The high genetic diversity of the tomato and its high micronutrient content make this fruit very interesting from an economic and nutritional point of view. The genetic erosion suffered by this crop, due to breeding objectives based on yield and marketing, makes it necessary to return to the origins in search of the nutritional and organoleptic quality lost in traditional varieties. In this study, the agronomic, physical, organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of eighteen F1 hybrids obtained by crossing fourteen traditional varieties, previously selected for their quality, were studied to select genotypes of superior quality that could be candidates for new. All parameters studied were strongly influenced by genotype, showing a wide range between cultivars. Principal Component Analysis revealed the characteristics of each hybrid that made it stand out from the others. Some hybrids (H3, H4, and H6) stand out because of their high concentration of active compounds, others (H16, H15, H10, H17, H9, and H11) because of agronomic performance and high content of β-carotene, and H5 was the only one to contain chlorophyll in their ripe fruits. Finally, the evaluation index allowed the selection of five hybrids with interesting characteristics, combining good yield performance and high quality

Photodynamic therapy has emerged as a non-invasive treatment modality for various diseases, leveraging photosensitizing compounds to induce localized cytotoxicity upon light activation. This review explores the isolation and characterization of photosensitizing compounds sourced from microalgae, focusing on their potential applications in photodynamic therapy. Microalgae represent a rich source of bioactive molecules, including chlorophylls, phycobiliproteins, and carotenoids, which exhibit inherent photosensitizing properties. Methodologies for the extraction and purification of these compounds from different microalgal species are discussed, emphasizing the importance of optimizing extraction techniques to enhance yield and purity. Characterization techniques such as UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy, fluorescence spectroscopy, and mass spectrometry are highlighted for elucidating the chemical structures and photophysical properties of isolated compounds. Furthermore, the review examines the photodynamic efficacy of microalgae-derived photosensitizers through in vitro and in vivo studies, assessing their cytotoxic effects on cancer cells and antimicrobial activity against pathogens. The integration of microalgae-derived photosensitizers into PDT protocols represents a promising avenue for developing sustainable and effective therapeutic strategies, underscoring the potential of these natural compounds in advancing biomedical applications.

The ocean of the planet Earth, which is as thin as a cicada's wings, play a role of catalyst to the evolving of the ancient plates. The ocean and the ancient plates of the planet Earth formed a magic Whirlpool of the Cross “十” shape with double whirl arms. The central core of the Cross “十” shape Ocean-Plate Whirlpool is the Hint Black Hole (HBH) located at the Northwestern Pacific Ocean floor which is decorated with invisible geological age distribution of clam shell. The double whirl arms of ancient plates are distinguished to be left and right at Bering Strait and just formed the ring of fire of the Pacific Ocean.The Cross “十” shape Ocean-Plate Whirlpool of the planet Earth was born at the equatorial area about 66 Ma ago and is rotating anticlockwise and drifting northward by a mini footprint of spiral at s speed of as slow as a snail moves. Obviously, it would come to an end at the North Pole about 100 Ma in the future. So, the lifespan of the Cross “十” shape Ocean-Plate Whirlpool would be about 166 Ma, from birth to death on the planet Earth.What is hidden behind of the evolving of the oceans and the ancient plates is the golden law of geometrical progression of ladder pagoda of attributes evolving of them, which is “1➨2➨4➨2➨1”, including upgrading and downgrading process. It seems to hint that what is happening on the planet Earth, including the top-level species of human race, is actually unique in the Milky Way galaxy in essence.The property roles of expanding and shrinking are existing in the Cross “十” shape Ocean-Plate Whirlpool by face to face and the exchange of property roles took place tens of millions of years ago. And that situation would happen again tens of millions of years in the future. It seems a giant circle of evolving of the exchange of property roles would be drawn by the Cross “十” shape Ocean-Plate Whirlpool in her lifetime.

It is broadly acknowledged that children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) show verb-related limitations. While most previous studies in Spanish have focused on tense, the mastery of lexical aspect—particularly telicity—has not been the primary focus of much research. Lexical aspect refers to whether an action has a defined endpoint (telic verbs) or not (atelic verbs). This study investigates the effect of telicity on verb recognition in Chilean children with DLD compared to their typically developing (TD) peers using the Event-Related Potential (ERP) technique. The research design is a mixed factorial design with between-group factors of 2 (DLD/TD) and within-group factors of 2 (telic/atelic verbs) and 2 (coherent/incoherent sentences). Participants included 36 school-aged children (18 DLD, 18 TD) aged 7 to 7 years and 11 months. The task required subjects to listen to sentences that either matched or did not match an action in a video, with sentences including telic or atelic verbs. The study found notable differences between groups in how they processed verbs (N400 and post-N400 components) and direct objects (N400 and P600 components). DLD children struggled to differentiate telic and atelic verbs, potentially because they employed overgeneralization strategies consistent with the Event Structural Bootstrapping model.

Etiological factors involved in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) include immunologic, oxidative stress, and inflammatory factors, among others, and these are targets for microRNAs (miRNs). Here, we evaluated whether some miRNs may affect the tumor development comparing untreated and 5-azacitidine (5-AZA) MDS-treated patients. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 20 controls and 24 MDS patients, and selected miRNs related to redox balance and inflammation, including miR-18a, miR-21, miR-34a and miR-146a, were isolated and measured by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRTPCR). A differential expression profile of miRNs was detected in untreated MDS patients and 5-AZA group. MiR-18a, miR-21, miR-34a and miR-146a were significantly overexpressed in untreated MDS, compared to controls. However, we did not observe any miRNs profile alteration during the progression of the disease. On the other hand, 5-AZA treatment tends to restore miRNs expression levels. Relating to prognostic risk factors, high risk MDS groups (high IPSS-R, high cytogenetic risk, high molecular risk (HMR) mutations tended to be related with higher expression levels of miR-18a and miR-34a. Higher miRNs expression is correlated with lower glutathione peroxidase activity, while they are related with a higher profile of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-2, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α). Although our study was limited by the low number of MDS patients included, we identified miRNs deregulation involved in the MDS development, that could regulate redox sensors and inflammatory responses. Finally, 5-AZA treatment is related with lower miRNs expression levels in MDS patients.

ABSTRACT：Background: Diagnosing rhabdomyolysis has usually defined at least five or ten times the upper limit creatine kinase level; but it is conservative for Exertional rhabdomyolysis. The aim was to analysis the biomarkers during a military operation in an extreme environment with high physical demand. Material and Methods: Seventeen male military personnel (age: 27.83 ± 2.96 years; weight: 76.31 ± 7.67 kg; and height 174.92 ± 5.91 cm) participated for this investigation. The creatine kinase (CK); blood urea nitrogen (BUN); creatinine (Cr); sodium (Na); potassium (K); aspartate amino transferase (AST) and alanine amino transferase (ALT) were analyzed. Urine specific gravity (USG) the hydration status was monitored. The Generalized Linear Models for repeated measures and the Friedman’s two-way test were used to comparative moments. Results: The BUN; Cr; Na; and K mean values showed a nonsignificant. The statistical significance of the test was found in CK and AST. There was considerable variability of CK between subjects during the operation. The moderate correlation between CK and Cr was found during study. Conclusion: Elevated CK levels after the operation were characterized as physiological pattern. These results reinforce that CK values are not predictors of renal function in activities with intense and continuous physical demand

The accurate detection of clouds is an important first-step in the processing of remotely sensed satellite data analyses and subsequent cloud model predictions. While initial cloud retrieval technology began with the exploitation of one or two bands of satellite imagery, it has accelerated rapidly in recent years as sensor and retrieval technology have exploded, creating a new era in space exploration. Additionally, initial emphasis in satellite retrieval technology focused on cloud detection for cloud forecast models, more recently cloud screening in satellite acquired data is playing an increasingly critical role in the investigation of cloud free data for the retrieval of soil moisture, vegetation cover, ocean colour concentration and sea surface temperatures, as well as environmental monitoring of a host of products, e.g. atmospheric aerosol data, to study the Earth’s atmospheric and climatic systems. With about 60% of the Earth covered by clouds, on average, it is necessary to both accurately detect clouds in remote sensing data to screen cloud contaminate data in remote sensing analyses. In this paper, the evolution of cloud detection technology is highlighted with advancement in sensor hardware technology and possible AI algorithmic advances. Additionally, a discussion is presented on methods to obtain the cloud truth data needed to determine the accuracy of these cloud detection approaches.

COVID-19 is the most severe health crisis of the 21st century. COVID-19 presents a threat to almost all countries world-wide. The restriction of human mobility is one of the strategies used to control the transmission of COVID-19. However, it has yet to be determined how effective this restriction is in controlling the rise in COVID-19 cases, particularly in major capital cities such as Jakarta, Indonesia. Using Facebook's mobility data, our study explores the impact of restricting human mobility on COVID-19 case control in Jakarta. Our main contribution is showing how the restriction of human mobility data can give important information about how COVID-19 spreads in different places. We proposed modifying a global regression model into a local regression model by accounting for the spatial and temporal interdependence of COVID-19 transmission across space and time. We applied Bayesian hierarchical Poisson spatiotemporal models with spatially varying regression coefficients. We estimated the regression parameters using an Integrated Nested Laplace Approximation. We found that the local regression model with spatially varying regression coefficients outperforms the global regression model based on DIC, WAIC, MPL, and R2 criteria for model selection. In Jakarta's 44 districts, the impact of human mobility varies significantly. The impacts of human mobility on the log relative risk of COVID-19 range from –4.445 to 2.353. The prevention strategy involving the restriction of human mobility may be beneficial in some districts but ineffective in others. Therefore, a cost-effective strategy had to be adopted.

Background. Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is the deadliest gynecological malignancy worldwide. Brain metastasis (BM) is quite an uncommon presentation. However, the likelihood of central nervous system (CNS) metastasization should be considered in the context of disseminated disease. The therapeutic management of BMs is an unmet clinical need, to date. Case presentation. We identified across different Cancer Centers six cases of both BRCA wild-type and BRCA-mutated EOC spreading to the CNS. They presented either with a single brain lesion or with multiple lesions and most of them had intracranial-only disease. All cases received Poly-ADP ribose polymerase inhibitor (PARPi) maintenance, as by clinical practice, for a long time within a multimodal treatment approach. We also provide an insight into the available body of work regarding the management of this intriguing disease setting, with a glimpse of future therapeutic challenges. Conclusion. Despite the lack of unanimous guidelines, multimodal care pathways should be encouraged for optimal disease control of this unfortunate patient’s subset. Albeit not being directly investigated in BM patients, the PARPi maintenance is deemed to have a valuable role in this setting. Prospective research, aimed to implement worthwhile strategies in the multimodal patient journey of BMs from EOC, is eagerly awaited.

ABSTRACT Lubricants play a crucial role in reducing friction and wear between surfaces in relative motion. Engine oil, as a lubricant, is specifically designed to minimize friction and wear between the moving parts of different equipment and machinery. Engine oil blending serves the purpose of adjusting the variety of lubricants available to meet specific performance requirements. Through blending, it is possible to tailor the characteristics of the lubricating oil, such as viscosity, stability, and additive content, to optimize its effectiveness in reducing friction, protecting engine components, and enhancing overall equipment performance. By customizing lubricant formulations through blending, manufacturers can address the diverse lubrication needs of modern engines and machinery, ensuring smooth operation, longevity, and efficiency.To enhance the quality of the lubricant and achieve the desired high-performance multi-grade engine oil, a systematic approach was followed. The process began with testing the specific gravity of the oil using a hydrometer and thermometer to ensure accurate measurements. Subsequently, 5 liters of base oil were carefully measured and poured into a stainless steel reactor pot to serve as the blending vessel. Following this, 1 liter of paraffin oil (100N) was added to the base oil to introduce specific properties to the blend. To further optimize the formulation, 0.42 kg (7% of the total blend) of additives, including a selection of specific performance-enhancing compounds, was incorporated. These additives, such as Aspen, Tackifier, and other essential components like anti-wear, corrosion inhibitors, detergents, dispersants, and antioxidants, were meticulously measured and added to the mix. Through this precise blending process, the goal was to craft a high-quality multi-grade engine oil that meets the stringent performance requirements for various operating conditions and equipment types. After the melted Aspen and dissolved tackifier were added to the mixture, thorough stirring was carried out to ensure uniform distribution until a homogeneous blend was achieved. The mixture was then exposed to heat to facilitate the reaction between the base oil and additives, reaching a temperature of 70°C for optimal blending. Subsequently, 0.5 kg of viscosity index improver was introduced into the mixture and stirred continuously for a period of 5 minutes to ensure proper integration. Following this step, 5 grams of dye were carefully added to the mixture, and stirring was continued to evenly disperse the coloring agent throughout the blend. This meticulous process aimed to ensure that all components were effectively incorporated, facilitating the production of a high-quality, customized multi-grade engine oil with enhanced performance characteristics and optimal lubricating properties. After subjecting the mixture to a temperature of 70°C, the heat source was removed, allowing the product to gradually cool down to room temperature, which was estimated to be around 30°C. Following this cooling process, the product underwent a filtration step to remove any residual impurities present in the mixture. A sample of the purified product was then extracted for further analysis. Quality control tests were meticulously carried out on the sample to ensure that the product met the rigorous standards set by the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). The results obtained from the quality control tests were highly promising, indicating that the product indeed complied with the stringent specifications outlined by the regulatory body. This adherence to quality standards is essential in ensuring the product's reliability and performance in various applications. The successful outcome of the quality control test underscores the meticulous attention to detail and commitment to excellence in the production process. The rigorous quality control procedures implemented in the analysis of the product highlight the commitment to upholding high standards of quality and safety in the manufacturing process. By consistently meeting and exceeding industry regulations and standards, the product not only demonstrates its reliability but also reflects a dedication to customer satisfaction and product excellence. The adherence to the SON standards showcases a commitment to producing top-quality products that meet the needs and expectations of consumers and industry stakeholders alike.

