Antibacterial bone cements (ABCs), such as antibiotic-loaded bone cements (ALBCs), have been widely utilized in clinical treatments. Currently, bone cements loaded with vancomycin, gentamicin, tobramycin, or clindamycin are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. However, traditional ALBCs exhibit drawbacks like burst release and bacterial resistance. Therefore, there is a demand for the development of antibacterial bone cements containing novel agents. In this review, we summarize the latest advancements in ABCs. More importantly, we provide an overview and outlook on novel antibacterial agent-loaded bone cements, including metallic antibacterial agents, pH-switchable antibacterial agents, cationic polymers, N-halamines, non-leaching acrylic monomers, antimicrobial peptides, etc. Offering novel perspectives for designing ABCs and treating bone infections.

Off-grid electrification planning increasingly recognizes the importance of productive use of electricity (PUE) to promote community value creation and (financial) project sustainability. To ensure a sustainable and efficient integration in the community and energy system, PUE assets must carefully be evaluated to match both the community needs and the residential electricity demand patterns. We propose a novel methodology interlinking qualitative interviews, statistical analysis, and energy system modelling to optimize decision-making for PUE integration in off-grid energy systems in rural Madagascar by aligning relevant PUE effectively with anticipated residential electricity demand patterns based on socio-economic determinants of the community. We find that a possible contribution of the PUE to reducing the electricity costs depends signifi-cantly on three factors: 1. the residential electricity consumption patterns that are influenced by the socio-economic composition of the community, 2. the degree of flexibility of i) PUE assets and ii) operational preferences of the PUE user, and 3. the capacity of community members to finance and operate PUE assets. Our study demonstrates that significant cost reductions for PUE-integrated off-grid energy systems can be achieved by applying our proposed methodology. When matching PUE and residential consumption patterns, the integration of PUE assets in residential community energy system can reduce the financial risk of operators, provided the PUE enterprise operates reliably and sustainably. We highlight that the consideration of local value chains and co-creation approaches are essential to ensure the energy system is addressing the community’s needs, creates value for the community, enhances the project´s financial sustainability, and is achieving the overall objectives of decentralized energy system planning.

SOC stock (SOCS) changes caused by land use changes are still unclear, and understanding this response is essential for many environmental policies and land management practices. In this study, we investigated the temporal-spatial and vertical distribution characteristics of SOCS on the Western Sichuan Plateau (WSP) using the sparrow search algorithm-random forest regression (SSA-RFR) models with excellent model applicability and accuracy. The temporal-spatial varia-tions in the SOCS were modeled using 1080 soil samples and a set of nine environmental covariates. We analyzed the effect of land use changes on the SOCS on the WSP. The total SOCS increased by 18.03 Tg C from 1990 to 2020. The results of this study confirmed that the SOCS in the study area has increased significantly since 2010, with an increase of 27.88 Tg C compared to the total SOCS in 2010. We found that the spatial distribution of the SOCS increased from southeast to northwest, and the vertical distribution of the SOCS in the study area decreased with increasing soil depth. Forest and grassland are the main sources of SOCS, the total SOCS in the forest and grassland accounted for 37.53 and 59.39% of the total SOC pool in 2020, respectively. Expansion of the wetlands, forest, and grassland areas could increase SOCS in the study area.

In this article, we describe a simple procedure for evaluating the sterility of nutrient media using a shear-horizontal surface acoustic wave (SH-SAW) biosensor. We used the SH-SAW biosensor platform to monitor the time-dependent phase responses of the material for the media that binds to a monolayer of 3-mercaptopropanyl-N-hydroxy succinimide on the biosensor surface. Increases in the phase shift less than 50% of the starting phase shift recorded 180 minutes after the sterilization indicate a successful sterility test of the media. Our devices were then applied to sterility testing using a viable Escherichia coli (E. coli) K-12 solution to confirm our hypothesis. Filtered LB Broth was the negative control, and a 24-hour culture of E. coli was the positive control. Before testing, the cell solution was pelleted, the media decanted, and then replaced with a 1x phosphate-buffered saline solution (1x PBS). Since we know that the N-hydroxysuccinimide residues will bind to amine groups, only in cases where microbial species are present will the surface binding increase greater than 50%. We confirmed our hypothesis using SH-SAW biosensors and overnight E. coli cultures. The sensitivity for our 250 MHz quartz SH-SAW sensors was calculated based on the response from the E. coli K-12 solution over the linear dynamic range, which appears to be 2x10^4 – 2x10^7 CFU per ml and has a sensitivity of S = 1.655x10^5 o m2 Kg-1. The limit of detection (LOD) for these sensors was calculated to be approximately 2x10^-9 grams (g), which is estimated to be approximately 2,000 Escherichia coli (E. coli) K-12 cells. However, the sensitivity and insertion loss remained approximately unchanged before and after coating the sensor with 3,3'-Dithiobis(succinimidyl) Propionate (DSP).

The Upper Hunter Valley is a major coal mining area 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. The early part of this study identified two air quality subregions in the valley. This paper aims to provide a holistic summarisation of the relationships between elevated PM10 pollution in two subregions and the local- and synoptic-scale meteorological conditions for spring and summer, when PM10 pollution is relatively high. A catalogue of twelve synoptic types and a set of six local meteorological patterns have been quantitatively derived and linked to each other using the self-organising map (SOM) technique. The complex meteorology-air pollution relationships have been visualised/interpretated on the SOM planes for two representative locations. It was found that the influence of local meteorological patterns differed significantly for mean PM10 levels vs the occurrence of elevated pollution events and between air quality subregions. In contrast, synoptic types showed generally similar relationships with mean vs elevated PM10 pollution in the valley. Two local meteorological patterns, the hot-dry-northwesterly wind conditions and the hot-dry-calm conditions, were found most PM10 pollution conducive in the valley when combined with a set of synoptic counterparts. These synoptic types are featured with the influence of eastward migrating continental high pressure system and westerly troughs, or a ridge extending northwest towards coastal northern NSW or southern Queensland from the Tasman Sea. The method and results can be used in air quality research for other locations of NSW, or similar regions elsewhere.

Retiring coal power plants can reduce air pollution and health damages. However, the spatial distribution of those impacts remains unclear due to complex power system adjustments and pollution chemistry and transport. Focusing on coal retirements in Pennsylvania (PA), we analyze six counterfactual scenarios for 2019 that differ in retirement targets (e.g., reducing 50% of coal-based installed capacity vs. generation) and priorities (e.g., closing plants with higher cost, closer to Environmental Justice Areas, or with higher CO₂ emissions). Using a power system model of the PJM Interconnection, we find that coal retirements in PA shift power generation across PA and the Rest of PJM region leading to scenario-varying changes in the plant-level release of several air pollutants. Due to air pollution chemistry and transport and socio-demographics, these changes in turn give rise to a reduction of 10 to 182 PM_2.5-attributable deaths in PJM across the six scenarios, with most reductions occurring in PA. Scenarios that reduce more coal power generation yield greater aggregate health benefits due to air quality improvements in PA and adjacent downwind regions. In addition, vulnerable populations—in both PA and Rest of PJM—benefit most in scenarios that prioritize plant closures in PA near Environmental Justice Areas. These results demonstrate the importance of considering cross-regional linkages and socio-demographics in designing equitable retirement strategies.

Reconstructing the Tree of Life remains a central goal in biology. Early methods, relying on small numbers of morphological or genetic characters, often yielded conflicting evolutionary histories, undermining confidence in the results. Investigations based on phylogenomics, which use hundreds to thousands of loci for phylogenetic inquiry, have provided a clearer picture of life's history, but certain branches remain problematic. To resolve difficult nodes on the Tree of Life, two recent studies tested the utility of synteny, the conserved collinearity of orthologous genetic loci in two or more organisms, for phylogenetics. Synteny exhibits compelling phylogenomic potential while also raising new challenges. We identify and discuss specific opportunities and challenges that bear on the value of synteny data and other rare genomic changes for phylogenomic studies. Synteny-based analyses of highly contiguous genome assemblies mark a new chapter in the phylogenomic era and the quest to reconstruct the Tree of Life.

Hyperspectral imaging data holds great potential for the different stages of the mining life cycle in active and post-mining environments. However, the technology has yet to reach the stage of large-scale industrial implementation and acceptance. While hyperspectral satellite imagery can achieve high spectral resolution, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and global availability with break-through satellite systems like EnMAP, EMIT and PRISMA, limited spatial resolution poses chal-lenges for sectors like mining, which require decimetre to centimetre scale resolution for applica-tions such as reconciliation, ore/waste estimates, geotechnical assessments and environmental monitoring. Hyperspectral imaging from drones (referred to herein as Uncrewed Aerial Systems; UASs) offers high spatial resolution data relevant to the camp/ mine scale, with the capability for frequent, user-defined re-visit times. This has been made possible by the miniaturization of hy-perspectral imaging systems. Collection of data in the visible to near and shortwave infrared (VNIR-SWIR) wavelength regions enables the detection of different minerals and surface altera-tion patterns potentially revealing crucial information for exploration, extraction, re-mining, waste remediation, and rehabilitation. In this paper, we provide a review of relevant studies de-ploying hyperspectral imaging in or applicable to the mining sector, especially for the use of hy-perspectral VNIR-SWIR Uncrewed Aerial Systems. Where required, we draw on previous in-sights derived from satellite or ground-based systems. We also discuss UAS survey planning, and sampling considerations for validation and interpretation.

The protection and regulation of international trade of Australia’s native species is legislated by its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act of 1999. In response to overwhelming evidence that the Act is ineffective at protecting biodiversity, the Australian Government is currently reforming its environmental laws. One problematic component of the Act is in cases where threatened species interact with multiple regulatory and management frameworks, such as commercially fished marine species that are traded as seafood. Here, we analyzed international seafood trade data and found that Australia exports four threatened fish species listed under the Act and additional species acknowledged as globally threatened. In light of our analysis, we have three recommendations for Australia’s new environmental legislation: 1) apply the same precautions to commercially harvested species as to other threatened species; 2) review the status of all threatened species annually; and 3) assess species listed on global conservation conventions. These recommendations will help ensure that Australia’s marine biodiversity is protected, despite its commercial value.

This paper investigates the efficacy of YOLOv8 variants for vehicle detection and license plate detection within smart parking applications, emphasizing performance under varying ambient lighting conditions. The proposed system is to seize full video frames, extracts regions of interest containing vehicles, and feeds them into separate, pre-trained YOLOv8 models – one dedicated to vehicle detection and another for license plate detection. Four YOLOv8 variants, nano, small, medium, and large, are evaluated. As a pre-processing step, the images are processed with the help of OpenCV and Pillow libraries to adjust the luminosity and increase the images’ DPI so that they would be easy to perceive by the Tesseract OCR engine. Sixteen potential combinations arise from pairing the four YOLOv8 models for vehicle and license plate detection tasks. To identify the most suitable combinations, we employ the Multi-Criteria Decision-Making method, specifically Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) analysis. This analysis considers 4 critical metrics: Precision, mean average precision at 95% Intersection of Union threshold, Recall and Total Inference Time. The objective is to achieve an optimal balance between high accuracy and real-time processing. Following the selection of optimal YOLOv8 combinations through TOPSIS analysis, we assess their performance under varying ambient light intensity (measured in lux). This evaluation aims to identify the most robust model combinations that ensure accurate vehicle and license plate recognition across the diverse lighting conditions encountered in real-world environment.

The search of DNA polymorphisms useful for the genetic improvement of dairy farm animals lasts more than 40 years with relevant findings in cattle for milk traits, where the best combination of alleles for dairy processing have been found in casein genes and in the DGAT1. Nowadays, similar results are not reached yet in river buffaloes despite advanced genomic technologies and accurate phenotype records are available. The aim of the present study was to investigate and validate in a larger buffalo population the effect on six milk traits of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the CSN1S1, CSN3, SCD and LPL genes, previously reported to be associated with or affect dairy traits in smaller populations often belonging to one farm. A total of 800 buffaloes were genotyped. Daily milk yield (dMY, kg), protein yield (dPY, kg) and fat yields (dFY, kg), fat and protein contents (dFP, % and dPP, %), somatic cell count (SCC, 103cell/ml) and urea (mg/dl) were individually recorded in each month for the whole lactation from 2010 to 2021. A total of 15,742 individual milk test day records (2,496 lactations) were available on 680 buffalo cows with 3.6±1.7 parity (from 1 to 13) and 6.1±1.2 test day records per lactation on average. Three out four SNP in CSN1S1, CSN3 and LPL were associated with at least one of analyzed traits. In particular, the CSN1S1 (AJ005430:c.578C>T) gave favorable associations with all yield traits (dMY, p=0.022; dPY, p=0.014 ; dFY, p=0.029) and SCS (p=0.032), whereas the CSN3 (HQ677596: c.536C>T) positively associated with SCS (p=0.005) and milk urea (p=0.04). Favorable effect on dMY (p=0.028), dFP (p=0.027) and dPP (p=0.050) were observed for the LPL. Conversely, SCD did not show any association with milk traits. This is the first example of confirmation study carried out in the Mediterranean river buffalo for genes of economic interest in dairy field and it represents a very important indication for the preselection of young bulls destined to breeding programs in the view of a more sustainable dairy production.

