The implementation of sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy is changing the scenario in the surgical treatment of early-stage cervical cancer and the oncologic safety of replacing bilateral pelvic lymphadenectomy with SLN biopsy is currently under investigation. One of the undisputed values of SLN biopsy is its diagnostic accuracy in detecting low-volume metastases (LVM) via pathologic ultrastaging. In early-stage cervical cancer, the reported incidence of LVM ranges from 4 to 20%. The prognostic impact and the role of adjuvant treatment in patients with LVM is still unclear. Some non-prespecified analyses in prospective studies showed no impact on the oncologic outcomes compared to node-negative disease. However, the heterogeneity of the studies, the differences in the disease stage and the use of adjuvant treatment, and the concomitant pelvic lymphadenectomy (PLND) make any conclusion on this topic hard. Current guidelines suggest considering micrometastasis (MIC) as a node-positive disease, while isolated tumor cells (ITC) as a node-negative disease, with a low level of evidence. This review aims to highlight the unanswered questions about the definition, identification, prognostic and therapeutic role of LVM and underline the present and future challenges we are facing. We hope this review will guide further research, giving robust evidence on LVM and their impact on clinical practice.

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.

Selenium is essential for the synthesis and function of various selenoenzymes, such as glutathione peroxidases, selenoprotein P, and thioredoxin reductase, which play an important role in both antioxidant defense and limiting oxidative damage. Associations between serum selenium concentration and obstetric complications as well as pregnancy outcomes has been reported in many studies. The aim of this study was to determine whether the dietary intake of selenium, its concentration in serum and the activity of glutathione peroxidase in subsequent trimesters of pregnancy affect the birth condition of newborns assessed on the basis of the Apgar score in the 1st and 5th minute of life, birth weight, body length and head and chest circumference in physiological and complicated pregnancy course. Twenty-seven pregnant women at a mean age 29.6 ± 4.8 years from the Lower Silesia region of Poland were recruited to the study, 55% of studied group had pregnancy complications. The mean reported Se intake and serum selenium content for Polish pregnant women was in the first trimester – 56.53 μg/day and 43.75 μg/l, the second trimester – 61.79 μg/day and 41.77 μg/l and the third trimester – 58.37 μg/day and 42.13 μg/l, respectively. In the subgroup of pregnant women with a physiological pregnancy course, a weak, although statistically significant, positive correlation was found in the first trimester between Se intake and the length (R=0.48, p=0.019) and birth weight of newborns (R=0.472, p=0.022), and in the second trimester with the APGAR score at 1 (R=0.680, p=0.005) and 5 minutes (R=0.55, p=0.033), as well as in the third trimester with th APGAR score at 1 minut (R=0.658, p=0.019). The GPX value had a strong positive correlation with the APGAR score at 1 min. (R=0.650, p=0.008) in the second trimester and with the birth weight of the newborns (R=0.598, p=0.039) in the third trimester. There was no correlation between newborns' birth measurements and serum selenium concentration. In the subgroup of pregnant women with pregnancy complications, a strong, statistically significant, negative correlation was found between Se intake in the second trimester and gestational age (R=-0.618, p=0.032), and in the third trimester, a positive correlation between Se concentration in serum and head circumference (R=0.587, p=0.021). The obtained results indicate that there is a relationship between the maternal selenium status during pregnancy, both in terms of the intake of this element, its serum concentration as well as the glutathione peroxidase activity, and the anthropometric parameters of the newborn, such as birth weight, length and APGAR score, especially in the group with physiological course of pregnancy, but when pregnancy complications occur, these relationships lose their importance.

Background: Assessing the impact of bone health clinical management in breast cancer (BC) patients receiving adjuvant endocrine therapy and designing a personalized clinical pathway to reduce bone loss, in an Italian research hospital. Methods: The primary endpoint was to assess (through the process improvement organizational method) the clinical pathway that post-surgical BC patients prescribed with endocrine therapy undergo to prevent bone loss. The secondary endpoint was to design a personalized clinical pathway for a prompt implementation of guidelines, to assess and possibly prescribe antiresorptive therapy. Results: During the first year of the new diagnostic therapeutic assistance pathway execution, an 60% increase in Dual-Energy X-ray Absorptiometry evaluations within 30 days and a 39.5% increase in antiresorptive therapy prescription within 90 days (since prescription of endocrine therapy) were shown, thus increasing patients’ compliance. Conclusion: Case managers and bone health specialists in this context can improve patients’ adherence to therapies and bone health, helping physicians to expand their collaboration.

Residual stress (RS) is the most challenging problem in metal additive manufacturing (AM) since the build-up of high tensile RS may influence the fatigue life, corrosion resistance, crack initiation, and failure of the additively manufactured components. While tensile RS is inherent in all the AM processes, fast and accurate prediction of stress state within the part is extremely valuable and would result in optimization of the process parameters in achieving a desired RS and control of the build process. This paper proposes a physics-based analytical model to rapidly and accurately predict the RS within the additively manufactured part. In this model, a transient moving point heat source (HS) is utilized to determine the temperature field. Due to the high temperature gradient within the proximity of the melt pool area, material experience high thermal stress. Thermal stress is calculated by combining three sources of stresses known as stresses due to the body forces, normal tension, and hydrostatic stress in a homogeneous semi-infinite medium. The thermal stress determines the RS state within the part. Consequently, by taking the thermal stress history as an input, both the in-plane and out of plane RS distributions are found from incremental plasticity and kinematic hardening behavior of the metal by considering volume conservation in plastic deformation in coupling with the equilibrium and compatibility conditions. In this modeling, material properties are temperature-sensitive since the steep temperature gradient varies the properties significantly. Moreover, the energy needed for the solid-state phase transition is reflected by modifying the specific heat employing the latent heat of fusion. Furthermore, the multi-layer and multi-scan aspects of metal AM are considered by including the temperature history from previous layers and scans. Results from the analytical RS model presented excellent agreement with XRD measurements employed to determine the RS in the Ti-6Al-4V specimens.

The European Union's recent decision to renew the authorization for the use of glyphosate until 15 December 2033 stimulates the scientific discussion all around the world regarding its toxicity or otherwise for humans. Glyphosate is a chemical used by millions of tons in the last 50 years worldwide to drying weeds in cultivated fields, greenhouses, roadsides. Concern has been raised in many quarters about the possible presence in the food chain and the consequent adverse effects on health: both aspects that argue in favor of toxicity and those that instead may indicate limited toxicity of glyphosate are here discussed. The great debate that has been generated requires further investigations and field measurements to understand its fate once dispersed in the environment and its concentration in the food chain. Hence the need for validated analytical methods that are available to analysts in the field. In the present review, methods for the analytical determination of glyphosate and its main metabolite, AMPA, are discussed, with a specific focus on chromatographic techniques applied to cereal products. The experimental procedures are explained in any detail, including cleanup, derivatization, and instrumental conditions to give the laboratories involved enough information to proceed with the implementation of this line of analysis. The prevalent chromatographic methods used are LC-MS/MS, GC-MS/SIM, and GC-MS/MS but sufficient indications are also given to those laboratories that wish to use the simpler HPLC-FLD, HPLC-UV, GC-NPD or GC-FPD techniques for screening purposes. Concentrations from literature measured in wheat, corn, barley, rye, oats, soybean, and cereal-based foods are reported together with the regulatory status in various parts of the world and the accumulation mechanism. As for the accumulation in cereals, available data show that glyphosate tends to accumulate more in wholemeal flours than in refined ones, that its concentration in the product strictly depends on the treatment period (the closer it is to the time of harvesting, the higher the concentration) and that in cold climates the herbicide tends to persist in the soil for a long time.

Introduction Livestock abortigenic agents, which are microorganisms that lead to premature foetal death and expulsion before completion of the gestation period, are common in Africa and Asia. Abortion events cause economic losses by lowering reproduction (and hence herd/flock sizes) and effects on milk production. Despite the importance of livestock production for food security and livelihoods of millions of the world’s poorest communities, very little is known about the scale, magnitude or causes of livestock abortion in Africa. The aim of this review was to determine the current status of the burden of livestock abortion and surveillance measures adopted for livestock abortigenic pathogens in Africa and Asia, and to explore feasible surveillance technologies. Methodology A systematic literature search was conducted using Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines in four databases for studies published between 1 Jan 1990 and 31 July 2021 that reported epidemiological surveys of livestock abortigenic pathogens in cattle, goats and sheep in Africa and Asia including; Brucella spp., Neospora caninum, Toxoplasma gondii, Rift valley fever virus, Coxiella burnetii, Chlamydia, Leptospira and Bovine viral Diarrhoea Virus. A meta-analysis was used to estimate the species-specific prevalence of the abortigenic diseases and the region where they were detected. Results In the systematic literature search, 48 full papers were included which in total included 50 species-specific surveillance reports from Africa and 19 from Asia. Adjusted median seroprevalence calculations estimated Brucella at 6.85% (range 1.2-11.6) of 9071 sheep, 3.35% (range 0.90-5.40) of 17,007 goats, 8.95% (range 0.50-63.60) of 171,733 cattle, Neospora at 6.80% (range 6.80 -6.80) of 555 sheep, 10.80 (range 10.80-10.80) of 185 goats, 12.65% (range 3.40- 25.60) of 3775 cattle, Toxoplasma at 27.50% (range 1.40 – 75.90) of 2284 sheep, 32.0% (range 20.00- 64.80) of 1226 goats, 7.50% (range 7.50 - 7.50) of 174 cattle, Coxiella at 9.20 (range 9.20 – 9.20) of 184 sheep, 24.20% (range 24.20-24.20) of 91 goats, 13.80% (range 13.80-13.80) of 217 cattle, Rift valley fever virus at 7.70 (2.40-40.00) of 874 sheep, 20.95 (range 2.50-40.00) of 547 goats, 7.45% (range 3.60-11.30) of 309 cattle, Bovine viral diarrhea virus at 78.90 (range 78.90 – 78.90) of 398 cattle, Leptospira at 70.50 (range 70.50 – 70.50) of 373 cattle and Chlamydia at 6.60 (6.60-6.60) of 803 sheep. We found that most studies, 45 (89%) used serological surveys, 1 (2%) used molecular and 1 (2%) reported to have used Mobile-phone based surveillance approach. Three studies (6.25%) of the 48 included were embedded in the national surveillance programs of the respective countries they were conducted, majority 89% were stand-alone cross-sectional studies. Conclusion In conclusion, livestock abortigenic pathogens are still a burden in many African and Asian countries.

In this study, a basic study was performed to analyze the seasonal temperature status of a research room in the Global Environment Research Building where ceiling-embedded indoor units are installed to study the room temperature status of the building as well as to improve its thermal environment. In addition, a direction for improvement of the indoor thermal environment in the winter was proposed through a CFD (computational fluid dynamics) simulation and was proven by an additional experiment. Through the results of this study, it appeared that if the ceiling-embedded indoor unit was installed in the small indoor space without considering the thermal vulnerability of its perimeter boundary, the air temperature of the upper part was greatly different from that of the bottom part in the winter. Hence, in this study, as a means to improve it, convectors were installed to minimize the effect of the external thermal environment and angle-controllable air flowing fans were installed to mitigate the stratification distribution. With such result, it was intended to present the essential data for improvement of the thermal environment as well as conservation of heating energy in the winter for buildings by reviewing the use of the ceiling-embedded indoor unit in the future.

The anthropometric features offer an overall image of the nutritional status. The investigated groups were aged 19 and 21. The anthropometric measurements of height and weight were recorded following standard procedures. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the harmonious body development, the nutrition status and the body composition. The evolution of the stature increases until 20 years after which stagnation follows. The body mass index of subjects was found to be normal. The body fat may vary over time in subjects depending on age and gender. Body water and body muscle mass content increased with age. The harmony of body development was assessed by means of the Amar index. Regarding the constitutional index, the women subjects belong to the leptosome type and the male subjects belong to the picnic type. The status of the investigated subjects is within the average stature.

Responding to changing value creation processes in the sheet metal working sec-tor, where the complexity and interchangeability of products challenge traditional dif-ferentiation strategies, this empirical analysis explores integrating service-oriented and data-driven business models as new paths to ensure competitiveness, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to capture the current state and challenges associated with the implementation of these business models in this sector. The research was conducted through semi-structured interviews with SMEs in the industry. The findings indicate that service-oriented and data-driven business models are not yet widely adopted and that manufacturing companies re-quire support in their implementation. Fields of action were identified for the industry. These are "Creating awareness and understanding", "Recognizing added value", "In-creasing company maturity" and "Understanding the change process". Cooperation between science and industry is essential in tackling these fields of action to ensure the successful integration of such business models in manufacturing companies. This pa-per identifies challenges in the fields of action that companies must address through a structured approach promoting awareness, recognizing value, improving organiza-tional maturity, and understanding the change process to successfully implement ser-vice-oriented and data-driven business models.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of two different insertion speeds at 8 different insertion torque values ranging from 25-60 during implantation in a dense polyurethane D1 bone model on the placement status and removal torque of dental implants. In this study, 50 pcf single layer polyurethane plates were used. In the study, a total of 320 implant sockets were divided into 2 groups as Group 1 (30 rpm) and Group 2 (50 rpm) in terms of insertion speed. Group 1 and Group 2 were divided into 8 subgroups as 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55 and 60 torques. There were 20 implant sockets in each subgroup. During the implantations, implant placement status and removal torque values were assessed. There was a statistically significant difference between the 30 and 50 RPM groups in terms of overall implant placement status (p<0.01). It was found that the removal torque values at 50 RPM were statistically significantly higher than those at 30 RPM (p<0.01). This study showed that in dense D1 bone, the minimum parameters at which all implants could be placed at bone level were 50 torque at 30 rpm and 40 torque at 50 rpm.

