The work focused on the development of high-temperature electrical insulation coatings for film photovoltaics. The idea was into replacing the electroconductive metal dispersed phase in siloxane high-temperature coating to ceramic particles with phonon thermal conductivity. The slurry of industrial composition based on polysiloxane lacquer and thermally conductive paste containing zinc oxide was centrifuged to obtain a thin, optically transparent coating with the destruction temperature of over 600 °C. Topology, electrical properties, and thermal conductivity of the resulting film were investigated. The mathematical model of thermal processes in films in the course of heating was figured out. Quantitatively the relation of thermal conductivities of a control sample and a sample with a heat-conducting filler was established. The effectiveness of using this technology is shown.

The evaluation of the possibility of obtaining dihaploids by the method of anther culture in vitro to accelerate selection for resistance to prolonged flooding of seeded rice with water was carried out. The object of research is rice hybrids F2 of the Rice Breeding and Seed Production Laboratory of the “Donskoy” ASC, obtained as a result of interbreeding the best economically valuable varieties with samples bearing genes of resistance to prolonged flooding with water. Basic nutrient medium with an optimal composition of nutrition elements and growth hormones stimulating callo- and morphogenesis were used. For the induction of callus formation, 12604 anthers were planted, according to 26 hybrid combinations represented by 68 plants, as a result, 716 neoplasms were obtained, including 586 non–morphogenic callus, 130 regenerating plants. Cultivation of anthers revealed large genotypic differences in the samples. According to the responsiveness to neoplasms, 60% of the panicles showed a positive result, the rest did not give callus. The most responsive to the formation of callus were hybrid combinations: 5009/2 – 84 pcs., 5010/2 – 94 pcs., 4565/3 – 85 pcs., 4641/2 – 69 pcs. They also showed the ability to morphogenesis. Androgenic plants were obtained by 14 hybrid combinations, their share was 1.03% of the total number of inoculated anthers. 30 green regenerative lines from four rice hybrids were obtained, differing in visual morphological assessment: 5009/2 - 5 pcs., 5010/2 – 5 pcs., 4565/3 – 2 pcs., 4641/2 – 18 pcs. The isolated lines are characterized by good responsiveness in the culture of anthers in vitro, carry genes for resistance to prolonged flooding, and can be used in rice breeding programs using DG technologies.

The article presents the results of a morpho-physiological assessment of rice samples by the strength of growth, as well as an assessment of the degree of development of the conducting system of the flag leaves of rice plants. The resistance of varieties to flooding is very relevant in the fight against weeds due to the deep layer of water that weeds cannot overcome. Currently, there are no zoned varieties in Russia that would meet these requirements. Therefore, the problem of creating such rice varieties is urgent, as it will reduce production costs, reduce grain losses during harvesting, improve the quality of the products obtained, and also reduce the pesticide load on the ecosystem. As a result of research, a number of studied samples revealed the potential to quickly lengthen the first leaves, overcome a large layer of water and accumulate vegetative mass. As a result of the evaluation of the conducting system of the flag leaf of rice plants, it was found that in plants with the flood resistance gene Sub1A, which stops growth under water, the conductive beams were smaller in comparison with other fast-growing samples with the AG, Sk genes. Consequently, fast-growing samples have bigger sizes of the conducting system as a resistance mechanism.

This paper investigates pseudo-polymorphism in 2-pyridylmethoxy derivatives of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene (PyC4), p-tert-butyldihomooxa-calix[4]arenes (PyHOC4), and p-tert-butylhexahomotrioxacalix[3]arenes (PyHO3C3), presenting 11 crystal structures with 15 crystallographically independent molecules. The macrocycle of PyC4 is smaller and less flexible with respect to those of PyHOC4 and PyHO3C3 and in solution, the cone conformation of these three molecules exhibit different point symmetries: C4, Cs and C3, respectively. A correlation is observed between the macrocycle's structural rigidity and the number of pseudo-polymorphs formed. The more rigid PyC4 displays a higher number (6) of pseudo-polymorphs compared to PyHOC4 and PyHO3C3, which exhibit a smaller number of crystalline forms (3 and 2, respectively). The X-ray structures obtained show that the conformation of the macrorings is primarily influenced by the presence of an acetonitrile guest molecule within the cavity, with limited impact from crystal packing and intermolecular cocrystallized solvent molecules. Notably, both calix[4]arene derivatives produce host-guest complex with acetonitrile, while the most flexible and less aromatic PyHO3C3 do not give crystals with acetonitrile as guest. Intertwined 1D and 2D solvent channel networks were observed in the PyHOC4-hexane and in the PyHO3C3-H2O-MeOH crystal structures, respectively, while the other pseudopolymorphs of PyHOC4 and PyHO3C3 and all PyC4 crystal forms exhibit a closely packed crystal structures without open channels.

To achieve n-type doping in diamond, extensive investigations employing first principles have been conducted on various models of phosphorus doping and boron-phosphorus co-doping. The primary focus of this study is to comprehensively analyze the formation energy, band structure, density of states, and ionization energy of these structures. It is observed that within a diamond structure solely composed of phosphorus atoms, the formation energy of an individual carbon atom is excessively high. However, the substitution of two carbon atoms leads to the conversion of diamond into a p-type semiconductor. Upon examining the P-B co-doping structure, it is revealed that the doped impurities exhibit a tendency to form more stable cluster configurations. As the separation between the freely doped atoms and the cluster impurity structure increases, the overall stability of the structure diminishes, consequently resulting in an elevation of the ionization energy. Analysis of the electronic density of states demonstrates that the electron orbit of the B atom makes negligible contributions to the impurity levels during P-B doping.

This theoretical article reviews the model describing processes in social systems based on the analysis of their resource base. Application of the system theory can help to explain why some systems are aimed at prevention of type I errors, while other seek to decrease quantity of type II errors. Such differences are manifested in investment of resources either into deep interaction or into wide coverage. Some examples of such strategies in economic, market and production systems are provided in the article. The article introduces some provisions of the system theory in the context of the resource flows. The main indicators that are considered in this article are the characteristics of the sources of the exchanging flows of resources. Their relative frequency and quality are investigated, on the basis of which the most effective strategy of the system is derived, as a mechanism for redistributing resources. The rigor of the system's strategy depends on the magnitude of the difference in characteristics. It is explained how exactly it influences the exchange processes, that in reality systems do not interact simultaneously, and one of the opposite resource flows is always delayed. It is shown how the system strategy depends on the risks linked with interactions. Also, there are grounds for the need to accumulate resources, including in the situation of their surplus. The model helps also explain shift of economic centers throughout history. Additionally, there is an analogy between systems strategies and the competitive strategies described by M. Porter, and outsourcing versus integration.

Malaria parasites increase their host erythrocyte’s permeability to obtain essential nutrients from plasma and facilitate intracellular growth. In the human P. falciparum pathogen, this increase is mediated by the plasmodial surface anion channel (PSAC) and has been linked to CLAG3, as encoded by one member of the conserved clag multigene family. Whether paralogs encoded by other clag genes also contribute to PSAC formation or serve unrelated roles remains unknown. Here, we generated transfectant lines carrying epitope-tagged versions of each CLAG. Each paralog colocalized with CLAG3, with concordant trafficking via merozoite rhoptries to the host erythrocyte membrane of newly-invaded erythrocytes. Each also exists within infected cells in at least two forms: an alkaline-extractable soluble form and a form integral to the host membrane. Like CLAG3, CLAG2 has a variant region cleaved by extracellular protease but CLAG8 and CLAG9 are protease-resistant. Paralog knockout lines, generated through CRISPR/Cas9 transfection, exhibited uncompromised growth in PGIM, a modified medium with more physiological nutrient levels; this finding is in marked contrast to a recently reported CLAG3 knockout parasite. CLAG2 and CLAG8 knockout lines exhibited compensatory increases in transcription of remaining clags and associated rhoph genes, yielding increased PSAC-mediated uptake to specific solutes. We also report distinct transport properties of these knockout lines, suggesting partially overlapping roles of CLAG paralogs in PSAC activity. We propose that the nutrient channel pore is formed by a higher order assembly of CLAG proteins at the host membrane.

There is much interest in effective copper chelators to correct copper dyshomeostasis in neurodegenerative and oncological diseases. In this study, a recombinant fusion protein for expression in E. coli cells was constructed from glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and the N-terminal domain (ectodomain) of human high affinity copper transporter CTR1 (hNdCTR1), which has three metal-bound motifs. Several biological properties of the GST-hNdCTR1 fusion protein were assessed. It was demonstrated that in cells, the protein was prone to oligomerization, formed inclusion bodies and displayed no toxicity. Treatment of E. coli cells with copper and silver ions reduced cell viability in a dose- and time-dependent manner. Cells expressing GST-hNdCTR1 protein demonstrated resistance to the metal treatments. These cells accumulated silver ions and formed nanoparticles that contained AgCl and Ag0. In this bacterial population, filamentous bacteria with length about 10 μm were often observed. The possibility for the fusion protein carrying extracellular metal binding motifs to integrate into the cell’s copper metabolism and its chelating properties are discussed.

We introduce the notion of p-adic magic contraction on p-adic Hilbert space. We derive p-adic Halmos dilation, p-adic Egervary N-dilation, p-adic von Neumann inequality and p-adic Sz.-Nagy dilation for p-adic magic contraction.

Regeneration is a fundamental process much attributed to functions of adult stem cells. In last decades delivery of suspended adult stem cells is widely adopted in regenerative medicine as a leading mean of cell therapy. However, adult stem cells can not complete the task of human body regeneration effectively by themselves as far as they need a receptive microenvironment (the niche) to engraft and perform properly. Understanding of mechanisms underlying mammalian regeneration lead us to an assumption that improved outcomes of cell therapy requires a specific microenvironment generated in damaged area prior to stem cell delivery. To certain extent it may be achieved by delivery of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC), not in dispersed form, but rather self-organized in cell sheets (CS) – tissue-like structures comprising of viable cells and microenvironment components: extracellular matrix and soluble factors deposited in the matrix. In this communication we highlight a potential role of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) as regeneration organizers and speculate that this function emerges in CS. This concept shifts our understanding of therapeutic mechanism underlying a widely known CS-based delivery method for regenerative medicine.

This article presents description of social structures such as, for example, states, in the context of their consideration as systems. Moreover, it seeks to develop K. Marx’s model in terms of systematic approach, as well as to justify the application of the Fibonacci sequence to systems in general and, in particular, to social systems. The description covers a wide range of issues, ranging from the assertion of the basic principle of living systems as patterns in resources flows to description of functions of various aspects of states and their economics in terms of objective needs of such structures. In addition, this article justifies synergetic effect based on proposed model, and the way this effect is applied to state systems. Moreover, it includes the description of main changes of socio-economic formations throughout the history as a natural development of social systems, including possible modern stages. The fundamental tool of this description is description of essence of the mechanism of property rights and its formation options. The differences of two extreme directions of such development are also described on the basis of the objective factor of resource provision. Special attention is given to the concept of surplus value as a feature of social production systems.

We propose a description of the electromagnetic field in the form of a four-component complex spinor, from which a vector of electromagnetic potential with two degrees of freedom, calibrated by two conditions - zero length and zero component along the y-axis - is obtained by using Pauli matrices. A similar approach is applied to the field of a fermion, in particular, the electron. It is known that the quantum field of the electron and the electron itself is a four-component complex spinor, so, existing in the Minkowski vector space, we cannot observe it directly. But with the help of Pauli matrices a vector is formed from the electron spinor, which is known to us as an electric current vector, and this current vector describes exactly a single particle. As a vector, it is available to us for observation in our vector space. Similarly, the electromagnetic field and its photon particle is also a four-component spinor, from which the universal formula using Pauli matrices produces a vector, it is known to us as the electromagnetic potential vector, and it too describes even a single photon. All the differences in the properties of the current vector and the electromagnetic potential vector, and hence the electron and the electromagnetic field, are due only to a slight difference in the structures of their four-component spinors and inextricable linked to them momentum spinors and coordinate spinors. Expressions for the electric and magnetic fields of a photon during its interaction with an electron.Thus, a unified way to describe bosons and fermions in spinor space is proposed. Each spinor using the same formula corresponds to a vector, in the case of a fermion it is a current vector, in the case of a boson it is a vector, for example, of the electromagnetic potential. Each spinor of a field is matched with a spinor of coordinates and a spinor of momentum, which are transformed by the same Lorentz transformations and which have the same structure as their corresponding field spinor, that is, the momentum and coordinates of boson have a bosonic spinor structure, while momentum and coordinates of fermion are a spinor with a fermionic structure. Field, coordinates and momentum vectors of boson automatically have a zero length, while in the case of fermion they all have a nonzero length, so the fermion, in contrast to the boson, has a nonzero mass, nonzero charge and moves with a sub light speed.While quantum mechanics treats probability as a real number, quantum field theory deals with probability as a four-dimensional real vector. The place of the probability amplitude, which in quantum mechanics is a complex number, in quantum field theory is taken by a complex spinor.In the same way as in quantum mechanics the processes of propagation and interaction are described at the level of complex probability amplitudes, and the final result is translated into a real probability value, so in quantum field theory all processes should be described in terms of complex spinor space, and the result is translated into the form of a real vector in Minkowski space.The presented approach, at its proper development, makes it possible to carry out calculations of the interaction of particles in two-dimensional spinor space, and to interpret in terms of the Minkowski vector space only the final results.

