In order to investigate the size distributions and seasonal variations of carbonaceous aerosols (OC and EC), the carbonaceous species were collected and then analyzed by using a 9-stage Anderson-type aerosol sampler and DRI Model 2001A Thermal/Optical Carbon Analyzer on the typical industrial city Nanjing in Yangtze River Delta, China in the summer, autumn and winter of 2013 and spring of 2014. OC, EC, SOC and POC exhibited obvious seasonal variations, with the highest level in winter (39.1±14.0, 5.7±2.1, 23.6±11.7 and 14.1±5.7 μg•m^-3) and the lowest level in summer (20.6±6.7, 3.3±2.0, 12.2±3.8 and 8.4±4.1 μg•m^-3), and were mainly centralized in PM_1.1 in four seasons. The concentrations of OC in PM_1.1 varied in the order of winter > autumn > spring > summer, while EC ranked in the order of autumn > winter > summer > spring. In the PM_1.1-2.1 and PM_2.1-10, the concentrations of OC and EC decreased in the sequence of winter > spring > autumn > summer. The size spectra of OC, EC and SOC had bimodal distributions in four seasons, except for EC with four peaks in summer. The size spectra of POC varied greatly with seasons, exhibiting bimodal distribution in winter, trimodal distribution in spring and summer, and four peaks in autumn. The OC/EC ratios were 7.0, 6.3, 7.6 and 6.9 in spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively, which demonstrated the abundance of secondary organic aerosols in Nanjing. The sources of carbonaceous aerosol varied significantly with seasons, and were dominated by vehicle exhaust, coal and biomass burning in PM_2.1, and dominant by dust, coal and biomass burning in PM_2.1-10.

Elevated antimony concentrations in aqueous environments from anthropogenic sources is becoming of global concern, here iron oxides are known to strongly adsorb aqueous antimony species with different oxidation states, but the effect of silica on the removal characteristics is not well understood despite being a common component in the environment. In this study, ferrihydrite was synthesized at various Si/Fe molar ratios to investigate its adsorption and co-precipitation behaviors with aqueous antimony anionic species, Sb(III) and Sb(V). The XRD analyses of the precipitates showed two broad diffraction features at approximately 35° and 62° 2θ, which are characteristic of 2-line ferrihydrite, no significant shifts in peak positions in the ferrihydrite regardless of the Si/Fe ratios. The infrared spectra showed a sharp band at ~990 cm⁻¹, corresponding to asymmetric stretching vibrations of Si-O-Fe bonds which increased in intensity with increasing Si/Fe molar ratios. Further, the surface charge on the precipitates became more negative with increasing Si/Fe molar ratios. The adsorption experiments indicated that Sb(V) was preferentially adsorbed at acidic conditions and decreased dramatically with increasing pH while the adsorption rate of Sb(III) ions was independent of pH, however, the presence of silica suppressed the adsorption of both Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions. The results showed that Sb(III) and Sb(V) ions were significantly inhibited by co-precipitation with ferrihydrite even in the presence of silica by isomorphous substitution in the ferrihydrite crystal structure.

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

As construction costs continue to rise and adequate amounts of funding continues to be a challenge, the allocation of resources is of critical importance when it comes to the maintenance and rehabilitation (M&R) of highway infrastructure. A Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology is presented here that integrates realistic traffic conditions in the operational phase to compare M&R scenarios over the analysis period of a 26-km stretch of Interstate-495. Pavement International Roughness Index (IRI) were determined using AASHTO’s PavementME System. Meanwhile, vehicle fuel consumption and emission factors were calculated using a combination of Google Maps®, the U.S. EPA’s Motor Vehicle Emission Simulator, the SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study, and MassDOT’s Transportation Data Management System. The evaluation of pavement performance with realistic traffic conditions, varying M&R strategies and material characteristics was quantified in terms of Life Cycle Cost (LCC), Global Warming Potential (GWP) and Cumulative Energy Demand (CED) for both agencies and users. The inclusion of realistic traffic conditions into the use phase of the LCA resulted in a 6.4% increase in CED and GWP when compared to baseline conditions simulated for a week long operation duration. Results from this study show that optimization of M&R type, material selection and timing may lead to a 2.72% decrease in operations cost and 47.6% decrease in construction/maintenance costs.

The influence of pore size on the toughness of Fe-Mo-Cu-C sintered and carburized components was investigated. The charpy impact value of the component made from Fe-0.4%Mo diffusion-alloyed steel powder mixed with 2%Cu powder and 0.3% graphite powder significantly increased with a decrease in pore size. The highest impact value of 17 J/cm2 was obtained at the average pore size of 12 µm. This value was 25% higher than that of the sintered and carburized component made from conventional Fe- 4%Ni-1.5%Cu-0.5%Mo alloyed steel powder called 4Ni even though the component was made from a Ni-free alloyed steel powder. The mechanism of the improvement of the impact value by pore size refinement and the influence of microstructural difference between the components made from Fe- 0.4%Mo diffusion-alloyed steel powder and 4Ni on toughness is discussed based on optical microstructural observation and crystal orientation analysis data.

In the paper the verification of forecasts of precipitation conditions measured by the standardized precipitation index SPI is presented. For the verification of categorical forecasts a contingency table was used. Standard verification measures were used for the SPI value forecast. The 30 day SPI moved every 10 days by 10 days was calculated in 2013-2015 from April to September on the basis of precipitation data from 35 meteorological stations in Poland. Predictions of the 30 day SPI were created in which precipitation was forecasted in the next 10 days (the SPI 10-day forecast) and 20 days (the SPI 20-day forecast). Both for the 10 and 20 days, the forecasts were skewed towards drier categories at the expense of wet categories. There was a good agreement between observed and 10-day forecast categories of precipitation. Less agreement is obtained for 20-day forecasts – these forecasts evidently “over-dry” the assessment of precipitation anomalies. The 10-day SPI value forecast accuracy is acceptable, whereas for the 20-day forecast is unsatisfactory. Both for the SPI categorical and the SPI value forecast, the 10-day SPI forecast is reliable and the 20-day forecast should be accepted with reservation and used with caution.

BACKGROUNDː The so-called Low Cardiac Output Syndrome (LCOS) is one of the most common complications in pediatric patients with congenital heart disease undergoing corrective surgery. LCOS requires high concentrations of inotropes to support cardiac contractility and improve cardiac output, allowing for a better systemic perfusion. To date, serum lactate concentrations and central venous oxygen saturation (ScVO2) are the most commonly used perfusion markers, but they are not completely reliable to identify a state of global tissue hypoxia. The study aims to evaluate whether the venoarterial carbon dioxide difference/arterial-venous oxygen difference ratio [P(v-a)CO2/C(a-v)O2] can be a good index to predict the development of LCOS in the aforemen-tioned patients, so as to treat it promptly. METHODSː This study followed a population of 98 children undergoing corrective cardiac surgery from June 2018 to October 2020 at the Department of Cardiac Surgery of University Hospital Inte-grated Trust and their subsequent admission at the Postoperative Cardiothoracic Surgery Intensive Care Unit. During the study, central arterial and venous blood gas analysis were carried out before and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) (pre-CPB and post-CPB), at admission to intensive care unit, before and after extubation and at any time of instability or modification of the patient’s clinical and therapeutic conditions. RESULTSː The data analysis shows that 46.9% of the children developed a LCOS (in line with the current literature) but that there is no statistically significant association between the P(v-a)CO2/C(a-v)O2 ratio and LCOS onset. Despite the limits of statistical significance, however, a 31% increase in the ratio emerged from the pre-CPB phase to the post-CPB phase when LCOS is present. CONCLUSIONSː This study confirms a statistically significant association between the most used markers in adult patients (serum lactate concentration, ScVO2 and oxygen extraction ratio-ERO2) measured in the pre-CPB phase and the incidence of LCOS onset, especially in patients with he-modynamic instability before surgery.

Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles are under investigation for a wide range of applications in nanomedicine. The structural, molecular and physicochemical properties of chitosan nanoparticles have a direct bearing on their efficacy in drug conjugation and delivery, gene delivery, and tissue engineering. Herein we report on the structural, morphological and molecular properties of chitosan nanoparticles synthesized using the ionic gelation method with the intended purpose of being used for drug delivery. The chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) were prepared in the 0.25 to 1.0% w/v concentration range, whereas separate samples of the 1.0% w/v CS-NPs were also functionalized with polyethylene oxide (PEO) alone and with a diblock copolymer of PEO and polypropylene glycol (PPG). The average size of the CS-NPs was determined from TEM imaging to be in the range of 11.3 to 14.8 nm. The XRD and TEM analyses show that the CS-NPs have semi-crystalline structure with the degree of crystallinity depending upon the nature of synthesis. Our results show that functionalizing the 1.0% w/v CS-NPs with PEO increases the degree of crystallinity whereas functionalizing with the diblock copolymer PEO - PPG results in a significant increase in their degree crystallinity. The CS/TPP concentration (CS:TPP fixed at 1:1 ratio) had no apparent effect on the degree of crystallinity of the CS-NPs. The results from the FTIR analysis confirm incorporation of TPP with CS in the CS-NPs. Additionally, FTIR analysis shows an enhancement of hydrogen bonding that is consistent with the increase in the degree of crystallinity of the CS-NPs.

The runoff coefficient (C) represents the relationship between the surface runoff volume and the precipitated volume. It is used in engineering projects for flood estimation methods. Although C values are tabulated and consecrated in hydrological engineering, as if they were constant, they may not correspond to the reality, because in the same catchment, they can vary according to the intensity, temporal and spatial distribution of precipitation events, humidity conditions, and ground cover. This study had the objective of analyzing extreme events of precipitation and the corresponding flows to obtain experimental runoff coefficients (C) and compare them with the tabulated values. The study was conducted in four experimental catchments in the State of São Paulo, Brazil, with different land uses and soils. The runoff coefficients (C) were obtained from the analysis of hydrograms and using a digital filter, which allowed the separation of the direct runoff, of the total flow. When analyzing flow and precipitation data in different seasons of the year, selecting events of the floods of catchments and separating the flows, we observed a variation of the flow coefficient values, different from those obtained from tables.

Cloud computing refers to applications delivered as services over the Internet. Cloud systems employ policies that are inherently dynamic in nature and that depend on temporal conditions defined in terms of external events, such as the measurement of bandwidth, use of hosts, intrusion detection or specific time events. In this paper, we investigate an optimized resource management scheme named v-Mapper. The basic premise of v-Mapper is to exploit application-awareness concepts using software-defined networking (SDN) features. This paper makes three key contributions to the field: (1) We propose a virtual machine (VM) placement scheme that can effectively mitigate the VM placement issues for data-intensive applications; (2) We propose a validation scheme that will ensure that a service is entertained only if there are sufficient resources available for its execution and (3) We present a scheduling policy that aims to eliminate network load constraints. An evaluation was carried out with various benchmarks and demonstrated that v-Mapper shows improved performance over other state-of-the-art approaches in terms of average task completion time, service delay time and bandwidth utilization. Given the growing importance of supporting large-scale data processing and analysis in datacentres, the v-Mapper system has the potential to make a positive impact in improving datacentre performance in the future.

Brain is the most complex organ in the human body and it is divided into two hemispheres - left and right hemispheres. Left hemisphere is responsible for control of right side of our body whereas right hemisphere is responsible for control of left side of our body. Brain image segmentation from different neuroimaging modalities is one of the important parts in clinical diagnostic tools. Neuroimaging based digital imagery generally contain noise, inhomogeneity, aliasing artifacts, and orientational deviations. Therefore, accurate segmentation of brain images is a very difficult task. However, the development of accurate segmentation of brain images is very important and crucial for a correct diagnosis of any brain related diseases. One of the fundamental segmentation tasks is to identify and segment inter-hemispheric fissure/mid-sagittal plane, which separate the two hemispheres of the brain. Moreover, the symmetric/asymmetric analyses of left and right hemispheres of brain structures are important for radiologists to analyze diseases such as Alzheimer's, Autism, Schizophrenia, Lesions and Epilepsy. Therefore, in this paper we have analyzed the existing computational techniques used to find brain symmetric/asymmetric analysis in various neuroimaging techniques (MRI/CT/PET/SPECT), which are utilized for detecting various brain related disorders.

In this work, satellite data from the Clouds and Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) instruments is analyzed to determine how the global absorbed sunlight and global entropy generation rate have changed during the time period from 2002 to 2023. The data is used to test hypotheses derived from the Maximum Power Principle (MPP) and Maximum Entropy Production Principle (MEP) about the evolution of earth’s surface and atmosphere. The results indicate that the amount of absorbed sunlight has increased over the last 20 years but rising surface temperatures have caused the entropy generation rate to remain approximately constant despite that decrease in albedo. The results are simpler to explain using the MPP but do not completely rule out the MEP. Given the acceptance of the MPP or MEP, some extensions and nuances are discussed.