The increasing prevalence of obesity and sedentary lifestyles has led to an increased incidence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) worldwide. In Taiwan, middle-aged women are at a greater risk of MetS, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease than men are because they have more subcutaneous fat and larger waist circumferences compared to men with equal visceral fat levels. This study investigated the effects of calorie restriction supplemented with fish oil (CRF) in middle-aged women with MetS. For 12 weeks, 75 eligible participants were randomly assigned either calorie restriction (CR) or CRF. Both dietary intervention groups were further divided into two age groups: ≤45 and >45 years. The changes in MetS severity, inflammatory status, iron status, and red blood cell fatty acid profile were evaluated. Seventy-one participants completed the trial. Both dietary interventions significantly ameliorated MetS and improved the participants’ inflammatory status. CR significantly increased total iron binding capacity, whereas CRF increased hepcidin levels. Furthermore, CRF significantly increased the n-6/n-3 and arachidonic acid/docosahexaenoic acid ratios. In conclusion, CR and CRF improved the anthropometric and MetS characteristics of early-middle aged women, including body weight, blood glucose levels, triglyceride levels, as well as the scores for the homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance and quantitative insulin sensitivity cheque index. Dietary intervention was more effective in >45-year-old women than ≤45-year-old women.

Comprehensive understanding of tree characteristics and conditions holds paramount importance for the precise management of hazelnut orchards. It facilitates the determination of tree vigor, pruning requirements, phytosanitary interventions, and plant water consumption. The primary objective of this study was to explore, for the first time on a fruit tree with a bushy structure and across trees of four Italian distinct hazelnut cultivars, the efficacy of multispectral and thermal UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technologies in assessing canopy attributes, vegetative growth, and predicting abiotic stresses. These technologies serve as tools for precision agriculture, enabling the computation of various indices such as the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and crop water stress index (CWSI). The study of water content is of particular importance at this time, especially considering the increasing water stress levels in Europe as well as globally. While Red Green Blue (RGB) and thermal imagery collectively demonstrated superior performance in model reconstruction, the multispectral UAV remained more adept at characterizing size traits of hazelnut plants. Thermal images alone proved inadequate for accurately reconstructing hazelnut biometric characteristics. Furthermore, all indices were found to be cultivar-specific, underscoring the importance of conducting studies across different cultivars. The utilization of two UAVs, namely multispectral and thermal, facilitated the examination of the relationship between NDVI and CWSI across tree species.

In this study on volume determination in waste sorting facilities, we evaluate the effectiveness of ultrasonic sensors and address waste-material-specific challenges. Although ultrasonic sensors offer a cost-effective automation solution, their accuracy is affected by irregular waste shapes, varied compositions, and environmental factors. Notable inconsistencies in volume measurements between storage bunkers and conveyor belts underscore the need for a comprehensive approach to standardize bale production. With prediction reliability being constrained by limited data sets, undocumented modifications to machine-settings and sensor failures, this task renders a challenging application area for Machine Learning. We explore related research and present dataset analyses from three distinct waste sorting facilities in Europe, addressing issues as sensor usability, data quality and material specifics. Our analysis suggests promising strategies and future directions for enhancing waste volume measurement accuracy, ultimately aiming to advance sustainable waste management.

In the context of autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), total kidney volume (TKV) plays a key role as biomarker of disease progression and response to therapy and has been recently recognized as enrichment biomarker and possible surrogate endpoint. Several imaging modalities and methods are available to calculate TKV, and the choice depends on the purpose of use. Technological advancements have made it possible to accurately assess cyst burden, that can be crucial to assess the disease state and help identifying rapid progressors. Moreover, the development of automated algorithms has increased the efficiency of total kidney and cyst volume measurements. Beyond total kidney and cyst volume, the quantification and characterization of non-cystic kidney tissue show potential to early stratify ADPKD patients, monitor disease progression, and possibly predict renal function loss. A broad spectrum of kid-ney MRI techniques are available to characterize kidney tissue, showing promise to non-invasively pick up early signs of ADPKD progression. Radiomics has been used to extract tex-tural features from ADPKD images, providing valuable information about the heterogeneity of the cystic and non-cystic components. This review provides an overview of ADPKD imaging bi-omarkers, focusing on quantification methods, potential, and necessary steps towards successful translation to clinical practice.

Background: In recent years, whole blood parameters and derivatives have been used as prognostic criteria in the course of the disease in various diseases. The prognostic nutritional index (PNI), the systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) have been adapted as an indicator of inflammation and have been widely studied to define the severity of inflammation in some diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between parameters such as NLR, SII, PNI, controlling nutritional status (CONUT) score, nutritional risk index (NRI) and with immunonutrition status and disease activity in patients with ischemic stroke of small vessel, large vessel and other etiologies. Methods: We retrospectively evaluated the records of 1454 consecutive ischemic stroke patients hospitalized in the emergency department of Gaziosmanpasa Education and Research Hospital from 2019 to 2023. Results: Of the 1350 SVO patients included in the study, 58.8% had small vessel, 29.3% had large vessel and 11.9% had other etiologies. There was a significant difference between the 3 etiology groups for PNI and CONUT. The median PNI was 47.03 (41.33-52.85) in the other etiology group, 35.29 (33.69-37.25) in the small vessel group, and 34.11 (30.23-36.87) in the large vessel group. The CONUT median was 5(5-6) in the small vessel group, 5(4-6) in the large vessel group and 4(4-4) in the other etiology group. In addition, CONUT and PNI were also found to be independent risk factors for death. A negative significant correlation was observed between PNI and NLR (r:-0.692), SII (r:-0.591), CONUT (r:-0.685). Significant correlations were observed between CONUT and NLR (r:0.402), SII (r:0.312). Conclusion: PNI and SII were significantly associated with disease activity. PNI, CONUT and NRI as a more accurate prognostic indicator of nutritional status in patients with ischemic stroke of small vessel, large vessel and other etiologies. NLR and SII may be important predictive markers in the course and prognosis of stroke.

Nanotechnology has become a popular topic in agricultural and animal research, generating sig-nificant global interest. Nanoparticles (NPs)-enabled agriculture and animal husbandry (AHs) products have three main principles: crop production, protection, and nutrient enrichment. Re-search on this topic has grown exponentially in recent years, with an increasing number of peer-reviewed literature and patents on NPs-enabled agriculture and AH products. This study examines and collects data on the various applications of NPs-enabled agricultural products for crop production, protection, and livestock improvement from the core nanotechnological database. The search returned several types of NPs and products used in agriculture and AH, countries that utilize these products at a commercial level, and analysis of these data by phyton, R-statistical software. Our findings show remarkable growth of nanotechnology in agriculture, AH, and re-search fields for future sustainability goals in the era of climate change

There are some controversies about 2G bioethanol and it is in need of a reliable test data in order to make a further analysis and proof. In collecting basic data from three classes of typical raw materials, such as wheat, maize stalk juice, and straw, it was found that 4.32 tons straw or 3.358 tons wheat is needed to produce 1-ton bioethanol. Using the coefficient of variation calculation and analysis method, it is able to obtain the C.V. value of straw fermentation efficiency 0.08932<0.15, indicating the fermentation technology and process of 2G bioethanol is already quite mature and reliable, without risk, and also with a raw material cost advantage. There is a problem in that the C.V. value of straw volume is 1.2648>0.95, indicating 2G bioethanol is in an extremely high-risk area. Using the straw volume calculation method, building and its costs – capital expenditure of 2G bioethanol plant is approximately seven times that of a wheat ethanol plant. This should be some of the important reasons why it is noncompetitive, extremely high price, and requiring government subsidies. Straw volume data study has caused the 2G bioethanol plant to require more cement, steel, equipment, and other materials. Thus, there are ample reasons to question the CO2 emissions and its carbon footprint of 2G bioethanol plant. Actually, the volume is not the only existing problem, it is necessary to re-evaluate and discuss the definition of 2G bioethanol and its future.

Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most frequent and aggressive primary brain tumor. GBM is formed by a very heterogeneous astrocyte population, neurons, neovascularization and infiltrating myeloid cells (microglia and monocyte derived macrophages). The IQGAP1 scaffold protein interacts with components of the cytoskeleton, cell adhesion molecules, and several signaling molecules to regulate cell morphology and motility, cell cycle and other cellular functions. IQGAP1 overexpression and delocalization has been observed in several tumors, suggesting a role for this protein in cell proliferation, transformation and invasion. IQGAP1 has been identified as a marker of amplifying cancer cells in GBMs. To determine the involvement of IQGAP1 in the onco-biology of GBM, we performed immunohistochemical confocal microscopic analysis of the IQGAP1 protein in human GBM tissue samples using cell type-specific markers. IQGAP1 immunostaining and subcellular localization was heterogeneous; the protein was located in the plasma membrane and, at variable levels, in nucleus and/or cytosol. Moreover, IQGAP1 positive staining was found in podosome/invadopodia-like structures. IQGAP1⁺ staining was observed in neurons (Map2⁺ cells), in cancer stem cells (CSC; nestin⁺) and in several macrophages (CD31⁺ or Iba1⁺). Our results indicate that the IQGAP1 protein is involved in normal cell physiology as well as oncologic processes.

Antibiotic-loaded bone cement (ALBC) plays a pivotal role in infection prevention and treatment related to musculoskeletal surgery. The release efficacy of antibiotics from ALBC is closely tied to its surface area, yet little is known about the effective release depth. To investigate the relationship between surface area, volume, and antibiotic elution, spheric ALBC specimens with consistent outer diameters but different internal metal sphere diameters were prepared. Two vancomycin doses were utilized in ALBC specimens with an outer diameter of 35 mm: high (4 g) and low (1 g). Each dosage group included five specimens containing embedded metal spheres with diameters of 15, 25, 29, 32, or 33 mm. The resulting shell-like ALBC specimens had thicknesses of 10 mm, 5 mm, 3 mm, 1.5 mm, or 1 mm, respectively. The specimens were immersed in sterile phosphate buffer solution, and antibiotic elution was measured at designated sampling times (1, 3, 6, 10, 24, 48, 72, and 168 hours). Methylene blue was employed to visualize penetration depth. Vancomycin elution did not display statistically significant differences between high- and low-dose groups. In both groups, specimens with 1 mm thickness exhibited a higher vancomycin release efficiency (high-dose group: 18560±5474 μg, 6.7%; low-dose group: 2017±419 μg, 2.6%), decreasing sharply in thicker ALBC specimens. Methylene blue penetration depth showed no apparent difference between high-dose and low-dose groups. ALBC thickness does not significantly impact antibiotic elution, while surface area and antibiotic dose exert notable effects. These in vitro findings offer potential applications in clinical treatments for musculoskeletal infections.

The authors of the article analyze the existing methods and models of technological preparation of machine-building industries. The structure of a three-level simulation model with network-centric control, the structures of individual elements of the simulation model and the process of simulation modeling are described. The criteria for choosing a rational option for the processing technological route have been determined. During the research, a simulation program was implemented in C++. It allows you to select the optimal scenario for the operation of a production site based on two criteria: time and cost. The volume of implementation is about 2x103 lines of code. A diagram of the modeling algorithm for the implemented program, a description of the classes and their interactions are given in the article. The developed simulation model was tested at a machine-building enterprise using the example of the “Pusher” part, manufactured under single-unit production condi-tions. The technological equipment used for the manufacture of this part was formed in the form of input data of the simulation model. The results of simulation modeling for the selected part are described. For each variant of the technological processing route, the values of variable costs and the duration of the production cycle were determined.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant training disruptions during the 2020-21 season due to lockdowns, quarantines, and strict adherence to pandemic protocols. The main purpose of this study was to determine how pandemic training restrictions affected training volume and performance in one collegiate swim team. Cumulative training volume data, across a 28-week season, were compared between a pandemic (2020-2021) versus non-pandemic (2019-2020) season. Swimmers were categorized into three groups (Sprinters, Mid-Distance, and Long-Distance) based on training group. Performance times in 25 swimmers who competed in Regional Championships, during both the non-pandemic and pandemic year, were compared via 1-way ANOVA. 26 male and 22 female swimmers commenced the 2020-21 (pandemic) season, with 23% of swimmers voluntarily opting out. Three COVID-19 cases were confirmed (2%) by the medical staff with no long-term effects. Significant reductions in average swim volume were verified in Sprinters (32,867±10,135 vs.14,800±7,995yards;p<0.001), Mid-Distance (26,457±10,692 vs.17,054±9.923yards;p<0.001), and Long-Distance (37,600±14,430 vs.22,254±14,418yards;p<0.001) swimmers (non-pandemic vs. pandemic season, respectively). In the Regional performance analyses, the Sprinters swam faster (n=8;-0.5±0.6secs), while Mid-Distance (n=10;0.17±2.1secs) and Long-Distance (n=7;6.0±4.9secs) swimmers swam slower (F=11.76;p=0.0003;r²=0.52). Thus, the pandemic caused significant reductions in swim training volume, with Sprinters performing better and Long-Distance swimmers performing worse at Regional Championships.

