Hybrid reinforcement in a composite material (CM), in many situations, allows better govern material mechanical properties. Polymer matrix CM plate is reinforced with small particles and macro-fibers. Particles are oil shale ash (OSA) powder, macro-fibers – basalt fiber threads im-pregnated by matrix material. With the goal to find out elastic properties of the matrix- polymer with OSA, samples with its different concentrations were experimentally fabricated and their elastic properties were experimentally measured. Obtained data were used in numerical model-ling. Was observed polymer matrix composite slab, reinforced with OSA and three-dimensional (3D) basalt fiber fabric. Fabric are forming threads impregnated by matrix (polymer resin mixed with OSA particles). Damage accumulation in the stretched slab was modelled. Impregnated thread, in the modelling, is observed as a macro-fiber (MF) with averaged elastic properties. With the load increase MF in the material began to break. At first, appeared isolated single breaks. A probabilistic sequential MF rupture accumulation model was accepted and numerical-ly realized. The geometry of the reinforcing knitted fabric was modeled using the Leaf and Glaskin approach. In the knitted fabric highly, stressed MF cross-sections are observed as po-tential location where thread breakage can occur. If one thread breaks, the cross-sections of the adjacent threads experience the overload caused by this rupture. More overloaded crossection in the adjacent overloaded thread breaks and we obtain two adjacent broken MF designated as a defect with the size j=2. The probabilities of obtaining defect consisting of at least 2, 3, … j adjacent broken MF in the plate were calculated. The calculations continued until the rupture process becomes unstable (j→∞). The overstresses on adjacent threads in the CM were calculat-ed using the FEM three-dimensional numerical approach. Analytical and stochastic methods were used for the load-carrying capacity determination and different size defects accumulation in the hybrid composite material (HCM) plate. Also, was calculated the probability of the plate rupture.

SOC stock (SOCS) changes caused by land use changes are still unclear, and understanding this response is essential for many environmental policies and land management practices. In this study, we investigated the temporal-spatial and vertical distribution characteristics of SOCS on the Western Sichuan Plateau (WSP) using the sparrow search algorithm-random forest regression (SSA-RFR) models with excellent model applicability and accuracy. The temporal-spatial varia-tions in the SOCS were modeled using 1080 soil samples and a set of nine environmental covariates. We analyzed the effect of land use changes on the SOCS on the WSP. The total SOCS increased by 18.03 Tg C from 1990 to 2020. The results of this study confirmed that the SOCS in the study area has increased significantly since 2010, with an increase of 27.88 Tg C compared to the total SOCS in 2010. We found that the spatial distribution of the SOCS increased from southeast to northwest, and the vertical distribution of the SOCS in the study area decreased with increasing soil depth. Forest and grassland are the main sources of SOCS, the total SOCS in the forest and grassland accounted for 37.53 and 59.39% of the total SOC pool in 2020, respectively. Expansion of the wetlands, forest, and grassland areas could increase SOCS in the study area.

The European Union's recent decision to renew the authorization for the use of glyphosate until 15 December 2033 stimulates the scientific discussion all around the world regarding its toxicity or otherwise for humans. Glyphosate is a chemical used by millions of tons in the last 50 years worldwide to drying weeds in cultivated fields, greenhouses, roadsides. Concern has been raised in many quarters about the possible presence in the food chain and the consequent adverse effects on health: both aspects that argue in favor of toxicity and those that instead may indicate limited toxicity of glyphosate are here discussed. The great debate that has been generated requires further investigations and field measurements to understand its fate once dispersed in the environment and its concentration in the food chain. Hence the need for validated analytical methods that are available to analysts in the field. In the present review, methods for the analytical determination of glyphosate and its main metabolite, AMPA, are discussed, with a specific focus on chromatographic techniques applied to cereal products. The experimental procedures are explained in any detail, including cleanup, derivatization, and instrumental conditions to give the laboratories involved enough information to proceed with the implementation of this line of analysis. The prevalent chromatographic methods used are LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/SIM, and GC-MS/MS but sufficient indications are also given to those laboratories that wish to use the simpler HPLC-FLD, HPLC-UV, GC-NPD or GC-FPD techniques for screening purposes. Concentrations from literature measured in wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats, soybean, and cereal-based foods are reported together with the regulatory status in various parts of the world and the accumulation mechanism. As for the accumulation in cereals, available data show that glyphosate tends to accumulate more in wholemeal flours than in refined ones, that its concentration in the product strictly depends on the treatment period (the closer it is to the time of harvesting, the higher the concentration) and that in cold climates the herbicide tends to persist in the soil for a long time.

Quantitative determination of the critical size of inclined coal pillar in old goaf water affected area is of great significance for water damage prevention and safe mining. The critical size of inclined waterproof coal pillar is derived by using theoretical analysis, numerical calculation and field engineering practice for the stability of the waterproof coal pillar in old goaf water affected area of 1303 working face of Dananhu I mine in Xinjiang region. Firstly, a force model of inclined waterproof coal pillar was established to reveal the law that the critical size of the coal pillar increases with the increase of coal seam inclination under the action of asymmetric load. Then, numerical simulation was applied to reveal the dynamic evolution process of plastic deformation-destabilization-destruction of section coal pillar under the influence of mining and single-side water pressure, and the critical size of waterproof coal pillar in study area was determined to be 19.09m. Finally, measures such as pumping and pressure relief and slurry reinforcement were adopted to reduce the deformation rate of the roadway on side of waterproof coal pillar, which ensured the stability of the coal pillar and roadway and the safe recovery of the working face.

This study provides a detailed investigation into the pathways through which microplastics from urban sources are transported to marine ecosystems, their distribution across different environments, and their impacts on marine life. Utilizing a combination of water and sediment sampling across urban, riverine, and marine environments, the research quantitatively assesses the concentration and types of microplastics present, and evaluates the ecological consequences of their accumulation in marine ecosystems. The findings reveal a significant concentration of microplastics in all examined environments, with the highest levels detected in urban areas, closely linked to industrial activities and inadequate waste management practices. The study documents a variety of microplastic polymers, with polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) being the most prevalent. A substantial impact on marine organisms was observed, including evidence of microplastic ingestion across a wide range of species and indications of stress and physical damage to coral reefs. Seasonal variations indicate that microplastic concentrations peak during periods of high rainfall, suggesting urban runoff as a critical pathway for microplastic transport. The study concludes with recommendations for improving waste management practices, enhancing public awareness and engagement in plastic recycling efforts, and implementing policies aimed at reducing the production and use of single-use plastics. This research underscores the urgent need for coordinated actions to mitigate the pervasive issue of microplastic pollution, highlighting the role of urban management and policy interventions in safeguarding marine ecosystems.

To facilitate the computation of the uniaxial compressive strength value of the cemented paste backfill under the condition of high sand-cement ratio, and to analyze the size effect of the cemented paste backfill with high sand-cement ratio under varied aspect ratios, the cemented paste backfill specimens with sand-cement ratios of 8:1-24:1 and aspect ratios of 0.5, 1, and 2 were prepared. Through response surface experiments and finite element analysis, the influence of three aspect ratios on the cemented paste backfill strength was explored, and the failure characteristics and size effect mechanisms of cemented paste backfill with various aspect ratios were analyzed. The model of strength conversion between cemented paste backfill with different aspect ratios was established. The results show that the compressive strength of the cemented paste backfill decreases with the increase of the aspect ratio under the same mass concentration and sand-cement ratio. When the aspect ratio is 0.5 and 1, the splitting failure is the main factor; when the aspect ratio is 2, the shearing failure is the main factor. The three-dimensional stress caused by the end effect of the cemented paste backfill is the main reason for the high strength when the aspect ratio is 0.5. Due to the one-dimensional stress zone generated in the middle of the cemented paste backfill with an aspect ratio of 2 in the laboratory, its strength value is closer to the actual uniaxial compressive strength value of the cemented paste backfill. The strength values of the cemented paste backfill with aspect ratios of 0.5 and 1 were higher than the actual uniaxial compressive strength values in the laboratory. The rationality of the theoretical analysis was verified by the ABAQUS analysis results. According to the experimental results, a strength conversion model between different aspect ratios is established, which can provide a reference for the design of the uniaxial compressive strength of the cemented paste backfill.

The degree of ore rock fragmentation of mine blasting is an important index for evaluating the effect of engineering blasting. In order to study the effect of millisecond delayed blasting on the internal fragmentation of the ore rock, LS-DYNA numerical simulation software was used to obtain the damage characteristics of the ore rock in the blasting area using the RHT model. The Mohr-Coulomb strength damage criterion was applied to analyze the internal stress state of the ore rock, and the effects of 25ms, 50ms and 75ms delay time conditions on ore rock fragmentation were studied. The results show that, within a certain range of delay time, the degree of rock fragmentation increases with the increase of delay time. The stress state in the ore rock due to blasting is strengthened with the increase of delay time in the direction of the blast hole, which shows that the stress concentration is strengthened from the excavation face to the interior of the ore rock. The damage and the degree of fragmentation show a characteristic relationship of 25ms＜50ms＜75ms, which is verified by carrying out blasting experiments on site.

Aspalathin (ASP) can protect H9c2 cardiomyocytes against high glucose (HG)-induced shifts in myocardial substrate preference, oxidative stress and apoptosis. While the protective mechanism of aspalathin remains unknown, nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2) has emerged as a key factor for intracellular responses against oxidative stress. Therefore, we hypothesized that aspalathin protects the myocardium against hyperglycemia-induced oxidative damage by up-regulating Nrf2 expression in H9c2 cardiomyocytes and diabetic (db/db) mice. Using an oxidative stress RT2 Profiler PCR array, ASP at a dose of 1 µM was demonstrated to protect H9c2 cardiomyocytes against HG-induced oxidative stress, but silencing of Nrf2 abolished this protective response of ASP and exacerbated cardiomyocyte apoptosis. Db/db mice and their non-diabetic (db/+) littermate controls were subsequently treated daily for 6 weeks with either a low (13 mg/kg) or high (130 mg/kg) ASP dose. Compared to nondiabetic mice the db/db mice presented increased cardiac remodeling and enlarged left ventricular wall that occurred concomitant to enhanced oxidative stress. Daily treatment of mice with ASP at a dose of 130 mg/kg for 6 weeks was more effective at reversing complications than both a low dose ASP or metformin, eliciting enhanced expression of Nrf2 and its downstream antioxidant genes. These results indicate that ASP maintains cellular homeostasis and protects the myocardium against hyperglycemia-induced stress through activation of Nrf2 and its downstream target genes.

Floods are among the most serious natural disasters worldwide; they cause enormous crop losses every year and threaten world food security. There are many studies focused on flood impact assessments for administrative districts but fewer on postdisaster impact assessments for specific crops. Therefore, this study used remote sensing data, including the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), elevation data, slope data, and rainfall data, combined with crop growing season data to construct a crop flood damage assessment index (CFAI). First, an analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was used to assign weights to the impact factors; then, the weighted composite score method was used to calculate the CFAI; and finally, the impact was classified as slight, moderate, or severe based on the magnitude of the CFAI . This method was used for the Missouri River floods of 2019 in the U.S. Due to the lack of measured data, the disaster vegetation damage index (DVDI) was used to validate the results. The combined approach achieved a high degree of consistency in spatial distribution. The CFAI can respond well to the degree of crop impact after flooding, providing new ideas and reference standards for agriculture-related departments.

The intentional damages to local Cultural Heritage sites carried out in recent months by the Islamic State have received wide coverage from the media worldwide. Earth Observation data provide important information to assess these damages in such non-accessible areas, and automated image processing techniques would be needed to speed up the analysis if a fast response is desired. This paper shows the first results of applying fast and robust change detection techniques to sensitive areas, based on the extraction of textural information and robust differences of brightness values related to pre- and post-disaster satellite images. A map highlighting potentially damaged buildings is derived, which could help experts at timely assessing the damages to the Cultural Heritage sites of interest. Encouraging results are obtained for two archaeological sites in Syria and Iraq.

The long-term use of fertilizers and pesticides in conventional cultivation has resulted in a decrease in soil productivity and vegetable yields in greenhouses. However, only a limited number of studies have explored the impacts of organic cultivation on greenhouse soil. Specifically, there is a scarcity of research examining the alterations in soil aggregate mediated organic carbon and microbial communities, which are known to enhance soil productivity. This study investigated the properties of soil aggregates, including the levels of organic carbon fractions, microbial community, and enzyme activity with the three aggregate classes microaggregates (<0.25 mm), small macroaggregates (2-0.25 mm) and large macroaggregates (>2 mm). These investigations were conducted under three different cultivation methods in a greenhouse: conventional cultivation (CC), integrated cultivation (IC), and organic cultivation (OC) in greenhouse. The results showed that (1) OC and IC promoted the formation of small macro-aggregates and enhanced aggregate stability compared to CC, (2) SOC in the three size fractions of OC increased by 98.99%-92.06% compared to CC; EOC increased by 98.47%-117.59%; POC increased by 138.59%-208.70%; MBC increased by 104.71%-230.61%; DOC increased by 21.93%-40.90%, respectively; (3) Organic cultivation significantly increased enzyme activity in all three particle size aggregates and increased the relative abundance of bacteria in micro-aggregates as well as the relative abundance of fungi in small macro-aggregates. Structural equation model (SEM) analysis revealed that organic farming practices fostered the development of smaller macro-aggregates, elevated microbial and enzyme activities within soil aggregates, and facilitated the conversion of soil nutrients and carbon sequestration. consequently, this led to an increase in soil organic carbon content and improved vegetable yield in greenhouse environments. In conclusion, the soil carbon content and vegetable yield are enhanced through long-term organic cultivation in greenhouses, primarily by increasing the proportion of small macro-aggregates.

