To understand the mystery of final unification, in our earlier publications, we proposed that there exist three atomic gravitational constants associated with electroweak, strong and electromagnetic interactions. During cosmic evolution, if one is willing to give equal importance to Higgs boson and Planck mass in understanding the massive origin of elementary particles, then it seems quite logical to expect a common relation in between Planck scale and Electroweak scale. Based on these two points, we noticed that, electroweak field seems to be operated by a primordial massive fermion of rest energy 585 GeV. It can be considered as the zygote of all elementary particles and galactic dark matter. H-bar seems to be a characteristic outcome of unified electroweak gravity. Electron rest mass seems to be a characteristic outcome of electroweak and strong gravity. Proton rest mass seems to be a characteristic outcome of electroweak, strong and electromagnetic gravity. Recently observed 3.5 keV photon seems to be an outcome of annihilation of charged baby lepton of rest energy 1.75 keV. Interesting point to be noted is that, Schwarzschild radius of electron is 0.48 nanometer and it needs further investigation with respect to emerging nano-science and technology. Proceeding further, by considering electromagnetic and weak gravitational constants, neutron life time can be understood.

Iterations of continuous maps are the simplest models of generic dynamical systems. In particular, circle maps display several key properties of complex dynamics, such as phase-locking and the quasi-periodicity route to chaos. Our work points out that Planck’s constant may be derived from the scaling behavior of circle maps in the asymptotic limit.

The constant ħ is elevated to a dynamical field, coupling to other fields, and itself, through the Lagrangian density derivative terms. The spatial and temporal dependence of ħ falls directly out of the field equations themselves. Three solutions are found: a free field with a tadpole term; a standing-wave non-propagating mode; a non-oscillating non-propagating mode. The first two could be quantized. The third corresponds to a zero-momentum classical field that naturally decays spatially to a constant with no ad-hoc terms added to the Lagrangian. An attempt is made to calibrate the constants in the third solution based on experimental data. The three fields are referred to as actons. It is tentatively concluded that the acton origin coincides with a massive body, or point of infinite density, though is not mass dependent. An expression for the positional dependence of Planck’s constant is derived from a field theory in this work that matches in functional form that of one derived from considerations of Local Position Invariance violation in GR in another paper by this author. Astrophysical and Cosmological interpretations are provided. A derivation is shown for how the integrand in the path integral exponent becomes Lc/ħ(r), where Lc is the classical action. The path that makes stationary the integral in the exponent is termed the “dominant” path, and deviates from the classical path systematically due to the position dependence of ħ. The meaning of variable ħ is seen to be related to the rate of time passage along each path increment. The changes resulting in the Euler-Lagrange equation, Newton’s first and second laws, Newtonian gravity, Friedmann equation with a Cosmological Constant, and the impact on gravitational radiation for the dominant path are shown and discussed.

In our previous published papers, considering 3 large atomic gravitational constants assumed to be associated with weak, strong and electromagnetic interactions, we have proposed the existence of a nuclear charge of magnitude, e_n=2.95e and developed a nuclear mass formula associated with strong and weak interactions having 4 simple terms and only one energy coefficient. Two important assumptions are, there exists a weak fermion of rest energy 585 GeV and strong coupling constant is the squared ratio of electromagnetic charge and nuclear charge. The aim of this paper is associated with understanding the mystery of quantum of magnetic flux, Planck’s quantum radiation constant and Reduced Planck’s constant. Proceeding further, quark charges, strong coupling constant, nuclear stability, nuclear binding energy, medium and heavy atomic X-ray levels and celestial magnetic moments can be understood in a unified approach. It may also be noted that, by considering integral nature of elementary particle masses, it seems possible to understand the discreteness of angular momentum. Considering our proposed e_n=2.95e=3e as a characteristic nuclear charge, it seems possible to understand the integral nature of quarks electromagnetic charge. With this idea, neutron, proton and pions decay can be understood very easily. In all the cases, up quark of charge (±2e) seems to play a crucial role with the internal transformation of down quark of charge (±e) and external observable elementary basic elementary particles. It needs further study at fundamental level.

The Active Distribution Networks (ADNs) are Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) systems with coupled dynamics which cause interactions among the control loops of the Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). This undesired effect lead to performance degradation in the voltage control. To mitigate the effects of these unavoidable coupling, the present paper proposes a systematic design procedure based on the analysis of the interaction's sources. In details, each DER is equipped with a double loop PI to control the active and reactive powers output by the Voltage Source Converter (VSC) which connects the DER to the network's node. Furthermore, to guarantee Ancillary Services (ASs), the two loops are coupled by a simple mechanism of cooperation of the active power to voltage regulation realized by a filtered droop law. To achieve voltage regulation with reduced loop interactions, the PI parameters and the filter's pulse are designed according to a two sequential steps procedure based on the (Internal Model Control) IMC technique. Simulation studies are finally presented to demonstrate that the proposed design method achieves both reduction of the loop interaction and robust voltage control in presence of model parameter uncertainty in the MIMO model.

Resonance inductive coupling is widely used for wireless power transfer (WPT) in medical applications. In this paper, we analyze the LCL-compensated WPT structure and propose a novel constant voltage transmission system based on gain estimation, without any extra feedback from the receiver. The system is capable for implant neural stimulation where the load impedance and the coupling coefficient are both variable. Compared to existing methods for constant voltage transmission, our approach offers advantages in compact size and the compatibility with the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band. We validate the load-independent resonant characteristic and the feasibility of constant voltage transmission using an experimental prototype working at 6.78MHz. Finally, we discuss the structure of the implant stimulator and methods of applying the proposed WPT system.

Over the past decade and a half, dynamic functional imaging has revolutionized the neuroimaging field. Since 2009, it has revealed low dimensional brain connectivity measures, has identified potential common human spatial connectivity states, has tracked the transition patterns of these states, and has demonstrated meaningful alterations in these transition and spatial patterns in neurological disorders, psychiatric disorders, and over the course of development. Recently, researchers have begun to analyze this data from the perspective of dynamic system and information theory in the hopes of understanding how these dynamics support less easily quantified processes, such as information processing, cortical hierarchy, and consciousness. Consciousness, in particular, appears to be strongly linked to entropy production in the brain. Little attention has been paid to the effects of psychiatric disease on entropy production in the human brain, however. Even disorders characterized by substantial changes in conscious experience have not been widely analyzed from this perspective. We begin to rectify this by examining the complexity of subject trajectories in state space through the lens of information theory. Specifically, we identify a basis for the dynamic functional connectivity state space and track subject trajectories through this space over the course of the scan. The dynamic complexity of these trajectories is assessed along each dimension of the proposed basis space. Using these estimates, we demonstrate that schizophrenia patients display substantially simpler trajectories than demographically matched healthy controls, and that this drop in complexity concentrates along specific dimensions. We also demonstrate that entropy generation in at least one of these dimensions is linked to cognitive performance. Overall, results suggest great value in applying dynamic systems theory to problems of neuroimaging and reveal a substantial drop in the complexity of schizophrenia patients’ brain function.

The dielectric constant (ε) reflects the ability of a material to align and orient electrical dipoles within its structure in response to an externally applied electric field; the greater the polarizability of molecules, the greater the value of dielectric constant. In this study a data set of 86 polymers was investigated to develop a structure-property quantitative relations (QSPR) model to predict the dielectric constant in polymers. An initial set of 1273 descriptors was used to select a best set of descriptors and to construct two machine learning models with Gradient Boosting Regressor (GB_A and GB_B). The best performing model (GB_A) with 8 descriptors, exhibited a performance of (R2train) = 0.938 and (R2test) = 0.802. The models were internally validated by 5 folds cross-validation, demonstrating robustness. Additionally, using the Accumulative Local Effect (ALE) technique, we analyzed the relationship between the 8 descriptors involved and the impact of these descriptors to dielectric constant of polymers.

To investigate the effects of organic fertilizer combined with reduced chemical fertilizer on radish yield, quality, and soil environment in high mountainous areas (elevation: 1800 m), and to mitigate the environmental pollution caused by excessive use of chemical fertilizers. The field trial was conducted to study the effects of different fertilizer treatments. (Control:local fertilizer application rate: 375 kg·hm² reduction in chemical fertilizer + 4500 kg·hm² organic fertilizer; T1:12% reduction in chemical fertilizer + 4500 kg·hm² organic fertilizer; T2:20% reduction in chemical fertilizer + 4500 kg·hm² of organic fertilizer; T3:28% reduction in chemical fertilizer + 4500 kg·hm² organic fertilizer). Four different fertilizer ratios were studied to assess their impacts on radish quality, yield, and soil environment. The findings showed that T2 significantly increased radish yield by 12.92%. Moreover, it led to significant improvements in the content of vitamin C, soluble sugars, soluble solids, soluble proteins, titratable acidity, and glucosinolates, which increased by 10.62%, 2.15%, 50.00%, 26.90%, 43.90%, and 44.57%, respectively. Treatment T2 also significantly increased soil nutrient content, with a 7.69% and 14.29% increase in total nitrogen and total phosphorus content compared to the control (Control) treatment, and a significant reduction of 21.64% in soil bulk density . T2 treatment significantly enhanced soil urease activity, sucrase activity, alkaline phosphatase activity, and catalase activity, showing an improvement of 28.97%, 55.92%, 52.08%, and 17.47% compared to the control, respectively (p<0.05). Moreover, treatment T2 resulted in a relative abundance increase of 12.25% and 10.43% in Proteobacteria and Actinobacteria respectively. Thus, the combined application of T2:20% reduction in chemical fertilizer + 4500 kg·hm² of organic fertilizer improved the quality and yield of radish while optimizing the soil environment. T2 effectively promoted radish growth, enhanced radish yield and quality, and improved the soil environment.

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

In this paper, we present a method for estimating GPS signals from visual information captured by a monocular camera mounted on a fixed-wing Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The main challenge in visual odometry from aerial images is the computation of scale due to irregularities in the elevation of the terrain. That is, it is not possible to accurately convert from pixels in the image to meters in space, and the error accumulates. The contribution of this work is to reduce the accumulated error by comparing the images from the camera with satellite images. The algorithm has been tested in real-time experiments, and the results show that it is possible to eliminate the accumulated error using satellite images.

This investigation explores the potential of enhancing aqueous zinc-ion batteries (AZIBs) through the introduction of a novel cathode material, NH4V4O10 (NVO), combined with reduced graphene oxide (rGO). Utilizing Density Functional Theory (DFT), it was hypothesized that the incorpora-tion of rGO would increase the interlayer spacing of NVO and diminish the charge transfer in-teractions, thus promoting enhanced diffusion of Zn2+ ions. These theoretical predictions were substantiated by experimental data acquired from hydrothermal synthesis, which indicated a marked increase in interlayer spacing. Significantly, the NVO-rGO composite exhibits remarkable cyclic durability, maintaining 95% of its initial specific capacity of 507 mAh g−1 after 600 cycles at a current density of 5 A g−1. The electrochemical performance of NVO-rGO not only surpasses that of pristine NVO but also outperforms the majority of existing vanadium oxide cathode materials reported in the literature. This study underscores the effective integration of theoretical insights and experimental validation, contributing to the advancement of high-performance energy storage technologies.

Induction heating is a fast, reproducible, and efficient heating method used in various manufacturing processes. However, there is no established additive manufacturing (AM) process based on induction heating using wire as feedstock. This study investigates a novel approach to AM based on inductive heating, where a steel wire is melted and droplets are detached periodically using a two-winding induction coil. The process parameters and energy input into the droplets are characterized. The induction generator exhibits sluggish response to the excitation voltage, resulting in a lag in the coil current. The process is captured using a high-speed camera, revealing regular droplet formation and uniform size and shape when operated within an appropriate process window. Larger drops and increased spatter formation occur outside this window. The proposed method allows for the production of droplets with almost spherical shapes. Further analysis and characterization of droplet formation and energy input provide insights into process optimization and overall efficiency.