This article argues that philosophy and its influential narrative should take and think "food" - the gastro-world - in order to radically renew itself and develop a gastrocentric view of the world and the future of humanity. It discusses first some of the basic ideas of a gastrocentric understanding of the world, second the adventure of becoming a Terran, and third the daily practice of what I will call "terra madre forming". It tells us this: If there is to be a future of human survival and well-being on Earth, if we are to achieve the goals of sustainable development, then we have a clear agenda for tomorrow with the re-humidification of the soil - madre terra - that nourishes us. What needs to be done is quite simple and down-to-earth: We, each of us, if possible, must participate in the regeneration of the earth. In conclusion, it is time for the Slow Food movement to blossom into a geo-gastro-activism. The future task of this organization is to make itself electable as a political party to support the much-needed transformation of humans into Terrans.

When dealing with limited sample sizes or missing values in time series data, achieving high accuracy in forecasting becomes challenging. This challenge is particularly common in wind energy forecasting, where many wind farms lack complete data. In this paper, we employ the widely-used ARIMA (Autoregressive Integrated Moving Average) model for time series forecasting. To address the difficulties posed by limited sample sizes and missing values, we adopt a unique approach by utilizing multiple ARIMA models for different datasets. A key distinction from other multiple models methods for time series forecasting lies in each model within our approach using its own dataset, making the fusion process more intricate. To overcome this, we incorporate neural networks and two techniques for model fusion: direct fusion with a learning mechanism and compensation for missing data through training. For each ARIMA model, we introduce a noise estimation method to circumvent the white noise assumptions inherent in ARIMA models. Finally, we apply these methods to wind energy prediction, and our experimental results showcase a significant enhancement in forecasting accuracy.

The increasing availability of longitudinal data (repeated numerical observations of same units at different times) requires the development of flexible techniques to automatically detect common errors in such data. Besides obvious and easily identifiable cases, such as missing or out-of-range data, large longitudinal dataset often present problems not easily traceable by the techniques used for generic datasets. In particular, elusive and baffling problems are i) inversion of one or more values from one unit to another; ii) anomalous jumps in the series of values, iii) errors in the timing of the values due to a recalculation operated by the data providers to compensate previous errors. This work proposes a statistical-mathematical approach based on a system of indicators that is able to capture the complexity of the described problems by working at the formal level, regardless of the specific meaning of the data. The proposed approach identifies suspect erroneous data and is applicable in a variety of contexts. We implement this approach in a relevant database of European Higher Education institutions (ETER) by analyzing Total academic staff, that is one of the most important variables, used in empirical analysis as proxy of size and also considered by policy makers at European level.

This study proposed to use wearable EEG to study the impact of vipassana mindfulness practice on beginner's physiological and neurological responses. Mindfulness meditation has been shown to have numerous benefits, including stress reduction, improved attention and cognitive function, and enhanced emotional regulation. The roots of mindfulness meditation in Buddhism emphasize cultivating present-moment awareness and insight. However, the neural mechanisms together with physiological mechanism and their interaction underlying these benefits remain poorly understood. Method: One middle age man (50 years old) participated in this longitudinal study using wearable EEG to investigate the neurophysiological change during a one-month consecutive vipassana mindfulness practice. Both EEG and heart rate responses were recorded each time, before (5 minutes), during (20 minutes), and after (5 minutes) meditation sessions. The EEG and HR data were analyzed by Matlab and EEGlab to examine changes in brainwave activity and heart rate. Results: alpha peak frequency (APF) is significantly lower after mindfulness meditation, as shown by comparison of APF before mindfulness (pre-5) and during mindfulness practice (med-20), and comparison between APF of pre-5 and after mindfulness practice (post-5). The same is with the beta peak power. While for theta peak frequency, it is significant lower during mindfulness meditation (med-20), when comparing to either pre-5 or post-5. See figure 1a. However, peak power index is not so sensitive, and it is more obvious in theta wave band. That is, the theta power peak is significantly lower after meditation, as can be observed in comparison between pre-5 and med-20, also between pre-5 and med-20. See figure 1b. STATE Heart-mean (bpm) Heart-std(bmp) pre-5 69.88 3.88 med-20 68.36 2.81 post-5 69.55 4.13 t-value test (pre-med) 0.0694 0.0003 t-value test (pre-post) 0.7934 0.3656 t-value test (post-med) 0.3193 0.0001 Table 1. The difference of Heart rate (mean and SD) in before (pre-5), during (med-20) and after (post-5)mindfulness meditation. We find significant change in standard deviation (SD) of heart rate between meditation and non-meditation mental states, as shown in table 1. The study provides insights into the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms of mindfulness meditation using wearable EEG devices. It demonstrates that in term of EEG measurement, spectrum frequency can be more sensitive than spectrum power; also heart rate variability as measured by SD is more sensitive to mean of HR. The proposed study contributes to the literature by using wearable EEG devices to collect data in a more accessible and convenient manner.

Although various atmospheric corrosion simulation models have been developed that give good results, industrial environments are still challenging. This paper aims to investigate the effect industrial atmospheres in Bor on the mechanical properties of structural steel S235JR and to create a constitutive model and also laboratory experimental conditions that will give the best results as an accelerated corrosion test. Atmospheric corrosion tests lasted six months, using sites close to the Electrolytic Refining Plant and Sulphuric Acid Plant, as well as air quality monitoring stations at a remote location in the city of Bor. The laboratory experiments included a salt chamber test lasting 120 h and 240 h and immersing the specimen in the electrolyte from the Electrolytic Refining Plant for 30 days. The results were compared with the standard specimens stored in the laboratory. The X-ray diffraction (XRD) method was used to identify the composition of corrosion products. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis was applied to analyze the fracture surfaces of the specimens. The use of the Complete Gurson Model (CGM) described the tensile characteristics of the corroded specimens. The study has shown that an enhanced acceleration model and conditions could be developed using numerical analysis of the test results.

Distribution System Operators (DSOs) are adapting to changing energy demands and the shift toward renewable and decentralized energy. Circularity is increasingly relevant for DSOs as their distribution systems age and need replacing. Taking circular action, however, is generally regarded as challenging as the current circular economy (CE) landscape is highly fragmented and rarely touches the implementation level. A longitudinal case study at Dutch DSO Liander on the circu-larity of distribution transformers was used to understand empirical success factors for taking circular action and to generate prescriptive knowledge on the operationalization of circularity. Six design propositions for circular action were formulated that suggest to 1) initiate small-scale cir-cularity experiments, 2) involve technical and strategic experts, 3) synergize circularity with more urgent, primary goals 4) translate circular initiatives bottom-up and top-down, 5) collaborate with other DSOs, and 6) create multidisciplinary teams. At DSO Liander, selecting the right interventions depending on the changing context contributed to operationalizing circularity for distribution transformers and achieving circularity targets. The generalizable design propositions could assist other DSOs in optimizing their strategy toward circular action.

Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection is a major cause of severe respiratory disease in infants and young children worldwide. Two vaccines targeting the elderly and pregnant women have been recently approved employing the prefusion form of the RSV-fusion protein (F). However, there are currently no vaccines for infants. Studies have shown a fusion-inactive prefusogenic F form is significantly more immunogenic and produces higher antibody titers to both the prefusion and postfusion structures of the F protein. Here we have developed RSV virus-like particles (RSV-VLPs) consisting of prefusogenic F, RSV glycoprotein and matrix proteins, produced them using the baculovirus expression system, and studied their protective efficacy in Balb/c mice. Morphology and successful assembly of VLPs were confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and western blot. Mice immunized with VLPs developed high levels of serum IgG and neutralizing antibodies as compared with mice immunized with inactivated virus. The VLP vaccine also induced higher levels of IFNγ and IL4, elicited limited proliferation of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells but higher cytotoxic-T-lymphocyte responses. VLP immunization abolished lung pathology in the mice after RSV challenge. Overall, our results indicate that RSV-VLPs consisting of prefusogenic F, glycoprotein and matrix proteins are a potential vaccine candidate against RSV.

: As antibiotic resistance undermines efforts to treat bacterial infections, phage therapy is being increasingly considered as an alternative in clinical settings and agriculture. However, a major concern in using phages is that pathogens will develop resistance to the phage. Due to the constant evolutionary pressure by phages, bacteria have evolved numerous mechanisms to block infection. If we determine the most common among them, we could use this knowledge to guide phage therapeutics. Here we compile data from 88 peer-reviewed studies where phage resistance was experimentally observed and linked to a bacterial gene, then assessed these data for patterns. In total, 141 host genes were identified to block infection against one or more of 80 phages (representing five families of the Caudovirales) across 16 microbial host genera. These data suggest that bacterial phage resistance is diverse, but even well-studied systems are understudied, and there are gaping holes in our knowledge of phage resistance across lesser-studied regions of microbial and viral sequence space. Fortunately, scalable approaches are newly available that, if broadly adopted, can provide data to power ecosystem-aware models that will guide harvesting natural variation towards designing effective, broadly applicable phage therapy cocktails as an alternative to antibiotics.

Purpose of publication: - Preparation of bibliometric data exported from the Scilit platform on energy efficiency and conservation for further analysis to identify relevant research topics. - To identify potential issues in the processing of data exported from the Scilit platform. - Providing colleagues with the opportunity to use the prepared data and examples of their analysis for independent research on topical issues of energy efficiency and energy conservation using materials provided by the Scilit platform. Research Materials: Files in CSV and RIS formats exported from Scilit for the query "energy conservation OR efficiency" in Common Fields [Title, Abstract, Keyword], using filters: Content Type → Journal Article; Year→2021-2023; Subject → Industrial Engineering (29.8K), Energy and Fuel Technology (9.8K), Manufacturing Engineering (9.2K). A total of 30K records sorted by their relevance (10K for each year) were exported. Data are current as of 14-03-2024. Methods: Preprocessing of title, annotation, and keyword field texts using lemmatization dictionaries collected on GitHub, removal of keywords taken from GATE and spaCy, and "manual" editing. Using VOSviewer to analyze publication topics by clustering keywords based on their co-occurrence. Using Scimago Graphica to build bubble diagrams.Application of the GSDMM algorithm for clustering bibliometric records by title and annotation texts. Creation of a dictionary for this algorithm using the keyword field.Use of the Carrot2 demo version and the NMF algorithm for a more detailed analysis of the topics of the record clusters obtained from GSDMM. Results: are presented in the form of initial and interim tables and graphs obtained in the course of this study. The full tables are provided as references to the attached materials. Supplementary material for this preprint on figshare: Chigarev, Boris (2024). Supplementary material for preprint "Analyzing the Possibilities of Using the Scilit Platform to Identify Current Energy Efficiency and Conservation Issues". figshare. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.25574058.v1

Aiming to improve medical diagnosis and treatment, artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformational force in the healthcare industry. In this article, we examine how AI is increasingly being used to improve healthcare, with an emphasis on how it is changing medical diagnosis and treatment. We explore the opportunities, threats, and ethical concerns of incorporating AI into healthcare practice. In addition, we feature important AI applications in radiology, pathology, cardiology, and cancer. AI has great potential to improve patient outcomes, diagnostic accuracy, and the ability to provide individualized treatment plans in the future if it is used and refined with care.

A positive fluid balance may evolve to fluid overload and associate with organ dysfunctions, weaning difficulties, and increased mortality in ICU patients. We explored whether individualized fluid management, assessing fluid-responsiveness via passive leg-raising maneuver (PLR) before spontaneous breathing trial (SBT) associated with less extubation failure in ventilated patients with high fluid balance, admitted to the ICU after liver transplantation (LT). We recruited 15 LT patients in 2023. Postoperative fluid balance was +4476 [3697,5722] mL. PLRs were conducted at ICU admission (T1) and pre-SBT (T2). Cardiac index (CI) changes were recorded before and after SBT (T3). Seven patients were fluid responsive at T1, and 12 at T2. No significant differences occurred in hemodynamic, respiratory, and perfusion parameters between fluid-responsive and fluid-unresponsive patients at any time. Fluid-responsive patients at T1 and T2 increased their CI during SBT from 3.1 [2.8,3.7] to 3.7 [3.4,4.1] mL/min/m2 (p= 0.045). All fluid-responsive patients at T2 were extubated after SBT and consolidated extubation. Two out of three of fluid-unresponsive patients experienced weaning difficulties. We concluded that fluid-responsive patients post-LT may start weaning earlier and achieve successful extubation despite high postoperative fluid balance. This highlights the profound impact of personalized assessment of cardiovascular state on critical surgical patients.

