In this paper is discussed sediment transport as a mechanical process that characterises a natural stream or channel flow regime. The objective of experimental work presented in this paper is to recall and to give another prospect of well-known Meyer-Peter and Müller approach for estimation of Shield’s number (θ_c,θ) in laboratory conditions, and calibration of dimensionless MPM number (A). For this purpose two different experiments are conducted, during the first experiment water amount flushed on the flume and bed slope was changed simultaneously until equilibrium state is achieved, meanwhile is estimated the critical Shield’s number (θ_c). While, during the second experiment, water amount was kept constant, only bed slope of flume was continuously tilted, meanwhile sediment, discharge and Shield’s number (θ) was determined for given hydraulic conditions. In addition calibration of dimensionless MPM number (A) was performed, where several iteration were considered until for (A=3.42), sediment discharge measured become almost equal with sediment discharge computed by using MPM formula. After these experiments, is concluded that MPM formula can be used also for other certain initial condition and similar procedure may be adopted to calibrate the dimensionless MPM number (A) .

Different values of the Hubble constant for extragalactic objects are not considered here. We give a number of examples of the extreme accordance of expansion rates of different fields of knowledge with the cosmological expansion rate. The coincidence of the expansion rates means that a common cause is almost inevitable. All these examples are gravitationally bound in themselves and in this case are subject to cosmological expansion. According to standard theory, this should not happen. We therefore question the common boundary of gravity and expansion for both theoretical and observational reasons and conclude that all gravitationally dominated objects participate in cosmological expansion or scale drift, contrary to general doctrine. The space expands with its contents while numerically maintaining distance, radius, rotation time and density. What is generally interpreted as an expansion is obviously a scale drift with a drift rate that corresponds to the size of the Hubble constant. The Earth is subject to expansion and scale drift. This results in numerically constant measured values. This drift apparently also applies to distant galaxies and other objects. The cosmological red shift is not interpreted here as a Doppler effect and numerical increase in distances, but in accordance with standard theory as an expansion or drift of the space-time scale. The expansion of the radii of galaxies makes the assumption of dark matter superfluous. The continents and our everyday environment are not subject to expansion or scale drift.

This study explores the intriguing relationship between personality traits, self-rated fitness (SRF), and physical activity (PA) variables among German university students (N = 4,244), and sheds light on the impact of personality on adherence to PA guidelines. Employing an online cross-sectional study, the short-form of the Big Five Inventory-2 assessed five domains of personality traits (Extraversion, Negative Emotionality, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, and Open-Mindedness). PA, including sitting time, was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (short-form). SRF and muscle-strengthening activities (MSA) were assessed with one item each. Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses examined associations of individual personality trait domains and all domains combined with SFR, PA variables, and adherence to PA guidelines, controlling for sociodemographic, behavioral, and (mental) health covariates. Most reliably, Extraversion and Conscientiousness revealed positive associations with PA variables, while Negative Emotionality yielded inverse relationships with PA variables. For instance, each unit increase in Extraversion corresponded to additional 17 minutes weekly MSA. Contrary, daily sitting time was unrelated to personality. Of note, high Open-Mindedness was associated with lower odds for adhering to current PA guidelines. The findings have implications for developing targeted interventions that promote a physically active lifestyle and support students' well-being and academic success.

Mobile genetic elements constitute a major part of almost every eukaryotic genome, and several types of such elements have been classified based on size, genetic structure and transposition intermediate. The fast growing availability of whole genome sequences of species across the living world provides almost unlimited possibilities for in depth molecular analyses of all kind, including the search for mobile genetic elements in animal taxa that have not yet been in the focus of respective investigations. Leeches are such a group of so far neglected organisms. However, aim of the present study was not to provide a comprehensive survey, but to perform the first molecular description and characterization of selected mobile genetic elements (MGEs) in leeches. Representatives of three types of MGEs could be identified and characterized, namely short interspersed nuclear elements (SINEs), long interspersed nuclear elements (LINEs) and long terminal repeats (LTR)-retro-transposons. Some of the newly described elements display unique structural features compared to archetype elements of the respective groups.

Background and Objectives. To examine trends in the links between induced abortion and subsequent mental health problems for U.S. women approaching completed fertility. Materials and Methods. Panel data on a nationally-representative cohort of 3,842 ever-pregnant women assessed at mean ages of 15, 22, 28 and 37 years from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were examined for pregnancy outcome-related mental health disorders, with extensive adjustment for confounders including sociodemographic dif-ferences, mental health history, and unwanted pregnancies. Outcomes were defined using pub-lished diagnostic criteria or validated index for depression, anxiety disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and suicide ideation (affective problems); alcohol abuse, drug abuse, opioid abuse, and cannabis abuse (substance abuse problems); and summary counts of affective problems, substance abuse problems and total disorders. Results were adjusted for abortion under-reporting using cross-wave analysis. Results. The relative risk of mental health disorder with exposure to induced abortion followed an inverted “V” pattern as women aged to midlife, increasing from Wave III (age 22; IRR 1.41) to Wave IV (age 28; IRR 1.67), then dropping sharply by Wave V (age 37; IRR 1.20). The population at-tributable fraction of mental health disorder due to abortion dropped from 18.1% at Wave IV to 8.0% at Wave V. Unlike previous Waves, at Wave V mental health risk was more strongly reduced by exposure to childbirth (IRR 0.70, 95% CI .63, .78, p < .001). Reduced relative metrics at Wave V were not due to reduced prevalence of mental health disorders for ever-aborting women, which increased from Wave IV to Wave V by 1.7%, but increased much more, by 20.5%, for never-aborting women. Conclusion. At midlife approaching completed fertility, differential negative psychological out-comes for ever-aborting U.S. women remained elevated but reduced from younger ages.

Contrasting results have suggested that the prevalence and intensity of post abortion emotional distress (PAD) either diminishes rapidly or persists over time. Few studies have followed women for longer than five years. This study examines retrospective population data on 226 ever aborting U.S. women aged 41-45, at an average of 20 years following the abortion, with extensive measures of PAD. Most post abortive women (55.2%) experienced little or no distress from their abortion(s) and 74.6% were confident it had been the right decision, but 44.8% reported moderate (20.7%) to high (24.1%) distress related to their abortion(s), including 37.7% who reported negative emotions; 31.2% “frequent feelings of loss, grief or sadness;” 24.6% “frequent thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks;” 23.2% for whom thoughts and feelings about their abortion “negatively interfered with life, work, or relationships.” Time since the abortion (mean 20 years, range 0-31 years) was not correlated with PAD (r = -.02, p .71). For the minority of women who experienced it, PAD did not diminish but persisted for decades. An estimated 7.5 million U.S. women currently experience persistent high PAD. Further research to specify risk factors and possible interventions for postabortion distress would be of value for this group of women.

It is argued that all physical knowledge ultimately stems from observation and that the simplest possible observation is that an event has happened at a certain space-time location . Considering historic experiments, which had been groundbreaking in the evolution of our modern ideas of matter on the atomic, nuclear and elementary particle scales, it is shown that such experiments produce as outputs macroscopically observable events which represent binary decisions with regard to simple alternatives and which accumulate in the course of time into spatio-temporal patterns whose forms allow decisions to be taken concerning conceivable alternatives of explanation. Working towards elucidating the physical and information-theoretic characteristics of those elementary pieces of information we arrive at the conclusion that - unlike the events of relativity which are mere 4-tuples of spacetime coordinates - the events of observation are pieces of information endowed with the properties of physical action, spacetime extension, and Lorentz invariance. Another important aspect is that such events are produced at the expense of irreversibly dissipating energy which can be stated in Landauer diction in the form that more energy needs to be spent in the erasure of events than had previously been invested in their initiation.

AbstractThis work deals with aerofoil aerodynamic features optimization, not only to improve flight features, but also to improve economy, ecology and safety of parameters of flight technique.In cruise mission, occupying the most flight time, the most important parameter is aerodynamic drag, which directly influences the aeroplane operational economy of transportation. Drag reduction is adequately reflected in the fuel consumption reduction. Consumption reduction is also adequately reflected in the flight ecology. In take-off and landing mission, the safety is priority and directly influences the aerofoil geometry.For cruise mission the new modified evolutionary algorithms (EA) are used to parameters incoming to Bezier-PARSEC 3434 parametrization. Such aerofoil is processed and evaluated by the Xfoil program. The change of model parameters results to optimal aerofoil shape.The DCAG (Direct Control Aerofoil Geometry) is unique developed mechanical device, makes possible the change of curvature of aerofoil, and also aerofoil geometry. DCAG is based on the rotary principle, which makes it possible to define the curvature of aerofoil for every roll as well as defining the geometry in the variable parts of aerofoil.For take-off and landing mission the best combination of slots and flaps is choosed. To improve of laminarity and reduce turbulent flow the DCAG is used.The work results to optimization, which is 50 times faster in comparison to ordinary optimization, with minimum of input parameters (flight speed, chord length, range of angles of attack and fitness function).The optimized aerofoil can achieve savings in fuel consumption up to 44% in comparison with unoptimized aerofoil, the aerodynamic drag reduction up to 44%.The output was checked by ANSYS Fluent simulation.

Aging induces numerous physiological alterations, with immunosenescence emerging as a pivotal factor. This phenomenon has attracted both researchers and clinicians, prompting pro-found questions about its implications for health and disease. Among the contributing factors, one intriguing actor in this complex interplay is human cytomegalovirus (CMV), a member of the herpesvirus family. Latent CMV infection exerts a profound influence on the aging immune system, potentially contributing to age-related diseases. This review delves into the intricate relationship between immunosenescence and CMV, revealing how chronic viral infection im-pacts the aging immune landscape. We explore the mechanisms through which CMV can im-pact both the composition and functionality of immune cell populations and induce shifts in in-flammatory profiles with aging. Moreover, we examine potential role of CMV in such pathol-ogies as cardiovascular diseases, cancer, neurodegenerative disorders, COVID-19, and Long COVID. This review underlines the importance of understanding the complex interplay be-tween immunosenescence and CMV. It offers insights into the pathophysiology of aging and age-associated diseases, as well as COVID-19 outcomes among the elderly. By unraveling the connections between immunosenescence and CMV, we gain a deeper understanding of aging's remarkable journey and the profound role that viral infections play in transforming the human immune system.

Not a lot is known about either death or the dying process. Politicians and many in the medical profession in the UK tend to shy away from interfering with it by not allowing euthanasia as an end of life option for the patient. This is the first paper in a series of two, comparing the situation in human medicine and veterinary medicine, in which euthanasia is well practiced for relieving suffering at the end of an animal’s life. This first part takes the form of a literature review including best practice around end of life care, its deficiencies and the need for assisted dying. Veterinary surgeons are well trained in the ethics of euthanasia and put it to good use in the best interest of their animal patients. In countries which have legalized physician assisted suicide for the terminally ill reporting indicates that it works well, without increases in involuntary euthanasia and most importantly without intimidation of the vulnerable. However, there is still an ever increasing tendency to overuse sedation and opioids at the end of life, which merits further investigation. With advances in medical science able to significantly prolong the dying process, patient autonomy demands a review of the law in the UK.

This is the second of a series of two papers comparing the end of life issues in human and veterinary medicine. We outline the main differences between human and animal patients such as patient communication, finance and ‘conflicts of interest’ between animal, owner and veterinarian. We discuss striking similarities between human and veterinary issues such as assessing quality of life and the primary role of the attending veterinarian or doctor being the welfare and care of the patient. This paper takes the form of an ethical argument in favour of allowing euthanasia in human medicine, by providing insights into end of life issues for humans from an independent veterinary perspective. Veterinary surgeons are well trained in the ethics of euthanasia and put it to good use in the best interest of their animal patients. Doctors in the UK are limited and unwilling to put forward a case for the option of euthanasia for those patients who face a slow and agonizing death. With advances in medical science being able to significantly prolong the dying process, autonomy for the patient demands a review of the law regarding patient choice in the UK.

The digital transformation of healthcare is advancing, leading to an increasing availability of clinical data for research. Perioperative big data initiatives were established to monitor treatment quality and benchmark outcomes. However, big data analyzes have long exceeded the status of pure quality surveillance instruments. Large retrospective studies nowadays often represent the first approach to new questions in clinical research and pave the way for more expensive and resource intensive prospective trials. As a consequence, utilization of big data in acute pain and regional anesthesia research considerably increased over the last decade. Multicentric clinical registries and administrative databases (e.g., healthcare claims databases) have collected millions of cases until today, on which basis several important research questions were approached. In acute pain research, big data was used to assess postoperative pain outcomes, opioid utilization, and the efficiency of multimodal pain management strategies. In regional anesthesia, adverse events and potential benefits of regional anesthesia on postoperative morbidity and mortality were evaluated. This article provides a narrative review on the growing importance of big data for research in acute postoperative pain and regional anesthesia.

This paper systematically discusses the application of reinforcement learning in automatic driving system. Reinforcement learning frameworks show significant advantages in optimizing decision making, predictive perception, path planning, and controller design, exceeding the limitations of traditional supervised learning methods. The paper highlights the critical role of components such as scene understanding, positioning, and map making in autonomous driving systems, which provide reliable environmental awareness through deep learning and sensor fusion technologies to support intelligent decision-making in complex urban environments. In addition, the paper discusses innovative approaches to safety reinforcement learning to reduce risk in autonomous driving and ensure that systems adhere strictly to safety constraints while maximizing expected rewards. These findings provide an important theoretical and practical basis for further improving algorithm robustness, managing multi-agent interactions, and integrating ethical considerations in the future.

