Objective: To determine the effect of sandblasting before and after sintering on the surface roughness of zirconia and the micro-tensile bond strength of a pressable veneering ceramic to zirconia. Methods: Pre-sintered zirconia blocks (IPS e.max ZirCAD, Ivoclar Vivadent) were divided into a control group (CTR, no surface treatment) and four test groups of three specimens each: Pre-S-30, Pre-S-50, Pre-S-110 were sandblasted with 30µm SiO2, 50µm Al2O3 and 110µm Al2O3 particles respectively, before sintering, Post-S-30 was sandblasted with 30µm SiO2 after sintering. For each treatment, the surface roughness was measured (Ra, Perthometer M4P, Mahr Perthen). After sintering the zirconia blocks, a liner and a pressable ceramic (IPS e.max ZirPress, Ivoclar Vivadent) were fired. Sixteen micro-bars were obtained from each block and submitted to the micro-tensile bond strength (µTBS) test. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA. Any correlation between Ra and µTBS was evaluated (Sperman test). Results: Sandblasting before sintering with 110µm Al2O3 (Ra=3.44±0.44µm), 50µm Al2O3 (Ra=2.32±0.46µm), and 30µm SiO2 (Ra=1.22±0.22µm) resulted in significantly higher roughness than sandblasting after sintering with 30µm SiO2 (Ra=0.46±0.11µm). The highest µTBS was measured when the sintered zirconia was sandblasted with 30μm SiO2 (26.79±14.80 MPa), which was significantly different from that of specimens that were sandblasted before sintering (Pre-S-30=20.90±11.70; Pre-S-50=21.27±15.19; Pre-S-110=23.99±16.83) or were not treated (CTR=17.44±14.03). Conclusions: Sandblasting zirconia before sintering enhances the surface roughness proportionally to the particle size of the sand used. Sandblasting with 30µm SiO2 after sintering appeared to improve bonding between the veneering ceramic and zirconia. Clinical Significance: Sandblasting with 30µm SiO2 after sintering may improve bonding between veneering ceramics and zirconia, thus reducing ceramic fractures/chippings.

Analyses of the three predominant types of sedimentation – clastic, carbonate and black shale – revealed their discontinuity/continuity in different facies environments of the Middle and Late Devonian of the central part of the Volga-Urals petroleum province, namely (1) in depressions, both condensed and non-condensed, (2) on the slopes of depressions and (3) in shallow water environments represented by tectonic arches or localised biohermal uplifts. The regional zonation of conodonts, correlated with the global chronostratigraphic scheme, substantiates the stratigraphic completeness of the general Devonian sequence in this area. In particular, the sedimentation of organic-rich black shales, traditionally considered as source rocks, lasted more than 29 million years, starting from the Late Eifel and ending at the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary. There was only one hiatus in the deposition of both black shales and carbonate sediments, lasting about 2.5 million years at the end of the Frasnian. That interval is dominated by clastic sediments, which are considered to be the most productive reservoirs of the Volga-Ural province. In the time interval from the beginning of the Eifel to the end of the Frasnian (about 17 Ma), (a) clastic sediments show the highest accumulation rates; (b) the most complete sequences occur in depressions; and (c) arches and uplifts show the most significant gaps in the geological record. During Famennian, (a) clastic sedimentation has completely ceased; (b) differences between the slopes of troughs and shallow-water environments have diminished, resulting in stable accumulation of carbonate sediments in both settings; (c) the decrease in sequence thickness (up to 50 m) in depressions suggests reduced accumulation rates of deep-water organic-rich black shales. The results help to understand the complex spatial relationship between different coexisting sedimentation types and focus attention to the incompleteness of the geological record in different environments.

In this study, we investigated the features of co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and nonpathogenic strain LEV8 of coxsackievirus A7 or enterovirus A71 for Vero E6 cells and Syrian hamsters. The investigation of co-infection with SARS-СoV-2 and LEV-8 or EV-A71 in the cell model was shown that a competitive inhibitory effect for these viruses were especially significant against SARS-CoV-2. Pre-infection with enteroviruses in animals caused more than a 100-fold decrease in the levels of SARS-CoV-2 virus replication in the respiratory tracts and more rapid clearance of the lower respiratory tract from infectious SARS-CoV-2. Co-infection with SARS-CoV-2 and LEV-8 or EV-A71 also reduced the severity of clinical manifestations of the SARS-CoV-2 infection for animals. Additionally, the histological data illustrated that co-infection with nonpathogenic coxsackievirus decreased the level of pathological changes by SARS-CoV-2 in the lungs. Research into the chemokine/cytokine profile demonstrated that the studied enteroviruses efficiently triggered this part of antiviral immune response, which can be associated with significant inhibition of SARS-CoV-2 infection. These results demonstrate that there exists a strong viral interference between the studied nonpathogenic strain of coxsackievirus A7 or enteroviruses A71 and SARS-CoV-2 pathogenic for humans in vitro and in vivo.

The Giant Babax, an endemic bird in China and a nationally protected wildlife species of Class Ⅱ, is primarily distributed in southern and southeastern Tibet. To investigate the factors influencing nesting site selection, this study conducted research on nest characteristics and nesting site preferences at four sample sites around Lhasa from March to October 2023y, using systematic search methods, tracking methods, and sampling methods. The research findings are as follows: (1) The average nest depth was (7.70±1.47)cm, nest height was (19.58±2.97)cm, inner diameter was (10.64±1.73)cm, outer diameter was (24.65±4.8)cm, average weight was (162.3±13.5)g, and average nest spacing within the plot was 396.93m. (2) The nests of Giant Babax were predominantly found on vegetation such as Salix longistamina (38%), Hippophae gyantsensis (20%), Rosa sericea Lindl. (14%), and Populus szechuanica Schneid(11%). They showed a preference for artificial secondary forests as nesting sites. (3) Giant Babax exhibited a preference for habitats with robust trees that had high canopies while being distant from houses and roads, but close to water sources; moreover, the canopy of the nesting tree played a crucial role in their choice of nesting sites. (4) The reproductive success rate reached 76%, with key factors affecting it being the canopy coverage of the nesting tree and the number of helpers. These research results provide fundamental data support for population conservation efforts and ecological resource management strategies concerning the Giant Babax.

Pedestrian Dead Reckoning (PDR) is a promising algorithm for indoor positioning. However, the accuracy of PDR degrades due to the accumulated error, especially in multi-floor buildings. This paper introduces a three-dimensional (3D) positioning method based on terrain feature matching to reduce the influence of accumulated error in multi-floor scene. The proposed method involves two steps: motion pattern recognition and position matching calibration. The motion pattern recognition aims to detect different motion states, i.e., taking the stairs or horizontal walking, from the streaming data. Then, stair entrances and corridor corners are matched with transition points of motion states and pedestrian turning points, respectively. After matching, calibration is performed to eliminate the accumulated errors. By carrying out experiments on a two-floor closed-loop path with a walking distance about 145 m, it is shown that this method can effectively reduce the accumulated error of PDR , achieving accurate 3D positioning . The average error is reduced from 6.60 m to 1.83 m.

Safe water is a global public health concern amid increasing scarcity and pollution. Bottled water production and consumption contribute to these problems. This study examines tap water consumption in Italy, assessing associated sociodemographic factors and related health outcomes such as obesity and self-perceived health status. Data from the Italian National Statistics Institute's "Aspects of daily life" survey (N=45,597) were analyzed. Covariates included education, age, gender, economic status, region, concerns about waste and climate change, consumption of carbonated drinks excluding water, alcohol consumption, consumption of vegetables, consumption of snacks, body mass index, and self-perceived health status. Bivariate analyses and mixed-effect logistic regression models explored the associations. People who drink tap water were 19,674 with a higher prevalence in people aged 45 to 59 old, people with a graduate/post-graduate degree diploma, with optimal economic resources, and concerned about waste production and climate change, coming from the North-East regions of Italy. Underweight people showed a higher prevalence of TW assumption as well as those who drink less than occasionally carbonated drinks, drink alcohol, consume vegetables more than once a day, and snacks less than once a week with a satisfying level perceived health status. Regressions showed that all age classes are less likely to drink tap water than people younger than 20 years old. The category with “inadequate” economic resources is more likely to consume tap water. Low educational classes show a low likelihood of consuming tap water as well as Islands. A concern about waste production and climate change is associated with an increased likelihood of assuming tap water. Tap water consumption was negatively associate with obesity but not with a satisfactory Self-perceived health status. Insights from this study can inform public health strategies.

During pregnancy, profound physiological changes occur in the maternal body, including those affecting oral health. Dental stem cells (DSCs) have emerged as promising candidates for regenerative therapies in dentistry. This manuscript delves into the intricate interplay between DSC behavior and maternal oral health during pregnancy. We provide an overview of current knowledge concerning the impact of pregnancy on DSCs, highlighting their potential roles in maintaining oral homeostasis and responding to pathological conditions. Additionally, we identify key research gaps and propose future directions for investigating novel therapeutic strategies leveraging DSCs to improve maternal and fetal oral health outcomes. By elucidating this relationship, we aim to pave the way for innovative approaches in preventive and regenerative dentistry tailored to the unique needs of pregnant women.

One of the tools for optimal crop production is regular monitoring and assessment of crops. During the growing season of fruit trees, the bloom period has increased photosynthetic rates that correlate with the fruiting process. This paper presents the development of an image processing algorithm to detect peach blossoms on trees. Images of an experimental peach orchard were acquired from the Parma Research and Extension Center of the University of Idaho using an off-the-shelf unmanned aerial system (UAS), equipped with a multispectral camera (Near-infrared, Green, Blue). The orchard has different stone fruit varieties and different plant training system. Individual tree images (high-resolution) and arrays of trees images (low-resolution) were acquired to evaluate the detection capability. The image processing algorithm was based on different vegetation indices. Initial results showed that the image processing algorithm could detect peach blossoms and demonstrate good potential as a monitoring tool for orchard management.

Diacylglycerol kinase (DGK) is a lipid kinase that phosphorylates diacylglycerol (DAG) to generate phosphatidic acid (PA). Based on converting one important signaling molecule (DAG) to another (PA), DGK plays an important role in plant responses to abiotic stress including waterlogging stress. However, no studies have been reported on the characterization of the DGK gene family in the waterlogging-tolerant kiwifruit germplasm, Actinidia valvata Dunn. Here, we identified 18 AvDGK genes in the A. valvata genome. The phylogenetic analysis showed that AvDGKs can be classified into three clusters, and members within the same cluster have similar domain distribution, exon-intron structures and conserved motif compositions. Chromosome localization analysis revealed that all the AvDGK genes are located across 18 different chromosomes. There were 29 duplicated gene pairs in kiwifruit and all had undergone purifying selection during evolution. Promoter cis-element analysis revealed that the cis-elements within AvDGK genes are associated with multiple functions, including phytohormone signal transduction, stress response, and plant growth and development. The expression pattern analyses indicated that AvDGK play an important role in the fruit development and plant response to waterlogging stress. AvDGKs gene family in the tetraploid A. valvata genome might promote PA synthesis and subsequent signal transduction both under short-term and long-term waterlogging stress. These results provide information regarding the structural characteristics and potential function of DGK genes within kiwifruit and lay a fundamental basis for further research into breeding for enhancing the kiwifruit’s tolerance to waterlogging stress.

Objective: The study aimed to characterize the changing landscape of circulating SARS-CoV-2 lineages in the local community of Hong Kong throughout 2022. We examined how adjustments to quarantine arrangements influenced the transmission pattern of Omicron variants in a city with relatively rigorous social distancing measures at that time. Methods: In 2022, a total of 4,684 local SARS-CoV-2 genomes were sequenced using the Oxford Nanopore GridION sequencer. SARS-CoV-2 consensus genomes were generated by MAFFT, and the maximum likelihood phylogeny of these genomes were determined using IQ-TREE. The dynamic changes in lineages were depicted in a time tree created by Nextstrain. Statistical analysis was conducted to assess the correlation between changes in the number of lineages and adjustments to quarantine arrangements. Results: By the end of 2022, a total of 83 SARS-CoV-2 lineages were identified in the community. The increase in the number of new lineages was significantly associated with the relaxation of quarantine arrangements (One-way ANOVA, F(5,47)=18.233, p<0.001)). Over time, Omicron BA.5 sub-lineages replaced BA.2.2 and became the predominant Omicron variants in Hong Kong. The influx of new lineages reshaped the dynamics of Omicron variants in the community without fluctuating the death rate and hospitalization rate (One-way ANOVA, F(5,47)=2.037, p=0.091). Conclusion: The study revealed that even with an extended mandatory quarantine period for incoming travelers, it may not be feasible to completely prevent the introduction and subsequent community spread of highly contagious Omicron variants. Ongoing molecular surveillance of COVID-19 remains essential to monitor the emergence of new recombinant variants.

Panax notoginseng is a traditional Chinese medicine, and saponins are its main active ingredients. The content of saponins in flower of P. notoginseng is the highest in the whole plant. Minor ginsenosides have stronger pharmacological activity than main ginsenosides, but its content in nature is very low. We can use extracted total saponins from P. notoginseng flower as the substrate to produce minor ginsenosides by biotransformation method. In this study, we used the fungus Talaromyces flavus and its crude enzymes to transform the extracted total saponins of P. notoginseng flower. Through the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the transformation substrates and products, it was found that minor ginsenosides Gyp-XVII, ginsenosides C-Mc1, C-Mx1, F2, Rg3, 20(R)-Rg3, Rk1 and Rg5 were found in the products and the conversion rate of the major saponins in P. notoginseng flower ranged from 44.16 to 55.22%, the yields of the minor ginsenosides ranged from 0.05 to 3.24%. This study provided a good experimental idea, greatly increased the utilization rate of total saponins in P. notoginseng flower, and laid a foundation for promoting the wide application of minor saponins.

