We introduce a special vector field ω on a Riemannian manifold (N^m, g), such that the Lie derivative of the metric g with respect to ω is equal to ρRic, where Ric is the Ricci curvature of (N^m, g) and ρ is a smooth function on N^{m} and call this vector field a ρ-Ricci vector field. We use ρ-Ricci vector field on a Riemannian manifold (N^m, g) and find two characterizations of m-sphere S^m(α). In first result, we show that an m-dimensional compact and connected Riemannian manifold (N^m, g) with nonzero scalar curvature admits a ρ-Ricci vector field ω such that ρ is nonconstant function and the integral of Ric(ω,ω) has a suitable lower bound is necessary and sufficient for (N^m, g) to be isometric to m-sphere S^m(α). In second result, we show that an m-dimensional complete and simply connected Riemannian manifold (N^m, g) of positive scalar curvature admits a ρ-Ricci vector field ω such that ρ is a nontrivial solution of Fischer-Marsden equation and the squared length of the covariant derivative of ω has an appropriate upper bound, if and only if, (N^m, g) to be isometric to m-sphere S^m(α).

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

Malaria parasites increase their host erythrocyte’s permeability to obtain essential nutrients from plasma and facilitate intracellular growth. In the human P. falciparum pathogen, this increase is mediated by the plasmodial surface anion channel (PSAC) and has been linked to CLAG3, as encoded by one member of the conserved clag multigene family. Whether paralogs encoded by other clag genes also contribute to PSAC formation or serve unrelated roles remains unknown. Here, we generated transfectant lines carrying epitope-tagged versions of each CLAG. Each paralog colocalized with CLAG3, with concordant trafficking via merozoite rhoptries to the host erythrocyte membrane of newly-invaded erythrocytes. Each also exists within infected cells in at least two forms: an alkaline-extractable soluble form and a form integral to the host membrane. Like CLAG3, CLAG2 has a variant region cleaved by extracellular protease but CLAG8 and CLAG9 are protease-resistant. Paralog knockout lines, generated through CRISPR/Cas9 transfection, exhibited uncompromised growth in PGIM, a modified medium with more physiological nutrient levels; this finding is in marked contrast to a recently reported CLAG3 knockout parasite. CLAG2 and CLAG8 knockout lines exhibited compensatory increases in transcription of remaining clags and associated rhoph genes, yielding increased PSAC-mediated uptake to specific solutes. We also report distinct transport properties of these knockout lines, suggesting partially overlapping roles of CLAG paralogs in PSAC activity. We propose that the nutrient channel pore is formed by a higher order assembly of CLAG proteins at the host membrane.

The shoulder region has the highest incidence of acute injuries in the sport of surfing. Little is known about the strength profile at the shoulder in a surfing cohort. The primary aim of this study was to establish the reliability of a rotator cuff strength testing procedure for surfers with a secondary aim of providing a profile of internal (IR) and external rotation (ER) strength in a competitive surfing cohort. Shoulder IR and ER isometric strength was measured using a hand-held dynamometer in 13 competitive surfers. Intra-class coefficient values ranged from 0.97 to 0.98 for intra rater reliability and were lower for inter rater reliability ranging from 0.80 to 0.91. Normalised force (N/Kg) for IR strength was significantly greater than ER strength bilaterally (dominant, p= 0.007, non-dominant, p<0.001). No significant differences (p< 0.79) were found in IR strength (N/Kg) between the dominant and non-dominant arms. ER strength (N/Kg) was significantly weaker on the non-dominant arm compared with the dominant arm (p<0.02). The non-dominant arm ER to IR ratio (0.82 ± 0.15) was significantly (p=0.025) lower than the dominant (0.88 ± 0.14) The current procedure is reliable with the same clinician, results indicate musculature asymmetry specific to the external rotators.

ARBTools is a Python library containing a Lekien-Marsden type tricubic spline method for interpolating three-dimensional scalar or vector fields presented as a set of discrete data points on a regular cuboid grid. ARBTools was developed for simulations of magnetic molecular traps, in which the magnitude, gradient and vector components of a magnetic field are required. Numerical integrators for solving particle trajectories are included, but the core interpolator can be used for any scalar or vector field. The only additional system requirements are NumPy.

The increasing enhancement in the modulation accuracy of spatial light modulators has garnered significant attention towards real-time control technology for light fields based on these modulators. It has been empirically demonstrated that this technology possesses a remarkable capability to generate vector beams with arbitrary complex amplitude distributions. Nevertheless, past studies indicate that the generation of only one vector beam at a time has been observed. The simultaneous generation of numerous vector light fields can give rise to several challenges, including compromised picture quality, limited single mode operation, and intricate optical path configurations. In pursuit of this objective, we present a novel methodology that integrates the coding methodology of modified off-axis interferometric holography with the idea of optical superposition. This technique facilitates the concurrent generation of several vector beams. In this study, we present a demonstration of the simultaneous creation of twelve vector beams using a single spatial light modulator (SLM) as a proof of concept. Significantly, this technology has the ability to generate an unlimited quantity of vector light fields concurrently, under the assumption that the resolution of the SLM does not impose any limitations. The findings indicate that the imaging quality achieved by this technology is of a high standard. Furthermore, it is possible to separately control the beam waist radius, topological charge, polarization order, and extra phase of each beam.

This paper presents an Edge-based color image segmentation derived from the method of Particle Motion in a Vector Image Fields (PMVIF) that could previously be applied only to monochrome images. Instead of using an edge vector field derived from a gradient vector field and a normal compressive vector field derived from a Laplacian-gradient vector field, two novel orthogonal vector fields, directly computed from a color image, one parallel and another orthogonal to the edges, were used in the model to force a particle to move along the object edges. The normal compressive vector field is derived from the center-to-centroid vectors of local color distance images. Next, the edge vector field is derived by taking the normal compressive vector field, multiplied by differences of auxiliary image pixels to obtain a vector field analogous to a Hamiltonian gradient vector field. Using the PASCAL Visual Object Classes Challenge 2012 (VOC2012) and the Berkeley Segmentation Data Set and Benchmarks 500 (BSDS500), the benchmark score of the proposed method is provided in comparison with those of the traditional PMVIF, Watershed, SLIC, K-means, Mean shift, and JSEG. The proposed method yields better RI, GCE, NVI, BDE, Dice coefficients, faster computation time, and noise resistance.

This paper presents an explicit method for constructing tangential and anisotropic bases in quadratic spaces. We will also provide three theorems that allow us to explicitly calculate vectors that are orthogonal or tangent to given vectors or that provide necessary and sufficient conditions for the existence of such vectors. A classical theorem on quadratic space states that every finite-dimensional quadratic space has an orthogonal basis. A result that seems to be unanswered is under what conditions a finite-dimensional quadratic space has a basis consisting of isotropic vectors. A second problem is whether or not every finite-dimensional quadratic space has a basis consisting of mutually tangent vectors, where two vectors v,w are tangent if (u·v)2=(u·u)(v·v). In this paper, we attack these two problems.

We have introduced a sign operator of energy, analogous to the operator helicity, but in the direction of what we call energy vector. However, this energy vector needs a time vector. To give physical senses to the components of such a time vector, we try to explain the time dilation in special relativity and try to relate the components of the time vector to the tunneling times when an electron crosses a potential barrier.

The combination of encryption and digital watermarking technologies is a trend to achieve full lifecycle data protection. Recently, reversible data hiding in encrypted domain (RDHED) has greatly aroused the interests of many scholars. But the fixed order of first encryption and then watermarking makes this kind of algorithms unsuitable to many applications. Commutative encryption and watermarking (CEW) technology realizes the flexible combination of encryption and watermarking, and suits more applications. However, most existing CEW schemes for vector maps are not reversible and unsuitable to high precision maps. To solve this problem, here we propose a commutative encryption and reversible watermarking (CERW) algorithm for vector maps based on virtual coordinates which are uniformly distributed on the number axis. The CERW algorithm consists of virtual interval step based encryption scheme and coordinate difference based reversible watermarking scheme. In the encryption scheme, the map coordinates are moved randomly by multiples of virtual interval step defined as distance between two adjacent virtual coordinates. In the reversible watermarking scheme, difference expansion (DE) technique is used to embed the watermark bit into the coordinate difference computed based on the relative position of a map coordinate in a virtual interval. Since the relative position of a map coordinate in a virtual interval keeps unchanged during the coordinate scrambling encryption process, the watermarking operation and the encryption operation don’t interfere with each other and the commutativity between encryption and watermarking achieves. Results show that: proposed method has high security, high capacity and good invisibility. In addition, the algorithm is not only applicable to polyline and polygon vector data, but also can be applied to sparsely distributed point data which the traditional DE watermarking algorithm often fails to watermark.

(1)Background: Fascioliasis is considered a neglected tropical disease affecting an estimated 17 million people in more than 70 countries worldwide. The highest prevalence of human fascioliasis is found in regions where livestock farming and consumption of raw or undercooked freshwater plants are common, such as parts of Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. It is responsible for over 90,000 disability-adjusted years of life due to associated abdominal complications. We conducted a study to investigate the prevalence of human fascioliasis through a systematic review and meta-analysis of all available literature in Sun-Saharan Africa.(2). Methods: We screened a total of 126 publications using pubmed online search engine databases; Web of Science and CAB for articles published within a 20-year period between 2000 and 2022. We used a comprehensive search method using a combination of terms, parasite and disease names. The initial search resulted in a screening of articles by title, abstracts and full texts. The relevant information on the prevalence of human fascioliasis in Africa was extracted. Of the 126 publications, 33 articles were selected for meta-analysis. The essential information required was extracted from these documents and determined through statistical analysis in Microsoft Excel for calculating the prevalence of human fascioliasis in sub-Saharan Africa. The variance of each study was assessed using a bimodal distribution and heterogeneity assessment using a I2 index. Analysis was performed using random effects models.(3)Results: A total of 271 articles were searched through the database search and 33 articles were eligible studies that provided qualitative information on the prevalence of human fascioliasis in Africa. These make up 12.17% (n=33). The pooled prevalence estimates for human fascioliasis are 0.032% (IVhet PPE: 0.032% (95%CI 1.4-6.53). The highest prevalence rate was observed in Egypt with a prevalence of 100%. The prevalence of human fascioliasis is very high in some sub-Saharan countries, partly due to neglect of diagnostics, demonstrating the bias of available information for decision-making in human fascioliasis across Africa, given the spatial presence, scarcity and incompleteness are region.(4)Conclusions: The prevalence of Human fascioliasis is very high in some Sub-Saharan Countries partly due to neglect in diagnostics. This presents how highly focal with spatial occurrences, scarcity and patchy the available information for decision making is on Human fascioliasis across the Sub-Saharan African region.