This survey reports on the DNA identification and occurrence of Culex torrentium and Cx. pipiens s.s. in Belgium. These native disease vector mosquito species are morphologically difficult to separate and the biotypes of Cx. pipiens s.s. are morphologically indistinguishable. Culex torrentium and Cx. pipiens s.s. were identified using the COI and ACE2 loci. We recorded 1,248 Cx. pipiens s.s. and 401 Cx. torrentium specimens from 24 locations in Belgium (collected between 2017 and 2019). Culex pipiens biotypes pipiens and molestus, and their hybrids, were differentiated by fragment size analysis of the CQ11 locus (956 pipiens and 227 molestus biotype specimens, 29 hybrids). Hybrids were observed at 13 out of 16 sympatric sites. These results confirm that both species are widespread in Belgium, but while Cx. torrentium revealed many COI haplotypes, Cx. pipiens s.s. showed only one abundant haplotype. This latter observation may either reflect a recent population-wide demographic or range expansion, or a recent bottleneck, possibly linked to a Wolbachia infection. Finally, new evidence is provided for the asymmetric but limited introgression of the molestus biotype into the pipiens biotype.

Augmented reality (AR) provides an opportunity for mobile fitness applications to show users real-time feedback on their current fitness activity. For such applications, it is essential to accurately track the user’s current fitness activity using available mobile sensors, such as inertial measurement units (IMUs). Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been shown to produce strong results in different time series classification tasks, including the recognition of activities of daily living. However, fitness activities can present unique challenges to the human activity recognition task (HAR), including greater similarity between individual activities and fewer available data for model training. In this paper, we evaluate the applicability of CNNs to the fitness activity recognition task (FAR) using IMU data and determine the impact of input data size and sensor count on performance. For this purpose, we adapted three existing CNN architectures to the FAR task and designed a fourth CNN variant, which we call the scaling fully convolutional network (Scaling-FCN). We designed a preprocessing pipeline and recorded a running exercise data set with 20 participants, in which we evaluated the respective recognition performances of the four networks, comparing them with three traditional machine learning methods commonly used in HAR. On our data set, all CNN architectures significantly outperformed traditional machine learning methods, reaching up to 97.14±1.36% classification accuracy on the test set for ResNet. Whereas a reduced input data size invariably led to a performance loss, removing specific sensors improved the performance of all CNN architectures, with our Scaling-FCN reaching the highest accuracy of 99.86±0.11%. Our results suggest that CNNs are generally well suited for fitness activity recognition, and noticeable performance improvements can be achieved if sensors are dropped selectively.

It is generally assumed that the universe expands only on large scales. For some time now, there has also been a well-founded assumption in the literature that cosmic expansion also exists in gravitationally bound systems. In this article we attempt to establish whether cosmic expansion also takes place on scales such as the Earth's sphere of influence. In the examples presented, we find the expansion rate of the size required by the "constant" found by Hubble and Lemaître. This is supported by other examples that also contradict the general assumption mentioned at the beginning. However, this leads to conclusions that also call other cosmological assumptions into question.

: The objective of this work is to elucidate the role of partnerships and the number of partners necessary for lead user innovation outcomes. Lead user theory identifies these users as being ahead of market trends and experiencing significant benefits from innovating. So far, most lead user research has concentrated on firms and not individual lead users’ perspective. Data were obtained using a quantitative design during which 321 respondents participated. The SPSS software was used to analyze the data and determine significance. These findings indicate a connection between number of partners and lead user innovation success. This demonstrates that number of partners is significant in determining the success or failure of an innovation. This study provides empirical evidence that the number of partners is an essential factor that influences the success of innovation, and establishes the absolute numbers for achievement of successful innovation. Future studies must investigate the possible implications of integrating the partner variables with other characteristics of the lead user.

Understanding the stability limit of crystalline materials under variable tensile stress conditions is of capital interest for their technological applications. In this study, we present results from first-principles density functional theory calculations that quantitatively account for the response of selected covalent and layered materials to general stress conditions. In particular, we have evaluated the ideal strength along the main crystallographic directions of 3C and 2H polytypes of SiC, hexagonal ABA stacking of graphite and 2H-MoS2. Transverse superimposed stress on the tensile stress was taken into account in order to evaluate how the critical strength is affected by these multi-load conditions. In general, increasing transverse stress from negative to positive values leads to the expected decreasing of the critical strength. Few exceptions found in the compressive stress region correlate with the trends in the density of bonds along the directions with the unexpected behavior. In addition, we propose a modified spinodal equation of state able to accurately describe the calculated stress-strain curves. This analytical function is of general use and can also be applied to experimental data anticipating critical strengths and strains values and providing informattion on the energy stored in tensile stress processes.

Aim: The overall aim of the study was to assess the reasons and experiences of participants involved in Antibody Mediated Prevention (AMP) HIV prevention clinical trial at University of North Carolina (UNC) Project, Lilongwe, Malawi. We determined the participants’ reasons for participating in HIV Prevention clinical trials; and the experiences of participants in HIV Prevention clinical trials. Methods: We adopted the qualitative cross-sectional study method. Data were collected using in-depth interviews (IDIs). Purposive sampling was used to select 12 study participants who consented to take part in the study. All participants were the ones taking part in the AMP HIV prevention study at the UNC Project. Data analysis was done concurrently with data collection using content analysis. Results: Individuals were motivated to participate in HIV research due to a range of perceived benefits. These included personal, health, and financial benefits. Participants' research experiences and their continued participation in HIV research were influenced by the research clinic context and the nature of their interactions with research staff. Conclusion: When the clinical trial study participants’ expectations are met through what they experience in the study, the chances of them adhering to the study visits and procedures are high. Even for those who did not have any expectations prior to the study, feeling welcomed and being able to open up to the study staff encouraged their continued participation. In the end, this outweighed the negative comments made by the people in their communities or their friends

The speech-to-song illusion is a type of auditory illusion that the repetition of a part of a sentence would change people’s perception tendency from speech-like to song-like. The study aims to examine how pace, emotion, and language tonality affect people’s experience of the speech-to-song illusion. It uses a between-subject (Pace: fast, normal, vs. slow) and within-subject (Emotion: positive, negative, vs. neutral; language tonality: tonal language vs. non-tonal language) design. Sixty Hong Kong college students were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions characterized by pace. They listened to 12 audio stimuli, each with repetitions of a short excerpt, and rated their subjective perception of the presented phrase, whether it sounded like a speech or a song, on a five-point Likert-scale. Paired-sample t-tests and repeated measures ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. The findings reveal that a faster speech pace could strengthen the tendency of the speech-to-song illusion. Neither emotion nor language tonality show a statistically significant influence on the speech-to-song illusion. This study suggests that the perception of sound should be in a continuum and facilitates the understanding of song production in which speech can turn into music by having repetitive phrases and to be played in a relatively fast pace.

Mammalian seminal plasma contains a multitude of bioactive components, including lipids, glucose, mineral elements, metabolites, proteins, cytokines and growth factors, with various functions during insemination and fertilization. The seminal plasma protein PDC-109 is one of the major soluble components of the bovine ejaculate and is crucially important for sperm motility, capacitation and acrosome reaction. A hitherto underappreciated function of seminal plasma is its anti-microbial and anti-viral activity, which may limit sexual transmission of infectious diseases during intercourse. We have recently discovered that PDC-109 inhibits the membrane fusion activity of influenza virus particles and significantly impairs viral infections at micromolar concentrations. Here we investigated whether the antiviral activity of PDC-109 is restricted to Influenza or if other mammalian viruses are similarly affected. We focused on Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), the etiological agent of the Coronavirus Disease 19 (COVID-19), thoroughly assessing PDC-109 inhibition with SARS-CoV-2 Spike (S)-pseudotyped reporter virus particles, but also live-virus infections. Consistent with our previous publications we found significant virus inhibition, albeit accompanied by substantial cytotoxicity. Using time-of-addition experiments however, we discovered treatment regimen that enable virus suppression without affecting cell viability. We furthermore demonstrated that PDC-109 is also able to impair infections mediated by the VSV glycoprotein (VSVg) thus indicating a broad pan-antiviral activity against multiple virus species and families.

The paper is concerned with the concept of elementary observations (EO). EOs are experimental answers to the question whether a matter-instrument interaction had taken place at the micro-scale of quantum phenomena. Focusing on the specific case of photon detection, we show that during their lifetimes EOs proceed through the four phases of initiation, detection, erasure and reset. Once generated, the observational value of EOs can be measured in units of the Planck quantum of physical action h=4.136×10^(-15) eVs. Once terminated, each unit of entropy of size k_B=8.617×10^(-5) eV⁄K, which had been created in the instrument during the observational phase, needs to be removed from the instrument to ready it for a new round of photon detection. This withdrawal of entropy takes place at an energetic cost of at least two units of the Landauer minimum energy bound of E_La=ln⁡〖(2) k_B T_D 〗 for each unit of entropy of size k_B.

In T. gondii, as well as in other model organisms, gene knock-out using CRISPR-Cas9 is a suitable tool to identify the role of specific genes. The general consensus implies that only the gene of interest is affected by the knock-out. Is this really the case? In a previous study, we have generated knock-out (KO) clones of TgRH88_077450 (SRS29B; SAG1) which differed in the numbers of integrated dihydrofolate-reductase-thymidylate-synthase (MDHFR-TS) drug-selectable marker. Clones 18 and 33 had a single insertion of MDHFR-TS within SRS29B. Clone 6 was disrupted by the insertion of a short unrelated DNA-sequence, but the marker was integrated elsewhere. In clone 30, the marker was inserted into SRS29B and several other MDHFR-TS copies were found in the genome. KO and wild-type (WT) tachyzoites had similar shape, dimensions and vitality. This prompted us to investigate the impact of the genetic engineering as such on the overall proteome patterns of the four clones as compared to the respective WT. Comparative shotgun proteomics of the five strains was performed. Overall, 3236 proteins were identified. Principal component analysis of the proteomes revealed five distinct clusters corresponding to the five strains by both iTop3 and iLFQ algorithms. Detailed analysis of the differentially expressed proteins revealed that the target of the KO, srs29B, was lacking in all KO clones. Besides this protein, twenty other proteins were differentially expressed between KO clones and WT or between different KO clones. The protein exhibiting the highest variation between the five strains was srs36D encoded by TgRH_016110. The deregulated expression of SRS36D was further validated by quantitative PCR. Moreover, the transcript levels of three other selected SRS genes, namely SRS36B, SRS46, and SRS57 exhibited significant differences between individual strains. These results indicate that knocking out a given gene may affect the expression of other genes. Therefore, care must be taken when specific phenotypes are regarded as a direct consequence of the KO of a given gene.

Education is expected to support the development of a more sustainable way of thinking, working, and living. Although there is a broad range of literature on Education for Sustainable development (ESD), the role of principals in the implementation of sustainability and ESD in schools has rarely been taken into consideration. However, based on the results of school effectiveness research, one can assume that school principals exert a significant influence on ESD. Sustainability is a leadership issue. When a school aims at integrating sustainability and ESD, the principal plays a pivotal role. She or he has to support the endeavor wholeheartedly and credibly, organize a participative process of school development, push ahead sustainability and ESD in the daily life of the school, support teaching staff in the application of ESD, involve students and offer them opportunities to launch their own initiatives. This article seeks to support principals in leading their schools towards sustainability. Four stages of the integration of Sustainability and ESD in a school are defined. For each of these stages, a number of actions and management strategies are suggested and explained in detail.

Thunderstorms are among the most common and most dangerous meteorological hazards in the world. They cause lightning and can lead to strong wind gusts, squall lines, hail and heavy precipitation combined with flooding, and therefore pose a threat to health and life, can cause enormous property damage and also endanger flight savety. Monitoring and forecast of thunderstorms are therefore important topics. In this work a novel method for the detection and forecast of thunderstorms and strong convection is presented. The detection is based on the global GLD360 lightning data in combination with satellite information from the satellite series Meteosat, HIMAWAARI and GOES, covering the complete geostationary ring. Three severity levels are defined depending on the occurrence of lightning and the brightness temperature difference of the water vapour channels and the infrared window channel (∼ 10.8 μm). The detection of thunderstorms and strong convection is the basis for the nowcasting up to 2 hours, which is performed with the optical flow method TV-L1. This method provides the needed atmospheric motion vectors for the extrapolation of the thunderstorm movement. Both, the validation results as well as the feedback of the customers show the great value of the new NowCastSat-Aviation (NCS-A) method. For example, the Critical Success Index (CSI) is with 0.64 still quite high for the 60 minute forecast of severe thunderstorms. The method is operated 24/7 by the German Weather Service (DWD) and used to provide thunderstorm information to aviation customers and the central weather forecast unit of DWD.