This work proposes a conceptual design for a process for recovering Polystyrene (PS) using solvents of agro-industrial origin. The literature describes the dilution of Expanded Polyestyrene (EPS) in limonene, followed by its insolubilization with alcohols for recovery. However, there is no information on the solubility limit for the PS + limonene + alcohol system, which is critical for the process design. To determine the solubility limit, we diluted the waste EPS in D-limonene, mixed it with ethanol to form a precipitate, and used a gravimetric method to measure the mass of the compounds. These results allowed for the conceptual design of an EPS recycling process using a chemical process simulator, which includes a separator, a distillation column, and auxiliary equipment such as heaters, coolers, and pumps. An empirical correlation was obtained for the solubility limit, which enabled the design of a process for the treatment of 52 kg/s of PS using 0.75 kg /s of ethanol and 2.4 kg / s of D-limonene once the stationary state had been reached. The distillation column is six-stage, with a reflux ratio of 1.5 and duties of 30 000 kW and -25 847 kW for the condenser and reboiler, respectively.

Transketolase (TKT) is an essential thiamine diphosphate (ThDP)-dependent enzyme of the non-oxidative branch of pentose phosphate pathway, with the glucose-6P flux through the pathway regulated in various medically important conditions. Here, we characterize the brain TKT regulation by acylation in rats with perturbed thiamine-dependent metabolism, known to occur in neurodegenerative diseases. The perturbations are modelled by administration of oxythiamine inhibiting ThDP-dependent enzymes in vivo, or by reduced thiamine availability in the presence of metformin and amprolium, inhibiting intracellular thiamine transporters. Compared to control rats, chronic administration of oxythiamine does not significantly change the modification level of the two detected TKT acetylation sites (K6 and K102), but doubles malonylation of TKT K499, concomitantly decreasing 1.7-fold the level of demalonylase sirtuin 5. The inhibitors of thiamine transporters do not change average levels of TKT acylation or sirtuin 5. TKT structures indicate that the acylated residues are distant from the active sites. The acylations-perturbed electrostatic interactions may be involved in conformational shifts and/or formation of TKT complexes with other proteins or nucleic acids. Acetylation of K102 may affect the active site entrance/exit and subunit interactions. Correlation analysis reveals that the action of oxythiamine is characterized by significant negative correlations of K499 malonylation or K6 acetylation with TKT activity, not observed upon the action of the inhibitors of thiamine transport. However, the transport inhibitors induce significant negative correlations between the TKT activity and K102 acetylation or TKT expression, absent in the oxythiamine group. Thus, perturbations in the ThDP-dependent catalysis or thiamine transport manifest in the insult-specific patterns of the brain TKT malonylation and acetylations.

The study delves into the Zaalklapspruit valley-bottom wetland in South Africa, a site designed through ecological engineering and currently impacted by acid mine drainage due to an upstream defunct coal mine. The research conducted in 2022, aimed to uncover the dynamics of contaminant dispersal within such a wetland setting, focusing on the origins, routes, and ultimate recipients of various metals and sulfur compounds. Analysis revealed that the bottom sediment is rich in organic material, with pH levels observed between 6.05 and 6.59, and exhibited notably low oxidation-reduction potentials, reaching down to −219.67 mV at sample point S3. Notably, Manganese displayed the highest adsorption rates, whereas Iron was predominantly absorbed by the roots of Typha capensis and the algae Klebsormidium acidophilum. The wetland's macrophyte rhizospheres hosted a rich array of microbiota, including families like Helicobacteraceae and Hydrogenophilaceae, which are crucial in metal and sulfur processing. This investigation sheds light on the intricate biogeochemical processes taking place involving the wetland's sediment, macrophyte root systems, periphyton, and microbial populations, underscoring the potential of ecologically engineered wetlands in the remediation of waters affected by acid mine drainage.

Seeds of Arazá and Acai, in addition to the byproduct of the Sacha inchi seed, after the extraction of the oil known as Sacha Inchi oil press-cake (SIOPC), are considered wastes and often discarded; however, they have valuable potential as sources of nutrients and bioactive compounds. We aimed to analyze, the bromatological, and chemical composition of these three byproducts of the fruit industry. Further cytotoxic, antioxidant, and antihypertensive activities of extracts ethanol: water were evaluated through in vitro tests. The Bromatological test showed that SIOPC had a low protein content (8.1%), while AS had a high fiber content (48.9%), however, were poorest in nutrients Ethanol: water extracts from all seeds exhibited diverse profiles of secondary metabolites, with significant concentrations of polyphenols (155.88 µg gallic acid/100 mg dry weight), flavonoids (411.69 µg quercetin/100 mg dry weight), and carotenoids in AS (43.66 µg ß-carotene/100 mg dry weight). AS and ACS extracts excelled in ABTS and DPPH radical scavenging assays, and AS showed high α-glucosidase inhibition, previously unreported in the literature. The results suggest that both seeds and extracts are sources of nutritional and bioactive metabolites with high antioxidant and hypoglycemic activity. that could be used in the food industry and the health sector. These by-products underline the importance of sustainable harnessing these sources of the native Amazonian Region

The fixed offshore platforms in Mexico produce approximately 1.90 million barrels of oil daily, valued at about 1.5 million dollars, positioning Mexico as a significant oil-producing nation globally. Ensuring the structural integrity of these platforms is highly complex due to various factors, including operational loads, meteorological conditions, extreme storms, seismic activity, and fatigue in tubular joints. Consequently, in situ studies have been conducted, focusing on operational analysis, static storm conditions, dynamic seismic strength, ductility, ultimate wave resistance, and spectral fatigue analysis. These six analyses (three linear, two nonlinear, and one spectral fatigue) provide insights into the structural behavior under different loading conditions and allow evaluation against current standards to conclude their structural integrity. The results obtained confirm that the structural integrity is adequate, as they meet current regulations and standards.

In this paper, we introduce a control method for the linear quadratic tracking (LQT) problem with zero steady-state error. It is achieved by augmenting the original system with an additional state representing the integrated error between the reference and actual outputs. In its essence, it is a linear quadratic integral (LQI) control embedded in a general LQT control framework, with the reference trajectory generated by a linear exogenous system. During the simulative implementation for the specific real-world system Car-in-the-Loop (CiL) test bench, we assume that the 'real' system is completely known. Therefore, for the model-based control, we can have a perfect model identical to the 'real' system. It becomes clear that stable solutions can scarcely be achieved with controller designed with the perfect model of the 'real' system. Contrary, we show that a model learnt via Bayesian Optimization (BO) can facilitate a much bigger set of stable controllers. It exhibits an improved control performance. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this discovery is the first in the LQT related literature.

Additive Manufacturing (AM) Direct Laser Fabrication (DLF) of Ti-5Al-5V-5Mo-3Cr (Ti5553) is being developed as a method for producing aircraft components. The additive manufacturing process can produce flaws near the surface, such as porosity and material voids, which act as stress raisers, leading to potential component failure. Eddy current testing was investigated to detect flaws on or near the surface of DLF Ti5553 bar samples. For this application, the objective was to develop an eddy current probe capable of detecting flaws 500 µm in diameter, located 1 mm below the component's surface. Two initial sets of coil parameters were chosen: The first, based on successful experiments that demonstrated detection of a near surface flaw in Ti5553 using a transmit-receive array probe, and the second, derived from simulation by Finite Element Method (FEM). An optimized transmit receive coil design, based on the FEM simulations, was constructed. The probe was evaluated on Ti5553 samples containing sub-surface voids of the target size, as well as samples with side-drilled holes and samples with holes drilled from the opposing inspection surface. The probe was able to effectively detect 80% of the sub-surface voids. Limitations included the probe’s inability to detect sub-surface voids near sample edges and a sensitivity to surface roughness, which produces local changes in lift-off. Multifrequency mixing improved signal-to-noise ratio when surface roughness was present on average by 22%. A probe based on that described in this paper could benefit quality assurance of additively manufactured aircraft components.

This paper is a study of a generalization of the quantum Riemannian Hamiltonian evolution, previously analyzed by us in our work [6], in the geometrization of quantum mechanical evolution in a Finsler geometry. We find results with dynamical equations governing the evolution of the trajectories defined by the expectation values of position. The analysis appears to provide an underlying geometry described by a geodesic equation, with connection form with a second term which is an essentially quantum effect. These dynamical equations provide a new geometric approach to the quantum evolution where we suggest a definition for "local instability" in the quantum theory.

: Climate change necessitates urgent actions to mitigate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from fossil fuel-based energy generation. Among various strategies, the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) solutions are critical for reducing emissions from point sources such as power plants and heavy industries. In this context, cryogenic carbon capture (CCC) via desublimation has emerged as a promising technology. While CCC offers high separation efficiency, minimal downstream compression work, and integration potential with existing industrial processes, challenges such as low operating temperatures and equipment costs persist. Ongoing research aims to address these hurdles in order to optimize the desublimation processes for widespread implementation. This review consolidates diverse literature works, providing insights into the strengths and limitations of CCC technology, including the latest pilot plant scale demonstrations. The transformative potential of CCC is first assessed on a theoretical basis, such as thermodynamic aspects and mass transfer phenomena. Then, recent advancements in the proposed process configurations are critically assessed and compared through key performance indicators. Furthermore, future research directions for this technology are clearly highlighted.

In order to address the issue of nutrient deficiency in coconut coir-based nursery substrates, three materials with nutrient supplementation effects, namely pig manure, composted rice husks, and agricultural humic acid, were added in equal volumes to the coir-based substrate. The newly formulated substrates were then tested for their seedling growth effects on cucumber and rice. Results indicate that the substrate formulation consisting of "10% pig manure + 30% peat + 50% coconut coir + 10% vermiculite" was capable of satisfying the growth requirements of both cucumber and rice seedlings, with the highest acceptance among farmers.

In this paper, we propose a system of nonlinear mixed variational inequality problems, which consists of two elliptic mixed variational inequality problems on Banach spaces. Under suitable assumptions, using the Kakutani-Ky Fan fixed point theorem and Minty techniques, we prove the solution set to the system of nonlinear mixed variational inequality problem is nonempty, weakly compact and unique. Additionally, we suggest a stability result for the system of nonlinear mixed variational inequality problem by perturbing the duality mappings. Furthermore, we present an optimal control problem governed by the system of nonlinear mixed variational inequality problems and establish a solvability result.

Facial recognition systems are widely used systems around the globe. Their applications in real world scenarios like law enforcement, surveillance, ID card identification, information security, access control and many more has made them very important in today’s world. These systems have shown promising results and excellent performance; however, these systems need tremendous number of facial images for training before they are implemented in the real-world scenarios. The problem arises when we face lack of training images due to which the performance of such systems decreases exponentially. The problem becomes even worse when there is only one image per subject for training our facial recognition system, the probe image might contain variation like illumination, expression and disguise which are hard to be accurately recognized. Generative models have achieved great success for handling the lack of training data by generating synthetic data that resembles the original data. We have created a new method by fine tuning the basic Conditional Generative Adversarial Network (CGAN) to generate synthetic facial images provided only single image per subject. These synthetic facial images contain six variations that are smile, anger, stare, illumination and disguise. We increased the size of the dataset and then applied a convolutional neural network for facial recognition, which improved the accuracy of our system from 0.76 to 0.99.

The ocean’s mixed layer depth (MLD) plays an important role in understanding climate dynamics, especially during extreme weather occurrences like hurricanes. This study investigates the effects of Hurricane Katrina (2005) on the MLD in the Gulf of Mexico, using the Delft3D modeling system. By integrating hydrodynamics and wave dynamics modules, we simulate the ocean’s response to extreme weather, focusing on temperature, salinity and MLD variations. Our analysis reveals significant cooling and mixing induced by Katrina, resulting in spatial and temporal fluctuations in temperature (~± 4°C) and salinity (~± 2.5 ppt). The MLD is estimated using a simple threshold method, revealing a substantial deepening to ~120 m on August 29th-30th during Hurricane Katrina in the middle of northern Gulf of Mexico, compared to an average MLD of ~20-40 m during pre-storm conditions. It took about 18-days to recover to ~84% of the pre-storm level after Katrina. Compared to the stand-alone FLOW model, the coupled FLOW+WAVE model yields a deeper MLD of ~5%. The MLD recovery and wave effect on the MLD provide insights from various scientific, environmental and operational perspectives, offering a valuable basis for ocean management, planning and applications, particularly during extreme weather events.