The liver diseases are posing serious threat to human health associated with abusive use of allopathy medicines, especially in developing economies like Pakistan. The strengthening of detoxification system using natural products might be a suitable option to minimize the liver problems. In this current research, Zingiber officinale and Azadirachta indica were evaluated for their hepatoprotective role. For the purpose, 20 Sprague Dawley rats were equally divided into four groups i.e., negative control, paracetamol positive control, 2.5% ginger and 2% neem powder, respectively. During 42 days study, the levels of bilirubin and liver enzymes significantly elevated due to liver damage. Although, the values dropped (20-25%) in treatment group. Serum glucose and serum lipid profile increased in positive control group, but reduced (5-10%) in both ginger and neem groups. The serum protein profile declined in liver damage group, however, improved (~5%) in treatment groups. The hematological parameters slightly declined in liver damage group, but increased in ginger and neem groups. Moreover, the white blood cells differential count and renal parameters showed abnormal values in liver damage group, but improved after treatment. This study is promising and highlighted the hepato-protective role of neem and ginger that may open several avenues of research.

Based on PVDF (piezoelectric sensing techniques), this paper attempts to study the propagation law of shock waves in brittle materials during the process of three-wavelength laser irradiation of polysilicon, and discusses the formation mechanism of thermal shock failure. The experimental results show that the vapor pressure effect and the plasma pressure effect in the process of pulsed laser irradiation lead to the splashing of high temperature and high density melt. With the decrease of the laser wavelength, the laser breakdown threshold decreases and the shock wave is weakened. Because of pressure effect of the laser shock, the brittle fracture zone is at the edge of the irradiated area. The surface tension gradient and surface shear wave caused by the surface wave are the result of coherent coupling between optical and thermodynamics. The average propagation velocity of laser shock wave in polysilicon is 8.47×103m/s, and the experiment has reached the conclusion that the laser shock wave pressure peak exponentially distributes attenuation in the polysilicon.

A theoretical model to translate the evolution over time, in early stages, of growth and accumulation of biofilm bacterial mass is introduced. The model implies the solution of a system of differential-difference master equations. The application of an algorithm like Miller´s tree term recurrence, already known for Bessel functions of first kind, allows an exact calculation of the solutions of such equations, for a wide range of parameters values and time. For biofilm model a five term recurrence is deduced and applied in a backwards computation. A suitable normalisation condition completes the reach of the solution.

The relationship between metabolic changes occurring in the developing internodes of sugarcane and the final yield and sugar characteristics is poorly understood. This is due to the lack of integration between phenotypic and metabolic data. To address this issue, a study was conducted where sugarcane metabolism was modelled based on the measurement of cellular components in the top internodes at two stages of crop development. The study also looked at the effects of Trinexapac-ethyl (Moddus®) on growth inhibition. The metabolome was measured using GC-analysis while LC-MS/MS was used to measure proteome changes in the developing internodes. The data was then integrated with the metabolic rates. The study revealed that the duration of internode growth is independent of the growth rate and is probably controlled by the accumulation of heat units (degree days). In contrast, sucrose and lignin accumulation is sensitive to the growth rate. Sucrose accumulation only occurs once the cell wall synthesis slow down. The data suggest that sucrose accumulation is controlled a reduction in sucrose breakdown for metabolic activity and a reduction in demand for carbon for cell wall polysaccharide synthesis. This study also found that nucleotide sugar metabolism appears to be a key regulator in regulating carbon flow during internode development.

Insulin signaling plays a crucial role in cellular uptake of glucose and different metabolic pathways. Impairment in cellular insulin sensitivity due to various molecular pathways leads to Insulin resistance (IR) as well as fatty liver. In this review, mechanisms by which zinc involved in decreasing IR are described, focusing on oxidative stress, inflammation, immune system, gut flora and hepatic lipophagy. This study reviews the cause of IR and highlights the role of zinc in mechanisms diminishing IR and fatty liver.

The pace of implementation of renewable electricity storage in Europe is disappointingly slow. Several factors influence it, but there is a need to speed up the rate and increase the volumes in order to promote a 100% transition to renewable energy resources, expand the practice of using renewable energy, and contribute to the improvement of the user's quality of life. Also, an important factor is significantly reducing the global impact on the environment and climate change. Electricity from renewable energy sources such as solar and wind has a seasonal nature that cannot provide the necessary electricity consumption and cover peak loads. Also, the so-called "energy resource crisis" is a very topical problem at the moment, which reinforces the global need to increase the share of renewable energy resources in the overall balance of primary energy resources. It is precisely the wider integration of renewable electricity storage in practice that can help stimulate this. The availability of renewable electricity is constantly increasing and the level of technological innovation is rapidly developing, therefore it is valuable to analyze, look for connections and at the same time the main differences in the ways of accumulation in order to promote its availability from a private house to the national and European scale as a whole. Therefore, this article analyses and compares the different options for renewable electricity storage, from small batteries to large storage systems, arriving at the best solution according to needs, using analysis methods such as multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA) and TOPSIS. After comparing nine criteria, such as the amount of investment required, existing power density, efficiency, duration of operation and others, in both groups, it was concluded that lithium-ion batteries are currently the best solution among batteries, while in the group of large accumulation systems – pumped hydro storage.

Extant research pays little attention to migrant workers’ skill accumulation/upgrading from the perspective of the labor supply. This paper takes China as an example to explore the factors influencing skill accumulation of rural-urban migrant workers (RUMWs), with a purpose to discover how to sustain or reshape regional competitive advantage through improving RUMWs’ skill accumulation. Structured questionnaire surveys were adopted for data collection in Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province and Taizhou City, Zhejiang Province located in the Yangtze River Delta in the east of China. 900 questionnaires were issued and 491 effective questionnaires were recovered totally. This paper takes a perspective of global production networks, and gets a broad viewpoint containing intra-firm coordination, inter-firm partnership and extra-firm bargaining with non-firm actors, beyond what the extant literature on laborers’ human capital focuses on. The finding indicates that firms’ skill-oriented preference, which concerns about employees’ skills and innovation ability and stimulates them to learn initiatively, have a significant influence on RUMWs’ skill accumulation. In terms of collective efficiency based on co-competitive relationship between local firms, the more intensive interactions are, the more opportunities of skill accumulation RUMWs get. The accessibility of local institutions and favorable policies benefit RUMWs’ skill accumulation. Besides, the place itself, as a synthesized space of labor-management relations inside a firm and inter-organization relations, exerts an influence on and cause the regional differences in RUMWs’ skill accumulation.

Colistin is used in treatment against gram-negative bacteria. It causes toxic effects due to oxidative stress in a dose-dependent manner. Naringin is a flavonoid with strong antioxidant properties found naturally in many plants, especially citrus fruits. This study aimed to determine the protective effects of NRG in CLS-induced sciatic nerve injury. Thirty-five male Spraque rats were randomly divided into five groups: control, NRG, CLS, CLS+NRG50, and CLS+NRG100. CLS was administered orally at a 15mg/kg for seven days. NRG was administered orally at 50 or 100 mg/kg for seven days. CLS caused toxic damage in sciatic nerve tissue by increasing MDA and decreasing antioxidant capacity (SOD, CAT, GPx, and GSH); increasing NF-κB, TNF-α, nNOS release; increasing apoptotic factor (Caspase-3); decreasing HO-1 and nCAM; and inducing 8-OHdG, MAPK and GFAP. NRG, on the other hand, reversed all these changes in sciatic nerve tissue and reduced CLS-induced oxidative stress damage, inflammatory damage and apoptotic damage. These effects were more effective at the 100mg/kg dose of NRG than at the 50mg/kg dose. In sciatic nerve tissue, CLS-induced sciatic nerve toxicity with increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and apoptotic damage. NRG showed a protective effect against CLS-induced sciatic nerve toxicity.

Following the occurrence of a typhoon, quick damage assessment related to residents can facilitate quick dispatch of house repair and disaster insurance works. Employing a deep learning method, this study used aerial photos of the Chiba prefecture obtained following the Typhoon Faxai in 2019 to automatically detect and evaluate the roof damage. This study comprised three parts: training deep learning model, detecting the roof damage using trained model, and classifying the level of roof damage. The detection object comprised roof outline, blue tarps, and roof completely destroyed. The roofs were divided into three categories: roof without damage, roof with blue tarps and roof completely destroyed. the F value obtained using the proposed method was higher than those obtained using other methods. In addition, it can be further divided into 5 levels from level 0 to 4. Finally, the spatial distribution of the roof damage was analyzed using ArcGIS tools. The proposed method is expected to provide certain reference for the real-time detection of the roof damage after the occurrence of a typhoon.

Optical sensor data can be used to determine changes in anthocyanins, chlorophyll and soluble solids content (SSC) in apple production. In this study, visible and near-infrared spectra (729 to 975 nm) were transformed to SSC values by advanced multivariate calibration models i.e. partial least square regression (PLSR) in order to test the substitution of destructive chemical analyses through non-destructive optical measurements. Spectral field scans were carried out from 2016 to 2018 on marked ’Braeburn’ apples in Southwest Germany. The study combines an in-depth statistical analyses of longitudinal SSC values with horticultural knowledge to set guidelines for further applied use of SSC predictions in the orchard to gain insights into apple carbohydrate physiology. The PLSR models were investigated with respect to sample size, seasonal variation, laboratory errors and the explanatory power of PLSR models when applied to independent samples. As a result of Monte Carlo simulations, PLSR modelled SSC only depended to a minor extent on the absolute number and accuracy of the wet chemistry laboratory calibration measurements. The comparison between non-destructive SSC determinations in the orchard with standard destructive lab testing at harvest on an independent sample showed mean differences of 0.5 % SSC over all study years. SSC modelling with longitudinal linear mixed-effect (LME) models linked high crop loads to lower SSC values at harvest and higher SSC values for fruit from the top part of a tree.

Maintaining sufficient levels of plant nutrients in the soil and controlling certain heavy metals, which can be toxic to the environment, are critical to ensure sustainable agricultural production. The study aimed to assess the linkage of crop-specific agricultural practices established by farmers in the Kvemo Kartli region (Georgia) with metal accumulation in soils of agricultural lands being subject to influence from polluted irrigation water in the past. In particular, we tried to identify the primary sources of micronutrients, including iron (Fe), copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn), and toxic elements such as cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb), and share of the contaminated irrigation water and other factors related to agricultural practices under different land uses, such as intensive and extensive arable farming, vineyards, orchards, and permanent pastures having the least disturbed soil. Based on principal component analysis, five primary sources were identified and categorized according to farmers' interviews and previous studies conducted in the region. The results showed that increased concertation of plant-available Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb were mainly associated with irrigation water and intensive use of fungicides; Fe, Mn, and Ni were closely linked to several factors, such as the mineralogical composition of soils, mineral and organic fertilizers inputs, and atmospheric deposition from diffuse sources, where exhausts from transport are probably the primary source. During our study, we attempted to differentiate irrigation water inputs from fungicides using simulation based on irrigation pattern and irrigation water quality on the one hand and fungicide application rate and their metal content on the other. The simulation revealed that the intensive application of fungicides, especially in vineyards, is more significant in enriching soils with Cu and Zn than irrigation water. Identification of factorial dependences was supported by statistical analysis and application of a number of contamination assessment methods: Contamination Factor (CF), Pollution Load Index (PLI), single-factor Pollution Index (PI), Nemerow’s comprehensive pollution index (PIN), Enrichment Factor (EF), and Geo-Accumulation Index (Igeo). Applied environmental indices indicate that the soils under the former and existing vineyards are the most enriched with Cu and Zn, highlighting the significance of agricultural practices on heavy metals accumulation in soils of agricultural lands.

Nitrogen (N) strongly affects plant growth and metabolism. For shikonin biosynthesis, although the ammonium toxicity phenomenon has been reported, the effects of nitrogen on the shikonin synthesis remains obscure. In this study, we carried out four different concentrations of NH4+ treatments on Arnebia euchroma hairy roots (AEHR) to clarify the influence of NH4+ on the growth and shikonin accumulation in A. euchroma and the possible mechanism. The results showed that compared with the 0% NH4+ treatment (only nitrate as nitrogen source), 10% NH4+ treatment increased the fresh weight and the dry weight of AEHR, and promoted the synthesis of shikonins; 20% NH4+ treatment started to show the inhibition effects on growth and shikonin accumulation of AEHR and 30% NH4+ treatment exhibited the strongest inhibition effects. With increased percentage of NH4+, AEHRs became shorter and thicker with more branches. To further elucidate the mechanism, we analyzed the time-course of nitrogen assimilation, gene expression level of key enzymes involved in the shikonin biosynthesis pathway, and contents of various endogenous hormones under NH4+ toxicity condition. Results indicated that auxin and cytokinin might regulate the growth and architecture of AEHR under NH4+ toxicity, and jasmonate level was reduced along with the inhibition of shikonin biosynthesis. This first comprehensive investigation into the effects of ammonium/nitrate ratio on shikonin biosynthesis not only provided valuable data for optimizing the in vitro culture and shikonin production in A. euchroma, but also suggested potential fertilizer strategies for its cultivation.