Automation of forest field reference data collection has been an intensive research objective for laser scanning scientists ever since the invention of terrestrial laser scanning more than two decades ago. Recently, it has been proposed that such automated data collection providing both the tree heights and stem curves would require a combination of above-canopy UAV point clouds and terrestrial point clouds. In this study, we demonstrate that an under-canopy UAV laser scanning system utilizing a rotating laser scanner can alone provide accurate estimates of the canopy height and the stem volume for the majority of the trees in a boreal forest. To this end, we mounted a rotating laser scanner based on a Velodyne VLP-16 sensor onboard a manually piloted UAV. The UAV was commanded with the help of a live video feed from the onboard camera of the UAV. Since the system was based on a rotating laser scanner providing varying view angles, all important elements such as treetops, branches, trunks, and ground could be recorded with laser hits. In an experiment including two different forest structures, namely sparse and obstructed canopy, we showed that our system can measure the heights of individual trees with a bias of -20 cm and a standard error of 40 cm in the sparse forest and with a bias of -65 cm and a standard error of 1 m in the obstructed forest. The accuracy of the obtained tree height estimates was equivalent to airborne above-canopy UAV surveys conducted in similar forest conditions. The higher underestimation and higher inaccuracy in the obstructed site can be attributed to three trees with a height exceeding 25 m and the applied laser scanning system VLP-16 that had a limited height measurement capacity when it comes to trees taller than 25 m. Additionally, we used our system to estimate the stem volumes of individual trees with a standard error at the level of 10%. This level of error is equivalent to the error obtained when merging above-canopy UAV laser scanner data with terrestrial point cloud data. Future research is needed for testing new sensors, for implementing autonomous operation inside canopies through collision avoidance and navigation through canopies, and for developing robust methods that work also with more complex forest structure. The results show that we do not necessarily need a combination of terrestrial point clouds and point clouds collected using above-canopy UAV systems in order to accurately estimate the heights and the volumes of individual trees.

This paper proposes a new method for network screening on rural low-volume roads. These roads are important as they provide critical access to agricultural land and tourist attractions. Most low-volume roads belong to the lowest functional class (local rural roads) and thus are built to lower design standards. The conventional hot spot network screening techniques may not be appropriate for low-volume roads due to the sporadic nature of crashes occurring on these roads. Contrarily sophisticated network screening approaches require extensive roadway and traffic data that are often unavailable to local agencies for lack of resources, and/or lack of technical expertise. This research attempts to address these obstacles in low-volume roads network screening which aims to identify candidate sites for safety improvements. The research used an extensive low-volume road sample from the state of Oregon and the Empirical Bayes expected number of crashes in developing the proposed models for network screening. The proposed models do not require exact measurement of roadway geometric features as all geometric variables were classified into categories that are easy to compile by local agencies. Further, the method could be used with and without traffic data, without compromising the effectiveness of the network screening process.

The sensitivity of DNBR(Departure from Nucleate Boiling Ratio) values to approaches of subchannel control volume selection has been investigated for the TS01 and TS03 out of HIPER17 CHF(Critical Heat Flux) tests. In general, the coolant-centered subchannel method is applied to subchanel analyses for fuel bundle. When it comes to predicting for CHF of high quality region, however, the rod-centered subchannel method was better over high quality region. As a result, the rod-centered subchannel method were more suitable at a conservative point of view than the coolant-centered subchannel method comparing major properties. Also, it was confirmed that the radial subchannel locations at the minimum DNBR were similar when comparing both analysis results by two kind of methods.

In a previous paper, the authors dealt with the current showstoppers for morphing systems and with the reasons that have inhibited their commercial applicability. In this work, the authors ex-press a critical vision of the current status of the proposed architectures and the needs that should be accomplished to make them viable for installation onboard of commercial aircraft. The distinc-tion is essential because military and civil issues and necessities are very different, and both the solutions and difficulties to be overcome are widely diverse. Yet, still remaining in the civil seg-ment, there can be other differences, depending on the size of the aircraft, from large jets to com-muters or general aviation, in turn classifiable in tourism, acrobatic, ultralight and so on, each with their own peculiarities. Therefore, the paper wants to try to trace a common technology de-nominator, if possible, and envisage a future perspective of actual applications.

Socio-demography of statuses reflects the demographic and social roles and achievements of an individual(s) in a population. In the theoretical frameworks, little was known about the theory, analytical measures, and evolutionary mechanism of the socio-demographics of statuses of an individual(s). In this paper, three (3) methodological issues regarding the concept of socio-demographics were proposed, these are: (a) identified the basic features that clarify our understanding about the conception of the socio-demographic statuses of an individual(s) as common, universal, and desirable positions, achievements, and advantages every individual strives and competes to attain, achieve, maintain, update, and upgrade which are determined by biological and social environments, driven and regulated by a continuum of competitions and natural selections; (b) presented a new paradigm of analytical measures of an individual’s socio-demographic statuses and the established hierarchical transitions; (c) proposed theoretical assumptions for the evolution of a socio-demographically unique population. Seven (7) factors (the driving forces) and eight (8) conditions responsible for the evolution of socio-demographically unique populations were identified and explained. The evolutionary transitions were organized into six (6) socio-demographic ranks.

Neisseria meningitidis causes most cases of bacterial meningitis. Meningococcal meningitis is a public health burden to both developed and developing countries throughout the world. There are a number of vaccines (polysaccharide-based, glycoconjugate, protein-based and combined conjugate vaccines) that are approved to target five of the six disease-causing serogroups of the pathogen. Immunization strategies have been effective at helping to decrease the global incidence of meningococcal meningitis. Researchers continue to enhance these efforts through discovery of new antigen targets that may lead to a broadly protective vaccine and development of new methods of homogenous vaccine production. This review describes current meningococcal vaccines and discusses some recent research discoveries that may transform vaccine development against N. meningitidis in the future.

In the paper, we develop some numerical schemes including finite difference scheme and finite volume scheme for the fractional Laplacian operator, and apply the resulted numerical schemes to solve some fractional diffusion equations. First, the fractional Laplacian operator can be characterized as the weak singular integral by a integral operator with zero boundary condition. Second, because of the solution of fractional diffusion equation is usually singular near the boundary, we apply finite difference scheme to discrete fractional Laplacian operator and fractional diffusion equation by fractional interpolation function. Moreover, it is find that the differential matrix of the above scheme is symmetric matrix, and strictly row-wise diagonally dominant in special fractional interpolation function. Third, we show finite volume scheme to discrete fractional diffusion equation by fractional interpolation function, and analyze the properties of differential matrix. Finally, the numerical experiments are given, and verify the correctness of theoretical results and the efficiency of the schemes.

Dolichandrone spathacea is a rare and endangered semi-mangrove plant species with an extremely small population, naturally distributed only in Zhanjiang City and the east coast of Hainan Island, China. Regrettably, the present situation of the D. spathacea population in China has not yet been carefully investigated. In this study, we aim to evaluate the current resource status and population dynamic characteristics of D. spathacea on Hainan Island, China, in order to propose sustainable conservation and management strategies for future ecological restoration of its natural population. Our results show that D. spathacea on Hainan Island can be divided into four populations. All the D. spathacea populations present a state of overall dispersion, local concentration, and occasionally sporadic existence, and they exist in geographical isolation. The young, middle, and old D. spathacea plants account for 20.42%, 66.20%, and 13.38%, respectively, indicating that the overall age class of the D. spathacea population on Hainan Island belongs to a declining type. Furthermore, instead of temporal structure, we chose diameter at breast height (DBH) to establish a static life table, draw a population survival curve, and quantify the future development trend through population dynamic analysis and time-series prediction. These results directly point out that the D. spathacea population on Hainan Island is sensitive to external disturbances and possesses two main increases in mortality rate—namely, in its juvenile and mature stages—due to weak vitality, competition, and anthropogenic interferences, which are the most important reasons for its endangered status. Depending on the current conditions of the D. spathacea population, we should conserve and expand mature trees in situ, preserve their germplasm resources, rehabilitate their habitats to promote provenance restoration, and conduct artificial cultivation and spreading planting in order to realize the sustainable conservation and management of D. spathacea.

This study evaluated the mechanical strengths of three types of orthodontic micro-implants by analyzing their structural configurations. Thirty micro-implants of three types (diameter 1.5 mm, Types A, B, C) were assessed. All micro-implants were manually driven into artificial bones at an 8-mm depth. The insertion torque (IT), pullout strength (PS), and gripping volume (GV) of each type were measured. Intergroup comparisons and intragroup correlation were investigated by statistical analysis. Type B had the greatest inner–outer diameter ratio (0.67), and Type A had the smallest (0.53). The IT of Type A (5.26 Ncm) was significantly (p = 0.038) lower than that of Type C (8.8 Ncm). There was no significant difference in the pullout strength (p = 0.868). The GV of Type A (9.7 mm3) was significant (p < 0.01) greater than Type C (8.4 mm3). Type C was significant (p < 0.01) greater than Type B (7.2 mm3). Spearman’s rho rank correlation test showed that PS of Type B was correlated significantly with GV. In conclusion, the design of thread and its GV were the important factors on the mechanical strengths of micro-implant.

In the present paper, Co-B/SiC composite coatings were obtained via electrodeposition from colloidal suspensions with different concentrations of SiC particles and subsequent heat treatments at 350 °C. The composition, morphology and structure of the Co-B/SiC composite coatings were analyzed using glow discharge spectrometry (GDS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy-dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). Hardness and tribological properties were also studied. The results showed that an increase in the SiC concentration in the colloidal suspensions resulted in both an increase in the SiC content and a decrease in the B content in the obtained Co-B/SiC coatings. The Co-B/SiC coatings were adherent, glossy and soft and exhibited a homogeneous composition in all thicknesses. By contrast, an increase in the SiC particle content of the Co-B/SiC composite coating from 0 to 2.56 at.% SiC reduced the hardness of the film from 680 to 360 HV and decreased the wear volume values from 1180 to 23 mm³ N^-1 m^-1, respectively (that is, the wear resistance increased). Moreover, when the Co-B/SiC coatings with SiC content ranging from 0 to 2.56 at.% SiC were subjected to a heat treatment process, the obtained coating hardness values were in the range of 1200 to 1500 HV and the wear volume values were in the range of 382 to 19 mm³ N^-1 m^-1.

Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) can differentiate into three germ layers and diverse autolo-gous cell lines. Being among the most commonly used large domesticated hoofed animals and serving as a vital source of food and bioreactors, cattle are among the many species in which PSCs have been developed. Bovine PSCs (bPSCs) are the "seed cells" of regenerative science and have immense potential to advance species propagation, genetic engineering, and disease treatment. Moreover, they can aid in screening new drugs for efficacy and toxicity, model human diseases, and establish a sustainable agricultural system that can cater to the needs of the growing global population. Establishing stable bPSCs in vitro has been a critical scientific challenge, and researchers have made numerous attempts to address this issue. This review primarily delves into the current research progress of bPSCs, the challenges faced, and their potential applications.

As part of a project ordered by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation of Brazil, an assessment of Brazilian biological collections was conducted by the Brazilian Societies of Botany, Microbiology, Virology and Zoology to obtain data on the current state of these collections. The goal was to provide subsidies for future public policies, including financial support and prioritization policies. Herein, we present the results of the microbiological collections, which play a fundamental role in the ex situ conservation of biodiversity and support research, development and innovation. A survey was sent to public and private institutions in Brazil and answered by 168 microbiological collections from 79 different institutions. Among these, 73 comprise public research institutions and universities, demonstrating the State's importance in preserving and safeguarding Brazilian microbial diversity. The main taxonomic groups are bacteria (present in 70.24% of the collections) and fungi (52.98% of the collections) from different Brazilian ecosystems and biomes, including several type strains. Furthermore, the collections preserve microorganisms with biotechnological potential for application in environmental protection, public health, industry, and agribusiness. However, despite all these economic and biotechnological potentials, the data analysis showed serious limitations and fragilities, especially regarding physical infrastructure and human resources, and raises alerts about the risk that Brazilian collections are subjected to.