Pharmacists must acquire the necessary knowledge to provide better drug therapy to patients. In other words, educational programs need to facilitate behavioral changes among pharmacists. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate how the behavior of pharmacists changed after attending a palliative care educational program. We conducted a web-based questionnaire survey examining the behavior of pharmacists regarding palliative care before participating in the program, two months after participating in the program, and eight months after participating in the program, to determine the behavior and changes over time. For all questions, scores were higher at two and eight months after attending the program than before attending the program (P <0.05). In addition, no significant difference was observed between two and eight months after attending the program for all questions (P =0.504-1.000). The knowledge gained from the educational program was used to repeatedly intervene with patients with cancer, to address the various symptoms they experienced and maintain their behavior. The proven effectiveness of this program serves as a stepping stone for a nationwide rollout across Japan’s 47 prefectures.

This research focuses on examining the responses of interest groups listed in the European Transparency Register to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. Its aim is to investigate the nuanced reactions of 2,579 commercial and business associations and 2,957 companies and groups to the conflict, as expressed through their X (Twitter) activities. Utilizing advanced text mining, NLP and LDA techniques, this study conducts a comprehensive analysis encompassing language dynamics, thematic shifts, sentiment variations, and activity levels exhibited by these entities both before and after the outbreak of the war. The results obtained reflect a progressive decreasing in negative emotions regarding the conflict over time. Likewise, multiple forms of outside lobbying are identified in the communication strategies of interest groups. All in all, this empirical inquiry into how interest groups adapt their messaging in response to complex geopolitical events holds the potential to provide invaluable insights into the multifaceted role of lobbying in shaping public policies.

The aim of this study was to investigate the physicochemical characterization and biological activities of chitosan (CH) based composite films with the incorporation of chestnut flower essential oil (CFEO). The composite films were prepared by casting method and characterized in terms of structural, morphological and mechanical properties via FT-IR, XRD, UV, SEM and TGA. The results proved the significantly increased water vapor permeability (WVP), heat resistance, antibacterial and antioxidant capabilities of CH-CFEO films. The incorporation of CH and CFEO enhanced the UV blocking, which made the film shield almost all UV light. Films with the tensile strength of 6.37 ± 0.41 MPa and elongation at break of 22.57 ± 0.35% were got with 6 mg mL-1 CFEO. Subsequently, the fruit preservation experiments also confirmed that the composite films could effectively extend the shelf life of bananas through their excellent water vapor and oxygen barrier. These desirable performances enable our newly developed composite films to be a remarkable packaging material to solve the fresh fruit preservation dilemma.

Pathogenicity of many bacteria including Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus aureus depends on pore-forming toxins (PFTs), which cause lysis of host cells by forming pores in membranes of eukaryotic cells. Bioinformatic analysis revealed in over 600 PFTs a region homologous to the Lys171-Gly250 sequence in hemolysin II (HlyII) from B. cereus, which we designated as “homologous peptide”. Three β-barrel PFTs were used for a detailed comparative analysis. Two of them –HlyII and cytotoxin K2 (CytK2), – are synthesized in Bacillus cereus sensu lato; the third – S. aureus α-toxin (Hla) – is the most investigated representative of the family. Protein modeling showed certain amino acids of homologous peptide to be located on the surface of the monomeric forms of these β-barrel PFTs. We obtained monoclonal antibodies against both a cloned homologous peptide and a 14-membered synthetic peptide DSFNTFYGNQLFMK as part of homologous peptide. The HlyII, CytK2 and Hla regions recognized by the obtained antibodies, as well as an antibody capable of suppressing the hemolytic activity of CytK2, were identified in the course of the work. Antibodies capable of recognizing PFTs of various origins can be useful tools for both identification and suppression of the cytolytic activity of PFTs.

To characterize the fecal microbiota of lactating Bactrian camels, this study employed a random selection of camels, assigning them to three groups: the first parity group, the third parity group, and the fifth parity group. The fecal microbial community of lactating camels was assessed using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing, and the resulting library was sequenced on an Illumina NovaSeq platform. The first parity group was characterized by Verrucomicrobiaceae as a distinctive bi-omarker, whereas Clostridiaceae exhibited a similar role to the third parity group. In terms of functional analysis, the relative abundance of the Steroid biosynthesis pathway was highest in the first parity group, whereas the fifth parity group demonstrated a higher relative abundance of the Tuberculosis pathway compared to the other groups. The first parity group exhibited the greatest presence of seven types of enzymes, whereas the fifth parity group displayed the highest levels of two specific enzymes. Additionally, a positive association was observed between the relative abundance of the Steroid biosynthesis pathway and Verrucomicrobiaceae. Furthermore, the relative abundance of the Tuberculosis pathway displayed positive correlations with 14 enzymes. In conclusion, this study revealed that different parity was associated with distinct fecal microbial ecologies in lactating Bactrian camels.

Dirofilariosis is an infectious disease caused by species of the Dirofilaria genus. It is manifested by the appearance of a subcutaneous swelling, especially in the eye region. We present the case of a 29-year-old patient that accused facial asymmetry in the right genian region. Following clinical and paraclinical evaluations, the diagnosis of parasitic cyst was established in the context of dirofilariosis with Dirofilaria repens (D. repens). Treatment consisted of surgical excision of the formation associated with prophylactic antibiotic medication. Macroscopic analysis of the excision piece revealed a structure that contains a cystic cavity and a filamentous form with a length of approximately 10 mM and a diameter of 1 mM. This is the first case of dirofilariosis located in the genian region reported in Romania. The overview of this pathology is important to raise awareness among physicians about its presence and its clinical variations.

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

In the contemporary world of science, continuous observation of specific fixed regions is required, awaiting the emergence of targets or phenomena within those areas to locate and identify them. Astronomy requires continuous monitoring of stars, swiftly pinpointing occurrences, such as flares, and acquiring their spectral data to aid identification. In military contexts, continuous observation of specific areas is essential for promptly locating enemy movements and obtaining target spectral data for deciphering enemy disguises. Additionally, continuous observation of experimental samples in biochemistry is mandatory to pinpoint localized changes and acquire spectral data from those areas. Hence, this paper develops a novel imaging spectrometer solution to monitor localized regions continuously. Specifically, this paper first elaborates on the developed instrument’s characteristics and optical structure, followed by optical design software simulations. The instrument has an F-number of 5, a focal length of 100mm, and a field of view covering the wavelength range from 400nm to 600nm. The optical path diagram indicates that the system’s dispersion and imaging images can be separated, meeting the system’s requirements. Besides, the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) graph confirms that the image quality meets the requirements. Furthermore, a region-monitoring type imaging spectrometer was constructed to assess the instrument’s capability for spectral observation of fixed regions. The instrument can detect a fixed area, with the target placed within the detection area. Spectral data were successfully obtained by conducting image processing on the acquired images. The correlation coefficient between this data and reference data was as high as 0.9226, indicating the instrument’s successful measurement of the target’s spectrum. Thus, the developed instrument demonstrated that it can image the observed areas and acquire spectral data from targets within those regions.

In the paper, the authors generalize the notion "k-Mittag-Leffler function'', establish some integral transforms of the generalized k-Mittag-Leffler function, and derive several special and known conclusions in terms of the generalized Wright function and the generalized k-Wright function.

Plants from the Myrtaceae family are well known to contain considerable amounts of volatile compounds, ranging from oxygenated monoterpenes to hydrogenated sesquiterpenes, and others, which exhibit antimicrobial activity. One such plant includes Syzygium aromaticum that has been extensively used to treat a number of disorders, including bacterial and fungal infections. Thus, the scientific validation of the essential oil (EO) of Syzygium aromaticum vis-à-vis Candida and Cryptococcus species is valuable. To this end, the present study sought to investigate the antifungal activity of EO from S. aromaticum (clove) leaves and flower buds against Candida and Cryptococcus species. The antioxidant activity of S. aromaticum’s essential oils is also elucidated. The EO was extracted from fresh leaves and floral buds of S. aromaticum using a Clevenger-type apparatus. The as-prepared essential oils were further evaluated for antifungal activity against Candida and Cryptococcus species using a microdilution method. The phytochemical analysis of the EOs was assessed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Antioxidant activities of the EOs were evaluated using standard methods. As a result, the GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of volatile compounds, such as eugenol (87.08%), β-caryophyllene (6.40%) and acetyleugenol (4.45%) as the major constituents of EO from the flower buds ; and eugenol (90.54%) and β-caryophyllene (24.65%) as the major components of the leaf’s EO. The eugenol-rich essential oils exhibited significant antifungal effects against Candida species (common MIC value: 200 ppm) and Cryptococcus neoformans (MIC value: 50 ppm), as well as antioxidant activity. Overall, essential oils of S. aromaticum demonstrated an-tioxidant and antifungal effects, thus validating the ethnopharmacological use of this plant in the treatment of fungal infections. However, antifungal mechanisms of action, in-depth toxicity and in vivo experiments, and pharmacokinetics are warranted to support the use of this plant in ethnomedicine.

The Yixian Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of China is famous worldwide for its fossils of early angio-sperms, but there is only one record of flower bud hitherto. A previous fossil record of flower bud just showed the appearance and lacked any internal details. Such a lacuna in knowledge of flower buds hin-ders our understanding of the evolution of flowers. Our new specimen was collected from an outcrop of the Yixian Formation (the Barremian-Aptian, Lower Cretaceous) near Dawangzhangzi, Lingyuan, Liao-ning, China. The specimen was observed and photographed using a Sony ILCE-7 digital camera and a Nikon SMZ1500 stereomicroscope, and details were observed using a TESCAN MAIA3 SEM. Our ob-servations document a fossil flower bud, Archaebuda cretaca sp. nov, from the Lower Cretaceous of China. The occurrence of two species of Archaebuda in the Yixian Formation not only confirms the ex-istence of the expected gynoecium (and possible androecium) in a flower bud, but also underscores the occurrence of typical flowers in the Early Cretaceous.

An imbalance between production and excretion of amyloid β peptide (Aβ) in the brain tissues of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients leads to Aβ accumulation and formation of noxious Aβ oligomers/plaques. A promising approach to AD prevention is reduction of free Aβ level by directed enhancement of Aβ binding to its natural depot, human serum albumin (HSA). We previously demonstrated the ability of specific low-molecular-weight ligands (LMWLs) of HSA to improve its affinity for Aβ. Here we develop this approach by bioinformatic search for the clinically approved AD-related LMWLs of HSA, followed by classification of the candidates according to the predicted location of their binding sites on HSA surface, ranking of the candidates, and selective experimental validation of their impact on HSA affinity for Aβ. The top 100 candidate LMWLs were classified into the five clusters. The specific representatives of the different clusters exhibit dramatically different behavior, with 3- to 13-fold changes in equilibrium dissociation constants for the HSA-Aβ40 interaction: prednisone favors HSA-Aβ interaction, mefenamic acid shows the opposite effect, while levothyroxine exhibits the bidirectional effects. Overall, the LMWLs of HSA chosen here provide a basis for drug repurposing for AD prevention, and for search for the medications promoting AD progression.

A large diversity of epigenetic factors, such as microRNAs and histones modifications, are known to be capable of regulating gene expression without altering DNA sequence itself. In particular, miR-1 is considered the first essential microRNA in cardiac development. In this study, miR-1 potential role in early cardiac chamber differentiation is analyzed through specific signaling pathways. For this, we performed in chick embryos functional experiments by means of miR-1 microinjections into the posterior cardiac precursors -of both primitive endocardial tubes- committed to sinoatrial region fates. Subsequently, embryos were subjected to whole mount in situ hybridization, immunohistochemistry and RT-qPCR analysis. As a relevant nov-elty, our results revealed that miR-1 increases Tbx5, Gata4 and AMHC1, while this microRNA diminishes Mef2c expression, during early differentiation of cardiac sinoatrial region. Further-more, we observed in this developmental context that miR-1 upregulates CRABPII and RARß, and downregulates CRABPI, which are three crucial factors in retinoic acid signaling pathway. Interestingly, we also noticed that miR-1 directly interacts with HDAC4 and Calmodulin, as well as with Erk2/MAPK1, which are three key factors actively involved in Mef2c regulation. Our study shows, for the first time, a key role of miR-1 as an epigenetic regulator in early differenti-ation of cardiac sinoatrial region through orchestrating opposite actions between retinoic acid and Mef2c, fundamental to properly assign cardiac cells to their respective heart chambers. A better understanding of those molecular mechanisms modulated by miR-1 will definitely help in fields applied to therapy and cardiac regeneration and repair.