Flavonoids are major secondary metabolites in plants, which play important roles in maintaining the cellular redox balance in cells. Chalcone synthase (CHS) is the key enzyme in the flavonoids biosynthesis pathway, and has been proved to monitor the changes to drought stress tolerance. In this work, we overexpressed a CHS gene in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum). The transgenic tobacco plants were more tolerant than the control plants to drought stress. The transcription levels of the key genes involved in the flavonoids pathway and the contents of seven flavonoids were also significantly raised in the transgenic tobacco plants. In addition, overexpression of the CHS gene lead to a lower concentration of the oxidative stress product malondialdehyde. Overall, the NtCHS gene studied in this work was considered as a candidate gene for genetic engineering to enhance drought tolerance of plants and improve response to oxidative stress.

The paper investigated the components of savings accumulation in Nigeria over the period 1980 to 2017. Secondary data were collated from World Development Index (WDI). In evaluating the objectives, the study employed the Auto Regressive Distributive Lag (ARDL) and Vector Error Correction Model (VECM) estimation methods. The key findings of the study show that the components of savings identified in literature understudied in the paper specifically, GDP per capita, foreign direct investment, financial deepening, interest rate, inflation rate exchange rate significantly influence savings accumulation in Nigeria either in short run, long run or both. Financial deepening was found statistically significant but influences savings negatively. Inflation rate was statistically insignificant although negative. The result from the VECM causality test revealed that short run and long run causal relationship exist between savings and the afore mentioned components in Nigeria. Hence, the study recommends careful manipulation of the identified savings components in a manner that they will not yield a counterproductive result in the economy rather contribute to the growth of savings and ultimately, the growth of Nigeria economy as a whole. It further recommends that the Nigerian government through its financial institutions encourage savings from both small and big savers which to large extent will assuage the perceived undeserved influence of financial deepening on savings accumulation.

Online identity-based theft is known to be one of the most serious and growing threats to victims, such as individuals and organizations, over the last 10 years due to the enormous economic damage these crimes have caused. The availability of personal information on the Internet has increased the chances of this cyber-crime. Online identity theft crime is the result of a combination of cyber-crimes on the one hand and lack of awareness and training of users on the other hand to protect personal data on the other. Education and awareness, which also contributes to early detection, is the strongest tool for consumers to safeguard themselves from online identity fraud. This paper provides a comprehensive explanation of online identity theft, the various approaches that thieves use to attack individuals and organizations and the types of fraud involved in this cyber-crime. The aim of this research is to evaluate the need for a reformulation of the concept of identity theft in order to be compatible with the evolution of behaviors and fraud.

Macromolecular crystallography at cryogenic temperatures has so far provided the majority of the experimental evidence that underpins the determination of the atomic structures of proteins and other biomolecular assemblies by means of single crystal X-ray diffraction experiments. One of the core limitations of the current methods is that crystal samples degrade as they are subject to X-rays, and two broad groups of effects are observed: global and specific damage. While the currently successful approach is to operate outside the range where global damage is observed, specific damage is not well understood and may lead to poor interpretation of the chemistry and biology of the system under study. In this work, we present a phenomenological model in which specific damage is understood as the result of a single process, the steady excitation of crystal electrons caused by X-ray absorption, which acts as a trigger for the bulk effects that manifest themselves in the form of global damage and obscure the interpretation of chemical information from XFEL and synchrotron structural research.

The paper presents the results of experimental studies and mathematical modeling of the effect of stress accumulation in thermosetting epoxy polymer "hot" curing on anhydride hardener. Stress accumulation occurs under cyclic thermomechanical action in a locked rod, similar effects are observed, for example, in thermoplastic elements subjected to the combined effect of mechanical loads and variable temperatures. Experimental results have shown that under cyclic thermomechanical loading during exploitation it is possible to accumulate residual stresses in the thermosetting polymer. A multi-element structural mathematical model with memory for thermomechanical load, which allows to consider the accumulation of residual thermal stresses, has been proposed. The results of modeling and experiment are compared. Based on the results, corrections are made in the approach to the application of this model to thermosetting polymers such as the epoxy resin under study. Considering the corrections, a good agreement (the difference is from 1 to 6%) with the results of experimental determination of stresses under complex cyclic thermomechanical load was obtained.

Plastic pollution of the ocean is currently one of the most serious environmental threat. Analysis of observations in the Arctic ocean shows that microplastic particles have been found in Arctic snow cover, sea ice, water and sediments. Possible pathways and deposition locations of microplastics in the Arctic Ocean can be assessed based on 3D numerical modeling of thermohaline structure and water circulation, sea ice conditions and drift. The problem is that in addition to transport by currents, a number of other processes affect the state of microplastics. These include mechanical fragmentation, freezing into sea ice and release back into the water, biofouling, adsorption of contaminants and other factors. In this study, based on scenario calculations for a 5-year period, we analyzed the possible spread of microplastics brought by Siberian rivers to the Kara Sea shelf. The Lagrangian particle model used daily 3D numerical simulation data to simulate microplastic transport by ocean currents and by sea ice drift. The results of a series of scenario calculations show how the distribution of particles and their subsequent deposition depend on their type (density), size, processes of freezing into the ice and biofouling.

Based on the plate tectonic theory, using seismic, geology, and public literature data, the proto-type basins and lithofacies paleogeography during the main geological periods of the passive continental margin of East Africa are restored, and the architecture characteristics of the basins and the differences in sedimentary fillings are analyzed. Combined with the dissection of discovered oil and gas reservoirs, four types of hydrocarbon accumulation models are established, the favorable hydrocarbon accumulation combinations (plays), and the next exploration directions in this region are explored. The passive continental margin basins in East Africa experienced three proto-type stages: intracontinental aborted rift during the Late Carboniferous-Triassic Karoo period, intracontinental-intercontinental rift during the Jurassic period, and passive continental margin basin since the Cretaceous period. Affected by the difference in sedimentary filling thickness between the rift period and depression period, four types of passive continental margin basins are formed: rifted type, depressed type, faulted depression type, and reformed delta type. The maximum sedimentary thickness of the rifted basins during the rift period is greater than 3500 m, and that during the depression period is less than 4000 m, forming a "single-source structure type" hydrocarbon accumulation model. The exploration of rifted basins should focus on giant structural traps at the top of the rifted sequences. The maximum sedimentary thickness of the depressed basins during the depression period exceeds 4000 m, forming a "single-source fan group type" hydrocarbon accumulation model. The dominant exploration directions of depressed basins are sedimentary sand bodies and structural-lithologic traps during the depression and drift periods. The maximum sedimentary thickness of the faulted depression basins during the rift period is greater than 3500 m, and that during the depression period is greater than 4000 m, forming a "double-source and double-combination type" hydrocarbon accumulation model. The exploration of rifted basins should focus on giant slip-collapse-debris flow sedimentary sand bodies on the upper and middle slopes. In addition to the large sedimentary thickness of the early rift and the central depression, the delta thickness of the reformed delta basins during the late depression period since the Miocene is more than 4000 m, and four structural belts (growth fault, mud diapir, thrust fold, and foredeep gentle slope) were formed from onshore to offshore, forming a "three-source and multi-combination type" hydrocarbon accumulation model. All four structural belts can form giant oil and gas fields.

Heavy metals have adverse effects on microalgae growth and metabolism. Photosynthesis and lipid profile are quite sensitive to heavy metal toxicity. The impact of chromium (Cr) on growth and photosynthetic activity of Dictyosphaerium pulchellum and Micractinium pusillum exposed to different concentrations (0 – 500 μg L-1) was investigated for 11 days. The influence of Cr on cell density and cell number followed similar trends, indicating a possible correlation among these growth responses. A significant (p < 0.05) increase in lipid content was observed with the increasing concentration of Cr however, growth was suppressed at higher concentrations exceeding 100 μg L-1. Addition of Cr in the cell culture medium showed a negative effect on quantum yield (Fv/Fm) and a photosynthetic inhibition of > 65% was noted in both species at 500 μg L-1. However, the lipid gravimetric analysis presented inner cell lipid content up to 36% and 30% of dry weight biomass for D. pulchellum and M. pusillum, respectively. The effects of chromium on growth and lipid accumulation in both microalgae species was concentration and exposure time dependent. This shows that an appropriate concentration of chromium in culture medium could be beneficial for higher lipid accumulation in freshwater eukaryotic microalgae species.

Plastic production is escalating tremendously throughout the globe and the reason behind this is its durability and multipurpose utility. But there is a severe scarcity of its management. Tonnes of plastics are dumped into water bodies across the world. These plastics breakdown because of different reasons and results in the plastic debris of size <5mm termed as microplastics (MPs) which are hazardous to aquatic life. They are a potential source of toxins as they offer a large surface area to various chemicals present in the water body when these MPs are ingested by fishes it causes serious health issues leading to mortality of the fishes. Therefore, we comprehensively reviewed the sources of MPs in freshwater systems and its various types and how they get accumulated inside the body of fishes. We found that fishes ingest these particles by mistaken for food or accumulated these particles by consuming from lower trophic organisms. Some of the commonly studied MPs are PE, PS, and PVC, examined from the body of fishes. MPs can cause various ecotoxicological effects on fishes like behavioral change, cytotoxicity, neurotoxicity effects, and liver stress etc. Our review study finds that there is a paucity of information on the accumulation of MPs by freshwater fishes and there are very few studies on its effects also there is a debate whether this accumulation is subjected to the bio-magnification process which ultimately affects human life.

Low-temperature accumulation is one of the essential stages in the growth process of woody ornamental plants. In this study, two different low-temperature treatments, 6℃ and 10℃, were used to analyze the effects of different low-temperature treatments on dormancy release and flowering of the 'Gulihong' plant using artificial low temperatures. Based on the experimental results, four typical early-blooming Prunus mume cultivars widely planted in Yangling area of Henan Province, China, including 'Zaoyudie', 'Zaohualve', 'Nanjing gongfen', and 'Gulihong', were selected as the experimental materials. The effects of low-temperature accumulation on the flowering characteristics of different cultivars were analyzed using a 6℃ artificial low-temperature treatment. The suitable cultivation temperature for early-blooming P. mume cultivars was screened to provide a theoretical basis for further exploration of P. mume bonsai cultivation techniques. The results showed that the flowering rate, flower diameter, flowering quantity, flowering uniformity, and bud development in the 6℃ treatment were significantly better than those in the 10℃ treatment. The flowering rate and quality of different cultivars gradually increased with the accumulation of low-temperature. Therefore, chill accumulation plays a significant role in promoting flowering quality.

The dimensional effect of the accumulation of an electric charge with a density of up to 270 μF/g by the system of compacted zirconium dioxide nanoparticles during exposure in an electric field (5000 V/m) under normal physical conditions is determined. Based on a qualitative complex analysis of the forms of appearance of the effect, it is shown that the place of localization of different charge carriers is the surface of nanoparticles. The supposed mechanism of this effect is considered using the theory of dispersed systems, the band theory, and the theory of contact phenomena in semiconductors. It was concluded that this mechanism is due to the phenomenon of localization of electron-type charge nanoparticles in the near-surface zone of the material in contact with the adsorption ion atmosphere. This effect is relevant for modern nanoelectronics, microsystem technology, and printed electronics.

This paper focused on impact localization of composite structures, which possess more complexity in the guided wave propagation because of the anisotropic behavior of composite materials. In this work, a composite plate was manufactured by using a compression molding process with proper pressure and temperature cycle. Eight layers of woven composite prepreg were used to make the plate. A structural health monitoring (SHM) technique is implemented with piezoelectric wafer active sensors (PWAS) to detect and localize the impact on the plate. There are two types of impact event are considered in this paper (a) low energy impact event (b) high energy impact event. Two clusters of sensors recorded the guided acoustic waves generated from the impact. The acoustic signals are then analyzed using a wavelet transform based time-frequency analysis. The proposed SHM technique successfully detect and localize the impact event on the plate. The experimentally measured impact locations are compared with the actual impact locations. An immersion ultrasonic scanning method was used to visualize the composite plate before and after the impact event. A high frequency 10 MHz 1-inch focused transducer was used to scan the plate in an immersion tank. Scanning results show that there is no visible manufacturing damage in the composite plate. However, clear impact damage was observed after the high-energy impact event.

The combination of snowfall, snow water equivalent (SWE), and precipitation rate measurements from 39 Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) sites in Alaska are used to assess the performance of various precipitation products from satellites, reanalysis, and rain gauges. Observation of precipitation from two water years (2018-2019) of the high resolution radar/rain gauge data (Stage IV) product was also utilized to add insights into scaling differences between various products. The outcomes were also used to assess two popular methods for rain gauge undercatch correction. It was found that SWE and precipitation measurements at SNOTELs, as well as precipitation estimates based on Stage IV data, are generally consistent and can provide a range in which other products can be assessed. Time-series of snowfall and SWE accumulation suggests that most of the products can capture snowfall events; however, differences exist in their accumulation. Reanalysis products tend to overestimate snow accumulation in the study area, while current combined passive microwave remote sensing products (i.e., IMERG-HQ) underestimate snowfall accumulation. We found that corrections factors applied to rain gauges are effective in improving their undercatch, especially for snowfall. However, no improvement in correlation is seen when correction factors are applied, and rainfall is still estimated better than snowfall. Even though IMERG-HQ has less skill in capturing snowfall than rainfall, analysis using Taylor plots showed that the combined microwave product does have skill in capturing the geographical distribution of snowfall and precipitation accumulation, so bias adjustment might lead to reasonable precipitation estimates. This study demonstrates that other snow properties (e.g., SWE accumulation at the SNOTEL sites) can complement precipitation data to estimate snowfall. In the future, gridded SWE and snow depth data from GlobSnow and Sentinel-1 can be used to assess snowfall and its distribution over broader regions.