Theoretical studies on the generation of nondiffracting and nondispersive light pulses and their experimental implementation are one of the renowned problems within electromagnetics. Current technologies enable creation of short-duration pulses of a few cycles with high power and fluency. An application of these techniques to the field of nondiffracting and nondispersive pulses requires a proper mathematical description of highly focused vector pulses. In this work, we study vector optical bullets in a dielectric medium with different polarization structures: linear, azimuthal, and radial. We report the differences caused by the vector model compared to the scalar model. We analyze effects caused by superluminal, subluminal, or even negative group velocity on properties of vector optical bullets inside a dielectric material.

The recent increase in global consumption of rice has led to increased demand for sustainable water management in paddy cultivation. In this study, we propose an enhanced paddy simulation module to be introduced to Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to evaluate the sustainability of paddy cultivation. The enhancements added to SWAT include: (1) modification of water balance calculation for impounded fields, (2) addition of an irrigation management option for paddy fields that are characterized by flood irrigation with target water depth, and (3) addition of a puddling operation that influences the water quality and infiltration rate of the top soil layer. In a case study, the enhanced model, entitled SWAT-Paddy, was applied to an agricultural watershed in Japan. The results showed that the SWAT-Paddy successfully represented paddy cultivation, water management, and discharge processes. Simulated daily discharge rates with SWAT-Paddy (R² = 0.8) were superior to the SWAT result (R² = 0.002). SWAT-Paddy allows the simulation of paddy management processes realistically, and thus can enhance model accuracy in paddy-dominant agricultural watersheds.

We consider fractional integral operators $(I-T)^d, d \in (-1,1)$ acting on functions $g: \mathbb{Z}^{\nu} \to \mathbb{R}, \nu \ge 1 $, where $T $ is the transition operator of a random walk on $\mathbb{Z}^{\nu}$. We obtain sufficient and necessary conditions for the existence, invertibility and square summability of kernels $\tau (\mathbf{s}; d), \mathmb{s} \in \mathbb{Z}^{\nu}$ of $(I-T)^d $. Asymptotic behavior of $\tau (\mathbf{s}; d)$ as $|\mathbf{s}| \to \infty$ is identified following local limit theorem for random walk. A class of fractionally integrated random fields $X$ on $\mathbb{Z}^{\nu}$ solving the difference equation $(I-T)^d X = \varepsilon$ with white noise on the right-hand side is discussed, and their scaling limits. Several examples including fractional lattice Laplace and heat operators are studied in detail.

Background: Nowadays vital signs in clinics are electronically monitored excepted for urine output which still requires, manual recording, which is subject to human errors. We, in-vitro, assessed in this study the ability a novel electronic device to measure by a combination of two different methods, the real time flow-output, like urine output. Methods: Flow or urine output was measured by a combination technique of gravimetry using a dynamometer and capacitive sensing to improve precision. Data were obtained in 3 different situations, low, medium, and high flow. Results: Three different situations were tested: full or empty dead space and Pasteur’s chamber. The differences between the injected and measured volume varies from 0 to 5 ml representing a maximal error of 3 % regardless of the volume injected and the flow in ml/hour. The capacitive sensors behave as expected with a parallel curve of the expected and measured flow. Conclusion: We have shown in this in-vitro study that the combination of gravimetry and capacitive sensors analysis allow accurate measurement of volume and flow-output. Clinical trials should be conducted to confirm its usefulness in urine output measurement in the real life.

In the present paper we investigate the conservative conditions in Quadratic Gravity. It is shown explicitly that the Bianchi identities lead to the conservative condition of the left-hand-side of the (gravitational) field equation. Therefore, the total energy-momentum tensor is conservative in the bulk (like in General Relativity). However, in Quadratic Gravity it is possible to have singular hupersurfaces separating the bulk regions with different behavior of the matter energy-momentum tensor or different vacua. They require special consideration. We derived the conservative conditions on such singular hypersurfaces and demonstrated the very possibility of the matter creation. In the remaining part of the paper we considered some applications illustrating the obtained results.

Among earth’s microbial populations are the genes, functional capacities, generational memory and sentient cognition that enable microorganisms to adapt and thrive in the full range of ecological conditions found on planet earth. In prior sequential publications, we considered fundamental properties (e.g., use of and responses to sound, light, vibrations) and features of microorganisms that cause them to be critical co-partners of human and other holobionts as well as the potential benefits for humanity that can be gained by fully applying quantum-related and novel capacities of microbial life. In this narrative review we: 1) discuss key concepts concerning a microbially-enhanced and sustainable future, and 2) focus on electric- and magnetic- based features of microorganisms that make them pivotal for myriad benefits ranging from beyond pharma-based health and wellness to free- and/or renewable energy and restorative agriculture to improved human networking. While the benefits are many, the risks posed by hazardous electric or magnetic field exposures to both holobionts and microbial communities are significant. This review concludes that microbes and their remarkable capacities offer both humanity and the planet a much brighter future if we reverse the demonization of microbes and wanton microbiome degradation that has predominated much of the past century.

Extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields (ELF-EMF) are ubiquitous in industrial-11 ized environments due to the continuous use of electrical devices. Our previous studies demon-12 strated ELF-EMF affects muscle cells by modulating oxidative stress and enhancing myo-genesis. 13 This pilot study investigated these effects on skeletal muscles of sedentary adult mice, assessing 14 physiological responses to ELF-EMF exposure and potential modulation by antioxidant supplemen-15 tation. Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to ELF-EMF (0.1 or 1.0 mT) 1 hour/day up to 5 weeks, and 16 fed a standard diet without or with N-acetyl-cysteine (NAC). Results showed transient increases in 17 muscle strength (after 2-weeks’ exposure at 1.0 mT), potentially linked to muscle fiber recruitment 18 and activation, revealed by higher PAX7 and MyH expression levels. After ELF-EMF exposure, ox-19 idative status assessment revealed transient increases in expression levels of SOD1 and catalase en-20 zymes, in total antioxidant capacity and in protein carbonyl levels, marker of oxidative damage. 21 These effects were partially reduced by NAC. In conclusion, ELF-EMF exposure affects skeletal 22 muscle physiology and NAC supplementation partially mitigates these effects, highlighting the 23 complex interactions between ELF-EMF and antioxidant pathways in vivo. Further investigations 24 on ELF-EMF as a therapeutic modality for muscle health are necessary.

Recent astronomical observations with respect to measurements in distant supernovas, cosmic microwave background and weak gravitational lensing confirm that the Universe is undergoing a phase of accelerated expansion and it has been proposed that this cosmological behavior is caused by a hypothetical dark energy which has a strong negative pressure that allows explain the expanding universe. Several theoretical ideas and models related dark the energy includes the cosmological constant, quintessence, Chaplygin gas, braneworld and tachyonic scalar fields. In this paper, we have obtained new relativistic stellar configurations considering an anisotropic fluid distribution with a charge distribution which could represents a potential model of a dark energy star. In order to investigate the effect of a quadratic equation of state in this anisotropic model we specify particular forms for the gravitational potential that allow solving the Einstein-Maxwell field equations. For these new solutions we checked that the radial pressure, metric coefficients, energy density, anisotropy factor, charge density , mass function are well defined and are regular in the interior of the star. The solutions found can be used in the development of dark energy stars models satisfying all physical acceptability conditions but the causality condition and strong energy condition are violated. We expect that these models have multiple applications in astrophysics and cosmology.

Background: Distal sensory polyneuropathy (DSP) and distal neuropathic pain (DNP) remain significant challenges for older people with HIV (PWH), necessitating enhanced clinical attention. HIV and certain antiretroviral therapies (ART) can compromise mitochondrial function and impact mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) replication, which is linked to DSP in ART-treated PWH. Methods: This study investigated mtDNA, mt fission and fusion protein, and mt electron transport chain protein changes in the dorsal root ganglion (DRG) and sural nerve (SuN) from 11 autopsied PWH. In antemortem standardized assessments, six had no or one sign of DSP, while five exhibited two or more DSP signs. Digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (ddPCR) measured mtDNA quantity and the common deletion (CD) in isolated DNA. Results: We found lower mtDNA copy numbers in DSP+ donors. SuN exhibited a higher proportion of mtDNA CD than DRGs in both groups. Mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC) proteins were altered in DRG of DSP+ compared to DSP- donors, particularly complex I. Conclusion: These findings suggest reduced mtDNA quantity and increased CD abundance may contribute to DSP in PWH, indicating diminished mitochondrial activity in sensory neurons. Accumulated ETC proteins in the DRG imply impaired mitochondrial transport to the sensory neuron's distal portion. Identifying molecules to safeguard mitochondrial integrity could aid in treating or preventing HIV-associated peripheral neuropathy.

This work presents a control scheme to control the grid-connected single-phase photovoltaic (PV) system. The considered system has four 250W solar panels, a non-inverting buck-boost DC-DC converter, and DC-AC inverter with LCL filter. The control system aims to track and operate at the maximum power point (MPP) of PV panels, regulate the voltage of DC link, and supply the grid with a unity power factor. To well achieve these goals, the proposed control system consists of three parts, that are MPP tracking controller module with a fuzzy-based modified incremental conductance (INC) algorithm, a DC-link voltage regulator with a hybrid fuzzy proportional-integral (PI) controller, and a Current Controller module using the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) for grid-connected power. Based on fuzzy control and LQR, this work introduces a full control solution for grid-connected single-phase PV systems. The key novelty of this research is to analyze and prove that the newly proposed method is more successful in numerous aspects by comparing and evaluating the previous and present control methods. The designed control system settles quickly, which is critical for output stability. In addition, as compared to backstepping approach used in our past study, the LQR technique is more resistant to sudden changes and disturbances. Furthermore, backstepping method produces the larger overshoot, which has a detrimental impact on efficiency. Simulation findings under various weather conditions were compared to theoretical ones to indicate that the system can deal with variations in weather parameters.

In this paper, a new approach to retrieve semantic images based on shape and geometric features of image in conjunction with multi-class support vector machine is proposed. Zernike moment as shape feature is to verify the invariance of objects for silhouette image. In addition, a set of geometrical features is to explore the objects shape using two features of rectangularity and circularity. Then the extracted features are normalized and employed for multi-class support vector machine either for learning or retrieving processes. The retrieving process relies on three main tasks which namely Query Engine, Matching Module and Ontology Manger, respectively. Query Engine is to build the input text or image query using SPARQL language. The matching module extracts the shape and geometric features of image’s objects and employ them to Ontology Manger which in turn inserts them in ontology knowledge base. Benchmark mammals have been conducted to empirically conclude the outcome of proposed approach. Our experiment on text and image retrieval yields efficient results to problematic phenomena than previously reported.