The paper presents the prediction of hydrodynamic characteristics of different rudder -plane configurations behind a submarine in deep water through the Reynolds-Averaged Navier-Stokes method in Ansys Fluent Solver. The hydrodynamic force and moment acting on the Cross-plane, X-plane, and Y-plane rudder configurations are analyzed for estimating hydrodynamic coefficientsfor predicting the advantages of each configuration to control the ship. The obtained results show that X-force of the X-plane rudder configuration is larger than the force acting on the Cross-plane rudder and Y-plane rudder configurations. However, Y-force, and Z-force of the X-plane rudder configuration are significantly greater than the Y-force of the left configurations. The same tendency can be seen in the moment of the X-plane rudder about the y-axis and z-axis. The roll moment induced by the Y-plane and Cross-plane rudder configurations is significantly larger than the case of the X-plane rudder configuration.

The mechanisms underlying the establishment of asymmetric structures during development remain elusive. The wing of Drosophila is asymmetric along the Anterior-Posterior (AP) axis, despite that its growth signals that drive its growth are presumably symmetric. Here, we investigated the contribution of cell recruitment, a process that drives wing fate differentiation in Drosophila, to the asymmetric shape and pattern of the adult wing. Genetic impairment of cell recruitment results in a significant reduction in adult wing asymmetry, primarily affecting the region between longitudinal vein 5 and the wing margin (L5-M). Morphometric analysis reveals that the lack of cell recruitment results in a more symmetric wing with respect to the AP, suggesting a contribution of cell recruitment to the establishment of asymmetry in the adult wing. A close examination of the expression of the wing selector gene vestigial (vg) in wing disc does not support this hypothesis. However, the circularity of the Vg pattern significantly increase in recruitment-impaired wing disc, suggesting that while the decrease of the L5-M region in the adult wing may not be attributed to cell recruitment, it could contribute to the overall asymmetry of the adult wing. We conclude that cell recruitment, a widespread mechanism that participates in growth and patterning of several developing systems, could drive, at least partially, the asymmetric shape of the Drosophila wing.

Molecular analysis of growing teratoma syndrome has not been extensively studied. Here, we report a 14-year-old boy with a growing mass during treatment for a mixed germ cell tumor of the pineal region. Tumor markers were negative; thus, growing teratoma syndrome was suspected. A radical resection via the occipital transtentorial approach was performed, and histopathological examination revealed a teratoma with malignant features. Methylation classifier analysis confirmed the diagnosis of teratoma, and DMRT1 loss and 12p gain were identified by copy number variation analysis, potentially elucidating the cause of growth and malignant transformation of the teratoma. The patient remains in remission after intense chemoradiation treatment as a high-risk germ cell tumor.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) uses the cellular trafficking machinery to reach the cell nucleus and initiate a successful infection. The HPV capsid consists of two proteins: L1 (the major capsid protein) and L2 (minor capsid protein), and L2 is known to be responsible for trafficking the viral genome to the nucleus. From previous studies, we know that many cellular proteins interact with L2 and are involved in the trafficking process at different stages of the infectious entry process. To further investigate how HPV-16 achieves successful viral entry, we have performed a mass spectrometry analysis to identify novel interacting proteins that associate with incoming HPV-16 virions. We show that HPV-16 pseudovirions interact with a group of cellular cargo proteins (COPI), and here we confirm that this is mediated by the direct binding of L2, but not L1, to the COPB1 subunit. We also show that the ability of L2 to interact with COPB1 is conserved in both low- and high-risk HPV types. Furthermore, we also show that the interaction is essential for successful infection entry of multiple HPV types, thereby identifying a novel constituent of the infectious entry pathway of the HPV.

The state detection of power cable is very important to ensure the reliability of power supply. Traditional sensors are mostly based on electric field detection, the operation is complex, and its efficiency needs to be improved. This paper optimizes the design and development of the magnetic field detection sensor for AC power cables. Firstly, through the establishment of the magnetic field sensor model, it is determined that permalloy is the material of the magnetic core, the optimal aspect ratio of the magnetic core is 20, and the ratio of coil length to core length is 0.3. Secondly, the coil simulation model is established, and it is determined that the optimal number of turns of the coil is 11000 turns, the diameter of the enamelled copper wire is 0.08mm, and the equivalent magnetic field noise of the sensor is 0.06pT. Finally, the amplifying circuit based on negative magnetic flux feedback is designed and the sensor is assembled, and the experimental circuit is built for sensitivity test. the results show that the sensitivity of the magnetic field sensor is 327.6mV/μT. The sensor designed in this paper has the advantages of small size, high sensitivity, easy to carry and high reliability.

Several recent studies have indicated that miR-30a plays critical roles in various biological processes and diseases. However, the mechanism of miR-30a participation in the regulation of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is ambiguous. Our previous study demonstrated that miR-30a may function as a novel therapeutic target for lung fibrosis by blocking mitochondrial fission, which is dependent on dynamin-related protein-1 (Drp-1). However, the regulatory mechanism between miR-30a and Drp-1 has yet to be investigated. In addition, whether miR-30a can act as a potential therapeutic has not been verified in vivo. In this study, the miR-30a expression in IPF patients was evaluated. Computational analysis and a dual luciferase reporter system assay were used to identify the target gene of miR-30a, and cell transfection was used to confirm this relationship. Ten-eleven translocation 1 (TET1) was validated as a direct target of miR-30a, and the transfection of miR-30a mimic/inhibitor significantly reduced/increased the expression of TET1 protein. Further experiment verified that the interference on TET1(siRNA) could inhibit the hydroxymethlation of the Drp-1 promoter. Finally, miR-30a agomir was designed and applied to identify and validate the therapeutic effect of miR-30a in vivo. Our study demonstrated that miR-30a could inhibit the TET1 expression by base pairing with complementary sites in the 3′ untranslated region to regulate the hydroxymethlation of the Drp-1 promoter. Furthermore, miR-30a could act as a potential therapeutic target for IPF.

Here we report the preparation and characterization of a novel biomimetic toothpaste containing morphogenetically active amorphous polyphosphate (polyP) microparticles enriched with retinyl acetate (“a-polyP/RA-MP”). The spherical microparticles (average size, 550±120 nm), prepared by co-precipitating sodium-polyP with calcium chloride and supplemented with retinyl acetate, were incorporated into a basis toothpaste at a final concentration of 1% or 10%. The paste containing “a-polyP/RA-MP” significantly increased the growth of human mesenchymal stem cells (MSC), compared to a commercial toothpaste which acts rather inhibitory and the paste without polyP and retinyl acetate. qRT-PCR experiments revealed that the retinoid causes an induction of the expression of the MSC marker genes for osteoblast differentiation encoding collagen type I and alkaline phosphatase. On the other hand, the polyP ingredient, supplied as Zn-polyP microparticles (“Zn-a-polyP-MP”) strongly inhibited the growth of the cariogenic bacterium Streptococcus mutans. We demonstrate that the amorphous polyP-containing toothpaste, enriched with retinyl acetate, efficiently repairs both cracks/fissures and carious lesions in the tooth enamel, and reseals dentinal tubules, already after a 5 d treatment (brushing) of teeth twice daily for 5 min as examined by SEM and quantitative EDX analysis. The stability of the occlusion of dentin cracks even turned out to resist against short high power sonication treatment. Our results demonstrate that the novel toothpaste prepared here, containing amorphous polyP and retinyl acetate, is particularly suitable for prevention/repair of (cariogenic) damages of tooth enamel/dentin and for treatment of dental hypersensitivity.

The realization of a perfect absorber A = 1 with transmittance and reflectance T=R=0 by a thin metasurface is one of the hot topics in recent nanophotonics prompted by energy harvesting and sensor applications (A + R + T =1 is the energy conservation). Here we tested optical properties of over 400 structures of metal-insulator-metal (MIM) metasurfaces for a range of variation in thickness of insulator, the diameter of a disc and intra-disc distance experimentally and numerically. Conditions of a near-perfect absorption A > 95% with simultaneously occurring anti-reflection property (R < 5%) were experimentally determined. Differences between the bulk vs. nano-thin film properties at mid-IR of the used materials can be of interest for plasmonic multi-metal alloys and high entropy metals.

In this paper, a new axial-type magnetic gear with auxiliary flux-enhancing structure (AFS-AMG) is proposed. Compared to conventional AFS-AMG, it has the higher torque density and higher permanent magnet (PM) utilization factor. Firstly, the design rules and operating principles of proposed AFS-AMG are elaborated. Then, the mapping relation between the radial-type magnetic gears (RMGs) and AMGs are elucidated. Compared to its counterpart in RMGs, AFS-AMGs achieve small size. Then, the geometrical parameters of AFS-AMGs are optimized to obtain the better electromagnetic performances, where the torque density per volume and per PM volume is adopted as the evaluation standard. Finally, three different AMG topologies are constructed in finite element analysis (FEA) software for comparison. It is proven that the AFS-AMG has the largest torque density per volume and per PM volume.

Tissue-like phantoms are widely used as a model for mimicking the optical properties of live tissue. This paper presents the results of a diffusion reflection method as well as fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy measurements of fluorescein-conjugated gold nanorods in solution as well as inserted in solid tissue-imitating phantoms. A lack of consistency between the fluorescence lifetime results of the solutions and the phantoms raises a question about the ability of tissue-like phantoms to maintain the optical properties of inserted contrast agents.

The organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW) is a significant environmental threat, and an economic and social challenge to manage. As such, the efficient treatment of OFMSW is a significant key factor in achieving sustainable waste management. Decentralized Composting (DC) develops a new framework of waste management. The DC Analysis Model (DCAM), proposed in our previous study, provides a powerful tool for decision makers, based on the quantification of the DC project characteristics. In this paper, we focus on the qualitative analysis as a complementary tool to support decision making, in cases where quantitative analysis is unequivocal. The qualitative analysis identifies the main players in the field, the critical stakeholders and the potential conflicts between them. It also reveals the root problems and the core competencies for the project's implementation. DCAM qualitative analysis in Shefa-Amr (case study) indicates that unresolved root problems, such as the “lack of national regulation”, “clear ownership of the project” and “lack of ongoing budget” can result in an unsustainable composting system. Countering that, “the commitment of the municipality”, together with “economic viability” and securing “suitable areas for placing composters” are among the most important core competencies for the effective implementation of DC projects.

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

Biochar is a carbonaceous material derived from the thermochemical conversion of biomass under oxygen-lean conditions. Its properties render it many applications in agriculture, environmental remediation, and catalysis. Commonly produced by pyrolysis under a nitrogen atmosphere, the biochar composition is influenced mainly by residence time, heating rate, and process temperature. The existing literature primarily assesses biochar properties, such as ultimate, proximate, calorific, porosity, and combustibility, generated under various thermo-conversion conditions. However, there is a notable lack of sufficient investigation and attention given to the practical application of biochar. This article seeks to bridge that gap by enhancing the comprehension of the necessary experimental assessment for specific biochar applications and proposing process optimization methods using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA). By delving into these aspects, the study offers a concise overview of biochar production and presents a comprehensive panorama based on articles and patents. Additionally, the research explores the physicochemical characterization techniques associated with biochar and its various applications in conjunction with MCDA. This comprehensive approach aims to uncover valuable insights that could further advance the practical and sustainable utilization of biochar in a wide range of fields.

While the majority of previous studies assessing pain-related variables in psychopaths used electric shocks, little is known about the effectiveness of alternative pain-inducing methods to increase emotional responses such as fear and anxiety. A small sample of healthy undergraduate men (N = 15) was recruited to assess the effectiveness of a heat stimulus to induce pain in an immediate versus delayed punishment paradigm. Although pain catastrophizing, anxiety, and threat of pain did not increase throughout the experiment, participants experienced a significant increase of fear of pain and pain intensity, indicating that the heat stimulus was effective in inducing pain. Furthermore, subjects were slower in initiating the pain stimulus during the first five trials, but no time difference was found during the 15 remaining trials. No correlation was found between psychopathic traits and pain-related variables, with the exception of inconsistent results within the Fearless Dominance factor. Findings are discussed in terms of improvement for a larger scale study involving psychopathic individuals.

Establishment of protected areas (PAs) is one of the key global conservation strategies that currently cover approximately 15% of the earth’s land surface. Globally, PA networks are designed to curb the growing anthropogenic pressures in areas with high biological diversity. Despite the importance of PAs in conserving the vanishing biodiversity and unique habitats, many of them are in critical condition due to poor governance thus functioning below the expected level. Moreover, in many developing countries, the PA coverage is below the global standard. Recognizing their contemporary role in conservation, governments have recently agreed to expand the global PA coverage to 17% by the year 2020 (Aichi target 11). This book with eight chapters from different regions of the world provides an overview of the PAs governance, institutional mechanisms, conservation benefits, limitations and challenges associated with their respective policy discourse, integrated management, and functional attributes. Protected areas expect to to play an important role in the long rn in conservation and protection of biodiversity and ecosystems particularly in countries where population pressure and habitat loss are high. Regular intervention, political commitment, and effective governance are essential for the sustainability of PAs across the world. Here, we also attempted to shed some light on future development clues for the sustainable management and monitoring of PAs worldwide.