The aim of the research was to determine the most productive tree cutting methods and the factors influencing them in flat and sloping terrain in tree plantations in Brazil. The study utilized drone-captured video material from eucalyptus and pine plantations harvesting operations. In both terrains, two cutting methods were compared, differing in the felling to the side method used: either at the edge of the harvesting front or inside. In addition, on flat terrain, the efficiency of forward felling was studied in relation to the aforementioned methods. In slope terrain, the machines were also equipped with a winch assistance system. Statistical tests were used to determine the most productive cutting methods by analyzing differences in productivity. With an average tree size of 0.3 m3, cutting productivity was 45 m3/E0h in pine cuttings and 55 m3/E0h in eucalyptus cuttings. The average cutting productivity on flat terrain was about 11 m3/E0h higher than on sloping terrain, mainly due to the time spent attaching the winch assistance system, which was a necessary phase of the work in sloping terrain. The research results suggest that it would be the most productive to use sideways felling inside the harvesting front method. However, the need for further research is evident if we want to precisely identify the harvesting conditions and work phases in the tree cutting cycle affecting the differences in the productivity of the harvesting chain in tree plantations.

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) are gaining traction in the realm of network communication, renowned for their adaptability, configuration, and flexibility. The forthcoming network traffic within WSNs can be forecasted through temporal sequence models. In this correspondence, We present a method (TSENet) that can accurately predict the traffic in the cellular network. TSENet is composed of transformers and self-attention network. We have designed a temporal transformer module specifically for extracting temporal features. This module accomplishes this by modeling the traffic flow within each grid of the communication network at both near-term and periodical intervals. Simultaneously, we amalgamate the spacial features of each grid with information from its correlated grids, generating spacial predictions within the spacial transformer. Furthermore, we employ self-attention aggregation to capture dependencies between external factor features and celluar data features. Empirical assessments performed on a genuine cellular traffic dataset offer compelling evidence substantiating the efficacy of TSENet.

There is currently no effective treatment strategy for the recurrent/metastatic adenoid cystic carcinoma (R/M ACC). Furthermore, recent single-agent and combination immunotherapy trials have failed in unselected ACC cohorts unlike non-ACC salivary gland cancers. Genomic profiling revealed no actionable targets but NOTCH1 and KDM6A frameshift and CTCF splice site mutations (no MYB/L fusion) with a low TMB, MSS and negative PD-L1. We recommended anti-PD-1 plus anti-CTLA-4 combination based on TMB 2-fold greater than median TMB in ACC, tumor harboring multiple immunogenic frameshift or splice site mutations, and PD-L1 negativity. Accordingly, we achieved a complete response in a radiotherapy and chemotherapy-refractory patient with locally recurrent lacrimal gland ACC and lung metastasis following personalized immunotherapy in combination with integrative therapeutics. Therefore, it is crucial to assess not only conventional immune biomarkers but also patient-specific parameters.

The textile sector is responsible for a number of environmental impacts. Due to the in-creasing quantities of textiles, their share is rising and a trend reversal from a linear to a circular textile chain is needed. This article presents the background, methodological approach and results of a participatory textile development model. In the commercial B2B sector, three textile prototypes were developed together with users and trialled over several months in three application areas. Textile development took into account the requirements of fibre regeneration in the product design and focused on innova-tive chemical recycling solutions. The three sustainably aligned textiles were subject-ed to spectroscopic and textile-technological tests. Screening life cycle assessments an-alysed their environmental profile and compared it with reference textiles that are used as standard. Overall, it is clear that the three textiles can match conventional ref-erence textiles in terms of quality and have considerable environmental benefits com-pared to the reference textiles. The user survey did identify concerns about a high arti-ficial fibre content, although a general rejection of recycled fibres was not observed. The results show that a transformation is possible, but must start with the fibre com-position; recycling, on the other hand, is of minor importance.

This paper introduces an intelligent model that combines military expertise with the latest ad-vancements in machine learning (ML) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to support humanitarian demining decision-making processes. The model is based on direct input and val-idation from field decision-makers for their practical applicability and effectiveness. With a survey polling the inputs of demining experts, 95% of the responses came with an affirmation of the potential of the model to reduce threats and increase operational efficiency. It includes mili-tary-specific factors that factor in the proximity to strategic locations as well as environmental variables like vegetation cover and terrain resolution. With Gradient Boosting algorithms such as XGBoost and LightGBM, the accuracy rate is almost 97%. Such precision levels further enhance threat assessment, better allocation of resources, and around a 30% reduction in the cost and time of conducting demining operations, signifying a strong synergy of human expertise with algo-rithmic precision for maximal safety and effectiveness in demining

This paper presents a mathematically rigorous investigation into the incompleteness of Einstein-de Sitter spacetime. The incompleteness of the spacetime is proved using results regarding isometries between connected Semi-Riemannian manifolds following the computation of the Einstein tensor of the Einstein-de Sitter spacetime. Various properties of the Einstein-de Sitter spacetime apart from its incompleteness is also discussed based on its incompleteness with the help of various results of Semi-Riemannian manifolds. Also, few properties of spacetime which cannot be concluded from the incompleteness of the spacetime is also discussed.

Low dropout (LDO) regulators are widely used in portable electronic devices because they 1 occupy small chip and printed circuit board (PCB) areas. This work presents the design of a low 2 noise low dropout (LDO) linear voltage regulator using folded cascode operational amplifier and 3 source follower buffer for frequency compensation. The proposed design achieves low output noise 4 with feedback loops, which makes it possible to improve load and line regulations as well as the 5 transient response for voltage applications in comparison with the literature. The designed LDO 6 linear regulator works under the input voltage of 2.8-4.8 V and provides up to 100 mA load current 7 for an output voltage of 2.6 V. 8 9 Moreover, the operational amplifier design contributes to the major reduction in the frequency 10 noise, and make sure the stability of LDO under different conditions. Furthermore, the novel LDO 11 design topology has very less dropout voltage, fast transient response and minimized power dissi- 12 pation under maximum load current, worst process corner, and maximum temperature to achieve 13 high power efficiency, maintain output voltage in the presence of fast load changes, and to lower the 14 power loss across the pass element especially at high load. Design criteria are addressed in detail. 15 16 This LDO topology is able to achieve ultra-low noise i.e. 2 /muv/√Hz for frequency >1kHz. The 17 proposed LDO is implemented in the cadence virtuoso H9A with CMOS 130 μm technology.

Any material object vibrating or rotating excites in spacetime around gravitational waves. Atomic nucleus being highly dynamical object also excites continuously micro gravitational waves which might form around the nucleus specific structure resembling optical diffraction grating and which gives huge effect to nuclear elastic scattering cross sections. The close similarity between the nuclear diffractive scattering and the optical Debye-Sears Effect is shown.

China’s leading development of a complete battery value chain for Electric Vehicles (EV) is restructuring the global automotive sector. The competitive advantage of China's EV battery industry lies on its firms’ core competency and political economic geography. Based on first-hand empirical material and data obtained from years of fieldwork in an EV battery cluster in South China, this paper identifies what the Chinese EV battery industry’s core competency is and details how it is built up from below. The current core competency of Chinese battery firms is their mass manufacturing capability to supply lithium-ion batteries vehicle manufacturers (OEMs) with stable and consistent quality as well as competitive prices. This competency is acquired by firms through technological learning at workshop level while taking use of their experiences accumulated in mass production of batteries for consumer electronics sectors. Furthermore, the rapid learning and accumulation of knowledge on battery manufacturing at large scale is also facilitated by the industrial cluster environment where firms are embedded. Supported and promoted by local government policies, Chinese EV battery clusters are composed of firms from different segments of a complete battery value chain. The findings illuminate the likely strategic strengths, weaknesses, and futures of the Chinese EV battery industry in global competition.

As society becomes more reliant on Lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, state-of-health (SOH) estimation will need to become more accurate and reliable. Therefore, SOH modelling is in the process of shifting from using simple and continuous charge/discharge profiles, to more dynamic profiles constructed to mimic real operation, when ageing the Li-ion batteries. However, in most cases, when ageing the batteries, the same exact profile is just repeated until the battery reaches its end-of-life. Using data from batteries aged in this fashion to build a model, there is a very real possibility that the model will rely on the built-in repetitiveness of the profile. Therefore, this work will examine the dependence of the performance of a multiple linear regression on the number of charges used to train the model, and their location within the profile used to age the batteries. The investigation shows that it is possible to build models using randomly selected partial charges while still reaching errors as low as 0.5%. Furthermore, it shows that only two randomly sampled partial charges are needed to achieve errors of less than 1%. Lastly, as the number of randomly sampled partial charges used to create the model increases, then the dependence on particular partial charges tends to decrease.

As an important support for power system with high penetration of renewable energy, energy storage system (ESS) has changed the traditional model of simultaneous implementation of electricity production and consumption, and its installed capacity under the source-grid-load scenario is rising year by year, but it faces the problems of insufficient utilization and benefits. This study analyzes the functional combination of ESS under the source-grid-load scenarios, and proposes a comprehensive benefit evaluation method of energy storage projects based on fuzzy decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory (DEMATEL) and super efficiency data envelopment analysis (DEA) model, which considers the perspective of economic and social environment. Firstly, the functional requirements of energy storage on the source-grid-load scenarios are explored respectively, and the characteristics of various functions are analyzed to form functional combination schemes. Secondly, index modeling is carried out from three aspects: the whole life cycle cost, functional combination benefit and social environmental benefit, and the comprehensive benefit evaluation index system of energy storage project is proposed, which includes both economic and social environment. Then, the intuitionistic trapezoidal fuzzy number is combined with DEMATEL to form an effective analysis method for the input-output relationship of the indexes, and the comprehensive evaluation is realized based on the super efficiency DEA model. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed evaluation method and the rationality of the functional combination are verified under source-grid-load scenarios respectively.

In order to deal with imprecision, ambiguity, and uncertainty in data analysis, Pawlak introduced rough set theory in 1982. This paper aims to expand the scope of basic set theory developed by presenting the notions of δP-upper and δP-lower approximations, that are based on the notion of δP-open sets, we additionally examine a few of their fundamental characteristics.

Oil floating on the sea surface can be detected by both passive and active methods using the ultraviolet-to-microwave spectrum, whereas oil immersed below the sea surface can signal its presence only in visible light. This paper presents an optical model of a sea area deeply polluted by an oil suspension (10 ppm) located in a layer (thickness 5 m) separated from the sea surface by a clear layer (thickness 1 m). The impact of wavelength and state of the sea surface on reflectance changes is shown based on the results of Monte Carlo ray tracing. A two-wavelength index of reflectance is proposed to detect oil suspended in the water column (645-469 nm).

Considering the spectrum shortage problem of IoT devices, we introduce a collaborative spectrum sensing (CSS) framework in this paper to identify available spectrum resources, so that IoT devices can access it and meanwhile avoid causing harmful interference to the normal communication of the primary user (PU). However, in the process of the PU’s signal detection in IoT devices, the issue about the stopping time and decision cost arises. To this end, we propose a distributed cognitive IoT model, which includes two IoT devices independently using sequential decision rules to detect the PU. On this basis, we define the stopping time and cost function for IoT devices, and formulate an average cost optimization problem in CSS. To solve this problem, we further regard the optimal stopping time problem as a finite horizon problem, and solve the threshold of the optimal decision rule by dynamic programming. At last, numerical simulation results demonstrate the correctness of our proposal in terms of the global false alarm and miss detection probability, and it always achieves minimal average cost under various cost of each observation taken and thresholds.

This study presented a novel and sustainable method for producing chitin nanocrystals (PA-ChNCs) using phosphoric acid hydrolysis. The produced PA-ChNCs were used as stabilizers for Pickering emulsions and their physicochemical properties as well as stabilization mechanisms were systematically investigated. The PA-ChNCs exhibited small particle sizes and high surface areas, enabling an effective adsorption at the oil/water interface, which prevented coalescence in Pickering emulsions. The particle size and surface charge PA-ChNCs were strongly pH-dependent, which were critical factors for stabilizing Pickering emulsions. The study showed that emulsions with higher O:W ratios (50%) exhibited larger droplets but greater viscosity, forming a stable gel-like matrix that was more stable than emulsions with other O:W ratios after storage for 30 days. Emulsions with higher PA-ChNCs concentrations (2.0 wt%) and higher pH values (pH 10) showed small droplets and high viscosity, leading to stable emulsions. This research contributes to the development of sustainable and effective emulsifiers for use in the food industry, making utilization of seafood waste in an eco-friendly manner possible. Overall, this study highlights the potential of using newly developed PA-ChNCs as stabilizers for Pickering emulsions in food products.

Practical applications of CsPbX3 nanocrystals (NCs) are limited by their poor stability. The formation of heterojunction between CsPbX3 NCs and oxides is an effective means to protect perovskite from polar solvents and other external factors. Significantly improving the stability and photocatalytic properties of the core/shell perovskite is very important for its application in photoelectric and photocatalytic technology. Here, we report the synthesis of asymmetrical CsPbBr3/TiO2 core-shell heterostructure NCs at single particle level by hot injection liquid phase synthesis and sol-gel method, where each CsPbBr3 NCs is partially covered by titanium dioxide. It is shown that the type II arrangement is generated at the heterogeneous interface, which greatly facilitates the separation of electron-hole pairs and increases the carrier transport efficiency. More crucial, due to the protection of titanium dioxide shell, the product has higher long-term stability in humid air compared with bare CsPbBr3 NCs. The asymmetrical core-shell heterostructure prepared in this study not only improves the stability of CsPbX3 NCs, but also provides some ideas for optoelectronic device applications and TiO2-based photocatalysts.