The goal of this work was to develop the acrylonitrile-butadiene (NBR) elastomer composites filled with hydroxyapatite (HAP), which were characterized with improved cure characteristics and burning resistance. Silane, i.e., (3-aminopropyl)-triethoxysilane, ionic liquid, i.e., 1-decyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide and surfactant, i.e., cetyltrimethylammonium bromide, were used to improve the filler’s dispersibility in the elastomer matrix and to reduce the time and temperature of vulcanization. The effect of HAP and dispersants on the cure characteristics, crosslink density and physico-chemical properties of NBR composites was explored. The additives used, especially the ionic liquid and surfactant, effectively improved the dispersion of HAP in NBR matrix. The amount of HAP and the dispersant used strongly affected the cure characteristics and crosslink density of NBR. The optimal vulcanization time significantly increased with HAP content and was pronouncedly reduced when ionic liquid and surfactant were applied. In addition, ionic liquid and surfactant significantly lowered the onset vulcanization temperature, improved the crosslink density and hardness of the vulcanizates, while impairing their elasticity. HAP and dispersants did not significantly affect the damping properties and chemical resistance of NBR vulcanizates. Above all, application of HAP considerably enhanced the resistance of vulcanizates to thermo-oxidative aging and reduced their flammability compared to the unfilled NBR.

Planck's constant plays an important role in quantum mechanics but has little physical meaning apart from its contribution to the formulas. Evaluating each of the constant's unit dimensions gives a more granular account of the physical phenomena described by the equations. These formulas show how classical and quantum mechanical equations are related, and they give consistent descriptions of phenomena like momentum and energy in classical and quantum systems.

Background and objectives: sickle cell disease is the most common hemoglobinopathy in the world. It is considered to be a real public health problem. Sickle cell patients are subjected to several factors causing inflammation such as iron metabolism. The study aimed to look for inflammation in children with sickle cell disease in Cameroon, identify the factors associated with inflammation, and raise the consequences for the patient including the iron profile and the profile of the hemogram. Materials and methods: We conducted an analytical cross-sectional study for 03 months. The sickle cell disease patients coming and/or followed at the Hematology Department of the Regional Hospital of Bafoussam and the Central Hospital of Yaoundé have been recruited. The exploration of inflammation was made by determining CRP, IL6, and ferritin concentrations. The hematological parameters and iron profile were evaluated using standard methods. Statistical analysis of the data was performed; Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses allowed to identification of factors associated with inflammation in patients, using the statistical tool R version 4.1.1.. The proportions were compared with the chi-square test when the expected numbers were greater than 5 and the Fisher test when not. Results: The frequency of inflammation in the population was 42.3%. Hyperferritinemia was significantly greater (p<0.001) in patients with inflammation compared to the non-inflammatory patients (96.8% and 76.7% respectively). Patients with inflammation showed a significant elevation of iron parameters (p<0.05). In addition, ferritin and IL6 elevation were associated with inflammation during sickle cell disease respectively (Or = 4.96; 95% CI [1.15-36.42]; p=0.056) and (Or =6.23; 95% CI [1.43-45.96]; p=0.030). Conclusions: The elevated iron in plasma is an effect of inflammation in sickle cell patients. Hence the need of controlling inflammation and iron in the latter is necessary.

This paper presents a control algorithm for soft-switching series LC converters. The conventional voltage-to-voltage controller is split into a master and a slave controller. The master controller implements constant-current-constant-voltage (CCCV) control, required for demanding applications, i.e. lithium battery charging or laboratory power supplies. It defines the set-current for the open-loop current slave controller, which generates the PWM parameters. The power supply achieves fast large-signal responses, e.g. from 5 V to 24 V, where 95% of the target value is reached in less than 400 µs. The design is evaluated extensively in simulation and on a prototype. A consensus between simulation and measurement is achieved.

Achieving the thermal conductivity required for efficient heat management in semiconductors and other devices requires the integration of thermally conductive ceramic fillers at concentrations of 60 vol% or higher. However, the increased filler content often negatively affects the mechanical properties of the composite matrix, limiting its practical applicability. To address this issue, in this paper, we present a new strategy to reduce the required ceramic filler content: the use of a thermally conductive ceramic composite filler with carbon nanotubes (CNT) grown on aluminum nitride (AlN). We have combined catalyst coating technology with vacuum filtration to ensure that the catalyst is uniformly applied to micrometer-sized AlN particles, followed by efficient and uniform synthesis of CNTs using a water-assisted process in a vertical furnace. By carefully controlling the number of vacuum filtration cycles and the growth time of the CNTs, we demonstrate precise control over the number and length of the CNT layers, thereby adjusting the properties of the composite to the intended specifications. When AlN/CNT hybrid fillers are incorporated into silicone rubber, while maintaining the mechanical properties of rubber, the thermal diffusivity achieved at reduced filler levels exceeds that of composites using AlN-only or simultaneous AlN and CNTs formulations. This demonstrates the critical role of CNTs on AlN surfaces. Our study represents a significant advancement in the design of thermally conductive materials with potential implications for a wide range of applications.

In modern physics, it is assumed that the Planck length is a derived constant from Newton's gravitational constant, the Planck constant and the speed of light, $l_p=\sqrt{\frac{G\hbar}{c^3}}$. This was first discovered by Max Planck in 1899. We suggest a way to find the Planck length independent of any knowledge of Newton's gravitational constant or the Planck constant, but still dependent on the speed of light (directly or indirectly).

(1) Background: Malaria remains a global public health problem. Unfortunately, the resistance of malaria vectors to insecticides commonly used threatens disease control and elimination efforts. Molecular mechanisms helping some malaria vectors to now survive to greater doses of insecticides remains poorly understood. Here, we elucidated the pattern of resistance escalation in the main malaria vector Anopheles gambiae in a pesticide-driven agricultural hotspot in Cameroon and its impact on vector control tools; (2) Methods: Larval stages and indoor blood-fed females (F0) were collected in Mangoum in May and November and forced to lay eggs; the emerging mosquitoes were used for WHO tube, synergist and cone tests. Molecular identification was done using SINE PCR whereas TaqMan-based PCR was used for genotyping of L1014F/S and N1575Y kdr and the G119S-ACE1 resistance markers. Transcription profile of candidate resistance genes was performed using qRT-PCR methods. Characterization of the breeding water and soil from Mangoum was also performed using HPLC technique; (3) Results: An. gambiae s.s. was the only species in Mangoum with 4.10 % infection with Plasmodium. These mosquitoes were resistant to all the four classes of insecticides with mortality rates &lt;7% for pyrethroids and DDT and &lt;54% for carbamates and organophophates. This population also exhibited high resistance intensity to pyrethroids (permethrin, alpha-cypermethrin and deltamethrin) after exposure to 5X and 10X discriminating doses and Synergist assays with PBO revealed only a partial recovery of susceptibility to permethrin, alpha-cypermethrin and deltamethrin. Only PBO-based nets (Olyset plus and permaNet 3.0) and Royal Guard showed an optimal efficacy. A high amount of alpha-cypermethrin was detected in breeding sites (5.16 fold LOD) suggesting ongoing selection from agricultural pesticides. The 1014F-kdr allele was fixed (100%) whereas the 1575Y-kdr (37.5%) and the 119S Ace-1R (51.1%) are moderately present. Elevated expression of P450s respectively in permethrin and deltamethrin resistant mosquitoes [CYP6M2 (10 and 34-fold), CYP6Z1(17 and 29-fold), CYP6Z2 (13 and 65-fold), CYP9K1 (13 and 87-fold)] supports their role in the observed resistance besides other mechanisms including chemosensory genes as SAP1 (28 and 13-fold), SAP2 (5 and 5-fold),SAP3 (24 and 8-fold) and cuticular genes as CYP4G16 (6 and 8-fold) and CYP4G17 (5 and 27-fold). However, these candidate genes were not associated with resistance escalation as expression level did not differ significantly between 1x, 5x and 10x surviving mosquitoes. (4) Conclusions: Intensive and multiple resistance is being selected in malaria vectors from pesticide-based agricultural hotspot of Cameroon leading to loss of efficacy of pyrethroid-only nets. Further studies are needed to decipher the molecular basis underlying such resistance escalation to better assess its impact on control interventions.

The chestnut tree (Castanea sativa Mill.) is gaining importance in the mountainous regions of southern Europe due to the high value of its fruits. It is essential to establish effective cultivation protocols, considering that this species is still relatively understudied. In this study, we present the outcomes of the initial establishment of a chestnut orchard conducted through a nutrient omission trial for four years. The treatments included a fertilization plan with nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and boron (NPKB), the control, and four other treatments corresponding to the omission of each nutrient (-NPKB, N-PKB, NP-KB, NPK-B). The -NPKB and NP-KB treatments showed significantly lower trunk circumferences and canopy volumes compared to the other treatments. The NPK-B treatment resulted in the lowest fruit production, with a total accumulated yield (2020-2022) of 0.56 kg tree–1, a value significantly lower than that of NPKB (1.12 kg tree–1) and N-PKB (1.19 kg tree–1). The assessment of nutrient concentrations in the leaves revealed plants with deficient levels of B and K in treatments that did not receive these nutrients. Conversely, N levels in the leaves in the -NPKB treatment fell within the sufficiency range (20 to 28 g kg–1). This suggests that the sufficiency range should be adjusted to higher values, given the treatment's effect on tree growth. It was also observed that the -NPKB treatment led to lower soil organic matter compared to the other treatments, likely due to reduced herbaceous vegetation development under the canopy, leading to decreased organic substrate deposition in the soil. The main findings of this study are that N and K were crucial elements for the optimal growth of chestnut trees, while B played a significant role in fruit production.

Despite the efforts made to stop the tuberculosis (TB) epidemic, it still remains one of the leading causes of death from an infectious disease. Previous work in the group uncovered a new family of amides which showed promising activities against Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A closer look at the literature showed that these compounds are structurally related to the DNB family of DprE1 inhibitors, so, we decided to study a wide range of substituted amides and determine their activity, focusing on unexplored structures related to the dinitrobenzamides (DNB) found in the literature. To synthesize our library of compounds we started from 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid to form the nitroaromatic core that is characteristic of the DNB’s, to which we then added linear or cyclic amine moieties. Additionally, the impact of terminal aromatic moieties was also assessed for some derivatives, via an ether, ester, or amide bond. In order to obtain the desired derivatives, multiple synthetic approaches were used, mainly focused on nucleophilic addition/elimination reactions, SN2 reactions and Mitsunobu reactions. The activity was impacted mainly by two structural features, the addition of an aromatic moiety as a terminal group and the type of the linker. The most interesting compounds exhibited activities comparable to isoniazid and DNB1. Computational studies were also performed aimed at understanding their possible interactions with DprE1. The most active compounds are a good starting point for further development, and we plan to study an extended family of compounds based in those structures.

To identify factors associated with interstitial lung disease (ILD) in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and build an algorithm to better define this association, for a personalized application in clinical practice. Methods. 78 SSc patients underwent HRCT to assess ILD. Demographic, clinical and laboratory variables were collected, focusing on those associated either directly or indirectly with lung involvement. The discriminant value of each variable was determined using the operating characteristic curves (ROC) and included in a model to estimate the strength of ILD association in SSc. Results. Thirty-three (42.31%) patients showed ILD on HRCT. DLco, M-Borg, GERD-Q, and capillary density were significantly associated with the presence of ILD-SSc. A model including these variables had a coefficient of determination (R2) of 0.697. DLco had an AUC of 0.861 (p&lt;0.001) with a cut-off ≤72.3% (sensitivity 78.8%, specificity 91.1%, +LR 8.86). The m-Borg scale showed an AUC of 0.883 (p&lt;0.001) with a cut-off &gt;2 (sensitivity 84.8%, specificity 82.2%, +LR 4.77), GERD-Q had an AUC of 0.815 (p&lt;0.001) with a cut-off &gt;7 (sensitivity 72.7%, specificity 86.7%, +LR 5.45). The capillary density showed an AUC of 0.815 (p&lt;0.001) with a cut-off ≤4.78 (sensitivity 87.9%, specificity 68.9%, +LR 2.82). Based on the pre-test probability values, these four variables were applied to Fagan's nomogram to calculate the post-test probability of this association. Conclusions. Our study identified four associated clinical factors of ILD in SSc patients. Moreover, their inclusion in an algorithm for the post-test probability, tailored to the specific patients’ characteristics, significantly increases the ability to find out the presence of SSc-ILD.