Accurate determination of the concentration of alcohols and their metabolites is important in forensics and in several life science areas. A new method has been developed to quantify alcohols and their oxidative products using a headspace gas chromatography- mass spectrometer and isotope-labelled internal standards. This work demonstrates the application of this method, specifically in quantifying the concentration of oxidative products of alcohol and other minor alcohols found in hand sanitizers, which have become an essential household item since the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from the major component, the minor alcohols found in hand sanitizers include methanol, isopropanol, and n-propanol. In ethanol-based hand sanitizers, a significant amount of acetaldehyde was observed as an oxidation product, while in isopropanol-based hand sanitizers, acetone was observed. The concentration of acetaldehyde in ethanol-based hand sanitizers significantly increased with storage time and temperature, whereas no such increase of acetone concentration was observed in isopropanol-based hand sanitizers with storage time and temperature.

Good governance in natural resource management (NRM) is one of the most challenging issues in developing countries that often inappropriately embedded in national policies and political agendas. It is, in fact, even more important for countries like Bangladesh with exceptionally high pressure and dependence on its natural resources for sustaining rural livelihoods. Globally, nowadays, good governance is considered as one of the key factor for achieving the goal of sustainable development and biodiversity conservation. Bangladesh, of late has responded to that global zeal by involving local communities in the management of country’s declining forest and other natural resources. The colonial legacy of the forestry sector of Bangladesh was planned and, managed as interim projects through donors’ prescriptions. Thus, institutions, management processes and conservation outcomes were problematic. The conventional approach adopted by colonial and post-colonial regimes for forest management also proved to be inefficient due to its top-down management system. The absolute dependency on donor support, and their prescription sometimes worsened the situation both ecologically and socially. Global, regional and local trends supported the need for a different dimension in the governance paradigms. The introduction of a pluralistic approach, known as co-management in protected areas (PAs) is an example of an attempt whereby shared governance mechanism are implemented to attain the desired goals of conservation that will also address the livelihoods and aspirations of communities living in and around PAs of the country. However, in designing future forest and PA regimes the concern of the external aid support and attached conditions remain a reality that needs to be addressed. Adequate attention should be given to our vanishing biodiversity, culture and community livelihoods through devising an appropriate governance mechanism recognizing and supporting local rights, access and participation in the environmental management. It is now time to mainstream the adhoc nature of governance according to our national conservation strategy and policy frameworks in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the Bangladesh NRM sector addressing the human and community right of people in the specific context of forest protected areas management.

One of the main challenges of cultured meat is reducing the costs of production, often described as scaling. The main components of the cultivation process include: cells, media, scaffolds and bioreactors. This work presents an alternative to current stainless steel or glass bioreactors and uses food-grade plant-based scaffolds. Bioreactors must be sterile and leak-free to maintain a proper environment for cell growth. Thermoplastic films are a popular material for constructing these fluidic systems, but traditional methods of welding these film are expensive and do not allow rapid prototyping resulting in high research and development costs for companies. In this study, a laser welding method was developed to join thermoplastic films in a way that prevents contamination and leaks, affording effective macro-fluidics fabrication. This technique was tested using polyethylene (PET) films and a laser cutter operating with settings calibrated for the material to be welded or cut. The laser welding method was found to produce strong, leak-free seals in PET films with minimal heat-induced damage to the films. The ability to design fluidics, chambers and ports of various size. Using this method afforded the incorporation of plant-based scaffolds from food-grade plants (Rice). The laser welding method developed in this study provides a reliable, contamination-free method for the rapid fabrication of fluidic systems for cell cultivation. This technique has the potential to be compatible with a vast range of cell types and scaffolds and to be widely adopted in tissue engineering for regenerative medicine and food applications such as cultured meat.

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

The accuracy of cosmic ray observation by the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory Wide Field-of-view Cherenkov/fluorescence Telescope Array (LHAASO-WFCTA) is influenced by variations in aerosols in the atmosphere. The solar photometer (CE318-T) is extensively utilized within the Aerosol Robotic Network as a highly precise and reliable instrument for aerosol measurements. With this CE318-T 23, 254 sets of valid data samples in 394 days from October 2020 to October 2022 at the LHAASO site were obtained. Data analysis revealed that the baseline Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) and A˚ngstro¨m Exponent (AE) at 440-870 nm (AE440−870nm) of the aerosols were calculated to be 0.03 and 1.07, respectively, suggesting that the LHAASO site is among the most pristine regions on Earth. The seasonality of the mean AOD are the order of spring &gt; summer &gt; autumn = winter. The monthly average maximum of AOD440nm occurred in April (0.11 ± 0.05) and the minimum was in December (0.03 ± 0.01). The monthly average of AE440−870nm exhibited slight variations. The seasonal characterization of aerosol types indicated that clean continental background aerosol predominated in autumn and winter, which is the optimal period for the absolute calibration of the WFCTA. Additionally, the diurnal daytime variations of AOD and AE across the four seasons are presented. Our analysis also indicates that the potential origins of aerosol over the LHAASO in four seasons were different and the atmospheric aerosols with higher AOD probably originate mainly from Northern Myanmar and Northeast India region. These results provide a baseline for comparison to the future on-site measurement of extinction coefficient profile and aerosol phase function by LHAASO-WFCTA, also enrich the valuable materials on aerosol observation in the Hengduan Mountains and Tibetan Plateau.

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICI) are a promising form of immunotherapy that has significantly changed the therapeutic landscape for many advanced cancers. They have shown unique clinical benefit against a broad range of tumour types and a strong overall impact on survival in studied patient populations. However, there are still many limitations holding back this immunotherapy from reaching its full potential as a possible curative option for advanced cancer patients. A great deal of research is being undertaken in the hope of driving advancements in this area, building a better understanding of the mechanisms behind immune checkpoint inhibition and ultimately developing more effective, safer, and wider-reaching agents. Taking into account the current literature on this topic, this review aims to explore in depth the basis of the use of ICIs in the treatment of advanced cancers, evaluate its efficacy and safety, consider its current limitations, and finally reflect on what the future holds for this very promising form of cancer immunotherapy.

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

Background: Aging is commonly accepted as a time period of declining heath. Aims: This review aimed to examine the research base concerning the use of term ‘successful aging’, a process and outcome deemed desirable, but challenging to attain. A second was to provide related information to demonstrate how health professionals as well as individuals can aim for a ‘successful aging’ process and outcome, despite the presence of disabling osteoarthritis. Methods: Information specifically focusing on ‘successful aging’ and the concept of improving opportunities for advancing ‘successful aging’ despite osteoarthritis was sought. Results: Among the many articles on ‘successful aging’, several authors highlight the need to include, a broader array of older adults into the conceptual framework. Moreover, conditions such as osteoarthritis should not necessarily preclude the individual from attaining a personally valued successful aging outcome. Conclusion: Pursuing more inclusive research and research designs, and not neglecting to include people with chronic osteoarthritis can potentially heighten the life quality of all aging individuals, while reducing pain and depression, among other adverse aging and disability correlates among those with osteoarthritis

Recent studies have elucidated the diversity of genes encoding venom in sea anemones. However, most of those genes are yet to be explored in an evolutionary context. Insulin is a common peptide across metazoans and has been coopted into a predatory venom in many venomous lineages. In this study, we focus on the diversity of insulin-derived venoms in sea anemones and on elucidating their evolutionary history. We sourced data for 34 species of sea anemones and found sequences belonging to two venom families that have Insulin PFAM annotations (Cono-Insulin, VP302). Our findings show that both families have undergone duplication events. Members of each of the independently evolving clades have consistent predicted protein structures and distinct dN/dS values. Our work also shows that VP302 is part of a multidomain venom contig and has experienced a secondary gain into the venom system of cuticulate sea anemones.

The goal of this narrative review was to identify, synthesize and summarize research providing both institutional and personal recommendations for female leaders who aspire to hold leadership roles in academia. Existing evidence regarding factors that influence females acquiring leadership positions was first gathered and examined, noting recurring issues that have been identified as inimical to women assuming leadership roles. Recent research studies and statistical trends were then investigated, tracking and reporting on the increase in female leadership in academia that has occurred over recent years. Quantitative and qualitative literature focusing on successful strategies to support females aspiring to academic leadership positions were then elaborated upon, with specific factors identified in order to deepen understanding of shifts that may help to account for the rise of females in academic leadership roles. The recommendations resulting from the findings of this narrative review could be used to scaffold female success in the pursuit of academic leadership roles and offer insights for university executives and administrators on methods of more effectively supporting an increase in female leaders in academia.

The availability of current land cover and land use (LCLU) information for monitoring the status of land resources has considerable value in ensuring sustainable land use planning. Similarly, the need to provide updated information on the extent of LCLU change in West Africa has become apparent, given the increasing demand for land resources driven by the rapid population growth in the sub-region. SERVIR West Africa, a regional consortium jointly supported by USAID and NASA to foster the use of geospatial and earth observation data and science for decision-making on critical environmental and food security challenges, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is building technical capacity in the sub-region to develop and implement harmonized regional land cover classification system for LULC change monitoring in West Africa, based on the Land Cover Meta Language (LCML-ISO 19144-2). This article focuses on the process, potential opportunities, outputs of this collaboration, exemplary use cases, and recommendations for the next steps.

Stimulation of the alpha 7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (α7nAChR) has shown beneficial effects in several acute inflammatory disease models. This study aims to examine whether treatment with the selective α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 can dampen inflammation and thereby improve cardiac function after myocardial infarction in mice. The possible anti-inflammatory properties of α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 were tested in vivo using the air pouch model and in a permanent occlusion model of acute myocardial infarction in mice. Hematology parameters and cytokine levels were determined. Infarct size and cardiac function were assessed via echocardiography 24 h and one week after the infarction. Treatment with α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 decreased 12 (CCL27, CXCL5, IL6, CXCL10, CXCL11, CXCL1, CCL2, MIP1a, MIP2, CXCL16, CXCL12 and CCL25) out of 33 cytokines in the air pouch model of acute inflammation. However, α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 did not alter infarct size, ejection fraction, cardiac output or stroke volume at 24 h nor at 7 days after the myocardial infarction compared with control mice. In conclusion, despite promising immunomodulatory effects in the acute inflammatory air pouch model, α7nAChR agonist PHA 568487 did not affect infarct size or cardiac function after a permanent occlusion model of acute myocardial infarction in mice. Consequently, this study does not strengthen the hypothesis that stimulation of the α7nAChR is a future treatment strategy for acute myocardial infarction when reperfusion is lacking. However, whether other agonists of the α7nAChR can have different effects remains to be investigated.

Opossums, native to the Americas, are unique marsupials with over 100 species. The Common Opossum and Virginia Opossum are notable species. They are nocturnal, omnivorous, and adapt to various habitats. Their reproduction involves a short gestation and marsupial pouch development. Despite their ecological benefits like seed dispersal and insect control, their proximity to human habitats exposes them to pathogens, posing public health risks. These include protozoa, helminths, and arthropods that can spread zoonotic parasites and vector-borne diseases. The marsupial immune system, including opossums, is complex, rivaling eutherian mammals. Key immune genes were identified in the grey short-tailed opossum genome. CD1 protein and VpreB surrogate light chain were also found. Marsupials are proposed as ideal models for studying developmental immunology. A West Indian opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) was found and examined. Blood tests revealed abnormalities, including a low white blood cell count and signs of anemia. The results contribute to understanding the species’ health and adaptability in the wild.

Blockchain technology (BCT) has the potential for sustainable development, enhancing business efficiency, reducing costs, and strengthening data security. Despite its potential, adoption among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is low due to the need for significant changes in technology infrastructure and the challenge of interoperability. A cross-sectional survey was done with 226 Hong Kong SMEs. The PLS-SEM results highlighted favorable transformation conditions as the most critical factor for SMEs considering the adoption of BCT. These conditions address both internal and external readiness for adopting the disruptive strategy. Other contributing factors to BCT adoption include trust in BCT developers, perceived usefulness and ease of use, government support, and perceived security. The research results contributed to the literature on disruptive technology acceptance, adoption, transformation conditions, technology readiness, and SMEs’ technology adoption. Government-supported policies and initiatives can promote BCT adoption, including educational programs, case studies, and resources for readiness. Financial support and regulatory frameworks can further encourage adoption. BCT developers can demonstrate the value of their systems, effectively communicate potential ROI and cost savings, and provide user-friendly interfaces to increase SMEs’ intention to adopt BCT.