Little theoretically-informed research investigates how non-standard eyewitness identification tasks or metacognitive instructions might improve identification accuracy. We used a continuous dual-process model of recognition to explain familiarity-based identification errors and design modified lineup tasks and metacognitive instructions that increased eyewitness recollection and discriminability. In four studies we examined identification performance across lineups (standard simultaneous, elimination, delayed-choice) and instructions (task-related, phenomenological, standard). Participants viewed photos of targets and made identification decisions about a lineup for each target. Instructions about memory phenomenology improved discriminability in delayed-choice lineups, while task-related instructions were ineffective. Metacognitive instructions about how to better evaluate memory quality in modified lineup tasks could improve recollection for greater identification accuracy even when memory is poor. While immediate post-decision confidence is a good predictor of identification accuracy, lineup modifications that improve eyewitness memory use would provide better evidence of suspect guilt or innocence. We discuss implications for lineup theory and design.

Management practices must be developed to improve yam production sustainability. Image-based phenotyping techniques could help developing such practices based on non-destructive analyses of important plant traits. Our objective was to determine the potential of image-based phenotyping methods to assess traits relevant for tuber yield formation in yam grown in glasshouse and field. We took plant and leaf pictures with consumer cameras. We used the numbers of image pixels to derive the shoot biomass and the total leaf surface and calculated the ‘triangular greenness index’ (TGI) which is an indicator of the plant nitrogen (N) nutritional status. Under glasshouse conditions, the number of pixels obtained from nadir view (image taken top down) was positively correlated to the shoot biomass, and the total leaf surface, while the TGI was negatively correlated to the N content of diagnostic leaves. Under field conditions, pictures taken from the nadir view showed an increase in soil surface cover and a decrease in TGI with time. TGI was negatively correlated to SPAD measured on specific leaves but was not correlated to the N content of these leaves. In conclusion, these phenotyping techniques deliver relevant results but need to be further developed and validated for application in yam.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic is thought to began in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Mobility analysis identified East-Asia and Oceania countries to be highly-exposed to COVID-19 spread, consistent with the earliest spread occurring in these regions. However, here we show that while a strong positive correlation between case-numbers and exposure level could be seen early-on as expected, at later times the infection-level is found to be negatively correlated with exposure-level. Moreover, the infection level is positively correlated with the population size, which is puzzling since it has not reached the level necessary for population-size to affect infection-level through herd immunity. These issues are resolved if a low-virulence Corona-strain (LVS) began spreading earlier in China outside of Wuhan, and later globally, providing immunity from the later appearing high-virulence strain (HVS). Following its spread into Wuhan, cumulative mutations gave rise to the emergence of an HVS, known as SARS-CoV-2, starting the COVID-19 pandemic. We model the co-infection by an LVS and an HVS, and show that it can explain the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic and the non-trivial dependence on the exposure level to China and the population-size in each country. We find that the LVS began its spread a few months before the onset of the HVS, and that its spread doubling-time is $\sim 1.59\pm 0.17$ times slower than the HVS. Although more slowly spreading, its earlier onset allowed the LVS to spread globally before the emergence of the HVS. In particular, in countries exposed earlier to the LVS and/or having smaller population-size, the LVS could achieve herd-immunity earlier, and quench the later-spread HVS at earlier stages. We find our two-parameter (the spread-rate and the initial onset time of the LVS) can accurately explain the current infection levels (R^2$\mathrm{=0.74}$; correlation p-value (p) of 5x10^-13$$). Furthermore, countries exposed early should have already achieved herd-immunity. We predict that in those countries cumulative infection levels could rise by no more than 2-3 times the current level through local-outbreaks, even in the absence of any containment measures. We suggest several tests and predictions to further verify the double-strain co-infection model and discuss the implications of identifying the LVS.

Starting from acid chlorides, alkynes, tryptamines, and acroyl chloride, 21 densely substituted tetrahydro-beta-carbolines are prepared in a four-component one-pot reaction. In this study, the aza-Michael addition step to generate intermediate enaminones is optimized in the presence of ytterbium triflate. Moreover, apart from acroyl chloride, all reactants can be deployed in almost equimolar ratios, which increases the atom economy of the sequence. For mechanistic rationali-zation, the concluding aza-anellation was investigated by DFT calculations on potential inter-mediates and corresponding activation energies, revealing that the aza-anellation rather pro-ceeds via ene-reaction than via electrocyclization.

Syntrophic acetate oxidation operates close to the thermodynamic equilibrium and very little is known about the participating organisms and their metabolism. Clostridium ultunense is one of the most abundant syntrophic acetate-oxidising bacteria (SAOB) found in engineered biogas processes operating with high ammonia concentrations. It has been proven to oxidise acetate in cooperation with hydrogenotrophic methanogens. There is evidence that the Wood-Ljungdahl (WL) pathway plays an important role in acetate oxidation. In this study we analysed the physiological and metabolic capacities of C. ultunense on genome scale and conducted a comparative study of all known characterised SAOB, namely Syntrophaceticus schinkii, Thermacetogenium phaeum, Tepidanaerobacter acetatoxydans and Pseudothermotoga lettingae. The results clearly indicated physiological robustness beneficial for anaerobic digestion environments and revealed unexpected metabolic diversity with respect to acetate oxidation and energy conservation systems., Unlike S. schinkii and Th. phaeum, C. ultunense clearly does not employ the oxidative WL pathway for acetate oxidation, as its genome (and that of P. lettingae) lack important key genes. In both those species, a proton motive force is likely formed by chemical protons involving putative electron-bifurcating [Fe-Fe] hydrogenases rather than proton pumps. No genes encoding a respiratory Ech hydrogenase, as involved in energy conservation in Th. phaeum and S. schinkii, were identified in C. ultunense and P. lettingae. Moreover, two respiratory complexes sharing similarities to the proton-translocating ferredoxin:NAD⁺ oxidoreductase (Rnf) and the Na+ pumping NADH:quinone hydrogenase (NQR) were predicted. These might form a respiratory chain involved in reduction of electron acceptors other than protons. However, involvement of these complexes in acetate oxidation in C. ultunense and P. lettingae needs further study. This genome-based comparison provides a solid platform for future meta-proteomics and meta-transcriptomics studies and for metabolic engineering, control and monitoring of SAOB.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has recently revised its strategy for shipping de-carbonization, deepening the ambition to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions until 2050. The accomplishment of this strategy requires the large-scale deployment of alternative maritime fuels, whose diversity and technical characteristics impose transition challenges. While several studies address the production of these fuels, a notable gap lies in the analysis of the required adaptations in vessels and ports for their usage. This study aims to fill this gap through a comprehensive re-view of material compatibility, storage in ports/vessels, and bunkering technology. Firstly, we an-alyze key aspects of port/vessel adaptation: physical and chemical properties; energy conversion for propulsion; fuel feeding and storage; bunkering procedures. Then, we perform a maturity as-sessment, placing each studied fuel on the technological readiness scale, revealing the most prom-ising options regarding infrastructure adaptability. Finally, we develop a case study for Brazil, whose economy is grounded on maritime exports. Findings indicate that multi-product ports may have potential to serve as multi-fuel hubs, while the remaining ports are inclined to specific fuels. In terms of vessel categories, we find that oil tankers, chemical ships and gas carriers are the most ready for conversion in the short-term

For women giving birth, every moment of delay in receiving skilled care significantly increases the risks of stillbirth, neonatal and maternal death. More than half of all births in developing countries including South Africa, take place outside a health facility and without skilled birth attendants. This has therefore, made it difficult to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals of global reduction in maternal mortality, which is a key health challenge globally, especially in developing countries and sub-Saharan Africa in particular. The aim of this study was to explore and describe the views of pregnant women regarding facility-based delivery. Focus group discussions were used to gather information from the pregnant women. Information was collected from six groups of pregnant women who had delivered babies at the antenatal care facilities in the past years. Results showed several factors associated with the failure to use institutional delivery service, such as long distance from the health care facility, lack of transport, lack of transport fare, shortages of skilled staff, failure to disclose pregnancy, cultural and religious beliefs, and staff attitudes.

FPGA-based data acquisition and processing systems play an important role in modern high-speed, multichannel measurement systems, especially in High-Energy and Plasma Physics. Such FPGA-based systems require an extended control and diagnostics part corresponding to the complexity of the controlled system. Managing the complex structure of registers while keeping the tight coupling between hardware and software is a tedious and potentially error-prone process. Various existing solutions aimed at helping that task do not perfectly match all specific requirements of that application area. The paper presents a new solution based on the XML system description, facilitating the automated generation of the control system’s HDL code and software components and enabling easy integration with the control software. The emphasis is put on reusability, ease of maintenance in case of system modification, easy detection of mistakes, and the possibility of use in modern FPGAs. The presented system has been successfully used in data acquisition and preprocessing projects in High-Energy Physics experiments. It enables easy creation and modification of the control system definition and convenient access to the control and diagnostic blocks. The presented system is an open-source solution and may be adopted by the user for particular needs.

Thunderstorms endager life and infrastructure. Accurate and precise prediction of thunderstorms are therefore helpful to enable protections measures and to reduce the risks. This manuscript presents the latest developments to improve thunderstorm forecasting in the first few hours. This includes the description and discussion of a new Julia-based method (JuliaTSnos) for the temporal extrapolation of thunderstorms and the blending of this method with the numerical weather prediction model (NWP) ICON. The combination of ICON and JuliaTSnow attempts to overcome the limitations associated with the pure extrapolation of observations wit Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs) and thus increase the prediction horizon. For the blending the operational ICON-D2 is used, but also the experimental ICON-RUC, which is performed with a higher data assimilation update cycle. The blended products are evaluated against lightning data. The Critical Success Index (CSI) for the blended RUC product is higher for all forecast time steps. This is mainly due to higher resolution of the AMVs (prediction hours 0-2) and the rapid update cycle of ICON-RUC (prediction hours 2-6). The results demonstrate the potential of the rapid update cycle to improve the short term forecasts of thunderstorms. Also the transition between AMV driven nowcasting to NWP is much smoother in the blended RUC product, which points to the advantages of fast data assimilation for seamless predictions. The CSI is well above the critical value of 0.5 for the 0-2 hour forecasts. However, also with RUC the CSI drops below 0.5 as soon as the last forecast is more than 3 hours away from the last data assimilation, indicating the lack of the model physics to accurately predict thunderstorms. This lack is simply a result of chaos theory. Within this scope the role of NWP in comparison with Artificial Intelligence (AI) is discussed and it is concluded that AI could replace physical short term forecasts in the near future.

The application of thermoelectric generators (TEG) on the nozzle of an aviation jet engine was studied by finite element TEG-simulations. Against the background of system-level requirements of the reference aircraft this work reports the resulting requirements on the TEG design with respect to applied thermoelectric (TE) element lengths and fill factors (F) within the TE modules in order to maintain a positive effect on the specific fuel consumption. Assuming a virtual optimized TE material and varying the convective heat transfer coefficients at the nozzle surfaces this work reports the achievable power output. System-level requirement on the gravimetric power density (> 100 Wkg-1) can only be met for F ≤ 21%. Extrapolating TEG coverage to the full nozzle surface, the power output reaches 1.65 kW per engine. Assessment of further potential is demonstrated by a parametric study on the fill factor, convective heat transfer coefficients, and materials performance. This study confirms a feasible design range for TEG installation on the aircraft nozzle with a positive impact on the fuel consumption. This application translates into a reduction of operational costs, allowing for an economically efficient installation of TEG in consideration of the cost-specific power output of modern thermoelectric materials.

Muscle mass, strength and physical function are known to decline with age. This is associated with the development of geriatric syndromes including sarcopenia and frailty. These conditions are associated with disability, falls, longer hospital stay, higher readmission rates, institutionalisation, osteoporosis, and death. Moreover, they are associated with reduced quality of life, as well as substantial costs to health services around the world. Dietary protein is essential for skeletal muscle function. Older adults have shown evidence of anabolic resistance, where greater amounts of protein are required to stimulate muscle protein synthesis and therefore require higher daily amounts of dietary protein. Research shows that resistance exercise has the most beneficial effect on preserving skeletal muscle. A synergistic effect has been noted when this is combined with dietary protein, yet studies in this area lack consistency. This is due, in part, to the variation that exists within dietary protein, in terms of dose, quality, source, amino acid composition and timing. Research has targeted participants that are replete in dietary protein with negative results. Inconsistent measures of muscle mass, muscle function, physical activity and diet are used. This review attempts to summarise these issues, as well as introduce the possible role of the gut microbiome and its metabolome in this area.

It is argued that if the non-unitary measurement transition, as codified by Von Neumann, is a real physical process, then the ‘probability assumption’ needed to derive the Second Law of Thermodynamics naturally enters at that point. The existence of a real, indeterministic physical process underlying the measurement transition would therefore provide an ontological basis for Boltzmann’s Stosszahlansatz and thereby explain the unidirectional increase of entropy against a backdrop of otherwise time-reversible laws. It is noted that the Transactional Interpretation (TI) of quantum mechanics provides such a physical account of the non-unitary measurement transition, and TI is brought to bear in finding a physically complete, non-ad hoc grounding for the Second Law.