In order to better understand the source-sink flow and relationships of Zinc (Zn) and other nutrients in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) plants for biofortification and improving grain nutritional quality, effects of reducing photoassimilate source (through the flag leaf removal and spike shading) or sink (through 50% spikelets removal) in the field on accumulation of Zn and other nutrients in wheat grains of two cultivars (Jimai 22 and Jimai 44) were investigated under two soil Zn application levels. The single panicle weight (SPW), kernel number per spike (KNPS), thousand kernel weight (TKW), total grain weight (TGW), concentrations and yields of various nutrient elements (Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, N, P, K, Ca and Mg), phytate phosphorus (phytate-P), phytic acid (PA) and phytohormones (ABA: abscisic acid, and the ethylene precursor ACC: 1-aminocylopropane-1-carboxylic acid), and C/N ratios were determined. Soil Zn application significantly increased concentrations of grain Zn, N and K. Cultivars showing higher grain yields had lower grain protein and micronutrient nutritional quality. SPW, KNPS, TKW (with an exception of TKW in half spikelets removal), TGW, and nutrient yields in wheat grains were most severely reduced by half spiklets removal, secondly by spike shading, and slightly by flag leaf removal. Grain concentrations of Zn, N and Mg consistently showed negative correlations with SPW, KNPS and TGW, but positively with TKW. There were general positive correlations among grain concentrations of Zn, Fe, Mn, Cu, N and Mg, and bioavailability of Zn and Fe (estimated by molar ratios of PA/Zn, PA × Ca/Zn, PA/Fe, or PA × Ca/Fe). Although concentrations of Zn and Fe were increased and Ca was decreased in treatments of half spikelets removal and spike shading, the simultaneously increased PA limited the increase in bioavailability of Zn and Fe. In general, different nutrient elements interact with each other and are affected to different degrees by source-sink manipulations. Elevated endogenous ABA levels and ABA/ACC ratios were associated with increased TKW and grain-filling of Zn, Mn, Ca and Mg, and inhibited K in wheat grains. However, effects of ACC were diametrically opposite. These results provide basis for wheat grain biofortification to alleviate human malnutrition.

Excess weight, which is seen as the background cause of most diseases, is gradually becoming the most important problem in the world. The cafeteria diet is robust diet that mimics the western diet and provides rapid weight gain associated with the obesity, diabetes, and cancer. The relationship between obesity and cancer is well known. For this reason, it is of great importance to reveal the first molecular and metabolic alterations that occur before entering the obesity process with any factor to understand the pathology of many diseases and to treat them in the early period. The beneficial effects of probiotics are attributed to their metabolite content with antioxidant properties or the postbiotic metabolites produced by them. In this study, the effects of different dietary practices on the hepatic antioxidant system of rats in developmental period were investigated by real-time PCR, enzyme activity measurements, and quantitative measurements of metabolites. After all, it was observed that CAF caused serious impairments by affecting the hepatic antioxidant system at gene and protein levels, and these impairments were relatively reversed with SCD Probiotics supplementation. In addition, regardless of the CAF diet, the regulatory effect of SCD Probiotics supplementation on the hepatic antioxidant system is remarkable.

We examined Neurite orientation dispersion and density imaging in patients with migraine. We found that patients with medication overuse headache exhibited lower orientation dispersion than those without. Moreover, orientation dispersion at the body of the corpus callosum was statistically negatively correlated with migraine attack frequencies. These findings indicate that neurite dispersion is damaged in patients with chronic migraine. Our study results indicate the orientation preference of neurite damage in migraine.

The DNA Damage Response (DDR) is a complex signaling network that comes into play when cells experience genotoxic stress. Upon DNA damage, cellular signaling pathways are rewired to slow down cell cycle progression and allow recovery. However, when the damage is beyond repair, cells activate complex and still not fully understood mechanisms, leading to a complete proliferative arrest or cell death. A number of conventional and novel anti-neoplastic treatments rely on causing DNA damage or on the inhibition of the DDR in cancer cells. However, the identification of molecular determinants directing cancer cells toward recovery or death upon DNA damage is still far from complete, and it is object of intense investigation. SPRY-COntaining RAN binding Proteins (Scorpins) RANBP9 and RANBP10 are evolutionarily conserved and ubiquitously expressed proteins whose biological functions are still debated. RANBP9 has been previously implicated in cell proliferation, survival, apoptosis and migration. Recent studies also showed that RANBP9 is involved in the Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) signaling upon DNA damage. Accordingly, cells lacking RANBP9 show increased sensitivity to genotoxic treatment. Although there is no published evidence, extensive protein similarities suggest that RANBP10 might have partially overlapping functions with RANBP9. Like RANBP9, RANBP10 bears sites putative target of PIK-kinases and high throughput studies found RANBP10 to be phosphorylated following genotoxic stress. Therefore, this second Scorpin might be another overlooked player of the DDR alone or in combination with RANBP9. This review focuses on the relatively unknown role played by RANBP9 and RANBP10 in responding to genotoxic stress.

This paper aims to investigate the coal thickness change area of the combined rock strata energy accumulation law. The method of connecting a uniaxial compression experiment with a theoret-ical analysis is used in this work. We employ a combination of coal and rock to carry out our studies. We investigate how different lithologies and ratios of coal-rock height affect the me-chanical properties of the mixture and the law governing energy accumulation. We have deter-mined the following facts: (1) The combination's peak strength and elastic modulus exceed that of coal and are inferior to that of rock but are nearer to that of coal. (2) When the coal-rock height ratios are dissimilar, the peak strength and modulus of elasticity of the combination show a negative correlation with the coal-thickness share, and the pre-peak energy accumulation and impact energy index of the combination shows a positive correlation with the coal-thickness share. (3) For the combination with the same coal-rock height ratio, the peak strength, elastic modulus, pre-peak energy accumulation, and impact energy index all increase with greater rock strength and elastic modulus. The presence of a hard rock layer affects the accumulation of pre-peak energy. ( 4 ) The stress in the surrounding rock gradually decreases as the coal thick-ness increases. In the area where coal thickness declines, the stress in surrounding rock is higher than that in the region where it thickens. The energy stored in the surrounding rock is directly proportional to the coal in the zone. Conversely, areas with thinner coal deposits exhibit a lower energy storage capacity in the surrounding rock than those with thicker coal deposits. The stress distribution of surrounding rock in coal thickness change is abnormal; substantial energy accu-mulation can swiftly initiate dynamic disasters, such as rock bursts. This study has important reference significance for preventing and controlling rock burst in coal thickness change areas.

This paper constructs a model of climate-related damage for small island developing states (SIDS). We focus on the loss of private productive capital stocks through extreme climate events. In contrast to most economic analyses of climate impacts, which assume temperature-dependent damage functions, we draw on the engineering literature to allow for a greater or lesser degree of anticipation of climate change when designing capital stocks and balancing current adaptation expenditure against future loss & damage. We apply the model to tropical storm damage in the small island developing state of Barbados and show how anticipatory behavior changes the damage to infrastructure for the same degree of climate change. Thus, in the model, damage depends on behavior as well as climate variables.

Cadmium accumulation in rice grain poses a serious threat to people’s health. Understanding the genetic basis on grain cadmium accumulation facilitates efforts to reduce it. Here, we show that OsCd1 is involved in Cd uptake and contributes to grain accumulation in rice. Natural variation in OsCd1 with a missense mutation Val449Asp is responsible for the divergence of rice grain cadmium accumulation between japonica and indica. Notably, near-isogenic line tests confirmed that the indica variety carrying the OsCd1^V449 allele could reduce the grain cadmium accumulation. The favorable allele OsCd1^V449 may be an important genetic resource to reduce grain cadmium accumulation for indica.

Neurodegeneration with brain iron accumulation (NBIA) is a group of rare neurogenetic dis-orders frequently associated with iron accumulation in the basal nuclei of the brain. Among NBIA subtypes, β -propeller protein-associated neurodegeneration (BPAN) is associated with mutations in the autophagy gene WDR45. The aim of this study was to demonstrate autophagic defects and secondary pathological con-sequences in cellular models derived from two patient harboring WDR45 mutations. Both protein and mRNA expression levels of WDR45 were decreased in patient-derived fibro-blasts. In addition, the increase of LC3B upon treatments with autophagy inducers or inhibitors was lower in mutant cells compared to control cells, suggesting decreased autophagosome formation and impaired autophagic flux. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) analysis showed mitochondrial vacuolization associated with accumulation of lipofuscin-like aggregates containing undegraded material. Autophagy dysregulation was also associated with iron ac-cumulation and lipid peroxidation. In addition, mutant fibroblasts showed altered mitochon-drial bioenergetics. Antioxidants such as pantothenate, vitamin E and α-lipoic prevented lipid peroxidation and iron accumulation. However, antioxidants were not able to correct the ex-pression levels of WDR45 neither the autophagy defect nor cell bioenergetics. Our study demonstrated that WDR45 mutations in BPAN cellular models impaired autophagy, iron metabolism and cell bioenergetics. Antioxidant partially improved cell physiopathology, however autophagy and cell bioenergetics remained affected.

Gliomas are one of the most aggressive and treatment-resistant types of human cancer. One of the most promising field in gliomas cancer therapy is identification and evaluation of anticancer properties of compounds found in plants i.a. naringenin (N) and 8-prenylnaringenin (8PN). The prenyl group seem to be crucial to the anticancer activity of flavones, which may lead to enhanced cell membrane targeting and thus increased intracellular activity. Unfortunately, 8PN content in hop cones is from 10 to 100 times lower compared to other flavonoids i.e. xanthohumol. In this study we used a simple method for the synthesis of 8PN from isoxanthohumol, via O-demethylation with high, 97% of the isolated yield. Cellular accumulation and cytotoxicity of naringenin and 8-prenylnaringenin in normal (BJ) and cancer cells (U-118 MG) were also examined. Obtained data indicated that 8-prenylnaringenin exhibited higher toxicity against used cell lines than naringenin and both flavones inhibited stronger glioblastoma U-118 MG cells than normal fibroblasts. The anticancer properties of 8PN correlated with its significantly greater (37%), accumulation in glioblastoma cells than in normal fibroblasts. Additionally, naringenin indicated higher selectivity for glioblastoma as it was over 6 times more toxic for cancer than normal cells. Our results provide evidence that examined prenylated and non-prenylated flavanones have different biological activity against normal and cancer cell lines and this phenomenon may be useful in clinical practice to construct new, anticancer drugs for glioblastoma.

To evaluate whether the extent of cardiac damage in severe aortic stenosis (AS) might be associated with the occurrence of conduction system disorders after TAVI. A total of 153 symptomatic patients with severe AS who had a TAVI were categorized before the procedure according to the extent of cardiac damage: stage 1 (13.5%): no or LV damage; stage 2 (58.8%): left atrial/mitral valve damage, atrial fibrillation (AF); stage 3 (27.7%): low-flow state, pulmonary vasculature/tricuspid valve/RV damage. After TAVI, 34% of patients exhibited LBBB and 10% high-degree atrioventricular block (HD-AVB). No patient in group 1 developed HD-AVD whereas new LBBB was frequent in groups 2 and 3. Twenty-one patients presented with resolutive paroxysmal AF with a higher rate for each group increment (group 1: n=0, 0%; group 2: n=11,15.7%; group 3: n=10, 30.3%) (p = 0.012). Patients in group 3 had the higher rate of permanent pacemaker implantation (PPMI) (group 1: n=1, 6.3%; group 2: n=7,10%; group 3: n=9, 27.3%) (p=0.012). No patient in group 1 died during the hospital stay. In conclusion, cardiac damage staging of AS might help identify patients at higher risk of conduction disorders and PPMI requirement after TAVI.

At present, the applications and efficacy of non-ionizing radiations (NIR) in oncotherapy are limited. In terms of potential combinations, the use of biocompatible magnetic nanoparticles as heat mediators has been extensively investigated. Nevertheless, the development of more efficient heat nanomediators that may exhibit high specific absorption rates still is an unsolved problem. Our aim was to investigate if externally applied magnetic fields and a heat-inducing NIR affect tumor cell viability. To this end, under in vitro conditions, different human cancer cells (A2058 melanoma, AsPC1 pancreas carcinoma, MDA-MB-231 breast carcinoma) were treated with the combination of electromagnetic fields (EMFs, using solenoids) and hyperthermia (HT, using a thermostated bath). The effect of NIR was also studied in combination with standard chemotherapy and targeted therapy. An experimental device combining EMFs and high intensity focused ultrasounds (HIFU)-induced HT was tested in vivo. EMFs (25 T, 4h) or HT (52C, 40 min) showed a limited effect on cancer cell viability in vitro. However, their combination decreased viability to approx. 16%, 50%, and 21% of controls values in A2058, AsPC1, and MDA-MB-231 cells, respectively. Increased lysosomal permeability, release of cathepsins into the cytosol and mitochondria-dependent activation of cell death are the underlying mechanisms. Cancer cells could be completely eliminated combining EMFs, HT and standard chemotherapy or EMFs, HT and anti-Hsp70-targeted therapy. As a proof of concept, in vivo experiments performed in AsPC1 xenografts showed that combination of EMFs, HIFU-induced HT, standard chemotherapy and a lysosomal permeabilizer induces a complete cancer regression.

