power generation engine/generator weight regarding engine power output, generator power output, engine RPM and cylinder number (independent variables). Further attempts have been made to identify those independent variables that influence the weight of the marine propulsion engine and power generation engine/generator (dependent variables), and their interrelationships. A mathematical model has thus been developed and proposed, as a guiding tool, for the designer to estimate the weight of main and auxiliary engines more accurately during the conceptual and preliminary design stage.

Hundreds of thousands of kilometers of communication and power (umbilical) cables and flowlines lie undersea worldwide. Most of these offshore cables and flowlines have reached or will soon be nearing the end of their service life, necessitating the need for a viable recycling approach to recover some valuable material, e.g., copper. However, separation into constituent materials has proven very challenging due to the highly robust design of the composite cables (and flowlines) to withstand service conditions and the tough external plastic sheaths that protect against seawater corrosion. Here, we summarize the findings of the cryogenic comminution of subsea cables and flowlines for an effective separation and recovery of component materials. Heat transfer analyses of complex multilayer flowlines and umbilicals were conducted to evaluate the time required for these structures to reach their respective critical brittle-transition temperatures. Subsequently, the time was used as a guide to crush the flowline and umbilical cables under cryogenic conditions. The results show that the flowlines and umbilical cables will reach the brittle-transition temperature after approximately 1000s (i.e., 17 min) of submergence in liquid nitrogen (LN). Comminution of the materials at temperatures near the brittle-transition temperature was proven relatively efficient compared to room-temperature processing. The present evaluation of heat transfer and lab-scale crushing will afford accurate process modelling and design of a pilot cryogenic comminution of decommissioned flowlines in an LN-doped atmosphere.

The paper attempts to explore the relationship between federalism and rural development. Federalism is a division of power, responsibility and accountability to bring the administrative and political power closer to the ground and essentially to increase the good governance. On the other hand, rural development is a complex and multidimensional issue- especially much demanding for least developed and developing countries. A descriptive and qualitative approach was carried out to study the complex relationship between rural development and federalism. Similarly, a SWOT analysis was carried out to have a better understanding of the relationship. The study found that there is significant potentiality for accelerated development of rural landscape in federalism if carefully executed. However, on the other hand, federalism may pose several risks on rural development and may restrict the development pace if not executed with appropriate care and understanding. Therefore, the study concludes that cooperation and coordination among the federal structures are crucial for better development of the rural economy.

Although the presence of dark energy is well established from various observations, its true nature is still not well understood. The cosmological constant term seems to be the preferred candidate. In earlier work we had a constant cosmological constant term to limit the sizes of large-scale structures at lower redshifts. In this work, we extend this to large scale structures at higher redshifts. Here we invoke a time varying cosmological constant to set constraints on sizes of galaxies at high redshifts and see that they are consistent with their observed sizes. The time-varying cosmological constant also provides a possible solution to the puzzle of structure formation of large disk galaxies (like the Wolfe disk) observed at very early stages of the Universe. Future observations of galaxies at even higher redshifts could support our approach.

One of the biggest challenges in modern physics is how to unify gravity with quantum theory. There is an absence of a complete quantum theory of gravity, and conventionally it is thought that the effects of quantum gravity occur only at high energies (Planck scale). Here we suggest that certain novel quantum effects of gravity can become significant even at lower energies and could be tested at laboratory scales. We also suggest a few indirect effects of dark energy that can show up at laboratory scales. Using these ideas, we set observational constraints on radio recombination lines of the Rydberg atoms. We further suggest that high-precision measurements of Casimir effects for smaller plate separation could also show some manifestations of the presence of dark energy.

Gravitational waves have been detected in the past few years from several transient events such as merging stellar mass black holes, binary neutron stars, etc. These waves have frequencies in a band ranging from a few hundred hertz to around a kilohertz to which LIGO type instruments are sensitive. LISA would be sensitive to much lower range of frequencies from SMBH mergers. Apart from these cataclysmic burst events, there are innumerable sources of radiation which are continuously emitting gravitational waves of all frequencies. These include a whole mass range of compact binary and isolated compact objects as well as close planetary stellar entities. In this work, quantitative estimates are made of the gravitational wave background produced in typical frequency ranges from such sources emitting over a Hubble time and the fluctuations in the h values measured in the usual devices. Also estimates are made of the high frequency thermal background gravitational radiation from hot stellar interiors and newly formed compact objects.

It has been suggested that primordial planets could have formed in the early Universe and the missing baryons in the Universe could be explained by primordial free-floating planets of solid hydrogen. Many such planets were recently discovered around the old and metal poor stars and such planets could have formed at early epochs. Another possibility for missing baryons in the Universe could be that these baryons are admixed with DM particles inside the primordial planets. Here we discuss the possibility of admixture of baryons to the DM primordial planets discussed earlier. We consider gravitationally bound DM objects with the DM particles constituting them varying in mass from 20 to100GeV. Different fractions of DM particles mixed with baryonic matter in forming the primordial planets are discussed. For the different mass range of DM particles forming DM planets, we have estimated the radius and density of these planets with different fractions of DM and baryonic particles. It is found that for heavier mass DM particles with the admixture of certain fractions of baryonic particles, the mass of the planet increases and can reach or even substantially exceed Jupiter-mass. The energy released during the process of merger of such primordial planets is discussed. Also the energy required for the tidal breakup of such an object in the vicinity of a black hole is also discussed.

The genus Eucalyptus is a globally captivated source of hardwood and is well known for its medicinal uses. The hybrid and wild species of Eucalyptus are widely used as exotic plantations due to their renowned potential of adapting to various systems and sites, furthermore, making the species the most extensively propagated. Despite unquestionable progression in biotechnological and tissue culture approaches, the productivity of plantations is still limited often due to the low efficiency of clonal propagation from cuttings. The obtained F1 hybrids yield high biomass and High-quality low-cost raw material for large-scale production, however, the development of hybrid, clonal multiplication, proliferation, and post-developmental studies are still major concerns. This riveting review describes the problems concerned with in-vitro and clonal propagation of Eucalypt plantation; recent advances in biotechnological and tissue culture practices for massive and rapid micro-propagation of Eucalyptus; as well, highlights the Eucalypt germplasm preservation techniques.

Drydocking a ship is essential to the routine maintenance process during its service/operational life. During the drydocking time, various surveys/inspections are carried out per requirements of the classification society, flag administration, and statutory bodies, particularly the underwater items. For shipyards, optimum utilization of drydock capacity (deadweight) is the most considered factor to optimize the physical performance indicators like drydock occupancy rate, capacity utilization rate, and drydock utilization. However, in real life, even after mobilizing all available resources to achieve the optimum usage rate, the overall physical performance could be higher or lower or not up to the expectation. The average size (deadweight) of ships calling to the drydock is observed to be far below the expected capacity, resulting in under-utilization of installed capacity. However, although the drydock occupancy rate is satisfactory, even 100%. For a substantial amount of time, the drydock has been under-utilized in terms of capacity utilization and drydock utilization rate. Drydocking activities of ships in two (2) drydocks of a shipyard are collected and analyzed. Various physical performance indicators (PPIs) are calculated. They are diagnosed year-wise and presented in tabular and graphical form to demonstrate their behavior over the operating period. Authors have investigated the behavior of the above-mentioned physical performance indicators to justify, technically, the selection of capacity of a drydock. A further attempt has been made to propose some recommendations and guidelines from technical viewpoints for the selection criteria of a drydock capacity based on available resources.

Municipal solid waste management is a growing worldwide challenge. Landfill mining is a promising technique to reduce MSW landfills. In the present study, arbitrary embankments made of different MSW fractions are analyzed to find the safety factor of their slopes. Properties of Municipal solid waste fines (MSWF), Shredded MSW, MSW Incineration Ash, and MSW having particles less than 35 mm are used in the analysis. For doing the same, finite element-based application 'Plaxis-2D' is used. The safety of slopes is assessed while the water table is inserted, and a uniform load is applied to the embankment to establish how well they will perform in critical situations. It was found that the slope made of shredded MSW is most safe due to its low density and high friction angle, while the least safe slope is made of MSW having less than 35 mm fractions.

Background: COVID-19, a member of corona virus family is spreading its tentacles across the world due to lack of drugs at present. Associated with its infection are cough, fever and respiratory problems causes more than 15% mortality worldwide. It is caused by a positive, single stranded RNA virus from the enveloped coronaviruse family. However, the main viral proteinase (Mpro/3CLpro) has recently been regarded as a suitable target for drug design against SARS infection due to its vital role in polyproteins processing necessary for coronavirus reproduction.Objectives: The present in silico study was designed to evaluate the effect of Eucalyptol (1,8 cineole), a essential oil component from eucalyptus oil, on Mpro by docking study.Methods: In the present study, molecular docking studies were conducted by using 1-click dock and swiss dock tools. Protein interaction mode was calculated by Protein Interactions Calculator.Results: The calculated parameters such as RMSD, binding energy, and binding site similarity indicated effective binding of eucalyptol to COVID-19 proteinase. Active site prediction further validated the role of active site residues in ligand binding. PIC results indicated that, Mpro/eucalyptol complexes forms hydrophobic interactions, hydrogen bond interactions and strong ionic interactions.Conclusions: Therefore, eucalyptol may represent potential treatment potential to act as COVID-19 Mpro inhibitor. However, further research is necessary to investigate their potential medicinal use.

Land degradation is a critical issue globally putting our future generations at risk. The decrease in farm productivity over the years is evidence of land degradation severity in Nepal. Among the many strategies in place, agroforestry, which is an integrated tree-based farming, is widely recommended to address this productivity issue. This paper thoroughly examines what influences the choice of agroforestry adoption by farmers and what discourages the adoption. For this, a total of 288 households were surveyed using a structured questionnaire. Two agroforestry practices were compared with conventional agriculture with the help of the Multinomial Logistic Regression (MNL) model. The likelihood of adoption was found to be influenced by gender; the male-headed households were more likely to adopt the tree-based farming practice. Having a source of off-farm income was positively associated with the adoption decision of farmers. Area of farmland was found being the major constraint to agroforestry adoption for smallholder farmers. Some other variables that affected positively included livestock herd size, provision of extension service, home-to- forest distance, farmers’ group membership and awareness of farmers about environmental benefits of agroforestry. Irrigation was another adoption constraint that the study area farmers were faced with. The households with means of transport and with larger family (household) size were found to be reluctant towards agroforestry adoption. A collective farming practice could be a strategy to engage the smallholder farmers in agroforestry.