Wheeled mobile robot dynamics and suitable controller design are challenging but rewarding fields of study. By understanding the dynamics of wheeled mobile robots, it could be possible to design suitable hybrid control schemes for wheeled mobile robots. Since hybrid control schemes involve combining individual control methods to create a more effective overall control strategy. This can be done in a variety of ways, such as using fuzzy linear quadratic Gaussian control. We were therefore inspired to create dynamic models and their controller designs for the wheeled mobile robot by examining the dynamics of the wheeled mobile robot. The novelty of the current paper is to hybridize the different control schemes for wheeled mobile robots in order to get better performance. Entire systems models were simulated in a MATLAB/SIMULINK environment. The results obtained for the settling time response by FLQG were 87.1% over LQG; this study compared the effectiveness of current and previous FLQG controllers in external disturbances and found peak amplitude improvements of 71.25%. Therefore, the proposed controller is suitable for use with the wheeled mobile robot.

A field experiment was conducted for 2 years in Green Tea Laboratory of Saitama Prefectural Agriculture and Forestry Research Center, Iruma, Saitama, Japan from March 2014 to December 2015. Controlled release fertilizers (CRF) or organic fertilizers (ORG) which is the mixture of chicken manure and oil cakewere applied with the amount of 450 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 in 2014 and 397 kg N ha^-1 yr^-1 in 2015. Nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissionsfrom soil in green tea fields were measured by closed chamber method. The results showed that CRF has significantly lower N₂O compared to ORG. The cumulative N₂O emissions from CRF accounted for 51% of N₂O emissions from ORG fields and 138% of control with no fertilizer treatment. The N₂O flux from the row was higher than that of under the canopy, since fertilizer were applied on the row. However the total emission from the area between the rows was lower than that under the canopy because of the area ratio of row and canopy was 1:5.

Sport nutrition knowledge has been shown to influence dietary habits of athletes. The purpose of the current study was to examine relationships between sport nutrition knowledge and body composition and examine potential predictors of body weight goal in collegiate athletes. Participants included National Collegiate Athletic Association Division III women (n=42, height: 169.9 ± 6.9 cm; body mass: 67.1 ± 8.6 kg; fat-free mass: 51.3 ± 6.6 kg; body fat %: 24.2 ± 5.3%) and men (n=25, height: 180.8 ± 7.2 cm; body mass: 89.2 ± 20.5 kg; fat-free mass: 75.9 ± 12.2 kg; body fat %: 13.5 ± 8.9%) athletes. Body composition was assessed via air displacement plethysmography. Athletes completed a validated questionnaire designed to assess sport nutrition knowledge and were asked questions about their perceived dietary energy and macronutrient requirements, as well as their body weight goal (i.e. lose, maintain, gain weight). Athletes answered 47.98 ± 11.29 % of questions correctly on the nutrition questionnaire with no differences observed between sexes (men: 49.52 ± 11.76% vs. women: 47.03 ± 11.04%; p=0.40). An inverse relationship between sport nutrition knowledge scores and body fat percentage (r = -0.330; p=0.008), and fat mass (r = -.268; p=0.032) was observed for all athletes. Fat mass (β = 0.224), BF % (β = 0.217), and BMI (β = 0.421) were all significant (p&lt;0.05) predictors of body weight goal in women. All athletes significantly (p&lt;0.001) underestimated daily energy (-1,360 ± 610.2 kcal/d), carbohydrate (-301.6 ± 149.2 g/d), and fat (-41.4 ± 34.5 g/d) requirements. Division III collegiate athletes have a low level of sport nutrition knowledge, which was associated with a higher BF %. Women athletes with a higher body weight, BF % and BMI were more likely to select weight loss as a body weight goal. Athletes also significantly underestimated their energy and carbohydrate requirements based upon the demands of their sport, independent of sex.

The relative velocity between objects with finite velocity affects the reaction between them. This effect is known as general Doppler effect. The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) discovered gravitational waves and found their speed to be equal to the speed of light c. Gravitational waves are generated following a disturbance in the gravitational field; they affect the gravitational force on an object. Just as light waves are subject to the Doppler effect, so are gravitational waves. This article explores the following research questions concerning gravitational waves: What is the spatial distribution of gravitational waves? Can the speed of a gravitational wave represent the speed of the gravitational field (the speed of the action of the gravitational field upon the object)? What is the speed of the gravitational field? Do gravitational waves caused by the revolution of the Sun affect planetary precession? Can we modify Newton’s gravitational equation through the influence of gravitational waves?

To make wind power more competitive, it is necessary to reduce turbine downtime and reduce costs associated with wind turbine Operation and Maintenance (O&amp;M). Incorporating machine learning in developing condition-based predictive maintenance methodologies for wind turbines can enhance their efficiency and reliability. This paper presents a monitoring method that utilizes Base Density for the Support Vector Machine (BDSVM) and the evolutionary Fourier spectra of vibrations. This method allows smart monitoring of the function evolution of the turbine. A complex optimal function (FO) for 5-degree order has been developed that will be the boundary function of the BDSVM to timely determine the magnitude, frequency, and place of the failure occurring in wind turbine drive.

This paper proposed three-dimensional numerical simulation method by coupling of electrostatic and fluid fields to evaluating the performance of electrical sensor in the concentration measurement of gas/solid two-phase flow. Compared with the static numerical simulation, this real-time dynamic 3-D simulation method can research on a designed capacitance sensor combining the dynamic characteristics of the two-phase flows for concentration measurement. Several fluid-electrostatic models of transmission pipes with different sensor structures are built. Under different test positions and different particle concentrations, the flow characteristics and the corresponding electric signals can be obtained, and the correlation coefficient between the concentration values and the capacitance values are used for performance evaluation of the sensors. The effects of flow regimes on concentration measurement are also been investigated in this paper. To validate the results of simulation, an experimental platform with horizontal straight pipe for phase volume concentration measurement of solid/air two-phase flow is built, and the experimental results agree well with simulation conclusions. The simulation and test results show that the coupling models can give constructive reference opinions for the sensor design and collection of installation position in different transmission pipelines, which are very important for the practical process of pneumatic conveying system.

This paper presents a comprehensive study and the analysis of a topology of a no isolated DC-DC intituled Double Quadratic Boost converter with high static gain. This converter has the main advantage of high static gain and low voltage stress on its switches. The article will first present the theoretical analysis of the converter operating in an open loop. The objective of the work is the mathematical modeling and the control strategy of the converter, as well as the validation through closed-loop experimental results. Besides, we presented the practice test results to demonstrate the operation of the converter, such as the static gain experimental curve, the practice efficiency of the converter, and the control of the output voltage, as well as the capacitor voltage balance control. The authors designed a prototype for 1 kW, with a switching frequency of fs=50kHz, with FPGA-based command and modulation.

We investigate the tunneling of quasiparticles through a potential barrier of finite height and width, in a system with a band structure consisting of a quadratic band crossing point (QBCP). We compute the results of the transmission coefficient at various incident angles, and also the conductivity and the Fano factor. We discuss the distinguishing signatures of these transport properties in comparison with other semimetals, as well as electrons in normal metals.

The quadratic polynomial differential systems in the plane are the easiest nonlinear differential systems. They have been studied intensively due to their nonlinearity and to their big number of applications. These systems can be classified in ten classes. Here we provide all the topologically different phase portraits in the Poincaré disc of two of these classes.

Background/Objectives: PEMF therapy has gained significant attention due to its potential benefits in promoting tissue repair and improving overall well-being. Recent publications in the field of exercise physiology, showed that pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFs) enhanced the velocity and the quantity of muscle O2 available and the rate of muscle oxygen extraction and utilization, in semi-professional cyclists, during a heavy constant-load exercise. In this paper, we investigate the effect of stimulation on muscular activation, in sedentary young people, during a constant-load exercise, performed at moderate intensity. Methods: Nine male sedentary young people, partic-ipated in this study. The response of the muscle activity, was recorded by surface EMG and assessed measuring the root mean square (RMS) normalized to the peak of the maximum voluntary con-traction. Data were collected in the right vastus Medialis (RVM) and right Biceps Femoris (RBF) at the baseline (standstill sitting), on warm-up (unloaded cycling) and during 30 minutes of con-stant-load exercise, in two experimental conditions (PEMF ON vs PEMF OFF). Results: The mul-tivariate analysis of variance performed on RVM showed a significant effect of PEMF in both warmup and exercise, while on RBF showed a significant effect of PEMF and warmup. Conclusions: PEMF strongly enhanced the amplitude of muscle activity in young sedentary people. The increase in the amplitude of the muscular response may lead to a higher oxygen consumption and release.

This study presents the utilization of the Microwave InfraRed Thermography (MIRT) technique to identify and analyze the defects in the carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) composite rein-forcement of concrete specimens. At first, a set of the numerical models was created, comprising of the broadband pyramidal horn antenna and the analyzed specimen. The utilization the system operating at a power of 1000W in a continuous mode, operating at frequency of 2.45 GHz was analyzed. The specimen under examination comprised a compact concrete slab that was covered with an adhesive layer, thereafter, topped with a layer of CFRP. An air gap represented a defect at the interface between the concrete and CFRP within the adhesive layer. In the modelling stage the study investigated three separate scenarios: a sample with no defects, a sample with a defect located at the center, and a sample with a numerous additional random defects located at the rim of the CFRP matte, to analyze the effect of the natural reinforcement degradation in this area. The next phase of the study involved conducting experiments to confirm the results obtained from nu-merical modeling. In the experiments the concrete sample aged for 10 years with the defect in the center and naturally developed defects at the CFRP rim was used. The study employed numerical modeling to explore the phenomenon of microwave heating in complex structures. The aim was to assess the chosen antenna design and identify the most effective experimental setup. These con-clusions were subsequently confirmed through experimentation. The observations made during the heating process were particularly remarkable, since they deviated from earlier studies that solely conducted measurements of the sample post-heating phase. The findings demonstrate that MIRT has the capacity to be employed as a technique for detecting flaws in concrete structures reinforced with CFRP.

Gravity forward modeling as a basic tool has been wildly used to topography correction and 3D density inversion. The source region is usually discretized into tesseroid (i.e., spherical prism) to consider the influence of the curvature of planets in global or large-scale problems. Traditional gravity forward modeling methods in spherical coordinates, including the Taylor expansion and Gaussian-Legendre quadrature, are all based on spatial domain, which are mostly low computational efficiency. This study proposes a high-efficient forward modeling method of gravitational fields in spherical harmonic domain, in which the gravity anomalies and gradient tensors can be expressed as spherical harmonic synthesis form of spherical harmonic coefficients of 3D density distribution. A homogeneous spherical shell model has been used to test its effectiveness compared with traditional spatial domain methods. It demonstrates that the computational efficiency of the proposed spherical harmonic domain method has improved by four orders of magnitude and with a similar level of computational accuracy compared with the optimized 3D GLQ method. Finally, the proposed forward method is applied to topography correction of the Moon. The results show that the gravity response of the topography by our method is close to that of the optimized 3D GLQ method, and is also consistent with previous results.

Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) and sugarcane streak mosaic virus (SCSMV) are the primary viruses responsible for mosaic diseases in sugarcane. In this study, the mosaic viruses SCMV and SCSMV with the involvement of sorghum mosaic virus (SrMV) were surveyed from eight commercial sugarcane cultivars grown in fields at four locations in East Java, Indonesia. Sugarcane leaves with mosaic symptoms were assessed for disease incidence and severity, and symptomatic leaves were collected for analysis. The incidence and severity of mosaic symptoms were the highest in the PS881 and NX04 cultivars grown in Kediri compared to the other cultivars. RT-PCR analysis showed that SCSMV was present in all sugarcane cultivars and locations. Interestingly, double mixed infections with SCMV were found in PS881, PS882, and Cening, whereas triple mixed infections with SrMV were found in the PS881 cultivar. Phylogenetic analysis grouped SCSMV, SCMV, and SrMV together with isolates from Thailand (KP987832.1), Florida, USA (MT725538.1), and Agentina (EU189037.1). The expression of ascorbate peroxidase gene (Apx) was increased in the virus-infected sugarcane cultivars and prominently elevated in the triple mixed infection of PS881 cultivars. However, the catalase gene (Cat) was slightly upregulated in the mixed infection group. The chlorophyll content was significantly reduced in the leaves of PS58, PS881, PS882, NX04, and HW Merah, in parallel with the expression of the photosystem I gene (PsaA). The expression of photosynthetic genes, such as ribulose-1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase small sub-unit (RbcS), phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase (Pepc), sucrose-phosphate synthase (Sps1), and PsaA, was significantly reduced and almost depleted in the triple mixed infection of PS881, except for Pepc expression, which remained approximately half of that in the control healthy sugarcane. The decrease in photosynthetic activity was confirmed by the decrease in ribulose-1,5 bisphosphate carboxylase (Rubisco) and PEPC proteins, as detected by immunoblot analysis. The decrease in photosynthetic parameters indicated that the mosaic viral infection substantially reduced the growth and yield of sugarcane.

Laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) is the gold standard in the surgical correction of refractive errors on the cornea. It entails the creation of a superficial hinged corneal flap by a femtosecond laser, ablation of the underlying stromal bed by an excimer laser, and reposition of the flap. The corneal flap can be build in a 2-dimension (2D) fashion with tapered edges, or in a 3-dimension (3D) fashion, with angled sidecut. The latter reduces the risk of flap dislocation and infiltration of epithelial cells. This retrospective study compares with optical coherence tomography 3D and 2D flaps, and respective intra- and early post-operative complications. Four hundred consecutive eyes were included, 200 for each group. In the 3D group, the mean edge angle was 92°. The procedure was in average 5.2 seconds slower in the 3D group (p=0). Non visually significant flap folds were found in 13 eyes of the 2D group and in 7 eyes of the 3D group (p= 0.17). An intracorneal opaque bubble layer induced by laser photodisruption was more commonly observed in the 3D group (9 eyes vs. 2; p=0.03). In conclusion, the creation of a LASIK flap by a 3D-femtosecond laser cut was safe and effective.

The capital allocation framework proposed by [] presents capital allocation principles as solutions to particular optimization problems and provides a general solution of the quadratic allocation problem via a geometric proof. However, the widely used haircut allocation principle is not reconcilable with that optimization setting. In this paper we provide an alternative proof of the quadratic allocation problem based on the Lagrange multipliers method to reach the general solution. We show that the haircut allocation principle can be accommodated to the optimization setting with the quadratic optimization criterion if one of the original conditions is relaxed. Two examples are provided to illustrate the accommodation of this allocation principle.

This article derives the closed form solution to finding the roots of a quadratic equation in SU3.

We consider a Mean Field Games model where the dynamics of the agents is given by a controlled Langevin equation and the cost is quadratic. A change of variables, introduced in [13], transforms the Mean Field Games system into a system of two coupled kinetic Fokker-Planck equations. We prove an existence result for the latter system, obtaining consequently existence of a solution for the Mean Field Games system.

In Germany, the phloem sucking planthopper Pentastiridius leporinus (Hemiptera: Cixiidae) currently represents the epidemiological driver for the spread of the syndrome “Basses Richesses” in sugar beet, which results in a reduced sugar content and an economic loss for the farmers. This disease is associated with the γ-proteobacterium ‘Candidatus Arsenophonus phytopathogenicus’ and the Stolbur phytoplasma ‘Candidatus Phytoplasma solani’. Recently, P. leporinus was found in potato fields in Germany associated with Stolbur-like symptoms in this crop. In this study, we confirmed that the vector completes its lifecycle on sugar beet as well as on potato when reared under controlled conditions. Transmission experiments with adults of this vector combined with molecular analyses showed for the first time that both pathogens are transmitted by this vector to potato. For an accurate assessment of the Ca. P. solani and Ca. A. phytopathogenicus titers in the vector and host plants, gBlocks derived from the hsp20- and 16S rRNA gene were employed, respectively. For Ca. P. solani the limit of detection was determined in potato and sugar beet material. The results of this study will further research on the epidemiology of the syndrome “Basses Richesses” and “Stolbur” diseases and the response of host plants and vector insects to both pathogens.

The well-being and sociability of individuals have always been part of modernity. The development of new technologies that meet these aspirations is receiving increasing attention. Thus, strengthening the desired objectives of these tools and minimizing their undesirable side effects is the subject of a growing commitment. The present contribution aims, in this context, to evaluate and analyze the desired and undesirable effects of the interaction of electromagnetic fields with living tissues in general. This involves routines reinforcing expected functions as well as those controlling and protecting against undesirable effects. First, the interactions of electromagnetic fields with tissues are analyzed, involving their thermal biological effects of desired and undesired exposures. The roles of blood and sap fluids in bio-affected tissues are then analyzed. Secondly, the governing electromagnetic, bio-heat equations, and their coupled solution are studied. Third, the thermal behavior of tissues and the exposure adverse effects are examined. Next, monitoring and defending of the effects of exposures are discussed. This contribution illustrates and discusses mathematical modeling routines based on a generalized interaction of electromagnetic fields with living tissues.

In the study of relativistic jets one of the key open questions is their interaction with the environment on the microscopic level. Here, we study the initial evolution of both electron–proton (e^- - p⁺) and electron–positron (e^±) relativistic jets containing helical magnetic fields, focusing on their interaction with an ambient plasma. We have performed simulations of "global" jets containing helical magnetic fields in order to examine how helical magnetic fields affect kinetic instabilities such as the Weibel instability, the kinetic Kelvin-Helmholtz instability (kKHI) and the Mushroom instability (MI). In our initial simulation study these kinetic instabilities are suppressed and new types of instabilities can grow. In the e^- - p⁺ jet simulation recollimation-like instability occurs and jet electrons are strongly perturbed. In the e^± jet simulation a recollimation-like instability occurs at early times followed by a kinetic instability and the general structure is similar to a simulation without helical magnetic field. Simulations using much larger systems are required in order to thoroughly follow the evolution of global jets containing helical magnetic fields.

The blood counts of α thalassemia carriers (α-thal) are similar to those of β thalassemia carriers, except for Hgb A2 that is not elevated. The objective of this study was to determine whether mathematical formulas are effective for detecting suspected α-thal. The data were obtained from the database of the prevention program for detecting couples at risk for having a child with hemoglobinopathy. RBC indices were analyzed using mathematical formulas and the sensitivity and negative predictive value (NPV) calculated. Among 1334 blood counts suspected α-thal analyzed, only the Shine&Lal and the Support Vector Machine formulas revealed high sensitivity and NPV. Sensitivity was 85.54 and 99.33% and NPV 98.93 and 99.93%, respectively. Molecular defects were found in 291, 81 had normal α genes. Molecular analysis was not performed in 962. Based on these results, mathematical formulas incorporating one of these reliable formulas for detecting suspected α or β thalassemia carriers in the program of the automatic analyzers can flag these results and increase the awareness of the primary physicians about the carrier risk and send an alert with a recommendation for further testing.

Accurate forecasting of icing thickness has a great significance for ensuring the security and stability of power grid. In order to improve the forecasting accuracy, this paper proposes an icing forecasting system based on fireworks algorithm and weighted least square support vector machine (W-LSSVM). The method of fireworks algorithm is employed to select the proper input features with the purpose of eliminating the redundant influence. In addition, the aim of W-LSSVM model is to train and test the historical data-set with the selected features. The capability of this proposed icing forecasting model and framework is tested through the simulation experiments using real-world icing data from monitoring center of key laboratory of anti-ice disaster, Hunan, South China. The results show that the proposed W-LSSVM-FA method has a higher prediction accuracy and it may be a promising alternative for icing thickness forecasting.

The concept of space time had been the subject of debate for so long, here another version will be discussed in the form of space and time fields where a new concept of energy constraining can explain the interactions between those fields. This model comes in three parts : energy constraining , where the evolution of the quanton and its different transitions are discussed, the second part , energy fields, their degrees of freedom and the third part electromagnetic waves as relativistic quantons and the generic form of Maxwell equations in terms of space and time fields. This work shows that the origin many of the physical phenomena can be traced back to the quanton based world .

This study provides a comprehensive comparison of the Peter Chew Sum method and Newton's Sum in Quadratic Root Function Computations. Both methods offer significant advancements by alleviating the need for memorization of multiple formulas. However, when confronted with higher-order quadratic root functions such as the calculation of power 33. Newton's Sum method proves cumbersome due to its requirement of all previous answers for final computation, leading to increased steps and error risks. In contrast, the Peter Chew Sum method simplifies the computational process by requiring only a few previous answers, resulting in a more straightforward series of operations. We contextualize our analysis within the historical progression of mathematical techniques, highlighting the transformative leap represented by the Peter Chew Sum method in quadratic root function computations. Peter Chew Sum addressing the limitations of Newton's Sum , especially concerning higher-order functions such as the calculation of power 256. Furthermore, study demonstrates that the innovative approach of the Peter Chew Sum method not only simplifies complex computations but also fosters enhanced conceptual understanding among students. In conclusion, study findings underscore the profound impact of the Peter Chew Sum method on quadratic root function computations.

This paper aims to investigate the global asymptotic stability of following system of higher order difference equations with quadratic terms: x_{n+1}=A+B((y_{n})/(y_{n-m}²)),y_{n+1}=A+B((x_{n})/(x_{n-m}²)) where A and B are positive numbers and the initial values are positive numbers. We also study the rate of convergence and oscillation behaviour of the solutions of related system.

In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of following higher order difference equation x_{n+1}=A+B((x_{n})/(x_{n-m}²)) with A,B and initial conditions are positive numbers, and m∈{2,3,⋯}. Especially we study the boundedness, periodicity, semi-cycles, global asymptotically stability and rate of convergence of solutions of related higher order difference equations.

