Effects of oxygen content on microstructure and creep property of FGH96 superalloy were investigated. When oxygen content increased from 135ppm to 341ppm, prior particle boundary (PPB) rose from degree 2 to degree 3, and the size of γ′ phase on PPB enlarged from 1.07μm to 1.27μm, and MC carbide size grew from 77.4nm to 104.0nm. Meanwhile, the steady creep rate accelerated form 4.34×10-3 h-1 to 1.87×10-2 h-1, and the creep rupture life shortened from 176h to 94h, and the creep rupture mode transferred from intergranular and transgranular mixed fracture to along PPB fracture. During creep, the micro-twins formation and gliding will be restrained by ∑3 boundaries. FGH96 superalloy with higher oxygen content contains less ∑3 boundaries and its micro-twins cross slipped instead of single direction slip in lower oxygen content superalloy. Consequently, specimen with higher oxygen content creeped faster and raptured earlier.

The paper delves into the critical issue of damage detection within the guy cable of a truss steel mast, a pivotal component in structural integrity. It introduces a model wherein damage manifests as a localized cross-section reduction in a single element of the cable. Employing Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT), a pioneering methodology, the study scrutinizes the behavior of the affected elements through static structural analyses. Signal decomposition via the Mallat pyramid algorithm facilitates comprehensive examination. Static displacements at the connection point between the cable and the truss mast serve as the measured variables. Through systematic investigation, the paper evaluates the impact of damage size and location, external loading force, and cable tension force on the efficacy of the proposed approach. Utilizing data derived from Finite Element Method (FEM) computations for wavelet analysis the authors substantiate the findings with numerical examples, thus offering valuable insights into damage detection strategies for structural health monitoring and engineering applications.

The structural identification (SI) problem of control objects has not been solved. The formalization and interpretation complexity of the structure concept is the main problem. In identification systems, the form of the model (its structure) choice is intuitive and bases on the experience and knowledge of the researcher in most cases. The task of parametric identification is often interpreted as SI. It introduces certain confusion in understanding of the task and decision-making. This is two different areas of research. The structural identification problem is multifaceted and includes many subtasks, and their solution gives the final result. Some tasks have been solved. The purpose of this work is to review existing approaches and methods to the structural identification problem of control objects from a system perspective. It is necessary to give the SI problem statement at the multiple-informational level to reflect the difficulties of formalizing SI. New directions to analyse that were not SI areas until now.

Prompt removal of misfolded membrane proteins and misassembled membrane protein complexes is essential for membrane homeostasis. However, the elimination of these toxic proteins from the hydrophobic membrane environment has high energetic barriers. Transmembrane FtsH is the only known ATP-dependent protease responsible for this task, unlike other well-studied soluble ATP-dependent proteases. The mechanisms by which FtsH recognizes, unfolds, translocates, and proteolyzes its substrates remain unclear. Here, we report the crystal structures of the Thermotoga maritima FtsH periplasmic domain (PD) in an associative trimeric state at a 1.5-1.95 Å resolution. We also describe the pH-dependent oligomerization states of the isolated PD using dynamic light scattering. These observations help us understand how FtsH recognizes membrane-anchored misfolded proteins.

In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in adopting novel sensing technologies for the continuous monitoring of structural systems. In this respect, Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS) sensors are widely used in several applications, including Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). Thanks to their significantly lower cost, ease of installation on the structure, and lower power consumption, they enable extensive, pervasive, and battery-less monitoring systems. This paper presents an innovative high-performance device for SHM applications, based on a low-noise triaxial MEMS accelerometer, providing a guideline and insightful results about the opportunities and capabilities of these devices. Sensor nodes have been designed, developed, and calibrated to meet structural vibration monitoring and modal identification requirements. These components include a protocol for reliable command dissemination through the network and data collection, and improvements to software components for data pipelining, jitter control, and high-frequency sampling. Devices were tested in the lab using shaker excitation. Results demonstrate that MEMS-based accelerometers are a feasible solution to replace expensive piezo-based accelerometers. Deploying MEMS is promising to minimize sensor node energy consumption. Time and frequency domain analysis show that MEMS can correctly detect modal frequencies, useful parameters for damage detection. The acquired data from the test bed were used to examine the functioning of the network, data transmission, and data quality. The proposed architecture has been successfully deployed in a real case study to monitor the structural health of the Marcus Aurelius Exedra Hall within the Capitoline Museum of Rome. The performance robustness was demonstrated and the results showed that the wired sensor network provides dense and accurate vibration data for structural continuous monitoring.

The aim of this study was to examine the oxidation of human serum albumin (HSA) caused by oxidative stress after an exhaustive exercise such as ultra-marathon race. Thus, blood samples from 12 adult runners who underwent a 103 km mountain ultra-marathon race were collected pre- and 24, 48 and 72 h post race. HSA was partially purified using affinity chromatography and then was subjected to Western blot analysis for disulfide dimers determination, indicating oxidation. The results were correlated with those from a previous study in which the same samples were analyzed using different oxidative stress markers and a good correlation with protein carbonyls (PC) at all time points was observed. Moreover there was a significant correlation with static oxidation-reduction potential (sORP) at 24 h, and a negative correlation with capacity oxidation-reduction potential (cORP) at 24 and 48 h. In addition, an individual analysis of albumin dimers exhibited great inter-individual differences. This inter-individual variability in the oxidation of HSA may suggest different interventions (e.g. through diet) in order to confront the effects on athletes’ organism after a strenuous exercise. In conclusion, this study supported the importance of the assessment of albumin dimers as a predictive marker for exercise-induced oxidative stress.

In the context of Inverse Analysis in Civil Engineering, parameter identification and model calibration, of a structural system, relying on dynamic measurements, are subjects of a growing research interest. In the present contribution, the topic is tackled with reference both to simplified structural numerical examples and to a specific case study, namely a historical road three-span reinforced concrete arched bridge, with vibrational data previously acquired by standard wired accelerometers on the deck, under operational traffic conditions. In particular, the present work aims at focussing on the identification issues, concerning the definition of a maximum allowable threshold number of sought material parameters (e.g., Young’s moduli and mass densities of different structural components), with respect to the amount of available measurement data, and the investigation of the inverse analysis discrepancy function to be optimised, in order to set the intrinsic issue of multiple “realizations”, in case of a plain use of modal properties, and in view of forming a well–posed optimisation problem. Structural modelling, sensitivity analysis and numerical optimisation approaches are herein combined toward a robust and efficient identification strategy, to be effectively employed in structural assessment and diagnosis, also with respect to originally available or enriched sets of experimental data. The proposed methodology, and collected results, shall outline an efficient identification procedure, in view of automated inverse analysis, practically oriented to the dynamic assessment and structural diagnosis in the Civil Engineering context, as applied e.g. to strategic bridge infrastructures.

This review provides a comprehensive and updated information on chalcones, presenting their sources, methods of identification and properties putting emphasis on applications in agricultural industry. Vast exploitation of synthetic pesticides led to the weed and pest resistance issue, causing economic loss but more importantly health risk due to pesticide overuse. Because one of the aim of the European Green Deal 2030 is the Farm to Fork strategy which targets on reducing by 50% the use of chemical pesticides by 2030, and push towards natural pesticides which are more environmentally friendly and restore natural resources, chalcones and their derivatives seem to fit perfectly. They have herbicidal, fungicidal, bactericidal and antiviral properties. Moreover, chalcones are naturally occurring substances, known for their favorable health effect for years, working on many areas. This review is complementary to the previous ones describing chalcones use in agriculture, updates them but additionally shows methods of detection.

By introducing environmental mediator, for avoiding randomness in selecting indicators and subjectivity in deciding interaction path coefficients to reveal interaction mechanism among forest industry, ecology and environmental capacity, structural Pressure–State–Impact–Response (PSIR) and quantitative Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) are utilized with data on thirty–one provinces of China. We can find that: (i) forest industry has a negative influence on ecology, whereas ecology has a positive influence on industry; (ii) the destructive influence that industry has on ecology is much greater than the positive effect ecology has on industry; and (iii) environmental capacity plays a partial mediating role between industry and ecology. According to these results we can conclude that: (i) forest industry and ecology are not in a symbiotic relationship and have not reached a level of ecological security; (ii) the interaction between industry and ecology is in a period of transition from antagonistic to beneficial; and (iii) industry dominates ecology. However, we prospect the following advice: (i) methods of forest industry should be changed; (ii) new modes of industrial integration and circular economy should be developed; and (iii) the ability of the environment to sustain itself should be enhanced. The level of forest ecological security to discuss the symbiotic mechanism of industry and ecology will propose to be measured in future.

A simple design of an ultrathin six-band polarization-insensitive terahertz perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) composed of a metal cross-cave-patch resonator (CCPR) placed over a ground plane was proposed and investigated numerically. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the average absorption peaks are up to 95% at six resonance frequencies with high quality-factors (>65). In addition, the absorption properties can be kept stability for both normal incident transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) waves. The physical mechanism behind the observed high level absorption is illustrated by the electric and power loss density distributions. The different absorption mainly originates from the higher order multipolar and multipolar plasmon resonance of the structure, which are sharp different to the most previous studies of the PMMAs. Furthermore, the resonance absorption of the PMMA can be tunable by varying the geometric parameters of the unit cell.

A simple design of an ultrathin six-band polarization-insensitive terahertz perfect metamaterial absorber (PMMA) composed of a metal cross-cave-patch resonator (CCPR) placed over a ground plane was proposed and investigated numerically. The numerical simulation results demonstrate that the average absorption peaks are up to 95% at six resonance frequencies with high quality-factors (>65). In addition, the absorption properties can be kept stability for both normal incident transverse magnetic (TM) and transverse electric (TE) waves. The physical mechanism behind the observed high level absorption is illustrated by the electric and power loss density distributions. The different absorption mainly originates from the higher order multipolar and multipolar plasmon resonance of the structure, which are sharp different to the most previous studies of the PMMAs. Furthermore, the resonance absorption of the PMMA can be tunable by varying the geometric parameters of the unit cell.

The Eurasian grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) is the most widely grown horticultural crop in the world and is important for the economy of many countries. In the wine production chain, grape varieties play an important role as they directly influence the authenticity and classification of the product. Identifying the different grape varieties is therefore fundamental for quality control and inspection activities, as well as for regulating production. Currently, ampelography and molecular analysis are the main approaches to identifying grape varieties. However, both methods have limitations. Ampelography is subjective and prone to errors and is experiencing enormous difficulties as ampelographers are increasingly scarce. On the other hand, molecular analyses are very demanding in terms of cost and time. In this scenario, Deep Learning (DL) and Machine Learning (ML) methods have emerged as a classification alternative to deal with the scarcity of ampelographs and avoid molecular analyses. In this study, the most recent and current methods for identifying grapevine varieties using DL classification-based approaches are presented through a systematic literature review. The classification pipeline of the 31 studies found in the literature was described, highlighting its pros and cons. Most of the studies used DL-based models trained with leaf images acquired in a controlled environment at a maximum distance of 1.2 metres to classify grape varieties. In addition, there is a large gap between practical applications and the datasets used: a great lack of varieties, limited data acquired in the field and a lack of tests on plants under adverse conditions. Potential directions for improving this area of research were also presented.

In recent years, cerium dioxide (CeO2) has attracted considerable attention owing to its remarkable performance in various applications, including photocatalysis, fuel cells, and catalysis. This study explores the effect of nickel (Ni) doping on the structural, thermal, and chemical properties of CeO2 nanorods, particularly focusing on oxygen vacancy-related phenomena. Utilizing X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), alterations in crystal structure and peak shifts were observed, indicating successful Ni doping and the formation of Ni2O3 at higher doping levels, likely due to non-equilibrium reactions. Thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA) revealed changes in oxygen release mechanisms, with increasing Ni doping resulting in the release of lattice oxygen at lower temperatures. Raman spectroscopy corroborated these findings by identifying characteristic peaks associated with oxygen vacancies, facilitating the assessment of Ni doping levels. Overall, this study underscores the substantial impact of Ni doping on CeO2 nanorods, shedding light on tailored catalytic applications through modulation of oxygen vacancies while preserving the nanorod morphology.

