Quantifying the landscape pattern change can effectively demonstrate the ecological progresses and the consequences of urbanization. Based on remotely sensed land cover data in 1994, 2000, 2006 and a gradient analysis with landscape metrics at landscape- and class- level, we attempted to characterize the individual and entire landscape patterns of Shanghai metropolitan during the rapid urbanization. We highlighted that a roadscape transect approach that combined the buffer zone method and the transect-based approach was introduced to describe the urban-rural patterns of agricultural, residential, green, industrial, and public facilities land along the railway route. Our results of landscape metrics showed significant spatiotemporal patterns and gradient variations along the transect. The urban growth pattern in two time spans conform to the hypothesis for diffusion–coalescence processes, implying that the railway is adaptive as a gradient element to analyze the landscape patterns with urbanization. As the natural landscape was replaced by urban landscape gradually, the urban fringe expanded radically. The results also showed that the desakota region expanded its extent widely. Satellite towns witnessed the continual transformation from the predominantly rural landscape to peri-urban landscape. Furthermore, the gap between urban and rural areas remained large especially in public service. More reasonable urban plans and land use policies should push to make more of an effort to transition from the urban-rural separation to coordinated urban-rural development. This study is a meaningful trial in demonstrating a new form of urban–rural transects to study the landscape change of large cities from a strategic viewpoint. By combining gradient analysis with landscape metrics, we addressed the process of urbanization both spatially and temporally, and provided a more quantitative approach to urban studies.

Water resources provided by alpine glaciers are an important pillar for people living in the arid regions in the west of China. In this study, the HBV (Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenavdelning) light model was applied to simulate glacier mass balance and runoff in the Koxkar River Basin (KRB) on the south slope of Mt. Tumur, western Tianshan Mts.. Daily temperature and precipitation were calculated by multiple linear regressions and gradient-inverse distance weighting, respectively, based on in-situ observed data by automatic weather stations (AWSs) in the basin (2007–2009) and at four meteorological stations neighbering the basin (1959–2009). Observed daily air temperature and precipitation were taken as input data for the HBV model, which was calibrated using runoff in 2007/08 and 2009/10, and validated in 2008/09 and 2010/11. Generally, the model could simulate runoff very well. The annual glacier mass balance and runoff were calculated using the HBV model driven by interpolated meteorological data for the period of 1959–2009. The simulated glacier mass balance were reasonable when compared with those observed values at nearby glaciers, indicating a decrease trend of mass balance in the basin with an average value of –370.4 mm a^-1 since 1959. The annual runoff showed a slight increase trend (5.51 mm a^-1). Futher analysis indicated that the runoff is more sensitive to temperature than precipitation amuont in the Koxkar river basin.

Viral co-infections, where a host is infected by multiple viruses simultaneously, are common in the human population. Human viral co-infections can lead to complex interactions between viruses and the host immune system, affecting the clinical outcome and posing challenges for treatment. Understanding the types, mechanisms, impacts, and identification methods of human viral co-infections is crucial for the prevention and control of viral diseases. In this review, we first introduce the significance of studying human viral co-infections and summarize the current research progress and gaps in this field. We then classify human viral co-infections into four types based on the pathogenic properties and species of the viruses involved. Next, we discuss the molecular mechanisms of viral co-infections, focusing on virus-virus interactions, host immune responses, and clinical manifestations. We also summarize the experimental and computational methods for identifying viral co-infections, emphasizing the latest advances in high-throughput sequencing and bioinformatics approaches. Finally, we highlight the challenges and future directions in human viral co-infection research, aiming to provide new insights and strategies for the prevention, control, diagnosis, and treatment of viral diseases. This review provides a comprehensive overview of the current knowledge and future perspectives on human viral co-infections, and underscores the need for interdisciplinary collaborations to address this complex and important topic.

Climate warming is expected to have pronounced effects on Arctic and Subarctic ecosystems, especially regions underlain by discontinuous and relatively warm permafrost. The main goal of this research is to evaluate the vulnerability and dynamics of permafrost under climate warming across the various ecotypes in respect of ecosystem stability, socioeconomic impact, and for better understanding possible future environmental changes. We suggested the new version of the spatially distributed permafrost dynamics model (GIPL2-MPI), which is developed in the Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks. This model is based on the ecosystem approach to simulate the permafrost dynamics, which we are discussing in this paper. We combined ground-based observations and numerical freeze/thaw modeling using climate-ecosystem-permafrost interactions to understand the physical processes and mechanisms controlling permafrost physical state. We predict the changes in permafrost conditions using output from two GCMs (NCAR-CCSM4 and GFDL-CM3) and Five-Model Average Ensemble for the RCP-4.5 and RCP-8.5 scaled down to 1 by 1 km spatial resolution (https://uaf-snap.org/) across entire Alaska. Our result shows that by the end of the current century widespread near-surface permafrost degradation could begin everywhere in Alaska southward of the Brooks Range as well as across some spots at the North Slope Alaska.

Air pollution, climate change and global warming show direct linkage. Introduction - Background: Research in the field has proposed and demonstrated their link to increased allergenicity in plants, leading to increased allergic diseases. Allergen patterns are changing in response to climate change. Across Europe, up to 12% of the population suffers from allergic diseases (bronchial asthma and allergic rhinitis) caused by the pollen grains. The medical costs of these types of allergies are enormous and are increasing with the spread of common ragweed - Ambrosia artemisiifolia* in Europe. In practice, more and more patients are turning to allergists. Methods: Based on these data, the research aims to identify safety measures and specific legislation to control and eradicate common ragweed in the countries most affected by the spread of this plant in Europe, increase in population exposure in countries affected by the presence of common ragweed and the socio-economic impact of allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma at European level.[1][2] Our database search did not reveal any other research that has addressed this topic to date. Results: This research identifies specific legislation to the countries most affected by the spread of this plant pollen grains at European level, changes in allergen patterns and monitoring/safety eradication measures decided by local authorities, and data on the spread of common ragweed over the last two decades, costs per treatment, increased allergic rhinitis and bronchial asthma morbidity in the most affected areas. Conclusions: At European level, there are no universally valid models for eradicating this weed. Various methods can be used to limit the spread of common ragweed and its pollen production (e.g. mowing once or twice a year of overgrown land, ploughing, chemical control, public information, etc.). Local and regional cooperation should be considered essential to promote phytosanitary & safety measures and exchange of information on methods to identify and manage the spread of common ragweed. Unified legislation at European level would help all affected countries; reduce morbidity from respiratory allergic diseases and the costs of treating these diseases.

Rhododendron chrysanthum Pall., live in Changbai Mountain being exposed to chilling temperature, high light intensities and water scarcity condition. To adapt to the harsh environment, the cold resistance mechanisms of R. chrysanthum have been successfully evolved in the long-term adaptive process. In our present work, the methods of proteomics combined with physiological and biochemical analyses were used to investigate the effects of cold stress on the photosynthesis and antioxidant system of Rhododendron chrysanthum Pall. and the molecular mechanisms involved in cold resistance of plants. A total of 153 photosynthesis related proteins were identified in present work, of which 7 proteins including Rubisco large subunit (rbcL) were up-regulated in experiment group (EG) compared with control group (CG). Simultaneously, four chlorophyll fluorescence parameters were measured in present study. The results showed that the maximum photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), actual quantum yield of PSII (Y(II)) and photochemical quenching (qP) were significantly higher in EG, whereas the non-photochemical quenching (NPQ) was notably decreased. Cold stress could lead to a significant reduction in electron transport rate (ETR) accompanied with an increase in excitation pressure (1-qP). The abundance of PetE which involved in the plants photosynthetic electron transfer was also significantly influenced by cold stress. Moreover, the up-regulated expressions and higher levels of enzymatic activities of Glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and Ascorbate peroxidases (APXs) were detected in EG. All these changes which can help plants to survive in low temperature are considered as the crucial parts of cold tolerance mechanisms. These results revealed that photosynthesis and redox adjustment play significant roles in the defense of cold-induced damage.

In this study, an alternative method to conventional production methods involving thin section copper permanent mould casting (rapid solidification), hot rolling and heat treatment processes to manufacture AISI DC 53 cold work tool steel, has been investigated. In this new method, solidification of the AISI DC 53 was done in the thin section copper mould instead of traditional ingot casting. After solidification, thin slabs obtained was homogenized to 1150 ^oC and hold at this temperature for one hour and then hot rolling was be applied. During hot rolling process, about % 30 reduction in thickness of slab was obtained. After hot rolling, heat treatment (austenitizing, quenching and tempering) have been applied to thin slab. The samples have been taken as cast, as rolled and as heat treated (austenitized and tempered) and the microstructural analysis, hardness tests, retained austenite quantity measurement by XRD method have been performed. The heat treatment and tests have been performed for a commercially available AISI DC 53 which is manufactured by thick section ingot casting and rolling. Hardness values of the AISI DC 53 steels produced by traditional route is in the range of 52-54 HRC after austenitization at 1025 ^oC for one hour and quenched in compressed air and tempered twice at 525 ^oC for 120 mins. On contrary the permanent mould cast AISI DC 53 after homogenization at 1150 ^oC and immediately hot rolling then air cooling and austenitized at 1025 ^oC for one hour then quenched by compressed air and tempered twice at 525 ^oC for 120 mins have hardness valeus in the range of 55-57 HRC. Experiments have revealed that the properties of new rapid solidified steel in permanent copper mould are better than the commercially available steel and have a more refined microstructure than commercially produces alternative. Therefore, the new proposed method can be used as an alternative manufacturing method for cold-work tool steels.

The protein C is a small viral protein encoded in an overlapping frame of the P gene in the sub-family Orthoparamyxovirinae. This protein, expressed by alternative translation initiation, is a virulence factor that regulates viral transcription, replication and production of defective interfering RNA, interferes with the host-cell innate immunity systems and supports assembly of viral particles and budding. We expressed and purified full-length and an N-terminally truncated C protein from Tupaia paramyxovirus (TupV) C protein (genus Narmovirus). We solved the crystal structure of the C-terminal part of TupV C protein at a resolution of 2.4 Å and found that it is structurally similar to Sendai virus C protein, suggesting that despite undetectable sequence conservation, these proteins are homologous. We characterized both truncated and full-length proteins by SEC-MALLS and SEC-SAXS and described their solution structures by ensemble models. We established a minireplicon assay for the related Nipah virus (NiV) and showed that TupV C inhibited the expression of NiV minigenome in a concentration-dependent manner as efficiently as NiV C protein. A previous study found that the Orthoparamyxovirinae C proteins former two clusters without detectable sequence similarity, raising the question of whether they were homologous or instead had originated independently. Since TupV C and SeV C are representative of these two clusters, our discovery that they have a similar structure indi-cates that all Orthoparamyxovirine C proteins are homologous. Our results also imply that, strik-ingly, a STAT1-binding site is encoded by exactly the same RNA region of the P/C gene across Paramyxovirinae, but in different reading frames (P or C) depending on which cluster they belong to.

The commercial oxygen-free copper sheets were cold-rolled with reduction rates ranging from 20% to 87% reduction rate and annealed at 400, 500 and 600 °C. The microstructure and texture evolution during cold-rolling and annealing processes were studied using optical microscopy (OM), the scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and the electron back-scattered diffraction (EBSD). The results show that the deformation textures of {123} (S) , {112} (Copper) and {110} (Brass) were continuously enhanced with the increase of cold-rolling reduction. The orientations along the α-oriented fiber converged towards Brass and the orientation density of β fiber obviously increased when the rolling reduction exceeded 60%. The recrystallization texture was significantly affected by the cold-rolling reduction. After 60% cold-rolling reduction, Copper and S textures components gradually decreased and {011} recrystallization texture component formed with the increase of annealing temperature. After 87% cold-rolling reduction, a strong Cube texture formed and other textures were inhibited with the increase of annealing temperature. The strong Brass and S deformation texture was conducive to the formation of a strong Cube annealing texture. The density of annealing twin boundary decreased with the increase of annealing temperature, and more annealing twin boundaries formed in the oxygen-free copper sheets with the increase of cold rolling reduction.

The COVID-19 pandemic over the past years has shown a great need for rapid, low-cost and on-site detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In this paper, an aptamer-based colloidal gold nanoparticle lateral flow test strip was well developed to realize the visual detection of wild type SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (SP) and multiple variants. Under the optimal reaction conditions, a low detection limit of SARS-CoV-2 S protein of 0.68 nM was acquired, and the actual detection recovery was 83.3% to 108.8% for real world samples. This suggests a potential tool for the prompt detection of SARS-CoV-2 with good sensitivity and accuracy, and a new method for the development of alternative antibody test strips for the detection of other viral targets.

Migraine and neuropathic pain (NP) are evocative of painful, disabling, chronic conditions which exhibit resembling symptoms and thus considered to share a common etiology. Calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) has gained credit as a target for migraine management; nevertheless, the efficacy and the applicability of CGRP modifiers warrant search for more effective therapeutic targets for pain management. This scoping review overviews human studies of common pathogenic factors in migraine and NP to explore potential novel therapeutic targets. CGRP causes inflammation in the meninges; monoclonal antibodies and inhibitors target CGRP. Gluta-mate-induced hyperexcitability and subsequent sensitization are closely linked to an alteration of the tryptophan (Trp)-kynurenine (KYN) metabolic system; the Trp-KYN system may serve as a potential target. Microglial overaction is observed in migraine and NP; modifying the microglial activity may be a possible approach. Cytokine-induced inflammation is a leading hypothesis of the pathogenesis of the conditions; alleviating neuroinflammation may complement a pain-relieving armamentarium. Transient receptor potential (TRP) ion channels evoke the release of several substances; TRP ion channels may potentially emerge as new targets. The endocannabinoid system plays a major role in the pain trafficking pathway; modification of the system may open a new path toward discovery of new analgesics. Here we highlight the mechanism of those common pathogenic factors to explore therapeutic targets for innovative pain management in migraine and NP.

