In the first year of its appearance, the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected more than 150 million individuals and killed 3 million people worldwide. The pandemic has also triggered numerous global initiatives to tackle the newly emerging disease, including the development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines and the attempt to discover potential pharmacological therapies. Nonetheless, despite the success of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines development, COVID-19 therapy remains challenging. Several repurposed drugs that were documented to be useful in small clinical trials have been shown to be ineffective in larger studies. Additionally, the pathophysiology of SARS-CoV-2 infection displayed the predominance of hyperinflammation and immune dysregulation in inducing multiorgan damage. Therefore, the potential benefits of both immune modulation and suppression in COVID-19 have been extensively discussed. Here, we reviewed the roles of immunomodulation as potential COVID-19 pharmacological modalities based on the existing data and proposed several new immunologic targets to be tested in the foreseeable future.

Flash flooding is one of the most devastating natural events that leads to enormous and recurring loss of life. Kuwait was subjected to severe rainstorms in the winter of 2018 and 2020 followed by an extreme violent flood that had not been known in Kuwait since 1976. It resulted in several geomorphological and environmental impacts in urban and desert areas. This produced some positive results, such as geomorphological activity in landforms, the flow of some valleys and the prosperity of wildlife in the Kuwaiti desert. Negative results included some problems in the metropolitan area and destruction of some road networks that intersect the main valleys, and which were not equipped with crossings for avoiding floods. There was also the emergence of some problems in the infrastructure. Study of flash floods requires the involvement of all scientific and executive bodies to avoid environmental risk. The study aims to: 1- Monitor geomorphological and environmental changes. 2- Assess the impact of floods in the urban areas and on infrastructure. 3- Modeling the impact. 4- Creating solutions and adaptions to the flash flood. The study uses several methods such as remote sensing (RS), geographic information systems (GIS), hydrologic modeling and fieldwork to evaluate the impact of flash flood hazards on the sustainable urban development of Kuwait state. This approach is rarely used in Kuwait. We propose a novel method that could help decision-makers and planners in determining inundated flood zones before planning future urban developments in Kuwait, and help them to manage flood water, by identifying the most appropriate places for storage to exploit water in agriculture and drinking.

This paper analyzes the main variables which determines the relation between disinformation and the youth responsibility during the last stage of Covid-19 pandemic in Spain. The document presents relevant results on this subject. At the Introduction the reader will find the theoretical framework of the following concepts: disinformation, responsibility, credibility, and youth responsibility variables. The greatest interest, considering the authors specialization, falls in communication factors. The methods applied had been the reference review of the literature found about this subject, as well as a qualitative opinion research through discussion groups with young University students from Communication Schools in Madrid, both public and private. This recent study, held in June 2021, provide a very rich material for this paper. The main results and findings are the facts of being not satisfied with the information received about Covid-19; the knowledge about their most credible sources; the connection between information and responsibility, and some of the solutions said by youth to be more responsible in this context. As a conclusion, this paper confirms the first hypothesis of considering the disinformation as a variable which causes the lack of youth responsibility. Regarding the second hypothesis it is checked that young people consider communication as a solution for being more responsible.

In fisheries monitoring, catch is assumed to be a product of fishing intensity, catchability, and availability, where availability is defined as the number or biomass of fish present and catchability refers to the relationship between catch rate and the true population. Ecological monitoring programs use catch per unit of effort (CPUE) to standardize catch and monitor changes in fish populations; however, CPUE is proportional to the portion of the population that is vulnerable to the type of gear that is used in sampling, which is not necessarily the entire population. Programs often deal with this problem by assuming that catchability is constant, but if catchability is not constant, it is not possible to separate the effects of catchability and population size using monitoring data alone. This study uses individual-based simulation to separate the effects of changing environmental conditions on catchability and availability in environmental monitoring data. The simulation combines a module for sampling conditions with a module for individual fish behavior to estimate the proportion of available fish that would escape from the sample. The method is applied to the case study of the well-monitored fish species Delta Smelt (Hypomesus transpacificus) in the San Francisco Estuary, where it has been hypothesized that changing water clarity may affect catchability for long-term monitoring studies. Results of this study indicate that given constraints on Delta Smelt swimming ability, it is unlikely that the apparent declines in Delta Smelt abundance are due to an effect of changing water clarity on catchability.

Cash holding is important for Chinese manufacturing firms coping with the increasing cost of financing and stiff market conditions. This study examines the impact of cash holding on the firm value of Chinese manufacturing firms. We find evidence that a non-linear relationship exists between cash holding and firm value in manufacturing firms of China. The study reveals that financially constrained firms having a higher level of cash holding negatively affects the firm value, while the unconstrained firms having a lower level of cash holding positively influences the firm value. Finally, this research is enriched by adopting the novel measure of managerial op-timism and reveals the interactive role of cash holding and optimism on firm value. The study concludes that managerial optimism influences the firm’s cash holding decisions and this is more costly for unconstrained firms.

We propose a class of stochastic models for a dynamics of limit order book with different type of liquidities. Within this class of models we study the one where a spread decreases uniformly, belonging to the class of processes known as a population processes with uniform catastrophes. The law of large numbers (LLN), central limit theorem (CLT) and large deviations (LD) are proved for our model with uniform catastrophes. Our results allow us to satisfactorily explain the volatility and local trends in the prices, relevant empirical characteristics that are observed in this type of markets. Furthermore, it shows us how these local trends and volatility are determined by the typical values of the bid-ask spread. In addition, we use our model to show how large deviations occur in the spread and prices, such as those observed in flash crashes.

Phytonutrients are plant foods that contain many natural bioactive compounds, called phytochemicals, which expose specific biological activities. These phytonutrients and their phytochemicals may play an important role in health care maintaining normal organism functions (as preventives) and fighting against diseases (as therapeutics). Phytonutrient’s components are the primary metabolites (i.e., proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids) and phytochemicals or secondary metabolites (i.e., phenolics, alkaloids, organosulfides, and terpenes). For years, several phytonutrients and their phytochemicals have demonstrated specific pharmacological and therapeutic effects in human health such as anticancer, antioxidant, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, and immune response. This review summarizes the effects of the most studied or the most popular phytonutrients (i.e., turmeric, garlic, cinnamon, graviola, and oregano), and any contraindication found. This article also calculated the physicochemical properties of the main phytochemicals in the selected phytonutrients using Lipinski’s, Veber’s and Ghose’s rules. Based on our revisions for this article, all these phytonutrients have consistently shown several in vitro, in vivo, and clinical studies with great potential as preventives and therapeutics on many diseases.

The analysis of curated genomic, metagenomic, and proteomic data are of paramount importance in the fields of biology, medicine, education, and bioinformatics. Although this type of data is usually hosted in raw form in free international repositories, its access requires plenty of computing, storage, and processing capacities for the domestic user. The purpose of the study is to offer a comprehensive set of genomic and proteomic reference data, in an accessible and easy-to-use form to the scientific community. A representative type material set of genomes, proteomes and metagenomes were directly downloaded from the site: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/assembly/ and from Genome Taxonomy Database, associated with the major groups of Bacteria, Archaea, Virus, and Fungi. Sketched databases were subsequently created and stored on handy raw reduced representations, by using Mash software. Our dataset contains near to 100 GB of space disk reduced to 585.78 MB and represents 87,476 genomics/proteomic records from eight informative contexts, which have been prefiltered to make them accessible, usable, and user-friendly with computational resources. Potential uses of this dataset include but are not limited to, microbial species delimitation, estimation of genomic distances, genomic novelties, paired comparisons between proteomes, genomes, and metagenomes.

In this paper we investigate the geometric structure and control of exponential families depending on additional parameters, called external parameters. These generalized exponential families emerges naturally when one applies the maximum entropy formalism to derive the equilibrium statistical mechanics framework. We study the associated statistical model, compute the Fisher metric and introduce a natural fibration of the parameter space over the external parameter space. The Fisher Riemannian metric allows to endow this fibration with an Ehresmann connection and to study the geometry and control of these statistical models. As an example, we show that horizontal lift of paths in the external parameter space corresponds to an isentropic evolution of the system. We apply the theory to the example of a ideal gas in a rotating rigid container. Most of the results are expressed in local coordinates; in the appendices we hint at possible global extensions of the theory.

A solid structure, such as a road, building wall or envelop, used as a solar collector is considered an effective and new way to use renewable energy. This paper focused on the temperature characteristics of four structures exposed to sunshine: asphalt, red brick, composite cement and concrete road slab. Furthermore, the collected heat based on a hydraulic system was investigated experimentally. For the four structure slabs, their temperature differences are due to solar radiation absorption varied greatly by the material’s heat absorptance and color. Through the test, asphalt slab attained the highest temperature and had the weakest reflection among the structures. Compared with the others, the temperature of the asphalt slab was greater by 8.1%, 14.9% and 16.4% than the brick, composite cement and concrete, respectively. The reflection intensity growth ratio was defined and indicates the growth potential for absorbing radiation in the solid slab surface. From the experiments, it was concluded that a suitable selection of road materials can greatly improve the thermal absorption, conduction and penetration into the solid slab. The collected heat capability was approximately 250 W/m2 to 350 W/m2 in the natural summer condition. A black coating or a surface modification can collect more heat, reaching greater than 250 W/m2. The solar collecting heat efficiency with a surface configuration of the road slab can reach above 30% in the summer time.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) challenges include understanding what triggered SARS-CoV-2 emergence, how this RNA virus is evolving or how the genomic variability may impact the primary structure of proteins that are targets for vaccine. We analyzed 19471 SARS-CoV-2 genomes and 199,984 spike glycoprotein sequences available at the GISAID database from all over the world and 3335 genomes of other Coronoviridae family members available at Genbank, collecting SARS-CoV-2 high-quality genomes and distinct Coronoviridae family genomes. Here, we identify a SARS-CoV-2 emerging cluster containing 13 closely related genomes isolated from bat and pangolin that showed evidence of recombination, which may have contributed to the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. The analyzed SARS-CoV-2 genomes presented 9632 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) corresponding to a variant density of 0.3 over the genome, and a clear geographic distribution. SNPs are unevenly distributed throughout the genome and hotspots for mutations were found for the spike gene and ORF 1ab. We describe a set of predicted spike protein epitopes whose variability is negligible. All predicted epitopes for the structural E, M and N proteins are highly conserved. This result favors the continuous efficacy of the available vaccines.

Distributed fiber optic vibration sensors based on Φ-OTDR using Rayleigh backscattering of highly coherent light source pulses are very popular type in the area of sensors due to many attractive features, mainly due to its distributed manner of sensing, i.e. they can operate as thousands of local sensors simultaneously. The paper summarizes and describes several important modifications of the original sensor scheme to enhance its key performance parameters and to extend its application potential. A multi-fiber sensor form was proposed. Single- and two-fiber sensors were designed, constructed and tested both in the laboratory and in a real environment. Variants of two-fiber sensor utilizing optical switches for the sensor flexibility enhancement are proposed and their applications are described.

Artificial Intellignece (AI) is a platform lending immense assistance in discovering and developing drugs and thus, various such approaches have been developed with the intent of simplifying and improving biomedical operations such as drug repurposing and drug discovery. In the past decade, AI-based investigation of nanomedicines, as well as non-nanomedicines has reached the clinical level. In semblance with the traditional methods of therapy, nanomedicine therapy is employed at limited doses. The study of a variety of drugs resulted in the conclusion that the effect of each drug is variable for every patient and, evaluating that perfect drug combination manually is a time-consuming as well as an inefficient treatment method. Therefore, the use of AI simplifies and reduces the time consumption in determining the perfect customized drug combination for nano-therapy. The area with the most potential for meeting this reality is to optimize the drug and dosage parameters. It is a universally known fact that cancer is dangerous and unique because of the exacting challenges it poses during treatment and, to achieve a better treatment, the therapeutic effect on each patient must be delineated even if the volume of data generated is massive. The article aims at analyzing the AI technologies that help yield results much quicker, make the analyses simple, and efficient.