Sunflower is one of the oil crops and its planting areas was listed behind Soybean, peanut and rapeseeds in China. It will encounter different kind of diseases during planting, thus limited the seeds yield. Fusarium species are the major threat to different crops nowadays, it is very important to identify the species caused diseases on different hosts, so that the potential control measures may be explored. In Inner mongolia, Sunflower Disk Rot (SDR) was found in different sunflower planting field, the average infection ratio around 8.50%, typically in some verieties, its infection ratio reach to 11.67%. The diseased receptacle were collected from different locations and Koch’s postulate was conducted. The results showed that Fusarium verticillioides was the main causal agent caused SDR. Fungicide toxicity tests shown that Fludioxonil and Flutolanil were screened out from six fungicides for controlling F. verticillioides, with EC50 values of 0.05 µg/mL (R = 0.9825) and 0.96 µg/mL (R = 0.9964) , respectively. This is the first report of SDR caused by F. verticillioides, and it will alert sunflower reseachers to include SDR in the disease list, so as to control sunflower diseases with integrated management strategy successfully.

The study of the tribological behavior of the braking system in auto vehicles requires knowing the characteristics of the material in contact and, in the work process, for the friction pair, brake disc-pads. Materials structural analysis is necessary because the wear process depends on the friction pair chemical composition, and brake disk-pads, respectively on the work process parameters (pressing force, rotational speed, traffic conditions, etc.). The material of the brake discs is generally the same gray cast iron, but the brake pads can be semi-metallic (particles of steel, copper, brass, and graphite, all united with a special resin), organic materials (particles of rubber, glass, and kevlar all joined with the help of a resin), composite materials that contain different constituents and ceramic materials (rarely have small copper particles). Therefore, the purpose of the paper is to know the crystalline structure and the mechanical properties of the brake pad materials, through specific studies and analyses, with important implications on the friction and wear behavior.

Apis mellifera, especially weak ones, are highly vulnerable to Carpoglyphus lactis mites, which can rapidly infest and consume stored pollen, leading to weakened colonies and potentially colony collapse. This study aimed to ascertain and investigate the prevalence of this mite in honeybee colonies across 9 provinces in the Republic of Korea (ROK). A total of 615 honeybee colonies were collected, from 66 apiaries during the spring and 58 apiaries during the summer of 2023. A 1,242 bp segment of the the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 (COI) gene was amplified using the polymerase chain reaction method. The detection levels of C. lactis in the honeybees were compared between winter and summer. Based on the COI sequence analysis, the nucleotide sequence similarity of C. lactis mites isolated in the ROK with those from China (NC048990.1) was found to be 99.5%, and with those from the United Kingdom (KY922482.1) was 99.3%. This study is the first report of C. lactis in Korean apiaries. The findings in this study demonstrate a significantly higher detection rate in winter, which is 4.1 times greater than that in summer (p < 0.001). Furthermore, the results underscore the usefulness of molecular diagnostic techniques for detecting C. lactis mites.

This paper presents a system for identification of wind features, such as gusts and wind shear. These are of particular interest in the context of energy-efficient navigation of Small Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). The proposed system generates real-time wind vector estimates and a novel algorithm to generate wind field predictions. Estimations are based on the integration of an off-the-shelf navigation system and airspeed readings in a so-called direct approach. Wind predictions use atmospheric models to characterize the wind field with different statistical analyses. During the prediction stage, the system is able to incorporate, in a big-data approach, wind measurements from previous flights in order to enhance the approximations. Wind estimates are classified and fitted into a Weibull probability density function. A Genetic Algorithm (GA) is utilized to determine the shaping and scale parameters of the distribution, which are employed to determine the most probable wind speed at a certain position. The system uses this information to characterize a wind shear or a discrete gust and also utilizes a Gaussian Process regression to characterize continuous gusts. The knowledge of the wind features is crucial for computing energy-efficient trajectories with low cost and payload. Therefore, the system provides a solution that does not require any additional sensors. The system architecture presents a modular decentralized approach, in which the main parts of the system are separated in modules and the exchange of information is managed by a communication handler to enhance upgradeability and maintainability. Validation is done providing preliminary results of both simulations and Software-In-The-Loop testing. Telemetry data collected from real flights, performed in the Seville Metropolitan Area in Andalusia (Spain), was used for testing. Results show that wind estimation and predictions can be calculated at 1 Hz and a wind map can be updated at 0.4 Hz. Predictions show a convergence time with a 95% confidence interval of approximately 30 s.

Amylin, also known as islet amyloid polypeptide (IAPP), is a metabolic homeostasis-related hormone that is produced and released by the β cells of the pancreas, the same cells that produce insulin. Insulin-degrading enzyme (IDE) is a protease enzyme that plays an essential role in the breakdown and degradation of various peptides, including insulin and amylin. Direct binding & interaction between amylin and IDE is inextricably linked to the degradation of amylin, and research and development effort in this area is crucial to understand the potential therapeutic implications of disrupting the IDE-amylin interaction in the context of conditions where metabolic homeostasis needs to be regulated, such as diabetes and obesity. Here, this article incorporates currently available experimental complex structure of amylin and IDE, and delves deep into the interstructural biophysics underlying the binding interface of the two interacting partners. With a set of comprehensive structural biophysical analysis, this article identified an intriguing region of high electrostatic potential indicative of strong binding sites between the first N-terminal lysine (Lys1, K1) residue of amylin and Glu341 (E341) of IDE. This unique electrostatic hotspot presented herein paves the way for the rational design of drug-like small molecules that can selectively disrupt this interaction, offering a targeted therapeutic strategy for improved metabolic homeostasis, particularly for patients with diabetes and obesity.

This paper details the comprehensive activities conducted in a laboratory setting to assess the Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) of prefabricated building envelopes. Aimed at enhancing the structural evaluation of buildings, the focus of this research lies in employing nondestructive sensors for SHM with the objective to advance in the understanding and assessment of facade conditions. The paper outlines the methodologies employed, starting with a modal analysis to define the structural vibration's modal frequency. Subsequently, tests were defined and executed to validate building envelope compliance in case of stress typical of high-rise building. Throughout these tests, continuous monitoring of the façade was conducted using both conventional (accelerometers, extensimeter washers) and non-conventional sensors (Fiber Optic Sensing) The gathered data underwent thorough processing and analysis to provide an overall perspective on the structure's behavior during the stress test. The investigation aimed to identify whether specific physical phenomena correlate with distinct signals and to evaluate if continuous façade monitoring over the building's lifespan aids in preventing potential structural damage. Moreover, two modal analyses were conducted to compare final data and frequencies with earlier data, enabling the detection of any structural alterations. The results from compliance testing and structural analysis yielded noteworthy insights contributing to the evolving field of structural health monitoring, offering valuable findings that advance our ability to proactively manage and maintain the integrity of building structures.

Leishmaniasis are neglected diseases that affect regions such as South Asia, South Africa and Latin America, less developed regions. Current treatment, for cutaneous, mucocutaneous and visceral leishmaniosis, which are the main forms of the disease, is based on the administration of pentavalent antimonial and amphotericin B. However, these drugs have low efficacy and high toxicity. For this reason, the search for new treatments for this disease is necessary, based on studies of new molecules and their conformations. The research proposed the conformational study of brominated guanidine compounds with potential antileishmanial activity using Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) techniques. The present study involves the bro-minated molecules, LQOF-G2, LQOF-G30, LQOF-G35 and LQOF-G35-Br. The later was synthesized by the reaction of LQOF-G35 with NBS under IR irradiation at 120 Watts of potency and dichloro-methane as solvent by 12-h of exposition. The obtained results demonstrated the efficiency of the bromination method, since two bromines atoms entered the molecule. Furthermore, NMR analysis showed the occurrence of a conformational change from Z to E when compound LQOF-G35 was brominated to LQOF-G35-Br. This feature was well confirmed by comparative DRX study of the LQOF-G35 and LQOF-G35-Br compounds. The antileishmanial activity of LQOF-G2 e LQOF-G35 motivated the synthesis of new brominated compounds LQOF-G30 e LQOF-G35-Br.

Saikosaponin (SS) a is a compound with various pharmacological properties and easily degraded into SSb1 and SSg in acid condition. In present work another two new degradation products of SSa formed under acid hydrolytic condition were detected and isolated by analytical and semi-preparative liquid chromatography technology, furthermore their structures were characterized as hydroxyl-saikosaponin a and SSb2 by spectral analysis, which is not only essential in stability-indicating method development and validation but also could be used as a worst case to assess the analytical method performance of SSa. Moreover their structural transformation pathways were also proposed.

The use of privileged scaffolds as starting point for the construction of libraries of bioactive compounds is a widely used strategy in drug discovery and development. Scaffold decoration, morphing and hopping are additional techniques that allow to modify the privileged framework chosen and better explore the chemical space around it. In this study, two series of highly functionalized pyrimidine and pyridine derivatives were synthesized by scaffold morphing approach of triazine compounds obtained previously as antiviral agents. Newly synthesized azines were evaluated against lymphoma, hepatocarcinoma, and colon epithelial carcinoma cells showing in five cases acceptable to good anticancer activity associated to low cytotoxicity on healthy fibroblasts. Finally, ADME in vitro studies were conducted on the best derivatives of the two series showing good passive permeability and resistance to metabolic degradation.

Banana wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense tropical race 4 (Foc TR4) is a devastating fungal disease. Biocontrol strategies owned immense potential in inhibiting the spread of Foc TR4. Here, thirty actinobacteria were isolated from soils and screened for their antagonistic activity against Foc TR4. Strain SCA4-21T exhibited broad-spectrum antifungal activity against nine phytopathogenic fungi including Foc TR4. The strain was identified as the genus Streptomyces according to phenotypic characteristics and 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis. Multi-locus sequence analysis based on five house-keeping gene alleles (atpD, gyrB, recA, rpoB, and trpB) revealed that strain SCA4-21T clustered into S. hygroscopicus subsp. hygroscopicus NBRC 13472T with 100% of bootstrap value. Average nucleotide identity and dDDH were 98.49% and 44.30% above the threshold of novel species. Hence, strain SCA 4-21T represented a novel species within the genus Streptomyces, named as Streptomyces luomodiensis sp. nov.. The type strain is SCA4-21T (=GDMCC4.340T= JCM36555T). By the CAZymes analysis, 348 carbohydrate-active enzymes were detected, including 15 chitinases and 8 β-1,3-glucanases. The fermentation broth of strain SCA4-21T showed high activities of chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase, contributing to the antifungal activity. Our results showed an innovative potential biocontrol agent for managing plant fungal diseases, specifically banana fusarium wilt.

The AREB/ABF (ABA response element binding) proteins in plants are vital for plant stress responses, but the understanding of AREB/ABFs in orchid species, an important traditional medicinal and ornamental plants, is limited. Here, twelve AREB/ABF genes were identified within three orchids’ complete genome and classified into three groups (groups I, II, and III) via a phylogenetic analysis, which was further supported by the analysis of their conserved motifs and gene structures. The cis-elements analysis showed that hormone response elements followed by light and stress responses were widely rich in AREB/ABFs. A prediction analysis of orchid ABRE/ABF-mediated regulatory network was further constructed through cis-regulatory elements (CREs) analysis of their promoter regions and revealed that several transcriptional factor (TF) gene family were abundant as the potential regulators for orchid AREB/ABFs. Expression profile analysis based on public transcriptomic data showed that most AREB/ABF genes have distinct tissue-specific expression patterns in orchid plants. Additionally, DcaABI5 as the homolog of ABA INSENSITIVE 5 (ABI5) from Arabidopsis was selected for further analysis. The results showed that Arabidopsis transgenic overexpressing DcaABI5 could rescue the ABA insensitive phenotype in the mutant abi5. Collectively, these findings will provide valuable information on AREB/ABF genes in orchids.