Powdery mildew is a severe disease causing substantial yield losses in wheat production worldwide. The Chinese wheat landrace Changanhongmai (CAHM) exhibits high resistance to the physiological race E09 of powdery mildew. This study aims to characterize the powdery mildew resistance gene in CAHM, and develop molecular markers for marker-assisted selection of wheat. To investigate the genetic characteristics of this resistant gene, we developed F1 plants, F2 generation population, and F2:3 families from a cross between CAHM and SY225. Genetic analysis demonstrated that all F1 plants were resistant to the disease, while the ratio of resistant to susceptible plants was 3: 1 in both the F2 population and F2:3 families, indicating that CAHM is inherited in a manner of single dominant powdery mildew resistance gene, which was tentatively designated as PmCAHM. By using bulk segregation analysis, we constructed a genetic map encompassing Xgwm273, Xwmc626, Xgwm11, Xgwm18, Xgdm28, Xgpw7812, Xgpw5195, Xwmc694 and PmCAHM. Among these markers, Xgpw7812 and Xgpw5195 were flanking markers tightly linked to PmCAHM at a genetic distance of 2.5 cM and 8.4 cM, respectively. Furthermore, nullisomic-tetrasomic analysis revealed that PmCAHM is located on chromosome 1B. These results indicate that PmCAHM differs from the internationally recognized powdery mildew resistance genes in both location and source. In addition, a new germplasm/line NW1748 with large seeds and powdery mildew resistance was developed from the cross and back cross populations of Fengyou 1718 (FY1718)/CAHM//FY 1718. Therefore, PmCAHM can serve as a novel powdery mildew resistance source for breeding of wheat by using NW1748 as the donor in the future.

Bacteria can colonize and develop biofilm on a large variety of biotic and abiotic materials, it is accountable for nosocomial infections and chronic illness and consequently, it is a serious economic and public health problem. Staphylococcus epidermidis, thanks to its ability to form biofilm and colonize biomaterials, represents the most frequent causative agent involved in bio-film-associated infections of medical devices. Due to the biofilm presence, S. epidermidis infections are extremely difficult to treat and the research of new molecules able to interfere with its biofilm formation has a remarkable interest. In the present work, the attention was focused on Pseudomonas sp. TAE6080, an Antarctic marine bacterium able to produce and secrete an effective antibiofilm compound. The molecule responsible for this activity was purified by an activity-guided approach and it resulted to be a periplasmic protein, named Cold-Azurin. The Cold-Azurin was recombinantly produced in E. coli and purified. The recombinant protein was able to impair S. epidermidis attachment to the polystyrene surface and effectively prevent biofilm formation.

Nearly half a century has passed since the discovery of cytoplasmic inheritance of human chloramphenicol resistance. The inheritance was then revealed to take place maternally by mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA). Later, a number of mutations in mtDNA were identified as a cause of severe inheritable metabolic diseases with neurological manifestation, and the impairment of mitochondrial functions has been probed in the pathogenesis of a wide range of illnesses including neurodegenerative diseases. Recently growing number of preclinical studies has revealed that animal behaviors are influenced by the impairment of mitochondrial functions and possibly by the loss of mitochondrial stress resilience. Indeed, as high as 54% of patients with one of the most common primary mitochondrial diseases, mitochondrial encephalomyopathy with lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) syndrome, present psychiatric symptoms including cognitive impairment, mood disorder, anxiety, and psychosis. Mitochondria are multifunctional organelles which produce cellular energy and play a major role in other cellular functions including homeostasis, cellular signaling, and gene expression, among other. Mitochondrial functions are observed to be compromised and to become less resilient under continuous stress. Meanwhile, stress and inflammation have been linked to the activation of the tryptophan (Trp)-kynurenine (KYN) metabolic system, which observably contributes to development of pathological conditions including neurological and psychiatric disorders. This narrative review discusses the functions of mitochondria and the Trp-KYN system, the interaction of the Trp-KYN system with mitochondria, and the current understanding of the involvement of mitochondria and the Trp-KYN system in preclinical and clinical studies of major neurological and psychiatric diseases.

The concept of using special electrical circuit design realize a "cold resistors", that is, an active resistor circuitry with lowered effective noise temperature, was first introduced about 80 years ago. Later on, various kinds of artificial resistors were applied in different research areas, such as gravitational wave detection, photo-amplifiers and quartz oscillators. Their proofs of concepts were experimentally proved. Unfortunately, the complete theory was not found even though several attempts had been published, sometimes with errors. In this paper, we describe a correct and complete circuit theoretical model of a cold resistor system. The results are confirmed by computer simulations. A design tools for this circuit is also shown.

This paper discusses some of the most common misconceptions about large language models (LLMs), including the belief that they are sentient or conscious, that they are always accurate, and that they can replace human creativity. The paper also proposes a strategy for overcoming these misbeliefs, which involves educating the public about the capabilities and limitations of LLMs, developing guidelines for the responsible use of LLMs, and conducting more research to understand the potential impact of LLMs on society.

Speckle Plethysmography (SPG) and Photoplethysmography (PPG) are different biophotonics technologies that allow for measurement of hemodynamics. As the difference between SPG and PPG under low perfusion conditions is not fully understood, a Cold Pressor Test (CPT) was used to modulate blood pressure and peripheral circulation. A custom-built setup simultaneously derived SPG and PPG from the same video streams at two wavelengths (639 nm and 850 nm). SPG and PPG were measured at right index finger location before and during CPT using finger Arterial Pressure (fiAP) as reference. The effect of CPT on Alternating Component amplitude (AC) and Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) of dual-wavelength SPG and PPG signals was analysed across participants. Furthermore, waveform differences between SPG, PPG, and fiAP based on frequency harmonic ratios, were analysed for each subject (n=10). Both PPG and SPG at 850 nm show a significant reduction during CPT for both AC and SNR. However, SPG showed significantly higher and more stable SNR than PPG in both study phases. Harmonic ratios were found substantially higher in SPG than PPG. Therefore, in low perfusion conditions, SPG seems to offer a more robust pulse wave monitoring with higher harmonic ratios than PPG.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia is a rare condition characterized by destruction of red blood cells with and without involvement of complement. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. In warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia less than 50% of patients remain in a long-term remission following initial steroid therapy and subsequent therapies are required. Cold agglutinin disease is a clonal hematologic disorder which requires therapy in majority of patients and responds poorly to steroids and alkylators. Rituximab has a favorable toxicity profile and has demonstrated efficacy in autoimmune hemolytic anemia in first line as well as relapsed setting. Rituximab is the preferred therapy for steroid refractory wAIHA and as part of the first- and second-line treatment of cold agglutinin disease. This article reviews the mechanism of action of the rituximab and current literature its role in management of primary and secondary warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia and cold agglutinin disease.

Plants have evolved tightly regulated strategies to adapt and acclimate to a changing environment to ensure their survival. Various environmental factors affect plant distribution, growth and yield. Low temperature belongs to those abiotic factors which significantly constrain range boundaries of plant species. Exposing plants to low but non-freezing temperature induces a multigenic processes termed cold acclimation, which finally results in an increased freezing tolerance. Cold acclimation comprises reprogramming of the transcriptome, proteome and metabolome and affects communication and signaling between subcellular organelles. Reprogramming of the central carbohydrate metabolism plays a key role in cold acclimation. This review summarizes current knowledge about the role of carbohydrate metabolism in plant cold acclimation. A focus is laid on subcellular metabolic reprogramming, its thermodynamic constraints under low temperature and mathematical modelling of metabolism.

The recent pandemic has greatly stressed supply chains, treatment modalities, and medical resources. Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has been used for a wide range of applications in biomedical engineering due to its many components including electrons, charged particles, reactive oxygen species (ROS), reactive nitrogen species (RNS), free radicals, ultraviolet (UV) photons, molecules, electromagnetic fields, physical forces, and electric fields. In this manuscript, we develop CAP devices for COVID-19. Our manuscript indicates the advantages of highlydeployable CAP devices for both sanitation and treatment, without the need for supply chains of special consumables such as hand sanitizers and the like. We hope that this timely research will help engage the broader community of engineers that wish to help the medical community with this pandemic and to prevent and treat future outbreaks.

This review is focused on synephrine, the principal phytochemical found in bitter orange and other medicinal plants, and widely used as a dietary supplement for weight loss/body fat reduction. We examine different aspects of synephrine biology, delving into its established and potential molecular targets, as well as its mechanisms of action. We present an overview of the origin, chemical composition, receptors, and pharmacological properties of synephrine, including its anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activity in various in vitro and animal models. Additionally, we conduct a comparative analysis of the molecular targets and effects of synephrine with those of its metabolite, selective glucocorticoid receptor agonist (SEGRA) Compound A (CpdA), which shares a similar chemical structure with synephrine. SEGRA, including CpdA, have been extensively studied as glucocorticoid receptor activators that have a better benefit/risk profile than glucocorticoids due to the reduced adverse effects. We discuss the potential of synephrine usage as a template for the synthesis of new generation of non-steroidal SEGRA. The review also provides insights into the safe pharmacological profile of synephrine.

The fundamental theory of nuclear interactions, Quantum Chromodynamics (QCD), operates in terms of quarks and gluons at higher resolution. At low resolution the relevant degrees of freedom are nucleons. Two-nucleon Short-Range Correlations (SRC) help to interconnect these two descriptions. SRCs are temporary fluctuations of strongly interacting close pairs of nucleons. The distance between the two nucleons is comparable to their radii and their relative momenta are larger than the fermi sea level. According to the electron scattering experiments held in the last decade, SRCs have far-reaching impacts on many-body systems, the nucleon-nucleon interactions, and nuclear substructure. The modern experiments with ion beams and cryogenic liquid hydrogen target make it possible to study properties of the nuclear fragments after quasi-elastic knockout of a single nucleon or an SRC pair. The first SRC experiment at BM@N (2018) with a carbon beam has shown that detection of an intact 11B nucleus after interaction selects out the quasi-elastic knockout reaction with minimal contribution of initial- and final-state interactions. Also, 25 events of SRC-breakups showed agreement in SRC properties as knows from electron beam experiments. The analysis of the second measurement of SRC at BM@N held in 2022 with an improved setup is currently ongoing. The SRC project at JINR moved to a new experimental area in 2023, where the next measurement is being planned in terms of experimental setup and physics goals.

There is an intense need to optimize agrivoltaic systems. This article describes the invention of a new testing system: the parametric open source cold-frame agrivoltaic system (POSCAS). POSCAS is an adapted gardening cold-frame used in cold climates as it acts as a small greenhouse for agricultural production. POSCAS is designed to test partially transparent solar photovoltaic (PV) modules targeting the agrivoltaic market. It can both function as a traditional cold frame, but it can also be automated to function as a full-service greenhouse. The integrated PV module roof can be used to power the controls or it can be attached to a microinverter to produce power. POSCAS can be placed in an experimental array for testing, agricultural and power production. It can be easily adapted for any type of partially transparent PV module. An array of POSCAS systems al-lows for testing agrivoltaic impacts from the percent transparency of the modules by varying the thickness of a thin film PV material or the density of silicon-based cells, and various forms of optical enhancement, anti-reflection coatings and solar light spectral shifting materials in the back sheet. All agrivoltaic variables can be customized to identify ideal PV designs for a given agricultural crop.

The microstructure evolution during the cold rolling and subsequent annealing of Alloy 800H was investigated. Two distinct rolling methods, unidirectional rolling and cross-rolling, were intro-duced. Results show that better ductility was observed in the unidirectional rolling than in cross-rolling, whilst a higher volume fraction of large deformed grains was observed in the cross-rolled plates than in the unidirectionally rolled plates. Recrystallization occurred faster in plates from unidirectional rolling than from cross-rolling.

The as-received commercial Inconel 718 material was solid solution heat treated (ST), cold rolled (CR), and precipitation hardened (PH) to investigate the effects of deformation on tensile properties, hardness, and texture. Three sets of specimens (0%, 20% and 50% CR) were STed at 1100 C/1h, CR and aged (720 °C/8 h + 650 °C/8 h) for the analysis. Ultimate tensile strength (UTS), 0.2% yield strength (YS) and elongation of 50% deformed condition were 1645 MPa, 1512 MPa, and 3.8 %, respectively. The 20 % deformation resulted in a balanced UTS (1348 MPa), YS (1202 MPa) and elongation (11%). Contributions of precipitation hardening to the strength was decreasing, while contribution of CR increases with increasing percentage of deformation. Correspondingly, the size and quantities of  decreased with increasing deformation level. In CR specimens, a high density of nano/micro twins were generated with the twin planes oriented perpendicular to the RD-ND surface. The preferred rotation of the crystals generated the gradient of orientation and internal features of the large austenitic grains. The cross-slip of screw dislocations induced a complete β-fibre, consisting of {110}, {112}, and{123}, with doubled intensity at higher deformation. In addition, the specimens tended to be highly susceptible to the twinning-induced orientation emerged by a predominant ⫽ND. An incomplete but intense α-fibre clustered between {110} and {110} was characterized in the as-deformed condition. Besides achieving highest strength, the current work demonstrates the effects of CR on the material strength without the complex influences of  precipitate.