During mechanical ventilation, a disparity between flow, pressure or volume demands of the patient and the assistance delivered by the mechanical ventilator often occurs. Asynchrony effect and ventilator performance are frequently studied from ICU datasets or using commercially available lung simulators and test lungs. This paper introduces an alternative approach of simulating and evaluating patient-ventilator interactions with high fidelity using the electro-mechanical lung simulator xPULM™ under selected conditions. The xPULM™ approximates respiratory activities of a patient during alternating phases of spontaneous breathing and apnoea intervals while connected to a mechanical ventilator. Focusing on different triggering events, volume assist-controlled (V/A-C) and pressure support ventilation (PSV) modes were chosen to test patient-ventilator interactions. In V/A-C mode a double-triggering was detected every third breathing cycle leading to an asynchrony index of 16.67%, being classified as severe. This asynchrony causes a major increase of Peak Inspiratory Pressure PIP = 12.80 ± 1.39 cmH2O and Peak Expiratory Flow PEF = -18.33 ± 1.13 L/min when compared to synchronous phases of the breathing simulation. Additionally, events of premature cycling were observed during PSV mode. In this mode, the peak delivered volume during simulated spontaneous breathing phases almost doubles compared to apnoea phases. The presented approach demonstrates the possibility of simulating and evaluating disparities in fundamental ventilation characteristics caused by double-triggering and premature cycling under V/A-C and PSV ventilation modes. Various dynamic clinical situations can be approximated and could help to identify undesired patient-ventilation interactions in the future. Rapidly manufactured ventilator systems could also be tested using this approach.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) poses a significant public health challenge due to its irreversible and progressive nature while lack of a cure. As a potential strategy to combat AD, its prevention becomes increasingly attractive. Mild Cognitive Impairment due to AD (MCI-AD) represents a critical transitional stage between normal age-related cognitive decline and more severe AD conditions, occurring just before dementia onset. Unfortunately, there is currently no established animal model that accurately recapitulates MCI-AD characteristics. While many laboratories have traditionally used normally aged wild-type animals as experimental models, this approach falls short in representing the inherently worse state of MCI-AD compared to normal aging. To address this gap, we introduce an animal model—a transgenic mouse line with genetic inactivation of G protein-coupled receptor kinase-5 (GRK5), commonly known as the GRK5 knockout (GRK5KO) mouse. These GRK5KO mice exhibit amnesia, cognitive deficits, increased β-amyloid levels, neurofibrillary tangle (NFT) immunopositive axonopathy, and hippocampal neurodegenerative changes. Importantly, these pathological alterations predominantly impact the entorhinal, transentorhinal, and hippocampal cortices, aligning with human MCI-AD criteria and Braak stage II of human AD progression. Notably, female GRK5KO mice show approximately 2.5 times more NFT-positive axonopathy than males, mirroring the higher prevalence of AD cases in women. Collectively, existing data strongly supports the GRK5KO mouse as a qualified animal model for studying MCI-AD.

Transcription is carried out in most eukaryotes by three multimeric complexes (RNA polymerases I, II and III). However, plants contain two additional RNA polymerases (IV and V), which have evolved from RNA polymerase II. RNA polymerases II, IV and V contain both common and specific subunits that may specialize some of their functions. In this study, we conducted a search for the genes that putatively code for the specific subunits of RNA polymerases IV and V, as well as the corresponding of RNA polymerase II in olive. Based on the homology with the genes of Arabidopsis thaliana, we identified 13 genes that putatively code for the specific subunits of polymerases IV and V, and 16 genes that code for the corresponding specific subunits of polymerase II in olive. The transcriptomic analysis by RNA-Seq revealed that the expression of the RNA polymerases IV and V genes was induced during the initial stages of fruit development. Given that RNA polymerases IV and V are involved in the transcription of long non-coding RNAs, we investigated their expression and observed relevant changes in the expression of this type of RNAs. Particularly, the expression of the intergenic and intronic long non-coding RNAs tended to increase in the early steps of fruit development, suggesting their potential role in this process. The positive correlation between the expression of RNA polymerases IV and V subunits and the expression of non-coding RNAs supports the hypothesis that RNA polymerases IV and V may play a role in fruit development throughout the synthesis of this type of RNAs.

The Tibetan Plateau(TP) is known as ‘the water tower of Asian’, its precipitation variation play an important role in the eco-hydrological processes and water resources regimes. based on the monthly mean precipitation data of 65 meteorological stations over the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding areas from 1961-2015,variations, trends and temporal-spatial distribution were analyzed, furthermore, the possible reasons were also discussed preliminarily. The main results are summarized as follows: the annual mean precipitation in the TP is 465.54mm during 1961-2015, among four seasons, the precipitation in summer accounts for 60.1% of the annual precipitation, the precipitation in summer half year (May.- Oct.) accounts for 91.0% while that in winter half year (Nov.- Apr.) only accounts for 9.0%; During 1961-2015, the annual precipitation variability is 0.45mm/a and the seasonal precipitation variability is 0.31mm/a, 0.13mm/a, -0.04mm/a and 0.04mm/a in spring, summer, autumn and winter respectively on the TP; The spatial distribution of precipitation can be summarized as decreasing from southeast to northwest in the TP, the trend of precipitation is decreasing with the increase of altitude, but the correlation is not significant. The rising of air temperature and land cover changes may cause the precipitation by changing the hydrologic cycle and energy budget, furthermore, different pattern of atmospheric circulation can also influence on precipitation variability in different regions.

In a global context, the story of the Jesuit compound in Shanghai, since its establishment by French Jesuits in 1847, reflected not only conflicts between rival powers in Europe but also the fight for their interests in the Eastern world. The Pope, who was stuck without legal status in the Vatican after 1861, was also seeking the chance to save the authority of the Church in the face of questions regarding the extent of his temporal power and the status of Rome in the context of Italian unification. As in the Reformation, a break-through in the east seemed to offer a solution for losses in Europe. However, the Jesuits to the East in the late 19th century were not only troops working and fighting on behalf of the Pope; their identities under the French Protectorate added complexity to an already complicated story involving not just the Church, but the course of world history.The female Catholic orders at the east bank of Zi-ka-wei compound became a unique window to approach the complexity.

In this work, we investigated the effects of heat treatment on the microstructure, hydrogen storage characteristics and corrosion rate of a Ti₃₄V₄₀Cr₂₄Fe₂ alloy. The arc melted alloy was divided into three samples, two of which were separately quartz-sealed under vacuum and heated to 1000 °C for 1 h; one of these samples was quenched and the other furnace cooled to ambient temperature. The crystal structures of the samples were studied via X-ray diffractometry and scanning electron microscopy. Absorption/desorption characteristics were investigated using a Sievert apparatus. Potentiostat corrosion tests on the alloys were performed using an AutoLab^® corrosion test apparatus and electrochemical cell. All samples exhibited a mixture of body-center-cubic (BCC) and Laves phase structures. The corrosion rate, maximum absorption, and useful capacities increased after both heat treatments. The annealed sample had the highest absorption and reversible capacity. The plateau pressure of the as-cast alloy increased after quenching. The corrosion rate increased from 0.0004 mm/y in as-cast sample to 0.0009 mm/y after annealing and 0.0017 mm/y after quenching, due to a decrease in the Cr-content of the C14 phase.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a major public health threat associated with serious clinical consequences worldwide. The WHO reports an estimated 58 million people globally living with chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection, with 1.5 million new cases and over 350,000 deaths annually due to HCV-related diseases. Despite the existence of multiple diagnostic methods, the accessibility of diagnosis and treatment is often hindered across the continent by limited resources, insufficient healthcare infrastructure, and low public awareness of Hepatitis C virus Hepatitis C virus infection is a major public health concern in African countries, which have the highest prevalence rates of HCV in the world (1–26%). Egypt, African country which had the highest prevalence of Hepatitis C virus infection in the world. Its national hepatitis C elimination initiative emerges as an exemplary case of success an having screened over 60 million individuals, and treated more than 4 million, thereby markedly diminishing both the prevalence and incidence of the disease. The strategies employed by Egypt offer critical insights and adaptable frameworks for other African Countries facing analogous challenges. The Aim of this Review is to highlight the triumphs and hurdles of Egypt's approach, while also providing strategic guidance for African Countries to accelerate the journey towards the eradication of hepatitis C.

Skin pigmentation ensures efficient photoprotection and relies on the pigment melanin, which is produced by epidermal melanocytes and transferred to surrounding keratinocytes. While the molecular mechanisms of melanin synthesis and transport in melanocytes are now well characterized, much less is known about melanin transfer and processing within keratinocytes. Over the past few decades, distinct models have been proposed to explain how melanin transfer occurs at the cellular and molecular levels. However, this remains a debated topic as up to four different models have been proposed, with evidence presented supporting each. Here, we review the current knowledge on the regulation of melanin exocytosis, internalization, processing and polarization. Regarding the different transfer models, we discuss how these might co-exist to regulate skin pigmentation under different conditions, i.e. constitutive and facultative skin pigmentation or physiological and pathological conditions. Moreover, we discuss recent evidence that sheds light on the regulation of melanin exocytosis by melanocytes and internalization by keratinocytes, as well as how melanin is stored within these cells in a compartment that we proposed to be named melanokerasome. Finally, we review the state of the art on the molecular mechanisms that lead to melanokerasome positioning above the nuclei of keratinocytes, forming supranuclear caps that shield the nuclear DNA from UV radiation. Thus, we provide a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge on the molecular mechanisms regulating skin pigmentation, from melanin exocytosis by melanocytes and internalization by keratinocytes, to processing and polarization within keratinocytes. A better knowledge of these molecular mechanisms will clarify long lasting questions in the field that are crucial for the understanding of skin pigmentation and can shed light on fundamental aspects of organelle biology. Ultimately, this knowledge can lead to novel therapeutic strategies to treat hypo- or hyper-pigmentation disorders, which have a high socio-economic burden to patients and healthcare systems worldwide, as well as having cosmetic applications.

Long term Precipitation and temperature variations are one of the main determinants of climate variability of one’s area. The aim of this study is to determine trends variation in climatic elements of temperature and precipitation in the southern zone of Tigray regional state, Ethiopia. The station is assumed for the study of climatic records over southern zone of the region in detection for probable trends. The daily, monthly and annual precipitation totals and temperature observed at korem meteorological station were used for the period of 1981-2010 for Precipitation and 1985 – 2010 for minimum and maximum temperature. Summary of descriptive statistics and Mann Kendall test methods were employed for the observed data analysis to demonstrate any existence of possible trends. The main findings of the study indicated that the mean and maximum temperature had a general increasing trend; however, minimum temperature showed decreasing trend. In general annual temperature from 1985 – 2010 of the area showed a warming trend. Moreover analysis of the 30 years (1981-2010) annual precipitation showed a coefficient of variation ranging from 33.77 – 233 %. It indicated that the precipitation dissemination is not normal with large year to year variances.

Copper-catalyzed and organocopper-involved reactions are of great significance in organic synthesis. To have a deep understanding of the reaction mechanisms, the structural characterizations of organocopper intermediates become indispensable. Meanwhile, the structure-function relationship of organocopper compounds would advance rational design and development of new Cu-based reactions and organocopper reagents. Compared to the mono-carbonic ligand, the C,N- and C,C-bidentate ligands better stabilize the unstable organocopper compounds. The bidentate ligands can chelate to the same copper atom via ?2-mode, forming a mono-cupra-cyclic compounds with at least one acute C-Cu-C angle. When the bidentate ligands bind to two copper atoms via ?1-mode at each coordinating site, the bimetallic macrocyclic compounds will form nearly linear C-Cu-C angles. The anionic coordinating sites of the bidentate ligand can also bridge two metals via ?2-mode, forming organocopper aggregates with Cu-Cu interactions and organocuprates with contact ion pair structures. The reaction chemistry of some selected organocopper compounds is highlighted, showing their unique structure-reactivity relationships.

This paper proposes a method based on genetic algorithm (GA) for the security-constrained optimal dispatch of integrated natural gas and electricity networks, considering operating scenarios in both energy systems. The mathematical formulation of the optimization problem consists of a multi-objective function which aims to minimize both cost of thermal generation (diesel and natural gas) as well as the production and transportation of natural gas. The joint gas-electricity system is modeled by two separate groups of nonlinear equation, which are solved by the combination of Newton's method with the GA. The applicability of the proposed method is tested in the Belgian gas network integrated with the IEEE 14-bus test system and a 15-node natural gas network integrated with the IEEE 118-bus test system. The results demonstrate that the proposed method provides efficient and secure solutions for different operating scenarios in both energy systems.