Introduction: Management of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) has been the subject of international recommendations. However, some aspects remain within the realm of service practices and appear to vary greatly from one center to another. Objectives: To achieve a multidisciplinary consensus in France regarding management of HIE newborns that are not covered by international and national guidelines. Methods: This is a prospective, multicenter study using the Delphi method from April 21, 2021, to July 15, 2021. Perinatal professionals were contacted through professional societies. Participants received a questionnaire in three successive rounds. Each proposal was rated using a Likert scale from 1 (completely disagree) to 8 (completely agree). An item was considered consensual if at least 70% of responses were in agreement or disagreement. Results: 58 french neonatal professionals participated. A consensus was reached in the first round concerning the use of passive hypothermia in maternity ward, with 84% agreement and to define the target temperature between 35.0°C and 35.5°C at the third round. Regarding hypoglycemia in the delivery room, 79.2% agreed in the first round to correct blood glucose levels below a threshold of

Nitrogen oxides (NOx), pivotal atmospheric pollutants, significantly imperil the environment and human health. The CH4-SCR process, leveraging the abundant and accessible methane (CH4), emerges as a promising avenue for NOx abatement. Previous studies have demonstrated that zeolite support with twelve-membered ring (12-MR) and five-membered ring (5-MR) structures are susceptible to framework collapse in the presence of water, leading to catalyst deactivation. Consequently, there is a necessity to explore novel zeolites with enhanced hydrothermal stability for application in CH4-SCR processes. This research introduced for the first time an investigation into a novel In-H-SSZ-39 catalyst, synthesized via ion exchange and meticulously optimized for preparation conditions, including calcination temperature, In ions concentraiton, and reaction conditions, including CH4/NO ratio, O2 concentration, water vapor content, and Gas hourly space velocity (GHSV). Notably, the In/H-SSZ-39 catalyst achieved superior performance of 42.1% at 605 °C, with a calcination temperature of 500 °C and an In ion concentration of 0.066 M, under CH4/NO ratio of 1.5:1, 10% O2, and GHSV of 21000 h-1. In addition, the catalytic performance was influenced by the concentration of water vapor and the GHSV value.

Throughout the evolution of machine learning, the size of models has steadily increased as researchers strive for higher accuracy by adding more layers. This escalation in model complexity necessitates enhanced hardware capabilities. Today, state-of-the-art machine learning models have become so large that effectively training them requires substantial hardware resources, which may be readily available to large companies but not to students or independent researchers. To make the research on machine learning models more accessible, this study introduces a size reduction technique that leverages stages in Pyramid Training and Similarity Comparison. Our results demonstrate that pyramid training can reduce model complexity while maintaining accuracy of conventional full-sized models, offering a scalable and resource-efficient solution for researchers and practitioners in hardware-constrained environments.

The timely and accurate detection of HIV infection is pivotal in stemming the tide of this global pandemic and facilitating early treatment initiation. This review offers a comprehensive examination of the diverse array of methods employed for HIV detection, spanning traditional serological assays to cutting-edge technologies such as nucleic acid amplification, biosensor innovations, and artificial intelligence-driven diagnostics. Each method is scrutinized in terms of its principles, applications, strengths, and limitations. By integrating these complementary approaches and fostering collaboration across disciplines, researchers and clinicians gain a multifaceted understanding of HIV infection, enabling them to navigate the complexities of the virus with precision and insight. Through a multidisciplinary lens, encompassing immunology, molecular biology, engineering, and public health, this review aims to inform future directions in HIV detection, ultimately guiding efforts towards personalized, precise, and accessible diagnostics for all individuals affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Objectives: Minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB) is an alternative for revascularisation of isolated left anterior descending (LAD) or as multi-vessel (MV) procedure for diagonal branch (RD) or circumflex artery (RCX) region. Methods: From 2021 to 2022 91 patients underwent MIDCAB procedure in our heartcenter. 80% were male. Eighty percent of the patients had two or three vessel coronary artery disease. Mean age was 65±10 years. The left internal mammary artery (LIMA) was anastomosed to the left anterior descending via left minithoracotomy approach in all patients. Fourteen patients received multi-vessel MIDCAB (15%) with two or three anastomoses a saphenous vein graft (as T-graft to LIMA) was anastomosed to RD or RCX. Results: Mean operation time was 2.6±0.8 hours. The 30-day mortality was 0. Mean required packed red blood cells (pRBC) was 0.4±1.2 unit. The intensive care unit stay (ICU) was 1.5±1.6 days mean. We observed two patients (2%) with wound infections postoperatively. Four patients underwent rethoracotomy because of bleeding. Mean follow-up time was 1.5±0.5 years. Seventy-eight patients (86%) were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class 1, 11 patients (12%) were in NYHA class 2. One patient received percutaneous coronary intervention due to de novo stenosis of the RCA. Late mortality was 2%. The Kaplan-Meier survival rate was 98.8% at 1 and 2 years. Conclusion: MIDCAB is technically demanding. Our postoperative and short-term clinical results demonstrate that this procedure is safe and feasible. Optimal patient selection and an experienced surgical team are mandatory.

This paper reports data from three sources showing young people’s positive responses to the population-wide Act-Belong-Commit mental health promotion campaign: (i) impact on 14-25 year old participants in a peer-educator workshop program; (ii) impact on 11-14 year old student participants in an adaptation of the campaign in secondary schools (the ‘Mentally Healthy Schools Framework’); and (iii) impact of the population wide media-based campaign on 18-24 and 25-34 year olds in the general population (versus those 35+ years). Overall, these findings support the conclusion that mental health promotion interventions can be based on underlying constructs relevant across the lifespan and then tailored for specific ages and settings rather than requiring the development of separate, distinct programs based on different constructs for younger age groups.

Protein Kinase C delta (PKCδ) has emerged as a key protective molecule against systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE or lupus), an autoimmune disease characterized by anti-double stranded (ds) DNA IgGs. Although PKCδ deficient mice and lupus patients with mutated PRKCD genes clearly demonstrate the requirement of PKCδ for preventing lupus autoimmunity, this critical tolerance mechanism remains poorly understood. We recently reported that PKCδ selectively deletes anti-dsDNA B cells in the germinal center (GC), disclosing a key B cell tolerance mechanism that prevents lupus autoimmunity. PKCδ’s tolerance function is activated by sphingomyelin synthase 2 (SMS2), a lipid enzyme whose expression is generally reduced in B cells from lupus patients. Moreover, pharmacologic strengthening of the SMS2/PKCδ tolerance pathway alleviated lupus pathogenesis in mice. Here, we review relevant publications in order to provide mechanistic insights into PKCδ’s tolerance activity, and discuss the potential significance of therapeutically targeting PKCδ’s tolerance activity in the GC for selectively inhibiting lupus autoimmunity.

Plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) has a significant role in fibrinolysis, atherogenesis, cellular senescence, and chronic inflammation. OSA (obstructive sleep apnea) leads to increased PAI-1 levels and the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this study was to determine the effects of CPAP therapy in patients with severe OSA on coagulation parameters and PAI-1. This prospective, controlled study enrolled 57 patients who were newly diagnosed with severe OSA, 37 of whom had had a good CPAP adherence after 6 months of therapy (usage of the device for at least 4 h per night), and their data were analyzed. The analysis showed a statistically significant increase in D-dimer values (415 (316.5-537.5) before CPAP therapy vs. 499 (327-652) after therapy, p = 0.0282) and a decrease in fibrinogen values (3.665 ± 0.752 before CPAP therapy vs. 3.365 ± 0.771) after therapy, p = 0.0075)). The PAI-1 concentration values before and after CPAP therapy did not differ significantly (17.35±7.01 ng/ml before CPAP therapy vs. 17.42±6.99 ng/ml after therapy, p = 0.9367). This study shows a tendency to improve the fibrinolytic capacity in patients with OSA after CPAP therapy although PAI-1 levels did not differ significantly.

This study aimed to investigate the venom sac extracts (VSE) of the European hornet (EH) Vespa crabro (Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Vespidae), focusing on the differences between stinging females, gynes (G) and workers (W), at the protein level. Using a quantitative “Sequential Window Acquisition of all Theoretical Fragment Ion Mass Spectra” (SWATH-MS) analysis, we identified and quantified a total of 240 proteins. Notably, within the group, 45.8 % (n = 110) showed significant differential expression between VSE-G and VSE-W. In this set, 57.3 % (n = 63) were upregulated and 42.7 % (n = 47) downregulated in the G. Additionally, the 200 quantified proteins from the class Insecta belong to 16 different species, six of them to the Hymenoptera/Apidae lineage, comprising seven proteins with known potential allergenicity. Thus, phospholipase A1 (Vesp v 1), phospholipase A1 verutoxin 2b (VT-2b), hyaluronidase A (Vesp v 2A), hyaluronidase B (Vesp v 2B), and venom allergen 5 (Vesp v 5) were significantly downregulated in the G, and vitellogenin (Vesp v 6) was upregulated. Overall, 46 % of the VSE proteins showed differential expression, with a majority being upregulated in G. Data are available via ProteomeXchange with identifier PXD047955. These findings shed light on the proteomic differences in VSE between EH castes, potentially contributing to our understanding of their behavior and offering insights for allergy research.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disease characterized by persistent deficits in social interaction and communication, repetitive movements, abnormal focusing on objects, or activity that can significantly affect the quality of life of the afflicted. Brain neuronal and glial cells have been implicated. It has a genetic component but can also be triggered by environmental factors or drugs. For example, prenatal exposure to valproic acid (VPA) or acetaminophen (APAP) or ingestion of propionic acid (PPA) can increase the risk of ASD. Recently, epigenetic influences on ASD have been brought to the forefront of investigations on the etiology, prevention, and treatment of this disorder. Epigenetics refers to DNA modifications that alter gene expression without making any changes to the DNA sequence. Although an increasing number of pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals are being implicated in the etiology of ASD, here we specifically focus on the molecular influence of the above-mentioned drugs on epigenetic alterations in neuronal and glial cells and their potential connection to ASD. It is concluded that a better understanding of these phenomena can lead to more effective interventions in ASD.

Ophthalmological services face global inadequacies, especially in low- and middle-income countries, which are marked by a shortage of both practitioners and equipment. This study employed a portable slit-lamp microscope with video capabilities and cloud storage for a more equitable global diagnostic resource distribution. To enhance accessibility and quality of care, this study targeted corneal opacity, a global cause of blindness. To boost the online diagnosis efficiency, an AI pipeline was developed using anterior segment videos to detect corneal opacity. First, we extracted image frames from videos and learned them using a Convolutional Neural Network(CNN) model. Second, we manually annotated to extract only the corneal margins, adjusted the contrast with CLAHE, and learned using the CNN model. Finally, we performed semantic segmentation of the cornea using the annotated data. The results showed an accuracy of 0.8 for image frames, and 0.96 for corneal margins. Dice and IoU were 0.94 for semantic segmentation of corneal margins. While corneal opacity detection from video frames seemed challenging in the early stages of this study, manual annotation, corneal extraction, and CLAHE contrast adjustment significantly improved accuracy. Integrating manual annotation into the AI pipeline through semantic segmentation achieved a high accuracy in detecting corneal opacity.

Layered halide perovskites have emerged as a promising contender in solid-state lighting thanks to their tunable bandgap, high luminescence quantum yield, and high color purity. However, the fabrication of perovskite light-emitting devices in laboratories usually experiences low de-vice-to-device reproducibility since perovskite crystallization is highly sensitive to ambient condi-tions, such as humidity and temperature. Although device processing inside gloveboxes is primarily used to reduce the influence of oxygen and moisture, several extraneous variables, including gas-eous pollution traces and thermal fluctuations in the inert atmosphere or contaminations from re-sidual solvents confined in the enclosed environment, can destabilize the crystallization process and alter the properties of the emissive layers. Here, we examine different experimental set-ups for spin-coating deposition of layered perovskites in inert atmospheres and their influences on the formation of polycrystalline thin films. Our results demonstrate that fluctuations in the glovebox properties (concentrations of residual O2 and H2O or solvent traces), even in very short timescales, can negatively impact the consistency of the perovskite film formation, while thermal variation plays a relatively minor role in this phenomenon. Furthermore, careful storage of chemical species inside the workstation is critical for reproducing high-quality perovskite layers. Consequently, when applying our most controlled environment for perovskite deposition, the photoluminescence life-time of perovskite thin films shows a standard deviation of only 3%, whereas the reference set-up yields a 15% standard deviation. Regarding complete perovskite light-emitting diodes, the uncer-tainties in statistical luminance and EQE data are significantly reduced from 230% and 140% to 38% and 42%, respectively.

Multiple sensor nodes known as detection stations make the sensor networks; each node is light and portable. Every sensor node contains power source, microcomputer, transducer and transceiver. Power source provides power to each node. Micro-computer is used for storing and processing the output coming from the sensors. The transducer is used to generate the signals and the transceiver is used to receive and transmit data to the central computer. Eavesdropping gets facilitated with wireless communication, and it has many useful applications in military, homeland, hostile and uncontrolled environments. So it is prone to the high level of security. The process in which information is gathered to form a summarized type for analysis is known as data aggregation, as it is used to reduce the energy consumption in wireless sensor networks. The security issues have become crucial in data aggregation, especially when gets deployed in hostile and remote environment. In wireless sensor networks many secure aggregations have been proposed. It still faces some resource constrained that’s why new techniques are needed. In our survey we will discuss those approaches and their pros and cons.