According to a recent estimate by UN Habitat, approximately 3 billion individuals will require suitable housing by the year 2030. This staggering demand translates to the need for around 96,000 affordable housing units to be constructed each day. However, the conventional construction methods that rely on cement-based concrete and masonry are outdated, lacking innovation, efficiency, and sustainability. In light of these challenges, cold-formed steel emerges as an appealing alternative to traditional construction materials like masonry and concrete. It offers numerous advantages, including easy fabrication, lightweight properties, energy efficiency, the ability to reuse the material at the end of its service life, and a higher level of recyclability. Cold-formed steel buildings are also recognized for their superior insulation and lower energy consumption during operation. Cold-formed steel (CFS) members are created by rolling structurally sound steel sheets into the required shapes using a forming machine, without the need for heat as in the case of hot-rolled steel. While the thickness of these members can range from 0.01 mm to 7 mm, commercial construction of load-bearing walls, roof trusses, and floor joists typically utilizes steel thicknesses of 0.7 mm to 1.2 mm. This paper tries to illustrate the materials and methods employed in the construction of cold-formed steel modular buildings in Sri Lanka[1]. It delves into the material and durability characteristics of cold-formed steel, the design philosophy behind these structures, the development of the building envelope, and the energy efficiency features of the building elements. The findings of this study demonstrate that cold-formed steel buildings can be a highly sought-after alternative for residential construction, offering faster construction timelines, cost-effectiveness, and energy-efficient practices.

Iron powders having average particle sizes of ~40µm are mechanically mixed thoroughly with aluminum powders ranging from 1 to 10 in wt.% with an average particle size of ~10µm. Two different powder metallurgical techniques cold and hot pressing are used to study the effect of the additive element powder on the mechanical properties, wear properties and the microstructure of the iron based alloys. The hot pressing technique was performed at a temperature up to 500°C at 445.6 MPa. The cold pressing technique was performed at 909 MPa in room temperature. By increasing the Al content to 10 wt. % in the base Fe-based matrix, the hardness was decreased from 780 to 690 MPa and the radial strength was decreased from 380 to 202 MPa with reductions of 11.5% and 40%, respectively. Improvement of the wear resistance with the increase addition of the Al powder to the Fe matrix up to 5 times was achieved compared to the alloy without Al addition for different wear parameters namely; wear time and sliding speed.

This paper explores the application of fisheries management theories to broader environmental issues, including climate change and biodiversity conservation. It underscores the inherent trade-off in fisheries between yield and resource conservation, identifying harvesting as a significant environmental burden. Early recognition of the sustainability concept aimed to address challenges like economic discounts and the tragedy of the commons, contributing to the issue of overfishing. These insights extend beyond fisries to other environmental concerns, particularly climate change. The development of adaptive management, initially tailored to address uncertainties and non-stationarity in fisheries, has found application in diverse environmental issues. Recognizing humans as integral parts of ecosystems highlights the impossibility of achieving zero environmental impact when utilizing natural resources. The paper advocates for passive restoration to prevent overfishing, leveraging nature's resilience. While goals like complete biodiversity restoration are inherent in fisheries, their relevance may not be immediately apparent to other environmentalists. Despite ongoing discussions on the sustainability of ecosystem services, legislation often tends to favor the long-term maximization of fisheries yield. The paper calls for mutual understanding of theories and experiences across various environmental fields, including fisheries, to enhance collaborative efforts in each field.

The existence of a common ancestor to all living organisms in Earth is a necessary corollary of Darwin idea of common ancestry. The Last Universal Common Ancestor (LUCA) has been normally considered as the ancestor of cellular organisms that originated the three domains of life: Bacteria, Archaea and Eukarya. Recent studies about the nature of LUCA indicate that this first organism should present hundreds of genes and a complex metabolism. Trying to bring another of Darwin ideas into the origins of life discussion, we went back into the prebiotic chemistry trying to understand how LUCA could be originated under gradualist assumptions. Along this line of reasoning, it became clear to us that the definition of another ancestral should be of particular relevance to the understanding about the emergence of biological systems. Together with the view of biology as a language for chemical translation, on which proteins are encoded into nucleic acids polymers, we glimpse a point in the deep past on which this Translation mechanism could have taken place. Thus, we propose the emergence of this process shared by all biological systems as a point of interest and propose the existence of this pre-cellular entity named FUCA, as the First Universal Common Ancestor. FUCA was born in the very instant on which RNA-world replicators started to be capable to catalyze the bonding of amino acids into oligopeptides. FUCA has been considered mature when the translation system apparatus has been assembled together with the establishment of a primeval, possibly error-prone genetic code. This is FUCA, the earliest ancestor of LUCA’s lineage.

Abstract: Windtech device is a novel tool for measuring the sensation of the ‘cold’. Cold poses numerous challenges for industrial operations, human survival, and living convenience. The impact of the cold is not possible to be quantified just based on temperatures; however other factors such as wind speed, humidity, irradiance have to be taken into consideration. Efforts have been made to develop combined indices such as wind chill temperature (WCT), AccuWeather RealFeel®, and others. The presented article discusses these along with the industrial standards that emphasize on the quantification of the ‘cold’. The following article introduces the Windtech device and its operating principle involving ‘heated temperature’, where the ‘heated temperature’ is affected by environmental parameters including ambient temperature, humidity, wind velocity, and irradiance. The discussed Windtech device is calibrated for operation according to the ISO 11079:2007 standard.

The CuCrSn alloy is promising as high-strength and high-conductivity Cu alloy due to its relative low smelting requirement, while thus far reports on the CuCrSn alloy is still quite lacked. In this study, the microstructure and properties of Cu-0.20Cr-0.25Sn (wt%) specimens prepared under different rolling and aging combinations were comprehensively characterized, in order to reveal the effects of cold rolling and aging on the CuCrSn alloy. The results show that increasing the aging temperature from 400 ºC to 450 ºC can obviously accelerates the precipitation, and the cold rolling before aging significantly increases the initial microhardness and promotes the precipitation. Whereas, the deformation hardening will be eliminated during the aging process, making the microhardness even decrease monotonically when the aging temperature and the rolling ratio before aging are high. Performing the cold rolling after the aging can maximize the effects of precipitation strengthening and deformation strengthening, and its adverse impact on the conductivity is not serious. A tensile strength of 506.5 MPa and a conductivity of 70.33% IACS were obtained with such a treatment, only the elongation decreases. Different strength-conductivity combinations of the CuCrSn alloy can be achieved through appropriate combinations of the aging and post aging cold rolling conditions.

Cold chains are essential in providing us humans with food and medicine across the globe. However, cold transportation, like all transportation, has massive negative impacts on the environment and human well-being, which especially culminate in cities. Thus, it is important to research the ways to reduce these impacts and reinvent urban logistics infrastructure. In this article, we articulate the massive problems the road-based transportation sector imposes on the environment and on the health of humans, especially in cities. We present algorithms that show promise in optimizing the whole road transportation sector as well as some innovations and alternative ways to model cities and the whole urban transportation infrastructure. We approach the issues discussed specifically from the point of view of refrigerated transportation, but many of the solutions can be applied to all the transportation sector in general.

Cold chain logistics of Agricultural Products demand forecasting can provide the scientific basis for the country to formulate logistics strategy, which further promotes the development of social economy and the improvement of living standards in China. In this paper, a new mathematical combined model is proposed to Agricultural Products Demand. Shandong, one of a China’s province, serves as the main producer and distributor of agricultural products. Based on the index system created from multiple related factors influencing cold chain logistics demand of agricultural products in Shandong, this paper employs principal component analysis to reduce the dimension of various indexes and predicts principal components with time series. Thereafter, multiple linear regression model and neural network model were constructed to forecast the cold chain logistics demand of agricultural products in Shandong, and their combined forecast models were compared. What's more, the paper provides insight for reference and decision-making concerning the development of cold chain logistics industry of agricultural products in Shandong province.

The main function of dUTPases is to regulate the cellular levels of dUTP and dTTP, thereby playing a crucial role in the DNA repair mechanisms. Despite the fact that mutant organisms with the obliterated dUTPase enzymatic activity remain viable, it is not possible to knockout the dut gene completely due to the lethal consequences of such mutation for the organism. As a result, it is considered that this class of enzymes perform an additional function that is essential for the organism's survival. In this study, we provide the evidence that the dUTPase of bacteriophage T5 possesses supplemental function in addition to its canonical role. We determined the crystal structure of bacteriophage T5 dUTPase with a resolution of 2.0 Å, and discovered a distinct short loop, consisting of 6 amino acid residues which represents unique structural feature specific to the T5-like phages dUTPases. The removal of this element did not affect the overall structure of the homotrimer, but had significant effects on the development of the phage. Furthermore, it has been shown that the enzymatic function and the novel function of bacteriophage T5 dUTPase are unrelated and independent from each other.

Abstract: Background: COVID-19 is a respiratory disease that eventually became pandemic with 300 million people infected around the world. Alongside the improvement in COVID-19 management and vaccine development, identifying biomarkers for COVID-19 has recently reported to help in early prediction and managing severe cases which might improve outcome. The Aim of our study was to find out if there is any correlation between clinical severity and elevated hematological and biochemical markers in Covid-19 patients and its effect on the outcome Methods: We have collected data retrospectively of socio-demographic, medical history, biomarkers, and diseases outcome from five hospitals and health institutions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Results: Pneumonia was the most common presentation of COVID 19 in our cohort. All biomarkers (D-Dimer, CRP, troponin, LDH and ferritin) except for the mean lowest white blood cells were found to have significant correlation (p<0.05) with worse COVID-19 disease outcomes. There was a sig-nificant association between the inflammatory biomarkers and the disease severity of COVID 19 patients (p<0.001). Patients with evidence of severe respiratory disease particularly who required mechanical ventilation (MV) had higher biomarkers, when compared to those with stable respiratory condition (p<0.001). Conclusion: Identifying biomarkers predicts outcome for COVID-19 patients and may significantly help in the management.

Intermittent cold exposure has garnered increased attention in popular culture, largely for its proposed effects on mood and immune function, but there are also suggestions that the energy wasting mechanisms associated with thermogenesis may decrease body weight and fat mass. Considering the continued and worsening prevalence of obesity and type II diabetes, any protocol that can reduce body weight and/or improve metabolic health would be a substantial boon. Here, we present a narrative review exploring the research related to ICE and adipose tissue. Any publicly available original research examining the effects of repeated bouts of ICE with adipose related outcomes was included. While ICE does not consistently lower bodyweight or fat mass, there does seem to be evidence for ICE as a positive modulator of the metabolic consequences of obesity, such as glucose tolerance and insulin signaling. Further, ICE consistently increases the activity of brown adipose tissue (BAT) and transitions white adipose tissue to a phenotype more in line with BAT. Lastly, the combined effects of ICE and exercise do not seem to provide any additional benefit, at least when exercise is done during ICE bouts. The majority of the current literature on ICE is based in rodent models where animals are housed in cold rooms, which does not reflect protocols likely to be implemented in humans such as cold-water immersion. Future research could specifically characterize ICE via cold water immersion in combination with controlled calorie intake to clearly determine the effects of ICE as it would be implemented in humans looking to lower bodyweight via reductions in fat mass.

Cold stress is a major environmental factor affecting the growth, development, and productivity of various crop species. With the current trajectory of global climate change, low temperatures are becoming more frequent and can significantly decrease crop yield. Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the first crop to be domesticated and is the most popular cereal crop in the world. Due to a lack of systematic research on cold response pathways and gene regulatory networks, the underlying molecular mechanisms of cold signal transduction in wheat are poorly understood. This study reviews recent progress in wheat, including the ICE-CBF-COR signaling pathway in cold stress and the effects of cold stress on hormonal pathways, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and epigenetic regulation. This review also highlights outstanding issues that are crucial for understanding the interactions between wheat and low-temperature conditions.

The efficiency of cold sheet and strip rolling of steels and non-ferrous metals in the main depends on the quality of the technological lubricant and its cost. In this regard, it is important to develop new compositions of effective metal-working coolants (MWC) having low cost and providing the maximum reduction in the friction coefficient. We developed and tested the new compositions of the MWC on basis of chicken fat, and mono- and diglycerides and their esters of boric acid synthesized from the wastes of sunflower oil production. The MWC were tested in DSEA on laboratory rolling mill 100x100 with a roll diameter of 260 mm during steel 08Kp rolling. The efficiency of the coolants was determined by the factor of metal stretch forming λ and the coefficient of friction μ in the deformation zone which was found by forward slip method. We found the metal-working coolant with 100 % concentration of boric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides is the most effective in steel rolling. Thus the new MWC on basis of boric acid esters of mono- and diglycerides synthesized from the wastes of sunflower oil production can be recommended for use in rolling of structural steels on account of availability, high efficiency, and a low cost.

Marine cold air outbreaks (MCAOs) are large-scale events in which cold air masses are advected over open ocean. It is well-known that these events are linked to the formation of polar lows and other mesoscale phenomena associated with high wind speeds, and that they therefore in some cases represent a hazard to maritime activities. However, it is still unknown whether MCAOs are generally conducive to higher wind speeds than normal. Here this is investigated by comparing ocean near-surface wind speeds during MCAOs in atmospheric reanalysis products with different horizontal grid spacings, along with two case studies using a convection-permitting numerical weather prediction model. The study regions are the Labrador Sea and the Greenland–Iceland–Norwegian (GIN) Seas, where MCAOs have been shown to be important for air–sea interaction and deep water formation. One of the main findings is that wind speeds during the strongest MCAO events are higher than normal and higher than wind speeds during less severe events. Limited evidence from the case studies suggests that reanalyses with grid spacings of more than 50 km underestimate winds driven by the large ocean–atmosphere energy fluxes during MCAOs. The peak times of MCAO usually occur when baroclinic waves pass over the regions. Therefore, the strong wind episodes during MCAOs generally last for just a few days. However, MCAOs can persist for 50 days or more.