In this paper, we define and investigate modified p-Leonardo, p-Leonardo-Lucas and p-Leonardo sequences as special cases of the generalized Leonardo sequence. We present Binet's formulas, generating functions, Simson formulas, and the summation formulas for these sequences. Moreover, we give some identities and matrices related with these sequences. Furthermore, we show that there are close relations between modified p-Leonardo, p-Leonardo-Lucas, p-Leonardo numbers and Fibonacci, Lucas numbers.

This theoretical article provides a brief description of the model of living systems' functioning by defining them as resource flows patterns. It reviews the living systems growth limitation between their development cycles by the Fibonacci sequence. Besides, there are presented systems resource base criteria, necessary for accumulating the resources and their investment. The article also considers the conditions for the formation of various systems strategies. Then we reviewed the principles of elemental analysis of information by a person as a living system according to the considered model. The study also shows the possibility of forming priorities in analyzing information for 16 combinations as maximum. At that, it remains crucial to divide a human's information analysis between the two hemispheres of the brain. The described combinations of priorities in a person's information analysis are compared with the existing differential personality models, such as the big five personality traits, the Myers-Briggs type indicator, temperaments model and Honey and Mumford Learning styles.

The temporo-spatial theory of consciousness postulates that the brain implements its own inner time and space for conscious processing of outside world. In line with this hypothesis, I present a mechanistic model of mutually connected processes that encode the inner space and time. The model is used to elaborate the binding mechanism between two sets of processes representing the inner space and time, respectively. Further, a stochastic version of the model is developed to investigate the interplay between the binding strength and noise. The spectral entropy is used to characterize the noise effects on the systems of processes when the binding strength is varied. The stochastic modeling results reveal that the spectral entropy values for strongly bound systems have similar entropy values for weakly bound or even decoupled systems. Thus, the analysis performed in this study allows to conclude that the binding mechanism is noise-resilient.

The arrest of Pavel Durov, the CEO of Telegram, represents a critical moment in the ongoing discourse surrounding free speech and content moderation. This event exemplifies the tension between upholding individual liberties and addressing the potential societal harms caused by unregulated digital communication. This paper explores the implications of Durov’s arrest and Telegram’s stance on free speech through the lens of John Stuart Mill’s Harm Principle. The Harm Principle, as articulated in Mill’s seminal work On Liberty (1859), provides a valuable theoretical framework for examining the balance between individual freedom and societal protection. This paper argues that the application of the Harm Principle can offer a nuanced perspective on the ethical responsibilities of digital platforms like Telegram in the age of global communication.

Physical processes are usually described using four-dimensional vector quantities - coordinate vector, momentum vector, current vector. But at the fundamental level they are characterized by spinors - coordinate spinors, momentum spinors, spinor wave functions. The propagation of fields and their interaction takes place at the spinor level, and since each spinor uniquely corresponds to a certain vector, the results of physical processes appear before us in vector form. For example, the relativistic Schrödinger equation and the Dirac equation are formulated by means of coordinate vectors, momentum vectors and quantum operators corresponding to them. In the Schrödinger equation the wave function is represented by a single complex quantity, in the Dirac equation a step forward is taken and the wave function is a spinor with complex components, but still coordinates and momentum are vectors. For a closed description of nature using only spinor quantities, it is necessary to have an equation similar to the Dirac equation in which momentum, coordinates and operators are spinors. It is such an equation that is presented in this paper. Using the example of the interaction between an electron and an electromagnetic field, we can see that the spinor equation contains more detailed information about the interaction than the vector equations. This is not new for quantum mechanics, since it describes interactions using complex wave functions, which cannot be observed directly, and only when measured goes to probabilities in the form of squares of the moduli of the wave functions. In the same way spinor quantities are not observable, but they completely determine observable vectors.In Section 2 of the paper, we analyze the quadratic form for an arbitrary four-component complex vector based on Pauli matrices. The form is invariant with respect to Lorentz transformations including any rotations and boosts. The invariance of the form allows us to construct on its basis an equation for a free particle combining the properties of the relativistic wave equation and the Dirac equation. For an electron in the presence of an electromagnetic potential it is shown that taking into account the commutation relations between the momentum and coordinate components allows us to obtain from this equation the known results describing the interactions of the electron spin with the electric and magnetic field. In section 3 of the paper this quadratic form is expressed through momentum spinors, which makes it possible to obtain an equation for the spinor wave function in spinor coordinate space by replacing the momentum spinor components by partial derivative operators on the corresponding coordinate spinor component. Section 4 presents a modification of the theory of the path integral, which consists in considering the path integral in the spinor coordinate space. The Lagrangian densities for the scalar field and for the electron field, along with their corresponding propagators, are presented. An equation of motion for the electron is proposed that is relativistically invariant, in contrast to the Dirac equation, which lacks this invariance. This novel equation permitted the construction of a relativistically invariant procedure for the second quantization of the fermion field in spinor coordinate space.

Novel tetragonal matrix Ba0.5Gd0.5-xNaxF2.5-x, where x = 0.05, doped by Yb3+, Ho3+, Er3+, was synthesized by molten salt synthesis (MSS) from nitrate flux. XRD data show that tetragonal phase with a = 4.122(1) Å, c = 17.672(1) Å is stable in argon atmosphere up to 960 °C. Luminescence spectra recorded in 500-900 nm and 1050-1700 nm upon 974 nm pumping demonstrated the characteristic luminescence at 1550 nm (4I13/2 → 4I15/2) for Er3+ and 1150 nm (5I6 → 5I8) for Ho3+. The relative thermal sensitivity (Sr) at 296-316 K were 0.3 %*K-1 and 5.5%*К-1 in shortwave infrared (SWIR) and visible range, respectively. Synthesized luminophores can be used as dual-range optical temperature sensors, which simultaneously operating in visible and SWIR ranges.

The spectrophotometric methods of determination of the active pharmaceutical ingredients meloxicam and nimesulide were reviewed, and a simple UV-spectrophotometric method for the determination of these active pharmaceutical ingredients in industrial equipment cleaning validation samples were proposed. The methods are based on extraction of the residual quantities of meloxicam and numesulide from the manufacturing equipment surface by the concentrated sodium carbonate solution, and the subsequent UV-spectrophotometric determination of the basic forms of the drugs at the wavelength of 362 nm for meloxicam and at 397 nm for nimesulide. The calibration graphs are linear in the range from 5 to 25 mg/L of both nimesulide and meloxicam, the molar attenuation coefficients are 6100 m2/mol for nimesulide and 9100 m2/mol for meloxicam, the limit of detection is 0.8 mg/L for nimesulide and 1.9 mg/L for meloxicam, the limit of quantification is 2.5 mg/L for nimesulide and 5.8 mg/L for meloxicam, the methods are selective with respect to the common excipients, show a good accuracy (the relative uncertainty does not exceed 4%) and precision (the relative standard deviation does not exceed 5%), do not require lengthy sample preparation and sophisticated laboratory equipment and are suitable for the routine analysis of cleaning validation samples.

Reactions of quinones with compounds containing an amino group can produce a wide variety of addition or substitution products that depend on reactivity of both quinone and amino derivative. 6,7-Dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-diones undergo selective nucleophilic substitution reaction with different benzohydrazides and α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine derivatives stabilized by strong intramolecular hydrogen bond were isolated. Synthesized compounds represent a combination of several structural motifs: benzimidazole core fused with α-hydroxy-p-quinone imine which contains a benzamido fragment. The protonation/deprotonation processes were investigated in a solution using UV-Vis spectroscopy and 1H NMR titration experiment. X-ray crystallography analysis revealed a set of weak non-covalent interactions such as intra- and intermolecular hydrogen bonds and π-π stacking. Additionally, the redox behavior of 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione and its p-imino derivative was investigated in acidic and neutral environment using cyclic voltammetry measurements. Cathode material based on 6,7-dichloropyrido[1,2-a]benzimidazole-8,9-dione could act as potential effective active electrode in aqueous electrolyte batteries, however further optimization is required.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is an opportunistic Gram-negative bacterium that remains a prevalent clinical and environmental challenge. Quorum sensing (QS) molecules are effective biomarkers in pinpointing the presence of P. aeruginosa. This study aimed to develop a convenient-to-use whole-cell biosensor using P. aeruginosa reporters individually encapsulated within alginate-poly-L-lysine (alginate-PLL) microbeads to specifically detect the presence of bacterial autoinducers. The PLL-reinforced microbeads were prepared using a two-step method involving ionic crosslinking and subsequent coating with thin layers of PLL. The alginate-PLL beads showed good stability in the presence of a known cation scavenger (sodium citrate), which typically limits the widespread applications of calcium alginate. In media containing synthetic autoinducers, such as N-(3-oxo dodecanoyl) homoserine lactone (3-oxo-C12-HSL) and N-butanoyl-L-homoserine lactone (C4-HSL) or cell-free supernatants of planktonic or flow cell biofilm effluent of wild P. aeruginosa (PAO1), the encapsulated bacteria enabled a dose-dependent detection of the presence of these QS molecules. The prepared bioreporter beads remained stable during prolonged storage at 4 and -80 °C and were ready for on-the-spot sensing without the need for recovery. This whole-cell biosensor demonstrates the practicality of the encapsulated bioreporter for bacterial detection based on specific QS molecules.

Crop production in Afghanistan suffers from limited phosphorus (P) availability, which severely hinders national agriculture sustainability. This present study hypothesized that deep fertilizer placement could significantly enhance uptake of immobile P and thus tissue P accumulation and crop yield. A two-year pot experiment growing two maize (Zea mays) hybrid cultivars (Xida-789 and Xida-211) was therefore conducted to test these hypotheses under three contrasting fertilizer placement methods (broadcast, side band, and deep band). In doing so, P concentrations in both maize tissues and soils were compared at 45, 60, and 115 days after sowing (DAS) under nine combinations of nitrogen (N) and P fertilizer rates (kg ha-1: N112P45, N112P60, N112P75, N150P45, N150P60, N150P75, N187P45, N187P60, N187P75). Results have shown that deep band placement significantly increased P uptake efficiency, leading to greater P concentration and accumulation in maize tissues compared to other two fertilization methods. This improved P uptake was attributed to several factors associated with deep placement, including reduced P fixation, enhanced root access to P, and moisture availability for P uptake. Additionally, deep band placement combined with higher N application rates (N187 and N150) further enhanced plant P uptake by promoting P availability and utilization mechanisms. Deep band placement also resulted in significantly higher total soil P, Olsen-P, and P use efficiency than broadcast and side band methods, indicating a more efficient P fertilization strategy for maize that can improve growth and yield. This present study also found positive correlations between P concentration in plant organs and soil Olsen-P, highlighting the importance of adequate soil P levels for optimal plant growth. Overall, our results have showed that deep band fertilizer placement emerged as a superior strategy for enhancing P uptake efficiency, utilization, and maize productivity compared to broadcast and side band placement. This approach can potentially optimize P fertilizer utilization, improve maize growth and yield, while minimizing environmental P losses associated with broadcast applications.

We introduce the notion of p-adic equiangular lines and derive the first fundamental relation between common angle, dimension of the space and the number of lines. More precisely, we show that if {τj} n j=1 is p-adic γ-equiangular lines in Qd p , then (1) |n| 2 ≤ |d| max{|n|, γ2 }. We call Inequality (1) as the p-adic van Lint-Seidel relative bound. We believe that this complements fundamental van Lint-Seidel [Indag. Math., 1966] relative bound for equiangular lines in the p-adic case. Keywords: Equiangular lines, p-adic Hilbert space.