The nuclear reactor measurement system is a crucial component of the nuclear measurement system in a nuclear power plant. Its primary function is to measure the power distribution within the reactor core using detectors, calibrate, and provide data on core fuel consumption. Therefore, the study of the detectors' reliability is crucial for ensuring the safe operation of the nuclear power system. The article describes the operational mechanism of the gas ionization chamber detector utilized in the intermediate-range detector of the off-board nuclear measurement system. It also analyzes the movement of particles between the plates during the ionization process of the nuclear reaction taking place in the detector. The functional relationship between the current in the recombination region and the ionization region involved in the actual working condition, and the change with the increase of voltage between the plates, is deduced. A mathematical model is established for the number of pulses generated between the plates and the magnitude of the voltage between the plates. Subsequently, the change in the offset of the voltage corresponding to the inflection point of the ping curve and the change rule of the slope of the ping curve are investigated. Combined with the analysis of experimental data, the results show that the initial particle energy of Ar+, the primary sensitive particle on the detector surface, follows a normal distribution and is influenced by the energy loss associated with the initial velocity and the voltage between the plates. The trends of the inflection points and slopes of the ping curves can be utilized to evaluate the performance and operational status of the detector. Combined with the results of the experimental data analysis, the fit is good, and the inflection point currents in the normal state decrease by about 1.5% annually. The intelligent diagnostic system, based on the method studied in this paper, has been successfully implemented in the RPN digital retrofit and upgrade project at Qinshan No. 2 Plant.

Castanopsis hystrix, a precious tree species in Southeast Asia, has the advantages of rapid growth and high-quality wood materials. However, there are problems such as long breeding cycle, time-consuming and low efficiency, which greatly restricts the industrial development of C. hystrix. To perform the genome selection (GS) for growth and wood traits and the early selection of superior progeny have great significance for the rapid breeding of new superior varieties of C. hystrix. The 226 clones in the main distribution and 479 progenies within 23 half-sib families were used as experimental materials in this study. Genotyping datasets were obtained by high-throughput re-sequencing technology, and GS studies were conducted on the growth (tree height (H), diameter at breast height (DBH)) and wood (wood density (WD), fiber length (FL), and fiber length-width ratio (LWR)) traits. The coefficient of variation (CV) of five phenotypic traits ranged from 10.1% to 22.73%, the average CV of growth traits was 19.93%, and the average CV of wood traits was 9.72%. The Pearson correlation coefficients between the five traits were almost significantly positive. Based on the Genomic Best Linear Unbiased Prediction (GBLUP) model, the broad-sense heritabilities of growth traits were higher than those of wood quality traits, and the different number of SNPs had little effect on the heritability estimation. GS prediction accuracy first increased and then reached a plateau around 3K SNPs for all five traits. The broad-sense heritability of these five traits was significantly positively correlated with their GS predictive ability (r=0.564, P

It is challenging to precisely measure the slow interseismic crustal deformation rate from SAR data. The long-wavelength orbital errors, owing to the uncertainties in satellite orbit vectors, commonly exist in SAR interferograms, which degrade the precision of the InSAR products and become the main barrier of extracting interseismic tectonic deformation. In this study, we propose a novel temporal network orbital correction method that is able to isolate the far-fault tectonic deformation from the mixed long-wavelength signals based on its spatio-temporal characteristic. The proposed approach is straightforward in methodology but could effectively separate the subtle tectonic deformation from glaring orbital errors without ancillary data. Both synthetic data and real Sentinel-1 SAR images are used to validate the reliability and effectiveness of this method. The derived InSAR velocity fields clearly present the predominant left-lateral strike-slip motions of the Tuosuo Lake segment of the Kunlun fault in western China. The fault-parallel velocity differences of 5-6 mm/yr across the fault between areas ~50 km away from the fault trace are addressed. The proposed method presents significantly different performance from traditional quadratic approximate method in the far-field. Through the implementation of the proposed method, the RMSE between the LOSGPS and our derived descending InSAR LOS is reduced to less than one-third of the previous study, suggesting its potential to enhance the availability of InSAR technology for interseismic crustal deformation measurement.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause morbidity and mortality worldwide; therefore, effective treatments remain crucial to controlling it. As interferon-alpha (IFN-α) and -beta (β) have been proposed as COVID-19 treatments, we sought to assess their effectiveness on respiratory, cardiovascular, neurological, and psychiatric signs and symptoms, as well as PASC and death, in hospitalized COVID-19 patients without multiple sclerosis (MS). Using a federated data research network (TriNetX), we performed a retrospective cohort study of hospitalized COVID-19 patients without MS who received IFN-α or -β treatment, comparing them to a similar cohort who did not receive treatment. Following propensity score-matched analyses, we demonstrate that hospitalized COVID-19 patients who were treated with IFN-α or -β had significantly higher odds of death. In contrast, there was no significant difference in any other outcomes between 1-30 days or 1 day to anytime afterward. Overall, hospitalized COVID-19 patients without MS who were treated with IFN-α or -β had similar short- and long-term sequelae (except for mortality) as those who did not receive treatment. The potential benefits of utilizing IFN-α or -β treatment as therapeutics remain to be realized, and our research highlights the need to explore repurposing drugs for COVID-19 using real-world evidence.

This comprehensive review explores the multifaceted landscape of supercapacitors, highlighting their pivotal role in meeting the global demand for efficient energy storage solutions. Supercapacitors, with their high power density, rapid charge-discharge cycles, and extended cycle life, offer a compelling alternative to conventional batteries and capacitors. The review delves into the fundamental mechanisms of energy storage in supercapacitors, categorizing them into Electrochemical Double-Layer Capacitors (EDLCs), pseudocapacitors, and hybrid capacitors. It discusses significant advancements in supercapacitor technology, including nanostructured materials, flexible and wearable supercapacitors, solid-state supercapacitors, and hybrid supercapacitors, highlighting their potential applications across industries such as transportation, renewable energy, consumer electronics, and industrial power management. Through continued research and development, supercapacitors are poised to play a pivotal role in driving the transition towards a greener and more efficient future.

The escalating global demand for clean water has propelled research into sustainable and cost-effective purification methods. Activated carbon (AC) derived from biowaste materials presents an environmentally friendly and economically viable solution for water treatment. This review article provides an extensive overview of the synthesis techniques, characterization methods, and applications of biowaste activated carbon (BAC) for water purification. It discusses the diverse sources of biowaste, such as agricultural residues, food waste, and biomass, and explores various activation methods including physical, chemical, and biological processes. Furthermore, the article examines the adsorption mechanisms, performance factors, regeneration strategies, and emerging trends in BAC synthesis and application. Insights from this review can guide future research endeavors and facilitate the development of sustainable water purification technologies.

Blisks subjected to rough machining for channel creation must undergo finishing processes, and such processes must achieve the required tolerance limits. A high-quality surface finish and predictable long tool life are critical for the finish milling of blisks. Accordingly, the aim of this study was to optimize parameters for the finish machining of an Inconel 718 alloy monolithic blisk. Ball-cone mills were used to machine the blade surface at a constant depth. A sensory tool holder was used to collect cutting force signals during machining, and a digital microscope was used to examine tool wear. The surface texture measuring instrument was used to measure blisk blade surface roughness to evaluate processing quality. This study manipulated two cutting parameters, namely cutting speed and feed per tooth, and investigated their effects. The relationship between cutting conditions and machining efficiency was analyzed. According to the experimental results, we identified a set of optimal parameters for marginal tool wear and fast cutting speeds and then estimated the corresponding tool life by using the derived parameters.

Background and Aims: Obesity is a pervasive health issue in children. It affects multiple systems in the body including the gastrointestinal tract. Research on obesity-related gastrointestinal diseases has focused mostly on hepatobiliary disorders. However, non-hepatic gastrointestinal diseases such as gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, and functional abdominal pain, though common and debilitating, have not been highlighted in the context of obesity. These entities can downgrade the already compromised lifestyle of obese children. Some of these disorders are more difficult to treat in these children compared to their peers with normal body mass index. Method: We reviewed the available literature on the association between obesity and these three common gastrointestinal disorders. Results: - There appears to be a strong correlation between childhood obesity and constipation and gastroesophageal reflux, and a probable correlation with functional abdominal pain. Conclusion: We suggest that given the available literature, weight management should be an integral part of the management of gastroesophageal reflux, constipation, and functional abdominal pain in obese children. This gains relevance especially because of the recent availability of medications for the treatment of obesity in children.

Three-dimensional (3D) printing technology, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), has emerged as an attractive state-of-the-art tool for precisely fabricating functional materials with complex geometries, championing several advancements in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and therapeutics. However, this technology has an untapped potential for biotechnological applications, such as sensor and biosensor development. By exploring these avenues, the scope of 3D printing technology can be expanded and pave the way for groundbreaking innovations in the biotechnology field. Indeed, new printing materials and printers would offer new possibilities for seamlessly incorporating biological functionalities within the growing 3D scaffolds. Herein, we review the extrusion-based 3D printing modalities emphasizing biosensor applications. We highlighted the application of natural, synthetic, and composite biomaterials as 3D-printed soft hydrogels. Emphasis was placed on the approach by which the sensing molecules were introduced during the fabrication process. Finally, the future perspective was provided.

In this paper, we propose an imagined speech-based brain wave pattern recognition using deep learning. Multiple features were extracted concurrently from eight-channel Electroencephalography (EEG) signals. To obtain classifiable EEG data with fewer number of sensors, we placed the EEG sensors on carefully selected spots on the scalp. To decrease the dimensions and complexity of the EEG dataset and to avoid overfitting during the deep learning algorithm, we utilized the wavelet scattering transformation. A low-cost 8-channel EEG headset was used with MATLAB 2023a to acquire the EEG data. The Long-Short Term Memory Recurrent Neural Network (LSTM-RNN) was used to decode the identified EEG signals into four audio commands: Up, Down, Left, and Right. Wavelet scattering transformation was applied to extract the most stable features by passing the EEG dataset through a series of filtration processes. Filtration has been implemented for each individual command in the EEG datasets. The proposed imagined speech-based brain wave pattern recognition approach achieved a 92.50% overall classification accuracy. This accuracy is promising for designing a trustworthy imagined speech-based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) future real-time systems. For better evaluation of the classification performance, other metrics were considered, and we obtained 92.74%, 92.50% and 92.62% for precision, recall, and F1-score, respectively.

Urinary infections are very prevalent in pregnant women and are a cause for great concern con-sidering the negative impacts they can have on both, the mother and the baby. The objectives were characterize urinary infections associated with pregnant women, study the most prevalent strains in urinary infections in pregnant women and analyze the antibiogram of the most prevalent strains in infections in pregnant women. A retrospective observational study was carried out on all posi-tive urine cultures from pregnant women between January 2018 and December 2022 at a Hospital Center in the Center of Portugal, totaling 201 samples. Data were collected with computer support, including age, origin, previous antibiotic therapy, catheterization, isolated bacteria and tested an-tibiotic therapy. The majority of pregnant women were in the third trimester of pregnancy and came from the External Consultation. The most identified bacteria was Escherichia coli, followed by Streptococcus agalactiae. Regarding the interaction with antibiotics, Escherichia coli showed total sensitivity to one antibiotic, while Streptococcus agalactiae showed sensitivity to four anti-biotics in 2022. This work contributes to the knowledge of urinary infections in pregnant women in the center of the country, being a contribution to the continued improvement of the care provided

Utilizing deep learning for semantic segmentation of cropland from remote sensing imagery has become a crucial technique in land surveys. Cropland illustrates diverse morphologies and degrees of fragmentation on the Earth’s surface, underscoring the importance of accurately perceiving the complex boundaries of cropland which are crucial for effective segmentation. This paper introduces a UNet-like boundary-aware compensation model BAFormer. Cropland boundaries typically exhibit rapid transformations in pixel values and texture features, often appearing as high-frequency features in remote-sensing images. To enhance the recognition of these high-frequency features as represented by cropland boundaries, the proposed BAFormer integrates a Feature Adaptive Mixer (FAM) and develops a Deep Wide Large Kernel Multi-Layer Perceptron (DWLK-MLP) to enrich the global and local cropland boundaries features separately. Specifically, FAM adaptively mixes high-frequency and low-frequency features through the advantages of convolution and self-attention; DWLK-MLP expands the convolutional receptive field by deeply decomposing large kernel convolutions. The efficacy of BAFormer has been evaluated on the Vaihingen, Potsdam, and LoveDA public datasets, as well as the Mapcup dataset. It has demonstrated advanced performance, achieving mIoU scores of 84.5%, 87.3%, 53.5%, and 83.1% on these datasets respectively. Notably, BAFormer-T, the lightweight iteration of the model, surpasses other lightweight models on the Vaihingen dataset with scores of 91.3% F1 and 84.1% mIoU. The source code is available at https://github.com/WangYouM1999/BAFormer.