Cold plasma (CP) is an ionised gas containing excited molecules and ions, radicals, free electrons, and emits electric fields and UV radiation. CP is potently antimicrobial and can be applied safely to biological tissue, birthing the field of plasma medicine. Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) produced by CP affect biological processes directly or indirectly via the modification of cellular lipids, proteins, DNA, and intracellular signalling pathways. CP can be applied at lower levels for oxidative eustress to activate cell proliferation, motility, migration, and antioxidant production in normal cells, mainly potentiated by the unfolded protein response, Nrf2-activated antioxidant response element and PI3K/Akt pathway, which also activates NFκB. At higher CP exposures, inactivation, apoptosis and autophagy of malignant cells can occur via degradation of PI3K/Akt and MAPK-dependent and -independent activation of the master tumour suppressor p53, leading to caspase-mediated cell death. These opposing responses validate a hormesis approach to plasma medicine. Clinical applications of CP are becoming increasingly realised in wound healing, while clinical effectiveness in tumours is currently coming to light. This review will outline advances in plasma medicine and compare the main redox and intracellular signalling responses to CP in wound healing and cancer.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common inherited disorder characterized by unexplained left ventricular hypertrophy, with or without left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction. Single nuclei RNA-sequencing (snRNA-seq) of both obstructive and nonobstructive HCM patient samples have revealed alterations in communication between various cell types but a direct and integrated comparison between the two HCM phenotypes has not been reported. We performed a bioinformatic analysis of HCM snRNA-seq datasets from obstructive and nonobstructive patient samples to identify differentially expressed genes and distinctive patterns of intercellular communication. Differential gene expression analysis revealed 37 differentially expressed genes, predominantly in cardiomyocytes but also in other cell types, relevant to aging, muscle contraction, cell motility and the extracellular matrix. Intercellular communication was generally reduced in HCM, affecting the extracellular matrix, growth factor binding, integrin binding, PDGF binding and SMAD binding, but with increases in adenylate cyclase binding, calcium channel inhibitor activity, and serine-threonine kinase activity in nonobstructive HCM. Increases in neuron to leukocyte and dendritic cell communication, in fibroblast to leukocyte and dendritic cell communication and in endothelial cell communication to other cell types, largely through changes in expression of integrin-b1 and its cognate ligands, were also noted. These findings indicate both common and distinct physiological mechanisms affecting the pathogenesis of obstructive and nonobstructive HCM and provide opportunities for personalized management of different HCM phenotypes.

The production of particles outside the region of nucleon-nucleon kinematics due to interactions involving dense cold clusters of quark-gluon matter in nuclei is calculated. The possibility of observing this process in the region of central rapidities and large transverse momenta in heavy ion collisions at low energies with MPD detector at the NICA collider has been demonstrated.

Exosomes, natural nanovesicles that contain a cargo of biologically active molecules such as lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, are released from cells to the extracellular environment. They then act as autocrine, paracrine, or endocrine mediators of communication between cells by delivering their cargo into recipient cells and causing downstream effects. Exosomes are greatly enriched in miRNAs, which are small non-coding RNAs that act as cytoplasmic posttranscriptional repression agents, modulating the translation of mRNAs into proteins, as well as nuclear transcriptional gene activators. Neuronal exosomal miRNAs have important physiologic functions in the Central Nervous System (CNS), including cell-to-cell communication, synaptic plasticity, and neurogenesis, as well as modulating stress and inflammatory responses. Stress-induced changes of exosomal functions include effects on neurogenesis and neuroinflammation, which can lead to the appearance of various neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, major depression, bipolar disorder, and Alzheimer's and Huntington’s's diseases. The current knowledge regarding the roles of exosomes in the pathophysiology of common mental disorders is discussed in this review.

Steroid and hopanoid biomarkers can be found in ancient rocks and may give a glimpse of what life was present at that time. Sterols and hopanoids are produced by two related enzymes, though the evolutionary history of this protein family is complicated by losses and horizontal gene transfers, and appears to be widely misinterpreted. Here, I have added sequences from additional species, and re-analysis of the phylogeny of SHC and OSC indicates a single origin of both enzymes among eukaryotes. This pattern is best explained by endosymbiotic acquisition of both enzymes from a bacterial ancestor, followed by widespread loss of SHC, and two subsequent HGT events to ferns and ascomycetes. Thus, the last common ancestor of eukaryotes would have been bifunctional for both sterol and hopanoid production. Later enzymatic innovations allowed diversification of sterols in eukaryotes. Contrary to previous interpretations, the last eukaryotic common ancestor (LECA) potentially would have been able to produce hopanoids as a substitute for sterols in anaerobic conditions. Without invoking any other metabolic demand, the LECA could have been a facultative aerobe, living in unstable conditions with respect to oxygen level.

In this paper, we prove some common fi xed point theorems on complex partial metric space. The presented results gener- alize and expand some of the literature well-known results. We also explore some of the application of our key results.

A developing energy-saving approach of cold sintering in a pure aqueous medium was applied to the preparation of α-Al2O3 ceramics and performed on spark plasma sintering equipment. The initial γ-Al(OH)3 and γ-AlOOH powders and the cold-sintered ceramics were studied by X-ray diffraction analysis, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, and scanning electron microscopy to reveal the chemical and structural transformations they experienced during the cold sintering. At 450°C and 70 MPa, initial γ-AlOOH transformed into a fragile α-Al2O3 material. Porous α-Al2O3 ceramics with about 60% porosity was obtained after cold sintering of γ-Al(OH)3 in the same conditions combined with subsequent annealing at 1250°C for 3 h. The role of water molecules in the studied processes was considered as the enhancement of structural mobility in the cold-sintered material due to its reversible hydroxylation similar to earlier investigated supercritical water action on the precursors during α-Al2O3 formation. Further improvement of the cold sintering setup and regimens would open prospects in α-Al2O3 ceramics manufacturing by an ecologically benign route.

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's disease are two diseases with a high incidence today that share similar pathophysiological mechanisms suggesting a potential causal relationship between them. In fact, Alzheimer-associated Mellitus Diabetes is also known as Type 3 Diabetes Mellitus and constitutes a diabetes intricately linked to Alzheimer's disease. Central to this association is insulin resistance, a key factor leading to decreased insulin sensitivity, hyperglycemia, and impaired glucose uptake. Because of this, the brain is altered resulting in energy deficits and neuronal damage associated with neurodegenerative disorder characteristic of Alzheimer's disease. Both diseases exhibit common biochemical and physiological characteristics such as inflammation, mitochondrial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and the formation of advanced glycation end products. Understanding the complex pathophysiology of Type 3 Mellitus Diabetes and identifying common features shared with Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease are essential steps towards potential therapeutic interventions targeting the insulin resistance pathway. The authors of this review on the relationships between type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer's disease have developed two works. In the first (Relationships between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's Disease. I. Common pathogenic mechanisms), authors explore the shared (physiological, genetics and molecular) pathological changes occurring in Type 2 Mellitus Diabetes and Alzheimer's disease as well as pathways such as AMPK, PPARγ, cAMP, and PI3K/Akt as potential targets for managing Type 3 Diabetes Mellitus. By exploring these intricate mechanisms, the goal is to uncover their interdependencies and facilitate the discovery of innovative pharmacological and nutritional (epigenetics) strategies. In the second paper (Relationships between Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's Disease. II Potential therapies) we describe possible nutritional intervention, particularly dietary patterns and phytochemicals that can enhance the effects of pharmaceutical drugs designed against pathological mechanisms involved in the complex dual disease Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and Alzheimer's disease (or in Type 3 Diabetes Mellitus as other authors consider).

With the continuous improvement and observable benefits of electric vehicles (EVs), major logistic companies are introducing more EVs into their conventional fleets. This gives rise to a new type of vehicle routing problem with mixed vehicles, where heterogeneous internal combustion vehicles (ICVs) and electric vehicles are considered in route planning. In addition, certain deliveries that are not efficient on any type of vehicles, are outsourced to third-party common carriers. In this paper, we define this problem as a mixed vehicle routing problem with common carriers (MVRPC). The objective of such problems is to minimize the transportation costs by considering routes with ICVs and EVs, the possibility of visiting recharging stations, outsourcing options, and drivers’ layover regulations. This variant of the vehicle routing problems has many practical applications, particularly in the design of long-haul transportation and last-mile delivery services. Effective MVRPC solutions play a key role in promoting the going Green image and optimally allocating resources. The problem has received limited attention in the literature likely because addressing all the needed aspects is especially challenging. To solve the large-scale problem, we develop a branch-and-cut pricing framework that relies on strong cuts and customized labeling algorithms. Numerical experiments highlight the effectiveness of our algorithm. This success can be attributed to tailored critical resources, dynamically bounded bidirectional labeling procedures, strong dominance criteria, and implementation strategies.

Data on helminth parasites and epizoites is presented for the long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins from the Southeast Pacific. Sampling in 1985-2000 was conducted mainly at six fishing ports in Peru and Ecuador where cetaceans were landed. From a total of 473 common dolphins sampled, we identified helminths including three species of Trematoda: Nasitrema globicephalae, Pholeter gastrophilus and Braunina cordiformis; three species of Nematoda, which includes Anisakis spp., Crassicauda sp. and Halocercus sp.; and two cestodes Tetrabothrius forsteri and Clistobothrium delphini (formerly Phyllobothrium delphini). No acanthocephalans were observed. No statistically significant sexual and ontogenetic variation in helminth prevalence was detected after which samples were pooled. The highest prevalence in the long-beaked common dolphin (n=440) was observed for N. globicephalae (96.3%) in cranial sinuses, Crassicauda sp. (83.3%) in mammary glands, Crassicauda sp. (78.8%) infesting the cranial sinuses, followed by Cl. delphini (28.6%) in the blubber and P. gastrophilus and B. cordiformis (20.4%) in the digestive tract. Although comparative testing was unfeasible due to minimal samples of short-beaked common dolphin (n=33), several of the same helminth species were found, but not N. globicephalae nor B. cordiformis. No cyamids were encountered while pseudo-stalked barnacles Xenobalanus globicipitis were common. No new (global) helminth host records are revealed for common dolphins, but this study presents a first checklist of parasites separately for the Southeast Pacific long-beaked and short-beaked common dolphins. Future work should include exhaustive laboratory-based necropsies, enhanced sampling of the short-beaked form, focus on intermediate hosts and parasitic pathology, including potential human health impact from consumption of small cetaceans.

Despite the popularity of theraphosids, detailed reports on bite symptoms are still limited to few geographic regions and subfamilies. We therefore examined 363 published bite reports and noticed muscles cramps caused by theraphosids from nearly all continents and subfamilies. Symptoms are mostly locally restricted and mild, but 12.7% of victims experience pronounced cramps with highest incidence rates by Poecilotheriinae, Harpactirinae and Stromatopelminae subfamilies. We discuss how variations in venom quantity correlate with muscle cramp prevalence.

Introduction: Cholelithiasis and consumption of alcohol are the most frequent causes of acute pancreatitis (AP), accounting for about 30 to 40% of the cases, respectively. The frequency of acute biliary pancreatitis is high in a certain population in Brazil. Objective: To estimate the global frequencies of acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP), acute alcoholic pancreatitis (AAP) and the cases considered as acute idiopathic pancreatitis (AIP) in studies published from October 2006 to December 31, 2018. Methods: A systematic review of observational studies was performed from October 2006 to December 31, 2018. A meta-analysis by the random effects model was used to calculate the frequencies of global ABP, AIP and AAP and subgroups. Results: Forty-six studies representing 2,341,007 AP cases were included in 36 countries. The overall estimate for acute biliary pancreatitis (ABP) was 41.6% (95% CI 39.2-44.1), followed by acute alcoholic pancreatitis (AAP) with 20.5% (95% CI) 16.6- 24.6) and acute idiopathic pancreatitis (AIP) in 18.3% (95% CI 15.1-27.7). Conclusion: ABP is the most prevalent etiology of AP, being two times more frequent than second-placed pancreatitis. Latin America has a frequency for ABP much higher than the rest of the world. The importance of the etiologic diagnosis is the treatment of the cause for prevention of recurrence.

Cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) has emerged as a promising therapeutic technology, distinguished by its safety, efficiency, and minimal side effects. With increasing applications in dermatology, CAP demonstrates antimicrobial efficacy against bacteria, viruses, and fungi, supports tissue proliferation and wound healing, and hinders the growth and migration of tumor cells. This review encompasses the concept, physical characteristics, and current research applications of CAP in dermatology. CAP, a gas cloud produced by ionizing gases, operates at room temperature, ensuring safety and efficacy in dermatological use. Its effects are mediated through active components like reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) and ultraviolet radiation. The extensive research covered in this paper explores CAP's applications in skin infections, immune-related diseases, and tumor diseases. As a biologically suitable technology, cold atmospheric pressure plasma finds widespread use in medicine, including medical device sterilization, dentistry, oncology, and dermatology. The direct and indirect forms of CAP applications, including plasma-activated liquids, complement each other. CAP holds promise as a dermatological treatment technique, but further exploration and research are needed. This article briefly explores CAP's diverse applications and potential utility within dermatology. The objective is to enhance the progress of plasma medicine by furnishing a concise overview of the applications of this groundbreaking technology in dermatological contexts.