In the conservation of monumental heritage, the collection and utilization of information are of primary importance. The Heritage Building Information Modeling (HBIM) procedure harnesses the potential of three-dimensional models, offering significant advantages in accessing documentation, interoperability, multidimensionality of intervention design, cost evaluation and maintenance management. Attention here is focused on the Certosa di Pisa, a large historical complex built in the 14th century as a monastery of the Carthusian order, currently in a state of deterioration and in need of restoration and re-functionalization. The multifaceted nature of this monumental complex, with its intricate interplay of architectural elements spanning different historical periods and featuring diverse techniques, poses a significant challenge for structural safety assessment. This case study presents an opportunity to explore an HBIM approach to streamline the diagnostic process and facilitate the intervention design phase. The goal is achieved by utilizing an accurate 3D model enriched with data from multiple sources and automating certain operations for structural assessment. The usefulness of the HBIM methodology is highlighted as a valuable tool in the realm of Cultural Heritage structures for both technicians and scholars alike.

The apicomplexan parasite, Sarcocystis neurona causes the degenerative neurological equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) disease of horses. Due to its host range expansion, S. neurona is an emerging threat that requires close monitoring. In apicomplexans, protein kinases (PKs) have been implicated in a myriad of critical functions such as host cell invasion, cell cycle progression and host immune responses evasion. Here, we used various bioinformatics methods to define the kinome of S. neurona and phylogenetic relatedness of its PKs to other apicomplexans. Further, three-dimensional (3D) homology models for selected S. neurona putative PKs were constructed and evaluated for inhibitor docking. We identified 92 putative PKs clustering within the AGC, CAMK, CK1, CMGC, STE, TKL, aPK and OPK groups. Although containing the universally conserved PKA (AGC group), S. neurona kinome was devoid of PKB and PKC, but contained the six apicomplexan conserved CDPKs (CAMK group). The OPK group was represented by ROPKs 19A, 27, 30, 33, 35 and 37, but was devoid of the virulence-associated ROPKs 5, 6, 18 and 38. Two out of the three S. neurona CK1 enzymes had high sequence similarities to T. gondii TgCK1-α and TgCK1-β and the Plasmodium PfCK1. Docking of four inhibitors onto homology models of putative ROP27 and PKA indicated that inhibition of S. neurona PKs is feasible, but needs to be experimentally tested. The essentiality of apicomplexan PKs makes the elucidation of S. neurona kinome a key milestone for development of novel therapeutics for EPM.

Chitosan (CS) nanoparticles are under investigation for a wide range of applications in nanomedicine. The structural, molecular and physicochemical properties of chitosan nanoparticles have a direct bearing on their efficacy in drug conjugation and delivery, gene delivery, and tissue engineering. Herein we report on the structural, morphological and molecular properties of chitosan nanoparticles synthesized using the ionic gelation method with the intended purpose of being used for drug delivery. The chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) were prepared in the 0.25 to 1.0% w/v concentration range, whereas separate samples of the 1.0% w/v CS-NPs were also functionalized with polyethylene oxide (PEO) alone and with a diblock copolymer of PEO and polypropylene glycol (PPG). The average size of the CS-NPs was determined from TEM imaging to be in the range of 11.3 to 14.8 nm. The XRD and TEM analyses show that the CS-NPs have semi-crystalline structure with the degree of crystallinity depending upon the nature of synthesis. Our results show that functionalizing the 1.0% w/v CS-NPs with PEO increases the degree of crystallinity whereas functionalizing with the diblock copolymer PEO - PPG results in a significant increase in their degree crystallinity. The CS/TPP concentration (CS:TPP fixed at 1:1 ratio) had no apparent effect on the degree of crystallinity of the CS-NPs. The results from the FTIR analysis confirm incorporation of TPP with CS in the CS-NPs. Additionally, FTIR analysis shows an enhancement of hydrogen bonding that is consistent with the increase in the degree of crystallinity of the CS-NPs.

Purpose: Pandemic Novel Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) has emerger centered from wuhan, China. Structurally homologous spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 receptor is taxonomically homologous with SARS-Cov and SARS associated bat coronavirus. Still now scientists are trying to find out proper vaccine and treatments for this disease. Methods: Systematically we modeled and compared the structure of SARS-CoV-2 spike protein along with Bat Cov, Bat SARS Cov and SARS Cov Urbani. S1 and S2 unit of the coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) are attached with ACE2 and furin, here we docked 5 Ca+ chelating drugs with these two proteins. Results: Structural comparison with all these spike proteins revealed that less significant but not negligible difference exists among them. Inserted stable nucleotide sequences and corresponding surface exposed peptidal region may be considered as epitope. Docking result with Toxicokinetics and half life of Penicillamine can effectly inhibit the attachment site of spike protein of coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2). Conclusions: Docking summery and the pharmacokinetics with toxicokinetics index recommend that Penicillamine can able to inhibit the infection of SARS-CoV-2.

Salt stress is a major limiting factor for alfalfa yield due to its relatively low salt tolerance. High soil salinity adversely impacts alfalfa growth and development, leading to reduced yield. Melatonin (MT) is known to play a significant role in enhancing plant resistance to abiotic stresses. However, the mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated abiotic stress responses, particularly salt stress, are not well understood. To address this gap, we conducted a study focusing on germinating alfalfa seeds under salt stress. Physiological indexes and transcriptomics analyses were carried out on the germinated seeds to investigate the effects of melatonin on alfalfa seedlings under salt stress conditions. Our results revealed that the application of melatonin led to an increase in shoot length and fresh weight of alfalfa seedlings under salt stress. Moreover, key physiological indexes such as peroxidase (POD) activity and glutathione (GSH) content were enhanced, while levels of malondialdehyde and superoxide anions decreased. Transcriptomic analysis identified a total of 2,131 differentially expressed genes in the salt-treated group, with 726 up-regulated and 1,405 down-regulated genes, while the MT-treated group showed 2896 differentially expressed genes, of which 1,097 were up-regulated and 1,799 were down-regulated. Further, KEGG enrichment analysis highlighted the enrichment of differentially expressed genes in pathways including flavonoid biosynthesis, ABC transporter, glutathione metabolism, and the MAPK signaling pathway, with these pathways more significantly enriched in the MT-treated group. These findings collectively suggest that melatonin plays a crucial role in alfalfa's response to salt stress and offer new insights into the genomic mechanisms underlying melatonin-mediated salt tolerance in alfalfa.

Expansion tube is ideal energy absorber which dissipates kinetic energy through plastic deformation and friction. There is an urgent need to understand the influence of key parameter, e.g. semi angle, tube material, and friction coefficient, on the mechanical response and energy absorption characteristics of expansion tube. In the present work, the material properties of the tubes were tested under quasi-static loading condition, and the numerical simulations were carried out by using commercial software ABAQUS. Based on the validated finite element simulation, all the semi angle, tube material, and friction have significant effects on the energy absorption capacity of expansion tube. The expansion tube with high tensile stress of parent material have high energy absorption capacity, while the specific energy absorption is linear with the tensile stress/density of tube material. This work would give a guidance to the structural design and parent materials selection for expansion tubes.

The supply chain has incorporated products by putting them into hair scarfs. This study introduces the use of mini chips in health and beauty products and can reduce fatigue through enhanced sleep patterns. The mini chip could be placed in the scarf and used as a prototype. RFID technology provides the supply chain with specific information that is used to identify products and make communication easier. (Muhammad, et. al. 2013) This paper presents a new tool herein referred to as a scarf prototype which is developed to analyse EMG (electromyogram), ECG (electrocardiography), EEG (electroencephalogram), and EOG (electro-oculogram) signals that focuses in the area of sleep disorders. The mini chips used can be used to determine a solution for sleep disruption by using automated analytics. This could lead to improvement in our understanding of sleep disruption and overall sleep physiology. Automated technology allows repeated measurements, evaluation of sleep patterns, and provide suggestions to improve a person’s quality of sleep. This analysis compares the use of polysomnography and the scarf prototype. The analytics provide models and shows correlation between variables, such as EMG, ECG, EEG, and EOG. This study shows that the results from the scarf prototype is just as reliable as the original method, polysomnography.

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

The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area containing approximately 40% of the currently identified total coal reserves in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Due to the ongoing increase of mining activities, PM10 (air-borne particle with an aerodynamic diameter less than 10 micrometres) pollution has become a major air quality concern in local communities. This paper summarises the spatial and temporal variability modes of PM10 pollution in the region, based on long-term multi-site monitoring data and the application of the rotated principal component analysis (RPCA) and wavelet analysis techniques. RPCA identified two distinct air quality clusters/subregions in the valley, one in the west/northwest, the other in the southeast. Wavelet analysis revealed the annual cycle to be most persistent temporal mode of PM10 variability in both subregions, with intermittent signals observed at time scales of around 120, 30~90 and under 30 days. How these variation modes are related to the effects of local PM10 emissions and the influence of meteorology at different time scales deserves further attention in future work. The findings will be used in air quality reporting and forecasting in NSW. The methodology and results can also be useful for air quality research in similar regions elsewhere.

A new class of nano-cube core-shell heterostructures containing Ag coating on the top of WO₃ was fabricated. Physical vapor deposition was used to produce WO₃ based nano-heterostructures. All kind of wet toxic chemical process was avoided to make the process simple and contaminant free. Sputtering of WO₃ and a subsequent thermal annealing process was done to create nano-cubes of WO₃. After that, sputtering of Ag was performed to form the Ag-WO₃ core-shell nano-heterostructures (CSNH). The CSNHs were characterized using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD) and UV-vis spectroscopy. The morphologies, elemental analysis, interfaces, crystallinity, phases, and chemical compositions were analyzed. The bottom-up growth of WO₃ nanocubes was studied using different time periods at 900°C. Ag coating was also studied before and after annealing. Finally, an optical property (band gap) was also analyzed using Tauc plot derive from absorption spectra. The tailoring the band gap of WO₃ from ~2.9eV to ~ 2.45 eV was observed while Ag-WO₃ CSNH formed.

For many engineering applications it is sufficient to use the concept of simple materials. However, higher gradients of the kinematic variables are taken into account to model materials with internal length scales as well as to describe localization effects using gradient theories in finite plasticity or fluid mechanics. In many approaches length scale parameter have been introduced that are related to a specific micro structure. An alternative approach is possible, if a thermodynamically consistent framework is used for material modelling as shown in the present contribution. However, even if sophisticated and thermodynamically consistent material models can be established there are still not yet standard experiments to determine higher order material constants. In order to contribute to this ongoing discussion system identification based on the method of self-adaptive filtering is proposed in this paper. To evaluate the effectiveness of this approach it has been applied to second-order gradient materials considering longitudinal vibrations. Based on thermodynamically consistent models that have been solved numerically it has been possible to prove that system identification based on self-adaptive filtering can be used effectively for both narrow-band and broadband signals in the field of second-order gradient materials. It has also been found that the differences identified for simple materials and gradient materials allow for condition monitoring and detection of gradient effects in the material behavior.

In this paper, an adaptive proportional and integral (PI) controller for speed control of electric drives is developed. The adaptive PI controller is designed based on model reference adaptive identification and the Lyapunov function so that the system stability can be proved. To identify the inertia, the viscous friction torque coefficient, and the load torque simultaneously and smoothly, sinusoidal speed reference is usually employed. A modified motion equation considering the low-pass filter for feedback speed and the Coulomb friction torque is introduced and the relationship between the identified parameters and their actual values are clarified. A high-precision digital simulation model is built based on MATLAB/Simulink. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulations under various conditions.

Structural deformations are one of the most significant factor that affects machine tool (MT) positioning accuracy. These induced errors are complex to be represented by a model, nevertheless they need to be evaluated and predicted in order to increase the machining performance. This paper presents a novel approach to calibrate a machine tool in real-time, analyzing the thermo-mechanical errors through Fibre Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors embedded in the MT frame. The proposed configuration consists of an adaptronic structure of passive materials, Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymers (CFRP), equipped by FBG sensors that are able to measure in real-time the deformed conditions of the frame. By using a proper thermo-mechanical kinematic model, the displacement of the end effector may be predicted and corrected when it is subjected to external undesired factors. By starting from a set of FE simulations to develop a model able to describe the MT structure stresses, a prototype has been fabricated and tested. The scope was to compare the numerical model with the experimental tests using FBG sensors. The experimental campaign has been performed varying the structure temperature over time and measuring the tool tip point (TTP) positions. The obtained results showed a substantial matching between the real and the predicted position of TTP confirming the effectiveness of the proposed calibration system.