Background: Online survey-based observational cross-sectional study aimed at elucidating experience and attitudes of unstructured population regarding diagnostic imaging. Methods: Invitations to participate were distributed using mixed-mode design to deidentified residents aged 18 years and older. Main outcome measures included morbidity structure and incidence of diagnostic imaging administrations. Results: Respondents (n = 1069) aged 44.3 ± 14.4 years; 32.8% suffered from cardiovascular diseases (CVD); 9.5% had chronic respiratory pathology; 28.9% considered themselves healthy. Respondents with COVID-19 history (49.7%) reported higher rates of computed tomography (CT) (p < .0001), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) (p < .001), and ultrasound (p < .05). COVID-19 history in CVD respondents shifted imaging administrations towards CT and MRI (p < .05). Every tenth respondent received MRI, CT, and ultrasound on paid basis; 29.0% could not pay for diagnostic procedures; 13.1% reported unavailable MRI. Professional status significantly affected the pattern of diagnostic modalities (p < .05). MRI and CT availability differed between respondents in urban and rural areas (p < .0001). History of technogenic events predisposed responders to overestimate diagnostic value of fluorography (p < .05). Conclusions: Preparedness to future pandemics requires development of community-based outreach programs focusing on people's awareness regarding medical imaging safety and diagnostic value.

The role of inflammation in the pathophysiology of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is well established. Recognizing inflammation's pivotal role in AMI, this manuscript systematically traces historical studies, spanning from early attempts to the present landscape. Several anti-inflammatory trials targeting inflammation in post-AMI have been performed. The review includes key trials, examining their designs, patient demographics, and primary outcomes. Efficacy and challenges are analyzed, shedding light on the translational implications of trial outcomes. The article also discusses emerging trends, ongoing research, and potential future directions in the field. Practical applications and implications for clinical practice are considered, providing a holistic view of the evolving landscape of anti-inflammatory interventions in the context of AMI.

Due to the difficult metallurgical conditions during production, advanced processing techniques are required to produce functionally graded metal matrix composites. In this study, we explored a novel approach by using a combination of two different methods to produce Functionally Graded 7075 Al / SiCp composites. First process was direct semi-solid stirring that was used to prevent particle agglomeration, brittle reaction products, floating or settling of the reinforcements and poor wettability for the production of SiCp (wt. 5-20%) reinforced aluminum matrix composites. In the direct semi-solid mixing process, the matrix material remains in a semi-solid state until the reinforcement addition process is completed. The second novel process was sequential squeeze casting to provide liquid diffusion between two composite layers that were used to produce functionally graded aluminum matrix composite. The microstructure and interlayer zones were characterized by using optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The resulting functionally graded material was subjected to spectrometer analyses, density measurements, and metallographic examinations in order to determine the characteristics of its layers and interfacial zones, as well as to assess the formation of the graded structure. The results obtained from this research provide the potential to use this new combined manufacturing method, which is relatively inexpensive, efficient and easily applicable, in order to produce functionally graded SiCp reinforced aluminum composites.

The International Roughness Index (IRI) is the standard scale for evaluating road roughness in many countries in the world. The Taipei City government actively promotes a Road Smoothing Project and plans to complete the rehabilitation of the main and minor roads within its jurisdiction. This study aims to detect the road surface roughness in Taipei City and recommend appropriate IRI thresholds for road rehabilitation. A total of 171 asphalt concrete pavement sections in Taipei City with a total length of 803.49 km were analyzed and compared by IRI. The longitudinal profile of the detected road sections was measured using an inertial profiler. The statistical analysis showed that the IRI value prior to road leveling was mainly distributed between 5 and 8 m/km, while the IRI value after road leveling was mainly distributed between 3 and 4.5 m/km. This confirms that the implementation of the Road Smoothing Project has a significant effect on improving road smoothness. Moreover, based on the analysis results, it is recommended that the IRI threshold value for road rehabilitation in Taipei City be set at 4.50 m/km.

As environmental and health concerns increase, the trend of sustainable agriculture moves toward using biological agents. About 60% of all biological fungicides have Trichoderma species as the active ingredient, with T. harzianum as the most common species in these products. However, the name T. harzianum has often been incorrectly used in culture collections, databases, and the scientific literature due to the division of the Harzianum Complex Clade (HCC) into more than 95 cryptic species with only one being named T. harzianum. In this study, strains previously identified as T. harzianum in three surveys of Trichoderma species from soils in South and Central America were reanalyzed using phylogeny based on tef1α, rpb2, and ITS loci and combined with the corresponding species in two other studies, where the species were correctly identified. Based on the results of the five surveys, T. afroharzianum, T. lentiforme, T. endophyticum followed by T. azedevio and T. harzianum were found to be the dominant species of the HCC in South and Central America. This is the first report of identifying dominant Trichoderma species within the HCC in South and Central American soil based on multiple studies, which will be useful in selecting strains within the complex clade for formulation of biocontrol and biofertilizer products in the continent.

Environmental arsenic exposure is closely related to nerve damage, and chronic arsenic exposure will cause neurotoxicity and damage the nervous system. Recent research suggests miR-27a-3p is required for the progression of certain neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disorders. Nonetheless, the precise impact of miR-27a-3p on neuron functioning in the hippocampus remains unclear. In this investigation, models were established using arsenite-treated cells and mice to investigate this aspect. After male C57BL/6J mice were exposed to arsenite (0, 0.5, 5 or 50ppm) in drinking water for 48 weeks, Nissl staining, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, and Hematoxylin-Eosin (H&E) stainingrevealed an arsenite-induced neuronal injury and apoptosis. For 6 μmol/L arsenite-treated HT22 cells, arsenite decreases miR-27a-3p levels and activated the FTO/DRP1 pathway. For arsenite-treated HT222 cells, the increases of FTO and DRP1 and p-DRP1 (Ser616) levels induced by arsenite were reversed by miR-27a-3p mimic.Furthermore, the increases of neuronal apoptosis and pro-apoptotic protein (Bax and Cleaved-caspase 3) levels as well as decreased levels of anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2 induced by arsenite were reversed by miR-27a-3p mimic in HT22 cells. Moreover,the decreases of MMP induced by arsenitewas reversed by miR-27a-3p mimic. Overall, in HT22 cells exposed to arsenite, miR-27a-3p mitigates neuronal apoptosis, suggesting its potential utility in addressing arsenite accumulation and associated with brain pathologies. Dysregulated expression patterns of miRNAs in the hippocampus have emerged as pivotal elements in neuronal apoptosis linked to neurological dysfunction, with miR-27a-3p specifically implicated in apoptotic pathways.

This article aims to determine the different factors that are associated with anxiety symptoms among Filipino farmers in Central Luzon. Eligible participants were screened for anxiety symptoms using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), while the Data Collection Tool for Factors Associated with Anxiety Symptoms (DCFAAS) was constructed and validated to determine the exposure of these factors. Among the 113 eligible farmers, only 19 (16.8%) experienced anxiety symptoms, with excessive worrying (39.8%) being the most frequent anxiety symptom. The mental health of Filipino farmers was significantly affected by the presence of physical illness (OR = 10.70 [1.367, 83.773]) and having relatives affecting work completion (OR = 6.45 [1.346, 30.896]). Therefore, policies must be focused on tackling these issues to address the mental health issues faced by farmers. The low prevalence of anxiety symptoms may stem from existing perceptions and barriers encountered in confiding psychological issues, and the Filipino’s religiosity and resiliency. Keywords: Farmers, Agriculture, Central Luzon, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, GAD-7

In this study, Cu2O nanoparticles were synthesized using the sol-gel technique and subsequently functionalized with extracts from plants of the Rauvolfioideae subfamily and citrus fruits. Com-prehensive characterization techniques, including UV-Vis spectroscopy, FT-IR, XRD, BET, SEM, and TEM, were employed to evaluate the structural and surface properties of the synthesized nanoparticles. The results demonstrated that both functionalized Cu2O nanoparticles exhibit mesoporous structures, as confirmed by nitrogen adsorption-desorption isotherms and pore size distribution analysis. The Green Extract functionalized nanoparticles displayed a more uniform pore size distribution compared to those functionalized with the Orange Extract. The study un-derscores the potential of these functionalized Cu2O nanoparticles for applications in drug de-livery, catalysis, and adsorption processes, highlighting the influence of the functionalization method on their textural properties and performance in antibacterial efficacy.

Okra, a widely grown vegetable in many regions, often suffers from freshness loss during transportation, causing significant waste. Factors like variety, environment, maturity, and handling affect its quality. Current methods for checking okra tenderness are slow and prone to mistakes, so we need a better, non-damaging method. This study aims to use a device on a robot arm to assess okra freshness and tenderness. We tested 120 okra pods, storing some in a cold chamber for 24 hours (considered tender) and others at room temperature for two days before moving them to a cold environment for five more days (considered not tender). We used a force sensor on a robot arm to measure okra hardness without damaging it, then did tenderness tests. We found that certain sensor data, like the first slope (S1) and the difference between the maximum value and the first overshoot (Os), were good predictors of tenderness, with an accuracy rate of nearly 80%. We also validated this non-damaging method with weight loss, compression, and puncture tests, achieving a 95.5% accuracy rate in distinguishing between tender and non-tender okra pods.

Background: Our previous study revealed that the addition of pentavalent cations, such as niobium (Nb), to zirconia stabilized with trivalent cations, such as yttrium (Y), increased fracture toughness. However, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) and opacity also increased undesirably. Thus, a novel surface treatment is required to enhance fracture toughness without changing the CTE and the translucency. Methods: The surfaces of pre-sintered 3-mol% yttria-stabilized tetragonal zirconia polycrystal (3Y-TZP) and 4.2-mol% yttria-stabilized partially stabilized zirconia (4.2Y-PSZ) were treated with an Nb sol solution containing Nb2O5 nanoparticles. After drying and final sintering, a surface layer with high Nb content formed to a depth of approximately 1 mm. Results: Nb was equivalent to that of the bulk uniformly containing 1 mol% Nb2O5. The tetragonality of tetragonal zirconia near the surface increased with the addition of Nb, leading to improve fracture toughness in the surface layer and enhancing the fracture toughness of the entire specimen. However, the CTE and the translucency remained unchanged. Conclusions: The addition of pentavalent cations such as Nb, confined to the surface vicinity, improved fracture toughness without affecting the CTE and the translucency. By selectively adding Nb to the surface of weak parts of zirconia prosthesis, the overall strength can be improved, making it possible to produce highly reliable dental restorations.

Celiac disease is a gluten-sensitive immune-mediated enteropathy of the small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed individuals. Abnormal immune response results in mucosal inflammation, villous atrophy, and crypt hyperplasia. This study was a proof-of-concept exercise that used a convolutional neural network to classify hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) histological images of celiac disease, normal small intestine control, and non-specified duodenal inflammation; 7294, 11,642, and 5966 images, respectively. The trained network classified celiac disease images with high performance (accuracy 99.7%, precision 99.6%, recall 99.3%, F1-score 99.5%, and specificity 99.8%). Interestingly, when the same network (already trained for the 3 class images), analyzed duodenal adenocarcinoma (3723 images), the new images were classified as duodenal inflammation in 63.65%, small intestine control in 34.73%, and celiac disease in 1.61% of the cases. Finally, when the network was retrained using the 4 histological subtypes of images, all performance parameters were above 99% for celiac disease. In conclusion, the convolutional neural network (CNN)-based deep neural system was able to classify medical histological images with high performance. Narrow artificial intelligence (AI) is designed to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, but it operates within limited constraints and is task specific.

Background and Aims Insulin resistance is pivotal in the pathogenesis of Metabolic Syndrome (MetS), which predisposes to both type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and premature atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD). The triglyceride-glucose index (Ty-G index), a validated measure of insulin resistance also predicts MetS, T2DM, severity of albuminuria and ASCVD. There is scantly data providing mechanistic insights into these sequalae. Accordingly, we investigated the relationship between the TyG index and biomarkers of inflammation, oxidative stress, free fatty acids (FFA) levels and adipokine dysregulation in a cohort comprising both controls and patients with nascent MetS. Patients and Methods Participants included 47 patients with MetS and 41 controls. Persons with diabetes, ASCVD, smoking and macro-inflammation were excluded. Fasting blood was obtained for both plasma and monocyte isolation. Results: Receiver operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that TyG index was an excellent predictor of MetS with an area under the curve of 0.87 and it correlated with both hepatic and adipose tissue insulin ressitance .Both serum FFA levels and non-HDL-cholesterol increased significantly over tertiles of TyG index. Based on TyG index tertiles and or correlations, C reactive protein, endotoxin, chemerin , interleukin-6 levels and monocyte toll-like receptor (TLR)- 4 and TLR-2 and their cellular signaling were significantly associated with TyG index . Conclusion: Increased non-HDL-C and most importantly a pro-inflammatory state evidenced by both circulating and cellular biomarkers could be advanced as potential mechanisms explaining the increased risk for T2DM and ASCVD.

In this paper, the optimal approximation algorithm is proposed to simplify non-linear functions and/or discrete data as piecewise polynomials by using the constrained least squares. In time-sensitive applications or in embedded systems with limited resources, the runtime of the approximate function is as crucial as its accuracy. The proposed algorithm search to find the Optimal Piecewise Polynomial (OPP) with minimum computational cost while ensuring the error below a specified threshold. This was accomplished by using smooth piecewise polynomials with optimal order and number of intervals. The computational cost only depends on polynomial complexity, i.e., the order and the number of intervals at runtime function call. For optimal approximation, computational costs for all the possible combinations of piecewise polynomials were calculated and tabulated as ascending order for the specific target CPU off-line. Each combination was optimized through constrained least squares and random selection method for given sample points. Afterward, whether the approximation error is below the predetermined value is examined. When the error is permissible, the combination is selected as the optimal approximation or the next combination was examined. To verify the performance, several representative functions were examined and analyzed.