Carbonate rocks occupy about 6490 km2 in Albania (23% of the country) and the total exploitable karst water resources are estimated in 2.84*109 m3/year (about 65% of the total exploitable groundwater resources in the country, and about 70% of those used for water supply). In addition, karst massifs are very rich in thermal waters, related to the ascending fluids which are essential for the development of hypogenic karstification in the outer Albanides. This type of karst facilitates the circulation regime of deep fluids, which are revealed at the surface through both numerous phenomena of hypogene karst and hot springs. The relatively small Kruja Tectonic Zone is characterized by the presence of SE-NW oriented carbonate structures, rich in thermal sources, and contains more than the 80% of Albania thermal springs. One of its most interesting carbonate structures, for the presence of both cold and thermal waters, is the small karst structure of Makaresh, with a surface of 22 km2. The purpose of this article is to describe the characteristics and factors that affect the quantitative and qualitative formation of cold and thermal groundwater in this massif. Based on the physico-chemical characteristics, groundwaters of the study area are classified in cold and thermal waters. The former are mainly of HCO3-Ca or HCO3-Ca-Mg type (Electrical Conductivity 580-650 μS/cm, Temperature 13.9-16.6° C). Thermal waters are mainly of the Cl-Na-Ca type (EC 7200-7800 μS/cm, T 18.5-22.5° C); further, they are characterized by high hydrogen sulphide concentration, up to about 350 mg/l. The presence of two groundwater types in the Makaresh massif is connected to the presence of two groundwater circulation systems. The main factors of the groundwater physic-chemical quality are the solution of rocks and minerals therein contained, the presence of hypogenic speleogenesis, and the mixing of the groundwater of the two systems. The hydrogeological studies proved that karst rocks contain considerable fresh water resources; the capacity of water wells used for the drinking water supply reaches up to about 50 l/s. Thermal waters are not currently exploited due to their temperature, but they are potentially suitable for thermal uses, by drilling boreholes at depth of about 1000 m.

In view of the problem that the hot and cold loads of mushroom houses are affected by multiple factors such as environment, mushrooms, and equipment, which are difficult to accurately model, this paper proposes a short-term load prediction method based on empirical wavelet transform (EWT) and mixed autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) and convolutional bi-directional short- and long-term attention mechanism (CNN-BiLSTM-Attention). The method first uses the Boruta algorithm to filter the input characteristics, and then uses the EWT method to decompose the mushroom house load data into 4 modal components. Then the Lempel-Ziv method is introduced to divide the modal components into two categories of high and low frequencies, and the CNN-BiLSTM-Attention and ARIMA prediction models are constructed separately. Finally, the two types of prediction results are superimposed and reconstructed to obtain the final load prediction value. The test results show that the Boruta algorithm can effectively filter out the characteristics of key influencing factors. Compared with the Spearman and Pearson correlation coefficient methods, the mean absolute error (MAE) of the prediction results is reduced by 14.72% and 3.75%, respectively; compared with the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method, the EWT method can increase the decomposition and reconstruction error by 103 orders of magnitude, which can effectively improve the prediction accuracy of the model; compared with the individual neural network model, the prediction effect of the model proposed in this paper has obvious advantages, and the MAE, root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute percentage error (MAPE) of the prediction results are reduced respectively. 31.06%, 26.52% and 39.27%.

Airway epithelial cells (AECs) play a key role in maintaining lung homeostasis, epithelium regeneration and the initiation of pulmonary immune responses. To isolate and study murine AECs investigators have classically used short and hot (1h 37°C) digestion protocols. Here, we present a workflow for efficient AECs isolation and culture, utilizing long and cold (20h 4°C) dispase II digestion of murine lungs. This protocol yields a greater number of viable AECs compared to an established 1h 37°C dispase II digestion. Using a combination of flow cytometry and immunofluorescent microscopy, we demonstrate that compared to the established method, the cold digestion allows for recovery of a 3-fold higher number of CD45-CD31-EpCAM+ cells from murine lungs. Their viability is increased compared to established protocols, they can be isolated in larger numbers by magnetic-activated cell sorting (MACS), and they result in greater numbers of KRT5+p63+ colonies in vitro. Our findings demonstrate that temperature and duration of murine lung enzymatic digestion have a considerable impact on AEC yield, viability, and ability to form colonies in vitro. We believe this workflow will be helpful for studying lung AECs and their role in the biology of lung.

Cold brew coffee has emerged as a new trend during the last decade. However, “cold brew” is an extraction style of ground roasted coffee with water at less than body temperature (typically 8°C or room temperature) rather than a beverage per se. Cold brew extraction poses several challenges including the need of specific optimization depending on the multivariate influences of coffee variety and processing, roast degree, grinding, dosage, water composition, turbulence, brew system (drip, immersion etc.), time and temperature. While cold brew is typically characterized by a floral sweetness, over-extraction may lead to abundant acidity and bitterness. To avoid this, an extraction degree of 70% was suggested using rather shorter times (i.e. 2 h at 15°C with 80 g/L coffee with optimized medium roast profiles). Due to the lack of sterilizing temperatures during preparation, cold brew is special in the coffee sector because hygiene and food safety aspects pose specific challenges for food industry. To avoid microbiological contamination and spoilage, cold brew should be as freshly prepared as possible and shelf-life should be minimized.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neuropsychiatric condition characterized by impaired social interactions and repetitive stereotyped behaviors. Growing evidence highlights an important role of the gut-brain-microbiome axis in the pathogenesis of ASD. Research indicates an abnormal composition of the gut microbiome and the potential involvement of bacterial molecules in neuroinflammation and brain development disruptions. Concurrently, attention is directed towards the role of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) and impaired intestinal tightness. This comprehensive review emphasizes the potential impact of maternal gut microbiota changes on the development of autism in children, especially considering maternal immune activation (MIA). The following paper evaluates the impact of the birth route on the colonization of the child with bacteria in the first weeks of life. Furthermore, it explores the role of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as IL-6 and IL-17a and mother’s obesity as potentially environmental factors of ASD. The purpose of the present analysis is to advance our understanding of ASD pathogenesis, while also searching for the positive implications of the latest therapies, such as probiotics, prebiotics or fecal microbiota transplantation, targeting the gut microbiota and reducing inflammation. This review aims to provide valuable insights that could instruct future studies and treatments for individuals affected by ASD.

A Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS) is a debilitating chronic disease of unknown aetiology under growing interest now in view of the increasingly recognized post-COVID syndrome as a new entity with similar clinical presentation. We performed the first cross-sectional study of ME/CFS in community population in Russia and then described and compared some clinical and pathophysiological characteristics of ME/CFS and post-COVID syndrome as neuroimmune disorders. Of the cohort of 76 individuals who suggested themselves suffering from ME/CFS 56 subsequently were confirmed as having CFS/ME according to ≥1 of the 4 most commonly used case definition. Of the cohort of 14 individuals with post-COVID-19 syndrome 14 met diagnostic criteria for ME/CFS. The prevalence of clinically expressed and subclinical anxiety and depression in ME / CFS and post-COVID ME/CFS did not differ significantly from that in healthy individuals. Severity of anxiety / depressive symptoms did not correlate with the severity of fatigue neigther in ME / CFS nor in post-COVID ME/CFS, but the positive correlation was found between the severity of fatigue and 20 other symptoms of ME / CFS related to the domains of “post-exertional exhaustion”, “immune dysfunction”, “sleep disturbances”, "dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system", "neurological sensory / motor disorders" and "pain syndromes". Immunological abnormalities were identified in 12/12 patients with ME / CFS according to the results of laboratory testing. The prevalence of postural orthostatic tachycardia assessed by the active standing test was 37.5% in ME / CFS and 75.0% in post-COVID ME/CFS (the latter was higher than in healthy controls, p = 0.02) There was a more pronounced increase in heart rate starting from the 6th minute of the test in post-COVID ME/CFS compared with the control group. Assessment of the functional characteristics of microcirculation by laser doppler flowmetry revealed obvious and very similar changes in ME/CFS and post-COVID ME/CFS compared to the healthy controls. The identified pattern corresponded to the hyperemic form of microcirculation disorders, usually observed in acute inflammatory processes or in deficiency of systemic vasoconstriction influences.

The nutraceutical value of pomegranate in the treatment of many neoplastic, cardiovascular, viral, inflammatory, metabolic, microbial, intestinal, reproductive and skin diseases is well-documented and is linked to its richness in phenolic compounds. This study aims to evaluate nutraceutical and genetic diversity of novel pomegranate genotypes (G1-G5) in comparison to leading commercial pomegranate varieties i.e. ‘Wonderful’, ‘Primosole’, ‘Dente di Cavallo’ and ‘Valenciana’. Morphometric measurements were carried out on fruits, accompanied by chemical characterization and the development of four new polymorphic SSR markers involved in the flavonoid pathway. The cultivars displayed a marked variability in the weight and shape of fruits, as well as in the weight of arils and juice yield. The highest level of total phenolic content and antioxidant activity was found in ‘Wonderful’ and G4, while the lowest was in ‘Dente di Cavallo’. Furthermore, the results showed that the pomegranate juice, is an excellent source of minerals, especially potassium, which plays a key role in organ functioning. The new flavonoid-related markers effectively differentiated the cultivars with the same diversity pattern as morpho-chemical characterization, so the SSRs developed in the present study can be used as a rapid tool for the identification of pomegranate cultivars with relevant nutraceutical traits.

The structures of recently discovered primarolides A and B suggest their non-enzymatic formation from a common 2-formylbenzophenone precursor. This hypothesis is based on the experimentally proven facile conversion of pestalone (also a 2-formyl-benzophenone) either into the isomeric lactone pestalalactone or the structurally related isoindolinone pestalachloride A. In a related fashion, the racemic isoindolinone natural product mariline A is supposed to biosynthetically originate from the corresponding keto-aldehyde and an aniline, as experimentally supported by model studies. Due to the close structural relationship with known systems, it appears highly probable that primarolides A and B were generated under the fermentation conditions from a massarinin-related 2-formylbenzophenone (proprimarolide) by reaction either with aniline or a nucleophilic catalyst, respectively. Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), used as an additive during the fermentation, is supposed to act both as a source of aniline and as a nucleophilic catalyst.

Cold gas dynamic spray (CS) is a unique technique to deposit material using high strain rate solid state deformation. A major challenge for this technique is its dependence on the powder properties and lack of standards to assess them between lots and manufacturers. The motivation of this research was to understand the variability in powder atomization techniques for stainless steel powders and their subsequent properties for their corresponding impact on CS. A drastic difference (~30%) was observed in deposition efficiencies (DE) of unaltered, spherical, and similar sized stainless steel (316) powders produced using centrifugal (C.A) and traditional gas atomization (G.A) techniques. The study highlights more on differences on precursor level. Using recent advancements in large scale statistical measurements like laser diffraction shape analysis, µCT scanning, traditional methods like EBSD, nano-indentation, an attempt is made to understand the powder property. Insights on powder size and shape are documented. Significant differences were observed between C.A and G.A powders in terms of grain size, fraction of higher angle grain boundaries (HAGB) and nano hardness. The outcomes of this study would be helpful to understand the commercialization of the cold-spray process for bulk manufacturing of powder precursors

Susceptibility to economically-important diseases of grapes is critical to the evaluation of germplasm recommended for commercial production and for development of sustainable production systems. In 2018-2019, nine cold-hardy grape cultivars including ‘Brianna’, ‘Crimson Pearl’, ‘Itasca’, ‘Louise Swenson’, ‘Marechal Foch’, ‘Marquette’ ‘Petite Pearl’, ‘St. Pepin’, and ‘Verona’ were evaluated on non-treated vines for susceptibility to downy mildew, powdery mildew, black rot, anthracnose, Phomopsis leaf spot and fruit rot, and Botrytis bunch rot. No cultivars were consistently disease-free, and all exhibited some degree of black rot and powdery mildew infection. Relative susceptibility to disease was not consistent across both years, but ‘Brianna’ had greater incidence of black rot and ‘Louise Swenson’ showed lower incidence of powdery mildew in both years. The relatively new cultivars ‘Crimson Pearl’ and ‘Verona’ exhibited comparatively moderate disease susceptibility overall. Growers typically manage diseases with fungicides on commercial farms, so cultivar susceptibility is just one component of a sustainable pest management and production system.

The concept of this prototype is to create a cold air film layer, in indoor side of the window. The function of this extra cold air layer is to increase the amount of window resistance and decrease its U-Value. It provide air film layer by using the same concept of desert cooler or wind catcher. They both bring the hot air from outside then let it go throw straw miost with cold water. After hot air move through straw, it would become cold, thus increase the window resistance and decrease the haet gian, therefore, decrease the cooling load. So, this window model works by heating the air in air room by sun radiation, then after a while, air pressure will rise and its volume will increase then it will impulse to wet hay, and become cold. Then there is fins to guide air flow to its correct direction, thus inner side of window will become cold, not like other type of window which when temperature rise, the inner side of window become hot. So, this window prevents heat transition and creare regenereted trubouland air flim in the inner side of the window. Using calculation to find air film characteristics and WINDOW7.7 software to calculate heat gain through window, shows that it is expected from this prototype to reduce heat gain by 6.85 % for double glazed clear window.

