We suggest that the 14^th century scholar Nicholas of Autrecourt can be regarded as a precursor of the paraconsistent logics developed around 1950. We show how the Sorbonne licentiatus in theology provided in his few extant writings a refutation of both the principle of explosion and the law of non-contradiction, in accordance with the tenets of paraconsistent logics. This paves the way to the most advanced theories of truth in natural language and quantum dynamics.

“De-[Constructing] Growth” is offered as a deeper and more useful conceptualization that avoids the negative connotations of, and resistance to, “degrowth” by decoupling profit from unsustainable consumption, production, and inequality.

Objective To assess the quality and readability of online information on holmium laser enucleation of the prostate in management of benign prostate hyperplasia using the most used search engine worldwide, google. Methods The google search term “Holmium laser surgery” and “enlarged prostate” was used and the initial 150 webpages were reviewed. Webpages that were paywall, scientific literature, and/or promoted advertisements were excluded. Quality assessment tools - DISCERN, QUEST, and JAMA criteria were used, while readability tools like FKG, GFI, SMOG, and FRE score were used. Two authors independently reviewed the included sites for further analysis; for any discrepancy, a third author would be involved. Results 107 webpages were included in the data analysis. The median DISCERN score was 42 out of 80 (IQR 35-49). The median JAMA score was 0 out of 4 (IQR 0-1). The median QUEST score was 9 out of 28 (IQR 9-12). Using the non-parametric ANOVA and post-hoc test, significant differences were identified between rankings of webpages. Sponsorship had no influence on quality of webpages. Overall readability level required a minimum reading level of grade 11. Linear regression analysis showed a higher rank webpage is a positive predictor for all three quality assessment tools. Conclusion The overall quality of online information regarding HoLEP is poor. We identify that top ranked google searches have a higher DISCERN score and is a positive predictor for DISCERN/QUEST/JAMA. Quality online information can be used to benefit patients but should be used in conjunction with consultation from a medical professional.

Natural time is a new time domain introduced in 2001. The analysis of time series associated with a complex system in natural time may provide useful information and may reveal properties that are usually hidden when studying the system in conventional time. In this new time domain, an entropy has been defined and complexity measures based on this entropy as well as its value under time-reversal have been introduced and found applications in various complex systems. Here, we review these applications in the electric signals that precede rupture, e.g., earthquakes, in the analysis of electrocardiograms, as well as in global atmospheric phenomena like the El Nino/La Nina Southern Oscillation.

Human African Trypanosomiasis (HAT) commonly known as sleeping sickness, is a neglected tropical vector borne disease caused by trypanosome protozoa. It is transmitted by bites of infected tsetse fly. In this paper we first present the vector-host model which describes the general transmission dynamics of HAT. In the tsetse fly population, the HAT is modelled by three compartments while in the human population, the HAT is modelled by four compartments. The next generation matrix approach is used to derive the basic reproduction number, R₀, and also it is proved that if R₀ ≤ 1 the disease free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable, which means the disease dies out. The disease persist in the population if the value of R₀ > 1. Furthermore, the optimal control model is determined by using the Pontryagin’s maximum principle with control measures such as education, treatment and insecticides used to optimize the objective function. The model simulations confirm that the use of the three control measures are very efficient and effective to eliminate HAT in Africa.

This paper reviews how dynamically adaptive wavelet methods can be designed to simulate atmosphere and ocean dynamics in both flat and spherical geometries. We highlight the special features that these models must have in order to be valid for climate modelling applications. These include exact mass conservation and various mimetic properties that ensure the solutions remain physically realistic, even in the under-resolved conditions typical of climate models. Particular attention is paid to the implementation of complex topography in adaptive models. Using \textsc{wavetrisk} as an example, we explain in detail how to build a semi-realistic global atmosphere or ocean model of interest to the geophysical community. We end with a discussion of the challenges that remain to developing a realistic dynamically adaptive atmosphere or ocean climate models. These include scale-aware subgrid scale parameterizations of physical processes, such as clouds. Although we focus on adaptive wavelet methods, many of the topics we discuss are relevant for adaptive mesh refinement (AMR).

A small phylogenetically conserved sequence of 11,231 bp termed FAM247 is repeated in human chromosome 22 by segmental duplications. This sequence forms part of diverse genes that span evolutionary time, the protein genes being the earliest as they are present in zebrafish and/or mice genomes, the long non-coding RNA genes and pseudogenes the most recent as they appear to be present only in the human genome. We propose that the conserved sequence provides a nucleation site for new gene development at evolutionary conserved chromosomal loci where the FAM247 sequences reside. The FAM247 sequence also carries information in its open reading frames that provides protein exon amino acid sequences; one exon plays an integral role in immune system regulation, specifically, the function of ubiquitin specific protease (USP18) in the regulation of interferon. An analysis of this multifaceted sequence and the genesis of genes that contain it are presented.

There are unsolved problems related to inflation, gravity, dark matter, dark energy, missing antimatter, and the birth of the universe. Some of them can be better answered by assuming the existence of aether and hypoatoms. Both were created during the inflation in the very early universe. While aether forms vacuum, hypoatoms, composed of both matter and antimatter and believed to be neutrinos, form all observable matter. In vacuum, aether exists between the particle-antiparticle dark matter form and the dark energy form in a dynamic equilibrium: A + A-bar = gamma + gamma. The same reaction stabilizes hypoatoms and generates a 3-dimensional sink flow of aether that causes gravity. Based on the hypoatom structure, the singularity does not exist inside a black hole; the core of the black hole is a hypoatom star or neutrino star. By gaining enough mass, ca. 3 X 10²² M_sun, to exceed neutrino degeneracy pressure, the black hole collapses or annihilates into the singularity, thus turning itself into a white hole or a Big Bang. The universe is anisotropic. Its center, or where the Big Bang happened, is at 0.66^+0.03_-0.01 times the radius of the observable universe at Galactic coordinates (l, b) = (286⁺¹⁰_-10, -43⁺⁷_-6). If we look from the Local Group to the center of the universe, the universe is rotating clockwise.

Developmental, clinical, and epidemiological research have demonstrated the salience of perceived racial discrimination (PRD) as a contributor to negative mental health outcomes in adolescence. This article summarizes secondary analyses of cross-sectional data from a large-scale youth survey within a predominantly rural state to estimate the prevalence and strength of association between PRD and serious psychological distress, suicidal ideation, and prior suicidal attempts. Data from 93,812 students enrolled in Grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 within 129 school districts across Kentucky were examined to determine prevalence rates for subgroups within the cohort. Logistic regression analyses assessed differences and established comparative strength of association among these variables for racial/ethnic subgroups. PRD was self-reported at high rates across several demographic subgroups and was most evident among Black (24.5%) and Asian (22.1%) students. Multiracial students experienced the highest rates of both SPD and suicidality. Both for the entire cohort and for each racial/ethnic subgroup, PRD was significantly associated with increased likelihood of negative mental health outcomes, although the strength of these associations varied across subgroups and developmental levels. Implications for early intervention and prevention are discussed.

Burden of diseases measured as disability-adjusted life years per 100,000 people can be mined from public domain data, when they are made available by population health surveillance systems. This can be analysed to allow insightful comparisons with the national average, and to understand differences in trends between the sexes, age groups, time periods, geographic regions and sub-regions. In this illustrative case study, we have analysed the Scottish burden of disease database to understand what ailed the population of the Grampian region before the COVID-19 pandemic. We have identified selected cancers, ischaemic heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias amongst the highest contributors to the burden; that drug use disorders and colorectal cancer are showing worsening trends and require health promotion and disease prevention measures from ages 15 and 25 respectively, especially in Aberdeen City; and that males are more vulnerable to atrial fibrillation and flutter, diabetes mellitus and oesophageal cancer, while females are to cerebrovascular disease. We demonstrate the usefulness of our analysis and methodology for the wider health system, allowing targeted medical research investments and coordinated response from public health and health service delivery. We also show the need for up-to-date surveillance data, forecasts and evidence on the impact of interventions to be made available widely.

Uganda’s agriculture depends mainly on rainwater. As farmers are trying to increase on the food output to match the demands of a fast growing population, they are susceptible to make losses due to fluctuating weather patterns which are being caused by the global climate change. Therefore, it is necessary to explore ways of improving water use efficiency in rainfed agricultural systems to save farmers labour and input costs in situations where the grain harvest would be zero due to crop failure. The water driven FAO AquaCrop model is used as a support tool for making informed decisions during planning and situation analysis. In this study, AquaCrop model was evaluated for prediction of maize growth and yields at MUARIK in Uganda, for rainfed agriculture in three growing seasons. The model efficiency (E) and root mean square value (RMSE) for the maize canopy simulation during the September–December 2015 season was 0.945 and 7.24 respectively. The deviation of the simulated final biomass from measured data ranged from −15.4 to 11.6%, while the deviation of the final yield ranged from −2.8 to 2.0. The results suggest that the model can be used in the prediction of rainfed agricultural outputs, hence helping in guiding on management practices to increase food production.

The current Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is unprecedented in recent history and threatens the lives and livelihoods of billions worldwide. The rapid spread and lack of modern parallels have left governments, health agencies, and the public racing to understand how to best mitigate and ultimately suppress the pandemic, but we are still working to understand the strengths and weaknesses of various interventions at our disposal. Few issues have been as contentious as the public use of face masks to control the pandemic’s spread. There is ongoing debate about their effectiveness, but an increasing body of evidence suggests that masks could be a useful in preventing the spread of coronavirus, leading several governments and health agencies to review and revise their policies. Here, we review the theory and evidence behind use of masks. The theory behind masks is that they prevent the spread of viral particles by infected persons, and inhalation of viral particles by uninfected persons. Even assuming masks are not 100% effective in preventing infection, they may reduce severity of infection by reducing viral dosing. Laboratory studies suggest masks may be effective in stopping both exhalation and inhalation of viral particles. However, real-world studies provided limited evidence for the use of masks in controlling influenza transmission and highlight potential problems associated with their misuse, such as poor compliance or improper use. Evidence for efficacy of face masks against the first SARS virus, SARS-CoV-1, implies that they may be effective against the current outbreak of SARS-Cov-2 virus. This is important as mathematical modeling suggests that even small reductions of in transmission rates can make a large difference over time, potentially slowing the pace of viral pandemics and limiting their spread. Perhaps the strongest argument for the use of masks is that countries with early adoption of masks have tended to see flatter pandemic curves, even without strict nationwide lockdowns. There is little evidence that respirators are more effective than surgical masks, but this may be due to misuse or poor compliance. Studies suggest some non-medical masks perform on par with medical masks. Improvised masks are less effective than medical masks, but may provide better protection than nothing at all. While many governments now encourage the use of improvised face coverings, more will need to be known about material, design, and who needs to wear masks, and when, to ensure effectiveness. Proper use of masks will also be important; if masks are used improperly or infrequently they may provide limited protection. It is important that public health policy makers consider the debate and the potential of masks as part of multi-faceted coronavirus control strategies.

It is generally believed that the universe emerged from the Big Bang, before which space and time did not exist. However, Penrose proposed his theory of conformal cyclic cosmology, in which an aeon existed preceding this universe. Based on the cosmological principle, the universe is homogeneous and isotropic, expanding without center, but recently more and more deviations have been observed. By studying the fundamental particles and reactions of nature, we initiated a model that the Big Bang is the result of the collapse of a neutrino star within a black hole. We therefore re-analyze the cosmic microwave background (CMB) and find that the Center of the universe where the Big Bang occurred was at 0.66 ^+0.03 _-0.01 times the radius of the surface of last scattering away from the Local Supercluster (LS) and at Galactic coordinates (l, b) = (286^o +/- 10^o, -43^{o +7} _-6). If we look from the LS to the Center, the universe is spinning clockwise. Our findings are supported by Penrose’s conformal cyclic cosmology, low-variance circle sets in the CMB, and many other independent observational evidence of cosmic inhomogeneities, spatial anisotropies, and time variations.

This study examines the relation between ambient air pollution and emergency department (ED) visits due to certain infectious diseases in Toronto, Canada. The National Ambulatory Care Reporting System database was used to draw the corresponding health cases. Daily data on ED visits, ambient air pollution concentration levels, and weather conditions during the period from April 2004 to December 2015 (4,292 days in total) were linked together and used in statistical models. Six air pollutants (fine particulate matter PM2.5, CO, NO2, SO2, ozone O3 as a daily average, and ozone O3-8 hour ozone, as a maximum eight hour average) were investigated. In addition, the Air Quality Health Index (combining NO2, O3, and PM2.5) was also considered. The time-stratified case-crossover technique was applied in the study design. Conditional Poisson models were created using the daily counts of ED visit data. The considered factors, air pollutants and weather, were lagged by the same number of days, from 0 to 14. In the period of the study 339,644 ED visits were identified; 177,619 for females and 162,025 for males. For each air pollutant 270 models were realized (15 lags x 18 strata). Ambient air pollution concentrations lagged by 2, 3, and 5 days have the highest impact on ED visits, with 34, 32, and 35 positive associations, respectively. For all patients and an increase in a one interquartile range (IQR=1.2 ppb) of sulphur dioxide, the following values of the relative risks (RR) were estimated: RR=1.005 (95% confidence interval: 0.998, 1.013), 1.008 (1.001, 1.016), 1.009 (1.001, 1.016), 1.011 (1.004, 1.019), 1.007 (0.987, 1.028), and 1.009 (1.002, 1.016) for lags from 0 to 5, respectively. The results suggest that exposures for certain air pollutants (mainly CO, O3, and SO2) in urban environment affect the number of ED visits related to infectious diseases.