The global steel industry is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and the adoption of green hydrogen in Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) production has the potential to significantly reduce CO2 emissions and support climate targets. This review explores the environmental, economic, technological, and social implications of using green hydrogen in DRI processes. The findings suggest that green hydrogen can reduce emissions by up to 90% compared to traditional methods, enhance energy security, and stimulate local economic development. However, high initial costs, energy efficiency concerns, and social acceptance issues remain significant barriers. The review also highlights the importance of integrating carbon capture and storage technologies, addressing logistical challenges, and considering the geopolitical implications of a shift towards green hydrogen. Green hydrogen presents a promising solution for decarbonising the steel industry but continued research, investment in infrastructure, and strategic planning are essential to overcome the challenges and drive widespread adoption.

Stress during a pandemic increased the risk of alcohol consumption, which may require pharmacological management. The characteristics of emergency calls for alcohol-related issues for patients pharmacologically treated, admitted to, or not admitted to the emergency department (ED) were analyzed. An observational single-center retrospective study was conducted from January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2021, and divided into 2-year periods (2018–2019 and 2020–2021). This study focused on calls to one of the EDs of seven hospitals in the Bari (Italy) metropolitan area for patients requiring emergency services (ES) who were either admitted or not admitted, due to their refusal. A 30% reduction in emergency calls for alcohol-related issues and a 41.17% reduction in calls for patients who refused to be admitted to the ED were observed during the pandemic. During the pandemic, a reduced rate of pharmacological treatment for calls coded green (non-critical), and an increase in calls coded yellow (fairly critical) and red (very critical) were recorded. Metadoxine was administered in almost all alcohol-related emergencies, primarily in conjunction with drugs acting on the gastrointestinal tract, irrespective of age, the period considered, and whether patients were admitted or not admitted to the ED. ES is the first and only out-of-hospital service encountered by numerous patients with alcohol-use disorders who refuse to be admitted to the ED. These patients should be directed by ES personnel to a multidisciplinary program to receive treatment for drinking, improve their quality of life, and reduce sanitation costs.

With reference to our earlier published views on large nuclear gravitational constant , nuclear elementary charge and strong coupling constant , in this paper, we present simple relations for nuclear stability range, binding energy of isotopes and magic proton numbers.

We generalize the idea of quantum clock time to quantum spacetime reference frame via physical realization of a reference system by quantum rulers and clocks. Omitting the internal degrees of freedom (such as spins) of the physical rulers and clocks, only considering their metric properties, the spacetime reference frame is described by a bosonic non-linear sigma model (NLSM). We study the quantum behavior of the system under approximations, and obtain (1) a cosmological constant valued (2/π)ρ_c0 (ρ_c0 the critical density at near current epoch) which is very close to the observations; (2) an effective Einstein-Hilbert term; (3) the ratio of variance to mean-squared of spacetime interval tends to a universal constant 2/π in the infrared region. This effect is testable by observing a linear dependence between the inherent quantum variance and mean-squared of the redshifts from cosmic distant spectral lines. The proportionality is expected to be the observed percentage of the dark energy. The equivalence principle is also generalized to the quantum level.

We present three reduced integrable hierarchies of nonlocal integrable NLS type equations from a vector integrable hierarchy associated with a matrix Lie algebra, not being A type. Three similarity transformations are taken to keep the invariance of the transformed zero curvature equations. The key step is to formulate a solution to a reduced stationary zero curvature equation so that the zero curvature formulation works for a reduced case.

Recent observations of the dark energy density have demonstrated the fine-tuning problem, and the challenges faced by theoretical modeling. In this study, we apply the self-similar symmetry (SSS) model, describing the hierarchical structure of the universe based on the Dirac large numbers hypothesis, to Einstein's cosmological term. We introduce a new similarity dimension, D_B, in the SSS model. Using the D_B SSS model, the cosmological constant Λ is simply expressed as a function of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature. The result shows that both the gravitational constant G and Λ are coupled with the CMB temperature, which simplifies the solution of Einstein's field equations for the variable Λ-G model.

The stage of a super-early scale-invariant Universe is considered on the basis of the Poincaré–Weyl gauge theory of gravity in a Cartan–Weyl space-time. An approximate solution has been found that demonstrates an inflationary behavior of the scale factor and, at the same time, a sharp exponential decrease in the effective cosmological constant from a huge value at the beginning of the Big Bang to an extremely small (but not zero) value in the modern era, which solves the well-known “cosmological constant problem”.

Here we will model the curvature and contraction of space-time using as a basis the equation of state of an ideal gas and the Hawking´s equation for the temperature of a black hole. We will use this mathematical model to hypothesize that the Boltzmann´s constant depends on the state of matter, that is, there is a known Boltzmann´s constant for flat space-time and an effective Boltzmann´s constant for curved space-time. This model will allow us to quantify the structure of space-time and will serve as a basis to determine the origin of gravity and the origin of elementary particles. Using the Shannon-Boltzmann-Gibbs entropy relation, we will demonstrate that information is not lost and depends on the state of matter, the information is encoded and depends on the effective Boltzmann´s constant.

We propose a promising model of discrete spacetime based on nonassociative geometry and complex networks. Our approach treats space as a simplicial 3-complex (or complex network), built from "atoms" of spacetime and entangled states forming n-dimensional simplices (n=1,2,3). At large scales, a highly connected network is a coarse, discrete representation of a smooth spacetime. We show that for high temperatures, the network describes disconnected discrete space. At the Planck temperature, the system experiences the phase transition, and for low temperatures, the space becomes a triangulated discrete space. We show that the cosmological constant depends on the universe’s topology. The "foamy" structure, analogous to Wheeler’s "spacetime foam," significantly contributes to the effective cosmological constant, which is determined by the Euler characteristic of the universe.

Although the presence of dark energy is well established from various observations, its true nature is still not well understood. The cosmological constant term seems to be the preferred candidate. In earlier work we had a constant cosmological constant term to limit the sizes of large-scale structures at lower redshifts. In this work, we extend this to large scale structures at higher redshifts. Here we invoke a time varying cosmological constant to set constraints on sizes of galaxies at high redshifts and see that they are consistent with their observed sizes. The time-varying cosmological constant also provides a possible solution to the puzzle of structure formation of large disk galaxies (like the Wolfe disk) observed at very early stages of the Universe. Future observations of galaxies at even higher redshifts could support our approach.

The therapeutic, attenuative, and morphological effects of proprietary neural stem cell-derived extracellular vesicles (NSC EVs, AB126) produced by Aruna Bio, Inc. were assessed in a range of in vitro and in vivo models of stroke. We emphasize that modulation of neuroinflammation is a key target and suggest further studies to advance our understanding of the mechanisms of action and ultimately how best to dose and monitor the benefits of AB126 in stroke patients.

Reducing fertilizer-N rate, applying nitrification inhibitor (NI), and incorporating straw are widely recommended to improve N use efficiency of crops and decrease N losses. However, how these practices affect crop N uptake by regulating the fertilizer-N fate during the growing season is not well understood. We conducted a field 15N tracer study to explore the effectiveness of reduced N application, NI, and straw incorporation on fertilizer-N fates for maize cultivation in Northeast China. The following six treatments were used: 1) no N fertilization (control); 2) 200 kg urea-N ha−1 (100%N); 3) 200 kg urea-N ha−1 and 2400 kg dry-straw ha−1 (100%N+S); 4) 160 kg urea-N ha−1 (80%N, i.e., 20% reduction of N fertilization); 5) 160 kg urea-N ha−1 and nitrification inhibitor (Nitrapyrin) (80%N+NI); 6) 160 kg urea-N ha−1, nitrification inhibitor and 2400 kg dry-straw ha−1 (80%N+NI+S). Our results showed that the five N fertilization treatments yielded 16%–25% more grain and 39%–60% more crop N uptake than the control receiving no N fertilizer, but the differences among the five treatments were not statistically significant. In contrast to plant growth, changes in fertilizer-N fates in soil and plant pools were more pronounced. Compared with the 100%N treatment, 20% fertilizer-N reduction (80%N) decreased 15N concentration in topsoil and plant pools but increased the proportion of plant 15N recovery at harvesting (N use efficiency, NUE15N, 60% vs. 50%) (P &lt; 0.05). Nitrapyrin co-application (80%N+NI) delayed soil nitrification and increased soil 15N retention at harvesting (52% vs. 36%), thereby decreasing NUE15N significantly (P &lt; 0.05). Straw incorporation (100%N+S) decreased fertilizer-N retention compared with NI co-application because it promoted NUE15N significantly (P &lt; 0.05). The combined application of NI and straw (80%N+NI+S) was more conducive to fertilizer-N retention in soil. Our findings demonstrate that NI and straw additions are efficient strategies for stabilizing fertilizer-N in soils and potentially minimizing N loss; however, their effects on NUE15N vary and the related mechanism must be further clarified in long-term trials.

We introduce two symmetric concepts to physics: “distance” (space and time in one) and “wavematter” (electromagnetic wave packet and matter in one). We claim that physics has chosen the wrong concept of time: It is not aware that the time of a moving object flows in a direction other than my time. We provide 15 proofs for our claim by solving 15 mysteries of physics graphically! For example, we prove that length contraction and time dilation are actually geometrical effects in a 4D manifold that we call “Euclidean spacetime” (ES). We prove that the discrepancy in calculating the Hubble constant stems from a systematic error in the redshift measurement. We prove that what I deem wave, deems itself matter, which solves wave–particle duality. We even untangle quantum entanglement without the issue of non-locality. We finally understand why alternative theories of Euclidean relativity have failed: They are all based on four dimensions of space rather than distance. A huge amount of energy was injected into ES at a point that we take as origin. Ever since has this energy been moving radially away at the speed of light. We live in the 3D hypersurface of an expanding 4D hypersphere. Hyperspherical coordinates have the great advantage that they reduce all that is ever happening to just one formula. So, it is the Theory of Everything in these coordinates: “Energy is covering radial distance which, divided by Euclidean time, is equal to the speed of light.” Acceleration and force like gravitation emerge from a rotation of objects in ES and a subsequent projection to 3D space. Matching the symmetry simplifies physics.

The cosmological constant problem is examined by taking an Einstein--scalar with a Higgs-type potential and scrutinizing the infrared structure induced by finite temperature effects. A variant optimal perturbation theory is implemented in the recently proposed quantum-gravitational framework. The optimized renormalized mass, i.e., the renormalized mass determined by the variant optimal perturbation theory, of the scalar field turns out to be on the order of the temperature. This shifts the cosmological constant problem to compatibility of the consequent perturbative analysis. The compatibility is guaranteed essentially by renormalization group invariance of physical quantities. We point out the resummation behind the invariance.

To account for the very low mass density associated with Dark Energy and the Cosmological Constant, a new approach to the ground state of empty space is presented. The resulting model for the vacuum state associated with empty space proposes a crystalline-like texture for the chromatic structure of empty space. This vacuum state has the appropriate mass density and predicts acceleration for the Universe expansion. Furthermore, the model predicts that this texture is anisotropic and may lead to measurable changes in the production of electron and positron pairs by gamma rays incident on a solid crystal of low mass density such as graphite.

In this article it is shown how Milgrom’s acceleration constant is related with the Ω_Λ, Ω_m and Ω_B values of the matter distribution within observable universe as defined in the Standard Model of Cosmology, established by the Planck Collaboration Group. The result is a two-parameter model for the observable universe. The two parameters are the age of the universe and Milgrom’s acceleration constant. It is shown that these are sufficient to calculate the amounts of matter and dark energy in the universe, as well as the contributions of dark matter and baryonic matter in the matter part. The numerical results are in agreement with those of the Lamda-CDM model.