This study assessed farmers’ perception of climate change, estimated the determinants of, and evaluated the relationship among adaptation practices using the multivariate probit model. A survey in 300 agricultural households was carried out covering 10 sample districts considering five agro-ecological zones and a vulnerability index. Four adaptation choices (change in planting date, crop variety, crop type and investment in irrigation) were deemed as outcome variables and socioeconomic, demographic, institutional, farm-level and perceptions variables were deployed as explanatory variables. Their marginal effects were determined for three climatic variables—temperature, precipitation and drought. Age, gender and education of head of household, credit access, farm area, rain-fed farming and tenure, are found to be more influential compared to other factors. All four adaptation-options are found to be complimentary to each other. Importantly, the intensity of impact of dependent variables in different models, and for available adaptation-options, are found to be unequal. Therefore, policy options and support facilities should be devised according to climatic variables and adaptation options to achieve superior results.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic inflammatory condition which significantly affects quality of life in both patients and their caregivers. Calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) are a class of immunosuppressive drugs predominantly inhibiting T cell mediated immune processes. CNI form complex by binding with immunophilins and in turn inhibit calcineurin and suppress downstream inflammatory pathway. Tacrolimus and pimecrolimus are topical CNI approved for the treatment of mild to severe AD in both children and adults. Application site reactions are frequently seen. They have been issued with black box warning towards increased risk of malignancies but supportive evidence is lacking. Cyclosporine, though highly effective, is used off-label for AD management. It is used for controlling acute flares of AD due to its very rapid onset of action. Nephrotoxicity and hypertension are its serious complications. CNI have not been reported with teratogenicity and may be used conditionally during pregnancy and lactation.

The aim of this research study was to develop hydrogels samples for using in potential biomedical applications. Hydrogels consisting of different volumes of keratin, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), Polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP), and starch. The keratin is derived from the chicken was the primary material on the hydrogels due to attractively for the potential wound healing application. The hydrogel samples were made by using the freeze‑thawing method, and they were examined using the Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), porosity amusement, swelling ratio and keratin release kinetic models that analyzed using (zero-order, first-order Higuchi and Korsmeyer-Peppas models). These results were indicated that feather keratin could use with formulated hydrogels suitably for controlled keratin release studies .

The definitive negative results of various direct searches for dark matter particles and non-observation of them has increasingly indicated that we should consider alternate models like the Modification of Newtonian Dynamics (MOND) and Modification of Newtonian Gravity (MONG). It is puzzling how the Oort cloud, despite its great distance from the Sun, is gravitationally bound to the Sun’s gravity. In this work, we suggest that this could be explained by the modifications to Newtonian dynamics (MOND) and to gravity (MONG).

Coronavirus disease is the current cause of global concern. The massive outbreak of COVID-19 has led the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare this as a pandemic situation. The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARSCoV-2) is responsible for COVID-19 leading to acute respiratory distress and substantial mortality in humans. However, the first laboratory confirmation of SARS-CoV-2 in a pet dog in Hong Kong has shown the possibility of human-to-animal transmission (zooanthroponotic) of the virus. Thereafter, many animals including cat, tiger, lion and mink have also been reported to acquire the virus in several countries. In this situation the role of veterinarian assumes important in treating the animals, helping in food security, disease diagnosis, surveillance and boosting the economy of livestock stakeholders at the grassroot level. In the absence of any selective vaccine or drug against SARS-CoV-2, the world is anticipated to triumph over this pandemic with collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach linking human, animal and environmental health. This article gives an insight into the confirmed SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in animals, including the factors behind the shuffling of the virus among variety of species and also emphasizes on the role of veterinarian in managing and safeguarding public health so as to pave the way for adopting one health approach in order to conserve biodiversity.

The novel coronavirus has affected the mental state of the general public, more so among healthcare workers. During the pandemic when the infectivity had become intense, dental professionals were at stake as their work demanded more proximity with oral and nasal secretions. Many dentists had to close their clinics for fear of infection. This had a significant impact on their financial, social and emotional wellbeing. Stress is what arises when something we care about is at stake. Dentistry which is already a stressful discipline, the pandemic has multiplied the already existing pressures of isolation, the focus on perfectionism, compromise on treatment, and time pressures. Our study has attempted to assess the perceived stress among dentists and the various correlates impacting the same. Resilience is the capacity to bounce back productively during stressful situations. Resilience acts like a buffer to wither stress. Resilience is neither permanent nor global. In our study, we have attempted to assess resilience among dentists using a standard validated scale and various sociodemographic factors impacting resilience. Further, we have tried to assess the correlation between stress and resilience. We found that senior dentists with more years of experience had more resilience and their perceived stress was less. Though we found increased perceived stress among women dentists, resilience did not have any gender difference. It is essential to be pandemic prepared with the implementation of resilience-building strategies at various levels.

Polyhymnia (33 Polyhymnia) is a main belt asteroid in our solar system with a diameter of around 54km. The density of asteroid 33 Polyhymnia, located in the main asteroid belt, is calculated to be 75g/cc. Researchers have speculated the possibility that Polyhymnia could be composed of high-density superheavy elements near atomic number 164. Here we propose that Polyhymnia could be an asteroid composed of degenerate Dark Matter (DM) and there could be many such asteroids in our solar system (this is following our earlier work suggesting Planet Nine could be such an object).

We point out that field equations of general relativity are implied by a maximal force given by c⁴/4G, analogous to the way that special relativity is implied by a maximal speed given by c. We present some of the arguments for this equivalence. The maxi-mal force naturally plays the role of an elastic constant for space-time. Implications of the maximal force for gravitational wave measurements, cosmology and black holes are highlighted. Quantum aspects of the maximal force are discussed.

Steels studs are an inevitable part of drywall construction as they are lightweight and offer the required structural stability. However, the studs act as sound bridges between the plasterboards reducing the overall sound insulation of the wall. Overcoming this often calls for wider cavity walls and complex stud decoupling fixtures that increase the installation cost while reducing the floor area. As an alternative approach, this research reveals the potential of perforated studs to improve the acoustic insulation of drywall partitions. The acoustic and structural performance is characterized using a validated finite element model that acted as a prediction tool in reducing the number of physical tests required. The results established that an acoustic numerical model featuring fluid-structure-interaction can predict the weighted sound reduction index of a stud wall assembly at an accuracy of ±1 dB. The model was used to analyze six perforated stud designs and found to outperform the sound insulation of non-perforated drywall partitions by reducing the sound bridging. Overall, the best performing perforated stud design was found to offer improvements in acoustic insulation of up to 4 dB, while being structurally compliant.

The estimation of the Hubble constant in the past few decades has increasingly become more accurate with the advance of new techniques. But its value seems to depend on the epoch at which the measurements are made. The Planck estimate of the Hubble constant from the observations of the CMBR in the early Universe is about 67.

December 4, 2020 marks 90 years since the concept of neutrinos was proposed as a consequence of the observed discrepancies in several experiments on radioactive decays of various isotopes. There have been great many developments in our understanding of this elusive particle over the past nine decades, also leading to several Nobel Prizes awarded to work on neutrino physics. But there are many aspects of the neutrinos that are still not completely understood, including even its actual rest mass. The neutrino still remains an enigma and we have yet to learn a lot about its different properties. This article summarises the overall picture of the current understanding of the neutrino, right from its inception.

The presence of dark matter, though well established by indirect evidence is yet to be observed directly. Various dark matter detection experiments running for several years have yielded no positive results so far. In view of these negative results, we had earlier proposed alternate models by postulating a minimum gravitational field strength (minimum curvature) and also a minimum acceleration. These postulates led to the modified Newtonian dynamics and modified Newtonian gravity (MONG). The observed flat rotation curves of galaxies had also been accounted for through these postulates. Here we extend these postulates to galaxy clusters and model the dynamical velocity-distance curves for such large-scale structures. The velocity-distance curve of the Virgo cluster, plotted with this model is found to be in accordance with that observed.

Here we propose a modification of the gravitational field on large scales as an alternate explanation for the discrepancy in the value of the Hubble constant as implied by Planck observations of the CMBR in the early Universe and that deduced from other distance indicators in the present epoch.

We derive a quantum speed limit for unitary evolution for the case of mixed quantum states using the stronger uncertainty relation for mixed quantum states. This bound can be optimized over different choices of Hermitian operators for a better bound. We illustrate this with some examples and show its better performance with respect to three existing bounds for mixed quantum states.

In a recent paper we had discussed possibility of DM at high redshifts forming primordial planets composed entirely of DM to be one of the reasons for not detecting DM (as the flux of ambient DM particles would be consequently reduced). In this paper we discuss the evolution of these DM objects as the universe expands. As universe expands there will be accretion of DM, Helium and Hydrogen layers (discussed in detail) on these objects. As they accumulate more and more mass, the layers get heated up leading to nuclear reactions which burn H and He when a critical thickness is reached. In the case of heavier masses of these DM objects, matter can be ejected explosively. It is found that the time scale of ejection is smaller than those from other compact objects like neutron stars (that lead to x-ray bursts). These flashes of energy could be a possible observational signature for these dense DM objects.

Atmospheric lightning is an outcome of extreme complex physical processes occurring in the atmosphere. Cloud-to-ground (CG) lightning is considered as a natural disaster. Understanding the importance of CG lightning and implication of the lightning phenomena, Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), world meteorological organization, in its report in the year 2016, introduced the lightning as an Essential Climate Variable (ECV). The present report uses the Lightning Detection Sensor Network (LDSN) established by the National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Space Research Organization over India to generate the Lightning ECV. A use case of these ECVs are also showcased for an event in Bihar, India, when 42 deaths were reported at locations with large number of CG occurrences.

While there is overwhelming evidence for dark matter (DM) in galaxies and galaxy clusters, all searches for DM particles have so far proved negative. It is not even clear whether only one particle is involved or a combination or particles, their masses not precisely predicted. This non-detectability raises the possible relevance of modified gravity theories – MOND, MONG, etc. Here we consider a specific modification of Newtonian gravity (MONG) which involves gravitational self-energy, leading to modified equations whose solutions imply flat rotation curves and limitations of sizes of clusters. The results are consistent with current observations including that involving large spirals. This modification could also explain the current Hubble tension. We also consider effects of dark energy (DE) in terms of a cosmological constant.