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.

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

This study evaluates audiogenic epilepsy in Krushinsky-Molodkina rats using a wireless EEG system to overcome the limitations of traditional methods that restrict animal movement. Nine male KM rats, prone to audiogenic seizures, were implanted with electrodes in areas critical for seizure activity (inferior colliculus, ventrolateral periaqueductal gray, dorsal area of the secondary auditory cortex, and motor cortex). This setup allowed for the observation of seizures without movement restriction. Results showed that targeted neural intervention via electrode implantation reduced the intensity of convulsive seizures in half of the subjects, suggesting a potential therapeutic approach. The severity of seizures was influenced by the pre-phonostimulation EEG background activity in specific brain regions, identifying them as key in the genesis and generalization of seizures. Observations of dual generalized seizure waves and induced hyperkinesis challenge conventional epilepsy models and suggest new directions for research and therapy development.

IgE-mediated wheat allergy is a gluten-related disorder. Wheat is one of the five most common food allergens in children. However, the natural history of IgE-mediated wheat allergy has seldom been described in the research literature. This study presents the current state of knowledge about the IgE-mediated wheat allergy in children.

An accurate assessment of the stage-discharge relationship in open channel flows is necessary and important to the design and management of hydraulic structures and engineering in practical hydrosystems such as rivers and streams. While the flow structures and patterns at open channel junctions are interesting and have been widely studied in the literature, this paper focuses further on the effect of flow junctions on stage-discharge relationship at mountain river confluences. In this study, both the flume and physical model experiments are designed and performed carefully to test and analyze the complex flow structures and characteristics at river confluences with different configurations and hydraulic conditions. The impacts of the flow junctions on the traditional stage-discharge relationship are analyzed in this study. The results of this study are discussed in the paper for the understanding of flow structures at flow junctions and the design and management of hydraulic structures in river engineering.

Atta capiguara is a grass-cutting ant species frequently found in Cerrado biome. However, little is known about the giant nest architecture of this ant. In this study, we investigated the architecture of three A. capiguara nests from the fragment of cerrado in Botucatu, São Paulo, Brazil. Casts were made of the nests by filling them with cement to permit better visualization of internal structures such as chambers and tunnels. After excavation, the depth and dimensions (length, width, and height) of the chambers were measured. The results showed the typical shape of Atta capiguara nests consisting of mounds of loose soil with unique features resembling a conic section. The fungus chambers were found outside the apparent main part of the nest and were spaced apart and distributed laterally at ground level. The waste chambers were located beneath the largest mound of loose soil. Both the fungus and waste chambers exhibited a sectoral distribution. Our study contributes to a better understanding of the so far unknown nest architecture of the grass-cutting ant A. capiguara.

Recently a measure termed F* was described, as an interpretable transformation of the F measure, also known as the Dice coefficient. Using elementary mathematical methods, it is shown that F* is in fact identical to a previously described measure, monotonically related to the F measure, and variously termed in previous publications, dating from the late 19^th to the late 20^th century, as the ratio of verification, the Jaccard similarity measure or index, the threat score, the Tanimoto index, and the critical success index. The origins of these different terms in different disciplines (weather forecasting, ecology, machine learning) may explain the repeated independent redescription of this measure.

Congenital deafness is a major pediatric problem, affecting about 1.5-3 per 1000 newborns. The early treatment through cochlear implantation and auditory rehabilitation has been a historic milestone. Early diagnosis of congenital deafness is an essential requirement to obtain the best results, which is achieved through neonatal screening, a diagnostic practice that we began systematically at the Hospital Clínico in Valencia (Spain) 30 years ago.

Food production is a complex matter, affecting people’s lives, organizations’ profits, and the well-being of the whole planet and has multifaceted ethical considerations surrounding its production, distribution, and consumption. This paper addresses the pressing need to confront ethical challenges within the food system, encompassing issues such as environmental sustainability, food security, and individual food choices for better oral and systemic health of all individuals around the globe. From agricultural practices to global trade and food waste, ethical implications are addressed across various domains, highlighting the interconnectedness of ethical decision-making in the food industry. Central themes explored include the ethical dimensions of food production methods, the impact of global trade on food ethics, and the role of individuals in making ethically informed food choices. Additionally, the paper dives into the spiritual and physical significance of food, particularly through the lens of oral health as a gateway to holistic well-being. Recognizing the complexity of the food ecosystem, the paper calls for serious interventions in legislation and economics to promote ethical protocols and techniques for sustainability reasons. It emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations in food safety management systems, regulatory frameworks, and quality standards. Moreover, the paper underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to address ethical dilemmas and moral values inherent in the food industry and oral health policies, advocating for the adoption of the precautionary principle and ethical decision-making frameworks. The article aims to serve as a call to action for stakeholders across the food industry and the healthcare sector, to prioritize ethical practices, promote transparency, rearrange economic parameters and work towards a more sustainable and equitable food system for inner and outer oral and systemic health and human sustainability for all.

This review deals with the developmental origins of extraocular, jaw and laryngeal muscles, the expression, regulation and functional significance of myosin heavy chains (MyHCs) they express and changes in MyHC expression during phylogeny. Myogenic progenitors from mesoderm in the prechordal plate and branchial arches specify craniofacial muscle allotypes with different repertoires for MyHC expression. To cope with very complex eye movements, extraocular muscles express 11 MyHCs, ranging from the superfast extraocular MyHC to the slowest, non-muscle MyHC IIB. They have distinct global and orbital layers, singly- and multiply-innervated fibres, longitudinal MyHC variations, and palisade endings that mediate axon reflexes. Jaw-closing muscles express the high-force masticatory MyHC, cardiac or limb MyHCs depending on the appropriateness for the acquisition and mastication of their food. Laryngeal muscles express extraocular and limb muscle MyHCs but shift towards slower MyHCs in large animals. During postnatal development, MyHC expression of craniofacial muscles is subject to neural and hormonal modulation. The primary and secondary myotubes of developing EOMs are postulated to induce, via different retrogradely transported neurotrophins, the rich diversity of neural impulse patterns that regulate the specific MyHCs they express. Thyroid hormone shifts 2A MyHC towards 2B in jaw, laryngeal muscles and possibly extraocular muscles.

The design and operation of quantum networks are both decisive in the current push towards a global quantum internet. Although space-enabled quantum connectivity has already been identified as a beneficial candidate for long-range quantum channels for over two decades, the architecture of a hybrid space-ground network is still a work in progress. Here, we propose an analysis of such a network based on a best-path approach, where either fiber- or satellite-based elementary links can be concatenated to form a repeater chain. The network consisting of quantum information processing nodes, equipped with both ground and space connections, is mapped into a graph structure, where edge weights represent the achievable secret key rates, chosen as the figure of merit for the network analysis. A weight minimization algorithm allows identifying the best path dynamically, i.e., as the weather conditions, stray light radiance, and satellite orbital position changes. From the results we conclude that satellite links will play a significant role on the future large-scale quantum internet, and both a constellation of satellites and significant advances in filtering technology are required to fulfill continuous coverage.

Aims and Background: People living with mental disorders experience a disproportionately higher burden of tobacco-related disease than the general population. Long-term substitution with less harmful nicotine products could reduce the tobacco-related harm among this population. This study investigated the views and preferences of people with mental health disorders about different nicotine products and their use as long-term substitutes for cigarettes. Methods: Semi-structured focus group discussion followed by a brief questionnaire. The discussion transcripts were analysed for content and themes and quantitative data summarised with descriptive statistics. Results: Twenty-nine participants took part in four focus groups. Vaping devices were the most acceptable nicotine products discussed, however preferences for nicotine products were idiosyncratic and varied along aesthetic, pragmatic, sensory and symbolic dimensions. The concept of tobacco harm reduction was unfamiliar to participants, however they generally agreed with the logic of replacing cigarettes with less harmful nicotine products. Barriers to activating tobacco harm reduction included the symbolism of smoking and quitting; the importance placed on health; the consumer appeal of alternatives; and cost implications. Discussion and Conclusion: Engaging this population in tobacco harm reduction options will require communication that challenges black and white thinking (a conceptual framework in which smoking cigarettes or quitting all nicotine are the only legitimate options) as in practice this serves to support the continuance of smoking. Consumers should be encouraged to trial a range of nicotine products to find the most acceptable alternative to smoking that reduces health harms. Providing incentives to switch to nicotine products could help overcome barriers to using less harmful nicotine products among mental health consumers.

Background: Clinical trails have revealed that patients with depression generally accompanied with learning and memory impairment, which critically impact on individual’s health and development. Danggui-Shaoyao-San (DSS), a famous Chinese complex prescription, significantly overcame depression and relieved cognitive disorder based on previous research and publication. However, its effectsand potential mechanism against chronic restraint stress (CRS) remained unknown. Methods: CRS animal model was established and mice were divided to six groups while they were oral administrated with Danggui-Shaoyao-San at doses of 1.25, 2.5 and 5 g/kg for 14 days. Emotional and cognitive performances were detected by behavior tests, meanwhile neural plasticity and its molecular mechanism were examined by Dil staining, western blot and immunofluorescence. Results: DSS treatment dose-dependently improved locomotion ability in open filed test, overcame depression behavior in forced swimming test and elevated plus maze test, enhanced learning and memory ability in Morris water maze test. CRS decreased number of total spines and mushroom spines, while DSS treatment dose-dependently restored these by Dil staining. Expression of BDNF and GluR1 were significantly down-regulated in CRS group, which were significantly normalized by DSS. Conclusions: DSS treatment dose-dependently reversed CRS-induced cognitive impairments by inducing structural remodeling of neurons.

Dipeptidyl peptidase 9 (DPP9) is a multifunctional intracellular protease with roles in tumour growth, inflammation and mitochondrial function. We developed a hepatocyte-specific DPP9 knockout mouse (DPP9-KO) to explore DPP9 in a mouse model of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). DPP9-KO mice were generated by crossing Albumin-Cre mice (Wt/Wt Cre+/+) with DPP9 floxed mice (Fl/Fl Cre-/-). Mice were treated with Diethylnitrosamine and Thioacetamide then an atherogenic High Fat Diet until 28 weeks of age. DPP9-KO mice had reduced liver and subcuta-neous adipose tissue mass and lower fasting plasma glucose, fewer small macroscopic liver nod-ules compared to DPP9-WT mice. However, there were no differences in the total number of mac-roscopic liver nodules, tumour burden, inflammation score and steatosis score. Consistent with the known ability of DPP9 to suppress NLRP1 activation, activated caspase-1 protein was ele-vated in DPP9-KO mouse liver. Additionally, Nfkbib, Cxcl10 and Ccl5 mRNA and protein levels of autophagy marker beclin1 and tumour suppressor p53 were increased. In conclusion, DPP9 de-pletion in hepatocytes may reduce liver cancer initiation, via mechanisms that may include in-creased autophagy and innate tumour suppression in this experimental model. Finally, the data supports DPP9 having a role in glucose regulation by the liver.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM) is related with adverse outcomes for both the mother and the offspring. Immune and senescence play a crucial role in GDM progression. This study aims to explore the diagnostic significance of immune-related senescence (IRS) genes in GDM. We used weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) and single sample gene set enrichment analysis (ssGSEA) to compute the immune score and aging score in control and GDM samples. Machine learning identified core IRS genes. Then we performed unsupervised cluster analysis in GDM patients to explore immune infiltration. Finally, we validated the core genes in clinical samples. We used the intersection of MEblack module from WGCNA and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) to obtain the potential genes. Next, a univariate logistic regression model including 23 potential genes were constructed, and these genes were filtered by least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) algorithm. There were 5 potential genes (COX17, RRAS2, RRAGC, CECR1, and TACC2), which defined as biomarkers, remained eventually, and the efficacy of these biomarkers was evaluated by nomogram. Finally, the results from both qRT-PCR and western blot analyses demonstrated CECR1 was down-regulated, while TACC2 was up-regulated in GDM placental tissue. Our study identified CECR1 and TACC2 as diagnostic biomarkers for GDM associating with immune and senescence, providing a new perspective on GDM progression.

World Health Organization recommends adjusting the salt intake as a part of the nine global targets to reduce premature mortality from non-communicable chronic diseases as priority and most cost-effective intervention. In 2006. the main aim of the Croatian Action on Salt and Health was to decrease salt intake for 16% because of its critical intake and consequences on human health. We have organized educative activities for increasing awareness on salt harmfulness, defined food categories of prime interest, collaborate with industries and determine salt intake (24h urine-sodium excretion). It was determined that the proportion of salt in ready-to-eat baked bread should not exceed 1.4%. In the period 2014 –2022, salt in the semi-white bread was reduced 14%, in bakery 22% and in largest meat industry in Croatia 25%. Awareness of the harmfulness of salt on health increased from 65.3% in 2008 to 96.9% in 2023 and salt intake was reduced 15.9%-1.8 grams/day (22.8% men, 11.7% women). In last 18 years a significant decrease in salt intake was achieved in Croatia, awareness of its harmfulness increased, collaboration with food industry established and regulatory documents launched. However, salt intake is still very high underlying the need for continuation of efforts and even stronger activities.