Egyptian mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) is a medium-size carnivore that in Europe is restricted to Iberia. The bio-ecology of this species remains to be elucidated in several dimensions, including gut microbiota that is nowadays recognized as a fundamental component of mammals. In this work, we investigated the gut microbiota of this herpestid by single-molecule real-time sequencing of twenty paired male (n=10) and female (n=10) intestinal samples. This culture-independent approach enabled microbial profiling based on 16S rDNA and investigation of taxonomical and functional features. The core gut microbiome of the adult subpopulation was dominated by Firmicutes, Fusobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria. Eight genera were uniquely found in adults and five in non-adults. When comparing gut bacterial communities across sex, four genera were exclusive of females and six uniquely found in males. Despite these compositional distinctions, alpha- and beta-diversity analyses showed no statistically significant differences across sex or between adult and non-adult specimens. However, males presented a significantly higher abundance of amino acid and citrate cycle metabolic pathways, compared to the significant overrepresentation in females of galactose’ metabolic pathways. Adults showed a significantly higher abundance of cationic antimicrobial peptide resistance pathways, while non-adults bared a significant overrepresentation of two-component systems associated with antibiotic synthesis, flagellin production and chemotaxis control. This study adds new insights into mongoose bio-ecology palette, highlighting taxonomical and functional microbiome dissimilarities across sex and age classes, possibly related to primary production resources and life-history traits that impact on behavior, diet and gut ecosystem.

The disparity between software design and implementation, especially concerning IoT security and forensics, often lacks clarity and precision. Formal languages, rooted in mathematical rules, logic, and symbols, have proven priceless for expressing specifications and verifying system designs. Various semi-formal and formal languages, such as JSON, XML, predicate logic, and regular expressions, along with formal models like Turing machines, cater to specific domains. This paper introduces a novel formal language, named ObTFL (Object Transaction Formal Language), initially developed for IoT forensics and authentication purposes but later extended to encompass general distributed systems. The paper elucidates the syntax and semantics of ObTFL and presents several case studies showcasing its versatility and effectiveness.

β-Ga2O3 is a well-known semiconductor material for power devices and other applications. Recently, β-Ga2O3 has also been reported as a scintillator material with a light yield of approximately 8400 ph./MeV, scintillation decay time of <1 μs, and density of 6.44 g/cm3. In this study, 2-inch diameter β-Ga2O3 single crystals were prepared by oxide crystal growth using the cold crucible (OCCC) method under various oxygen partial pressures. In the OCCC method, as in the cold crucible method, a high frequency is applied directly to the oxide materials, which are heated and melted, and the melt is held by the outermost solid material itself that is cooled by water using a copper hearth. In the OCCC method, crystal growth is performed while rotating the seed crystal, as in the Czochralski method, to increase the crystal diameter. The optical properties and radiation responses of the crystals grown under various oxygen partial pressures were evaluated.

For the last two decades, an increasing demand for low-cost adsorbents for drinking water treatment has been challenged in the rural areas of developing countries that have problems with arsenic (As) contamination. In this work, spent bleaching earth (SBE), a residual material that is formed during the process of refining vegetable oil, has been utilized to prepare the new magnetic adsorbent Fe-SBE/C by modifying its surface area through calcination and co-precipitation with iron. The experimental results demonstrate that Fe-SBE/C exhibits a substantial adsorption capacity towards both arsenite (As(III)) and arsenate (As(V)). Optimal pH conditions were found to be pH 10 for As(III) and pH 3 for As(V), resulting in adsorption percentages of 76.7% and 94.1%, respectively. Other experimental parameters such as calcination conditions, adsorbent dosage, iron-loading ratio, and the presence of co-existing ions were thoroughly investigated. The kinetic study revealed that the adsorption processes follow the Elovich and intraparticle diffusion models, suggesting a combined adsorption mechanism of boundary layer control and chemisorption. Furthermore, the isotherm followed the Langmuir model with a maximum adsorption capacity of 202.61 μg g-1 for As(III) and 187.61 μg g-1 for As(V). Through thermodynamic analysis and reinforcement by activation energy data, this research validates that the observed adsorption process is indicative through chemisorption. The regeneration study revealed the potential for multiple cycles of arsenic removal, highlighting the practical applicability of Fe-SBE/C in environmental contexts. In conclusion, the findings of this study underscore the efficacy of Fe-SBE/C in arsenic removal and present it as a promising and environmentally friendly solution for mitigating arsenic pollution.

Cohesion in the refractory metals Cr, Mo, and W is phenomenologically described in this work via a n-body energy functional with a set of physically motivated parameters that were optimized to reproduce selected experimental properties characteristic of perfect and defective crystals. The functional contains four terms accounting for the hard-core repulsion, the Thomas-Fermi kinetic energy repulsion and for contributions to the binding energy of s and d valence electrons. Lattice dynamics, molecular statics, and molecular dynamics calculations show that this model describes satisfactorily thermodynamic properties of the studied metals whereas, unlike other empirical approaches from the literature, predictions of phonon dispersion relations and of surface and point defect energetics reveal in fair good agreement with experiments. These results suggest that the present model is well adapted to large-scale simulations and whenever total energy calculations of thermodynamic properties are unfeasible

Since the discovery of transposable elements (TEs) in Maize in the 1940s by Barbara McClintock [1] transposable elements have been described as junk, as selfish elements with no benefit to the host, and more recently as major determinants of genome structure and genome evolution. TEs are DNA sequences that are capable of moving to new sites in the genome and make additional copies while doing so. To limit the propagation of TEs, host silencing mechanisms are directed at transposon-encoded genes that are required for mobilization. The mutagenic properties of TEs, the potential of TEs to form new genes and affect gene expression, together with the host silencing mechanisms shape eukaryotic genomes and drive genome evolution. While TEs constitute more than half of the genome in many higher eukaryotes, transposable elements in the nematode C. ele-gans form a relatively small proportion of genome, about 15% [2]. Genetic studies of transposon silencing and the discovery of RNAi in C. elegans, propelled C. elegans to the forefront of studies of RNA-based mechanisms that silence TEs. Here, I will review the transposable elements that are present and active in the C. elegans genome, and the host defense mechanisms that silence these elements.

A diffusion welding of coarse-grained and ultrafine-grained (UFG) specimens of titanium near-α alloy Ti-5Al-2V used in nuclear power engineering was made by Spark Plasma Sintering. The failure of the welded specimens in the conditions of hot salt corrosion and of electrochemical corrosion were shown to have preferentially intercrystalline character. In the case of presence of macrodefects, crevice corrosion of the welded joints was observed. The resistance of the alloys against the intercrystalline corrosion was found to be determined by the concentration of vanadium at the titanium grain boundaries, by the size and volume fraction of the β-phase particles and by the presence of micro- and macropores in the welded joints. The specimens of the welded joints of the UFG alloy have higher hardness, hot salt corrosion resistance and the electrochemical corrosion.

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

Multi-level direct networks fueled by the evolving technology of active optical cables and increasing pin-bandwidth achieve reduced diameters and cost, with high-radix switches. These networks, like Dragonfly, are becoming the preferred aspirants for extreme high-performance parallel machines such as exa-scale computing. In this paper, we introduce a Hyper Z-Tree topology, which deploys the Z-Tree, a variant of fat-tree, as a computing node of a Generalized Hypercube (GHC) configuration. The resulting configuration provides higher bisection bandwidth, lower latency for some applications and higher throughput. Furthermore, the levels of the fat tree offer several path diversities across the GHC dimensions, hence conceding a more fault tolerant architecture. To profit from these path diversities, we propose two adaptive routing algorithms, which are extensions to the routing algorithm suggested in HyperX topology. These two algorithms exhibit better latencies and throughput than the HyperX.

We consider the second order differential equation y'' + ω^(2)ρ(x)y = 0 where ω is a positive parameter. The principal concern here is to find conditions on the function ρ^(−1/2)(x), which ensure that the consecutive differences of sequences constructed from the zeros of a nontrivial solution of the equation are regular in sign for ω sufficiently large. In particular, if c_(νk)(α) denotes the k-th positive zero of the general Bessel (cylinder) function C_(ν)(x; α) = J_(ν)(x) cos α−Y_(ν)(x) sin α of order ν, and if |ν| < 1/2, we prove that (−1)^(m)∆^(m+2)c_(νk)(α) > 0 (m = 0, 1, 2, ...; k = 1, 2, ...), where ∆a_(k) = a_(k+1) − a_(k). This type of inequalities was conjectured by Lorch and Szego in 1963. We also show that the differences of the zeros of various orthogonal polynomials with higher degrees possess the sign-regularity.

Nano/micron-sized bioactive glass (BG) particles are attractive candidates for both soft and hard tissue engineering. They can chemically bond to the host tissues, enhance new tissue formation, activate cell proliferation, stimulate the genetic expression of proteins, and trigger unique an-ti-bacterial, anti-inflammatory, and anti-cancer functionalities. Recently, composites based on bi-opolymers and BG particles have been developed with various state-of-the-art techniques for tis-sue engineering. Gelatin, a semi-synthetic biopolymer, has attracted the attention of researchers because it is derived from the most abundant protein in the body, viz., collagen. It is a polymer that can be dissolved in water and processed to acquire different configurations, such as hydro-gels, fibers, films, scaffolds, etc. Searching "bioactive glass gelatin" in the tile on Scopus renders 80 highly relevant articles published in the last ~10 years, which signifies the importance of such composites. First, this review addresses the basic concepts of soft and hard tissue engineering, in-cluding the healing mechanisms and limitations ahead. Then, current knowledge on gelatin/BG composites including composition, processing and properties is summarized and discussed both for soft and hard tissue applications. This review explores physical, chemical and mechanical features and ion-release effects of such composites concerning osteogenic and angiogenic respons-es in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, recent developments of BG/gelatin composites using 3D/4D printing for tissue engineering are presented. Finally, the perspectives and current challenges in developing desirable composites for the regeneration of different tissues are outlined.

L-Theanine, a unique non-protein amino acid, is an important bioactive component of green tea. Previous studies have shown that L-theanine has many potent health benefits, such as anti-anxiety effect, regulation of immune response, relaxing neural tension, reducing oxidative damage. However, little is known concerning whether L-theanine can improve the clearance of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) damage in organisms. Here, we reported that L-theanine treatment increased ATP production and improved mitochondrial morphology to extend the lifespan of UVC-exposed nematodes. Mechanistic investigations showed that L-theanine treatment enhanced the removal of mtDNA damage and extended lifespan by activating autophagy, mitophagy, mitochondrial dynamics, and mitochondrial unfolded protein response (UPRmt) in UVC-exposed nematodes. In addition, L-theanine treatment also up-regulated the expression of genes related to mitochondrial energy metabolism in UVC-exposed nematodes. Our study provided a theoretical basis for the possibility that tea drinking may prevent mitochondrial related diseases.

Sachet water (SW) is a major source of drinking water in most Nigerian homes, thus making it a possible conveyance medium for health risks due to contamination rather than for replenishment of the body. This study collected SW from three busy neighborhoods and investigated for the presence of indicator bacteria – Escherichia coli (E. coli), Total Coliform (TC), Total Heterophilic Bacteria (THB), and Staphylococcus – and some physio-chemical parameters – total dissolved solids (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and salinity. Multi-variable and exploratory statistical methods were applied to the results to determine correlations between bacterial contamination levels and perceived brand reputation. Bacteriological test with raw SW samples appeared too numerous to count (TNC) and thus required serial dilutions. After seven dilutions, results obtained revealed that SW brands with good reputation had no TC and E. coli and was statistically significant with groupings of other SW brands (χ2 = 12.28; p < 0.05 and χ2 = 37.96; p < 0.05) respectively. Additionally, SW brands with poor reputation had mean values of TC (19.7X10^8 cfu/ml;14X10^8 cfu/ml1.15X10^8 cfu/ml) and E.coli (18.2X10^8 cfu/ml;38.7X10^8 cfu/ml,32.4X10^8 cfu/ml) exceeding threshold value of zero set by the World Health Organization (WHO). Only one sample from poor reputation brand tested positive for Staphylococcus and was not statistically significant (χ2 =5.2191; p = 0.074). Principal Component Analysis (PCA)/ Factor Analysis (FA) revealed that most of the SW had fecal contamination in an alarming magnitude. Therefore, this study suggests that periodic cleaning of distribution lines, location specific treatment, QC and QA measures should be taken to reduce water security risk for SW consumption in the region.