This study assesses the impact of nurse-originated changes in central venous catheter (CVC) management on the incidence of central line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSI) and catheter-related bloodstream infections (CRBSI). It is a single-center retrospective cohort study conducted at an urban, tertiary referral, and academic center serving pediatric patients. The study cohort comprised 236 patients and 323 CVCs seen between 2012 and 2022. CLABSI and CRBSI were defined according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definitions. Oncology nurse leaders developed CVC-specific educational modules for CLABSI prevention. All relevant information during the CVC maintenance period was noted in the patient's CVC logbook. 24 (7%) cases of confirmed CLABSI were identified. The incidence of CVC-related infections was 0.32 cases per 1000 catheter days. The incidence decreased by 40% between the first and second three-year study period. Documented exit-site infection was reported in 32 (10%) cases. The correlation between exit-site infection and CLABSI was found in 9 (28%) cases. Our CVC-related infection rates are significantly lower than the incidence reported by the Italian Association of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, which settles at 3-5 cases per 1000 catheter days. Our data confirm the effectiveness of local CVC management guidelines in preventing CVC-related infectious complications.

The thermodynamics of black holes is discussed for the case, when the Newton constant G is not a constant, but is the thermodynamic variable. This gives for the first law of the Schwarzschild black hole thermodynamics: d S BH = − A d K + d M T BH , where the gravitational coupling K = 1 / 4 G , M is the black hole mass, A is the area of horizon, and T BH is Hawking temperature. From this first law it follows that the dimensionless quantity M 2 / K is the adiabatic invariant, which in principle can be quantized if to follow the Bekenstein conjecture. From the Euclidean action for the black hole it follows that K and A serve as dynamically conjugate variables. This allows us to calculate the quantum tunneling from the black hole to the white hole, and determine the temperature and entropy of the white hole.

In this paper we show that the Schwarzschild radius can be extracted easily from any gravitationally-linked phenomena without having knowledge of the Newton gravitational constant or the mass size of the gravitational object. Further, the Schwarzschild radius can be used to predict any gravity phenomena accurately, again without knowledge of the Newton gravitational constant and also without knowledge of the size of the mass, although this may seem surprising at first. Hidden within the Schwarzschild radius are the mass of the gravitational object, the Planck mass (their relative mass), and the Planck length. We do not claim to have all the answers, but this seems to indicate that gravity is quantized, even at a cosmological scale, and this quantization is directly linked to the Planck units. This also supports our view that the Newton gravitational constant is a universal composite constant of the form $G=\frac{l_p^2{c}^3}{\hslash }$ , rather than relying on the Planck units as a function of G. This does not mean that Newton’s gravitational constant is not a universal constant, but that it is instead a composite universal constant that depends on the Planck length, the speed of light, and the Planck constant. Further, $\frac{G\times 1\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{weight}\hspace{0.17em}\mathrm{unit}}{c^2}=\frac{G}{c^2}$ is the Schwarzschild radius off one weight unit. So G is only needed when we want to use gravity to find the weight of an object, such as weighing the Earth. This is, to our knowledge, the first paper that shows how a long series of major gravity predictions and measurements can be completed without any knowledge of the mass size of the object, or Newton’s gravitational constant. As a minimum we think it provides an interesting new angle for evaluating existing gravity theories, and it may even give us a small hint on how to combine quantum gravity with Newton and Einstein gravity.

Currently available DNA detection techniques frequently require compromises between simplicity, speed, accuracy, and cost. Here, we propose a simple, label-free and cost-effective DNA detection platform developed at screen printed carbon electrodes (SPCEs) modified with reduced graphene oxide (RGO) and gold nanoparticles (AuNPs). The preparation of the detection platform involved a two-step electrochemical procedure based on GO reduction onto SPCEs followed by the electrochemical reduction of HAuCl4 to facilitate the post-grafting reaction with AuNPs. The final sensor was fabricated by the simple physical adsorption of a single-stranded DNA (ssDNA) probe onto AuNPs-RGO/SPCE electrode. Each preparation step was confirmed by morphological and structural characterization using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. Furthermore, the electrochemical properties of the modified electrodes have been investigated by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results demonstrated that the introduction of AuNPs onto RGO/SPCEs led to an enhancement in surface conductivity, characteristic that favored an increased sensitivity in detection. The detection process relied on the change in the electrochemical signal induced by the binding of target DNA to the bioreceptor, and was monitored particularly by the change in the charge transfer resistance of a [Fe(CN)6]4−/3− redox couple added in the test solution.

We study the divisibility properties of the constant terms of certain meromorphic modular forms for Hecke groups. We relate those properties to those of some sequences that have already appeared in the literature. For possible use in later drafts, we show how to invert the map taking a Laurent series $f(x) = 1/x + \sum_{n=0}^{\infty}a_{n+1} x^n$ to the sequence of constant terms of its positive powers. At the end of the article, we construct from elementary arithmetic functions some meromorphic but not necessarily modular functions and study their constant terms.

The description of the electron-electron interactions in two-dimensional materials has a dimensional mismatch, where electrons live in (2+1)D while photons propagate in (3+1)D. In order to define an action in (2+1)D, one may perform a dimensional reduction of quantum electrodynamics in (3+1)D (QED4) into Pseudo quantum electrodynamics (PQED). The main difference between this model and QED4 is the presence of a pseudo-differential operator in the Maxwell term. However, besides the Coulomb repulsion, electrons in a material are subjected to several microscopic interactions, which are inherent in a many-body system. These are expected to reduce the range of the Coulomb potential, leading to a short-range interaction. Here, we consider the coupling to a scalar field in PQED for explaining such mechanism, which resembles the spontanoues symmetry breaking (SSB) in Abelian gauge theories. In order to do so, we consider two cases: (i) By coupling the gauge field to a Higgs field in scalar quantum electrodynamics in (3+1)D and, thereafter, performing the dimensional reduction and; (ii) By coupling a Higgs field to the gauge field in PQED and subsequently calculating its effective potential. In case (i), we obtain a model describing electrons interacting through the Yukawa potential and, in case (ii), we show that SSB does not occur at one-loop approximation. The relevance of the model for describing electronic interactions in two-dimensional materials is also adressed.

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

In this paper, we introduce the evolve-then-filter (EF) regularization method for reduced order modeling of convection-dominated stochastic systems. The standard Galerkin projection reduced order model (G-ROM) yield numerical oscillations in a convection-dominated regime. The evolve-then-filter reduced order model (EF-ROM) aims at the numerical stabilization of the standard G-ROM, which uses explicit ROM spatial filter to regularize various terms in the reduced order model (ROM). Our numerical results based on a stochastic Burgers equation with linear multiplicative noise. It shows that the EF-ROM is significantly better results than G-ROM.

Oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, both at the systemic and central level, are critical early events in atherosclerosis and Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Purpose. To investigate the oxidative stress, inflammatory, and Tau-phosphorylation lowering effects of pomegranate polyphenols (PP) (punicalagin, ellagic acid, peels, and arils extracts). Methods. We used flow cytometry to quantify protein expression of proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β) and anti-inflammatory mediators (IL-10) in THP-1 macrophages, as well as M1/M2 cell-specific markers (CD86 and CD163) expression in human microglia HMC3 cells. IL-10 protein expression was also quantified in U373-MG human astrocytes. The effect of PP on human amyloid beta 1-42 (Aβ1-42)-induced oxidative stress was assessed in microglia by measuring ROS generation and lipid peroxidation, using respectively two ′,7′-dichlorofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) tests. Neuronal viability and cell apoptotic response to Aβ1-42 toxicity were assayed using the MTT (3-(4, 5-dimethyl thiazolyl-2)-2, 5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay and the annexinV-FITC apoptosis detection kit; respectively. Finally, flow cytometry analysis was also performed to evaluate the ability of PP to modulate Aβ1-42-induced Tau-181 phosphorylation (pTau-181). Results. Our data indicate that PP was significantly (p<0.05) effective in countering Aβ1-42-induced inflammation through increasing the anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10) (in U373-MG astrocytes and THP1 macrophages) and decreasing proinflammatory markers (IL-1β) expression in THP1 macrophages. PP was also significantly (p<0.05) effective in inducing the phenotypic transition of THP-1 macrophages and microglial cells from M1 to M2 by decreasing CD86 and increasing CD163 surface receptor expression. Moreover, our treatments have a significant (p<0.05) beneficial impact on oxidative stress, illustrated in the reduction of TBARS and ROS generation. Our treatments have significant (p<0.05) cell viability improvement capacities and anti-apoptotic effects on human H4 neurons. Furthermore, our results suggest that Aβ1-42 significantly (p<0.05) increases pTau-181. This effect was significantly (p<0.05) attenuated by arils, peels, and punicalagin and drastically reduced by ellagic acid treatments. Conclusion. Our results are attributed to PP's anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-Tau pathology potential. Future studies should aim to extend our knowledge of the potential role of PP on A1-42-induced neurodegeneration, mainly its association with the tauopathy involved in AD.

Obesity is treatment-resistant, and is linked with a number of serious, chronic diseases. Adult obesity rates in the United States have tripled since the early 1960s. Recent reviews show that an increased ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids contributes to obesity rates by increasing levels of the endocannabinoid signals AEA and 2-AG, overstimulating CB₁R and leading to increased caloric intake, reduced metabolic rates, and weight gain. Cannabis, or THC, also stimulates CB₁R and increases caloric intake during acute exposures. The present meta-analysis reveals significantly reduced body mass index and rates of obesity in Cannabis users, in conjunction with increased caloric intake. We provide for the first time a causative explanation for this paradox, in which rapid and long-lasting downregulation of CB₁R following acute Cannabis consumption reduces energy intake and storage and increases metabolic rates, thus reversing the impact on body mass index of elevated dietary omega-6/omega-3 ratios.

Resonance inductive coupling is widely used for wireless power transfer (WPT) in medical applications. In this paper, we analyze the LCL-compensated WPT structure and propose a novel constant voltage transmission system based on gain estimation, without any extra feedback from the receiver. The system is capable for amplitude-modulated implant neural stimulation where the load impedance and the coupling coefficient are both variable. Compared to existing methods for constant voltage transmission, our approach offers advantages in compact size and the compatibility with the industrial, scientific and medical (ISM) band. We validate the load-independent resonant characteristic and the feasibility of constant voltage transmission using an experimental prototype working at 6.78MHz. Finally, we discuss the structure of the implant stimulator and methods of applying the proposed WPT system.

The basilar arterial endothelium mediates blood-vessel relaxation, partly through release of nitric oxide (NO). Apoptosis of cerebrovascular endothelial cells is linked to high mortality rate in chickens infected with highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, but interestingly ducks exhibit greater resistance to this virus. In this study, we examined the responsiveness of duck basilar arteries (BAs) to various vasoactive substances, including 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT), histamine (His), angiotensin (Ang) II, noradrenaline (NA), acetylcholine (ACh), and avian bradykinin ornithokinin (OK), aiming to characterize the receptor subtypes involved and the role of endothelial NO in vitro. Our findings suggest that arterial contraction is mediated by 5-HT1 and H1 receptors, while relaxation is induced by β3-adrenergic and M3 receptors. Additionally, OK elicited a biphasic response in duck BAs, and Ang II had no effect. Endothelial NO appears to be crucial in relaxation mediated by M3 and OK receptors, but not β3-adrenergic receptors, in the duck BA. The reduced endothelial NO involvement in the receptor-mediated relaxation response in duck BAs represents a clear difference from the corresponding response reported in chicken BAs. This physiological difference may explain differences in lethality between ducks and chickens when vascular endothelial cells are infected by the virus.

The fractional reduced differential transform method is a finite iterative method based on infinite fractional expansions. The result obtained is the approximation of the real value. There are few reports on the approximate error and the applicable condition. In this paper, according to the fractional expansions, we study the factors related to the approximate errors. Our research shows that the approximate errors relate not only to fractional order but also to time $t$ and increase rapidly with time $t$. This method can only be applied within a certain time range and the time range is relevant to fractional order and fractional expansions. Then, many obtained achievements may be incorrect if the applicable conditions are not satisfied. Some examples presented in this paper verify our analysis.