Innovative tissue engineering biomimetic hydrogels based on hydrophilic polymers have been investigated for their physical and mechanical properties. 5% to 25% by volume loading PHEMA-nanosilica glassy hybrid samples were equilibrated at 37°C in aqueous physiological isotonic and hypotonic saline solutions (0.15 and 0.05 M NaCl) simulating two limiting possible compositions of physiological extracellular fluids. The glassy and hydrated hybrid materials were characterized both for dynamo-mechanical properties and equilibrium absorptions in the two physiological-like aqueous solutions. Mechanical and the morphological modifications occurring in the samples have been described. The 5% volume nanosilica loading hybrid nanocomposite composition showed mechanical characteristics in the dry and hydrated states that were comparable to those of cortical bone and articular cartilage, respectively, and then chosen for further sorption kinetics characterization. Sorption and swelling kinetics were monitored up to equilibrium. Changes in water activities and osmotic pressures in the water-hybrid systems equilibrated at the two limiting solute molarities of the physiological solutions have been related to the observed anomalous sorption modes using the Flory-Huggins interaction parameter approach. The bulk modulus of the dry and glassy PHEMA-5% nanosilica hybrid at 37°C has been observed to be comparable with the values of the osmotic pressures generated from the sorption of isotonic and hypotonic solutions. The anomalous sorption modes and swelling rates are coherent with the difference between osmotic swelling pressures and hybrid glassy nano-composite bulk modulus: the lower the differences the higher the swelling rate and equilibrium solution uptakes. Bone tissue engineering benefits of use of tuneable biomimetic scaffold biomaterials that can be “designed” to act as biocompatible and biomechanically active hybrid interfaces are discussed.

Waste glycerol can be subjected to various processing operations, including purification and re-fining, to obtain glycerol of appropriate purity. In addition, alternative methods of utilising waste glycerol are also being sought, e.g. by converting it into other valuable chemical products or biofuels. Therefore, various technologies are being developed to utilise this type of waste effectively and sustainably. The production of value-added products from waste glycerol is an important issue that determines the improvement of the economic viability of biofuel production and corresponds to the model of a waste-free and emission-free circular economy. This paper characterised the mechanisms and evaluated the efficiency of existing methods of microbiological utilisation of waste glycerol into liquid biofuels, including biodiesel, bioethanol and biobutanol, and identified further directions for the production of value-added products. In addition, a bibliographical analysis of publications re-lated to the production of liquid fuels and economically valuable products from glycerol was carried out, the progress of research and application work was assessed and directions for future research were identified.

Abstract: A. baumannii exhibits resilience in harsh environments and progressively develops resistance to diverse antibacterial agents over time. This adaptability poses a significant challenge in treating an infection caused by this bacterium within healthcare settings. The presence of peptidoglycan, a crucial precursor for cell wall synthesis, contributes to this challenge. Peptidoglycan serves not only as a structural support in bacterial cells but also provides protection against adverse environmental conditions. The synthesis of the peptidoglycan layer involves a group of substrates such as N-acetylglucosamine (GlcNAc) and N-acetylmuramic acid (MurNAc), within a three-partitioned process occurring in the membrane, periplasmic space, and cytoplasm of each bacterium. Initiated in the cytoplasm and extending to the inner cell membrane, this synthesis starts with the production of nucleotide precursors. The first step involves the synthesis of UDP-GlcNAc, orchestrated by Glm (GlmS, GlmM, and GlmU) enzymes using fructose-6-phosphate. Subsequently, enzymes from the Mur family, namely MurB, MurA, MurD, MurC, MurI, MurF, and MurE, synthesize UDP-N-acetylmuramyl-pentapeptide (UDP-Mpp) from UDP-GlcNAc. Concurrently, on the cytosolic side, the production of membrane-surrounded undecaprenyl phosphate occurs, involving membrane-side proteins MraY and MurG in the biosynthesis of peptidoglycan. This review emphasizes updated information on Mur family proteins, encompassing physicochemical properties, nature of binding site, number and type of binding site residues, functional domain details, three-dimensional structural aspects, and their functions within bacterial cells. Special attention is directed towards their enzymatic role in peptidoglycan biosynthesis due to the limited availability of precursors in the market. Additionally, the review provides a comprehensive summary of existing inhibitors and ongoing efforts in identifying new targeted inhibitors, recognizing these enzymes as potential candidates for antibacterial drug design and discovery.

Phenolic compounds, present in plants, provide substantial health advantages, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which enhance cardiovascular and cognitive well-being. Australia is enriched with a wide range of plants with phytopharmacological potential, which needs to be fully elucidated. In this context, we analyzed leaves of aniseed myrtle (Syzygium anisatum), lemon myrtle (Backhousia citriodora), and cinnamon myrtle (Backhousia myrtifolia) for their complex phytochemical profile and antioxidant potential. LC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS was applied for screening and characterizing these Australian myrtles’ phenolic compounds and the structure-function relation of phenolic compounds. This study identified 145 and quantified/semi-quantified 27 phenolic compounds in these Australian myrtles. Furthermore, phenolic contents (total phenolic content (TPC), total condensed tannins (TCT), and total flavonoids (TFC)) and antioxidant potential of phenolic extracts from the leaves of Australian myrtles were quantified. Aniseed myrtle was quantified with the highest TPC (52.49 ± 3.55 mg GAE/g) and total antioxidant potential than other selected myrtles. Catechin, epicatechin, isovitexin, cinnamic acid, and quercetin were quantified as Australian myrtles' most abundant phenolic compounds. Moreover, chemometric analysis further validated the results. This study provides a new insight into the novel potent bioactive phenolic compounds from Australian myrtles that could be potentially useful for functional, nutraceutical, and therapeutic applications.

Various vaccines have been developed in response to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, and the safety of vaccines has become an important issue. COVID-19 vaccines-related central nervous system inflammatory demyelinating diseases (CNS IDDs) have been reported recently. We present one case of AstraZeneca vaccine-related myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) antibody-associated disease and literature review another 78 patients published from January 2020 to October 2022. Patients were divided into three vaccine groups (viral vector, mRNA and inactivated vaccines) for further analyses. Among 79 patients with COVID-19 vaccines-related CNS IDDs, 49 (62%) cases received viral vector vaccines, 20 (25.3%) received mRNA vaccines and 10 (12.7%) received inactivated vaccines. Twenty-seven cases (34.2%) were confirmed with autoantibodies, including 15 patients (19%) with anti-MOG, 11 (13.9%) with anti-aquaporin 4 (AQP4), and one (1.3%) with both antibodies. Significantly, more males developed CNS IDDs post viral vector vaccines compared to mRNA and inactivated vaccines. Patients receiving mRNA vaccines were older than other groups. Furthermore, mRNA and inactivated vaccines correlated more with anti-AQP4 antibodies, while viral vector vaccines showed higher MOG positivity. The research suggests potential associations between COVID-19 vaccines-related CNS IDDs and gender, age, and autoantibodies, contingent on vaccine types. Protein sequence analysis implies similarities between the S protein and AQP4/MOG. Further studies may elucidate the mechanisms of CNS IDDs, aiding vaccine selection for specific groups.

The process of sexual reproduction in eukaryotes starts when gametes from two different sexes encounter each other. Paramecium, a unicellular eukaryote, undergoes conjugation and uses a gametic nucleus to enter the sexual reproductive process. The molecules responsible for recognizing mating partners, hypothetically called mating-type substances, are still unclear. We have identified an O3-type mating substance polypeptide and its gene sequence using protein chemistry, molecular genetics, immunofluorescence, RNA inter-ference, and microinjection. The O3-type substance is a polypeptide found in the ciliary membranes, located from the head to the ventral side of cells. The O3-type substance has a kinase-like domain in its N-terminal part located outside the cell and four EF-hand motifs that bind calcium ions in its C-terminal part located inside the cell. RNA interference and immunofluorescence revealed that this polypeptide positively correlated with the expression of mating reactivity. Microinjection of an expression vector incorporating the O3Pc-MSP gene induced additional O3 mating type in the recipient clones of different mating types or syngen. Phylogenetic analysis indicates this gene is widely present in eukaryotes and exhibits high homology among closely related species. The O3Pc-MSP gene had nine silent mutations compared to the complementary mating type of the E3 homologue gene.

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

The study of rare diseases is important not only for the individuals affected but also for the advancement of medical knowledge and a deeper understanding of human biology and genetics. The wide repertoire of structural information now available from reliable and accurate prediction methods provides the opportunity to investigate the molecular origins of most of the rare diseases reviewed in the Orpha.net database. Thus, it has been possible to analyze the topology of the missense mutations found in the 2,535 proteins involved in Mendelian rare diseases (MRD), which form the database for our structural bioinformatics study. The amino acid substitutions responsible for MRD show different mutation site distributions at different three-dimensional protein depths. We then predicted the depth-dependent effects of mutations for the 20,248 pathogenic variants that are present in our database. The results of this structural bioinformatics investigation are relevant, as they provide additional clues to mitigate the damage caused by MRD.

This paper presents a study about the integration of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems (PE-EHS) in building envelopes for powering Fiber Bragg Grating (FBG) sensors, enabling efficient and low-consumption monitoring with the objective to leverage Structural Health Monitoring (SHM). The research includes preliminary tests conducted in a real environment to validate the PE-EHS when fully integrated into the façade, capturing mechanical vibrations generated mainly by wind loads. Based on these activities, the final configuration of PE-EHS is defined to provide a complete system for façade monitoring. This integrated system includes the Piezoelectric Generator (PEG), Supercapacitor (SC), Power Conditioner Circuit (PCC), Fibre Optic Sensing (FOS) Interrogator, and the IoT Gateway trans-mitting measurement data within an Internet of Things (IoT) monitoring platform. This configuration is tailored to address the challenges related to the structural integrity of building envelopes. Results demonstrate a potential for a stand-alone solution in the façade sector, but, raising issues for certain limitations, requiring further investigation. In particular, the study emphasizes constraints related to the energy production of PE-EHS for façade integration. It highlights the necessity to carefully consider these limitations within the broader context of their applicability, providing insights for the informed deployment of Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting technology in building envelope monitoring.

A Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) film with a thickness of approximately 1.5 μm was fabricated on a Mo-coated glass substrate by annealing a CZTS precursor fabricated from nanoparticle ink. The chemical states of the elements in the CZTS thin film in the depth direction were studied to identify the presence of secondary phases, which are detrimental to the performance of solar cells containing CZTS. X-ray diffraction was unable to detect any secondary phases in CZTS because of their small relative amount. Instead, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which is highly sensitive to chemical state, was conducted at different depths in the CZTS film to further check the presence of secondary phases. XPS analysis revealed peaks shift consistent with the presence of secondary phases. For the CZTS film annealed in a S atmosphere at 575 °C for 3 h, the film surface consisted of a secondary-phase layer composed of CuS, ZnS, and SnSx (x=1 or 2) originating from the decomposition of CZTS. At depths below 80 nm, the film was pure CZTS. Formation of MoS2 at the CZTS–Mo interface was confirmed by XPS analysis of Mo and S.

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

This paper presents experimental identification and vibration suppression of a flexible manipulator with non-collocated piezoelectric actuators and strain sensors using optimal multi-poles placement control. To precisely identify the system model, a reduced order transfer function with relocated zeros is proposed, and a first-order inertia element is added to the model to compensate the non-collocation. Comparisons show the identified model match closely with the experimental results both in the time and frequency domains, and a fit of 97.2% is achieved. Based on the identified model, a full-state multi-poles placement controller is designed, and the optimal locations of the closed loop poles are determined. The feasibility of the proposed controller is validated by simulations. Moreover, the controller is tested for different locations of the closed loop poles, and an excellent performance of the optimal locations of the closed loop poles is shown. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed controller is demonstrated by experiments. Results show that the vibrations of the expected modes are significantly diminished. Besides, vibrations of the higher modes are also slightly suppressed. Accordingly, multi-mode vibrations of the manipulator are well attenuated, and the tip displacement converges quickly with the proposed method.