The aim of this tutorial is to help students grasp the theory and applicability of support vector machines (SVMs). The contribution is an intuitive style tutorial that helped students gain insights into SVM from a unique perspective. An internet search will reveal many videos and articles on SVM, but many of them give simplified explanations that leave gaps in the derivations that beginning students cannot fill. Most free tutorials lack guidance on practical applications and considerations. The software wrappers in popular programming libraries such as Python and R hide many of the operational complexities. Free software tools often use default parameters that ignore domain knowledge or leave knowledge gaps about the important effects of SVM hyperparameters, resulting in misuse and subpar outcomes. The author uses this tutorial as a course reference for students studying artificial intelligence and machine learning. The tutorial derives the classic SVM classifier from first principles and then derives the practical form that a computer uses to train a classification model. An intuitive explanation about confusion matrices, F1 score, and the AUC metric extend insights into the inherent tradeoff between sensitivity and specificity. A discussion about cross-validation provides a basic understanding of hyperparameter tuning to maximize generalization by balancing underfitting and overfitting. Even seasoned self-learners with advanced statistical backgrounds have gained insights from this tutorial style of intuitive explanations, with all related considerations for tuning and performance evaluations in one place.

Meprin α and β are zinc-dependent proteinases implicated in multiple diseases including cancers, fibrosis, and Alzheimer’s. However, until recently, only a few inhibitors of either meprin were reported and no inhibitors are in pre-clinical development. Moreover, inhibitors of other metzincins developed in previous years are not effective in inhibiting meprins suggesting the need for de novo discovery effort. To address the paucity of tractable meprin inhibitors we developed ultra-high throughput assays and conducted parallel screening of >650,000 compounds against each meprin. As a result of this effort, we identified 5 selective meprin α hits belonging to three different chemotypes (triazole-hydroxyacetamides, sulfonamide-hydroxypropanamides, and phenoxy-hydroxyacetamides). These hits demonstrated a nanomolar to micromolar inhibitory activity against meprin α with low cytotoxicity and >30-fold selectivity against meprin β and other related metzincincs. These are the most selective inhibitors of meprin α to date.

In this paper we investigate the global asymptotic stability of following system ofhigher order difference equations with quadratic terms:xn+1=A+Byn/yn−m^2, yn+1=A+Bxn/xn−m^2, where A and B are positive numbers and the initial values are positive numbers.We also study the boundedness, rate of convergence and oscillation behaviour of thesolutions of related system.

This article theoretically derives the magnetic field and vector potential produced by a steady current I flowing in an arbitrary plane loop at an arbitrary point r. Numerical examples are presented to demonstrate the behavior of the magnetic field produced by loops of various shapes such as polygons, circles, ellipses, and p-norm balls. Taking the limit as the loop shrinks to a point and the current I grows to infinity so that the magnetic dipole moment m of the loop (defined as the current I times the vector area of the loop) is kept constant, the magnetic field and vector potential are theoretically shown to converge to those of an ideal point magnetic dipole m.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), the principal catechin in green tea, exhibits diverse therapeutic properties. However, its clinical efficacy is hindered by poor stability and low bioavailability. This study investigated solid particle-in-oil-in-water (S/O/W) emulsions stabilized by whey protein isolate (WPI) and sodium caseinate (NaCas) as carriers to enhance the bioavailability and intestinal absorption of EGCG. Molecular docking revealed binding interactions between EGCG and these macromolecules. The emulsions exhibited high encapsulation efficiencies and augmented EGCG bioaccessibility by 64% compared to free EGCG in a simulated gastrointestinal digestion model. EGCG-loaded emulsions demonstrated minimal cytotoxicity towards Caco-2 cells and facilitated EGCG transport across the intestinal epithelial layer without compromising tight junction integrity. Notably, EGCG-loaded emulsions protected Caco-2 cells against oxidative stress by suppressing intracellular reactive oxygen species generation. The results demonstrate the potential of WPI- and NaCas-stabilized S/O/W emulsions to enhance the bioavailability, intestinal absorption, and bioactivity of EGCG, expanding its applications in functional foods and nutraceuticals.

We demonstrate, in the context of Loop Quantum Gravity, the Quantum Holographic Principle, according to which the area of the boundary surface enclosing a region of space encodes a qubit per Planck unit. To this aim, we introduce fermion fields in the bulk, whose boundary surface is the two-dimensional sphere. The doubling of the fermionic degrees of freedom and the use of the Bogoliubov transformations lead to pairs of spin network’s edges piercing the boundary surface with double punctures, giving rise to pixels of area encoding a qubit. The proof is also valid in the case of a fuzzy sphere.

This overview initially describes insect immune reactions and then brings together present knowledge of the interactions of vector insects with their invading parasites and pathogens. It is a way of introducing this special issue with subsequent papers presenting the latest details of these interactions in each particular group of vectors. Hopefully, this paper will fill a void in the literature since brief descriptions of vector immunity have now been brought together in one publication and could form a starting point for those interested and new to this important area. Descriptions are given on the immune reactions of mosquitoes, blackflies, sandflies, tsetse flies, lice, fleas and triatomine bugs. Cellular and humoral defences are described separately but emphasis is made on the co-operation of these processes in the completed immune response. The paper also emphasises the need of great care in extracting haemocytes for subsequent study as appreciation of their fragile nature is sometimes overlooked with non-sterile media, smearing techniques and excessive centrifugation sometimes used. The potential vital role of eicosanoids in the instigation of many of the immune reactions described is also discussed. Finally, the priming of the immune system, mainly in mosquitoes, is considered and one possible mechanism is presented

Despite several decades’ effort to detect and identify phytoplasmas (Tenericutes: Mollicutes) using PCR and Sanger sequencing focusing on diseased plants, knowledge of phytoplasma biodiversity and vector associations remains highly incomplete. To improve protocols for documenting phyto-plasma diversity and ecology, we used DNA extracted from phloem-feeding insects and com-pared traditional Sanger sequencing with a next-generation sequencing method, Anchored Hy-brid Enrichment (AHE) for detecting and characterizing phytoplasmas. Among 22 of 180 leaf-hopper samples that initially tested positive for phytoplasmas using qPCR, AHE yielded phyto-plasma 16Sr sequences for 20 (19 complete and 1 partial sequence) while Sanger sequencing yield-ed sequences for 16 (11 complete and 5 partial). AHE yielded phytoplasma sequences for an addi-tional 7 samples (3 complete and 4 partial) that did not meet the qPCR threshold for phytoplasma positivity or yielded non-phytoplasma sequences using Sanger sequencing. This suggests that AHE is more efficient for obtaining phytoplasma sequences. Twenty-three samples with sufficient data were classified into eight 16Sr subgroups (16SrI-B, I-F, I-AO, III-U, V-C, IX-J, XI-C, XXXVII-A), three new subgroups (designated as 16SrVI-L, XV-D, XI-G) and three possible new groups. Our results suggest that screening phloem-feeding insects using qPCR and AHE sequencing may be the most efficient method for discovering new phytoplasmas.

In this paper, our goal is to establish the relationship between solutions of local sharp vector variational type inequality and sharp efficient solutions of vector optimization problems, also Minty local sharp vector variational type inequality and sharp efficient solutions of vector optimization problems, under generalized approximate $\eta$-convexity conditions for locally Lipschitzian functions

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) can help in the diagnosis and treatment of infectious keratitis, but it has not been studied in cases occurring after corneal refractive surgery procedures such as femtosecond laser in situ keratomileusis (FS-LASIK) and keratorefractive lenticule extraction (KLEx). In these procedures a surgical interface is created, where infections usually start, thus determining a different OCT pattern compared to non-surgical infections, which instead begin in the corneal surface. A total of 4 cases of post-refractive surgery infectious keratitis are reported (2 after FS-LASIK and 2 after KLEx), in which the OCT identified an initial infiltrate in the interface, followed by interface inflammation. In 1 case after FS-LASIK, interface fluid accumulation occurred. In 1 case after KLEx, diffuse interface inflammation led to stromal reabsorption, later compensated by stromal reformation and epithelial hyperplasia, well documented by OCT.

Meprin α is a zinc metalloproteinase (metzincin) that has been implicated in multiple diseases, including fibrosis and cancers. It has proven difficult to find small molecules that are capable of selectively inhibiting meprin α, or its close relative meprin β, over numerous other metzincins which, if inhibited, would elicit unwanted effects. We recently identified possible molecular starting points for meprin α-specific inhibition through an HTS effort (see part I, preceding paper). In part II we report the optimization of a potent and selective hydroxamic acid meprin α inhibitor probe which may help define the therapeutic potential for small molecule meprin α inhibition and spur further drug discovery efforts in the area of zinc metalloproteinase inhibition.

This paper delves into the challenge of controlling the multiple synchronizations in mechatronic vibration machines featuring a duo of unbalanced rotors. Its primary aim is to not only attain specific rotation speeds but also to ensure the desired phase shift between these rotors. To tackle this issue, the paper employs a control law integrating cross-couplings. It conducts an analysis of the dynamics of a simplified linearized system, showcasing the robustness of the control system across varying plant parameters. Additionally, the paper outlines experimental findings from a multi-resonance vibrational laboratory setup. These findings effectively demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach and highlight its potential applications. Crucially, the paper provides experimental evidence illustrating the capability to control vibration fields on the operational platform, a vital aspect pertinent to vibration transportation and bulk material mixing processes.

To harness light-matter interaction at nano-/micro-scale better control tools have to be developed. Here, it is shown that by applying external electric and/or magnetic field, ablation of Si and glass under ultra-short (sub-1~ps) laser pulse irradiation can be controlled via the Lorentz force $\mathbf{F} = e\mathbf{E} + e[\mathbf{v}\times\mathbf{B}]$, where $\mathbf{v}$ is velocity of charge $e$, $\mathbf{E}$ is the applied electrical bias and $\mathbf{B}$ is the magnetic flux density. The external electric E-field was applied during laser ablation using suspended micro-electrodes above glass substrate with an air gap for the incident laser beam. The counter-facing Al-electrodes on Si surface were used to study debris formation patterns on Si. Debris was deposited preferentially towards the negative electrode in the case of glass and Si ablation. Also, an external magnetic field was applied during laser ablation of Si in different geometries and is shown to affect ripple formation. The vectorial nature of the Lorentz force widens application potential of surface modifications and debris formation in external E-/B-fields with potential applications in mass and charge spectroscopes.