Heartland virus (HRTV) is an emerging tick-borne bandavirus that is capable of causing severe disease characterized by acute thrombocytopenia and lymphopenia. The virus is endemic to the eastern United States, and is carried by the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum). Since its discovery in 2009, at least 60 human infections have been recorded across this area, with an overall 5-10\% estimated mortality rate. All infections reported thus far have occurred following a known tick bite or exposure to tick-infested areas, but the possibility of nosocomial transmission has not been ruled out. Despite relatively high rates of seroprevalence among certain wildlife species such as white-tailed deer, the reservoir species for HRTV remains unknown, as the virus has never been isolated from any mammalian wildlife species. Furthermore, how the virus is transmitted to its vector species in nature remains unknown, though laboratory studies have confirmed both horizontal and vertical transmission of HRTV in A. americanum. In addition, the recent 2017 introduction of the Asian longhorned tick (Haemaphysalis longicornis) to the US has raised concerns about possible spillover of HRTV into a new tick species that has been confirmed to be a competent vector for HRTV in the laboratory. Thus, an increased awareness of its clinical presentation is needed, and further research is urgently required to establish the natural transmission cycle and develop new countermeasures for this novel zoonotic pathogen

Double burden of malnutrition (DBM) and anaemia is a growing concern in developing countries. 5,763 mother-child pairs were selected from a cross-sectional study (Bangladesh Demographic Health Survey, 2011) to examine DBM and anaemia in households. Overweight mothers had stunted (24.5%), underweight (19.8%), wasted (9.3%) and anaemic (51.7%) children. Region and drinking water were positively associated with both DBM and anaemia (p < 0.001). Father’s occupation and wealth index were positively associated with DBM (p <0.001) only. More policies and awareness programmes are needed to address the coexistence of child undernutrition and maternal overweight/obesity and anaemia in the same household.

The increasing spatial and spectral resolution of hyperspectral imagers yields detailed spectroscopy measurements from both space-based and airborne platforms. Machine learning algorithms have achieved state-of-the-art material classification performance on benchmark hyperspectral data sets; however, these techniques often do not consider varying atmospheric conditions experienced in a real-world detection scenario. To reduce the impact of atmospheric effects in the at-sensor signal, atmospheric compensation must be performed. Radiative Transfer (RT) modeling can generate high-fidelity atmospheric estimates at detailed spectral resolutions, but is often too time-consuming for real-time detection scenarios. This research utilizes machine learning methods to perform dimension reduction on the transmittance, upwelling radiance, and downwelling radiance (TUD) data to create high accuracy atmospheric estimates with lower computational cost than RT modeling. The utility of this approach is investigated using the instrument line shape for the Mako long-wave infrared hyperspectral sensor. This study employs physics-based metrics and loss functions to identify promising dimension reduction techniques. As a result, TUD vectors can be produced in real-time allowing for atmospheric compensation across diverse remote sensing scenarios.

This research investigates the impact of social media monitoring on Online Reputation Management (ORM) within Zimbabwe’s life assurance industry. Employing a mixed-methods approach, data was collected through questionnaires from 464 participants, yielding a response rate of 92.8%. Ethical considerations were meticulously addressed, with informed consent and confidentiality safeguards. Data analysis involved organizational and statistical techniques, including Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) for theoretical exploration. Descriptive statistics unveiled demographic insights and patterns in social media platform usage. Internal consistency assessments, Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) informed the refinement of research instruments. The SEM analysis established significant relationships and moderation effects, providing empirical support for several hypotheses. Findings indicate that employees’ attitudes toward social media monitoring positively influence ORM, while perceived behavioural control exhibits a non-significant impact. Intriguingly, management commitment, though positively related to ORM, moderates the relationship with a negative effect. The study contributes to the understanding of ORM determinants, emphasizing the need for nuanced strategies considering both individual and organizational factors. The recommendations underscore the importance of management commitment and employee training for effective social media utilization. Future research avenues include exploring training interventions, delving into the dynamics of perceived behavioural control, and investigating emerging social media platforms’ impact on ORM.

The BKL singularity inside a rotating black hole would be a neutrino star. Once its mass exceeds the limit that neutrino degeneracy pressure could support (larger than 3×10²² M_⊙), the neutrino star singularity would collapse, raising the temperature to the maximum and dropping the entropy to the minimum to initiate a Big Bang. From the cosmic microwave background, we find where the Big Bang occurred at about 0.66 times the radius of the surface of last scattering away from us and at Galactic coordinates (l, b) ≃ (286°,-43°). As it expands, the clockwise spinning universe has been veering towards the ellipsoidal. These findings are consistent with independent observations of cosmic inhomogeneities, spatial anisotropies, and time variations.

Telomere repeats at the ends of human chromosomes protect chromosomes from degradation, and telomerase has a prominent role in telomere maintenance. Telomerase also affects cell proliferation, DNA replication, differentiation, and tumourigenesis. TERT (telomerase reverse transcriptase enzyme) is the catalytic subunit of telomerase and is critical for enzyme activity. TERT promoter mutations and promoter methylation are strongly associated with increased telomerase activation in cancer cells. Notably, TERT and telomerase are downregulated in stem cells during their differentiation. Therefore, the link between differentiation and telomerase provides a valuable tool for studying the epigenetic regulation of TERT enzyme. Oxygen tension affects several cellular behaviours including proliferation, metabolic activity, stemness, and differentiation. The role of oxygen tension in driving promoter modifications of the TERT gene in embryonic stem cells (ESCs) is poorly understood either in vitro or in vivo. We adopted a monolayer ESCs differentiation model to explore the role of low, physiological, oxygen (physoxia) in the epigenetic regulation of telomerase and associated genes, including TERT, DNMTs, and HDACs. Cells were cultured in either air, a 2% O2 incubator, or a 2% O2 oxygen workstation to provide a fully defined 2% O2 environment. Pre-gassed media (pre-conditioned to 2% O2 in a HypoxyCool unit) was used in all 2% O2 experimentation. As anticipated, physoxia culture increased the proliferation rate and stemness of ESCs and a slower onset of differentiation in physoxia was evident. Further, downregulated TERT expression was correlated to reduced telomerase activity during differentiation. TERT expression and telomerase activity remained significantly elevated in physoxia during differentiation. A substantial increase in TERT promoter methylation levels was noted during differentiation. Chemical inhibition of DNMT3B reduced TERT promoter methylation and was associated with increased TERT gene and telomerase activity during differentiation. DNMT3B CHiP demonstrated that downregulated TERT expression and increased proximal promoter methylation were associated with DNMT3B binding to the promoter. In conclusion, we have demonstrated that DNMT3B can directly bind TERT promoter, change its methylation levels, and contribute to regulation of telomerase activity.

This manuscript introduces prospective hard engineering solutions to continuous episodic erosional events on beaches utilized for recreation and tourism. The basis of this paper is information from a modeling study completed in 2011 on a two mile stretch of beach in South Carolina. The study utilized three alternative groin systems and a no groin option. The optimum spacing of the groin applications and the retention rate of a replenished beach at the location was determined based on running a computer model (Genesis) for the environmental conditions (wave climate, littoral transport, etc.) at the demonstration site. It was also determined that the innovative groin alternative presented in this paper would likely develop as the most effective cost/benefit relationship among the more conventional alternatives utilized in the United States. The experimental groin system (modular adjustable permeable groin(s) MAPG) was calculated to save initial construction costs by 25% to 30%as compared to the other alternatives. This was significant when considering that adjacent beach impacts are minimized and the beach berm is better protected over the typical beach re-nourishment cycle. This paper attempts to facilitate further discussion of regional sediment budget and (coastal zone) management by bridging the divide between choosing only sand nourishment vs. engineered structures. We demonstrate that reintroducing engineered structures in combination with beach nourishment can be a cost effective solution to episodic erosional events over time while allowing longshore sediment transport.

Cover crops as living plant or mulch can suppress weeds by reducing weed germination, emergence and growth, either through direct competition for resources, allelopathy, or by providing a physical barrier to emergence. Farmers implementing conservation agriculture, organic farming or agroecological principles are increasingly adopting cover crop as part of their farming strategy. However, cover crop adoption remains limited by poor and/or unstable establishment in dry conditions, weediness of cover crop volunteers is subsequent cash crops, and seed cost. This study is the first one to review the literature on seed traits of cover crops, their germination response to different biotic and abiotic factors aiming to improve seed germination and seedling establishment. Knowledge on seed traits would be helpful in choosing suitable cover crop species and/or mixture adapted to specific environments. Such information is crucial to improve cover crops establishment, growth, provision of ecosystem services, while allowing farmers to save seeds and therefore money. We discuss how to improve cover crop establishment by seed priming and coating, and appropriate seed sowing depth. Here, three cover crop families namely Poaceae, Brassicaceae, and Fabaceae, were examined in terms of seed traits and response to environmental conditions. The review showed that seed traits related to germination are crucial as they affect the germination timing and establishment of the cover crop, consequently soil coverage uniformity, factors that directly related to their suppressive effect on weeds. Poaceae and Brassicaceae exhibit higher germination percentage than Fabaceae under water deficit conditions. Seed dormancy of some Fabaceae species/cultivars limits their agricultural use of as cover crops because the domestication of some wild ecotypes is not complete. Understanding genetic and environmental regulating seed dormancy is necessary. Appropriate selection of cover crop cultivars is crucial to improve cover crop establishment and provide multiple ecosystem services including weed suppression, particularly in a climate change context.

Two extreme wind-driven wildfire events impacted northern and southern California in late 2017 leading to 46 fatalities and thousands of structures lost. This study describes the meteorological and climatological factors that drove and enabled these wildfire events and quantifies the rarity of such conditions over the observational record. Both extreme wildfire events featured fire-weather metrics that were unprecedented in the observational record in addition to a sequence of climatic conditions that preconditioned fuels. The North Bay fires that affected portions of northern California in early October occurred coincident with strong downslope winds. The vast majority of the fires’ devastating effects and acres burned occurred overnight and within the first twelve hours of ignition. By contrast, the southern California fires of December were characterized by the longest Santa Ana wind event on record and included the largest wildfire in California’s history. Both fire events occurred following an exceptionally wet winter that was preceded by the drought of record in California. Fuels were further preconditioned as the warmest summer and autumn on record occurred in northern and southern California, respectively. Accelerated curing of fuels coupled with the delayed onset of autumn precipitation allowed for critically low dead fuel moisture leading up to the foehn wind events. Fire weather conditions were well forecasted several days prior to the fire. However, the rarity of fire-weather conditions that occurred in the wildland urban interface, along with other societal factors were key contributors to wildfire impacts to communities.

Pentadecanoic acid (C15:0) is an essential odd-chain saturated fatty acid with broad activities relevant to protecting cardiometabolic, immune, and liver health. C15:0 activates AMPK and inhibits mTOR, both of which are core components of the human longevity pathway. To assess the potential for C15:0 to enhance processes associated with longevity and healthspan, we used human cell-based molecular phenotyping assays to compare C15:0 with three longevity-enhancing candidates: acarbose, metformin, and rapamycin. C15:0 (n=36 activities in 10 of 12 cell systems) and rapamycin (n=32 activities in 12 of 12 systems) had the most clinically relevant, dose-dependent activities. At their optimal doses, C15:0 (17 µM) and rapamycin (9 µM) shared 24 activities across 10 cell systems, including anti-inflammatory (e.g., lowered MCP-1, TNFɑ, IL-10, IL-17A/F), antifibrotic, and anticancer activities, which are further supported by previously published in vitro and in vivo studies. Paired with prior demonstrated abilities for C15:0 to target longevity pathways, hallmarks of aging, aging rate biomarkers, and core components of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, our results support C15:0 as an essential nutrient with activities equivalent to, or surpassing, leading longevity-enhancing candidate compounds.