Extreme-mass-ratio inspirals (EMRIs) are significant observational targets for spaceborne gravitational wave detectors, namely, LISA, Taiji, and Tianqin, which involve the inspiral of stellar-mass compact objects into massive black holes with a mass range of approximately 104∼107M⊙. EMRIs are estimated to produce long lived gravitational wave signals with more than 105 cycles before plunge, making them an ideal laboratory for exploring the strong-gravity properties of the spacetimes around the MBHs, stellar dynamics in galactic nuclei, and properties of the MBHs itself. However, the complexity of the waveform model, which involves the superposition of multiple harmonics, as well as the high-dimensional and large-volume parameter space, make the fully coherent search challenging. In our previous work, we proposed a 10-dimensional search using Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) with local maximization over the three initial angles. In this study, we extend the search to an 8-dimensional PSO with local maximization over both the three initial angles and the angles of spin direction of the MBH where the latter contribute a time independent amplitude to the waveforms. Additionally we propose a 7-dimensional PSO search by using a fiducial value for the initial orbital frequency and shifting the corresponding 8-dimensional Time Delay Interferometry responses until a certain lag returns the corresponding 8-dimensional log-likelihood ratio maximum. The reduced dimensionality likelihoods enable us to successfully search for EMRI signals with duration of 0.5 years and signal-to-noise ratio of 50 within a wider search range than our previous study. We discuss further developments, such as using a hierarchical search to narrow down the search ranges of certain parameters, and applying Graphics Processing Units to speed up the code. These advances aim to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the EMRI search algorithm.

The study presents a novel approach of programing pain inhibition in chronic pain patients based on the hypothesis that pain perception is modulated by dysfunctional dorsal medial nucleus tractus solitarii (dmNTS) reflex arcs that produce diminished baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) resulting from a conditioned response. This study tested whether administration of noxious and non-noxious electrical stimuli synchronized with the cardiac cycle resets BRS, reestablishing pain inhibition. 30 pain-free normotensives controls (NC) and 32 normotensives fibromyalgia (FM) patients received two, ≈8 minute-epochs of cardiac-gated, peripheral electrical stimuli. Non-painful and painful electrical stimuli were synchronized to the cardiac cycle as the neuromodulation experimental protocol (EP) with 2 control conditions (CC1, CC2). BRS, heart-rate-variability (HRV), pain threshold and tolerance, and clinical pain intensity were assessed.Reduced BRS in FM at baseline increased by 41% during two, ≈8 minute-epochs of stimulation. Thresholds in FM increased significantly during the experimental protocol (all Ps<0.001) as did HRV. FM levels of clinical pain significantly decreased by 35.52% during the experimental protocol but not during control stimulations (P<0.001). Baroreceptor training may reduce FM pain by BRS-mediated effects on intrinsic pain regulatory systems and autonomic pain modulation. These processes seem to be linked by classical and operant conditioning.

In the human organism various carotenoids are present of which, some are retinoid precursors. The bioactive derivatives of these retinoids are the retinoic acids, which can potently activate nuclear hormone receptors like the retinoic acid receptor and the retinoid X receptor. In our study using an HPLC analytical approach we aimed to assess how plasma carotenoid and retinoid concentrations along with the ratio of their isomers are altered in atopic dermatitis (AD) patients (n=20) compared to healthy volunteers (HV, n=20). We found that plasma levels of the carotenoids lutein (HV 198 ± 68 ng/ml, AD 158 ± 57 ng/ml), zeaxanthin (HV 350 ± 142 ng/ml, AD 236 ± 85) as well as the retinoids retinol (HV 216 ± 89 ng/ml, AD 167 ± 76 ng/ml) and all-trans-retinoic acid (HV 1.1 ± 0.6 ng/ml, AD 0.7 ± 0.5 ng/ml) were significantly lower in AD-patients, while lycopene, α-carotene and β-carotene levels were comparable. In addition the ratios of 13-cis vs. all-trans lycopene as well as 13-cis vs. all-trans retinoic acid were increased in the plasma of AD-patients indicating an AD-specific 13C-isomerisation. A positive correlation with SCORRAD was calculated with 13-cis vs. all-trans lycopene ratio, while a negative correlation was observed with zeaxanthin plasma levels. Based on our results we conclude that in the plasma of AD-patients various carotenoids and retinoids are at lower levels, while the ratio of lycopene isomers was also altered. The higher rate of lycopene and retinoic acid isomerisation products might be a consequence of AD or might result in an altered activation of nuclear hormone receptor signaling pathways and thus maybe partly be responsible for the AD-phenotype and additionally may represent a good plasma marker for AD.

Measured values of the electron mass and Compton wavelength produce a value of Planck's constant with a relative standard uncertainty of 3 x 10^-10. This is only slightly larger than the 1.3 x 10^-10 relative standard uncertainty in measurements performed using the Kibble balance. Compton scattering represents an alternative pathway to improving the value of Planck's constant in the future. Natural units of length, mass, and time offer new pathways to improving the values of physical constants. While extensive values of the Planck units lie beyond the reach of present-day instrumentation, certain product and quotient pairs of Planck units such as the speed of light can be measured with relatively high precision. Better measurements of certain unit pairs will improve the value of the gravitational constant.

We study a localization of gravity through the matching point between non-inertial frames and local inertial frames. This localization of gravity is done through defining relative gravitational red-shift. This lead to an emergence of a timeless state in a mathematically consistent way. In this timeless state of gravity, we find a geometric interpretation of the speed of light and mass. The experimental support of the timeless state is the quantum entanglement and internal symmetries that are independent of time. Therefore gravity would be responsible for measurements independent of time including quantum entanglement. Timeless state in that sense explain why do we have gravity/gauge correspondence. We conjecture that the universe emerged from a black hole with a global $SU(3)\times SU(2)\times U(1)$ symmetry on its event horizon that produces gauge fields Electromagnetism, weak and strong nuclear force through localization of this global symmetry. Through the localization in the gravity field, the timeless measurements such as spin will be correlated with the varying of timeless measurement which is relative gravitational red-shift. We present a gravitational or geometric interpretation of spin-0, spin-1, and spin-1/2 states. We present an interpretation of why do we measure matter rather than anti-matter. We found that the Higgs scalar field is represented by the gravitational red-shift at every point in the space around the black hole. We derive the numerical value of the cosmological constant that agrees with experimental observations.

In 1895, Korteweg and de Vries (KdV), derived their celebrated equation describing the motion of waves of long wavelength in shallow water. In doing so they made a number of quite reasonable assumptions, incompressibility of the water and irrotational fluid. The resulting equation, the celebrated KdV equation, has been shown to be a very reasonable description of real water waves. However there are other phenomena which have an impact on the shape of the wave, that of vorticity and viscosity. This paper examines how a constant vorticity affects the shape of waves in electrohydrodynamics. For constant vorticity, the vertical component of the velocity obeys a Laplace equation and also has the usual lower boundary condition. In making the vertical component of the velocity take central stage, the Burns condition can be thus bypassed.

By solving the weak field limit of Einstein’s Field Equation including the Cosmological Constant, under the constraint of spherical isotropy, it is shown that, at large cosmological distance, the gravitational force exceeds the one that is predicted by Newton’s gravity law, such that it corresponds with Milgrom’s MOND hypothesis. However, the resulting prediction that, at extremely large distances, gravity with some spatial periodicity turns on-and-off into antigravity marks a decisive difference.

By considering three virtual gravitational constants assumed to be associated with gravitational, electromagnetic and strong interactions, Fermi’s weak coupling constant can be shown to be a natural manifestation of microscopic quantum gravity. As our approach is heuristic and completely different from the current methods of estimating the Newtonian gravitational constant, with reference to the call of ‘Ideas lab 2016’ organized by NSF, we appeal for inclusion of this theoretical work as a project under unification scheme.

A reduced order model is developed to monitor aeroengines condition (defining their degradation from a baseline state) in real-time, by using data collected in specific sensors. This reduced model is constructed by applying higher order singular value decomposition plus interpolation to appropriate data, organized in tensor form. Such data are obtained using a detailed engine model that takes the engine physics into account. Thus, the method synergically combines the advantages of data-driven (fast online operation) and model-based (the engine physics is accounted for) condition monitoring methods. Using this reduced order model as surrogate of the engine model, two gradient-like condition monitoring tools are constructed. The first tool is extremely fast and able to precisely compute `on the fly’ the turbine inlet temperature, which is a paramount parameter for the engine performance, operation, and maintenance, and can only be roughly estimated by the engine instrumentation in civil aviation. The second tool is not so fast (but still reasonably inexpensive) and precisely computes both, the engine degradation and the turbine inlet temperature at which sensors data have been acquired. These tools are robust in connection with random noise added to the sensors data and can be straight forwardly applied to other mechanical systems.

Background: Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a psychiatric disorder characterized by excessive preoccupation with imagined defects in appearance. Optical illusions induce illusory effects that distort the presented stimulus thus leading to ambiguous percepts. Using electroencephalography (EEG), we investigated whether BDD is related to differentiated perception during illusory percepts. Methods: 18 BDD patients and 18 controls were presented with 39 optical illusions together with a statement testing whether or not they perceived the illusion. After a delay period, they were prompted to answer whether the statement is right/wrong and their degree of confidence for their answer. We investigated differences of BDD on task performance and self-reported confidence and analysed the brain oscillations during decision-making using nonparametric cluster statistics. Results: Behaviorally, the BDD group exhibited reduced confidence when responding incorrectly, potentially attributed to higher levels of doubt. Electrophysiologically, the BDD group showed significantly reduced alpha power at mid-central scalp areas, suggesting impaired allocation of attention. Interestingly, the lower the alpha power of the identified cluster, the higher the BDD severity, as assessed by BDD psychometrics. Conclusions: Results evidenced that alpha power during illusory processing might serve as a quantitative EEG biomarker of BDD, potentially associated with reduced inhibition of task-irrelevant areas.

Solar radiation prediction is an important process in ensuring optimal exploitation of solar energy power. Numerous models have been applied to this problem, such as numerical weather prediction models and artificial intelligence models. However, well-designed hybridization approaches that combine numerical models with artificial intelligence models to yield a more powerful model can provide a significant improvement in prediction accuracy. In this paper, we propose novel hybrid machine learning approaches that exploit auxiliary numerical data. The proposed hybrid methods invoke different machine learning paradigms, including feature selection, classification, and regression. Additionally, numerical weather prediction (NWP) models are used in the proposed hybrid models. Feature selection is used for feature space dimension reduction to reduce the large number of recorded parameters that affect estimation and prediction processes. The rough set theory is applied for attribute reduction and the dependency degree is used as a fitness function. We investigate the effect of the attribute reduction process with thirty different classification and prediction models in addition to the proposed hybrid model. Then, different machine learning models are constructed based on classification and regression techniques to predict solar radiation. Moreover, other hybrid prediction models are formulated to use the output of the numerical model of Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) as learning elements in order to improve the prediction accuracy. The proposed methodologies are evaluated using a data set that is collected from different regions in Saudi Arabia.

The grain size of CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) graphene was controlled by changing the precursor gas flow rates, operation temperature, and chamber pressure. Graphene of average grain sizes of 4.1 µm, 2.2 µm, and 0.5 µm were synthesized in high quality and full coverage. The possibility to tailor the thermoelectric conversion characteristics of graphene has been exhibited by examining the grain size effect on the three elementary thermal and electrical properties of σ, S, and k. Electrical conductivity (σ) and Seebeck coefficients (S) were measured in a vacuum for supported graphene on SiO₂/Si FET (Field Effect Transistor) substrates so that the charge carrier density could be changed by applying a gate voltage (V_G). Mobility (µ) values of 529~1042, 459~745, and 314~490 cm²/V·s for the three grain sizes of 4.1 µm, 2.2 µm, and 0.5 µm, respectively, were obtained from the slopes of the measured σ vs. V_G graphs. The power factor (PF), the electrical portion of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT), decreased by about one half as the grain size was decreased, while the thermal conductivity (k) decreased by one quarter for the same grain decrease. Finally, the resulting ZT increased more than two times when the grain size was reduced from 4.1 µm to 0.5 µm.