Neuron degeneration is the most common old age complications worldwide. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative condition with limited drug options and significant adverse effects. Hence, there is a growing interest in exploring natural products for their potential pharmacological activities against AD. This study investigates the efficacy of Verbesina encelioides flower extract (VFE) in alleviating neurobehavioral damage induced by Scopolamine in rat mimicking AD model. GC-MS analysis showed that V. encelioides flower extract is rich in carotenoids like spirilloxanthin. Various behavioural models were used to assess the rats' learning and memory capabilities. Additionally, biochemical tests were conducted on the AD rat models to evaluate oxidative stress in the brain, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), nitric oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH), and anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme assays. Findings from this study suggest that the VFE significantly improved the rats' cognitive aptitude and alleviated them from oxidative stress by reducing free radical generation. Based on the results obtained from GC-MS analysis, in silico interaction analysis of gingkolide A and spirilloxanthin with acetylcholinesterase was carried out. In summary, this study suggests that V. enceloides flower extract improves learning abilities and mitigates cognitive deficits caused by scopolamine. Thus V. enceloides could be potentially seen as natural therapeutic intervention against neurodegenerative disorders likes Alzheimer’s disease and dementia.

In recent decades, the creation and availability of Voluntary Geographic Information (VGI) has changed the paradigm associated with the production of Geospatial Information (GI), since due to its free access, citizens can view, analyse, process, and validate this type of data. One of the most popular examples of VGI is the collaborative OpenStreetMap (OSM) project which covers a wide range of themes or characteristics associated with the real world. One of these themes is the feature “waterway” that represents watercourses. The quality of OSM data characteristics is an issue that has been published by many authors in recent years, particularly on the analysis of the completeness indicator. However, few references are found in literature to studies that analyse the completeness of OSM watercourses. This study presents an analysis of the variation over time in completeness/coverage of the OSM "waterway" feature in the epochs of 2014 and 2023 in a mountainous region included in the Mondego River basin, located in Inland of Portugal. The results show that the completeness of this OSM feature (waterway) has a slight increase, considering the amplitude of this period (nine years) and the fact that, nowadays, digital mobile devices enable access to satellite images, therefore allowing in an easy way the digitalization of entities or objects of the real world remotely. Regarding the indicator’s altitude, slope and location/proximity of settlements, it was not possible to observe their influence on the evolution of the completeness of this geographic entity (OSM waterway).

One of the most concerning global environmental issues is the pollution of agricultural soils by heavy metals (HMs), especially cadmium (Cd), which not only affects human health by taking Cd-containing foods but also impacts the quality of rice. The soil's nitrification and denitrification processes, coupled with the release of volatile organic compounds by plants, raise substantial concerns. The understanding of three aspects of paddy soil under conditions of heavy-metal pollution and water management is currently limited. In this review, we summarized recent literature related to the deleterious effects of Cd on both soil processes related to the N cycle and rice quality, particularly aroma, in different water management practices. Under both continuous flooding (CF) and alternate wetting and drying (AWD) conditions, cadmium (Cd) has been observed to reduce both nitrification and denitrification processes. The adverse effects are more pronounced in continuous flooding (CF) compared to alternate wetting and drying (AWD). Similarly, the alteration in rice aroma is more significant in AWD than in CF. The precise modulation of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) by Cd, remains unclear based on the available literature. Nevertheless, HM accumulation is higher in AWD conditions compared to CF, leading to a detrimental impact on volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The literature concluded that AWD practices should be avoided in Cd contaminated fields to decrease accumulation and maintain the quality of rice. In the future, rhizospheric engineering and plant biotechnology can be used to decrease the transport of HMs from the soil to the plant’s edible parts.

The algorithm described in this paper inherits the concepts of layered fusion, insertion, and set from four convex hull-based heuristic algorithms. It summarizes relevant definitions and theorems, proposes valuable research hypotheses, combines grouping and insertion, and innovatively introduces the practice of "grouped insertion."

The sustainability of agricultural commodities produced in the Southern U.S. under irrigation is increasingly at risk due to erratic rainfall patterns, inadequate water supplies and compromised water quality. This study assessed the needs of crop growers in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southern Region. The purpose was to identify growers’ critical water resource management concerns to identify research priorities from the perspective of growers in this region. To obtain this information, a questionnaire was developed and distributed to growers throughout the Southern Region in 2020. The final sample included 112 crop (row and specialty) production growers from the Southern Region. Overall, respondents named the water available to irrigate as the greatest water resource management priority. Within all the water availability priorities asked, respondents’ first choice was declining water supply in the future. Declining water supply and the cost of irrigating presently were the next most frequently named water availability priorities. Growers named both increasing the efficiency of irrigation and development of farming practices to improve soil moisture retention as the first and second focus of future irrigation research, respectively. These results will aid in strengthening existing and developing new initiatives for water research and Extension in this region.

A Q-switched Nd:YAG laser was focused on Pb-Ti alloy samples in several Laser Induced Breakdown experiments in order to measure the Stark parameters of several spectral lines (58) of single ionized Titanium including the 3504.89 Å, and the 3510.83 Ålines (where we aported new experimental and theoretical values).Diagnostics of the laser induced plasmas (electron density and electron temperature) was performed using Balmer’s H alpha line (6562.7 Å).Temperatures were obtained by the Boltzmann Plot technique with spectral lines of Pb I (after correction for its evident self-absorption).Subsequently, calculations by the Griem approach of the Stark broadening parameters for several spectral lines were performed using the Gaunt factors proposed by Van Regemorter and those proposed by Douglas H. Sampson. In the latter cases the values obtained were very close to the experimental values. It allows us to assume that the calculations made for the spectral lines of Ti II, without experimental information, are more accurate using the Gaunt factors proposed by Sampson.

The hump feature is one of the major instabilities in pump-turbines. When pump-turbines operate in the hump region, strong noise and serious fluctuations can be observed, which are harmful to their safe and stable operation and can even destroy the whole unit as well as water conveyance system. In this paper, a low specific speed (n_q = 36.1 min⁻¹) pump-turbine model was experimentally investigated. Firstly, the hump characteristic was obtained under 19 mm guide vane opening conditions. More interestingly, when the hump characteristic was measured in two directions (increasing and decreasing the discharge), characteristic hysteresis was found in the hump region. The analysis of performance characteristics reveals that the hump instability is the result of Euler momentum and hydraulic losses, and different Euler momentum and hydraulic losses in the two development processes lead to the hysteresis phenomenon. Then, 12 pressure sensors were mounted in the different parts of the pump-turbine model to obtain the time and frequency characteristics. The analysis of the corresponding fast Fourier transform confirms that the hump characteristic is related to low-frequency (0.04–0.15 times rotational frequency) vortices. The occurrence and cessation of vortices depend on the operating condition and measurement direction, which contribute to the hysteresis feature. Finally, the type of the low-frequency vortices was analyzed through the cross power spectrum.

Nowadays, the identification and characterization of grapevine cultivars resilient to climate and water stress while preserving quality traits is crucial for the wine industry. Therefore, the objective of this work was to characterize according to their aromatic potential 9 white and 6 red minority cultivars recently recovered from Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain), subjected at two different water deficit regimes: rainfed, with subsistence irrigation, and irrigated. For this, the varietal aromatic potential index (IPAv) and the detailed aromatic composition were analyzed by HS-SBSE-GC/MS, in extracts of two different ph. For IPAv values, red varieties did not show a clear trend with respect to irrigation. However, in white minority varieties, higher values were obtained under irrigation conditions. Thus, a clear differentiation of the minority varieties in comparison to the references was observed, primarily attributed to the content of esters and acids, in both white and red varieties. A notable contrast was observed at different pH, indicating a greater extractability of certain compounds like linalool, under more acidic conditions. This suggests that some recovered minority cultivars could be promising for cultivation in semi-arid regions with limited water, contributing to the wine sector sustainability in the future.

Predictive studies are essential to establish fundamental data for monitoring and controlling Xylella fastidiosa infections in our country. Limited knowledge exists about how Xylella fastidiosa interacts with the plant host's immune system, leaving numerous unanswered questions regarding Xylella fastidiosa biology and its interactions with national plant hosts. Key inquiries include understanding of how the plant immune system interfaces with Xylella fastidiosa in the xylem and identifying the specific or shared mechanisms underlying the susceptibility of different hosts. Factors such as the presence of insect vectors, abundance of host plants, and climate suitability play pivotal roles in Xylella fastidiosa dispersal. We recommend that countries identified with relatively high risk, like Portugal, undertake thorough individual risk analyses. The implementation of preventive measures and, if necessary, the enhancement of surveillance systems for early detection of Xylella fastidiosa in plants and insect vectors are crucial steps. Additionally, raising awareness is of equal importance to mitigate socioeconomic and ecological impacts on their ecosystems.

Liquid biopsy, a non-invasive diagnosis that examines circulating tumor components in body fluids, is increasingly used in cancer management. An overview of relevant literature emphasizes the current state of liquid biopsy applications in cancer care. Liquid biopsy, particularly circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), circulating tumor RNAs (ctRNA), circulating tumor cells (CTCs), extracellular vesicles, and other cell-free nucleic acids, offers promising opportunities for early cancer diagnosis, treatment selection, monitoring, and disease assessment. The implementation of liquid biopsy in precision medicine has shown significant potential in various cancer types, including lung cancer, colorectal cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer. Advances in genomic and molecular technologies, such as next generation sequencing (NGS) and digital polymerase chain reaction (dPCR) have expanded the utility of liquid biopsy, enabling the detection of somatic variants and actionable genomic alterations in tumors. Liquid biopsy has also demonstrated utility in predicting treatment responses, monitoring minimal residual disease (MRD), and assessing tumor heterogeneity. Nevertheless, standardizing liquid biopsy techniques, interpreting results, and integrating them into clinical routine remain challenges. Despite these challenges, liquid biopsy has significant clinical implications in cancer management, offering a dynamic and non-invasive approach to understanding tumor biology and guiding personalized treatment strategies.

As the natural resources are getting exhausted, the concept of sustainable development of region has received increasing attentions, especially for resource-dependent cities. In this paper an innovative method that emergy analysis and IPAT (Human Impact Population Affluence Technology) model were combined in order to analyze the quantitative relationship of economic growth and energy consumption and further to evaluate its overall sustainability level. Taiyuan, a traditional, resource-dependent city in China, is selected as the case study region. The main results show that total emergy of Taiyuan increased from 9.023× 1023 sej in 2007 to 9.116× 1023sej in 2014, with 38% reduction on non-renewable emergy and 125% growth on imported emergy. Regional emergy money ratio (RMB) was reduced by 48% from 5.31× 1013sej/$ in 2007 to 2.74× 1013sej/$ in 2014, indicating that the increasing speed of consuming resources and energy was faster than the increase of GDP, and that Taiyuan’s money purchasing power declined. The lower emergy sustainability index (ESI) indicates that Taiyuan was explored and produced large quantities of mineral resources, which puts more stress on the environment as a consequence, and that this is not sustainable in the long run. The IPAT analysis demonstrates that Taiyuan sticks to the efforts of energy conservation and environmental protection, in order to promote regional sustainable development, it is necessary to take an integrated effort. Policy insights suggest that resourceful regions should improve include energy and resource efficiency, optimizing energy and resourceful structure.

Considering characteristics of high river density, special underlying surface in plain river network region, and municipal drainage system function, river network drainage unit model is proposed, which is defined as a region surrounded by main river or embankment. Flood storage variety and control projects regulation of small rivers in each unit is simulated. With drainage catchment as an object, according to its drainage capacity, simplified municipal drainage model was developed. Coupling river network drainage unit model, simplified municipal drainage model and 2D flood routing model, urban flood analysis model for plain tidal river network region was developed, which could be applied to analyzing flood from upstream river, storm surge and local rainfall. Demonstration research was carried out in Puxi flood protected area in Shanghai.

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 mutations pose significant challenges to diagnostic tests as these mutations can reduce the sensitivity of commonly used RT-PCR assays. Therefore, there is a need to design diagnostic assays with multiple targets to enhance sensitivity. In this study, we identified a novel diagnostic target, nsp10 gene, using nanopore sequencing. Firstly, we determined the analytical sensitivity and specificity of our COVID-19-nsp10 assay. The COVID-19-nsp10 assay had the limit of detection of 74 copies/mL (95% confidence interval: 48-299 copies/mL) and did not show cross-reactivity with other respiratory viruses. Next, we determined the diagnostic performance of the COVID-19-nsp10 assay using 261 respiratory specimens, including 147 SARS-CoV-2-positive specimens belonging to ancestral strain and Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Mu, Eta, Kappa, Theta and Omicron lineages. Using the LightMix E-gene RT-PCR assay as the reference method, the diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of the COVID-19-nsp10 assay were 100%. The median Cp values for the LightMix E-gene RT-PCR and our COVID-19-nsp10 RT-PCR were 22.48 (range: 12.95-36.60) and 25.94 (range 16.37-36.87), respectively. The Cp values of the COVID-19-nsp10 RT-PCR assay correlated well with those of the LightMix E-gene RT-PCR assay (Spearman’s ρ = 0.968; P<0.0001). In conclusion, nsp10 is a suitable target for SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR assay.

It has been shown that Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection is associated with several forms of cancer. Additionally, although there are more than 100 types of HPV, more than ten types of it, including types 16 and 18, are considered high-risk. The two proteins that make up the viral capsid of HPV 16 are L1, the major capsid protein, and L2, the minor capsid protein. FDA (The Food and Drug Administration) approved HPV vaccines mostly target L1 and L2 capsid proteins, which facilitate intracellular entry during infection. In this study, it was set out to analyze the creation of phylogenetic relations of L1 nucleic acid sequences of viral isolates. This study also analyzed sequences of three key elements within the amino acid sequences of HPV 16 L1: loops critical for structural stability, nuclear localization signal sequences, and residues implicated in viral attachment. As highlighted by the literature, these elements represent pivotal aspects of viral function. Furthermore, the report highlighted the particular inter-sequence variability within the HPV 16 L1 protein sequences. Overall analysis revealed clustering of sequences primarily due to geographical and characterized by more phylogenetic relatedness within location-specific clusters.