In 2012 the Open Geospatial Consortium published GeoSPARQL defining “an RDF/OWL ontology for [spatial] information”, “SPARQL extension functions” for performing spatial operations on RDF data and “RIF rules” defining entailments to be drawn from graph pattern matching. In the 8+ years since its publication, GeoSPARQL has become the most important spatial Semantic Web standard, as judged by references to it in other Semantic Web standards and its wide use for Semantic Web data. An update to GeoSPARQL was proposed in 2019 to deliver a version 1.1 with a charter to: handle outstanding change requests and source new ones from the user community and to “better present” the standard, that is to better link all the standard’s parts and better document &amp; exemplify elements. Expected updates included new geometry representations, alignments to other ontologies, handling of new spatial referencing systems, and new artifact presentation. In this paper, we describe motivating change requests and actual resultant updates in the candidate version 1.1 of the standard alongside reference implementations and usage examples. We also describe the theory behind particular updates, initial implementations of many parts of the standard, and our expectations for GeoSPARQL 1.1’s use.

Rhizosphere microbiomes which have been implicated to enhance plant growth and yield are modulated or influenced by a couple of environmental factors such as soil type, plant cultivar, climate change and anthropogenic activities. In particular, anthropogenic activity such as the use of nitrogen-based chemical fertilizers is associated with environmental destruction and this call for a more ecofriendly strategy to increase nitrogen level of agricultural land. This feat is attainable by harnessing nitrogen-fixing endophytic and free-living rhizobacteria. Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, Azospirillum and Bacillus have been found to have positive impacts on crops by enhancing both above and belowground biomass and could therefore play positive roles in achieving sustainable agriculture. Thus, it is needful to study these rhizosphere microbiomes with more sophisticated culture-independent technologies such as next generation sequencing (NGS) with the prospect of discovering novel bacteria with plant growth promoting traits. This review is therefore aimed at discussing factors that can modulate rhizosphere microbiomes with focus on the contributions of nitrogen fixing bacteria towards sustainable agricultural development and the techniques that can be used for their study.

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

Since chronic wasting disease (CWD) was first identified nearly 50 years ago in a captive mule deer herd in the Rocky Mountains of the United States, it has slowly spread across North America through the natural and anthropogenic movement of cervids and their carcasses. As the endemic areas have expanded, so has the need for rapid, sensitive, and cost effective diagnostic tests – especially those which take advantage of samples collected antemortem. Over the past two decades, strategies have evolved from the recognition of microscopic spongiform pathology and associated immunohistochemical staining of the misfolded prion protein to enzyme-linked immunoassays capable of detecting the abnormal prion conformer in postmortem samples. In a history that parallels the diagnosis of more conventional infectious agents, both qualitative and real-time amplification assays have recently been developed to detect minute quantities of misfolded prions in a range of biological and environmental samples. With these more sensitive and semi-quantitative approaches has come a greater understanding of the pathogenesis and epidemiology of this disease in the native host. Because the molecular pathogenesis of prion protein misfolding is broadly analogous to the misfolding of other pathogenic proteins, including Aβ and α-synuclein, efforts are currently underway to apply these in vitro amplification techniques towards the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and other proteinopathies. Chronic wasting disease – once a rare disease of Colorado mule deer – now represents one of the few naturally occurring protein misfolding disorders which might allow continued development and implementation of novel diagnostic strategies in an animal model.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have impaired vision from high refractive errors: near-sighted-myopia or far-sighted-hyperopia and aversion to spectacles or contact lenses. Refractive surgery can restore sharp vision and eliminate the need for spectacles or contact lenses. Restoration of sharp vision may improve ASD behaviors. Data were collated retrospectively for 267 children with refractive errors and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDD) diagnosed as ASD alone or NDD with ASD-like behaviors. Surgery was either laser photo-refractive keratectomy (PRK; 131 children), implantation of a phakic intra ocular lens (pIOL; 129 children) or removal of the crystalline lens and implantation of an IOL (refractive lens exchange, RLE; 21 children) under general anesthesia. Median age was 10.9 yrs. and median follow-up 3.1 yrs. Pre-operative refractive errors ranged from a mean +7.5 ± 0.9 D to -14.3. ± 4.8 D. Surgery corrected 87% to normal focal length (± 1 D). Visual acuity improved an average 0.6 logMAR. Social interactions and ASD behaviors improved in 55% (146/267) of the treated children (p &lt; .01), including school performance; motor skills; depth perception; repetitive or stereotyped movements; anxiety/fear; and attention. Refractive surgery improves both visual function and behaviors in the majority of highly near-sighted or far-sighted children with ASD.

We first explore negative-ion formation in fullerenes C44, C60, C70, C98, C112, C120, C132 and C136 through low-energy electron elastic scattering total cross sections calculations using our Regge-pole methodology. Water oxidation to peroxide and water synthesis from H₂ and O₂ are then investigated using the anionic catalysts C44ˉ to C136ˉ. The fundamental mechanism underlying negative-ion catalysis involves hydrogen bond strength-weakening in the transition state. DFT transition state calculations found C60ˉ numerically stable for both water and peroxide synthesis, C100ˉ increases the energy barrier the most and C136ˉ the most effective catalyst in both water synthesis and oxidation to H2O2.

Beer fermentation is typically monitored by periodic sampling and off-line analysis. In-line sensors would remove the need for time-consuming manual operation and provide real-time evaluation of the fermenting media. This work uses a low-cost ultrasonic sensor combined with machine learning to predict the alcohol concentration during beer fermentation. The highest accuracy model (R2=0.952, MAE=0.265, MSE=0.136) used a transmission-based ultrasonic sensing technique along with the measured temperature. However, the second most accurate model (R2=0.948, MAE=0.283, MSE=0.146) used a reflection-based technique without the temperature. Both the reflection-based technique and the omission of the temperature data are novel to this research and demonstrate the potential for a non-invasive sensor to monitor beer fermentation.

The rapid growth of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) sector requires additional infrastructure, such as more micro-datacenters and telecom stations, to support the higher internet speeds and low latency requirements of 5G net-works. The increased power requirements of the new ICT technologies necessitate the proposal of new power supplies in an attempt to retain the increase in energy demand and running costs. This work provides an in-depth theoretical analysis on the losses of the individual stages of commercially available PSU and proposes a new multicell PSU, Buck-PFC converter, which offers a higher overall efficiency at varying load levels. The theoretical results are verified using simulation results, via PSIM Thermal Module, and using experimental data. The results indicate that multi-cell structures can improve the overall PSU ef-ficiency by 1.2% at 50% rated power and more than 2.1% at full power. Finally, taking into consideration the economic implica-tions of this study, it is shown that the proposed multicell structure may increase the PSU costs by 10.78% but the payback pe-riod is in the order of just 3.3 years.

Solid tumors display complex biology and most therapies including chemotherapy cannot prevent therapy resistance and relapse. Most therapeutics target cancer cells, but recent data suggest the presence of cancer stem cells as cells with self-renewal and tumorigenic abilities. Cancer stem cell markers have been suggested to have prognostic value and can be targeted during cancer treatment and in resistant disease. CSCs have been postulated to play significant contextual roles in tumor initiation, progression, therapy resistance and metastasis. CSCs have thus been targeted by new generation cancer drugs. The transcriptional expression of several CSC markers in different cancers was evaluated by searching publicly available The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. We report here new findings on expression and prognostic significance of CSC markers in several cancers by examining the expression of CSCs markers in tumor tissues versus the adjacent normal tissues. We found that CSC markers were mostly highly expressed various tumors such as colon, lung, pancreatic and esophageal cancers. No CSC marker is expressed in the same pattern in all cancers and individual CSC marker expression was not linked to patient survival. This analysis calls for continued research on CSCs and clinical evaluation of the CSC markers in relation to prognosis of cancers in large population samples. Novel cancer drugs ought to target CSCs, cancer cells and tumor microenvironment variations.

Euglenids are a group of algae of great interest for biotechnology, with a large and complex metabolic capability. To study the metabolic network, it is necessary to know the subcellular locations of the component enzymes, but despite a long history of research into Euglena, the subcellular locations of many major pathways are only poorly defined. Euglena is phylogenetically distant from other commonly studied algae, they have secondary plastids bounded by three membranes, and they can survive after destruction of their plastids. These unusual features make it difficult to assume that the subcellular organization of the metabolic network will be equivalent to that of other photosynthetic organisms. Moreover, we show here that the presence of the secondary chloroplast means that it is not possible to make reliable predictions of the subcellular locations of enzymes in Euglena using existing informatics tools. In order to generate a model of the central metabolic pathway operating in Euglena we analysed biochemical and proteomic information from a variety of sources to assess the subcellular location of relevant enzymes. We use these assignments to propose the compartmentation of the core metabolic pathways in Euglena, a prerequisite for the further study of the metabolic network of Euglena. This model of the metabolic network shows that, other than photosynthesis, all major pathways present in the chloroplast are duplicated elsewhere in the cell, and that several biosynthetic pathways confined to plastids in higher plants are localized elsewhere in Euglena. Our model demonstrates how this organism can synthesise all the metabolites required for growth from simple carbon inputs, and can survive in the absence of chloroplasts.

Sink waste traps and drains are a reservoir for multi-drug resistant Gram-negative bacteria in the hospital environment. It has been suggested that these bacteria can migrate through hospital plumbing. Hospital waste traps were installed in a laboratory model system where sinks were connected through a common wastewater pipe. Enterobacterales populations were monitored using selective culture, MALDI-TOF identification and antibiotic resistance profiling before and after a wastewater backflow event. When transfer between sinks was suspected, isolates were compared using whole-genome sequencing. Immediately after the wastewater backflow, two KPC-producing Enterobacter cloacae were recovered from a waste trap in which Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales (CPE) had not been detected previously. The isolates belonged to ST501 and ST31 and were genetically indistinguishable to those colonising sinks elsewhere in the system. Following inter-sink transfer, KPC-producing E. cloacae ST501 successfully integrated into the microbiome of the recipient sink and was detected in the waste trap water at least six months after the backflow event. Seven weeks and three months after the backflow, other inter-sink transfers involving Escherichia coli ST5295 and KPC-producing E. cloacae ST501 were also observed.

Phosphorus, an essential rare element in aquatic ecosystems, plays a key role in maintaining ecosystem balance. However, an excess of phosphorus will lead to eutrophication and algal pro-liferation. To prevent eutrophication, it is crucial to pretreat and measure the concentration of total phosphorus (TP). Compared with conventional TP pretreatment equipment (autoclave), a lab-on-a-chip detection device fabricated through micro-electromechanical system technology using titania (TiO2) as a photocatalyst is more convenient, efficient, and cost-effective. However, the wide bandgap of TiO2 (3.2 eV) limits the photocatalytic activity. To address this problem, this paper describes the preparation of a TiO2/Au nanocomposite film by electron-beam evaporation and atomic layer deposition, based on the introduction of a gold film and TiO2 on a quartz substrate. The photocatalytic degradation properties of TiO2/Au nanocomposite films with thicknesses of 1, 2, 3, and 4 nm are assessed using rhodamine B as a pollutant. Experimental results demonstrate that the deposition of a gold film with different thicknesses can enhance the photocatalytic degradation efficiency through synergetic reactions in the charge separation process on the surface. The optimal photocatalytic efficiency is achieved when the deposition thickness is 2 nm, and it decreases with further increase in the thickness. When the photocatalytic reaction time is 15 min, the LOC device with a 2-nm-thick gold layer and autoclave exhibit similar TP pretreatment performance. Therefore, the proposed LOC device based on photocatalysis technology can address the limitation of conventional autoclave equipment, such as large volume, long processing time, and high cost, thereby satisfying the growing demand for on-site evaluation.

The prohibitive costs of small-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) racks decreases PV adoption velocity. To overcome these costs challenges, an open hardware design method is used to develop two novel variable tilt racking designs. These are the first stilt mounted racking designs that allow manual change of tilt angle from zero to 90 degrees by varying the length of cables. The racks are designed using the calculated dead, wind and snow loads for Canada as conservative design for most of the rest of the world. Structural capacities of the wooden members are then ascertained and resisting bending moment, shear force, tensile force, and compressive force for them is calculated. A structural and truss analysis is performed to ensure that racking design with-stands the applicable forces. Moreover, implications of changing the tilt angle on the wooden members/cables used to build the system are also determined. The systems offer significant economic savings ranging from 1/3rd to 2/3rd the capital expenses of the commercially available alternatives. In addition, the racking designs are easy-to-build and require minimal manufacturing operations, which increases their accessibility. The stilt-mounted designs can be employed for agrivoltaic settings while allowing farm workers shaded ergonomic access to perform planting, weeding, and harvesting.

Purpose: This study aims to provide a foundational understanding of patient-centric perceptions of telemedicine implementation in rural Minnesota. Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized a mail questionnaire to assess patient attitudes and behaviors regarding telemedicine during the emergency response to COVID-19. The target population was patients of a Primary Care clinic in eastern Minnesota. Descriptive statistics were used to assess respondents’ level of agreement with survey items scored on a 0-10 scale. Results: A majority of the respondents indicated that they were satisfied with using telemedicine (73.96%); that they gained an additional sense of control over their health condition due to the availability of telemedicine (52.08%); that they would support the use of telemedicine in the future (61.05%); that telemedicine increased access to care (65.63%); telemedicine was preferred over the clinic (61.46%), and that they would purchase new equipment to increase the utility of telemedicine services (54.17%). 51.04% of the respondents indicated a 10/10 level of satisfaction with telemedicine services. 48.96% indicated the strongest level of disagreement related to difficulty using telemedicine or a preference for in-person clinical appointments. Conclusions: Patients were found to have favorable perceptions of telemedicine overall. Though providers continue to recognize the benefit of face-to-face visits, their patients show an increased predilection for virtual care and telemedicine will likely remain an essential tool for providers to reach patients who would otherwise choose not to seek care.