The increasing use of renewable energies as a source of electricity has led to a fundamental transition of the power supply system. The integration of fluctuating weather-dependent energy sources into the grid already has a major impact on the load flows of the grid. As a result, the interest in forecasting wind and solar radiation with a sufficient accuracy over short time horizons grew. In this study the short-term forecast of the effective cloud albedo based on optical flow estimation methods are investigated. The optical flow method utilized here is TV-L¹ from the open source library OpenCV. This method uses a multi-scale-approach to capture cloud motions on various spatial scales. After the clouds are displaced the solar surface radiation will be calculated with SPECMAGIC NOW which computes the global irradiation spectrally resolved from satellite imagery. Due to a high temporal and spatial resolution of satellite measurements the effective cloud albedo and thus solar radiation can be forecasted from 5 minutes up to 4 hours with a resolution of 0.05°. In the following there will be a brief description of the method for the short-term forecast of the effective cloud albedo. Subsequently evaluation results will be presented and discussed. Finally an outlook of further developments will be given.

Mitochondria are involved in many cellular processes and their main role is cellular energy production. They constantly undergo fission and fusion, and these counteracting processes are under strict balance. The cytosolic dynamin-related protein 1, Drp1 or dynamin-1-like protein (DNM1L) mediates mitochondrial and peroxisomal division. Defects in the DNM1L gene results in a complex neurodevelopmental disorder with heterogeneous symptoms affecting multiple organ systems. Currently there is no curative treatment available for this condition. We have previously described a patient with a de novo heterozygous c.1084G>A (p.G362S) DNM1L mutation and studied the effects of a small molecule, Bezafibrate, on mitochondrial functions in this patient’s fibroblasts compared to controls. Bezafibrate normalized growth on glucose-free medium, ATP production, oxygen consumption and s improved mitochondrial morphology in patient’s fibroblasts, albeit concomitantly causing a mild increase ROS production. Further studies would be needed to show the consistency of the response to Bezafibrate, possibly using fibroblasts from patients with different mutations in DNM1L, and this treatment should be confirmed in clinical trials. However, taking into account the favorable effects in our study, we suggest that Bezafibrate could be a possible treatment option for patients with certain DNM1L mutations.

Beliefs that maintain patriarchal principles may affect individuals’ willingness to avoid conflicts in their intimate partner relationships and eventually are likely to affect chances of intimate partner economic violence. Nonetheless, research has yet to fully explore these associations. This study used a sample of 321 adults in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community—a patriarchal and traditional culture—to examine associations in beliefs supporting patriarchal principles at the micro (gendered domestic roles), meso, and macro ( institutional power of men and inherent inferiority of women) levels; conflict avoidance and economic violence; and sex differences in these factors. Descriptive statistics were used to explore gender differences in research variables, and path analysis examined the correlations between research variables for men and women. Beliefs in patriarchal ideologies were moderate at all levels, although slightly higher among men. Men tended to avoid conflict with their intimate partner significantly more than women did. Beliefs in support of patriarchal ideologies predicted conflict avoidance, especially among women. Finally, in opposition to prior research findings, this study revealed nonsignificant sex differences in the prevalence of economic violence victimization. These findings, however, do not suggest that economic violence victimization is not rooted in sex issues. We discuss the findings and the meanings assigned to conflict avoidance by men and women while considering gender disparities of power and control. We suggest that the contribution of men’s tendency to avoid conflict likely moderated their chances to perpetrate economic violence.

A well-prepared public health workforce is essential for reducing disease burdens and improving population health, requiring an education that addresses global and complex challenges. This paper examines the integration of the relational employability framework in public health education to cultivate critical global citizenship among students and graduates. Our research, conducted at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Western Australia, involved two case studies using qualitative interviews. Case Study 1, drawn from Cook’s doctoral research, explored student experiences with the relational employability framework within an undergraduate capstone unit. Case Study 2, a school-funded project, gathered graduate perspectives to inform ongoing curriculum development. The findings indicate that the relational employability framework enhances global competencies among students and graduates, through research skills development and critical reflective practice. Students reported improved awareness of their learning needs, self-confidence, and an increased ability to engage with diverse perspectives and societal challenges. Graduates highlighted the framework’s role in understanding ethical standards, conducting rigorous research and applying evidence-based practices in professional settings. Additionally, the framework supported the development of a reflective mindset, enabling graduates to make informed, value-based career decisions and advance their professional growth. The study suggests that adopting a relational employability approach can effectively prepare globally competent and reflective public health professionals. We advocate for the broader implementation of this framework in health education and higher education, offering practical recommendations for curriculum transformation. Such an approach will equip future professionals to contribute meaningfully to public health debates and embody the principles of global citizenship in their practice.

Myxobacteria feature unique biological characteristics including their capability to glide on surface, undergo different multicellular developmental stages and produce structurally unique natural products such as the catecholate-type siderophores myxochelin A and B. Herein, we report the isolation, structure elucidation and biosynthesis of the new congener myxochelin B-succinate from the terrestrial myxobacterial strain MSr12020, featuring a succinyl decoration at its primary amine group. Myxochelin-B-succinate exhibited antifungal growth inhibition and moderate cytotoxic activity against selected human cancer cell lines. This unique chemical modification of myxochelin B might provide interesting insights for future microbiological studies to understand the biological function and biosynthesis of secondary metabolite succinylation.

This article analyzes the assessment of the four development levels of the Digital Teaching Competence (DTC) to recognize the needs and formulation of challenges in training and educational innovation required in the pedagogical practices of university professors under the current context of the Covid-19 pandemic. The study used an empirical-analytical methodology with a non-experimental, transactional, descriptive design. The sample design was probabilistic, estimated with 95% confidence and 5% error among 252 teachers from various faculties of the University of La Guajira. The selected instrument corresponded to the rubric's application to evaluate the university professor's digital teaching competence in Latin America. Among the study's significant results, we highlight that the rubric presented a high Cronbach's alpha reliability (α: 0.947). In the general assessment of DTC development, it was estimated that 78.2% of teachers are in the first two levels of DTC development assessment (Beginning and Middle). The evaluation rubric allows identifying challenges and opportunities that teacher training must address to advance the professional development of professors.

Background: Distance to a health facility for inpatient care in developing countries has been a huge hindrance towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goal three. The United Nation encourages countries to research on access to inpatient care, so as to form health policies based on data. Methods: Data on four hundred and eighty-one participants of all ages from forty-seven counties in Kenya who sought inpatient care in Kenya in 2018 were analyzed. Distance to a health facility was captured as a continuous variable and was self-reported by the respondent. The response exhibited a discrete mass at zero and continuous characteristic, therefore a Tweedie distribution was adopted for modelling. Due to the correlation nature of clustered data, we embraced the Generalized Estimating Equations approach with an exchangeable correlation. Since no standard software was available to analyze this problem, we developed an R functions. We assessed the best model fit using the QICu and criteria, in which the lowest value for the former and the highest for the later are preferred.Findings: Differences in employment, ability to pay for the service and household size are associated with the distance covered to access government facilities. Interpretation: Poor people tend to have large households and are more likely to live in rural areas and slums, thus are forced to travel for long distance to access inpatient care. Compared to unemployed, the employed could have better socio-economic status and possibly live within reach of the inpatient health facilities, therefore travel less distances to access. Longer distances are associated with high payments, signifying some form of specialized treatment care due to the complexity of the medical cases, that are expensive to treat.

This work is aimed at promoting a healthier means of livelihood by investigating insignificant areas of pollution. In this work, soy candles produced from soybeans were proven as healthier alternatives to paraffin candles. Soxhlet extraction method was used with hexane as solvent. The extracted oil were then solidified. The wax was moulded into candle and tests were carried out to prove its claims as a safer alternative to paraffin wax. The results supported this claims that soy candles is more economical and produced lesser soot than the paraffin candles.

The occurrence of ovarian dysfunction is often due to the imbalance between the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the (in)effectiveness of the antioxidative defense mechanisms. Primary sources of ROS are the respiratory electron transfer and the activity of NADPH oxidases (NOX), while Superoxide dismutases (SOD) are the main key reg-ulators that control the levels of ROS and reactive nitrogen species intra- and extracel-lularly. Because of their central role, SODs are the subject of research on human ovarian dysfunction, but the sample acquisition is low. The high degree of cellular and molecular similarity between Drosophila melanogaster ovaries and human ovaries provides this model organism with the best conditions for analyzing the role of ROS during ovarian function. In this study, we clarify the localization of the ROS producing enzyme dNox within ovaries of Drosophila melanogaster and by a tissue specific knockdown, we show that dNox derived ROS are involved in the chorion hardening process. Furthermore, we analyze the dSod3 localization and show that reduced activity of dSod3 impacts egg laying behavior, but not the chorion hardening process.

This study aimed to develop a laboratory-scale direct air capture unit for evaluating and comparing amine-based adsorbents under temperature vacuum swing adsorption conditions. The experimental campaign conducted with the direct air capture unit allowed for the determination of equilibrium loading, CO2 uptake capacity, and other main performance parameters of the investigated adsorbent Lewatit VP OC 1065®. The investigations also helped to understand the co-adsorption of both CO2 and H2O on the tested material, which is crucial for improving temperature vacuum swing adsorption processes. This was achieved by obtaining pure component isotherms for CO2 and H2O as well as three different co-adsorption isotherm models from literature. It was found that the weighted average dual-site Toth model emerged as the most accurate and reliable model for simulating this co-adsorption behavior. Its predictions closely align with experimental data, particularly in capturing the adsorption equilibrium at various temperatures. It was also observed that this lab-scale unit offers advantages over thermogravimetric analysis when conducting adsorption experiments on the chosen amine. The final aim of this study is to provide a pathway to develop devices for testing and developing efficient and cost-effective adsorbents for direct air capture.

This work analyzes a new indoor laboratory data set looking at early fire indicators in controlled and realistic experiments representing different incipient fire scenarios. The experiments were performed within the confines of an indoor laboratory setting using multiple distributed sensor nodes on different room positions. Each sensor node collected data of particulate matter (PM), volatile organic compounds (VOC), CO, CO2, H2, UV, air temperature and humidity in terms of a multivariate time series. These data hold immense value for researchers within the machine learning and data science communities who are keen on exploring innovative advanced statistical and machine learning techniques. They serve as a valuable resource for the development of early fire detection systems. The analysis of the collected data was carried out in dependence of the manhattan distance between the fire source and the sensor node. We found that especially larger particles (&gt; 0.5 μm) and VOCs show a significant dependency with respect to the intensity as a function of the manhattan distance to the source. Moreover, we observed differences in the propagation behavior of VOCs, PM, and CO, which are particularly relevant in incipient fire scenarios due to the presence of strand popagation effects.

Most of the commonly used Ionic Liquids (ILs) contain bulky organic cations with suitable anions. With our COMPLET (Concept of Melting Point Lowering due to Ethoxylation), we follow a different approach. We use simple, low-toxic, cheap and commercially available anions of the type Cx(EO)yCH2COO– to liquefy presumably any simple metal ion, independently of its charge. In the simplest case, the cation can be sodium or lithium, but synthesis of Ionic Liquids is also possible with cations of higher valences such as transition or rare earth metals. Anions with longer alkyl chains are surface active and form surface active ionic liquids (SAILs), which combine properties of ionic and nonionic surfactants at room temperature. They show significant structuring even in their pure state, i.e. in the absence of water or any other added solvent.

Periodontitis is a disease that originates from gingival tissue, and if left untreated, can cause inflammation to spread to deeper tissues, altering bone homeostasis, and even leading to tooth loss. When the bacteria in plaque reach sufficient numbers, the immune system responds by activating immune cells that will produce cytokines, including interleukin-1 (IL-1), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α). These immune signaling molecules will coordinate the inflammatory responses. IL-1 binds to the IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) on the surface of target cells, initiating an inflammatory response by activating intracellular signalling pathways. Inhibition of IL-1R can prevent the interaction of IL-1 with this receptor, thereby halting the activation of the inflammatory pathway. By substituting this connection with active anti-inflammatory substances, it is possible to prevent the contact between IL-1 and IL-1R. The licorice plant, Glycyrrhiza glabra, includes eight types of flavonoids with significant anti-inflammatory potential, namely isoliquiritigenin, glyzaglabrin, prunetin, shinpterocarpin, licochalcone A, glabridin, glisoflavone, and isoangustone A. This study aims to assess the potential of such flavonoids as candidates for periodontitis treatment through molecular docking, using AutoDock Tools v.1.5.6. All tested compounds showed highly stable bonds to IL-1R, with a binding affinity values below -7 kcal/mol. Van der Waals forces, hydrogen bonds, and hydrophobic bonds all contribute to the stability of these interactions. Among the eight tested compounds, glisoflavone, which has a Ki value of 90.89 nM and a ΔG value of -9.61 kcal/mol, has the highest binding stability to IL-1R.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was declared a pandemic in March 2020, which led to the implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions that had inadvertent physical, mental and social effects. The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences and responses of Canadians to these interventions on Twitter using the Kübler-Ross Change Curve (KRCC) during the first six months of the pandemic. Tweets were analyzed using sentiment analysis, thematic content analysis and KRCC. The findings highlight that many Canadians attempted to adapt to the changes but had a predominantly negative outlook on policies due to the financial and social repercussions

Current conventional methods of evaluating microstructures are characterized by a high degree of subjectivity and a lack of reproducibility. Modern machine learning (ML) approaches have already shown great potential in overcoming these challenges. Once trained with representative data in combination with an objective ground truth, the ML model is able to perform a task properly in a reproducible and automated manner. However, in highly complex use cases, it is often not possible to create a definite ground truth. This study addresses this problem using the underlying showcase of microstructures of highly complex quenched and quenched and tempered (Q/QT) steels. A patch-wise classification approach combined with a sliding window technique provides a solution for segmenting entire microphotographs where pixel-wise segmentation is not applicable due to the problem of reproducibly creating unambiguous training masks. Using correlative microscopy, consisting of light optical microscope (LOM) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) micrographs as well as corresponding data from electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD), a training dataset of reference states that covers a wide range of microstructures was acquired in order to train accurate and robust ML models. Despite the enormous complexity associated with the steels treated here, classification accuracies of 88.8% in the case of LOM images and 93.7% for high-resolution SEM images were achieved. These high accuracies are close to super-human performance, especially in consideration of the reproducibility of the automated ML approaches compared to conventional methods based on subjective evaluations through experts.