(1) In recent ten years, with the fast development of digital and engineering manufacturing technology, additive manufacturing has already been more and more widely used in the field of dentistry, from the first personalized surgical guides to the latest personalized restoration crowns and root implants. (2) Especially, the bioprinting of teeth and tissue is of great potential to realize organ regeneration and finally improve the life quality. (3) In this review paper, we firstly presented the workflow of additive manufacturing technology. Then we summarized main applications and recent research progresses of additive manufacturing in dentistry. (4) Lastly, we sketched out some challenges and future directions of additive manufacturing technology in dentistry.

TThe passion of bodybuilding athletes for a symmetric, lean, heavily muscled body leads them to carry out exhausting exercise programs and restrictive eating regimens, sometimes resulting in disordered eating behaviors. This study investigates potential exacerbators on the development of disordered eating in bodybuilding and strength athletes. The study involved 103 Cypriot bodybuilding athletes of both sexes, performing at three levels: professional, recreational and strength athletes. The Eating Attitude Test 26 (EAT-26) and The Three Factor Eating Question-naire (TFEQ-R21) were used to evaluate disordered eating and eating behaviors respectively. The current study was performed under the auspices of the Hellenic Center of Education & Treatment of Eating Disorders (KEADD). The degree of deviation between the perceived ideal body weight and the actual body weight was associated with increased risk of eating disorder. Athletes who desired a lower body weight recorded higher scores on EAT-26 overall, (p=0.001), and the subscales of dieting (p=0.01) and bulimia. (p=0.001). Cognitive restraint and emotional eating scales of TFEQ-R21 were more pronounced in the non-professional athletes. (p=0.01). The emotional eating score was higher in women. There is a need for appropriate sport-specific, gender-specific preventive intervention to deescalate the risk of eating disorder, in both profes-sional and non-professional bodybuilding athletes.

In the last two decades, variably doped strontium barium niobate (SBN) has attracted a lot of scientific interest mainly due to its specific non-linear optical response. Comparably, the parental compound, i.e., undoped SBN, appears to be less studied so far. Here, two different cuts of single-crystalline nominally pure strontium barium niobate in the composition Sr0.61Ba0.39Nb2O6 (SBN61) are comprehensively studied and analyzed with regard to their photoconductive responses. We present conductivity measurements under systematically varied illumination conditions along either the polar z-axis or perpendicular to it (x-cut). Apart from a pronounced photoconductivity (PC) already under daylight and a large effect upon super-bandgap illumination in general, we observe (i) distinct spectral features when sweeping the excitation wavelength over the sub-bandgap region as then discussed in the context of deep and shallow trap states, (ii) extremely slow long-term relaxation for both light-on and light-off transients in the range of hours and days, (iii) a critical dependence of the photoresponse on the pre-illumination history of the sample, and (iv) a current-voltage hysteresis depending on both the illumination and the electrical-measurement conditions in a complex manner.

A spinning gyroscope precesses about the vertical due to a torque acting upon the wheel. The torque is generated by the shift of moment of force by gravity and it points to the vertical instead of the tangential direction of precession. This intuition offers an alternative and straightforward view of precession dynamics in comparison with the literature. It also presumes a dynamic balance of momentum between circular motions of the wheel spin and precession. Accordingly, the gyroscopic dynamics is then applied to the study of galactic motion of the solar system in space and the Galactic mass is calculated with the inclusion of gyroscopic effect of the solar planets. Results indicate that the gyroscopic effect of Mercury orbiting around the Sun can increase the calculated Galactic mass by 23% in comparison with the result obtained by the classic approach.

Triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) has a higher mRNA expression of programmed cell death ligand 1 (PD-L1) which is a ligand to programmed cell death protein 1 (PD-1). The binding of the ligand leads to suppressed activity of T-cell-mediated immune response against cancer cells. The approval of anti-PD-L1 drugs including pembrolizumab and atezolizumab in subgroups of TNBC offer potential improvement to the current treatment regimens available for TNBC. We conducted a meta-analysis to review the efficacy of pembrolizumab and atezolizumab for the treatment of TNBC in both adjuvant and neo-adjuvant settings. A systematic strategy was used as per the PRISMA 2020 statement. All statistical analyses were conducted using Review Manager 5.4. Outcome measures included objective response rate, progression free survival, overall survival in adjuvant therapy groups, and pathological complete response rates in neoadjuvant groups. Six clinical trials were included. For adjuvant therapies, the ORR (OR=1.26, P = 0.04) of Atezolizumab/Pembrolizumab plus chemotherapy was higher in intention to treat (ITT) arms than the placebo groups in TNBC. A positive effect size was found for PFS in the ITT arms (Cohen’s d = 1.55, P<0.001). The Atezolizumab plus chemotherapy group had a positive effect size for OS compared to the control groups (Cohen’s d = 0.52, P<0.001). In the neo-adjuvant setting, patients in ITT arms had higher pCR rates as compared to the control groups (OR= 1.61, P = 0.001). Our findings collate evidence of pembrolizumab and atezolizumab as a viable treatment option among patients with TNBC with PDL1+ subgroups deriving benefits.

Education is the bedrock of any nation. It is essential for individual and societal growth and development. This triggers the demand for quality education which simultaneously increases with a growing demand for quality assurance. This study investigated the role of quality assurance in achieving the expected outcome of education in Bosnia and Herzegovina’s higher education system. Comparative development is looked at by examining other National Qualification Frameworks. The study was based on textual reviews and descriptive analysis on student enrollment and programs of studies. Unlike the global trend, it can be seen that student enrollment is on the decline in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was found that quality assurance is an indispensable tool for strengthening the higher education system and for achieving the desired change and outcomes, that education offers. It was also found that study programs and curricula are pivotal for teaching and learning processes, and that a unified qualification framework is essential for achieving set objectives of education at all levels. The study recommended, among other things, that sound quality assurance systems as well as appropriate structure for monitoring and accreditation be put in place and be judiciously followed in order to achieve the desired outcomes in conjunction with the set objectives of higher education. Moreover, vital thoroughly analyzed pressures (i.e., democratic, economic, and systemic) barriers show signs of epistemological, political, and institutional barriers in the country.

World Economy today depends on business investments that are propelled by Green technology, innovations and entrepreneurial activities. In recent years, developing economies in Asia, Africa and Latin America have embarked on easy capital access to Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to facilitate their economic growth. Kenya is among the Middle Level Income Countries that have gained global recognition through entrepreneurial innovations. In this study we assess the role of entrepreneurship towards poverty alleviation in Kenya. The objectives of the study were: to evaluate the role of entrepreneurship in poverty alleviation in Kenya; to identify entrepreneurship innovations and their economic contribution in Kenya and to determine the significance of entrepreneurship to Kenyan economy. Methodology of study took a parametric approach through pure desktop studies on entrepreneurship cases in Kenya. Success case studies of entrepreneurial innovations like M-pesa, M-soko and Uwezo Fund initiatives were assessed. The paper notes that activities undertaken in each of these case studies have made great contributions to poverty alleviation and economic development in both urban and rural areas of Kenya.

herein, we have compared the performance of SVM and MLP in emotion recognition using speech and song channels of the RAVDESS dataset. We have undertaken a journey to extract various audio features, identify optimal scaling strategy and hyperparameter for our models. To increase sample size, we have performed audio data augmentation and addressed data imbalance using SMOTE. Our data indicate that optimised SVM outperforms MLP with an accuracy of 82 compared to 75%. Following data augmentation, the performance of both algorithms was identical at ~79%, however, overfitting was evident for the SVM. Our final exploration indicated that the performance of both SVM and MLP were similar in which both resulted in lower accuracy for the speech channel compared to the song channel. Our findings suggest that both SVM and MLP are powerful classifiers for emotion recognition in a vocal-dependent manner.

One of the biggest challenges in modern physics is how to unify gravity with quantum theory. There is an absence of a complete quantum theory of gravity, and conventionally it is thought that the effects of quantum gravity occur only at high energies (Planck scale). Here we suggest that certain novel quantum effects of gravity can become significant even at lower energies and could be tested at laboratory scales. We also suggest a few indirect effects of dark energy that can show up at laboratory scales. Using these ideas, we set observational constraints on radio recombination lines of the Rydberg atoms. We further suggest that high-precision measurements of Casimir effects for smaller plate separation could also show some manifestations of the presence of dark energy.

With rapid advances in gene editing and gene therapy technologies, the development of genetic, cell, or protein-based cures to disease are no longer the realm of science fiction but that of today’s practice. The impact of these technologies are rapidly bringing them to the veterinary market as both enhanced therapeutics and towards modeling their outcomes for translational application. Simply put, gene editing enables scientists to modify an organism’s DNA a priori through the use of site-specific DNA targeting tools like clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9 (CRISPR/Cas9). Gene therapy is a broader definition that encompasses the addition of exogenous genetic materials into specific cells to correct a genetic defect. More precisely, the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) defines gene therapy as “a technique that modifies a person’s genes to treat or cure disease” by either (i) replacing a disease-causing gene with a healthy copy of the gene; (ii) inactivating a disease-causing gene that was not functioning properly; or (iii) introducing a new or modified gene into the body to help treat a disease. In some instances, this can be accomplished through direct transfer of DNA or RNA into target cells of interest or more broadly through gene editing. While gene therapy is possible through the simple addition of genetic information into cells of interest, gene editing allows the genome to be reprogrammed intentionally through the deletion of diseased alleles, reconstitution of wild type sequence, or targeted integration of exogenous DNA to impart new function. Cells can be removed from the body, altered, and reinfused, or edited in vivo. Indeed, manufacturing and production efficiencies in gene editing and gene therapy in the 21^st century has brought the therapeutic potential of in vitro and in vivo reprogrammed cells, to the front lines of therapeutic intervention (Brooks et al., 2016). For example, CAR-T cell therapy is revolutionizing hematologic cancer care in humans and is being translated to canines by us and others, and gene therapy trials are ongoing for mitral valve disease in dogs.

In this article, we investigate limitations of importing methods based on algorithmic information theory from monoplex networks into multidimensional networks (such as multilayer networks) that have a large number of extra dimensions (i.e., aspects). In the worst-case scenario, it has been previously shown that node-aligned multidimensional networks with non-uniform multidimensional spaces can display exponentially larger algorithmic information (or lossless compressibility) distortions with respect to their isomorphic monoplex networks, so that these distortions grow at least linearly with the number of extra dimensions. In the present article, we demonstrate that node-unaligned multidimensional networks, either with uniform or non-uniform multidimensional spaces, can also display exponentially larger algorithmic information distortions with respect to their isomorphic monoplex networks. However, unlike the node-aligned non-uniform case studied in previous work, these distortions in the node-unaligned case grow at least exponentially with the number of extra dimensions. On the other hand, for node-aligned multidimensional networks with uniform multidimensional spaces, we demonstrate that any distortion can only grow up to a logarithmic order of the number of extra dimensions. Thus, these results establish that isomorphisms between finite multidimensional networks and finite monoplex networks do not preserve algorithmic information in general and highlight that the algorithmic information of the multidimensional space itself needs to be taken into account in multidimensional network complexity analysis.

Parts of shotgun cartridges are a significant source of plastic litter in the marine environment. Empty cartridge shells may not be picked up by the hunter who fired them, and plastic wads that serve to separate the propellant from the shot load, are lost down-range when a shot is fired. Such litter items constitute a cosmetic and aesthetic problem on coastlines and may cause harm to marine animals and in the later stages of decomposition break down into harmful micro plastic particles. There exists no reliable estimate of the global exposure of marine ecosystems to this plastic source. However, in some countries it has been subject to closer examination, including for example, Denmark where the annual contribution of plastic wads into marine systems was estimated to 600,000 pieces (c2 tonnes), and the accumulated density of washed-up items (both wads and shells) was 3.7 items per 100 m coastline. Increasing awareness of this problem has caused scientists, hunters’ communities and governments to suggest altered practice including transition to the use of biodegradable cartridge components, first and foremost wads as this item is invariable lost during hunting. Several manufacturers provide shotgun cartridges containing biodegradable wads based on different types of materials, including fibers and various types of plastics, for example PVAL (poly(vinyl alcohol)) and PHA (polyhydroxyalkanoate). In this paper, we review the most recent literature on the amounts and related environmental hazards of plastic dispersed from hunting ammunition into marine ecosystems. We summarize the market availability of shotgun cartridges with biodegradable wads and discuss chemical, technical, economical and legal aspects of a transition to the use of such products.