Extensive in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) will be essential to enable long-duration stays on Luna and Mars and reduce reliance on resupply from Earth. Early development of ISRU technologies has focused on standalone capabilities for specific targets related to life support and ascent propellant. An unexplored opportunity remains for greatly expanding the scope of materials that can be supplied by ISRU, and for integrating various technology platforms into a larger system. Recent advances in power-to-X technology aimed at decarbonising the global economy have made it possible to drive key chemical processes using electricity with small-scale, modular reactor. This paper proposes a vision for an integrated system of ISRU processes based on power-to-X technology to produce oxygen, hydrogen, water, methane, polymers, metal alloys, and synthetic fertilisers, using Martian regolith, atmosphere, and ice. A ‘building block’ strategy is adopted to convert raw materials into versatile intermediaries, which can then be combined to form essential products. A wider range of raw materials are available on Mars compared to Luna, suggesting greater opportunity for ISRU deployment to compensate for the greater time and cost requirements for a Mars resupply mission.

Single particle tracking (SPT) is a powerful class of methods for studying the dynamics of biomolecules inside living cells. The techniques reveal the trajectories of individual particles, with a resolution well below the diffraction limit of light, and from them the parameters defining the motion model, such as diffusion coefficients and confinement lengths. Most existing algorithms assume these parameters are constant throughout an experiment. However, it has been demonstrated that they often vary with time as the tracked particles move through different regions in the cell or as conditions inside the cell change in response to stimuli. In this work, we propose an estimation algorithm to determine time-varying parameters of systems that discretely switch between different linear models of motion with Gaussian noise statistics, covering dynamics such as diffusion, directed motion, and Ornstein-Uhlenbeck dynamics. Our algorithm consists of three stages. In the first stage, we use a sliding window approach, combined with Expectation Maximization (EM) to determine maximum likelihood estimates of the parameters as a function of time. These results are only used to roughly estimate the number of model switches that occur in the data to guide the selection of algorithm parameters in the second stage. In the second stage, we use change detection (CD) techniques to identify where the models switch, taking advantage of the off-line nature of the analysis of SPT data to create non-causal algorithms with better precision than a purely causal approach. Finally, we apply EM to each set of data between the change points to determine final parameter estimates. We demonstrate our approach using experimental data generated in the lab under controlled conditions.

Over the last few decades, many countries, especially Caribbean island ones, have been challenged by the devastating consequences of natural disasters, which pose a significant threat to human health and safety. Timely information related to the distribution of vulnerable population and critical infrastructure are key for an effective disaster relief. OpenStreetMap (OSM) has repeatedly been shown to be highly suitable for disaster mapping and management. However, large portions of the world, including countries exposed to natural disasters, remain unmapped. In this study, we propose a methodology that relies on remotely sensed measurements (e.g. VIIRS, Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1) and derived classification schemes (e.g. forest and built-up land cover) to predict the completeness of OSM building footprints in three small island states (Haiti, Dominica and St. Lucia). We find that the combinatorial effects of these predictors explain up to 94% of the variation of the completeness of OSM building footprints. Our study extends the existing literature by demonstrating how remotely sensed measurements could be leveraged to evaluate the completeness of OSM database, especially in countries at high risk of natural disasters. Identifying areas that lack coverage of OSM features could help prioritize mapping efforts, especially in areas vulnerable to natural hazards and where current data gaps pose an obstacle to timely and evidence-based disaster risk management actions.

As the demand for a more sustainable society increases, adopting a sustainable banking approach serves as a competitive advantage for banks that are focused on attaining bank loyalty. This study revolves around understanding the role of sustainable banking practices on bank loyalty, while exploring the mediating effect of corporate image in the relationship between sustainable banking practices and bank loyalty. 511 data derived from customers of the banking sector was adopted for this study. Result from the structural equation modeling shows that sustainable banking practices positively and directly affects bank loyalty and corporate image, corporate image directly and positively affect bank loyalty, and also mediates in the relationship between sustainable banking practices and bank loyalty.

There is a growing interest in fibers supporting optoelectrical properties for textile and wearable display applications. Solution-processed electroluminescent (EL) material systems can be continuously deposited onto fiber or yarn substrates in a roll-to-roll process, making it easy to scale manufacturing. It is important to have precise control over layer deposition to achieve uniform and reliable light emission from these EL fibers. Slot-die coating offers this control and increases the rate of EL fiber production. Here, we report a highly adaptable, cost-effective 3D printing model for developing slot dies used in automatic coating systems. The resulting slot-die coating system enables rapid, reliable production of alternating current powder-based EL (ACPEL) fibers and can be adapted for many material systems. The benefits of this system over dip-coating for roll-to-roll production of EL fibers are demonstrated in this work.

Age-related changes in behavior and sensory perception have been observed in a wide variety of animal species. In ants and other eusocial insects, workers often progress through an ordered sequence of olfactory-driven behavioral tasks. Notably, these behaviors are plastic, and workers adapt and rapidly switch tasks in response to changing environmental conditions. In the Florida carpenter ant, smaller minors typically perform most of the work needed to maintain the colony while the larger majors are specialized for nest defense and rarely engage in these routine tasks. Here, we investigate the effects of age and task group on olfactory responses to a series of odorant blends in minor and major worker castes. Consistent with their respective roles within the colony, we observed significant age-associated shifts in the olfactory responses of minors as they transitioned between behavioral states, whereas the responses of majors remained consistently low regardless of age. Furthermore, we identified a unitary compound, 3-methylindole, which elicited significantly higher responses and behavioral aversion in minor nurses than in similarly aged foragers suggesting that this compound may play an important role in brood care. Taken together, our results suggest that age- and task-associated shifts in olfactory physiology may play a critical role in the social organization of ant colonies.

Although solar photovoltaic (PV) system costs have declined, capital cost remains a barrier to widespread adoption. Do-it-yourself (DIY) system designs can decrease costs by about 50% by reducing labor costs, but if not attached to a building structure demand ground penetration for conventional footings. This is not technically and economically feasible at all sites. To overcome these challenges, this study details systems designed to eliminate drilling holes and pouring concrete. Two different designs for both fixed tilt and variable tilt PV racking are investigated to assess their structural integrity, constructability, and economic cost when fabricated with a ballast-supported foundation. The ballast-supported foundations are analyzed for eight such systems by proposing two separate ballast designs: one for single line of post systems, and one for double line of post systems built on a 4-kW basis. The results of the analysis found that both designs are slightly more expensive than typical in-ground concrete systems by 25%, but the overall DIY systems costs remain economically advantageous. Sensitivity analyses are conducted to show how modifications to the dimensions including clearances and distances between gabions influence the weight of the system and thus change the economic value of the design, so users can trade dimensional freedom for cost-savings, and vice versa. Overall, all the wood-based PV racking system designs provide users with cost-effective and easy DIY alternatives to conventional metal racking, and the novel ballast systems presented provide more versatility for PV systems installations.

We present contrast information, a novel application of some specific cases of relative entropy measures, designed to be useful for cognitive modelling of sequential perception of continuous signals. We explain the relevance of entropy in cognitive modelling of music and language. Then, as a first step to demonstrating the utility of constrast information for that purpose, we show empirically that its discrete case correlates well with existing successful cognitive models in the literature. We explain some interesting properties of constrast information. Finally we propose future work towards a cognitive architecture that uses it.

Solar powering the increasing fleet of electrical vehicles (EV) demands more surface area than may be available for photovoltaic (PV) powered buildings. Parking lot solar canopies can provide the needed area to charge EVs, but are substantially costlier than roof- or ground-mounted PV systems. To provide a lower-cost PV parking lot canopy to supply EV charging beneath them, this study provides a full mechanical and economic analysis on three novel PV canopy systems: (1) exclusively wood, single parking spot spanning system, (2) wood and aluminum double parking spot spanning system, and (3) wood and aluminum cantilevered system for curbside parking. All systems can be scalable to any amount of EV parking spots. The complete designs and bill of materials (BOM) of the canopies are provided along with basic instructions and are released with an open source license that will enable anyone to fabricate them. The results found single-span systems have cost savings of 82%-85%, double-span systems save 43%-50%, and cantilevered systems save 31%-40%. In the first operation year, the PV canopies can provide 157% of energy needed to charge the least efficient EV currently on the market if it is driven the average driving distance in London ON, Canada.

Of all the renewable energy sources, solar photovoltaic (PV) power is estimated to be a popular source due to several advantages such as its free availability, absence of rotating parts, integration to building such as rooftops, and less maintenance cost. The nonlinear current-voltage (I–V) characteristics and power generated from a PV array primarily depend on solar insolation/irradiation and panel temperature. The extracted PV output power is influenced by the accuracy with which the nonlinear power–voltage (P–V) characteristic curve is traced by the maximum power point tracking (MPPT) controller. In this paper, a bio-inspired roach infestation optimization (RIO) algorithm is proposed to extract the maximum power from the PV system (PVS). To validate the usefulness of the RIO MPPT algorithm, MATLAB/Simulink simulations are performed under varying environmental conditions, for example, step changes in solar irradiance, and partial shading of the PV array. Furthermore, the search performance of the RIO algorithm is examined on different unconstrained benchmark functions, and it is that realized that the RIO algorithm has improved convergence characteristics in terms of finding the optimal solution than Particle swarm optimization (PSO). The results demonstrated that the RIO-based MPPT performs remarkably in tracking with high accuracy as the PSO-based MPPT.

Wearable sensors have the potential to enable comprehensive patient characterization and optimized clinical intervention. Critical to realizing this vision is accurate estimation of biomechanical time-series in daily-life, including joint, segment, and muscle kinetics and kinematics, from wearable sensor data. The use of physical models for estimation of these quantities often requires many wearable devices making practical implementation more difficult. However, regression techniques may provide a viable alternative by allowing the use of a reduced number of sensors for estimating biomechanical time-series. Herein, we review 46 articles that used regression algorithms to estimate joint, segment, and muscle kinematics and kinetics. We present a high-level comparison of the many different techniques identified and discuss the implications of our findings concerning practical implementation and further improving estimation accuracy. In particular, we found that several studies report the incorporation of domain knowledge often yielded superior performance. Further, most models were trained on small datasets in which case nonparametric regression often performed best. No models were open-sourced, and most were subject-specific and not validated on impaired populations. Future research should focus on developing open-source algorithms using complementary physics-based and machine learning techniques that are validated in clinically impaired populations. This approach may further improve estimation performance and reduce barriers to clinical adoption.

We propose a new estimator for creating expansion factors for survey plots in the USDA Forest Inventory and Analysis program. This is a regularized version of the raking estimator widely used in sample surveys. The regularized raking method differs from other predictive modeling methods for integrating survey and ancillary data in that it produces a single set of expansion factors that can have general purpose use to produce small area estimates and wall-to-wall maps of any plot characteristic. This method also differs from other more widely used survey techniques, such of GREG estimation, in that it is guaranteed to produce positive expansion factors. We extend the previous method here to include cross-validation, and provide a comparison to expansion factors between the regularized raking and ridge GREG survey calibration.

Long memory plays an important role in many fields by determining the behaviour and predictability of systems; for instance, climate, hydrology, finance, networks and DNA sequencing. In particular, it is important to test if a process is exhibiting long memory since that impacts the accuracy and confidence with which one may predict future events on the basis of a small amount of historical data. A major force in the development and study of long memory was the late Benoit B. Mandelbrot. Here we discuss the original motivation of the development of long memory and Mandelbrot's influence on this fascinating field. We will also elucidate the sometimes contrasting approaches to long memory in different scientific communities

Vitamin C is an essential enzyme cofactor and antioxidant with pleiotropic roles in human physiology. Circulating vitamin C concentrations are lower in people with diabetes mellitus suggesting a higher dietary requirement for the vitamin. We interrogated the NHANES 2017/2018 and EPIC-Norfolk datasets to compare vitamin C requirements between those with and without diabetes mellitus using dose-concentration relationships fitted with sigmoidal (four parameter logistic) curves. The NHANES cohort (n=2828 non-supplementing adults) comprised 488 (17%) participants with diabetes (self-reported or HbA1c ≥6.5%). The participants with diabetes had a lower vitamin C status (median [IQR]) than those without (38 [17, 52] µmol/L vs 44 [25, 61] µmol/L, p&lt;0.0001), despite comparable dietary intakes between the two groups (51 [26, 93] mg/d vs 53 [24, 104] mg/d, p=0.5). Dose-concentration relationships indicated that the group without diabetes reached adequate vitamin C concentrations (50 µmol/L) with an intake of 81 (72, 93) mg/d, whilst the those with diabetes required an intake of 166 (126, NA) mg/d. In the EPIC-Norfolk cohort, comprising 20692 non-supplementing adults, 475 (2.3%) had self-reported diabetes at baseline. The EPIC cohort had lower a BMI than the NHANES cohort (26 [24, 28] kg/m2 vs 29 [25, 34] kg/m2, respectively). Correspondingly, the EPIC participants without diabetes required a lower vitamin C intake of 64 (63, 65) mg/d while those with diabetes required 129 (104, NA) mg/d to reach adequate circulating vitamin C status. C-reactive protein concentrations were strongly correlated with body weight and BMI and provided a surrogate biomarker for vitamin C requirements. In conclusion, people with diabetes have 1.4- to 1.6-fold higher requirements for vitamin C than those without diabetes. This corresponds to additional daily vitamin C intake requirements of ~30-40 mg for people with diabetes.