The Human Herpesviruses persist in the form of a latent infection in specialized cell types. During latency, the herpesvirus genomes associate with cellular histone proteins and the viral lytic genes assemble into transcriptionally repressive heterochromatin. Although there is divergence in the nature of heterochromatin on latent herpesvirus genomes, in general the genomes assemble into forms of heterochromatin that can convert to euchromatin to permit gene expression and therefore reactivation. This reversible form of heterochromatin is known as facultative heterochromatin and is most commonly characterized by polycomb silencing. Polycomb silencing is prevalent on the cellular genome and plays a role in developmentally regulated and imprinted genes, as well as X chromosome inactivation. As herpesviruses initially enter the cell in an un-chromatinized state, they provide an optimal system to study how de novo facultative heterochromatin is targeted to regions of DNA and how it contributes to silencing. Here, we describe how polycomb-mediated silencing potentially assembles onto herpesvirus genomes, synergizing what is known about herpesvirus latency with facultative heterochromatin targeting to the cellular genome. A greater understanding of polycomb silencing of herpesviruses will inform on the mechanism of persistence and reactivation of these pathogenic human viruses and provide clues regarding how de novo facultative heterochromatin forms on the cellular genome.

Plants are constantly exposed to a variety of different environmental stresses, including drought, salinity, and elevated temperatures. These stress cues are assumed to aggravate in the future driven by the global climate change scenario which we are currently experiencing. These stressors have largely detrimental effects on plant growth and development and, therefore, put global food security in jeopardy. For this reason, it is necessary to expand our understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which plants respond to abiotic stresses. Especially boosting our insight into the ways by which plants balance their growth and their defense programs appears to be of paramount importance, as this may lead to novel perspectives that can pave the way to increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner. In this review, our aim was to present a detailed overview of different factettes of the crosstalk between the antagonistic plant hormones abscisic acid (ABA) and auxin, two phytohormones that are the main drivers of plant stress responses, on the one hand, and plant growth, on the other.

Selenium and iodine are essential micronutrients for humans. They are often deficient in food supply due to low phytoavailable concentrations in soil. Agronomic biofortification of food crops is one approach to overcome micronutrient malnutrition. This study focused on German consumers’ willingness to purchase selenium- and/or iodine-biofortified apples. For this purpose, an online survey was carried out. In this context, consumers were asked to choose their most preferred apple product from a set card of product alternatives (Discrete Choice Experiment). The multinomial logit model results demonstrated that German consumers’ have a preference in particular for iodine-biofortified apples. Furthermore, apple choice was mainly influenced by price, health claims, and plastic-free packaging material. Viewed individually, selenium did not exert an effect on product choice whereas positive interactions between both micronutrients exist.

International students were – and continue to be – particularly vulnerable to the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. 625 international students in Israel completed an online survey assessing risk and protective factors (socio-demographics, health status, COVID-19 related experiences/concerns, financial difficulties, academic challenges/experiences, social support, and coping) for student’s depression, perceived need for help, and seeking help from the university. Approximately 15% of participants had moderately-severe or severe depression. Over half needed at least a little help, but only 19.7% had asked for help. Depression symptoms were related coping (β=-.34) and health (β=.12). Need for help was related to being a postdoc (β=-0.26) and experiencing food insecurity (β=0.20). Universities need to develop services which address international students’ unique needs during global crises.

Drones are being used more and more frequently and in various ways to attack people and critical infrastructures, which increases their level of danger and makes early detection and risk assessment even more difficult. There is no ultimate drone sensor. Rather, drones can only be effectively detected, if suitable sensor technologies are integrated within a system. Among the best suited sensorics for this purpose are radar and optical sensors, because the advantage of the radar, given by the long detection range, can be well combined with the additional visual-based information gained from a camera in the mid- and short-range, where usually the radar fails detecting micro drones. In this paper, a modular drone detection and assistance system MODEAS is presented, which can be used to automatically detect and track drones within a range up to some kilometers on the sky, but also in complex urban environments, where buildings and vegetation offer a perfect background for camouflage. The system provides an early detection of flying objects as potential drones, when those are not at all or only as small dots visible for the human eye. Main strengths of the system are the robust AI detection to differentiate such an object against clutter (birds, clouds) and its further classification by model and payload recognition, the latter aspect being considered as an indication of dangerousness. Moreover, once a drone is detected, the system follows it automatically, precisely and smoothly with a high-resolution pan-tilt-camera, measuring the distance to the sensor station with a laser rangefinder, compute the geocoordinates and visualize them live on a map. To improve the precision of the detection, a multisensorial fusion of all sensor detections is performed. Furthermore, alarms may be generated when a drone enters a restricted area.

SARS-CoV-2 infection can lead to life-threatening clinical manifestations. Patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are at higher risk for severe courses of COVID-19. However, strategies to predict the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection in CVD patients at the time of hospital admission are still missing. Here, we investigated whether this prediction is achievable by prospectively analysing the blood immunophenotype of 94 participants, including 20 uninfected and 37 acutely SARS-CoV-2-infected CVD patients and 37 healthy donors, using a 36-colour spectral flow cytometry panel. Unsupervised data analysis revealed little differences between healthy donors and CVD patients, whereas the distribution of the cell populations changed dramatically in SARS-CoV-2-infected CVD patients. The latter had more mature NK cells, activated monocyte subsets, central memory CD4+ T cells, and plasmablasts but fewer dendritic cells, CD16+ monocytes, innate lymphoid cells, and CD8+ T cell subsets. Moreover, we identified an immune signature characterised by mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells, intermediate effector CD8+ T cells, and natural killer T (NKT) cells that is predictive for CVD patients with a severe course of COVID-19. Thus, intensified immunophenotype analyses can help identify patients at risk of severe COVID-19 at hospital admission, improving clinical outcomes through specific treatment.

Several factors enhance the possibility of vertical HIV transmission in the pediatric population. Unfortunately, the data of the prevalence of HIV and associated risk factors in these populations remain limited in Rwanda. The study aimed to assess HIV prevalence and risk factors for infants born to mothers on ARV treatment at CHUB/Rwanda. MethodsA cross-sectional study was carried out on infants who were born to mothers under ARV treatment at CHUB. The associated risk factors were retrospectively assessed using prevention vertical HIV transmission records, and Dried Blood spots (DBS) were prospectively tested using Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR). Data were analyzed by logistic regression. Ethical clearance (Ref: CMHS/IRB/198/2017) was issued by University of Rwanda to fulfill research ethical consideration.ResultsAmong 185(100%) infants born to HIV-positive mothers under ARV treatment, 5(2.7%) were HIV positive. The most associated risk factors were increased to over 1log copies/ml mother’s viral load (OR 9.3, 95% CI 1.01-85.45, P= 0.04) and mother’s CD4 count lower than 350 cells/µl (OR 6.4, 95% CI 1.03-40.06, P=0.04). The factors found to reduce the rate of vertical transmission of HIV were health facility as a delivery place (P=0.03), exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months (P= 0.006), and attending the antenatal care (P=0.01) while feeding children and vaginal delivery were associated risks but not statistically significant.ConclusionThe current study supports that the more mothers’ viral load and CD4 count decrease, so does the risk of HIV to their infants. A fact which indicates that both prevalence and risk factors remain an alarming issue. Much effort and multi-disciplinary approach are highly recommended.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is a frequent and critical complication in the clinical setting. In rodents AKI can be prevented effectively through caloric restriction (CR), which has also been shown to increase lifespan in many species. In Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) longevity studies revealed that a marked CR-induced reduction of endocannabinoids may be a key mechanism. Thus, we hypothesized that regulation of endocannabinoids, in particular arachidonoyl ethanolamide (AEA), might also play a role in CR-mediated protection from renal ischemia-reperfusion injury (IRI) in mammals including humans. In male C57Bl6J mice, CR significantly reduced renal IRI and led to a significant decrease of AEA. Supplementation of AEA to near-normal serum concentrations by repetitive intraperitoneal administration in CR mice, however, did not abrogate the protective effect of CR. We also analyzed serum samples taken before and after CR from patients of three different pilot trials of dietary interventions. In contrast to mice and C. elegans, we detected an increase of AEA. We conclude that endocannabinoid levels in mice are modulated by CR, but CR-mediated renal protection does not depend on this effect. Moreover, our results indicate that modulation of endocannabinoids by CR in humans may differ fundamentally from the effects in animal models.

This work is based on identifying the analysis techniques used to evaluate the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects using the zebrafish model. In this context, a literature review was performed with the Web of Science database. We used the terms zebra fish, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, model, and Danio rerio. Fifty articles were reviewed, of which thirty-three were chosen to perform this review and were classified according to the source of plant extracts, compounds extracted from plants, chemical compounds, and other sources. This paper is an effort to provide a literature review on zebrafish models and elucidate their pros and cons to evaluate anti-inflamatory and antioxidant activity.

Appropriate techniques for promoting reading fluency are difficult to implement in the classroom. There is little time to provide students with individualized feedback on reading aloud or to moti-vate them to do so. In this context, VR can be beneficial for learning, to provide individualized feedback and for increasing learners' engagement. Studies analyzing established methods of lan-guage learning in school in VR seem to be lacking so far. Therefore, this study project was the first to analyze the acceptance of students towards the implementation of a concept of reading fluency training with students at a secondary school in VR. The study method was developed based on the Technology Acceptance Model. The VR environment developed is web-based and provides indi-vidual and collaborative opportunities for training reading fluency, giving, and receiving feed-back, and deepening content understanding of the reading texts. To analyze the acceptance of the VR environment, 5 guided interviews were conducted. The results show that despite technical challenges with the VR environment, students accepted and appreciated the reading fluency training in VR. The integration of established concepts of reading fluency training in foreign lan-guage classrooms has great potential as additional added value can be created to address the challenges of face-to-face instruction.

Understanding the function of a locus is a challenge in molecular biology. Although numerous molecular data have been generated in the last decades, it remains difficult to grasp, how these data are related at a locus? In this study, we describe an analytical workflow that can solve this problem using the knowledge available at single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) level. The underlying algorithm uses SNPs as connectors to link omics data and identify correlation between them through a joint bioinformatical/statistical approach. We describe its application in finding the mechanism whereby a mutation causes a phenotype and in revealing the path whereby a gene is being regulated and impacts the phenotypes. We translated our workflow into freely available shell scripts that carry out the analyses. Our approach provides a basic framework to solve the information overload problem in biology.

Spending on out-patient health care by citizens in limited resource countries has received little attention.The purpose of this study is to determine the predictors of household spending on out-patient expenses in a cross-sectional study in Kenya. We applied the GEE methods to determine the effect of various variables on outpatient care. We established that the best predictors for outpatient spending in Kenya are Age of the household head, wealth index, marital status and education, which had the lowest QICu of 976341.2. There were no differences on age in mean spending on outpatient care and was changing in a sinusoidal manner. The rich spend more on outpatient care, due to financial ability. Spending increased across the wealth quantiles while gender had a significant effect in the general performance of the models, it didn’t assist in lowering the QICu

There is a major clinical need for accurate biomarkers for prostate cancer prognosis, to better inform treatment strategies and disease monitoring. Current clinically recognised prognostic factors, including prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels, lack sensitivity and specificity in distinguishing aggressive from indolent disease, particularly in patients with localised intermediate grade prostate cancer. There has therefore been a major focus on identifying molecular biomarkers that can add prognostic value to existing markers, including investigation of DNA methylation, which has a known role in tumorigenesis. In this review, we will provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of DNA methylation biomarker studies in prostate cancer prognosis, and highlight the advances that have been made in this field. We cover the numerous studies into well-established candidate genes, and explore the technological transition that has enabled hypothesis-free genome-wide studies and the subsequent discovery of novel prognostic genes.