The retinoblastoma (RB) transcriptional corepressor 1 (RB1) is a critical tumor suppressor gene, governing diverse cellular processes implicated in cancer biology. Dysregulation or deletion in RB1 contributes to the development and progression of various cancers, making it a prime target for therapeutic intervention. RB1's canonical function in cell cycle control and DNA repair mechanisms underscores its significance in restraining aberrant cell growth and maintaining genomic stability. Understanding the complex interplay between RB1 and cellular pathways is beneficial to fully elucidate its tumor-suppressive role across different cancer types and for therapeutic development. As a result, investigating vulnerabilities arising from RB1 deletion-associated mechanisms offers promising avenues for targeted therapy. Recently, several findings highlighted multiple methods as a promising strategy for combating tumor growth driven by RB1 loss, offering potential clinical benefits in various cancer types. This review summarizes the multifaceted role of RB1 in cancer biology and its implications for targeted therapy.

Biological neural network (BNN) is the core brain for creature to accomplish its intelligent behaviors through unique network structure and mechanisms. It also inspires controlling human-designed autonomous agents including robots to generate more advanced intelligent behaviors by mimicking the neural control mechanism of creatures at a deeper and more interactive level. Here, we constructed a whole-brain neural network model of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans), which characterizes the electrochemical processes at the level of cellular synapse. The neural network simulation integrates computational programming and visualization of neurons and synapse connections of C. elegans, containing the specific controllable circuits summarization with their dynamic characteristics within the whole network. To illustrate its particular intelligent control capability in terms of robotics, we introduce the first innovative methodology for applying the BNN model to a 12-legged robot’s movement control based on the established numerical simulation platforms. We accomplished and designed two methods and corresponding encoding processes, one involving orientation control and the other involving locomotion generation, to demonstrate the intelligent control performance of BNN. Both simulation and experiment results indicate that the robot exhibits stronger autonomy and more intelligent moving performance under the control of BNN. We then summarized the contributions for digitalizing the C. elegans’ whole-brain neural network in real-time and utilizing it to control robot in a closed loop to validate its advanced intelligence control ability in terms of a scientific robot.

DNA polymerases replicate cell genomes and/or participate in the maintenance of genome integrity. DNA polymerases sharing high sequence homology with E. coli DNA polymerase I (pol I), have been grouped in Family A. Pol I participates in Okazaki fragment maturation and in bacterial genome repair. Since its discovery in 1956, pol I has been extensively studied, primarily to get deeper insights into the mechanism of DNA replication. As research on DNA polymerases advances, many novel functions of this group of polymerases are uncovered. For example, human DNA polymerase θ (a Family A DNA pol) has been shown to synthesize DNA using RNA as a template, a function typically attributed to retroviral reverse transcriptase. A heightened interest in drug discovery against pol θ has emerged due to its roles in cancer. Likewise, Pol I family enzymes also appear attractive drug-development targets against microbial infections. Development of antimalarial compounds targeting apicoplast apPOL, an ortholog of Pol I, further extends the druggability of this family of enzymes. Here, we summarize reported drug-development efforts against Family A polymerases, and future perspective regarding these enzymes as antibiotic targets. Current techniques such artificial intelligence can be used to facilitate the goal of new drugs.

The development of microelectronics is always driven by reducing transistor size and increasing integration, from the initial micron-scale to the current few nanometers. The photolithography technique for manufacturing the transistor needs to reduce the wavelength of the optical wave, from ultraviolet, deep, to the existing extreme ultraviolet light. One approach toward decreasing the working wavelength is using lithography based on beyond extreme ultraviolet radiation (BEUV) with a wavelength around 7 nm. The BEUV lithography relies on advanced reflective optics such as periodic multilayer film X-ray mirrors (PMMs). PMMs are artificial Bragg crystals having alternate layers of “light” and “heavy” materials. The periodicity of such a structure is relatively half of the working wavelength. Since a BEUV lithographical system contains at least 10 mirrors, optics’ reflectivity becomes a crucial point. The increasing of a single mirror's reflectivity by 10% will increase the system’s overall throughput by 6 times. In this work, the properties and development status of PMMs, particularly for BEUV lithography, were reviewed to gain a better understanding of their advantages and limitations. Emphasis was given to materials, design concepts, structure, deposition method, and optical characteristics of these coatings.

Radar observation data with high temporal and spatial resolution are used in the data assimilation experiment to improve precipitation forecast of a numerical model. The numerical model considered in this study is Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model with double-moment 6-class microphysics scheme (WDM6). We calculated radar equivalent reflectivity factor using higher resolution WRF and compared with radar observations in South Korea. To compare the precipitation forecast characteristics of three-dimensional variational (3D-Var) assimilation of radar data, four experiments are performed based on different precipitation types. Comparisons of the 24-h accumulated rainfall with Automatic Weather Station (AWS) data, Contoured Frequency by Altitude Diagram (CFAD), Time Height Cross Sections (THCS), and vertical hydrometeor profiles are used to evaluate and compare the accuracy. The model simulations are performed with and with-out 3D-VAR radar reflectivity, radial velocity and AWS assimilation for two mesoscale convective cases and two synoptic scale cases. The radar data assimilation experiment improved the location of precipitation area and rainfall intensity compared to the control run. Especially, for the two convective cases, simulating mesoscale convective system was greatly improved.

Density Functional Theory (DFT) full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method with the Modified Becke-Johnson (mBJ) approximation is used to perform spin polarised calculations of the transition metal perovskites MoScO₃ and WScO₃. Both depict half metallic behaviour with semiconducting and metallic in the minority and majority spins respectively. MoScO₃ and WScO₃ have indirect R− Γ band gaps in the minority spin channels of 3.61 and 3.82eV respectively. Moreover, they both show substantial magnetic moments of 2.99μ_B. In addition, we calculate the dielectric function, optical conductivity and the optical constants, namely, the refractive index, the reflectivity, the extinction and absorption coefficients.

Fractal array antennas are multiband arrays having ultra wide band and space filling facility. But Side lobe levels and large number of antenna elements are the major designing challenges of these arrays. In this paper, design and analysis of octagonal fractal array antenna is investigated with Morse-Thue fractal density tapering technique (MTFDT). Due to the proposed technique, a remarkable improvement has observed in Side lobe levels and thinning of the elements can also be attained at the various iterations of octagonal fractal array antenna. These arrays are analyzed and simulated by MATLAB-15 programming.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is defined as the accumulation of lipids in the form of lipid droplets in more than 5% of hepatocytes. It is regarded as a range of diverse pathologies, including simple steatosis and steatohepatitis. The structural characteristics of lipid droplets have been implicated in the etiology of the disease, along with their protein composition, mainly perilipins. These proteins have garnered increasing attention as a pivotal regulator, since their levels and distinct expression appear to be associated with the progression from simple steatosis to steatohepatitis. Perilipins are target proteins of chaperone-mediated autophagy, and their degradation is a prerequisite for lipolysis and lipophagy to access the lipid core. Both lipophagy and chaperone-mediated autophagy have significant implications in the development of the disease, as evidenced by their upregulation during the initial phases of simple steatosis, and their subsequent downregulation once steatosis is established. On the contrary, during steatohepatitis, the process of chaperone-mediated autophagy is enhanced, although lipophagy remains suppressed. Evidently, the reduced levels of autophagic pathways observed in simple steatosis serve as a defensive mechanism against lipotoxicity. Conversely, in steatohepatitis chaperone mediated autophagy fails to compensate for the continuous generation of small lipid droplets and thus cannot protect hepatocytes from lipotoxicity.

In this paper, we present a new concept of the generalized core orthogonality (called the C-S orthogonality) for two generalized core invertible matrices $A$ and $B$. $A$ is said to be C-S orthogonal to $B$ if $A^{\tiny\textcircled{S}}B=0$ and $BA^{\tiny\textcircled{S}}=0$, where $A^{\tiny\textcircled{S}}$ is the generalized core inverse of $A$. The characterizations of C-S orthogonal matries and the C-S additivity are also provided. And the connection between the C-S orthogonality and C-S partial order has been given using their canonical form. Moreover, the concept of the strongly C-S orthogonality is defined and characterized.

In this work, Al-Mo-B(CN) thin coatings were deposited by magnetron sputtering using composite metal-ceramic Al-Mo-B4C target. A metal-ceramic composite target for magnetron sputtering was fabricated by a robotic complex for detonation spraying of coatings equipped with a multi-chamber detonation accelerator. The powder composition (30Mo-30Al-40B4C) was sprayed onto the copper plate base of the composite target-cathode. The obtained cathode target with Al-Mo-B4C coating (thickness 280-300 μm) was used to deposit the Al-Mo-B(CN) coating (DC mode) on flat specimens of AISI 316 steels and silicon using equipment for magnetron sputtering UNICOAT 200. The Al-Mo-B4C coating has a lamella-type structure with inclusions of boron car-bide particles the elemental composition is evenly distributed in the material. The structure and morphology of coatings were studied using methods of optical, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray analysis (XRD), and X-ray photoelectron spectros-copy (XPS). Mechanical and tribological properties of the Al-Mo-B(CN) thin coatings were determined using methods of nanoindentation, scratch testing, and tribological testing under fluid-free friction regime at room temperature. The Al-Mo-B(CN) coating (thickness ~ 1 μm) exhibited a dense uniform fine-grained structure with no columnar elements and were well-adherent to the substrates after deposition. Al-Mo-B(CN) coating has a amorphous structure. XPS analysis confirmed the formation of the MoB2 and AlN phase with an admixture of oxygen in the form of aluminum oxide, molybdenum oxide and boron oxide. Al-Mo-B(CN) coating possess hardness of 13 GPa, elasticity modulus of 114 GPa, elastic recovery of 45%, and friction coefficient of 0.8 against steel 100 Cr6 ball. The failure mode occurring in the tested coatings was fatigue and abrasive. The adhesion strength of Al-Mo-B(CN) coating amounted to about 11 N, and the failure mode was cohesive associated with plastic deformation and formation of fatigue cracks in the coating material.

The study of precipitation amount at different time scales constitutes an important issue in climate research and risk assessment. When dealing with daily totals, a frequent but sometimes underestimated problem is at what time the observation day begins. The choice of different starting times may lead to incompatibility between stations and incorrect identification of extreme events. In this work, the problem of temporal misalignment between precipitation datasets characterized by different starting time of the observation day is analyzed. The most widely used adjustment methods (1day and uniform shift) and two methods based on reanalysis (NOAA and ERA5) are evaluated in terms of temporal alignment, precipitation statistics and percentile distributions. As test series, the precipitation amount collected from 9 a.m. local time (09 LT) on the previous day to 09 LT on the target day (9-9 datasets) of the Padua and nearby stations in the period 1993-2022 have been selected. Results show that the reanalysis-based methods, in particular ERA5, outperform the others in temporal alignment, regardless the station. But, for the periods in which reanalysis data are not available, “1day” method, which shifts the daily amount back one calendar day, and “unif” method, which distributes uniformly the daily total from a 2-day moving window surrounding the target date, can be considered valid alternatives. On the other side, concerning the precipitation statistics, the reanalysis-based methods are not the best option, as they increase the precipitation frequency and reduce the mean value over wet days, NOAA much more than ERA5. Nevertheless, the uniform method provides a larger deviation from the original daily series. The use of the series of a station nearby the target one, which is mandatory in case of missing data, gives similar or better results than applying any adjustment method to the 9-9 series. General conclusions can hardly be drawn as they depend on the method and station. For the Padua dataset, the analysis was repeated at monthly and seasonal resolution. In general, the adjustment series show the most relevant changes in the precipitation statistics in summer and less temporal alignment with the original series in summer and autumn, the two seasons mainly affected by heavy rains in Padua. Finally, the percentiles distribution, analyzed for all the methods and stations, indicates that any adjustment method underestimates the percentile values, except ERA5. Only Legnaro, the station most correlated with Padua, gives results like ERA5.

Al-6%Mg-Sc-Zr alloys with the total ratio of Sc + Zr = 0.32 wt.% make up the target of this research. The content of scandium and zirconium varied with an increment of 0.02%. The alloys were produced by induction casting. Their ultrafine-grained (UFG) microstructure was formed with Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP). Such cast alloys have a homogeneous macrostructure formed by small equiaxed grains in the central part of the ingot and columnar crystals along the edges of the cross section. After ECAP, the average grain size in the alloy specimens is 0.5–1 µm. The average grain size does not depend on the ratio of Sc and Zr in these alloys. Superplasticity tests were performed at temperatures ranging from 300 to 500 °C and at a strain rate varying between 3.3·10-3 and 3.3·10-1 s-1. UFG Al-6%Mg-0.20%Sc-0.12%Zr and Al-6%Mg-0.18%Sc-0.14%Zr alloys exhibit the highest superplasticity. It was suggested that changes in Sc:Zr ratio affect spatial distribution and composition of the following precipitating particles: Al3Sc, Al3Zr, Al3(ScxZr1-x). An increase in Zr concentration is shown to reduce the susceptibility of UFG alloys to cavitation fracture.