The vast majority of autonomous driving systems are limited to applications on roads with clear lane markings and are implemented using commercial grade sensing systems coupled with specialized graphic accelerator hardware. This research reviews an alternative approach for autonomously steering vehicles that eliminates the dependency on road markings and specialized hardware. A combination of machine vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence based on popular pre-trained Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) and Recurrent Neural Networks (RNN) was used to drive a vehicle along roads lacking lane markings (unmarked roads). The team developed and tested this approach on the ACTor (Autonomous Camus TranspORt) vehicle - an autonomous vehicle development and research platform coupled with a low-cost webcam based sensing system and minimal computational resources. The proposed solution was evaluated on real-world roads and varying environmental conditions. It was found that this solution may be used to successfully navigate unmarked roads autonomously with acceptable road following behavior.

The rapidly evolving understanding of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) respiratory failure pathogenesis, limited disease-specific evidence and demand-resource imbalances have posed significant challenges for intensive care clinicians. In this single-centre retrospective cohort study we describe the outcomes of COVID-19 patients admitted to Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust (GSTT) critical care service. Patients were managed according to a local respiratory failure management pathway that was predicated on timely invasive ventilation when indicated and tailored ventilatory strategies according to pulmonary mechanics. Between 2nd March and 25th May 2020 GSTT critical care service admitted 316 patients with confirmed COVID-19. Of the 201 patients admitted directly through the Emergency Department with a completed critical care outcome, 71.1% survived to critical care discharge. These favourable outcomes may serve to inform the wider debate on the optimal ventilatory management in COVID-19.

Studies investigating the acute effect of postprandial exercise (PPE) on glucose responses exhibit significant heterogeneity in terms of participant demographic, exercise protocol, and exercise timing post-meal. As such, this study aimed to further analyze the existing literature on the impact of PPE on glycemic control in individuals with overweight, obesity, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Literature search was conducted through databases including PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar. Thirty-one original research studies that met the inclusion criteria were selected. The random-effect meta-analysis was performed to compare postprandial glucose area under the curve (AUC) and 24-h mean glucose levels between PPE and the time-matched no-exercise control (CON). Subgroup analysis was conducted to explore whether the glucose-lowering effect of PPE could be influenced by exercise duration, exercise timing post-meal, and disease status of participants. This study revealed significantly reduced glucose AUC (Hedges’ g = -0.317; SE = 0.057; p < 0.05) and 24-hour mean glucose levels (Hedges’ g = -0.328; SE = 0.062; p < 0.05) following PPE than CON. The reduction in glucose AUC was greater (p < 0.05) following PPE lasting >30 min than ≤30 min. The reduction in 24-hour mean glucose levels was also greater (p < 0.05) following PPE initiated ≥60 min than <60 min post-meal and in those with T2D than those without T2D. PPE offers a viable approach for glucose management and can be performed in various forms so long as exercise duration is sufficient. The glucose-lowering effect of PPE may be further enhanced by initiating it after the first hour post-meal. PPE represents a promising strategy, particularly for patients with T2D.

Given the high prevalence of cutaneous genus beta human papillomavirus (β-HPV) infections, it is important to understand how they are manipulating their host cells. This is particularly true for cellular responses to UV damage, since our skin is continually exposed to UV. The E6 protein from β-HPV (β-HPV E6) decreases the abundance of two essential UV-repair kinases (ATM and ATR). Since β-HPV E6 reduces their availability, the impact on downstream signaling events has been uncertain. We demonstrate that β-HPV E6 decreases ATM and ATR activation. This inhibition extended to XPA, an ATR target necessary for UV repair, lowering both its phosphorylation and accumulation. β-HPV E6 hinders POLη phosphorylation and foci formation, critical steps in translesion synthesis. ATM’s phosphorylation of BRCA1 is also attenuated by β-HPV E6. However, β-HPV E6’s hindrance of ATM/ATR signaling during UV-associated cell cycle arrest was incomplete. While there was less phosphorylation of immediate downstream targets (CHK1), events further down the cascade were not decreased. These observations are consistent with β-HPV infections making UV radiation more deleterious and support the proposed role of β-HPV in early stages of non-melanoma skin cancer development.

The increasing focus on sustainability and the adoption of green practices across industries underscore the necessity of equipping future professionals with competencies in implementing sustainable solutions. This study explores the perceptions of former students from two departments within the technological sector towards sustainability practices. A cross-sectional online survey was carried out among alumni from two programs at the University of Thessaly, a university recognized for its commitment to sustainability and green initiatives as a member of the INVEST European University alliance. The survey questionnaire included background inquiries and 16 statements designed to gauge alumni perspectives towards sustainability practices. Specifically, it aims to assess their views through self-assessment and compare differences between the two alumni groups. Responses were collected on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. A total of 300 graduates from the Computer Science and Telecommunications as well as Electrical Engineering undergraduate programs were encouraged to take part in the survey, achieving a response rate of 69%. Of those who responded, 61% (n = 126) represented the Computer Science and Telecommunications group, while 39% (n = 81) were from the Electrical Engineering program. Our findings indicate a generally positive attitude towards sustainability, with statistically significant differences in perspectives on the implementation of sustainable technologies and stakeholder engagement. These results underscore the necessity of integrating sustainability education deeply within the curricula of technological programs to cultivate a workforce capable of addressing future environmental challenges. This study illuminates the critical role of educational frameworks in shaping the sustainability competencies of technology professionals.

Soft-matter systems when driven out-of-equilibrium often give rise to structures that usually lie in-between the macroscopic scale of the material and microscopic scale of its constituents. In this paper we review three such systems, the two-dimensional square-lattice Ising model, the Kuramoto model and the Rayeligh-Bénard convection system which when driven out-of-equilibrium give rise to emergent spatio-temporal order through self-organization. A common feature of these systems is that the entities that self-assemble are coupled to one another in some way, either through local interactions or through a continuous media. Therefore, the general nature of non-equilibrium fluctuations of the intrinsic variables in these systems are found to follow similar trends as order emerges. Through this paper, we attempt to look for connections between among these systems and systems in general which give rise to emergent order when driven out-of-equilibrium.

A pixel-based segmentation method was demonstrated to be confounded by developmental stage in estimation of flowering of mango. Categorization of panicles into three developmental stages was undertaken with a single and a two-stage deep learning framework (YOLO and R2CNN), using either upright or rotated bounding boxes. For a validation image set and for total panicle count, the models MangoYOLO(-upright), MangoYOLO-rotated, YOLOv3-rotated, R2CNN(-rotated) and R2CNN-upright achieved: (i) RMSEs of 25.6, 16.0, 15.4, 25.8 and 32.3 panicles per tree image, (ii) Mean average precision (mAP) scores of 72.2, 69.1, 65.0, 62.5 and 70.9% and (iii) weighted F1-scores of 76.5, 76.1, 74.9, 74.0 and 82.0, respectively. For a test set of images involving a different orchard and cultivar and use of a different camera, the R2 for machine vision to human count of panicles per tree was 0.86, 0.80, 0.83, 0.81 and 0.76 for the same models, respectively. Thus, models generalised well, but with no consistent benefit from use of rotated over upright bounding boxes. While the YOLOv3-rotated model was superior in terms of total panicle count, the R2CNN-upright model was more accurate for panicle stage classification. To demonstrate practical application, panicle counts were made weekly for an orchard of 994 trees, with a peak detection routine applied to document multiple flowering events.

This review article seeks to provide relevant information about the applicability of cell-based assays in assessing cytotoxicity of phytochemicals in light of several traditional methods available. Phenolic compounds and other phytochemicals are significant resources for drug discovery and development, thus underlining the enormous potentials of plant-derived natural products for the prevention and management of oxidative stress associated with cancer and other diseases. These effects have been linked to the content of phytochemicals such as phenolic compounds and their antioxidant properties. The abundance and complexity of these bio-constituents highlight the need for well-defined methods for the in vitro characterization and quantification of extracts and/or preparations that can translate to in vivo effects. Cell culture systems provide a useful model for basic research and a wide range of clinical in vitro studies and physiological processes as well as assessing the toxicity and therapeutic potential of compounds including plant extracts with potential medicinal benefits. Their use in cancer research provide a useful insight into possible therapeutic properties of phytochemicals at the cellular level. This approach has been instrumental in the initial stages of developing chemotherapeutic agents where human cancer cell lines are used as experimental models. These models have continued to contribute to elucidating specific requirements for certain biochemical events associated with proliferation, metabolism, loss of cell viability/apoptosis. Cell culture systems remain a promising tool in natural product development.

Energy poverty is a severe electrification challenge in Nigeria that has affected the country's economic development. The gap between electricity demand and supply continues to increase, and a large percentage of the populace affected are rural dwellers. With the prevailing electricity inaccessibility in rural, renewable energy sources (RES) present viable option for addressing rural electrification challenge. However, RES like solar have intermittency challenges since they are weather dependent. Thus, a hybrid microgrid system (HMS) comprising solar, hydropower and battery storage was sized as a feasible solution for electrifying rural areas in Nigeria. For the HMS sizing, a site was selected, whose residential load demand was estimated. The renewable energy generation potential for the selected resources at the site as well as grid reliability were assessed. Hybrid Optimisation Model for Multiple Energy Resources (HOMER) was used to size the HMS. An economic analysis was performed to determine the levelised cost of energy (LCOE) and net present cost (NPC). For the sized HMS, two scenarios were considered: off-grid and grid-connected HMS configurations. The results showed that the LCOE of the off-grid and grid-connected configurations are $0.101/kWh and $0.046/kWh, respectively. The NPC of the off-grid and grid-connected configurations are $227,307 and $145,282, respectively.

Disease surveillance is critical to monitor ongoing control activities, detect early outbreaks and to inform intervention priorities and policies. Unfortunately, most data from disease surveillance remain under-utilised to support decision-making in real-time. Using the Brazilian Amazon malaria surveillance data as a case study, we explore unsupervised anomaly detection machine learning techniques to analyse and discover potential anomalies. We found that our models are able to detect early outbreaks, peak of outbreaks as well as change points in the proportion of positive malaria cases. Specifically, the sustained rise in malaria in the Brazilian Amazon in 2016 was flagged by several models. We also found that no single model detects all the anomalies across all health regions. The approaches using Clustering-based local outlier algorithm ranked first before Principal component analysis and Stochastic outlier selection in maximising the number of anomalies detected in local health regions. Because of this, we also provide the minimum number of machine learning models (top-k models) to maximise the number of anomalies detected across different health regions. We discovered that the top-3 models that maximise the coverage of the number and types of anomalies detected across the 13 health regions are: Principal component analysis, Stochastic outlier selection and Multi-covariance determinant. Anomaly detection approaches provide interesting solutions to discover patterns of epidemiological importance when confronted with a large volume of data across space and time. Our exploratory approach can be replicated for other diseases and locations to inform timely interventions and actions toward endemic disease control.

Endoscopic ultrasound-guided gallbladder drainage (EUS-GBD) is an alternative to surgery for acute cholecystitis (AC) in poor operative candidates. However, the role of EUS-GBD in non-cholecystitis (NC) indications has not been well studied. We compared clinical outcomes of EUS-GBD for AC and NC indications. Consecutive patients undergoing EUS-GBD for all indications at a single center were retrospectively analyzed. Fifty-one patients underwent EUS-GBD during the study period. Thirty-nine (76%) patients had AC while 12 (24%) had NC indications. NC indications included malignant biliary obstruction (n = 8), symptomatic cholelithiasis (n = 1), gallstone pancreatitis (n = 1), choledocholithiasis (n = 1), and Mirizzi’s syndrome (n = 1). Technical success was noted in 92% (36/39) for AC and 92% (11/12) for NC (p &gt; 0.99). Clinical success rate was 94% and 100%, respectively (p &gt; 0.99). There were 4 adverse events in the AC group and 3 in the NC group (p = 0.62). Procedure duration (median 43 vs 45 minutes, p = 0.37), post-procedure length of stay (median 3 vs 3 days, p = 0.97), and total gallbladder related procedures (median 2 vs 2, p = 0.59) were similar. EUS-GBD for NC indications is similarly safe and effective as EUS-GBD in AC.