The targeted application of plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) provides the key for a future sustainable agriculture with reduced pesticide application. PGPR interaction with the indigenous microbiota is poorly understood but essential to develop reliable applications. Therefore, Stenotrophomonas rhizophila SPA-P69 was applied as seed coating and in combination with a fungicide based on the active ingredients fludioxonil, metalaxyl-M, captan and ziram. Plant performance and rhizosphere composition of treated and non-treated maize plants of two field trials were analyzed. Plant health was significantly increased by treatment; however overall corn yield was not changed. By applying high-throughput amplicon sequencing of the 16S rRNA and the ITS genes, the bacterial and fungal changes in the rhizosphere due to different treatments were determined. Despite treatments had a significant impact on the rhizosphere microbiota (9- 12%), the field site was identified as main driver (27- 37%). Soil microbiota composition from each site was significantly different, which explains the site-specific effects. In this study we were able to show first indications how PGPR treatments increase plant health via microbiome shifts in a site-specific manner. This way first steps towards a detailed understanding of PGPRs and developments of consistently efficient applications in diverse environments are set.

This study presents an innovative approach to interdisciplinary education by integrating principles of biology, engineering and art to foster holistic learning experiences for children. The focus lies on assembling mycelium bricks as engineered living materials with promising applications in sustainable construction. Through a collaborative group task, children engage in the hands-on creation of these bricks, gaining insights into mycology, biomaterials engineering and artistic expression. The curriculum introduces fundamental concepts of mycelial growth and its potential in sustainable material development. Children actively participate in fabricating 3D forms (negative and positive) using mycelium bricks, thereby gaining practical knowledge in shaping and moulding living materials. This hands-on experience enhances their understanding of biological processes and cultivates an appreciation for sustainable design principles. The group task encourages teamwork, problem-solving, and creativity as children collaboratively compose structures using mycelium bricks. Integrating art into the activity adds a creative dimension, allowing participants to explore aesthetic aspects while reinforcing the project’s interdisciplinary nature. Conversations about the material’s end of life and decomposition are framed within the broader context of Nature’s cycles, facilitating an understanding of sustainability. This interdisciplinary pedagogical approach provides a model for educators seeking to integrate diverse fields of knowledge into a cohesive and engaging learning experience. The study contributes to the emerging field of biomimetics education, illustrating the potential of integrating living materials and 3D understanding activities to nurture a holistic understanding of science, engineering and artistic expression in young learners.

Activity of the Nox1 centered NADPH oxidase complex depends on the activator NoxA1 and the organizer NoxO1. NoxO1 itself is not involved in electron transfer for superoxide formation. Instead, by creating proximity of all components in the right place NoxO1 enables a constitutive formation of reactive oxygen species by that complex. All subunits should form the complex in a 1:1:1 ratio. When analyzing different cell lines in this study, we found an unequal expression of the component on mRNA level with an excess of NoxO1. Even with plasmid-based overexpression of individual components of Nox1 centered NADPH oxidase complex results in different expression of their mRNA, with NoxO1 mRNA being best expressed. Despite an unchanged high level of NoxO1 mRNA over a wide range of transfected plasmid, protein expression is increased with accelerating plasmid concentrations. We thought to analyze the ability of NoxO1 to induce ROS formation, when present in different ratio to Nox1 and NoxA1. To this end, we used Hek293 cells with constitutive expression of Nox1 and NoxA1 transfected with increasing concentrations of NoxO1. Our results suggest that ROS formation by the Nox1 centered NADPH oxidase strongly depends on the level of NoxO1 and a surplus of NoxO1 further increases the activity of the complex.

The autosomal recessive disorder Ataxia-Telangiectasia is caused by dysfunction of the stress response protein ATM. In the nucleus of proliferating cells, ATM senses DNA double-strand breaks and coordinates their repair. This role explains T-cell dysfunction and tumor risk. However, it remains unclear whether this function is relevant for postmitotic neurons and underlies the cerebellar atrophy, since ATM is cytoplasmic in postmitotic neurons. Here, we used ATM-null mice that survived early immune deficits by bone-marrow transplantation, and reached initial neurodegeneration stages at 12 months of age. Global cerebellar transcriptomics demonstrated ATM depletion to trigger upregulations in most neurotransmission and neuropeptide systems. Downregulated transcripts were found for the ATM interactome component Usp2, many non-coding RNAs, ataxia genes Itpr1, Grid2, immediate early genes and immunity factors. Allelic splice changes affected prominently neuropeptide machinery, e.g. Oprm1. Validation experiments with stressors were performed in human neuroblastoma cells, where ATM localized only to cytoplasm, similar to brain. Effect confirmation in SH-SY5Y cells occurred after ATM depletion and osmotic stress better than nutrient / oxidative stress, not after ATM kinase inhibition or DNA stressor bleomycin. Overall, we provide pioneer observations from a faithful A-T mouse model, which suggest general changes in synaptic and dense-core vesicle stress adaptation.

In the present work, a portable device system applied in the detection and classification of different metallic ions was proposed and developed, aiming at its application in the monitoring of hydrological systems like rivers, lakes and groundwater. Considering the system features, a portable colorimetric system was developed by using a multispectral optoelectronic sensor. All the technology of quantification and classification of metallic ions using Optoelectronic Multispectral sensors was fully integrated in the embedded hardware FPGA technology and software based on virtual Instrumentation (NI LabView ®). The system was used as a colorimeter by using the chromogen reagent of 1-(2-pyridylazo)-2-naphthol (PAN) as an indicator and the results obtained together with the signal processing and pattern analysis using the method of the linear discriminant analysis, allowed to obtain excellent results in detection and classification of Pb(II), Cd(II), Zn(II), Cu(II), Fe(III) and Ni(II) ions, with almost the same level of performance in relation to those obtained from the UV-VIS spectrometers of high spectral resolution.

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) remains the most lethal gynecologic malignancy, largely due to metastasis and drug resistant recurrences. Fifteen percent of ovarian tumors carry mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, rendering them vulnerable to treatment with PARP inhibitors such as olaparib. Recent studies have shown that TGFβ can induce “BRCAness” in BRCA wild-type cancer cells. Given that TGFβ is a known driver of epithelial to mesenchymal transition (EMT), and the con-nection between EMT and metastatic spread in EOC and other cancers, we asked if TGFβ and EMT alter susceptibility of EOC to PARP inhibition. Epithelial EOC cells were transiently treated with soluble TGFβ and their clonogenic potential, expression and function of EMT and DNA repair genes, and response to PARP inhibitors compared with untreated controls. A second epithelial cell line was compared to its mesenchymal derivative for EMT and DNA repair gene expression and drug responses. We found that TGFβ and EMT resulted in downregulation of genes responsible for homologous recombination (HR) and sensitized cells to olaparib. HR efficiency was reduced in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, mesenchymal cells displayed sensitivity to olaparib, cis-platin, and the DNA-PK inhibitor Nu-7441. Therefore, treatment of disseminated, mesenchymal tumors may represent an opportunity to expand clinical utility of PARP inhibitors and similar agents.

Myxobacteria generate natural products with unique chemical structures, which not only feature remarkable biological functions but also demonstrate unprecedented biosynthetic assembly strategies. The stigmatellins have been previously described as potent inhibitors of the mitochondrial and photosynthetic respiratory chain and originate from an unusual polyketide synthase assembly line. While previous biosynthetic investigations were focused on the formation of the 5,7-dimethoxy-8-hydroxychromone ring, side chain decoration of the hydrophobic alkenyl chain in position 2 was investigated less thoroughly. We report here the full structure elucidation as well as cytotoxic and antimicrobial activities of three new stigmatellins isolated from the myxobacterium Vitiosangium cumulatum MCy10943T with side chain decorations distinct from previously characterized members of this compound family. These findings provide further implications considering the side chain decoration of these aromatic myxobacterial polyketides and their underlying biosynthesis.

Micronutrient deficiencies are a major public health problem. Beans are an important plant-based source of iron, zinc and copper, but their absorption is reduced in the presence of anti-nutrients such as phytates, polyphenols and tannins. Soaking and discarding the soaking water before cooking is unanimously recommended, but this can result in mineral loss. Data on the consequences for mineral bioaccessibility is still limited. This study aimed to evaluate iron, zinc and copper bioaccessibility in black beans cooked (regular pan, pressure cooker) with and without the soaking water. Minerals were quantified by ICP-MS, myo-inositol phosphates (InsP₅, InsP₆) by HPLC ion-pair chromatography, total polyphenols using Folin-Denis reagent and condensed tannins using Vanillin assay. Mineral bioaccessibility was determined by in vitro digestion and dialysis. All treatments resulted in a statistically significant reduction of total polyphenols (30%) and condensed tannins (20%). Only when discarding the soaking water a loss of iron (6%) and copper (30%) was observed, and InsP₆ was slightly decreased (7%) in one treatment. Bioaccessibility of iron and zinc were low (about 0.2% iron and 35% zinc), but copper presented high bioaccessibility (about 70%). Cooking beans under pressure without discarding the soaking water resulted in the highest bioaccessibility levels among all household procedures. Discarding the soaking water before cooking did not improve the nutritional quality of the beans.

This paper presents a new engagement model for climate change education (CCE) as a result of analysing interactive digital narratives (IDNs) created during the You and CO2 Climate Change Education Programme. Young people aged 13-15 from two schools in Wales participated in three workshops, which culminated in students producing IDNs about climate change using Twine storytelling software. An inductive, grounded-theory approach informed by Bourdieusien principles of habitus and value was used to explore students’ responses to the Programme. Stage 1 coding identified ‘Core Themes’ and located student responses along tri-axial continua showing engagement, agency, and power. Stage 2 coding combined ‘Core Themes’ to build upon Cantell’s 2019 Bicycle Model of Climate Change Education to create a new ‘Holistic Engagement Model for Climate Change Education and Action’ (HEMCCEA), where learners’ journeys towards full engagement with and understanding of CCE and action could be traced. Barriers to students’ engagement with and understanding of CCE were identified through Bourdieusien analysis of responses. Results show that engagement was related to children’s views on their capacity to effect change on individual, local and governmental level. The HEMCCEA provides a model for adjusting CCE curricula to accommodate young people’s varying cultures and views.

The genus Rhodotorula includes basidiomycetous oleaginous yeast species. R. babjevae can produce compounds of biotechnological interest such as lipids, carotenoids and biosurfactants from low value substrates such as lignocellulose hydrolysate. High-quality genome assemblies are needed to develop genetic tools and to understand fungal evolution and genetics. Here, we combined short- and long-read sequencing to resolve the genomes of two R. babjevae strains, CBS 7808 (type strain) and DBVPG 8058 at chromosomal level. Both genomes have a size of 21 Mbp and a GC content of 68.2%. Allele frequency analysis indicated tetraploidy in both strains. They harbor 21 putative chromosomes with sizes ranging from 0.4 to 2.4 Mb. In both assemblies, the mitochondrial genome was recovered in a single contig, which shared 97% pairwise identity. The pairwise identity between the majority of chromosomes ranges from 82% to 87%. We found indications for strain-specific extrachromosomal endogenous DNA. 7,591 protein-coding genes and 7,607 associated transcripts were annotated in CBS 7808 and 7,481 protein-coding genes and 7,516 associated transcripts in DBVPG 8058. CBS 7808 has accumulated a higher number of tandem duplications than DBVPG 8058. We identified large translocation events between putative chromosomes and a high genetic divergence between the two strains.

Identification of drug targets and biochemical investigations on mechanisms of action is a are major issues in modern drug development. The present article reviews the classical “one drug” – “one target” paradigm. Novel methods for target deconvolution and for investigation of resistant strains based on protein mass spectrometry have shown that multiple gene products and adapta-tion mechanisms are involved in responses of pathogens to xenobiotics. This review is focused on protozoan pathogens. The conclusions can, however, be extended to chemotherapies against other pathogens or cancer. For this review we have searched Pubmed (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) and Web of Science (webofscience.com) using the key words listed below (status May 2024)

Steel structures, such as bridges, must be continuously maintained. Due to increasing trac loads, design and execution shortcomings, many steel bridges are subject to various types of damage, such as cracks. The bridges must be maintained by crack removal and re-welding the cracks. During this work, the bridge is closed for trac in order to suppress the crack ank movement during welding. As a result, trac loads on other routes are higher, which increases further damage on detour routes and subsequently additional welding work and costs on theses structures. Therefore, the aim is to provide a method that allows welding work on steel structures under running trac, respectively under cyclic loads. First, measurements at a representative steel bridge were conducted to derive gap opening parameters of amplitude and frequency for welding tests under cyclic loads. In a test setup for reproducible and comparable welding tests, specimen were welded under cyclic loads. Deep grinding of the root layer allowed defect-free welding within the range of 0.1 mm amplitude at a frequency of 2 Hz loadings. For such welds, the weld quality and the fatigue strength was comparable to the standard requirements.

This study aimed to explore the effects of raloxifene (Rx) and estradiol (E2) on prothrombin time (PT), partial thromboplastin time (APTT), coagulation factors (VII, X, XI), and fibrinogen concen-trations in rats. Rats were ovariectomized 11 days prior to starting the treatment. Then they re-ceived Rx or E2 (1 to 1000 µg/Kg) or propylene glycol (0.3 ml; vehicle, V) subcutaneously for three consecutive days. Plasmas were collected to measure the hemostatic parameters. Rx significantly increased PT (8%, at 1000 µg/Kg; p<0.05) and APTT at all doses evaluated (32, 70, 67, 30%; p<0.05, respectively). Rx (1 to 1000 µg/Kg) decreased the activity of factor VII by -20, -40, -37, and -17% (p<0.05), respectively, while E2 increased it by 9, 34, 52, and 29%; Rx reduced factor X activity at 10 and 100 µg/kg doses (-30, and -30% p<0.05), while E2 showed an increment of 24% with 1000 µg/kg dose only; Rx (1-100 µg/Kg) diminished FXI activity (-71, -62, -66; p<0.05), while E2 (1 and 10 µg/Kg) diminished it in -60 and -38, respectively (p<0.05); Rx (1000 µg/Kg) produced an increment of 29% (p<0.05) in fibrinogen concentration, but not E2. Our findings suggest that raloxifene has a pro-tective effect on hemostasis in rats.