In this paper, we have investigated the impact of an early learning assessment on students' motivation for improving their performance throughout the semester. An observation analysis was conducted on an entry level mechanical engineering course in which students are enrolled in during their first semester of engineering work. This study analyzes the effect that a first exam, with an average below a passing grade, has on student's outcome in the course. It was hypothesized that students were motivated to achieve their desired grade outcomes following inadequate performance on the first exam. This was investigated by diving into the results of the course and referencing initial performance to the remaining exam and assessment outcomes. Students were placed into grade bands ranging from 0 to 100 in 20% increments. Their results were tracked and it was shown that for the second mechanics exam, averages jumped 43.333%, 35.35%, and 30.055% for grade bands of 0 to 20, 20 to 40, and 40 to 60 respectively. Assessment grades increased as well with the remaining assessments being averaged to a score of 91.095%. Variables contributing to student performance came from both with-in and outside the classroom. Learning communities, material differentiation, and student and professor adaptation all contributed to the rise in performance. It was concluded that the internal and external variables acted in combination with one another to increase student dedication to achieve success.

Evans' Syndrome (ES) is a rare autoimmune disorder characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA). Thrombotic complications in ES patients are uncommon, particularly involving Buerger's Disease (BD). We report a case of a 49-year-old male with ES and a history of diabetes and heavy smoking, presenting with a necrotic wound on his right great toe. Diagnostic evaluations revealed severe stenosis and thrombosis in the lower limb arteries, diagnosed as BD. The patient underwent successful popliteal-tibioperoneal artery bypass surgery and subsequent disarticulation and revision of the distal phalanx, followed by the application of an acellular dermal matrix (ADM) to promote healing. Post-surgery, the patient showed significant improvement in blood flow and complete epithelialization without complications. This case highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach in managing complex wounds in ES patients, suggesting potential treatment pathways for future cases involving BD

In the drive towards environmental restoration and sustainable energy solutions, effective utilization and management of agricultural crop residues are vital to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and waste accumulation. Converting biogenic wastes into biofuels and bioproducts has the potential to tackle the energy crisis and contribute to environmental remediation. In this investigation, teff husk, primarily generated in Ethiopia during teff production within the agro-industrial sector, is used as the feedstock for the slow pyrolysis process. In Ethiopia, it is estimated that over 1.75 million tons of teff husk are generated annually, with a significant portion being incinerated in the fields, resulting in substantial environmental pollution. This study focuses on assessing teff husk as a potential material for slow pyrolysis, a crucial stage in biochar production, to tap into its biochar-producing potential. To determine the composition of the biomass, the teff-husk was initially analyzed by thermogravimetry. The significant presence of fixed carbon indicates that teff husk is a viable candidate for pyrolytic conversion into biochar particles. The process of slow pyrolysis took place at three varied temperatures—specifically, at 400, 450, and 500 °C. Process parameters of slow pyrolysis such as reaction time, temperature, and heating rate were enhanced to obtain maximum biochar yields. The highest biochar yield of 43.4 wt% was recorded at optimized reaction time, temperature, and heating rate of 120 min, 400 °C, and 4.2 °C/min, respectively. Furthermore, biochar's physicochemical, SEM-EDX, FTIR, and TGA characterization were performed. The thermal stability and carbon content of biochar were found to rise at higher temperatures. Unlike fuel recovery, the results suggest that teff-husk can be used as a feedstock for biochar production.

Despite of being an exceptionally biodiversity rich country, the forest coverage of Bangladesh is declining at an alarming rate. Declaration and management of protected areas in this regard is one of the efforts from government side to tackle the loss of biodiversity. The limited numbers of forest-protected areas (FPA), established to conserve the dwindling forest biodiversity of the country with high pressure on them for timber, non-timber forest products, and fuelwood - makes their management challenging. Moreover, most of the FPAs of the country declared only in the recent decades with very limited infrastructure, manpower and policy support for monitoring and governance. Some people-centred approaches for the management of FPAs and alternative livelihood and income generation subsidies although made available through a few project interventions, their number are still inadequate and performance remains less than satisfactory. This chapter provides a critical review of the FPAs of Bangladesh looking at their role in biodiversity conservation, management challenges, and key lessons from previous management interventions with recommendations for the future. It has been revealed that the FPA system of Bangladesh still poorly represents the diverse forest ecosystems with relatively small forest size and lack of corridors for the movement of wildlife. There are ample opportunities to render co-management of FPAs an effective strategy to minimize the conflicts in FPAs management in the country. It is, however, important to ensure the access of local forest-dependent people to different alternative income generating options that may adequately support their livelihoods.

Data4HumanRights training materials have been developed as open-source and tailored to limited resource settings where community data collectors often live and work. An overview of how the training material was developed together with community data collectors in Nigeria and Kenya is provided. The paper gives insights into the fundamental principles (i.e., inclusiveness, adaptive, limited resources, gender- and incentive-sensitive) and the structure of the open-access training materials. This resulted in 28 modules designed to be delivered in a face-to-face format in less than one day by a local trainer. To maximize adaptivity, the training modules can be mixed and matched (e.g., as individual modules or a learning path of several modules around a specific training need). The individual modules cover a range of methods and tools that are useful to human rights work, for example, documenting evictions, performing rapid needs assessments after acute crises, community profiling, and monitoring community development indicators. The training materials contain instructions for the facilitator(s) of the training and all necessary training materials to conduct the training. To maximize inclusivity, the training covers basic to advanced topics. Most training modules address basic training topics that can be optimally followed with a mobile phone (to avoid using a computer and printing handouts). The training was developed and implemented with local community groups in Nigeria and Kenya. The material is free to use, adapt, and translate into different contexts and languages.

For the first time, the effect of a significant change in the resistance of the aquatic environment of a population of protozoan microorganisms under the influence of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation from cell phones has been experimentally studied. The results of the experiment demonstrate the biological nature of the changes occurring in the “water population of protozoa” system, which indicates that the impact of radiation directly affects the cell. This conclusion is confirmed by the same order of magnitude time of information exchange between individual individuals of the population in the calculation and in the experiment. An extremely low concentration of protozoa in the experiment was established, equal to 1000 pcs./liter, at which the indicated effect is observed.An unambiguous dependence of the biological effect in the “water – amoeba population” system on the average power of electromagnetic radiation of cell phones, both in standby mode and in talk mode, has been established. It is concluded that the presented method of changing the physical properties of the aquatic environment of a population of protozoa under the influence of electromagnetic fields can be a model experiment in identifying the mechanisms of interaction of biological systems with electromagnetic radiation, determining the response time of biological systems to external electromagnetic influence, and establishing the degree of influence of radiation in the 4G, 5G ranges.

Accurate and consistent rainfall observations are vital for climatological studies in support of better planning and decision making. However, estimation of accurate spatial rainfall is limited by sparse rain gauge distributions. Satellite rainfall products can thus potentially play a role in spatial rainfall estimation but their skill and uncertainties need to be under-stood across spatial-time scales. This study aimed at assessing the temporal and spatial performance of seven satellite products (TARCAT (Tropical Applications of Meteorology using SATellite and ground-based observations (TAMSAT) African Rainfall Climatology And Time series), Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data (CHIRPS), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM-3B43), Climate Prediction Center (CPC) Morphing (CMORPH), the Precipitation Estimation from Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks- Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), CPC Merged Analysis of Precipitation (CMAP) and Global Precipitation Climatology Project (GPCP) using gridded (0.05o) rainfall data over East Africa for 15 years(1998-2012). The products’ error distributions were qualitatively compared with large scale horizontal winds (850 mb) and elevation patterns with respect to corresponding rain gauge data for each month during the ‘long’ (March-May) and ‘short’ (October-December) rainfall seasons. For validation only rainfall means extracted from 284 rain gauge stations were used, from which qualitative analysis using continuous statistics of Root Mean Squared Difference, Standard deviations, Correlations, coefficient of determinations (from scatter plots) were used to evaluate the products’ performance. Results revealed rainfall variability dependence on wind flows and modulated by topographic influences. The products’ errors showed seasonality and dependent on rainfall intensity and topography. Single sensor and coarse resolution products showed lowest performance on high ground areas. All the products showed low skills in retrieving rainfall during ‘short’ rainfall season when orographic processes were dominant. CHIRPS, CMORPH and TRMM performed well, with TRMM showing the best performance in both seasons. There is need to reduce products’ errors before applications.

Neuropsychiatric manifestations of COVID-19 include delirium, general malaise, headache, and psychiatric symptoms. These manifestations are related to the neuroinflammatory response to viral antigens and proinflammatory mediators/immune cells. Tetracyclines, such as minocycline, have antibacterial and anti-inflammatory properties. Saiko-keishi-to, a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine, also has anti-inflammatory properties. Given the anti-inflammatory properties of minocycline and Saiko-keishi-to, we describe two cases of COVID-19 with prolonged headaches and general malaise successfully treated with these medications.

Strategic intelligence covers the examination of what impacts and influences the business and the related SWOT analysis, (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats mapping). Through this research, leaders will be able to properly allocate and re-route resources, identify areas of improvement, and ensure that strategic initiatives are aligned with the organization's mission. Strategic intelligence is, therefore, effective through the use of critical thought and data-driven decisions and seeing the outcomes of different positioned alternatives. It must also form and support a culture of cooperation and open communication within the organizations, stimulating employees' inputs and learning curves. The article's subject is the necessity for strategic intelligence, a crucial competence for leaders, managers, and companies striving to remain competitive, to be utilized and best leveraged in today's volatile and dynamic business contexts. It helps the leadership turn proactive, foresee trends, and make correct, agile decisions that enforce companies' long-term growth and success. This study follows a research design that includes a thorough literature review and bibliometric research, executed via VoSViewer, illustrating the concept of strategic intelligence from a leadership point of view as a driver of competitive advantage. Further, the article points out that the limitations are acknowledged because the literature on the matter is limited, as strategic intelligence is relatively new to the business sector; moreover, more research is required to fully understand and use the potential of strategic intelligence in business growth. By overcoming these limitations and continuing to study this concept, businesses can gain a competitive edge and make informed decisions that fuel their success in an ever-evolving market. As a result, this study contributes to developing strategic intelligence in leadership and business and paves the road for further research and applications of strategic intelligence theories in organizational contexts.

Malassezia is a lipid-dependent genus of yeasts known for being an important part of the skin mycobiota. These yeasts have been associated in the development of skin disorders and cataloged as a causal agent of systemic infections under specific conditions, making them opportunistic pathogens. Little is known about the host-microbe interaction of Malassezia spp., and unraveling this implies the implementation of infection models. In this mini review we present different models that have been implemented in the fungal infections study with greater attention in Malassezia spp. infections. These models range from in vitro (cell cultures and ex vivo tissue), to in vivo (murine models, rabbits, guinea pigs, insects, nematodes, and amoebas). We additionally highlight the alternative models that reduce the use of mammals as model organisms, which have been gaining importance in the study of fungal host-microbe interactions. This is due to the fact that these systems have shown to have reliable results, which correlate with those obtained from mammalian models. Example of alternative models are Caenorhabditis elegans, Drosophila melanogaster, Tenebrio molitor, and Galleria mellonella. These are invertebrates that have been implemented in the study of Malassezia spp. infections in order to identify differences in virulence between Malassezia species.

A single mode waveguide grating coupler based on multiple Si-SiO₂ pairs onto Si substrate has been designed. Numerical analysis has been carried out to calculate optimum thickness of the layers of Si-SiO₂ that ensures the constructive interference between reflected waves and actual guided wave for high coupling efficiency. Based on the results, an optimal design is developed and modeled by using a 2-D finite difference time domain (2-D FDTD) simulator that dictates a coupling efficiency of as much as 78% (-1.07 dB) at the wavelength of 1550 nm, and a 1-dB bandwidth of 77 nm. The numerical method will be useful to calculate the optimum thicknesses of the layers for any reflector based grating coupler of different materials.