Background: Different investigations have shown an association between the eating behavior of children and adolescents, and their nutritional status. The objective is to identify eating behavior patterns associated with nutritional status diagnosed by anthropometry in a sample of Spanish schoolchildren. Methods: A cross-sectional study in 283 Spanish schoolchildren (6 to 16 years old). Methods: The sample was assessed anthropometrically by Body Mass Index (BMI), Waist-to height ratio (WHtR) and body fat percentage (%BF). Eating behavior was analyzed using the CEBQ "Children's Eating Behavior Questionnaire" answered by parents or guardians. Results: A positive association was found between excess weight, abdominal obesity, high adiposity, lower scores in anti-intake subscales and higher scores in pro-intake subscales. These were mainly associated with lower satiety response, higher food intake, higher food enjoyment, higher eating speed, and emotional overeating. Conclusion: Our results support the usefulness of the CEBQ as an easy-to-use tool to identify eating behaviors associated with the development of childhood and adolescent obesity. Its use in future research could help to understand behavioral phenotypes in schoolchildren and guide nutrition education and obesity prevention initiatives

Chivalry is a concept that is both familiar and distant to many Japanese. There is no other social class in the world that resembles knights as much as the samurai in Japan. However, why is there such a gap between the behaviour of knights and samurais, even though they are both a social class with honor? This paper compares chivalry and Bushido, the Japanese Samurai code.

Pakistan is an important country located in South Asia and ranks the world's sixth most populous country. It has diverse landscapes with their own specific vegetation. The country specific vegetative diversity has a great ecological and economic impact on the conservation of local fauna. It has huge potential for sustainable beekeeping industry if properly exploited. Beekeeping in Pakistan is mainly focused in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and central and north regions of Punjab provinces but nowadays it is growing rapidly across the country. Honey produced in Pakistan enjoys good repute in the Middle East due to its unique taste and quality. Pakistan exports around 4000 tons of the honey with the worth of about $ 23.00 million to Arab countries every year.

The Cosmic-Ray Extremely Distributed Observatory (CREDO) is a project dedicated to global studies of extremely extended cosmic-ray phenomena, the cosmic-ray ensembles (CRE), beyond the capabilities of existing detectors and observatories. Up to date cosmic-ray research has been focused on detecting single air showers, while the search for ensembles of cosmic-rays, which may overspread a significant fraction of the Earth, is a scientific terra incognita. Instead of developing and commissioning a completely new global detector infrastructure, CREDO proposes approaching the global cosmic-ray analysis objectives with all types of available detectors, from professional to pocket size, merged into a worldwide network. With such a network it is possible to search for evidences of correlated cosmic-ray ensembles. One of the observables that can be investigated in CREDO is a number of spatially isolated events collected in a small time window which could shed light on fundamental physics issues. The CREDO mission and strategy requires active engagement of a large number of participants, also non-experts, who will contribute to the project by using common electronic devices (e.g. smartphones). In this note the status and perspectives of the project is presented.

As part of the Copernicus programme of the European Union (EU), the European Space Agency (ESA) has developed and is currently operating the Sentinel-2 mission that is acquiring high spatial resolution optical imagery. This paper provides a description of the calibration activities and the current status of the mission products validation activities. Measured performances, from the validation activities, cover both Top-Of-Atmosphere (TOA) and Bottom-Of-Atmosphere (BOA) products. Results presented in this paper show the good quality of the mission products both in terms of radiometry and geometry and provide an overview on next mission steps related to data quality aspects.

On January 1, 2024, a large earthquake occurred in Japan’s Noto region. Many buildings collapsed as a result of violent shaking. Electricity and water supplies were cut off and communications were disrupted. Immediately after the earthquake, we visited Noto and conducted disaster-relief activities. This report integrates and discusses the results of the site visits, information broadcasts by public institutions, and previous research. Evacuation centers lacked water and proper sanitation, leading to health issues, including infectious diseases. Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) were delayed in implementing infection control measures. Isolated evacuation centers faced communication and supply challenges. Infrastructure restoration, power supply, and toilet facilities at evacuation centers were delayed because of geographical challenges. There was a lack of intervention by medical professionals in evacuation centers because the DMATs were forced to invest manpower in rescue operations. It is important to have a team that can determine and carry out the necessary activities on site, even without instructions from the DMAT. It is believed to be effective to decide in advance how volunteer teams and the private sector will conduct their activities, assuming that they will be unable to contact public institutions during a disaster. In large-scale disasters, evacuees must operate evacuation centers autonomously. To achieve this, it is necessary for residents to form healthy communities regularly. A serious disaster is expected to soon occur in Japan. We hope that the experience of this disaster will be useful for preparing for future disasters.

As the coproduct of steelmaking, steelmaking slag, volumetrically expansive-prone without treatment, has been satisfactorily used as an aggregate base course material in highway construction. Although numerous technical reports and papers have revealed that steel slag aggreged using in rigid matrixes, the end product, paving block, non-structural concrete, for example, possesses superb strength and durability properties, the application of steel slag aggregate as a concrete aggregate is currently prohibited in highway construction. Naturally, researchers explore the practicality of use of steel slag, how to connect the laboratory experiment results to the end-product behavior, and further convert the research results into real construction? For all nontraditional or secondary materials utilization, the procedure of laboratory material examination, lab and field trial test are critical. To generalize the utilization, usability criteria establishment is necessary. This paper tries to use step-by-step method and plain language to explain how the volumetrically expansion can be simulated in lab testing apparatus, and based on the model, the mathematical deduction can result in a numerical usability criterion for steel slag use as a coarse aggregate in concrete (a rigid material). Therefore the paper is composed four main parts, laboratory test methods to examine the expansion force resulted from steel slag; converting the measured expansion force in a given volume of mass aggregate to the expansion (body) force of a single particle; modeling of slag and end material disruption; and a usability criterion from numerical deduction for the use of expansive-prone coarse slag in concrete or other rigid matrices. The paper provides the solutions to answer the above questions. Through the mathematical and mechanical modeling, provides the potential criteria that could result in specifications and guidance establishment for broad volumetric expansive-prone slags.

Global degradation of coral reefs is reflected in the destruction of shelters in various environments and threatens the stability of marine ecosystems. Artificial shelters offer an alternative, but their design is challenging due to limited knowledge regarding the shelter characteristics preferences of desired inhabitants. Investigating these preferences is resource-intensive, particularly regarding small shelters that mimic natural reef condition. Further, fish abundance may be too low for statistical analysis in small shelters. We propose a method to characterize the species-specific shelter preferences using low-volume data. During a study conducted from January 2021 to April 2022, round clay artificial shelters (RAS) were deployed on an abandoned oil pier to examine a coral reef fish community. We recorded 92 species from 30 families; grouped them to systematically (families) and functionally (dietary group) classes. Grouping enabled examining each group’s preference while crossing these group preferences revealed species- specific preferences, that matched field observations. This approach proved effective in profiling the shelter preferences of 17 species while having limited resources. These profiles may latter allow the establishment of ecological-oriented artificial reefs.

Although the Slicing Method (SM) is effective for calculating the volume of point cloud objects (PCOs), it is restricted in terms of applicability and practicability because of a certain contingency and directional defects. The Co-Opposite-Direction Slicing Method (CODSM) proposed in this paper is an improved method for calculating PCO volume by increasing parallel (co-opposite-direction) observation and considering the two-way mean as the result. This method takes full advantage of the mutual offsetting of random errors and the compensation of systematic directional errors, which can effectively overcome (or mitigate) the effect of random errors and reduce the effect of systematic errors in SM. In this paper, two typical objects, a cone model and a stone lion base, are the examples for calculating PCO volume using CODSM. The results show that CODSM has all the inherent advantages of SM and effectively weakens the volatility of random errors and the directionality of systematic errors from SM. Therefore, CODSM is a robust configuration upgrade of SM.

Abstract: Characterization the 3-D structure of clouds is needed for a more complete understanding of the Earth's radiative and latent heat fluxes. Here we develop and explore a “ray casting” algorithm applied to the Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR) on board the Terra satellite, to reconstruct 3-D cloud volumes for observed clouds. The ray casting algorithm is first applied to geometrically simple synthetic clouds to show that, under the assumption of perfect, clear-conservative cloud masks, the reconstruction method yields overestimation whose magnitude depends on the cloud geometry and the resolution of the reconstruction grid relative to the image pixel resolution. The method is then applied to two select MISR scenes, fully accounting for MISR’s viewing geometry for reconstructions over the Earth’s ellipsoidal surface. The MISR Radiometric Camera-by-camera Cloud Masks at 1.1 km resolution and custom cloud masks at 275 m resolution independently derived from MISR RGB channels are used as input cloud masks. A wind correction method, termed “cloud spreading”, is devised and applied to the cloud masks to offset potential cloud movements over short time intervals (around 7 minutes at maximum) between the cameras. The MISR cloud top height product is used as a constraint to reduce the overestimation at the cloud top. The reconstruction results show that their uncertainty is significant when the wind correction is applied, and that they have more refined structures when the input cloud mask has a higher resolution. Recommendations for improving the presented cloud volume reconstructions as well as for future passive remote sensing satellite missions are discussed.

With the development of industrialization, traditional manufacturing technologies are no longer able to meet the production needs of modern society. Additive manufacturing has successfully solved the problems existing in traditional manufacturing technology. Selective laser melting (SLM) is a powder bed melting technology that produces metal parts by selectively melting metal powders on a platform using a laser beam. It is widely used in additive manufacturing. This article introduces the characteristics and current development status of SLM technology, summarizes the main application fields and common defects of SLM, and finally explores and prospects the future development trend of SLM.

In contemporary science and technology, photonic sensors are essential. They may be made to be extremely resistant to some physical parameters while also being extremely sensitive to other physical variables. Most photonic sensors may be incorporated on chips and operate with CMOS technology, making them suitable for use as extremely sensitive, compact, and affordable sensors. Photonic sensors can detect electromagnetic (EM) wave changes and convert them into an electric signal due to the photoelectric effect. Depending on the requirements, scientists have found ways to develop photonic sensors based on several interesting platforms. In this work, we extensively reviewed the most generally utilized photonic sensors for detecting vital environmental parameters and personal healthcare. These sensing systems include optical waveguides, optical fibers, plasmonics, metasurfaces, and photonic crystals. Various aspects of light are used to investigate photonic sensors' transmission or reflection spectra. In general, resonant cavity or grating-based sensor configurations that work on wavelength interrogation methods are preferred, so these sensor types are mostly presented. We believe this paper will provide insight into the novel types of available photonic sensors.

Intensive application of synthetic pesticides was the routine practice of commercial agriculture during the Green Revolution to boost agricultural productivity to meet global food demand. Alongside this, the application of chemical pesticides caused adverse effects on the environment and its ecoreceptors including human health. Negative externalities arising from conventional farming instigated the call for sustainable development during the sixties to promote and balance the nexus between socially acceptable economic growth and environmental protection. Consequently, a blueprint of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets including ecological stewardship and food security was drafted. Eight out of the 17 SDGs are directly linked to sustainable agriculture based on the direct impact of agriculture, judicious use of critical resources and conservation and the Principles of green chemistry. As a green chemical agent, biopesticides have been shown to have the potentials to substitute chemical pesticides with equal agricultural productivity. The adoption of bio-based pesticides via integrated pest management (IPM) has proven to be the most effective option to influence most dimensions of sustainable agriculture. Therefore, biopesticide-driven IPM if utilized with requisite education, skills and research would boost sustainable agriculture. This chapter reviews the prospects, importance, and limitations of biopesticides to sustainable agriculture and how sustainable agriculture is connected to sustainable development, Green Chemistry, and integrated pest management.

Vitamin D, unlike the micronutrients, vitamins A, E and K, is largely obtained, not from food, but by the action of solar UV light on its precursor, 7-dehydrocholesterol, in skin. With the decline in UV light intensity in winter, most skin production of vitamin D occurs in summer. Because no defined storage organ or tissue has been found for vitamin D, it has been assumed that adequate vitamin D status in winter can only be maintained by oral supplementation. Skeletal muscle cells have now been shown to incorporate the vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) from blood into the cell cytoplasm where it binds to cytoplasmic actin. This intracellular DBP provides an array of specific binding sites for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) which diffuses into the cell from the extracellular fluid. When intracellular DBP undergoes proteolytic breakdown, the bound 25(OH)D is then released and diffuses back into blood. This uptake and release of 25(OH)D by muscle, accounts for the very long half-life of this metabolite in the circulation. As 25(OH)D concentration in blood declines in winter, its cycling in and out of muscle cells appears to be upregulated. Parathyroid hormone is the most likely factor enhancing the repeated cycling of 25(OH)D between skeletal muscle and blood. This mechanism appears to have evolved to maintain adequate vitamin D status in winter.

Vitamin D, unlike the micronutrients, vitamins A, E and K, is largely obtained, not from food, but by the action of solar UV light on its precursor, 7-dehydrocholesterol, in skin. With the decline in UV light intensity in winter, most skin production of vitamin D occurs in summer. Because no defined storage organ or tissue has been found for vitamin D, it has been assumed that adequate vitamin D status in winter can only be maintained by oral supplementation. Skeletal muscle cells have now been shown to incorporate the vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) from blood into the cell cytoplasm where it binds to cytoplasmic actin. This intracellular DBP provides an array of specific binding sites for 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) which diffuses into the cell from the extracellular fluid. When intracellular DBP undergoes proteolytic breakdown, the bound 25(OH)D is then released and diffuses back into blood. This uptake and release of 25(OH)D by muscle, accounts for the very long half-life of this metabolite in the circulation. As 25(OH)D concentration in blood declines in winter, its cycling in and out of muscle cells appears to be upregulated. Parathyroid hormone is the most likely factor enhancing the repeated cycling of 25(OH)D between skeletal muscle and blood. This mechanism appears to have evolved to maintain adequate vitamin D status in winter.