Corrugated board is a composite material characterized by strong orthotropy in both the elastic and plastic phases. Additionally, due to its layered structure, which consists of alternately arranged flat and wavy layers of paper, its mechanics becomes complicated. Therefore, a precisely selected set of laboratory tests is needed to correctly identify all the necessary material parameters of cardboard. The work attempts to define a full set of laboratory tests in order to determine material parameters describing the linear-elastic, orthotropic behavior of cardboard and the basic parameters defining popular plasticity criteria, such as the asymmetric orthotropic Hoffman criterion. For this purpose, sensitivity analysis and numerical models of several selected basic laboratory tests were used. Since the aim of the work is to choose appropriate laboratory tests necessary to correctly determine the material parameters of corrugated board (not its individual layers), the numerical models do not contain detailed cardboard geometry, but only its homogenized representation in the form of the flat shell models. All numerical models are based on the nonlinear finite element method and constitutive modelling in the form of UMAT subroutines implemented in the ABAQUS software. Based on the analyses, appropriate measurements and laboratory tests were indicated that are most sensitive to the material parameters sought.

Zucchini (Cucurbita pepo L.) is an important crash crop for producing seeds in Inner Mongolia, China. In August 2021, the harvest season of seed-producing zucchini, fruit rot symptom (cv. Jindi No.1) was found in the Wuyuan region. The incidence of infected fruits of zucchini ranged from 10% to 30% and symptom consisted in 4 to 5 cm diameter lesions where the fruit was in contact with the soil. Ten isolations from six symptomatic fruits were preliminary classified as Fusarium species based on its morphological characters in potato dextrose agar. Phylogenetic tree was constructed by concatenating TEF-1α and RPB2 gene and exhibited the isolates clustered together with the Fusarium solani f. sp. cucurbitae sequences. Pathogenicity tests revealed that two isolates caused over 3 cm diameter lesions on the fruits while negative-controls remained asymptomatic. The colonies reisolated from the leasions were morphologically identical to the original isolates, thus fulfilling Koch’s postulates. Results demonstrated that F. solani f. sp. cucurbitae was the causal agent of fruit rot observed in the field. To our knowledge, this is the first report of fruit rot of seed-producing zucchini caused by F. solani f. sp. cucurbitae in Inner Mongolia, China.

The spike protein of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) attaches the virus to its cellular receptor, angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), which is mediated by the receptor binding domain (RBD) of the spike protein. Recently, an analysis based on decade-long structural studies of SARS was reported to illustrate with atomic-level details receptor recognition by the novel coronavirus from Wuhan, i.e., 2019-nCoV. Here, this article reports a comprehensive set of structural electrostatic analysis of all SARS-CoV spike protein RBD-related structures as of February 13, 2020, aiming at identifying the electrostatic hot spots for SARS-CoV spike protein to be complexed with ACE2 and its neutralizing antibodies. First, this article identified a structural action mechanism of the F26G19 antibody (of SARS-CoV spike protein), where its Asp56 residue binds to the Arg426 of the SARS-CoV spike protein RBD against the formation of the interfacial Arg426-Glu329 salt bridges between ACE2 and the SARS-CoV spike protein RBD. Second, a hypothesis is reported that a pair of electrostatic clips exist at the interface between ACE2 and the SARS-CoV spike protein RBD, including both Arg426-Glu329 and His445-Glu23-Lys447 salt bridges. Last, this article reports a structurally identified interfacial Glu35-Arg479 salt bridge which helps stabilize the complex structure of ACE2 and the SARS-CoV spike protein RBD. Overall, the structurally identified electrostatic hot spots reported here may be useful for the design of SARS-CoV-neutralizing antibodies in future.

Retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor γ (RORγ) is a transcription factor regulating the expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokine IL-17 in human T helper 17 (Th17) cells. Activating RORγ can induce multiple IL-17-mediated autoimmune diseases but may also be useful for anticancer therapy. Its deep immunological functions make RORɣ an attractive drug target. Over 100 crystal structures have been published describing atomic interactions between RORɣ and agonists and inverse agonists. In this review, we focus on the role of dynamic properties and plasticity of the RORɣ orthosteric and allosteric binding sites by examining structural information from crystal structures and simulated models. We discuss the possible influences of allosteric ligands on the orthosteric binding site. We find that high structural plasticity favors the druggability of RORɣ, especially for allosteric ligands.

In addition to the canonical loss-of-function mutations, mutations in proteins may additionally result in gain-of-function through the binary activation of cryptic ‘structural capacitance elements’. Our previous bioinformatic analysis allowed us to propose a new mechanism of protein evolution - structural capacitance – that arises via the generation of new elements of microstructure upon mutations that cause a disorder-to-order (DO) transition in previously disordered regions of proteins. Here we propose that the DO transition is a necessary follow-on from expected early codon-anticodon and tRNA acceptor stem-amino acid usage, via the accumulation of structural capacitance elements - reservoirs of disorder in proteins. We develop this argument further to posit that structural capacitance is an inherent consequence of the evolution of the genetic code.

The evolution of human societal dynamics over the course of decades and centuries has led to an ever-increasingly complex digital modern life, one of the hallmark of which is the need for multi-tasking, inclusive of that with media. Is there an empirical mapping between this macroscopic (digital) evolution of the human societal dynamics (in terms of multi-tasking) and the microscopic evolution of the functional molecular units within cells (i.e., proteins) and their manifold cross-talks? Multi-tasking requires a certain degree of intrinsic or adapted flexibility which is as true at the bio-molecular level. Evolutionary diversification of structure-function relationship in proteins emphasizes the functional importance of intrinsically disordered entities (IDPs/IDRs) which are highly dynamic biological soft matters. Multi-functionality is favorably supported by their fluid-like shapes and other new malleable members of the protein family. The new wealth of knowledge coming from recent research on protein intrinsic disorder, fold-switching, moonlighting, hub proteins etc. has given us new insights into protein structure – functional relationship. This has led to a paradigm shift in protein science, clearly diverging from the traditional 'one structure – one function' model applicable to enzyme classes to a more complex understanding of protein functionality. This paradigm shift has caused scientists to delve deeper into the subject, exploring various evolutionary toys and tools to fit the cumulative multi-functional demands in higher organisms. This commentary covers the different evolutionary arsenals to achieve the growing multi-functionality and argues in favor of protein intrinsic disorder as probably the sharpest weapon of all.

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

Research on titanium oxo complexes (TOCs) are usually focused on their structure and photocatalytic properties. Findings from these investigations spurred our interest in exploring also their potential biological activities. In this study, we focused on the synthesis and structure of a compound with the general formula [Ti8O2(OiPr)20(man)4] (1), which was isolated from the reaction mixture of titanium(IV) isopropoxide with mandelic acid (Hman) in a molar ratio of 4:1. The structure (1) was determined using single-crystal X-ray diffraction, while spectroscopic studies provided insights into its physicochemical properties. To assess the potential practical applications of (1), its microcrystals were incorporated into a polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) matrix, yielding composite materials of the type PMMA + (1) (2 wt.%, 5 wt.%, 10 wt.%, and 20 wt.%). The next stage of our research involved the antimicrobial activity evaluation of the obtained materials. Investigations carried out demonstrated antimicrobial activity of pure (1) and its composites (PMMA + (1)) against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative strains. Furthermore, MTT tests conducted on the L929 murine fibroblast cell line confirmed the lack of cytotoxicity of these composites. Our study identified (1) as a promising antimicrobial agent, also for producing composite coatings.

Shoulder tendinopathies produce pain and reduce functionality. The aim of this randomized clinical trial was to analyze the effects of Percutaneous electrolysis (PE), Percutaneous peripheral Nerve Stimulation (PNS) and eccentric exercise (EE), on pain (NPRS), strength, electromyographic activity, ultrasound characteristics of the tendon (echogenicity, thickness and hypervascularization) and functionality (DASH and SPADI) on individuals with supraspinatus tendinopathy. Participants (n=50) were divided into two groups, they received 4 treatment sessions, one per week, of PE and PNS (n=25) or 10 treatment sessions of TENS and US (n=25). Both groups performed EE program consisted of 3 sets of 10 repetitions of each of the 3 exercises, twice a day, during the 4 weeks. Follow-up was carried out at 4, 12 and 24 weeks after the start of the intervention. There are statistically significant differences in the analysis between groups (p<0.001) in the post-treatment and follow-up measurements favorable to the PE+PNS+EE treatment on pain (NPRS), strength, supraspinatus electromyographic amplitude, ultrasound characteristics of the tendon (echogenicity, thickness and hypervascularization) and DASH and SPADI questionnaires. The combined treatment PE, PNS and EE is an effective option in the clinical management of tendinopathies, with positive results in the short and long term on the variables studied.

The sympathetic restoration and conservation of built cultural heritage play a significant role in the management and preparedness for future climate scenarios by facilitating adaptive reuse, enhancing cultural resilience, preserving traditional knowledge, and boosting tourism. The importance of restoring damaged heritage sites after an earthquake drew international attention to Nepal after the 2015 Gorka Earthquake. UNESCO established an office in Kathmandu to promote the restoration of tangible and intangible heritage in the area. This included developing structural analyses of buildings with historical and cultural value that due to their nature cannot be intervened with the same methodology as modern buildings. In this paper, the case study of the earthquake-damaged Gopinath temple, is discussed. First, an initial visual inspection phase and the following diagnosis of the structure are discussed. Then, the results from a series of static and dynamic structural analyses performed to determine the safety level of the structure, together with a sensitivity analysis, are presented. A sympathetic intervention proposal capable of increasing the temple safety level and based on the addition of timber plates, has resulted in substantial improvements of the lateral behavior of the structure. The proposed intervention is deemed sustainable and able to increase the resilience of the temple in the face of future hazards.

For marine vessels, a propeller shaft system, also known as a propulsion shaft system, is an essential changer in engine torque and propeller thrust. The propeller shaft system is subjected to transverse, longitudinal, and torsional excitations during operation. These sources of excitations originate from alternating thrust generated by the propeller, operation of a propeller in a stern flow field which is non-uniform in time and space, misalignment of components such as shafts, bearings, and keyholes in the assembly, excitations in the form of rotational motion, and the whirling motion of the shafts. These dynamic excitations posed a challenging issue for the integrity and reliability of a marine vehicle. Thus, it is crucial to analyze the dynamic response of the propulsion shaft system. The dynamic analysis of the propulsion shaft system is typically conducted using numerical /analytical models. At present, Finite Element Model (FEM) as a numerical model plays a vital role in analyzing the dynamic response of the structure. The computed response and the modal parameters from the FE model are reliable only if accurate boundary conditions, such as stiffness, can be imposed on the model. However, the numerical FE model deviates from the experimental results because of uncertainties in the stiffness values of the bearings and other connectors. This paper uses the Response Surface Optimization (RSO) technique to estimate the unknown stiffness of the bearings used in the propulsion shaft system. The experimental model of the propeller shaft system is constructed from the steady-state response of the system using the step sine excitation. The natural frequencies and the amplitude of vibrations in the FE model are updated using the parametric RSO technique. The updated model shows that the difference in natural frequencies and vibration amplitude is less than 10% between the optimized and experimental models. Propeller Shaft, Vibrations, Optimization, Response Surface

The main purpose of this article is to identify brain diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's in an intelligent way using Python software and processing the function of neurons in the neural network areas of the brain, which are classified into different components, and the data is based on the information obtained from FMRI images using algorithms artificial intelligence can intelligently diagnose the type of disease. Therefore, by using spatial clustering based on the deep learning method with noise algorithm (DBSCAN), fMRI brain image and fMRI brain surface complexity are classified, and then image preprocessing will be applied to fMRI images by using artificial intelligence neural networks (ANN) algorithm. became. Then, by using the ANN algorithm and Deep CNN topology of the brain neural network, the type of disease in the brain can be diagnosed by simulating the performance of an artificial neural network (ANN) in Python software. Deep machine learning-based methods, especially algorithms based on neural networks, have shown great success in medical image analysis for various tasks including brain tumor detection, segmentation, and classification, and Alzheimer's and epilepsy. In this research, we propose an integrated model based on a convolutional neural network for simultaneous recognition and classification of brain diseases for intelligent diagnosis of tumors and epilepsy. The average accuracy obtained from our proposed model is 97.89 percent accuracy and 91.66 percent specificity.