Studying the two famous old problems that why the moon can move around the Sun and why the orbit of the Moon around the Earth cannot be broken off by the Sun under the condition that calculating with F=GMm/R^2, the attractive force of the Sun on the Moon is almost 2.2 times that of the Earth. We found that the planet and moon are unified as one single gravitational unit which results in that the Sun cannot have the force of F=GMm/R^2 on the moon. The moon is moved by the gravitational unit orbiting around the Sun. It could indicate that the gravitational field of the moon is limited inside the unit and the gravitational fields of both the planet and moon is unified as one single field interacting with the Sun. The findings are further clarified by reestablishing Newton’s repulsive gravity.

Post-Shoah Christology is embedded in the unique relationship of Jews and Christians, especially Jesus’ Jewishness and the Jewish roots of Christianity, as well as Christian moral failures towards Jews before and during the Shoah. Essential for contemporary Christianity, a vibrant post-Shoah Christology confronts three main challenges, each demanding a different response. The first challenge is the reality that soon there will be no more first-generation witnesses to the Final Solution. Such is an inevitable challenge that has to be faced and prepared for. Religious pluralism is the second challenge, and includes a number of related threads, yet should ultimately be embraced. The third challenge is the (inevitable?) loss of memory, passion, and urgency, a willful forgetfulness by Christians towards the importance of the Jewish-Christian relationship, and especially, Christian failure in the Shoah. This challenge demands robust refutation and ongoing struggle. Before addressing these challenges, I will first further define and highlight the need for a post-Shoah Christology and will conclude this article with three general and three concrete hopes for a viable post-Shoah Christology.

In bilingual communities, social interactions take place in both single- and mixed-language con-texts. Some of the information shared in multilingual conversations is often required in conse-quent social encounters, like interlocutors’ personal information. In this study we explored whether the autobiographical information provided in a single-language context is better re-membered than in an equivalent mixed-language situation. More than 400 Basque-Spanish bilin-gual (pre-)teenagers were presented with new persons who introduced themselves by either using only Spanish or only Basque, or by inter-sententially mixing both languages. Different memory measures were collected immediately after the initial exposure to the new pieces of information (immediate recall and recognition) and on the day after (delayed recall and recognition). In none of the time points was the information provided in a mixed-language fashion worse remembered than that provided in a strict one-language context. Interestingly, the variability across partici-pants in their sociodemographic and linguistic variables had a negligible impact on the effects. These results are discussed considering their social and educational implications for bilingual communities.

The antioxidant potential (capacity and activity) of aqueous fullerene dispersions (AFD) of non-functionalized C₆₀, C₇₀, and Gd@C₈₂ endofullerene (in micromolar concentration range) was estimated based on chemiluminescence measurements of the model of luminol and generation of organic radicals by 2,2’-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride (ABAP). The antioxidant capacity was estimated by the TRAP method, from the concentration of half-suppression, and from the suppression area in the initial period. All three approaches agree and show that the antioxidant capacity of AFDs increased in the row Gd@C₈₂ < C₇₀ < C₆₀. Mathematical modeling of the long-term kinetics data was used for antioxidant activity estimation. The effect of C₆₀ and C₇₀ is found to be quenching of the excited product of luminol with ABAP-generated radical and not an actual antioxidant effect; quenching constants differ insignificantly. Apart from quenching with a similar constant, the AFD of Gd@C₈₂ exhibits actual antioxidant action. The antioxidant activity in Gd@C₈₂ is 300-fold higher than quenching constants.

Background: Acceleration of mass vaccination strategies is the only pathway to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. Healthcare professionals and students have a key role in shaping public opinion about vaccines. This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes of dental students globally towards COVID-19 vaccines and explore the potential drivers for students' acceptance levels; Methods: A global cross-sectional study was carried out in February 2021 using an online ques-tionnaire. The study was liaised by the scientific committee of the International Association of Dental Students (IADS), and data was collected through the national and local coordinators of IADS member organizations. The dependent variable was the willingness to take the COVID-19 vaccine, and the independent variables included demographic characteristics, COVID-19-related experi-ence, and the drivers of COVID-19 vaccine-related attitude suggested by the WHO-SAGE; Results: A total of 6639 students from 22 countries representing all world regions responded to the ques-tionnaire properly. Their mean age was 22.06 ± 2.79 (17-40) years, and the majority were females (70.5%), in clinical years (66.8%), and from upper-middle-income economies (45.7%). In general, 22.5% of dental students worldwide were hesitant, and 13.9% rejected COVID-19 vaccines. The students in low- and lower-middle-income (LLMI) economies had significantly higher levels of vaccine hesitancy compared to their peers in upper-middle- and high-income (UMHI) economies (30.4% vs 19.8%; p < 0.001); Conclusions: The global acceptance level of dental students for COVID-19 vaccines was suboptimal, and their worrisome level of vaccine hesitancy was influenced by the socioeconomic context where the dental students live and study. The media and social media, public figures, insufficient knowledge about vaccines, and mistrust of governments and the pharmaceutical industry were barriers to vaccination. The findings of this study call for further implementation of epidemiology (infectious diseases) education within undergraduate dental curricula.

Electro-spun ultra-fine fibers exhibit two significant properties: a high surface-to-volume ratio and a relatively defect-free molecular structure. Due to the high surface-to-volume ratio, electro-spun materials are well suited for activities requiring increased physical contact, such as providing a site for a chemical reaction or filtration of small-sized physical materials. However, electrospinning has many shortcomings, including difficulties in producing inorganic nanofibers and a limited number or variety of polymers used in the process. The fabrication of nanofiber bundles via electrospinning is explored in this analytical study, as well as the relationship between extrinsic electrospinning parameters and the relative abundance of various fiber morphologies. Numerous variables could impact the fabrication of nanofibers, resulting in a variety of morphologies; therefore, adequate ambient conditions and selecting the appropriate solvent for achieving a homogenous polymer solution and uniform electro-spun materials are examined. Finally, common polymers suitable for electrospinning and the promising applications of ultra-fine fibers achieved via electrospinning are studied in this paper.

La minería es una industria intensiva en energía que requiere una fuente estable de electricidad. Con el aumento de la demanda de minerales y la disminución de las leyes, se espera que la demanda de energía aumente en un 36% para el 2035. Este aumento de la demanda depende del uso de combustibles fósiles ya que la electricidad producida y comprada en las empresas mineras se basan principalmente en el caso de los combustibles fósiles, los costos de los sistemas de almacenamiento de energía solar y eólica han caído a una escala sin precedentes, lo que alienta a las empresas mineras a probar estas tecnologías.Entre los factores que influyen en el uso de energía renovable, se encuentra el beneficio a la comunidad en la etapa de operación y cierre o post-cierre de un proyecto minero, el siguiente factor es el perfil de consumo eléctrico o demanda es importante para el cálculo de su almacenamiento o no, de las energías renovables a utilizar. Como tercer factor está el cálculo del consumo en los procesos. Los rangos de penetración determinarán si es posible su almacenamiento de energía, y si es posible utilizar control híbrido (solar - eólico), para ello es importante el uso de herramientas digitales como el programa Holmer, es una herramienta importante que técnica y económica.El gobierno debe tener una perspectiva que ayude en los temas regulatorios necesarios para impulsar proyectos de energía renovable con diferentes incentivos e intereses según el contexto minero.

Nowadays, the human population is facing the third and may be the worst pandemic caused by human coronaviruses (CoVs). The virus was first reported in Wuhan, China on 31 December 2019 and spread within short time to almost all countries of the world. Genome analysis of the early virus isolates has revealed high similarity with SARS-CoV and hence the new virus was officially named SARS-CoV-2. Since CoVs have the largest genome among all RNA viruses, they can adapt many point mutation and recombination events; particularly in spike gene, that enable these viruses to rapidly change and evolve in nature. CoVs are known to cross the species boundaries by using different cellular receptors. SARS-CoV-2 is believed to originate in bats and transmitted to human being through an ill-defined intermediate host. In the current review, different aspects of SARS-CoV-2 biology and pathogenicity are discussed including virus genetics and evolution, spike protein and its role in evolution and adaptation to novel hosts, and virus transmission and persistence in nature. In addition, the immune response developed during SARS-CoV-2 infection is demonstrated with special reference to the interplay between immune cells and their role in disease progression. We believe that SARS-CoV-2 outbreak will not be the last and spillover of CoVs from bats will continue. Therefore, establishing intervention approaches to reduce the likelihood of future CoVs spillover from the natural reservoirs is a priority.

This work describes and compares the backpropagation algorithm with the Extended Kalman filter, a second-order training method which can be applied to the problem of learning neural network parameters and is known to converge in only a few iterations. The algorithms are compared with respect to their effectiveness and speed of convergence using simulated data for both, a regression and a classification task.

Background: To determine vitamin D supplementation frequency among infants, factors that influence adherence, and reasons for discontinuation of initiated vitamin D. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using a questionnaire administered to the mothers via a face-to-face interview on 560 infants aged from 1 to 24 months admitted to outpatient clinics from June to December 2017. Results: A total of 351 infants were administered vitamin D, and the rate of supplementation in the first year of life was 83%, while it was only 28% between 13 and 24 months. The rate of vitamin D supplementation was higher among infants who were exclusively formula-fed (p<.05). When the data were analyzed using logistic regression analysis, only visit family physicians seems to be a statistically significant independent variable in increasing supplementation (p<.05). Compared with family refusal, the rate of discontinuation of vitamin D by the healthcare providers was higher after the first year of life (p<.05). The rates of vitamin D discontinuation by healthcare providers, especially by nurses who considered the duration of supplementation adequate, were statistically significantly higher when compared with the fontanel closure and other reasons (p<0.05). Conclusions: The rate of vitamin D supplementation was higher among families who visited family physicians, which suggests the importance of well-baby visits. Since vitamin D supplementation was less common among exclusively breastfed infants, mothers should be educated. Healthcare professionals need further education about the importance of vitamin D supplementation and indications for discontinuation.

Tumor-associated macrophages are a key component in the tumor microenvironment, secreting extracellular vesicles (EVs) such as exosomes and other various factors for intercellular communication. However, macrophage-derived EVs heterogeneity and their cytotoxicity to cancer cells has not been well understood. Here, we aimed to separately isolate various types of macro-phage-EVs by size exclusion chromatography (SEC) method and investigate EV transmission and cytotoxicity to oral cancer cells. For fluorescence-labeling of cellular and EV membranes, palmitoylation signal-fused GFP and tdTomato were expressed in THP-1 monocytic cells and HSC-3 oral cancer cells, respectively. We found that fluorescence-labeled EVs secreted by macrophages were highly transmissive to oral cancer cells than those from parental monocytic cells. In a co-culture system and conditioned medium (CM), a macrophage-secreted unidentified factor was cytotoxic to oral cancer cells. We fractionated macrophage-derived EVs by the SEC method and performed western blotting to characterize various EV types. Three fractions were characterized: small exosomes (EXO-S: < 50 nm) fraction containing HSP90α, HSP90β, CD63 (EV marker) and β-actin; large exosomes (EXO-L: 50-200 nm) fraction containing CD9 (EV marker) and HSP90β; large EVs (100-500 nm) fraction. Notably, the macrophage-derived small exosomes fraction was cytotoxic to oral cancer cells, while large exosomes and large EVs were not. There-fore, it was implicated that macrophage-derived small exosomes are cytotoxic with high trans-mission potential to cancer cells.

Eggplant is a functional food owing to its anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and cardio-protective properties. Root-knot nematodes (RKN) are a threat to the successful production of eggplant. RKN infestation manifests as root damage, stunted development, and structural deformations of the plant. RKN infestation can be managed using a variety of management techniques like soil amendments and chemical treatments. Breeding for nematode tolerance is critical for high yields and stable results. As a result, breeding approaches are the most efficient and cost-effective nematode management methods. Furthermore, with advances in breeding technology and genomics assistance, it is becoming more feasible and straightforward. As a result, we've compiled a list of the most recent breeding developments for Meloidogyne spp. resistance in eggplant. We hope this information will serve as an important resource for the eggplant breeders.

