Imagination is more important than knowledge, but if intellect does not provide the needed logical structures, capacities for envisioning new possibilities are overly constrained. The sustainability problems we face today cannot be solved with the same kind of thinking that created them, but clarity on what counts as a new kind of thinking is sorely lacking. This article proposes methodical, model-based ways of heeding Bateson's warning about the negative consequences for the ecology of mind that follow from ignoring the contexts of relationships. Informed by S. L. Star's sense of boundary objects, a sequence of increasingly complex logical types distinguishes and interconnects qualitatively different kinds of thinking in ways that liberate imaginative new possibilities for life. The economy of thought instantiated at each level of complexity is only as meaningful, useful, beautiful, ethical, and efficient as the standards informing local adaptive improvisations. Standards mediating the general and specific, global and local, universally transcendent and embodied particulars enable meaningful negotiations, agreements, and communications. Attending to the differences between levels of discourse sets up new possibilities for creative and imaginative entrepreneurial approaches to viable, feasible, and desirable goals for measuring and managing sustainable development.

Smartphone has become one of the most revolutionary devices in the history of computing. With various kinds of applications, the scope of smartphone has been significantly broadened in the past few years including almost every aspect in our daily life. However, due to the limited on-board resources such as CPU, storage, network bandwidth and battery power, smartphones and the mobile network serving them bring new challenges that have not been encountered in the traditional computing and networking environments. This dissertation focuses on the research areas of improving the network architecture and enhancing the current applications on smartphones. It mainly investigates the areas in the following two directions for three representative categories of mobile services. - In the first direction, the dissertation aims to develop new communication models for smartphone Ad-Hoc networks to achieve efficient communication in the proximity. It is motivated by the fact that smartphone Ad-Hoc networks can help improve the current location-based services and propel new applications. Moreover, the new communication models provide complementary alternatives to the traditional infrastructure-based wireless networks. - In the second direction, the dissertation focuses on improving the other two categories of services, cloud storage services and real-time video streaming services for mobile devices. In the field of cloud storage, we introduce a cloud-assisted approach to provide a set of advanced file operations, such as encryption, decryption and compression, on smartphones. Furthermore, by utilizing the on-board Near Field Communication(NFC) module, we develop an algorithm to securely share the files between mobile devices. For the services of real-time video streaming, we propose approaches that identify a user’s status by analyzing the accelerometer data and then, dynamically adjust the buffer mechanism to save network bandwidth on smartphones.

Diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) is the most common non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), accounting for about 40% of all cases NHL. Analysis of the tumour microenvironment is an important aspect of the assessment of the progression of DLBCL. In this review article, we have analyzed the role of different cellular components of the tumour microenvironment, including mast cells, macrophages, lymphocytes, in tumour progression of DLBCL. We examined several approaches to confront the available pieces of evidence; three key points emerged. DLBCL is a disease of malignant B-cells spreading and accumulating both at nodal and in extranodal sites. Both in patients with nodal and extranodal lesions, the subsequent induction of a cancer-friendly environment appears pivotal. DLBCL cell interaction with mature stromal cells and vessels confers tumour protection and inhibition of immune response while delivering nutrients and oxygen supply. Single cells may also reside and survive in protected niches in the nodal and extranodal sites as a source for residual disease and relapse. This review aims to molecularly and functionally recapitulate the DLBCL-milieu crosstalk, to relate niche and pathological angiogenic constitution and interaction factors to DLBCL progression.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small and non-coding RNAs displaying aberrant expression in the tissue and plasma of cancer patients in comparison to healthy individuals. In past decades, accumulating data proposed that miRNAs could be diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers in cancer patients. It has been identified that miRNAs can act either as oncogenes through silencing of tumor inhibitors or tumor suppressor via targeting oncoproteins. MiR-144 is located in chromosomal region 17q11.2 that was widely destroyed in many types of cancers. Several studies revealed that miR-144 has different target genes including rapamycin, zonula occludens1, SFRP1, and ANO1. MiR-144 acts as a tumor suppressor or oncogene by targeting specific genes. In this review, we define the role of miR‐144 and its targets in different cancers and provide understanding in tumor proliferation, migration, and apoptosis.

The central mechanism of biological evolution, variation-selection-inheritance (VSI), is one of the most universal mechanisms known. Much of our understanding of VSI, however, has been dominated by the Neo-Darwinian Modern Synthesis with a rather narrow understanding of what constitutes variation, selection, and inheritance. This unduly narrow understanding of VSI might have been a key cause behind our failure to adequately explain some critical puzzles in biological evolution, from the origin of the first cell to the origin of the eukaryotes, the puzzling biology of metabolism, apoptosis, aging, and cancer in metazoan.I broaden our understanding of VSI, in a spirit that is somewhat similar to several recent contributions and then extend this broadened view of VSI to its natural starting point: the origin of the First Universal Cell Ancestor (FUCA). I advance three principal arguments. First, survival comes before replication. Before the coming of reproducer and replicator, there must be survivors, to paraphrase Szathmary and Maynard Smith (1997). Second, natural selection, especially the non-Darwinian kind, can operate without replication or even metabolism, as long as different molecules, complexes, and vesicles have differential survival rate within a system. Third, merger and acquisition, via breaking-and-re-encapsulation, endocytosis, endosymbiosis, and processes similar to them, had been a far more powerful force of variation and selection in the pre-Darwinian period of evolution that led to LUCA and long before eukaryogenesis. Endosymbiosis therefore had been a far more foundational force than even Lynn Margulis and many of her supporters have appreciated. Our thesis thus goes beyond Woese’s emphasis of horizontal gene transfer (HGT) and actually subsumes HGT with Margulis’ emphasis of endosymbiosis. Combing these three new perspectives with other perspectives and evidence sheds important new light upon the origin of FUCA, the singular water-shedding moment in the evolution of life.

Short chain quinones (SCQs) have been identified as potential drug candidates against mitochondrial dysfunction, which is largely dependent on their reversible redox characteristics of the active quinone core. We recently synthesized a SCQ library of > 148 naphthoquinone derivatives and identified 16 compounds with enhanced cytoprotection compared to the clinically used benzoquinone idebenone. One of the major drawbacks of idebenone is its high metabolic conversion in the liver, which significantly restricts is therapeutic activity. Therefore, this study assessed the metabolic stability of the 16 identified naphthoquinone derivatives 1-16 using hepatocarcinoma cells in combination with an optimized reverse-phase liquid chromatography (RP-LC) method. Most of the derivatives showed significantly better stability than idebenone over 6 hours (p < 0.001). By extending the side-chain of SCQs, increased stability for some compounds was observed. Metabolic conversion from the derivative 3 to 5 and reduced idebenone metabolism in the presence of 5 were also observed. These results highlight the therapeutic potential of naphthoquinone-based SCQs and provide essential insights for future drug design, prodrug therapy and polytherapy, respectively.

A rigorous model for the electron is presented by generalizing the Coulomb's Law or Gauss's Law of electrostatics, using a unified theory of electricity and gravity. The permittivity of the free-space is allowed to be variable, dependent on the energy density associated with the electric field at a given location, employing generalized concepts of gravity and mass/energy density. The electric field becomes a non-linear function of the source charge, where concept of the energy density needs to be properly defined. Stable solutions are derived for a spherically symmetric, surface-charge distribution of an elementary charge. This is implemented by assuming that the gravitational field and its equivalent permittivity function is proportional to the energy density, as a simple first-order approximation, with the constant of proportionality referred to as the Unifield Electro-Gravity (UEG) constant. The stable solution with the lowest mass/energy is assumed to represent a ``static'' electron without any spin. Further, assuming that the mass/energy of a static electron is half of the total mass/energy of an electron including its spin contribution, the required UEG constant is estimated. More fundamentally, the lowest stable mass of a static elementary charged particle, its associated classical radius, and the UEG constant are related to each other by a dimensionless constant, independent of any specific value of the charge or mass of the particle. This dimensionless constant is numerologically found to be closely related to the the fine structure constant. This possible origin of the fine structure constant is further strengthened by applying the proposed theory to successfully model the Casimir effect, from which approximately the same above relationship between the UEG constant, electron's mass and classical radius, and the fine structure constant, emerges.

This paper proposes a method of extracting energy from zero-point energy and evaluates the amount of energy gained. In addition, this electric circuit-based approach exhibits the Meissner effect, suggesting a new type of superconductivity that does not require refrigeration. The proposed method can provide extremely large amounts of energy, which is more than a conventional power station, without consuming fossil fuels or emitting radiation. Thus, it has the potential to solve the global energy problem. It involves preparing two electric loops containing diodes and connecting the loops together with current sources. The diodes are oriented in the same direction within each loop but in opposite directions in different loops. With this setup, the currents from the current sources build iteratively within the loops, resulting in large output currents. Our numerical analysis indicates that extremely large electric potentials are produced, which in turn yield large output currents. In addition, we confirm numerically that the voltage is zero around a loop and show analytically that the Meissner effect is present, proving the existence of a new type of superconductivity. Furthermore, when we introduce induction coils to not break the loop’s symmetry, they store extremely large amounts of energy and we can thus obtain energy from them via discharge currents.

Because Newton's gravitation and Einstein's general theory of relativity are macroscopic gravitational theories, lack of explanations for gravitation at the microscopic level. Therefore, this paper attempts to establish a set of micro-gravity theory, which is to explain the origin of Newtonian gravity and Einstein's general theory of relativity from the micro level. Based on the knowledge of Newton's gravitation and Einstein's general theory of relativity, the gravitational field is interpreted as a gradient field of space-time density; the Newtonian potential is interpreted as the density of an object at the micro level; gravity is interpreted as the potential pressure(space-time pressure) exhibited by the gradient of the density of the object at the micro level; flection space-time is interpreted as the presentation of the gradient distribution of density at the micro level. Based on the understanding of gravitation at the micro level, motion is interpreted as the embodiment of the change of space-time density. The motion of the object needs space-time density difference (potential difference) to maintain, thus a new equation of motion is obtained. Through this new equation of motion, It can explain the origin of inertia, the orbital motion of the stars, the rotation and the revolution.

In this article, authors introduce a new class of degenerate Hermite poly-Genocchi polynomials and give some identities of these polynomials related to the Stirling numbers of the second kind. Some implicit summation formulae and general symmetry identities are derived by using different analytical means and applying generating functions. These results extend some known summations and identities of degenerate Hermite poly-Bernoulli numbers and polynomials studied by Khan [8].

The efficiency of cold steel rolling depends mainly on the quality of the metal-working coolant (MWC) and its cost. In this connection, it is actual to search for new compositions of lubricants and emulsions, which provide the lowest values of the friction coefficients in deformation zone and are obtained by waste recycling in other industries. In this study we have developed new compositions of the MWC on basis of mono- and diglycerides and their esters of boric acid synthesized from the wastes of sunflower oil production. The new compositions of MWC were tested in DSEA on laboratory rolling mill 100x100 with a roll diameter of 100 mm. The efficiency of new MWC during cold rolling of brass L63 samples was determined by factor of metal stretch forming λ. We found the new metal-working coolants to show the most efficiency under higher cobbing that provides the highest metal stretch forming. The composition with 30 % of mono- and diglycerides is the most effective because it provides the minimum coefficient of friction that leads to increase of factor of metal stretch forming. Thereby the metal-working coolants on basis of mono- and diglycerides obtained from the wastes of sunflower oil production can be recommended for use in strip rolling of copper-zinc alloys because of a low cost, availability and high efficiency.

Recently, different extensions of the fractional derivative operator are found in many research papers. The main aim of this paper is to establish an extension of the extended Caputo fractional derivative operator. The extension of an extended fractional derivative of some elementary functions derives by considering an extension of beta function which includes the Mittag-Leffler function in the kernel. Further, an extended fractional derivative of some familiar special functions, the Mellin transforms of newly defined Caputo fractional derivative operator and the generating relations for extension of extended hypergeometric functions also presented in this study.

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.

This paper presents a new optical, multi-functional, high-resolution 3-axis sensor which serves to navigate and can, for example, replace standard joysticks in medical devices such as electric wheelchairs, surgical robots or medical diagnosis devices. A light source, e.g. a laser diode is affixed to a movable axis and projects a random geometric shape on an image sensor (CMOS or CCD). The software in the downstream microcontroller identifies the geometric shape’s center, distortion and size, then calculates X, Y, and Z coordinates. These coordinates can then be processed in attached devices. The 3-axis sensor is characterized by its very high resolution, precise reproducibility and plausibility of the coordinates produced. In addition, optical processing of the signal provides a high level of safety against electromagnetic and radio frequency interference. The sensor presented here is adaptive and can be adjusted to fit a user’s range of motion (stroke and force). This recommendation aims to optimize sensor systems such as joysticks in medical devices in terms of safety, ease of use, and adaptability.

Atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, is a chronic inflammatory disease, linked to a state oxidative stress, with several well-identified culprits, of which low-density-lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and lipoprotein(a). No specific treatment is currently available to lower lipoprotein(a). It is, therefore, of paramount importance to identify nutritional factors that could lower lipoprotein(a). Growing evidence shows that although reducing saturated fatty acid (SFA) intake decreases LDL-C, it could increase lipoprotein(a). Optimal dietary recommendations may therefore differ depending on an in-dividual’s baseline lipoprotein(a) and LDL-C levels. Assessing the diet-induced true LDL-C response and net balance of these two atherogenic entities is difficult because LDL-C measurement is confounded by lipoprotein(a) cholesterol content. We have estimated, for the first time, the net atherogenic result of diet-induced variations of both LDL-C and lipoprotein(a), thanks to our new concept of LDLapoB risk equivalent=apoB+lp(a)x5 (in nmol/L). This is illustrated, via the rare case of a physician with very high lipoprotein(a) and hypobetalipoproteinemia. She experiences twice a considerable lipoprotein(a) increase (+32%, + 28mg/dL, + 67nmol/L) and higher LDLapoB risk equivalent (138mg/dL versus 123mg/dL) on a mediterranean diet, low in SFA. A reasonable SFA intake, despite causing marginal LDL-C increase, may be advisable in patients with high lipoprotein(a) who need personalized dietary recommendations.

Vegetable oils contain fatty acids, phenolic compounds, natural antioxidants, and fat-soluble vitamins, which are beneficial against different diseases. Oil extraction methods can, however, affect their composition. This study aims to characterize the chemical composition of oils from two Andean seeds, cañihua (Chenopodium pallidicaule) and tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis), extracted with different organic solvents, petroleum ether, hexane, and ethanol. This study compares these oils with commercial sunflower, rapeseed, and olive oils. Results showed that oils extracted with hexane had the highest yield, while those extracted with ethanol had higher antioxidant activity and total phenolic compound content. Additionally, using ethanol makes the process more sustainable than non-green solvents. The composition of tarwi and cañahua oils extracted with ethanol includes fatty acids, tocopherols, antioxidants, and phenolic compounds associated with health benefits.

We describe a new approach for integrating multiple views of data into a common latent space using non-negative tensor factorization (NTF). This approach, which we refer to as the "Integrated Sources Model" (ISM), consists of two main steps: embedding and analysis. In the embedding step, each view is transformed into a matrix with common non-negative components. In the analysis step, the transformed views are combined into a tensor and decomposed using NTF. Noteworthy, ISM can be extended to process multi-view data sets with missing views. We illustrate the new approach using two examples: the UCI digit dataset and a public cell type gene signatures dataset, to show that multi-view clustering of digits or marker genes by their respective cell type is better achieved with ISM than with other latent space approaches. We also show how the non-negativity and sparsity of the ISM model components enable straightforward interpretations, in contrast to latent factors of mixed signs. Finally, we present potential applications to single-cell multi-omics and spatial mapping, including spatial imaging and spatial transcriptomics, and computational biology, which are currently under evaluation. ISM relies on state-of-the-art algorithms invoked via a simple workflow implemented in a Jupyter Python notebook.

Fourteen Russian potato cultivars (cvs.) grown for three years in field plots of VIR (Northwestern region of the Russian Federation) were evaluated for productivity and a number of biochemical parameters of tubers. The 12 parameters that have been evaluated in tubers annually one month after harvesting and after cold storage (at 2 - 4°C) include the content of dry matter, starch, protein, ascorbic acid, carotenoids and β-carotene, anthocyanins, total sugars and monosaccharides (reducing sugars), phenolic compounds, as well as total acidity, and antioxidant activity. The cultivars differed significantly in productivity and biochemical composition of tubers. Dry matter content ranged from 16.40% in cv. ʻKumachʼ to 27.28% in ʻNayadaʼ, starch content ranged from 8.96 % in cvs. ʻFioletovyjʼ, ʻKumachʼ to 20.08% in ‘Sokur’, the total sugar content reached 2.46% in cv. ʻSiverskij’ whereas ‘Sokur’ has the smallest content of reducing sugars in post-harvest tubers. Protein content ranged from 1.02% to 2.77% with the highest accumulation in cv. ʻSokurʼ. Content of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) ranged from 6.3 mg/100 g FW in ʻKrasa Meŝeryʼ to 26.6 mg/100 g FW in cv. ʻKrasavchikʼ. Carotenoids content ranged from 0.157 mg/100 g FW in cv. ‘Nayada’ to 0.645 mg/100 g FW in cv. ʻGrandʼ. Content of anthocyanins in potato ranged from 1.04 mg/100g FW (not colored tubers of cv. ʻKrasa Meŝeryʼ) to 283.04 mg/100g FW (colored tubers of cv. ʻFioletovyiʼ). The nutritional value of tubers (content of dry matter, sugars, starch and protein) was determined to a greater extent (38-49%) by varietal characteristics, rather than by meteorological conditions in vegetation period. The content of vitamin C, carotenoids, protein and anthocyanins varied depending on the year. The highest content of dry matter, starch and carotenoids was noted in tubers harvested in 2019, marked by low temperatures and precipitation deficit in growing season. The conditions of 2020 with low temperatures and excess precipitation were the most favorable for anthocyanin’s accumulation in potato tubers while not for other biochemical parameters. Of the cultivars, ʻSokurʼ had the highest content of dry matter, protein and starch. Cv. ʻFioletovyiʼ had small starch content and high level of anthocyanins. Cv. ʻPlamyaʼ can be recommended for potato products manufacturing due to dry matter content above 20% and reducing sugars content 0.24%..

Phenothiazine derivatives are widely studied in various fields such as biology, chemistry, and medicine research because of their pharmaceutical effects. The first reagent that was used suc-cessfully in the treatment of psychosis was a phenthiazine derivative, chlorpromazine. Apart from their activity in neurons, chlorpromazine have also been reported to display anticancer and antibacterial properties. In these studies, we present the synthesis and research on the activ-ity against A549, MDA, MiaPaCa, PC3 and HCT116 cancer cell lines and against S. aureus, S. epi-dermidis, E. coli and P. aeruginosa bacterial strains a series of new tetracyclic chlorpromazine ana-logues containing a quinoline scafford in their structure instead of the benzene ring and various substituents at the thiazine nitrogen. The structure of these novel molecules has been deter-mined by 1H NMR, 13C NMR and HRMS spectral techniques. The seven most active of the twen-ty-four new chlorpromazine analogues tested were selected for study of the mechanism of cyto-toxic action. Their ability to induce apoptosis or necrosis in cancer cells was assessed by flow cytometry analysis. The results obtained confirmed the proapoptotic activity of selected com-pounds, especially in terms of inducing late apoptosis or necrosis in cancer cell lines A549, Mi-aPaCa-2 and HCT-116. Furthermore, studies on the induction of cell cycle arrest suggest that the new chlorpromazine analogues exert antiproliferative effects by inducing cell cycle arrest in the S phase and, consequently, apoptosis.

A new approach was presented in this study to simulate a stable atom along with subatomic particles in it. Subatomic particles in an atom are treated as conventional particles, exhibiting attraction and repulsion between them, giving a stable atom simulation. This new approach leads to developing new potentials for subatomic particles to simulate a stable atom. Subatomic particle dynamics (SPD) simulations were developed for within-atom simulations that give a stable atom structure for infinite time and provide many insights into electron trajectories and atom properties like energies and radius of the atom. The effect of protons and neutrons movement in the nucleus on electron trajectories was captured in SPD. Hydrogen and Carbon atom SPD were reported in this study. The Pilot-wave theory was implemented in this study to simulate the wave nature of subatomic particles in an atom. Electrons motion was guided by the interference pattern produced by the electron’s aether medium waves in SPD. SPD was implemented on molecules, resulting in a stable molecular structure giving insights into electron trajectories shared by multiple atoms.

Brain-stimulation reward, also known as intracranial self-stimulation (ICSS), is a commonly used procedure for studying brain reward function and drug reward. In electrical ICSS, an electrode is surgically implanted into the medial forebrain bundle in the lateral hypothalamus or the ventral tegmental area in the midbrain. Operant lever responding leads to the delivery of electrical pulse stimulation. The alteration in the stimulation frequency-lever response curve is used to evaluate the impact of pharmacological agents on brain reward function. If a test drug induces a leftward or upward shift in the ICSS response curve, it implies a reward-enhancing or abuse-like effect. Conversely, if a drug causes a rightward or downward shift in the functional response curve, it suggests a reward-attenuating or aversive effect. A significant drawback of electrical ICSS is the lack of cellular selectivity in understanding the neural substrates underlying drug reward versus aversion. Excitingly, recent advancements in optical ICSS (oICSS) have facilitated the development of at least three cell type-specific oICSS models – dopamine-, glutamate-, and GABA-dependent oICSS. In these new models, a comparable frequency-rate response curve has been established and employed to study the substrate-specific mechanisms underlying brain reward function and a drug's rewarding versus aversive effects. In this review article, we summarize recent progress in this exciting research area. The findings in these new behavioral models have not only increased our understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying drug reward and addiction but have also introduced a novel experimental approach in preclinical medication development for treating substance use disorders.

Background: Laser therapies can cause hyper- and hypopigmentation of the skin. There is little evidence in the literature of effective treatments for these types of problems in Fitzpatrick IV-VI skin phototypes. The main aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate the effects of a new therapy combining the application of electromagnetic fields and vacuum on a subject with Fitzpatrick VI skin phototype, presenting an extensive, laser-induced facial dyschromia. The secondary aim is to test the effectiveness of a free imaging software for assessing skin pigmentation. Methods: The level of improvement after the therapy was evaluated, with a 5-point Likert scale, one month after the end of the treatment by both the subject, and the doctor who performed the treatment, and by two blinded dermatologists. With the free software, a three-dimensional reconstruction of the area treated and the evaluation of colour distribution were performed. Results: Both the subject and the doctors involved in the study positively evaluated the effects of the treatment. The image analysis highlighted the homogenization of the skin colour in the treated area. Conclusions: The combination of electromagnetic fields and vacuum for dyschromia treatments appears promising. The new method of assessing melanin levels resulted particularly efficient.

Hypertension (HTN) is the foremost contributor to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), which remain a leading cause of death. However, adherence to the properly prescribed dosage form is critical and challenging for patients with chronic diseases such as HTN to prevent illness progression and death. The study’s objective was to develop AMB-loaded subcutaneous implants to reduce the frequency of administration, thus improving patient compliance during HTN management. AMB subcutaneous implants were prepared using continuous hot melt extrusion technology using PCL and PLGA with dimensions of 7.5 cm (length) by 2 mm (diameter). The implants were characterized for thermal characteristics, drug-excipient incompatibilities, surface morphology, fracturability, in vitro release, and stability studies. DSC showed that the drug was in the crystalline state in the fabricated implants. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) revealed a smooth surface. The lead formulation presented good drug content, showed an extended drug release profile over 30 days, and followed zero-order release kinetics with a mean dissolution time of 15 days. The formulation was stable over 30 days in accelerated stability conditions (the last time point was tested, 40℃/75% RH), and the release profile was similar to the initial drug release profile. The lead formulation showed good fracturability during textural analysis. Therefore, the hot melt extruded implants could be an alternative management strategy for conventional amlodipine besylate (AMB) formulation.

Plant cells are omnipotent and breeding of new varieties can be achieved by protoplast fusion. Such fusions can be achieved by treatment with poly(ethylene glycol) or by applying an electric field. Microfluidic devices allow for controlled conditions and targeted manipulation of small batches of cells down to single cell analysis. To provide controlled conditions for protoplast fusions and achieve high reproducibility, we developed and characterized a microfluidic device to reliably trap few of Arabidopsis thaliana protoplasts and induced a cell fusion by controlled addition of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG, with a molecular weight of 6000). Experiments were conducted to determine the survival rate of isolated protoplasts in our microfluidic system. Afterwards, PEG induced fusion was studied. Our results indicate that the following fusion parameters had significant impact on the fusion efficiency and duration: PEG concentration, osmolarity of solution, and flow velocity. PEG concentration below 10% led to only partial fusion. Osmolarity of the PEG fusion solution was found to strongly impact the fusion process; complete fusion of two source cells sufficiently took part in slightly hyper osmotic solutions, whereas iso-osmotic solutions led to only partial fusion at 20% PEG concentration. We observed accelerated fusion for higher fluid velocities. Up to this study, it was common sense that fusion is one directional, i.e. once two cells were fused into one cell they stay fused. Here, we present for the first time reversible fusion of protoplasts. Our microfluidic device paves the way to a deeper understanding on the kinetics and processes of cell fusion.