The study presents the synthesis and characterization of dual-layer sulfonated polyphenylenesulfone (SPPSu) nanocomposite hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes incorporating titanium dioxide (TiO2) nanoparticles using the phase inversion technique. The newly developed membranes were systematically characterized using advanced tools and methods to evaluate their properties and performance. The study focused on investigating the effects of TiO2 addition in the SPPSu inner layer on pure water permeability, and salt rejection. The nanocomposite hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes exhibited a significant enhancement in pure water permeability, with a three-fold increase compared to the pristine membranes, achieving a flux of 5.4 L/m2h.bar. The addition of TiO2 also led to an improvement in the mechanical properties of the membranes, as evidenced by the increase in the expected tensile strength from 2.4 to 3.9 MPa. To evaluate the salt rejection performance, rejection tests were conducted using a laboratory-scale filtration setup in recycle mode. Aqueous solutions containing different divalent ions, specifically magnesium sulfate (Mg2SO4) and sodium sulfate (Na2SO4) at a concentration of 500 ppm, were used as the feed solution. The modified dual-layer hollow fiber nanocomposite membranes exhibited a maximal rejection of 95% for Mg2SO4, demonstrating their effective separation capabilities for divalent ions. The findings of this study highlight the successful synthesis and characterization of dual-layer SPPSu nanocomposite hollow fiber nanofiltration membranes incorporating TiO2 nanoparticles. The incorporation of TiO2 resulted in improved pure water flux, mechanical strength, and salt rejection performance. These enhanced properties make the developed nanocomposite membranes promising candidates for applications in nanofiltration processes, particularly for the selective separation of divalent ions from aqueous solutions.

The majority of the population in developing countries resides in the rural area. Development itself cannot address the challenges of the rural area since its economic, political and environmental landscape is different from an urban area. The paper attempts to assess the rural dimension aspect of Nepali Agriculture Policy since rural development and agricultural development is closely resembled due to an agrarian-based economy of the country and a large rural population. Therefore, a critical review of National Agriculture Policy, 2004 (NAP-2004) was carried out under “Commercialization of Agriculture”, “Food Security”, “Rural Infrastructure”, “Gender”, “Climate Change” and “Social Inclusion” thematic area. The results showed that NAP-2004 satisfactorily address rural development albeit ample space for improvement. The findings of the paper could be beneficial to policymakers and development workers in the field of rural development and agriculture along with academicians having interest in it.

This study introduces a promising and practical method for the removal of paracetamol from aqueous environments, employing graphene oxide-polymer nanocomposite beads. The approach involves the utilization of a straightforward and facile phase inversion method, offering a convenient and efficient one-step process for the creation of adsorbent beads by integrating polymers and graphene oxide (GO). The synthesized nanocomposite beads are tailored for the removal of paracetamol from simulated wastewater in batch systems. Extensive characterization techniques are employed to scrutinize the chemical properties and structural attributes of the prepared beads. The investigation explores the impact of critical parameters such as adsorbent dosage, adsorption duration, initial paracetamol concentration, and solution pH on the adsorption process. These nanocomposite beads exhibit an exceptional paracetamol removal efficiency, achieving up to 99% removal. This research not only contributes to the advancement of efficient and sustainable adsorbent materials for pollutant removal but also underscores their potential for environmentally friendly and cost-effective solutions in the domain of wastewater treatment.

Water pollution, driven largely by the discharge of organic dyes from various industrial processes, presents a grave environmental threat. This study delves into the promise of an innovative adsorptive composite material composed of chitosan and activated charcoal, offering a sustainable and efficient solution for removing methylene blue (MB) dye from water sources. Our comprehensive investigation encompasses the synthesis, characterization, and adsorption capabilities of this composite material, revealing its remarkable physicochemical attributes and its substantial capacity to adsorb MB dye. These findings establish it as a compelling candidate for water treatment applications. The assessment of adsorbent dosage shows a direct correlation between higher dosages and enhanced MB dye removal, with an optimal dosage determined at 0.4 g/25 mL. Furthermore, pH-dependent studies demonstrate exceptional performance at lower pH levels, achieving an impressive 95% removal rate at pH 3 after 240 minutes of contact time. The composite exhibits consistent high removal percentages across a wide range of MB dye concentrations, showcasing its adaptability. In terms of reaction time, the composite achieves peak adsorption capacity within the initial 360 minutes and maintains a stable equilibrium, sustaining an impressive 99% removal efficiency thereafter. This study underscores the eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness of the composite material, emphasizing its potential to address water pollution challenges and promote sustainable water resource management. Overall, this research yields valuable insights into a practical approach for mitigating the adverse impact of organic dyes on aquatic ecosystems and public health.

Solar Insolation is the major contributor of earth’s radiation and energy budget. The insolation reaching the surface is a prime input for eco-physiological processes such as evapotranspiration and photosynthesis. Therefore, it is as critical component to assess bio-energy and bio-fuel resources. It is also a crucial input to crop simulation model for yield forecasting and its further applications in solar energy solutions. Although ground observations are better for accuracy purpose, they have challenges of maintenance, regular calibration and upkeeping etc. This call for the continuous spatio-temporal satellite based observations barring the acceptable accuracy. In case of INSAT3D/3DR, Bhattacharya et al. (2015) have derived the surface insolation product which is being used widely. We propose a method of improvement in this product. It is envisaged that a correction applied with the help of ground truth estimates may enhance the utilization of insolation products derived from INSAT3D/3DR datasets. In the present study, surface insolation product derived from INSAT 3D/3DR data at an interval of 30 minutes each (collectively 15 minutes interval) with 4 km spatial resolution was used for duration from May-2017 to Apr-2019 over Nagpur. Ground truth observations for same duration were carried out with CNR4, which were used to correct the INSAT 3D/3DR surface insolation product using the statistical best-fit method. Corrected INSAT 3D/3DR products are found correlating with the ground values well with differences of approximately < 1 W/m2. Best-fit parameters evolved in the present study uses only 2 years of simultaneous ground and satellite data which can be further improved by multi-year data base. We propose better utilization of INSAT 3D/3DR based surface insolation products in the assessment of solar resource mapping over Nagpur (and possibly other regions, such as Bhandara) with the help of best-fit parameters as assessed in the present study.

Offshore vessels (OVs) often requires precise station-keeping and some vessels, for example, vessel involves in geotechnical drilling generally use Spread Mooring (SM) or Dynamic Positioning (DP) systems. Most of these vessels are equipped with both systems to cover all ranges of water depths. However, determining which systems to use for a particular operational scenario depends on many factors and requires significant balancing in terms of cost-benefit. Therefore, this research aims to develop a platform that will determine the cost factors for both the SM and DP station keeping systems. Operational information and cost data are collected for several field operations, and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) is trained using those data samples. After that, the trained ANN is used to predict the components of cost for any given environmental situation, fieldwork duration and water depth. Later, the total cost is investigated against water depth for both DP and SM systems to determine the most cost-effective option. The results are validated using two operational scenarios for a specific geotechnical vessel. This decision-making algorithm can be further developed by adding up more operational data for various vessels and can be applied in the development of sustainable decision-making business models for OVs operators.

Total Twenty-Four Samples were collected from the Four different depths of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh near the bank of Yamuna River and determined Phosphorous (P) fractions and their relationship with soil properties, The soils were Neutral, low salinity and medium to rich in organic matter in the surface to subsurface horizons. Most of the soils showed Low range in nitrogen and phosphorous and high in potassium. Among the P fractions, the most predominant were Ca-P and followed by Fe-P > S-P > Occl-P > Red-P > Al-P. The Overall results showed that the available-P, organic-P and total-P decreases with increase the depth, Where the Ca-P was significantly positively correlated with pore space (r = 0.396*), Organic Carbon ( r = 0.555*), Available Nitrogen ( r = 0.55*) and significantly negatively correlated with Clay (r = -0.324*), pH ( r = -0.226*), EC ( r = -0.232*). Total-P and Occ-P are main contributing factors for the availability of P. The regression equations showed that soil pH was the main soil property that influences the different fraction of P. The Nutrient Index of available P for Inceptisols was found under medium to low category, about 60% of Inceptisols are likely to respond of P-fertilizer.

The study investigated the effect of a multi-strain probiotic compound containing Bacillus coagulans, Enterococcus faecalis, Clostridium butyricum and Bacillus mesentericus as in-feed zinc oxide (ZnO) alterna-tive on growth performance, diarrhea incidence, antioxidant status, lipid profile, stress and immunity in weaned piglets. A total of 72 piglets were randomly divided into 3 groups with four replicates of six piglets each. The details of the groups were as follows; (i) weaned control group (WC) received basal diet, (ii) weaned probiotic group (WB) received basal diet and probiotics and (iii) positive control (PC) group received basal diet with 2500 mg/kg ZnO. The experiment lasted for 28 days. Probiotic supple-mentation improved growth performance and reduced diarrhea rate. Probiotics supplementation im-proved lipid profile; significantly lower levels of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and higher level of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in WB group as compared to those of the control group (WC) were recorded. Probiotic supplementation stimulated antioxidant defense system by in-creasing total antioxidant capacity and decreasing lipid peroxidation. Probiotic supplementation down-regulated the stress biomarkers like serum cortisol and serum heat shock proteins. WB group showed higher serum levels of IgG and IgM throughout the study period and higher IgA at day 28 as compared to WC. These data suggest that supplementation of the probiotic minimizes the weaning stress, thereby improves the growth performance, lipid profile, antioxidant status and systemic as well as mucosal immunity. Therefore, the multi-strain probiotic compound may be used to replace ZnO in weaned piglets.