Grasping the spatial and temporal patterns of forest fires, along with the key factors that drive them and the ability to forecast such events accurately, is essential for the successful management of forests. In China's southern region, forest fires significantly endanger the ecological system, public safety, and economic well-being. Through the application of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and LightGBM (Light Gradient Boosting Machine) model, this study investigates the determinants of fire incidents and formulates a predictive model for forest fire occurrences, alongside a zoning strategy, within the Central-South area. The results indicate: (i) Spatially, fire points exhibit significant clustering and autocorrelation characteristics; (ii) The Central-South Forest Fire Prediction Model shows exceptional accuracy, reliability, and predictive power, with high performance metrics across training and validation sets, including over 85% accuracy, precision, recall, and F1 scores, along with AUC values above 89%, underscoring its efficacy in forecasting forest fires and distinguishing between fire events; (iii) Throughout the year, forest fire risks in the Central-South region of China vary by region and season, with risk spikes from March to May in Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, Hubei, and Hainan. From June to August, localized risks are observed in Heyuan and Huangshi, while from September to November, an increase in risk is noted in Guangdong (Meizhou, Heyuan, Shaoguan), Guangxi (Nanning, Hezhou, Yulin), and Hunan (Binzhou, Yongzhou, Hengyang) due to cooler, drier conditions and leaf litter accumulation. From December to February, the risk continues in specific areas across Guangdong, Guangxi, Hunan, and Hubei.

This research addresses a gap in the literature by conducting a comprehensive analysis of patients’ level of satisfaction with dental care. Methods: By combining quantitative and qualitative survey methods with the PSQ questionnaire this study aims to augment ongoing initiatives to enhance dental patients’ experiences by painting a more comprehensive depiction of patients' level of satisfaction; Results: When asked about their overall level of satisfaction 77,1% of the patients said they received excellent services from the office personnel and 72,2% said they trust their doctors; Conclusions: Assessing patient satisfaction in the realm of dental services quality is crucial for enhancing service quality and accuracy, benefiting both patients and dentists, and ultimately improving public health.

The tumor microenvironment is known to have increased levels of cytokines and metabolites, such as glutamate, due to their release from the surrounding cells. A normal cell around the tumor that responds to the inflammatory environment is likely to be subsequently altered. We will discuss how these abnormalities will support tumor survival via the actions of gap junctions (GJs) and hemichannels (HCs) which are composed of hexamer of connexin 43 (Cx43) protein. In particular, we will discuss how GJ intercellular communication (GJIC) in glioma cells, the primary brain tumor, is a regulatory factor and its attenuation leads to tumor invasion. In contrast, the astrocytes, which are normal cells around the glioma, are "hijacked" by tumor cells, either by receiving the transmission of malignant substances from the cancer cells via GJIC, or perhaps via astrocytic HC activity through the paracrine signaling which enable the delivery of these substances to the distal astrocytes. This astrocytic signaling would promote tumor expansion in the brain. In addition, brain metastasis from peripheral tissues has also been known to be facilitated by GJs formed between cerebral vascular endothelial cells and cancer cells. Astrocytes and microglia are generally thought to eliminate cancer cells at the blood brain barrier. In contrast, some reports suggest they facilitate tumor progression as tumor cells take advantage of the normal functions of astrocytes that support the survival of the neurons by exchanging nutrients and metabolites. In summary, GJIC is essential for the normal physiological function of growth and allowing the diffusion of physiological substances. Therefore, whether GJIC is cancer promoting or suppressing may be dependent by what permeates through GJs, when it is active, and to which cells. The nature of GJs, which has been ambiguous in brain tumor progression, will need to be re-visited and understood together with new findings on Cx proteins and HC activities.

The evidential value of an mtDNA match between biological remains and its potential donor is determined by the random match probability of the haplotype. This probability is based on the haplotype’s population frequency estimate. Consequently, implementing a population study representative of the population relevant to the forensic case is vital to correctly evaluating the evidence. The emerging number of poaching cases and the limited availability of such data emphasizes the need for improved fallow deer mtDNA population databank for forensic purposes, including targeting the entire mitochondrial control region. By sequencing the whole mitochondrial control region in 138 animals from five populations in Hungary we found four different haplotypes, including one which has not yet been described. Our results, supplemented with data already available from previous research do not support the possibility of determining the population of origin, although some patterns of geographical separation can be distinguished. Estimates of molecular diversity indicate approximately similarly low mtDNA diversity (Hd=0.565 and π = 0.002), compared with data from other countries. The calculated random match probability of 0.547 shows a high probability of coincidence and, therefore, a limited capacity for exclusion. Consequently, it may be necessary to search for polymorphic sites on other mitochondrial gene sections or to sequence the entire mitogenome of fallow deer.

Although, promotion of urbanization culture in recent decades has made inevitable development of cities in the world, however, the development can be guided in a direction that leave, to the extent possible, minimum socioeconomic and environmental impacts. For this, it is required to first forecast auto-spreading orientation of cities and suburbs in rural areas over time and then avoid shapeless growth of cities. This paper is an attempt to develop a dynamic hybrid model based on logistic regression (LR), Markov chain (MC), and cellular automata (CA) for prediction of future urban sprawl in fast-growing cities. The model was developed using 12 widely-used urban development criteria, whose significant coefficient was determined by logistic regression, and validated by relative operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The validated model was run in Guilan, a tourist province in northern Iran with a very high rate of urban development. For this, changes in the area of urban land use were detected over the period of 1989 to 2013 and then, future sprawl of the province was forecasted by the years 2025 and 2037. The analysis results revealed that the area of urban land use was increased by more than 1.7 % from 36012.5 ha in 1989 to 59754.8 ha in 2013, and the area of Caspian Hyrcanian forestland was reduced by 31628 ha. The results also predicted an alarming increase in the rate of urban development in the province by the years 2025 and 2037, during which urban land use is predicted to develop 0.9 % and 1.38 %, respectively. The development pattern is expected to be uneven and scattered, without following any particular direction. The development will occur close to the existing or newly-formed urban basements as well as around major roads and commercial areas. This development, if not controlled, will lead to the loss of 13863 ha of Hyrcanian forests and if the trend continues, 21013 ha of Hyrcanian forests and 20208 ha of Barren/open lands are expected to be destroyed by the year 2037. In general, the proposed model is an efficient tool for the support of urban planning decisions and facilitates the process of sustainable development of cities by providing decision-makers with an overview on future development of cities where the growth rate is very fast.

Understanding the dynamics of land use and land cover (LULC) change in today's context of rapid urbanization is critical for sustainable urban planning and environmental conservation. Therefore, the research aim is to understand the LULC changes in Chattogram Metropolitan Area and to assess the policy implications of these changes for sustainable urban development. Through a comparative analysis of LULC maps for two periods (1997–2007; 2007–2017), we investigated the transformation of a detailed planning zone before and after detailed area plan (DAP) approval. Using a mixed-method approach integrating quantitative data with policy analysis, we elucidated the impacts of urbanization trends on local ecosystems—specifically the conversion of forest cover and waterscape use. The findings reveal a significant conversion of forested and waterscape areas to urban and peri-urban landscapes, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable planning interventions that focus on these peri-urban areas. The study further critiques the DAP's effectiveness, revealing a disconnect between regional policy implementation and local outcomes. This research proposes a validated, scalable framework for urban master plans that adapts to the complex socio-ecological contexts of rapidly urbanizing regions.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy was one of India's problems after the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out. Earlier studies carried out to understand people's perception of the vaccine were mainly based on online or offline community-based surveys. These studies do not help to understand the actions taken by people towards vaccination. Hence, this study has been designed to understand the exact behavior of people toward the vaccine. Methods: Age-wise, the population was sub-grouped into three groups, above 18 years, 12-14 years, and 15-18 years. The data analysis has been done using cumulative coverage of vaccines in the said age groups. Results: The study shows a substantial population has missed second and booster doses of vaccine at the state, regional, and national levels in all three age groups. Even for the states that have shown the smallest number of people who missed their dose, their number is in the thousands. Conclusion: Further research is needed to know, in total population, how many people have not even taken a single dose of vaccine. Policy-level efforts are needed to cover the entire population of the country for at least a single dose and vulnerable populations, for additional booster doses after primary doses.

Neurofibromas, rare benign tumors of the peripheral nerve sheath, present diagnostic challenges, particularly in diabetic patients with toe ulcers. This case involves a 55-year-old female with type 2 diabetes mellitus who developed an enlarging ulcer on her right second toe. The initial evaluation suggested a diabetic ulcer; however, advanced imaging revealed a mass-like lesion. Partial excision and biopsy confirmed a neurofibroma with spindle cells within the myxoid stroma and S100 protein expression. One month later, total excision and Z-plasty reconstruction were performed under general anesthesia. The patient’s postoperative recovery was uneventful, and the patient was discharged without complications. Follow-up revealed successful healing with no recurrence or functional issues. This case highlights the importance of considering neurofibromas in the differential diagnosis of diabetic toe ulcers to avoid misdiagnosis and ensure appropriate management.

The objective of this paper was to study the expression pattern of the GLOD4 gene in the testis and its regulatory effect on testicular cells. Currently, the regulated mechanism through are unclear. Here, we explored how GLOD4 functions in goat leydig cells to enhance our understanding of spermatogenesis and improve reproduction in breeding rams. In this study, we demonstrated that the localization of GLOD4 in testicular cells using immunohistochemistry and subcellular localization analyses. Subsequently, we analyzed the GLOD4 expression pattern in 4 age-based groups (0, 6, 12, and 18 months old) using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT‒PCR) and protein blotting. Finally, we performed GLOD4 gene silencing and overexpression studies in testicular cells from goats and explored the effects of GLOD4 on cell proliferation, the cell cycle, steroid hormone secretion and the expression of candidate testosterone hormone-regulated genes. GLOD4 was mainly expressed in testicular leydig cells, and the subcellular localization results showed that the GLOD4 protein was mainly localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. Silencing of GLOD4 significantly suppressed the mRNA expression levels of the testosterone secretion-related genes CYP11A1, 3β-HSD and CYP17A1 and the mRNA expression levels of cell-cycle related genes CDK6, PCNA, and Cyclin E. Moreover, the cell cycle was blocked at the G2/M phase after GLOD4 silencing, which significantly suppressed testosterone secretion. In contrast, GLOD4 overexpression significantly increased the mRNA expression levels of the testosterone secretion-related genes CYP11A1, 3β-HSD, and CYP17A1 and increased the expression of the cell-cycle related genes CDK6, PCNA, and Cyclin E. Moreover, GLOD4 overexpression promoted the cell cycle from G0/G1 phases to enter the S phase and G2/M phases,promoted the secretion of testosterone. Taken together, our experimental results indicate that GLOD4 may affect the development of cells in Qianbei Ma goats of different ages by influencing the cell cycle, Proliferation and testosterone hormone synthesis. These findings enhance our understanding of the functions of GLOD4 in the cells of goats.

In the era of mounting water scarcity, particularly in arid regions, the agricultural sector is striving to optimize the water resource management practices. Treated wastewater (TWW) has emerged as a viable alternative to freshwater for irrigation, offering a sustainable solution to water conservation. However, ensuring the safety and quality of TWW is paramount to safeguard for both crop health and environmental integrity. Electrical conductivity (EC), a critical factor in assessing TWW suitability for irrigation, can significantly impact crop yields and soil health since it is directly linked to the concentration of dissolved salts and ions. Therefore, this study delves into the development of advanced predictive models for EC assessment by employing supervised machine learning (ML) techniques like the Support Vector Regression (SVR), Adaptive Network-based Fuzzy Inference System (ANFIS), and Multiple Linear Regression (MLR). The TWW samples collected from Al-Qatif area, Saudi Arabia were assessed in the lab through a sensor-based real-time monitoring system integrated with Internet of Things (IoT) network and a multiprobe device. The key water quality parameters assessed involved, temperature (T), pH, Oxidation Reduction Potential (ORP), Resistivity (RES), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Salinity and Turbidity which served as the foundation for these models, given their profound influence on and their anticipated impact on EC levels. Following feature selection, two distinct model combinations were identified for the SVR, ANFIS and MLR models. Furthermore, to evaluate prediction performance, four statistical criteria, including coefficient of determination (R²), correlation coefficient (R), mean square error (MSE), and root mean square error (RMSE), were employed. Overall, the comparative performance results proved that ANFIS-M2 indicated the strongest predictive capability with the R² value of 0.99572 and 0.75145 and the RMSE values of 0.00965 and 0.01134, respectively in both calibration and verification stages.