With the widespread use of new equipment such as distributed photovoltaics, distributed energy storage, electric vehicles, and distributed wind power, the control of low-voltage distribution networks (LVDNs) has become increasingly complex. Acquiring the most recent topological structure is essential for conducting accurate analysis and real-time control of LVDNs. The signal-injection-based topology identification algorithm is favored for its speed and efficiency. This study proposes a new signal-injection-based topology identification algorithm aimed at solving the issues of reduced completeness and correctness of identification caused by missing feature signal records (FSRs). By analyzing the correlations between FSRs of different positions, the algorithm employs vertical and horizontal completion methods to effectively address missing data, combined with inclusion detection algorithms, to identify the topology of LVDNs. Based on the study of actual LVDN data, the results indicate that the algorithm not only significantly improves the completeness and correctness of topology identification for LVDNs but can also increase the number of devices in operation by evaluating the status of topological equipment, further enhancing the topology identification performance.

—The number of ATMs in various countries is increasing steadily and rapidly with the number of users increasing very widely. On the other hand, banks have become more interested in finding the best procedures to combat ATM crimes to ensure the safety and security of their customers and other cardholders. This has become an excellent target for some criminals or fraudsters, despite the limited amounts that can be withdrawn from these devices, given a maximum daily limit. We aim at implementing this system inside bank ATMs in order to detect objects like guns, hammers, and knives. Once the suspicious objects and actions are detected, we perform facial recognition to identify whether the suspect is a repeating offender. We use object, face, and action recognition algorithms to achieve our objective. Results showed that using our proposed algorithm is efficient in detecting threatening objects

In this paper we establish information theoretical bridges between 1) Thermal Heisenberg uncertainties $\Delta x \Delta p$ (at temperature $T$), and 2) LMC structural quantifiers. After having achieved such purpose, we determine to what an extent our bridges can be extended to both the semi classical and classical realms. Also, we find a strict bound relating a special LMC structural quantifier to quantum uncertainties.

Hepatotoxic microcystins (MCs) are the most widespread class of cyanotoxins and the one that has most often been implicated in cyanobacterial toxicosis. One of the main challenges in studying and monitoring MCs is the great structural diversity within the class. The full chemical structure of the first MC was elucidated in the early 1980s and since then the number of reported structural analogues has grown steadily and continues to do so, thanks largely to advances in analytical methodology. The structures of some of these analogues have been definitively elucidated after chemical isolation using a combination of techniques including nuclear magnetic resonance, amino acid analysis and tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Others have only been tentatively identified using liquid chromatography-MS/MS without chemical isolation. An understanding of the structural diversity of MCs, the genetic and environmental controls for this diversity and the impact of structure on toxicity are all essential to the ongoing study of MCs across several scientific disciplines. However, because of the diversity of MCs and the range of approaches that have been taken for characterizing them, comprehensive information on the state of knowledge in each of these areas can be challenging to gather. We have conducted an in-depth review of the literature surrounding the identification and toxicity of known MCs and present here a concise review of these topics. At present, at least 269 MCs have been reported. Among these, about 20% (54 of 269) appear to be the result of chemical or biochemical transformations of MCs that can occur in the environment or during sample handling and extraction of cyanobacterial, including oxidation products, methyl esters, or post-biosynthetic metabolites. The toxicity of many MCs has also been studied using a range of different approaches and a great deal of variability can be observed between reported toxicities, even for the same congener. This review will help clarify the current state of knowledge on the structural diversity of MCs as a class and the impacts of structure on toxicity, as well as to identify gaps in knowledge that should be addressed in future research.

This paper investigates a range of popular differential evolution (DE) configurations to identify components responsible for emergence of structural bias – a recently identified tendency of algorithms to prefer some regions of search space over others, for reasons unrelated to objective function values. Previous work has explored this tendency for genetic algorithms (GA) and particle swarm optimisation (PSO), finding a relationship between population size and extent of structural bias, hence highlighting potential weaknesses of those algorithms. In current article, we focus on DE, extend the investigation to include consideration of an algorithmic component that is often overlooked – constraint handling mechanism. Towards this end, a wide range of DE configurations was tested here. Results suggest that DE is generally robust to structural bias. Unlike the case with GA and PSO, population size seems to have no influence on DE structural bias. Only one of variants studied – DE/current-to-best/1/bin – shows clear signs of bias, however, we show that this effect is mitigated by a judicious choice of constraint handling technique. These findings contribute towards explaining widespread success of DE variants in algorithm comparison studies; its robustness to structural bias represents the absence of a factor that may confound other algorithms.

NiV2O6 thin films were grown on glass slides with varying thicknesses using the nebulizer spray pyrolysis. The impact of thickness on the thin films' optical, structural, morphological, and electrical characteristics was systematically investigated. The X-ray diffraction and micro-Raman analysis confirmed the formation of the triclinic NiV2O6 system. Surface morphology and roughness variations in the as-deposited NiV2O6 films were studied using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and a profilometer. Optical properties, including optical band gap (Eg), extinction coefficient (k), absorption coefficient (α), and refractive index (n), were determined through optical reflectance and transmittance measurements. The optical energy gap of the as-deposited NiV2O6 films decreased from 2.3 eV to 1.9 eV with increased layer thickness. Furthermore, the photo-detectivity of the films demonstrated an enhancement corresponding to the prolonged spray time. The sensitivity values obtained for visible irradiation are 328, 511, and 433 for samples S1, S2, and S3, respectively. The obtained results are imputed to the specific porous microstructure.

Insulin icodec of Novo Nordisk is a novel long-acting insulin analogue that exhibits an extended duration of action, providing a promising treatment option for individuals with diabetes. It has been reported that the incorporation of fatty acid moieties into insulin icodec plays a crucial role in its prolonged action, as these fatty acid chains facilitate the formation of stable hexameric structures, thereby delaying insulin absorption and promoting sustained release. Yet, the underlying biophysics still is elusive of the roles of the three site-specific mutations (Y14A\_E, Y37B\_H, F46B\_H) of insulin icodec in its prolonged activity. Thus, through a comprehensive structural and biophysical analysis of the insulin (both native and icodec) structures bound to its receptor, this article delves deep into the biophysics underlying the molecular design of insulin icodec, and identified a delicate biophysical mechanism through which two missense mutations of insulin icodec (Y37B\_H and F46B\_H) contribute to its prolonged duration of action. Overall, this structural and biophysical investigation provides valuable insights into the mechanisms underlying the relationship between three site-specific mutations and prolonged duration of action of insulin icodec, while understanding these modifications at a structural and biophysical level can aid in the rational design of future long-acting insulin analogues, offering further enhanced therapeutic options for diabetic patients.

With challenged early detection came the collapse of a school roof, initiating a storm of public mistrust and hundreds of schools under investigation in the United Kingdom. The culprit is a poorly understood material heavily used in the 1950s to mid-1990s, reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC). As a lightweight material with excellent insulation, RAAC was mainly used in roof and floor panels in many parts of the world. However, RAAC has a comparatively weak compressive strength, poor reinforcement anchorage, and high permeability and susceptibility to creep. The uniqueness of RAAC properties is exacerbated by poor manufacturing, negligent construction and maintenance as well as structural deviations from original design intent. Current guidance lacks in specifying RAAC management strategies beyond recommendations for periodic surveying. This paper delivers a state-of-the-art review of the material properties and structural performance of RAAC to recommend improved measures characterised by non-destructive testing methods and digital asset management. The reviewed literature targets understanding the influence of variable environmental exposure conditions, reinforcement condition, operational loading variations, structural deficiencies, and ageing, to predict their effect on the mechanism of RAAC failure. The established risk factors of RAAC are examined to inform of feasible response strategies against specific issues encountered in affected RAAC structures such as inadequate bearings, compromised transverse reinforcement, and environmental conditions.

The BH 25 railway bridge, located in Indonesia, consists of three spans: 9.5 m (span-1 girder type), 21.9 m (span-2 truss type), and 9.6 m (span-3 girder type). Despite the initial plan for camber, it was not achieved, leading to the installation of temporary support on span-2. To assess the level of damage and determine the necessary steps, static and dynamic tests were conducted using a CC206 locomotive. The maximum deflection was recorded at -4.60 mm for span-1, -11.30 mm for span-2, and -3.42 mm for span-3. The dominant frequency in the vertical direction of span-2 was found to be 14.65 Hz. Due to the inability to achieve the planned camber and the subsequent removal of temporary support, external prestressing will be implemented, resulting in a camber of 11.82 mm. This change in prestressing also affects the dominant frequency of span-2, which becomes 17.07 Hz.

We evaluate performance of Isogeometric analysis (IGA) for structural deformation and automobile crash. In automobile crash analysis, ensuring the accuracy of the acceleration, velocity and load in time series as well as the deformation behavior is important. To maintain the aforementioned consistency, accurately reproducing the bending and buckling of structural members is indispensable. In this study, we firstly compute the bending and buckling of structural members using IGA and validate its performance by comparing the results with conventional finite element analysis and experiments. In addition, we utilize IGA for the crash analysis of an automobile body.

TmMgB5O10 spontaneous crystals were synthesized via flux-growth technique from a K2Mo3O10-based solvent. The crystal structure of the compound was solved and refined within the space group P21/n. The first principles calculations of the electronic structure reveal that TmMg-pentaborate is an insulator with an indirect energy band gap of approximately 6.37 eV. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements and powder X-ray diffraction studies of heat-treated solids show that TmMgB5O10 is an incongruent melting compound. A characteristic band of Tm3+ cation corresponding to the 3H6 → 1D2 transition is observed in the photoluminescence excitation spectra of TmMg-borate. The as-obtained crystals exhibit intense blue emission with the emission peaks centered at 455, 479, 667 and 753 nm. The most intensive band corresponds to the 1D2 3F4 transition.

Supramolecular structures are of great interest due to their applicability in various scientific and industrial fields. These fields of scientific action include promising applications i biomedical areas, in sensing, and in conductive and electrical phases. The sensible definition of supramolecular molecules is being set by investigators, who, because of the different sensitivities of their methods and observational timescales, may have different views as to what constitute these supramolecular structures. Besides, diverse polymers can be found to offer unique avenues for multifunctional systems with properties in medicine industrial applications. Aspects of this review provide different conceptual strategies to address molecular design, properties, and potential applications of self-assembly materials and the use of metal coordination as a feasible and useful strategy for constructing complex supramolecular structures. In this order of appreciations and ideas order, it is that this review report involves classic topics such as hydrogels that range from their relationship with drug delivery systems, to metallo-supramolecular materials, through applications in ophthalmic systems, in applications that require adhesiveness and electrically conductive hydrogels. This review also addresses systems that are largely based on hydrogel chemistry and the enormous opportunities to design very specific structures for applications that demand enormous specificity.

Whether there is any inclination between structures and functions of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) is a mystery yet to be unraveled. AMPs have various structures associated with many different antimicrobial functions, including antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal, antiparasitic and antiviral activities. However, none has yet reported any antimicrobial functional tendency within a specific category of protein/peptide structures nor any structural tendency of a specific antimicrobial function with respect to AMPs. Here we examine the relationships between structures categorized by three structural classification methods (CATH, SCOP and TM) and seven antimicrobial functions with respect to AMPs using an enrichment analysis. The results show that antifungal activities of AMPs were tightly related to two-layer sandwich structure of CATH, knottin fold of SCOP, and the first structural cluster of TM. The associations with knottin and TM cluster 1 even sustained through the AMPs with a low sequence identity. Besides, another significant mutual enrichment was observed between the third cluster of TM and anti-gram-positive-bacterial/anti-gram-negative-bacterial activities. The findings of the structure-function inclination further our understanding of AMPs and could help us design or discover new therapeutic potential AMPs.