Tug-of-war (TOW) is an internationally played activity including professional and amateur athletes and defined as early (4000 years ago as a rope less version) in the artwork on Egyptian tomb engravings and is played as per the rules laid out by TWIF, which has 73 member countries and administrative headquarters in the USA. Typically, two teams of “pullers” participate and apply enormous contra directional forces on the pulling rope. Originally, two types of competition are used: knockout and points. This narrative review describes the scientific state of the art about of TOW. For the best of the author’s knowledge no previous information has been published. Anthropometric parameters are near 83.6, lean body mass 69.4, and body fat 16. The VO2MAX is 55.8 ml/kg/min. Relative strength, the dynamic leg power was 4659.8 N. Endurance TOW elicits minimal muscle damage. The injured strains and sprains comprised over half of all injuries: back (42%), shoulder–upper limb (23%) and knee (17%). Pulling movement in TOW contests can be divided into three phases: namely "Drop", "Hold" and "Drive" phase. The maximal pulling forces was 1041.6 ± 123.9 N. The percentage of dynamic pulling force in static maximal pulling force was 75.5 ± 14.4% and the dynamic ranged from 106.4 to 182.5%. There are two gripping styles, indoor and outdoor. The friction characteristics between surface and shoe in TOW is important to determine a suitable shoe for indoor TOW. Waist Belt might be a useful piece of equipment for TOW sport. The EMG technique in Tow described a high activity of dorsal muscle during the pulling. The factor of force vanishing was the coordination among athletes. The force vanishing percentage goes from 8.82±5.59 for 2 contenders to 19.74±2.22 for 8 athletes, 6.4 % in the sum of 2 pullers. However, in the drop phase, for female elite TOW team, only the 0.5 % of them pulling force was wasted. Future studies are need in order to understand better this historical sport activity.

The abnormal assembly of α-synuclein (α-Syn) is an initial step in the formation of Lewy bodies in the brain, which finally causes the neuronal death, being considered as a pathological hallmark in Parkinson’s disease (PD). Certain food bioactives or their metabolites at very low concentrations can trespass the blood brain barrier (BBB) that might, thereafter, act simultaneously. The aim of this work was to evaluate the inhibitory and destabilising capacities on α-Syn kinetics and the neuroprotective effects of three well-known bioactive compounds able to cross the BBB and present in foods; melatonin (MEL), protocatechuic acid (PCA) and hydroxytyrosol (HT), and their combinations. For this purpose, different in vitro techniques (Thioflavin T (ThT), Transmission Electronic Microscopy (TEM), electrophoresis and MTT assay) were used. All tested compounds and their combinations were able to abolish the toxicity induced by α-Syn. In addition, the combination of PCA (100 µM) +HT (100 µM) showed the highest inhibitory effect against α-Syn fibril formation and destabilises α-Syn fibrils (88 and 62%, respectively). This is the first time that MEL, PCA and HT prove a joint effect against α-Syn aggregation and toxicity when they are tested together.

Staphylococcus aureus is a causative agent of nosocomial infections and its antibiotic-resistant strains are concerning. Solutions are being explored to improve the treatment of these infections, including repositioning drugs such as statins and using nanoparticles with antimicrobial properties. This study aimed to evaluate the antimicrobial effects of simvastatin (SIM) and biologically synthesized silver nanoparticles (bio-AgNPs) in isolate form and in combination by assays of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), an in vitro biofilm model, and the association of antimicrobials against clinical strains of S. aureus. Bio-AgNPs showed a 53.8 ± 1.23-nm mean diameter and standard deviation, a 0.23 polydispersity index, and a −25.66 ± 2.19-mV mean potential and standard deviation. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the formation of nanoparticles and the presence of Ag0 and AgCl. S. aureus strains were sensitive to bio-AgNPs and SIM, showing 31.88-187.5 and 74.66-149.32 μM concentrations, respectively. Our association assay showed 2.0 fractional inhibitory concentration indices (i.e., indifferent for clinical strains) and 0.32 values for the standard ATCC 29213 strain (synergy). Our biofilm inhibition assays with isolated SIM and bio-AgNPs showed decreased biofilm formation from 4× to ⅛ MICs, showing no synergism in association. These findings evince that simvastatin and bio-AgNPs at subinhibitory concentrations can serve as antimicrobial agents against S. aureus biofilm.

Despite all their advantages, load-bearing concrete shell structures with double curvatures are not frequently in use. The main reason is the complexity of their construction. In such a context, this article starts with a brief, critical review of existing technologies while their pros and cons are highlighted. Against that background the authors then propose a new approach for the highly automated fabrication of gridshell structures from variable modules. To demonstrate the feasibility of such a new technology, a demonstrator called ConDIT 1.0, a sphere-like shell structure composed of several frames was designed and built. The frame modules were fabricated automatically using extrusion-based 3D printing and a printable, strain-hardening cement-based composite (SHCC). This article presents the design of ConDIT 1.0, the mechanical material characterization of printed SHCC, the technology of module production, the results of geometry verification for print modules using 3D scanning, and the procedure for the demonstrator’s assembly.

Objective: To explore motivation to exercise, support, and self-management needs among people with Parkinson’s (PwP), family-members and physiotherapists. Methods: Purposeful and maximum difference sampling methods (age, sex, geographical setting, and disease severity) were employed. PwP and family-members were recruited through physiotherapy services and local support groups. Semi-structured interviews with 12 PwP, focus groups with four family-members, and five physiotherapists were conducted. Interview guides were informed by patient-public input, and a recent systematic review. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis. Results: Four common themes emerged: 1) The value of an intrinsic connection with exercise: but there are challenges. A greater connection to exercise led to long-term compliance. 2) Tailoring exercise is essential. Preferred exercises and environments were mixed, with differences emerging between sexes. 3) Physiotherapists’ aim to only maintain physical function led to frustration. Limited self-management opportunities, stigma and dehumanisation were discussed. 4) Non-motor symptoms, stigma, fear, and determination. Apathy, pain, and low mood were discussed. Conclusion: Exercise provided physical, emotional, and social rewards. Supports are necessary; however, challenges arise when PwP’s motivation are mismatched to family-members’ and physiotherapists’ goals. Co-created goals, tailored to their preferences, and exercise plans with supported self-management are recommended.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) remains a challenge in Kenya, while the extent remains unknown. To assess the knowledge, cultural beliefs, practices, and behavioral patterns among multisectoral stakeholders in Kenya. The cross-sectional survey was conducted in August 2021 among farmers, animal health service providers and AMR researchers. Regional digital data collection tool developed by FAO was shared and responses obtained through mail, phone calls and direct interviews. Descriptive and inferential analysis were conducted. Antimicrobials were mostly sourced from agro-veterinary shops and from veterinary professionals. Farmers, often implement self-treatment and reported overuse, unnecessary use, and sometimes fail to complete the dosage in livestock. More farmers reported to have heard about antibiotics as compared to antimicrobials, mostly from friends and radio program, however only 9.2% could correctly differentiate the two. Animal Health Service Providers (AHSP) were the source of information to farmers regarding AMR. AHSPs mainly relied on suppliers and distributors for information about antibiotics. Both farmers and AHSPs treated viral infections with antibiotics. One Health Partners (OHPs) had higher knowledge and largely favorable attitudes towards AMR. Up to 72.7% of OHPs from training institutions had AMR included in training curriculum however, they were optimistic livestock farmers and government were less concerned about AMR. Gaps in knowledge and practice on Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) were observed in all categories of stakeholders. Given the documented knowledge-practice gap, innovative solutions are needed for both AHSPs and farmers to promote good antimicrobial stewardship practices and to mitigate burdens of AMR. Outcomes of this research should deepen the understanding of critical information and trigger behavioral change in usage and stewardship of antimicrobials.

Maize mosaic virus (MMV) is a plant virus that is transmitted by the corn planthopper, Peregrinus maidis Ashmead (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) in a persistent and propagative manner. MMV is the causal agent for mosaic disease that can cause significant loss in corn yield. Management is focused on controlling insect vector population. The molecular mechanisms of virus transmission by the insect vector are not fully understood. Previously, we identified a receptor for MMV, the P. maidis syntaxin 18 (PmStx18). PmStx18 interacts with the viral glycoprotein and potentially facilitates MMV recognition and entry into the vector, enabling virus proliferation. Stx18 is a key component of the vesicular trafficking machinery and also plays a critical role in neurotransmitter release in insects. In this work, we investigated the expression of PmStx18 in different developmental stages and major parts of the insect vector. Primers were designed to generate templates for synthesis of double-stranded RNA fragments. A 374-bp amplicon was selected and gene-specific sequences were flanked by T7 promoter sequences for in vitro transcription. Results showed a significant difference in the expression of Stx18 in the different developmental stages of P. maidis but not between male and female adults and major body parts. In vitro transcription products indicated optimal reaction conditions and protocol suitability. The findings establish the initial steps for developing RNAi-based approach in controlling MMV transmission by targeting Syntaxin-18 in P. maidis. Further investigations are needed to evaluate the efficacy of this approach.

Psychiatric patients are particularly vulnerable to strong weather stimuli, such as foehn, a hot wind that occurs in the alps. However, there is a dearth of research regarding its impact on mental health. This study investigated the impact of foehn wind among patients of a psychiatric hospital located in a foehn area in the Swiss Alps. Analysis was based on anonymized datasets obtained from routine records on admission and discharge, including the Brief Symptom Checklist (BSCL) questionnaire, as well as sociodemographic parameters (age, sex, and diagnosis). Between 2013 and 2020 a total of 10,456 admission days and 10,575 discharge days were recorded. All meteorological data were extracted from the database of the Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology of Switzerland. We estimated the effect of foehn on the BSCL items using a distributed lag model. Significant differences were found between foehn and non-foehn admissions in obsession-compulsion, Interpersonal Sensitivity, depression, Anxiety, Phobic Anxiety, Paranoid Ideation, and General Severity Index (GSI) (p &lt;.05). Our findings suggest that foehn wind events may negatively affect specific mental health parameters in patients. More research is needed to fully understand the impact of foehn’s events on mental health.

While thunderstorms can pose severe risks to property and life, forecasting remains challenging, even at short lead times, as these often arise in meta-stable atmospheric conditions. In this paper, we examine the question of how well we could perform short-term (up to 180min) forecasts using exclusively multi-spectral satellite images and past lighting events as data. We employ representation learning based on deep convolutional neural networks in an “end-to-end” fashion. Here, a crucial problem is handling the imbalance of the positive and negative classes appropriately in order to be able to obtain predictive results (which is not addressed by many previous machine-learning-based approaches). The resulting network outperforms previous methods based on physically-based features and optical flow methods (similar to operational prediction models) and generalizes across different years. A closer examination of the classifier performance over time and under masking of input data indicates that the learned model actually draws most information from structures in the visible spectrum, with infrared imaging sustaining some classification performance during the night.

The energy transition towards renewable and more decentral power production triggers the need for grid and storage expansion on all voltage levels. Today's power system planning focuses on certain voltage levels or spatial resolutions. In this work we present an open source software tool eGo which is able to optimize grid and storage expansion throughout all voltage levels in a developed top-down approach. System costs are minimized by applying a linear optimal power flow considering the grid infrastructure of the extra-high and high-voltage (380 to 110 kV) level. Hence, the common differentiation of transmission and distribution grid is partly dissolved, integrating the high-voltage level into the optimization problem. Consecutively, optimized curtailment and storage units are allocated in the medium voltage grid in order to lower medium and low voltage grid expansion needs, that are consequently determined. Here, heuristic optimization methods using the non-linear power flow were developed. Applying the tool on future scenarios we derived cost-efficient grid and storage expansion for all voltage levels in Germany. Due to the integrated approach storage expansion and curtailment can significantly lower grid expansion costs in medium and low voltage grids and at the same time serve the optimal functioning of the overall system. Nevertheless, the cost-reducing effect for the whole of Germany was marginal. Instead, the consideration of realistic, spatially differentiated time series lead to substantial overall savings.

The metalloporphyrin heme acts as the oxygen-complexing prosthetic group of hemoglobin in blood. Heme has been noted to survive for many millions of years in fossils. Here we investigate its stability and degra-dation under various conditions expected to occur during fossilization. Oxidative, reductive, aerobic, and anaerobic conditions were studied at neutral and alkaline pH values. Elevated temperatures were applied to accelerate degradation. High-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrome-try (HPLC-MS/MS) identified four main degradation products. The vinyl residues are oxidized to formyl and further to carboxylate groups. In the presence of air or H2O2, cleavage of the tetrapyrrole ring occurs, and hematinic acid is formed. The highest stability of heme was observed under anaerobic reductive condi-tions (half-life 9.5 days), while the lowest stability was found in the presence of H2O2 (half-life 1 min). We confirmed that the iron cation plays a crucial role in degradation, since protoporphyrin IX, lacking iron, re-mained significantly more stable. Under anaerobic, reductive conditions, the above-mentioned degradation products were not observed, suggesting a different degradation pathway. To our knowledge, this is the first molecular taphonomy study on heme, which will be useful for understanding its fate during fossiliza-tion.