Background In this study we investigated in detail the role of cannabidiol (CBD), Beta-caryophyllene (BC), or their combinations in diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DN). The key factors that contribute to DN include mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, and oxidative stress. Methods Briefly, Streptozotocin (STZ) (55 mg/kg) was injected intraperitoneally to induce DN in Sprague Dawley rats and performed procedures including Randall Sellito Calipers, Von Frey Aesthesiometer, hot plate, and cold plate methods to determine mechanical and thermal hyperalgesia in vivo. The blood flow to the nerves was assessed by using the Laser Doppler device. Schwann cells were exposed to high glucose (HG) at a dose of 30 mM to induce hyperglycemia and DCFDA, JC1 & Mitosox staining were done to determine mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxides in-vitro. The rats were administered i.p with BC (30mg/kg), CBD (15mg/kg), or combination while Schwann cells were treated with 3.65 µM CBD, 75 µM BC, or combination to assess their role in DN amelioration. Results Our results revealed that exposure to BC and CBD diminished HG-induced hyperglycemia in Schwann cells, in part, through reducing mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species and mitochondrial superoxides. Further, BC and CBD combination treatment in-vivo could prevent the deterioration of mitochondrial quality control system by promoting autophagy and mitochondrial biogenesis while improving blood flow. CBD and BC treatments also reduced pain hypersensitivity to hyperalgesia and allodynia with increased antioxidant and anti-inflammatory action in diabetic rats. These in vivo effects were attributed to significant upregulation of AMPK, SIRT3, Nrf2, PINK1, PARKIN, LC3B, Beclin1 and TFAM functions while downregulation of NLRP3 inflammasome, NFκB, COX2 and p62 activity was noted as determined by western blotting. Conclusion the present studies demonstrated that STZ & HG induced oxidative and nitrosative stress play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of diabetic neuropathy. We find, for the first time, that CBD and BC combination ameliorate DN via modulating the mitochondrial quality control system.

Glacial meltwater has been lifeline of agriculture in Gilgit-Baltistan for centuries which is being effected by the climatic changes and associated challenges. The government line institutions and development agencies have been investing to sustain and further extend the cultivated areas by leveraging the available glacial meltwater source. However, approximately 13% arable land, laying mainly along river banks, has limited access to glacial meltwater. Moreover, already cultivated areas also need alternate and sustainable irrigation water supplies to insurefood security. Hence, there is need to explore more potential options to address these challenges and bringing arable land under irrigation for regional prosperity and environmental gains. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and its partners piloted solutions for aforementioned issues in Gojal, District Hunza. These solutions included river water lifting through solar and Hydraulic Ram Pumps, uphill water storages and application through drip irrigation systems. In order to assess the technical and economical viabilities of these piloted systems, a semi-structured questionnaire survey, field observation visits to collect data and economic assessment studies were carried out in Morkhun and Khyber. Both piloted systems have been proven as climate resilient, adaptable, environment friendly and economically viable. The cost to benefit ratio for solar powered drip irrigation and Hydraulic Ram Pump drip irrigation systems are 2.96 and 4.21 respectively, with payback period of 9.21 and 8.25 years respectively. The drip irrigation systems at Khyber and Morkhun sites have exhibited excellent hydraulic performance with Coefficient of Uniformity 92.61 and 93 % respectively. However, the field application efficiency of drip irrigation systems estimated for Khyber and Morkhun sites are 85.24 and 88.88% which are lower than the optimal value mainly due to lesser water holding capacity. The Hydraulic Ram Pump can lift four times more water to greater height, while comparing to solar pump of approximately similar capacity and higher capital costs. Both water lifting systems have some limitations and requires local customization for sustainable use.

By slowly evaporating 4-bromo-2-methylbenzonitrile at room temperature, it was possible to make a single organic nonlinear optical crystal. The grown crystal's crystalline nature was verified, and the unit cell characteristics are provided as a = 4.08Å, b = 6.61 Å, c = 28.93Å, α = 90º, β = 90º, γ = 90º. The functional groups of the crystal produced were identified using the FTIR and FT-Raman spectra. The UV cutoff wavelength is found at 221.6 nm, and the transparency nature of the crystal was analyzed in the optical studies.  The band gap of the grown crystal was estimated using the Taucs’ plot. The violet and red emissions of photoluminescence are discussed. A high dielectric constant was received at a low frequency. The TG/DTA curve shows that the grown crystal was stable up to 125.59 ºC.  The Kurtz-Perry powder technique was applied to confirm the Second Harmonic Generation's (SHG) nature. By using the agar diffusion method, the antibacterial property of the grown 4B2MBN crystal was determined.

Background: India has one-fifth of the world's population and the number of people suffering from mental illness is assumed to be huge considering the contribution of mental disorders to the overall burden of the disease being 13.9 %. Objectives of Study: To estimate prevalence and patterns of mental illnesses to assess the current mental health services and systems in the Madhya Pradesh. Material and Methods: Multi-stage, stratified, random cluster sampling technique, with random selection based on probability proportionate to size at each stage. A total of 3240 individuals aged 18 years and above were interviewed. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were employed. A set of 10 instruments including Mini International Neuro-psychiatric Interview were utilized. Results: The overall weighted prevalence for any mental illness was 16.7% lifetime and 13.9% current. Treatment-gap for all mental health problems is as high as 91% in the state along with huge socioeconomic impact of mental illness. Conclusions: This huge burden of mental, behavioural and substance use disorders, in Madhya Pradesh, calls for immediate attention of political leaders, policy makers, health professionals, opinion-makers and society at large. It is hoped that the data from the study will inform mental health policy and legislation and help shape mental health care delivery systems in the country.

This study deals with vibrational and crystallographic aspects of the thermally induced transformation of serpentine-like garnierite into quartz, forsterite, and enstatite occurring at about 620 °C. Powder specimens of garnierite have been annealed in static air between room temperature and 1000 °C. The resulting products from the transformations detected based on thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis, have been extensively characterized via microRaman spectroscopy, and X-ray diffraction. Our study shows that serpentine-like garnierite consists of a mixture of different mineral species. Furthermore, these garnierites and their composition can provide details based on the mineralogy and the crystalline phases resulting from the thermal treatment.

Cancer is a catchall term that refers to a collection of more than one chronic disease that can adversely affect the body, including the organs of the body. These diseases can be grouped together under the umbrella term "cancer." Cancer is a catch-all term that is used to refer to a number of different diseases. During the process of looking for new chemical entities, it was found that certain compounds with a basic nucleus of benzoic acid (BA) exhibit a remarkable anticancer potential. This was discovered while the researchers were looking for new chemical entities. In the sixteenth century, the aromatic chemical known as BA, which is also known as an aromatic carboxylic acid, was discovered. BA is also referred to as an aromatic carboxylic acid. When it comes to the chemical synthesis of a wide range of different active molecules, the utilization of a sizeable quantity of BA as a raw material is absolutely necessary. In addition to being present in a variety of other naturally occurring compounds, the BA moiety is the component that is responsible for the activity of the naturally occurring compounds vanillin, gallic acid, and syringic acid. In the synthesis of a wide variety of synthetic bioactive molecules, the BA scaffold is utilized as a building block. The drugs furosemide, bumetanide, benzocaine, tetracaine, and bexarotene are all examples of molecules that fall into this category. The scope of this review article allows for the discussion of a number of noteworthy and recent achievements of BA derivatives in terms of their effectiveness against cancer.

The livelihood of most of the fishers in Indian Sundarbans is dependent on Penaeus monodon post larvae fishing. These post larvae collectors are socially backward lacking economic security. The activity of collecting Penaeus monodon post larvae for rearing in aquaculture, destroy other aquatic species. Many other juveniles of shellfish and fin fish were destroyed in the process of collection of Penaeus monodon post larvae. The removal of juveniles before they reach maturity disturbs the ecological chain by hampering breeding processes and may cause extinction of some fish species in the long run. The present study is an attempt to estimate the economic value of juveniles destroyed in the collection of (Penaeus monodon) post larvae. In total 32 species were identified in P.monodon the post larval by-catch. The economic loss is assessed based on estimating biomass by taking a length-weight relationship from published literature. Further, the paper illustrates how does a profit enterprise is linked with natural resource exploitation. The paper explores government policy and nature conservation issues for social justice and effective conservation.In conclusion, suggestions are given to reduce the burden of livelihood on natural resources to the extent of exploitation and to strengthen institution and policy-making considering socio-ecological vulnerabilities of the area.

This research work investigates the possibility of shielding gravity. The ultimate purpose of this work is to understand the reality behind the concept of Gravitational Shielding (GS) and time dilation. Since the 19th century, scientists have tried to arrive at an understanding of GS via the use of various experiments. Unfortunately, some experiments failed to prove the existence of gravitational shielding, whereas some results proclaimed the possibility of attaining GS. The original phenomenon exhibited by nature cannot easily be understood, but some experiments have demonstrated that the answer may lie behind the mysterious GS. If GS is proved, then in the future, it would be possible to travel across black holes by defying gravity or through any bigger mass having high gravitational field. To unravel the mystery of GS, this work investigates the history of GS and considers the future vision of technologically advanced spacecraft or other warp drive mechanisms with appropriate gravitational shielding. Though the problem is very complex, this research work tries to come to a deeper understanding and explanation of the complexity involved in achieving gravitational shielding.

Pesticides are among the most widely used synthetic chemicals worldwide to protect crops, but besides being beneficial, they pose several environmental and health issues. The present study evaluates toxic effects of acetamiprid (ACMP) in rat liver and kidney tissues. Rats were exposed to ACMP (21.7 mg/kg b.wt; 1/10th LD50) for 21 days. Oxidative stress generation, apoptotic progression, and structural changes were evaluated via biochemical assays, semi-quantitative PCR, western blotting, and histopathology. ACMP exposure significantly decreased body weight and altered relative organ weight in hepato-renal tissues. Significant oxidative stress was evident by increased oxidative injuries to lipids and proteins and alterations of endogenous anti-oxidative enzymes. The administration of ACMP upregulated mRNA expression of Bax and caspase-3, while downregulated the mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and released cytochrome c into the cytosol of the liver and kidney tissues. Likewise, exposure to ACMP caused severe degenerative changes in the histo-architecture of hepato-renal tissues. The results of the present study confirmed the toxicity of ACMP in rats’ liver and kidney tissues and emphasized the need for strict regulation and more mechanistic understanding to delineate the toxicity of ACMP in mammals.