An enormous interest in the development of efficient protocols for cellulose extraction has been demonstrated in the last years, however, they were usually based on non-sustainable chemical and thermal approaches. In this work we describe a new and more sustainable method for cellulose extraction from eucalyptus and pine tree wood waste products exclusively performed using microwave-assisted radiation. The methodology includes 3 main steps: i) alkaline treatment; ii) bleaching I, using H2O2; and iii) bleaching II, an acidic treatment. Samples obtained in each step were characterized by Fourier-transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The results were compared with those of starting materials, with the commercially available microcrystalline cellulose and with an industrial paper pulp. Results confirmed that for both type of wood wastes, cellulose was retained during the extractions procedures and that the removal of hemicellulose was achieved at the last step as seen by the FTIR spectra and TGA curves. The developed protocol is innovative since it constitutes an easy and quick approach to extract cellulose, from eucalyptus and pine tree wood waste using mild chemical and thermal conditions, microwave irradiation, and environmentally friendly purification steps. This approach offers the possibility of a future scale-up study to potentially apply the develop protocol to the extraction of cellulose in an industrial scale.

Mathematics first is a logical system. But, the Mathematics Crisis showed that we cannot have a logical self-consistent mathematics system. Physics is a kind of applied science. It first need be valid to invent new production and understand new observation. In one theory of physics, the studied object is usually defined as an abstract concept. For example, the Sun is defined as a point particle in the Newtonian theory of gravity. In different theories of physics, the abstract concept for a same object is different. It determines that logical self-consistent is not needed for different theories of physics. Physics only can be developed from observation and experiment. But, in the past a century, physicists’ main attempt is to have a standard model, such as the Grand Unification or the Theory for Everything, from mathematics derivation. Therefore, the current attempt to develop new physics is questioned. In recent, the strong gravitational field was studied. It is found that the fundamental physical constants which are measured in the weak field shall be varied in a super strong field. For the two reasons, modern physics need be advanced greatly.

Many of the current strategies for removing pollutants from water are based on nanomaterials and 18nanotechnology. Lower values of Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and Chemical Oxygen De- 19 mand (COD) in water results in reduction in the amount of oxidizable pollutants. We present a study 20 on the reduction of COD and BOD5in water from Wadi El Bey River (Tunisia), using magnetite na- 21 noparticles (MNPs) and magnetic fields. The COD and BOD5 removal reached values higher than 22 50% after 60 min, with optimum efficiency at pH values of ≈8 and for MNPs concentrations of 1 g/L. 23 The use of a permanent magnetic field (0.33 T) showed an increase of COD and BOD5 removal from 2461% to 76% and from 63% to 78%, respectively. This enhancement is discussed in terms of the MNPs 25coagulation induced by the magnetic field and the adsorption of ionic species onto the MNPs sur- 26face due to Fe3O4 affinity.

This study aimed to identify sociodemographic and health indicators of diet quality in pre-frail community-dwelling older adults. Pre-frail older adults are those at risk of progression to clinical manifestations of frailty and are targets for preventative intervention. We previously reported that pre-frail older adults have reasonably good overall diet quality. However, further analyses found low intake of energy, protein and several micronutrients. Methods: We collected detailed dietary intake from pre-frail (FRAIL scale 1-2) older adults using NZ Intake24, an online version of 24-hour multiple pass dietary recall. Diet quality was ascertained with the Diet Quality Index-International (DQI-I). We used regression Generalised Linear Models to determine predictors of diet quality and Classification and Regression Tree (CART) analysis to examine the complex relationships of predictors and identified profiles of sub-groups of older adults that predict diet quality. Results. The median age in this sample (n=468) was 80.0 years (77.0-84.0). Living with others, high deprivation index and a higher BMI were independent predictors of poorer diet quality. With CART analysis, we found that those with a BMI &gt;29 kg/m2, living with others and younger than 80 years were likely to have a lower diet quality. Conclusions: We found BMI, living arrangement and socioeconomic status were independent predictors of diet quality in pre-frail older adults, with BMI being the most important variable in this sample when the interacting relationships of these variables were considered. Future research is needed to determine the similarities and/or differences in the profile of subgroups of older adults with poorer diet quality.

Evaporating liquid sessile drop deposited on horizontal surface is an important object of applications (printing technologies, electronics, sensorics, medical diagnostics, hydrophobic coatings, etc.) and theoretical investigations (microfluidics, self-assembly of nanoparticle, crystallization of the solute, etc.). The arsenal of formulas for calculating the slow evaporation of an axisymmetric drop of capillary dimensions deposited on a flat solid surface is reviewed. Such characteristics as vapor density, evaporation flux density, total evaporation rate are considered. Exact solutions obtained in the framework of the Maxwellian model, in which the evaporation process of the drop is limited by vapor diffusion from the drop surface to the surrounding air, are presented. The summary covers both well-known results obtained during the last decades and new results published by us in the last few years, but practically unknown to the wide scientific community. The newest formulas, not yet published in refereed publications, concerning exact solutions for a number of specific contact angles are also presented. In addition, new approximate solutions are presented for the first time (total evaporation rate and mass loss per unit surface area per unit time in the whole range of contact angles ), which can be used in modeling without requiring significant computational resources.

It is important for food recognition to separate each ingredient within a food image at the pixel level. In this paper, we propose a new approach to segment ingredients by utilizing a CNN-based Single-Ingredient Classification Model. In detail, we firstly introduce a standardized biological-based hierarchical ingredient structure and construct a single-ingredient image dataset based on this structure. Then, we build a single-ingredient classification model based on a novel convolutional neural network (CNN) architecture that utilizes an attention mechanism. Afterwards, we propose a new framework for segmentation using the above single-ingredient classification model as the backbone. In this framework, two methods are involved in segmenting ingredients in the food images. We introduce five evaluation metrics (IoU, Dice, Purity, Entirety, Loss of GTs) to assess the performance of ingredient segmentation in terms of ingredient classification. Extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method, achieving an maximal mIoU of 0.65, mDice of 0.77, mPurity of 0.83, mEntirety of 0.80, and mLoGTs of 0.06 on the FoodSeg103 dataset. The results confirm that our CNN-based architecture achieves higher segmentation performance compared to ResNet18 and EfficientNet-B0 when used as the backbone for ingredient segmentation. We believe that our ingredient segmentation approach lays the foundation for subsequent ingredient recognition.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a crucial tool in cognitive neuroscience, enabling the study of neurophysiological function by measuring the brain's electrical activity. Its applications are included perception, learning, memory, language, decision-making and neural network mapping. Recently, interest has surged in extending EEG measurements to domestic environments. However, the high costs associated with traditional laboratory EEG systems have hindered accessibility for many individuals and researchers in education, research, and medicine. To tackle this, a mobile-EEG device named "DreamMachine” was developed. A more affordable alternative to both lab-based EEG systems and existing mobile-EEG devices. This system boasts 24-channels, 24-bit resolution, up to 6 hours of battery life, portability and a low price. Our open-source and open-hardware approach empowers cognitive neuroscience, especially in education, learning, and research, opening doors to more accessibility. This paper introduces the DreamMachine's design and compares it with the lab-based EEG system "asalabTM" in an eyes-open and eyes-closed experiment. The Alpha band exhibited higher power in the power spectrum during eyes-closed conditions, whereas the eyes-open condition showed increased power specifically within the Delta frequency range. Our analysis confirms that the DreamMachine accurately records brain activity, meeting the necessary standards when compared to the asalabTM system.

Limited availability of expensive alloying elements elevates low-alloyed steels to a unique position in the field of lightweight construction and mass production. Quenching and partitioning (Q&P) heat treatments of low-alloyed steels with exceptional property combinations are particularly promising. In this study, we characterize for the first time a new low-alloyed steel to be processed by Q&P heat treatments. In combined experimental and numerical studies, we design a novel approach that effectively combines the short cycle times of press hardening with the excellent property profiles of Q&P-treated steels. We identify appropriate transformation parameters for Q&P heat treatments by dilatometric studies and we adjust a number of reference conditions with different isothermal holding times. By means of SEM analysis and XRD measurements, we show that different fractions of retained austenite result in different mechanical properties. Initial numerical designs of the process can identify varying temperature profiles and cooling rates depending on the position in the die. The results show that the geometry of the part plays a minor role, but the die temperature is the dominant factor for successful partitioning directly in the press hardening process.

In this study, we introduce a new class of bi-univalent functions using q-Janowski Function. We derive the Fekete-Szegö functional problems for functions in this new subclass, as well as estimates for the Taylor-Maclaurin coefficients |α2| and |α3|. Furthermore, a collection of fresh outcomes are3 presented by customizing the parameters employed in our initial discoveries.

The location of Israel at the junction of three continents leads to a unique faunal combination of Palearctic and Afrotropic zoogeographic origins. Following systematic revisions over the past sixty years and the discovery of new species, the only available key to the pseudoscorpions (Arachnida: Pseudoscorpiones) of Israel (Beier 1963) has become outdated. We provide here an up-to-date checklist of the pseudoscorpion species of Israel including distribution maps, and the first illustrated identification key of the Israeli fauna based on morphological characters. Prior to our study this fauna comprised twelve families, 26 genera and 52 morphospecies, including several “subspecies”. We increase this number and list 61 pseudoscorpion morphospecies that belong to 28 genera and fourteen families. Most species are Palearctic and Mediterranean, and only a few are Afrotropic. Two families new to Israel are reported here for the first time: Syarinidae and Cheiridiidae. Both families are cosmopolitan and have representatives in the Mediterranean region. The putative new species are presented here at a genus level and will be described separately elsewhere.

The diffusion of New Ways of Working (NWW) is an important trend in contemporary organi-zations. Many related empirical studies have been produced, but none have focused on differences in employees’ perceptions of the opportunity to use NWW according to organization sector (pri-vate, semi-public, public). This study, based on neoinstituionalism and HR attributions theory, investigated these differences via a survey (n=2693) of employees at private (n=358), semi-public (n=204), and public (n=2131) organizations. The results show that public employees reported less opportunity to use NWW than their private and semi-public counterparts. Furthermore, private sector employees were more likely to attribute well-being and productivity benefits to NWW than their public sector and semi-public counterparts. We also show that institutional and organiza-tional variables specific to the characteristics of organizations in the three sectors partially ex-plain the degree of perceptions with respect to the opportunity to use NWW.

Considering the current energy environment, both efficient and environmentally friendly solutions have to be developed for building construction. Bio-based building materials offer new perspectives through their insulating and natural humidity regulation capacities. Nevertheless, these materials are as complex as they are promising and grey areas still remain regarding their behavior. Their water sorption and desorption curves recorded in experimental work demonstrate a hysteresis phenomenon and, although plausible hypotheses have been formulated in the literature, there is currently no consensus on its causes. Furthermore, it is important to emphasize that no reference considers the hydrophilic nature of the resource. Yet this is a specificity of raw material coming from the plant world. In this context, this paper explores the microstructure and chemical composition of plant aggregates to propose a new explanation for the hysteresis. It is based on recent work demonstrating the existence of differentiated hydrogen bonds between the water sorption and desorption phase in cellulose. Obviously, hysteresis also has an origin at the molecular scale. Lastly, the hypothesis put forward here is supported by the swelling of bio-based materials that has been observed at high relative humidity and this study aims to identify a link between the mechanical (swelling/shrinking) of bio-based materials and their hygroscopic behavior. This leads to a better understanding of the hydro-mechanical coupling of these materials.

Developing new energy is critical to China's green and low-carbon development. And the New Energy Demonstration City Policy (NEDCP) is a vital innovation policy that inspires the development of new energy. Is the NEDCP facilitating green and low-carbon development, if so, how? Employing unbalanced panel data from 2003 to 2017, the impact of NEDCP on green and low-carbon development was studied by using the "difference in difference" (DID) model. We find that this policy can take significantly role. After various robustness tests, our results are still valid. According to the heterogeneity analysis, non-resource and non-old industrial base cities have a greater positive impact from this policy. The mechanism analysis denotes that the positive policy effect works through upgrading the industrial structure and stimulating urban innovation. The substantial empirical evidence presented in this article supports the continued promotion and implementation of new energy demonstration cities.

Here, one hundred patients (50 smokers and 50 non-smokers) clinically diagnosed with COVID-19 were studied. Yet, bioinformatics was used to predict epitopes on Tobacco mosaic virus coat protein (TMV-CP) to produce antibodies towards SARS-CoV-2. Death was three times higher in non-smokers than in smokers. However, biochemical parameters did not separate the groups. Bioinformatics analysis predicted the presence of B-cell epitopes in TMV-CP, suggesting the production of antibodies anti-TMV-CP in smoker patients. Smokers may develop severe forms of COVID-19, but survival was superior in the evaluated group than in non-smokers. Anti-TMV-CP antibodies, potentially present in smokers, might act as a pro-immune agent against SARS-CoV-2 at earlier stages of infection. These data are helpful for future studies assessing COVID-19 in smokers.