A diet with low content of fermentable oligo-, di-, and monosaccharides and polyols (FODMAP) are established treatment for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), with well-documented efficiency. A starch- and sucrose-reduced diet (SSRD) has shown similar promising effects. This randomized, non-inferiority study aimed to test SSRD against low FODMAP and compare the responder rates to a 4-week dietary intervention of either diet. 155 IBS patients were randomized to SSRD (n=77) or low FODMAP (n=78) for 4 weeks, with a follow-up 5 months later without food restrictions. The questionnaires Rome IV, IBS-severity scoring system (IBS-SSS), and visual analog scale for IBS (VAS-IBS) were completed at baseline and after 2 and 4 weeks and 6 months. Weight, height, waist circumference, and blood pressures were measured. Comparisons were made within the groups and between changes in the two groups. There were no differences between groups at baseline. The responding rate (RR=∆Total IBS-SSS ≥−50) of SSRD was non-inferior compared with low FODMAPs at week 2 (79.2% vs. 73.1%;p=0.661;95% confidence interval (CI)=-20-7.2) and week 4 (79.2% vs. 78.2%;p=1.000;95%CI=-14-12), with borderline-significance at follow-up (36.4% vs. 42.3%;p=0.252;95%CI=-9.4-21). All gastrointestinal and extraintestinal symptoms were equally improved (p<0.001 in most variables). SSRD rendered greater reductions in weight (p=0.006), body mass index (BMI) (p=0.005), and sugar craving (p=0.05), whereas waist circumference and blood pressure were equally decreased. Weight and BMI were regained at follow-up. In the SSRD group, responders at 6 months still had lowered weight (-0.7 (-2.5-0.1) vs. 0.2 (-0.7-2.2) kg; p=0.005) and BMI (-0.25 (-0.85-0.03) vs. 0.07 (-0.35-0.77) kg/m²; p=0.009) compared with baseline in contrast to non-responders. Those who had tested both diets preferred SSRD (p=0.032). A 4-week SSRD intervention was non-inferior to low FODMAP regarding effects on gastrointestinal and extraintestinal IBS symptoms. Reductions of weight, BMI, and sugar craving were most pronounced following SSRD.

This study presents a novel approach to understanding evolutionary dynamics through topological analysis of genotypic structures. We model the genome of a simple organism as a topological torus undergoing mutations at a constant rate of 1% per generation. Employing persistent homology and other topological data analysis techniques, we investigate how these mutations influence the overall topology of the genomic structure over time. Our simulations reveal that specific critical mutations lead to significant changes in the homotopic and homologic properties of the torus. We interpret these topological shifts as potential markers for the formation of new subspecies. By identifying the precise points of topological "breaks" within the toroidal genomic representation, our model provides a quantitative framework for observing the incremental transformations that underpin major evolutionary developments. The results offer new insights into the thresholds of speciation and adaptation, demonstrating how gradual genetic changes can accumulate to produce qualitative shifts in organismal traits. This approach bridges the gap between microscopic genetic mutations and macroscopic evolutionary outcomes, potentially revolutionizing our understanding of evolutionary processes. Our findings have implications for various fields, including theoretical biology, genetic engineering, and conservation biology. The model provides a novel perspective on genetic resilience and adaptability, offering a foundation for future research on the relationship between genomic topology and evolutionary trajectories. It also emphasizes the innovative nature of the research and its potential impact on multiple fields of study.

This paper discusses the theoretical and experimental correlations between fatigue and static strength statistical distributions. We use a two-parameter residual strength model that obeys the qualitative Strenght-Life Equal-Rank (SLERA) assumption for guidance. The modeling approach consists of recovering the model's parameters by best fitting the constant amplitude (CA) fatigue data at a given stress ratio, R, and the experimental Weibull parameters of the static strength distribution function. Once the model's parameters are fixed, its capabilities, potential, and limits are discussed by comparing its predictions with residual strength and fatigue data obtained at different stress ratios, R. Moreover, from a preliminary analysis, the theoretical extension of the model's capabilities to variable amplitude loadings is conceptualized. The application of Miner's rule is also discussed and compared with a new damage rule to analyze the fatigue responses under variable amplitude loadings.

In 1929, E. Hubble discovered a correlation between the distance of galaxies from Earth and the redshift in the spectra of the galaxies. This redshift astronomers interpreted it as evidence that galaxies are moving away from the Earth, and that the Universe is expanding. In 1998, researchers from two independent projects concluded that the universe is expanding with acceleration under the influence of "dark energy", the nature of which is completely incomprehensible. Another problem is related to the Hubble constant (H). To date there are two leading approaches to determining H. One of them is based on measurements of the cosmic microwave background, the other is based on measuring the redshift of distant galaxies and then determining the distances to them by luminosity of variables (Cepheids) and exploding (supernovae) stars. The problem is that these methods give different values of the Hubble constant: according to the first method H ≈ 67 (km/s)/Mpc, according to the other – H ≈ 73 (km/s)/Mpc. The difference is 7–8%. Accordingly, the calculated radii of the observable universe differ. The reason for this discrepancy is unclear and constitutes the essence of the so-called cosmological crisis. In the presented article, we show that the original Hubble formula needs to be corrected and give the corrected formula (corrected Hubble’s law), which is the key to solving these problems.

Henry’s constants for different existing compounds in water have great importance in transfer calculations. Measurement of these constants face different difficulties including high costs of experiment and low accuracy of measurement apparatus. Due to these facts, proposing a low cost and accurate approach becomes highlighted. To this end, adaptive neuro-fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and least squares support vector machine (LSSVM) have been used as Henry’s constant predictor tools. The molecular structure of compounds has been used as inputs of models. After training the models, the visual and mathematical studies of outputs have been done. The coefficients of determination of LSSVM and ANFIS algorithms are 0.999 and 0.990 respectively. According to the comprehensiveness of databank and accurate prediction of algorithms, it can be concluded that LSSVM and ANFIS algorithms are accurate methods for prediction of Henry’s constant in wide range of chemical structure of compounds in water.

We present simple relations for nuclear stability and nuclear binding energy with respect to three gravitational constants associated with electroweak, strong and electromagnetic interactions.

Conceiving vacuum energy as gravitational particles subject to Heisenberg’s energy-time uncertainty, modelled as dipoles in a fluidal space at thermodynamic equilibrium, and interpreting the Bekenstein-Hawking entropy as the effective amount of spins of those dipoles enclosed within the event horizon of the universe, allows the calculation of Milgrom’s acceleration constant. The result is a quantum mechanical interpretation of gravity, and dark matter in particular.

Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia continues to be associated with significant morbidity and mortality, despite improvements in diagnostics and management. Persistent infections pose a major challenge to clinicians and have been consistently shown to increase the risk of mortality and other infectious complications. S. aureus, while typically not considered an intracellular pathogen, has been proven to utilize an intracellular niche, through several phenotypes including small colony variants, as a means for survival that has been linked to chronic, persistent, and recurrent infections. This intracellular persistence allows for protection from the host immune system and leads to reduced antibiotic efficacy through a variety of mechanisms. These include antimicrobial resistance, tolerance, and/or persistence in S. aureus that contribute to persistent bacteremia. This review will discuss the challenges associated with treating these complicated infections and the various methods that S. aureus uses to persist within the intracellular space.

HMGB1 is a key late inflammatory mediator upregulated during air pollution-induced oxidative stress. Extracellular HMGB1 accumulation in the airways and lungs plays significant roles in the pathogenesis of inflammatory lung injury. Decreasing extracellular HMBG1 level may restore innate immune cell functions to protect the lungs from harmful injuries. Current therapies for air-pollution induced respiratory problems are inadequate. Dietary antioxidants from natural sources could serve as a frontline defense for air pollution-induced oxidative stress lung damage. Here, a standardized bioflavonoid antioxidant composition from Scutellaria baicalensis and Acacia catechu was evaluated for its efficacy in attenuating acute inflammatory lung injury and sepsis induced by oxidative stress and endotoxemia. Murine hyperoxia-exposed, bacterial-challenged acute lung injury, LPS-induced sepsis, and LPS-induced acute inflammatory lung injury models were utilized in vivo. Effect of the bioflavonoid composition on phagocytic activity and HMGB1 release was assessed using hyperoxia-stressed macrophages in vitro. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining for lung tissue damage evaluation, ELISA for inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, western blot analysis for protein and HMGB1 as well as bacterial counts in the lung and airways have been performed. Statistically significant decrease in mortality (50%), reduced proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6) and chemokines (CINC-3) in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage, increased bacterial clearance of airways and lungs; reduced airway total protein, and extracellular HMGB1 were observed in vivo. A statistically significant 75.9% reduction in the level of HMGB1 and increased phagocytosis activity were also observed in vitro. The compilation of data in this report strongly suggest that the bioflavonoid composition could be indicated for oxidative stress induced lung damage protection possibly through attenuation of extracellular HMGB1.

Rapid antigen detection tests (RAD) are commonly used for the diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infections. However, with the continuous emergence of new variants of concern (VOC) presenting various mutations potentially affecting the nucleocapsid protein, the analytical performances of these assays should be frequently reevaluated. One-hundred and twenty samples were selected and tested with both RT-qPCR and five commercial RAD commonly sold in Belgian pharmacies. Of these, direct whole genome sequencing identified the strains present in 116 samples, of which 70 were Delta and 46 were Omicron. Sensitivity across a wide range of Ct values (13.5 to 35.7; median = 21.3) were comparable and ranged from 70.0% to 77.1% for Delta strains and from 69.6% to 78.3% for Omicron strains. When taking swabs with a low viral load (Ct &gt; 25), poor performances were observed for the Delta strains (20.0 to 40.0%) and, even more so, for Omicron strains (0.0 to 23.1%). Two devices failed to detect all samples (n = 13) containing Omicron strains with a low viral load. The poor performance observed with low viral loads is an important limitation of RAD, which is not sufficiently highlighted in the instruction for use of these devices.

Cu-ions dispersed on reduced graphene RGo prepared and characterized in a liquid state in ethanol. Either constant ultrasounds or a sequence of ultrasounds (15s working, 15s stop) were applied for 6 min or 2h overall time, at a power of 500 W. Commercial graphite in ethanol was introduced at a concentration of 0.04 g/mL and CuCl2 2.5 H2O concentrations between 0.012 and 0.04 g/mL were used. The structural characterizations performed by XRD, microscopic, and spectroscopic techniques, after a centrifugation at 5000 rpm applied 12 min before Cu-introduction, led to conclude that: 1) Without copper, negative peaks in UV spectra were detected with concentrated pure graphene solutions, indicating light emission as nicely confirmed next by fluorescence measurements, 2) After addition of copper chloride and equilibration for 2 min , very intense and narrow peaks of intensity larger than 10 were observed. These peaks due to collective excitations generating plasmons were suppressed at a higher dilution and also if the cell with one cm optical path was replaced by a narrower cell with a 0.2 cm path. When plasmons were suppressed, in the UV spectral range, a band gap due to the energy transition between the valence filled  orbitals and conducting empty * orbitals, was observed. The presence of Cu (II) and Cu (I) cations were evidenced by Visible NIR spectroscopy. The formed “green” liquors containing Cu (II) Cu (I) /graphene in ethanol were stable in air for months and had good photocatalytic visible properties as demonstrated by the decomposition of two dyes.

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a sudden and abrupt change in global energy landscape. Traditional fossil fuels that serve as the linchpin of the modern civilization have found their consumption rapidly fell across the most categories due to strict lockdown and stringent measures that have been adopted to suppress the disease. These changes consequently steered various environmental benefits across the world in recent time. The present article is an attempt to investigate these environmental benefits and reversals that have been materialized in this unfolding situation due to reduced consumption of fossil fuels. Life cycle assessment tool has been used hereby to evaluate nine environmental impacts and one energy based impact. These impacts include: ozone formation (terrestrial ecosystems), terrestrial acidification, freshwater eutrophication, marine eutrophication, terrestrial ecotoxicity, freshwater ecotoxicity, marine ecotoxicity, land use, mineral resources scarcity and cumulative exergy demand. Outcomes from the study demonstrate that COVID-19 has delivered impressive changes in global environment and life cycle exergy demand with about 11-25% curtailment in all above-mentioned impacts in 2020 in comparison to their corresponding readings in 2019.