The outbreak of a novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV2) associated with acute respiratory disease called COVID-19 marked the introduction of the third spillover of an animal CoV to humans in the last 2 decades. The SARS-CoV2 genome analysis with various bioinformatics tools revealed that it belongs to beta CoVs genera, with highly similar genome as bat coronavirus and receptor binding domain (RBD) of spike glycoprotein as Malayan pangolin coronavirus. Based on its genetic proximity, SARS-CoV2 is likely to be originated from bat derived CoV and transmitted to humans via an unknown intermediate mammalian host, probably Malayan pangolin. Further spike protein S1/S2 cleavage site of SARS-CoV2 has acquired polybasic furin cleavage site which is absent in bat and pangolin suggesting natural selection either in an animal host before zoonotic transfer or in humans following zoonotic transfer. In the current review, we recapitulate a preliminary opinion about the disease, origin and life cycle of SARS-CoV2, roles of virus proteins in pathogenesis, commonalities and differences between different corona viruses. We have also highlighted the evidences regarding the potential drugs and vaccine candidates with their modes of action to cope with this viral outbreak. Our review provides comprehensive up-dated information on molecular aspects of the SARS-CoV2.

Impressing discoveries in the field of the genetic code have been described by its researchers by means of the terminology borrowed from linguistics and the theory of communications. Leading experts on structural linguistics believe for a long time already that languages of human dialogue were formed not from an empty place, but they are continuation of genetic language or, anyhow, are closely connected with it, confirming the idea of information commonality of organisms. The aticle continues the theme about a connection of linquistic languages with the genetic language. It describes results of comparative study of long Russian literary texts (novels by L.Tolstoy, F.Dostoevsky, A.Pushkin, etc.) and long sequences of hydrogen bonds in double helixes of DNA of different organisms. Formalisms of quantum informatics are used in modeling some of these results taking into account thoughts of many researches about possible using principles of quantum informatics in organisation of living bodies.

The peptidyl-prolyl isomerases of the cyclophilin type are distributed throughout human cells, including eight found solely in the nucleus. Nuclear cyclophilins are involved in complexes that regulate chromatin modification, transcription, and pre-mRNA splicing. This review collects what is known about the eight human nuclear cyclophilins: PPIH, PPIE, PPIL1, PPIL2, PPIL3, PPIG, CWC27, and PPWD1. Each “spliceophilin” is evaluated in relation to the spliceosomal complex in which it has been studied, and current work studying the biological roles of these cyclophilins in the nucleus are discussed. All eight of the human splicing complexes available in the PDB are analyzed from the viewpoint of the human spliceophilins. Future directions in structural and cellular biology, and the importance of developing spliceophilin-specific inhibitors, are considered.

The synthesis of four samples of new polyurethanes was evaluated by changing the ratio of the diol monomers used, poly(propylene glycol) (PPG) and D-isosorbide, in the presence of aliphatic isocyanates such as the isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI) and 4,4′-methylenebis(cyclohexyl isocyanate) (HMDI). The thermal properties of the four polymers obtained were determined by DSC, exhibiting Tg values in the range 55-70 ºC, and their molecular structure characterized by FTIR, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopies. The diffusion coefficients of these polymers in solution were measured by the Pulse Gradient Spin Echo (PGSE) NMR method, enabling the calculation of the corresponding hydrodynamic radii in diluted solution (1.62–2.65 nm). The molecular weights were determined by GPC/SEC and compared with the values determined by quantitative 13C NMR analysis. Finally, the biocompatibility of the polyurethanes was assessed using the HaCaT keratinocyte cell line by the MTT reduction assay method showing values superior to 70% cell viability.

Spirit of science is one of the important components of science education theory. It not only directly affects the level of science education, but also indirectly affects the selection, education and evaluation of scientific researchers, and the development of science and technology in a country or region. Although more than a century ago, the researchers began to discuss the topic of spirit of science. However, to date, the research of the definition, attribute, structural model and its characteristics of the spirit of science has not yet made a breakthrough. Based on the detailed literature review, the related theoretical analysis and the research of the structural model of the spirit of science, this paper puts forward the new definition, the attribute and the establishment of the structural model of the spirit of science, and analyzes the match the situation from new structural model of the spirit of science and the scientific nature published by the American Society for the Advancement of Science. The results of this study are of great significance for raising the level of scientific education and cultivating future scientific researchers, enhancing their motivation and skills in innovation in scientific research and promoting the development of future scientific undertakings.

Fingerprints are essential for human identification and are valuable tools in criminal investigations. The pursuit of new materials for digital printing is expanding, with increasing interest in natural compounds such as bixin, sourced from annatto seeds. Despite its traditional use as a natural dye with medicinal properties, the potential of bixin in papilloscopy remains largely untapped. In this study, we meticulously extracted bixin from annatto seeds and meticulously developed composites incorporating zinc carbonate (bixin/ZnCO3) and kaolinite (bixin/kaolinite). UV-visible spectroscopy was used for characterization, and the extracted bixin showed absorption peaks at 429, 453, and 481 nm, which were very similar to standard peaks at 429, 457, and 487 nm. The two samples also had the same retention times (7.07 min) according to further liquid chromatography analysis. Sweat pores were easier to detect thanks to the effectiveness of the bixin/ZnCO3 and bixin/kaolinite composites in creating high contrast sebaceous and natural latent fingerprints. These results highlight the composites’ potential as novel and fascinating instruments for papilloscopy applications, which might also improve forensic investigations.

We have now identified two thermodynamically distinct types (A and B) of energetic processes naturally occurring on Earth. Type A energy processes such as the classical heat engines, apparently well follow the second law of thermodynamics; Type B energy processes, such as the newly discovered thermotrophic function that isothermally utilizes environmental heat energy to do useful work in driving ATP synthesis, which follows the first law of thermodynamics (conservation of mass and energy) but does not have to be constrained by the second law, owing to their special asymmetric functions. Several Type-B energy processes such as asymmetric-function-gated isothermal electricity and epicatalysis have been created through human efforts. The innovative efforts on Type-B processes to enable isothermally utilizing endless environmental heat energy could help to liberate all peoples from their dependence on fossil fuel energy, thus helping to reduce greenhouse gas CO2 emissions and control climate change towards a sustainable future for the humanity on Earth.

Paraphrase Generation is one of the most important and challenging tasks in the field of Natural Language Generation. The paraphrasing techniques help to identify or to extract/generate phrases/sentences conveying the similar meaning. The paraphrasing task can be bifurcated into two sub-tasks namely, Paraphrase Identification (PI) and Paraphrase Generation (PG). Most of the existing proposed state-of-the-art systems have the potential to solve only one problem at a time. This paper proposes a light-weight unified model that can simultaneously classify whether given pair of sentences are paraphrases of each other and the model can also generate multiple paraphrases given an input sentence. Paraphrase Generation module aims to generate fluent and semantically similar paraphrases and the Paraphrase Identification systemaims to classify whether sentences pair are paraphrases of each other or not. The proposed approach uses an amalgamation of data sampling or data variety with a granular fine-tuned Text-To-Text Transfer Transformer (T5) model. This paper proposes a unified approach which aims to solve the problems of Paraphrase Identification and generation by using carefully selected data-points and a fine-tuned T5 model. The highlight of this study is that the same light-weight model trained by keeping the objective of Paraphrase Generation can also be used for solving the Paraphrase Identification task. Hence, the proposed system is light-weight in terms of the model’s size along with the data used to train the model which facilitates the quick learning of the model without having to compromise with the results. The proposed system is then evaluated against the popular evaluation metrics like BLEU (BiLingual Evaluation Understudy):, ROUGE (Recall-Oriented Understudy for Gisting Evaluation), METEOR, WER (Word Error Rate), and GLEU (Google-BLEU) for Paraphrase Generation and classification metrics like accuracy, precision, recall and F1-score for Paraphrase Identification system. The proposed model achieves state-of-the-art results on both the tasks of Paraphrase Identification and paraphrase Generation.

The use of acoustic and magnetic methods of non-destructive testing to detect zones of stable localization of deformation in order to assess and predict the performance of long-term equipment is of scientific and practical interest at present. A structural-mechanical criterion has been developed, that reflects the revealed relationships between the structural and substructural states, internal stress fields and stable localization of deformations with the characteristics of non-destructive tests in the metal of long-term equipment made of structural 0.2 С steel and heat-resistant 0,12C-1Cr-1Mo-1V steel. The values of the structural-mechanical criteria Ks.-m for structural 0.2 С steel and for heat-resistant 0,12C-1Cr-1Mo-1V steel, corresponding to the moment of stable localization of deformation, are established. At the same time, it is recommended to replace the checked equipment nodes due to the exhaustion of the resource. The proposed and justified approach to assessing and predicting the performance and residual life of long-term power equipment, based on the identified relationships between the structural and substructural states, internal stress fields and stable localization of deformations with the characteristics of non-destructive tests and the calculation of the structural-mechanical criterion, was applied at a number of power plants in the Kemerovo region – Kuzbass. A methodology has been developed for evaluating the residual life, based on the identification and use of relationships between structural and substructural states, internal stress fields and stable localization of deformations with the characteristics of non-destructive tests and the calculation of a structural-mechanical criterion.

Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) is closely associated with tumor progression and metastasis. However, the relevance and role of VCAM-1 in lung cancer have not been clearly elucidated. In this study, we found that VCAM-1 was highly overexpressed in lung cancer tissue compared with that of normal lung, and high VCAM-1 expression correlated with poor survival of lung cancer patients. VCAM-1 knockdown reduced invasion in A549 human lung cancer cells, and competitive blocking experiments targeting the Ig-like domain 6 of VCAM-1 (VCAM-1-D6) demonstrated that the VCAM-1-D6 domain was critical for VCAM-1-mediated A549 cell invasion. Next, we developed a human monoclonal antibody specific to human and mouse VCAM-1-D6 (VCAM-1-D6 huMab), which was isolated from a human synthetic antibody library using phage display technology. Finally, we showed that VCAM-1-D6 huMab had a nanomolar affinity for VCAM-1-D6 and that it potently suppressed invasion in A549 and NCI-H1299 lung cancer cell lines. Taken together, these results suggest that VCAM-1-D6 is a novel therapeutic target in VCAM-1-mediated lung cancer invasion and that our newly developed VCAM-1-D6 huMab will be a useful tool for inhibiting VCAM-1-expressing lung cancer cell invasion.

The aim of the study is to identify structural characteristics of melanocytic nevi. In this context using microscope, could be possible a good describtion related melanocytic nevi, reffering to youth pacients.Jnowing the risk factors, one of the research direction is to have in attention the management options for melanocytic nevi. In this direction, implication of an interprofessional team strategies is one of the proper condition. Future directions refers to preventive and prophylactic methods.

As a crucial part of head protection equipment, research on the material and structural application of helmet liners has always been a hot topic in the field of helmet manufacturing. This paper aims to introduce the most common helmet liner materials, including traditional polystyrene, polyethylene, polypropylene, and others, as well as emerging materials such as anisotropic materials, and polymer nanocomposites. In addition, the design principles of helmet liner structure are discussed, including the evolution of multi-layer structure, integration of geometric irregular bubbles, etc., to enhance energy absorption capacity. Advanced manufacturing processes such as additive manufacturing technology are introduced to fabricate complex structures. Finally, the application of biomimetic structures in helmet liner design is explored. For example, the structure of biological tissue can be used to design a helmet liner structure with superior energy absorption performance. On this basis, the idea of bionic structures is extended to the combination of plant stalks and animal skeletal structures, and additive manufacturing technology is used to significantly reduce energy loss during elastic yield energy absorption, thus designing a reusable helmet. This provides a promising research direction for future helmet liner materials and structural applications.

One of the areas of research on materials for thin-film solar cells focuses on replacing In and Ga with more earth-abundant elements. In that respect, chalcostibite (CuSbS2) is being considered as a promising environmentally friendly and cost-effective photovoltaic absorber material. In the present work, single CuSbS2 phase have been synthesized directly by a short duration (2 h) mechanochemical synthesis step starting from mixtures of elemental powders. X-ray diffraction analysis of the synthesized CuSbS2 powders revealed a good agreement with the orthorhombic chalcostibite phase, space group Pnma, and a crystallite size of 26 nm. Particle size characterization revealed a multimodal distribution with a median diameter ranging from of 2.93 m to 3.10 m. The thermal stability of the synthesized CuSbS2 powders was evaluated by differential thermal analysis. No phase change was observed by heat treating the mechanochemically synthesized powders at 350 C for 24 h. By UV-VIS-NIR spectroscopy the optical bandgap was determined to be 1.41 eV, suggesting that the mechanochemically synthesized CuSbS2 can be considered suitable to be used as absorber materials. Overall, the results show that the mechanochemical process is a viable route for the synthesis of materials for photovoltaic applications.