Sarcopenia becomes more common with age, being most prevalent among elderly individuals. According to the EWGSOP, muscle mass is one of the criteria for the evaluation of sarcopenia. The main methods for evaluating muscle mass are CT, MRI, and DXA, but these methods are difficult to apply in the field due to equipment costs, radioactivity, and lack of portability. BIVA and PhA are alternative approaches for assessing somatic cell mass and volume and do not require predictive equations. These variables are clinically relevant parameters that indicate cell health, especially cell membrane integrity and cell function. This study in sarcopenic and nonsarcopenic elderly volunteers aimed to determine the BIVA distribution pattern among individual sarcopenia patients; to evaluate the relationship between PhA and muscle strength, muscle quality, and physical function; and to find any correlates of PhA. The sample comprised 134 free-living elderly individuals of both sexes aged 69–91 years. Anthropometric parameters, grip strength, DXA findings, BIA results, and physical performance (the 6-meter walk test) were measured. Impedance vector distributions were evaluated in sarcopenia patients and healthy elderly individuals using BIVA. According to the AWGS criteria, sarcopenia was diagnosed according to DXA findings, grip strength and physical performance test results. Group differences were evaluated using the t test, Mann‒Whitney U test, and Hotelling's T2 test. Correlation analysis was performed to identify variables significantly associated with PhA. Linear regression analysis was performed to determine whether PhA was associated with muscle strength, muscle quality and physical function. BIVA detected a significant difference between the sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups (both sexes) due to higher R/H values and lower phase angles in a few individuals, whereas Xc/Ht values did not differ between the two groups. The sarcopenia group had a significantly lower PhA than the non-sarcopenia group among both males (p&lt;0.01) and females (p&lt;0.05). PhA was significantly correlated with age, ASM, HGS, and muscle quality in both sexes and significantly correlated with ASM/Ht2 and physical performance in males. PhA was a significant indicator of muscle strength in both males (β = 2.6; p&lt;0.01) and females (β = 3.4; p&lt;0.01), a significant indicator of muscle quality in both males (β = 0.07; p&lt;0.05) and females (β = 0.17; p&lt;0.01), and a significant indicator of physical performance in males (β = 0.3; p&lt;0.01). BIVA can detect changes in muscle mass in individuals with sarcopenia and is a practical method for the assessment of sarcopenia in the field. PhA is a good indicator of muscle strength, muscle quality and physical performance (in males). These methods can help diagnose sarcopenia in elderly individuals with reduced mobility.

Infection with Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) causes Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), which has reached pandemic proportions. A number of effective vaccines have been produced, including mRNA vaccines and viral vector vaccines, which are now being implemented on a large scale in order to control the pandemic. The mRNA vaccines are composed of the Spike S1 protein encoding mRNA, incorporated in a lipid nanoparticle, stabilized by polyethylene glycol (PEG). mRNA vaccines are novel in many respects, including cellular uptake, the intracellular routing, processing, and secretion of the viral protein. Viral vector vaccines have incorporated DNA sequences encoding the SARS-CoV-2 Spike S1 protein into (attenuated) adenoviruses. The antigen presentation routes in MHC class I and class II, in relation to induction of virus neutralizing antibodies and cytotoxic T-lymphocytes will be reviewed. In rare cases, mRNA vaccines induce unwanted immune mediated side effects. mRNA based vaccines may lead to an anaphylactic reaction. This reaction may be triggered by PEG. The intracellular routing of PEG, and potential presentation in the context of CD1 will be discussed. Adenovirus vector based vaccines have been associated with thrombocytopenic thrombosis events. The anti-platelet factor 4 antibodies found in these patients could be generated due to conformational changes of relevant epitopes presented to the immune system.

The possession and appraisal of agricultural fields have significant economic and social impacts. The objective of this study is to examine the perception of the factors that contribute to the value of agricultural fields and those that diminish their value in the appraisal process. The utilized quantitative methodology is based on a questionnaire administered to farmers in Huambo Province, Angola. The sample size consists of 644 respondents. The results allow concluding that the income generated from farming activities and the presence of infrastructure greatly facilitate the appraisal of agricultural fields. Conversely, the absence of legal ownership documentation and conflicts related to land ownership reduce the value of the fields. The exploratory factor analysis has identified seven determinant factors in the appraisal of agricultural fields: inherent location characteristics of the property, market dynamics related to agricultural fields, the availability of water on the property, proximity to tourist destinations, physical conditions of the fields, the positive externalities generated, and the advantages offered by the fields. We believe that this study will assist appraisers, farmers, and public administration in understanding the factors that positively and negatively impact the appraisal of agricultural fields.

There are given algebraic and integral identities for a pair or a triple of plane solenoidal fields. As applications, we obtain sufficient potentiality conditions for a plane vector field. The integral identities are also important for exact a priori estimates.

We investigate a possible reduction mechanism from (bosonic) Quantum Field Theory (QFT) to Quantum Mechanics (QM), in a way that could explain the apparent loss of degrees of freedom of the original theory in terms of quantum information in the reduced one. This reduction mechanism consists mainly in performing an ansatz on the boson field operator, which takes into account quantum foam and non-commutative geometry. Through the reduction mechanism, QFT reveals its hidden internal structure, which is a quantum network of maximally entangled multipartite states. In the end, a new approach to the quantum simulation of QFT is proposed through the use of QFT's internal quantum network

Laser ablation of silicon under an external applied magnetic field with different orientations was investigated in respect to the scanning direction and polarisation of the laser beam, by observation of the ablation patterns and debris deposition. Ultra-short ∼230 fs laser pulses of 1030 nm wavelengths were used in the single and multi-pulse irradiation modes. Ablation with an externally applied magnetic B-field (B ≈ 0.1 T) is shown to strongly affect debris formation. The mechanism of surface plasmon polariton (SPP) wave can explain the ablated periodic patterns observed with alignment along the magnetic field lines.

Digital twin technology is revolutionizing traditional manufacturing paradigms. In modern manufacturing systems, digital twin technology is fraught with challenges due to the scarcity of labeled data. Specifically, existing supervised machine learning algorithms, with their reliance on voluminous training data, find their applicability constrained in real-world production settings. This paper introduces an unsupervised 3D reconstruction approach tailored for industrial applications, aimed at bridging the data void in creating digital twin models. Our proposed model, by ingesting high-resolution 2D images, autonomously reconstructs precise 3D digital twin models without the need for manual annotations or prior knowledge. Through comparisons with multiple baseline models, we demonstrate the superiority of our method in terms of accuracy, speed, and generalization capabilities. This research not only offers an efficient approach to industrial 3D reconstruction but also paves the way for the widespread adoption of digital twin technology in manufacturing.

Atmospheric Motion Vectors (AMVs) calculated by six different institutions (Brazil Center for Weather Prediction and Climate Studies/CPTEC/INPE, European Organization for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites/EUMETSAT, Japan Meteorological Agency/JMA, Korea Meteorological Administration/KMA, Unites States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/NOAA and the Satellite Application Facility on Support to Nowcasting/NWCSAF) with JMA’s Himawari-8 satellite data and other common input data are here compared. The comparison is based on two different AMV input datasets, calculated with two different image triplets for 21 July 2016, and the use of a prescribed and a specific configuration. The main results of the study are summarized as follows: (1) the differences in the AMV datasets depend very much on the “AMV height assignment” used and much less on the use of a prescribed or specific configuration; (2) the use of the “Common Quality Indicator (CQI)” has a quantified skill in filtering collocated AMVs for an improved statistical agreement between centers; (3) JMA AMV algorithm has the best overall performance considering all validation metrics, most likely due to its height assignment: “optimal estimation using observed radiance and NWP wind vertical profile”.

Arthropods, the most abundant group in ecosystems, play crucial roles in human production. Soil physicochemical properties reflect soil health and are linked to arthropods through cascading effects. Gravel-sand mulching, commonly practiced in dry farming regions, initially aids in water retention and temperature regulation. However, long-term cultivation can lead to land degradation and habitat fragmentation. This study aimed to investigate field systems using multiple comparison, linear, and nonlinear correlation analyses to explore the effects of different tillage durations on soil properties and arthropod diversity under gravel-sand mulching. Results indicate that arthro-pod diversity was lower while the fields maintained better soil fertility than the desert steppe. Both soil fertility and arthropod diversity declined significantly with increased years of cultivation. Mantel tests revealed no significant response of desert steppe arthropods to the altered soil properties of gravel-sand mulched fields. However, the Generalized Additive Model analysis indicated significant linear correlations between arthropod occurrence and total nitrogen (positive), available phosphorus, and water content (negative). Arthropod abundance showed significant nonlinear correlations with total potassium, alkali hydrolyzable nitrogen, and organic matter (OM), with OM changes having the most pronounced impact. Thus, gravel-sand mulching can maintain soil fertility over time but at the expense of local arthropod diversity.

HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders (HAND) persist despite the advent of antiretroviral therapy (ART), suggesting underlying systemic and central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory mechanisms. The endogenous cannabinoid receptors 1 and 2 (CB1 and CB2) modulate inflammatory gene expression and play an important role in maintaining neuronal homeostasis. Cannabis use is disproportionately high among people with HIV (PWH) and may provide a neuroprotective effect for those on ART due to its anti-inflammatory properties. However, expression profiles of CB1 and CB2 in the brains of PWH on ART with HAND have not been reported. In this study, biochemical and immunohistochemical analyses were performed to determine CB1 and CB2 expression in brain specimens of HAND donors. Immunoblot revealed CB1 and CB2 were differentially expressed in frontal cortices from HAND brains compared to neurocognitively unimpaired (NUI) brains from PWH. CB1 expression levels negatively correlated with memory and information processing speed. CB1 was primarily localized to neuronal soma in HAND brains versus a more punctate distribution on neuronal processes of NUI brains. CB1 expression was increased in cells with glial morphology and showed increased colocalization with an astroglial marker. These results suggest that targeting the endocannabinoid system may be a potential therapeutic strategy for HAND.

Positive invariant set is an important concept of dynamic systems. The purpose of this paper is to study the sufficient and necessary conditions that the set of ellipsoids and the Lorenz cone are positive invariant sets of discrete time systems. By means of nonlinear programming and induced norm, the problem of positive invariance is formulated as an optimization problem, and the equivalent dual form optimization is also presented using the dual optimization method. Our results provide more alternative methods for determining the positive invariance of quadratic form convex sets from the point of view of optimization and dual optimization. The effectiveness of this method is demonstrated by numerical examples.

The field dynamics of neutral and charged matter (treated as gauge fields) beyond the event horizon of black holes are investigated. As an extension of the work done in Ganesan (2023) [1], the analysis was done using the combined dynamics of the two-dimensional Yang-Mills and Liouville gravity fields beyond the event horizon. The quantum interactions and symmetry breaking mechanisms of the combined two-dimensional fields are discussed. The second part of this paper explores the quantum dynamics occurring at the event horizon. By considering the structure of the event horizon as a Möbius strip (embedded in three-dimensional space), a formulation for the lower bound of the first energy eigenvalue of a quantum particle (electron) at the event horizon is obtained.

Paper presents proposition of possible extension of The Standard Model Classification of Particles and Fields in way to include gravitation into it.

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

We give three new authentication schemes without secrecy. The first two on finite fields and Galois rings, using Gray map for this link. The third construction is given on Galois rings. The main achievement in this work is to obtain optimal impersonation and substitution probabilities in the schemes. Additionally, in the first and second scheme, we simplify the source space and bring a better relationship between the size of the message space and the key space than the given in [8]. Finally, we provide a third scheme on Galois rings, which generalizes the scheme over finite fields constructed in [9].