Usage of antimicrobials in veterinary practices has always been under scrutiny due to the perceived risk of resulting in antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. This creates the necessity for understanding the role of the prescriber group. Hence, we conducted a cross-sectional survey among veterinary practitioners from August to November 2019 in the Chattogram district of Bangladesh, aiming to assess the practitioner’s perceptions regarding antimicrobial prescribing and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) issue. We collected responses from 100 veterinarians engaged in the treatment of the large animal, poultry, and pet animal through a self-administrated questionnaire. Proportions were calculated for categorical variables and the results are presented using visual aids. Our study revealed two key barriers - scarcity of enough information on antimicrobial used, and the lack of training in the proper prescription of antimicrobials. Participants recognized that prescribing too many varieties of antimicrobials and the use of an incomplete course of drugs as two very important causes for the development of antimicrobial resistance. In addition, prescription of inappropriate doses and incentives from pharmaceutical companies were dubbed as important causes. We also found that along with clinical features and types of organisms, the availability of drugs in the local market and the economic conditions of farmers have potential impacts on the antimicrobials prescribing decision of the veterinarians. However, all participants recognized the emerging threats of AMR. Results suggested that capacity building of veterinarians and the maintenance of strong coordination are crucial in ensuring the proper engagement of veterinarians as the front-line fighters for tackling the AMR issue.

The maritime sector, grapples with environmental challenges, but the adoption of "cold ironing" emerges as a promising solution, signifying a shift toward sustainability by providing energy to ships at port, reducing reliance on fossil fuels, and significantly lowering emissions, contributing to global climate change efforts. This transition towards renewable energy is especially crucial for islands like Lesvos, addressing challenges of high energy costs and environmental degradation resulting from reliance on imported fossil fuels, highlighting the potential for positive economic and environmental impacts. The existing literature highlights a research gap in the development of Renewable Energy Sources (RES) to support cold ironing operations, specifically due to the absence of specific data for the power demand needed in such operations and the lack of monitoring data for accurate calculations. This study's primary objective is to utilize real monitoring data from the port of Lesvos to evaluate the power demand for a potential cold ironing application. Additionally, the study aims to analyze the implementation of a wind power park to meet the energy needs of an electric port and evaluate the potential reduction in CO2 emissions. The database of Marine Traffic S.A. was utilized, while the determination of the energy used in-port per ship depended on factors such as the number of arrivals, the duration of hoteling, and the type of engine used by the ships. In addition, the software RETSCREEN was used for the energy analysis of a simulated 20 MW wind park that can support the in-port operations. The combined monthly energy demand for both main and auxiliary engines of shipping vessels at Mytilini port was assessed to be 6118 MWh and averaging a power demand equaled to 8.2 MW. The simulation analysis indicates that the annual electricity delivered to the port can be72080 MWh, with a significant portion remaining unused and exported to the grid, amounting to 14956 MWh annually. Due to demand fluctuations, in-port activities require an additional 924 MWh from the main electrical grid, which highlights the importance of additional measures like energy storage and demand-response practices for the gradual transition to 100% Renewable Energy Sources (RES) operations.

Flood records of the Kunmalik River in Chinese Tien Shan mountains have showed that glacier- dammed lake outburst floods (GLOF) had occurred almost every year since 1956 from the glaci-er-dammed Lake Merzbacher. However, GLOF in cold season is seldomly studied. The defense and management of the flood need further observation and study. The maximum peak discharge of 825 m3/s occurred on 5th December 1996 with the maximum flood volume of 2.875×108 m3, which was 18 times larger than that of the mean daily discharge in winter over the past six decades. The drainage of the Merzbacher lake is not a mechanical breaking up of the glacier dam, but the release of pressurized water along a subglacial tunnel triggered by quickly surge of the Northern Glacier, the subglacial tunnels are enlarged by both ice melting and frictional heat in the flooding water and heat under the glaciated dam and the lake in winter. There is no correlation between the GLOF size and air temperature of cold season. The floods in cold season have become bigger since 1996 than that before, and the flood duration has been extended from winter to spring. Once the cold GLOF starts, its discharge can be forecasted day by day to extrapolate the monitoring hydrograph as a linear curve.

In the present study, a nanostructured FeAl coating was prepared by cold spraying of ball milled powder. Annealing treatment was applied to the coating to investigate its effect on the microstructure, phase structure and microhardness of the cold-sprayed nanostructured FeAl coating. The results showed that the FeAl phase was kept unchangeable when the coating annealed at the temperature above 500oC. Annealing temperature significantly influenced the microstructure and microhardness of cold-sprayed FeAl coating. With raising annealing temperature, the lamellar structure in the as-sprayed coating disappeared and a dense coating microstructure with fully bonding of deposited particles at their interfaces was achieved after annealing at 950oC. Nanograin growth of the FeAl phase occurred at an annealing temperature higher than 800oC. The microhardness of cold-sprayed FeAl coating remained about 400 Hv0.1 at the annealing temperature below 800oC and decreased to 300 Hv0.1 at 1100oC.

Cold brew coffee is a new trend in coffee industry. This paper presents pilot studies into several aspect of this beverage. Using an online survey, the current practices of cold brew coffee preparation were investigated identifying a rather large variability with a preference for extraction of medium roasted Arabica coffee using 50-100 g/l at 8°C for about 1 day. Sensory testing using ranking and triangle tests showed that cold brew may be preferred over iced coffee (cooled down hot extracted coffee). Extraction experiments at different conditions combined with nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis showed that the usual extraction time may be longer than necessary as most compounds are extracted within only a few hours, while increasing turbulence (e.g. using ultrasonication) and temperature may additional increase the speed of extraction. NMR analysis also revealed a possible chemical differentiation between cold brew and hot brew using multivariate data analysis. Decreased extraction time and reduced storage times could be beneficial for cold brew product quality as microbiological analysis of commercial samples detected samples with spoilage organisms and contamination with Bacillus cereus.

(1) Background: There is not much research about obesity in nursing homes although knowledge will help us to develop customized treatment plans and prevention strategies, which may help to decrease the burden for all persons involved. The objective of conducting this study was to describe the prevalence of obesity and the association between obesity and care problems in nursing home patients. (2) Methods: This study is a secondary data analysis of data collected in an annually performed cross-sectional study called “Nursing Quality Measurement 2.0”. A standardized and tested questionnaire was used to collect data. (3) Results: 1236 nursing home patients took part and 16.7% of them were obese. The multivariate logistic regression analysis results show that urinary incontinence is significantly associated with the presence of obesity (OR 2.111). The other care problems of pressure injuries, fecal and double incontinence, physical restraints, falls and pain were not associated with obesity. (4) Conclusion: The results indicate that, in the nursing home setting, health care staff should pay special attention to the patients’ nutritional and continence status and help patients maintain a normal, healthy weight. Conducting more studies with larger sample sizes is recommended, as this will allow differentiation among different obesity classes.

The following system of equations {x_1 \cdot x_1=x_2, x_2 \cdot x_2=x_3, 2^{2^{x_1}}=x_3, x_4 \cdot x_5=x_2, x_6 \cdot x_7=x_2} has exactly one solution in ({\mathbb N}\{0,1})^7, namely (2,4,16,2,2,2,2). Hypothesis 1 states that if a system of equations S \subseteq {x_i \cdot x_j=x_k: i,j,k \in {1,...,7}} \cup {2^{2^{x_j}}=x_k: j,k \in {1,...,7}} has at most five equations and at most finitely many solutions in ({\mathbb N}\{0,1})^7, then each such solution (x_1,...,x_7) satisfies x_1,...,x_7 \leq 16. Hypothesis 1 implies that there are infinitely many composite numbers of the form 2^{2^{n}}+1. Hypotheses 2 and 3 are of similar kind. Hypothesis 2 implies that if the equation x!+1=y^2 has at most finitely many solutions in positive integers x and y, then each such solution (x,y) belongs to the set {(4,5),(5,11),(7,71)}. Hypothesis 3 implies that if the equation x(x+1)=y! has at most finitely many solutions in positive integers x and y, then each such solution (x,y) belongs to the set {(1,2),(2,3)}. We describe semi-algorithms sem_j (j=1,2,3) that never terminate. For every j \in {1,2,3}, if Hypothesis j is true, then sem_j endlessly prints consecutive positive integers starting from 1. For every j \in {1,2,3}, if Hypothesis j is false, then sem_j prints a finite number (including zero) of consecutive positive integers starting from 1.

The goal of this study was to determine the relative susceptibility of four common equine wound pathogens to ten different types of antimicrobial agents based on minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC). Additionally, to describe the comparison of bactericidal activity of medical grade Manuka honey, local honey, and commercial, food-grade honey to other commonly used wound dressings. The objective is to provide veterinary practitioners with comparative data on the use of a variety of antimicrobial dressings for inhibiting growth of common wound bacteria. MIC and MBC for Manuka, store, and local honeys were comparable to those of sterile gauze, sugar, and hypertonic saline. Across bacterial species, local honey proved to have more bactericidal activity when compared to Manuka and commercial, food-grade honey. The MIC and MBC for PHMB gauze and foam was consistently at a higher dilution compared to the other antimicrobials. The majority of antimicrobials exhibited stronger inhibitory and bactericidal activity against a Streptococcus zooepidemicus isolate obtained from a wound compared to other bacteria that were ATCC lab acclimated. Additional research for in-vivo applications needs to be done to see whether differences exist in effective wound management.

(1) Background: Respiratory infections are a major public health problem worldwide, with potentially serious consequences. Indeed, these infections remain one of the main causes of morbidity and mortality in children under 5 years old in developing countries. Etiological information on respiratory infections is crucial for prevention and case management strategies. This systematic review aims to describe the etiology of respiratory infections reported in studies carried out in sub-Saharan African countries; (2) Methods: Using PubMed, HINARI and Google scholar search engines, a systematic search was carried out to identify published articles on the etiology of viral and/or bacterial respiratory infections in sub-Saharan Africa in patients of all ages. We have only considered data from sub-Saharan Africa. Papers published from 2010 to 2021, in English or French have been included in this review; (3) Results: After reviewing 115 articles reporting studies carried out in the African continent, only 32 articles were selected of which, studies were conducted in 15 sub-Saharan African countries, including 6/32 (18.75%) in Cameroon. Twenty (62.5%) were cross-sectional studies, and twenty-four (75%) were hospital-based investigations. In these studies, RT-PCR and culture methods were respectively used for viruses and bacteria investigations. Respiratory syncytial virus was the most frequently identified, with prevalence ranging from 0.6% to 59%, followed by rhinovirus (9.3% -73%), influenza virus (flu) A/B (0.9%-69.1%), and human adenovirus (0.9% - 30.8%). Streptococcus pneumoniae (14.2% - 96%), followed by Haemophilus influenzae type b (2.5% - 54%), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (1.4% - 49.9%) were the most frequently detected bacteria; (4) Conclusions: This review has reported that many pathogens, mainly viruses, are associated with acute respiratory infections in sub-Saharan Africa in both children and adults. Unfortunately, the limited geographical distribution of data across sub-Saharan Africa does not allow most of countries to develop an effective strategy for the prevention and treatment of respiratory infections.

The giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla) is a vulnerable specie from Central and South America and is considered extinct in Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Uruguay. Therefore, studies describing the reproductive characteristics of this species are pivotal for its conservation. Thus, this study aimed to provide a morphological description of their female reproductive tissues. We collected tissue samples from six female giant anteaters, and performed gross, morphological, and histochemical analyses. Five adult and one young subjects were enrolled in the study. In the ovary, classifications were made according to the follicle and oocyte sizes: primordial, primary, secondary, early antral, or antral. Typical follicles with a single oocyte surrounded by a simple or stratified layer of cubic epithelium, atretic follicles, corpora lutea, corpora albicans, and ovarian cysts were also observed. No ovarian lesions were observed. By contrast, endometritis, metritis, mucometra, and endometrial cysts were identified in the uterus. Uterine alterations in these subjects were frequent and could affect reproduction.

In the event of an abrupt sunlight reduction scenario there is a time window that occurs between when food stores would likely run out for many countries (~6 months or less) and ~1 year when resilient foods are scaled up. A promising temporary resilient food is leaf protein concentrate (LPC). Although it is possible to extract LPC from tree biomass (e.g. leaves and needles), neither the yields nor the toxicity of the protein concentrates for humans from the most common tree species has been widely investigated. To help fill this knowledge gap, this study uses high-resolution mass spectrometry and an open source toolchain for non-targeted screening of toxins on five common North American coniferous species: Western Cedar, Douglas Fir, Ponderosa Pine, Western Hemlock, and Lodgepole Pine. The yields for LPC extraction from the conifers ranged from 1% to 7.5%. The toxicity screenings confirm that these trees may contain toxins that can be consumed in small amounts and additional studies including measuring the quantity of each toxin are needed. The results indicate that LPC is a promising candidate to be used as resilient food, but future work is needed before LPCs from conifers can be used as a wide-scale human food.

Marnaviridae viruses are abundant algal viruses that regulate the dynamics of algal blooms in aquatic environments. They employ a narrow host range because they merely lyse their own algal host species. This host-specific lysis is thought to correspond to the unique transmission mechanism of the Marnaviridae viruses. Here, we present the atomic structures of the full and empty capsids of Chaetoceros socialis forma radians RNA virus 1 built in 3.0 Å and 3.1 Å cryo-electron microscopy maps. The empty capsid structure and the structural variability provide insights on its assembly and uncoating intermediates. In conjunction with the previously reported atomic model of the Chaetoceros tenuissimus RNA virus type II capsid, we have identified the common and diverse structural features of the VP1 surface between the Marnaviridae viruses. We have also tested the potential usage of AlphaFold2 for structural prediction of the VP1s and a subsequent structural phylogeny for classifying Marnaviridae viruses by their hosts. These findings will be crucial for inferring the host-specific transmission mechanism in Marnaviridae viruses, which is decisive for monitoring and possibly regulating the occurrence and disappearance of algae blooms.