Damage detection based on modal parameter changes becomes popular in the last decades. Nowadays are available robust and reliable mathematical relations to predict the natural frequency changes if damage parameters are known. Using these relations, it is possible to create databases containing a large variety of damage scenarios. Damage can be thus assessed by applying an inverse method. The problem is the complexity of the database, especially for structures with more cracks. In this paper, we propose two machine learning methods, namely the random forest (RF) and the artificial neural network (ANN) as search tools. The databases we developed contain damage scenarios for a prismatic cantilever beam with one crack and ideal and non-ideal boundary conditions. The crack assessment is made in two steps. First, a coarse damage location is found from the networks trained for scenarios comprising the whole beam. Afterward, the assessment is made involving a particular network trained for the segment of the beam on which the crack is previously found. Using the two machine learning methods, we succeed to estimate the crack location and severity with high accuracy for both simulation and laboratory experiments. Regarding the location of the crack, which is the main goal of the practitioners, the errors are less than 0.6%. Based on these achievements, we concluded that the damage assessment we propose, in conjunction with the machine learning methods, is robust and reliable.

Current bridge inspection practices rely on paper-based data acquisition, digitization, and multiple conversions in between incompatible formats to facilitate data exchange. This practice is time-consuming, error-prone, cumbersome, and leads to information loss. One aim for future inspection procedures is to have a fully digitized workflow that achieves loss-free data exchange, which lowers costs and offers higher efficiency. On the one hand, existing studies proposed methods to automatize data acquisition and visualization for inspections. These studies lack an open standard to make the gathered data available for other processes. On the other hand, several studies discuss data structures for exchanging damage information through out different stakeholders. However, those studies do not cover the process of automatic data acquisition and transfer. This study focused on a framework that incorporates automatic damage data acquisition, transfer, and a damage information model for data exchange. This enables inspectors to use damage data for subsequent analyses and simulations. The proposed framework shows the potentials for a comprehensive damage information model and related (semi-)automatic data acquisition and processing.

Damage to crops from wildlife interference is a common threat to food security among rural communities in or near Game Management Areas (GMAs) in Zambia. This study uses a two-stage econometric model and cross-sectional data from a survey of 2,769 households to determine the impact of land use planning on the probability and extent of wildlife-inflicted crop damage. The results show that crop damage is higher in GMAs as compared to non-GMAs, and that land use planning could be an effective tool to significantly reduce the likelihood of such damage. These findings suggest that there is merit in the current drive to develop and implement land use plans as means to minimize human-wildlife conflict such as crop damage. This is especially critical as Zambian conservation policies do not have an explicit provision for compensation in the event of damage from wildlife.

Several clinically useful anticancer drugs selectively kill cancer cells by inducing DNA damage; the genomic instability and DNA repair defects of cancer cells make them more vulnerable than normal cells to the cytotoxicity of DNA-damaging agents. Because epoxide-containing compounds can induce DNA damage, we have used the MTT assay to evaluate the selective cytotoxicity of three epoxyalkyl galactopyranosides against A549 lung cancer cells and MRC-5 lung normal cells. Compound (2S,3S)-2,3-Epoxydecyl 4,6-O-(S)-benzylidene-β-D-galactopyranoside (EDBGP) showed the highest selective anticancer activity and was selected for mechanistic studies. After observing that EDBGP induced cellular DNA damage (comet assay), we found that cells deficient in nucleotide excision repair were hypersensitive to the cytotoxicity of this compound; this suggests that EDBGP may induce bulky DNA adducts. EDBGP did not inhibit glycolysis (glucose consumption and lactate production). Pre-treatment of lung cancer cells with several antioxidants did not reduce the cytotoxicity of EDBGP, thereby indicating that reactive oxygen species do not participate in the anticancer activity of this compound. Finally, EDBGP was screened against a panel of cancer cells and normal cells from several tissues, including three genetically modified skin fibroblasts with increasing degree of malignancy. Our results suggest that epoxyalkyl galactopyranosides are promising lead compounds for the development of new anticancer agents.

The biomethane accumulation of several combinations of whey and sugarcane molasses, inoculated with sludge from a treatment facility of one of the dairy enterprises of Imbabura, was assessed in the current experiment at a concentration of 0.5 g/l COD. The whey: molasses (W: M) ratios for each treatment were 0:100, 25:75, 50:50, 75:25, and 100:0, with a constant temperature of 37°C and an initial pH adjustment of 7.5. Half a litre of total mixes was used for each treatment in duplicate. Six kinetic models were evaluated to account biomethane accumulation in anaerobic co-digestion processes in batch of whey and sugarcane molasses. Five of these have been tested by other researchers, and one was developed by modifying a first-order model to consider changes in the biomethane accumulation profile. This proposed model, along with the modified two-phase Gompertz model, resulted in the ones that were best able to adjust the experimental data, obtaining in all cases an R² ≥ 0.949, indicating the accuracy of both models. In addition, the proposed here model has five parameters, one less than the modified two-phase Gompertz model, making it more straightforward and robust.

Metal hyperaccumulating plants should have extremely efficient defence mechanisms, enabling growth and development in a polluted environment. Brassica species are known to display hyperaccumulation capability. Brassica juncea (Indiana mustard) v. Malopolska plants were exposed to trace elements, i.e., cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn), at a concentration of 50 M and were then harvested after 96 hours for analysis. We observed a high index of tolerance (IT), higher than 90%, for all B. juncea plants treated with the four metals, and we showed that Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn accumulation was higher in the above-ground parts than in the roots. We estimated the metal effects on the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the levels of protein oxidation as well as on the activity and gene expression of antioxidant enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and ascorbate peroxidase (APX). The obtained results indicate that organo-specific ROS generation was higher in plants exposed to essential metal elements (i.e., Cu and Zn), compared with non-essential ones (i.e., Cd and Pb), in conjunction with SOD, CAT and APX activity and expression at the level of encoding mRNAs and existing proteins. In addition to the potential usefulness of B. juncea in the phytoremediation process, the data provide important information concerning plant response to the presence of trace metals.

This manuscript addresses the phenomenon of masked priming in bilingual individuals. We employed a lexical decision task with masked translation priming, which serves as a valuable tool for elucidating the orthographic and lexical processes involved in the initial stages of reading. Our study builds upon previous research conducted on monolingual masked priming, which consistently demonstrates shifts in the response time (RT) distributions when comparing related and unrelated primes. Within the framework of a diffusion model, we implemented two theoretical positions. First, we posited that translation priming operates at the orthographic level, resulting in enhanced efficiency during the encoding process. Second, we explored the possibility that translation priming operates at the semantic level, influencing the accumulation of evidence during the lexical decision task. Our findings indicate that translation priming elicits outcomes similar to those observed in monolingual priming paradigms. Specifically, we observed that translation priming facilitation is manifested as shifts in the RT distributions. We interpret these findings as suggesting that the benefits derived from the encoding process are not specific to the accessed lexicon following brief stimulus presentation.

With permafrost degenerating caused by climate change, water accumulation increases in permafrost regions during last decades. Water accumulation will deteriorate existing status of engineering in cold regions. Water accumulation can make a thermal effect on permafrost under construction, even result in failure of the subgrade. Moreover, the thermal effect is related to water temperature. However, temperature variation of water accumulation is complex, and its influence factors include air temperature, environment, scope of water accumulation and so on. In order to make analysis of the damage mechanism of water accumulation on permafrost, it is necessary to explore the internal temperature change of water accumulation. This paper proposes a review about temperature calculation method of water accumulation in cold environment. The thermal calculation method between air and water boundary of water accumulation is summarized. Water temperature change of water accumulation with various type is analyzed. The thermal calculation considering phase transformation in water accumulation is discussed, and heat transfer from the bottom of water accumulation to the underlying soil is further studied. Finally, the key factors which are advantageous to make research about the thermal effect of water accumulation in permafrost is proposed to optimize calculation method.

Phytoene is a colourless natural carotenoid that absorbs UV light and provides antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities as well as protection against photodamage. It is therefore valued for its skin health and aesthetic benefits by the cosmetic industry, as well as by the health food sector. The halotolerant green microalga Dunaliella salina is one of the richest sources of natural carotenoids. We have previously investigated over-production of phytoene in D. salina after cultivation with the well-characterised mitosis inhibitor, chlorpropham. In this study, 15 herbicides with different modes of action were tested for their potential to promote phytoene accumulation. All herbicides showed different levels of capabilities to support phytoene over-production in D. salina. Most significantly, the two mitosis inhibitors tested in this study, propyzamide and chlorpropham, showed similar capacities to support over-production of phytoene by D. salina cultures, as phytoene desaturase inhibitors. The cellular content of phytoene increased by over 10-fold within 48 h after treatment with the mitosis inhibitors compared to untreated cultures. Results indicate a general effect of mitosis inhibitors on phytoene accumulation in D. salina. Furthermore, red light was found to significantly enhance the phytoene yield when used in combination with effective inhibitor treatments. Red light can be applied to maximize the production of phytoene from D. salina.

Wooden breast is a muscle disorder affecting modern commercial broiler chickens that causes a palpably firm pectoralis major muscle and severe reduction in meat quality. Most studies have focused on advanced stages of wooden breast apparent at market age, resulting in limited insights into the etiology and early pathogenesis of the myopathy. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify early molecular signals in the wooden breast transcriptional cascade by performing gene expression analysis on the pectoralis major muscle of two-week-old birds that may later exhibit the wooden breast phenotype by market age at 7 weeks. Biopsy samples of the left pectoralis major muscle were collected from a subset of 101 birds randomly selected from a total of 302 birds at 14 days of age, after which all birds were raised to 7 weeks of age for scoring of wooden breast. RNA sequencing was performed on 5 unaffected and 8 affected female chicken samples, selected based on wooden breast scores (0 to 4) assigned at necropsy where affected birds had scores of 2 or 3 (mildly or moderately affected) while unaffected birds had scores of 0 (no apparent gross lesions). Differential expression analysis identified 60 genes found to be significant at an FDR-adjusted p value of 0.05. Of these, 26 were previously demonstrated to exhibit altered expression or genetic polymorphisms related to glucose tolerance or diabetes mellitus in mammals. Additionally, 9 genes have functions directly related to lipid metabolism and 11 genes are associated with adiposity traits such as intramuscular fat and body mass index. This study suggests that wooden breast disease is first and foremost a metabolic disorder characterized primarily by ectopic lipid accumulation in the pectoralis major.

We investigate wealth accumulation in forestry, assuming that revenues are re-invested. Three different optimization criteria are compared, two of which are based on cash flows, the third financially grounded. Direct optimization of wealth appreciation rate always yields best results. Procedures gained by maximizing internal rate of return are only slightly inferior. With external discounting interest rate, the maximization of net present value yields arbitrary results, with at worst devastating financial consequences.

High costs for the repair of concrete structures can be prevented if damage at an early stage of degradation is detected and precautionary maintenance measures are applied. To this end, we use numerical wave propagation simulations to identify simulated damage in concrete using convolutional neural networks (CNN). Damage in concrete subjected to compression is modeled at the mesoscale using the discrete element method. Ultrasonic wave propagation simulation on the damaged concrete specimens are performed using the rotated staggered finite-difference grid method. The simulated ultrasonic signals are used to train a CNN based classifier capable of classifying three different damage stages (microcrack initiation, microcrack growth and microcrack coalescence leading to macrocracks). The performance of the classifier is improved by refining the dataset via an analysis of the averaged envelope of the signal. The classifier using the refined dataset has an overall accuracy of 90%.

The physical and mechanical properties of rocks will change significantly after being subjected to high temperatures, which poses safety hazards to underground projects such as coal underground gasification. In order to investigate the effect of temperature on the macroscopic and microscopic properties of rocks, this paper has taken sandstone as the research object and conducted uniaxial compression tests on sandstone specimens at different temperatures (20-1000 ℃) and different heating rates (5-30 ℃/min) at 1200 ℃. At the same time, the acoustic emission (AE) test system was used to observe the acoustic emission characteristics of the rock damage process, and the microstructural changes after high temperature were analyzed with the help of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The test results show that the effect of temperature on sandstone is mainly divided into three stages: Ⅰ (20-500 ℃) stage is the strengthening zone, the evaporation of water and the contraction of primary fissures, sandstone densification is enhanced. Specifically, the compressive strength and elastic modulus increase, the macroscopic damage mode is dominated by shear damage, and the fracture micro-morphology is mainly brittle fracture. Stage II (500-600°C) is the transition zone, 500°C is the threshold temperature for compressive strength and modulus of elasticity, and the damage mode changes from shear to cleavage damage, and the sandstone undergoes brittle-ductile transition in this temperature interval. Stage III is the physicochemical deterioration stage. The changes in physical and chemical properties make the sandstone compressive strength and modulus of elasticity continue to decline, the macroscopic damage mode is mainly dominated by cleavage damage, and the fracture microscopic morphology is more toughness fracture. The effect of different heating rates on the mechanical properties of sandstone was further studied, and it was found that the mechanical properties of the rock were more deteriorated under higher heating rates.

N6-methyladenosine (M6A) modification is the most abundant internal chemical modification on RNA molecules in eukaryotes and can affect mRNA metabolism and regulate RNA transcription, nuclear export, splicing, degradation, translation, ets, and has a significant impact on various aspects of physiology or pathobiology. Radiotherapy is the most common measure of tumor treatment, variety of cellular intrinsic mechanisms affect the responses of cells to ionizing radiation (IR) and effectiveness of cancer radiotherapy. In this review, we summarize and discuss the recent advances about the roles and mechanisms of RNA M6A methylation in cellular responses to radiation-induced DNA damage response, and outcomes of cancer radiotherapy. Insights into the RNA M6A methylation in radiation biology may facilitate the improvement of therapeutic strategies for cancer radiotherapy as well as radioprotection on normal tissues.