The wind flow patterns and pressure distribution around a plus-shaped building are significantly influenced by the dimensions of its re-entrant corners and the overall building height. The present study aims to find the wind effects and study of the pressure distribution with different flow patterns. Plan area of the building is around 300 square meter while the height of the building is 50 meters by keeping the equal length of the re-entrant corners. The research is performed using ANSYS CFX academic version and the results are depicted in various forms such as pressure coefficient (Cpe), stream lines in both vertical as well as in specific surface and pressure contours. The analysis is carried out by varying the wind incident angles, from 0° to 90° at the interval of 15°. The building dimension are scale down to perform the test on length scale of 1:100. Since the considered building model exhibits symmetry along both the axes, present study mostly emphasis on examining re-entrant corners located in the building. This method yields valuable information about how air circulates and how pressure is distributed across a broad spectrum of wind angles. This study provides valuable insights into flow circulation and pressure distribution for a wide range of wind angles.

Building situated in the flow path of wind is subjected to differential velocity and pressure distribution around the building envelope. Wind effects are influenced and vary for each individual shape of the tall building. Tall building structures are considered as cantilever structures with fixed ends at the ground. Wind exponential velocity acting along the height of the building makes velocity and pressure distribution more complex as the height of the building structure increases. This study discussed the effect of wind on an irregular cross-section shape. The study was conducted numerically with a building model placed in a virtual wind tunnel using the ANSYS (CFX) software tool. Wind effects are investigated on building model situated in a terrain category - II defined in IS: 875 (Part 3): 2015 wind scale model of 1:100 and turbulence intensity is 5 % and power law index α is considered as 0.143. Validation and verification of the study were made by comparing pressure coefficients on faces of a rectangular model of similar floor area and height as taken for a C-plan diamond-shaped model under similar boundary conditions, wind environment, and solver setting of numerical setup. The values of surface pressures generated on the recessed faces of the model and wind flow patterns within the recessed cavity were studied at wind incident angles 0°, 300, 60°, 1050, 1350 & 1800. The critical suction on all the recessed faces was observed to be at a 105° angle of wind attack.

The fifth Generation (5G) mobile networks use millimeter Waves (mmWaves) to offer giga bit data rates. However, unlike microwaves, mmWave links are prone to user and topographic dynamics. They easily get blocked and end up forming irregular cell patterns for 5G. This in turn cause too early, too late, or wrong handoffs (HOs). To mitigate HO challenges, sustain connectivity and avert unnecessary HO, we propose a HO scheme based on Jump Markov Linear System (JMLS) and Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL). JMLS is widely known to account for abrupt changes in system dynamics. DRL likewise emerges as an artificial intelligence technique for learning highly dimensional and time-varying behaviors. We combine the two techniques to account for time-varying, abrupt, and irregular changes in mmWave link behaviour by predicting likely deterioration patterns of target links. The prediction is optimized by meta training techniques that also reduces training sample size. Thus, the JMLS-DRL platform formulates intelligent and versatile HO policies for 5G. Results show our proposed prediction scheme about target link behavior post HO to be highly reliable. The scheme also averts unnecessary HOs thus ably supports longer dew time.

Poly lactic acid (PLA) has made inroads for commercial market segment with lot many unique characteristics such as tenacity, low flame rate, moisture regain percentage, loss of ignition percentage, heat of combustion, UV resistance, Elastic recovery and higher melting point allowed it to be the fastest moving material in today's commercial market. An attempt has been made to test the feasibility and biocompatibility aspect of PLA with cement mix. The basic strength and physical test results were carried out and published in an article, to the continuation of the work, micro-structural study was conducted to evaluate the elemental characteristics. Thermo gravimetric analysis revealed that PLA either in granular form or filament will hold good for the inclusion into construction applications, provided degradation aspects are to be looked out for improvisation. From DSC it was found that PLA in filament form is the best inclusion material for construction application, however the tenacity of fibers has to checked, as currently available filaments in market does not have high tenacity value. From EDX reports, 30% inclusion of PLA as replacement for fine aggregate has constituent members as Calcium carbonate(CaCO3), Silica(SiO2) and Wollastonite (CaK) resulted in best composition among the rest. FESEM images revealed that, proper gradation in size, rough surface of PLA granular form or filament form will definitely enhance the mechanical/physical or even chemical behavior of PLA.

Platelets have long been associated with sustaining the balance between hemostasis and thrombosis. Platelets, however, are also involved in a wide range of biological activities, including inflammation, immunology, wound healing, cancer biology, and angiogenesis. Platelets' diverse roles are mediated by the expression of various adhesive and immune receptors and the secretion of a diverse array of bioactive proteins, ions stored in granules, and several lipid mediators. Platelets also release pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory, and angiogenic factors and shed microparticles into the bloodstream. The challenge for therapeutic intervention in non-hemostatic disease is identifying the factors that primarily inhibit specific targets implicated in platelets' complicated contribution to inflammation or tumor growth while leaving their hemostatic function intact. In addition, blood platelets are involved in infection and innate and adaptive immunity by mediating complicated vascular homeostasis via specialized receptors and granule release, RNA transfer, and mitochondrial secretion. Anti-platelet drugs/bioactive compounds are developed based on their platelet anti-aggregatory properties; however, very little information is available on their effects on non-hemostatic function. Therefore, a better understanding of the impact of the anti-platelet bioactive on the platelets' diverse roles and mechanisms may help develop new strategies and prevent CVD and other diseases. In this review, a comprehensive overview of platelet multifunctional roles in CVD and other diseases and dietary factors' modulatory effects are described.

A key concern in an ageing society is citizens’ mobility. As populations age, disability impairments can affect active ageing, health-related wellbeing and quality of life. In this paper, we present the on-going research project SeriousGiggle—Game-based learning for triggering active ageing. Its goal is to assess the potential of game-based learning for active ageing and contribute to a sense of wellbeing and quality of life. It also seeks to improve the mobility of older adults by creating a set of journey plans with route guidance that are rated in terms of safety, community support, environment and age-friendliness. Drawn on our field work with 33 co-designers, 40 end users and 10 semi-structured interviews with Subject Matter Experts, we identify a set of necessary design requirements to an Age-friendly Playable City. This study recommends the use of gamification and playful techniques to engage the end-users to provide information about local traffic signs, pavement conditions, wayfinding and, therefore, help to create route guidance and walking assistance that are personalized to older adults’ context in terms of location, travel fitness, mobility impairments and motivations.

We report the development of in vitro propagation protocols through adventitious shoot induction pathway for a rare and medicinal Scutellaria havanensis. In vitro propagation studies using nodal explants showed MS medium supplemented with 10µM 6-Benzylaminopurine induced highest number of adventitious shoots in a time dependent manner. A ten - day incubation was optimum for shoot bud induction as longer exposures resulted in hyperhydricity of the explants and shoots induced. We also report preliminary evidence of Agrobacterium tumefaciens EHA105 - mediated gene transfer transiently expressing of green fluorescent protein in this species. Transformation studies exhibited amenability of various explant tissues, internode being the most receptive. As the plant has medicinal value, research was carried out to evaluate its potential antioxidant capacity and the efficacy of methanolic leaf extracts in curbing the viability of human colorectal cancer cell line HCT116. Comparative total polyphenol, and flavonoid content measurement of fresh and air dried leaf extract revealed that the fresh leaf extracts contain higher total polyphenol and flavonoid content. The HCT 116 cell viability assessed by colorimetric assay using a 3-(4, 5-dimethyl-thiazol-2-yl)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide, showed a steady growth inhibition after 24 hours of incubation. Scanning Electron Microscopy of leaf surface revealed high density of glandular and non-glandular trichomes. This research provides basis for the conservation of this rare plant and future phytochemical screening and clinical research.

Retinopathy is a human eye disease that causes changes in retinal blood vessels that leads to bleed, leak fluid and vision impairment. Symptoms of retinopathy are blurred vision, changes in color perception, red spots, and eye pain. In this paper, a new methodology based on Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) is developed and proposed to diagnose and give a decision about the presence of retinopathy. The CNN model is trained by different images of eyes that have retinopathy and those which do not have retinopathy. The performance of the proposed model is compared with the related methods of DREAM, KNN, GD-CNN and SVM. Experimental results show that the proposed CNN performs better.

There are different treatment options in modern dentistry for the replacement of lost dentition. Of these the most upcoming and acceptable treatment option is Dental implants. The common problem usually with immediate implant placement in the anterior region is the post-operative soft tissue contour as a part of the bone modelling during healing. Hurzeler et al in 2010 introduced a new technique called the “socket shield technique”. This technique has been used as an alternative treatment modality for immediate implant placement in the aesthetic zone.This review articles provides a detailed information regarding the clinical concept of Root membrane technique.

Tailoring treatment in patients with Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is paramount to maximize outcomes while avoiding unnecessary toxicity. We aimed to compare the performance of SUVmax reduction (ΔSUVmax%) versus Deauville score (DS) in assessing chemotherapy response in pediatric HL patients undergoing 18F-FDG PET-CT. Fifty-two patients with biopsy-proven HL (age 8-16 years) were enrolled at baseline, interim (after the 2nd or 3rd chemotherapy round), and post-therapy (upon completion of first-line chemotherapy) 18F-FDG PET-CT. Interim and post-therapy DS and ΔSUVmax% were compared as response predictors. Patients were classified as responders and non-responders based on 24-month clinical follow-up. Interim DS showed a sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV) and diagnostic accuracy of 100%, 80.4%, 100%, 40% and 82.7%, respectively in predicting response. Post-therapy DS showed a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of 66.7%, 97.8%, 95.7%, 80% and 94.2%. Interim ΔSUVmax% showed a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of 83.3%, 82.6%, 97.4%, 38.5% and 82.7%, with a 56.3% cutoff. Post-therapy ΔSUVmax% showed a sensitivity, specificity, PPV, NPV and accuracy of 83.3%, 84.8%, 97.5%, 41.7% and 84.6%, with a 76.8% cutoff. Sensitivity, specificity (p<0.05) and NPV (p<0.01) were significantly higher using DS than ΔSUVmax%. In conclusion, DS can predict chemotherapy response better than ΔSUVmax% in pediatric HL patients.