Social customer relationship management (SCRM) is a new philosophy influencing the relationship between customer and organization, where the customer gets opportunity to control relationship through social media. The paper aims on (a) identification of current level of SCRM and also on (b) influence of basic organizational characteristics on SCRM level. The data were gathered through the questionnaire distributed in 362 organization headquartered in the Czech Republic. The questionnaire comprised 54 questions focusing on the significance of marketing and CRM practices, establishing a relationship with the customer, online communities, the use of social media in marketing, and acquiring and managing information. The majority of questions were scalable and used typical five-level Likert scale. Results showed that larger firms more often set up their own online communities and manage them strategically, moreover they are able to manage information better. Contrariwise, small sized organizations use social networks as a way to establish communication with the customer more than large sized entities. Use of social media for marketing purposes is significantly higher in organizations oriented on consumer markets than on business markets.

One of the important features of polymethine (cyanine) dyes is isomerization around one of C–C bonds of the polymethine chain. In this review, spectral properties of the isomers, photoisomerization and thermal back isomerization of carbocyanine dyes, mostly meso-substituted carbocyanine dyes, are considered. meso-Alkyl-substituted thiacarbocyanine dyes are present in polar solvents mainly as cis isomers and, hence, exhibit no photoisomerization, whereas in nonpolar solvents, in which the dyes are in the trans form, photoisomerization takes place. In contrast, the meso-substituted dyes 3,3′-dimethyl-9-phenylthiacarbocyanine and 3,3′-diethyl-9-(2-hydroxy-4-methoxyphenyl)thiacarbocyanine occur as trans isomers and exhibit photoisomerization in both polar and nonpolar solvents. The behavior of these dyes may be explained by the fact that the phenyl ring of the substituent in their molecules can be twisted at some angle, removing the substituent from the plane of the molecule and reducing its steric effect on the conformation of the trans isomer. In some cases, photoisomerization of cis isomers of meso-substituted carbocyanine dyes is also observed (for some meso-alkyl-substituted dyes complexed with DNA and chondroitin-4-sulfate; for 3,3′-diethyl-9-methoxythiacarbocyanine in moderate polarity solvents). The cycle photoisomerization–thermal back isomerization of cyanine dyes can be used in various systems of information storage and deserves further investigation using modern research methods.

The effective Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system can improve the reliability, safety and economic benefits of microgrid operation. In this research, the lower central controller and upper WEB monitoring system are connected by the SCADA system which is as the hub of microgrid intelligent monitoring platform. This system contains a set of specific functions programmed by Java as a middleware which can provide control and communication between the central controller and the upper monitoring system. The system realizes the real-time data acquisition and storage, the control instructions parsing and transmitting, the microgrid security and stability, the load balancing and resource recovery of the microgrid. All that functions have been tested and verified in the actual operation.

The efficient preparation of single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) rings, as a macromolecular construction approach with topological features, has aroused much interest due to their numerous applications in biotechnology and DNA nanotechnology. However, an extra splint is essential for enzymatic circularization, and by-products of multimers are usually present at high concentrations. Here, we proposed a simple and robust strategy of using permuted precursor (linear ssDNA) for circularization by forming an intramolecular dynamic nick using a part of the linear ssDNA substrate itself as the template. After the simulation of the secondary structure for desired circular ssDNA, the linear ssDNA substrate is designed to have its ends on the duplex part (≥5 bp). By using this permuted substrate with 5'-phosphate, the splint-free circularization is simply carried out by T4 DNA ligase. Very interestingly, formation of only several base pairs (2–4) flanking the nick is enough for ligation, although they form only instantaneously under ligation conditions. More significantly, the 5 bp intramolecular duplex part commonly exists in genomes or functional DNA, demonstrating the high generality of our approach. Our findings are helpful for understanding the mechanism of enzymatic DNA ligation from the viewpoint of substrate binding.

Background/Objectives: Direct oral anticoagulants (DOACs) are first-line medications for stroke prevention in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (AF). However, variability in drug response poses risks of hemorrhagic or thromboembolic events. The role of genetics in determining DOAC safety is gaining attention, but evidence linking specific genetic polymorphisms to bleeding risk is lacking. Therefore, the aim of our study was to conduct an Exome-Wide Association Study with 198 non-valvular AF patients treated with rivaroxaban or apixaban, including 97 with bleeding complications and 99 without. Methods: DOAC plasma concentrations, 6-β-hydroxycortisol and cortisol levels in urine were measured for CYP3A4 phenotyping. Sequencing was performed on the DNBSEQ G-400 platform. Single nucleotide variants (SNV) associations with bleeding risk were assessed using logistic regression with additive, dominant, and recessive genetic models. Results: No SNVs reached Bonferroni-corrected significance in any genetic model. Polygenic risk scores (PRS) showed weak predictive ability for bleeding with apixaban. For rivaroxaban, regression indicated that ln Css min/D + 1 index increased with PRS, age, and 6-β-hydroxycortisol/cortisol ratio, but decreased with higher 6-β-hydroxycortisol and coronary heart disease presence. Conclusions: The findings revealed that the residual equilibrium concentration of anticoagulants, including dose-adjusted, cannot alone predict bleeding risk in non-valvular AF patients. No new genetic variants associated with bleeding risk were identified.

The flow around thick airfoils at low Reynolds numbers and the possibility of using energy methods to control flowfield, increase lift and reduce drag are considered. For calculations, a series of propulsion airfoils is used, obtained by a combination of solving the inverse problem of aerodynamics and stochastic methods of global optimization. The calculations take into account the transition from the laminar flow regime to the turbulent one, which has a significant effect on the lift and airfoil drag. The applicability of various turbulence models for airfoil modelling at low Reynolds numbers is discussed. The results of numerical simulation make it possible to determine the dependence of the lift coefficient on the angle of attack and the optimal flow rate of air taken from the airfoil surface for each angle of attack. The results of numerical simulation are compared with the data of a physical experiment, and conclusions are drawn about the accuracy of various turbulence models.

In theory and applications, it is often inevitable to work with projectors onto convex sets, where a linear transform is involved. In this article, a novel projector is presented, which generalizes previous results in that it admits a broader family of linear transforms, but on the other hand it is limited to box-type convex sets in the transformed domain. The new projector has an explicit formula and it can be interpreted within the framework of proximal optimization. The benefit of the new projector is demonstrated on an example from signal processing, where it was possible to speed up the convergence of a signal declipping algorithm by a factor of more than two.

This article investigates if public investments in rural basic infrastructure represent the best strategy for boosting the local economy of rural communities from Romania. The article focuses on one specific program implemented under the Cohesion policy in the framework of the National Plan for Rural Development called Measure 322. Geographically, the research included a sample of rural communes from the North-Western Region of Romania. Moreover, the study also looks at other determinants of local economic development (LED) than infrastructure investments, with a focus on certain feature characterizing Romanian rural communities such as population size, isolation from urban centers, connection with European and national roads networks, educational stock, etc. The research included three steps, namely the construction of the LED Index, a cvasi-experimental research, and a regression model. Our main findings seem to suggest that while investments in infrastructure help the development gap between beneficiaries and non-beneficiaries remains relatively the same. In terms of determinants of LED, percentage of population with a university degree and connection to a European road are the most significant in the Romanian rural context.

The main goal of this article is the characterization of Herz-type Besov-Morrey spaces K˙p,qαN˙μ,rs and Triebel-Lizorkin-Morrey spaces K˙p,qαE˙μ,rs via ball means of differences, atomic, molecular and wavelet decompositions. There are provided necessary facts for implying these results, which can help to explore such spaces on different domains in further researches. Proposed spaces allow to extend the class of studying functions, containing Leray projection, heat semi-group and other operators, which can be helpful in exploring weak, strong and mild solutions of nonlinear partial differential equations.

The real-time Railway Traffic Management Problem (rtRTMP) is discussed in the field of railway transportation. In this paper, rtRTMP is considered for planning shunting routes based on the use of routing methods on a spatial-temporal graph. An approach and algorithm of Spatial-Temporal Graph formation for rail yard transportation network is proposed. The idea is to construct an undirected loop-free Double Vertex Graph for determining optimal shunting routes consisting of several half-runs for several trains shunting under draw-out tracks capacity constraints. Experimental results on the rail yard simulation model are presented.

The task of determining the distance from one object to another is one of the important tasks solved in robotics systems. Conventional algorithms rely on an iterative process of predicting distance estimates, which results in an increased computational burden. Algorithms used in robotic systems should require minimal time costs, as well as be resistant to the presence of noise. To solve these problems, the paper proposes an algorithm for Kalman combination filtering with a Goldschmidt divisor and a median filter. Software simulation showed an increase in the accuracy of predicting the estimate of the developed algorithm in comparison with the traditional filtering algorithm, as well as an increase in the speed of the algorithm. The results obtained can be effectively applied in various computer vision systems.

In the paper is described the control electronics for an industrial pneumatic – hydraulic system based on a low-cost PLC. The developed system is a hydraulic pulse system and it generates series of high pressure hydraulic pulses (max. 200 bar). We describe requirements, an overall concept of the embedded control system, user interface, security features and network connectivity. In the description of the software solution we describe implementation of hierarchical ordered program threads (multithreaded program) and main control state machine. At the conclusion, we describe the calibration method of the system and calibration curves and we present the schematic diagram and a photo of a functional prototype of the system.

Fluorescent hydrogels are promising candidate materials for portable biosensors to be used in point-of-care diagnosis because (1) they have a greater capacity for binding organic molecules than immunochromatographic test systems, determined by the immobilization of affinity labels within the three-dimensional hydrogel structure; (2) fluorescent detection is more sensitive than the colorimetric detection of gold nanoparticles or stained latex microparticles; (3) the properties of the gel matrix can be finely tuned for better compatibility and detection of different analytes; and (4) hydrogel biosensors can be made reusable and suitable for studying dynamic processes in real time. Water-soluble fluorescent nanocrystals are widely used for in vitro and in vivo biological imaging due to their unique optical properties, and hydrogels based on them allow preserving these properties in bulk composite macrostructures. Here we review the techniques for obtaining analyte-sensitive fluorescent hydrogels based on nanocrystals, the main methods used for detecting the fluorescent signal changes, and the approaches to the formation of inorganic fluorescent hydrogels via sol–gel phase transition using surface ligands of the nanocrystals.

Innovative tissue engineering biomimetic hydrogels based on hydrophilic polymers have been investigated for their physical and mechanical properties. 5% to 25% by volume loading PHEMA-nanosilica glassy hybrid samples were equilibrated at 37°C in aqueous physiological isotonic and hypotonic saline solutions (0.15 and 0.05 M NaCl) simulating two limiting possible compositions of physiological extracellular fluids. The glassy and hydrated hybrid materials were characterized both for dynamo-mechanical properties and equilibrium absorptions in the two physiological-like aqueous solutions. Mechanical and the morphological modifications occurring in the samples have been described. The 5% volume nanosilica loading hybrid nanocomposite composition showed mechanical characteristics in the dry and hydrated states that were comparable to those of cortical bone and articular cartilage, respectively, and then chosen for further sorption kinetics characterization. Sorption and swelling kinetics were monitored up to equilibrium. Changes in water activities and osmotic pressures in the water-hybrid systems equilibrated at the two limiting solute molarities of the physiological solutions have been related to the observed anomalous sorption modes using the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter approach. The bulk modulus of the dry and glassy PHEMA-5% nanosilica hybrid at 37°C has been observed to be comparable with the values of the osmotic pressures generated from the sorption of isotonic and hypotonic solutions. The anomalous sorption modes and swelling rates are coherent with the difference between osmotic swelling pressures and hybrid glassy nano-composite bulk modulus: the lower the differences the higher the swelling rate and equilibrium solution uptakes. Bone tissue engineering benefits of use of tuneable biomimetic scaffold biomaterials that can be “designed” to act as biocompatible and biomechanically active hybrid interfaces are discussed.