The challenges to sustainability governance across multiple geographical/cultural contexts lead us to the “piecemeal engineering” idea advocated by the philosopher Karl Popper, which explicitly considers context. We argue for adopting the piecemeal engineering approach, augmented by adaptive policies and modern (online) collaboration platforms to maximize the prospects of sustainable practices worldwide. This recommended course is not intended to be a theory in itself. Rather, it is a well-grounded, practical and practicable stop-gap measure in times when complexity and change outpace theories and strategies. We present a philosophical foundation for this “Augmented Popperian Experimentation.” Focusing on The Water Network (the largest collaborative platform for water researchers and professionals), we show that sustainability-oriented organizations in the water realm and others are inching toward the practice we advocate. We discuss implications.

Wind energy powered pumps could be an alternative to conventional fuel powered pumps for water abstraction because they rely on a free energy and they are environmentally friendly. The objective of this study was to assess the potential of wind energy to operate water abstraction systems in Teso sub-region of Uganda for livestock watering Daily mean wind speeds recorded at a height of 10 m for a period of ten years (2005–2015) were collected from Amuria and Soroti Meteorological stations in the study area. Data were analyzed using Weibull distribution to evaluate the annual wind speed frequency distributions and consequently assess their potential for water abstraction. The results indicated that warmer months (January, February and March) have higher mean wind speeds than the cold months (August, September and October). High wind speeds in the dry seasons corresponded to the periods of high water demand. The highest shape parameter (k) of 3.07 was registered in 2009 and scale parameter (c) of 3.78 in 2012. The highest wind power density of 43 W/m² was obtained the year 2012 while the lowest wind power density of 15.47 W/m² was obtained for Soroti district in the year 2009. The maximum power extractable in Amuria in 2012 was 324 W/m² which is potentially enough for water abstraction. Maximum discharges of 1.86 m³/s and 1.52 m³/s were obtained for Amuria and Soroti districts respectively at mean wind speeds of 5 m/s. Therefore, Teso sub region winds have potential for water abstraction and Amuria district better sites for livestock watering using wind energy.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in a significant surge of critically ill patients and an unprecedented demand on intensive care services. The rapidly evolving understanding of pathogenesis, limited disease specific evidence and demand-resource imbalances have posed significant challenges for intensive care clinicians. COVID-19 is a complex multisystem inflammatory vasculopathy with a significant mortality implication for those admitted to intensive care. Institutional strategic preparation and meticulous intensive care support are essential to maximising outcomes during the pandemic. The significant mortality variation observed between institutions and internationally, despite a single aetiology and uniform presentation, highlights the potential influence of management strategies on outcome. Given that optimal organ support and adjunctive therapies for COVID-19 have not yet been well defined by trial-based outcomes, strategies are predicated on existing literature and experiential learning. This review outlines the relevant pathophysiology and management strategies for critically ill patients with COVID-19, and shares some of the collective learning accumulated in a high volume Severe Respiratory Failure centre in London.

Despite great strides being achieved in improving cancer patients’ outcomes through better therapies and combinatorial treatment, several hurdles still remain due to therapy resistance, cancer recurrence and metastasis. Drug resistance, culminating in relapse and metastatic disease continue to be associated with fatal disease. Cancer stem cells (CSCs) are a subpopulation of cancer cells known to be resistant to therapy and cause metastasis. Whilst the debate on whether CSCs are the origins of the primary tumor rages on, CSCs have been further characterised in many cancers with data illustrating that CSCs display great abilities to self-renew, withstand therapies due to enhanced epithelial to mesenchymal (EMT) properties, enhanced expression of ABC membrane transporters, activation of several survival signaling pathways and increased immune evasion DNA repair mechanisms. CSCs also display great heterogeneity with the consequential lack of specific CSC markers presenting a great challenge to their targeting. In this updated review we re-visit CSCs within the tumor microenvironment (TME) and present novel treatment strategies targeting CSCs. These promising strategies include targeting CSCs-specific properties using small molecule inhibitors, immunotherapy, microRNA mediated inhibitors, epigenetic methods as well as targeting CSC niche-microenvironmental factors and differentiation. Lastly, we present recent clinical trials undertaken to try to turn the tide against cancer by targeting CSC-associated drug resistance and metastasis.

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

Polylactic Acid (PLA) is an organic polymer commonly used in fused deposition (FDM) printing and biomedical scaffolding that is biocompatible and immunologically inert. However, variations in source material quality and chemistry make it necessary to characterize the filament and determine potential changes in chemistry occurring as a result of the FDM process. We used several spectroscopic techniques, including laser confocal microscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and photoacousitc FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) in order to characterize both the bulk and surface chemistry of the source material and printed samples. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) were used to characterize morphology, crystallinity, and the glass transition temperature following printing. Analysis revealed calcium carbonate-based additives which were reacted with organic ligands and potentially trace metal impurities, both before and following printing. These additives became concentrated in voids in the printed structure. This finding is important for biomedical applications as carbonate will impact subsequent cell growth on printed tissue scaffolds. Results of chemical analysis also provided evidence of the hygroscopic nature of the source material and oxidation of the printed surface, and SEM imaging revealed micro and sub-micron scale roughness that will also impact potential applications.

The ability to efficiently recognize the emotions on others’ faces is something that most of us take for granted. Children with callous-unemotional (CU) traits and impulsivity/conduct problems (ICP), such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, have been previously described as being “fear blind”. This is also associated with looking less at the eye regions of fearful faces, which are highly diagnostic. Previous attempts to intervene into emotion recognition strategies have not had lasting effects on participants’ fear recognition abilities. Here we present both (a) additional evidence that there is a two-part causal chain, from personality traits to face recognition strategies using the eyes, then from strategies to rates of recognizing fear in others; and (b) a pilot intervention that had persistent effects for weeks after the end of instruction. Further, the intervention led to more change in those with the highest CU traits. This both clarifies the specific mechanisms linking personality to emotion recognition and shows that the process is fundamentally malleable. It is possible that such training could promote empathy and reduce the rates of antisocial behavior in specific populations in the future.

For Convolutional Neural Network (CNN), Depthwise Separable CNN (DSCNN) is a preferred architecture for Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) implementation on edge devices. It can benefit from a multi-mode approximate multiplier proposed in this work. The proposed approximate multiplier uses two 4-bit multiplication operations to implement a 12-bit multiplication operation by reusing the same multiplier array. With this approximate multiplier, sequential multiplication operations are pipelined in a modified DSCNN to fully utilize the PE array in the convolutional layer. This Approximate (A-DSCNN) was implemented on TSMC 40-nm CMOS process with a supply voltage of 0.9 V. At the clock frequency of 200 MHz, the design achieves 4.78 GOPs/mW while occupying 1.24 mm x 1.24 mm silicon area. Compared to conventional DSCNN implemented in a similar process node, the chip area and power consumption were reduced by 53% and 25%, while the throughput was improved by 17%.

Phosphorylation reactions of glycerol were studied using different inorganic phosphates such as sodium phosphate, trimetaphosphate (a condensed phosphate), and struvite. The reactions were carried out in two non-aqueous solvents: formamide and a eutectic solvent consisting of choline chloride and glycerol in a ratio of 1:2.5. The glycerol reacted in formamide and in the eutectic solvent with phosphate to yield its phosphorylated derivatives in the presence of silicates such as quartz sand and kaolinite clay. The reactions were carried out by heating glycerol with a phosphate source at 85 °C for one week and were analyzed by 31P nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry (MS). The yield of the phosphorylated glycerol was improved by the presence of silicates, and reached 90% in some experiments. Our findings further support the proposal that non-aqueous solvents are advantageous for the prebiotic synthesis of biomolecules, and suggest that silicates may have aided in the formation of organophosphates on the prebiotic earth.

Side-stream EBPR process (S2EBPR) is a new alternative to address the common challenges in EBPR related to weak wastewater influent and to improve EBPR process stability. A systematic evaluation and comparison of the process performance and microbial community structure between four S2EBPR with conventional EBPR configurations in US was conducted. The statistical analysis suggested higher performance stability in S2EBPR than the conventional EBPRs, although possible bias is recognized due to variations in the target permit levels and plant-specific factors among the plants. Total and known PAOs and GAOs abundance and identities were investigated with FISH, DAPI, 16S rRNA gene sequencing and Raman microspectroscopy. The results suggested comparable relative PAO and Candidatus Accumulibacter abundances in S2EBPR and conventional EBPR systems. Tetrasphaera, a putative PAO, was also found at similar abundance in S2EBPR as in conventional facilities, whereas the relative abundance of known GAOs was lower in S2EBPR than those typically seen at conventional EBPRs. Microbial community analyses via 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing revealed differences in the community phylogenetic fingerprints between S2EBPR and conventional plants. Shannon and Inverse Simpson indices, which are combined measures of richness and evenness evaluation of the microbial communities, suggested that the microbial diversity in S2EBPR plants were higher than those in conventional EBPRs.

Atherosclerosis is a chronic systemic inflammatory condition of the vasculature and a leading cause of stroke. Luminal stenosis severity is an important factor in determining vascular risk. Conventional imaging modalities, such as angiography or duplex ultrasonography, are used to quantify stenosis severity and inform clinical care but provide limited information on plaque biology. Inflammatory processes are central to atherosclerotic plaque progression and destabilization. 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET) is a validated technique for quantifying plaque inflammation. In this review, we discuss the evolution of FDG-PET as an imaging modality to quantify plaque vulnerability, challenges to standardization of image acquisition and analysis, its potential application to routine clinical care after stroke, and the possible role it will play in future drug discovery.

Violence against paramedics is widely recognized as a serious, but underreported, problem. While injurious physical attacks on paramedics are generally reported, non-physical violence is less likely to be documented. Verbal abuse can be very distressing, particularly if the harassment targets personal or cultural identities, such as race, ethnicity, gender, or sexual orientation. Leveraging a novel, point-of-event reporting process, our objective was to estimate the prevalence of harassment on identity grounds against paramedics in a single paramedic service in Ontario, Canada, and assess its potentially differential impact on emotional distress. In an analysis of 502 reports filed between February 1, 2021, through February 28, 2022, two paramedic-supervisors independently coded the free-text narrative descriptions of violent encounters for themes suggestive of sexism, racism, and homophobia. We achieved high interrater agreement across the dimensions (k=0.73-0.83), and after resolving discrepant cases, we found that 1 in 4 violent reports documented abuse on at least one of the identity grounds. In these cases, paramedics were 60% more likely to indicate being emotionally distressed than for other forms of violence. Our findings offer unique insight into the type of vitriol paramedics experience in the course of their work and its potential for psychological harm.

Humeral resurfacing arthroplasty (HRA) entails the substitution of the articular surface alone with a prosthetic cap without stem. It is a more conservative procedure which can be easily converted in a total arthroplasty if necessary. The present study aimed to evaluate the clinical and radiographical outcomes in a series of patients treated with HRA. 33 patients with a mean fol-low-up of 11 years were clinically (Constant score; Disability of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand score, DASH) and radiographically assessed before and after surgery. Constant and DASH score improved significantly after surgery, and only 2 cases needed revision surgery. HRA represents a valid therapeutic option in selected cases to improve the quality of life and delaying the need for more invasive procedures.

The impact of systemic vascular resistance (SVR) in hypertrophic (HCM) and amyloid cardio-myopathies has been seldom investigated. We studied pressure-strain loop derived myocardial work (MW) indices and SVR in patients with either sarcomere HCM or wild type transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR), presented with heart failure and preserved left ventricular ejection fraction (HFpEF) at the outpatient cardiology units at Messina and Catania University Hospitals (Italy). Patients were in sinus rhythm and needed to have good transthoracic ultrasound imaging quality to undergo transthoracic strain-echocardiography. Other than conventional parameters, SVR and GWI (global work index) were measured. Based on cross-tabulation (a way to assess the ventricular-arterial coupling), the patients were then classified in 4 classes according to the cut-off values suggested by previous studies of 1,440 dyne/s/cm-5 for SVR (Stefadouros et al., 1973) and 1576 mm Hg% for GWI (Olsen et al., 2022). Sixty patients, 30 in each group, aged 61±16 years, 78% males, were studied. HCM were younger than ATTR patients and in a better clinical status (23% HCM vs 77% ATTR were NYHA class 3, p<0.001). Overall, 51 patients (85%) showed high SVR, of whom 21 were HCM (70%) and 30 ATTR (100%) (p<0.005). Both, SVR and GWI were impaired (the poorest class C) in 43% HCM patients (with greater left ventricular concentric hypertrophy) vs 93% of ATTR patients (in advanced NYHA class) (p<0.001). In conclusion, assessing SVR and GWI in HFpEF patients with HCM or ATTR can help clinicians to interpret the pathophysiological and clinical features of such complex diseases.