Here we investigate how the local properties of particles in a thermal bath may influence the thermodynamics of the bath, and consequently alter the statistical mechanics of subsystems that comprise the bath. We are guided by the theory of small-system thermodynamics, which is based on two primary postulates: that small systems can be treated self-consistently by coupling them to an ensemble of similarly small systems, and that a large ensemble of small systems forms its own thermodynamic bath. We adapt this “nanothermodynamics” to investigate how a large system may subdivide into an ensemble of smaller subsystems, causing internal heterogeneity across multiple size scales. For the semi-classical ideal gas, maximum entropy favors subdividing a large system of “atoms” into an ensemble of “regions” of variable size. The mechanism of region formation could come from quantum exchange symmetry that makes atoms in each region indistinguishable, while decoherence between regions allows atoms in separate regions to be distinguishable by their distinct locations. Combining regions reduces the total entropy, as expected when distinguishable particles become indistinguishable, and as required by a theorem in quantum mechanics for sub-additive entropy. Combining large volumes of small regions gives the usual entropy of mixing for a semi-classical ideal gas, resolving Gibbs paradox without invoking quantum symmetry for atoms that may be meters apart. Other models presented here are based on Ising-like spins, which are solved analytically in one dimension. Focusing on the bonds between the Ising-like spins we find similarity in the equilibrium properties of a two-state model in the nanocanonical ensemble and a three-state model in the canonical ensemble. Thus, emergent phenomena may alter the thermal behavior of microscopic models, and the correct ensemble is necessary for fully-accurate predictions. Another result using Ising-like spins involves simulations that include a nonlinear correction to Boltzmann’s factor, which mimics the statistics of indistinguishable states by imitating the dynamics of spin exchange on intermediate lengths. These simulations exhibit 1/f-like noise at low frequencies (f), and white noise at higher f, similar to equilibrium thermal fluctuations found in many materials.

Cellular redox state is highly dynamic and delicately balanced between constant production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and neutralization by endogenous antioxidants, such as glutathione. Physiologic ROS levels can function as signal transduction messengers, while high levels of ROS can react with and damage various molecules eliciting cellular toxicity. The redox state is reflective of the cell’s metabolic status and can inform on regulated cell-state transitions or various pathologies including aging and cancer. Therefore, methods that enable reliable, quantitative readout of the cellular redox state are imperative for scientists from multiple fields. Liquid-chromatography mass-spectrometry (LC-MS) based methods to detect small molecules that reflect the redox balance in the cell such as glutathione, NADH and NADPH, have been developed and applied successfully, but because redox metabolites are very labile, these methods are not easily standardized or consolidated. Here we report a robust LC-MS method for the simultaneous detection of several redox-reactive metabolites that is compatible with parallel global metabolic profiling in mammalian cells. We performed a comprehensive comparison between three commercial hydrophilic interaction chromatography (HILIC) columns, and we describe the application of our method in mammalian cells and tissues. The presented method is easily applicable and will enable the study of ROS function and oxidative stress in mammalian cells by researchers from various fields.

Pakistan is under developing country and it has an unpredictable market nature of shareholder-investors observe the company’s performance. This research could help to companies in understanding financial behavior, attitude and investors’ satisfaction in stock trade. Financial behavior is comparatively new subject in Pakistan therefore; this study has examined the financial behavior and attitude of investors. The behavioral finance that has been attempted to understand the positive experiences influences investors’ financial behavior. This study has find out that investor satisfaction is strongest in influence of positive financial behavior of investor and trader in stock trading; positive experience and brokers suggestions are strengthens the investment decision of investors and increases behavior loyalty to prefer over competitor. The main purpose of research to determine the effect of financial behavior on investors’ attitude and behavioral loyalty and investors’ satisfaction to preference over competitor. The research framework links with experiences in stock trade for positive (negative) experiences, attitude and financial behavior is developed. The research framework is measured data from sample of Karachi and Karachi Stock Exchange; the data is analyzed in smart PLS based on PLS-SEM. This study focused on trading experience with company’s active investors and traders in banking industry in Pakistan. The future research could be research in other sectors with inter-related issue of investors and traders (brokers) in stock trade. This is the first study in this research area; this study will be determine the experiences with positive (negative) financial behavior, attitude, satisfaction and behavioral loyalty of investors and traders in stock trade. Therefore, adding in this area of study which will help understanding the investors and traders attitude, preference and financial behavior in financial market.

The paper summarizes in a step by step ‘recipe’ format a model of developing new ideas (Ideation) that can be used to form a new venture or develop a new product. The proposed ‘recipes’ are widely used and can be applied in tandem with other prevalently available models or tools. The intention of the paper is also to serve as a resource for entrepreneurs and innovators, and the links and references munificently used in the paper are serving this purpose. The author has used the outline and the tools described here in numerous Ideation classes taught for over a decade in several countries around the world. The paper’s intention is not to conduct a systematic review on the subject of new venture creation or propose new research agenda (for that, see for example Shepherd et al., 2021). The purpose is to provide an effective and efficient set of tools, models and techniques that can assist the entrepreneur in her journey to create and achieve her dreams. One such tool is the matrix of Reasonings-Outcomes introduced here for the first time.

Afghanistan is overwhelmed with food insecurity that is a large percentage of the population lacks reliable access to food supplies. Grains play a vital role in the country's food security due to their importance in terms of consumption and production quantity. This paper estimates cereal self-sufficiency and then makes a food balance forecast of the three major food crops cultivated in Afghanistan over six-decades. Descriptive statistics and coarse metric techniques were employed to determine cereal self-sufficiency and food balance forecast. The econometric analysis demonstrated that (1) Afghanistan is not yet self-sufficient in meeting grain consumption, and the production and consumption ratio declined from 0.9 to 0.55 from 1979 to 2030. (2) The gap of theoretical food imbalance will increase, and by the year 2030, cereal production will likely be sufficient for only 49.8 percentage of inhabitants, leaving a high shortage equivalent to the amount required by 24.4 million people. By evaluating the quantitative food balance and the growing population change, this study presents an analysis of the emerging threat to Afghanistan's food security and suggests a solution for food security, should increase the size of public agricultural expenditure, improve the level of agriculture infrastructure, and continue to introduce a policy to achieve higher yield.

Chellali et al. introduced two degree concepts, ve-degree and ev-degree (Chellali et al, 2017). The ve-degree of a vertex equals to number of different edges which are incident to a vertex from the closed neighborhod of v. Moreover the ev-degree of an edge e=ab equals to the number of vertices of the union of the closed neighborhoods of a and b. The most private feature of these degree concepts is, total number of ve-degrees and total number of ev-degrees equal to first Zagreb index of the graphs for triangle-free graphs. In this paper we introduce ve-degree entropy, ev-degree entropy and investigate the relations between these entropies and the first Zagreb index entropy. Finally we obtain the maximal trees with respect to ve-degree irregularity index.

In the current work, in continuation of our recent research [1] we synthesized and studied new chimeric compounds comprising the ribosome-targeting antibiotic chloramphenicol (CHL) and the membrane-penetrating cation triphenylphosphonium (TPP) connected by alkyl linkers of different lengths. Using various biochemical assays, we showed that these CAM-Cn-TPP compounds bind to the bacterial ribosome, inhibit protein synthesis in vitro and in vivo in a way similar to that of the parent CHL, and significantly decrease membrane potential. Similar to CAM-C4-TPP, the mode of action of CAM-C10-TPP and CAM-C14-TPP on bacterial ribosomes differ from that of CHL. By simulating the dynamics of complexes of CAM-Cn-TPP with bacterial ribosomes, we have proposed a possible explanation for the specificity of the action of these analogs on the translation process. CAM-C10-TPP and CAM-C14-TPP stronger inhibit the growth of the Gram-positive bacteria in comparison to the CHL and suppress some strains of CHL-resistant bacteria. Thus, we have shown that TPP derivatives of CHL are dual-acting compounds that target the ribosomes and the cellular membranes of bacteria. The TPP fragment of CAM-Cn-TPP compounds contributes to the inhibitory effect on bacteria. Moreover, since the mitochondria of eukaryotic cells have qualities similar to those of their prokaryotic ancestors, we demonstrate the possibility of targeting chemoresistant cancer cells with these compounds.

Modern day construction is widely influenced using concrete-steel composite columns. A lot of research on concrete-steel composite columns is being carried out around the world. The rapid growth in concrete-steel composite construction has widely decreased the use of conventional reinforced cement concrete construction (R.C.C), and the steel construction practices. The concrete-steel composite construction has obtained an extensive receiving around the globe. As Pakistan is a developing country, so, it is relatively a new concept for its construction industry when compared with the developed countries around the globe. Although, the R.C.C construction is suitable and economical for construction of framing systems of low-rise buildings, however, the increased dead load, span restrictions, less stiffness and risky formwork makes it uneconomical and unviable when it comes across the construction of intermediate to high-rise buildings. This research is an effort to learn the cost effectiveness, increased or decreased stiffness, and change on the functionality of the composite construction for intermediate to high-rise buildings constructed in Pakistan. A Base + Ground + 11 storey commercial building is selected for this study. A comparison is made between conventional R.C.C columns structure and concrete-encased composite columns structure. The equivalent static nonlinear analysis is performed using ETABS 2017 software. Although, for Base + Ground + 11 storey building, the construction cost of concrete-encased composite structure is 7.7% more than the conventional R.C.C columns structure, but the concrete-encased composite structure will have 13.013% more constructed floor area. This increased floor area helps to settle the cost difference between the two structures.

The monocarboxylate transporters 8 (MCT8) and 10 (MCT10) are important for thyroid hormone (TH) uptake and signaling. Reduced TH activity is associated with impaired development, weight gain and discomfort. We hypothesized that autoantibodies (aAb) to MCT8 or MCT10 are prevalent in thyroid disease and obesity. Analytical tests for MCT8-aAb and MCT10-aAb were developed and characterized with commercial antiserum. Serum samples from healthy controls, thyroid patients and young overweight subjects were analyzed, and prevalence of the aAb was compared. MCT8-aAb were additionally tested for biological effects on thyroid hormone uptake in cell culture. Positive MCT8-aAb and MCT10-aAb were detected in all three clinical cohorts analyzed. MCT8-aAb were most prevalent in thyroid patients (11.9%) as compared to healthy controls (3.8%) and overweight adolescents (4.2%). MCT8-aAb positive serum reduced T4 uptake in cell culture in comparison to MCT8-aAb negative control serum. Prevalence of MCT10-aAb was highest in the group of thyroid patients as compared to healthy subjects or overweight adolescents (9.0% versus 4.5% and 6.3%, respectively). We conclude that MCT8 and MCT10 represent autoantigens in humans, and that MCT8-aAb may interfere with regular TH uptake and signaling. The increased prevalence of MCT8-aAb and MCT10-aAb in thyroid disease suggests that their presence may be of pathophysiological relevance. This hypothesis deserves an analysis in large prospective studies.

Mathematical literacy is a very hot issue in the development of mathematics learning, apart from mathematical literacy, another interesting thing is the entrepreneurial spirit that must be given from an early age, especially for vocational students. This research was conducted at SMK Rosma Karawang in the Department of Computer and Network Engineering, West Java Province with the XI grade students. The teaching materials developed by applying the principles of the development model developed with the ADDIE model consist of analysis, design, development, implementation and evaluation. This research and development model is considered suitable for developing teaching tools and materials which is used for the purposes of the learning process. Based on the results of data analysis and processing that have been carried out in this study, the development of teaching materials using the ADDIE model has met the appropriate and valid criteria by media, language and media expert valuators. Another result of developing this teaching material besides meeting the eligibility criteria is that the teaching materials developed are able to increase mathematical literacy and instill entrepreneurial spirit for students.