The genus Musa spp. contains commercially important fleshy fruit producing plants including plantains and bananas with a strong potential of providing food security and source of revenue to farmers. Occasionally, plantlets are often not available to fulfill the supply demand of farmers particularly in Caribbean region. Concerns with the quality of vegetative tissues along with the possibility of the transmission of phytopathogens makes availability of plantlets limited to farm-ers. Micropropagation of plantains offers an alternative to producing large number of in-vitro plantlets. However, conventional methods of micropropagation techniques require high produc-tion costs and are labor-intensive. Recently, Temporary Immersion Bioreactor (TIB) has emerged as an alternative to conventional micropropagation methods. Our work utilized SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), molecular and biochemical tools (qRT-PCR and ICP-OES) to characterize and compare the morphological, elemental composition, and photosynthetic gene expression of plantains cultured on TIB. Additionally, morphological features of growth and propagation rates were analyzed for comparing outputs obtained from temporary immersion bioreactor with conventional micropropagation (CM) techniques. Results showed higher growth and multiplication rates for plantlets cultivated in TIB. Gene expression analysis of selected photosynthetic genes demonstrated high transcript abundance of phosphoenol pyruvate carboxylase (PEPC) in plantain tissues obtained by TIB. Elemental composition analysis showed higher content of iron in plantains grown in TIB suggesting a potential correlation with PEPC expression. These results demonstrate the potential of TIB to be an efficient method to produce healthy in-vitro plantains.

The synthesis of the presented benzo[d]thiazol-2-amine derivatives was performed by condensing-(4-chlorobenzylidene) benzo[d]thiazol-2-amine with a number of substituted phenols in the presence of potassium iodide and anhydrous potassium carbonate in dry acetone. IR spectroscopy, 1HNMRspectroscopy and spectroscopy methods were used to characterize the structural properties of newly synthesized derivatives. In order to observe the attributes of drug-like candidates of these derivatives, the number of their molecular properties was estimated. Benzo[d]thiazol-2-amine derivatives were molecularly docked with selective enzymes COX-1 and COX-2. Findings suggested that Compounds G3, G4, G6, G8 and G11 possess higher binding affinity than diclofenac sodium, when docking was performed with enzyme COX-1. Compounds G1, G3, G6, G8and G10 showed lower binding affinity than Indomethacin when docking performed with enzyme COX-2.In vitro evaluation of the COX-1 and COX-2 enzyme inhibitory activities were performed for synthesized compounds. Compounds 10 and 11 exhibited significant COX-1 and COX- enzyme inhibitory action with IC50 values of 5.0 and 10 µM, respectively. Using the hot plate method and the carrageenan-induced rat paw edema model, the synthesized compounds were screened for their biological activities, including analgesic and anti-inflammatory activities. The highest analgesic action was exhibited by derivative G11and the compound G10 showed the highest anti-inflammatory response.

Powdery mildew (PM), caused by the fungal pathogen Blumeria graminis f. sp. tritici (Bgt), significantly threatens global bread wheat production. Although the use of resistant cultivars is an effective strategy for managing PM, currently available wheat cultivars lack sufficient levels of resistance. To tackle this challenge, we conducted a comprehensive genome-wide association study (GWAS) using a diverse panel of 286 bread wheat genotypes. Over three consecutive years (2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23), these genotypes were extensively evaluated for PM severity under field conditions following inoculation with virulent Bgt isolates. The panel was previously genotyped using the Illumina 90K SNP Infinium iSelect SNP assay to obtain genome-wide SNP marker coverage. By applying FarmCPU, a multilocus mixed model, we identified a total of 113 MTAs located on chromosomes 1A, 1B, 2B, 3A, 3B, 4A, 4B, 5A, 5B, 6B, 7A, and 7B at a significance level of p≤0.001. Notably, four novel MTAs on chromosome 6B were consistently detected in 2020-21 and 2021-22 environments. Furthermore, within the confidence intervals of the identified SNPs, we identified 96 candidate genes belonging to different proteins including 12 disease resistance/host-pathogen interactions related protein families. Among these, protein kinases, leucine-rich repeats, and zinc finger proteins, were of particular interest due to their potential roles in PM resistance. These identified loci can serve as targets for breeding programs aimed at developing disease-resistant wheat cultivars.

(1) Background: Type-2 Diabetes (T2DM) is a long-term medical disorder characterized by Insulin deficiency and high blood glucose levels. Among other medication to cure T2DM, the review of the literature found that various Pyrimidine derivative act as an agonist for G-protein-coupled receptor 119 (GPR119) was proposed to control blood glucose levels by enhancing the function of pancreatic beta-cells and its mechanism of action with fewer adverse effects.; (2) Methods: In the present research work, in-silico investigations were carried out to investigate the potential of Pyrimidine analogue as an agonists to the protein target GPR119 receptor. We performed exhaustive molecular modelling and protein modelling methodologies such as homology mod-elling, molecular docking along with various drug designing tools such as 3D-QSAR and pharmacophore mapping to ascertain the design of better GPR119 agonists.; (3) Results: On the basis of in-depth computa-tional studies, we designed new pyrimidine moiety and analyzed them for GPR-119 receptor agonist and fur-ther explored the ADME properties. Designed compounds found to exhibit better predicted activities as com-pared to reference compound; (4) Conclusions: The current research on pyrimidine derivatives, using molec-ular docking, 3D-QSAR and Pharmacophore mapping demonstrated that the obtained computational model has significant properties and the designed molecules and Dataset from this model, produced antidiabetic compound against the target GPR119 i.e., compound 1S, 1Z and 1D with the docking score of −11.696, -9.314 and -8.721 respectively. The pharmacokinetics and drug-likeness studies revealed that these compounds may be the future candidate for the treatment of diabetes acting via GPR119 agonist mechanism.

Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by a Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which is a positive strand RNA virus. The SARS-CoV-2 genome and its association to SAR-CoV-1 vary from ca. 66% to 96% depending on the type of betacoronavirdeae family members. With several drugs, viz. chloroquine, hydroxychloroquine, ivermectin, artemisinin, remdesivir, azithromycin considered for clinical trials, there has been an inherent need to find distinctive antiviral mechanisms of these drugs. Curcumin, a natural bioactive molecule has been shown to have a therapeutic potential for various diseases, but its effect on COVID-19 has not been explored. In this study, we show the binding potential of curcumin targeted to a variety of SARS-CoV-2 proteins, viz. spike glycoproteins (PDB ID: 6VYB), nucleocapsid phosphoprotein (PDB ID: 6VYO), membrane glycoprotein (PDB ID: 6M17) along with nsp10 (PDB ID: 6W4H) and RNA dependent RNA polymerase (PDB ID: 6M71) structures. Our results indicate that curcumin has high binding affinity towards nucleocapsid and nsp 10 proteins with potential antiviral activity.

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

OCTA is an imaging modality used in the assessment of the retinal vasculature. It operates on the principle of coherence tomography used in standard OCT with the addition of delineating the retinal vascular. This provides a modern non-invasive retinal vascular imaging method compared to conventional dye-based imaging. High quality depth resolution of the superficial and deep capillary networks is possible on OCTA whereas this was not possible prior. OCTA may be limited by image quality degradation from factors such as motion artefact or media opacities, and therefore may not be the investigation of choice for all patient groups. There are multiple potential clinical applications for OCTA in retinal and choroidal vascular disease. Ongoing research is necessary to substantiate the more widespread use of OCTA due to its significant cost burden compared to current modalities.

Land resources have been under tremendous anthropogenic pressure with the consequence of their degradation. It is therefore necessary that the land resources must be managed effectively for sustainable development. Different from the developed countries, carbon inventories and data bank to monitor carbon sequestration potential of different ecosystems are unavailable in India. Micro-level studies are essential for sustainable land use management for a land scarce nation like India. To achieve the desirable goal of the present study, a total of 33 tree-based land uses were identified from forested and agricultural landscapes. Of these total land uses, five were in forest landscapes and rest in agricultural landscapes categorized into forest tree plantations (8 land uses), agroforestry (nine land uses), commercial crop plantations (six land uses) and fruit orchards (five land uses). A stratified random nested quadrate sampling method was adopted for vegetation analysis of the different land uses. The SOC, biomass and carbon accumulation in the tree-based land uses were significantly different from each other. Mixed forest soil had the highest amount of SOC, primary nutrients, standing biomass carbon, and ecosystem carbon. Positive correlations were observed between SOC, total standing biomass, litter production, and ecosystem carbon. The sequence of best tree based land uses in terms of total SOC (up to 60 cm depth), total plant biomass, total plant biomass carbon and ecosystem carbon was mixed species forest (126.67, 781.21, 390.61 and 517.27) > sole tree species stands in forest landscape (109.71, 192.56, 96.28 and 205.98) > tea plantations (103.19, 77.07, 38.54 and 141.74) > homegardens (90.34, 97.38, 48.69 and 139.02) > mixed plantation of Anthocephalus cadamba + Swietenia macrophylla (60.07, 111.86, 55.93 and 116.02) > Swietenia macrophylla based agroforestry (62.49, 83.82, 41.91 and 104.40) > mixed plantation of Tectona grandis + Milvus migrans (60.0, 85.97, 42.99 and 102.90). Similarly, the order of the major land uses was forest > commercial crop plantation > forest tree plantations > agroforestry > fruit orchards. The overall average ecosystem carbon accumulation in forests was 3.24 times more than the land uses in agricultural landscapes. The ecosystem carbon accumulation in the tree-based land uses in both forest and agricultural landscape was highly variable and was significantly different from each other. Land use conversion from forest to agriculture can reduce more than half of the carbon stock, but converting into homegardens, tree plantations or agroforestry enhanced carbon storage of the land use systems. The present findings can be used as baseline information for developing prediction models for probable effects of different land use, future intervention and sustainable management of land use systems.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Promoting green development has become an important way to optimize the ecological and economic structure and promote sustainable development. The Yangtze River Economic Belt is an important economic corridor in China, and it remains to be examined whether the implementation of environmental regulations has enhanced the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of cities. This paper calculates the green total factor productivity of 107 cities within the Yangtze River Economic Belt by using the super-efficient SBM model and the GML index with Chinese city panel data from 2007-2019 and measures the intensity of environmental regulations through textual analysis. The bidirectional fixed-effects model constructed in this paper suggests an inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and GTFP, which is confirmed by a series of robustness tests. Green technology innovation and advanced industrial structure play a mechanism role in this. In regions with lower levels of green technology and industrial structure, the inverted U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and green total factor productivity is more significant. In addition, the phenomenon of GTFP rising and then falling because of environmental regulation is more obvious in cities in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River and outside the urban agglomerations. Therefore, when formulating environmental regulation policies, it is necessary to balance the relationship between economic development and environmental protection and harmonize the environment and economic development of the entire Yangtze River Basin.