This article presents the results of the consideration of the Bertrand paradox in terms of geometric probability theory. Although the method and conclusions of this article are straightforward, no equivalent studies were found when reviewing the relevant literature. This could be conditioned by the fact that the hypotheses presented in this research have low intuitive obviousness and, in contrast, could be due to the historically established agreement regarding the issue. This article shows that out of three classical solutions to the problem described by Bertrand, two methods are inconsistent with the claimed relative objectivity. Although the remaining solution (1/4) seems to be the most correct, we cannot claim that we have exhaustively ruled out all aspects that could reduce its adequacy to solve the problem.

The brain’s ability to create a unified conscious representation of an object by integrating information from multiple perception pathways is called perceptual binding. Binding is crucial for normal cognitive function. Some perceptual binding errors and disorders have been linked to certain neurological conditions, brain lesions, and conditions that give rise to illusory conjunctions. However, the mechanism of perceptual binding remains elusive. Here, we present a computational model of binding using two sets of coupled oscillatory processes that are assumed to occur in response to two different percepts. We use the model to study the dynamic behavior of coupled processes to characterize how these processes can modulate each other and reach a temporal synchrony. We identify different oscillatory dynamic regimes that depend on coupling mechanisms and parameter values. The model can also discriminate different combinations of initial inputs that are set by initial states of coupled processes. Decoding brain signals that are formed through perceptual binding is a challenging task, but our modeling results demonstrate how crosstalk between two systems of processes can possibly modulate their outputs. Therefore, our mechanistic model can help one gain a better understanding of how crosstalk between perception pathways can affect the dynamic behavior of the systems that involve perceptual binding.

Maxwell’s equations are valid only for a stationary observation point, therefore, to adequately describe real processes so far we have had to move to a moving reference frame. This paper presents the equations of electrodynamics for the moving observation point, it is shown that plane and spherical electromagnetic waves are their solutions, while the spherical wave propagates only outward, which cannot be said about Maxwell’s equations. The fields of uniformly moving charges are also solutions of the equations. Now there is no need to move to a moving reference frame, to use four-dimensional space and covariant form of equations. The question of finding a universal form of the equations that allows a solution in the form of the field of an arbitrarily moving charge remains open. This raises the question of the existence of a two-parameter group of transformations of electromagnetic fields along with the known one-parameter group has been posed. The phenomena derived from the equations, which make an additional contribution to the phase overrun in the Aharonov-Bohm effect are considered. The equation of motion of a charged particle in an electromagnetic field without simplifying approximations is considered, which allows us to take into account the radiation effects. It is shown that the fields in a moving observation point depend on its velocity and acceleration. In particular, although in a constant uniform electric field a force qE acts on a motionless charged particle, but on the same motionless but not fixed particle the force 4/3qE acts already, because it has a nonzero acceleration and the electric field at this point is larger. As the speed increases, the field decreases, and when it reaches the speed of light, when the particle stops accelerating, the force again becomes equal to qE The principle of operation of an unconventional alternator in a constant electric field and its corresponding engine, as well as new types of direct and impulse current generators, predicted by the equations, are described.

The Colebrook equation is a popular model for estimating friction loss coefficients in water and gas pipes. The model is implicit in the unknown flow friction factor . To date, the captured flow friction factor can be extracted from the logarithmic form analytically only in the term of the Lambert -function. The purpose of this study is to find an accurate and computationally efficient solution based on the shifted Lambert -function also known as the Wright -function. The Wright -function is more suitable because it overcomes the problem with the overflow error by switching the fast growing term of the Lambert -function to the series expansions that further can be easily evaluated in computers without causing overflow run-time errors. Although the Colebrook equation transformed through the Lambert -function is identical to the original expression in term of accuracy, a further evaluation of the Lambert -function can be only approximate. Very accurate explicit approximations of the Colebrook equation that contains only one or two logarithms are shown. The final result is an accurate explicit approximation of the Colebrook equation with the relative error of no more than 0.0096%. The presented approximations are in the form suitable for everyday engineering use, they are both accurate and computationally efficient.

In this paper, we prove the existence of three solutions for a $p$-Kirchhoff problem with $\psi$-Hilfer fractional derivative. To be more precise, we use the variational method and we prove that the associated functional energy admits a critical point in each of the three constructed sets, these critical points are weak solutions for a studied problem. Moreover, by definition of these sets, one of these solutions is positive, the second is negative, and the third one change sign. At the end of this work, we present an example to validate our main results.

Dielectric elastomers, such as thermoplastic polyurethanes (TPU), are widely used as dielectric layer, emulation layer and substrate of flexible and stretchable devices. To construct capacitors and actuators that work stably upon deformation, it has become an urgent need to investigate the evolution of dielectricity under stress and strain. However, the lack of effective methods for estimating the dielectric constant of elastomers under strain poses a big challenge. This article reports a device for in-situ measuring the dielectric constant of TPU under strain. It is found that upon stretching TPU to a strain of 400%, its dielectric constant decreases from 8.47 to 2.94. In addition, combined Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray scattering technique, and atomic force microscopy have been utilized to characterize the evolution of microstructure under strain. The investigation under tensile strain reveals that a decreased density and average size of polarized hard domains, along with a tendency of the molecular chains to align in parallel with the tensile stress. The evolution of the microstructures results in a reduction of the dielectric constant parallel to the electric field in TPU. Our work provides valuable experimental reference for improving the stability of flexible sensors and actuators based on dielectric elastomers.

Mass transfer restrictions of scaffolds are currently hindering the development of three-dimensional (3D), clinically viable, and tissue engineered constructs. For this situation, a 3D poly(lactide-co-glycolide)/hydroxyapatite porous scaffold, which was much favorable for transfer of nutrients to and waste products from the cells in the pores, was developed in this study. The 3D scaffold had an innovative structure, including macropores with diameters of 300−450 μm for cell ingrowth and microchannels with diameters of 2−4 μm for nutrition and waste exchange. The mechanical strength in wet state was strong enough to offer the structural support. The typical structure was more beneficial for the attachment, proliferation, and differentiation of rabbit bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (rBMSCs). The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity and calcium (Ca) deposition were evaluated on the differentiation of rBMSCs, and the results indicated that the microchannel structure was very favorable for differentiating rBMSCs into maturing osteoblasts. For repairing rabbit radius defects in vivo, there was rapid healing in the defects treated with the 3D porous scaffold with microchannels, where the bridging by a large bony callus was observed at 12 weeks post-surgery. Based on the results, the 3D porous scaffold with microchannels was a promising candidate for bone defect repair.

Materials based on platinum metals with very good catalytic activity were tested in the reduction of p–nitrophenol (pNP) to p–aminophenol (pAP). The majority of presented catalytic materials are based on the adsorption of p–nitrophenol on the surface of the catalyst simultaneously with molecular hydrogen, coming from sodium borohydride in an aqueous medium, which reduces it. In the present paper, a catalytic material based on osmium dispersed in n–decanol or n–dodecanol is presented, which also works as an emulsion membrane, for the absorption of p–nitrophenol and molecular hydrogen at the n–alcohol aqueous solution interface. The hydrogenation of p–nitrophenol is carried out in a reaction and separation column in which the acid receiving phase emulsion is dispersed in the osmium nanodispersion, in n–alcohols. This emulsion circulates from the base of the column to its upper part in co-current or counter-current with the source phase consisting of p–nitrophenol and sodium borohydride. Experiments show that the circulation of counter-current phases is superior to that in co-current, and the emulsion based on n–decanol is more efficient than the one based on n–dodecanol. The increase in the pH difference between the source and receiving phases leads to the increase in the conversion of p–nitrophenol to p–aminophenol. The efficiency of separation of the reaction product in the receiving phase is lower than the conversion at the same operating time. The apparent catalytic rate constant (kapp) of the new catalytic material based on the emulsion membrane with nanodispersion of osmium nanoparticles (0.1×10−3 for n–dodecanol and 0.9×10−3 for n-decanol) is lower by an order of magnitude compared to those based on adsorption on catalysts from platinum metal group. The advantage of the tested membrane catalytic material is that it extracts p–aminophenol in the acid receiving phase. The paper proposes a mechanism of the studied reduction system.

In this paper, we introduce the (ρ,q)-analogue of the p-adic factorial function. By utilizing some properties of (ρ,q)-numbers, we obtain several new and interesting identities and formulas. We then construct the p-adic (ρ,q)-gamma function by means of the mentioned factorial function. We investigate several properties and relationships belonging to the foregoing gamma function, some of which are given for the case p = 2. We also derive more representations of the p-adic (ρ,q)-gamma function in general case. Moreover, we consider the p-adic (ρ,q)-Euler constant derived from the derivation of p-adic (ρ,q)-gamma function at x = 1. Furthermore, we provide a limit representation of aforementioned Euler constant based on (ρ,q)-numbers. Finally, we consider (ρ,q)-extension of the p-adic beta function via the p-adic (ρ,q)-gamma function and we then investigate various formulas and identities.

Accelerating, exact, explicit and simple solutions of relativistic hydrodynamics allow for a simple and natural description of highly relativistic p+p collisions. These solutions yield a finite rapidity distribution, thus they lead to an advanced estimate of the initial energy density of high energy collisions. We show that such an advanced estimate yields an initial energy density in $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV p+p collisions at LHC around or above the critical energy density from lattice QCD, and a corresponding initial temperature above the critical temperature from QCD and the Hagedorn temperature. This suggests that the collision energy of the LHC corresponds to a large enough initial energy density to create a non-hadronic perfect fluid even in pp collisions. %We also show, that several times the %critical energy density may have been reached in high multiplicity events, hinting at a non-hadronic medium created in %high multiplicity $\sqrt{s}=7$ and 8 TeV p+p collisions.

In spite of large-scale investigations of homogeneous single-site metallocene catalysts and systems based on them, the problem of controlling their activity, chemo- and stereoselectivity with the aim of developing efficient methods for the preparation of practically useful products of alkenes transformation, such as dimers, oligomers, and polymers, still remains topical. Here we studied catalytic activity of differently structured zirconocenes (10 examples of cyclopentadienyl and indenyl complexes) and co-catalysts activating the system, namely HAlBui2, MMAO-12 or (Ph3C)[B(C6F5)4] at low activator/Zr ratios in 1-hexene oligomerization reaction. The influence of catalyst structure and system composition on alkene conversion, type of products formed and reaction stereoselectivity was investigated. The composition of hydride intermediates forming in the systems L2ZrCl2 (L2= ansa-Me2CCp2)-HAlBui2-activator was studied by NMR and the participation of biszirconium hydride complex as the precursor of catalytically active sites of the alkene dimerization reaction was shown.

P versus NP is considered as one of the most fundamental open problems in computer science. This consists in knowing the answer of the following question: Is P equal to NP? It was essentially mentioned in 1955 from a letter written by John Nash to the United States National Security Agency. However, a precise statement of the P versus NP problem was introduced independently by Stephen Cook and Leonid Levin. Since that date, all efforts to find a proof for this problem have failed. Another major complexity class is NP-complete. It is well-known that P is equal to NP under the assumption of the existence of a polynomial time algorithm for some NP-complete. We show that the Monotone Weighted Xor 2-satisfiability problem (MWX2SAT) is NP-complete and P at the same time. Certainly, we make a polynomial time reduction from every directed graph and positive integer k in the K-CLOSURE problem to an instance of MWX2SAT. In this way, we show that MWX2SAT is also an NP-complete problem. Moreover, we create and implement a polynomial time algorithm which decides the instances of MWX2SAT. Consequently, we prove that P = NP.

It is increasingly common for experiments in biology and medicine to involve large numbers of hypothesis tests. A natural graphical method for visualizing these tests is to construct a histogram from the p-values of these tests. In this article, we examine the shapes, both normal and abnormal, that these histograms can take on, as well as present simple inferential procedures that help to interpret the shapes in terms of diagnosing potential problems with the experiment. We examine potential causes of these problems in detail, and discuss potential remedies. Throughout, examples of abnormal-looking p-value histograms are provided and based on case studies involving real biological experiments.

The method of micro-arc oxidation has been utilized to synthesize a protective biocompatible coating for a bioresorbable orthopedic Mg implant. This paper presents the results of a comprehensive research of micro-arc coatings based on diatomite – a biogenic material consisting of shells of diatom microalgae. The main focus of this study was the functionalization of diatomite-based micro-arc coatings by incorporating the particles of titania (TiO2) into them. Various properties of the resulting coatings were examined and evaluated. The XRD analysis has revealed the formation of a new magnesium orthosilicate phase – forsterite (Mg2SiO4). It has been established that the corrosion current density of the coatings has decreased by 2-4 orders of magnitude after the inclusion of TiO2 particles, depending on the coating process voltage. The adhesion strength of the coatings has increased following the particle incorporation. The processes of dissolution of both coated and uncoated samples in a sodium chloride solution were studied. The in vitro cell viability was assessed, which showed that the coatings significantly reduce the cytotoxicity of Mg samples.