According to previous studies the median raphe region (MRR) is known to contribute significantly to social behavior. Beside serotonin, there are reports of a small population of dopaminergic neu-rons in this region. Dopamine is linked to reward and locomotion, but very little has been known about its role in the MRR. To address that, we first confirmed the presence of dopaminergic cells in the MRR of mice (immunohistochemistry, RT-PCR) and humans (RT-PCR). Next, we used chemogenetic technology in mice containing Cre enzyme under the promoter of the dopamine transporter (DAT). With the help of an adeno-associated virus, artificial receptors were expressed in the dopaminergic cells of the MRR (DAT-MRR). Four weeks later, extensive behavioral charac-terization started 30 minutes after the injection of the artificial ligand (Clozapine-N-Oxide). Stimu-lation of DAT-MRR decreased social interest without influencing aggression and with an increase in social discrimination. Additionally, inhibition of the same cells increased the friendly social be-havior during social interaction test. No behavioral changes were detected in anxiety, memory and locomotion. All in all, dopaminergic cells were present both in the mice and human MRR, and manipulation of dopaminergic neurons of the MRR elicited a specific social response.

Uterine tube extracellular matrix is a key component that regulates tubal tissue physiology, and it has a region-specific structural distribution, which are directly associated to their functions. Considering this, application of biological matrices in culture systems is an interesting strategy to develop biomimetic tubal microenvironments and enhance their complexity. However, there are no established protocols to produce tubal biological matrices that consider the organ morphophysiology for such applications. Therefore, this study aimed to establish region-specific protocols to obtain decellularized scaffolds derived from porcine infundibulum, ampulla, and isthmus to provide suitable sources of biomaterials for tissue-engineering approaches. Porcine uterine tubes were decellularized in solutions of 0.1% SDS and 0.5% Triton X-100. Decellularization efficiency was evaluated by DAPI staining and DNA quantification. We analyzed ECM composition and structure by optical and scanning electronic microscopy, FTIR and Raman spectroscopy. DNA and DAPI assays validated the decellularization, presenting significative reduction of cellular content. Structural and spectroscopy analyses revealed that produced scaffolds remained well structured and with ECM composition preserved. YS and HEK293 cells were used to attest cytocompatibility, allowing cell survival and successful interaction with the scaffolds. These results suggest that such matrices are applicable for future biotechnological approaches in the reproductive field.

Introduction: Childhood obesity is becoming an emerging public health issue as it is associated with increased morbidity and premature deaths. Determinants like the child’s household characteristics, maternal weight before the preconception stage, and maternal weight in childhood are studied. There is no study available to understand the association between overweight women of reproductive age and overweight children under five years of age. Studying these determinants to understand the problem can help in framing policies to intervene in the issue. Methods: The data for the study was collected from the National Family Health Survey 5 (NFHS5). It has been sub-grouped into urban and rural categories. The percentage of women with high-risk Waist-Hip-Ratio (WHR) and the percentage of overweight women were independent variables whereas the percentage of overweight under-five children was dependent. Simple linear regression, multiple linear regression, and Pearson correlation coefficient analysis were done for the collected data. Results: Study shows the percentage of overweight women has increased by 4.1%, and the percentage of overweight children has increased by 2% during the NFHS5 (2019-21) compared to NFHS4 (2015-16). Pearson correlation coefficient (R) is 0.5662 and Ꞵ-coefficient for multiple linear regression is 0.1397 for central obesity in women (%) and percentage of overweight children. Conclusion: Central obesity in women is more common than the overweight. Overweight in women as well as in children under five is increasing. Central obesity in women shows a moderate positive relation with overweight in children under five years.

Very heavy stratiform precipitation (> 200 mm/per day) occurred in the Hokitika region on the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand on 18 June 2015, under north-westerlies with small CAPE (< 25 J/kg). Analyses of model simulations and observations showed that this heavy rainfall was due to cold front lifting enhanced by orographic lifting over the Southern Alps. At 1.5 km grid-length, the model terrain underestimated the average height of the 103 tallest mountains over the South Island by ~ 800 m. This leads to weaker orographic lifting and mountain blocking, and a faster-moving and stronger cold front in the Hokitika region. As a result, large errors in the heavy rainfall prediction occur. By increasing either the resolved or the sub-grid mountain heights, the simulated rainfall errors were largely reduced through stronger orographic lifting and mountain blocking, and a better simulation of the cold front movement and strength. All the experiments have the same “flow-over” regime with mountain waves and/or wave breaking (Fm ranges 0.61 – 1.21). However, the rainfall amount and distribution on the windward side of mountains altered significantly. Our new findings were that the Southern Alps can have significant indirect effects on heavy rainfall by altering the speed and strength of the cold front, in addition to the well-known direct dynamical effects (i.e., orographic lifting and mountain blocking). A combination of these direct and indirect effects makes the heavy rainfall simulation sensitive to mountain heights even under the same “flow-over” regime.

Melanin is extensively distributed in organisms and believed to be synthetized by tyrosinase (TYR), leading to aberrant coloring and skin conditions when over-produced. Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica (Thunb.) Lindl.) flowers contain large amounts of bioactive substances currently few studied on their suppressive capabilities to melanin synthesis. Its isolate product (LFP) was obtained by ethanol solution extraction and resin purification, of which the inhibitory mechanism on TYR activity was elaborated by enzyme kinetics and multi-spectroscopy determinations and the impact on related proteins’ expression in mouse melanoma B16 cells was analyzed with Western blotting. HPLC-MS analysis indicated that LFP was identified into 137 compounds, with 12 including flavonoids (quercetin, isorhamnoin, p-coumaric acid, etc.), cinnamic acid and its derivatives as well as benzene and its derivatives owning TYR inhibitory activities. LFP inhibited TYR activity in a concentration-dependent manner with its IC50 value being 2.8 mg/mL and an anti-competitive mechanism involved altering the enzyme's conformation. LFP reduced the expression of TYR, TRP1, and TRP2 in melanoma B16 cells, hence inhibiting the synthesis of melanin. Considered collectively, LFP would be a viable option for treating hyperpigmentation caused by tyrosinase, providing a theoretical basis for the value-added utilization of loquat flower resource in beauty and aging related functional products.

Arboviruses are infections caused by arboviruses that may be either symptomatic or asymptomatic, according to individuals' resistance and immune response, which dietary patterns can influence. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the possible association between the occurrence of clinical manifestations of arboviruses and the dietary pattern of the population studied. The study was conducted in a rural population in the metropolitan area of Belém, Pará State, Brazil. The sampling consisted of 95 individuals during a febrile outbreak. Two investigations were conducted: clinical-epidemiological-dietary and laboratory investigation based on blood samples taken for arbovirus analysis. Out of the 95 individuals studied, more than half (57.89%) showed clinical manifestations. Following the laboratory serology (HI and IgM ELISA) analyses, viral isolation in C6/36 cells, and viral genome detection (RT-qPCR), the final diagnosis of the cases was 47.37% Oropouche Fever, 2.11% Oropouche Fever and Chikungunya Fever, and 1.05% Mayaro Fever. Regarding dietary pattern, as for the comparison analyses, statistical significance was observed between dietary pattern and classification regarding the presence of symptoms (p<0.05); after the correspondence analysis, symptomatic cases were more associated with a bad dietary pattern, while asymptomatic cases were more associated with a good dietary pattern.

Citrus fruits are extensively cultivated worldwide, with Italy and Spain being major producers. Southern Italy, particularly in Reggio Calabria, a typical citrus fruit is produced, namely, bergamot (Citrus bergamia Risso et Poiteau), known for its mysterious origins and exceptional quality essential oil protected by the EU's PDO designation. Despite historical challenges, bergamot has regained prominence for its nutraceutical potential, especially its flavonoid-rich juice, offering significant health benefits. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the qualitative and quantitative differences of bergamot juice in Calabrian production areas. For this reason, this work aims to investigate the quality characteristics of bergamot juice produced in different areas of Ca-labria sites. The results showed the best quality attributes of bergamot fruits harvested in the DPO area. In particular, higher levels of total soluble solids, stable acidity and higher juice were found. In addition, higher contents of ascorbic and citric acids, which are nutritionally valuable and tasteful, were found. The phenolic profile, characterized by the key compounds of bergamot, highlighted the better nutraceutical potential of the fruit grown in the DPO area.

Castanea sativa Mill. is a Mediterranean taxon originating in western Asia and southeastern Eu-rope. This paper presents data on the ecology, chorology and phytocenology of C. sativa species from Oltenia region (Romania) (data from the literature, herbariums, and the field). In the sub-spontaneous flora of Oltenia region, the C. sativa species is found in sheltered resorts in the counties of Gorj (Glogova, Valea Perilor, Tismana, Pocruia, Polovragi, etc.) and Mehedinți (Comăneşti, Baia de Aramă, etc.), on mesobasic soils, balanced from a hydraulic point of view. It was identified in a cultivated state, in few specimens, in the previously mentioned counties and in Vâlcea county, near the monasteries (eg Horezu Monastery). The phytocoenoses where this species grows are rich in southern elements (eg Cornus mas L., Cerasus avium (L.) Moench, Quer-cus dalechampii Ten., Tilia tomentosa Moench etc.). They are included in the association Castaneo-Quercetum Horvat 1938. If we refer to the habitats in Romania, the areas occupied by edible chestnut are included in the R4141 habitat - Daco-Balkan forests of sessile oak (Quercus petraea) and chestnut (C. sativa) with Genista tinctoria - a habitat with a very high conservation value, and according to Natura 2000, forests of C. sativa are included in the 9260 habitats.

Introduction: In the year 2022, 4.9 million children died worldwide before five years of age. United Nations General Assembly has set the target of bringing down under-five child mortality to 25 deaths per 1000 live births by 2030. However, the United Nations Inter-Agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation highlights, that without rapid action many low and Lower Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) will not be able to achieve this target and 35 million under-five children will die before 2030. In such a scenario understanding the determinants that bring down preventable deaths in children is important. Design: Anonymized, publicly available data from the India National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) is collected. The sample consisted of 724,115 women in the age group of 15-49 years has been sub-grouped as urban and rural women. Data on the number of Anganwadi centers per state has been collected from the Ministry of Women and Child Development. For better analysis of data, the country is divided into regions. Union territories are grouped in these regions as per their geographical locations. Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation coefficient analysis, and linear regression analysis were done. Results: Results of the Pearson correlation indicated that there is a significantly large positive relationship between operational AWCs (%) and U5MR (r = 0.542, p < .001) whereas there is a significantly large negative relationship between women with Internet access (%) and U5MR, (r = -0.738, p < .001). For our data, the multiple regression equation for y is U5MR (per 1000 live births) = 0.77266. AWCs (%) - 0.58788. women with Internet access (%) + 53.68073. Conclusion: Compared to NFHS-4 (2015-16) U5MR has reduced in almost all states of the country. The study shows more urban women have access to the Internet as compared to rural women. Child mortality is higher in rural areas in every state as compared to urban areas. Urban women have more access to health information because of internet access which may be the reason for lesser child mortality in urban areas compared to rural areas. Internet access for women (individual level) is far more effective in bringing down U5MR if compared to the community-level approach of Daycare centers.

As entrepreneurial interest is believed to represent a causal factor increasing entrepreneurship, research has begun to explore how family systems affect youth entrepreneurial interests. In the present study, we attempt to identify different types of family influence on the entrepreneurial interests of young people. A questionnaire was used to obtain data from 1,633 Spanish youths, who were 15 to 18 years old, and another questionnaire was used to obtain data from 839 parents. Principal Component Analysis identified unique family types and revealed that they have differential associations to entrepreneurial interest among youths. These findings reaffirm the influence of family on the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the promotion of an entrepreneurial family cuture. This study further suggests that early attention should focus on the detection of entrepreneurial interest among youths so that actions can be implemented in the families of low-interest youths to incentivize an entrepreneurial family culture.

The research presented in this article is based on a strategic approach to a rural area in the mountainous region of Romania and is underwritten by specialists in the economy of mountainous regions in order to elaborate relevant solutions to complex problems relating to sustainable development. In essence, the research underlines and promotes the particularities of performing research for the identification and valuation of endogenous resources, that is, creating relevant strategic options for the durable development of the mountainous region, centered on the renewal of economic activities related to the existent endogenous resources, by using methods, work techniques, and instruments of strategic analysis. These factors are subordinate to the process of harmonization to the requirements of community development and environmental protection according to the new strategy for the development of the European Union 2020 (European Green Pact). This pact also emphasizes the necessity of involving the different factor categories of local accountability, promotion, activation, and the development of specific economic activities of different local contexts of sustainability. The research methodology used involves a case study whose complexity necessitated the use of quality and quantity research methods in order to underline specific elements of the rural area in the Romanian mountainous region. Specifically, we used a strategic diagnosis of the Romanian mountainous region using the PESTEL and SWOT models. In order to have relevant strategic options available, the continuity of research was achieved through the use of SOR analysis, creating a problem tree and an objectives tree.

In the paper, by a very simple approach, the author establishes an expression in terms of a lower Hessenberg determinant for the Euler polynomials. By the determinantal expression, the author finds a recurrence relation for the Euler polynomials. By the way, the author derives the corresponding expression and recurrence relation for the Euler numbers.