Astringency is an important sensory characteristic of food and beverages containing polyphenols. However, astringency perception in elderly people has not been documented. The aim of the present work was to evaluate sensitivity to astringency as a function of age and salivary flow. Fifty-four panellists, including 30 elderly people (age=75±4.2 years) and 24 young people (age=29.4±3.8 years), participated in this study. Astringency sensitivity was evaluated by the 2-alternative forced choice (2-AFC) procedure using tannic acid solutions. Whole saliva was collected for 5 min before and after sensory tests. The results showed that the astringency threshold was significantly higher in the elderly group than in the young group. Moreover, a negative correlation between salivary flow and threshold was observed in the young group only. These results showed a difference in oral astringency perception as a function of age for the first time. This difference can be linked to salivary properties that differ as a function of age.

Since the launch of Protein Data Bank (PDB) in 1971, Cartesian coordinate system (CCS) has been the default approach to specify atomic positions in biomolecular experimental structures with X, Y and Z. In 2020, a local spherical coordinate system (LSCS) approach was proposed as an alternative to CCS, i.e., ρ, θ and φ. Recently, the continued application of deep learning technology in protein structure prediction (PSP) saw a leap forward in the accuracy of PSP, as evidenced by AlphaFold of Google’s DeepMind. However, there still is room for the improvement of the performances of PSP algorithms to date. Given that geometrically, CCS and LSCS are like the two sides of a coin, this short article puts forward a hypothesis that the time is now ripe to end the half-a-century burial of ρ, θ and φ in PDB, and use them as LSCS features for the design of novel PSP algorithms in future.

Different machine learning models (multiple linear regression, vector support machines, artificial neural networks and random forests) are applied to predict the monthly global irradiation (MGI) from different input variables (latitude, longitude and altitude of meteorological station, month, average temperatures, among others) of different areas of Galicia (Spain). The models were trained, validated and queried using data from three stations, and each best machine model was checked in two independent stations. The results obtained confirmed that the best ML methodology is the ANN model which presents the lowest RMSE value in the validation and querying phases 122.6·10kJ/(m2∙day) and 113.6·10kJ/(m2∙day), respectively, and predict conveniently for independent stations, 201.3·10kJ/(m2∙day) and 209.4·10kJ/(m2∙day), respectively. Given the good results obtained, it is convenient to continue with the design of artificial neural networks applied to the analysis of monthly global irradiation.

The aim of the study is to characterize the U.S. and Lithuanian defense cooperation from 1990–2020 including arms procurements. Findings suggest close defense cooperation between countries at Presidential, Congressional, and Defense Ministry/Secretary levels. The most developed cooperation areas are joint participation in international operations, improvements of the Lithuanian Armed Forces’ capabilities, and an increase of the U.S. military presence in the Baltic region. An analysis of Lithuanian defense procurements between 1990–2020 indicates that the majority of defense armaments were acquired from the U.S. using the Foreign Military Sales venue while other options to obtain armaments were not used.

The basis of the work of electroencephalography (EEG) is the registration of electrical impulses from the brain or some of its individual areas using a special sensor/electrode. This method is used for the treatment and diagnosis of various diseases. The use of wet electrodes in this case does not seem viable, for several well-known reasons. As a result of this, a detailed analysis of modern EEG sensors developed over the past few years is carried out, which will allow researchers to choose this type of sensor more carefully and, as a result, conduct their research more competently. Due to the absence of any standards in the production and testing of dry EEG sensors, the main moment of this manuscript is a detailed description of the necessary steps for testing a dry electrode, which will allow researchers to maximize the potential of the sensor in the various type of research.

In this paper, we consider the relation of more than four harmonic points in a line. For this purpose, starting from the dependence of the harmonic points, Desargues’ theorems, and perspectivity, we note that it is necessary to conduct a generalization of the Desargues’ theorems for projective complete n-points, which are used to implement the definition of the generalization of harmonic points. We present new findings regarding the uniquely determined and constructed sets of H-points and their structure. The well-known fourth harmonic points represent the special case (n=4) of the sets of H-points of rank 2, which is indicated by P42.

Within the framework of multiblock data analysis, a unified approach of supervised methods is discussed. It encompasses multiblock redundancy analysis (MB-RA) and multiblock partial least squares (MB-PLS) regression. Moreover, we develop new supervised strategies of multiblock data analysis, which can be seen as variants of one or the other of these two methods. They are respectively refered to as multiblock weighted redundancy analysis (MB-WRA) and multiblock weighted covariate analysis (MB-WCov). The four methods are based on the determination of latent variables associated with the various blocks of variables. They are derived from clear optimization criteria whose aim is to maximize either the sum of the covariances or the sum of squared covariances between the latent variable associated with the response block of variables and the block latent variables associated with the various explanatory blocks of variables. We also propose indices to help better interpreting the outcomes of the analyses. The methods are illustrated and compared based on simulated and real datasets.

Plant breeding primarily focuses on improving conventional agronomic traits, e.g. yield, quality, and resistance to biotic and abiotic stress; however, genetic improvement methods are being rapidly enhanced through genomics and phenomics. In the Genomics-Phenomics-Agronomics (GPA) paradigm, diverse research approaches have been conducted to bridge any two of these elements, and recently, all of them together. This review first highlights the progress to link i) genomics to agronomics; ii) genomics to phenomics; and iii) phenomics to agronomics. Secondly, the GPA domain is dissected into different layers, each addressing the three elements simultaneously. These dissected layers include genetic dissection through gene mapping using genome-wide association studies and genomic selection using Best Linear Unbiased Prediction, Bayesian approaches, and machine learning. The objective of the review is to help readers to grasp the core developments among the exponentially growing literature in each of these fields. Through this review, the connections among the three elements of the GPA paradigm are coherently integrated toward the prospect of sustainable development of agronomic traits through both genomics and phenomics.

When we talk about the Defence Industry (DI), arms transfers, and military expenditures we mostly refer to data accumulated by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In the SIPRI Top 20 list of largest exporters of major arms for 2019, small states hold consecutive positions: Israel takes 8th place, Switzerland is 13th, and Sweden, Norway, and Belarus place 15th, 17th, and 20th respectively. The author analyses the Swiss DI case due to several reasons; its place in SIPRI Top, its sharp rise of Swiss arms exports in the recent year, its Swiss neutrality strategy, the country’s multilingual society, and its all-government approach to the arms industry, though still contributing to the limited scholarly studies on contemporary Swiss DI. This paper aims to explore Swiss DI and its strategies, to identify the country’s defence and security policy influence towards DI, and to discuss the Swiss DI stance and future perspectives in the context of the global arms trade. At the same time, this paper also highlights Swiss DI successes and failures that could be of significant use to other small states aiming to develop or enhance their relevant DIs.

On estimation scales ranging from 0.1 nm to 100 nm, the nanoscale is part of the capacitance components of the physical-synthetic and natural environment. Dimensionality, morphology, structure, uniformity, and agglomeration are all used to classify nanoparticles. Its functionality and effect on the environment and species are influenced by its shape and morphology. The priority research is to determine the effects of nanoparticles on any biological entity that is necessary when designing nanotechnology-based biotechnological and biomedical products. Bacteria have a remarkable ability to reduce metal ions, making them one of the most promising candidates for nanoparticle biosynthesis. Nanoparticles have been researched in the biomedical field for antimicrobial, biosensor, diagnostic imaging, and drug delivery applications. These natural technologies appear to be capable of producing stable nanoparticles with well-defined dimensions, morphologies, and compositions by optimizing reaction conditions and selecting the best bacteria. This work includes a list of the most commonly used microorganisms and associated Nanoparticles, as well as a discussion of current biotechnology and biomedical developments.

Geomagnetic induced current (GIC) is a ground end manifestation associated with the space weather perturbations that should be greatly taken into account by the society. Although the GICs implication to the power system is not regular, it can cause large scale of system failure. In equatorial, the power system is considered safe since the most intense of geomagnetic storm happened in high latitude. However, the internal damage due to GICs which finally led to the South African power system failure has totally changed the normal perception. Therefore, a preliminary investigation on the GICs activity in equatorial region is performed to understand the space weather impact to the power system. Time derivative of the horizontal magnetic field component (dB/dt) is done to indicate the GICs activity value based on Faraday’s law. All the reported power failures are compiled to produce the threshold value of dB/dt, which possibly cause the harmful effect to the system. Then, dB/dt analysis is extended to show the pattern of GICs activity in function of magnetic latitude and local time. The results reveal that power network in equatorial region has possibly suffered by GIC. Plus, high number of intense GIC activity in this region occurred during dayside.

Diagnosis of Awake Bruxism (AB) is problematic due to the inability to use continuous recordings during daytime activities. Recently, a new semi-instrumental approach was suggested, viz., an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA), with the use of a smartphone application. With the application subjects are requested to report, at least 12 times per day, the status of their masticatory muscle activity (relaxed muscles, jaw bracing without tooth contact, teeth contact, teeth clenching or teeth grinding). The aim of the present study was to compare the EMA to the assessment of AB as defined by a single point self-report. The most frequent condition recorded by the EMA was relaxed muscles (ca. 60%) and the least frequent one - Teeth grinding (0.6 %). The relaxed muscle condition also showed the lowest coefficient of variance over a 7day period of report. Additionally, only the relaxed muscles and the Jaw bracing conditions presented an acceptable ability to discriminate between AB positive and AB negative subjects, as defined by single point self-report questions. The combination between self-report and EMA may have a potential to promote our ability to diagnose AB. We suggest to re-consider the conditions of Teeth contact and Teeth grinding while using EMA to evaluate AB.

The growing population meet the challenge for agricultural production. CRISPR/Cas9 technology is based on plant research for the development of the new varieties as well as disease resistance crops. In addition the deletion of significant characters makes the new alleles from the CRISPR/Cas9. Recent and reliable molecular scissor for genetic engineering. The review is focused on the various application of the CRISPR/Cas9 technology in plant enhancement of plant disease resistance, stress burden in plant, nutritional improvement, and quality of crops from the CRISPR/Cas9 system. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated protein9 (cas9) is adopted from the prokaryotic type II system. CRISPR/Cas9 is simplicity and efficiency than ZENs and TALENs for the genome engineering. Due to rapid growing of the CRISPR/Cas9 system has been formulate the adaptation of many plant species. The current advancement of plants and future schemes of improve of CRISPR technology has been presented in contest of multiplex editing, knowledge on induced mutation whether the factor effect in CRISPR/Cas9 technology in plant. Remarkable perspective and challenges of CRISPR/Cas9 technology in significance of plant genetic modification.

In the past decades, regenerative medicine applied on skin lesions has been a field of constant improvement for both human and veterinary medicine. The process of healing cutaneous wound injuries implicates a well-organized cascade of molecular and biological processes. However, sometimes the normal process fails and can result in a chronic lesion. In addition, wounds are considered an increasing clinical impairment, due to the progressive ageing of the population, as well as the prevalence of concomitant diseases, such as diabetes and obesity, that represent risk aggravating factors for the development of chronic skin lesions. Stem cells regenerative potential has been recognized worldwide, including towards skin lesion repair, Tissue engineering techniques have long been successfully associated with stem cell therapies, namely the application of 3D bioprinted scaffolds. With this review we intend to explore several stem cell sources with promising aptitude towards skin regeneration, as well as different techniques used to deliver those cells and provide a supporting extracellular matrix environment, with effective outcomes. Furthermore, different studies are discussed, both in vitro and in vivo, towards their relevance in the skin regeneration field.

The inaccurate estimates of linear prediction coefficient (LPC) and noise variance introduce bias in Kalman filter (KF) gain and degrades speech enhancement performance. The existing methods proposed a tuning of the biased Kalman gain particularly in stationary noise condition. This paper introduces a tuning of the KF gain for speech enhancement in real-life noise conditions. First, we estimate noise from each noisy speech frame using a speech presence probability (SPP) method to compute the noise variance. Then construct a whitening filter (with its coefficients computed from the estimated noise) and employed to the noisy speech, yielding a pre-whitened speech, from where the speech LPC parameters are computed. Then construct KF with the estimated parameters, where the robustness metric offsets the bias in Kalman gain during speech absence to that of the sensitivity metric during speech presence to achieve better noise reduction. Where the noise variance and the speech model parameters are adopted as a speech activity detector. The reduced-biased Kalman gain enables the KF to minimize the noise effect significantly, yielding the enhanced speech. Objective and subjective scores on NOIZEUS corpus demonstrates that the enhanced speech produced by the proposed method exhibits higher quality and intelligibility than some benchmark methods.