Human-to-human communication via the computer is mainly done using a keyboard or microphone. In the field of Virtual Reality (VR), where the most immersive experience possible is desired, the use of a keyboard contradicts this goal, while the use of a microphone is not always desirable (e.g. silent commands during task force training) or simply not possible (e.g. if the user has a hearing loss). Data gloves help to increase immersion within the VR as they correspond to our natural interaction. At the same time, they offer the possibility to accurately capture hand shapes, such as those used in non-verbal communication (e.g. thumbs up, okay gesture, ...) and in sign language. In this paper, we present a hand shape recognition system using Manus Prime X data gloves, including data acquisition, data preprocessing, and data classification to enable nonverbal communication within VR. We investigate the impact on accuracy and classification time of using an Outlier Detection and a Feature Selection approach in our data preprocessing. To obtain a more generalized approach, we also studied the impact of artificial Data Augmentation, i.e., we create new artificial data from the recorded and filtered data to augment the training dataset. With our approach, 56 different hand shapes could be distinguished with an accuracy of up to 93.28%. With a reduced number of 27 hand shapes, an accuracy of up to 95.55% could be achieved. Voting Meta-Classifier (VL2) has proven to be the most accurate, albeit slowest, classifier. A good alternative is Random Forest (RF), which was even able to achieve better accuracy values in a few cases and was generally somewhat faster. Outlier Detection has proven to be a effective approach, especially in improving classification time. Overall, we have shown that our hand shape recognition system using data gloves is suitable for communication within VR.

The common house mosquito (Culex pipiens) is a native vector for West Nile virus (WNV). Invasive species like the tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus) and Asian bush mosquito (Aedes japonicus) are rapidly spreading through Europe, posing a major threat as vectors for dengue, chikungunya (CHIKV), and Japanese Encephalitis virus (JEV). These mosquitoes share a similar ecological niche as larvae, but the carry-over effects of aquatic larval interactions to terrestrial adult stage remain largely unknown and their medical relevance requires further investigation. This study examines the context-dependency of larval interactions among Aedes albopictus, Aedes japonicus and Culex pipiens. The survival, development time, growth, and energetic storage were measured in different European populations within density-response experiments (intraspecific) and replacement experiments (interspecific) at 20°C and 26°C. Overall, Ae. japonicus was the weakest competitor, while competition between Ae. albopictus and Cx. pipiens varied with temperature. Culex pipiens was infected with WNV, Ae. albopictus with CHIKV and Ae. japonicus with JEV. While no JEV infection was observed, mosquitoes experiencing interspecific interactions during their larval stages exhibited higher infection rates and viral RNA titers for CHIKV and WNV. This increased susceptibility for viral infection after larval competition suggests a higher risk of arbovirus transmission in co-occurring populations.

Along with climate change, the native forest replacement by exotic species, such as Eucalyptus globulus, is contributing to a highly fire-prone environment. Since E. globulus detains several post-fire regeneration strategies, sustainable practices are needed to manage eucalyptus stands. Thus, eucalyptus allelopathic potential can be used for weed control. Therefore, this study aimed at assessing the herbicidal potential of post-fire regenerated E. globulus leaves in Portulaca oleracea, and unraveling the main physiological processes disturbed by biocide application. For this, an aqueous extract prepared with fresh leaves (FLE; 617 g_{fresh weight}L^-1) and other with oven-dried leaves (DLE; 250 g_{dry weight}L^-1) were prepared and foliar-sprayed twice-a-week at different dilutions in 7-days-old purslane plants. As positive control, glyphosate was used. After five weeks, results revealed that DLE at the highest dose detained the greatest herbicidal activity against P. oleracea. To understand how DLE impacted weed physiology, several biochemical and redox-related parameters were evaluated in purslane plants treated with DLE highest dose. Results suggested an overproduction of hydrogen peroxide, causing severe oxidative damage in roots. Overall, this study showed that young E. globulus dried leaves had powerful herbicidal properties against P. oleracea and can represent a feasible approach for weed management, while reducing fire hazard.

Kinesiophobia (fear of movement) has been recognized as a significant barrier to recovery and rehabilitation in patients after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Our goal was to identify predictors of kinesiophobia and examine its correlation with early functional outcomes in TKA recipients. On the first and fifth postoperative days (POD1 and POD5), we evaluated pain using the International Pain Outcomes Questionnaire (IPO-Q) and created multidimensional pain composite scores (PCS). Pain Composite Score-total (PCStotal) assesses the overall impact of pain, taking into account outcomes of pain intensity, pain-related interference with function, and emotions and side effects. Functional status on POD 5 was determined by the Barthel index, 6-minute walking test, and knee range of motion. Kinesiophobia was measured on POD5 using the Tampa Scale for Kinesiophobia (TSK) and multivariable logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with kinesiophobia. Among 75 TKA patients, 27% exhibited kinesiophobia. The final regression model highlighted PCStotal on POD5 (OR=6.2, CI=1.9-19.9), PCStotal (OR=2.1, CI=1.2-3.8) on POD1, and the intensity of chronic pain before surgery (OR=1.4, CI=1.1-2.1) as significant kinesiophobia predictors. On POD5, those with kinesiophobia showed increased dependency, slower gait, and poorer knee extension recovery. This study highlights the importance of identifying and addressing kinesiophobia in TKA patients to optimize functional outcomes and improve recovery. Also, it is important to assess not only pain intensity but also the physical and emotional interference caused by pain, which can contribute to the development of kinesiophobia.

Multinucleate cells can be produced in Dictyostelium by electric-pulse induced fusion. In these cells unilateral cleavage furrows are formed at spaces between areas that are controlled by aster microtubules. A peculiarity of unilateral cleavage furrows is their propensity to join laterally with other furrows into rings to form constrictions. This means, cytokinesis is biphasic in multinucleate cells, the final abscission of daughter cells being independent of the initial direction of furrow progression. Myosin-II and the actin-filament cross-linking protein cortexillin accumulate in the unilateral furrows, as they do in the normal cleavage furrows of mononucleate cells. Myosin-II is not essential for cytokinesis, but stabilizes and confines the position of the cleavage furrows.

(1) Background: We reviewed the logistics of the implementation of pathogen inactivation (PI) using the INTERCEPT Blood System™ for platelets and the experience with routine use and clinical outcomes in the patient population at the Sírio-Libanês Hospital of São Paulo, Brazil. (2) Methods: Platelet concentrate (PC), including pathogen reduced (PR-PC) production, inventory management, discard rates, blood utilization, and clinical outcomes were analyzed over the 40 months before and after PI implementation. Age distribution and wastage rates were compared over the 10 months before and after approval for PR-PC to be stored for up to 7 days. (3) Results: A 100% PR-PC inventory was achieved by increasing double apheresis collections and production of double doses using pools of two single apheresis units. Discard rates decreased from 6% to 3% after PI implementation and further decreased to 1.2% after 7-day storage extension for PR-PCs. The blood utilization remained stable, with no increase in component utilization. A significant decrease in adverse transfusion events was observed after the PI implementation. (4) Conclusion: Our experience demonstrates the feasibility for Brazilian blood centers to achieve a 100% PR-PC inventory. All patients at our hospital received PR-PC and showed no increase in blood component utilization and decreased rates of adverse transfusion reactions.

Nicotinamide is an important functional compound and, in the form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD), is used as a cofactor by protein-based enzymes to catalyze redox reactions. In the context of the RNA world hypothesis, it is therefore reasonable to assume that ancestral ribozymes could have used cofactors such as NAD or its simpler analog nicotinamide riboside (NAR) to catalyze redox reactions. The only described example of such an engineered ribozyme uses a nicotinamide moiety bound to the ribozyme through non-covalent interactions. Covalent attachment of NAR to RNA could be advantageous, but the demonstration of such scenarios to date has suffered from the chemical instability of both NAR and its reduced form NARH, making their use in oligonucleotide synthesis less straightforward. Here, we review the literature describing the chemical properties of the oxidized and reduced species of NAR, their synthesis, and previous attempts to incorporate either species into RNA. We discuss how to overcome the stability problem and succeed in generating RNA structures incorporating NAR.

Fe[C5H5N]2[N(CN)2]2 (1) was synthesized from a reaction of stoichiometric amounts of NaN(CN)2 and FeCl2·4 H2O in a methanol/pyridine solution. Single-crystal and powder diffraction show that 1 crystallizes in the monoclinic space group I2/m (no. 12), different from Mn[C5H5N]2[N(CN)2]2 (P21/c, no. 14) due to tilted pyridine rings, with a = 7.453(7) Å, b = 13.167(13) Å, c = 8.522(6) Å, β = 114.98(6)° and Z = 2. ATR-IR, AAS, and CHN measurements confirm the presence of dicyanamide and pyridine. Thermogravimetric analysis shows that π-stacking interactions of the pyridine rings play an important role in structural stabilization. Based on DFT-optimized structures, a chemical bonding analysis was performed using a local-orbital framework by projection from a plane-wave basis. The resulting bond orders and atomic charges are in good agreement with the expectations based on the structure analysis. SQUID magnetic susceptibility measurements show a high-spin state FeII compound with predominantly antiferromagnetic exchange interactions at lower temperatures.

BACKGROUND: We investigated whether immigrants from Southeast Europe (SE) and Swiss patients have different reasons for visiting the emergency department (ED). METHODS: Our retrospective data analysis for the years 2013-2017 describes the pattern of ED consultations for immigrants from SE living in Switzerland (Canton Bern), in comparison with Swiss nationals, with a focus on type of referral and reason for admission. RESULTS: A total of 153,320 Swiss citizens and 12,852 immigrants from SE were included in the study. The mean age was 51.30 (SD=21.13) years for the Swiss patients and 39.70 (SD=15.87) years for the SE patients. For some countries of origin (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Turkey), there were highly statistically significant differences in sex distribution with the predominance for male. SE immigrants had a greater proportion of patients in the lower triage level (level 3: SE: 67.3% vs. Swiss: 56.0%) and a greater proportion of patients in the high triage level than the Swiss population (level 1: SE: 3.4% vs. Swiss: 8.8%,). SE patients of working age (16-65 years) were six times more often admitted by ambulance than older (≥65 years) SE patients, whereas in the Swiss population this ratio was similar. In both groups, fast track service was primarily used for patients of working age (<65) and more than three times more often in the SE than the Swiss group (SE: 39.1%, Swiss: 12.6%). CONCLUSION: We identified some indications in access to primary care in Emergency Department for immigrants highlighting the need for attention to the role of organizational characteristics of primary health care in the Switzerland. The authors have highlighted the need for professional support to improve the quality of healthcare for immigrants. In the future, more primary care services and general practitioners will need to be provided with a migrant background.

Temperature and pH can expedite the ability of pathogens to cause diseases in cold-water corals (CWCs). The present study employed a combination of histology and polymerase chain reaction diagnostic techniques to investigate potential pathogens present in the CWCs Lophelia pertusa and Madrepora oculata in the Porcupine Bank Canyon (PBC), NE Atlantic. No pathogen was observed in the Madrepora samples. Neither histology nor standard PCR detected Vibrio spp. in the corals, although using Illumina technology, V. shilonii was observed in some L. pertusa samples in low abundances (0.22%). A Rickettsiales-like organisms (RLOs) occurred at a prevalence of 8.0% and at a low infection intensity of 1 - 4. Lophelia showed a few RLOs infection from the PBC canyon head (2.7%) and high infections in the south branch (5.3%). Similarly, unidentified cells observed in L. pertusa from the south branch (4.0%) were more common than those found in the canyon head (1.3%) with a prevalence of 5.3%. Although the route of pathogen infection is unclear, a likely mode of entry could be associated with particulate availability and the feeding strategies of the scleractinian corals. This suggest that L. pertusa invests energy into an enhanced immune function and reduced susceptibility to global pathogens despite a changing ocean environment.

LPA3 receptors were expressed in TREx HEK 293 cells, and their signaling and phosphorylation were studied. The agonist, lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), increased intracellular calcium and ERK phosphorylation through pertussis toxin-insensitive processes. Phorbol myristate acetate, but not LPA, desensitizes LPA3-mediated calcium signaling. The agonists and the phorbol ester-induced LPA3 internalization. Pitstop 2 (clathrin heavy chain inhibitor) markedly reduced LPA-induced receptor internalization; in contrast, phorbol ester-induced internalization was only delayed. LPA induced rapid β-arrestin-LPA3 receptor association. The agonist and the phorbol ester induced marked LPA3 receptor phosphorylation, and phosphorylation sites were detected using mass spectrometry. Phosphorylated residues were detected in the intracellular loop 3 (S221, T224, S225, and S229) and in the carboxyl terminus (S321, S325, S331, T333, S335, Y337, and S343). Interestingly, phosphorylation sites are within sequences predicted to constitute β-arrestin binding sites. These data provide insight into LPA3 receptor signaling and regulation.