: Alluvial soils naturally possess abundant soil nutrients. Nevertheless, excessive nitrogen addition and inappropriate use of nitrogen fertilizers lead to conditions where soil nutrients become immo-bilized, ultimately reducing productivity. This study investigates the potential of natural nano-material zeolite which is important land resources to improve nutrient utilization efficiency and mitigate the harmful effects of excessive fertilizer application. Specifically, the research ex-plores the incorporation of clinoptilolite zeolite and processed sewage sludge blends, alongside reduced recommended nitrogen fertilizer doses, to evaluate their impact on soil quality and plant growth. A greenhouse experiment was conducted (three-year study), comprising eight treatments with varying proportions of zeolite and sewage sludge. The efficacy of these treatments in en-hancing soil carbon pools, nutrient indices, and plant growth responses was assessed. Results in-dicate that a combination of 50% recommended fertilizer dose, 4-6% zeolite, and 5-10% sewage sludge significantly improved multiple aspects of plant growth, including leaves, tillers, culms, and panicles, leading to increased straw and grain yields. The addition of 6% zeolite in conjunc-tion with sewage sludge positively influenced plant tillering capacity. Certain treatment combina-tions exhibited a greater impact on plant height at different growth stages. For example, the treatment with 75% recommended fertilizer dose, 4% zeolite, and 5% sewage sludge significantly affected plant height at 40 and 55 days after treatment. Additionally, the combination of 50% recommended fertilizer dose, 6% zeolite, and 10% sewage sludge promoted plant height, carbon levels, and various yield parameters in later stages. Principal component analysis effectively dis-tinguished treatments incorporating zeolite and sewage sludge based on plant responses. The combination of 6% zeolite and 10% sewage sludge, along with a 50% recommended fertilizer dose, positively influenced soil carbon fractions, nutrient levels, and the growth response of rice plants.

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

In this paper, we introduce a specialized, fully automated experimental arrangement designed for assessing the effectiveness of augmented and virtual reality technologies in healthcare setting and explore its design principles focusing on depth sensor characterization. The main goal of this project is to establish a robust benchtop platform for the quantitative evaluation of extended reality technologies in a controlled environment, emphasizing the practical assessment of augmented reality head-mounted devices. We outline a design concept and considerations for an experimental configuration aimed at creating a realistic testing environment. This apparatus comprises an observation platform mounted on a three-degree-of-freedom motorized system and a test phantom stage. Focusing on real-case scenarios, we utilized a range of sensors, including readily available range-sensing cameras and commercial augmented reality headsets, such as the Intel RealSense L515 LiDAR camera, mounted on the motion control system. The setup enabled automated data collection and facilitates controlled assessments and validation of various facets of augmented reality technologies, including object, hand, and head tracking, as well as static and dynamic image registration. This paper describes the system architecture, the process of automated data collection, and presents several evaluation studies conducted with this setup, providing insights into the quality and temporal noise associated with static or moving objects or observers in augmented reality applications.

To conduct high-precision and high-resolution numerical simulation of complex flow structures in turbomachinery, a high-order finite volume weighted essentially non-oscillatory (WENO) scheme for the large eddy simulation (LES) is improved and embedded into the three-dimensional viscous unsteady CFD solver NUAA-Turbo. Firstly, the spectral characteristics and unsteady convergence of the improved WENO scheme are studied. Compared with the classical WENO scheme, the improved WENO scheme has better dissipation and dispersion characteristics and faster convergence speed. Then, the coefficient CW of the Wall-Adapting Local Eddy-viscosity (WALE) model is calibrated by decaying homogeneous isotropic turbulence (DHIT) test case. Finally, the scheme is applied to conduct high-precision LES calculations of turbulent boundary layer flow, supersonic compression corner flow, and low-pressure turbine cascade separation flow. The numerical simulation results show that this WENO scheme has excellent shock wave capture ability and turbulence resolution and can capture more flow field details with less mesh size, greatly reducing the computational cost and laying a foundation for large-scale engineering application of LES.

To secure logic circuits against the illegal copying the insertion of the so-called key bit inputs using XOR/XNOR gates has been proposed in . The inserted gates modify (lock) the behavior of the original circuit and only the correct choice of the secret key bits guarantees the equivalent behaviour of the locked circuit to the original circuit. To break this kind of security, i.e. to find the secret key bits, there was a SAT solver based attack proposed in . The aim of this work is to experimentally verify this attack on several locked circuits with various number of primary inputs and outputs and with various number of gates. Except for the random placement of the key gates we evaluate also the positioning with chaining elimination. The obtained and presented results show that we were able to unlock 10 of 11 circuits within few minutes on a common PC.

Intermetallic compounds are increasingly being expected to utilize in tribological environments, but to date the works are hindered by insufficient ductility at low and medium temperature. This paper presents a novel multiphase intermetallic alloy with the chemical composition of Mo-40Ni-13Si (at.%). Microstructure characterization reveals that a certain amount of ductile Mo phases formed during the solidification process of ternary Mo-Ni-Si alloy melt, which is undoubtedly beneficial to the ductility improvement of intermetallic alloy. Tribological properties of the designed alloy, including wear resistance, friction coefficient and metallic tribological compatibility, were evaluated under dry sliding wear test conditions at room temperature. Results suggested that the multiphase alloy possesses an excellent property for room-temperature wear applications, which is attributed to the unique microstructural features and thereby good combination in hardness and ductility. The corresponding wear mechanism is also reported by observing the worn surface, subsurface and wear debris of alloy, which to be found is soft abrasive wear.

With the integrated development of the Internet, wireless sensor technology, cloud computing, and mobile Internet, there has been a lot of attention given to research about and applications of the Internet of Things. A Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) is one of the important information technologies in the Internet of Things; it integrates multi-technology to detect and gather information in a network environment by mutual cooperation, using a variety of methods to process and analyze data, implement awareness, and perform tests. This paper mainly researches the localization algorithm of sensor nodes in a wireless sensor network. Firstly, a multi-granularity region partition is proposed to divide the location region. In the range-based method, the RSSI (Received Signal Strength indicator, RSSI) is used to estimate distance. The optimal RSSI value is computed by the Gaussian fitting method. Furthermore, a Voronoi diagram is characterized by the use of dividing region. Rach anchor node is regarded as the center of each region; the whole position region is divided into several regions and the sub-region of neighboring nodes is combined into triangles while the unknown node is locked in the ultimate area. Secondly, the multi-granularity regional division and Lagrange multiplier method are used to calculate the final coordinates. Because nodes are influenced by many factors in the practical application, two kinds of positioning methods are designed: the unknown node is in the positioning unit or not. When the unknown node is on the side of the positioning unit, we use the method of vector similarity. Moreover, we use the centroid algorithm to calculate the ultimate coordinates of unknown node. When the unknown node is not on the side of the positioning unit, we establish a Lagrange equation containing the constraint condition to calculate the first coordinates. Furthermore, we use the Taylor expansion formula to correct the coordinates of the unknown node. In addition, this localization method has been validated by establishing the real environment.

The electroencephalogram (EEG) is a record of brain activity. Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology formed by the EEG signal has become one of the hotspots at present. How to extract the feature signal of EEG is the most basic research of BCI technology. In this paper, A new method of recognizing fatigue, conscious, concentrated state of human brain is proposed by the combination of discrete wavelet transform and the neural network based on EEG signal. First of all, the law signal is preprocessed by the wavelet denoising method because the law EEG signal contains a large number of high frequency noise, which is decomposed into multi-layer high frequency signal and low frequency signal. thus, δ wave, θ wave, α wave, β wave are obtained by the wavelet transform. And then, frequency band energy of the different wave is regards as the feature signal of EEG. In the experiment, the feature signal is classified by radial basic function (RBF) and annealed chaotic competitive learning network (ACCLN). RBF and ACCLN networks are trained with 500 sets of sample data and are tested by 100 sets of samples in different mental states. The experimental results show that the average accuracy of RBF network under three conditions are 88.75%, 88.25%, 88.5%, respectively, and the correct rate of ACCLN network is 97%, 98%, 98%, respectively.

Early discharge after childbirth has led to a rise in neonatal readmission, becoming a major concern in recent decades. Our research aimed to identify the risk factors and incidence of neonatal readmission, as well as explore preventive measures. Our study at the Clinical Hospital of Pediatrics in Ploiești, Romania included 108 neonates admitted during the neonatal period. This accounted for 2.06% of all admissions (5226). The most prevalent cases were malnutrition (25%), fever (20.3%) and bronchiolitis (17.5%). Diarrhea and infectious gastroenteritis were also observed (14.8%), along with acute rhinoconjunctivitis (9.2%) and late onset sepsis (3.7%). No deaths were recorded. The most significant characteristics identified were number of children (p&lt;0.001) and age at maternity discharge (p&lt;0.001). By following the prevention rules, malnutrition, feeding errors, and infections can be avoided. This includes practicing proper hand hygiene for both mothers and medical staff, as well as educating and demonstrating to mothers the benefits of breastfeeding. In addition, all newborns discharged from the maternity ward should benefit from follow-up at 7-10 days of life. Our results confirm the effectiveness of a multidisciplinary team and endorse promoting breastfeeding. Implementing quality control measures and regularly evaluating the surveillance program will help improve its effectiveness.

Wearable technology has been proposed as a potential tool to change the way of human life, such as the smart bracelet and the Google Glass. In the wearable technology, the inertial sensor has great significance in tracking the object movements. The paper focused on detecting the movements of user’s finger based on the inertial sensor to give the control signals. Firstly, the attitude matrix, which represented the transformation relation of carrier coordinate system and the navigation coordinate system, was obtained. Secondly, the attitude matrix was expressed based on the quaternions. Thirdly, the finger gesture was processed by the attitude matrix to get the attitude angle. Finally, the robot was controlled by attitude angle to make the moving action. The experimental results showed the detection of the finger movement is effective.

Two interesting compounds such as quaternary ammonium lignin(QAL) and 2-ethylhexyl phosphoric acid mono-2-ethylhexyl ester (P507) were synthesized as ionic liquids(QP-ILs) for the extraction of metal ions. The extraction behavior of Co(II) and Ni(II) from chloride solution was compared between QP-ILs and P507. The results showed that the extraction rates of Co(II) and Ni(II) in the two solutions varied with the extraction conditions, but QP-ILs has stronger extractability for cobalt than P507, while Ni is on the contrary. Under the same conditions, the Co/Ni separation performance(βCo/Ni) in QP-ILs is superior to that in p507. At pH4.0, 55℃, concentration of 20%, extraction time of 10 minutes, the βCo/Ni of QP-ILs reached to 2703, while that of P507 was only 164. In conclusion, QP-ILs was more efficient than P507 for separating Co from mixed solutions.