A series of dinuclear copper(I) N,C,N- and P,C,P-carbodiphosphorane (CDP) complexes using multidentate ligands CDP(Py)2 (1) and (CDP(CH2PPh2)2 (13) have been isolated and characterized. Detailed structural information was gained by single crystal XRD analyses of nine representative examples. The common structural motive is the central double ylidic carbon atom with its characteristic two lone-pairs involved into binding of two geminal L-Cu(I) fragments at Cu-Cu distances in the range 2.55 – 2.67 Å. In order to enhance conformational rigidity within the characteristic Cu-C-Cu triangle, two types of chelating side arms were symmetrically attached to each phosphorus atom: two 2-pyridyl functions in ligand CDP(Py)2 (1) and its dinuclear copper complexes 2-9 and 11, as well as two diphenylphosphinomethylene functions in ligand CDP(CH2PPh2)2 (13) and its di- and mononuclear complexes 14-18. Neutral complexes were typically obtained via reaction of 1 with Cu(I) species CuCl, CuI, and CuSPh or via salt elimination reaction of [(CuCl)2(CDP(Py)2] (2) with sodium carbazolate. Cationic Cu(I) complexes were prepared upon treating 1 with two equivalents of [Cu(NCMe)4]PF6, followed by the addition of either two equivalent of an aryl phosphine (PPh3, P(C6H4OMe)3) or one equivalent of a bisphosphine ligands DPEPhos, XantPhos or dppf. For the first time carbodiphosphorane CDP(CH2PPh2)2 (13) could be isolated upon treating its precursor [CH(dppm)2]Cl (12) with NaNH2 in liquid NH3. A protonated and a deprotonated derivative of ligand 13 were prepared and their coordination was compared to neutral CDP ligand 13. NMR analysis and DFT calculations reveal, that the most stable tautomer of 13 does not show a CDP (or carbone) structure in its uncoordinated base form. For most of the prepared complexes, photoluminescence upon irradiation with UV light at room temperature was observed. Quantum yields (PL) were determined to 36% for dicationic [(CuPPh3)2(CDP(Py)2)](PF6)2 (4) and to 60% for neutral [(CuSPh)2(CDP(CH2PPh2)2] (16).

The growth of two pairs of co-cultures (Escherichia coli/Geotrichum candidum, and Staphylococcus aureus/Geotrichum candidum) with a starter culture of lactic acid bacteria was studied in milk at temperatures related to artisanal cheesemaking ripening. For an inoculum of approximately 106 CFU/mL, LAB not only induced an early stationary phase of E. coli (two strains BR and PS2) and S. aureus (strains 2064 and 14733) but affected their death phase. G. candidum was found to be the subject of interactions with LAB within a given temperature range only partially. To develop a tertiary model for the growth curves of the populations, a one-step approach was used, combining two types of primary models (Huang and Gimenez and Dalgaard) with secondary square root models for growth rate and lag time. Furthermore, the reparametrized Gompertz-inspired function with the Bigelow secondary model was used to describe the death phase of the E. coli and S. aureus strains. The prediction ability of the growth of the H-GD tertiary model for co-cultures was cross-validated within the strains and data sets in milk and milk medium with 1 % NaCl.

Anesthesia ensures the welfare of the animal, enables safe and effective procedures, and allows accurate data collection [1]. In clinical veterinary practice, proper training and expertise in anesthesia administration and monitoring are essential. Pigs are commonly used in medical and scientific research as models for studying various aspects of human health, physiology, and disease due to their physiological and anatomical similarities to humans [2–4]. Pigs are suitable experimental animals for many surgery techniques because they are similar in size to humans and have a short reproductive cycle. This makes them ideal for research concerning organ transplantation, cardiovascular surgery, and other procedures that require a large animal model. Pigs also have a similar anatomy to humans, which makes them a good choice for studying diseases and developing new treatments [5]. Sedation and premedication should be administered at the lowest dose to be effective with predictable results and reduced adverse effects, to ensure the safety of both the animal and the team involved in the procedure, with a fast onset and optimizing the induction and maintenance of anesthesia. The goal of induction is to achieve a safe and effective level of anesthesia that ensures the patient's safety and facilitates the research. Most of the time, inhalation anesthesia with endotracheal intubation is the ideal choice for maintenance., allowing efficient anesthetic management. The difficulties related to the endotracheal intubation of pigs can be overcome by knowing the anatomical peculiarities related to the species and the multiple methods cited in the literature. Effective analgesia tailored to the specific procedure, the pig's condition, and individual responses to medications should complete the maintenance and recovery protocols, reducing perioperative complications.

The main objective of this work is the assessment of the annual number of hospital admissions for respiratory disease (HARD) due to the exposure to in-healable particulate matter (PM10), within the greater Athens area (GAA), Greece. Towards this aim, the time series of the particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter less than 10μm (PM10) recorded in six monitoring stations located in the GAA, for a 13-year period 2001-2013, is used. Initially, a descriptive statistical treatment of PM10 concentrations took place. Furthermore, the AirQ2.2.3 software developed by the WHO was used to evaluate adverse health effects by PM10 in the GAA during the examined period. The results show that, during the examined period PM10 concentrations present a significant decreasing trend. Also, the mean annual HARD cases per 100,000 inhabitants ranged between 20 (suburban location) and 40 (city centre location). Approximately 70% of the annual HARD cases are due to city centre residents. In all examined locations, a declining trend in the annual number of HARD cases is appeared. Moreover, a strong relation between the annual number of HARD cases and the annual number of days exceeding the European Union daily PM10 threshold value was found.

The application of graph theory in chemical and molecular structure research far exceeds people's expectations, and it has recently grown exponentially. In the molecular graph, atoms are represented by vertices and bonded by edges. In this report, we study the silicon-carbon Si₂C₃-I[p,q] and Si₂C₃-II[p,q]. We compute several Zagreb polynomials and Redefined Zagreb indices of these silicon-carbons.

The increase in the frequency of droughts in Africa has increased the interest in crops with drought escape mechanisms like grain Amaranth (Amaranthus hypochondriacus). However, the white-seeded grain Amaranth is easily cross-pollinated by its black seeded wild relatives such as smooth pigweed (Amaranthus hybridus). A study to investigate a minimum isolation distance enough to prevent seed contamination study was carried out at three sites namely Gweru and Bindura (2020/2021 rainy season) and Shamva (2021/2022 rainy season). Smooth pigweed was planted at distances of 3 to 150 m from pure grain Amaranth. Close monitoring of phenology and measurement of meteorological conditions such as temperature, wind speed and direction were done during the anthesis period. Cross-pollination in grain Amaranth was influenced by distance from the pollen source. A maximum of 12.9 % contamination rate was measured within the 10 m radius from the pollen donor plot and a minimum outcrossing rate of 0.45 % was recorded at the widest distance of 150 m. It can be concluded that complete removal of wild relatives of grain Amaranth is important within the field at as far as 150 m from the crop.

Alcoholic liver disease (ALD) develops when the immunotolerant environment of the liver is compromised due to excessive alcohol consumption. ALD progression involves variations in the expression of multiple genes, resulting in liver inflammation and the development of a leaky gut. Molecular mechanism involved for ALD progression is still unclear, and due to that there are currently no FDA-approved drugs available for its treatment. In this study, the protective effects of Graphene oxide nanoparticles (GO) was investigated against ethanol-induced damage in the gut-liver axis in in vitro. GO was synthesized using a modified Hummer's method and characterization was done. Given the general concerns regarding nanoparticle toxicity, assessment of cell viability, lipid accumulation, DNA damage, cell death, and the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) were conducted using various techniques. Furthermore, gene expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines was done using RT-qPCR. The findings revealed that GOs promoted cell viability even against ethanol treatment. Additionally, lipid accumulation significantly decreased when cells were treated with GO alongside ethanol compared to ethanol treatment alone, with similar trends observed for other assays. Gene expression analysis indicated that GO treatment reduced the expression of proinflammatory cytokines while enhancing the expression of antioxidant genes. Moreover, GO treatment led to improvements in gut permeability and a reduction in proinflammatory cytokines in colon cells damaged by ethanol. These findings suggest that GO holds promise as a drug carrier, exhibiting no observed toxic effects. By shedding light on the protective effects of GO against ethanol-induced damage, this study contributes to the burgeoning field of nanoparticle-mediated therapy for ALD.

Some peptide-based drugs including oxytocin, vasopressin, ziconotide, pramlintide, nesiritide, and octreotide, contain one intramolecular disulfide bonds. A novel and reusable monodispersed silica nanosphere-supported Pt(IV) complex (SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV)) was synthesized via a four-step procedure and used for formation of intramolecular disulfide bonds in peptides. TEM and chemical mapping results for the Pt(II) intermediates and for SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV) show that the silica nanospheres possess a monodisperse spherical structure and contain uniformly distributed Si, O, C, N, Cl, and Pt. The valence state of Pt on the silica nanospheres was characterized by XPS. The Pt(IV) loaded on SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV) was 0.15 mmol/g, as determined by UV-vis spectrometry. Formation of intramolecular disulfides in six dithiol-containing peptides of variable lengths by use of SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV) was investigated and the relative oxidation yields were determined by HPLC. In addition, peptide 1 (Ac-CPFC-NH2) was utilized to study the reusability of SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV). No significant decrease in the relative oxidation yield was observed after ten reaction cycles. Moreover, the structure of SiO2@TPEA@Pt(IV) after being used ten cycles was determined to be similar to its initial one, demonstrating the cycling stability of the complex.

In synthetic diamond plate, the intrapulse correlated dynamics of self-phase modulation and spontaneous Raman scattering by optical phonons were for the first time directly investigated for tightly focused (focusing numerical aperture NA = 0.25) positively-chirped visible-range ultrashort laser pulses with variable durations (0.3-9.5 ps) and energies, transmitted through the sample. The observed modulation of the transmitted light spectra and Stokes Raman scattering spectra for the different pulse durations were related to nonthermal excitation of nonlinear phonon polarization and its eventual picosecond-scale suppression due to thermal decay of optical phonons on the timescale of electron-phonon thermalization in the material.

A theoretical framework for agricultural landscape pattern transitions in rural areas is proposed to fill the gap of current research with an empirical study in the Alabata farm settlement in Ogun State, Southwest Nigeria. Adopting the use of ArcGIS 10.8 and Surfer 27.3 to calculate the surface area and volume of the ground surface degraded and exposed to harsh weather conditions due to both natural and man-made anthropogenic activities causing runoffs and continuous soil erosion, which has affected agricultural production and sent some of the farmers packing and abandoning their farmlands. The farm settlement within the total sampled frame area of 1.50 km² covers a total distance of 5.11 km. The sample frame was divided into 36 frames with similar ecological terrain and soil types, which fell into either identified soil types 1 and 2. The study completed a questionnaire onsite using three major criteria. Only 23 farmers responded positively to the few questions with farmers either living on the farm or working as hired laborers on-site at the visit. The transition characteristics of agricultural landscape patterns as represented in abandoned land, and orchards are analyzed from a local perspective.

Silver in different forms is used for medical purposes from ancient times. It is not yet well known, which form of silver is more biocompatible and less toxic. Here we considered silver nanoparticles and silver citrate. Also, the relationships of neurotoxicity of silver compaunds with ageing factor is not yet described. To assess the role of nanoform in neurotoxicity of silver and role of ageing a long-term experiment was conducted. We had four control groups of intact mice and four experimental groups which were exposed to silver nanoparticles and silver citrate for two months. Four groups of mice were introduced into the experiment since the age of five months to assess ageing factors. It was shown that the nanoform does play a certain role in neurotoxicity of silver. Silver citrate seems to be a more preferable silver compound. Ageing can be regarded as a positive factor that neutralizes toxic action of silver compounds. It may be due to the development of physiological/cognitive functions with the age as well as adaptation to unnatural content in the individual cages that is definitely stressful for mice.