Nepal is one of the most seismically active regions in the world, as highlighted by the recent devastating 2015, Mw7.8 Gorkha earthquake and a robust assessment of seismic hazard is paramount for the design of earthquake-resistant structures. In this study we present a new probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) model for Nepal. We considered data and findings from recent scientific publications, which allowed us to develop a unified homogenized seismicity catalogue, propose alternative Seismic Source Characterization (SSC) models including up-to-date parameters of major thrust faults like Main Frontal Thrust – MFT and Main Boundary Thrust – MBT, while also considering existing SSC models and various hazard modelling strategies within a logic tree framework. The sensitivity analyses show the hazard levels are generally higher for SSC models integrating the major thrust faults, followed by homogenous volume sources and smoothed seismicity approach. The hazard maps covering entire Nepal is presented as well as the Uniform Hazard Spectra (UHS) for 5 selected locations (Kathmandu, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Nepalganj and Dipayal) at return periods of 475- and 2,475-years considering Vs,30=760 m/s. The results obtained are generally consistent with most recent studies. However, a notable variability in hazard levels and several discrepancies with respect to the Nepal Building Code NBC105: 2020 [1] and Global Hazard Model, GEM [2] are noted and possible causes are discussed.

The reaction of mercaptoacetic acid esters with pentachloro-2-nitro-1,3-butadiene provides appropriate precursors for the synthesis of 2,3,4-trisubstituted benzo[h]quinolines. These heterocycles are easily accessible via a single-step reaction with 1-naphthyl- or 1-anthracenylamine, respectively. Due to steric bulk and high electron density ring closure to benzo[h]quinolines takes place, exclusively. Such highly substituted annelated pyridine systems can be modified in subsequent, selective reactions to build up new N-heterocycles with promising microbiological properties. Antibacterial and antiproliferative assays against four cell mammalian cell lines demonstrate that some of the sulfur-substituted benzo[h]quinolines analogs display potent phenotypic bioactivities in the single-digit micromolar range.

The network pharmacology (NP) approach is a valuable novel methodology for understanding the complex pharmacological mechanisms of medicinal herbs. In addition, various in silico analysis techniques combined with the NP can improve the understanding of various issues in natural product research. This study assessed the therapeutic effects of Arum ternata (AT), Poria cocos (PC), and Zingiber officinale (ZO) on hyperlipidemia after network pharmacologic analysis. A protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of forty-one key targets was analyzed to discover core functional clusters of the herbal compounds. The KEGG pathway and gene ontology (GO) term enrichment analysis identified significant categories of hypolipidemic mechanisms. The STITCH database indicated a high connection with several statin drugs deduced by the similarity in targets. AT, PC, and ZO regulated the genes related to the energy metabolism and lipogenesis in HepG2 cells loaded with free fatty acids (FFAs). Furthermore, a combinational effect of the mixture of three herbs was found. The herbal combination exerted superior efficacy compared to a single herb, particularly in regulating acetyl-CoA carboxylase (ACC) and carnitine palmitoyltransferase 1 (CPT-1). In conclusion, the network pharmacologic approach was used to assess potential targets of the herbal combination for treatment. Experimental data from FFAs-induced HepG2 cells suggested that the combination of AT, PC, and ZO might attenuate hyperlipidemia and its associated hepatic steatosis.

Despite more than hundred years of research since Sir Sherrington’s studies on reflexes, his questions are still somehow unanswered. On what anatomical stage do the play of spinal reflex interaction take place? What are the physiological properties of this anatomical substrate? In this paper, we address these questions in light of the most advanced theory of motor control and the anatomical discoveries on the fascia that are changing how we think about control of action and perception. There are two sides of the problem: the neurological (reflex) connections that are at the base of movement, and the anatomical substrate that regulates and coordinates the movement. We recently advanced a hypothesis on how these two elements are connected and how they interplay. Here we further explain the concept of the somatic equilibrium point – SEP – and its central role in movement control and coordination. It is our belief that the concept of SEP explains how the neuro-mechanical control of movement is organized at peripheral level. At this level, intrafusal and extrafusal muscle fibres are combined in myofascial units, organized in anatomical directions. Myofascial units are closed systems whose behaviour can be affected by neural (voluntary) control or changes in external forces. SEPs represent the intrinsic equilibrium of the myofascial units, and are connected through the continuum of the fascia so that mechanical transfer of tension from segment to segment pre-adjust muscle fibers length and hence their excitation level. This is how coordination between segments is achieved. Finally, we suggest SEPs create the neurological representation of the referent configuration for action, and configurations are linked to the architecture of the fascial system.

Mining and processing tailings often contain significant amounts of valuable metals, that can represent valuable sources of secondary raw materials. Especially this is case in early-stage operations, in which the head grades were higher, and the tailings were higher grade. These tailings can also present a substantial risk to the environment. Serbia has copper deposits which have been exploited since ancient times, and these operations have generated large amounts of mineral processing tailings. The main objective of this study is to show how valuables can be recovered from chemically and mineralogically challenging tailings. After detailed chemical and mineralogical characterization, the laboratory scale flotation tests focused on evaluating the effect of particle size, different types of collectors, pH, and pulp potential. Based on the test work, copper and gold can be recovered effectively into pyrite concentrate

Grafting is an effective way to increase plant tolerance to biotic and abiotic stressors, it is widely used in watermelon production. However, grafting is labor intensive due to the additional time is required, such as the management of rootstock regrowth. This study used a new grafting tool to destroy (remove) the epidermis of pumpkin and bottle gourd rootstock cotyledon base during grafting, we called this a new grafting method. Compared with the traditional grafting (100%), the new grafting method had significantly lower rate of rootstock regrowth (2-23%), higher watermelon scion dry weight and leaf area. In addition, the time used for the new hole insertion and one cotyledon grafting method to destroy (remove) the epidermis of rootstock cotyledon base (4.2 s/plant, 4.2 s/plant) is significantly shorter than the time required to remove the rootstock regrowth manually in the traditional grafting (9.3 s/plant, 8.8 s/plant). Thus, this study developed a new grafting method for watermelon to inhibit rootstock regrowth and enhance scion growth, and this new method is cost-effective for grafted watermelon seedlings.

This study analysed trends of first-time patients visiting the paediatric psychiatry clinic in a university hospital. The medical records from 2009 to 2016 of first-time patients visiting the Kyung Hee university hospital were reviewed, focusing on children in grades 1–12. We analysed the prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders per 100,000 general populations by gender and grade, and the characteristics of patients who sought outpatient care more than three times. The study included 1,467 participants, of which 931 were males (63.5%). The number of male patients per 100,000 populations significantly decreased from 4.14 in 2009 to 2.03 in 2016. While hyperkinetic disorders had the highest prevalence in males, neurotic disorders were most frequent in females. Prevalence of disruptive behaviour disorders in males and mental retardations in females decreased significantly during the study period. The factors affecting continuity were being female, studying in grades 7–12, and diagnosis of depressive, hyperkinetic, and tic disorders. Physicians should consider the new paediatric patients’ gender, grade, and expected diagnosis from their first visit to improve treatment compliance.

Background: Australia’s healthcare system is complex and fragmented which can create challenges in healthcare, particularly in rural and remote areas. Aboriginal people experience inequalities in healthcare treatment and outcomes. This study aimed to investigate barriers and enablers to accessing healthcare services for Aboriginal people living in rural and remote Australia. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with healthcare delivery staff and stakeholders recruited through snowball sampling. The communities were selected for their high proportion of Aboriginal people and geographical representation (coastal, rural, and border). Thematic analysis identified barriers and enablers. Results: Thirty-one interviews were conducted (n =5 coastal, n=13 remote, and n=13 border) and six themes identified: 1) Improved coordination of healthcare services; 2) Better communication between services and patients; 3) Trust in services and cultural safety; 4) Importance of prioritizing health services by Aboriginal people; 5) Importance of reliable, affordable and sustainable services; 6) Distance and transport availability. These themes were often present as both barriers and enablers to healthcare access for Aboriginal people. They were also present across the healthcare system and within all three communities. Conclusions: This study describes a pathway to better healthcare outcomes for Aboriginal Australians by providing insights into ways to improve access.

In this paper, a new identity for the generalized fractional integral is defined, through which new integral inequality for functions whose first derivatives in absolute value are convex. The new generalized Hermite-Hadamard inequality for generalized convex function on fractal sets involving Katugampola type fractional integral is established. We derive trapezoid and mid-point type inequalities connected to these generalized Hermite-Hadamard inequality.

This paper is a mini literature review about electromagnetic field’s effects on cells, tissues and new treatment modalities. We have reviewed a papers which have been published in high quality journals in the last 5 years as two authors. This review’s aim is to be a resource for experimental studies about electricity’s effects on cell biology and pathophysiology. As a result of this literature review, we found that especially extremely low electric frequency and intermediate frequency fields have very important pathophysiological effects. We have mentioned four important expressions on this subject; electroporation, electrofusion, electrochemotherapy, gene electrotransference. Two different new treatment approaches have been developed by use of these two important electrical waves. First is tumor treating fields and the other is pulsed electric fields. Most studies in literature have been done with extremely low frequency and pulsed electric fields. In terms of diseases, most studies are about glioblastoma multiforme and malign melanoma.Most studies in literature have been done with extremely low frequency and pulsed electric fields. In terms of diseases, most studies are about glioblastoma and melanoma.

The study carried out by simulation, concerns the thermal behavior of an office building’s solar fresh air cooling system, based on a LiBr-H₂O absorption chiller in different climatic conditions. The coefficient of performance (COP) and the solar fraction were considered performance parameters and were analyzed with respect to the operating limits: risk of crystallization and maintaining at least a minimum degassing zone. A new correlation between the required solar hot temperature and the cooling water temperature was established and then embedded in another new correlation between the COP and the cooling water temperature that was used in simulations during the whole cooling season corresponding to each location. It was found that: the solar hot water should be maintained in the range of (80-100) °C depending on the cooling water temperature, the COP of the solar LiBr-H₂O absorption chiller with or without cold storage tank can reach (76.5-82.4) % depending on the location, and the solar fraction can reach (29.5-62.0) % without cold storage tank and can exceed 100 % with cold storage tank, the excess cooling power being available to cover other types of cooling loads: through the building envelope, from lighting, from occupants, etc.

One of the largest in the archipelago silver-copper mineralisation at Mount Sigurdf′ellet in West Spitsbergen Island was found in 1990 by Russian geologists. Firstly genesis was caused exclusively with hydrothermal ore migration of a substance from the enclosing sandstone and siltstone of the Devonian age. But subsequent work on the ore and nearest rocks of the basement gave a new factual material on the geochemical characteristics of potential sources of metals and found new for this mineral occurrence - gold mineralization. Similarity of geochemical associations of Sigurd ore occurrence with nearby upper Proterozoic marble as the first likely source of ore substance and the second - caused by carbonate-containing streaks in Low Devonian sediments. Ore-formation, probably due to repeated hydrothermal processes and was completed in a period of tectono-magmatic activity in Jurassic-Cretaceous time.

This article explores the synergies and progression of feminism towards a comprehensive, emancipatory and sustainable policy from a theoretical point of view, particularly from a radical gender focus, suggesting the masculinist theory as a complement in the fight against the patriarchal-capitalist system, whose greatest achievement was to use a ‘feminist rhetoric’ with no feminist content, which implies a hidden reconfiguration, even more patriarchal, of the geographical borders of countries from the notion of State-nations to the entrepreneurial-nations. A theoretical model is proposed to analyse the adoption and compliance feminist behaviour in order to identify the uncompliant and unsustainable behaviour, that is, the friendly machismo or feminism light. Finally, in a preliminary manner, the foundations of a new masculinist theory and policy will be listed as a necessary step towards a deeply feminist and radical emancipatory policy.

Recent changes in lung cancer care, including new approvals in first line and the introduction of high throughput molecular technologies in routine testing led us to question ourselves on how deeper molecular testing may be helpful for the optimal use of targeted drugs. In this article we review recent results in the scope of personalized medicine in lung cancer. We discuss biomarkers that have a therapeutic predictive value in lung cancer with a focus on recent changes and on the clinical value of large scale sequencing strategies. We review the use of second and third generation EGFR and ALK inhibitors with a focus on secondary resistance alterations. We discuss anti-BRAF and anti-MEK combo, emerging biomarkers as NRG1 and NTRKs fusions and immunotherapy. Finally we discuss the different technical issues of comprehensive molecular profiling and show how large screenings might refine the prediction value of individual markers. Based on a review of recent publications (2012–2018), we address promising approaches for the treatment of patients with lung cancers and the technical challenges associated to the identification of new predictive markers.