Brain aging causes a wide variety of changes at molecular and cellular levels, leading to the decline of cognitive functions and increased vulnerability to neurodegenerative disorders. The research aimed at understanding the aging of the brain has made much progress in recent decades. Technological innovations such as single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq), proteomic analyses, and spatial transcriptomic analyses have facilitated the research on the dynamic changes occurring within neurons, glia, and other cells along with their impacts on intercellular communication during aging. In this review, we introduce recent trends of how neurons and glia change during aging and discuss the impact of the brain microenvironment such as the blood-brain barrier (BBB).

In this paper, we study the semilinear pseudo-parabolic equations $\displaystyle u_{t} - \triangle_{\mathbb{B}}u - \triangle_{\mathbb{B}}u_{t} = \left|u\right|^{p-1}u$ on a manifold with conical singularity, where $\triangle _{\mathbb{B}}$ is Fuchsian type Laplace operator investigated with totally characteristic degeneracy on the boundary $x_{1} = 0$. Firstly, we discuss the invariant sets and the vacuum isolating behavior of solutions with the help of a family of potential wells. Then, we derive a threshold result of existence and nonexistence of global weak solution: for the low initial energy $J(u_{0})<d$, the solution is global in time with $I(u_{0}) >0$ or $\displaystyle\Vert \nabla_{\mathbb{B}}u_{0}\Vert_{L_{2}^{\frac{n}{2}}(\mathbb{B})} = 0$ and blows up in finite time with $I(u_{0}) < 0$; for the critical initial energy $J(u_{0}) = d$, the solution is global in time with $I(u_{0}) \geq0$ and blows up in finite time with $I(u_{0}) < 0$. The decay estimate of the energy functional for the global solution and the estimates of the lifespan of local solution are also given.

Multimodal remote sensing data classification can enhance the model’s ability to distinguish land features through multimodal data fusion. In this context, how to help models understand the relationship between multimodal data and target tasks is the focus of researchers. Inspired by human feedback learning mechanisms, causal reasoning mechanisms, and knowledge induction mechanisms, this paper integrates causal learning, reinforcement learning, and meta learning into a unified remote sensing data classification framework and proposed the causal meta-reinforcement learning (CMRL). First, based on feedback learning mechanisms, we have overcome the limitations of traditional implicit optimization of fusion features and customized a reinforcement learning environment for multimodal remote sensing data classification tasks. Through feedback interactive learning between agents and the environment, we help them understand the complex relationships between multimodal data and labels, thereby achieving full mining of multimodal complementary information. Second, based on the causal inference mechanism we designed causal distribution prediction action, classification reward, and causal intervention reward, capturing pure causal factors in multimodal data and cutting off false statistical associations between non-causal factors and class labels. Finally, based on the knowledge induction mechanism, we designed a bi-layer optimization mechanism based on meta-learning. By constructing a meta training task and meta validation task simulation model in the generalization scenario of unseen data, we helped the model induce cross-task shared knowledge, thereby improving its generalization ability for unseen multimodal data. The experimental results on multiple sets of multimodal datasets show that the proposed method achieved state-of-the-art performance in multimodal remote sensing data classification tasks.

Moso bamboo is famous for fast growing and biomass accumulation, as well as high annual output for timber and bamboo shoots. These high outputs require high nutrient inputs to maintain and improve stand productivity. Soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) are important micronutrients for plant growth and productivity. Due to high variability of soils, analysing spatial patterns of soil N, P and K stocks is necessary for scientific nutrient management in Moso bamboo forests. In this study, soils were sampled from 138 locations across Yong’an City and ordinary kriging was applied for spatial interpolation of soil N, P and K stocks. Soil N stock showed a strong spatial dependence while soil N and P stocks presented a moderate spatial dependence, indicating soil N was mainly controlled by intrinsic factors while soil N and P stocks were controlled by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Different spatial patterns were observed for soil N, P and K stocks across the whole study area, indicating that fertilizations with different ratios of N:P:K should be applied for different sites to maintain and improve stand productivity. The total soil N, P and K stocks within 0-60 cm were 0.624, 0.020 and 0.583 Tg, respectively.

With the increasing concern of environment, the energy-efficiency scheduling of manufacturing industry is becoming urgent and popular. In turning processes, both spindle speed and processing time can affect the final energy consumption and thus the spindle speed and scheduling scheme need to be optimized simultaneously. Since the turning workshop can be regarded as the flexible flow shop, this paper formulates a mixed integer linear programming model for energy-efficient scheduling of flexible flow shop. Accordingly, a new decoding method is developed by considering of the optimization of spindle speed and scheduling scheme simultaneously, and an estimation of distribution algorithm adopting the new decoding method is proposed to solve large-size problems. The parameters of this algorithm are determined by statistical technique with a simplified practical case. In order to validate the proposed method, a case from practical factories is studied, in which the makespan can be shortened by 25.22%, and the consumed energy can be saved by 5.48%. These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed mathematical model and algorithm.

Lignocellulosic biomass, an abundant and renewable resource, serves as a crucial raw material for the production of biofuels, biochemicals, and various value-added products. This paper aims to develop and optimize a mild alkaline treatment of sawdust assisted by ultrasound, along with enzymatic hydrolysis of the pretreated material. The sonochemical pretreatment with alkali emerged as the optimal approach to enhance the susceptibility of cellulose to subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis, thereby increasing the yield of reducing sugars. A comparative study was performed using various ultrasonic applicators (horn and bath) and conventional assisted alkaline pretreatment. The ultrasonic assisted pretreatment revealed a higher delignification as 68% (horn) and 57% (bath) comparing with conventional pretreatment. Processes were optimized using a statistical analysis based on a 23 factorial design. The ratio between sawdust and alkanine solution (RSL = 0.5–1.5 g/100 mL), US amplitude (A = 20–60%), and working temperature (t = 30–50 °C) were selected as process factors. The optimal operating conditions to maximize the reducing sugar yield (138.15 mg GE /gsubstrate) were found as following: solid/liquid ratio RSL,opt = 1.25 g/100 mL, US amplitude Aopt = 60%, and and pretreatment temperature topt = 50 °C. The overall outcomes clearly confirmed the intensification of delignification by ultrasound assisted alkaline pretreatment

At 12:28 UTC (8:28 PM, local time) on 15 January 2023, a shallow, moderate earthquake with a magnitude (Mw) of 4.7 and a depth of one (1) kilometer shook the northern part of Leyte Island in the central part of the Philippines. The ground shaking was felt at PHIVOLCS Earthquake Intensity Scale (PEIS) VI, (very strong) equivalent to Modified Mercalli Intensity (MMI) VI in areas along the strike of the Leyte segment of the Philippine Fault. Even though this earthquake is classified as moderate in size, significant geologic, structural, and socio-economic impacts were documented. Most of the earthquake impacts that include surface rupture, liquefaction, and mass movements are limited near the epicentral area. The earthquake produced an 8-km-long surface rupture, the first documented rupture generated by a magnitude &lt;6 along the Philippine Fault, and is unusual in other surface rupturing earthquakes worldwide. It injured 18 persons and damaged 434 residential buildings and 26 public infrastructures which amounts to about 500 thousand US dollars. Structural damages were caused by surface rupture and/or poor engineering construction practices. Analysis of the seismic waveform and recorded peak ground acceleration (PGA) suggests that the subsurface geology influenced the ground motion amplification in an area near the epicenter. Based on the hypocenter, focal mechanism solution, aftershock distribution, and actual field observation, the causative fault for this event is the northern end of the Philippine Fault – Leyte segment. Moderate in size, this earthquake emphasizes the need and importance of documenting moderate-sized earthquakes as a tool and guide for medium and long-term earthquake risk assessment and resiliency.

Background: The bacterium Capnocytophaga spp. is a part of the oral microbiome of dogs, which has zoonotic potential. This study aimed to assess factors that influence the prevalence of Capnocytophaga cynodegmi and Capnocytophaga canimorsus in Wrocaw’s dog population. Methods: Molecular detection (PCR) involved 105 swabs, examining parameters such as oral cavity condition, underlying health issues, recent antibiotics, age, medications, material collection, and dog chews. Results: The study highlighted significant associations between the presence of Capnocytophaga cynodegmi and oral cavity condition, material collection method, and use of dog’s chews. Conclusions: Correlations obtained in this study between the oral health of Wroclaw's dog population and the presence of Capnocytophaga cynodegmi suggest its significance in the oral microbiome of dogs. Limitations, including the small sample size, highlight the need for more research to comprehensively understand additional factors that affect the prevalence of Capnocytophaga spp. in dogs

A simple design of an ultrathin six-band polarization-insensitive terahertz perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) composed of a metal cross-cave-patch resonator (CCPR) placed over a ground plane was proposed and investigated numerically. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the average absorption peaks are up to 95% at six resonance frequencies with high quality-factors (>65). In addition, the absorption properties can be kept stability for both normal incident transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) waves. The physical mechanism behind the observed high level absorption is illustrated by the electric and power loss density distributions. The different absorption mainly originates from the higher order multipolar and multipolar plasmon resonance of the structure, which are sharp different to the most previous studies of the PMMAs. Furthermore, the resonance absorption of the PMMA can be tunable by varying the geometric parameters of the unit cell.

A simple design of an ultrathin six-band polarization-insensitive terahertz perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) composed of a metal cross-cave-patch resonator (CCPR) placed over a ground plane was proposed and investigated numerically. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the average absorption peaks are up to 95% at six resonance frequencies with high quality-factors (>65). In addition, the absorption properties can be kept stability for both normal incident transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) waves. The physical mechanism behind the observed high level absorption is illustrated by the electric and power loss density distributions. The different absorption mainly originates from the higher order multipolar and multipolar plasmon resonance of the structure, which are sharp different to the most previous studies of the PMMAs. Furthermore, the resonance absorption of the PMMA can be tunable by varying the geometric parameters of the unit cell.