Snakebite envenomation remains a major cause of morbidity and mortality in rural populations. This study aimed to identify factors associated with complications from snakebite envenomation reported in health facilities in the Cascades region of Burkina Faso. This cross-sectional study used routine data of patients admitted for snakebite envenomation in five health facilities between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2021. Data were collected on sociodemographic, clinical, and therapeutic characteristics of patients showing signs of envenomation. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine factors associated with complications. Among the 846 patients with envenomation, 355 (42%) experienced complications. Local complications at the bite site included wounds (21.5%) and skin necrosis (12.5%). Systemic complications included hemorrhage (30.5%), shock (16.3%), and coma (4.3%), with a mortality rate of 3.2%. Factors significantly associated with complications were rural residence (AOR: 4.80; 95% CI: 2.21-11.4), incision at the bite site (AOR: 4.31; 95% CI: 2.51-7.52), tourniquet application (AOR: 5.52; 95% CI: 1.42-30.8), bleeding (AOR: 14.2; 95% CI: 8.80-23.4), abnormal vital signs (AOR: 14.3; 95% CI: 9.22-22.7), and non-administration of antivenom serum (AOR: 2.92; 95% CI: 1.8-4.8). These findings highlight the importance of antivenom availability and public awareness to reduce complications from snakebite envenomation.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was officially declared a pandemic on the 11^th March 2020. It is caused by the novel severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), impacting the lower respiratory tract. International travel to Australia during the early stages of the pandemic prior to border closure provided avenues for this virus to spread into Australia. There is little understanding of the clonality of SARS-CoV-2 isolates in Australia, and where they originated. This study aimed to investigate the clonality and ancestral sources of SARS-CoV-2 isolates in Australia using in silico methods. We retrieved 1,346 complete genomes from Australia along with 153 genomes from other countries from the NCBI nucleotide database and Global Initiative On Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID). We then constructed a representative population of 270 sequences for downstream phylogenetic analysis and ancestral area reconstruction. Overall, two major clusters, one stemming from Europe and another from Asia, especially East Asia, were observed, implying at least two major transmission events with subsequent clades confirming the multiclonality of Australian isolates. We also identified three potential dissemination routes of SARS-CoV-2 into Australia. This study supports the hypothesis of multiple clonality and dispersals of SARS-CoV-2 isolates into Australia.

The pharmaceutical industry is one of the largest pollutants and generator of toxic solvent resi-dues for the environment and human beings. In the last decade, there has been a huge evolution in the design and development of new environmentally friendly products and processes, in re-sponse to the global environmental concern and the growing demand for products with quality ingredients and manufacturing processes aimed at achieving sustainability. Consumers are looking for products with the benefits of natural products, with sustainable and environmentally friendly formulations with few synthetic molecules as possible. Thus, based on the origins of the pharmaceutical industry, it is important to return to Nature and enjoy the benefits that natural products bring to us. Deep eutectic solvents appear as an alternative to toxic solvents commonly used to extract bioactive compounds. These solvents are considered green solvents because they are made up of natural compounds such as sugars, amino acids, and carboxylic acids. In addition, they are simple to prepare, with an atomic economy of 100%, with attractive physicochemical properties. This paper is a comprehensive review in which is described the main properties, characteristics, and production methods of deep eutectic solvents as well as its application to extract from natural sources bioactive compounds with pharmaceutical interest.

In the paper, the authors find closed forms for derangement numbers in terms of the Hessenberg determinants, discover a recurrence relation of derangement numbers, present a formula for any higher order derivative of the exponential generating function of derangement numbers, and compute some related Hessenberg and tridiagonal determinants.

The detection of early biomarkers and molecular mechanisms in Parkinson’s disease (PD) remains a challenge. Recent research has pointed to potential roles for peptidylarginine deiminases (PADs), a family of calcium activated enzymes, and associated post-translational protein citrul-lination/deimination in early stages of the disease, with a focus on hippocampal and cortex re-gions of the brain. Further analysis of brain region specific changes in PAD isozymes and identi-fication of brain-region specific citrullinomes, therefore remain to be studied. This study assessed brain-region specific PAD isozyme expression (PADs 1-4; PAD6) and associated citrullinated protein targets in the 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) induced rat model of pre-motor PD. Cortex, hippocampus, striatum, midbrain, cerebellum and olfactory bulb were compared between con-trols/shams and the PD model. In cortex, a significant increase of PAD2 and PAD3 was observed in the PD model. In hippocampus, PAD3, PAD4 and PAD6 showed strongest levels, but with no significant changes observed between PD and controls. In striatum, a significant reduction in all PAD isozymes was observed in the PD model. In the olfactory bulb, PAD3 was significantly el-evated in PD. In midbrain, PAD2, PAD4 and PAD6 showed strongest signal but with no signifi-cant changes between PD and controls. In cerebellum, a significant increase was seen in PAD3, PAD4 and PAD6 in the PD model. Citrullinated protein hits were most abundant in cortex and hippocampus, while for the PD model an increase in citrullinated hits was particularly observed in cortex and cerebellum, compared to controls. For all brain regions there was a considerable difference in citrullinated protein IDs between the PD model and the controls. Citrullinome as-sociated KEGG pathways differed in the six brain regions; some were overlapping for controls and PD, some were identified for the PD model only, and some were identified in control brains only. KEGG pathways identified in PD brains onlywere: “Axon guidance”; “Spinocerebellar ataxia”; “Hippo signalling pathway”; “NOD-like receptor signalling pathway”; “Phosphatidyl-inositol signalling system”; “Rap1 signalling pathway”; “Platelet activation”; “Yersinia infection”; “Fc gamma R-mediated phagocytosis”; “Human cytomegalovirus infection”; “Inositol phosphate metabolism”; “Thyroid hormone signalling pathway”; “Progesterone-mediated oocyte matura-tion”; “Oocyte meiosis”; and “Choline metabolism in cancer”. Our findings highlight differences in PAD isozymes, citrullinated proteins and associated KEGG pathways between brain regions, in pre-motor PD.

One of the factors in the mobility of a nation's economy is the stock exchange which plays a decisive role in sustainable economic development. Accordingly, and for the special place of the stock exchange in the economy, we decided to investigate the relationship between the interest and exchange rates and the Tehran stock exchange dividend and price index (TEDPIX). Using the autoregressive distributed lag method, the present study is conducted utilizing the annual data over the period of 1991 to 2020. The results indicate that the exchange rate has a positive long-run relationship with the TEDPIX, but no statistically significant relationship was found between the TEDPIX and the interest rate. Furthermore, the results of the estimation of the error correction model show that 30.786% of the disequilibrium in each period is adjusted to the long-run equilibrium.

In the paper, by virtue of the Faá di Bruno formula and two identities for the Bell polynomial of the second kind, the authors find a closed form for the Stirling polynomials in terms of the Stirling numbers of the first and second kinds.

In the paper, the authors present an explicit form for a family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations, find a more significant expression for all derivatives of a function related to the solution to the family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations in terms of the Lerch transcendent, establish an explicit formula for computing all derivatives of the solution to the family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations, acquire the absolute monotonicity, complete monotonicity, the Bernstein function property of several functions related to the solution to the family of inhomogeneous linear ordinary differential equations, discover a diagonal recurrence relation of the Stirling numbers of the first kind, and derive an inequality for bounding the logarithmic function.

In the paper, the authors consider the generating functions of the Hermite polynomials and their squares, present explicit formulas for higher order derivatives of the generating functions of the Hermite polynomials and their squares, which can be viewed as ordinary differential equations or derivative polynomials, find differential equations that the generating functions of the Hermite polynomials and their squares satisfy, and derive explicit formulas and recurrence relations for the Hermite polynomials and their squares.

In the dynamic interplay between people and their physical environments, the Global South stands as a mosaic undergoing a multitude of transformative influences in architecture and urbanism where examining social sustainability becomes imperative. While prevailing attention remains on environmental and economic sustainability, this study addresses a persistent gap in the urban literature by focusing on the dynamic and manifold nature of social sustainability. Positioning itself within the context of sustainable development, the study links the pursuit of social aspects of sustainability with selected unique urban contexts from the Global South. Five cases that include Alexandria (Egypt), Tripoli (Libya), Basra (Iraq), Lilongwe (Malawi), and Accra (Ghana) are discussed through multi-layered investigations that involve attitude surveys, interviews, focus groups, participatory systematic observations, and behavioral mapping, engaging directly with inhabitants and stakeholders. Uncovering people-place narratives in the identified contexts, the cases are developed into five knowledge typologies that serve as practical tools for planning and design decision-making, policy formulation, and academic discourse. Discussions are conceived to demonstrate the transformative role people-place narratives play in fostering a more sustainable and equitable urban future. Conclusions are drawn to offer practical insights for stakeholders involved in various capacities in shaping the urban landscape of the Global South.

The Himalaya is well known for high diversity and ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants. However, not all areas of the Himalayas are well studied. In particular, studies on ethnobotanical uses of plants from the Eastern Himalayas are rare and lacking for many tribes. Past studies primarily focused on listing plants name and their traditional medicinal uses. However, studies on traditional ethnopharmacological practices on medicine preparation had not yet been reported in published literature from the Eastern Himalaya. In this study, we are reporting the first time ethnopharmacological used 24 medicines, their procedures of preparation and listed 53 plant species used for those medicines for Monpa tribe. Such documentations had not yet been done for other tribes in India. Our research demonstrates the urgent need to documents traditional medicine preparation procedures from the local healers before rapid cultural modernization forgets them in transforming country like India. This study should motivate national and international researchers to do more works on ethnopharmacology and bioprospecting.

Background- In India, 26 million children are born every year. These Children (0-6 years) comprise 13% of the country's population. Undernutrition is fallout of malnutrition, malabsorption, and nutritional imbalance which causes problem of underweight in children. It can affect child’s brain development and other developmental milestones. Methods- We used anonymized, publicly available secondary data from the India National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5). Descriptive statistical analysis, correlation coefficient analysis, and regression analysis of the data have been done. Results- Multiple linear regression for independent variables, operational AWCs (%) and women with Internet access (%), and dependent variable underweight children per state (%) developed the model, Underweight children (%) = 37.1607 + 0.5659. operational AWCs (%) – 0.2907. women with Internet Access (%). It shows Ꞵ0= 37.1607, Ꞵ1= 0.5659, and Ꞵ2= -0.2907 as well as R squared value as 0.5709. This shows independent variables have a significant influence on the number of underweight children in the state. Results of the Pearson correlation indicated that there is a significant large positive relationship between operational AWCs (%) and the percentage of underweight children in the state, (r(34) = .58, p < .001). Whereas there is a significant large negative relationship between Internet access to women (%) and the percentage of underweight children in the state, (r(34) = .733/-0.733, p < .001). Conclusion- The study clearly shows that when compared, community daycare centers (AWCs) have a limited role in the child's nutrition, but Internet access to the mothers can be a determinant of the child's nutrition. The internet access to women can help to reduce the number of underweight children under five years and improve overall maternal and child health as well as public health.

This study delves into the dynamics of 'Variations' and 'Claims' within construction projects, specifically under the FIDIC-Red Book 1999 (FIDIC 1999) framework. It aims to identify, categorize, and devise mitigation strategies for key types of Variations and Claims, aligning with the FIDIC Conditions of Contract. The research, drawing on inputs from construction industry professionals including Contract Administrators and Project Managers, focuses on the MENA re-gion. This choice is driven by the region's extensive adoption of FIDIC standards and its rapidly growing construction sector. Data collection encompassed a questionnaire distributed to 80 industry experts, predominantly through interviews, focusing on countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Kuwait, and Egypt. These locations were chosen to reflect diverse construction practices and the involvement of international firms. Utilizing SPSS-V.25 for statistical analysis, the study uncovers the most prevalent and impactful causes of Variations and Claims, highlighting the critical need for managerial intervention. A key feature of this study is the integration of Scientometric Analysis for a quantitative review of current literature, providing a comprehensive academic context. A significant addition to the methodology is the implementation of a k-means clustering analysis. This advanced statistical technique further classifies the data into distinct clusters, each representing unique combinations of 'Frequency' and 'Impact' of Variations and Claims. The k-means analysis elucidates intricate patterns and potential solutions, offering profound insights into effectively managing these issues. These analytical advancements are crucial in identifying significant and manageable responses to reduce the frequency and impact of Variations and Claims in construction projects.

Object detection is complex and involved diverse requirements for different applications. In critical application such as visual impaired navigation guide and real-time surveillance for instance, identifying a particular object of instance is required and this involved a complex approach for realization. Literatures were reviewed, starting with the application of deep learning techniques for object detection; their gaps were identified and addressed using real-time object detection models literature review. From the review gaps were also detected and addressed using literature review on occlusion detection techniques. Object of instance detection in clustered scene with similar object of interest was identified as an open gap not addressed in the existing literature; even through it is vital for many applications. This research recommended an Occlusion Based Object of Instance Detection (OBOID) technique which used the spatial information to identify instant object of interest in clustered scene with many similarly object of interest. Limitation of the recommended OBOID is that it requires only system where position and distance of object is necessary to inform other decision.

Nanling Mountain region is a typical southern hilly region, which plays an important ecological and environmental protection role in China's overall land protection pattern. Based on the remote sensing image data of Longnan City in Nanling Mountain in 2013, 2018 and 2023, this paper interpreted the land use type and analyzed the land use transfer situation by using Land use transfer flow, and Land use transfer matrix. At the same time, based on the remote sensing Ecological index (RSEI) model, the ecological environment quality of Longnan City from 2013 to 2023 was retrieved. The temporal and spatial response model of ecological environment quality to land use transfer in Longnan City from 2013 to 2023 was discussed based on Spatial autocorrelation and Geographic detector. The results show that from 2013 to 2023, the decrease of forest land (16.23km²) and the increase of construction land (13.25km²) were the main land use transfer in Longnan City. The ecological environment index of Longnan City in 2013, 2018 and 2023 was 0.789, 0.917 and 0.872, respectively, showing a trend of "first rising and then decreasing". The ecological environment quality in the north of Longnan City was significantly lower than that in the south, and the poor ecological quality area appeared in and around the northern main urban area, showing a trend of "inward contraction". Forest land, garden land, grassland, cultivated land and water area have a positive impact on ecological environment quality, while traffic land, construction land and other land have a negative impact on ecological environment quality. The response of ecological environment quality to different land use transfer modes is related to the change of the overall ecological environment quality. The interaction between LUCC and other factors had a great impact on the evolution of ecological environment quality in Longnan City.