Polyamides (PAs) are one of the most important engineering polymers; however, the difficulty in dissolving them hinders their applications. Formic acid (FA) is the most common solvent for PAs, but it has industrial limitations. In this contribution, we proposed a new solvent system for PAs by replacing a portion of the FA with urea and calcium chloride (FAUCa). Urea imparts the hydrogen bonding and calcium ion from the calcium chloride, as a Lewis acid was added to the system to compensate for the pH decrease due to the addition of urea. The results showed that the proposed solvent (FAUCa) could readily dissolve PAs, resulting in less decrease in the mechanical properties during the dissolution. The composite prepared using the FAUCa has almost the same properties like the one prepared using the FA solution. The solution was applied on a polyamide 66 fabric to make an all-polyamide composite coated-fabric, which then was characterized. The FAUCa solution had a higher viscosity than the one prepared using the neat FA solvent, which can be an advantage in the applications which needs higher viscosity like preparing the all-polyamide composite coated-fabric. A more viscouse solution makes a denser coating which will increase the water-/gas-tightness. In conclusion, using the FAUCa solvent has two merits: 1. replacement of 40 % of the FA with less harmful and environmentally-friendly chemicals and 2. enabling for the preparation of more viscouse solutions, which makes denser coating.

To make low-cost catalytic materials that mimic the activity of tyrosinase enzymes (Catechol oxidase) is an exciting challenge of biochemical technology. Herein, we report the synthesis of a series of acylhydrazone-pyrazoles based biomolecule materials (L1-L7) with superior catecholase activity. These biomolecules were synthesized by a one pot chemical condensation between 5-methyl-1H-pyrazole-3-carbohydrazide and benzaldehyde derivatives. The X-ray single crystal diffraction (XRD) for two ligands L1 and L2 have been studied and the molecular structures were optimized and confirmed using the density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP) method. Copper (II) complexes of the biomolecules (L1-L7), generated in-situ, and were studied for their catalytic activities towards the oxidation reaction of catechol to ortho-quinone according to two parameters: the nature of the ligand and the nature of counter anion. The L7-CuSO4 was found to have an excellent catalytic activity (105.42 μmol·L−1·min−1) among the catalysts recently reported in the existing literature.

In this paper, we discuss the most significant application opportunities and outline the challenges in performing a real-time and energy-efficient management of the distributed resources available at mobile devices and Internet-to-Data Center. We also present an energy-efficient adaptive scheduler for Vehicular Fog Computing (VFC) that operates at the edge of a vehicular network, connected to the served Vehicular Clients (VCs) through an Infrastructure-to-Vehicular (I2V) over multiple Foglets (Fls). The scheduler optimizes the energy by leveraging the heterogeneity of Fls, where the Fl provider shapes the system workload by maximizing the task admission rate over data transfer and computation. The presented scheduling algorithm demonstrates that the resulting adaptive scheduler allows scalable and distributed implementation.

Leishmaniasis is a neglected tropical disease and affects more than 350 million people worldwide. However, there are no vaccines for humans, and current treatment is hampered due to its high cost, numerous side effects, and painful administration routes. Ending its epidemics by 2030 has become a United Nations goal, and the multitarget drug strategy emerges as a promising alternative. Flavonoids are an example of multitarget compounds and organic synthesis represents a tool to obtain high yields of these molecules. In our study, we synthesized 17 flavonoid analogs using a scalable, easy-to-reproduce, and inexpensive method. All compounds demonstrated an impressive inhibition capacity against rCPB2.8, rCPB3, and rH84Y, which are highly expressed in the amastigote stage, the target form of the parasite. Compounds 3c, f12a, and f12b stood out as effective against all isoforms and intermolecular interactions were investigated through a molecular modeling study. The compounds were highly potent against the parasite and demonstrated low cytotoxic action against mammalian cells. The results were pioneering, representing an advance in the investigation of the mechanisms behind the antileishmanial action of flavonoid derivatives. Furthermore, compounds have shown to be promising leads for the design of other cysteine protease inhibitors for the treatment of leishmaniasis diseases.

In this paper, we present the interaction results of 1,2-dibromo-3-isothiocyanatopropane with some pyrazoles and cytisine and salsoline alkaloids. It has been shown that the reaction results in the one-step and rather mild method for the preparation of the corresponding 1,3-thiazoline bromomethyl derivatives. The yield of this reaction is affected by the presence of a base and the order in which the reagents are added. Molecular docking of the synthesized 1,3-thiazoline derivatives for putative antibacterial activity has been carried out using the penicillin-binding target protein (PBP4) of the bacteria E. coli “Homo sapiens” and S. aureus “Homo sapiens” as an example. Molecular docking shows that the compounds have insignificant binding energies at the level of selected reference drugs (Cephalotin and Chloramphenicol). The presence of natural alkaloids in the structure of thiazoline derivatives somewhat increases the affinity of these substrates for target proteins selected.

Current oncological developments are based on improved understanding of genetics, and especially the discovery of genes whose alterations affect cell functions with consequences for the whole body. Our work is focused on the one of these genes, the BARD1 and its oncogenic role in breast cancer. Most importantly, the study points to new avenues in the treatment and prevention of the most frequent female cancer based on BARD1 research. The BARD1 and BRCA1 proteins have similar structures and functions, and they combine to form the new molecule BARD1-BRCA1 heterodimer. The BARD1-BRCA1 complex is involved in genetic stabilization at the cellular level. It allows to mark abnormal DNA fragments by attaching ubiquitin to them. In addition, it blocks (by ubiquitination of RNA polymerase II) the transcription of damaged DNA. Ubiquitination, as well as stabilizing chromatin, or regulating the number of centrosomes, confirms the protective cooperation of BARD1 and BRCA1 in the stabilization of the genome. The overexpression of the oncogenic isoforms BARD1β and BARD1δ permit cancer development. The introduction of routine tests, for instance, to identify the presence of the BARD1β isoform, would make it possible to detect patients at high risk of developing cancer. On the other hand, introducing BARD1δ isoform blocking therapy, which would reduce estrogen sensitivity, may be a new line of cancer therapy with potential to modulate responses to existing treatments. It is possible that the BARD 1 gene offers new hope for improving breast cancer therapy.

Current oncological developments are based on improved understanding of genetics, and especially the discovery of genes whose alterations affect cell functions with consequences for the whole body. Our work is focused on the most important of these genes, the BARD1 and its oncogenic role in breast cancer. Most importantly, the study points to new avenues in the treatment and prevention of the most frequent female cancer based on BARD1 research. The BARD1 and BRCA1 proteins have similar structures and functions, and they combine to form the new molecule BARD1-BRCA1 heterodimer. Through ubiquitination, this heterodimer has significant effects on individual proteins, enabling, among others, the destruction of damaged DNA fragments. Ubiquitination, as well as stabilizing chromatin, or regulating the number of centrosomes, confirms the protective cooperation of BARD1 and BRCA1 in the stabilization of the genome. The overexpression of the oncogenic isoforms BARD1β and BARD1δ permit cancer development. The introduction of routine tests, for instance, to identify the presence of the BARD1β isoform, would make it possible to detect patients at high risk of developing cancer. On the other hand, introducing BARD1δ isoform blocking therapy, which would reduce estrogen sensitivity, may be a new line of cancer therapy with potential to modulate responses to existing treatments. It is possible that the BARD 1 gene offers new hope for improving breast cancer therapy.

Human louse (Pediculus humanus) is an obligatory blood feeding ectoparasite with two ecotypes: human body louse (Pediculus humanus humanus), a competent vector of several bacterial pathogens and the human head louse (Pediculus humanus capitis) responsible for pediculosis and affecting millions of people around the globe. GABA (γ-aminobutyic acid) receptors, members of the cys-loop ligand gated ion channels superfamily, are among the main pharmacological targets for insecticides. In insects, four subunits of GABA receptors: resistant to dieldrin (RDL), glycin like receptor of drosophila (GRD), ligand gated chloride channel homologue3 (LCCH3), and 8916 are well described and form distinct phylogenetic clades revealing orthologous relationships. Our previous studies in human body louse confirmed that subunits Phh-RDL, Phh-GRD and Phh-LCCH3 are well clustered in their corresponding clades. In the present work, we cloned and characterized a putative new GABA receptor subunit in human body louse that we named HoCas for Homologous to Cys-loop alpha like subunit. Extending our analysis to arthropods, HoCas was found to be conserved and clustered in a new (fifth) phylogenetic clade. Interestingly, the gene encoding this subunit is ancestral and has been lost in some insect orders. Compared to the other studied GABA receptor subunits, HoCas exhibited a relatively higher expression level in all development stages and in different tissues of human body louse. These findings improved our understanding of the complex nature of GABA receptors in Pediculus humanus and more generally in arthropods.

Remote sensing (RS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) provide significant opportunities for monitoring and managing natural resources across various temporal, spectral, and spatial resolutions. There is a critical need for natural resource managers to understand the expanding capabilities of image sources, analysis techniques, and in-situ validation methods. This article reviews a range of image analysis tools applicable to natural resource management, including agriculture, water, forests, soil, and natural hazards, and compares their functionalities. Our study highlights that Google Earth Engine (GEE) is favored for wide-area analysis due to its extensive coverage and free access. Global Mapper excels in 3D and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) data, environment for visualizing images (ENVI) specializes in multi- and hyperspectral image processing, ERDAS IMAGINE is optimal for radar data, and eCognition is used for object-based image analysis. The article emphasizes the importance of in-situ validation data, which provides essential ground truth information to calibrate and validate RS models, thereby enhancing accuracy. Understanding these tools and integrating them with in-situ validation techniques enables natural resource managers to improve their monitoring and decision-making processes, facilitating effective collaboration with RS researchers.

The number of individuals meeting criteria for genetic counseling and testing for hereditary cancer syndromes (HCS) is far less than the number that actually receive it. To facilitate identification of patients at risk for HCS, Counsyl developed a digital identification tool (digital ID tool) to match personal and family cancer history to National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) BRCA-related Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer (HBOC), Lynch syndrome, and polyposis testing criteria in one-to-one, automated fashion. The purpose of this study was to validate the ability of the digital ID tool to accurately identify histories that do and do not meet NCCN testing criteria. Methods: Third-party recorded three-generation pedigrees were retrospectively reviewed by a certified genetic counselor (CGC) to determine if independent events included in pedigree histories met NCCN guidelines, and were then sorted into groups: high risk events (meets criteria) and low risk events (does not meet criteria). Events were entered into the digital ID tool to determine the extent of its concordance with events sorted by CGC review. Statistical tests of accuracy were calculated at a 95% confidence interval (CI). Results: 197 pedigrees were reviewed consecutively representing 765 independent events for analysis across groups. 382/382 (100%) high risk events identified by the digital ID tool and 381/383 (99.47%) low risk events identified by the digital ID tool were concordant with CGC sorting. The digital ID tool had a sensitivity of 100% (99.04-100% CI) and specificity of 99.48% (98.13-99.94% CI). The overall accuracy of the digital ID tool was estimated to be 99.74% (99.06-99.97% CI), reflecting the rate at which the digital ID tool reached the same conclusion as that of CGC review of pedigree events for the recommendation of genetic testing for individuals at risk for HCS. Conclusions: The digital ID tool accurately matches NCCN criteria in one-to-one fashion to identify at-risk individuals for HCS and may be useful in clinical practice, specifically for BRCA-related HBOC and Lynch Syndrome.

Worldwide, different strategies are elaborated in order to ensure optimum conditions for the development and growth of the economic competitiveness, but also for increasing the quality of life and environment protection. All these strategies are closely linked with the development and modernization of the systems for producing energy from clean and renewable sources. In this context, the present paper presents the results of the researches regarding the evaluation of the sustainability of the briquettes production, using the biomass resulted from vine winter pruning as raw material. An analysis of the scientific references indicates that nearly 8 Mt of biomass result from over 7.4 million hectares of vine plantations existent worldwide, biomass that could be valorized through densification in order to produce solid biofuels with a lower calorific value of more than 17 MJ·kg-1. When designing the scientific endeavor, the following aspects were considered: defining the aim and objectives of the research; design of the research algorithm; collection, preparation and conditioning of the biomass; chemical analysis of the briquettes; evaluation of the technological characteristics of the briquettes; evaluation of the energy consumption and energy efficiency for producing the briquettes, taking into account two drying methods (natural and artificial drying). In the meantime, some specific laboratory equipment was design and built for the artificial drying of biomass, evaluation of the mechanical durability, measurement of the energy consumption etc. The analysis of the experimental data has led to the conclusion that the agricultural waste from vine pruning can constitute an important and sustainable source of energy in the form of bri-quettes, which fulfill most of the requirements imposed by the international standards.

C-type lectin CD209/DC-SIGN and CD209L/L-SIGN proteins are distinct cell adhesion and pathogen recognition receptors that mediate cellular interactions and recognize a wide range of pathogens including, viruses such as SARS, SARS-CoV-2, bacteria, fungi and parasites. Pathogens exploit CD209L family proteins to promote infection and evade the immune recognition system. CD209L and CD209 are widely expressed in SARS-CoV-2 target organs and can contribute to infection and pathogenesis. CD209L family receptors are highly susceptible to alternative splicing and genomic polymorphism, which may influence virus tropism and transmission in vivo. The carbohydrate-recognition domain (CRD) and the neck/repeat region represent the key features of CD209L family proteins that are also central to facilitating cellular ligand interactions and pathogen recognition. While, the neck/repeat region is involved in oligomeric dimerization, the CRD recognizes the mannose containing structures present on specific glycoproteins such as those found on the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. Considering the role of CD209L and related proteins in diverse pathogen recognition, this review article discusses the recent advances in the cellular and biochemical characterization of CD209 and CD209L and their roles in viral uptake, which has important implications in understanding the host-pathogen interaction, the viral pathobiology and driving vaccine development of SARS-CoV-2.