Social media gives researchers an invaluable opportunity to gain insight into different facets of human life.Researchers put a great emphasis on categorizing the socioeconomic status (SES) of individuals to help predict various findings of interest. Forum uses, hashtags and so on are common tools of conversations grouping. On the other hand, crowdsourcing is a concept that involves gathering intelligence to group online user community based on common interest. This paper provides a mechanism to look at writings on social media and group them based on their academic background. We build upon earlier work where we analyzed online forum posts from various geographical regions in the USA and Canada and characterized the readability scores of such users. Specifically, we collected 1000 tweets from the members of the US Senate and computed the Flesch-Kincaid readability score for the Senators. Comparing the Senators’ tweets to the ones from average citizens, we note the following. 1) US Senators’ readability based on their tweets rate is much higher affirming the gap between the academic performance of US Senators and their average citizen, and 2) the immense difference among average citizen’s score compared to those of US Senators is attributed to the wide spectrum of academic attainment.

Currently, the COVID‐19 has directly affected the millions of humans lives. The symptoms of the disease involving fever, malaise, chest infection, and breathing difficulties, were identified, and its existence is continuously becoming restructured. The World Health Organization (WHO) had mentioned the wide diagnostics test besides COVID-19 that would also assist medical facilities to recognize infectious diseases as well as currently focusing efficiently on preventing and afterward defeating this viral disease. The infection is usually transmitted among human beings in direct contact, greatest through the liquid bubbles generated through cough, sneeze, or speaking. This paper reviews the COVID 19 pandemic, its history, current updates, contact tracing applications, and use of emerging technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) and Blockchain for stopping the spreading and provide service online to the patient from a distance.

Pulmonary aspiration is a serious anaesthetic complication with morbidity and up to 9% of all anaesthesia-related mortality. Aspiration risk is especially focused on fastening time. We aimed to evaluate the prevalence of 'risky stomach' defined by ultrasound imagine of solid contents and/or calculated gastric fluid volume >1.25 mL/kg in elective surgery also comparing this definition with the 0-2 qualitative rating scale used for "empty/risky stomach". This prospective study has 97 patients aged 2-18. Ultrasonographic evaluations of the gastric antrum content is scaled with qualitative assessment in supine and right lateral decubitus (RLD) position. Gastric volume was calculated. In our study, stomach content and volume were evaluated by ultrasound in 97% of children and 5.2% had Grade 2 antrum. In RLD position, antral CSA was 2.36 cm², and the median gastric volume was 0.46 mL/kg. In patients with grade 0 antrum has moderate and positive correlation between antral CSA and BMI, and strong and positive correlation between antral CSA and age like grade 1 antrum. We showed that 0.1%-4.7% of elective children had gastric fluid volumes of >1.25 mL/kg as "risky stomach". Ultrasound for gastric contents could be used routine practice to determine pulmonary aspiration risk in emergency and elective procedures.

Yerba maté, an herbal tea derived from Ilex paraguariensis, has previously been reported to be protective against obesity-related and other cardiometabolic disorders. Using high-resolution respirometry and reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, the effects of four weeks of yerba maté consumption on mitochondrial efficiency and cellular redox status in skeletal muscle, adipose, and liver, tissues highly relevant to whole body metabolism, were explored in healthy adult mice. Yerba maté treatment increased mitochondrial oxygen consumption in adipose, but not in other tissues examined. Yerba maté increased ATP concentration in skeletal muscle and decreased ATP concentration in adipose. Combined with observed changes in oxygen consumption, these data yielded a significantly higher ATP:O2, a measure of mitochondrial efficiency, in muscle and a significantly lower ATP:O2 in adipose, which were consistent with yerba maté-induced weight loss. Yerba maté treatment also altered the hepatic glutathione (GSH)/glutathione disulfide (GSSG) redox potential to a more reduced redox state, suggesting potential protective effects against oxidative stress and preservation of cellular function. Together, these data indicate beneficial, tissue-specific effects of yerba maté supplementation on mitochondrial bioenergetics and redox states in healthy mice that are protective against obesity.

Single particle analysis with cryogenic electron microscopy (cryo-EM) can determine high resolution structures of macromolecular assemblies. To reconstruct final three-dimension(3D) density map, a reliable initial model is essential and ab-initio reconstruction usually can avoid model bias. The grand challenge for ab-initio reconstruction is to alignment two-dimension(2D) low signal-to-noise ratio(SNR) of particle images with random and unknown parameters. Here we formulate a fast ab initio reconstruction method(named AlignFM) based on Fourier Mellin transform and particle-swarm intelligence optimization(PSO) algorithm. It enables simultaneous 2D alignment and 3D refinement, which can fast generate a reliable 3D map. After experiments on several real datasets. AlignFM shows high performance on fast ab initio reconstruction with a small amount of data.

Vitamin D status may impact acute affective symptomatology and the severity of symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Therefore, this cross-sectional study analyzed 25(OH)D, 24,25(OH)2D, and the vitamin D metabolite ratio (VMR) in BD and correlated the results with clinical affective symptomatology and functionality. The inactive precursor 25(OH)D and its principal catabolite 24,25(OH)2D were measured simultaneously with a validated liquid chromatography tandem mass-spectrometry method in 170 BD outpatients and 138 healthy controls. VMR was calculated as follows: VMR=100*(24,25(OH)2D/25(OH)D). The psychometric assessment enclosed: Beck Depression Inventory-II, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Young Mania Rating Scale, Global Assessment of Functioning, and number of suicide attempts. We did not find a significant difference between patients and controls in the concentrations of 25(OH)D and 24,25(OH)2D. Additionally, the VMR was comparable in both groups. The calculations for the clinical parameters showed a negative correlation between the Young Mania Rating Scale and 24,25(OH)2D (r = -.154, p = .040). Based on the small effect size and the predominantly euthymic sample, further exploitation in individuals with manic symptoms would be needed to confirm this association. In addition, long-term clinical markers, and an assessment in different phases of the disease may provide available additional insights.

The Omicron variant of SARS-CoV-2 is the latest pandemic lineage causing COVID-19. Despite having a vaccination rate ≥ 85% Ecuador recorded a high incidence of Omicron from December 2021 to March 2022. Since Omicron emerged it is evolving into multiple sublineages with distinct prevalence in different regions. In this work, we use all Omicron sequences from Ecuador available at GISAID until March 2022 and the software Nextclade and Pangolin to identify which lineages circulate in this country. We detected 12 different sublineages (BA.1, BA.1.1, BA.1.1.1, BA.1.1.14, BA.1.1.2, BA.1.14, BA.1.15, BA.1.16, BA.1.17, BA.1.6, BA.2, BA.2.3), which has been reported in Africa, America, Europe, and Asia suggesting multiple introduction events. Sublineages BA.1.1 and BA.1 were the most prevalent. Genomic surveillance must continue to evaluate the dynamic of current sublineages, early introduction of new ones and vaccine efficacy against evolving SARS-CoV-2.

Crop phenotyping data collection is the basis for precision agriculture and smart decisionmaking applications. In this study, a dynamic slicing and reconstruction canopy volume (DR) algorithm is proposed to accurately estimate citrus canopy volume. The algorithm dynamically slices nearby slices based on their proportional area change and density difference, subsequently conducting AS reconstruction and volume calculation for each slice using an iterative mean point spacing as the α-value. Compared with six point cloud-based reconstruction algorithms, the DR approach achieved the best results in removing perforations and lacunae (0.84) and exhibited volumetric consistency (1.53) that closely aligned with the growth pattern of citrus trees. The DR algorithm effectively addresses the challenges of adapting the thickness and number of canopy point cloud slices to the shape and size of the canopy in the ASBS and CHBS algorithms, as well as overcoming inaccuracies and incompleteness in reconstructed canopy models caused by limitations in capturing detailed features using the PCH algorithm. It offers improved adaptive ability, finer volume computations, better noise reduction, and anomaly removal. In conclusion, we recommend selecting appropriate operating environments for each algorithm based on their principles, geometric properties, volumetric values, running time, and linear relationships with one another to guide orchard mechanization and intelligent operation.

Terrestrial algae are the group of photosynthetic organisms, which can survive in extreme conditions. pH is one of the most important factor, influencing on distribution of algae, both in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. The influence of different pH levels on cell volume and other morphological characters of authentic and reference strains of Chlorella vulgaris, Bracteacoccus minor, Pseudoccomyxa simplex, Chlorococcum infusionum, and Vischeria magna were studied. Chlorella vulgaris and Pseudoccomyxa simplex were the most resistant species, retaining its morphology in range of pH 4-11,5. The change of pH towards acidic and alkaline levels caused the increase of volume of Pseudoccomixa simplex and Vischeria magna cells according to polynomial regression model. Volume of Chlorella vulgaris cells increased from low to high pH according to linear regression model. Changes of pH levels did not have a significant impact on volume of Bracteacoccus minor and Chlorococcum infusionum cells. Low and high levels of pH caused thickening of cell walls of Chlorococcum infusionum and increase of oil containing substances in Vischeria magna and Bracteacoccus minor cells. Our study revealed a high resistance of studied species to extreme level of pH, which allow recommend these strains for broader use in biotechnology and natures protection.

Assuming a geometrically closed universe, we predict a value for the cosmic curvature, , a value within current observational bounds. We also propose a thermodynamic heat engine model for the universe, which bypasses the need for an inflaton field. Our model is based on a Carnot Cycle where we have isothermal expansion, followed by adiabatic expansion, followed by isothermal contraction, followed by adiabatic contraction, bringing us back to our original starting point. For the working substance, we focus specifically on the CMB radiation filling the collective voids in the universe. Using this construct, we identify cosmic inflation as the isothermal expansion phase, which lasts just under, . The collective CMB volume we see today only increases by a factor of 5.65 times during this process, and homogeneity and perturbations in the CMB are explained. The singularity problem is avoided and we have a clear mechanism for the work done by the cosmos in causing expansion, and later contraction. For scaling laws with respect to the density parameters in Friedmann’s equations, we will assume a susceptibility model for space, where, , the smeared cosmic susceptibility, decreases with increasing cosmic scale parameter, . Within this framework, we can predict a maximum Hubble volume with minimum CMB temperature for the voids before contraction begins, as well as a minimum volume with maximum CMB temperature when expansion starts. The thermodynamic heat cycle deviates from efficiency in converting heat energy into mechanical energy (expansion) by a minuscule amount, namely, . The significance of this number is not known.

In this study, a new approach for estimating volume variations of lakes and reservoirs using water levels from satellite altimetry and surface areas from optical imagery is presented. Both input data sets, namely water level time series and surface area time series, are provided by DGFI-TUM‘s Database of Hydrological Time Series of Inland Waters (DAHITI). The approach is divided into three parts. In the first part, a hypsometry model based on the new modified Strahler approach is computed by combining water levels and surface areas. The hypsometry model describes the dependency between water levels and surface areas of lakes and reservoirs. In the second part, a bathymetry between minimum and maximum surface area is computed. For this purpose, DAHITI land-water masks are stacked using water levels derived from the hypsometry model. Finally, water levels and surface areas are intersected with the bathymetry to estimate a time series of volume variations in relation to the minimum observed surface area. The results are validated with volume time series derived from in-situ water levels in combination with bathymetric surveys. In this study, 28 lakes and reservoirs located in Texas are investigated. The absolute volumes of the investigated lakes and reservoirs vary between 0.099 km³ and 6.448 km³. The correlation coefficients of the resulting volume variation time series with validation data vary between 0.80 and 0.99. Overall, the relative errors with respect to volume variations vary between 2.8% and 14.9% with an average of 8.3% for all 28 investigated lakes and reservoirs. When comparing the resulting RMSE with absolute volumes, the absolute errors vary between 1.5% and 6.4% with an average of 3.1%. This study shows that volume variations can be calculated with a high accuracy which depends essentially on the quality of the used water levels and surface areas. In addition, this study provides a hypsometry model, high-resolution bathymetry and water level time series derived from surface areas based on the hypsometry model. All data sets are publicly available on the Database of Hydrological Time Series of Inland Waters (DAHITI, https://dahiti.dgfi.tum.de).

This computational research study analyzes the increase of the specific charge capacity that comes with the reduction of the anisotropic volume expansion during lithium ion insertion within silicon nanowires. This research paper is a continuation from previous work that studied the expansion rate and volume increase. It has been determined that when the lithium ion concentration is decreased by regulating the amount of Li ion flux, the lithium ions to silicon atoms ratio, represented by x, decreases within the amorphous lithiated silicon (a-LixSi) material. This results in a decrease in the volumetric strain of the lithiated silicon nanowire as well as a reduction in Maxwell stress that was calculated and Young’s elastic module that was measured experimentally using nanoindentation. The conclusion as will be seen is that as there is a decrease in lithium ion concentration there is a corresponding decrease in anisotropic volume and a resulting increase in specific charge capacity. In fact the amplification of the electromagnetic field due to the electron flux that created detrimental effects for a fully lithiated silicon nanowire at x = 3.75 which resulted in over a 300% volume expansion becomes beneficial with the decrease in lithium ion flux as x approaches 0.75 which leads to a marginal volume increase of ~25 percent. This could lead to the use of crystalline silicon, c-Si, as an anode material that has been demonstrated in many previous research work to be ten times greater charge capacity than carbon base anode material for lithium ion batteries.