With the Sendai Framework (2015-2030) and the Paris Agreement (2015), the UN has been promoting at a global level, the priority objectives to protect the life and well-being of people, these documents of global consensus have scheduled in several countries, an extensive list of actions of responsibilities and commitments to the environment, to address natural disasters among those of greatest impact earthquakes and floods and among earthquakes (seismic activity). The materialization of the disaster is a natural or human-induced event, it manifests itself in permanent changes in society and by its origin it is classified as natural, anthropogenic (anthropogenic) and mixed, creating a worldwide problematic situation of immediate reaction. The attention and alert in the scientific community have been adding efforts, but in a disorganized way, with limited human and material resources and with globalized strategies still to be improved. The literature review of disaster risk management due to seismic activity, from 2008 to 2023, allows us to have updated information to identify the factors and deepen them, with the understanding, comprehension, and multidisciplinary knowledge. The selected researches that mention the factors (elements) that influence risk management of natural disasters due to seismic activity (RMNDDSA) allow us to know the advances and spaces to approach them, which constitutes the motivation to study the twenty-four (24) factors present in this type of disasters. The selected research articles indicate important advances that associate disaster risk management (DRM) and communication technology (ICTs). The technological means mentioned are well received and accepted by society, capable of detecting and communicating in real time seismic activity worldwide, with the help of social mobile networks, technological platforms, Twitter, Facebook, and others.

This work introduces a neuromorphic sensor based on force-sensing resistors (FSR) and spiking neurons for robotic systems. The proposed sensor integrates the FSR in the schematic of spiking neuron in order to make the sensor to generate spikes with frequency that depends on the applied force. The performance of the proposed sensor is evaluated for the control of a SMA-actuated ro-botic finger by monitoring the force during steady state when the finger pushes on a tweezers. For comparison purposes, we performed similar evaluation when the SNN receives input from a widely used compression load cell (CLC). The results show that the proposed FSR based neuro-morphic sensor has very good sensitivity to low forces and the function between the spiking rate and the applied force is continuous with good variation range. However, when compared to the CLC, the proposed sensor has lower linearity of the response, but it benefits from two orders of magnitude lower power consumption. These aspects imply that the neuromorphic sensor based on FSR are useful for bioinspired control of humanoid robotics representing a low power and low cost alternative the widely used sensors.

Introduction: Accommodation is the ability of the eye to change its refractive power (by altering the curvature of the crystalline lens) with the aim of focusing on different distances. In modern times, close working distances require good accommodation to ensure quality work without vision problems. However, dysfunction in accommodation is not uncommon. Specifically, accommodation insufficiency is the most common dysfunction associated with accommodation that can be observed at any age. Accommodation insufficiency is characterized by the eye's inability to reach its maximum potential for accommodation (amplitude of accommodation) based on age, with many individuals experiencing deviations equal to or greater than 2 diopters (2D) from the theoretically normal range. Finally, measuring the amplitude of accommodation and near vision tests should be established in routine eye examinations, as life now involves a variety of different distances. Objective: To record the rates of accommodative insufficiency in young Caucasian adults. Methods: The method used was minus to blur, and the comparison charts were based on Donder's and Hofstetter's values. Depending on the result, they were categorized as "normal," which refers to deviations from zero to 1 diopter (1D) (due to the fact that minus lenses underestimate or are quite strict regarding the range of accommodation compared to other methods in free space (e.g., push-up); "borderline," which refers to deviations from 1.25D to 1.75D or 2D with at least one eye deviating by less than 1.75D; and "accommodation insufficiency," which refers to deviations greater than 2D from the expected values, as proposed in other studies. Results: The results show a significant percentage of accommodation insufficiency in these age groups, with the percentage exceeding 50%. Additionally, men had significantly lower rates of normal accommodation amplitude compared to women. Further research is needed to study the role of refractive errors in accommodation problems. Conclusions: In a broader context, accommodation insufficiency appears to be a significant issue in young age groups, and additional studies should be conducted to analyze the problem in depth and determine its prevalence. Furthermore, a universal system for measuring the range of accommodation should be established to obtain safer results. Additionally, it would be interesting to observe the role and contribution of the ciliary muscle in the accommodation process in young adults, as theoretically, the crystalline lens is almost transparent, the issue with adaptation primarily concerns the majority's inability of the ciliary muscle to function effectively.

The recent setbacks in the withdrawal and approval delays of antibody treatments of neurodegenerative disorders (NDs) can be attributed to their poor entry across the blood-brain barrier (BBB). While several invasive and noninvasive approaches can be used to make the BBB more permeable, their inconsistency makes them a poor choice; however, if an antibody is chemically modified to attach a transferrin molecule that enhances its permeation across the BBB, this could be the most practical and useful modification that can transform the science of ND treatment. Antibodies can be conjugated with transferrin in vitro, but preferably through mRNA, as we propose to convert current treatments to bring faster treatment options. The mRNA technology yields products at a meager cost, which is a consideration for the affordability of these drugs globally. This paper provides complete details with templates to convert the current medicines and those under development into mRNA delivery systems to ensure clinical success, avoiding the current failures in their efficacy, more specifically the products that have demonstrated efficacy but are being removed from the market.

The initiation reactions of DNA synthesis are central processes during human chromosomal DNA replication. They are separated into two main processes: the initiation events at replication origins, the start of the leading strand synthesis for each replicon, and the numerous initiation events taking place during lagging strand DNA synthesis. In addition, a third mechanism is the re-initiation of DNA synthesis after replication fork stalling, which takes place when DNA lesions hinder the progression of DNA synthesis. The initiation of leading strand synthesis at replication origin is regulated at multiple levels, from the origin recognition to the assembly and activation of replicative helicase, the Cdc45-MCM2-7-GINS (CMG) complex. In addition, the multiple interactions of the CMG complex with the eukaryotic replicative DNA polymerases such as DNA polymerase α-primase (Pol α), DNA polymerase δ and ε at replication forks play pivotal roles in the mechanism of initiation reactions including the initiation of signalling unperturbed and stalled replication forks, ‘replication stress’ events, via ATR (ATM-Rad 3-related protein kinase). All these processes are essential for the accurate transfer of the cells’ genetic information to their daughters. Failures and dysfunctions in these processes gives rise to genome instability followed by genetic diseases including cancer. Thus, in their review ‘Hallmarks of Cancer: New Dimensions‘ Hanahan and Weinberg (2022) called genome instability a fundamental function in the development process of cancer cells. In recent years, the understanding of the initiation processes and mechanisms of human DNA replication has made substantial progress at all levels which will be discussed in the review.

Understanding the relationship between urban morphology and sustainability can inform strategies for facing the contemporary challenges of cities since urban fabrics embed information regarding the performance of different urban systems and their spatial heterogeneity. This paper assesses the variability of urban sustainability indicators for urban fabric typologies in Cuenca, Ecuador. We assessed 30 sustainability indicators for each cell in a hexagonal regular grid covering the study area and explored their spatial patterns and relationships with urban fabric typologies through spatial and statistical analysis. Results show that indicators vary significantly among urban fabrics, while built environment indicators dominate overall sustainability levels. A marked spatial heterogeneity is revealed by high sustainability for inner-core areas but much lower sustainability for fringe expansion areas – although transition areas are also identified. Spatial clusters of urban fabrics are found to be homogeneous in terms of sustainability only for urban fabrics with high/low sustainability levels, while heterogenous for fabrics in the mid-range levels. The quantitative evidence on the relation between urban morphology and sustainability unveils otherwise hidden patterns, which can support and enhance evidence-based decision-making for urban planning. Open-source data and tools developed allow full replication for further research in similar urban areas.

Electronic cigarette (ecig) use in pregnancy is common, but potential effects on fetal development are largely unknown. The study goal was to examine the association between ecig exposure and fetal growth. Data were extracted from medical charts in this single site retrospective study. The sample, excluding those with known tobacco, alcohol, illicit drug, opioid, and benzodiazepine use, contained women who used ecigs throughout pregnancy and non-ecig user controls. Fetal size measurements from second and third trimester ultrasounds and at birth were expressed as percentiles for gestational age. Following adjustment for confounding factors, in the second trimester, only femur length was significant, with an adjusted deficit of 11.5 percentile points for ecig exposed compared to controls. By the third trimester, femur length difference was 28.5 points, with fetal weight difference also significant (17.2 points). At birth, all three size parameter differences between groups were significant. Significant size deficits were predicted by prenatal ecig exposure, becoming larger and impacting more parameters with increasing gestation. While additional study is warranted to confirm and expand upon these findings, this study adds to emerging data pointing to specific harms following ecig exposure in pregnancy, and suggests that ecigs may not be a “safer” alternative to combustible cigarette smoking in pregnancy.

Investigation into a modified deterministic rumour spread model using mathematical epidemiology approach as an extension of Daley and Kendall (D-K) model was carried out. It is proven that the spread of a rumour is fairly comparable to a contagious disease transmission, except that the spread depends solely on the fraction of individuals who are aware of the rumour at the early stage as well as the intrinsic rumour spread rate . Model simulation reveals a rumour diminishing strategy so far as is maintained.

Flow over a cluster of three equally spaced circular cylinders was studied by numerical simulation on base of the turbulent mode k-kl-ω for two incidence angles β=0° and 60°, at different Reynolds number,in this paper, flow interference pattern characteristics between cylinders, characteristics of force parameters and Strouhal number of each cylinder with different spacing ratios ranging from 1.5 to 4 at Re 8×104, 2×105and 2×106 had been obtained. At incidence angle β=0° and 60°, the wake was nearly symmetric if S/D≥2.0; at β=60°,S/D=1.5 and Re=2×105, the asymmetric periodic flow pattern occurred in the wake region which leaded to the significant effect on the surface mechanical parameters and Strouhal number which was found for the first time; the periodic flow regime of the wake region also occurred at S/D=1.35 and 1.5, without the same phenomenon at S/D=1.7 and 2.0; the phenomenon of periodic flow regime of the wake region was intrinsic and related to Reynolds number and space ratio. in addition, characteristics of force parameters of three cylinders mainly were affected by the interference between cylinders, at 1.5<S/D<4, which leaded to that the drag coefficient of three cylinders reduced with different Reynolds numbers. At incidence angle 60°, in subcritical and critical regime, the Strouhal numbers of the upstream cylinders were more than that of single cylinder, and with the enlargement of spacing ratio, the Strouhal number decreased; for the downstream cylinder , the Strouhal number is far less than that of single cylinder and with the enlargement of spacing ratio, the Strouhal number increases, which were another prominent flow inference influence. The results indicated the effect of flow interference between cylinders subjected to a cross flow over a cluster of three equally spaced cylinders on the flow pattern,surface mechanical parameters and Strouhal number.

The study of the human microbiome has been a hot topic during the last decades and more recently the skin microbiome has aroused great interest as well. So that, scientists have turned their attention to the role of the skin microbiome in skin health, and its relationship with different disorders as atopic dermatitis, psoriasis, acne, and rosacea, among others. Numerous studies and investigations have been performed to study the role of pre and probiotics as nutraceuticals in the treatment of skin diseases, with growing evidence along the last ten years. This review gathers information on the use of “nutribiotics” in skin care health, focus on the main dermatological diseases and other skin conditions. Clinical studies show that nutribiotics could be a new tool to improve skin health and pre, pro, syn, post and para-probiotics seem to be beneficial on several skin disorders, as well as repairing the skin barrier, or promoting wound healing. In conclusion, skin microbiome has emerged as a new field with high potential to develop disruptive solutions to manage skin health and disease. Future advances in this field may facilitate the treatment of skin dysbiosis being nutribiotics a suitable method for skin care.

This study evaluated the stability of the Poly-(sorbitol-co-citrate adipate) with potential applica-tion in the biomedical area. Thus, the physical, chemical and microbiological stability of this was investigated. First, the chemical stability in alkaline phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) was evaluated for 5 days. In aqueous solution, the copolymer acidified the medium indicating the presence of residual citric acid. In the moisture absorption test the results obtained followed the pH, reinforcing the presence of citric acid. In the evaluation of the antimicrobial activity the results indicate that the copolymer did not allow the growth of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as the only source of carbon. However, in the cell lysis phase and due to the restriction of access to nutrients in the culture medium, the copolymer showed a loss of mass due to its use by the microorganism. Thus, it presented biodegradability property under extreme conditions of cell culture.

Multi-microgrid has many new characteristics, such as bi-directional power flows, flexible operation modes and variable fault currents with different control strategy of inverter interfaced distributed generations (IIDGs). All these featuring aspects pose challenges to multi-microgrid protection. In this paper, current and voltage characteristics of different feeders are analyzed when fault occurs in different positions of multi-microgrid. Based on the voltage and current distribution characteristics of the line parameters, a new protection scheme for the internal fault of multi-microgrid is proposed, which takes the change of phase difference and amplitude of measured bus admittance as the criterion. This scheme with high sensitivity and reliability, has a simple principle and is easy to be adjusted. PSCAD/EMTDC is used in simulation analysis, and simulation results have verified the correctness and effectiveness of the protection scheme.