In this paper we explore the known connection among sustainability, resilience, and well-being within the framework of active inference. Initially, we revisit how the notions of well-being and resilience intersect within active inference before defining sustainability. We adopt a holistic concept of sustainability denoting the enduring capacity to meet needs over time without depleting crucial resources. It extends beyond material wealth to encompass community networks, labor, and knowledge. Using the Free Energy Principle, we can emphasize the role of fostering resource renewal, harmonious system-entity exchanges, and practices that encourage self-organization and resilience as pathways to achieving sustainability, both in an agent and in collectives. We start by connecting Active Inference with well-being, building on exsiting work. We then attempt to link resilience with sustainability, asserting that resilience alone is insufficient for sustainable outcomes. While crucial for absorbing shocks and stresses, resilience must be intrinsically linked with sustainability to ensure that adaptive capacities do not merely perpetuate existing vulnerabilities. Rather, it should facilitate transformative processes that address the root causes of unsustainability. Sustainability, therefore, must manifest across extended timescales and all system strata, from individual components to the broader system, to uphold ecological integrity, economic stability, and social well-being. We explain how sustainability manifests at the level of an agent, and then at the level of collectives and systems. To model and quantify the interdependencies between resources and their impact on overall system sustainability, we introduce the application of network theory and dynamical systems theory. We emphasize the optimization of precision or learning rates through the active inference framework, advocating for an approach that fosters the elastic and plastic resilience necessary for long-term sustainability and abundance.

Superconductivity in highly-pressurized hydrides became primary direction for the exploration of fundamental upper limit for the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, after Drozdov et al (Nature 2015, 525, 73) discovered superconducting state with Tc=203 K in highly-compressed sulphur hydride. To date several dozens of high-temperature superconducting polyhydrides have been discovered. In addition, recently, it was reported that highly-compressed titanium and scandium exhibit record-high (up to 36 K), which is by manifold exceeded of niobium, which is the record high- ambient pressure metallic superconductor. Here we analysed experimental data on for recently discovered high-pressure superconductors (which exhibit high transition temperatures within their classes): elemental titanium (Zhang et al, Nature Communications 2022; Liu et al, Phys. Rev. B 2022), TaH3 (He et al, Chinese Phys. Lett. 2023), LaBeH8 (Song et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 2023), and black (Li et al, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 2018) and violet (Wu et al, arXiv 2023) phosphorous, to reveal the nonadiabaticity strength constant, TθTF (where Tθ is the Debye temperature, and TF the Fermi temperature) in these superconductors. The analysis showed that δ-phase of titanium and black phosphorous exhibit the Tθ/TF which are nearly identical to ones associated in A15 superconductors, while studied hydrides and violet phosphorous exhibit the constants in the same ballpark with H3S and LaH10.

In a particle swarm with a fixed kinetic energy, the constituent particles move randomly and their velocity magnitudes follow a Maxwell distribution characterized by specific parameters. Within a certain time frame, particles in a sub-swarm may exhibit a bias in their movement direction. Thus, the particles may exhibit a special characteristic (biased random motion), where the group velocity in a particular direction remains constant u. For this biased particle swarm, composed of randomly moving particles with a fixed average speed c, particles have a higher probability of moving in a specific direction. Conversely, their likelihood of moving in all other directions is equally reduced. This study starts from the perspective of biased random walks and using Mathematica software proves that the diffusion rate of particles (in the reference frame R_u observed from R₀) in all directions is slower than that of an unbiased particle swarm with the same average speed c. Specifically, the degree of reduction is determined by the Lorentz-like factor. Lastly, we present the Ito equation for this biased random motion and provide associated verification examples. This study aims to serve as a reference for comprehending the underlying principles of the special relativity effect.

This article analyzes in detail the influence of Jupiter on the measurement of the gravitational constant. Including a specific estimate of the change in the gravitational constant caused by the change of the earth's orbital position every half month. The influence of Jupiter's perihelion and aphelion on the gravitational constant is also estimated. On this basis, this article analyzes the data with specific time records such as BIPM-01, BIPM-14, JILA-10, UCI-14, HUST-09. The analysis results show that after considering the influence of Jupiter, the experimental results have been significantly improved.

In the paper we show that the general relativity in recent Einstein-Palatini formulation is equivalent to a gauge field. We begin with a bit of information of the Einstein-Palatini formulation and derive Einstein field equations from it. In the next section, we consider general relativity with a positive cosmological constant in terms of the corrected curvature. We show that in terms of the corrected curvature general relativity takes the form typical for a gauge field. Finally, we give a geometrical interpretation of the corrected curvature.

Generating early warning signals of reduced resilience in ecosystems is crucial for conservation and management endeavors. However, the practical implications of such early warning signal systems are still limited by the lack of data and uncertainties associated with predicting complex systems such as ecosystems. This research aims to investigate the feasibility of developing an early warning system capable of identifying an upcoming critical transition within mangrove forest ecosystems. Using time series analysis of remote sensing images, the resilience of mangrove forests was explored across two distinct study sites. One site (Qeshm Island) has been adversely affected by land-use and land-cover changes, while the other (Gabrik) serves as a reference ecosystem. The study uses data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite to quantify three remotely sensed indices: the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index (MNDWI), and the Modified Vegetation Water Ratio (MVWR). In addition, Landsat data has been used to explore temporal alterations in land-use and land cover. To identify early warning signals, indicators such as autocorrelation (acf(1)), standard deviation (SD), and skewness (SK) are applied. The findings indicate a signal of reduced resilience by a significant increase in NDVI statistical metrics (acf(1): 0.50, SD: 0.9). Although MNDWI showed significant early warning signals in Qeshm Island (acf(1); 0.86, SD: 0.90), it provided a false alarm in the reference study site. MVWR failed to generate early warning signals of reduced resilience (acf(1); -0.100, SD: -0.07, SK: -0.21). Land-use land-cover change may explain reduced resilience in the forests. This study not only emphasizes the potential of remote sensing in monitoring the state of mangrove forests but also contributes to advancing our understanding of ecosystem dynamics. The findings of this study can be integrated with ecosystem management tools to enhance the effectiveness of conservation efforts aimed at safeguarding mangroves. This is the first report of the successful application of remote sensing in generating early warning signals of reduced resilience within mangrove forests in the Middle East.

NiFe alloy nanoparticles/graphene oxide hybrid (NiFe/GO) was prepared for electrochemical glucose sensing. The as-prepared NiFe/GO hybrid was characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicated that NiFe alloy nanoparticles can be successfully deposited on GO. The electrochemical glucose sensing performance of the as-prepared NiFe/GO was studied by cyclic voltammetry and amperometric measurement. Results showed that NiFe/GO modified glassy carbon electrode had sensitivity of 173 μA mM⁻¹cm⁻² for glucose sensing with a linear range up to 5 mM, which was superior to commonly used Ni nanoparticles. Furthermore, high selectivity for glucose detection can be achieved by NiFe/GO. All the results demonstrated that NiFe/GO hybrid was promising for using in electrochemical glucose sensing.

We have developed a family of N-alkyl-nitrobenzamides that exhibit promising antitubercular ac-tivities. These compounds are a simplification of the structure of known inhibitors of DprE1, an essential Mtb enzyme and an emergent anti-TB target. The compounds were obtained by a simple synthetic methodology and their antitubercular, cyto-toxicity and stability were studied. The most active compounds were the 3,5-dinitro and the 3-nitro-5-trifluoromethyl derivatives. Lipophilicity was shown to be a main parameter modulating activity within each family. The most active compound presented MIC of 16 ng/mL and had in-termediate lipophilicities. The activity was also studied in a macrophage model of infection. In this model the compounds with chain lengths of 6 and 12 carbon atoms presented the best results, ex-hibiting activity profiles comparable to isoniazid. Docking studies performed suggested that the fit of our highly active compounds to the DprE1 binding pocket was very similar to the literature compounds. Furthermore, the metrics used in the analysis were able to distinguish between the families of the highly and least active compounds. Assessment of susceptibility over multiple species and computational together with the structure of the compounds are complementary information that supports DprE1 as a likely target of action for this type of compounds.

A flexible asymmetric supercapacitor (ASCs) is successfully developed by using the composite of MoO3 and graphene oxide (GO) electrochemically deposited on carbon cloth (CC) (MoO3/rGO/CC) as the negative electrode, the MnO2 deposited on CC (MnO2/CC) as the positive electrode and Na2SO4/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as gel electrolyte. The results show that the introduction of GO layer can remarkably increase the specific capacitance of MoO3 from 282.7 F g-1 to 341.0 F g-1. Furthermore, the combination of such good electrode materials and a neutral gel electrolyte renders the fabrication of high-performance ASC with a large operating potential difference of 1.6 V in 0.5 mol L-1 Na2SO4 solution of water. Furthermore, the ASCs exhibit excellent cycle ability and the capacitance can maintain 87 % of its initial value after 6000 cycles. The fact that a light-emitting diode can be lighted up by the ASCs indicates the device’s potential applications as energy storage devices. The encouraging results demonstrate a promising application of the composite of MoO3 and GO in energy storage devices.

The aim of the study was to verify whether a 20 and 40% reduction of nitrogen (N) fertilization rate will be sufficient to maintain soil basic chemical features, fertility, and yielding in monoculture maize cultivation in the no-tillage (NT) system versus the traditional plowing (PL) system. In addition, it was examined which tillage system (PL, NT) allows reduction of fertilization while maintaining good yields of the tested soils. Two fields (10 ha each) were established for PL and NT maize cultivation and soils (0-20 cm) were sampled two times per year - in spring (before maize sowing) and in autumn (after maize harvesting). A broad range of chemical and biological parameters (i.e. pH, forms of nitrogen, phosphorus and carbon, content of selected macronutrients and humic substances, respiration activity) were monitored during the experiment. It was evidenced that the 20% reduction in N fertilization does not have an adverse effect on the chemical and biological characteristics of soils. In turn, the maize yield was mainly the result of both the tillage system and the N rate, i.e. it was significantly higher in the PL system.

Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) is considered a major healthcare problem with frequent decompensations, high hospitalization and mortality rates. In severe heart failure (HF), the symptoms are refractory to medical treatment and require advanced therapeutic strategies. Early recognition of HF sub- and decompensation is the cornerstone of the timely treatment intensification and, therefore, improvement of the prognosis. Echocardiography is the gold standard for the assessment of systolic and diastolic functions. It allows to obtain accurate and non-invasive measurements of the ventricular function in HF. In severely compromised HF patients, advanced cardiovascular ultrasound modalities may provide a better assessment of intracardiac hemodynamic changes and subclinical congestion. Particularly, cardiovascular and lung ultrasound allow to make a more accurate diagnosis of subclinical congestion in HFrEF. The aim of this review is to summarize the advantages and limitations of currently available ultrasound modalities in the ambulatory monitoring of patients with HFrEF.

The fatty acid elongase ELOngation of Very-Long-chain fatty acids protein 2 (ELOVL2) controls the elongation of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) producing precursors for omega-3, do-cosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and omega-6, docosapentaenoic acid (DPAn6) in-vivo. Expectedly, Elovl2-ablation drastically reduced the DHA and DPAn6 in liver mitochondrial membranes. Unexpectedly, however, total PUFAs levels decreased further than could be explained by Elovl2 ablation. The lipid peroxidation process was not involved in PUFAs reduction since malondial-dehyde-lysine (MDAL) and other oxidative stress biomarkers were not enhanced. The content of mitochondrial respiratory chain proteins remained unchanged. Still, membrane remodeling was associated with high voltage-dependent anion channel (VDAC) and adenine nucleotide trans-locase 2 (ANT2), a possible reflection of the increased demand on phospholipid transport to the mitochondria. Mitochondrial function was impaired despite preserved content of the respiratory chain proteins and the absence of oxidative damage. Oligomycin-insensitive oxygen consumption increased, and coefficients of respiratory control were reduced by 50%. The mitochondria became very sensitive to fatty acid-induced uncoupling and permeabilization, where ANT2 is involved. Mitochondrial volume and number of peroxisomes increased as revealed by transmission elec-tron microscopy. In conclusion, the results imply that endogenous DHA production is vital for the normal function of mouse liver mitochondria and could be relevant not only for mice but also for human metabolism.