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

Abstract: This computational research study analyzes the increase of the specific charge capacity that comes with the reduction of the anisotropic volume expansion during lithium ion insertion within silicon nanowires. This research paper is a continuation from previous work that studied the expansion rate and volume increase. It has been determined that when the lithium ion concentration is decreased by regulating the amount of Li ion flux, the lithium ions to silicon atoms ratio, represented x, decreases within the amorphous lithiated silicon (a-LixSi) material. This results in a decrease in the volumetric strain of the lithiated silicon nanowire as well as a reduction in Maxwell stress that was calculated and Young’s elastic module that was measured experimentally using nanoindentation. The conclusion as will be seen is that as there is a decrease in lithium ion concentration there is a corresponding decrease in anisotropic volume and a resulting increase in specific charge capacity. In fact the amplification of the electromagnetic field due to the electron flux that created detrimental effects for a fully lithiated silicon nanowire at x=3.75 which resulted in over a 300% volume expansion becomes beneficial with the decrease in lithium ion flux as x approaches 0.75 which leads to a marginal volume increase of ~25 percent. This could lead to the use of crystalline silicon, c-Si, as an anode material that has been demonstrated in many previous research work to be ten times greater charge capacity than carbon base anode material for lithium ion batteries.

The difference of smoker’s topography has been found to be a function of sex, personality, nicotine yield, cigarette type (i.e., flavored versus non-flavored) ethnicity and etc. We evaluated the puffing behaviors of Korean smokers and its association with smoking-related biomarker levels. A sample of 300 participants was randomly recruited from metropolitan areas, South Korea. Topography measures during a 24-hour period were obtained using a CReSS pocket device. Korean male smokers smoked two puffs less per cigarette, compared to female smokers [15.0 (13.0–19.0) vs. 17.5 (15.0–21.0) as median (Interquartile range)], but had a significantly larger puff volume [62.7 (52.7–75.5) mL vs. 53.5 (42.0–64.2) mL); p = 0.012]. The interpuff interval was similar between men and women [8.9 (6.5–11.2) s vs. 8.3 (6.2–11.0) s; p = 0.122] but much shorter than other study results. A dose-response association (p = 0.0011) was observed between daily total puff volumes and urinary cotinine concentrations, after controlling for sex, age, household income level, nicotine addiction level. Understanding of the difference of topography measures, especially, larger puff volume and shorter interpuff interval of Korean smokers may help to overcome potential underestimation of internal dose of hazardous substitutes of smoking or corresponding its health effect.

Microbicides, topical antiseptic agents, and a revolutionary advance in HIV prevention aim to prevent the entry of infectious agents into the human body, thus stopping the sexual transmission of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Microbicides represent the promise of a new age in preventive measures against one of the world's most pressing health challenges. In addition to their direct antiviral effects during HIV transmission, microbicides also influence vaginal mucosal immunity. This article reviews microbicides by presenting different drug classifications and highlighting significant representatives from each group. It also explains their mechanisms of action and presents information about vaginal mucosal immune responses, emphasizing the critical role they play in responding to HIV during sexual transmission. For each chemical compound, the article provides a brief overview of relevant preclinical and clinical research, emphasizing their potential as microbicides.The article offers insights into the multifaceted impact of microbicides, which signify a pivotal step forward in the pursuit of effective and accessible pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP).

Transportation is the primary consumer of oil, accounting for a significant portion of global energy consumption (34%) and CO2 emissions (40%). Electrifying road transportation is crucial to mitigate the effects of global warming. The abundant potential of renewable energy sources like solar and wind is hindered by their intermittent nature and incongruity with peak energy demands. This calls for the development of sophisticated energy storage solutions. Metal-air batteries (MABs), emerging as viable alternatives to lithium-ion batteries (LIBs), have attracted considerable attention due to their promising applications in the transportation sector. Despite substantial progress in MAB development over the past two decades, overcoming critical challenges such as electrolyte decomposition, carbon cathode degradation, anodic dendrite growth, and air impurities remains essential for their commercial viability. This mini-review provides a comprehensive overview of MAB fundamentals and the challenges associated with their development. The insights presented in this review serve to illuminate the current landscape and future prospects of MABs in the transportation sector.

This comprehensive review explores the principles, applications, and future directions of human-powered energy generation technologies. It begins by providing a detailed examination of viable human energy sources, elucidating the physical principles behind various energy harvesting devices. The review then compiles and assesses existing products in the field of human power generation, while also outlining the opportunities and challenges it presents. Finally, an innovative concept of an eco-village system is introduced to demonstrate a future potential application scenario for human-generated electricity. It outlines two developmental stages for this system and underscores its significance in the construction of the harmonious and sustainable communities. This forward-thinking approach could pave the way for broader discussions on sustainable living and eco-friendly energy generation in a world increasingly focused on environmental concerns and social stability.

3D printing is playing an important role in cardiovascular disease by use of personalised models with replication of normal anatomy and pathology with high accuracy and reliability. While 3D printed heart and vascular models are shown to improve medical education, preoperative planning and simulation of cardiac procedures, and enhance communication with patients, 3D bioprinting however, represents a potential advancement of 3D printing technology by printing cellular or biological components, functional tissues and organs that can be used in a variety of applications in cardiovascular disease. Recent advances in bioprinting technology have shown the ability to support vascularisation of large scale constructs with enhanced biocompatibility and structural stability, thus creating opportunities to replace damaged tissues or organs. In this review, we provide an overview of the use of 3D bioprinting in cardiovascular disease with a focus on technologies and applications in cardiac tissues, vascular constructs and grafts, heart valves and myocardium. Limitations and future research directions are highlighted.

Advanced MRI methods and PET using radiolabeled amino acids provide valuable information in addition to conventional MR imaging for brain tumor diagnostics. These methods are particularly helpful in challenging situations such as the differentiation of malignant processes from benign lesions, the identification of non-enhancing glioma subregions, the differentiation of tumor progression from treatment-related changes, and the early assessment of response to anticancer therapy. The debate over which of the methods is preferable in which situation is ongoing and has been addressed in numerous studies. Currently, most radiology and nuclear medicine departments perform these examinations independently of each other leading to multiple examinations for the patient. The advent of hybrid PET/MRI allowed a convergence of the methods but to date simultaneous imaging has reached little relevance in clinical neuro-oncology. This is partly due to the limited availability of hybrid PET/MRI scanners, but is also due to the fact that PET is a second-line examination in brain tumors. PET is only required in equivocal situations, and spatial co-registration of PET examinations of the brain to previous MRI is possible without disadvantage. A key factor for the benefit of PET/MRI in neuro-oncology is a multimodal approach that provides decisive improvements in the diagnostics of brain tumors compared with a single modality. This systematic review focuses on studies that were able to demonstrate the additive value of amino acid PET and ‘advanced’ MRI in the diagnosis of brain tumors. Available studies suggest that the combination of amino acid PET and advanced MRI improves grading and the histomolecular characterization of newly diagnosed tumors. However, data concerning the delineation of tumor extent and biopsy guidance are of limited value. A clear additive diagnostic value of amino acid PET and advanced MRI can be achieved regarding the differentiation of tumor recurrence from treatment-related changes. Here, PET-guided evaluation of advanced MR methods seems to be helpful. In summary, there is growing evidence that a multimodal approach can achieve decisive improvements in the diagnostics of brain tumors, for which hybrid PET/MRI offers optimal conditions.

Inflammation is an underlying problem for many disease states and has been implicated in iron deficiency (ID). This study aimed to determine whether iron status is improved by epigallocate-chin-3-gallate (EGCG) through reducing inflammation. Thirty-two male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into four groups (n = 8 each): positive controls, negative controls, lipo-polysaccharide (LPS, 0.5 mg/kg body weight), and LPS + EGCG (LPS plus 600 mg EGCG/kg diet). Iron status, hepcidin, C - reactive protein (CRP), serum amyloid A (SAA), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) were measured. There were no differences in treatment groups compared with control in CRP, hepcidin, and liver iron concentrations. Serum iron concentrations were significantly lower in the LPS (p=0.02) and the LPS+EGCG (p=0.01) than in the positive control group. Compared to the positive control group, spleen iron concentrations were significantly lower in the negative con-trol (p<0.001) but not with both LPS groups. SAA concentrations were significantly lower in LPS + EGCG group compared to LPS alone group. IL-6 concentrations were significantly higher in LPS+EGCG (p= 0.004) than in any of the three groups. EGCG reduced SAA concentrations but did not affect hepcidin or improve serum iron concentration or other iron markers.

Retinitis pigmentosa-59 (RP59) is a rare, recessive form of RP, caused by mutations in the gene encoding DHDDS (dehydrodolichyl diphosphate synthase). DHDDS forms a heterotetrameric complex with Nogo-B Receptor (NgBR; gene NUS1) to form a cis-prenyltransferase (CPT) enzyme complex, which is required for synthesis of dolichol, which in turn is required for protein N-glycosylation as well as other glycosylation reactions in eukaryotic cells. Herein, we review the published phenotypic characteristics of RP59 models extant, with an emphasis on their ocular phenotypes, based primarily upon knock-in of known RP59-associated DHDDS mutations as well as cell type- and tissue-specific knockout of DHDDS alleles in mice. We also briefly review findings in RP59 patients with retinal disease and other patients with DHDDS mutations causing epilepsy and other neurologic disease. We discuss these findings in the context of addressing “knowledge gaps” in our current understanding of the underlying pathobiology mechanism of RP59, as well as their potential utility for developing therapeutic interventions to block the onset, or to dampen the severity or progression, of RP59.

FinTech has been in the focus of the discussion for quite some time. However, the market share of FinTech companies is still relatively small in compared to more traditional financial services. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the status quo, current developments and challenges ahead for the Latvian FinTech sector. We combine three analyses: the political and legal, the economic, the social and the technological environment (PEST) analysis, an analysis of the size and performance of FinTech companies during the last 10 years, and a survey among FinTech companies. We find that the current status of regulation is one of the main obstacles to FinTech development, because it does not sufficiently consider FinTech-specific aspects. Problems in attracting skilled workforce, and an environment that is not very supportive of new developments in finance are further challenges and might explain at least part of the growth and performance difficulties. A revision, modernization and harmonization of regulation is essential to create a level playing field for all market participants: FinTech companies, traditional financial service providers and those originally traditional players that are integrating FinTech solutions in their business model. Further efforts are also required to foster the Latvia’s attractiveness for skilled workforce. We hope that this study helps increase the visibility of Latvian FinTech and contributes to the development of the new Latvian FinTech strategy.

Conservation agriculture (CA) could be very effective for agricultural sustainability under Mediterranean environments, where farmers rely on short rotation based on durum wheat. In this work we investigated the effect of different combination of tillage treatments and crop sequence (conventional tillage and wheat monocropping, CT-WW; conventional tillage, and wheat following faba-bean, CT-WF; zero tillage and wheat monocropping, ZT-WW; zero tillage and wheat following faba-bean, ZT-WF) on yield, grain quality traits as well as on diseases incidence and severity in durum wheat (var. Saragolla). The results of a two-years of data of a long-term experiment (7-year experiment; split-plot design) are discussed. The CA approach (ZT+WF), which induced always the highest grain yields (6.1 t ha-1 and 3.3 t ha-1 in 2016 and 2017) thanks to an increased number of spikes m-2 (296 vs 269 and 303 vs 287 spikes m-2 in 2016 and 2017, respectively) as well as to a more pronounced ear length, demonstrated significant positive influences in terms of grain quality. It promoted grain protein accumulation (12.1% for ZT+WF versus 11.4% for ZT+WW and 12.4% for ZT+WF versus 10.6% for ZT+WW in 2016 and 2017), improved gluten quality (in terms of SDS sedimentation test) and colour of the grain. The abundance of crop residues determined a higher incidence and severity of Zymoseptoria tritici leaf symptoms under CA system; nevertheless the late appearance of infection was the main reason of not affecting yield and quality traits. The presence of faba-bean (WF) in the rotation significantly reduced leaf symptoms of Z. tritici.

LASER cladding is a technique which has as main purpose to improve mechanical properties of materials surface with the addition of thin layers of other materials. Cladding/coating/addition material can be transferred to the substrate by powder injection, wire feeding or paste feeding and by the method of pre-placing the powders on the substrate. LASER cladding as a technique has only about 40 years. Is not yet a current technology and more work is needed, namely in the characterization of mechanical properties of new alloys used as base or cladding materials in this process. In this paper will be done initially an historical approach, followed by a description of the principles of the LASER cladding, a description of the applicability of the process and its advantages and limitations and the paper will end with a state of the art about the advances in new metallic alloys. So, this paper presents a review and the state of the art of the technological process and will be a contribution for the divulgation of this recent technique.