Aflatoxin contaminates foods including peanuts. Aflatoxin is a carcinogenic toxin mainly produced bty Aspergillus flavus. Other Aspergillus species that rarely produce aflatoxins are A. nomius and A. niger. Aflatoxin is associated with liver failure, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and death. Recent studies have shown that peanuts in Kenya are highly contaminated with aflatoxins but information gaps exist on the characterization of the Aspergillus species that produce aflatoxins in peanuts in Kenya. Therefore, this gap necessitated the determination of the Aspergillus species producing aflatoxins in peanuts from the main growing districts of Busia and Kisii Central districts. One hundred and two (102) peanuts samples were collected from farmers’ in each district Aspergillus species were isolated from the peanut samples by using the dilution plate technique on modified Rose Bengal agar. Phenotypical characterization of the identified Aspergillus section flavus isolates from the peanuts samples was determined using the procedure of Mellon and Cotty. This study identified five (5) Aspergillus species as contaminants in peanuts analyzed in this study. They were Aspergillus flavus L-strain, Aspergillus flavus S-strain, Aspergillus parasiticus, Aspergillus niger and Aspergillus tamari. Overall, the occurrence of Aspergillus flavus L- strain and A. flavus S- strain were significantly higher than other species identified (H = 15.55, df = 4, P = 0.004) in peanuts from the two districts. However, A. flavus S-strain was the most dominant species identified in the study with a mean occurrence of 45.1%. Aspergillus flavus L- strain was the most common isolate (58.8%) in peanuts from Busia district while A. flavus S- strain was the most common strain (60.2%) in peanuts from Kisii Central district. Overall, the occurrence of Aspergillus flavus L strain and A. flavus S strain were significantly higher than other species identified (H = 15.55, df = 4, P = 0.004) in peanuts from the two districts. However, A. flavus S-strain was the most dominant species (F=3.15, df =25, P=0.031) with an overall mean occurrence of 45.1%. The confirmation of occurrence of other species that produce toxins such as A. niger and A. tamarii which also produces cyclopiazonic acid suggests the need to screen peanuts for other carcinogenic mycotoxins.

In the present study, we derive a new B-spline technique namely trigonometric B-spline collocation algorithm to solve some initial boundary value problems for the nonlinear Klein-Gordon equation. In order to carry out the time integration with Crank-Nicolson implicit method, the order of the equation is reduced to give a coupled system of nonlinear partial differential equations. The collocation approximation based on trigonometric cubic B-splines for spatial discretization is followed by the linearization of the nonlinear term. The efficiency and accuracy of the present method are validated by measuring the error between the numerical and analytical solutions when exist. The conservation laws representing momentum and energy are also computed for all problems.

During the last 100 years the planet has increased its temperature rapidly, this climate change could bring catastrophic effects for organisms and natural systems. One of the most affected groups is the ectotherms, due to their direct dependence on the environmental temperature. In recent years several studies analyse the effects of temperature and the thermal tolerance on several species of ectotherms. However, there are species whose thermal tolerances are still unknown. Such is the case of critically endangered species the Montseny Brook Newt (Calotriton arnoldi), endemic from the Montseny massif in Spain and whose thermal biology is unknown. Its critical situation makes essential to know its tolerance to cooling, warming and thermopreferendum in water environment where the newt lives. Three experimental procedures were conducted from the western and eastern subpopulations of C. arnoldi considering four classes separately (males, females, juveniles and larvae). The results obtained showed that the CTmax of the species exceeded 31°C, with a significant difference between the two populations. We found that the species tolerates well low temperatures (<1°C), because of the genera Calotriton is adapted to lives in cold waters with temperatures below 15º. Although the thermopreference of the species was expected to trend to cold temperatures, some individuals chose relatively high temperatures, obtaining a range of 11.7°C to 21.6°C. The results presented in this study are an advance in the knowledge of the thermal physiology of this species and support the importance of the temperature of the torrent on its survival. Knowing their thermal limits and their preferred temperature range will help to propose management measures that promote the conservation of streams and its riparian forest cover to mitigate the temperature increase due to climate change.

Background: the study aimed at comparing the prognostic importance of Heart Rate (HR) and of QT corrected (QTc) according to Fridericia, Framingham and Bazett methods, in a large non-selected population. Methods: the analysis of digital Electrocardiograms archived from 2008 to 2022 in the metropolitan area of Modena, Italy, was made. The population under study was divided into three age-groups and survival analysis was performed. Results: 131.627 patients were enrolled and during the follow-up (mean 1641.4 days), all-cause mortality was 8.9%. Both HR and QTc were associated with mortality. All-cause mortality significantly increased from HR values greater than 81 BPM and from QTc values greater than 440 msec in young subjects and 455 msec in old subjects (values of the 75th percentiles/optimal operating point). Cox analysis confirmed the better prognostic value of Bazett’s QTc and of HR in the whole population and in the three age-groups. Conclusion: Bazett’s method performed better than other methods but unexpectedly HR had the same or a better correlation with all-cause mortality. Since HR is simple and readily available, its evaluation should be improved. However, reference values for QTc and for HR are difficult to define causing many confounding factors and further population-study are required.

Capturing atmospheric CO2 and storing it in natural rock systems (i.e., alkaline earth silicate and hydroxide minerals) through carbonation reactions is a promising greenhouse gas mitigation research, and largely depends on the use of hydrated ultramafic rocks (serpentinites), which are widespread in orogenic belts around the globe. The Jurassic ophiolites in the Southern Apennines represent a natural analogue and a great opportunity for the mineralogical sequestration of CO2. Serpentinites of the Pollino ophiolite Massif have been widely studied for their mineralogical, petrographic, and chemical characteristics, providing major findings on their impact on environmental and human health issues. Serpentinites here have been divided into cataclastic and massive types based on their structures and are characterized by pseudomorphic and vein textures. The mineralogy of the studied serpentinites consists of lizardite, antigorite, clino-crysotile, Cr-chlorite, magnetite, tremolite, actinolite, pyroxene and calcite, and the most commonly occurring serpentine minerals are polymorphs of serpentine including lizardite, clino-crysotile and antigorite. Systematic petrographic and mineralogical studies of serpentinites in ophiolites, such as those outcropping in the Southern Apennines can represent a starting point for the study of natural materials, which can be used for CO2 storage and sequestration. A particular attention must be given to those carbonate phases, produced by carbonation processes to check whether the serpentinites of the Pollino Massif can be used for the induced mineral Carbon Capture Storage (CCS). If successful, this technique and the Pollino Massif serpentinites can become highly significant in safeguarding the health of our planet's climate.

Newcastle disease (ND) is a viral infection that affects domestic and wild type birds especially poultry and establishing serious economic costs for poultry industry. Newcastle disease virus’ (NDV) HN membrane receptor is attractive therapeutic candidate, contributes to pathogenicity with various functions such as fusion and prevent viral self-agglutination to permit viral spread. No validated HN inhibitor has been reported yet. However, the purpose of current study was to determine potential compounds via pharmacophore-based screening of natural molecules to inhibit HN receptor of NDV. Physicochemical characteristics and phylogenetic analysis were determined to elucidate structural information and phylogeny of target protein across different species as well as members of gene family. Fill missing residues of HN target protein and evaluated via PROCHECK and VERIFY 3D. We employed shape and feature-based pharmacophore model and screen natural compound’s library through numerous scoring schemes. Top 48 hits with 0.8860 pharmacophore fit score were subjected towards structure-based molecular docking. Top 9 compounds was observed witihin the range of -8.9 to -7.5 kcal/mol binding score. Five best-fitting compounds in complex with HN receptor were subjected to predict biological activity and ADMET analysis. Top two hits were selected for MD simulations to validate binding modes and structural stability. Upon scrutinization, A1 (ZINC05223166) emerges as potential HN inhibitor to treat ND, necessitating further validation via clinical trials.

The BRAFV600E mutation, found in approximately 50% of melanoma cases, is associated with aggressive tumor behavior and poor prognosis. This study aimed to assess its impact on immunogenic cell death (ICD), a pivotal cytotoxic process triggering anti-tumor immune responses. Through comprehensive in silico analysis of The Cancer Genome Atlas data, we explored the association between the BRAFV600E mutation, immune subtype dynamics, and tumor mutation burden (TMB). Our findings revealed that the mutation correlated with a lower TMB, indicating a reduced generation of immunogenic neoantigens. Investigation into immune subtypes reveals an exacerbation of immunosuppression mechanisms in BRAFV600E-mutated tumors. To assess the response to ICD inducers, including doxorubicin and Me-ALA-based photodynamic therapy (PDT), compared to the non-ICD inducer cisplatin, we used distinct melanoma cell lines with wild-type BRAF (SK-MEL-2) and BRAFV600E mutation (SK-MEL-28, A375). We demonstrated a differential response to PDT between the WT and BRAFV600E cell lines. Further transcriptomic analysis revealed upregulation of IFNAR1, IFNAR2, and CXCL10 genes associated with the BRAFV600E mutation, suggesting their involvement in ICD. Using a gene reporter assay, we showed that PDT robustly activated the IFN-1 pathway through cGAS-STING signaling. Collectively, our results underscore the complex interplay between the BRAFV600E mutation and immune responses, emphasizing a putative correlation between tumors carrying the mutation and their responsiveness to therapies inducing the IFN-1 pathway, such as the ICD inducer PDT, possibly mediated by the elevated expression of IFNAR1/2 receptors.

Abstract: Background: epileptic encephalopathies (EE) are characterized by severe drug-resistant seizures, early-onset, and unfavorable developmental outcome. We describe a cohort of pediatric patients with EE who underwent intravenous methylprednisolone (IVMP) pulse therapy to examine its efficacy/tolerability. Methods: This is a retrospective study from 2020 to 2023. Inclusion criteria were: ≤18 years at the time of IVMP pulse therapy and at least 6 months of follow-up. Efficacy and outcome, defined as seizure reduction >50% (responder rate), were evaluated at 6 and 9 months of therapy, and 6 months after therapy suspension; quality of Life (QoL) was also assessed. Variables predicting positive post-IVMP outcomes were identified using statistical analysis. Results: Twenty-one patients were included. The responding rate was 85.7% at 6 and 9 months of therapy, and 80.9% at 6 months after therapy suspension. Genetic etiology and encephalopathy related to status epilepticus during NREM sleep (ESES) were predictive of efficacy (p=0.0475). The fourth month of therapy was the minimum time point to establish the effectiveness of the treatment. All patients showed improvements in QoL, EEG tracing and postural-motor development. No relevant adverse events were observed. Conclusions: Our study confirms the efficacy and tolerability of pulse IVMP treatment in pediatric patients with EE, especially with genetic etiology and ESES. The fourth month of therapy was the minimum time point to establish its effectiveness. QoL, EEG and postural-motor development also showed improvement.

In this study, we examined the effects of the organizational power resources used by school principals on teachers' work alienation and trait anxiety levels. Then, we examined the mediating role of trait anxiety in the relationship between organizational power resources and work alienation. We used the correlational scanning model and mediation model in the research. The research sample consists of 400 teachers working in Turkish public schools. In our research, "Organizational Power Scale in Schools", "Work Alienation Scale" and "Trait Anxiety Scale" were used. As a result of the research, we found significant relationships between the variables. Accordingly, there is a positive relationship between trait anxiety and work alienation, a positive relationship between trait anxiety and coercive power and legal power, a negative relationship between trait anxiety and expert, charismatic and reward power, a positive relationship between work alienation and coercive power, and a positive relationship between work alienation and reward power. Negative relationships were observed between expertise and charismatic power. Finally, it was determined that trait anxiety had a mediating role in the relationship between the power resources used by school principals and the level of work alienation of teachers.

In this paper, we proposed a novel saddle type FinFET (S-FinFET) to effectively solve problems occurring under the capacitor node of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) cell and showed how its structure was superior to conventional S-FinFETs in terms of short channel effect (SCE), subthreshold slope (SS), and gate-induced drain leakage (GIDL). The proposed FinFET exhibited 4 times lower Ioff than modified S-FinFET called RFinFET with more improved DIBL characteristics while minimizing Ion reduction compared to RFinFET. Our results also confirmed that the proposed device showed improved DIBL and Ioff characteristics as gate channel length decreased.

Glioblastoma, a deadly brain tumor, shows limited response to standard therapies like te-mozolomide (TMZ). Recent findings from the REGOMA trial underscore a significant survival improvement offered by regorafenib (REGO) in recurrent glioblastoma. Our study aimed to propose a 3D ex vivo drug response precision medicine approach to investigate recurrent glio-blastoma sensitivity to REGO and elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms involved in tumor resistance or responsiveness to treatment. 3D glioblastoma organoids (GB-EXPs) obtained from 18 patients’ resected recurrent glioblastoma tumors were treated with TMZ and REGO. Drug responses were evaluated using NAD(P)H FLIM, stratifying tumors as responders (Resp) or non-responders (NR). Whole-exome sequencing was performed on 16 tissue samples, and whole-transcriptome analysis on 13 GB-EXPs treated and untreated. We found 35% (n=9) and 77% (n=20) of tumors responded to TMZ and REGO, respectively, with no instances of TMZ-Resp be-ing REGO-NR. Exome analysis revealed a unique mutational profile in REGO-Resp tumors compared to NR tumors. Transcriptome analysis identified distinct expression patterns in Resp and NR tumors, impacting Rho GTPase and NOTCH signaling, known to be involved in drug response. In conclusion, recurrent glioblastoma tumors were more responsive to REGO com-pared to TMZ treatment. Importantly, our approach enables a comprehensive longitudinal ex-ploration of the molecular changes induced by treatment, unveiling promising biomarkers in-dicative of drug response.