: Julia Creek dunnarts are an endangered species of carnivorous marsupials and the focus of multiple conservation strategies involving significant resources such as captive breeding programs. Despite the relevance for conservation, no study to date has focused on evaluating geriatric diseases in dunnarts. This study describes the pathology findings in a group of one wild and 35 captive-born, mostly geriatric Julia Creek dunnarts that failed to produce offspring over multiple breeding periods. A total of 20 females and 16 males were submitted for a postmortem examination, with ages ranging from 9-42 and 12-42 months for females and males, respectively. Of these, 10 had unremarkable findings. The most common condition in females was cystic glandular hyperplasia (n=8), typical of hormonal dysregulation profiles in senescence, particularly hyperestrogenism. Rarely, cutaneous disease represented by unidentified dermal round cell infiltrates was observed in females (n=2). Primary reproductive hormonal dysregulation was also suspected in males diagnosed with testicular degeneration, aspermatogenesis and/or atrophy (n=3). Cutaneous round cell infiltrates, possibly compatible with epitheliotropic lymphomas were seen in males (n=3), and 2/3 affected males also had concurrent testicular degeneration or atrophy, indicating male sex could be a predictor for lymphoid neoplasia in aged dunnarts especially in individuals with concurrent testosterone-luteinizing hormone dysregulation as it occurs in gonadectomized animals. The role of an underlying viral etiology is also explored. This study is the first to describe major spontaneous diseases in endangered aged Julia Creek dunnarts, providing an important understanding of senescence and geriatric diseases within a conservation context.

Simulated (sim) racing is an emerging esport that has garnered much interest in recent years and has been a relatively under-researched field in terms of expertise and performance. When examining expertise, visual attention has been of particular interest to researchers, with eye tracking technology commonly used to assess visual attention. In this study, we examined the visual attention allocation of high and low skilled sim racers during a time trial task using Tobii 3 glasses. Participants were allocated to either group according to their fastest lap times. Our results indicate that when eye tracking metrics were normalised to lap time, there was no difference in the relative length of attention allocation (fixation behaviour), although lower skilled racers did have significantly greater fixation counts and durations across laps overall. Interestingly, high and low skilled sim racers differed in where they allocated their attention during the task, with high skilled sim racers allocating significantly less attention to the track relative to other areas of the display. This would allow higher skilled racers to obtain relatively more information from heads-up display elements in-game, all whilst driving at faster speeds. This study provides evidence that high and low skilled sim racers show similar lap time-corrected fixation behaviour, but how they allocate attention while driving differs.

Oncolytic virotherapy is a promising immunotherapy approach for cancer treatment, utilizing viruses to preferentially infect and eliminate cancer cells while stimulating immune responses. In this review we synthesize current literature on the molecular circuits of immune sensing and response to oncolytic virotherapy; focusing on viral DNA or RNA sensing by infected cells, cytokine and danger-associated signal sensing by neighboring cells, and subsequent downstream activation of immune pathways. The sequential sense-and-response mechanisms involve the triggering of molecular sensors by viruses or infected cells to activate transcription factors and related genes for a breadth of immune responses. We describe how molecular signals induced in the tumor upon virotherapy can trigger diverse immune signaling pathways, activating both antigen-presenting cell-based innate and T cell-based adaptive immune responses. Insights into these complex mechanisms provide valuable knowledge for enhancing oncolytic virotherapy strategies.

In patients with heart failure, the evaluation of left ventricular (LV) diastolic function is vital, offering crucial insights into hemodynamic impact and prognostic accuracy. Echocardiography stands as the primary imaging modality for diastolic function assessment, and using it effectively requires a profound understanding of the underlying pathology. This review covers four main topics: first, the fundamental driving forces behind each phase of normal diastolic dynamics, along with the physiological basis of two widely used echocardiographic assessment parameters, E/e' and mitral annulus early diastolic velocity (e'); second, the intricate functional relationship between the left atrium and LV in patients with varying degrees of LV diastolic dysfunction (LVDD); third, the role of stress echocardiography in diagnosing LVDD and the significance of parameter changes in this context; and fourth, the clinical utility of evaluating diastolic function from echocardiography images across diverse cardiovascular care areas.

Analyzing BRCA1/2 tumor pathogenic variants (TPVs) in epithelial tubal/ovarian cancers (EOC) has become an essential part of the diagnostic workflow in many centers to guide treatment options and genetic cascade testing. However, there is no standardization of testing procedures, including techniques, gene assays, or sequencers used, and data on the execution of tumor tests remains scarce. Therefore, we evaluated characteristics of BRCA1/2 tumor testing in advanced-stage EOC with real-world national data. Pathology reports of patients diagnosed with EOC in 2019 in the Netherlands were obtained from the Dutch Pathology Registry (PALGA), and data regarding histological subtype and BRCA1/2 tumor tests were extracted. A total of 999 patients with advanced-stage EOC were included. Tumor tests were performed for 502 patients (50.2%) and BRCA1/2 TPVs were detected in 14.7%. Of all tests, 48.6% used hybrid capture techniques and 26.5% used PCR-based techniques. More than half of the tests (55.0%) analyzed other genes in addition to BRCA1/2. Overall, this study highlights the heterogeneity in the execution of BRCA1/2 tumor tests. Despite a lack of evidence of quality differences, we emphasize that adequate reporting and internal and external quality monitors are essential for high-quality implementation and execution of reliable BRCA1/2 tumor testing, which is crucial for identifying all patients with BRCA1/2 TPVs.

Objective: Mechanical bowel preparation is essential for the visualisation of the colon during colonoscopy, and previous studies have identified changes in gut microbiota composition after bowel preparation and colonoscopy. Considering the gut microbiota is increasingly implicated in mood, we aimed to explore the potential impact of this intervention on mood and the microbiota-gut-brain axis. Methods: We conducted a pre-post intervention study, with timepoints of one week before and one month after bowel preparation and colonoscopy, in community-dwelling adults referred for colonoscopy. Our primary outcome was change in average Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression sub-scores using generalised estimating equations. We also examined changes in average anxiety, stress, and quality of life scores, and faecal microbiota composition and potential function using 16S rRNA sequencing. We further explored associations between changes in depressive symptoms and the gut microbiota and conducted post-hoc analyses to explore potential effect modifiers. Key Results: 59 participants were included in the analyses. Depressive symptoms decreased one-month post-procedure compared to baseline (adjusted β=−0.64; 95%CI: −1.18, −0.11). Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) appeared to moderate this relationship (1.78; 0.292, 3.26); depressive symptoms increased in those with, and decreased in those without, IBS. Changes in gut microbiome composition included reduced alpha diversity, modest effects on beta-diversity, and increases in genera associated with potential health benefits, one-month post-procedure compared to baseline. Increases in the CLR-transformed abundance of Ruminococcaceae UCG-009 were associated with improvements in depressive symptoms. Conclusions: There is preliminary evidence of a potential mental health effect of bowel preparation and colonoscopy, which may be associated with changes to the gut microbiota. There may also be a differential mental health impact of this procedure for those with and without IBS. Considering the limitations of our study, further research is required to confirm these findings and their clinical relevance.

Tinnitus is a common phantom auditory percept, believed to be related to plastic changes in the brain due to hearing loss. However, tinnitus can also occur in absence of any clinical hearing loss. Then, since there is no hearing loss, the mechanisms that drive plastic changes remain largely enigmatic. Previous studies showed subtle differences in sound-evoked brain activity associated with tinnitus in subjects with tinnitus and otherwise, normal hearing, but the results are not consistent across studies. Here, we aim to investigate those differences using monaural rather than binaural stimuli. Sound-evoked responses were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in participants with and without tinnitus. All participants had clinically normal audiograms. The stimuli were pure tones with frequencies between 353 and 8000 Hz, presented monaurally. A Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of the response in the auditory cortex revealed no difference in tonotopic organization, which confirmed earlier studies. A GLM analysis showed hyperactivity in the lateral areas of the bilateral auditory cortex. Consistent with the tonotopic map, this hyperactivity mainly occurred in response to low stimulus frequencies. This may be related to hyperacusis, which was associated with tinnitus found in the parahippocampus. This may reflect an interference between tinnitus and spatial orientation.

Cloud computing has become a widespread technology due to ICT advancements. It allows businesses to move and take advantage of the pay-as-you-go price model. Enterprises pay for what they use and don't have to buy, setup, or maintain resources. However, outsourcing core resources such as storage, servers, operating systems, and software applications from a third party needs careful decisions to take advantage of cloud facilities. Choice of appropriate service provider, deployment and service model must be aligned with business needs and goals. In this paper, we will present cloud computing benefits, cloud deployment methods, services, state-of-the-art migration methods, tools and techniques and will conclude with the role of SDN in cloud computing.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune disease in which joints are gradually de-stroyed, and early diagnosis and treatment before joint deformation or destruction is im-portant. The detection of novel RA biomarkers in saliva may facilitate the early detection of RA before the onset of disease. In this study, we conducted a comprehensive proteomic analysis of salivary proteins from RA model mice. Proteins were identified by Western blotting and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in serum, saliva, and ankle joints from DBA/1JJmsSlc mice, a model of rheumatoid arthritis. Ankle joints and submandibular glands were hematoxylin and eosin stained and immunostained, and the results were compared with those of control mice. Citrullinated α1 antitrypsin (A1AT, 46 kDa) was commonly detected in saliva, serum, and ankle joints of severe RA model mice, and was confirmed by proteome analysis. Western blotting detected a band corresponding to 46 kDa in serum, saliva and ankle joints, and immunostaining of ankle joints with A1AT an-tibody showed a strong positive signal in the synovium. In DBA/1JJmsSlc mice, not only cyclic citrullinated peptide antibodies but also A1AT may be involved in protein citrulli-nation and contribute to the development and severity of RA.

Background: The aim of this audit is to evaluate the characteristics of dental infections requiring hospitalisations, which may help improve preventative and management policies. Methods: This study retrospectively evaluated the patients’ records admitted to a public hospital due to dental infections between 2018 and 2019. Results: A total of 102 patients, mostly in thirties with equal gender distribution were admitted with dental infections, presenting with pain (100%), swelling (99%), Trismus (40.2%), dysphagia (27.4%), fever (21%) >37°C, Tachycardia (24.75%) and Tachypnoea (9.3%). Most patients presented (68%) on weekends, outside regular working hours and public holidays. 54 (52.5%) patients had taken prior antibiotics. Dental Caries, smoking, mental health issues and illicit drug use were featured strongly. The majority of patients (56.4%) underwent treatment under local anaesthesia. The total length of hospital stay was 271 days (mean 2.66). Augmentin was the most prescribed antibiotics. Complications were reported in 8.8% patients, primarily related to airway compromise. Conclusion: Dental infections leading to hospitalizations continue to be a burden on the healthcare system. A notable finding was the presentations primarily on weekends, outside regular hours and public holidays and the majority requiring dental intervention under local anaesthesia. Provision of on call emergency dental services may reduce length of hospital stay and admissions.

The necessity for precise and current data concerning the dynamics of land cover change in Indonesia is crucial for efforts to reduce natural vegetation cover due to agricultural expansion. The functionality of monitoring systems that incorporate Terra-MODIS is currently compromised by the limited availability of data for the immediate future. This study seeks to assess the potential of VIIRS satellite imagery in developing an early warning system for monitoring vegetation cover change in Indonesia. The Normalized Differential Open Area Index (NDOAI) computed from the 8-day’ VIIRS data was employed to detect changes in vegetation cover based on pixel-by-pixel subtraction in the NDOAI data time series. Evaluating the pixel-level accuracy of change detection is complicated due to the fact that we evaluate a change map at a coarser resolution than the Landsat-based reference map. The results revealed that increasing the threshold percentage is associated with improved accuracy. In change detection, there is often a trade-off between accuracy and sensitivity. A threshold that is too low may result in false positives, while a threshold that is too high may lead to missed changes. This study demonstrates that when a threshold value of less than 20% is applied, Landsat can identify vegetation cover changes at an earlier stage. Conversely, when a threshold value greater than 20% is employed, VIIRS will detect the change 4.5 days earlier than Landsat. Additionally, VIIRS is capable of detecting changes 25.4 days and 54.8 days faster than Landsat, respectively, when using thresholds of 40% and 75%.

The traditionally dismal outcome of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients carrying the FMS-related tyrosine kinase 3 (FLT3) mutations has been mitigated by the recent introduction into the clinics of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKI) such as midostaurin and gilteritinib. The present work summarizes the clinical data that led to the use of gilteritinib in clinical practice. Gilteritinib is a 2nd generation TKI with deeper single-agent activity than 1st generation drugs against both FLT3-ITD and TKD mutations, in human studies. Moreover, the phase I/II dose-escalation, dose-expansion Chrysalis trial showed an acceptable safety profile of gilteritinib (diarrhea, elevated aspartate aminotransferase, febrile neutropenia, anemia, thrombocytopenia, sepsis, and pneumonia) and a 49% overall response rate (ORR) in 191 FLT3-mutated relapsed/refractory (R/R) AML patients. In 2019, the pivotal ADMIRAL trial showed that the median overall survival was significantly longer in patients treated with gilteritinib than among those receiving chemotherapy (9.3 vs 5.6 months, respectively) and the ORR to gilteritinib was 67.6%, outperforming the 25.8% for chemotherapy arm and leading to the license for its clinical use by the US Food and Drug Administration. Since then, several real-world experiences confirmed the positive results in the R/R AML setting. Finally, gilterinib based combinations currently under investigation with several compounds (venetoclax, azacitidine, conventional chemotherapy, etc.) and some practical tips (maintenance after allogeneic transplantation, interaction with antifungal drugs, extramedullary disease, and onset of resistance) will be analyzed in detail in the review.