The fatigue delamination damage is one of the most important fatigue failure modes of laminated composite structures. However, the developments of the theoretical framework, mathematical/physical model and numerical simulation of fatigue delamination are still challenging issues, and there is a lack of systematic classification. This article reviews the experimental phenomena of the onset and propagation stage of delamination under fatigue loading, and summarizes the commonly used phenomenological models for laminated composite structures. The research methods, general modeling formulas and development prospects of the phenomenological models are presented in detail. In the light of the analysis of finite element model (FEM) for the laminated composite structures, a number of simulation methods of fatigue delamination crack propagation damage model are carefully classified. Furthermore, within the theoretical framework of strength theory model (SM), fracture mechanics model (FM), damage mechanics model (DM) and hybrid model (HM), the complete procedure, application, capability assessment, advantages and limitations of the models are also discussed in detail. Finally, several valuable suggestions are given for the research interests, and challenging technical problems that need to be overcome on the fatigue delamination prediction of laminated composite structures in the future.

The 2022-2023 Chilean summer showed increased temperatures and similar burned area, compared to the 2016-2017 season, where more than 500,000 hectares were compromised, mainly in the rural areas. After a brief review, it is revealed that the effects of forest fires on soil and hydrological properties are barely debated in Chile. Here, we showed a climatological analysis where temperature records in the 2016-2017 season were unusual, as well as another unexpected increase in the summer of 2022-2023, resulting in high-severity fires known as ‘mega-fires’ or “storm-fires”. Mega-fires affect forest plantations and native forests mainly from 33º S (Maule Region) to 39º S (Los Ríos Region) and they are expected to become frequent due to climate change, moving from the north to the south. We present an overview of the influence of wildfires on soil components in the most affected areas (inland, Coastal, and Andes ranges), their hydrological impacts, and potential erosion risk due to high winter precipitation. We propose several management practices that could help to prevent or mitigate these events, including pre-and post-fire interventions, such as afforestation and seeding, selective logging, mulching, erosion barriers, soil preparation, and dam monitoring. We argue that any effective plan in fire-prone and affected areas should include a combination of actions taken at the hillslope scale at integral ecosystem management, whose effectiveness should be monitored and verified regionally at the watershed scale.

This paper aims to provide an overall review of degradation, damage evolution and fatigue models in the literature of various engineering materials, mostly metals, and composites.

As a medical student (Granada University Medical School, Spain), interested in Pediatrics, expended countless hours at the hospital pediatric facilities and got to know many of the children and their medical problems. A particular case, still vivid on my mind, awaken my scientific curiosity. One day, walking and talking with a seven years old child he unexpectedly felt down unconscious with multiple, incontrollable and erratic muscular contractions involving face, body and extremities and salivating. I was overwhelmed thinking it was the child’ last hour. At the time, my knowledge of epilepsy was nil. Following the seizures, the child was up, talking and walking with me as if nothing has happened and without any knowledge of the event. What could have caused the brain motor cortex to suddenly discharge that amount of altered activity causing generalized and erratic muscular contractions remains inexplicable. I migrated to USA, become a Pediatric (Developmental) Pathologist and Director of the Pediatrics Autopsy Service (1962-1999) at the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, New Hampshire. I carried out countless postmortem studied of children brains, normal (unaltered) as well as those altered by hemorrhagic, hypoxic-ischemic and/or traumatic damage. With an NIH Fellowship, I spend one year (1967-68) at the Cajal Institute (Madrid, Spain) studying Cajal’ old Golgi preparations and learning about the method. Some of my Golgi studies of children’ brains have been published: The Human Brain. Prenatal Development and Structure, Springer, Heidelberg, Germany, 2012. The present monograph explores the developmental neuropathology of selected perinatal cortical injuries through their acute, subacute and chronic stages. Including: a) how an altered neuronal activity evolves in a damaged cortical region; b) how it moves through the cortex (epileptic auras); and c) how it reaches the motor cortex to be discharged as erratic and incontrollable muscular contractions. Understanding these processes should provide insights into the pathogenesis of epilepsy secondary to perinatal brain damage.

Fusarium graminearum is a dangerous pathogen of the cereals producing mycotoxins (trichothecene and zearalenone) harmful for human and animal health. There were evaluated sixteen winter wheat varieties for their response in conditions of natural infection with F. graminearum in the epidemic year 2019, being well known that accumulation of mycotoxins (DON, ZON and T-2) is induced by different biotic and abiotic factors. Field plot was organized in Latin rectangle randomized with three replicates. For all evaluated wheat varieties were collected field data (incidence, severity and infection degree of the fungus F. graminearum) and laboratory data (mycotoxins concentration in grains) that have been processed using the software JASP (Version 0.14) for descriptive statistics, and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Microsoft Excel 2019 was used to calculate Pearson’s correlation coefficients. The results showed negative corelation between plants’ density and F. graminearum attack frequency. Positive correlations were found between DON and T-2 and between DON and fungus attack intensity. This work highlights that during a F. graminearum epidemic year some of the most influential factors in the contamination with harmful mycotoxins (DON, ZON and T-2) are: plants density, frequency of the attack on ear, diseased ears and attack intensity on ears.

It has been more than three decades since the discovery of multifunctional factors, Non-POU Domain-Containing Octamer-Binding Protein, NonO and Splicing Factor, Proline-and Glutamine-Rich, SFPQ. Some of their functions, including their participations in transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation as well as their contribution to paraspeckle subnuclear body organization have been well-documented. In this review, we focus on the roles of NonO and SFPQ in cell cycle with particular attention to their participation in nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ) and homologous recombination (HR) of DNA damage responses induced by irradiation. In these contexts, absence or malfunction of either or both lead to genome instability and ultimately to apoptosis, cellular senescence, and tumor development. This review also will shed light on NonO and SFPQ function in DNA/RNA/protein binding and their association with Ku heterodimer of the NHEJ pathway required for repair of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs).

Aflatoxins (AFs) contamination of cereals is considered one of the greatest food safety concerns worldwide. Occurrence of AFs in maize, wheat, rice and sorghum is highly prevalent with each commodity accounting for more than 10% of world’s AF exposure. Their occurrence as food contaminants is also associated with huge economic losses. AFs are highly stable compounds that cannot be eliminated by regular processing of grains. Hence, prevention of AFs in food and feed is now considered more important than the subsequent interventions to mitigate the deleterious health effects of AFs in human and animals. However, the development of an effective preventive strategy hinges on a clear understanding of the underlying factors influencing AFs production. Therefore, the present review aims to highlight the most significant factors influencing AFs contamination of cereals at pre-and post-harvest stages. This is crucial for effective monitoring of critical control points and optimisation of preventive strategies in food and feed supply chains. Several intrinsic and extrinsic factors have been reported of which nutritional composition, environmental factors (temperature, water activity and relative humidity) and climate change have been identified as primary factors, while pH of the substrate, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the gaseous environment, and agronomic and socioeconomic status are the main secondary factors promoting AFs biosynthesis in cereals. Additionally, an overview of global occurrence of AFs in cereals, with their health impacts and various preventive measures have also been highlighted.

Loess was deposited in the Negev during the Pleistocene, but such sediments seem to be missing for the Holocene. This could be due to erosion unless structures such as ruins offered protection. We studied soils developed on archaeological hilltop ruins in the Negev and the Petra region and compared them with local soils, paleosols, geological outcrops, and current dust. The ruin soils in both regions were found to consist of similarly complex mixtures of local and remote sediment sources. They differ from sediments deposited during current dust storms. This seems due to fixation processes: average accretion rates are estimated to ~0.14 mm/a, suggesting that only ~3% of the current dust that can be trapped with dry marble dust collectors is stored in the soils. Vegetation, biocrusts, and/or clast pavements associated with vesicular layers seem to act as sediment-fixing agents. As well, climate might play a role: rain, and in particular one snowstorm in the Petra region brought a high amount of sediment that was more similar to the ruin soils. Wet deposition and snow might catalyze dust deposition and enhance fixation by fostering vegetation and crust formation. Frequent snow during the Pleistocene might be one explanation of enhanced loess deposition.

This paper presents an efficient topology optimization approach considering fail-safe requirements in the framework of the solid isotropic material with penalization method. Existing methods either are computationally extremely expensive or do not consider fail-safe requirements in the optimization. The current approach not only obtains the fail-safe optimization structure, but also significantly improves the computational efficiency of fail-safe topology optimization. In this method, the worst-case compliance is considered to minimize as the optimization objective, using the Kreisselmeier–Steinhauser function to approximate the non-differentiable max-operator. The sensitivity is derived by the adjoint method, and a general fail-safe optimality criteria method is developed to update design variables. The damage scenarios greatly reduces in the process of failsafe strategy optimization by employing the density-based filter method. Finally, the effectiveness and computational efficiency of this method for fail-safe optimization is verified by several numerical examples.

Critical infrastructures are those that are essential. For this type of infrastructure, it is necessary to implement analytical methodologies that will allow us to quickly obtain the susceptibility or resilience and possible damage generated in extreme precipitation episodes, through a holistic perspective in which the factors linked to hydrological risk intervene. In particular, urban hydraulic infrastructures are analyzed considering the degree of criticality, defined as the number of interactions on the different activities of the population. For this purpose, a hydrological risk analysis methodology is required. This methodology is focused on an integral approach of the system indicators to be analyzed and linked to the hydrological threat. This work proposes to delimit and analyze those factors that involve risk using an analytical expression. This model will estimate the damage to these infrastructures breaking down the factors involved in the risk equation and analyzing their variability according to the intrinsic characteristics linked to them as well as the interaction with external factors.

DNA damage causes the mutations that are the principal source of genetic variation. DNA damage detection and repair mechanisms therefore play a determining role in generating the genetic diversity on which natural selection acts. Speciation, it is commonly assumed, occurs at a rate set by the level of standing allelic diversity in a population. The process of speciation is driven by a combination of two evolutionary forces: genetic drift and ecological selection. Genetic drift takes place under conditions of relaxed selection, and results in a balance between rates of mutation and rates of genetic substitution. These two processes, drift and selection, are necessarily mediated by a variety of mechanisms guaranteeing genome stability in any given species. One of the outstanding questions in evolutionary biology concerns the origin of the widely varying phylogenetic distribution of biodiversity across the tree of life, and how the forces of drift and selection contribute to shaping that distribution. The following examines some of the molecular mechanisms underlying genome stability and the adaptive radiations that are associated with biodiversity and the widely varying species richness and evenness in the different eukaryotic lineages.

The seismic damage in reinforced concrete bridges is identified in this study using the "M and P" hybrid technique initially developed for planar frames. The proposed methodology involves a series of pushover and instantaneous modal analyses with a progressively increasing target deck displacement along the longitudinal direction of the bridge. From the results of these analyses, the diagram of the instantaneous eigenfrequency of the bridge, ranging from the health state to near collapse, is plotted against the inelastic seismic deck displacement. By pre-determining the eigen-frequency of an existing bridge along its longitudinal direction through "monitoring and frequency identification", the target deck displacement corresponding to the damage state can directly be found from this diagram. Subsequently, the damage can be identified by examining the results of the pushover analysis at the step where the target deck displacement is indicated. The effectiveness of this proposed technique is evaluated in the context of multiple span bridges with unequal pier heights, illustrated through an example of a four-span bridge. The findings demonstrate that the damage potential in bridge piers can be successfully identified by combining the results of a monitoring process and pushover analysis.

In the ground-based infrared optical remote sensing system, the target signal is very weak due to the dynamic strong light background and the movement of small and small targets. In order to improve the limit detection capability, the background suppression and target enhancement methods are required to be more suitable for this scene. To solve this problem, we first analyze the image features in the current scene, and propose a more perfect point target and noise model. Then, we propose a new WY distribution function based on the Fermi Dirac distribution function, and propose an anisotropic filtering method based on this function, and further suppress the back-ground through the difference results of two steps. Then, based on the distribution function, we further designed an energy concentration accumulation strategy in 9 scale directions, through which the SNR of the target is effectively improved and the suppression ability of the background is enhanced. Through quantitative and qualitative experimental analysis, compared with the same type of algorithms, the proposed method has better robustness against extremely weak targets and dynamic backgrounds.

Balanced nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) rates coupling with rational fertilization methodology could promote crop N accumulation, N use efficiency and yield production, particularly in semi-arid and arid regions. To test these characteristics, a two-year (2018 and 2019) pot experiment was therefore performed by growing summer maize in a rain-proof glass greenhouse, under 9 combined N (112, 150 and 187 kg ha-1, urea) and P (45, 60, 75 kg ha-1, calcium superphosphate) rates and three contrasting fertilizer placements. The fertilizers were placed by broadcast on soil surface (Broadcast), side band on 4 cm strip soil surface within 7 cm from sowing line (Side band) and deep band on 4 cm strip below 7 cm soil depth within 7 cm from sowing line (Deep band). Results from three maize growth stages (eight-leaf, 45 days after sowing, DAS; tasseling, 60 DAS; and harvest, 115 DAS) showed that leaf, stem, root N accumulation and total soil N were significantly increased under Deep band than under both Side band and Broadcast at N150P60, N187P60, N150P75 and N187P75, but not at N112P45, N150P45, N187P45, N112P60 and N112P75. Significantly greater leaf, stem, and root N accumulations were also displayed at N150 and N187 than at N112 for the same P60 or P75 under Deep band at 60 DAS and 115 DAS, while were for leaf and stem N accumulations at P75 and P60 than at P45 for the same N150 under Deep band at 45 DAS, 60 DAS and 115 DAS. Significantly greater agronomy N use efficiency, partial factor productivity and N use efficiency exhibited under Deep band than under Side band and Broadcast at N150P75 and N187P75, but at N150P60 and N187P60 for NUE only. In addition, leaf, stem, seed, root N concentrations positively correlated with their own N accumulations or soil N concentration at tasseling and harvest stages. Our results demonstrate that a synchronized N150P60, N187P60, N150P75 or N187P75 fertilization rate with Deep band placement can improve soil N availability and root N uptake, and hereby greater aboveground N accumulation, N use efficiency and yield production of maize particularly practical for small-holder farmers globally.