The structure characterization of two new polysaccharides from Agrocybe aegerita (AA-P) and Hygrophorus olivaceoalbus (HO-P) by HPGPC, GC-MS, NMR and FT-IR indicated that AA-P was composed of Galactose, Glucose and Arabinose, in the ratio of 3:2:1. Its skeleton structure was consisted of (1→4)-Arap, (1→4,6)-Glup and (1→6)-Galp with one branched chain. The HO-P was consisted of mannose, galactose and glucose in a ratio of 1:1:2. Its skeleton structure was consisted of (1→6)-Galactose residues, (→1)-glucose residues, (1→4)-glucose residues and (1→4,6)-D-mannose residues. There were two branched chains connected to the main chain. AA-P and HO-P had the best stimulation effect on B cells and RAW264.7 cells, respectively, and could both mainly by impacting and reducing G0/G1 phase which lead to a significant proliferation of B cells, T cells and RAW264.7 cells. In addition, AA-P and HO-P could significantly promote the secretion of TNF-α from T cells, the secretion of IgA, IgD, IgE, IgG and IgM from B cells, and the secretion of TNF-α from RAW264.7 cells, but neither of them could impact the secretion of IL-1β from RAW264.7 cells.

This study presents a novel Fe-CNs-P/S carbon composite material, synthesized by doping elements P and S into NH2-MIL-101 (Fe) using carbonization method. The material's application in sustainable water treatment was evaluated, focusing on its effectiveness in activating persulfate for pollutant degradation. The research thoroughly investigates the synthesis process, structural characteristics, and performance in degrading pollutants. Results indicate that Fe-CNs-P/S-5 with 50% P and S co-doping is higher than that of other samples, where the degradation rate of TC in 30min is as high as 98.11% under the optimum conditions, that is temperature at 25 ℃, 0.05 g/L of catalyst concentration, and 0.2 g/L of PMS concentration. The composite material demonstrates robust versatility and stability, maintaining high degradation efficiency across multiple organic pollutants, with no significant reduction in catalytic performance after four cycles. Furthermore, the free radical quenching experiments displays that the singlet oxygen 1O2 is the main active species. It is demonstrated that the doping of P and S play a role in the enhancement of PMS activation over the Fe-CNs-P/S catalyst. This material demonstrates remarkable efficacy in treating a range of organic contaminants and exhibits excellent reusability, presenting a promising approach for enhancing sustainability in water treatment applications.

K-band radar waves have high penetration and low attenuation coefficients. However, the wavelength of this radar wave is relatively short; thus, designing and preparing both broadband and wide-angle radar wave absorbers in this band presents considerable challenges. In this study, a resin-based K-band radar wave absorber with a biomimetic lotus leaf structure was designed and formed by UV curing. Here, microscale lotus leaf papillae and antireflection structures were prepared using a DLP 3D printer, and the contact angle between the material and water droplets was increased from 56° to 130°. In addition, the influence of the geometric parameters of the lotus leaf antireflection structure on the electromagnetic absorption performance and mechanical strength was investigated. After simulation optimization, the maximum electromagnetic loss of the lotus leaf structure 3D printed sample was −32.3 dB, and the electromagnetic loss was below −10 dB in the 20.8–26.5 GHz frequency range. When the radar incidence angle was 60°, the maximum electromagnetic loss was still less than −10 dB. The designed lotus leaf structure has a higher mechanical energy absorption per unit volume (337.22 KJ/m3) and per unit mass (0.55 KJ/Kg) than commonly used honeycomb lightweight structures during the elastic deformation stage, and we expect that the designed structure can be used as an effective lightweight material for K-band radar stealth.

Gelatin fibers have a specific surface and high porosity, which is why their use in medicine and the food industry is being researched. This article explores the potential of centrifugal spinning to produce gelatin fibers. Gelatin for fiber preparation is obtained from a non-traditional source of collagen (chicken by-products) using a unique enzymatic process. The fiber quality is compared with those prepared from traditional collagen tissues (porcine, bovine). The results show that fibers crosslinked with glutaraldehyde vapor preserve their structure even in contact with water. Using a cross-linker controls swelling ability and solubility while maintaining the fiber structure. On the contrary, uncross-linked gelatin fibers are water soluble due to a high surface-to-volume ratio, facilitating water penetration and dissolution. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) provided a clearer picture of the morphology of gelatin fibers obtained by centrifugal spinning. Differences in the amount of bonding depending on the raw material used and the presence of cross-linker were analyzed using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The overall results showed that chicken gelatin is a suitable alternative to gelatins from traditional sources.

The question does P = NP has confounded mathematicians and computer scientists alike for over 50 years and although there is an almost unanimous agreement that it in fact does not, there still is no absolute proof. In this paper, I attempt to prove to that P does not equal NP.

The laser melting process (DED-LB-p) is used for the production of large components due to the high deposition rates. The large number of process parameters and printing strategies makes it difficult to optimize this process to achieve the optimal properties. Intensive post-processing is still the main obstacle to the widespread use of this process. In this work, the relationship between different printing strategies, printing strategies and process parameters on the microstructural, and tensile mechanical performance at room temperature is investigated. The porosity was measured in both printing directions. Grain orientation and size were analyzed by EBSD. A very low porosity of less than 0.4% was found in all printed samples. The samples printed with the optimized offset printing strategy show a significant improvement in tensile strength of 1000 MPa without heat treatment compared to other processing routes.

The normal growth and development of skeletal muscle is essential for the health of the body. The regulation of skeletal muscle by intestinal microorganisms and their metabolites has been continuously revealed. Acetate is the predominant short-chain fatty acid synthesized by gut microbiota through the fermentation of dietary fiber, however, the underlying molecular mechanisms governing the interaction between acetate and skeletal muscle during rapid growth stage remain to be further elucidated; Here, specific pathogen-free (SPF) mice, germ-free (GF) mice, and germ-free mice supplemented with sodium acetate (GS) were used to evaluate the effects of acetate on skeletal muscle growth and development of young mice with gut microbiota deficiency; We found the concentration of serum acetate, body mass gain, succinate dehydrogenase activity and expression of myogenesis maker gene of skeletal muscle in the GS group was higher than GF group following sodium acetate supplement. Furthermore, the transcriptome analysis revealed that acetate activated biological processes regulating skeletal muscle growth and development in GF group that are inhibited due to gut microbiota deficiency. In vitro experiment, we proved that acetate up-regulated Gm16062 to promote skeletal muscle cell differentiation; Overall, our findings proved that acetate promote skeletal muscle growth and development in young mice via increase Gm16062 expression.

In the research we consider a structure-fluid interaction of oscillating piezodevice and acoustic liquid. Such problem requires finding resonance or anti-resonance frequencies of the solid structure to use them in the latter frequency-response analyses step. After finite element discretization of the issue, we need to solve a generalized eigenvalue problem (GEP). The most efficient numerical method for solving the partial GEP is the shift-and-invert Lanczos method. Each step of this algorithm requires solving a large scale system of linear algebraic equations (SLAEs) with special properties. Various ways of ordering grid nodes lead to coefficient matrices with different structure. Several methods are compared in terms of efficiency. The results of the numerical experiments are presented.

Software engineers from all over the world solve independently a lot of similar problems. In this condition the problem of code or even better architecture reusing becomes an issue of the day. In this paper two phase approach to determining the functional and structural likenesses of software projects is proposed. This approach combines two methods of artificial intelligence: natural language processing techniques with a novel method for comparing software projects based on ontological representation of their architecture automatically obtained from the projects source code. Additionally several similarity metrics are proposed to estimate similarity between projects.

The paper presents an assessment of the growth dynamics of the modal fir plantations in the Lower Angara region. At present, a vast area of fir forests in the Lower Angara region is characterised by a significant decrease in sustainability due to periodic forest fires, insect pests outbreaks and diseases, which lead to their natural degradation and death. However, the intensity of coniferous stand growth in certain forest site characteristics persists in the long term. Therefore, creating regression models of forest growth and development involving the identification of site conditions is very important both from a practical point of view and for environmental monitoring. The materials of the mass inventory of 3491 stands served as the initial data for studying the processes of fir plantations natural growth. The Hoerl Model function is suitable for the best approximation of stand growth since it is characterised by high levelling factor (from 0.970 to 0.987) and a small standard error (not exceeding 7%). As a result of the research, there have been constructed sketches of the growth rate tables for the modal Siberian fir stands of the third bonitet class of the forb and mossy groups of forest types.

A potassium bromide KBr material, which has been widely used as the key element in the Fourier spectrometers and as the output window of the IR-lasers, has been studied with good advantage via applying the carbon nanotubes in order to modify the potassium bromide surface. The laser oriented deposition method has been used to place the carbon nanotubes at the matrix material surface in the vertical position at the different electric field varied from 100 to 600 V×cm-1. The main idea of the improvement of the spectral properties of the potassium bromide structure is connected with the fact that the refractive index of the carbon nanotubes is substantially less than the refractive index of the studied material, and the small diameter of the carbon nanotubes allows one to embed these nano-objects in the voids of the lattice of the model matrix systems. Moreover, the mechanical characteristics and wetting features of the potassium bromide structures have been investigated under the condition mentioned above. Analytical and quantum-chemical simulations have supported the experimental results.

P-band radar remote sensing applied during the Airborne Microwave Observatory of Subcanopy and Subsurface (AirMOSS) mission has shown great potential for estimation of root zone soil moisture. When retrieving the soil moisture profile (SMP) from P-band radar, a mathematical function describing the vertical moisture distribution is required. Because only a limited number of observations are available, the number of free parameters of the mathematical model must not exceed the number of observed data. For example, a second order polynomial that contains 3 free parameters was presumed based on in-situ SMP data. The polynomial is currently parameterized based on 3 backscatter observations provided by AirMOSS (i.e. one frequency at three polarizations of HH, VV and HV). In this paper, a more realistic, physically-based SMP model containing 3 free parameters is derived based on a solution to Richards’ equation for unsaturated flow in soils. Evaluation of the new SMP model based on both numerical simulations and measured data revealed that it exhibits greater flexibility for fitting measured and simulated SMPs than the currently applied polynomial. It is also demonstrated that the new SMP model can be reduced to a second order polynomial at the expense of fitting accuracy.

ABSTRACT Purpose: Tongue image analysis for disease diagnosis is an ancient traditional non-invasive diagnosis technique widely used by traditional medicine practitioners. Deep Learning based multi-label disease detection models offer tremendous potential to clinical decision support systems, by facilitating preliminary diagnosis. Methods: In this work, we propose a multi-label disease detection pipeline, where in observation and analysis of tongue images captured and received via smartphones assist in predicting the health status of an individual. All images are voluntarily given by subjects consulting collaborating physicians. Images thus acquired are first and foremost classified either into a diseased or a normal category by a 5-fold cross-validation algorithm using a convolution neural network (MobileNetV2) model for binary classification. Once the diseased label is predicted, the image is used to diagnose multiple diseases using the prediction algorithm based on DenseNet121. Results: Average accuracy of 93 % was achieved in classifying diseased from normal healthy tongue by detection model with MobileNetV2 architecture. Multilabel disease classification produced more than 90% accurate results for the seven class labels considered. Conclusion: AI based image analysis shows promising results and an extensive dataset could provide further improvements to this approach. Rather than employing high-cost sophisticated image capturing setup, experimenting with smartphone images opens opportunity to provide preliminary health status to individuals on smartphone prior to further line of treatment and diagnosis.

The Mediterranean region offers good weather conditions for outdoor pig production (OPP), which is considered more environmentally friendly than intensive indoor production. However, the continuous input of food and pigs' excreta increases the soil organic matter (SOM) and phosphorus (P), increasing the risk of waterbodies eutrophication. This work aimed at evaluating in OPP areas soil P dynamics and the role of SOM on P sorption and P release. The experiment was done for two years, at an area of 2.8 ha with an animal charge of 9 adults ha-1. Georeferenced soil samples were taken at 0.20 m depth, and a soil P sorption experiment was carried out. At the end of the experiment, for the background value, the levels of SOM increased between 85–376%, and Olsen P values ranged between -82–884%. SOM levels above 2% caused a decrease in the binding energy of P sorption according to the linear model b=-15.541SOM+115.20 (p <0.01) as well as a decrease of the soil P sorption capacity Qmax=-41.272SOM+298.37 (p <0.01). To avoid the accumulation of SOM and P preventing hotspots for waterbodies eutrophication, an adequate animal charge together with soil cultivation for pig grazing can be a cost-effective practice.