This paper presents a new and enhanced fusion module for the Multi-Sensor Precipitation Estimator (MPE) that would objectively blend real-time satellite quantitative precipitation estimates (SQPE) with radar and gauge estimates. This module consists of a preprocessor that mitigates systematic bias in SQPE, and a two-way blending routine that statistically fuses adjusted SQPE with radar estimates. The preprocessor not only corrects systematic bias in SQPE, but also improves the spatial distribution of precipitation based on SQPE and makes it closely resemble that of radar-based observations. It uses a more sophisticated radar-satellite merging technique to blend preprocessed datasets, and provides a better overall QPE product. The performance of the new satellite-radar-gauge blending module is assessed using independent rain gauge data over a 5-year period between 2003-2007, and the assessment evaluates the accuracy of newly developed satellite-radar-gauge (SRG) blended products versus that of radar-gauge products (which represents MPE algorithm currently used in the NWS operations) over two regions: I) inside radar effective coverage and II) immediately outside radar coverage. The outcomes of the evaluation indicate a) ingest of SQPE over areas within effective radar coverage improve the quality of QPE by mitigating the errors in radar estimates in region I; and b) blending of radar, gauge, and satellite estimates over region II leads to reduction of errors relative to bias-corrected SQPE. In addition, the new module alleviates the discontinuities along the boundaries of radar effective coverage otherwise seen when SQPE is used directly to fill the areas outside of effective radar coverage.

The photosystem I (PSI) of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii associates with 10 light-harvesting proteins (LHCI) to form the PSI-LHCI complex. Binding of LHCII to PSI may also occur and is controlled by a process called state transitions. Hereby, two LHCII trimers bind to the PSAL, PSAH and PSAO side of PSI to produce the PSI-LHCI-LHCII complex. In this work, we took advantage of chemical crosslinking of proteins in conjunction with mass spectrometry to identify protein-protein interactions between the light-harvesting proteins of PSI and PSII. We detected binding of LHCBM proteins to the LHCA1-PSAG side of PSI and identified protein-protein interactions of LHCSR3 with LHCA5 and LHCA3. Our data indicate that the binding of LHCII to PSI is more versatile as anticipated and reveal that LHCSR3 likely regulates excitation energy transfer to the PSI core via LHCA5/LHCA3.

Type 2 diabetes (T2DM) presents an enormous global healthcare challenge, especially among rural communities due to limited access. To overcome this, many low- and middle-income countries are resorting to task shifting, using community health workers (CHWs) for diabetes management. However, its successful implementation depends on the practice behaviours and knowledge of these workers. This cross-sectional study from rural South India aimed to evaluate the proficiency of 275 CHWs in diabetes screening and management. A customized questionnaire, developed through experts and government was used to evaluate the practice behaviours and knowledge. Analytical methodologies consisted of descriptive statistics, logistic regression, and mosaic plots for comprehensive data interpretation. Results showed significant deficiencies of mean correct practice behaviours at 48 and 50% respectively. The identified gaps included diabetes diagnosis, HbA1c testing, diet, self-management, complications screening and risk assessment. In several areas, correct practice behaviour was reported by a relatively large number of CHWs despite incorrect answers to the related knowledge questions such as referral to the health centres, self-management and calculation of diabetes risk assessment. Addressing these deficiencies requires a thorough needs assessment and tailored training for improved diabetes management by CHWs. Training of CHWs, should not only identify prior knowledge and/or behaviour but also their interrelationship to help create a robust and flexible set of practice behaviours.

This study presents the synthesis and electrochemical evaluation of nitrogen-doped vanadium oxide (N-V2O3/C) as a cathode material for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs), using a hydrothermal method. Compared to undoped V2O3/C, N-V2O3/C exhibits enhanced electrical conductivity, capacity, and electrochemical kinetics, attributed to the incorporation of pyridinic and pyrrolic nitrogen. Initial charge-discharge cycles indicate phase transitions to amorphous vanadium oxides, enhancing conductivity. N-V2O3/C shows a high specific capacity of 168.4 mAh g−1 at 10 A g−1 and remarkable reversibility, highlighted by the transient existence of intermediate species during cycling. Optimal electrochemical performance is achieved with a vanadium to nitrogen molar ratio of 2:3, indicating the significant impact of nitrogen doping concentration on the material’s efficiency. This work underscores the potential of N-V2O3/C as a superior cathode material for AZIBs.

The main objective of this study is to apply structural equation modeling with partial least squares and based on covariance to assess the satisfaction of residential electricity consumers. The methodology used compares the results of both structural equation models to indicate the model that best fits the problem of measuring the satisfaction of residential consumers of electricity concessionaires and licensees. The sample used in the survey contained questionnaire responses from 86.175 individuals considering the period from 2014 to 2018. The constructs evaluated were satisfaction, quality, value, loyalty, and trust. Confidence interval analysis shows that all weights are significant, demonstrating the importance of all the indicators that represent the constructs. The trust, quality, and value constructs can explain 74.4% of the variability of the satisfaction construct, so the explanatory capacity of this relationship is considered substantial. Finally, the evaluation of the performance of the service provided by the electric energy concessionaires/licensees, measured by customer satisfaction, allows for the continuous improvement of services and meeting, even if minimally, the expectations of its consumers.

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

Bamboo is the building material of the past and future. It offers numerous properties that make it versatile for various applications, including construction. Its impressive strength-to-weight ratio enables it to bear substantial loads and stresses, while its good elasticity allows efficient energy absorption. However, its mechanical properties can vary based on factors such as species, age, locations, methods, and treatment. Treating bamboo is essential to enhance its properties and durability. The literature provides various natural and chemical treatments which enhanced some of the properties but also reported a drawbacks on higher temperature, content and duration. This paper reviewed 57 articles from Scopus database, specifically focusing on article-document type publications from the years 2003 to 2023. Additional references were also incorporated to address concerns in properties, treatment and standards to provide systematic understanding. MATLAB was utilized for data text analytics. With extensive assessment on the articles, the following gaps and concerns were observed and recommends for further study and assessment such as for bamboo properties, the development of centralized guidelines and procedures for the preparation and processing; exploration of alternative materials to reinforce bamboo without compromising its ductility; development of joint connections, and testing of mechanical properties considering seismic, wind and vibration. For treatment methods, the standardization of procedures using natural, chemical or combination. Lastly, for bamboo codes and standards, assessment of existing codes and standards for testing the mechanical properties of bamboo highlighting the potential limitations and areas, uniformity, differences with all existing similar standards. By filling these gaps, it can support the reliability and robustness of bamboo as a sustainable material, fostering its promotion and adoption in construction industry.

ABSTRACT Background Ubiquitination plays an important role in protein post-translational processes and has been found to be involved in a number of regulatory functions including proteasome degradation, DNA repair, transcription, signal transduction, endocytosis, and sorting. As the identification of ubiquitination site is critical to furthering our understanding of the mechanism of ubiquitination, various experimental and machine learning methods have been used to conduct this task. It has been an important but challenging task to improve the accuracy of ubiquitination site prediction. In this research, we explore the possibility of improving the prediction performance of machine learning by incorporating grid search in the training process. Method We developed grid search procedures for each of six widely used machine learning methods including NB, LR, DT, SVM, LASSO, and KNN, and applied them to ubiquitination site prediction using the six PCP datasets that were previously developed. For each of the ML methods, we developed a set of values for each of the tunable hyperparameters available to the method. These sets of values then can be combined to form a large grid of hyperparameter settings, and each of these settings is used in the grid search. We integrated 5-fold cross-validation in grid search to train and test ML models and applied an additional independent validation procedure by conducting a pre-training 80-20 sample split. We evaluated the performance of the six methods by comparing them side by side for each of the six datasets. We also compared the grid search results with the results that were previously published without doing grid search. To optimize the prediction performance, we trained 1.1 million ML models in total through grid search. Results We compared the overall prediction performance of these six methods, as well as their prediction performance when working with balanced vs. imbalanced data, and large-scale vs. small-scale data. From the perspective of dataset, we find that the overall performance of every PCP dataset has been significantly improved in this study compared to the previous study, with the percentage increase of the average AUC of all six datasets ranging from 7.9% (PCP-4) up to 17.0% (PCP-1). From the perspective of method, we find that three out of four methods significantly benefit from grid search comparing to their previously published non-grid search results, with the maximum AUC improvement as high as 47% (LASSO on PCP-5), 43.3% (NB on PCP-1), and 33.7% (SVM on PCP-6). SVM overall ranks number one, followed by KNN as the number two performer based on their average AUCs on all datasets. But these two also ranked the top two (KNN 76 days and SVM 15 days) in terms of the total running time that they need to do grid search. We also find that SVM, KNN, and DT tend to handle small-scale and imbalanced datasets better, while LR, and LASSO are doing well with large-scale and balanced datasets. NB is more sensitive to data imbalance while less sensitive to the size of a dataset. Conclusions Our results show that using grid search has improved the performance of ubiquitination prediction significantly. We find that the performance of a method is closely related to its hyperparameter setting and the type of data it handles. Even though SVM is on average an outperformer, none of the methods can provide the best performance for all datasets. When sufficient computing resources are well accessible, grid search is an effective way to identify both a top performing model for a machine learning method and a suitable machine learning method for a particular dataset.

In this study, the term dimension is introduced on fuzzy(neutrosophic) graphs. The classes of these specific graphs are chosen to obtain some results based on dimension. The types of crisp notions and fuzzy(neutrosophic) notions are used to make sense about the material of this study and the outline of this study uses some new notions which are crisp and fuzzy(neutrosophic).

The microstructural evolution, thermodynamics and kinetics of Mo-21%Tm₂O₃ (mass fraction, %) powder mixtures during ball milling were investigated using X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Ball milling induced Tm₂O₃ to be decomposed and then dissolved into Mo crystal. The supersaturated nanocrystalline solid solution of Mo (Tm, O) was obtained after 96 h of ball milling. The elements of Mo, Tm and O were distributed uniformly in the ball-milled particles. Based on the semi-experimental theory of Miedema, a thermodynamic model was developed to calculate the driving force of phase evolution. There was no chemical driving force to form a crystal solid solution of Tm atoms in Mo crystal or an amorphous phase because the Gibbs free energy for both processes was higher than zero. For Mo-21%Tm₂O₃, it was mechanical work, not negative heat of mixing, that provided the driving force to form supersaturated nanocrystalline Mo (Tm, O) solid solution.

The prevailing interpretations of physics are based on deeply entrenched assumptions, rooted in classical mechanics. Logical implications include: the denial of entropy as a fundamental physical property, and the inability to explain irreversible change, random quantum measurements, or nonlocality without untestable and implausible metaphysical implications. We propose a conceptual model that is based on empirically justifiable assumptions and consistent with observations. The WYSIWYG Conceptual Model (WCM) assumes no hidden properties: “What You can See Is What You Get.” The WCM contextually defines a system’s state with respect to its actual ambient background, and it extends existing models of physical reality by defining entropy and exergy as objective contextual properties of state. The WCM establishes the irreversible dissipation of exergy and the Second law of thermodynamics as a fundamental law of physics, it recognizes physical randomness, and it provides a physical explanation for nonlocality, consistent with Special Relativity, without hidden variables, superdeterminism, or “spooky action.”

This study determines the threshold for the computational rate of actuator motor controllers for unmanned underwater vehicles necessary to accurately follow discontinuous square wave commands. Motors must track challenging square-wave inputs, and identification of key computational rates permit application of deterministic artificial intelligence (D.A.I.) to achieve tracking to a machine-precision degree of accuracy in direct comparison to other state-of-art approaches. All modeling approaches are validated in MATLAB simulations where the motor process is discretized at varying step-sizes (inversely proportional to computational rate). At a large step-size (fast computational rate), discrete D.A.I. shows a mean error more than three times larger than that of a ubiquitous model-following approach. Yet, at a smaller step size (slower computational rate), the mean error decreases by a factor of 10, only three percent larger than that of continuous D.A.I. Hence, the performance of discrete D.A.I. is critically affected by the sampling period for discretization of the system equations and computational rate. Discrete D.A.I. should be avoided when small step-size discretization is unavailable. In fact, continuous D.A.I. has surpassed all modeling approaches which makes it the safest and most viable solution to future commercial applications in unmanned underwater vehicles.