In a software-defined radar (SDR) system, most of the signal processing usually implemented in hardware is implemented by software, thus allowing for higher flexibility and modularity compared to conventional radar systems. However, the majority of SDR demonstrators and proofs-of-concept reported in the open literature so far have been based on simple antenna systems. As a result, the full potentialities of an SDR approach have not been completely exploited yet. In this work, we propose a flexilbe antenna module to be integrated into an active electronically scanning array (AESA) with controlled sidelobe level over a wide angular range, exhibiting polarization reconfigurability with low cross-polarization level and high isolation. For this purpose, analytical and numerically efficient techniques for the synthesis of the aperture distribution and the correct evaluation of the radiating features (e.g., beamwidth, pointing angle, sidelobe levels, etc.) are presented in order to grant a real-time control of the digital beamforming network. A sub-array module demonstrator is fabricated and measured to corroborate the concept.

Fires are complex multi-physics problems that span wide spatial scale ranges. Capturing this complexity in computationally affordable numerical simulations for process studies and “outer-loop” techniques (e.g., optimization and uncertainty quantification) is a fundamental challenge in reacting flow research. Further complications arise for propagating fires where a priori knowledge of the fire spread rate and direction is typically not available. In such cases, static mesh refinement at all possible fire locations is a computationally inefficient approach to bridging the wide range of spatial scales relevant to fire behavior. In the present study, we address this challenge by incorporating adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) in fireFoam, an OpenFOAM solver for simulations of complex fire phenomena involving pyrolyzing solid surfaces. The AMR functionality in the extended solver, called fireDyMFoam, is load balanced, models gas, solid, and liquid phases, and allows us to dynamically track regions of interest, thus avoiding inefficient over-resolution of areas far from a propagating flame. We demonstrate the AMR capability and computational efficiency for fire spread on vertical panels, showing that the AMR solver reproduces results obtained using much larger statically refined meshes, but at a substantially reduced computational cost. We then leverage the computational efficiency of the AMR solver to demonstrate an optimization framework for fire suppression based on the open-source Dakota toolkit.

Additive manufacturing (AM) provides opportunities to design objects differently than traditional manufacturing methods allow, but only if designers understand the possibilities AM presents. In this study, we examined whether an AM workshop combined with an idea generation session could inspire engineering professionals to use AM solutions to solve current technical problems they face. All subjects were employees at an organization that will be referred to as Company X, a multinational commercial organization based in North America. During the study, we collected ideas for 24 projects generated before and after a training workshop focused on design for AM. In the workshop, we provided three hours of instruction about design for two metal-based AM processes. The participants’ ideas were assessed using four specific metrics: (1) cost, (2) time,(3) completeness of solution, and (4) quality, which was a function of feasibility, usefulness, and novelty. Using these data, we explored whether the workshop was effective in inspiring the participants to use AM methods and techniques from AM research in their concept generation and whether participants’ AM solutions showed improvement in cost, implementation time, and quality over non-AM designs generated before the workshop.

A key feature of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is the hyperplastic proliferation exhibited by the vascular smooth muscle cells from patients (HPASMC). The growth inducers FOXM1 and PLK1 are highly upregulated in these cells. The mechanism by which these two proteins direct aberrant growth in these cells is not clear. Herein we identify cyclin dependent kinase 1 (CDK1) also termed cell division cycle protein 2 (CDC2), as having a primary role in promoting progress of the cell cycle leading to proliferation in HPASMC. HPASMC obtained from PAH patients and pulmonary arteries from Sugen/hypoxia rats were investigated for their expression of CDC2. Protein levels of CDC2 were much higher in PAH than in cells from normal donors. Knocking down FOXM1 or PLK1 protein expression with siRNA or pharmacological inhibitors lowered the cellular expression of CDC2 considerably. However, knockdown of CDC2 with siRNA or inhibiting its activity with RO-3306 did not reduce the protein expression of FOXM1 or PLK1. Expression of CDC2 and FOXM1 reached its maximum at G1/S, while PLK1 reached its maximum at G2/M phase of the cell cycle. The expression of other CDKs such as CDK2, CDK4, CDK6, CDK7 and CDK9 did not change in PAH HPASMC. Moreover, inhibition via Wee1 inhibitor adavosertib or siRNAs targeting Wee1, Myt1, CDC25A, CDC25B, or CDC25C led to dramatic decreases in CDC2 protein expression. Lastly, we found CDC2 expression at the RNA and protein level to be upregulated in pulmonary arteries during disease progression Sugen/hypoxia rats. In sum, our present results illustrate that the increased expression of FOXM1 and PLK1 in PAH leads directly to increased expression of CDC2 resulting in a potentiated growth hyperactivity of PASMC from patients with pulmonary hypertension. Our results further suggest that the regulation of CDC2, or associated regulatory proteins, will prove beneficial in the treatment of this disease.

Chronic wasting disease is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) of cervids caused by a misfolded variant of the normal cellular prion protein, and is closely related to sheep scrapie. Variations in a host’s prion gene, PRNP, and its primary protein structure, dramatically affect susceptibility to specific prion disorders, and breeding for PRNP variants that prevent scrapie infection has led to steep declines in the disease in North American and European sheep. While resistant alleles have been identified in cervids, a PRNP variant that completely prevents CWD has not yet been identified. Thus, control of the disease in farmed herds traditionally relies on quarantine and depopulation. In CWD-endemic areas, depopulation of private herds becomes challenging to justify, leading to opportunities to manage the disease in situ. In the present study, we developed a selective breeding program for farmed white-tailed deer in a CWD-endemic area, focused on reducing frequencies of highly susceptible PRNP variants and introducing animals with less-susceptible variants into historically high prevalence areas. We found that breeding followed predictable Mendelian inheritance, and early data support our project’s utility in reducing CWD prevalence. This project represents a novel approach to CWD management, with future efforts building on these findings.

Leader-follower autonomy (LFA) systems have so far only focused on vehicles following other vehicles. Though there have been several decades of research into this topic, there has not yet been any work on human-vehicle leader-follower systems. We present a system in which an autonomous vehicle — our ACTor 1 platform — can follow a human leader who controls the vehicle through gestures. We successfully developed a modular pipeline that uses artificial intelligence/deep learning to recognize hand-and-body gestures from a user in view of the vehicle’s camera and translate those gestures into physical action by the vehicle. We demonstrate our work using our ACTor 1 platform, a modified Polaris Gem 2 electric vehicle. This work has numerous applications, such as material transport in industrial contexts.

The recent growth of high-resolution spatial data, especially in developing urban environments, is enabling new approaches to civic activism, urban planning and the provision of services necessary for sustainable development. A special area of great potential and urgent need deals with urban expansion through informal settlements (slums). These neighborhoods are too often characterized by a lack of connections, both physical and socioeconomic, with detrimental effects to residents and their cities. Here, we show how a scalable computational approach based on the topological properties of digital maps can identify local infrastructural deficits and propose context-appropriate minimal solutions. We analyze 1 terabyte of OpenStreetMap (OSM) crowdsourced data to create worldwide indices of street block accessibility and local cadastral maps and propose infrastructure extensions with a focus on 120 Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC) in the Global South. We illustrate how the lack of physical accessibility can be identified in detail, how the complexity and costs of solutions can be assessed and how detailed spatial proposals are generated. We discuss how these diagnostics and solutions provide a multiscalar set of new capabilities – from individual neighborhoods to global regions – that can coordinate local community knowledge with political agency, technical capability, and further research.

While researchers have made notable progress in bio-inspired swimming robot development, a persistent challenge lies in creating propulsive gaits tailored to these robotic systems. The California sea lion achieves its robust swimming abilities through a careful coordination of foreflippers and body segments. In this paper, reinforcement learning (RL) was used to develop a novel sea lion foreflipper gait for a bio-robotic swimmer using a numerically modelled computational representation of the robot. This model integration enabled reinforcement learning to develop desired swimming gaits in the challenging underwater domain. The novel RL gait outperformed the characteristic sea lion foreflipper gait in the simulated underwater domain. When applied to the real-world robot, the RL constructed novel gait performed as well or better than the characteristic sea lion gait in many factors. This work shows the potential for using complimentary bio-robotic and numerical models with reinforcement learning to enable the development of effective gaits and maneuvers for underwater swimming vehicles.

The presence of potentially pathogenic bacteria on veterinary clinic surfaces may be problematic. In this study we collected swab samples (Fisherbrand, double transport swabs with Stuart’s liquid medium) and water samples from five veterinary rehabilitation clinics. Swabs and water samples were transported to a microbiology lab for processing. At the lab swabs were used to inoculated Hardy’s Cdiff Banana broth (for Clostridium difficile [Cdiff]), and five different types of bacterial growth media, including: Hardy CHROM MRSA agar (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA], and S. pseudintermedius [SIM]), Mannitol Salt Agar (S. aureus), Eosin Methylene Blue agar (enterics [ENT]), Pseudomonas Isolation agar (Pseudomonas sp.), and Tryptic Soy Agar [TSA] (non-specific). The most prominent species cultured was Cdiff (on nearly 55% of swabs). Bacillus sp. and Enterics were encountered on nearly 35% of swabs, with MRSA and SIM on just over 10% of swabs. The most contaminated sample site was harnesses/life jackets used with the underwater treadmill (33% of swabs). Underwater treadmill water had total bacterial counts from 1.6 to 2.7 e3 cfu/ml. Of all bacterial species detected SIM tends to be more pathogenic for dogs. Targeted cleaning/disinfecting in these clinics could help reduce risks for both animals and caregivers utilizing these clinics.

Remotely sensed data play a crucial role in monitoring the El-Niño/La-Niña Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is an oceanic-atmospheric phenomenon occurring quasi-periodically with several impacts worldwide, such as specific biological and global climate responses. Since 1980, Earth has witnessed three strong ENSO events (1982–1983, This study aims, 2015-2016). In September 2022, La-Niña entered its third year and was unlikely to continue through 2023. Instead, since 2022 forecasts pointed to a transition from La-Nina to a Neutral phase in summer or late 2023. The onset of the El-Niño occurred around April 2023, and it is anticipated by sophisticated models to be a strong event through the Northern Hemisphere winter (December 2023 - February 2024). The aim of this study is to demonstrate the ability of the combination of two new methods to improve the accuracy of the above claim because El-Niño apart from climate anomalies, significantly impacts Earth’s ecosystems and human societies, regulating the spread of diseases by insects (e.g., malaria and dengue fever), and influencing nutrients, phytoplankton biomass, and primary productivity. This is done by exploring first the previous major El-Niño events in the period January 1876-July 2023. Our calculations show that the ongoing 2023-2024 El-Niño will not be the strongest.

Mammalian cells have evolved to function under Earth’s gravity, but how they respond to microgravity remains largely unknown. Neural stem cells (NSCs) are essential for the maintenance of central nervous system (CNS) functions during development and the regeneration of all CNS cell populations. Here, we examined the behavior of space (SPC)-flown NSCs as they readapted to Earth’s gravity. We found that most of these cells survived the space flight and self-renewed. Yet, some showed autophagy-like behaviors (ALB). To ascertain if the secretome from SPC-flown NSCs contained molecules inducing this behavior, we incubated naïve, non-starved NSCs in a medium containing SPC-NSCs secretome. We found a four-fold increase in the ALB rate. Proteomic analysis of the secretome revealed that the protein of highest content produced by SPC-NSCs was secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine (SPARC), which triggers endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress leading to lethal ALB. These results offer novel knowledge on the response of neural cells, particularly NSCs, subjected to space microgravity. Moreover, some secreted proteins have been identified as microgravity sensing, paving a new venue for future research aiming at targeting SPARC metabolism. Although we did not establish a direct relationship between ALB and SPARC as a potential marker, these results represent the first step in the identification of gravity sensing molecules as targets to be modulated and to design effective countermeasures to mitigate intracranial hypertension in astronauts using structure-based-protein design.

Gout is at least 3 times more prevalent in men than in women. However, concurrent with rising total gout prevalence, complex factors, including comorbidities, diet and lifestyle, and aging, have promoted higher gout prevalence in females. This narrative review focuses on summarizing recent developments in the landscape of gout in women, and mechanisms involved. New knowledge on sex hormone effects on both urate-excreting and urate-reabsorbing transporters, and higher hypertension and chronic kidney disease prevalence in women compared to men, may help explain why gout incidence rises robustly after menopause in women to approach that in men. Racial and ethnic factors, risk profiles based on heritable genetic polymorphisms of urate transporters, and diet, body mass index, and lifestyle factors differ according to sex. In addition, sex differences in clinical phenotypes and outcomes of gout and non-gout illnesses include more frequent comorbidities, more pain and disability during gout flare, different perceptions of disease burden, and more frequent severe cutaneous hypersensitivity reaction to allopurinol in women. Significantly, women with gout also have poorer COVID-19 outcomes than do men. Collectively, such findings support the potential clinical benefits of tailoring gout and hyperuricemia treatment according to sex.