The basic challenges of this work are twofold: demonstrating the dependence between the functional and topological qualities of partition networks and finding the simplest—with respect to algorithmic complexity—network elements. The study of these problems is based on finding the solution to an appropriate antagonistic vertex game. The results of the numerical simulations of antagonistic partition games demonstrate that the winner’s graphs are “almost always” dense and hyperenergetic compared to the loser’s graphs. These observations reveal that successful evolutionary mechanisms can be realized, in principle, by the simplest objects (such as viruses).

In higher eukaryotes, enhancers determine the activation of developmental gene transcription in specific cell types and stages of embryogenesis. Enhancers transform the signals produced by various transcription factors within a given cell, activating the transcription of the targeted genes. Often, developmental genes can be associated with dozens of enhancers, some of which are located at large distances from the promoters that they regulate. Currently, the mechanisms that underly the specific distance interactions between enhancers and promoters remain unknown. This review describes the properties and activities of enhancers and discusses the mechanisms of distance interactions and potential proteins involved in this process.

Using only a limited number of computationally expensive functions, we show a way how to construct accurate and computationally efficient approximations of the Colebrook equation for flow friction. The presented approximations are based on the asymptotic series expansion of the Wright ω-function and symbolic regression. The results are verified with 8 million of Quasi-Monte Carlo points covering the domain of interest for engineers. In comparison with the built-in “wrightOmega” feature of Matlab R2016a, the herein introduced related approximations of the Wright ω-function significantly accelerate the computation. With only two logarithms and several basic arithmetic operations used, the presented approximations are not only computationally efficient but also extremely accurate. The maximal relative error of the most promising approximation which is given in the form suitable for engineers’ use is limited to 0.0012%, while for a little bit more complex variant is limited to 0.000024%.

Original and improved version of the Hardy Cross iterative method with related modifications are today widely used for calculation of fluid flow through conduits in loops-like distribution networks of pipes with known node fluid consumptions. Fluid in these networks is usually natural gas for distribution in the municipalities, water in waterworks or hot water in district heating system, air in the case of ventilation systems in buildings or mines, etc. Since, the resistances in these networks depend of flow, problem is not linear like in electrical circuits, and iterative procedure must be used. In both version of the Hardy Cross method, in original and in the improved one, initial results of calculation in iteration procedure is not flow, but rather the correction of flow. Unfortunately, these corrections should be added to or subtracted from a flow calculated in previous iteration according to complicate algebraic rules. After the here presented node-loop method, final results in each of the iterations is flow directly rather than flow correction. In that way complex algebraic scheme for sign of flow correction is avoided, while the final results still remain unchanged. Numbers of required iterations for the same results are comparable with the improved Hardy Cross method.

Hardy Cross originally proposed a method for analysis of flow in networks of conduits or conductors in 1936. His method was the first really useful engineering method in the field of pipe network calculation. Only electrical analogs of hydraulic networks were used before the Hardy Cross method. A problem with the flow resistance versus the electrical resistance makes these electrical analog methods obsolete. The method by Hardy Cross is taught extensively at faculties and it still remains an important tool for analysis of looped pipe systems. Engineers today mostly use a modified Hardy Cross method which threats the whole looped network of pipes simultaneously (use of these methods without computers is practically impossible). A method from the Russian practice published during 1930s, which is similar to the Hardy Cross method, is described, too. Some notes from the life of Hardy Cross are also shown. Finally, an improved version of the Hardy Cross method, which significantly reduces number of iterations, is presented and discussed. Also we tested multi-point iterative methods which can be used as substitution for the Newton-Raphson approach used by Hardy Cross, but this approach didn’t reduce number of required iterations to reach the final balanced solution. Although, many new models have been developed since the time of Hardy Cross, main purpose of this paper is to illustrate the very beginning of modeling of gas and water pipe networks or ventilation systems.

This paper gives a new unified formula for the Newtonian fluids valid for all pipe flow regimes from laminar to the fully rough turbulent. It includes laminar, unstable sharp jump from laminar to turbulent, and all types of the turbulent regimes: smooth turbulent regime, partial non-fully developed turbulent and fully developed rough turbulent regime. The formula follows the inflectional form of curves as suggested in Nikuradse’s experiment rather than monotonic shape proposed by Colebrook and White. The composition of the proposed unified formula consists of switching functions and of the interchangeable formulas for laminar, smooth turbulent and fully rough turbulent flow. The proposed switching functions provide a smooth and a computationally cheap transition among hydraulic regimes. Thus, the here presented formulation represents a coherent hydraulic model suitable for engineering use. The model is compared to existing literature models, and shows smooth and computationally cheap transitions among hydraulic regimes.

Widely used in hydraulics, the Colebrook equation for flow friction relates implicitly to the input parameters; the Reynolds number, Re and the relative roughness of inner pipe surface, ε/D with the output unknown parameter; the flow friction factor, λ; λ=f(λ, Re, ε/D). In this paper, a few explicit approximations to the Colebrook equation; λ≈f(Re, ε/D), are generated using the ability of artificial intelligence to make inner patterns to connect input and output parameters in explicit way not knowing their nature or the physical law that connects them, but only knowing raw numbers, {Re, ε/D}→{λ}. The fact that the used genetic programming tool does not know the structure of the Colebrook equation which is based on computationally expensive logarithmic law, is used to obtain better structure of the approximations which is less demanding for calculation but also enough accurate. All generated approximations are with low computational cost because they contain a limited number of logarithmic forms used although for normalization of input parameters or for acceleration, but they are also sufficiently accurate. The relative error regarding the friction factor λ, in best case is up to 0.13% with only two logarithmic forms used. As the second logarithm can be accurately approximated by the Padé approximation, practically the same error is obtained also using only one logarithm.

The Colebrook equation ζ is implicitly given in respect to the unknown flow friction factor λ ; λ=ζ(Re,ε*,λ) which cannot be expressed explicitly in exact way without simplifications and use of approximate calculus. Common approach to solve it is through the Newton-Raphson iterative procedure or through the fixed-point iterative procedure. Both requires in some case even eight iterations. On the other hand numerous more powerful iterative methods such as three-or two-point methods, etc. are available. The purpose is to choose optimal iterative method in order to solve the implicit Colebrook equation for flow friction accurately using the least possible number of iterations. The methods are thoroughly tested and those which require the least possible number of iterations to reach the accurate solution are identified. The most powerful three-point methods require in worst case only two iterations to reach final solution. The recommended representatives are Sharma-Guha-Gupta, Sharma-Sharma, Sharma-Arora, Džunić-Petković-Petković; Bi-Ren-Wu, Chun-Neta based on Kung-Traub, Neta, and Jain method based on Steffensen scheme. The recommended iterative methods can reach the final accurate solution with the least possible number of iterations. The approach is hybrid between iterative procedure and one-step explicit approximations and can be used in engineering design for initial rough, but also for final fine calculations.

Empirical Colebrook equation from 1939 is still accepted as an informal standard to calculate friction factor during the turbulent flow (4000 < Re < 10⁸) through pipes from smooth with almost negligible relative roughness (ε/D→0) to the very rough (up to ε/D = 0.05) inner surface. The Colebrook equation contains flow friction factor λ in implicit logarithmic form where it is, aside of itself; λ, a function of the Reynolds number Re and the relative roughness of inner pipe surface ε/D; λ = f (λ, Re, ε/D). To evaluate the error introduced by many available explicit approximations to the Colebrook equation, λ ≈ f(Re, ε/D), it is necessary to determinate value of the friction factor λ from the Colebrook equation as accurate as possible. The most accurate way to achieve that is using some kind of iterative methods. Usually classical approach also known as simple fixed point method requires up to 8 iterations to achieve the high level of accuracy, but does not require derivatives of the Colebrook function as here presented accelerated Householder’s approach (3^rd order, 2^nd order: Halley’s and Schröder’s method and 1^st order: Newton-Raphson) which needs only 3 to 7 iteration and three-point iterative methods which needs only 1 to 4 iteration to achieve the same high level of accuracy. Strategies how to find derivatives of the Colebrook function in symbolic form, how to avoid use of the derivatives (Secant method) and how to choose optimal starting point for the iterative procedure are shown. Householder’s approach to the Colebrook’s equations expressed through the Lambert W-function is also analyzed. One approximation to the Colebrook equation based on the analysis from the paper with the error of no more than 0.0617% is shown.

The eighty years old empirical Colebrook function widely used as an informal standard for hydraulic resistance relates implicitly the unknown flow friction factor , with the known Reynolds number and the known relative roughness of a pipe inner surface ; . It is based on logarithmic law in the form that captures the unknown flow friction factor in a way from which it cannot be extracted analytically. As an alternative to the explicit approximations or to the iterative procedures that require at least a few evaluations of computationally expensive logarithmic function or non-integer powers, this paper offers an accurate and computationally cheap iterative algorithm based on Padé polynomials with only one -call in total for the whole procedure (expensive -calls are substituted with Padé polynomials in each iteration with the exception of the first). The proposed modification is computationally less demanding compared with the standard approaches of engineering practice, but does not influence the accuracy or the number of iterations required to reach the final balanced solution.

We have drawn a few interesting conclusions while studying reaction products of Ph₂Si(OH)₂ with Al(ⁱBu)₃ and tetraisobutylalumoxane. In the first place, this is the production (at Ph₂Si(OH)₂ and Al(ⁱBu)₃ equimolar ratio) of oligomer siloxyalumoxane structure with alternating four- and six-member rings, as well as isobutyl and phenyl groups migration between aluminum and silicon due to the formation of intramolecular four-member cyclic complex [Ph₂(OH)SiO]Al(ⁱBu)₂ → [(ⁱBu)Ph(OH)SiO]Al(ⁱBu)Ph. Ph₂Si(OH)₂ interaction with Al(ⁱBu)₃ not only starts from intramolecular complex production, but the chain is terminated for the same reason, which in the case of Ph₂Si(OH)₂ reaction with tetraisobutylalumoxane results in failure of obtaining high-polymer siloxyalumoxane compounds. When Al(ⁱBu)₃ interacts with α- and γ-diols, no oligomer compounds are produced. Al(ⁱBu)₃ reaction with α, γ-diols results in monomer compounds that are likely to have cyclic structure. Notably at Al(ⁱBu)₃ interaction with α-diol only double excess of Al(ⁱBu)₃ allows full replacement of hydrogen in α-diol hydroxyl groups by aluminum alkyl residue with 1,3-bis(diisobutylalumoxymethyl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane production. At equimolar ratio of initial reagents the second isobutyl radical at Al does not interact with the second hydroxyl group of α-diol, apparently due to the steric hindrance and 1-(diisobutylalumoxymethyl)-3-(hydroxymethyl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyl-disiloxane is produced. Al(ⁱBu)₃ reactions with γ-diol also result in monomer compounds but the presence of a chain consisting of three СН₂-groups between Si and hydroxyl group facilitates interaction between the second hydroxyl group of γ-diol and the second isobutyl radical Al(ⁱBu)₃. Tetraisobutylalumoxane reaction with α- and γ-diols results in oligomer compounds.

Complex-structured polymeric microparticles hold significant promise as advance in next-generation medicine mostly due to demand from developing targeted drug delivery. However, the conventional methods for producing these microparticles of defined size, shape and sophisticated composition often face challenges in scalability, reliance on specialized components such as micro-patterned templates, or have limited control over particle size distribution and cargo release kinetics. In this study, we introduce a novel and reliably scalable approach for manufacturing microparticles of defined structures and sizes with variable parameters. The concept behind this method involves the deposition of a specific number of polymer layers on a substrate with low surface energy. Each layer can serve as either the carrier for cargo or a programmable shell-former with predefined permeability. Subsequently, this layered structure is precisely cut into desired-sized blanks using a laser. The manufacturing process is completed by applying of heat to the substrate what results on sealing the edges of the blanks. The combination of the high surface tension of the molten polymer and the low surface energy of the substrate enables the formation of discrete particles, each possessing semi-spherical or other designed geometries determined by their internal composition. Such anisotropic microparticles are envisaged versatile applications.