The Source Region of the Yellow River (SRYR), renowned as the "Water Tower of the Yellow River", serves as an important water conservation domain in the upper reaches of the Yellow River, significantly influencing water resources within the basin. Based on the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) Model Hydrological modeling system (WRF-Hydro) model, the key variables of the atmosphere-land-hydrology coupling processes over the SRYR during the 2013 rainy season are analyzed. The investigation involves a comparative analysis between the coupled WRF-Hydro and the standalone WRF simulations, focusing on the hydrological response to the atmosphere. The results reveal that the WRF-Hydro model's proficiency in depicting streamflow variations over the SRYR, yielding a Nash Efficiency Coefficient (NSE) of 0.44 and of  0.61 during the calibration and validation periods, respectively. Compared to the standalone WRF simulations, the coupled WRF-Hydro model demonstrates enhanced performance in soil heat fluxes simulations, reducing the mean Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) of surface soil temperature by 0.96 K and soil moisture by 0.01 m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}/m\textsuperscript{\textsuperscript{3}}. Furthermore, the coupled model adeptly captures the streamflow variation characteristics with the NSE of 0.33. This underscores the significant potential of the coupled WRF-Hydro model for delineating coupled atmosphere-land-hydrology processes in regions characterized by cold climates and intricate topography.

In the context of healthcare technology management (HTM) in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf region, this study addresses a significant gap by exploring both external and internal risk factors affecting HTM performance. Previous research has primarily focused on modeling or predicting failures in medical devices, mostly examining internal (endogenous) factors that impact device performance and the development of optimal service strategies. However, a comprehensive investigation of external (exogenous) factors has been notably absent. This research introduces a novel hierarchical risk management framework, designed to accommodate the broad array of healthcare technologies, not limited to medical devices. It significantly advances the field by thoroughly investigating and validating a comprehensive set of 53 risk factors and assessing their influence on HTM. Additionally, this study embraces the perspective of enterprise risk management (ERM) and expands it to identify and incorporate a wider range of risk factors, offering a more holistic and strategic approach to risk assessment in healthcare technology management. The findings reveal that several external and internal factors previously underexplored significantly impact HTM performance. Notably, the Fuzzy AHP survey identified “design risk” under facility and environmental risks as the highest risk for HTM in the region. Furthermore, the study reveals that three out of the top ten risks are related to “facility and internal environmental” factors, six are related to technological endogenous factors, and only one is related to managerial factors. This distribution underscores the critical areas for intervention and the need for robust facility and technology management strategies. In conclusion, this research not only fills a critical void by providing a robust framework for healthcare technology risk assessment but also broadens the scope of risk analysis to include a wider array of technologies, thereby enhancing the efficacy and safety of healthcare interventions in the region. Additionally, the proposed hierarchy provides insights into the underlying risk factors for healthcare technology management, with potential applications extending beyond the regional context to a global scale. Moreover, the equation we propose offers a novel perspective on the key risk factors involved in healthcare technology management, presenting insights with far-reaching implications applicable not only regionally but also on a global level. This framework also supports sustainability goals by encouraging the efficient and responsible utilization and management of healthcare technologies, essential for ensuring the long-term economic and environmental sustainability of medical technology use.

In this study, the team employed full-scale crash tests to investigate the impact of post-densification technology on the safety performance of separated central median W-beam barriers under low compaction conditions. By precisely simulating the design and construction environment of the central median, the study comprehensively evaluated the barrier's containment, redirection, buffering, and anti-intrusion performances, as well as the deformation of both the barrier and vehicles under various collision scenarios. The results indicate that under low compaction soil conditions, the A-level separated central median barriers reinforced with post-densification technology effectively meet the specified protection requirements. By comparing the influence of soil strength variations on barrier performance under simulated rainfall conditions, it was confirmed that enhancing soil compaction significantly improves soil stability, effectively increases the overall strength and stability of the barriers, reduces deformation, and significantly enhances safety performance. This study not only validates the effectiveness of the reinforcement scheme but also provides new perspectives for the scientific research of safety barriers and offers crucial technical support for the optimal design of road safety protection facilities.

This study evaluated batch fermentation modes, namely, separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF), Quasi-simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (Q-SSF), and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF), and fermentation conditions, i.e., enzyme and yeast loadings, nutrient supplementation and sterilization, on high titer bioethanol production from SPORL-pretreated Douglas-fir forest residue without detoxification. The result indicated Q-SSF and SSF were obviously superior to SHF operation in terms of ethanol yield. The enzyme loading showed a strong positive correlation between enzyme loading and the ethanol yield. The nutrient supplementation and sterility was not necessary for ethanol production from SPORL-pretreated Douglas-fir. The yeast loading showed no significant influence on the ethanol yield for typical SSF conditions. The terminal ethanol titer of 43.2 g/L, or 75.1% theoretical based on glucose, mannose, and xylose theoretical was achieved when SSF was conducted at the condition of following: whole slurry solids loading of 15%, enzyme loading of 20 FPU/g glucan, 1.8 g/kg (wet) yeast loading, without nutrition supplementation and sterilization, at 38°C, on shake flask at 150 rpm for 96h. It is believed that with mechanical mixing, enzyme loading can be substantially reduced with affect ethanol yield by using a long fermentation time.

The transition to reproduction is a crucial step in the life cycle of any organism. In Arabidopsis thaliana the establishment of reproductive growth can be divided into two phases: Firstly, cauline leaves with axillary meristems are formed and internode elongation begins. Secondly, lateral meristems develop into flowers with defined organs. Floral shoots are usually determinate and suppress the development of lateral shoots. Here, we describe a transposon insertion mutant in the Nossen accession with defects in floral development and growth. Most strikingly is the outgrowth of stems from the axillary bracts of the primary flower carrying secondary flowers. Therefore, we named this mutant flower-in-flower (fif). However, the transposon insertion in the annotated gene is not the cause for the fif phenotype. By means of classical and genome sequencing-based mapping, the mutation responsible for the fif phenotype was found to be in the LEAFY gene. The mutation, a G-to-A exchange in the second exon of LEAFY, creates a novel lfy allele and results in a cysteine-to-tyrosine exchange in the α1-helix of LEAFY´s DNA-binding domain. This exchange abolishes target DNA-binding, whereas subcellular localization and homomerization are not affected. To explain the strong fif phenotype against this molecular findings, several hypotheses are discussed.

In the paper, the author presents explicit and unified expressions for a sequence of improper integrals in terms of the beta functions and the Wallis ratios. Hereafter, the author derives integral representations for the Catalan numbers originating from combinatorics.

To investigate the influence of supplemental lighting intensity on the production of cut gerbera during Canada’s supplemental lighting season (November to March), trials were carried out at a research greenhouse. Five supplemental LED light intensity (LI) treatments provided canopy-level photosynthetic photon flux densities (PPFD) ranging from 41 to 180 µmol·m-2·s-1. With a 12-h photoperiod, the treatments provided 1.76 to 7.72 mol·m-2·d-1 of supplemental light. Two cultivars of cut gerbera (Gerbera jamesonii H. Bolus ex Hook.f) were used to evaluate vegetative growth and flower production. Plugs of ‘Ultima’ were assessed for vegetative growth and rate of flower development. There were minor LI treatment effects on number of leaves and chlorophyll content index and flowers from plants under the highest vs. lowest LI matured 10% faster. Reproductively mature ‘Panama’ plants were assessed for flower yield and quality. ‘Panama’ flowers from the highest LI treatment had shorter stems than the three lowest LI treatments, flowers from the middle LI treatment had larger diameter than the other treatments. Flowers from the lowest LI treatment had lower fresh mass than the three highest LI treatments. There were linear relationships between LI and numbers of flowers harvested, with the highest LI treatment producing 10.3 and 7.0 more total and marketable flowers per plant than the lowest LI treatment. In general, increasing levels of supplemental light had only minor effects on vegetative growth (young plants) and size and quality of harvested flowers (mature plants) but flowers from plants grown under higher LIs were more numerous and matured faster.

The agronomic characteristics of Cenchrus purpureus were assessed through a randomized block experimental design with seven accessions (Taiwan grass, King grass, Elephant grass, Merkeron, CT-115, Purpule grass and Maralfalfa) as treatments and four replications research was carried out at the Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Tantoyuca, in 2019 and 2020, under rainfed conditions. Sowing density was established at 36 tillers in 25 m2. Green and dry matter yield, daily rates of dry matter accumulation in leaves, leaf/stem ratio, height, leaf area index and cutting frequency were assessed. Rainfall amount, temperature, relative humidity and global radiation levels were recorded to assess their effect on the evaluated variables. One-way ANOVA and multivariate analysis techniques, such as multiple linear regression (MLR), Clustering, and Principal component analysis (PCA) with the Statistica V7 software, were used. The leaf area index was greatest (p &lt; 0.05) on the dry season. Green and dry matter yield were greatest in Maralfalfa (p &lt; 0.05). Variation in the results is attributed to weather phenomena; nonetheless, Elephant grass and Maralfalfa showed the highest yields. Quality parameters must be evaluated to identify those grasses with the best attributes.

The transition to sustainable energy systems in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region addresses critical challenges of environmental protection, energy security, and socio-economic resilience. Using neo-institutional theory, this paper examines the intricate relationship between formal and informal institutions and their significant impact on the region’s energy transition. Despite the MENA region’s abundant renewable energy resources, numerous institutional barriers, such as governance inefficiencies, regulatory inconsistencies, and entrenched socio-cultural norms, significantly hinder this transition. Through a review of existing literature, this study presents a comprehensive analytical framework designed to overcome these barriers, with a focus on the Just and Sustainable Energy Transition model. This strategic model emphasizes equity, sustainability, and inclusive governance as pillars for reform. The study offers detailed recommendations for institutional change and underscores the importance of collaborative efforts among governments, industry stakeholders, and international partners to unlock the MENA region’s renewable energy potential, advance global sustainability goals, and ensure a more secure and resilient energy future.

Implementing High-Performance Computing to solve In-Memory Data Grid (IMDG)-based energy infrastructure resilience research problems in a heterogeneous environment presents a challenge to workflow management systems. Large-scale energy infrastructure needs multi-variant planning and tools to allocate and dispatch resources in IMDG taking into account the subject domain specificity, resource characteristics, and constraints and quotas for resource use. To that end, we propose a workflow management system using our Orlando Tools framework. To scale computing resources, we provide their integration and use corresponding software to determine key application parameters that can significantly impact the processed data size and the required number of allocated resources. We automated the IMDG cluster launch for the workflow executions. To demonstrate the advantage of our solution, we apply it to evaluate the resilience of the existing energy infrastructure model. Compared to similar approaches, our approach explores large infrastructures by modeling many simultaneously failed elements of different types up to the number of network elements. In terms of problem-solving efficiency and resource use, we achieve near-linear speedup with increasing the number of nodes of each resource.

In this study, the olive pomace was considered because of its importance in the environment. So, this study carried out to estimate the total nitrogen content and the fatty acids profile of olive pomace. The olive pomace samples were collected from Irbid, Jarash, Ajloun and Mafraq during the harvesting season 2014 to study the biochemical characteristics of fatty acid composition and the total nitrogen (TN) content. The total nitrogen content was determined by standard Kjeldahl method and the fatty acid profile was detected by gas chromatography (GC). The results show that the total nitrogen content ranged from (0.39 ± 0.0) to (0.62 ± 0.02) with statistically significant difference suggesting that the composition of matrices and their percentage may be responsible for composition of amendments. The calculated total protein percentage ranged between (2.43 ± 0.00) to (3.87 ± 0.17). Also, 13 different fatty acids were quantitatively profiled and quantitated. Oleic acid (C 18:1) was found to be the highest percentage of all other fatty acids and ranged between (59.03%) and (63.81%), moreover the C 18:1/C 18:2 (oil quality) was calculated and C.V% showed variation meaning that nutritional implication could affect the oxidative stability of oils. In conclusion, OP by-product could give a sustainable and alternative-cheap source for fertilizers, pharmaceutical industries, cosmetics and other industries.

This study investigates the concentrations of physicochemical and heavy metal contaminants in the groundwater of the Middle Awash Basin, Ethiopia, to inform targeted water management strategies. A total of 32 groundwater samples were collected from 16 stations via piezometers and boreholes at the end of both the dry (June 2021) and wet (October 2021) seasons. Utilizing Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS), and in situ metering, 22 physicochemical and 24 heavy metal parameters were analyzed. The data revealed significant levels of contamination; notably, sample GW11 had extraordinarily high concentrations of total dissolved solids (10,826 mg/L), strontium (908 µg/L), molybdenum (802.4 µg/L), zinc (6060 µg/L), and electrical conductivity (15,645 µS/cm), while GW12 exhibited elevated levels of aluminum (2615 µg/L), zinc (4446 µg/L), and arsenic (117.2 µg/L). Contaminants such as arsenic, vanadium, gallium, lithium, rubidium, chromium, manganese, copper, and zinc were found enriched in groundwater near Lake Beseka, influenced by agricultural runoff from sugarcane plantations and agro-industry activities. Over half of the groundwater sources were unsuitable for drinking, posing significant health risks to local communities that rely heavily on these sources due to limited access to clean surface water. The findings emphasize the urgent need for comprehensive groundwater management and remediation plans in the Middle Awash region to ensure safe and sustainable water use, particularly addressing the variation in contamination levels influenced by Lake Beseka. These measures are critical to protect public health and support local development in the face of ongoing environmental and anthropogenic pressures.