DNA methylation, one of the major epigenetic mechanisms, plays critical roles in regulating gene expression, genomic stability and cell lineage commitment. Establishment and maintenance of DNA methylation in mammals is achieved by two groups of DNA methyltransferases: DNMT3A and DNMT3B, which are responsible for installing DNA methylation patterns during gametogenesis and early embryogenesis, and DNMT1, which is essential for propagating DNA methylation patterns during replication. Both groups of DNMTs are multi-modular proteins, containing a large N-terminal regulatory region in addition to the C-terminal methyltransferase domain. Recent structure-function investigations of the individual domains or large fragments of DNMT1 and DNMT3A have revealed the molecular basis for their substrate recognition and specificity, intramolecular domain-domain interactions, as well as their crosstalk with other epigenetic mechanisms. These studies highlight a multifaceted regulation for both DNMT1 and DNMT3A/3B, which is essential for the precise establishment and maintenance of lineage-specific DNA methylation patterns in cells. This review summarizes current understanding of the structure and mechanism of DNMT1- and DNMT3A-mediated DNA methylation, with emphasis on the functional cooperation between the methyltransferase and regulatory domains.

In plants and animals, endogenous biological molecules, termed damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) or alarmins, are released by damaged, stressed or dying cells following abiotic stress such as radiation and drought stress. In turn, a cascade of downstream signaling events is initiated leading to the up-regulation of defense-related genes. In the present study, in an effort to investigate the conservation status of the molecular mechanisms implicated in the danger signaling, thorough in silico phylogenetic and structural analyses of the effector biomolecules were performed in taxonomically diverse plant species. On the basis of our results, the defense mechanisms appear to be largely conserved within the plant kingdom. Of note is our finding that the sequence and/or function of several components of these mechanisms were found to be conserved in animals, as well.

A high-voltage transmission tower consists of structures to avoid the risk of electric shock and to prevent the risk of collapse. Hence, towers are generally designed to be high-rise for efficiency. The main posts of the tower are primary structural members that resist loads under various load conditions. Therefore, the contribution of the secondary member to securing the stiffness and strength of the main posts by reducing the effective buckling length is important. However, there are no detailed design criteria for secondary members. In this study, the structural effects of horizontal members and braces on the torsional stiffness, elastic buckling strength, and load-carrying capacity of transmission towers were observed through various structural analysis methods including linear-elastic, eigenvalue, and geometric nonlinear and inelastic analyses under governing load combinations. According to the analytical study, rather than the horizontal members, the brace spacing significantly affects the structural performance. Therefore, the number of horizontal members can be minimized if sufficient brace members are erected. If the brace spacing is wide, it is recommended that the horizontal members be erected to create K bracing, and the buckling resistance of the main posts can be thus enhanced.

All living organisms require some metal ions for their energy production as well as metabolic and biosynthetic processes. Within cells, metal ions are involved in the formation of adducts interact with metabolites and macromolecules (proteins and nucleic acids). The proteins that require binding to one or more metal ions to be able to carry out their physiological function are called metalloproteins. About one third of all protein structures in the Protein Data Bank involve metalloproteins. Over the past few years there has been a tremendous progress in the number of computational tools and techniques making use of 3D structural information to support the investigation of metalloproteins. This trend has been boosted also by the successful applications of neural networks and deep learning approaches in molecular and structural biology at large. In this review, we discuss recent advances in the development and availability of resources dealing with metalloproteins from a structure-based perspective. We start by addressing tools for the prediction of metal-binding sites (MBSs) using structural information on apo-proteins. Then, we provide an overview of methods for and lessons learned from the structural comparison of MBSs in a fold-independent manner. We then move to describing databases of metalloprotein/MBS structures. Finally, we summarize recent DL applications enhancing the functional interpretation of metalloprotein structures.

This study proposes the first extracellular domain (residues 1-34) of the CCR1 protein as the Gc protein-derived Macrophage Activating Factor (GcMAF) receptor. The CCR1 gene, expressed in monocytes and 168 other cell types or tissues, encodes this transmembrane protein. Electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions, along with hydrogen bonds mediate the molecular interactions between the TPT^420-GalNAcELAK (or TPK⁴²⁰ELAK) sequences of GcMAF (or Gc2 protein variant) and the TTEDYDTTT sequence of its receptor.

Chromoblastomycosis (CBM) and phaeohyphomycosis (FEO) are infections caused by melanized filamentous fungal agents, primarily found in tropical and subtropical regions. Both infections pose significant challenges for the correct identification of the causative agent due to their morphological similarity, making conventional methods of morphological analysis highly subjective. Therefore, molecular techniques are necessary for the precise determination of these species. In this regard, this study aimed to contribute to a new methodology based on PCR-RFLP for the identification of agents causing CBM and FEO. Sequences from the ITS region were used to identify potential restriction enzyme sites in silico, followed by in vitro validation using the selected restriction enzymes. The obtained results were compared with species identification through morphological analyses and sequencing. The results demonstrated that the PCR-RFLP applied in this study accurately identified two major agents of chromoblastomycosis, Fonsecaea pedrosoi and Fonsecaea monophora, as well as Cladophialophora bantiana and Exophiala dermatitidis, both causative agents of phaeohyphomycosis. In this context, the proposed assay can complement current methods for identifying these species, aiding in diagnosis, and contributing to the proper management of these infections.

Plant secondary metabolites are organic compounds (alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, tannins, anthraquinones, saponins, steroids, lignins, terpenes) produced by plant for self-defense during growth and development in order to protect them from harmful agents. As population is increasing and quality of life is reducing couple with outbreak of some diseases that are posing threat on the economy, a lot of medicinal plants have attracted interest of researchers because of the usefulness of these metabolites in pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetic industries. In this review, the pharmacological activities of some medicinal plants that are rich in secondary metabolites were studied, means of identifying and quantifying using spectrophotometry and chromatography techniques were also discussed. However, this will assist to reduce the uses and dependent on the synthetic drug and the onset of the age related diseases.

New dimers of selected dipyridothiazines with an m-xylene linker have been designed, synthesized and characterized. Their structure was identified using 1H and 13C NMR as well as 2D NMR techniques (COSY, ROESY, HSQC and HMBC experiments) and HR MS spectrometry. The compounds were subjected to preliminary in silico biological profile tests using the Way2Drug server and analysis of the probable cytotoxic effect on various cancer cell lines. Preliminary in vitro cytotoxicity tests were performed against normal cell lines (HaCaT) and five cancer cell lines (SW480, SW620, MDA-MB-231, A-549, LN-229) showing moderate activity. An analysis of the structure-activity relationship was performed.

The normal ageing process significantly affects resistance arteries, leading to various biological and physiological consequences. Systolic hypertension is a common occurrence in ageing individuals, accompanied by increased large artery stiffening, heightened pulsatility, small artery remodeling, and damage to critical microvascular structures. Starting from young adulthood, there is a progressive elevation in mean arterial pressure, supported by clinical and epidemiological evidence as well as findings from animal models. The myogenic response, a protective mechanism for the microcirculation, may face disruptions during ageing. Dysregulation of calcium entry channels (T-type, L-type, TRP channels), dysfunction in intracellular calcium storage and extrusion mechanisms, altered expression of potassium channels, and a change in smooth muscle calcium sensitization may contribute to age-related dysregulation of myogenic tone. Flow-mediated vasodilatation, a hallmark of endothelial function, is compromised in ageing. This result of endothelial dysfunction is related to oxidative stress, lower nitric oxide bioavailability and a low-grade inflammatory response, further exacerbating vascular dysfunction. Resistance artery remodeling in ageing emerges as a hypertrophic response of the vessel wall, often seen in conjunction with outward remodeling (in normotension), but can also present as inward hypertrophic remodeling (in hypertension). The remodeling process involves oxidative stress, inflammation, reorganization of extracellular matrix fiber proteins and actin cytoskeletal components. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) signaling and chronic low-grade inflammation, often referred to as "inflammaging”, play substantial roles in age-related vascular dysfunction. Due to its role in regulation of vascular tone as well as structural proteins, the RhoA/Rho-kinase pathway becomes a new target in age-related vascular dysfunction and associated diseases. Understanding the intricate interplay of these factors is crucial for developing targeted interventions to mitigate the consequences of ageing on resistance arteries and enhance overall vascular health.

The article presents a method for obtaining new composites using a well-known mineral, expanded perlite (EP), and an industrial polymer, butadiene rubber (BR). For the design of composites, a joint oxidative chlorophosphorylation reaction of BR and EP (as well as BR and modified EP) was carried out, and the modifications obtained from this reaction were further hydrolyzed. The structure and morphology of the obtained samples were characterized in detail using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ultraviolet-visible spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, as well as scanning electron microscopy, and energy-dispersive X-ray analysis. EP and BR were separately modified with a similar reaction and characterized for data interpretation.

Glycans play important roles as recognition molecules on cell surfaces in living organisms due to their remarkable structural diversity. Carbohydrates exist in numerous isomeric forms and can adopt diverse structures through various branching patterns. Despite their relatively small molecular weights, they exhibit extensive structural diversity. On the other hand, lectins, also known as carbohydrate-binding proteins, not only recognize and bind to the diverse structures of glycans but also induce various biological reactions based on structural differences. Initially discovered as hemagglutinins in plant seeds, lectins have been found to play significant roles in cell recognition processes in higher vertebrates. However, our understanding of lectins in marine animals, particularly marine invertebrates, remains limited. Recent studies have revealed that marine animals possess novel lectins with unique structures and glycan recognition mechanisms not observed in known lectins. Of particular interest is their role as pattern recognition receptors in the innate immune system, where they recognize glycan structures of pathogens. Furthermore, lectins serve as toxins for self-defense against foreign enemies. Recent discoveries have identified various pore-forming proteins containing lectin domains in fish venoms and skins. These proteins utilize lectin domains to bind target cells, triggering oligomerization and pore formation in the cell membrane. These findings have spurred research into the new functions of lectins and lectin domains. In this review, we present recent findings on the diverse structures and functions of lectins in marine animals.

Sensing Technology (ST) plays a key role in Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) systems. ST focuses on developing sensors, sensory systems or smart materials that monitor a wide variety of materials properties aiming to create smart structures and smart materials, using Embedded Sensors (ESs), and allowing continuous and permanent measurements of the structural integrity. The integration of ESs is limited to the processing technology to embed the sensor due to its high-temperature sensitivity and the possibility of damage during its insertion into the structure. In addition, the technological process selection is dependent on the base material composition, either metallic or composite parts. The selection of smart sensors or the technology underlying them is fundamental to the monitoring mode. This paper presents a critical review of the fundaments and applications of sensing technologies for SHM employing ESs, focusing on the actual developments and innovation of these, as well as analysing the challenges that these technologies present, to build a path that allows a connected world through distributed measurement systems.

Turbulence is a fluid dynamic problem refractory to mathematical treatment. Examining a theoretical model of liquid water flowing in a cylinder at different Raleigh numbers, we propose a novel approach to elucidate the first stages of turbulent flows. The weakly bonded molecular assemblies of liquid water form a fluctuating branched polymer in which every micro-cluster displays different density. Against the common view of liquid water as an incompressible and continuous fluid, we suggest that the occurrence of transient local aggregates could be able to generate the vortices and eddies that are the hallmarks of turbulence. We quantify the local changes in velocity, diameter and density required to engender “obstacles” to the average flow. Then, we show how these microstructures, equipped with different Raleigh numbers and characterized by high percolation index, could generate boundary layers that contribute to micro-vortices production. We conclude that the genesis of turbulence cannot be assessed in terms of collective phenomena, rather is sustained, among many other factors, by the underrated microscopic inhomogeneities of fluids like liquid water.