Many university female students are concerned about their bodies. Body image perception has become a public health issue globally. This study aimed to explore factors contributing to body image dissatisfaction among female students at the University of Venda. The study was qualitative in nature and employed exploratory research design. A sample of 10 female students enrolled at the University of Venda were identified using convenience sampling method. A pre-tested, semi-structured interview guide was used to collect data and thematic content analysis technique was used to analyse the collected data. The findings of the study showed that body comparison, societal beauty standards, social media, and body shaming by family and friends were the main factors contributing to student’s body image dissatisfaction. The findings further revealed that lack of self-confidence, stress, avoidance, anxiety and depressive symptoms were the challenges faced by students with body image dissatisfaction. Acceptance. Self-care, and healthy diet were identified as coping strategies to help deal with the challenges of student’s body image dissatisfaction. Conclusively, students should be encouraged to seek professional help timeously, to help navigate their body image concerns to avoid decline in their daily functioning.

Optical power splitters play a crucial role as the fundamental building blocks for many integrated optical devices. They should have low losses, broad bandwidth, and a high tolerance to fabrication errors. Adiabatic optical power splitters inherently possess these qualities while being compatible with foundry processes well-suited for mass-production. The long device lengths of adiabatic power splitters, however, are a limiting factor to achieve compact device sizes, which must be reduced. Here, we use a polynomial taper profile optimization algorithm to design 1×2 and 2×2 adiabatic power splitters with significantly shorter lengths than their adiabatic counterparts. The best performing 1×2 and 2×2 power splitters have 20 μm and 16 μm coupling lengths, respectively. Our designs have minimum feature sizes ranging from 140 nm to 200 nm, and our measurements averaged across 9 different chips show excellent consistency in performance for devices with 180 nm and 200 nm minimum features. Both the 1×2 and 2×2 adiabatic optical power splitters have excess losses less than 0.7 dB over a 100 nm bandwidth, with a standard deviation lower than 0.3 dB. Furthermore, our measurements show greater than 20 dB extinction ratios over 130 nm bandwidth. We also demonstrate the design of 1×2 power splitters with arbitrary splitting ratios, where splitting ratios ranging from 50:50 to 94:6 were achieved with standard deviations between 2% and 6%.

University course scheduling (UCS) is one of the most important and time-consuming issues that all educational institutions face yearly. Most of the existing techniques to model and solve UCS problems have applied approximate methods, which are different in terms of efficiency, performance, and optimization speed. Accordingly, this research aims to apply an exact optimization method to provide an optimal solution to the course scheduling problem. In other words, in this research, an integer programming model is presented to solve the USC problem. In this model, hard and soft constraints include the facilities of classrooms, courses of different levels and compression of students' curriculum, courses outside the faculty and planning for them, and the limited time allocated to the professors. The objective is to maximize the weighted sum of allocating available times to professors based on their preferences in all periods. To evaluate the presented model's feasibility, it is implemented using the GAMS software. Finally, the presented model is solved in a larger dimension using a real data set from a college in China and compared with the current program in the same college. The obtained results show that considering the mathematical model's constraints and objective function, the faculty courses' timetable is reduced from 4 days a week to 3 working days. Moreover, master courses are planned in two days, and the courses in the educational groups do not interfere with each other. Furthermore, by implementing the proposed model for the real case study, the maximum teaching hours of the professors are significantly reduced. The results demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed model and solution method in terms of optimization speed and solution accuracy.

Gain-scheduled autopilots have emerged as a dominant strategy to achieve adaptive control of coupled, non-linear engineering complexities, owing to an ability to adapt to changing operational conditions and uncertainties. This study focuses on utilizing bilinear interpolation of gain-scheduled autopilots, emphasizing enhanced system performance and robustness. Through a comprehensive investigation and comparative analysis using three disparate cases, advantages over conventional methods are revealed. Strengths and weaknesses of both simple and specialized variants (such as linear, and real-time gain-scheduling) are introduced. Three missile guidance case–studies utilize simulation time and miss distance figures of merit. Potential to achieve precise control across various mission scenarios, while ensuring reduced computational complexity is revealed by nearly two–hundred percent improved missile miss distances with comparable distances traveled and slightly improved computational burden.

Rainfall, or more generally the precipitation process (flux), is a clear example of chaotic variables resulting from a highly nonlinear dynamical system, the atmosphere, represented by a set of physical equations such as the Navier-Stokes equations, energy balances and hydrological cycle among others. As a generalization of the Euclidean (ordinary) measurements, chaotic solutions of these equations are characterized by fractal dimensions, which are non-integer values that represent the complexity of variables like the precipitation. However, observed precipitation is measured as an aggregate variable over time, thus physical analysis of the observed fluxes is very limited. Therefore, this review aims to go through the different approaches used in the identification and analysis of the complexity of the observed precipitation, taking advantage of its geometry footprint. To address the review, it ranges from classical perspectives of fractal-based techniques to new perspectives at temporal and spatial scales as well as for classification of climatic features, including monofractal dimension, multifractal approaches, Hurst exponent, Shannon entropy and time scaling in intensity-duration-frequency curves.

In patients with primary central nervous system lymphoma (PCNSL), the choice of surgical strategy for histopathologic assessment is still controversial, particularly in terms of preoperative corticosteroid (CS) therapy. To provide further evidence for clinical decision-making, we retrospectively analyzed data from 148 consecutive patients who underwent surgery at our institution. Although patients treated with corticosteroids preoperatively were significantly more likely to require a second or third biopsy (p=0.049), it was only necessary in less than 10% of the cases with preoperative corticosteroid treatment. The choice of surgical procedure did not affect diagnostic accuracy (p&gt;0.05). Preoperative CSF sampling did not provide additional information but was associated with delayed surgery (p=0.02). Surprisingly, diagnostic accuracy was significantly lower when patients were treated with anticoagulation or dual antiplatelet therapy (p=0.015). In conclusion, preoperative CS therapy can challenge the histological diagnosis of PCNSL. At the same time, our data suggest that preoperative CS treatment only presents a relative contraindication for an early surgical intervention. The standard surgical approach is stereotactic biopsy, but other approaches can be individually considered. If a definitive diagnosis cannot be made after the first surgical intervention, the timing of a repeat biopsy after discontinuation of CS remains a case-by-case decision.

Influenza B virus (IBV) is considered a major respiratory pathogen responsible for seasonal respiratory disease in humans, particularly severe in children and the elderly. Seasonal influenza vaccination is considered the most efficient strategy to prevent and control IBV infections. Live attenuated influenza virus vaccines (LAIVs) are thought to induce both humoral and cellular immune responses by mimicking a natural infection, but their effectiveness have recently come into question. Thus, the opportunity exists to find alternative approaches to improve overall influenza vaccine effectiveness. Two alternative IBV backbones were developed with re-arranged genomes, re-arranged M (FluB-RAM) and a re-arranged NS (FluB-RANS). Both re-arranged viruses showed temperature sensitivity in vitro compared to the WT type B/Bris strain, were genetically stable over multiple passages in embryonated chicken eggs and were attenuated in vivo in mice. In a prime-boost regime in naïve mice, both re-arranged viruses induced antibodies against HA with hemagglutination inhibition titers considered of protective value. In addition, antibodies against NA and NP were readily detected with potential protective value. Upon lethal IBV challenge, mice previously vaccinated with either FluB-RAM or FluB-RANS were completely protected against clinical disease and mortality. In conclusion, genome re-arrangement renders efficacious LAIV candidates to protect mice against IBV.

Although the dockless bike-sharing system, which can be regarded as a typical example of the resource-sharing system, has been increasingly popular for years with people especially in China, the imbalanced distribution of shared bikes gradually becomes a major problem for both bike-sharing companies and their customers. To solve the imbalance problem, we aim to investigate the long-term performance of a system under the influence of some key factors (with an emphasis on the unequal demand between different nodes), which can guide us to discover the causes of the problem and offer several valuable suggestions to the operators. According to the fundamental principle of a dockless bike-sharing system, we propose a model reduction method to reduce the complexity of the theoretical network models, which are developed based on the Markovian queueing theory with the consideration of higher-demand nodes and lower-demand nodes. The theoretical network models provide us with steady-state probabilities of having a certain number of bikes at one node, which are used as an important part of the optimization model for solving the imbalance problem by carrying out an operator-based relocation strategy. The objective of the optimization model is to maximize the total profit and determine the optimal relocation frequency. It is found that most of the shared bikes are possible to gather at one low-demand node eventually in the long run under the influence of the different arrival rates at different nodes, but the decrease of the number of bikes at the high-demand nodes is more sensitive to the unequal demands and may cause a great loss for operators, which should be payed attention to especially when solving the relocation problems.

Textile industry is one of the major industries responsible for environmental pollution globally. This is mainly due to the use of synthetic dyes, toxic ingredients and solvents for dy-ing/treatments/protocols of textiles. Replacement of those non ecofriendly ingredients would be a very challenging target to develop novel sustainable textile dying strategies. Using biobased and bioactive pigments, antibacterial ingredients and especially natural solvents are recently pointed out as substances to included in the related formulations. In this study the dyeing ability of the crude gel prodigiosin produced by non-pathogenic bacteria Serratia plymuthica as a natural pigment was investigated on various multifiber fabrics at different condition (temperature and pH) and by using salts (NaOH and Na2S2O4) and alternative mordants (a conventional: FeSO4 and a new bio-mordant: L-Cysteine (L-Cys)) in the recipes with different compositions and especially replacing of organic solvent with a new type of gel-based Choline chloride (ChCl) : Lactic acid (LA) (1 : 2) deep eutectic solvents (DES) as a dyeing medium. For determination of the dying process performances, the color strength (K/S value) of dyed fabric and the dyeing equalization (dE) parameters were evaluated. The fastness properties of the dyed fabrics which displayed as a higher K/S value and good dE were evaluated. The nylon fabrics dyed with 3.0% owf L-Cys at pH = 8.3 improved the color fastness to washing, while the gel-based ChCl : LA (1 : 2) DES dyebath provided a better color fastness to light. Moreover, the nylon fabrics under these conditions exhibited remarkable anti-microbial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa). As conclusion, the use of the crude gel prodigiosin pigment revealed an advantageous ability to dye the textile materials, responding to consumers' demand for more ecological and sustainable products. Furthermore, the natural reducing agent L-Cys, never tested before as a bio-mordant, and the use of gel-based DES as a dyeing medium demonstrated enhanced colorimetric and antibacterial properties on dyed nylon with crude gel prodigiosin pigment.

This study presents the algorithm ACTION, defined as Automatic Center detection of Tropical cyclone (TC) using Image processing based on the Operational radar Network. Based on the high visibility of weather radar imagery, the TC’s motion vector is calculated from the continuous image change using optical flow, producing its rotation center as the TC’s center. The algorithm’s performance was verified for typhoons (TCs in the Northwestern Pacific) affecting the Korean Peninsula from 2018–2021 and showed a high detection rate of 80.8% within an error distance of 40 km compared to the best track of the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). The detection rate was 100% for typhoons with temporally consistent morphological characteristics. ACTION automatically generates TC center information upon the TC’s initial entry inside the observation radius even in the absence of uniform radar data. ACTION easily calculates using Open Source Computer Vision, performs in real time, and can be directly applied to rapidly generated weather radar images; hence, it is currently being utilized by the KMA. The high-temporal-resolution TC center information calculated through ACTION is expected to improve the efficiency of TC forecasting.

We prove general stability theorems for $n$-dimensional quartic-cubic-quadratic-additive type functional equations of the form \begin{eqnarray*} \sum_{i=1}^\ell c_i f \big( a_{i1}x_1 + a_{i2}x_2 + \cdots + a_{in}x_n \big) = 0 \end{eqnarray*} by applying the direct method. These stability theorems can save us much trouble of proving the stability of relevant solutions repeatedly appearing in the stability problems for various functional equations.

Using a theorem of Ulam and Hyers, we will prove the Hyers-Ulam stability of two-dimensional Lagrange's mean value points $(\eta, \xi)$ which satisfy the equation, $f(u, v) - f(p, q) = (u-p) f_x(\eta, \xi) + (v-q) f_y(\eta, \xi)$, where $(p, q)$ and $(u, v)$ are distinct points in the plane. Moreover, we introduce an efficient algorithm for applying our main result in practical use.