The efficient generation of high-quality random numbers is essential in the operation of cryptographic modules. The quality of a random number generator is evaluated by the min-entropy of its entropy source. Typical method used to achieve high min-entropy of the output sequence is an entropy accumulation based on a hash function. This is grounded in the famous Leftover Hash Lemma which guarantees a lower bound on the min-entropy of the output sequence. However, the hash function based entropy accumulation has slow speed in general. For a practical perspective we need a new efficient entropy accumulation with the theoretical background for the min-entropy of the output sequence. In this work, we obtain the theoretical bound for the min-entropy of the output random sequence through the very efficient entropy accumulation using only bitwise XOR operations, where the input sequences from the entropy source are independent. Moreover we examine our theoretical results by applying to the quantum random number generator that uses dark noise arising from image sensor pixels as its entropy source.

Liver receptor homolog-1 (LRH-1) has emerged as a regulator of hepatic glucose, bile acid, and mitochondrial metabolism. However, the functional mechanism underlying the effect of LRH-1 on lipid mobilization has not been addressed. This study investigated the regulatory function of LRH-1 in lipid metabolism during fasting. The wild-type (WT) and LRH-1 liver-specific knockout (LKO) mice were either fed or fasted for 24 h, and the liver and serum were isolated. During fasting, the LRH-1 LKO mice showed greater accumulation of triglycerides in the liver compared to that in WT mice. Interestingly, LRH-1 LKO liver decreased the perilipin 5 (PLIN5) expression and genes involved in β-oxidation. Additionally, the LRH-1 agonist dialauroylphosphatidylcholine also enhanced PLIN5 expression in human cultured HepG2 cells. To identify new target genes of LRH-1, these findings directed to analyze the PLIN5 promoter sequence, which revealed −1620/−1614 to be a putative binding site for LRH-1. This was confirmed by promoter activity and chromatin immuno-precipitation assays. Moreover, fasted WT primary hepatocytes showed increased co-localization of PLIN5 in lipid droplets (LDs) compared to that in fasted LRH-1 LKO primary hepatocytes. Overall, these findings suggest that PLIN5 might be a novel target of LRH-1 to mobilize LDs and manage the cellular needs.

Based on the geologic conditions of natural gas hydrate (NGH) accumulations in the Shenhu area, northern slope of the South China Sea, this paper used a method of combining reservoir stimulation technique (RST) with depressurization to investigate the conversion efficiency of marine NGH reservoirs in different intrinsic permeability and initial NGH saturation conditions, and analyze the influence of variably-stimulation effect on marine NGH conversion efficiency in different accumulation conditions, provided a reference scheme for improving the NGH conversion efficiency in the Shenhu area. In this work, we performed calculations for the variations in CH4 production rate and cumulative volume of CH4 in different initial NGH saturation, intrinsic permeability and stimulation effect conditions, variance analysis and range analysis methods were used to analyze the significance of these key factors and their interaction, and investigated the sensitivity of stimulation effect on NGH conversion efficiency, respectively. The simulation results showed that stimulation effect have a significant influence on NGH conversion efficiency, and the influence of interaction between these three factors were not obvious. Possibly most important, we clarified an optimum stimulation effect for higher NGH conversion efficiency under different accumulation conditions, especially in low-permeability and high-saturation, which corresponding stimulation effect were different.

To investigate the differences in cadium (Cd) uptake and translocation among edible rapes and select suitable rape varieties for safe production, a field experiment was carried out with 25 varieties of edible rapes on a farmland polluted with Cd in the central souothern part of Hunan Province. The growing characteristics and Cd contents in rape tissues were measured, and the amount of Cd removed was calculated. The results showed that the growth of 25 rape varieties was not inhibited without withering or inconsistent changes in leaf and so on. The Cd contents in stem-leaf and root of rapes were in the range 0.05-0.26mg·kg-1 and 0.04-0.26mg·kg-1, respectively. Basing on BCF, the stem-leaf showed a greater capacity for Cd transport than root. And the total Cd removed by rape were 0.002-0.016 mg·plant-1. Except for plant height, BCF of soil available Cd from soil to stem-leaf, TCF of Cd from root to stem-leaf and Cd taken away by rape, there was no significant difference among edible rape varieties. Although Cd contents in stem-leaf of 25 rape varieties does not exceed the national safety standards, planting “Lvjin 1”, “Guanyou Qingjing” and “Guanyou brassica” not only reduced soil pollution but also allowed the production of safe leafy rape.

Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) causes severe inflammation and airway pathology in children and the elderly by infecting the epithelial cells of the upper and lower respiratory tract. RSV replication is sensed by intracellular pattern recognition receptors upstream of the IRF and NF-B transcription factors. These proteins coordinate an innate inflammatory response via Bromodomain containing protein 4 (BRD4), a protein that functions as a scaffold for unknown transcriptional regulators. To better understand the pleiotropic regulatory function of BRD4, we examine the BRD4 interactome and identify how RSV infection dynamically alters it. To accomplish these goals, we leverage native immunoprecipitation and Parallel Accumulation – Serial Fragmentation (PASEF) mass spectrometry to examine BRD4 complexes isolated from human alveolar epithelial cells in the absence or presence of RSV infection. In addition, we explore the role of BRD4’s acetyl-lysine binding bromodomains in mediating these interactions by using a highly selective competitive bromodomain inhibitor. We identify 101 proteins that are significantly enriched in the BRD4 complex and are responsive to both RSV-infection and BRD4 inhibition. These proteins are highly enriched in transcription factors and transcriptional coactivators. Among them, we identify members of the AP1 transcription factor complex, a complex important in innate signaling and cell stress responses. We independently confirm the BRD4/AP1 interaction in primary human small airway epithelial cells. We conclude that BRD4 recruits multiple transcription factors during RSV infection in a manner dependent on acetyl-lysine binding domain interactions. This data suggests that BRD4 recruits transcription factors to target its RNA processing complex to regulate gene expression in innate immunity and inflammation.

Rapid lignification occurring in the endocarp of dove tree results in the formation of a rigid and compact structure, which seriously hinders seed germination. A gene named DiCCoAOMT1, which encodes a hyperactive O-methyltransferase, was identified and thought to play a critical role in the process of endocarp lignification. In this study, the DiCCoAOMT1 gene was introduced into A. thaliana and poplar, respectively, to further verify its function. The lignin content was increased by 45% and 20% in the stems of transgenic A. thaliana and poplar lines, respectively. There was a positive correlation between the expression levels of DiCCoAOMT1 and lignin amount in transgenic lines. Furthermore, the shifts of lignin composition was indicated by the elevated S/G ratio in transgenic poplar lines. Lignin accumulation was promoted specifically in the phloem cells, and the cells in secondary xylem was thickened in transgenic plants. In addition, lengthened pods and elevated plant height, and elongated petioles and internodes were observed in transgenic A. thaliana and poplar lines, respectively. Taken together, our data indicated that an endocarp-specific DiCCoAOMT1 gene could effectively increase lignin accumulation and alter lignin composition in both herbs and woody plants, which provides new insights to understand the regulatory mechanism of lignin biosynthesis and the biological significance of lignification in specific tissues.

Dunaliella salina is a rich source of 9-cis β-carotene, which has been identified as important in the treatment of retinal dystrophies and other diseases. We previously showed that chlorophyll absorption of red light photons in D. salina is coupled to oxygen reduction and phytoene desaturation and increases the pool size of β-carotene [1]. Here we show for the first time that growth under red light also controls conversion of extant all-trans β-carotene to 9-cis β-carotene by β-carotene isomerases. Cells illuminated with red light from a light emitting diode (LED) during cultivation contained a higher 9-cis β-carotene content compared to cells illuminated with white or blue LED light. The 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio in red light treated cultures reached >2.5:1 within 48 hours and was independent of light intensity. Illumination using red light filters that eliminated blue wavelength light also increased the 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio. With norflurazon, a phytoene desaturase inhibitor which blocked downstream biosynthesis of β-carotene, extant all-trans β-carotene was converted to 9-cis β-carotene during growth with red light and the 9-cis/all-trans β-carotene ratio was ~2:1. With blue light under the same conditions, 9-cis β-carotene was likely destroyed at a greater rate than all-trans β-carotene (9-cis/all-trans ratio 0.5:1). Red light perception by the red light photoreceptor, phytochrome, may increase the pool size of anti-oxidant, specifically 9-cis β-carotene, both by upregulating phytoene synthase to increase the rate of biosynthesis of β-carotene and to reduce the rate of formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and by upregulating β-carotene isomerases to convert extant all-trans β-carotene to 9-cis β-carotene.

Forest vegetation plays a key role in the cycling of mercury (Hg) and organic matter (OM) in terrestrial ecosystems. Litterfall has been indicated as the major transport vector of atmospheric Hg to forest soils, which is eventually transported and stored in the sediments of forest lakes. Hence, it is important to understand how changes in forest vegetation affect Hg in soil and its biogeochemical cycling in lake systems. We investigated the pollen records and the geochemical compositions of sediments from two lakes (Schurmsee and Glaswaldsee) in the Black Forest (Germany) to evaluate whether long-term shifts in forest vegetation induced by climate or land use influenced Hg accumulation in the lakes. We were particularly interested to determine whether coniferous forests were associated with a larger export of Hg to aquatic systems than deciduous forests. Principal components analysis followed by principal component regression enabled us to describe the evolution of the weight of the latent processes determining the accumulation of Hg over time. Our results emphasize that the in-lake uptake of Hg during warm climate periods, soil erosion after deforestation and emissions from mining and other human activities triggered changes in Hg accumulation during the Holocene stronger than the changes caused by forest vegetation alone.

Plants endogenous hormones play an important role in resistance to soil lead (Pb) contamination. In order to explore the response of plant hormones to Pb stress, pot experiment was conducted to analysis the hormones contents, related gene expressions and Pb accumulation of Arabis alpina under Pb treatment and transporter (CAX(cation exchangers), HMA(heavy metal ATPase) and ABC(ATP-binding cassette transporter)) activities under foliage spraying auxin (IAA). The results showed that contents of total Pb and soluble components Pb (vacuoles) in roots and leaves of Arabis alpina increased with increase of Pb treatment concentrations. Compering to 100 mg·kg-1 Pb2+ treatment, Pb contents in soluble components of roots and leaves under 300 mg·kg-1 Pb2+ treatment increased by 896.3% and 238.8%, respectively. The contents of endogenous hormones in leaves and roots increased under Pb treatment concentrations. Comparing to control (0 mg·kg-1 Pb2+ treatment), contents of auxin in roots and leaves under 100 mg∙kg-1 Pb treatment increased by 176.19% and 585.29%, respectively. Auxin contents in xylem saps under 100 and 300 mg∙kg-1 Pb treatments increased by 283.14% and 100.30%, respectively. Gene expression related to auxin transport was up-adjusted. The expressions of three gene related to auxin-repressed 12.5 kDa protein and auxin-responsive GH3 family were down-adjusted. Under foliage spraying IAA, Pb contents in leaves increased by 29.81% and Pb content in symplast sap was higher than that with non spraying IAA treatment. The activities of CAX and HMA in roots of A. alpina increased by 9.62% and 8.79% with foliage spraying IAA treatment, while activity of ABC decreased by 21.94%. In general, contents of auxin and related genes expressions of A. alpina increased under Pb treatment, which enhanced activities of CAX and HMA resulting in Pb translocation through symplast pathway.

Black horehound (Ballota nigra L.) is one of the important medicinal plants, which is a rich source of health-promoting essential oils. Salinity stress affects plant development and alters the quality and quantity of plants extracts and their composition. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of salinity on morphological, physiological characteristics, and secondary metabolites of B. nigra under greenhouse, and in vitro culture conditions. The plants were treated with different concentrations of NaCl (25, 50, 75, 100 mM) and fresh and dry weight of leaf and stem were measured as well as morphological characteristics of the plant. Plant growth was reduced with the increased salinity concentrations. The results showed that all growth-related traits and SPAD were decreased both in vivo and in vitro. Additionally, increased salt concentration affected the cell membrane integrity. Total phenolics content of plants growing in the greenhouse, increased by 21% at 50 mM NaCl, but at higher stress levels (100 mM NaCl), the amounts were decreased significantly. Total flavonoids contents followed similar patterns, with a slight difference. In addition, the maximum and minimum total phenolics contents of plants growing under in vitro condition were observed at 50 mM NaCl and control treatments, respectively. Increasing the salt concentration significantly affected the total flavonoids content, and as a result, the highest amount was observed in 50 and 75 mM NaCl treatments. Antioxidant activity was also measured. Among the NaCl treatments, the highest DPPH scavenging activities (IC50) under greenhouse and in vitro conditions were detected at 50 mM and 25 mM concentrations, respectively. In general, based on the results, with increasing the salinity level to 75 mM, the activities of CAT and APX were significantly upregulated in both greenhouse and in vitro culture conditions. A correlation between total phenolics and flavonoids contents as well as antioxidant activity were obtained. With shifting salinity stress, the type and the amount of the identified essential oil compounds changed. Compounds such as styrene, tridecanol, germacrene-D, beta-Ionone, beta-bisabolene, and caryophyllene oxide increased compared to the controlled treatment.