The growing use of drones in precision agriculture highlights the need for enhanced operational efficiency. Despite the ability of computer vision based on deep learning has made remarkable progress in the past ten years, when it comes to segmentation task on UAVs, there is always a conflict between the demand of high precision and low inference latency. Due to such a dilemma, we propose the IRB-YOLO, an efficiency model based on Inverted Residual Block, devoting to provide constructive strategies in real-time detection tasks of UAV camera. The working details of this paper are as follows: (1) This paper innovates with a IR-Block(Inverted Residual Block), integrated into a refined YOLOv8-seg structure to create IRB-YOLO. This model specializes in pixel-level classification of UAV-acquired RGB images, facilitating the creation of exact maps to guide agricultural strategies. (2)When it comes to the experiments on a Vatica dataset with any other light-weight segmentation model, IRB-YOLO achieve at least a 3.3% increase in mAP. Further validation using a diverse species dataset confirms its robust generalization. (3)Without overloading the complex attention mechanism and deeper and deeper network, a stem that incorporates efficient feature extraction components, inverted residual block, can still possess outstanding modeling capabilities. IRB-YOLO builds a bridge between academic research and edge deployment of drones, making it applicable in real-world scenarios.

Autoimmune kidney diseases arise from a loss of tolerance to antigens, often with unclear triggers. In this review we explore the role of the gut microbiome and how disease, diet and therapy can alter the gut microbiota consortium. Perturbations in the gut microbiota may induce the translocation of microbiota-derived inflammatory molecules such as liposaccharide (LPS) and other toxins systemically by penetrating the gut epithelial barrier. Once in the blood stream these pro-inflammatory mediators activate immune cells which release pro-inflammatory molecules many of which are antigens in autoimmune diseases. The ratio of gut bacteria Bacteroidetes:Firmicutes is associated with worse outcomes in multiple autoimmune kidney diseases including Lupus nephritis, MPO-ANCA vasculitis and Goodpasture’s syndrome. Therapies which enhance short chain fatty acid (SCFA)-producing bacteria in the gut have powerful therapeutic potential. Dietary fibre is fermented by gut bacteria which in turn release SCFAs which protect the gut barrier as well as modulate immune responses towards a tolerogenic anti-inflammatory state. Herein, we describe where the current field of research is and the strategies to harness the gut microbiome as potential therapy.

Despite its remote discovery (1977) and numerous reports of its presence in vari-ous plant species in many countries, the available molecular information for the artichoke Italian latent virus (AILV) is still limited to a single complete genome sequence (RNA1 and 2) isolate from grapevine (AILV-V) and to a partial sequence portion from RNA2 of an isolate of unknow origin and host, both reported in the GenBank. Here we report the results of molecular analyses conducted on RNA2 of AILV isolates, sequenced for the first time in this study, together with the first-time finding of AILV in a new host plant species, i.e., chard (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris). The different AILV isolates sequenced are from artichoke (AILV-C), gladiolus (AILV-G), sonchus (AILV-S) and chard (AILV-B). At the bio-logical level, the AILV-B was found to be involved with vein clearing and mott-ling symptoms on chard leaves. At the molecular level, sequencing results of RNA2 segments showed that AILV-C, AILV-G, AILV-S and AILV-B were 4,629 nt in length (excluding the 3’ terminal polyA tail), hence one nt shorter than that of AILV-V reported in the GenBank. The comparative sequence analysis between the CR of RNA2 of all isolates showed that AILV-V was the most variable isolate, with the lowest sequence identities of 83.2% and 84.7% at the nucleotides and amino acids levels, respectively. Putative intra-species sequence recombination sites were predicted among the AILV isolates, of which the AILV-V, AILV-C and AILV-B genomes were found to be mostly involved. This study adds further mo-lecular information on the previously unrecorded high genomic variability of the Nepoviruses of subgroup B, together with information on recombinations that may have conditioned the infection and transmission of AILV in nature; thus learning the way forward to design a new integrated pest management of chard plantation.

Liver cirrhosis development is a multifactorial process resulting by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. The aim of the study was to develop accurate non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic models for alcoholic cirrhosis. Consecutive subjects with at-risk alcohol intake were retrospectively enrolled (110 cirrhotic patients and 411 non-cirrhotics). At enrollment, the data about the lifetime drinking history were collected and all patients were tested for PNPLA3 rs738409, TM6SF2 rs58542926 and HSD17B13 rs72613567 variants. In cross-sectional analyses, models for the diagnosis of cirrhosis were developed using multivariate logistic regression. A predictive score for cirrhosis development over 24 years was built by evaluating time-dependent AUC curves. The best diagnostic accuracy was demonstrated by the model which also includes daily alcohol consumption, duration of hazardous alcohol use and genetic variants, with AUCs of 0.951 (95% CI 0.925-0.977) and 0.887 (95% CI 0.925-0.977) for cirrhosis and compensated cirrhosis, respectively. The predictive model for cirrhosis future development (AUC of 0.836 95% CI: 0.769 - 0.904) accounted for age at onset of at-risk alcohol consumption and the number of PNPLA3 and HSD17B13 variant alleles. We have developed accurate genetic and alcohol consumption models for the diagnosis of alcoholic cirrhosis and the prediction of its future risk.

(1) Background: To investigate the effect of phosphohistone H3 (PHH3) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) in the risk assessment of endometriosis, in two cohorts of women with this pathology, those receiving hormonal treatment, and those without treatment; (2) Methods: In 60 cases of women with endometriosis, the paraffin-embedded endometriosis tissue samples, retrieved after surgery, were immunohistochemically (IHC) analyzed aiming to determine the expression status of PHH3 and VDR; (3) Results: The IHC positive index of PHH3 and VDR of these two groups were compared. PHH3 levels were positively correlated with vitamin D levels, both being increased in patients without treatment. Within the group without treatment, PHH3 and VDR expressions were positively associated; (4) Conclusions: IHC analysis of PHH3 and VDR can be used as an additional tool for risk stratification and prognostic assessment in patients with endometriosis.

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is concerning issue due to its direct and indirect repercusions on public health, since decreased therapeutic effect of certain antibiotic to treatment complications that can cause death. There are several mechanism as to how ABR can be transferred from one microoorganisms to another, and many of them are dependant many environmental factors. The food supply chain is a environment in which ABR gene transfer can occur is multiple pathways, which generate concerns regarding food safety. Here, we summarize relevant mechanisms which are implied in ABR in food supply chain but also we are addressing routes of transmission and prevalence of ABR, implications on public health, and the application of new alternatives to antibiotics such as antimicrobial peptides, mainly bacteriocins, in order to countermeasure ABR.

In the new period, the state has made every effort to promote the new urbanization of public sports service. Entropy method, coupled coordination model, cold hot spot analysis is used to explore the dynamic relationship between public sports services and the development of new urbanization in China from 2008 to 2017. The results show that: (1) The development of the internal subsystem of public sports service is not balanced, the sports financial investment system grows rapidly, but the development of professional sports talent team is slow. (2) The imbalance of regional development cannot be ignored, and the public sports service level shows a decreasing gradient from east to west. (3) The regional development features are different. The eastern region is dominated by the coordinated development of sports public service and urbanization, while the central region is mainly in the type of public sports service lag, while the western region has multiple complex characteristics of low-level coordination and public sports service lag. Therefore, it is proposed that the construction of modern public sports service system should be investigated in the context of the development of new urbanization. It should be promoted from the following aspects: promoting the extension of public sports service to rural areas, engendering the "citizen's right" of sports health to the migrant population, conforming to the trend of mass sports intelligence, developing green sports and revitalizing idle sports assets in cities.

The deregulated markets have replaced the traditional way of trading electricity from the producers to the consumer, via government-owned organizations and regulated tariffs. Nowadays, electricity prices are determined by the offer-demand mechanism and consumers can negotiate tariffs with their supplier of choice. For classic wholesale suppliers, the tariffs are a result of the transactions performed on the wholesale market and the energy mix available in certain geographical regions. In parallel with becoming eligible and participating in retail electricity markets, the consumers use increasingly local generation sources based mostly on renewable energy technologies such as PV panels, and become prosumers. They want to be able to sell back to the market the generation surplus, in order to obtain the maximum benefits from their initial investment. Currently, several trading mechanisms for prosumers are available, ranging from the simplest, selling back the surplus to an aggregator at fixed tariffs, to more complex market schemes. This paper proposed a two-tier local market model for prosumers and consumers connected in microgrids, based on the blockchain technologies and other technologies and concepts such as remote sensing, smart grids, crowdsourcing and energy poverty.

The deregulated markets have replaced the traditional way of trading electricity from the producers to the consumer, via government-owned organizations and regulated tariffs. Nowadays, electricity prices are determined by the offer-demand mechanism and consumers can negotiate tariffs with their supplier of choice. For classic wholesale suppliers, the tariffs are a result of the transactions performed on the wholesale market and the energy mix available in certain geographical regions. In parallel with becoming eligible and participating in retail electricity markets, the consumers use increasingly local generation sources based mostly on renewable energy technologies such as PV panels, and become prosumers. They want to be able to sell back to the market the generation surplus, in order to obtain the maximum benefits from their initial investment. Currently, several trading mechanisms for prosumers are available, ranging from the simplest, selling back the surplus to an aggregator at fixed tariffs, to more complex market schemes. This paper proposed a two-tier local market model for prosumers and consumers connected in microgrids, based on the blockchain technologies and other technologies and concepts such as remote sensing, smart grids, crowdsourcing and energy poverty.

We present a study of the radio variability of bright, $S_{1.4}\geq100$ mJy, high-redshift quasars at $z\geq3$ on timescales up to 30--40 years. The study involved simultaneous RATAN-600 measurements at frequencies of 2.3, 4.7, 8.2, 11.2, and 22.3 GHz in 2017--2020. In addition, data from the literature were used. We have found that the variability index $V_S$ of the quasars ranges from 0.02 to 0.96, with about half of the objects in the sample showing a variability index in the range of 0.25--0.50, which is comparable to that of the blazars at lower redshifts. The distribution of $V_S$ at 22.3 GHz is significantly different from that at 2.3--11.2 GHz, which may be attributed to the fact that a compact AGN core dominates at the source's rest frame frequencies greater than 45 GHz, leading to higher variability indices obtained at 22.3 GHz (the $V_S$ distribution peaks around 0.4) compared to the lower frequencies (the $V_S$ distribution peaks around 0.1--0.2). Several source groups with distinctive variability characteristics were found using cluster analysis of quasars. We propose 7 new candidates for gigahertz peaked-spectrum (GPS) sources and 5 new megahertz peaked-spectrum (MPS) sources based on their spectrum shape and variability features. Only 6 out of 23 sources previously reported as GPS demonstrate a low variability level typical of classical GPS sources ($V_{S} < 0.25$) at 4.7--22.3~GHz. When excluding the highly variable peaked-spectrum blazars, we expect no more than 20\% of the sources in the sample to be GPS candidates and no more than 10\% to be MPS candidates.

Abstract: Cleft palate is a congenital condition result from incomplete fusion of palatine shelves. The current study aimed to assess the effects of vitamin B6 on the incidence of corticosteroid-induced cleft palate model. Eighteen pregnant mice were divided into three groups. Mice of control group were injected with sterile physiological saline from 11th - 14th days of gestation. Mice of group II were injected with 125 mg/kg hydrocortisone from 11th - 14th days of gestation. Mice of group III were injected with hydrocortisone as in group II and given drinking water containing 500 µg/ml of vitamin B6 from day zero of gestation until delivery. Two days after delivery, the offspring were counted, and their head circumferences were taken for statistical analysis. The heads of the offspring were fixed and processed for paraffin sectioning and stained with hematoxylin and eosin. Cleft palates were counted and statistically analyzed using ANOVA test to determine any significances (P

Research indicates that farmers’ demographic characteristics and production practices have safety and health implications. However, current systems do not identify organic farmers independently from conventional farmers, and literature on how organic and conventional farmers compare is very limited. We conducted a secondary analysis of 2012 Census of Agriculture data to compare organic and non-organic farms and principal operators (POs) in New Mexico (NM). Organic farms were smaller in size, and POs of farms with organic sales were significantly younger (55.8±9.5 vs. 60.5±5.5 years) and less experienced (19.5±6.8 vs. 25.2±6.8 years). Significant differences were also found in POs ethnicity, race, and primary occupation. More farms with organic sales had a female PO compared to farms with non-organic sales (27% vs. 19%). Other significant differences related to work arrangements, household income, living conditions, and access to Internet. National surveys and regional studies may not accurately typify and describe the local organic producer, which is essential in order to advance policy, develop health interventions, and properly address occupational safety and risk among organic farmers. This study makes a unique contribution to understanding the importance of surveillance and collecting place-based data that are specific to the organic producer.