Producing cherry tomatoes became interesting to know watering volume and growing design on growth, yield, and quality of cherry tomatoes. The research aimed to intend the best treatment for each treatment of watering volume and Growing design on the productivity and quality of cherry tomato cultivar Ruby. The study is an experimental exploration using RCBD factorial. The treatment factors include: Growing Design (greenhouse, Rain shelter, Screen house) and Watering Volume (100% Etc, 75% ETc, 50% ETc). The result showed that root dry weight and root-shoot ratio were found higher in the screen house design, while fruit firmness was higher in the rain shelter design. Considering the effect of watering volume, higher fruit diameter, heavier fruit, fruits per plant, ultimate fruit &amp; biological yield per plant, higher root &amp; shoot biomass, root-shoot ratio, leaf chlorophyll content, greater fruit skin firmness and elasticity was noted in the 100% ETc treatment. In contrast, the growth rate was higher in 50% ETc treatment. Cultivating cherry tomatoes in a greenhouse using a watering volume of 100% ETc under the results is recommended. These conditions have led to better growth, higher fruit yield, and improved fruit quality, making them favorable options for successful cherry tomato production.

In this work we introduce an end-to-end multi-modal neural network to segment the Gross Tumor Volume (GTV) from 3D-CBCT’s during radiotherapy. We improve the tumor segmentation by using a U-net which takes additional information such as the tumor mask generated at the planning phase along with the CBCT volume. The mask contains relevant information about the tumor’s location and can guide the model to use this knowledge appropriately to give a better prediction. This technique could become an alternative to produce segmentation masks of GTV in CBCT automatically during radiotherapy as in the traditional RT-pipeline, they are not segmented. We have evaluated our model on a dataset of 82 patients who have undergone radiotherapy. We compare the results of registered target volumes from planning CT as mask seed with 2 different types of multi-modal architectures. Our model shows a DSC of 0.706±0.002 with Late Fusion and 0.702±0.015 with Early Fusion using the GTV Mask. The performance of the two models on this mask is similar, so we perform further experiments with different types of masks which suggest that Late Fusion model produces a better segmentation of the tumor than the Early Fusion model. We also provide an ablation study consisting of a single modality U-net and a metric based on the Planning CT mask registration. It indicates a clear advantage of using our model to produce segmentation for this type of imaging.

Despite extensively investigating the impact of social media on fashion products’ marketing, little evidence is available on how the platforms influence sales prediction. Focusing on Lolita fashion, this study investigates the impact of social media marketing on the sales volume prediction of fashion products. Essentially, we analyzed marketing data, including comments, likes, and shares from the Weibo social platform, to forecast future sales, examine how to enhance profit performance, and make production decisions. Using a quantitative approach, we tested three different prediction models, including multiple regression, decision tree, and XGBoost. The results revealed that increasing comments and decreasing the number of likes could significantly improve the sales volumes of Lolita products. In contrast, shares exerted a less significant impact on sales. Regarding prediction models, XGBoost was found to be the best method. In the fashion industry, social media is a useful tool for forecasting market trend. A limitation of this study is that only one social media platform was used to extract data, which might limit the generalization of the findings.

Dental pulp chamber volume is a fundamental measurement in the field of endodontics, but also in forensic sciences, teaching and training, or tissue engineering. This study evaluates the precision of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) in comparison with computed micro-tomography (micro-CT) in evaluating pulp chamber volume of upper central incisors ex vivo. The intra-operator and inter-operator error were evaluated, and the results for the two techniques were compared with a T-test for paired samples. Intra-operator and inter-operator errors were >0.05, indicating an adequate reproducibility in each operator and no significant differences between their meas-urements. On the other hand, no significant differences between the two measurement techniques. The present results demonstrate that CBCT is a precise, feasible and reproducible technique for evaluation of dental pulp chamber volume ex vivo. Results provided with this method are suitable for different medical branches but also for teaching and training of undergraduate and post-graduate students. Furthermore, the findings of this study carry significant clinical implications, as accurate assessment of pulp chamber volume is critical in the diagnosis and treatment of various endodontic conditions. The ability of CBCT to provide reliable 3D dental anatomy measurements can enhance the planning of endodontic treatments by allowing for a better understanding of internal tooth morphology. Additionally, the precision and reproducibility of CBCT in assessing pulp chamber volume can contribute to improved clinical outcomes and reduced complications during endodontic procedures. These findings further support the increasingly vital role of CBCT in modern clinical practice and underscore its value as an indispensable tool in the field of dentistry.

The akimotoite--majorite--bridgmanite (Ak--Mj--Bm) triple point in MgSiO3 has been measured in large-volume press (LVP; COMPRES 8/3 assembly) and laser-heated diamond anvil cell (LHDAC). For the LVP data, we calculated pressures from the calibration by Leinenweber (2012). For the LHDAC data, we conducted \textit{in situ} determination of pressure at high temperature using the Pt scale by Dorogokupets and Dewaele (2007) at synchrotron. The measured temperatures of the triple point are in good agreement between LVP and LHDAC at 1990-2000 K. However, the pressure for the triple point determined from the LVP is 3.9+/-0.6~GPa lower than that from the LHDAC dataset. The triple point determined through these experiments will provide an important reference point in the pressure-temperature space for future high-pressure experiments and allow mineral physicists to compare the pressure--temperature conditions measured in these two different experimental methods.

Background: Evaluating muscle mass and function among stroke patients is important. However, evaluating muscle volume and function is not easy due to the disturbance of consciousness and paresis. Temporal muscle thickness (TMT) has been introduced as a novel surrogate marker for muscle mass, function, and nutritional status. We herein performed a narrative literature review on temporal muscle and stroke to understand the current meaning of the TMT in the clinical stroke practice. Methods: The search was performed in PubMed, last updated in October 2021. Report on temporal muscle morphomics and stroke-related diseases or clinical entities were collected. Results: Four studies reported on TMT and subarachnoid hemorrhage, 2 intracerebral hemorrhage, 2 ischemic stroke, 2 standard TMT values, and 2 nutritional status. TMT was reported as a prognostic factor for several diseases, surrogate markers for skeletal muscle mass, and an indicator of nutritional status. Computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and ultrasonography were used to measure TMT. Conclusions: TMT is gradually used as a prognostic factor of stroke or surrogate marker for skeletal muscle mass and nutritional status. Establishing standard methods to measure TMT and large prospective studies to investigate the further relationship between TMT and diseases are needed.

The purpose of the present study was to compare heart rate (HR), blood lactate and training load between different CrossFit® workouts, with equalized total volume in men and women. The study included 23 individuals (13 men and 10 women) experienced in CrossFit® training, who performed two workouts with different training types (as many reps as possible - AMRAP and for time) but equalized volume. Measurements of lactate, HR and rating of perceived exertion (RPE) were performed. The results showed that there was no HR interaction between workout time and sex (p = 0.822; η2 = 0.006] and between workout type and sex (p = 0.064, η2 = 0.803). HR significantly differed during each workout type (p <0.001, η2 = 0.621), but not between the two workout types (p = 0.552, η2 = 0.017). Lactate showed no difference between the workout types (p = 0.474, η2 = 0.768), although the training load was higher (p = 0.033, η2 = 0.199) in women when they performed AMRAP. Altogether, HR was not significantly different between training types or sex, while RPE, lactate and training load showed small differences depending on the group (women or men) or workout type (AMRAP or 'for time').

This study aims to investigate the hydration and strength characteristics of green cementitious mortars with ultrahigh-volume limestone-calcined clay as well as two kinds of Class F fly ash. Using the ASTM C311 strength activity index test method, the effect of different pozzolan replacement levels of cement (0%, 20%, 50%, and 80%, by weight) were investigated. Compressive strength at 3, 7, 14, 28 and 90 days under standard curing was recorded, and hydration heat of the 20% and 80% replacement mixes was studied using iso-thermal calorimetry. It was observed that the effectiveness of the pozzolan in mortars depends on particle size distribution, glassy or amorphous nature, surface area and replacement level. The sum of all these effects can be captured by the strength activity test only if the standard recommended 20% pozzolan mix is substituted with the actual mix composition. The results in this study provide insights into the mix design and applications of ultrahigh-volume pozzolanic cementitious materials specifically made with limestone-calcined clay, and promote greener cement and concrete in construction industry.

Human papillomavirus (HPV) can potentially compromise both unassisted conception and success rates with assisted reproductive technology (ART). We aimed to evaluate the rates of HPV vaccination among women presenting for fertility care. This was a prospective study analyzing a self-reported intake form completed by all new patients presenting to a fertility clinic. The primary outcome was HPV vaccination status. Among the 523 new patients included in this study 172 (32.9%) were fully vaccinated, 237 (45.3%) were unvaccinated, and 95 (18.2%) patients didn’t respond. There was a significant age difference between fully vaccinated patients (33.1 years) compared to unvaccinated patients (37.4 years) p&lt;0.001 and a significant difference in gravidity between fully vaccinated patients (average 0.65) and unvaccinated patients (average 1.11) p=0.0005. No significant association was found between HPV vaccination status and history of abnormal Pap smears or relationship status (single vs. married). Less than half of patients presenting to our fertility center were vaccinated against HPV, despite being eligible to receive the vaccine. Younger patients with lower gravidity were more likely to be vaccinated against HPV than older patients with higher gravidity. Reproductive Endocrinologists have the opportunity to recommend HPV vaccination for eligible patients presenting for fertility care.

The study of angiosperm flora, endemic plants in the literature, and investigations of ‘POWO Build a checklist’ were used to compile an updated list of Bangladesh's endemic plants. According to the study, at least 49 (1.24%) of Bangladesh's 3,956 plant species are endemic to the country including 5 varieties, belonging to 41 genera in 26 families. Magnoliopsida account for thirty of them, Liliopsida for the remaining sixteen, and Pteridohpytes for the final three. The four families Zingiberaceae (9 taxa), Araceae (6 taxa), Rubiaceae (4 taxa), and Euphorbiaceae (3 taxa), include the most endemic taxa. The five most numerous endemic taxa belong to the Curcuma genus. The endemic flora, which is mostly found in the districts of Chattogram, Moulvibazar, and Rangamati, consists of 13 tree species, 4 shrubs, 5 climbers, and 27 herbaceous plant species.

Eating disorders, especially restrictive eating, are common among female athletes. There are two main types of winter sports, those that are practised outdoors on snow (-25 to +5ºC and 2500 m), such as alpine skiing or snowboarding, and those that are practiced indoors on ice (5-10º C at low altitude), such as figure skating and ice hockey. The aim of this research was to identify the nutritional status and potential risk of female athletes practising winter sports considering the altitude of training. The sample was composed of 58 women (aged 19.81 years (SD: 12.61) who were competitors in some winter sports. Anthropometrics and nutritional variables were taken. Statistically significant differences were found between groups for all the characteristics except thigh skinfold and neither group had an EI that matched their TEE. Both groups met at least 2/3rd of the RDI for all minerals and vitamins, except iodine, fluorine, vit D, E and retinol. This study suggest that female winter sports athletes have insufficient energy, vitamin and mineral intake that can be worsened by altitude.

A diagnosis of typical chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) requires the presence of ≥5000 clonal B-lymphocytes/μL with the coexistence of CD19, CD20, CD5, and CD23 and the restriction of light chain immunoglobulin, and the lack of expression of antigens CD22 and CD79b. Atypical CLL (aCLL) can be distinguished from typical CLL morphologically and immunophenotypically. Atypical CLL cells are defined as prolymphocytes; morphologically, these present as deeply-clefted lymphocytes which are larger than those in typical CLL, with condensed chromatin and without prominent nucleoli. However, current aCLL diagnostics rely more on immunophenotypic characteristics rather than atypical morphology. Immunophenotypically, atypical CLL differs from classic CLL in the lack of expression of one or fewer surface antigens, most commonly CD5 and CD23, and the patient does not meet the criteria for a diagnosis of any other B-cell lymphoid malignancy. Morphologically atypical CLL has more aggressive clinical behavior and worse prognosis than classic CLL. Patients with aCLL are more likely to display markers associated with poor prognosis, including trisomy 12, unmutated IGVH, and CD38 expression compared with classic CLL. However, no standard or commonly-accepted criteria exist for differentiating aCLL from classic CLL and the clinical significance of aCLL is still under debate. This review summarizes the current state of knowledge on the morphological, immunophenotypic and genetic abnormalities of aCLL.

Carbon nanomaterials with a different character of the chemical bond – graphene (sp2) and nanodiamond (sp3) are the building bricks for a new class of all-carbon hybrid nanomaterials, where the two different carbon networks with the sp3 and sp2 hybridization coexist, interact and even transform into one another. The unique electronic, mechanical, and chemical properties of the two border nanoallotropes of carbon ensure the immense application potential and versatility of these all-carbon graphene – diamond nanomaterials. The review gives an overview of the current state of the art of graphene – diamond nanomaterials, including their composites, heterojunctions, and other hybrids for sensing, electronic, energy storage, and other applications. Also, the graphene-to-diamond and diamond-to-graphene transformations at the nanoscale, essential for innovative fabrication, and stability and chemical reactivity assessment are discussed based on extensive theoretical, computational, and experimental studies.