The drought is one of all phenomena at local to a global scale that caused climate change impacts, alongside it also the human activities related, which were deforested and land use changed that caused to ecological disturbance, which one is hydrological changes. Hence, it’s a lot of lost productivity, chiefly to farming land aspects and the other, so the land restoration by reforestation is needed in framework to water cycle (hydrology) process kindly. The aim of this research has identified and analyzed ecological restoration to ecosystem services, chiefly in wastewater management (treatment) to conservation, especially in Al Zaytun areas (Pesantren), so observing and in-depth individual interview (with some of personage and pesantren of boards) is one method that used to data collected, alongside land survey management to classified type development in Al Zaytun areas. The result of this research revealed that Al Zaytun successfully in water management to conservation by wastewater treated management by Eichhornia crassipes (Enceng gondok), afterward to the reservoir as water saved development. Those conservation types considered capability in reviving to ecological systems to ecosystem services increased kindly, alongside to land restoration by some of the plant species or trees to grow and developed in which Tectona grandis L. f is more dominantly and it's favorite because of investment economic that advantage based on ecological perspective. These were type management that did by Al Zaytun, alongside its able in coping to both drought and climate change impacts kindly and adaptively, and of course, it’s part of an obligation as the follower’s Islam religion in preserving and maintaining natural resources, chiefly to water resources.

Olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) are the glial cells that accompany axons from the olfactory epithelium to their targets in the olfactory bulb. They possess unique features that have made them the subject of much study as being potentially useful in cell-based therapeutic approaches to CNS repair. Investigation of OECs has demonstrated antigenic and morphological heterogeneity in their population. No marker specific to and selective for OECs have yet been identified, and many of the markers used are variably expressed by other glial cells. Even among OECs, these markers appear to vary in vivo (depending on their anatomical location, contact with other cells, and developmental timing) and in vitro. The variation across the population of OECs has compromised their isolation and characterization. It has also made the task of identifying meaningful subpopulations - with greater or lesser therapeutic utility - dependent on identifying the source of their variability. Such information would aid in both the harvest and experimental manipulation of OECs to optimize their therapeutic effect. One way to understand the nature of this variability is to seek its potential causes in vivo. This must begin with an examination of the structure of the olfactory nerve. Here, the structure and development of the primary olfactory projection are thoroughly reviewed with an emphasis on OECs and the cells with which they make contact. The relevant experimental results are also discussed. The weight of anatomical evidence indicates that the structural variations described in different locations and across species are mostly the result of spatiotemporal developmental factors. As such, the formation of the olfactory projection is mediated primarily by the source tissue, the olfactory epithelium. Cell-autonomous development is common elsewhere, and suits the evolutionary age and importance of olfaction, as well as its continued regenerative capacity. Our findings provide a more systematic anatomical understanding of this nerve. That understanding indicates that variation in axon ensheathment by OECs is an inherent feature arising from the flexibility of the ensheathing program. This perspective, along with the anatomical data reviewed here, can inform more carefully controlled laboratory investigations designed to uncover the detailed mechanisms governing OEC biology.

Telecommuting is a flexible form of work that has progressively spread over the last 40 years and which has been strongly encouraged by the measures to limit the Covid19 pandemic. There is still limited evi-dence on the effects it has on workers' health. In this survey we invited 905 workers of companies that made a limited use of telework to fill out a questionnaire to evaluate: Intrusive leadership of managers (IL), the request for work outside traditional hours (OFF-TAJD), workaholism (BWAS), effort / reward imbalance (ERI), happiness and common mental issues (CMIs), anxiety and depression, assessed by the Goldberg scale (GADS). The interaction between these variables has been studied by structural equation modeling (SEM). Intrusive leadership and working after hours were significantly associated with occu-pational stress. Workaholism is a relevant moderator of this interaction: intrusive leadership significantly increased the stress of workaholic workers. Intrusive leadership and overtime work were associated with reduced happiness, anxiety and depression. These results indicate the need to guarantee the right to disconnect, to limit the effect of the OFF-TAJD. In addition to this, companies should implement policies to prevent intrusive leadership and workaholism.

Nanotechnology is an emerging field of modern science based on the use of nanoparticles (NPs) with a huge potential in many sectors, including nanomedicine. Their small size confers them unique properties because they are subject to physical laws that are in the middle between classical and quantum physics. In this context, NPs project plays a pivotal role because the composition, size, shape and surface proprieties need to be carefully considered for their optimal design and application. As reported in this review, NPs are classified in inorganic (metallic NPs; quantum dots; carbon-based nanostructures; mesoporous silica nanoparticles) and organic (liposomes and micelles, dendrimers and polymer nanoparticles) ones. Here, we report an accurate description of the potential of each NPs type focusing on their multiple areas of application like theranostics drug delivery, imaging, tissue engineering, antimicrobial techniques and nanovaccines, and therefore they represent a promise to revolutionize the new era of nanomedicine, especially in cancer research.

In this paper, we focus on variational Bayesian learning deterministic optimization methods for inference in biparametric exponential models where the parameters follow semiparametric regression structures. This combination of data models and algorithms contributes to solving real-world problems and reduces the computation time. This allows both the rapid exploration of many data models and the accurate estimation of the mean and variance functions through the connection between generalized linear models and graph theory. A simulation study was carried out to assess the performance of the deterministic approximation. Finally, herein, we present an application using macroeconomic data to emphasize the benefits of the proposed approach.

This paper aims to provide an overall review of degradation, damage evolution and fatigue models in the literature of various engineering materials, mostly metals, and composites.

A linear Cauchy problem with polynomial coefficients wich combines q-difference operators for q>1 and differential operators of irregular type is examined. A finite set of sectorial holomorphic solutions w.r.t the complex time is constructed by means of classical Laplace transforms. These functions share a common asymptotic expansion in the time variable which turns out to carry a double layers structure which couples q-Gevrey and Gevrey bounds. In the last part of the work, the problem of confluence of these solutions as q tends to 1 is investigated.

Sherubtse College under Royal University of Bhutan has a total of 1582 students, where 787 0f them are female. They suffer from menstrual and menstrual cramps every month and they use napkins to stay clean and healthy. As all the college girls are educated on the norms and use of sanitary napkins, the proper management of the waste generated is lacking. The disposal of used sanitary napkins and management is a challenge to the college management. This small research aims to investigate on how girls in college campus manage the menstural waste and the amount of sanitary napkins used. The lack of proper dumping areas leads to the improper sanitary waste management and sometimes the waste generated from the sanitary napkins are toxic and unhealthy. It is very important to initate some ways to dump the pads and its related problem should be seriously addressed by the college management. It is also important to come up with different soultion and management of these wastes for sustainable environment. Therefore, this research will be mainly mentioning about the suggestions and how the sanitary waste is being managed in Sherubtse College campus and the amount of sanitary pads used in a month or an year.

Hybrid metal-organic compounds as relatively new and prosperous magnetoelectric multiferroics provide opportunities to improve the polarization, magnetization and magneto-electric coupling at the same time, which usually have some limitations in the common type-I and type-II multiferroics. In this work we investigate the crystal of guanidinium copper(II) formate [C(NH2)3]Cu(HCOO)3 and give novel insights concerning the structure, magnetic, electric and magneto-electric behaviour of this interesting material. Detailed analysis of crystal structure at 100 K is given. Magnetization points to the copper(II)-formate spin-chain phase that becomes ordered below 4.6 K into the canted antiferromagnetic (AFM) state, as a result of super-exchange interaction over different formate bridges. The performed ab-initio colinear density functional theory (DFT) calculation confirm the AFM-like ground state as a first approximation and explain the coupling of spin-chains into the AFM ordered lattice. In versatile measurements of magnetization of a crystal, including transverse component besides the longitudinal one, very large anisotropy is found that might originate from canting of the coordination octahedra around copper(II) in cooperation with the canted AFM order. With cooling down in zero fields the generation of spontaneous polarization is observed step-wise below 270 K and 210 K and the effect of magnetic field on its value is observed also in the paramagnetic phase. Measured polarization is somewhat smaller than the DFT value in the c-direction, possibly due to twin domains present in the crystal. The considerable magneto-electric coupling below the magnetic transition temperature is measured with different orientations of the crystal in magnetic field, giving altogether the new light onto the magneto-electric effect in this material.

Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) absorption spectroscopy of cold molecules and clusters in supersonic slit jet expansions complements and extends more sensitive action spectroscopy techniques and provides important reference data for the latter. We describe how its major drawback, large substance and carrier gas consumption, can be alleviated by one to two orders of magnitude via direct and continuous recycling of the gas mixture. This is achieved by a combination of dry rotary lobe and screw pump compression. The signal-to-noise ratio is boosted by the established buffered giant gas pulse technique with full interferogram synchronization. The buildup of water impurities typically limits the recycling gain, but is turned into a feature for the study of hydrate complexes of volatile molecules. Continuous operation with a single gas filling over several days becomes practical and useful. Decadic absorbances in the low ppm range are detectable and the mid infrared range can be recorded simultaneously with the near infrared. The less straightforward hydration number assignment of spectral features in direct absorption spectroscopy is supported by a gradual water buildup at a rate of less than 0.5 mg/h. A recent reassignment proposal for the water dimer OH stretching spectrum is refuted and vibrational spectra of vacuum-isolated 18O-water clusters are presented for the first time. Methanol docking on asymmetric ketones is used to illustrate the advantages and limitations of the recycling concept. Previous assignments of the hydrate complex of 1-phenylethanol are confirmed. Additional features of the setup await testing and refinement, but the recycling technique already substantially widens the applicability of direct absorption spectroscopy of neutral molecular clusters. It may be attractive for other high-throughput jet spectrometers.

In recent years, many researchers have begun to shift their focus onto the synthesis of nanomaterials as this field possesses immense potential that may provide incredible technological advances in the near future. The downside of conventional synthesis techniques, such as co-precipitation, sol-gel and hydrothermal methods, is that they necessitate the use of toxic chemicals, produce harmful by-products and require a considerable amount of energy; therefore, more sustainable fabrication routes are sought after. Biological molecules have been previously utilised as precursors to nanoparticle synthesis, thus eliminating the negative factors involved in traditional methods. In addition, transition-metal nanoparticles possess a wide scope of applications due to their multiple oxidation states and large surface areas; thereby allowing for a higher reactivity when compared to their bulk counterpart and rendering them an interesting research topic. However, this field is still relatively unknown and unpredictable. Therefore, this review aims to obtain a better understanding on the plant-mediated synthesis process of the major transition-metal and transition-metal oxide nanoparticles, and how different parameters affect their unique properties.

Burnout is common in many countries and is associated with several other problems, such as depression, anxiety, insomnia and memory deficits, and prospectively it predicts long-term sick-leave, cardiovascular disease and death. Clinical burnout or its residual symptoms often last several years and a common assumption is that recovery takes a long time by nature despite full time sick-leave and absence of work stress. Literature suggests models that hypothetically explain the development, but not maintenance, of the syndrome. Based on cognitive and behavioral principles and stress theory this paper describes a theoretical model explaining how clinical burnout can develop and be maintained. While the development of clinical burnout is mainly explained by prolonged stress reactions and disturbed recovery processes due to work related stressors, maintenance of the syndrome is particularly explained by prolonged stress reactions and disturbed recovery processes due to the new context of experiencing burnout and being on sick-leave. Worry about acquired memory deficits, passivity and excessive sleep, shame, fear of stress reactions, and the perception of not being safe are examples of responses that can contribute to the maintenance. The model has important implications for research and how to intervene clinical burnout.

An increasing number of studies have proposed that corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance depends on how companies apply their resources and capabilities to implement CSR. A firm’s ability to integrate, build, and reconfigure internal and external competencies to respond to environmental changes is its dynamic capability. Implementation of CSR at the strategic level will contribute to a firm’s sustainability. However, the research on strategic CSR is incipient. This study explores possible mechanisms to investigate how dynamic capability influences the performance of strategic CSR in China. By analyzing 134 Chinese listed companies in the period 2017–2019, in this study, we found that firms with a high level of dynamic capability were less likely to adopt strategic CSR practices, and had a low strategic CSR adoption performance. The results confirmed the loss aversion channel, indicating that firms with a high dynamic capability level were loss averse and that managers had a decreasing sensibility in decision-making and allocated fewer company resources in CSR projects. These results can help companies to better understand the dynamic capability and how dynamic capability contributes to the adoption of strategic CSR and performance over time. The policy implications of the study are also discussed.