The present study conducts the phase analysis, microstructural characteristics, and mechanical property evaluation on the as-cast and quenched Ti-15Mo-xFe alloys with high iron content ranging from 4 to 12 weight percent. All the four alloys were produced in a button-arc melting furnace. Heat treatment in the form of solution treatment was performed in a muffle furnace at a temperature of 1100°C, with a 1-hour holding time. The samples were rapidly quenched in ice-brine. Various characterization techniques were used to analyze samples both in the as cast and quenched conditions. X-ray diffractometer (XRD) was used to analyses the phases present in each alloy whereas the optical microscope (OM) was employed to track the microstructural evolution. The mechanical properties of the alloys were evaluated using a tensile test method while the micro-Vickers hardness measurements were conducted to evaluate hardness of the alloys. OM micrographs revealed equiaxed β grains and substructures in as-cast TMF0, dendritic structure, and equiaxed β grains with pores forming around the grain boundaries in TMF1, and micrograph full of dendrites and pores was observed in the as-cast TMF2 and TMF3 alloys. The quenched TMF0 showed only β equiaxed grains whereas TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 revealed micrographs full of equiaxed grains of β phase with pores throughout the grain boundaries. The XRD patterns of cast TMF0 showed peaks belonging to the β and orthorhombic α″ martensitic phases and the quenched sample showed the bcc β phase only. The TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 alloys in as-cast condition indicated peaks belonging to β , α″ and intermetallic B2 TiFe phases, however, their quenched samples showed the presence of β and Fe·Ti·O2 phases in TMF2 and TMF3 alloys. The tensile properties such as ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and elastic modulus (E) of as-cast TMF0 were 264 MPa and 79 GPa and these properties changed upon quenching to 411 MPa and 66 GPa respectively. The elastic modulus of TMF1 in as-cast condition was 74 GPa. The UTS and E of TMF1, TMF2, and TMF3 in as cast and quenched conditions were not recorded due to the fragility of the samples that failed prior to yielding any useful data. The micro-Vickers hardness in as cast and quenched conditions showed a similar trend with hardness increasing slightly upon quenching for TMF0, TMF1, and TMF3 alloys but slightly decreased in the case of TMF2. 6). The fracture surfaces of TMF0 exhibited both ductile and brittle fracture in as cast and quenched conditions whereas the only brittle fracture mode was observed in the TMF1, TMF2 and TMF3 alloys in both conditions.

Alumina dispersion-strengthened copper, Glidcop, is used widely in high-heat-load ultra-high-vacuum components for synchrotron light sources (absorbers), accelerator components (beam intercepting devices) and in nuclear power plants. Glidcop has similar thermal and electrical properties to OFE (oxygen free electrical) copper, but has superior mechanical properties, thus making it a feasible structural material; its yield and ultimate strength are equivalent to those of mild-carbon steel. The purpose of this work has been to develop a brazing technique to join Glidcop to Mo, using a commercial Cu-based alloy. The effects of the excessive diffusion of the braze along the grain boundaries on the interfacial chemistry and joint microstructure, as well as on the mechanical performance of the brazed joints, has been investigated. In order to prevent the diffusion of the braze into the Glidcop alloy, a copper barrier layer has been deposited on Glidcop by means of RF-sputtering.

Objectives: Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a chronic myeloproliferative neoplasm characterized by elevated platelet counts and an increased risk of thrombotic events, including ischemic strokes. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from consecutive ischemic stroke patients with ET between March 2014 and February 2023. Results: This case series describes the clinical presentation, radiological features, and management of five patients with ET-associated ischemic strokes, all harboring the JAK2 mutation. The diverse radiological findings suggest that both large and small vessel diseases may be influenced by the prothrombotic state induced by ET. A significant elevation in platelet count was observed to correlate with the emergence of new acute infarctions in some cases. Conclusions: The study highlights combined use of antiplatelet and cytoreductive therapy in preventing secondary stroke events in patients with ET and JAK2 mutations. The heterogeneity of stroke patterns in this population necessitates a comprehensive understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms and tailored therapeutic approaches.

The aim of this work is to introduce new ways to model the I-V characteristic of a PV cell or PV module using straight lines and Bézier curves. This is a complete novel approach, Bézier curves being previously used mainly for computer graphics. The I-V characteristic is divided in three sections, modeled with lines and a quadratic Bézier curve in the first case and with three cubic Bézier curves in the second case. The result proves to be accurate and relies on the fundamental points usually present in the PV cell datasheets: Voc (the open circuit voltage), Isc (the short circuit current), Vmp (the maximum power corresponding voltage) and Imp (the maximum power corresponding current) and the parasitic resistances Rsh0 (shunt resistance at Isc) and Rs0 (series resistance at Voc). The proposed algorithm completely defines all the implied control points and the error is analyzed. The temperature and irradiance influence is also analyzed. The model is also compared using the least squares fitting method. The final validation shows how to use Bézier cubic curves to accurately represent the I-V curves of an extensive range of PV cells and arrays.

Control over the composition of III-V ternary nanowires grown by the vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) method is essential for bandgap engineering in such nanomaterials and fabrication of functional nanowire heterostructures for a variety of applications. From the fundamental viewpoint, III-V ternary nanowires based on group V intermix (InSbxAs1-x, InPxAs1-x, GaPxAs1-x and many others) present the most difficult case, because the concentrations of highly volatile group V atoms in a catalyst droplet are beyond the detection limit of any characterization technique and therefore principally unknown. Here, we present a model for the vapor-solid distribution of such nanowires, which fully circumvents the uncertainties that remained in the theory so far, and link the nanowire composition to the well-controlled parameters of vapor. The unknown concentrations of group V atoms in the droplet do not enter the distribution, despite of the fact that a growing solid is surrounded by the liquid phase. The model fits quite well the available data on the vapor-solid distributions of VLS InSbxAs1-x, InPxAs1-x and GaPxAs1-x nanowires grown with different catalyst. Even more importantly, it provides a basis for the compositional control of III-V ternary nanowires based on group V intermix, and can be extended over other material systems where two highly volatile elements enter a ternary solid alloy through a liquid phase.

A mild, efficient, and photocatalytic synthesis of 6-phosphorylated phenanthridines via tandem radical addition/cyclization/aromatization of 2-isocyanobiphenyls with diarylphosphine oxides is reported. The method features operational simplicity, metal-free conditions, using low-cost rose Bengal as catalyst and sustainable air as terminal oxidant at room temperature, and providing the desired products in moderate to good yields.

Hashimoto’s thyroiditis (HT) is a common autoimmune disease, with its prevalence rapidly increasing. Both genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the development of HT. Recently, viral infection has been suggested to act as a trigger of HT by eliciting the host immune response and subsequent autoreactivity. We analyzed features of HT through bioinformatics analysis so as to identify markers of HT development. We accessed public microarray data of HT patients from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and obtained differentially expressed genes (DEGs) under HT. Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were performed for functional clustering of our protein-protein interaction (PPI) network. Utilizing ranked gene lists, we performed Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) using the clusterprofiler R package. By comparing the expression signatures of the huge perturbation database with the queried rank-ordered gene list, connectivity map (CMap) analysis was performed to screen potential therapeutic targets and agents. The gene expression profile of the HT group was in line with general characteristics of HT. Biological processes related to the immune response and viral infection pathways were obtained for the upregulated DEGs. GSEA results revealed activation of autoimmune disease-related pathways and several viral infection pathways. Autoimmune disease and viral infection pathways were highly interconnected by common genes, while the HLA genes which are shared by both were significantly upregulated. CMap analysis suggested that perturbagens, including SRRM1, NLK, and CCDC92, have the potential to reverse the HT expression profile. Several lines of evidence suggested that viral infection and the host immune response are activated during HT. Viral infection is suspected to act as a key trigger of HT by causing autoimmunity. SRRM1, an alternative splicing factor, which responds to viral activity, might serve as potential marker of HT.

This work assesses sea-level rise using three different models created on Free and Open-Source Software for Geographic Information System (FOSS4GIS). Based on regional projections of Special Report on Climate Change and Oceans and Cryosphere (SROCC) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the models were applied to a case of study on Rio Grande do Sul coast – Brazil under different sea-level rise scenarios by the end of this century. The End Point Rate for QGIS (EPR4Q), calculates a shoreline projection using End Point Rate method. The Uncertainty Bathtub Model (uBTM), analyses the sea-level rise impact by the uncertainty of sea-level projec-tions and vertical error of the Digital Elevation/Terrain Model (DEM/DTM). The Bruun Rule for Google Earth Engine Model (BRGM) predicts the shoreline position with sea-level rise, using topographic and bathymetric data from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) and Coastal Modelling System (SMC – Brazil), respectively. The results indicated a maximum shoreline retreat for 2100 of -502 m and -1727 m using EPR4Q and BRGM, correspondingly. The uBTM using the land-use of Mapbiomas showed a maximum of 44.57 km2 of urban area impacted by the sea-level flood. This research highlights the possibility of performing coastal management analysis in GIS environ-ment using non-commercial software.

Influenza B virus (IBV) is a major respiratory pathogen of humans, particularly in the elderly and children and vaccines are the most effective way to control it. In previous work, incorporation of two mutations (E580G, S660A) along with the addition of a HA epitope tag in the PB1 segment of B/Brisbane/60/2008 (B/Bris) resulted in an attenuated strain that was safe and effective as a live attenuated vaccine. A third attempted mutation (K391E) in PB1 was not always stable. Interestingly, viruses that maintained the K391E mutation were associated with the mutation E48K. To explore the contribution of the E48K mutation for stability of the K391E mutation, a vaccine candidate was generated by inserting both mutations along with attenuating mutations E580G and S660A in PB1 of B/Bris (B/Bris PB1att 4M). Serial passage of the B/Bris PB1att 4M vaccine candidate in eggs and MDCK indicated high stability. In silico structural analysis revealed a potential interaction between amino acids at positions 48 and 391. In mice, B/Bris PB1att 4M was safe and provided complete protection against homologous challenge. These results confirm the compensatory effect of mutation E48K to stabilize the K391E mutation, resulting in a safer, yet still protective, IBV LAIV vaccine.

We show that low quality of all 427 Brazilian SARS-CoV-2 genomes recently published in Science (1) challenges their phylogenetic inference and may lead to incorrect typing of viral strains in clades with no statistical support. Absence of basecalling quality in genome assemblies and proper phylogeny parameter estimates preclude the assessment of signal-to-noise ratio in the data, downstream analysis and conclusions.

This paper uses the spatial analysis software GeoDa as a tool, takes GRP (Gross regional product) of Sichuan Province in 2012 and 2018 as the dependent variable, and takes the city (autonomous prefecture) factor-driven, investment-driven and innovation-driven indicators as the dependent variable to explore the impact of innovation activities on regional economic development and the spatial distribution characteristics of regional economy. Through the comparison of the global correlation and local correlation, this paper explores the crux of the regional economic polarization and unbalanced development, and puts forward some measures to solve the existing economic development problems, such as cultivating and improving the regional industrial dependence, accelerating the regional transportation accessibility and convenience, and constructing the regional collaborative innovation system, So as to achieve the strategic goal of the construction of innovative Province in Sichuan Province.

Heart failure (HF) is a growing issue in developed countries and most patients present with a reduced ejection fraction. This condition significantly impairs quality of life and represents a threat not only for patients, but also for the entire healthcare system due to its high management cost. In the last decade, new medical treatments and devices have been developed to reduce HF hospitalizations and improve prognosis, while reducing the overall mortality rate. Medical therapy does not achieve the same results in all patients and, whenever it fails, technology comes in handy: novel devices for the management of HF have reduced symptoms. They have also improved the treatment of fluid retention and life threatening arrhythmias. The present review article gives to the readers a comprehensive overview of the most recent and important findings that need to be considered in HF with reduced ejection fraction patients. Both novel medical treatments and devices have been presented and discussed.

The fidelity of the decadal experiment in Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase-5 (CMIP5) has been examined, over different climate variables for different temporal and spatial scales, in many previous studies. However, most of the studies were for the temperature and temperature-based climate indices. A quite limited study was conducted on precipitation of decadal experiment and no attention was paid to a catchment level. This study evaluates the performances of eight GCMs (MIROC4h, EC-EARTH, MRI-CGCM3, MPI-ESM-MR, MPI-ESM-LR, MIROC5, CMCC-CM, and CanCM4) for the monthly hindcast precipitation of decadal experiment over the Brisbane River catchment in Queensland, Australia. First, the GCMs datasets were spatially interpolated onto a spatial resolution of 0.050×0.050 (5 km× 5 km) matching with the grids of observed data and then were cut for the catchment. Next, model outputs are evaluated for temporal skills, dry and wet periods, and total precipitation (over time and space) based on the observed values. Skill test results reveal that model performances varied over the initialization years and showed comparatively higher scores from the initialization year 1990 and onward. Models with finer spatial resolutions show comparatively better performances as opposed to the models of coarse spatial resolutions where MIROC4h outperformed followed by EC-EARTH and MRI-CGCM3. Comparing the skills, models are divided into three categories (Category-I: MIROC4h, EC-EARTH, and MRI-CGCM3; Category-II: MPI-ESM-LR and MPI-ESM-MR; and Category-III: MIROC5, CanCM4, and CMCC-CM). Three multimodel ensembles’ mean (MMEMs) are formed using the arithmetic mean of Category-I (MMEM1), Category-I and II (MMEM2), and all eight models (MMEM3). The performances of MMEMs are also assessed using the same skill tests and MMEM2 performed best which suggests evaluating the models before the formation of MMEM.