Background: Despite the abundant scientific literature on entrepreneurship, there is still only limited information on young students’ entrepreneurial intentions. The reasons may be generally found in the different conceptual approaches to entrepreneurial intention and particularly in the variables that regulate and act as antecedents to such intentions. This bias has generated different lines of investigation into the factors relating to entrepreneurial intention among students: one is centered on the variables that influence entrepreneurial intention, in particular, relational, educational, and psychological variables; and the other is centered on the antecedents of entrepreneurial intention, among which is entrepreneurial interest. Methods: In the present paper, we seek to analyze the relationship between the entrepreneurial interest of Spanish youth and a set of socio-educational, psychological, and health-related variables using principal component analysis. A previously validated ad hoc questionnaire was administered to 1764 students (15–18 years old). Results: Notably, few Spanish youth expressed significantly high entrepreneurial interest; those who did were mostly men with a family tradition of entrepreneurial parents, who held high perceptions of their health and quality of life and considered it important in business to detect opportunities beforehand and to create employment. Conclusions: Their principal motives were to improve their professional development, to put their ideas into practice, and to achieve economic independence. This paper proposes the early detection of entrepreneurial interests in young people in order to reinforce these interests as potential long-term initiatives.

GIGANTEA (GI) is a gene involved in multiple biological functions, which were analysed and are partially conserved in a series of mono- and dicotyledonous plant species. The identified biological functions include control over the circadian rhythm, light signalling, cold tolerance, hormone signalling and photoperiodic flowering. The latter function is a central role of GI, as it involves a multitude of pathways, both dependent and independent of the gene CONSTANS(CO) as well as on the basis of interaction with miRNA. The complexity of gene function of GI increases due to the existence of paralogs showing changes in genome structure as well as incidences of sub- and neofunctionalization. We present an updated report of the biological function of GI, integrating late insights into its role in floral initiation, flower development and flower volatile production.

This study addresses the critical challenge of Speech Enhancement (SE) in noisy environments, where the deployment of Deep Neural Networksolutions on microcontrollers is hindered by their extensive computational demands. Focusing on this gap, our research introduces a novel SE method optimized for MCUs, employing a 2-layer GRU model that capitalizes on perceptual speech properties and innovative training methodologies. By incorporating self-reference signals and a dual strategy of compression and recovery based on the Mel scale, we develop an efficient model tailored for low-latency applications. Our GRU-2L-128 model demonstrates a significant reduction in size and computational requirements, achieving a 14.2× decrease in model size and a 409.1× reduction in operations compared to traditional DNN methods like DCCRN, without compromising performance. This advancement offers a promising solution for enhancing speech intelligibility in resource-constrained devices, marking a pivotal step in SE research and application.

Objective: This study aimed to explore potential interventions or preventive measures to reduce the incidence of falls among the elderly in the Madinah region, and to provide recommendations for healthcare professionals, policymakers, and community stakeholders to enhance fall prevention strategies and improve the overall well-being of the elderly population in this area. Methods: The study adopted a cross-sectional study design, and was carried out in the Madinah region using convenient physical assignment among of Saudi and non-Saudi local residents aged 65 years and over. Questionnaire surveys were circulated and demographic characteristics were collected, including participants’ fall experience and health status data over the past year, in order to assess the incidence of falls among the elderly population. This design allows for the collection of data at a single point in time, aiming to evaluate the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of falls among the target population. Results: A total of 189 participants were recruited to the study, and the data indicated that the prevalence of falls among those aged 65 years and older in the past year was 41.5%. We found that 73% of the participants had experienced falls and post-fall injuries within the past 12 months. There were minimal differences in terms of physical handicapped cases found between those with and without a fall history. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant link between fall experience and maximum bite force. Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of falls in the elderly population in the Madinah region. Our study reveals that 50.79% of our elderly participants had experienced more than one fall during the preceding year. Some preventable risk factors were identified in an analysis of their daily routines. The impacts of these risk factors have potential consequences for their healthy lives.

Ecuador has 4000 Km2 of volcanic nanoclay reserves that could be industrialized. An immediate application is to modify the local AC-20 asphalt with this aggregate. This resource was characterized with FTIR, XRD, FRX, SEM, BET, Laser Granulometry, SPECMIN, TSG, TGA, DTG, DSC and Atmospheric Adsorption. FTIR showed vibration peaks Si and Al. X-ray diffraction indicated the presence of silicates and alumina, BET measured particle size (30 to 250 nm), and the SSA property measured the specific surface area (280.38 m2/g). Chip rock (natural clay) was treated with H2O2 or NaOH or NH3 and evaluated with SPECMIN -TSG obtaining spectra close to vermiculite, allophane and bentonite minerals. At 1000 °C additional samples were calcined in Thermogravimetry (TGA), Differential Thermogravimetry (DTG), Differential Thermal Analysis (DCS), with mass loss around 40%, corresponding to organic matter, hydroxyl (OH) and destruction of its structure with spicule formation at 956 °C. With the DSC there were endothermic and exothermic manifestations. The Si/Al layers would have micro and meso porosity, it was also found to be a nanoparticulate material, with high adsorption capacity. At temperatures above 350 °C, its structure collapsed. Thus, this synthesized nanoclay will be used as an additive to form new materials.

Magnetic quantum oscillations (MQO) are traditionally applied to investigate the electronic structure of metals. In layered quasi-two-dimensional (Q2D) materials the MQO have several qualitative features giving additional useful information, provided their theoretical description is developed. Within the framework of the Kubo formula and the self-consistent Born approximation, we reconsider the phase of beats in the amplitude of Shubnikov oscillations of interlayer conductivity in Q2D metals. We show that the phase shift of beats of the Shubnikov (conductivity) oscillations relative to the de Haas - van Alphen (magnetization) oscillations is larger than expected previously and, under certain conditions, can reach the value of π/2, as observed experimentally. We explain the phase inversion of MQO during the 3D - 2D crossover and predict the decrease of relative MQO amplitude of interlayer magnetoresistance in a strong magnetic field, larger than the beat frequency.

The Vu Gia - Thu Bon River Basin (VG-TB) is confronting numerous challenges related to water security (WS), particularly in the face of the impacts of climate change. These challenges manifest in salinity intrusion, altered rainfall patterns, and reduced water supply in downstream areas. To assess the current state of water security in the basin, the study employed statistical analysis methods, Process Analysis Method (PAM), SMART, and Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to develop a comprehensive Assessment Framework for Water Security (AFWS) in the VG-TB. The AFWS encompasses five key dimensions, 17 indicators, and 28 variables, aligning with the UN-Water definition of water security and addressing the Sustainable Development Goal 6 (SDG6) criteria for global water sustainability. It also adheres to the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) approach to water security assessment as outlined in the Asian Water Development Outlook (AWDO) reports. This allows for the computation of a comprehensive Water Security Index (WSI) for specific regions, serving as a foundation for decision-making and policy formulation aimed at enhancing water security in the context of climate change and facilitating sustainable basin development in the future.

Pito is a traditionally brewed alcoholic beverage in some African countries. It is gaining much prominence and the patronage among the youth. Therefore, samples of the drink were collected every week for six weeks from three different popular brewing sites at Lower Prampram in the Ningo-Prampram District of Accra, Ghana. The samples were processed and examined for bacteria and fungi using the Standard Plate Count (SPC) technique. A total of six different bacteria and a fungus were isolated. The bacteria were Escherichia coli, Klesiella pneumoniae, Shigella spp, Enterobacter aerogenes, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeroginosa, whiles the fungus was Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Total viable counts as well as individual isolates counts in all the pito samples were found to be less than 104 cfu/ml. It is noteworthy that, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the only fungus isolated is known to be associated with fermentation and the microbes isolated from the pito samples were found to be within the permissible limits. However, these potentially pathogenic microbes, if found in unacceptable limits, from the fermenting samples could merit public health attention. Therefore, periodic screening of pito and their brewers, coupled with education on the maintenance of recommended guidelines concerning food and drink production is encouraged.

.(1) Background: Groundwater resources management in dry lands, characterized by climate var-iability and population growth, is difficult. Exploration and exploitation of groundwater, due to inadequate surface water is very costly. The present study employed Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and GIS to identify Ground-Water Potential (GWP) areas in a semi-arid region of Nigeria; (2) Methods: Land-use-land-cover, drainage density, slope, rainfall, static water level, soil media, vadose media and aquifer media were selected for GWP analysis. Parameters weights were de-termined using AHP and ranked based on their contribution to GWP by experts. The parameters were then integrated using weighted overlay tool in ArcGIS 10.5 to produce GWP map of the study area. Boreholes yield data from 245 wells were collected to determine the model accuracy and model validation; (3) Results: Results classified the study area into very high GWP (1.9%), high GWP (8.8%), moderate GWP (62%), low GWP (20.70%) and very low GWP (6.6%). Validation of the AHP model with boreholes yield data shows a correlation coefficient of 71.3% giving a good prediction; (4) Conclusions: AHP and GIS can be used to successfully map GWP areas which could serve as an exploration guide for sustainable management of groundwater resources in semi-arid areas.

Astronomical X-ray polarimetry was first explored in the end of the 60's by pioneering rocket instruments. The craze arising from the first discoveries on stellar and supernova remnant X-ray polarization led to the addition of X-ray polarimeters on-board of early satellites. Unfortunately, the inadequacy of the diffraction and scattering technologies required to measure polarization with respect to the constraints driven by X-ray mirrors and detectors, coupled to long integration times, slowed down the field for almost 40 years. Thanks to the development of new, highly sensitive, compact X-ray polarimeters in the beginning of the 2000's, the possibility to observe astronomical X-ray polarization is rising again and scientists are now ready to explore the high energy sky thanks to modern X-ray polarimeters. In the forthcoming years, several X-ray missions (both rockets, balloons and satellites) will open a new observational windows. A wind of renewal blows over the area of X-ray polarimetry and this paper presents for the first time a quantitative assessment, all based on scientific literature, of the growth of interest for astronomical X-ray polarimetry.

Vocational interest inventories are widely used by career counselors to help individuals to make career choices. The most common approach to assess vocational interests is based on verbal or textual stimuli. However, some of them are based on pictorials to overcome reading limits and provide additional information about the working environment and the activities related to a particular job. This article aims to present two studies on the development and first validation of the Multilingual Iconographic Professional Interest Inventory (MIPII) on two samples, one composed of 792 high-school students, and one composed of 366 middle school students. The inventory aimed to assesses the vocational interests of people over 19 areas by illustrations representing 95 jobs, five for each one, combined with their title in six different languages (Arabic, German, English, Spanish, French and Italian in this order). Both illustrations and titles are provided separately in the male and female version on the same page.

History is part of the social sciences or humanities. In history, it studies events in the past which also determine what happens in the present and the future. With history, we can find out events and incidents in the past by reading books or by watching movies. Historical science provides many benefits for all circles. However, in this 21st century, which is a modern era, history is less desirable among millennials for various reasons. The purpose of writing this paper, the first is to find out what are the benefits of historical science in this millennial era, the second is to find out whether history is in demand or not among millennials, then what is the benefit of history in this millennial era. The third is to find a solution related to historical science learning so as not to be boring while maintaining its benefits. This research is to solve a common problem among millennials, namely whether millennials are interested in studying history and what can increase millennial interest in studying history. Researchers collect data to compile this paper with a qualitative method, which is to collect the latest journals for reference between 2019 and 2021 which are related to the urgency of 21st-century history for millennials. In addition, the researchers also looks for the latest data related to interest in studying historical science which is used to find out whether history is in demand or not among millennials. Thus, this research can find out what causes millennials to be less interested in history and find a solution, namely by using film media to increase millennial interest. This article is very useful in providing information about the urgency of learning history in the 21st century so that readers can use this article as material to conduct further research on this matter. As for this research, it has limitations, namely this research is only limited to millennials in relation to the urgency of historical science.

As a precious natural resource, forests are being destroyed. In previous studies, there is a lack of interactive assessment of its distribution that comprehensively considers multiple external disturbances. This paper takes the Barcelona Metropolitan Region as an example. Based on remote sensing, it analyzes the development process of the forest from 2006 to 2018 through multiple landscape indicators, and OLS models were established to analyze variables that have direct and indirect effects on forest distribution. In addition, the ecological structure of the forest was analyzed based on NDVI. It was found that the forest area is the largest but has been decreasing, becoming more complex in distribution structure. Much of the forest was converted to agricultural land and grassland. The green quality of forests was increasing, and the broad-leaved forest, the second largest area, contributes the most. NDVI is the most important positively correlated variable, and daytime surface temperature is an important inverse factor related to NDVI. In addition, NDBI is also a negative condition that inhibits forest development. In conclusion: The BMR forest area is decreasing and becoming more fragmented. NDVI and daytime LST are the two most significant factors. Climate warming may lead to worse forest development.