The Evolutionary history and domestication of Camels are largely unexplored because of the lack of well dated early archaeological records. However, limited records suggest that domestication of Camels likely happened in the late second millennium BCE. Over the time, camels have helped human for their basic needs like meat, milk, wool, dung to long routes transportation. This multifaceted animal has helped the mankind to connect through continents and in trade majorly through the Silk route. In India, both dromedary and Bactrian camels are found and their habitat is entirely different from each other, dromedaries inhabit in hot deserts and Bactrians are found mostly in cold places (Nubra Valley, Ladakh). Fewer studies on Indian dromedaries have been conducted but no such studies are done on Bactrian camels. It is needed to study the genetics of Bactrian camels to find out their genetic affinity and evolutionary history with other Bactrians found in different parts of the world. Furthermore, parallel studies on humans and Bactrian camel are required to understand the co-evolution and migration pattern of humans during their dispersal in different time periods.

In today’s Industrial IoT (IIoT) environment, where different systems interact with the physical world, the state proposed by the Industry 4.0 standards can lead to escalating vulnerabilities, especially when these systems receive data streams from multiple intermediaries, requiring multilevel security approaches, in addition to link encryption. At the same time taking into account the heterogeneity of the systems included in the IIoT ecosystem and the non-institutionalized interoperability in terms of hardware and software, serious issues arise as to how to secure these systems. In this framework, given that the protection of industrial equipment is a requirement inextricably linked to technological developments and the use of the IoT, it is important to identify the major vulnerabilities, the associated risks and threats and to suggest the most appropriate countermeasures. In this context, this study provides a description of the attacks against IIoT systems, as well as a thorough analysis of the solutions against these attacks, as they have been proposed in the most recent literature.

In a large variety of organisms, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are primary defences against pathogens. BP100 (KKLFKKILKYL-NH2), a short, synthetic, and cationic AMP, is active against bacteria and displays low toxicity towards eukaryotic cells. BP100 acquires an α-helical conformation upon interaction with membranes and increases membrane permeability. Despite the volume of information available, the mechanism of action of BP100, the selectivity of its biological effects, and its applications are far from consensual. In this work, we synthesized a fluorescent BP100 analog containing naphthalimide linked to its N-terminal end, Napht-BP100 (Napht-AAKKLFKKILKYL-NH2). The fluorescence properties of naphthalimides, especially their spectral sensitivity to microenvironment changes, are well established, and their biological activities against different types of cells are known. A wide variety of techniques were used to demonstrate that a-helical Napht-BP100 was bound and permeabilized POPC and POPG LUV. Napht-BP100, different from that observed for BP100, was bound to, and permeabilized POPC LUV. With zwitterionic (POPC) and negatively charged (POPG) containing LUVs, membrane surface high peptide/lipid ratios triggered complete disruption of the liposomes in a detergent-like manner. This disruption was driven by charge neutralization, lipid aggregation, and membrane destabilization. Napht-BP100 also interacted with double-stranded DNA, indicating that this peptide could also affect other cellular processes in addition to membrane destabilization. Napht-BP100 showed superior antibacterial activity, increased hemolytic activity compared to BP100, and may constitute an efficient antimicrobial agent for dermatological use. By conjugating BP100 and naphthalimide antimicrobial properties, Napht-BP100 was bound more efficiently to the bacterial membrane and could destabilize the membrane and enter the cell by interacting with its cytoplasm- exposed DNA.

This paper presents a framework for the motion planning and control of redundant manipulators with the added task of collision avoidance. The algorithms that were previously studied and tested by the authors for planar cases are here extended to full mobility redundant manipulators operating in a three-dimensional workspace. The control strategy consists of a combination of off-line path planning algorithms with on-line motion control. The path planning algorithm is used to generate trajectories able to avoid fixed obstacles, detected before the robot starts to move; it is based on the potential fields method combined with a smoothing interpolation that exploits Bézier curves. The on-line motion control is designed to compensate for the motion of the obstacles and to avoid collisions along the kinematic chain of the manipulator; it is realized by means of a velocity control law based on the null space method for redundancy control. A term of the control law takes into account the speed of the obstacles as well as their position. In order to test the algorithms, a set of simulations are presented: the robot KUKA LBR iiwa is controlled in different cases, where fixed or dynamic obstacles interfere with its motion. Simulations are also used to estimate the required computational effort in order to verify the transferability to a real system.

Lake Chapala is a natural ecosystem of Mexico, declared Ramsar site, currently, is an area with importance in the agricultural sector, tourism, and important source of drinking water in the Metropolitan area of Guadalajara, considered as a thermo regulatory body. This study used tools such as Rhtest, as well as analyzing extreme climate indices using RClimdex. In addition, the relationship with the change in water surface of Lake Chapala was assessed through the NDWI index, using Landsat images, between 1985 and 2018. According to the obtained results, the signs of climatic variability are detected in the study region, which, directly affects the basin runoff and water levels in the lake, as well as, the factor of water overexploitation in the basin, so it is considered that the lake conditions mostly depend on the type of management that is given to the resource. Finally, the results will help the understanding of climate variability and its water resources influence of the Lerma Chapala basin, which will assist in future research.

The constant ħ is elevated to a dynamical field, coupling to other fields, and itself, through the Lagrangian density derivative terms. The spatial and temporal dependence of ħ falls directly out of the field equations themselves. Three solutions are found: a free field with a tadpole term; a standing-wave non-propagating mode; a non-oscillating non-propagating mode. The first two could be quantized. The third corresponds to a zero-momentum classical field that naturally decays spatially to a constant with no ad-hoc terms added to the Lagrangian. An attempt is made to calibrate the constants in the third solution based on experimental data. The three fields are referred to as actons. It is tentatively concluded that the acton origin coincides with a massive body, or point of infinite density, though is not mass dependent. An expression for the positional dependence of Planck’s constant is derived from a field theory in this work that matches in functional form that of one derived from considerations of Local Position Invariance violation in GR in another paper by this author. Astrophysical and Cosmological interpretations are provided. A derivation is shown for how the integrand in the path integral exponent becomes Lc/ħ(r), where Lc is the classical action. The path that makes stationary the integral in the exponent is termed the “dominant” path, and deviates from the classical path systematically due to the position dependence of ħ. The meaning of variable ħ is seen to be related to the rate of time passage along each path increment. The changes resulting in the Euler-Lagrange equation, Newton’s first and second laws, Newtonian gravity, Friedmann equation with a Cosmological Constant, and the impact on gravitational radiation for the dominant path are shown and discussed.

Single-stand selective monofunctional uracil DNA glycosylase 1 (SMUG1) works to remove uracil and certain oxidized bases from DNA during base excision repair (BER). This review provides a historical characterization of SMUG1 and 5-hydroxymethyl-2'-deoxyuridine (5-hmdU) one important substrate of this enzyme. Biochemical and structural analyses provide remarkable insight into the mechanism of this glycosylase revealing SMUG1 has a unique helical wedge which influences damage recognition during repair. Rodent studies suggest that, while SMUG1 shares substrate specificity with another uracil glycosylase UNG2, loss of SMUG1 can have unique cellular phenotypes. This review highlights the multiple roles SMUG1 may play in preserving genome stability, and how the loss of SMUG1 activity may promote cancer. Finally, we discuss recent studies indicating SMUG1 has moonlighting functions beyond BER, playing a critical role in RNA processing including the RNA component of telomerase.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the key technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0), which can be used for the protection of Internet-connected systems from cyber-threats, attacks, damage, or unauthorized access. To intelligently solve today's various cybersecurity issues, popular AI techniques involving Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Learning (DL) methods, the concept of Natural Language Processing (NLP), Knowledge Representation and Reasoning (KRR), as well as the concept of knowledge or rule-based Expert Systems (ES) modeling can be used. Based on these AI methods, in this paper, we present a comprehensive view on "AI-driven Cybersecurity" that can play an important role for intelligent cybersecurity services and management. The security intelligence modeling based on such AI methods can make the cybersecurity computing process automated and intelligent than the conventional security systems. We also highlight several research directions within the scope of our study, which can help researchers do future research in the area. Overall, this paper's ultimate objective is to serve as a reference point and guidelines for cybersecurity researchers as well as industry professionals in the area, especially from an AI-based technical point of view.

Background: A Few preclinical studies have shown that Knee osteoarthritis (KOA) is linked to gut microbiome dysbiosis and chronic inflammation. This pilot study was designed to look at the gut microbiome composition in KOA patients and normal individuals with or without vitamin D deficiency (VDD, serum vitamin D <30 ng/ml). Methods: This pilot study was conducted prospectively in 24 participants. The faecal samples of all the participants were taken for DNA extraction. The V3-V4 region of 16s rRNA was amplified and the library was prepared and sequenced on the Illumina Miseq platform. Results: The mean (±SD) age was 45.5 (±10.2) years with no defined co-morbidities. Of 447 total Operational Taxonomic Units (OTUs), a differential abundance of 16 nominally significant OTUs between the groups were observed. Linear discriminate analysis (LEfSe) revealed a significant difference in bacteria among the study groups. Pseudobutyrivibrio and Odoribacter were specific for VDD while Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, and Gordonibacter were abundant in the KOA_VDD group and Peptococcus, Intestimonas, Delftia, and Oribacterium were abundant in the KOA group. About 80% of bacterial species were common among different groups and hence labeled as core bacterial species. However, the core microbiome of KOA and VDD groups were not seen in the KOA_VDD group, suggesting that these bacterial groups were affected by the interaction of the KOA and VDD factors. Conclusion: Parabacteroides, Butyricimonas, Pseudobutyrivibrio, Odoribacter, and Gordonibacter are the predominant bacteria in vitamin D deficient patients with or without KOA. Together these results indicate an association between the gut microbiome, vitamin D, and knee osteoarthritis.

Seventy-two clavarioid specimens from Johannes Rick's collection at PACA and BPI were revised. Eleven taxa are presented. Illustrations of the microstructures are provided for nine taxa. The description of Scytinopogon robustus includes information from recently collected specimens and SEM photographs of the basidiospores. A new combination, Clavulina ridleyi, is proposed.

Sago (Metroxylon spp.) is an important crop in Maluku. This study aims to identify the biodiversity of sago palm and understorey vegetation around sago clumps in Maluku. The research was carried out in six sago area from September 2015 to October 2016. The Sago Plant identification was carried out through the growth phase of sago, i.e. seedlings, saplings, weaning, trunks, and ripening. Vegetation observation was done in radius 100 m2 surrounding sago clumps. The result shows that Metroxylon rumphii Mart type. (Tuni sago), M. sagus Rottb. (Molat sago) and M. Silvester Mart. (Ihur Sago) dominates sago palms area in Seram and Ambon Islands, Maluku. There are significant morphological differences between the types of sago, especially in stem height, midrib width, leaf midrib colour, number of thorns, and flower stalk length, as well as the difference of carbohydrate content. Understorey vegetation of each observation sites diverse consist of 15 families and 20 species. The families that dominate the vegetation under the sago palms are Araceae, Thelypteridaceae, and Athyriaceae. The types of plants from Araceae are taro types and broadleaf, while those from the Thelypteridaceae and Athyriaceae families are types of ferns.

The destruction of natural habitat for cropland and pastures represents a major threat to global biodiversity. Despite widespread societal concern about biodiversity loss associated with food production, consumers access to quantitative estimates of the impact of crop production on the world’s species has been very limited compared to assessments of other environmental variables such as greenhouse gas emissions or water use. Here, we present a consistent dataset of the biodiversity footprints of pastures and 175 individual crops at country level. The data were generated by combining maps of the global distribution of agricultural areas in the year 2000 with spatially explicit estimates of the biodiversity loss associated with the conversion of natural habitat to farmland. Estimates were derived for three common alternative measures of biodiversity – species richness, threatened species richness, and range rarity – of the world’s mammals, birds, and amphibians. Our dataset provides important quantitative information for food consumers and policy makers, allowing them to take evidence-based decisions to reduce the biodiversity footprint of global food production.