Development of new neurotherapeutics is strongly depending on appropriate animal model chosen in preclinical studies. A cuprizone model is an effective tool for studying demyelination and re-myelination processes in the brain, but BBB integrity in cuprizone model is still a topic for debate. Several publications claim that BBB remains intact during cuprizone-induced demyelination; others demonstrate results that could be explained by the increased BBB permeability. In our work we aim to analyze permeability of BBB for different macromolecules, particularly, antibody-conjugates in cuprizone-intoxicated mice. We compared the traditional approach using Evans blue injection with following dye extraction and detection of antibody-conjugates using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and confocal microscopy to analyze BBB permeability in cuprizone model. First, we validated our model of demyelination by detecting changes in gene expression of myelin basic protein and proteolipid protein, and by performing MRI and histological analysis. Our results suggest that the methods with better sensitivity were able to detect the accumulation of macromolecules (such as fluorescent-labeled or gadolinium-labeled antibody conjugates) in the brain, suggesting a local BBB disruption in the demyelinating area. These findings support previous investigations that ques-tioned BBB integrity in cuprizone model and demonstrate possibility for delivery of anti-body-conjugates to demyelinated corpus callosum

For Sir Ronald Fisher, it is important to consistently obtain significant p-values to support an experimental hypothesis. So, replicating experiments to obtain independent p-values is a legitimate and desirable research practice. Several simple statistics have been proposed to meta-analyze p-values, all assuming that they are genuine, i.e. observations from independent standard Uniform random variables. But, as publication bias favors the studies that report "significant" p-values, when a p&gt;0.05 is obtained for the outcome of an experiment, some researchers will "fall into temptation" and decide to replicate the experiment in the hope of getting a smaller second p-value, ideally a significant one. Consequently, if the smallest of two p-values is reported, this is a Beta(1,2) distributed "fake" p-value, not a uniformly distributed genuine p-value. This is an unacceptable scientific research practice, and moreover the detection of fake p-values is unpractical. Even when it is possible, the analytic results to accommodate their existence in combined tests are cumbersome. For an informed decision, inclusive when the presence of fake p-values in a sample of p-values to be meta-analyzed is probable, tables with simulated critical values for the usual combined testing are supplied. This will also allow comparisons to be made between several combined tests.

We prove the continuous non-Archimedean (resp. p-adic) Banach space and Hilbert space versions of non-Archimedean (resp. p-adic) Welch bounds proved by M. Krishna. We formulate continuous non-Archimedean and p-adic functional Zauner conjectures.

We prove the non-Archimedean (resp. p-adic) Banach space version of non-Archimedean (resp. p-adic) Welch bounds recently obtained by M. Krishna. More precisely, we prove following results. \begin{enumerate}[\upshape(i)] \item Let $\mathbb{K}$ be a non-Archimedean (complete) valued field satisfying $\left|\sum_{j=1}^{n}\lambda_j^2\right|=\max_{1\leq j \leq n}|\lambda_j|^2$ for all $ \lambda_j \in \mathbb{K}, 1\leq j \leq n$, for all $n \in \mathbb{N}.$ Let $\mathcal{X}$ be a $d$-dimensional non-Archimedean Banach space over $\mathbb{K}$. If $\{\tau_j\}_{j=1}^n$ is any collection in $\mathcal{X}$ and $\{f_j\}_{j=1}^n$ is any collection in $\mathcal{X}^*$ (dual of $\mathcal{X}$) satisfying $f_j(\tau_j) =1$ for all $1\leq j \leq n$ and the operator $S_{f, \tau} : \text{Sym}^m(\mathcal{X})\ni x \mapsto \sum_{j=1}^nf_j^{\otimes m}(x)\tau_j^{\otimes m} \in \text{Sym}^m(\mathcal{X})$, is diagonalizable, then \begin{align}\label{NONFUNCTIONALWELCH} \max_{1\leq j,k \leq n, j \neq k}\{|n|, |f_j(\tau_k)f_k(\tau_j)|^{m} \}\geq \frac{|n|^2}{\left|{d+m-1 \choose m}\right| }. \end{align} We call Inequality (\ref{NONFUNCTIONALWELCH}) as non-Archimedean functional Welch bounds. \item For a prime $p$, let $\mathbb{Q}_p$ be the p-adic number field. Let $\mathcal{X}$ be a $d$-dimensional p-adic Banach space over $\mathbb{Q}_p$. If $\{\tau_j\}_{j=1}^n$ is any collection in $\mathcal{X}$ and $\{f_j\}_{j=1}^n$ is any collection in $\mathcal{X}^*$ (dual of $\mathcal{X}$) satisfying $f_j(\tau_j) =1$ for all $1\leq j \leq n$ and there exists $b \in \mathbb{Q}_p$ such that $ \sum_{j=1}^{n}f_j^{\otimes m}(x) \tau_j^{\otimes m} =bx$ for all $ x \in \text{Sym}^m(\mathcal{X}),$ then \begin{align}\label{PADICFUNCTIONALWELCH} \max_{1\leq j,k \leq n, j \neq k}\{|n|, |f_j(\tau_k)f_k(\tau_j)|^{m} \}\geq \frac{|n|^2}{\left|{d+m-1 \choose m}\right| }. \end{align} We call Inequality (\ref{PADICFUNCTIONALWELCH}) as p-adic functional Welch bounds. \end{enumerate} We formulate non-Archimedean functional and p-adic functional Zauner conjectures.

Oleuropein, glycosylated secoiridoid present in olive leaves is known to be an important antioxidant phenolic compound. We studied the antioxidant effect of low doses of oleuropein aglycone (3,4-DHPEA-EA) and oleuropein aglycone peracetylated (3,4-DHPEA-EA(P)) in murine C2C12 myocytes treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Both compounds were used at a concentration of 10 μM and were able to inhibit cell death induced by the H2O2 treatment, with 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) being more. Under our experimental conditions, H2O2 efficiently induced the phosphorylated-active form of JNK and of its downstream target c-Jun. We demonstrated, by Western blot analysis, that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) was efficient in inhibiting the phospho-active form of JNK. This data suggests that the growth arrest and cell death of C2C12 proceeds via the JNK/c-Jun pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) affects the myogenesis of C2C12 cells; because MyoD mRNA levels and the differentiation process are restored with 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) after treatment. Overall, the results indicate that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) prevents ROS-mediated degenerative process in a genomic and epigenomic manner by functioning as an efficient antioxidant.

Oleuropein, glycosylated secoiridoid present in olive leaves is known to be an important antioxidant phenolic compound. We studied the antioxidant effect of low doses of oleuropein aglycone (3,4-DHPEA-EA) and oleuropein aglycone peracetylated (3,4-DHPEA-EA(P)) in murine C2C12 myocytes treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Both compounds were used at a concentration of 10 μM and were able to inhibit cell death induced by the H2O2 treatment, with 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) being more. Under our experimental conditions, H2O2 efficiently induced the phosphorylated-active form of JNK and of its downstream target c-Jun. We demonstrated, by Western blot analysis, that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) was efficient in inhibiting the phospho-active form of JNK. This data suggests that the growth arrest and cell death of C2C12 proceeds via the JNK/c-Jun pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) affects the myogenesis of C2C12 cells; because MyoD mRNA levels and the differentiation process are restored with 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) after treatment. Overall, the results indicate that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) prevents ROS-mediated degenerative process in a genomic and epigenomic manner by functioning as an efficient antioxidant.

The application of graph theory in chemical and molecular structure research far exceeds people's expectations, and it has recently grown exponentially. In the molecular graph, atoms are represented by vertices and bonded by edges. Closed forms of multiplicative degree-based topological indices which are numerical parameters of the structure and determine physico-chemical properties of the concerned molecular compound. In this article, we compute and analyze many multiplicative degree-based topological indices of silicon-carbon Si₂C₃-I[p,q] and Si₂C₃-II[p,q].

This paper assessed rice farmers' perceptions of agricultural and irrigation practices through their choices. A survey was carried out among 278 rice farmers on five irrigation schemes in three agro-ecological zones of Togo, viz. the savannah region, the forest region and the coastal region. The sample of random respondents was selected from a list of rice farmers provided by the managers of these irrigated schemes. Data collected through face-to-face interviews using kobocollect software were analyzed with R 4.2 software, and the Pearson test was validated at the 5% level. The results showed that the socio-economic characteristics of the rice growers, such as access to agricultural credit, experience, non-agricultural activities, membership of a rice growers' cooperative, gender, level of education and training in growing irrigated rice, and farm labor, significantly influenced the choice of agronomic practices and irrigation management. Characteristics such as experience, training and hired farm labor enhanced paddy yields, while access to agricultural credit was unproductive. Chemical clearing combined with stump removal, tiller ploughing, transplanting and high plant density are the agricultural practices that increased paddy yields, while tiller mudding and basal mineral fertilization were inefficient. In the same way, water distribution by demand, water depth above the soil of less than 5 cm, use of water-saving technologies and farmer's knowledge of how to improve water and fertilizer use-efficiency also helped to boost paddy yields. For sustainable rice production in the context of labor shortages and the financial resources required, future studies will focus on the effectiveness of motorized mudding and agricultural credits for rice farmers. Furthermore, considering the crucial role of training in the adopting of good agricultural and irrigation practices, future research will study strategies for wide diffusion of knowledge to rice producers.

Organic electrophoretic coatings have gained significant attention due to their ability to provide a uniform and controlled coating thickness, high coating adhesion, and excellent corrosion protection properties. In this work, to investigate the aging behaviors of an organic electrophoretic coating for magnesium alloys, water absorption kinetics curves of the coatings after immersion in 3.5 wt.% NaCl at 20℃ and 40℃ were measured, and parameters such as the saturated water absorption and saturation time of the free film coatings were fitted to determine the densification evolution of the organic coatings. A tensile test was used to test the tensile strength of the organic coating during service to determine the evolution of the strength and toughness of the organic coating. The evolution of wet adhesion of organic coatings with service time was tested by ASTM D4541-02. The impedance spectra of the organic coatings under the above conditions were detected by EIS, and finally, the failure behavior of the organic coatings under immersion was analyzed.

Paclitaxel is a natural, highly lipophilic anti proliferative drug widely used in medicine. We have studied the release of tritium-labeled paclitaxel (³H-PTX) from matrices destined for the coating of vascular stents and produced by the electrospinning method from the solutions of polycaprolactone (PCL) with paclitaxel (PTX) in hexafluoisoropropanol (HFIP) and/or solutions of PCL with PTX and human serum albumin (HSA) in HFIP or HIFP-dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) blend. The release of PTX has been shown to depend on the solvent and the composition of electrospinning solution, as well as the composition of the surrounding medium, particularly the concentration of free PTX and PTX-binding biomolecules present in human serum. It was shown that 3D matrices can completely release PTX without weight loss. Two-phase PTX release from optimized 3D matrices was obtained: ~27% of PTX was released in the first day, another 8% were released over the next 26 days. Wherein ~2.8%, ~2.3%, and ~0.25% of PTX was released on day 3, 9, and 27, respectively. Considering PTX toxicity, the rate of its diffusion through the arterial wall, and the data obtained the minimum cytostatic dose of the drug in the arterial wall will be maintained for at least three months.

New fluorinated pentaphene derivative has been obtained as a potential precursor for fluorinated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. In this work 7,7-difluoropentaphen-6(7H)-one was prepared from 1,1-difluoroanthracen-2(1H)-one via Diels-Alder reaction with o-quinodimethane generated in situ from o-bis(dibromomethyl)benzene. The structure of newly synthesized compound was confirmed by 1H, 13C, 19F NMR, IR and UV/Vis spectroscopy as well as high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Oleuropein, glycosylated secoiridoid present in the olive leaves, is known as an important antioxidant phenolic compound. We studied the antioxidant effect of low dose of oleuropein aglycone (3,4-DHPEA-EA) and oleuropein aglycone peracetylated (3,4-DHPEA-EA(P)) in murine C2C12 myocytes treated with hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). Both compounds were used at a concentration of 10 μM and were able to inhibit cell death induced by H2O2 treatment, with 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) being more. Under our experimental conditions H2O2 efficiently induced the phosphorylated-active form of JNK and of its downstream target c-Jun. We demonstrated, by Western blot analysis, that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) was efficient in inhibiting the phospho-active form of JNK. This data suggest that growth arrest and cell dead of C2C12 proceeds via the JNK/c-Jun pathway. Moreover, we demonstrated that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) affects myogenesis of C2C12 cells; because the MyoD mRNA levels and the differentiation process are restored after treatment with 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P). Overall, the results indicate that 3,4-DHPEA-EA(P) prevents ROS-mediated degenerative process by functioning as an efficient antioxidant.