Phosphate (Pi) deficiency reduces nodule formation and development in different legume species including common bean. Despite the significant progress in the understanding of the genetic responses underlying the adaptation of nodules to Pi deficiency, it is still unclear whether this nutritional deficiency interferes with the molecular dialog between legumes and rhizobia, if so, what part of the molecular dialog is impaired? In this study, we provide evidence demonstrating that Pi deficiency negatively affects critical early molecular and physiological responses required for a successful symbiosis between common bean and rhizobia. We demonstrated that the infection thread formation and the expression of PvNSP2, PvNIN, and PvFLOT2, genes controlling the nodulation process, were significantly reduced in Pi-deficient common bean seedlings. Further transcriptional analysis revealed that the expression of hormones-related genes is compromised in Pi-deficient seedlings inoculated with rhizobia. Additionally, we showed that regardless of the presence or absence of rhizobia, the expression of PvRIC1 and PvRIC2, two genes participating in the autoregulation of nodule number, was higher in Pi-deficient seedlings than in control seedlings. The data presented in this study shed light on the understanding of how Pi deficiency impacts the early steps of the symbiosis between common bean and rhizobia.

The negative impact of drought on plant growth may be modified by different availability of mineral nutrients and by their adaptation to different local habitat conditions. In this study, we examine the impact of drought, fertilization with phosphorus and provenance, as well as their interactions, on the growth and allometric growth relationships between belowground and aboveground organs of common beech (Fagus sylvatica) and sessile oak (Quercus petraea). The research was conducted on saplings originating from two mature mixed stands (dry and wet provenances) dominated by these species. In the common garden experiment, saplings were exposed to regular watering and drought in interaction with moderate and high phosphorus concentrations in the growing substrate (achieved by phosphorus fertilization). Obtained results indicate negative impact of drought and phosphorus fertilization on the growth of both species. In common beech, phosphorus fertilization had a negative impact on its adaptive capacity to drought, because of the unfavourable ratios between fine root mass and mass of other organs. The sessile oak provenances under the impact of drought showed a different root collar diameter/stem height increment ratio, which indicates its different phenotypic plasticity as a consequence of adaptation to different frequencies of dry periods in their natural habitats.

Porous α-Al2O3 ceramics is a highly demanded material for multitude applications such as filters, substrates, biomedicine materials, etc. Despite the availability of the raw materials, a challenge of their technology is in a high energy budget caused by the sintering above 1500 °C. For a cold sintering processing (CSP) of ceramics, the lowering of α-Al2O3 sintering temperature is one of the most urgent challenges at the background of its rapid development. The current paper for the first time demonstrates the solution of the mentioned problem by the CSP of α-alumina ceramics in a presence of pure water as a transient liquid. The manufactured materials were examined by XRD analysis; the evolution of their microstructures during the CSP was revealed by SEM, and the porosity evaluated by the Archimedes method. The ceramics with an open porosity up to 36 % was produced at 380-450 °C, 220 MPa in 30 min. An increase in the pressure was found to impede α-Al2O3 formation from γ-AlOOH. The development of the microstructure was discussed within the frameworks of the dissolution-precipitation model and the homogenous nucleation. The results of the SEM study pointed to the coalescence of γ-AlOOH grains during the CSP.

Switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) often utilize electrolytic capacitors due to their substantial energy density and economical pricing. However, their ability to function at low temperatures is essential for dependable operation in several sectors, including telecommunications, automotive, and aerospace. This study includes an experimental evaluation of how well standard SMPS electrolytic capacitors operate at low temperatures. This paper investigates the suitability of standard electrolytic capacitors used in switched-mode power supplies (SMPS) for low-temperature applications. The experimental evaluation exposed the capacitors to temperatures ranging from - 5 ∘C to - 40 ∘C, assessing capacitance (Cp), impedance (Z), dissipation factor (DF), and equivalent series resistance (ESR) at each temperature. The capacitor’s time-domain electrical signals were analyzed using the Pearson correlation coefficient to extract discriminative features. These features were input into an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) for training and testing. Results indicated a significant impact of low temperatures on capacitor performance. Capacitance decreased with lower temperatures, while ESR and leakage current increased, affecting stability and efficiency. Impedance proved to be a valuable diagnostic tool for identifying potential capacitor failure, showing a 98.44% accuracy drop at - 5 degrees and 88.75% at the peak temperature, indicating proximity to the manufacturer’s specified limit. The study suggests further research and development to improve electrolytic capacitors’ performance in SMPS systems under cold conditions to enhance efficiency and reliability.

The shortage of precooling equipment in litchi producing regions could lead to a high loss rate, poor quality of litchis. It is urgent to develop a portable precooling device for litchi producing regions. In this study, a novel spray hydrocooler with thermal energy storage (TES) were designed, fabricated, and tested. A simple mathematical model of TES capacity, ice coil thermal resistance and refrigeration system was employed to determine hydrocooler parameters. Then designed the structure of the spray hydrocooler. Maximum charging test was implemented with full TES capacity and litchi spray hydrocooling experiments were carried out at different charging times, spray flow rate, and litchi load with one-third TES capacity. Results showed that: (1) the spray hydrocooler allows for the rapid and effective precooling of litchis; (2) the hydrocooler can precool 299 kg litchis with one-third TES storage, meet the precooling requirements; (3) the effective TES capacity achieved 1.25×108 J at the maximum TES capacity of the hydrocooler, while the energy efficiency ratio (EER) is 2; (4) the precooling capacity was maximum and the average power consumption was minimum when the litchi load was 23 kg and the spray flow rate was 30 L min-1. Longer charging time is the most important factor in increasing precooling capacity and reducing average power consumption.

This paper presents the results of an experimental and analytical study on the behavior of cold-formed thick-walled steel plates connected by a single bolt under double shear. Experimental studies were conducted on a total of 54 bolted connections fabricated from two thickness of cold-formed thick-walled steel plates with the nominal thickness of 6 mm and 10 mm. The effects of end distance, edge distance and steel plate thickness were investigated on the bolt bearing behavior. Codes of (modified) ANSI/AISC 360-16 and EN1993-1-8 were applied to predict failure modes and bearing resistance of connections and the predictions were compared with that of measurements. A method was proposed to calculate the elongation of bolt hole at ultimate load. The studies show that fractures occurred on shear planes of specimens failed by shear out due to reduced ductility caused by cold forming process. The modified ANSI/AISC gives the most accurate predictions of failure modes and bearing resistance. However, the bearing resistance will be overestimated if the reduction in area of shear planes caused by occurrence of fracture is ignored for specimens with end distance being higher than 2.0d0 and a reduction factor is needed for calculating bearing resistance of connections. The method proposed in our paper can predict the elongation of bolt hole very well.

Following the concept of strong interaction, theoretically, fusion of proton seems to increase the binding energy of final atom by 8.8 MeV. Due to Coulombic repulsion, asymmetry effect, pairing effect and other nuclear effects, final atom is forced to choose a little bit of binding energy less than 8.8 MeV and thus it is able to release left over binding energy in the form of internal kinetic energy or external thermal energy. Thus, in cold fusion, heat release to occur, binding energy difference of final atom and base atom seems to be less than 8.8 MeV. Qualitatively, energy released during cold fusion seems to be approximately equal to 8.8 MeV minus the difference of binding energy of final and base atoms. Based on this idea, under normal conditions, for the case of ₂He⁴, fusion of four protons can liberate (35.2-28.3)=6.9 MeV and it is 3.5 times less than the current estimates. Point to be understood is that, lesser the binding energy of final atom, higher the liberated thermal energy and vice versa. With a suitable catalyst and sufficient hydrogen under suitable pressure, if reactor’s temperature is maintained at (1000 to 1500) ⁰C, there seems a lot of scope for a chain reaction of cold fusion in which light isotopes transform to their next stage with increased proton number or mass number and liberate safe and clean heat energy continuously. By arranging 4 to 6 reactors and charging them periodically in tandem, required thermal energy can be produced continuously. In this new direction, by carefully selecting the base isotope and its corresponding catalyst, experiments can be conducted and ground reality of cold fusion can be understood at various temperature and pressure conditions.

Groundwater is a vital resource for human welfare. However, due to various factors, groundwater pollution is one of the main environmental concerns facing. Yet, it is challenging to simulate groundwater quality dynamics due to the insufficient representation of nutrient percolation processes in the soil and Water Assessment Tool model. The objectives of this study were extending the SWAT module to predict groundwater quality. The results proved a linear relationship between observed and calculated groundwater quality considering No3 and TDS with R2, NSE and PBIAS values in the satisfied ranges, albeit underestimation and overestimation were observed due to limited data availability. These results highlight that nitrate and TDS concentrations and variability in groundwater may used as a tool in surface water quality that have to be assumed for designing adaptive management scenarios. Hence, extended SWAT model could be a powerful tool for future regional to global scale modelling of nutrient loads supporting effective surface and groundwater management.

To elucidate the function of the cold resistance regulatory gene FmNAC1 from Fraxinus mandshurica, this study identified the role that the overexpression of the FmNAC1 gene plays in tobacco growth and cold stress regulation. The cloned FmNAC1 gene from F. mandshurica is 891 bp in length and encodes 296 amino acids. Our subcellular localization analysis confirmed that FmNAC1 is primarily located in the nucleus and functions as a transcription factor. FmNAC1 is responsive to cold and NaCl stress, as well as to the induction of IAA, GA, and ABA hormone signals. To further elucidate its function in cold resistance, four transgenic tobacco lines of FmNAC1 overexpression（FmNAC1-OE）were generated through tissue culture after the agrobacterium-mediated transformation of wild-type (WT) tobacco. These FmNAC1-OE plants exhibited accelerated growth after transplantation. When exposed to low-temperature conditions at -5°C for 24 hours, the rates of wilting and yellowing of the FmNAC1-OE plants were significantly lower than those of the WT tobacco plants. Additionally, the membrane integrity, osmotic regulation, and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging abilities of the FmNAC1-OE tobacco lines were better than those of the WT plants, indicating the potential of the FmNAC1 gene to improve plant cold resistance. The gene expression results further revealed that the FmNAC1 transcription factor exhibits regulatory interactions with growth-related genes such as IAA and AUX1; cold resistance-related genes such as ICE, DREB, and CBF1; and genes involved in the clearance of reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as CAT and SOD. All of this evidence shows that the FmNAC1 transcription factor from F. mandshurica plays a key role in contributing to the enhancement of growth, cold resistance, and ROS clearance in transgenic tobacco plants.

The visual perception of leisure spaces between residences in cold regions is important for public health. To compensate for the existing researches` lack of ignoring the cold snow season`s influence, this study selected two types of outdoor leisure space environments in non-snow and snow seasons as research objects. An eye tracker combined with a Semantic Difference (SD) questionnaire was used to verify the feasibility of the application of virtual reality technology, screen out leisure gaze characteristics, and reveal the environmental factors related to leisure visual perception. In snow season, spatial aspect ratio (SAR), building elevation saturation (BS), and grass proportion in the field of view (GP) showed strong correlation to the leisure visual perception scores (W). In non-snow season, apart from the above three factors, roof height difference (RHD), tall tree height (TTH) and color contrast (HC) also influenced W obviously. The effects of factors on W were revealed in immersive virtual en-vironment (IVE) orthogonal experiments and genetic algorithm (GA) and k-nearest neighbor algorithm (KNN) were combined to optimized the environmental factors. The optimized threshold ranges in the non-snow season environment were SAR: 1.82‒2.15, RHD: 10.81 m‒20.09 m, BS: 48.53‒61.01, TTH: 14.18 m‒18.29 m, GP: 0.12‒0.15, and HC: 18.64‒26.83. In the snow season environment, the optimized threshold ranges were SAR: 2.22‒2.54, BS: 68.47‒82.34, and GP: 0.1‒0.14.

In this paper, a study was conducted on the Ramsey interference and spectral line locking techniques based on rubidium-87 cold atoms. Using sequential control technique, the timing design of a three-dimensional magneto-optical trap (MOT), cold atoms’ free fall, Ramsey microwave interference, and two-level fluorescence detection was realized, achieving the state preparation of cold atoms and clock transitions. By designing an automatic peak-finding algorithm, numerical integration was performed on the time-of-flying (TOF) signal, and narrow linewidth cold atom Ramsey interference fringes were obtained. Based on this, a frequency-hopping method was used to lock the frequency of the 10MHz oven-controlled crystal oscillator (OCXO) in a closed loop, achieving a linewidth of 38Hz. This preliminary result verifies the feasibility of the system design.

The effects of 1%~5% cold compression on the mechanical properties, microstructure and residual stress of 7050 aluminum alloy were investigated, and the results were applied to the complex die forging with stiffener structure. The results show that with the increase of cold compression, the tensile strength of forging decreases gradually, but the conductivity and fracture toughness of the forging have little change. TEM microstructure shows that with larger cold compression (5%), the dislocation density was relatively higher, which promoted the precipitation and growth of precipitated phases at positions with higher dislocation density during aging process. The ultrasonic tests of residual stress show that with the increase of cold compression, the residual stress in the forging decreases first, and then increases when cold compression reaches 5%. The results of the die forging of 7050 aluminum alloy with bar structure show that the residual stress of the die forging is obviously eliminated after 2-4% cold compression, and the deformation after machining is obviously less than of the uncompressed forgings. The combination of bar and web is more beneficial to the uniform distribution of residual stress of the die forging with bar structure.