Metandienone and methyltestosterone are orally active anabolic-androgenic steroids with a 17α-methyl structure that are prohibited in sports but are frequently detected in anti-doping analysis. After the previously reported detection of long-term metabolites with a 17ξ-hydroxymethyl-17ξ-methyl-18-nor-5ξ-androst-13-en-3ξ-ol structure in the chlorinated metandienone analog dehydrochloromethyltestosterone (“Oral Turinabol”), in this study we investigated the formation of similar metabolites of metandienone and 17α-methyltestosterone with a rearranged D-ring and a fully reduced A-ring. Using a semi-targeted approach including synthesis of reference compounds, two diastereomeric substances, viz. 17α-hydroxymethyl-17β-methyl-18-nor-5β-androst-13-en-3α-ol and its 5α-analog, were identified following an administration of methyltestosterone. In post-administration urines of metandienone, only the 5β-metabolite was detected. Additionally, 3α,5β-tetrahydro-epi-methyltestosterone was identified in the urines of both administrations besides the classical metabolites included in the screening procedures. Besides their applicability for anti-doping analysis, the results provide new insights on the metabolism of 17α-methyl steroids with respect to the order of reductions in the A-ring, the participation of different enzymes, and alterations of the D-ring.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to examine whether and to what extent mood disorders, comprising major depression and bipolar disorder, are accompanied by structural changes in the brain as measured using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Methods: We have performed a VBM study using a 3Т MRI system (GE Discovery 750w) in patients with mood disorders (n=50), namely 39 with major depression and 11 with bipolar disorder, compared to 42 age, sex and education matched healthy controls. Results: Our results show that depression was associated with significant decreases in grey matter (GM) volume restricted to regions located in medial frontal and anterior cingulate cortex on the left side and middle frontal gyrus, medial orbital gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus (triangular and orbital parts), and middle temporal gyrus (extending to the superior temporal gyrus) on the right side. When the patient group was separated into bipolar disorder and major depression the reductions remained significant only for the patients with major depressive disorder. Conclusions: Using VBM the present study was able to replicate decreases in GM volume restricted to frontal and temporal regions in patients with mood disorders mainly major depression, as compared with healthy controls.

The consumer’s acceptability of hamburgers elaborated with the flank of culling cows in which the content of salt or fat had been partially replaced was studied. A mixture of potassium chloride, potassium ferrocyanide and sodium ferrocyanide was used as substitutes for the salt. Oat flakes or a mixture of chia and flax seeds were used as substitutes for the fat. The hamburgers were tasted by 34 consumers. Consumers did not detect significant differences between the control and the rest of the formulations. Neither the gender nor the age of the consumers influenced the sensory appraisal. However, many comments regarding texture failures were recorded. Therefore, the substitution of salt and / or fat in the composition of hamburgers made with the flank of cows is a viable alternative for the commercialization of these pieces of low commercial value as long as the texture of the same is adjusted to resemble it to the control.

Background: The 2021 “Universal Definition of Heart Failure (HF)” Proposed the following left ventricle ejection (LVEF) phenotype classification: ≤40%; HF with intermediate LVEF: between 41-49% and HF with preserved LVEF: ≥50%. LVEF represents the percentage of left ventricular ejected volume in each cardiac cycle and Cut-points considered statistically normal are: ≥52% in men and ≥54% in women. The prevalence HFpEF is of 35-60% among the HF phenotypes, with a facing to increase rates in relation to HFrEF and is associated with mortality rates similar to those of HFrEF. The pathophysiology of HFpEF is based on vascular and metabolic dysfunction, therefore, there is less neurohumoral stimulation compared to HFrEF. Methodology: A systematic review was performed to report of information related to Sacubitril-valsartan and the treatment of HFrEF. Terms related to “treatment” and “brazil” were used in the databases PubMed (MEDLINE) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO). Results: Clinical trials testing drugs that modulate the neurohumoral system in patients with HFpEF failed to demonstrate benefit in the combined endpoint of reduced mortality/hospitalization due to HF compared to placebo to date. Sacubitril-valsartan is a drug with a mechanism of action surrogate the pathophysiological concept of HFpEF, it is safe and decreased endpoints of natriuretic peptides and left atrial structure in a phase II clinical study. Conclusions: The PARAGON-HF trial demonstrated that sacubitril-valsartan reduced the primary endpoint of the study when assessed the pre-specified subgroup of LVEF≤57% and improved the secondary endpoints of performance status and renal function in the population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the functional load capacity of the periodontal ligament (PDL) in a full arch maxilla and mandible model using numerical simulation. The goal of was to determine the functional load pattern in multi- and single rooted teeth with full and reduced periodontal support. CBCT data were used to create 3D-models of a maxilla and mandible. The DICOM dataset was used to create a CAD-model. For a precise description of the surfaces of each structure (enamel, dentin, cementum, pulp, PDL, gingiva, bone), each tooth was segmented separately, and the biomechanical characteristics were considered. A Finite-Element-Analysis (FEA) software computed the biomechanical behavior of stepwise increased force of 700N in cranial and 350N in ventral direction of the muscle approach of the Masseter muscle. The periodontal attachment (cementum-PDL-bone contact) was subsequently reduced in 1mm increments and the simulation repeated. Quantitative (pressure, tension, and deformation) and qualitative (color-coded images) data were recorded and descriptively analyzed. The teeth with the highest load capacities were the upper and lower molars (0.4-0.6MPa), followed by the premolars (0.4-0.5MPa) and canines (0.3-0.4MPa) when vertically loaded. Qualitative data showed that the area with the highest stress in the PDL were for single rooted teeth the cervical and apical area and for molars additionally the furcation roof. In both, single- and multi rooted teeth the gradual reduction of the bone levels caused an increase of the load on the remaining PDL. Cervical and apical areas as well as the furcation roof are the zones with the highest functional stress. The more bone loss, the higher the mechanical load on the residual periodontal supporting structures.

When undertaking wind assessment around buildings using large eddy simulation (LES), the implementation of the integral length scale at the inlet for inflow generation is controversial, as real atmospheric length scales require huge computational domains. While length scales significantly influence inflow generation in the domain, their effect on the downstream flow field has not yet, been investigated. In this paper, we validate the effectiveness and accuracy of implementing a reduced turbulence integral length scale for inflow generation in LES results at the rooftop of low-rise buildings and develop a technique to estimate the real local length scales using simulation results. We measure the wind locally and calculate the turbulence length scales from the energy spectrum of the wind data and simulation data. According to these results, there is an excellent agreement between the length scale from simulation and measurement when they are scaled with their corresponding freestream/inlet value. These results indicate that a reduced integral length scale can be safely used for LES to provide a reliable prediction of the energy spectrum as well as the length scales around complex geometries. The simulation results were confidently employed to obtain the best location for a wind turbine installation on low-rise buildings.

We report morpho-structural properties and charge conduction mechanisms of a foamy “graphene sponge”, having a density as low as ≈ 0.07 kg/m3 and a carbon to oxygen ratio C:O ≃ 13:1. The spongy texture analysed by scanning electron microscopy is made of irregularly-shaped millimetres-sized small flakes, containing small crystallites with a typical size of ≃ 16.3 nm. A defect density as high as ≃ 2.6×1011 cm−2 has been estimated by the Raman intensity of D and G peaks, dominating the spectrum from room temperature down to ≃ 153 K. Despite the high C:O ratio, the graphene sponge exhibits an insulating electrical behavior, with a raise of the resistance value at ≃ 6 K up to 5 orders of magnitude with respect to the room temperature value. A variable range hopping (VRH) conduction, with a strong 2D character, dominates the charge carriers transport, from 300 K down to 20 K. At T&lt; 20 K, graphene sponge resistance tends to saturate, suggesting a temperature-independent quantum tunnelling. The 2D-VRH conduction originates from structural disorder and is consistent with hopping of charge carriers between sp2 defects in the plane, where sp3 clusters related to oxygen functional groups act as potential barriers.

Laser reduced graphene oxide (LRGO) on a PET substrate was prepared in one-step to obtain the LRGO grid electrode for sensitive carbaryl determination. The grid form results in a grid distribution of different electrochemically active zones affecting the electroactive substance diffusion towards to the electrode surface and increasing the electrochemical sensitivity for carbaryl determination. Carbaryl is electrochemically irreversibly oxidized by the secondary amine moiety of the molecule with the loss of one proton and one electron in the pH range from 5 to 7 by LSV on the LRGO grid electrode with a scan rate of 300 mV/s. Some interference of the juice matrix molecules did not significantly affect the LSV oxidation current of carbaryl on the LRGO grid electrode after adsorptive accumulation without applied potential. The LRGO grid electrode can be used for LSV determination of carbaryl in fruit juices in the concentration range from 0.25 to 128 mg/L with LOD of 0.1 mg/L by. The fabrication of the LRGO grid electrode opens up possibilities for further inexpensive monitoring of carbaryl in other fruit juices and fruits.

In this effort we propose a data-driven learning framework for reduced order modeling of fluid dynamics. Designing accurate and efficient reduced order models for nonlinear fluid dynamic problems is challenging for many practical engineering applications. Classical projection-based model reduction methods generate reduced systems by projecting full-order differential operators into low-dimensional subspaces. However, these techniques usually lead to severe instabilities in the presence of highly nonlinear dynamics, which dramatically deteriorates the accuracy of the reduced-order models. In contrast, our new framework exploits linear multistep networks, based on implicit Adams-Moulton schemes, to construct the reduced system. The advantage is that the method optimally approximates the full order model in the low-dimensional space with a given supervised learning task. Moreover, our approach is non-intrusive, such that it can be applied to other complex nonlinear dynamical systems with sophisticated legacy codes. We demonstrate the performance of our method through the numerical simulation of a two-dimensional flow past a circular cylinder with Reynolds number Re = 100. The results reveal that the new data-driven model is significantly more accurate than standard projection-based approaches

Prostanoids modulate the pathogenesis of vascular diseases such as atherosclerosis, in which inflammation has an important role. It is well known that inducible Ciclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is responsible for prostanoid production associated with inflammation. Angiotensin II may be implicated through the expression of COX-2 in the vascular wall. The purpose of this study was to examine in angiotensin II-stimulated adventitial fibroblasts the anti-inflammatory activity of different food peptides by inhibiting COX-2 expression, and the production of pro-inflammatory prostanoids. Fibroblasts from aorta of Sprague-Dawley rats were incubated with different food derived peptides followed by incubation with Angiotensin II. COX-2 expression was determined by western blot, transcriptional activity by luciferase assays and prostaglandin E2 by enzyme immunoassay. COX-2 expression was inhibited in the presence of Val-Pro-Pro (bovine β-casein 84–86), Arg-Asp-Ile-Leu-Asn-Gln (ovalbumin 84–89) and Tyr-Arg-Gly-Gly-Leu-Glu-Pro-Ile-Asn-Phe (ovalbumin 125–134). Angiotensin II-induced prostaglandin E2 production was also reduced by all the above-mentioned sequences. The incubation with ovalbumin-derived peptides displayed a significant reduction of COX-2 promoter activity compared to the stimuli with Angiotensin II in transiently transfected cells. These three sequences could potentially be used as functional food ingredients to reduce inflammation related to cardiovascular diseases.

Silicon-based photoelectrochemical (PEC) conversion system has recently gained attention with its ability to provide cost-efficient and superior photoresponsive behavior in regard to other various semiconductor photoelectrodes. Carbon-based co-catalysts have always shared the spotlight for being rendered as alternative metal-free electrocatalysts intended for hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). In particular, a representative carbon-derived material, reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) has attracted much attention as a non-metal catalyst for efficient and durable HER. Herein, we have deposited rGO on silicon nanowire (SiNW) structure which shows the highest reduction in the overpotential for HER up to date. This could be attributed to the synergistic effects of rGO and SiNW with unique anisotropic morphology, facile tuning capabilities, and scalable fabrication methods. Combined with nanostructured photocathode, rGO deposited SiNW showed better applied bias photon to current conversion efficiency of 3.16%, which is 158 times higher than that of bare planar Si system. In regard to this development we believe that rGO-SiNW photoelectrodes would pave the way for state-of-the-art highly efficient non-metal catalysts for energy conversion technologies.

A cosmological model described by the perturbation metric is proposed, in which space is entrained by matter expanding as a result of the Big Bang. In the absence of an input of external energy and momentum, the solution of the Einstein equations assumes a pressure equal to zero and an accelerated expansion. The cosmological perturbation model explains the difference in measurements of the Hubble constant using gravitational lensing and a distance ladder.