Modern life implies a constant exposure of living organisms to electromagnetic fields generated by human made technology. The question of whether or not electromagnetic fields in the non-ionizing frequency range can affect cellular functions, increasing the risk of cancer or another pathologies is currently a subject of interest for scientific community of several disciplines of physics, biology, chemistry and medicine. The first part of this short review presents briefly the possible mechanism of interaction of electromagnetic fields in cellular level based in theoretical models and experimental results. The second part refers to experimental observations published by several authors about the potential cytotoxic and genotoxic effects of electromagnetic fields. Results of researches are no yet conclusive enough to accept or reject the genotoxic, carcinogenic or cytotoxic potential of these fields. Up to date the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified the X, gamma and ultraviolet radiation as carcinogenic and the fields generated by radio frequencies as possibly carcinogenic.

A three-dimensional vector field model is proposed, whose dimensions are the Hansen Solubility Parameters: dispersion parameter (δD), polarity parameter (δP), and hydrogen bonding parameter (δH). The vector space that defines the field has the peculiarity of having the dispersion vector with a magnitude of 2, as its base vector, while polarity and hydrogen bonding vectors have a magnitude of 1. A substance is characterised as a position vector, and the interaction between two substances is determined by calculating the vector difference of both, known as the interaction vector. Interaction among substances may involve solubility, swelling, cracking, surface tension, interface tension, and any physical phenomena where intermolecular energies of dispersion, polarity or hydrogen bonding come into play. This paper studies free surface energy (surface and interfacial tension). It has been found that free surface energy is directly proportional to the square of the magnitude of the interaction vector. The proportionality constant, τ, is expressed in length units, has a value of 0.025 nm, and does not depend on the chemical nature of the substance or state of matter (solid, liquid or gas). Constant value τ appears universal and aligns with the thickness of interfaces, thereby supporting Guggenheim's hypothesis. This hypothesis asserts that interfaces possess actual thickness and are not merely mathematical surfaces, as originally postulated by Gibbs. Moreover, it also has been found that interface thickness, τ, is approximately equal to half of the Bohr radius, a0, which is defined by universal constants. Because the solubility parameters of thousands of substances are known and can be easily determined from molecular structure, a good approximation of the surface and interfacial tension of any given substance can now be calculated. It has also been found that contact angles of sessile droplets in three-phased systems can be calculated from the interaction vectors of the implicated substances.

herein, we have compared the performance of SVM and MLP in emotion recognition using speech and song channels of the RAVDESS dataset. We have undertaken a journey to extract various audio features, identify optimal scaling strategy and hyperparameter for our models. To increase sample size, we have performed audio data augmentation and addressed data imbalance using SMOTE. Our data indicate that optimised SVM outperforms MLP with an accuracy of 82 compared to 75%. Following data augmentation, the performance of both algorithms was identical at ~79%, however, overfitting was evident for the SVM. Our final exploration indicated that the performance of both SVM and MLP were similar in which both resulted in lower accuracy for the speech channel compared to the song channel. Our findings suggest that both SVM and MLP are powerful classifiers for emotion recognition in a vocal-dependent manner.

: Considering that Einstein's relation between the diffusion coefficient and the drift mobility of the free randomly moving charge carriers in homogeneous materials including metals is always valid, it is shown that the effective electric force acting on free electrons in metal depends on the ratio between the kinetic free electron energy at the Fermi surface to the classical particle energy 3kT/2. The electrical resistivity of elemental metals dependence on very low temperatures has the quadratic term, which has been explained by electron-electron scattering. In this paper, it is shown that the quadratic term of the electrical resistivity at low temperatures is caused by scattering of the free RM electrons by electronic defects due to linear effective free electron scattering cross-section dependence on temperature, but not by electron-electron scattering.

This study introduces a robust methodology utilizing Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) combined with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to repurpose abandoned hydrocarbon fields for energy storage, supporting the transition to renewable energy sources. We use a geostatistical approach integrated with Python scripting to analyze reservoir parameters—including porosity, permeability, thickness, lithology, temperature, heat capacity, and thermal conductivity—from a decommissioned hydrocarbon field in Southeast Hungary. Our workflow leverages stochastic simulation data to identify potential zones for energy storage, categorizing them into high, moderate, and low suitability scenarios. This innovative approach provides rapid and precise analysis, enabling effective decision-making for energy storage implementation in depleted fields.

The high transmissibility, rapid evolution, and immune escape of SARS-CoV-2 variants can influence the course of infection and, in turn, morbidity and mortality in COVID-19, posing a challenge in controlling transmission rates and contributing to the emergence and spread of new variants. The factors that shape viral genetic variation are consequently essential for understanding the evolution and transmission of SARS-CoV-2, especially in vaccinated individuals where immune response plays a role in the progression and spread of this disease. This study assessed. In this context, we evaluated the impact of immunity induced by the CoronaVac vaccine (Butantan/Sinovac) on intra-host genetic diversity, analyzing 118 whole-genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2 from unvaccinated and vaccinated patients infected with the Gamma variant. Vaccination with CoronaVac favors negative selection at the intra-host level in different genomic regions and prevent greater genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, which may help reduce the emergence of new mutations, reinforcing the importance of vaccination in reducing virus transmission.

Simulations based on Supernova (SN) observations predict several galactic SN explosions (SNe) occur every century. Unlike SNes within the Interstellar Medium (ISM) where ambient gas generally absorbs blast waves within a million years, SNes occurring in a rarified environment outside of the (ISM) generate blast waves which remain in a high velocity free expansion phase for more extended periods. The SN blast wave forms an expanding spherical shell and when multiple blast waves intersect, the overlapping region naturally takes the form of a ring, an arc, or an Einstein Cross structure. The analysis shows the high velocity plasma establishes a medium with permeability which drives the index of refraction greater than 1. As a result, when a shock discontinuity forms in the overlapping region, light is reflected from the host galaxy which exposes the intersecting blast wave regions. The expanding shells are shown to induce an achromatic redshift to the reflected light consistent with those measured for gravitational lenses. Further, it is shown that a Hubble equation for a blast wave around the Milky Way Galaxy can be parameterized to align with measured redshifts of extragalactic light fields over a wide range of distances.

Electric and/or magnetic fields are generated by stationary charges, uniformly moving charges and accelerating charges. These field components are described in the literature as static fields, velocity fields (or generalized Coulomb field) and radiation fields (or acceleration fields), respectively. In the literature, the electromagnetic fields generated by lightning return strokes are presented using the field components associated with short dipoles and in this description the one to one association of the electromagnetic field terms with the physical process that gives rise to them is lost. In this paper, we will derive expressions for the electromagnetic fields using field equations associated with accelerating (and moving) charges and separate the resulting fields into static, velocity and radiation fields. The results illustrates how the radiation fields emanating from the lightning channel give rise to field terms varying as inverse of distance and distance squired, the velocity fields generating field terms varying as inverse of distance squired and the static fields generating fields components varying as inverse of distance squired and distance cube. These field components depend explicitly on the speed of propagation of the current pulse. However, the total field does not depend explicitly on the speed of propagation of the current pulse. It is shown that these field components can be combined to generate the field components pertinent to the dipole technique. However, in this conversion process the connection of the field components to the physical process taking place at the source that generate these fields (i.e. static charges, uniformly moving charges and accelerating charges) is lost.

Magnetic nanoparticles are met across many biological species ranging from magnetosensitive bacteria, fishes, bees, bats, rats, birds, to humans. They can be both of biogenetic origin and due to environmental contamination, being either in paramagnetic or ferromagnetic state. The energy of such naturally occurring single-domain magnetic nanoparticles can reach up to 10-20 room k_BT in the magnetic field of the Earth, which naturally led to supposition that they can serve as sensory elements in various animals. This work explores within a stochastic modeling framework a fascinating hypothesis of magnetosensitive ion channels with magnetic nanoparticles serving as sensory elements, especially, how realistic it is given a highly dissipative viscoelastic interior of living cells and typical sizes of nanoparticles possibly involved.

The quadratic unconstrained binary optimization (QUBO) is a classic NP-hard problem with an enormous number of applications. Local search strategy (LSS) is one of the most fundamental algorithmic concepts that has been successfully applied to a wide range of hard combinatorial optimization problems. One LSS that has gained the attention of researchers is the r-flip (also known as r-Opt) strategy. Given a binary solution with n variables, the r-flip strategy ‘flips’ r binary variables to get a new solution if the changes improve the objective function. The main purpose of this paper is to develop several results for implementation of r-flip moves in QUBO, including a necessary and sufficient condition that when a 1-flip search reaches local optimality, the number of candidates for implementation of the r-flip moves can be reduced significantly. The results of the substantial computational experiments are reported to compare an r-flip strategy embedded algorithm and a multiple start tabu search algorithm on a set of benchmark instances and three very-large-scale QUBO instances. The r-flip strategy implemented within the algorithm makes the algorithm very efficient, very high-quality solutions within a short CPU time.

Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, has historically been one of the most important causes of blindness worldwide, and a major cause of socio-economic disruption, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. Its importance as a cause of morbidity and an impediment to economic development in some of the poorest countries in the world motivated the international community to implement several programs to control or eliminate this scourge. Initially, these involved reducing transmission of the causative agent Onchocerca volvulus through controlling the vector population. When ivermectin was found to be a very effective drug for treating onchocerciasis, the strategy shifted to mass drug administration (MDA) of endemic communities. In some countries, both vector control and ivermectin MDA have been used together. However, traditional vector control methods involve treating rivers in which the black fly vectors breed with insecticides, a process which is expensive, requires trained personnel to administer, and is ecologically harmful. In this review, we discuss recent research into alternatives to riverine insecticide treatment, which are inexpensive, ecologically less harmful and which can be implemented by the affected communities themselves. These can dramatically reduce vector densities and, when combined with ivermectin MDA, can accelerate the time to elimination when compared to MDA alone.

Predicting copper price is essential for making decisions that can affect companies and governments dependent on the copper mining industry. Copper prices follow a time series that is non-linear, non-stationary, and which have periods that change as a result of potential growth, cyclical fluctuation and errors. Sometimes the trend and cyclical components together are referred to as a trend-cycle. In order to make predictions, it is necessary to consider the different characteristics of trend-cycle. In this paper, we study a copper price prediction method using Support Vector Regression. This work explores the potential of the Support Vector Regression with external recurrences to make predictions at 5, 10, 15, 20 and 30 days into the future in the copper closing price at the London Metal Exchanges. The best model for each forecast interval is performed using a grid search and balanced cross-validation. In experiments on real data-sets, our results obtained indicate that the parameters (C, ε, γ) of the model Support Vector Regression do not differ between the different prediction intervals. Additionally, the amount of preceding values used to make the estimates does not vary according to the predicted interval. Results show that the support vector regression model has a lower prediction error and is more robust. Our results show that the presented model is able to predict copper price volatilities near reality, being the RMSE equal or less than the 2.2% for prediction periods of 5 and 10 days.