In the present era, infertility is one of the major issues which restricts many couples to have their own kids. Infertility is the inability to achieve a clinical pregnancy after regular unprotected sexual intercourse for the period of one year or more. Various factors including defective male or female germ cell development, unhealthy and improper lifestyles, diseases like cancer and associated chemo-or-radiation therapies, congenital disorders etc. may be responsible for infertility. Therefore, it is highly important to understand the basic concepts of germ cell development including primordial germ cell (PGC) formation, specification, migration, entry to genital ridges and their molecular mechanisms, activated pathways, paracrine and autocrine signaling, along with possible alteration which can hamper germ cell development and can cause adversities like cancer progression and infertility. Knowing all these aspects in a proper way can be very much helpful in improving our understanding about gametogenesis and finding possible ways to cure related disorders. Here in this review, various aspects of gametogenesis especially female gametes and relevant factors causing functional impairment have been thoroughly discussed.

The COVID-19 pandemic of 2020 changed the way we interact and engage in commerce at a fundamental level. Social distancing and stay-at-home orders leave businesses and cities wondering what economic activity will look like in the future. Given a likely reduction in face-to-face interactions, it is important to better understand how social interactivity influences economic outcomes. Here we measure the effect of social interactions in the workforce on patent production and economic efficiency. We decompose U.S. occupations into individual work activities, determine which of those activities are associated with face-to-face interactions, and reaggregate the labor force of each U.S. metropolitan statistical area (MSA) into a metric of social interactiveness. We then calculate each MSA’s density of social work activities and find that this measure is more highly correlated with an MSA’s per capita patent production than simple population density. This suggests that density of face-to-face interactions is the important driver of a city’s rate of invention. We close by exploring analogies between the development of cities and the development of stars, suggesting ways these analogies may help frame future research on cities.

The limitedness of the nonrenewable local energy resources in Israel, even in background of the later gas fields’ findings, continues to force the state to devote various efforts for the ‘green’ energy development. These efforts include installations both in the solar and in the wind energy, with a purpose to improve the diversity of energy sources. While the standard discounted cash flow (DCF) method using the net present value (NPV) criterion is extensively adopted to evaluate investments, the standard DCF method is inappropriate for the rapidly changing investment climate and for the managerial flexibility in investment decisions. In recent years, the real options analysis (ROA) technique is widely applied in many studies for valuation of renewable energy investment projects. Hence, we apply in this study the real options analysis approach for the valuation of wind energy turbines and apply it to the analysis of wind energy economic potential in Israel.

This article represents survey data of historical and architectural documentation of Sri Radha Binod Ashrama locally known as the Panishail temple. Temple architecture is a common feature of traditional religious architecture practice in Bangladesh. This article is a historical and architectural investigation of a less known and mixed type of Hindu temple style in the Bengal region. The Panishail temple complex has a collection of structures that include tomb, temples, and residences aged between fifty to two hundred years. Over the ages, these heritage buildings have displayed a unique architectural style of ancient Bengal and still serving as a living sacred landscape heritage. However, like most of the ancient monuments of Bangladesh, Panishail structures inside this complex stand against the threat of decay and anthropogenic destruction with no effort to conserve them. There is a need for immediate action of research, exploration and preservation to save this historic landmark. This research aims to investigate historic and physical features of the temple complex through a systematic survey and documentation effort. This research will lay a foundation for future conservation intervention on this site. Moreover, this work will significantly contribute to historic temple architecture study in Bangladesh.

One of the biggest challenges in characterizing 2-D image topographies is finding a low-dimensional parameter set that can succinctly describe, not so much image patterns themselves, but the nature of these patterns. The 2-D Cluster Variation Method (CVM), introduced by Kikuchi in 1951, can characterize very local image pattern distributions using configuration variables, identifying nearest-neighbor, next-nearest-neighbor, and triplet configurations. Using the 2-D CVM, we can characterize 2-D topographies using just two parameters; the activation enthalpy and the interaction enthalpy. Initial investigations with two different representative topographies (``scale-free-like'' and ``rich club-like'') produce interesting results when brought to a CVM free energy minimum. Additional phase space investigations, where one of these two parameters has been set to zero, identify useful parameter ranges. Careful comparison of the analytically-predicted configuration variables versus those obtained when performing computational free energy minimization on a 2-D grid show that the computational results differ significantly from the analytic solution. The 2-D CVM can potentially function as a secondary free energy minimization within the hidden layer of a neural network, providing a basis for extending node activations over time and allowing temporal correlation of patterns.

Madrid Nuevo Norte (Madrid New North) is an urban redevelopment program applied in the city of Madrid in Spain. In relevance with this, the aim of this paper is twofold: firstly, the project examines if Nuevo Norte project is aligned with the principles of sustainability. Secondly, the paper investigates the impact of Nuevo Norte on the application of city marketing strategies in Madrid. For that purposes, questionnaires were distributed through Internet in 122 urban developers and planners located in the Spanish capital. The results indicated that overall, Nuevo Norte contributes in the sustainable development of Madrid; however, concerns were identified regarding the budget and the timeline of the project. In addition, NNMP provides significant opportunities to local authorities to implement sustainable city marketing strategies, aiming to improve the competitiveness and the quality of life in the city of Madrid. To this end, it seems that city marketing, through the construction of Mega projects, should sift to sustainability, ensuring a better life for local residents and communities in general. The research is expected to assist local authorities in Spain to harness the potential of mega projects, such as Nuevo Norte, in designing city marketing strategies and to promote Madrid in an international context as a city that gives emphasis in urban sustainability.

Four decades of proteasome research have yielded extensive information on ubiquitin-dependent proteolysis. The archetype of proteasomes is a 20S barrel-shaped complex that does not rely on ubiquitin as a degradation signal but can degrade substrates with a considerable unstructured stretch. Since roughly half of all proteasomes in most eukaryotic cells are free 20S complexes, ubiquitin-independent protein degradation may coexist with ubiquitin-dependent degradation by the highly regulated 26S proteasome. This article reviews recent advances in our understanding of the biochemical and structural features that underlie the proteolytic mechanism of 20S proteasomes. The two outer α-rings of 20S proteasomes provide a number of potential docking sites for loosely folded polypeptides. The binding of a substrate can induce asymmetric conformational changes, trigger gate opening, and initiate its own degradation through a protease-driven translocation mechanism. Consequently, the substrate translocates through two additional narrow apertures augmented by the β-catalytic active sites. The overall pulling force through the two annuli results in a protease-like unfolding of the substrate and subsequent proteolysis in the catalytic chamber. Although both proteasomes contain identical β-catalytic active sites, the differential translocation mechanisms yield distinct peptide products. Non-overlapping substrate repertoires and product outcomes rationalize cohabitation of both proteasome complexes in cells.

Cannabis is one of the oldest cultivated crops in the history for food, fiber and drugs for thousands of years. Extension of cannabis genetic variation developed in a wide- ranging choice of varieties with various complementary phenotypes and secondary metabolites. Cannabis grow practices is very diverse, especially indoor cultivation factors, such as different lighting conditions, pot size, humidity, fertilizers. These growth factors influence a lot on the production of cannabinoids. For medical or pharmaceutical purposes, ratio of CBD or THC is very important. Plants traits and metabolic compounds are related to various conditions produced by microbes. Investigating this crosstalk between plants and microbes can play a vital role not only for stimulating the biosynthetic and signaling pathways of the host plants for the production of agronomically or pharmaceutically essential metabolic compounds but also against pathogens. This study emphasis on decoding the crosstalk between cannabis and associated microbes in the belowground environmental niches that would unravel the complexity of stabilizing cannabinoid production.

Signaling from estrogen receptor alpha (ER) and its ligand estradiol (E2) is critical for growth of ~70% of breast cancers. Therefore, several drugs that inhibit ER functions are in clinical use for decades and new classes of anti-estrogens are continuously being developed. Although a significant number of ER+ breast cancers respond to anti-estrogen therapy, ~30% of these breast cancers recur, sometimes even after 20 years of initial diagnosis. Mechanism of resistance to anti-estrogens is one of the intensely studied disciplines in breast cancer. Several mechanisms have been proposed including mutations in ESR1, crosstalk between growth factor and ER signaling, and interplay between cell cycle machinery and ER signaling. ESR1 mutations as well as crosstalk with other signaling networks lead to ligand independent activation of ER thus rendering anti-estrogens ineffective, particularly when treatment involved anti-estrogens that do not degrade ERa. As a result of these studies, several therapies that combine anti-estrogens that degrade ER with PI3K/AKT/mTOR inhibitors targeting growth factor signaling or CDK4/6 inhibitors targeting cell cycle machinery are used clinically to treat recurrent ER+ breast cancers. In this review, we discuss nexus between ER-PI3K/AKT/mTOR pathways and how understanding of this nexus has helped to develop combination therapies.

For the KdV-Burgers equations on cylindrical and spherical waves the development of a regular profile starting from an equilibrium under a periodic perturbation at the boundary is studied. The equations describe a medium which is both dissipative and dispersive. Symmetries, invariant solutions and conservation laws are investigated. For an appropriate combination of dispersion and dissipation the asymptotic profile looks like a periodical chain of shock fronts with a decreasing amplitude (sawtooth waves). The development of such a profile is preceded by a head shock of a constant height and equal velocity which depends on spatial dimension as well as on integral characteristics of boundary condition; an explicit asymptotic for this head shock and a median of the oscillating part is found.

The increasingly rapid flow of technological development is now a tool to improve backwardness, renew the system, as well as a means of improvement in various aspects of life. For companies, the development of information and communication technology is a new innovation or breakthrough to improve service quality. Various benefits provided by technology and information. However, if not handled properly, technology and information will become a boomerang for an organization. HRIS is the application of HRM functions in the application of information and communication technology. The concept of HRIS as a digital form of HRM is increasing along with the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic which has caused a large loss impact on all lines of life. The limitation of social interaction in an effort to prevent the wider spread of covid-19 and the higher number of casualties causes business activities to stall. This research uses quantitative methods with a study sample of 100 randomly selected. This study aims to see how clarity of high-tech goals in human resources management, perceived benefits, perceived ease of use, company conditions that can influence attitudes towards HRIS.

The crucial phenomenological and experimental predictions for new physics are outlined, where the number of problems of the Standard Model (neutrino masses and oscillations, dark matter, baryon asymmetry of the Universe, leptonic CP-violation) could find their solutions. The analogies between the cosmological neutrino mass scale from the early universe data and laboratory probes are discussed and the search for new physics and phenomena.

A mechanical ventilation system is a big support for breathing complications, in which an external solution is quite necessary to keep oxygen compensation in the patients. Its knowledge is well widespread and different equipment has been developed. However, they are very expensive and their quantity in medical centers is not sufficient, especially in Peru. Hence, it has been required to develop new methods to provide oxygen by a low cost equipment; Protofy, a research group from Spain, designed one of the first low cost mechanical ventilation systems which was medically validated by its government. In this sense, a redesign of the mechanical ventilation system was carried out according to the local requirements and available technology, a different airbag resuscitator with different properties and geometry, but maintaining its working concept based on a cam compression mechanism. Sensors and a display were added to improve the performance with a control algorithm for the rotation frequency and to show the ventilation curves over time to the medical staff. It was necessary to develop a mathematical model to relate the behavior between ventilation curves for a patient and physical variables of the design, especially in the epidemic COVID 19, that many countries are dealing with at the time research is being conducted. The mechanical ventilation system was redesigned, fabricated, and tested measuring its ventilation curves over time. Results indicate that this redesign provides a sturdy equipment able to work during a longer lifetime than the original. The replicability of the ventilation curves behavior is assured, while the mechanism dimensions are adapted for a particular airbag resuscitator. The mathematical model of the whole system can predict satisfactorily the ventilation curves over time and was used to provide the air pressure, volume, and flow as a function of the rotation angle measured by sensors.