Accurate determination of an individual’s unique human leukocyte antigen (HLA) allele holds important significance in evaluating the risk associated with autoimmune and infectious diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Several allelic variants within the HLA system have been linked to either increased protection or susceptibility in the context of infectious and autoimmune diseases. This study aimed to determine the frequency and association of HLA alleles between people living with HIV (PLHIV) as the case group and HIV-uninfected Peruvian individuals with high-risk behavior of sexual transmission diseases as the control group. Whole exome sequencing (WES) was used to determine high-resolution HLA allelotypes using OptiType and arcasHLA tools. The HLA alleles present in HLA classes I (A, B, and C loci) and II (DPA1, DPB1, DQA1, DQB1 and DRB1 loci) were determined in a cohort of 59 PLHIV (cases) and 44 HIV-uninfected individuals (controls). The most frequent HLA alleles were A*02:01, DPB1*04:02 and DQB1*03:419 at 36%, 30% and 28% prevalence in general population. We found that C*07:01 (p = 0.0101; OR = 10.222, 95% IC: 1.40–74.55), DQA1*03:02 (p = 0.0051; OR = 5.297, 95% IC: 1.48–19.02) and DRB1*09:01 (p = 0.0119; OR = 4.788, 95% IC: 1.39–16.44) showed an association with susceptibility to HIV infection, while DQB1*03:419 (p = 0.0478; OR = 0.327, 95% IC: 0.11–0.96) was associated with protection from HIV infection. Our findings contribute to the knowledge of HLA allele diversity in the Peruvian population (around 70% South American indigenous ancestry), lay the groundwork for further valuable large-scale use of HLA typing and offer a novel association of HIV infection that is relevant to vaccine studies.

This article explores the relationship between Wang Yangming's philosophy and the new quality productivity, revealing how the new quality productivity, while inheriting the core ideas of Yangming's philosophy, achieves a higher level through innovation and development. The new quality productivity emphasizes the integration and innovation of knowledge, technology, and information, characterized by knowledge-driven innovation, information technology support, sustainable green development, and global collaborative development. The fusion of Yangming's philosophy and the new quality productivity holds significant theoretical and practical implications.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an incurable, chronic disorder of the gastrointestinal tract, whose incidence increases every year. Scientific research is constantly delivering new information about the disease and its multivariate, complex etiology. Nevertheless, full discovery and understanding of the complete mechanism of IBD pathogenesis still pose a significant challenge to today's science. Recent studies unanimously confirmed the association of gut microbial dysbiosis with IBD, as well as its contribution to the regulation of the inflammatory process. It transpires that not only the altered composition of pathogenic and commensal bacteria is characteristic of disturbed intestinal homeostasis in IBD, but also of viruses, parasites, and fungi, which are active in the intestine. In fact, the crucial function of microbial metabolome in the human body is altered, which causes a wide range of effects in the host, thus providing a basis for the disease. On the other hand, human genomic and functional research revealed more loci that play an essential role in gut homeostasis regulation, immune response, and intestinal epithelial function. This review aims to organize and summarize currently available knowledge concerning the role and interaction of crucial factors associated with IBD pathogenesis, particularly host genetic composition, intestinal microbiota, and metabolome, with immune regulation.

This paper reviews the pioneering work related to the generation of a sequence of prompts in Pretrained Language Models (PLMs) to automatically complete a complex writing task. The paper identifies the main categories of automated multi-step prompting and discusses their advantages and disadvantages. The paper also proposes an additional approach for automated multi-step prompting with iterative four main phases: in the first phase a sequence of prompts is geared to elicit the structure of the requested task. This is done by identifying the task’s main parts, the general contents of the different parts and their precedence relations. The structure of each main part is iteratively explored to find secondary and tertiary parts if they exist. A second phase is followed by a sequence of prompts that fill in the primary, secondary, and tertiary parts, and seek to fine-tune the result. The third phase reviews the generated text and criticizes it. Based on this criticism a revision is prepared. The fourth phase is fine-tuning the document, with emphasis on section length and text tone. Future research could deal with the system identification of points where the system should initiate interaction with the user for desired feedback and guidance.

This paper presents the design of a new neuro-generator of pseudorandom number type PRNG Pseudorandom Number Generator, which produces complex sequences with an adequate bit distri-bution. The circuit is connected to a neuronal module with six impulse neurons with different be-haviors: spike frequency adaptation, phasic spiking, mixed mode, phasic bursting, tonic bursting and tonic spiking. This module aims to generate a non-periodic signal that becomes the clock sig-nal for one of the LFSRs Linear Feedback Shift Register that the neuro-generator has. To verify its correct operation, the neuro-generator was subjected to a series of tests where the frequencies of the impulse neurons were modified. This modification allows generating a greater number of pulses at the output of the neuronal module, to obtain sequences with different characteristics that pass different NIST statistical tests National Institute of Standards and Technology of U.S. The results show that the new neuro-generator maintains pseudo-randomness in the sequences obtained with different frequencies and it can be implemented on reconfigurable FPGA Field Programmable Gate Array Virtex 7 xc7vx85t-2ffg1761 device. Therefore, it can be used for applications such as biologi-cal systems.

Astaxanthin (ATX) is a carotenoid nutraceutical with a poor bioavailability due to its high lipophilicity. We tested a new tailored nano-droplet capable of solubilizing ATX in an oil-in-water micro-environment (LDS-ATX, manufactured by Lyotropic Delivery Systems (LDS)), for its capacity to improve ATX pharmacokinetic profile and anti-oxidant efficacy. We used liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to compare the pharmacokinetic profile of ATX and LDS-ATX and protein carbonylation and lipid peroxidation assays to compare their basal and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced oxidative damage. Our results show that only LPS-induced oxidative damage was corrected by ATX and LDS-ATX. While in the liver and muscle LDS-ATX was more efficacious than ATX in attenuating oxidative damage to both proteins and lipids, only oxidative damage to lipids was preferably corrected by LDS-ATX in the brain. These results strongly suggest improvement of ATX bioavailability and efficacy by the LDS-ATX nano-formulation.

In the present work, the interactions between hydrocortisone and cyclodextrins were investigated. The cyclodextrins selected for this study were hydroxypropyl-α-cyclodextrin, hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin. The study was carried out using density measurements, 1H-NMR and FT-IR spectroscopy. Preliminary studies show that hydroxypropyl-α-cyclodextrin has a low affinity for hydrocortisone, while hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin and hydroxypropyl-γ-cyclodextrin have a good affinity for hydrocortisone in both solid state and solution. The study was carried out at two temperatures: 298.15 K and 310.15 K. The results suggest that at both temperatures, the system 2-HP-β-CD + HC induces an increase in the solvent structure, with increasing the solute concentration in the solution, while on the contrary the system 2-HP-γ-CD + HC induces a decrease in the solvent structure when the concentration of the solute in the system increases.

Human activities and natural events alter the earth’s surface and pose a constant threat to the environment. Thus, accurately monitoring and predicting these changes in a timely manner is crucial to provide solutions and mitigate the environmental consequences beforehand. This research introduces a novel framework, called HCD-Net, for change detection using bi-temporal hyperspectral images. The framework is based on double-stream deep feature extraction and an attention mechanism. The first stream focuses on deep feature extraction through 3D convolution layers and 3D Squeeze-and-Excitation (SE) blocks. The second stream focuses on deep feature extraction through 2D convolution and 2D SE blocks. The extracted deep features are then concatenated and fed to dense layers for decision-making. The efficiency of HCD-Net is compared to the state-of-the-art change detection methods. Additionally, the bi-temporal Airborne Visible InfraRed Imaging Spectrometer (AVIRIS) hyperspectral dataset was used for further evaluation of the change detection results. The results show that HCD-Net has a higher accuracy and the lowest false alarm rate, where the overall classification accuracy is above 96%, and the kappa coefficient is over 0.9.

A combination of straw filtration and nanofiltration was investigated for the first time as a sus-tainable approach aimed at valorizing olive mills wastewaters (OMWs) within a circular economy strategy. Ground straw filters with different granulometry (120, 250 and 500 m) were tested in the first step to clarify the raw wastewater. The 500m filter offered the best performance due to a lower exposed surface of the filtering fibers and a shorter filtering time allowing to reduce about 70% of the COD of the raw wastewater. Three different commercial membranes in flat-sheet con-figuration with molecular weight cut-off (MWCO) in the range 150-500 Da were tested to frac-tionate the clarified wastewater according to a dead-end configuration. Among the investigated membranes the NFA-12A membrane exhibited the highest productivity in selected operating conditions (steady-state values of 11.4 L/m2h at 20 bar and 24 ± 2 °C). In addition, flux decays for this membrane resulted lower than the other two tested membranes indicating a lower propensity to fouling phenomena. Higher rejections towards total polyphenols and TAA (76.6% and 73.2%, respectively) were also observed for this membrane. Flavanols and hydroxycinnamic acids were retained for more than 99%. The combination of straw filtration and NF with NFA-12A membrane allowed to reduce the COD of raw OMWs up to 97.6%. The retentate fraction of this membrane exhibited a TAA of 18.9 ± 0.7 mM Trolox supporting its propensity for the development of inno-vative formulations of interest in food and nutraceutical applications.

The study focuses on the impact of new methods for inhibiting malolactic fermentation in white wines on their analytical and sensory properties. Enological preparations with different mecha-nisms of effect were tested: fumaric acid, chitosan, Estaan (a preparation based on tannin inhibi-tion), medium-chain fatty acids (MCFA), sulphur dioxide and a control variant where malolactic fermentation (MLF) was performed. The samples underwent analysis through HPLC (high-performance liquid chromatography) to determine concentrations of malic and lactic acid, as well as biogenic amines. GC (gas chromatography) analysis was used to monitor volatile sub-stances, alongside sensory evaluation. The study demonstrated a significant influence of indi-vidual enological preparations on the aromatic profile of the examined wines. The SO2 and MCFA variants exhibited the highest concentrations of volatile substances within the esters group, spe-cifically isoamyl acetate, 1-hexyl acetate and phenylethyl acetate. Conversely, the fumaric acid and Estaan variants displayed the lowest concentrations of these esters. The most notable disparities were observed in acetoin concentration, with the MCFA variant exhibiting the lowest values. Additionally, the chitosan variant showed higher concentrations of putrescine and spermidine compared to the MCFA and fumaric acid variants, which presented the lowest levels.

Vaccine-induced immune thrombotic thrombocytopenia (VITT) is a rare but severe adverse event that was first observed during the global vaccination campaign against SARS-CoV-2 infection, specifically in those receiving adenoviral vector-based vaccines for Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). VITT develops 4 to 42 days post-vaccination and is characterized by the development of platelet-activating anti-platelet factor 4 (PF4) antibodies, leading to thrombocytopenia and thrombosis at unusual sites. The rise in awareness and subsequent prompt recognition of VITT was paramount in reducing mortality. Moreover, as vaccination campaigns around the world continue, a better understanding of VITT not only has important clinical implications but is also crucial for future vaccine development. In this review, we summarize the clinical features, pathophysiology, and incidence rates of VITT as well as highlight other anti-PF4 antibody-mediated disorders of growing clinical significance.

This research paper aimed to examine the impact of exchange rate volatility on South Africa's exports from 1994 Q1 to 2023 Q2. The study used the Augmented Dickey-Fuller (ADF) and Phillips-Perron (PP) tests to test for stationarity. The nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model and smooth threshold regression (STR) are employed to analyse the relationship between exchange rate volatility and exports. The GARCH (1.1) technique is used to construct the exchange rate volatility data. The results of the stationarity tests reveal that variables are either integrated in order I(0) or I(1). This implies that the variables used in this study are stationary, which is crucial for conducting accurate analyses. Moreover, the NARDL test approach provided insights into the long-run effects of exchange rate volatility on South Africa's exports. Based on the NARDL test, positive shocks have a greater but statistically insignificant effect on exports than negative shocks. Therefore, a greater level of exchange rate volatility may lead to increased exports from South Africa. Furthermore, the STR also reveals that the impact of exchange rate volatility is insignificant. These findings provide valuable insights for policymakers and firms to make informed decisions regarding exchange rate management and export strategies in South Africa.