COVID-19 was a terrible worldwide pandemic that caused a global public health crisis, with numerous deaths and a severe economic depression. To suppress the spread of COVID-19 and initiate patient isolation and contact tracing to reduce its effect, early diagnosis was required, with real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) swab test being the most widely used. However, the RT-PCR test was sometimes found to be lengthy and inaccurate and; for that reason, in many cases of severe complications of COVID-19 pneumonia, chest screening with radiography imaging was preferred. In this paper, we carried out a study for COVID-19 detection from computed tomography images, and compared the obtained results using deep learning (DL) and support vector machine (SVM). The findings showed that, despite the excellent results shown by deep learning, the accuracy in predicting COVID-19 using SVM, in the presence of small databases, was slightly higher than DL. The execution time using SVM was also shorter

We propose a description of the electromagnetic field in the form of a four-component complex spinor, from which a vector of electromagnetic potential with two degrees of freedom, calibrated by two conditions - zero length and zero component along the y-axis - is obtained by using Pauli matrices. A similar approach is applied to the field of a fermion, in particular, the electron. It is known that the quantum field of the electron and the electron itself is a four-component complex spinor, so, existing in the Minkowski vector space, we cannot observe it directly. But with the help of Pauli matrices a vector is formed from the electron spinor, which is known to us as an electric current vector, and this current vector describes exactly a single particle. As a vector, it is available to us for observation in our vector space. Similarly, the electromagnetic field and its photon particle is also a four-component spinor, from which the universal formula using Pauli matrices produces a vector, it is known to us as the electromagnetic potential vector, and it too describes even a single photon. All the differences in the properties of the current vector and the electromagnetic potential vector, and hence the electron and the electromagnetic field, are due only to a slight difference in the structures of their four-component spinors and inextricable linked to them momentum spinors and coordinate spinors. Expressions for the electric and magnetic fields of a photon during its interaction with an electron.Thus, a unified way to describe bosons and fermions in spinor space is proposed. Each spinor using the same formula corresponds to a vector, in the case of a fermion it is a current vector, in the case of a boson it is a vector, for example, of the electromagnetic potential. Each spinor of a field is matched with a spinor of coordinates and a spinor of momentum, which are transformed by the same Lorentz transformations and which have the same structure as their corresponding field spinor, that is, the momentum and coordinates of boson have a bosonic spinor structure, while momentum and coordinates of fermion are a spinor with a fermionic structure. Field, coordinates and momentum vectors of boson automatically have a zero length, while in the case of fermion they all have a nonzero length, so the fermion, in contrast to the boson, has a nonzero mass, nonzero charge and moves with a sub light speed.While quantum mechanics treats probability as a real number, quantum field theory deals with probability as a four-dimensional real vector. The place of the probability amplitude, which in quantum mechanics is a complex number, in quantum field theory is taken by a complex spinor.In the same way as in quantum mechanics the processes of propagation and interaction are described at the level of complex probability amplitudes, and the final result is translated into a real probability value, so in quantum field theory all processes should be described in terms of complex spinor space, and the result is translated into the form of a real vector in Minkowski space.The presented approach, at its proper development, makes it possible to carry out calculations of the interaction of particles in two-dimensional spinor space, and to interpret in terms of the Minkowski vector space only the final results.

In this non-exhaustive review, we discuss the importance of invariant vectors in atomic physics, such as the Laplace-Runge-Lenz vector, the Redmond vector in the presence of an electric field, the Landau-Avron-Sivardière vector when the system is subject to a magnetic field, and the supergeneralized Runge-Lenz vector for the two-center problem. Application to Stark and Zeeman effects are outlined. The existence of constants of motion in the charge-dyon system is also briefly mentioned.

Crop genetic diversity is most for the long-term sustainable production system. The breeding and production strategies of developing and growing uniform and homogenous varieties have created many different problems. Such populations are static and very sensitive to unpredictable stresses. In Nepal, more than 80% of seed system is informal s which has contributed greatly to creating and maintaining genetic diversity within the field particularly contributing to landrace diversity. This paper aims to assess and present the approaches and advantages of increased crop genetic diversity in the fields. The paper is developed based on experiences of implementing on-farm conservation activities carried out in Nepal since last two decades. Some of the evidences have been derived from on-going evolutionary plant breeding project being implemented in Nepal. The information is supplemented with field assessment, focus group discussion, and literature review. The major approaches to increase crop genetic diversity are evolutionary plant breeding, cultivar mixture, landrace enhancement, informal seed system, bulk method, diversifying the sources, participatory plant breeding, open pollination, etc. EPB and cultivar mixture are very simple and effective approaches to increase crop genetic diversity at field level. The involvement of farmers in these approaches helps to accelerate the population improvement particularly for landraces. The major advantages of increased crop genetic diversity are: seed maintenance by farmers themselves, minimal risk of crop failure, resilience to unpredictable stresses, increased amount of diversified nutrition, production increment each year, ease to produce organically, etc. However, there are some issues and problems associated with mixtures and diverse varieties, for example, not being able to harvest by machine, mature at a different date, difficulty in maintaining seeds and registration, etc. Crop genetic diversity should be considered for a climate-resilient and self-dependent production system. The higher the genetic diversity in farming land, the more chance of getting the multiple benefits in the agriculture system (Vernooy 2022).

This paper is introducing KABADA (Knowledge Alliance of Business Idea Assessment: Digital Approach) unique tool, together with opinions of young people about entrepreneurship, their skills and experience with this tool. The focus is on non-business students who study natural sciences, engineering and other areas at the Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology at Mendel University in Brno, Czech Republic. KABADA tool has been developed and tested by a team of international experts. It can be used to improve forester management. This structured, Web-based, platform which is based on theoretical research, relevant statistics, and artificial intelligence insights, guides entrepreneurs through every step of the way including what challenges and opportunities lie ahead. The research included survey answers from 60 university students before and after using KABADA tool. The results show that students are interested in entrepreneurship but do not have the knowledge, experience and support from curriculum. Majority of students had no or very low experience with entrepreneurship nor any entrepreneurship training or study course before. After using the tool, students declared to have higher knowledge of entrepreneurship and the number of students who intended to become an entrepreneur increased. The tool is available on-line, free of charge.

Lynch syndrome (LS) is an autosomal dominant genetic condition caused by mutations in the DNA mismatch repair (MMR) genes in the germline. Colorectal cancer and/or LS-associated cancer are more likely in people who carry pathogenic mutations in these genes. Cancers of the endometrium, small intestine, stomach, pancreas, and biliary tract, ovarian, brain, upper urinary tract, and skin are among the cancer types linked to LS. The criteria for a clinical diagnosis of LS, as well as the processes for genetic testing to identify carriers of pathogenetic mutations in MMR genes, have been known for a long time. The precise description of the pathogenicity associated with MMR genetic variants is critical in the mutation detection analysis, especially in order to enroll mutation carriers in endoscopic surveillance programs that are more suited to them. As a result, this may aid in the improvement of LS-related cancer prevention efforts. In this review, we discuss recent advances in the molecular genetics of LS.

On estimation scales ranging from 0.1 nm to 100 nm, the nanoscale is part of the capacitance components of the physical-synthetic and natural environment. Dimensionality, morphology, structure, uniformity, and agglomeration are all used to classify nanoparticles. Its functionality and effect on the environment and species are influenced by its shape and morphology. The priority research is to determine the effects of nanoparticles on any biological entity that is necessary when designing nanotechnology-based biotechnological and biomedical products. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to reduce metal ions, making them one of the most promising candidates for nanoparticle biosynthesis. Nanoparticles have been researched in the biomedical field for antimicrobial, biosensor, diagnostic imaging, and drug delivery applications. These natural technologies appear to be capable of producing stable nanoparticles with well-defined dimensions, morphologies, and compositions by optimizing reaction conditions and selecting the best bacteria. This work includes a list of the most commonly used microorganisms and associated Nanoparticles, as well as a discussion of current biotechnology and biomedical developments.

Bacteria play a key role in both human health and disease. One of the most prevalent harmful bacteria is E. coli which is responsible for several illnesses ranging from diarrhea, stomach cramp and fever. In this work we explore the application of moderate electric or magnetic fields for treating deionized water that is contaminated with E. coli. We found that moderate alternating electric (AC) fields (10 V/cm to 1kV/cm) and moderate static magnetic fields (10 to 65 mT) can significantly inactivate E. coli by up to 90% or more. This provides the possibilities of developing a low cost and a practical bacteria inactivation technique using electric or magnetic fields.

General Linear Modelling (GLM) has been widely employed to estimate the hemodynamic changes evoked by cognitive processing, which are more likely to be nonlinear than linear. First, this study re-analyzed the fNIRS data (N = 38, Mage = 5.0 years, SD = 0.69 years, 17 girls) collected in the Mixed-Order Design Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task. The results indicated that the quadratic equation was better than GLM to model HbO changes in this task. Second, analysis of a new set of data indicated that the Habit-DisHabit design of DCCS was more effective in identifying the neural correlates of cognitive shifting than the Mixed-Order Design. Third, this study found that the Non-users were more attentive and engaged than the Heavy-users, with a slower but more steady increase of brain activation in BA8 and BA9.

In this paper, we study the global asymptotically stability of following system of difference equations with quadratic terms: x_{n+1}=A+B((y_{n})/(y_{n-1}²)),y_{n+1}=A+B((x_{n})/(x_{n-1}²)) where A and B are positive numbers and the initial values are positive numbers. We also investigate the rate of convergence and oscillation behaviour of the solutions of related system.

Designing the future energy supply in accordance with ambitious climate change mitigation goals is a challenging issue. Common tools for planning and calculating future investments in renewable and sustainable technologies are often linear energy system models based on cost optimisation. However, input data and the underlying assumptions of future developments are subject to uncertainties that negatively affect the robustness of results. This paper introduces a quadratic programming approach to modifying linear, bottom-up energy system optimisation models in order to take cost uncertainties into account. This is accomplished by implementing specific investment costs as a function of the installed capacity of each technology. In contrast to established approaches like stochastic programming or Monte Carlo Simulation, the computation time of the quadratic programming approach is only slightly higher than that of linear programming. The model’s outcomes were found to show a wider range as well as a more robust allocation of the considered technologies than the linear model equivalent.

Categorical variables are common in spatial data analysis. Traditional analytical methods for deriving probabilities of class occurrence, such as kriging-family algorithms, have been hindered by the discrete characteristics of categorical fields. This study introduces the theoretical backgrounds of linear Bayesian updating (LBU) approach for spatial classification through expert system. Transition probabilities are interpreted as expert opinions for updating the prior marginal probabilities of categorical response variables. The main objective of this paper is to present the solid theoretical foundations of LBU and provide a categorical random field prediction method which yields relatively higher classification accuracy compared with conventional Markov chain random field (MCRF) approach. A real-world case study has also been carried out to demonstrate the superiority of our method. Since the LBU idea is originated from aggregating expert opinions and not restricted to conditional independent assumption (CIA), it may prove to be reasonably adequate for analyzing complex geospatial data sets, like remote sensing images or area-class maps.