Precipitation plays vital role in the economy of agricultural country like Pakistan. Baluchistan being the largest province of Pakistan in term of land is facing reoccurring droughts as well as flashflood due unprecedent torrential precipitation pattern.

Background: Fullerenes and metallofullerenes can be considered promising nanopharmaceuticals themselves and as a basis for chemical modification. As reactive oxygen species homeostasis plays a vital role in cells, the study of their effect on genes involved in oxidative stress and anti-inflammatory response is of particular importance. Methods: Human fetal lung fibroblasts were incubated with aqueous dispersions of C60, C70, and Gd@C82 in concentrations of 5 nM and 1.5 µM for 1, 3, 24, and 72 hours. Cell viability, intracellular ROS, NOX4, NFκB, PRAR-γ, NRF2, heme oxygenase 1, and NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1 expression have been studied. Results &amp; conclusion: The aqueous dispersions of C60, C70, and Gd@C82 fullerenes are active participants in ROS homeostasis. Low and high concentrations of AFDs have similar effects. C70 was the most inert substance, C60 was the most active substance. All AFDs have both a “prooxidant” and “antioxidant” effect, but with a different balance. Gd@C82 was a substance with more pronounced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, while C70 had more pronounced “prooxidant” properties.

We prove an analog of the removable singularity theorem for bounded harmonic functions on stratified sets. The harmonic functions are understood in the sense of the soft Laplacian. The result can become one of the main technical components for extending the well-known Poincaré–Perron’s method of proving the solvability of the Dirichlet problem for the soft Laplacian.

A polymer inclusion membrane (PIM) composed of 50 wt% poly(vinylidenefluoride-co-hexafluoropropylene) (PVDF-HFP) as its base polymer, 40 wt% Aliquat® 336 as its extractant and 10 wt% dibutyl phthalate (DBP) as plasticizer provided efficient extraction of vanadium(V) from its sulfate solutions adjusted to pH 2.5. It was suggested that V(V) was extracted as VO2SO4− via an anion exchange mechanism. Quantitative back-extraction was achieved in a sulfuric acid solution (6 mol L-1) containing 1 v/v% of hydrogen peroxide. It was assumed that the back-extraction process involved the oxidation of VO2+ to VO(O2)+ by hydrogen peroxide. The newly developed PIM with the optimized composition mentioned above exhibited excellent selectivity for V(V) in the presence of metallic species present in digests of spent alumina hydrodesulfurization catalysts (i.e., Al(III), Co(II), Cu(II), Fe(III), Mn(II), and Ni(II)). The co-extraction of Mo(VI) with V(V) was eliminated by its selective extraction at pH 1.1. The optimized PIM was characterized by contact angle measurements, atomic-force microscopy (AFM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA)/derivatives thermogravimetric analysis (DTGA), and the stress-strain measurements.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to compare the effects of stretching methods for flexibility, muscle activation, and pressure pain threshold in ballet dancers, and to suggest an effective stretching method. Methods: Thirty-three ballet dancers were randomized to a static stretching group (n=11), muscle energy technique stretching group (n=11), and vibration-assisted stretching group (n=11). The angle of hip joint extension in arabesque, the activation of rectus femoris in Devéloppé, and the pressure pain threshold on rectus femoris in sitting position were measured to compare the effects of different stretching methods. Results: Hip joint extension angles increased in all stretching methods (p<0.05), however, vibration-assisted stretching and muscle energy technique stretching were more effective than static stretching (p<0.05). The activation of the rectus femoris decreased in all groups (p<0.05), but the muscle energy technique stretching group and the vibration-assisted stretching group showed a significant decrease compared to the static stretching group (p<0.05). The pressure pain threshold showed significant improvement only in the static stretching group (p<0.05), and the vibration-assisted stretching group (p<0.05). Conclusion: Vibration-assisted stretching compared to static stretching and muscle energy technique stretching is a beneficial method for flexibility, muscle activation, and pressure pain threshold in ballet dancers.

Two polyurethanes (PUs) were similarly synthesized by reacting a cycloaliphatic isocyanate with 1,4 butanediol and two polyols of different nature (polyester, polycarbonate diol) with molecular weights of 1000 Da. The PU made with polycarbonate diol polyol (YCD) was the only showing intrinsic self-healing at 20 °C. For assessing the mechanism of intrinsic self-healing of YCD, a structural characterization by molecular weights determination, infrared and X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopies, differential scanning calorimetry, X-ray diffraction, thermal gravimetric analysis and dynamic mechanical thermal analysis was carried out. It was concluded that the self-healing at 20 °C of YCD was due to non-covalent dynamic exchange interactions among the carbonate groups of the soft segments. Therefore, the chemical nature of the polyol played a key role in developing PUs with intrinsic self-healing at 20 °C.

This project involves the development of Fire Suppression System (FSS) leveraging of Home automation system using Graphical System design (LabVIEW) software and Arduino microcontroller for real-time monitoring and control. The system integrates an Infrared (IR) flame sensor, an MQ2 gas sensor to detect and suppress fire hazards efficiently. The LabVIEW interface facilitates real-time monitoring of sensor data, allowing users to visualize and analyze the environmental conditions. Through this system, fires are automatically subdued, enhancing safety without requiring human intervention. This advances fire safety by swiftly containing threats and minimizing potential damage.

The Cordoba Guitar Festival is one of the most important cultural events in Spain. This article analyses the musical preferences, satisfaction, attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty of spectators who attended the 36th festival held in July 2016, as well as the festival’s economic impact on the city. To achieve this aim, a structural equation model (SEM) was used. The results show the goodness-of-fit of the model and indicate that the observed data fit the expected dataset.

Sweet cucumber (Solanum muricatum) sect. Basarthrum, is a neglected horticultural crop native of the Andean region. It is naturally distributed very close to potatoes (Solanum sect. Petota) and tomatoes (Solanum sect. Lycopersicon), two groups of high economic importance. To date, molecular tools for this crop are still undetermined. We here obtained the first complete chloroplast (cp) genome of sweet cucumber and compared with seven Solanaceae species. Pair-end clean reads were obtained by PE 150 library and the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. The complete cp genome of S. muricatum had a 155,681 bp with typical quadripartite structure, containing a large single copy (LSC) region (86,182 bp) and a small single-copy (SSC) region (18,360 bp), separated by two inverted repeat (IR) regions (25,568 bp). The annotation of chloroplast genome predicted 88 protein-coding genes (CDS), 8 ribosomal RNA (rRNA) genes, 37 transfer RNA (tRNA) genes, and one pseudogene. A total of 48 perfect microsatellites were identified, divided in mononucleotide repeats (32), followed by tetranucleotide (6) and dinucleotides (5). SSRs with trinucleotides repeats (3), pentanucleotide (1) and hexanucleotide (1) repeats motifs in these genomes were identified in lower quantity. Most of these repeats were distributed in the noncoding regions. Whole chloroplast genome comparison with the other seven Solanaceae species revealed that the small and large single copy regions showed more divergence than inverted regions. Finally, phylogenetic analysis resolved that S. muricatum is a sister species to members of sections Petota + Lycopersicum + Etuberosum. This study reports for the first time the genome organization, gene content, and structural features of the cp genome of S. muricatum. Also, this study may provide the basis for evaluating genetic diversity within Solanum, and will be useful to examine the evolutionary processes in sweet cucumber landraces.

This research investigated high-temperature corrosion (500 °C) of Cr-Mo steel processed using water jet peening or multifunction cavitation (MFC), and the suitability of such steel for high-temperature boilers and reaction vessels. High-temperature corrosion was induced using an embedment test and a coating test using sulfide-type K2SO4-Na2SO4 powder. To measure the relaxation of the residual stress due to the decrease in work hardening caused by an increase in specimen temperature and the difference in thermal shrinkage between the surface and interior of the specimen, a thermal cycling test was conducted. For the MFC-processed specimen, the oxide film that formed on the surface suppressed mass loss, prevented crack formation, and reduced the compressive residual stress caused by high-temperature corrosion. MFC-processed Cr-Mo steel is thus suitable for a high-temperature corrosion environment.

In this paper, we define a (p,v)-extension of Hurwitz-Lerch Zeta function by considering an extension of beta function defined by Parmar et al. [J. Classical Anal. 11 (2017) 81–106]. We obtain its basic properties which include integral representations, Mellin transformation, derivative formulas and certain generating relations. Also, we establish the special cases of the main results.

This work presents a new discussion about the vibrational properties of the carbonate ion displayed in several different environments, not only the microparameters introduced by cation substitution and different crystal lattices but also the crystal aggregation, showing how their active Raman modes are affected by these changes by using data obtained with four different laser excitation sources. New Raman spectra excited at 1064 nm are reported for calcite, aragonite, and dolomite groups, also including magnesite, witherite, rhodochrosite, siderite, malachite and azurite. These new data contribute to the discussion and understanding of these materials and their spectra, bringing new observations based on the Raman modes, focusing on the internal symmetrical and asymmetrical stretching and bending modes of the carbonate ion, highlighting the differences observed in the relative intensity and width of the bands. The results indicate some evidence of the influence of the crystal habit and/or the growth of the mineral itself in the Raman spectrum. In addition, the data show the influence of the cation substitution upon the Raman band width and that small cations contribute to less rigid crystalline structures and, consequently, larger Raman bandwidths.

A novel low-power MOS-only voltage reference is presented. The Enz-Krummenacher-Vittoz (EKV) model is adopted to provide a new perspective on the operating principle. The normalized charge density, introduced as a new variable, serves as an indicator when trimming the output temperature coefficient. The proposed voltage reference consists of a specific current generator and a 5-bit trimmable load. Thanks to the well-match between the current source stage and the output stage, the non-linear temperature dependence of carrier mobility is automatically canceled out. The circuit is designed in 55 nm COMS technology. The operating temperature ranges from -40 ∘C to 120 ∘C. The average temperature coefficient of the output voltage can be reduced to 21.7 ppm/∘C by trimming. The power consumption is only 23.2 nW with a supply voltage of 0.8 V. The line sensitivity and the power supply rejection ratio at 100 Hz are 0.011 %/V and -89 dB respectively.

Negative temperature coefficient (NTC) materials are usually based on ceramic semiconductors and electrons are involved in their transport mechanism. A new type of NTC material, adequate for alternating current (AC) applications, is represented by zeolites. Indeed, zeolites are single-charge carrier ionic conductors with a temperature-dependent electrical conductivity. In particular, electrical transport in zeolites is due to the monovalent charge-balancing cations, like K⁺, capable of hopping between negatively charged sites in the aluminosilicate framework. Owing to the highly non-linear electrical behavior of the traditional electronic NTC materials, the possibility to have alternative types of materials, showing linearity in the electrical behavior, is very desirable. Among different zeolites, the natural clinoptilolite has been selected for investigating the NTC behavior since it is characterized by high zeolite content, convenient Si/Al atomic ratio, good mechanical strength, due to its compact microstructure, and low toxicity. Clinoptilolite has shown a rapid and quite reversible impedance change under heating, characterized by a linear dependence on temperature. X-ray diffraction (XRD) has been used to identify the natural zeolite, to establish all types of crystalline phases present in the mineral, and to investigate the thermal stability of these phases up to 150°C. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis has been used for the chemical characterization of the natural clinoptilolite sample, providing important information on the cationic content and framework composition. In addition, since electrical transport takes place in the zeolite free-volume, a Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) analysis of the mineral has been also performed.

Pulmonary hypertension (PH) is a serious condition linked to immune-system dysfunction. Myositis-specific/associated antibodies (MSA/MAA) play a role in idiopathic inflammatory myopathy (IIM) and interstitial lung disease (ILD), but their significance in PH remains unclear. We believe the presence of these antibodies, may be underestimated. This study analyzed adult PH patients without pre-existing IIM for MSA/MAA prevalence using a line-blot assay. We compared PH patients with and without ILD signs to a cohort clinically suspected of IIM/ILD (n=558). Our PH cohort (n=121) showed a significantly higher prevalence of overall weak positive MSA/MAAs and positive overlap syndrome-associated MAAs than the suspected IIM/ILD group (p