During virus outbreaks in the recent past web behavior mining, modeling, and analysis have served as means to examine, explore, interpret, assess, and forecast the worldwide perception, readiness, reactions, and response linked to these virus outbreaks. The recent outbreak of the Marburg Virus disease (MVD), the high fatality rate of MVD, and the conspiracy theory linking the FEMA alert signal in the United States on October 4, 2023, with MVD and a zombie outbreak, resulted in a diverse range of reactions in the general public which has transpired in a surge in web behavior in this context. This resulted in “Marburg Virus” featuring in the list of the top trending topics on Twitter on October 3, 2023, and “Emergency Alert System” and “Zombie” featuring in the list of top trending topics on Twitter on October 4, 2023. No prior work in this field has mined and analyzed the emerging trends in web behavior in this context. The work presented in this paper aims to address this research gap and makes multiple scientific contributions to this field. First, it presents the results of performing time series forecasting of the search interests related to MVD emerging from 216 different regions on a global scale using ARIMA, LSTM, and Autocorrelation. The results of this analysis present the optimal model for forecasting web behavior related to MVD in each of these regions. Second, the correlation between search interests related to MVD and search interests related to zombies (in the context of this conspiracy theory) was investigated. The findings show that there were several regions where there was a statistically significant correlation between MVD-related searches and zombie-related searches (in the context of this conspiracy theory) on Google on October 4, 2023. Finally, the correlation between zombie-related searches (in the context of this conspiracy theory) in the United States and other regions was investigated. This analysis helped to identify those regions where this correlation was statistically significant.

Ready-to-eat fresh fruit have an increasing presence in international markets due to its convenience and health benefits. However, these produces are highly perishable and efficient technologies to increase their shelf life are needed. In the present research, different citrus fruit species and cultivars from organic farming were assayed to obtain enzymatically citrus segments. The best results in terms of segment quality were observed for ‘Hernandina’ clementine which was chosen to make a new ready-to-eat produce based on peeled citrus segments packaged in glass jars with slight syrup made on citrus juice and organic sugar cane. The most appreciated syrup was those containing 50-50 (v/v) of ‘Fino’ lemon juice and ‘Hernandina’ clementine based on the sensory scores given by the panellists. In addition, different pasteurization treatments were assayed to preserve the new produce safety and nutritional and sensory quality properties during storage at cold temperature. Results showed that pasteurization treatment at 50 °C for 45 min could be enough to avoid microbial contamination with mesophilic and psychrophilic aerobic bacteria or yeast and mould and to maintain sensory properties until five weeks of storage at 4 °C. In addition, only a 10 % reduction of vitamin C was observed from fresh segments or syrup until the end of storage period, showing that the new ready-to-eat produce would conserve high bioactive compound content and health benefits after pasteurization and prolonged cold storage.

In this study, we aimed to reveal the proinflammatory effects of serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 (Vit D) deficiency and insufficiency in new-onset type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and prediabe-tes. We recruited 84 prediabetes patients, 94 new-onset T2DM patients and 113 healthy partici-pants. Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, ferritin, interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleu-kin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-8 (IL-8), tumour necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) and mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) were measured in the serum of the par-ticipants. The ANOVA Bonferonni and Kruskal Wallis Dunn tests were used for the comparison of the inflammation markers and vitamin D levels between the groups. Upon covariance analy-sis with age, gender and BMI; Vit D levels of T2DM group were found to be significantly lower (p<0.003). Proinflammatory markers and CRP were found to be significantly higher in predia-betic and diabetic subjects. In the prediabetes group, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α and MAPK were significantly higher in those with Vit D insufficiency and deficiency groups. In T2DM group, IL-1β, IL-6, IL-8, TNF-α, NF-κB, MAPK and CRP were significantly higher in those with Vit D insufficiency and deficiency. Our study emphasizes the proinflammatory effects of Vit D on the initiation of inflammation in both prediabetes and diabetes mellitus.

Advanced composite materials have drawn significant interest in the last years as an alternative to traditional materials due to their higher performance. However, industry struggle to provide low-cost, higher occupational safety, lower footprint with composites, making them suitable for holistic analyses. Therefore, the material design becomes an essential element that can impact the competitiveness, particularly in terms of productivity, circularity, safety, sustainability, and quality of the value chain. The Material Design-for-eXcellence is a state-of-art methodology for material performance multi-dimensional assessment along its life cycle phases, either useful to support ma-terial selection for new products or also to new material design support optimizing resource effi-ciency. In this methodology, the material behaviour and its multiple characteristics assessment, and the manufacturing processes efficiency are evaluated. The framework considers the analogy of product design holistic approaches, as Lean Design-for-X, to organize and assess the mul-ti-dimensional performance for each “X” Material Property. In this work, it was possible to observe that the bio-based composites solutions could be a good sustainable alternative for several sectors. Every day researchers are creating more new materials, having a diversity of properties at different scales, Material Design-for-eXcellence must also in the near future consider other factors. Hence, additional studies are thus foreseen to explore and develop this new tool.

To explore the forage quality of wild oat populations under different growth environments, the basic nutrient composition and forage quality of five wild oat populations in Israel were compared. Ash, crude protein, and soluble sugar content of oats were significantly (P<0.05) related to some forage quality and possible environment of population origin. Among them, the environmental factors of origin had significant effects on the indicators of ash, crude protein, and soluble sugars of oat straw, but less on the contents of crude fat, total phosphorus, and total potassium. Meanwhile, the annual rainfall and the number of days of rainfall in the country of origin greatly influenced the cellulose content. Finally, we investigated the similarity of feeding values of different populations using PCA analysis. The results showed that, in conclusion, the higher variability of wild oat populations may be a new possibility brought by feeding oats.

Enzymatic hydrolysis of bovine and human hemoglobin yields a diversity of bioactive peptides, some of which are recognized for their antimicrobial properties. Certain small antimicrobial and anticancer peptides target protein synthesis inhibition. This study aims to produce bioactive peptides through enzymatic hemoglobin hydrolysis and evaluate their effects on cell growth inhibition, potentially serving as candidates for biological anticancer drugs. Rapid screening of candidate anticancer peptides derived from enzymatic hydrolysis of bovine and human hemoglobin was conducted using the Lepidium sativum radicle growth technique. The results demonstrate that: 1) the degree of hydrolysis (DH) significantly influences the production of bioactive peptides. DH levels of 3-10% yield considerably stronger radicle growth inhibition compared to DH 0 (native hemoglobin form), exhibiting three to four times greater intensity. 2) Certain peptide fractions from bovine hemoglobin exhibit higher activity than those from human hemoglobin. 3) The structural characteristics of peptides play a crucial role in the observed biological effects. 4) The α137-141 peptide is the most active among the fractions obtained from bovine (IC₅₀ = 29 ± 1 µg/mL) and human hemoglobin (IC₅₀ = 48 ± 2 µg/mL), standing out 10 to 15 times more potent than other hemoglobin fractions. In conclusion, these findings affirm the bioactivity of peptide fractions obtained from bovine and human hemoglobin. The study highlights how enzymatic hydrolysis of bovine and human hemoglobin can yield peptides that inhibit protein synthesis. Ultimately, these results suggest the feasibility of obtaining candidate peptides for biological anticancer drugs from both human and bovine hemoglobin sources. These scientific advances show new hope in the fight against cancer which affects a large number of people around the world.

Over a century ago, low-dose-rate (LDR) brachytherapy was introduced to treat prostate cancer (PCa). Since then, it has been widely applied worldwide, including in East Asia. LDR brachythera-py has been performed in 88 institutes in Japan. Beneficial clinical outcomes of LDR brachytherapy for intermediate-to-high-risk PCa have been demonstrated in large clinical trials. These clinical outcomes were achieved through advances in methods, such as urological precise needle puncture and seed placement, and the quantitative decision-making regarding radiological parameters by radiation oncologists. Combined use of LDR brachytherapy with other therapeutical modalities, such as external beam radiation and androgen deprivation therapy, for clinical risk classification of PCa has led to better anticancer treatment efficacy. In this study, we summarized basic LDR brachytherapy findings that should remain unchanged and be passed down in urology depart-ments. We also discussed the applications of LDR brachytherapy for PCa in various clinical settings, including focal and salvage therapies. In addition, we highlighted technologies associated with brachytherapy that are under development.

Background: Wilms' tumor (or nephroblastoma) is a malignant and solid neoplasm that derives from the primitive renal bud. It represents the most frequent primary tumor of the urogenital tract in childhood, and treatment consists of surgery and chemo-radiotherapy. However, concerning the quality of life, the new therapeutic frontier is exploring other safer and potentially more effective options, such as minimally invasive surgery and biological drugs. Method: Literature (Pubmed) from January 2013 to March 2023 was reviewed. Results: One hundred five articles were included in the review. Conclusion: In addition to the therapeutic strategies already identified, such as classic surgery and pharmacological therapies, recent studies focus attention on the new frontiers of minimally invasive surgery, such as diagnostics using biomarkers and immunotherapy, which could represent a new therapeutic option and possibly less risky than in the past, contributing in fact to the current knowledge of the scientific panorama in terms of "tumor microenvironment" and systemic implications deriving from oncological disease.

Background: The important periodontal disease pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis produces large biofilms that increase its pathogenicity. Finding natural antimicrobial agents is crucial because of the rise in antibiotic resistance. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine if plant extracts such as Symphytum officinale (S) and Panax ginseng (G) were effective against P. gingivalis separately and in combination with a common antibiotic Metronidazole (F). Materials and Procedures: Six different dilutions were produced the plant extracts and antibiotic separately and in combination with G and F and S and F using two-fold serial dilution technique. To evaluate the effects of these substances biofilm inhibition experiments were conducted. Plaque samples were collected from periodontitis patients to isolate P. gingivalis and standard strain of P. gingivalis (ATCC 33277) were bought. Additionally, Acylated Homoserine Lactones (AHLs) detection was carried out to look for any activity that would interfere with quorum sensing. GraphPad prism was used for statistical analysis with p value &lt; 0.05. Results: The combinations of Symphytum Officinale and Metronidazole (S+F) showed the maximum effectiveness in biofilm inhibition (98.7%), which was better than G+F (98.2%) with substantial variations in biofilm inhibition levels in different treatment regimes. Notably, the isolate from the patient was more active than the standard strain. Additionally, the plant extracts and their combinations at particular dilutions had notable inhibitory effects on the generation of AHL (p &lt;0.05). Conclusion: The study highlights the possibility of Symphytum Officinale and Panax Ginseng as effective treatments for P. gingivalis biofilm and AHLs, both on their own and in combination with Metronidazole. These organic substances may open the door to cutting-edge methods of treating periodontal disorders.

HER2-low and ultra-low breast cancer (BC) have been recently proposed as new subcategories of HER2 BC, re-considering the immunohistochemical negative score of 0, 1+ or score of 2+/in situ hybridization (ISH) negative phenotype. In the present review we have outlined the needed criteria to exactly distinguish HER2 low and ultra-low BC. Recent clinical trials have demonstrated significant clinical benefits of novel HER2 directing antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) in treating these group sof tumors. In particular, Trastuzumab-deruxtecan (T-Dxd), a HER2-directing ADC has been recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as the first targeted therapy to treat HER2-low BC. Furthermore, ongoing trials, such as the DESTINY-Breast06, are currently evaluating ADCs in patients with HER2-ultra low BC. Finally we hope that new guidelines may help to codify HER2 low and ultra-low BC, increasing our knowledge of tumor biology and improving a targetable new therapeutical treatment.

In order to study the performance of a new type of cement-based grouting material under the coupling effect of freezing-thawing cycle and sulfate attack, experiments were designed and carried out. The damage mechanism of the material under the coupling effect of freezing-thawing and Na2SO4 solution was analyzed by measuring the mass change, relative dynamic elastic modulus, compressive strength loss and microstructure of the new grouting material. With increasing freeze-thaw cycles, mass loss and compres-sive strength loss of the sample in 15% Na2SO4 solution gradually increase, and the relative dynamic elastic modulus gradually decreases. During a 30-cycle freeze-thaw cycle, the mass loss rate, compressive strength loss rate, and relative dynamic elastic modulus of the sample are 4.17%, 24.59%, and 84.3%, respectively, showing good corrosion resistance and frost resistance durability. Microscopic analysis showed that SO42- caused the decomposition of C-S-H gel in the sample and the formation of Gypsum, and the widening of crack width aggravated the internal deterioration, indicating that the material deterioration rate increased under the dual-factor coupling effect.

Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) the causative agent of human tuberculosis (TB) is one of the most successfully adapted-human pathogens. Human-to-human transmission occurs at high rates through aerosols containing bacteria, but the pathogen evolved prior to the establishment of crowded populations. Mtb has developed a particular strategy to ensure persistence in the host until an opportunity for transmission arise. It has refined its lifestyle to obviate the need for virulence factors such as capsules, flagella, pilli, or toxins to circumvent mucosal barriers. Instead, the pathogen uses host macrophages, where it establishes intracellular niches, for its migration into the lung parenchyma and other tissues and for the induction of long-lived latency in granulomas. Finally, at the end of the infection cycle Mtb induces necrotic cell death of macrophages to escape to extracellular milieu and instructs a strong inflammatory response required for progression from latency to disease and transmission. Common to all these events is ESAT-6, one of the major virulence factors secreted by the pathogen. This review highlights the recent advances in understanding the role of ESAT-6 in hijacking macrophage function to establish a successful infection and transmission and its use as a target for the development of diagnostic tools, and vaccines.