The natural frequency of buildings decreases during a strong-motion earthquake, and the structure loses its stiffness. As a result, understanding the damaging process in the structure owing to changes in structural properties is critical during a seismic excitation. The time-frequency technique can detect the damaged building’s time-varying frequency contents. Wigner distributions (WD), Wigner-Ville distributions (WVD), pseudo-Wigner-Ville distributions (PWVD), smoothed pseudo-Wigner-Ville distributions (SPWVD), and synchrosqueezing transforms (SST) have all become popular in recent years for a variety of earthquake engineering applications, including building damage detection. This study proposes the local maximum synchrosqueezing transform (LMSST) for detecting frequency shifts in buildings during strong earthquakes. The data presented in the research show that the suggested method outperforms as compared to the conventional time-frequency methods for detecting frequency shifting in earthquake-damaged structures.

Damage in concrete structures initiates as the growth of diffuse microcracks that is followed by damage localisation and eventually leads to structural failure. Weak changes such as diffuse microcracking processes are failure precursors. Identification and characterisation of these failure precursors at an early stage of concrete degradation and application of suitable precautionary measures will considerably reduce the costs of repair and maintenance. To this end, a reduced order multiscale model for simulating microcracking-induced damage in concrete at the mesoscale levelis proposed. The model simulates the propagation of microcracks in concrete using a two-scale computational methodology. First, a realistic concrete specimen that explicitly resolves the coarse aggregates in a mortar matrix was generated at the mesoscale. Microcrack growth in the mortar matrix is modelled using a synthesis of continuum micromechanics and fracture mechanics. Model order reduction of the two-scale model is achieved using clustering technique. Model predictions are calibrated and validated using uniaxial compression tests performed in the laboratory.

The use of high strength to weight ratio laminated composites is emerging in marine industry and applications as a very efficient solution for improving productivity. Nevertheless, delamination between the layers is a limiting factor for the wider application of laminated composites, as it reduces the stiffness and strengths of the structure. Interleaving nanofibrous mats between layers of composite laminates has been proved to be an effective method for improving composites delamination resistance. This paper aims to characterize the effect of interleaved nanofiber on mode I interlaminar properties and failure mechanisms when subjected to static and fatigue loadings. For this purpose, virgin and nanomodified woven laminates were subjected to Double Cantilever Beam (DCB) specimens. Static and fatigue tests were performed and the tests were monitored by acoustic emission technique. The mechanical results showed a 130% increase of delamination toughness for nanomodified specimens in the static loadings and more crack growth resistance in the fatigue loading. The AE results revealed that different type of failure mechanisms was the cause of these improvements for the modified specimens compared with the virgin ones.

Alcohol abuse can result in detrimental multisystem effects. Chronic alcohol abuse is known to be associated with pathophysiological changes in multiple organs often resulting in life threatening clinical outcomes e.g. breast and colon cancer, pancreatic disease, cirrhosis of the liver, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, kidney disease, immune system dysfunction, hypertension, coronary artery disease, alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy and heart failure as well as central nervous system disorders. In this review article, we will discuss the multisystemic effects of alcohol abuse and explore in greater detail alcohol’s impact on two main systems that result in pathophysiological changes i.e. the cardiovascular and central nervous systems.

Forensic anthropologists play a key role in skeletal trauma analysis and commonly use macroscopic features to distinguish between trauma types. However, this approach can be challenging, particularly in cases of highly comminuted or incompletely recovered fractures. Histological analysis of microscopic fracture characteristics in fractured bones may thus help provide additional information on trauma type and bone fracture biomechanics in general. This study analysed the extent of microcrack damage to osteons in long bones with blunt force trauma (BFT) and gunshot trauma (GST), from both traumatic death cases and post-mortem experimental fractures. We identified four types of osteonal damage (OD). In traumatic death cases, OD affecting the inside of the osteon and compromising the Haversian canal (type 1) was found to be indicative of BFT. Moreover, OD affecting the cement line (type 3) and interstitial lamellae (type 4) was more common in the GST samples. OD affecting the inside of the osteon without compromising the Haversian canal (type 2) was not found to be indicative of either trauma type. In cases of experimental fractures, our study revealed that post-mortem fractures in dry bone samples featured the highest amount of OD, particularly of type 4. This study also found that the experimentally produced GST featured similar OD pattern to GST death cases. These findings support our hypothesis that there are distinct osteonal damage patterns in human long bones with BFT and GST, which are of relevant value for trauma analysis in forensic anthropology.

In this study, an experiment was conducted on hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii), which is a common tree species in Taiwan. Holes with diameters of 4, 5, 7, 10, 12, and 14 cm were drilled in dry hoop pine timber with a diameter of 39 cm and a height of 57 cm, and an 800 MHz Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) antenna were used to determine the minimum image resolution and the size of the holes in the wood. GPR images of the timber were subjected to a filtering process to obtain characteristic reflection curves of the damage to the timber. Curves with clear waveforms were observed in the GPR profiles of eccentric holes with a diameter of 4 cm. Profiles of the damage were obtained and profile images with the trunk radius at the centre were transformed into polar coordinate images. From these polar coordinate images, the location, size and diameter of the eccentric holes in the wood were identified, and the reflection curves were characterised by waveforms and irregular fluctuations. The risk levels of tree trunks were determined on the basis of their t/R (minimum normal wall thickness of the cross-section of the trunk/radius of the trunk) values and hole area ratios. A comparison between the GPR-based results and the actual diameters of the holes revealed that the filtered GPR profiles could be used for the efficient and accurate assessment of damage to hoop pine timber (average error rate ≤ 4%).

Imbalance in the oxidative status in neurons, along with mitochondrial damage, are common characteristics in some neurodegenerative diseases. The maintenance in energy production is crucial to face and recover from the oxidative damage and the coexistence of different sources of energy production, such as mitochondrial and glycolytic ATP, allows faster adaptative mechanisms to situations of high energy demand and may help in the maintenance of neuronal function in stress situations. Fingolimod phosphate is a drug with neuroprotective and antioxidant actions, used in the treatment of Multiple Sclerosis. This work has been performed in a model of oxidative damage on neuronal cell cultures exposed to menadione, in presence or absence of fingolimod phosphate. We have studied the mitochondrial function and several pathways related with glucose metabolism, including oxidative, glycolytic and pentose phosphate in neuronal cells cultures. Our results showed a beneficial effect on neuronal survival probably based in the recovery of all, oxidative balance, glycolysis and pentose phosphate, promoted by fingolimod phosphate. These effects are mediated, at least in part by the interaction with its specific receptor. These actions would make this drug a potential tool to the treatment of neurodegenerative processes, either to slow progression or alleviate symptoms.

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAF) form the basis of tumor microenvironment and possess immunomodulatory functions by interacting with other cells surrounding tumor, including T lymphocytes, macrophages, dendritic cells and natural killer cells. Ionizing radiation is a broadly-used method in radiotherapy to target tumors. In mammalian cells, ionizing radiation induces various types of DNA damages and DNA damage response. Being unspecific, radiotherapy affects all the cells in tumor microenvironment, including the tumor itself, CAFs and immune cells. CAFs are extremely radio-resistant and do not initiate apoptosis even at high doses of radiation. However, following radiation, CAFs become senescent and produce a distinct combination of immunoregulatory molecules. Radiosensitivity of immune cells varies depending on the cell type due to inefficient DNA repair in, for example, monocytes and granulocytes. In this minireview, we are summarizing recent findings on the interaction between CAF, ionizing radiation and immune cells in the tumor microenvironment.

We analyze damage propagation modeling of turbo-engines in a data-driven approach. We investigate subspace tracking assuming a low dimensional manifold structure and a static behavior during the healthy state of the machines. Our damage propagation model is based on the deviation of the data from the static behavior and uses the notion of health index as a measure of the condition. Hence, we incorporate condition-based maintenance and estimate the remaining useful life based on the current and previous health indexes. This paper proposes an algorithm that adapts well to the dynamics of the data and underlying system, and reduces the computational complexity by utilizing the low dimensional manifold structure of the data. A significant performance improvement is demonstrated over existing methods by using the proposed algorithm on CMAPSS Turbo-engine datasets.

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

The era of Internet of Things (IoT) has begun to evolve and with this the devices around us are getting more and more connected. Vehicular Ad-hoc NETworks (VANETs) is one of the applications of IoT. VANET allow vehicles within these networks to communicate effectively with each another. VANETs can provide an extensive range of applications that support and enhance passenger safety and comfort. It is important that VANETs are applied within a safe and reliable network topology; however, the challenging nature of reaching reliable and trustworthy agreement in such distributed systems is one of the most important issues in designing a fault-tolerant system. Therefore, protocols are required so that systems can still be correctly executed, reaching agreement on the same values in a distributed system, even if certain components in the system fail. In this study, the agreement problem is revisited in a VANET with multiple damages. The proposed protocol allows all fault-free nodes (vehicles) to reach agreement with minimal rounds of message exchanges, and tolerates the maximal number of allowable faulty components in the VANET.

Vigina radiata (Mung bean) is an important legume species belongs to the family Fabaceae, cultivated in varies region of Ethiopia for its nutritional values. The nutritional composition of the crop affected by different biotic and environmental stress which depends on growth environment. The aim of the present study was to determine the concentrations of selected heavy metals (Pb, Cu and Cr) in seed of mung bean collected from Shewarobit, Northcentral Ethiopia using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES). Acid digestion with HCl, HNO3 and HClO4 for 1hr at temperature of 90oC to 95oC by hot plate digester. The level of the heavy metals in the samples were 2.51 mg/L, Pb; 6.53 mg/L, Cu; and 0.38 mg/L, Cr respectively. The concentration of copper (Cu) in the seed of mung bean was higher than the other target metals (Pb and Cr) whereas, Cr occurred in least concentration. The overall accuracy of the method obtained from spiking experiment (recovery) was within the range 80 to 120%, which accounts 115.75%, 97.5%, 101.17% for Pb Cr and Cu respectively. Notably, these results indicating the reliability and applicability of the procedure for extraction of studied metals. The concentration of heavy metals in edible seed of mungbean is low as compared to WHO/FAO recommendation and absolutely safe for consumption in the study area. Thus, producer should follow similar agroecological managements of the crop production to maintain heavy metal concentration of such in the crop.

The specific role of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) in hepatic triglyceride (TG) accumulation in alcoholic fatty liver disease (AFLD) were unclear. Poly ADP ribose polymerase (PARP) is a NAD-consuming enzyme and its specific role in the pathogenesis of AFLD is still elusive. In current investigation, we found that chronic alcohol exposure enhanced hepatic PARP expression and activity and lowered hepatic NAD⁺ level. PARP activity inhibitor PJ34 decreased the intracellular TG content in hepatocyte. Moreover, PJ34 suppressed the gene expression of DGAT1 and DGAT2 and elevated the intracellular NAD⁺ level in hepatocyte. These mechanistic observation was validated in alcohol-fed mice injected with PJ34 intraperitoneally. PJ34 injection attenuated hepatic TG accumulation in alcohol-fed mice. Further, the gene expression of hepatic SERBP-1c, DGAT1 and DGAT2 were lowered by PJ34 injection, while the hepatic NAD⁺ level was augmented by PJ34 injection in alcohol-fed mice. At last, the nicotinamide riboside supplementation alleviated hepatic TG accumulation in alcohol-fed mice. These data indicate that applying PARP specific inhibitor PJ34 by intraperitoneal injection attenuated hepatic NAD⁺ depletion and TG accumulation in alcohol-fed mice, which might be a potential candidate for AFLD therapy.

The lengthy maturation period is the key cause of the reduced hot pepper market value. An experiment was performed to assess the effects of R/B/W light qualities on reducing the maturation period. The maturation period was shortened by 16 days under 4R:1B:5W compared to the control. The appearance of the first flower is a limiting factor affecting the maturation period. It exhibited a dark purple color and an abnormal petal under 4R:1B:5W compared to the control, which was associated with increased contents of flavonoids, total organic acids, and phenolics and decreased total amino acid and carbohydrate contents. Plant hormone, flavonoid, ABC transporters, key metabolites (such as amino acid, carbohydrate, organic acid) was associated with first flower development. Ethylene response factors (ERFs) mediated by light, especially ERF021, were identified as potential hub regulators during the development of the first flower due to their involvement in all the associated metabolic pathways.

We studied peat stratigraphy at the Mukhrino peatland, which is a typical ombrotrophic bog for the middle taiga zone of Western Siberia, to gain insights about its history, hydrology and carbon fluxes. Seven cores were collected from locations chosen to represent the typical present-day vegetation types, for dating of separated dissolved (DOC) and particulate (POC) organic carbon fractions using the Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) radiocarbon ($^{14}$C) method. The oldest peat was found at the bottoms of an underlying lake (10,053 cal. year BP) and an ancient riverbed (10,989 cal. year BP). For the whole history of the peatland the average peat accumulation rate was estimated to be 0.067±0.018 cm yr-1 (0.013-0.332 cm yr-1) and the carbon accumulation rate was 38.56±12.21 g m-2yr-1 (28.46–57.91 g m-2 yr-1). There were clear age differences between the separated samples of DOC and POC. DOC was older than POC in the uppermost 150 cm of the peat deposit, and younger in the deeper layers. The difference in age increased with depth, reaching 2,000–3,000 years at the bottom of the peat deposit (depth 430--530 cm). Following consideration of a range of factors that could potentially cause the dating discrepancy, we hypothesised that DOC continuously moves down into the mineral sediment beneath the peat, as an additional carbon flux that results in mixing of younger and older carbon. On this basis we estimated the apparent rate of DOC downward movement and the associated rate of carbon loss. The first estimate of the average rate of DOC downward movement in Western Siberia is 0.047±0.019 cm yr-1.