The authors argue that despite significant numbers of foreign workers present in the Russian labor market Russia remains unattractive for highly skilled foreign workers. The economic crisis the country has faced since 2014 has resulted in a further outflow of foreign nationals from OECD countries. So Russia has to look for employees among newcomers from the former Soviet states, the majority of whom come from Central Asia. Russian politics with regard to immigration is characterized by the collision between “geopolitical” and domestic policy rationales. On one hand, seeking to maximize its influence in the post-Soviet space Russia provides preferential conditions of employment for citizens of partner countries in the framework of the Eurasian Economic Union. On the other hand, the Kremlin is afraid to liberalize its approach to immigration and the integration of immigrants through fear of losing popularity among the electorate. The second substantial feature of Russian immigration politics is an extreme level of securitization of migration issues. The government considers these issues primarily through a policing lens. One cannot claim that the Russian state does not take any steps to liberalize “migratory regulation”; however, the effect of these measures is being vastly reduced by new restrictions. In addition, liberally designed laws do not bring the expected results due to the corrupt practices that pervade the whole of migration regulation.

Cultivated adlay or Job’s tear (Coix lacryma-jobi L.) is an important food crop having numerous therapeutic and nutraceutical health benefits. Our study aimed to determine nutrients, minerals, fatty acid composition, and functional groups of seven wild Adlay accessions (brown, black, yellow, grey, green, off-white, and purple) to find out their scope as cereal crops using simple, rapid, and modern analytical techniques. Results revealed variations among bulk densities, specific densities, percent empty spaces, and corresponding grain counts per 10g of sample are valuable characteristics in distinguishing the accessions. Contents of fat, protein, ash, and fibre were found to be comparable to cultivated Adlay. Brown adlay was measured with the highest protein, fat, and fibre contents, 15.82%, 4.76% and 2.37%, respectively. Phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and sodium ranged 0.3% - 2.2%, whereas boron, iron, copper, zinc, and manganese were in the range 1.6mg/kg - 20.8mg/kg. Wild adlay triglyceride composition constituted of polyunsaturated fatty acids as primary fraction followed by olein and palmitic acid as prominent fatty acids. Distinguishing functional groups expressed infra-red frequencies in narrow bands and fingerprint region of proteins associated with out-of-plane region evident structural differences among adlay accessions. Frequency of functional groups in seven accessions indicated black genotype promising for varietal development.

The allosteric SERCA (Sarcoplasmic/Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+-ATPase) activator CDN1163 has been recently added to the group of pharmacological tools for probing SERCA function. We chose to investigate the effects of the compound on T lymphocyte Ca2+ stores, using the well-described Jurkat T lymphocyte as a reliable cell system for Ca2+ signaling pathways. Our study identified the lowest concentrations of the SERCA inhibitors thapsigargin (TG) and 2,5-di-(tert butyl)-1,4-benzohydroquinone (tBHQ) capable of releasing Ca2+, permitting the differentiation of the TG-sensitive SERCA 2b Ca2+ store from the tBHQ-sensitive SERCA 3 Ca2+ store. We proceeded to test the effects of CDN1163 on Ca2+ stores, examining specific actions on the SERCA 2b and SERCA 3 Ca2+ pools using our low dose SERCA blocker regimen. In contrast to previous work, we find CDN1163 exerts complex time-sensitive and SERCA isoform-specific actions on Ca2+ stores. Surprisingly, short-term exposure (0-30 minutes) to CDN1163 perturbs T cell Ca2+ stores by suppressing Ca2+ uptake with diminished Ca2+ release from the SERCA 2b-controlled store. Concomitantly, we find evidence for a SERCA-activating effect of CDN1163 on the SERCA 3 regulated store, given the observation of increased Ca2+ release inducible by low dose tBHQ. Intriguingly, longer-term (&gt;12 hours) CDN1163 exposure reversed this pattern, with increased Ca2+ release from SERCA 2b-regulated pools, yet decreased Ca2+ release responses from tBHQ-sensitive SERCA 3 pool. Our results reveal differential effects of CDN1163 on Ca2+ stores regulated by distinct SERCA isoforms, prompting the need for careful interpretation of the compound’s effects, particularly in cells expressing multiple SERCA isoforms.

Limited knowledge is available about the association between autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) and precocious puberty. Our study examined the association between the two medical conditions, and the effect modification by sex and neuropsychiatric comorbidities in a nationwide population. To compare the risk of precocious puberty between ASD and non-ASD cases, we conducted Cox regression analysis, using ASD as exposure and time-to-precocious puberty as outcome. We adjusted for sex, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), tics disorder, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), anxiety disorder, intellectual disability, and epilepsy. We performed a moderation analysis to examine the potential moderating effects by sex or comorbidities. Patients with ASD were prone to have precocious puberty, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 1.80 (95% CI: 1.61-2.01). For the effect modification, sex, specifically females, moderated the association between ASD and precocious puberty, with relative excess risk due to interaction (RERI) 7.35 (95% CI 4.90-9.80). No significant effect modification was found for any of the comorbidities within the scope of additive effect modification. We found that patients with ASD were prone to precocious puberty, regardless of sex or comorbid neuropsychiatric disorders. Girls with ASD are at particularly higher risk to develop precocious puberty.

In recent decades, as eutrophication in inland and coastal waters (ICWs) has increased due to anthropogenic activities and global warming, so has the need for timely monitoring. Compared with traditional sampling and laboratory analysis methods, satellite remote sensing technology can provide macro-scale, low-cost, and near real-time water quality monitoring services. The Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI), integrated onboard the Communication Ocean and Meteorological Satellite (COMS) from the Republic of Korea, was the first geostationary ocean color observation satellite and was operational from April 1, 2011 to March 31, 2021. Over ten years, GOCI has observed oceans, coastal waters, and inland waters within its 2,500 km×2,500 km target area centered on the Korean Peninsula. The most attractive feature of GOCI, compared with other commonly used watercolor sensors, was its high temporal resolution (1h, eight times daily from 0 UTC to 7 UTC), providing the opportunity to monitor the quality of ICWs, where optical properties can change rapidly throughout the day. This systematic review aims to comprehensively review GOCI features and applications in ICWs, analyzing progress in atmospheric correction algorithms and water quality monitoring. Analyzing 123 articles from the Web of Science and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) through a bibliometric quantitative approach, we examined GOCI’s strength and performance with different processing methods. These articles reveal that GOCI played an essential role in monitoring the ecological health of ICWs in its observation area in East Asia. GOCI has led the way to a new era of geostationary ocean satellites, providing new technical means for monitoring water quality in oceans, coastal zones, and inland lakes. We also discuss the challenges encountered by geostationary satellites in monitoring water quality and provide suggestions for improvements.

Gas and power networks are tightly coupled and interact with each other due to physically interconnected facilities. In an integrated gas and power network, a contingency observed in one system may cause iterative cascading failures, resulting in network wide disruptions. Therefore, understanding the impacts of the interactions in both systems is crucial for governments, system operators, regulators and operational planners, particularly, to ensure security of supply for the overall energy system. Although simulation has been widely used in the assessment of gas systems as well as power systems, there is a significant gap in simulation models that are able to address the coupling of both systems. In this paper, a simulation framework that models and simulates the gas and power network in an integrated manner is proposed. The framework consist of a transient model for the gas system and a steady state model for the power system based on AC-Optimal Power Flow. The gas and power system model are coupled through an interface which uses the coupling equations to establish the data exchange and coordination between the individual models. The bidirectional interlink between both systems considered in this studies are the fuel gas offtake of gas fired power plants for power generation and the power supply to LNG terminals and electric drivers installed in gas compressor stations and underground gas storage facilities. The simulation framework is implemented into an innovative simulation tool named SAInt (Scenario Analysis Interface for Energy Systems) and the capabilities of the tool are demonstrated by performing a contingency analysis for a real world example. Results indicate how a disruption triggered in one system propagates to the other system and affects the operation of critical facilities. In addition, the studies show the importance of using transient gas models for security of supply studies instead of successions of steady state models, where the time evolution of the line pack is not captured correctly.

Thalassemia is a common monogenic autosomal disorder prevalent in India. HbE beta thalassemia is a compound heterozygous state of two different beta globin mutations (HBB), predominant in the Eastern India. In HbE-beta thalassemia (β⁺/β°) patients, one HBB mutation does not produce any functional protein (β°); another mutation produces a structural altered haemoglobin, variant E (β⁺). It has been observed that in HbE-beta thalassemia patients with same type of HBB mutations, there exist diverse phenotypic presentation ranging from very severe, with regular transfusion-dependence to clinically non severe requiring very less transfusion or no transfusion. To explore this phenotypic mystery, we performed trio based expanded whole exome sequencing (WES) of two extreme phenotypes of HbE beta thalassemia subjects with similar HBB genotype and their parents. For WES library preparation, Agilent Sure select V6+UTR kit was used and sequencing was done through the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. This study aimed to search for de novo or inherited variants associated with the clinical severity. Six significant inherited variants were found in the genes, ATOH8, TTLL4, P2RX7, PRSS54, SLC9C2 and VRK2 in severe subject, however only one significant inherited variant in MTRR gene was found in non-severe subject. Bioinformatic analysis also confirms that each variant significantly changes in respective protein structure. The identified genes were either associated with iron absorption, oxidative stress, hematopoietic stem cell differentiation, structural organization of RBC cytoskeleton or regulating anemia. No significant de novo variant were identified associated with clinical severity. The finding of this study indicates that the combined effect of mutation load in major pathways may responsible for severe phenotype.

Mitochondria are semiautonomous organelles, which are pivotal for the energy metabolism of eukaryotic cells. These organelles contain their own genetic system (mtDNA, mitogenome) that encodes to some structural RNAs and organellar proteins. The biogenesis and function of mitochondria is tightly regulated by nuclear-encoded protein cofactors. The mtDNAs of land plants are characteristically large, with a complex mode of gene organization and expression, in particularly at the post-transcriptional level. To become functional, the primary organellar transcripts undergo extensive maturation steps, which include endo- and exo-nucleolytic cleavage, RNA-base editing, and both ‘cis’- and ‘trans’-splicing events. These essential processing steps rely on the activities of a large set of nuclear-encoded factors. Among these, the RNA helicases serve as key players in organellar (mt-)RNA metabolism. This review summarizes the important roles played by these factors in regulating the highly dynamic processes of transcription, RNA processing, and translation within the mitochondria of land plants. We further discuss recent advancements in understanding how dysregulation of mitochondrial RNA helicases affects the organellar gene expression, respiratory functions, and hence the growth, development and physiology of land plants.

Nowadays, animal breeders look for effective innovations to care animal health. Use of probiotics, postbiotics, parabiotics and the other beneficial natural substances are dominated. Mundticin-like substance EM 41/3 is thermo-stable bacteriocin (postbiotic) with a broad antimicrobial spectrum. In this study its effect in broiler rabbits was assessed. Rabbits represent food-derived animal and they are also suitable animal model. The parameters tested were analyzed by validated methods. Administration of MLS EM 41/3 produced by non-autochthonous strain Enterococcus mundtii EM 41/3 lead to significant increase of parameter immunity-phagocytic activity, while it did not influence microbiota composition. It also did not influence blood biochemistry and no oxidative stress was noted. Moreover, higher growth parameters were noted and also stimulated hydrolytic activity. Finally, no negative influence on rabbit meat quality was noted. Postbiotic MLS EM 41/3 administration in feeding strategy seems to be contributing fact for rabbit health status maintaining.

National heatwave plans are aimed at reducing the avoidable human health consequences due to heatwaves, by providing warnings to and improving communication between relevant stakeholders. The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions of key stakeholders within plans in Belgium and the Netherlands on their responsibilities, the partnerships, and the effectiveness of the local implementation in Brussels and Amsterdam. Key informant interviews were held with stakeholders that had an important role in development of the heatwave plan in these countries, or its implementation in Brussels or Amsterdam. Care organisations, including hospitals and elderly care organisations, had a lack of familiarity with the national heatwave plan in both cities, and prioritised heat the lowest. Some groups of individuals, specifically socially isolated individuals, are not sufficiently addressed by the current national heatwave plans and most local plans. Stakeholders reported that responsibilities were not clearly described and that the national plan does not describe tasks on a local level. We recommend to urgently increase awareness on the impact of heat on health among care organisations. More emphasis needs to be given to the variety of heat risk groups. Stakeholders should be involved in the development of updates of the plans.