Twelve wild North American Porcupines (Erethizon dorsatum) were diagnosed with dermatopathies while being cared for at two wildlife rehabilitation clinics. Biopsy and necropsy were performed on 7 and 5 animals respectively. Atypical dermatophytosis was diagnosed in all cases. Lesions consisted of diffuse severe epidermal hyperkeratosis and mild hyperplasia, with mild lymphoplasmacytic dermatitis, and no folliculitis. Dermatophytes were noted histologically as hyphae and spores in hair shafts, and follicular and epidermal keratin. Trichophyton sp. was grown in 5/6 animals where culture was performed, with molecular diagnosis of Arthroderma benhamiae / Trichophyton mentagrophytes in these 5 cases. Metagenomic analysis of formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded tissue samples from 3 cases identified fungi from 17 orders in phyla Basidiomycota and Ascomycota. Alteration of therapy from ketaconazole, which was unsuccessful in 4 of 5 early cases, to terbinafine or nitraconazole lead to resolution of disease and recovery to release in four subsequent animals. In all, 6 animals were euthanized or died due to dermatopathy, no cases resolved spontaneously, and 6 cases resolved with therapy. The work we present demonstrates an atypical lesion and anatomical distribution due to dermatophytosis in a series of free-ranging wild porcupines and successful development of novel techniques for extraction and sequencing nucleic acids from fungus in archival formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded animal tissue.

While some research supports utilizing plain radiography for measuring biomechanical alignment of the spine for prognosis and treatment, there are contrasting viewpoints regarding both the value and utilization of these procedures in conservative care. Evaluation of both conservative and non-conservative approaches to spinal care revealed vast differences in radiographic utilization and interpretation between orthopedic surgeons, primary care physicians, chiropractic physicians, and physical therapists, which may account for the different viewpoints and rationale in the literature. A research summary is provided regarding the various methods of spinal analysis utilized by these professions to help determine if there is any unique diagnostic or prognostic value associated with radiographic utilization that could assist in advancing conservative spinal assessment and treatment. Understanding any unique value provided through biomechanical assessment utilizing plain radiography of the spine established in the literature may help chiropractic physicians determine the appropriate use of radiographic procedures in clinical practice and how to coordinate efforts with other conservative and non-conservative professions to improve spinal healthcare.

To date, recanalization interventions are the only available treatments for ischemic stroke patients, however, there are no effective therapies for reducing stroke-induced neuroinflammation. We recently reported that H+ extrusion protein Na+/H+ exchanger-1 (NHE1) plays an important role in stroke-induced inflammation and white matter injury. In this study, we tested the efficacy of two potent NHE1 inhibitors, HOE642 and Rimeporide, with a delayed administration regimen starting at 24 h post-stroke in adult C57BL/6J mice. Post-stroke HOE642 and Rimeporide treatments accelerated motor and cognitive function recovery without affecting the initial ischemic infarct, neuronal damage or reactive astrogliosis. However, delayed administration of NHE1 blockers after ischemic stroke significantly reduced microglial inflammatory activation while enhanced oligodendrogenesis and white matter myelination, with increased proliferation and decreased apoptosis of the oligodendrocytes. Our findings suggest that NHE1 protein plays an important role in microglia-mediated inflammation and white matter damage. Pharmacological blockade of NHE1 protein activity reduced microglia inflammatory responses and enhanced oligodendrogenesis and white matter repair, leading to motor and cognitive function recovery after stroke. Our study reveals the potential of targeting NHE1 protein as therapeutic strategy for ischemic stroke therapy.

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas emitted from carbon fuel combustion. In this study we monitored indoor carbon monoxide (CO) levels for 120 homes over three seasons in the North Denver metropolitan region as part of an environmental justice initiative to quantify health and social well-being impacts from a major freeway construction upgrade nearby. Urban outdoor CO levels are typically very low (less than 1 ppm in Denver) due to air pollution control strategies and technologies implemented over the past several decades. However, people can still be exposed to higher than outdoor levels of CO in their homes due to the operation of indoor appliances that use carbon fuels such as natural gas. Our data show that ~10% of the homes had consistent daily average levels of CO above 3.5 ppm and 24-57% of the homes showed peaks greater than 9 ppm. While much higher levels can result in CO poisoning and fatalities, these lower levels of CO have been associated with adverse health impacts, especially pregnant women, and sensitive populations. Our results highlight the need for increasing awareness regarding CO exposures in homes with gas appliances and motivate the transition from non-electrified homes toward electrification.

Despite great strides in diagnosis and treatment, cardiac diseases remain the number one cause of mortality in the developed world, with rates catching up at an alarming rate in the developing world. Targeted delivery of therapeutics, specifically to cardiomyocytes, would open up new frontiers. Our prior work using a combinatorial in vitro and in vivo phage display methodology identified a 12-amino acid long peptide that targets cardiomyocytes selectively after an intravenous injection in as little as 5 mins, and hence was termed cardiac targeting peptide (CTP: APHLSSQYSRT). CTP has been used to deliver imaging agents, small drug molecules, photosensitizing nanoparticles, exosomes, and even miRNA to cardiomyocytes. As a natural extension for development of CTP as a clinically viable cardiac vector, we now present toxicity studies performed on the peptide. In vitro viability studies were performed in a human left ventricular myocyte cell line with 10µM of Cyanine-5.5 labeled CTP (CTP-Cy5.5). In vitro ion channel profiles were completed for CTP followed by more extensive studies performed by Eurofins in stably transfected cell lines for an extensive list of GPCR-coupled receptors. Positive data for GPCR-coupled receptors was interrogated further with RT-qPCRs performed on mouse heart tissue. In vivo studies consisted of pre- and post-blood pressure monitoring acutely after a single CTP (10 mg/Kg) injection. Further in vivo toxicity studies consisted of injecting 60, 6-week-old, wild-type CD1, male/female mice (1:1) injected with CTP (150 µg/Kg) intravenously. Mice were weighed immediately before injections and daily thereafter. Cohorts of mice were euthanized on day 0, 1, 2, 7 and 14 with inhalational CO2, followed by opening of the chest cavity, collection of blood via cardiac puncture, complete blood count analysis, metabolic profiling, and finally, liver, renal and thyroid studies. Lastly, mouse cardiac MRI was performed immediately before and after injections of CTP (150 µg/Kg) to assess changes in cardiac size or function. Human left ventricular cardiomyocytes showed no decrease in viability after a 30 min incubation with CTP-Cy5.5. In the Eurofins Cardiac Profiler Qube, no significant activation or inhibition of any of seventy-eight protein channels was observed other than OPRM1 and COX2 at the highest tested concentration, neither of which were expressed in mouse heart tissue as assessed by RT-qPCR. There was no change in blood pressures before and after injections with CTP at 10 mg/Kg. Blood counts and chemistries showed no evidence of significant hematological, hepatic or renal toxicities. Lastly, there was no significant difference in cardiac function, size or mass before and after CTP injections. Our studies with CTP showed no activation or inhibition of GPCR-associated receptors in vitro. We found no signals indicative of toxicity in vivo. Most importantly, cardiac functions remained unchanged acutely in response to CTP uptake. Further studies, in good laboratory practices fashion, are needed with more prolonged, chronic administration of CTP conjugated to a specific cargo of choice before human studies can be contemplated.

Activated Corrosion Products (ACPs) formation and deposition pose a critical safety issue for nuclear fusion reactors. The working fluid transports the ACPs towards regions accessible to worker personnel. Predicting ACPs formation deposition and transport is fundamental for source term identification, reduction of radiation exposure assessment, maintenance plan definition, design optimization, and waste management. The code OSCAR-Fusion has been developed by the CEA (France) to evaluate the ACPs generation and transport in closed water-cooled loops for fusion application. This work aims at assessing the impact of water chemistry on the transport, precipitation, and deposition of corrosion products for the EU-DEMO divertor Plasma Facing Unit Primary Heat Transfer System. Sensitivity analyses and uncertainty quantification are needed due to the multi-physics phenomena involved in ACPs formation and transport. The OSCAR-Fusion/RAVEN code coupling developed by the Sapienza University of Rome and ENEA has been used. This work presents the perturbation results of different parameters chosen for a closed water-cooled loop considering a continuous scenario of 1888 days. The aim of this work is to assess the variation of build-up of ACPs, perturbing the alkalizing agent concentration into the coolant and the corrosion and release rates of different materials.

This paper provides an overview of the new CPAM Project on Additive Manufacturing (AM) in design and simulation, focusing on topology & lattice structure optimization for a light-weighting advantage. This industry/academia collaboration project aims to utilize existing hardware and software tools, and investigate the practical limits of the technologies, providing eventual guidelines for general use. This will provide a solid foundation for the practical use of metal AM optimized solid and latticed structures especially for Ti6Al4V parts. Two case studies are demonstrated here, one a purely topology optimized design, and one also incorporating lattice optimized design, both from Ti6Al4V and load-bearing components, to be utilized in the Nelson Mandela University (NMU) Eco-Car Project in competition, late in 2018. This paper presents the Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) process, the challenges met iro applying a DfAM design mindset, and a unique final voxel-based smoothing step finishing off the design process. Detailed structural integrity assessment of these parts are included - the question remains: can Additive Manufacturing help win the race?

High-Intensity Functional Training (HIFT) is a novel exercise intervention that may test body systems in a balanced and integrated fashion by challenging individuals’ abilities to complete mechanical work. However, research has not previously determined if physical work capacity is unique to traditional physiologic measures of fitness. Twenty-five healthy men and women completed a six-week HIFT intervention with physical work capacity and various physiologic measures of fitness assessed pre- and post-intervention. At baseline, these physiologic measures of fitness (e.g., aerobic capacity) were significantly associated with physical work capacity and this relationship was even stronger at post-intervention assessment. Further, there were significant improvements across these physiologic measures in response to the delivered intervention. However, the change in these physiologic measures failed to predict the change in physical work capacity induced via HIFT. These findings point to the potential utility of HIFT as a unique challenge to individuals’ physiology beyond traditional resistance or aerobic training. Elucidating the translational impact of increasing work capacity via HIFT may be of great interest to health and fitness practitioners ranging from strength/conditioning coaches to physical therapists.

Background: The effect of COVID-19 infection, versus the indirect effect of the pandemic on body composition remains unclear. This study investigates long-term changes in body composition in COVID–19 survivors compared to a contemporary control group. Method: This is a prospective study involving adults who had a pre-pandemic whole-body DXA scan (DXA#1) performed between 2017 and 2019. Participants were asked to return for a repeat whole-body DXA scan (DXA#2) after the pandemic. Detailed data were collected including medical and COVID history. Inflammation markers and fasting lipids were measured. For those participants who had a COVID-19 infection between the 2 DXAs, DXA#2 was acquired at least one year after COVID-19 infection. Results: Overall, 160 adults were enrolled; 32.5% females, 51.8% non-white, with mean age of 43.2 years. Half (n=80) of the participants had documented COVID infection between their 2 DXA scans (COVID+ group), and the other half never had COVID. COVID-negative participants had an increase in annualized trunk fat (g) [922.5 vs. 159.7; P=0.01], total fat (g) [1564.3 vs. 199.9; P=0.2], and LBM (g) [974.9 vs. -64.5; P=0.0002], when compared to COVID+ group. However, among the COVID+ group, no differences were seen in annualized trunk fat, total fat mass, or LBM between those with PASC and without (p>0.05). Conclusion: During the pandemic, both COVID-19-survivors and COVID-negative groups exhibited increases in weight, and total and trunk fat, likely associated with pandemic-linked lifestyle modifications. However, only COVID-19-survivors had a decline in lean body mass over the same period, regardless of PASC symptoms.

This paper reports on in-depth qualitative interviews conducted with 69 disabled people in England and Scotland, and with 28 key informants from infrastructure organisations in the voluntary and statutory sectors, about the impact of COVID-19, and measures taken to control it. Participants were recruited through voluntary organisations. As with everyone, the Pandemic has had a huge impact: we discuss the dislocations it has caused in everyday life; the failures of social care; the use of new technologies; and participants’ view on leadership and communication. We conclude with suggestions for urgent short term and medium term responses, so that the United Kingdom and other countries can respond better to this and other pandemics, and build a more inclusive world.

Is it possible to develop a meaningful measure for the complexity of a simulation model? Algorithmic information theory provides concepts that have been applied in other areas of research for the practical measurement of object complexity. This article offers an overview of complexity from a variety of perspectives and provides a body of knowledge with respect to the complexity of simulation models. Key terms of model detail, resolution, and scope are defined. An important concept from algorithmic information theory, Kolmogorov complexity, and an application of this concept, normalized compression distance, are used to indicate the possibility of measuring changes in model detail. Additional research in this area can advance the modeling and simulation body of knowledge toward the practical application of measuring simulation model complexity. Examples show that KC and NCD measurements of simulation models can detect changes in scope and detail.