Background: The current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is spreading globally at an accelerated rate. There is some previous evidence that weather may influence the incidence of COVID-19 infection. We assessed the role of meteorological factors including temperature (T) and relative humidity (RH) considering the concentrations of two air pollutants, inhalable coarse particles (PM10) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in the incidence of COVID-19 infections in Finland, located in arctic-subarctic climatic zone. Methods: We retrieved daily counts of COVID-19 in Finland from Jan 1 to May 31, 2020, nationwide and separately for all 21 hospital districts across the country. The meteorological and air quality data were from the monitoring stations nearest to the central district hospital. A quasi-Poisson generalized additional model (GAM) was fitted to estimate the associations between district-specific meteorological factors and the daily counts of COVID-19 during the study period. Sensitivity analyses were conducted to test the robustness of the results. Results: The incidence rate of COVID-19 gradually increased until a peak around April 6 and then decreased. There were no associations between daily temperature and incidence rate of COVID-19. Daily average RH was negatively associated with daily incidence rate of COVID-19 in two hospital districts located inland. No such association was found nationwide. The sensitivity analyses indicate the results are robust. Conclusions: Weather conditions, such as air temperature and relative humidity, may not be important factors affecting the COVID-19 incidence in the arctic and subarctic winter and spring. More evidence is needed on the associations between weather and COVID-19 during different seasons.

This study investigates the metabolic parallels between stimulated pancreatic beta cells and cancer cells, emphasizing glucose and glutamine metabolism. Addressing the significant public health challenges of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) and cancer, we aim to deepen understanding of the mechanisms driving insulin secretion and cellular proliferation. Our analysis of anaplerotic cycles and NADPH's role in biosynthesis elucidates their vital functions in both processes. Additionally, we find that both cell types share an antioxidative response mediated by the Nrf2 signaling pathway, glutathione synthesis, and UCP2 upregulation. Notably, UCP2 facilitates the transfer of C4 metabolites, enhancing reductive TCA cycle metabolism. We also uncover that hypoxic responses are transient in beta cells post-stimulation but persistent in cancer cells. By synthesizing these insights, our research suggests novel therapeutic targets for T2DM, highlighting the shared metabolic strategies of stimulated beta cells and cancer cells. This comparative analysis not only illuminates the metabolic complexity of these conditions but also emphasizes the crucial role of metabolic pathways in cell function and survival, offering fresh perspectives for tackling T2DM and cancer challenges.

Most fungal species are commensals, not pathogenic for plants, humans, or animals. However, several species from genera Alternaria, Aspergillus, Trichophyton and Microsporum are common causes of disease, even for immunocompetent individuals, contributing to skin barrier impairment. A total of 68 allergic dogs were selected from a veterinary dermatology and allergy outpatient consultation, for conditions related to Malassezia overgrowth or other fungal complications. Allergy diagnosis was made through anamnestic and clinical criteria and allergy-implicated species were identified by intradermal testing (IDT) and serum determination of specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE). Dermatophagoides farinae, Dactylis glomerata and Malassezia pachydermatis showed as the higher sensitization species from each group. Significant correlations at p<0.05 were found between Dactylis glomerata and Phleum pratense grass pollens, Dermatophagoides farinae and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Acarus siro, Tyrophagus putrescentiae and Lepidoglyphus destructor dust/storage mites, and between fungi like Aspergillus mix and Penicillium or Alternaria alternata. A significant correlation was also found between sensitization to Aspergillus mix and D. farinae, D. pteronyssinus or A. siro. Rather severe dermatitis was observed where positive IDT to Malassezia pachydermatis was found, regardless of the presence of circulating sIgE, allowing us to perceive the usefulness of both sIgE and IDT for allergy diagnosis to fungi.

The importance of statistics in biological research is inevitable. The appliance of statistics is the most powerful tool to support the scientific hypothesis and to give credibility to biological research methodology, to interpret convoluted explanations and conclusions based on the research findings. The evidences from literatures point the persistent statistical errors, selection of non-proper statistical test with the consequence of misinterpretation of the scientific results which are published in international journals. One of the most extensively used statistical tests in the field of biology (preclinical and clinical) is analysis of variance (ANOVA). ANOVA test is in place of multiple T-tests to compare the means of more than two groups at a time; and there are some important points which biologists should be aware of them to avoid possible misinterpretation of results with the consequence of wrong conclusion. Accordingly, the aim of the current review is to help biologists to understand the basic concepts of ANOVA test and reach to a more valid interpretation of achieved results.

Common rust (CR), caused by Puccina sorghi, is one of the major foliar diseases in maize, leading to quality deterioration and yield losses. To dissect the genetic architecture of CR resistance in maize, this study utilized the susceptible temperate inbred line Ye107 as the male parent crossed with three resistant tropical maize inbred lines (CML312, D39, and Y32) to generate 627 F7 recombinant inbred lines (RILs), aiming to identify maize disease-resistant loci and candidate genes for common rust. Phenotypic data exhibited good segregation between resistance and susceptibility, with varying degrees of resistance observed across different subpopulations. Significant genotype effects and genotype × environment interactions were noted with heritability ranging from 85.7% to 92.2%. Linkage analysis and genome-wide association analysis across three environments identified 20 QTLs and 62 significant SNPs. Among them, seven major QTLs explained 66% of the phenotypic variance. Comparison with six SNPs repeatedly identified across different environments revealed overlap between qRUST3-3 and Snp-203,116,453, and Snp-204,202,469. Haplotype analysis indicated two significantly different haplotypes for CR resistance for both of these SNPs. Based on LD decay plots, three co-located candidate genes, namely Zm00001d043536, Zm00001d043566, and Zm00001d043569, were identified within 20 kb up-stream and downstream of these two SNPs. Zm00001d043536 regulates hormone regulation, Zm00001d043566 controls stomatal opening and closure, related to trichome, and Zm00001d043569 is associated with plant disease immune responses. Additionally, we performed candidate gene screening for five additional SNPs repeatedly detected across different environments, resulting in the identification of five candidate genes. These findings contribute to the development of genetic resources for common rust resistance in maize breeding programs.

Anthracnose, caused by the fungus Colletotrichum lindemuthianum, poses a significant and widespread threat to the common bean crop. The use of plant genetic resistance has proven to be the most effective strategy for managing anthracnose disease. The Amendoim Cavalo (AC) Andean cultivar has resistance against multiple races of C. lindemuthianum, which is conferred by the Co-AC gene. Fine mapping of this resistance gene to common bean chromosome Pv01 enabled the identification of Phvul.001G244300, Phvul.001G244400, and Phvul.001G244500 candidate genes for further validation. In this study, we assessed the relative expression of Co-AC candidate genes, as well as other putative genes in vicinity of this locus and known resistance genes, in the AC cultivar following inoculation with the race 73 of C. lindemuthianum. Gene expression analysis revealed significantly higher expression levels of Phvul.001G244500. Notably, Phvul.001G244500 encodes a putative Basic Helix-Loop-Helix transcription factor, suggesting its involvement in the regulation of defense responses. Furthermore, we observed a significant modulation of the expression of defense related genes PR1a, PR1b, and PR2, in a time-course experiment. These findings contribute to the development of improved strategies for breeding anthracnose-resistant common bean cultivars, thereby mitigating the impact of this pathogen on crop yields and ensuring sustainable bean production.

Electronic structure calculations have been carried out to examine the effect of protonation and water molecules on the heme group of peroxidases in different redox (ferric, ferrous, compounds I and II) and spin states. Shared geometries, spectroscopic properties at Soret region, and thermodynamics of peroxidases are discussed. B3LYP and M06-2X density functionals with different basis sets were employed on a common molecular model of the active site (Fe-centred porphine and proximal imidazole). Computed Gibbs free energies indicate that the corresponding aquo complexes are not thermodynamically stable, supporting the five-coordinate Fe(III) centre in native ferric peroxidases, with a water molecule located at a non-bonding distance. Protonation of the ferryl oxygen of compound II is discussed in terms of thermodynamics, Fe–O bond distances, and redox properties. It is demonstrated that this protonation is necessary to account for the experimental data and computed Gibbs free energies that reveal pKa values of compound II about 8.5 – 9.0. Computation suggests that the origin of the general oxidative properties of peroxidase species, as well as their reactivity towards water and protons and Soret spectral properties, mostly resides on the iron porphyrin and its proximal ligand histidine.

Pompeii was connected to the great Serino aqueduct under the principate of Augustus. From that moment on, water became not only a precious resource for the inhabitants but also their true social indicator. It is no coincidence, in fact, that the concentration of sumptuous dwellings is in Regio VI, the district closest to the aqueduct reservoir (castellum aquae in Latin) and the one most equipped with piezometric towers, the first of the network, the ones that would never leave the decorative fountains of the peristyles dry. From this observation follows the original possibility of considering the water network a factor that contributed to designating the morphology of urban neighbourhoods and blocks.

Nucleosome positioning plays an important role in crucial biological processes like replication, transcription, and gene regulation. It has been widely used to predict the genome’s function and chromatin organisation. So far, the studies of patterns in nucleosome positioning have been limited to transcription start sites, CTCFs binding sites, and some promoter and loci regions. The genome-wide organisational pattern remains unknown. We have developed a theoretical model to coarse-grain nucleosome positioning data in order to obtain patterns in their distribution. Using hierarchical clustering on the auto-correlation function of this coarse-grained nucleosome positioning data, a genome-wide clustering is obtained for Candida albicans. The clustering shows the existence beyond hetero- and eu-chromatin inside the chromosomes.

Over the course of the pandemic due to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), multiple new clinical manifestations, as the consequence of the tropism of the virus, have been recognized. That includes now the neurological manifestations and conditions, such as headache, encephalitis, as well as olfactory and taste disorders. We present a series of ten cases of RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infected patients diagnosed with viral-associated olfactory and taste loss from four different countries.

In the international scenario of agriculture, Brazil stands out as the main producer and consumer of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) The increase in the productive potential of the crop is mainly due to breeding programs. The objective of this study was to estimate genetic parameters, predict genotypic values with REML/BLUP (Restricted Maximum Likelihood/Best Linear Unbiased Prediction) and, based on these values, study the variability in common bean cultivars with carioca and black grain. Twenty three agromorphological descriptors were evaluated, among them grain yield. Deviance analysis detected significant differences between the cultivars in both groups. Selective accuracy (Ac) was considered high for most of the traits. Broad-sense heritability (h_g² ) ranged from 0.05 to 0.72, but it was low for the trait yield (YLD). In the carioca grain group, the h_g² values for the traits related to plant morphology were higher than in the black group. Nevertheless, the h_g² values in the black group were higher in relation to the pod and seed traits. The correlations for YLD were moderate but different in the two commercial groups studied. In the black group, variables related to the seed morphology were correlated with grain yield, and in the carioca group, traits related to seed quantity. Based on the groupings, variability among the cultivars was observed. Three distinct clusters were formed for the carioca group and four for the black group. Based on the predicted genetic values, genetic variability and the most adapted and stable cultivars were detected among the cultivars in the studied environments.

Complex proteomic and physiological approaches to study cold and heat stress responses in plant mitochondria are still limited. Variations in the mitochondrial proteome of cauliflower (Brassica oleracea var. botrytis) curds after cold and heat and after stress recovery were assayed by 2D PAGE in relation to respiratory parameters. Quantitative analysis of the mitochondrial proteome revealed numerous stress-affected protein spots. In cold alternative oxidase isoforms were extensively upregulated; major downregulations in the level of photorespiratory enzymes, porine isoforms, oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and some low-abundant proteins were observed. On the contrary, distinct proteins, including carbohydrate metabolism enzymes, heat-shock proteins, translation, protein import, and OXPHOS components were involved in heat response and recovery. Few metabolic regulations were suggested. Cauliflower plants appeared less susceptible to heat; closed stomata in heat stress resulted in moderate photosynthetic, but only minor respiratory impairments, however photosystem II performance was unaffected. Decreased photorespiration corresponded with proteomic alterations in cold. Our results show that cold and heat stress not only operate in diverse mode (exemplified by cold-specific accumulation of some heat shock proteins), but exert some associations on molecular and physiological levels. This implies more complex model of action of investigated stresses on plant mitochondria.

Objectives: Isolated mild neutropenia is a common clinical problem. The current study aims to validate our previous findings regarding the high prevalence of isolated neutropenia in Southern and Southwestern Saudi Arabia and explore the effect of altitude or regional differences. Methods: In this retrospective cross-sectional study, laboratory results of a commercial laboratory were screened over a period of 5 years (2016–2020) in seven different cities in South and southwestern Saudi Arabia. Participants’ laboratory investigations were reviewed and excluded for any ab-normal complete blood count, renal profile, liver profile, lipid profile, thyroid function test, fasting blood glucose, or HbA1c findings. Descriptive analysis and 95th percentile range were calculated using standard statistical methods. Results: A total of 91,880 complete blood count results were included in the final analysis. isolated neutropenia is common laboratory finding, with a prevalence ranging from 11-23%. The 2.5th percentile of the neutrophil count was lower than 1.5×109/L in all seven cities. Conclusions: Mild to moderate neutropenia is common in Southern and Southwestern Saudi Arabia. Benign ethnic neutropenia (BEN) may explain this high prevalence. Since BEN has no clinical significance, the reference range for normal neutrophil counts needs to be adjusted to reflect the effect of BEN.