Worldwide, over 2.2 million people are suffered from multiple sclerosis (MS), a multifactorial demyelinating disease of the central nervous system. MS is characterized by a wide range of motor, autonomic, and psychobehavioral symptoms including depression, anxiety, and dementia. The blood, cerebrospinal fluid, and postmortem brain samples of MS patients evidenced the disturbance of reduction-oxidation (redox) homeostasis such as the alterations of oxidative and antioxidative enzyme activities and the presence of degradation products. This review article discussed the components of redox homeostasis including reactive chemical species, oxidative enzymes, antioxidative enzymes, and degradation products. The reactive chemical species covered frequently discussed reactive oxygen/nitrogen species, infrequently featured reactive chemicals such as sulfur, carbonyl, halogen, selenium, and nucleophilic species that potentially act as reductive as well as pro-oxidative stressors. The antioxidative enzyme systems covered the nuclear factor erythroid-2-related factor 2 (NRF2)-Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (KEAP1) signaling pathway. The NRF2 and other transcriptional factors potentially become a biomarker sensitive to the initial phase of oxidative stress. Altered components of the redox homeostasis in MS were discussed in search of a diagnostic, prognostic, predictive, and/or therapeutic biomarker. Finally, monitoring a battery of reactive chemical species, oxidative enzymes, antioxidative enzymes and degradation products helps evaluate the redox status of MS patients to expedite building personalized treatment plans for the sake of better quality of life.

Abstract:High-pressure water jet technology has received extensive attention and application due to its high efficiency and environmental protection characteristics. The high-pressure water jet nozzle is its core component, and the research on the high-pressure water jet nozzle is conducive to improving the jet performance and improving the jet efficiency. This paper introduces the characteristics of water jet and the working principle of pure water jet, abrasive water jet, pulsed water jet and cavitation water jet, reviews the theoretical analysis and experiment of the predecessor's nozzle, briefly explains the application of high-pressure water jet and looks forward to the development trend of this technology.

Lack of reliable information on PTC industry in Sri Lanka is hampering the advancement of the technology. Hence, this study attempted to assess the current status of PTC industry in Sri Lanka in order to ascertain the type and the level of interventions needed to broaden the horizons of the industry. Data of last 05 years were collected through qualitative research methods including a questionnaire-based survey, personal interviews, etc. and personal interviews to identify product diversity, R&D, available facilities, production capacity, and markets. Information was analyzed qualitatively using descriptive statistical software to assess the current status, and identify gaps, challenges and opportunities. COVID pandemic and the economic crisis had a heavy toll on the PTC industry. Six major challenges experienced by business owners were identified as increasing capacity, opportunities to build market linkages, demand fluctuations, issues relating to awareness and insufficient support given by the government. Proper identification and screening of mother plants, determining the production capacities and marketing, knowledgeable and skilled human resources, were identified as important contributory factors for success. Development strategies identified mainly include instinctive decision making and government support. Embracing the significant trade achievements through resource reallocation, prioritization and improvisation processes at individual, family group, inter-organizational levels and across these levels need to be regulated through a responsible authority. These interpretations and recommendations of this research can be utilized both by the policy makers and public and private sector organizations for decision making purposes targeting commercial scale advancements.

Attempts to use computers to aid in the detection of breast malignancies date back more than 20 years. Despite significant interest and investment, this has historically led to minimal or no significant improvement in performance and outcomes with traditional computer aided detection. However, recent advances in artificial intelligence and machine learning are now starting to deliver on the promise of improved performance. There are at present more than 20 FDA approved AI applications for breast imaging, but adoption and utilization are widely variable and overall low. Breast imaging is unique and has aspects that create both opportunities and challenges for AI development and implementation. Breast cancer screening programs worldwide rely on screening mammography to reduce the morbidity and mortality of breast cancer and many of the most exciting research and available AI applications focus on cancer detection for mammography. There are however multiple additional potential applications for AI in breast imaging including decision support, risk assessment, breast density quantitation, workflow and triage, quality evaluation, response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy assessment, and image enhancement. In this review the current status, availability, and future directions of investigation of these applications are discussed, as well as the opportunities and barriers to more widespread utilization.

Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), particularly Methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), is a life-threatening pathogen that causes a variety of infections in hospital and community settings. It poses a significant risk and challenge for global health that hinders our ability to control and treat bacterial infections. Recently, the emergence and spread of variant strains of bacteria, misuse of the limited available options of effective antibiotics, spread of fake drugs, and climate change that increased the contact between humans and animals’ populations carrying different bacterial has significantly increased the incidence of Multi-Drug Resistance strains (MDR). This in turn, has created a severe problem in the infection control treatment of S. aureus infected patients. Treatment options for MRSA infection are increasingly limited and complicated. Unfortunately, different strains of MRSA are showing tolerance and resistance toward vancomycin, which is the standard of care for complicated MRSA. Therefore, it is crucial now to invest developing new effective anti-biotics and synergies, develop and implement national action plans for the management of an-tibiotic resistance, as well as improving our understanding of the antimicrobial resistance mechanisms. Here, in this review we explain the main mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in MRSA and describes different approaches to manipulate it in MRSA, providing a basis for de-signing effective drugs, and shedding some light on the evolution of S. aureus.

The emergence of various electronic devices and equipment such as electric vehicles and drones requires higher energy density energy storage devices. Lithium-sulfur batteries (LSBs) are considered as the most promising new generation energy storage system owing to high theoretical specific capacity and energy density. However, the severe shuttle behaviors of soluble lithium polysulfides (LiPSs) and the slow redox kinetics lead to low sulfur utilization and poor cycling stability, which seriously hinder the commercial application of LSBs. Therefore, various catalytic materials have been employed to solve these troublesome problems. High entropy materials (HEMs), as advanced materials, can provide unique surface and electronic structures that expose plentiful catalytic active sites, which opens new ideas for the regulation of LiPSs redox kinetics. Notwithstanding many instructive reviews in the land of LSBs, while this review aims to offer a complete and shrewd summary of the current progresses in HEMs-based LSBs, including in-depth interpretation of design principles and mechanistic electrocatalysis functions as well as pragmatic perspectives.

Ethanol produced from various biobased sources (bioethanol) has been gaining high attention lately due to its potential to cut down net emissions of carbon dioxide while reducing burgeoning world dependence on fossil fuels. Global ethanol production has increased more than six-fold from 18 billion liters at the turn of the century to 110 billion liters in 2019 (1,2). Sugar cane and corn have been used as the major feedstocks for ethanol production. Lignocellulosic biomass has recently been considered as another potential feedstock. This paper reviews recent developments and current status of commercial production of ethanol across the world. The review includes the ethanol production processes used for each type of feedstock, both currently practiced at commercial scale and newly developed technologies, and production trends in various regions and countries in the world.

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

COVID-19 disease outbreak was started in the December, 2019 in the Wuhan city of China which is also known as the largest transportation hub of China. During the spring festival of China the situation become epidemic. Soon, the virus is imported to many regions including the low income countries. Till now, 234073 infected reported cases of the COVID-19 in the world with the total of 9840 deaths (March 20, 2020). The common symptoms of the COVID-19 are the cough, high fever, sore throat, fatigue and breathlessness. The disease is found to be mild in most of the people, some of cases reported to the pneumonia also with multi organ dysfunction and acute ARDS (acute respiratory distress syndrome). It is found that the incubation period for the infection is 2-14 days which is usually 4 days in maximum of cases. India has reported 283 cases of COVID-19 infections till now with 4 deaths. India is still at stage 2 on local transmission as per WHO report 60. WHO reported 60 clearly stated that there is no community transmission occurred in India yet which can be prevented by the avoiding mass gathering and proper screening of the people. Govt. of India has taken many initiatives to minimize the spread of COVID-19 infection in the country. The infection rate of the COVID-19 in India remains low related to population size of the country. It is because of fast government action to quarantine the suspected people and shut down all its borders. There is a great slowdown in the global economy due to COVID-19 attack which is likely to costs around $1 trillion. The spread of COVID-19 infection can be reduced by minimizing the H-H transmissions. Still there is need of Anti-n-CoV drug development which can replace the supporting therapies for the treatment of infection.

Background: Dermatophytosis, commonly known as tinea, poses a significant public health concern worldwide, especially in environments with poor hygiene and overcrowding, such as prisons. Despite its prevalence and impact on quality of life, there is a lack of research on the knowledge and hygiene practices regarding dermatophytosis among prisoners, particularly in Nepal. Objective: The study aimed to assess prisoners' knowledge, hygiene practice and infection status regarding dermatophytosis in Central Prison, Nepal. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study with a sample size of 184 respondents was designed to collect data using a validated pre-tested questionnaire from September 2023 to January 2024. The collected data was then analysed using IBM SPSS version 21. Knowledge and hygiene practices were measured on an eight and 11-point scale and rated as poor (≤4) and sound (>4), bad (≤6), and good (>6), respectively. Summary data were presented by descriptive, while Chi-square and logistic regression were used for inferential statistics at P < 0.05. Results: The findings revealed moderate knowledge among prisoners regarding dermatophytosis, with significant gaps in understanding its spread and prevention. While most prisoners recognised the importance of treatment, there were misconceptions about the inevitability of contracting dermatophytosis and the role of personal hygiene. Conclusions: Despite good knowledge levels, adherence to recommended hygiene practices was suboptimal, highlighting the need for targeted interventions. The study underscores the importance of addressing knowledge gaps, changing attitudes, and promoting hygienic practices to mitigate the burden of dermatophytosis among prisoners.

In the field of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for rotorcraft, two significant challenges are resolving the complex vortex structures in rotor wakes, and representing the moving rotor blades in the ambient airflow. This study addresses the first challenge by using a third-order unstructured finite volume solver, which, compared to its second-order counterpart, has substantially lower dissipation. Consequently, even relatively coarse meshes are capable of resolving small vortices. With this background flow field solver, the second challenge is addressed by modeling each rotor as an Actuator Disk Model (ADM), or describing individual rotor blades as actuator lines, designated as the Actuator Line Model (ALM). Both of these models are equipped with an improved correction for aerodynamic losses at blade tips, which is thoroughly presented in the methodology section. The numerical experiments section centers on analyzing errors linked to various sampling approaches. Additionally, the article discusses comparisons between vortex theory and ALM, specifically regarding calculations for fixed-wing aircraft. Furthermore, high-order precision and parallel efficiency are exemplified in scenarios encompassing rotors engaged in both hovering and forward flight rotors. The results in this paper demonstrate that the combination of the ALM/ADM with the improved tip loss correction and the third-order finite volume solver presents a new way of developing efficient tools for the aerodynamic analysis of helicopter rotors.

Objectives: To evaluate the relationship between the type of conization, the volume and dimensions of the cone, with the persistence/recurrence of CIN 2-3, presence of affected margins and post-cone HR-HPV positivity. Methods: 227 women treated with LLETZ and histologically confirmed CIN2-3 were evaluated between 1996 and 2006 and followed up until June 2016. Age, type of resection according to IFCPC 2011, volume, cone dimensions, margins were studied. of resection, post-cone high-risk human papillomavirus (HR-HPV) status and viral load. Determinants of HR-HPV positivity were estimated using unconditional logistic regression and time to recurrence was assessed using Kaplan-Meier curves. Results: Persistent/recurrent CIN2-3 was found in 12 cases (5.2%), type 1 conization was performed in 81 patients, with 5 recurrences (6.1%), type 2 in 101 patients, with 6 recurrences (5 .9%) and type 3 resection in 45 women, with 1 recurrence (2.2%). Volume and dimensions were not associated with recurrence. The Log-Rank Test did not show a significant difference between the 3 treatments (p= 0.18). The free margins in type 1 were 37%, in type 2 resection 61% and in type 3 71% (p=0.001). Resection type 1 had 15% HR-HPV post positive cone, type 2 reached 16% and type 3 had 9%, this difference being non-significant (p=0.58). The incidence of recurrence at 36 months in type 1 resection was 0.08%, in type 2 treatment it was 0.04% and in type 3 resection it was 0.0%. Conclusions : Type 3 resection had a higher proportion of free margins and lower post-cone HR-HPV positivity, with a lower incidence of persistence/recurrence.

The development of technology that combines supercapacitors and lithium-ion batteries by externally connecting them in parallel is ongoing. This study examines the correlation between the volume ratio and electrical characteristics of a cell made by internally connecting a battery capacitor with Li4Ti5O12 as the anode active material and a supercapacitor in parallel. It was found that increasing the volume occupied by the battery capacitor in the cell led to increased cell energy and resistance, resulting in decreased output characteristics. Conversely, increasing the volume occupied by the supercapacitor in the cell led to a decrease in the IR drop during discharge and cell temperature when evaluating cycle characteristics with a current of 20C. The study also examined the behavior of the current distributed during the charging and discharging process based on the volume ratio of the supercapacitor and the battery capacitor. Analyzing the correlation between the volume ratio and electrical characteristics of supercapacitors and battery capacitors could potentially lead to the development of a new type of energy storage device.